enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 78 good governance and well-being chtor, ephraim chukwudi department of political science faculty of social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani abstract this study is undertaken to examine good governance and well-being of the masses with a view to ascertaining the extent to which good governance impact on the well-being of citizens of nigeria as a case study. in order to carry out an indebt study on the topic, the researcher employed survey design, using secondary source for data collection. structural-functionalist theory was adopted as the framework of analysis. in the course of investigation, different indices of good governance, as presented by the united nations public administration and the undp 1997, were highlighted. the level of the effect of those indices of good governance on the well-being of the masses was also discussed. whenever the word “democracy” is mentioned, people perceive it as a synonym to good governance and well-being of the masses. of course, that is what it is supposed to be. unfortunately, however, it has not always been so. it was discovered after investigations that the type of democratic governance being practiced today in nigeria is such that the well-being of nigeria citizens is far from being met. the major challenges to the attainment of high level of well-being are: insecurity, corruption/mismanagement of the nation’s resources by the ruling class, non-observance of the rule of law, and lack the provision of basic necessities of live to the citizens, just to mention a few. it is therefore recommended that our politicians should rise up to the challenges inhibiting good governance, as this will usher in the well-being of the masses in nigeria, if tackled properly. keywords: democracy, good governance, insecurity, public administration, well-being, introduction according to wikipedia (2021), in international development, good governance is a way of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in a preferred way. governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented. according to the united nations public administration, good governance entails sound public sector management (efficiency, effectiveness and economy); accountability, exchange and free flow of information (transparency) and a legal framework for development (justice, respect for human right and liberty). according to the undp 1997, governance is “the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. it comprises the mechanisms, process and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate differences.” it went further to good governance and well-being state: “good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development”. esman (1997) argues that before governance can be considered good, government has to be effective. it must first command the respect of and allegiance of the people over whom it exercises governance and must satisfy certain basic collective needs. marc and byong-joon (2007), refer to good governance as the term that symbolizes the paradigm shift of the role of governments. for omotala (2007), good governance is also pivotal to a successful democratization and by extension, development. on the other hand, well-being of the citizens is the target of every good governance. it is an all-round comfort of the masses and can only be achieved when governance is good. with a closer look at the above definitions, one would conclude that the situations in the definitions exist only in a democratic setting. it could be said that most definitions of good governance are synonymous with democracy which is the most popular system of government throughout the world today. nigeria has been practicing presidential democracy since 1979. the presidential system of government in nigeria started with the 1979 constitution which ushered in the democratically elected government of president shehushagari. that governmenttried as much as possiblewithin its tenure to restore good governance for the well-being of the citizens of this country by practicing somemajor characteristics of good governance. theeight major characteristics of good governance which brought about well-being of the masses, according to divyakirti (2020), are: participatory; consensus-oriented; accountable; transparent; responsive; effective and efficient; equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. unfortunately, that government was short-lived as the military junta overthrew it in december 1983. there was another constitution, the 1999 constitution as amended, which ushered in the fourth republic with president olusegun obasanjo as the first president in the republic and that is the constitutionbeing used up till now, 2021. people heaved a sigh of relief at that point in time; because there was general believe that good governance had come to stay. this is so because under a democratically elected government, it is the constitution that normally dictates how the government is operated and it must be according to the rule of law. for instance, chapter i, part 1, section 1 of the 1999 constitution as amended (frn 1999), talks about the supremacy of the constitution. in chapter ii, section1-3 of the constitution, it 80 talks about the fundamental obligations of the government (to the people). constitution is the greatest tool the operators of the government use in the discharge of theirduties under democracy. statement of the problem in a presidential democracy such as ours’ in nigeria, people have a say through their representatives. the 1999 constitution, as amended, provides for three arms of government, namely, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. the purpose of having these three arms of government is to provide for equity and good governance for the promotion of wellbeing of the citizens. one makes laws; the second implements them while the third one interprets the laws. according to some observers, however, the situation became contrary to expectations of the masses, as those indices or major characteristics of good governance that can bring about well-being of the citizens, as pointed out by some scholars earlier, were not met. that is why the researcher has deemed it necessary to examine the level of good governance and its impact on well-being of the citizens of nigeria during the pre and post covid-19 era. research questions 1. has the president of nigeria since 2015been administering this country with fairness, equity, rule of law and other indices of good governance as pointed out earlier in “introduction” that can bring aboutwell-being of citizens? 2. does the conflictual relationship between the executive and the legislature impact negatively on good governance and well-being of the citizens within the pre and post covid-19 period? 3. does the executive unduly interferes with the legislative and judicial processes in such a way that their contributions to good governance that engenders well-being of the citizens within the pre and post covid-19 period can bejeopardized? objectives of the study the major objective of this study is to investigate the level of good governance and its impact on well-being of the masses of nigeria within the pre and post covid-19 period. from the broad objective, we have development some specific objectives such as: good governance and well-being 1. to critically examine the administration of the president of nigeria since 2015 in areas of fairness, equity, rule of law and other indices of good governance that can bring about well-being of the citizens; 2. to examine whether the conflictual relationship between the executive and the legislature impactednegatively on good governance and well-being of the citizens within pre and post covid-19 period. 3. to examine whether the executive unduly interferes with the legislative and judicial processes in such a way that their contributions to good governance that can engender well-being of the citizens within the pre and post covid-19 period is jeopardized. conceptual and theoretical discourse: whenever the word “governance” is mentioned in a presidential democracy such as ours in nigeria, the three arms of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – come to mind. this is so because they are the governing body in a presidential democracy provided for by the constitution. that is why (kopecky, 2004)states that the relationship between the executive and the legislature is one of the key defining characteristics of the functioning of any political system. these relationships are multi-dimensional, depending on a range of formal and informal practices. the constitutional prerogatives vested in the legislature, executive and the judiciary are, of course, most important because of the structure of the interactions between the three powers (national democratic institute (ndi), 2000). we can now look into the role of the three arms of government in the provision of good governance and well-being of the citizens of nigeria. the national assembly is made up of the upper chamber, which is called “senate”and lower chamber, which is the “house of representatives”. at the state level, it is called “house of assembly”. the legislative arm is constituted through the election of candidates from different constituencies.for the senate; three senators are elected from each of the 36 states and the federal capital territory, abuja. hon members of the house of representatives are 360 in number and are elected from different federal constituencies in nigeria. part ii sect 4, sub sect. 2 of the 1999 constitution stipulates that the national assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federal or any part thereof with respect to any matter. the national assembly, through its various functions could bring about good governance and well-being of the citizens of the country. such functions are namely; initiating and passage of 82 bills capable of bringing about good life to the masses, especially, appropriation bills, effective representation of their constituencies and oversight functions, among others. in practicing oversight function, johnson (2005), for instance, opines that parliaments look back on government spending and activities to determine whether money was spent appropriately, and to ask “value for money” questions. on the other hand, the executive is the main institution charged with the responsibility of delivering good governance to the citizens through the formulation and implementation of policies that would enhance the efficient management of the states resources. most of the presidential constitutions, if not all, confer the power and the responsibility on the executive to manage the collective wealth of the nation for the well-being of all citizens. the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999, as amended, in its sections 16 (1) a, b, c, and d, (frn) 1999) for instance stipulates that: “the state shall within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this constitution÷ (a). harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, dynamic and self-reliant economy (b) control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity. (c) without prejudice to the right to operate or participate in areas of the economy, other than the major sectors of the economy; manage and operate major sectors of the economy. (d) without prejudice to the right of any person to participate in areas of the economy within the major sector of the economy, protect the right of every citizen to engage in any economic activities outside the major sector of the economy”. the civil service, which is the organ of the executive, is charged with formulating and implementing development programmes as ademolokun(1983), observed that the nigeria civil services play much active role both in formulationand implementation of development policies and programmes. the constitution went further in its section 16 (2) a – d to stipulate thus“thestate shall direct its policy towards ensuring: (a) the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development; (b) that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good; good governance and well-being (c) that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group; and (d) the suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens. as we have seen above, the relationship between the executive and the legislature holds the key to good governance and well-being of the masses of this country. this is why the mutual suspicions between the two arms of government cannot be neglected. perhaps, that is why anyaegbunam (2010) observes that legislature in most democracies particularly nigeria is often perceived by the executive as overstepping her constitutional boundaries in the performance of her oversight duties. this, the executive often sees as hindering the government from speedily meeting the needs of the public. he notes further that the legislature on the other hand, being the constitutionally ordained watchdog of the people, views the frustration of her investigative role, as a direct affront to the people's mandate. thus, the legislature sees the executive's uncooperative attitude as a denial of the citizens’ right to be acquainted with the executives' activities. this cycle of mutual suspicion .usually degenerates into a frosty relationship between both arms of government. according to anyaegbunam (2010), this experience in most countries has established three patterns of relationship. the first pattern of legislative-executive relations according to him is the polarized relationship which is a kind of worrisome antagonistic relationship between the executive and the legislature. the second nature of legislative-executive relations is the cordial relationship. in this type of relation, according to anyaegbunam (2010), executive-legislative disagreements over policies are resolved through healthy and mutual understanding. this mostly occurs when legislative assemblies lost their constitutional oversight role to the overwhelming influence of the executive, thereby hampering the necessary checks and balances which should aid the social, economic and political well-being of the masses. the third pattern of executive-legislative relations is the mild hostility. this is a kind of mild and inconsistent hostility short of outright antagonism between the executive and the legislature. using the present regime at the federal level as a case study, the policy direction of the executive; it is alleged, have mostly been directed towards act of nepotism, especially in the area of appointment of senior officials like service chiefs, heads of government agencies and parastatals; mis-management of economic resources, leading to alarming inflations and poverty 84 level; insecurity here and there, which makes it very difficult for farmers to go to their farms for cropping to feed their families and a host of others. how then can the well-being of the masses be achieved? the judiciary although, the judiciary as the third arm of government, is in existence both during democracy and military era, its functions at the two different periods vary. in the era of democracy, the judiciary operates with the provisions of the constitution whereas it operates with decrees under the military regime. section 6 subsections 1-3; of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (f.r.n) stipulates some powers of the judiciary as follows: a. the judicial powers of the federal shall be vested in the courts to which the section relates, being courts established for the federation. b. the judicial powers of a state shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subjects as provided by this constitution, for a state. c. the courts to which this section relates, established by this constitution for the federation and for the states, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (i) of this section shall be the only superior courts of record in nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the national assembly or by the house of assembly of a state, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record. judiciary is the hope of the common man in the society in the time of democracy. it can correct both the legislature and the executive if any of them goes contrary to the provisions of the constitution or existing laws. this is some of the ways the judiciary can bring about good governance that can in turn engender well-being of the citizens. however, this can only be found in a government that observes the rule of law. a situation where an accused is granted bail and government insists that he or she should not be released; a situation where an accused is granted bail and the security agencies re-arrest him in the premises of the court, how can one explain that? if all the provisions of the constitution in terms of the role of the three arms of government in bringing about good governance are implemented effectively, the well-being of the citizens would have been adequately taken care of, but the question is whether what we are seeing on ground now is up to 30% success of what is prescribed above by the constitution that will engender citizen’s well-being. it should be pointed out that nigeria, being a federation, anything we have at the federal level is also there at the state level except those that are under exclusive legislative list and except good governance and well-being that the national assembly is bi-cameral -the senate and house of representatives while that of the state is uni-cameral -the house of assembly. while we have the president as the head of the federal executive, we have governors as the heads of the state executives, and while we have the chief judge of the federation as the head of the federal judiciary, the state chief judge is the head of the state judiciary. theoretical framework structural functional theory this study is guided by structural functional theory as its framework of analysis. according to lucas (2007), structural functional theory, otherwise known as functionalism, holds that the society is best understood as a complex system with various interdependent parts that work together to increase stability. although, the label, structural functional, according to same scholars, has subsumed multiple perspectives, there are a few basic elements that generally hold for all functionalists approaches in sociology: social system are composed of interconnected parts; the parts of a system can be understood in terms of how each contributes to meeting the needs of the whole. the national and state assemblies, the executive as well as the judiciary should all work together to ensure that good governance is enthroned for the well-being of the citizens of nigeria. hypotheses: the president of nigeria since 2015 has not been administering this country with fairness, equity, rule of law and other indices of good governance as pointed out earlier in “introduction” that could bring about well-being of the citizens. the conflictual relationship between the executive and legislature impacts negatively on good governance and well-being of the citizens within the pre and post covid-19 period. the executive unduly interferes with the legislative and judicial processes in such a way that their contributions to good governance that could engender well-being of the citizens within the pre and post covid-19 period is jeopardized. research design 86 research design, according to nworgu (2006) is a plan or blueprint which specifies how data relating to a given problem should be collected and analyzed. a study that explains or describes events will use survey method and that which will establish cause effect relationship will use experimental design. in the opinion of nwanna (1974) and anikpo (1986), research design specifies a number of decisions which need to be taken regarding the collection of data before the data are collected; it is a plan or structure of any aspect of the research procedure. according to akuezilo (1990), research design is a blueprint which determines the nature and scope of study carried out or proposed and it is the structuring of the investigation aimed at identifying variables and their relationship to one another. it is used for the purpose of obtaining data to enable the researcher test hypotheses or answer research questions. the researcher employed survey design in order to carry out investigation on the issues raised in the hypotheses and analyze the data accordingly. method of data collection documentary method otherwise referred to as secondary source of data collection was used in collecting data for this study. according to bailey cited by mogalakwe (2006), the use of documentary method refers to analysis of documents that contain information about the phenomenon we wish. discussion after the content analysis of the data collected through secondary source, it was discovered that although nigeria is running a democratic government yet the good governance that can engender the well-being of the masses within the pre and post covid-19 period is still at its low ebb. this is because: 1. the executive which is supposed to rule the country with the provisions of the constitution and laws made by the national assembly for well-being of the citizens, it was alleged, is not being fair in the distribution of the common wealth of the nation; appointments, especially those of service chiefs, and heads of parastatals and agencies; corruption /mismanagement of economic resources; thereby causing inflation and poverty in the land; insecurity in almost every part of the country. 2. the conflictual relationship between the executive and the legislature in most cases is one of the major challenges to the good governance and well-being of the citizens. good governance and well-being 3. executive interferences in the legislative and judicial processes thereby making the two arms ‘rubber stamp’ impact negatively on good governance and well-being of the citizens. a situation where the chief justice of the federation was removed in office by the executive with impunity is a clear example of none observance of the rule of law. conclusion good governance is what everybody expects to witness in a presidential democracy and well-being of the citizens is the hallmark of every democracy. that is why some scholars define democracy as “government of the people by the people and for the people” unfortunately, the well-being of the citizens is far from being met within the pre and post covid-19 period because from the content analysis of data collected, there is no good governance in nigeria as from 2015 till date as expected by the people. recommendations the following recommendations are made as the means of bringing about good governance and ultimately engender well-being of the citizens of nigeria: 1. the executive which is responsible for the governance of the country should rule with fairness and equity in distributing appointments of service chiefs and heads of federal government agencies and parastatals; fight corruption genuinely and ensure prudent management of the financial resources to reduce inflation and poverty for the well-being of every nigerian; fight insecurity in every part of the country. 2. there should be harmonious relation between the executive and the legislature when necessary in order to keep the machinery of government moving and provide good governance that can bring about the well-being of the masses of this country. 3. the executive in particular should desist from undue interferences in legislative and judicial processes so that they can play their constitutional role freely in contributing to good governance that will engender well-being of the citizens. 88 references ademolekun. l. (1993), public administration, a nigeria and comparative perspective. ikeja longman nigeria limited. anyaegbunam, e. o. (2010), assembly handbook: a legislator’s companion. lagos: fef. divyarkirti (2020), 8 major characteristics of good governance; retrieved on 13/6.2021, from htpps://www.drishtiiasi.com. paper 4. esman, m. j. (1997), good governance and devotion of power” in africans notes, may, pp 1-3. federal republic of nigeria (1999), constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. lagos federal government printer. johnson, j.k. (2005), the role parliaments in government. world bank, washington d.c. lucas, j.w. (2007), structural functional theory. the blackwell encyclopaedia of sociology – wiley online library. scholar google .com /scholar = (retrieved on 03/07/2021) marc, h. and byonng-joon, k. (2002), building good governance: reforms in seoul, (national centre for public productivity), preface. nworgu, b. c. (2006). educational research basic issues and methodology, (second and enlarged edition). nsukka university trust publication. okoli, f.c. (2017), lecture note for msc political science students on research methodology, esut, enugu. omotola, j.s. (2008) democracy and constitutionalism under the fourth republic, 1999 2007. africana2 (2), 1-29. undp (1997), governance for sustainable human development wikipedia. good governance retrieved on 3/6/2021 from https://en.m.wikipedia.org mogalakwe, m. (2006). the use of documentary research method in social research, africa sociology review, 10(1) pp221 – 230. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/ page 3 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 262 evaluating quality of life among parents of children living with cerebral palsy in enugu state, nigeria adaoga obuna* nvene chioma nwankwo nelson ifedili ozorgwu rita paul okoli, ph.d department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu state, nigeria. *correspondence: adaoga.obuna@gmail.com abstract the study examined the quality of life of parents of children living with cerebral palsy (cp) in enugu state, nigeria. 50 parents of children living with cp (25 mothers and 25 fathers) and 50 parents of healthy children (25 mothers and 25 fathers) were recruited for the study. the age of the participants ranges from 25 to 65 years, with a mean age of 45.44 years and standard deviation of 9.45 years. world health organization quality of life-bref was employed for data collection. cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study while independent t-test was used to analyze the data. the result revealed a statistically significant difference on quality of life between parents of children living with cp and their counterpart. it was recommended that government should establish a community based program that would improve the qol of parents of children living with cp parents. keywords: quality of life, cerebral palsy, parents, mental retardation, life satisfaction. introduction quality of life (qol) is the perception of one’s status in life as defined by cultural features and social value (yilmaz, erkin & i̇zki, 2013). it is an individual’s personal perspective of overall well-being and contentment in life, which includes both psychosocial and physical or health-related domains (majnemer, shevell, law, poulin, & rosenbaum, 2008). according to verdugo (2012), qol consist of different domains such as emotional well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, interpersonal relations and material wellbeing. many factors has been found to influence the quality of life of individuals’ (parents) living with cerebral palsy, and these include child’s level of disability, environmental and social influences, stressors, and level of social support (chalipat, malwade, karambelkar, agarkhedkar & kannan, 2016). hence, parents of children living with cerebral palsy are more vulnerable to emotional, social and psychological burden that affects their lives and well-being (chalipat et al., 2016). cerebral palsy (cp) is a developmental disorder resulting from damage to the fetal or developing brain, leading to partial losses of motor and cognitive functioning (shelly, davis, waters, mailto:adaoga.obuna@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 263 mackinnon, reddihough et al., 2008; varni, burwinkle, sherman, hanna, berrin et al., 2005). cerebral palsy is the most common form of chronic motor disability that starts in childhood (belonwu, gwarzo & adeleke, 2009). unlike other childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, cerebral palsy is a permanent disorder of movement and posture, causing activity limitations, which are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. this disorder often affects the child’s sensation, perception, cognition, communication and behaviour, and in most case causing epilepsy or secondary musculoskeletal problems (rosenbaum, paneth, leviton, goldstein, bax et al., 2007). thus, cerebral palsy disability ranges from mild to severe effects on motor and cognitive functioning (wippermann, 2013). according to diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, cerebral palsy is classified based on the nature of movement disorder and the anatomic or topographic distribution of the motor abnormalities (apa. 2013). there are four main types of cp which are categorized as spasticity, ataxia, dystonia and athetosis cerebral palsy. briefly, spasticity type is observed among children born prematurely, this manifest in form of an increase muscle tone (resistance to stretch). in ataxic cerebral palsy, there is a loss of orderly muscular coordination, so that movements are performed with abnormal force, rhythm, and accuracy. dystonia is characterized by hypertonia and reduced activity while choreo-athetosis, have to do with irregular, spasmodic, involuntary movements of the limbs or facial muscles (o’shea, 2008). however, review report has shown that there is high prevalence rate of cerebral palsy cases in the low and middle income country such as spastic (41.7%), mixed (29.8%), hypotonic (21.9%) and dyskinetic (6.6%) (belonwu et al., 2009). in nigeria, belonwu, gwarzo and adeleke (2009) reported 42.4% cases of cerebral palsy highlighting that birth asphyxia was the leading cause of cerebral palsy (45.7%), followed by neonatal jaundice (12.6%), seizure disorder (11.9%), meningitis (7.3%), prematurity (3.3%), encephalitis (2.6%), genetic disorder (1.3%), trauma (1.3%) and craniosynostosis ( 0.62%). indeed, the report shows that there is lack of mental health attention to the raising issues of cp in nigeria (belonwu et al., 2009). clinically, the diagnosis of cerebral palsy is typically based on observations or parent reports of attained motor milestones, such as sitting, pulling to stand, and walking, and evaluation of posture, deep tendon reflexes, and muscle tone. particularly among infants born prematurely, neurological abnormalities, observed in the early months of life, may not be associated with motor impairment and may resolve during the first one or two years of life (o’shea, 2008). based on this assertion, cerebral palsy causes a huge financial and physical stress to the family due to vague and unknown predicted outcomes of the disorder (wippermann, 2013). research has demonstrated that raising a child with chronic disability (cerebral palsy) can be very stressful and task demanding (chalipat et al., 2016). children with cp may suffer from several problems such as spastic paralysis, cognitive impairment, chronic pain, speech and visual ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 264 impairment, and gastrointestinal and feeding problems (odding, roebroeck & stam, 2006). they also experience difficulties in their basic self functioning like feeding, dressing, toileting and mobility. thus, cerebral palsy may affects parents or caregivers in different ways depending on coping mechanisms, support systems, age and level of functioning of the child and so on (wippermann, 2013). for example, a child with cerebral palsy may require constant care, frequent medical examinations, continuous physical and educational-rehabilitation therapy etc. in other words, mental health challenges associated with cp significantly influence the psychological state of the family (parents or caregivers) by causing them to adjust in a particular way (bumin, günal & tükel, 2008). however, fonseca, nazare and canavarro (2012), proposed that children with cp require increased intensity of care, which may become a burden for parents and influence their physical and mental health (fonseca et al., 2012; glasscock, 2000). taking care of children with cp has impact on physical, psychological and social aspects of the quality of life of caregiver (chalipat et al., 2016). as opined by jone and passey (2005), parents of children with cp are posed with higher risk of having psychological challenges in compared to parents of children without disabilities. in addition, parents may be unprepared or in equipped to handle the developmental condition due to financial constraint and lack of time or poor service care. against this background, this study evaluates the quality of life of parents of children with cp in nigeria. romeo, cioni, distefano, battaglia, costanzo, ricci, sanctis et al. (2010), examined the quality of life (qol) of parents of children with cerebral palsy (cp) and the possible effect of behaviour problems on their qol. one-hundred children with cp, aged between 4 and 10 years, and both their parents were included in the study. both parents completed the whoqol-bref, to assess their qol. a sample of 60 parents of healthy children was used as control group. the primary caregiver also completed the child behaviour checklist (cbcl). parents of children with cp showed lower scores on physical and psychological domains than the control group on qol. ström, kreuter and rosberg (2012), investigated qol in parents/caretakers of children with cerebral palsy in the province of kampong cham, cambodia. forty parents/caretakers of children with cerebral palsy aged 1–13 years (f19/m21) participated in the study. the study utilised comprehensive quality of life scale a5 (comqol-a5) questionnaire. results point out three major domains where quality of life is unsatisfactory: health, material well-being and emotional well-being. of these areas, qol in the health domain demonstrates the lowest scores. in turkey, yilmaz, erkin & i̇zki (2013), explored the health-related quality of life (hrqol) in mothers of children with cerebral palsy (cp). participants comprised 137 mothers of children with spastic-type cp, and controls comprised 140 mothers with healthy children. functional levels of children with cp were evaluated using gross motor function classification system (gmcfs). hrqol of mothers with cp children and control groups was assessed with 36-item ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 265 short-form health survey (sf-36) and depression levels with beck depression inventory (bdi). results revealed that social function, mental health, role limitation emotional, and vitality as subscale of mental component of sf-36 were found to be lower in cp children’s mothers than controls. bdi scores were higher in cp children’s mothers than controls. among mothers with cp children, a negative correlation was detected between bdi scores and all subscale scores of sf-36 and age rate of mothers and physical function, bodily pain, and physical component scale scores, among subscales of sf-36. several empirical literatures in this area have been predominantly focused on the western countries/culture (yilmaz, erkin & i̇zki, 2013). despite the high prevalent of cp in our society, it is unfortunate that only few studies have attempted to explore the quality of life of parents of children with this disability (akinyemi, owoaje, popoola & ilesanmi, 2012). based on this assumption, the present study wants to provide answer to the following statement;  will there be a difference on quality of life of parents of children living with cp and parents of healthy children. hypothesis there will be a significant difference on quality of life of parents of children living with cp and parents of healthy children. method setting of the study the study took take place in the therapeutic day care inclusive school located in abakpa nike, enugu state, nigeria. the therapeutic day care center was founded in january 1979 by mrs. hildegard maria ebigbo, nee raab from fremdingen in bavaria, germany. the institution was aimed to assist children with intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, multiple handicaps and severe emotional disturbance. participants one hundred participants were adopted for this study. the participants comprised of 50 parents of children with cerebral palsy (cp) (25 mothers and 25 fathers) and 50 parents of healthy children (25 mothers and 25 fathers). they were sampled from parents of children attending therapeutic day care inclusive nursery and primary school abakpa, enugu state, using a purposive sampling technique. the participants were between the ages of 25-65 years, with a mean age of 45.44 years and standard deviation of 9.45. the inclusion criterion for participation in this study is that participant must have at least ssce qualification. instruments world health organization quality of life-bref (whoqol-bref-) was adopted in this study. the scale measures four domains of quality of life such as physical health, psychological ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 266 (mental) health, social relationship and relationship with features in the environment as a function of quality of life. the whoqol-bref has 26 items rated on a likert-type response format ranging from 1never and 5 always. scores were scaled in a positive direction (i.e. higher scores denote higher quality of life). the scoring of negatively phrased questions (3, 4 and 26) were reversed (1=5, 2=4, 3=3, 4=2, 5=1) thus transforming them to positively phrased questions. scores less than 78, were categorised as poor qol while scores equal to and above 78 were categorised as good qol. however, higher score on the whoqol-bref, indicate a better the quality of life. a good reliability coefficient has been reported by majnemer, shevell, law, poulin and rosenbaum (2008) while the present study reported a cronbach’s alpha of .93 across the scale. procedure an inform consent was obtained from the parents before the distribution of the questionnaires. during the 40th year anniversary of the school parents were communicated about the study and assured about the confidentiality level of information that will be obtained from them. they were made to understand the voluntary nature of their participation. after which, on the day of parents teachers association meeting, the questionnaire were randomly distributed to them and was returned to researchers immediately after responding to it. however, for parents of healthy children, an introductory letter was given to the school management of liberty school abakpa. data were collected during the teachers-parents meeting at the beginning of the academic session. the researcher observed that from the 110 copies of the questionnaire distributed to the participants, 10 copies were not properly filled due to cancellation and was discarded. thus, 100 of the questionnaire that were correctly filled were used for data analysis. design/statistics cross sectional survey design was adopted for this study. on statistics, independent t-test was used to analyze the data. ssps version 23 was employed to manage the data. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 267 results table 1: socio-demographic variables of the respondents variables frequency (𝑛 = 100) percent (100%) age groups 25-35 years 45 45% 36 45 years 32 32% 46 55 years 14 14% 56 65 years 9 9% sex male 50 50% female 50 50% marital status single parent 25 25% currently married 53 53% separated 14 14% widowed 8 8% religion catholic 54 54% anglican 27 27% penticoaster 13 13% others 6 6% level of education ssce 12 12% undergraduate 3 3% hnd/ond 26 26% bsc 37 37% msc 17 17% phd 5 5% table 1 above showed the frequency distribution of the respondents of the study. majority of the respondents were between 2535 years (45%); followed by 36-45 years (32%); 46-55 years (14%) and 56-65 years (9%). equal percentage of women (50%) and men (50%) were reported. the respondents’ religious information showed that the highest proportion were catholic (54%); followed by anglicans (27%); penticoaster (13%) and others (those who do not belong to no particular) religion were 6%. marital status information revealed that 53% of the respondents were currently married; 25% were single parents; 14% were separated and 8% were widowed. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 268 education information indicated that 37% of the respondents have b.sc degree; while 26% have hnd/ond; 17% msc degree; 12% ssce; 5% phd and 3% undergraduates. table 2: mean, standard deviation of parents of children with cerebral palsy and healthy children quality of life groups n mean std. deviation physical health parents of healthy children 50 38.1600 25.11960 parents of cerebral palsy children 50 30.3400 5.35518 psychological parents of healthy children 50 35.6200 25.90634 parents of cp children 50 27.6200 7.71664 social relationships parents of healthy children 50 26.5000 27.61858 parents of cp children 50 17.9000 2.37547 environment parents of healthy children 50 42.9600 23.98976 parents of cp children 50 35.7600 5.97806 the inspection from the table above showed that in the four domains of quality of life such as physical health, parents of healthy children (m= 38.16; sd=25.12) reported more physical health than parents of children with cerebral palsy (m= 30.34; sd=5.36). on psychological health, parents of healthy children (m= 35.62; sd=25.91) reported more psychological functioning than parents of children with cerebral palsy (m= 27.62; sd=7.72). likewise, on social relationships, parents of healthy children (m= 26.50; sd=27.62) reported more social functioning than parents of children with cerebral palsy (m= 17.90; sd=2.38). finally, parents of healthy children (m= 42.96; sd=23.99) reported more environmental well-being than parents of children with cerebral palsy (m= 35.76; sd=5.98). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 269 table 2: independent t-test on qol of parents of children with cerebral palsy and children with normal development quality of life m sd t-test df sig. physical health 30.44 5.37 2.153 98 .034 psychological health 27.57 7.77 2.093 .039 social relationships 17.75 2.36 2.194 .031 environment 35.63 6.32 2.059 .044 the result revealed that a statistical significantly difference between parents of children with cerebral palsy and parents of healthy children on quality of life domains, physical health at t(2, 98)= 2.15, p<.05; psychological functioning t(2, 98)= 2.09, p<.05, social relationship t(2, 98)= 2.19, p<.05; and environment health t(2, 98)= 2.06, p<.05 level of significance. this means that parents of children living with cerebral palsy experience low quality of life than their counterparts. thus, hypothesis of the study was accepted. discussion the goal of the present study is to examine the quality of life (qol) in parents of children living with cerebral palsy and parents of healthy children. based on the objective of the study, a hypothesis was tested. the hypothesis which stated that there will be a significant difference on quality of life of parents of children living with cp and parents of healthy children was accepted. the result of this finding clearly show that parents of children with cerebral palsy reported more low qol than parents of healthy children. this finding is in agreement with brown et al. (2006) study that demonstrated that parents of children with normal development have a better quality of life than parents of children with cerebral palsy in all domains of quality of life. it is in tandem with romeo et al. (2010), parents of children with cp showed lower scores on physical and psychological domains than the control group on qol. also, ström et al. (2012), found that out of the three major domains where quality of life is unsatisfactory: health, material well-being and emotional well-being domains demonstrated the lowest scores. also, other studies have found a profile of differences in all qol domains between these groups of parents (juhásová, 2015). in addition to reduced qol, parents of children with cerebral palsy report higher levels of depression and anxiety (gallagher et al., 2008). furthermore, kazmi, perveen, karamat & khan (2014) reported a lower quality of life of mothers of children with cerebral palsy and the more frequent depression in mothers than in fathers. iassidd (2014) stated that mothers of children with cerebral palsy are the ones who report increased level of stress and poorer physical and mental health. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 270 limitations of the study one major limitation of this study is the sample size. due to the nature of the study, the sample was drawn from a relative small inclusion school which may not be a true representative of the study population. thus, there should be cautious in generalizing the result of the findings for all parents in nigeria. recommendations this study recommends that government and policy makers should establish a community based program that would improve qol of parents of children living with cp in nigeria. the need for such program is to provide supports for families of children with these disabilities through the establishment of possible interventions and coping strategies. also, it is recommended that parents should be sensitized on the causes of cerebral palsy in order to reduce its prevalence in nigeria. since, studies have proven that parents of children with cp often feel a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, as well as a sense of failure and guilt; there is need for further research in this area. support services for parents of children with these disabilities should be established across the country, so that the parents in all parts of nigeria have necessary information, advice and support. furthermore, mothers should be a priority for support provision. mothers should also have some benefits regarding their employment status in the sense of flexible working hours. conclusion this research examined quality of life of parents of children living with cp and their counterpart in enugu state, nigeria. based on the findings, the study concluded that parents of children with cp experience low quality of life characterized by depression, anxiety, and poor psychological well-being as compared to their counterpart with normal developed children. references akinyemi, o. o., owoaje, e. t., popoola, o. a., & ilesanmi, o. s. (2012). quality of life and associated factors among adults in a community in south west nigeria. annals of ibadan postgraduate medicine. 10(2): 34-39 american psychiatric association. (2013). diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, american psychiatric association, arlington, va, usa, 5th edition, 2013. belonwu, r., gwarzo, g. d., & adeleke, s. (2009). cerebral palsy in kano, nigerian a review. nigerian journal of medicine: journal of the national association of resident doctors of nigeria. doi:18.186-9.10.4314/njm.v18i2.45062. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 271 brown, r.i., macadam-crisp, j., wang, m., & iarocci, g. (2006). family quality of life when there is a child with a developmental disability. journal of policy and practice in intellectual disabilities, 3 (4), 238-245. bumin, g., günal, a., & tükel, ş. (2008). anxiety, depression and quality of life in mothers of disabled children. med j sdu; 15(1): 6-11. chalipat, s., malwade, s. d., karambelkar, g. r., agarkhedkar, s. r., & kannan, v. t. (2016). assessment of quality of life of parents of children with cerebral palsy. journal of evidence based medical healthcare; 3(85), 4673-4677. doi: 10.18410/jebmh/2016/984 fonseca, a., nazare, b., & canavarro, m. c. (2012). parental psychological distress and quality of life after a prenatal or postnatal diagnosis of congenital anomaly: a controlled comparison study with parents of healthy infants. disabilities health journal; 5(2):67-74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2011.11.001 gallagher, s., phillips, a. c., oliver, c., & carroll, d. (2008). predictors of psychological morbidity and parents of children with intellectual disability. journal of pediatric psychology, 33 (10). glasscock, r. a. (2000). phenomenological study of the experience of being a mother of a child with cerebral palsy. pediatrics nursing; 26(4):407-10. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17483107.2012 .692172. iassidd international association for the scientific study of intellectual and developmental disabilities (2014). families supporting a child with intellectual or developmental disabilities: the current state of knowledge. journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities, 27 (5), 420438th jones, j., & passey, j. (2005). family adaptation, coping and resources: parents of children with developmental disabilities and behavior problems. journal of developmental disabilities, 11 (1), 31-46. juhásová, a. (2015). comparison of quality of life of families with children with disability and families with children without disability. procedia social and behavioral sciences, 174, 3378-3384. kazmi, s. f., perveen, s., karamat, s., & khan, a. b. (2014). depression and quality of life of parents of disabled children. annuals of pakistan institute of medical sciences, 10 (3), 125-127. majnemer, a., shevell, m., law, m., poulin, c., & rosenbaum, p. (2008). reliability in the ratings of quality of life between parents and their children of school age with cerebral palsy. quality of life research, 17, 1163-1171. doi 10.1007/sl 1136-008-9394-6. odding, e., roebroeck, m. e., stam, h. j. (2006). the epidemiology of cerebral palsy: incidence, impairments and risk factors. disability rehabilitation; 28(4):183-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2011.11.001 http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/17483107.2012%20.692172 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 272 o’shea, t. m. (2008). diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cerebral palsy in nearterm/term infants. clinical obstetrics and gynecology; 51(4): 816–828. doi:10.1097/grf.0b013e3181870ba7 romeo, d.m., cioni, m. distefano, a. battaglia, l. r. costanzo, l., ricci, d., sanctis, r. d., romeo, m. g., mazzone, d., & mercuri, e. (2010). quality of life and parents of children with cerebral palsy: is it influenced by the child's behavior. neuropediatrics, 41 (3), 121-126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1262841 rosenbaum, p., paneth, n., leviton, a., goldstein, m., bax, m., damiano, d., & jacobsson, b. (2007). a report: the definition and classification of cerebral palsy april 2006. devevlopmental medical child neurological supply; 109(109): 8-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1469-8749.2007.tb12610.x shelly, a., davis, e., waters, e., mackinnon, a., reddihough, d., boyd, r., reid, s., & graham, h.k. (2008). the relationship between quality of life and functioning for children with cerebral palsy. developmental medicine & child neurology, 50, 199-203. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.02031.x. ström, h., kreuter, m., & rosberg, s. (2012). quality of life in parents/caretakers of children with cerebral palsy in kampong cham, cambodia. journal of tropical pediatrics; 58(4): 303–306. https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmr077 the whoqol group. (1994a). development of the whoqol: rationale and current status. international journal of mental health, 23 (3), 24-56. the whoqol group. (1994b). the development of the world health organization quality of life assessment instrument (the whoqol). in j. orley and w. kuyken (eds) quality of life assessment: international perspectives. heidelberg: springer verlag. varni, j. w., burwinkle, t.m., sherman, s.a., hanna, k., berrin, s. j., malcarne, v. l., & chambers, h. g. (2005). health-related quality of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: hearing the voices of the children. developmental medicine & child neurology, 47, 592-597. verdugo, m. a., navas, p., gómez, l. e., & schalock, r. l. (2012). “the concept of quality of life and its role in enhancing human rights in the field of intellectual disability.” journal of intellectual disability research; 56 (11): 1036–1045. wippermann, j. (2013). the quality of life of families of children with cerebral palsy. unpublished senior thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the honors program. liberty university; 1-34. yilmaz, h., erkin, g., & i̇zki, a. a. (2013). quality of life in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. isrn rehabilitation. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/914738 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ page 1 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention among university students at enugu state university of science and technology *nwangwu, c. n., ngwu, l. u., nwosuji, e.p. ayuk, c. ezeh, i. l. enugu state university of science and technology *correspondence: chukscnn@gmail.com abstract coronavirus is a global pandemic that has adversely disrupted social, political, economic, and educational activities worldwide. reports have shown reductions in the rate of school enrollment, changes in the mode of learning, poor funding, and death of students as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. global efforts to prevent the virus and reduce mortality from the disease, including manufacturing the vaccine, seemed to have not solved all the covid-19-related challenges. the population of nigerian undergraduate students is more than 2 million, and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (kap) on covid-19 prevention among students in enugu state, nigeria, are still unclear. this study was undertaken to assess kap among undergraduates at enugu state university of science and technology (esut). a cross-sectional study was conducted among 364 randomly selected undergraduate students. an online structured questionnaire was used to collect the data and analyzed using descriptive statistics. the results revealed that students have relatively good knowledge about the disease. however, there is a negative attitude and poor practice toward disease prevention, especially covid-19 vaccination. there is a need to embark on a youthfriendly covid-19 comprehensive prevention measure in universities so that students can make an informed decision toward covid-19 prevention. keywords: attitudes, knowledge, practices, covid 19, prevention and university students introduction it is no longer news that the covid-19 pandemic has affected almost all the world's nations. what is of concern to many, especially researchers, are understanding the extent of damage, how to cushion its adverse effects, and people's behavior towards its prevention. recent reports from statista (2021) show that the number of people infected with covid-19 is over 176.2 million, and deaths have reached above 3.8 million persons worldwide. the international community has not relented in its efforts to contain the further escalation of the virus. united nations (2021), among other things, had launched the covid-19 solidarity response fund seeking an appeal for us$ 1.96 billion to fulfill the requirements of the 2021 strategic preparedness and response plan. global efforts to prevent the virus and reduce mortality from the disease, including vaccine mailto:chukscnn@gmail.com 63 manufacturing, seemed to have not solved all the covid-19-related challenges. a report has raised concern over the possible third wave of coivd 19 pandemic in africa (mwai, 2021). one of the institutions that are greatly affected by covid-19 is an educational institution. the impact on education ranges from reductions in the rate of school enrollment, changes in the mode of learning, poor funding, and death of students as a result of the covid-19 pandemic (bravata et al., 2021). most countries implemented lockdown measures to contain the virus's spread, significantly affecting educational institutions. according to unesco (2021), more than 1.598 billion students from 194 countries were required to stay at home because of the closure of educational institutions. apart from the devastating health consequences for the students directly affected by the virus, the covid-19 pandemic holds significant implications for how university students have managed the unprecedented challenges and expectations accompanying the pandemic (aristovnik, 2020). the government has reopened commercial activities, including schools in nigeria, with a strict warning that all schools must follow observed international best practices on covid-19 preventive protocols. the nigeria ncdc, in partnership with the federal ministry of education, developed guidelines for schools to ensure the safety of students and staff while carrying out academic activities (federal ministry of education, 2020). the guidelines stipulate several essential activities based on the critical strategies of physical distancing, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, face masks, screening, isolation, and notification for further action. though there are prevention guidelines from authorities, the resumption of schools may likely expose students to risky behaviors that may predispose them to covid-19 infections. moreover, it is still unclear how much students know about these prevention protocols, their attitude toward them, and their practices in nigeria. nigerian undergraduate students are more than 2 million, yet not many studies have been done to assess this population's knowledge, attitudes, and practices on covid-19 prevention. it has been observed that understanding people's knowledge, attitudes, and practices (kap) toward disease is essential for disease prevention. it can also aid in developing effective interventions to mitigate its effects, which may have long-term implications for people's health and well-being (jones et al., 2021). enugu state university of science and technology (esut) management has put in place mechanisms to ensure that government stipulated coivd 19 prevention protocols within its knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention campuses are duly observed. however, it appears that the inability of the school authorities to enforce covid-19 prevention protocol among students strictly; may further make the students vulnerable to contracting the virus. hence, it becomes imperative to ascertain the kap toward covid-19 prevention among undergraduate students in esut because intervention to reduce the covid-19 incidence rate among students may not achieve evidence-based results if an objective assessment of their kap towards disease prevention is not assessed. thus, this study was undertaken to assess kap among undergraduate students at enugu state university of science and technology (esut). literature review knowledge about coivd 19 prevention alrasheedy et al (2021) conducted a cross-sectional study among saudi pharmacy students to determine the extent of knowledge, attitude, and practice about the coronavirus disease (covid19) pandemic and its psychological impact on students and their studies. the study found that the mean total knowledge score was 9.87 ± 2.04 out of the maximum attainable score of 12. consequently, the overall rate of correct answers for the knowledge statements was 82%. it may be expected that medical students should have good knowledge of medical conditions like covid19. also, a web-based cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the covid-19 outbreak among young bangladeshi adults showed that 61.2% had adequate knowledge. however, apparent confusion was found among participants regarding the mode of transmission of covid-19. only 38.0% of participants correctly reposed that the covid-19 virus is not airborne, and very few (n = 306, 43.3%) were able to respond to covid-19 prevention correctly when asked if eating and touching wild animals could result in infection (banik et al., 2020). the implication from these findings showed that the knowledge of covid-19 among studied participants looked artificial because they seemed to lack knowledge on issues around virus transmission. furthermore, a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practice toward covid-19 pandemic among 384 persons visiting dessie health center for covid-19 screening in northeast ethiopia revealed that the magnitude of good and poor knowledge among the study participants was found to be 197 (51.3%) and 187 (48.7%), respectively. many study 65 participants had poor knowledge about the significant symptoms, fever, cough, sore throat, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing of covid-19 (gebretsadik et al., 2019). the implication of the finding may be that the scope allowed for all young and old clients, unlike some similar studies that are limited to medical students or the adult population. a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practices toward covid-19 among nursing and midwifery students in jalingo, nigeria, revealed that a majority of the students (53.80%) possessed a good level of knowledge regarding covid-19. the mean knowledge of covid-19 in this study was 9.40±1.353 (range 0-12). this score suggests an overall 78% (9.40/12*100) correct answer rate (inegbenosun et al., 2021). attitude toward covid 19 prevention alrasheedy et al., (2021) found that most participants (n=165; 71.1%) agreed that covid-19 would eventually be successfully controlled. at the early stages of the pandemic, the majority (n=163; 70.3%) believed that covid-19 was a health threat to the community. a web-based cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitudes and practices related to the covid19 outbreak among young bangladeshi adults found that a majority of the participants had a positive attitude towards covid-19 (n = 558, 78.9%) with a mean attitude score of 2.7 (sd: 0.3). about 87% (614) of the participants agreed that covid-19 would successfully be controlled with the rate of reporting “disagree” and “not sure” was 4.2% and 8.9% respectively (banik et al., 2020). furthermore, a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the covid-19 pandemic among 384 people visiting dessie health center for covid-19 screening in northeast ethiopia showed that a majority of study participants (71.9%) believed that traditional medicines, such as eating garlic, were ineffective in preventing infection with the new coronavirus. about 49.2% of the study participants perceived that covid-19 could not affect young people, and many study participants will not go to a quarantine center if they develop the disease. the majority of study participants perceived that the measurements taken by the ethiopian ministry of health were helpful and that the country could win the battle against covid-19 (gebretsadik et al., 2019). knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention inegbenosun et al (2021) conducted a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practices towards covid-19 among nursing and midwifery students in jalingo, nigeria, and found that the vast majority of respondents (98.1%) were optimistic about the pandemic prevention, with almost all (98.1%) agreeing that the pandemic will be finally controlled. a vast majority of the respondents (82.7%) had strong confidence that nigeria could win the battle against the covid19 virus, with just 27 participants (17.3%) with a contrary opinion. practice toward covid 19 prevention alrasheedy, et al (2021) conducted a cross-sectional study to assess students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic and its psychological impact on their studies: among pharmacy students in saudi arabia, 201 (86.6%) did not go to any crowded places during these days, and 155 (66%) reported wearing a mask when leaving the house. moreover, the vast majority of participants (n = 211; 91%) reported that they were following the strategies recommended by the authorities, e.g., the ministry of health, to prevent infection and spread of covid-19. a web-based cross-sectional study of young bangladeshi adults' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the covid-19 outbreak revealed that only 51.6% had good practices. in addition, 75.2% of participants always washed their hands with soap or hand sanitizer, and 70.6% wore a mask when leaving the house in the last few days (banik et al., 2020). furthermore, in a cross-sectional study on knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the covid19 pandemic among 384 persons visiting dessie health center for covid-19 screening, northeast ethiopia, the magnitude or level of poor practice in the current study was found to be 41.7%. two hundred and forty (62.5%) study participants reported going to crowded places. the majority (69.3%) of the respondents used a face mask when they left their homes, but the number of study participants who did not use a face mask was also higher. the other less frequently practiced preventive measures (10.4%) were avoiding recontamination after handwashing from a pipe or other water container materials and practicing physical distancing (45.1%). about 55% of study participants did not keep the recommended distance when they spoke in front of others (gebretsadik et al., 2019). 67 knowledge, attitude, and practices towards covid-19: a cross-sectional study among nursing and midwifery students in jalingo, nigeria, revealed that only a few students avoided large gatherings of people (30.8%) with the vast majority reporting to have worn a mask when going out (84.6%) and washing their hands with running water and soap frequently as recommended (73.1%) (inegbenosun et al., 2021). methods research design the study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. the design is found suitable for the study because it provides the techniques to collect data from selected undergraduate students in esut at a particular point in time and the findings were generalized to the target population. this institutional-based quantitative cross-sectional study design was conducted from may 10th to 28th, 2021. area of study and population the study was conducted at enugu state university of science and technology (esut). esut is the only government-owned university in enugu state. the headquarters is located in agbani nkanu west local government areas of enugu state. the total population of undergraduate students in esut was 18,702 (academic planning records, 2020). sample size and sampling technique the study used the taro yamane formula for sample size determination. this formula provides simplistic steps of determining appropriate sample size for a finite (known) population, using a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. the sample size for the study was 392 students. cluster sampling technique was used to divide the departments in esut along with art/humanitiesrelated discipline and science related discipline. simple random sampling was used to select one department from each of the two cohorts (art/humanities and science-related disciplines). furthermore, students list and phone contact were obtained from their respective departments and a simple random method was used to select the study participants by lottery method. data collection knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention the study employed a structured online questionnaire as the only instrument for data collection. the questionnaire was divided into two sections. section a dealt with the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents while section b dealt with substantive issues in the research questions. one-day pre-test data collection exercise was conducted to validate the reliability of the instrument in providing accurate results. the data collection process was online based. the questionnaire was distributed to the selected respondents through different online platforms. a total of 392 questionnaires were distributed but only 364 (92%) of them were properly filled and returned for analysis. method of data analysis the statistical package for social sciences (spss) 20.0 was used to process the data collected with the questionnaire. questionnaire data obtained was presented, analyzed, and interpreted using descriptive statistical tools such as simple percentages in table pie chart and bar chart. results socio-demographic characteristic of respondents the study showed that a majority 63.2% of the respondents were female students while 36.8% were males. in all, the mean age of respondents was 20.6. virtually all the respondents 97.4% were single, only 2.6% were married. a majority 40.8% of the respondents were catholics. this was closely followed by 39.5% of them who were pentecostal while 18.4% were protestants. only 1.3% adhered to traditional religion. on the academic level of the students, a majority 42.1% of the respondents were in their fourth year while 9.2% of them were either in the first and second year respectively. a majority 73% of the respondents were in art/humanities related discipline while 26.3% were of them were science students. analysis of research questions students’ knowledge of covid 19 and prevention to assess students' level of knowledge of covid 19 and its prevention, questions on types of infection, main transmission method, incubation period, clinical manifestation, and nonpharmaceutical method of prevention. 69 table 1: distribution of respondents on knowledge of the type of infectious disease does covid 19 belong to knowledge of the type of infectious disease does covid 19 belong to what type of infectious is covid-19? bacterial viral i don’t know 22.4% 69.7% 7.9% field survey 2021 table 1 showed that the majority of the students had accurate knowledge of the type of infectious disease covid 19 belongs to. however, more than 20% of them gave the wrong answers while 7.9% of them do not know at all. also, the finding revealed that an overwhelming majority 97.4% of the respondents knew that respiratory droplets and close contacts are the main transmission method while only a few 2.6 indicated that they do not know. in addition, the majority 75% of the respondents answered correctly that covid 19 incubation period span from 1-14 days while 11.8% do not know covid 19 incubation period. moreover, a significant majority 94.7% of the respondents correctly identified fever and dry cough as the main clinical manifestation. overall, the students demonstrated good knowledge of the virus. this implication may be that awareness campaigns by all stakeholders at different levels to increase public knowledge about the disease may have contributed to the high knowledge of covid 19 among the students. also, these are students who are constantly informed by virtue of their academic environment. furthermore, students’ knowledge was questioned on the non-pharmaceutical method of prevention, the responses are shown in figure 1 figure 1 non-pharmaceutical method of prevention is important for covid 19 fieldwork, 2021 knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention figure 1 clearly showed that a majority 35.5% of respondents disagreed that non-pharmaceutical method of prevention for covid 19 is important. this is closely followed by 34.2% of them who were in affirmation while a significant number 30.3% who did not know. this finding spring surprises and may suggest that the knowledge of many of the respondents about this virus looks artificial. attitude towards covid 19 prevention figure 2: whether students were worried they might get covid 19 fieldwork, 2021 figure 2 showed that a majority 72.4% of the respondents indicated that they are not worried they might get covid 19. only 19.7% of them said they are worried while 7.9% of them were indifferent. the respondents were further asked a follow-up question on whether they think covid19 prevention measures should only be applied by older adults and age groups most risk. the majority 72.4% of the respondents indicated no as their responses while 19.7% said yes. only 7.9% were not sure of their position. also, the opinion of the respondents was sought on whether they will seek to visit a health facility if they develop symptoms of covid 19, the result revealed that 56.6% agreed that they will seek medical help while only 7.9% disagreed. furthermore, the respondents were asked to what extent do they think practicing personal hygiene such as wearing facial masks and hand hygiene is an effective way to reduce the risk of covid-19 infection. the responses are shown in figure 3 71 figure 3: extent of practicing personal hygiene such as wearing facial masks and hand hygiene fieldwork, 2021 figure 3 showed that the majority 32.9% of the respondents indicated to a great extent while 9.2% of them said either to a little extent or very little extent respectively. furthermore, on social distancing such as avoiding crowded places, a majority 31.6% of the respondents said to a great extent while 7.9% said to a little extent. moreover, an overwhelming majority 88.2% of the respondents believed that students are vulnerable to covid 19 while only 9.2% said that they are not vulnerable. this is further validated by a majority 71.1% of the respondents who were in the affirmation that covid 19 has impacted negatively on their studies while 22.4% did not affirmed that it has impacted negative on their studies. the respondents were asked if they will agree to be vaccinated if, given the opportunity, the responses are shown in figure 4 fieldwork, 2021 the findings from figure 4 showed that a majority 50% of the respondents said they will not agree to be vaccinated when given the opportunity. 26.3% of them said they will agree to be vaccinated if given the opportunity while only 23.7% were indifferent. to deepen understanding of 26.30% 50.00% 23.70% 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% yes no maybe figure 4: whether they will agree to be vaccinated if even the opportunity knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention respondent's attitude about prevention of the disease, the question on whether there is an effective curing and protecting vaccine and treatment modalities for covid-19 in nigeria was asked, the responses are shown in figure 5 fieldwork, 2021 the findings from figure 5 showed that a majority of 39.50% of the respondents were indifferent on whether there is effective curing and protecting vaccine and treatment modalities for covid19 in nigeria. also, 22.4% of them disagreed that there is effective curing and protecting vaccine and treatment modalities for covid-19 in nigeria while only 15.8% of the respondents indicated agreed. this further validates the true reflection of public perception including students toward covid 19 prevention in nigeria, however, the implication could also be that there is a communication gap and mutual distrust between authorities and the students on government comprehensive prevention plan and its implications toward covid 19 prevention in nigeria. practice of covid 19 prevention on handwashing, a majority 78.9% indicated that they are committed to washing hands while 19.7% said they are not committed. also, on practicing the proper methods of coughing and sneezing etiquette, a majority 63.2% of the respondents were in affirmation while 26.7% indicated no. furthermore, respondents were asked about the practice of wearing face mask regularly, the result showed that 53.9% of the respondents affirmed that they wear face mask regularly. this is closely followed by 40.8% who said that they do not while 5.3% remained undecided. moreover, the respondents were asked whether they have been vaccinated, the responses are shown in figure 6 2.60% 15.80% 39.50% 22.40% 19.70% 0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree figure 5: whether there is effective curing and protecting vaccine and treatment modalities for covid-19 in nigeria 73 figure 6: practiced covid 19 vaccination fieldwork, 2021 figure 6 revealed that the overwhelming majority 92.1% of the respondents have not received covid 19 vaccination while only 7.9% said that they have received the vaccine. this finding is expected owning to the vaccine hesitant which is widespread in nigeria. ways to improve student's kap towards covid 19 prevention questions were posed to respondents on ways to improve students’ kap towards covid 19 prevention. the result revealed that the majority 59.4% of the respondents suggested a constant youth friendly campaign on covid 19 prevention in the campuses. also, the findings showed that 30% of the respondents said suggested strict enforcement to observe covid 19 preventive protocol within campuses while 10.6% of them said providing adequate prevention facilities/commodities for the students. discussion of findings the study assessed how much knowledge undergraduate students in esut have about covid-19 prevention. the findings found that students have adequate knowledge of the virus, such as the type of the infection, primary transmission method, incubation period, and leading clinical manifestation. this finding supports earlier studies on students' knowledge, attitude, and practice (alrasheedy et al., 2021; inegbenosun et al., 2021). since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, there has been consistent awareness creation across all media platforms. this may have contributed to the excellent knowledge of the virus among the students studied. however, the study also found that many respondents did not know that non-pharmaceutical methods are essential in preventing covid-19. this may imply that students having good knowledge of the disease may knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention not necessarily translate to good knowledge of the importance of prevention measures. this calls for further interrogation to identify factors informing such positions among students. on the student's attitude toward covid-19 prevention, the study found that most respondents are not worried that they might contract covid-19. this could be attributed to self-denial, where most people disassociate from negative results. on the contrary, the study revealed that many students believed that prevention measures should not only be applied to older adults and age groups most risk relatively by everybody. this finding contradicts a previous study in ethiopia, which showed that about 49.2% of participants perceived that covid-19 could not affect young people. many were unwilling to go to a quarantine center if they developed the disease (gebretsadik, et al., 2019). furthermore, it was discovered that students have a positive attitude toward covid-19 prevention because many of them chose to seek professional medical help if they contracted the virus and are willing to practice personal hygiene such as wearing facial masks and hand hygiene as an effective way to reduce the risk of covid-19. this agrees with studies done in bangladesh and nigeria, which showed that the respondents had a positive attitude toward covid-19 prevention (banik et al., 2020; habib et al., 2021). however, on the issue of vaccination, the majority of the respondents were not willing to take the covid-19 vaccine if given the opportunity. this situation presents the contradictory attitude of the student toward disease prevention. this negative attitude toward covid-19 vaccination may not be unconnected to the conspiracy theories and fear of the unknown, which are usually associated with vaccine acceptance in nigeria. this is in agreement with a study in bangladesh among university students, which revealed that most of the students doubt the vaccine's effectiveness, which interrupts them from taking the vaccine willingly (biswas et al., 2021). contrary to this finding, a study among university students in italy showed that, of the total of 3226 participants studied, 91.9% were keen to receive a covid-19 vaccination (gallè et al., 2021). in addition, the study found that most respondents were indifferent to whether there are adequate curing and protecting vaccine and treatment modalities for covid-19 in nigeria. this finding is contrary to an earlier study done in northern nigeria among medical students, which showed that they had confidence that nigeria's covid-19 prevention framework could win the battle against the covid-19 virus (inegbenosun et al., 2021). there is a disconnect between the public and the government in nigeria due to persistent issues bordering on bad governance, 75 corruption, and poverty. these have affected the people's belief in any government program, including covid-19 prevention strategies. furthermore, the level of practice of covid-19 prevention was assessed among students. the findings showed that most students studied showed excellent practice in covid-19 prevention. most of them indicated that they were committed to washing hands and had a positive attitude towards using proper coughing and sneezing etiquette and wearing face masks regularly. however, the finding revealed that many do not have a positive attitude toward wearing face masks regularly. the finding supports a similar study in nigeria among students, which showed that most of them had observed wearing a face mask and washing their hands regularly. however, only a few students avoided large gatherings of people (inegbenosun et al., 2021). in the practice of vaccination, the overwhelming majority have not been vaccinated. this is to be expected, but it poses a significant risk to students in the event of the virus's third wave and the emergence of various dreadful variants in nigeria. also, this poor practice toward covid-19 vaccination will hinder the 40% target set by the nigerian government to vaccinate its population by the end of 2021 (federal ministry of health, 2020). finally, the study sought ways to improve students' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward covid-19 prevention. the findings showed that the respondents suggested ongoing youthfriendly campaigns, enforcement of prevention guidelines, and provision of adequate facilities and commodities to improve the kap of students in esut. in italy, the success of covid 19 prevention among students has been attributed to a good level of awareness about covid-19 vaccination through practical and strategic communication measures in the universities (gallè et al., 2021). conclusion every day, new challenges and expectations on how to contain the global pandemic continue to evolve with unprecedented consequences. it becomes very worrisome that many persons, including students, have not embraced comprehensive prevention measures such as vaccination. their knowledge, attitude, and practices toward covid-19 prevention seem artificial. hence, knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward covid-19 prevention there is a need for the authorities to re-strategize their approaches and adopt more youth-friendly interventions that can engage the students effectively to make an informed decision toward covid-19 prevention. recommendations 1. the massive public enlightenment campaigns on the campuses should be employed by the behavior change communication department of the ministry of health using youth social communication channels and content to disseminate correct information about covid-19 prevention. 2. there is also the need to leverage social media platforms' opportunities to create youthfriendly content that will be used to conduct consistent sensitization on covid-19 prevention, especially for students. 3. the school authorities should strictly strengthen their enforcement strategies to adhere to covid-19 prevention guidelines. 4. the government should provide adequate testing and vaccination centers on campuses to enhance access to prevention measures. references academic planning records, (2020). record of total number of undergraduate students at enugu state university of science and technology. https://portal.esut.edu.ng. alrasheedy, a. a., abdulsalim, s., farooqui, m., alsahali, s., & godman, b. (2021). knowledge, attitude, and practice about coronavirus disease (covid-19) pandemic and its psychological impact on students and their studies: a cross-sectional study among pharmacy students in saudi arabia. risk management and healthcare policy, 14, 729. aristovnik, a., keržič, d., ravšelj, d., tomaževič, n., & umek, l. (2020). impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on life of higher education students: a global perspective. sustainability, 12(20), 8438. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208438. banik, r., rahman, m., sikder, m.t., rahman, q.m., & pranta, m.u.r (2021) knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to the covid-19 pandemic among bangladeshi youth: a web-based cross-sectional analysis. journal of public health, 1-11 doi: 10.1007/s10389020-01432-7. biswas, b., ullah, m. n., roy, s. k., & roy, f. (2021). students’ perception towards covid-19 vaccination program in bangladesh: a study on university students. budapest https://portal.esut.edu.ng/ https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208438 77 international research and critics in linguistics and education 4 (2) https://www.bircujournal.com/index.php/birle/article/view/1949. bravata, d., cantor, j. h., sood, n., & whaley, c. m. (2021). back to school: the effect of school visits during covid-19 on covid-19 transmission (no. w28645). national bureau of economic research. federal ministry of education, (2020). guidelines for schools and learning facilities reopening after covid-19 pandemic closures. available at: https://education.gov.ng/covid-19guidelines-for-safe-reopening-of-schools-learning-facilities/#1. gallè, f., sabella, e. a., roma, p., de giglio, o., caggiano, g., tafuri, s., ... & napoli, c. (2021). knowledge and acceptance of covid-19 vaccination among undergraduate students from central and southern italy. vaccines, 9(6), 638. gebretsadik, d., gebremichael, s., & belete, m. a. (2021). knowledge, attitude and practice toward covid-19 pandemic among population visiting dessie health center for covid-19 screening, northeast ethiopia. infection and drug resistance, 14, 905. habib, m. a., dayyab, f. m., iliyasu, g., & habib, a. g. (2021). knowledge, attitude and practice survey of covid-19 pandemic in northern nigeria. plos one, 16(1), e0245176. inegbenosun, h., azodo, c. c., anionye, j. c., inegbenosun, c. u., & njoku, o. c. (2021). knowledge, attitude, and practices towards covid-19: a cross-sectional study among nursing and midwifery students in jalingo, nigeria. international journal of community medicine and public health, 8(3), 1122. jones, e. a. k., mitra, a. k., & bhuiyan, a. r. (2021). impact of covid-19 on mental health in adolescents: a systematic review. international journal of environmental research and public health, 18(5), 2470. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052470. mwai, b. p. (2021, july 16). coronavirus in africa: concern grows over third wave of infections. bbc news. retrieved september 27, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa53181555. statista. (2021). covid-19 deaths worldwide by country. from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deathsworldwide-by-country/. unesco (2021, may 4). 1.3 billion learners are still affected by school or university closures, as educational institutions start reopening around the world, says. from https://en.unesco.org/news/13-billion-learners-are-still-affected-school-universityclosures-educational-institutions. united nations (2021). who seeks $1.96 billion for 2021 strategic plan for covid-19 response. https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1085142. https://education.gov.ng/covid-19-guidelines-for-safe-reopening-of-schools-learning-facilities/#1 https://education.gov.ng/covid-19-guidelines-for-safe-reopening-of-schools-learning-facilities/#1 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052470 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53181555 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53181555 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deaths-worldwide-by-country/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1093256/novel-coronavirus-2019ncov-deaths-worldwide-by-country/ https://en.unesco.org/news/13-billion-learners-are-still-affected-school-university-closures-educational-institutions https://en.unesco.org/news/13-billion-learners-are-still-affected-school-university-closures-educational-institutions https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1085142 page 3 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 91 policy discontinuity and poverty in nigeria martha uchenna ogbuke (ph.d)1 department of sociology & anthropology enugu state university of science and technology email: uche.ogbuke@yahoo.com phone: 08036098367 raphael chima ofoegbu2 department of sociology & anthropology madonna university nigeria, okija campus email: rcofoegbu@gmail.com phone: 08035776313 leonard u. ngwu (ph.d)3 department of sociology & anthropology enugu state university of science and technology email: ngwuleonard@yahoo.com phone: 08039632720 abstract incidence of poverty is a global phenomenon, as it affects many nations of the world. however, its magnitude and scope varies from one country to another. in nigeria, the inability to effectively tackle widespread poverty despite successive governments’ policies aimed at eradicating or alleviating the menace is a cause for concern. this paper therefore examined the policies and programmes of government aimed at reducing the phenomenon of widespread poverty in nigeria including the reason de ’tar for their failure which this paper attributes to policy discontinuity. materials for this paper were obtained from secondary sources. the paper posited that policy discontinuity more than any factor, was and remains a major impediment to poverty alleviation in nigeria. other factors include high rate of corruption and mismanagement of resources as well as lack of community-based poverty alleviation policies and programmes involving practically the poor people in nigeria, among others contributed to the policy failure. the paper offered recommendations including, among others the need for the continuity of policies and programmes that are result oriented and the discontinuity of the ones not anchored on community-based poverty eradication/alleviation strategies. thus, there is need for the involvement of the intended beneficially, especially at the formulation and implementation processes to effectively and efficiently stem the tide of the incidence of poverty in nigerian society. keywords: corruption, discontinuity, government policies, mismanagement, widespread poverty mailto:uche.ogbuke@yahoo.com mailto:rcofoegbu@gmail.com mailto:ngwuleonard@yahoo.com volume 5, issue 1, 2020 92 introduction poverty is a global phenomenon, however its magnitude and scope varies from one person or country to another (haruna & osaghae 2019). in many parts of the world, poverty tends to breed other social problems. the phenomenon of poverty promotes disorder and amplifies violence and other local problems including child labour, petty theft and ethnoreligious violence (haruna & osaghae, 2019; miller, schreck & tewksbury, 2008). it limits human propensity to consumption, housing, security, health, education, rights, dignity and decent job. the incidence of poverty may be the basis for division of the world into developed (rich) and developing or underdeveloped (poor) countries. for example, majority of the poor people live in developing or underdeveloped countries of africa, asia and latin america, and 200 million of them live in countries of africa including nigeria (nwogbo, 2015). poverty creates pervasive, widespread inequality and exposes persons and states to danger in the form of increased criminal behaviour, deprivation, denial and strain (mohammad, 2012). in nigeria, the prevalence of poverty has assumed a worrisome proportion. abiola and olaopa (2008) argue that the menace of poverty in nigeria is an incontrovertible fact, which results in hunger, ignorance, malnutrition, disease, unemployment, poor access to credit facilities, and low life expectancy as well as a general level of human hopelessness. these have been a cause for government’s concern. thus, several policies and programmes aimed at reducing or eradicating the rising incidence of poverty in the country have been initiated and implemented depending on the government in power since the era of independence in 1960. while these policies and programmes were loadable, they have been to a significant extent unable to achieve the designed aims and objectives. this could be due to certain factors that have impeded the performance of the policies and programmes. thus, poverty has become pervasive in nigeria despite governments’ effort in the formulation of the policies and programmes to alleviate the menace, as majority of nigerians (more than 80%) are still wallowing in poverty hitherto (haruna & osaghae, 2019; oshewolo, 2010; omotola, 2008). mohammad (2012) argues that poverty alleviation policies, rather than become avenues for equitable distribution of income degenerated into avenues for political compensation. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 93 it is against this background that this paper evaluates the effect of policy discontinuity government’s policies and programmes on poverty in nigeria. thus, the paper is divided into five parts. the first part is the introduction and research methods, and the second contains the conceptual and theoretical framework. the third part entails policies and programmes of governments on poverty in nigeria including the reason de ’tar of their failures, while the final part is the conclusion and recommendations. materials and methods the paper is a review work. the materials used were basically obtained from secondary sources. these include materials obtained from published works, such as textbooks, journals articles, government official gazettes and the internet sources. the materials generated were thematically analyzed based on the subject matter of the paper. conceptual framework according to haruna and osaghae (2019), poverty is a multifaceted phenomenon and as such could be explained in absolute dimension, on one hand and relative dimension, on the other. thus the phenomenon of absolute poverty occurs when the basic necessities for life including quality food, shelter and clothing are lacking or inadequate, while poverty in its relative dimension is a living condition below the general standard of living that prevails in a particular society (giddens, 2001). however, since the living condition may differ from one person, place or geographical location to another, poverty is a situation in which the basic resources to maintain an average standard of living within a specific geographical area are lacking (bartol & bartol, 2005). thus, to be poor means to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, being sick and not cared for, not educated, to be deprived access to common resources, among others (aliyu, 2008). mohammad (2012:243) asserts that “poverty is the condition or quality of being poor and the condition of having little or no wealth. it is the deficiency or inadequate supply, meaning that there exists lack in the face of need.” the world bank (2001) describes poverty in terms of its manifestations which can be linked to inadequate income and assets to attain basic needs of life. these include food, shelter, clothing, and accessible quality health care services and education. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 94 theoretical framework poverty is a multifaceted social problem that can be theorized in different dimensions. enahoro and ikpefan (2005) posit two main dimensions of poverty. these include: i. lack of opportunities: this is a low level of consumption and income, usually relative to a national poverty line. this is associated with the level and distribution of human capital and social and physical assets, such as land and market opportunities that determine their returns to these assets. ii. low capabilities: little or no improvements in health and education indicators among a particular socio-economic group in the area of: a. low level security: exposure of risk and income shock that may arise at the individual levels; and b. empowerment: capability of poor people to participate in exchange. aku, ibrahim and bulus (1997) analyzed poverty from five dimensions of deprivation that include the following: i. personal and physical deprivation experienced as a result of health, nutritional, literacy and educational disability and lack of self-confidence; ii. economic deprivation drawn from the lack of access to property, income, assets, factors of production and finance; iii. social deprivation as a result of denial from full participation in social, political and economic activities; iv. cultural deprivation in terms of lack of access to values, beliefs, knowledge, information and attitudes which deprives the people of control of their own destinies; and v. political deprivation in terms of lack of political voice to participate in decision making that affects their lives. ukwu (2002) posits that corruption has affected previous poverty reduction initiatives in nigeria. the effect of corruption is both direct and indirect on the poverty increase. the indirect effect follows from the reduction or misapplication of resources, which penalizes growth rate and growth potentials. the small and medium enterprise sub-sector is volume 5, issue 1, 2020 95 characterized by large informal activities. it denotes economic activities related to the poor, otherwise unemployed unskilled labour in urban centers. corruption worsen widespread poverty when the legitimate policies and programmes aimed at curtailing poverty leading to a meaningful life in nigerian society are being blocked as result of mismanagement of economic resources and lack of community initiatives in the formulation and implementation of governmental policies and programmes. thus, most of the succeeding government’s policies and programmes may have failed as a result of fraud and looting. ajakaiye and adeyeye (2001) attributed the decline in living standard to structural causes or determinants of poverty which includes increase in crime and violence, environmental detraction, retrenchment of workers and changes in family structures. the impeding factors associating with attempts by governments to stem the general tide of poverty in nigeria include policies discontinuity by succeeding government and political instability, among others (ajakaiye, 2002). appraisal of policies and programmes of governments on poverty in nigeria there are many governments’ policies and programmes aimed at stemming the general tide of the incidence of poverty in nigeria after the country’s independence in 1960. these policies include the national food production programme (nafpp) of 1972, nigeria agricultural and co-operative bank (nacb) of 1972, free and compulsory primary education (fcpe)of 1977, directorate of food, road and rural infrastructure (dfrri) of 1986, national directorate of employment (nde), structural adjustment programme (sap) of 1986, better life programme (blp) of 1987, people’s bank of nigeria (pbn) of 1989,and community bank (cb) of 1990 (umar, 2010). according to okoye &onyeukwu (2007) and adoba (2005) the policies include national agricultural land development authority (nalda) of 1993, family support programme (fsp) of 1994, family economic advancement programme (feap) of 1997 and poverty eradication programme (pep) of 1999. others include poverty alleviation programme (pap) of 2000, national poverty eradication programme (napep) of 2001, small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria (smedan) of 2003, national economic empowerment and development strategy volume 5, issue 1, 2020 96 (needs) of 2004, the 7th point agenda of 2007, sure-p of 2010, youwin of 2011, n-power of 2015, among others (haruna & iyaji, 2019; ikoh&ukpong, 2017; agbi, 2012). these policies and programmes are briefly discussed below: national food production programme of (nafpp): the nafpp was introduced in 1972 by general yakubu gowon with the aim of educating farmers on well-conceived and guided programme for rural development, especially in the area of food production. the programme failed due to lack of supervision, poor financing, inadequate training and the self-serving interest of the officials that operated the programme. nigeria agricultural and cooperative bank (nacb): like nafpp, the nacb was introduced in 1972 by general yakubu gowon for financing of famers and agricultural. its hitches were poor institutional capacity (computer replacing manual operations), poor loan recovery and managerial problems as there were no board of directors and substantive managing directors. free and compulsory primary education (fcpe): the fcpe was introduce by general yakubu gowon in 1977 to reduce mass illiteracy at the grassroots level. however, the fcpe could not be sustained because of political will and commitment. structural adjustment programme (sap): sap was world bank/imf policy introduced by general ibrahim badamosi babangida (ibb) in1986 amidst public criticism. it aims rapid departure from the government’s previous reform movements by emphasizing reliance on the private sector rather than the state in solving the fundamental problems of the economy. sap period proceeded with severe economic crisis that worsened nigerians’ quality of life, especially the poor people. directorate of food, road and rural infrastructure (dfrri): like sap, the dfrri was introduced by ibb in 1986 with the objectives for provision of basic needs, such as food, shelter, potable water, road construction etc. however, dfrri could not achieve many of its objectives because of over ambitious in scope, steeped in corruption and lack of standards for project harmonization. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 97 better life programme (blp): blp was founded by late former first lady, maryam ibrahim badamosi babangida in 1986. according to adoba (2005), the programme was designed for rural women to improve their quality of life and status by creating awareness in women and encourage them to realize, utilize and develop their potentials for a more fulfilling life. it was a widely accepted project that touched on women from all spheres of life. the programme served as the benchmark for national development programmes, and a bonafide component of governance at the highest level in nigeria, leading to the establishment of the national commission for women, which was later upgraded to the ministry of women affairs. the project writhed over dominance of urban women and power play by elitist women, and was short lived with the exit of ibb from power. national directorate of employment (nde): nde established towards end of year 1986. its objectives were to combat mass-unemployment and articulate policies aimed at promoting skill acquisition, self-employment and labour intensive potentials. the nde suffered from poor funding and as such could not cope with the needs of the ever increasing number of job applicants in nigeria. people’s bank of nigeria (pbn) and community banks (cb): there were established in 1989/1990 by ibb administration to encourage savings and provide credit facilities for the poor people in rural area, especially those that could not ordinarily access such loans from the orthodox banking system (umar 2010). the two banking schemes had some successes in terms of disbursement. however, both schemes had a high degree of problems of huge loss of over 80% due to corruption and mismanagement. family support programme (fsp): the fsp was introduced in 1994 by the then first lady maryam abacha to provide health care delivery, child welfare, youth development and improved nutritional status to families in rural areas. however, fsp was constrain with malpractices including the non-supervision and monitoring of loans and projects. family economic advancement programme (feap): this was created by late president general san abacha in 1997 to provide credit for agricultural production and processing and small-scale industries through cooperative societies in rural and urban areas. however, feap was designed to improve the quality of life of rural dwellers, but it lacks continuity volume 5, issue 1, 2020 98 because of corruption, poor loan recovery leading to the weakening of the entire scheme, and the death of general sani abacha went with the good intend of the project. national agricultural land development authority (nalda): nalda was set up in 1993 to provide strategic public support for land development, promote and support optimum utilization of rural land resources and encourage the evolution of economic size rural settlements. it had impacted positively on the agricultural sector but was unable to eradicate poverty because of its inability to acquire suitable land in various parts of nigeria for the purpose of development. national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs): this was initiated in 2004 by former president olusegun obasanjo to promote investment in various sectors, including telecommunication, electricity and tourism which will in turn help to generate employment and reduce poverty. needs was confronted by institutional corruption believed to be constraining its progress. poverty alleviation programme (pap): pap was set up by former president olusegun obasanjo in 2000 to urgently create jobs for the increasing unemployed youth in nigeria through direct labour activities, such as patching of potholes, vegetation control along highways, maintenance of public building and environmental sanitation. pap was not successful due to inadequate funding, lack of proper coordination and commitments, poor design, monitoring and evaluation. national poverty eradication programme (napep): this was also established by former president olusegun obasanjo in 2001. napep aimed at eradicating absolute poverty in nigeria through four schemes, such youth empowerment scheme (yes), rural infrastructure development (rids), social welfare schemes (sowess) and the national resources development and conservation scheme (nrdcs) (okoye & onyukwu, 2007). napep plays the role of monitoring and evaluation, but was marred by inattention on the poor, inconsistency, poor implementation or severe budgetary and governance problems as well as corruption, etc. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 99 small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria (smedan): smedan was established by the smedan act of 2003 to promote the development of micro, small and medium enterprises [msme] sector of the nigeria economy which statistically constitute more than 75% of all enterprises in nigeria (umar, 2010). it objectives were to address poverty, rooted out of lack of access to income earning opportunities and lack of capacity to take advantage of the opportunities in the country. however, issues raised to the set back of smedan are land as collateral for loan, access to credit, urban orientation or outlook, poor state of infrastructure, weak access to production inputs (especially finance), corruption, low access to information, low synergy between various tiers of government, inappropriate/crude technology, dearth of business information/databank, lack of knowledge, skills and attitude, for basic business capacity (umar, 2010). the 7th point agenda (7pg): this was the programme set up in 2007 by late president umoru musa yar’ adua. the agenda fuse on power and energy, food security and agriculture, wealth creation and employment, mass transportation, land reform, security and qualitative and functional education (agbi, 2012). the 7pg was based on our common future, which energizes development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. it was a loudable programme, but cut short with the demise of the president and as such could not achieve much to reduce poverty. surep-p: this scheme and its subsequent youwin were introduced by former president goodluck jonathan in 2010 and 2011 through the public works, youths and women employment components of the (subsidy re-investment and empowerment programme) to establish the graduate internship scheme (gis) to reduce unemployment among graduates and stimulate economic growth and opportunities, towards the attainment of vision 2020. the scheme is meant to engage unemployed graduates for one year in firms and institutions to acquire skills, experience, and enhance their employability. the scheme did not targeted the real poor as it looks elitists and not holistic thereby targets a small portion of the population. the programme lacks continuity, as president jonathan did not win his second term bid. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 100 n-power: this scheme was introduced by the current president mohammadu buhari government with the aim of empowering the unemployed youths. it has three components that include, agriculture, health and teaching. the scheme is meant to engage unemployed graduates in agricultural economy, health and teaching in schools with a monthly pay of thirty thousand (n30, 000:00k) naira only. this scheme is still on-going, but like the preceding ones did not targeted the real poor and has been accused of corruption. however, it is pertinent to note that all the government’s policies and programmes on poverty reduction or eradication in nigeria since independence have yielded far below their expectations. all the policies suffered continuity as all succeeding administrations be they military of civilian came up with their own policies. as a result, as laudable as some of the policies were, they were truncated prematurely as all the administrations wanted policies and programmes that would be traceable to hem rather than administrations before them. aside this, most of the policies lacked clearly defined policy frameworks with proper guidelines to effectively tackle poverty for sustainability, as such they suffered from political instability, interference, policy, and macroeconomic dislocations; they lacked continuity, and they are riddled with corruption, political deception and fraud as well as looting of national resources with impunity (garba, 2006). according to okoye and onyukwu (2007), many of the programmes including napep failed due to the programme inconsistency, poor implementation orsevere budgetary and governance problems, corruption including project substitution, misrepresentation of project finances, diversion of resources, conversion of public funds to private uses, etc. according to haruna and osaghae (2019), most of the above poverty alleviation policies and programmes in nigeria were not clearly community-based, involving practically the poor in the society making a significant number of them to either go into extinction or unable to drastically achieve their aims and objectives. aluko (2003) asserts that the efforts of nigerian governments aimed at reducing or eradicatingthe incidence of poverty in the country have not succeeded in curbing the menace due to many factors that have continuously contributed to the failure of the policies and programmes which obadan (2001) succinctly captured as follow: volume 5, issue 1, 2020 101 1. gross mismanagement and lack of accountability and transparency due to systemic corruption thereby making the policies and programmes to serve as conduit pipes for draining national resources. most of the resources met for poverty alleviation have been siphoned out of the country in hard currency coupled with poor execution of government policies and programmes, especially those aimed at the provision of social welfare services and economic infrastructure. 2. lack of targeting mechanisms for the poor and the fact that most of the policies and programmes do not focus directly on the poor. thus, the beneficiaries were not involved in the policy formulation process. 3. political and policy instability have resulted in frequent change of policies and their subsequent inconsistent implementation which in turn have impeded their sustainable progress. 4. inadequate coordination of the various policies and programmes has resulted in each institution carrying out its own activities with resultant duplication of effort and inefficient use of limited resources. overlapping functions ultimately led to institutional rivalry and conflicts. 5. severe budgetary, management and governance problems have afflicted most of the programmes, resulting in facilities being completed broken down and abandoned, unstaffed and equipped. 6. overextended scope of activities of most institution, resulting in resources being spread too thinly on too many activities. examples are dfrri and better life programmes which covered almost every sector and overlapped with many other existing programmes. 7. inappropriate policy and programme design reflecting lack of involvement of beneficiaries in the policy formulation and implementation stages which subsequently demotivated the beneficiaries to identify with successful implementation of such policy and programme. 8. absence of target setting for ministries, agencies and programmes. 9. absence of effective collaboration and complementation among the tiers of government. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 102 10. absence of agreed poverty reduction agenda that can be used by all concerned: federal, state and local governments, non-governmental organisations (ngos) and other international donor agencies or community. 11. most of the policies and programmes were constraint due to absent of inbuilt sustainable mechanism which limited their success. mohammad (2012) argues that the impediments of most of the policies on poverty alleviation or eradication were corruption and inadequate funding. according to him, under nde programme for instance, the problem of mass unemployment was addressed though the achievements appear to be short-lived since the people that actually got trained were excluded from credit facilities. mohammad (2012:249) further posits the following factors have led to the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of the government policies and programmes aimed at arresting widespread poverty in nigeria: poor conception that is poor policy formulation and coordination, lack of involvement of the stakeholders who are the poor themselves, inadequate implementation strategies, policy discontinuity, and lack of sustainability, absence of policy framework, absence of target setting for ministries and agencies, duplication of functions among institutions and agencies. embarking on projects that have no relevance to the poor, abandonment of projects, unhealthy competition between institutions and agencies, existence of barriers in the form of bureaucratic hurdles, incomprehensible rules and regulations and difficulty in accessing information and lack of supervision (mohammad, 2012:249). danaan (2018) and omoyibo (2013) assert that misplacement of priorities by governments at all levels manifesting in wasteful expenditure rather than investment in critical sectors that have direct bearing on the standard of living, has aggravated poverty in nigeria. thus, government policies exacerbate poverty in nigeria. the policies may be adopted in pursuit of good intentions, but poor implementation could impoverish the citizenry. the sap and its various fallouts in the form of massive devaluation of the naira, high inflation, factory closures, privatization, commercialization, appropriate pricing of petroleum products and unlimited free market contributed to the poverty situation. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 103 conclusion and recommendations incidence of poverty in nigeria is on the rise. the inability of government to effectively tackle the prevalence of poverty despite successively government’s policies and programmes portends a serious threat on sustainable national development. sustainable poverty eradication/alleviation policies in nigeria should be anchored on community-based poverty eradication/alleviation strategies and corrupt-free implementation process. thus, the following recommendations are offered: 1. there is need for the discontinuity of policies and programmes that are not anchored on community-based poverty eradication/alleviation strategies. thus, there is need for the involvement of the intended beneficiaries, especially at the formulation and implementation processes to effectively and efficiently stem the tide of the incidence of poverty in nigerian society. 2. government should encourage local initiatives in the formulation and implementation of poverty alleviation policies and programmes from inception to harness their capacity. 3. systemic corruption and mismanagement of resources should be vigorously tackled. thus, individuals and groups found guilty of corrupt practice by a competent court should be made to face the laws without fear or favour and the stolen funds or property should be returned to government. the corrupt individuals found guilty should be jailed to deter others intending to engage in such act. 4. government at all levels should invest in greater proportion on human capital development. evidence shows that investment in human capital, especially in planned education, shelter, and social services, increase the productivity of the poor and make the state less vulnerable to lack of security. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 104 reference abiola, a. g. & olaopa, o. r. (2008). economic development and democratic sustenance in nigeria. in e. o. ojo (ed.), challenges of sustainable democracy in nigeria, 25-34. ibadan nigeria. john archers. adoba, i. (2005). nigeria: better life programme, a success–mrsbabangida. thisday newspapers.retrieved from www.allafrica.com/stories. agbi, m. (2012). poverty alleviation in nigeria: what can the legislators do? the national assembly legislative digest, 2.retrieved from http.asslegisdigestonline.com/newsdesc ajakaiye, d. &adeyeye, v. (2001).concepts, measurement and causes of poverty.central bank of nigeria economic and financial review, 39(4), 8-44. ajakaiye, o. (2002). overview of the current poverty eradication programme in nigeria. in jega, a. &wakili, h. (eds.).the poverty eradication programmes in nigeria: problems and prospects,8-33. kano: cdrt. aku, p. s., ibrahim, m.t.&bulus, y.d. 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(2006, july). alleviating poverty in northern nigeria. a paper presented at the annual convention of zumunta association, minneapolis, mn, usa. 28-29. giddens, a. (2001). sociology (4thed.). uk: polity press. http://www.allafrica.com/stories volume 5, issue 1, 2020 105 haruna, m. o. & iyaji, a. (2019). is youth unrest in nigeria a function of unemployment? in namadi, m. m. & haruna, m. o. (eds.).sociological insights on the contemporary social problems in nigeria,81-93. gombe state: federal university of kashere. haruna, m. o. & osaghae, v. o. (2019). prevalence of poverty in nigeria. in nadami, m. m. &haruna, m. o. (eds.).sociological insights on the contemporary social problems in nigeria, 143-153. gombe state: federal university of kashere. ikoh, m. u. &ukpong, e. a. (2017). policy root of poverty crisis in nigeria: targeting year 2030 with social protection intervention. iosr journal of humanities and social science (iosr-jhss),22(11), 19-29. miller, j. m., schreck, c. j. & tewksbury, r. (2008).criminological theory: a brief introduction. u.s.a: pearson education, inc. mohammad, m. (2012). poverty and national security: a review of policies 1960 – 2010. jorind,10(2), 243-251. retrieved from www.transcampus.org./journals, www.ajol.info/journals/jorind. nwogbo, d. o. (2015).poverty eradication in nigeria by 2030: problems and prospects. international journal of research in arts and social sciences.8(2), 166-181. obadan, m. i. (2001). poverty reduction in nigeria: the way forward. cbn economic and financial review,39 (4), 16-26. okoye, u. c.&onyukwu, e.o. (2007). “sustaining poverty reduction efforts through inter agency collaboration in nigeria.” in omeje, k. (ed.), state, society relations in nigeria, democratic consolidation, conflicts and reforms in nigeria, democratic consolidation, conflicts and reforms. london: adonis and abbey. omotola, j. s. (2008). combating poverty for sustainable human development in nigeria: the continuing struggle.journal of poverty, 12(4), 496-517. omoyibo, k. u. (2013). leadership, governance and poverty in nigeria, 4. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n6p29. oshewolo, s. (2010). galloping poverty in nigeria: an appraisal of government’s interventionist policies. journal of sustainable development in africa,12(6), 264 274. sen, a. k. (1999). development as freedom. new york: alfred a. knopf. http://www.transcampus.org./journals http://www.ajol.info/journals/jorind https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n6p29 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 106 ukwu, u.i. (2002). towards effective poverty eradication strategies. ncema. uma, k. e., obidike, p. c. &ozoh, f. o. (2017). poverty and its alleviation: lessons for nigeria. international journal of trend in scientific research and development, 1(4), 75-86. umar, n. m. (2010). smedan: services and policies for supporting msmes in nigeria. retrieved from www.wipo_smes_las_10_www_138714 world bank (2001).annual report. washington dc. http://www.wipo_smes_las_10_www_138714/ esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences effective communication: a panacea for improved management-employee relationships in private universities, southeast, nigeria chukwujekwu charles onwuka* department of sociology, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria gibson chunwe ndubisi department of sociology, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria & sunday evaristus abonyi department of social work, university of illorin, kwara state. *correspondence: chukwujekwuonwuka@gmail.com abstract this study focused on effective communication as a panacea for improved managementemployee relationship in caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu, enugu state and paul university awka, anambra state. the study adopted survey method. three research questions guided the study. functionalism was adopted as the theoretical framework of the study. the population of this research work was drawn from the academic and non academic staff of caritas and paul universities. the population is made up of 210 academic and 83 non academic staff of caritas university and 132 academic and 85 non academic staff of paul university. the sample size of 148 was determined using taro yamane formula. questionnaire is the major instrument used for data collection and was self-administered. data collection was analyzed using descriptive statistics like percentages, frequency tables. the hypotheses were tested using chi-square (χ2) statistical inference. the findings of the study show that effective communication is the remedy to effective and improved management-employees relationship in an organization. the researcher recommends that there is need for management to run an all inclusive system where the employees will feel free to contribute their own quota without victimization of any kind. this will go a long way in minimizing misunderstanding and improve management-employee relationship. keywords: communication, effective, employee, improved, management, organization introduction communication is an act or process of which information is transmitted between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behaviour (nwana, 1996). communication is equally a means by which social inputs are fed into social system. effective communication occurs when the message the sender intends to convey is chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi understood accurately by the receiver (okoye, 2004). in other words, the management functions of planning, organizing, controlling and directing involves effective communication. management involved indecision making must receive and disseminate information through effective communication. effective communication occurs when the message the sender intends to convey is understood accurately by the receiver (okoye, 2004). effective communication incorporates the ideas of meaning and consistency of meaning. meaning is that which the individual who initiates the communication process wishes to convey. in effective communication, the meaning is transmitted in such a manner that the receiving person understands it (okoye, 2004). according to dupe (2015), communication is a vital tool in any relationship. without communication you cannot have relationship whether at work or in other spheres. communication helps the parties concerned to understand each other for better performance and better relationship since communication enables the parties to have understanding of what each person is putting across. according to stephen (2011), communication is a critical factor in directing and mobilizing the employees towards the accomplishment of the organizational goals or objectives. by creating understanding it enhances co-operation and promote improve management-employee relationship. according to okoye (2004), an institution may consist of management, employees, premises, students etc., but it will not come to life unless communications effectively link all these parts together and co-ordinate their activities. the decisions of management must be made known to employees, and some kind of control system arranged to ensure that these decisions are acted on. the decisions themselves should be based on a flow of information reaching management from all parts of the institution. communications from the sociological point of view have an importance, which goes beyond the transmission and reception of information. the form which a communication takes place can profoundly affect the attitudes of the employees and the degree to which they understand and support management policies (okoye, 2004:2). effective communication brings about high performance from staff as well as improved relationship with management. furthermore, knowing fully that poor communication rank as the single most important reason that people do not advance in their career as stated by lepsinger and luacia (1997) it becomes necessary that management of caritas university and paul university determines the best “channel” in transmitting “messages” to their staff or student for effective and positive feedback. though there are many barriers to communication, filtering, selective perception, information overload, personal bias, language and communication apprehension. 59 hence management must try to address these barriers for effective result (nebo, nwankwo & okonkwo, 2015). statement of the problem effective communication is essential to a social interaction, and to the building and maintenance of all successful relationship. poor communication can cause irrevocable damage to relationship, affecting productivity, satisfaction, performance, morale, trust, respect, self confidence and even physical health. effective communication in private universities is vital for enhanced management-employee relationship. ineffective communication is a major problem complaint of employees in private universities. ineffective communication can lead to numerous institutional problems including excessive lackadaisical attitude to work, ineffective problem solving skills, lack of trust and so on. truly, communication is the key to a successful management-employee relationship and without effective communication, no improved relationship can survive under this atmosphere. a lot of misunderstanding originates as a result of failure in communication. for instance, there seems to be misunderstanding by the employees on the intention of management or a misinterpretation of institution’s policy. in spite of all these however, not much have been done on the influence of effective communication on improved management-employee relationship. these gap which have been left open is what this study intends to fill. to this end, this study is aimed at identifying the roles played by management of both institutions in transmitting and managing information to improve the managementemployee relationship of its staff. objectives of the study the general objective of this study is to examine the effects of effective communication on improved management-employee relationships in caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu, enugu state and paul university, awka, anambra state. the specific objectives include: 1. to investigate the relationship between effective communication and managementemployee relationship in caritas and paul universities. 2. to ascertain if poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the relationship with the management. 3. to know if communication breakdown affects management-employee relationship. chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi research questions the following research questions guided the study: 1. is there a relationship between effective communication and management-employee relationship in caritas and paul universities? 2. does poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the relationship with the management of caritas and paul universities? 3. does communication breakdown affect management-employee relationship in caritas and paul universities? research hypotheses the following hypotheses were formulated in this study: 1. there is a relationship between effective communication and improved managementemployee relationship. 2. there is a relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative impact on the relationship with the management. 3. there is a relationship between communication breakdown and improved management-employee relationship. review of related literature the importance of communication cannot be overemphasized in any institution or organization. everything and everyone in an institution is linked to a network of decisions and information, which are in an uninterrupted interaction and totally interdependent on each other. at the end, this whole system is based on communication. management cannot formulate strategy, or make a decision without information and this information should be communicated. once a decision is made, communication occurs again. otherwise, no one will know exactly what decision is taken. in other words, the best idea, suggestion with creative or more subtle plan may not take shape without effective communication (uka, 2014). effective communication provides people with the information they need to become educated and enlightened. according to salako (2016), communication is the “lifeblood” and a vital tool in the success of every organization. it is the medium through which an organization accomplishes its goals. the benefits of effective communication are successful policies, rich relationships between management and employees, reduces the resistance change, and the ability to accurately and comprehensively express thoughts, feelings and ideas. effective communication is at the foundation of every successful action. all policies 61 rise or fall on the effectiveness of its communication (onifade, opele & okafor, 2018). according to dupe (2015), communication is an essential attribute of leadership. it is essential for effective enterprise policy, and it is used to install procedures and mechanisms to promote sound management-employee relationship. communication flow has five types that are essential and must be present in an organization for the overall efficiency of the organization and improved managementemployee relationship. the communication flow include: downward, upward, horizontal, diagonal and external. absence of or poor use of anyone of these is likely to hinder good management-employee relationship. improvement in communication can be made by adopting a strategy of ensuring that employees are made aware of communication problem, setting up appropriate machinery for communication (upward, downward, horizontal, diagonal), and training employees in relevant technique (cole, 2005). to improve both upward and downward communication, regular staff meetings should be held and a house journal should be issued regularly. for the same reason, there should be formal appraisal interview between management and employees to discuss the job performance and career prospects of the employees. more formal meetings or inter-department committee would improve horizontal communication. also communication between management and employees will be improved when an inter-personal trust exists (osemeke, 2008). an improved management-employee relationship involved in the organization via effective communication will lead to peaceful organization and society. when the management is willing and able to be interested in the welfare and satisfaction of the employees and the employees reciprocating with better behaviour and better performance at their jobs, then the management-employee relationship is good (dupe, 2015). management and employees need to communicate well and see each other as partners in progress for better management-employee relationship. employee involvement is a sure way of doing this. with well balanced and informative communication, the behaviour of the employees will improve, grievances will be easily resolved and there will be better management-employee relationship (dupe, 2015). however, what is important about communication is that the receiver must understand the message that has been sent across by asking certain questions; it may be possible to find out if the receiver has actually understood the message. this makes communication to be a two way process in a sense that it prevents the development of psychologically negative attitude among the personnel in an organization. thus, a feedback mechanism should be built into a communication process. there is need therefore to avoid an excessive amount of one-way communication (osemeke, 2008). chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi good communication is essential to getting any organizational activities done because co-operation is impossible without it. however, difficulties to good communication arising from differences in social, racial or educational backgrounds, compounded by age difference, communication breakdown and poor listening skills (osemeke, 2008). osemeke also noted that breakdown in communication and poor listening skills of employees are very critical problems in organizations. it is no surprise that management frequently site communication breakdown as one of their most important problems. however, communication problems are often symptoms of more deeply rooted problems as a result of poor planning which may be the cause of uncertainty about the direction of the organization (weihrich & koontz, 2005). according to weihrich and koontz (2005), management want to be heard, want to be taken seriously, and want to be understood. employees should learn the techniques of better listening in order to maintain good relationship with the management. poor listening can generate costly accidents and cause misunderstanding and rumours in an organization (weihrich & koontz, 2005). in other words, effective communication is the responsibility not only of the sender but also of the receiver of the information. according to hahn (2007), another means of overcoming communication barriers and improving communication in an organization is the consideration of the receivers’ emotions and motivations. the function of communication is more than transmitting information. it also deals with emotions, which are very important in inter-personal relationships between management and employees. furthermore, communication is vital for creating an environment in which people are motivated to work toward the goals of the organization while they achieve their personal aims. effective communication between management and employees is critically important for the potential success of an organization. management need to enact strategies to improve communication that could lead to positive work consequences (proctor & doukakis, 2003). theoretical framework the study adopted functionalism as the theoretical framework. functionalist analysis has a long history in sociology. it is prominent in the work of august comte (1798-1857) and herbert spenser (1820-1903). it was developed by emile durkheim (1858-1917) and refined by talcott parsons (1902-1979). functionalism views society as a set of interconnected parts which together form a whole. the basic unit of analysis is society, and its various parts are understood primarily in terms of their relationship to the whole. 63 the early functionalists often drew an analogy between society and organism such as the human body. they argued that an understanding of any organ in the body, such as the heart or lungs, involves an understanding of its relationship to other organs and, in particular, its contribution towards the maintenance of the organism. in the same way, an understanding of any part of society requires an analysis of its relationship to other parts and, most importantly, its contribution to the maintenance of society (haralambos, holborn, chapman & moore, 2013). functionalists argued that, just as an organism has certain basic needs that must be satisfied if it is to survive, so society has basic needs that must be met if it is to continue to exist. in applying this theory to the subject of study it is evident that management-employee relationship in caritas and paul universities dependent on effective communication for the maintenance and stability of the system. for an organization to function efficiently there must be element of understanding and trust between management and employees. both have a role to play for good relationship and progress of the organization. in other words, when one part is not working or is dysfunctional, due to poor communication it will affect the productivity and management-employee relationship. this is backed up by okoye (2004) who said that institution may consist of management, employees, premises, students etc. but it will not come to life unless communications effectively link all these parts together and co-ordinate their activities. methods the research design used in this research work is the survey design. the study areas are caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu, enugu state and paul university, awka, anambra state. a sample size of 148 was selected using the taro yamane (1964) formula with 7% error limit of 510 staff randomly selected for the study. 29% was the percentage of the sample size to the population of this study used to select respondents from the two institutions. a total of 85 staff of caritas was randomly selected in proportion to the total number of both academic and non academic staff while 63 staff of paul university was randomly selected in proportion to the total number of both academic and non academic staff. copies of the questionnaire were self administered to the respondents with the help of three research assistants to ensure a high return rate. descriptive statistics like percentage, frequency tables, etc. were used to describe and interpret the data collected from the field. chi-square (χ2) statistical inference was used to determine relationship between variables in the study. results chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi table one: questionnaire distribution of respondents according to institution institution caritas university paul university total male female male female academic staff 34(65.4%) 9(27.3%) 21(55.3%) 6(24%) 70(47.3%) non academic staff 18(34.6%) 24(72.7%) 17(44.7%) 19(76%) 78(52.7%) total 52(100.0%) 33(100.0%) 38(100.0%) 25(100.0%) 148(100.0%) source: field survey, 2019 table 1 above shows the distribution of respondents by institution. results from the table indicated that 34(65.4%) respondents of academic staff of caritas university were male, while 24(72.7%) respondents of non academic staff were female. on the other hand, 21(55.3%) respondents of academic staff of paul university were male while 19(76%) respondents of non academic staff were female. research question one: is there a relationship between effective communication and improved management-employees relationship in caritas and paul universities? table two: respondents view on effective communication and management-employee relationship institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 59(69.4%) 18(21.2%) 8(9.4%) 47(74.6%) 10(15.9%) 6(9.5%) 106(71.6%) 28(18.9%) 14(9.5%) total 85(100%) 63(100%) 148(100%) source: field survey, 2019 table 2 depicts the respondents’ views on effective communication and improved management-employee relationship in caritas university, enugu and paul university, awka. it was observed from the above table that 59(69.4%) respondents of caritas university believed that there is a relationship between effective communication and improved management-employee relationship, 18(21.2%) respondents said that there is no relationship while 8(9.4%) said that they don’t know. on the other hand, 47(74.6%) respondents of paul university are of the view that there is a relationship between effective communication and management-employee relationship, 10(15.9%) respondents said that there is no relationship while 6(9.5%) respondents said that they don’t know. this indicates that the proportion of 65 employees of both universities believed that there is a relationship between effective communication and improved management-employee relationship. research question two: does poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the improved relationship with the management in caritas and paul universities? table three: respondents view on poor listening skills of employees and relationship with the management institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 51(60.0%) 24(28.2%) 10(11.8%) 41(65.1%) 14(22.2%) 8(12.7%) 92(62.1%) 38(25.7%) 18(12.2%) total 85(100%) 63(100%) 148(100%) source: field survey, 2019 the above table 3 depicts respondents’ views on poor listening skills of employees and relationship with the management of caritas and paul universities. as indicated in the above table, 51(60.0%) respondents of caritas university are of the view that poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the relationship with the management, 24(28.2%) said the poor listening skill have no negative impact while 10(11.8%) respondents said that they don’t know. on the other hand, 41(65.1%) respondents of paul university are of the view that poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the relationship with the management, 14(22.2%) respondents said that poor listening skills of employees does not have negative impact on the relationship with the management, while 8(12.7%) respondents said that they don’t know. this indicates that the proportion of employees of both universities believed that poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the relationship with the management of caritas and paul universities. chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi research question three: does communication breakdown affect management-employee relationship in caritas and paul universities? table four: respondents views on communication breakdown and management-employee relationship institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 46(54.1%) 27(31.8%) 12(14.1%) 42(66.7%) 16(25.4%) 5(7.9%) 88(59.4%) 43(29.1%) 17(11.5%) total 85(100%) 63(100%) 148(100%) source: field survey, 2019 the above table 4 depicts respondents’ views on communication breakdown and management-employees relationship. as indicated in the above table, 46(54.1%) respondents of caritas university are of the view that communication breakdown affects managementemployee relationship, 27(31.8%) said that communication breakdown does not affect management-employee relationship while 12(14.1%) said that they don’t know. on the other hand, 42(66.7%) respondents of paul university are of the view that communication breakdown affects management-employee relationship, 16(25.4%) respondents believed that communication breakdown does not affect management-employee relationship while 5(7.9%) said that they don’t know. this indicates that the proportion of employees of both universities believed that communication breakdown affects management-employee relationship. test of hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested in this study: hypothesis one h1: there is a relationship between effective communication and improved managementemployee relationship h0: there is no relationship between effective communication and improved management-employee relationship institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 59 18 8 47 10 6 106 28 14 total 85 63 148 source: field survey, 2019 67 cells fo fe fo – fe (fo – fe)2 (fo – fe)2 fe e1 59 25 34 1,156 46.24 e2 47 25 22 484 19.36 e3 18 25 -7 49 1.96 e4 10 25 -15 225 9 e5 8 25 -17 289 11.56 e6 6 25 -19 361 14.44 calculated chi-square 102.56 degree of freedom = (r-1)(c-1) (3-1)(2-1) df = (2)(1) = 2 at 0.05 level of significance χ2cal = 102.56 χ2tab = 5.991 decision rule sine χ2 calculated (102.56) is > χ2 tabulated (5.991), we reject h0 hypothesis which states that there is no relationship between effective communication and improved managementemployee relationship in caritas and paul universities and accept h1 hypothesis which states that there is a relationship between effective communication and improved managementemployee relationship in caritas and paul universities. hypothesis two h1: there is a relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative impact on management h0: there is no relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative impact on management institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 51 24 10 41 14 8 92 38 18 total 85 63 148 source: field survey, 2019 chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi cells fo fe fo – fe (fo – fe)2 (fo – fe)2 fe e1 51 25 26 676 27.04 e2 41 25 16 256 10.24 e3 24 25 -1 1 0.04 e4 14 25 11 121 4.84 e5 10 25 15 225 9 e6 8 25 17 289 11.56 calculated chi-square 62.72 degree of freedom = (r-1)(c-1) (3-1)(2-1) df = (2)(1) = 2 at 0.05 level of significance χ2cal = 62.72 χ2tab = 5.991 decision rule sine χ2 calculated (62.72) is > χ2 tabulated (5.991), we reject h0 hypothesis which states that there is no relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative impact on management in caritas and paul universities and accept h1 hypothesis which states that there is a relationship between poor listening skills of employees and negative impact on management in caritas and paul universities. hypothesis three h1: there is a relationship between communication breakdown and improved management-employee relationship h0: there is no relationship between communication breakdown and improved management-employee relationship institution response caritas university paul university total yes no don’t know 46 27 12 42 16 5 88 43 17 total 85 63 148 source: field survey, 2019 69 cells fo fe fo – fe (fo – fe)2 (fo – fe)2 fe e1 46 25 21 441 17.64 e2 42 25 17 289 11.56 e3 27 25 2 4 0.16 e4 16 25 -9 81 3.24 e5 12 25 -13 169 6.76 e6 5 25 -20 400 16 calculated chi-square 55.36 degree of freedom = (r-1)(c-1) (3-1)(2-1) df = (2)(1) = 2 at 0.05 level of significance χ2cal = 55.36 χ2tab = 5.991 decision rule sine χ2 calculated (55.36) is > χ2 tabulated (5.991), we reject h0 hypothesis which states that there is no relationship between communication breakdown and improved managementemployee relationship in caritas and paul universities and accept h1 hypothesis which states that there is a relationship between communication breakdown and improved managementemployee relationship in caritas and paul universities. discussion of findings from the analysis of the generated data on effective communication and improved management-employee relationship, it was observed that more of the respondents (table 2) in both caritas and paul universities believed that there is a relationship between effective communication and improved management-employee relationship. this finding confirms the view of dupe (2015) that without communication you cannot have relationship whether at work or in other spheres. he is also of the opinion that communication helps the parties concerned to understand each other for better performance and better relationship since communication enables the parties to have understanding of what each person is putting across. chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi it was also revealed from the findings of the study in table 3 that poor listening skills of employees have negative impact on the improved relationship with the management of caritas and paul universities. the finding of this study is in agreement with the works of weihrich and koontz (2005) that employees should learn the techniques of better listening in order to maintain good relationship with the management. poor listening can generate costly accidents and cause misunderstanding and rumours in an organization. findings emanating from the study in table 4 however revealed that communication breakdown affects management-employee relationship in caritas and paul universities. this finding confirms the views of hahn (2007) that the function of communication is more than transmitting information. it also deals with emotions, which are very important in interpersonal relationships between management and employees. furthermore, the three hypotheses that guided the study were all tested. results of the three hypotheses showed a significant relationship. conclusion the study focused on effective communication as a panacea for improved management-employee relationship in caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu, enugu state and paul university, awka, anambra state. the findings of this study showed that effective communication cannot be overemphasized. any management both government establishment and private that is desirous of ensuring the success and improved relationship of employees, should be conscious of implementing effective communication programmes for a better result. in order words, effective communication process should be an integral part of management strategy because it goes a long way in actualizing the organizational goals. organisation must spend time to determine the communication needs and finance the cost of it to get employees informed and be able to evaluate the impact of it on organizational activities. finally, effective communication for both the management and employee is the panacea for sustained and improved relationship. setting appropriate machinery for communication (upwards, downwards, horizontal, diagonal & external) and training employees in the relevant techniques of communication will go a long way in maintaining an improved management-employee relationship. recommendations 71 based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are advanced to guide the government, organizations, institutions, policy makers and the general public in tackling issues bordering on effective communication and improved management-employee relationship:  management should develop an effective communication network within the institution to help minimize misunderstanding, improving information management and cordial relationship between management and employees.  management should articulate a structure that suits the specific planning for effective communication.  there should be training and re-training, seminars of employees to enable them be at abreast with the use of the google applications and email address or any other means of communication deemed fit by the management.  finally, there should be an open communication system in which employees will feel free to share feedback, ideas and even criticize at any point in time. this will help to build trust and improve management-employee relationship without being victimized by the management. references cole, g.a. (2005). management, theory and practice. london: dp. publication ltd. dupe, a.a. (2015). organisational communication, the panacea for improved labour relations. studies in business and economics. 10(2), 5-16. haralambos, m., holborn, m., chapman, s. & moore, s. (2013). sociology: themes and perspectives 8th edition. london: harper collins publishers limited. nebo, c.s., nwankwo, p.n. & okonkwo, r.i. (2015). the role of effective communication on organizational performance: a study of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. review of public administration and management. 4(8), 131-148. nwana, l.e. (1996). organisational behaviour. onitsha: onwubiko printing and pack ind. nig. ltd. okoye, j.c. (2004). communication effectiveness in public and private organizations. enugu: hrv publishers. onifade, t.a., opele, a.m. & okafor, l.i. (2018). communication: an effective tool for employee performance in unilever nigeria plc. international journal of management technology. 5(2), 16-27. chukwujekwu charles onwuka, gibson chunwe ndubisi & sunday evaristus abonyi osemeke, m. (2008). effective communication and performance improvement in nigeria. journal of research in national development. 6(2). proctor, t. & doukakis, i. (2003). change management, the role of internal communication and employee development. corporate communications: an international journal. 8(4), 268-277. salako, m.a. (2016). effective communication and employee performance in cadbury nigeria plc. unpublished thesis submitted to department of business administration, bells university, ota, ogun state. steven, c. (2011). research methodology in business and social sciences. owerri: canon. uka, a. (2014). the communication and its influence on the effectiveness of the organization. mediterranean journal of social sciences. 5(2), 165-170. weihrich, h. & koontz, h. (2005). management: a global perspective. new delhi: tata mcgraw-hill. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 364 domestic violence against women in ebonyi state rural communities, southeast, nigeria sunday evaristus abonyi department of social work, university of illorin, kwara state. seabonyi@gmail.com, christian igwebuike ezeh department of sociology, faculty of management & social sciences, caritas university enugu, enugu state. seechiomimi@gmail.com chukwujekwu, charles onwuka department of sociology, faculty of the social sciences chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam campus, anambra state cc.onwuka@coou.edu.ng abstract domestic violence against women in rural communities especially in sub-saharan africa has continued to thrive despite its global condemnation. the study tried to assess the multifarious nature of domestic violence metted against women in ebonyi state rural communities, southeast, nigeria. the multistage sampling techniques were adopted and 360 respondents (females of 18 years and above) formed the sample representative using the questionnaire. qualitative data were also generated using the indepth interview guide (idi) with 30 participants that were not part of the questionnaire. psychoanalytic feminist theory and status expectation theory were adopted as the theoretical framework. data collected were analyzed using the descriptive statistics; frequency tables and percentages. study findings revealed that in addition to physical torture/battery, women in ebonyi state rural communities were subjected to economic neglect, psychological/emotional distress, spiritual abuse, social degradation and others. 30.6% of respondents expressed the widespread socio-cultural belief in the area that women are holistically subordinate and property of the husband as it constitutes an abomination to take a husband to the police for his actions. consequent to this, chronic injuries or untimely death of mothers and behavioural problems of children which all culminates in marring the pride of family in africa become inevitable. nevertheless, the study made some recommendations which if implemented will go a long way in reinventing nigeria as the stability of a nations starts from the family. keywords: violence, domestic violence, women, rural, rural community. introduction domestic violence against women seems to be one of the most pervasive, yet the least recognized human right abuse in the contemporary world. in other words, it remains a largely mailto:seabonyi@gmail.com mailto:seechiomimi@gmail.com mailto:cc.onwuka@coou.edu.ng ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 365 hidden problem that few countries, communities or families openly confront. it could also be seen as a universal reality existing in all societies regardless of geography, ethnicity, income, class or status in general. according to godwin (2005), domestic violence against women has been a part of human history and human societies have lived with it without feeling that it was anything wrong. as the author further noted, domestic violence being a global epidemic tend to kill, torture and maim physically, psychologically/emotionally and equally deny women of their security, equality, dignity, self-worth or right to enjoy fundamental freedom. zadding (2012), and ehichoya et al (2019) also stated that domestic violence is a manifestation of historically unequally power relations between men and women which have led to domination over or discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of full advancement of women. domestic violence is not a new phenomenon, nor the consequences to women’s physical or mental health but what is new is the growing recognition of domestic violence becoming a pattern of behaviour that violates the rights of women. benebo, schumann and vaezghasemi (2018) observed that beyond women’s status, community norms or cultural belief system toward the woman may result to domestic violence. this implies that almost every society in the world seems to have social institution that legitimizes domestic violence especially against women. in such circumstances one tend to ponder why the same act that will be punished if directed at an employer, a nieghbour or an acquaintance often go unchallenged when men direct them at women, especially within the family. what it means is that there are some laws in many societies that tend to curtail women’s right relative` to their husbands. ehichoya et al (2019) noted that in many countries around the world, not less than 1069% of women tend to report domestic violence by their husbands at one point or another in their lives. this almost aligned with the results of a multi-country study undertaken by the world health organization (who) and united nations (un) in 2013 which revealed that between 15% and 75% of women aged between 15-49 in africa and other parts of the world have at certain points in their lives involved in both physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner. this situation had posed a profound health problem, sapping women of their energies and eroding their self esteem (oladeji, 2013). the various forms of domestic violence against women according to alokan (2013) include; wife battery, denial of self-expression, violence for sexual relationship, antagonism ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 366 because of sex of new-born child, exploitation, negative cultural attitude and degrading traditional practices. in many areas of pakistan and middle east, women are seen as personal property which can be sold and purchased (malik, 2013). in these places according to the author, women are beaten up, raped, tortured or even killed at home. this implies that the number of women of all ages and background who are killed in the name of marriage cannot be determined as majority of these cases are unreported and only in the rarest cases are perpetrators brought to justice.similarly , in india , oluremi ( 2015 ) reported that 56% of women interviewed justified wife beating on ground like bad cook , disrespectful to in laws , producing more girls , leaving home without information among others. in nigeria, cases of domestic violence against women have been on the increase. according to benebo, schumann, and vaezghasemi (2018), nearly one in every four women in nigeria are reported to have experienced violence from the husband at certain points in time. the prevalence of this violence according to the authors ranges from 42% in the north, 29% in the south, 78.8% in the south east to 41% in the south south. this revelation seems to be related to the reports carried out by ‘this day newspaper’ in 2011 which showed that in nigeria, about 50% of married women were battered by their husbands while 65% of more educated ones (women) were in this terrible situation compared to their low income counterparts. it is likely that most of these women try to endure, believing that they have no where to go and equally believing for good reasons that the law will not protect them as a staggering percentage of this group fail to report their cases to the police. this may also be related to the views of many nigerians where marriage is seen as a prized attainment with a powerful social stigma resulting from reporting domestic violence or leaving one’s husband. melissa and stiles (2002) on the other hand argued that domestic violence against women may obviously affect the children born to the family by undermining their sense of self-esteem and their confidence in the future. in other words, these children are more likely to have a fatalistic view of the future resulting to an increased rate of risk taking and anti-social behaviours such as school truancy, early sexual activity, substance abuse and delinquency. udobang (2018), further observed that about 48% of women in nigeria believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife for some reasons such as going-out without telling himor neglecting the children. the author also noted that despite the high level of violence within relationship in nigeria, wedding vows are regarded as sacred and women are regularlyurged to ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 367 stay with bullying husbands. this seems to provide one of the obvious illustrations of the low position and status that women are accorded in many cultures in nigeria. in other words, domestic violence against women in most societies may be condoned by some infrastructures of cultural beliefs and legal status. domestic violence has made women’s situation difficult to participate fully on issues concerning them in the home and in the society. as such, women in nigeria appear to have no freedom to speak for themselves because of fear of punishment from their husbands. men think women are meant only for giving birth, taking care of children and doing some domestic chores. the recent attack by the nigerian president, general mohammadu buhari on the first lady; aisha in 2017 stressing that women’s role centres in the kitchen and bedroom testifiers to instances of violence against the rights of women. most studies tend to give primacy to physical acts or injuries inflicted on the intimate partner by the other with less significance generally attached to injuries that are psychological/emotional, economic, social and spiritual (rand & strom, 1997, kalgo, 2000, melissa & stiles, 2002, ehichoya et al., 2019). it is against this backdrop that this study attempted to explore or assess the nature of domestic violence metted against women in rural communities of ebonyi state, southeast nigeria. objectives of the study 1. to identify the nature of domestic violence experienced by women in rural communities of ebony state, southeast nigeria. 2. to identify the socio-cultural practices/beliefs underlying domestic violence against women in nigerian rural communities. 3. to find out the extent to which domestic violence against women has affected family stability in nigeria rural communities. 4. to make some recommendations or suggestions conceptual issues for a proper and meaningful discussion of domestic violence against women in rural communities, there is the need to have a clear explanation of some key concepts. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 368 domestic violence: domestic violence is a global problem of enormous proportion. according to ashimolowo, and otufale (2012), domestic violence can be described as any harm that is perpetrated against a person, as a result of power of inequalities that are based on gender roles. this concept is all encompassing, as it is not only limited to physical, sexual and psychological violence, but include threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. similarly, akpan and usoro (2005) defined domestic violence as violence in intimacy which can be physical, sexual, psychological/emotional or threats of physical or sexual assault that are inflicted on women. genyi (2005), added that domestic violence is a very serious social, economic and psychological problem that has no cultural or social, economic and psychological group inhibition. in other words, beyond the absence of any unknown barrier not even legal, its occurrence has profound and destructive consequences which ranges from physical, emotional and financial effects on the inhabitants of the home, be it the women, children or men. booth (2003) on the same note stated that domestic violence is orchestrated as a desire of one party in relationship to dominate and control the other partner. it may be power breakdown or distortion of an intimate relationship. this implies that relationships that are characterized by violence may be distorted but may not be broken down. in the view of zarga-azhar et al (2012), domestic violence is a term used for the people who are bounded through law, blood or personal relationship. according to the author, it refers to such violent behaviours in any relationship by one or both partners to keep power and control over another. the various instances of domestic as the author reiterated include physical aggression like hitting, biting, restraining or threats like sexual abuse, authoritarian and emotional abuse, stalking or passive/covert abuse. domestic abuse may or may not be classified as a crime, depending on the local rigorousness and extent of specific acts. the united nations world conference on women, section 113/114 also defined domestic violence as that physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family including battering and dowry related violence, marital rape and other traditional practices harmful to women. equally, unicef (2000), include such physical abuse as slapping, beating, arm twisting, assault, asphyxiate burning, choking, lash out, threats with objects or weapons and murder as what makes up domestic violence. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 369 in conclusion, domestic violence simply refers to physical, emotional or psychological and other harmful acts metted to women in the home by the husband or intimate partner. it is an ongoing experience of physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse in the home that is used to establish power and control over one another. rural communities this simply refers to areas set outside of the city and towns. according to mundi (2006),rural communities are remote areas or places far away from the seat of government and having no verified or infrastructural facilities, that is, the countryside and the people living in the villages. it also refers to areas with low population density, small size, and relative isolation, where the major economic activity is largely agricultural production and where the people are relatively homogenous in their values, attitudes and behaviours. in other words, rural communities are principally peasant in nature, with subsistence agriculture as the main form of sustenance combined with various levels of dependence on forests, fresh water or wide life (abdullateef et al, 2017). rural population in nigeria was reported at 51.4% in 2016 according to the world bank collection of development indicators. mohatt et al (2005) noted that nigerian rural communities tend to share higher rate of poverty compared to urban areas. this implies that poverty persists in these areas and is evident in the difficulty experienced by many in satisfying their basic needs of food, water, shelter, health and education. indeed, it is estimated that between 70 -80% of residents in nigeria rural communities are living in poverty with limited infrastructural and social facilities. abdullateef, et al, (2017) also noted that poor educational system is quite apparent in nearly all rural communities in nigeria. this implies that education seems to have become a delusion to majority of poor rural dwellers in nigeria with emphasis placed more on traditional family preservation. theoretical framework the psychoanalytic feminist theory and the status expectation theory were adopted as the theoretical framework of the study. according to hudson, ayensu, ogdley and patocchi (2002), psychoanalytic feminist theory is one of the variants of feminist perspective which provide a template for making sense of the diverse ways in which women experience inequality in many facets of their lives – at home, at work and in the wider community. in other words, it is one of the oppression theories that see patriarchy as a system in which males subjugate women, a ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 370 universally persuasive system, durable overtime and steadfastly maintained in the face of occasional challenges. the theory also looks at the socio-emotional environment in which the personality of the young child takes form, positioning in both the plot and image of the male as dominant over the female. women are therefore left without an equivalent source of energy to resist domination and violence in the family inflicted by the husbands. this theory therefore offers the root of domestic violence against women especially in rural communities of ebony state. the status expectation theory on the other hand explains how gender is related to power and influence in a mixed-sex goal oriented groups. according to chafetz (2006), the theory assumes that males enjoy higher social status than females. in other words, as both men and women enter a mixed-sex group with expectations, men are bound to behave more competently than women in moving the group towards task achievement. this may result to a reduction in women’s self-confidence, prestige and power in group interactions. moreover, such expectations are usually accepted by group members as legitimate and an individual woman’s attempt to counteract them will be rejected as inappropriate by members of both sexes. domestic violence against women in nigeria rural communities appears to be a norm and the rights of men which accounts for reluctancy in reporting such cases to law enforcement agents. as benebo, schumann and vaezghasemi (2018) noted, addressing domestic violence against women calls for community-wide approaches aimed at changing norms among men alongside improving women’s status. methodology the study was conducted in three rural communities (onueke in ezza north local government council, ekoli-edda in afikpo south and amoffia-mgbo in ohaukwu local government area of ebonyi state, south east nigeria. ebonyi state is one of the six states created in 1996 by late general sani abacha administration when it was carved out of the old abakaliki division of enugu state and old afikpo division of abia state. the state is predominantly dominated by the igbos with other minority ethnic groups from neighboring states. ebonyi state has 13 local government councils contained in the three senatorial zones (ebonyi north, ebonyi south & ebonyi central) with a projected population of 2,927,753 as at 2018 (using 2.5% of annual growth rate) and a land mass of 5,533km2. economically, ebonyi ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 371 state is primarily an agricultural region. it is a leading producer of rice, yam, potatoes, maize, beans, and cassava. the state also has several solid mineral resources and is called ‘salt of the nation’ for its huge salt deposit at okposi and uburu. ebonyi state also host six educational institutions including ebonyi state university, abakaliki, dr. alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ikwo, federal college of agriculture, ishiagu amongst others. the multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in the selection of respondents. firstly, three local government councils that are far from the capital city (abakaliki) were purposively chosen, that is; one from each of the senatorial zones. these local government councils were found to share boundary with neighbouring states. thereafter, three rural communities (ie one from each of the chosen local government councils) were randomly selected using balloting with 360 respondents (ie. 120 respondents from each of the selected communities). the respondents were restricted to married women of 18 years and above resident in these communities for not less than 5 years. questionnaire were distributed to these respondents by the researcher assisted by six trained research assistants (i.e two for each community). in addition, indepth interview was conducted with 30 participants (i.e 10 participants for each of the selected communities) who were not part of the questionnaire. data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics; frequency tables and percentages. moreso, the statistical package for social sciences (spss) was employed to aid the analysis of data. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 372 findings the results or findings of the study are presented below. table 1: distribution of respondents by socio-demographic characteristics (n = 360) gender frequency percentage (%) male female 360 100 age (in yrs) 18 – 28 68 18.9 29 – 39 112 31.1 40 – 50 100 27.8 51 – 61 60 13.9 62+ 30 8.3 marital status single married 270 75.0 widowed 66 18.3 divorced 24 6.7 educational qualification none 135 37.5 primary school 96 26.7 secondary 79 21.9 tertiary 50 13.9 religious affiliation christianity 248 68.9 islam atr 112 31.1 others occupation farming 146 40.6 business/trading 92 25.6 artisan 50 13.9 civil servant 72 19.9 as presented in the above table (table 1) 100% of the respondents were females. in other words, the study was restricted to females only. however, a greater percentage (31.1% and 27.8%) of the respondents were within the ages of 29-39 and 40-50 years respectively while respondents within the ages of 51-61 or 62 years and above constitutes 13.9% and 8.3% ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 373 respectively. this implies that as the individual is ageing, the more she becomes acquainted with the challenges of family lives. similarly, 75% of the respondents were found to be married while 18.3% and 6.7% were widowed/divorced or ever married. the educational levels showed that majority of respondents (37.5%) did not have formal education at all, whereas 26.7% had primary education, 21.9% with secondary certificate and then 13.9% with tertiary educational experience. this implies that the educational level of the individual is a potent factor in restoring domestic violence especially in rural communities as only small proportion of respondents with high education were found to experience domestic violence in the study area. the religious affiliation of respondents equally shows that a greater percentage (68.9%) were christians while 31.1% belongs to the african traditional religious faith. none of the respondents indicated belonging to the islamic faith. in other words, the study was conducted in a christian dominated area. finally, the occupational distribution of respondents’ showed that majority (40.6%) were farmers. this implies that the study area was predominantly agricultural zone. however, 25.6% and 19.9% were engaged in business/trading and civil service while only 13.9% were found to be artisans. table 2: respondents view on the nature of domestic violence against women prevalent in the area (n = 360). s/no variables frequency percentage (%) 1 physical abuse (a) battery/kicking (b) eviction from the house (c) throwing of dangerous objects (d) marital rape /sexual coercion 142 105 28 85 39.4 29.2 7.8 23.6 2 economic abuse (a) neglect/starvation (b) forceful joint bank account (c) restriction from taking financial decision 170 92 98 47.2 25.6 27.2 3 spiritual abuse (a) restriction from church attendance (b) restriction from prayer/night virgil (c) restriction from financial donation/offering (d) restriction from attending crusade and other church programmes 113 69 90 88 31.4 19.2 25.0 24.4 4 psychological/emotional abuse (a) frequent molestation (b) threat to life & intimidation (c) denial of full expression (d) exclusion from partaking in family decision 105 70 96 89 29.2 19.4 26.7 24.7 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 374 information emerging from table 2 above reveals that women especially in ebonyi state are subjected to different forms of abuse by their intimate partners ranging from physical torture, economic, spiritual to psychological/emotional upset. this means that domestic violence against women is very common in these areas. from the above table, a greater percentage (39.4% & 29.2%) mentioned battery/kicking and eviction from the house as major forms of physical violence metted on the intimate partner while 23.6% and 7.8% respectively cited marital rape and throwing of dangerous objects as other forms of physical violence. on the other hand, 47.2% of respondents see neglect/starvation as economic abuse or violence that women are still subjected to in the area while 27.2% and 25.6% identified restriction from taking financial decision and forceful operation of joint bank account as other forms of economic abuse. on the issue of spiritual violence that women continues to experience in the study area, as portrayed in the above table, 31.4% and 25% of respondents mentioned restriction from church attendance and financial donations/offering while 24.4% and 19.2% mentioned restrictions from attending crusades/church programmes and prayers/night vigil by the intimate partner. finally, respondents reaction to psychological/emotional violence on the part of intimate partner shows that 29.2% and 26.7% cited frequent molestation and denial of expression while 24.7% and 19.4% mentioned constant threat to life and intimidation respectively. this finding corroborates the view of kalgo (2000) who emphasized that the forms of domestic violence against women in nigeria are multifarious in which all affect the physical, social, economic and psychological well being of the victims. corroborating this view, in one of the idi held, a participant had this to say: i am used to my husband’s beating, if you see me, you will see several marks on my body which my husband inflicted on me. in addition, i live in fear because of my husband’s intimidation. i lack that sense of being loved and valued by my husband. i equally don’t have control of the money i earn in my business. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 375 table 3: respondents view on the socio-cultural beliefs/practices underlying domestic violence against women in rural communities (n = 360). variable frequency percentage (%) women are subordinate and men’s property 110 30.6 the blessing of children is the key to marriage 72 20.0 marriage is not a one man affair 26 7.2 marriage attracts favour and prosperity 70 19.4 men are like oracles 62 17.2 marriage is for the better and for the worst 20 5.6 data from the above table (table 3) reveals that there are some socio-cultural practices or belief system associated with domestic violence against women including those in the rural areas. respondents view shows that a greater percentage (30.6%) of respondents were of the opinion that there is the socio-cultural belief that women are men’s property such that they have every right over their lives. 20% of the respondents were however, of the view that there is a general belief that the blessing of children is the essence of marriage which if it fails marital relationship is bound to attract violence, while 19.4% were of the opinion that there is the belief that marriage attract favour and prosperity which if not attained is expected to generate chaos. again, 17.2% of the respondents maintained that men are like oracle whose decisions cannot be queried by the intimate partner. finally, 7.2% revealed the belief that marriage is not a one man affair and has to do with the significant others whereas 5.6% of respondents maintained the belief that marriage is both for the better andfor the worst. lateru-olgbaje and afolabi (2013) noted that some of these socio-cultural beliefs have been practiced for so long that they are embedded in the societal perception almost as a legal norms.most of the idi participants equally confirmed that there exist some socio-cultural practices or beliefs in their communities that tend to sustain domestic violence against women by their husbands.one of the participants stated thus: my husband wouldn’t like me to greet male neighbours, let alone to have any meaningful discussion with them, he would allegedly become enraged, accusing the man of having sex with me. i am very careful because i have not gotten a child with him since our marriage. commenting further, another participant stated, ‘it is an abomination to take my husband to police station, we serve as properties of our husbands’ ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 376 table 4: respondents view on the extent to which domestic violence against women has affected family stability in rural areas. variable frequency percentage (%) anxiety and depression of family member 62 17.2 terminal injuries/untimely death 85 23.6 divorce/separation 66 18.3 delinquency/behavioural problems of children 82 22.8 reduce love for one another 65 18.1 information from the above table (table 4) reveals that more respondents (23.6) were of the opinion that domestic violence against women had resulted to terminal injuries and untimely death of mothers whereas 22.8% stressed that delinquency and behavioural problems of children seems to be the immediate results. similarly, almost an equal percentage (18.3% & 18.1%) of respondents mentioned divorce/separation and reduction in the degree of love of partners as other implications while 17.2% of respondents said the situation could lead to anxiety and depression of family members. these consequences as arisi and oromareghake (2011) observed may be attributed to the nigerian women’s belief that their identity is subsumed or attached to that of men and that they can’t have dignity of their own. an idi participant who toed the same view said ‘we have no option, some husbands are so wicked that theyput their partners into serious depression. they do not care what happens to their wives. for two weeks or more they do not ask about their wives welfare. is this not enough to kill the woman? discussion of findings domestic violence against women has been a global issue which has had a severe impact on our marital system and family stability. results presented above reveals that this social malice especially in nigerian rural communities cut across all people irrespective of socio-economic, political and religious status or ethnicity and geography. this takes the forms of physical harms which according to respondents’ opinion include battery/kicking, eviction from the house, throwing of dangerous objects and marital rape/sexual coercion, starvation/denial of economic resources, psychological/emotional harms and others. the development may have confirmed the views of odimegwu and okemgbo (2003) that in nigeria, women are brought up in an ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 377 atmosphere where they are expected to obey established social norms such as how they should view and orient themselves and what kind of attitude they should take on various occasions. most of the participants in the interview sessions also corroborated this finding. one of the participants had this to say, ‘the case of most of us is everyday beating by our husbands; we have no option, my next door neighbor lost one of her eyes in this mess’. another participant equally said, ‘it is not up to two months when my elder sisters husband punched her mouth and knocked out two of her teeth’. similarly, one other participant commented thus, ‘among most of our women, their husbands wouldn’t like them to greet another man, be he a neighbor or to let alone having any meaningful discussion with the man’. the participants opinion were also in tandem with the submission of ehichoya et al (2019) that domestic violence forms a pattern of behaviour that violate the rights of women. findings of the study also showed that some socio-cultural practices or beliefs in most of the nigerian rural communities tend to promote domestic violence against women. 30.6% and 20% of respondents revealed that there is a spread belief in nigeria that the blessing of children is the key to marriage and that women are subordinate and men’s property. this finding confirms the submission of arisi and oromareghake (2011) that many fallacious beliefs are rooted in most african cultures and african women born and raised in these disquieting cultures know nothing other than the system and way of life they are used to. similarly, the responses from the idi sessions further buttressed the above statement by arisi and oromareghake (2011). one of the study participants stated,‘our culture strictly restrict women to the stereotyped role of homekeeping, child bearing and child rearing’. another participant also stated thus, ‘it is an abomination to take my husband to police station’ or any other authority, he has the right over everything concerning me, that was a part of our wedding vow’. finally, the study affirmed that domestic violence against women especially in nigerian rural communities have recorded serious consequences on the stability of families. a greater percentage (23.6%& 22.8%) of respondents revealed that terminal injuries/untimely death of the woman and delinquency/behavioural problems of children respectively becomes inevitable, while 18.3% and 18.1% indicated divorce/separation and reduction in love for one another as consequences. equally, 17.2% indicated anxiety and depression of the intimate partner. all the participants in the idi sessions also upheld the above findings. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 378 conclusion the findings of the study have clearly demonstrated that domestic violence against women has been a common phenomenon in nigeria especially in ebonyi state rural communities. this ranges from physical threats in the forms of battery, eviction from the house, sexual coercion to emotional or psychological distress such as denial of full expression and economic neglect such as forceful operation of joint bank account, restriction from taking financial decision in the family by the woman, restriction from church activities amongst others. all the study participants in the idi sessions equally aligned to the above revelation. the study further revealed that domestic violence against women in ebonyi state rural communities is deeply rooted in the masculine idea of male dominance, power relation and economic power imbalances. 30.6% and 20% of respondents identified the widespread belief in the area that women are subordinate or property of the man and that having a child is the only essence of marriage. one of the idi participants corroborated the finding as she stated,‘it is an abomination to take my husband to the police station, he has every rights over my life’. finally, findings of the study showed that domestic violence against women could result to untimely death or chronic injuries, divorce or separation, delinquency/behavioural problems of children, anxiety or depression on the life of the woman amongst others. recommendations in view of the study findings, the following recommendations were made. 1. there is the need for intensification of public enlightenment of the community, local government, state and national level with major emphasis on the dangers associated with domestic violence against women especially among the rural dwellers. this will enable the people to make an informed decision to ensure family stability. 2. the concept of domestic violence and family stability should form part of the curriculum of social studies at the basic levels of primary or junior secondary schools. 3. comprehensive and extensive pre-martial counseling should be given by social workers and sociologists especially those specializing in the area of women studies. this will help intending couples grasp preliminary knowledge on how to manage marital relationships. 4. equally, there is the need to teach and educate the people on the need to do away with some customary norms or beliefs that promote domestic violence against women in nigeria. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 379 5. finally, it is necessary that punishment given to offending husbands should be published in the social media to serve as a deterrence to others. references abdullateef, r., yinusa, m.a., danjum, m.m., abdul-rasheed, s.l. &adeyemi, r.a (2017). rural areas: the real home of the nigeria economy. international journal of social sciences and educational studies, 4(2), 1-9. akpan, i.d. &usoro, c.i. (2005). domestic violence during violence. international journal of violence and related studies, 1, 27-36. alokan, f.b. (2013). domestic violence against women: a family menace. a paper presented at the first annual interdisciplinary conference held in azema, portugal, april, 24-26. arisi, r.o., & oromareghake, p. (2011). cultural violence and the nigerian women. african research review, 5(4), 21(369-381). ashimolowo, o.r., & ofufale, g.a. (2012). assessment of domestic violence among women in ogun state. greener journal of social sciences, 3(102-114). benebo, f.o., schumann, b., & vaezghasemi, m. (2018). intimate partner violence against women in nigeria: a multi-level study investigating the effect of women status and community norms. retrieved from https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11865/2905-018-0628-7 chafetz, j.s. (2006). the varieties of gender theory in sociology. houston, texas: springer. ehichoya, d.o., oseyemwen, n.k., bawo, o.j., enabulele, o, ajokpaniovo, j., adewole, a.j., atsiki, l.a., & egharevba, o.e (2019). intimate partner violence among women attending a general practice clinic in nigeria. nigeria journal of clinical research, 8, 13(1-19). godwin, c.u. (2005). domestic violence against women on family relationship. unpublished b.sc thesis, amadu bellow university, zaria. hudson, a., ayensu, l., ogdley, c. &patocchi, m. (2002). practicing feminist approach. in hanvey c. & philpot. t. (eds.) practicing social work. london: routledge. kalgo, f.a. (2000). violence against women: effects and challenges to psychologists. the nigerian journal of guidance and counselling, 7 (1), 121-124. malik, r. (2013). socio-cultural context of violence against women in pakistan. research on humanities and social science, 3 (125-127). https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11865/2905-018-0628-7 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 380 melissa, m. & stiles, m.d (2002). witnessing domestic violence: the effect on children. journal of medicine and society, 1. mohatt, d.f. bradley, m.m., adams, s.j. & morris, c.d. (2005). mental health and rural america, 1994-2005. washington dc: us depts. of health and human services. mundi, n.e. (2006). analysis of poverty alleviation strategies of rural women in kogi state, nigeria. abuja. noun. odimegwu, c. &okemgbo c.n. (2003). gender role ideologies and prevalence of violence against women in imo state, nigeria. anthropologist 5(4), 225-236. olateru-olagbegi, b. &afolabi, b.a. (2011). actual women situation in nigeria. retrieved from www.wildafao.org/spip. ph.d. oluremi f.d (2015) domestic violence against women in nigeria. european journal of psychological research, 2(1) 1-15. rand, m.k. & strom k. (1997). violence related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. washington, dc: us departments of justice statistics mcj-156921. udobang, w. (2018). we are brought up to think suffering this violence is ok: domestic abuse in nigeria. retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/working-in-development. zadding, c.s. (2012). assessment of domestic violence and abuse against women and its effect on family relationship in four selected local government in taraba states. unpublished m.ed thesis,ahmadu bellow university, zaria. zarga-azhar, a., sohail, m.m., yasir, g., mahmood, b. &mushtag, s.k. (2012). exploring socio-economic factors behind domestic violence against women in sargodha district. international journal of asia social sciences, 2 (1617-1626). http://www.wildafao.org/spip.%20ph.d https://www.theguardian.com/working-in-development page 1 poverty and economic growth nexus in nigeria *isiwu, george duhu azike, lawrence chike ngwu, jerome chukwuemeka department of economics enugu state university of science and technology (esut) *corresponding author: george.isiwu@esut.edu.ng abstract the poverty situation in nigeria has continued to attract the attention of the general public and various successive governments in the country over the years. it is worrisome that the poverty rate in the country has continued to rise despite the rising gdp. this study examined the impact of rising gdp on poverty reduction in nigeria for the period 1982-2019. this is to identify whether the growth in nigerian economy is pro-poor. annual time series data on poverty rate, gdp growth rate, gini coefficient (which measures inequality) and gross fixed capital formation (for domestic investment) are the variables used for the analysis. a dummy variable for democracy is also constructed to test for the impact of governance on poverty reduction in nigeria. autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model is adopted in the estimation procedure. the empirical results show that gdp growth rate, which measures economic growth, has negative and significant impact on poverty rate in the short run. however, its impact on poverty rate is positive and significant in the long run. inequality has positive and significant impact on poverty rate both in the short run and in the long run. thus, increase in inequality dampens the impact of growth on poverty reduction in nigeria. gross fixed capital formation has negative and significant impact in poverty rate both in the short run and in the long run. democracy has negative and significant impact on poverty rate in the short run while in the long run, its impacts becomes positive and significant. the implication is that growth in nigeria is not pro-poor. based on the findings, it is recommended that the poverty reduction initiatives by the government should be geared towards providing jobs opportunities for the poor in order to boost their income. keywords: poverty, gross domestic product, inequality, democracy, wellbeing. introduction the poverty situation in nigeria has continued to attract the attention of the general public and various successive governments over the past four decades. it is worrisome that the poverty rate in the country has continued to rise in the mist of rising growth rate of real gdp. the growth rate of real gross domestic product (gdp), which is used to measure the growth of the economy, is necessary for poverty reduction. however, the paradox in nigeria is that as the country gets richer, more of its citizens live in poverty (kolawole, omobitan & yaqub, 2015; nwobi, 2003). thus, the poverty indices present an image that is totally at variance with the outlook of the economy. before the implementation of the structural adjustment programme (sap) in 1986, various successive governments in the country have implemented poverty reduction programmes. such programmes include, operation feed the nation (ofn) in 1977, green economic growth nexus in nigeria 137 revolution in 1980 and low cost housing scheme in 1980; ofn and green revolution were set up to boost agricultural production and improve the general performance of the sector. following the introduction and implementation of sap in 1986, the federal government of nigeria implemented many poverty alleviation programmes between 1986 and 1993. such programmes include: directorate of food, road and rural infrastructure (dfrri) in 1986, national directorate of employment (nde) in 1986, better life programme (blp) in 1989, and community bank (cb) in 1990. under the guided deregulation that spanned 1993 – 1998, more poverty reduction programmes were introduced. they include family support programme (fsp) in 1994 and family economic advancement programme (feap) in 1997. following the present democratic governance in the country, which was inaugurated in 1999, more poverty alleviation programmes were introduced. in the year 2000, poverty alleviation programme (pap) was introduced as an interim poverty measure. specifically, pap was aimed at providing jobs for 200,000 unemployed people; creating credit delivery system from which the farmers would have access to credit facilities, increasing literacy rate from 50 percent to 70 percent by the year 2003; shooting up health care delivery system from 40 percent to 70 percent by the year 2003; embarking on training and settlement of at least 60 percent of tertiary institutions graduates and developing small-scale industries. following the failure of pap in achieving the above objectives, the government came up with the national poverty eradication programme (napep) in 2001. napep was targeted to wipe out poverty completely by the year 2010. however, in spite of all these measures, poverty head count ratio in nigeria has continued to rise. it is against this background that this research is being carried out. statement of the problem the poverty level in nigeria contradicts the country’s abundant wealth of both human and material resources. for instance, the annual time series data, published by the central bank of nigeria (cbn, 2019) in collaboration with the national bureau of statistics (nbs) in 2019, indicate that the growth rate of real gdp in 1986 is 1.90 percent. this increased to 4.05 per cent in 1996 (a period of ten years). it further increased to 6.73 per cent in 2006. although it recorded a negative growth rate of -1.58 per cent in 2016, it increased further to 2.21 per cent in 2019. similarly, poverty rate in the country has continued to rise in the mist of the rising gdp. in 1986, the poverty rate in nigeria, from the word development indicator (wdi, 2019), stood at 46.3 per cent. it increased to 63.5 per cent in 1996, 53.12 per cent in 2006 and then, 57.2 per cent in 2016 and 61.2 per cent in 2017. although it declined to 39.1 per cent in 2018, it increased further to 40.1 per cent in 2019. the above problem of rising poverty rate in the mist of rising gdp in the country is a source of serious concern. this is because the growth in real gdp, which coincides with the growth in income levels, is expected to reduce poverty. it is this problem that provoked and motivated this study. objectives of the study the broad objective of this study is to examine the impact economic growth (measured by gdp growth) on poverty reduction in nigeria. specifically, the study intends to analyse: (i) the impact of growth of real gdp on poverty reduction in nigeria; and (ii) identify whether the growth in gdp in nigeria is pro-poor. this study covers the period 1982 – 2019. the choice of this period is guided by data availability and harmonization of gdp to the same base year (2010 constant price). this paper is divided into five sections. section one above is the introductory section. section two focuses on the literature review. section three is the methodology while section four is on the presentation and discussion of results. the last section, section five, presents the summary of the findings, conclusion and recommendations. theoretical background conceptual issues yang (2017) notes that the analysis of poverty consists of two basic stages namely: identifying who is poor and summarizing this individual-level information into measures of poverty for the whole society. in nigeria, poverty has many manifestations and dimensions which include, joblessness, over indebtedness, economic dependence, and lack of freedom, inability to provide the basic needs of life for self and family, lack of access to land and credit, and inability to save and own assets (national planning commission, 2004). following the multidimensional nature of the concept, poverty can be viewed as an absolute or relative concept, depending on how the poverty threshold is defined. thus, there have been a long standing debate about whether an absolute or relative threshold should be used to decide who is poor or not (gordon, 2006; ravallion, 2010). absolute poverty refers to a level of resources that does not change as the general living standard changes over time. the world bank (2000) defines absolute poverty as a condition of life degraded by diseases, deprivation, and squalor. the concept of relative poverty is usually credited to peter townsend economic growth nexus in nigeria 139 (1979). according to townsend (1979), individuals, families and groups in the population can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the type of diet, participate in the activities, and have the living conditions and amenities which are customary, or at least widely encouraged or approved in the societies to which they belong. this means that poverty can be described as relative deprivation (bradshaw, 2006). however, rocha (1998) notes that the deprivation of basic needs makes absolute poverty the obvious priority in terms of definition, measurement and political action from the international point of view. this study sees poverty as an absolute concept because the measures of access to material goods and services have a more direct relationship to the quality of life which people are able to attain. theoretical literature amis and grant (2001), assert that economic growth can reduce urban poverty through the generation of economic opportunities and employment. they conclude that for this to be achieved, municipal governments must play key role in the process. dollar and kraay (2002), note that although the world economy grew well during the 1990s, there is intense debate over the extent to which the poor benefits from this growth. in line with dollar and kraay (2002), heshmati (2004) argues that although the aggregate growth is both necessary and sufficient for reducing poverty, the issue is that the benefits of growth is not usually equally distributed across different segments, sections and regions of the society. hence, in analyzing the impact of economic growth on poverty reduction, the level and distributional impacts of growth on each of those strata needs to be taken into consideration. thus, the distributional impact of growth on the poor is discussed under the pro-poor growth presented below. the theory of pro-poor growth the pro-poor growth debate has its roots in the pro-distribution arguments by chenery and ahluwhalia in the 1970s. hence, chenery and ahluwhalia’s (1974) model of redistribution with growth can be regarded as the inception of the whole debate on pro-poor growth. pro-poor growth is categorized in terms of relative or absolute pro-poor growth. relative pro-poor growth occurs when economic growth benefits the poor proportionally more than the non-poor. this implies that while growth reduces poverty, it also improves relative inequality. on the other hand, absolute pro-poor growth occurs when the poor receive the absolute benefits of growth equal to or more than the absolute benefits received by the non-poor. thus, absolute approach sets out the strongest requirement for achieving pro-poor growth (kakwani, khandker, & son, 2004). empirical literature the nexus between economic growth and poverty reduction has been conducted at national and international levels, involving cross-country and country-specific studies. in a cross-country study, fosu (2009) examines the extent to which inequality affects the impact of income growth on the rate of poverty changes between sub-saharan african (ssa) countries and non subsaharan african countries (non-ssa). the results show that the impact of gdp growth on poverty reduction is a decreasing function of initial inequality. the results also reveal that income growth elasticity is substantially less for ssa. this implies relatively low poverty reduction sensitivity to growth compared with the rest of the developing countries. in another cross country study, perera and lee (2013) examine the effects of economic growth and institutional quality on poverty and income inequality in nine developing asian countries (china, indonesia, malaysia, the philippines, thailand, bangladash, india, pakistan and sri lanta) over the period 1985 – 2009. employing the system generalized method of moments (gmm) estimation technique, the results show that economic growth did not have much impact on income inequality, which implies that improvements in government stability, law and order are found to reduce poverty. similarly, fosu (2017) investigates the nexus between growth, inequality and poverty reduction in developing countries. applying both regional and country-specific data with usd 1.25 and usd 2.50 as base line for poverty, the empirical results shows that income growth plays a major role in reducing and increasing poverty in developing countries sampled. besides the cross country studies reviewed above, country-specific studies have equally been conducted by scholars. in a study on economic growth and poverty reduction in kazakhstan, agrawal (2008), using provincial data, finds that provinces with higher growth rates achieved a faster decline in poverty. ijaiya, ijaiya, bello and ajayi (2011), in a study on economic growth and poverty reduction in nigeria, find that although the initial level of economic growth was not enough to reduce poverty, sustainability in economic growth is crucial in the long run. akanbi and dutoit (2011) developed macroeconometric modeling for nigerian economy to analyse growth-poverty gap for the period 1970-2006. employing engle and granger (1987) two-step cointegration techniques, it is found that improved productivity is essential for accelerated growth and poverty reduction. economic growth nexus in nigeria 141 muloka, kogida, asida and lilya (2012), attempt to determine the empirical relationship and importance of growth for poverty reduction in malaysia for the period 1970 – 2009. the results show that growth explains much, but not all, about the evolution of poverty. the conclusion drawn is that economic growth is necessary but not sufficient for poverty reduction. kolawole, omobitan and yaqub (2015) examine the relationship among poverty, inequality and economic growth in nigeria for the period 1980-2012. using time series data on gdp growth rate, per capita income, literacy rate, government expenditures on education and health, ordinary least squares (ols) was used in the estimation. the ols results reveal that gdp growth rate increases inequality, but reduces poverty in the country. ebunoluwa and yusuf (2018) examine the effects of economic growth on poverty reduction in nigeria for the period 1980-2016. using cointegration technique, the empirical result shows that economic growth has significant effect on poverty reduction in nigeria. dada and fanowopo (2020) analyse the role of institutions in the nexus between economic growth and poverty reduction in nigeria over the period 1984-2018. the study employs two institutional quality variables, namely, corruption control and political stability. in the study, economic growth is proxied by per capita income while poverty is measured using household consumption. applying autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) approach to cointegration, the results show that economic growth and institutions have positive effects on per household consumption in both the short run and long run. this implies that as institutions and economic growth increase, per household consumption also increases, while poverty decreases. the conclusion drawn is that sound institutions and sound economic growth are important in combating poverty. method this research adopted autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model, applying bounds testing procedure in estimating the data set. this model by pesaran, shin and smith (2001) was chosen because it is applied when the variables have mixed order of integration, that is, i (0) and i (1). most importantly, the model has the advantage of generating the short run and long run results simultaneously. model specification this study adopted the model by dada and fanowopo (2020) with some modifications; inequality is included and dummy variable for stable democracy in nigeria is also included in the present model. the long run relationship between poverty rate (the dependent variable) and independent variables (gdpr, gini, lgfcf and demo) is specified below: povrt = ꞵ0 +ꞵ1 gdprt+ ꞵ2 ginit +ꞵ3lgfcft +ꞵ5demot +μt (1). where, povr, gdpr, gini, gfcf and demo are as defined in section 3.2 below. ꞵ0 is the constant intercept, ꞵ1-ꞵ4 are the coefficients of the variables respectively, μ is the error term and t is the period. gfcf is in logarithm (l) to ensure uniformity of data. data, definition of variables and sources. the variables used in this study are: poverty rate (povr). this is the dependent variable. poverty head count ratio is used. this is the most popular measure of poverty by most developing and transition countries (jeanneney & kpodar, 2008; isiwu, 2019). growth rate of real gdp (gdpr). this measures the growth of the economy. gini coefficient (gini). this measures inequality. gross fixed capital formation (gfcf). this measures domestic investment. democratic stability (demo). this measures institution or governance. a dummy variable is constructed for demo; it takes the values of 1 for period of democracy (1999-2019) and zero for other years (1982-1998). data for gdpr and gfcf were sourced from central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistical bulletin, 2019 edition while the data for povr and gini were sourced from world development indicator (wdi) by the world bank. economic a priori of the variables the coefficient of growth rate of real gdp (ꞵ1) is expected to be negative; an increase in gdpr will lead to poverty reduction and vice versa. the coefficient of inequality (gini) (ꞵ2) is expected to be positive; increase in inequality increases poverty and vice versa. the coefficient of domestic investment (ꞵ3) is expected to be negative; increase in domestic investment will lead to poverty reduction and vice versa. the coefficient of democracy (ꞵ4) is expected to be negative; political stability will attract investment which will lead to a reduction in poverty. estimation techniques to avoid the problem of spurious regression, which is associated with time series data, augmented dickey and fuller (1979) and phillips and perron (1988) unit root tests were conducted. these tests were conducted before the application of ardl approach to economic growth nexus in nigeria 143 cointegration to ensure that none of the variables is integrated into order two, 1 (2), which is the condition for the application of ardl model. following pesaran et al (2001), the ardl format of equation (1) above becomes: δpovrt =ꞵ0 + ∑ 𝛽1∆𝑃𝑂𝑉𝑅𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽2∆𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑟𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽3∆𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽4∆𝐿𝐺𝐹𝐶𝐹𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽5∆𝐷𝐸𝑀𝑂𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + λ1 povrt + λ2 gdprt + λ3 ginit + λ4 gfctt + λ5 demot + ɛt (2) where, t is the period, δ is the first different operator; ꞵ0 is the constant, ꞵ1-ꞵ5, with the summation signs, represent the short run dynamics. λ1 λ5 represent the long run coefficients respectively. ps are the optimum lags order selected by akaike information criteria, ɛ is the error term that satisfies the stochastic assumptions of ols and t is the period. when cointegrtion between poverty rate and the independent variables exists, the error correction model (ecm), which measures the short run dynamics or adjustment of cointegrated variables towards their equilibrium values is estimated. the general error correction representation of equation (2) becomes: δpovrt =ꞵ0 + ∑ 𝛽1∆𝑃𝑂𝑉𝑅𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽2∆𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑟𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽3∆𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽4∆𝐿𝐺𝐹𝐶𝐹𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛽5∆𝐷𝐸𝑀𝑂𝑡−𝑖 𝑝 𝑖=1 + өecmt-1 + ɛt (3) for a stable system, the coefficient of ecm (ө), which measures the speed of adjustment of the dependent variable to the value implied by the long run relationship, is expected to be fractional, negative and significant. to test for the existence of cointegration, the null hypothesis of no cointegration among the variables, defined by ho: λ1 = λ2 =λ3 =λ4 =λ5 =0 is tested against the alternative hi : λ1 = λ2 =λ3 =λ4 =λ5 ≠ 0 the f test was used for the bound test. this test has two sets of critical values; one set assumes that all variables are of order i (0) while the other set assumes that they are i (1). if the computed f statistic falls above the upper critical values, which corresponds to i (1), the null hypothesis of no cointegration is rejected. if it falls below the lower bound, which corresponds i(0), the null hypothesis is not rejected. if it falls between the two bounds, the result is inconclusive. the order of lag was selected by the akaike information criteria. post estimation tests the post estimation tests conducted for the robustness of the model include, ramsey reset test for model specification, breusch-pagan-godfrey test for heteroscedasticity, jarque bera for normality and breush-godfrey lagrange multiplier (lm) for serial correlation. econometric software used in the processing of data is e view 9. presentation and discussion of results descriptive statistics table1: result of descriptive statistics variables mean median standard deviation skewness kurtosis observations povr 53.892 54.000 6.673 -0.043 2.492 38 gdpr 4.274 4.630 4.322 -0.064 3.232 38 gini 44.224 43.450 5.278 0.571 2.545 38 lgfcf 6.145 5.861 2.619 0.070 1.740 38 source: authors’ computation from e-view 9 the result of descriptive statistics is presented in table 1 above. the result shows that poverty rate (povr) has the highest mean of 53.892. this is followed by inequality (gini), with the mean of 44.224, domestic investment (lgfcf) with the mean of 6.145. economic growth (gdpr) has the least mean (4.274). poverty also has the highest standard deviation of 6.673. a higher standard deviation indicates that the variable is highly variable. inequality also has the standard deviation of 5.278, followed by economic growth (4.322). domestic investment is less variable with the least standard deviation of 2.619. poverty and gdp growth rate are negatively skewed while inequality and domestic investment are positively skewed. the values of the skewness and kurtosis for all the variables are different from zero (0) and 3 respectively. this is an indication of non-normal distribution which might have accounted for non stationary of most of the series. unit root tests unit root tests were conducted for each of the variable. this is to avoid the problem of spurious regression, which is associated with time series variables. augmented dickey-fuller (adf) and phillips-perron (pp) test statistics were adopted for the tests. the results of these tests are presented in tables 2 and 3 below. table 2: result of adf and pp unit root tests @ level adf@level pp@ level economic growth nexus in nigeria 145 variables intercept with trend intercept with trend povr -1.758143 (0.3947) -1.035069 (0.9264) -1.758143 (0.3947) -1.035069 (0.9264) gdpr -3.428298(0.0162)** -3.338765 (0.0758) -3.428298 (0.0162)** -3.338765 (0.0758) gini -2.345209 (0.1641) -2.004376 (0.5793) -2.345209 (0.1641) -2.004376 (0.5793) lgfcf -0.742705 (0.9915) -4.036588 (0.0159)** -0.742705 (0.9915) -4.036588 (0.0159)** note: the figures in parentheses are the probability values respectively *and ** imply significant @ 1% and 5% respectively. source: authors’ computation from e-view 9 table 2 above presents the results of adf and pp unit root tests at level. from the result, growth rate of real gdp and gross fixed capital formation are stationary at level. in other words, they are i(0) process, which implies that they do not contain unit root. conversely, poverty rate and inequality are not stationary at level, that is, they contain unit root. hence, they have to be differenced in order to achieve stationarity. table 3 below shows the results of both adf and pp unit root tests for al the variables. table 3: result of adf and pp unit root tests @ first difference variables adf @ first difference intercept with trend pp@ first difference intercept with trend povr -5.0435923 (0.0001)* -5.952469 (0.0001) -5.435923 (0.0001)* -5.952469 (0.0001)* gdpr -7.899302 (0.0000)* -8.037739 (0.0000)* -7.899302 (0.00000)* -8.037739 (0.0000)* gini -3.215890 (0.0272)** -3.465967(0.0586) -3.215890 (0.0272)** -3.465967 (0.0586) lgfcf -5.742674 (0.000)* -6.628851 (0.0003)* -5.742674 (0.0000)* -5.628801 (0.0003)* note: the figures in parentheses are the probability values respectively *and ** imply significant @ 1% and 5% respectively source: authors’ computation from e-view 9 tables 3 above presents that poverty rate and inequality are stationary at first difference. in other words, they are i(1) process. the presence of unit root in some of the variables necessitates further investigation on the nature of the long run relationship among the variables. hence, the next step is to test for cointegration among the variables. cointegration test it has been identified from the unit root tests conducted that the variables have mixed order of integration. in other words, they are i(0) and i(1) variables. therefore autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model, applying bounds test, becomes the most appropriate procedure for testing for cointegration between the dependent variable (poverty rate) and independent variables (growth rate of real gdp, inequality, domestic investment and democracy). the result of ardl is presented in table 4 below. table 4: result of bounds test ardl bounds test date: 06/27/21 time: 21:43 sample: 1984 2019 included observations: 36 null hypothesis: no long-run relationships exist test statistic value k f-statistic 6.926791 4 critical value bounds significance i0 bound i1 bound 10% 2.45 3.52 5% 2.86 4.01 2.5% 3.25 4.49 1% 3.74 5.06 source: authors’ computation from e-view 9 to conduct the ardl bounds test, optimal lag length based on akaike information criteria was selected. the optimal lag order selected is 2. the result of ardl bounds test presented above shows that the value of f statistic is 6.926791. since this value is higher than the upper bounds, i (1) at 5 percent and 1 percent respectively, the null hypothesis of no cointegration is rejected. this means that there is cointegration between the dependent variable and independent variables. the existence of cointegration among the variables necessitates further tests on the short run and long run impact of growth rate of the economy (measured by real gdp growth) on poverty reduction in nigeria during the period covered by the study. economic growth nexus in nigeria 147 presentation and discussion of ardl short run and long run results. table 5: results of ardl short run and long run. ardl cointegrating and long run form dependent variable: povr selected model: ardl(1, 2, 0, 0, 2) date: 06/27/21 time: 21:51 sample: 1982 2019 included observations: 36 cointegrating form variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. d(gdpr) 0.221844 0.103246 2.148703 0.0411 d(gdpr(-1)) -0.250882 0.082641 -3.035790 0.0054 d(gini) 1.074328 0.103446 10.385446 0.0000 d(lgfcf) -0.802129 0.281623 -2.848233 0.0085 d(demo) -2.162190 1.904779 -1.135139 0.2667 d(demo(-1)) -7.173678 2.275561 -3.152488 0.0041 cointeq(-1) -0.752804 0.083507 -9.014881 0.0000 cointeq = povr (0.4342*gdpr + 1.4271*gini 1.0655*lgfcf + 5.2161 *demo -6.9541 ) long run coefficients variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. gdpr 0.434197 0.158669 2.736495 0.0110 gini 1.427102 0.110668 12.895328 0.0000 lgfcf -1.065521 0.392963 -2.711506 0.0117 demo 5.216080 2.116899 2.464020 0.0207 c -6.954108 4.459213 -1.559492 0.1310 the ardl result presented above shows that in the short run, growth in real gdp has negative and significant impact on poverty rate both in the current period and in the immediate past period, with the probability values of 0.0411 and 0.0054 respectively. this implies that increase in gdp growth leads to poverty reduction. however, in the long run, its impact on poverty rate becomes positive and significant, with the probability value of 0.0110. this is a deviation in the expectation. the result also indicates that inequality, measured by gini coefficient, has positive and significant impact on poverty rate both in the short run and long run. this is in line with the expectation because increase in inequality leads to increase in poverty. similarly, the empirical result also shows that gross fixed capital formation, which is a proxy for domestic investment, has negative and significant impact on poverty reduction both in the short run and in the long run. this is in line with the a priori expectation because an increase in domestic investment leads to poverty reduction in an economy. with respect to democratic stability, the impact of its current value is negative and insignificant but its immediate paste value is also negative and significant. however, in the long run, the impact of democratic stability on poverty reduction appears positive and significant. this implies that democratic stability leads to poverty reduction in the short run while in the long run, it increases poverty. this indicates policy discontinuity in the implementation of poverty reduction strategies adopted by the successive governments in nigeria over the years. the error correction term, which measures the speed by which short term deviations in poverty rate converges back to, or diverges from its long run equilibrium, is -0.752804. it is correctly signed, fractional and significant with the probability value of 0.0000. this implies that the model employed is stable. the short term deviations converge to long run equilibrium at an annual speed rate of 75.28 percent. this shows a high speed of adjustment to equilibrium after a shock. post estimation tests the results of post estimation tests conducted for the robustness of the model includes, ramsey reset test for model specification, breusch-pagan-godfrey test for heteroscedasticity, breusch-godfrey lm test for serial correlation and jarque-bera test for normality economic growth nexus in nigeria 149 table 6: diagnostic tests results. ramsey reset test equation: untitled specification: povr povr(-1) gdpr gdpr(-1) gdpr(-2) gini lgfcf demo demo(-1) demo(-2) c omitted variables: squares of fitted values value df probability t-statistic 0.542345 25 0.5924 f-statistic 0.294138 (1, 25) 0.5924 heteroskedasticity test: breusch-pagan-godfrey f-statistic 1.376939 prob. f(9,26) 0.2486 obs*r-squared 11.62021 prob. chi-square(9) 0.2356 scaled explained ss 12.77956 prob. chi-square(9) 0.1728 breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test: f-statistic 4.521402 prob. f(2,24) 0.0216 obs*r-squared 9.852097 prob. chi-square(2) 0.0073 source: authors’ computation from e-view 9 the probability values of ramsey reset test and breusch-pagan-godfrey test for heteroscedasticity are greater than 0.05 respectively. this shows that the functional form of the model is well specified and that the residuals are homoscedastic. however, there is serial correlation problem since the probability value of lm test, which is 0.0073, is less than 0.05 fig.1 jarque-bera normality test 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 series: residuals sample 1984 2019 observations 36 mean 1.09e-14 median -0.405951 maximum 4.848970 minimum -2.122345 std. dev. 1.468143 skewness 1.370602 kurtosis 5.216872 jarque-bera 18.64308 probability 0.000089 the probability value of jarque-bera is less than 0.05. this is not surprising because the presence of unit root in some of the variables might have accounted for this. summary, conclusion and recommendations summary of the findings and conclusion the empirical results of ardl model presented above show that the growth in real gdp has negative and significant impact on poverty rate in the short run while in the long run, its impact on poverty rate appears positive and significant. this implies that growth in real gdp leads to poverty reduction in the short run while in the long run, it leads to increase in poverty. this indicates policy inconsistency in poverty reduction strategies by successive governments in the country. the results also show that increase in inequality increases poverty both in the short run and long run. it is also found that increase in domestic investment leads to a reduction in poverty both in the short run and long run. this is in line with the expectation. the empirical results also show that democratic stability, proxied by democracy dummy, has negative impact on poverty reduction in the short run while in the long run, its impact appears positive and significant. this implies that democracy institution reduces poverty in the short run and increases poverty in the long run. the conclusion drawn is that growth in nigeria is not pro-poor. this is because increase in income inequality, which appears positive and significant both in the short run and long run reduces the impact of growth on poverty reduction in nigeria. economic growth nexus in nigeria 151 policy recommendations based on the findings from the above results, the following recommendations are made. the empirical results show that real gdp growth reduces poverty in the short run while in the long run, it increases poverty. the change in sign from negative in the short run to positive in the long run shows policy discontinuity in the implementation of poverty reduction strategies by the successive government in nigeria, over the years. it is therefore recommended that the poverty eradication programme, better life for rural women, etc, which were initiated by the previous regimes should be implemented until success is achieved. this is to ensure policy continuity in governance. the results also show that increase in inequality increases poverty both in the long run and short run, while at the same time, increase in growth of real gdp increases poverty in the long run. the implication is that increase in inequality in income distribution can increase poverty further despite increase in growth. this implies that growth in nigeria is not pro-poor. it is recommended that the government should embark on giving interest free loans to small scale farmers, unemployed graduates and organize skill acquisition programmes for the youths to make them gainfully engaged. this will help to reduce unemployment and increase income distribution. the results also indicate that democracy reduces poverty in the short run while in the long run, it increases poverty. political stability measures a predictable political environment which attracts investment both internally and externally. the implication of this finding is that the dividends of democracy do not reach the grass root to be able to reduce poverty. it is recommended here that the government should monitor the disbursement of funds aimed at reducing poverty such as school meals programmes, budgetary allocation to education and health, loans to smallscale farmers, etc. this will make people to enjoy the dividends of democracy. references agrawal, p. 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(case) paper, 205/lip paper 2, 1 – 37. politicization of appointment 201 implications of politicization of appointment and recruitment for the performance of nigeria public sector chikeleze, francis okechukwu. ph. d department of public administration enugu state university of science and technology, enugu, nigeria & orji, uloma bridget department of public administration enugu state university of science and technology, enugu, nigeria abstract politicization of appointments and recruitments in the public sector has remained a challenging issue in their performance. this paper is an empirical study using questionnaire and interview instruments to investigate its different manifestations in the nigerian context, its causes, implications and possible solutions to address it. data from the study were presented and analyzed qualitatively using tables, percentages and bar charts. the findings of the study indicate a high occurrence of this phenomenon that result in inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the service. other implications include corruption, loss of control and accountability in the service. it is recommended that merit should be the major basis for recruitment rather than political considerations if the performance of the public service will be improved. keywords: appointment, bureaucracy, performance, politicization, productivity, recruitment, selection. introduction according to basu (2013) and biobele (2007), rational recruitment and/or appointment system is very crucial to the performance of the public sector and socio-economic development of any country since it is the major facilitator for the implementation of the will of the state expressed through public policies. however, it is unfortunate that in spite of the strategic role of the public sector as the dominant instrument in driving socio-economic and political development of the country, this role has been undermined by undue political interferences that constrain its effectiveness and efficiency in public service delivery (onwe, abali and nwokwu, 2015). one of the persistent challenges that is crippling the performance of the public sector in nigeria is the substitution of the merit based criteria in the appointment and recruitment of public servants with political considerations (oyedeji, 2016). it also appears that the political class is investing greater effort and attention in steering the public service to conform to their partisan policy preferences (onwe, abah and nwokwu, 2015), rather than their traditional neutral posture. the public service is traditionally set up to function strictly in line with bureaucratic principles as a guarantee for good performance. this helps to ensure stability, orderliness and accountability needed to ensure smooth transition from one political regime to another. deviation from these bureaucratic principles is bound to upset the system and create problems that impede their performance. government bureaucracies run on rational legal authority that is legitimized by a politicization of appointment 202 belief in the supremacy of the law, rules and regulations. consequently, obedience in a bureaucratic set up is owed, not to persons, but to a set of impersonal principles. however appointments based on political considerations skews obedience to political godfathers rather than rational rules governing the system which include the requirement to follow directives originating from an office superior to one’s own regardless of who occupies the higher office. the epigram of this system is best described as government of laws and not of men. but politically motivated appointments incline employees’ allegiance more towards their political sponsors than their superior offices especially where there is a conflict. sometimes some of these politically motivated appointments are not borne out of the need for such officers, but as compensation to political cronies and appendages. in such cases, appointments are not made in line with clearly demarcated division of labour that define government bureaucracies but rather offices are created to suit political intensions and interests of politicians rather than to meet operational need of the public service. this disposition of politicization of appointments seriously distorts the administrative terrain of the public service and their performance since they are clogged with appointees that neither fit into their structure nor accountable to it. hierarchal structure is another distinct characteristic of the bureaucracy that requires officials to be responsible to his/her superior for his/her decisions and actions, as well as that of subordinates. while hierarchy promotes discipline, politicized appointments have the tendency to negate this principle by breeding appointees whose allegiance is to politicians outside the organization who appointed them rather than the hierarchy within the system. again, the public service is a bureaucracy guided by a system of rational rules and regulations that direct decisions and actions of officials and the government. these rules and regulations ensure uniformity of operations, make co-ordination of various activities and departments easy, promoted stability in government operations, and provide for continuity in the operations of the government irrespective of changes in political leadership. experience shows that political appointees respond more to the interests and dictates of those that appointed them than to rational rules and regulations especially when there is a conflict between the two. it is common knowledge that political interests usually prevail over rules and regulations in government operations in the nigerian situation. another major characteristic of the bureaucracy that enhances its performance is its impersonality. government officials are expected to assume an impersonal posture devoid of any taint of favouritism in the performance of their official functions and in their relationship with the public they serve. their clients are supposed to be treated as cases and the officials are expected to disregard all personal considerations and maintain complete emotional detachment while dealing with clients and the public. this is designed to prevent the personal feelings of the officials from distorting their rational judgment in carrying out their duties and responsibilities. unfortunately, appointments based on political considerations are bound to negate this principle since officers are obligated to give their first consideration to those that appointed them and their interests. apart from the issue of political patronage, another issue in the politicization of appointment is the issues of the quota system entrenched in chapter 11 section 14, sub-section 3 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. as noted by okoli (2004), appointment and recruitment by representation more often than not increases the chances of filling positions with less qualified persons since the emphasis is on geographical, ethnic or religious spread rather than qualification. nwatu (2012) also added that the zoning principle and quota system based on federal character is essentially centered more on benefits and rewards for the zones than in their contribution politicization of appointment 203 towards economic development. again abara (2016) pointed out that transition to a new government always heralds appointments of people from the same locality, relations, friends and associates of the governor into the public sector. that explains why whenever there is a change of government the dialect of the new governor assumes the status of the lingua franca in the government house. this shows that people from the same locality with the number one citizen are given undue consideration for appointment. both political patronage and quota system were observed as being substantially responsible for the high level of administrative inefficiency and low productivity experienced with the public service despite the myriad of reforms over the years. the selection and employment processes in the public sector are supposed to be competitive and fundamentally based on merit giving foremost attention to the professional and technical qualifications of candidates rather than on political, family, religious, ethnic or other considerations. usually the recruitment process should include competitive examinations, interviews and presentation of relevant certificates that attest to the candidates’ qualification and competencies for the position. but unfortunately, the aforementioned exogenous influences emanating from political interferences in the recruitment process impinge on the recruitment process at the expense of the merit system and consequently encumber the performance of the public sector by imposing on them employees that are ill equipped for the responsibilities they are entrusted with. specifically, they give rise to inefficiency, low productivity, lack of commitment, incompetence, corruption, overstaffing, indiscipline, and other numerous staff misconduct resulting from the appointment of unqualified political party stalwarts and allies. furthermore this politicization saga makes staff planning, control and discipline very difficult if not impossible. despite the several reforms the public sector has been through over the years with a view to achieving the much desired efficiency, effectiveness and responsive governance only the structural problems are being addressed without any of those reforms truly addressing the issue of political interference in the system. this is substantially because the various governments that attempted to address those issues are all culprits and beneficiaries of political interferences and can hardly legislate against their entrenched interests. consequently, in spite of these reforms, the much desired enhanced productivity in the public sector remain elusive essentially because structures are run by persons, and until the right persons are in place, the structures can never function well on its own. this paper therefore examined the different manifestations of politicization of appointment in the nigerian public sector, its implications for the performance of the sector and possible solutions to the problem this menace poses to the performance of the sector. literature review politicization of appointment public sector organizations are described by dube (2011) as consisting of governments and all publicly controlled or publicly funded agencies, enterprises, and other entities that deliver public programmes, goods and/or services. politicization of the public sector was also defined by onah (2003) as the process by which politicians manipulate the appointment, recruitment, training, promotion procedures and processes of the public sector in order to achieve political goals. also according to stanliberg (2007), politicization is aimed at getting the administration to react favorably to political signals, reflect the composition of the society and its environment outside government, and accord greater weight to political party criteria rather than merit in the recruitment and appointment of administrators. politicization of appointment according to osakwe (2007) also politicization of appointment 204 refers to the recruitment and selection of public sector personnel that are based on political patronage or determined by political considerations through the use of other criteria than merit, qualification and technical know-how in the recruitment and selection process. abara (2016) also pointed out that cases of politicization of appointment are also reflected in cases where recruitment and appointments into public sector organizations are based on the concept of “godfatherism” by the political class which throws off the merit criteria. it was also observed that another dimension in the politicization saga is the quest to compensate party loyalists with appointment into the public sector. party affiliation has thus become the basis for appointment into the key public office positions rather than merit and/or technical qualification. finally, eme and ugwu (2011) observed that the introduction of the quota system in recruitment and promotion, adherence to the federal character principle, and the constant interference of the government in the day-to-day operation of the public service especially through frequent changes in top officials and massive purges affirm that political factors, rather than merit alone, play a major role in public sector organizations in nigeria. politicization is also generally seen as a means by which the political system may strengthen its positive hold on the administrative system in order to make the bureaucracy more compliant to its desires (onah, 2003). implications of politicization of appointment for public sector performance politicians take advantage of politicization as a means of control but it also tends to lead to loss of identity for the workers. public sector employees are overly concerned about the security of their positions and as such are not inclined to take the initiatives or decisions themselves without giving a second thought to their political godfathers. because of fear of possible victimization they are unduly subdued and robbed of their rights and use of initiative and independent judgment. onwe, abah and nwokwu (2015) noted that politically motivated appointments of unqualified and wrong caliber of persons who do not possess the necessary experience, skills, abilities and qualifications to management positions and heads of government establishments place puppets and stooges in headship positions and can only lead to gross inefficiencies. because these political appointees lack the requisite knowledge and clout for the positions they are appointed to, and their crave to remain relevant in government, they are overzealous to accept unwholesome instructions from their political sponsors and godfathers. this invariably engenders inefficiency in their sphere of operations since their allegiance is outwardly oriented. this tendency naturally results in low commitment to their organization and consequent low productivity and shortfall in meeting tasks and objectives over time. while it is generally hoped that the problem of employees’ incompetence created through politically instigated considerations in the recruitment process will be addressed through in-service trainings, it has also been noted that such in-service trainings were developed using some fundamental benchmarks of competence determinable at the point of entry. politically instigated employees often do not possess these fundamental competencies and as such, these problems are not really addressed through training thereby leading still to downturn in performance level of the sector. another major consequence of politically motivated appointment and recruitment is corruption because merit and other rational considerations are sacrificed in favour of political and other unethical considerations. a good number of politically motivated appointments are premised on reward for earlier political support, and beneficiaries are usually allowed to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by their appointment to recoup what the politician “owed” them for their politicization of appointment 205 support during campaigns and elections. consequently, their corrupt practices are not usually checked. they seem to have the support of their godfathers to loot public treasury and even make substantial returns to those who appointed them. again, political considerations in appointment and recruitment often give rise to overstaffing due to the fact that these politicians officers often compensate their cronies through employment. this in turn hinders strategic manpower planning and management by over bloating the service (cole, 2002). this over-staffing creates conducive environment for indiscipline more especially when direct supervisors or heads of department has no say in the appointment of such staff under them. under such circumstance the appointees are less likely to be accountable to their supervisors and may not also respect laid down regulations of the organization since they enjoy undue political favour and coverage. they naturally owe more loyalty to their political godfathers than direct supervisors. it is also very difficult to sanction such employees when they err due to their political connections. oyedeji (2016) also argues that there is significant correlation between politicization of the nigerian civil service and its level of efficiency. this position is supported by onwe, abah and nwokwu (2015) who pointed out that the political big wigs always have their way in influencing the recruitment processes in the civil service especially with an undue application of the federal character principle, local government spread, and quota system. they further opined that appointing an officer by representation is like appointing one’s relative and friends to a position. appointment through representation criteria has no direct bearing to efficiency in service delivery. the main objective of representation in appointment is to promote national unity and integration and not effectiveness or efficiency of the public service. this situation rather causes disillusionment and frustration among other officers who cannot aspire to higher positions simply because their own quota has been filled. for as long as positions are not filled on merit by the right people, but by those recommended by influential individuals and groups, there will be increased feeing of relative deprivation by the people. onyemesim (2009) observed that politicization of appointment and recruitment contributes significantly to the high level of brain-drain in nigeria public sector because instead of engaging the services of technically qualified personnel, those with connections, godfather, etc. are appointed to head positions in public organizations. consequently, those with requisite knowledge and expertise who have no place in the service leave the country thereby depleting the level of efficient and effective manpower that would have been available to run the public sector. in his study, igbokwe (2015) identified politicization of appointment as a major problem facing recruitment in the nigeria public sector and have created difficulties for the appointment of right persons for the right jobs based on the principles of merit and equal opportunities for all citizens. he noted that suitable and qualified candidates are not encouraged to compete for appointments into the public sector thereby leaving those positions to incompetent people to occupy. again, nwogwugwu and sosanya (2015) pointed out that the federal character principle negatively affects appointment into the civil service system in nigeria in that when mediocrity is acclaimed through politically motivated appointments, low level of administrative efficiency and performance will ultimately result. theoretical background the study is anchored on the bureaucratic and ethical theories. max weber’s theory of bureaucracy which presented bureaucratic organization as being very rational in its operations. according to laxmikanth (2007), the organization of positions in a bureaucracy follows the principle of hierarchy in organizational operations. again, the bureaucracy is characterized by systematic politicization of appointment 206 division of labour with each function clearly defined with specific sphere of responsibilities. the ideal type of legal rational bureaucracy designed by max weber has seven tenets that include the principles of merit which demands that officials should be selected on the basis of technical qualification ascertained by competitive examination. okoli (2003) also noted that the bureaucratic principle still remains the best possible organizational design that can guarantee organizational rationality and performance by emphasizing technical qualification and merit as the basis for recruitment and appointments into offices as opposed to political considerations and patronage. in contrast, politicization of appointments fills position, not on the basis of merit or competencies but on the basis of other extraneous political criteria. under this disposition, written examinations are no longer considered necessary as tests for knowledge, skills and competence but rather persons are appointed or recruited to occupy positions in the public sector on the basis of personal relationships whether they are qualified or not. the only critical qualification for positions under conditions of politicization is the connection with the “right person” in the political chain (adamolekun, 2006). again okoli (2003) noted that in a politicized context, while the office super structure still organizes offices and positions hierarchically in a super-ordinate/subordinate relationship, the incumbent of those offices and positions are not. in some of these cases, incumbents of higher positions and offices might be less qualified and competent than those of lower positions and offices because their appointments were based on political considerations rather than merit. the merit system recommended by weber made it clear that in a bureaucracy, loyalty is to the office not to the person and as such those that occupy those offices must be seen to possess requisite capabilities and competences to occupy them. in nigeria however, the appointment and recruitment of public servants has been significantly politicized through godfatherism, federal character principle, and representation. the principle of representation (politics) implies that the representatives are more prone to represent and act in the interest of those they represents in the discharge of their official responsibilities. in this case, their loyalty is no longer to the office or the wider society but to the group they represent. they are more concerned with sectional interest rather than holistic commitment to the organization and its purposes and goals for the larger society. this, according to okoli (2004) negates weber’s ideal type bureaucracy. again, the main concern of immanuel kant’s (1724-1804) ethical theory is morality which is the yard stick for measuring good and bad behaviours. it questions whether public officers should pursue their personal interests at the expense of collective good because they were appointed into public offices on the basis of political consideration rather than merit. premised on this theoretical perspective, the appointments and recruitments into the public sector organizations prompted by political connections, godfatherism, sectional and tribal considerations rather than merit is questionable. the natural outcome of this arrangement is the compromise of efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. the ethic theory therefore advocates a universal law that guides the appointment and recruitment processes that everybody should follow. thus appointments and recruitments not based on merit and relevant qualifications ascertained through competitive examination or interview is unethical. adherence to the principles of merit in the recruitment and appointment process is perceived by the ethic perspective as one of the major ways of achieving and guaranteeing higher performance of the public sector in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery. politicization of appointment 207 methodology this paper as an empirical study employed survey design in its investigation. five ministries in enugu state of nigeria comprising of ministries of works and infrastructure, transport, agriculture, health and education were surveyed in the study. the population of the study comprise of the employees of the selected ministries numbering 7,163 as at the time of the study. the population is distributed according to the ministries and staff cadre as shown in table 1 below. ministry managemen t staff senior staff junior staff total sample percentage agriculture 39 712 1,663 2,414 127 34 health 56 582 1,510 2,148 113 30 education 74 431 960 1,465 78 20 transport 37 182 445 664 35 9 works/infrastructu re 33 124 315 472 26 7 totals 239 2031 4893 7,163 379 100 table 1 population and sample distribution source: enugu state civil service commission the instruments used for data collection are structured questionnaire and interviews. stratified random sampling was used for questionnaire administration while purposive sampling was used for interviews to correlate responses generated from the questionnaire. data generated were presented, analyzed and discussed using frequencies, percentages and bar charts. data presentation the data generated from the study is here presented and discussed. for purposes of convenience, details of response frequencies and percentages are presented individually in the table for each response option. in their discussion however, the “very high” and “high” responses are treated together while “low” and “very low” are treated together. those without opinion (don’t know) are ignored in the analysis and discussion. the tables are presented in frequencies and percentages while the analyses are presented in percentages. the first issue dealt with the extent of occurrence of politicization of appointments and recruitment. secondly, the implications of such politicization for the performance of the public sector was presented and discussed. finally the views of the respondents on the possible solutions to this challenge was presented and discussed accordingly. politicization of appointment 208 s/n options very high extent high extent don’t know low extent very low extent total 1 compensation of party loyalists 165 54% 59 19% 37 12% 31 10% 16 5% 308 100% 2 godfatherism-express order by political heads to appoint their preferred candidates 175 57% 65 21% 13 4% 34 11% 21 7% 308 100% 3 federal character clause (principle of representation) 144 47% 49 15% 31 10% 50 16% 34 11% 308 100% 4 local/state government spread, quota and zoning system 219 71% 43 14% 19 6% 16 5% 11 4% 308 100% table 2 manifestation of politicization in appointment and recruitment figure 1 manifestation of politicization in appointment and recruitment from the data collected from the study politicization of appointment and recruitment into the public service is manifested through the compensation of political loyalists by recruiting them into the public service for their loyalty and support for political office holders. this factor has a positive score of 73 percent with a negative score of only 12 percent. again the influence of godfathers that use their political connection to influence appointments and recruitments has a positive score of 78 percent as against 18 percent negative score. furthermore, the opinion of respondents were sought on the level of politicization of appointments and recruitments based on the federal character clause of representation and the local government spread, quota and zoning systems. 62 percent of respondents shared the view that federal character considerations played significant role in the 54 57 47 71 19 21 15 1412 4 10 6 10 11 16 5 2 7 11 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 compensation for political party loyalists godfatherismorder by political authorities to appoint preferred candidates federal character clause of representation local government spread, quota and zoning systems very high extent high extent don't know low extent very low extent politicization of appointment 209 appointment and recruitment process while 27 percent felt otherwise. finally, 85 percent of the respondents were of the view that appointments and recruitments were influenced by local government spread, quota and zoning systems while 9 percent disagreed. s/ n options very high extent high exten t don’t know low exten t very low extent total 1 inefficiency resulting from appointment of unqualified political party loyalists 163 53% 62 20% 16 5% 36 12% 31 10% 308 100% 2 low productivity and ineffectiveness resulting from appointment of incompetent party stalwarts 215 70% 48 16% 10 3% 19 6% 16 5% 308 100% 3 lack of commitment to organizational goals and objectives 132 43% 55 18% 28 9% 72 23% 21 7% 308 100% 4 high level of corruption due to lack of accountability to the system 172 56% 62 20% 14 5% 34 11% 26 8% 308 100% 5 overstaffing resulting from ignoring real manpower needs 226 73% 34 11% 9 3% 12 4% 27 9% 308 100% 6 staff indiscipline resulting from not being fully responsible to the organization’s hierarchy 203 66% 56 18% 19 6% 21 7% 9 3% 308 100% table 3 implications of politicization of appointment in nigeria public sector on productivity figure 2 implications of politicization of appointment in nigeria public sector on productivity 53 70 43 56 73 66 20 16 18 20 11 18 5 3 9 5 3 6 12 6 23 11 4 710 5 7 8 9 3 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 inefficiency resulting from appointment of unqualified political party loyalists low productivity and ineffectiveness resulting from appointment of incompetent party stalwarts lack of commitment to organizational goals and objectives high level of corruption due to lack of accountability to the system overstaffing resulting from ignoring real manpower needs staff indiscipline resulting from not being fully responsible to the organization’s hierarchy very high extent high extent don't know low extent very low extent politicization of appointment 210 on the implications of politicization of appointments and recruitment in the public service 73 percent of the respondents felt that it results in inefficiency in service delivery while 22 percent felt otherwise. again, 86 percent of the respondents felt that it results to low productivity while 11 percent disagreed. 61 percent of the respondents felt that politicization of appointments and recruitments erodes the commitment of employees to their services while 30 percent felt it does not. increased corruption in the public service was also seen as one of the fallouts of politicization in the appointment and recruitments of personnel. 76 percent of respondents were positive that politicization increases corruption in the service while 19 felt otherwise. overstaffing was also identified as one of the consequences of politicization of appointments and recruitments in the service. this view was supported by 84 percent of the respondents while 13 percent disagree. 84 percent of the respondents share the view that politicization of appointments and recruitments breeds indiscipline in the service while 10 percent disagree. s/n options very high extent high extent don’t know low extent very low extent 1 appointments and recruitments should be based strictly on qualification and professional competence 137 44% 79 26% 34 11% 30 10% 28 9% 2 appointments and recruitments should be strictly based on existing vacancies to prevent over staffing 211 69% 53 17% 20 7% 16 5% 8 3% 3 vacancies for existing positions should be properly advertized 193 63% 48 16% 19 6% 32 10% 16 5% 4 recruitment and selection should be by competitive written examination and interviews 204 66% 55 18% 16 5% 23 8% 11 3% 5 appointment by quota or representation need to ensure that the best candidate from the area is recruited 118 38% 76 25% 10 3%` 71 23% 33 10% 6 empowered organizations enough to take only candidates they need to avert imposition by politicians 223 72% 60 19% 8 3% 6 2% 11 4% table 4 possible measures to tackle the politicization politicization of appointment 211 figure 3 on the possible solutions to the challenges posed by politicization of appointments and recruitment in the public service, respondents volunteered some suggestions based on their experience in the service. 70 percent of the respondents felt that such employees’ engagement needs to be strictly based on qualifications and professional competencies while 19 percent feel otherwise. again, they support the view that appointments and recruitments need also to be based on competitive written examinations and interviews (84 percent) for existing vacancies (86 percent) which should be properly advertised (79 percent) in the public domain. while 63 percent advocate that appointments by quota and representation need to ensure that selected candidates meet the required qualification and competence, 33 percent feel otherwise. finally, 91 percent of respondents have the view that public institutions and organizations should be empowered enough to have their say and way in recruiting only candidates they need without external imposition of candidates by the political class. only 6 percent feel otherwise. discussion of findings the overall response shows that intervention of influential political figures, federal character and local government considerations in the appointment and recruitment process plays very significant role in the determination of the people appointed into public service. the overall response indicate that while 82 percent of the respondents were of the view that non-merit factors account for the appointments and recruitments into public sector organizations, only 18 percent felt that merit was given its due place in the process. the implication of this scenario is that the service is filled and run by people who were engaged through political channels and considerations rather than the rational and merit-based process. consequently, the compromise of merit for political considerations substantially accounts for the poor performance of those employees in particular and the service in general since their competencies, qualifications, capacities and suitability were not the driving considerations in their appointments and recruitments. it is obvious that when merit, qualifications and competencies are not the basis for engaging employees, but rather political considerations that is aimed at rewarding political party loyalist and 44 69 63 66 38 72 0 26 17 16 18 25 19 11 7 6 5 3 3 10 5 10 8 23 2 9 3 5 3 10 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 very high extent high extent don't know low extent very low extent politicization of appointment 212 cronies, geopolitical considerations and other exogenous factor that do not impact on job performance, the natural outcome will be inefficiency, low productivity, ineffectiveness, lack of commitment, corruption, overstaffing, and indiscipline in the system. this is because people who are not competent are engaged in the service and they cannot offer what they do not have just because they occupy the offices. they will be inefficient, ineffective and unproductive in carrying out their assigned functions because they do not have the basic capacity and competencies to deliver on their job assignments. again, because their appointments and recruitments were sponsored and ordered from outside the service by powerful political officers, their allegiance is oriented towards those sponsors and godfathers rather than the institutions they are working for. some of those politically motivated personnel take orders from their political sponsors and godfathers outside organizational structure rather than their immediate supervisors in the organizations they serve. because their appointment and recruitment was not determined by the organizational structure and process, they are hardly committed to goals and objectives of such organizations and are unwilling to stake their best in its service. engagement in corrupt practices is also rampant in that most of such employees are engaged as a payback and reward for earlier services given to the politicians and they are often permitted to recoup finical costs they incurred earlier during campaigns using their positions as the platform. and because they are usually backed by powerful politicians it becomes impossible to bring their corrupt activities to question and account. it is also nearly impossible to subject such persons to organizational discipline knowing that they are backed by more powerful sponsors and godfathers than their immediate supervisors who often do not have the clout to contend with such sponsors. finally, in an unemployment prone society, political windows of employment naturally result in overstaffing the service with personnel that have no job assignment other than show up in office when it is convenient to them. this is very common in most public institutions. apart from these politically engaged personnel not contributing much to the service in return for the huge salaries they draw monthly, they constitute a source of serious discouragements (by their indiscipline and lack of commitment to the service) to those who are otherwise willing to work. it is obvious that once appointments and recruitments are based on merit, the efficiency, effectiveness and performance of public sector organizations will be upgraded because employees will be made to occupy areas where they are competent and possess the capacity to deliver on their jobs. again, when recruitment is based on existing vacancies the issue of overstaffing will be reduced making it possible to monitor the performance of employees as well as reduce the cost of government operations. furthermore, if appointment and recruitment opportunities are publicly advertized and filled through competitive examinations and interviews it will make room to widely source competent and qualified personnel to fill those vacancies. even when quota and representative systems are applied in selected cases, the process needs to ensure that qualified, competent and suitable candidates are recruited from those geographical zones. conclusion from the findings of the study, it is obvious that politicization of appointments and recruitments in the public service is detrimental to good performance. this is premised on the major reasons that such employees are hardly passed through serious scrutiny that will ascertain their qualifications, competencies and ability to contribute reasonable to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the public service. secondly, the imposition of such personnel on the service gives them an outward orientation both in terms of commitment and accountability to the organizations they serve and makes the issue of staff discipline almost impossible. it also cannot be over emphasized that politicization of appointment 213 organizations that have no control over the appointment and discipline of their employees are bound to be burdened with a workforce it cannot manage and direct in the pursuit of their goals and objective. finally, it is pertinent to mention that public sector performance is squarely based on the nature of her human capital and how they are engaged. as such faulty engagement is bound to result in poor performance. recommendations in view of the findings of the study it is briefly recommended here that 1. appointments and recruitments need to be based on merit and competencies even if the policy of representation, quota and federal character are observed. this should be publicly advertised to create opportunities for the best candidates to be engaged even when quota and representative systems are applied in selected cases. 2. appointments and recruitments should be based on existing vacancies in order to address the challenge of overstaffing and monitoring of employees with a view to ensuring reduced cost of governance, efficiency and indiscipline in the service. 3. public organizations should be allowed to fully control staff appointment and recruitments to conform to their specific needs at any given time without undue interference by the political and influential class. 4. much as politics and administration are highly related and political officers have the tendencies to sometime engage preferred candidates to ensure the realization of their political goals, it should be done with discretion and in a way that is transparent and rational to ensure unity of command in the service. references abara, g. a. 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(2016). politicization of the civil service: implications for good governance. international journal of innovative social sciences and humanities research, 4(1), 1-12. stanliberg, e.e. (2007). manifestation of politics in recruitment and selection of federal public servants in nigeria. african journal of business management, 1(6), 361-374. the role of socially desirable responses in the assessment of well-being among nigerian university students b.n. onyekachi* p. n. ibeagha department of psychology, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state, nigeria. *correspondence: blessing.ome@unn.edu.ng abstract there is a growing research interest in psychosocial correlates of happiness in the field of positive psychology. however, research examining reported levels of happiness in the nigerian context shows contradictory findings. the present study therefore examined whether socially desirable responding could account for such conflicting reports. three hundred and fifty-three undergraduate students (194 males and 159 females) were conveniently drawn from university of nigeria, nsukka. the respondents were aged 17 to 35years (mage = 22.50; sd = 3.18). they completed study measures in addition to relevant demographic information. hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyse the data. the results showed that higher incidence of socially desirable responses was positively related to scores on the subjective happiness scale (t = 6.70, p < .001), the positive affect dimensions of the i-panas-sf (t = 4.63, p <.001), and spane (t = 4.63, p < .001), while, higher incidence of socially desirable responses was negatively related to the negative affect dimensions of the i-panas-sf (t = -3.60, p < .001), and spane (t = -2.29, p < .01), but was not significantly related to the satisfaction with life scale. therefore, we recommend that the susceptibility of affective evaluations of one’s life to inaccurate reports should be taken into consideration prior to drawing conclusions from wellbeing indicators particularly in a nigerian sample. keywords: subjective well-being, positive affect, negative affect, life satisfaction, socially desirable responding introduction interest in well-being research has been growing in recent decades (e.g. seligman, 2011; stratham & chase, 2010), and one area that has received increased attention is subjective wellbeing (swb; well-being as experienced by individuals). swb is also known as happiness or people’s affective and cognitive evaluations of their lives. the domains comprise high life satisfaction, high positive feelings and low negative feelings (tov & diener, 2013). swb measures now form significant indicators of national development (e.g. undp, 2010). on the other hand, the validity of self-report measures of swb has been a relevant research issue which has resulted in critical debate (brajsa-zganec et al., 2011). consequently, it is important to consider the susceptibility of self-report measures to response bias because of the nature of socially desirable responses swb, the way it is measured, and the high possibility that cultural and linguistic factors might introduce biases in swb scores. this poses substantial challenge to swb indicators. hence, the aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which measures of the domains of swb are prone to sdr, which usually threatens the validity of self-reported data in survey studies. socially desirable response is the tendency of respondents responding to self-report questionnaires in ways as to make themselves look good, thereby giving positive self-descriptions, rather than responding in accurate and truthful manners (holtgraves, 2004), which could undermine the validity of measures of swb (holder, 2012). due to self-presentation concerns, survey respondents underreport socially undesirable activities and over report socially desirable ones (krumpal, 2013). there are varied opinions on the role of social desirability in response to swb measures. fastame and penna (2012) reported that social desirability predicted measures of affect and emotional competencies, and contributed to predicting personal satisfaction, general perceived wellness and self-rated cognitive efficiency. chen et al. (1997) reported that items designed to assess positive affect were endorsed more by people who score high on a measure of social desirability than those who score low on the same measure. caputo (2017) found that all wellbeing measures (subjective happiness, general life satisfaction, gratitude and loneliness) showed modest significant correlations with social desirability, and he asserted that social desirability played little role in well-being self-report measures. holder (2012) reported that the discrepancy between the findings of positive psychology and observations of human behaviour in several environments seem to confirm that socially desirable responding may undermine the validity of measures of positive swb. brajsa-zganec et al. (2011) reported that social desirability was related to all dimensions of swb through personality traits, and that higher scores on measures of swb were associated with higher scores on social desirability. at an individual level, social desirability responding is correlated with life satisfaction (steel & ones 2002). on the contrary, forgeard et al., (2011) reported that important information is lost when social desirability is removed from life satisfaction measures. however, diener and larsen (1984) reported that life satisfaction was more stable and consistent across situations than affect measures. in the same vein, larsen et al. (1985) reported that the satisfaction with life scale (swls) does not evoke a socially desirable response set. nonetheless, gallagher and vella-brodrick (2008) opined that most researchers of swb do not include measures of social desirability which are found to be of importance in explaining swb. in order to evaluate swb, it is necessary to adopt both cognitive and affective measures (kaliterna-lipovcan & prizmic-larsen 2006). our study integrated three different facets of wellbeing subjective happiness, general life satisfaction, and positive and negative emotional responses. well-being in general fosters a strong cultural expectation that unhappiness is unacceptable which could predispose unhappy people to imitate the behaviours of those who are genuinely happy in order to fit in (caputo, 2017). looking happy is one social value in nigeria, difficult to identify because of its abstract nature but could be easily inferred from social norms exhibited in actual everyday behaviours (columbus, 2014). in addition, having a collectivistic orientation often entails acting in a pleasant manner even when experiencing a negative mood or an adverse situation. this is sometimes called “suffering and smiling” in colloquial terms (zombobah, 2020). as such, one is encouraged to wear a pleasant look amidst unpleasantness. thus, life satisfaction (steel & ones, 2002) and well-being-related emotional responses may be biased by social desirability (brajsa-zganec et al., 2011; fastame & penna, 2013). the diverse reports from studies conducted in western nations and a paucity of research examining the susceptibility of the components of swb to socially desirable responding in a nigerian sample make the present study important. on this note, the study aims at exploring whether responses of nigerians to swb measures could be influenced by social desirability. if so, does social desirability responding affect both the affective and the cognitive aspects of swb? hence, we hypothesize that social desirability would be implicated significantly in responses to the affective measures but not in the cognitive measures of swb. this is because measures of affect could be more prone to social desirability responding due to the tendency of affect being transient, susceptible to momentary mood and cultural orientation of the respondent (schwarz & strack 1991). on the other hand, the cognitive measures of happiness are evaluative, and avails the respondents opportunity to compare their circumstances with appropriate personal standards which are likely to produce stable and cross-situationally consistent responses. method participants and procedure the study adopted a cross-sectional design to sample three hundred and fifty-three undergraduates (194 males (55%) and 159 females (45%)) who were conveniently drawn from university of nigeria, nsukka. respondents were mostly single (n = 346; 98%) and christians (n = 349; 98.9%). the ethnic groups involved were igbo (n = 331; 93.8%), yoruba (n = 2; .6%), niger delta (n = 6; 1.7%), igala (n = 3; .8%), and others (n = 11; 3.1%). their ages ranged from socially desirable responses 17 to 35 years (m = 22.50; sd = 3.18). three hundred and fifty-three (353) copies of the questionnaires were administered to those respondents who agreed to partake in the study in their classrooms with the aid of two research assistants. their sincere responses were sought and they were sufficiently guided in completing the questionnaires. the respondents were guaranteed anonymity as well as confidentiality. to preserve the homogeneity of the sample, all respondents were undergraduates irrespective of other demographic characteristics. instruments the questionnaire included socio-demographic variables section (such as age, gender, ethnic group, etc.) and five instruments namely: the subjective happiness scale (shs, lyubomirsky & lepper, 1999), the international positive and negative affect schedule-short form (i-panas-sf, thompson, 2007), the scale of positive and negative experience (spane, diener et al., 2010), the satisfaction with life scale (swls; diener et al.,1985), and the socially desirable response set measure (sdrs-5, hays et al., 1989). the subjective happiness scale (shs; lyubomirsky & lepper 1999) the shs is a four-item scale developed to measure global subjective happiness. it requires participants to indicate the appropriateness of each item in describing them using a 7point response format, ranging from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (7). examples of items are – (1) "in general i consider myself not a very happy person (1) to a very happy person " (7); (2) "compared to most of my peers, i consider myself not a very happy person (1) to a very happy person" (7); (3) "some people are generally very happy". composite score for each individual is obtained by summing across the four items. scores range from 4 to 28, with higher scores indicating higher level of global subjective happiness. in terms of validity, developers reported positive correlations that ranged from 0.52 to 0.72 (m = 0.62) between the shs and other happiness measures. the shs was also found valid in a nigerian sample (agbo, 2021). for the present study, we obtained internal consistency .70 and .90 using cronbach’s coefficient alpha and omega reliability estimate respectively. the international positive and negative affect schedule-short form (i-panas-sf, thompson 2007) the i-panas-sf is a 10-item abridged form of the original positive and negative affect schedule (panas). it was developed to assess the two major dimensions of affect – positive (pa) and negative (na) affects. the pa dimension consists of the following items: alert, active, determined, inspired, and attentive, while the na dimension consists of ashamed, afraid, nervous, upset, and hostile. respondents were required to rate these positive and negative adjectives according to the extent to which each described the way they have felt, using a 7-point response format, ranging from not at all (1) to always (7). the higher scores on both pa and na items indicate the tendency to experience a positive and negative mood. developers reported a co-efficient alpha of 0.76 (na) and .75 (pa), and an 8-week test-retest stability co-efficient of 0.84 (p < .01) for both the pa and na subscales. in terms of validity, developers reported convergent validity of the i-panas-sf using diener’s (1984) measure of subjective well-being (swb) and lyubomirsky and lepper’s (1999) subjective happiness scale (shs), and reported a positive correlation between the pa subscale and both swb (r = .33, p < .01) and shs (r = .39, p < .01), and a negative correlation between the na subscale and both swb (r = –.33, p < .01) and shs (r = –.51, p < .01). the scale has been shown to perform creditably well across cultures (thompson 2007), and was also found valid in a nigerian sample (agbo, 2016). the researchers obtained internal consistency .80 for pa and .70 for na using cronbach’s coefficient alpha. the scale of positive and negative experience (spane, diener et al., 2010) the scale of positive and negative experience is a 12-item scale developed to assess the two major dimensions of affect. the positive experience dimension consists of the following items: positive, joyful, good, pleasant, happy, and contented, while the negative experience dimension consists of negative, sad, bad, unpleasant, afraid, and angry. respondents were required to rate these positive and negative adjectives according to the extent to which each described the way they have felt, using a 7-point response format, ranging from not at all (1) to always (7). the measure could be used to derive an overall affect balance score (spane-b), but could also be divided into positive and negative feelings scales. the affect balance (spane-b) score is a combination of both the positive and negative feelings, which is obtained by subtracting the negative feelings score from the positive feelings score. for the present study, we employed the positive and negative feelings sub-scales. the higher scores on both pa and na socially desirable responses items indicate the tendency to experience a positive and negative mood respectively. the spane correlated substantially with the panas scales and several other scales of feelings. likewise, it converged well with measures of emotions and well-being. for instance, diener and colleagues reported a positive correlation between the pa subscale and the swls (r = .58, p < .001) and a negative correlation between the na subscale and the swls (r = –.46, p < .001). lambert, passmore and joshanloo (2018) reported good construct validity of the scale. we obtained internal consistency using cronbach’s coefficient alpha .71 for pa and .72 for na in the present study. the satisfaction with life scale (swls; diener, et al., 1985) the swls is a five-item measure developed to assess individual’s global judgement of satisfaction with life as a whole. the items are (1) "in most ways, my life is close to my ideal" (2) "the conditions of my life are excellent" (participants were requested to indicate the extent of their agreement with each item on a 7-point response format, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). items are directly scored, and response ratings are added to calculate a composite score, which could range from 5 to 35 with higher scores indicating more satisfaction with life as a whole. the swls has been used in numerous studies and has demonstrated good psychometric properties (pavot & diener 2008). developers reported alpha reliability coefficient of 0.87 and 2-month test-retest stability co-efficient of 0.82. in terms of validity, blais et al. (1989) reported a strong negative correlation (r = -0.72, p = 0.001) between the swls and the beck depression inventory (beck et al., 1961). the swls was found valid among nigerians (oladipo & balogun, 2012). we obtained alpha reliability coefficients that range from .69 to .79 in the present study. the socially desirable response set measure (sdrs-5, hays et al., 1989) the sdrs-5 is a five-item measure developed to assess the degree to which self-report responses may be influenced by social desirability, that is, the tendency to give socially desirable responses. examples of items are: – “i am always courteous even to people who are disagreeable,” and “i sometimes try to get even rather than forgive and forget.” respondents were requested to indicate their level of agreement with each statement using a 7-point scale ranging from 1 = disagree strongly to 7 = agree strongly. in terms of scoring, items 1 and 5 are reverse-scored and total scores on the measure range from 1 to 35, with higher scores representing greater tendency to present oneself in a socially desirable manner. internal consistency reliability of the scale was acceptable in two studies (cronbach’s alpha = .66 and .68 respectively) and a test-retest reliability of .75 (hays et al., 1989). . we found alpha reliability coefficient of .77 in the present study. statistical analysis pearson’s correlation (r) analysis was conducted to examine the relationships of the demographic factors and the swls, i-panas-sf, spane, shs, and sdr, while hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis for the study. the reason for the choice of correlation is based on urbina (2014) assertion that correlations play a major role in demonstrating linkages between (a) scores on different tests, (b) test scores and non-test (demographic) variables, (c) scores on parts of tests and scores on whole tests, etc. on the other hand, multiple regression analysis allows researchers to simultaneously use several predictor variables. due to the evidence of the contribution of relevant demographic factors in several countries including nigeria (e.g., omigbodun et al., 2008; saadu, 2019; uğurlu, et al., 2009) the demographic factors were included in the first step of the regression analysis as control variables, while socially desirable responding was entered in the second stage. we decided to use a combination of i-panas-sf and spane which are general measures on positive and negative affects (such as anger, joy, fear, etc.) because they provide more comprehensive sample of emotions involved in well-being experience. by so doing, one would be able to explain better the variation in the dependent variable, and hence make more accurate predictions. all analyses were conducted using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22 (mendenhall, beaver, & beaver, 2009; tabachnick & fidell, 2013). socially desirable responses results the descriptive statistics and correlation matrices for the study variables are presented in table i below. table i: the descriptive statistics and correlation matrices for the study variables mean sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1.age 22.50 3.18 2.gender ____ ____ -.23** 3.swls 20.56 5.77 .10 .04 4.i-panas-sf_pa 27.95 4.76 -.10 -.00 .23** 5.i-panas-sf_na 16.39 5.10 -.12* -.01 -.18** -.21** 6.spane_na 13.53 5.28 -.03 -.13* -.22** -.32** .62** 7.spane_pa 28.06 4.71 -.07 .07 .24** .60** -.28** -.49** 8.shs 21.15 4.06 -.00 .02 .29** .25** -.29** -.35** .42** .44** 9. sdr 14.32 2.84 .09 .02 .09 .23** -.08 -.13* .30** .24** .34** note: n = 353. swls = the satisfaction with life scale, i-panas_sf = international positive and negative affect schedule, pa = positive affect, na = negative affect, spane = scale of positive and negative experience, shs = subjective happiness scale, sdr = social desirable responding. * p < .05, ** p < .001. evidently, socially desirable responding had a significant positive correlation with i-panas-sf_pa (r = .23, p < .001), spane_pa (r = .30, p < .001), and shs (r = .34, p < .001). the table also displays that socially desirable responding had a significant negative correlation with spane_na (r = -.13, p < .05), but was not significantly correlated with i-panas-sf_na (r = -.08) and swls (r = .09). the regression coefficients for the role of socially desirable responding in measures of swb are presented in table ii below. table ii: summary of regression coefficients for the role of socially desirable responding in swb measures variables step1 step 2 b β t r2 ∆r2 ∆f sig b β t r2 ∆r2 ∆f sig shs age .01 .00 .08 .01 .01 .76 .56 .03 .02 .44 .12 .11 44.84 .00 gender .18 .02 .39 .11 .01 .24 sdr .48 .34 6.70** i-panas-pa age -.12 -.08 -1.31 .01 .01 1.82 .38 -.16 -.10 -1.72 .07 .06 21.46 .00 gender -.20 -.02 -.38 -.30 -.03 -.59 sdr .41 .24 4.63** 1-panas-na age -.21 -.13 -2.40* .02 .02 2.91 .06 -.17 -.11 -1.94 .05 .04 12.97 .00 gender -.45 -.04 -.81 -.12 -.01 -.22 sdr -.20 -.19 -3.60** spane-na age -.11 -.06 -1.03 .03 .03 2.41 .05 -.09 -.05 -.85 .04 .01 5.24 .01 gender -1.54 -.15 -2.65* -1.48 -.14 -2.56 sdr -.23 -.12 -2.29* spane-pa age -.09 -.06 -.96 .01 .01 1.91 .46 -.13 -.09 -1.50 .11 .10 37.72 .00 gender .54 .06 1.04 .41 .04 .83 sdr .52 .31 6.14** swls age .16 .09 1.40 .01 .01 1.26 .29 .15 .08 1.49 .02 .01 2.20 .21 gender .65 .06 1.02 .29 .03 .46 sdr .16 .08 1.48 key: * = p < .01; ** = p < .001. result of the hierarchical multiple regressions for the test of hypotheses are shown in table ii. age and gender were included in step 1 of the regression analysis as control variables due to their significant relationship with i-panas-na and spane-na in the correlation table respectively. results showed that age was a significant negative predictor of i-panas-na, β = .13, t(353) = -2.40, p<.01, indicating that higher age was associated with less negative affect. the unstandardized regression co-efficient b (-.21) showed that each one unit rise in age was associated with .21 reduction in negative affect on the i-panas-sf. the contribution of the control variable in explaining the variance in i-panas-sf was 2% (r2 = .02), and the entire model was not significant, f(2,350) = 2.91, p = .06, r = .13. gender was a significant negative predictor of spane-na, β = -.15, t(353) = -2.63, p<.01, indicating that being a female was associated with reduced negative affect on the spane. the contribution of the control variable in explaining the variance in spane-na was 3% (r2 = .03), and the entire model was significant, f(4,348) = 2.41, p<.01, r = .16. in step ii, sdr had a significant positive relationship with subjective happiness (β = .34, t = 6.70, p< .001). the b (.48) showed that for every one unit rise in sdr, subjective happiness increased by .48 units, with sdr accounting for 11% of the variance in subjective happiness as represented by (∆r2 = .11). the entire model was significant, f(5,347) = 9.65, p<.001, r = .35. socially desirable responses also, sdr had a significant positive relationship with the positive affect dimension of the i-panas-sf (β = .24, t = 4.63, p< .001). the b (.41) showed that for every one unit rise in sdr, the report of positive experience on the i-panas-sf increased by .41 units, with sdr accounting for 6% of the variance in the positive affect dimension of the i-panas-sf as represented by (∆r2 = .06). the entire model was significant, f(5,347) = 5.18, p<.001, r = .26. in addition, sdr had a significant positive relationship with the positive affect dimension of the spane (β = .31, t = 6.14, p < .001). the b (.52) showed that for every one unit rise in sdr, the report of positive affect on the spane increased by .52 units, with sdr accounting for 10% of the variance in the positive affect dimension of the spane as represented by (∆r2 = .10). the entire model was significant, f(5,347) = 8.35, p<.001, r = .33. on the other hand, social desirability responding had a significant negative relationship with the negative affect dimension of the i-panas-sf (β = -.19, t = -3.60, p< .001). the b (-.20) showed that for every one unit rise in social desirability responding, the report of negative affect on the i-panas-sf decreased by .20 units, with sdr accounting for 4% of the variance in the negative affect dimension of the i-panas-sf as represented by (∆r2 = .04). the entire model was significant, f(5,347) = 6.33, p<.001, r = .23. furthermore, social desirability responding had a significant negative relationship with the negative affect dimension of the spane (β =.12, t = -2.29, p< .01). the b (-.23) showed that for every one unit rise in sdr, the report of negative affect decreased by .23 units, with sdr accounting for 1% of the variance in the negative affect dimension of the spane as represented by (∆r2 = .01). the entire model was significant, f(5,347) = 3.01, p<.01, r = .20. however, there was no significant relationship between social desirability responding and life satisfaction (β = .08). discussion reports from well-being measures now form significant indicators of development, and these measures could be significantly influenced by spurious artifacts such as socially desirable response. therefore, the present study was aimed at exploring the relationship between socially desirable responding and measures of swb. this is to test whether social desirability predicts the assessment outcomes of some well-being measures. we hypothesized that socially desirable responding would significantly influence responses to the affect measures of swb and not the cognitive measures. the results of the study confirmed the hypothesis. thus, social desirability response is differentially implicated in the separate components of swb. this is an indication that the various components of subjective well-being are different, separable and independent. this is in line with previous studies such as agbo and ome (2016). it was also observed that socially desirable responding is more related to the affect dimensions of swb than to the evaluative or cognitive dimension. there was a significant positive correlation between socially desirable responding and measures of subjective happiness, and positive affect. thus, people could be more inclined to provide overly positive self-descriptions when responding to measures of the affective aspect of swb than when responding to measures of the cognitive aspect. this could be because affect is transient and felt in relation to someone and/or something. a person using a socially desirable response style might report a high level of positive affect, not because it is their true state, but because they believe that it is socially desirable to be happy (columbus, 2014). if they believe that happiness is normatively appropriate, they may report that they are happier than other types of assessment may indicate (zombobah, 2020). similarly, someone could report experiencing less negative affect simply because it is more socially acceptable than representing an embodiment of negative feelings, emotions and experiences. this is buttressed by wood et al. (2010) assertion that socially desirable responding to swb measures is linked to powerful social norms in evaluation of happiness. these norms require one “to put on a smiling face” and exhibit a positive, optimistic demeanour even in the face of challenges. diener and colleagues reported that if a culture prescribes the experience of positive affect, and proscribes the experience of negative affect, people are prone to exhibiting socially desirable responses. besides, nigeria is a collectivist nation with perceptible strands of individualism (agbo & ome 2016). individuals in a collectivist culture who emphasizes the centrality of the group could be more conforming, and have greater desire to be seen in a desirable light. in contrast, respondents in individualistic culture which emphasizes individual goals and uniqueness may not have a desire to report socially desirable responses like their collectivist counterparts. the findings also indicated a significant negative relationship between socially desirable responding and the absence of negative affect. thus, individuals who reported the absence of negative hedonic feelings, emotions and unpleasant experiences such as less distress, pain, worry, etc., which are indications of well-being were also likely to be responding in socially desirable ways. this could be because individuals tend to have the self-deceptive tendency to socially desirable responses hide undesirable feelings related to low emotional well-being (lasgaard et al., 2011). the finding agrees with the findings of brajsa-zganec et al. (2011) and caputo (2017) who reported that social desirability is associated with the absence of negative affect. this implies that affective measures of happiness might be susceptible to social desirability responding. in addition, socially desirable responding had no significant influence on respondents’ responses to the evaluative measure of happiness. most individuals were unlikely to provide overly positive self-descriptions in their report of global judgement of satisfaction with life, which is the cognitive-judgemental aspect of swb. an individual’s report of feelings of contentment and fulfillment in diverse life domains such as academics, marriage, health, leisure and career was not significantly susceptible to faking. this is in line with the findings of diener and larsen (1984) who reported that life satisfaction was the most stable and cross-situationally consistent of any response they measured. the findings also agree with larsen et al. (1985) who reported that the swls does not evoke a socially desirable response set, but leaves the respondent free to weight various domains (e.g. health or material wealth) and various feeling states (e.g. loneliness) in whatever way they chose. this is consistent with veenhoven (2011) report of the absence of social desirability bias in happiness measures. however, the finding contradicts forgeard et al. (2011) assertion that important information is lost when social desirability is removed from life satisfaction measures. the possible interplay of cultural values and the collectivistic social orientation of the nigerian populace could account for this. research has shown that cultural orientation could be a major force that influences the experience of wellbeing (diener & suh, 2000). hence, global assessment of life satisfaction by nigerians could reflect assessment of inner subjective experiences in relation to relational and normative factors, instead of portraying evaluative comparison between individuals’ quality of life and ideal life. judgements of life satisfaction in collectivistic societies are usually based on both emotional states and societal norms (bhullar, schutte, & malouf, 2012). implications of findings and recommendations the findings of the study imply that social desirability response bias could confound findings in swb research especially in response to measures of the affect-based aspects of swb, and should be taken into consideration by swb researchers. nigerians might have the tendency to respond in the affirmative to measures of affect in a bid to look good, as well as give positive self-descriptions at the expense of honesty and accuracy, since it is culturally agreeable to report more positive affect and less negative affect. in other words, there is a need to exercise caution in drawing conclusions from well-being studies employing these measures, since the measures are often used in well-being research. it is also highly recommended that a lie scale or a measure of sdr accompany the administration of these instruments in diverse well-being research. this study has some limitations. they include the sample which was not a national representation and not randomly selected. there could also be other mediating and moderating variables that could confound the findings of the present study. there were no tests of causal relations between study variables. therefore, it is recommended that future studies should include other categories of individuals, randomly selected from a nationally representative sample. in sum, the researchers are of the opinion that prior to drawing conclusions on a nation’s level of happiness, the susceptibility of affect measures to sdr by the desire to create a favourable impression should be taken into consideration, assessed and controlled. references agbo, a. a. 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(2020). suffering and smiling: the nigerian experience. igwebuike: an african journal of arts and humanities, 6(5), 343-351. volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 318 gender inequality and women participation in governance in enugu state: an evaluation from 2007-2011 atu, chukwuma o. odeh emmanuel e. odibo sunday m. agbo, henry c. department of political science, renaissance university, ugbawka, enugu state. chumagbonnatu@gmail.com odeson_son@yahoo.com sunnymosloveeo@yahoo.com.au henrychukwuagbo@gmail.com abstract gender inequality and the attendant consequences constitute impediments to societal progress. the effect of gender inequality on women participation in governance and its implication on nigerian political development is not in doubt. nigeria and enugu state in particular is not left out of the gender imbalances and its effect on participation of women in governance cannot be overemphasized. the extent to which this anomaly has been resolved or redressed is the concern of this study. marxist feminism was adopted as the theoretical framework of analysis to explain the domination, exploitation, oppression and suppression of women by men. the study relied on secondary sources of data and employed qualitative and content methods of data analysis. it was noted that governance in enugu state has been predominantly men’s affairs, the number of women in public positions still fall below the 35% as provided by national gender policy of 2006. it was revealed that gender inequality exacerbated by socio-cultural factors accounted for women underrepresentation in governance. the study recommended that gender imbalances in all facets of lives in enugu state should be abolished. the implementation of 35% affirmative action and adoption of quota system of representation for women will bridge the gap between men and women in governance. keywords: gender inequality, cultural practices, women participation, governance, national gender policy. introduction howard (2009), is of the view that although evidence of gender inequality and exploitation exists in most societies, the problem is more severe in many parts of the developing world. according to undp (1997), women constitute half of the world’s population and have contributed significantly to the well – being of the human race. in nigeria, for instance, women, have always played the roles of mother, producer, home manager, community organizer, and social, cultural and political activist. but enemuo (1999), states that despite their large number and crucial functions, the mailto:chumagbonnatu@gmail.com mailto:odeson_son@yahoo.com mailto:sunnymosloveeo@yahoo.com.au mailto:henrychukwuagbo@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 319 division of roles between the male and female sexes, as prescribed by most cultures, assigns the subordinate position to women. as a consequence, women have for long suffered various forms of discrimination, inequality, exclusion especially from governance. also agbalajobi (2010), reveals that men are the major determinants of political actions and inactions generally concerned with the perpetuation of power of the state. accordingly, when women compete with men for access to political power, they do so on the terms already established by men for competition among themselves. therefore, the success of women in politics like that of any group cannot be achieved within a system without displacing or replacing the existing elite. opinions are divided on whether the role of women is predominantly in the home front or whether they can engage meaningfully in socio-economic and governance like their male counterparts as a way of contributing their quota to societal development. but the fact is that whatever role women play in any society is determined and assigned socially and culturally to the different genders that is male and female. consequently, gender roles and relations resulting in inequality (domination or discrimination) is the creation of the norms of the society. against this background, gender inequality and women participation in governance in enugu state from 2007 to 2011 is the major concern of this study. anifowose (2004) in agbalajobi (2010) reiterates that in all parts of the world, women have been subjected to domination by men. this is as a result of persisting cultural stereotype, abuse of religious and traditional practices, patriarchal societal structures in which economic, political and social power are dominated by men and the role women have historically played as followers of the male political leaders. this form of discrimination is not simply an african or nigerian phenomenon but a global one. the only difference is that, it has lasted for a very long time in this part of the world as other developed nations are moving towards gender equality or equity. discrimination and subjection of women is further enforced by customs, traditional practices, beliefs and the law. discrimination against women has its root in the nature of our societies which celebrate men as being unique, stronger and fit for public offices while women are feeble and weak and meant for private life. this has effect on women perception of governance and therefore has led to a very low level of political interest, knowledge and activity of women in politics (agbalajobi 2010). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 320 political enfranchisement of women in nigerian politics seems to have maintained on the surface a level of gender equity politically, because it is assumed that constitutionally that there are no barriers to women’s participation. but this does not happen practically in nigerian politics. since the inception of democratic governance in 1999, there has been low level of women participation in governance. women are under – represented in both elective and appointive positions, hence the call for the full implementation of national gender policy of 2006 to redress this gender bias against women. section 40 of 1999 constitution of nigeria guaranteed the rights of citizens (women and men) to participate in governance. though the number of women in both the elective and appointive positions has increased from 1999 to date, yet there is noticeable level of under – representation of women when compared with their men counter parts. women’s quest for participation in governance is premised on the fact that women in nigeria represent half of the population and hence should be allowed a fair share in decision – making and the governance of the country. also that all human beings are equal and women possess the same rights as men to participate in governance and public life. the right to democratic governance is an entitlement conferred upon all citizens by law. section 42 (1) of the same constitution further states that: a citizen of nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person be subjected to any form of discrimination. this sub-section clearly prohibits discrimination in the political process on the basis of sex. in view of the foregoing provisions, there is nothing in the constitution that excludes women from participating in governance in nigeria. but in actual practice, there is remarkable discrimination against women as a result of socially constructed gender roles. few and insignificant number of women were elected into various posts in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections held in the country. men dominate most public offices till date. no woman has been elected either as a governor of a state or the president of the federation. we only had few women as members of the national assembly (senate and house of representatives) and as members of state houses of assembly across the country. olurode (2013), reveals that countries have made significant efforts to improve the chances of women in electoral and appointive positions. some countries especially, emerging democracies ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 321 have legislated female participation in their electoral process by imposing gender quotas on political party nominations to elective posts. developed countries like canada and scandinavians ensure gender mainstreaming in all policy decisions. according to him a national gender policy was developed and adopted in nigeria since 2006, but not fully implemented. women are grossly under-represented in governance and from the political process. it is worthy of note that significant improvement has been made in appointive positions as ministers, heads of parastatals and commissions. the participation of women in governance however falls short of the desired 30% by international standards and 35% as entrenched in the national gender policy 2006. according to him, statistics indicate that women are grossly under-represented in elective positions and the electoral process such that in the 2007 elections, they constituted only 9% in the nigerian senate and 9.27% in the house of representatives, 5.45% of the state houses of assembly and 0% of the governorship and presidential elective offices. the situation turned worse in 2011 general elections where women garnered only 7.3% and 6.1% of members of the senate and house of representatives respectively (olurode, 2012). enugu state which is the focus of the study is not different from what obtains at the national level. it is the same low level of participation and under-representation in the political process. consequently, between 2007 and 2011, no woman was elected either as a governor or deputy governor, women constituted 1.47% of members of state house of assembly in 2007 and 1.17% in 2011, 1.47% of appointive positions in 2007 and 2.21% in 2011. the situation slightly changed in 2014 with the nomination of women as deputy gubernatorial candidates by the people’s democratic party (pdp) and the all peoples congress (apc) in the 2015 general election in enugu state. against this background, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of gender inequality on women participation in governance in enugu state between 2007 and 2011? theoretical perspective the theoretical framework adopted in this study is marxist feminism. marxist feminism according to ferguson and hennessy (2010) is a branch of feminism focused on investigating and explaining the ways in which women are oppressed through systems of capitalism and private property. marxist feminists contend that women’s liberation can only be achieved through a radical ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 322 restructuring of the current capitalist economy in which much of women’s labour is uncompensated. in the same vein, influential work by marx and engels (1848) laid the foundation for some of the early discourse about the relationship between capitalism and oppression. the theory and method of study developed by marx (1859) termed historical materialism, recognizes the ways in which economic systems structure society as a whole and influence everyday life and experience. historical materialism places emphasis on the role of economy in determining the base of the society. according to engels (1884), the shift from feudalism to private ownership of land has had a huge effect on the status of women. in private ownership system, individuals who do not own land or other means of production are in the views of engels in situation of enslavement -they must work for the owner of land in order to be able to live within the system of private ownership. engels (1884), explains that the transition to this type of system resulted in the creation of separate public and private spheres and assigned access to waged labour disproportionately to men. ferguson and hennessy (2010), contend that such gender oppression is closely related to class oppression and the relationship between men and women in society is similar to the relations between proletariat and bourgeoisie. on this account woman’s subordination is a function of class oppression, maintained like racism because it serves the interest of capital and the ruling class; it divides men against women. also vogel (2013), states that in the capitalist system, two types of labour exist. the first is the productive in which the labour results in goods or services that have monetary value in the capitalist system and thus compensated by the producers in the form of a paid wage. the second form of labour is reproductive, which is associated with the private sphere and involves anything that people have to do for themselves that is not for the purposes of receiving a wage (i.e. cleaning, cooking, having children) both forms of labour are necessary, but people have different access to them based on certain aspects of their identity. women are assigned to the domestic sphere where the labour is reproductive and thus uncompensated and unrecognized in a capitalist system. it is in the best interest of both public and private institutions to exploit the labour of women as an inexpensive method of supporting a workforce. hartmann (1981) contends that for the nuclear family, the power dynamics dictates that domestic work is exclusively to be completed by the woman of the household thereby liberating the rest of the members from their own necessary reproductive labour. marxist feminists argue that the exclusion of women from the productive labour leads to male control in both private and public domains. they also believe that ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 323 women’s liberation will be achieved when capitalist system is eliminated through socialist revolution that would usher in better conditions for women. the application of marxist feminism is useful in explaining and understanding gender inequality and women participation in governance with a focus on enugu state. the theory is apt in investigating and analyzing the ways in which women are oppressed through the system of capitalism and private ownership of property. women’s subordination is not a result of biological disposition but of social relations and men’s efforts to control women which have become institutionalized in the family and legitimized through patriarchy. the assignment of productive labour which attracts wages to men and reproductive labour without wages to women. consequently, women are excluded from public sector reserved for men and consigned to the domestic sphere of caring for the family. this has made women to be dependent on the men for living including financial dependence. women must be confined to the private domain and attempt to venture into public sector such as politics characterized by violence and attendant consequences is always seen as deviant behavior. conceptualizing gender and governance in the views of enemuo (1999), gender is now widely used to designate the culturally defined, socially formed identities of men and women that are highly variable across cultures and continually subject to change. this implies that the term gender denotes the different and unequal perceptions, views, roles and relevance, rewards, etc. which a society assigns to men and women through its culture. it refers to the socially constructed inequality between women and men. duru (2014, p. 11) conceives gender as ‘‘social attributes that are acquired or learned during socialization and include activities, responsibilities and needs connected to being a male or female’’. according to her, gender simply refers to masculinity and femininity; masculinity means social consideration that is appropriate for male which include traits as physical features, boldness, aggressiveness, strength, fearlessness etc. femininity on the other hand is the opposite. they include those socially defined and observed attributes that are appropriate for females such as care, tenderness of heart, emotion, physical weakness and other features on which a female is identified with. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 324 it is important to emphasize that gender roles are not natural. they are constructed and invented by society. however, gender is not the same thing as sex, because while sex refers to physical differences between males and females, gender concerns the psychological, social and cultural differences between men and women. the differences between the male and female sexes are natural, universal and largely constant. for instance, each of the sexes performs the same reproductive functions in all cultures. their biological features are also the same. on the contrary, gender differences are created and sustained by society through its traditions, customs, conventions, mores and regulations. the gender notions about male and female include: “traditional stereotypes that characterize women as submissive, illogical, passive, talkative, emotional, easily moved with tears, etc. men on the other hand are assumed to be competent, logical, and independent. these stereotypes tend to reflect men and women as belonging to opposite ends of bipolar adjectives in which men have desirable qualities while women have undesirable ones. societal norms and stereotypes also function as a traditional ideology that relegates women to housewife role while promoting men as actors, providers and final authority” (udegbe, 1998, p. 3) in reaction to this, enemuo (1999), reiterates that these character portraits of male and female are not determined by nature but have been constructed by society. their overall impact has been to put women in subordinate position vis-à-vis men. nwofia and emezi (2014), posit that gender as a socio-cultural construct differentiates and assigns appropriate behaviour and access to power and status to men and women. this varies from society to society, changes from time to time and perpetuates strong elements of inequality between the sexes. in effect, the creation of gender differences that is accepted by customs and traditions has resulted to inequality between men and women otherwise referred to as gender inequality. gender inequality exists in the relationship between men and women in both private and public life. howard (2009), avers that evidence of gender inequality and exploitation exists in most societies, but that the problem is more severe in developing world. in his opinion, examples of gender inequality include divorce laws, that greatly favour husbands; barriers to women seeking commercial credit for small businesses, the “double day” that working women typically face (coming home after a day’s work and having to do most of the house work and child care) and restricted opportunities for women in government, the professions, and better-paid, blue-collar ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 325 jobs. nigeria as a developing nation is not an exception as the scenario above typifies the inequality between men and women as they relate in different ways. supporting this assertion, fab-ukozor (2007, p. 104) contends that the fact of “women subjugation is obvious.“ as marginalized group, women suffer various forms of deprivation in all spheres of life including education, health, employment and politics. these deprivations have made women disadvantaged and reduced them to the extent that a greater percentage of them are exposed to various forms of violence at all levels of societal living and even the most educated ones find it difficult to actualize themselves in their different professions. as a result, gender gap has remained visibly skewed in favour of men, be it in education, health, economy or politics’’(fab-ukozor 2007, p. 104). governance according to(atu, odibo, uduimoh and egbuchulam, 2015) is the administration of a state. they opine that the ultimate objective of governance is to effectively, efficiently and equitably deliver public good to citizens of a state. they further stated that governance is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable, and inclusive and follows the rules. on the broader sense, governance to heywood (2007, p 6) “is the various ways through which social life is coordinated”. the author posited that government is one of the institutions involved in governance. boeninger (1991) sees governance as good government of society, with capacity for efficient problem solving and conflict resolution. the nexus between gender inequality and women participation in governance gender inequality is the disparities among individuals based on gender. these disparities include discrimination in terms of wealth, opportunities, resources, services, benefits, decision – making, status, power and influence. gender discrimination or inequality is as old as human race and continues to be with us in various proportions and dimensions across societies. this is corroborated by duru (2014),expressing the view that gender inequality could be traced to the intellectual works of karl marx and fredrick engels. their writings created a social consciousness and an idea of social oppression. they were against women’s discrimination and subordination as these were not linked to biological difference as held by society but by social arrangements that have clear and traceable history. marx and engels argued that the family institution is the basis of women subordination and blamed the society for legitimizing family system as a structure that is ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 326 fundamental in all societies. the family system which has the father (patriarch) as the head has no anthropological and archaeological evidence; such evidence includes the prehistoric human beings in which kin network were tied to blood relation. therefore, these ties were traced to female line because of one’s inseparable links to one’s mother (matrilineal) than one’s father. that during the era, women wielded powerful influence on economy and other social activities especially during the hunting and gathering stage. according to them, what destroyed this type of social system is what according to engels (1884) calls ‘the world historic defeat of the female sex’. duru (2014) infers that this change brought about property, the idea and reality of one group or members claiming as their own the essential resources for economic production thereby assigning economic ascendancy to men who initiated their property ownership, they developed enforceable needs for labour force which include slaves, captives, women (wives) or children as heirs who would serve as a means of preserving and passing on property. according to babawale (1999, p. 210) culture refers to that “complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” it is the total way of life of a people, the social legacy that the individual acquires from his group. the place of culture in the life of the people cannot be overemphasized. this is because as a way of life societal behaviour and individual conduct are determined by culture. therefore, gender roles are socially and culturally defined and have implication on governance. against this background, enemuo (1999), is of the opinion that the customary practices of many contemporary societies are biased against women and serve to subjugate them to men and to undermine their individual self-esteem. according to him, the overall impact of the negative cultural norms has been to engender very low regard for women, entrench a feeling of inferiority in the individual woman and place her at disadvantage vis-à-vis her male counterpart. as a result of gender-biased cultural norms and practices: “women become conditioned into accepting social debasement of the type associated with widowhood rites and self-imposed abuses of the type that denies female children good food. even in urban centers and civilized circles, the stereotype gender roles make women over play their femininity by accepting that they are the weaker sex, overemphasizing the dainty nature of their comportment, viewing the ambition of some ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 327 members of their sex as ominous and regarding achievements as untoward competition with men” (enemuo 1999:230). the obnoxious harmful traditional practices in igbo land reduce the widow’s dignity and sanctity. discriminatory cultural practice is an infraction on the fundamental rights of women and not in consonance with section 42(1) of 1999 constitution which prohibits discrimination including participation in the political process on account of sex. but reiterating the inability of constitutions to protect and safeguard individual rights, kura and yero (2013) claim that even though that human rights exist in national constitutions that they continue to encounter impediments in relation to culture and religious practices which empower patriarchal societies. therefore, the existence of those customary practices as dehumanizing as they are keeps the women folk in perpetual subjugation in all facets of societal life and acts as disincentive to political participation. the patriarchal system operating in nigeria as elsewhere reinforces gender inequality and women discrimination. consequently, the patriarchal nature of nigerian society, built on male domination, implies that women as wives must be under the control of men as husbands. this form of subjugation of women to men particularly in decision-making has hindered women involvement in governance. duru (2014) infers that patriarchy is the rule of fathers, a form of social organization in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women. this notion is predicated on role division which characterizes every human society. the justification for patriarchy is based on assumption that men are preferred to women especially in the family who are said to perpetuate the family’s name. again, kura and yero (2013) postulate that african countries remain pervasive towards violation of human rights in the areas of marriage, inheritance and divorce, as a result of coexistence of statutory religious and traditional systems. in their view, despite, the existence of constitutional provisions and commitments to regional and international human rights treaties and conventions the rights of women and girls are grossly violated and devalued in nigeria and many african countries. this is known in the overall low gender development index (gdi) for the country and manifested in low participation of women in paid employment, politics, leadership and decision making. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 328 on the other hand, (henderson & jeydel, 2010) posit that countries with egalitarian cultures, such as sweden, finland and norway, have more women in power. this egalitarian culture is a reflection of broader patterns of socioeconomic development and cultural modernization that are impacting many countries not just northern european ones. to them, cultural norms have made it difficult for women to participate in governance and one such barriers they encounter when running or deciding to run for an office is that political behavior is seen as masculine because aggression and autonomy are considered requisites. these are not traits commonly associated with women, and thus women are not seen as capable of doing the job if elected (thus people may not vote for them). when women do exhibit these traits, they are seen by the electorate as abnormal or deviant, which are not adjectives often ascribed to successful candidates for elective office. in addition, voters often have problem overcoming traditional societal norms about appropriate division of labour between men and women. women are associated with parental roles and men associated with paid labour. thus, governance is not seen as an appropriate task for women since it will interfere with their parental responsibilities. in the opinion of ekundayo and ama, (2014) arguments and opinions tend to differ on the role and place of women in the society. culturally many believe women’s place is predominately in the home and they are not to engage in other socioeconomic and political activities like the male counterparts. they are not to be seen or heard, they are incapable of making sound decision and it is unbecoming of women to expose themselves in public for political activities. cultural barriers can work against women’s involvement in public sphere including participation in governance. according to iwobi (2000) no group has been deprived of its human rights under the disguise of culture as much as women have been. this is true in all societies, particularly in nigeria, where the harmful effects of the indigenous culture have been of concern to women, women groups and advocacy groups on gender issues. the inferior status and unequal treatment of women in nigeria could be derived from the cultural belief systems that perpetuate women’s inferiority psychologically, physically, these systems are also reinforced by the nation’s customary legal system. lending credence to this fact, taiwo, r. denga, d. and denga, h.(2009 p. 45) claim that “women have remained the underdogs in nigeria; they have remained victims of oppression, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 329 discrimination, alienation, humiliation, marginalization and exploitation”. the country is male dominated. in the northern part, many women are in purdah system of marriage, the practice where women are physically separated from the men; required to cover their bodies and to limit activities outside their homes and in the south, women are marginalized and not included in the decisionmaking process. the suppression of women by men not only affects their opportunities for selffulfillment, personal development and achievements but also hampers opportunities to attain leadership roles in public life. it is no doubt that men dominate and control all spheres of nigerian society. against this background, okediran, a. olujide, m. g and danesy, h.a. (2006) reveal that this kind of patriarchal domination has done terrible injustice to women by reducing women’s knowledge and marginalized their chances in political positions and thus reduced women to “second class citizens or subordinate class”. the patriarchal nature of nigerian society has disempowered and subordinated women in the political process. this is attested by the fewer number of women holding important political positions in all the tiers of government especially in elective and appointive capacities. cultural stereotypes not only impede women participation in politics and governance but influence the behaviour of their supporters, family members such as spouses and the voters. but on the other hand, women’s acceptance of societal prescriptions of gender roles also militates against their political fortune. therefore, it is in recognition of this that (henderson & jeydel, 2010), opine that voters often have trouble overcoming traditional societal norms about appropriate divisions of labour between men and women. it is believed that women are associated with parental roles, and men with paid labour. thus governance is not seen as appropriate realm for women since it will interfere with their parental responsibilities. in nigeria, female politicians are confronted with cultural prohibition on their political endeavour that their male colleagues do not encounter for example public ridicule than men, are labelled ‘unfeminine’ and some even risk their marriages and public discrediting by their husbands. this barrier not only prevents people from voting for women but also prevents women from contesting elections or taking active part in politics and governance. women often do not see ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 330 politics or elective office as worthwhile venture, either because they also ascribe to this societal norm of sexual division of labour and where governance is reserved for men or because they choose not to come forward as candidates for political offices. a study conducted by the interparliamentary union found that female politicians in many countries identified hostile attitudes towards women’s political participation as one of the most important barriers to running for office. the need for gender balance has robbed off on governance through growing interest in politics by women, especially in nigeria and enugu state, where the few women who have been elected or appointed into public offices had made a difference, though with few exceptions. in the united state of america and western europe women’s movement has become a political force. also, women have learned that there was no way they could count politically other than engaging in political activities, especially, voting (roskin, cord, medeiro & jones, 2010). gender equity, just like governance, has put forth its claim for participatory democracy with adequate protection for the political and legal rights of women. no doubt, the extension of voting rights, elective and appointive positions to women has led to egalitarian society in nigeria and enugu state, where the barriers of wealth, influence, fame and gender remain major impediments to the advancement of the female folk. in a democratic environment, governance principles insist that individuals (women and men) political and legal rights be safeguarded and that man-made gender divisions be eliminated. in nigeria, gender has greatly impacted governance processes via a number of ways, in terms of policy, particularly; the entrenchment of the national gender policy, 2006, which was meant to ensure that women in nigeria get 35% representation in elective and appointive positions. (olurode, 2012). although, the nigerian state and enugu state specifically, are very far in attaining the 35% affirmative action in terms of women representation and participation in the governance processes, all hopes are not lost, as the feminist groups keep pushing for the 35% representation as enacted in the 2006 national gender policy, popularly referred to as the affirmative action. another major way in which gender has affected governance is through its impact on the political culture. this may be linked to trends that have resulted to popular disenchantment with politics on the part of women, especially in africa and nigeria in particular. for examples, olurode (2012), opined that ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 331 statistics indicated that women are grossly under-represented in elective positions and excluded from electoral process such that the 2007 elections, they constituted only 9% in the nigeria senate and 9.27% in the house of representative, 5.45% of state house of assembly, 0% for the governorship and presidential elective offices. according to him, the situation turned worse in 2011 general elections where women gained only 7.3% and 6.1% of members of the senate and house of representatives, respectively. enugu state, which is the focus of this study, has the character-stamp of the centre in terms of female representation and participation in politics, of both their presence in government and the positions they hold (rourke, 2008). very small number of women has been elected into various positions in the 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections in nigeria. equally few women were appointed into public offices within these periods. men on the other hand, had taken a disproportionate share of public positions till date. no woman has ever won gubernatorial elections even though women had always contested these elections. it is on the basis of this that allanana (2013) contends that legislative representation has witnessed the presence of women yet they remain under-represented when compared to their men counterparts. few and almost insignificant number of women were elected into various posts in the past four (4) general elections held in the country between 1999 and 2011.according to him, the result of the survey shows that no woman was elected governor of any state in the federation. there were few women as members of the houses of assembly across the country and as members of national assembly (senate and house of representatives). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 332 table 1: gender representation in political offices in enugu state 2007 – 2011 2007 2011 office seat available men women seat available men women governor 1 1 (0.3) 0 (0) 1 1 (0.29) 0 (0) commissioners 28 24 (7.04) 4 (1.17) 28 23 (6.74) 5 (1.46) members of state house of assembly 24 19 (5.57) 5 (1.47) 24 20 (5.87) 4 (1.17) l.g.a chairpersons 17 17 (5.00) 0 (0) 17 11 (2.23) 6 (1.75) councilors 260 247 (72.34) 13 (3.81) 260 236 (69.21) 24 (7.03) senators 3 3 (0.9) 0 (0) 3 3 (0.88) 0 (0) house of representatives 8 8 (2.35) 0 (0) 8 6 (1.76) 2 (0.58) total 341 319 (93.55%) 22 (6.45%) 341 300 (88%) 41 (12%) sources: ensiec, inec data base and enugu state official publications 2007 – 2011. from the table, no woman was elected governor and senator in 2007 and 2011. also no woman was elected member of house of representatives in 2007. however, out of three hundred and forty-one (341) elective and appointive positions in 2007, only four 4 (1.17%) women were appointed commissioners; five 5 (1.47%) were elected members of the state house of assembly and thirteen 13 (3.81%) were elected councilors. therefore, the total number of women in political offices in 2007 was twenty-two (22) representing 6.45% in contrast to three hundred and nineteen (319) or 93.55% positions held by the men. but in 2011, out of the 341 political offices, five 5 (1.46%) women were appointed commissioners, four 4 (1.17%) were elected into the state house of assembly; six 6 (1.75%) were appointed chairpersons of local government councils in the caretaker management system; twenty four 24 (7.03%) were elected councilors and only two 2 (0.58%) were elected members of house of representatives. within this period, women representation in government increased from twenty-two 22(6.45%) in 2007 to forty-one 41 (12%) even though there was an increase in women representation or participation in government, it is not proportional to their men counterparts who had 93.55% and 88% respectively in 2007 and 2011. from the statistics, enugu state is an example of women-driven culture of apathy, as it concerns participation in politics and governance processes, but similar tendencies abound elsewhere in africa, asia, especially in the gulf region. this has partly resulted to political lesbianism, when women seek for their own identity and withdraw from the male dominated political environments. this conscious withdrawal of women from politics has given a facelift to the gospel of feminism, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 333 in terms of attention-grabbing. this has led to an overwhelming sympathy for feminist struggle, casting aspersion on the continued legitimacy of governments and governance processes without the input of women, who, according to rourke (2008, p 464), “constitute about half of the world’s population, but are distinct political, economic, social minority because of wide gap in their societal power and resources compared to men”. feminism, after all, is politics, which has placed huge burden on the male dominated governance process, thereby, forcing the politicians to make some compromises in churning out policies and legislations that wear the trappings of feminism, at least for appearance sake, in order to be seen as re-engineering culture of participation in women, especially, as it concerns politics and governance processes (rourke, 2008). governance addresses the questions about equal distribution of values in the society with no emphasis on gender division. governance which translates to ruling rightly “requires attaching equal importance to each citizen’s life” mckinnon(2008, p 151). according to him, such “a requirement of impartiality among citizens’ rejects certain consideration as grounds for political action”. for example mckinnon (2008) maintains that governance rejects gender division of citizen as a good reason to attach less importance to benefiting him or her rather than someone else, and so opposes extreme forms of racism or sexism. so construed governance fittingly exercised, safeguards individuals’ rights regardless of gender. therefore, the exercise of governance is justified on what sums up benefits and burdens for the men and women in the society, especially in the area of distributive decisions across various spheres of life furthermore, gender is closely related to governance on equality of opportunity because each of the concepts seeks to advance what exists in the absence of arbitrary discrimination. in the opinion of srivastava (2012, p 38) “equality of opportunity is simply not only what exists in the absence of arbitrary discriminated but also in the absence of disadvantages or handicaps for which the society is responsible. equality, according this author, “believes in the principle of providing equal opportunities to all the members of society”. talabi (2019, p. 43) feminism and governance preach unrelentingly, inclusive government, that is, “a government that includes capable, honest citizens based on merit irrespective of gender”. also, he states that there is a positive correlation between gender equality and development (economic growth). she opines that countries that do not treat women as second class citizens are likely to prosper in a sustainable manner, and this is true regardless of that country. hence, governance should uphold inclusiveness with the significant ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 334 inclusion of clever, capable, conscientious and compassionate women in leadership positions in line with the national gender policy of 2006, which recommended 35% affirmative action of women representation in public offices in nigeria. conclusion and recommendations the study revealed that women are underrepresented in the governance process both in elective and appointive positions in the state. therefore, it recommends that all cultural and customary practices which discriminate, subordinate, oppress and hinder women participation in governance in enugu state should be abolished. there should be provision of equal rights and opportunity for men and women in all facets of life. the implementation of 35% affirmative action on women and the enforcement of enugu state gender and equal opportunities act of 2004 in governance process; adoption of quota system for women participation by political parties and waiver of payment of nomination fees by women in the state should be encouraged. references agbalajobi, d.t. (2010). women’s participation and the political process in nigeria: problems and prospects. african journal of political science and international relations, 4(2) february allanana, m.g. (2013) “patriarchy and gender inequality in nigeria: the way forward” european scientific journal, 9(17). atu, c. o, odibo, s. m, uduimoh, a.a & egbuchulam, m. u (2015). “the legislature and good governance in enugu state: an assessment of 5th house of assembly, 2011 to 2015”, renaissance university. journal of management and social sciences (rujmass), 2(1), 20-28. babawale, t. (1999) “political culture and political socialization” in anifowose, r and enemuo, f. (eds) elements of politics, lagos: malthouse press ltd. boeninger, e. (1991). good governance and development. issues and constraints: proceedings of world bank annunal conference on development economics. duru, f.m. (2014) women and society, enugu: rhyce kerex publishers. ekundayo, a., & ama, b. (2014). nigerian women and political participation: the way forward. international journal of education foundations and management 2(1) march. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 335 enemuo, f. c. (1999). “gender and women empowerment” in anifowose, r and enemuo, f (eds) elements of politics, lagos: malthouse press ltd. engels, f. (1884) the origin of the family, private property, and the state. moscow: international publishers. enugu state independent electoral commission data base 2007 – 2011. fab – ukozor, (2007) “women political participation, stable democratic governance and sustainable development” in nwosu, i.e, fab-ukozor, n.t and nwodu, l.c (eds) communication for sustainable human development: a multi-perspectival approach, african council for communication education (acce). federal government of nigeria (1999), constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, abuja: fgn. ferguson, a and hennessy, r (2010). feminist perspectives on class and work, stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. hartmann, h. (1981) the unhappy marriage of marxism and feminism: towards a more progressive union, feminist theory reader. henderson, s.l., & jeydel, a.s. (2010) women and politics in a global world (2nd ed.) new york: oxford university press. howard, h. (2009). the challenge of third world (5th ed) new jersey: prentice hall. independent national electoral commission data base 2007 – 2011, enugu. iwobi, a. u. (2000). no cause for merriment: the position of widows under nigerian law. canadian journal of women’s law, 20(1), 37 -86. kura, s. a., & yero, b.u. (2013). “an analysis of gender inequality and national gender policy in nigeria” international journal of scientific & engineering research, 4(1) january marx, k., & engel, f. (1848). the communist manifesto mckinnon, c. (2008). issues in political theory. new york, oxford university press. nwofia, j.e., & emezi, t. (2014). “gender empowerment and society” in eze p-j (ed) social sciences in peace and conflict studies vol. 1, enugu: san press ltd. okediran, a., olujide, m. g., & danesy, h.a. (2006). empowerment of women through literacy education. some issues for nigerian consideration. australian journal of adult learning, 46(1), 97 – 113. olurode, l. (2012). “states and political participation: women in nigeria’s 2011 elections”, presented at the conference on africa, held at the university of texas, usa. roskin, m.g., cord, r.l., jones, w.s. & medeiros, j.a. (2010). political science: an introduction. longman, new york, 11th edition. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 336 rourke, j.k. (2008). international politics on the world stage. mcgraw hill, new york, twelfth edition. srivastava, s. (2012). an introduction to political ideologies. dorling pvt ltd, new delhi. taiwo, r. denga, d. and denga, h. (2009) “education of women for empowerment in nigeria. the international journal of diversity in organizations, communities and nations (1), 45 – 58. talabi, o. (2019). “untapped resources: women role in governance (guardian newspaper, june 13, 2019p. 43.) udegbe, b. (1998). “gender and leadership images and reality” faculty lecture at the university of ibadan, ibadan: vintage publisher. united nations development programme (1997). nigerian human development report, lagos vogel, l. (2013). marxism and oppression of women: toward a unitary theory. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 336 socio-economic impact of recession and youth unemployment: the nigerian experience chukwujekwu charles onwuka department of sociology chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus, anambra state, nigeria e-mail: cc.onwuka@coou.edu.ng & sunday evaristus abonyi department of social work university of ilorin, kwara state e-mail: seabonyi@gmail.com abstract this paper appraised the socio-economic impact of recession and youth unemployment in nigeria. the current condition of nigeria in the recent time calls for urgent attention. the emphasis is on some specific interplay of factors in the process of recession and youth unemployment. content analysis based on existing literature was applied in examining the impact posed by economic recession and youth unemployment in nigeria. the study observed that millions of people who graduate from the university every year but could not find a suitable job to earn a living. as such, unemployment has been on the increase irrespective of governments’ efforts to ameliorate the sufferings of the youth which has not yielded much fruit. the study equally observed that life styles of some youths in nigeria have changed drastically. most youths now engage themselves in social vices such as armed robbery, kidnapping, impersonation, forgery, internet fraud etc in order to make both ends meet. finally, the study proffered alternative strategies on how to salvage the socio-economic impact of recession and youth unemployment in nigeria. keywords: impact, recession, socio-economic, unemployment, youth introduction nigerian youths have been terrorized by economic recession and unemployment. more specifically the economic recession has brought in its wake enormous increase in the level of unemployment. opeyemi (2008) observes that there are cases of unemployment, retrenchments, downsizing and layoffs, which served as indications to a troubled economy. the international labor organization (ilo) recently revealed that as many as 51 million workers were fired in 2010 globally, while 30 million more jobs are at risk. the global unemployment rate is estimated at 7.5 percent in 2010, up from 6.5 percent in 2009 and 6.7 percent in 2008. this implies that the global economic recession is already resulting in the number of people joining the labor market and swelling the rank of the unemployed, creating a “labor market epidemic”. nigeria is basically in trouble if that be the case. the consequences mailto:seabonyi@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 337 of unemployment in nigeria are very severe and threatening to the citizenry and the economy as a whole (bello, 2003). unemployment according to ilo, is among the biggest threats to social stability in many countries (including nigeria), putting the global rate at 12.6% (ilo, 2012). when compared with her counterparts in the continent, nigeria’s unemployment crisis is more serious. for instance, south africa’s unemployment rate is currently standing at 25.2%, and in ghana is about 14% in 2010, while nigeria is around 37%. recent statistics by the world bank has put the unemployment rate in nigeria at 22 percent, while the youth unemployment rate is 38 percent. the report shows that the bracket age of 15-35 years olds account for close to 60 percent of the nigeria’s population and 30 percent of the work force. the report also indicates that approximately 4 million people entered into the labour market every year (subair, 2013). according to kayode, arome & anyio (2014), this situation is pathetic considering the fact that the country that is blessed with a lot of human and natural resources capable of providing employment for the teeming youths in nigeria. as noted by the world bank report, the youth holds the key to achieving the vision 20: 2020. the fundamental questions that naturally arise from these facts is that why is the rate of unemployment on the increase during the decade of about 7% (gdp) economic growth? what is wrong with the various intervention programmes during this period of recession and high unemployment cum gdp? what are the socioeconomic implications? these questions informed the basis of this paper. therefore the objective of this paper is to examine the magnitude and dimensions of the socio-economic impact of recession and youth unemployment in nigeria. this paper undertook a qualitative research to answer these and many other questions begging for answers using secondary sources (government publications, journals, local and international statistical reports). the content analysis was utilized to analyze the data collected from these instruments. statement of problem obviously, economic recession and youth unemployment has contributed and could be a measuring yard stick impeding on the growth and development of the nigeria state. apart from the economic waste it brings to the nation, it also constitutes political unrest for the country. it is unhide ably obvious to even the ignorant nigerian that unemployment situation in nigeria is disturbing and even more disheartening that the country’s economic condition cannot absorb on optional proportion of its labour force. thus could be attributed to the contributive factor that increases crimes and other social vices experienced in our society in recent times because it is generally said that ‘’ an idle mind is always the workshop of the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 338 devil’’. though, it would not be out of place to identify lucidly the various issues and contents that are recourse to economic recession and youth unemployment. cases such as environmental degradation, economic sabotage, fall in national output, increase in rural–urban migration, waste of human resources, high rate of dependency ratio, poverty, internet fraud, depression, frustration, all sorts of immoral acts and criminalities etc are effects of youth unemployment on the socioeconomic sectors of any state. also pertinent of note, the level of unemployment in nigeria is justifiable by available financial statistics phenomenon. this is because, the nature of unemployment in the country where many job seekers do not see the register with the directorate of employment as unemployed or where many few individuals who are self employed claimed they are not employed, thus harnessing the sharp disparity between the official statistics on the phenomenon and the reality on ground (bello, 2003). because of social and economic hazard that accompany recession and unemployment, it is therefore no surprise that unemployment is a frequent topic of political debate. it is pertinent to note that mere political debate on unemployment cannot solve the problems of unemployment except when the outcomes of the debate are put to implementation backed with political will. conceptual clarification of terms economic recession economic recession according to national bureau of economic research (nber) (2015) is “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in a real gross domestic product (gdp), real income, employment, industrial production and wholesale-retail sales.” economic recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). this may be triggered by various events, such as a financial crisis, an external trade shock, an adverse supply shock or the bursting of an economic bubble. unemployment there seem to be a consensus on the definition and usage of the concept, unemployment. according to udu and agu (2005), unemployment is “a situation in which persons capable and willing to work are unable to find suitable paid employment”. as defined by international labour organisation (2007), unemployed workers are those who are currently not working but are willing and able to work for pay, currently available to work and have ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 339 actively search for work. hornby (2010) defines unemployment as the facts of a number of people not having a job; the number of people without a job; the state of not having a job. underemployment underemployment is unemployment in disguise. harold (2009) described underemployment as when people are employed only on part time or at work that is ineffective or unproductive, with a correspondingly low income that is insufficient to meet their needs. types of unemployment in nigeria economists have distinguished between the various overlapping types (or causes) of unemployment. some types of unemployment in nigeria are explained below: a. seasonal unemployment according to udu and agu (2005) seasonal unemployment occurs mostly in industrial sector, and in the enterprise that are seasonal in nature. such activities engage labour temporarily during peak periods. for example, during the rainy season, many men who are engaged in fishing and building may go out of work during bad weather. fishing, for instance is not usually done during the rainy season in many parts of nigeria. more so, during christmas season, shop owners and companies employ extra hands for the seasonal sales. these extra hands are usually relieved of their jobs when demand for products decreased. b. structural unemployment structural unemployment occurs when a labour market is unable to provide jobs for everyone who wants one, because there is a mismatch between the skill of the unemployed workers and the skill needed for the available jobs. structural unemployment could also results from persistent cyclical unemployment, that is, if the economy suffers from long-term low aggregate demand and in the techniques of the industry, unemployment could occur (udu and agu, 2005; harold, 2009). for example, as time goes by, there may be permanent fall in the demand for certain products which may be due to a change in taste. the brick industry in nigeria, is suffering permanent fall in demand now because people prefer to use cement blocks to build their houses instead, this has caused sharp unemployment in that industry. more so, long lasting low demand could make the unemployed disheartened while their skills become rusty and obsolete, and as a result they may not fit the job vacancies that would ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 340 be created when the economy recovers. some technological unemployment which occurs due to the replacement of workers by machines might be counted as structural unemployment. c. frictional unemployment there seems to be divergence on the meaning and causes of frictional unemployment. for example, udu and agu (2005) asserted that, there is frictional unemployment when certain occupations have surplus workers in one part of the country, while vacancies for similar jobs occur and are not filled in other parts of the country. to them, immobility of labour and imperfect knowledge of the existence of opportunities elsewhere is the main cause of frictional unemployment. in contrast, harold (2009) and anyanwuocha (2010) agreed that frictional unemployment is the time period between jobs, when a worker is searching for job or transitioning from one job to another. it occurs because workers seeking jobs do not find them immediately. friction here refers to the incongruity between the demand for and supply of labour (harold, 2009). for example, frictional unemployment could occur between the time a student completes his studies and the time he is able to find a job (anyanwuocha, 2010). this type of unemployment is always present in an economy and is more common with specialised labour. d. transitional unemployment udu and agu (2005) refer to this as normal unemployment, because it is short duration. it does not harm the economy. in construction industries or contract jobs which rely heavily on manual labour, workers are temporarily laid off at the end of major assignments. such workers are re-engaged when other jobs becomes available. others may drift to other ongoing projects. e. classical unemployment this occurs when real wages for a job are set above the market – clearing level, causing the number of job-seekers to exceed the number of vacancies. most economists have argued that increased government intervention in the economy leads to increase in the rate of employment of a nation. for instance, the minimum wage as stipulated by labour law has also raise the cost of unskilled or low skilled labour above the market equilibrium. this led to a drastic reduction in the employment of these categories of labour. many in these categories of labour force who even wish to work at the formal wage rate could not be employed due to this law, consequently, adding to the high number of the unemployed in the country. furthermore, laws restricting lay-offs made businesses less likely to hire in the first place, as hiring becomes ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 341 more risky, leaving many young people unemployed and unable to find work (kayode, arome & anyio, 2014). f. hidden unemployment hidden unemployment is the unemployment of potential workers that does not usually reflects on official unemployment statistics, due to the way the statistics are collected. in many countries only those who have no work but are actively looking for work (and/or qualified for social security benefits) are counted as unemployed. those who have given up looking for work (and sometimes those who are on government retraining programmes) are not officially counted even though they are unemployed. the same applied to those who have taken early retirement to avoid being laid off, but would prefer to be working. the statistics also do not count those with part time or seasonal job who would rather have full time jobs as unemployed. in addition, those who are of working age but are currently in full-time education are usually not considered unemployed in government statistics. because of hidden unemployment, official statistics often underestimate unemployment rate. however, a critical examination of the various types of unemployment shows that unemployment can be voluntary or involuntary. though, there have been several definitions of voluntary and involuntary unemployment in the economic literatures, a simple distinction is applied. voluntary unemployment is attributed to individual’s decision which includes workers who reject low wage jobs. whereas, involuntary unemployment exists because of the socioeconomic variables (such as the market structure, government policies, etc.) which permeate the environment in which one operates. it includes workers fired due to an economic crisis, industrial decline, company bankruptcy or organizational restructuring. hence, structural unemployment, and classical unemployment are largely involuntary in nature. in addition, most cases of unemployment in nigeria are usually involuntary. theoretical framework the theoretical framework of this study is anchored on keynesian theory. this theory is relevant to the study as it hold the view that unemployment occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide job for everyone who wants to work. according to keynesian theory when demand for most goods and services falls, less production is needed and consequently fewer workers are needed, wages are sticky and do not fall to meet the equilibrium level, and mass unemployment results. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 342 nigeria seems to be one of the worst hit. for instance, while many government agencies and parastatals lay embargo on employment in the last two decades, within the same period, governmental reforms disengaged about 121,731 workers from the public service between 2006 and 2007. during the first phase of the downsizing process of the 2005 public service reform, about 30,000 officers of the core civil service were disengaged from service. (adegoroye, 2006). the banking industry also suffered adverse effects of the financial crisis. some banks in the sector massively ‘swept out’ their work force in a bid to remain in business and this has drastically increased the rate of unemployment in nigeria (kayode, arome & anyio, 2014). the keynesian theory argue further that the number of unemployed workers exceeds the number of job vacancies, so that even if full employment were attained and all open jobs were filled, some workers would still remain unemployed due to some mismatch in the economy. some associate this theory with frictional unemployment because the factors that cause the friction are partly due to cyclical variables. for example, a surprise decrease in the money supply may shock rational economic actors and suddenly inhibit aggregate demand (kayode, arome & anyio, 2014). hence, keynesian theory sees the lack of demand for jobs as potentially resolvable by government intervention. their prescription for reducing unemployment is deficit spending by government to boost employment and increase in aggregate total demand. they further suggested intervention through an expansionary monetary policy that increase the rates thereby leading to an increase in non-government spending (haris, 2005), and policies that encourage more private investment (obadan and odusola, 2010). causes of economic recession and youth unemployment economists have not been able to offer a generally acceptable approach to curb unemployment as economic recession has been on high rate (shadare and tunde, 2012). the keynesian explanation is that firms demand too little labour because of the declining demand for its output, which create unemployment. kayode, arome and anyio (2014) enumerated in their study nine major factors responsible for the rising unemployment in nigeria. these factors are; corruption, poor management practice, neglect of agricultural sector, infrastructural decay, absence of purposeful leadership and good governance, poor framework for government reforms agenda, unfavorable standings and circumstances placed on jobs systemic problems in education sector, the challenges of globalization and absence of enabling business environment, all these are the mother of recession aggravating unemployment. noko ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 343 (2016) argued that recession cannot only be determined by negative real gdp growth rate since a recession can quietly begin before the quarterly real gdp is out. it can also be from the angle of persistent inflation when he noted that, recession is a generalized increase in the level of price sustained over a long period in an economy, that is, a persistent rise in the price levels of commodities and services, leading to a fall in the currency’s purchasing power. in the context of nigeria, recession has been attributed to many factors, noko (2016) argued that nigeria current recession is caused by poor economic policy, fall in oil output due to activities of the niger – delta militants and subsequent fall in oil price, others include over dependence on oil export, inflation due to ban on some basic foods like rice, and infrastructural decay in the country (noko, 2016). the traditional theories of unemployment though provided a solid foundation for comprehending causes of unemployment in an economy. however, in the case of nigeria, the underlying theme of these theories cannot fully elucidate the major causes of nigeria’s unemployment problem (gbosi, 2005). in contemporary times, a number of factors have also been recognized to be accountable for the problem. these factors are declining economic growth rate, implementation of disjointed economic policy, erroneous impression about technical and vocational education, the neglect of the agricultural sector and poor infrastructure to create the right business environment. socio-economic impact of recession and unemployment analysis in this era, nigeria has been no doubt subjected to economic recession in correlation to unemployment. talking about rise in dollar, the fact remains that the global economic recession describes the growing economic, political, technological and cultural linkages that connect individuals, communities, businesses, governments and countries around the world and the negative impacts it carries with it as felt in the economies of different states and countries. the general cycle of recession has brought about imbalance in socio-economic management which aggravates the unemployment of nigerian youth. nigeria on neutral perspective today is a nation under several forms of economic, political and social unrest. the state of unemployment according to the national bureau of statistics (2012), in nigeria stands at 19.7%. this indentifies unemployment as one of the major challenging confronting the nigeria – economic development. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 344 the nigerian national bureau of statistics like most countries in the world uses a variant of the ilo definition such that the unemployment is the proportion of those in the labour force (not in the entire economic active population, nor the entire nigerian population) who were actively looking for work but could not find work for at least 20 hours during the reference period to the total currently active (labour force) population. accordingly, you are unemployed if you did absolutely nothing at all or did something but for less than 20 hours during the reference week. underemployment however occurs if you work less than full time hours, which is 40 hours, but work at least 20 hours on average a week and /or if you work full time but are engaged in an activity that 5 underutilizes your skills, time and educational qualifications. consequently, rural farmers only farming seasonally will be considered underemployed if they only work on their farms during the planting and harvests period and do nothing in between. if farmers are however working in dry and wet seasons as is increasingly becoming the case, they will then be involved in full time employment. this applies to drivers, cooks, cleaners, bankers, teachers etc who in most case work well over 40 hours and hence are considered full time employed as their working hours and skills meet the adopted methodology. it is important to note that the international definition of unemployment, underemployment or employment is not a function of the quantity/suitability of wages earned nor it is a function of job satisfaction. rather employment, underemployment and unemployment are treated as a function of a person’s involvement or otherwise in economic activity even if that activity is performed solely to make ends meet and not for satisfaction or enjoyment. the suitability of wages or job fulfillment is covered under other indices such as the living standard, poverty rate or happiness index, but not in determining whether one is employed, unemployed or underemployed, which is a function of economic engagement. the challenges of economic recession and youth unemployment nigerian youths have been terrorized by economic recession and unemployment. more specifically the economic recession has brought in its wake enormous increase in the level of unemployment. opeyemi (2008) observes that there cases of unemployment, retrenchments, downsizing and layoffs, which served as indications to a troubled economy. the international labor organization (ilo) recently revealed that as many as 51 million workers were fired in 2010 globally, while 30 million more jobs are at risk. the global unemployment rate is estimated at 7.5 percent in 2010, up from 6.5 percent in 2009 and 6.7 percent in 2008. this implies that the global economic recession is already resulting in the number of people joining ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 345 the labor market and swelling the rank of the unemployed, creating a ‘’ labor market epidemic’’. nigeria is basically in trouble if that be the case. the consequences of unemployment in nigeria are very severe and threatening to the citizenry and the economy as a whole (bello, 2003). below are the consequences; 1. unproductive labor force: according to njoku and ihugba (2011), the most direct impact on the economy of an unproductive labor force is lost output in terms of goods and services, with no income tax to collect and the loss of receipts from indirect taxes payers. 2. contributes to crime and violence: the gap between the rich and the poor kept growing, resulting in the social vices and tensions which affects the entire spares of the communities, states and the country. 3. effect on health: lack of steady income also leads to malnutrition and adversely affects health of the youth and their families. 4. drug addiction: due to frustration that results in the inability of engaging in a gainful employment, most people turn to drug addicts. 5. family support: civil servants retire when they are not tired and there is no social security net, very often families depend on their son or daughter graduating from school to take up employment in order to support the entire family. when that does not happen, the financial woes are unimaginably sorrowful. the failure of state-owned enterprises in the achievement of socio-economic development in nigeria the performances of the soes in nigeria have left much to be desired. many of them are not responsive to changing requirements of a growing and dynamic economy and do not seem to possess the necessary tools for translating into reality the hope of successful commercial operations (omoleke, 2010). notwithstanding the huge investments on these enterprises, their performances are far from being satisfactory. it is the general belief of most nigerians that soes are inefficient. the performance of most public utilities provides adequate testimony for this inefficiency. perhaps this informed laleye (1986), who asserted that reports of investigatory panels set up by government on all the parastatals testified to the fact that inefficiency, had reached scandalous proportions. the huge national investments on the soes justify the general outcry about inefficiency. all these inadequacies made organisational goals to suffer and heaped serious problems on the society. the inefficiency of soes can be traced to: a. absence of proper planning, goals and meritocracy in employment strategy ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 346 b. excessive government control and interference with operational decisions of soe managers; this suffocates managerial initiatives, c. politicisation of employment, poor choice of product and location of the enterprises. d. absence of a competitive environment to encourage better soe performance. e. inadequate tech no-managerial capacity to respond to changing economic environment and f. inadequate funding and late release of funds, as the enterprises are often tied to annual budget with its attendant bureaucratic corruption and red tapism. for balogun (1983), the inefficiency of nigerian soes is traceable to the environment in which they operate, whereas obadan (2000) identifies poor maintenance culture as the bane of the soes. for him, soes in many developing countries, as in nigeria, have been attacked for being economically inefficient and wasteful of resources. this is because they make significant demands on government resources, as well as on domestic and foreign credit and yet these demands have been associated with low profitability and inefficiency. these organisations have failed to show a profit. operating on a deficit, they have proved to be a massive drain and economic parasites on government's resources through transfer and subsidies. in order to substantiate the above assertion, in 1998, there were 588 soes in nigeria and this meant that government was responsible for over 5,000 board appointments, thus constituting an economic drain on government's purse. according to the international monetary fund (imf), the drain of soes in 1998 was equal to 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (nigerian business magazine, 2000) gradually dragging the economy into recession. also, in 1998 alone, for example, the amount spent on nigerian soes, was n265 billion (imhonopi, 2010). these monies, naturally, could have accrued to the government coffers as income and could have been utilised for very important developmental and socio-economic projects that would yield employment and better the lives of nigerians. but such waivers, tax exemptions, unmerited revenues and grants to state-owned enterprises meant they continued to enjoy government's patronage and support, making no visible contribution to the economy. this status quo might have informed the lack of initiative and enterprise on the part of the soes since, whether they performed or not, the government would always come to their rescue to clean up their mess and cover their inadequacies and structural flaws. from the foregoing, it is clear that government's desire to achieve socio-economic welfare through the evolution and financing of state-owned enterprises failed to meet the objectives of government. instead, soes have been a drain on government's already lean coffers; this is not ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 347 to mention the toll the entrenched corruptive tendencies of government representatives and officials had and are still having on the liquidity of government business. this scenario prompted the push for different privatisation models in the country. policies, programmes and efforts of government towards socio-economic development nigerian governments, over the years, have evolved well-articulated policies and programmes aimed at achieving socio-economic development in nigeria. these include: first, the operation feed the nation and the green revolution programmes of general olusegun obasanjo in the late seventies and president shehu shagari in the early eighties, respectively. agriculture was the mainstay of the national economy before the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities in the mid-fifties. the programmes were aimed squarely at restoring agriculture to its pride of place in the country while enabling the country enjoy stability and self-sufficiency in food production. second, the structural adjustment programme (sap) of the babangida administration in 1986 which was in response to the paradigm shift from a public-sector dependent economy to a private sector-led enterprise and partly forced on the country by the steady drop in its revenue profile (adamu, 2006). the programme was supposed to restructure and diversify the productive base of the economy, in order to reduce dependence on the oil sector and imports; achieve a fiscal and balance of payment viability over the medium term and laid the basis for a sustainable non-inflationary growth over the medium and the long-term. under the programme, government embarked on partial or full privatisation of its companies and parastatals. seventy-three of the 95 government enterprises put on the block were privatised (imhonopi, 2010). third, the national economic empowerment development strategy, needs, which was launched on may 29, 2004, by the obasanjo civilian administration. according to chief obasanjo, the needs was "in response to the development challenges of nigeria." he said that the programme would "lay a solid foundation for sustainable poverty reduction, employment generation, wealth creation and value reorientation." the same programme at the state and local government levels were known as state economic empowerment development strategy (seeds) and local-government economic empowerment development strategy (leeds) respectively. needs rested on the following pillars, which were, reforming the way government and its institutions worked, boosting the private sector, implementing a social charter for the people and reorienting people's values. a unique feature of needs was that the federal government supported it ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 348 with comprehensive reforms in the public sector. the banking consolidation, where twentyfive mega banks emerged each with a minimum capital base of 25 billion naira, was also a point in this direction. the banks were strong enough to support private initiatives and entrepreneur-ship. following the needs were also millennium development goals to be achieved by the year 2015. these goals encapsulated a national desire to deal with "poverty, educational development, gender equality, child and maternal health, combating hiv/aids, the malaria scourge, environmental sustainability and international cooperation" (adamu, 2006). fourth, others were the 7-point agenda, the eight-point united nations millennium development goals, the american agoa, the african nepad and the sudden food crisis policies of the late president umar musayar'adua (imhonopi, 2010). recommendations having looked at the challenges militating against government's genuine efforts to achieve a recession free economy and reduce youth unemployment in nigeria, the following are suggested ways by which the present challenges can be addressed. a. reinvesting in the agricultural sector until early 1970s, agriculture remains the mainstay of nigerian economy. it constitute the major income earning for the country and the largest employer of labour as over 90 percent of the populace worked and earn their daily income from this sector. following the rise in the price of petroleum (oil boom) in 1970s, and the attendance huge foreign income, the agricultural sector suffered a substantial decline till today. the huge finances from the oil sector have brought about the growth of public and private enterprises which are concentrated in the urban centres. this later resulted in ruralurban migration in which able body men who were farmers left their farm land to pick up menial jobs in the urban centres which are scarce and inconsistence. corporate nigeria (2007) puts the country’s labour force statistics as follows: 70% in agricultural sector; 10 % in the industrial sector; and 20 % in the service sector of the economy. many analysts have argued that there is a strong relationship between the neglect of agricultural sector and high rate of employment in the country. agriculture remains a panacea for reducing the high rate of unemployment and poverty in nigeria. the monopolistic nature (over reliance on oil) of the economy remains a contradiction. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 349 b. development of home-grown technology today's global economy is governed and controlled by those who own the technologies in place. nigeria, for many years, has remained a consumer nation and this will continue to frustrate the genuine efforts to transform our economy. as long as nigeria remains at the receiving end of the technology trade continuum, the desire to achieve a recession free economy will be farfetched. c. infrastructural development this is yet another dismal factor that has rendered millions of nigerians unemployed. haris dafaranos, a former greek ambassador to nigeria is one of those who believed that if the infrastructure is improved and empowered policies are put in place, people will have opportunity to employment and use their talent in sectors like textile which is capable of absorbing both skilled and semi-skilled workers (abbah, 2009). no doubt that the inability of successive administration to tackle the problem in power sector has done an incalculable harm to all facets of the economy especially the manufacturing enterprises in the country. currently, there are barely 200 operators in the real sectors of the economy. for example, dunlop nigeria plc which was a dominant manufacturing enterprise in the country has been shutting shops; michelin, a tyre manufacturing company followed suit. the last surviving textile mill in kaduna, the united textile mills (unt) plc has been shut down for long. the united nation industrial development organisation (unido) statistics indicated that over 170 textile companies have closed shop and 120,000 employees are rendered jobless on account of poor power and water supply, high cost of fuel and massive smuggling of counterfeit products into the country from asia (kolade-otitoju, 2009). d. entrepreneurship development globally, countries are beginning to look inwards towards developing and empowering their small businesses, creating a climate that supports small business growth and encouraging citizens and young graduates to create businesses rather than seek employment. by investing in the growth and development of small businesses in the country, the massive result to be realised from this effort can facilitate a recession free economy for nigeria e. strong political will the commitment of government to a recession free economy is key to achieving economic development. government, at whatever level, must refuse to pay lip service to the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 350 question of economic growth, development and independence for the country. government needs to put its money where its mouth is by making a genuine commitment to efforts aimed at achieving socio-economic welfare for nigerians. f. accountability one of government's greatest challenges is lack of accountability of its resources. the political leadership and public office holders have taken advantage of the loopholes in government accounting system, poor financial monitoring and the absence of the digitalisation of government financial records to steal from government coffers. however, the present massive digitalisation and computerisation of government business, that is e-government, will help to reduce government's exposure to the activities of political fraudsters and thieves. secondly, the empowerment and independence of anti-corruption agencies: the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) and the independent corrupt practices commission (icpc), are two agencies of government created to stem the growing tide of political and other forms of corruption in the country. for these agencies to effectively discharge their functions, the government needs to empower them and let them have total independence from government interference and encroachment so as to dispense justice as they carry out their duties. g. renewal of ethical standards the government of the day must evolve programmes aimed at reviving the fallen ethical standards and morals such as sincerity, credibility, transparency, truth and honesty. it should have a zero tolerance for those who engage in sharp and questionable practices whether in and outside government, while, individuals who are found to support this paradigm shift are to be encouraged through a reward system to be put in place. also, along this line, government business needs to integrate global best practices like professionalism, creativity, innovation, meritocracy, performance-based reward systems and planning. finally, consistency in policy formulation and implementation: to achieve a recession free economy, government needs to be consistent in its policy formulation and implementation. conclusion the alarming socio-economic impact of recession and unemployment in nigeria can be traced to the unconsolidated economy partly due to the inglorious role of the military in nigerian politics. these strangers to political power, with no basis for political intervention in ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 351 the management of the state, and with no training and competence in handling the affairs of the state, further plunged nigeria into the abyss as different gladiators from this class undertook massive exploitation of the state resources for personal aggrandisement and to perpetuate themselves and their cronies in power. it will be hard for nigeria to attain the" vision 2020" without addressing squarely the problem of youth unemployment, poverty, inequality and the mono-product economy structure. recession and high unemployment rate in nigeria is the bane of social policy, it is widening inequality. it is certainly inhibiting growth and poverty reduction efforts. high inequality is a double handicap (martins, 2009). depending on the sources of inequality; notably how much comes from inequality of opportunity, it means lower growth and that the poor share less in the gains from that growth. nigeria must adopt pro-poor policies in order to attain her vision. the extent of adoption of pro-poor policies depends on the degree of empowerment of the poor people. the policy reform campaigns of the government cannot be fully realized without reaching a minimum level of propoor empowerment. once this minimum level is reached, nigeria's reform can be rapid. pro-poor reforms will create empowerment (jobs) for the poor, by raising their command over economic and political resources and household consumption demand, thereby enhancing their influence over policy. social policy has a direct impact on agriculture, education, health and unemployment. improvement in infrastructure such as roads, railways, electricity, communication, water, housing, health and education infrastructure implies a reduction in unemployment. references abbah, t. (2009). if i were president yar’adua – greek ambassador. sunday trust, july 19. adamu, a. (2006). the challenges of nigeria's economic development in the 21st century: baking the national cake. being text of a lecture delivered by his excellency, dr. abdullahi adamu, executive governor of nasarawa state at a symposium organised by the nigeria awareness group, switzerland at the hilton airport hotel. adegoroye, g. (2006). public service reform for sustainable development: the nigerian experience. a keynote address delivered at the commonwealth advance seminar, wellington, new zealand. 20th feb3rd march. bureau of public service reforms anyanwuocha, r. a. i. (2010). fundamentals of economics, for senior secondary schools. onitsha: africana first publishers plc. balogun, m. i. (1983). public administration in nigeria: a developmental approach. london: macmillan ltd. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 352 bello, t. (2003). the consequences of unemployment in nigeria are very severe and threatening to the citizenry and the economy as a whole. a paper presented on the occasion of the celebration of 100 years of cambridge economics; cambridge, united kingdom september. cia world fact book (2010). nigeria unemployment rate – economy. internet retrieved on 01/02/2011http://www.indexmundi.com/nigeria/unemployment_rate.html corporate nigeria (2007). the annual business, trade and investment guide. switzerland: imc publication. daily trust (2009, march 16). nigeria: the unemployment crisis. internet retrieved on 16/01/2011 http://allafrica.com/stories/200903160028.html economic growth and poverty reduction in nigeria. research in world economy, 5(1): 3344. gbosi, a. n. (2005). the dynamics of managing chronic unemployment in nigeria’s depressed economy. inaugural lecture series. haris, s. e. (2005). the new economic: keynes’ influence on theory and public policy. whitefish: kessigner publishing. harold, g. (2009). unemployment. microsoft encarta. redmond: microsoft corporation. hassan, h. (2010). nigeria’s unemployment challenges. internet retrieved. accessed 02/01/2011 http://dailytrust.dailytrust.com/indesx.php?option=com_content&review hornby, a. s. (2010). oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current english. oxford: oxford university press. ilo (2010-2011). estimates and projections of the economically active population: 19902020. 6th edition, methodological description. available at: http://laborta.ilo.org /applv8/data/eapep/v6/ilo_eapep_methodology_2011.pdf, accessed november, 2012. imhonopi, d. (2010). individual and national development. a paper submitted to the gns unit, olabisi onabanjo university, ago-iwoye. international labour organisation (2007). resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, adopted by the thirteenth international conference of labour statisticians. accessed 2/03/2011http: //www.iloorg/public/english/burearu/stat/download/res/ecacpop.pdf international labour organisation (2012). global employment trends for youth 2012. retrieved on 12/07/2013, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/...dgreports/ kayode, a., arome, s., & anyio, s. f. 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(2010). productivity and unemployment. ibadan: national centre for economic management and administration. offiong, d. (2001). globalisation: post-neodependency and poverty in africa. enugu: fourth dimension publishers. omoleke, i. i. (2010). the nigerian privatisation policy and hope of the grassroots. int. rev. bus. res. papers, 6(1), 108-123 opeyemi modupe g. (2008). observes that there cases of unemployment, retrenchments, downsizing and layoffs, which served as indications to a troubled economy. international labor organization world employment. www.ilo.org/public/english bureau/inf/pkits martins, r. (2009). are there lessons for africa from china’s success against poverty? world development report (wdr),37(2), 303-313. national bureau of statistics, (2012). national unemployment rates (1995-2011). retrieved from www.nigerianstat.gov.on 9th november. nigerian business magazine (2000). expenditure on public enterprises in nigeria. june 19th; 4(12),19. noko, j.e. (2016). economic recession in nigeria: causes and solution. retrieved online from http://educainfo.com/economic-recession-nigeria/ samuel, a. (2011). the democratic challenges in nigeria and the steps toward achieving the vision 20:20:20. kubani journal of arts and social sciences, 1(1), 14-22. shadare, o. a. & tunde, e. s. (2012). graduate unemployment in nigeria: cause, effect and remedies. british journal of arts and social sciences, 5(2) 1-16. subair, g. (2013). nigeria’s unemployment rate hits 22% world bank. nigerian tribune online. udu, e. & agu, g.a. (2005). new system economics. onitsha; africana first publishers ltd. http://www.ilo.org/public/english http://www.nigerianstat.gov.on/ page 1 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences bad governance and its threat to democratic consilidation in nigeria, 19992019 james ocheni obaka department of political science, federal university lokoja, kogi state. james.obaka@fulokoja.edu.ng abstract after two decades of uninterrupted democracy in nigeria, the much expected good governance that it promises is yet to be attained. the hope of dividends of democracy has been dashed. this is due to the activities of politicians which do not allow the rules and procedures of the system to prevail. greedy nigerian politicians rig themselves into power or to remain in power. corruption becomes the norm of the leadership. this results in the paradox of nigerian situation. a country rich in both human and natural resources but her citizens wallow in poverty. this necessitates the need to interrogate the factors that break the nexus of democracy and development in nigeria’s forth republic. the paper uses qualitative method of research with data gotten from secondary sources. it adopts the structural functional theory which among others presupposes that the various structures must perform their respective functions so as to keep the system going. it finds out that due to the fraudulent means politicians get to offices and the resultant high level of corruption and clientelism in nigeria makes it difficult for the government to proffer solutions to the vices of the nation. hence, the human development index (hdi) of nigeria is very low. keywords: corruption, democracy, development, election, government. introduction the hope of good governance that democracy promised has become difficult to achieve in nigeria after two decades of uninterrupted civilian rule. this is due to the actions of the leadership which leads to bad governance. therefore, there is no way democratization can be achieved. democratic government had given hope of good life for the generality of the people that is why it is widely acceptable the world over at the end of the cold war. fukuyama (1997: 2) pointed out that: what we may be witnessing is not just end of the cold war, of the passing of a particular period of post war history, but the end of history as such: that is the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of western liberal democracy as the final form of human governance. this general acceptance of democracy makes it the most expected leadership to ensure development to all mankind. fukuyama (1997: 18) goes further to ask, “if we agree for the mailto:james.obaka@fulokoja.edu.ng james ocheni obaka 89 moment that the fascist and communist challenges to liberalism are dead, are there any other ideological competitors left?” as the beacon of hope for the masses, why then has democracy failed to ensure quality governance in nigeria? the initial accusation was on the colonial leadership. after independence, the military was blamed for the woes of nigeria after their 28 years of misrule. yet, after 20 years that power was bequeathed into the hands of the civilians the status quo remains. this is due to the parochial desires of the politicians who, instead of having interest in development of the nation, indulge in manipulation of elections and corruption for their selfish gains, hence, the masses suffer for it. winning elections seems to be a guarantee to getting rich and having access to state resources. this accounts for the desperate disposition to adopt violent means using the youth, and to form patron-client network to allay fears of defeat in elections (apam, 2010). this type of struggle through which leaders emerge in nigeria, encourages political neophytes in office and find it difficult to deliver the much desired dividends of democracy. “as a consequence of government’s lack of responsiveness to popular needs and aspirations, the economy has remained comatose while poverty has reached new and disturbing heights” (jega, 2007: 195). politicians’ desire for accumulations of wealth made them corrupt in all their dealings right from rigged elections and appointment of wrong people into positions up through to looting of the government treasury. the excesses of the leaders make it difficult to ensure provision of development for the masses. the economy is poorly managed resulting to widespread unemployment and poverty. the failure of the present government under president buhari can be summed up into one as presented by his regional ally, prof. ango abdullahi of northern elder's forum who said: well, on economy, i should ask you how you are doing with your shopping of basic necessities. with regards to insecurity, i think this is a belated issue because at the time he came, the major security challenge was boko haram. now in addition to boko haram, you have bandits, you have kidnappers and all sorts of issues (like herdsmen) that have to do with insecurity of people in their homes and wherever else they are operating (daily trust, 2020). government's inability to provide the much desires of the masses makes democratic consolidation a difficult task. to think of bad governance ensuring democratization is like calling what is round a square. and that is why, in spite the wealth of the nation in human and natural resources, the citizens wallow in abject poverty because the bad leadership cannot provide the expected needs of the people. citizens therefore do not have hope in the government to enable them defend democracy to ensure its consolidation. the bad situation in nigerian government attracts condemnation from every angle in the country. one of the worrisome statements was credited to a member of the national assembly. in his contribution to the bill on the national electoral offences commission on the floor of the house on 3rd march, 2020, senator smart adeyemi representing kogi west said “the current assembly is worse than military regime”. though he was criticized and rebuked by his colleagues for the statement, the reality is that, he said the truth the way he feels about it. he further said that, “we are living witnesses to the bad governance and bad representation in parliament”. what a way of self indictment? finally, he said “people who have issues came to the national assembly to make laws” (daily trust, 4th march, 2020). this is the true situation we find ourselves in nigeria where political positions including governorship, ministerial and senatorial positions are recycled among same people who continue to perpetuate themselves in power. the chapter is structured into eight sections, the first section is the introduction of the chapter while the second section is the conceptualization and the third is the theoretical frame work. the fourth and fifth sections are the signs and causes of bad governance respectively. challenges to democratic consolidation in nigeria appear in the sixth section. the conclusion is the seventh section while finally, recommendation is the eighth section. conceptualization of bad governance to understand the term bad governance, it is better to start with the understanding of good governance which is a term that is very familiar and well documented by many scholars and organizations. good governance is the desired services expected from democracy which makes everyone aspire for the growth and development of the citizens. world bank (2020) points out that good governance concerns with how the government is elected and over sighted, the accountability power of the citizens, the credibility in the government, the respect for institutions, both from government and citizens and the effective delivery of public goods. in the same vein, mr. koffi annan of the united nations organization (uno) regards good governance as ensuring respect for human relation and the rule of law, strengthening democracy, promoting transparency and capacity in public administration. uno list 8 principles of good governance: participation rule of law consensus oriented equity and inclusiveness effective and efficiency accountability transparency responsiveness james ocheni obaka 91 conversely, bad governance is the opposite of governance that is good with all the above features in place. comparing the present nigerian government to the idea of good governance, what we see is truly bad governance. in its simplest form, bad governance is any governance that was not formed from free and fair elections and does not have the interest of the masses. unfavorable relationship between those who govern and those who are governed as a consequence of decision making is regarded as bad governance. to lamb (1999), in conceptualizing bad governance, unresponsive to the needs and the wills of the majority of citizens is a good place to start. unaccountable, wasteful, fraudulent, abusive, restrictive of civil liberties, ineffective, above the people, dishonest, irrelevant and a few other clear things we see today. the world bank (2020) defines bad governance as a country which holds the figures of any or all the following indicators less than or close to -2.5’’ the indicators are: voice and accountability political stability and absence of violence government effectiveness regulatory quality rule of law control of corruption occurs in both politics and economics spheres of society (environment). bad governance can be seen in all the odd lives of political office holders. these include personal interest against the general interest of the people, rigging in elections, lack of protection of lives and property of the people and inability to provide economic and social facilities for the people. theoretical framework in an attempt to discuss the impact of bad governance on democracy in nigeria, many theories could be used to approach the issue. due to the effect of the economy on the governmental development of nigeria, the political economy approach by karl marx can be used for analysis. in the same vein, the prebendal theory by richard joseph based on the desires of politicians’ interest in corruption fits into the study. more so due to the regional politics in nigeria, integration theory by milward could be tenable. but due to the failures of the various institutions of government to perform their functions leading to the bad governance, we adopt the structural functionalism for analysis to adequately understand how bad governance threatens democratic consolidation in nigeria. the structural functional theory is a derivation of function and systems models in anthropology, sociology, biology and political science. gabriel almond is the scholar that gave detailed analysis of the approach to political science. he assumes that in a nation-state, structures exist and studies the structures in terms of their functions within the systems (london, 2019). he took into account not only the structural components which are in the institutions, but also their functions within the system as a whole. the approach points out that the political system is made up of institutions (structures), such as interest groups, political parties, the executives, legislatures, judicial branches of government and bureaucratic machinery. the idea is that, there are numbers of actors in the national political systems and all the actions of these actors affects each other as well as the entire system. kelegbe (2015) notes that the institutional functionalism model highlights the inter face between the nature of the state and governance institutions and the nature of political behaviour. the assumption is that, weak and fragile institutions of government; personalization and privatization of state institutions, power and resources, and weak governmental legitimacy are associated with the problem of democracy. this can directly be related to the issues affecting the government of nigeria which has failed in her desired goals resulting in bad governance. signs of bad governance in nigeria any outcome of government action that does not provide the much desired good governance that democracy promises is termed bad governance. many signs amount for this. some of them are discussed here. the essence of any government is, first and for most, the protection of lives and properties of her citizens. before the citizens can clamour for any right, they have to be alive, in good health and at peace with each other. but, these are lacking in the present lives of nigerians. there are signs of insecurity in all parts of nigeria. the worst heat is in the northern region where the issues of boko haram killings are common in the north east, armed bandits kill in the north west and the herdsmen versus farmers’ attacks are unabated in north central. in the south, there are cases of kidnapping of foreign oil company workers and agitation for secession. the boko haram onslaught in the north east has become persistent. it is an islamic group known as jama’atu ahlis sunna liddala wati wal-jihad which translates to mean, western education is a sin. it started from borno state and spread to neighboring state of yobe and adamawa states in the north east but has carried out its attacks in many parts of northern region including abuja and some parts of the south. they operate through kidnapping, shooting of guns and use of explosives in suicide bombing by child-soldiers. the kidnap of chibok and dapchi secondary school girls in 2014 and 2018 respectively and some of the girls are still held captive is part of their most notable activities. in the north west especially in katsina and zamfara states, activities of the armed bandits have made life unbearable. the bandit’s actions involve invasion of communities and raze them down by killing whoever they come across. in this region the security personnel are not spared and in some cases, they are even their targets. cattle rustling also include the actions of the bandits who cart away flocks of their herdsmen victims. retaliating their fate, nigerian herders have turn out to become killers too. they have formed the habits of invading communities with dangerous weapons including ak47 and wreak havoc on them. they often burn down a whole village and james ocheni obaka 93 shoot whoever attempts to escape their mayhem. many residents of the worst hit states have fled their hometowns to neighbouring niger republic for safety. in the north central popularly known as middle belt of nigeria mostly home to minority ethnic groups in the north, the fulani herdsmen have made life unbearable for indigenous farmers as their flocks pass through and destroy farms. attempt by the farmers to resist their actions and protect their farms result in mayhem of various degrees by the herders. farmers get attacked with clubs, machetes and guns while on the farm resulting in serious injuries and in some cases, death without any meaningful lawful action taken by government for their protection. there are records of kidnapping all over the country for either ransom from the victims’ relations or for the part of the body to be used for rituals. in search of such victims, oftentimes the kidnappers target the wealthy individuals or their relations to kidnap. some roads have become dead traps as they randomly mount road blocks on the high ways for their victims. some of the most notable roads of recent are the abujakaduna and the abujalokoja express ways. protracted issues of regional insecurity caused by militants are on the increase. all the regions of nigeria witness creation of ethnic militia to attack people of other regions or government out fits. the oodu’a people congress (opc) actions in the south west continue to escalate and consume some of the activities of the region without any security success. the niger delta crises continues to take different dimensions as the government has ran out of ideas on how to handle the situations, the effects of which continues to dwindle our economy. the independent people of biafra (ipob) of the eastern region has become more popular and stronger, making it difficult for the governors of the respective states to handle the security situation. their leader, chief nnamdi kanu has taken their struggle beyond the shores of africa agitating for secession and recognition of the federal republic of biafra. in the niger delta of the south south region, the youth feel that the wealth of their region is siphoned to the north by the national leaders leaving them to suffer. they have many militias including the movement for the emancipation of niger delta (mend), niger delta volunteers (ndv), niger delta people fighters (ndpf) and many others whose activities involve blowing up of pipelines and kidnapping of foreign oil workers. as a result of the level of insecurity all over the country, citizens no longer have confidence in the federal government in the provision of security for their lives and properties, hence, there arises clamour by governors of all regions to create their own security outfits to protect their various states. in response to their frustration by the killings and destructions taking place in their region, the governors of the south west zone came together and formed their own security outfit called ‘operation amotekun’ on 9th january 2020. amotekun is a yoruba word which means leopard. it can run fast, can climb tree and can swim in water. therefore, wherever the criminals are, they cannot go scot-free. in his speech at the declarations, the governor of oyo state mr. seyi makinde said “what we seek to do is to keep our people safe, not fighting nigeria but the elements among us that seek to destabilize our region” (vanguard, 2020). the purpose of the foundation is to ensure an end to insecurity in the south western region. in like manner, the governors of the south eastern states met and debated on the way out of the insecurity of their zone and came up with a decision. addressing the people on their decision, mr. david umahi the governor of ebonyi state on 31st january, 2020 said: to further buttress their readiness in response to the desire of their people for general security, on 15th march, 2020 he reaffirmed that,” when we roll out in the month of april, our people will be very proud of us as their governors” (punch, 2020). reacting to the security preparations at regional levels, the governors of south-south region met and decided on what to do. they concluded that they intend to revive braced commission through which to organize their collective economy and security. the braced is the code for all the six states which are; bayelsa, rivers, akwa ibom, cross river, edo and delta. they formed the commission in the beginning of the fourth republic but have not been utilized so far (guardian, 2020). on 5th february, 2020, having waited for the northern governors to take regional actions on security in vain, out of frustration, the coalition of northern group (cng) unveiled their own security outfit called shege ka fasa which means ‘ i dare you to attack or surrender’ in hausa. at the launch of the operation on 5th february, 2020, the spokesman of the cng alhaji abdulazeez sulaiman said, “if the state governors and others leaders from our region fail to take action to protect the region the way their southern counterparts are doing, cng is willing to follow through with all the processes of obtaining the required legal backing for the outfit from the relevant federal government authorities” (vanguard, 2020). the northern governors and leaders distanced themselves from the actions of the cng. on 9/2/2020 the sultan of sokoto disowned the group and warned the governors of the region thus: i am calling on the northern elders to caution them. don’t allow these youths to take over leadership from you. take the bulls by the horns and not allow the youths take over their responsibility (punch, 2020). the notion of the northern governors and the denial of cng do not mean that the security operation in the north is better than what is obtainable in the south in any way. but it is a sort of solidarity for the government in power under the leadership of their ‘brother’ as an attempt of creation of regional security shows lack of confidence in the security activities of the government. james ocheni obaka 95 the responsibility of the government to ensure quality lives for her citizens cannot be achieved under bad government in which lack of provision and maintenance of the desired infrastructure is the norm. most roads in nigeria are unmotorable due to pot holes. this leads to untold hardship as safe arrival from any short journey calls for testimony. it negatively affects movement of people and goods and services. both farmers and business men find it difficult to transport their goods and services causing hardship among the people. electricity supply has almost collapsed due to low power supply. many companies have either closed down or relocated to other countries due to their inability to run them with generators. therefore, many workers lost their jobs. every household presently depends on generators for their power supply. it has become so bad that federal government budgets much money for the purchase and maintenance of generators. as the popular saying goes “killing the goose that lays the golden eggs”, even the petroleum refineries suffer from lack of maintenance and neither are new ones built. hence, government has gone into exportation of the crude oil and importation of their refined products. the first of the sustainable development goals is to end poverty, but nigerian situation of poverty worsens by the day under the present government. the irony of nigerian situation is that, it is a rich country but with poor citizens. ranking as the sixth largest exporter of oil in the world and yet among the 25 poorest countries, due to closure of companies, the level of unemployment in 2019 stood at 23.1% (igbuzor, 2005) and (ibenegbu, 2020). nigeria has been rated as the poverty capital of the world with highest population of extreme citizens by world economic forum (2020). this leads to the situation whereby under five mortality rate per 1, 000 live births is 153, maternal mortality rate per 100, 000 live births is 1,100 and life expecting at birth is 46 years for males and 48 years for females (igbuzor, 2005:294). many nigerians find it difficult to feed and live in comfortable houses to talk less of quality schools for children’s study. welfare services for citizens in nigeria have become exclusive reserve of the elites. hence, the human development index (hdi) of nigeria is very low. the nigerian situation has made majority of the youth to become miscreants indulging in bizzairre ways of life. intelligent unemployed population finds solace in fraudulent exercises by engaging in 419 or yahoo duping innocent people locally and internationally. the case of highly professional in the field mr. raymond igbolade called hushpuppi, a nigerian who was arrested by interpol at dubai, uae is presently undergoing investigation for laundering of over $100million belonging to usa. there is high report of human trafficking within and across nigerian border as young ladies get engaged in prostitution and other are used in child-labour. nigeria has been rated 5th among the countries’ women in the world (nairaland forum, 2019). fraudulent ‘doctors’ lure young girls into baby-factory business by arranging for their pregnant, take care of them till delivery and buy the babies from them. nigerians are among the highest population involved in illegal emigration to united kingdom and usa not minding the implications as some travel in cargo ships and several deaths have been recorded from the process. causes of bad governance the activities of the head of government in any country go a long way to determine the success of the regime. in nigeria incompetent leadership has been the major problem hindering the process of good governance. the present government has not shown any ability to ensure the desired promise of democracy. this has been seen in how the government still maintains the security machinery by leaving the security service chiefs in office in spite the continuous security crises due to their failure to conquer the terrorists. most nigerians including northern elders such as alhaji balarabe musa, alhaji tanko yankasai and alhaji juaidu mohammed have voiced out that the president is incompetent and cannot fix nigeria’s numerous problems. high level of corruption in governance makes it a herculean task for the provision of the development for the people. the corruption is in manifold including the electoral processes, official nepotism and financial proceeds. though, the government in power makes its fight against corruption its major interest, this has been efforts in futility. the works of the two bodies meant to fight corruption have been seen to be selective and politically motivated in their activities. although, the efcc and icpc have investigated some politicians and public servants and some investigations are ongoing, in all these, there is no any real effort to curb corruption. criticism of rigging trailed the election that brought the present government to power. the apc aspirants that came to power in 2015 by beating the pdp seating president through free and fair election failed to conduct genuine polls in 2019 in spite their promised integrity. the result of their conduct in the first election under the regime shows that they are not committed to the cause of what was promised. a process of electoral rigging cannot provide the desired quality of leaders to ensure good governance. appointments into positions have been centered on nepotism. all the juicy positions in the mdas are held by people from the same zone with the president. all the security chiefs and heads of paramilitary are from northern nigeria and remain unchanged in spite their failure. even among the northerners, there is the accusation by people from other parts of the north that the positions do not favour all the northerners. the current government under general muhammadu buhari has showed all strategic appointment to favour his groups and political affiliates in the core muslim north (huriwa, 2020). col. umar dangiwa, former military administrator of kaduna state wrote a warning letter to him saying, “your nepotism is pushing nigeria to the bridle gradually” (guardian, 2020). the government does not consider merit due to regional interest. it therefore becomes difficult to discipline or replace them when considered incompetent or corrupt. james ocheni obaka 97 cases of financial corruption in the present government are enormous. there is rot in the legislative arm of the government. they appropriate and at the same time, approve whatever finances they want to themselves. their activities involving finances are often in secret. they allocate constituently project allowances to themselves without any project to show for it (lawan, 2009). most politicians and public office holders in nigeria have made fraudulent accumulations of funds as their main interest in office. in the executive arm of nigeria, most heads of mdas have accusations of fraudulent activities in office against them. the most hopeless situation of corruption facing the country is the revelation of the situation among the judges in the judiciary. nigeria operates monolithic economy which mostly depends on products from petroleum resources. this system has destroyed agriculture despite the rich soil in all the regions of nigeria. all the economic activities of nigeria therefore depend on external factors based on the sale of oil which is about 80% of the nation’s income. whenever there is drop in the price of the commodities in the world market, it affects the budget and the development of nigeria. historically, the government of nigeria evolved from colonial era. the colonial masters were blames for the woes of nigeria and later, power was bequeathed into the hands of citizens at independence in 1960. thereafter, the nation witnessed 28 years of military misrule out of the 60years of post independent nigeria. after two decades of civilian rule, we are yet to get it right in terms of governance. the type of government packaged and handed over to nigerians by the colonial masters at independence does not ensure national development due to regional division (aluaigba, 2009). the military misrule altered the required plans to ensure development as they introduced massive corruption and centralization of power. these military actions make it difficult to achieve the much expected constitutionalism. retired military officers continue to dominate the fourth republic politics of nigeria perpetuating executive authoritarian leadership. nigeria’s federalism is just on the pages of papers as much power is at the centre. as most states are not strong enough to generate revenue for self sustenance, the governors depend and run to abuja with caps in hands begging for fund. jega (2007:195) notes that, the pervasive elements of bad governance that have been inherited from the prolonged military rule have remained deeply entrenched, thereby constraining and obstructing national quest for socio-economic development. there is proliferation of offices just for political purposes. too many mdas exist even when they are not necessary. there are offices that need to close down but for the sake of federal character, ministries are created to please all states through ministerial appointment and not for effectiveness and development. many unnecessary security outfits exist yet there is high level of insecurity. the resources that are meant for development get squandered as sharing of national cake to people who do not contribute any viable thing to the nation’s development. challenges of democratic consolidation in nigeria after two decades of democracy in nigeria, its democratic condition remains fragile. the same problems that led to the termination of both the first and second republic remain fresh in the forth republic. though successful civilians to civilians transfer of power has been recorded without problem and successful change regime took place, yet democratic consolidation remains a challenge due to the excesses of the nigerian politicians. democratic consolidation first and foremost is made possible through the actions and reactions of the citizens. the masses must have faith in the leadership of the politicians to deliver their electoral promises. but, presently, the masses only depend on the crumbs that fall from the table of the politicians who comes out to campaign during elections (international idea, 2000). therefore they cannot defend democracy. enormous hunger among the people does not allow them to wait for whatever good thing democracy promises and get engaged in any odds during elections including vote selling and thuggery due to poverty. christenson (1972: 208) notes that; “a society divided between a large impoverished mass and a small-favoured elites results either in oligarchy or tyranny”. and this is the situation in nigeria. so, all about democratization processes in a bad governance as it is in nigeria amounts to efforts in futility. according to aristotle (384-322 bc), poverty is the parent of revolution and crimes. therefore the majority poor citizens can hardly allow democracy to consolidate. lamenting on the rate of poverty in nigeria, james d. wolfesolm, the president of world bank noted that, “if nothing is done about fighting grinding poverty then lasting peace and stability are but a distant dream” (jega, 2007:245). nigerian political system is characterized by tribalism and regional affiliations. the question people ask before supporting a candidate is not his or her ability or inability to rule. their interest is often in the tribal or regional affiliation of the party’s representatives. politicians abuse religious bargains in their campaign. even while in power, people only condemn the evil deeds of leaders if they are from different tribes or religions affinity. the 2011 presidential election recorded massive electoral violence resulting to killing of many people because the winner of the free and fair election was from another region of the country (jega, 2015). governments in the fourth republic are fraught with corruption together with all their institutions. the electoral body can hardly conduct sincere election due to rigging. the security personnel are bias in all their activities making fight against corruption a difficult task. even the judiciary is corrupt. both the executive and the legislative have not shown the will of fighting the menace as most of them are perpetrators. james ocheni obaka 99 the issues of election rigging and violence are cogs in the wheel of democratization process in nigeria. conduct of free and fair elections is a charade. this is due to do or die attitude of politicians who often engage in godfatherism resulting in violence. notable among these are the ngige-uba relation in anambra state, ladoja-adedibu in oyo state, obasanjo-yar’adua at the national level, (chukwuma and otegwu, 2010). in spite the non interruption of democracy in the fourth republic, the democratization progress is stagnant due to election of incompetent people into office through rigging and godfatherism. most elections are not acceptable and are challenged in court. this makes the opposition parties to accuse the ruling party of benefitting from stolen mandates. there are still issues of assassinations and injuries resulting from electoral process. democracy is related to the state of economic development. and this is lacking if not totally absent in nigeria. in a relatively prosperous society with a reasonable fair distribution of wealth does the mass of the people have the freedom from raw want, the self-confidence, self-restraints, and time and inclination to participate in democracy politics (christenson, 1972: 208). but nigerian politicians heap on parochial interests bordering on revenge and prebendal desires. there is lack of civility in their campaigns and nothing related to the development that people need. leaders in position rule authoritatively. the military culture is yet to leave the polities resulting into political odium and trepidation. recommendations for effective change of the present nigerian political situation to from bad governance to good governance to ensure democratic consolidation, all hands must be on deck. most efforts at mitigating bad governance in nigeria depend on politicians especially the government in power. the political elites must be ready to embrace change for any successful achievement. political parties must disengage from money politics and insist on presentation of competent people for electoral positions. they also need intra party democracy and elect their candidates on merit to present people that have recorded previous achievements for elections and disengage from the present machiavellian “the end justifies the means” notion to election and governance generally. the government must stand firm to ensure free and fair elections. genuine elections give room for quality leadership by merit for development and it also gives the electorates hope for democracy and stand to defend it. in appointments government should put the right people into positions for efficiency. corruption should be fought to its barest level. both the efcc and the icpc should be transparent and be seen to be so. when corrupt leaders are investigated and sanctioned adequately, it creates room for integrity in office so that government treasury can be reserved for the development that it is meant for. government should faithfully fight poverty. the agricultural sector should be developed for the crop of the youth to be gainfully engaged. government infrastructures should be developed for the growth of the private sector. the electricity supply needs to be improved upon for the survival of companies that cannot depend on generators for power. sincere efforts must be made to reduce personnel costs which have become a great burden on nigeria because of the federal character to engage people in position for political purposes and not for development. the appointment of solely politicians into office to satisfy the for the support rendered the party in power should be checked to ensure appointment of few productive experts for development purpose. government must adhere to the rule of law through practice of constitutionalism. by this, the feeling of regional dominance can be reduced and over centralization of power be minimized. the legislative and the judicial arms of government should live up to expectation to challenge the authoritarian activities of the executive because, according to lord acton, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. conclusion in this work, efforts have been made to bring to light how bad governance threatens democratic consolidation in nigeria. the three major causes of bad governance in nigeria are; first, corruption which includes electoral and financial corruptions and nepotism; the second cause is incompetency on the side of both elected and appointed officials of government and, finally tribalism which results in mistrust and fear of people from other regions of the country. the signs of bad governance can easily be seen in poverty, insecurity and infrastructural decay. nigeria has suffered so much from long history of bad governance post independence. it resulted to military incursion into politics in 1966 through a long that the result continues to hurt the unity of nigeria. the long term effects of the coup that the result continues to hunt the unity of nigeria up to date. the long effect of the coup led to the biafran war. the activities of the politicians during the 1964 and 1965 elections especially in the south west was a clarion call on the military to take over mantle of leadership. the military rule which lasted for 13 years distorted all the democratic process put in place at independence. the second republic government of the country did not take caution from what befell the preceding republic and entered into massive corruption both in the official proceeds and elections. second military misrule commenced once again in 1984 and lasted for 16 years again. in the present fourth republic, though all the features of both the first and the second republics that led to their collapse are present, yet civilian-civilian hand over and even change of regimes has taken place without military intervention. but democratic consolidation has not been entrenched. there abound massive rigging in elections as was recorded in the recent 2019 elections. the fight against corruption remains cosmetic and poverty is on the increase. government is unable to james ocheni obaka 101 protect lives and property of the citizens just as the threat to secede by ipob of eastern region continues to gain momentum. and all the regions have reached the conclusion that, all hope of relying the federal government for security is lost and have decided to create regional security to protect them and their properties. most prominent nigerians have including the elders from the same northern region with president buhari have voiced out on the high level of incompetency of the present government. references aluaigba, m.t. (2009). strangled route to democratic consolidation in nigeria in a. m. jega; h. wakili; and i. m. zango; consolidation of democracy in nigeria: challenges and prospects pp. 53-83. kano, nigeria: mambayya house. apam, j. (2010). governance and the management of ethnic and regional diversities on the african continent. mambayya house journal of democratic studies vol. 2, 59-77. chukwuma, o. a., & otegwu, i. (2010). godfatherism and political arises in nigeria,1999-2006, in mambayya house journal of democratic studies volume 2. pp. 78-94. kano, nigeria: mambayya house. fukuyama, f. (1997). the end of history? in the new shape of the earth politics. pp. 1-36. n. y.,sforeign affair ibenegbu, g. (2020). causes of insecurity in nigeria. htpps://www.legit.ng//1106626-10-causes-insecurity-nigeria-the-way-out-html. accessed: may 17, 2020. igbuzor, o. (2005). perspectives on democracy and development. lagos, nigeria: joe-tolalu and associates. ikelegbe, a. (2014). political parties and violence. in o. obafemi; s. egwu; o. ibeanu and j. ibrahim (eds.) political parties and democracy in nigeria. pp 314-344. kuru-jos, nigeria: nipps. johnson, k. (2020). 2019 trafficking in persons report; nigeria. https://public-preview-server.prod.cstreetsandbox.com/reports/2019-trafficking-in-personsreport-2/nigeria/ accessed june 3, 2020. ireporteronline (2020). countries with the most prostitutes. https://ireporteronline.com.ng/top-10-countries-with-the-most-prostitutes-nigeria-rankednumber5/ accessed: may 17, 2020. jega, a. m. (2007). democracy, good governance and development in nigeria. ibadan, nigeria: spectrum books ltd. jega, a. m. (2015). election management in nigeria: selected commentaries on the evolution of the nigerian election process (2010-2015). ibadan, nigeria; safari books ltd. lamb, h. (1999). meaning of bad governance. www.quora-com/what-is-the-meaning-of-badgovernment. accessed: may 17, 2020. http://www.quora-com/what-is-the-meaning-of-bad-government http://www.quora-com/what-is-the-meaning-of-bad-government james ocheni obaka 103 london, s (2010). on structural functionalism. https://scott.london/artile/almond.html. accessed may 4, 2020 lawan, m.m. (2009). corruption and national assembly in the fourth republic, 1999-2007, in a.m jega; h. wakili; m.t. aluaigba and a. muhammed (eds.) the nigerian youth political participation and national development. pp. 246-262. kano, nigeria: mambayya house. mohammed, h. (2007). the millennium development goals (mdgs) and illusion of good governance: the experience of nigeria’s democratization process, 1999-2006. nigeria and the millennium development goals. lagos, nigeria: fulbright alumni association of nigeria (faan). moore, m. (2001). political underdevelopment: what causes bad governance? public management review, (3)3, 385-418. nairaland forum,(2019). nigeria ranked 5th in the world prostitution. https://www.nairaland.com/5067228/nigeria-ranked-5th-world-prostitution/. accessed: may 17, 2020. onwubiko, e. (2020). nepotism in buhari’s government. in human rightswriters associatin (huriwa) report. https://perseconds.com/2020/05/21human-rights-groups-accuse-buhariof-nepotism-conyism-in-appointment/. accessed: may 17, 2020. omoruyi, o. (2006). your vote is your voice. kano, nigeria: mambayya house. the daily trust (2020), march 4th. the guardian (2020), june 1st. the northern star (2020). a monthly publication of the catholic diocese of kano. may edition. the punch (2020). march 16th the vanguard (2020). february 6th. wikipedsia (2020). corruption in nigeria. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/corruption-in-nigeria. accessed: may 17, 2020. world bank (2020). 2019 world bank report on poverty in nigeria. https://www.com.world-bank-report-on-nigeria/html. accessed: june 10, 2020. https://www.nairaland.com/5067228/nigeria-ranked-5th-world-prostitution/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/corruption-in-nigeria https://www.com.world-bank-report-on-nigeria/html world economic forum (2020). 90 million nigerians live in extreme poverty. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/90-million-nigerians-live-in-extreme-poverty-hereare-3-ways-to-bring-them-out. accessed: june 10, 2020. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 298 stigma, personality and social support as predictors of psychological well-being among undergraduate students aboh, uche j1 nwankwo, nelson i.2* okoye. c.a.f.3 oraetue, henry4 agu, solomon5 ogonwa, henry6 1,5department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu, nigeria. 2,3,4department of psychology, nnanndi azikiwe university, awka, nigeria. anohabe@yahoo.com *thegreatnelson20@gmail.com abstracts this study investigated stigma, personality and social support as predictors of psychological well-being among undergraduate students. four hundred and thirty participants consisting of 142 (33%) males and 288 (67%) females were selected for this study. the ages of the participants ranging from 18 to 50, with a mean age of 24.90 years and standard deviation of 3.26 years. four research instruments were used for data collection such as self-stigma of seeking help scale, big five inventory, multidimensional perceived social support scale and psychological well-being. predictive design was adopted for the study while multiple regression analysis was employed to analyze the data. the result showed that self-stigma did not predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students (β = .046, t=.836, p>.05). also, personality factors such as extraversion (β = .23, t=3.00, p<.05), conscientiousness (β =.34, t=5.93, p< .01), openness to experience (β =.32, t=4.90, p< .01), significantly and independently predicted psychological well-being, while agreeableness (β=.01, t=.11, p>.05) and neuroticism (β =.10, t=1.77, p> .05) did not predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. it was found that perceived family support (β =.46, t=8.41, p>.05), perceived friends support (β = .52, t= 9.44, p<.05) perceived significant others (β = .65, t=.167, p<.05) significantly and independently predicted psychological well-being. generally, the three independent variables explained 18% variation in psychological well-being and this change in r² was significant, f(3, 420) = 11.10, p < .01. recommendations are that students should understand their psychological make-ups because this influences their overall well-being. also, mental health practitioners and government should promote students psychological wellbeing by implementing regular psychological assessment in all the universities across the country. keywords: psychological well-being, stigma, personality, social support, undergraduate students introduction psychological well-being (pwb) is an individual’s feeling of happiness and meaningful life (seligman, 2002). according to shah and marks (2004), psychological well-being determines a person’s happiness, functionality, fulfilled life and environmental influence. in brief, it mailto:anohabe@yahoo.com mailto:*thegreatnelson20@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 299 influences positive psychological state associated with self-acceptance, positive relation with others, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth (ryff, 2014). for example, individuals who experience high psychological well-being are capable of utilizing their potentials, developing optimally, personally and professionally than those with low psychological well-being (purwaningrum, hanurawan, degeng & triyono, 2019). thus, psychological well-being is the combination of feeling and functioning effectively (huppert, 2009). the issue of psychological well-being has attracted serious debate among scholars as regard to university students (roslan, ahmad, nabilla & ghiami, 2017). research have shown that the poor psychological well-being appears to be a very crucial and critical issue among students who are changing academic environments from a structured environment (course-taking) to a more unstructured environment (independent research) (roslan et al., 2017). in nigeria, onyedibe, onyekwelu and ugwu (2015), asserted that students are expected to represent the future of their families, communities as well as the country. based on these expectations, plethora of demands are placed on students (such as to be a first-class graduate, get a good job and so on), which may be challenging and stressful in the direction of success attainment in their academics and routine endeavours (el ansari, & stock, 2010). these undeniable demands may sometimes affect students’ psychological well-being like self-acceptance, positive relation with others, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose in life, and personal growth (ryff, 2014). hence, students need to deal with intellectual, social, and psychological transformations, as they transit from one academics session to another (lovitts, 2005; lessing & schulze, 2002). however, considering the difficulties associated with undue tight schedule of periodic academic curricular activities like daily lectures, practical classes, and examinations as well as extracurricular activities (el ansari et al., 2010). academic burden can induce some physiological and psychological reaction that may influence students’ quality of life and overall well-being (roslan, ahmad, nabilla & ghiami, 2017; el ansari et al., 2010). originally, psychological well-being is categorized into two different types namely: eduaimonic well-being and hedonic well-being (ryan & deci, 2000). the first which is eduaimonic wellbeing involves the meaningful or intentional aspect of pwb, while hedonic well-being has to do with the subjective feelings of happiness, subjective well-being and positive emotions (johnson, robertson & cooper, 2018). interestingly, the phenomenon of ryff’s six dimensions of pwb that has been used in numerous studies is based on eudaimonic well-being (yoon, coburn & spence, 2018). one major benefit of ryff’s psychological well-being model is that an individual’s well-being can change depending on his/her developmental stages. this approach is appropriate in understanding the pwb of any individual (purwaningrum et al., 2019). nevertheless, the current study would focus on the six dimensions of psychological well-being by ryff’s (1989). in the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 300 same vine, many factors have been identified to influence an individual’s psychological wellbeing (e.g., achievement, financial freedom, job satisfaction and so on) but little is known about stigma, personality and social support among undergraduate students (nwankwo, ezenwa, okoye, aboh & oraetue, 2019). according to clark, welch, berry, collentine, collins, et al. (2013), stigma affects individuals’ healthy behaviour and well-being, and this may be a trigger to mental illness. stigma is an individual’s attitudes and beliefs that people reject, avoid, or fear him/her because he is different (clark, et al., 2013). stigma can lead to individuals’ mental health impoverishment, social marginalization, poor adherence to medication, and low quality of life, decrease health-seeking behaviour, and have a negative impact on socioeconomic well-being (hadera, salelew, girma, dehning, adorjan et al., 2019; nwankwo, et al. 2019). as opined by lebel (2008), social or perceived stigma is associated with fear of being discriminated against by the rest of the society. experience of stigma can affect students’ psychological well-being especially when they are faced with psychosocial problems. this has been demonstrated in world health organization (2010) report that individuals with psychosocial problems are at risk of high levels of stigma and discrimination because of widely held misconceptions about the causes and nature of their mental health conditions (funk, 2010). stigma is often characterized by fear, mistrust, dislike, and occasionally, violence against the individual (gonzalez, tinsley & kreuder, 2002). however, a high prevalence of stigma has been observed among nigeria population (adewuya, owoeye, erinfolami & ola, 2011). in addition to stigma, personality variables have been found to influence health related issues and well-being (scollon & diener, 2006; arogundade & akinbobola, 2013). individuals respond to challenges based on their psychological make-up (arogundade et al., 2013) and, this in turn influences the ability to adjust to life situations. personality is the dynamic organisation of characteristics of an individual that influences his/her behaviours, cognition and motivations (ryckman, 2013). trait is an enduring pattern of behaviours, thinking and feelings. personality trait can serve as both protective and deterring factors to health and well-being (raynor & levine, 2009). according to costa and mccrae (1992), individual’s personality trait determines the core factors of personality. this presented into the big five personality model such as: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness (costa et al., 1992). neuroticism is linked to an unhealthy behaviour like decreased exercise adherence (rhodes & smith, 2006) and increased substance use (dordinejad & shiran, 2011) and so on. for example, an increase in alcohol consumption in college students has been found related to high neuroticism (littlefield, sher & wood, 2009). extraversion has also been related to higher levels of binge drinking (benjamin &wulfert, 2005), increased risky driving (dahlen & white, 2006) ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 301 and increased substance abuse (dordinejad et al., 2011). for example, students scoring high on extraversion were involved in riskier sexual behaviours, including increased sexual partners (ingledew & ferguson, 2007) and decreased condom use (raynor & levine, 2009). agreeableness has been related to an increase in health-promoting behaviours. raynor and levine (2009), found that high agreeableness among college students linked to reduced binge drinking behaviour, increased alcohol-related harm reduction strategies and decrease the number of sexual partners. on the other hand, openness to experience was related to both health-promoting and healthdeterring behaviours (raynor et al., 2009). while high conscientiousness was related to higher access to mental health care among depressive patients (schomerus, appel, meffert & luppa, 2013). however, from the above observation, it could be assumed that personality traits have impact on individuals’ psychological well-being. another important factor in this study is social support. social support is a significant component of solid relationships and strong psychological health (cuckor, 2017). perceived social support defines an individual's beliefs about being is supported by friends, family, and others (cotterell, 2007). this support can be emotional, instrumental, financial or informational (reevyl & maslach, 2001) depending on what is needed at a particular time. indeed, social support has been found to help individuals to cope with life stressors (dominguez & watkins, 2003). researchers has emphasized that a positive associations exits between social support and psychological well-being among adult and youth (hussong, 2000; newman et ah, 2007). hence, social support is consistently linked to better mental health (barrera, 2011). as stated by mdsidin, sambasiran and ismail (2010), even in stressful situations, psychological well-being may be promoted by the quality of social support. thus, the amount of support individuals receives is likely to determine their psychological well-being. on this note, the present study wants to examine whether stigma, personality traits and social support would predict psychological wellbeing among undergraduate students. theoretical framework this study would be guided on the framework of ryff’s (1989) six-dimensional model. the sixdimensions are autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self-acceptance. for example, individuals with autonomy are selfdetermined and independent, resist social pressures and regulate their behaviour from within than those that lacks autonomy. students’ with environmental mastery shows a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment (ryff’s, 1995). individuals with personal growth have a feeling of continued development; they are open to new experiences; has sense of realizing one’s potential. persons with positive relations with others, has warm satisfying, trusting ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 302 relationships with other people and are capable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy. students with purpose in life have goals in life and a sense of direction; they feel there is meaning to present and past life; holds beliefs that give life purpose. finally, a student with self acceptance possesses a positive attitude toward the self; acknowledges and accepts multiple aspects of self, including good and bad qualities; feels positive about past life (ryff’s, 1989). based on the six dimensions model explained, individuals who possessed the under listed aspect of well-being has the psychological and emotional ability to adjust to life challenges. this assertion is confirmed by huppert (2009), who demonstrated that psychological well-being is capable of assisting an individual in developing cognitive function, better health, and better social function. in addition, pwb plays an important role in health because it serves as a buffer or protector in the face of adverse effects of negative experiences (fredrickson, 2009). review of related literatures mabekoje (2003), assessed the linear combination of extraversion, agreeableness, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support best discriminates psychological well-being among nigerian teachers. the study adopted the survey research method with 267 secondary school teachers (males = 127 and females = 140; mean age = 35.55 years; standard deviation = 9.57 years; range = 20 57 years) randomly sampled from the existing 19 secondary schools in ijebu north local government area of ogun state participating. six instruments with good psychometric qualities were adopted for the study. analysis by discriminant function analysis revealed that selfesteem, social support and agreeableness were the significant predictors of teachers’ psychological well-being (wilks’ λ = .412; f (3,263) = 125.065; p < .05). neither extraversion nor self-efficacy was predictive. over ninety percent of the cases were successfully classified: 97.7% of teachers with low psychological well-being and 83.7% of teachers with high psychological well-being were correctly classified. in indian, pandya and korat (2015), examined the personality traits and psychological wellbeing among youths of rajkot district. a total of 120 participants comprising of males and females in equal numbers was selected through random sampling. personality traits inventory and psychological well-being inventory are tailor-made instruments, having sufficient reliability and validity. pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data. the result revealed that a significant positive correlation exists between the personality traits and psychological well-being among youth. the suggestion made in the above study provided the need to explore further the study variables in a different locality. in united state, porter, brennan-ing, burr, dugan and karpiak (2017), examined the association between hiv stigma and psychological well-being and mediating resources (i.e., spirituality and complementary and integrative health [cih]) approaches) in older adults with hiv. using data ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 303 from the research on older adults with hiv (roah) study, structural equation modelling was used to estimate these relationships within a latent variable model. namely, a direct negative association between hiv stigma and psychological well-being was hypothesized that would be mediated by spirituality and/or cih use. the analyses showed that the model fits the data well [χ2 (137, n = 914) = 561.44, p = .000; comparative fit index = .964; root mean square error of approximation = .058, 95% confidence interval = .053 to .063]. all observed variables significantly loaded on their latent factor, and all paths were significant. results indicated that spirituality and cih use significantly mediated the negative association between hiv stigma and psychological well-being. in australia, hicks and mehta (2018), investigated how the big five and type a personality variables relate to psychological well-being. additionally, the study examined the effect of age on psychological well-being. various social media sites such as facebook were used to recruit 286 participants (209 males, 74 females) from the community population. the sample was broad with an age range of 18-85 years. participants completed a demographic measure as well as the ryff’s psychological well-being scale, the international personality item poolbig five scale, the framingham type a behavior scale and a social desirability scale. pearson’s product correlations and a hierarchical multiple regression were performed to determine the ability of the personality variables and type a personality scores to predict psychological well-being. the results indicated that the personality variables (the big five) predicted psychological well-being but that the addition of variance from the type a personality variable added insignificantly to the prediction. psychological well-being was negatively correlated with age. further studies on personality and psychological wellbeing are needed, including the role of mindfulness in contributing along with personality variables to psychological well-being. alsubaie, stain, webster and wadman (2019), examined the differential impact of sources of social support on student wellbeing. university students completed an online survey measuring depressive symptoms (patient health questionnaire (phq-9)), social support (multidimensional perceived social support (mpss)), and quality of life (whoqol-bref). the sample was 461 students (82% female; mean age 20.62 years). the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 33%. social support from family, and friends was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms (p = 0.000*). quality of life (psychological) was significantly predicted by social support from family and friends. quality of life (social relationships) was predicted by social support from significant others and friends. against this background, it is important explore factors that could influence students psychological well-being in order to improve their healthy living. purpose of the study • to investigate whether stigma would predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 304 • to ascertain whether personality would predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. • to find out whether social support would predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. • to assess whether stigma, personality and social support would jointly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. hypotheses the following hypotheses were stated to guide the present study;  stigma would significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. • personality traits would significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. • social support would significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. • stigma, personality traits and social support would jointly and significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. method setting of the study the study took take place in nnamdi azikiwe university located in awka, anambra state. nnamdi azikiwe university was founded in 1991 from the old anambra state university. the university has four campuses, which its main campus is along onitsha–enugu express way, awka; ifite ogwasi campus, agulu campus and nnewi campus. the university has 14 faculties which are engineering, law, social science, management science, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences, medicine, biological sciences, education, pharmaceutical sciences, physical sciences, health sciences and technology, basic medical sciences and arts. out the 14 faculties, social science was randomly selected for this study. participants four hundred and thirty (430) undergraduate students of nnamdi azikiwe university were sampled in this study. the participants comprised of 142 (33%) males and 288 (67%) females, who were within the ages of 18 to 50 years, with a mean age of 24.90 years and standard deviation of 3.26. they were randomly selected from four different departments in the social science faculty of the nnamdi azikiwe university namely: psychology department (120= students), sociology (120 students), economics (120 students) and political science department (80 students) respectively. this was done through the use of proportionate stratified sampling technique (such as dividing the entire population into subgroups or strata). the participants were chosen from pool of undergraduates who are in 300 levels to 400 levels. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 305 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 306 instruments four set of instruments were used in this study namely: psychological wellbeing scale this 42-item questionnaire was developed by ryff’s (1989) to measure individuals’ psychological well-being on six subscales: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. each of the subscale contains 7 items respectively. items on the scale are rated on a 6-point likert format with options that ranged between strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (6). some of the items of the scale are negatively worded statements. the 20 items listed are reverse coded: 3, 5, 10, 13,14,15,16,17,18,19, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 39 and 41. the total scores are summed up to get the mean. scores in the scale are interpreted such that those above the mean indicated better psychological wellbeing, while scores below the mean indicated poor psychological wellbeing. in this study, the total mean scores of the scale will be used to represent psychological wellbeing. hicks and mehta (2018), reported a cronbach’s alpha of .75 for the psychological well-being. the present study reported a reliability coefficient α of .82 using undergraduate population. multidimensional perceived social support scale the 12-item questionnaire was developed by zimet, dalhlem, zimet&farly (1988) to assess individuals’ outcome from different social contexts namely, family, friends and significant others. each subscale has four items and the response pattern is ranked strongly disagree = 1 to very strongly agree = 7. dahlem, zimet and walker (1991), reported total cronbach’s alpha (α) of .91 and alphas of .90, .94 & .95 for significant others, family and friends supports respectively. the cronbach’s alpha for the present study were .75 for significant others, .76 family, .77 friends and .81 for all items in the scale internalized stigma of mental illness (ismi) the ismi scale was developed by ritsher, otilingam and grajales (2003), which comprises of 29 items across five subscales: alienation (6 items), stereotype endorsement (7 items), discrimination experience (5 items), social withdrawal (6 items), and stigma resistance (5 items). each item is rated on a four-point likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). the five stigma resistance subscale items are reverse-coded, and also serve as a validity check (ritsher et al., 2003). the stigma resistance score is calculated by subtracting the actual value from five. therefore, stigma resistance displays the same direction of correlation as the other four subscales. a high total score on the ismi scale indicates more severe internalized stigmatization. the internal consistency and test–retest reliability for the five subscales ranges from .79 to .94 (ritsher et al., 2003). the present study reported a cronbach’s alpha of ranging from .70 to .87 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 307 big five inventory (bfi) this 44-item scale was developed by john, donalue and kentle (1991), to assess personality from a five-dimensional perspective. the five dimensions or subscales of (bfi) are: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. items on the scale are rated on a 5-point likert format and scored from least to highest thus from 1 = disagree strongly to 5 = agree strongly. john et al (1991), provided the original psychometric properties for american samples, while umeh (2004) provide the properties for nigerian samples. john et al (1991) reported a test retest reliability of r= .85 and alpha of r = .80 for the scale. the divergent validity coefficient obtained by umeh (2004) with university maladjustment scale ranged from extraversion = .05 to neuroticism =.39. however, the present study obtained a cronbach’s alpha of .75 for extraversion, agreeableness .78; conscientiousness .83; neuroticism .76; openness .93. procedure the research instruments were randomly distributed to the students in their classrooms by the researchers and trained research assistants. participants were told that participating in the study was not obligatory. however, after establishing rapport and confidentiality, a verbal consent was obtained from the participants. a total of 440 copies of the questionnaire distributed to participants were all returned it to the researchers immediately after responding. all the participants were very cooperative and had no difficulties in completing the questionnaires. nevertheless, it was observed that ten (10) participants failed to complete the questionnaire properly and were excluded from the study. therefore, 430 copies of the questionnaires that were properly filled were used for the data analysis. design/statistics a predictive design was adopted for this study. this is because the researchers want to evaluate the predictive effects of the study variables. hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was used to analysis the data. this is because the researchers want to know the difference in the model as regard to stigma, personality factors and social support. ssps version 23 was employed to manage the data. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 308 results table 1: socio-demographic variables of the participants variables frequency (𝑛= 500) percent (100%) sex male 142 33% female 288 67% religion catholic 157 37% anglican 174 41% pentecostal 92 21% others 7 1.6% marital status married 174 41% separated 201 47% widowed 55 12% table 1 revealed the frequency distribution of the participants of the study by sex, religion, and marital status. majority of the respondents are females totally 288 (67%) while males are 142 (33%). the respondents religious information showed that the highest proportion were anglicans 157 (37%), catholic 174 (41%), while pentecostal and those who do not belong to no particular religion were 92 (21%) and 7 (1.6%) respectively. marital status information revealed that the respondents who are separated were 201 (47%) and married 174 (41%) and followed by those are widowed 55 (47%). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 309 table 1: means, standard deviations and pearson product moment correlation coefficients ** p< .01, * p<. 05 note: ** indicated a significant level at .01; * indicated a significant level at .05. the inspection from the table above showed that stigma did not correlate with psychological well-being, r = .01 at p>. 05 level of significance. personality traits such as extraversion, conscientiousness positively correlated with psychological well-being at r = .33 at p<.01 and .24 at p<.01. while agreeableness, neuroticism and openness to experience did not correlate with psychological well-being, r = -.01 at p>. 05; .06 at p>.05 and -.05 at p>.05 respectively. also, social support such as perceived family support, perceived friends support and perceived significant others positively correlated with psychological well-being at r = .25 at p<. 05; .34 at p<.01 and .26 at p<.01, respectively (see table 1). variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 m sd 1 psychological wellbeing 1 81.72 16.90 stigma .01 1 25.40 8.91 extraversion .33** .13** 1 26.60 10.38 agreeableness -.01 -.16** .12 1 28.59 9.89 conscientiousness .24** .06 .28** .22** 1 30.03 16.50 neuroticism .06 -.03 .16** .08** -.06 1 25.91 3.58 openness -.05 .29** .39** .34 .09 -.08 1 14.24 7.97 perceived family support .25** .04 .45** .01 .66 .01 .00 1 20.06 11.76 perceived friends support .34** .03 .74** .01 .36 .01 .04 .65** 1 20.65 9.96 perceived significant others .26** .03 .39 .03 .65 .01 .01 .96** .58** 1 19.99 10.04 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 310 table 2: hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis on stigma, personality and social support on psychological well-being. ** p< .01, * p<. 05 the result of the hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis in the step 1, revealed that stigma did not significantly predict psychological well-being, β(.01; t= .10, p>.05); f (1,428) = .10, p > .05. thus, hypothesis 1 was rejected. however, in the step 2, personality traits such as extraversion β (.36; t= 6.94, p<. 01), conscientiousness β (.16; t= 3.41, p<. 05) and openness to experience β (-.19; t= -3.41, p<. 01) significantly predicted psychological well-being while agreeableness β (.01; t= .10, p>. 05); neuroticism β (.01; t= .10, p>. 05) did not predict psychological well-being. these personality factors accounted for 1.6% variation in psychological well-being and this change in r2 was significant, f (5,423) = 14.0, p < .01. thus, hypothesis 3 was accepted. models adjusted r2 δ r2 df f 𝜷 t sig step 1 .00 .00 1(428) .10 33.032 .92 stigma .01 .10 .92 step 2 .16 .17 5(423) 14.07** 10.67 .00 stigma -.00 -.03 .97 extraversion .36 6.94 .00 agreeableness -.03 -.48 .63 conscientiousness .16 3.41 .00 neuroticism -.00 -.07 .95 openness -.19 -3.41 .00 step 3 .18 .03 3(420) 11.10** 9.48 .00 stigma .004 .080 .94 extraversion .28 3.45 .00 agreeableness -.05 -.87 .39 conscientiousness .20 3.19 .00 neuroticism .01 .30 .77 openness -.16 -2.76 .01 perceived family support -.63 -3.52 .00 perceived friends support .18 2.08 .04 perceived significant others .53 3.26 .00 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 311 furthermore, the addition of social support variables such as perceived family support β (-.63; t= -3.52, p<. 01), perceived friends support β (.18; t= 2.08, p<. 05), perceived significant others β (.53; t= 3.26, p<. 01) to the regression model significantly predicted psychological well-being among undergraduate students. finally, the three independent variables explained 18% of the variation in psychological well-being and this change in r² square was significant, f (3, 420) = 11.10, p < .01. hence, hypothesis 3 was accepted. discussion the main goal of this study is to investigate whether stigma, personality and social support would jointly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students. following the objectives of this study, four hypotheses were postulated and tested as well. the first hypothesis which stated that stigma would significantly predict psychological wellbeing among undergraduate students was rejected. this means that stigma do not impact students’ psychological well-being. thus, stigma may be a negative factor that affects undergraduates’ academic success, achievement and overall psychological well being. this finding is supported by hadera et al. (2019), who found that stigma impoverish individuals quality of life, decreases health-seeking behaviour, and negatively impact on socioeconomic well-being. also, nwankwo et al. (2019), found that perceived stigma does not promote individuals’ help seeking behaviour for mental health. this is in agreement porter et al. (2017), who found that a direct negative association exists between hiv stigma and psychological wellbeing. the second hypothesis which stated that personality traits would significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students was accepted. this means that individual disposition is a significant factor that determines their psychological well-being. based on this observed result, undergraduate students who posed extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experience traits are more likely experience psychological well-being than those without the traits. this has been confirmed in nigeria by nwankwo et al. (2019) who found that personality factors such as conscientiousness and openness to experience significantly and independently predicted help-seeking behaviour. however, this result is in consistent with the findings of hicks et al. (2018), that personality variables (the big five) significantly predicted psychological well-being among community population. pandya et al., (2015), found that a significant positive correlation between the personality traits and psychological well-being among youth. the third hypothesis which stated that social support would significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students was accepted. this means that social support influence undergraduate psychological well-being. this result is in agreement with alsubaie et al. (2019), who found that social support from family, friends and others was a significant predictor of ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 312 quality of life of students’. also, mabekoje (2003) found that social support is significant predictor of psychological well-being among teachers. the fourth hypothesis which stated that stigma, personality traits and social support would jointly and significantly predict psychological well-being among undergraduate students as accepted. this finding is in congruency with mabekoje (2003), result that social support and agreeableness were the significant predictors of psychological well-being. limitations this study is limited based on the following; it did not capture the pattern, changes and development of undergraduates’ social support over time which could be achieved through a longitudinal study. the participants used for this study may not be through a representative of the general population of the study. based on this, there should be caution in generalizing the findings of this study. implications this study will provide the platform for mental health policy makers, researchers and educationist to understand factors could hinder psychological well-being among undergraduate students in nigeria. practically, the findings of this study will help researchers to form literature and empirical based on psychological well-being among undergraduate students. recommendation the following recommendations are made in this study; students should understand their psychological make-ups because this influences their overall well-being. mental health practitioners and government should promote students psychological well-being by implementing regular psychological assessment in all the universities across the country. since psychological well-being is a multiple dimensional construct, this study also recommends that a longitudinal approach should be employ in the course of further studies. factors like family background, socioeconomic status, self-efficacy and peer influence should be considered in future research. undergraduate students are urged to understand their personality disposition that improves their psychological well-being. finally, social supports should be strengthened among undergraduates. conclusion this study investigated the stigma, personality and social support as predictors of psychological well-being among undergraduate students. from the findings of the study, it was observed that stigma, personality and social support jointly and significantly predicted psychological wellbeing among undergraduate students. independently, stigma did not predict psychological wellbeing. thus, the hypotheses of the study were confirmed. based on this, the study concludes that personality traits and social support are significant factors that influence individual’s psychological well-being. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 313 references adewuya, a. o. owoeye, a. o. erinfolami, a. o., & ola, b. a. 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(2006). love, work, and changes in extraversion and neuroticism over time. journal of personality and social psychology, 91(6), 1152-1165. doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.91.6.1152 shah, h., & marks, n. 2004. a well-being manifesto for a flourishing society. london: the new economics foundation. accessed 24 april 2019. umeh, c. s. (2004). the impact of personality characteristics on students’ adjustment on campus. unpublished ph.d thesis, university of lagos, nigeria. world health organization, (2010). discussion paper: mental health, poverty and development, who, geneva, switzerland. yoon, e., coburn, c. & spence, s. a. (2018), “perceived discrimination and mental health among older african americans: the role of psychological well-being”. aging and mental health, doi: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1423034. page 1 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 337 gender and psychological factors associated with suicidal ideation among university students in enugu metropolis chinwendu m. okoro department of social sciences, school of general studies, federal polytechnic oko, anambra state. email: okorochinwendu77@gmail.com abstract this study investigated gender and psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students in enugu metropolis. 666 participants comprising 419 males and 247 were sampled using purposive sampling technique, from universities within enugu metropolis. beck scale for suicidal ideation (bssi); index of self-esteem, self-efficacy scale and multidimensional scale of perceived social support were used for data collection. cross – sectional survey design was adopted and descriptive and multiple regression analysis were employed as statistics. the results revealed that there are differences between males and females in the manifestation of suicidal ideation with females (m= 47.53) and males (m=31.53). also, gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support all correlated remarkably with suicidal ideation among undergraduates (r = .35, p = .02), (r = .32, p = .32), (r = .26, p = .32) and (r = .54, p = .03), respectively. more so, gender and the psychosocial factors jointly associated with suicidal ideation f(4, 662) = 2.004, p = .02 and individually, gender, self-esteem and social support independently, have positive association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .00, .12 and .52, respectively which are statistically significant since the p-values < .05. whereas, self-efficacy has no association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .04, which is statistically not significant since the p-value >.05. it was concluded that gender, female students are higher in manifesting suicidal ideation than male students. also, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support are associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students. keywords: suicide, suicidal ideations, gender, psychosocial, undergraduates introduction in recent times, our institutions of higher learning are riddled with cases of suicide and other selfharm by students. education is seen as the major avenue through which a nation gets developed and youths are the major stakeholders in this aspect of endeavour, especially in the tertiary stage. so, adolescence and young adulthood age seem to be the best period to get education. there are no doubts, getting a good education, is a daunting challenge in all ramifications, socially, financially, psychologically, culturally and morally. these challenges often make youths more susceptible to suicide related behaviour because they are dealing with a complex interaction of multiple relationship mailto:okorochinwendu77@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 338 (peer, family, or romantic), mental health, and school stressors, in this case, lack of connectedness to school/sense of supportive school environment. consequently, each year, approximately 800,000 people die by suicide worldwide (world health organization [who], 2017). so, suicide is a major problem for social and mental health in many countries (asghari, sadeghi, & ghasemi, 2013; mohammadinia, rezaei, sameizadehtoosi, darban 2012; platt & hawton, 2000) nigeria inclusive. for instance; in 2000, suicide was the third leading causes of death among 15 to 24 years old, following unintentional injuries and homicide (minino, arias, kochanek, murphy & smith, 2002; davaji, valizadeh & nikamal 2010). further, there are 8 to 25 suicide attempts per suicide death (moscicki, 2001; davaji, valizadeh & nikamal ,2010). so, it obvious that there are ways of committing suicide in different countries base on cultures, religions and symbols (ahmadi, 2005). suicide which is defined as a fatal self-injurious act with some evidence of intent to die (turecki & brent, 2015), is a global phenomenon that has been showing an upward trend in recent years. suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviours develop during adolescence and peak late in adolescence and early adulthood (fergusson & lynskey, 1995). recent findings from population-based studies indicate that suicidal thoughts and attempts are parts of a continuum and share a common risk profile (nock, borges, bromet, alonso, angermeyer, beautrais, & de, 2008; have, de graaf, van dorsselaer, verdurmen, van't land, vollebergh, & beekman, 2009). in addition to the above, osundeko (2007) asserted that though suicidal thoughts is apparent in nigeria, but it has been under-reported because it is usually shrouded in superstition and the shock and grief that would pervade an area where suicidal action is committed may be profound. however, the stigma attached to suicide, may not permit many nigerian families to broadcast the fact that their youngster took their own life. nevertheless, members of the public are aware of some suicide cases. in other words, suicidal ideation is the thought, intent, plan and imagination of an individual concerning their wish to commit suicide. suicidal ideation is a common phenomenon among all individuals irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, race, academic performance or even social status. suicidal ideation is a known risk factor for suicidal attempt, which in turn increases risk for suicidal death (centre for disease control, 2006; denise, middlebrook, pamela, lemaster, janette, douglas & spero 2008). however, suicidal ideation most likely happens prior to a suicide attempt or suicide ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 339 (lewinsohn, rohde, seeley, 1996; gili-planas, roca-bennasar, ferrer-perez & bernardo-arroyo, 2001) and it involves the tendency to die owing to an inability to cope with life difficulties (mind, 2016). so, the phenomenon of suicide, especially among teenagers is a growing problem of public mental health and nigeria is not an exception. there are incessant cases of suicide attempts and the actual suicide itself being reported in the media also on daily basis. one begins to wonder, why the high rate of suicidal ideations among students. a study indicated that about 11 percent of students have reported suicide ideation in the last academic year (dyrby, thomas, massie, power, eacker, harper et al., 2008). moreover, many factors can lead an adolescent to suicidal behaviour, and these can be divided into two categories: psychological problems (loneliness, worry, hopelessness, self-efficacy, selfesteem,) (galaif, sussman, newcomb, & locke, 2007); and social-environmental factors such as low, or lack of, parental or peer support, social support, harmful alcohol and drug use, smoking (page & west, 2011). therefore, for one to commit or attempt suicide, one has to think about doing so, plan about the execution and even writes death threats; and these are ideations. ideation precedes all planned suicides or suicide attempts except accidental suicides or death. no completed suicide or attempted suicide will be carried out without thinking about it, planning it, and sometimes writing death threats, all these are suicidal ideations (george, 2007). suicidal ideation is a thought, idea, or plan that can lead to harm or/and death according to reynolds (1988). suicidal ideation becomes severe and worsens when one fails to overcome a problem. suicide ideation is a term that refers to the occurrence of any self-destructive thought. therefore, in this study, the researchers investigated gender and psychosocial factors such as social support, self-efficacy and as well as self-esteem as factors likely to predict or be associated with suicidal ideation. social support is very important when it comes to adolescent wellbeing, as it helps to boost the self/perceived self of the individual. according to cohen (2004), social support as social network’s provision of psychological and material resources intended to benefit an individual’s capacity to cope with stress. it can also be defined as the extent to which individuals perceive that provisions of social relationships exist and are available to them, or they are being cared for, particularly in times of adversity. social support may be in the form of tangible (or material/financial assistance) support, informational support (e.g. advice) and emotional support (e.g. nurturance) from friends, family members, romantic partners, professional colleagues/co-workers, support groups and significant ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 340 others (taylor, 2011; hogan & narajian, 2002). social support has been extensively studied and is thought to influence well-being by modifying and buffering the impact of life events and other stressors (pugliesi & shook 1998; southwick, vythilingam & charney 2005). for instance; perceptions of parent and school support are relatively more important than peer support in understanding suicidal thoughts and history of suicidal behaviour (miller, esposito-smythers, & leichtweis, 2015, endo, tachikawa, fukuoka, aiba et al., 2014) and suggested that improving social support across these domains may be important in suicide prevention efforts. in a study, pettit, lewinsohn, seeley, roberts and yaroslavsky (2011) showed that an increase in perceived support from the family predicted a decrease in symptoms of depression. on the other hand, young children have relatively high self-esteem, which gradually declines over the course of childhood. adolescence is the critical period for the development of self-esteem and selfidentity, and low self-esteem may endanger adolescents' emotional regulation (tsang &yip, 2006). self -esteem is considered the backbone of a person’s wellbeing. the quality of an individual’s life is highly influenced by their self-esteem. self-esteem of an individual is highly associated with the behaviours of an individual. low self-esteem is seen as the cause for a wide range of personal and social ills, from crime and drug addiction, educational underachievement and a feeling of general wellbeing (baumeister, campbell, krueger & vohs, 2003). the family places an integral part in the development of effective relationships and when the family relationships are ineffective these may affect the self-esteem of an individual as well as lead to suicidal ideation. self-efficacy refers to the confidence and belief that an individual can act in a certain way for the purpose of meeting a goal or coping effectively in stressful situations (bandura 1977). on the other hand, people with low self-efficacy usually feel powerlessness, in contrast to those with high selfefficacy who are more controlled and less anxious in stressful situations. self-efficacy help individuals cope with stress and inducing positive effects in time. the opposite is also noted. those with low selfefficacy can choose to imitate a celebrity who they feel drawn to thus making contagious suicidal behaviour common. this findings are also supported by king, strunk and sorter (2011), stated that the self-efficacy of a student lowered his suicidal tendency. thus, people with high self-efficacy and optimism can combat stress better. as a result, self-efficacy and dispositional optimism have both direct and indirect roles in the correlation between stress and suicide ideation. it is therefore important to note that self-efficacy provide protection from effects of stress in suicidal ideation. moreover, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 341 studies have found that high self-efficacy have a strongly negative effect on suicide ideation (king et al., 2011). it is therefore important to focus on individual self-efficacy, which means that it can be adopted in interventions and counselling that promote self-efficacy to address suicide ideation. furthermore, during the adolescent stage, males and females develop differently with different skills at different times (berk, 2010). there are changes in the actual levels of turbulence once believed to occur at this stage of emotions and concepts (perry & pauletti, 2011). one of the occasions that distinguishes men and women is dealing with problems in life. even though both genders have the same goal of solving the problem, they will often go about finding a solution in a very different manner to each other. gender is viewed as the biological distinction between male and female. one important area of the research is understanding of gender differences in suicidal ideation and suicide behaviours. a previous study showed that males were more likely to die from suicides, while females were more likely to commit suicide attempts (befrienders worldwide, 2016). besides, female adolescents were more likely to have suicidal thoughts and ideation compared with male adolescents (grøholt, ekeberg, wichstrøm & haldorsen, 1999; lewinsohn, rohde, seeley & baldwin, 2001). regarding the timing of first onset of suicide attempts, lewinsohn, et al. (2001) found that the risk of onset for both boys and girls peaked during mid-adolescence. however, young women’s risk precipitously dropped after age 18, whereas young men’s risk only slightly decreased in late adolescence. to this end, this study was positioned to examine these variables among the population of university students in enugu metropolis. statement of the problem education, especially formal education, has been adjudged as the easiest way for a nation to achieve meaningful development. as such people, especially adolescences and young adults engage in academic activities in order to attain education that will help them become a responsible individual in the society. in generation past, going to school is usually a thing of joy and students were treated with dignity and support in all ramification and once you are done you are placed on a job that will earn you a living. however, in this current generation, students are struggling with so many complexities and hardship in ramification and such expose them to suicidal ideation due to factors associated with education attainment. according to the world health organisation (who), while the link between suicide and ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 342 mental disorders (in particular, depression and alcohol use disorders) is well established in highincome countries, many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness. in nigeria, the suicide research and prevention initiative [surpin] has found that about onefifth of suicide cases seen at its affiliated institution are those aged 13-19 years, and that over 50 per cent of the crisis calls received through its hotlines are from those aged 1329 years; 27.8 per cent were students. this should worry every parent, and indeed any nigerian who values life, considering that the nigerian national youth policy (2009) defines youth as those aged 18 -35 years, while the african youth charter defines it as 15 35 years. for instance; chukwuemeka akachi, a 400-level student of the department of english and literary studies, university of nigeria, nsukka, (unn) committed suicide. it was gathered that the deceased carried out the suicide in the solitude of an uncompleted building located at sullivan road, nsukka where he allegedly slipped into coma after taking two bottles of an insecticide, sniper. meanwhile, a close friend of akachi who preferred anonymity said akachi posted a suicide note on facebook wall shortly before he committed suicide, indicating an incidence of suicidal ideation. so, this study aimed at investigating gender and psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students towards bridging the gap in knowledge concerning this ravaging menace in this part of the country towards adding to the body of knowledge in this area of study. purpose of the study generally, this study was designed to investigate gender and psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students. specifically, it aimed at: 1. examining whether there will be gender difference in suicidal ideations among university students. 2. determining whether gender and psychosocial factors will jointly and significantly predict suicidal ideation among university students. 3. whether gender and psychosocial factors will independently and significantly predict suicidal ideation among university students. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 343 review of related literature theoretically, the researcher reviewed transactional model of stress ((lazarus & folkman, 1984), social integration and social regulation (durkheim, 1897, 1951; johnson, 1995) thwarted belongingness (baumeister & leary, 1995), social bond theory (hirschi, 1969), perceived burdensomeness (van orden, witte, cukrowicz, braithwaite, selby& joiner, 2010) and stress buffering hypothesis (cohen & wills, 1985). the researcher noted that these theories have cogent explanation as regards to the variable under investigation. the theory transactional model of stress was apt in explaining how perception of environment can lead to suicidal ideation. also, perceived burdensomeness posits that individuals who think about, attempt, and die by suicide mistakenly translate their self-hatred into feelings of expendability. thus, the dimensions of perceived burdensomeness include perceptions of liability and self-hate. not only that, the thwarted belongingness theory of suicide ideation created a picture of how human beings have a fundamental need to belong, that, when these needs are unmet, it may leads to a range of negative health outcomes, including increased rates of suicide ideation, attempts, and fatalities across the lifespan. empirically, the relationship between gender and these psychosocial factors have been evindenced in the literature: for instance, martínez-martí and ruch (2017) found that social support and selfefficacy were positively related to the swiss general population. also, zhang and jin (2014) showed that social support and self-efficacy were positively correlated in a sample of postpartum women. besides, the study demonstrated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and postpartum depression. other studies have found similar results (e.g. tovar, rayens, gokun & clark, 2015; wang, tao, bowers, brown, & zhang, 2018). also, asghari, sadeghi and ghasemi jobaneh (2013) results showed that self-concept and mental health of the students have a meaningful relationship with suicidal ideas. personality factors, academic stress and socio-economic status jointly and separately predicted suicidal ideation (oginyi, mbam, nwonyi, ekwo & nwoba, 2018); low health self-efficacy was associated with suicidal behaviours (isaac, yi wu, mclachlan & lee, 2018). in the prevalence and gender differences in suicide ideation of youth, swahn, bossarte, choquet, hassler, falissard, & chau (2012a); juan, xiao-juan, jia-ji, xin-wang and liang, 2010 observed that boy were significantly less likely than girls to report suicide ideation. there are numerous studies that report a higher rate of suicidal ideation among girls relative to boys (grunbaum, kann, kinchen, ross, hawkins, & lowry, et al., 2004; krug et al, 2002; beautrais, 2002; bakken & gunter, 2012; swahn ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 344 & bossarte, 2007; swahn et al., 2012a) even when examined longitudinally (boeninger, masyn, feldman, & conger, 2010). from the foregoing, previous studies reported that the independent variables under study associated to a great extent with the dependent variable across different populations, hence, this study was guided by the following hypotheses. hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested: 1. there will be a significant gender difference in suicidal ideations among university students. 2. gender and psychosocial factors jointly will significantly be associated with suicidal ideation among university students. 3. gender and psychosocial factors independently will significantly be associated with suicidal ideation among university students. method participants: a total of 666 participants comprising 247 males and 419 females between the ages of 17 to 24 years (m = 21.02; sd = 4.58) were sampled using purposive sampling technique from the population of university students within enugu metropolis. instrument four sets of instruments were used for this study which comprises: beck scale for suicidal ideation (bssi): developed by beck, kovasac and weissman (1988). this scale is a 19-items instrument that evaluates the presence and intensity of suicidal thoughts in a week before evaluation. this questionnaire was used to measure the participants’ severity of suicidal ideation during the past week. the scoring range of each question was 0–2 points (total range, 0–38. the researcher, using the cronbach alpha method established the coefficients alphas for beck scale for suicidal ideation (bss) .71 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 345 index of self-esteem (hudson, 1982): this is a 25-item inventory designed to measure the selfperceived and self-evaluative components of self-concept which is the sum total of the self-perceived and the other perceived views of the self-held by a person. it has direct and reverse scoring of items with a likert response format of 1 = rarely or none of the time to 5 = most or all of the time. hudson (1982) provided the original psychometric properties while onighaiye (1996) provided the properties for nigerian samples. the researcher, using the cronbach alpha method established the coefficients alphas for index of self-esteem (ise) .82 self-efficacy scale (sherer, maddux, mercandante, prentice-dunn, jacobs & rogers, 1982): is a likert format 17-item scale designed to measure “a general set of expectations that the individual carries into new situations”. (example of items include: “when i make plans, i am certain i can make them work “, “i give up easily“, “i am a self-reliant person“, “i avoid facing difficulties”). the response format is a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). sum of item scores reflects general self-efficacy. the higher the total score is, the more self-efficacious the respondent. the researcher, using the cronbach alpha method established the coefficients alphas for self-efficacy scale (ses) .79 multidimensional scale of perceived social support (zimet, dahlem, zimet & farley, 1988): is a 12item instrument that measures the perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family members (items 3, 4, 8, and 11), friends (items 6, 7, 9, and 12), and other significant people (items 1, 2, 5, and 10). ratings of these 12 items were made on a 7-point likert-type scale ranging from very strongly disagree (1) to very strongly agree (7). the total score corresponds to the sum of the scores of each answered item, with the higher/lower score corresponding to a greater/lower perceived social support. the researcher, using the cronbach alpha method established the coefficients alphas for multidimensional scale of perceived social support (mpss) .76 procedure the researcher distributed and collected the data for this study with the assistance of five research assistants. the five research assistants were trained and briefed on the purpose of the study, hence, a total of 800 copies of the instrument were administered. this administration was carried out within two weeks in the various tertiary institutions selected, with the application of purposeful random sampling the researcher sampled participants from the populations of different faculties and ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 346 departments of the sampled schools in enugu metropolis. 666 copies of the questionnaire were collated, disregarding the foiled copies, scored and analyzed to test the hypotheses. design/statistics .the researcher made use of cross-sectional survey design and employed descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis for the study. this choice of statistics were made due to the fact that the study was looking for causal-relation between four variables, gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social support on suicidal ideation. it can also be used to show and quantify causal relationships (analysis of causes) and predict the characteristic of the dependent variable (forecast) (coolican, 2009). results table 1: summary table of means, descriptive statistics and correlations of the study variables (n = 666) variables m sd 1 2 3 4 5 1 suicidal ideation 30.24 8.18 1 2 gender 39.53 4.32 .35* * 1 3 self-esteem 32.64 3.60 .32* * -.21* 1 4 self-efficacy 19.26 8.21 .26 -.13 .17 1 5 social support 48.41 6.10 .54* -.12 .09 1 * = p< .05, ** = p < .01, *** = p < .001. from the table 1 above, the computed statistics shows that; the first hypothesis tested, which stated that ‘there will be a significant gender difference in suicidal ideations among university students’ was confirmed. it showed that males differ significantly from females in suicidal ideation of females with a mean of (m= 47.53) and males (m=31.53) with a mean difference of (16.0). again, gender was found to be positively and significantly correlated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students (r = .35, p = .02). furthermore, social support as factor positively and significantly correlated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students (r = .54, p = .03). on the other hand, self-efficacy as factor did not significantly correlate with suicidal ideation ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 347 among undergraduate students (r = .26, p = .32). nevertheless, self-esteem as a factor did significantly and positively correlate with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students (r = .32, p = .32). table 2: summary table of multiple regression on gender and psychosocial factors associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students in enugu metropolis (n =666). model β beta value t-value p-value gender 004 .014 .209 .005 self-esteem .124 .132 2.076 .034 self-efficacy .041 .103 1.547 .129 social support .519 154 3.456 .001 .671 r2 value 2.004 f-value .015 p-value * = p< .05, ** = p < .01, *** = p < .001. from the table 2 above, the second hypothesis tested shows that, the squared coefficient of correlation is (.671), which explains (67.1%) of the association of the predictor variables (gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support) with the criterion variable (suicidal ideation) of f(4, 662) = 2.004, p = .02. therefore, the alternate hypothesis is hereby accepted, since the p-value is <.05 which means the predictor variables (gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support) jointly did associated with the criterion variable (suicidal ideation). again, the third hypothesis tested shows the association of each of the predictor variables (gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support) with suicidal ideation. it reveals that gender, self-esteem and social support independently, have positive association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .00, .12 and .52 for gender, self-esteem and social support respectively which are statistically significant since the p-values < .05. whereas, self-efficacy has no association with suicidal ideation of a β value of .04, which is statistically not significant since the p-value >.05. therefore, independently, only self-efficacy failed to associate significantly with suicidal ideation manifestation among university students but gender, self-esteem and social support did positively and significantly. discussion the findings of this study revealed that, there was gender difference in suicidal ideation. this was in line with the previous studies that females are more likely to engage in suicidal ideation than boys ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 348 (juan et al., 2010; swahn et al., 2012b; cdc, 2012c). also, gender, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support all were strongly associated with suicidal ideation. furthermore, jointly, gender, selfesteem, self-efficacy and social support as factors did significantly associated with suicidal ideation manifestation of among university students. these concurred with studies that have shown that these factors and some others are associated with the suicidal ideation (yi wu, et al., 2018; asghari, et al., 2013; oginyi, et al., 2018). also, gender, self-esteem and social support independently predicted suicidal ideation among university students while only self-efficacy failed to individually associate with suicidal ideation. meaning that factors such as gender, self-esteem and social support are remarkably associated with the manifestation of suicidal thought. this can be collaborated with the studies of grunbaum, kann, kinchen, ross, hawkins, & lowry, et al., 2004; krug et al, 2002; beautrais, 2002; bakken & gunter, 2012; swahn & bossarte, 2007; swahn et al., 2012a) even when examined longitudinally (boeninger et al., 2010). generally, from the nigerian undergraduate context, the results are not surprising because students believe that life in school is very hard coupled with the economic hardship, wickedness from the lecturers, pressure from the society and family etc., that is why people who do not have high selfesteem, self-efficacy and lack social support engage in suicidal ideation. implications of the study the major implication of this study is that every university student at point in time must have thought about committing suicide, these are due to the fact that our environment both socially and psychologically are filled with hardships, struggles, hunger, poverty, competitions etc. parents should understand the role selfesteem, self-efficacy and social support do in the life of their children. government should step up to tackle some of these psychosocial factors by providing enabling environment that will promote good self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support and similar challenges towards restoring hope to the common man especially, undergraduate students.. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 349 recommendations based on the outcome of this study the researcher recommends that the government and school authorities should take cognizance of various psychosocial factors in the school environment especially self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support as these factors are key in building a resilience personality that will be able to withstand pressure. it is also recommended that future investigators should look into other variables such as, poverty, broken homes, socio-economic status etc in addition to increasing the sample size, towards cross validating the outcomes of this study. summary and conclusion based on the findings, the researcher hereby concludes that gender, female students are higher in manifesting suicidal ideation than male students. also, self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support are associated with suicidal ideation of undergraduate students in enugu metropolis. references ahmadi, a r. 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(2010). the interpersonal theory of suicide. psychological review;117(2):575–600. doi: 10.1037/a0018697. wang, l., tao, t., bowers, b. j., brown, r., & zhang, y. (2018). influence of social support and self-efficacy on resilience of early career registered nurses. western journal of nursing research, 40(5), 648–664. world health organization. (2017). global diffusion of ehealth: making universal health coverage achievable: report of the third global survey on ehealth. world health organization. zimet, g.d., dahlem, n.w., zimet, s.g. & farley, g.k. (1988). the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. journal of personality assessment, 52, 30-41. page 1 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 120 analysis of the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in nigeria, 1981-2017 ogbodo joseph charles nicholas attamah department of economics faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. abstract one of the major purposes of the demand for foreign aid is to alleviate poverty. what is not clear, however, is whether the substantial foreign aid inflow to nigeria in recent times has yielded the desired goal of poverty reduction. this work examined the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in nigeria for the period 1981 to 2017. the objectives are to determine the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in nigeria and to ascertain the direction of causality relationship between foreign aid and poverty reduction in nigeria over the period of the study. annual time series secondary data on: poverty reduction, foreign aid, foreign remittances, inflation and trade openness, sourced from central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistical bulletin 2017 online edition and the world bank development indicator (wdi), were the variables used. poverty reduction is the dependent variable; others are the independent variables in the model. the study employed standard econometric method, involving theoretical (apriori), statistical (first-order) and econometric (second order)criteria. autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model and pairwise granger causality test were used to investigate the long run linkage between foreign aid and poverty reduction, the short run dynamics, and the direction of causality relationship between poverty reduction and foreign aid in nigeria respectively. the ardl bounds test result revealed that long run correlation exists among variables in the model. the result of ardl error correction model indicated that foreign aid had statistically significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria over the studied period. however, the result of pairwise granger causality test revealed that there is no directional causality relationship between poverty reduction and foreign aid in nigeria over the period studied. the study recommends that foreign aid flow should be directed more to the poor and the middle class in nigeria by the government. keywords: poverty, foreign aid, granger causality, nigeria introduction one of the major concerns of most economies, especially developing nations, in recent times is poverty issue. the world bank defined poverty as the income level below which a certain percentage of the population is to live and described it as a person’s inability to earn a daily income of $1, have access to safe drinking water; a situation of poor health services; high rates of illiteracy and infant mortality (world bank, 2004). poverty reduction, or alleviation, therefore, refers to a set of humanitarian and economic measures designed to permanently lift people out of poverty. foreign aid or official development assistance, referred to as the international transfer of capital, goods, or services from a country or international organization for the benefit of the recipient country or its population (encyclopedia britannica 2015) can come in form of economic, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 121 military, or emergency humanitarian like aid given as a result of natural disasters. aid in the form of official development assistance (oda) is given basically not only to promote development but also to fight poverty. developing countries, like nigeria, desire foreign aid in form of support of investment projects, budget support, debt relief, technical assistance, grants, loans payable at lower interest rate over a longer period, aid or contributions from united nation institutions, international monetary fund (imf), world bank (wb) or regional banks to assist them achieve sustainable development in terms of capital development, low mortality rate, sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction (niyyonkuru, 2016). over the years, nigeria experienced huge and significant inflows of foreign aid into the economy. the major purpose is to mitigate poverty which, if not checked, exacerbates crime of various dimensions, encourages prostitution, increases frustration and leads to loss of confidence in the country. “poverty, according to evbromeran (1997), is capable of causing fear, depression, despondency, suicide, revolution, envy, bitterness, and self-depreciation of ego”. however, poverty situation in nigeria in recent times appears to be in conflict with the purpose of foreign aid flows; the poverty level in nigeria is still very high and persistent, notwithstanding increase in foreign aid inflow. this persistent increase in poverty level amidst the foreign aid inflows casts doubt on the potency of foreign aid as a veritable tool for poverty reduction in nigeria. the questions are: what is the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in nigeria? what is the direction of causality between foreign aid and poverty reduction in nigeria? it is against this background that this work examined foreign aid and poverty reduction nexus in nigeria to determine whether foreign aid impact significantly on poverty reduction in nigeria and to ascertain the direction of causality relationship that exists between foreign aid and poverty reduction in nigeria over the period. 2. literature review theoretical literature the theoretical underpinnings of this study include the two gap model and the dependency theory of underdevelopment. in economic literature, the beneficial effect of foreign aid is based on the two gap model, where foreign aid may ease savings and foreign exchange constraints on economic growth of developing countries. the arguments advanced in support of the plausibility of a positive effect of foreign aid on domestic savings include the equation: s=i – f, where s, i, and f are domestic savings, gross investment, and net total foreign inflows respectively. an increase in the foreign inflows does not necessarily lead to a reduction in domestic savings irrespective of whether or not some of the inflows are used for consumption as an increase in consumption demand can be met by an increase in investment and output. in some literatures, foreign aid refers to the total foreign inflows to a recipient country and often includes foreign aid, foreign borrowing and foreign investment. the effect of foreign aids on ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 122 economic growth and domestic savings differs from that of foreign borrowing and foreign investment. foreign aid does not cause an outflow of funds to pay back debt or repatriate profits and capital. a positive effect of foreign aid is more plausible than the effect of all foreign inflows. the dependency theory of underdevelopment states that the dependency of less developed countries (ldcs) on developed countries (dcs) is the main cause for the underdevelopment of the former. empirical literature over the years, many scholars have researched on impact of foreign aid inflows on poverty reduction in an economy. tohru and malcolm (2005) examined the relationship between foreign aid and poverty reduction, using cross-sectional and panel data. they disaggregated foreign aid and used several poverty indexes to show that while real per capita income had the robust and highly significant impact on poverty reduction, aid had no significant effect. a simulation based on their results showed that sub-saharan africa was seriously off track to achieve mdg of halving poverty by 2015. abuzar, estrada, kim, and quibria (2005) empirically investigated the issue of aid effectiveness from a macro perspective. they adopted poverty reduction, as contrasted from economic growth, as the metric for measuring aid effectiveness. they experimented with a number of different regression equations and used a new panel dataset on poverty to show that aid and aid-squared had significant coefficients but with different signs (positive for aid and negative for aid-squared). the result suggested that aid is effective when it is relatively moderate but becomes ineffective when the size of aid exceeds the critical value defined by the absorptive capacity. their results further suggested that while the macro policy environment and the quality of governance had a significant bearing on poverty reduction, aid effectiveness was not critically contingent on them. they noted that aid had on average been effective, as their regression results confirmed, under a whole variety of circumstances (in terms of policy environments and quality of governance) in a wide diversity of developing countries. the result also points to the limited usefulness of using aggregative index of (macroeconomic) policy and governance for policy insights. they added that there is need to look beyond these aggregates in order to derive useful policy insights. nadia and yontcheva (2005) studied the effectiveness of foreign aid in reducing poverty by impacting on human development indicators using a data set of bilateral aid and ngo aid flows. they found out that non-governmental agencies aid reduces infant mortality more effectively than official bilateral aid and that the impact on illiteracy was less significant. the result of their test on whether foreign aid reduces government efforts in achieving developmental goals showed mixed evidence of a substitution effect. abiola and olofin (2008) examined the relationship among foreign aid, food supply and poverty reduction in nigeria using secondary data for the period 1975-2005. they employed econometric analysis and specified a structural model that examined the determinants of poverty-reduction. they tested their model specification with statistical analysis of time series (stata 10) software. they found that multilateral aid, food supply, public sector spending on health care and education are the major determinants of poverty reduction in nigeria and concluded that, given the ongoing food supply crises, the gradual withdrawal of government from provision of health care ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 123 and education as well as the unreliability of aid, there was the need for some policy re-think in order to reduce poverty in nigeria. adams et al. (2008) using a two‑ stage multinomial logit model, investigated the impact of internal and international remittances on poverty alleviation and inequality in ghana and found that both internal and international remittances reduced the severity, level and depth of poverty in ghana. they also found out that, in comparison to internal remittances, international remittances inflow contributed more to poverty reduction in ghana while both remittances raised inequality gap in ghana though international remittances contributed more than internal remittances to the inequality gap. javid and qayyum (2011) with the use of linear regression with the application of ordinary least squares (ols) technique examined the effectiveness of aid in zimbabwe from 1990-2010, focusing on the ongoing debate on the interactive effect of aid and policy on sustainable economic growth. main findings were that foreign aid and real gdp have a negative relationship, while the aid-policy interactive term and real gdp growth have a positive and significant relationship. chani, et al. (2011) analyzed the impact of macroeconomic parameters on growth and poverty in the context of pakistan. covering time series data from 1972 through 2008, they found out that inflation is positively correlated with poverty. quantifying the effect of inflation on poverty, they found evidence that one percentage point increase in the cpi is expected to raise the head count ratio of poverty by 0.38% next year. chukwuone et.al (2012) examined the impact of internal and international remittances on poverty reduction in nigeria using propensity score matching approach and multinomial logit model with instrumental variables and found out that the probability of households’ falling into poverty significantly reduced when household received remittances from either internal or international sources though the impact was more in case of international remittances. olofin (2013) re-examined the effects of different types of foreign aid on poverty level in 8 west african countries between 1975 and 2010 by employing both the first and second generation econometrics methods of panel unit root test, co-integration test and empirical estimators with heterogeneous slopes. results obtained suggested that total foreign aid and food aid impacted positively on poverty while technical aid reduced poverty. olofin however noted that apart from total foreign aid, none of the results was statistically significant; the results showed negative relationship among poverty, life expectancy, foreign direct investment, per capita gdp and financial depth but they were statistically insignificant. this suggested that their impacts on poverty were minimal in west africa. waheed et al. (2013) studied the effects of remittances on poverty among rural households in nigeria and observed that domestic and foreign remittances decreased the level and severity of poverty in rural areas of nigeria. they also noted that, as opposed to foreign remittances, domestic remittances contributed more towards poverty reduction in rural areas of nigeria. zerihun (2015) examined the poverty reduction effects of trade openness and structural transformation in africa using a panel data covering the period 1981 to 2010 and constituting 43 african countries. he employed system generalized methods of moments and found out that trade ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 124 openness initially exacerbates poverty by about 1.3% and after one period lag, it reduced it by about 1.2%. structural transformation lagged two periods, on the other hand, led to poverty reduction of about 3%. further, the results show that infrastructure development and fostering the participation of the private sector in the continent greatly contribute towards poverty reduction. the study also confirms the famous 'bhagwati hypothesis' that growth is good for the poor, as an increase in gdp per capita was found to have a proportionate reduction in poverty levels (0.7 to 1%). the study also investigated the causality between trade openness and structural transformation, and the results demonstrated that there is a bi-causality relationship between the two variables. as a robustness check, the results were validated using fixed effects, random effects, and panel vector auto regression (pvar) models. john and shimeles (2015) examined aid, employment and poverty reduction in africa and observed that growth in africa is weakly linked to poverty reduction for the reason that africa has failed to create enough good jobs. they noted that structural transformation (the relative growth of employment in high productivity sectors) has not featured in the post 1995 growth story of africa. in view of this, the region’s fastest growing economies had the least responsiveness of employment and poverty to growth. they added that development aid was partly responsible as more aid went to countries with a low employment intensity of growth across africa. they proposed a new approach to aid and poverty that would focus on supporting structural change for job creation in africa. ojo, okoronkwo, and adewumi (2016) discussed the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction, and or eradication programmes in lagos state of nigeria, examined literature on foreign aids and poverty, the nature of foreign aid and its strategy for poverty reduction in lagos state, investigated and analysed how foreign aid has impacted poverty eradication/ reduction programmes in lagos state using exploratory method that made use of both primary and secondary data collection. the primary data were collected through interview and government document; while the secondary data were collected from textbooks, library search, scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles and internet. the data collected were content analyzed. result showed that there were serious challenges militating against the effective use of foreign aid on poverty alleviation programmes. such challenges include misappropriation of funds, and lack of statistics on who should benefit from the programme. azam, haseeb, and samsudin (2016) using data covering the period of 1990-2014 and panel fully modified ols (fmols) method, empirically analyzed the impact of foreign remittances along with some other variables such as foreign aid, debt, human capital, inflation and income on poverty alleviation in 39 countries including the lower middle, upper middle and high income countries. the estimates of fmols revealed that increase in income did lead to decrease in poverty. foreign remittances had positive impact on poverty alleviation though statistically significant only for upper middle income countries. the result further revealed that impacts of foreign aid and debt on poverty were positive, indicating that both factors contribute positively to poverty expansion. the results also exhibited no visible evidence that foreign aid has an effective apparatus for the poverty mitigation. policy-makers should therefore devise an appropriate policy ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 125 to rationalize dependency on foreign aid. government should also encourage remittances inflows so as to mitigate poverty. ugwuanyi, ezeaku, and ibe (2017) assessed the impact of official aid on poverty reduction in nigeria from 1981 to 2014 using ardl and error correction model (ecm) to estimate respectively for long-run and short-run dynamics. they employed bound test in testing for longrun relationship between variables in the model. the bound test result showed that long-run relationship exists between official aid flows and poverty. the estimates of both long-run and short-run regression revealed that official aid has non-significant positive impact on poverty reduction within the period. there is however strong sign of convergence toward long-run equilibrium as the speed of adjustment is significantly high. the results further showed that population growth exerted negative influence on poverty reduction both in the long and short-run whereas labour force participation was found to have relative positive impact on poverty reduction. they concluded that while it was evident that official aid had positive influence on poverty reduction, the influence so established was not significant. they recommended that aid donors and international aid organizations should earmark aids for specific needs and exhaust every prudential steps to ensure that such aid are used for the targeted aim with fact-based appraisals and implementation reports. edmore and odhiambo (2017) explored the theoretical link and transmission mechanism through which official development assistance (oda) or foreign aid affects poverty and presented some major debates on the effectiveness of foreign aid on development in general and poverty reduction in particular. the main findings from their exploratory study suggested that there was no generally accepted economic theory upon which foreign aid allocation is based. they added that several theories had been advanced, but most of them were strongly criticized. in view of this, there were two distinct and extreme lines of thoughts: those who believed that foreign aid can contribute to a virtuous circle of economic growth and poverty reduction and those groups that contended that foreign aid leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and stunted development. the third groups are those who assumed that once channels through which foreign aid affects development are distinguished several degrees of positive impact on development and diminution of poverty might be noticed, depending on the choice of channel, the recipient country features and the domestic economic policies. method theoretical framework and model specification. the model for this work followed the primary linear model form applied in nakamura and mcpherson (2005) to ascertain whether foreign aid is effective in reducing poverty. the model for the study was expressed as pict = 𝛼0+𝛼1yct+ 𝛼2xct+ 휀ct (1) where c and t denote country and time respectively, pict is the logarithm of poverty index, yct is the logarithm of per capital income and xct is a set of conditioning variables, and εct is the error term. equation (1) is modified for this work and to capture the variables selected for the study. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 126 model specification the functional form of the model is specified as follows: pov = (faid, fremit, inf, topn) 3.1 the econometric form of the model is as follows: pov = α0 + α1faid + α2fremit + α3inf + α4topn + u 3.2 ardl model is specified as follows: ∆ pov = α0 + α1faid t-1 + α2fremit t-1 + α3inf t-1 + α4topn t-1 + ∑ 𝛅𝒌 𝒊=𝟏 1i∆pov t-1 + ∑ 𝛅𝒌 𝒊=𝟏 2i∆faid t-1 + ∑ 𝛅𝒌 𝒊=𝟏 3i∆fremit t-1 + ∑ 𝛅𝒌 𝒊=𝟏 4i∆inf t-1 + ∑ 𝛅𝒌 𝒊=𝟏 5i∆topn t-1 + δ6iecmt-1 + εt 3.4 where: pov = poverty reduction faid = foreign aid fremit = foreign remittances inf = inflation topn = trade openness α0 = the drift; α1α4 = long run multipliers or parameters to be estimated, εt = error term; and δ1 to δ5 are the short run dynamic multipliers while δ6 is the speed of adjustment to equilibrium. a priori expectation: a1> 0, a2> 0, a3> 0, and a4> 0. justification for variables in the model and a priori expectations: in this study, poverty is the dependent variable. foreign aid, on the other hand, is the independent variable. remittances, inflation, and trade openness, though independent variables, are used as control variables, consistent with similar empirical studies. according to shahidur (2012), inflation lowers the value of people’s cash holdings, their real income and the purchasing power of their money, thereby subjecting them to increased poverty levels. according to the united nations report (2010), inflation decreases real wages, thus pushing up employment levels as a result of reduced labour costs and subsequently raises the possibility of workers creating income, generating projects for themselves, and by so doing, reducing poverty levels. inflation is therefore expected to affect poverty positively or negatively. pradhan and mahesh (2014), in their study, found that trade openness had a deleterious effect on poverty in developing countries. as the noted, trade openness creates new international markets for locally manufactured goods and services while also injecting new foreign manufactured goods and services into the local market, making it possible for local producers to easily access foreign inputs for use in their production processes, while consumers benefit from increased variety and cheaper products, thus, raising national income and triggering poverty reduction. therefore, trade openness is expected to reduce poverty. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 127 method of evaluation econometric methodology, involving the theoretical criteria or apriori test, statistical or first-order and econometric or second order tests was employed in analyzing the data. thus, unit root test, cointegration test were used to carry out the pre-estimation tests of the time series data. autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) bounds test technique and granger causality approaches were used to analyze the work. unit root test for stationarity the variables in the model were tested and corrected for stationarity using augmented dickeyfuller (adf) unit root test. the essence is to ascertain the unit root properties of the single series, that is, the order of integration of the variables in the model and to ensure that the variables in the model are void of seasonal variation and also to avoid spurious regression result. the unit root procedure requires estimating the following adf equation: ∆yt = α0 + ƞyt-1 + ∑ 𝐵𝑘 𝑡=1 i∆yt-i + ut. where ∆yt = yt – yt-1 is the difference of series yt.∆yt-1 = yt-1 – yt-2 is the first difference of yt-1. α0, ƞ, and bi are parameters to be estimated and ut is stochastic error term. the null hypothesis of non stationarity (presence of unit root) is accepted if ƞ = 0 while the null hypothesis of non stationarity is rejected if ƞ < 0. co-integration test the model was tested for co-integration using ardl bounds test. the reason is to determine whether long run relationship exist between the dependent variable and independent variable(s) in the model, that is, if the variables move together over time. evidence of co-integration was established in the model; it was corrected by introducing error correction mechanism (ecm) in the model as one of the independent variables. granger causality test granger causality test was conducted to establish the direction of causality relationship existing between the dependent and the explanatory variables in the model. engle and granger (1987) noted that if two variables are cointegrated, the possibility of causality between the two exists, at least in one direction. granger causality test for the series could be expressed in general form as follows: yt = ∑ 𝛿𝑘 𝑖=1 11iyt-1 + ∑ 𝛿𝑘 𝑖=1 12iyt-1 + u1t xt = ∑ 𝛿𝑘 𝑖=1 21iyt-1 + ∑ 𝛿𝑘 𝑖=1 22iyt-1 + u2t where y = dependent variable, x = independent variables in the model, t = the current period of the variables and t-i = the lagged period of the variables, 𝛿11 to 𝛿22 = the coefficients of the lagged variables and u1 and u2 = mutually uncorrelated white noise error terms. the granger causality ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 128 analysis decision rule follows f-distribution. therefore, rejected null hypothesis if the p(f-statistic) < 0.05; otherwise accept. data sources the data used in this work are annual time series secondary data sourced from cbn statistical bulletin 2017 online edition and the world bank development indicator (wdi) for the period 1981 to 2017. the time series data include poverty, foreign aid, foreign remittances, inflation, and trade openness. eviews 10 econometric software was used to estimate the specified model. 4. results and discussion unit root test the result of the unit root test presented in table4.1 below shows that poverty, inflation, and trade openness are integrated of order zero, i(0) while foreign aid and foreign remittances are integrated of order one, i(1). table 4.1: unit root test result variables adf test statistic adf critical value at 5% probability order of integration pov 2.989016 2.951125 0.0460 i(0) faid -6.429219 -2.951125 0.0000 i(1) fremit -6.746582 -2.948404 0.0000 i(1) inf -3.047283 -2.945842 0.0400 i(0) topn -4.625527 -2.945842 0.0007 i(0) source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 none of the variables is i(2). the variables were tested at 5% critical value and the results obtained from adf test fulfilled the underlying conditions for ardl bound testing proposed by pesaran et al., (2001) instead of the conventional johansen and juselius (1990) co-integration method. to this end, the co-integration estimation is carried out under ardl bound framework to test the sufficient condition for the error correction model after satisfying the stationary requirements. co-integration test ardl long run form and bounds test ardl bounds test result the result of ardl bounds test performed to test for the presence of cointegration among the variables in the model presented in table 4.2 below shows that the computed f-statistic for the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 129 equation, 4.888805, exceeds the upper bounds critical value of 3.49 at 5% level of significance. this implies that variables in the model are co-integrated; a long run relationship exists among the variables. the computed f-statistic for the equation, 4.888805, also exceeds the lower bounds critical value of 2.56 at 5% level of significance. table 4.2ardl long run form and bounds test result source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 ardl long run form and bounds test dependent variable: d(pov) selected model: ardl(3, 1, 1, 3, 4) case 2: restricted constant and no trend date: 05/25/19 time: 16:00 sample: 1981 2017 included observations: 33 conditional error correction regression variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 18.36249 7.890016 2.327307 0.0334 pov(-1)* -0.073918 0.033603 -2.199729 0.0429 faid(-1) -1.27e-08 4.54e-08 -0.279463 0.7835 fremit(-1) -2.30e-05 9.89e-05 -0.233049 0.8187 inf(-1) -0.136840 0.071187 -1.922255 0.0726 topn(-1) 0.862501 0.231725 3.722087 0.0019 d(pov(-1)) -0.310258 0.229485 -1.351971 0.1952 d(pov(-2)) 3.438452 0.717314 4.793512 0.0002 d(faid) 9.67e-08 4.75e-08 2.036848 0.0586 d(fremit) -0.000126 7.77e-05 -1.621442 0.1245 d(inf) -0.101229 0.053115 -1.905841 0.0748 d(inf(-1)) 0.038732 0.044747 0.865569 0.3995 d(inf(-2)) -0.104905 0.042633 -2.460663 0.0256 d(topn) -0.024513 0.062577 -0.391722 0.7004 d(topn(-1)) -0.936357 0.205452 -4.557545 0.0003 d(topn(-2)) -0.950201 0.189629 -5.010832 0.0001 d(topn(-3)) -0.221701 0.182896 -1.212170 0.2430 * p-value incompatible with t-bounds distribution. levels equation case 2: restricted constant and no trend variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. faid -1.72e-07 6.09e-07 -0.281746 0.7818 fremit -0.000312 0.001278 -0.243914 0.8104 inf -1.851248 1.401040 -1.321339 0.2050 topn 11.66840 7.113945 1.640216 0.1205 c 248.4181 36.52408 6.801486 0.0000 ec = pov (-0.0000*faid -0.0003*fremit -1.8512*inf + 11.6684*topn + 248.4181 ) f-bounds test null hypothesis: no levels relationship test statistic value signif. i(0) i(1) asymptotic: n=1000 f-statistic 4.888805 10% 2.2 3.09 k 4 5% 2.56 3.49 2.5% 2.88 3.87 1% 3.29 4.37 actual sample size 33 finite sample: n=35 10% 2.46 3.46 5% 2.947 4.088 1% 4.093 5.532 finite sample: n=30 10% 2.525 3.56 5% 3.058 4.223 1% 4.28 5.84 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 130 ardl long run model result table 4.2 also shows the result of the long run form of the ardl model. the result indicates that foreign aid, remittances, inflation and trade openness have no significant impact on poverty reduction in the long run as revealed by their t-statistic values: -0.281746, -0243914, -1.321339, and 6.801486, and probability values 0.7818, 0.1804, 0.2050, and 0.1205 respectively. ardl error correction regression table 4.3 ardl error correction regression source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 ardl error correction regression dependent variable: d(pov) selected model: ardl(3, 1, 1, 3, 4) case 2: restricted constant and no trend date: 05/25/19 time: 16:07 sample: 1981 2017 included observations: 33 ecm regression case 2: restricted constant and no trend variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. d(pov(-1)) -0.310258 0.178634 -1.736833 0.1016 d(pov(-2)) 3.438452 0.534559 6.432317 0.0000 d(faid) 9.67e-08 3.76e-08 2.569841 0.0206 d(fremit) -0.000126 5.60e-05 -2.247611 0.0391 d(inf) -0.101229 0.036542 -2.770229 0.0137 d(inf(-1)) 0.038732 0.029789 1.300186 0.2120 d(inf(-2)) -0.104905 0.034344 -3.054528 0.0076 d(topn) -0.024513 0.041030 -0.597439 0.5586 d(topn(-1)) -0.936357 0.146669 -6.384142 0.0000 d(topn(-2)) -0.950201 0.141654 -6.707898 0.0000 d(topn(-3)) -0.221701 0.142906 -1.551383 0.1404 cointeq(-1)* -0.073918 0.011913 -6.204783 0.0000 r-squared 0.945882 mean dependent var -1.890909 adjusted r-squared 0.917534 s.d. dependent var 8.503395 s.e. of regression 2.441906 akaike info criterion 4.898723 sum squared resid 125.2210 schwarz criterion 5.442907 log likelihood -68.82892 hannan-quinn criter. 5.081824 durbin-watson stat 2.504762 * p-value incompatible with t-bounds distribution. f-bounds test null hypothesis: no levels relationship test statistic value signif. i(0) i(1) f-statistic 4.888805 10% 2.2 3.09 k 4 5% 2.56 3.49 2.5% 2.88 3.87 1% 3.29 4.37 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 131 the ardl error correction regression result is presented in table 4.3. it indicates that the sign of the short-run dynamic impact of foreign aid, remittances, inflation and trade openness on poverty reduction is negative, fractional and statistically significant as required. the coefficient of error correction mechanism (ecm) is -0.073918 with probability value of 0.0000. this shows that approximately 7.39% of any movement into disequilibrium is corrected for back to the long run equilibrium within one period. however 7.39% suggests a very low speed of adjustment process; meaning that the entire system will get back to long run equilibrium at the speed of 7.39% annually. the ardl error correction regression result also revealed that foreign aid has positive and significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria in the short run as indicated by its probability value of 0.0206. foreign remittances and inflation are found to exert negative and significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria over the period as shown by their probability values0.0391 and 0.0137 respectively. current period trade openness has no significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria. however, trade openness lags 1 and 2 impact significantly on poverty reduction. the result also showed that the previous year’s information on poverty level significantly impacts poverty reduction in nigeria. the rsquared, 0.945882, means that the estimated short run model has a good fit and very strong explanatory power and shows that about 94.58% of total variation in poverty reduction in nigeria is explained by the independent variables in the model. granger causality test table 4.4 granger causality test source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 pairwise granger causality tests date: 05/25/19 time: 16:27 sample: 1981 2017 lags: 2 null hypothesis: obs f-statistic prob. faid does not granger cause pov 35 0.52194 0.5987 pov does not granger cause faid 0.09958 0.9055 fremit does not granger cause pov 35 1.43391 0.2542 pov does not granger cause fremit 2.77778 0.0782 inf does not granger cause pov 35 0.73069 0.4900 pov does not granger cause inf 1.16929 0.3243 topn does not granger cause pov 35 0.80906 0.4548 pov does not granger cause topn 5.16559 0.0118 fremit does not granger cause faid 35 0.14767 0.8633 faid does not granger cause fremit 0.49408 0.6150 inf does not granger cause faid 35 0.37026 0.6937 faid does not granger cause inf 1.12959 0.3365 topn does not granger cause faid 35 0.22010 0.8037 faid does not granger cause topn 1.26836 0.2959 inf does not granger cause fremit 35 0.02180 0.9784 fremit does not granger cause inf 1.83389 0.1773 topn does not granger cause fremit 35 0.08115 0.9223 fremit does not granger cause topn 0.19549 0.8235 topn does not granger cause inf 35 0.39402 0.6778 inf does not granger cause topn 0.55991 0.5771 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 132 the decision rule for granger causality analysis follows f-distribution. the result of granger causality test conducted to determine the causality relationship between foreign aid and poverty reduction is presented in table 4.4 above. the result shows that there is no directional causality relationship between poverty reduction and foreign aid as indicated by their probability values. serial correlation lm test breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test was conducted to check autocorrelation problem in the residuals, that is whether error terms corresponding to different observations are uncorrelated. the result in table 4.4 indicates f-statistic p-value of 0.1489 which is greater than 0.05. this implies that there is no serial correlation in the model. table 4.4 serial correlation lm test source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test: null hypothesis: no serial correlation at up to 2 lags f-statistic 2.189138 prob. f(2,14) 0.1489 obs*r-squared 7.861625 prob. chi-square(2) 0.0196 test equation: dependent variable: resid method: ardl date: 05/25/19 time: 16:10 sample: 1985 2017 included observations: 33 presample missing value lagged residuals set to zero. variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. pov(-1) 0.428864 0.306052 1.401277 0.1829 pov(-2) -1.215087 1.036200 -1.172637 0.2605 pov(-3) 0.816353 0.778847 1.048156 0.3123 faid 1.47e-08 4.66e-08 0.316339 0.7564 faid(-1) 2.83e-10 5.08e-08 0.005571 0.9956 fremit 1.99e-05 7.58e-05 0.261847 0.7973 fremit(-1) 5.73e-05 8.83e-05 0.649059 0.5268 inf 0.004279 0.050159 0.085319 0.9332 inf(-1) 0.007959 0.051300 0.155150 0.8789 inf(-2) 0.014491 0.052773 0.274584 0.7876 inf(-3) 0.005087 0.040114 0.126816 0.9009 topn 0.031024 0.060409 0.513568 0.6156 topn(-1) 0.033093 0.061112 0.541522 0.5967 topn(-2) 0.029397 0.059658 0.492762 0.6298 topn(-3) 0.024381 0.055938 0.435863 0.6696 topn(-4) -0.305955 0.229636 -1.332350 0.2040 c -7.819858 8.258777 -0.946854 0.3598 resid(-1) -0.777070 0.371378 -2.092396 0.0551 resid(-2) -0.144778 0.299382 -0.483590 0.6362 r-squared 0.238231 mean dependent var -2.78e-14 adjusted r-squared -0.741186 s.d. dependent var 1.978170 s.e. of regression 2.610275 akaike info criterion 5.050853 sum squared resid 95.38949 schwarz criterion 5.912479 log likelihood -64.33908 hannan-quinn criter. 5.340764 f-statistic 0.243238 durbin-watson stat 2.171405 prob(f-statistic) 0.997057 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 133 heteroskedasticity test the result of heteroskedasticity test used to verify the constancy of the variance of the error term between different time series observation of the same variable in the regression model (that is, equal variance of error term), presented in table 4.5 below also shows that the residuals are homoskedastic as indicated by probability chi-square value of 0.3405 which is higher than 0.05. table 4.5 heteroskedasticity test source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 stability test of the model model stability test examines the stability of the parameter. in other words, it tests model stability and adequacy. figure 4.1 below shows the plot of stability test: cumulative heteroskedasticity test: breusch-pagan-godfrey null hypothesis: homoskedasticity f-statistic 1.159818 prob. f(16,16) 0.3852 obs*r-squared 17.72094 prob. chi-square(16) 0.3405 scaled explained ss 5.927614 prob. chi-square(16) 0.9889 test equation: dependent variable: resid^2 method: least squares date: 05/25/19 time: 16:12 sample: 1985 2017 included observations: 33 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c -32.71356 17.64235 -1.854263 0.0822 pov(-1) 1.264918 0.523682 2.415431 0.0280 pov(-2) -5.427826 2.027102 -2.677628 0.0165 pov(-3) 4.286139 1.603939 2.672258 0.0167 faid -4.45e-08 1.06e-07 -0.418981 0.6808 faid(-1) 1.48e-07 1.21e-07 1.222849 0.2391 fremit 0.000199 0.000174 1.147527 0.2680 fremit(-1) -0.000155 0.000201 -0.773109 0.4507 inf 0.295601 0.118767 2.488922 0.0242 inf(-1) -0.033288 0.112191 -0.296703 0.7705 inf(-2) 0.176227 0.124167 1.419269 0.1750 inf(-3) -0.094762 0.095328 -0.994065 0.3350 topn 0.022495 0.139924 0.160764 0.8743 topn(-1) 0.071744 0.141243 0.507945 0.6184 topn(-2) -0.008004 0.138553 -0.057765 0.9547 topn(-3) 0.172579 0.130278 1.324702 0.2039 topn(-4) -0.956398 0.408962 -2.338600 0.0327 r-squared 0.536998 mean dependent var 3.794576 adjusted r-squared 0.073996 s.d. dependent var 6.500561 s.e. of regression 6.255431 akaike info criterion 6.811161 sum squared resid 626.0867 schwarz criterion 7.582090 log likelihood -95.38416 hannan-quinn criter. 7.070555 f-statistic 1.159818 durbin-watson stat 2.836182 prob(f-statistic) 0.385219 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 134 sum (cusum) and cumulative sum of squares (cusumsq) tests of the model. the cusum is plotted against the critical bounds at 5% level of significance. the result revealed that the model is stable because the critical bounds at 5% fell in between the two 5% lines. figure 4.1 cusum test source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 normality test jarque-bera test was performed to determine whether the residuals (proxy for stochastic error term) followed normal distribution or not. the result is presented in figure 4.2. it shows jarque – bera probability of 0.559388 which is greater than 0.05. what this means is that the residuals follow normal distribution. figure 4.2 jarque-bera test -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 cusum 5% significance ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 135 source: researcher’s computation using eview 10 5. summary, conclusion and recommendation summary the work empirically investigated foreign aid and poverty reduction nexus in nigeria. the specific objectives are to determine the impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in nigeria for the period 1981 to 2017 and to find out the direction of causality between foreign aid and poverty reduction in nigeria within the study period. autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) bounds test technique, error correction model and granger causality approaches were used to analyze the work. the ardl error correction regression result revealed that foreign aid has positive and significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria in the short run as indicated by its probability value of 0.0206. foreign remittances and inflation are found to exert negative and significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria over the period as shown by their probability values0.0391 and 0.0137 respectively. current period trade openness has no significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria. however, trade openness lags 1 and 2 impact significantly on poverty reduction. the result also showed that the previous year’s information on poverty level significantly impacts poverty reduction in nigeria. the ardl error correction regression result indicated that the sign of the short-run dynamic impact of foreign aid, remittances, inflation and trade openness on poverty reduction is negative, fractional and statistically significant as required. the coefficient of error correction mechanism (ecm) is -0.073918 with probability value of 0.0000. this shows that approximately 7.39% of any movement into disequilibrium is corrected for back to the long run equilibrium within one period. however 7.39% suggests a very low speed of adjustment process; meaning that the entire system will get back to long run equilibrium at the speed of 7.39% annually. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 series: residuals sample 1985 2017 observations 33 mean -2.78e-14 median -0.226570 maximum 4.822765 minimum -5.214041 std. dev. 1.978170 skewness 0.179938 kurtosis 3.845845 jarque-bera 1.161824 probability 0.559388 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 136 the ardl long run model result indicates that foreign aid, remittances, inflation and trade openness have no significant impact on poverty reduction in the long run as revealed by their tstatistic values: -0.281746, -0243914, -1.321339, and 6.801486, and probability values 0.7818, 0.1804, 0.2050, and 0.1205 respectively. the ardl bounds test result revealed that long run correlation exists among variables in the model. conclusion this study examined whether foreign aid has significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria over the period 1981 to 2017 and whether causality relationship exists between foreign aid and poverty reduction in nigeria. autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) bounds test technique, error correction model and granger causality approaches were used to analyze the work. the ardl bounds test result revealed that long run correlation exists among variables in the model. from the results obtained we conclude that foreign aid positively and significantly impacts on poverty reduction in nigeria in the short run. foreign remittances and inflation also exert negative and significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria over the period studied. current period trade openness has no significant impact on poverty reduction in nigeria. however, trade openness lags 1 and 2 impact significantly on poverty reduction. the previous year’s information on poverty level significantly impacts poverty reduction in nigeria. recommendations based on the findings, the work recommends that foreign aid flow should be directed more to the poor and the middle class in nigeria by the government. aid donors and international aid organizations should specify areas of needs and insist that aid are channeled towards the targeted purposes. government should ensure correct appropriation and judicious use of foreign aid and that aid inflows are made available to rural areas where majority of the poor abound to enable them benefit from the poverty reduction programme. the government should put in place policies that would support the inflow of remittances. such policies could include provision of better and cheaper means of transferring remittance, and development of an appropriate regulatory framework and mechanism for monitoring the foreign remittance flow. developmental policies should ensure effective management of technical aid, encourage foreign remittances and put in place policies that would improve welfare to complement the efforts of poverty reduction in nigeria. government policies should also promote trade liberalization. government should 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(2015). trade openness, structural transformation, and poverty reduction: empirical evidence from africa. mpra paper no. 65537 http://open-siuc.lib.siu.edu/gs-rp/221 page 1 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 100 the cost and socio-economic implication of terrorism in nigeria: a focus on boko haram eberechukwu faith obani department of political science federal college of education eha-amufu, enugu state phone contact: 08064289949, 09080003064 & 07016429683 e-mail eberebeautiful@gmail.com abstract the world has been entangled in a continuous destruction of lives and properties by terrorist groups such as isis, al-qeada, boko-haram etc. their activities have impinged on socioeconomic and political development of countries affected. the current surged of boko-haram activities in nigeria has caused untold hardship, claimed lives of combatants and noncombatants citizens, crippled economic activities, and properties worth billions of naira destroyed. the paper examines the cost and socio-economic implication of terrorist activities of boko-haram sect in nigeria. the paper relied on secondary sources of data collection. data collected was analysized using descriptive statistical method and content analysis. the paper is anchored on conflict theory as theoretical framework of analysis. the paper argues that boko haram is driven by an internal struggle within the muslim leadership in northern nigeria. it activities are consequence of power marginalization and exclusion, and their self-declared goal of establishing a sharia state as an attempt to alter the power structure. the paper reveals that nigeria has lost billions of naira, manpower both young and old, increase number of idp camps, increased numbers impaired soldiers and high rate of poverty. the paper further shows that, economic activities in nigeria have been crippled thereby are reducing the number of foreign and local investors in the region and nigeria in general. it also shows that monies might for development of the nation has been channeled in procurement of weapons to fight the terrorist group. the paper conclude that failure to address the socioeconomic issues prevalent in those states where the activities are prevalent will undermine the effect of other counterterrorism policies adopted in nigeria. the paper therefore, recommends that, there should be joint military efforts by the neighbouring countries to flush out boko-haram members. key words: boko-haram, displacement, terrorism, economy, nigeria introduction africa is a region blessed and rich in human and natural resources. the region accounts largely for the least developed countries in the world. social and economic conditions in many african countries are quite deplorable. widespread poverty, youth restiveness and unemployment, high levels of illiteracy are some features characterising many african states. the region has been home to interstate wars, tribal and communal wars, armed insurrection and the current trend of rising terrorist groups across the region. africa is home to some of the deadliest terrorist groups, such as the boko haram group in nigeria that has been terrorizing the lake chad region; alshabaab in east africa with its terrorist attacks beyond the shores of somalia; to aqim and other terrorist groups in the sahel region that pervades the land of algeria, mali and mauritania. mailto:eberebeautiful@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 101 nigeria has been on the headlines following the activities of boko haram. prior to the emergence of boko haram, the nigerian state had to struggle with the activities of nigeria delta militants. the two groups are largely a product of nigeria’s failure in governance which has resulted in youth joblessness, rising poverty levels and widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. boko haram is seen as a product of large scale socio-economic and religious insecurity, its ideology perfectly fit into historical narratives and modern grievances (forest, 2012). religious manipulation, manifest poverty, and political discontent are factors that breed terrorism seen as the struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed (ajayi, 2012). terrorism as a concept has continued to generate mixed and conflicting interpretations. efforts to discern its root causes have proved inconclusive. terrorism can be founded on the interplay of a number of factors such as lack of economic outlook, relative deprivation, political repression and a failed state system. the most striking conclusion is that these factors alone may not necessarily lead to terrorism, but may require a unifying idea and an appropriate mechanism to channel these into an enviable force that will unleash terror against a perceived enemy (mair, 2003). the link between terrorism and economic conditions should not be underestimated. the emergence of terrorist activity cannot be solely explained by political and demographic factors, but partly explained by social and economic conditions. a causal link between economic conditions and the opportunity costs of terrorism can provide an explanation of violent activities of terrorist groups on their environment (freytag, kruger, meierrieks and schneider 2011). the boko haram has created widespread tension across northern nigeria and between various ethnic communities, interrupted commercial activities, frightens investors and generated concerns among nigerians’ northern neighbours. this unprecedented state of terrorism by the boko haram sect in nigeria has ruined the tranquility of the northern atmosphere and the high rate of insecurity pervading northern region has cause for serious concern to well meaning nigerians. statement of problem nigeria has lost unquantifiable properties and human lives since terrorism encapsulated the north-east part of nigeria. boko haram sect operating in northern part of nigeria has caused untold hardship on the citizens and nigeria government has lost so much resources. this deadly terrorist group has perpetuated heinous mayhem that have crippled and continuous to dwindling nigeria’s economy. most businesses in the region have been shut down and investors have relocated their businesses away from nigeria which has negative impact on the economy. dues this facts, unemployment and poverty are on the increase in north east nigeria as so many people have lost their jobs. there is increase in death rate both combatants and non-combatants nigeria. also, so many people have become refugees in their home land. hence, the situation has increased government spending in providing temporary sites for victims. government has channeled most material and non-material resources in attempt to control the activities of bokoharam thereby neglecting social services for other regions. based on this, the study is set out to examine cost and socio-economic implication of terrorism in nigeria laying emphasis on boko haram. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 102 literature review conceptual framework terrorism terrorism is a complex issue that has been studied and debated for several decades. in fact, there are dozens of competing definitions of the term, not only among scholars but among policymakers and government agencies as well. but one thing holds constant terrorist attacks do not occur in a vacuum, but are instead a product of complex interactions between individuals, organizations, and environments. further, there are many different kinds of terrorism, defined primarily by ideological orientations like ethno-nationalism, left-wing, religious, and so forth. and just like there are many different kinds of terrorism, there are many different kinds of contexts in which terrorism occurs (forest, 2012). terrorism is increasingly understood as a political act meant to inflict dramatic and deadly injury on civilians and to create an atmosphere of acute fear and despair (generally for a political or ideological, whether secular or religious, purpose), but the term is notoriously difficult to define. the use of violence to create fear, often through the targeting of third parties and with the elements of surprise and the undermining of very personal security, is a tool used by a variety of historical and contemporary actors (large, 2005) cited in awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015). terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts. laqueur in 1999 counted over 100 definitions of terrorism and concludes that the only characteristics generally agreed upon are that terrorism involves, violence and the threat of violence (laqueur, 2003 cited in eke, 2013). the etymology of terrorism is derived from latin words “terrere” which means “frighten”. terrorism is a special crime associated with violent, victimization, threatening, frightening, and disruption of socio-political atmosphere in a particular society. it is an act of bombing, killing, kidnapping, maiming and destruction thereby creating socio-political tension, extreme fear, and destabilizing existing government or political opposition. it implies deadly attack on government agency and functionary, international organization, military and civilian in order to gain international recognition. terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation to achieve political ends. terrorists want to change the way governments and politicians behave. they do not do this by voting or by trying to convince people of their arguments. they do it by frightening people into behaving the way the terrorists want (bbc, monday july 11 2005). kydd & walter (2006) cited in atere & alao (2012) define terrorism as actions focusing on harming some people in order to create fear in others by targeting civilians and facilities or system on which civilians rely. terrorism may be viewed as a method of violence in which civilians are targeted with the objective of forcing a perceived enemy into submission by creating fear, demoralization and causing political friction in the population under attack (schmid & jongman, 2005) cited in awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015) . in most cases, their actions do lead to the loss of innocent lives. just as non-state actors and rogues states are known to commit terrorism at home and abroad, democratic countries also do the same in order to achieve political, religious, or other objectives (the punch newspaper, may 23, 2012). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 103 terrorism, in the most widely accepted contemporary usage of the term, is fundamentally and inherently political. it is also ineluctably about power: the pursuit of power, the acquisition of power, and the use of power to achieve political change. terrorism is thus violence or, equally important, the threat of violence used and directed in pursuit of, or in service of, a political aim (hoffman, 1998) cited in awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015). as a form of unconventional warfare, terrorism is sometimes used when attempting to force socio-political change by convincing a government or population to agree to demands to avoid future harm or fear of harm, destabilization of existing government, motivating a discontented population to join a mutiny, escalating a conflict in the hope of upsetting the status quo, expressing an injustice, or drawing attention to a cause. the united states federal bureau of investigation (fbi) defined terrorism as involvement of violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. the united states department of defense defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. within this definition, there are three key elementsviolence, fear, and intimidation-and each element produces terror in its victims awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015). according to kegley (2011), political terrorism is the deliberate use or threats of violence against noncombatants, calculated to instill fear in an audience beyond the immediate victims. he says that because perpetrators of terrorism often strike symbolic targets in a horrific manner, the psychological impact of an attack can exceed the physical damage. he concluded that terrorism is a mixture of drama and dread. despite the fact that terrorism could not be said to be a senseless violence, it is rather a premeditated political cum social strategy that threaten people with a coming danger that seem ubiquitous, unavoidable and sometimes unpreventable (kegley, 2011 cited in raji, 2013). the u.s. department of state defines “terrorism” as “premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience (zumve, ingyoroko and akuva, 2013). terrorism is a failure of political process that begins with in-equalities, corruption and injustice in a given political system, and moves from a frustrated attempt at reform that breed fear and anger, to political confrontation and conspicuously erupted into violence. this can be exploited to rationalize the use of any form of violence against any target. it seems that solutions to terrorism could be found at any stage of the evolving, or deteriorating political and social processes (dempsey 2006 cited in isyaku, 2013). for this paper, political aspect of terrorism shall be considered. in terms of political terrorism, shultz & sloan (1980) cited in oviasogie (2013) defined it as the threat and/or use of extra normal form of political violence, in varying degrees, with the objective of achieving certain political goals or objectives. this is to influence the behaviour and attitude of certain groups. it has basically political motives. that is why, cline and alexander (1987) ) cited in oviasogie ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 104 (2013) defined terrorism as a deliberate employment of violence or the use of violence by sovereign states as well as some national groups, assisted by sovereign states in order to attain strategic and political objectives through the violation of law. economy economy (from greek οίκος – "household" and νέμoμαι – "manage") is an area of the production, distribution, or trade, and consumption of goods and services by different agents. understood in its broadest sense, 'the economy is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the production, use, and management of resources (wikipedia, 2019). economic agents can be individuals, businesses, organizations, or governments. economic transactions occur when two parties agree to the value or price of the transacted good or service, commonly expressed in a certain currency. however, monetary transactions only account for a small part of the economic domain. economy is regarded as the wealth and resources of a country or region especially in terms of the population and consumption of goods and services. also economy is an entire network of producers, distributors, and consumers of goods and services in a local, regional or national community example nigeria’s economy. economic activity is spurred by production which uses natural resources, labour, and capital. it has changed over time due to technology (automation, accelerator of process, reduction of cost functions), innovation (new products, services, processes, expanding markets, diversification of markets, niche markets, increases revenue functions) such as, that which produces intellectual property and changes in industrial relations (for example, child labor being replaced in some parts of the world with universal access to education). a given economy is the result of a set of processes that involves its culture, values, education, technological evolution, history, social organization, political structure and legal systems, as well as its geography, natural resource endowment, and ecology, as main factors. these factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions. in other words, the economic domain is a social domain of human practices and transactions. it does not stand alone (wikipedia, 2019). over the years, since the inception of the menace of boko haram, the economy of nigeria especially in the north has been devastated. according to the borno state commissioner for information, mr., inuwa bwala, it will take the state 20 years to recover from the current predicament it has found itself. according to the commissioner, it is only natural that when a society have such a situation as, borno state, it will affect the economic fortunes especially where people go out to do business under the atmosphere of fear. so there is no doubt that the crisis has taken its toll on economy of the state; it will take it a very long time, not less than 20 years to recover and get to the position where they were before the crisis stated in (this day 2012). the year 2011 shows that boko haram catastrophic terrorism has continued to pose a clear threat to the nigerian economic sector. according to olwaseun bamidele (2012), department of liberal art and social science faith academy cannan land ota, nigeria, the nigerian economy is critically dependent on foreign ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 105 investment and natural resources. renewable natural resources exploration is agriculture and foreign investment sectors contribute more to the gross domestic product (gdp) of many northern states economy than manufacturing. foreign investment is the fastest growing sector in many of these states and this is based on the encouragement given to it. in addition to the significant contributions to natural economics, foreign investments sustain rural livelihood through the provision of a wide range of products and services. the maiduguri monday market said to be the biggest market in the city is reported to have been seriously affected as hundreds of shop owners especially southerners are said to have closed their business and left the troubled city. about half of the 10,000 shops and stalls in the market were said to have been abandoned by traders who have fled the city. for this reason, madlion (2012:5) submitted that; the business environment in the north is becoming worst and therefore, called on the authorities to do something on the worsening security situation as business authorizes in northern nigeria today have gone to almost zero percentage on account of insecurity. okereocha (2015) equally maintain that the activities of boko haram have affected the manufacturing sector. from billions of dollars in financial losses by manufacturers to monumental decline in foreign direct investment (fdi) and job losses, and that the economy of borno state is left gasping for breath. he further stated that, between november, 2014 and april 2015, a period of six months, lafarge africa, one of manufacturing companies based in borno state nigeria incurred financial losses of n2.5 billion as a result of the boko haram insurgency. the company which recently merged with switzerland-based holcim to create the most advanced building materials group, incurred the heavy losses because it could not meet its sales projections due to the insecurity in the region. boko haram in nigeria there has been a controversy as to the exact date boko haram emerged. nonetheless, there is a common consensus that boko haram was founded in 2002 by a charismatic 32-year old ustaz mohammed yusuf at markas mosque in markas abba ganaram road in maiduguri. the ideology of the sect is anchored on a rejection of western education and influence which they assume is corrupting the way islam is being practiced. according to abdul qaqa, a leading member of the sect “we had a grand plan to islamize nigeria starting with the north; we felt that a lot of muslims are not practicing the religion faithfully as they should” (ikenna emewu, 2012). however, james forest (2012) point out that the membership of the sect is not limited to the students of the quranic school that is established by mohammed yusuf, but it includes students who dropped out of the university of maiduguri as well as disaffected young people and unemployed graduates with deep seated grudges over the socio-economic and political conditions of the country including poor governance and corruption. madike isioma (2011) reported that before the demise of yusuf mohammed, he had over 500,000 followers. the death of mohammed yusuf which many attributed to extra judicial killing had several implications for the different shades of opinion. firstly, his death decentralized the leadership of the sect into different factions. the circumstances of his death led to different views of its members and consequently a more radical approach including the use of violence and terror to prosecute their cause. in the same manner, his death encouraged greater sympathy from members of the public to its ideology. it was this sympathy, which had earlier shrouded its identity that gave rise to the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 106 fear of followers not to divulge any information about the sect, thus complicating the security situation that has affected every sector of society in maiduguri metropolis. following the death of its leader in 2009, the group became increasingly violent. in 2010, the organisation’s new leader declared jihad against the nigerian government and the united states. the war between boko haram and nigerian forces has killed more than 20,000 people and left more than 2.6 million displaced in the seven years since the organisation began using terrorist tactics (global index, 2015). in 2014, boko haram changed its affiliation from al-qa’ida to isil. boko haram was the deadliest terrorist group in 2014. however, in subsequent years boko haram has suffered significant defeats as a result of efforts by the multinational joint task force, which includes forces from benin, cameroon, chad, niger and nigeria. the taskforce also receives support from the united states. in 2016, boko haram committed 192 attacks that resulted in 1,079 deaths, which is a decline from the peak of 454 attacks with 6,668 deaths in 2014 (global index, 2015). however, the group remains the most active terrorist organisation in nigeria and until 2017 was the deadliest terror group in sub-saharan africa. recently, internal tensions have led to forming multiple boko haram splinter groups. the largest splinter group is the islamic state west african province (iswap), which has claimed responsibility for a number of brutal attacks on midwives and aid workers in 2018. both boko haram and iswap have sworn allegiance to the islamic state (global index, 2018). nigeria’s counterterrorism response in combating boko haram has been interrupted by the emergence of other extremist groups, most notably the fulani herder extremists that have attacked civilians and military forces in the country. figure 1: shows four deadliest terrorist groups in world in which boko haram is one, having a strong foot in nigeria source: global terrorism index, 2018 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 107 methodology the area of study is nigeria where activities of boko haram have cause untold hardship on citizens and government. the study is to examine the cost and socio-economic implication of boko haram activities in nigeria. data for this research were generated using the secondary data – books, journals, newspaper articles, magazines, seminar and conference papers and internet materials. data was analyzed using descriptive statistical method and content analysis method.. theoretical framework of analysis the study adopts conflict theory as theoretical frame work of analysis due to peculiarity of issues at hand. the conflict as a concept has been well highlighted by dhrendorf (1976) cited in salama sajo (2018) who saw it as a basic factor underlying societal dynamics. conflict is believed to represent a condition of disharmony within an interaction process usually as a result of a clash of interests between or among the parties involved in some form of relationship (imobighe, 2003) cited in salama sajo (2018). but nnoli (2003), refers to conflict as contradictions arising from perceptions, behaviours, phenomena and tendencies, while mialli (1992), cited in salama sajo (2018) believed that conflict emerges where a clear contradiction exists or is perceived to exist among the participants who view the outcome as extremely important. it can be deduced from the above contributions that conflict is a behavioural pattern involving two or more individual ties, which can be inter-personal, inter-group, interorganization and inter-state. the economic disposition in nigeria created dissatisfied sect that vowed to change the existing political structure. the conflict lies on rejection of western education and declaration of sharia law in some northern states in nigeria. the post colonial system instituted endemic poverty through the political-cum-economic structure established in nigeria. this system encourages class formation among the elites, corruption in government and poverty in country. thus, boko haram is driven by an internal struggle within the muslim leadership in northern nigeria. it activities are consequence of power marginalization and exclusion, and their self-declared goal of establishing a sharia state as an attempt to alter the power structure. the group is on road-map to capture borno state due to historical antecedent and its relevance in northern nigeria and muslim community. boko haram attacks and fatalities 2015-2018 nigeria experienced a 34 per cent decline in the number of deaths from terrorism in 2015. this was largely due to a decline in the number of attacks by boko haram in nigeria. a coalition of the nigerian military and forces from neighbouring countries cameroon, chad and niger forced boko haram out of areas in northeast nigeria in 2015, driving the 33 per cent decline in deaths. in 2015 boko haram killed 4,095 people in terrorist attacks in nigeria, down from 6,136 deaths in 2014. however, there was an increase in attacks by boko haram in cameroon, chad and niger, which resulted in 1,382 deaths, a 163 per cent increase from the previous year. despite the decrease in deaths from terrorism, nigeria still experienced a high rate of violent deaths. in addition to terrorism victims, there were at least 4,422 battle-related deaths from the conflict between boko haram and the nigerian government in 2015, down from 8,233 in 2014. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 108 figure 2: trend of deaths in 2015 source: global terrorism index, figure 3;shows trend of deaths in 2016 source: global terrorism index, boko haram killed over 12,000 people in nigeria through terrorist attacks committed between 2013 and 2015. however it was responsible for only 762 deaths in 2016; which is a decline of 81 per cent from the previous year. this decline reflects the success of the multinational joint task force comprising benin, cameroon, chad, niger and nigeria as well as fractures within the group. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 109 figure 4:trend of death in 2017 source: global terrorism index 2018 total deaths from terrorism in nigeria fell to 1,532 in 2017, a decrease of 16 per cent from the prior year. the decline follows the 63 per cent drop in deaths in nigeria in the preceding year, and a 34 per cent drop in 2015. this highlights the effectiveness of the counter-insurgency operations undertaken in nigeria and its neighbours, cameroon, niger and chad. economic cost of boko haram activities in borno state nigeria despite the mineral and human resource endowed on nigeria by nature, it remains one of the world’s poorest countries with more than 70% (140 million nigerians) living on less than usd 1.25 per day10 and ranking 152 of 187 in the human development index (hdi). the level of economic disruption is relatively large and long-lasting for small and less diversified economy like nigeria. in contrast, advanced and diversified economies are economically more resilient and have shorter recovery periods from incidents of terrorism. these effects are mainly explained by the ability of the diversified economies to reallocate resources, such as labour and capital, from the terrorism-affected sectors. also, advanced and more peaceful countries have more resources and better institutions to avert terrorism and conflict related issues (global terrorism index 2018). the ongoing boko haram attacks in borno state nigeria, has aggravated the weak economic development of the region. though, the region was experiencing high levels of poverty prior to the conflict as well as underdevelopment, population growth, environmental degradation, and marginalization, the conflict has now exacerbated these conditions, including extensive damage to socio economic infrastructure. north eastern nigeria alone has an estimated infrastructure damage of us$ 9.2 billion and accumulated output losses of us$ 8.3 billion. due to the persistence attacks in borno state, security measures put in place (such as closing of border), have severely and negatively impacted people’s livelihoods, thereby affecting economic activities such as agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry, and transnational trade. this economic disruption has equally left millions of business-men in situations of acute economic difficulties (awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015). for instance, the economy of the borno state is largely agrarian, where 80% of the people depend on agriculture for their livelihood, growing both food ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 110 and cash crops (tourism and investment in borno state, 2011), but due to boko haram attacks, this particular sector of nigeria economy has been affected drastically. according to faiza mohammed cited in eme, o.i. & ibietan, j. (2012), a lecturer at the university of maiduguri described the threats to agricultural sector as “disturbing”. he argued that the industry is experiencing low productivity as many farmers have abandoned their farms for fear of attack at their farm lands. in economic terms, the insurrection effect is a systemic distortion of existing economic patterns and structure in borno state as well as the entire northern region. for a cause that is neither war nor natural disaster, the nation, according to a recent report by the human rights watch (hrw), lost more than 1,532 of its human capital in 2017. although the number of deaths from terrorism is now at its lowest level since 2013, it is still a major global threat. deaths remain substantially higher than a decade ago, and are still nearly three times as high as the number recorded in 2001. the chart below shows the composition of deaths from terrorism by country for 2016 and 2017 in which there is drastic reduction by 27% from 2016-2017 in nigeria. figure 5: boko haram attacks on target 2017 source: global terrorism index, 2018 in terms of finance and investment, though direct and indirect loses are unquantifiable, a world investment report (wir) of the united nations conference on trade and development (unctad), estimated that the domestic economy lost a whopping n1.33 trillion foreign direct investment (fdi), owing to the activities of terrorists going by the name ‘boko haram’ (okereocha, 2012). boko haram, bad signal to foreign investors. according to okereke (2012), no organisation or individual can thrive in an atmosphere of uncertainty and wanton killings. “every business, big and small, even individuals need some level of stability certainty to plan and execute their programmes. many companies in the north generally and the north-east in particular have closed shops. he stated that; the manufacturing sector seems to be the hardest hit because electricity supply, telecommunication services and other amenities have been crippled in those areas. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 111 the activities of boko haram have drastically affected foreign direct investment in north east as well as nigeria. from 2009 when boko haram forced their way into national consciousness, fdi has been dropping sharply, sending shock waves down the spine of the authorities. okereke said the consequence of this is that economic activities in those areas are being crippled daily thereby increasing unemployment and poverty level in the country. according to okekere (2012), from manufacturing/production to retailing, hospitality to tourism, real estate to agriculture; virtually every business activity and human endeavour is at the receiving end of this terrorism. boko haram’s activity in kano, kaduna, bornu, yobe and bauchi is gradually changing the economic structure of the whole of northern nigeria. our research indicates that if the violence persists, development in that region will be tampered and the gap between the north and other regions will widen further. the evidence and fast changing indices (in form of changing migration patterns, cost of insurance in the north, mass repatriation of funds, dearth in skilled labour etc) speaks volumes. according to gaibulloev and sandler (2011) succinctly articulate the effect of terrorism on economy. he stated that, terrorism diverts foreign direct investment by creating uncertainties in the minds of investors who prefer to invest in a climate that is favourable and safe to do business. similarly, terrorism raises the costs associated with doing business in the forms of extra security measures and higher insurance premiums with far reaching consequences on the overall profit, growth and productivity of a company. also, terrorism dampens growth by destroying or degrading social overhead capital which is important in the day to day functioning of the state. communication and transportation infrastructure affected by terrorist attacks will have dire economic consequences on a nation. industries which are foreign inclined like tourism and airline industry are greatly affected by terrorist attacks. this is graver if the sector is a vital income generator for a country. finally, a country that frequently receives foreign assistance, terrorism scare aids owing to stability concerns. boko haram activities have also affected government budget. the reconstruction of destroyed government infrastructure and other facilities, the general administration of the internally displaced persons camps affect government budget, as billions of naira are spent. also, the cost of fighting boko haram has gulped a large chunk of the country’s budget. it triggered the highest raise in nigeria’s defence spending. for 2015, it went up to about 6 billion dollars, which shows how serious an issue boko haram is for the country. for example, 1 billion dollars was recently approved by president buhari to purchase military wares and fighter jets in order to fight boko haram (yakubu, aiguobarueghian & orobator, 2016). ever since the activities of the militant group ‘boko haram’ assumed horrendous dimension, the loss of properties with commercial value and forfeited local and foreign investment have drastically affected domestic economic activities in the state. some experts believe there are no criteria to quantify the loss to the economy. they drew their conviction from the fact that some questions remains unanswered: does anyone record the numbers of children that have died due to deprivation, after losing parents and guardians? what families have been scattered, and ambitions cut short? in terms of properties, how many estimators and quantity surveyors have visited the scenes of each bomb blast to value the cost of wealth destroyed, abandoned projects and intellectual properties destroyed. as such, some have concluded that any figure that is thrown up from any source may be a scratch on the surface (eme, o.i. & ibietan, 2012). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 112 figure 6: shows properties lost/destroyed on boko haram attacks source: google, 2017. however boko haram attacks are felt more by the ordinary citizens who are mostly victim whenever the group strikes. human lives lost and properties destroyed belong to the citizens. it is the individual who suffer from psychological trauma as result of deaths of family member or kidnapped of love one or properties lost and physiological trauma as result of injuries sustained, see the diagram; figure 7: shows target groups by boko haram source; global terrorism index (2016) there were roughly 2,800 fewer private citizens killed in 2015 than in 2014, amounting to a 19 per cent reduction. this is mainly because of the reduced level of activity of boko haram in nigeria. however, the number of deaths was still high at 12,576. the number of attacks did not fall at the same pace as deaths, highlighting that the attacks on private citizens were less lethal. http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/boko-haram.jpg ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 113 the percentage of attacks on private citizens fell by four per cent to 43 per cent of attacks in 2015. furthermore, apart human lives lost and properties destroyed, there has been large exodus of people in the north east region of nigeria where boko haram activities are prevalent; whose contributions to the economy has left the country more devastating (eme, o.i. & ibietan, j. 2012). this is because in analyzing the importance of factors of production, economists are unanimous on an empirical evidence that where all the factors: land, labour, capital are provided in the right proportion, the absence, or inadequacy of the latest factor of production known as entrepreneur (human capital) will render the other factors useless. these, in simple terms, point to the fact that less qualified or bad attitude of managers and other employees could destabilize any production process. specifically, where there are no humans to man the machines, balance accounts, buy and sell or even give directives, nothing will be done as far as production, market and growth are concerned. the empirical evidence, most analysts said, means that the human capital/entrepreneurship drain is crippling the northern economy and there are concerns that it is being transmitted to the nigerian macro-economic environment (eme, o.i. & ibietan, j. 2012). there are major businesses that are occupied by non-indigenes in the state before boko haram attacks. some of the businesses include among others are; spare parts business, electronic and electrical businesses, bakery industry, and wood industry. for instance, spare parts businesses are dominated and controlled by eastern people of the country while essential commodities are been dominated by indigenes which are mostly kanuri by the tribe. but, the recent attacks by boko-haram terrorist in the state have distracted the entire business activities in the environment. the major markets in the state, which popularly called monday market and the second largest market called tashan baga market both, have been seriously affected as hundreds of shop owners, especially southerners are said to have closed their businesses and left the troubled city. about half of the 10, 000 shops and stalls in the market were said to have been abandoned by traders who have fled the city (alechenu, 2013). displacement: social cost of boko haram activities the outbreak of the boko haram insurgency in 2009 has steadily become the single greatest cause of displacement in the lake chad basin region, with more than 2.3 million people becoming refugees, internally displaced people (idps) or returnees as a result. in nigeria, the number of idps has more than doubled in the span of three years, from 868,000 people identified by the nigerian government in the north-eastern regions at the end of 2014 to 1.7 million people by june 2017, according the displacement tracking matrix (dtm) report released by iom. the conflict has increasingly spilled into neighbouring countries, with increased infiltration, suicide-bombings, attacks and recruitment by the armed group, prompting population movements from northern nigeria across borders to cameroon, chad and niger. growing insecurity in the region has led to an increase in the number of refugees by more than 20 per cent in two years, from 160,000 people registered in june 2015 to more than 207,000 in june 2017. new refugee arrivals are anticipated to continue in the second half of 2017. the vast majority of idps and nigerian refugees have expressed an intention to return to their areas of origin, while ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 114 almost all continue to cite significant barriers to return, including insecurity and lack of access to their home areas as well as to food and shelter. figure 9: periods of displacement of individual currently displaced in nigeria source: iom (international organization for migration), 2016 boko haram activities have forced people to become refugees in their home-land, seeking asylum in neighboring states or countries. unhcr (2017e) data from june 2017 estimate 207,227 nigerian refugees abroad, spread through niger (51%), cameroon (45%), and chad (4%). the humanitarian response to support these refugees and idps is coordinated under unhcr's regional refugee response plan, which has provided multi-sectoral assistance to over 200,000 refugees in the region over the first quarter of 2017. the effect of the crisis has devastated north eastern nigeria, continuously aggravating food security and malnutrition levels (unhcr, 2017). however, funding for humanitarian assistance is far from required levels. by july 2017, us$ 40.6 million were received accounting for only 23 per cent of all funds required to provide humanitarian assistance (unhcr, 2017). the area now faces the challenges of many nigerian refugees returning from neighbouring countries to borno, adamawa, and yobe. such movement causes overcrowding in already poorly managed urban situations and puts basic services under major strain. certain urban centres like maiduguri, the capital of borno, saw their population double in size from one million to two million people over the extent of the crisis, leading the local government to encourage people to leave the city and return to their places of origin (unocha, 2016). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 115 figure 10: idp camp in urban areas source: iom (international organization for migration), 2016 unhcr’s executive committee (excom) budget for the nigeria situation in 2017 amounted to $169.9 million. to address the additional needs of people of concern displaced by the boko haram insurgency, unhcr established an initial supplementary budget for both the nigeria and niger requirements amounting $43.6 million. additional unforeseen needs in nigeria have led to a further increase of supplementary budget needs of $9.5 million. the total revised 2017 requirements for the nigeria situation now amount close to $179.5 million, including support costs, see figure 11 source: unhcr, 2017 figure 12: idps camps in a deplorable situation ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 116 source: iom (international organization for migration), 2016 public health is another major concern for the idp population in nigeria. the borno state health sector (2017) estimates that, in affected regions, there are 6.9 million people in need of health care with main concerns including a spread of hepatitis e and the limited availability of water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) services. médecins sans frontières (msf) has already identified a hepatitis e outbreak in part of the borno state and has scaled up its medical responses. a problem, however, arises from insufficient number of latrines leading to disease outbreaks. reports show that 279 people share each latrine, when the minimum accepted sanitation standard determines a maximum of 20 people (msf, 2017). a new challenge for idp protection is the upcoming raining season, which will make several areas of the regions unreachable and will strand idp populations (msf, 2017). this situation also increases the risk of epidemic outbreaks (borno state health sector, 2017). iom assessments of the damage caused by rain show that, out of fourty-four camps, eight sustained damages of varying degrees (iom, 2017). in 98 per cent of idp sites, all idps intended to return to their place of origin, with lack of safety cited as the main reason preventing return (iom, 2017). moreover, lack of information often leads to misinformed migration decisions making idps vulnerable to multiple displacements. return migration must be prepared for in a dignified and safe manner (unocha, 2016b). also of increasing concern is the continued forceful recruitment of children as twelve years of age for purposes of being children soldiers by boko haram civilian vigilante groups (like the civilian joint taskforce) and the nigerian security forces. these children have also been forced into supporting military operations in positions of cooks, porters, cleaners, messengers, and guards. moreover, according to the us department of state (2017), there were increased reports of governmental involvement in trafficking operations: “government officials – including military, police, federal, and state officials – were involved in the widespread sexual exploitation of borno state women and girls displaced by boko haram, at times forcing women and girls in idp camps to provide commercial sex acts in exchange for food” (p. 304). officials in idp ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 117 camps have also been involved in the sexual exploitation of idps. despite these occurrences, the nigerian government has taken few steps to eliminate trafficking offences carried out by officials (us department of state, 2017). conclusion and recommendations it can be said that the activities of boko haram constitute a serious threat to the development of nigeria. aside the socioeconomic implications, the human cost is of great concern to everybody in nigeria. thousands of nigerian citizens (including children) have lost their lives and millions displaced due to the persisted attacks from the dreaded islamic sect called boko haram. nigerians have become refugees in their own homeland, women and girl-child have been sexually abused and torture, properties millions of thousand lost and increased spending by the government in attempt to procure military hardware. as at 2012, the world investment report of the united nations conference on trade and development (unctad) estimated that the domestic economy lost a whopping n1.33 trillion foreign directs investment (fdi), as a result of the activities of the boko haram (okereocha, 2012). although, there is a sizeable drop in deaths and terror incidents since 2014 indicate the success of nigeria’s civilian join task force and international coalitions. alongside its counter insurgency plan, the nigerian government also struggles with negotiations and reintegration efforts regarding its long term strategy to deal with boko haram and its associates. but, winning the war against the boko haram insurgency required more than military action (johnson-rokosu and kelly, 2016), other tactics and strategies are needed. the technical support and military hardware from international donor countries and agencies alone cannot solve the menace, if there is sincerity of purpose from the government in the region and international donors, the menace may be thing of the past soon. however, nigeria government should rather apply “stick and carrot” method in dealing with the boko haram insurgency. brutal force as conflict management strategy cannot work, rather government in the region should work more on strengthening the governance system, free electoral system, focus on programme that can bring development into the area in partnership with international donor countries and agencies, reduce poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and corruption at al level. recommendations 1. the study therefore suggests that effort should be made to enlighten the citizen in the lake chad basin of the evil of providing cover for the terrorists. the government should endeavour to provide more schools in order to re-orient the minds of the citizens. 2. government should provide employment opportunities to arrest the unemployment realities that contributed significantly to boko haram recruitment in borno state. 3. nigerian government should embark on rebuilding villages, town, schools and settlement destroyed due to boko haram attacks as well as re-settlement of citizens. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 118 4. boko haram has sponsors; the government of nigeria should go after those financing the operations of the sect. 5. the government should open a dialogue channel in order to know what the grievances of the sect are. 6. reports from the battlefield indicate that security personnel are not being provided with modern fighting equipment. the government should endeavor to supply the army with sophisticated military equipment. 7. there should be tripartite agreement with the countries that have close border with nigeria in order to harmoniously work together to end boko haram attack within the sahel region of africa references awodola, b. & oboshi, a. (2015). terrorism in northern nigeria: a threat to food security in maiduguri; mediterranean journal of social sciences (mcser) 6(3)11-17 baiyewu, l. (2012). boko haram, bad signal to foreign investors, sunday punch, january 29, p9. becam business environment report, borno state, (2007) african institute for applied economic, 1(9). chukwurah, d.c, eme, o. & ogbeje, e.n. (2015). implication of boko haram terrorism on northern nigeria; mediterranean journal of social sciences (mcser) 6(3)371-379 enobi,a.l. & johnson-rokosu, s.f.(2016). terrorism financing: the socio-economic and political implication of boko haram insurgency in lake chad basin; academic journal of economic studies, 2(1)25-41 eke .c. (2013), terrorism and the dilemmas of combating the menace in nigeria; international journal of humanities and social science vol. 3 no. 4 eme, o.i.& ibietan, j. 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(2016) winning the boko haram terrorism war (combating terrorism financing and counter-insurgency strategies) ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 119 nnoli o. (2003). communal conflict and population displacement in nigeria, enugu: pan-african centre for research. maastricht graduate school of governance (mgsog) 2017, nigeria migration profile: study on migration route in west and central africa. retrieved 26th may 2019. madike i. (2011). “boko haram: rise of a deadly sect”, national mirror, 19 june. madlion, s. (2013). boko haram: without amnesty nigeria world import food –analyst warns posted to the net by channels television on april 15, 2003. retrieved on may 11th 2019. oladayo n. a. (2014). the socio-economic implications of boko haram insurgency in the north-east of nigeria international journal of innovation and scientific research, 11(1) 144-150. oviasogie .f. (2013). state failure, terrorism and global security: an appraisal of the boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria; journal of sustainable society 2(1) sajo, s. (2018). an impact assesment of boko haram insurgency on commercial activities in mubi town, international journal of social science and humanities research (ijrdo) 3(5) 58-82 united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (unocha) (2016b). nigeria: 2017 humanitarian response plan. accessed on 7th april 2019 united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) (2017b). nigeria regional refugee response plan quarterly update january-march 2017. retrieved june 23rd 2019 from http://unhcr.org united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr). (2017e). nigeria situation operational portal refugee situations. reporting.unhcr.org. retrieved may 5th 2019, from https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/nigeriasituation united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) (2017h). unhcr funding update on the nigeria situation: retrieved may 5th 2019 from http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/nigeria%20situation%20funding%2 update%2017%20july%202017.pdf tourism and investment opportunities in borno state. volume 2 on http://www.bs_tourism_and_investment_opportunities.pdf-adobe. (accessed on 27 june 2019). raji, r. (2013). “nigeria anti terrorism law and global security,” department of political science yobe state university damaturu, nigeria sahara reporter, april, 25 2012 yakubu, m. j., aiguobarueghian, o. v., & orobator, a. d. (2016). economic terrorism in nigeria: an analysis of the impact of boko haram insurgency and niger delta militancy on national development, jorind 14(2), 10-16. zumve, s., & ingyoroko, m., & akuva, i. (2013), terrorism in contemporary nigeria: a latent function of official corruption and state neglect; european scientific journal, 9 (8)1857 – 7881 https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/nigeriasituation http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/nigeria%20situation%20funding%252u http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/nigeria%20situation%20funding%252u page 1 local government autonomy 145 local government autonomy in nigeria and politics of state control: unveiling the enigma okibe hyginus banko, phd department of political science faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology onwaidodo@gmail.com, hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng abstract native nigerians practiced different systems of local administration before british colonialism. the systems conformed to their needs, cultural orientation; operated as autonomous entity and were accountable to the native people. the confluence of these diverse modes of existence under colonial umbrella, culminated in colonial system of local administration, which was incompatible, fragmented and only intended to serve colonial economic agenda in nigeria. the new system was neither independent nor freely exercised control over local affairs but colonial government determined its structure, operation, finance and personnel. since post-colonial era, local government system has continued to expand in scope, responsibility, personnel, resource requirements, and capital outlay but its autonomy fluctuates. debate on local government autonomy in nigeria has given rise to schools of thought – protagonists and antagonists. based on the persistent subordination of local government to state control amid failure of the system to perform its set goals, the departure of the colonial masters and assumption of leadership by nigerians seem to worsen the problem. the paper interrogates the amphibious nature of local government autonomy, reasons for the politicization of local government autonomy, efforts towards resolving the dilemma of stakeholder and the logjam to the impasse. the research is analytical, based on secondary data and content analysis. the research adopted elite and pluralist theories in analyzing the politics of local government autonomy and found that the agitations for autonomy of local government in nigeria cut across all classes but some selfish governing elites who want to perpetuate the exploitation of local government resources continue to stall the efforts. it requires constitutional amendment to prohibit the control of local government by the state government through a clearly defined framework for local government administrative and financial autonomy. keywords: local government, autonomy, politics, state control, enigma introduction local government in nigeria is a product of decentralization and is established by law (okafor, 2010). since the advent of modern local government system in nigeria, there has been an intermittent, if not constant alteration in its structure, the modalities for composition of its leadership, career personnel, financing and mode of operation. local government as a thirdtheir government by law has administrative and financial autonomy but external political interests influence its autonomy. the glowing concerns over local government becoming an appendage of regional and central governments (at alternating phases) presented a daunting challenge that initially gained some kinds of administrative and legal attention after independence. the result was several efforts and policy measures aimed at resolving the challenges through administrative reforms and constitutional provisions. the first attempts were the local government reform of 1976 mailto:onwaidodo@gmail.com mailto:hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng and the attendant provisions in the 1979 constitution, section 7(1). it guaranteed democratic form of local government system in nigeria, and its functions listed in the fourth schedule, subsection (2). the central objectives were to assert local government as a tier of government and strengthen the system of local administration in nigeria. however, most times, the legal and structural proposition for local government administration and optimal performance proves inconsistent with the roles of human and institutional factors in the impasse surrounding local government autonomy. in the first place, there is prevalent contestation between the national and state governments, over local government autonomy in nigeria. the contestation has been a common occurrence in both military and civilian administrations without consensus on how to eradicate the scourge. the result is unabated politicization of local government autonomy amid deteriorating performance indicators that continue to hinder its smooth operation and desired impact on rural development. kayode (2013) asserts that before 1976, when a unified local government system was adopted throughout the country, each of the regions, later state, operated the type of local government system that was unique to their political needs, but the advent of military regime with its centralized form of government affected this former arrangement. military thus, preferred a system of local government administration that had national outlook in structure and operation and fitted into the unitary system, which blended with their centralized command structure. with the reemergence of civilian regime in 1979, the regime readopted, the earlier arrangement prescribed in the 1976 reform, which recognized the local government as a third tier of government. the recurring abuse of the provisions concerning local government in the 1979, 1989 and 1999 constitutions, especially by the state government, refreshed agitations for local government autonomy. as a result, scholars including okoli (1980); nwabueze (1982); adeyemo (2010); lamidi & fagbohun (2013); onuigbo (2015); and ugwu (2017) have not wavered in their advocacy for direct financial allocation to local government, in order to protect its autonomy. this was on the heel that the 1988 reform made allocations of revenue to local government directly and no longer through the state. the reform also upgraded the statutory allocation of 10% from the federal government through the state to 20%, and it was considered a bold step towards strengthening local government autonomy. the upgrade reinforced the local authority in its financial administration by preparing and approving their income, expenditure and taxes, aside from state government. generally, the financial provisions in the 1988 reform made local government take full responsibility for primary healthcare, education and all related personnel, to facilitate rural developments. in addition, traditional rulers were involved in local government affairs. however, when civilian dictatorships replaced the coercive fester of the military, it tainted the system with widespread political maneuvers, which the target was to usurp local government executive powers and override its emerging financial autonomy at the expense of the population it supposed to serve their immediate needs. the subterranean scheming for power is common across national and sub-national levels of governance in nigeria, but worse at the local government level. the obsession for inordinate ambition underlines the power intoxication that convolutes to tendencies of disrespecting boundaries in exercise of government powers once one assumed position of authority. apart from being a common experience at the state level, where there is abuse of power by some governors, the other local government autonomy 147 consequence is that it gives rise to a weakened political environment that does not guarantee solid local government system or the autonomy to exercise control over its affairs. the subservient status of local government makes the bossy postures of the state over local government receives a boost. meanwhile, there are divergent opinions about what the dependency status of local government on other tiers of government portends for its effective operation. the debate exposes the supposedly hindrances to local government autonomy in nigeria and the implications for rural development activities by the council. the foregoing concerns anchor the glaring divides among the practitioners, administrators and scholars over what constitutes local government autonomy, the benefits associated with or derived from local government autonomy and the challenges inherent in the sustenance of a dependent local government system of administration in nigeria. either the polarity in perception has not helped to rationalize the challenges or it has not inspired consensus on how best to solve the problems. the above problem statement justifies the essence of this study; hence, the need to explore the politics of local government autonomy in nigeria and the implications for effective operations of the system. conceptualizing local government there is no consensus on the definition of the term local government. each definition derives its substance from the nature of subdivision of administrative units in a country, the type of political institutions and authority system put in place, or of course, the nature of legal instrument, how it applies to units of authority and the layers of governance process in the state. essentially, izueke (2010) argues that local government is a system of local administration under local communities that are organized to maintain law and order, provide some limited range of social services and encourage cooperation and participation of the inhabitants towards the improvement of their conditions of living. buttressing the foregoing definition, abada (2007) posits that local government is the tier of government closest to the people and it has constitutional powers to exercise control over the affairs of people in its area of jurisdiction. the powers exercised by local government gained first and foremost recognition from the guidelines for implementation of 1976 local government reform (erero, 1997). the ranges of power that the document conferred on the local government can be divided into four categories based on areas of emphases, such as power to:  exercise substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff;  exercise institutional and financial powers to initiate and direct the provision of services;  determine and implement projects to complement the activities of the state and federal governments in their areas; and  ensure, through devolution of these functions to the councils and through the active participation of the people and their traditional institution that local initiative and response to local needs and conditions are maximized (kayode, 2013:3). in essence, local government provides the community with a formal organizational framework, which enables them to conduct their affairs effectively for the general good. what it portends, according to abubakar (2010) is that local government is governmental administrative units' closest to the people, or in general parlance, the grassroots. the additional implication is that power devolves from the national and state governments to the localities in order to accommodate the interests of the local setting in governance and development. alo (2012) alludes to the foregoing assertion and notes that, states or nations that aspire for development have to ensure decentralization of functions and power to lower levels to accommodate grassroots needs and interests. ugwu (2017) extrapolates the notion of local government as catalysts for rural development in many societies especially the developing countries and thus defines local government from the perspective of its composite nature as, a political subdivision of a polity (whether federal, unitary or con-federal), which is constituted by law (either by the constitution, decree or edict) that has substantial control over local affairs, including the power to make and enforce laws, has the power to raise revenue and tax the populace or exert labour for prescribed purpose or the development of the area, (p.21). in particular, the 1976 local government reform refers to this idea and thus defines local government as government at local level exercised through representative council established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas (agharese, 1984:23). therefore, local government appears to be that part of the government of a nation or state, which deals mainly with such matters that concern the inhabitants of a particular district or place (nworji, 2004). in addition, adeyeye (2000) states that local government is a government by local bodies, freely elected, which while subject to the supremacy of the national (or state) government are endowed in some respect with power, discretion and responsibility, which they can exercise without control over their decision by the higher authority. it buttresses the status of local government based on its power relations with other tiers of government. thus, status involves the coordination of both human and material resources in each locality by representative body of local community, be it elected or appointed. in consonance, chukwuemeka, ugwuanyi, okolo & onuoha (2014:307) argue that local government generally is conceived as a form of public administration, which, in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration in a governmental system. based on the above definitions of local government by scholars, it is possible to collate its distinguishing features, which summarize the fact, that the system:  operates at the local or grassroots level;  operates within a defined geographical area;  has a relative autonomy or independence;  has a range of constitutionally delineated functions to perform; and  has its council composed of elected representatives. the features listed above partly compare with the characteristics of local government identified by ezeani (2004) which substantially represent a larger context from which scholars and practitioners perceive local government administration. the perception conforms to its roles in resource mobilization and rural transformation in developing economies. it underscores local government autonomy 149 the reason for the persistent clarion calls for local government autonomy in every ramification, to enhance its efficiency in operation and in rural development activities. the frequently politicized call hinges on its uniqueness in several ways:  localness;  it has a legal existence enshrined in the constitution;  it engages substantial autonomy;  it exists within a defined territory;  local government exercises its authority over a given population;  it exercises specific powers and performs specific functions allowed by the constitution.  the council is composed of elected representatives of the local people; and  local government is bureaucratized into departments divisions and units. the connecting thread in the preceding definitions is that local government is a political subdivision, established by law to serve rural purposes in areas of governance and development. these ideals are articulated in several documents and scholars share and hold the viewpoints in their study. the characteristics of local government listed above lend credence to the third tier status conferred on local government due to important roles it plays in governance process, in terms of bridging the gap between the federal and state governments in addressing local needs and in filling leadership vacuum. local government autonomy since the inception of the system of local government in nigeria, there has been persistent clamour for the autonomy of the local government as the third tier of governance in the federation (eme & izueke, 2013). autonomy implies ability of an institution to be independent from external control, free from any encumbrance in decision-making, as well as funding and enforcement action. therefore, local government autonomy connotes situation where the system of local government administration is not tied to a higher authority or subordinated to the dictates of any other tier of government (federal and states) but independent of their control in every ramification. the autonomy relates to self-determination of the structure, personnel, operation, discipline and funding of the activities of the local government. ogunna (1996), in okafor (2010) succinctly submits that local government autonomy means the freedom of the local government to recruit and manage its own staff, raise and manage its own finances, make bylaws and policies and discharge its functions as provided by law without interference from the higher government. however, this freedom has been impracticable across the stages of evolution, development and history of local government system of administration in nigeria. both in theory but especially in practice, it is easy to find some of the evidences in literature. for example, the history of evolution and development of local government is replete with politics of autonomy with the attendant suppressed performance implications while the system is still mired in the controversy. aghayere (1997), in oviasuyi, idada & isiraojie (2010), posits that four points of historical reference could be identified in the development of local government administration in nigeria, which includes (i) colonial rule; (ii) local government reforms in the east (1951) and west (1952) respectively; (iii) the military coup of 1966; and (iv) the 1976 local government reform. the implication, therefore, is that only the pre-colonial system of native administration enjoyed relative autonomy before the advent of colonial local government system. certainly, divergent politics has infected the autonomy of modern local government, whereby every successive governments subject it to irreconcilable draconian control. according to orewa (1986) and ugwu (2017), the guidelines for implementation of 1976 local government reform provided that local government must enjoy substantial autonomy to perform array of functions, plan, formulate and execute their own policies, programmes and projects; rules and regulations as deemed appropriate for their local needs. this contrived autonomy includes power to control their finances, recruit and discipline their staff. once local government exercises the powers, it translates to elements of autonomy in a way. orewa (1991) and owens, et al (1991) reiterate that local government, which is the level of government below the central government in the case of unitary state, or below the regional, provincial or state government, in the case of a federation, operates where it is obliged to provide a range of services and thus need authority to do the jobs. what it means is that local government requires legal powers to enforce its executive and regulatory policies on its citizens without resorting to other tiers of government to achieve its set goals. it also means that local government has its own staff and revenue sources, in addition to the fact that legal instruments establishing it define its area of authority and the basis for representation on its political leadership platform. these roles typically align with the underlying philosophy behind local government creation to give rural areas the deserving attention in imparting leadership orientation, in developing positive behaviour towards public institutions, in participation in governance and development. interestingly, the guidelines for local government reform (glgr, 1976), and model financial memoranda for local government, (mfmlg, 1991), indicate that local government is a robust channel for rural transformation but the system appears hollow for lack of autonomy. the persistent lopsided structure and imbalance witnessed in the operations of local government warranted the initial politics for correction of the anomaly during the murtala/obasanjo era. it culminated in the 1976 reforms and thereafter, sustained agitations by the public and some reasonable government officials and institutions to bring local government at par with the state and federal government in terms of their legal status and autonomy. the earliest results of the quest for granting local government administrative, structural, financial, operational and political autonomy were that:  government established uniform structures of local government throughout the federation. the minimum population for a local government area was put at 150,000 persons and a maximum of 800,000 persons;  traditional authorities were separated from local governments and constituted into separate traditional councils with advisory functions over local council;  the ministry of local government was established in all states of the federation to exert control and guidance on local government administration; local government autonomy 151  administratively, the management and operational structure of the system was made single tier, with the secretary as the chief executive;  functionally, local governments were made solely responsible for some developmental activities and services, while they performed others with the state government;  a statutory allocation of 10 percent was approved for local government councils from the federation account, thus recognizing it as a third-tier government. explaining the rationale for reforms in the local government, the local government guidelines (1976), olasupo (2013) recognized the defects of previous local government system that deserve government further attention. for example, local government has over the years suffered from the continuous whittling down of its powers by other tiers of government. in particular, the state government has continued to encroach upon what would normally have been the exclusive preserve of local government. lack of adequate funds and appropriate institutions have continued to make local government ineffective. a school of thought believes that the absence of autonomy is the bane of the system while the alternate school blames the problem on systemic factors with human inclination. the rationale for local government autonomy as a system of government that focuses on rural imperatives, local government performs ranges of functions, including developmental, administrative, legislative, and peace building through rural mobilization for participation in governance, integration into community based policymaking and implementation. the developmental components include “the provision of housing, social services, environmental services; refuse disposal and planning” (joyce, 2006:265). implied in the focal areas listed above is that several developmental functions are assigned to local government, which includes:  provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education;  development of agriculture and natural resources, other than the exploitation of minerals;  provision and maintenance of health services; and  such other functions as may be conferred on a local government council by the house of assembly of the state. administratively, local government coordinates the activities of its personnel, in policy formulation and implementation, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and promotion of programmes that target increase in productivity of the workforce. it involves matters relating to intergovernmental relations and intermittent expectations from stakeholders and all organs exercising authority in the local government. furthermore, the guidelines for the implementation of the reform (1976), while describing local government functions within its areas of jurisdiction and derived from constitutional provisions, mentioned other administrative functions it can perform, among which include to:  make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local wishes and initiative by developing or delegating such services to local representative bodies;  facilitate and bring the exercise of democratic self-governance close to the local levels of our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potentials;  mobilize human and material resources through the involvement of members of the public in their local development;  provide a two way channel of communication between local government, state and federal or national government;  exercise powers that shall give the council substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff and institutional activities;  exercise financial powers to imitate and direct the provisions of services and to determine and implement projects so as to complement the activities of the state and federal governments in their areas; and  ensure the active participation of the people and their traditional institutions, that local initiative and response to local needs and conditions are maximized. the legislative roles include law making especially bylaws, legislation on local government matters, especially administrative procedures establishing rules of engagements with corporate institutions and community-based organizations; processing of the local government appropriation bill, motions and legislative orders, including other supplementary roles that fall under the context. adeyemo (2005),olasupo (2013), okibe (2016) and ugwu (2017) identify other components of the legislative spheres that the council is empowered to exercise powers and list the following examples:  law making, debating and passing local government legislation;  debating, approving and possibly amending local government yearly budgets, subject to the chairman’s vote, which could be over ridden by a two third majority of the councilors;  vetting and monitoring the implementation of projects and programmes in the council’s yearly budget;  examining and debating monthly statement of income and expenditure rendered to it by the executive arm;  impeaching the council chairman if committed impeachable offence based on the constitution;  advising, consulting and liaising with the chairman who is the head of the executive arm; and  performing such other functions as may be assigned by the house of assembly of the state. from the perspective of peace building roles, local government, in view of its locality status, identifies potential conflict situations, intervenes to resolve them; it mobilizes community efforts toward peace initiatives, coordinates the activities of community leaders including the traditional rulers, town unions and other community-based organizations. it local government autonomy 153 also registers cooperative society and locally based development and welfare associations. the essence of exercising the power is to regulate their registration, operation and relation with the community members. in particular, the fourth schedule (1) of 1999 constitution captures the comprehensive functions of local government, which crisscross the aforementioned developmental, administrative, legislative and peace building typologies. in generality, the functions connote autonomy in local government spheres of influence and include: 1) collection of rates, radio and television licenses; 2) establishment and maintenance of burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm; 3) licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheelbarrows and carts; 4) establishing, maintenance and regulation of slaughter houses, slaughter slabs, markets, motor parks and public conveniences; 5) construction and maintenance of roads, street, street lightings, drains and other public facilities as may be prescribed from time to time by the house of assembly of a state; 6) naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses; 7) provision and maintenance of public conveniences sewage and refuse disposal; 8) registration of all births, deaths and marriages; 9) assessment of privately owned house or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the house of assembly of a state; and 10) control and regulation of – i. outdoor advertising and hoarding; ii. movement and keeping of pets of all descriptions; iii. shops and kiosks; iv. restaurants, bakeries and other places for sale of food to the public v. laundries; and vi. licensing, regulation and control of the sale of liquor. the implication of these responsibilities is that autonomy of local government is very important and quintessential for effective performance and delivery of the needed services in the rural areas. the inabilities of local government to fulfill the mandate, divides opinions on the range of the causative factors that include lack of administrative and financial autonomy, inept leadership, decaying value system, practice of nepotism, favouritism, corruption and issues of godfatherism, which serve as bane of nigeria especially in imposition of leadership and other clandestine manipulations in the system. theoretical and conceptual issues the politics of local government autonomy, deriving from its diverse nature, is better illustrated with pluralism theory, although in some respects, the explanation could draw some significant meaning from the perspective of elite theory of politics. generally, elitism assumes that a community’s affairs are best handled by a small subset of its members and in modern societies; such an arrangement is in fact inevitable (maloy, 2020). admittedly, elites play leadership roles in a society and decide what happens in the economy and the polity. it is for similar reason that the elite class is basically more pronounced in the agitation and surreptitious politics surrounding the quests for local government creation and consequently, strategically position themselves to control the local government leadership for their pecuniary interests. they front this agenda and make significant impact based on the fact that:  their power is concentrated;  the elites are unified;  the non-elites are diverse and powerless;  elites’ interests are unified due to common backgrounds; and  positions and the defining characteristic of power is institutional position. although many interferences in local government administration and leadership are driven by elites, there are irrefutable evidences that show a contrary perspective on the issue of politics of local government autonomy in contemporary nigeria which comes from diverse sources, comprising elites and the general public. the diversity of actors situates and rationalizes pluralism theory for the discourse. pluralism theory depicts the system as functioning based on clusters of competing forces that emanate from combination of elites and non-elites alike. it proposes more than one system of power, a tradition that emphasizes how multiple major social groups and interests have influence upon and various forms of representation within more powerful sets of rulers, contributing to decently representative political outcomes that reflect the collective needs of a society (dye, 2000; deric, 2011). hence, local government autonomy is not only politicized but a subject of interwoven politics. politics is the activity by which differing interests within a given unit of rule are conciliated by giving them a share in power in proportion to their importance to the welfare and the survival of the whole community. politics is also a form of rule whereby people act together through institutionalized procedures to resolve differences, to conciliate diverse interests and values and to make public policies in the pursuit of common purposes (crick, 2004). interest embedded in local government autonomy is sharply divided and the division reflects the differences in positions that are not static but switches with time. it is understandable that while the public and a section of the elite class are championing the advocacy for local government autonomy, a tiny fraction of the elite in positions of governance tends to politicize the clarion calls. it is for doing so that government in power with their cohorts readily rejects public opinion in favour of violence and suppression without reconciling the conflicting interests. reconciliation refers to the decision-making or policy-making, which is authoritative and binding on the community. every organised community is made up of interest groups. differences, which manifest themselves, are based, among competing and conflicting interests. when there is conflict of interest or disagreement, there is need for politics, which reconciles these interests. politics takes place in organised groups. without some form of social organisation, politics can hardly take place (ujo, 1989). politics does not only express the reality of disagreement and conflict in society but is also, ‘one of the ways we know of how to address and potentially patch up the disagreements that characterise our societies without recourse to illegitimate coercion or violence’ (stoker, 2006). the bane of local government has been the politicization of its autonomy. according to former president olusegun obasanjo, from what we know, by design, most states have incapacitated the local government. they have virtually stolen the local government money in local government autonomy 155 what they called joint account. they were to contribute 10 percent but they never contributed anything (oyeweso, 2018). this controversy has been in the front burner of national political debates and legislative meanderings. both reforms and constitutional antidotes have not bridged the non-adherence or compliance to local government autonomy legislative efforts and outright reforms. according to okoli (1980), nwosu (1989), ogunna (1996), ezeani (2014),onuigbo (2015),okibe (2016) and ugwu (2017), the reforms and constitutional provisions made express statements regarding some key issues that would safeguard and promote the credibility status of the system, without promising results. these efforts are serially listed hereunder to show that it is not lack of law, which promotes local government autonomy but the bane is lack of political will amid institutional and organized corruption. these efforts include:  the recognition of the local government as the third tier of government: this recognition is clearly articulated and expressly written or contained in 1976 reform report and the 1979 constitution, including other successive constitutions and technical committee reports;  uniformity of structure: local government was accorded a uniform structure, with clearly defined offices and powers, such as chairmen, elected councilors and nominated supervisory councilors, and a definite number of committees. the finance and general purposes committee (f&gp) was the highest policy and decision-making organ in the local government council;  fixed size: the low limit level of local government population is pegged at 150,000, with a caveat that the population could be less than 150,000 with special permission granted by the federal government. the upper limit level is 800,000 based on exceptional geographical conditions, relating to cluster of major towns with high population density. there is permission for no upper limits to the size of local governments covering major towns within single units;  fixed tenure: the tenure of local government executive pegged at three years of two terms limit. it stabilized governance at the level and ensured that it was not subject to manipulation;  establishment of boards/commissions: there were approvals to established local government service boards or local government service commissions for monitoring and coordination of local government activities; and  mandatory deduction: it set aside one percent (1%) of training fund for the training and retraining of local government staff to be administered by the local government service commission. going by the 1976 reforms, the structure of the local government consists of two interdependent or complementary units – political and administrative, which intend to anchor its operations and autonomy. the reform report (frn, 1976) indicates that the political unit encompasses the council and chairman, followed by the committee and supervisory councilors, while the administrative unit consists of the office of the secretary to the local government and the various departments. the civil service reforms that came to limelight in 1988 provides for six departments, which the essence was to save the system from snowballing into any form of structural ambiguity and included:  personnel management department;  finance and supplies, planning, research and statistics department;  education and community development department;  agriculture and natural resources department;  works, housing and survey department; and  medical and primary healthcare department. the reform exposed local government leadership to challenges of dependence on other tiers of government or lack of autonomy in their composition and operations. it degenerates to situations whereby the state governors, in most cases, determine who becomes the chairmen of local government councils either through stage-managed elections or caretaker committees. the governors arrogated to themselves powers to remove those elected or selected chairmen from office when they misbehave or disobey the gocs (uroko, 2020). this is usually linked to compromised elections, which the party in the leadership of a state merely conjures to impose leaders on the people and these leaders in turn become accountable to the governor and not to the rural populace in the area. in other words, the states often determine the tenure of elected members of local government councils (ozohu-suleiman & paul, 2015). the 1979 constitution, in section 148(5) provides for statutory allocations to the local governments from both the federal account and state government’s total revenue sources (ugwu, 2017:20). in this direction, the manipulation and outright noncompliance or abuse of the provisions by the states through the establishment of state-local government joint account, waters-down the implementation of the financial autonomy clause. former president olusegun obasanjo accused many state governments in nigeria of stealing the local government funds through the joint accounts, thereby making grassroots developments difficult since they have been rendered incapacitated (oyeweso, 2018). this is part of the many reasons that most of the state governors are opposed to local government autonomy, which will scuttle their stealing spree in the local government system. by appointing the local government leadership, the states either directly or indirectly control local government federal allocations and compel or persuade the appointees who serve as chairmen of the local governments through compromised elections, to acquiesce with the arrangement that compromises local government funds under the cloak of state-local government joint account. former president obasanjo argues that what we have across the country are local government areas that have functions, but cannot perform the functions. they have staff but most of them cannot pay the staff and we keep getting excuses upon excuses (oyeweso, 2018). corroborating the assertion, uroko (2020) notes that the state-local government joint account is a fraud – a conduit pipe through which money flows from federal allocation into the state coffers and then distributed piecemeal to the local governments just to enable them to settle their wage bill and run the governments. politics of local government autonomy in nigeria – the pros and cons local government autonomy 157 scholars and practitioners are divided on the rationale for local government autonomy and the obvious implications for effective operations of the system under state control. justifying the local government autonomy and the accompanying benefits, doho, ahmed & umar (2018) believe that it has intrinsic and extrinsic benefits, which are highlighted to include that local government autonomy:  political education: local government autonomy will develops the system, and help in educating the people in the rural areas to acquire knowledge of the political system;  strengthens democratic decentralization of power and putting power in the hands of citizens at the grassroots level governance, in addition to delivering development;  delivers development evenly to each and every nigerian since each person resides in a local council located in either the rural, semi-rural or the urban area;  enables capacity building of people in rural areas, which will be in form of economic empowerment through job creation and payment of salary and emoluments or freedom from external control of allocation, which the excess can be channeled into the economic system of the communities concern;  guarantees more money in the hands of local government to deliver services to citizens since it weakens the over-concentration of power in the state. local contractors can now rely on the tier instead of the state and federal, and this may develop their capacity to handle more bigger and complex project in the future; and  provides a voice to minorities who will have representation at the local government level. minorities no matter the size of their population will be part of the political equation and process of making the councilor or chairman of their local government. consequently, the nigeria national assembly in about two consecutive occasions passed the constitution amendment bills seeking to grant local government autonomy, to enable it carryout the previously mentioned functions and even much more. however, politics over who controls the local government between the federal and state governments on one hand, and national assembly and the state houses of assembly on the other, frustrated the efforts at the state level where it required two-third concurring affirmative vote of the 36 state houses of assembly to pass it into law. in one instance, former president olusegun obasanjo notes that only 9 states out of the 24 required by the constitution had signed it. they include ogun state in the south west, bayelsa and cross river states in the south-south, bauchi state in the north east, sokoto state in the north west, kwara, niger, plateau and benue in the north central (oyeweso, 2018) and none from any state in the south east, indicating their aversion for local government autonomy. ironically, the state government enjoys autonomy from the federal government but does not want local government to enjoy its own autonomy. that is the irony of the logic and slim path to addressing the lingered politics of autonomy. in one occasion, former president olusegun obasanjo again described state governments that were still opposing the local government autonomy bill already passed by the national assembly as enemies of the people at the grassroots. hence, there would not be any meaningful grassroots development unless the bill is assented to by the states, which have over the years incapacitated the local governments (oyeweso, 2018). there were follow-up calls on the leadership of the nigerian labour congress (nlc) and nigerian union of local government employees (nulge) to rise and demand for the council autonomy in the interest of the people at the grassroots. the essence of the call for mass action was to invoke the wrath of the public on the state executives and state houses of assembly that persistently obstruct efforts at actualizing local government autonomy in nigeria. nonetheless, the state has been in denial of any form of stealing from the local government funds, including undue control of the system leadership except as prescribed by or in accordance with the constitution and laws made by the state house of assembly on the structure, tenure, personnel, finances and operation of local government in the state. this might be misleading based on practical experience of what the state does with local government leadership, finances and general operation. this experience is being blamed on failures or inability of local government to discharge its responsibilities creditably. in other words, it continues to receive hard knocks whenever local government is accused for not responding to demands for rural development and human empowerment. efforts to eradicate local government dependency and the crumbling bottlenecks consequent upon the 1976 reform, the federal government in 1977 allocated 5 percent of federally collected revenue to local government (igbuzor, 2009). in addition, the elected and appointed officeholders, who were mainly politicians, had bureaucrats and professionals to guide and assist them in the areas of policy implemention. the provisions conformed to the reports of the dasuki technical committee on local government review in 1984 (government white paper, 1985). this was followed by the recommendations of the 1998 civil service reforms in the local government system, the 1992 handbook on local government administration, and the 2003 review of local government councils in nigeria (olasupo & fayomi, 2012:12), besides the provisions in the 1979, 1989 and 1999 constitutions. each of the constitutions reiterates the importance of local government autonomy. remarkably, the administration of ibrahim babangida abolished the ministry of local government, established executive and legislative arms in local councils and made direct financial allocation to local government without passing through state government. it also increased local government statutory allocation from 15 percent to 20 percent with effect from 1992 (igbuzor, 2009). however, in practice, local government continued to suffer neglect under the control of the state government, thereby making the implementations of most of the recommendations difficult. obviously, there is consensus on theoretical premises (not practical) that local government is financially independent or sufficient when it receives direct revenue allocation from federation account, exercises jurisdictional powers on its taxing areas and incurs its expenditure without any form of external control. these operational criteria imply local government financial autonomy (steytler, 2005; in lamidi & fagbohun, 2013). it also implies that the constituent units, which are closer to the people, must be allowed power, initiative and autonomy to achieve or work for the sustainable development of their territories by their own effort (omaka, 2007:81). however, government does not appear sincere with the administrative and financial autonomy of local governments, especially at the state level where local government is reduced to government agency. local government autonomy 159 although subsequent military administrations later introduced many reforms that spanned the eras of technical committees, including several aforementioned constitutional provisions by its prompting, starting from the profound restructuring of local government system of administration in 1976, the legacy of military autocracy infected leadership in all rows of governance with unnecessary audacity and unfathomable sense of impunity. the general rot left governance in the hands of opportunists and rent seekers looking for fortune to exploit in government circle. expectedly, it was worse at the local level where military administrators in the state and their successor civilian governors alike, unwholesomely converted and still convert local government to their economic empire or estates. some of the overreaching powers exercised by the state over local government relate to constitutional ambiguity, which the 1999 constitution, as amended has not resolved because of procedural hiccups. a salient example is in section 7(1-6) of the 1999 constitution of federal republic of nigeria. aside the impeccable declarations on the nature of local government to be formed and type of leadership to be constituted, it furthermore empowers state government to determine the affairs of local government. conferring on the state the power to create local government, ensure the composition of its leadership and sources of its finances/funding could only translate to denying local government of autonomy. it makes local government become ordinary dependent third tier government and completely consigns it to a puppet status, as an institution that lives at the mercy of the state. the multiplier effects are that state government, either directly or indirectly and without regards for some constitutional provisions and other extant regulations that favour autonomy clause:  determines the leadership of the local government, be it as substantive, caretaker or transition;  constitutes electoral body for the purposes of conducting election to fill positions in the leadership of the local government, with all the negative consequences in the process;  state government employs personnel of local government from grade level seven (7) and above, in addition to their promotion, transfer and discipline;  state government through ministries, agencies and department created by it, decides projects and programmes to be carried out in the local government; and  state government restricts local government councils from collecting certain constitutional mandated taxes or performing functions that are revenue yielding. the meddling roles by the state deprive local government the conducive environment to operate freely without encumbrances and this is where politics of local government autonomy hinges its nod. conclusion and recommendations the paper examined the dynamics and complex web of politicking on local government autonomy, how the subjection of the system to state control derails the discharge of its roles in rural development and how the diverse calls and legal frameworks for granting the system autonomy is eroded. it remains a snag in the performance of local government leaderships that are usually imposed by either appointment or flawed electoral process. the ugly trend results in a segment of the governing elite and general public condemning the dependency status of local government on other tiers of government much as it affects its resourcefulness in harnessing the manpower potentials of the localities to improve on their socio-economic wellbeing. instructively, some of the problems embedded in the dependency of local government on the state are already highlighted and their implications for effective local government administration in nigeria well discussed in the preceding sections. the findings from the analyses show that the general rot in the local government system is a reflection of the handiwork of opportunists and rent seekers that ascend positions of authority at the state and national levels and thereafter focus on local government finances for selfish enrichments while in government. additional evidence shows that state governors in particular, unwholesomely convert local government for their economic empire or estates through the instrumentality of state-local government joint account. the clandestine way the account operates denies local government the needed funds for numerous development projects beckoning for urgent attention in the rural areas. in view of the foregoing, the following recommendations will help to address the challenges. 1. federal government through legislation by the national assembly should sanction any state house of assembly that connives with the executive to scuttle the passage of local government autonomy bill without reasonable justification for the action, by withholding its funds and suspending the members from participating in any national programmes, 2. abolish state-local government joint account and disband the committee, to prevent the state and any other interested party from having access and undue influence over appropriation, allocation and distribution of local government finances, 3. subject financial accounts of local government to regular auditing and inspection by the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), so as to detect abuse of office by the leadership or corrupt practices either by the state or by the local government leadership, 4. supervisory councilor for finance in the local government system, just as it is the case with commissioners for finance at the state, should be incorporated into federal allocation meeting and all local government monies paid directly into its accounts for use and accountability, 5. abolish caretaker or transition committee leadership arrangement in the local government system and withhold for permanent forfeiture to federal government, federal allocation of funds to any local government that the leadership is not democratically constituted 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(2020). executive order 10: why is governors jittery? business day newspaper, june 7, https://www.businessday.ng https://allafrica.com/ https://www.businessday.ng/ volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 1 a sociological analysis of violent crimes in nigeria with emphasis on armed robbery in enugu metropolis ngwu leonard ugwu (ph.d) department of sociology/anthropology enugu state university of science and technology (esut) email: ngwuleonard@gmail.com abstract the frequent cases of violent crimes that continually result in innumerable losses of lives and property very much affects greater number of people in enugu metropolis in particular and nigeria in general. armed robbery, for instance, is the activities of sub-cultural groups which generates fear and insecurity in the victim. the armed robber is one armed with any firearm or offensive weapon or is in company of any person so armed to rob the property of another against his will. the robbers are frequently migratory, emotionally maladjusted and lack family attachment and possess insecure feelings about recognition. the study set out to identify factors responsible for the persistent increase of armed robbery activities in enugu metropolis, the impact of the measures put in place to reduce the menace and factors militating against its effectiveness. the findings of the study showed that the rate of crime of armed robbery in enugu metropolis has increased. it was also found that the desire to make quick money, economic, social and political realities of nigeria society are the major causes of armed robbery in the metropolis. recommendations on how to reduce the current rate of armed robbery in enugu metropolis in particular and nigeria in general were recommended. keywords: violent crimes, armed robbery, enugu metropolis, migration, criminality introduction the frequent cases of violent crime of armed robbery in contemporary societies (including nigeria) have continued to send goose pimples down the spine of men and women every minute of the day. as social environment increase, crime also increases in the same direction thereby posing serious threat and insecurity to life and property. thus, industrialization and social environment are linked to some extent, as cause and effect, while there is a wide-spread view that a similar relationship exists between social environment and crime (wirth in knox, 2005; henslin 2007). thus, knowledge of rural environment/rural life is necessary to help us appreciate the relationship existing between urban environment/urban life and crime. that is, rural environment/rural life is usually portrayed as natural, close to nature, stable and neighborly; associated with tradition and familiarity. for tonnies (in knox, 2005) in his work gemeinschaft (community) the family is the basic unit of organization, social relationship is characterized by depth continuity, cohesion, and fulfillment, people are bound together; mailto:ngwuleonard@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 2 control over individual behaviour is through informal discipline of family and neighbours, while in gesellschaft (society) the social relationship is based on rationality, efficiency and contractual obligations through the pattern of economic organization; large proportion of social interaction, bound together by formal ties, control over individual through impersonal and institutionalized codes. urban environment/urban life is usually associated with “artificial”, that is, volatile and individualistic, and generally characterized in rather negative terms. art, literature, public opinion and social theory have tended to portray cities as necessary evils, places that offer economic opportunity and accessibility to a broad spectrum of amenities but that are somehow “unnatural” – their sheer size and density leading to personal and social stress. in this regard, family life becomes more circumscribed, and extended family systems have to give way to compact, nuclear families. at the same time, social differentiation brings about a divergence of life styles, values, and aspirations, thus, weakening social consensus and cohesion and threatening to disrupt social order (schaefer, 2005; henslin, 2007). loius writh (in knox et, al, 2005)) developed a deductive theory that was based on what he saw as the three fundamental attributes of urbanization the increased number of people, the increased (physical) density of living and the increased heterogeneity of urban population. each of these attributes, he believed, gives rise to a slightly different cluster of outcomes. together, the outcomes are mutually reinforcing, generating a distinctive web of attitudes, behaviour, and social organization that characterize urbanism: a way of life that is an inevitable consequence of urbanization/social environment. however, the combined influence of increased size, density and heterogeneity of urban population would affect individual behaviour because, people had somehow to cope with a great number of variety of physical and social stimuli. thus, people may become more withdrawn, emotionally buffered to the point where they are naturally aloof, brusque, and impersonal in their dealings with others. furthermore, the general loosening of interpersonal bonds through these adaptive behaviours tends to leave people unrestrained, so that egocentered and unconventional behaviours are fostered. they are left unsupported in times of crisis, leaving them vulnerable to neurosis, alcoholism, suicide or some form of deviant behaviour such as armed robbery. the problem “the character of every civilization is determined by its mode of operation” (karl marx 1818-1883); and “the nature of a society controls the direction of its ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 3 criminality”(sims). “crime is anti-social act that reflect current morality” (bonger).thus, the sudden migration of people from various rural areas to enugu metropolis gave no room for a planned city life. this condition has resulted in severe shortages in housing accommodation. to worsen the situation, general traditional values and norms which held people together in traditional settings appear to have been eroded in this process. however, people acquire material culture (type of food, housing, mode of dress, technology, and so forth), and non-material culture such as behavioral patterns, forms of organization, ideas, values, perspectives that originate in or are distinctive of the city. these influences of social environment result in increase in broken homes and various forms of individualized organized deviant behaviors. in this regard, the rapid population growth and upsurge in social environment might have brought along with it, certain negative effects like personal disorganization, mental break down, delinquency and crime (wirth in knox, 2005; henslin, 2007). the upsurge of violent crimes such as armed robbery in enugu metropolis and in many parts of the country, “has become so frightening in its dimension that some concern citizens have wondered whether the nation is under siege (banjoko, 1998). thus, the national bureau of statistics (2017) posits that crime statistics on reported offences reflected that a total of 125,790 cases were reported in 2016. offences against property has the number of cases reported with 65,397 of such cases reported. offence against persons recorded 45,554 cases reported while, offences against lawful authority and local acts recorded the least with 12,144 and 2,695 cases recorded respectively. lagos state has the highest percentage share of total cases reported with 36.08% and 45,385 cases recorded. fct abuja and delta state followed closely with 10.48% and 13,181 and 6.25% and 7,867 cases recorded respectively. kastina state has the lowest percentage share of total cases reported with 0.10% and 120 cases recorded. abia and zamfara states followed closely with 0.29% and 364 and 0.38% and 483 cases recorded respectively (nbs, 2017). it is pertinent to state that this research is interested in offence against properties which are those offences against human belonging, properties of any kind e.g. stealing, receiving stolen properties, obtaining property by false pretence, robbery, burglary and house breaking (nbs, 2017). however, the total offence against property in the 36 states and abuja in 2016 was 65,397 with lagos coming first with (22,885) (34.99%), second (2,375) ( 3.63%) fct, (9350) ( 14.30%), ondo (1,934) (2.96%), plateau (1,938) (2.96%), uyo (1,752) (2.68%), ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 4 bauchi (1,713) (2.62%), enugu (1,094) (1.67%) among others. the least were abia (113) (0.17%) and kastina (65) (0.10%) respectively. moreso, no day passes in enugu state without a record in the newsprints, media, witnesses, victims reporting of the same gory tale on the menace of armed robbery in the state. for instance, the police public relation officer, sp ebere amaraizu reported of the killing of a notorious armed robber, ogbonna casmir (punch newspaper – https://punch.ng.com). he further reported on 5th september, 2019 – 2 armed robbers specialized in car snatching arrested; 3rd may 2019 nine armed robbers arrested with ak 47 rifle (daily post); 25th july 2019, one arrested (pm news); 31st may 2019, two arrested (the guardian); 4th may, 2019, two arrested (thisday news). the incidence are innumerable and a daily occurrence of inhuman activities with horrible outcome of death, maiming, loss of properties and cash increases on daily basis. crime fatalities in nigeria (june 2006-september 2015) recorded 72 serious cases of armed robbery (ukoji, et. al., 2016). findings show that armed robberies have become the dominant crime in nigeria, contributing to about 50% of an overall 8,516 deaths in 3,840 total incidence, between june 2006 and september, 2015 nationwide. lagos, rivers, ogun, benue and imo state were reported as the most affected crime states (www.nigeriawatch.org>ukoji,2016). however, in the effort to reduce the upsurge of crime of robbery, the federal government of nigeria promulgated the armed robbery and firearms (special provision) decree no. 47 of 1970 in which death penalty or long prison sentences for offenders was the central point. similarly, the criminal code law cap 30 revised law of enugu state of nigeria 2004, vol. ii in chapter 35: 1116 stipulates life imprisonment for offenders. the government further strengthened the efforts of the police force by supplying new patrol vehicles and other logistics like information gadgets, modern weapons, and so forth. the police were also empowered to shoot the robbers at sight while they are engaged in the act or suspected to be on the run. as if these measures were not enough, there exists other paramilitary units, probably, more energized groups like the “highway surveillance patrol”, “operation fire for fire”, “special anti-robbery squad (sars)” and so forth, to complement the efforts of the police. in spite of all these harsh measures, armed robbery does not appear to have declined or to have become less violent. rather, indications from the police, media, victims and witnesses are that it is not only on the increase but has become extremely violent (igbo, 2001). https://punch.ng.com/ ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 5 in view of the foregoing, this research work intends to answer the following research questions: research questions i. what are the factors responsible for the current rate of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. ii. what has been the impact of the measures put in place to reduce the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis? iii. what are the factors militating against the reduction of the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis? objectives the objectives of the research is to identify factors responsible for the current rate of armed robbery in enugu metropolis and the impact of the measures put in place to reduce the incidence of armed robbery in the metropolis. furthermore, the research will examine those factors militating against the reduction of the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. finally, the research work will profer suggestions for the individuals and groups on taking precaution to avoid criminal victimization as well as the need for collective effort to curb the increasing rate of armed robbery in enugu metropolis in particular and nigeria in general. evaluating social structure theories: social structure theories see delinquent subculture as resulting from ‘strains’ in the lives of those involved. when these strains become pertinent, the formation of delinquent subcultures invariably, starts to represent a way of coping with the problems associated with them. cohen (in tierney, 2009) in his work ‘delinquent boys’ had some similarities with merton’s version of strain theory. cohen and merton link the source of strains to the nature of american society itself, although, cohen’s work can be distinguished from merton in three important ways. first, while merton explored the deviant reactions of the individual to strain, cohen explored group reactions in the shape of sub-cultures. second, whereas merton emphasized the instrumental motivations behind deviant reactions (that is, they were directed at achieving material rewards), cohen argued that typical adolescent delinquency is malicious and non-instrumental (involving, for instance, fighting and criminal damage). and third, unlike merton, cohen introduced a psychological dimension to his theory what he calls ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 6 psychogenic factors. therefore some boys, do to psychogenic factors, are seen as being more likely to turn to delinquency than others. although, cohen was quick to point out that not all lower-class boys engaged in delinquency, and that middle-class boys were not immune to its attractions, he did nonetheless see delinquency as ‘typically’ concentrated among lower-working-class boys. in cohen’s account, this results from the way in which status is ascribed to individuals in american society. it is, he observed, a society dominated by mainstream or middle-class standards relating to such things as educational prowess, demeanor and speech against which all individuals are judged. compared with other sections of society, the home and family background of lowerclass boys and indeed, the entire milieu in which they grow up is seen as culturally deficient, thus, their socialization fails to provide sufficient resources to compete on equal terms in the status stakes. as a consequence, and usually coinciding with early adolescence, such boys experience “status frustration”. however, the central point of cohen’s theory is that the lower-class boys do value middle-class status, and are concerned about ‘the contempt or indifference of others (in tierney, 2007) the lower-class boys faced if they fail to achieve it. when this happens, the boys experience, in cohen’s words, a ‘problem of adjustment’. for the delinquent boys, reaction formation which is a psychological concept, refers to a situation where the failure to achieve something that is desired (for example, the middleclass status) leads to an individual vehemently rejecting what had previously been an object of desire. according to cohen, the strength of feeling is so strong that the subculture is in fact a contra-culture, which its norms and values are inversions of middle-class norms and values, and towards which there is now extreme hostility. the delinquent activities associated with the subculture fighting, criminal damage, and so forth, express hostility and importantly, provide a source of status for the boys. cloward and ohlin (1960) writing on the american sub-cultural strain theory also draw example from the work of merton and sutherland as well as introducing ideas from durkheim. a common thread running through the work of merton, cohen, and cloward and ohlin is the strain arising from thwarted ambition, within the context of a society that promises, though fails to deliver equality of opportunity. following durkheim, the assumption is that in the absence of strain, that is, in a meritocracy where reward matches ability, the likelihood of delinquent behaviour would be reduced accordingly. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 7 unfortunately, as they pursue the part of meritocracy, they experience strain arising from the fact that achieving success is not based simply on one’s ‘ability’ but on other factors such as having the right contacts or accent or social background. these factors places the boys in a significantly disadvantaged position which, according to cloward and ohlin (and reflecting ideas from durkheim and merton), creates for some, a strong sense of moral injustice and anger, to the extent that they react by ceasing to be committed to the norms and values of middle-class society. interestingly, cloward and ohlin further their analysis by arguing that the world of deviant subcultures mirrors that of conventional society, in that, it exhibits its own structural inequalities. criminal subcultures are associated with more tightly organized lower-class neighbourhoods, where, adult criminals keep the younger delinquents in check (for example, by controlling conflict between gangs in order to prevent their largely property crime activities coming to the attention of a wider audience). violent subcultures are therefore, found in more disorganized neighbourhoods where these control are significantly less effective. mays (in tierney, 2009) argued that the area itself constituted a subculture characterized by norms and values strongly at variance with those of the rest of the city. the youngsters brought up in the area to a greater or lesser extent engaged in delinquency, which was seen as a normal outcome of their socialization into the delinquent norms and values of the area. the boys, according to downes (in tierney, 2009) were essentially conformists in that they conform to the cultural values in which they were immersed, rather than rebels against society. sub-cultural theories of delinquency have attracted a number of criticism as summed up by heidensohn (1989): i. they tend towards deterministic explanations, that is, the belief that what you do and what happens to you are cause by things that you cannot control and in effect, passively internalizing delinquent values. ii. the tendency towards deterministic explanations is connected to a lack of attention being paid to conformity: why do others, living in the same social environment, avoid internalizing delinquent values? iii. while, cohen’s version of strain theory avoids this, other sub-cultural theories generally conceptualize delinquent youth lacking in moral regulation, as if they lived in anomic enclaves, untouched by the wider society and conventional values and so on. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 8 generally, critics of social structure theories believe that “we cannot be sure that it is lower-class culture itself that promotes crime and not some other forces operating in society. residence in urban areas alone is not sufficient to cause people to violate the law (kornhauser, 1978). lower-class areas seem to have higher crime rates because residents are arrested and prosecuted by agents of the justice system who, as members of the middle-class, exhibit class bias (tittle, 1983). even if the higher crime recorded in lower – class areas are valid, it is still true that significant majority of the lower class are not criminals and that a relatively small proportion of the population commits most crimes. life in cities in relation to crime committance durkheim (in knox, et al., 2005) believed that the transition from mechanical to organic solidarity as the dominant form of social organization was a result of three factors the number of people involved in urban settings, density of urban residential settings and the dynamism of cities which its existence in urban life might break down, leading to anomie. the norms of personal and social behaviour become so weak that some people become socially isolated, confused, or uncertain about how to behave, while others tend to challenge or ignore social conventions with an increase in deviant behavior. in contrast to tonnies and durkheim views, georg simmel believed that all social relationships and forms of social organization stem from basic human derives, interests, and psychic states. in this regard, people enter into relationships in pursuit of a variety of objectives: survival acquisitiveness, status, power, erotic and spiritual instincts. by implication, lives which people acted out amid tensions and conflicts between their individual creativity and the various institutionalized forms of social interaction and social organization have evolved in order to fulfill generalized human needs. . similarly, writing from the same perspective as tonnies and durkheim, drawing heavily but selectively on the ideas of simmel and strongly influenced by colleagues in the chicago school of human ecology, wirth, developed a deductive theory based on three fundamental attributes of urbanization as, increased number of people, density of living and increased heterogeneity of urban populations. the outcome of these variables are mutually reinforcing, generating a distinctive web of attitudes, behaviour and social organization that characterized urbanism: a way of life that is an inevitable consequences of urbanization/social environment. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 9 the combined influence of increased size, density and heterogeneity of urban populations would affect individual behavior because people had somehow to cope with a great number and variety of physical and social stimuli. wirth argued that city life leads people to become more withdrawn, emotionally buffered to the point where they become naturally aloof, brusque; and impersonal in their dealings with others, the general loosening of interpersonal bonds through this adaptive behavior tend to leave people unrestrained; so that ego-centred and unconventional behaviors are fostered. they are left unsupported in times of crisis, leaving them vulnerable to neurosis, alcoholism, suicide, or some form of deviant behavior. wirth believed that the use of formal control (criminal codes supported by police forces, welfare agencies, and so forth) can never adequately replace a communal order based on consensus and the moral strength of small primary groups. as a result, urbanism brings a loosening of the social fabric, allowing ego-centered and unconventional behavior to flourish and allowing personal crises to generate into social problems. this implies that urban life characterized by norm conflicts, rapid social change, increased mobility of the population, emphasis on materialism and individualism and sharp decline in intimate communication will flourish. this is because people coming from various walks of life carry their individual behavior patterns to the urban areas which often lead to conflict of norms with serious implications for law violation. social environment and armed robbery early studies of rural and urban crime rates indicate that the urban crime environment (such as in slum) has been a fertile ground for crime and criminality over the years. according to shelley (1981), the process of urbanization/social environment and the accompanying industrialization has had a considerable impact on crime committance in urban centres. such early studies invariably, indicate that urban areas are more criminogenic than the rural areas because of the increased opportunities for crime in the city particularly armed robbery. similarly, many classic studies in criminology, for example, newman (1979); sampson (in siegel 2007) burgess (in henslin, 2007) identified the ‘urban crisis’ in one form or another as the “crowded slum of the inner city.’’ newman for instance, believed that “the run-down industrial areas, the shifting population that lives in these areas and the lack of recreational facilities are related to many forms of crimes.” sampson (1995) on his part believed “there is evidence that a subculture of violence may be found in areas that ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 10 experience concentrated poverty and social disorganization.” empirical evidence shows that violent crime rates such as armed robbery are highest in urban areas where sub-cultural values support teenage gangs whose members typically embrace use of violence (kane, 2005). in other words, the slum areas of the city which are characterized by inferior living conditions and rundown facilities are the homes of prostitutes, homeless men and women, juvenile delinquents as well as adult criminals. according to shelley (1981), most of the children who grew up in slums appear to subscribe to the “slum culture” and thus, develop sub-culture that encourages illegal behavior. in enugu metropolis for example, the urbanization/social environment that emerged as a result of industrialization, economic activities, political and administrative headquarters and the vestiges of the civil war were felt in the increase in crime rate, particularly armed robbery. to this and similar studies, there is a strong relationship between urbanization/social environment and crime of armed robbery. furthermore, robbery, according to the federal bureau of investigation (2000) is “taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear”. the nigeria armed robbery and firearms (special provision) decree no.47 of 1970 defined armed robbery as “one armed with any firearm or offensive weapon or is in company of any person so armed to rob the property of another against his will”. igbo (1998) contended that the armed robbers in nigeria for example, blame their actions on the “mismanagement of the nigerian economy which has given rise to massive unemployment”. the robbers accused the “rich and the politicians of scandalous conspicuous consumption and insensitivity to the hardship and suffering of the poor and the less privileged”. igbo believed that “all these have serious consequences for high rate of armed robbery”. other factor influencing armed robbery includes poverty, social inequalities, drugs, alcoholism, political unrest and quest for quick wealth. armed robbery as defined earlier is the activities of an “in-group conforming to the ethics of their group”. igbo (1998) posits that: armed robbery is inevitable in a society which encourages free enterprise and private accumulation of wealth and where wealth is highly valued and glorified. the powerful minority of the population “basks” in their ill-gotten wealth with utter contempt for and neglect of the poverty and deprivation of the mass majority, and where this mass majority feels cheated, frustrated and marginalized from the process of accumulation… ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 11 there is evidence that such situation as observed above tend to encourage crime particularly, armed robbery. yusuf alli (2009) quoting from the report of the national bureau of statistics (2008) based on armed robbery cases reported to the police as at the end of 2007 stated the armed robbery occurrence in nigerian states in 2007: oyo (224); fct (172); imo (176); rivers (145); cross river (137); kano (108); ogun (107). others are: gombe (27); benue (27); plateau (26); kwara (25); sokoto (24); jigawa (16); kebbi (20); and yobe (20). also, abia (89); adamawa (96); akwa ibom (88); anambra (96); bauchi (41); bayelsa (54); borno (41); delta (63); ebonyi (51); and edo (79). still, others are: ekiti (85); kaduna (40); kastina (31); kogi (41); nasarawa (36); niger (32); ondo (58); osun (51); taraba (80) and enugu (44). the source in the nbs who spoke in confidence with ‘the nation newspaper’ said the figures are “the current official records which any institution or person could work with (www.naraland.forum.com). sourced 29th january, 2018. these young people are ready to kill and dispossess people of their money and property because, the elders have not shown enough good examples; especially when we consider how wealthy nigerians lavish money at wedding, burial, naming ceremonies, birthday and send-off parties as well as opening of new houses. it is very discouraging and revolting to watch the rich spend such money among the many under privileged. in this regard, the society or social environment tends to dictate man’s actions, socializes him and fashions him into either a savage or a civilized person, imbued with civilized conducts. according to mba-afolabi, et. al., (1996): “it is a situation where we now have two extreme classes, the very rich and the very poor. people at the bottom want to get to the top and those at the top are desperate to remain there”. however, survival is one root of the robbers’ desperation and another is to join the class of the rich for which the society pours all reverence. invariably, such odious and harsh social system has turned the whole country into a jungle where desperation and survival are the game. from the foregoing discussion, it is obvious that there is a relationship between social environment and crime. social environment connotes the consequences of urbanization.. in enugu metropolis for example, the population was 138,457 in 1963. in 1991, the population rose to 465,072 (70.23% increase). similarly, in 2006, the population rose again to 722,664 (35.64% increase from the period 1991 to 2006) (national population census, 2006). the population rose to 740,468 (projected) in 2007 (2.40% increase) and 764,392 (projected) in 2008 (3.13% increase) (enugu state economic planning commission projections, 2008). http://www.naraland.forum.com/ ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 12 also, with a growth rate of 3.18% increase per annum, the population of enugu metropolis rose to 814, 584 (projected) in 2010 and 840, 488 (projected) in 2011 (enugu state economic planning commission projections 2009-2011). in the same direction, the rate of armed robbery cases increased in the urban city from 55 (10.66%) in 2003; 66 (12.79%) in 2004 and 55 (10.66%) in 2005. others are: 44 (8.53%) in 2006; 37 (7.17%) in 2007; 52 (10.08%) in 2008; 58 (11.24%) in 2009 and 64 (12.40%) in 2010. thus, the 2.13% and 3.49% fall in 2006 and 2007 could be attributed to the intensified efforts of the police to abate crime of armed robbery; and most importantly, recruitment of jobless youth into political thuggery by the politicians for the general elections of 2007. it would appear reasonable therefore, contended christiansen (1960) to assume that the “cultural process of urbanization/social environment have negative influence on the capacity to lead a law-abiding life”. . armed robbery is “without doubt the most violent and dreaded crime in contemporary nigeria”. igbo (1989) summarized the situation by contending that: … no other crime in nigeria has generated so much fear and feeling of insecurity; no other crime has mobilized fierce and bitter (but ‘guarded’) public opinion against it; and no other crime has received so much attention and ruthlessness from the government of nigeria as armed robbery. thus, armed robbery as explicated in this literature, has become the most disturbing social problem to be solved generally in nigeria and enugu metropolis in particular. there is evidence that no state in the contemporary nigeria is spared from the ravages of armed robbery menace. most people, particularly the rich felt helpless and can no longer rely on the security arrangements and assurances of the police. the thought and possibility of one becoming “the next victim” of armed robbery seems to generate a pervasive atmosphere of fear, anxiety, insecurity and restlessness among the general population of nigeria (igbo, 1998). as a result, many nigerians then engage their own private guards; private houses are built to serve as a miniature “prisons” with solid walls and protective fences, iron-gate and burglar-proofs to barricade windows and doors. these methods had in the past, caused several deaths in the invent of fire out break because of the inability of the occupants to open the multiple barricades as fast as possible. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 13 invariably, with death penalty and long-term imprisonment hanging over their neck, armed robbers have become more violent in a desperate attempt to eliminate all traces of incriminating evidence against them, whether such evidence is with victims, witnesses or law enforcement agents. as aguda (1986) rightly pointed out: “brutal punishments escalate brutal crimes and brutal crimes escalate brutal punishments, thus, creating a neverending spiral of brutalization of the whole society”. although, john conklin (cited in siegel, 2007) identified criminal types of robbers as the opportunist robbers, addict robbers, alcoholic robbers and the professional robbers; this paper found interest in the professional robbers because the group operate in tandem with the violent career criminals that is the focus of this research. the professional robbers are those frequently single, migratory, narcissistic, intelligent, quick-witted and emotionally maladjusted. they lack family attachments and possess insecure feelings about recognition and so forth. (roebuck, 1967). professional robbers thrive on conflict, excitement and troubles. peace and tranquility appears to disturb them. they are physically fit, vigorous, restless, energetic and rebellious and natural trouble makers in a penal setting. the robbers have sense of organization, timing, ability to take into account unforeseen events. in victim preference, they would consider banks, loan companies, super markets, drug stores, bar, liquor stores, gas stations – a fair ranking of victims in descending order of profit. the professional robbers frown on the robbers who rob individual and consider them “amateur” “hotheads” and “bums” and so forth. each successful operation binds the gang further and provides the stimulating motives for continued involvement. the robbers do not think in terms of apprehension, although they are aware of the possibility, it is always a remote awareness. richard wright et. al., (1997) in their view, maintained that armed robbers are motivated by a pressing need for cash. many robbers careen from one financial crisis to the next prompted by their endless quest for stimulation and thrills, they partied, gambled, drank and abused substances until they were broke. the career, however, promises upward social mobility; but the robbery ostensibly to finance legitimate business, opens a motel or to enable a trip to start anew, is always hindered by the style of life they live. he never translates his economic gain into objects of legitimate social worth or more conventional style of life. sutherland (1937) in his work the professional thief advanced some rules of the professional robbers. these rules become a formal code of ethics subscribed to by the robbers much like other codes of conduct among legitimate professional groups. these codes of ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 14 conduct found among groups of professional robbers are presumed to have universal applicability to professional criminal groups (einstadier, 1967). these rules according to sutherland include: i. gains being equally shared among associate and once robbery is discussed with any amount of seriousness, all present consider themselves involved. ii. there is need for common understanding among the gang when a member is arrested. they help the arrested member by sharing the expenses of litigation; while the arrested member is expected to keep his mouth shut no matter the pressure. iii. robbers, as a rule, do not reveal too much about themselves to each other, yet, there are “understanding” for a common goal. iv. there are no special rules of etiquette that governs robbery group conduct. the need of the moment dictates the method of operation. v. members of the gang are not hold responsible for events which they cannot control. thus, fate is deemed to control the robber’s destiny. this is because, robbery, no matter how well planned, always present the possibilities of uncontrollable hazards and uncertainty. vi. no member of the gang should cut in on another member group. “cramping the style” of another group is forbidden, unless on emergency. methods: this work adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. this method ensured that the researcher collects his data at a particular time or period from a selected sample to describe a large population at that particular point in time. the method was employed because it enabled the researcher to use the sample drawn to represent the diverse elements of the population under study. the area of study was enugu metropolis including, abakpanike, ogbete (coal camp), ogui-urban (known as ogui urban jungle), uwani and independence layout. however, the population of the area of study was 922,336 (enugu state economic planning commission projections, 2010-2011). invariably, the population of the five clusters according to the 2006 official census record stands at 178,364 or 19.34% of the total population of enugu metropolis. the sampling technique which involved to a large extent, the cluster and systematic sampling methods were used to select the clusters, streets and respondents. one thousand (1000) questionnaire were administered. the structured questionnaire made of thirty-seven items were used to obtain information for the study. in a ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 15 nutshell, nine hundred and seventy(970) questionnaires were validly completed and returned which is about 97% of the total number distributed across all segments of the population from 18 years and above. chi-square (x2) was adopted to test the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. the formula for chi-square (x2) is computed using the formula:   fe fefo x 2 2   df = (r-1) (c-1) fo = observed frequencies fe = expected frequencies df = degree of freedom r = row c = column testing of hypotheses decision rule: reject ho if x2 calculated is greater than x2 tabulated, accept if otherwise. hypothesis 1 ho: there is no significant relationship between social environment and incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. h1: there is a significant relationship between social environment and incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. views of respondents on current rate of armed robbery activities in enugu metropolis by factors responsible for it. views of responde factors responsible for it unemploy prostituti loss of broken slum rapid total ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 16 nts ment on traditional social control homes conditions growth in populatio n freq % freq % freq % freq % freq % freq % freq % yes 400 (79.37%) 69 (75.82%) 53 (61.09%) 84 (78.51%) 108 (78.83%) 35 (67.31%) 749 (77.22%) no 104 (20.63%) 22 (24.18%) 26 (32.91%) 23 (21.49%) 29 (21.17%) 17 (32.69%) 221 (22.78%) total 504 (51.96%) 91 (9.38%) 79 (8.14%) 107 1.03%) 137 (14.12%) 52 (5.37%) 970 (100%) sources: computed by the researcher using data collected from the field. df =6 p = 0.05 x2 calculated =485 x2 tabulated =293.906 the outcome of the research as presented above was further subjected to chi-square (x2) test in order to ascertain the strength of the observed relationship. the chi-square (x2) subsequently proved that the calculated chi-square 485 at 0.05 level of significance is more than the tabulated chi-square of 293.906. therefore, the substantive hypothesis which states that: there is no significant relationship between the social environment and the incidence of armed robbery is rejected while the h1 is accepted at p =0.05. this implied that there is a significant relationship between social environment and incidence of armed in enugu metropolis. test statistics unemployment prostitutio n loss of traditional social control broke n homes slum condition rapid growth in population chi-square 173.841 24.275 9.228 34.776 45.555 6.231 df 1 1 1 1 1 1 asymp. sig. .000 .000 .002 .000 .000 .013 hypothesis 2 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 17 ho: there is no significant relationship between the new measures put in place for combating armed robbery and the high rate of armed robbery activities in enugu metropolis. h1: there is a significant relationship between the reduction in the rate of armed robbery in the metropolis and the new measures put in place for combating armed robbery. views of respondents on the measures put in place for combating armed robbery and the rate of armed robbery activities in enugu metropolis measure put in place for combating armed robbery in the metropolis views of respondents on the effectiveness of the measures yes no total frequency % frequency % frequency % operation fire for fire 19 (13.57%) 74 (8.92%) 93 (9.59%) special antirobbery squad (sars) 14 (10%) 182 (21.93%) 196 (20.21%) neighbourhood watch 80 (57.15%) 370 (44.58%) 450 (46.39%) highway surveillance patrol 8 (5.71%) 56 (6.75%) 64 (6.59%) hiring private guards 12 (8.57%) 71 (8.55%) 83 (8.56%) building high walls with steel iron gates 7 (5%) 77 (9.27%) 84 (8.66%) total 140 (14.43%) 830 (85.57%) 970 (100%) sources: computed by the researcher using data collected from the field. df =6 p = 0.05 x2 calculated = 485 x2 tabulated= 499.689 the result of the observations above weres also subjected to the chi-square (x2) test. this test as presented above shows that the value of the calculated chi-square of 485 is less than the value of tabulated chi-square of 499.689. therefore, the substantive hypothesis which states that: there is no significant relationship between the new measures are put in place for combating armed robbery and the high rate of armed robbery is upheld and h1 hypothesis which says that: there is a significant relationship between the reduction in the rate of armed robbery in the metropolis and the new measures put in place for combating ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 18 armed robbery is rejected at p = 0.05. this implied that there is no much outstanding improvement in reduction in the rate of armed robbery activities irrespective of the introduction of new measures such as neighbourhood watch, special anti-robbery squad (sars), armoured personnel carrier (apc) and so forth. test statistics operation fire for fire special antirobbery squad neighbour hood watch highway surveillance patrol hiring private guard building high wall with steel iron gate chi-square 32.527 144.000 186.889 36.000 41.940 58.333 df 1 1 1 1 1 1 asymp. sig. .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 hypothesis 3 h0: there is no significant relationship between the lack of reduction of the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis and the type of equipment available to the police. h1: there is a significant relationship between the type of equipment available to the police and the reduction of the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. views of respondents on effective combat of crime of armed robbery by views of respondents on the type of equipment not available to the police. equipment not available to the police views of respondents on the effective combat of armed robbery yes no total freq % freq % freq % sophisticated weapons 293 (48.03%) 172 (47.78%) 465 (47.94%) new vehicle 272 (44.59%) 160 (44.44%) 432 (44.54%) communication gadgets 45 (7.38%) 28 (7.78%) 73 (7.52%) total 610 (62.89%) 360 (37.11%) 970 (100%) sources: computed by the researcher using data collected from the field. df = 3 p = 0.05 x2calculated = 485 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 19 x2 tabulated = 64.482 to determine the strength of this relationship, the result was further subjected to chisquare (x2) test. the chi-square (x2) subsequently proved that the calculated chi-square of 485 at 0.05 level of significance is more than the tabulated chi-square of 64.482. therefore, the substantive hypothesis which states that: there is no significant relationship between the lack of reduction of the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis and the type of equipment available to the police is rejected, while h1 hypothesis is accepted. the result obtained in this test is akin to the statement made by some security experts that “with the sophisticated nature of the weapons used by the robbers, it would be difficult for the police to effectively tackle them without the support of amoured personnel carrier (apc). this implied that the lack of reduction of armed robbery in enugu metropolis is directly related to the type of equipment available to the police. test statistics sophisticated weapons new vehicle communication gadgets chi-square 31.486 29.037 3.959 df 1 1 1 asymp. sig. .000 .000 .047 2. statistics: difference between actual and theoretical: the difference between results obtained through theoretical calculation and those obtained through observation residual. discussions 1. it is apparent from the above that the desire to make quick money or the acquisition of wealth is one of the major causes of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. similarly, the political and economic structures of the country which generates massive corruption, poverty, deprivation, unemployment, hunger and hopelessness among nigerians, all combine to make crime, particularly armed robbery an attractive option for the individuals. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 20 2. the call for re-structuring of the country’s socio-economic and political values and norms has not been appreciated. the nigerian socio-economic system favours the rich minority and produces a poor majority. put in another way, the situation is made worse by the existence in the same society of a few excessively wealthy and affluent individuals who live in opulence among the underprivileged ones. such situations tend to encourage variety of criminalistic responses, one of which may be armed robbery. thus, this situation underscores the anomic/strain theory of robert k. merton which forms the theoretical framework for this study. 3. corruption in the police command in-charge of crime control is another major handicap. there have been reported cases of the police acting in collusion with the criminal gangs. in this regard, a bewildered citizenry no longer knows where to run to. by implicating the police in criminal activities, the shortcomings of the police have led some persons to questions the credibility of the police force. 4. rapid population growth and upsurge in urbanization/social environment causes increase in the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. poverty and slum conditions contribute immensely to the incidence of crime of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. 5. the indices of urbanization/social environment such as slum conditions, unemployment, inadequate housing, loss of traditional social control, over-population, crime, broken homes and so forth, on social and moral relationship between homes or persons of different classes in the society contributed heavily to armed robbery and other crimes in enugu metropolis. 6. findings show that the new means of transportation as used by contemporary armed robbers include, motor cycles popularly known as “okada” which are on the increase and the reasons are that it facilitates an easy–get–away, and can be easily disposed off or hidden. little wonders then, that in most cities, the authorities have imposed a blanket ban on “okada” operators totally or between some hours. 7. in the past armed robbers attack people’s home much, reason being that people keep big monies in the house because they do not trust the bank that collapses often. but now people do have confidence in the bank by putting their money in the bank and leaving it for a very long period. in the alternative, the new technique which the robbers use is kidnapping. most armed robbers have come to understand that when they kidnap someone that is very dear to someone and give the family of the kidnapped the price to pay, the family will do everything within their powers to meet up with the demand. in ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 21 some cases you see kidnappers demanding for hundreds of million naira and they are paid. when compared to the old system of going to the house or the bank, you will see that even when they rob there, they might risk going there and not finding money at all. so, most armed robbers have taken to kidnapping as a new tactics. the robbers also operate on the high ways carrying point of sale (pos) for the victims to transfer money from their account into the fake bank account where the robbers cash the money immediately. 8. also, we see people who make lot of money from cheating and deceiving people from the internet. another modern technique is that they go with connections and they have influential men backup (in government or crime control agencies). that is why even when some of them are caught, they release them the next day. it takes someone of very high connection/backup to achieve that. 9 the present-day armed robbers in their new methods move in a platoon of 20 – 30 persons, unlike the former 2 – 5 gang – member. thus, this number of robbers, with the type of arsenals in their possession, could dislocate and intimidate any law enforcement agents within that vicinity, giving the robbers enough time to torment and humiliate their victims to their satisfaction. with such intimidating number, any reprisal attack is bound to fail, unless there is immediate reinforcement which in nigeria context, could take more than 2-3 hours before reinforcement arrives. by then, the robbers might have done all they needed and left. 10. further more, one major push-pull factors to the upsurge of armed robbery in contemporary enugu metropolis in particular, and nigeria in general is the bias development in favour of urban centres at the expense of rural settlements. second, there is a male / female difference in armed robbery participation. although both men and women are now involved in armed robbery, the study revealed that more than 80.59% of the armed robbers are men. however, 82.99% attributed it to environment while about 54.12% said that those within the age range of 18-33 are more involved in perpetuating this crime. furthermore, 74.22% of the respondents were of the view that the measures put in place to reduce crime of armed robbery had impact on its reduction and 46.49% scored neighbourhood watch the most effective in such reduction. similarly, 47.94% of the respondents believed that the police do not have sophisticated weapons to contrast those carried by the robbers. in this regard, 63.20% believed that the police will perform better if they were well equipped. finally, 78.45% of the respondents said that the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 22 government has not done enough to reduce the current rate of armed robbery and in the alternative, 48.23% suggested that government should provide employment opportunities for the youths. conclusion crime particularly, armed robbery in our society have continued to be at its frequent rate. this increased heavily as a result of industrialization and urbanization/social environment and on the other hand, poses serious threat and insecurity of life and property to man. however, urbanization/social environment which is characterized by rapid population growth, slums, unemployment and crime contributed immensely to the incidence of armed robbery in enugu metropolis. invariably, in evaluating the findings of this research work, it is pertinent to note that crime is not a natural phenomenon that consists of inevitable episodes which cannot be foreseen or guarded against. the truth is that we address these horrendous tendencies with cosmetic and half-hearted approach. for example, evidence abound that we have not properly addressed the issue of diversifying our economy in areas like, labour intensive agriculture and establishment of industries to provide job opportunities for the youths. in addition, we have not considered the importance of re-structuring our socio-economic and political values to curb the “get-rich-at-all-cost” mentality and so forth. most nigerian youth engage in armed robbery to achieve wealth or to make money, mostly because the approved means of attaining this goal legitimately is not reachable. modernization through urbanization/social environment and industrialization also brought with it changes in the value system. therefore, things that were highly valued in the past, such as, morality, sacredness of human life, and so forth, are no longer of great importance today. the experiences in our cities show that there is weak social control mechanism which is an off-shoot of culture conflict. in the normal growth of our culture from single to complex, social differentiation occurs. this in turn produces different social groupings, each with its own values and its lack of understanding of the values of other groups, thereby turning the entire society into a jungle where anything goes. in the words of aguda (1986), “brutal punishment (denial) escalates brutal crimes and brutal crimes escalate brutal punishments, thus, creating a never-ending spiral of brutalization of the whole society”. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 23 since the findings from the study can be given as many interpretations as we can find, the results from the study clearly indicates that there is need for action on issues concerning crime in our society. this is because in nigeria, armed robbery is marked aggression by the robbers and generates fear and insecurity in the victim. to the victim, life is shrouded in uncertainty, for, in the robber’s drug confused brain, a pull of the trigger, life is extinct. this situation is experienced daily in most of the armed robbery operations in our society. it was on this premise that the paper among others, recommends that: 1. there should be visible surveillance presence as a deterrent to criminal activities by increasing the offenders perception of the risk of being caught. a proactive policing strategies such as, intensive police and neighborhood/vigilante patrol can instill fear into potential criminal in crime prone area. 2. neighborhood watch/vigilante group programmes can help to reduced opportunities for crime. one way of doing this is to create signs of occupancy (such as, red-lighted-lanterns on the strategic positions in the community, street etc; intermittent sounding of metal/wooding gong and other danger signs) indicating an invisible presence of people, particularly, security agents as well as activities indicating that the property is actively protected. other home security measures (such as, fencing the house, security light, burglary proof protecting windows and doors etc) could make it harder for criminal to gain access to the property. also when the property is marked with an inscription of initials, etc removes the benefits of theft by making it harder to dispose off stolen goods. 3. increased police detection, supported by the community through giving information that may lead to the incapacitation of offenders since activities reported by citizen can help the police make arrests and gain conviction. 4. in addition, the success of community policing must be based on unity of purpose and avoidance of strangers policing strangers’. on the contrary, a community whose members are not united may not succeed in implementing community policing programmes because sabotage and/or an insider criminal network will undermine the apprehension of intruders and crime control. 5. there should be police post and police/army road blocks in all the high ways to ward off criminal hide-out and hijacking travelers vehicle to rob them. the police-public relation should be encouraged to have smooth process of information. comments ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 24  the abstract needs a rework to capture the method used in data collect and the findings  the key words must be reworked  there must be a style of writing for a journal article, this is not thesis, the author has to follow the format of the journal and reduce the words to between 2000 to 5000 words maximum, and reduce pages to at most 15 pages  the literature is old and the author can afford to update his literature to meet the cureent trend of crime, i expected to see crime statistics from the police in the last two years at least.  it was difficult linking his theoretical framework with the literature and his hypothesis  it is difficult to establish the citation format the author is using, apa is normally the accepted format  it is not clear the respondents that answered the 1000 questionnaires, it makes the methodology clumsy. the methodology must be clearly stated, sampling procedures, population, etc. this is a journal article. this section must be reworked  the presentation of findings is so confusing too  discussion of finding is never put in numbers please it has to be reworked  the paper is fair for publication if he can rework all issues raised references adegbite, c. (2011). “confession of an undergraduate armed robber”, daily sun, august 27:32. afolabi, f., & obioha r. (1996) “police score operation sweep high”, the vanguard, september 3:17. banjoko, d. (1998) “joining hands to combat crime:, the daily champion, march 28:8. brownfield, d. (1986), “social class and violent behaviour”, criminology 24:421-438. burgess, e.w. (2007) “the growth of the city: an introduction to a research project” in henslin, j.m., sociology: a down-to-earth approach, (8th ed.) new jessey: allyn and bacon publishing inc.: 604. christiansen, k.o. (1960), international review of criminal policy, no. 16 (october): new york: united nations: 3. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 25 cloward, r. & l.e. ohlin (1960), delinquency and opportunity: a theory of delinquent gangs, new york: the free press of glen dike, m. & oji, c. (2011), “police parade constable for robbery”, daily sun, may 5:29. durkheim, e. 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(1998), “pen robbery: a justification for armed robbery in nigeria” in journal of liberal studies: 117-120. isa sanusi & osai ojigho (2017), “amnesty international: boko haram murdered more than 20,000 people through suicide bombing and left 2.6 million homeless” (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/boko-haram-mubi attack-deplorabledeadliest-civilians-since 2017) retrieved 12th february, 2018. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/boko-haram-mubi%20attack-deplorable-deadliest-civilians-since%202017 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/11/boko-haram-mubi%20attack-deplorable-deadliest-civilians-since%202017 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 26 kane, r.j. (2005), “compromised police legitimacy as a predictor of violent crime in structurally disadvantaged communities”, criminology 43:469-499. knox, p.l., & l. mccarthy (2005), urbanization: an introduction to urban geography (2nd ed.), new jersey: perason education inc.: 9-24, 382. kornhauser, r. (1978), social sources of delinquency, chicago: university of chicago press: 75. mays, j.b. (2009). “growing up in the city: a study of juvenile delinquency in an urban neigbourhood” in tierney, j., perspective in criminology, glasgow: bell and bain ltd: 141 nigeria police force (2011) “enugu state official crime (records) statistics, criminal investigation department (cid) enugu. obikeze, d.s. (1990), methods of data analysis in the social and behavioural sciences; enugu: auto-century publishing co. ltd. oji, c. (2011) “our ordeal: newly-wedded couple narrates seeing ‘hell’ in hoodlums’ hideout”, daily sun, june 23:28. olise, a. and d. ibemere (2011) “unease as robbers break calm”, the guardian, march 11:12. sampson, r. & w.j. wilson (1995), “toward a theory of race, crime and urban inequality”, in hogan, john and ruth peterson, (eds.) crime and inequality, standford, c.a.: standford university press: 51. sellin, t. 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(2010), criminology: explaining crime in the nigerian context; nsukka: great ap express publishers ltd: 83. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 27 ukoji, v. n. and okolie-osemene, j. (2016). “a study of crime reporting in nigeria” univeristy of ibadan, ibadan, uyo state, nigeria. wirth, l. (2005) “urbanism as a way of life” in knox, p.l. and mccarthy, l., urbanization: an introduction to urban geography, (2nd ed.), new jersey: pearson education inc.: 382-83. wolfgang, m.e. & ferrancuti (1979), “the subculture of violence” in newman, g., understanding violence, new york: g.b. lippincott company: 100. yusuf, a. (2009) “oyo, imo, ogun, others lead in armed robbery in nigeria”, report of the national bureau of statistics (nbs) in www.naira landforum.com. accessed september 29, 2017. page 1 organised crime 215 global terrorism and organised crime: convergence and general security implications tunde agara (ph.d) department of political science and public administration igbinedion university, okada. & mary ezeajughu (ph.d) department of political science and public administration igbinedion university, okada. abstract this paper’s interest is in interrogating the extent to which global terrorism and organised criminality do converge. in spite of the basic differences between them in terms of motivations and methods, historical examples have indicated that terrorism and organized crime do converge in several ways. indeed, some analysts think that both threats can no longer be studied in isolation. thus, this paper seeks to explore the hypothesis of a crime-terror nexus. three types of convergence are examined: involvement in criminal activities by terrorists, transformation of terrorists groups into hybrid or purely criminal organizations and cooperation between organized criminal organizations and terrorist groups. finally, the paper made allusions to the cases of boko haram and fulani herdsmen, presented as examples of privileged scenarios for interaction between global terrorism and organized crime. as a theoretical paper, it does not set itself to establish a wholly new subject but to contribute to the debate that has been gaining interest in recent times. keywords: global terrorism, organized crime, convergence, terrorism-organized crime introduction generally speaking, two lines are said to converge when their courses interchange or they meet at one point. this can be said of terrorism and crime activities; because their paths interchange at one point eventually. according to laqueur (1999) scholars prior to this time, have maintained a sharp distinction between global terrorism and organised crime. however, with the passing of time the distinction has become increasingly blurred. in recent years, the change in perspective has gone so far that some experts suggest the necessity of doing away with this distinction, at least because of certain instances of a clear symbiosis between one phenomenon and the other. some of the information and reports provided by the mass media tend to reinforce this new tendency, whether by means of news reports that assure us the involvement of terrorist groups organised crime 216 and organisations in typical activities of common or organised crime, or by attributing characteristics of an unquestionably mafioso nature to others. in short, the opinion has started to spread that the convergence between terrorism and organised crime could come to be a growing trend within the geo-political framework inaugurated at the end of the 20th century (makarenko, 2004). there are various factors responsible for this change of paradigm or opinion. very prominent is the end of the cold war and the proliferation of antiterrorist laws that have drastically reduced the willingness of states to sponsor terrorist groups or organisations, inducing them to use other means of financing (including those relating to conducting illegal activities). of equal importance is the transition towards a globalized economy and world system and the consequent emergence of a transnational form of organized criminality, which has increased the possibilities of terrorists becoming involved in illegal businesses (sanderson, 2004). some preliminary conceptual clarifications two concepts should occupy our attention here and these are ‘terrorism’ and ‘organised crime or criminality.’ conventionally speaking, the terms “terrorism” and “organised criminality” are the name given to activities that are partly similar and partly different. the similarity lies in their relationship with illegal and “organised” activities carried out by a set of individuals or a group but with a minimal degree of structure. of equal importance is their penchant and tendency for violence. these two similarities explain why some penal codes define terrorism as a sub-type of organised criminality but which can be distinguished from the general type of other criminal activities in two essential aspects. first is the use of armed violence and violent activities aimed at instilling fear in the general populace, and an association of such practices for a political end. . given these significant differences, de la corte and gimenez-salinas (2011) viewed the concept of “organised criminality” to be those criminal phenomena that, in addition to being attributed to collective or organised individuals, have the unique or main objective of obtaining and accumulating economic or material benefits. this definition implies that organized crime is run by a greed motif and hence, seeks for economic gains for the particular criminal organisation. the wide range of illegal activities, which such criminal organisations involve themselves give organised crime 217 them such opportunity. their illegal activities range from illegal trade of all types, extortionate practices, robberies, attacks and (paid) killings, labour and sexual exploitation, frauds and swindles, unlawful financial services, etc. these illegal activities are also complemented by other acts that are not always directly remunerated but are seen as services to their ‘clients’ such as acts of violence and money laundering. although abadinsky (2010) has reported that attempts to define organized crime have not always met with consensus by scholars, even a review of the subject in law enforcement and academic literature equally reveal this difficulty (loree 2002). however, cressey (1969, p. 319) has presented a definition, which for many decades was accepted and adopted by the federal bureau of investigation (fbi). he sees an organized crime as; any crime committed by a person occupying, in an established division of labour, a position designed for the commission of crimes providing that such division of labour includes at least one position for a corrupter, one position for a corruptee, and one position for an enforcer. currently, the fbi defines organized crime as; any group having some manner of a formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities. such groups maintain their position through the use of actual or threatened violence, corrupt public officials, graft or extortion, and generally have a significant impact on the people in their locales, region or the country as a whole. the united nations (2000) has acclaimed as organized criminal group; any structural group of three or more persons existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences … in order to obtain, directly, or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit. however, as giraldo and trinkunas (2013) noted, the term ‘organised crime’ originally, was used to refer to hierarchical crime groups that monopolized the criminal market in a given area; to deploy violence and corruption systematically in pursuit of their illicit activities; making abnormally high level of profit that allowed them to threaten political and economic structures of the state. this conception sees systemic violence and corruption as the very essence of organised criminal organization. organised crime 218 in turn, the term “terrorism” tends to designate a particular type of violent activity: although, by extension, it is frequently used to refer to those individuals, groups and organisations that systematically practice it. however, as sinai (2010/2011, p. 2) noted, the most fundamental starting point in terrorism studies is to how to define it. this been the case does not mean that its definition is that simple or generally agreed to by scholars and professional institutions whose responsibilities are to counter or curb it. many of the definitions have over-simplified it by neglecting many critical variables such as the activities that do not include violence, but nevertheless, enhance and support terrorism by mobilizing support for it within the radical subculture, providing social welfare services and even maintaining and providing internet services for such groups. in addition, part of the problematic in defining terrorism is the consideration whether it should include attacks on only ‘noncombatant’ targets or not, whether it is a tactic of warfare used by subnational groups against all citizens of a state irrespective of whether they are civilians or military or attacks solely on ‘armed’ military. if the definition of terrorism is limited to only attacks on noncombatant groups then attacks on armed military targets and combatants should not be included as it then qualifies as guerrilla warfare. the difference between these two groups being that while guerrilla groups use a combination of military and political methods to overthrow the government of a state, terrorist groups, on the other hand, aim to provoke a government’s response to their operations which take place off the battlefield. in preference for this distinction, ganor (2005, p. 17) defined terrorism as “a form of violent struggle in which violence is deliberately used against civilian in order to achieve political goals (nationalistic, socioeconomic, ideological, religious etc).” ganor explained that the use of ‘deliberate’ in targeting of civilians in order to achieve political objectives is what distinguishes a terrorist act from a purely guerrilla warfare where military targets are the major focus of their operations. on the other hand, sederberg (2003) suggested that terrorism can be viewed from three perspectives. the first perspective is to see it in the context of a war, that is, as an enemy to be defeated in war. this analogy presumes the use of military means and methods in combating terrorism. the second is from the perspective of normal police techniques and procedures. this analogy has two very important implications; the first suggests that like crime, terrorism will organised crime 219 disappear once contained, and secondly, this suggests a reactive response. criminals are often apprehended or caught not always before but usually after the commission of the crime. finally, the third perspective is to consider terrorism as a sort of disease, a social malaise for which a cure must be found. scholarly disposition to this perspective sees terrorism from the prisms of symptoms and causes. the assumption of this perspective is that there is need for the identification and adoption of long term strategies that address the basic causes of terrorism and hence its solution will evolve from analyzing the symptoms and causes. although not mutually exclusive, these three perspectives represent the dominant ways terrorism is viewed by either scholars or professional institutions responsible for curbing it. thus, for any definition of terrorism to be acceptable, it must, at least, include these six major elements; (1) the use of violence or threat of violence, (2) the existence of an organized group, (3) the intention of achieving a political objective, (4) the focus of violence must be a targeted audience that extends beyond the immediate victims who are often innocent civilians (usually account for as collateral damage), (5) in this case, government can be either the perpetrator or the target, and finally, (6) it is a form of insurgency usually favoured by the weak (lutz and lutz 2008, p. 9). hence, to remedy these problems, sinai (2010/2011, p. 3) proposed this definition, that; terrorism is a tactic of warfare involving premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated by subnational groups or clandestine agents against any citizen of a state, whether civilian or military, to influence, coerce, and if possible, cause mass causalities and physical destruction upon their targets. unlike guerrilla forces, terrorist groups are less capable of overthrowing their adversaries’ government than of inflicting discriminate or indiscriminate destruction that they hope will coerce them to change policy. it is important to note that, irrespective of any definition accepted, terrorism always involves three basic components; the perpetrator, the victim, and the target of the violence. as badey (2010/2011, p.1) explained, the perpetrator commits the violence against the victim. the victim is used to communicate with or send a message to the intended target. the target is expected to organised crime 220 respond to the perpetrator. fear is used as a catalyst to enhance the communication and elicit the desired response. so what distinguishes acts of terrorism from other types of violent action is their capacity to provoke an intense social or psychological impact (anxiety or fear) that is disproportionate with respect to the physical damage caused to the people or objects chosen as targets of the aggression. areas of convergence/interactions in the recent decades, organised criminality has undergone an intense process of transnationalisation resulting from three events/factors. the first is a substantial increase in cooperation between criminal groups and organisations that are not even in spatial proximity to each other. the second is the emergence of various unlawful global markets, with some business stages distributed in different regions of the world (the best example is provided by the worldwide trade in drugs); and the third is the appearance of criminal organisations with an active presence or implementation on an international scale (unodc (2010). however, three forms or types of convergence can be identified. the first and perhaps the most common mode of convergence is what de la corte (2013, p. 358) has called “convergence by appropriation of methods,” which portrait instances of when terrorist groups are involved in acts that are typical of organized crime groups and share similar intentions of financing their operations. a number of such activities can be identified as; i. drug trafficking: either on a large or small scale, both criminals and terrorists have been known to indulge in the trafficking or use of drugs. according to lewis (2003), the term, ‘assassin’ actually came from the arabic word hashishim, meaning ‘users of hashish.’ the convergence here is the possible assistance offered by professional drug traffickers in procuring these drugs. ii. illegal trading activities: according to picarelli and shelley (2007, p. 44), al qaeda had made use of the black market to sell gold and diamonds to fund its operations and those of its numerous cells in other parts of the globe such as the boko haram in nigeria. of equal note, is the aqim, which is noted for involving in the smuggling and illegal sale of cigarettes. organised crime 221 iii. theft and armed banditry: the level and instances of armed banditry on nigerian roads have escalated with the involvement of herdsmen and the terrorist group of boko haram. although, there is little evidence to show whether they are involved in bank robberies, however, enough evidence is available to show that sister terrorist organizations like the yemaa islamiyya (the most powerful terrorist group in south-east asia) and the pakistani taliban have constantly funded and replenish their war chest from money got from thefts and robberies of banks (del cid gomez 2010). iv. forgery and forging of documents: granted the expanse of ungoverned spaces available in nigeria and neighbouring sahel region countries, with uncharted and illegal border-land between them, this may not be an important issue because of the ease of movement across borders. however, this activity becomes one of the chief logistical needs of terrorist groups which professional criminal forgers can meet. a significant number of terrorists have entered into america and europe using forged travelling documents, passports and credit cards (sageman 2004). v. kidnappings: in nigeria, following in the wake of the niger delta militants, the boko haram terrorist group has raised this criminal activity to a level, hitherto, unseen or experienced. globally, this has become the fastest and perhaps the surest way to acquire funds for criminals and jihadists. kidnapping has therefore become a recurring mode of financing generally associated with terrorist groups globally (agara, 2020, ogabido 2019). vi. extortion for protection: this criminal activity is as old as crime itself. the use of intimidation, aggression and threats for extorting money from traders, villagers, businessmen and professionals has become a general practice among terrorist groups in their locale of operation (agha, 2012). it exemplifies a convergence in the modus operandi of criminals and terrorists. vii. creation of front or screen companies to launder money: this is at a high level of sophistication that allows for creation of dummy companies to launder and legitimize money or funds got from illegal means and sources. while, we may argue that the nigerian terrain may not be so sophisticated, we cannot rule out the possibility of sympathizers who may assist terrorist groups in this regard. in more organised crime 222 developed climes and societies, examples of this type of financing are numerous (passas and gimenez-salinas, 2007, pp. 493-521). viii. other misdemeanours: this include cyber-crime, internet frauds and operation of illegal websites for purposes of recruiting, planning attacks and sharing of information (seib 2010/2011, weimann 2006). the second area of commonality or convergence is through a form of hybrid transformation of terrorist group into purely criminal organization. this occurs when the involvement of the former in illegal businesses and operations as listed above, although the list cannot be said to be exhaustive, becomes quite lucrative and productive with little or no effective interference from the police or other law enforcement agencies. the result is a form of hybrid transformation that sees terrorism takes on the economic characteristic reminiscence of criminal organizations, with particular tendency towards accumulating economic profits rather than pursuing its primary political or religious goals. this was the case with the delta militants and the various ethnic militant groups that emerged, ostensibly to fight for their ethnic group emancipation. the political goal soon became a façade under which economic profits were accumulated and appropriated for personal enrichment. the cases of some of the leaders of these groups living in opulence and garnering government’s contracts for themselves with no visible change in the lives and lifestyles of the people they professed to be fighting for, is a justification of this point. in the case of religious terrorist groups such as the boko haram, the same can be said of it. the fact that they still professed on spreading islamic tenets and achieving an islamic state does not rule out the fact that certain individuals within the leadership rank may be inclined towards personal accumulation and enrichment. as wannenburg (2003, pp. 77-90) has confirmed in the case of the philippine islamic terrorist leader, abu sayyaf, who initiated a new phase of the jihad that concentrated more on kidnapping, drug trafficking and extortion on assuming leadership after the death of the former leader, abdurajak janjalani in 1998. this has made analysts to regard it as a hybrid blending of criminality with religious fervor since its religious goal and policy of islamisation has not been publicly renounced. same then can be said of the boko haram terrorist group in nigeria. organised crime 223 the third, but not the least most popular form of convergence is direct cooperation with criminal groups or elements. this can take place at two levels. first is where an organized criminal organization shares similar religious ideology and beliefs with a terrorist group. usually, this is caused by the radicalization of such criminal groups or by the deliberate targeting of people of similar religious belief as the criminal organization. the cooperation between these two elements can usually take the form of joint participation or collaboration in ventures or attacks on the society or government’s installations. hence, shared religious affinity or belief with sense of victimization or marginalization may force or compel this collaboration. the second form of collaboration comes purely from an economic incentive or practical need that pays both parties. hence, this collaboration becomes consensual and takes the form of offering services for which one of them is lacking in ability or personnel while the other has such personnel who can render the services thus required. instances of this type of collaborations include procuring weapons, explosives, or false travelling documents from criminal organizations by terrorist groups whose ability and competence do not extend to these area of operations. there are substantiated reports of such collaborations between al qaeda and certain russian and eastern european criminal organizations (wannenburg, 2003). security consequences of convergence the coincidence of criminal and terrorist organizations collaborating and operating within the same area or state can only worsen the security situation of their country. it would eventually cause harm to the economies of such areas, creating instances of political disturbances, raising security costs for local businesses, generating security risks for investments and investors and even halting the possibilities for economic growth and development (agara, 2016). the substantial economic resources siphoned off by the terrorist and organized crime groups denied the country of huge resources that could be diverted into development, thereby, exacerbating political agitations because of non-development of major infrastructures. this has also aggravated political dissonance and agitations among groups within the society. the destabilizing impact of this has further led to deepening the problem of governability, depleting the possibility of law enforcement and removing obstacles from effectively curbing the activities organised crime 224 of these groups. this failure creates a vacuum which they are quick to take advantage of by heightening the rates and volume of their activities. the increased transnational flow of people, goods and money which are now greatly facilitated by advances in communication and transportation technologies enabled by globalization has further worsened consequences for global security. the ease of, and increase in cross-border traffic has given opportunities for criminals to hide their illegal businesses within the flow of legal commerce. of high risk for security is the fact that globalization has increased the importance of ‘network’ form of organizations for both legal and illegal enterprises. organizations can now do away with the traditional hierarchical structure and recruitment of staff with the full range of specialised skills as these specialized skills can be contracted out. among criminal and terrorist groups, this enhances their operations as groups can converged and be disbanded after every operation. at a more specific level, the convergence of the criminal activities of these two in many cases has led to high level of transnational crime which most often, translate to national security threat requiring a quantitatively and qualitatively different response from governments. for instance, the ability of these organizations to provide new avenues for illicit transportation of goods and persons challenges the state’s ability to exercise its core function as the guarantor of national sovereignty and the holder of the monopoly over use of force and provider of common goods for the citizenry. when these responsibilities are carried out by other sub-national actors apart from the state, its effectiveness and power with the security of the state is thereby challenged. citizens, seeing that these essential services can be provided by other sources, withdraw their loyalty and dependence on the state and hence the state’s continued legitimacy is put in question. second, the level of transnational crime occasioned by this convergence may become a fundamental threat to security through its potential to corrupt or coerce government officials. in the case of nigeria, the power of criminal-terrorist convergence has led to a hybrid form of governance in which politicians, law enforcement and these criminal-terrorist organizations has formed mutually supporting networks. personnel of the armed forces, local chiefs and local governments chairmen have been found and identified as possible collaborators of marauding organised crime 225 fulani herdsmen, boko haram sympathizers and supporters of delta militants’ organizations. third, this convergence is a security threat to the extent to which it undermines democratic stability and legitimacy of the government itself. the perceived reluctance and fecklessness demonstrated recklessly by law enforcement, especially, when it comes to dealing with the atrocities of the fulani herdsmen in comparison with the quickness and dispatch with which government is dealing with the niger delta militants and even the boko haram insurgents, is undermining public confidence, trust and loyalty to the regime. finally, the threat posed by this phenomenon to economic development cannot be denied. not only does it calls to question the rule of law, but also deters foreign investment by increasing the level of insecurity for both personnel and the investments. in addition, it must be noted that criminal enterprises are formed to reinvest their proceeds as part of its money-laundering efforts. these criminally affiliated business organisations often have unfair advantages over legitimate ones becausal they often operate by compromising legal laws and have unfair advantage through their access to cheap capital. through their owners, they can also intimidate legal business ventures in same market with them. conclusion we must acknowledge the fact that the criminal-terrorist nexus which constitutes the narrative of this paper has been disproved as been extreme. for instance, as the us state department has emphasized, whereas the two groups may share similar ‘methods,’ they definitely do not share the same ‘motives,’ and this puts a limit to the level of their possible collaborations. while yielding grounds on the possibility of tactical collaboration between these two, particularly where one of them controls an essential territory or resources, they have, however, argued that in a situation where criminal organizations are strong, there is a high likelihood that they will resist such collaboration especially where it will draw the attention of law enforcement agencies to them. the above counterpoint, notwithstanding, the possibility is higher, particularly, in developing states with a lot of ungoverned spaces, that a convergence of criminals and terrorists interest in organised crime 226 money making may further destabilize an already fragile state system. in fact, the multiplier effect of such cooperation and convergence of intentions will be very devastating. nigeria is currently experiencing it. we further aver that the apolitical motive of criminal organizations and the political motive of the terrorist group will eventually have a common meeting point (a convergence) in the area of economic or profit motive. we take it as a fact of reality that terrorist groups have long relied on and adopted criminal means such as bank robbery, extortion and kidnapping, as sources for funding their enterprises. in fact, the same democratizing effects of globalization that increased opportunities for licit organizations to become rich also offer similar opportunities for illicit organizations to become rich and fund their illegal activities. this opportunity extends to enhancing cooperation between criminal and terrorist groups in areas of services which, perhaps, only criminal groups can offer such as buying weapons from arms traffickers or obtaining false identity documents from counterfeiters. references agara, t. 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(2010/2011). how to define terrorism. in badey, t. violence and terrorism 10/11, 12th ed. boston, mcgraw hill higher education. united nations (2000). united nations convention against transnational crime. www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_convention.html unodc (2010). a transnational organized crime threat assessment. united nations office on drugs and crime, unodoc, vienna, 2010. wannenburg, g. (2003). links between organised crime and al qaeda. south african journal of international affairs, 10(2), 77-90. weimann, g. (2006). terror on the internet. washington dc. united states institute for peace. enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 45 dependent economy, corruption and mismanagement of covid-19 pandemic: the nigerian experience 1emmanuel chimezie eyisi 2jonathan akwagiobe ukah 1,2department of sociology, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu alike, ebonyi state, nigeria, 1mezieeyi@gmail.com; 2ukah.jonathan@funai.edu.ng abstract covid-19 pandemic exposed nigerian miserable healthcare architecture; inequality in access to education, health and other infrastructural facilities; corruption; and low institutional capacity that can provide structures for social welfare and good governance. the paper explored how the above nigerian dynamics engendered the mismanagement of corona virus experience. this reflects in the inability of the economy to fund the covid-19 therapeutic measures; the opaqueness in the distribution of palliatives and economic stimulus packages. these views were espoused within the framework of political economy. the paper adopted a descriptive survey research design through the exploration of secondary data. the data were subjected to rigorous content analysis for validity and reliability. the findings showed that the nature of the nigerian state, the nigerian economy; and the nigerian institutions have combined to undermine a robust response to covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. the way forward lay in creating an economy that can provide buffers against the shocks of covid-19 as well as creating a post covid-19 stable self sustaining socio-economic and political society that is contingent on: equitable, and just society; a self-reliant economy; a patriotic ruling class and strong institutions that can withstand the pressures of political desperados from the society. keywords: covid-19, nigerian state, corruption, palliatives, economy introduction the emergence of covid-19 pandemic has reinforced basic contradictions with wide ramifications in the other spectrums within the world global system. the covid-19 pandemic is far more than a health crisis; it is affecting societies and the economies at their core. while the impacts of the pandemic varied from country to country, it increased poverty and inequalities at a global scale (gutterens, 2020). no doubt the pandemic worsened the already bad situation of the world poor countries, because being at the fringes of the global capitalist system constricts their capacity to withstand the obvious shocks posed by the covid-19 pandemic (soludo, 2020). mailto:mezieeyi@gmail.com mailto:ukah.jonathan@funai.edu.ng dependent economy to begin with, the pandemic brought to the fore the glaring limitations of the global health architecture. the concentration on covid-19 health emergencies overstretched health infrastructure around the world (lambert, grupt & fletcher, 2020). this exacerbated the already existing unevenness in access to health services. this manifests in the fact that most of the covid-19 confirmed cases and fatalities in the advanced capitalist countries occur among the very low income groups, the working class and the racially segregated or the people of colour (bremen, 2020). the low income and the people of colour face structural conditions that diminish their capacity to observe the protocols that immune people from the virus. the unevenness in the economies of the countries and regions of the world has become significantly obvious such that the medical, non pharmaceutical, other infrastructural facilities as well as the covid-19 vaccines have been appropriated by the developed countries of the north to the chagrin of the less developed countries of the south. the efforts to control the spread of the corona virus and enforce the non pharmaceutical measures led to a sudden re-emergence of total state with the concomitant invasion of people`s privacy and eroding of their cherished freedom (yuval, 2020). the wave of protests around the world against new covid-19 engendered clampdown has reinforced peoples` consciousness against the derailment of their cherished freedom and democracy. again, covid-19 put enormous strain on world economy. the global economy walked a tight rope. the bretton wood institutions (the international monetary fund and the world bank) painted a gloomy picture of the world economy, warning of dire stress for emerging and developing countries. the global clampdown on international travels, tourism and cross border businesses constricted world economy such that global recession that seemed distant possibility became a reality. the global gdp for instance which slowed to 2.9% in 2019 dropped further down to 2.4% in 2020 (oecd, 2020). with the advanced economies facing problems, there is no doubt that developing countries that depend on them for aids and loans, patronage for their commodities, and remittances from their migrant citizens working in the advanced economies would face serious economic and social challenges (world bank, 2020). the plummeting fortunes of the global economy put a significant strain on the infrastructural facilities around the world. nearly one billion people are said to live and work in informal, under-serviced and precarious urban conditions worldwide, while billions more rely on patchy and unreliable piped water, electricity and healthcare access in cities with deteriorating infrastructures (lambert, et al, 2020). education faced unprecedented crises globally. most 47 governments around the world had to temporarily shut schools in an effort to enforce social distance and slow viral transmission. the united nations education scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) estimates that 60% of the world`s students population have been affected, with 1.9 billion learners out of school across 150 countries (unesco, 2020). the nigerian situation calls for a more worrisome concern. the nigeria socio-economic dynamics has produced a nation in which abject poverty in the midst of enormous resources have become dominant; the state of basic infrastructure and utilities not only become comatose but for most nigerians it has become a pipe dream; high level of political instability with ethnic and religious schism deepening the conflagrations of centrifugal forces. unfortunately, this unsavoury structural nigerian situation became exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic. the paper examines the roles played by the nature of the nigerian economy, the nigerian institutions, the structure of nigerian state and the character of the nigerian ruling class (political leadership) as well as the attendant corruption in undermining the robust response to the health and socio-economic challenge engendered by the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. concept clarification nigerian covid-19 situation nigeria woke up to the reality of covid-19 when an index case emerged in lagos on february 27, 2020 through an italian resident in ogun state. the initial spread of the virus in nigeria resulted from the behaviour of the ruling class. it is the nigerian bourgeoisie and their families that have the resources and the where withal to criss-cross the globe for economic, social and pleasure engagements. thus the first set of covid-19 confirmed cases and even fatalities were recorded among members of the high socio-economic class. the rapid spread of corona virus in nigeria was therefore a matter of time as there was no well thought out programme of action to deal with the pandemic. from lagos, the virus spread rapidly such that nigeria as at december, 2020 has recorded 84,414 confirmed cases and 1,254 fatalities. by may 2021, nigeria has recorded 166, 285 confirmed cases with 156, 557 discharged from treatment centre and 2,071 fatalities (ncdc, 2021). records of the confirmed cases and even fatalities are not reliable, for the main reason that the testing capacity is very low and the difficulty in determining which deaths in nigeria is covid-19 related and deaths which causes were not. dependent economy the first visible response of nigeria to the covid-19 pandemic came with the inauguration of the presidential task force on covid-19 and covid-19 economic stabilisation committee. the nigerian federal and state governments took lock down measures as well as set up various covid-19 machineries to check the spread of the virus. covid-19 lockdown engendered economic, social, psychological and political consequences on the citizens. the government both at the federal and state levels provided palliatives and economic stimulus packages. however, the state of the infrastructure, the parlous nature of the economy and opaqueness in the implementation of the palliatives undermined the government`s ability to sustain the covid-19 protocols and fund the palliative and economic stimulus packages (abati, 2020). the new wave of the corona virus that spiked the nigerian confirmed cases just as the cases around the globe has only elicited panicky containment measures from the nigerian state without any adequate strategies and the political will for enforcement. even the vaccines that have been produced for the virus have been secured by the nigerian state in the quantity that is very infinitesimal compared to the nigerian population. the implication is that the nigerian state has not been able to mobilise nigerians against the pandemic. that the disease has not been as devastating in nigeria as in other countries is more a providential benevolence than it is the conscious strategy of the ruling class. more than a year down the line, how has nigeria fared in the management of covid-19? what are the implications of a depressed economy, a state under pressure, a compromised leadership, an endemic corruption and a weak institution on the covid-19 situation in nigeria? what would have been the consequences on nigeria, if the corona virus has been as virulent as in the other continents, considering the despondent nature of the health and infrastructure architecture? are there lessons to be learnt by nigeria from the pandemic that would be leveraged for a rewarding post covid-19 opportunity? dependent economy nigerian economy is neo-colonial, dependent and pseudo-capitalist. a dependent economy is an economy whose development alternatives are defined and limited by its integration into and function within the world market (payne & nasser, 2003). the foundation of nigerian economy was laid over the centuries through the creation of a relationship of asymmetrical partnership between the western societies and third world countries. the dependent nature of these economies is such that they must make decisions within the confines or the hegemonic 49 dictates of international capital (amin, 2003; wellenstein, 2011). nigerian economy therefore became constricted into pseudo capitalist economy that is based on a mono-cultural commodity production. the economy today is dictated by the vagaries and whims of global oil market, just as the agricultural cash crop commodity which was the basis of nigerian economy was dictated by international commodity capital in the 1950s and 1960s (anikpo, 1995). the implication is that the nigerian goods are not internationally competitive. again, the nigerian economy is not a productive economy but a consumptive economy. part of the goods consumed by the nigerian population is directly or vicariously produced from the nigerian natural resources by international companies. this makes nigeria a rentier economy. a rentier economy is an economy that derives all or substantial portion of its national revenues from the rent paid by foreign individuals, concerns or governments. avery good illustration of this scenario is the way the nigerian state collects rents from the multinational companies that exploit the resources of the nigerian environment. the nature of nigerian economy is typified by the nigerian oil industry. through different exploitative mechanisms, the international oil companies (ioc) exploit the nigerian oil and simply pays the rents to the nigerian ruling class (abutudu & garuba, 2011). the unproductive and the primitive accumulation mentality of the nigerian bourgeoisie has deprived it of the requisite capital, the necessary technology and the organisational capacity to develop an authentic economy that can match the competitiveness of international capital. rather, nigeria became simply a country that exports raw materials and import value added products. the situation is exacerbated when infrastructures established to address the fundamental developmental issues are deliberately undermined to achieve other mundane interests of the bourgeois class. for instance, nigeria still imports petroleum products even with the establishment of the refineries and the huge appropriation for their maintenance every year. also the massive investment in the power and steel infrastructure has been stalled by bourgeois petulance thereby denying the nation the revolution the sectors bring to bear in the emergence of national industrialization. the structure of the nigerian economy has structurally limited its expansion. with a gdp of 448.10 billion dollars in a population of over 200,000,000, the nigerian per capita is a paltry 2, 149 dollars as at 2019 (nbs, 2020). table 1 shows a comparative analysis of the gdp of selected countries with nigeria. dependent economy country gdp ($) population(million) per-capita ($) usa 21,433,226 328.2 63.051 uk 2,829,108 66.5 39,229 france 2,715, 518 67.6 39,125 denmark 350,104.33 5.8 58,439 netherlands 709,050.86 17.28 51,290 brazil 1,839, 758.04 211.2 6,450 south korea 1,646, 739.22 51.7 30,644 saudi arabia 792, 966.84 34.27 19,587 south africa 351, 431.65 58.6 4,736 egypt 303,092.25 100.4 3,561 nigeria 448. 10 201.1 2,149 source: world bank group: https://worldbank.org fig 1: showing the per capital of the eleven countries the numbers arranged horizontally represents the countries as arranged in table 1 above the table shows that nigeria by the size of her gdp is not a rich country; but indeed a poor country with one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world. nigeria is positioned at 139 out of 187 countries in terms of level of per-capita incomes. the nigerian economic situation is even worsened by the glaring level of inequality that has put over 80% of the country`s wealth in the hands of less than 10% of the population, while 90% of the population wallow in poverty with less than 20% of the nation`s resources (soludo, 2020). with this nature of economic resources, nigeria will be hard placed to embark on budgeting that will cater for the well being of her large population. 63.051 39,229 39,125 58,439 51,290 6,450 30,644 19,587 4,736 3,561 2,149 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 per-capita ($) https://worldbank.org/ 51 the dependence of the nigerian economy on the bretton woods institutions on the direction of the economy has stalled self-reliant autochthonous development for nigeria. one of the consequences of the nigerian economic dependence on the bretton woods institutions is the increasing debt crisis. nigerian foreign debt now stands at n32.3 trillion ($86.3 billion) as at february, 2021(nbs, 2021). the nigerian economy suffers today from serious debilitating debt overhang which has distorted her budgeting process and stunted socio-economic growth and development. the nigerian economy is thus incapable of generating enough resources to guarantee basic necessities of life for the people; create employment and provide critical infrastructure for people’s welfare and entrepreneurial drive. the consequences of the crises generated by the economic problems have had devastating effects on the people and the nations. the manifestations of these effects include: unprecedented poverty; rising unemployment; high level of inequality and low rating on human development index (nbs, 2018). as petroleum ceases to be a major player in international arena in the next few decades, because of enhanced technologically driven alternative energy sources, nigerian economy that is dependent on oil will face bleak future. with two economic recessions in five years, nigerian incapacity in providing the requisite buffers that can withstand the shocks such as the covid-19 has been brought to the fore. corruption corruption can be defined as the abuse of public trust for private gain (transparency international, 2009). in societies where corruption has become systemic, endemic, structural and institutionalized, it has posed most formidable obstacle to economic development, social equality and political stability. corruption is inevitable in a capitalist society or any society with clear cut social class cleavages and in which the state panders to the whimsical interests of the ruling class. in nigeria, corruption has become so dominant that her rankings in the yearly corruption perception index (cpi) by the transparency international in the past two decades have been very unsavoury. this reflects in the table below showing ti ranking between 2015 and 2020. table 2 showing ti global ranking from 2015 to 2020 dependent economy year ranking number of countries cpi score 2015 138 117 26 2016 136 176 28 2017 148 179 27 2018 148 178 27 2019 146 180 26 2020 149 179 27 transparency international (2021 the indication from the table showed that the nigerian poverty situation worsened over the years. the 2020 cpi ranking which placed nigeria in the 149th position with 25 points is the worst in the past ten years. the report shows that nigeria failed woefully in the areas of management of covid-19 pandemic, official appointments and promotions, legal framework and internal security system as well as lack of commitment to the implementation of report of cases of corruption among the officials of government (the guardian, 2021). the proclivity of the nigerian political class to unmitigated corruption is a reflection of the dynamics of the nature of nigerian economy and the dialectics of pseudo-capitalist state. it is imperative to state here that the humongous corruption that has stalled the nigerian development has been indulged only by the nigerian ruling class. the ruling class does not only have access to the common wealth by their position in the political economy; but it also has the where withal to perpetrate such monstrous impudence (achebe, 2013). fighting corruption in a dependent pseudo-capitalist society engenders structural encumberances because of lack of institutionalized capacity and poor political will inherent in the system. corruption flourishes where there are few institutional checks on power, where decision making is obscured, where civil society is weak, and where poverty is widespread (eyisi, peter-side & eke, 2018). the deleterious effects of corruption in nigeria have been unprecedented. corruption has stalled investment in human welfare, exacerbated extreme poverty and rendered very deplorable the nigerian rating on human development index (hdi). this is manifested in the squalid housing condition, poor health standards, substandard education, youth unemployment and generally declining living standards. the 2020 human development index (hdi) report by the united nations development programme (undp) ranked nigeria among the least developed countries of the world; and 23 in sub-saharan africa (lower than namibia, zimbabwe, zambia, cameroun, uganda, benin republic etc) on the human development index (hdi) on the basis of life expectancy, literacy level, and gdp (undp, 2020). the 53 nigerian lack of the political will and institutional sagacity to fight corruption has weakened her capacity to build a strong socio-economic society that can withstand the shocks created by such vagaries as the corona virus impact. theoretical framework this paper will be guided by the insights provided by the political economy paradigm in the elucidation of social reality. the political economy approach roots its interpretation on the fundamental processes of production and distribution from which structural conditions of social, economic and political relations emanate (anikpo, 1996). covid-19 pandemic though a health related phenomenon reflects economic situation in decisions on the containment of the pandemic. in other words, nation-states all over the world put economic consideration as a priority beyond the health situation in trying to decide whether to impose lockdown or relax same. the epidemiological structure of covid-19 pandemic in both the infection and fatality rates manifests glaring socio-economic class cleavages in the society. more than 70% of infections and fatalities occur among the blacks in the united states of america and united kingdom (bremman, 2020). the working class families in nigeria and other third world countries are barely at subsistence level; they live in overcrowded squalid and decrepit housing conditions, lack basic infrastructure and reside under a serious constricted space. the poor proletariat were the first to lose their jobs, while the lumpen proletariat (the artisans, drivers, panel beaters, vulcanizes and petty traders) were the first to lose their means of livelihood under covid-19 pandemic lockdown. the question arises; why are the low income groups the most affected in epidemic situations such as the covid-19 pandemic? the question is answered not by recourse to the moral bounds of the leaders or abstract sentimental disposition, but rather through a dialectical interrogation of the institutional contradictions embedded in the structure of the capitalist or any society imbued with class inequalities and exploitative relations. the responsibility of the social scientist is to probe into the character and fundamentals of the society as they impact on the most structurally vulnerable (ritzer and stephinisky, 2014). method dependent economy this study made use of secondary data. the nature of the study which is purely theoretical and qualitative recommends the need for the data to be sourced from secondary sources. according to haralambos and holborn (2008), secondary sources of data include the following: official statistics, historical sources, life documents, mass media and internet sources. we obtained our data from the academic journals, mass media and internet sources. our data were also procured from records from the ministries, departments and agencies of government. we equally procured data from local and international agencies and non governmental organisations (ngos). in using data from the secondary sources, the researchers are conscious of their authenticity and validity, particularly where the data are from the government official statistics. however, we ensured the integrity of the data by subjecting same to rigorous research scrutiny and authentication through content analysis. findings the human angle in the management of covid-19 by the nigerian state the nigerian state response to the covid-19 pandemic was not unexpected because it followed the practice around the world. however, the management of the lock down by the nigerian state left much to be desired. no doubt, the covid-19 lockdown infringed on the fundamental human rights and privacies of individuals around the world. this has generated a wave of protests around the world. however, in the case of the states in the western democracies the protest has been against the infringement on the privacy and the right to association, movements and right to congregate. in nigeria, the state denied the citizens all the rights including economic, educational and right to health. the reaction of the state to the response of nigerians to the economic, psychological and social deleterious effect of covid-19 lockdown on them can only be described as repressive, repugnant and reprehensible. the nigerian citizens` resistance to lockdown because of the excruciating conditions it engendered was met with clamp down, unlawful detention, extortion, torture and isolation. covid-19 lockdown revealed the fangs of the state in its most brutal forms in nigeria. this unwittingly generated high incidences of human right abuses, extrajudicial killings and homicide cases and criminality. for instance, nigerian human rights commission (nhrc) report of 20th august, 2020 dedicated to covid-19 lockdown showed 55 that over 321 reports of killing, torture, abuses, extortion, including 26 extra-judicial killings were received against the police and other law enforcement agencies (kola, 2020). again the executive order enforcing lockdown in some states exacerbated the suffering of the people through extortion from the law enforcement agents and task forces set up to enforce the lockdown, destruction of properties and businesses, detentions, forced quarantine and extrajudicial killings. in rivers state for instance, two hotels were destroyed in eleme for flouting the lock down order; two people were killed including a police woman and many people were summarily detained and forcibly isolated in the isolation centres even when there are no evidence of covid-19 status on them (adeshokan, 2020). the state therefore rather than being used to mitigate the covid-19 induced sufferings on the citizens, became an instrument wittingly or unwittingly of unimaginable human right abuse and deprivation by the ruling class in nigeria. the state, trust deficit and covid-19 a major problem of african societies is the glaring desideratum of trust for the ruling class. the erosion of trust has stultified institutions, truncated social equilibrium, and discouraged patriotism. the state has become so alienated from the people that they cannot instil the needed patriotic and nationalistic ideals that are ingredients for nation building and national development. the result is that the average citizen cannot defend the cause of the nationhood. today, the nigerian citizens, among which are the very educated have found it difficult to come to terms with the existence of covid-19 pandemic, not to talk of obeying the covid19 health protocols. this is not surprising because the nigerian state has failed to establish the true position of corona virus in the country due to lack of testing capacity, inconsistency in data upkeep and incompetence in managing the lockdown outcomes (scott, 2020). again, the covid-19 pandemic health protocols have been obeyed in breach by the very ruling class (who in the first place made the laws), at the airports, political rallies and at social engagements involving or organised by them. worse still is the humongous corruption that has heralded all aspects of the covid-19 management in the country. convincing the people on lockdown as a measure of curbing the pandemic has been an uphill task for the nigerian state. obedience to the corona virus lockdown orders by the people have been secured with the trepidation of the state coercive instruments rather than consciousness on covid-19 health concerns. nigerian economy and covid-19 dependent economy the nigerian economy is unstable, unsustainable and given to dependence on the vagaries of international dynamics. nigeria therefore lack the necessary buffers required for fiscal relief in times of crises such as covid-19. nigerian situation worsened under covid-19 pandemic experience. the 2020 nigerian budget of 10.9 trillion was reviewed downwards by 25%. the 2020 budget was based on $57/barrel benchmark and 1.7 million barrels per day production output was reduced to $30/barrel benchmark because of the plummeting oil price and opec enforced production cuts. nigeria therefore does not have the necessary savings and requisite economic diversification to sustain the covid-19 lockdown pandemic without external and internal contributions. nigerian budget for the economic stimulus and palliatives is a far cry when compared with the covid-19 budget of the developed countries. for instance, usa, japan and britain budgeted $2 trillion, $ 1 trillion and $750 billion economic stimulus packages and palliatives respectively to address the covid-19 pandemic (deloitte, 2020). usa in addition appropriated another $1.9 trillion dollars to boost covid-19 economic stimulus and recovery packages (the guardian, 2020). most african countries cannot afford such funds. nigeria for instance budgeted less than $4.2 billion in economic stimulus packages and palliatives to address covid-19 pandemic in the country. even with donations from the international and national organisations and agencies, nigeria still faces uphill task in mitigating the consequences of lockdown. the world bank group (2020) projected that the nigeria poverty rate in 2020 is likely to increase to 40.2, from 40.1 in 2019, (accounting for additional 2.3 million people falling into poverty). nonetheless, with the present recession (largely caused by the pandemic), a projected 42.5% increase in the rate of poverty is perhaps anticipated in nigeria. these among other factors are projected to push more 4.9 million nigerian populations into poverty in 2020. indeed, the recent report from world bank showed that 7 million nigerians slipped into abject poverty in 2020 due to covid-19 pandemic (world bank, 2020). the covid-19 driven economic structure looks bleak. imf regional economic outlook: subsaharan africa in 2020 report showed -1.6% economic growth rate for africa which was a record of downward revision of 5.2% points compared to 2019 growth rate (imf, 2020). the world bank 2020 report also showed a sharp fall in subsaharan african gdp from 2.5% in 2019 to -2.1% in 2020 (world bank, 2020). the worsening economic situation has been aggravated by the sharp falls in the diaspora remittances that support millions of african and nigerian families and informal businesses as well as the declining foreign direct investment 57 as a result of global economic recession induced by the covid-19 pandemic (lancert et al, 2020). again, nigerian economy dependence status reflect in the fact that almost all the covid-19 pandemic non-pharmaceutical materials were imported, thus depleting further nigerian foreign exchange reserve. even the various vaccines that have been in use were manufactured in different countries, some with nigerians medical personnel. the aftermath of the covid-19 induced economic crises reflects in the spiralling inflation, the surge in unemployment, increasing poverty rate, the collapse of education and health infrastructure and decadence in social, cultural and political life of the nigerian state. corruption and covid-19 in nigeria in a pseudo-capitalist society like nigeria corruption is not only inexorable but simply hegemonic because of tendency for primitive accumulation. the institutionalisation of corruption in nigeria has been an inevitable part of governmental activities and nobody pretends about it. this is why covid-19 in nigeria became the bet for primitive accumulation in all facets of governmental activities. apart from the evidences of massive embezzlement in all the agencies that handled covid-19 activities, other ministries, parastatals, community heads, religious heads and even pseudo ngos that were not part of the management of virus found ways of capitalising on the pandemic for personal aggrandisement. in nigeria, covid19 thus became one of the avenues, for bourgeois manipulation and graft. the hoarding of covid-19 palliative as discovered by the endsars protesters shows the level of insensitivity and depravity of the ruling class (orijinma, 2000). below is a selected list of allegations of corruption against members of the ruling class associated with corona virus in nigeria:  serap questions how 36 billion was spent on covid-19 in nigeria (vanguard, september 6, 2020);  femi falana files for information through the freedom of information act on how 338 billion naira cbn covid-19 was disbursed (channels news at 10pm, august 27, 2020);  nigerians task the minister of disaster and humanitarian affairs on how 2.67 billion naira of so called school feeding was found in personal account of individuals (channels news at 10pm, september 28, 2020); dependent economy  expenditure of 1.6 billion naira on covid-19 spent by nddc on covid-19 palliative;  lack of data on the cash transfer of n20,000.00 to 3.6 million indigent nigerians (actionaid, 2020);  nigerians raise questions on the expenditure of 9 billion naira on the feeding of school children who were at home during lock down (onwuzoo, 2020);  questions on the kaduna state expenditure of n400,000.00 on treatment of one covid-19 patient (elrufai, 2020);  questions also raised on the disbursement of 1 billion naira to 32 states for ramping up covid-19 tests at a time when tests are dwindling (ait news at 8pm, september 21, 2020);  peoples` democratic party (pdp) tackles minister over diversion of funds for covid19 palliatives and the looting of the palliatives (the nation, november 2, 2020);  diversion of 6.25 billion naira nddc covid-19 palliative (legit, august 17, 2020);  the management of the palliative lack transparency and credibility. political consideration, corruption, cronyism and nepotism beclouded the whole essence of the covid-19 pandemic palliative and economic stimulus packages in nigeria (njoku, 2020);  400 billion naira spent on covid-19 pandemic vaccine even when the entire budget of 2020/21 budget for health is a paltry 150 billion naira. this also runs against the advice of bill gates and some nigerians like peter obi that the money can be deployed to improve on the health infrastructure. conclusion (policy implication) the paper has shown that the incapacity of the nigerian nation to offer a robust social, economic and political response to the challenges posed by covid-19 pandemic reflects an underdeveloped nation-state. we have also articulated the implications of underdevelopment as manifesting in the nature of the economy that is dependent, unsustainable and vulnerable to vagaries of international capital; the nature of the nigerian state that cannot tame the excesses and impunity of the bourgeois class; the character of the ruling class that is not only very narcissist and easily manipulable by international capital but has shown glaring incapacity in the of the affairs of the state; weak socio-political institutions that can easily be rendered 59 comatose due to the manipulations of the ruling class; and unprecedented corruption in the system. the nigerian social structure therefore urgently needs structural transformation that will deliver a leadership that is not only nationalistic and patriotic, but will be strategically positioned to ensure a sustainable path that can guarantee buffers against shocks such as the challenge of covid-19 pandemic. such leadership can enunciate policies that can utilize opportunities provided by the covid-19 pandemic to re-evaluate development strategies in line with the new global realities. specifically, such leadership will address such areas of national life that include health, education, housing, economy, unemployment, poverty, inequality and state-civil society relations. these areas worsened for nigerians because of the peculiar circumstances of covid-19, and resulting from the palpable incapacity of the nigerian state to rise to the challenges posed by the new virus. no doubt, nigerians faced unimaginable economic deprivations, education and health alienation, human right abuses, extra-judicial killings, social exclusion and psychological trauma that are tangential to forced restriction in a decrepit habitation during the covid-19 lockdown. addressing these issues require policies that will strategically emphasise the following:  institutionalisation of structures that will not only address unemployment and poverty, but that will provide social security scheme that will ensure lives for the very vulnerable in the society;  create structures for a self-reliant, diversified economy that can be insulated from the control and exploitation of international capital, as well as capable of creating buffers against shocks such as the covid-19 pandemic;  enhance institutional capacity that can address human right violations, particularly in periods of emergencies such as the corona virus pandemic; as well as tame corruption and excesses within the bourgeois ruling class;  investment in critical infrastructure has become more imperative to create enabling environment for economic activities and national development;  the stark revelation of the deficiencies of the nigerian state in the critical areas of health, education, housing and information communication and technology (ict) has reinvigorated the urgent need for a new dimension in budget appropriation in the critical areas to meet international standards; and to enhance human development index. for instance, the nigerian state can start with raising budgetary allocation to health from dependent economy present 4.5% to the african union minimum recommendation of 15% and education from the current 7%, to the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) recommended minimum standard of 26%. for much of the time, the allocation to these human sectors is not only grossly inadequate, but also has been mismanaged, misapplied, misappropriated or outright embezzled. references abati, r. 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(2020). commission claims 18 killed in virus lockdown. retrieved from https//:www.gs.commission. accessed may 20, 2020 lambert, m., grupt, j., & fletcher, h., (2020). covid-19 as a global challenge: towards an inclusive and sustainable future. the lambert plannetry comment. volume 4, issue 8. https://www.deloite.com/ 61 national centre for disease control. (2020). first case of corona virus disease confirmed in nigeria. retrieved from https://ncdc.gov.ng/new/277/first-case-of-corona-virusdisease-confirmed-in-nigeria. accessed 16 june 2020. nigerian bureau of statistics. (2020). annual report: 40% of nigerians live below poverty line. www.nbs.ng.gov accessed 16th june 2020 njoku, l. (2020). why controversy over fg covid-19 palliative persists. retrieved from https://m.guardian.ng. accessed 2 june 2020. oecd (2020); covid-19 in africa: regional socio-economic implications and policy priorities. www.oecd.org may 7, 2020. onwuzo, a. (2020). school feeding: nigeria spends n679 million daily. retrieved from www.healthwise.punching.com. accessed 14 may 2020. orijirimi, n. (2020). why nigeria youths are targeting covid-19 aid. retrieved from www.bbc.com. accessed 28 october 2020. payne, j., & nasser, r. (2003) politics and culture in the developing world: the impact of globalisation. new york: longman. premium times. (2020, april 27). cacovid-19 donate n25. 8 billion to covid-19. ritzer, g., & stepnisky, j. (2014) sociological theory. singapore: mcgraw hill education. serap (2020). explain how you spent 36 billion naira on covid. vanguard: september 9, 2020. scot, j. (2020). the economic, geopolitical and health consequences of covid-19. world economic forum. retrieved http://www.weforum.org. accessed 29 august 2020. soludo, c. (2020); can africa afford lockdown? african regional policy platform, april 24, 2020. the guardian. (2020). us government to give citizens emergency financial aid. retrieved from https://www.guardian.com. accessed 23 august 2020. the guardian (2021) “stakeholders examine impact of corruption”. january 29, 2021. transparency international (2020) corruption perception index. retrieved from www.transparency.org. accessed date: march 28, 2021. united nations development programmes (2020). sustainable development goals. retrieved from https:www.undp.org. accessed date: april 27, 2021. unesco (2020) education: from disruption to recovery. retrieved from: https://en.unesco.org/covid-19/edu. date accessed: may 29, 2020. yuval, h. (2020); the world after coronavirus. the financial times, april 30. 2020. welleinstein, i. (2011) the modern world system. california: university of california press. world bank. (2020). covid-19 drives sub-saharan african towards first recession in 25 years. retrieved from tps://www.worldbank.org. accessed 10 june 2020. https://ncdc.gov.ng/news/227/first-case-of-corona-virus-disease-confirmed-in-nigeria https://ncdc.gov.ng/news/227/first-case-of-corona-virus-disease-confirmed-in-nigeria https://m.guardian.ng/ http://www.oecd.org/ http://www.weforum.org/ https://www.guardian.com/ http://www.transparency/ https://en.unesco.org/covid-19/edu page 3 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 59 crime prevention and control: analysis of police and public perception thaddeus umoru department of sociology, faculty of social sciences, kogi state university, anyigba, kogi state, nigeria thaddeusumoru@gmail.com. abstract crime is a global concern. in nigeria, crime has brought a disconcerting problem to the populace. the police are tasked with the duties of securing lives and properties as well maintaining peace, order and tranquility. the recent surge of crime reported in literature provides enough impetus to compare police and public perception of crime, prevention and control in anyigba metropolis. the study adopted cross sectional survey design, and used primary method of data collection via two separate validated questionnaires. non-parametric sampling method (purposively sample) was used to select 196 participants comprising of 128 adult residents of anyigba town and 68 police officers from the anyigba divisional police headquarters. the study includes 152 males and 44 females with mean age of 46.51 and standard deviation of 16.31. the hypothesis analysed by t-test of independent sample revealed a significant difference between police and public perception of crime, prevention and control. the study recommends that police should improve on their strategies for crime prevention and control, publicize these strategies by continuous media talk show while the general public should see crime prevention and control as a collective responsibility. the current study have implications for criminologists, criminal justice practitioners, researchers, policy makers and administrators seeking to understand police as agents of law maintenance and to improve police efficiency in preventing and controlling crimes. keywords: control; crime; prevention; public; perception. introduction security is one of the most vital requirements for development and societal growth, both in the physical and economic sense as well as psychological wellbeing. security engenders peace; consequently, a mind that is at peace can rationally address the issues of procreation, economic development and societal growth. insecurity leads to a disturbed mind and therefore brings about restless and distraught personality. the task of law enforcement agencies in ensuring security and the maintenance of peace and order is a high calling and should be handled with utmost diligence. bearing in mind that every man by nature is selfcentred (hobbes, 1994), the presence of the state institution of law enforcement agencies that would make man act right and just is in high demand. literature is awash with reports of rise in armed robbery, banditry, reckless abuse of human rights including torture and extrajudicial killings (jungle justice), embezzlement of public funds, road checkpoints extortion, heinous politically motivated murders to name but few (karimu & osunyikanmi, 2012; karimu, 2014; agbiboa, 2015; akinlabi, 2017; mailto:thaddeusumoru@gmail.com ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 60 fundaungo, 2017; baba, babajo & namahe, 2017). these aforementioned crimes are common in the present day nigeria irrespective of the high presence of law enforcement agencies whose main duties are to safeguard internal security, protect lives and properties as well as detect, prevent and control crimes in civil societies. due to the rampant crimes, law enforcement agencies seemed to be perceived as corrupt and inefficient institution with penchant for human rights abuse (ajayi & longe, 2015). in nigeria, the police are officials of government and society, responsible for the detection, prevention and control, apprehension and prosecution of crimes and violence in the country (alemika, 2013). as such, there is probably no other security control organisation that has an intimate dealing with the large segment of the nigerian populace as the police. they must be available in case of crime, perceived injustice and right infringements or any of such related need and demonstrate absolute commitment at all times to render the best possible services to the public. conversely however, there is a reverse perception from the populace aided by the seemingly policing styles of intimidation, brutality, extortion and highhandedness (ajayi & longe, 2015). though alemika (2013) observed that a combination of structural political, socio-economic and cultural factors as well as institutional inadequacies prevented the nigerian police force from adequately performing their duties satisfactorily and in compliance with the rule of law at all time, personnel’s personality factors of perhaps greed and lackadaisical attitudes seem to be responsible for the deepening crime rate in nigeria. the above perceived malady in the presence of well established bodies of law enforcement agencies in nigeria calls for scientific inquiry; thus, this study compares the police and public perceived efficacy of crime prevention and control in anyigba, dekina local government, kogi state-nigeria. statement of the problem presently, nigeria is suffering from a growing crime-problem, which is progressively threatening its sovereignty, security and development (alemika, 2012). despite the constitutional powers granted the police to maintain general security, public safety and peace, the quality of security provided by them has nothing to be proud of, as there has been manifestation of unabated crimes in loss of lives and properties as well as oppression, harassment, extortions and intimidations not only perceived to be perpetuated by the influential/ruling class but also aided by the police officers who were supposed to curb this social vices. the nigerian police force has a very serious image problem in the eyes of the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 61 public; it hopes to protect and serve, having been perceived as harbinger of corruption, instrument in the hand of the ruling class, terror inducers and late or non comers to crime scenes (dalhatu, 2013). the perceived nonchalance, ineptitude, inefficiency and ineffectiveness of police officer, endangers the citizens and blots the institutional reputation of the police that they represent. given the foregoing malady, this empirical study therefore aims to analyse police and public perception on crime, crime prevention and control in anyigba metropolis, kogi state, nigeria. literature review concept of crime in criminal law, crime is an act of omission which attracts sanctions such as fines, imprisonment or even death (scott & marshall, 2009). a normative definition views crime as a deviant behaviour that violates prevailing norms, cultural standards prescribing how human beings ought to behave normally. the conflict orientation sees crime in the perspective of the ruling class. society consists of competing interest groups which are in conflict with each other, due to unequal distribution of wealth which results in inequality in economic and social powers. according to quinney (1980) “dominant class creates laws that will protect their own interests, and that lower class crime is as a function of miserable life condition and conflict with the interest of the dominant class; and that the dominant class constructs beliefs about crime which makes the dominant class look good and the powerless look bad.” for mathews (1993) crimes are the outcome of social changes, which is brought about by social developments and exposure to the western culture and their life style. crime is in an important sense, a socially constructed phenomenon; its meaning is profoundly influenced by considerations of time and space. the concept of crime prevention and control crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it. crime prevention and control are, however, closely related and their elements overlap. crime prevention involves the community, government as well as individuals; crime control involves the whole of the criminal justice system, that is, the police, courts and prisons (danbazzua, 2007). according to robert (2003), criminologists have adopted three perspectives of crime prevention as primary, secondary and tertiary preventions; (a) primary prevention – the attempt to change ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 62 environmental conditions that provide opportunities for occurrence of criminal acts. here, the police are the primary focus and three main issues are involved which are –increasing the effort, increasing the risk of committing crime, and reducing the reward for the potential offender; (b) secondary prevention – the engagement in early identification of potential offenders by seeking to intervene and prevent criminal behaviour from developing. various bodies and organiations such as non-governmental organizations (ngos); (c) tertiary prevention this deals with actual offender and interventions aimed at preventing further criminal acts. the intervention here centered at the prisons and probation services (roberts, 2003). the nigerian police historically, the nigeria police force is variously documented to fully understand the context of policing in the present day nigeria (rotimi, 1993; onoge, 1993). some scholars believe that modern police emerged from two types of police system; the hausa constabulary of 30 ex-slaves from sierra leone constituted and controlled by the british colonizers who through wars, treaties obtained by violence and foul means, subjected nationalities to compliance and the local forces established around local or native authorities controlled by local surrogate (indigenous traditional rulers) (alemika, 2013; alemika, 2003). the main purpose of the constabulary was the enforcement of colonial laws and gunpoint extraction of resources; to protect the colonial interest in lagos colony and not to serve the citizens (onyeozili, 1998). constabularies were alien to the customs and traditional values of the local people; as they were hausa-speaking ex-slaves from sierra leone and non-indigenes of lagos colony (onyeozili, 1998). this first foundation of policing ingrained in the citizens a police force that could not be trusted and should be avoided at all cost (alemika, 2013; oluwaniyi, 2011; otu, 2012). between 1900 and 1905, otitte (1990) stated that the various police forces and constabularies created by the colonialist were amalgamated into two major forces; northern nigeria and southern nigeria police force; which were brought together in 1930 to be what we called today the nigeria police force (onyeozili, 2005). today, the police have variously been referred to, rightly or wrongly as “the first line of defence of the nation”, “the first line of attack by the public,” “the keeper of the public’s peace” (tinubu, 1972). unfortunately, the nigerian police have turned against the very citizens that are supposed to be collaborators; by their inhumane acts, brutality and the exorbitant charges (akinlabi, 2017). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 63 perception of police, crime prevention and control in nigeria crime prevention and control is an issue of concern to almost all societies in the globe, due to the frequent rise in crime rate. reports from united nations office on drugs and crime (unodc, 2013) numbeo (2015) revealed that africa and americas are highest continents with crime rates in comparison with other regions; 16.3 per 100,000 people and africa 12.5 per 100,000 which is quit greater than the worldwide average of 6.2 per 100,000 people. fundaungo (2017) revealed that the rates of crimes are still increasing in most of the countries which is a confirmation of the projection of unodc (2013) that nearly a third of the world killings committed in 2012 happened in africa. six african countries –nigeria, south africa, south sudan, libya and kenya are ranked among the twenty nation-states with the highest number of crime rates in the world as of 2015 and in that same year, africa was ranked the second in terms of regional murder rates (numbeo, 2015). this assertion record is still said to be correct with numbeo (2019) revealing that south africa, namibia and nigeria are the top three african countries with the highest rate of crime at 77.02, 68.14 and 64.64 percentage of world crime index. this report also has it that most africa countries occupy the top 40 world ranking in the crime index chart. the aforementioned are confirmation of dambazau (2007) who maintained that nigeria has been on the world crime map since 1980s. the types of crimes that are very common in country ranges from homicide, armed robbery, rape, housebreak, car theft, fraud, drug and food abuse, bribery and corruption, gambling, kidnapping, smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking, cyber crime, money laundering, advanced fee fraud (419) and more recent ones including oil bunkering and the boko haram killings (akinlabi, 2017; baba, babajo & namahe, 2017). available statistics from unodc (2013) reveals that, the rate of murder in nigeria stand at 20 per 100,000 people in 2012. based on the data from the law enforcement agents, the number is on the rise, especially in crimes like homicide, corruption, kidnapping, theft and other forms of ferocity (nigeria police, 2009). a recent investigation carried out by afrobarometer (2015) discovered that 39 percent of nigerians felt insecure in their neighborhoods and 33 percent had some anxiety about crime happening in their households. this report has not significantly improve as afrobarometer (2017) confirmed that more that 13 to 18 of the people 1200 representative sample surveyed in both rural and urban of the nigerian communities expressed the feeling unsafe walking in the neighborhood, fear of crimes occurring at home, had something stolen from them and had been physically attacked. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 64 though the high number of crimes in nigeria can be explained by the instability and failure, as well as historic dynamics which include inter-ethnic, intra/ inter religious prejudices, poverty, corruption, unemployment and the effects of improved successes of antidrug law enforcement, the nigerian police saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding lives and property has not lived up to its bids as good number of people do not only feel unsafe but also attacked in both rural and urban communities. police in nigeria has been viewed as a luxury denied to the general public (alemika, 2013; orole, gadar & hunter, 2014). crime perpetration abounds uncontrollably. the nature of these crimes includes armed robbery, murder, rape, car theft, burglary, fraud, bribery and corruption, food and drug adulteration, gambling, smuggling, drug and human trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering, internet scam, advanced fee fraud and other illegal activities (akinlabi, 2017; baba, babajo & namahe, 2017). the vast coverage of police seems not to have effectively prevented and controlled crime, rather police have been indicted in several ways including the widespread of corruption, unfair dealing with suspects, bad temper, bullying and other abuses of citizen’s rights (omisakin, 1998; murphy bradford & jackson 2016). anyigba town as the choice setting of this study is based on it being known as the hot bed of various criminal activities like thuggery, armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, prostitution etc. carried out by students, settlers and indigenous residents (esomchi, 2017). theoretical framework anomie theory the development of durkheim’s anomie theory has been traced to the idea of anomia in ancient greek philosophy (orru`, 1987). orru` (1987) maintained that durkheim alluded different meaning to anomie in several works, but his most explicit discussions of this concept were presented in the division of labor in society (1893/1984) and suicide (1897/1951). the present study is anchored on the division of labor, where durkheim (1893/1984) discussed anomie in terms of an abnormal form of the division of labour. he maintained that the division of labour is the primary source of social solidarity in modern societies. when it is well developed, the structure of society consists of a complex yet cohesive system of specialized and interdependent units, a situation that represents normal situation. the division of labour, however, can emerge in an abnormal form, one that does not engender solidarity, which can manifest in three different forms, namely; the ‘‘anomic division of labour,’’ ‘‘the forced division of labour,’’ and what can be referred to as a ‘‘badly ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 65 coordinated’’ division of labor (although durkheim simply labeled it ‘‘another abnormal form’’). an anomic division of labour exists where relationships between different organs of a society lack adequate regulation (durkheim, 1893/1984). this condition is attributed to an abrupt change in the social system. during this change, many well-established relationships and rules become obsolete, but the development of new functional relationships and rules that sanction them cannot keep pace with the transformation that is occurring. thus, there is a lack of adequate regulation, a state of anomie. anomie is present when social controls are weak, when the moral obligations that constrain individuals and regulate their behaviour are not strong enough to function effectively. in nigerian context, the inability of existing rules and regulation, societal social institutions to adequately prevent the breakdown of family values, high unemployment rate, bribery and corruption, inadequate equipment to match force with criminals’ sophisticated weapons and the demoralized personnel have contributed significantly to the incapacitation of the police to prevent and control crime; thereby leading to the rise in criminal activities such as murder, rape, theft etc. research questions i. what is the perceived relationship between public and police in crime management? ii. what are the abuse and assaults suffered in anyigba community by the inappropriate policing style in the last 12months? iii. what is the public perception of the effectiveness of police performance in crime prevention? iv. what is the difference between police and public perception on crime prevention and control? aim and objectives of study the aim of the study is to analyse police and public perception of crime, crime prevention and control in anyigba, kogi state, nigeria. the specific objectives are to: i. examine the perceived relationship between public and police relationship in crime prevention and control. ii. ascertain the abuse and assaults suffered in anyigba community by the inappropriate policing style in the last 12months. iii. analyse public perception of the effectiveness of police performance on crime prevention. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 66 iv. examine the difference between public and police perception on crime prevention and control. research hypothesis i. there will be significant difference between police and public perception on crime, crime prevention and control. method design: a cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study, because the participant of the study cut across varying characteristics. participants: the participants of this study are of two categories; the residents of anyigba community and the members of nigerian police. the researcher recruited 13 field workers who were trained on the sampling techniques as well as methods of completing the questionnaire designed for the collection of data via primary method. these field workers were given 130 questionnaires (10 each) to administer to residents of anyigba community, this yielded 100 percent return, but 128 were properly completed. the police participants were sampled by the researcher with 74 questionnaires, 68 which returned were properly completed, resulting to 196 participants. the administration and collection of the questionnaires among the participant lasted for a day between 10:00am to 4:00pm. participants sampled have mean age of 34.5 with standard deviation of 10.3. this implies that majority of the respondents are middle-aged adults, who must have direct or indirect dealings with the police. sampling technique and procedure: multi-stage and non-parametric sampling technique (purposive sampling) were used in the selection of research participants. the first stage involved simple random sampling from the three kogi senatorial districts (i.e. kogi central, kogi east and kogi west) with kogi east senatorial district being selected. the second stage involved the simple random sampling from the list of the nine local government areas (i.e. ankpa, bassa dekina, ibaji, idah, igalamela/odolu, ofu, olamaboro and omala) in kogi east senatorial districts with dekina local government area being drawn. the third stage is the selection of anyigba from the list of wards in dekina, through balloting. the fourth stage is selection of 13 polling units following even number counts from the list of the 27 available units in anyigba ward. the fifth stage is the selection of 2 participants from every ten house among the selected polling unit, with 128 public participants selected for the study. also 68 police officers were purposively selected in anyigba police station for the study. the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 67 questionnaires were administered to 204 participants but the researcher was able to retrieve 196 questionnaires making for a 94.1 percent response rate. the research was conducted by upholding ethical requirements of avoidance of harm, confidentiality, informed consent, among many other criteria during data collection. useable data 196 were subjected to analysis via spss software, while improperly completed questionnaire were discarded. instrument: the major instrument used in this study is self-report questionnaire which is divided into five sections a to d. section a dealt with the socio-biographic details such as sex, age, education, marital status, religion, ethnicity, employment status, housing arrangement, report of offence and types of mobility of respondents. section b to c of the questionnaire contained 12 items. section b contained 10 items which measured police abuse and assaults as were adapted from akinlabi (2017) and ajayi and longe (2015) on a fourpoint likert-type scale ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 4 – strongly agree with cronbach alpha α = 0.84. section c contained 1-item that measures the relationship between public and police in crime prevention, this was rated on 5-point likert scale; section d contained 1-item that measured public and police perception of the effectiveness of police performance, this was rated on a 4-point likert scale of 1“very ineffective” 4“very effective”. the scales recorded between 0.84 to 0.95 cronbach alpha (α). analysis of data. socio-demographic information of participants and research questions were analysed using descriptive statistics. t-test was used for analysing the hypothesis. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 68 results table 1: demographic characteristics (n=196) s/n bio-data frequency percentage% 1 sex male 152 77.6 female 44 22.4 2 age 20-29yrs 57 28.0 30-39yrs 42 22.0 40-49yrs 48 24.5 50-59yrs 37 19.0 60yrs+ 12 6.5 3 educational qualification no schooling 31 16.2 primary school 47 23.9 secondary 62 31.4 tertiary 56 28.8 4 marital status single 60 30.4 married 136 69.6 5 religion islam 46 23.6 christianity 99 50.4 african tradition 51 26.0 6 tribe igala 117 60.0 ebira 21 10.0 yoruba 49 25.0 others 9 5.0 7 housing arrangement renting 127 65.0 house owners 69 35.0 8 employment status unemployed 61 31.0 unskilled workers 86 43.9 skilled worker 49 25.1 9 offence status no offences committed 157 80.0 minor offence 31 16.0 major offences 8 4.0 10 means of mobility cars 59 30.0 bikes 109 55.6 others 28 14.4 survey data, 2019 table 1 above presents the socio-demographic characteristics and revealed that 152(77.6%) were males while 44(22.4%) were females. age wise, 20-29yrs represent 28.0%, 30-39yrs (22.0%), 40-49yrs (24.5%) 50-59yrs (19.0%) while 60+yrs represent 6.5% of the sample. educational qualification entails; no schooling (15.0%), primary (23.9), secondary ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 69 (31.4%), tertiary (28.8%). there are 30.4% single participants while 69.7% are married. muslims represent 23.6%, christians 50.4% and african traditional religion (atr). sixty percent of the participants are igala by tribe, yoruba 25.0% and ebira 10% while 5.0% are from other tribes. the housing arrangements revealed 65.0% renting while 35.0% own the house. thirty-one percent are unemployed, 43.9% are unskilled while 25.1% are skilled employees. eighty percent had no offences/crime committed, 16.0% had minor offences while 4.0% had major offences. on the type of mobility, 30.0% have cars, 55.6% have bikes, while 14.0% have other means of mobility. analysis of research questions table 2: the perception of public and police relationship in crime prevention and control how would you describe the relationship between the public and police in crime management? n = 128 frequency % very cordial 4 3.1 cordial 8 6.2 indifferent 12 9.4 antagonistic 50 39.1 very antagonistic 54 42.2 survey data, 2019 table 2 revealed that an overwhelming majority of the public saw the public and police relationship as antagonistic and very antagonistic at 39.1% and 42.2% respectively, while only 6.2% and 3.1% of the sampled population described the relationship as cordial and very cordial respectively. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 70 table 3: abuse and assaults suffered by members of anyigba community by the inappropriate policing style in the last 12months s/n assaults and abuse min. max n mean sd 1 torturing and subjection to harsh treatment 1 4 128 3.08 .85 2 forceful demand to offer a bribe 1 4 128 3.28 1.08 3 force people to do or say something against their wishes 1 4 128 3.04 .83 4 threats and verbal abuse 1 4 128 3.18 .66 5 extortion of money from public 1 4 128 3.57 .88 6 killing some members of public 1 4 128 1.94 .73 7 kicking and beating 1 4 128 2.12 1.09 8 slapping 1 4 128 2.46 .88 10 injuring 1 4 128 2.08 .96 survey data, 2019 table 3 present the types of abuse and assaults the public suffer from the police. analysis indicates that extortion of money has the highest mean score value of 3.57 (sd=.88) and killing members of public have the least score value of 1.94 (sd=.73). the table revealed that forceful demand to offer bribe has the mean score value of 3.28 (sd=1.08), threats and verbal abuse 3.18 (sd=.66), torturing and subjection to harsh treatment 3.08 (sd=.85), force people to do or say something against their wishes 3.04 (sd=.83), slapping 2.46 (sd=.88), kicking and beating 2.12 (sd=1.09) and injuring 2.08 (sd=.98). table 4: what is the public perception of the effectiveness of police performance in crime prevention? response public n = 128 police n = 68 frequency % frequency % very effective 2 1.6 38 55.9 effective 7 5.5 21 30.9 ineffective 55 43.9 5 7.4 very ineffective 64 50.0 4 5.8 survey data, 2019 from the table 4 above, it was revealed that 50.0% of the public view the performance of police as very ineffective; 43.9% said that police performances are ineffective, while 5.5% is of the assertion that police performances are effective and only 1.6% view police ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 71 performance as very effective. the analysis also revealed that 55.9% of the police view the general performance of police as very effective; 30.9% said that police performances are effective, while 7.4% is of the assertion that police performances are ineffective and 5.8% view police performance as very ineffective. this means that police are of the perception that within the ambient of constitution in respect to their duties, they are up and doing. testing hypotheses table 5: t-test of independent samples showing the difference between police and public perception on crime, crime prevention and control n mean std. deviation df t p. value decision police 68 3.34 .69 194 -17.83 .000 (>.05) sig. public 128 1.63 .61 survey data, 2019 table 5 above presents the result of hypothesis one which states that there will be significant difference between police and public perception on crime prevention and control. the hypothesis was significant (t=-17.83;df =194;p(.000)=<.05); police (68;3.34) reported higher perception of crime prevention and control than the public (128;1.63). the hypothesis was fully supported because and therefore retained. discussion of findings this study analysed police and public perception of crime, crime prevention and control in anyigba metropolis, dekina local government, kogi state nigeria. result revealed that an overwhelming majority of the public saw the public and police relationship as antagonistic and very antagonistic at 39.1% and 42.2% respectively. this result is consistent with ogunwale (2004) and akinlabi (2017) who observed a high level of loggerheads between police and the public. this antagonism stems from public perception of police’s insensitivity and lukewarm attitude to duty. according to ogunwale (2004), this attitude has portrayed the police on the bad light among the public and therefore it becomes necessary if police is rebranded by ensuring that officers and the public have a new orientation about the function of the police in the society. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 72 the study also revealed that public experience from police brutality and abuse ranged from extortion of money, forceful demand of bribe, threats and verbal abuse, torturing and subjection to harsh treatment, slapping, kicking, beating and killing members of the community. the brutality and abuse such as the use of whips, gun, teargas portrays inhumanity as well as contravenes the section 34 (11) (a) of the 1999 nigerian constitution. these acts constituted degrading treatment prohibited by chapter 4, section 34 of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 and section 31 of the 1979 constitution which states thus: every individual is entitled to respect for dignity of his person and accordingly no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment the result showed that while public view police performances in relation to crime prevention and control as very ineffective while the police view their own performance as very effective. this result is discussed along with the hypothesis which yielded a significant difference between police and public perception on crime prevention and control. the ineffectiveness of police on crime can be as a result of many factors ranging from police personnel and citizenship ratio, inadequate and non commensurable weapons at the disposal of the criminals, facilities such as patrol van, public-police negative relationship, inadequate motivation for the police etc. police perception of effective performance is disconcerting, more also that it is reported at a time where the occurrences of crimes of robbery, killings, kidnappings etc, are high; when people are afraid in their own houses not to talk about traveling to other parts of the country. this calls for the attention of the national orientation agency to embark on awareness campaign and reorient the police about the spate of crimes and its victims in nigeria, sensitize the institution and deter the political influence on police’s discharge of their constitutional duties. conclusion the study which analysed police and public perception of crime, crime prevention and control in anyigba metropolis, dekina local government, kogi state nigeria; concludes that: ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 73 1. overwhelming majority of the public saw the public and police relationship as very antagonistic while insignificant few of the sampled population described the relationship as cordial. 2. extortion of money, forceful demand of bribe, threats and verbal abuse, torturing and subjection to harsh treatment are the most common abuses and assaults suffered by suspects from police officers. 3. public do not feel the impact of police officers in relation to protection of lives and property, defending the rights of citizens and being friends in times of needs. 4. police perceived that within the ambient of constitution that they are effective and efficient in the performance of their duties in relation to crime prevention and control. 5. significant difference exists between police and public perception on crime prevention and control. 6. there is a significant relationship between crime, crime prevention and crime control. recommendations in line with the above conclusions, the study recommends that public image of the police can be changed if police through the national orientation agency (noa) are reoriented towards adequate care and respect for human dignity, citizen’s fundamental human rights and privileges. this orientation will give rise to police imbibing work ethics that encourage relentless attitude towards redeeming their public image of underperforming, immodest brutality and use of predatory force and ineffective policing strategies. police should be citizen-focused, adopt democratic policing; 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(2013). global study on homicides vienna. retrieved from www.unodc.or/publications. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 354 cyber crime and underdevelopment of tourism industry in nigeria agomoh, m. john department of sociology faculty of social and management sciences eastern palm university, ogboko agomohjohn@yahoo.com eze, ifeoma louisa department of sociology faculty of social sciences enugu state university, enugu ify4jesus4real@yahoo.com nwokoro, ngozi department of business administration faculty of social and management sciences eastern palm university, ogboko abstract the issue of cybercrime and development of tourism industries in nigeria is a critical area that have attracted plethora of public attention especially as it undermines the image of nigeria. tourism in nigeria as an industry, perhaps more than any other, have fully and steadily embraced e-commerce in business and enabled the industry(travel and hospitality) to grow rapidly. sadly though, it is the most targeted by cybercriminal and activities of cybercrimes. the availability of tourist locations and tourism industries in nigeria have attracted persons involved in cybercrime, and perhaps most tourists will fall victim. hospitality industries will collapse as a result of low patronage. this will spell doom for the tourism industries and consequently the economy of nigeria. hence, it becomes logical that this paper reviewed content wise cybercrime and underdevelopment of tourism industries in nigeria. this paper utilized both the quantitative and qualitative research approach to gain an insight into the nature of cybercrime and underdevelopment of tourism industries in nigeria. the paper noted that in nigeria, tourism industry have contributed about 4.8% to nigeria’s gross domestic product in 2016 and have employed about 1.6% of nigerians. the paper also revealed from the content review wise that of the 15 cybercrimes, atm fraud, yahoo attack and phishing is the cyber-attacks that have been targeted at tourist in nigeria. the paper also has revealed the impact of unemployment and availability of industries on youth engagement in cybercrime. keywords: cybercrime, underdevelopment, tourism mailto:agomohjohn@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 355 introduction nigeria with a population of 186 million people (world bank, 2016) and an approximate of 195 million in 2018 (world population review, 2018), is blessed with abundant natural resources, with rich cultural heritages that have the potential of attracting and also has attracted tourism and the emergence of tourism industries. nigeria has about 250 ethnic groups and spoken language (united state embassy, 2012). nigeria accounts for the highest number of youths and is one of the most populous countries in africa. incidentally and sadly, nigeria accounts as one of the countries with the highest rate of unemployment and high incidences of crime. apart from the crimes of armed robbery, kidnapping, one major crime that has attracted the involvements of youths is cyber crime. one of the major industries that have suffered the most impact of cyber crime is the tourism industry. this is given that apart from local patronage, most patronage for tourism industries in nigeria are visitors and foreigners. considering the technology involved in areas as bookings, flights, currency transactions, the potency of cyber crime becomes effective. tourism industry is the total of all businesses that directly provide goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure and leisure activities away from the home environment (tourism business toolkit, 2014).tourism has remained steadfast with a global worth of $2bn/day in the post 9/11 era. sadly though, the increasingly reliance on the internet and other information technologies has made it a potential threat from cyber vulnerabilities (tauner&olding, 2007). as interpol has reported, cybercrimeis a fast growing area of crime. more and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience and anonymity of the internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders, either physical or virtual, cause serious harm and pose very real threats to victims worldwide (interpol, 2018).burton (2018) hinted that organised cyber criminals are increasingly targeting the tourism market. about 3.9 billion malicious login attempts occurred during the last year against sites belonging to airlines, cruise lines, hotels, online travel, automotive rental and transport organizations. cybercrime is the use of a computer to commit crime. americans, because of the adoption of computers and the use of internets were the earliest victims of cybercrime. by the 21st century, it has spread to the other parts of the world (michael, 2018). the major motive for the engagement in cybercrime is the financial gain, which arose and considering certain socioeconomic factors and indicators like poverty, unemployment, wrong policies especially directed at youth development. however, suleman (2017) has pointed out other primary motivation for cybercrime, to include corruption and e-waste disposal of phones and computers. the conservation (2017) also followed in this direction, however, added money to include one of the primary motives for engagement in cybercrime. in this instance, cybercrime is prevalent and growing rapidly in nigeria, as nigeria is a major destination for e-waste disposal of phones and computers. it will continue unchecked as long as there is lack of data encryption, poor awareness and under reporting of breaches (oluwatosin, 2018). an important aspect of cybercrime is its nonlocal character which made it possible that crimes can occur in areas spread across chains of networks with open areas. the non-enclosed boundaries in committing and engagement in cybercrime poses severe problems for law enforcement and agencies ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 356 (michael, 2018). between 2006 and 2010 over 90% of crimes reported to the fbi-run internet crime complaint centre were cyber fraud related. under this specific category nigeria was found to be the third most cited nation (suleman, 2017). the following top cities were found to be a base for most persons involved in cybercrime in nigeria; abuja, abeokuta, ogun state, kaduna, awka, enugu, owerri, warri, port harcourt, benin city and lagos state, which happens to be the headquarters of internet fraudsters(umar,2017). incidentally, these cities are some of the major tourist destinations in nigeria and also locations for hospitality industries. for instance in ogun state there is the olumo rock, ibeno beach located in eket akwa ibom state, obudu ranch in cross rivers state, osun osogbo spring in osun state, ngwo pine forest and awhum water fall in enugu state, arochukwu long juju in abia state, okenidanre in ondo state, bar beach in lagos state, abuja art and craft village, kainji national park in niger state and yankari park in bauchi state, and other numerous tourist destinations to mention. the availability of tourist locations and tourism industries in the mentioned cities above will attract persons involved in cybercrime, and perhaps most tourists will fall victim. hospitality industries will collapse as a result of low patronage. this will spell doom for the tourism industries and consequently the economy of nigeria. hence, it becomes logical that this paper will review content wise cybercrime and its impact on the underdevelopment of tourism industries in nigeria. methodology this paper utilized both the quantitative and qualitative research approach to gain an insight into the nature of cybercrime and underdevelopment of tourism industries in nigeria, with further identification and enumerates of the statistics of cybercrimes in nigeria. the issue of cybercrime and development of tourism industries in nigeria is a critical issue that has attracted plethora of public attention especially as it undermines the image of nigeria. based on this, content analyses and review of reports on the activities of cybercrimes both local and international is important. therefore, the study is using existing statistics on cybercrime rate in nigeria. to improve on the reliability and validity of the paper, multiple secondary sources of data were used. conceptual and theoretical insights cyber crime there are identifiable indicators observed in the definitions of cybercrime as a concept. however, there are degrees of ideas and conceptual definitions from various authors. cybercrime refers to as the series of organized crime attacking both cyber space and cyber security (dike, 2017). in another definition, cybercrime is defined as a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime (hacking, phishing, spamming) or is used as a tool to commit an offense (child pornography, hate crimes).it both makes use of the computer and the internet, ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 357 in this instance cybercrime is defined as a crime committed on the internet using computer as either a tool or a targeted victim (aghatise, 2006).cybercrime in a narrow sense (computer crime) covers any illegal behaviour directed by means of electronic operations that target the security of computer systems and the data processed by them (gercke, 2012).in the conceptual position of dashora, (2011), “cybercrime may be said to be those species, of which, genus is the conventional crime, and where either the computer is an object or subject of the conduct constituting crime’’. the nigerian communication commission (ncc) says nigeria currently ranks third globally in cybercrimes behinds the uk and the us. according to a report by technology time, over 8400 malware sampled originated from nigeria scam emails during the period from 2014 to 2016 (technology time, 2016) maitanmi, ogunlere, ayinde and adekunle (2013) identified fifteen (15) types of cyber-attack, which include; yahoo attack, hacking, software piracy, pornography, credit card or atm fraud, denial of service attack , internet relay chat (irc) crime, virus dissemination, phishing, cyber plagiarism, spoofing, cyber stalking, cyber defamation, salami attack and cyber terrorism. of the 15 cybercrimes identified above, credit card or atm fraud, yahoo attack and phishing are the cyber-attacks that have been targeted at tourist in nigeria. while munguno in iroegbu (2016) listed some of the common cyber-crimes in nigeria to include: computer virus and malware infections, identity theft and privacy invasion, fraudulent electronic transaction, and theft of intellectual property. others are: radicalization and violent extremism, terrorism perpetrated through the cyber space, website hacking and defacement and distributed denial of service attacks amongst others. this paper theoretically is anchored on the relative deprivation theory. this theory is relevant because as the theory informed us that when individuals measures their socio-livelihood wellbeing against others and considers the disparity when compared with what they have, a sense of inequality (wrongly disadvantaged) sets in which triggers anger and even jealousy and resulting willingness to commit crime. tourism and tourism industry the travel and tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries with global economic contribution (direct, indirect and induced) over 7.6 trillion us dollars in 2016 (statista, 2017). in nigeria, tourism industry contributed about 4.8% to nigeria’s gross domestic product in 2016 and has employed about 1.6% of nigerians (jumia, 2017).it is a major sector that has created employment, generates income especially as its potential lies in the ability to effectively manage the industry, create enabling environment for tourist to move freely and with comfort and most importantly security. the latest value for international tourism, expenditures (current us$) in nigeria was $9,200,000,000 as of 2015. over the past 20 years, the value for this indicator has fluctuated between $11,009,000,000 in 2008 and $501,000,000 in 2005. the tourism development corporation act of 1992, established the functions of the corporation to encourage people living in nigeria to take their holidays therein and people from abroad to visit nigeria, to encourage the provision and improvement of tourism amenities and facilities in nigeria including the development of hotels and ancillary facilities. for those coming from abroad referred as international inbound tourist, they are the number of tourists who travel to a ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 358 country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited (tourism development corporation, 1992). underdevelopment the term underdevelopment refers to that state of an economy where levels of living of masses are extremely low due to very low levels of per capita income resulting from low levels of productivity and high growth rates of population (neha, 2018). according to the united nations definition, an underdeveloped country is one which has a real per capita income that is lower in relation to the real per capita income of the usa, canada, australia and western europe. underdevelopment is the state in which full realization of development in a country has not been attained either due to lack of resources or underutilization of the available resources. underdevelopment is characterized by many factors which include; low per capita income, overpopulation, dual economy, over dependence on agro-allied product, lack of technology and unemployment. the later unemployment is importance and also directs the focus of this work. firstly, the failures of the industrial sectors to develop have resulted in partly the high rate of unemployment in nigeria. this is so because the industrial sector accounts for one of the major employer of labour in nigeria. also the increasing numbers of graduates from nigeria’s tertiary institutions without the corresponding jobs have increased the number of unemployed graduates in the country. youth employment rate in nigeria though increased 33.10 percent in the third quarter of 2017 from 29.50 in the second quarter of 2017 (trading economics, 2018), it has not yielded the desired results in terms of the fluctuating nature of the sustenance of industries in nigeria. youth unemployment rate in nigeria averaged 21.73 percent from 2014 until 2017, reaching an all high of 33.10 percent in the third quarter of 2017 (trading economics, 2018). one of the major effects of unemployment especially for the youths is the increase in deviant behaviours as associate with involvement in crimes of diverse nature. one of the many crimes associated with most unemployed youths is cybercrime. although some number of gainfully employed persons have been found to have engaged in cybercrime. however, statistics have shown that most youths who engage in cybercrime are unemployed as at the time they were apprehended. it is in this regard that adesina (2017) pointed out that nigeria’s rising cybercrime profile may not come as a surprise, considering the high level of poverty and high unemployment rate in the country. youth unemployment rate in nigeria averaged 23.63 percent from 2014 until2018, reaching an all-time high of 38 percent in the second quarter of 2018 (national bureau of statistics, 2019), and a record low of 11.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 (trading economics, 2019), though it gradually decreased to 36.50 percent in the third quarter of 2018 from 38 percent in the second quarter of 2018. due to the economic situation of the country, most parents of internet fraudsters /cyber criminals’ claim that the high rate of unemployment and poverty in nigeria led their children ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 359 into the act (rotimi, 2015).britain alone has lost over £150 million a year to nigeria due to cybercrime. tourism industries declining in the face of cyber crime nigeria is said to have an estimated loss of about 127 billion naira to cybercrime in 2015. nigeria ranks third in global internet crimes behind the uk and us. a critical factor militating against africa’s economic resurgence is the weakness of its institutions. nigeria ranks 169 out of 199 on the world banks ease of doing business rankings (umar, 2017). shiloh and fassassi (2016) reports that cybercrime costs the world economy the sum of us $ 500 billion, more than the gdp of south africa (350.6 billion dollars) and slightly less than that of nigeria (521.8 billion dollars), the continent’s largest economy for nigeria alone, cybercrime cost the nigerian economy the sum of $ 500 million per annum which is huge price to pay to the scourge. the federal government has said the estimated annual cost of cybercrime to nigeria is 0.08 per cent of the country’s gross domestic products (gdp), which represents about n127 billion (iroegbu, 2016). at the end of the first quarter of 2016 (january – march 2016), nigeria ranks as the 16th highest ranked country engaged in cybercrime, moving up two places from 18th position in the preceding quarter (rogers,2016).more disturbing is the report of morgan in cyber security business report (2018) that cybercrime damage costs will hit $6 trillion. according to us and european police forces, vacation related fraud is growing rapidly with those committing the crimes using fake websites, false advertising, bogus phone calls and email scams. with the most likely to targets are those booking airline tickets, seeking package holidays – especially those related to sports or religion – or self-catering villas and apartments. there are also a growing number of frauds connected with online applications for foreign visas (caribbean council, 2018). this will gradually happen in nigeria, because tourism as an industry, perhaps more than any other, has fully and steadily embraced e-commerce. information technology is thriving in nigeria; information technology has also enabled the industry to grow rapidly, using booking engines and other platforms able to perform complex in-house tasks in ways that make hotel management more efficient and profitable. so adaptive has information technology become in the country and the world at large especially in travel and hospitality that statistics for example from respected industry bodies suggest that in britain, 76 per cent of all travelers now source and book their vacations and travel online, in the us, 88 per cent do so when it comes to hotels, and around 90% now use the internet to book flights. unfortunately, however, industry experts suggest that the sector has become a major target for cyber criminals. incidentally, cyberspace is a place of innovation and opportunity, and full of good people. but sadly, it is also a place of risk and danger, where bad actors take advantage of security weaknesses to cause harm (akindeinde, 2014). internet crime report (2014)confirmed the classification of cybercrime cases according to the countries of origin of complainants, and have mentions three african countries among the 50 most affected: they are south arica in the 11th place (434 complaints), nigeria (24th place, ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 360 with 215 complaints) and egypt (45th, 95 complaints). when the cases are classed according to the damages caused, south-african complainants are, there again, in first position with 6.5 million dollars lost; followed by nigeria (2.9 million dollars) and egypt (523.000 dollars), (shiloh & fassassi, 2016). west african cybercriminal activity is driven by two types of threat actors: yahoo boys and next-level cybercriminals. yahoo boys, named for their reliance on yahoo apps to communicate, became the primary type of cybercriminal in this region in the early 2000 (raimund, 2017). they focus on less technically advanced schemes, including advanced-fee, stranded traveler and romance scams under the supervision of a ringleader. next-level cybercriminals are able to execute more sophisticated attacks, such as business email compromise (bec) and tax scams (raimund, 2017). an increase in the number of targeted threats focused on enterprises: given the potential for monetary gain from compromised corporate intellectual property (ip), cybercriminals have turned their attention toward enterprises. attackers are leveraging the abundance of personal information openly available on social networking sites to synthesize socially engineered attacks on key individuals within targeted companies (nigerian communication commission, 2016). table 1: number of tourist arrivals and income generated in nigeria from 1995-2015 year number of tourist value 1995 656,000 $938,000,000 1996 822,000 $1,318,000,000 1997 611,000 $1,840,000,000 1998 739,000 $1,589,000,000 1999 776,000 $640,000,000 2000 813,000 $610,000,000 2001 850,000 $858,000,000 2002 887,000 $910,000,000 2003 924,000 $2,076,000,000 2004 962,000 $501,000,000 2005 1,010,000 $3,536,000,000 2006 1,111,000 $6,664,000,000 2007 1,212,000 $11,009,000,000 2008 1,313,000 $6,236,000,000 2009 1,414,000 $8,348,000,000 2010 1,555,000 $9,533,000,000 2011 715,000 $9,240,001,000 2012 486,000 $9,150,000,000 2013 600,000 $9,068,000,000 2015 1,255,00 $9.200,000,000 2016 1.899,000 $4,511,000,000 source: world tourism organization, yearbook of tourism statistics, compendium of tourism statistics and data file. from the table reviewed, there was a decline in the income generated in 2016 $4,511,000,00 even with an increase in the number of tourist 1.899,000, when compared to for instance year ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 361 2007 when 1,212,000 tourist arrival generated the highest income of $11,009,000,000. it is important to state that the decline in revenue even in the face of tourist arrival emphasizes. shiloh and fassassi (2016) reports that cybercrime alone costs the nigeria economy alone the sum of $ 500 million per annum. and for 2014 nigeria ranked (24th place in the world, with 215 complaints).during this period nigeria lost about (2.9 million dollars) per annum, an increase of 498.1 million dollars following a two years review upward. this tallies with the conclusions of a cybersecurity expert, the chief executive officer, cybersecurity business report, steve morgan who stated that nigeria loses billions daily to cybercrime. he averred that cyber security spending will exceed $1trillion from 2017 to 2020 and that damage costs will hit $6 trillion annually by 2021 as well as that the global ransom ware damage costs will exceed $5 billion this year alone (leadership, 2017). the tourism industries and tourist will bear much of the loss of the mentioned above. conclusion cybercrime is on the increase and following the advancement in information technology it has increased the potency of cybercrime and makes it easier to commit and have a wider coverage. one of the many industries that will be seriously affected by the activities of cyber criminals is the tourism industry. the innovations in e-bookings for tourist have made tourist potential targets of cyber criminals. as cyber criminals are armed with data of tourist and also can carry out their activities thanks to globalization which has created an interconnectedness of industries, people and technology, the task of seeking potential targets especially tourist who want to take advantage of leisure provided by the tourism industries will become easy target. the activities of cybercrime alone have adverse effect globally and on nigeria in particular as the paper have identified. it will remain so if one of the major indicators that directs person’s engagement in cybercrime that is unemployment is not checked. most unemployed youth have found solace in cybercrime considering their inability to be gainfully employed. and also considering the lucrative nature of cybercrimes, the activity will continue. sadly, tourist who patronize tourism industries have continued to fall victim to cyber criminals. this will in advent reduce the number of tourist who arrive nigeria, and spell doom for tourism industries in the country. references adesina, o. s. 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(2017).nigeria third global crimes behind uk-us. august 22. united state embassy (2012). nigeria fact sheet. economic section united state embassy. retrieved september 8, 2019 world population review (2018).nigerian population. worldpopulationreview.com https://leadership.ng/2017/09/30/cybercrime-nigerias-losing-battle-unrelentingenemies/ http://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/icts/feature/cybercrime-africa-facts-figures.html http://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/icts/feature/cybercrime-africa-facts-figures.html https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2387/cybercrime https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/youth-unemployment-rate.%20retrieved%209/7/2018 https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/youth-unemployment-rate.%20retrieved%209/7/2018 https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/unemployment-rate https://leadership.ng/2017/09/30/cybercrime-nigerias-losing-battle-unrelenting-enemies/ https://leadership.ng/2017/09/30/cybercrime-nigerias-losing-battle-unrelenting-enemies/ page 1 88 effects of gender and mortality salience on altruistic behaviour of secondary school students isiwu, evangeline ogochukwu & ozor, tobias obiora department of psychology, faculty of the social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani. email: ozor.obiora@yahoo.com abstract this research examined the effects of gender and mortality salience on altruistic behaviour of senior secondary (ss iii) school students. 120 students drawn using stratified sampling technique from shalom international secondary school nsukka, nsukka local government area of enugu state participated in the study. the self-report altruism (sra) scale developed by rushton, chrisjohn and fekken (1981) and validated for use in nigeria by achukwu (2010) was used to measure (ss iii) students’ altruistic behaviour. 2x2 factorial design was used and 2x2 analysis of variance was also used for statistical analysis. anova result indicated a significant gender main effect (p <.05). females were found to engage in altruistic behaviour more than males. there was also a significant mortality salient main effect (p < 001). those in the mortality salient group were found to engage in altruistic behaviour more than those in the control group. a significant interaction effect was also found (p<.05). male as well as female participants in the mortality salient group were found to engage in altruistic behaviour more than males and females in the control group, but the margin is higher for male participants. the researchers, therefore, recommend that altruistic behaviour should be a willful action rather than a propelled or motivated behaviour by any obvious factor. keywords: gender, mortality salience, helping behaviour, education, altruism. introduction man is a social animal, and as such lives by influencing as well as being influenced by his environment. sometimes, stimuli or information require man to engage in helping behaviours that benefit self only (altruism) or others only, or helping behaviours that are beneficial to others and self (reciprocity). for the fact that no man is an island, man lives by either giving or receiving one form of help or the other from friends, family members, co-workers, religious groups, even strangers, etc. however, helping behavior is of two forms: altruism and reciprocity but the researcher’s interest is on altruism. altruistic behaviour refers to voluntary actions intended to help another person with reward disregarded (knickerbocker, 2003). in fact, altruistic behaviour is often accompanied by cost. for example, simpson (2008) posits that one who engages in altruistic behaviour is faced with the decision to help others at the expense of oneself. according to comte, altruistic behaviour is a type of helping behaviour in which the helper expects nothing in return, is based on altruism, because the ultimate goal is to increase and add value to another's welfare. altruism refers to behaviours that are carried out without expectation of reward, concrete or social reward, internal or self-reward. altruism as a behaviour is a voluntary action that benefits altruistic behaviour another person which includes comforting, helping, rescuing, sharing and co-operating (elsenberg, 2000). arguments are sometimes made against calculation theories of altruism based on the decision to perform an altruistic behaviour, for example, jumping into water to save a drowning child is not made based on calculation of genetic inheritance, but rather emotions and feelings of the right thing to do (maynard, 1995). wentink (2002) examined the influence of a role taking program on altruism, and competition in children during a period of 12 weeks (20 minutes a day, for four days a week) 3 to 9 years old boys, observed gender differences only for role taking empathy. egocentric forms of empathy were positively correlated with each and negatively correlated with gender role taking, altruism or aggression. skarin (1999) examine the effect of age and sex on the degree to which altruistic behaviour could be manipulated in a laboratory setting. 192 children were used and classified according to gender into three age groups ranging from his findings; females were generally more altruistic than males. he also observed that altruism was found to increase markedly for both males and females in the oldest age group. it is obvious that both males and females can be altruistic for a variety of reasons; we can be altruistic because we want to avoid personal pain and guilt, we can sometimes be altruistic because we want to experience vicarious joy. gender has been shown to be an important factor in altruistic behaviour, although results have been contradictory. feinman (2008) reported that men are more likely to help than women while bihm, gaudet, and sale, (1999) showed women to be more likely to help than men and still other studies show no difference between the two (goldman, 2011). in a meta – analysis based on 99 studies eagly and crowley (1986) reported that men helped more often than women did and were more likely to help women than men. women also received more help than men. in another meta analysis, eagly (1996) reported that men were more helpful when an audience was present but gender similarities were found when no one else was present. in line with earlier findings, growley (2005) suggested that the gender of the person being helped is also an important factor in helping behaviour, because men and women may be more willing to help a person of the opposite sex. furthermore, the attractiveness of the person being helped can also influence the willingness to help, especially for male helpers (benson, 1976, harris & bays 1973). on the other hand, both men and women may ask for less help from unattractive helper or cross-gender (alain, 1998). eric and donaldson (2006) has also found that metaanalytic review of gender and helping behavior showed that men in general help in heroic and chivalrous situations and in the presence of bystanders than women, and are more likely to help women than men. pyszczynski and greenberg’s terror management theory (tmt) first proposed in 1986, has explained a wide range of human thoughts and behaviours. according to tmt, humans are aware of their own cooperative existence and also aware of the inevitability of death. for example, religion can confer one with literal immortality via the belief in eternal life, which can help one have a symbolic immortality “by being more significant, and more enduring than” oneself, which continues to exist after one’s death (pyszczynski, greenberg, solomon, arndt 90 & schimel, 2004). the understanding that one lives up to important cultural values (i.e., having high self-esteem) mitigates existential anxiety by providing symbolic immortality (pyszczynski, greenberg, solomon, arndt & schimel, 2004). however, mortality salience is a hypothesis used to study tmt that predicts that if one primes the awareness of death, there will be an increase in both fear of death anxiety and the defenses that buffer that anxiety. increased fear of death anxiety thus heightens the support of one’s cultural worldview in order to uphold order, continuity, and security. the logic is that when people are aware of the inevitability of their own deaths (i.e., mortality salience), they increase efforts to cling to their cultural worldviews by going all-out to do what is culturally acceptable and to strive for self-esteem to alleviate existential anxiety. mortality salience has also been shown to induce various self esteem-striving behaviours, such as overestimation of social consensus and altruistic behaviour (jaskiewicz, 2004). reminders of our own death create the potential for a paralyzing terror which alters one's behaviour. pyszczynski, greenberg, and solomon (1997) examined the effects that mortality salience had on cooperative behaviour. participants were induced with either mortality salience or exam anxiety. participants played the prisoners' dilemma (pd) game, where they either had the opportunity to cooperate or defect to earn points. the money earned could be donated to either a local (in-group) charity or international (out-group) charity. pyszczynski, greenberg, & solomon, (1997) found that priming with mortality salience resulted in more altruistic behaviours. other studies have shown that mortality salience affects many factors, both positive and negative, that relates to cultural worldviews. mortality salience also leads to increases in judgments of equity and also increases altruistic behaviour. mortality salience is hypothesized to lead to increased procedural fairness in judgment, because individuals will be motivated to reward those who do not transgress against the cultural norms and will be motivated to judge unfair procedures as being in violation of the cultural values. research has found that participants are more likely to adhere to perceived standards of fairness when mortality is made salient (van den bos & miederna, 2000). according to jaskiewicz (2004) in his study of mortality salience and readiness to altruistic behaviour, postulated that participants in mortality salience condition had the will to engage in altruistic behaviour more often than participants in control condition. in two experiments, schindler, reinhard and stahlberg (2013) demonstrate that mortality salience increases adherence to the norm of altruism. in the past, people did not help others without expectation of some material rewards from the recipients, but today, people help others without expectation of any material reward from them. should the reason be that when they remember that they will die one day and face judgment on how far they had added values to the lives of others, they will be pushed to help others without expectation of any reward? this study therefore, tried find out if gender and mortality salience will significantly affect altruistic behaviour among secondary school students? purpose of the study altruistic behaviour the main purpose of this study was to investigate whether gender and mortality salience affect altruistic behaviour. therefore, the specific objectives of this study were to investigate whether: 1. gender will significantly affect altruistic behaviour. 2. mortality salience will significantly affect altruistic behaviour. 3. gender and mortality salience will jointly affect altruistic behaviour. theoretical perspectives altruism theory assumes that people contribute to a public good because they enjoy the wellbeing of others (becker, 2007). altruism theory assumes that individuals enjoy seeing the wellbeing of others increase. this theory supports the idea that people help others just to add value to the life of the recipient. that is, the intention of the helper is to improve the conditions of the helpee without expectation or intention of any reward, such as donating blood to the accident victim, directing a stranger on how to get to his destination, taking a pregnant woman in labour to hospital, donating money to charity, saving a drowning victim, etc. however, altruism theory has been criticized on the basis of its submission that individuals enjoy seeing the well-being of others increase without any intention for reward. the researcher wishes to point out that there is no helping behaviour that is free from either intrinsic or extrinsic reward. for example, if the helper gets thank you, recognition, love or any material thing from the helpee, the reward is external, but the reward is internal if the helper feels relieved within him or herself for having helped someone in need of such help. the learning theory of helping behaviour emphasizes the importance of learning helpful acts. this is because, as we grow up, we are taught to share our items, such as foods, clothes, shoes etc, with our relations and friends and to be helpful to friends who are in need (bandura, 1992). according to bandura (1992) one may learn social norm or helping and develop the habit of helpfulness through learning. two general principles of learning used in teaching helping behaviour are reinforcement and modeling. according to learning theory, people learn from example of others as well as from direct experience with reward and punishment. one weak point of this theory lies on bandura’s(1992) belief that modeling, influences both helping and aggressive behaviour, because as we learn good behaviours, we can also learn bad behaviours. eagly’s (1996) social role theory of gender differences, stated that people are expected to behave in manner that is consistent with societal gender roles, which are derived from cultural shared expectations that apply to individuals solely on the basis of their gender. this theory lacks merit following its inability to consider that irrespective of the societal roles the males or females may have possessed, only those that have high helping expectancies would help in situations that require help, while those with low helping expectancies would not, regardless of the situations or attributes. terror management theory (greenberg & colleagues, 2000), contends that the need to manage the anxiety evoked by awareness of mortality lies at the heart of human motivation. terror management theory (tmt) which originated mainly from the work of ernest becker (1975) 92 attempted to fuse social science research findings into a unified and logical explanation of basic human motives and behaviour. he proposed that the awareness of mortality was a unique human feature, which had the propensity to create immense terror within individuals. research into the more intricate structure of tmt examines the variables that increase death anxiety or ‘terror’, those that protect against it and the effects that death anxiety, or mortality salience, has on our reactions and behaviour toward those of different cultures than our own. in altruism research, tmt proposes that when mortality is made salient people will be willing to help since altruistic behaviour is a desirable behaviour and which can lead to holding of higher self esteem and a buffer to fear of death anxiety. however, not everybody that remembers his or her death is willing or has what it takes to help others. some empirical studies were reviewed on altruistic behaviour, gender and mortality salience. gender and altruistic behaviour gender can be seen as the social and cultural construction of masculinity and feminity. in western societies, men have been found to be more likely to help than women (feinman, 2008), women have been found to be more likely to help than men, bihm, gaudet, and sale, (1999) and other studies show no difference between the two (goldman, 2011). some studies show females being more altruistic, but certain other studies found no such pattern. the meta study by eagly (2010) shows females to be more altruistic than their male counterparts. according to growley (2005), the gender of the person being helped is also an important factor in helping behaviour, because men and women may be more willing to help a person of the opposite sex. furthermore, the attractiveness of the person being helped can also influence the willingness to help, especially for male helpers (benson, 1976, harris & bays 1973). in a meta – analysis based on 99 studies about the influence of gender on helping behaviour has shown that men helped more often than women did and were more likely to help women than men. women also received more help than men (eagly & crowley, 1986). in another meta analysis, eagly (1996) reported that men were more helpful when an audience was present but gender similarities. eric and donaldson (2006) found that meta-analytic review of gender and helping behavior showed that men in general help in heroic and chivalrous situations and in the presence of bystanders than women, and are more likely to help women than men. markus (2007) in his research found that women were more likely to help in nurturing ways than in problem solving situations, and that women were more likely to help than men. lacey (2006) studied gender differences associated with altruistic behaviours using 78 college students in general psychology courses at the university of wisconsin stout. the researcher randomly selected his participants from three general psychology classes of the university. of these participants, six were eliminated due to incomplete surveys, 42 were female and 30 were male. participants were given a research packet containing one of two short vignettes and a questionnaire. one of the vignettes described a minor act of altruism and the other described a more extreme act of altruism. the result revealed that in the overall study, females were more frequently perceived as the performer of the altruistic act than the males. braithwaite (2008) also, found that females were more likely to help than males, and that females help males in difficult situations more altruistic behaviour than their female counterparts, but males were likely to help in difficult situations irrespective of the victim’s gender. mortality salience and altruistic behaviour jaskiewicz (2004) in his study of whether mortality salience procedures influence readiness to altruistic behaviour predicted that mortality salience leads to engagement in altruistic behaviour. results of his experiment supported this prediction. he postulated that participants in mortality salience condition had the will to engage in altruistic behaviour more often than participants in control condition. research has found that participants are more likely to adhere to perceived standards of fairness when mortality is made salient (van den bos & miederna, 2000). research on terror management theory has found evidence that people under mortality salience strive to live up to salient cultural norms and values, such as egalitarianism, pacifism, or helpfulness (van den bos & miederna, 2000). in this study, many theories were examined. for example, altruism theory advanced by becker (2007) pointed out that people help others because they enjoy seeing the well-being of others increase. in other words, the intention of the helper is to improve the life of the recipient without expectation or intention of any reward, such as donating blood to the accident victims, giving a stranger road direction, giving a stranger free ride in a car, etc. this theory was criticized on the ground that there is no helping behaviour that is free from either intrinsic or extrinsic reward. learning theory emphasizes the importance of learning helpful acts, and pointed out that as we grow up, we are taught to share our items such as food, clothes, shoes, pencil, ideals, etc. this theory can be criticized on the basis that what is learned can also be unlearned.. terror management theory predicts that if one primes the awareness of death, there will be an increase in both fear of death anxiety and the defenses that buffer that anxiety. increase in fear of death anxiety thus heightens the support of one’s cultural worldview in order to uphold order, continuity and security. eagly’s (1996) social role theory of gender differences, stated that people are expected to behave in manner that is consistent with societal gender roles, which are derived from cultural shared expectations that apply to individuals solely on the basis of their gender. this theory lacks merit following its inability to consider that irrespective of the societal roles the males or females may have possessed, only those that have high helping expectancies would help in situations that require help, while those with low helping expectancies would not, regardless of the situations or attributes. in conclusion therefore, in all the theories reviewed in this study, learning theory seems to be the “pivot” at which all the variables in this study revolve. based on this development, the researcher has centered his study on the theory of learning, because it is the only theory that connects all the variables of study. hypotheses 94 in this study, the following hypotheses were tested. 1. gender will not significantly affect altruistic behavior. 2. mortality salience will not significantly affect altruistic behaviour. method participants a total of 120 participants comprising 60 male and 60 female students were drawn using stratified sampling technique. the participants are ss iii students of shalom international secondary school nsukka, nsukka local government area of enugu state. 30 males and 30 females were each assigned into mortality salience condition (experimental condition) and the remaining 30 males and 30 females into control condition. the participants are between the ages of 15-19 years with a mean age of 16.9 years. instrument a self-report altruism (sra) scale developed by rushton, chrisjohn and fekken (1981) was used for data collection. the scale has an easy-to-administer self report format and consists of 15 items. participants were instructed to rate the frequency with which they would like to engage in altruistic behaviour using the categories “all the time”, “most of the time” “few of the time” and “none of the time”. initial analysis of data collected by the authors from two separate samples yielded a coefficient alpha of 0.87. discriminant validity of the scale was found by correlating the sra – scale and a measure of social desirability. split-half reliability was computed across 8 participants who had two more raters. this yielded an inter-rater reliability of .78 for the peer-rated sra altruism scores and .78 for the peer-rated global altruism measure. the validity of the scale was assessed by correlating the sra scale with peer-ratings. the correlation between the sra scale and peer-rated sra altruism and global altruism were .86 and .86 respectively. using nigerian sample, achukwu (2010) obtained a split-half reliability coefficient of 0.62 in comparism to a critical value of 0.38 at p < .05 and 0.47 at p <.01 while a coefficient value of 0.77 was obtained using spearman brown correlation co-efficient, indicating a high degree of reliability. procedure a total of 107 female and 82 male senior secondary school ss iii students, attending shalom international secondary school nsukka, in nsukka local government area of enugu state, formed the target population. stratified random sampling technique was used to select participants from the population. first, gender strata were created and from each male and female stratum 60 males and 60 females were randomly drawn. 30 males and 30 females were furthermore, randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. participants in the experimental (mortality salience) condition were given the following instructions: “please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you and jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you physically die and once you are physically dead”. this is to make mortality salient in experimental participants. altruistic behaviour in the control condition, participants were given this instruction: “please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of taking a difficult exam arouses in you and jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you when physically take the exam”. this was to arouse anxiety but not related to mortality. both instructions have been used for standard mortality salience experiment (see pyszczynski, t. 1997 & rosenblatt, 1989). afterwards, as a distraction task (greenberg, pyszczynski, & solomon, 1999), participants in both groups were asked to write down what they would like to be in future. in mortality salience it is important to include a time lapse between the induction and the task at hand. the delay allows the induction to be forgotten and slip into the unconscious (tremayne, & curtis, 2006). finally, the self-report altruism scale was later administered to participants in both experimental and control groups. they were instructed to read the items carefully and respond according to what they feel about the items. the experiment took 45 minutes. design and statistics the design that is appropriate to this experimental setting is a 2x2 factional design. according to bryman and cramer (1992) this design is appropriate, when we are interested in the effect of two or more variables, particularly if we believe that two or more variables may influence one another. in this case, we also anticipate an interaction effect. robson (1975) indicated that “the great advantage” of the design “is that it can tell us about the effect of a single variable, not just when other variables are held constant, as in the single variable design, but over a range of values of one or more other variables. for the statistical analysis, the researcher used a 2x2 analysis of variance to test the hypotheses. results table 1: table of means and standard deviation for gender, mortality salience and altruistic behaviour. gender mortality mean std. dev n male experimental group control group total female experimental group control group total total experimental group control group total 42.33 32.27 37.30 43.00 37.83 40.42 42.67 35.10 38.86 5.18 6.28 7.64 6.17 6.30 6.71 5.66 6.84 7.33 30 30 60 30 30 60 60 60 120 result as shown in table 1 indicates that male participants had a lower mean altruism score of 37.30 (sd = 7.64) compared to their female counterparts with a mean of 40.42 (sd = 6.71). the same trend was observed across mortality salience. it was found that participants in the experimental group (mortality salience group) had a higher altruistic mean of 42.67 (sd = 5.66) than those in the control group with a mean of 35.10 (sd = 6.84). 96 table 2: anova summary table for gender, mortality and altruistic behavour. dependent variable: altruism source sum of squares df ms f sig. corrected model 2211.892(a) 3 737.297 20.477 .000 intercept 181196.408 1 181196.408 5032.390 .000 gender 291.408 1 291.408 8.093 .005 mortality 1740.408 1 1740.408 48.337 .000 gender * mortality 180.075 1 180.075 5.001 .027 error 4176.700 116 36.006 total 187585.000 120 corrected total 6388.592 119 a r squared = .346 (adjusted r squared = .329) tests of between-subjects effects (anova results) as presented in table 2 showed a statistically significant gender main effect [f (1,116) = 8.09, p =.01]. from the mean table, it was found that female participants tended to engage in altruistic behaviour more than male participants. a significant mortality salience main effect was also found [f (1,116) = 48.34, p = .000]. participants in the mortality salience group were found to engage in altruistic behaviour more than those in the control group. there was also a significant interaction effect [f (1,116) = 5.00, p = .05]. altruistic behaviour figure 1: a line graph showing the interaction of gender and mortality salience from the graph, it can be seen that male participants who were in the mortality salience group were higher in altruistic behaviour than male participants who were in the control group. also, female participants who were in the mortality salience group were higher in altruistic behaviour than female participants who were in the control group but the margin is not as wide as that of male participants. discussion this work investigated the effect of gender and mortality salience on altruistic behaviour among secondary school students. the first hypothesis relating to the difference between male and female students in altruistic behaviour received considerable support from this study. there was a significant difference in altruistic behaviour between male and female students. females were found to be significantly higher in altruistic behaviour than males. this finding is in line with the findings of macey (2006), markus (2007), eagly & koening (2006), carlson (1996), and batson (2003). the authors found in their various studies that females were more likely to help than males. however, eric and donaldson (2006) in their studies disagreed with this finding as they reported that males were likely to help more than females. 98 this finding can be explained from gender role perspective. consistent with the culturally valued male role of heroic rescuer, men are more likely than women to place themselves in danger when rendering assistance. in contrast, women are more likely than men to provide longer-term help involving empathy and caretaking, qualities consistent with feminine gender role and consistent with the instrument used to measure altruistic behaviour in this study. for example, eagly’s (1996) social role theory of gender differences, people are expect to behave in a manner that is consistent with societal gender roles, which are derived from shared expectations that apply to individuals solely on the basis of their gender, among the consistent tendencies reflected in research, example gilligan (2009) study on stereotypic beliefs, are the predicted propensities for men to have high levels of agnatic or masculine attributes, typified by being independent, masterful, assertive and competent, and for women to have high levels of communal or feminine attributes, such as being friendly, altruistic, emotionally expressive, caring, nurturing, etc.the person who advanced this theory failed to understand that irrespective of the different gender attributes both males and females posses what makes them to behave in line with those attributes, only those that have time and high helping expectancy may help in situations that require helping others. the result of the second hypothesis tested, also showed significant difference in altruistic behaviour between the mortality salient and control groups. those in the mortality salient group were found to be significantly higher in altruistic behaviour than those in the control group. this findings is in line with the findings of pyszczynski, greenberg, and solomon, (1997), norenzayan, dar-nimrod, hanse, and proulx, (2009). tremayne, and curtis, (2006). van den bos and miederna, (2000). przemyslaw, and mickiewicza (2008). they all found in their various studies that participants in the mortality salience group will engage in altruistic behaviour than students in the control group. according to terror management theory, humans are aware of their physical vulnerabilities and ultimate mortality and this awareness tend to create the potential for paralyzing terror. according to the theory, one of the most important functions of culture is to help individuals manage this terror by creating standards of value through which individuals can attain a sense of self worth and the promise of symbolic immortality (you go to heaven were you live comfortably forever if you do good on earth) to those who meet these standards. christians are saliently reminded of their own death and possible resurrection if they follow the tenets or footsteps of jesus christ. this reminder of death and the quest for heaven lead christians to engage in altruistic behaviour, in order to feel better or relieved from death anxiety by visiting the motherless baby homes, prisons, donating money for the poor etc. implications of the finding in view of the fact that gender difference was observed and a significant difference of mortality salience in relation to altruistic behaviour among secondary school students were observed, the findings will be very useful to social psychologists on the understanding of altruistic behaviour resulting from mortality salience. altruistic behaviour limitations of the study this study focused on only secondary school students, and as such, has limited the generalisability of its findings to every segment of the population in this society. participants’ awareness of their involvement in a research can lead to faking which may have affected the responses of the students. recommendations for future research on the findings of this study, the researcher hereby recommends that: 1. families based, schools and communities should socialize people in altruism to avert the dangers of individualism currently prevalent in the society. 2. the researcher recommends that future research on the similar topic should use more participants, to add more value to the result of such studies. summary and conclusion the major purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of gender and mortality salience on altruistic behaviour. the results of the study show that gender influences altruistic behaviour among secondary school students. female students were found to be higher in altruistic behaviour than male students, which led to the rejection of the first hypothesis. mortality salience also affects altruistic behaviour among secondary school students. those in the mortality salient group were found to be higher in altruistic behaviour than the control, which also led to the rejection of the second hypothesis. a significant interaction effect was also found between gender and mortality salience on altruistic behaviour. male participants who were in the mortality salience group were higher in altruistic behaviour than male participants who were in the control group. also, female participants who were in the mortality salience group were higher in altruistic behaviour than female participants who were in the control group. conclusively, gender and mortality salience could be regarded as significant predictors of altruistic behaviour. references achukwu, c.i. 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(2000). the effects of mortality salience on identification with one’s body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring. journal of personality and social psychology, 79, 118-130. wentink, p. (2002). personality and religious role in pro-social behaviour. psychology quarterly, 53, 31-43. volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 236 influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour ozor, tobias obiora department of psychology faculty of the social sciences enugu state university of science and technology ozor.obiora@esut.edu.ng or ozor.obiora@yahoo.com abstract this study investigated the influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour. four hundred and eighty (480) nigerians (275 christians and 205 muslims) who were present at the time of this study and agreed to respond to the researcher’s instrument participated in this study. they were drawn from different parts of nigeria, such as enugu, kano, and lagos states. their age ranged between 25 and 50 years. their minimum educational qualification is waec or ssce, while a masters degree is their maximum educational qualification. the self-report altruism (sra) scale developed by rushton, chrisjohn and fekken (1981), validated for use in nigeria by the researcher, was used to measure the nigerians’ altruistic behaviours. the design for this study was a cross-sectional survey, while analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis of data generated. the result indicated a significant influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour of nigerians [f (1,472) = 5.87, p<.05]. this showed that christians were found to be more altruistic than their muslim counterparts, thereby rejecting the null hypothesis. the researcher therefore, recommended that attention should be given to the development of altruistic behaviour among muslims, while christians should be encouraged to sustain the tempo since it will go a long way to enhance national unity in nigeria. keywords: religious orientation, altruistic behaviour, national unity, social cohesion introduction man lives by influencing as well as being influenced by his environment. in the course of man’s interactions with his environment, very many stimuli requiring different responses get him challenged. sometimes, these stimuli or information require the individual to engage in behaviours that help others only, or behaviours that are beneficial to others and self. our everyday experiences provide us with many examples of helping behaviours technically known as altruism. for the fact that no man is an island, man lives by either giving or receiving one form of help or the other from friends, family members, co-workers, religious groups, strangers, and even from our enemies. altruistic behaviours have received many attentions from many scholars and especially social psychologists. altruistic behaviours refer to only helpful behaviours or actions that are mailto:ozor.obiora@esut.edu.ng mailto:ozor.obiora@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 237 intrinsically motivated and are intended to benefit another without expectation of any reward. taylor and david (2006) explained altruistic behaviour as the act of giving support or assistance to someone in need of such, without request or intention of any reward. according to hoffman (1981) altruistic behaviour is that action which promotes the welfare of others without conscious regard for one’s own self-interest. coleman (2010) maintains that altruistic behaviour is composed of three elements; namely (1) giving or its desire (2) empathy and (3) no motives of reward from the beneficiary of the altruistic behaviour. mcquire (1994) listed some examples of altruistic behaviours to include: changing a flat tyre for a stranded person, giving a stranger road direction, donating blood to an accident victim or sick person in hospital, sponsoring an indigent child through a career development, offering lift to strangers, counseling or advising someone after listening to his or her problems, etc. batson (1998) grouped altruistic behaviour into two, namely behaviours of long durations, examples are behaviours such as training someone in school, or vocation, getting job appointment, and resolving marriage problems, and short durations, examples are changing a flat tyre for stranded person, giving financial aid, giving a road direction, donating blood to an accident victim, etc. our daily lives are filled with altruistic behaviours. the biblical story of the good samaritan (luke 10:31-39) attests to this. the good samaritan helped a person at some cost to himself without any apparent thought of reward. in fact, the belief that people should help one another is entrenched in the moral fabrics of most nations. often we help others not because we have consciously calculated that such behaviour is in our interest but simply because something tells us we ought to. the belief that people should help those who need help without regard to future exchanges is the norm of social responsibility (berkowitz, 2000). furthermore, evolutionary psychology contends that the essence of life is gene survival. our genes drive us in ways that have maximized their chances of survival. when our ancestors died, their genes lived on, predisposing us to behave in ways that will perpetuate them into the future. in kin protection, our genes dispose us to care for relatives in whom they reside. genes help themselves by being nice to themselves, even if they are enclosed in different bodies (binham, 1980). other relatives share genes in proportion to their biological closeness. we share one-half ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 238 of our genes with our brothers and sisters, one-eighth with our cousins (binham, 1980).bryn and test (1999) maintained that people are more likely to offer help if they have observed someone carry out the helping act, a process called modeling. according to noddings (2010), we need care giving and the special attitude of caring that accompanies care giving if we are as a care giving social group. those who care for each other come forward to help, comfort, encourage, support, stimulate and cheer one another. in addition, people offer help at different situations and for different reasons or motives. for levine (2008) men offered help mostly to the person of the opposite sex and in the presence of bystanders. eagly and crowley (1986) stated that help is offered more when someone is in a negative mood (that is, negative-state-relief model). for example, learning theory emphasizes the importance of learning helpful acts, and pointed out that as we grow up, we are taught to share our items such as food, clothes, shoes, pencils, ideas, biscuits, etc. however, this theory can be criticized on the basis that what is learned can also be unlearned. that is, one who learns to be altruistic from others can also learn to be unaltruistic from others as well. for example, some religions discourage, while others encourage helping others in need (ozor, 2014). many studies have investigated the role of religion in altruistic behaviour. overall results on the studies suggest a general pattern of weak, but consistently positive association between religiousness and helping people in need (spilke & gorsach, 2003). religion is the study of relationship between man and god – supernatural being who created the entire universe including man, and who is all-powerful; is above destruction and death (bensen & russel, 2004). religion has been found to impact on the helping behaviour towards close relation and target. isabille and sarogolu (2007) found that religiousness does not predict helpfulness. they hypothesized that religious people sometimes see people in need as being responsible for their predicament especially when such people are on the other side of the religious group. they further reported that religiousness and helping were influenced by the degree of religious orientation. most religions teach some version of the golden rule, urging us to do unto others as we would want others to do unto us, yet their members restrict their helping behaviours only to their members. for example, fernadez (2007) reported that muslims sometimes see people in need as being responsible for their predicaments, especially when such persons are on the other ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 239 side of the religious group (out group), and further affirmed that religious fundamentalists do discriminate against out-group members by attributing to them high level of responsibility for their problems. as a result of this, helping behaviours seem to be on the decrease in most of our religious institutions. in nigeria, critical observations show that in the past, particularly before the nigeria civil war, families, villages, towns, tribes, both males and females lived happily, receiving and giving mutual assistance to one another. then communities, village and family meetings contributed money to sponsor education or business careers of their indigent sons and daughters. for example, egwu (2002), balogun (2000), and musah (1998) reported in their works that many of our successful businessmen and graduates before and during 1960s were products of community, villages and family sponsored career/education programmes. according to them, family bonds of love and empathy were very strong then in social relationship. car snatching, kidnapping, child trafficking, armed robbery, ritual killings were strange stories then. however, in the recent past, the undiluted, love, trust and unity that characterized the social relationships of our people are very fast fading away. everybody seems suspicious of one another. conflicts seem to abound in families, accusations and counter accusations, apathy and hatred exist now as in violent society, that is, society without human feelings. to support this claim, abercrombie and warde (1992) pointed out that periods of 1960s to 1980s represented an epitome of peace, justice, security, and caring, while the 1990s marked the beginning of greed, materialism, hatred, lack of caring, insecurity, selfishness and apathy. this could be as a result of modernization, exposure to different life styles, differences in level of education, age, and cultural practices among people. aim of the study the aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in religious orientation will influence altruistic behaviour among nigerians. many theories have been proposed in explaining religion, such as substantive or essential theory of religion which focuses on the content of religion and the meaning the content has for ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 240 people. this theory proposed by taylor (1997) focuses on the explanatory value of belief system of religion to religious adherents. this approach asserts that people have faith because beliefs make sense to them. this theory can be criticized on the fact that it is not everybody that has belief in his or her religion, and also has faith in the same religion. for example, many people belief in god, but do not have faith in god and what god can do to them. the second theory of religion which is the functional theory focuses on the function which religion performs for the society and its members (frazer, 1984). in other words, it focuses on the social or psychological function that religion has for a group or a person. for example, in the christian bible, god commanded that his followers be kind to each other, expressing love for all manner of people, helping without expectation of reward, showing charity to those in need: sick, poor, widow, strangers, brothers/sisters, and even to our enemies. helping others seems to be a major part of most organized religions (gershaw, 1988). this theory seems to be most appropriate in explaining altruistic behaviour since the members of a particular religious organization learn those behaviours or practices as prescribed by the teachings or custom of that religion. if the teachings or customs of the religion prescribed that her members should or should not render help to people, obviously the members will be socialized in accordance with the teachings or customs of that religion. this, as a matter of fact, brings about either an increase or decrease in helping behaviour among people in many of our religious institutions. therefore, what we learn from the religion we practice either increases or decreases our altruistic behaviour in our society today. studies have been carried out on religious denomination and helping behaviour. batson (2003) reported that catholics do not appear to feel more empathy toward others, though they are more likely to help when it is in their best interest to do so. the reason could be that the catholics are many in number, and may not want to use helping others to attract members to the denomination as other denominations that are small in number do. afolabi (2000) carried out a study on religious differences on helping behaviour between catholics and protestants using 120 participants drawn from the population of college students in lagos, nigeria. the result revealed that catholics and protestants offered more help than their muslim counterpart. essien (1999) investigated the influence of religious belief on altruism between catholics and other christians, using 80 participants randomly drawn from the population of workers of the ministry of ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 241 education, asaba, nigeria. the result revealed that neither the catholics nor the non-catholics (other christians) helped very far more than the other. ekekwe (1993) study predicted that willingness to help another person would be influenced by one’s religious orientation, and further pointed out that neither methodists nor the catholics were found to be more altruistic than the other. since their studies showed no difference in altruistic behaviour among christians, it is possible that it will be the same across all religions. the present study therefore, focused on nigerian christians and muslims who are seen and regarded as nation builders through moral upbringing and intellectual development of the younger ones who are the leaders of tomorrow. hypothesis religious orientation will not significantly influence altruistic behaviour among nigerians. method participants four hundred and eighty (480) nigerians (275 christians and 205 muslims of 210 males and 270 females) were drawn from enugu, kano and lagos states of nigeria, using available sampling technique. in enugu state, 116 christians and 41 muslims were drawn, in kano state, 54 christians and 114 muslims were drawn, and in lagos state, 105 christians and 50 muslims draw participated in this study. their ages ranged between 25 and 35 years, with waec or ssce as their minimum educational qualification and first degree as their highest educational qualification. instrument the self-report altruism (sra) scale developed by rushton, christjohn and fekken (1981) was used for data collection. section a of the scale contained demographic variations and participants were instructed to indicate their gender, state, age, highest educational qualification and religious denomination.sra is a 20 item likert scale which requires participants to rate the frequency with which they have engaged in the altruistic behaviour using the categories “never”-1 point “once”-2 points, “more than once” – 3points “often”-4 points and “very often”5 points. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 242 the researcher adapted the scale for use in the nigerian context by conducting a pilot study using 44 participants randomly drawn from abuja, the federal capital territory of nigeria. a cronbach alpha reliability coefficient value of .81 was obtained. the data were also subjected to split-half reliability and a co-efficient value .77 was observed. any participant that scores less than 40 is regarded as having low altruism, while scores from 40 and above are regarded as having high altruism procedure copies of the questionnaire were administered to the participants at different locations in their state. four hundred and eighty-five copies of the questionnaire were administered, and collected back on the spot. one hundred and sixty copies of the questionnaire were administered, filled, and returned from enugu state. in all the copies administered here, all were returned but only three copies were wrongly filled and were discarded, while in kano state, one hundred and sixty-nine copies of the questionnaire were administered, filled and returned. of all the copies administered and collected, only one copy was discarded because of improper completion of the copy, and in lagos state, one hundred and six copies of the questionnaire were administered, filled and collected back and only one copy was wrongly filled and was discarded for that reason. the researcher employed the services of 5 (five) research assistants that helped in the administration and collection of the questionnaire, which took three weeks of one week per state. design/statistic the design for this study was a cross-sectional survey design, while one-way analysis of variance (anova) was used for statistical analysis of data. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 243 result table 1: table of mean and standard deviation for religious orientation and altruistic behaviour x sd n religious denomination: christians 65.96 11.50 275 muslims 64.22 11.51 205 table 1 above shows that christians had a higher mean altruistic score (x = 65.96, sd = 11.50) than their muslim counterparts (x = 64.22, sd = 11.51). table ii: anova summary table for religious orientation and altruistic behaviour source sum of square df mean square f sig. religious orientation 741.024 1 741.024 5.871 sig. error 59578.684 472 126.226 total 2079490.000 480 corrected total 63950.800 479 key: = * significant, p<.05 result as shown in table ii above indicated a significant influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour [f (1,472) = 5.87, p<.05]. this means that christians were found to be more altruistic than their muslim counterparts; hence the hypothesis which stated that religious orientation will not significantly influence altruistic behaviour among nigerians was rejected. discussion the main objective of this study was to investigate whether differences in religious orientation would influence altruistic behaviour among nigerians. the result showed a significant difference in altruistic behaviour of christians and muslims. christians were found to be more altruistic than their muslim counterparts. this result supports the findings of afolabi (2002), essien (1999), and ekekwe (1993), that pointed out in their various studies that catholics and ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 244 protestants were more altruistic than their muslim counterparts.that is, both catholics and protestants engage in altruistic behaviour, more than the muslims. this could be that both the catholics and the non-catholics (other christians) respect and practise the benevolence commands of christian bible, which provides the rules binding on their followers to be helpful to their brothers, sisters, strangers, even enemies and non-believers. furthermore, those who do not engage in altruistic behaviour could be that their religion frowns or does not allow them to help others especially those seen as out group members in the religious group. implications of the finding this study considered some theoretical and empirical issues. this theoretical input has contributed to the overall extension of the frontiers of knowledge in psychology in general and social psychology in particular. social psychological theories have been enriched by adding to knowledge that difference in religious orientation is one of the factors that influence altruistic behaviours of nigerians. summary and conclusion this study investigated the influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour among nigerians. the christian and muslim participants were drawn from the population of christians and muslims in enugu, kano and lagos states of nigeria. the result of the study indicated a significant influence of religious orientation on altruistic behaviour among nigerians. that is, the christians were found to be more altruistic than their muslim counterparts in nigeria. this led to the rejection of the hypothesis which stated that religious orientation will not significantly influence altruistic behaviour among nigerians. in conclusion, difference in religious orientation has been found as one of the factors that influence altruistic behaviour of nigerians. being a christian predisposes one to altruism and should be encouraged, while the muslims should be made to borrow a leaf from the christians. since nations without serious concern for their members do not last long, there is every need for altruistic behaviour to be sustained among the christians, and the muslims be encouraged to imbibe the spirit of altruism, for this will ensure national unity among nigerians, and help to avert the dangers of religious conflicts and individualism currently prevalent in nigeria and ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 245 which is against african extended family system. african extended family system encourages helping others, especially those who are in need of such help without expectation of any reward. government, schools, churches, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations, should design a type of education, policy, and method that will be moral in purpose and orientation, to encourage both the christians and muslims, especially the muslims to be more altruistic since it will in turn endear people to one another and give rise to interpersonal and religious group harmony among nigerias. this will go a long way to eradicate the negative effect of religious conflicts, individualism and capitalism occasioned by western influences in nigeria. references abercrombie, n. & warde, w. (1992 ). social change in contemporary society (2nd ed.) britain, cambridge polity press. afolabi, d. o. (2000 ). religious difference as determinant of helping behaviour among christians. unpublished m.sc thesis presented to the department of psychology, lagos state university. balogun, i.h. (2000). psychology in contemporary society (1st ed.)nigeria: quality press inc. batson, c. d. (2003). is empathy-induced helping due to self-other merging? journal of personality and social psychology; 73, 495 – 509. batson, c. d. (1998). altruism and pro-social behaviour. in handbook on social psychology, 12, 282 – 356. becker, g. s. (2007). a theory of social interactions. journal of political economy, 82, (6), 1063 1093 benson, l. & russell, p. ( 2004 ). selection of selfish and altruistic behaviour. man and beast. comparative social behaviour. washington dc. institutional press. berkowitz, l. (2000). mood, self-awareness and willingness to help. journal of personality and social psychology, 52, 721 – 729. binham, r. (1980). march – april: trivers in jamaica. science 80, 57 – 67. bryn, j. h. & test, n. a. ( 1999 ). models and helping: naturalistic studies in aiding behaviours. journal of personality and social psychology, 6, 400 – 407. coleman, r. (2010). altruism: human, natural, or what? journal of social issues, 28, 39 – 57. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 246 eagly, a. h. & crowley, m. ( 1986 ). helping behaviour: a meta-analytic review. psychological bulletin, 100, 283 – 308. egwu, n. u. (2002). effect of sentiments on prosocial behaviour among igbos. unpublished m.sc work presented to the department of psychology, anambra state university, uli, nigeria. eisenberg, n. (2006). empathy-related responding in children. handbook of moral development, 517 – 549 n. j. eribaum. ekekwe, j. c. (1993). a study of religious inclination and willingness to help. a seminar paper presented to the department of psychology, unn. essien, u. e. (1999). influence of religious belief on altruism. annual psychological bulletin, 4, 213 221. fernadez, p. (2007). religion and helping impact of target. thinking styles and just world belief. archive for the psychology of religion, 4, 26 – 48. frazer, h. (1984). social evolution and religion. journal of personality and social psychology, 51, 223 – 237. gershaw, c. (1988). religious belief and the society. sociological reports, 14, 112 – 118. good news bible, luke 10: 31-39. hoffman, m. l. (1981). the helping soliciting functions of tears. journal of social psychology, 5, 22 – 41. isabille, p. & sarogolu, v. (2007). religion and helping impact of target, thinking styles and just world beliefs. achieve for the psychology of religion, 4, 26 – 48. levine, r. v. (2008). the kindness to strangers revised. a comparison of 24 us cities. social indicators research, 85, 461 – 481. mcquire, a. (1994). helping in natural environment: dimension and correlates. journal of personality and social psychology, 20, 45 – 56. musah,y.i.(1998). on the psychology of philanthropy. journal of social psychology, 18, 6-9. noddlings, n. (2010). the challenge to care in schools: an alternative approach to education, new york: teachers college press. roberts, r. d. (2006). a positive model of private charity and public transfers. journal of political economy, 192, (1), 136 – 148. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 247 rushton, j. p., chrisjohn, r. d. and fekken, g. c. (1981). altruism scale. hillsdale, new jersey, lawrence associates. spilka, b. h. & gorsach, r. (2003). psychology of religion and ethical practices. an empirical approach (3rd ed.) new jersey: holt press. sugden, r. (2004). on the economics of philanthropy. economic journal, 92, 341 – 50 taylor, s. e. & david, d. o. (2006). social psychology: (12th ed.) delhi: india lpe pearson education. taylor, s. e. (1997). moderators of resources sharing. journal of experimental social psychology, 39, 44 – 52. page 1 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 172 relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers in nkanu west local government area of enugu state, nigeria nwatu, anthony a. department of sociology and anthropology faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology and nwatu, anthonia chigozie department of psychology faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology correspondence: toniaksly@yahoo.com abstract primary health workers’ job satisfaction is vital in enhancing prompt and effective service delivery to patients, thus, welfare benefits seem to be among the necessary tools for the achievement of such satisfaction. the study investigated the relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers in nkanu west local government area enugu state nigeria. welfare benefits captured in this study include: employment security benefits, health protection benefits, retirement benefits and personnel recognition. the participants in this study were sampled during the periodic biometric data capturing at the nkanu west local government headquarters agbani. eighty-seven (87) primary health workers whose age ranged from 23 – 58 years with age mean of 38.11 years and standard deviation of 9.75 took part in the study. they responded to some questionnaires on issues bothering on their demographic variables such as age, sex and academic qualifications and the research constructs (welfare benefits and job satisfaction). the study adopted correlational design and pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. the results were discussed in relation to relevant literature, limitations and suggestions for further analysis were equally made. it was concluded that welfare benefits had a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction experienced by the primary health workers. keywords: effective health care, employment, job satisfaction, primary health care, welfare benefits introduction employees are not usually too bothered about the manner their pay is calculated in as much as they believe it is a fair return for their contributed efforts and skills and also sufficiently consistent for them to feel they have some security of earning (root, 2005). of primary interest in this work are employees within the primary health sector in nigeria. health care system in nigeria is divided into three sections which include: primary, secondary and tertiary health sectors. part of the aims of partitioning the health care delivery into segments is for each to mailto:toniaksly@yahoo.com relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction address a crucial aspect of health care delivery. peradventure, any of these sectors fail to deliver holistically, other sectors may be affected in their service delivery. usually service delivery in health sector among the above identified sections move in an upward manner. in other words, patients are usually transferred from primary health sectors to secondary, then to tertiary or even a total boycott of primary and or secondary health care sectors to tertiary. owing to this swift movement of patients to tertiary sectors, a lot of stories such as lack of beddings, adequate man power, and other necessary logistics often lead to sudden death of many before adequate medical attention is received. stories of those who die on their way to the hospitals or on arrival abounds. apparently, primary health care delivery is at the grassroots to address most of the health problems to reduce high mortality rate at every level of health care delivery. primary health care located at the grassroots are managed by the local government and also ministry of health. the idea is that health care facilities should be at the door steps of the people for easy accessibility of health care. yet it seems the people are not tapping fully from these plans due to some issues which may involve the health seeking behaviour of the people, the quality of service delivery among other things. on the issue of the quality of service delivery some factors are to be considered such as: adequate infrastructural development, capital and human resources. the researchers have identified human resources as of crucial importance in health care delivery. prompt and effective service delivery may depend on a number of factors like: inadequate manpower in various health facilities, unqualified/inexperienced health workers, lack of adequate motivation through welfare benefits (salaries, wages and fringe benefits). at this juncture, the researchers want to examine the possible association between welfare benefits and health workers job satisfaction.workers satisfaction is none negotiable since many theorists assert that job satisfaction enhances their performance and commitment towards achieving organizational goals. job satisfaction is a necessary tool needed among workers in every organization especially among primary health care workers. a health worker, who is not satisfied with his /her work, may pose a serious danger to the patients in his/her facility. job satisfaction according to locke (1976) is pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience. job satisfaction as opined by (stall, 2004) is the extent to which a worker is contents with the rewards he/she gets out of his/her job, particularly in terms of intrinsic motivation. amstrong (2006) stated that job satisfaction refers to the attitude and feelings people have about their work. positive and favourable attitudes towards the job indicate satisfaction while negative and unfavourable attitudes towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction (amstrong, 2006). job satisfaction is a collection 174 of feelings and beliefs that people have about their current jobs. people’s levels or degrees of job satisfaction can range from extreme satisfaction to extreme dissatisfaction. in addition to having attitudes about their jobs as a whole, people can also have attitudes towards various aspects of their jobs such as the kind of job they do, their co-workers, supervisors or subordinates and their pay (george & jones, 2008). further, job satisfaction is a measure of workers’ contentedness with their job, whether or not they like the job or individual aspects or facets of jobs, such as nature of work or supervision (spector, 1997). to boost workers job satisfaction, welfare benefits may be very instrumental. welfare benefits are motivational tools hence, luthan (2008) defines motivation as “a process that starts with a physiological deficiency or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a good incentive”. motivation is a human psychological characteristic that contributes to a person’s degree of commitment (stoke, 1999). according to olajide (2000), “it is goal-directed, and therefore cannot be outside the goals of any organization whether public, private or non-profit”. the above background seems to favour the importance of welfare benefits to employees especially in primary health care. according to cascio (2003), welfare benefits are reward programme divided into two: direct and indirect forms of welfare packages. direct packages have to do with wages or salary aspect while an indirect package is the fringe benefits a worker enjoys as a result of working in an organization. integrating the two into a package that will encourage the achievement of an organizations goal is what welfare package is all about (odunlade, 2012). welfare benefits may be divided into direct and indirect benefits, thus, salaries can be defined as fixed regular payment especially in a monthly basis but often expressed as an annual sum made by an employer to employee especially a professional or white-collar worker. it is also a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee which maybe specific in an employment contract. salaries are recorded in payroll account. salary is a fixed amount of money or compensation paid to an employee by an employer in return for work performed. salary is commonly paid in fixed intervals for example, monthly payment of one-twelfth of annual salary. wages on the other hand are forms of monetary compensation for employees. wages are paid according to the amount of time worked by the employee. it is also the distribution from an employer of a securely (expected return or profits derived solely from others) paid to an employee. according to mathis and jackson (2003), fringe benefits are forms of indirect compensation given to an employee or group of employees as a part of organizational relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction membership. bratton and gold (2009) define them as that part of the total reward package provided to employees in addition to base or performance pay. fringe benefits focus on maintaining (or improving) the quality of life for employees and providing a level of protection and financial security for workers and for their family members. like base pay plans, the major objective for most organizational fringe compensation programs is to attract, retain and motivate qualified, competent employees (bernardin, 2007). mathis and jackson (2003) continue to state that an employer that provides a more attractive benefits package often enjoys an advantage over other employers in hiring and retaining qualified employees when the competing firms offered similar base pay. in fact, such benefits may create “golden handcuffs,” making employees more reticent to move to other employers. some common examples are; retirement or pension plans, medical and dental insurance, education reimbursement, time off, paid vacation and use of company car. (monappa, 1999). by making a special effort to satisfy workers needs, you energize their motivational value and at the same time boost their job satisfaction. statement of the problem primary health workers especially those in the remote areas often canvass for other employment opportunities in addition to lack of interest in their present job due to what they described as unfavourable working conditions. they complained that the staggering welfare benefits are not evenly distributed among workers. in other words, they have their personal needs like good shelter, logistics, good pension scheme, access to various work leaves, payment of accrued benefits in forms of harzard and shift duty allowances payable to health worker, etc. when these expectations are not achieved, the workers often go in search of them at the expense of the patients’ urgent medical attention. observation revealed that some health workers may be absent at their work places or late because they have no shelter within the health centres. the researchers’ interest in this area increased after a shared experience in what they referred to as preventable deaths. there was a personal experience of a sick child whose parents did not access prompt medical attention from nearby health centre, but relied on self-medication. the child was eventually rushed to a tertiary hospital when the situation was complicated, but unfortunately the baby gave up the ghost few days of arrival while the medical examinations were ongoing. it was deduced that part of the reason why they did not access medical help earlier is based on what they described as lack of interest to work often noticed in some health workers. such cases abound, and of course lack of interest invariably may mean job dissatisfaction. the roles of health workers especially in primary health facilities cannot be 176 overemphasized in reducing mortality rate which is the bane of health care delivery through preventive medicine. against this background, the researchers want to ascertain the relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction of primary health care workers. this study examined if workers who said that they have welfare benefits are more likely to be satisfied with their job than workers without welfare benefits. theoretical background the range of affect theory of job satisfaction propounded by locke (1976) is one of the most popular bodies of knowledge developed to explain the concept of job satisfaction. the major assumption of this theory is that satisfaction is determined by a discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in the job. the model holds that employees come into their job with expectation of what the job will provide and their satisfaction on the job will depend on if what the job actually provides is equal to or relatively close to what they expected that the job will provide. following the discrepancy premise and assumption, locke deduced that low gap between what an employee wants in a job and what he/she actually has leads to job satisfaction while huge gap will lead to dissatisfaction. central to the assumptions of the affect theory is the assertion that the pleasurable or positive emotions an employee has resulting from his/her personal appraisal of his/her job or job experiences are the aggregate of the satisfaction from various facet of his job. locke (1976) observed that employees attach varying values to the facets of their job and then stated that how much one values a given facet of work (e.g., the degree of autonomy in a position) moderates how satisfied/dissatisfied one becomes when expectations are met or not met. when a person values a particular facet of a job, his satisfaction is more greatly impacted, both positively (when expectations are met) and negatively (when expectations are not met) compare to one who does not value that facet. hence, relating this theory to welfare benefits and job satisfaction could be understood from the perspective that every employee comes into a job with certain expectations, desires and needs that the job will fulfil. however, fulfilment of these takes away tension on the part of the employee and causes satisfaction while the failure of the job to fulfil the holder expectations creates lacks of some benefits for the employee and causes dissatisfaction on the job. when this happens, the employee will be less committed to his/her job and the organization while evaluating other more fulfilling job opportunities within or outside the organization. relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction thus, the more distressed and dissatisfied an employee is, the less satisfied he/she will be to his/her job and the organization. this study adopted affect theory by locke (1976) because it addressed the relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction. affect theory has it that satisfaction is determined by a discrepancy between what one wants in a job and what one has in the job. primary health workers especially those in the public sector have high expectation concerning relatively good salary, prompt payment of accrued allowances (shift duty and hazard), access to free or monetized accommodation, steady/available means of transportation plus other numerous welfare benefits. it is even being rumoured by workers in other departments that health workers are lucky due to the kind of benefits attached to their work. the theory opined that if the benefits are being received by primary health workers as supposed, there is bound to be job satisfaction and if there is lack or inequitable/inadequate disbursement of the benefits to workers, job dissatisfaction may ensue. there are previous empirical studies on welfare benefits (direct and indirect benefits) and job satisfaction. pasztor and valent (2016) in a study on fringe benefit – still a motivation? the study participants were 101 subordinates and 15 managers. thus the researchers found no correlation between fringe benefit (cafeteria) and job satisfaction when individuals look for a new job, but when they are already hired, they are moderately satisfied with the fringe benefit system. in another study, chukwudumebi and kifordu (2018) concluded that fringe benefits play a vital role in the level of employees’ morale and productivity of companies and there is an association between fringe benefits and welfare matters. adjeikwame and chang (2019) in a study with 270 workers from 10 branches of sinapi aba savings and loans limited (sasl) on the impact that fringe benefits have on job satisfaction and employee engagement. the regression analysis revealed that medical aspect of fringe benefit has a statistically positive significant relationship with job satisfaction. accommodation showed a statistically positive significant impact on job satisfaction. vehicle to perform duties yielded a statistically positive significant impact on job satisfaction. educational assistance showed a statistically negative relationship with job satisfaction. remuneration package yielded a statistically negative significance on job satisfaction. in conclusion, welfare benefits impact on employee engagement and job satisfaction. nisar and siddiqui (2019) on a survey on the role of fringe benefits in employee satisfaction: an analysis of organizations of pakistan. they found that there is a strong connection between fringe benefits and employee job satisfaction along with its key dimensions, health protection benefits, overtime, recreation leaves and flexible working hours. 178 hypothesis the following hypothesis guided this study:  there will be a relationship between welfare benefits (workers with welfare benefits and those without welfare benefits) and job satisfaction among primary health care workers in nkanu west lga. method design/statistics this study adopted the correlational research design. the research design that deals with relationship between two variables (welfare benefits and job satisfaction).all statistics in this work were done with spss 23.00. descriptives statistics was used to analyze data from the demographic variables (age, gender, years of experience, marital status and educational level) while pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data on welfare benefits and job satisfaction. participants the study was carried out in nkanu west local government area of enugu state nigeria. the predominant occupation of the inhabitants of the area is paid employment particularly in the civil service (lga workers); while a good number are into farming and trading.the scope of this study was limited to nkanu west local government area workers who are trained to work in primary health facilities with a view to ascertain the relationship between their welfare benefits and job satisfaction. the population of nkanu west local government area trained health workers comprising 87 respondents with at least junior community health extension workers certificate (jchews) whose age ranged from 23 – 58 years (mean age = 38.11 years and standard deviation = 9.75) took part in this study. the sample for the study was limited to trained health care workers in the public primary health facilities in nkanu west lga, they were made up of 79 females representing (90.8%) and 8 males accounting for (9.2%). fifty-one (51) participants are married, 20 workers are single, 7 workers are widow/widower while 9 health workers are separated/divorced. twenty-nine workers have junior community health extension workers (jchew), 43 have community health extension workers (chew) while the remaining 15 workers have community health officers (cho). majority of the health workers (59 respondents) have more than 10 years working experience.available sampling technique was used in capturing the respondents for relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction the study. the research questionnaires were given to those available during nkanu west lga periodic biodata capturing at the headquarter (agbani). method of data collection the researchers collaborated with the staff doing the capturing after obtaining due approval from head of department health nkanu west lga to solicit for voluntary participation of health workers in this research. the researchers then distribute and collect the questionnaires from the participants who declared their consents in the research. measures: the instruments for the study consist of the structural questionnaires. the questionnaires were made up of two sections. section a demographic information on the personal characteristics of the respondents, while section b obtained data on the substantive issues of the research (welfare benefits and job satisfaction). minnesota satisfaction questionnaire (msq) ( weiss, dawis, england, & lofquist, 1967) the above test is a 20-item inventory designed to assess job satisfaction which is the fulfilment a worker derives from his/her input into the job environment and the fulfilment the job environment provides the worker. the instrument measures three components of satisfaction which are: intrinsic satisfaction denoted as (i), extrinsic satisfaction denoted as (e) and general satisfaction denoted as (g). all items are direct scored items and can be administered in group or individually with a stipulated time limit. mogaji (1997) provided the properties for nigeria samples as m&f (n=1,723), where i=47.14, e=19.98, g=74.85 and m&f (n=600), where i=40.22, e=18.32, g=65.13 respectively. reliability coefficient of i = .69, e = .82 and g = . 94 were reported. validity was reported at .50. the questionnaire has a likert type response format of (1) very dissatisfied to (5) very satisfied. scores higher than the mean indicate adequate job satisfaction while scores lower than the mean indicate job dissatisfaction. welfare benefits scale (wbs) developed by the researchers this scale is a 13-item instrument developed by the researchers to measure welfare benefits such as salaries, wages, retirement benefits, health/hazard benefits, job security benefits and employer recognition benefits. it has likert response format of (1) to a very great extent, (2) to a great extent (3) to a moderate extent (4) to a little extent and (5) to no extent. scoring: the instrument has direct scoring which range from 13 to 65. the score of a participant is determined by adding up the responses in the thirteen items. 180 in a pilot study conducted by the researchers to validate the scale, 18 primary health workers sampled from nkanu east local government area enugu state served as the normative sample. the researcher obtained a cronbach’s alpha of .67. high score depicts adequate welfare benefits while low score leads to absence or low welfare benefits. results the study sought to establish the percentage in age, gender, years of experience, marital status and education level of participants who took part in this study. table 1: age of correspondents frequency percent young age 23-39 years 49 56.3 old age 40-58 years 38 43.7 total 87 100.0 table 1 information reveals that the 56.3% of the respondents are within their young age (23-39 years), while the 43.7% are within their old age (4058 years). this shows that there is no much gap between primary health care workers in their young age and those in their old age. table 2: gender of the primary health care workers frequency percent male 8 9.2 female 79 90.8 total 87 100.0 table 2 shows the study findings that majority of the respondents (90.8%) were females while (9.2%) were males. this shows that there are more females than males in nkanu west local government area primary health care facilities. table 3: years of experience frequency percent early 1-10years 28 32.2 middle 11-20 years 39 44.8 late 21 years and above 20 23.0 total 87 100.0 the results in table 3 revealed that about half the respondents had 11 – 20 years of experience as shown by 44.8%, 32.2% had 1 – 10 years of experience while 23% had 21 years relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction and above experience. this shows that the respondents had enough experience to give credible information on the subject matter. table 4: marital status of the primary health care workers frequency percent single 20 23.0 married 51 58.6 widow/widower 7 8.0 separated/divorced 9 10.3 total 87 100.0 table 4 information reveals that 51 workers (58.6%) of the respondents are married, 20 workers (23%) single, 9 workers (10.3%) are separated/divorced, while the remaining 7 health workers (8%) are widow/widower. this means that majority of the respondents are married. table 5: educational level frequency percent jchew 29 33.3 chew 43 49.4 cho 15 17.2 total 87 100.0 the results in table 5 showed that 43 workers (49.4%) are community health extension workers (chews), 29 health workers (33.3%) are junior community health workers (jchews), while the remaining 15 health workers (17.2%) are community health officers (chos). this table further revealed that only those who have been trained to work in primary health care facilities were studied, whereas non-trained health workers were excluded. table 6: welfare benefits with and without frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent workers with welfare benefits 58 66.7 66.7 66.7 workers without welfare benefits 29 33.3 33.3 100.0 total 87 100.0 100.0 182 table 6 information reveals that 58 workers (66.7%) of the respondents said that they have welfare benefits and also satisfied with their job, 29 workers (33.3%) workers said that they are without welfare benefits and also dissatisfied with their job. this means that majority of the respondents are receive welfare benefits and are satisfied with their job. table 7: summary table of pearson product moment correlation coefficient showing the relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers correlations welfare benefits job satisfaction welfare benefits pearson correlation 1 .722* sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 87 87 job satisfaction pearson correlation .722* 1 sig. (2-tailed) .000 n 87 87 *. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). from the table 7 above, r value of (1, 87) = 0. 722 at p<.01 indicates a significant positive relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers. hence, the hypothesis which stated that “there will be a significant relationship between welfare benefits (workers who said they have welfare benefits and those without welfare benefits) on job satisfaction among primary health care workers” is hereby accepted. this means that a significant positive relationship exists between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers. summary of the findings findings of this study were summarized as follows:  a significant positive relationship was found to exist between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers r(1, 87) = .722, p<. 01.  descriptive analysis (percentages) revealed that 9.2% of the study respondents were males whereas, 90.8% were females.  descriptive analysis (percentages) showed 33.3% are with jchew, 49.9% are with chew while 17.2% are with cho. relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction  descriptive analysis (percentages) revealed that majority of the respondents 59 workers (67.8%) have had more than ten years experience on the job.  descriptive analysis (percentages) 51 respondents (58.6%) are married primary health workers, 20 workers (23%) were single, 9 workers (10.3%) were widow/widowed, while the remaining 7 respondents (8%) were separated/divorced.  descriptive analysis (percentages) revealed that 58 (66.7%) of the workers said that they have welfare benefits and are satisfied with their job while the remaining 29 (33.3%) said that they are without welfare benefits and are dissatisfied with their job.  the analysis finally revealed that 49 respondents (56.3%) are within their young age (23 to 39 years) while 38 respondents (43.7%) are within their old age (40-58 years). discussion the finding of this study indicates that the hypothesis tested was confirmed. hence, the alternative hypothesis tested which stated that “there will be a significant relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers” was accepted. this means that welfare benefits are linearly related to job satisfaction based on the fact that adequate welfare benefits lead to job satisfaction. a positive correlation obtained in this situation is based on the fact that the primary health care workers high score on welfare benefits lead to adequate job satisfaction whereas, a low score on welfare benefits lead to job dissatisfaction. the findings of this research disagree with the research conducted by pasztor and valent (2016) and some other researchers who found no relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction. however, most of the past studies reviewed in this study like (chukwudumebi & kifordu, 2018; adejeikweme & change, 2019) in line with the above findings assert from their separate work that welfare benefits have positive relationship with job satisfaction. implications of the findings the implication of the above finding is that since the alternative hypothesis stated was accepted, primary health care workers in nkanu west local government area enugu state should borrow from the government commitment in the provisions of welfare benefits which in turn boost their job satisfaction in discharging their duties effectively. the finding of this study should be a guide to the government and policy makers incharge of health delivery in nigeria especially primary health care system to always provide 184 the workers with adequate and prompt welfare benefits since this study found a positive relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction of primary health care workers. the management and local government administrations should endeavour to see that those primary health care workers and others workers under their administrations receive various welfare benefits accrued to their job status for an enhanced job satisfaction. they should also make effort to see that workers who are disenfranchised from receiving their welfare benefits are identified and compensated accordingly since lack of these benefits may bring about job dissatisfaction among primary health care workers. a major limitation is that only the health care workers with health qualifications like junior community health extension workers (jchews), to community health officers (chos) were studied thereby excluding other workers in the health care facilities like the security guards, those with both first school leaving certificates and above. recommendations 1. since the outcome of the study revealed that primary health workers are satisfied with their job in relation to welfare benefits they received, they should be admonished to ensure quick and effective health care delivery to their host communities. 2. government and policy makers should not relent in the provisions of adequate welfare benefits to workers since they boost primary health care workers’ job satisfaction. 3. primary health care workers who do not receive adequate welfare benefits due to one reason or the other should be urgently compensated in order to boost their job satisfaction. 4. a comparative study should be done between primary health care trained workers and those who are not trained in order to cross validate the outcome of this study. this is necessary in order to ascertain their job satisfaction due to the assumption that they are not entitled to some fringe benefits unlike their trained counterparts. 5. government should involve more males in primary health care delivery as their presence and expertise may attract other sick male counterparts to assess early/preventable care from primary health centres. 6. a good number of the workers are still with jchew which may limit their expertise in quick and effective health care delivery, more welfare benefits such as study leaves, education allowances, etc, should be provided for them. relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction summary and conclusion this research was on the relationship between welfare benefits and job satisfaction among primary health care workers in nkanu west local government area enugu state. thus, it was found that a positive relationship exists between welfare benefits and job satisfaction. in other words, the higher the welfare benefits received by primary health care workers the more their job satisfaction. finally, adequate provisions of welfare benefits promote job satisfaction experienced by primary health care workers. references andrew, e. c. & thomas, t. 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(1967). manual for the minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. minnesota, irc. university of minnesota. page 1 place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 165 place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance as an emerging market: evidence from selected insurance firms in nigeria. alli noah gbenga* ganiyu kamal aina john department of insurance, school of business and management studies, the federal polytechnic, offa *noah.alli@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng abstract the growth in awareness and popularity of cryptocurrency as a financial instrument has, in various ways, improved faster than infrastructures that have been built to complement and support its existence, even though cryptocurrencies are backed up by numerous blockchains which are designed to reduce risks, a sizable amount of risk is unavoidable. cryptocurrency seems to be here to stay for the primary time, and so does the risk inherent in investing in such an instrument. it is expected that firms and individuals investing in such consider obtaining an insurance policy that will safeguard their interest during interacting with such currency. this study examines the place of the nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance as an emerging market. the study sample population was drawn from lagos state, the commercial centre hub of nigeria and a platform for many insurance companies in nigeria. 75 respondents were drawn from the 15 insurance companies quoted on the nigerian stock exchange commission. the principal statistical technique employed for this study was a kolmogorov−smirnov test.the study concluded that the insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are financially ready to provide cryptocurrency insurance for the numerous risks encountered during holding cryptocurrencies by organizations and individuals. keywords: cryptocurrency, insurance, cryptocurrency insurance, nigeria, risk. introduction technology by nature is dynamic, and organizations that fail to flow with modern-day changes will most likely fall out. a real-life case of technological dynamism in this modern 21st century is that of cryptocurrency. cryptocurrency is fast becoming a key instrument in the world of currency. according to (raj & manoj, 2020), cryptocurrency in recent times is a widely accepted means of investment in all spheres of businesses and has created a close and harmonious relationship among many world economies. it is the future wave as more organizations and countries worldwide accept them as a valid form of currency. however, the growth, awareness, and popularity of cryptocurrency as a financial instrument is in various ways improving faster than infrastructures that have been built to complement and support its existence (shawdagor, 2019).according to the report (coinmarketcap, 2020), the total value of the cryptocurrency market as of october, 26th 2020, is estimated at $386,546,429,659, and still gaining daily traction. the size of the market has attracted a very high level of cybercrime risk and various other forms of risks. along with this growth in cryptocurrency, there is an increasing concern over the control of risk present therein. although cryptocurrencies are backed up by numerous blockchains designed to reduce risks, a sizable amount of risk is unavoidable, but this is not unusual with any new technology; however, the risk and error are widespread nature (rossiter, mailto:noah.alli@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng 2017). kauflin, (2019) posited that where assets exist, there is bound to be insurance. since the primary function of insurance is the provision of financial protection of the insured against unforeseen losses. cryptocurrency seems to be here to stay for the primary time, and so does the risk inherent in investing in such an instrument. it is expected that firms and individuals investing in such consider obtaining an insurance policy that will safeguard their interest during interacting with such an instrument. the presence of insurance industries across the world in cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly popular, and some insurance firms are already rising to the challenge by providing adequate insurance cover for investors and such an instrument and tapping into the existing market, however, with caution (grensing, 2019). there is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of insurance in the world of cryptocurrency. research on cryptocurrency insurance is currently receiving considerable attention across all academic and non-academic spheres due to the market value and risk inherent in cryptocurrency. cryptocurrency insurance and its usefulness are essential but understudied, and this is a cause for concern. previous studies have failed to show any convincing evidence of insurance firms' willingness to underwrite risk involved in cryptocurrency; likewise, they have failed to demonstrate the financial readiness of insurance firms for such risks and, lastly, failed to establish if cryptocurrency risk underwriting is a profitable business. a large number of studies that have been conducted on cryptocurrency insurance lacks empirical support. drawing upon this fact, this study attempts to: find out if insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are willing to underwrite such risks involved in holding cryptocurrency as a form asset. examine if the insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks. determine if cryptocurrency risk underwriting is a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry. the hypotheses tested are: insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not willing to underwrite such risks involved in holding cryptocurrency as a form asset. insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks. cryptocurrency risk underwriting is not a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry. place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 167 review of related literature cryptocurrency cryptocurrency is a way of transaction that uses robust cryptography to secure the financial transactions of assets and verify the asset transfer between the parties involved (raj & manoj, 2020; eli & jerry, 2014). by using a cryptocurrency, parties in a transaction can make financial transactions without the knowledge or over the sight of a third party (peter, 2016). cryptocurrency is a popular way of financial transactions, and it has proven to be robust and highly confidential, which has attracted lots of investors with massive investment in the virtual currency. (jacob, henry & aaron, 2019; eli & jerry, 2014) argued that digital scarcity is a significant element of cryptocurrency, else the data which tend to represent the currency could be copied unlimitedly, and these copies will ultimately make the cryptocurrency worthless. the generally accepted method must effectively and efficiently ensure that digital currency cannot be spent twice, which prevents the cryptocurrency version of counterfeit money. according to (jacob, henry, & aaron, 2019), cryptocurrencies are the combination of critical variables such as financial instruments, supporting technology, and a web-enabled network that cannot be separated from each other. ultimately, when cryptocurrency is mentioned, one cannot but think about the inherent risks since cryptocurrencies' financial risks cannot easily be distinguished from the technological risks. the cryptocurrency market requires a sound financial risk management program to avoid cryptocurrencies that are not a going concern, properly diversify portfolios, avoid asset bubbles, and manage liquidity. the cryptocurrency market requires technology risk management to protect private keys adequately and to sustain cybersecurity. cryptocurrency markets also require managing the risks associated with emerging financial markets such as uncertain legal status, undefined protocols for estate planning, and custody best practices, among many others. the majority of all cryptocurrencies use a kind of technology mostly known as a "blockchain" to track the ownership of digital currency and create digital unavailability of currency and further prevent the currency from being double-spent (jacob, henry, & aaron, 2019). blockchain is a modern technology that offers a different way of designing and constructing a very high level of secured distributed systems. it was designed at the beginning as a kind of system to identify double spending of cryptocurrency in a cryptocurrency system. blockchain is generally applicable to all forms of business applications where there is a significant trust requirement among distributed parties involved (mayank et al., 2018). at another form of high level, a blockchain is a form of the book of account was multiple participants in a transaction store a local copy of the ledger. the book of account consistency is achieved by specific consensus protocols involving all participants in the transactions. laura (2020) points out that the whole list of cryptocurrency is conditionally divided into three main types, namely; (i) bitcoin; (ii) altcoins, and (iii) token, and further clarified that the price of cryptocurrency is regulated by the supply and demand, meaning that the value people themselves put into it determine the price. conceptual meaning of risk and cryptocurrency risk generally, everyone has some understanding of the meaning of the word 'risk.' individuals and organizations all take risks every day; they do things knowing that there is a risk involved. they all accept the level of risk in their individual and organizational minds, although the potential consequences can be theft, loss, death, or severe injury in some other cases. therefore, when risk is evaluated, the probability of something happening that an individual does not want, and the consequences, if it does, are taken into account (akinjobi, 2016). there are risks at the other end of the spectrum where the probability is very high, but the consequences are relatively low. therefore, whether an individual or an organization chooses to accept or decline a risk depends on the mix of two factors: probability and consequence; identifying, evaluating, and understanding risky situations or circumstances are crucial aspects of business management. businesses during investments can also suffer dreadful consequences if risks are not appropriately managed. most people generally associate the word 'risk' with injury, health risks, and death, but any business faces many other risk types. the different types of risks include numerous potentials for losses; the impacts of such losses can undermine operational objectives, such as productivity and development of an organization. as the assortment and seriousness of potential losses heighten, it is progressively significant that organizations make successful and productive game plans for dealing with their vulnerabilities and the related outcomes of losses in case they happen. furthermore, risk is a natural phenomenon that is ever-present in the operations of daily human activities (rejda, 2002). to survive as an individual or make a profit as an organization, one must take the risk. this ultimately translates to the existence of risk in every aspect of our lives or business activity. risk in economics and finance is often used in situations where possible outcomes can be estimated with some accuracy. series of authors have attempted to define risk. while various definitions of the term risk have been suggested, (rejda & mcnamara, 2014) defined risk as uncertainty concerning the occurrence of a loss. likewise, (akinjobi, 2012) stated that risk is a condition in which there is a possibility of an adverse deviation from the desired outcome that is expected or hoped for". according to (thackeray, 2018; serah, 2019), a unique feature of cryptocurrency is that any central authority does not issue it, thereby making it immune to the governments' influence or manipulation. thackeray (2018) further clarified that the characteristics of the system which includes irreversible transaction; anonymous transactions; global speed; security and nogatekeeper are part of the factors that significantly contribute to the various risks inherent in owning or trading cryptocurrencies either by an individual or corporate organizations all over the world. the issue of risks faced by cryptocurrency traders is many, however, (biditex, 2019; jacob, henry & aaron, 2019; thackeray, 2018) claims they are not limited to the following; cyber/fraud risk; operational risk; regulatory/compliance risk; market risks; while dan (2018) also indicated that consumer protection risk; exiting the markets risks and human error risk are some of the risks faced by cryptocurrency investors. these risks have led cryptocurrency investors and users to seek out ways to protect their assets, and firms are increasingly seeing crypto-insurance as a lucrative business line (olga, brians, julie & katherine, 2018) place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 169 cryptocurrency in nigeria the case of cryptocurrency as a virtual currency for trading and invest in nigeria has been on a steady rise since its inception in nigeria, and it is legal since no government laws as made it illegal. domestic traders/merchants/organizations now accept cryptocurrencies in tandem with domestic currency or even in its place in certain circumstances since cryptocurrencies provide another way people can invest and keep their money or assets. according to tomiwa (2020), more people are now making transactions, investing, and transferring funds it leading to arcade research ranking nigeria fifth globally, with about 11% of its internet subscribers owning or using cryptocurrencies. the monthly cryptocurrency transfers to and from africa of under $10,000 typically made by individuals and small businesses jumped more than 55% in a year to reach $316 million in june 2020 (akwagyiram & wilson, 2020; jeffery, 2020). the number of monthly transfers also rose by almost half, surpassing 600,700. much of the activity in nigeria, the continent's biggest economy, and south africa and kenya (akwagyiram & wilson, 2020). the increase in cryptocurrency usage has led to an increase in cryptocurrency theft and scam across nigeria and africa as a continent. the rapid increase in cryptocurrency theft/fraud across nigeria is due to the little or no risk of been caught since cryptocurrency transactions are untraceable (tomiwa, 2020). the fraudsters mostly capitalize on crypto investments with company their company and promising investors huge returns within a short period; also, other losses their cryptocurrencies to theft from their cryptocurrency wallet by professional hackers. having insurance in place will go a long way in saving the financial interests of cryptocurrency holders. conceptual meaning of insurance and cryptocurrency insurance irrespective of how stable or financially buoyant an organization or an individual may be, it is impossible to foresee all the calamities and provide necessaries for them to advance. many viable individuals and organizations have been ruined either by an unsuitable investment of their corporate funds or other disastrous calamities such as theft, fraud among many others vices that may take a heavy toll on an organization or individual. akinjobi (2012) explained that these risks in most cases could not be known in advance as to when they will happen, and it is physically impossible for an individual or organization to be immune totally to them. insurance is a device meant not for averting these risks but to mitigate these risks' impact on individuals and organizations'. every risk involves a kind of loss or another; the function of insurance is to spread these losses over many persons who agree to cooperate at the happening of a contingent event insured against. the risk cannot be averted, but loss occurring due to a particular risk can be distributed amongst the agreed parties. anyone of the party may suffer a loss to an insured risk, so the rest of the agreed parties will share the loss. the larger the number of such parties, the easier the process of distribution of loss. the parties share the loss by payment of premium, which is calculated on the probability of loss (raji, 2005). different authors have attempted to define insurance from their various fields; however, khan (2014) holds that insurance is a risk transfer mechanism whereby the individual and the business enterprise can shift some of the uncertainties of life on the other's shoulders. insurance protects trade and industry. this will lead to innovation and inventions, which ultimately contribute to human progress, economies, social and technological progress. the above will allow the industry to look for new and more high-tech machines, robots and gadgets, atomic technology, and other sophisticated modern equipment that will boost the manufacturing and production activities of the economy. (akinjobi, 2016; khan, 2014) both concluded that all industrial, economic, and social activity would come to a grinding halt without the required insurance cover. (sharma, 2019) argues insurance for cryptocurrencies becomes imperative when the instability of the cryptocurrency ecosystem is thoroughly considered. the increase in the value of cryptocurrencies has resulted in massive thefts of online wallets and exchanges. jinia (2019) explained that with millions at stake, not to mention a growing cryptocurrency market capitalization, the insurance industry could provide a safety net for crypto investors. traditional insurers can restore investor confidence in cryptocurrencies as a store of value. (raj & manoj, 2020; yogita, 2020) posited that cryptocurrency investors are usually interested in insuring it against loss, theft, and common cryptocurrency capital loss; the cryptocurrency holders can take a cryptocurrency policy according to the level of assets in which they possess in their wallet. this is due to the instability of the ecosystem of cryptocurrency. at any time, the value of the cryptocurrency may come down, and there might be a loss to be undertaken by the investor; lastly, there are some cases in which the cryptocurrency is hacked stolen in a huge sum. therefore, cryptocurrency insurance is an insurance policy that pays for all amounts that the insured (cryptocurrency owner) inherit during trading/holding cryptocurrencies through theft, fraud, and other insurable risks. according to jeff (2019), the market for crypto insurance to grow faster than the 20% to 25% pace at which the more massive cyber-security insurance sector is currently expanding. the market would likely grow even faster if the u.s.a regulators provided more clarity on questions like which digital assets will be deemed securities and are bound by the same laws that govern public companies. the nigerian insurance industry in brief according to businessday (2020), the nigerian insurance industry being one of the most robust insurance industries in africa, consists of 57 registered insurance companies, out of which 14 are into life insurance business underwriting, while 28 companies are into the nonlife insurance business and 13 are into composite businesses. there are also two reinsurance companies whose sole responsibilities are to provide technical security and capacity for the insurance companies. according to naicom(2020), the minimum capital base was reviewed as follows: from ₦3billion to ₦10billion for general insurance business), while life business capital base was raised from ₦2billion to ₦8billiion), and composite insurance businesses capital base was raised from ₦5billion to ₦18billion, and reinsurance capital base was raised from ₦10billiion to ₦20billiion with a deadline of december 2020. iweala (2015) and yusuf, ajemunigbohun, and alli (2017) reported that the nigerian insurance industry is an essential component of the country's financial system needed to drive economic development and industrialization. also, cleric & deller (2012) reported that the real value that insurance offers individual, institutions, and the economy is by providing a sense of security and peace of mind, encouraging loss mitigation, increasing prosperity, and generally making people more aware of the reality of risks and their consequences through information and pricing signals. the national insurance commission (naicom) is rested with the supervisory and administrative capacity of the protection business in nigeria. some way or another, the advancements in the business are, for the most part, supported by the naicom through her yearly rules and mandates to protection administrators, and according to it, there are 460 registered insurance brokers and about 15,000 insurance agents. the nigerian insurance market has been described as a brokers' market because presently, brokers control over 90% of the premium income, with less than 10 percent for insurance agents and even direct marketing channels by insurers (naicom, 2020). place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 171 methodology research design research design is a framework of various methods and ways chosen by a researcher to infuse different parts of a research work reasonably and coherently so that the study's problem is expeditiously handled. asika (2008) reported that it provides insights regarding "how" to conduct analysis employing an explicit and specific methodology. for this study, a descriptive research design was engaged by the researcher. the rationale for its engagement was that a descriptive research design mainly focuses on describing the situation under study, and it is a design created by gathering, analyzing, and presenting collected information. research instrument a research questionnaire was adopted to collect data during this study. the questionnaire was designed to support likert-type scaling measurement, which was anchored on "disagree," "undecided" and "agree". for effective and efficient distribution and collection of the research instruments, research assistants were adopted. reliability and validity of the research instrument a pilot study was conducted by the researcher to test the research instrument's reliability measures in an attempt to determine if the questionnaire was fit for the purpose for which it was designed. the reliability test result shows that the instrument was valid due to the cronbach alpha level of 0.811, which indicated that the alpha level is well above the minimum acceptable threshold of cronbach alpha level of 0.70. theoretical validity was designed through a measure of understudied variables from well taught out works of literature in relevant studies. in contrast, the construct validity, on the other hand, was designed by giving out a set of questionnaires to few selected senior insurance employees well-grounded in underwriting and human resource management as well as to some members in the academic community with expertise in insurance. these experts understudied the research instrument and gave remarks that helped the researcher present the questionnaire in a more simplified, understanding, and acceptable manner to the various respondents of this study. sample population and sample size the nigerian insurance industry consists of 57 insurance companies operating both life business and non-life (general business) )while 14 are into life insurance business underwriting, while 28 companies are into the non-life insurance business, and 13 are into composite businesses. however, since the study's policy is classified as a non-life policy, the employees of insurance companies operating non-life businesses are our main population for this study. the sample population was drawn from lagos state, the commercial centre hub of nigeria and a platform for many insurance companies in nigeria. a total of 5 questionnaires was distributed to 15 insurance companies, each amounting to 75 distributed questionnaires. out of the 75 distributed questionnaires, only 69 were returned to the research assistants purposely employed for this study, which amount to 92% of the total questionnaire. however, upon adequate scrutiny of the returned questionnaire, only 64 out of the 69 returned were found fit for analysis. the selected insurance firms are part of those quoted on the nigerian stock exchange commission. data analysis technique to analyze the three (3) hypotheses formulated for this study, the kolmogorov-smirnov (ks) test was employed by the researcher. this test is used as a goodness of fit test, and it compares the cumulative distribution function for a variable with a specified distribution. the ks test is given as: 𝑫 = 𝑴𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎|𝑭𝒐(𝑿) − 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)| where: 𝑭𝒐(𝑿)= observed cumulative frequency distribution. 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)= theoretical cumulative frequency distribution the procedural steps for testing the formulated hypotheses go thus: state the null hypothesis, state the level of significance, and state the decision rule. the degree of freedom is measured at a 0.05 level of significance. the criteria for acceptance or rejection goes thus: acceptance criteria: if the calculated value is less than the tabulated value (dcal<dtab), accept the null hypothesis, while the rejection criteria: if the calculated value is greater than the table value (dcal>dtab) reject the null hypothesis. the tabulated d from the kolmogorov-smirnov test table is always represented by (α ÷ √n), where α= 1.36 and n = the number of observations. the critical value of d for a sample size of n must be greater than thirty-five (i.e., n > 35 for large samples). test of hypotheses hypothesis 1 insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not willing to underwrite such risks involved in holding cryptocurrency as a form asset. place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 173 table 1: frequency table for the question relating to hypothesis 1 alternatives responses percentage (%) disagree 44 69 undecided 11 17 agree 9 14 total 64 100 source: authors field survey, 2020. table 2: kolmogorov-smirnov frequency table for hypothesis 1 hypothesis disagree undecided agree f = insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not willing to underwrite such risks involved in holding cryptocurrency as a form asset. 44 11 9 𝑭𝒐(𝑿)= observed cumulative frequency distribution 0.6875 0.8593 1 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)= theoretical cumulative frequency distribution. 0.3333 0.6666 1 |𝑭𝒐(𝑿) − 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)| 0.3542 0.1927 0 the above table shows that the 𝑫 value is the point of divergence between the observed frequency cumulative distribution and theoretical cumulative frequency distribution, which was determined to be 0.3542. the tabulated 𝑫 from kolmogorov-smirnov one sample table at (𝜶 / √𝑵 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) is given as: (𝛂 / √𝐍 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕 in this instance, our 𝑫cal (0.3542) exceeds the critical value of 0.17. hence, the null hypothesis (h0), which states that insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not willing to underwrite such risks involved in holding cryptocurrency as a form asset, is rejected 𝜶 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓. therefore, this indicates that insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are willing to underwrite such risks involved in cryptocurrency trading. hypothesis 2. insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks underwriting. table 3: frequency table for a question relating to hypothesis 2 alternatives responses percentage (%) disagree 58 90.7 undecided 4 6.2 agree 2 3.1 total 64 100 source: authors field survey, 2020. table 4: kolmogorov−smirnov frequency table for hypothesis 2 hypothesis disagree undecided agree f = insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks underwriting. 58 4 2 𝑭𝒐(𝑿)= observed cumulative frequency distribution 0.9062 0.9687 1 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)= theoretical cumulative frequency distribution. 0.3333 0.6666 1 |𝑭𝒐(𝑿) − 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)| 0.5729 0.3021 0 the above table shows that the 𝑫 value is the point of divergence between the observed frequency cumulative distribution and theoretical cumulative frequency distribution, which was determined to be 0.5729. the tabulated 𝑫 from kolmogorov-smirnov one sample table at (𝜶 / √𝑵 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) is given as: (𝛂 / √𝐍 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕 in this instance, our 𝑫cal (0.5729) exceeds the critical value of 0.17. hence, the null hypothesis (h0), which states that insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are not financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks underwriting, is thereby rejected at𝜶 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓. therefore, this indicates that insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are financially ready to handle cryptocurrency risks underwriting. hypothesis 3 table 5: frequency table for question relating to hypothesis 3 place of nigerian insurance industry in cryptocurrency insurance 175 alternatives response percentage (%) disagree 62 97 undecided 1 1.5 agree 1 1.5 total 64 100 source: authors field survey, 2020 table 6: kolmogorov−smirnov frequency table for hypothesis 3 hypothesis disagree undecided agree f = cryptocurrency risk underwriting is not a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry. 62 1 1 𝑭𝒐(𝑿)= observed cumulative frequency distribution 0.9687 0.9843 1 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)= theoretical cumulative frequency distribution. 0.3333 0.6666 1 |𝑭𝒐(𝑿) − 𝑭𝒓(𝑿)| 0.6354 0.3177 0 the above table shows that the 𝑫 value is the point of divergence between the observed frequency cumulative distribution and theoretical cumulative frequency distribution, which was determined to be 0.6354. the tabulated 𝑫 from kolmogorov-smirnov one sample table at (𝜶 / √𝑵 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) is given as: (𝛂 / √𝐍 = 𝟏. 𝟑𝟔 / √𝟔𝟒) = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟕 in this instance, our 𝑫cal (0.6354) exceeds the critical value of 0.17. hence, the null hypothesis (h0), which states that cryptocurrency risk underwriting is not a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry, is rejected at𝜶 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓4. therefore, this indicates that cryptocurrency risk underwriting is a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry. conclusion this study attempts to examine the nigerian insurance industry as a research base for its empirical assessment. the findings of the study have significantly shown the stand of nigerian insurance firms in cryptocurrency insurance. the study also affirmed that the insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are financially ready to provide cryptocurrency insurance for the numerous risks encountered during holding cryptocurrencies as assets by organizations and individuals. furthermore, the study affirms that insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry are willing to underwrite such risks involved in cryptocurrency trading. lastly, the study has attested that cryptocurrency risk underwriting is a profitable avenue for insurance firms within the nigerian insurance industry, as it will further boost the premium income generation and contribution to the nation's gross domestic product. on recommendations, the naicomshould endeavor to increase further the minimum capital base of the nigerian insurance industry to allow for further acceptance of unusual risks that its foreign counterparts accept and provide cover for, as this further will put the nigerian insurance industry at par with its foreign counterparts. secondly, since the insurance firms within the industry are willing to accept such risks in cryptocurrency, it is recommended that the insurance firms sponsor their underwriters for workshops and seminars to enable them to garner the required knowledge required for adequate and proper cryptocurrency underwriting. the 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(2017). a critical review of insurance claims management: a study of selected insurance companies in nigeria. spoudai journal of economics and business, 67(2), 69-84 https://www.investopedia.com/news/cryptocurrency-insurance-could-be-big-industry-future/ https://www.investopedia.com/news/cryptocurrency-insurance-could-be-big-industry-future/ https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/fin-tech/855410/crypto-currenc-in-nigeria-regulatory-framework-related-issues https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/fin-tech/855410/crypto-currenc-in-nigeria-regulatory-framework-related-issues https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/53239/gemini-ventures-into-insurance-business-launches-nakamoto-to-provide-200m-crypto-coverage https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/53239/gemini-ventures-into-insurance-business-launches-nakamoto-to-provide-200m-crypto-coverage volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 248 influence of self efficacy and level of education on test anxiety among adolescents eze, boris ejike mgbenkemdi, ejike h. department of psychology faculty of the social sciences enugu state university of technology enugu, (esut) agbani-enugu state nigeria boriskeze@yahoo.com; iamejike@yahoo.co.uk abstract the study examined influence of self efficacy and level of education on test anxiety among adolescents. using available sampling technique (that is, students who were present and willing at the time of the study to participate in the research). 100 students from ozalla high school in nkanu west in enugu state were drawn to participate in the study; comprising 57 junior students and 43 senior students, out of which 51 are females and 49 are males. they were between 12-17 years with a mean of 14.3 years and standard deviation of 2.1 years. self-efficacy scale (sheker, et al, 1982) and test-anxiety inventory (spielberger, 1980). cross sectional design was used and 2×2 analysis of variance f-test statistic used for data analysis. the findings revealed no significant outcome on selfefficacy f (1, 96) = 1.26 at p>.05; a significant outcome on level of education f(1,96) = 4.58 at p <.05; and no interaction between self-efficacy and level of education f(1,96) = 0.08 at p>.05 on test anxiety among adolescents. the findings were discussed in relation to literatures reviewed and suggestions made keywords: self –efficacy, level of education, test-anxiety and adolescents introduction in today's world everybody faces stress in everyday life and no one can escape from pressures of life competition with others in sport, education, professional fields and other contexts, inevitably, he/she tries to meet the demands and requirements of modern life. in many cases due to limited resources and multitude of applicants, one is forced to compete for getting some external goals, such as winning in a competition, interviews, getting good grades in school exams, promoting job or putting on absolute spotlight of others. in such an environment, the goal of the students is to show their superior capability. according to bandura (1997) self-efficacy is defined as: perceptions of students from the ability to mailto:boriskeze@yahoo.com mailto:iamejike@yahoo.co.uk ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 249 successfully resolve the issue, learning the activities or perform them on a desire level. studies have shown that mental health and human well-being requires an optimistic sense of self-efficacy (maciejewski et al., 2000). a strong sense of efficacy leads to a high level of motivation, academic achievements and interests growth in educational issues (pajares & schunk, 2001). ashby and kathryn (2007) reported that high efficacy in talented students is related to a number of behaviours such as: enhancement of social harmony, improvement of interpersonal relations and social and academic skills, vice versa low efficacy in ordinary students is a major contribution to personal, social and educational problems. bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as the belief in one’s own capacity to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations. in other words, self efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her own ability to succeed in a particular situation. bandura described these beliefs as determinants of how people think, behave and feel. an individual’s sense of self efficacy can play a major role in how they feel, how they approach goals, task and challenges. the concept of self-efficacy lies at the centre of bandura’s social cognitive theory which emphasizes the role of observational learning and social experience in the personality development. a strong sense of self-efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways. such an efficient outlook produces personal accomplishments, reduces stress and lowers vulnerability to depression. in contrast, people who doubt their capabilities shy away from difficult tasks which they view as personal threats. they have low aspirations and weak commitment to the goals they choose to pursue. they fall easy victim to stress and depression. parajares and schunk (2001) indicated that individuals tend to engage in tasks about which they feel competent and confident, and avoid those in which they feel incompetent. in the study of tella and ayeni (2007) on self-efficacy of nurses, found out that self-efficacy propels nurses to keep trying to accomplish their goals and make good decisions that translate into meaningful achievements. according to bandura (1997), people with high self-efficacy are those who believe they perform well and are more likely to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than as threats to be avoided. self-efficacy is one’s belief in one’s effectiveness in performing specific tasks. people who regard themselves as highly efficacious act, think, and feel differently from those who perceive themselves as inefficacious. self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well being and personal accomplishments. this is because unless people believe that their actions can produce the outcomes they desire, they have little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of difficulties (parajares, 2006). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 250 another variable studied in this research is test anxiety. anxiety is a very common phenomenon in psychological studies, which has been researched for many years and in fact it is the most common reaction to stress (sarason, 1984). mckee (2007) showed that students in all levels of academic achievements and intellectual abilities can be affected by test anxiety. test anxiety leads to behavioural, physical and phenomenological reactions along with the test (zeidner, 2007). hemberee (1988) reported that there is a negative correlation between test anxiety and success in iq, intelligence, memory and problem solving tests. biabangard (1999) reported that students with low level of test anxiety have better performance in difficult exams than the easy ones, while the performance of students with moderate test anxiety is contrary; finally students with high level of test anxiety, have low function in both hard and easy exams. on the other hand, there are few studies that have examined the relationship between self efficacy and anxiety. anxiety is a state of anticipatory apprehension over possible deleterious happenings. individuals experiencing anxiety embody apprehension and avoidant behaviour that often interfere with performance on everyday life as well as in academic situations. in social cognitive theory, one’s perceived sense of efficacy plays a key role in the arousal of student anxiety. individuals, therefore, only experience anxiety when they believe themselves to be incapable of managing potentially detrimental events. anxiety is a physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioural components (seligman, walker & rosenhan, 2001). these components combine to create the feeling that we typically recognize as fear, apprehension or worry. it is accompanied by physical sensations such as heart palpitations, nausea, and chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach ache or headache. the cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. somatically, the body prepares the organism to deal with threat (known as emergency reaction): blood pressure and heart rates are increased, sweating, blood flow to the major muscles groups as increased. externally, somatic signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and papillary dilation. however, anxiety is not always pathological or maladaptive. it is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness and happiness and it has a very important function in relation to survival. too much anxiety about a test is commonly referred to as test anxiety. test anxiety is a set of response like worry, depression, nervousness, task irrelevant, cognitions, etc. to a class of stimuli arising from an individual’s experience of assessment or testing (razor & rasor, 1998). test anxiety is a psychological situation whereby an individual becomes perplexed or worried as a result of lack of preparation, lack of study habit, poor time management which results in physiological changes outside the body such as sweat, palpitations, etc. it can cause whole lots of problems in individuals such as upset stomach, headache, and loss ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 251 of focus, irritability, anger and even depression. test anxiety implies the debilitating experiences of anxiety as described by lewis during the preparation for a test or during the test itself (jing, 2007). test anxiety makes it hard for students to concentrate on test and perform adequately. chapel (2005) showed that test anxiety has negative correlations with academic performance. according to bandura, (1997), self-efficacy as a correlate of test anxiety means the psychological belief one has in him or herself in doing a particular task efficiently which can reduce or procure more anxiety to the person. self efficacy which deals on the psychological natural strength of a person in functioning efficiently on a particular difficult task coupled with his or her belief that he or she can do it has a lasting influence and effect of lesser or greater anxiety. this happens when an individual believes that whatever the task appears to be, he or she can achieve without much process. such belief and aspiration occurs when the individual has a high level of self efficacy. bandura identified two levels of self efficacy as high self efficacy and low self efficacy. high level of self efficacy can be seen as the greater intensity of belief that one has about him or herself to achieve a greater goal. high self efficacy can affect motivation in both positive and negative ways. in general, people with high self efficacy are more likely to make efforts to complete a task and to persist longer on those efforts than those with low level of self efficacy; the stronger the self efficacy or mastery expectations the more active the effort. low level of self efficacy emphasizes that an individual feels incompetent or has the belief that he or she cannot organize and execute some tasks effectively. when an individual has a high self efficacy, it is believed that they can execute any task given to them and also making them to have a low test anxiety; unlike an individual who has a low self efficacy, he or she will have a high test anxiety (bandura, 1997). bandura, further made it vital for individuals to believe that self efficacy is situational in nature rather than being viewed as a stable trait. casually, self efficacy is believed to affect performance via influence on task perception. for example, research suggests that high self efficacy creates a feeling of calmness, or security when approaching difficult tasks while low self efficacy may result in an individual perceiving a task as more difficult than reality, which, in turns, may create anxiety, stress and a narrower idea on how best to approach the solving of problem or activity (eccles, 2005). however, self efficacy theory suggests that self efficacy is an individual’s confidence in their ability to organize and execute a given course of action to solve a problem or accomplish a task (eccles & wigfield, 2002). students who are confident in their capability ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 252 to organize, execute and regulate their problem-solving or task performance at a designated level of competence are demonstrating high self efficacy while those that cannot execute, and regulate their problem-solving are demonstrating low self-efficacy. the major aim of this research is to investigate whether self efficacy will influence test anxiety. theoretical framework the following theories of self efficacy and test anxiety are discussed below; the multi dimensional theory (martin, 1990) this theory is based on the assumption that competitive anxiety is comprised of two distinct parts, a cognitive component and a somatic component, both having similar effects on performance. hence, theoretically, the components can be manipulated independently on one another, the cognitive component has been defined as the negative expectations and concerns about one’s ability to perform and the possible consequences of failure where as the somatic component is the physiological effect of the anxiety experienced, such as an increase in autonomic arousal, with negative physiological effect like palpitation, tense muscles, shortness of breath, clamming hands (morris, davis & ravin, 1981). this theory can be seen happening in an individual or student’s life when faced with test anxiety. martin (1990) using a time paradigm found out that a selection of athletes forty eight hours, twenty hours, four hours, two hours, five minutes before a critical event, they affirmed that the cognitive component stayed stable before the start but the somatic component began to increase prior to the onset of the event. however, the secondary students usually obtain good marks during the terms but their final term scores (for example, waec, gce, neco and jamb) usually considerably drop and this can be as a result of the high level of their test anxiety. the low rate of anxiety during the course of examinations seem to be necessary for carrying out studies and researches, but the students’ anxiety is sometimes to the extent that their activities are constrained and limited (yazdani & soleimani, 2012; heravi, & , jadid, 2004). test anxiety is a special type of the general anxiety which manifests itself with somatic, cognitive and behavioral signs and symptoms during the period that the students are getting ready for their exams and accomplishing tests. test anxiety turns to be a big problem when it gets so much severe and enormous that it middles with getting prepared for the exams and test accomplishment (latas , pantić, & obradović , 2017). in the study performed by abazary, abbaszadeh, and arab,( 2004) which aimed at the survey of the anxiety source and rate among the nursing students the results indicated that this field of study besides the instructional environment ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 253 anxiety they are exposed to the clinical atmospheres. moreover, when the test anxiety is also added up to such worries may be subsequently followed with academic underachievement and the expression of somatic and psychological disorders in the nursing students (abazary, abbaszadeh & arab, 2004). also one should be attentive to the issue that anxiety is one of the factors that can influence the individual’s self-efficacy level, bandura (1997) was of the belief that physiological and emotional arousals are among the factors that influence the individual’s self-efficacy. he opined that in cases we are free from being stimulated, nervous or with headache and if we experience lower anxieties then we are more likely to believe that we can conquer our problems successfully. the more we feel we are relaxed and cool our self-efficacy will be more heightened, accordingly. to put it differently, the higher our level of physiological and emotional arousal then the lower our feeling of efficiency and self-efficacy would be ( saadat , asghari , & jazayeri , 2015). therefore, based on the self-efficacy theory, factors such as stresses, psychological tensions and pressures, economical conditions, social and curriculum statuses do not seem to be directly influencing the individuals’ behaviours rather such an effect is intermediated and exerted via self-efficacy (arabian, khodapanahi, heydari & saleh, 2005). in the article proposed by murris, et al (1981) there was also found a significant relationship between anxiety and phobia symptoms and the generalized anxiety disorder (murris, 2002) therefore, according to the importance of self-efficacy among the university students and the adverse and diminishing effects that can be exerted by anxiety on self-efficacy and consequently on students’ performance, thus the present study intends to investigate the influence of self efficacy and level of education on test anxiety among secondary students however, the above may threaten students self efficacy which is referred to as one’s belief and capabilities to perform a task. hence, the study intends to address the problem stated below: will there be a statistically significant influence of self efficacy on test anxiety among adolescents? will there be a statistically significant influence of level of education on test anxiety among adolescents? the purpose of this study was to investigate whether self efficacy will significantly influence test anxiety among adolescents. and also whether level of education will significantly influence test anxiety among adolescents. it was hypothesized as follows: ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 254 1. that there would be no statistically significant influence of self efficacy on test anxiety among adolescents. 2. that there would be no statistically significant influence of level of education on test anxiety among adolescents method participants a total of 100 participants comprising 57 junior students and 43 senior students, out of which 51 are females and 49 are males were drawn making use of available sampling technique (ie the present students on ground that were used for the periods of the research) from the population of junior secondary school students attending ozalla high school in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. they are within the ages of 12-17 years with a mean age of 14.3 years and standard deviation of 2.1 years. instrument two sets of instrument were used. the first instrument utilized was self efficacy scale (ses). a 30 item questionnaire and it was developed by the following authors: sheker, et al (1982) to measure self efficacy. the instrument was validated in nigeria. ayodele (1988) obtained a concurrent validity coefficient of .23 by correlating self efficacy scale with mathematics anxiety rating scale (plake & parker, 1982). it has a direct scoring, reverse scoring and inert. the inert entails numbers that should not be calculated. the second instrument used was test anxiety inventory (tai) comprising of 20 item questionnaire developed by (spielberger, 1980). this instrument was deigned to assess three components which are worry, emotionality and the total anxiety. worry refers to excessive pre-occupation and concern about the outcome of a test especially the consequences of failure. emotionality refers to individual behavioural reactions and feelings aroused by test situations. total anxiety score is the sum of worry and emotionality. it refers to the overall cognitive, effective and behavioural reactions to test examination situations. test anxiety inventory (tai) was validated in nigeria by omoluabi (1993) who provided the properties for nigerian samples. it has a reverse scoring and direct scoring. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 255 procedure the two sets of questionnaire were distributed across the target population. 140 copies of each of the questionnaire were taken to the students of ozalla high school in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. the tutors served as research assistants and participated in administering the copies of the questionnaire. the administration took the form of group testing. 137 copies out of the number distributed were collected by the tutors from their students. also, 100 copies that are correctly filled were scored and tabulated for analysis, and 37 were discarded. design/ statistics a cross sectional design was adopted based on different categories of participants; while a 2×2 analysis of variance f-test statistic using the method of unweighted means for unequal cell frequency based on two levels of self efficacy (low/high), level of education (jss/sss) and test anxiety as a dependent variable. results table i: summary table of means on influence of self efficacy and level of education on test anxiety among adolescents. level of education self efficacy from table 1 above, adolescents in junior secondary school categorized under low self efficacy obtained the highest group of mean score of 54.68, followed by adolescents in senior secondary school categorized under low self efficacy (x = 52.09); adolescents in junior secondary school categorized under high self efficacy (x = 50.20); and adolescents in senior secondary school categorized under high self efficacy (x = 48.63). generally, adolescents in junior secondary school with a group mean of 104.88 showed high disposition of test anxiety than adolescents in senior secondary school with a group mean of 100.72; while adolescents categorized under low self efficacy with a group mean of 106.77 showed high disposition of test anxiety than adolescents categorized under high self jss sss low x11 = 54.68 x12 = 52.09 high x21 = 50.20 x21 = 48.63 self esteem ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 256 efficacy with a group mean of 98.83. thus, a high mean indicates high level of test anxiety; while a low mean indicates low level of test anxiety. table ii: summary table of 2x2 anova on influence of self efficacy and level of education on test anxiety among adolescents. source of variation sum of squares df mean square f p row (self efficacy) 63.00 1 63.00 1.26 >.05 columns (level of education) 229.31 1 229.31 4.58 <.05 interaction (self efficacy versus level of education) 3.78 1 3.78 0.08 >.05 within cells 4808.42 96 50.09 from the above summary table, some interpretations could be made: since the f calculated value of self efficacy 1.26 is found to be less than the critical value of 3.94 at p>.05 level of a non significant outcome was obtained. hence, hypothesis i which stated that “there will be no significant influence of self efficacy on test anxiety among adolescents” is hereby accepted. this means that adolescents with low self efficacy do not vary remarkably from adolescents with high self efficacy on test anxiety. also, f-calculated value of 4.58 is found to be greater than f-critical value of 3.94 at p<.05 level of significance, indicating a significant outcome. hence, hypothesis ii which stated that “there will be no significant influence of level of education on test anxiety among adolescents” is hereby rejected. this means that adolescents in junior secondary school vary remarkably from adolescents in senior secondary school on test anxiety. based on f-calculated value of 0.08 which is found to be less than f-critical value of 3.94 at p>.05 level of significance, a non significant interaction effects of self efficacy and level of education is hereby obtained in relation to test anxiety among adolescents. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 257 discussion the outcome of this study revealed that the hypotheses tested was confirmed in relation to self efficacy and disconfirmed in relation to level of education. hence, hypothesis 1 which stated that “there will be no statistically significant influence of self efficacy on test anxiety among adolescents” was confirmed. this shows that adolescents categorized under low self efficacy do not differ remarkably from adolescents categorized under high selfefficacy in test anxiety. although, adolescents with low self-efficacy obtained a higher group mean than adolescents with high self efficacy in test anxiety, this may account for the variation on the degree of test anxiety between low and high self efficacy adolescents. this was in tandem with ali, rahim, sadegh and ehsan, (2016) and onyeizugbo,(2010). the second hypothesis tested which stated that “there will be no statistically significant influence of level of education on test anxiety among adolescents” was disconfirmed. this means that a remarkable difference was observed between adolescents in junior secondary school and adolescents in senior secondary school in test anxiety, although adolescents in junior secondary school showed high disposition towards test anxiety. this indicates that adolescents in junior secondary school revealed high degree of test anxiety in relation to task performance or other related activities however, the outcome of this study was found to be in accordance with the findings of schwarzer and jerusalem (2004), bandura, (1997), davis and hutching, (2001) and murris (2005). in another research it was shown that the perceived self-efficacy latent variable directly or indirectly influences the academic anxiety through adaptive and non-adaptive cognitive coping strategies. based on this, the individuals with perceived high self-efficacy tend to take advantage of the adaptive coping strategies and therefore they usually experience lower academic anxiety (cheraghi, dasta, ghorban, abidizadegan, & arabzade 2009). the present result point to the idea that the individuals who seem to have doubts regarding their abilities in presenting appropriate output come up to have pessimistic ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 258 valuation of their own selves accordingly and therefore they are lost of their problemsolving competencies and the anxiety level is increased in them. in a study conducted by (artino, la rochelle & durning, 2017) on the medicine students in the us it was made evident that the negative feelings such as anxiety can influence the self-efficacy beliefs. implications of the findings one major implication of this study is that test anxiety and self efficacy is like a very important tool in academic performance and school environment might be a contributory factor that influences students’ level of self efficacy and test anxiety. students with low sense of self efficacy have test anxiety disposition and this can interfere with learning and lower academic performance but students with high self efficacy have low test anxiety disposition. it also implies that more or less as self efficacy influences test anxiety, ability to perform in a task will differ based on ones belief that he or she is capable. conclusion according to the findings of the present study the self-efficacy as a factor yielded no remarkable difference between low and high self-efficacy among the adolescents; while level of education yielded a remarkable difference between junior and senior secondary school adolescents. however, the test anxiety has always been one of the problems in the educational systems, and it always has disrupted the function of the students in achieving of the educational goals in a record time. it can lead to the loss of academic performance and prolongation of learner’s education duration. in addition, the test anxiety is a risk factor for developing other mental disorders. therefore, the planning for reduction of this phenomenon among the students and especially in the students with higher anxiety (such as newly arrived students) has a great importance. according to the opinion of the experts, intervention in the test anxiety can reduce. this implies that self efficacy as a factor yielded no remarkable ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 259 difference between low and high self efficacy adolescents; while level of education yielded a remarkable difference between junior and senior secondary school adolescents. references abazary f, abbaszadeh a, & arab m.( 2004). a study on level and sources of stress in nursing students. strides in development of medical education. strides in development of medical education, 1(1): 23–31. ali, r. s, rahim, b, sadegh, z and ehsan, s, (2016). the survey of the 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(2007)."test anxiety in educational contexts: concepts, findings, and future directions", in p. a. schutz& r. pekrun(eds.). boston: elsevier academic press. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 171 united nations and challenges of resettlement and reintegration of idp’s in south sudan, 2011-2018 victor chidubem iwuoha, ph.d department of political science university of nigeria, nsukka email: victor.iwuoha@unn.edu.ng & clifford nwagu, ph.d research and development consultant owerri, imo state email: cnwagu2@gmail.com abstract the plight of internally displaced persons (idps) in south sudan has in recent years become a formidable problem of global significance and implications. resettlement and reintegration of idps and refugees, and their sustainable livelihoods pose serious problems. the data collection and analysis were based on qualitative descriptive method. the paper argues that high levels of human and livelihood insecurity occasioned by incomprehensive disarming of rebels continue to undermine the safety and adequate reintegration and resettlement of idps and returning refugees in south sudan. the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (ddr) programme in general and implementation of the reintegration components in particular had not made any headway. there was implementation of ddr in near-total isolation from other conflict resolution mechanisms such as reduction of small and light weapons, peace building, human development, and stabilization initiatives in the country. again, capacities of local government and civil society to provide effective and equitable support to the ex-combatants and communities are insufficient. therefore, a comprehensive un disarmament programme should inculcate other international partners in order to ensure that ex-combatants and all rebel groups are absolutely disarmed, demobilized and effectively reintegrated with their livelihoods revived. keywords: idps, united nations, ddr, south sudan, peacebuilding, conflict introduction south sudan achieved independence on 9 july 2011, but suffers from decades of conflict and neglect, combined with frequent natural disasters and disease outbreaks. as a new nation, south sudan is building some of its institutions from the very start, with core administrative structures and mechanisms of political representation beginning to emerge. south sudan has a population of 12,530,717 million (july 2016 estimate) of which 2.3 million (18.8%) live in urban areas, compared to 10.2 million (81.2%) in rural areas (cia fact book, 2016). the december 2013 conflict in south sudan resulted in rising number of idps in the country. this has drawn international attention and support from many countries of the world. the south sudan conflict was fought between forces of the government and opposition forces (blanchard, 2014). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 172 remarkably, south sudan has remained a focal point in the study of idps in recent times. the international crisis group estimated in their april 2014 report that over 10,000 people had been killed in the conflict (international crisis group, 2014). the united nations human rights commission (unhrc), together with its partner – the united nations development programme (undp), has been at the fore front of the project of reintegration of displaced persons in south sudan. the unhrc views reintegration as “the progressive establishment of conditions which enable returnees and their communities to exercise their social, economic, civil, political and cultural rights, and on that basis to enjoy peaceful, productive and dignified lives” (unhrc, 2008:1; unhrc, 2015). in a similar sense though, the land act 2009 of the government of south sudan provides that, reintegration ‘means the re-entry of formerly internally displaced persons into the social, economic, cultural and political fabric of their original community.’ these two definitions have some common elements but their differences are more substantial. both mention the social, economic, cultural and political aspects. unhrc’s definition is explicitly normative and more open ended while stressing the dynamic nature of reintegration and articulating the different aspects in terms of rights to ‘peaceful, productive and dignified lives.’ based on this definition, the unhrc reviewed its past approaches and experience in other post-war situations and adopted a new policy in 2008. according to the new policy document: return and reintegration is not a simple reversal of displacement, but a dynamic process involving individuals, households and communities that have changed as a result of their experience of being displaced.… reintegration does not consist of “anchoring” or “re-rooting” returnees in either their places of origin or their previous social and economic roles. for example, refugees and idps who have experienced urban or semi-urban lifestyles during their period of displacement may well move to towns and cities upon their return (unhrc, 2008:5). furthermore, the new policy is based on a ‘community and area-based approach to reintegration that makes no distinction between returning refugees, idps and the members of the resident population” (unhrc, 2008:2). this conception thus extends the programme of reintegration to different groups who are equal stakeholders. according to undp (2012:5) ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 173 “reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income.” essentially, it consists of providing demobilized ex-combatants and white army with assistance to develop their livelihood options when they go back to their communities. the options could be in the areas of farming, livestock rearing, setting up small businesses and petty trades for which undp provides financial assistance up to a maximum of us$1,10010 (including training) which is provided through ngo implementing partners. the main goal of the reintegration programme was to provide human security, reconstruction and development, and was to take place within a comprehensive process of peace and reconciliation, post-conflict stabilization, conflict reduction and peace building. scope and dynamics of idp’s resettlement and reintegration programme in south sudan the reintegration process was the final stage of the ddr campaign that began in 2001 in rumbek, lakes state and it was aimed to demobilize children associated with the army following a sudan people’s liberation movement (splm) agreement with the un. since 2005, more than 3,000 children were disarmed and demobilized, mainly from the bahr el ghazal region consisting of western and northern bahr el ghazal states. however, while some children had been reintegrated with their families and had attended vocational training, primary schools, and accelerated learning programs, many others were rearmed and remain as child soldiers for the spla government (us department of state, 2013). it is important to note that there was intense pressure on the united nations mission in south sudan urging for decongestion of idps’ camps following the rise in the trend of arms bearing by rebel and militia groups who perpetrate atrocities within the protection of civilians (poc) areas. this is particular resulting from the attacks against the poc areas by these militia groups. unfortunately, there was yet to be any effective lasting and sustainable reintegration strategy to address and manage the situation in which large numbers of idps would be offloaded from camps owing to rising insecurity. many idps have been forced or induced to leave the areas, without being given adequate opportunity to take a voluntary decision based on adequate information made available to them on the situation outside in their home areas or other safe options made available to them (human rights council, 2014). there was no effective strategy embedded in a forward looking comprehensive approach to reintegration management and thus the offloading of idps without such effective reintegration strategy had resulted in further ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 174 displacement and rising numbers of new displaced persons or what is better called redisplacement. this compounded the whole situation. hence, since december 2013, thousands of idps have been residing in south sudan’s capital, juba, taking shelter in schools, churches, on open plots of land or with host families. there were more than 200 collective centers of idps (such as groups living in schools or churches) in juba alone (small arms survey, 2012). the displaced population was mainly made up of juba residents who, while not at high risk of targeted violence due to ethnicity or political affiliation, have fled their homes due to generalized violence. displaced people also came to juba from other states in south sudan as they believed that the state was not on a high risk of targeted violence. therefore, most idps were not successfully reintegrated to their communities and this continued to result in second-level displacement or re-displacement. as re-displaced people continued to arrive, efforts to plan a response to this growing population’s needs had been very minimal. the unhrc did not have sufficient staff members dedicated to working with the urban displaced (international rescue committee, 2014). unfortunately, this category of idps, who have lost out from poc camps and could not be reintegrated to their communities continue to suffer great disillusionment and despair resulting from neglect and abandonment. during the rainy season, idps who only had access to makeshift shelters and those who slept in the open were exposed to greater risk of illhealth and secondary displacement (acaps, 2014). in the past, humanitarian organizations have prepositioned aid for this group of idps. however, prevailing insecurity and a shortage of funding prevented them from preparing properly (irin, 2014; shanmugaratnam, 2010). many idps’ livelihoods have been disrupted as a result of poor reintegration. insecurity and attacks from armed groups who were rearmed in the course of the poorly organized disarmament programmes remained a serious problem to contend with. these armed men continued to threaten the safety of those idps that had left camp, without allowing them to settle fully in their home communities. unfortunately, the lack of effective reintegration mechanism from the united nations had further worsened the situation. farmers were no longer able to cultivate their land and herders lost their livestock or were unable to migrate with their animals. food production had dropped significantly as a result, and the problem was particularly acute during the dry season, when drought had the potential to make it worse still (ocha, 2014). as a result of heightened attacks from rearmed militia groups, limited freedom of movement in upper nile, unity and jonglei states has disrupted people’s access to markets, some ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 175 of which had been destroyed during attacks on commercial vehicles and transport. as they were forced to travel further to buy food, women become more vulnerable to assault and sexual violence, and men were more likely to be targeted for torture and killing. the worst hit areas were jonglei and unity states, which also host the highest number of idps. the government and humanitarians were unable to improve the situation, thus, households in some parts of jonglei and unity faced the risk of descending into famine (protection cluster, 2014). armed groups had occupied most neighbourhoods and local facilities. re-displaced children could not gain access to education. there continued to be cases of vulnerable children who faced sever psychosocial stress of re-displacement as they could not be reunited with their families. there continued to be rising cases of family separation and human rights abuses. all parties to the conflict had increasingly used child soldiers, and an estimated 9,000 have been recruited. displacement sites and settlements may serve as recruiting grounds for both children and adults (unmiss, 2014). therefore, as the fighting in parts of south sudan continued between government forces and rebels despite ceasefire talks, more and more civilians are fleeing to neighbouring countries for safety. for instance, some 2,500 people a day now seek refuge in uganda (united nations news center, 2014). the table below depicts the trend of south sudanese idps who have fled to neighbouring countries to seek refuge and settlement. table 1: south sudan refugees in neighbouring states country south sudanese refugee arrivals, dec.15, 2013–oct.16, 2014 projected number of south sudanese refugees as of dec. 31, 2014 ethiopia 190,326 300,000 uganda 128,964 150,000 sudan 102,695 165,000 kenya 43,830 100,000 total 465,815 715,000 source: international rescue committee (2014) however, there were more than half-million sudanese refugees, mostly in neighbouring countries such as ethiopia, uganda and kenya. inter-communal and inter-ethnic conflicts, attacks by the ugandan lord’s resistance army (lra) and intermittent famines had also contributed to displacements including long-distance migration (international rescue committee, 2014). many south sudanese idps have become refugees in neighbouring states as a ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 176 result of the inability of the united nations to completely reintegrate and resettle them in their native communities in south sudan. united nations strategies for the reintegration and resettlement of displaced idps the unhrc, along with its partners such as undp and world bank, has been taking initiatives to more effectively mainstream reintegration activities within nationally led development processes. these initiatives have yet to produce significant results due to inadequate funding and differences in priorities and planning cycles between humanitarian and development partners (echacp, 2015). while highlighting this shortcoming, unhrc set out the following key principles and practices as the basis of its reintegration policy. • national responsibility and ownership • rights, justice and reconciliation • participatory and community-based approaches • situational analysis • early preparation and planning • pragmatism and flexibility • factoring returnees and returnee areas into recovery programmes and funding (shanmugaratnam, 2010). it must be noted that unhrc’s operations have mainly focused on returning refugees in some of the border states of south sudan (such as greater equatoria, and blue nile which are the states receiving most of the returning refugees) although its policy framework based on the above principles is relevant to resettlement and reintegration in general, i.e. both to returning idps and refugees. in september 2008, unhrc’s policy development and evaluation unit released an independent evaluation of its returnee reintegration programme carried out by a team led by mark duffield (duffield et al 2008). the evaluation team, while giving credit to unhrc for achieving a major success in supporting the voluntary repatriation of refugees and for the positive results in some of the reintegration activities, observed that ‘more could have been done, and it could have been done better’, regarding reintegration. shanmugaratnam (2010) puts down the most relevant findings of duffield et al: (i) focus on repatriation and less emphasis on reintegration (ii) weak or non-existing government structures and competence (iii) original programme reduced to some community-based reintegration (cbr) activities due to lack of ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 177 funds, and (iv) skewed distribution of cbrps and delayed reintegration interventions. initially, reintegration interventions especially community based reintegration programmes (cbrp) were concentrated in central and western equatoria, which received organized returns from the central african republic and the democratic republic of congo. subsequently, organized returns to eastern equatoria began in a big way but unhrc was unable to achieve an equitable distribution of cbrps in proportion to the diverse scales of organized returns in equatoria guinea as a whole. for instance, western equatoria with 22 percent of the organized returns had more than 50 percent of the cbrps whereas eastern equatoria with 35 percent of the organized returns had less than 20 percent of the cbrps. moreover, unlike in the west where reintegration support began in advance of returns, it was undertaken retroactively in the east (shanmugaratnam, 2010). united nations and challenges of resettlement and reintegration of idps the ddr programme that was seen to be providing a ‘package’ worth about us$ 1,100 to demobilized ex-combatants had become an end in itself. several factors account for this flaw, and this made it difficult for the united nations to handle the re-integration programme under the undp framework. first is that in the context of conflict and insecurity at community levels, the overriding emphasis on providing benefits (especially in the form of money) to individual excombatants made no positive impact on security, peace and stabilization. particularly, adopting an individual-based reintegration programme rather than a community-based one placed the burden of economic and social reintegration primarily on the shoulders of the communities absorbing the ex-combatants. again, there was implementation of ddr in near-total isolation from other conflict resolution mechanisms such as reduction of small and light weapons, peace building, stabilization initiatives in the country (undp, 2012). the undp report (2012) stated that the reintegration programme in south sudan was insufficiently decentralized and embedded in the broader peace-building and development programming in the country and did not focus enough on building capacities of line-ministries and local government to make reintegration efforts sustainable. capacities of local government and civil society to provide effective and equitable support to the ex-combatants and communities were insufficient and local government and traditional structures for managing ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 178 small arms, conflict resolution and dispute management were weak and in some instances dysfunctional. importantly, each package for the demobilized groups comprises training and financial assistance (through provision of materials, equipment, tools) to enable a demobilized beneficiary to engage in a vocation or livelihood activity of his/her choice. the average package per beneficiary comprises two main components – a direct assistance worth us$800, and another us$700 going toward training, monitoring and follow up, and programme management/overhead cost of the implementing agency. after a slow start during 2010, the delivery of reintegration packages picked up momentum during 2011-12, and latest data show that the programme has already covered 20,350 of the 36,254 demobilized ex-combatants and waaf/g, and another 4,451 were already registered with implementing partners for receiving assistance (cia, 2016; cohen, 2014). a large number of cases, recipients sold their package (including sheep, goat, cattle) to raise badly needed cash either to pay off old loans, or for medical expenses or children’s education. implementing partners reports after 4-6 weeks of distribution showed this to average about 20-30%, but actual figure was much higher. again, majority of the beneficiaries stated that given an option, they would have opted for cash (undp, 2012). despite realizations by both unhrc and undp, the community component of the programme has remained limited by the investment made in it – total spent so far since its inception has been less than one million dollars, with funding coming from japan and norway for this component. by any analysis, this appears small, if one takes into account the fact that nearly $25 million has been spent on providing reintegration assistance to about 20,000 individuals, large number of who were probably financially better-off than most other members of the community, and would not have normally been qualified to be target of any development or humanitarian assistance, except for the fact that a political process agreed some seven years ago gifted them this bonanza (undp, 2012b:20). the undp stated that: in this context both ex-combatants and individual community members feel alienated from the state by the lack of development and social services available in their communities. in this context, an individual centred reintegration approach risks sending the wrong message to communities, which are increasingly coming to view the ddr programme as a way of appeasing the former ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 179 combatants. the message that comes across is that the only way to access the economic/development assistance is by participating in violence.” on the cost side, undp-ddr seems to think that they have got the package right – each ex-combatant and women associated with armed forces (waaf) getting a direct assistance equivalent to us$ 800, with additional us$ 200 going into training, us$ 100 into monitoring and follow up, and us$ 400 as programme support and management cost for the implementing partner. from experiences in other countries, including somalia which is known by the international aid system for its high operating cost (with all operations being run from nairobi), the operating, support and training cost (us$ 700 per beneficiary) appeared excessive, especially because the delivery was conducted over a very short period, without much of a process follow up (except one visit and a few phone calls). the entire exercise from counseling to training through to procurement, delivery and completion follow-up was done almost on an assemblyline production basis (undp, 2012). it is therefore seriously in doubt whether or not providing cash assistance, instead of in-kind assistance, would be more efficient, cost-effective, and would deliver better value for money for the beneficiaries, should undp continue to deliver economic packages like it did in the process. the united nations lacked the capacity to effectively handle the resettlement of large populations of returnees due to insufficient funding from donors. the organization has so far focused exclusively on return to areas of origin as the only durable solution for idps and returning refugees. there were no considerations for most idps who preferred to integrate in the towns they fled to, or to settle in other urban areas, to better access services and livelihoods. the inability to control the rising security challenges in these places had discouraged these idps and returning refugees from adapting completely and getting resettled after being displaced (unocha, 2015). no comprehensive approach has worked effectively in curbing some of the other problems related to displacement and resettlement such as widespread land grabs and illegal land sales, forcible occupation of community land by soldiers of the sudan people’s liberation army (spla), and the violation of the principle of free and voluntary return by some local authorities who demolished the homes of idps without giving them sufficient notice (brewer, 2010). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 180 it is reported that inter-communal conflicts over resources tended to turn violent quite easily due to the large supply of small arms among civilians in post-war south sudan. that shows that the disarmament programme of the government offered such wide spectrum and latitude for re-equipping militant groups who not only continue to terrorize the communities but also scare away returning idps and refugees. especially as human rights watch (2009) reports, the poor progress in disarmament of civilians and demobilization of former soldiers is a factor contributing to the turmoil. to compound the problem is that the united nations could not manage the critical situation of effectively reintegrating south sudanese idps who have been refugees in other neighbouring countries but have decided to return home following reassurance of protection at home from the government. for instance, in 2007, around 2 million people of south sudanese origin, who had been idps/refugees before independence, have returned from sudan. a number of factors, however, including harassment, discrimination and poor living conditions, mean that most feel they have little choice but to return to sudan despite the uncertainty that awaits them there. the returns were largely on voluntary basis. it is so unfortunate nonetheless that coming home could mean more threat, attacks and suffering for the returnees. there was no sustainable logistical operation to facilitate the reintegration and wellbeing of the returning idps. returnees suffered abuses, such as armed attacks, killings, gender-based violence, recruitment of child soldiers, and forced labor. returnees also faced delayed allocation of land, lack of basic services, inability to obtain transportation to their final destinations, and lack of employment (us department of state, 2013). returnees' choice of final destination was restricted. urban land was expensive and rural land, though offered free as a part of a government policy to encourage returns, may be in areas unfamiliar to them. returnees to such areas have no social networks to rely on and they were often left without any real service provision, transport or communications infrastructure. some returnees were given land in areas prone to flooding, thus exposing them to the risk of renewed re-displacement (human rights council, 2014). many returnees were eventually compelled to relocate to urban centres in search of better livelihoods and services, despite the fact that they only had skills to live a rural life in the villages. this scenario continues to even discourage greater number of returnees. there has not been any durable foundation for local integration or resettlement. given that some of the poorest ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 181 families continued to move for many years after their initial displacement, there is very little understanding of the issue. the conflict displaced huge numbers of people, but the fluid nature of the violence has not enabled others to go back to their places of origin. some idps from pibor county in jonglei state returned home at the beginning of 2014, after the government and the south sudan democratic movement/army (cobra faction) signed a cessation of hostilities agreement. pibor county had been the epicenter of violence in south sudan since mid-2013 (small arms survey, 2014). other return movements had taken place in bor (acaps, 2014). all these have been met with minimal resettlement package. problems of financing resettlement and reintegration program in south sudan the consequences for the 12 million people of south sudan have been devastating and outpaced aid agencies’ ability to keep up with the tide of humanitarian crisis and people’s suffering. although there was continuing strong support from donors to the common humanitarian fund (chf), with deposits of $160 million for 2014. total contributions exceeded those in 2012 by 36 per cent and in 2013 by 75 per cent, reflecting a marked increase in the level of humanitarian need, sustained resource mobilization activities throughout the year. however, this had not tangibly lessened the plights and needs of the idps in south sudan. as of mid-2015, almost 8 million people in south sudan were food insecure. some 4.6 million people were severely food insecure. some 2.1 million people have had to flee from their homes. in half of the country, one in every three children were acutely malnourished and 250,000 children faced starvation. this was the situation which confronted the aid community, a group of nongovernmental organizations and un agencies committed to providing the best protection and assistance to people in need, on time, based on the principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality. in fact, as at mid 2015, the financial requirement management of the needs of the idps in south sudan stood at a whooping sum of us$1.63 billion, of which donors were only able to put down us$656 million. this was only about 25 percent of the total financial requirements for the year if adequate care of the material needs of internally displaced persons must be met in the country. resources were grossly insufficient, including for air assets to facilitate rapid response missions, the delivery of survival kits and to re-supply idps in deep field locations. the table below provides the financial requirements of the idps per cluster in a given year. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 182 table 2: financial requirements for managing per cluster of idps camp per year cluster requirements camp coordination and camp management $67.8 million coordination and common services $32.3 million education $41 million emergency telecommunications $1.6 million food security and livelihood $623.2 million health $93.3 million logistics $114.2 million mine action $14.5 million non-food items and emergency shelter $65.5 million nutrition $149 million protection $60 million refugee response $241 million water, sanitation and hygiene $129.5 million source: unocha (2015) humanitarian response plan 2015: midyear update. june 12. available at: unocha.org/south sudan/ whereas the requirements for food and livelihood differently converged at an average of $1.2 million each in 2011; also $1.2 million each in 2012 each; $2.3 million each in 2011; $3.2 million each in 2014; in the year 2015 the both items stood at and $4.6 million each. in addition, the figures of new internally displaced persons in south sudan rose dramatically. for instance, the figures of newly admitted idps was 5,000 in 2011; 3,000 in 2012; 200,000 in 2013; 1.5 million in 2014; 1.95 million in 2015 (unocha, 2015). this trend shows that following the comprehensive peace accord and the july independence the figures of new idps declined considerably but rose tremendously afterwards in the coming years between 2013 and 2015 following the outbreak of the conflicts within the factions of the ruling party who utilized the military, militia groups and other security forces to make the country unstable. it is questionable, however, whether such returns of estimated 1.95 million people will be sustainable, given the prevailing insecurity and lack of services in many areas. access to adequate accommodation is also an issue. all parties to the conflict had destroyed housing, in some cases burning or destroying entire villages meaning that transitional solutions such as improving living conditions in displacement areas were absolutely of great concern (protection cluster, 2014). as displacement and problems of resettlement became protracted, idps and armed groups occupying other people’s property and land increased, which in turn led to future conflicts. this amounts to secondary occupation which has already been reported in juba. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 183 vulnerable groups and women in particular are disproportionately affected, given their weaker inheritance and land rights. land disputes and uncertain tenure which were already a concern before the current crisis, were further complicated by the lack of formal demarcation and deeds, and cumbersome and costly legal processes (protection cluster, 2014). procedures for resolving disputes between displaced and host communities were not specified and this made it extremely difficult to ensure that the both groups’ housing, land and property rights were respected and future tensions and conflict prevented. national authorities made efforts to provide relief and engage in the return process before the crisis, but a lack of comprehensive data and understanding of displacement hampered an effective response. the vast size of the country poses significant governance challenges, and the government has also struggled to fulfill its leadership role in humanitarian and development coordination bodies (amnesty international, 2014). both government and opposition forces have restricted access by obstructing aid delivery, looting supplies, harassing aid workers and imposing bureaucratic impediments (united nations, 2014; irc, may 2014). generally, the vast majority of people that have been re-displaced are outside bases and formal camps: many are in remote areas and face continued threats to their security, resulting in repeated displacement. this fluid displacement patterns in rural areas has made it difficult for humanitarian agencies to reach all those in need of assistance. conclusion the study examined united nations and challenges of resettlement and reintegration of idps in south sudan. the study showed that the united nations has faced serious challenges and has been unable to effectively resettle and reintegrate south sudan idps and refugees who have been affected by the ongoing violent conflict in the country. particularly, idps continue to suffer lack of enabling accommodation, sustainable livelihood and effective reintegration into their original communities and social life. this is as a result of a number of factors such as unsustainable funding streams from international humanitarian partners, institutional challenges and logistics problems which combined to undercut united nations attempts to achieve effective resettlement and reintegration of idps in south sudan. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 184 the study therefore showed that the ddr programme in general and implementation of the reintegration component in particular had yet to achieve any tangible success. there was implementation of ddr in near-total isolation from other conflict resolution mechanisms such as reduction of small and light weapons, peace building, human development and stabilization initiatives in the country. again, capacities of local government and civil society to provide effective and equitable support to the ex-combatants and communities are insufficient. therefore there is need to implement enhanced funding component of united nations intervention in south sudan especially through increased funding of resettlement and reintegration programmes. serious efforts should also be made to address obvious institutional and logistics problems associated with united nations humanitarian intervention in south sudan. references blanchard, l.p. (2014) “the crisis in south sudan,” congressional research service. january 9. brewer, c. (2010) “disarmament in south sudan,” case study n o. 7 complex operations case studies series. available at: http://cco.ndu.edu/portals/96/documents/casestudies/7_tn_disarmament_in_sudan_teacher.pdf central intelligence agency (2016) “world fact book, africa: south sudan,” available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/od.html cohen, h. (2014) “south sudan crisis,” council of foreign relations. european commission humanitarian aid and civil protection (2014) “south sudan crisis: echo factsheet,” accessed 14/8/15 from: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/south-sudan_en.pdf european commission for humanitarian aid and civil protection (2015) “sudan crisis,” fact sheet. 21 december. human rights council (2014) report of the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. chaloka beyani’s mission to south sudan. a/hrc/26/33/add.3; twentysixth session, 12 may. human rights watch report, 2009. international crisis group (2014) “south sudan: a civil war by any other name,” africa report no 217. april 10. international rescue committee (2014) “uprooted by conflict south sudan’s displacement crisis,” november. accessed 14/8/15 from: http://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/resourcefile/southsudan_report_v5.pdf ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 185 shanmugaratnam, n. (2010) “resettlement, resource conflicts, livelihood revival and reintegration in south sudan: a study of the processes and institutional issues at the local level in magwi county,” noragric report no. 58. small arms survey (2012) “arms flows and holdings in south sudan: human security baseline assessment, reaching for the gun,” sudan issue brief – n°19, april. available at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/focus-projects/sudan-human-security-baseline-assessment.html small arms survey (2014) hsba: business as usual; issue no.9 september 2012, the human security baseline assessment for sudan and south sudan geneva). unhcr, 2015. “unhrc delivers relief materials to 25,000 displaced people in south sudan.”august 14. accessed 14/8/15 from: http://www.unhcr.org/55cdec7e6.html unhcr, 2008, “south sudan fact sheet, may. accessed 14/8/15 from: http://www.unhcr.org/524d878b9.html united nations mission (2014) south sudan. available at: http://www.unmiss.unmissions.org/default.aspx?tabid=3465&ctl=details&mid=6047&itemid =4264758&language=en-us undp (2012a) “evaluation of sudan disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (ddr) programme,” final report, november. available at: http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/facts-figures/ddr/undp-sudan-ddrevaluation-nov-2012.pdf undp (2012b) “disarmament, demobilization and disintegration: list of contracts signed in 2009, 2010 and 2011 (completed contracts), as of 14 october 2012. unocha, 2014 annual report. common humanitarian fund. accessed 14/8/15 from: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/southsudan/2015_southsudan/chf%20annual%202014_fi nal_web.pdf unocha, 2015. “south sudan humanitarian response plan 2015, midyear update,” united nations. accessed 14/8/15 from: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/southsudan/2015_southsudan/south%20sudan%20hr p%202015%20myr_final_web_13%20june.pdf united nations news center (2014) “refugee exodus from strife-torn south sudan picks up momentum,” united nations publication. u.s. department of state, 2013. “south sudan,” country reports on human rights practices. accessed 14/8/15 from: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/187907.pdf page 1 volume 5, issue 3, 2020 228 relationship between personality traits, academic performance and suicidal ideation among undergraduates in the university of lagos 1aroyewun bashura afolabi 2 baba ahmed karatu 1elizabeth ogunleye 1department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, university of lagos goodnewsafolabi@yahoo.com. 2department of mental health, faculty of clinical sciences obafemi awolowo university ile ife babakaratu@gmail.com. babaakaratu@yahoo.com. abstract suicide remains a global issue mainly affecting young adults all over the continents. the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality types, academic performance and suicidal ideation, and also test for age and gender differences between these variables. participants for the study were undergraduates of the university of lagos. the research made use of cross-sectional survey design and convenience sampling technique was used to select 307 undergraduates (151 females and 156 males) from different faculties in the university. six hypotheses were developed and tested. data was gathered making use of three research instruments (big five scale, suicide ideation scale, and cgpa). t-test analysis, regression analysis, correlation analysis were used to test the hypotheses. results demonstrated that personality predicted suicidal ideation (r2=0.171, f(5,302)= 12.394, p<.01) also certain personality traits showed significant relationship with suicidal ideation. neuroticism was positively correlated with suicidal ideation (r =.349; p<.01). agreeableness (r= -.222; p<.01), conscientiousness (r= -.346; p<.01), and openness (r= -.177; p<.01) showed negative significant correlations with suicidal ideation. both academic performance and personality traits jointly predicted suicidal ideation (r2= .200; f(6,300) = 12.490; p<.01). academic performance was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation (r= -.252; p<.01) and also accounted for just 6.3% significant variance in the population of suicidal ideation, while personality was a stronger predictor accounting for 17.1% of the significant variance in the population of suicide. no gender and age difference was reported. limitations of the study and recommendations made based on the findings were discussed. introduction suicide has been a concern for the public worldwide as many adolescents keep on taking their lives. the recent increase in suicide among undergraduates in tertiary institutions in nigeria has been a major concern to university administrators and researchers. recently it has been observed that suicide cases on campuses has risen to an epidemic proportion over the past few years this has call for improved mental health needs of universities students. according to o’carroll, berman, maris, moscicki, tanney, and silverman (1996) suicide is viewed as self inflicted death by trauma, from injury, poisoning, or suffocation, in which the deceased committed the act with the intention of killing himself or herself. the process of mailto:goodnewsafolabi@yahoo.com mailto:babakaratu@gmail.com mailto:babaakaratu@yahoo.com volume 5, issue 3, 2020 229 suicide involves suicide ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide (vilhjalmsson, kristjansdottir, &sveinbjarnardottir, 1998). suicide encompasses any self-initiated or committed actions with the intention or expectation of dying which includes active or passive self-inflicted acts (de leo, burgis, bertolote, kerkof, &bille-brahe, 2004) with suicidal ideation being the earliest step of suicide ideation, thus, suicide ideation plays a central role in detection and prevention suicide behavior. personality is the way we are seen by others and the impression we make on them in consistent and relatively enduring manner. allport (1961) also defined personality as a dynamic organization inside the person of psychophysical systems that creates the person’s characteristic, patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings that determine the person’s adjustment to the environment. weinberg and gould (1999) defined personality as “the characteristics or blend of characteristics that make a person unique. both definition lay emphasis on the distinctiveness of the individual. researchers have reported several psychosocial factors to be associated with suicide and suicidal ideation. some studies have indicated academic performance to be associated with personality; laidra, pullmann, &allik, 2007; lounsbury et al., (2003) found academic performance to be positively associated with openness to experience, agreeableness and extroversion, however, neuroticism is negatively associated with academic performance. in fact, academic achievement is considered as one important criteria of educational quality. predictors of academic achievement frequently lie at one end on a continuum with cognitive measures, intelligence and mental abilities and non-cognitive variable (such as personality characteristics, socioeconomic status, etc.) at the other one (soraya et al., 2011). although results of studies trying to predict academic achievement have yielded different results, they have consistently pointed out the role of cognitive abilities and personality characteristics in academic achievement (paunonen & ashton, 2001). extensive literature was reviewed on the causes of suicidal behavior and different factors were seen to be the cause of suicidal behavior. many of these literatures were american and european studies and may not be applicable to nigeria and african countries. being a tertiary institution, the researcher decided to add an interesting variable based on the academic environment and number of suicide cases reported to student’s service division and the university medical facilities. the objective of this study is to; to ascertain if personality trait will predict suicidal ideation; to determine if there exists a relationship between personality trait and suicidal ideation; to ascertain if academic performance and suicidal ideation have a relationship; to ascertain if personality trait and academic performance will jointly predict suicidal ideation; to ascertain the role of gender in the manifestation of suicidal ideation; to ascertain the role of age in the manifestation of suicidal ideation. in this study, personality is defined as the sum total of enduring behavioral characteristics that is distinctive of an individual that uniquely influences his cognitions thoughts and behaviors as measured by the big five john etal 1992. suicidal ideation is the thoughts about the desire, intent and method for committing suicide (luxton, rudd, reger&gahm, 2011). volume 5, issue 3, 2020 230 while academic performance is the assessment of the extent to which an individualtypically a studenthas achieved an educational goal, operationalized as the use of cumulative grade points (vedel & poropat, 2017). academic performances of students are affected by a wide range of variables including ethnicity, family background, age, gender, and personality characteristics. students have distinctive characteristics of personality that makes them ready for different worldviews and various activities in different social and educational settings. taking these differences into account can help educators recognize their students’ individual differences (soraya, elaheh, &masoud, 2011). participants the participants for this study were drawn from faculty of social sciences, medicine and environmental sciences of the university of lagos. 350 were randomly sampled using balloting system. they were made up of 156 (50.82%) males and 151 (49.18) females, (70.4%) were of yoruba ethnicity, (17.6%) were of igbo ethnicity, (2.9%) were of hausa ethnicity while (9.1%) belonged to other ethnic groups. religion showed that (79.5%) practiced the christianity religion, (18.6%) practiced the islam religion and (1.9%) belonged to others like varieties of the african traditional religion. their ages ranges 16 years to 28 year with 22 as the mean age. instruments the measuring instruments used in this research included the suicide ideation scale (sis; rudd, 1989), the big-five personality inventory (bfi; john et al, 1991) and the cumulative grade point of participants. (a) suicidal ideation scale (sis) the sis (rudd, 1989), originally developed for and validated with non-clinical samples of young adults it was designed to as a brief measure of ideation for use in both clinical and non-clinical population. it is a 10-item self-report scale designed to assess the severity or intensity of suicidal ideation. responses on the sis are scored on a likert-type scale with anchors at 1 (never or none of the time) to 5 (always or a great many times) based on what the respondent has felt or behaved over the past year. items were scored by direct scoring and the total score was calculated by finding the sum of 10 items. the total score ranges from 10 to 50. based on results from the initial sis validation study (rudd, 1989), rudd recommended scores greater than one standard deviation above the mean (sis total score of 15 or greater) to be considered serious suicidal ideation (luxton, rudd, reger&gahm, 2011) rudd (1989), reported a high internal consistency (cronbach alpha of .86) as well as adequate item-total correlations (rs=.45 to .74; rudd, 1989). luxton e al. (2011) also tested the internal consistency of the sis on this same sample and resulted in a chronbach’s alpha of .91 for the overall sis. the sis was moderately correlated with the centre for epidemiologic studiesdepression scale (r=.55) and the beck hopelessness scale (r=.49). students who had attempted suicide scored higher than students who had never contemplate suicide. volume 5, issue 3, 2020 231 (b) big-five personality inventory (bfi) the bfi is a 44-item scale developed by john et al. (1991) and it measures an individual on the big five factors (dimensions) of personality: extraversion (8 items), agreeableness (9 items), conscientiousness (9 items), neuroticism (8 items), and openness (10 items). examples of the scale items include ‘i see myself as someone who tends to find fault with others’, ‘i see myself as someone who can be somewhat careless’. responses to the scale items varied according to the five point likert scale from disagree strongly to agree strongly on a scale of one to five. the negative items (item 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 21, 23, 24, 27, 31, 34, 35, 37, 41 and 43) were scored in a reverse order and the total score for each factor was calculated by finding the sum of the corresponding items measuring each factor. the original psychometric property for american samples was provided by (john etal., 1991) while the property for nigeria sample was provided by (umeh, 2004). the of reliability bfi was cronbach alpha (.80), and 3-month test-retest (.85) bfi has mean convergent validity coefficient of .75 and .85 with the big five instrument authored by costa & mccrae (1992) and goldberg (1992) respectively. the divergent validity coefficients obtained by umeh (2004) with university maladjustment scale (kleinmuntz, 1961) are extraversion .05, agreeableness .13, conscientiousness .11, neuroticism .39, and openness .24. the mean scores are the basis for interpreting the scores of the respondents. scores higher or equal to the norms shows that respondent manifests the specific personality type while scores lower than the norms indicate that the respondent does not manifest the specific personality type. bfi has been employed both for for research and clinical use in nigeria (oladimeji 2015). cumulative grade point average (cgpa) – the cgpa is an assessment tool used to evaluate a student academic performance. it is calculated to determine a student’s current standing. this includes all courses counting towards the degree both in the majors as well as minors concentrations and specializations. it is based on a 5 scale categories; first class (4.55), second class upper (3.5-4.49), second class lower(2.5-3.49), third class (1.5-2.49). procedure the researchers and research assistance meet the students in the class during lectures introduced self to the lecturer who coordinate the balloting on behave of the researchers, the students that pick yes were told to sit dawn while those that picked no were told to stay out of the class while the researchers administered the instruments to the correspondent. the correspondent were told to read the instruction on the instruments as they is correct or wrong answers that it’s not an examination nor a continuous assessment test, therefore they should attend to questions as it applied to them. the administration and collection was done in one hour. the students were debriefed immediately after the instruments were collected. design and statistics the design used for this study was a cross sectional survey research design and descriptive statistics, multiple regressions and t test were used for statistical analysis through spss version 20. volume 5, issue 3, 2020 232 results table 1: the mean and standard deviation of scores of the independent variables n mean standard deviation cgpa 307 3.78 0.76 extraversion 307 24.57 5.53 agreeableness 307 34.10 6.72 conscientiousness 307 32.42 6.89 neuroticism 307 21.79 6.06 openness 307 35.24 6.35 suicidal ideation 307 13.52 6.57 the above table shows the mean and standard deviation of cgpa, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness and suicidal ideation. the cgpa mean = 3.78, sd = 0.76, extraversion mean = 24.57, sd = 5.53, agreeableness mean = 34.10, sd = 6.72, conscientiousness = 32.42, sd = 6.89, neuroticism mean = 21.79, sd = 6.06, openness mean = 35.24, sd = 6.35 while suicidal ideation mean = 13.52, sd = 6.57. comparing the mean scores of respondents show index of openness has the highest with a value of 35.24 while index of cgpa has the lowest with a value of 3.78. table 2: regression statistics of personality traits on suicidal ideation β se eta sig extraversion -.039 .064 .030 580 agreeableness -.040 .060 .041 512 conscientiousness neuroticism -.195 -.252 .064 .065 .205 232 003 000 openness -.039 .060 .038 515 r= .413, f (5, 301) = 12.394, p = 0.000 regression analysis in table 2 above shows that personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness) significantly contributed to observed variance in suicidal ideation among undergraduate students of university of lagos (f(5, 301) = 12.394; r2 = 0.171; p< .01). all the personality traits collectively accounted for 17.1% of the variance in suicidal ideation, while the remaining 82.9% could be due to other variables. furthermore, all the personality traits contributed at different degrees to the variance in suicidal ideation; extraversion (beta= -.030; p<.01), agreeableness (beta= -.041; volume 5, issue 3, 2020 233 p<.01), conscientiousness (beta= -.205; p<.01), neuroticism (beta= .232; p<.01), and openness to experience (beta= -.038; p<.01). pearson correlation statistics between personality types and suicidal ideation 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. extraversion 1 2. agreeableness .123* 1 3. conscientiousness 0.086 .501** 1 4. neuroticism .201** -.271** -.449** 1 5. openness .066 .322** .381** -0.198** 1 6. suicidal ideation -0.101 -.222** -.346** .349** -0.177** 1 **p<0.01 the table shows that there is a significant positive correlation (p= .000) between neuroticism (r= .349) and suicidal ideation. equally, result also shows negative significant correlations (p< .01) between agreeableness (r=-.222), conscientiousness (r=-.346), openness (r= -.177) and suicidal ideation. on the other hand, result further shows that no significant correlations (p> .05) existed between extraversion (r= -.101) and suicidal ideation. overall, the hypothesis is partially supported on the basis of the mixed findings among all personality dimensions as shown in table 3 above. table 4: test of relationship between academic performance and suicidal ideation model mean sd academic performance suicidal ideation academic 3.78 0.75 1 .252** performance suicidal 13.52 6.57 -.252** 1 ideation ** p<.01 result in table 4 above reveals a significant negative correlation between academic performance and suicidal ideation (r = -0.252**). volume 5, issue 3, 2020 234 table 5: summary of regression analysis showing the relationship contribution of personality traits and academic performance to the prediction of suicidal ideation variables β se beta sig r r2 f p extraversion -.031 .063 -.026 .622 agreeableness -.031 .060 -.032 .599 conscientiousness -.185 .063 -.194 .004 .447 .200 12.49 p<.01 neuroticism .223 .064 .206 .001 openness -.041 .059 -.040 .481 cgpa -1.51 .459 -.175 .001 f (6,300) = 12.490, p= 0.000 regression analysis in table 5 shows that jointly, the variables yielded significant coefficient of regression (r2=.200; f(6,300) = 12.490; p<.01). both personality traits and academic performance collectively accounted for 20% of the observed variance in suicidal ideation among undergraduates of the university of lagos. also, it can be drawn from the analysis above that personality trait – extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and academic performance are negative predictors of suicidal ideation while neuroticism was the only positive predictor of suicidal ideation among undergraduates of the university of lagos ( extraversion: beta= -.026; p<.01; agreeableness: beta=-.032; p<.01; conscientiousness: beta= -.194; p<.01; neuroticism: beta= .206; p<.01; openness: beta= -.040; p<.01; cgpa: beta= -.175; p<.01). results of t-test and descriptive statistics for suicidal ideation by gender mean n sd df t-value sig. p-value male 13.94 156 6.90 05 1.12 .088 p > .05 female 13.09 151 6.21 from table 6 above, we observed that the mean of males and females on suicidal ideation (males (mean= 13.94, sd= 6.90) and (females (mean= 13.09, sd= 6.21), thus the main difference between the two group was negligible at 0.05. to test for significance of difference, the data was subjected to t-test and the results indicate a calculated t-value of 1.12 as against a critical value of 1.96 given 306 degree of freedom at 0.05 alpha level. since the calculated t-value is lower than the theoretical t-value of 1.96, we reject stated hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference between female undergraduates scoring higher in suicidal ideation scale than male undergraduates of the university of lagos. thus, female will not score higher than males. volume 5, issue 3, 2020 235 table 7: independent t-test comparison of suicidal ideation by age mean n d f t-value sig. p-value 16-20 13.26 195 .34 05 -.931 .103 p > .05 21 and above 13.98 112 =6.93 it’s observed on the table above that the means of undergraduates aged 16-20 [16-20 years (mean = 13.26; sd= 6.34)] and [21and above (mean= 13.98; sd=6.93)]. thus the main difference between the two groups was negligible at 0.05. to test for significance of difference, the data was subjected to t-test and the results indicate a calculated t-value of 1.227 as against a critical value of 1.96 given 306 degree of freedom at 0.05 alpha level. since the calculated t-value is lower than the theoretical t-value of 1.96, we reject stated hypothesis and conclude that, undergraduates age 16-20yrs will not score higher in suicidal ideation scale than undergraduates aged 21years and above. discussion the main aim of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits and academic performance on suicidal ideation among undergraduate in the university of lagos; personality traits predict suicidal ideation. result in table 2 revealed that personality trait is related to suicidal ideation, this means that, there is a significant influence of personality traits on suicidal ideation though, conscientiousness and neuroticism have strongest predicting power of personality traits on suicidal ideation. personality traits account for 17.1% of the significant variance in suicidal ideation among sampled undergraduates, while, 82.9% may be caused by other extraneous variables that were not included in this study. result of the correlation analysis between personality types and suicidal ideation reveals that four of the dimensions of personality correlate significantly with suicidal ideation (agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness). agreeableness was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation. although agreeableness has been less ascribed to suicidal ideation, yet similar finding have been reported by segal et al (2012) who found a negative association between agreeableness in addition to conscientiousness and extraversion and suicidal ideation. contrary to this, useda, duberstein, conner, & conwell (2004) found positive association between agreeableness and suicidal ideation. the reason for the contradiction in findings may be due to the nature of samples employed in those studies. they employed clinical samples comprising of depressed inpatients. conscientiousness was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation. this finding is in concordance with the work of tsoh, chiu, duberstein, chan, chi, yip and conwell (2005) and useda, duberstein, conner, beckman, franus, tuand conwell (2007). they reported that those who attempted suicide had lower level of conscientiousness than those who completed suicide. this findings is also consistent with abdollah et al.(2014), they also reported a significant negative relationship between conscientiousness and suicide, they reported that the more individuals have these three personality factors (conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness) are less prone to suicide ideation, they are associated with a reduced risk of suicide. volume 5, issue 3, 2020 236 openness to experience was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation, this result is consistent with other studies that supported the proposition that low openness may increase risk for suicidal ideation (duberstein, conwell, & caine, 1994; duberstein et al., 2000; heisel et al., 2006; tsoh et al., 2005). correlation analysis showed that extraversion was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation. although extraversion had negative associations with suicidal ideation, the correlation coefficients are insignificant. this finding is consistent with the correlation study by abdollah et al.(2014), who found extraversion to be negatively correlated with suicidal ideation because it is directly connected to vitality, positive emotions, joy, and sociability. in contrary to these findings, other studies have shown significant negative association between extraversion and suicidal ideation, and have supported the notion that low openness may increase suicidal risk (kerby, 2003; duberstein et al., 1994). contrary to this finding is a study conducted by bluml, kapusta, doering, brahler, wagner and kersting (2013), they revealed that neuroticism and openness had a positive relationship with suicidal risk while extraversion and conscientiousness had a negative relationship with suicidal risk. neuroticism showed positive correlation with suicidal ideation. this result showed in essence that all other traits of personality asides neuroticism were negatively correlated with suicidal ideation which means that as these traits increases, suicidal ideation decreases. this is different for neuroticism as this trait was significantly associated with suicidal ideation, meaning that as scores in neuroticism increases, suicidal ideation also increases. this finding is consistent with useda et al. (2004) which found extraversion to have a negative association to suicidal ideation, attempts, and completion. also in consistent to this finding, neuroticism have shown to be a risk factor while extraversion personality types have shown to be resilience or protective factor for suicides (brezo et al, 2006). five factor model of personality suggests that personality characteristics can be categorized into five main personalities: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. studies have suggested that there is a relationship between some personality traits and suicidal thoughts. for example, neuroticism personality dimension is associated with negative emotions like depression and tendency to depression is considered a risk factor for suicide (abdollah, et al., 2014). studies have also shown that suicidal ideation is associated with low levels of extraversion which may reflect a low tendency to experience positive emotions (singh & joshi, 2008). according to vrshek-schallhorn, czarlinski, mineka, zinbarg, and craske (2011), suggests that personality may have an indirect effect on suicidal ideation through its relationship with depression and depressive symptoms. in fact, de man and leduc (1995) showed that many variables are no longer associated with suicidal ideation when depression is controlled. the hypothesis tested and findings are in consonance with review literature as different scholars have reported several psychosocial factors to be associated with the phenomenon of suicide and suicide ideation. table 4 showed that there is a significant negative relationship between academic performance and suicidal ideation among the sampled undergraduates. this implies that as academic performance increases, the risk of suicidal ideation reduces. findings from other volume 5, issue 3, 2020 237 studies are inconsistent between academic performance and suicidal ideation. however, at this time, an extensive literature search revealed no other studies of relationships between perceived and actual academic performance and suicide. self-esteem (se), as an evaluation of global self-worth (rosenberg, 1979), is also important to consider in relation to suicidal behavior and academic self-perception. low self-esteem has been found to be associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors depression, delinquency and substance use, poor emotional, behavioral and academic adjustment, and poor academic outcomes. although, in a study conducted by lester (2013), he reported no association between suicidal ideation and cgpa in smaller samples which was consistent with nyer et al. (2013) study. contrary to these results, was one conducted in a larger study of 1296 medical students ( miletic et al., 2015) found that those with lifetime suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempt(s) had a lower cgpa compared to those who never experienced suicidal behavior. based on this, the findings of this study are in line with previous studies, that mean, as cumulative grade point average is increasing, suicidal ideation will be decreasing. therefore, the tendency to have negative relationship between suicidal ideation and academic performance is realistic. hence, the finding is supported. table 5 revealed that, personality traits and academic performance are both predictors of suicidal ideation accounting for 20% of the observed variance of suicidal ideation among sampled undergraduates. results of regression analysis showed that some certain traits of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) with academic performance were negative predictors of suicidal ideation. this implies that as measures on these traits increases, the risk for suicidal ideation decreases. further analysis showed that academic performance only accounted for 6.3 percent of the significant variance in suicidal ideation, while personality type only accounted for 17.1 percent of the significant variance in suicidal ideation. here, it is pertinent to note that despite its significant correlation with suicidal ideation, academic performance was the third strongest predicting contributors to suicidal ideation. it’s indicated that neuroticism was the strongest predictor, followed by conscientiousness, then cgpa. these three were the robust predictors of suicidal ideation, as extensive literature review has proven participants who showed low level of conscientiousness and high level of neuroticism are prone to suicidal risk than their counterparts who are don’t score low on conscientiousness and high on neuroticism. in support of the findings, some studies have suggested that there is a relationship between some personality traits, academic performance and suicidal ideation. according to these authors, people choose environments which are consistent with their personalities; when achievement criteria and personality characteristics overlap, personality and academic achievement may be directly related. recent meta-analyses of educational research based on ffm measures have shown that there are indeed consistent associations between personality and academic performance (poropat, 2009; richardson, abraham, & bond, 2012). rolfhus and ackerman (1999) also supported that the big five traits measurement is powerful enough to explain a moderate percentage of the variance in academic achievement. for example, neuroticism personality dimension is associated with negative emotions like depression and tendency to depression is considered a risk factor for suicide (abdollah, et al., 2014). findings volume 5, issue 3, 2020 238 from different studies are inconsistent academic performance and suicidal ideation. however, at this time, an extensive literature search revealed no other studies of relationships between perceived and actual academic performance and suicide. in this case, the joint effect of personality traits and academic performance jointly predict suicidal ideation with neuroticism being the strongest predictor, followed by conscientiousness and cgpa. the result in table 6 shows that there is no significant difference between genders on suicidal ideation. thus, the result revealed that females did not demonstrate higher level of suicidal ideation than males among university of lagos undergraduates. ellis and lamis (2007) revealed that although women had more reasons for living than men, no significant difference exist in their reported suicidal ideation. this result is in concordance with baalbaki (2016) who examined the psychological and demographic predictors of suicidal risk in students. his results showed no significant relationships between suicidal risk on both age and gender. this result opposes (arria et al., 2009; cdc, 2011; gould et al., 2003). previous longitudinal studies have suggested that gender plays an important role in the developmental of suicidal thoughts and behaviors during adolescents and emerging adulthood. lewinsohn et al. (2001) found that the risk of suicide attempts was highest for females between ages 15-19 and their risk decreased significantly during the period of 19 to 23 years. boys risk during adolescents was about half that of the girls, their risk was similar but did not decline over time. similarly, boeninger, masyn, feldman, & conger (2010) found that in a sample of 11 to 19 year old adolescents, boys’ have serious suicidal ideation and plans. a recent study in north korea reported that refugee women were more likely to have suicidal ideation than men. it is unclear why the data from the present study demonstrated no differences in suicidal ideation between males and females. one possible reason for no gender effect on the suicidal ideation was that the lewinsohn et al. (2001) and boeninger et al. (2010) studies examined serious suicidal ideation, plans and attempts, whereas the current study examined suicidal ideation as a continuous variable capturing very few symptoms of suicidal ideation all the way through more frequent and intense thoughts of suicide. these findings may indicate that, despite the gender differences in the suicidal ideation of more severe levels of suicidal (e.g., seriously considering suicide and attempts), differences in suicidal ideation may not be as prevalent when the full spectrum of suicidal ideation, including the lower end, is considered. these findings may suggest that adolescent males may be more reactive to the family environment and experience of dysregulated behaviors, which may elevate subsequent suicidal ideation. these findings suggest that special attention on these constructs in gender demonstrating suicidal ideation may be warranted in clinical assessments. table 7 showed that undergraduate aged (16-20) reported no higher scores on measures of suicidal ideation than colleagues aged (20-above) years. this implies that there was no significant difference between the two age groups. in contrary to these findings, thoughts and behaviours about suicide are a substantial issue among youngsters (adolescents) (hawton& fortune, 2008). it has been noted also among adolescents that suicidal acts have a serious impact on both families and communities at large (fresco, 2002). records have shown that in 2010, the hospitalization rate on intentional self-harm of young people who are between the volume 5, issue 3, 2020 239 ages of 15 years and 19 years was higher than any other age range (miranda &nolenhoeksema 2007). conclusion this research investigated the relationships between personality types and academic performance with suicidal ideation and the gender differences in suicidal ideation. the study through due process of empirical research asserts that suicidal ideation is an issue of concern among young adults in university of lagos. also, there are some personality types that predispose young adults to suicidal ideation. recommendations since this study has indicated reliable relationship between some personality types and suicidal ideation, most young people should be encouraged to take personality tests and close monitoring should be done for people who score very high on neuroticism, low on conscientiousness. these set of people according to this research are prone to suicide risk than others. secondly, since this research has also established a relationship between academic performance and suicidal ideation, it is pertinent to note that educators can do their part in preventing suicidal ideation by also monitoring students who are doing woefully in school. organize intervention plans for students lagging behind in their school work. as this study as highlighted, in concordance with existing literature that the population of the world that commits suicide is the young adults. the government is not left behind also; as they should provide more intervention plans and programs, employ more psychologists, social workers to help the significant others of students already with early signs of suicidal behavior. ultimately, this research highlights the importance of considering personality types and academic performance in suicide risk assessment and intervention tailoring. because college campuses are ideal environments for developing, implementing and assessing suicide prevention strategies, it is recommended that prevention initiatives should be developed specifically for college students addressing these established risk factors for suicide. first limitation is the scope of study, the sample of the study wasn’t a large representative of the young adults in lagos as samples were drawn from one tertiary institution. future research should employ a larger sample from different tertiary institutions so that results can be generalized. another limitation is the retrieval of instruments (questionnaires) not all questionnaires were retrieved from the field of study. another limitation is that the study employed a cross-sectional survey design, which cannot affirm causal effect relationship. future research should employ longitudinal based design which will follow up participants for a long period maybe from high school to college. another limitation faced was the issue of respondents who at first gave false information to look good in the eyes of the researcher until the researcher assured them of confidentiality. volume 5, issue 3, 2020 240 given these limitations, the results provide strong empirical evidence for the literature in terms of correlations between academic performance, personality characteristics and suicidal ideation and may be a critical component of any successful intervention effort to reduce the global alarming suicide rate. references abdollah, s., ali, f. a., khodabakhsh, a., hediye, s., mirsharafoddini, g., alireza, n., & motahare, p. 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(1999). personality and sport. foundations of sport and exercise psychology, 24, 187-203 relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction: the moderating role of shyness *1michael a. ezeh, 2ifenna d. ezeanya 1ejike a. okonkwo 3loveth i. obi 1 pamela a. ogbozor 4lawrence e. ugwu, 1eungu university of science and technology (esut) 2nnamdi azikiwe university awka 3university of lagos 4renaissance university ugbawka *correspondence author: michaelarinze40@gmail.com abstract this study explored the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction, and the indirect effect of shyness or self-doubt on internet addiction. we utilized two-wave design that consisted of 232 undergraduates from southeastern nigeria with mean age of 20.89 years (sd =2.75). the participants responded to three instruments – a 20-item internet addiction test, a 25-item index of self-esteem scale and a 14-item revised cheek-buss shyness scale. the hypotheses were tested using process macro. the result of the study supported mediating role of shyness in the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction. our finding suggests that self-esteem activated by shyness increases internet addiction. identifying students who have low self-esteem and helping them handle the discomfort they experience as a result of being shy would reduce the reliance on the internet to connect with the real world. keywords: self-esteem, internet usage, undergraduates, shyness, addiction introduction revolution witnessed greatly in the area of information technology has made the world more of a global village. rapid development and innovations in technology made this possible. one technological innovation that has not only aided easy communication but has also revolutionized peoples’ lives is the internet (qadri, esmaili & ahmad, 2014). internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the internet protocol suite to link devices worldwide. internet is frequently used for on-line purchases, data collection, chatting, communication, academic research, entertainment and other exchange of information (ogbomo, 2016; bahrainian, alizadeh, raeisoon, gorji, & khazaee, 2014). this means that internet serves a wide range of people in different profession including students. it helps the students in areas of research, assignments and other academic exercises. although internet offers many advantages by facilitating easy access to information, its improper or excessive use can produce negative consequences (odaci & celik, 2013). the excessive use of the internet in uncontrolled manners is what scholars referred to as internet addiction (young & abreu, 2011; young, 2004). mailto:michaelarinze40@gmail.com internet addiction 170 for researcher hartney (2019) internet addiction is a behavioral addiction in which a person becomes dependent on use of the internet, or other online devices, as a maladaptive way of coping with life stress. it is an uncontrollable desire to use the internet, the devaluation of time spent without connecting to the internet, intense nervousness and aggression in the event of deprivation, and progressive deterioration of social and family life (young, 2004). researchers have also revealed that internet addiction is a psychosocial disorder, the features of which include lack of patience, symptoms of isolation and emotional disorder and interruption of social relationship (aydin & sari, 2011; mossbarger, 2008 young & case, 2004). excessive internet use is more evident among young people (mossbarger, 2008) who turn to the internet as a means of exploring the world and identity identification. they do this without regard to possible psychological and behavioural consequences it might have on them. such consequences include the emergency of possible behavioural alterations, loss of control, school failure, social isolation and increase in family conflict (holzt & appel, 2011). most scholars have associated young peoples’ beliefs and perception about themselves and the degree at which they use the internet (bozoglan, demirer & sahin, 2013; aydin & sari, 2011; kim &davis, 2009; sheeks & birchmeier, 2007). excessive internet use is seen in different cultures (cao & su, 2007) and it is stated that adolescents group is at highest risk (mossbarger, 2008; yen, yen, chen, chen & ko, 2008). adolescents’ beliefs and perceptions about themselves reflect in their behaviour characteristics when using the internet, and this closely associated with their self-esteem levels. self-esteem means what an individual think about himself or as put by burger, it’s about how an individual evaluate her/his self-concept (burger, 2006). the symptomatic characteristics of internet addiction indicate a likely relationship between it and self-esteem. for example, studies by greenberg, lewis and dodd (1999); sobell (2007) have revealed the relationship between internet addiction and self-esteem levels. studies have also revealed that adolescents tend to appear different from what they are when expressing themselves in dating sites, social networking sites and gaming sites (madell & muncer, 2006; ross, orr, sisic, arseneault, simmering, & orr, 2009; sheeks & birchmeier, 2006; voluse, körkel & sobell, 2007). notably, previous studies relating self-esteem and internet addiction have shown that selfesteem alone may not trigger internet addiction but the relationship may be mediated by variables such as shyness. hence, it is believed that individuals’ self-esteem level is transmitted through shyness to determine internet addiction. mediating role of shyness shyness is the propensity of being dissatisfied, awkward with oneself in the presence of others and restraint self from normal social behaviours because of the anxiety of meeting people or their impression of oneself, and the avoidance of feeling embarrassed in interpersonal situations (lemyre, gauthier-legare & belanger, 2018; buss, 1980; henderson & zimbardo, 1998). as an extremely self-conscious behaviour, shyness influences one’s thoughts, feelings, and perception of the world around (saunders & chester, 2008). it may lead to social ineptitude and even overall reticence in variety of circumstances. researchers have suggested that shyness as a prevalent feeling affecting a wide range of individuals may have serious psychological effects and may decrease well-being (chen, li, wang, li & gao, 2018; liu, cheng, hsu, liu & yu, 2018). for instance, zhao, tan, gao and wang (2019) in an extant study found that shy people’s incorrect evaluation of themselves leads to low social interaction and eventually receive less social support than their peers. the finding of findlay et al.( 2009) indicated that shyness was also correlated with social anxiety, positive effect and negative effect; and in a very nascent study associated with pathological internet use (gao, guo, tian, si & wang, 2018; huan, ang, chong & chye, 2014). the implication is that as shy people engage in excessive unhealthy behaviours, the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction cannot be described as linear but with shyness playing mediating role. this is so because most people who have low self-esteem are shy, hence they indulge in excessive internet use as an escape from physical relationships. gao, guo, tian, si, & wang (2018) indicated that shyness predicted internet addiction through self-esteem. following this, the present study is of the view that in the presence of shyness, individuals of low self-esteem are most likely to engage in internet addiction. shyness self-esteem internet addiction internet addiction 172 figure 1: conceptual framework of the mediating role of shyness on the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction. hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested: 1. self-esteem will significantly predict internet addition among university undergraduates. 2. shyness will significantly predict internet addition among university undergraduates. 3. shyness will significantly mediate the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction. method participants the participants of the study were two hundred and thirty-two (232) undergraduate students drawn from 3 universities in south east nigeria., namely university of nigeria, nsukka (unn), enugustate university of science and technology (esut) and ebonyi state university (ebsu). participants’ ages ranged between 16 and 35 years with mean age of 20.89 (sd =2.75). participants comprised 109 males (46.98%) and 123 females (53.02%). information on age and gender were obtained and were controlled for because they are related to internet addiction (e.g., dufour, 2016). instruments three instruments were used in this study. they are: internet addiction test (iat) (young 1998), index of self-esteem (ise) (hudson, 1982), and revised cheek-buss shyness scale (rcbs) (crozier, 2005). internet addiction test (iat) (young 1998) the 20-item iat questionnaire developed by young (1998) measures characteristics and behaviours associated with compulsive use of the internet that include compulsivity, escapism, and dependency. questions also assess problems related to personal, occupational, and social functioning stemming from internet use. participants respond to each statement with a number between 1 and 5, representing a likert scale continuum, indicating the extent to which they endorse that particular behavior. the scale was created by adapting dsm-iv criteria for pathological gambling to pertain to internet use and is a modification of the earlier 8-item scale, young’s internet addiction diagnostic questionnaire (iadq). for the adopted scale, reliability coefficient cronbach alpha was calculated as 0.90 and spearman brown value was calculated as 0.86. exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the construct validity; and confirmatory factor analysis used to determine whether the factor model was correct. as a result of this analysis, it was determined that 20 items were grouped under 4 factors. cronbach α, internal consistency coefficient for the first factor was 0.91; second factor was 0.87; third factor was 0.89; fourth factor was 0.90; and for the whole scale was 0.90. spearman brown value for the scale was 0.86. guttmann split-half value for the scale was 0.85. these calculated coefficients were all in the acceptable range, and these suggested that the test and each factor had internal reliability. validity and reliability analysis were reviewed about the adoption of internet addiction test and it was concluded that the results that were found was in the acceptable ranges. index of self-esteem (ise) (hudson, 1982) this is a standardized psychological assessment instrument developed by hudson (1982) and validated for use with nigerian samples by onighaiye (1996). the instrument contains 25 items designed to measure the self-perceived and evaluation component of self-concept, which is the sum total of self-perceived views of the self-held by a person. the scoring key ranges from “rarely” (1) to “most times” (5). items 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 24, are scored direct, while items 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25 are scored in a reverse order. the ise has been used in both clinical practice and research with nigerian samples and has been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument. hudson (1982) reported a coefficient alpha of .93 and a two-hour test-retest coefficient of .92. onighaiye (1996) reported concurrent validity of .46 by correlating ise with the interpersonal sensitivity scale of the scl-90 (derogatis, lipman, & covi, 1972). in addition, onighaiye obtained concurrent validity of .38 by correlating ise with the depression scale of the scl-90. internet addiction 174 revised cheek-buss shyness scale (rcbs) (crozier, 2005) the original scale (cheek & buss, 1981) comprised 9 items and four revisions have been produced, with 11, 13, 14 and 20 items, respectively. despite the existence of alternative measures of shyness, for example, the social reticence scale (jones, briggs & smith, 1986) and the interaction anxiousness scale (leary, 1983), the scale has become the most widely utilized measure. the 14 item rcbs was produced by crozier (2005). his paper reviewed previous studies of the scales reliability and presents a fresh item analysis of the 14-item version (hereafter called the revised cheek–buss shyness scale, or rcbs, in line with recent practice in the literature). it also investigated gender differences in responses to the scale, as there has been inconsistent evidence of gender differences in shyness (leary, 1983), with men scoring somewhat higher on the rcbs in one study (cheek & melchior, 1990) and lower in another study (marcone & nigro, 2001). participants respond to each statement with a number between 1 and 5, representing a 5 point likert scale continuum, indicating the extent to which it is characteristic of their feelings and behaviour. item-total scale correlations ranged from 0.31 to 0.67 and four of the five lowest correlations were associated with the items with reversed scoring. coefficient alpha for the scale was 0.86. inter-item correlations ranged from 0.09 to 0.58, with a mean of 0.30 (standard deviation = 0.11). the observed range of total scores, 14–70, corresponds to the minimum and maximum possible scores. t-tests showed that only two items differed significantly in mean scores, with females obtaining higher mean scores in each case. for item 8 (i feel nervous when speaking to someone in authority), mean (sd) males = 2.56 (1.16), females = 2.92 (1.07), t = 3.76, d.f. = 316.62, p < 0.001. for item 14 (during conversations with new acquaintances, i worry about saying something foolish) mean (sd) for males = 2.55 (1.21), females = 2.92 (1.12), t = 3.67, d.f. = 318.99, p < 0.00. item analysis shows that the rcbs has sound psychometric properties and that all 14 items contribute effectively to the scale. procedure participants were approached at the university cafeterias of the schools selected for the study. a cordial relationship was created with participants before administering the questionnaire to participants that volunteered to participate in the study. participants were given necessary information they needed to know about the questionnaire, the research and the researchers, and to guide them on the proper way of responding to the items. the essence of this was to help reduce abnormalities in filling the data. participants were also informed that their responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality; and that participation in the study was voluntary. this is to avoid violation of ethical principle which recommends that participation in research should be voluntary without force or coercion to participants. those who volunteered equally gave out their emails or phone numbers for the second-wave followup. afterwards, a total number of 240 copies of questionnaires were distributed to the participants in the 3 universities and for the online participants. the questionnaires were distributed to the participants within two-week interval. returned questionnaires were properly cross-checked in order to ensure they are properly filled and that no item is left un-responded to. at the end of data collection, two hundred and thirty-two (232) questionnaires were properly filled and returned while eight (8) copies were not returned. the 232 returned data were used for the data analysis. participants were debriefed, and thanked for contributing to knowledge. design/statistics the study employed two-wave longitudinal design. to test the hypotheses and the overall mediation model shown above, a mediation following hayes (2009) was conducted controlling for age and gender. figure 2 depicts the partial chains within the model. results the study made use of hierarchical multiple regression analysis statistics. based on the analysis, the following findings were made. table 1: descriptive statistics and zero order correlation variable m sd 1 2 3 4 5 1 internet addiction 49.48 13.23 1 2 gender -.22* 1 3 age 20.89 2.75 -.13 .01 1 4 self-esteem 60.29 12.73 .21* .01 .05 1 5 shyness 40.32 6.30 .33* .02 -.10 .18* 1 notes: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001 ; n = 232 gender (0 = male, 1 = female) from the table, participants had the mean score of 49.48 and standard deviation of 13.23 on internet addiction. on self-esteem, the participants had the mean score of 60.29 and standard deviation of 12.73; and for shyness, the participants had the mean score of 40.32 and standard deviation of 6.30. the table also showed that gender had a significant relationship with internet addiction, and that males were more addicted to internet than the females (r = -.22, p < .05) internet addiction 176 age had no significant relationship with internet addiction. self-esteem had a significant relationship with internet addiction (r = .21, p = .05). from the scoring, high scores above 30 indicates low self-esteem and scores below 30 indicates normal and high self-esteem. this, therefore means that people who scored higher than 30 in the test, had low self-esteem and a large number of the participant scored above 30, therefore, have low self-esteem. from the result, those with low self-esteem were shown to have higher internet addiction. shyness had a significant relationship with internet addiction (r = .32, p = .05). this showed that those who indicated high level of shyness experienced higher internet addiction. figure 2: the mediating effect of shyness in the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction. note: * p <.05, ** p < .001; all presented effects are unstandardized; a is effect of self-esteem on shyness; b is effect of shyness on internet addiction; c’ is direct effect of self-esteem on internet addiction; c is total effect of self-esteem on internet addiction. results from a simple mediation analysis indicated that self-esteem is indirectly related to internet addiction through its relationship with shyness. as can be seen in figure 2, participants with low self-esteem reported high shyness (a = .09, p = .012), and high shyness was subsequently related to higher internet addiction (b = .59, p = .001). a 95% bias-corrected confidence interval based on 10,000 bootstrap samples indicated that the indirect effect (ab = 0.053) was entirely above zero (ci= .014 to .101). however, students reported lesser internet addiction after taking into account self-esteem indirect effect through shyness (c’ = 0.15, p = .028). discussion shyness a = .09* b = .59** c’ = .15* self-esteem internet addiction c = .21** the study aimed at investigating whether self-esteem is a predictor of internet addiction. the findings indicate that self-esteem predicts internet addiction among university undergraduates. the result explains that low self-esteem has an influence on internet addiction and a large number of undergraduate students who participated suffered low self-esteem resulting to internet addiction among them. the finding implies that people who have low selfesteem engage in internet addiction more than those with moderate self-esteem. the findings of this study are consistent with self-determination theory of deci and ryan (1985). the theory explained that people engage in internet addiction as a need to enhance their self-worth or their self-esteem. people who see the need to enhance their self-esteem do that because they feel they are not good enough and that they do not meet up to the standard of others. in order, to upgrade their societal standards, they engage in frequent use of the internet. according to the theory, some others engage in internet use to gain some reward or avoid some negative contingency. people who have low self-esteem look down on themselves and most times, feel like they have no place in the society. according to leung (2003), the internet offers an alternative for people to gratify their social and emotional needs, which might be unmet in their traditional offline networks (leung, 2003). in other to gain the gratification they desire they choose the internet in place of the physical society this result is consistent with the earlier research work of bahrainian and khazaee (2014) who found significant positive relationships between facebook addiction and low self-esteem. shyness was also found to have predicted internet addiction among university undergraduates. this may be because shy individuals often desperately want to connect with others, but don’t know how or cannot tolerate the anxiety that comes with human interaction and then turn to social networks as an alternative means of satisfying their social and emotional desires. people who are shy have difficulties in relating with their immediate environment. shy individuals prefer social interaction in text-based virtual environments online than in their offline lives and, as a result, are unable to develop a range of physical relationships. we all know that the internet does not detect a shy person therefore, it in a more conducive and reliable place for shy people. the findings can also be explained using sociometer theory (leary, 1990) which emphasizes the degree to which individuals regard his/herself in relationship with others. those who feels shy to approach or be approached by others seem to satisfy their social emotion through social network where there is less physical contact with the other person. the relationship between shyness and internet addiction is also evident in the earlier studies by baker and oswald (2010), huan, ang, chong and chye (2014); chen, liang, wang, li and goa (2018) and setter, baldwin, zava, baungartner and coplan (2019). these studies internet addiction 178 established strong relationship between shyness and internet addiction. hence, self-esteem and shyness are good predictors of internet addiction among undergraduate students. the third hypothesis that shyness will mediate the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction was confirmed. shyness significantly mediated the relationship between self-esteem and internet addiction. a further confirmation that shyness is the feeling of discomfort and discontent in social relations (zee & roorda, 2018; asendorpf, 2000; cheek & buss, 1981; saunders & chester, 2008), fueling the feeling of low self-esteem. these collective feelings manifest in hiding behind the internet where people engage in all sorts of behaviors without having physical contact with others and consequently resulting in addiction. practical implication of the findings the study has some practical implications for the society. self-esteem predicted internet addiction among university undergraduates, with emphasis that undergraduates with low selfesteem were shown to have higher internet addiction. this implies that undergraduates who have poor self-evaluation of themselves, cannot confidently express themselves or relate with peers or opposite sex resort to internet as a hiding place, where they can freely relate and express themselves. instead of been bold to face challenges, they take revenge by getting addicted to internet. hence, they can be victims of internet bullying, as they lack morale to relay their fears and actions with other people. it may also make them to engage in suicidal ideation if the internet they resort to is no longer friendly to them, and expression of self-worth can’t be achieved again. undergraduates who are dissatisfied with self, awkward with oneself in the presence of others and restraint self from normal social behaviours or their impression of oneself, and the avoid feeling embarrassed in physical interpersonal situations found internet as safe place to do all the opposites for themselves. for example, they can easily post pictures online, talk to people online, and say their minds or relate freely with opposite sex online and perceive themselves with high self-worth. they rather express their mind on internet than do it physical, hence addiction. for undergraduates who have poor self-evaluation of themselves in the presence of selfdissatisfaction and feeling of embarrassment in physical interpersonal situations, everything is better done via internet where they are confident. they would easily prefer activities such as dating, sexual discussions, meetings of peers, etc., done through internet where they can confidently relate or participate. they see internet as a way of making up for their lack, thereby becoming highly prone to internet addiction. limitations and suggestions for further research some shortcomings are of concern in the current study and should guide future research. first, we adopted self-report measures only with its associated dangers of common method bias (podsakoff, mackenzie, lee, & podsakoff, 2003). usually, this has the possibility of artificially inflating scores of examined constructs. but correlations among the assessed constructs and the estimates are not so high as to expect that this is a serious threat in the present result. second, the current study focused on students in the southeastern part of nigeria. these raise questions on the generalizability of our results to wider students’ population. future studies may consider using more diverse student population to broaden the inference of results generated, which also increases its appeal of wider spectrum of audience. the study recommends steady and series of workshops on internet, its advantages and disadvantages on the part of students, society and quality life in our educational or youth related institutions to help minimize the exacerbation of addiction related societal challenges especially among young people. undergraduates or young people should be enlightened that internet may make or mar their lives; 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(2017). shyness and loneliness: contributions of emotional intelligence and social support. current psychology, doi 10.1007/s12144017-9640-6 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 283 fear of negative evaluation and self efficacy as correlates of health seeking behaviour among adolescents aboh, uche. j.1 agu, solomon2 nwankwo, nelson. i 3* okoye, c.a.f 4 1,2department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu nigeria. 3,4department of psychology, nnanndi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. anohabe@yahoo.com *thegreatnelson20@gmail.com abstracts this study examined fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy as correlates of health seeking behaviour among adolescents. three hundred and fifty participants consisting of 121 (34%) males and 229 (65%) females and who were within the age range of 12 to 20 years, with a mean age of 16.03 and standard deviation of 1.44 responded to the three study instruments. these were fear of negative self-evaluation scale, general self-efficacy scale and health seeking behaviours questionnaire. correlation design was adopted for the study while pearson product moment correlation coefficient and independent t-test was employed to analyze the data. the result revealed that fear of negative evaluation did not significantly correlate with health seeking behaviour among adolescents at r(148)= -.041 at p>. 05. also, it was found that self-efficacy significantly influence health seeking behaviour among adolescents at t(348)= 2.03, p<.05, level of significance. the study concluded that fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy influence an individual’s health-seeking behaviour. it was recommended that parents and teachers should promote students self-efficacy by encouraging them to engage in a healthy behaviour. keywords: health-seeking behaviour, fear of negative evaluation, self-efficacy, adolescents. introduction mental health care in nigeria is yet to receive its desired attention. the recent occurrence of suicide cases has shown that there is an urgent need to address the mental health seeking behaviour of young people (uchendu, ijomone & nwachokor, 2019). in addition, world health organization (2019), report has affirmed that an estimated 62,000 adolescents died in 2016 as a result of self-harm and inadequate healthy behaviour (who, 2019). thus, adolescents’ in the lowand middle-income countries are mostly affected by the global rate of suicide, death, depression, and risky sexual behaviour due to poor mental health care (who, 2019). health seeking behaviour is a decision-making process that is influence by individuals’ characteristics, societal norms and family background (ihaji, gerald & ogwuche, 2014). it begins with a process of discussing ones’ health challenges with others as a way of exploring preventive measures and treatment options (rickwood, thomas & bradford, 2012). in brief, ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 284 health seeking behaviour defines how people monitor and respond to symptoms and symptom change over the course of an illness, and how it affects the behaviour, remedial actions taken and response to treatment (anwar, green & norris, 2012). metta (2016), proposed that health seeking’ is a conditioned behaviour, so any attempt to encourage people to seek care requires an understanding of their motivation for such behaviour. this is because inappropriate health seeking process can lead to adverse health outcomes such as substance abuse, engaging in risky sexual behavior, lower quality of adult life, premature death (anderson & lowen, 2010; laski, 2015), and poorer health statistics (atuyambe, 2008; mwase, 2015). research have demonstrated that delay in health seeking behaviour have a negative impact on good health, recovery process and relapse prevention (latunji & akinyemi,, 2018; mackian, 2003). despite the risk associated with inappropriate health seeking behaviour or non health seeking behaviour, 71% of nigerians have reported inappropriate health seeking behaviour during their last illness episode (onwujekwe, onoka, uzochukwu, & hanson, 2011). thus, health-seeking behaviour remains poorly understood subject, particularly in developing country like nigeria, where competing systems of traditional, informal and western medicine coexist (kleinman, 1980; mmari & magnani, 2003; as cited by mmari, oseni & fatusi, 2010). indeed, many factors has been identified to antagonize individuals’ health seeking decisions such as; access to health facilities, socio-economic status and perceived quality of service, personality and so on (gao, dang, yan & wang, 2012; babalola & fatusi, 2009). despite the numerous factors that have been studied in regard to health seeking behaviour, little is known about fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy in the nigeria context. fear of negative evaluation is defined as the anxiety about the evaluations of others, being worried about the negative evaluations, and expecting that others will evaluate one in a negative way (watson & friend, 1969). it is the social worry of an individual in evaluation environment (sevimli, 2009). this fear is commonly associated with psychopathology, particularly with social anxiety disorder (carleton, collimore, mccabe, & antony, 2011), that has a severe mental health implication. people with fear of negative evaluation convey a particular impression to others in order to please them and appear relevant to them (heimberg, brozovich & rapee, 2010). however, fearing and believing oneself to be the recipient of undesirable evaluation by others, can prompt an individual to face social events with high levels of emotional arousal, and strives to avoid the situation or else remain unnoticed in them, by adopting various safety behaviours or coping mechanism they felt will be good (mcmanus, sacadura & clark, 2008). this may lead to inappropriate health seeking behaviour especially among adolescents who are still on the stage of identity formation. the fear of negative evaluation are apprehension about others appraisal, ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 285 distress over their negative evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively (collins, westra, dozois, & stewart, 2004). it plays a key role in motivating individuals with social anxiety to assume that others tend to be highly critical and as a result are inclined to evaluate them negatively (musa & lepine, 2000). this fear may be link to poor interpersonal relationship and low self efficacy. another important factor in this study is the personality variable such as self-efficacy. this is one’s belief for feelings of control and the perceived likelihood of success (morrison & phelips, 2003). self-efficacy belief is determined by numerous factors, for example, redmond (2010) believes that self-efficacy is influenced by encouragement and discouragement pertaining to an individual’s performance or ability to perform. in other words, self-efficacy refers to an individual’s belief in their personal capability to accomplish a job or a specific set of tasks (bandura, 1997). it is conceptualized to be the judgment of a person’s ability to perform a task within a specific or generalized domain (bandura, 2000). in reference to bandura’s explanation, self-efficacy is a multi-dimensional construct which influences people’s performances directly and indirectly through its effects in their determining factors such as motivation, self-regulation and emotion. this is embedded in the social learning theory which assumed that human behaviour is a factor of the environment (bandura’s, 2003). hence, wang and wu (2008), asserted that self-efficacy is the self-perception of competence to effectively complete an assigned task and an expectation that one can succeed when facing a difficult task. for example, how people behave can be explained by their beliefs than what they are actually capable of accomplishing. apparently, individuals who have high self-efficacy are more likely to attribute their failure to low effect rather than low ability; whereas low efficacy individuals attribute their failure to low ability (dweck, 2005). thus, peoples’ belief system has been found to influence their health seeking behaviour and determine their mental well-being (olsen, smith, oei & douglas, 2008; roden, 2004; bellamy; 2004). for example, personal dispositions associated with one’s beliefs and expectations constitute predominant determinants of health-oriented activity (ebstrup, aadahl, eplov, pisinger & jørgensen, 2013, jones, harris, waller & coggins, 2005; ochsner, scholz & hornung, 2013; sniehotta, scholz & schwarzer, 2005). according to bandura (1997), self-efficacy beliefs play a crucial role in affecting task choice, effort, persistence, resilience, achievement and satisfaction of individuals. this is based on the notion that self-efficacy describes a person’s cognitions about whether he/she is capable of performing the behaviours necessary to produce a wanted outcome. based on the above submission, the present study wants to establish whether fear of negative evaluation and selfefficacy would correlate positively with health-seeking behaviour among adolescents’ students. theoretical framework ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 286 this study anchored on the health belief model by hochbaum and rosenstock (1958). the health belief model (hbm) is a psychological health behaviour change model developed to explain and predict health-related behaviours, particularly in regard to the uptake of health services (siddiqui, taranum ruba, ghazal, saima, 2016; bibi & safia, 2016; ahmed & waquaruddin, 2016; janz & marshall, 1984). the model assumed that people's beliefs about health problems, perceived benefits of action and barriers to action and self-efficacy explain engagement (or lack of engagement) in health-promoting behaviour (janz & marshall, 1984; rosenstock, 1974). according to olsen, smith, oei and douglas (2008) in the process of engaging health seeking behaviour, individuals must consider six factors such as; perceived susceptibility (if they perceive that they are at risk of contracting the disease, perceived severity (if they perceive the disease might have an unfavourable outcome), perceived benefits (if they perceive the proposed health behaviour to be both effective and practical), perceived barriers (if they perceive the barriers to adopting the behaviour to be minimal), perceived self-efficacy (if they perceive themselves to have the ability of applying and practicing the specific behaviour proposed), external cues (if they have the cues for motivating their actions such as internal cues (pain, symptoms, past experiences) or advice from friends, relatives and mass media campaigns) (cues to action). review of related literatures in india, talat and aslam (2012), examined the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and psychological distress among addicts and non addicts. translated urdu version of brief fear of negative evaluation scale by leary, and depression, anxiety, and stress scale by aslam were used for the purpose of data collection. the sample comprised of 200 male adults including drug addicts (n = 100) and non addicts (n = 100). purposive convenient sampling technique was employed for the data collection. pearson correlation, t-test and anova were computed to test the hypotheses. findings showed that fear of negative evaluation was positively correlated with psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress) (r = .64, p < .001). fear of negative evaluation was higher among addicts as compared to non addicts (p < .001) and the psychological distress was higher among addicts as compared to non addicts (p < .001). this finding is in accordance with the objective of this present study. in an experimental study in america, karakashian, walter, christopher and lucas (2006), investigated the effect of shyness and fear of negative evaluation (fne) on helping behaviour. eighty-three (83) students participated in the experiment. their individual shyness, fne, and self-monitoring scores were collected prior to participation. during the experiment, participants had the opportunity to help a female confederate in either a social or nonsocial situation. an interaction of fne and condition was found to be marginally significant. in the social helping condition, participants who helped showed no difference in fne scores versus those who did not help. however, in the non-social condition participants who helped had lower fne scores than ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 287 those who did not help. the findings are framed in accordance with the bystander effect. thus, the above result was in support of the objective of the present study. in nigeria, adamu, yusuf, inalegwu, sufi & adamu (2018), examined factors that influence health-seeking behaviour of health workers in a tertiary hospital in northwest nigeria. the study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive approach where multistage sampling technique was used to select 160 health workers, including doctors, nurses, and laboratory scientists. a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data which were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20.0 and microsoft excel 2010.the mean age of the respondents was 34.57 ± 7.2 years, with males slightly more represented (54.4%) than females (45.6%). nearly 43% were doctors, 47.0% were nurses, and 9.7% were laboratory scientists. almost all the respondents (99.3%) felt that periodic medical checkups were important and 65.8% of them have had one before. up to 75.2% of them often sought the attention of a doctor whenever they fell sick. majority (75.2%) of them practiced self-medication, with various forms of antimalarials, antibiotics, and analgesics being the commonly used drugs. the major factor preventing the respondents from going for voluntary medical checkups was the fear of the outcome of investigation (p = 0.012). the study concluded that the perception of respondents regarding periodic medical check up was generally good. self-medication was found to be high among respondents. age, gender, profession, and duration of practice were found to affect both preventive and curative health-seeking behaviours. similarly, szczepanska-klunder and lipowski (2015), explored the role of self-efficacy in undertaking health-seeking behaviours by physical education teachers. the study sampled 271 physical education teachers (n♀= 137 and n♂=134) aged between 23 and 62 years (m = 38.97, sd = 9.33). the respondents were surveyed with the generalized self-efficacy scale by schwarzer and jerusalem in the polish adaptation by juczynski, health behaviour inventory by juczynski and the multidimensional body-self relations questionnaire by cash. the findings showed that the use of indicator variables in regression revealed that gses exerts stronger effect on health-seeking behaviours in men than in women. furthermore, it did not confirm a crucial role of self-efficacy in undertaking physical activity and health practices. grøtan, sund and bjerkeset (2019), examined the associations of mental distress with academic self-efficacy and study progress. a secondary aimed was to examine mental health help seeking for students with mental distress. data was derived from the norwegian students’ health and welfare survey 2014 (shot2014) which is the first major survey comprising questions of mental health, academic self-efficacy and psychosocial factors amongst students. the authors found that 749 (31%) of the 2430 norwegian full-time students under the age of 35 responded to the survey. symptoms of mental distress were measured using the hopkins symptom checklist (hscl-25) and academic self-efficacy was measured using a norwegian version of the general ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 288 self-efficacy scale (gse) tailored to the academic setting. demographic-, social, lifestyle, and study-related variables were included in the analyses. logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between mental distress, academic self-efficacy, and academic performance. the result revealed that seventeen percent reported severe symptoms of psychological distress which is similar to the overall prevalence among students in norway. students reporting severe mental distress were four times as likely to report low academic selfefficacy and twice as likely to report delayed study progress compared to students reporting few or moderate symptoms of mental distress. 27% of those reporting severe mental distress had sought professional help whereas 31% had considered seeking help. the study showed that there was a strong association between symptoms of mental distress, academic self-efficacy and study progress. purpose of the study • to investigate whether fear of negative evaluation would correlate with health seeking behaviour among adolescents. • to ascertain whether self-efficacy would influence health seeking behaviour among adolescents. hypotheses  fear of negative evaluation would positively and significantly correlate with health seeking behaviour among adolescents.  self-efficacy would significantly influence health seeking behaviour among adolescents. methods setting of the study the study took take place in three different public secondary schools located in onitsha north local government area, anambra state, nigeria. the three secondary schools were dennis memorial grammar school, modebe memorial secondary school and regina pacis model. participants the participants for this study were three hundred and fifty (350) adolescents’ students. they were randomly drawn from dennis memorial grammar school (116= students), regina pacis model (118= students) and modebe memorial secondary school (118= students) in onitsha, anambra state. they consisted of 121 (34%) males and 229 (65%) females selected from ss1 to ss3 through the use of simple random sampling such as fishbowl technique. the participants were within the ages of 12 to 20 years, with the mean age of 16.03 years, and standard deviation of 1.44 respectively. instruments the participants completed the instruments described below: self-efficacy scale ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 289 self-efficacy was measured with the general self-efficacy scale (jerusalem & schwarzer, 1995). it is a 10-item psychometric scale designed to assess a person’s optimistic self-beliefs to cope with a variety of difficult demands in life. items on the scale have options that ranged from, not at all true (1) to exactly true (4). respondents who indicated exactly true to positive statements were scored 4, those who indicated not at all true scored 1. the scores were then summed and the average established. scores above the mean indicated high self-efficacy, while scores below the mean indicated low self-efficacy. jerusalem, et al. (1995), reported internal consistencies ranging between alpha = .75 and .90.the present study reported a cronbach alpha of .79. fear of negative evaluation (fne) this 30-item scale was developed by watson and friend (1969) to measure social anxiety which is a clinical condition characterized by marked and persistent fear of social or performance situations in which an individual is exposed to unfamiliar people or is being evaluated and scrutinized by others. the scale was measured on a true-false response format and takes approximate ten minutes to complete. the reliability coefficients reported by watson and friend (1969) are: kr -20 = .94, one month interval test-retest = .78. a concurrent validity coefficient of .63 was obtained from odedeji’s (2004) data in nigeria. however, the present study reported a reliability coefficient of 0. 81. general help seeking questionnaire (ghsq) general help seeking questionnaire (ghsq) was developed by wilson, deane, ciarrochi and rickwood (2005). the scale was designed to examine the intentions of the respondent to seek help from several sources. these sources range from informal sources (such as family and teaching staff) to professional sources such as the family doctor. the scale is in likert response type format. the ghsq asks participants to respond to each problem-type by rating their helpseeking intentions on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (“extremely unlikely”) to 7 (“extremely likely”) for each help source option including “no one.” higher scores indicate higher intentions. ghsq scores tended to range between 5 and 7 for informal sources, 1 and 3 for formal sources, and 6 and 7 for seeking help from no one. the reliability of ghsq was reported by wilson et al. (20005) in two ways: first, as a single scale that included all specific help source options for suicidal and non-suicidal problems. the authors reported a cronbach’s alpha of .85, test-retest reliability assessed over a three-week period of .92. however, the present study reported a cronbach’s alpha of .89 using adolescent sample. procedure a consent form to carry out the research at the respective schools was obtained from the principals. the researchers also solicited the assistance of the class form teachers in order to organize the students for the study. after selection, the participants were told about the nature of study and instructed to answer the questions frankly. the questionnaires were randomly distributed to the selected participants at their break time. the participants completed and returned the questionnaire. however, out of 360 copies of the questionnaires that were randomly ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 290 distributed, 10 copies were not adequately filled due to double ticking and cancellation and were discarded. the 350 copies of the questionnaires were scored and used for the data analysis. the sample size was determine through the use of taro yamani formula, n= n______ 1+ n (e)2 n = sample size n = total population of the study 1 = 1 is constant e = error limit or margin of error n = 1199 1 + 1200(0.05)2 n = 1199 1199 x 0.0025 n = 1200 3.0025 n= 400 design/statistics a correlation design was adopted for this study. pearson product moment correlation coefficient and independent t-test was used to analysis the data in order to test the hypotheses. ssps version 23 was employed to manage the data. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 291 results table 1: means, standard deviations and correlation coefficients ** p <.01, * p < .05 note: * = the test is significant at the .05 level of significance. the results revealed that fear of negative evaluation did not positively and significantly correlate with health seeking behaviour at r = -.04, p>.05, level of significance. by implication, individuals’ with fear of negative evaluation are less likely to seek mental health. also, selfefficacy positively and significantly correlated with health seeking behaviour at r = .25, p<. 05; and the co-efficient of determinant (r2) was .06. by implication, the correlation explained 6% of the relationship between the study variables. hence, hypothesis 1 was rejected. table 2: mean and standard deviation of self-efficacy among adolescents self-efficacy levels n m std. dev std. error health seeking behaviour high self-efficacy 161 26.57 28.41 1.14 low self-efficacy 189 21.68 15.85 1.15 there was a numerical difference in the scores of high self-efficacy (m= 26.57, sd = 28.41) and low self-efficacy (m = 21.68, sd = 15.85) on health seeking behaviour among adolescents. variables m sd 1 2 3 health-seeking behaviour fear of negative evaluation 21.59 24.18 13.83 4.913 1 -.04 1 self efficacy 33.20 20.23 .25** -.08** 1 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 292 table 3: independent t-test of self-efficacy on health seeking behaviour variable t df sig mean differen ce std. error 95% ci lower upper health seeking behaviour 2.03 348 .044 4.89 2.41 .14 9.63 1.94 241.61 .053 4.89 2.52 .07 9.85 the inspection from result above showed that self-efficacy significantly influence adolescents’ health seeking behaviour at t(348)= 2.03, p<.05, level of significance. this means that adolescents with high self-efficacy are more likely to engage in health seeking behaviour than adolescents with low self-efficacy (see table 2). thus, hypothesis 2 was accepted. discussion the primary objective of this study is to investigate whether fear of negative evaluation and selfefficacy would positively correlate with health seeking behaviour among adolescents. following the objectives of this study two hypotheses were tested. the first hypothesis which stated that fear of negative evaluation would positively and significantly correlate with health seeking behaviour was rejected. this means that individuals who experience fear of negative evaluation are less likely to seek mental health care than their counterparts. this finding is supported by talat et al. (2012), who found that fear of negative evaluation was positively correlated with psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress). also, this finding affirms cognitive-behavioural models of social anxiety which proposed that fear of negative evaluation may be a risk factor for social anxiety, arising from the desire to deny oneself a certain impression in order to please others. the second hypothesis which stated that self efficacy would significantly influence health seeking behaviour among adolescents was accepted. this means that adolescents with high selfefficacy are more likely to seek mental health care than adolescents with low self-efficacy. hence, individuals’ self-efficacy is a significant factor that determines their decision making during ill health. this finding is in tandem with the study of grøtan, et al (2019)., who found students who report severe mental distress were four times as likely to have low academic selfefficacy than their counterparts. this is in congruence with the theory of self-efficacy that proposed that individuals affect action in their lives according to their belief in their ability to achieve particular outcomes (bandura, 1997). self-efficacy is a cognitive process that is impacted by experience, rewards and accomplishment, encouragement, and regulation of negative thoughts and feelings (briones et al., 2007; devonport & lane, 2006). although it may ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 293 not be enough to simply believe in one’s ability to achieve an outcome in order to realize success and reinforce the self-efficacy belief; one must also possess the necessary skills to achieve that outcome (bandura, 1992). in other words, if individuals do not possess the knowledge of and faith in themselves to achieve a given result, they will invariably avoid making the effort so as not to court failure (burgoyne et al., 2007). limitations one setback of the study is the instruments used for the data collection which are self report. there is possibility that participants may be faking their responses. hence, there should be caution in generalizing the findings of this study. implications this study has implication for policy makers, educationist and individuals that are in charge of health care services and schools in nigeria. as a matter of fact, it is clarion call to promote health seeking behaviour among nigerian adolescents by making it a public priority. practically, the findings of this study would aid non-government organizations to canvass for sensitization and enhance mental health campaign in nigeria. also, parents are urged to encourage their children to always visit their doctor, school counselor or psychologists whenever they experience any health related problems. recommendation the study recommended that there should be an adequate campaign of health seeking behaviour in nigeria. this would help to educate adolescents on the need to be proactive on health-related issues and always seek help whenever they experience any signs and symptoms. this is because early identification of symptoms could lead to timely intervention which may avert critical conditions. also, parents and teachers should promote students self-efficacy by encouraging them to engage in a healthy behaviour. conclusion this study examined fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy as correlate of health seeking behaviour among adolescents. the two hypotheses tested in the study showed that fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy can predeterminehealth seeking behaviour among adolescents in nigeria. although these two factors have varying correlation with health seeking, adolescents with fear of negative evaluation may experience significant emotional burden, and are reluctant to seek professional mental health care due to their anxiety. on the other hand, adolescents with low self efficacy may be at risk of initiating inappropriate health behaviour. thus, the study concluded that fear of negative evaluation and self-efficacy are important factors that determine individuals' health seeking behaviour. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 294 references adamu, h., yusuf, a., inalegwu, c. u., sufi, r. a., & adamu, a. n. 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(2019). suicide in warri, delta state, nigeria: an autopsy study. annals of tropical pathology, 10(1): 16-19. doi: 10.4103/atp.atp_44_18 world health organization, (2018). adolescent mental health. https://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health page 1 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 73 a qualitative insight into oil spill conflicts in the niger-delta region; the case of ilaje community in ondo state, nigeria etta, oyen etta department of sociology university of calabar, cross river state, nigeria tayen80@yahoo.com \ & aigbe, diyeli segun department of sociology university of calabar, cross river state, nigeria stoba.security@gmail.com abstract oil spill conflicts within the niger-delta region of nigeria reflect long-held feelings of exclusion, power inequalities and asymmetries that range from economic, social, cultural and political injustice. while many conflict resolution strategies have been designed and implemented in the niger delta region, the stark reality is that these schemes and programmes have not mitigated the crucial problems of communal conflict resulting from oil spillage. it therefore becomes necessary for peace and conflict scholars to provide empirical based insights into the dynamics of oil spill conflicts from community based perspectives in order to understand the peculiarities of each community within the niger-delta. being that the inclusion of ondo state within the niger-delta region has been debated to be more of a political gesture, than by its geography, not many oil spill related studies have been conducted in this area. this study is therefore conducted within this area in order to understand and compare previous findings from other core states within the niger-delta region. the study provides empirical evidence on oil spill conflicts and its contextual drivers within ilaje community of ondo state. the study employed qualitative approaches (key informant interviews) for data collection and analysis. the data collected was subjected to content analysis in line with the study objectives. extant discussion and suitable recommendations were provided based on the study outcomes. keywords: conflicts, environmental degradation, niger delta, oil spill, pollution introduction oil activities are major sources of pollution that cause severe damages to the environment (okpokwasili, 1996; liu & wirtz, 2005). this has been worsened by the oil companies’ impunity of operations (brooks, 1994); oil activities in the niger delta involved incessant oil spillages. for instance shell’s oil operations in nigeria accounts for mere 14% of its production worldwide but account for over 40% of its oil spillages globally (gilbert, 2010). department of petroleum resources (dpr) reported that from 1976 to 2005 over 4 million barrels of oil was spilled into the environment in over 9,000 incidents (egberongbe et al., 2006; emuedo, 2010). some researchers have dismissed these figures, averring that actual figures are three times higher (grevy, 1995; banfield, 1998; nassiter, 2010). the oil-induced environmental dislocation in the niger delta not only erodes traditional livelihoods; it has also led to conflicts within communities, among communities mailto:tayen80@yahoo.com mailto:stoba.security@gmail.com etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun and between communities (imobighe, 2004). the multidimensional conflicts are driven by extensive pollution of land and water by oil industry activities, government failure to develop the region and the attendant spread of immense poverty, inadequate compensation from oil companies, and violent actions of security forces and militant groups. in these conflicts, one of the main instruments of violence has been the marginalized and alienated youth groups in the region (ukeje, 2001). the violent activities of the aggrieved youth have often provoked counter-violence of a more destructive nature from security forces (onosode, 2003). these conflicts have not only undermined human security, but have hampered and stalled intended interventions to mitigate the oil spillage and its consequences. journalistic write-ups have documented incidents of oil-spill related violence in ilaje area of ondo state. in one on such cases, reported by sahara reporters (july 11, 2014), youth from the ilaje local government area of ondo state accused the oil giant, chevron nigeria limited, of failing to implement the global memorandum of understanding. at a protest held in akure, the state capital, the aggrieved youths numbering in the hundreds, had matched over to the governor’s office along alagbaka road. it was a dramatic display that featured the angry youth with placards bearing various inscriptions, chanting solidarity songs, and calling out the oil giant with unprintable names. the gmou is an agreement reached jointly at paying a certain fee to the communities for the development of the area. yet, chevron had refused to fulfill its own part of the agreement that touched-off the large protest march. leaders of the march had said chevron nigeria limited had deprived them much of their rights in their own land, by capitalizing on the unresolved rejection of a merger proposed for the oil communities in the area. the vast revenues from oil have not made any appreciable impact on the oil producing areas of the niger delta states. rather the people experience micro-level paradox of penury amid immense oil wealth. abject poverty, environmental degradation, marginalization, endemic conflict and social deprivation have taken a toll. the cumulative effects of these are anger in the land and easy predisposition of the population especially the youth to violence. the situation in the niger delta states has been at the core of extensive debate at the local, national, regional and international level. the debate centres on the overall impact of oil on nigeria’s political economy, social, economic and environmental issues attributed to oil in nigeria (obi, 2002; ojo, 2002; ukeje et al., 2002; iwayemi, 2006). it reflects long-held feelings of exclusion, power inequalities and asymmetries that range from economic, social, cultural and political injustice. these indicators affect living standards of the present generation and the prospects of generations to come as they have direct bearing on the challenges of securing sustained human progress. beyond the immediate impacts of oil exploitation on the environment and the livelihood of host communities, scientific data on its long-term effects are beginning to emerge. while many poverty alleviation strategies have been designed and implemented in the niger delta region, the stark reality in the oil-bearing areas is that these schemes and programmes have not mitigated the crucial problems of social exclusion and human deprivation. it therefore becomes necessary for scholars in the field of peace and conflict studies to provide empirical based insights into the dynamics of the situations from community based perspectives in order to understand the peculiarities of each community within the niger-delta. results from community based case studies will be helpful in proffering community-specific interventions for formulation and implementation, instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to mitigate oil-spill conflicts and its attendant socioeconomic consequences in communities within the niger-delta. 75 research questions in line with the study objectives, the following research questions are formulated to guide the direction of the study 1. how often is oil spillage experienced in ilaje area? 2. what are the causes of oil spillage in ilaje area? 3. what are the social consequences of oil spillage in ilaje area? 4. what forms of oil spill-related conflicts are experienced in ilaje area? 5. what are the social implications of oil spilled related conflicts in ilaje area? research methods this study adopted a descriptive design in which primary data was gathered within a specific time frame. the study employed qualitative approaches for data collection and analysis. the focus was to examine the social implications of oil spill-related conflict in the ilaje area of ondo state. ilaje local government area of ondo state lies roughly between latitude 6000ln and 6020i n and longitude 4045l e and 5045l e. its approximate northern boundaries are around ikale and arogbo-ijaw in the okitipupa and ese-odo local government areas of ondo state. in the southern boundary is the atlantic ocean whereas it is bordered in the west by ijebu in ogun state, the eastern boundary is the itsekiri land in warri, delta state. it has a coastline of about 180km thus making ondo state, the state with the longest coastline in nigeria. the major occupation of the ilaje people are fishing, canon and boats building, commercial water transport, trading activities include mainly fishes, woven material, distilled locally made gin. the administrative nerve centre of ilaje at igbokoda is primarily mangrove swamp forest. major rivers into which secondary water courses from swamp areas flow dominate the entire area. crude oil is concentrated in the ugbo subgroup area, while some communities in the mahin and aheri subgroups feel the impact of oil exploitation but are not oil producing. the population for this study comprised community members of ilaje area, of ondo state. the ilaje area has a population of 290,615according to the 2006 census; although the population can be said to have been under enumerated due to the riverine nature of the area, and lack of accessibility by road/land. being a qualitative study, the sample size was limited to about 20 participants. purposive sampling techniques based on specific eligibility criteria were used to select participants of the study. the participants comprised community leaders, youth group leaders and household heads within the study area. key informant interviews were conducted among the participants of the study. the key informant interviews were conducted among 5participants; three members of actual indigenous concessional eightunited core ultimate major (aicecum) and two political figures in the community. aicecum, which is the umbrella body of all the core oil-producing areas of the ugbo clan of ilaje nation, along the 80-kilometer coastline of the state. the interviews were based on a structured interview guide designed in line with the objectives of the study. the interview guide also included items that identify sociodemographic characteristics of the participants such as age, gender, work experience etc. face validity of the interview guide was achieved through an evaluation by a committee of experts. items that received unanimous acceptance were retained while items that seemed vague, complex or invalid for the study were removed. the data collected from the interview questions were subjected to content analysis in line with the objectives of the study. to begin the analysis, each question was analyzed to examine the unit of meaning. the meaning extrapolated from the sentences or phrases were compiled together with similar units and etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun clustered into categories. the units of data were used as the basis of the analysis of emergent themes. this procedure provided a contextual lens used to obtain valid answers to research questions. emergent themes frequency of oil spillage in ilaje area of ondo state the first research question sought to provide insight into the frequency of oil spillage in ilaje area of ondo state. based on the responses obtained from the participants, oil spillage within the area was a relatively regular occurrence and could be experienced as much as four time within a year. within the ilaje local government area of ondo state, oil companies including chevron, agip, exxon mobil, conoil, express and kavendish started exploring for crude oil when it was discovered in ogorogo village in 1968. the companies laid pipelines, established both onshore and offshore locations and dug canals. while doing this, their activities impacted negatively on the surrounding communities through oil spillage. despite the impact, the oil companies refuse to conduct environmental impact assessment to ascertain the level of damage, and proceed to clean up the communities and pay due compensation to the locals. oil spillage happens between three to four times in a year, although the spillage maybe minor or major. major oil spillage usually happens at dead of the night. mromoniberun; member of the aicecum to my best of knowledge, spillage happen 2-3 times in a year. prince omotoye; party leader in the ilaje lga spillage happens 3 times in a year at most cases mr felix koja; former secretary of the aicecum on an average oil spillage may happen 3 times in a year. mr. ikuomola; community leader of ugbo land spillage do happen, but can't be more than four 4 times a year. apostle odudu; member of the aicecum oil spillages in various communities within the niger delta area abound in history and literature. major oil spills in the coastal zone include the forcado tank 6 terminal in delta state incident that spilled 570,000 barrels of oil into the forcados estuary in july 1979, polluting the aquatic environment and surrounding swamp forest; the funiwa no.5 well in funiwa field that spilled an estimated 421,000 barrels of oil into the ocean from january 17 to january 30, 1980, destroying 836 acres of mangrove forest; and the oshika village spillage in river state that spilled 5,000 barrels of oil in 1983, flooding the lake and swamp forest and causing high mortality in crabs, fish, and embryonic shrimp (ordinioha & brisibe 2013). while major spills have not plagued nigeria recently, an average of 240,000 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the niger delta every year, in large part due to unknown causes (31.85%), third party activity (20.74%), and mechanical failure (17.04%) (isumonah, 2013).the spills have contaminated the niger delta regions water, air, and plants with trace metals that have accumulated in crops and harmful, potentially carcinogenic hydrocarbons such as polycyclic 77 aromatic hydrocarbon and benxoapyrene, and naturally occurring radioactive materials (omofonmwan&odia,2009). drivers of oil spillage in ilaje area of ondo state the second research question laid emphasis on the drivers of oil spillage in the study area. responses obtained from the interview transcripts showed that the activities of the oil companies were the major causes of oil spills in the area. while carrying out their oil exploration and transportation activities, incidents such as equipment malfunction/breakdown, carelessness from equipment handlers, poor maintenance culture of equipment and use of dilapidated equipment were identified as being causes of oil spillage. furthermore, the effects of natural phenomenon such as hurricanes and floods, which sometimes destroyed pipelines and other oil storage equipment, were also cited. other drivers of oil spillage mentioned by some of the participants included deliberate acts of illegal oil bunkering and sabotage. some of their verbatim responses are presented as follows; the drivers of oil spillage in the area are majorly; mobile, coin, shell, agip and chevron, at most point due to it happen due to equipment breakdown, deliberate actions by people, being careless or mistakes from the users of those machines, if all this is not properly considered there will be oil spillage. mromoniberun; member of the aicecum the operators of the joint ventures between nnpc and multinational oil companies like chevron, shell, and mobile are responsible for the spills as a result of lack of maintenance, deliberate acts by the people and dilapidated machines. prince omotoye; party leader in the ilaje lga shell, chevron, mobile are majorly responsible for oil spills in the area due to equipment breakdown, natural disasters such as hurricanes especially during raining seasons and also lack of maintenance culture. mr.koja; former secretary of the aicecum information from him posits that agrip, chevron , shell, coin, are majorly responsible for the spill in those area as a result of sabotage of illegal bunkers, and as a result of inability to properly manage and maintain their equipments. mr.ikuomola; community leader of ugbo land well to me, coin agrip, shell, and chevron are responsible for the spills. oil spills are also as result of deliberate acts of oil bunkers or illegal oil bunkers, lack of equipments, and inability for proper maintenance. apostle odudu; member of the aicecum many factors has been attributed as the causes of oil spillage in niger-delta region. supporting some of the assertions made by participants in this study, bienen (2005) etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun categorized drivers of oil spillage into natural and human causes. natural causes of oil spills occur through natural disaster, movement of tectonic plates and also as a result of inadequate trap system. oil spill can be caused by natural seepage, especially in the ocean, as tectonic plates shift, they may release oil from reserves trapped deep such as drilling beneath the ocean floor. on the other hand, human causes are manmade causes, usually done by humans. examples include vandalization of oil pipe which could bring about spillage, carelessness on the side of both workers (this cause is what is referred to as operational), carelessness on the side of the tanker drivers (accidents can happen during delivery or production operations which can cause spillage), carelessness that could also lead to oil bunkering, sabotage and oil siphoning. social consequences of oil spillage in ilaje area of ondo state the third research question dwelt on the socio-economic consequences of oil spillage in ilaje area of ondo state. according to the respondents, in the event of an oil spillage, a chain reaction of negative consequences abound. fishing nets and traps set in the creeks and streams for fishing are destroyed, accounting for losses worth several thousand of naira. the fishes in the rivers and streams also received a lethal dose of oil, which effectively expels or destroys the fish population. fishes can no longer be caught in the shallow waters and the creeks have been invaded by salt water. tidal waves also help to spread the oil quickly through the mangrove, destroying forests and soil in their wake. species of fishesthat were caught in the rivers and creeks have become extinct, moving further into the sea. further, shrimp and crabs affected by oil spills have become inedible, even when smoked. one of the respondents complained about the adverse effect of oil pollution on their economic activities. according to him, shrimps and crabs that have been affected by the oil spills could not be sold. smoking the shrimps and crabs did not make them edible. this resulted in a huge economic loss to fishermen. further, farm animals such as cows reared by local farmers have been lost as a result of contaminated water drunk by these cows. well, the consequences of this spills is that it distorts the ecology system, killing the aquatic animals. many of the fish species common to our area are now extinct. many of the fishes also migrate towards the sea, leaving the rivers and stream without fish. mromoniberun; member of the aicecum well, it's important to let you know that there are environmental damage and devastation. the consequences is that, there will be alteration of ecology of the affected communities. -prince omotoye; party leader in the ilaje lga oil spillage destroys the ecosystem, and have great negative effect on farmland, which then lead to temporary most migration of people in the affected communities, because fishing and farming becomes practically impossible to engage in, people them have to seek a better live in neighboring communities. mr. koja; former secretary of the aicecum 79 the polluted waters becomes unconsumable for humans and bring about demage to the ecology. even smaller aquatic catch like crabs and shrimps are no more avaoilabe for consumption as they become poisonous, if consumed by humans. its also results into the death of farm animals and other farm produces. apostle odudu; member of the aicecum various scholars have corroborated the consequences of oil spill to the marine ecsosytem, as espoused by the participants of this study. marine ecosystems are structured in complex ways by many interacting species, and an oil spill will have a different impact on each of them. although each ecosystem is unique, previous oil spills suggest several key variables. the chemical composition and quantity of the oil to which organisms are exposed are important factors determining how populations will respond to spilled oil. some biological traits make certain species more likely to be exposed to oil than others; particularly, the habitat/depth of the species. under most circumstances, spilled oil will float along the surface of the water, thereby minimizing exposure of most subtidal species to oil. notable exceptions include species with canopies that reach the surface of the water, such as some kelp and seagrass species. marine mammal and bird species, which must regularly pass through the air-water interface to breathe, are particularly vulnerable to oil exposure (peterson et al. 2003), whereas pelagic fish species will have minimal exposure to oil (paine et al. 1996). in spill disasters in which the oil floats, the greatest exposure will occur in the intertidal zone, where rising and falling tides bring species in direct contact with the bulk of the spilled oil. consequences of the oil spill on human society including interrelated impacts on health of individuals, well-being of communities, and the economy have also been established in literature. webler and lord (2010) provided taxonomies of processes, impacts, and vulnerabilities associated with human dimensions of oil spills. broadly speaking, they noted that humans can be affected by oil spills in three major ways: oil can affect ecological processes that cause direct harm, e.g., health impacts from eating seafood with bioaccumulated oil toxins; oil spill stressors can change intermediary processes, e.g., economic impacts to fishers from oil spill impacts to fish; and stressors can directly harm humans, e.g., health impacts from breathing oil vapors. in terms of physical health, direct contact with crude oil, or indirect contact through, for example, inhalation of vapors or consumption of tainted seafood can cause deleterious health effects ranging from dizziness and nausea to certain types of cancers and issues with the central nervous system (jenssen 1996, davidson et al. 2005, herrington et al. 2006, rodríguez-trigo et al. 2007, jacques-whitford 2008, aguilera et al. 2010, major and wang 2012). oil spill-related conflicts in ilaje area of ondo state the negative economic impact of oil exploitation has led to social and political unrest in the niger delta region. based on the over-arching themes obtained from the interview transcripts, the oil producing areas is in a parlous state of development. basic infrastructure of roads, housing, electricity, water, education, communication and health are very weakly developed relative to the wealth of the region. the pollution and increasing scarcity of renewable freshwater supplies also threatens human health and welfare. another fallout from the negative environmental and economic effect is incessant intra and inter communal clashes, leading to a loss of lives and properties. these clashes are usually caused by etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun competition over ownership of land where oil wells are located, claims to oil companies’ compensation, and contracts. further, the neglect of the oil producing communities have often angered them resulting in their militant youths, venting their anger on oil companies personnel. well, to be candid with you, oil spillage as a lot of diverse effects on the ilaje community, because both things on land and on see becomes destroyed, it affects the usage of water in the area, because the water would have been contaminated which then make it not safe for use, trust me fishing and farming becomes absolutely impossible, which serves as the bedrock of the economy of the ilajes. these problems have led to serious conflict between community members and oil companies mr.ikuomola; community leader of ugbo land there have been several violent protests and riots among youth and community groups over oil spillage and other oil related disputes with oil companies in the community. apostle odudu; member of the aicecum the people are without access to clean drinking water, sanitation services, and are at risk from water borne diseases. there is also very rapid decay and deterioration of physical infrastructure and social amenities. this situation of poverty has led to various forms of agitation by community members who feel cheated by the government and the oil companies. mr omoniberun; member of the aicecum oil-related activities have led to environmental degradation that has not only engendered the decline of traditional economic activities in oil-bearing areas, but also led to a violent communal crisis, youth militancy, and the government and oil companies' brutal repression of protests and violent demonstration by the people of the niger delta (babatunde, 2017). conflict between the oil-producing communities and oil companies as many scholars had opined is traceable to the environmental degradation of the land and water on which the local communities depend for their sustenance. communities discontent with the consequences of oil operations on their economy are expressed in various form ranging from peaceful protest and dialogue to violent demonstration against oil companies, blockages of their operation, sabotage of pipelines or other oil installation and hostage taking (hrw, 1999; ukeje et al., 2002; imobighe et al., 2002; imobighe, 2004). similarly, ogbogbo (2004) argued that the struggle by the local communities is primarily directed towards securing increased local participation in the oil business and adequate access to the oil revenues. various ethnic militias have emerged in the oil producing areas of the niger delta to challenge the activities of the oil companies. the objective of these groups is the economic and political emancipation of the niger delta largely through ownership and control of its petroleum resources. some of these groups or militias have produced charters, declaration, agendas and resolution to express their demands. these began with the ogoni bill of rights in 1990, the kaiama declaration by the niger delta youths, the oron bill of 81 rights by the oron people of akwa-ibom states and warri accord by the itsekiri people of delta state. all these charters and declarations contained various demands for resource control. to me, oil spilled related conflicts in ilaje area is mainly due to disagreement between oil companies and community members. i remember one that happened in parabe around 1998. mr omoniberun; member of the aicecum findings from the interview transcripts of this study showed that the relationship between the oil companies and the ilaje community is more often characterized by suspicion, lack of trust, hostility and violence. informants were unanimous in their opinion that oil companies are to blame for the lack of development in the areas. they accused the oil companies of creating division and disunity in the communities by manipulating local interest groups through divide and rule tactics. oil companies do not provide employment opportunities, nor do they award scholarship to the youth of the communities. further, the informants claimed that oil companies also fail to adequately respond to communities demand for entitlement in the form of compensation for oil spillages or other oil induced environmental degradation or employ members of the communities as contractors or labourers in their operations in these communities; oil companies are also accused of brutal repression of peaceful protest by communities against all the grievances highlighted above. a vivid example, which informants hyped on, was the parabe incident of 1998 in which chevron used security personnel to kill and maim youth of the communities protesting at its parabe platform, off the awoye coast. consequences of oil spill related conflict various social implications of oil spill related conflict were identified by the respondents in this study. some of the major themes on the effects of oil related conflicts on residents’ socio economic life included; loss of properties, reduction in income, disruption of economic activities, displacement from farm/loss of farm, loss of employment, loss of lives, and retardation of community development. others include relocation of business associates, loss of shops and goods, delaying execution of development projects and separation of families, destruction of social amenities. the implication is that the devastating effects of conflicts on the communities could constitute a major hindrance to the vitality of economic activities and sustainable development. generally, it would be irrational for entrepreneurs to invest in a conflict prone area. it created disharmony between host communities and the oil majors/ operators and between host communities and their representatives on the other hand , and children education are badly affected , it also led to forceful displacements which then cause over population in some concentrated areas. apostle odudu; member of the aicecum firstly, the people's businesses are greatly affected to an extent that even the fishermen and farmers could not be buoyant to generate livelihood their families because their means of livelihood hood had been destroyed by the conflict and spill. secondly, the will be scarcity of agricultural products in the etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun market, which would then lead to hunger and starvation. school system are also distorted as inhabitants are forced to migrate, the youths also engage in crimes and other social vices. mr. ikuomola; community leader of ugbo land the social services in such communities becomes bad and everyone to him or herself, no respect for elders as the youth are angry at the leaders for colluding with oil companies. therefore everyone struggle to make a living either legal or illegal. conflict and violence creates fear and insecurity in the communities. it leads to loss of property and life, serious housing problems, the schools are forced to close down. mr omoniberun; member of the aicecum it affect the social amenities like schools, health syatem, housing etc, it also result to serious health complications for the inhabitants. there are people who take advantage of protests and riots to break the law and commit crimes like burglary, rape, murder, unruly behaviour and so on. mr koja; former secretary of the aicecum trends of responses obtained in this study conform to the submission of ofuoku and isife (2009) who reported that reduction in income, displacement of farmers from their land, loss of lives, arms running and loss of houses and properties were the common effects of community conflict. wanyande (1997) argued that, whenever conflict occurs, the development of the society in most time is affected. similarly, gurr and marshall (2003) argued that most african conflicts are caused by the combination of poverty and weak states and institutions and these had a devastating impact on development. recommendations and conclusion results obtained from this study have presented a community based perspective of how most conflicts directly related to oil exploitation stem from the protests of local communities against the ecological degradation and destruction of traditional means of livelihood of the people by activities of the multinational oil companies. this is often combined with a feeling of neglect triggered by the fact that usually only a very small portion of the oil revenue is reinvested in the oil producing areas while the lion’s share of profits remain with the central government. while most protest in the oil producing areas are initially peaceful, they have the potential to turn into violent confrontation within and between communities and between oil companies and oil producing communities if the issues at stake are not adequately addressed. based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are proffered;  the need to initiate realistic and pragmatic policies that will reduce or ameliorate the negative environmental impact of oil exploitation on the oil producing areas cannot be overemphasized. the solution lies in the adoption of “bottom-up” planning, which involves preparation of master plan and environmental impact assessment (eia) at the 83 local level. the federal government and the oil industry should do a thorough cleanup and remediation of the environment of the oil producing areas of the niger delta which has been extensively degraded by oil exploitation activities by multinational oil companies. policy consideration should identify a level of environmental use that is in some sense “sustainable” and consistent with preserving environmental capital. this can be achieved through the prevention of environment degradation, pollution remediation and biodiversity conservation and the vexed issue of compensation. the government must put an end to all environmental and human rights abuses in the niger delta.  an integrated bottom-up participatory process that secures the quality of life of the people and their psychological health and simultaneously protects the environment is undoubtedly the pathway to peace and productive enterprise in the oil producing areas. obviously, this will guarantee the economic empowerment of the people so that the people can better sustain themselves. the creation of a conducive social, economic and political environment is germane to the attainment of development in the oil producing areas of the niger delta. youth empowerment schemes should be provided for the many agitated and qualified youth and adult alike. the youth should be motivated and mobilized for popular participation and for political, social and economic empowerments. government must create an avenue for dialogue with the people of the niger delta in order to know their dreams, wishes and aspirations and what they believe should be their status in the nigerian nation.  the oil and gas companies should establish an individual development fund which should be deployed to partner with oil producing communities to establish small and medium scale enterprises (smes) using locally sourced materials. they should also build skills acquisition centres in strategic locations in the communities for capacity building. the people of the oil producing areas must be first beneficiaries of whatever resources are harnessed for their environment. the people deserve some form of compensation for the loss that accompanied the degradation of their environment.  oil companies should stop fuelling conflict in the oil producing communities through divide and rule tactics. instead, they should adopt a more sympathetic understanding of the plight of oil communities. perhaps the best way to achieve this is to present themselves as genuine partners-in-progress with their oil producing communities. this can be realised through regular dialogue with credible representative groups in each of the oil communities to determine the most efficient and feasible ways of meeting their needs. where there is conflict between them and their host communities, oil companies should explore all peaceful avenues of conflict resolution and management.  oil companies should commit to corporate social responsibility that add tangible value to the operating environment and help fulfill critical development gaps. promote good neighbourliness and help mutual co-existence with their host communities. shun unscrupulous business practices and the abuse of the environment. embrace consultative processes and popular participation in supporting community development. assist in building institutions that support human development in oil producing communities, offer mentoring for the acquisition of productive skills and etta, oyen etta & aigbe, diyeli segun grant appropriate scholarships to aid the development of critical industrial competence. employment opportunities must be created for the youth. studies have revealed that unemployment among the youth is underlying factors in their restiveness that inflames communal conflicts resulting in violence. all these would in the short and long term help to avert the bitter acrimonies of the recent past. 85 references aguilera, f., méndez, j., pásaro, e. & laffon. b. 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(2010). planning for the human dimensions of oil spills and spill response. environmental management45, 723-738 page 1 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 180 violative representamina in frank ogodo ogbeche’s harvest of corruption gabriel kosiso okonkwo department of english, university of ibadan. and dele maxwell ugwanyi department of english and literary studies. enugu state university of science and technology enugu, nigeria. abstract nigerian literature has, over the years, reflected different aspects of the law. existing studies on the law in nigerian literary scholarship have focused on morality, crime and punishment, with little attention given to socio-political failings, and representamina (words and actions) which are agents contributing to violations of the law. hence, this study examines the literary representations of contravention of law in frank ogodo ogbeche’s harvest of corruption. this study applies aspects of the postmodernist and peircean semiotic theories to account for characters’ defiant words and actions which breach the law. in the text, most of the characters subvert, and defamiliarise actions governed by law through their words and actions and often suffer quandary and paranoia in expressing fears of the unknown. with their naive followership, these common characters become victims of the depraved oligarchy. elitist characters whose duty it is to ordinarily make laws, interpret them and enforce them are presented as agents of the contravention of the law. they break the law with impunity and lure innocent characters like aloho to follow in their deviant footsteps. through his use of satire, the playwright foregrounds this misdemeanour, advocates obedience to the law and cautions against iconoclastic attitudes which are capable of compromising the rule of law. keywords: literary representation, contravention, obedience, lawlessness, violative representamina background to the study nigerian written literature has, in the past few decades, intertwined with law and its methods. nigerian writers engage the law in interrogating historical archetypes, behavioural dispositions, psychological idiosyncrasies and cultural values which have become antipathetic and defiant to accepted moral values. since her political creation in volume 5, issue 1, 2020 181 1914, the nigerian nation has struggled with series of socio-political, ethnic, cultural and religious challenges, arguably, as a result of her diversity. notable among these difficulties are her constitution drafting crises, fight for independence, militarisation of government, civil war, neo-colonial disillusionment, bloody coup d’état, financial embezzlement, corruption, rape, battery and assault, prevalence of stereotypes, cultism, brain drain, nepotism, terrorism, tribalism and the like. all of these and many others have collectively become the nigerian experience. the literariness of nigerian literature therefore cannot be divorced from its tie to these motifs which are reflections and refractions of attitudes towards the law in the nigerian society. in the words of ayo kehinde (2008:334) “it is assumed that literary texts are a valuable locus for studying the interplay of arts and politics; literary works offer an interrogative epic of nigeria’s political history over the past 46 years.” it is in this sense and critical poise that nigerian literature acquires its nigerianness; that definiteness that defines what can be called nigerian literary art. kehinde (2008) further argues that “nigerian writers have always found the informing vision of their creativity bound by the socio-political experiences of the nation, which their works both reflect and refract”(334). hence nigerian literature which is a sub-set of the african literature can be said to be a utilitarian literature. its social significance is seen in its reflective and refractive nature while its literary elegance and character are conspicuous in its use of satire and parody. allwell abalogu onukaogu and ezechi onyerionwu (2009) corroborate this view: such gory experiences as the slave-trade, the colonial domination, the disappointing post-independence leadership, the carnage of the civil war, military dictatorship and general socio-political anomie, can be said to provide a rough and chequered definition of the nigerian socio historical experience which has naturally given birth to a national literature of same complexion (57). nigerian writers have been generous and patriotic, albeit reactionary, in addressing some of these issues. their aim has been to enlighten the average nigerian and perhaps expose him/her to pivotal perspectives to nigerian problems which have continued to wax as a result of the infraction of law. perhaps, one of nigeria’s and indeed africa’s great misfortunes is the general belief that its people had no culture before the coming of the volume 5, issue 1, 2020 182 colonialists – a situation emenyonu (1991:iv) describes as “part of the general misconceptions created by colonialism about africa.” many africans accepted this eurocentric narrative about themselves thereby giving room for disillusionment which trickles negatively as an attitude towards the law. this double-self which clyman (2017:1) calls “fractured consciousness” and also resonated by turner (1997:108) as “split personality” creates in the nigerian or african fondness for contravention, a hybrid self that lacks value for local contents. of law and corruption: the legal justice the title of frank ogodo ogbeche’s play, harvest of corruption, is not just a violative representamen but also a direct consequence of the infraction of law. laws are objectively made to curb corruption but when corruption becomes the order of the day in any society, then the law can be said to be infringed upon. harvest of corruption is one of the plays written by frank ogodo ogbeche, a nigeria-based playwright. the play tells the story of aloho, a young nigerian female graduate, who is not only desperately looking for a job but is also ready to sacrifice her long nurtured moral and legal values for same. ogbeche’s harvest of corruption succinctly and systematically examines the consequences of the violation of law. he identifies corruption, desperation, despair, stubbornness and nonchalance as some of the direct consequences of postmodernist experiences. the playwright paints a picture of the natural law in aloho’s knowledge of god and her friend, ogeyi, who is a foil to her. aloho laments the seeming inability of the law to save her from her ordeal of joblessness despite her faithfulness to its principles “you? work here? what on earth is happening to me? (she looks upward, hands skyward.) god in heaven what have i done wrong? why is it that those who try to serve you never get it easy?” (3) her rhetorical questions – representamina – in apostrophic voice suggest her depression and resignation – interpretants – to the desires of her eros. she muses about the seeming good life her former schoolmate, ochuole, now enjoys despite her predilection for pranks in their school days: imagine how we despised you and your group for living reckless lives. first we thought you won’t even make your papers but you came out in a two two class and volume 5, issue 1, 2020 183 here, again, you are comfortably working while i am still searching for one. (she addresses god above.) look at me, where do i belong now? what have i done wrong? have i not served you faithfully? (tears dropping from her eyes). (3) as earlier argued, the almighty god is the progenitor of the natural law and indeed all other forms of law. hence, aloho acknowledges the supremacy of god as the basis of all law. she is very much aware of that exalted portraiture of the natural law and the need for a total allegiance by all human subjects. however, the unfortunate socio-economic circumstances around her – her apparent postmodernist disillusionment – continue to question the authority of the natural law in her consciousness. she wonders why a social and moral dissident like ochuole who is not academically brilliant in their days in school will be so fortunate and comfortable at the expense of good girls like her. this fact challenges her moral will and resolve. having endured the psychological trauma of obeying the natural law and not getting much positive results for too long, aloho makes a u-turn. she is psychologically ready to violate the law. for her, it is the way of the world, if you cannot beat them, you join them. there is always something about the law which confronts us positively or negatively; our perception of its principles and the social influences we have around us. as a moral foil to her friend, aloho, ogeyi continues to play her emphatic roles. she scolds and admonishes aloho for fantasising about her meeting with ochuole: and she what? (clasps her palms together) say again, have you forgotten her life style? and why should you get yourself mixed up with ochuole of all people, why? that girl, who has soiled the reputations of all decent girls in this jabu. is that the girl you ran into? i won’t have you associating with her. (8) it is ironical that aloho now chooses to be like the bad ochuole that she once despised because of her behaviour. ogeyi uses a satirical representamen in calling her friend to order. to emphasise the seriousness of her point, ogeyi makes a sarcastic and hyperbolic assertion: “that girl, who has soiled the reputation of all decent girls in this jabu.” to her advice and show of concern, aloho simply doles out her plans and newly acquired socio volume 5, issue 1, 2020 184 economic characteristics to her friend. she sounds heartbroken and reborn. for her, of what use is an unalloyed obedience when life hits you so badly, and you know full well that your supreme factor has the power to shield you but has refused to do so. in her newly found resolve, there is no going back “ogeyi!...i believe she was changed. anyway ...she asked me to come to her ministry tomorrow morning. she assured me that her oga will employ me. ogeyi, i am going. right now, i want to get a job.” (9) there is an implied sense of innuendo and parody in her subversive words and postmodern poise. in other words, her moral and legal consciousness can be suspended as she really does not care about the consequence of her actions anymore. at the moment, it is about the gratification of the self. ogeyi’s doting concern is not necessarily about aloho’s willingness to get a job but about her willingness to do just about anything good or bad to get it. ogeyi knows that aloho’s readiness to explore other options having tried the positive option will only end her up in misery hence, her doting concern. but aloho looks unperturbed as she continues: look at me... with all the decency what have i achieved. where has decency or dignity taken me to? i am tired, i need some rest. just leave me alone i need to think (soberly). but ogeyi, you see, i tried to live outside the world all along right from my youth. i see that the world is leaving me behind, can’t you see? you can call me a rebel, but i need a job. that’s what matters to me now. have i not tried to live a holy life all along? what has become of that, joblessness! failure, ehn? people look at me as a failure. can’t you see? (9) aloho tries to justify her reasons for resolving to breach the natural law. again, she uses lampoon and euphemism as her representamina in violating the law. her anger is actually directed at the law (her superego) but she uses mild expressions such as “decency” and “...live outside the world” to suggest her disillusionment with the law and her satirical intent is implied in the word “rebel”. her action mocks the law. in a similar instance, scene two introduces another set of moral dissidents – the commissioner of police and chief haladu ade-amaka, the honourable minister of external relations and a cabinet member of the federal republic of jacassa. the commissioner understands the law, its sovereignty and the fact that they both have been defiant. so, he admonishes chief: “chief, i do hope you will soft-pedal and begin to keep your hands and nose clean?” (19) from his volume 5, issue 1, 2020 185 representamina, it is ironic that the commissioner who is supposed to be a symbol of legality is symbolising illegality. in his obstinacy and depravity, he simply placates the commissioner: (looking relaxed) commissioner, i have always told you not to bother yourself unnecessarily about these things. here, take this. (he opens his portfolio and brings out bundles of naira notes and places them on the table. the commissioner grabs them with the agility of lightening and puts them into his drawer). that should be able to soothe your nerves, commissioner and if you need more, do let me know. (19) corroboratively, the minister’s use of language is sarcastic as it insults the moral sensibility of the commissioner and infringes on the criminal provisions of the law. his action of giving bribe is equally sarcastic. it is also paradoxical to hear the minister say that the bribe should soothe the commissioner’s nerves. one ordinarily would expect these men to understand the laws of the land better since they are top government officials and elder statesmen. unfortunately, that is not the case. chief, a supposed elder statesman, gratifies his insubordination to the law with a bribe. his many years of depravity and immoral living have rendered him morally bankrupt and conscienceless. he hides under the shadow of his high position in the society to keep violating the law and by so doing recruiting more defiant individuals to his illegal camp. he sees himself as being above the law by virtue of his affluence and social status hence, he intimidates the commissioner: “see that the law is on my side and i shall make sure that the good things are on your side too and that means keeping your job too and of course the inspector-general seat. i am sure you are still interested?” (21) he uses a satiric representamen to make his selfish point emanating from his id. certainly, a rational law can never be on the side of corrupt and evil men. people simply manipulate the law to favour their eccentricity. in this case, chief is simply telling the commissioner to join him in disobeying the law. he wants an accomplice in his crime. but in his disillusionment and psychological quandary, the commissioner answers: “chief, i shall try, but you have to be careful. i have sensed the signal and i know the danger sign when it appears on the dashboard.” (21) it is metaphorical to hear the commissioner volume 5, issue 1, 2020 186 compare their perverse and disobedient act to the interpretant, a “danger sign”. it is also ironical and comical to see a whole commissioner of police who should ordinarily be militant and lion-hearted get jittery while an ordinary appointed minister is bold. when people who are supposed to be role models and icons of legality and justice fail in that expectation, they end up setting wrong examples for other people looking up to them as role models. madam hoha lets the reader into the character of the likes of chief and the commissioner in her reaction to ochuole’s expression of dissatisfaction with her job: “of course, most of them are dubious. all they do is stashing government money somewhere through some conduit pipes for the rainy day and he has so many of the pipes in people like you and your types around him there.” (12) madam hoha uses representamina – sarcasm and symbolism to condemn the defiant actions of the corrupt government officials. the commissioner of police who is supposed to be a law enforcement officer becomes a law infraction officer. his answer to chief’s enquiry about his cocaine goods betrays him as an enemy of the law. the chief asks him: “by the way, how did it go with my goods? my boys told me all was well.” (20) and he answers: “chief, there was no problem at all. your goods are safely in the ware house. i directed the dpo there to personally supervise the operations.” (21) chief and the commissioner of police know the positions of the law about hard drugs yet they choose to be iconoclastic. they both use the representamen “goods” as a euphemism in masking the strong term “hard drugs.” the term, “goods” violates the criminal provisions of the law. the commissioner’s act of supervision of the illegal operation equally infracts the law. meanwhile, aloho is obliviously into the drug business. she has wished for a government job despite her desperation. chief deceives her into believing that she will be nothing more than a protocol officer. he informs mrs. obi: “yes. we are about to have a new staff. she is in fact going to be one of my protocol officers. see what you can do to assist her settle down. the permanent secretary will handle the necessary appointment formalities. okay?” (35) it is ironic and euphemistic for the chief to use the representamen “protocol officer” to indirectly mean a peddler. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 187 by deceiving aloho, chief once again wins another dissident to his illegal camp. upon hearing the news of the new job, ogeyi continues to warn her friend, aloho, about the company of ochuole since she is involved in the new job: “(frowning her face) ochuole again! (aside to herself). this name keeps bouncing back like a bad coin. (facing aloho directly). so, you are not prepared to listen to advice ehn!” (37) ogeyi uses innuendo, a representamen of resentment, to caution her friend and seek compliance, “so you are not prepared to listen to advice ehn!” the use of simile is also evident in the sentence “this name keeps bouncing back like a bad coin” it is evident that while the law operates on the freudian principle of superego; characters’ interests often resonate the pride and selfishness of the id. hence, the perpetual conflict between these two unconscious fields sometimes leads to psychosomatics. aloho is obviously disillusioned by the perceived excesses of the legal system and its components. she practically gives up on the law and decides to locate meaning within the confines of her feelings. her friend, ogeyi, continues to perform that all-important function of an arbiter as she consistently mediates between aloho’s psychological rivals – their selfish feelings and the law. as a neutral and liberal arbiter, ogeyi is defeated by the arrogance of her friend’s self. aloho allows her desperation and selfish desires to push her into disobeying the law and incurring its wrath. she has suddenly become an outlaw. she has probably been emboldened by the lawlessness of justice odili and the commissioner of police. their audacity in violating the law erases all awe that was hitherto held by aloho for the law. she has earlier been mysteriously extricated from the angry web of the law which catches her for nicotine crime. the registrar points out aloho’s offence before justice odili: “my lord, the case is that of one miss aloho vs the state. the fact of the case is that miss aloho is charged for carrying substances suspected to be cocaine, an offence which is punishable under the law of the land. it is alleged that she was arrested at the airport on her way to the united states of america when luck ran out on her. the case … (51) volume 5, issue 1, 2020 188 the depraved justice cannot deliver justice in the case because he has collected bribe. he has told chief “… the amount should be raised to one million naira to take care of all the people involved in the case. you see”(49). the use of “people” signifies synecdoche because that is a whole representing the parts – criminal-minded individuals and pretenders involved in the corrupt deal. therefore, there is no way justice could have been expected from the corruptible justice. given this premise, it is then not surprising that he discharges and acquits aloho “… the prosecutor is not present; it goes to establish the fact that there is no seriousness in the charge being brought before this honourable court, therefore the case is thrown out. the accused is hereby discharged and acquitted.” (53) his hastiness to strike out the case based on a perceived technicality breeds suspicion in the minds of acp yakubu and constable ojo. ironically, that judgment exposes the achilles heels of both justice odili and the commissioner of police because they are able to spur their prosecutor’s moral alertness. justice odili and the commissioner of police are simply trying to find truth and order outside the domain of the law and in doing that; they make themselves recalcitrant children of the law. as a firm factor, the law has specific ways of enforcing obedience from its subjects. acp yakubu represents that triumphant supremacy of the law over every individual in a given society no matter how highly placed. he confronts his boss, the commissioner of police, over the unfortunate legal incident and sensing the culpability of his boss in his responses, he dares him to do his worst, resolving to see the case to its logical conclusion: sir, you cannot threaten me and do not bother at what hits me but i shall ask you this, since only those who have skeletons in their cupboards need fear. (he lowers his face to him) sir, do you have any skeletons in your cupboard? well, as a friend, i have come to warn you to start some sanitation exercise on it because these boys will open the cupboard so wide that the skeleton will not only smell, it will stink. (63) acp yakubu uses innuendo in warning his boss and securing obedience to the law. the depraved behaviour of chief and the commissioner of police completes the beastly metamorphosis of aloho which starts when she first encounters ochuole. she is willing to disobey the law having deliberately ensured its moral death in her consciousness. her new volume 5, issue 1, 2020 189 attitude to the law is visible in her response to the doctor’s insistence that her intention to commit abortion was a crime in nigeria: “my dear young lady, you know that it is against our profession to do such things. indeed, it is criminal and one can end up in jail for life and even lose his medical license for ever.”(66) to his worry and concerns, she replies: “please doctor, help me. i am ready to pay any amount you charge.” (66) she has suddenly become defiant and hardened. in fact, she is able to recruit the doctor into their bohemian camp because he succumbs to her postmodernist appeal. in submitting to her emotional concerns, he makes the law functionally passive in his heart: “okay lady, how much can you pay! i shall assist you even though i am taking a risk.” (66) her response reeks of negative interpretant – total despair, “the whole life itself is risk doctor. i shall give you whatever you charge.” (66) aloho is not willing to reason with the law because she has become drunk with the recklessness of herself. obviously; the failure of her leaders cannot be exonerated from the bestiality that has become her new identity. it is also hyperbolic for aloho to say she can give whatever the doctor charges. from the explication so far, it is evident that the business of law is not that of the lawyers alone; it is indeed the concern of everybody in the society. the law as a supreme canon will not also spare anyone in the human society who claims to be above it. as a creative process, the literary corpus of narratology, dramaturgy and poetry entangle to create a ravishing and mesmerising synergy needed for the effective understanding of the law. it is also argued that the aesthetic representation of the law from the conformist signification is the business of the learned and informed, that is, lawyers and elders while the witness and the accused only corroborate the position (s) of legal officers. they simply react to whatever question they are asked – hence, the reason they have been designated pseudo interpreters in this research. acp yakubu has successfully charged chief haladu ade-amaka, the honourable minister of external relations, and four other accused persons to court. poetic euphonies are evident in the charges as they are read out by the registrar: volume 5, issue 1, 2020 190 that you, chief haladu ade-amaka, honourable minister of external relations and a cabinet member of the federal republic of jacassa, on the 21st of may, 1997 falsified figures thereby altering the original amount purportedly to be contracts awarded by your ministry to the tune of one point two billion naira on p.v. no. 293 dated 21st may, 1997, an act which is contrary to the provisions of government’s financial regulations governing the award of government contracts. that you chief haladu ade-amaka on 3rd june, 1997 illegally authorized miss ochuole, a chief administrative office attached to you to apply, sign and collect the sum of five point eight million naira to purchase capital items for your office, a purchase which never took place, an act which is contrary to the provisions of the financial regulations guiding supplies and finance and government stores regulations. that on 9th october, 1997, acting on an anonymous tipoff, a team of law enforcement agents were dispatched to your residence and in the search that was carried out, large quantities of substances suspected to be cocaine were found there, an act which is contrary to the provisions of the degree establishing the national drug law, and on further investigations, more of the substance was found with one madam hoha, the proprietress of akpara hotel. that you chief haladu ade-amaka recruited the commissioner of police and justice odili and gained their confidence thereby aiding and abetting your obnoxious activities. guilty or not guilty? (95–96) the uniqueness of the structures and the repetition of the relative pronoun (that) mark the excerpt with some poetic significance; a supposed protector of the law is now charged with four heinous crimes. the prosecution counsel exemplifies the narratological strand of the aesthetic representation of law in his submission: your lordship and members of the jury, the facts are these: in reaction to an article in one of the dailies alleging a fraud against chief haladu ade-amaka, the hon. minister of external relations to the effect that one volume 5, issue 1, 2020 191 point billion naira could not be properly accounted for assistant commissioner of police in charge of the cid, mr yakubu swung into action. his investigation took him to the ministry where a clerical assistant in the office of the minister, mr. ayo agreed to give information on the acceptance of two thousand naira tip. he agreed to make available photocopies of vouchers connected with the fraud. my lord, if it pleases the court. i shall tender the vouchers marked exhibit a. also, on a tip-off, law enforcement agents were dispatched to his house where large quantities of substances confirmed to be cocaine were found and were further traced to the hotel of one madam hoha, which was discovered later to be indeed a warehouse for the chief’s nefarious activities, a crime which has been effectively covered and protected by very highly placed government public officers who are themselves supposed to be the custodians of the law, the commissioner of police and a justice of the law, a situation which has made it impossible for the law to take its normal course on this man and his accomplices. but now, it seems, the law finally catches up with them. these are the facts of the case, my lord. with your permission i shall now call two witnesses to confirm these facts: i call the first prosecution witness, inspector inaku: (97) the duty of the witness as a pseudo interpreter of the law is to corroborate the position of either the prosecution or defence counsel. description, argumentation, exposition, flashback and other key narrative features are evident in the prosecution counsel’s argument. he skilfully weaves all these for the effectuality of his submission. the significance of the law as a creative process can also be found in the dramatic gestures of the prosecution and defence counsels: prosecution counsel: my lord, permit me to tender the newspaper as exhibit b, and these wraps as exhibit c. judge: you may do so. defence counsel: (stands up) with whose permission did you extract that information? i put it to you mr. detective that you obtained those vouchers through the applications of duress and intimidation on the greedy and unsuspecting young man. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 192 prosecution counsel: (jumping up) objection my lord. my learned colleague is insinuating … defence counsel: (heated up too) my lord, i am not insinuating anything and i want the witness to answer the question. (100 – 101). in this dialogue, the dramatic import of the legal process is foregrounded. such representamina as, ‘jumping up” and “standing up” when not invited to, raising of the pitch, expressions of belligerence as suggested by, “ heated up too” are all suggestive of the dramatic import of the law as a creative process. ogbeche skilfully presents to the reader the rottenness of the nigeria society occasioned by her postcolonial bestiality as well as her blatant negligence and insubordination to the supremacy of the law. conclusion findings from this study show that characters’ representamina in piercean ideation result in the contravention of the law. ogbeche reflects and refracts the rot in the nigerian society, a rot that is emboldened by the defiant attitudes of the elites who should know much about the law and be willing to teach and enforce same by their own attitudes towards the law. through the words and actions of characters, the law is contravened. the characters do not just contravene the law; they are often aided by the depraved audacity of the microscopic few. in addition, socio-political agents such as unemployment, corruption, peer group influence, bad leadership, and injustice, contribute greatly to the preponderance of violations in the texts. sometimes, laws are broken circumstantially and not wilfully. when this happens, the culprit is seen as a victim of a dysfunctional society. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 193 references clyman, j. 2017.split: horror with a side of split personality. psychology today. retrieved tuesday, january 5, 2020 from http:/www. psychologytoday.com>blog emenyonu, e. n. african literature and african historical experiences. introduction to the series. eds.e.n. emenyonu, c. ikonne, e. oko and p. onwudinjo. vii.1991. kehinde, a. post-independence nigerian literature and the quest for true political leadership for the nation. journal of sustainable development in africa 10.2:334. 2008. ogbeche, f.o. harvest of corruption. abuja: almaz books.2011. onukaogu, a. a. & onyerionwu. e. 21st century nigerian literature: an introductory text. ibadan: kraft books limited. 2009. turner, t. 1997. abc of mental health: schizophrenia. british medical journal 315: 108. retrieved tuesday, january 10, 2020 from http:/www.jstor.org/stable/25175139 paradox of leadership 178 the paradox of leadership in the local government administration in nigeria okibe hyginus banko, phd department of political science faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science &technology onwaidodo@gmail.com, hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng abstract in nigeria, local government is governance architecture created to address local concerns. over the years, local government has continued to invoke debates among the rural public over the influence of leadership on its administration, thus emitting differing interpretations and misconceptions about the system. each strand of the views exemplifies the underlining prevailing perception of individual evaluator, analyst and critics about the local government leadership and administration. it is either that a particular group is criticizing local government leadership and administration in its approach and mechanisms for rural governance and development, or another group is eulogizing local government leadership and administration for its development strides, efforts at empowerment of rural populace and roles in deepening the practice of democracy. while neither of the opinions is entirely correct or surmises the current trend in the system amid mixed experiences commonly observed, this study examines leadership in local government administration in nigeria, with emphasis on the contending perspectives. it is a qualitative research, descriptive in nature and employs secondary data like books, journals, internet materials and other publications, including personal observations. the study also adopts role theory of leadership. the theory offers premises for interrogating the multiple perspectives from which the major paradoxes of leadership in local government administration in nigeria are understood and what solution to proffer in the form of an alternative approach to leadership. keywords: administration, functionalism, governance, leadership, nigeria introduction leadership in local government administration in nigeria is either generally engulfed in dilemma or particularly suffused in controversies. while the rationale for creating local government has remained indisputable, especially in nigeria, the issue of leadership in the administration of the system is conceived as a potent factor that vitiates the intended objectives for adopting the third tier government. in addition, it significantly punctures its relevance in the context of modern day governance at the local level. it is believed that, aside the importance of local government generally, the pattern of leadership in the administration of the system, may not conform to global best practices and therefore, requires leadership standard for operating a congenial, effective and efficient local government system. in other countries of the world, local government systems of administration were adopted, ostensibly to help in mobilizing human and material resources to transform rural environment, to provide initiatives in deepening the culture of democratic governance through engagement of the rural people in political participation, policy formulation and implementation. whereas the system mailto:onwaidodo@gmail.com mailto:hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng paradox of leadership 179 of leadership in local administration in the u.s, france, united kingdom, germany and australia, etc, are reputed for catalyzing development and empowerment initiatives, the peculiar experience in nigeria is a situation whereby local government leadership confronts challenges that hinder the performance of similar roles. the comparative insight no doubt gives credence to questions about the essence of local government in nigeria. the gloomy picture posed by the questions fuel public division on the rating of local government in rural development amid huge financial allocations and what hinders its functions. the foregoing perspectives capture the two basic classes of local government from which the efficacy of leadership and administration is illustrated. the first class is an attempt to justify the existence or need for local government based on its being essential to a democratic regime or for practical administrative purpose like responsive, accountability and control. the second class elaborates on the fact that an effective local government system neither contradicts the purpose of a democratic regime in their internal operations nor admits a representativeness, accountability and control (gboyega, 1997). perhaps, leadership in the local government administration in nigeria is bedeviled by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect not only its structure and operation but also the human elements that shoulder the responsibility of transforming policies and decisions into tangible actions and measurable impacts. otherwise, there is no better way to explain the decay in the system. asogwa (2013) observes that local government creation is intended to mobilize human and material resources through involvement of the people in their areas. despite the supposition implied in the assertion, the trend in nigeria is rarely the case in practical terms, perhaps due to inept leadership. sequel to the above background, the predominant perspective overshadowing leadership in local government administration in nigeria suggests that the system is entangled in bad leadership, which presents its incapacity to show innovation and resilience in the management of human and material resources within its spheres of influence and jurisdiction. in same vein, the shared opinion among observers, public commentators and practitioners is that leadership in local government administration, inundated by the existence and prevalence of poorly trained workforce, lacks the fundamental knowledge and clear understanding of strategies for realizing the mission, vision and goals of the local government. at times, there is consensus on both factors but many a time, external factors related to ambiguity in constitutional provisions on local government system and excessive meddling roles of the state authorities occupy strategic place in the categorization of its woes and add to the mist. for this reason, the paper examines the type of leadership that provides appropriate environment and ensures that local government administration in nigeria is effective and impactful. it addresses this issue from different viewpoints broken into sections for clarity and comprehension. section one handles the introduction; section two dwells on conceptual review, and focuses on explaining the meaning of local government, leadership and administration and section three looks at the type of leadership applied in the governance of government institutions. in furtherance, section four interrogates the paradox of leadership in local government administration in nigeria, while section five delves into questions about leadership in local paradox of leadership 180 government administration. section six undertakes the identification of role expectances from an astute leadership in local government administration. in addition, section seven proposes some valuable strategies for strengthening leadership in the local government administration and section eight presents the conclusion and recommendations. the format, no doubt, provides a clear roadmap for the study. the conceptual review local government local government, as a concept, lacks uniformity in conceptualization. it is variously defined; hence, the absence of common ground or consensus on any form of universally preferred, adopted or applied definition by scholars, practitioners and researchers. while some definitions describe the structure and authorities of local government, explain its activities and spheres of influence or where it exercises its jurisdiction, others contradict them, especially when juxtaposed with what it actually stands for in the polity. accordingly, okpata (2004) defines local government as a political authority set up by a nation or state as a subordinate authority for decentralizing political power. meanwhile, the question in the case of nigeria is how much of this political power is decentralized and freely exercised by local government. arguably, the essence of decentralizing political power is to ensure the participation of the rural populace in governance and decision making that result in rural transformation. this supposition or assumption reflects in the views of orewa and adewumi (1992) that local government is a system of local communities and towns, which are organized to maintain law and order; provide some limited range of social services and cooperation of the inhabitants in joint endeavours towards the improvement of their conditions of living. organically connected to the foregoing assertion is the nature of local government structure and form of administration it adopts, whether inclusive or exclusive and whether democratic or authoritarian in nature. okibe and eneasato (2020) posit that local government is the third tier layer of administration in nigeria. its essence hinged on the need to devolve administration to the grassroots and, thereby, integrate the rural populace into the mainstream of leadership training, participation in decision-making, development efforts and governance. this is more so when considered that local government is a political administrative unit that is empowered by law to administer a specific locality (agbakoba & ogbonna, 2004). therefore, it ought to be largely conferred with enormous responsibilities that require both strong leadership and adequate legislative oversight, for transparency, checks and balances in the system (nwoba, et al., 2015). the implication, therefore, is that local government is a system of government by the popularly elected bodies charged with administrative and executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitants of a particular district or place (udenta, 2007). accordingly, ikelegbe (2005) posits that local government is government under the responsibility of the local people and in the interest of the local population by local representative bodies. local government is also a political unit set up by law as a tier of government with paradox of leadership 181 legislative and executive powers to take substantial charge of the management of local affairs by few persons who are either elected or appointed to carry out the mandates for which the council was established in the overriding interest of the people (agbor, 2004). despite the divergent perspectives from which scholars define local government, the concept is largely inclusive in theory but divisive in practice. thus, local government is administrative machinery instituted to bridge the yawning gap in governance at the local level and thereby bring both government and development initiatives at the doorsteps of the rural populace through ebullient leadership and participative administration charged with coordinating efforts at enhancing manpower development, economic empowerment, political education and activating national peace-building and development projects in a country. these are made possible through effective, people centered and result-oriented system of leadership and administration at the grassroots level. leadership leadership is a body of people who lead and direct the activities of a group towards a shared goal. it also denotes the ability to lead, direct and organize a group (ogbeidi, 2012). in other words, it is the ability to influence the behaviour of others in a group or organization, set goals for the group, formulate paths to the goal and create some social norms in the group (uveges, 2003). similarly, reed (2001) describes leadership as a potent combination of strategy and character and of the two elements; character is the most preferred for leadership. undoubtedly, these definitions point to the fact that leadership is a process of social influence by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent (chemers, 2002). based on the foregoing, a leader, therefore, is expected to demonstrate qualities, which embrace but not limited to good character, vision, tact, prudence, and ability to lead by example because people basically ascribe leadership to those who they feel can most enable them achieve important goals or objectives. it applies to both private and public administration, with differences in the structures, scope, the subjects, environment, objectives, the personnel and their responsibilities. hence, political leadership refers to the ruling class that bears the responsibility of managing the affairs and resources of a political entity by setting and influencing policy priorities affecting the territory through different decision-making structures and institutions created for the orderly development of the territory (ogbeidi, 2012). thus, effective leadership is instrumental in influencing a focused, reasonable, goal conscious and result oriented administration. the organizing principle around which leadership measures its purpose and compliance with rules of engagement is the ability to develop concise and comprehensive administration blueprints that address the whole aspects of institutional rules, the enforcement mechanisms, compensation and punishment structures and perhaps, the feasibility of adaptability to changing situations. it portends that the political system is a dynamic process that demands flexibility in administration and it stunts when leadership is not only weak but also significantly inarticulate. paradox of leadership 182 administration administration consists of getting the work of government done by coordinating the efforts of people so that they can work together to accomplish their set task (pfiffner, 1946). administration as a term does not mean the same thing to different sets of people; it makes it imperative to present different definitions that reflect the biases of different schools of thought in local government debates. the diverse meanings of administration serve useful purpose in understanding what administration stands for in the context of local government system in its generality. marume1 (2016) cites john, a veig, who argues that administration is determined action taken in pursuit of conscious purpose. it is the systematic ordering of affairs and the calculated use of resources, aimed at making those things happen, that we want to happen and, simultaneously preventing developments that fail to square with our intentions. it is the marshalling of available labour and materials in order to gain that which is desired at the lowest cost in energy, time and money. furthermore, henderson (1970) posits that administration is a variety of component elements, which, together in action, produce the result of a defined task done. administration, primarily, is the direction of people in association to achieve some goal temporarily shared. it is the inclusive process of integrating human efforts so that a desired result is obtained. administration is the central powerhouse of the motivational impulsion and spirit, which makes the institution drive to fulfill its purpose. in support of the above definition, balogun (1987) states that administration is the capacity of coordinating man and often conflicting social energies in a single organism, so adroitly that they shall operate as a unit. it is the arrangement of men and materials in the rational proportion for carrying out of purposes. broadly conceived, administration is the organization and use of men and materials to accomplish a purpose. as a type of cooperative human effort, it requires high degree of rationality, with skills to organize and direct men and materials aright for optimum results. it works in the same way an engineer with skill builds structures or a doctor with skill understands human ailments. from the earliest period of evolution of the concept, scholars used administration to denote what happens around government. in consonance, willoughby, (1927), argues that the term administration might be employed in political science in two senses. first, it denotes the work involved in the actual conduct of governmental affairs, regardless of the particular branch of government concerned. it is, thus, quite proper to speak of the administration of the legislative branch of the government, the administration of justice or judicial affairs, or the administration of the executive branch as well as the administration of the affairs of the administrative branch of the government, or the conduct of the affairs of the government generally. secondly, it denotes the operations of the administrative branch only. in the case of this study, what it considers is the administration of local government that might be inclusive of the above-mentioned categorizations. the definitions make it clear that administration has two essential elements, i.e., a collective effort and a common purpose (marumel, 2016), which the major common purpose is to paradox of leadership 183 achieve general goals of the system as a unit. based on its institutional setting, administration is divided into two, public administration and private administration. the former refers to the administration, which operates in a governmental setting, while the latter refers to the administration, which operates in a non-governmental setting, that is, business enterprises. on that note, the attention and emphasis of this study is on public administration, which preoccupies local government staff on daily basis. leadership and local government administration from the classification of administration into public and private in the preceding section, the principal focus here is on the type of public administration that operates in governmental setting, which leadership in the local government falls under the category. part of the reasons for examining the centrality of leadership in government is that it is the nerve center of public administration. public administration (including leadership in the local government system) is an aspect of the larger field of administration that exists in a political system for the accomplishment of the goals and objectives formulated by the political decision-makers. it is also known as governmental administration because the adjective ‘public’ in the word ‘public administration’ means ‘government’ (marumel, 2016). in the above context, the focus of public administration is on public bureaucracy, that is, bureaucratic organization (or administrative organization) of the government. thus, there are definitions of public administration as there are scholars, which indicate a plethora of meaning associated with the concept. simon, smithburg and thompson (1971) contend that public administration is meant in common usage, the activities of the executive branches of the national, state and local governments. based on the foregoing definition, waldo (1955) conceives public administration as the art and science of management as applied to the affairs of the state. the process of public administration consists of the actions involved in affecting the intent or desire of a government. it is thus, the continuously active, ‘business’ part of a government, concerned with carrying out the law as made by legislative bodies (or other authoritative agents) and interpreted by the courts, through the process of organization and management. rosenbloom (2010) simplifies this by stating that public administration does involve activity, it is concerned with politics and policy-making, it tends to be concentrated in the executive branch of government, it does differ from private administration, and it is concerned with implementing law. in other words, public administration is the use of managerial, legal and political theories and processes to fulfill legislative, executive and judicial governmental mandates for the provision of regulatory and service functions for the society as a whole or for some segments of it. the forms of administration at the national and state levels of government share much in common with the local government system of administration. nigro (1970) identifies the key components of public administration that illustrates its broad meaning at each level and the relevance of astute leadership:  it is a cooperative group effort in a public setting;  it covers all the three branches – executive, legislative and judicial, and their interrelationship; paradox of leadership 184  it has an important role in the formulation of public policy and thus part of the political process;  it is different in significant ways from private administration; and  it is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals in providing services to the community. the consequence of these embodiments of public administration is that local government leadership and administration as part of public administration has to do with the fulfillment or enforcement of public policy as declared by the competent authorities. it deals with the problems and powers of the organization and techniques of management involved in carrying out the laws and policies formulated by the policy-making agencies of government (dimock, 1937). by implication, public administration is the law in action. it is the executive side of a government. to affirm this, tonwe (1998) opines that it is a form of administration related to the operations of government whether central or local. illustrated hereunder with examples include some forms of leadership styles that indicate the type of administration techniques applied in government, including local government. 1. theoretical framework leadership in the local government, just as it applies to other formal institutions, is an expose of what each position in an organization does, the way and manner it does it in relation to stated goals and objectives and what category of persons or offices that does it. role theory of leadership captures these actions and explains the complex nature of roles, how it affects the performance and productivity of an organization or government institution. role theory became prominent since the 1920s and 1930s through the works of mead, moreno, parsons, linton and simmel (hindin, 2007). they classified role theory into broad two types, which are structural functionalism role theory and dramaturgical role theory. o in the first instance, structural functionalism role theory assumes that everyone has a place in the social structure and every place has a corresponding role, which has an equal set of expectations and behaviours. on the other hand, dramaturgical role theory assumes that life is a never-ending play, in which we are all actors (yang, 2012). both two types role theory of leadership offers some useful insights in this study. some of the major assumptions of the theory are that:  role is a position with specific duty that leadership is expected to fill and perform;  each role is a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms, and behaviours that a person has to face and fulfill;  people behave in a predictable way, and that an individual’s behaviour is context specific, based on social position and other factors; and  role conflict is imminent and its nature determines the level of impact on the system. paradox of leadership 185 virtually all positions in the local government council occupy a place with assigned roles or duties. thus, a specific type of role is expected from each position, as either chairman, supervisor, counselor, political appointee or a career civil servant. in other words, how the leadership performs the roles, determines the impacts it has on the society. in the case of nigeria, performance of roles among leaderships in local government administration has been mired in doubts and this study interrogates the trend and proposes what steps and actions that must be taken to streamline leadership in the system. types of leadership in the administration of government institutions leadership in every governmental system, which sometimes is used comparatively to denote administrators may be divided into two categories: political appointees (including elected officials) and those who belong to permanent civil service. there are many approaches to leadership in administration of government institutions, be it at the national, the state and local government levels and none in the context of nigeria is peculiar to local government system. the difference in their applicability in the various tiers of government is that in the case of local government, which is a third tier government, the administration is subjected to external control on issues pertaining to the structure, finance, operation and leadership. it affects its type of leadership and administration. the attendant style of leadership exemplifies or qualifies the type of administration prevalent in the system. examples of leadership styles selected for explanation in this paper include democratic/participatory style of administration, authoritarian/exclusive/bully style of administration, and the laissez-faire/abdicratic style of administration. the leadership styles account for the different views about local government system of administration in nigeria. democratic/participative/inclusive type democratic form of leadership, also known as participative, inclusive or shared administration involves a type of leadership in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process. both the political officers and career servants feel a sense of belonging in the business of government and readily contribute their quotas in policy formulation and implementation. dessler and starke (2004) identified some attributes that distinguish democratic or participative style of administration from other forms of leadership style in a governmental system:  those at the helm of affair are egalitarian types who feel comfortable rolling up their sleeves;  the leaderships at all levels are team-oriented people who view experienced staff as peers;  they are consensus builders who like to mediate disagreements; and  they are also flexible explorers who share decision-making with key staff; this style of leadership in local government administration has advantages beyond collective goal accomplishments and cooperation among all the stakeholders in the system, but also includes that: paradox of leadership 186  employees have increased job satisfaction and a sense of empowerment;  relationships are built on mutual trust between labor and management;  absenteeism is lower among employees with a stronger commitment to performance;  productivity increases as a result of a solutions-centric workforce that has input; and  creativity and innovation increase among employees through team collaboration. essentially, democratic administration does not only require a special type of leader, but also requires a special group of participants. everyone has to be on board with the participatory process. this requires an extremely intuitive and observant leader who acts decisively when conflicts arise among team members (dessler & starke, 2004). subordinates are engaged in decision-making process either through direct participation or by consultation. it unties the cord of exclusion, marginalization and indolence. mobilizing, organizing, leading, directing, accommodating, tolerating and welcoming initiatives, skills and unique potentials possessed by subordinates are the principal attributes of democratic approach to leadership. but the peculiarity of nigerian political culture of absolutism makes the democratic type of leadership very scarce in the local government administration, exactly the same way it exists at other tiers of government in nigeria. it buttresses the general decay in inclusive governance and preference for authoritarian style of leadership in the system. authoritarian/autocratic/bully type the authoritarian style of leadership in administration is nearly opposite of the democratic style. it is exemplified when a leader dictates policies and procedures, decides what goals are to be achieved, and directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the subordinates. sometimes, it is referred to as autocratic leadership (du, li & lou, 2020), which rarely accepts advice from followers, (aiken & west, 1991). according to cropanzano and mitchell (2005), wang and guan (2018), the characteristics of this style of leadership in any form of administration, include that it:  allows little or no input from group members;  requires leaders to make almost all of the decisions;  provides leaders with the ability to dictate work methods and processes;  leaves group feeling as if they are not trusted with decisions or important tasks;  trends to create highly structured and very rigid environments;  discourages creativity and out-of-the box thinking;  establishes rules and tends to be clearly outlined and communicated; and  hurts morale and leads to resentment. authoritarian political leadership is commonplace in the local government administration in nigeria, where the chairman wields absolute power, treats the subordinates with disdain and paradox of leadership 187 manipulates staff welfare without regard for any limiting laws. in many local governments, it is common to find situations where councilors are suspended, his entitlements denied, worker’s salaries owed for months, some staff queried, suspended without pay and several other similar punitive measures taken by the leadership of the council without adherence to due process. nonetheless, the system secures compliance to order because of regular use of threat and punishment by the leadership. laissez-faire/abdicratic type laissez-faire approach to leadership, also known as delegative leadership, is the idea that the participants should be able to work problems out and make their way through a challenge without too much extra guidance (anbazhagan & kotur, 2014). the abdicratic leader takes extremely “hands-off” approach to leading in order to encourage group problem-solving and critical thinking, without allowing staff to depend on the leader for the final word (dessler & starke, 2004). the hands-off does not imply complete withdrawal or abandonment of responsibility by the leader; instead, the subordinates are allowed to work with little or no interference, constraining directives and supervision. remarkably, the major characteristics and idea of laissez-faire or abdicratic type of administration or leadership in local government are that:  there is little guidance from leaders, i.e. hands-off approach;  staff have the ability to make decisions;  people are expected to solve their own problems;  there is access to many resources and tools;  it allows for constructive criticism from leaders;  leaders take charge when necessary;  leaders take responsibility for overall actions and decisions; and  accountability falls to the leader. what it means is that the workers that implement policies and enforce decisions, other than the leader, are considered essential organ in local government administration. the result is that they are allowed to apply their initiatives to facilitate policy implementation and accomplishment of local government set goals without the leaders’ intermittent interference in the process. exercising freedom in policy implementation encourages learning on the job and in furtherance, reduces error margins in discretional application of power and builds confidence in the subordinates. however, leadership in local government administration does not apply laissez-faire style and it is evident in the system. dialogues on leadership in the local government administration opinions are sharply divided on which systems of leadership is considered most appropriate for local government administration in nigeria. many subscribe to democratic/participatory/inclusive system of administration where everybody is useful and contributes in policy formulation and participation in the implementation. the essence of paradox of leadership 188 promoting a democratic and participatory leadership system is based on its importance in enhancing cooperation in teamwork, building culture of belongingness in decision-making process among staff and expressing commitment to duty without ethnic, religious and gender bias vices. those that are opposed to democratic system of administration argue that it has the tendency to abuse familiarity, compromise access to leadership, and can easily provide opportunities to challenge constituted authority on issues of rights and privileges, the subjects and contents of its policy framework, including the implementation mechanism and general work ethics guiding the staff. although democratic leadership is universally acclaimed to be the best form of administration, some are of the opinion that in african setting and given the culture of familiarity exhibited by cronies and relatives in government, autocratic or authoritarian form of administration best suits leadership in the local government system. hence, workers and subordinates need compulsion to perform their duties. it might be for this reason that most administrations in nigeria tilt towards authoritarian style, which sometimes is blamed on colonial legacy and long military control of political leadership in nigeria and other times, on our detest for authority, instinct for insubordination, truancy, indifference to rules and responsibilities and general poor work orientation. unarguably, autocratic system of leadership in administration bridges the gap created by workers’ nonchalant attitude to work and dissenting behaviour towards rules of engagement in the local government system. it forces staff to be liable for their actions and applies punishment for deterrence. observers believe that it is best for the local government system where workers rarely come to work. on the other hand, the laissez-faire pattern of leadership in administration is somewhat rare in the local government system except in very few circumstances where the leadership is stripped of powers by a higher supervising authority. once it does happen, the leadership becomes indifferent and allows staff to do work without interference. sometimes, the scenario occurs in the local government when the leadership is starved of funds and feels stranded, thereby appearing visibly reluctant to undertake responsibilities that do not yield personal material benefits. the leadership easily acquiesces to hands-off method, especially when staff erects to perform tasks, which does not require funding. this is where expressions like, “use your initiative”, “discuss and agree among yourselves”, “you are free to do whatever you consider appropriate”, etc, are frequently used by the leader while addressing the subordinates. the fact that the leadership style encourages hands-off and offers little guidance are not intentional at any level of leadership in nigeria but either born out of lack of experience on the task, substitution of supervisory functions by other higher authorities, helpless financial predicament to influence the staff or clampdown by the state. this is the reason that laissez-faire leadership is rarely witnessed except in extreme cases where it is imposed by the type of circumstances aforementioned. the eight paradoxes of leadership in the local government administration paradox of leadership 189 the rural proximity and rural dislocation paradox local government intends, from its original conception, to serve rural purpose, to bridge the wide gap of access to national and state governments and thus bring governance to the doorsteps of rural populace. it is, therefore, closest to the rural people both for participation in governance and for contribution in development programme. although rural proximity to the seat of power in the local government is physically true, but it is also elusive to the rural people in terms of their sense of belongingness, integration and participation in governance, which depended on the type of leadership. in other words, while the local government headquarters and buildings are near to the people, the leadership and administration is far from them. in some cases, it is either that the national or the state government appears closer to the rural people in a local government or that the people are isolated without feeling government presence. there are several instances where national and state governments implement beneficial development projects or empowerment programmes, which the local government leadership could not do or even show concerns. this irreconcilable reality has made some rural people feel detached from the local government system and readily doubt its relevance as a third tier government. the inept leadership and mangled administration paradox experience of what happens in many local governments shows that majority of the political leaders who superintend over the affairs of local government are businesspersons, political contractors, relations of those around the corridors of power and cronies of godfathers (okibe & eneasato, 2020). many of these leaders are imposed on the people and not a product of their free choices. this is the root of leadership insensitivity and reluctance to be accountable to the people. in the views of john and rupak (2008), the proper practice of democracy is maximized when people at the grassroots are empowered to elect their own representatives and are able to hold them accountable. similarly, significant numbers of career servants who quickly attain leadership levels such as head of personnel management (hpm), treasurer (tr), casher, and head of departments, get the access and nod through the influence of their sponsors, who ensure that they occupy the sensitive positions to help fast-track their interests in the system. coincidentally, many of the leaderships in the local government have no idea of public administration, and rather than allow subordinates who have knowledge and skill to take lead in some initiatives, they dabble into virtually everything, all in a bid to prove that one is a leader. this is part of the reasons why neither democratic nor laissez-faire leadership, which provides subordinates the opportunities to be involved in policy formulation, rarely thrives in the administration of local government. pertinently, human capacity in leadership positions is a major product of constant education on the job through training and retraining of the personnel. this remains a challenge to all institutions of governance in nigeria. to say the least, there is lack of training and retraining of staff in the local government. in rare instances where provisions for training are made to improve on staff skill and capacity, it is either that the leadership or the beneficiary of the training paradox of leadership 190 opportunity diverts the money for other personal effects and waves the training. the practice retards staff career growth and leaves the political leadership and career servants in perpetual ignorance. the turn-by-turn leadership and selective estrangement paradox the concept of turn-by-turn system of leadership is a new approach adopted in nigeria and geared towards zoning of offices among various units that constitute each political division. it is commonplace at the national, state and local government administration and leadership, including in all institutions of government. these are where appointments and promotions to certain positions are based on a quota system, which partly derives from federal character principle contained in section 14(3-4) of the 1999 constitution, as amended. turn-by-turn leadership is not constitutional but a political contraption crafted for the major purpose of sharing positions of leadership among the ruling class across their ethnic, sectional, cultural and religious divides. in the local government, the rotation fluctuates, sometimes observed, sometimes neglected and very often follows the discretion of the sitting governor, godfathers and super stakeholders. however, there has been a trend in the case of enugu state, for example, where the rotation draws from sharing of other layers of elective offices among the constituent units in a council area. despite political meddling, which occasionally alter the balancing equation in the distribution of leadership positions, the normal trend that has been observed over the time is that the positions of chairman, deputy chairman, secretary, and leader of the council are spread among the units. it is not sacrosanct in nigeria; instead, it oscillates based on the prevailing political bargain and depending on how the winner-takes-all syndrome in the system is managed. the practice compromises collective drive in leadership but draws the leader closer to staff that hails from the same unit with him/her, whereas others remain isolated and in suspicion. it encourages nocturnal and clandestine meetings on how to serve the interest of few staff in posting and remuneration, in addition to prioritizing the unit that produces leadership for development projects and empowerment programme. the essence of the skewed attention is that each leader and administration has the tendency of repeating the same practice of favouritism and nepotism when it becomes its turn. paradox of leadership 191 the divide and rule leadership and pillage administration paradox in every administration and leadership, divide and rule is a regular feature. there are sets of people referred to as ‘cabal’, ‘kitchen cabinet’, ‘vips’ and stakeholders. apart from benefiting from contract awards, appointments and other material incentives, they are also sets of people that are regarded as the allies of the leader with whom they take some key decisions on important issues. it exists at all levels of administration and local government is not an exception. the divide and rule attitude sows bad blood in the system, encourages scapegoat of the excluded class, entrenches backbiting and avoidable opposition to leadership. observers have identified it as one of the major drawbacks in the system of local government administration in nigeria. the get-rich-syndrome leadership and deprivation administration paradox since the economy of nigeria finds solace in oil money, political officeholders and the public imbibe the culture of rent seeking in government administration. thus, greed, corruption and pilfering remain hydra-headed monster bedeviling the system. political offices provide access to the sharing of national resources, which are utilized with minimum accountability. greed masks every level of governance and career services in nigeria. the underlining ambition of majority that aspires for political offices and strategic positions in civil service is to make quick money and become rich. it has been the root cause of perennial corruption cases in the system. as a result of the foregoing cases, leadership is no longer seen as selfless service but an opportunity to embezzle or divert public funds into personal accounts. to amass wealth and sometimes empower cronies when in leadership position is regarded as a normal practice. local government administration provides this platform for get-rich syndrome, as many chairmen, hpm, tr, cashiers, head of departments, supervisory councilors, councilors, contractors and personal aides of the chairman depend on their leadership positions to loot the system. ironically, it happens at the expense of the generality of the local government populace, thereby neglecting the core mandates of local government administration, which emphasize inclusive governance and rural development. the sycophancy breeding leadership and misplaced priority administration paradox sycophancy in government administration occurs when performance of legitimate functions of government are erroneously exaggerated to invoke unwarranted stream of praises on a public officeholder or government in power. critical observers describe it as deceitful, misleading and highly opinionated. it beguiles the masses to believe failed government actions, which a sycophant paints in different colours and thus makes governance wane significantly in integrity (okibe, 2020). in fact, local government leadership and pattern of administration is the breeding ground for sycophancy, from where the antics are exported to state and national levels of government. the leaders recruit, nurture, condition and package these sets of people for bootlicking services. they are referred to in igbo parlance as ‘oti-mkpu’ (praise singers), and engage in image paradox of leadership 192 laundering for government, political leaders and other persons of interest in the public and civil service. the ulterior motive is usually to conceptualize leadership in misleading context, by painting their styles of leadership, type of policies and accomplishments in falsehood. it creates sharp divides in social values, kills public morale, and sows seed of mistrust and loss of confidence in leadership. it readily and easily upturns positive political culture and jeopardizes the entire system of governance in the rural areas that may have no confidence in the national and state leadership. the godfather-godson settlement and chessboard administration paradox it is believed that some leadership positions are mere settlement or payback package from godfathers and for godsons. it happens at all levels or tiers of government in nigeria. in the case of local government, the positions range from chairman, deputy chairman, supervisors, councilors, to administrators, including those reserved and occupied by career civil servants, which are subject to political influence. this mode of settlement works in the form of a trojan horse that reduces local government administration and leadership as arena for trade-by-barter. it brings about master-servant relationship, in which the master still plays decisive roles in the affairs of his servant despite the claim that he has been settled. the system is a conduit pipe that drains local government resources, it has persisted and there is no doubt that it is quite an ugly trend. the state government emasculation and power usurpation administration paradox local government is the third tier level of government but heavily subjected to state control. the control involves their structure, operation, funding, mode of constituting the leadership and general administration. the emasculation does not only affect the role of local government leadership in rural development but also in the cause of deepening democratic practice in the grassroots. chukwuemeka (2014) acknowledges that the concept of local government involves a philosophical commitment to democratic participation in the politics and governing process at the grassroots level. invariably, the meddling roles of the state in the local government muscle its independence or autonomy and the practice of any definite type of leadership and administration in the system. questions about leadership in the local government administration creation of local government as a third tier of government was primarily done to facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government. as government and leadership closer to the people, the local government has a duty to offer leadership training through inclusive governance and thereby, encourage initiatives and boosts leadership potentials of the rural dwellers, (local government reform, 1976). by involving members of the local community in the process of governance, it spurs them to mobilize human and material resources, to respond to local wishes as regards services and developmental activities. obviously, local administration helps to provide a two-way channel of communication between local and state/federal governments. paradox of leadership 193 in the views of alao, osakede and owolabi (2015), local government is created to fill the gap among the people, the communities, the state as well as the federal government. thus, the local government provides such services the other tiers of government cannot provide due to the remoteness of those communities as well as their peculiar needs only known to the government at the grassroots. for the foregoing reason, local government needs to be adequately funded and it is only feasible when it is granted administrative and financial autonomy. adeyemo (2005) contends that local government financial autonomy is the freedom the local governments has to exercise their financial authority within the confines of the constitution to enable them discharge their constitutional responsibilities without interference or restraint from higher authorities. in general, the pattern of leadership and administration in the local government system naturally throws up some crucial questions. the answers for them is imperative, to refocus leadership and proffer the appropriate method of administration to adopt. aside that, the misunderstanding about some of questions on the local government is better resolved by clarifying what the under-listed queries imply:  relevance of local government in nigeria;  local government autonomy and leadership capability;  ambiguity in uniformity in local government structure and leadership;  mode of elections into leadership positions in the system;  local government efficiency in service delivery;  corruption in the local government system;  quality of career staff and political leadership; and  nature of inter-governmental relations among tiers of government. it is the duty of leadership to provide clue to some of these questions by adopting the requisite administration approach, which recognizes synergy, cooperation, collaboration and team spirit among staff and in intergovernmental relations. the essence, according to erunke and mbumega (2014), is that no sole government could deliver radical improvements in service delivery on its own, which means that coordination, cooperation and collaboration are essential prerequisites. similarly, ogunna (1996) maintains that intergovernmental relations involve legal, functional, administrative and financial interactions and cooperation among the levels of government. what it means is that leadership is a necessity for this dual purpose and the complementary functions expected to be performed by interdependent entities. role expectances from leadership in local government administration as a system of government that focuses on rural administration, the leadership at the local government is looked upon to fulfilling the core objectives for establishing the third tier government. foremost in the objectives are to extend development to the rural areas, to sensitize, educate, socialize rural people and ensure that they participate in governance. in this context, nico (2008) observes that local self-governance plays critical role in enhancing democracy. it brings government closer to the people through both representative and participatory democracy and paradox of leadership 194 allows for the deepening of democracy by facilitating the participation of minorities and disadvantaged groups. in essence, local government allows for autonomous self-governance of smaller constituent units of government directly and democratically responsible for their own electorates. the caliber of leadership and pattern of administration is central to actualizing the tasks assigned to the system. of course, there are many expectations from the leadership and administration in every local government, from general to specific, among which includes:  democratic and participative administration;  rural development and transformation;  promotion and harnessing of rural economy;  economic empowerment and capacity building;  engagement of rural people in democratic practice;  leadership training and manpower development;  interest articulation, aggregation and peace-building;  political education and sensitization;  information dissemination and socialization;  promotion of peace, security and conflict resolution;  harnessing local initiatives in policy formulation;  engaging community leadership in policy implementation; and  education, sports and socio-cultural development. strategies for strengthening leadership in the local government administration recognizing that leadership is essential in every organization and that administration is the mechanism for enforcing and implementing policies of government, strengthening leadership in the local government administration is apt. several measures can be adopted to achieve this objective, like:  resolving the question of third tier nomenclature affixed to local government;  granting fiscal and administrative autonomy to local government;  de-emphasizing patron-client system of leadership in the local government;  instituting presidential democratic system at the local government system;  putting strong system of checks and balances among the hierarchies of leadership;  localizing local government leadership to blend with its autonomy;  stamping out corruption, nepotism and favouritism in the system;  setting jurisdictional boundaries among the tiers of government;  centralizing local government election management body;  unifying local government leadership tenure and remuneration;  reversing local government as dumping ground for inept workforce;  ensuring effective supervision and strong disciplinary measures; paradox of leadership 195  training and re-training of local government staff; and  motivating welfare structure and package. several attempts at strengthening the leadership and operations of the local government system in nigeria have been frustrated by corporate financial interests of many governors through the state houses of assembly. it makes the autonomy of local government in nigeria to be mere figment of imagination. granting administrative and fiscal autonomy to the local government to enable it perform the functions listed in the fourth schedule of the 1999 constitution, (as amended) is very important. eboh and diejomaoh (2010) stated that adequate financial resources are sinqua-non for a virile local government system. in other words, it is central to enthroning strong, viable, accommodating and accountable leadership in the local government administration. the measure also requires holistic overhaul of the system, in terms of the structure, operation and leadership in the local government. most time, people overlook the fact that leadership and administration in the local government are interrelated and maximally draw their real essences from other inherent factors that serve ancillary purpose in shaping the system. very imperative in the categorization includes:  observing the tenets of internal democracy in the process of nominating candidates for local government elections by political parties;  allowing popular choice made by the people to remain;  refraining from imposing candidates;  abstaining from influencing the electoral process to truncate the verdicts of franchise freely exercised by the people; and  stopping the state authorities from perpetuating the untoward practice of crippling the local government leadership in the guise of exercising constitutional control over the system. in cognizance of the above, there is apparent need to enforce section 7 of the 1999 constitution, by constituting the local government leadership with democratically elected officers, in addition to the express and unambiguous pronouncements made in section 162(3), which approves that, any amount standing to the credit of the federation account shall be distributed among the federal and state governments and the local government councils in each state on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the national assembly. to be precise, section 162(3) envisages the empowerment of local government leadership to perform functions assigned to the third tier government in nigeria and should supersede and expunge section 162(5-8) listed below, to whittle down the influence of the state over the local government leadership. obviously, scraping these subsections will bring relief to manipulations in the system. paradox of leadership 196 1. the amount standing to the credit of local government councils in the federation account shall also be allocated to the state for the benefit of their local government councils on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the national assembly. 2. each state shall maintain a special account to be called state joint local government account into which shall be paid all allocations to the local government councils of the state from the federation account and from the government of the state. 3. each state shall pay to local government councils in its area of jurisdiction such proportion of its total revenue on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the national assembly. 4. the amount standing to the credit of local government councils of a state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the house of assembly of the state. leadership is defined by its ability to act freely and not held in chain by a dictator, who remotes the system of its administration to suit purposes external to the local government jurisdiction. conclusion and recommendations leadership in every administration is very important. it has proven to be the driving stimulus for enforcement actions and activation of channels of interaction among the leaders, subordinates in the office and the public. each type of leadership style aforementioned and discussed has peculiar impact on the administration of any political system or institution. leadership in the local government system has witness and continues to experience mixtures of the democratic/participative leadership, authoritarian/autocratic leadership and laissezfaire/abdicratic leadership styles. however, autocratic model seems to be most apparent and conspicuous. the reason, as previously stated, are rooted in the nature of political culture in the country, the mode of election into the positions, the master-servant system of administration and near complete control of the system by forces outside the system but with higher command especially from constitutional framework. it is evident that democratic participative leadership is ideal in most systems, including in the local government. the participative leadership style makes leaders and workers to build synergy, exposes them to the skills and potentials of each team member and thereby, builds confidence in each other to ensure smooth operations of the council. the democratic leadership disposition and openness to engage staff in policy formulation, encourages commitment towards joint efforts in policy implementation. ironically, evaluation of the trend in nigeria generally and in the local government in particular reveals something not impressive. subordinates to leaders in the local government are commonly in the habit of abusing exercise of authority by the leadership. familiarity encroaches on official work of the local government and compromises respect for due process. for same reason, autocratic leadership style has become fashionable. as compelling force applied on the staff to be compliant to rules of engagement, work ethics, and services, the paradox of leadership 197 authoritarian leadership style operates a command structure that seeks to mobilize the staff towards doing the will of the local government. the findings of the study reflect the subsisting operational challenges that hinder progress in the system. of course, the common problems with leadership in the local government have much to do with greed, inability to delegate tasks to the subordinates, divide and rule administration, intolerant to opposition, abuse of office and power, insensitivity to the public and relegation of collaboration with other hierarchies of authority in the council (okibe, 2016). apart from inducing infighting, including deliberate frustration of policies and programmes of the administration by those whose duty it is to ensure enforcement action on directives or implementation of projects, it also makes workers reluctant to rendering the necessary services to the rural populace. it retards both rural development and human empowerment, which many leaders that are foisted on the people care less about the implications. the study recommends many ways by which the identified problems could be addressed and thereby create a robust prospects for effective and accommodating leadership in the local government administration in nigeria. first, local government autonomy should be guaranteed and the leadership of the council freely elected, made accountable to the people and not to the state house of assembly or the governor. second, participative leadership style should be encouraged with a mix of authoritarianism which is a compelling force to secure obedience to law, compliance to conditions of service which will restrain staff from neglecting or compromising 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(2012). revitalizing roles of older adult citizens: successful stories of project history alive. ageing international, 38(2), pp.137-148 https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00357 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 13 international petroleum price volatility: an appraisal of impact on petro-dependent developing economies like nigeria in an era of covid-19 pandemic eneasato, onyekachi benjamin department of political science, enugu state university of science and technology enugu abstract petroleum or crude oil remains one of the major mineral resources that have contributed to the development of world economies. this contribution notwithstanding, it poses also great socioeconomic challenge to petro-dependent developing economies like nigeria as a result of unpredictable international oil price volatility. worsened by the phenomenon of price volatility is the sudden outbreak of the corona virus pandemic, which has locked down and crippled many national economies, especially those of petro dependent developing economies. what are the causes and how does oil price volatility affect the stability of countries whose fiscal health is tied to oil prices? adopting the qualitative approach of content analysis, it has been argued that these negative outcomes are not inevitable since they can be avoided or at least minimized when good governance, public accountability and transparent resource management, willingness of countries to transform oil revenues into positive development outcome are prevalent. to cushion the effects of oil price volatility certain measures need be put in place; namely, effort should be made to delink public expenditure from happenings in the international oil market by diversifying the revenue base from oil. again, it has become more urgent now than ever before for the government to seriously consider the use of tax handle in the effort to boost the nation’s revenue base. also, there should be more commitment by the government towards boosting of the agriculture and solid minerals sectors as alternative sustainable revenue sources rather than the near total dependence on petroleum as its presented obtainable. keywords: covid-19 pandemic, developing economy, nigeria volatility, petroleum prices, petro-dependency, introduction the discovery of crude oil in nigeria is one of the greatest things to happen to the country one may say. but evidently, rather than been a blessing, it is causing more problems. the huge revenue generated from oil by nigeria though has been used to finance developmental projects like infrastructures such as roads, railways, hospitals, airports, educational projects etc.; nigeria has not succeeded in using this enormous revenue to resuscitate the near dead power sector and even refineries are moribund while the country continues to import refined petroleum products. nigeria is the sixth largest oil producer in the world, but instead of seeing good infrastructure international petroleum price volatility 14 like good schools, roads, stable power supply, modern transport, technological advancement as are found in saudi arabia, united arab emirates etc., all we see are terribly bad schools, dysfunctional power sector, dead end hospitals, inferior infrastructures, ever rising unemployment rate and rising systemic and entrenched corruption in low and high places. nigeria is underdeveloped despite the huge money it generates from oil. oil revenue is also responsible for the large scale of political violence and ethnic rivalry resulting from leadership struggle in nigeria because citizens know there is extremely high reward for political office holders made possible by oil money. politicians devise all means to get into public offices so as to share from the national cake. the most disturbing of the developmental issues regarding nigeria’s oil is the worrisome overdependence on oil revenue and the neglect of agriculture and other sectors of the economy like manufacturing and solid mineral mining. in the light of the above, nigerian leaders have failed to realize that oil can dry up; a scenario which no doubt challenges our sense of reasoning per chance it happens. thus the question; how will nigeria finance infrastructural and other developmental projects if that happened in the future? nigeria does not even have a good oil reserve compared to a country like the united states of america with large oil reserve. as a result of global warming and the need for countries to explore alternative sources of energy (like solar, wind etc), less importance is gradually being attached to oil because of its carbon emission (a major cause of global warming and pollution). this means that oil may become less relevant to the economic survival of nations in the future; a situation that will deal serious blow on petro dependent economies like nigeria in the event that it occurs. it is not in doubt that such event will no doubt result in dwindling price of oil in the international market thus signal economic danger to national revenue. however, in an attempt to ensure stability in the international price of crude oil, some major oil producing countries of the world came together to establish the organization of petroleum exporting countries (opec), in the year 1976. despite the formation of opec, a major disadvantage confronting petro-dependent countries remains the volatility in the prices of oil and the attendant macroeconomics implication. the price of oil has experienced great fluctuations since the 1970s. the price of oil which has stayed between $2.50 and $3.0 per barrel since 1948 quadrupled from $3 per barrel in 1972 to $12 per barrel by the end of 1974, and from $14 per barrel in 1978 to $35 per barrel in 1981. the price of oil however plummeted between $10 per barrel in the year 1986, but surged again to between $18 and $23 in the 90s. it oscillated between $17 per barrel and $26 at different times in the year 2002 and about $53 per barrel by oct. 2004 and rose to $60 by 2005 (philip & akintoye, 2006). during the summer of 2007, the price of one barrel of crude oil jumped to above $70 and even crossed $145 mark in july, 2008. the price staggered between $61.73 per barrel in october, 2009 and remained at an average of $75 per barrel till august, 2010 (hassan & zahid, 2011). between 2011 and 2020, the price of crude oil has remained volatile and seemingly unstable culminating in the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic, which saw it crashing to its lowest ebb resulting from the attendant measures to stem the tide of the spread of the virus, thereby throwing many petroleum exporting developing 15 countries like nigeria into state of economic stagnation, indebtedness, borrowing and budget deficits. evidently, in recent times oil price shock plays a crucial role in macroeconomic performance of developing countries like nigeria because of its impact on the country’s publicly generated revenue and foreign exchange reserves. this indeed gives cause for serious concern and calls attention to urgent need for economic diversification. it is therefore, to the above extent that this paper focuses on international petroleum price volatility: an appraisal of impacts on petrodependent developing economies like nigeria in an era of covid-19 pandemic. statement of research problem crude oil is arguably one of the single most important driving forces of the global economy (at least for now), and changes in its price has significant effects on economic growth and welfare around the world especially in petro-dependent developing countries. economists have, on many occasions, warned that there are dangers for petro dependent countries such as nigeria with about 200 million people to rely on oil as the mainstay of its economy. no nation has ever become great by exporting raw materials and importing finished goods. more worrisome is the dependence of the federating units on statutory allocations for the running of the governments at those levels, while there are numerous other unexploited revenue sources. this is indeed discouraging. with respect to nigeria, crude oil which is mainly produced in the niger delta region contributes about 75 percent to nigeria’s total government revenue and over 96 percent of the country’s total export earnings (cbn, 2012). it is evident that over the decades the federal government of nigeria annual appropriation is unarguably tied to oil price benchmark, which has always proved unstable resulting in external borrowings most of the time. in the present time, the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic has exposed the weakness of a petro dependent economy. the pandemic unexpected as it were has exposed the deficiencies in the health sector requiring enormous funds to cushion in a time the price of petroleum crashed to its lowest ebb. it therefore, implies that cautious policies must always be in place to justify the extraction, exploitation and exploration of such natural resources. in the light of the above, it is justifiable to undertake a study that focuses on volatility of international petroleum prices with intent to appraising its impact on petro-dependent developing economies like nigeria in an era of covid-19 pandemic. the results from this research will, therefore, be resourceful for policy formulation towards sustainable socioeconomic development of nigeria in particular and developing countries in general. objectives of the study the main objective of this study was to appraise the impact of international petroleum price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies like nigeria in an era of covid-19 pandemic. in specifics the following shall form the springboard of the study; international petroleum price volatility 16 1. to identify some of the causal factors of international petroleum price volatility; 2. to ascertain the impact and challenges of international petroleum price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies especially nigeria in era of covid-19 pandemic 3. to suggest measures for cushioning the impact of international petroleum price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies. methodology the study adopted qualitative method of data collection. in view of this, data were generated from secondary source materials. qualitative research emphasizes words, rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data. furthermore, it predominantly emphasizes a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research; in which the emphasis is placed on capturing inferences from a general field into particular situations. also, qualitative research entails a perspective of social concepts as an increasingly shifting sphere based on individual contributions. data were sourced through relevant text materials and historical documents. these include: texts, journals, online articles, magazines, archives and the likes. data was analyzed using content analysis. theoretical framework natural scientists and ecological economists have made effort at developing some theories that attempt to capture the role of oil price volatility on economic growth, thereby incorporating linkage between energy resources, its availability, volatility and economic growth (oriakhi and iyoha, 2013). theories on oil price volatility are basically divided into two. they are theories explaining the channels through which oil price volatility impacts on macro-economy and theories explaining the causes of volatility in the international oil market. this study recognizing the importance of both relies on the resource curse theory or model as its theoretical framework. before the late 1980s, it was generally believed that natural resource abundance was an advantage to developing economies. for instance, in the 1950s, geographer norton ginsburg argued that ‘the possession of a sizable and diversified natural resource endowment is a major advantage to any country embarking upon a period of rapid economic growth’ (karl, 2005). mainstream economists such as jacob viner and arthur lewis also expressed the same view about natural resource abundance (karl, 1999). similarly, in the 1960s, the development theorist walter rostow argued that abundance of natural resources would enable developing countries in their transition from underdevelopment to industrial ‘take-off’, just as such resources had done for countries like australia, united states and britain (cramsey, 2008). in support of the same view, in the 1970s and 1980s, neoliberal economists such as bela balassa, anne krueger, and p. j. drake argued that natural resources could facilitate a country’s ‘industrial development by providing domestic markets and investible funds’ (karl, 2005). 17 however, during the 1950s and 1960s, few radical and structuralist economists challenged this common view about natural resources abundance and economic growth (alexeev and conrad, 2008). however, they were in a minority. nevertheless, from the late 1980s, many theorists have presented evidence to suggest that natural resource abundance – or at least an abundance of particular types of natural resource – is in fact a curse for developing countries. many of them have argued that natural resource abundance increases the chances that developing countries will experience poor economic growth, high levels of poverty, authoritarian rule and civil war. the overall weight of evidence so far is clearly in favour of the resource curse hypothesis (rosser, 2006). the emergence of this argument has led to considerable debate about the causes of the resource curse. specifically, some of the theorists argued that countries exporting natural resource suffered from declining terms of trade, volatile export earnings, an enclave economic structure as well as the so-called ‘dutch disease’. ‘dutch disease’ refers to a condition whereby a resource boom leads to appreciation of the real exchange rate and in turn damages manufacturing and other tradable sectors (michael, 1999). according to cramsey (2008), there appears to be strong evidence supporting the resource curse hypothesis or what scholars have referred to as the paradox of plenty, which is used to explain why countries rich in a particular natural resource are among “the most economically troubled, the most authoritarian, and the most conflict-ridden in the world”( karl, 2005). yet despite this trend, some theorists have challenged the assumptions and predictions of the resource curse hypothesis made by sachs and warner and numerous others. these oppositions are from different scholars, but most of them maintain the same message. basically, opponents of the resource curse hypothesis disagree with the proxy measures used by the proponents of the resource curse including “conceptual disagreements over the correct measure of resource abundance, as well as appropriate statistical technique for measuring its impact” (lederman and maloney, 2007). the opponents of the resource curse hypothesis assert that the hypothesis should not be considered as fact, despite the evidence and empirical studies that have surfaced, arguing in its favour. according to madrick (2004), gavin wright, an economic historian, argues that “if exploited wisely, resource abundance can be turned into a growth industry that provides a solid and even long-term foundation for economic growth.” lederman and maloney (2007) argue that this perspective is also crucial when looking at the economic and social development of oil-abundant states, because it potentially changes the paradigm under which development strategies and policies will be implemented. on the other hand, other theorists argue that whether resource abundance might result in a blessing or a curse depends on what kinds of institutions are in place: good or bad. for instance, mehlum, moene and torvik (2006a, 2006b), eric-ng (2006), and (smit, 2008) theoretically and empirically argue that natural resource abundant countries include both growth losers and growth winners, and that the major difference between the successful cases and the cases of failure lies in the quality of their institutions. this research agrees with these later theorists that institutional international petroleum price volatility 18 differences, rather than existence or non-existence of natural resource abundance, largely determine the growth or development level of any economy. causal factors of international petroleum price volatility an interesting issue in the discourse on international petroleum price volatility is the causal factors. osije (1983) posits that oil prices like any other commodity are subjected to changes consequent upon the interactions between demand and supply. ademan (2000) notes that between 1948 and 1970 the nominal price of oil gyrated between $2.50 and $3 per barrel, and that between 1998 and march 2000, international oil price rose from $10 to $31 per barrel, and further rose to $37 in september 2000 before nose diving to less than $18 per barrel in november 2001. to the extent, several other scholars including rolle, and uffie, (2015), have proffered several factors as the cause of oil price volatility. some of the factors adduced by the writers are: reduction in the productive capacity of oil, the slow rate of discovery of new oil wells and the dearth of infrastructural investment in the oil sector in most oil producing countries (ebrahim et al. 2014; konrad, 2012); inelastic nature of the demand and supply of oil (ebrahim et al; 2014); fixation of price by collusion in opec cartel, political unrest in the oil rich middle east (adelman, 2000). geographical uncertainties, supply constraints, high refinery utilization and high demand growth (sajah and kakali, 2010; kesicki, 2009). it is further argued that higher oil prices will better the lot of net-oil exporting countries while worsen the state of net-oil importing countries and vice-versa (golub, 1983; ayadi, 2005). nigeria however maintains peculiar position being both oil exporter and importer. nigeria exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum (duncan, 2008; oriakhi and iyoha, 2013). since nigeria both exports crude oil and imports refined petroleum, its case seems more problematic and apparently complicated. consequently, the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic became a major causal factor of oil price volatility. while covid-19 caused a severe supply shock that raised unemployment and poverty, there are sizeable demand feedback loops. aside from the loss of human lives, inaction also risks massive disruptions in supply and demand, and illiquidity in the financial sector. in other words, the covid-19 shock led to household and corporate bankruptcies, with lasting scars on the economy and society. the disruptions are complicated by ongoing discontent in nigeria and a number of other developing countries, where the streets have been full of protests demanding for #endsars, better governance and an end to corruption. in contrast, the oil price collapse is a commodity ‘terms-of-trade’ shock that affects the economy through reduced export receipts and revenues in government coffers. the shock is expected to be persistent and lead to widening twin deficits (in a country’s current balance and its government budget) and increased debt if there is no fiscal consolidation. hence no conclusive statement can be made on the impact of oil price volatility on nigeria’s macroeconomic performance especially in an era of covid-19 pandemic, as the issue is far from been settled thereby giving credence to this study as imperative. 19 impact and challenges of petroleum price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies in era of covid-19 pandemic there is no doubting the fact that developing economies especially those petro dependent countries in the middle east and africa are faced with dual shock resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and volatility in international oil prices. most developing economies are unfortunately petro-dependent and are so to say vulnerable to international oil price instability, which has further been complicated by the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic. the novel corona virus, which chinese authorities first reported to the world health organization (who) on 31 december 2019, has spread globally. the virus has as at mid october 2020, infected more than 40 million people globally, causing over 1 million deaths, although more than 32 million infected individuals have recovered and discharged (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/). this indeed poses serious challenge to the economies of most third world countries that largely depend on petroleum exports (rabah, 2020). the rapid rise in domestic infections across countries disrupted production and trade. almost all countries of the world including nigeria have also reported infections and subsequently imposed preventive measures to curtail further spread in the form of restrictions in movement of persons and total lockdown (tandon et al. 2020). some eight months later the number of infections and deaths are alarming. the virus has not only continued to claim lives, its continued spread confronts petro-dependent countries with both a negative supply shock and a negative demand shock (baldwin & weder di mauro, 2020). in this context, the negative supply shock initially stems from a reduction in labour, which happens directly because workers are sidelined by the virus, and indirectly due to travel restrictions, quarantine efforts, and workers staying home to take care of sick family members or children. by the same token, supply has also been affected by a reduction in materials, capital, and intermediate inputs due to disruptions in transport and businesses in both developed and developing countries. in view of the above, the negative demand shock is both global, regional, sub regional and national. economic difficulties around the world and the disruption of global value chains reduced demand for goods and services, most notably oil and tourism. however, the spread of the virus to several european countries, the severity and speed of infections and the preventive health measures they enforced, had a much larger impact on petro-exporting developing economies. more so, regional demands also declined as a result of the abrupt reduction in regional business activity and as concerns about the infection reduced international travels. in addition, uncertainty about the spread of the virus and the level of aggregate demand adversely affected the region’s investment and consumption levels. collapsing oil prices further depressed demand in developing countries, where oil and gas is the most important sector in many economies. international petroleum price volatility 20 the negative supply and demand shocks associated with covid-19 are expected to be relatively short-lived but dramatic, with widespread effects across many sectors and countries. in addition to the shock from covid-19, the breakdown in negotiations between opec and its allies led to what will likely be a persistent collapse in oil prices. on 5 march 2020, opec proposed a 1.5 million barrel per day (mb/d) production cut for the second quarter of 2020, of which 1 mb/d would come from opec countries and 0.5 mb/d from non-opec but aligned producers, most prominently russia. the following day, russia rejected the proposal, prompting saudi arabia (the world’s largest oil exporter) to boost production to 12.3 mb/d, its full capacity. saudi arabia also announced unprecedented discounts of almost 20% in key markets. the result was an immediate drop of more than 30% in prices and continuing declines since. the benchmark west texas intermediate (wti) crude oil price reached a low of $22.39 per barrel in the intraday session on 20 march 2020. this was less than half the price compared to at the beginning of the month (arezki et al. 2020). the covid-19 and international oil price volatility are intertwined, yet distinct. on the one hand, the demand component of the oil shock is linked to the sharp reduction in oil consumption stemming from precautionary measures to stop the spread of the virus. this includes lockdowns, which have brought economies around the world to a standstill. the estimated 10% reduction in oil consumption from 2019 (about 10mb/d) is the result of reduced air and road travels (rystad energy, 2020). indeed, the severity of the shock has triggered unprecedented domestic measures in advanced and developing countries, and the imperative of global coordination to eradicate the virus will hopefully prevail. the international financial institutions are critical to the effort of developing countries fighting covid-19 (which have acute balance of payments or fiscal problems). these institutions (which can offer zeroto low-interest financing and long maturities) are best-equipped to help developing economies deal with the dual shock. the cost of inaction, both economic and social, would be large (barrett, 2007). once the spread of the virus is stopped, the preventive measures at the root of the economic recession will be rolled back. the speed of that recovery will depend on how swiftly and decisively governments take measures to mitigate the economic and financial dislocations from the health crisis. but the supply component of the oil shock is likely to be persistent and drive oil prices lower for longer. the two shocks differ in their duration, but also their likely potential consequences and associated risks of inaction. the above points notwithstanding, when assessing the impact of oil prices on the global economy, economists typically distinguish between supplyand demand-driven oil shocks. demand-driven shocks are related to the evolution of global demand and are not expected to have an independent effect on the global economy. in contrast, the supply-driven oil shocks would normally be expected to give an independent boost to the global economy. there are several reasons why, in this case, they might not. not least of all, the financial propagation effects of the collapse in oil prices have caused the markets for equities, bonds, and non-oil 21 commodities to tumble (arezki, yuting fan, & nguyen, 2020). for developing countries specifically, lower prices are generally good for oil-importing countries and bad for oil exporters. consequently, the negative impact of over dependence on oil revenue tends to crumble the economy rather than revitalizing it. in fact, heavy dependence on the export of natural resources has been shown to negatively affect a country’s economic, social and political development. the major perceivable impact of over dependence on oil revenue includes among others; dependence on multinational oil corporations and their infrastructure resulting in infrastructural decay in both down and upstream sectors, neglect of the agricultural sector, leading to an impoverishment of the rural population. hence, oil revenues tend to displace more stable and sustainable revenue flows for example, as a result of huge oil revenue flows; countries tend to de-emphasize income taxes as a source of government revenue. besides, low tax ratios and high consumption expenditures (typically on imported goods) reinforce inflationary tendencies with regard to expenditure; no use is made of openings for diversifying the economy, enhancing infrastructure or expanding education systems. volatility of oil prizes makes planning difficult, hampers growth, and aggravates investment conditions, income distribution and educational attainment as well as diminishing willingness of governments to pursuing reforms. it has been argued that these negative outcomes are not inevitable since they can be avoided or at least minimized when good governance, public accountability and transparent resource management, willingness of countries to transform oil revenues into positive development outcome are prevalent. the government neglect of the agricultural sector which was the main stay of the economy before the discovery of oil was the major problem hindering the country economic progress. although, government has made some effort at combating the syndrome of over dependence on oil revenue in nigeria but the effort was not significant at all; giving their inconsistent policy and lack of implementation of agricultural and industrial policy in the country. according to igberaese (2013) the rapid expansion of the crude petroleum content found in the country has made the nigerian economy one of the fastest growing economics among developing nations. more importantly, he notes that this was only a necessary condition but not a sufficient one for economic development. the impact of oil price swing affects both private and public sectors of the economy. in the private sector, a positive oil price shock will increase production costs and hence restrict output – with price increases at least partially passed on to consumers. moreover, as prices for gasoline and electricity increase, households face higher costs of living, with the poor being particularly vulnerable. these impacts can have further significant knock-on effects and repercussions throughout the economy, affecting macroindicators such as employment, trade balance, inflation and public accounts, as well as stock market prices and exchange rates. thereby, the nature and extent of such knock-on effects depend on the structural characteristics of an economy; for instance, the more a country engages in oil trade, the more it is exposed to price volatility on global commodity markets. international petroleum price volatility 22 it need be noted that while a given oil price increase may be perceived positively by oil exporting countries and negatively by importers, an increase in oil price volatility (i.e. consecutive positive and negative oil price shocks) increases perceived price uncertainty for all countries – regardless of their trade balance. such oil price volatility reduces planning horizons, causes firms to postpone investments, and may require expensive reallocation of resources. formulating robust national budgets becomes more difficult, as importing countries face uncertainty regarding import costs and fuel subsidies levels, and exporters face volatile revenues. this may be a particularly profound problem in budget constrained developing countries, which rely on oil exports as a main source of public revenue. in order to protect firms and households against price volatility on international markets, particularly in developing countries, governments often allocate large parts of their budgets to subsidizing fuel. these subsidy systems not only expose governments to significant budgetary risks, but result in significant environmental costs, benefit mainly the wealthier, create disincentives for energy efficiency, and crowd out resources from education, health and other investments in development. in view of the forgoing analysis, this paper submits that the oil boom in nigeria did mostly bring negative consequences such as poverty, low level of human development, environmental degradation, social and political conflicts, and has not turned into a “blessing” so far, thus need for effective policy and actions to be implemented in order to make it otherwise. pre-covid-19 pandemic, the nigerian government had been grappling with weak recovery from the 2014 oil price shock, with gdp growth tapering around 2.3 percent in 2019. in february, the imf revised the 2020 gdp growth rate from 2.5 percent to 2 percent, as a result of relatively low oil prices and limited fiscal space. by the same token, the country’s debt profile has been a source of concern for policymakers and development practitioners as the most recent estimate puts the debt service-to-revenue ratio at 60 percent, which has continued to worsen amid the steep decline in revenue associated with volatile oil prices in the international market. these constraining factors will aggravate the economic impact of oil price volatility in the era of covid-19 outbreak and make it more difficult for the government to weather the impending crisis without resorting to more and more external borrowings (chukwuka, & ekeruche, (2020).). more so, the flight to safety has already caused record capital outflows from emerging economies, triggering large currency depreciations against lead currencies and widening spreads. in countries with a high exposure to foreign debt, be it private or public, these trends put enormous pressure on their debt sustainability, by undermining future access to refinancing outstanding external debt obligations while driving up their value in foreign currency. this comes against a background of a systematic build-up of financial and debt vulnerabilities in many developing countries over the past decade. total developing country debt stocks stood at 193 per cent of their combined gdp at the end of 2018, the highest on record, compared to just over 100 per cent in 2008 (united nations conference on trade and development, 2020). 23 cushioning the impact of international petroleum price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies in the light of the reality that stares the world in the face, the covid-19 pandemic, is indeed a wake-up call to national governments, political leaders, policymakers and economists as well as the unusual and unprecedented nature of the crisis requires a more integrated response spanning several sectors—including the health, finance, and trade sectors—is required to address structural issues that make the country less resilient to shocks and limit its range of policy responses. this has become more exigent now than ever due to the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic, as its effects will be far reaching and economically more devastating. in the long term, tougher decisions need to be made, including but not limited to diversifying the country’s revenue base away from oil exports and improving investments in the health care sector in ensuring that the economy is able to recover quickly from difficult conditions in the future. more so, oil-exporting countries at a time like this will have to rely on flexible exchange rates to manage the current situation and conduct much-needed reforms in private-sector development and broader economic transformation. among net oil importers (such as lebanon, jordan and egypt) a recession will worsen already high levels of public debt. nigeria is caught in the middle as both exporter and importer, which makes her case seemingly worse. in the immediate the government will need to cut cost of governance to ease out funds to deal with the pandemic in a more transparent manner. difficult as it may seem the government should also consider a downwards review of the salaries and allowances of certain officers of state such as president and vice president, senators and members of the house of representatives, governors and their deputies and ministers etc. this should be considered a sacrifice by these class of political office holders to help provide a safety net and social security for the teeming unemployed and poverty stricken population in an era of oil price shock and covid-19 pandemic. recommendations the under listed recommendations are considered germane for policy: 1. effort should be made to delink public expenditure from happenings in the international oil market. this can be achieved by diversifying the revenue base from oil. 2. it has become more urgent now than ever before for the government to seriously consider the use of tax handle in the effort to boost the nation’s revenue base. 3. there should be more commitment by the government towards boosting of the agriculture and solid minerals sectors as alternative sustainable revenue sources. conclusion attempt has been made to examine both the causal factors and impact of international oil price volatility on petro-dependent developing economies such as nigeria in an era of covid-19 pandemic. a number of causal factors of instability in international petroleum price despite international petroleum price volatility 24 opec efforts at ensuring stability have been highlighted. the scenario is made worse by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, which is still ravaging the world. it is worthy of note that, oil price volatility especially in an era of covid-19 has significantly impacted adversely on all economies of the world more especially petro dependent developing economies. the case of nigeria speaks volumes as it has impacted on revenue and public expenditure and the macroeconomic variables resulting in rising budget deficit and borrowings. on the whole, nigeria’s economy was found vulnerable to upheavals in the international oil market and frequent shocks in oil prices was found culpable for nigeria’s macro-economic instability and worsening recession. while it must be stated clearly that there is no offense in dependence on crude oil, nevertheless, the design and adherence to a roadmap that will ensure that the proceeds are judiciously used for development is key as could be seen in the case of united arab emirates, which has transformed it infrastructure using revenue from crude oil. this is where the government must create the enabling environment by passing and assenting to the petroleum industry bill (pib) that has spent over 20 years in the national assembly. this raises the moral question of our preparedness to transform the industry for it to deliver maximum value for the nigerian citizens. further, there is need to begin to save and invest part of the revenues accruing from rising price of oil in the global market. again nations like the united arab emirates, saudi arabia and norway have shown that a country and its people can be transformed when earnings from the oil and gas industry is well invested and utilized. to the above extent the study will help open a policy avenue to hedge the nigeria’s economy from upheavals in the international oil market, achieve macroeconomic stability, fiscal sustainability and contain the macro-fiscal risk associated with unplanned changes in both quality and quantity of public expenditure. references ademan, a. 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(2006). natural resources and the macroeconomic: a theoretical framework, in j. p. neary and s. van wijnbergen, s. (eds), natural resources and the macro-economy, basil blackwell, oxford and mii press, press, cambridge ma. rystad, e. (2020). oil price shock resulting from the corona virus pandemic; what are the dangers on global economies? world institute for development economic research. sajah & kakali, (2010). a primer on fiscal analysis in oil producing countries. imf working paper fiscal affairs department. smit, a. (2008). oil price shocks and aggregate economic activity in nigeria. african economic and business review, 4 (2), 40-45. tandon, et al. (2020). the effect of oil price shock on the philippine economy: a var approach working paper. university of the philippines school of economics. page 3 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences nkiru enukora 105 casualization: a qualitative insight into the experiences of casual workers nkiru enukora department of psychology, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state, nigeria enukora.nkiru@gmail.com abstract the aim of the present study was to examine casualization and have an insight on the experiences of casual workers in nigeria industrial sectors. it is a qualitative study and the interviews were interpreted using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa). semi-structured interview was used to collect data from the participants. the participants were workers in different organisations. twenty five workers participated in the study. the lowest qualification of the workers was secondary school certificate examination. the workers were all located in enugu, enugu state nigeria. the participants were both married and singles, their ages were between 21-40.the results showed that casual workers opt for their jobs because of availability and by choice, inclusively they go for their jobs because of self-esteem, fear of unemployment, nature and love for their jobs. the findings shows that casualization is posing a serious threat on the lives and wellbeing of casual workers and to nigeria industrial sector at large. keywords: casualization, workers, self-esteem, unemployment, wellbeing. introduction the organization's success and prosperity cannot be realized without support and contribution from its workers. from modern human resource perspective, human capital is viewed as the most valuable assets for the organizations (mello, 2011). casualization as a form of labour practice is the process whereby employment shifts from a preponderance of full time and permanent positions to higher levels of casual positions, in an irregular or intermittent nature (fapohunda, 2012). casualization, however, generally refers to a practice where employers retain the services of workers on temporary basis. casual workers refer to persons employed on short term and irregular contracts with various breaks between them. it is an irregular employment which carries no workplace benefits such as pensions, gratuity, and medical care, paid annual, sick and maternity leave, paid holidays, and redundancy pay including the right to organise and bargain collectively (oyesola, 2007). according to kalejaiye (2014), casualization is a global issue. studies done in new brunswick, united states (lebreton, 2000), canada (baumann & blythe, 2003), south africa (mosoeta, 2001; altman, 2003; barchiesi, 2007), india (jenkins, 2004) and australia (buchler, haynes & baxter, 2009), depicts that labour casualization is a worldwide issue that cuts across various sectors and professions. according to fapohunda (2012), these issues have bred a dangerous work environment and have given much aid to the prevalence of little or no concern for workers welfare by the employers as a result of casualization, as many desperate job seekers in the labour force are willing to take any job no matter how degrading it is. it must be mentioned here that the reward for labour is wages/salaries as the tasks carried out by the aforementioned needs to the paid for, which differentiates them from charity workers who are expected to receive their reward in heaven. some authors argued that the use of casual workers in nigeria does not only promote indecent work, but also violates minimum acceptable labour standards in nigeria (uvieghara, 2000; okougbo, 2004; onyeonoru, 2007; adewumi, 2008; okafor, 2010). in recent years there has been a substantial increase in what has been termed casual or temporary employment. employers are drawn to the use of casual employment because it is thought to contribute to lower labour costs and improved flexibility (okafor, 2010). however, increasing evidence points to the finding that the growth of casual employment is not necessarily a path to productivity or cost-saving, and that there are in fact, a number of hidden costs in employing significant numbers of casual workers (allan, 2000). cases of casualization in nigerian industries according to aduba (2012) most firms in nigeria have more workers employed on contract or short time employment basis as against permanent workers. similarly in some industries, there are many cases whereby virtually all the employees are either casual or contract staff. these categories of workers possess either professional or administrative skills but because the management wants to cut down cost they take them as casual workers, thereby hurting worker’s interest and violating fundamental labour law (aduba, 2012). casualization can be seen in different sectors of the economy and they includes: i. casualization in power holding company of nigeria casualization is a trend that have bedevilled nigeria power holding company because of the privatisation of the industry by the federal government. most of the workers in the company have been turned to casual workers immediately after privatisation of the company by the management of the company because of the complaint that the company does not have sufficient fund to cater for the upkeep of the workers in different states of the federation (john, 2016). many of their workers were retrenched. casual workers in power holding company were given terms and conditions of operation in the company without consideration of the number of years they have worked in the company before privatisation. casual workers are not entitled for anything from their employers, even funeral grants for anyone that died in the course of carrying out their official duties. letter of employments are not given to most workers and in the company they don’t have records of their casual employees in order to evade the law. presently, their contracts are being reviewed on three months basis in order to cut down cost and expenses. the contract workers come to work every day including weekends (john, 2016). ii. casualization in the banking sector the increasing casualization of labour by financial institutions especially banks continues to be a major problem for stakeholders because of devastating impact of the practice on the money market, the victims and the national economy as whole. the nigerian deposit insurance (ndic) has observed from bank returns and during examination exercises a strong correlation between the high incidence of frauds and forgeries in the banking system and the use of contract and outsourced staff. casual staff account for 25 percent of the banking industry work force, have a negative impact on the industry as some banks are in the habit of assigning sensitive roles to them, thereby exposing the banking industry fraud (ndic, 2016). according to ndic report of 2016, over 75 percent of the fraud cases in the sector had been traced to outsourced bank staff who were neither professionals nor members of central industrial bank of nigeria (cibn).the casualization of labour by deposit money nkiru enukora 107 banks is traceable to the desperation to amass deposits, cost cutting and profit maximization. it heightened with the establishment of many banks in the 1990s and escalation during central bank of nigeria’s bank consolidation and recapitalisation exercise in 2006. years after the recapitalisation process, the need to maintain profitability on investment is still driving banks to deploy unconventional methods (casualization) to reduce the cost of labour and also to attract customers to open accounts with them (odey,2017). the young girls in banks are employed under the passes for corporate prostitution scheme all in the name of contract appointment (casualization), the older contract staff are placed on stipends in order to make them feel belonged to the organisation. these contract staff are expendable at will. casualization have killed nigeria banking sector (oladunjoye, okwuke, bakare, & eshemitan 2017), some companies such as guarantee trust bank (gtb) have as much as 85.95% contract staff. kolawole (2008) observes that even the apex bank in the country the central bank of nigeria (cbn) is not left out of the practice as 600 victims of the temporary employment policy of the central bank of nigeria (cbn) petitioned the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc); the nigerian labour congress (nlc) and the national assembly over what they described as exploitation and inhuman treatment by the apex bank. for 515 years casual workers have been employed by the central bank of nigeria and posted to various branches nation-wide as maintenance, treasury, security and sundry workers and rather than having their status changed to full time staff, their services were terminated by the bank without any benefits that would allow them start life afresh. iii. casualization in nigeria telecommunication industry in life one is supposed to either move horizontally or vertically but most telecommunication companies have forced casual staff to remain static. as there is neither promotion nor increment in their salaries. casualization of employment is seen as an appropriate strategy for cost reduction and may on the periphery seem to be justifiable since reduced cost means higher profit which is the ultimate goal of every organisation (oladele, 2016). however, casualization ultimately presents lots of challenges for the employees and organizations alike which at the long run tend to wreck the life span of the telecommunication industry as well as the life span of employees (oladele, 2016). there is no doubt that casualization in both the private and public sectors exposes nigerian workers to abuse in which many have lost their lives due to poor working environment, coupled with the management’s carefree attitude. the recent controversy surrounding the sacking of 3,000 workers by a telecommunication company is a very big controversy in nigeria as a whole (chene, 2014). the nigeria communication commission of nigeria reports that part of the major problems they are having in the commission is as a result of contract workers that fill in the major positions their by making their policies to be unstable and weak (oladele, 2016). the sack is caused by some kind of workplace politics which is the use of power within the organisation for the pursuits of agendas and self-interest without regard to their effect on the organisation’s image. the act that is highly destructive on individual as well as the organisation at large (oladele, 2016). causes and forms of casualization increase in capital mobility and the deregulation of the labour market are some of the major causes of casualization. trade liberalization made way for competing imports into the economy; this consequently resulted to lots of instability in the product market. in response to this challenge, employers became tempted to adopt cost-cutting measures, including downsizing, cutting back on employment and use of permanent employees; the offshoot being the current predominance of casual workers. okafor (2007) states that continuous trade and capital liberalisation led to the growth of the informal sector, which engages workers under unfair labour practices like casual/contract employment and deplorable working conditions and environment. the emerging pattern of employment in nigeria indicates that casualization is fast becoming the dominant form of flexible work arrangement. there are two forms of employment under casualization in nigeria namely casual and contract labour. the terms and conditions of employment of this category of workers are not regulated by the nigerian labour laws in the sense that their status is not defined and no provisions are made for the regulation of the terms and conditions of their employment, hence there is mass exploitation of these workers by employers (fajana, 2005). employers use casualization of the labour force as an effective means of reducing cost, maximizing profit and de-unionizing the work force. fajana (2005) states that it is difficult to give accurate statistics about the number of casual and contract workers in nigeria because there are no official statistics showing the extent and trends of casualization. animashaun (2007) asserts that some organizations have been reported to have up to 60-90 percent of their workers as casual/contract employees. the nigerian labour act does not define casualization and does not provide a legal framework for the regulation of the terms and conditions of this work arrangement. theoretical background of the study this study is guided by social comparison and social exchange theories. the choice of these theories is informed by the fact that there is no clear cut theoretical framework that explains the effect of temporary employment. these social comparison and social exchange theories rely on the notion that workers evaluate their situation in terms of perceived fairness in their workplace (bunk & gibbons, 2007). if the temporary workers feel they are not receiving what they think that they deserve, this might generate a sense of deprivation and therefore, create a negative perception of the working situation. the concept of relational psychological contract becomes relevant in this approach. relational psychological contract concerns the individual beliefs in a reciprocal obligation between individual and the organisation. the contract is based on non-economic/ affective exchange with no defined duration and a broad scope and definition (martinez, 2010).there is no clear cut theoretical framework that explains the effect of temporary employment. factors that may influence the choice of accepting casual work unemployment: the nigerian labour market is not only saturated but characterized by massive youth unemployment of various forms such as seasonal, frictional, cyclical, and structural unemployment (adebayo, 1999; damachi, 2001; okafor, 2011). unemployment is a global trend, but it occurs mostly in developing countries of the world, with attendant social, economic, political, and psychological consequences (obadan & odusola, 2001). thus, massive youth unemployment in any country is an indication of far more complex problems and report showed that the proportions of world unemployment are steadily increasing and that the number of those without jobs remained at all-time high of more than 195 million, or 6.3 percent, in 2007. therefore, projections of the population growth into the 21st century indicated that the proportion of youths, in relation to the overall population, will continue to grow. todaro (1992) pointed out that the high rate of unemployment is as a result of continuous transfer of economic activities, especially the youths from rural to urban areas. in nigeria, accurate unemployment rates are difficult to access. however, according to oyebade (2003), the 1990 to 2000 data on youth unemployment showed that the largest group of the unemployed was the secondary school graduates. as regards sex, data showed that males constituted 17.0% while females constituted 23.3%. this precarious situation in the nigerian labour has given rise to increase in casual workers in many work establishments in nigeria as most unemployed especially the youth make desperate efforts to survive. many individuals and families in nkiru enukora 109 order not to be trapped in the web of unemployment tends to accept casual works with the mind-set of getting permanent jobs (okafor, 2011). corruption: it is an incontrovertible fact that casualization and corruption has been the bane of nigeria’s development (ogbeidi, 2012). thus, without mincing words the phenomenon has ravaged the country and destroyed most of what is held as cherished national values. unfortunately, the employers saddled with the responsibility of directing the affairs of the country have been the major culprit in perpetrating this act (ogbeidi, 2012). indeed, it is a paradox that nigeria, the world's eighth largest exporter of crude oil, a country endowed with many resources, still has more than 70 percent of its population living below the poverty line as a result of corruption and economic mismanagement. the cause of the nigerian predicament should be laid squarely at the foot of casualization and corruption (ogbeidi, 2012). corruption is defined as a spectrum of illegal payments and transactions such as bribes, embezzlement, maltreatment and money laundering among others (chene, 2014).corruption is associated with erosion of talent in public and private organisations and establishments (acemoglu, acemoglu, gallego, & robinson, 2014).corruption encourages hiring based on nepotism, cronyism and patronage, not merit, reducing the quality of the public and private establishments and there is unnecessary bureaucracy, creating further opportunities for bribes and maltreatment of workers in the name of casualization (armstrong, 2013). corruption is a pressing issue in nigeria, the current president launched an anti-corruption drive after taking office in may, 2015, and corruption seems to have increased tremendously in different sectors of the economy (john, 2016). corruption affects organisation’s public finances, business investment as well as standard of living, thereby causing a lot of industries to go into casualization in order to cut cost and engage also in cheap labour. recent corruption scandals have highlighted the large sums that have been stolen and/or misappropriated in the name of casualization (chene, 2014). but little has been done to explore the dynamic effects of corruption that affect the long run capacity of the organisations to achieve its potential. many organisational leaders tend to casualise most of their staff in order to cut down on the amount they pay these staff there by diverting the money mapped out for permanent work to their own personal accounts (okafor, 2011). corruption is the bedrock of casualization in nigeria, this is because many organisations both private and public in the bit to make profit tends to adopt casualization as the ends to means of making more gains and profits in their organisations and in order to cover up , they tends to adopt cheap labour which is casualization (okafor, 2011). impact of casualization on wellbeing it is clear that casual workers in general are far more vulnerable to practices such as summary dismissal, variation in hours and schedules, arbitrary treatment and underpayment. in addition, they are vulnerable to deficits in aspects such as skill formation and promotion as well as the total wellbeing of individuals. such deficits may not have much effect on the wellbeing of individuals in the short-term, but the consequences are likely to be worse on individual’s wellbeing when employees are stuck in casual jobs for long periods of time (mcevoy & duffy, 2008).casualization is seen as bad not only because it draws more workers into the net of casual work but also because it exerts downward pressure on the well beings, wages and conditions even of those employees that continue to be viewed as ‘permanent’. both cases are often identified at workplace level with processes such as outsourcing and labour hire, which threaten the direct or indirect replacement of permanent workers by casual workers (hall, 2004). in both cases, the bad consequences for individual employees readily extend out to bad effects on families and communities well beings (pocock, 2003).casual jobs are not of course the only source of problems in labour markets. they are not the only source of what can be called ‘precariousness’ (burgess & campbell, 1998). any analysis of the health of labour markets needs to look at all forms of employment, including self-employed workers, fixed-term employees, permanent part-time employees and even the core group of permanent full-time employees. but it is widely recognised that casual workers are a particularly vulnerable group because of the negative impact of the nature of their job (aladekomo, 2004). the subjective and fearful feelings of anxiety and panic about safety of work are common to all humans as a sense of ill-being, but these are exaggerated for some categories of the workers due to non-idiosyncratic, systemic vulnerability, characterised by a chronically weak control over personal destiny. but essentially, for individuals, fear is strongly associated with the unknown, with uncertainty and unpredictability. it is associated with not knowing if one has the resources (mental, material and social) to cope with unassessable challenges and casual workers find themselves wallowing in this oblivion (white, 2010). it is not knowing if one can discharge emotional and financial responsibilities for kin and friends. it is not knowing whether one can protect oneself or offer protection to value others in the present and future. those who can, invest considerable resources in mitigating fear by reducing risk of failure and decline in all forms of wellbeing (emotional, material, objective and subjective. casualization generally poses a lot of threat in the wellbeing of workers because of the ill treatment and maltreatment that is associated with it in different organisations. cummins (2014) assume that subjective wellbeing functions on the homeostatic principle, being supported by a framework of psychological instruments. however, what they mean is an abstract level of wellbeing, which does not have concrete dimensions, but is like a general perception. they also propose the idea that subjective wellbeing is developed along the “proximal-distal” line (cummins, eckersley, pallant, van & misajon, 2004). when the focus is shifted from the shift to the surrounding environment, i.e. when the individual starts perceiving the surrounding factors, his/ her subjective wellbeing decreases. bourke & geldens (2007) view is in the same direction. they claim that for the majority of young people wellbeing is “multidimensional, holistic and centred round their own lives”. a study by nielsen, smyth, zhai, & zhang (2012) shows that subjective wellbeing should be viewed as a homeostatic system with a lower and an upper limit. in order to sustain homeostasis/ wellbeing a certain level of functioning should be maintained. however, when the lower limit is crossed, this monitor mechanism ceases to exist. there are so called buffers of wellbeing which are external and internal. the main external buffers are income and relationships. the main internal buffers use cognitive instruments for transforming the negative experience (jones, 2013). another nkiru enukora 111 attempt at description presents wellbeing as a characteristic trait of positive psychological functioning, which includes: positive emotionality, contentment with life and meaning of life (grant, guille, & sen, 2013). some sources define the so-called positive psychological capital (bin, honguy, yonguy, fuming, feng, & zongkui, 2014). what is meant by it is: the ability to achieve goals (copingefficacy), orientation towards future success (optimism), active position with regard to the changing environment (hope) and sustainability of aspiration (resilience). it is evident that positive psychological functioning is a factor in the individual’s social realization. when the aforementioned personal qualities are present, the person is capable of coping with daily challenges and overcoming the disappointment of failure. in this sense the term ‘positive psychological functioning’ has to be understood as a totality of personal qualities of cognitive, emotional and conative nature which increase the individual’s social and psychological efficiency. jones (2013) avers that when psychological wellbeing is discussed, what is meant is the way a person thinks of and feels about him/ herself, his/her ecological surrounding and the social networks he/ she participates in. casualization tends to affects individuals wellbeing both psychologically, socially and emotionally. the internal and external buffers of wellbeing when tempered with tend to affect the general wellbeing of individuals. in other words casualization tends to pose a big threat of individuals there by causing a negative experience (psychological functioning) and this tends to affect the general wellbeing as well (grant, et al 2013). in nigeria, the campaign against casual labour was intensified by nigeria in year 2000, trade union embarked on picketing activities on companies believed guilty of the desired result as the incidence of temporary staffing continues. for the casual workers, the situation is only worsened by the fact they are not part of any trade union as they are not fully employed. government on their own part are being indifferent on the plight of casual workers, they indeed compound the problem by saying that the responsibility is for the ministry of labour and productivity to see to the welfare of nigeria workers and ensure that they are treated fairly and justly (john, 2016). the ministry in quote are indifferent on the plight of casual workers in nigeria, they say that government did not provide adequate policies to protect the rights of casual workers (john, 2016). the last two decades have witnessed a major increase in the number of workers engaged on casual basis in nigeria. in addition to developing a more flexible workforce, casualization readily provides nigerian employers with regular cheap labour. the practice has become a cost saving strategy by the indigenous and foreign companies operating in nigeria because the employers are saved the costs associated with statutory obligations imposed on employers in a regular employment relationship. the growth in irregular work has changed the nature of employment from a labour relationship to a commercial relationship, with the worker taking all the risks. there is now a sharp worldwide rise in casual employment and a parallel rise in the gap between wages and benefits of permanent and casual workers. the use of casualization as a business model, involves the strategic substitution of fulltime workers with contract and/or agency labour. the number of casual workers in nigeria is hard to pin down (okafor, 2007). casualization in the nigerian industrial sector is a subject of great concern because increase casual employees are filling positions that are permanent in nature; in line with employee vulnerability in nigeria, there is a high level of economic change (recession), unemployment and accompanying poverty (anugwon, 2007). the world economic meltdown has bred a dangerous work environment where many desperate job seekers are willing to take any job for survival purposes rather than dignity. industrial exploitation is pervasive in many organizations in nigeria (kazeem, 2004). it manifests itself in one form or the other including poor salary, wages and salary arrears system, training, promotion, motivation, sense of belonging, job satisfaction and dehumanization of work and workers. this industrial exploitation of casual workers at long run tends to have an adverse effect on the life span (administrative and of managerial) of nigeria industrial sector (especially banks) which at long run tends to affect the growth and development of theses sector of the economy (bimbo, 2012). casualization is making work less secure, the changing of working practices so that workers are employed on a freelance and occasional basis instead of being offered full time contracts (campbell & brosnan, 1999). casualization and casual employment provides enormous savings and flexibility for employers since historically, employment protection rights including benefits are confined to permanent employees. the practice is very rampant in the nigerian banking, manufacturing, telecommunications, construction and the oil and gas industries. it is important to reiterate again that casual work has always been in existence but the form it has taken in the last two decades is what is worrisome and the effect of it on individual and industrial organisations at large is unfathomable (okafor, 2011). in the past, casual labour was required for seasonal employment and usually for a very short period (bimbo, 2012). this casual work arrangement was predominant in the construction and agricultural sectors before now and it was mainly for the unskilled workers. however, today, both the skilled and unskilled are engaged as casual workers in the informal sector, the organised private and public sectors in nigeria (bimbo, 2012). the permanent nature of casual work has resulted into the development of “permanent casuals”, a phenomenon used to describe a situation where workers are employed and retained on casual basis for several years (binbola, 2013). this casual employment arrangement takes different forms. the employer may retain the services of workers directly on casual basis and terminate their contract at will. they are laid off periodically, every three months, and reabsorbed under a new contract and this process continues in an endless cycle (odah, 2007). the commonest form, however, is to retain the services of a labour contractor who supplies the casuals to the client companies and recall them at will on the instruction of the client company. the labour contractor remains the employer of the casuals even though the casuals work in the premises of the client companies. these casuals are often recycled among the various client companies needing their services. by this arrangement, the client companies are relieved of the legal responsibilities and the costs associated with being the employer of the workers in its workforce (okafor, 2011). these casuals, most of whom are university graduates, work under deplorable terms and conditions. most of them earn far less than their permanent counterparts even though they possess the same (and sometimes higher) qualifications and do the same work, denied paid annual and maternity leave, pension, gratuity and other social security benefits. they are denied representational rights and may be disengaged at will (leabroo, 2010). research questions: 1. what are the factors that prompt an individual to opt for casual work? 2. what type of treatment do casual workers get in their work place? 3. how do casual workers feel in their work place? method participants twenty five participants partook on the interview. the participants were workers in different organisations that has contract staff and they includes, schools, power holding company, security agencies, telecommunication and information training institutes company. the participants were asked to report their work experiences. the lowest qualification of the workers was secondary school certificate examination. the workers were all located in enugu, enugu state nigeria. their ages ranges from 21 to 40.the participants include ten male and fifteen females. the consent of each of the nkiru enukora 113 workers that participated in the study was sought and they were assured of the confidentiality of their responses. instrument the participants were interviewed. they were asked why they opted for casual work, the kind of treatments they receive (their personal experiences) and how they feel in their work places. (example of the interview questions are as follows: why do you opt for casual work? how are you being treated and how do you feel as a casual worker in your work place? .the feelings increases in line with experience and their relationship with bosses and permanent workers). procedure twenty five participants were interviewed. the interview on each participant took about 20 to 40 minutes to be completed. all the respondents volunteered to participate in the study. the participants were randomly selected from different organisations that has both permanent and casual staff. after the interview, the interview questions were transcribed. each script was examined in details. following several readings, the researcher was able to consider similarities and differences in how the informants discussed the same phenomena. the next thing was thematic analysis. some of the themes formed natural conceptual categories. design/data analysis the study is an exploratory qualitative study that uses interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa) to interpret the interview questions. the design of the study was interpretative phenomenological analysis (ipa) design. thematic analysis was used to analysis the interview questions. results and discussion research questions dominant responses 1: what are the factors that prompt an individual to opt for casual work? ‘eeemh is not that i prefer it (casual work), after graduating, it is not easy to get a tangible job, there is no job. (pause….frowns…’who i am to say no to any little thing (work) that i am opportune to see. also i am still schooling and doing this work so that i can get a better offer (laughs). after graduating from university i don’t want to be idol doing nothing… (expresses anger facially). i don’t want to depend on people for everything so i go for any job that at least at the end of the month something will enter my pocket (smiles)’. 2: what type of treatment do casual workers get in their work place? the management looks down on us because they think that we are low and because i have not gotten to the zenith… ‘we are hired and fire so one goes to the available one (job).’ ‘in my place of work my madam just told me early last two years that i am just ‘hire and fire’, so we can hire you and fire you…i know that the statement forced me to start thinking… some oga when they come they will start shouting at you…. ‘they will lie against you (pause)… and if you talk they will sack you (frowns). they can send you on any kind of errand…i say any kind errand in the office (pause), all their works they will ask you to do it and if you refuse they will tell you that they will deal with you, and they will surly deal with you’. …as a casual worker, you have some limitations to some things, a full time worker has, some benefits that casual don’t, they send you around anyhow, if you refuse you will be sacked. permanent staff are allowed to express themselves in meetings but as a casual worker (pause and frowns) you don’t talk in our general staff meetings at all. 3: how do casual workers feel in their work place? (responses like…no! no!no! i am not enjoying what am doing… if i see a better offer i will go…smiles, am just passing time…) responses like…not minding that they don’t pay you on time, if you miss work one time, your salary will be deducted, they deduct the amount that you will not like couple with the delay, my december salary was paid to me around first week of february. they lie against you… cos you are a casual worker you will not say anything because if you do, they will sack you without looking at your face… nkiru enukora 115 discussion the participants in the study expressed their personal experiences and reasons that prompts them to opt for the kind of job they do. the result shows that self-esteem plays a major role in the in the lives of casual workers and this can be as a result of non-availability of jobs, long suffering and fear of unemployment. these has been the major challenges facing the casual workers (including graduates amongst them). for example some of the reposes like –‘eeemh is not that i prefer it (casual work), after graduating, it is not easy to get a tangible job, there is no job. (pause….frowns…’who i am to say no to any little thing (work) that i am opportune to see. the management looks down on us because they think that we are low and because i have not gotten to the zenith…’ ‘we are hired and fired’. so one goes to the available one (job).’ i don’t want to depend on people for everything so i go for job that at least at the end of the month something will enter my pocket (smiles)’. also i am still schooling and doing this work so that i can get a better offer (laughs). after graduating from university i don’t want to be idol doing nothing… (expresses anger facially). these agrees to the findings that states that unemployment has been linked to poverty, to this extent, casual workers see work as a means to an end. this is true because their behaviour to work is tied to salary and not job. since jobs are hard to find, casual workers preferred staying with their casual works in order to meet up with their daily personal needs despite the low level of remuneration (okafor, 2007). and that in nigeria, accurate unemployment rates are difficult toaccess and this make many people to accept casual works in order to survive. more so, on what type of treatment that are met to casual workers in their places of work. the result shows that intimidation is the main problems that casual workers face. for example responses like… ‘in my place of work my madam just told me early last two years that i am just ‘hire and fire’, so we can hire you and fire you…i know that the statement forced me to start thinking…, some oga when they come they will start shouting at you…. ‘they will lie against you (pause)… and if you talk they will sack you (frowns). they can send you on any kind of errand in the office (pause) all their works they will ask you to do it and if you refuse they will tell you that they will deal with you, and they will surly deal with you’. so some responses like that shows that…as a casual worker, you have some limitations to some things , a full time worker has some benefits that casual don’t, they send you on errand anyhow if you refuse you will be sacked. permanent staff are allowed to express themselves in meetings but as a casual worker (pause and frowns) you don’t talk in our general staff meetings at all. also, in the research questions like how do casual workers feel in their places of work, result from data extract shows that emotions (feelings) also play a vital role in the well-being of casual workers. it is clear that some casual jobs are better than others, and this affect casual workers who hold them to a greater or lesser extent. and for this reason directly or indirectly that affect well beings of casual workers. (responses like…no! no! no! i am not enjoying what am doing… if i see a better offer i will go…smiles, am just passing time…) casual workers shares common feature of lack of rights and entitlements and that this in turn leads to several forms of risks and maltreatments. moreover, the mere fact that some jobs are ‘long-term’ rather than ‘short-term’ is not a solid platform for declaring that there is no benefit at all for casual workers. precisely, there would seem to be no plausible reason for denying casual workers the standard benefits such as paid and unpaid leave that are normally linked to permanent jobs. this findings reveals also that the core of wellbeing is the subjective experience of social sufficiency of individual existence. casual work is loaded with many work expectations, one of the main being to support psychological development and work consistency of the worker. negative feelings in the excluded casual worker provoke a decrease of psychological wellbeing. thus, if employers were to increase the effectiveness of a casual workers, they would need to improve the psychological wellbeing of the individuals. the improving could be realized through payment of some work benefits and psychological support to individual casual workers. responses like…not minding that they don’t pay you on time, if you miss work one time, your salary will be deducted, they deduct the amount that you will not like couple with the delay, my december salary was paid to me around first week of february. they lie against you… cos you are a casual worker you will not say anything because if you do, they will sack you without looking at your face….the research findings in this study shows that most of the casual workers opt for their jobs based on how they rate themselves individually (self-esteem). self-esteem here means how casual workers value themselves; it is how they perceive their value to the world and how valuable they think they are to others. self-esteem affects casual workers belief and trust in others, their relationships, and their work (almost every part of their lives). positive self-esteem gives casual workers the strength and flexibility to take charge of their lives and grow from mistakes without the fear of rejection while low selfesteem (which is very predominant in casual workers) is a force that keeps casual workers from realizing their full potentials. a casual worker with low self-esteem feels unworthy, incapable, and incompetent. in fact, because the casual worker with low self-esteem feels so poorly about him or herself, these feelings and negative views of life may actually cause the person’s continued low selfesteem in everything that concerns the individual. in essence, casual workers with low self-esteem usually have deep-seated, basic, negative beliefs (notions) about themselves and the kind of worker they are. these beliefs are often taken as facts or truths about their identity and this affects their well beings generally. as a result, low self-esteem has a very negative impact on casual workers well beings and emotions at large. it is a problem in itself and is a risk factor for other problems (risk for experiencing other problems such as depression, having persistent suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, and social phobia). it is a ‘vulnerability factor.’ low self-esteem as a vulnerability factor is a very big problem that needs to be addressed and proffer solutions in order to avoid seeing extreme manifestation of the problem. low self-esteem has serious effect on various aspects of a casual workers, for example, they probably voice out a lot of negative things about themselves and criticise themselves, their actions, and abilities or joke about themselves in a very negative way. they put themselves down, doubt themselves, or blame themselves when things go wrong. often, they don’t recognise or see their positive qualities. when compliments are given to them, they brush such comments aside or say that “it was all luck” or “that the good thing will not last long at all”. they focus always on what they didn’t do or the mistakes they made. casual workers with low self-esteem most times expect that things would not turn out well for them and often feel sad, depressed, anxious, guilty, ashamed, frustrated, and angry. they have difficulty speaking up for themselves (not assertive) and their needs, avoid challenges and opportunities, or be overly aggressive in their interactions with others. low self-esteem also have an impact on many aspects of a casual worker’s life. it can affect a person’s performance at work or at school (the ones that are furthering their education). they might consistently achieve less than they are able to because they believe they are less capable than others and might avoid challenges for fear of not doing well. they might work extremely hard and push themselves to do more because they believe they need to make up for, or cover up, their lack of skill. workers with low self-esteem might find it hard to believe any good results they get are due to their own abilities or positive qualities. in their personal relationships, casual workers with low self-esteem might become upset or distressed by any criticism or disapproval, bend over backwards to please others, be extremely shy or self-consciousness or even avoid or withdraw from intimacy or social contact. they might also be less likely to stand up for themselves or protect themselves from being bullied, criticised, or abused by their bosses or colleagues. these findings agree with social comparison and social exchange theories rely on the notion that workers evaluate their situation in nkiru enukora 117 terms of perceived fairness in their workplace (bunk & gibbons, 2007). if the temporary workers feel they are not receiving what they think that they deserve, this might generate a sense of deprivation and therefore, create a negative perception of the working situation. from this research finding, it is very outstanding that low self-esteem is one of the major psychological problem that casual workers in nigeria industrial sector has. this is true because it tends to affect their whole life and this needed to be addressed urgently and appropriately using psychological measures. inclusively, the result of findings shows that fear of unemployment was another major challenge casual workers face that makes that to go for the jobs they do for a living. this agrees to the findings in literature review that says that the rate of unemployment in nigeria is pushing many graduates to get themselves engaged in casual work in order to meet up with the demands of basic need of human (okafor, 2010). many individuals and families in order not to be trapped in the web of unemployment tends to accept casual works with the mind-set of getting permanent jobs (okafor, 2011).most of the casual workers that were interviewed affirm that it is better for them to be collecting the merge salary their employers give them than to be without a job, not minding that their employers owes them a lot, they belief that half bread is better than nothing at all. the nature of jobs casual workers do is a contributory factor to the kind of behaviours that the workers manifest in their places of work. for example in schools the teachers explain that they feel fulfilled when they deliver their services to both scholars, pupils and students. this is because they love the nature of their jobs but contrary to that if their salaries are not paid as when due not minding that is small, it makes them feel bad and the feelings is unquantifiable. casual workers in other organisations outside teaching generally affirm that the kind of assignment or work they ask them to do in their work place is so enormous that most times they find themselves doing the work with bitterness which adversely affect them in the long run. additionally, in the research findings well-being) is another factor that affects the lives of casual workers. emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone or something (rotando, 2004). casual workers show their emotions when they are happy about something, angry at someone, afraid of something etc. emotions are a response to an event in the work environment (kammeyer, 2004). the work environment includes everything surrounding the job, the variety of tasks and degree of autonomy, job demands, and requirements for expressing emotional labour. these work events trigger positive or negative emotional reactions. according to glomb, 2004, emotions provide valuable insights into understanding employee behaviour and emotional act can be manifested in two wayssurface acting, this is hiding one’s inner feelings and forging emotional expressions in response to display rules. for example, when a worker smiles at a customer even when he doesn’t feel like it, he is surface acting. and deep acting, this is trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display 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(2001) labour law in nigeria. lagos, nigeria: malthouse press ltd. page 1 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 27 the impact of covid-19 on agribusiness in nigeria thomas imoudu gomment, ph.d department of sociology, faculty of social sciences prince abubakar university, e-mail: imoudugomment@gmail.com +234 8064467228 abstract agribusiness has continued to be major sources of livelihood to millions of nigerians as it contributes significantly to job creation and poverty reduction in the country. unfortunately, the agricultural sector in nigeria has been bedeviled by several factors including ignorance, illiteracy, faulty policy initiatives, low income, among several others. the outbreak of covid19 pandemic in nigeria has tremendously impacted every sector of the economy including agricultural sector. hence, this study investigates the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on agribusiness in nigeria. the paper identified a combination of food insecurity, rising food prices, inaccessibility to farms, inability to procure farm implements due to intra and interstate restriction on movement, low market supply, as well as decrease in export earnings as a result of inability of countries to import goods from nigeria, as major impacts of the pandemic on agribusiness. the paper recommended adequate measures such as: increased budgetary allocation to agribusiness, affordable loan facilities to agribusiness practitioners, provision of infrastructure, and sound government policies to encourage agribusiness in nigeria. keywords: agribusiness, covid-19, economy, inflation, market supply introduction agriculture was the mainstay of nigerian economy before the development of oil industry. during the pre-oil era, there was food security in nigeria, and surplus food supplies were exported for foreign earnings. for instance, in northern nigeria, grains, root crops and a variety of vegetables were produced while part of the processed cotton and peanuts were exported. among the people of the then eastern region, subsistence (farming characterizes) method of agriculture was the dominant practice. the main agricultural products include yams, cassava, and taro while palm products were the main cash crops which (were also principal) they equally exported. in the same token, the people of the then western region grew cocoa and yams as cash crops (okafor, in jegede et al 2012:183). nigeria, according to obiadi (1978), produces a variety of agricultural products. during the colonial period, government, as posited by ukwu (1983, cited in ihimodu 2012) was interested mainly in the development of export crops for the british economy, which allowed indigenous agriculture to develop only under the stimulus of market forces. in order to promote european interests, they provided access routes by water, rail and road, and a modest provision of 28 research and extension services for export production. this development did not serve the interest of the nigerian people as food production was relegated to the background. agriculture was neglected with the discovery and the development of crude oil with its farreaching consequences for the economy. agribusiness is the business of agricultural production. if these products are meant for commercial purpose, the idea of agribusiness comes into play. the nexus between agribusiness and sustainable rural development is established in integrated rural development, which according to ake (1981), was elaborated in a united nations publication, it was also elaborated in great detail at the african regional conference on the integrated approach to rural development held at moshi in tanzania in october 1969. the focus on rural life is justified by the fact that about 75% of africa’s population live in the rural areas, and also by the fact that agriculture is the mainstay of africa’s economy. rural development is the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. the need to transform rural society in nigeria through agriculture was conceived and experimented with the initiative of the world bank, the agricultural development programme (adp) strategy, which is jointly financed by the federal government, the state government and the world bank. in 1970, as observed by alanana (2006:73): the world bank gave support by financing three pilot projects in funtua, gombe and gusau. government’s initial contribution to these pilot projects was n40 million in the second national development plan. government also extended the programmes to lafia and anyigba, and established others in kwara, oyo etc. government also planned to make the programme nationwide. by january 1982, the world bank had committed n277 million into eleven (11) adp projects in nigeria. the aim of adp is to improve the standard of the low income earner resident in the rural areas, by providing them farm inputs such as fertilizer, pesticide, fungicide, high yield variety seeds, land clearing services, extension services, and feeder roads. the need to raise the living 29 standard of a significant proportion of the country’s labour force, about 70%, who reside in rural areas and engage in agriculture and allied industries cannot be overstressed. as an agrarian society, nigeria can hardly attain economic development without agricultural development. in the past, when agriculture was emphasized, nigeria hardly had the kind of economic crises we face today. the sector is all-embracing as it plays the roles of food provider, income generator, employment generator, raw material generator and business driver. for the nation, it is foreign exchange earnings generator; for individuals, it is a source of livelihood. lack of interest for agriculture has made our economy a pauper, which can neither ensure food security nor provide raw materials for our local industries. the resultant effect is evidenced in the importation of food for the populace and raw materials for our industries. this is well captured by ihimodu (2012:26). thus, initially, agricultural production in nigeria was at subsistence level. currently, government efforts are geared towards ensuring self-sufficiency in food production and food security. but the population factor is there to contend with. nigeria has her population increasing at a faster rate than the rate of food production. food production has an estimated annual growth rate of about 3 percent. the demand for food is believed to be increasing at an annual rate of 4 to 5 percent. the lack of concentration on agricultural activities as a result of too much emphasis on crude oil has caused different economic-related problems such as lack of rural development, ruralurban migration, unemployment, hunger, inflation, and crime, among others. the inability of our agricultural sector to perform its traditional functions as mentioned earlier due to the monocultural nature of the economy with bias on oil, account for the country’s economic backwardness. despite government efforts at initiating different development policies and programmes at different points, which include the agricultural development programme (adp) strategy, the green revolution strategy (gra), the river basin and rural development strategy, import substitution industrialisation strategy for agriculture (isi), nigeria’s agricultural sector is yet to meet the food, raw material, income, employment and foreign exchange earning needs of the country. many studies have been conducted in rural development policies and programmes, perspectives on agriculture and rural development in nigeria, integrated rural development, agricultural resources in nigeria, rural women performance in agriculture, rural agriculture and 30 sustainable employment generation in nigeria (for example, ihimodu, 2012; alanana, 2006; obiadi, 1984; and ake, 1981); but little or not much had been done on the nexus between agribusiness and covid-19 pandemic. this is the gap the present study is determined to fill in addition to the existing body of knowledge in agribusiness and other related issues in nigeria. methodology the paper, as a desk study, made use of secondary source of data collection. relevant data were extracted from reports, textbooks, academic journals, magazines, and from other secondary sources such as the internet and library. the data collected were content analyzed. the importance of agribusiness in nigeria the term, ‘agribusiness’, is an aspect of agriculture comprising of production, manufacturing and distribution of farm inputs, equipment and supplies at one hand and the processing, storage and distribution of farm commodities on the other hand. the role of agribusiness in the development of an economy cannot be over-emphasized. this is in tandem with the study conducted by igbukwue, et al (2015), which found that agribusiness plays a crucial role in jump-economic transformation through development and growth of agrobased industries, successful agribusiness investment stimulates agricultural growth by providing new markets and developing a vibrant input supply system to all sectors. the survey further revealed that agribusiness as an aspect of agriculture serves as raw material providers to industries, food provider to citizens as well as employment generators to individuals. itoandon’s study (2011) revealed that agribusiness facilitates commercial opportunities, improves efficiency of market operation, formation of marketing cooperative, training and capacity building. agribusiness and employment generation it is no longer news to state that agribusiness has been one of the sources of livelihood in nigeria. for instance, data for nigeria from 1991 to 2019 indicated that the average value for nigeria during that period was 44.15 percent with a minimum of 35.1 percent in 2019 and maximum of 50.25 percent in 1991. the latest value from 2019 is 35.1 percent (world bank, 2020). similarly, international labour organisation, ilo (2010) has asserted that in subsaharan africa, growth in agricultural employment accounted for half of all employment 31 growth between 1999 and 2009. in south asia, nearly 33 percent of all employment growth since 1999 was agriculture. in another submission, the world bank (2017) has described agricultural sector as a life-line-65% of poor working adults relied on agriculture for their livelihoods in 2016. it also represents an opportunity for job creation and shared prosperity. agribusiness and poverty reduction agribusiness as self-employment opportunities can make participants meet their basic necessities of life, thereby reducing poverty in society. for instance, the united nations industrial development organisation (nd) has described agriculture as the backbone of economic activity, employment and livelihood in developing countries which is capable of reducing poverty in a sustainable manner. accordingly, messiah (2018) in his analysis of annual data over the period of 1981 to 2014 sourced from world bank development indicators and central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistical bulletin shows that a shock on crop production, livestock, forestry and fishing has significant and lasting impact on poverty reduction long into the future. challenges facing agribusiness in nigeria small agribusinesses have the potential of growing into large enterprises if some measures are put in place to tackle the challenges affecting its growth. it is no longer news to posit that agribusinesses are vulnerable to shocks emanating from government policies, market fluctuations and climate change. according to iloani (2017), a survey conducted on quality of life in nigeria by philips consulting limited published in april 2015 indicated that 55% of nigerians are still dissatisfied with the level of food security in nigeria, due to the shocks confronting small agribusinesses in nigeria. 56% of nigerians who participated in the survey showed that low income contributed to food insecurity while 50% blamed poor use of technological advancements to boost crop production for the menace. other issues identified as confronting agribusiness in nigeria include but not limited to the following: wrong policies coupled with policy somersault, post-harvest losses, as well as lack of willingness to give loan to small agribusiness operators or participants. 32 orji (2013) found poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, the use of manual farm tools/methods, lack of infrastructure, lack of food storage or processing facilities, lack of modern farms machine/ techniques, lack of scientific and technological know-how, disorganization and unaccountability and lack of leadership and neo-colonialism as factors affecting the growth of agribusinesses in nigeria. myths associated with agribusiness in nigeria agribusiness in nigeria is the current upward trend in the economy of our great country. the positive movement in this sector has cemented the importance of agribusiness in nigeria. olorunni (2016) in his study found the following as the myths associated with agribusiness in nigeria which has impacted negatively on the prospects of agribusiness in the country. these include: seeing farming as our forefathers saw it; most agribusiness participants see themselves as mere farmers; and lack of investment in market research, producing without having buyers and get-rich quick syndrome. other factors include seeing agribusiness as a poor man activity, seeing farming as a dirty man job and seeing agriculture as a feature of rural dwellers. a combination of poverty, ignorance, the belief that agribusiness is for illiterates, over-reliance on the government to provide job opportunities for the people, the use of old technology, lack of government support and laziness, among others, are some of the factors bedeviling the growth of agribusiness in nigeria. the aforementioned have slowed down the growth of agribusiness in nigeria, which has equally contributed to food insecurity in the country. the impact of covid-19 on agribusiness in nigeria the impact of covid-19 on life generally is not hidden; it is a global pandemic that has left no continent untouched. it is enormous to the extent that the world system, at a point, was completely locked down. the devastating nature of this global health challenge, has led to a blame game. while the united states of america pointed an accusing finger at china, china on the other hand, blamed the united states of not doing the right thing at the right time. the world health organisation has expressed concerns about the rapid evolution of the covid19 pandemic in africa and notes that it is one of the biggest health challenges africa has faced in a generation (plaform for african european partnership in agricultural research for development, 2020). 33 specifically, the impact of covid-19 on agribusiness in nigeria is tremendous. it ranges from rising food prices, inability to attain food security, farmers’ inability to access their farms in other state locations or procuring inputs and farm implements due to intra and interstate movement restrictions. other impacts include: food distribution and decreasing export earnings due to lockdown (pricewaterhousecoopers nigeria, 2020). holistically, with covid-19, the challenges hampering the attainment of food security has deepened in form of rising food prices. as at april 2020, food inflation rose to 15% to compared to 14.7% in december 2019 (pwc, 2020). similarly, the economic community of west africa (ecowas) estimates that covid-19 pandemic risks food insecurity and nutrition of of 50 million people between june and august 2020. (relief web, 2020). this is in tandem with the views of agboola (2020), who opined that the global health crisis triggered by covid-19 is a serious threat to our food systems. in another submission, a world bank report projected a 2.1 percent decline in gdp growth for sub-saharan africa and a loss between us$37 billion and us$79 billion due to the pandemic. more alarming, according to the report, is that covid-19 has the potential to create a severe food security crisis in the region, with agricultural production contracting between 2.6 percent and 7 percent in the scenario with trade blockages (business day, 2020). conclusion the paper has succeeded in examining the impact of covid-19 on agribusiness in nigeria. like every other aspect of life, the pandemic has affected food security, food prices, distribution of food, inability of farmers to access their farm locations in other state and procure farm implements, as well as reduced market supply. ease of lock-down, sound government policies, accessible loan facilities, provision of farm implements at subsidized rate, as well as public enlightenment on the importance of agribusiness to the economic growth and development of nigeria, could be a possible way forward. references 34 agboola, j.o. (2020). covid-19: a game changer in attracting youth to agribusiness. retrieved from ypard.net>covid-19-gamechangers on september 26, 2020. ake, c. (1981). political economy of africa. nigeria: longman nigeria plc. alanana, o. a (2006). sociology of development: an introduction. kaduna: joyce graphic publishers business day (august 7, 2020). post covid-19: building nigeria’s economy through agriculture. igbokwue, m.c., essein, b.h. & agunnanah, m.u. (2015). the imperatives of nigeria agribusiness: issues and challenges. science journal of business and management, 3(5), 7-10 ihimodu. i.i.(2012). perspectives on agriculture and rural development in nigeria. ilorin: yori consulting and development services limited. iloani, f. a. (2017). top challenges affecting small agribusiness growth in nigeria. retrieved from https://www.dailytrust.com.ng>agriculture in june 1, 2017 international labour organisation (2010). labour: over 1billion people are employed in agriculture. retrieved from www.fao.org in august 15, 2020. itoandon, i. (2011). agribusiness development in nigeria. retrieved from agribusinessdev.blogspot.com.ng in june 2, 2017. jegede, a.e. (2011). youth at crossroads: the challenges of social change in nigeria in international journal of sociology 1(2)83-92 messiah, a.j. (2018). effect of agriculture on poverty reduction in nigeria: a multifaceted approach using principal component analysis. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net in august 23, 2020. obiadi, g.o..a.(1978). essentials of social studies for schools and colleges in nigeria. nsukka: nsugbe press. pricewaterhousecoopers (2020). responding to the impact of covid-19 on food security and agriculture in nigeria. retrieved from www.pwc.com on september 26, 2020. relief web (2020). reducing covid-19 impact on agriculture: nigerian farmers to receive improved seeds. retrieved from reliefweb.nfo>reports>nigeria on september 26, 2020 united nations industrial development organisation (nd). agribusiness development for food security and poverty reduction. retrieved from https://www.unido.org in august 22, 2020. world bank (2020). nigeria: employment in agriculture, % of total employment. retrieved from https://www.theglobaleconomy.com in august 2, 2020. world bank (2017). agribusiness-world bank group. retrieved from https://www.world.org>brief in august 20, 2020 http://www.fao.org/ https://www.researchgate.net/ http://www.pwc.com/ https://www.unido.org/ page 3 154 academic stress, academic anxiety and psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. anna garos ngbea *abraham tersugh kwaghgbah department of psychology benue state university makurdi *corresponding author: abrahamkwaghgbah@gmail.com abstract this study investigated academic stress, academic anxiety and psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. the cross-sectional survey design was employed where 211 newly admitted students consisting of 91 (43.1%) males and 120 (56.9%) females were used. their ages ranged from 20-54years with the mean age of 36.88 years (sd=4.202). convenient sampling was used to draw samples for the study. three instruments were used for data collection; the academic stress inventory, academic anxiety source instrument and the ryff’s psychological wellbeing scale. three hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression and standard multiple regression. findings indicated that academic stress significantly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. the result further indicated that all the dimensions of academic stress; teacher stress, result stress, test stress, group studying stress, peer stress, time management and self-inflicted stress made significant contributions in the prediction of psychological health. secondly, the result also indicated that academic anxiety significantly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. the result further indicated that all the dimensions of academic anxiety; study task source, emotional source, social source, language source and family source significantly predicted psychological health. the result also showed that academic stress and academic anxiety jointly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. it was recommended that clinical and school psychologists should develop intervention programmes to reduce the stress and anxiety that students face in the course of studying, since the two factors were noted to affect students’ psychological health. in addition, the students’ affairs division of universities should schedule periodic psychological health check–up for newly admitted undergraduate students. this will keep them in the right mental state to pursue their academic goals. keywords: academic stress, academic anxiety, psychological health, mental health, peer pressure introduction the competitive nature of higher education in our contemporary society has exacerbated the psychological health of undergraduate students. this is most common among newly admitted undergraduate students who are faced with the challenge of adjusting and coping with the new academic environment. eventually, some fresh students come down with psychological health issues such as anxiety, depression, suicide ideation amongst others. psychological health studies have shown that stressors related to meeting organizational and socio-cultural expectations, maintaining study hours, and fulfilling tuition costs are causes of concern for depression, anxiety, and stress in university student populations (fawzy & hamed, 2017; beiter, nash & mccrady, 2015). the entire time students spend in the university is emotionally and intellectually more demanding than almost any other stage of learning. at this stage, students face a great deal of pressures and challenges that pose many social, physical and emotional hitches (rodgers & tennison, 2009). as a result of changing social and emotional picture of university students, they become more vulnerable for developing psychological health problems (eisenberg, gollust, golberstein & hefner, 2007). psychological health problems among university students have both short term and long term consequences including decreasing work capacity and poor academic performance (breslau, lane, sampson & kessler, 2008). unfortunately, despite the relatively high prevalence of elevated stress and mental health difficulties among students, research has consistently revealed that most students who have psychological health problems do not seek help. specifically, studies have found that only 8% to 38% of students who experience a clinically significant psychological health problem seek treatment (downs, wisdom, wansink & loewenstein, 2013; hunt & eisenberg, 2010). many factors are implicated in the prediction of psychological health. one major factor implicated in predicting psychological health is academic stress. bernstein, penner, stewart and roy (2008) viewed stress as a negative emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physiological process that occurs as a person tries to adjust to or deal with stressors. the effect of stress is often understood in many ways of life with diverse populations. richlin-klonsky and hoe (2003) reported that stress lessens academic performance, hinders a student’s capability to involve in and add to campus life, and raise the probability of substance abuse and other potentially destructive behaviours. on a similar note, erkutlu and chafra (2006) opined that the pressure to perform well in examination and the time allocated makes the academic environment very stressful. one of the major impacts of stress is that, it affects drastically the psychological functions of people”. another likely predictor of psychological health is academic anxiety. anxiety is a common condition noticed in people of all age groups. it may be caused by a physical condition, mental condition and effects of drugs or due to a combination of these. anxiety is thus seen as a painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill. there are many external factors that may contribute to anxiety. some of the psychological symptoms of anxiety among students include feeling nervous before a study 156 class, panicking, going blank during a test, feeling helpless while doing assignments, or lack of interest of subjects difficult whereas the physiological symptoms include sweaty palms, racing heartbeat, or an upset stomach. yet, the role of these factors on psychological health has not received substantial research attention. takebayashi, tanaka, sugiura and sugiura (2018) revealed that anxiety is a prime predictor of mental health. however, this finding was not established among newly admitted students. similarly, njue and anand (2018) revealed that anxiety from non-academic source affects wellbeing. this noted gap has led the present study to attempt filling the existing vacuum. therefore, this study investigated academic stress and academic anxiety as predictors of psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. academic stress and psychological health mccloud and bann (2019) examined the association between financial stress and mental health among higher education students. they conducted a rapid review of the peer reviewed scientific literature. eligible studies were english-language publications testing the association between any indicator of financial stress and mental health among higher education students in the uk. papers were located through a systematic search of psychinfo, pubmed and embase up to november 2018. the search strategy yielded 1,272 studies 9 met the inclusion criteria. a further two were identified through hand-searching. the median sample size was 408. only three of seven studies found an association between higher debt and worse mental health. there was a consistent cross-sectional relationship between worse mental health and both experience of financial difficulties and debt worry/financial concern, though longitudinal evidence was mixed and limited to six studies. among higher education students in the uk, there is little evidence that the amount of debt is associated with mental health. however, more subjective measures of increased financial stress were more consistently associated with worse mental health outcomes. nevertheless, the identified evidence was judged to be weak; further research was thus required to examine whether links between financial stress and mental health outcomes are robust and causal in nature. strizhitskaya, petrash, savenysheva, murtazina and golovey (2019) assessed the association between stress and psychological well-being. the scale of perceived stress, psychological well-being scale, 16 pf personality test factor c using a sample of 323 psychological health adults aged 20-60. first, using regression analysis we confirmed that emotional stability was associated with both perceived stress and psychological well-being. second, they assessed associations between perceived stress, psychological well-being and emotional stability using structural analysis. results suggest that perceived stress decreases one’s emotional stability that in turn affects psychological well-being. retest using random subsamples confirmed structural analysis. their results showed that perceived stress can be associated not only with immediate emotional reactions but with relatively stable personality characteristics such as emotional stability. their results suggested that the associations between perceived stress and psychological well-being can be moderated by emotional stability. thus, high levels of emotional stability can prevent or delay the effect of stress on psychological well-being. this study was however not conducted among undergraduate students of baze university abuja. sydney-agbor, ebeh and onyeanu (2018) assessed the predictors of students’ mental wellbeing among 348 undergraduates selected through random cluster sampling from the faculties of social sciences of three higher institutions in eastern nigeria. participants’ ages ranged from 16 to 33 years, with the mean age of 23.15 and a standard deviation of 3.46. variables considered include academic stress, substance abuse, age and institution type. the descriptive cross-sectional design was employed while standard multiple regression and 2-way anova were adopted for data collection and analyses respectively. results revealed that academic stress, substance abuse and age had significant inverse relationship with mental wellbeing. mental wellbeing and academic stress did not differ across gender, while type of institution influenced academic stress. the researchers recommended stronger awareness of the implications of drug use and the re-structuring of academic programmes that can minimize stress. also, the need for a free functional counseling unit to enable students obtain professional advice that will help promote mental wellbeing was advocated. this study was however not limited to newly admitted students. hubbard, reohr, tolcher and downs (2018) examined the relationships between different stressors, mental health, and help-seeking behavior among college students. an online survey distributed locally and nationally asked college students aged 18 to 24 (n=564) about their stressors, mental health symptoms, and past and current help-seeking behavior. factor analysis suggested that college students experienced stress in four domains: intrapersonal, interpersonal, performance, and financial. regression analyses revealed that intrapersonal and interpersonal stress predicted anxiety and depression in both women and men, whereas performance stress predicted anxiety and depression in women but not men. financial stress was not related to mental health symptoms in either gender. regarding help 158 seeking, 37.5% of women and 16% of men had received help for a mental health problem, although none of the men and only 5.8% of the women were currently receiving counseling or therapy. help-seekers reported significantly higher levels of performance, interpersonal, and intrapersonal stress, as well as more eating problems, anxiety, and depression. these results suggest the need for colleges to consider new ways of identifying at-risk students and encouraging those students to seek help. this finding despite its significance was obtained from a sample of college students and not university students. academic anxiety and psychological health takebayashi, tanaka, sugiura and sugiura (2018) investigated the buffering effects of psychological well-being on the relationships between cognitive vulnerabilities (fear of anxiety and negative beliefs about worry) and gad symptoms among 297 japanese undergraduates (female=62%, age=18.91±1.61) in a two-wave prospective cohort study. participants completed the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire for dsm-iv, center for epidemiologic studies depression scale, anxiety control subscale of affective control scale, negative belief about worry subscale of meta-cognitions questionnaire, and nishida’s psychological well-being scale. a moderated regression analysis tested the buffering effect of psychological well-being sub-dimensions on the relationship between cognitive vulnerabilities and generalized anxiety symptoms. fear of anxiety and negative beliefs about worry at baseline predicted generalized anxiety at follow-up, after controlling for baseline symptoms, and three interaction terms significantly predicted generalized anxiety symptoms. purpose in life and autonomy buffered the negative relationship between cognitive vulnerabilities and generalized anxiety symptoms. contrary to the hypothesized relationship, positive relationships with others at baseline facilitated a positive relationship between fear of anxiety and generalized anxiety symptoms. those results suggested that enhanced purpose in life and autonomy dimension of psychological well-being may be useful in preventing gad, while the enhanced positive relationship with others dimension of psychological well-being may facilitate generalized anxiety, as a function of fear of anxiety. it was recommended that, in a primary prevention setting, it may be useful to consider the dimensions of psychological well-being. these dimensions are considered in the present study. psychological health njue and anand (2018) examined the relationship between academic anxiety and general wellbeing and compared the results of boys with girls. to do this, academic anxiety scale for children (aasc) and pgi general wellbeing measure (pgigwm) were administered to a sample of 204 high school students. before that, it had been hypothesized that the correlation between academic anxiety and general wellbeing would be negative in both boys and girls and that there would be no significant difference between academic anxiety in boys as compared to girls and finally there would be no significant difference between general wellbeing of boys with that of girls. after the administration of the scales, the data was analyzed by computing pearson correlation, mean and t-values. the results showed that, the correlation between academic anxiety and general wellbeing was negative in both boys and girls proving the first two hypotheses true. in addition, the results also showed that, there was no significant difference between academic anxiety in boys as compared to girls and there was no significant difference between general wellbeing of boys with that of girls also proving the third and fourth hypotheses and the null hypothesis true. some suggestions were recommended for future research. deb, strodl and sun (2015) investigated the academic stress and mental health of indian high school students and the associations between various psychosocial factors and academic stress. a total of 190 students from grades 11 and 12 (mean age: 16.72years) from three government-aided and three private schools in kolkata india were surveyed in the study. data collection involved using a specially designed structured questionnaire as well as the general health questionnaire. it was found that nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of the students reported stress due to academic pressure – with no significant differences across gender, age, grade, and several other personal factors. about two-thirds (66%) of the students reported feeling pressure from their parents for better academic performance. the degree of parental pressure experienced differed significantly across the educational levels of the parents, 160 mother’s occupation, number of private tutors, and academic performance. in particular, children of fathers possessing a lower education level (non-graduates) were found to be more likely to perceive pressure for better academic performance. about one-thirds (32.6%) of the students were symptomatic of psychiatric illness and 81.6% reported examination-related anxiety. academic stress was positively correlated with parental pressure and psychiatric problems, while examination-related anxiety also was positively related to psychiatric problems. they concluded that academic stress is a serious issue which affects nearly two thirds of senior high school students in kolkata. lastly, the potential methods for combating the challenges of academic pressure were suggested. although, this study was carried out among high school students in india and not undergraduate students in nigeria. the following hypotheses were postulated to guide the study: i. academic stress will significantly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. ii. academic anxiety will significantly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. iii. academic stress and academic anxiety will jointly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. design this study employed the use of cross-sectional survey design to investigate academic stress, academic anxiety and psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. a cross-sectional survey collects data to make inferences about a population of interest (universe) at one point in time. in this study, psychological health the independent variables are academic anxiety and academic stress while the dependent variable is psychological health. participants the participants for this study were 211 newly admitted students of baze university abuja. they consisted of 91 (43.1%) males and 120 (56.9%) females students. their ages ranged from 20-54years with the mean age of 36.88 years (sd=4.202). in terms of their religion, 177 (83.9%) were christians while the remaining 34 (16.1%) were muslims. as for their ethnic group, 153 (72.5%) were tiv, 42 (19.9%) were idoma while the remaining 16 (7.6%) were from other ethnic groups. considering their marital status, 130 (61.6%) were single, 77 (36.5%) were married, 1 (0.5%) was divorced while the remaining 3 (1.4%) were separated. still amongst them, 170 (80.6%) got admission via post utme while the remaining, 41 (19.4%) were admitted via direct entry. instruments the instruments for data collection included the socio-demographic variables, academic stress inventory, academic anxiety sources instrument and the ryff psychological wellbeing scale. i. the demographic variables that were assessed in the study included sex, age, religion, ethnic group, marital status, mode of entry and level of study. ii. academic stress was measured using the academic stress inventory developed by lin and chen (2009). the 34-item scale is measured on a 5-point likert format of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). the scale is composed of 7 dimensions; teacher stress (items 1-9, α=.90), result stress (items 10-14, α=.89), test stress (items 15-18, α=.92), group studying stress (items 19-23, α=.87), peer stress (items 24-27, α=.85), time stress management (items 28-30, α=.87) and self-inflicted stress (items 31-34, α=.86), meanwhile the overall scale has an coefficient value of .90. meanwhile, the present study obtained alpha coefficients as follows; teacher stress (α=.71), result stress (α=.75), test stress (α=.87), group studying stress (α=.70), peer stress (α=.71), time management (α=.83) and self-inflicted stress (α=.90), meanwhile the overall scale has a coefficient value of .91. sample of items include; “i worry that i have to redo the compulsory 162 courses in which i fail”, “i often face problems as to how to share work with my classmates when some exercises or reports require group work”. iii. academic anxiety was measured using the academic anxiety source instrument developed by shahrouri (2016). the 43-item scale is measured on a 5-point likert format of 1 (never) to 5 (most often). the scale has 5 dimensions; study task source (items 1-8), emotional sources (items 9-16), social sources (items 17-26), language sources (items 27-36) and family sources (items 37-43). the author reported an alpha coefficient of .88. meanwhile, the present study obtained an alpha as follows; study task source (α=.68), emotional sources (α=.76), social sources (α=.61), language sources (α=.70) and family sources (α=.68) and the overall alpha coefficient is .79. sample of items include; “i feel anxious during exam due to the lack of preparation”, “i feel depressed after taking an exam”. iv. psychological health was measured using the ryff’s psychological wellbeing scale developed by ryff (1989). the 42-item scale is measured on a 5-point likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). the scale has six dimensions; autonomy: items 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, 37; environmental mastery: items 2, 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, 38; personal growth: items 3, 9, 15, 21, 27, 33, 39; positive relations: items: 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34, 40; purpose in life: items: 5, 11, 17, 23, 29, 35, 41 and self-acceptance: items 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42. amongst the 42 items, items 3, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36, 39, 41 are reversed scored. the overall score on the scale is obtained by summing the individual items. the present study obtained alpha coefficients as follows; autonomy (α=.81), environmental mastery (α=.78), personal growth (α=.64), positive relations (α=.67), purpose in life (α=.72) and self-acceptance (α=.88). meanwhile, the overall alpha coefficient is .86. sample of items include; “the demands of everyday life often get me down”, “i have a sense of direction and purpose in life”. procedure this study was conducted among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. the researchers prepared a total of 230 copies of the questionnaire. approval was sought and obtained from the school management. their consents were sought and obtained before administration. they were instructed on how to complete the scale. it psychological health took the respondents about 10 minutes each to complete the filling. after administration, a total of 211 copies representing a return rate of 91.7%. these copies were then considered for statistical analysis. data analysis for the purpose of data analysis, the researchers employed the use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. in this study, the descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, frequencies and simple percentages were used to describe the respondents. meanwhile, multiple linear regression and multiple regression were used to test the hypotheses generated in this study. results the hypotheses raised in this study were tested using multiple linear regression for hypotheses one and two and multiple regression for hypothesis three. the result is as shown in the following tables: table 1: multiple linear regression showing academic stress as a predictor of psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja outcome r r2 f β t sig psychological health constant .953 .908 142.698 8.099 .000 teacher stress .383 5.322 .028 result stress .325 4.110 .025 test result .334 4.798 .012 group studying stress .312 4.311 .032 peer stress .375 4.170 .017 time management .337 4.797 .026 self-inflicted stress .372 4.371 .012 the result presented in table1 above shows that academic stress significantly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university r2=.908, f(7,203)=142.698, p<.001. the result further indicated that all the dimensions of academic stress; teacher stress (β=.383, t=5.322, p<.05), result stress (β=.325, 4.110, p<.05), test stress (β=.334, t=4.798, p<.05), group studying stress (β=.312, t=4.311, p<.05), peer stress (β=.375, t=4.170, p<.05), time management (β=.337, t=4.797, p<.05) and self-inflicted stress (β=.372, t=4.371, p<.05) made significant contributions in the prediction of psychological health. this implies that academic stress explained 90.8% of the variance in psychological health. 164 table 2: multiple linear regression showing academic anxiety as a predictor of psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. outcome r r2 f β t sig. psychological health constant .651 .424 133.258 6.442 .000 study task source .288 3.321 .041 emotional source .428 6.042 .023 social source .215 3.170 .027 language source .412 3.918 .024 family source .331 4.011 .032 the result presented in table 2 above shows that academic anxiety significantly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university r2=.424, f(5,205)=133.258, p<.001. the result further indicated that all the dimensions of academic anxiety; study task source (β=.288, t=3.321, p<.05), emotional source (β=.428, 6.042, p<.05), social source (β=.215, t=3.170, p<.05), language source (β=.412, t=3.918, p<.05) and family source (β=.331, t=4.011, p<.05) made significant contributions in the prediction of psychological health. this implies that academic anxiety explained 42.4% of the variance in psychological health. table 3: multiple regression showing academic stress and academic anxiety as joint predictors of psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja variables r r2 f β t sig. constant .844 .712 78.697 8.638 .002 academic stress .519 12.622 .004 academic anxiety .649 14.007 .002 the result presented in table 3 above shows that academic stress and academic anxiety jointly predicted psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university r2=.712, f(2,208)=78.697, p<.01. this implies that academic stress and academic anxiety explained 71.2% of the variance in psychological health. discussion hypothesis one was tested to find out if academic stress will significantly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. findings indicated that academic stress (teacher stress, result stress, test stress, psychological health group studying stress, peer stress, time management and self-inflicted stress) significantly predicted psychological health. this finding implies that as the levels of stress among undergraduate students become elevated, their psychological health is also affected. this finding tallies with schonfeld, brailovskaia, bieda, zhang and margraf (2016) who indicated that self-efficacy as a mediator of the effects of daily stressors on mental health, with superior effect sizes for positive compared to negative mental health. similarly, subramani and kadhiravan (2017) found that academic stress had a significant relationship with the mental health of students. other studies (liu, 2017; sydney-agbor, ebeh & onyeanu, 2018; clemente, hezomi, allahverdipour, jafarabadi & safaian, 2016) found that an inversely significant relation exists between stress and psychological well-being. on the opposing side, a study conducted by kiani, latif, bibi, rashid and tariq (2018) showed that no notable association exists among academic stress and mental health of university students. hypothesis two was tested to find out if academic anxiety will significantly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. findings indicated that academic anxiety (group task source, emotional source, social source, language source and, family source) significantly predicted psychological health. this finding could be due to the fact that, the feeling of anxiety is an indication that the normal mental state of an individual is compromised, thus psychological health becomes vulnerable. this finding tallies with deb, strodl and sun (2015) who in their study found that examination-related anxiety was positively related to psychiatric problems. in support, njue and anand (2018) showed that the correlation between academic anxiety and general wellbeing was negative. furthermore, other researches (jeny & varghese, 2014; takebayashi, tanaka, sugiura & sugiura, 2018; revealed that enhanced purpose in life and autonomy dimensions of psychological well-being may be useful in preventing generalized anxiety disorder. hypothesis three was tested to find out if academic stress and academic anxiety will jointly predict psychological health among newly admitted undergraduate students of baze university abuja. findings indicated that academic stress and academic anxiety jointly predicted psychological health. however, there are currently no supportive studies to this finding. 166 recommendations of the study based on the nature of this study and the finding obtained herein, the following recommendations are made: i. clinical and school psychologists should develop intervention programmes to reduce the stress and anxiety that students face in the course of studying, since this two were noted to affect students’ psychological health. ii. the students’ affairs division of universities should schedule periodic psychological health check–up for newly admitted undergraduate students. this will keep them in the right mental state and in the long run enhance their academic performance. limitations of the study despite the efforts of the researcher to ensure both internal and external validity, some irrevocable factors have been noted to affect this study: i. this study employed a cross-sectional survey design, which implies that it cannot be said that psychological health is caused by academic stress and/or academic anxiety. it can only be said of the extent to which academic stress and academic anxiety influence psychological health. ii. secondly, the use of self-report measures of data collection gave room for the researchers to have faked some responses in order to look good in the eyes of the society. this may render the result of this study undependable. references beiter, r., nash, r. & mccrady, m. 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(2016). the effects of daily stress on positive and negative mental health: mediation through selfefficacy. international journal of clinical and health psychology, 16(1), 1–10. shahrouri, e. a. (2016). sources of academic anxiety among undergraduate students contemporary study between private and government universities. journal of emerging trends in educational research and policy studies (jeteraps), 7(2), 118-124. strizhitskaya, o., petrash, m., savenysheva, s., murtazina, i., & golovey, l. (2019). perceived stress and psychological well-being: the role of emotional stability. european proceedings of social and behavioural sciences, 155-162. subramani, c. & kadhiravan, d. (2017). academic stress and mental health among high school students. indian journal of applied research, 7(5), 404-407. sydney-agbor, n., ebeh, r. & onyeanu, m. (2018). predictors of mental wellbeing among undergraduates in eastern nigeria: a function of academic stress, substance abuse and age. african journal of social and behavioural sciences (ajsbs), 8(2), 142-150. takebayashi, y., tanaka, k. & sugiura, y. (2018). well-being and generalized anxiety in japanese undergraduates: a prospective cohort study. journal of happiness studies, 19, 917–937. world health organization (2002). world report on violence and health: summary. geneva, world health organization. esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 43 challenges of post-crisis resettlement: a study of internally displaced persons (idps) in abuja and edo state, nigeria ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment department of sociology, faculty of social sciences kogi state university, anyigba. correspondence: imoudugomment@gmail.com abstract internal displacement of people has become a global social problem that requires urgent attention in order to prevent or reduce further escalation of the menace. the study examined the causes of displacement of people, problems of the internally displaced persons, effect of internally displaced persons on the society, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the internally displaced persons back to the society. the study used qualitative method of data collection and analysis. participants were selected from the following camps: new kunchingoro, gwoza/bama and abuja area1camps in abuja and idp camp in edo state situated in ohugua near benin. the study found that displacement of people is as a result of violent conflict occasioned by the activities of boko haram, herders/farmers clashes, flood, famine, draught and other natural disasters. it was also found that displaced persons face the problems of starvation, diseases as well as psychological problems. another finding of the study is that incompatibility, lack of social cohesion, and unproductiveness on the part of the displaced person are the effects of displacement on the society. finally, the study found that restoration of peace to the conflict-infested areas before the idea of rehabilitation and reintegration can come in through empowerment programme such as: skill acquisition, apprenticeship scheme, vocational training and other forms of technical education. the study recommended the need to engage warring parties in dialogue in order to find lasting solutions to the problem of violent conflict in nigeria. government should also look for a way of solving the varying problems of displaced persons in camps. on the issue of incompatibility and lack of social cohesion, the message of unity in diversity can go a long way in proffering solution to the problem. finally, empowerment programme can ease the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of the idps to the society key words: internal displacement, post-crisis, rehabilitation, skill acquisition, violence. introduction displacement has become a global social problem as it cuts across continents in the world. for instance, at the end of 2014, it was estimated there were 38.2 million idps worldwide, the highest level since 1989, the first year for which global statistics on idps are available. the countries with the largest idp population were syria(7.6m), colombia (6m), iraq (3.6m), the democratic republic of congo (2.8m), sudan (2.2m) south sudan (1.6m), pakistan (1.4m), nigeria (1.2m) and somalia (1.1m) ( united nations high commissioner ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment for refugees, 2019). in africa, there are approximately 9 to 10 million people who have fled or been forcibly displaced from their homes for same reasons as refugees: armed conflict, ethnic strife, human rights violations, but who remain in their countries (cohen, 1999). in nigeria, the boko haram insurgency has caused over 2 million people to be internally displaced, making nigeria the home of africa’s largest idps (chegwe, 2016).these people have lost everything and are now dependent on faith-based organization, foundations and well-meaning individuals for their daily bread. the report of the internal displaced monitoring centre, idmc and the norwegian refugee council, nrc, stated that the number of internally displaced persons, idps, in nigeria is approximately a third of the idps in africa and 10 percent of idps in the world (nigerian pilot, 2016). in nigeria, particularly, abuja, plateau, gombe, nassarawa, adamawa, bauchi, benue, borno, kaduna, kano, taraba, yobe and zamfara, idp camps have been set up in over 207 lgas (chegwe, 2016). igenebu (2016) re-echoing the report of the institute for peace, identified the causes of internal displacement of people in nigeria to include ethnic intolerance, religious intolerance, ecological problem, and the activity of millitants. others include famine and herders/famers clashes. igenebu (2016) went further to highlight lack of help from government, financial problem, intolerance, lack of medical supplies, and violence towards idps, among others as the problems of idps in nigeria. this is not at variance with the findings of the field survey conducted on idps in area 1 idps camp in abuja by akor and audu (2016), where it was found that idps are bedeviled with lack of access to basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, and health care facilities, among others. in a similar development, the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian assistance, unocha disclosed that no fewer than 300,000 people in borno, yobe and adamawa states-70 percent of them women and children have fled their homes since early 2013. in different parts of the country, communal clashes and related violence have also resulted in many people fleeing their homes and properties (nigerian pilot, 2016). against the backdrop of a recent discovery by the united nations that there are 7.7 million people benighted by boko haram insurgency in the north-eastern part of nigeria, the body has taken more than keen interest in residents’ plight (press reader, 2018). this study is worthwhile due to the alarming number of idps in nigeria as shown in the aforementioned statistics. how can life be made meaningful to the idps again? this is the crux of this research. can the root causes be stopped? in solving these issues, there must be challenges such as exclusion (running away), segregation (kept apart) and reintegration (resettlement). according to the secretary of the campaign for democracy (cd), comerade ifeanyi odili, there is the need for utmost sincerity in the concerted efforts between the federal government and the borno state government towards resettlement of the idps (press reader, 2018). similarly, adimula (2019), has presented a 4-phase strategy for the care and 45 rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (idps) in nigeria. this includes after-shock, stabilization, empowerment and reintegration phases of idps. in another submission, ikwuyatum (2016), opined that the policy of rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration of idps in the region can only succeed with less politics and more collaboration and synergy of efforts by state and non-state actors in management of forced migrants, in particular, idps in the north eastern nigeria. in the world humanitarian summit held in istanbul in may 2016, key stakeholders including member states, un agencies and ngos, committed to adopt a shift of mindset to bridge the humanitarian-development divide (undp and unhcr, 2017). the aim of the study is to examine the challenges of post-crisis resettlement of internally displaced persons in abuja, the federal capital territory and edo state. specifically, the paper examines the causes of internal displacement, the problems of idps, the effects of idps and the rehabilitation and the integration of idps back to the society. for the purpose of this study, selected camps in the federal capital territory and edo state were our focus. the camps the researchers studied in abuja include new kuchingoro, gwoza/bama camp durumi, abuja area one idp wassa camp and the idp camp in edo state situated in ohugua near benin. the need to examine the influence of the host community on the idps from different socio-economic background as well as the influence of the idps on the host community deserves a separate study of this nature. the scope of the study is limited to idps in abuja and edo state, nigeria between april, 2018-october, 2019. the scope includes the causes of displacement, problems of idps, the effects of idps on the society, and their rehabilitation and reintegration back to the society. understanding the plight of internally displaced persons (idps) in nigeria approximately, over 2 million people are internally displaced in nigeria. this corroborates the figure estimated by the internal displacement monitoring center, idmc. according to this report, there are almost 2,152,000 internally displaced people (idps) in nigeria as at 31 december, 2015. the figure is based on assessment conducted from november to december 2015 by the international organisation for migration (iom) and displacement tracking matrix (dtm) team in 207 local government areas (lga) covering 13 states (idmc, 2015). the states include abuja (13, 481idps); adamawa (136,010); bauchi (70,078); benue (85, 393); borno (1,434,149); gombe (25,332); kaduna (36, 976); kano (9,331); nassarawa (37,553); plateau (77,317); taraba (50,227); yobe (131,203) and zamfara (44,929). the living condition of idps in nigeria is so deplorable and mindboggling that you don’t even wish your enemy to experience it. this is best explained by aluko (2017) where it was found that over 108,000 idps in ngala community, borno state, are grappling with a litany ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment of infections and hunger. they are exposed to cough, malaria, diarrhea and acute respiratory disorders as a result of unhygienic living conditions and harsh weather. the idps in nigeria who were displaced by circumstances outside their immediate control are living like refugees in their own land. statistics have shown that the bulk of people living in idp camps are displaced by violence-related issues such as insurgency. for instance, the assessment of iom and dtm as re-echoed by the international displacement monitoring centre, idmc, (2015) shows that while 12.6 percent of the total figure of idps were displaced due to communal clashes and 2.4 per cent were displaced by natural disasters, it is scandalous, disheartening and demoralizing to know that 85 percent of the idps were displaced as a result of insurgency attacks by islamist, an indication that terrorism is the bane of peace in nigeria. in 2018, 541,000 new displacements were recorded, 200,000 of which took place in the middle belt region and the rest as a result of the boko haram insurgency in the north-east. about 2.2 million people remained displaced due to these conflicts as of the end of the year (idmc 2018). it is equally important to note here that some idps camps have become avenues for exhibition and promotion of moral decadence and laxity. this situation is typical of allegations of sexual escapades in camps in benue state where condoms, used and unused, stain pants were seen littering in camps and famous individuals come to camps at night to take girls out (daily post online, 2017). efforts are made by individuals, ngos, religious organisations and other care-givers to improve or alleviate the ordeals of the idps in camps across the country. this is in tandem with chegwe (2016)’s position where it was found that churches, ngos and individuals contribute to their daily survival by providing food, clothes and medical supplies to these camps. in the same token, in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, the nigeria mortgage refinance company (nmrc) in conjunction with industrial training fund (itf) has commenced a vocational skills acquisition programme in the new kunchingoro idp, kawa district, abuja (nmrc, 2017). methodology the study made use of primary and secondary sources of data collection. for primary source, interview, focus group discussions were used to collect data from the respondents. five (5) trained research assistants were part of the study. for the secondary source of data collection, relevant data were extracted from reports, textbooks, academic journals, magazines, and from other secondary sources such as the internet and library. the indepth interview was designed to collect data on the causes of internal displacement, the problems of idps, the effects of the idps on the society, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of idps to the society. examples of questions asked include: identify the 47 factors responsible for internal displacement of idps, what are the problems of idps?, do idps have any effect on the society?, how do we rehabilitate and reintegrate the idps back to the larger society? participants in the in-depth interview were camp officials and idps themselves. for idp camps in abuja, twenty (20) respondents, ten (10) males and ten females were sampled. they include: seven (7) respondents from new kunchigoro camp, six (7) respondents from abuja area 1 idp and six (6) respondents from gwoja/bama durumi camp. for edo state, six (6) respondents from idp camp situated in ohugua near benin participated in the interview. focus group discussion was conducted among some respondents including some members of the host community. in all, 5 sessions of focus group discussions were conducted in this study. examples of questions asked in the sessions include: what are the likely causes of internal displacement? identify problems idps are facing in camps, how would you describe the effects of idps on the society? make suggestions on the rehabilitation and reintegration of idp back to the wider society. a moderator and a note taker were involved in conducting the fgds in the selected areas. content analysis was used to analyze data generated from the two qualitative techniques of data collection, in-depth interview and focus group discussions. the researchers used the data generated from the interviews and the group discussions to analyze the challenges of post crisis resettlement in idp camps in abuja, by relating the outstanding points of responses to the objectives of the study. data presentation data from the interview and group discussion were presented and analysed on the basis of the study objectives. they include causes of internal displacement of people, problems of the internally displacement persons, effects of internally displaced persons on the society, and rehabilitation and reintegration of internally displaced persons back to the society. causes of internal displacement of people respondents were asked to respond to questions on the causes of their displacement. most of the respondents attributed their causes of displacement to boko haram insurgency in the north east and herders/famers clashes in the north central nigeria. a negligible number of the respondents mentioned a combination of factors such as flood, famine, and other forms of natural disasters. for instance, a respondent from the interview conducted in fct has this to say: we ran away for safety after realizing that the neighbouring villages in borno state were destroyed and lives lost to boko haram insurgency in the region. at first, we were running without direction until my family, i and neighbours eventually found ourselves in a safer place. some of us decided to stay in more ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment habitable places temporarily for a night, or two, before proceeding to where camps exist. that was how we found ourselves here (in-depth interview, 2019) in corroboration to the above findings, a particular respondent, a respondent from the focus group discussions in ohugua camp in edo state opined thus: we don’t have any place to run to in the neighbourhood, nowhere is safe as every communities in the region is susceptible to attacks from this set of people. the only option left for us is to run out of the state in order to live. we have heard of this camp in the state and decided to come as a temporary measure (focus group discussions, 2019). another key informant from the in-depth interview shares her view on the causes of her displacement. she said: as a single parent for close to twenty years, i and my children left our village at the instance of the serious violent conflict between farmers and herdsmen in my community. the major occupation of my people is farming; a situation where every crop in the farm is destroyed, what do you expect? we had to run in company of other villagers in the neighbourhood to the idp camp as a temporary arrangement before we can think of exploring other avenues (in-depth interview, 2019). the remaining handful of respondents attributed their displacement to a combination of factors such as: famine, flood and other forms of natural disasters. the problems of internally displaced persons in this section, respondents were asked to enumerate the types of problems they encounter in their respective camps. from our findings from both the focus group discussions and in-depth interview, it was discovered that hunger, diseases and psychological trauma are major problems people living idp camps are facing. below are some of the quotations from the in-depth interview and focus group discussion sessions to show the types of problem the idps are facing on a daily basis. a key informant from the in-depth interview in camps in fct posited that: 49 we are experiencing a lot of problems living here. these problems include health challenges such as dysentery, diarrhea, malaria and typhoid, as well as skin problems. other problems we encounter are psychological. they include: not knowing the where-about of other members of the family, memory loss and worries over hopelessness (in-depth interview, 2019). the above view is in line with the position of a particular discussant in the focus group discussions held in edo idp camp: we are hungry; we always have shortage in food supply. there is no hope for tomorrow; we are living a life of uncertainty. how the food is distributed is a serious source of worries; one is not sure of the possibility of deciding what next line of action to take. it is so deplorable to the extent that diseases are spreading like wildfire in camps. (focus group discussions, 2019). another key informant from the in-depth interview held in the fct described their problems thus: we have problems of isolation as a result of lack of communication with our people at home, how they are faring, are the still alive? if they are alive, where are they? these and other health problems we have here are enough to make life miserable and not worth-living (in-depth interview, 2019). the effects of internally displaced persons on the society in this section, respondents were asked to comment on the effect of idps on the society. the effects adduced by respondents include non-productiveness, liabilities, incompatibility, absence of social cohesion, over-dependence, lack of maintenance culture and noncommitment to the progress of the host communities, among others. one of the discussants from the focus group discussions held in fct opined that: one of the effects of idps on society is that instead of being productive as was the case when they were in their respective places of origin, they have become liabilities to the nation. the working class among them who were catering for the needs of ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment children and the aged has moved into dependent group (focus group discussions, 2019). this is in tandem with the position of another respondent in the in-depth interview conducted in edo state who posited that: some of them are already used living independent life which is entirely different from what obtains in the camp here. they are fully at the mercies of the camp management team and their decisions; it is not easy to leave one’s destiny in the hands of strangers who are from different socio-cultural background (in-depth interview, 2019). another key informant from the in-depth interview conducted in the fct explained the effect of idps on society: another effect of idps on the society is the problem of incompatibility; a situation where people of diverse social, cultural, religious and ethnic background converge in a place like this by accident and not by choice, there is bound to be problem of how to live together in peace and harmony. there is absolutely no social cohesion that will foster peaceful coexistence as nigerians (in-depth interview, 2019). this is not far from what a particular discussant in the focus group discussions held in edo state said: lack of maintenance culture is one of the effects of idps on the society. since majority of them are from other parts of the country, there are not under any compulsion to be loyal and committed to the progress of the host communities as their stay in the camp is only for a short while (focus group discussions, 2019). rehabilitation and reintegration of internally displaced persons back to the society 51 in this section, respondents were asked to respond to the issues relating to rehabilitation and reintegration of idps. most of the respondents suggested the need to restore peace in their places of origin, to organise skill acquisition programme, apprenticeship scheme, vocational training and other forms of technical education. one of the respondents in the in-depth interview in edo state has responded that: before we can talk about rehabilitation and reintegration, there is the need to first of all work on how to restore normalcy to the affected areas we ran from; our sources of livelihood can be attained in those areas that we are used to. remaining here is tantamount to continuous liabilities to governments and other stakeholders (in-depth interview, 2019) to corroborate the above submission, another respondent in the focus group discussions held in fct asserted that: the issue of rehabilitation or reintegration can only be a priority when there is peace in our lands. do we now go back to where we came from when we here on regular basis, reports of the spate of violence taking place there? the major preoccupation should be on how to restore peace first (focus group discussion, 2019). another key informant in fct has this to say: rehabilitation and reintegration can only be achievable when there is skill acquisition programme that one can rely on whenever we get out of the camp. i think empowerment is the foundation of any laudable form of rehabilitation and reintegration (in-depth interview, 2019). another discussant stated that: i think for any reasonable rehabilitation and reintegration to take place, there is the need to make victims acquire technical or vocational training inform of apprenticeship scheme that make them self-reliant. with this background, the idps can be useful to themselves and to the larger society (focus group discussion, 2019). this study has focused on the challenges of post-crisis resettlement of idps in abuja and edo state, nigeria. this section presents the summary of major findings with respect to the ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment study objectives. specific recommendations with relevant policy implications were made based on these findings for appropriate understanding of the challenges of post-crisis resettlement of idps under study. furthermore, specific conclusions were drawn based on the findings of the study. there were four specific objectives, consequently their findings are summarily presented in the order they were stated. the study objectives were to examine the causes of internal displacement; to ascertain the problems of idps; to explore the effects of idps on the society; and to examine the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of idps back to the society. summary of findings the main findings of the study according to the stated objectives are presented as follows: objective one examined the causes of displacement. the result of data generated from the field in respect of this, reveals that insurgency and herders/farmers crises were major causes of internal displacement of people in camps under study. flood, famine and other natural disasters were identified as minor causes of internal displacement. this finding is in tandem with the position of the federal republic of nigeria (frn): in nigeria, most of the incidences of internal displacement occur because of violent conflicts with ethnic religious and/or political undertones. some incidences occur between fulani herdsmen and farmers and between government forces and armed groups (frn, 2012:10) objective two examined the problems of idps in abuja and edo state. the findings revealed hunger, diseases, psychological trauma as major problems facing idps in abuja and edo state. this finding corroborates the assertion of the frn as stated below: during violent conflicts or natural disasters, which force idps to leave houses and properties are destroyed, looted or burnt down. most idps in nigeria run to neighbouring communities that are safe, usually taking refuge in temporary shelters such as: schools, police stations, military barracks, public buildings, and places of worship, among others; having been deprived of their homes and sometimes their lands and livelihoods. this has made them to lack access to necessities of life such as food, water and shelter (frn, 2012:11) 53 objective three examined the effects of internally displaced persons on the society. after critical examination of the objective, it was discovered that non-productiveness, liabilities, incompatibility, absence of social cohesion, over-dependence, lack of maintenance culture and non-commitment to the progress of the host communities, among others. this finding does not contradict the assertion of the frn. when internally displaced persons are accommodated by host communities, these communities also experience immense pressure. there is overcrowding of internally displaced persons who create informal settlements on communal and private land. there is also overstretching of social basic amenities (frn, 2012:12). objective four examined the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of the internally displaced persons back to the society. the bulk of respondents suggested the needs to restore peace in their places of origin, to established skill acquisition programme, apprenticeship scheme, vocational training and other forms of technical education. this finding is in consonance with series of consultations, under the technical support and guidance of united nations development programme and united nations high commissioner for refugees (2017), which took place in abuja, borno, adamawa and yobe. these discussions initiated based on a request by the resident coordinator (rc) during his visit to north-east nigeria. solutions encompass voluntary return to places of origin, local integration in areas of displacement or resettlement in another location in the country. discussion of findings the result of data analysis of objective 1, which examined causes of internal displacement of idps, demonstrates with a great measure of conviction that violence conflicts and natural disasters were the causes of displacement in the study areas. the result of the data generated in respect of objective 2 which examined the problems of idps, revealed that idps face a lot of problems ranging from hunger, health to psychological issues. there is sufficient evidence based on findings from objective 3, which examined the effect of idps on the society. the study revealed that idps are like liabilities to the society as they ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment are found to be unproductive, unpatriotic and incompatible to the norms and values of the host communities, devoid of social cohesion and lots more. data generated on objective 4, which examined the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of idps back to the society, indicated that efforts should be made to restore peace to the areas that were conflict-infested before the issue of rehabilitation and reintegration can take place. on the same issues, skill acquisition, apprenticeship schemes, vocational training and other forms of technical education were recommended by respondents in order to facilitate and fast track the process of rehabilitation and reintegration of idps back to the society. recommendation and conclusion this study addresses the challenges of post-crisis resettlement of internally displaced persons in abuja and edo state. it examined in specific terms the causes of internal displacement of people, the problems of idps, the effects of idps on the society and the rehabilitation and integration of the idps back to the society. the causes of internal displacement (violent conflicts and natural disasters), the problems of idps (hunger, health and psychological issues), the effects of idps on the society (incompatibility, lack of social cohesion, unproductiveness, lack of commitment to the progress of the host communities) and the rehabilitation and reintegration of the idps back to the society. based on the above findings, the following are recommended: violence can be addressed by engaging the insurgents, farmers and herdsmen in dialogue; it is very important to know their grievances are, so as to proffer solution to their problems. adequate care can be taken by government and other non-governmental bodies to improve the welfare of idps in camps in the study areas the need to preach the messages of social cohesion and unity in diversity can go a long way in solving the problem of incompatibility. 55 the issue of rehabilitation and reintegration can be achieved through skill acquisition programme after restoring peace in the land. references adimula, b. (2019). how to resettle nigerian idps. retrieved from www.unilorin.edu.ng on november 2, 2019 akor, l. y. & audu, m. (2016). boko haram insurgency and the plight of internally displaced persons. kogi journal of sociology (1) 3, 45-58. aluko, o. (2017). tears from ngala: nigeria’s largest idps camp in throes of hunger and disease. retrieved from https://punchng.com in december 3, 2017. chegwe, f. (2016). a sustainable solution to the challenges of forced by internally displaced persons in nigeria. retrieved from www.connevnigeria.com in december 3, 2017. cohen, r. (1999). new challenges of refugee policy: internally displaced persons. retrieved from https://wwwbrookingseduzon.the-record in december 3, 2017. daily post online (2017). packs of used condoms, pants litter benue idp camp. retrieved from dailypost.ng in december 3, 2017. federal republic of nigeria (2012). national policy on internally displaced persons (idps). retrieved from https://www.refworld.org on november 2, 2019. igenebu, g. (nd). problems of internally displaced persons in nigeria. retrieved from https://www.naija.ng in december 1, 2018. ikwuyatum, g.o. (2016). the politics of resettlement, rehabilitation and reintegration of internally displaced persons (idps). retrieved from www.researchgate.net on november 2, 2019. internally displacement monitoring centre (2015). nigeria idp figures analysis. retrieved from www.internal-dislacement.org in december 4, 2018. nigeria mortgage refinance company (2017). nmrc, itf begin artisans’ training in abuja idp. retrieved from https://m.guardian.ng on december 3, 2017. nigerian pilot (2016). challenges of idps. retrieved from nigerianpilot.com on december 3, 2017. press reader (2018). borno’s idps and the challenges of resettlement. retrieved from https://www.pressreader.com on november 2, 2019. http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/ https://punchng.com/ http://www.connevnigeria.com/ https://wwwbrookingseduzon.the-record/ https://www.refworld.org/ https://www.naija.ng/ http://www.researchgate.net/ http://www.internal-dislacement.org/ https://m.guardian.ng/ https://www.pressreader.com/ ada okau & thomas imoudu gomment united nations development programme & united nations high commissioner for refugees (2017). strategy on protection, return and recovery for the north-easty nigeria. retrieved from https://reliefweb.int on november 2, 2019. united nations high commissioner for refugees (2019). the boko haram insurgency has displaced nearly 2-4 million people in the lake chad basin. retrieved from www.uncr.org in august 30, 2019. https://reliefweb.int/ http://www.uncr.org/ page 1 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 337 influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress among married workers nwatu, anthonia chigozie department of psychology faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology (esut), toniaksly@yahoo.com abstract marital stress seems to affect every marriage though in various ways and at different levels of the marriage as seen in this research. this study investigated the influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress. the study involved 186 married people selected from non-teaching staff of enugu state university of science and technology (esut) agbani. they ranged between 20 55 (i.e., x = 40.32) in years. the marital stress inventory (msi) by omoluabi (1994) was used for data collection. three-way analysis of variance f-test revealed that the three main factors of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress were significant. the result also showed a significant interaction of length of marriage and age; gender and age. the result yielded non-significant outcome between length of marriage and gender, and among length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress. it was recommended that females, married people in their old age and those in their long length of marriage should guide themselves from marital stress since this study proved that they are prone to marital stress unlike males, married people in their young age and those who are young. keywords: marital stress, length of marriage, gender, age and married workers. introduction marriage is the coming together of two people from the same or different cultures, socio-economic background, religious beliefs, educational background and age differences who have agreed to live as husband and wife after performing the necessary marital rites. in some cultures including nkanu in enugu state of south east nigeria the two people usually are adult male and female who have agreed to become husband and wife. these marital rites are culture bound, therefore it depends on the culture(s) of the intended couples. marriage is an essentially private, intimate, emotional relationship created by two people for their own personal reasons to enhance their own personal well-being (drucilla, 1998). also according to dukeminier, krier, alexander, and schill (2006), marriage is a social union or legal contract mailto:toniaksly@yahoo.com between individuals that create kinship. it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture. interestingly, marriages seem to encounter numerous challenges immediately after the marital rites are performed. some perceived challenges faced by married people can be positive such as bearing children, and parenting etc. such are regarded as eustress (selye, 1975). sadly, some of these challenges like verbal and physical abuses, nagging, insufficient funds, etc, are detrimental to health of the couples they are regarded as a ‘distress’ (selye, 1975). whether these challenges are seen as eustress or distress, all of them are regarded in marriage as sources of marital stress and adequate adjustment is needed in order to be safe from ill health and even death. most of these difficulties can come from the spouses themselves, their children, their sex roles, their relatives, friends or neighbours (nwatu, 2018). it can also occur as a result of differences in religious beliefs, cultural background, social status, educational gap and age gap, all these difficulties may culminate in marital stress (nwatu, 2018).marital stress is the spousal unresolved conflict, disaffection, misunderstanding, quarrel and fighting which may lead to separation or divorce in marriage (nichosen & smith, 2010 cited in okeke, abamara, okoye, eze & ozoude, 2019). marital stress here entails a condition where marriage related factors interact with the individual to change (disrupt or enhance) his or her psychological conditions such that the person is forced to deviate from normal functioning (denga, 1991, beehr & newman, 1998 cited in nwatu, 2018). marital stress is being fueled when there is lack of adequate adjustment in a marriage relationship. it may affect married ones in the following ways: chronic sickness, misperception, and uncontrolled crisis that may lead to divorce or separation. in this study, the author wants to look at influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress of non-teaching married workers of enugu state university of science and technology (esut) agbani. length of marriage refers to the number of years a couple has stayed together as husband and wife. studies have shown that couples seem to be happy at early and later stages of their marriage than in the middle stage (rollins & feldman, 1970). this may be due to the reduced number of time people in the middle stage spend on interaction and on bearing and rearing of children. moreover, the age of the couple has effect on marital stress. according to umberson, williams, powers, liu and needham (2006), marital strain appears to matter for health as individual’s get older. they also found that as individuals get older, they lose key social figures in their lives and rely more on their spouse as a source of meaning in their lives. komasi and saeid (2016) in their study found that age did not have a role in marital stress among men. another factor that has been found to have significant effect on marital stress is gender. in a study by potter (2006), it was found that marital quality had a larger impact on women than on men. balog, janszky, leineweber, blom, wamala and orth-gomer (2003) in their study found women are more sensitive to familial stress than men and marital arguments affect their psychological health more prominently. also, robrbaugh, shoham and coyne (2006) found in their study that due to stronger emotional responses in women, they report higher level of marital stress than men do. in order words, marital stress has been shown to be influenced by length of marriage, gender and age. since in the extant literature, these variables have not been investigated in igbo culture, the present researcher attempts to explore them. some theories have been postulated to explain the phenomenon of stress, marital stress and marriage: conservation of resources (cor) theory hobfoll, freedy, green and solomon (1996) assumes that stress occurs in any of this three contexts: when people experience loss of resources, when resources are threatened, or when people invest their resources without subsequent gain. four categories of resources are proposed: object resources (i.e., physical objects such as home, clothing, or access to transportation), condition resources (e.g., employment, personal relationships), personal resources (e.g., skills or self-efficacy), and energy resources (means that facilitate the attainment of other resources, for example, money, credit, or knowledge). in my opinion, loss of resources might affect both men and women, those in short marriages and also those in long marriage even people of all ages, thus the menace of marital stress. interaction (transactional) theories transactional theories incorporated the importance of both stressors and stress responses in explaining the linkage between stress and illness or disease. lazarus and folkman (1984) proposed a transactional theory of stress that has received considerable attention over the years. according to their perspective, it was not the initial stressor per se that was critical in linking stress to disease, but the individual’s response to the stressor that determined whether a cyclic stress reaction developed. focusing upon the acute cognitive stress response system, lazarus (1966) suggested that three types of cognitive appraisal occurred in determining the magnitude of the stress reaction: primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, and reappraisal. primary appraisal focused upon the degree to which a person detected a stressor as being harmful (it leading to potential injury or illness), threatening (causing anxiety, fear, or damage to self-esteem), or challenging (leading to potential gain or growth). lazarus (1966), noted that individuals determine whether a stimulus was irrelevant, positive or stressful; only stimuli appraised as stressful elicited ongoing stress responses. primary appraisal was conceptualized as being accompanied by secondary appraisal, which focused upon a person’s determination of his or her resources to cope with the stressor perceived during primary appraisal. the process of reappraisal involved any change in the primary appraisal as a result of the assessment of coping resources that occurred during secondary appraisal. olexy and herring (2006) conducted a study to determine how positive and negative aspects of marital quality affect physical health and whether these effects vary with age or gender. one thousand and forty-nine married people between 24-96 years participated in the study. it was found that marital stress affects married people at older age than people at younger age. there was no evidence of gender differences. in another study conducted by herrick (1998), with a total participants of 20 married couples between the ages of 20 and 55 with mean age = 34.2 years. the study was to find out the best predictors of marital interaction among age of the couple, their length of marriage and number of children. it was found that those couples who have been married for a relatively long time (16 years or more) have few to no negative statements and disagreements. a shorter length of marriage (11 years or less) is predictive of the occurrence of more disagreements and more negative statements. so they concluded that length of marriage is what predicts marital interaction, while age does not. peleg (2008) carried out a study on 121 israel men and women to explore relationships between differentiation of self and marital satisfaction at various stages of married life. it was found that level of marital satisfaction and duration of the marriage were negatively correlated for women and positively correlated for men. in another study conducted by luo (2006) to explore the parenthood transition in a chinese cultural context, three hundred and sixty-four parents participated in the study. it was found that women reported higher stress than men. finally, evidences have shown that length of marriage, gender and age affects marital stress. according to lefton (1946), in the beginning of the 21st century, very few people were divorced, but today more than one in three marriages are terminated through divorce. the current state of affairs in marriages seems to suggest that marriages are under stress hence the present study intends to find out answers to the following problems:  will there be a statistical significant influence of length of marriage on marital stress among esut married workers?  will there be a statistical significant influence of gender on marital stress among esut married workers?  will there be a statistical significant influence of age on marital stress among esut married workers? the main aim of this study was to determine whether there will be statistical significant influence of length of marriage, age and gender on marital stress particularly among esut married workers. in this study, for the purpose of this study, the following hypotheses were proposed and tested, such as:  there will be no statistically significant influence of length of marriage on marital stress.  there will be no statistically significant influence of gender on marital stress.  there will be no statistically significant influence of age on marital stress. method participants a total of 186 participants comprising of 95 males and 91 females drawn from esut married workers took part in this study. using stratified random sampling technique, they were drawn from the non-teaching married workers in the administrative offices thus: 94 (49 males and 45 females) from registry department, 46 (23 males and 23 females) from bursary department and 46 (23 males and 23 females) from vice chancellor’s office all at esut permanent site agbani. the age range of the participants was between 20-55 years (young 2039 years versus old 40-55 years) with a mean age of 40.32 and standard deviation of 8.884. the minimum level of education was senior secondary certificate examination and its equivalent while the maximum is bachelors degree. also only the participants that are currently married, living with their spouses and have at least one child participated in the study. they were all christians and from igbo ethnic group. instrument: omoluabi (1994) marital stress inventory (msi) was used for the study. it is a 50item likert inventory which contains list of issues that cause disaffection in marriage. the inventory was used in this study to determine the level of marital stress experienced by married workers. the response format of the scale ranged from 1 (slight effect) to 5 (very severe effect). the psychometric properties for nigerian samples as provided by omoluabi (1994) are as follows: sample norms – the norms are the mean scores obtained by the general population. m(n=275) 77.83; f(n-282) 74.49 and m&f(n=557) 76.20.reliability: cronbach alpha coefficient = .92, spearman-brown split-half coefficient = .9238, gutman split-half coefficient = .92 and beta coefficient = .96.validity: a concurrent validity coefficient of .32 was obtained by correlating marital stress inventory (msi) with marital satisfaction index (msi) by hudson (1982). the researcher re-validated the instrument in another study (nwatu, 2018) and obtained a split-half reliability index of 0.72 corrected with spearman brown formula to obtain an index of 0.84. for the validity, a convergent validity index of 0.78 was obtained by correlating marital stress inventory (msi) by (omoluabi, 1994) with marital conflict behaviour checklist (mcbc) by (omeje, 1998). procedure: marital stress inventory was administered individually after establishing adequate rapport with the participants. they were asked to read and follow the instructions at the top of the test form. there was no time limit for completing msi. the test was administered by going to their offices and collected immediately after the participants responses. for each participant, the scores were obtained by adding together the values of the responses as shaded for all the items. the administration of the questionnaire took three weeks. out of the 312 copies distributed, 51 copies which form 16.2% were discarded for lack of inclusion criteria, 75copies (24%) were dropped on grounds of no marital stress. thus 186 copies (59.52%) properly filled were used for data analysis. the nigerian norms or mean scores are the basis for interpreting the scores of participants. scores higher than the norms indicate high stress level or reaction and general unhappiness with the marriage. scores lower that the norms indicate that the participants are coping adequately with existing stressors in the marriage and such scores were discarded. design/statistics: a survey design was adopted as the research design while a 2 (length of marriage: short vs. long) x 2 (gender: male vs. female) x 2 (age: young vs. old) three-way analysis of variance (anova)f-test involving statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 22.00 was used for data analysis results table 1: descriptive summary table of means on influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress among esut married workers. length of marriage gender age mean std. deviation n short length of marriage male young age 120.6364 23.86778 22 old age 146.6207 24.60461 29 total 135.4118 27.33509 51 female young age 134.2813 37.80701 32 old age 187.4615 25.90565 13 total 149.6444 42.24074 45 total young age 128.7222 33.28007 54 old age 159.2619 31.22543 42 total 142.0833 35.64612 96 long length of marriage male young age 134.7143 26.74503 14 old age 124.5333 22.70764 30 total 127.7727 24.22843 44 female young age 137.8387 29.78825 31 old age 146.6000 23.90696 15 total 140.6957 28.04668 46 total young age 136.8667 28.60912 45 old age 131.8889 25.14704 45 total 134.3778 26.89872 90 total male young age 126.1111 25.61113 36 old age 135.3898 25.96351 59 total 131.8737 26.08914 95 female young age 136.0317 33.87118 63 old age 165.5714 32.02017 28 total 145.1209 35.85893 91 total young age 132.4242 31.35416 99 old age 145.1034 31.26743 87 total 138.3548 31.86666 186 from table 1 above, the participants in their short years of marriage (1-10 years) obtained a group mean of 142.08 in marital stress, and then participants in their long years of marriage (11-25 years) who obtained lesser group mean of 134.38. females obtained a group mean of 145.12 in marital stress, while males obtained a group mean of 131.87. participants in their old age (40-55 years) obtained a group mean of 145.10 in marital stress, while those in their young age (20-39 years) obtained a lesser group mean of 132.42. thus, females between the ages of 40-55 who have been married for 1-10 years obtained a group mean of 187.46 in marital stress, followed by males between the ages of 40-55 years who have married for 1-10 years (x=146.62). females of 40-55 years that have been married for 11-25 years obtained a group mean of 146.60; then females of 20-39 years who have been married for 11-25 years obtained a group mean of (x=137.84). males of 20-39 years, married for 11-25 years were the next (x=134.71). others were females of 20-39 years married for 1-10 years (x=134.28), males of 40-55 years married for 11-25 years (x=124.43) and lastly males of 20-39 years married for 1-10 years (x=120.64). also among males and females, marital stress was observed to increase for participants in young age (20-39 years: short vs. long length of marriage). while it decreases for participants in old age (40-55 years: short vs. long length of marriage). generally, the highest level of marital stress was observed among the females of 4055 years old who have married for 1-10 years indicating that older females in short marriages experience more marital stress than older women in long marriages. while the lowest level of marital stress was observed among the males of 20-39 years old who have married for 1-10 years indicating that males between 40-55 years married for 1-10 years, experience more marital stress than younger men in short marriages. table 2: anova summary table showing influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 47712.845a 7 6816.121 8.657 .000 intercept 3274598.594 1 3274598.594 4158.911 .000 lengthofmarriage 5240.761 1 5240.761 6.656 .011 gender 16203.279 1 16203.279 20.579 .000 age 15427.064 1 15427.064 19.593 .000 lengthofmarriage * gender 2190.359 1 2190.359 2.782 .097 lengthofmarriage * age 16574.464 1 16574.464 21.050 .000 gender * age 5433.257 1 5433.257 6.901 .009 lengthofmarriage * gender * age 173.875 1 173.875 .221 .639 error 140151.735 178 787.369 total 3748288.000 186 corrected total 187864.581 185 a. r squared = .254 (adjusted r squared = .225) from table 2 above, the factor of length of marriage was found to be significant f(1, 178) = 6.656, sig. .011. thus the first hypothesis which stated that “there would be no significant influence of length of marriage on marital stress”, was disconfirmed. couples in their long length of marriage (11-25 years) had higher marital stress. moreover, the table shows that gender was significant f(1, 178) = 20.579, sig. 000. the second hypothesis which stated that “there would be no significant influence of gender on marital stress”, was disconfirmed. females had higher marital stress. in addition, the factor of age was significant f(1, 178) = 19.593, sig. 000. this also disconfirmed the third hypothesis which stated that there would be no significant influence of age on marital stress. participants in their old age (40-55 years) had higher marital stress. the table also showed that there was a significant interaction of length of marriage and age f(1, 178) = 21.050, sig. 000. this is graphically represented in figure 1. this suggests that intensity of marital stress depends on how long the couple have been married and how old they are. thus participants in their long length of marriage and at young age had higher marital stress. moreover, there was significant interaction influence of gender and age on marital stress f(1, 178) = 6.901, sig. 009. this is graphically represented in figure 2. the influence of gender is manifest as the people grow older. females in their old age had higher marital stress. thus, the table showed that there was no interaction influence of length of marriage and gender on marital stress. there was also no interaction influence of length of marriage, gender and age on marital stress. 170 c2 old age 165 160 155 150 145 140 135 130 125 c1 young age 0 a1 a2 short length of marriage long fig. 1: length of marriage x age interaction effect m a r i t a l s t r e s s 170 c2 old age 165 160 155 150 145 c1 young age 140 c1 135 130 125 0 b1 b2 males gender females fig. 2: gender x age interaction effect m a r i t a l s t r e s s discussion the first hypothesis tested in this study which stated that “there would be no significant influence of length of marriage on martial stress was disconfirmed. this means that participants in their short length of marriage (1-10 years) experience marital stress more than those in their long length of marriage (11-25 years). the result of this study supported the study conducted by herrick (1998) which stated that couples who have been married for a relatively long time (16 years and more) have few to no negative statements and disagreements, while a shorter length of marriage (11 years or less) is predictive of more disagreements and more negative statements. in contrast, study conducted by peleg (2008) showed that length of marriage whether short or long affects couples the same way. the reason may be that the responsibilities associated with early years of marriage like child bearing and rearing may pose other forms of stress to couples in their short years of marriage thereby leading to marital stress. moreover, the second hypothesis tested in this study which stated that there would be no significant influence of gender on marital stress, was disconfirmed. this means that gender influences marital stress; such that females were more affected than males. luo (2006) in his study stated that women experience higher stress than men. in contrast study carried out by olexy and herring (2006), found no evidence of gender differences. the reason for the outcome of the contrast study may be because women seek for social support while men control most of the resources in the family. the third hypothesis tested in this study which stated that there would be no statistical influence of age on marital stress, was disconfirmed. this means that age influences marital stress among esut married workers. thus, married people at older age (40-55 years) were mostly affected by marital stress than married people at younger age (20-39 years). the study carried out by umberson et al. (2006) was supported by the above finding. they stated that negativity may be detrimental to health, but only at older age. another study carried out by olexy and herring (2006) state that marital stress affects married people at older age than people at younger age. in contrast, herrick (1998) found no effect of age on marital stress. the reason for these findings may be because at older age someone’s physical attraction declines especially for the women and so married partners are less attracted to each other. again, some of the participants who were 40-55 years were also within their first ten years of marriage thus they manifest marital stress. moreover, significant interaction of length of marriage and age indicate that influence of marital stress depends on how long someone has been married and also how old he/she is. significant interaction influence of gender and age on marital stress was also observed, this means that both males and females are influence more as they get older. like any other survey study in social scienecs, this study has some limitations. the size of the population used is a factor that may affect the generalization of the findings of this study to a large population. other variables such as self-concept, depression, anxiety, etc, should be studies in relation to marital stress. to this end further research should try and find out other factors not studied in this research on marital stress among esut married workers such as: to sample married people in other sectors and other professions; to study on the relationship among the variables in this study; to sample married people from other ethnic groups, religion, and educational background. since it has been established in this study that length of marriage, gender and age; interaction effects of length of marriage and age and also gender and age yielded remarkable outcomes on marital stress among esut married workers, we cannot ran away from being married. it is recommended that females, married people in their old age and those in their long length of marriage should guide themselves from marital stress since this study proved that they are prone to marital stress unlike males, married people in their young age and those who are young. also, married people are encouraged to seek the services of mental health workers like clinical psychologists in the face of marital stress. hence, married workers should always seek for measures on preventing stress in their marriages or reducing it so as not to affect their health in general. thus, we should be vigilant at any stage of our marriage in order to face the challenges associated with each stage positively. references balog, p., janszky, i., leineweber, c., blom, m., wamala, s. p. & orth-gomer, k. 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(2006). marital stress and age. journal of health and social behaviour, vol. 47 (1): 1-16. page 1 52 socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state, north central nigeria owoyemi, julius olugbenga department of sociology faculty of social sciences kogi state university, anyigba, nigeria e-mail: owoyemi.jo@ksu.edu.ng gsm no: +2348032251337 & haruna, sheidu abdulkarim department of sociology faculty of social sciences kogi state university, anyigba, nigeria e-mail: harunaabdulkarim960@kogistateuniversity.edu.ng abstract child spacing practice plays a critical role in the life of reproductive women and their children in our society. the objective of this descriptive survey was to assess the socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state, north-central nigeria. relevant data for the study were gathered from 378 respondents through a self-administered structured questionnaire. the study was anchored on the behavioural model of health service utilization of andersen. the multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select the sample of 378 respondents within the age bracket of 15-49 years in the study area. data for the study were analyzed statistically using the frequency distribution tables and percentage descriptive data and multiple regressions to test the only formulated hypothesis. findings revealed that 80.4% of the respondents were aware of child spacing practice, but only few (26.2%) of them practice child spacing. maternal age (73.8%), maternal educational attainment (72.2%), parity (70.1%), religious belief (31.2%) and income level (64.0%) were the socio-demographic variables determining child spacing practice found by the study. finally, the study recommended more awareness on the need for child spacing practice; marriage for women at marriageable age; encouragement of women education by the local government area; more work by policy makers, non-governmental organization, philanthropists, well-to-do nigerians and religious leaders on the need to enlighten their subjects for child spacing practice by women of reproductive age in the study area. keywords: child spacing, socio-demographic determinants, women of reproductive age, barriers of child spacing, dekina local government area. introduction childbirth which is a source of joy to many is also a source of ill-health and sometimes death of the mother, the child or both and other health challenges. one of the ways of curbing these problem is through the practice of child spacing. however, some factors such as mailto:jo@ksu.edu.ng mailto:harunaabdulkarim960@kogistateuniversity.edu. socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice information/awareness and others that are socio-demographic in nature hinders these practice. according to kio, et al. (2016), knowledge of the benefits and effects of lack of adequate child spacing is the commonly reported reasons why people do not practice child spacing. lack of adequate awareness of benefits and effects birth control is among the major barriers of child spacing (chukwuji, 2018). although, even when some of these women of reproductive age are aware of child spacing they still do not practice it (olaitan, 2011). study conducted in a semirural community of north-west, nigeria revealed that despite the high level of awareness and knowledge on the benefits of spacing childbirth only few women (29%) in the study area uses any method of family planning for spacing children (ashimi, et al., 2016). parvathy, (2014) stressed that the age at which a girl get married and assume the responsibilities of home and reproduction shapes her reproductive and health behaviour. martin (2013) in a study carried out in malawi revealed age, educational qualification, number of living children, work status of women of reproductive age as some of the most important reason for nonpractice of child spacing. similar study conducted by elias & hailemariam (2015) in southern ethiopia presented that married women whose age is greater than 30 years, earn income and with more than five children alive adopts at least one of the methods of fertility control. study conducted in rwanda by tuyishime, (2016) shows that aside the awareness and age, women with secondary or higher education, and those with pay jobs practices birth control compared to those without such qualities. according to olaitan (2011), some religious believers might choose to avoid any methods such as birth control pill, in an effort to live their lives according to the teachings of their religion. achana, et al. (2015) and sharma, et al. (2016) in studies carried out in ghana also asserted that age, religious belief, the level of education and socioeconomic class or wealth index as some of the predicators of birth control. according to ashimi, et al. (2016), average number of women of reproductive age in nigeria still have six children and above in their life time due to cultural influence. similarly, study by adefalu, et al. (2018) in north-west nigeria revealed that religious and cultural belief are barriers of child spacing practice. according to the study, any behaviour carried out to space pregnancy and childbirth contradict the women’s religious and cultural beliefs. furthermore, olugbenga-bello et al. (2011) in a study carried out in south-western nigeria revealed that there is a strong relationship between the religion of the people and the practice of family planning to limit child birth. ejembi, et al. (2015) posited that women who work for cash are found to be more significantly communicating with their spouses about family planning, thus 54 increasing the likelihood of contraceptive use to space pregnancy/childbirth. similarly, jane (2016) posited that participation of women in paid employment especially those pursuing demanding careers limit their fertility and either have relatively few children or none. educational status and economic empowerment of women were revealed as some of the sociodemographic determinants of birth control among married women in rural south india (rizwan, et al. 2012). etokidem, et al. (2017) posited that women who are educated are more likely to understand and appreciate why they should have fewer children for whom they can provide better education than women who were uneducated. women who have three children and above alive practice any form of birth control compared to those with less children alive (hailu & gulte, 2014). henrik & kishwar (2014) posited that women with parity of four and above are more likely to put a gap between the next birth than those with parity of one or two. the above background propelled this descriptive survey that seeks to assess the sociodemographic determinants of child spacing among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in dekina local government area of kogi state, north-central, nigeria. conceptual analysis / theoretical framework conceptual clarification this segment provides clarification for some key concepts used in the study for the purpose of clarity. these concepts include the concept of child spacing, socio-demographic determinants, women of reproductive age and challenges/barriers of child spacing. concept of child spacing child spacing simply refers to as the gap or interval between one or more pregnancies and births. this term is usually referred to as birth control, which is an integral component of primary and preventive health care for most women. child spacing according to shachar (2018), is the decision on how soon a woman becomes pregnant or gives birth again after a prior pregnancy/birth. it can also be considered as an approach to family planning that provides women and families the opportunity to delay pregnancy for the purpose of achieving the healthiest outcomes (karpagam & shangeetha, 2014). unarguably, longer period between births allows the next pregnancy and birth to be at full gestation and growth for years (tsegaye, et al., 2017). similarly, asa & daniel (2015) posited that fewer births and appropriate birth spacing reduces the risk of child mortality, stunting among children, and improves the health socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice status of mothers. inference can therefore, be made from the above that birth interval of 24 months and above can be linked to maternal and child mortality as well as other numerous health challenges such as low birth weight, preterm birth and so on. socio-demographic determinants the term socio-demographic refers to a group defined by its sociological and demographic characteristics. it involves the combination of social and demographic factors. these sociodemographic determinants or factors according to willers, et al. (2018) include characteristics such as sex, age, educational level, marital status, income level. similarly, mahmud, et al. (2017) presented that sociodemographic determinants includes age, gender, marital status as well as area of residence. several factors perceived to be social and demographic in nature have the potential of influencing individual’s perception and reports of their health status (jalalifarahani, et al., 2017). women of reproductive age women of reproductive age, according to chivese, et al., (2016), are the women between the ages of 15 and 49 years. this age of reproduction influences the childbearing pattern of the women. nilses (2000) posited that globally, women’s childbearing patterns are influenced by their ages at menarche and marriage. however, a woman of reproductive age according to this study refers to the category of women between the ages of 15 and 49 years old in the study area. theoretical framework this descriptive study is anchored on the behavioural model of health service utilization of andersen. the behavioural model of health service utilization the behavioural model of health service (bmh) was originally known as the theory of health service use. the model was developed in 1968 by ronald, m. andersen to explain the factors that determine the choice of health care utilization of people. the model is governed by the assumptions that three major factors affect the utilization of health care services. the factors include: the predisposing factors (age, gender, marital status, educational status, ethnicity, occupational status, and attitudes and behaviours related to health services), enabling factors (income, the existence of health insurance, the price of health services), and health care need 56 (andersen, 1968 cited in dilek, et al., 2021). the central application of this model to child spacing practice is that aside the existence of health service, other factors such as age, education, parity, religious belief and income plays key roles in determining the practice of child spacing by women of reproductive age. this is because the decision to space pregnancy/childbirth is based on these socio-demographic characteristics of the women of reproductive age. aim and objectives of the study the aim of this study was to assess the socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state, north-central nigeria. the specific objectives include to: 1. assess if women of reproductive age in dekina local government area are aware of child spacing practice. 2. examine whether women of reproductive age in dekina local government area practices child spacing. 3. identify the socio-demographic variables that influence child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area. research hypotheses the only null hypothesis formulated by the study was tested at 0.05 level of significance. hypothesis: there is no significant relationship between socio-demographic variables (maternal age, maternal education, parity, religious belief and income level) and child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area. method of research study setting/design the descriptive survey was conducted amongst three hundred and seventy-eight (378) women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state, north-central, nigeria. the study setting is the largest and one of the nine local government areas in kogi state named after the ancient town of dekina with three major districts, namely; biraidu, okura and dekina with twelve (12) council wards (abocho, anyigba, ojikpadala, dekina, emewe, odu i, odu ii, egume, iyale, oganenigu, ogbabede and okura wards). socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice study population sample size and sampling techniques a multistage sampling method was used. firstly, five council words, that is, abocho, anyigba, dekina, egume and okura-olafia were purposively selected out of the twelve council words because of their geographical locations. secondly, the systematic sampling was used to select the respondents from fift, tenth households and so on until the sample size of three hundred and seventy-eight women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were selected from each of five chosen council words in the study area. the estimated population of the study area is 384,530 with female population put at 190,928 (49.7%) and that of the male put at 193,604 (50.3%) (city-fact, 2020). sources of data the study used both primary and secondary data. the questionnaire is the primary source of data for the study. the secondary source of data on the other hand includes textbooks, newspaper, journal web pages from the internet and magazines. instrument of data collection the primary data were elicited through a pre-tested structured questionnaire designed. 384 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 378 copies were duly filled and returned which formed the basis for data analysis. methods of data analysis the study made use of descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data. these include: simple percentage for descriptive data, multiple regression analysis, coefficient for correlations of independent sample and analysis of variance (anova) for significant impact samples. multiple regressions was used to analyzed the joint influence of independent variables and the dependent variable. furthermore, the coefficient was used to test the relationship between socio-demographic attributes while multiple regression analysis was used to test the impact of independent variable on dependent variables. inclusion criteria age and geographical location were the inclusive/exclusive criteria for selecting the respondents for the study. this means that, only women who fell within the reproductive age (15-49 years) and also within the geographical location of dekina local government area were captured by the study. 58 questionnaire distribution and response pattern the analysis reported here was based on a sample of three hundred and seventy-eight (98.4%) copies of the questionnaire dully filled and returned. demographic variables of the respondents table 1 shows the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics. the age of the respondents ranges between 15 and 49, with the majority (74.4%) in the 15-34 age bracket. majority of the respondents (77%) were married, while, 23.1% of the respondents were either divorced, separated or were widows. good number of them (47.9%) were igalas, while more than half (52.2%) were either yoruba, ebira or other tribes not mentioned. appreciable number of them (69.3%) were into economic activities such as trading, farming, civil service work, while, few of them (30.7%) are full time housewife or student. socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice results of the study table 1: percentage distribution of scio-demographic characteristics of respondents variables category frequency (n=378) percentage (%) age in years 15-24 153 40.5 25-34 128 33.9 35-44 72 19.1 45-49 25 6.6 marital status married 291 77.0 divorced 32 8.5 separated 26 6.9 widow 29 7.7 ethnic group igala 181 47.9 yoruba/okun 21 5.6 ebira 24 6.4 others 152 40.2 occupation trading 146 38.6 farming 73 19.3 civil service 43 11.4 house wife 101 26.7 schooling 15 4.0 source: authors’ survey, 2020. table 2 revealed that the majority of the respondents (89.4%) earn between ₦18,000 and ₦59,000 as income, while, few (5.3%) earns from ₦60,000 and above as monthly income. majority (92.8%) of them practices islam and christianity, while, few (7.1%) of them practices the african traditional religion (atr). majority (96.1%) have some forms of formal education, while only few (4.0%) have non-formal education. table 2: socio-demographic characteristics of respondents cont’. variables category frequency (n=378) percentage (%) income level ₦18,000 191 50.5 ₦18,000-₦38,000 90 23.8 ₦39,000-₦59,000 57 15.1 ₦60,000 and above 20 5.3 religion islam 183 48.4 christianity 168 44.4 african traditional religion 27 7.1 educational attainment primary 173 45.8 secondary 156 41.3 tertiary 34 9.0 non-formal 15 4.0 source: author’s survey, 2020. 60 table 3: awareness, practice and barriers of child spacing practice variable frequency=378 percentage (%) are you aware of child spacing? yes no 304 74 80.4 19.6 sources of child spacing awareness antenatal/health workers friends relations mass media religious leaders 125 27 46 80 100 33.1 7.1 12.2 21.2 26.5 do you practice child spacing? yes no 99 279 26.2 73.8 what method do you adopt? modern methods (pills, injectable, implant, condom, withdrawal, abortion etc.) folkloric/traditional no method 29 122 227 7.7 32.3 60.1 how effective is the method? very effective perfect not perfect 131 183 64 34.7 48.4 17.0 do you have any challenge(s) in practicing child spacing? yes no 144 234 38.1 62.0 source: authors’ survey, 2020. table 3 shows that majority (80.4%) of the respondents were aware of child spacing practice, only few (19.6%) of them are not aware of the practice. the highest number (33.1%) got the awareness through the antenatal/health workers, 7.1% of them got the awareness through friends, 12.2% got the awareness through relations, 21.2% got the awareness through the mass media and 26.5% got the awareness through the religious leaders. few (26.2%) of them practice child spacing, while the majority (73.8%) does not despite the awareness. few (7.7%) who practices child spacing adopts the modern methods such as contraceptive, injectable, condom, pills, implant and so on, good number of them (32.3%) adopts the traditional methods, while, majority (60.1%) are not using any methods of child spacing. majority (83.1%) stated that the adopted methods is very perfect and perfect, while, few (17.0%) reported that the methods adopted was not perfect. lesser number (38.1%) stated having challenges in practicing child spacing, while, the majority (62.0%) stated having no challenges. socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice table 4: socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice variables yes (%) no (%) total (%) age 279 (73.8) 99 (26.1) 378 (100) educational attainment 273 (72.2) 105 (27.8) 378 (100) parity (number of live birth) 262 (70.1) 116 (30.7) 378 (100) religious belief 118 (31.2) 260 (68.8) 378 (100) income level 242 (64.0) 136 (35.9) 378 (100) source: authors’ survey, 2020 socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice analysis from table 4 revealed that age of most of the respondents (73.8%) determine child spacing practice, 72.2%) were determined by educational attainment, (70.1%) were determined by number of live births (parity), few (31.2%) were determined by religious belief, while large number (68.8%) were not determined by religion, and 64.0% were determined by income level. research hypothesis there is no significant relationship between socio-demographic variables on child spacing practice among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state. regression summary of the joint and relative contributions of socio-demographic variables. model specification the model specification is stated as; y = b0 +b1x1 +b2x2 +b3x3 + e………………………………………………. (i) represented as csp = bo +b1 mai+b2 eapi+b3 rbcs +b4il+e ……………………… (ii) where; y = csp (child spacing practice), b0 = constant, b1= mai (maternal age impact), b2=eapi (educational attainment and parity impact), b3 = rbcs (religious believe practices affect child spacing) b4= il (income level affect child spacing practice) and e = error of terms. dependent variable: csp method: least squares date: 05/15/21 time: 16:39 sample: 1 300 included observations: 378 62 table 5 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c -0.102770 0.131050 -0.784200 0.4336 mai 0.506838 0.058527 8.659929 0.0000 eapi -0.202387 0.040158 -5.039744 0.0000 rbcs 0.737501 0.071198 10.35845 0.0000 il 0.060816 0.043213 1.407349 0.1604 r-squared 0.599908 mean dependent var 1.989967 adjusted r-squared 0.594464 s.d. dependent var 0.452324 s.e. of regression 0.288048 akaike info criterion 0.365199 sum squared resid 24.39359 schwarz criterion 0.427079 log likelihood -49.59721 hannan-quinn criter. 0.389966 f-statistic 110.2076 durbin-watson stat 0.222701 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 e-view 10 output regression analysis results shows 59.9% significant variation between the independent variable (mai, eapi, rbcs and il) and the dependent variable (csp) indicates that about 59.9% of child spacing practice in the study area is being determined by (mai, eapi, rbcs and il). the result further compared with error in calculation still shows 59.4 in variation. anova result (f-statistics) of 110.20 (0.000) shows that the overall regression result is significant. this further explains that the impact of demographic attributes on child spacing practice in the study area cannot be ignored. while mai shows a coefficient value of 50.6 to csp this implies that a unit increase in mai will lead to 50.6-unit increase in csp and this is statistically significant at p-value-0.000. on the other hand, eapi shows a negative significant impact with the value of -0.20 to csp. this implies that a unit decrease in eapi will generate a -.0.20-unit decrease in csp and this is statistically significant at 0.000. also, rbcs shows a coefficient value of 73.7 to csp, this implies that a unit increase in rbcs will lead to 73.7 increases in csp and this is statistically significant at 0.000. il shows a coefficient value of 60.8, this implies that a unit increase in il will lead to 60.8 increases in csp and this is not statistically significant. the results of the hypothesis showed that the demographic characteristics such as maternal age, maternal educational attainment, parity, religious belief and income level determined child spacing practice in the study area. the implication of the findings is that if demographic attributes are not taking into consideration in discussing child spacing practice, all efforts in child spacing will be in futility. socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice discussion the outcome of this study revealed that the proportion (80.4%) of the respondents were very much aware of the practice of child spacing, only that 19.6% of them were not aware of it. this finding is in agreement with the stands of kio et al. (2016), chukwuji, (2018), and tuyishime (2016). the study also revealed that only 26.2% of the respondent practices child spacing, the majority (73.8%) are not. this confirmed the finding of olaitan, et al. (2011), ashimi, et al. (2016). however, this contradict the views of kio, et al. (2016) who stated that lack of awareness and knowledge of the benefits and adverse effects of inadequate child spacing practice is the most commonly reported reasons why people do not practice child spacing. on the socio-demographic variables, the results from table 4 and 5 revealed maternal age (73.8%), maternal education (72.2%), parity (70.1%), religious belief (31.2) and the income level (64.0%) of the respondents as the socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice. this outcome has symmetrical stance with the findings of parvathy (2014), martin, (2013), elias &hailemariam, (2015), tuyishime, (2016), olaitan, (2011), achana, et al. (2015) and sharma, et al. (2016), ashimi, et al. (2016), adefalu, et al. (2018), olugbenga-bello et al. (2011), ejembi, et al. (2015), jane (2016), rizwan, et al. (2012), etokidem, et al. (2017), hailu & gultie (2014), henrik & kishwar who in their separately studies posited that maternal age, maternal education, parity and income level determines the practice of child spacing. however, even though religious belief is found to have a statistical significance, the impact on child spacing practice is a weak one. this outcome is in tandem with the finding of olaitan (2011). conclusion this study was carried out to assess the socio-demographic variable that determine the practice of child spacing among women of reproductive age in dekina local government area of kogi state. the result of this study has led to three basic conclusions. the first one is that very good number of the respondents are aware of child spacing practice even though majority still did not practice it. secondly, the five socio-demographic variables (mater age, maternal education, parity, religious belief and income level) considered by the study jointly have a significant impact on the practice of child spacing and thirdly, even though the religious believe of the women of reproductive age in the study area is shown statistically to have a significant impact it impact is a weak one (31.2%) as shown on table 4. the study also discovered lack of adequate information/awareness, fear of side effect, cultural influence, personal beliefs/convictions, lack of adequate accessibility, and religious belief as some of the perceived barriers of child spacing 64 practice. finally, the study has made novel contribution to the existing literature on the sociodemographic determinants of child spacing practice among women of reproductive age. recommendations based on the findings, the study made the following recommendations: 1. the need for more awareness targeted at encouraging the respondents in the study to practice child spacing. this should be carried out through community orientation and focus group discussions that would involve not only the women of reproductive age but to include the men on the benefits of practicing child spacing. 2. women of marriageable age should be encouraged to go into marriage; female education should be encouraged; high fertility among the women of reproductive age should be discouraged and government, policy makers, philanthropist and well-to-do nigerians should invest in the study area to boost the economic well-being of the people at the grass root. 3. finally, even though the religious belief of respondents has weak impact on the practice of child spacing, more sensitization on the need for child spacing should be carried out by the religious leaders in the study area. references achana, f. s., bawa, a. a., jackson, e. f., welaga, p., awine, t., asuo-mante, e., oduro, a., awoonor-williams, j. k & philips, j. f. (2015). spatial and socio-demographic determinants of contraceptive use in the upper east region of ghana. journal of reproductive health, 12(1):12-29. adefalu, a. a., ldipo, o. a., akinyemi, o. o., popoola, o. a., latunji, o. o., & iyanda, o. f. (2018). awareness and opinions regarding contraception by women of reproductive age in north-west nigeria. pan african medical journal, 30(65), doi:10.11604/pamj.2018.30.65.12975. asa, u. a. & daniel, e. a. (2015). barriers to contraceptive use among rural farmers in akwa ibom state, nigeria. international journal of agricultural extension and rural development studies, 2(1):22-29. ashimi, a. o., amole, t. g., ugwa, e. a., & ohonsi, a. o. (2016). awareness, practice, and predictors of family planning in a semi-rural community of northwest nigeria. journal of basic clinical reproductive science; 5(1):1-6. chivese, t., mohmoud, w., magodoro, i., kengne, a. p., norris, s. a & levitt, n. s. (2016). prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women of childbearing age in africa during 2000-2016: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis. biomedical journal, 6(12), doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012255. socio-demographic determinants of child spacing practice chukwuji, c. n., tsafe, a. g., sayudi, s., yusuf, z., & zakarriya, j. (2018). "awareness, access and utilization of family planning information in zamfara state, nigeria. library philosophy and practice (e-journal), 1771. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu. dilek, b., selcen, o., & ismail, c. (2021). an application of the behavioural model to the utilization of health care services in turkey: a focus on equity. panoeconomicus; 68(1): 129-146. ejembi, c. l., dahiru, t. &aliyu, a. a. (2015). contextual factors influencing modern contraceptive use in nigeria. demographic and health surveys, 120(1):1-50. elias, b. & hailemariam, t. (2015). implants contraceptive utilization and factors associated among married women in the reproductive age group (18-49 years) in southern ethiopia. journal of women’s health care, 4(7): 281, doi:10.4172/2167. etokidem, a. j., ndifon, w., etowa, j., & asuquo, e. f. (2017). family planning practices of rural community dwellers in cross river state, nigeria. nigeria journal of clinical practice; 20(1): 707-715. hailu, d., gultie, t. & workineh, y. (2014). barriers to adherence of optimal birth spacing: a qualitative study among mothers and their husbands in arba minch zuria district, ethiopia. american journal of health research,2(24):188-195. henrik & kishwar (2014). determinants and consequences of short birth interval in rural bangladesh: a cross sectional study. journal of biomed pregnancy and childbirth, 14, (427). doi.org/10.1186/s12884-014-0427-6. jalali-farahani, s., amiri, p., bakht, s., shayeghian, z., cheraghi, l. & aziz, f. (2017). socio demographic determinants of health-related quality of life in tehran lipi and glucose study (tlgs). international journal of endocrinol metab, 15(4):doi: 10:5812/ijem.14548. jane, n. w. (2016). factors influencing adoption of modern family planning methods by married women in keanza division, trans-nzola county, kenya. university of nairobi. karpagam, j., & shangeetha, d. (2014). importance of birth spacing among primi post-natal mothers. nitte university journal of health science, 4(1):091-095. kio, j. o., agbede, c. o., olayinka, f. e. & ojinni, y. o. (2016). analysis of knowledge, attitude and practice of women towards family planning in nigeria: evidence from ogun state. journal of applied life sciences international, 8(2):1-7. mahmud, i., clarke, l. & ploubidis, g. b. (2017). socio-demographic determinants of the severity of locomotor disability among adults in bangladesh: a cross-sectional study, december, 2010-february, 2011.arch public health journal 75(47). doi,org/10.1186/s13690-017-0217-5. martin, e. p. (2013). demographic and socio-economic factors affecting contraceptive use in malawi. journal of human ecology,46, (3):91-104. niles, c. (2000). health in women of reproductive age: a survey in rural zimbabwe. uposala sweden, tryck and mediet. olaitan, o. l. (2011). factors influencing the choice of family planning among couples in south west nigeria. international journal of medicine and medical sciences, 3(7):227-232. olugbenga-bello, a. i., abodunrin, o. l &adeomi, a. a. (2011). contraceptive practices among women in rural communities in south-western nigeria. global journal of medical research, 11(2). online issn:0975-5888. parvathy, m. p. (2014). assessment of factors influencing the choice and use of temporary contraceptive methods for birth spacing among married women in rural trivandrum: dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/ https://doi,org/10.1186/s13690-017-0217-5 66 degree of master of public health. chitra tirunal institute for medical sciences and technology:4-10. rizwan, s. a., ankita, k., ronald, k. r., ravi, p. u., palanivel, c., vinoth, g. c. & surenddra, b. d. (2012). effect of literacy on family planning practices among married women in rural south india, new delhi. international journal of colaborative research on internal medicine and public health, 2(4). doi:10.5530/ijmedph.2.4.5. shachar, b. z. & lyell, d. j. (2018). inter-pregnancy interval and obstetrical complications. gynecological survey, 67(9):584-596. sharma, v., brown, w., kainuwa, m., leight, j & nyguist, m. b. (2017). high maternal mortality in jigawa state, northern nigeria estimated using the sisterhood methods. b.m.c pregnancy and childbirth,17(163).https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1341-5. tsegaye, d., shuremu, m., and bidira, k. (2017). practice of child spacing and its associated factors among women of child bearing age (15 to 49 years) in illubabor zone, south west ethiopia. international journal of nursing and midwifery,9(7):102-108. tuyishime, e. (2016). factors associated with the prevalence of contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in rwanda: a cross-sectional study using demographic and health survey rwanda 2010. master’s thesis published by the department of international maternal and child health, uppsala university:12-53. willers, c., iderberg, h., axelsen, m., dahlstrom, t., julin, b., leksell, j., lindberg, a., lindgren, p., muth, k. l., svensson, a. & lilja, m. (2018). sociodemographic determinants and health outcome variation in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a register-based study. plot one 13(6): e0199170. volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 77 manpower development and utilization of health care delivery in portharcourt metropolis of rivers state chuku, chinwendu nnebuife obiageli omeje department of psychology, faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology enugu state abstract health care is an important aspect of national security which not only functions as a measure for maintaining or improving health through preventing, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, illness, injury and other physical impairment, but also mental impairment in human beings. incorporating mental health care in the general health care delivery system could be beneficial with mental illness or disorders such as depression, anxiety, addiction etc. this can be obtained when properly trained mental health workers are fully involved in the health care system such as clinical psychologists. the major problems experienced in the health care system are; delay in the approval of mental health act passed by law, lack of adequate mental health infrastructure, low number of professional personnel, training research which could in return make nigerian citizens suffering from mental illness to be at risk of being subjected to prejudices, discrimination, stigmatization and abuse. recent research revealed that primary health care have poor knowledge of mental disorders and virtually no mental health care facilities. also, that mental health services offered at the private general practice and government owned hospitals tend to be the only hope of the minority of the populace. manpower development is essential in mental health especially in every health care delivery system. as an important sector, when incorporated in the system, the mentally deranged would enjoy treatment just as every other sick person (citizen) in nigeria. keywords: health care service and delivery, psychiatry, mental health, psychological assessment, personality development introduction often times, people on daily basis say ‘’health is wealth’’ without knowing what health implies. world health organization (2011), defined health as a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. one of the vital needs of human species is the ability to stay healthy. a healthy person is one who is physically, mentally and socially complete (sherer, 2002). life can be enjoyed to its fullest by a healthy person who extends his relationship to people around and engages in activities beneficial to him in the larger society when there is availability of a functional health care. bircher and wehkamp (2011) defined health care as a measure for maintaining or improving health through preventing, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, illness, injury and other physical and mental impairment in human beings. for one’s health to be maintained there ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 78 must be adequate delivery system where one’s health is managed properly. to busari (2013), a health care delivery system is the organization of people, institutions, and resources to deliver health care services to meet the health needs of the target population. in other words, the health needs of the target population must cover all the groups of professionals in the health care delivery system for adequate health care delivery. to assess modern health care, there must be group of professionals in medicine, physiotherapy, nursing, and dentistry, obstetrics, allied health and even psychology who systematically assess and treat mental health problems which today has been segregated from the health care delivery (boris, 2011). in nigeria, individuals, both adolescents and adults, with a variety of mental health problems sadly, are more severely ill before they assess help through our health care delivery. this is because of the relative lack of coordination between mental and general health services (onyemelukwe, 2016). health is an index of development and mental health manpower is a very critical resource in the health care delivery system. developing these ones as manpower can help in proper administration of treatment to the patients but it is disheartening that our general health care has failed to recognize the relevance of mental health even to the primary health care level. for example, in our orthopaedic hospital when a hypertensive patient wants to undergo surgery in an anxious state, a clinical psychologist is meant to come in with some therapies which will stabilize the individual before he goes in. most death recorded in our hospitals would have been averted if only clinical psychologists were not side-lined. uneke, ezeoha, ndukwe, oyibo and onwe (2012) all state that sidling the clinical psychological practices has made things difficult in the delivery of modern health care. in other to address these issues, hence the need for manpower development. manpower development in this context is seen as the act of training, equipping and empowering our mental health workers/ clinical psychologists with psychological principles and techniques to enable them carry out their duties effectively (jack-ide, et.al, 2013). the basic of manpower development is centred on education. a trained clinical psychologist can explore perfectly when his/her passion is stirred up (as a result of the training received) to practice in a clinical setting if only he/she is given the platform in the general health sector. ebigbo (2005) noted that education can only be achieved when the necessary social, environmental, health and economic systems are maximally conducive; with decent atmosphere characterized by peace, orderliness, quietude or space (not so crowded). health system been maximally conducive can go a long way in bringing about positive change in every sphere of the health care delivery system. understanding the need for manpower ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 79 development in mental health can change the entire health care delivery system of our country when the necessary resources needed to address mental health issues are made available. purpose of manpower development manpower development is an essential ingredient required in the growth of the health sector. in the mental health or clinical psychology setting, it helps in discovering the potentials of clinical psychologists and how to fan into flame and transform these potentials into usable skills such as psychological assessment needed for the growth of the health care system. without the acquisition of knowledge of psychological principles, one may struggle with discovering hidden potentials needed to explore in the areas of assessing human behaviour. for instance, a well-trained clinician would always brain storm to see to it that new discoveries are made through conducting research which could be beneficial to the health sector such as therapies suitable for the trending suicide and depression. uwaoma and chima (2015), noted that developing the potentials of clinical psychologists help them to evaluate their clients in terms of the psychological, physical and social factors that is revealed to have affected the person’s functioning. that is to say that when they are trained, they establish a diagnosis, determine the intellectual capacity, predict and evaluate the client’s mental competence. this is rightfully performed by a licensed psychologist or a psychological trainee. in the actual sense, when the clinician follows the lay down principles, there is a tendency that more understanding of the individual being assessed could lead to more accurate and appropriate clinical conclusions. in a situation where by they are not available in rendering such services after being trained, unpleasant situations would arise where untrained ones take over the system, creating an avenue for a variety of different professionals such as traditional and spiritual healers gain access in treating mental illness in an unprofessional way. developing the potentials of the clinical psychologists can help to reduce the activities of these untrained ones. benefits of manpower development one of the benefits of manpower development to health care delivery is the improvement in knowledge and skills of clinicians in rendering services. department of health (2010), reported that mental health manpower development has been shown to improve their knowledge and skills of mental health service delivery. gureje and lasebikan (2006) also ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 80 reported that the ability of clinical psychologists to accurately describe behaviour has spawned greater public knowledge of psychological evaluations as a result of proper development of manpower. that is to say, the concept of improved knowledge and skills are just product of empowerment given to these clinical psychologists through adequate training. it aids in rendering adequate services which results to proper administration of treatment to the patients. also, health needs of the populace are met without struggles. omigbodun (2011) is of the view that ‘integration of mental health care into primary care enables the largest number of people to gain faster and easier access to mental health care services and improve human resources for mental services’. integration of mental health care into primary care is also a platform to ensure that the common man living in the rural area can access treatment. it brings about quick response to the mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia etc. as everyone has access to the facility (hospital) which is at the grass root level. for instance, creating an opening for mental health department to be integrated in our health centres make it easy for the masses to reach a clinical psychologist when depressed so as to avoid the condition escalating to suicide which is seen to be an emerging issue in nigeria today. as one of benefit of manpower development, there is reduction in the negative attitudes and superstitious beliefs on mental disorders. ukpong and abasiubong (2010) noted that mental health training received by primary health workers, reduces the tied deeply seated negative attitudes and superstitious beliefs on mental disorders through rendering of effective mental health services. when health workers are trained, they tend to be informed and also willing to educate, re-orient and sensitize the masses over the issue of stigmatization of the mentally deranged and the profession generally. theoretical perspectives theory of reinforcement (skinner, 1957) this theory was propounded by b. f skinner (1957). it posits that our learned behaviour yield positive results due to repetition. the reinforcement theory is based on the principles of causality and knowledge that a worker’s behaviour is regulated by the type of reward. it is focused on human motivation and behaviour. skinner (1957) emphasizes on learning behaviour of a person and suggests that the learner will repeat that behaviour which is attached with a positive outcome or result. also, when the learner is punished for a negative ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 81 behaviour, the negative behaviour is weakened. if there is no reward or punishment, the learner’s behaviour fades away. as a key concept of reinforcement theory, the theory suggested that the training and development programs should be aligned with the organizational objectives and a positive outcome should be expected with such training and development programs. this theory posits that there is a relationship between repetitions in one’s learning behaviour. if one is equipped and there is a platform for exploration, chances are that there will be high level of productivity as the outcome leads to positive results. theory of learning types (gagne, 1962) theory of learning types emphasized on learning of intellectual skills in all domains. this theory proposes that intellectual skills are found rare among persons. gagne (1962) suggested that by different learning types (intellectual skills, verbal information, attitudes, cognitive strategies and motor skills) contains some external and internal conditions. the theory explains how people could develop their intellectual skills through the use of different learning types. this actually differentiates a novice and a learned individual in the society. this implies that in manpower development and utilization, individuals with exceptional intellectual skills can make adequate impact in the society more than the ones who is not trained personnel. thus, there is need for proper development of intellect skills for high productivity in our society. theory of experimental learning (rogers, 1969) this theory emphasised on self-evaluation of the learner as a result of personal involvement which allows the learner to understand effective learning attitude. this theory suggested that the wants and needs of the learner are addressed by experimental type of learning. theory of experimental learning states that experience gives an individual maturity and increases the learning power along with the knowledge (rogers, 1969). in relation to manpower development and utilization, this theory opined that an individual’s personal involvement in the work font increases his/her learning power and makes him or her mature to introspect over attitude which leads to high level of productivity and mastery of the job. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 82 theory of social learning (bandura, 1977) social learning theory maintained that direct reinforcement cannot address all types of learning. bandura (1977) emphasized that direct enforcement means the training and development programs organized to enhance the skills and that the mental state plays a vital role in learning process. this theory suggested that observational learning should aid in the understanding of different human behaviour. this theory indicates that an individual’s environment and surroundings play a very important role. the environment ought to be very professional and the surroundings should be that which individuals tend to learn from. these four theories have specific inclination as regards to manpower development and utilization. in the area of health care, adequate delivery can only be made when one is gainfully employed in his/her area of specialization. the individual can be motivated due to the positive reinforcement received from the organization he/she is found, learning new skills on the job due to trainings, quality introspection over attitude observed and also learn effectively from the environment. on the contrary, when there is an abuse of office through wrong placement in the work font, the whole system will be in disarray as the health system will experience serious problems in the health sector. problems and challenges of manpower development lack of trained personnel one of the problems of manpower development is inadequate trained personnel. the numbers of trained and specialized mental health care professionals equally known as clinical psychologists are low. according to who-aims report (2011), the total number of mental health professionals working in mental health facilities or private practice in nigeria was 3,105 which means there were just over 11 mental health professionals per 100,000 people. of this number, there were only 42 psychiatrists (0.15 per 100,000) and 20 psychologists (0.07 per 100,000). hodges, inch and silver (2001), reported that nigeria has ratio of mental health bed of 0.4 per 100,000 persons, 4 psychiatric nurses per 100,000persons, 0.09 psychiatrists and 0.02 psychologists and social workers per 100,000 persons and a total public health expenditure of 5% of the country’s budget. in nigeria, we lack qualified clinical psychologists. they are just a hand full in the private general practice and government hospitals. those in the rural areas are left with little or no clinical psychologist (odejide, morakinjo & oshiname, 2002).this ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 83 problem of inadequate trained personnel results to quacks administering treatments thereby giving wrong diagnosis and evaluation. the qualified trained ones on the other hand tend to leave the shores of the country for a greener pasture where the discipline of clinical psychology is recognized which is not good at all for the system. most of them are working in other establishments where they don’t practice their area of discipline. for instance, some of our clinical psychologists may be found working in places like the banks, schools or even selling in the market because of the fact that they don’t have suitable jobs for their profession. in that case, how can one explore or engage in psychological assessment when he is wrongly placed in the work front? to solve this problem, mental health manpower development should be encouraged so as to improve their knowledge and skills for mental health service delivery. there should also be training and research in the areas of mental health so as to increase the knowledge and skills of clinical psychologists in issuing out standardized and evidence based diagnosis and treatment. lack of policy and regulation this has created an avenue for a variety of different professions to flourish. lack of political will has affected the development of manpower in mental health. ayorinde, gureje and lawal (2004) reported that the federal government has not passed the bill for the establishment of a mental health act which the policy was formulated in 1991. although it was introduced in 2003 and re-introduced to the national assembly in 2003, this is yet to be passed into law. in our ministries at any level, no desk exists for mental health and the federal government’s health budget votes 3.3% to mental health which is insignificant (bakare, 2014). lack of policy and regulation for mental health has created a platform for a variety of different professions currently concerned with the treatment of mental sickness in nigeria, such as life-coaches, traditional and spiritual healers, psychiatrists and pastors, to flourish. as there is increase in services to treat mental illness, there is also a danger in malpractice that comes with the lack of standardized and evidence based diagnoses and treatment. the physicians are equally allowed to prescribe psychotropic medications without restrictions which could be harmful to the patient involved. there is no coordinating body to oversee public education and awareness campaigns on mental health. in order to solve this problem, the bill should be passed by the federal government so that the qualified personnel trained within nigeria will practice. specific bodies in charge should lay strict rules to prevent the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 84 unprofessionalism in the system. efforts should also be made to ensure that the rules are kept and the defaulters punished. negative attitude towards the mentally ill persons and misconception mentally ill persons are been stigmatized as they are seen as dangerous, regardless of their type or diagnosis of mental illness. there is a large misconception and misinformation on mental illness amongst nigerians. the general belief is that preternatural or supernatural forces, witches, evil spirits and even god can cause mental illness (yusus & baiyewu, 2012). these beliefs have influenced the attitude of nigerians towards the mentally ill. aghukwa (2010) noted that there is still considerable neglect of mental health in nigeria, and those who visibly suffer from mental illness are largely stigmatized. falayi (2014) in a study among health workers in nigeria showed that most of them are poorly enlightened about mental health principles, had poor knowledge and exhibited negative attitudes towards the mentally ill persons. the negative attitude like prejudice, discrimination and abuse meted on the mentally ill make them to be written off by the society. most people see treatment of the mentally deranged as manipulative in nature and dehumanizing which is only meant for the naked ones rooming round the streets, forgetting the fact that there are some with neurotic impairment moving around freely without treatment. for this problem to be tackled, campaigns should be made to educate the general public on the issues of mental health and also enlightening them over mental health principles. constant education and awareness campaigns would help in changing their mind set positively and reduce the level of prejudice, discrimination, stigmatization and abuse. poor knowledge of available services today, many do not know where to channel their psychological problems to for help and they feel their sickness is drug related in nature at all times. they lack clarity when issues that pertain their mental health is raised. failure to know the right place to access help has always been the order of the day due to poor knowledge of available services. for example, a depressed person may opt to visit a doctor to give him antidepressant drugs without addressing the root cause of his/her problems. the mental institutions are always located in the urban areas which make the rural ones unable to access treatment. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 85 as the mental institutions are located in the urban areas, individuals may not seek mental health care due to poor knowledge of available services, accessibility, cost, and negative perception about health care system. wang, aguilar-gaxiola, alonso, angermeyer et.al (2007) all noted that almost 20 million nigerians are living with one form of mental disorder, but among those people, less than 10% receive any form of treatment and less than 1% receive specialist mental health care. the low-income earners found in both urban and rural areas who access the available services through public mental health clinics are at greater risk of not receiving the needed mental health care. most individuals are unaware of the potential value of mental health care and why it should be embraced. this could be as a result of little feedback of the mental health worker’s findings in the course of the treatment. to solve this problem, mental health services should be made available and also accessible to everyone both in the urban and rural areas. the cost should be subsidized so as to enable everyone afford the treatment thereby taking most mentally deranged move off the streets. by so doing, people become aware of mental health and the clinical psychologists are been appreciated and recognized. lack of adequate mental health infrastructure in a situation whereby facilities, structures and equipment needed to smoothly carry out treatment is not made available; there would not be proper treatment of patients. inadequate infrastructure can bring about low quality service and the aim of the therapy defeated. unconducive office, inaccessible tools and poor communication can hinder the growth and use of mental health manpower in any health sector (world health organization, 2005). this could make the findings of faulty and sub standardized. when mental health infrastructure is inadequate, it affects the turn up of patients for treatment and slow the rate of the services administered. these ones find it difficult to open up to the clinical psychologists in return; the quality of service rendered would be limited void of proper follow-up. in nigeria, less than 20% of persons with mental disorders receive treatment, of whom only 10% maintain follow –up treatment over a period of one year due to lack of mental health infrastructure (oluyomi, kola & gureje, 2012).in most cases, inadequate mental health infrastructure affect the turn up psychological trainees. these trainees may opt to go to countries where there are better infrastructures which would help them to learn effectively. in order to solve this problem, adequate provisions of facilities, structures and equipment needed for mental health services should be made available. the availability of these materials bring about job satisfaction as that willingness to carryout ones’ duty is restored as these ones are committed in ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 86 advancement in their skills and knowledge. this will keep our psychological trainees back home instead of leaving the shores of the country. lack of coordination between mental and general health service odejide, morakinyo, oshiname et al (2002) all noted that one of the major obstacles of manpower development is the relative lack of coordination between mental and general health services which has caused further difficulty in most cases. the general health service in nigeria is currently the recognized facility. most of them do not have mental health care in their facilities. for example, in our primary health care system, there is no room for mental health workers to administer treatment of psychotherapies to patients who are at the verge of delivery but down with anxiety. a times, drugs are been administered by the physicians when therapy is needed. even in our mental health hospitals, psychiatrists known as medical doctors to diagnose and treat mental illness (mostly medication) due to their large number are mistaken to be clinical psychologists when it comes to administering evidence-based therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy (ctb), mindfulness based cognitive therapy, specialist trauma therapy etc. which is not meant to be so. in solving this problem, clinical psychologists should be employed to work in health facilities where they can display their skills of rendering adequate mental health services. the psychiatrists should also maintain their own field and away from doing the work of clinical psychologists to avoid wrong diagnosis and treatment of the patients. there should be coordination between mental and general health services in our hospitals to ensure adequate health care delivery. though we have diverse challenges in manpower development, there is need to strive to achieve positive results. this will make our health care delivery outstanding. conclusion and recommendations manpower development in mental health service is very important for an effective health care delivery. there is no health without mental health. the two are interwoven and incorporating the mental health services into the general health care delivery through provision of resources, proper training of clinical psychologists, involving mental health care in our primary health care, campaigns and implementation of the bill etc. can go a long way in creating positive impact in the lives of the people. it also would help in solving the issues involved in manpower development thereby dealing with issues that can arise such as depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and other crippling conditions. therefore, it is ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 87 relevant for both the general public, trained professionals and government to eradicate these problems and challenges completely in this nation nigeria. the government should provide adequate mental health care instructors and other manpower training facilities. in the bid of doing this and with adequate awareness, every misconception and negative attitudes will be countered and the mental health recognised fully as a noble profession. references aghukwa n.c (2010). medical students’ belief and attitudes toward mental illness: effects of a psychiatric education. acad psychiatry 34:67-70 ayorinde o., gureje o., & lawal r. 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(2010). stigmatising attitudes towards the mentally ill: a survey in a nigerian university teaching hospital. south african journal of psychiatry 16, 56-60. world health organization. world health report 2011. mental health, new hope, new understanding. world health organization, geneva, 2001. wang p. s., aguilar – gaxiola s., alonso j., angermeyer m. c et. al. use of mental health services for anxiety, mood and substance disorder in 17 countries , the who world mental health surveys. lancet 2007, 370 (841-850): 841-850. who-aims, general information. retrieved may 25, 2011, from http://www.whoint/mental health/evidence/who-aims/en/ world health organization (2005) alas: country profile of mental health resources. who, geneva. yusus a.j. and baiyewu .o. (2012). beliefs and attitudes towards dementia among community leaders in northern nigeria west african journal of medicine 31: 8-13. http://www.whoint/mental http://www.whoint/mental page 1 industrial waste management and environmental pollution in nigeria’s niger river delta region: 73 industrial waste management and environmental pollution in the niger delta region of nigeria: issues and realities abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka department of political science university of maiduguri, borno state, nigeria ugonnenna@gmail.com & eleje joy ngozi department of political science enugu state university of science and technology, enugu elejej@yahoo.com abstract the discovery of huge crude oil deposits in oloibiri present-day bayelsa state in 1956, and the subsequent drilling and refining of this great natural resource since 1958 has no doubt brought immeasurable industrial revolution to nigeria. however, the attendant consequence of waste generation came with it as an extra baggage which can never be deemed as unexpected. the challenge actually in the niger delta situation has over time become proper management of industrial wastes generated daily in huge tonnage. nigeria’s niger delta region over the years has been paying the huge price for this social malaise. this paper focuses on the fact that the improper management of industrial waste has been thriving and taking its disastrous toll on the people because of dysfunctional administrative systems, thus continuously exposing the environment– both land and sea habitats to avertable danger. the paper concludes that effective management strategies if and when deployed would sanitize the region and enhance the living standard of its people. keywords: environmental pollution, industry, niger delta, refinery, waste management introduction waste is simply defined as something that the producer no longer needs, and therefore discards. nigeria’s niger delta region, composed of nine states of the federation from three geopolitical zones – south-south, south-east and south-west – is unarguably the nation’s industrial hub. its constituent states are abia, akwa ibom, bayelsa, cross river, delta, edo, imo, ondo and rivers states. the region has over time been witnessing tremendous environmental pollution due to oil exploration, drilling and associated production activities. oil refineries, petrochemical industries, allied production facilities, etc., generate a lot of industrial wastes, some of which are toxic and hazardous to both plant and animal (human of primary consideration) life. many industrial economies only care to dispose waste in the cheapest means, actually just bothering to see the waste leave their premises and not caring where they end up. and many expatriate companies in the niger delta come from these economies. a lot of issues have been raised for decades due to the neglect of the region and mailto:ugonnenna@gmail.com mailto:elejej@yahoo.com abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka & eleje joy ngozi the monumental decay across all habitats which continuously adversely affect the regional people’s existence. the struggle for survival has also led to various forms of crisis, agitations and general strife by the people. the reality on ground remains that the region requires indepth focus and attention if its people will be salvaged. hunger, destitution, flooding, oil spillage and poor road network are some of the prominent issues stemming from waste management malpractices in the region. most painful is the fact that the niger delta supplies nigeria with its economic mainstay. it is no news that every annual budget of the nation’s federal government is based on an oil benchmark. and nigeria’s pride of place in the global scheme of events is as a result of this very important natural endowment and natural resource – crude oil. the niger delta has lost many lives to the economic disaster generated by environmental pollution. notable among these people are foremost author and activist, ken saro-wiwa who was murdered by the federal government, and the massacre of odi people by the olusegun obasanjo regime. this paper is focused on discussing the issues and realities of bad industrial waste management and environmental pollution in the niger delta. conceptual framework the concept of industrial waste management industrial solid waste means solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes that is not a hazardous waste regulated under subtitle c of rcra (resource conservation and recovery act, 1976. this is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. the law describes the waste management program mandated by congress that gave epa authority to develop the rcra program.) such waste may include, but is not limited to, waste resulting from the following manufacturing processes: electric power generation; fertilizer/agricultural chemicals; food and related products/by-products; inorganic chemicals; iron and steel manufacturing; leather and leather products; nonferrous metals manufacturing/foundries; organic chemicals; plastics and resins manufacturing; pulp and paper industry; rubber and transportation equipment; and water treatment. designations of industrial waste are toxic waste, chemical waste, industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste. the concept of industrial waste management is the set of strategies used to handle industrial waste removal and disposal in a timely but cost-effective manner that is also in compliance with regulations. these can be radioactive wastes, harmful and toxic. others can be consumer waste which may or may not be harmful. nigeria is a party to some international and regional conventions, agreement and protocols concerning environmental management. some other domestic statutes enacted by the nigerian legislature have been documented to guide waste management in the nation. some of these legislations include: 1. the 1988 basel convention which dealt with trans-boundary movement of toxic and hazardous waste. 75 2. a may 1988 resolution of the organization of african unity (oau) now african union (au) proclaiming the dumping of nuclear and industrial waste in africa to be a crime against africa and its people. 3. the federal environmental protection agency (fepa) act of 1988. this was established by decree 55 of december 30th 1988. the act vested fepa with the statutory responsibility for overall protection of the environment. it requires fepa to issue environmental guidelines and standards for the abatement and control of all forms of pollution. in 1991, fepa established an inspectorate and enforcement department with divisions for standard regulation, chemical tracking and compliance monitoring. 4. the harmful waste (special criminal provision, etc.) act 1988. essentially a penal legislation, this act was enacted with the specific object of prohibiting the carrying, depositing and dumping of hazardous wastes on any land, territorial waters and matters relating thereto. 5. the nigerian minerals and mining act 2007. improper waste management as a cause of environmental pollution all industrial wastes generated wherever and discarded with reckless abandon constitute environmental pollution. the nature of these wastes includes: 1. emissions from both the oil and non-oil related industries which dominate industrial activities in the niger delta. such industries as refinery, petrochemical, liquefied natural gas (lng), cement, paper, chemical fertilizer, aluminum smelter, battery, flour, wood, and textile industries, etc., emit various kinds of air pollutants which add to the burden of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the air. 2. gas flaring from natural gas extracted in oil wells in the niger delta from which much of it is immediately flared into the environment at an approximate rate of 70 million /m3 per day. 3. open air burning of some industrial wastes which generates varieties of toxins and hazardous pollutants that include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs), dioxins, polychloro biphenyls (pcbs) and heavy metals such as lead, nickel and mercury. oftentimes, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide (co2), sulphur dioxide (so2) and volatile organic compounds (vocs) are also emitted into the air. 4. exhaust fumes from chimneys and dumpsites. abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka & eleje joy ngozi it is noteworthy that some conventional pollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand (bod) can be handled using sewage treatment plants. other industrial wastes containing toxic pollutants require specialized treatment systems. the importance of industrial waste management is geared towards protecting human health and sustaining the environment. the effects of improper waste management on the niger river delta people 1. health: exposure to most toxic waste and radioactive substances constitute grave health hazards to the people of the niger delta. a key case in point is the koko toxic waste saga of 1988. after two italian firms had arranged for the storage of 18,000 drums of hazardous waste disguised as building materials stored in “over 2,000 drums, sacks, and containers” with koko residents, the leaking drums began emitting a very offensive odour. and the inhabitants of the area were already getting sick by the time the industrial waste was identified. a british environmental group analyzed the material and determined that 28 percent of the waste contained polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb), a combustible substance that could produce a highly toxic compound called dioxin. online reports state that: “neighbors exposed to the toxic waste, which contained pcbs, dimethyl formaldehyde, and asbestos fibers, suffered nausea, paralysis, and premature births.” 2. food security (production): industrial wastes reduce soil fertility and either kill economic food crops or reduce their yield. this gives rise to food insufficiency and insecurity. in a survey of some affected communities in the niger delta, ordinioha & sawyer (2008) found that the food insecurity and deterioration of the quality of the staple food often leads to an increase in the prevalence of childhood malnutrition. 3. rise in militancy and uprising in the region: the niger delta region has witnessed many agitations and unrest as its people keep fighting for their survival. the situation is especially worrisome in ogoni land, an ethnic minority in the niger delta which has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s. ogoni land is an area which has been a major flash point in the struggle for resource control. its people have suffered extreme environmental damage due to decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping. nigerian writer, television producer and environmental activist, ken saro-wiwa (10 october 1941 – 10 november 1995) was an ogoni man, initially the spokesperson, and later, the president of the movement for the survival of the ogoni people (mosop). saro-wiwa was outspoken in criticizing the federal government of nigeria’s reluctance to enforce environmental regulations on the foreign petroleum companies operating in his homeland. he led a non-violent campaign against environmental degradation of the land and waters of ogoni land by the operations of the multinational petroleum industry; the royal dutch shell company being at the lead. at the peak of his campaign, saro-wiwa was tried by a special military tribunal for allegedly masterminding the gruesome murder of ogoni chiefs at a pro 77 government meeting. in 1995, he was hanged by late military dictator general sani abacha. another gruesome episode in the niger delta, “the odi massacre” began on november 20, 1999, by the nigerian military on the predominantly ijaw town of odi in bayelsa state. the attack came in the context of an ongoing conflict in the niger delta over indigenous rights to oil resources and environmental protection. there is yet no accurate figure on the number of lives and financial value of properties destroyed by the military’s attack believed to have been ordered by then president obasanjo. 4. the clamour for resource control: the history of the niger delta is characterized by agitation for resource control. first, after the abolition of slave trade in 1807, local traders engaged in ‘resource control’ struggles to participate actively in the trade in oil palm. (ako & okonmah: 2009)] similarly, resource control was one of the highlights of the ijaws’ representation to the willink commission to enquire into the fears of the minorities and the means of allaying them in 1957. ako (2011) wrote that resource control struggles in the post-crude oil era that began with the botched boroled attempt to create the niger delta republic in 1966 has culminated in contemporary oil-related restiveness in the region. a human rights watch (1999) report wrote that since the ijaw representatives failed to achieve their desired results to be left out of independent nigeria, or, alternatively have a state created, subsequent ‘resource control’ struggles have suffered a similar fate. in okafor’s (1974) opinion, the ijaws’ argument that the peculiar problems of those living in the creeks and the swamps of the delta were not understood and indeed were deliberately neglected by both the regional and federal governments remains true till date and feeds into the resource control struggle. the contemporary notions of resource control have been characterized by both peaceful and violent activities. while the period when the ogonis were at the forefront of the struggle was largely peaceful, the recent shift of focus to the ijaws witnessed an escalation in militancy and violence. many pipelines and other oil facilities were blown and the area witnessed high records of armed conflict and brigandage especially in 2016. the struggle has also generated a rise in abductions especially of oil expatriates. ukeje (2011) states that the response of the federal government has typically included the creation of development boards, state creation, and more recently, the amnesty initiative. the relative peace in the region and consequent increase in oil production figures is touted as evidence of the success of the amnesty initiative by the federal government. the federal government seems to be focused on relishing the euphoria of its touted success with its amnesty programme. however, the underlying issues that instigated and/or exacerbated the agitation for resource control and resultant restiveness in the region are yet to be addressed. the abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka & eleje joy ngozi government has not actually invested any meaningful resources to remedy the root causes of the agitation for resource control. its primary interest is in dissipating billions of dollars in assuaging heated tempers across the region through educational and vocational amnesty programmes for “ex-militants”. the agitation for resource control can be said to not have recorded any meaningful success. 5. the climate: on decomposing, some industrial wastes release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. these gases may cause abnormality of weather condition and consequently cause unnecessary climate changes which are inimical to the people’s survival. 6. armed banditry: civil unrest, abductions, cultism and general militancy have been on the rise in the region due to its peoples’ discontent with the federal government and oil companies’ approach to sanitizing the region. efforts aimed at addressing the problem some government intervention efforts over time targeted at improving the overall conditions of the niger delta people especially the ecological situation include the creation of the niger delta development commission (nddc), ministry of niger delta affairs (mnda) and the latest clean-up ogoni land initiative. the niger delta development commission (nndc) in the year 2000 former president olusegun obasanjo established the niger delta development commission (nddc) with sole mandate of developing the oil-rich niger delta region of nigeria. the vision of the nddc is: to offer a lasting solution to the socioeconomic difficulties of the niger delta region. its mission is: to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the niger delta into a region that is economically prosperous, socially stable, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful. the nddc mandate reads:  formulation of policies and guidelines for the development of the niger delta area.  conception, planning and implementation, in accordance with set rules and regulations, of projects and programs for sustainable development of the niger delta area in the field of transportation including roads, jetties and waterways, health, employment, industrialization, agriculture and fisheries, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and telecommunications.  surveying the niger delta in order to ascertain measures necessary to promote its physical and socio-economic development.  preparing master plans and schemes designed to promote the physical development of the niger delta region and the estimation of the member states of the commission. 79  implementation of all the measures approved for the development of the niger delta region by the federal government and the states of the commission.  identify factors inhibiting the development of the niger delta region and assisting the member states in the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure sound and efficient management of the resources of the niger delta region.  assessing and reporting on any project being funded or carried out in the region by oil and gas companies and any other company, including non-governmental organizations, as well as ensuring that funds released for such projects are properly utilized.  tackling ecological and environmental problems that arise from the exploration of oil mineral in the niger delta region and advising the federal government and the member states on the prevention and control of oil spillages, gas flaring and environmental pollution.  liaising with the various oil mineral and gas prospecting and producing companies on all matters of pollution, prevention and control. this also includes executing such other works and performing such other functions, which in the option of the commission are required for the sustainable development of the niger delta region and its people. it is noteworthy that much as the agency has tried since its establishment, the region still suffers untold penury even with the subject of discourse being maximally captured in its mandate. ministry of niger delta affairs late president umaru musa yar’adua created this ministry on september 10, 2008 to promote and coordinate policies for the development, peace and security of the niger delta region. this came as a direct response to the series of agitations by the people of the region on the perceived sense of exclusion, environmental degradation, poverty and unemployment facing the region. the vision statement of the ministry is to serve as the primary vehicle for the execution of government’s plans and programmes for rapid socio-economic development of the region. while the mission statement is to formulate and execute plans, programmes and other initiatives as well as to coordinate the activities of agencies, communities, donors and other relevant stakeholders involved in the development of the region. functions of the ministry are to: 1. oversee the implementation of government policies on the development and security of the niger delta region; abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka & eleje joy ngozi 2. coordinate the formulation of the development plan for the region; 3. formulate policies and programmes for youth mobilization and empowerment in the niger delta region; 4. advise government on security issues concerning the region; 5. liaise with relevant government, non-government and private organizations; 6. formulate and coordinate policies for environmental management in the region; 7. liaise with host communities for the enhancement of the welfare of the people and the development of the region; 8. facilitate private sector involvement in the development of the region; 9. plan and supervise public education/enlightenment programmes; 10. liaise with oil companies operating in the region to ensure environmental protection and pollution control; 11. organize human capacity development as well as skills acquisition programmes for youths; and 12. take adequate measures to ensure peace, stability and security with a view to enhancing the economic potentials for the region. this paper notes that the subject of discourse is specifically spelt out in function no. 10. however, though the mnda in its official website adjudges itself to have been performing creditably over the years, industrial waste management and challenges arising from environmental pollution have not been adequately addressed. prior to the creation of the mnda, the federal government had tried a few intervention schemes aimed at addressing the problems of the region. these include the establishment of niger delta development board of 1960, the presidential task force on 1.5% derivation which was set up between 1979 and 1983, and the oil minerals areas producing development commission (ompadec) of 1992. unfortunately, these agencies could not fully deliver the expected results. clean-up ogoniland initiative in a vanguard newspaper report entitled fg fixes august for commencement of ogoniland clean-up remediation, ochayi (2018) wrote that the federal government set august (2018) ending for the clean-up of ogoni land in rivers state remediation exercise. this initiative was inaugurated in 2016 by vice president yemi osinbajo. in another vanguard newspaper report on june 11, 2018 entitled fg engages 400 companies on ogoni clean-up, agbakwuru (2018) wrote that about 400 local and international companies have been engaged for the clean-up exercise of oil pollution in ogoni land. he further quoted the minister of environment, ibrahim jibrin to have said that contractors will be mobilized to site 81 by august or september (2018). the minister the report disclosed lamented that oil pollution in ogoni land has led to the destruction of mangrove and aquatic lives in the area. in a 2011 vanguard report entitled un report on ogoni oil pollution: fg to sanction shell if …., amaize (2011) disclosed that the federal government may sanction shell petroleum development company (spdc) if it heeds calls by the ogoni people of rivers state, niger delta. the sanction if it had been evoked would have seen the revocation of the oil exploration license granted the company revoked. this followed a revelation by the united nations environment programme (unep) which clearly established that the company polluted ogoni land and caused life-threatening health hazards. this report is believed to have justified slain mosop leader, ken saro-wiwa and other ogoni leaders executed alongside him in 1995. former mosop president, ledun mitee called for the immediate commencement without delay, of a remediation exercise in the area. unfortunately, the federal government’s reaction to the report was that it would study it before knowing the next step to take. ogoni land is believed to have yielded up to $30 billion from oil operations up to that time. suggestions and recommendations in the light of the foregoing, this paper recommends as follows:  exporting waste products back to the generating expatriate firm’s home country.  total insistence on the exercising of production company’s corporate social responsibility.  introducing and sustaining waste recycling culture in the sector.  overhaul of the waste management sector especially in the ministry of environment and affiliate agencies and departments.  promulgating more stringent waste management regulations and upholding all existing waste management policies (if any).  revisiting all unfulfilled promises and abandoned projects by oil companies especially expatriate firms and multinationals.  strictly addressing all forms of disregard for the environment and deliberate exposure of the people to health hazards according to the statutes.  greater awareness and continuous enlightenment of the populace on the dangers of health hazards emanating from environmental neglect and industrial waste management malpractice.  reducing, reusing and recycling waste. abonyi nichodemus nnaemeka & eleje joy ngozi conclusion this paper concludes that the reality remains that the niger delta region is bedeviled with many unhealthy environmental and industrial waste management practices. however, effective management strategies if and when deployed would sanitize the region and enhance the living standard of its people. in sum, the federal government seems to have been insincere and unapologetic in its lackadaisical approach to tackling the environmental pollution challenges in the niger delta region. but holistic adoption of the recommendations above (and maybe more) would surely yield better results and grant the niger delta people the much needed succour and respite they have been yearning for for decades, and actually deserve. references agbakwuru, j. (2018). fg engages 400 companies on ogoni clean-up, vanguard june 11. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/fg-engages-400-companies-ogoni-clean/ ako, r. & okonmah, p. (2009). minority rights issues in nigeria: a theoretical analysis of historical and contemporary conflicts in the oil-rich niger delta region. international journal on minority and group rights 1, 53-65. ako, r. (2011). ‘the struggle for resource control and violence in the niger delta’, in c. obi and s. rustad, (eds.) oil and insurgency in the niger delta: managing the complex politics and complex (london: zed books, 2011), 42. amaize, e. (2011). un report on ogoni oil pollution: fg to sanction shell if …., vanguard august 4, 2011 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/08/un-report-on-ogoni-oilpollution-fg-to-sanction-shell-if-%e2%80%a6-2/ mnda official website (2013) ochayi, c. 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responsibility and human rights violations in nigeria’s oil producing communities (washington dc: human rights watch africa, 1999), 92. https://www.change.org/p/waste-management-improper-waste-disposal-and-littering-355e5196-4624-4a74-830e-5ab1cd44817b 161 social factors of health and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria ekanem, mbuk asuquo department of sociology. faculty of social sciences, university of calabar, calabar. email; mbuk4u@gmail.com and eyong, butum bassey (ph.d) social work department, university of calabar teaching hospital (ucth) email; basseybutum@gmail.com abstract social dimensions of health and wellbeing of drug addict are factors that propels and as well determine the wellbeing of drug addicts in any social environment. the study specifically examine social factors such as social environment, educational level of people and social network as it influences drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. literature was reviewed on these variables while the social disorganization theory was employed as the study’s theoretical framework. the research design employed was the expost facto with primary data from federal neuropsychiatric hospital calabar and university of calabar teaching hospital. the study sampling techniques employed were purposive; convenience and simple sampling technique with a sample of 388 but after administration and collections, 381 instruments were retrieved and used for analysis. the two instruments questionnaire on social factors and drug addiction (qsfda) and interview guide of drug addiction were used for the study. data was analyzed using the pearson product moment correlation coefficient, one way analysis of variance (anova) and multiple linear regression analytical tools at 0.05 level of significance. from the analysis, findings revealed that the social environment an individual resides, level of education and social network have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. from the analysis, several recommendations were made and one of such is that, to deal with the dichotomy between social environment and drug addition, government through its agency, the national drug law enforcement agency should set up community task force in rural communities to check activities of addict in rural communities mostly in areas where they cultivate these hard substance, so that, such could be controlled. it was concluded that socio-economic factors at multiple levels have an association with the etiology of drug use and exacerbation of problems among drug users key words: drug addicts, expost facto, health, social dimensions, wellbeing, introduction societies in all parts of the world have used substances that suppress pain and sorrow and also provide pleasurable sensations when consumed to promote the holistic wellbeing of individuals (bernstein, 2008). these drugs are very important to human wellbeing but wherein it use surpass recommended dosage, these drugs poses a serious threat 162 to health (american psychiatric association, 2013). in everyday life, the excessive intake of hard substance or drugs brings severe health consequence to the user and when its use is uncontrollable, it leads to addiction which is an undesirable behavior by drug use. the wellbeing of individual and society is paramount and a necessity for societal growth and development. in the light of this, the world health organisation (who) states that “wellbeing exists in two dimensions, subjective and objective. it comprises an individual’s experience of their life as well as a comparison of life circumstances with social norms and values” which include health, education, work, social relationships, built and natural environments, security, civic engagement and governance, housing and work-life balance. subjective experiences include a person’s overall sense of wellbeing, psychological functioning and affective states. however, mans’ wellbeing in relations to drug use revolves around objectives and subjective dimension since drug use affects the health, education, work, social relationship, social environment, threat to security, civic activities, psychological functioning and an individual affective states. though drugs including alcohol, tobacco and caffeine products are long traded products of enormous economic importance that have helped shape civilizations and the patterns of globalization, it adverse effect when they are used out of proportion is endemic to the health and wellbeing of the user and the society at large (bernstein, 2008; castells, 2000; standage, 2010). for example, tobacco use or smoking of hard substance is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in recent times (aina & olorunsola, 2008). according to the world health organization (who) data, nearly 1 billion people in the world smoke tobacco which is a great economic burden on health systems and families of victim especially in developing countries with limited resources like nigeria (ajayi & ekundayo, 2010). according to the global adult tobacco survey (gats) data of turkey, the smoking prevalence decreased among adults from 31.2% (16.0 million) in 2008 to 27.1% (14.8 million) in 2012. in turkey, 41.5% of men and 13.1% of women currently smoke tobacco while in nigeria 41.3% (13.5 million) people smoke tobacco in 2015 (nbs, 2016) in nigeria, alcohol and other substance of abuse is now a house hold problem (nbs, 2016). it is on this note, united nations office on drugs and crime (unodc) world report (2011) revealed that nigeria tops the list of countries in africa in the use of illicit drugs. according to another report by national survey on drug use and health, (2011)the annual prevalence rate for cannabis use in africa is between 4% 14%, with the nigeria prevalence put at about 14% in the region, and is rated as the highest in the world. the annual prevalence of cocaine use in africa in 2009 ranged between 0.2% and 0.8%, nigeria prevalence is put at 0.7%, which again is among the top consumers within the region. the annual prevalence for opite use in africa is estimated at between 0.2% and 0.6%. in nigeria the opiate prevalence rate was estimated to have increased from approximately 0.6% to 0.7% in 2009. this means that nigeria is housing about 500,000 substance users. the prevalence rate for amphetamine use in africa was put at between 0.2% and 1.4% and the nigeria prevalence is put at 1.4%, also the highest in africa (ajayi, et al., 2010). substance abuse or drug addiction which is a broad spectrum, multi-etiological disorder has many negative long-lasting effects on individual well-being, particularly that 163 of young adults (khodarahimi & rezaye, 2012). the various forms taken by substance abuse disorders include health risk behaviours that are often linked together, and, as a rule, all of these disorders originate in three etiological factors that comprise: psychopathology, personality characteristics, and a negative social environment (dryfoos, !990). several studies have examined the prevalence (anumonye, 1980), epidemiology (obot, 1993), prevention, (asuni 1990; ndlea 1994), pattern, (odejide, ogunleya, & meletoyitan, 1993), rate, (ebie & pela, 1981), trends, (adamson, onifade, & ogunwale, 2010), and influence of substance use disorders in nigeria (gureje, & olley, 1993). it should be noted that calabar metropolis consists of calabar municipality and calabar south local government area, addiction constitutes a health problem that affects many families and the general wellbeing of individual. therefore, the study intends to investigate the social determinant that affects drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria such, social environment , social network as well as individual level of education. these factors form the main focus of this paper or article statement of the problem drugs generally are good for relief and restoration of the human cells to normal when they are properly used and recommended by a professional physician (ukpong, 2004). however, the indiscriminate use of drugs and other hard substance like alcohol and stimulants affects the health, social and psychological wellbeing of the individual. this has in recent times posed a serious health threats to abusers of these drugs and other hard substances. it indiscriminate use in calabar metropolis of cross river state causes a psychological despair where the victims are mostly vulnerable to abnormal behavior leading to accidents, death, rape and other crimes. however, one could wonder, the social dimensions or determinant as could be used interchangeably that may have been responsible for this frequent or prevalence of addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state. but there exist literature gaps is this area on how causes of addictions are socially motivated than psychological. this is could be, because social norms and value system could in most cases trigger the use of drug without knowing the adverse consequence this may have on the health and wellbeing of the individual. beyond culture, there may be social and economic conditions such as the residential environment of individual, level of education or awareness about the effect of drugs and the social network of an individual that may trigger addiction. in calabar metropolis of cross river state, the physical, psychological, social and economic consequences of the drug problems among individual has been a thing of concern as most victims have falling to the cold hand of untimely death through motor accidents, crime and incarceration. this phenomenon though cuts across all ages, but more common among young people who persistently abuse substances and in effect experience an array of problems including academic difficulties, health related problems (including mental health) involvement in social vices such as stealing, bullying, rape, secret cult activities which may have negative consequences on family members, community and the entire society. furthermore, in calabar metropolis of cross river state, despite the state recognition as the tourist center of the nation, drug addicts and mentally deranged persons still parades her major streets. the gruesome problems which drug addiction poses to the 164 individuals, groups and entire society constitute a threat to the effective functioning and health wellbeing of victims. furthermore, the persistent increase in the production and usage of these drugs in calabar metropolis have endangered many young people (men and women), who have copied, adopted or acquired the lifestyle of drug addicts living in the area. effort to curb this phenomenon by government through nafdac, ndlea and nongovernmental organization has proved abortive as previous studies in nigeria on drug addiction have dealt only on the problem as it manifests in different population and the effects on the individual health condition but not of the social indicators of the problem. hence, there exists a gap in knowing the social variables such as level of education, social environment and social network as causal variables to the rate of addiction in calabar metropolis which informed this piece. objectives of study the general objective of this study is to investigate social factors of health and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. the specific objectives of the study seek to: 1. examine if social environment have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 2. determine if educational level have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 3. evaluate the impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria statement of hypotheses the following hypotheses are raised to guide the study: 1. social environment does not have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 2. educational level of individual does not have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 3. there is no significant impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 2.1 literature review benavides & bibb (2004) noted the social environment where people live could be a stimulant to drug use and addiction. individual who reside in an environment where hard nicotine or other substances are produced are likely to become addicts. that is, the uses of these substances in those environments or societies are not only a historic process, social or biological but it may be environmental in nature. environmental issues are increasingly becoming a focus of many communities lifestyle choices. greener living is also a policy of governments, communities, law enforcement that promotes more environmentally social 165 decisions and condemns destruction and pollution (benavides & bibb, 2004; gossop, 2001). one of the outstanding activities in calabar metropolis of cross river state is the calabar carnival festival, which is annually celebrated all over in december. it was proposed by erstwhile governor donald duke, to make the state the hub for tourism and hospitality in nigeria. the calabar carnival festival, popularly called ‘the african biggest street party” was initiated in 2004 and during this period, a lot of drug related activities are observable. the vision was envisaged to make the state the number one tourism destination for nigerian and tourists all over the world. usually, the celebration begins with dry runs to enable participants’ bands to get familiar optimally at the main event. although, much have been said on the benefits and usefulness of the cultural calabar festival such as, the promotion of our rich cultural heritage, improvement of our internally generated revenue in the state, while nigeria will generate more foreign currency earnings coming in to ease the pains of the scarcity of forex. nothing had been said about the consequences of flux of tourists with movement of various kinds of dangerous drugs during this period and thereafter. within a short span of years, particularly from the period of calabar carnival started 2004 till date, there had been a witnessed galloping increase in the use of drugs among youths who participate in the street party. even though, the abuse of drugs in it’s entirely is not alien to the nigeria culture. intoxicating substances such as alcohol has been in production and use in most communities such as henshaw town, anantigha, idundu, akasoko, atimbo among others (ukpong, 2004). uptill 1980’s the population was not yet well introduced to the use of other hard drugs, till when the country was caught up in the web of international drug expo. indeed, the use of cocaine, heroin and other hard drug spread to calabar by these tourists. there is evidence that some of the youths who participate in the calabar carnival festival acquired the habit of taking hard drugs through peers groups and friends who distribute them in coke bottles, canned juice, eva bottled water, etc. during the parades. such dangerous drugs include tramadol, coedine, and amphetamides etc. although this view point is one of the strongest hypotheses on the introduction of hard drugs in calabar metropolis, the position of calabar as an export free zone (efz) and tourist destination act as a transit point in the international drug trade and the involvement of the nigerian tourists and businessmen involving in the calabar carnival cannot be underestimated (olanniyan, 2003). okoza et al, (2009), chikere, and mayowa, (2011), owoaje, and bello (2010) augustine, and godiya, (2014) observed that, level of education, most especially tertiary level has been proven to be a consistent predictor to substance abuse (national survey on drug use and health, 2011). perhaps, the university is serving as an enabling vehicle for the utilization of independence from homes and guidance by the students. at the same time, education is one of the principal means of preventing drug abuse. it should be appreciated, however, that preventive education is a process which will produce results only in the long term, in particular with the close cooperation of parents. oshodi, aina and onajole (2010) reported that, despite worldwide concern and education about psychoactive substances, many adolescents have limited awareness of their adverse consequences. they further explained that curiosity, social pressure and peer group influence are noted to be primary reasons for substance misuse. makanjuola, 166 daramola and obembe (2007), aina and olorunsola (2008), and buddy (2009) lamented that a substantial percentage of the national budgetary allocation is utilized for treatment and rehabilitation of people with substance use problems in nigeria unfortunately, scientifically validated information on the overall effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of various approaches, is not usually available the relationship between substance use and academic outcomes, however, clearly has the potential to be bidirectional. while substance use during adolescence is associated with later academic problems, early school failure and low attachment to school have been identified as 3 leading risk factors for substance use, as well as good predictors of low educational attainment in the future, independent of drug use (hawkins et al. 1992, jessor & jessor, 1978). substance use appears to be both a cause and a result of academic problems, and disentangling these pathways is an empirical challenge. some previous researchers in health economics have investigated the causal link between substance use in high school and educational attainment. these researchers have focused on alcohol use. cook and moore (1993), for example, use data on high school seniors from the national longitudinal survey of youth (nlsy) and an instrumental variables methodology to study the impact of frequent drinking (drinking on at least two days in the past week) on the number of years of education completed. using state-level alcohol policies as instruments, they 5 find that seniors who are frequent drinkers complete 2.3 fewer years of college compared to seniors who are not frequent drinkers (cook & moore 1993). more recently, koch & ribar (2001), also using a sample from the nlsy, estimate the effect of the age of initiation of alcohol use on the number of years of schooling completed by age 25. they demonstrate that state-level alcohol policies are not good predictors of alcohol use initiation, which casts doubt on their value as identifying variables in this case. as an alternative approach, they take advantage of data on siblings and estimate: 1. family fixed effects models; and 2. instrumental variables models using sibling age of alcohol use initiation as an instrument. the findings suggest that at most, the age of alcohol use initiation increases the years of schooling completed by 0.47 years for men and by 0.36 years for women. this upper bound result comes from the sibling iv model, which relies on the assumption that each respondent’s sibling’s age of drinking initiation is exogenous to the model. as the authors acknowledge, this assumption is difficult to defend, as many unobserved family and environmental characteristics, such as a family history of alcoholism, are likely to affect both siblings’ drinking behaviors and educational outcomes. two previous studies in the health economics literature focus on estimating the effect of marijuana use on high school completion. bray et al. (2000), using data on 1,392 students from a southeastern us public school system, report that marijuana initiation during high school more than doubles the odds of high school dropout. similarly, yamada et al. (1996), based on data on high school seniors from the national longitudinal survey of youth (nlsy), find that recent marijuana use is associated with a lower probability of 167 graduation. these results are consistent with findings from the psychology and sociology literature, which suggest that marijuana and other illicit drug use detract from the likelihood of high school completion (kandel & davies 1996; newcomb & bentler, 1985, 1986). however, none of these studies on illicit drug use adequately address the issue of whether drug use is a cause or just a correlate of high school dropout. if students who use drugs disproportionately have behavior problems, academic deficiencies or disadvantaged backgrounds, they may not have graduated from high school even if they hadn’t used drugs. in order to control for concurrent factors that may confound an observed empirical relationship between substance use and educational attainment, some models include a set of personal and school characteristics measured in the current grade (10th or 12th grade). these variables are: 1. whether or not the standardized percentile score on mathematics achievement test is in the lowest quartile; 2. a dummy variable indicating daily smoking; 3. a dummy variable indicating that the principal thinks drugs are a moderate to serious problem at this school; and 4. a dummy variable indicating that the school policy is to expel students for a first occurrence of illegal drug possession at school. schinke, botvin and orland (2014) observed that poor social, economic circumstances and association affects the health of individual throughout life. people down the social ladder usually indulge in drug use due to the nature of interaction and association they come across in life. due to this, they run at least twice the risk of serious illness and premature death of those near the top. ilhan, yildirim, demirbas and doğan (2009) in a study of substance use, social networks, and the geography of urban adolescents in washington, usa, reported a prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the respondents as 65%. the authors reported that most popular psychoactive substances used such as alcohol, cannabis and cocaine were supplied by their associate or work partners. substance abuse and mental health services administration (samhsa), reported a high prevalence of cannabis use (12.8%) among young adults aged 18 to 25 years (jeynes, 2009). scholars argued that company and individual has a powerful influence on the development of problem drinking among adult drug users who report considerable difficulty in abstaining from drugs when they are in certain social setting where drugs are used. the peer group reinforces the drug use habit through an inbuilt sub-cultural support system apart from pace for the initiation which they aid in establishing (schinke, botvin, orland, 2014), social learning is critical for human survival but sometimes it can go wrong if the behaviour being imitated is self-destructive, just as it is possible to learn bad behaviour from watching other people in the society. therefore, environment where drugs are produce may likely influence individual behaviour towards drug consumption. types of drugs jyotika and pradeep (2017) outlined and broadly classified drugs into depressants, narcotics, stimulants and hallucinogens. it sub typologies are as follows: 168 i. depressants (downers) depressants, also known as sedatives and tranquilizers, are substances that can slow brain activity. ii. barbiturates. barbiturates such as amobarbital, pentobarbital, phenobarbital, and secobarbital are depressants, or sedatives. iii. narcotics. narcotics or opioids are drugs that are used medically for pain relief but that have strong addictive potential (begley, 2001b). iv. stimulants (uppers). stimulants act on the central nervous system to increase energy and alertness while suppressing appetite and fatigue. they include cocaine (such as freebase and ‘crack’), amphetamines (for example dexedrine, benzedrine), methamphetamine (methedrine: ‘speed’, ‘crystal’, ‘ice’, ‘crank’), mdma(ecstasy), nicotine, caffeine and amphetamine like products (preludin or ritalin.) v. amphetamines. amphetamine (contracted from alpha-methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (cns) stimulant. amphetamines are used in high doses for their euphoric rush. vi. nicotine. nicotine is found in tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco. tobacco is used by smoking, chewing, sucking and applying to the teeth and gums etc. vii. hallucinogens. hallucinogens, also called psychedelics, are a class of drugs that produce sensory distortions or hallucinations, including major alterations in color perception and hearing. viii. marijuana/cannabis. marijuana is derived from the cannabis sativa plant. it is generally classified as a hallucinogen because it can produce perceptual distortions or mild hallucinations. ix. pcp (phencyclidine). phencyclidine was developed as an anesthetic in the 1950s but was discontinued as such when its hallucinatory side effects were discovered. all these drugs are widely used by individual mostly above dietary or medical prescription or recommendation. at such, they affect individual social and psychological functioning. the resultant effect is that, it can lead to crime, death and in most cases rape and road accidents theoretical framework social disorganization theory the theory was developed in 1942 by shaw and henry. the theory involves around a state characterized by the breakdown of effective social control resulting in a lack of functional integration between groups conflicting social attitudes and personal maladjustment. the social disorganization theory lays the background to the idea that the closer individuals are bonding into an informal network of social relationship, the greater the degree of conformity. when individuals are in a heterogeneous environment where there is variance in economic and social status, there will be no value, which creates conflict situation. this theory therefore predicts conditions where antisocial behaviours (addictive) are most likely to thrive due to the opportunities and lapses created by structural heterogeneity of values and consequently disorganization. where there is cultural heterogeneity, conflict in values and rules, the social control mechanisms will also be in conflict, weak and minimally functional. apparently, addicts will deviate from the norms because the rules in existence may either be too loose or too harsh in application 169 material and methods the study utilized expost facto and descriptive survey design in the process of data collection. the essence of using this design is based on the fact that data was sourced from primary and secondary data. the study area is calabar metropolis of cross river state which comprises of calabar municipality and calabar south local government areas. the population consists of health care facilities (federal neuropsychiatric hospital, general hospital calabar and university of clabar teaching hospital) in and outpatient department record of drug addicts. data from the study was elicited from 2015 to 2019. according to ndlea/ndc (2015-2019) the total number inpatient drug addict in calabar metropolis is three hundred and eighty eight (388) addicts. this number exclude outpatient addict. however the total number of outpatient addict was unknown, hence emphasis was laid on inpatient addicts. since the study is purely qualitative through interviews and case studies, a total of 5 to 6 case studies interviews were conducted. this study sample was due to the enormity of the subject or problem under investigation (in patient addicts). the addicts were selected at federal neuropsychiatric hospital, calabar and university of calabar teaching hospital. the research adopted three sampling techniquespurposive convenience and simple sampling technique. the purposive sampling technique was used in selecting departments and units that specialized on drug related cases in the hospital. the convenience sampling was used to select participants into the study at a time that is convenience for the researcher after proper arrangement and consultation was made with hospital management and participants. the instruments that were used in collecting data from the field for this study were the questionnaire and case studies interview guide. the questionnaire was titledquestionnaire on social factors and drug addiction (qsfda) and social factors of drug and addiction interview guide (sfdaig). items for the instruments were designed as follows;  has your social environment influenced you?  does drug environment enhance the prevalence of addiction?  whether level of education enhances drug addiction?  does people level of awareness improves the knowledge of drug addiction?  dose association with addict cause addiction?  does drug addiction affect the social functioning of individuals? to establish the internal consistency of the instrument, a pilot test was conducted in general hospital which was not part of the health institution for the study to establish the reliability of the instrument, from the test, a reliability coefficient of 0.86 was arrived at. this result showed the instrument is reliable and internally consistent, the researcher with the help of a research assistant and heads of units and departments helped to administer the research instrument to the respondents. quantitative data was coded in the spss version 21 and analyzed with pearson product moment correlation coefficient, one way analysis of varian (anova) and linear regression analytical tools at 0.05 level of significance while qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed for better triangulation and backing of the quantitative data. 170 results hypothesis one social environment does not have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. in this hypothesis, the independent variable is social environment while the dependent variable is drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. to test the hypothesis, the linear regression model statistics was employed to test the relationship between social environment and drug addiction in in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria as shown in table 1 a, b and c from the first model summary result, it is statistical that there is a strong influence (r = .483a) between social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. the adjusted r square (r. square =233) also showed social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria (adjusted r2 = .225) of the total variation of the disaggregated independent variable (), riverine environment, calabar south environment, environment that produces drugs, carnival festival) as predictor indices of drug addiction. a similar significant result difference was obtained in the anova model which also showed a significant f-ratio of 28.606,which was calculated against the critical f-ratio of 3.053 at 0.05 levels of significances and 3 degree of freedom. the last tables of result from the coefficient regression analysis further revealed that there is significant relationship between social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. in table 4.12c showed that a strong relationship exists between social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria (β = .8.553 t = 381, p<.05). thus, we reject h0 and accept the h1. this implies that there is a significant relationship between social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. from the result and predictor variables, finding revealed that, drug addiction is most common among the riverine dwellers in the study area than other locations table 1 regression analysis for social environment and drug addiction in calabar metropolis(n=381). model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .483a .233 .225 .24791 a. predictors: (constant), riverine environment, calabar south environment, environment that produces drugs, carnival festival b. dependent variable: drug addiction anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 7.032 4 1.758 28.606 .000b residual 23.109 376 .061 total 30.142 380 a. dependent variable: drug addiction b. predictors: (constant), riverine environment, calabar south environment, environment that produces drugs, carnival festival 171 coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .710 .083 8.553 .000 carnival festival .083 .036 .143 2.312 .021 environment that produces drugs -.022 .035 -.030 -.632 .528 calabar south environment -.012 .032 -.018 -.383 .702 riverine environment .249 .043 .366 5.846 .000 a. dependent variable: drug addiction source: field survey, 2020/spss (version 21.0 for windows output) hypothesis two educational level of individual does not have a significant influence on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeriaas shown in table 2. data for testing hypothesis two were derived from response from respondents of the instrument and analyzed using the one way analysis of variance (anova) as presented in table 2. from the result as presented in the table 2, the independent variable is educational level while the dependent variable is drug addiction. to test the hypothesis, one way analysis of variance was used to determine the significant influence of individual educational level and drug addiction. the dependent variableindividual educational levelwas disaggregated into three level of measurement (highly educated, fairly educated and not educated). the result in the table 3 revealed that, there are three groups the calculated f ratio of 110.225 is statistically significant when compared with the critical f-ratio of 3.040 at 2, 381 degree of freedom. this means that the null hypothesis which states that, there is no significant influence of an individual educational level on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria was rejected following decision rule which states that, accept the null hypothesis if the calculated f-value if greater than the tabulated f-value. finally, since the calculated f-value of 110.225 was found greater that the tabulated or critical table value of 3.040, the null hypothesis was however rejected while the alternate was accepted. this implies that there is no significant influence of an individual educational level on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria 172 table 2 anova descriptive analysis for the influence of individual educational level of knowledge and drug addiction drug addiction n mean std. deviation highly educated 98 1.0000 .00000 fairly educated 205 1.0000 .00000 not educated 78 1.4231 .49725 total 381 1.0866 .28164 anova drug addiction sum of squares df mean square f sig. between groups 11.103 2 5.552 110.225 .000 within groups 19.038 378 .050 total 30.142 380 173 means plots hypothesis three ho there is no significant impact social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria hi there is a significant impact social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria decision rule accept ho if calculated r value of0.086 0.146 at 2 degrees of freedom (df) and 0.05 level of significance. otherwise, reject the ho and accept the hi. to test hypothesis one, pearson product moment correlation analysis was used. from the analysis, the calculated r value of 0.146* was greater than 0.086 critical value at 0.05 level of significance. since the calculated r of 0.146* is greater than the critical r-value of 0.086 at .05 level of significance with 2 degree of freedom with this result, the null hypothesis which states that, there is no significant effect of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river 174 state, nigeria was rejected while the alternate was accepted, this implies that, there is no significant impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria table 3 pearson product moment correlation coefficient analysis for impact social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria(n=381). variables m sd ∑x ∑y ∑x2 ∑y2 ∑xy r-value sig. social network12.17 2.56 5421 76612 0.146* 0.00 drug addiction 11.45 2.42 5130 71638 74175 **significant at 0.05 level, df = 1191, critical r 0.086 source: field survey, 2020/spss (version 21.0 for windows output) decision from the result as presented in the table 4.9 and 10 on correlation analyses for the significant impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. since the calculated constancy r value of 0.146* is greater than 0.086 which is the rcritical table value of significance at 0.05 level of significant, we rejected the ho: which states that there is no significant impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria; was rejected while the alternate which state that there is significant impact of social network on drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria discussion of findings the findings from the analysis reveal that, social environment, level of education and social network influences drug addiction in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria. these findings corroborate with the study of benavides & bibb (2004) who noted the social environment where people live could be a stimulant to drug use and addiction. individual who reside in an environment where hard nicotine or other substances are produced are likely to become addicts. that is, the uses of these substances in those environments or societies are not only a historic process, social or biological but it may be environmental in nature. environmental issues are increasingly becoming a focus of many communities’ lifestyle choices. greener living is also a policy of governments, communities, law enforcement that promotes more environmentally social decisions and condemns destruction and pollution (benavides & bibb, 2004). the connection or correlation between drug addiction or use and environmental destruction is rarely made. people who may live an otherwise sustainable and green-focus life may indulge in drug use without consideration for the immense damage this may contribute to pollution, erosion, destruction of farm lands and other sensation forests areas (gossop, 2001). 175 findings of the second hypothesis agrees with okoza et al, (2009),chikere, and mayowa, (2011), owoaje, and bello (2010) augustine, and godiya, (2014) who observed that, level of education, most especially tertiary level has been proven to be a consistent predictor to substance abuse (national survey on drug use and health, 2011). perhaps, the university is serving as an enabling vehicle for the utilization of independence from homes and guidance by the students. at the same time, education is one of the principal means of preventing drug abuse. it should be appreciated, however, that preventive education is a process which will produce results only in the long term, in particular with the close cooperation of parents. s oshodi, aina and onajole (2010) reported that, despite worldwide concern and education about psychoactive substances, many adolescents have limited awareness of their adverse consequences. they further explained that curiosity, social pressure and peer group influence are noted to be primary reasons for substance misuse. makanjuola, daramola and obembe (2007), aina and olorunsola (2008), and buddy (2009) lamented that a substantial percentage of the national budgetary allocation is utilized for treatment and rehabilitation of people with substance use problems in nigeria unfortunately, scientifically validated information on the overall effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of various approaches, is not usually available the last hypothesis findings also supportschinke, botvin and orland (2014) who observed that poor social, economic circumstances and association affects the health of individual throughout life. people down the social ladder usually indulge in drug use due to the nature of interaction and association the come across in life. due to this, they run at least twice the risk of serious illness and premature death of those near the top. ilhan, yildirim, demirbasand doğan (2009) in a study of substance use, social networks, and the geography of urban adolescents in washington, usa, reported a prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the respondents as 65%. the authors reported that most popular psychoactive substances used such alcohol, cannabis and cocaine were supplied by their associate or work partners. substance abuse and mental health services administration (samhsa), reported a high prevalence of cannabis use (12.8%) among young adults aged 18 to 25 years (jeynes, 2009). in tanzania, kalula, in a qualitative study of cannabis use among young people, reported an increasing trend of cannabis use among youths aged 15 to 25 years with a prevalence rate of 5% (lubman, yucel&pantelis, 2004).adebiyi, babalola, adesola&eme, (2010), in a study of tobacco use among individual from 18 to 35 years in ibadan, southwestern nigeria, reported a prevalence of tobacco use as 20.5% (aina&olorunsola, 2008) during the qualitative session (and one-on-one) interview with addicts or participants which majorly constitute inpatient addicts in in calabar metropolis of cross river state, nigeria, they agreed that, the social environment , level of an individual education and social network system of addict have a significant influence on the prevalence of drug addiction in the society. interview with individual participant revealed that, addiction is mostly common where you find addiction. they added that, where you find addict is where they live and cultivated their substance. the study participants revealed that, though individual level of education or awareness plays a vital role in 176 knowing what to take, when and how?, but in drug addiction cases, individual level of education dose not holds way. however, from the interview, participants aver that, even most educated person is also addicts. they explain that, addiction is beyond the individual level of education, but the level of awareness on the dangers of abusing this substance to their health is rather most important. according to the practitioners in the colleges of psychiatric, there is an urgent need for health seminars on the dangers of substance use on the individual and the society. according to them during the interview, hard substance use reduces one’s life-span and causes significant current chronic diseases conditions the society faces in recent times. they belief that when individual have good knowledge and are aware of the dangers of substance use without the prescription of a medical experts, they can desist from such drug intake recommendations from the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made: 1. since major causes of addiction are social in nature, governments should help reduce poverty and unemployment; provide good-quality health care; ensure effective child maintenance as these are some of the causes of drug addiction 2. parents and adults should expurgate the kind of social network and association they keep to, since it was found out the many addiction cases were cause by association with bad company 3. from the study’s finding, it was found that individual level of education could be a direct cause of addiction, government and health care provider should help organized community town hall seminars on the effect of substance use on the health of addicts. 4. to deal with the dichotomy between social environment and drug addition, government through its agency, the national drug law enforcement agency should set up community task force in rural communities to check activities of addict in rural communities mostly in areas where they cultivating these hard substance, so that, such could be controlled. conclusion from the findings of this study, it could be seen that previous research only highlighted the strong association between social and psychological health impact of substance addiction. over the years, these findings suggest that it is likely that marijuana use and other nicotine impairs an individual sense of reasoning and action without looking at the major causes at the micro-and macro level of individual analysis. this study has extensively evaluated and discussed exhaustively the social factors responsible for drug addiction. the results regarding the effect of marijuana use and other nicotine showed that, they have a significant effect on the health of abusers and these outcomes are consistent in sign with the two previous studies on topic in the health economics literature. finding of this study has also revealed that socio-economic factors at multiple levels have an 177 association with the aetiology of drug use and exacerbation of problems among drug users. findings from this study in drug-treatment facilities as well as the qualitative study carried out in health facilities highlight the extent of this relationship, with low levels of education and high levels of unemployment as well as general poverty have direct consequence to individual indulgence in drug taken. as discussed during the interview session, a significant number of addicts who are chronic drug-dependent people suffer the double stigma and marginalization of low socioeconomic status and drug dependency. in the study area, the social and psychological effect of drug 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(1996).the impact of alcohol and marijuana consumption on high school graduation. health economics, 1998. 67 effect of public servants’ financial abuse on nigeria economy ogbu elijah chikwado department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology. email: comrade.elijah@yahoo.com contact: 07035350755 abstract the misuse or abuse of public fund by public servants and politicians has always been the short fall of most appropriated public funds in nigeria. this however has grave consequences on the growth of the nation’s economy. this paper examines the effect of public servants financial abuse on nigeria economy. in carrying out the study, three theories were extensively reviewed to establish the theoretical foundation of the study. this paper through the researcher developed a model, identified various forms of financial abuse by public servants; and their effects on nigeria economy. this paper recommended stringent laws to deter public servants from misusing public funds; mandatory declaration of assets by public servants; proper budget planning, accountability and periodic monitoring of it execution. keywords: public servants, financial abuse, economy, public funds. introduction finance, no doubt is the life blood of every organization. the effectiveness and efficiency of any organization is dependent on how well it manages it resources, whether financial, material or personnel resources. financial management takes place within the context of economic activity as well as within a structure of social and ethical constraints (geoffrey& stanley, 2008 p.3). government as a common agent of the people to which all members of the society surrenders some of their individual right in a social contract, exist to serve the needs of the citizens and to ensure those needs are provided efficiently and effectively (okechukwu, 2010 p.13). it accomplishes this lofty goal by providing clear processes, structures and follow up for all aspect of executive management (decision-making, strategic alignment, managerial control, supervision and financial accountability. mailto:comrade.elijah@yahoo.com public servants financial abuse nevertheless, this indispensable role of government as the common agent of the people has in many instances appeared deceptive and elusive as personal interest of it public servants often overrides general interest. nowadays there are blatant cases of financial abuse perpetrated by public servants with outrageous effect on the nation’s economy. every regime in nigeria is always known with one form of corruption or another for instance under the gowon regime nigeria acquired a reputation as the most benevolent father christmas (akani, 2000 p.20). it was clear that nigeria was threading the path of self-destruction. elsewhere, other oil producing countries did not fold their hands and watch their petro-dollar stolen by agents of corruption, but in nigeria case, this was the order of the day (akani, 2000 p.20). furthermore, during olushegun obasanjo military regime in 1976, operation feed the nation was introduced with good intention, but it planning and execution was riddled with fraud, mismanagement extortion and corruption (akani, 2000:20). the administration in furtherance of it ineptness in management of the oil revenue accruing to it, introduced festac (festival of act and culture) in 1977. this programme drained nigeria economy of virtually all her oil revenue. the second republic under shagari mapped out a whopping n2billion for the development of the federal capital territory abuja. most of the contractors disappeared into a thin air with millions of naira of mobilization fee to build new houses, buy new cars, marry new wives and take numerous chieftaincy titles (akani, 2000 p.23). from december 31 1983 when general muhammadu buhari and tunde idiagbon sacked the civilian government of shehu shagari, the nation experienced one form of military dictatorship after another. it was during this period which terminated on 29 may 1999 that corruption became acceptable politics of government (akani, 2000 p.23). 69 we have heard cases of abacha loot, where he gave his son 700m usd in cash to keep for him. akani in above cited made it clear that this 700m usd if used in the economy, will be able to pay the salaries of 1 million nigerians workers on any grade level at n55,000 for 11 years. and yet somebody had the gut to steal that much from our common wealth, when retired workers are not paid their pensions and gratuities. sacked ones are not paid in lieu of notice and nigerian workers are dying in their thousands (akani, 2000 p.23). the goodluck jonathan civilian led administration recorded or experienced flagrant abuse of public funds by public servant. this was evident in the over 12 billion naira, unaccounted nnpc missing fund, exposed by the then governor of central bank of nigeria. much more recently was the exposed dasuki, gate arm deal fund perpetrated during jonathan’s administration. nevertheless, it is disheartening to note that despite all the efforts put in place by successive government in the form of laws and establishment of divers anti-graft agencies to write the above wrongs, financial abuse cases has remained unabated. it is therefore against this background that the need to research on the effect of financial abuse by the public servants on the economy of nigeria has risen. statement of problem the diagnostic survey conducted in 2001 into the federal government public procurement, revealed that nigeria lost several hundred billions of naira over the last few decades, due to flagrant abuse of procedures, lack of transparency and merit in the award of contracts in the public sector and accountability quandary (uremadu 2004 p.21). in spite of the numerous laws and relevant institutions, there has been significant increase in the number of reported cases of all kinds of misappropriation of public funds and properties. evidence abound that public funds are misappropriated and are not well utilized. brazen theft public servants financial abuse of public fund are usually headlines of the country’s dailies. examples are the police pension scandal, a fraud of over n40 billion (daily independent 2013 p.4), pension scam of n5.6 billion involving oyo state head of service (uwujaren, 2013 p.11), and 1.6million bullet proof bmw car in the aviation ministry (alechenu, ameh adetayo and ogundele, 2013 p.5). the former petroleum minister, alison maduekwe money laundering issue, and dansuki gate arm deal just to mention but few. therefore, it was as a result of some of these developments that inekwe (2014 p.9) contended that nigeria governments cannot effectively and efficiently utilize it resources and report to the populace how well the resources have been used. the problem of this research paper is based on the perceived weak accountability of government fund by public servants in nigeria, which has not only increased the height of corruption but also resulted in enormous waste of national resources and decay of economic infrastructure within the economy. other problems include poor planning and implementation of national budget experienced in all facets of nigeria public sector, lack of transparency leading to mistrust and other negative consequences and weak accountability mechanism. finally, it is worthy to note that despite all effort put in place by government to write these wrongs, the above mention problems have remained unabated and have resulted to divers economic disorder in the nation’s economy. this has arose curiosity on the mind of the researcher that he has decided to research on the effects of financial abuse by the public servants on the economy of nigeria. objectives of the study the broad objective of the study is to examine the effect of financial abuse by the public servants on the economy of nigeria. the specific objectives of the study are as follows: 1. to identify forms of financial abuses prominent among public servants in nigeria. 2 to examine the impact of financial abuse by public servants on the economy. 71 research questions the following questions guided this study: 1. what are the forms of financial abuses prominent among public servants in nigeria? 2. what is the impact of public sector financial abuse on the nigeria economy? literature review conceptual framework forms of financial abuse effect of financial abuse by public servants on the economy fig. 1 public finance abuse model financial embezzlement misappropriation of funds corruption extortion over budgeting over invoicing of contract fraud money laundering discouragement of foreign investors increase in national debt high cost of governance youth unemployment income inequality among citizens adverse balance of payment poor or lack of accountability poor execution of contracts waste of resources uneven development public servants financial abuse public servants financial abuse meaning of financial abuse/corruption the term financial abuse and corruption are often used as synonyms when it comes to financial management. however in disparity, it appears that corruption is more broader in coverage than financial abuse. in other words the term financial abuse can be seen as an aspect of corruption. the term financial abuse is made up of two words firstly, the term finance according to onyiriuba (2010 p:202) is a money available to a person company or organization. he also defined it as a money one own and manages to conduct his own affairs or business. secondly the term “abuse”. according to onyiriuba (2010: p1), simple means to benefit often to the expense of one’s employer. in other words, it means to take advantage of ones position to have an unusual benefit or gain. therefore, the term financial abuse can be seen as the misuse of public fund to satisfy self interest. according to akani (2001 p.31), corruption simply means the debasement or pervasion of an approved process, for the purpose of gaining an advantage which in most cases is selfish and personal. corruption as applied in this research, can be defined as the abuse of public office for private gain. however, it is pertinent to note that the main goal of corruption and financial abuse is the satisfaction of a private objective to the neglect of the majority objective (akani 2001 p:3). finally on this note, according to section 2 of independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (i.c.p.c) act (2000), financial abuse/corruption simply connotes impropriety and encompasses all forms of reprehensible, indecorous and infamous conduct in the performance of some official and non-official responsibilities. this means acts which go out of any normal societal behavior. forms of financial abuse/crime 73 1. embezzlement of government funds embezzlement of government funds is simply a theft of government money by it officials or employees. embezzlement can be seen as a theft by a government workers who appropriate to himself money meant for public use. this form of financial abuse is usually common among all public servants irrespective of their cadre. 2. money laundering according to aiyekan d.(2005 p.31) money laundering is money coming out from drug corrupt acts (419) etc. money laundering is a process by which criminals attempts to hide and disguise the true origin and ownership of the proceeds of their criminal activities, thereby avoiding prosecution, conviction and confiscation of criminal funds. this is no doubt the biggest economic crime that have attracted greater attention in recent times. any crime, be it extortion, terrorism, drug arms and human trafficking, fraud, bribery and corruption e.t.c that generates huge proceeds creates the need for laundering. laundering takes place in order to avoid the proceeds from being used as evidence against the perpetrators of offences. it also means a process by which monies, sourced from illicit activities are brought into the formal economy and used for legitimate purpose. 3. over budgeting this form of financial abuse is usually common among budget planners. this is simply the allocation of more than required monetary value to a budget item. according to chikeleze (2002 p.80), over budgeting may in fact make organizational goals subservient to budgetary goals resulting in some negative outcomes. this outcome includes embezzlement or misappropriation of fund. 4. fraud public servants financial abuse okoli (2006, pp.15), defined fraud as an irregularity or impropriety involving the use of deception to obtain an unjust or illegal financial advantage. fraud may involve: 1. falsification or alteration of accounting records or other documents 2. misappropriation of assets or theft suppression or omission of the effects of transaction from records or documents. 3. recording of transactions without substance. 4. international misrepresentation of transactions or of the entity’s state of affairs. the following therefore are the main classification of fraud i. falsification of account ii. forgery iii. fraudulent conversion. 5. extortion this form of financial abuse is usually common among public servant such as the revenue officers, police and other agencies. extortion simple means the use of threat to advance or collect money from others. for example revenue officers can use their office as tax collected to levy and collect unusual amount from innocent citizens. 6. corruption corruption as stated earlier is the abuse of public office for private gain. high level of endemic and institutionalized corruption has remained the single most dominant factor facing effective tax administrator, especially in developing countries, chikeleze (2010 p:115). the readiness by corrupt tax officials to accept personal gratification from dubious rich and influential members of the society makes effective tax collection difficult. in nigeria, corruption has eaten deeply into the born marrow of the system. according to akani (2001:1), corruption world over is a condemnable phenomenon. but to those who practice it, it confers some benefits. the 75 majority groans under it triumph. corruption no doubt is part and parcel of the economic culture of capitalism doggedly hinged on possessive individualism (akani, 2001 p.1). 7. over invoicing of contract this is a form of financial abuse common among public servants that deals directly with contractors of government programmes or projects. here the value allocated for each project item budgeted for, is usually over inflated at the behest of the public servant incharge. this he or she allows in other to share the resultant excess with the contractor. in a nutshell this is often seen when a public servant connive with a government contractor to embezzle excess money resulting from their over inflation of project or contract money. 8. misappropriation of funds this is simply the use of funds for a purpose other than what it is meant for. most of the abandoned or uncompleted project you can see today is as a result of the misappropriation of funds meant for it by public servants. effect of financial abuse on the economy the effects of financial abuse on the nation’s economy are as follows: 1. increase in national debt financial abuse by public servant has the capacity of living a country in a sorry state thereby making it to resort to borrowing from international agencies like imf or world bank at an unfavourable interest rate. this invariable will perpetuate it indebtedness. a country that is prone to flagrant public financial abuse by it officials will certainly run into debt in order to meet up with it responsibilities to it subjects or citizens. according to eze (2010 p.358), the conditionality’s stipulated by the international monetary fund (imf) and world bank loan appeared to make the resources and the economy of the public servants financial abuse debtor countries to be managing just to service their debt and it is not good in terms of long term economic health. eze (2010 p.360), further stated that when external debt accumulates, it causes the following services problems. a. the debtor country begins to experience severe balance of payment problems as commodity prices and terms of trade rapidly deteriorate. b. loss of confidence in the ability of the debtor nation to repay the loan. c. the above situation causes dwindling foreign reserve and stalled development prospects. foreign aid should be carefully weighed before being accepted. this is because of it aftermath. 2. income inequality among citizens financial abuse often create a room for the dubious rich to get more richer while the poor get more poorer. this therefore, creates a perennial situation whereby the gap between the have and the have not become more enhanced. according to chukwu (2007 p.84), public administrators or servant should be that of the citizen who is employed as one of us to work for us, or a kind of professional citizen ordained to do that work which we in a complex large scales political community are unable to undertake ourselves. the revise is the case today as public servants instead of serving the masses, takes pleasure in extorting and embezzling public fund to enrich themselves. this therefore widens the gap between the public servants and the masses. 3. discouragement of foreign investors every investor seeks to invest in an environment where return on investment is rest assured. a country where financial abuse or corruption is the order of the day, it scares away investors from other countries from investing. this invariably affects the gross domestic product of that country. 77 4. uneven development lopsidedness inherent in carrying out the development plan of nigeria government is traceable to lack of adequate financial resource to achieve all round development. the life blood of any country’s economy is finance. no development project can be achieved without it financial demands been met. therefore, in a country where public funds are left at the mercy of dubious public servants even development becomes a mirage. 5. poor execution of contracts many-abandoned project seen all over are as a result of misappropriation or embezzlement of it funds by the contractor or public servants in charge. in nigeria, public servants clamour to be awarded with a contract. this they seek not because they actually want to work, but in order to enrich themselves knowing fully that the accountability structure is weak. 6. high cost of governance the cost of governance is the money spent on administrative processes. it is also known as administrative expenditure. according to fasua and osagie (2016 p.34), cost of governance is the cost associated with the running of government in running it affairs. according to drucker (2007 p.45), cost of governance is government budget allocated to both capitals and recurrent expenditure on maintaining government administrative structures which appears to be very enormous in africa. this is because of the blatant corruption and abuse of public finance by public servants. the increasing number of ghost workers today is alarming this is due to sheer prevalence of corruption among the public servants. 7. youth unemployment public servants financial abuse unemployment is a situation whereby those who are willing, able and certified by law to work find it difficult to access job opportunities. the refusal of those who have attained retirement stage to retire has given rise to this unwelcomed state. many public servants have enlisted many names that are not real in the salary payroll, all in the bid of receiving more money for personal aggrandizement. these ghost workers therefore, fills the position where others could have been employed to fill. 8. adverse or unfavourable term of trade the world is a predatory terrain. it also implies that at international trade relation every one seeks to infringe upon the freedom of other nations (abah, 2009 p.2). a country whose economy is prone to flagrant financial abuse by it officials might fall victim of being preyed upon by other countries in the international arena. this infringement will result to unfavourable term of trade (that is earning less from it export than what it spent on goods imported). 9. lack of accountability financial abuse among public servant defiles every atom of accountability. it is the failure on the aspect of financial accountability mechanism that public servants can openly abuse public funds with impunity theoretical framework: the following theories where reviewed and applied to the work. however, one was adopted at the end. a. social action theory b. organizational role theory c. principal agency theory social action theory 79 this theory owns it origin to the work of max weber (1864 -1920). weber sees both structural and action approaches as necessary to developing a full understanding of society and social change. in one of his most important works economy and society first published in 1920’s, he said sociology is a science concerning itself with interpretive understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of its course and consequences. according to nwankwo (2011 p.218), social action theory like the behavioural theory has been developed from the application of behavioural sciences to management. it views the system of management as a system of cultural inter-relationships. this theory is sociologically oriented and deals with identifying the various social groups in an organization as well as their cultural relationships and integrating these groups into a complete social system. nwankwo (2011 p.219) further stated that this theory looks at the organization from the perspective of individual members who have their own individual goals. work is viewed from the perspective of satisfaction and the meaning it has for individuals. this theory is based on individuals’ perception of the situation and perhaps explains why conflicts of interest are seen as a normal part of organizational life. weber was particularly interested on how social action is often conceptualized by social actors in terms of means – ends chains. for instance, a large bureaucratic organization will organize the activity of social individuals by assigning each worker a particular role in a hierarchy. the responsibilities associated with this role are rules, or norms that serve as means to the ends served by bureaucracy. these norms serve to make organized social action possible. that is the routinize and formalize social interaction among individuals who for whatever reason are committed to serving the organization. in summary, social action presupposes the existence of other individual and some action by him. this means there can be no social action in isolation. therefore social action is possible public servants financial abuse if there is another human being whose action or behavior is prompting to the giving individual to act in a particular manner. therefore, as this theory tend to be appreciated by scholars in the field of social sciences and management science, so it is highly esteemed by practitioners in every organization. this theory exposes the fact that financial abuse among public servants in nigeria is as a result of individual members who have their own individual goals to attain, necessitated by the desire to satisfy demands or pressures from family, friends, colleague etc. organizational role theory the organizational role theory was developed by katz and kahn in 1966. it states that the assignment of work roles prescribes the behavior that each employee is expected to comply with, so that they are able to perform their specific task and duties effectively. it provides insight into the processes that affect the physical and emotional state of an individual in the work place that affect their work place behavior (kahn, wolfe, quinn and rosenthal, 1964). role theory as it relate to organizational leadership is how the leaders and followers in a business usually management and employees defined their own roles, defined the roles of others, how people act in their roles and how people expect other people to act in their roles within the organization. this theory as will be seen subsequently is relevant to the present study as financial abuse by public servants is a negation on their roles as employees to the nigeria government and nigeria people in general. principal agency theory this theory has often been used by scholars in accounting, economics, political science, marketing, organizational behavior and sociology. this theory sees organizational relationship as a tension between the principal who demands and service and agency who provides it. the model assumes that authors are motivated by rational self interest. the issue in the contents of this paper is how the principal (in this case in nigeria citizens) can manage the self interest of 81 those empowered to act on their behalf (that is the agent: government official, politicians, legislators, bureaucrats, etc). so that it is aligned with the purposes that the principal wishes to achieve. the problem arises not just from conflict of interest but also from the privilege access of the agents to information (the problem of asymmetric information). the agent who have been employed to provide a service will tend to use their superior knowledge to divert benefit in their own direction. in a democratic point, the ultimate principals are the citizens who are the consumers of specific services provided by the government. in the principal agent theory, the electorates are principals in the sense that politicians as agents seek their mandate from and act as the representative of the public. the agency theory throws light on the rationale behind employees (public servants) abuse of finance. empirical review fasua and osagie (2016) investigated the financial control and fraud prevention in the public sector. the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between financial control and fraud prevention in the public sector in nigeria. specifically, the study seeks to verify financial control; prevention in government sector. the methodology utilized in the study was a survey designed with the aid of administration of questionnaire to collect data from selected states – edo state and ondo state. a total of thirty three (33) respondents were used. a regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between financial control and fraud prevention in the public sector and analyze other hypotheses. it also used simple percentage for the research questions. the findings reveal that the existing control measures by federal government are sufficient in content and scope to prevent fraud in the public sectors, in addition, the success of these effective controls depend on honest personnel and tone at the top. public servants financial abuse the study therefore, recommended among others that, personnel of integrity and honesty as well forensic experts should be employed to scrutinize the relevant controls put in place. acho and abuh (2016) conducted a study on corruption and accountability in the nigeria public sector: an empirical discourse. the paper adopts the secondary sources of data in generating relevant empirical and theoretical framework. it was discovered that allocations of funds to the public sector are not adequately and judiciously utilized for the purpose for which it is meant for, corruption in the public sector has a significant effect on the level of accountability, the nation lost huge amount of money due to lack of accountability and transparency. therefore, the paper recommends that the adherence to internal mechanisms for enforcing accountability should be strictly adhere to while stiffer penalties/sanctions for corrupt practices be aggressively implemented, corruption and similar offences should attract capital punishment it also stated that if these measures are properly taken, it will go a long way to ensuring an egalitarian society. ani, izueke and nzekwe (2014) in their work on public sector and corruption in nigeria: an ethical and institutional framework of analysis, examines the imperatives of good ethical conduct in the conduct of government business in nigeria. they posit that as government business grows in complexity with the adoption of technological innovations in government, governance in nigeria’s public sector becomes more problematic and ethically tasking as a result of endemic corruption. their evaluation of the collapse of institutional measures and codes of conduct puts in place to ensure high standard of behavior, using institutional theory suggests that moral contradictions in institutional behavior expectation from the public deepen daily. the perceived lack of an effective ethical organizational framework to coordinate the activities of various institutions has astronomically worsened unethical practices such as corruption in the nigerian public service. summary and conclusion 83 the concept of financial abuse and corruption has remain concept of great academic discuss among scholars and practitioners in recent years. according to akani (2001 p.31) corruption simply means the debasement or pervasion of an approved process for the purpose of gaining an advantage which in most cases is selfish and personal. financial abuse being an element of corruption entails the misuse of public fund to satisfy self interest the theories reviewed for the work are, social action theory by max weber, organizational management theory developed by katz and kahn (1966) and principal agency theory. each of the above theories were adequately reviewed and applied. however, it was the social action theory that was adopted for the work. social action theory tells us that every attitude put forward by a worker in an organization is a product of internal or external influences within or outside the organization respectively. a public servant that abuses public money does that in response to the demand placed on him from within or outside the organization. the organizational role theory stipulates that assignment of work-role prescribes the behavior that employees are expected to comply with. however, it is the negation of this role that result to negative role of abusing public funds. on the other hand, agency theory sees organizational relationship as a tension between the principal who demands a service and the agent who provide it. nigeria government is the principal while public servants are the agents. the problem arises not just from conflict of interest but from privilege access of the agents to information. the agents tends to use their expertise to divert benefit in their own direction which amount to abuse of public funds. it is worthy to note at this juncture that the findings of this research topic has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the flagrant abuse of public finance has to a large extent impacted to the economy negatively and has as well rendered the activities of government ineffective in meeting the needs of its citizens and attracting foreign investors into the country. public servants financial abuse recommendations the following are hereby recommended: 1. every public funds appropriated should be accompanied with periodic monitoring and accountability on how it is been utilized or spent. 2. there should be speedy prosecution of public office holders that abuses public funds entrusted to them. this will deter other from imbibing or following the trend. 3. there is the need for more citizens participation to ensure prudency, transparency and accountability in the budgeting process. 4. efforts should also be made to ensure fiscal discipline through effective public policy formulation and implementation aimed at reducing re-current expenditure and budget deficient. 5. regulatory agencies and authorities in nigeria should ensure that all salaries and allowances of public servants conforms to due process, constitutional provision and existing financial rules and regulation. this will no doubt reduce the rate of financial abuse cases within the entire system. 6. there should be mandatory declaration of asset by all public servant even before occupy a public office. 7. government should ensure proper budget planning and periodic monitoring of its execution. references acho, y. & abuh, p.a. 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(2005). how the effc works tell, lagos: tell communication ltd ademola, a. (2011). endangering good governance for sustainable democracy: the continuity struggle against corruption in nigeria. journal of research in peace, gender and development 3(1), 307 – 314. aderele, a.a. (2013). plea bargain: a mockery of justice of research in peace. gender and development, 4(3), 54 – 79. aderonmu, j.a. (2009). civil society and anti – corruption crusade in nigeria: fouth republic. ibadan: ojo publishers. agbu, o. (2003). corruption and human trafficking : the nigerian case. west african review 4(1), 1 – 13. akani .c. (2001). corruption in nigeria ;the nigerian experience. enugu; fourth dismensinal publishing co. ltd. http://saharareporters.com/ public servants financial abuse basua, a., lal, srinivasan, v. & staelin, r. (1985). sales-force compensation plan: an agency theoretic perspective. marketing science 4(2). pp. 267-291. bovens, n. 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(2012). civil service reforms in nigeria: the journey so far in service delivery. american journal of social and management science 3(5), 17-29 daily independent (2013). pension scam scandal (1) retrieved from http://dailyindependentnig.com.retrieved 10th july 2021. dubnick m. j (2002), seeking salvation for accountability: paper presented at 2002 annual meetings of america political science association. fasua, h.k. & osagie, i.u.o. (2016). financial control and fraud prevention in the public sector. international journal of advanced academic research, 2(8):34-48. eccles, r. (1985). transfer pricing as a problem of agency. in j. pratt and r. zeckhauser (eds). principles and agents: the structure of business (pp. 151-186). boston: harvard business school press. eze, f.o. (2015). element of government: a book of reading :enugu. trojan publisher. ehirim, g.(2003). not an honest crusade, lagos: newswatch communication ltd geoffrey, a.h. & stanley, b.b. (2008). foundation of financial management: twelfth edition. new york. m.c graw-hill/irwin companies. nwankwo, b.n. (2011). development administration: ethics and issues, enugu: providence press (nig.) ltd. http://dailyindependentnig.com/ 87 onyiriuba, l. (2010). dictionary and the language of banking lagos: nfs da obasi, b.n.(2008). research in political science. enugu: academics printing press. okeke, a.o.(2001). foundational statistics for business decision. enugu: chiezugo ventures. uwujaren, w. (2013). efcc press release: efcc arraigns former oyo state head of service, others for n5.6bn pension scam. retrieved from http://saharareporters.com. ugwuanyi, g.o. & ugwuanyi, w. n. (2005). an evaluation of the economic and financial crime commission (effc) in the nigeria economy. esut journal of eja) 1(2) 229 – 250. http://saharareporters.com/ enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 35 appraisal of impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health of people in nigeria: conceptual approach *1jonathan akwagiobe ukah 2joseph chukwu 1emmanuel chimezie eyisi 1department of sociology 2department of mass communication alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike, ebonyi state, nigeria correspondence: *ukah.jonathan@funai.edu.ng; mezieeyi@gmail.com 2chukwu.j3@gmail.com abstract the study appraised the impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health of people in nigeria. the study became necessary based on the ravaging effects of covid-19 on nigerian people. the study investigated how isolation, proximity to death, economic and social uncertainty during covid-19 outbreak, impacts negatively on the mental health of the nigerian people. to achieve this, conceptual approach was adopted to carry out the study where relevant documents and information from the media were gathered and used to accomplish the study. from the findings, it has been revealed that the covid-19 pandemic has impacted negatively on the mental health of the people. this is manifested in the form of anxiety, depression, fear of death, financial stress, and high cost of living due to fewer goods in circulation. it has been recommended that the government should put measures in place to ease economic pressure by gradually reducing total lockdown keyword: isolation, anxiety, depression, economic uncertainty, fear of death introduction coronavirus also known as covid-19 broke out in december 2019 in wuhan, china. this further spread to other nations of the world such as italy, spain, france, south korea, iran, united kingdom, canada, australia, and united states of america with nigeria inclusive. coronavirus disease (covid-19), according to who (2020), is an infectious disease caused by the newly discovered coronavirus. it spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. nigeria’s first conformed case of coronavirus pandemic was on february 27, 2020, when an italian citizen tested positive in lagos for the virus, attributed to sars-cov-2. the second case manifested ten days later on march 9, 2020 at ewekoro, ogun state. since then, coronavirus has affected more than 1,000 persons in nigeria out of which 222 have recovered while 33 have so far died (ncdc, 2020). this discovery came with extreme fear, anxiety, confusion and uncertainties by the government, people and organisations across the different states in nigeria. this situation mailto:ukah.jonathan@funai.edu.ng mailto:mezieeyi@gmail.com mailto:2chukwu.j3@gmail.com appraisal of impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health was quite worrisome, especially as the country lacked medical facilities such as ventilators and test kits as well as vaccines to combat the pandemic. the strategy of the government of nigeria to test, treat, trace and isolate since the first case was detected has been crippled by lack of equipment (guardian, 2020). although, intervention from stakeholders, individuals, government and development partners has yielded minimum efforts to curb the spread of the virus. but much collaborative effort is still required as the curve of the infection rate is still rising. as part of the effort to contain the spread of the virus, nigeria centre for disease control (ncdc) came out with health guidelines. these health guidelines according to their daily update include; regular washing of hands with soap and water or use of alcohol-based sanitizer if water and soap are unavailable; social distancing through use of no-touch greetings, maintaining at least 2 metres distance between yourself and anyone coughing or sneezing, staying at home if you feel unwell with symptoms like fever, cough or difficulty in breathing, avoiding/postponing events with large gatherings of people including schools, workplaces, places of worship, crowded supermarkets and pharmacies, social and sporting events; persons with persistent cough or sneezing should stay at home until they recover; making sure that you and people around observe hand and respiratory hygiene; and avoiding all non-essential travels to all countries. considering the sociological, psychological and economic implications of the outbreak of the virus on human society, it is therefore expedient to explore the impact of covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of the people in nigeria. mental health is a vital aspect of human health that addresses issues patterning to emotional and cognitive aspect of human life as it affects the general wellbeing of people. mentalhealth.gov (2019) posits that mental health includes the emotional, psychological and social well-being of individuals. it affects how they think, feel and act. to this effect, the analysis of feldman (2000) identified numerous behaviour disorders associated with feelings from environment and biological conditions. some of such behaviour disorders that are in congruent with the precarious pandemic situation in nigeria are anxiety, depression and panic disorder. these psychological onslaughts are as the result of the psychical imbalance due to different paradox of the pandemic such as isolation, proximity to death, economic and social uncertainty. from the forgoing, this study is therefore designed to answer the following questions: how isolation of people during the covid-19 pandemic impacts negatively on the mental health of people in nigeria? how does the fear of proximity to death due to covid-19 impact 37 negatively on the mental health of people and what are the consequences of the uncertainty of the economic and social condition of the people in nigeria? isolation and mental health of people in nigeria isolation of individuals during covid-19 is a strategy adopted all over the world to curb the spread of the dreaded coronavirus. this attempt was meant to reduce the rate of infection, but caution is required when introducing a strategy to solve a problem. this goes to suggest that plans on how to tackle the outcome of any health problem, should be accompanied with measures on how to handle the negative consequences that may arise there in. isolation, adopted by the government as a technique, is a safety measures but its negative effects on the individuals varies based on the age, individual stress coping ability and the health condition of the people. the study of santino and colleagues as observed by armitage and nellum (2020) demonstrated that social disconnection puts older adults at greater risk of depression and anxiety. the view of guardian (2020) also observes clearly that the pattern of death due to covid-19 widely is that, elderly people are dying more and further maintains that the deaths started happening when the lockdown was on ground. in the similar vein, palinkas (2019) contends that depression and anxiety are particularly intense during coronavirus related isolation. anxiety comes as the result of the uncertainty surrounding the period of time one is expected to be in isolation. palinkas (2019) reveals that some people that were isolated for three months, experienced changes in their sleep, changes to their immune system, endocrine, neurocognitive systems and alteration to their metabolism. regarding the relationship between covid-19 and mental health of individuals, centers for disease control and prevention (2020) explains that the outbreak of coronavirus (covid-19) may be stressful for people, fear and anxiety about the disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotion in adults and children. in furtherance of this, cdc (2020) identified the types of stress associated with infectious disease outbreak. they include: 1. fear and about your own health and the health of your love ones, 2. changes in sleep and eating pattern, 3. difficulties in sleeping or concentrating, 4. worsening of chronic health problems, 5. worsening of mental health conditions and 6. increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. existential theory by roger (1951) argued that anxiety may arise through a threat to individual’s self-concept, part of which may include his sexuality, inability to perform certain task, fear of not coping with environment and home. serious anxiety reduces once ability to appraisal of impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health guide his or her life and may end up feeling that life is meaningless. the findings of roger corroborate with the nigeria situation in this period of coronavirus outbreak, most especially as people are disconnected from their families, economic and social activities and worship centres. when people’s feelings, thoughts and mood are affected, it will lead to depletion of their physical and social energies as well as inducement of mental stress. depression has been identified as one of the psychological problems associated with covid19 pandemic. depression reflect an unhappy mood experienced by people due to a prolong situation that has affected the morale of individuals, that may resort to self-inflicted injury or suicide. many scholars have argued that there is a correlation between depression and the cognitive ability of an individual. in affirmation, molianen (1993) maintains that the student’s cognitive thoughts were shown to be affecting them and as a result, they developed symptoms of depression. cognitive factors especially the way people interpret or think about stressful events, play a vital role in the etiology of anxiety (barlow, et al,, 1996; fischner, 1970). culturally, people interact with their family members, contribute to the up keep of their family members and build strong family ties. naturally, people have sentimental attachment to their families which is likened to the relationship between fish and water. a breakdown in family ties is like removing a fish from the river which is a threat to its existence. individuals from onset, are created to live in group settings. in support of this, mboto (2001) notes that people act together to promote common interest which can be achieved through shared goals. all human activities revolves round social interaction which is the nerve center of human relationship. when life becomes individualistic or people are been detached from group functions or social activities, it could lead to people committing egoistic suicide (levine, maiolo and jendrasiak, 1991) proximity to death during covid-19 death rate emanating from the ravaging effects of coronavirus pandemic globally, is on high increase as most countries are experiencing acute shortage of medical facilities, isolation centres, health workers and fund to cope with pressure posed by the rising number infected persons and how to sustain the lockdown. this situation has exacerbated fear and tension on people. from the time the pandemic spread to nigeria, life has not been the same. this is further enunciated by long (2020) thus “covid-19 has refocused the world’s attention, however briefly on the transient nature of life. the threat of death hangs in the air, and many 39 people fear the worst”. this can be seen from the hopelessness, depression, hunger, frustration, fear and agitations expressed on national televisions and social media. everyone is affected both the young and the old, rich and the poor, employed and unemployed. especially as there is an impression that there is, no cure for coronavirus disease, insufficient ventilators and the virus infection on the frontline health workers which is due to lack of adequate protection and training. to attest to this, ncdc (2020) daily update reveals that 40 frontline health workers tested positive to covid-19, which spells a negative signal that other individuals and their family members that come across them could be endangered. this situation is becoming worrisome and alarming as the index cases across the affected states in nigeria are escalating. as of 28th april, 2020, confirmed cases of covid-19 are 1337, active cases are 1042, those that are discharged are 255 and deaths 40 (channel television news, 2020) there is no alternative means of livelihood to nigerians. people have been disconnected from their businesses and jobs which has created a serious survival challenge due to prolong lockdown order by the government. there is a possibility that this situation can lead to outbreak of other sicknesses that are associated with poor nutrition and hunger. economic and social uncertainties during covid-19 pandemic the federal government of nigeria in a bid to curtail the spiralling spread of the virus in lagos and ogun states and abuja introduced a total lockdown in those areas (guardian, 2020). this implies no movement of humans and vehicles and complete stoppage of economic activities within the affected areas except those on essential duties. additionally, other state governments, eager to prevent the virus from making in-road into their states, also introduced internal lockdowns which curtailed movement and paralysed economic and social activities. ebonyi state government (2020) in a broadcast by the state governor, david umahi, announced on april 18th, 2020 that “there shall be a full lockdown of communities and villages from 7.00pm to 7.00am. all borders, entry and exit points shall be closed down against all movements including those on essential services with effect from today, 18th april, 2020.” this is in addition to earlier statement banning motorcycles (known as okada) in all parts of the state. in lagos state where the lockdown is total, punch (2020) reports lamentations from the people on the effect of the lockdown. a pregnant woman agonizes that they feed from hand to mouth. “imagine to eat once a day. breakfast and dinner are unaffordable; and even the food we manage to eat is mainly rice concoction. the situation is appraisal of impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health making me restless and i risk anaemia and premature birth.” in the same vein, food stuff traders in all parts of the country have been recounting their woes too. though exempted from the lockdown, they still find it difficult to operate under limited transport and other conditions. some traders interviewed in lagos (punch, 2020) described their condition as hellish, adding that transport fares had doubled while some of their foodstuff get bad due to low patronage. the federal government had included dealers of food items in the concession given to those on essential duties whose movement is less affected by the lockdown put in place as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus in the country. but the restriction of movement is affecting transporters and so they find it difficult to move about to replenish their stock. even when they do, it was always ‘hellish” as they face harassment from the various anti-covid19 task forces and security operatives at road blocks. on social uncertainty, it is argued that criminals are likely to take advantage of inadequate number of law enforcement agents to perpetrate crimes in the society. the guardian (2020) notes that “criminals will stay away from housing and residential areas because everyone is at home and concentrate on industrial estates”. it added that there will be the likelihood of increase in the number of domestic violence in the families, and cybercrimes as fraudsters will try to exploit some with the baits of federal government cash grants and other palliatives so far announced. there is no doubt that these measures are good in tackling the coronavirus pandemic but they are inflicting economic and social wounds on the low income group in the society who depend on daily income for existence. oji (2020) notes that “beyond the health hazards and human consequences, the economic uncertainties and disruptions have come at a significant cost.” prior to the pandemic, the nigerian government was already battling with a weak economy made so by the 2014 oil price dip, a gdp revolving around 2.3 percent in 2019 and a growing debt profile which had been a source of concern for the administration. this is also coupled with a steep nose-dive in the price of oil which is the mainstay of the country’s economy. these domestic issues are now compounded by the outbreak of the virus. the lockdown and restriction of movement have no doubt resulted in a fall in household consumption in nigeria because households are now constrained to spend primarily on essential goods. onyekwena and ekeruche (2020) agree that movement restrictions have not only reduced the consumption of non-essential commodities in general, but have affected the 41 income-generating capacity of different income groups, thus reducing their consumption expenditures, while the closure of the borders foreshadow a decline in exports. already, countries around the world have closed their borders to non-essential traffic, thus disrupting the global supply chain just as the closure of internal boundaries recently announced by the nigerian governors’ forum (business day, 2020) has disrupted the national supply chain. the uncertainty in the lockdown of economic and social operations is very worrisome in a country like nigeria whose unemployment rate is already tapering at 33.5% (nbs, 2019). the ban on the operations of motorcycles provides the most unsettling economic and social uncertainties especially its operations constitute the major source of income generation and transportation in both the urban and rural areas where the scarce taxis, buses and keke tricycles hardly penetrate. soludo (2020), a renowned economist laments that “millions of poor farmers will be hard hit. their perishable products that need the informal public transport to reach the cities will be wasted; while millions that need transport to their farms cannot do so.” he also stated that since agriculture in africa is “rain-fed and seasonal”, that the lockdown coming in the period of planting season would constitute a threat to food security in months ahead resulting in inflation and critical shortages in the years ahead. another pronounced uncertainty is that most states in nigeria are economically unviable. without the monthly allocation from the federation accounts allocation committee (faac), most states cannot pay salaries or provide essential services, thus it is expected that within 30 days of diminished allocation from the centre, most states will be on “life support”. within three months, most states will be bankrupt as well. it is only imaginable the chaos that would ensue across the country when that happens. this is quite unlike in the developed nations like the united states of america that has a rich generous welfare package and is taking care of its citizens with a huge welfare package of us$2.2trillion stimulus package (soludo, 2020), while nigeria is offering its citizens next to nothing. with the lockdown, millions of nigerians are expected to go through hard times. a high percentage of nigerians are likely to lose their jobs, especially in the aviation, oil and gas, manufacturing and hospitality sectors. local manufacturing will be mostly affected because most industries have imported foreign components. but most especially, the low income group and the vulnerable ones will be hardest hit and this will escalate crime and violence in the society. conclusion/recommendations appraisal of impact of covid-19 pandemic on mental health the outbreak of covid-19 came with a lot of negative impacts on the mental health of people in nigeria, ranging from the consequences of isolation, proximity to death and economic uncertainty. it has been observed from the findings that isolation leads to anxiety, stressful conditions, confusion and depression. further investigation also reveals that there is panic fear which can lead to behavior disorder and other psychological problems. to this effect, it has been recommended that: there is a need for network of solidarity to be formed, to provide support around to the vulnerable groups such as the elderly, widows, people with disabilities, artisans, the unemployed and many more. this can be done through food, material and cash donations as palliative measures. the government, comprising of the federal, the state and the local government, should consider developing counselling units to work with the frontline health workers providing counselling services to calm down anxiety, fear and economic pressure. this is to avoid further health complications that may arise from lockdown and isolation as 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(2020). coronavirus. https://www.who,int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1 https://punchng.com/were-pregnant-poor-and-hungry-we-risk-anaemia-premature-birth-lagos-vulnerable-women/ https://punchng.com/were-pregnant-poor-and-hungry-we-risk-anaemia-premature-birth-lagos-vulnerable-women/ https://opinion.premimumtimesng.com/2020/04/24/covid-19-can-africa-afford-lockdowns-by-chukwuma-charles-soludo/ https://opinion.premimumtimesng.com/2020/04/24/covid-19-can-africa-afford-lockdowns-by-chukwuma-charles-soludo/ https://www.sunnewsonline.com/lockdown-its-been-gruesome-hellish-say-lagos-traders https://www.sunnewsonline.com/lockdown-its-been-gruesome-hellish-say-lagos-traders http://www.who,int/ page 3 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 217 national emergency management agency (nema) and disaster management in south east 2009 – 2016. mbaeze, netchy christian eneasato, benjamin department of political science enugu state university of science and technology (esut) chrismbaeze@yahoo.com beneasato@yahoo.com abstract the growing trend of disasters has continued to pose serious challenges for sustainable national development in nigeria. this study therefore explored the link between national emergency management agency (nema) and the administration of emergency situations in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria, between 2009 and 2016. we anchored our analysis on the theory of structural functionalism. the questions of the study include; how did the application of multi-sectoral approach by nema undermine disaster management in the south east geo-political zone between 2009 – 2016. does the structure of decentralization of nema’s operational framework weaken disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria? we hypothesized as follows: the application of multi-sectoral approach undermines disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria; the pattern of decentralization of nema’s operational framework adversely affects disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria. primary and secondary data were collected via survey and documentary methods, while content analysis based on logical deduction was employed. on the basis of the above, the study found amongst others that: the existence of bureaucratic bottlenecks in nema operations, the existence of multiple agencies performing conflicting roles in disaster management across the country, and the pattern of decentralization of nema’s operational framework adversely affect disaster management in south east geo-political zone of nigeria, between 2009 and 2016. the study therefore concluded that nema’s operational inadequacies undermine its capacity to respond to and manage disasters in the south east geo-political zone. among others, the study recommends that there is the need to amend nema’s operational procedures to eliminate inefficient bureaucracies and empower the zonal offices to ensure prompt response to disasters. keywords: disaster, emergency, multi-sectoral approach, decentralization, management. introduction disasters are complex events with multifaceted causes. disasters dislocate the mental, socioeconomic, political as well as cultural state of the affected area. disasters are grouped into two broad categories namely natural and human made. natural disasters include cyclone, floods, earthquake, and tsunami volcanic storms. while human made are associated with human actions or inactions like technological failure, industrial accidents, oil spills, transportation accidents, among others (olurunfemi & adebimpe, 2008). disasters are clearly a developmental problem. more fundamentally, the impact of natural phenomenon on the mailto:chrismbaeze@yahoo.com mailto:beneasato@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 218 prospects for long term development is considerably greater in less developed countries (babatunde, et al., 2013). as a developing nation, nigeria has experienced varying degrees of both natural and human-induced disasters. the growing trend of disasters in nigeria has had serious implications for national sustainability and development. these disasters which occur in form of drought, desertification, flooding, epidemics, dam failure, building collapse, oil spillage, maritime collision or accident, bomb explosion, communal clash, fire, air crashes and boat mishap, amongst others are associated with diverse consequences such as mortalities, loss of income, home, farmlands, social networks, livelihoods and infrastructures (owolabi & ekechi, 2014). meanwhile, organized disaster management in nigeria dates back to 1906 “when the fire brigade was established with functions that went beyond fire-fighting to the saving of lives and property and provision of humanitarian services during emergencies” (owolabi & ekechi, 2014, p. 18). thereafter, this noble and systematic approach was replaced, in 1960s and 70s, with ad-hoc arrangements domiciled in the offices of the head of state and the state governors. during this period, disaster response was considered as mere security issues. the devastating drought nigeria experienced in the period 1972/1973, with its attendant negative socio-economic consequences, led to the establishment of the national emergency relief agency (nera) in 1976 with the mandate of collecting and distributing relief materials to disaster victims. in 1990, an inter-ministerial body was set up by the federal government of nigeria (fgn) to address natural disaster reduction strategies in line with the un international decade for natural disaster reduction (idndr) and to address the limited scope of nera. in 1993, the fgn decided to expand the scope of managing disasters to include all areas of disasters. this bold approach was backed up by decree 119 of 1993 which raised the status of the agency to an independent body under the presidency (nasiru, 2012;fagbemi, nd). in 1997, the management of nera organized a national workshop involving major stakeholders in disaster management in nigeria to deliberate on critical factors for an effective disaster management system in nigeria, and noted the need to: i) expand the functions of nera, amend the decree setting up nera and change its name to national emergency management agency (nema); ii) structure the new agency by putting into consideration appropriate policies and strategies; search and rescue resource mobilization capabilities; information, education and prevention strategies; administration, finance and logistics systems; relief and rehabilitation capabilities; research and planning; and ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 219 iii) provide appropriate budgetary allocation for the operations of the agency (nema, nd, p.7). the acceptance of these recommendations by the federal government culminated in the establishment of the national emergency management agency (nema) in march 1999 by act 12 of 1999 as amended by act 50 of 1999 to manage disasters in all its ramifications. the functions/powers of the agency, as enumerated in part 11 section 6 sub-section 1 of the act, among others include:  formulating policy on all activities relating to disaster management in nigeria and coordinate the plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters;  monitoring the state of preparedness of all organisations or agencies which may contribute to disaster management in nigeria;  collating data from relevant agencies so as to enhance forecasting, planning and field operation of disaster management;  educating and informing the public on disaster prevention and control measures;  co-ordinating and facilitating the provision of necessary resources for search and rescue and other types of disaster curtailment activities in response to distress call;  co-ordinating the activities of all voluntary organisations engaged in emergency relief operations in any part of the federation.  in fulfilling its mandate, nema has been tackling disaster related issues through the establishment of concrete structures and measures such as the education of the public in order to raise their level of awareness and reduce the effects of disasters in the country. to effectively respond to emergency situations in nigeria, nema has developed several plans and guidelines. some of these are national disaster response plan, the search and rescue/epidemic evacuation plan, the national nuclear and radiological plan, the early warning system on epidemic, among others. nema has operational office in abuja and gombe and zonal office in each of the six geopolitical zones in nigeria. over the years nema has encountered some challenges in the implementation of these plans aimed at increasing efficiency and effectiveness in disaster management in nigeria. against this background, this study examines the link between the national emergency management agency and the administration of emergency situations in the south east geopolitical zone of nigeria, between 2009 and 2016. the link between nema’s application of multi-sectoral approach and the pattern of decentralization of nema’s operational framework on the one hand and disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria on the other hand forms our central area of focus. literature overview disaster management http://www.un-spider.org/node/7661 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 220 disasters, as natural or human induced events that disrupt the normal functioning of the society, are increasing in frequency and magnitude (ndmob, 2012). the nature, spread and cost of disasters call for mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction strategies at both the national and local levels to: contribute to the decrease of disaster risks and the negative impacts of disasters and attainment of sustainable development and poverty alleviation, by facilitating the integration of disaster risk reduction into development and day to day risk-deduction-related decision making (ndmob, 2012, p. i). however, although disaster occurrence is universal, africa appears to be the only continent whose share of reported disasters in the world total has increased over the past decade. according to drrsda (2004, p. 2): more people are affected by natural hazards, and economic losses incurred are rising. disaster impacts have become an impediment to sustainable development in africa. disaster risk reduction policies and institutional mechanisms do exist at various degrees of completeness in african countries. however, their effectiveness is limited, hence the need for a strategic approach to improving and enhancing their effectiveness and efficiency by emphasizing disaster risk reduction. to address the impact of disasters which normally happens with or without prior notice, the african union (au) and its new partnership for africa’s development (nepad) offer the opportunity to promote such a strategic change. this came to the fore during the process of developing nepad’s operational programmes by the nepad secretariat, which provided the impetus for the development of an africa regional strategy for disaster risk reduction (drrsda, 2004). furthermore, to address the impact of disasters also, a number of institutions, policies and plans have been put in place at various levels. the main purpose of these institutions and plans is to address, in a timely, effective and efficient manner, the challenges that are often posed by the disasters in order to minimize its impact on the vulnerable community. the extent to which these institutions have fared in effectively forestalling and addressing the impacts of disasters has come under examination. abebe (2010) examines the trajectories of ethiopian disaster management and the checkered history of ethiopian disaster management system (edm). the scholar underscores that over the past few years, policy makers and the disaster management community have tried to transform the ethiopian disaster management system from one of response and recovery to preparedness and prevention. the pitfalls that edm has recently faced were addressed and suggestions proffered on how to overcome the policy and institutional challenges. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 221 similarly, rohwerder (2015) evaluates the national crisis management models, policies and agencies or centres adopted by the governments of nigeria, kenya and ethiopia to co-ordinate responses to a wide range of natural and human-induced crises and noted that their national crisis management strategies which essentially relate to crisis risk assessment; crisis risk reduction; crisis preparedness, prevention and mitigation; crisis response; and crisis recovery are designed to respond to crises generally, rather than specific types of crises. with respect to nigeria, the author states that the national emergency management agency (nema), under the supervision of the presidency, was set up in march 1999. he also posits that nema has developed several plans, guidelines and the national disaster management framework (ndmf), based on the various challenges and lessons of implementing these plans, to fulfill its mandate, which include the national disaster response plan, the search and rescue/epidemic evacuation plan, the national nuclear and radiological plan, and the early warning system on epidemics, amongst others. regarding kenya, rohwerder (2015, p.7) avers that the kenyan government has comprehensive and coordinated policy and legislation for disaster management which: sets out an integrated and multi-sectoral approach and establishes an institutional framework for disaster preparedness and management. one aim is to make disaster management an integral part of the development process. another aim is to put in place a systematic framework for disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and management in the country. the main focus of the policy is to strengthen institutional capacities for the delivery of services that improve management and preparedness. the scholar, however, notes that: lack of a single authority to manage disaster responses means that there are multiple ministries with different responsibilities, limited resources to execute their powers, and weak overall governance of the process. this poses a challenge to transparency and accountability in government-led responses. the overall disaster response in kenya was characterised by weak coordination by the government.... the lack of action on early warning led to a late, rushed, more expensive and politically pressured response (rohwerder, 2015, p.7). finally, rohwerder (2015) reveals that the ethiopian government has been using the early warning systems (ews) since the 1970s. a key strength of the ethiopian national (ews) is seen in its ability to draw on local-level data and cascade early warnings from national to regional and community levels. however, despite its effectiveness, the national ews is seen to be subjected to recurrent political interference, resulting in avoidable delay which has undermined the capacity of the ethiopian government to assess humanitarian needs accurately and in good time. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 222 meanwhile, organized disaster management in nigeria which began in 1906 with the formation of the fire brigade, culminated in the establishment of the national emergency management agency (nema) in march 1999 by act 12 of 1999 as amended by act 50 of 1999 to manage disasters in all its ramifications. disasters, whether natural or man-made have engendered widespread unimaginable destructions to lives and properties across the world. disaster management, which entails coordination and integration of all activities necessary to build, sustain and improve the capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to and recover from threatening or actual natural or human-induced disasters, ought to be seen as an integral part of life intended to protect people and property from all types of disasters (kasperson & pijawka, 1985). government, as a regulatory body, ought to be proactive and place high priority on emergency management at all levels. however, despite the nigerian government’s disaster management strategies, the country has had its fair share of disaster-induced tragedy. thus, the efforts of the nigerian government, through the national emergency management agency (nema), to manage emergency situations in nigeria have been variously examined and a sizeable volume of literature has accumulated in this regard. owolabi and ekechi (2014) appraise the various communication methods engaged in disaster management and the interplay of communication with other disaster management tools with the purpose of discovering their mutual roles in the four stages of disaster management. the study notes that the incidence of hazard does not automatically lead to disaster and that natural disasters, though cannot be prevented, but their social and economic impacts on lives and property can be considerably minimised through the timely identification of imminent disasters, detection of disaster-prone areas and communicating effective warning message about the threat to vulnerable communities in sufficient time to enable the residents take necessary measures to avert the negative impacts. similarly, ayo, adeboye and gbadeyan (2011) advocate the application of information and communication technology (ict), particularly the use of modeling and visual reality to sustainable physical planning and the development of a mobile ad hoc network (manet) for disaster response and management. the writers, while presenting the use of manet to provide a quick, self-configurable and inexpensive communication infrastructure for email, text communication and instant messaging in other to enable all the parties involved to interact continuously, opine that though environmental hazards such as earthquake, hurricane, flood, acid rain, volcanic ash among others may not be preventable, appropriate technologies can be employed to make accurate predictions and speedy dissemination of information to reduce the amount of causalities. the above contributions are useful because they highlight the application and usefulness of information and communication technology in disaster response and management. they however fall short of articulating the link between the application of multi-sectoral approach and disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria. lamidi and benson (2014) advocate the institutional need and relevance of emergency management agency at local level. the paper sees the emergency management techniques as being capable of undertaking activities aimed at mitigating disaster effects on local communities. it discusses the guiding principles; organisation and structure of emergency management agency at local level. the paper further argues that: ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 223 emergency management at local level facilitates safety and protection of lives and properties which is a fundamental function of government at any level; as well as the reduction of human and economic losses derailed by disaster -thereby enhancing socio-economic progress (lamidi & benson, 2014, p. 15). the paper notes that since the establishment of emergency management agency at local level in nigeria is necessary to safeguard lives and properties at local communities, local governments should develop and adopt emergency management plans based upon an 'all hazards' approach, undertake risk assessments to identify areas where hazards can be eliminated or negated in local council areas, incorporate strategic plans into the aspects of contemporary emergency management, provide funding options to support the needs of local government in emergency management, among others. relatedly, aladegbola and akinlade (2012) trace the burdens of hazard management as occasioned by natural processes and technological development and applications. the universality of the burden of disaster is seen to specify that, man has come to live with the reality of mitigating preparedness, response and recovery; when it comes. the failure of policy makers to properly checkmate these natural and man-made attacks, are largely blamed on the service institutions which are made weak by the external inadequacies as represented again by the policy makers. the writers further posit that the adequacy of a modern government could largely be measured by her immediate response to calamitous situation, and the prevention of its occurrence in the society. the forgoing contributions are apt because they highlight the relevance of government and the emergency management agency in the management of natural and man-made disasters in nigeria. they however relegate the effect of the application of multi-sectoral approach on disaster management in the south east geopolitical zone of nigeria highlighting the need for the bottom up approach in disaster management, babatunde et al. (2013) aver that the nigerian government should develop a long term vision towards prosperity for all citizens. part of the vision should aim to establish functional, efficient and effective risk reduction systems against the various threats that have increased due to the ever-changing climate. …. top down approach to disaster management is not the best since it fails not address local needs, ignore the potential of indigenous resources and capacity, and increase people’s vulnerability. the best way to reduce of disaster is from the bottom up. the inputs of allied professionals in the environmental and social sciences are seen as important for effective planning and implementation of disaster management programmes. these professionals include planners, civil engineers, architects, sociologists, land surveyors, estate values and surveyors among others relevant to different aspect of disaster management. as prime consultant of a typical urban renewal project which is a form of disaster management technique, the town planner is charged with different categories of responsibilities ranging from initiation of ideas through identification of goals and objectives, plan preparation and evaluation, to adoption and implementation of the best alternatives. all these could be achieved through the support of services of other professions at appropriate stages of project development. this contribution advocates for the bottom up approach in ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 224 disaster management but fails to articulate how this can improve the activities of disaster management agency in nigeria, particularly the application of multi-sectoral approach. focusing on the incidence of building collapse and emergency management in nigeria, umeora (2013); adedeji (2013) variously investigate the causes and magnitude of building collapse in nigeria. an evaluation of the existing capacities to forestall further incidence of building collapse in nigeria was carried out. the study, carried out with the aid of a model and secondary data which were used to assess the scale of human causalities emanating from reported cases of building collapse in selected nigerian cities, showed that building collapse killed a good number of people in nigeria between 1997 and 2009. based on the magnitude of human casualty associated with building collapse and the ineffectiveness of the emergency management agencies in nigeria in handling the situation, the study avers that drastic actions should be taken to make the environment safe for human dwelling. the above contributions rightly observe that the ineffectiveness of the emergency management agencies in nigeria account for the rise in the incidence of building collapse. they, however, fail to articulate whether the application of multi-sectoral approach undermines disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria. overall, the above contributions generally evaluate the application and usefulness of information and communication technology in disaster response and management, the relevance of government and the emergency management agency in the management of natural and man-made disasters in nigeria as well as the link between the emergency management agencies in nigeria and the rise in the incidence of building collapse. however, the link between the application of multi-sectoral approach and disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria between 2009 and 2016 has not been adequately and systematically examined. in sum, the preceding discussions amply highlighted the menace of disasters as well as the strategies and challenges of disaster management in nigeria. nonetheless, the linkage between the pattern of decentralization of nema’s operational framework and disaster management in the south east geo-political zone of nigeria between 2009 and 2016 has not been adequately and systematically examined. this therefore forms the gap the current study aims to fulfil. theoretical perspective the study is based on structural-functional analysis which is a derivative of the general system theory. structural-functionalism originated at the turn of the century with new discoveries in the natural sciences and is a holistic view of society which suggests that just as organs serve different functions for the biological organism, so the individual institutions of our society serve the needs and purposes of the whole of our culture (cited in winton, 1995). it is strongly associated with the work of philosophers/anthropologist as radcliffe-brown (1952), parsons (1954), and durkheim (cited in calhoun, 2002).these writers variously argued that society is like the human body. just as the body is made up of various parts that need to function together and properly for it to be healthy, so is society. each part needs to be in a state of equilibrium, or balance. just as the human body has evolved over time, so has society developed (kingsbury & scanzoni, 1993). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 225 structural-functionalism views society as a set of interrelated structures or parts with each structure performing a function which is important to the maintenance and stability of society (strickland, 2007). society is seen as existing in a state of consensus and equilibrium. it tries to shift the focus of analysis away from the observable institutional political mechanisms to any area where the actual performances of the functional requirements of the systems are located. political systems are therefore analyzed based on the extent to which political structures perform specific functions. hence, verma (1983) raised three basic questions pertaining to political structures and the functions they perform, (1) what basic functions are performed in a given political system? (2) by what structures (3) under what conditions? verma (1983) further emphasized that functions deal with the consequences of patterns of actions whereas structures have to do with arrangements within the systems that perform the said functions. thus, nema as an agency was established in 1999 essentially to “formulate policy on all activities relating to disaster management in nigeria and co-ordinate the plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters at national level” (nema act, 1999, p. 23). unfortunately, since most emergency situations do not have direct impact on members of ruling class who control state resources and use same to protect their interests against disasters, nema as an institution for disaster management has suffered serious operational crisis arising from poor bureaucratic processes, ineffective coordination and communication all of which vitiate the capacity of the institution to respond to emergency situations which usually requires rapid response actions and early warning systems. furthermore, the functions of nema as specified in the act establishing the agency shows that the capacity of nema as a disaster management institution is further weakened because it is more or less used by the ruling class as a channel for attracting aids from foreign organizations and ngos thereby placing less emphasis on using state resources to engage disaster management. section 6(h-i) aptly captures this interest of the capitalist class by stating thus: the agency shall (h) receive financial and technical aid from international organizations and non-governmental agencies for the purpose of disaster management in nigeria; (i) collect emergency relief supply from local, foreign sources and from international and non-governmental agencies… structural-functional theory therefore enables us to understand that nema as a political structure is not properly performing its assigned function which border on disaster management in the south east geo-political zone due to the application of multi-sectoral approach. hence, there are bureaucratic bottlenecks in nema operations over 12 different procedural steps required to activate & mobilize nema emergency response teams in emergency situations. there are also multiplicity and ineffective coordination of disaster response agencies as over 25 agencies are saddled with the tasks of detecting and managing various disasters as well as absence of integrated multi-sectoral early warning system. these accounts for the inability to avert human casualties resulting from disasters as over 35,000 casualties recorded in various disasters in south east, between 2009 and 2013; delay in search and rescue of disaster victims on road crashes alone in south east nigeria; and delay in survey and assessment of disaster impacts and needs disaster victims. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 226 methodology this study adopts time-series design. the time series design is a form of longitudinal/trend design which calls for a lengthy series of repeated measurements before a presumed causal event occurs, followed by another lengthy series of measurements (leege & francis, 1974:87). the design controls for a wide variety of sources of internal invalidity and may be used in conjunction with laboratory experiments, surveys or aggregate data. in order to generate the relevant data for this study, we employed both survey and documentary methods. for the former, we relied on unstructured elite interview. both methods of data collection are qualitative. qualitative research constitutes one of the two major approaches to empirical research in social sciences. . thus, we interviewed the following people: (i) south-east sector commander, frsc (ii) chief fire officer, fire service commission, enugu (iii)nema zonal coordinator, south east. we used documentary method to generate secondary data from government documents, official documents textbooks, journal articles, magazines, conference papers and relevant articles. the study used content analysis and logical deductions to analyze both primary and secondary data. this is so because the methods we employed in data generationunstructured elite interview and documentary method are both qualitative, and as such, yielded qualitative data. bureaucratic bottlenecks in nema operations the national emergency management agency (nema) was established under the office of the vice president by act 50 of 1999. nema has the mandate to formulate policy on all activities relating to disaster management in nigeria, coordinate the activities of other stakeholder in disaster management, coordinate plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters in the country, and promote research activities relating to disaster management in the country. however, the nema’s mechanism of responding to disasters is characterized by bureaucratic bottlenecks. these bureaucratic bottlenecks hamper the very essence of establishing nema mainly because disasters are emergencies which by their nature require proactive and rapid management mechanisms. for instance, under nema operational guideline, in the event of any emergency, the necessary bureaucratic procedures for activating and demobilizing the emergency response teams include: step 1: alerting the deputy director search and rescue operations (dd sar ops) when an emergency alert is received step 2: the dd sar (ops) will alert the director search and rescue operations (dsar), the coo and the emergency response team (ert) leader on duty. step 3: the ert team leader on duty will assemble and prepare the ert team for response while waiting for activation order from the dd sar (ops). step 4: depending on the nature and severity of the emergency, the dsar will notify the dg before activating the ert or activate the ert and inform the dg accordingly. step 5: dd sar (ops) activates the ert while the other ert members are contacted by the coo to be on standby. step 6: the coo briefs and tasks each team member before proceeding to the incident area ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 227 step 7: the ert team leader inspects to ensure that all response equipment being taken for the operation is serviceable. step 8. the coo coordinates all emergency response and report to the dd sar (ops) of actions taken. step 9. the coo shall request for additional resources if such a need arose during operation. step 10. the coo calls off the operation after getting clearance from the dd sar (ops). step 11. the dsar or any deputy director chairs the after action review conference. step 12. a formal report is presented by the coo to the dg through the dsar the above reveals the bureaucracy embedded in nema’s operational procedure for dealing with disasters. this operational procedure impacts negatively on the capacity of nema to adequately deal with disasters because disasters are emergencies which by their nature do not lend their selves to bureaucracy if they must be assuaged. that is, bureaucratic procedures undermine the very essence of emergency management. for instance, nema’s operational procedure as illustrated above shows that zonal offices depend on the headquarters to get alert emergency situations and to also approval and direction on how to respond to such emergencies. with this, there is every possibility that emergencies would always get out of hand before nema’s response. in our interview with one of the respondents, he averred that one of the biggest challenge the south east zone faces in dealing with disasters remains the bureaucratic processes in nema’s operation. according to him: the zone cannot just intervene whenever there is any disaster because there are procedures that have to be followed in responding to disasters. in most cases you have to get the necessary approval, alert other collaborating stakeholders who must also follow their own guideline in responding to disaster. so you see that the bureaucracy must be respected even if it causes delay. however, we hope that an integrated response system will be developed in the future to enable us at the zone respond to disasters without being bottled up by the bureaucracy… (face-toface interview by the researcher). multiplicity and ineffective coordination of disaster response agencies undoubtedly, nema is designated as the overarching emergency management agency in the country. for instance, section 6(1a) of the act establishing nema confers on it power to “formulate policy on all activities relating to disaster management in nigeria and co-ordinate the plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters at national level”. meanwhile, the multi-faceted nature of disasters necessitates the participation of many other related agencies with various specialties in management of disasters. the situation in nigeria reveals existence multiple of agencies performing similar functions with regards to disaster management. for example, the acts establishing most of these agencies ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 228 also confer on them conflict powers with regards to management of disasters of various types in the country. currently, in addition to the military and other paramilitary agencies, there are over 12 agencies involved in various forms of disaster management in nigeria. these agencies are established by various laws which confer on them powers to engage disaster management in nigeria. some of these acts include: i. nigerian airspace management agency act ii. nigerian civil aviation authority act iii. civil aviation (fire & security measures) act iv. national maritime administration and safety agency v. fire service act vi. federal road safety commission act vii. nigerian security and civil defence corps acts viii. national oil spill detection and response agency act ix. nigerian metrological agency act x. police act xi. nigerian red cross society act most of these agencies are recognized by nema for operational collaboration in terms of emergency. the standard operating procedure states that in the case of emergency disaster situation, it is the duty of nema to alert other agencies that may be required to respond to the situation mainly because the 112 call center is not yet operational. hence, when there is any incident, depending on the type of incident, having been alerted of the incident, nema will then follow the under listed steps to contact the agencies categorized as primary agencies in the order specified in figure 1. step one: nema emergency call center/room receives notification of emergency step two: the call center/room notifies any of the three nema officers below a. director search and rescue b. deputy director search and rescue c. concerned zonal coordinator (if the incident is at the zone) step three: the call center/room contacts the primary responders as specified in figure 1 depending on the incident figure 1: flow chart showing nema’s mode of coordinating response agencies incident type: criminal acts agencies to be alerted: a. npf b. nscdc c. ffs d. frsc e. drts f. fct ems g. nrcs incident type: fire /flood incident agencies to be alerted: a. ffs b. npf c. nscdc d. frsc e. drts f. fct ems g. nrcs incident type: road /air crash incident agencies to be alerted: a. frsc b. npf c. nscdc d. ffs e. drts f. fct ems g. nrcs h. fmoh incident type: medical emergency agencies to be alerted: a. fmoh b. fct ems c. nrcs d. frsc e. npf f. nscdc g. drts h. ffs nema call center ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 229 source: designed by researcher based on information in epr & drr national capacity assessment report 2012 after activating these primary responders in the order listed above, the secondary responders are alerted. these secondary responders include the dss; nia; armed forces (drus); nis; ncs the federal ministry of environment and federal ministry of works. as a result of the multiplicity of agencies involved in disaster management, coordination of these agencies becomes problematic in the event of any disaster because of absence of articulated system for coordination of the activities of these agencies to avert role conflict. for instance in the case of air crash incident, there is possibility of conflict between agencies like the frsc, nigerian airspace management agency and nigerian civil aviation authority since nema’s operating procedure does not delineate roles for each of these agencies or framework for collaboration among the participating agencies. according to one of the respondents in a face-to-face interview: …because there are many agencies that also have enabling laws that empowers them to respond to emergencies, sometimes we have serious problem with these agencies who just respond to disasters and begin to treat issues in their own ways. this at times brings about conflict of roles even at the disaster scenes. again, even when we need the assistance of some specialized agencies, we usually run into problem because we discover that there are in some instance up to three agencies empowered to perform one particular task. (face-to-face interview by the researcher, 2016). the above view was shared by another respondent, who asserted that most times, frsc officers and men have conflict with the police and men of the nscdc in the field as they struggle for supremacy at disaster scenes. he said: take for instance, when there is a road crash, the police comes in and wants to take full control of all the activities in the crash incidents without giving space for the road safety officials to perform the job they are trained for. even when there is agreement on which function to be performed by each of the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 230 agencies, there is always problem on coordinating these activities…(face-to-face interview by the researcher, 2016). emergency coordination/ response centers & equipment the pattern of decentralization in nema is such that offices are located at the zonal level without adequate capacity to handle disasters and other emergency situations. the zonal offices are mere field offices while the major departments empowered to coordinate disaster response are in the headquarters without being replicated in the zonal offices. again, as can be seen from nema’s organogram (figure 6) these zonal offices have no direct link with the departments empowered to coordinate disaster response but reports directly to the director general in case emergency. figure 6: abridged organogram of nema showing zonal offices source: adapted from 2013 nema annual report furthermore, not only are these zonal offices estranged from the real operational departments of nema situated in the headquarters, the number of nema zonal offices are also grossly inadequate to deal with disasters in the zones. for instance, only one nema office in the whole south east region that has five (5) states and 89 lgas. this inadequacy was confirmed by the south east zonal coordinator of nema dr. abdullahi onimode who stated that “…the use of just one office to coordinate disaster response in the entire south east comprising five (5) states is a big challenge for nema because it undermines the capacity of the agency to actual play its role of managing disasters”. he also added that the zonal office has no direct link to other operational departments of nema and must report directly to the dg for the emergency response team (ert) to be activated in the event of disaster. chairman of council governing council director-general dept. of admin & supplies dept of fin. & accounts dept. of planning, research & forecasting dept. of relief & rehabilitation dept. of search & rescue dept. of training abubja operati ons office north central zonal office north east zonal office north west zonal office south south zonal office south east zonal office south west zonal office ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 231 table 6: population figure of south east nigeria based on 2006 census figure state male female total abia 1,430,298 1,451,082 2,881,380 anambra 2,117,984 2,059,844 4,177,828 ebonyi 1064156 1112791 2176947 enugu 1596042 1671795 3267837 imo 1976471 1951092 3927563 total 16,431,555 source: national population commission 2016. from http://www.population.gov.ng/index. php/state-population retrieved 05/07/2016) furthermore, there is no equipped idp center for disaster victims in the south east zone. idp camps are organized on ad hoc basis whenever there is any form of disaster. nema mainly converts public schools to idp camps thereby further displacing school children from their education. worse still, these schools are not equipped with adequate infrastructure to serve as idp camps, the security of such camps are also usually poor. the poor infrastructure of the idp camps like lack of toilets, poor access to clean water, and proper diets usually leads to child killer disease outbreaks like cholera, malnutrition, and maternal mortality within the camps. inadequate manpower another major challenge of nema is inadequate manpower. for example, the south east zonal office of nema has only 26 staff posted to coordinate emergencies. this number of staff is considered inadequate in view of the fact that there are 5 states under nema southeast zone, and 89 lgas with an estimated population of 16,431,555. in addition, most of these staff a mere operational staff and are not experts in various areas of disaster management. for example, there are no medical doctors, professional psychologists etc. one of our respondents stated that nema largely depends on collaborating stakeholders for proper management of the idp camps and this mitigates the shortcomings of inadequate manpower in nema zonal office. according to him: obviously, we do not have standby professionals in the zonal offices because these professionals are provided by other collaborating agencies like federal ministry of health when the need arises. most of the staff we have in the zonal offices are operational staff who have received training to perform their duties in various units within nema… (face-to-face interview, 2016) http://www.population.gov.ng/index.%20php/state-population http://www.population.gov.ng/index.%20php/state-population ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 232 weak autonomy of nema zonal offices with regards to disaster response and management like other zonal offices, nema south east zone also lacks autonomy to take key decisions in response to disaster situations. policies are articulated and implemented direct from the headquarters while the zonal offices are only to carryout decisions as directed from the headquarters and report back to the headquarters. for instance, all the decisions bordering on relief and rehabilitation are made and implemented by the relief and rehabilitation department directly under the director general in the headquarters. the zone only receives and stockpiles relief materials received from the headquarters and others directly donated by ngos and individual donors. basically, the zonal offices are only collation centers for collation of data and/or other necessary information for onward reporting to the headquarters. again, a respondent confirmed that the zonal office has no power to initiate disaster response without getting clearance from the headquarters. he added that before it can collaborate with other disaster management agency, it also needs to get clearance from its headquarters and possible the headquarters of the collaborating agency. according to him,: “we mainly implement decisions at the zonal offices and report back to the headquarters”. non-sustainability of disaster response and intervention mechanisms disaster response and intervention mechanisms of nema are mainly organized on ad hoc basis without being systematized. when disasters occurs in nigeria, the institutional response has always consisted only of after-the-event response like facilitating the evacuation of victims and providing such victims with palliatives like make shift shelters in idp camps, food stuffs, clothing etc. again, search and rescue operations by nema and other related agencies are usually haphazardly carried out and as soon as any particular disaster response is completed, the rescue team is disbanded while rescue equipment are abandoned most times without servicing them until another disaster occurs. for example, one major challenge in dealing with fire disasters has always been lack of water for the fire service men to put off the fire. no sustainable plan has been put in place to make water always available in the right quantity for the fire service in case of disasters. in most cases, when there is fire disaster in enugu metropolis, the fire service when alerted begins to proceed to 9th mile corner in the outskirt of enugu to search for water. this undermines the capacity to respond to and manage disasters. in our interview with officials of fire service in enugu, it was revealed that there is no functional water supply system within the premises of enugu fire service. according to the fire service official: “we usually get our water from boreholes in 9th mile whenever we are alerted of fire disaster within our area of operation”. similarly, the collaborating agencies and states have not also been able to put up any form of sustainable action plan for disaster response and intervention. for instance, in the wake of the 2012 flood disaster, the federal government declared it a national disaster and released 17.6 billion naira to the affected states to mitigate the effects of the flood. of the total amount released, the affected states were to receive 13.3 billion altogether while the federal government agencies will receive 4.3 billion (obeta, 2014). states were categorized ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 233 into four groups based on varying degrees of reported impacts. on the basis of this grouping, the south eastern states got the following allocation: table 7: amounts allocated to states in south east to mitigate impact of 2012 flood s/no state category amount received 1 anambra category a 500 million 2 imo category b 400 million 3 ebonyi category c 300 million 4 abia category c 300 million 5 enugu category d 250 million source: culled from obeta (2014) this money was shared to the states without any long term plan to sustain their response to future disasters. as a result, whenever there is any form of disaster, the states still demonstrate their inability to respond appropriately. generally, the disaster response and intervention mechanisms by nema and other collaborating agencies are not sustainable and this makes management of future disasters always difficult. in agreement, obeta (2014) opined that the non-sustainability of existing institutional frameworks for disaster response and management contributed to the 2010 to 2012 flooding across nigeria. according to him, manifestation of such non-sustainability are reflected in building construction on river floodplains, indiscriminate waste disposal, poor drainage, poor rood networks, poor bush burning practices. in some instances, building approvals are granted without clear understanding of the nature of the environment and the impacts of the construction on the overall environmental quality of the area thereby obstructing free flow of water (obeta, 2014). conclusion/recommendation findings of the study revealed that the existence of bureaucratic bottlenecks in nema operations and the existence of multiple agencies performing conflicting roles in disaster management across the country. more so, nema does not have effective mechanism to coordinate the activities of these agencies. again, available data reveals absence of any integrated multi-sectoral early warning system to aid disaster management despite the adoption of multi-sectoral approach by nema in disaster management. as a result, nema and other related disaster management agencies have not been able to avert huge human casualties resulting from disasters occurring across the south east zone with over 63,202 casualties recorded in various disaster incidents between 2009 and 2016. furthermore, findings reveal that the pattern of decentralization of nema’s operational framework adversely affects disaster management in the south east zone. this is mainly because inadequate emergency coordination and response centers at the zonal level, inadequate manpower and weak autonomy of the zonal office with regards to disaster response and management all of which accounts for the non-sustainability of disaster ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 234 response and intervention mechanisms, failure to manage and mitigate risk factors and failure to train adequate grassroots emergency volunteers in various communities. based on these findings, we upheld our hypotheses. based on the findings of our study, we recommend as follows: 1. nema should evolve a well articulated and institutionalized disaster response mechanism that would not depend on any bureaucratic procedure for activation in the event of disaster. 2. nema zonal offices should be granted autonomy, properly staffed and equipped to enable the zones respond to disasters appropriately. 3. states and community based associations should maintain standing disaster response teams that will augment the activities of nema during disaster response and management. references abebe, m. 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(1983). modern political theory. new delhi: vikas. winton, c. (1995). frameworks for studying families. guilford, ct: duskin publishing group. http://nema.gov.ng/download-documentations%20on%2008/05/2015 http://nema.gov.ng/download-documentations%20on%2008/05/2015 http://afrrevjo.net/journals/%20multidiscipline/vol_2_num_2_art_13_olurunfemi%20&%20adebimpe.pdf http://afrrevjo.net/journals/%20multidiscipline/vol_2_num_2_art_13_olurunfemi%20&%20adebimpe.pdf page 1 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 295 effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market jonathan e. ogbuabor1, *fidelia n. onuigbo2, anthony orji3, obed i. ojonta4 1, 3, 4 department of economics, university of nigeria, nsukka 2department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu, nigeria *correspondence: ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com abstract nigeria has witnessed several uncertainty inducing events, especially in the period following the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. thus, this study investigated the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market over the quarterly period of 1997q1 to 2019q4. the study used the autoregressive distributed lag framework and found that: there is a stable long-run relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nigerian stock exchange (nse); and that economic policy uncertainty impacts significantly and adversely on the all share index of the nse. even when these findings were subjected to robustness checks using the nse market capitalization, they remained consistent. fluctuations in oil price and depreciations in the naira to u.s. dollar exchange rate were also found to impact adversely on the stock market. overall, the study concludes that the nigerian stock market requires a more certain and investment-friendly environment to thrive. key words: economic policy uncertainty; stock market; ardl model; nigeria jel classification codes: d80; g10; c22; n17 introduction the stock market is a market place where those who wish to buy or sell shares, stocks, government bonds, debentures and other approved securities can do so though only through members of the stock exchange (anyanwu, 1993). in other words, the stock market can be described as a platform where long-term capital for financing new projects, and expanding and modernizing industrial/commercial concerns, are generated by the government and private sectors. hence, the stock market is an economic institution that promotes efficiency in capital formation and allocation (ohiomu & enabulu, 2011). the nigerian stock exchange was established in 1960 as the lagos stock exchange. in 1977, it became the nigerian stock exchange (nse), with branches in some major commercial cities in the country while lagos became its head office (olusegun, oluwatoyin & fagbeminiyi, mailto:ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com nigerian stock market 2011). the nigerian stock market started operations with 19 securities listed for trading in 1961. in 2018, the nse has over 169 companies listed on it with total market capitalization of over n13 trillion. to avoid breaches of market rules and other unfair manipulations, the securities and exchange commission regulates the operations of the nse. for many years, the nse has been the bed rock for capital mobilization and investment in the nigerian economy. indeed, anyanwu (1993) identified the functions of the nse to include the following, among others: promoting appropriate machinery to facilitate further offerings of stocks and shares to the general public; promoting increased participation by the public in the private sector of the economy; providing the machinery for mobilizing private and public savings and making these available for productive investments through stocks and shares; providing opportunities for raising new capital; and providing opportunities for attracting foreign capital for the development of the nigerian economy. however, an important factor that may impact significantly on the performance of the nigerian stock market is the issue of rising economic policy uncertainty. following the 2007-2008 global financial crisis (gfc), policymakers around the world have been concerned about the effects of economic policy uncertainty on the financial sectors of various economies. this concern is further reinforced by the findings of baker, bloom and davis (2016) and lo and rogoff (2015), which indicate that economic policy uncertainty was responsible for the sluggish recovery of both advanced and developing economies after the crisis. arouri, rault and teulon (2014) defined economic policy uncertainty as the risk of changes in prevailing policies that define the parameters or the process of decision making of economic agents like investors, households, and firms. clearly, high economic policy uncertainty could delay decisions by economic agents on investment, spending and employment. this is because under the condition of economic policy uncertainty in which there is little or no knowledge regarding the future path of the economy, economic agents will naturally be cautious with their spending. bloom, kose and terrones (2013) identified several sources of economic policy uncertainty such as changes in economic and financial policies, economic crises and recessions, downturns in productivity, disasters caused by nature, wars and terrorism, sharp fall in commodity prices, divergent views regarding the prospects of growth, among others. in the last few decades, nigeria has faced several uncertainty inducing events. while some of these events were domestic in nature, others were international. at the international level, some of the events that may have generated uncertainty, which in turn may have impacted on the nse include: the 2007-2008 the global financial crisis, the collapse in international oil price which started in https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2013/03/bloom.htm#author 297 2013q3, the trade tension between the united states and china, the brexit vote, and the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. the uncertainty generated by these events may have significantly reduced the inflow of foreign investments into the nse. domestically, there are several key events that have also fuelled uncertainty in nigeria. these include: several military coups, the civil war of 1967-1970, persistent exchange rate fluctuations and high inflation rates, unending episodes of bank failures, the continual issue insecurity of lives and property, tensions occasioned by various presidential elections, petrol subsidy removal crisis, the 2016 economic recession, the lack of continuity in development planning and implementation, and the recent #endsars protest of october 2020. these events may have hindered the investment decisions of economic agents in nigeria. in spite of the fact that rising uncertainty may impact adversely on the nse, empirical studies in nigeria have scarcely focused on the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market. this leaves an important gap in the literature, which this study seeks to fill. indeed, most of the studies in the literature have generally focused on the stock markets in other countries (examples are: abdullah, 2020; gilal, 2019; bahmani-oskooee & saha, 2019; riaz, hongbing, hashmi & khan, 2018; zalla, 2017; arouri, estay, rault & roubaud, 2016; baker et al., 2016; bhagat, ghosh & rangan, 2013). the few uncertainty studies in nigeria did not specifically focus on the effects of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market (raulatu, ugbem, augustine & paul, 2019; ukwueze, asogwa & odo, 2018; cbn, 2015). this study will therefore contribute to the literature by investigating the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market. thus, the broad objective of this study is to examine the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market. the specific objectives are: (i) to ascertain if there is a long-run relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse; and (ii) to establish the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the all share index of the nse. what then is the problem necessitating this study? to answer this question, it must be reemphasized that the nigerian stock exchange (nse) is expected to be the pillar for capital mobilization and investment in the nigerian economy given its role in promoting the offerings of stocks and shares to prospective investors, promoting the participation of the private sector in the economy, mobilizing private and public savings for productive investments, providing opportunities for raising new capital, and attracting foreign investors into the economy. however, the performance of the nse over the years has not been quite desirable. indeed, the poor performance of the nse may be attributed to various uncertainty shocks that may have nigerian stock market forced prospective investors to withhold their investment decisions. to see this, let us consider the plot of the all share index of the nse from january 1997 to march 2020 as shown in figure 1. we find that the index attained its highest value around february 2008, and crashed almost immediately due to the uncertainty occasioned by the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. since then, the index has not returned to this pre-crisis peak value. figure 1: a plot of the all share index (asi) of the nse, january 1997 – march 2020 apart from the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, the index has also reacted to other crises situations. around february 2005, the index witnessed a dip in response to the uncertainty surrounding the 2004-2005 banking sector consolidation exercise of the cbn. around january 2012, the index witnessed a downturn due to the uncertainty created by the sudden removal of subsidy on petrol by the federal government. from january 2015, the index also witnessed somewhat prolonged downturn as a result of the uncertainties created by the 2015 general election and the collapse in international oil price. this downturn persisted until the economy went into a recession in 2016. from 2018q2, the index has been on a downward trend till the end of the data in 2020q1. in fact, the impact of the uncertainty generated by the ongoing covid-19 pandemic is quite evident on the index. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 1 9 9 7 j an 1 9 9 7 s e p 1 9 9 8 m ay 1 9 9 9 j an 1 9 9 9 s e p 2 0 0 0 m ay 2 0 0 1 j an 2 0 0 1 s e p 2 0 0 2 m ay 2 0 0 3 j an 2 0 0 3 s e p 2 0 0 4 m ay 2 0 0 5 j an 2 0 0 5 s e p 2 0 0 6 m ay 2 0 0 7 j an 2 0 0 7 s e p 2 0 0 8 m ay 2 0 0 9 j an 2 0 0 9 s e p 2 0 1 0 m ay 2 0 1 1 j an 2 0 1 1 s e p 2 0 1 2 m ay 2 0 1 3 j an 2 0 1 3 s e p 2 0 1 4 m ay 2 0 1 5 j an 2 0 1 5 s e p 2 0 1 6 m ay 2 0 1 7 j an 2 0 1 7 s e p 2 0 1 8 m ay 2 0 1 9 j an 2 0 1 9 s e p a ll sh ar e in d e x (a si ) dates 299 the foregoing paragraphs indicate that there is a problem, which can be situated in the fact that rising uncertainty may be responsible for the less than desirable performance of the nse. thus, there is need for policymakers in nigeria to empirically understand the effects of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market. indeed, such empirical evidence will also be of benefit to prospective investors and the general public as it will them to better appreciate how the decisions of economic agents impact on the market during uncertain times. it is the goal of this study to provide this empirical evidence. literature review conceptual review the main concepts in this study are economic policy uncertainty and the stock market. arouri et al. (2014) explained that economic policies are decisions making parameters, and that when economic policies are lacking or are not well defined, then uncertainty ensues, leading to delays in economic activities and decision making. toma, chitita and sarpe (2012) also posited that economic policy uncertainty exists when there is either lack of or insufficient information needed to understand the future path of an economy. under uncertainty condition, policymakers are unable to completely anticipate likely events that may happen, while economic agents have limited knowledge about current realities and possible future outcomes. bloom et al (2013) explained that economic uncertainty arises when there is little or nonexistence of knowledge regarding the future path of an economy. kostka and roye (2007) explained that economic policy uncertainty is a situation in which economic agents are unable to foreknow the monetary, fiscal, trade and regulatory policy outcomes. under such conditions, economic agents are forced to withhold consumption and investment spending. the stock market is a public market that exists for issuing, buying, and selling of stocks that are traded on a stock exchange or over-the-counter (ohiomu & enabulu, 2011; anyanwu, 1993). stocks, which are also known as equities, represent part ownership of a company, and the stock market is a place where investors can buy and sell ownership of such assets. clearly, an efficiently functioning stock market is important in every economy as it helps companies to easily raise capital from the public rather than incurring debt and paying interest charges on the debt. it also enables the investors (i.e. those who purchase stocks) to benefit from the profits of publicly-traded companies. the overall performance of the stock market is usually tracked and measured through various stock market indices. in the nse, the main indices for tracking performance are the all share index and the market capitalization. while the all share index nigerian stock market represents the change in the average value of all the shares prices of all companies on the nse, market capitalization refers to the aggregate valuation of a listed company based on its current share price and the total number of outstanding stocks. the market capitalization is usually computed as the product of the current market price of the company’s share and the total outstanding shares of the company (anyanwu, 1993) figure 2: conceptual framework the conceptual framework in figure 2 indicates that rising economic policy uncertainty can adversely impact on the performance of the nigerian stock market. it shows that high uncertainty conditions can induce economic agents to withhold investments from the stock market probably in favour of bank deposits, sell off the shares in the stock market in order to obtain cash (which are considered more liquid) to enable them weather through the uncertain times, and to exit the market altogether and move their investments to other markets or countries with relatively lower uncertainty levels. the implication is that the nigerian stock market will then witness poor performance due to fall in its benchmark indices, such as the all share index and the overall market capitalization. rising economic policy uncertainty this will force economic agents to: 1. withhold investment from the stock market probably in favour of bank deposits 2. offload their shares in the stock market in order to obtain cash to weather through the uncertain times 3. exit the nse and relocate to other markets/countries with relatively lower uncertainty level fall in nigerian stock market performance such as fall in the all share index and market capitalization on the nse 301 theoretical review in what follows, some stock market theories and uncertainty theories are reviewed. stock market theories several theories have been advanced by different scholars in attempt to explain the fluctuations in the stock market. here, we consider the following theories: the efficient capital market theory, the modern portfolio theory and the liquidity preference theory. a. the efficient capital market theory the finance literature provides three main theories for explaining the performance of stock market performance: classical, behavioral, and the efficient capital market. the classical theory explains that market behavior can be analyzed in terms of the intersection of demand and supply schedules and the stability of this intersection at equilibrium. consequently, changes in stock prices arise from shifts in either the demand or the supply schedule, or both. the behavioral theory tries to explain and predict observable decision making. the theory represents decision makers by a set of decision processes which act on, as well as react to, information already available or which may be procured from the environment (clarkson, 1964). the efficient capital market theory is the most prominent theory for explaining stock behavior. the theory uses statistical time series models to explain stock price movements. according to fama (1970), an efficient capital market is one in which prices always fully reflect available information. this theory, also known as the random walk theory, is the proposition that current stock prices fully reflect available information about the value of the firm, and there is no way to earn excess profits, (more than the market overall), by using this information. b. the modern portfolio theory markowitz (1952) explained that rather than use one-dimensional investment criteria such as the net present value (npv) criterion, investors should consider expected returns and risk, defined as the standard deviation of the return distribution. the theorist posits that investors should build their portfolios on the basis of expected returns (desirable) and returns variance (undesirable), in order to maximize the former and minimize the latter, by diversifying assets with reduced covariance. the theorist rejected the idea that investors should base their portfolios solely on the greatest expected return, because adopting this criterion may lead to two assets with similar returns being allocated to the investment portfolio with no analysis of nigerian stock market their contribution to its risk. he also explained that a portfolio with the maximum expected return is not necessarily that with the least risk; and that although diversification allows reduction of portfolio risk, it does not lead to complete extinction of the risk present in an investment portfolio. c. liquidity preference theory tobin (1958) argued that investors choose situations that fall between a state of total liquidity and a point of total investment in high-risk assets. in his work, tobin (1958) noted that investors prefer liquidity, due to two aspects: one concerns individual inelasticity towards the expected interest rate, and the other, uncertainty as to the future of interest rates. thus, investors would generally prefer not to lose their capital due to market risk or asset price fluctuations. tobin (1958) also explained that investors make their decisions by combining a risk-free asset with the portfolio located at the efficient frontier advanced by markowitz (1952). this proposition led to the separation theorem, which states that the two investment decisions made by investors are independent and separate. these decisions include: determining the most efficient risky asset portfolio; and defining the proportion of resources to be allocated to risk-free assets and risky assets. thus, the difference between an investor with higher risk tolerance and one with lower risk tolerance is the proportion of risk-free assets in his or her portfolio. theories of uncertainty the theories of uncertainty presented here include: the theory of real options channel; the theory of precautionary savings channel; and the theory of risk-premia. a. theory of real options channel this theory dates back to bernanke (1983) and brennan and schwartz (1985). the concept behind the real option theory is that firms have sequences of real options on possible investments to embark upon. real options channel has to do with the value of option related to investments that are not reversible. specifically, when investment is completely or partly irreversible, once such investment has been embarked on, the investor must face a high cost if he must disembark from the investment. if the economic agent chooses to delay the investment, he forfeits the short-term earnings from the investment, and in the next period he will have the option to either delay the investment or not. since the economic agent is not capable of foreseeing what returns may accrue from the investment, he will wait in order to obtain new appropriate information that could likely aid him in making better decision about the 303 investment. hence, uncertainty causes firms to be cautious regarding their actions when employing and investing in projects for which the costs of adjustment always make such investment to be costly to reverse. b. theory of precautionary savings channel according to carroll and kimball (2016), precautionary saving is the extra saving that emanates as a result of information a household have about future uncertainty. a household attains extra saving either by reducing consumption or increasing work hour in order to hedge against uncertainty. thus, the response of present expenditure to future risk based on the prevailing circumstance is precautionary saving. in a situation of decreasing risk aversion, a rise in uncertainty regarding upcoming income flow causes a rise in savings (leland, 1968). when economic agents are confronted with uncertainty, they consume less and supply more work so as insure themselves against upcoming negative occurrences. carroll and samwick (1998) showed that precautionary saving is caused by high uncertainty regarding distribution of income of the household in the future. moore (2016) demonstrated that household saving ratio rose due to economic uncertainty and reduced consumption growth for durable goods. in sum, a rise in investment and decrease in consumption of households could be caused by the precautionary savings channel. c. theory of risk-premia rising risk premia is a medium through which uncertainty decreases growth in an economy (bloom, 2014). according to the theorist, compensation for taking a high risk is the wish of an investor, and as uncertainty increases, financing cost must also increase. just like risk premia, uncertainty raises the cost of financing debt by increasing the default probability. because banks are mainly concerned about debtors repaying, a mean preserving spread deteriorates their loans returns; and due to the increase in default risk, banks will charge higher rates of interest. this action is capable of reducing the overall growth of an economy (arellano, bai & kehoe, 2010). empirical review several studies have investigated the effect of economic policy uncertainty on various stock markets across the globe. gilal (2019) examined the effects of usa economic policy uncertainty on indonesian stock market returns using the ordinary least square (ols) method. nigerian stock market the study used monthly data for the period january 2000 to december 2017. the study found a steady positive conditional correlation between stock market returns of indonesian and usa economic policy uncertainty. interestingly, the findings further indicate a negative value of conditional correlation in a sub-sample estimation, suggesting an inverse relationship between stock market returns of indonesian and usa economic policy uncertainty. baker et al. (2016) investigated the effects of policy uncertainty on firm-level stock price volatility implied by equity options, firm-level investment rates and employment growth rates and on aggregate investment, output and employment using newspaper coverage frequency in the united states and eleven other advanced economies. the study established that greater volatility in stock price, employment in policy-sensitive sectors (such as health care, defense, finance, construction and infrastructure) and reduced investment were related to policy uncertainty. another study by bahmani-oskooee and saha (2019) investigated the asymmetric effects of policy uncertainty on stock prices in usa, canada, uk, korea and japan using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (nardl) model. the study used monthly stock prices data for the period of january 1985 to october 2018. the findings indicate that there is short-run asymmetric effect of policy uncertainty on the stock prices of usa, canada, uk and korea, while all the five markets witnessed significant long-run impacts of uncertainty. the findings further indicate that increasing policy uncertainty adversely impacts on stock prices in japan, canada, and uk, while decreasing policy uncertainty boosts stock market returns. the study also found that rising policy uncertainty has adverse impacts on stock returns in usa, canada, uk, korea and japan in the short-run. in ireland, zalla (2017) developed an economic policy uncertainty index to examine the effects of policy uncertainty on the stock exchange, interest rate, industrial production and employment. the study used vector autoregressive (var) model and macroeconomic data spanning from 1985 to 2016. the study found that economic policy uncertainty innovation impacted negatively on macroeconomic and financial variables such as industrial production and stock market indices. arbatli, davis, ito and miake (2017) found that economic policy uncertainty increased during elections and key leadership transitions in japan. the study also found that the asian financial crisis, the global financial crisis, the usa debt downgrade of 2011, the brexit referendum, and the recent pronouncement of japan on consumption tax increased uncertainty in the country. the study also found that rising economic policy uncertainty innovations caused decline in employment, investment and output performance in japan. 305 arouri et al. (2016) examined the impact of economic policy uncertainty on usa stock markets using the ordinary least square regression (ols) method. the study employed monthly data for the period 1900 to 2014. the study found that a rise in policy uncertainty decreases stock returns significantly and the effect is robust and persistent in the period of severe volatility. in same vein, gulen & ion (2016) used the economic policy index developed by baker, bloom, davis and sammon (2021) to examine the effect policy uncertainty on usa corporate investment. the findings indicate that economic policy uncertainty depressed usa corporate investment by encouraging precautionary delay as a result of irreversible investment. similarly, riaz et al. (2018) used autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) bounds approach to ascertain the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and other macroeconomic variables in the usa. the findings showed that stock returns of the transportation sector were affected negatively by domestic and international economic policy uncertainty. bhagat et al. (2013) examined the effects of economic policy uncertainty on the indian economy using quantile regression and macroeconomic variables for the period 2003 to 2012. the study found a strong negative correlation between economic policy uncertainty and bombay stock exchange index. the study also found that economic policy uncertainty is negatively related to fixed investment and gross domestic product. according to the study, if uncertainty in economic activity were to decrease to what india experienced in 2005, gross domestic product growth and fixed investment growth would increase by 0.56% and 1.36% respectively. abdullah (2020) evaluated the effects of united states economy policy uncertainty on stock market returns of some gulf countries (united arab emirate, saudi arabia, qatar, bahrain, oman and kuwait) using vector autoregressive (var) model. the study found that united states economy policy uncertainty respond negatively to stock market returns of united arab emirate, qatar, saudi arabia, kuwait, oman and bahrain. rehman and apergis (2019) investigated the sensitivity of economic policy uncertainty to investor sentiment in asia and european markets using a quantile regression method. the data covered the period of 1995 and 2015. the findings indicate that economic policy uncertainty impacts negatively impacted on investors’ sentiment. the full sample results also showed that economic policy uncertainty was mainly driven by oil price volatility, suggesting that economic policy uncertainty is highly sensitive to international oil prices. nigerian stock market in nigeria, cbn (2015) investigated the impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on monetary policy based on the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (garch) framework. the study used quarterly data that covered the period of 2000q1 to 2015q1. the study found that monetary policy effectiveness in nigeria is not significantly undermined by macroeconomic uncertainty. for example, inflation uncertainty causes no harm to output growth performance, while shocks in oil price and exchange rate uncertainty impacted significantly on output instantly but does not persist for long. ukwueze et al. (2018) examined the impact policy uncertainty on enterprise sector in nigeria using a multinomial logistic regression model. the study found that medium and large enterprises are negatively impacted on by policy uncertainty, labour regulation, licensing and permits, and political instability. raulatu et al. (2019) investigated the effect of global economic policy uncertainty on nigeria’s export earnings using the autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) and the generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (garch) model. the data covered the period of 1997 to 2016. the study reported that nigeria’s export earnings are adversely affected by global economic policy uncertainty. clearly, the foregoing empirical review indicates that studies focusing on the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the stock market have generally been conducted in other countries outside nigeria. there is, therefore, the need for policy makers in nigeria to obtain empirical evidence on the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market. it is the goal of this study to provide this empirical evidence. methodology analytical framework this paper adopted the autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) modeling framework of pesaran, shin and smith (2001) based on its ability to produce consistent estimates even in small samples. the paper subjected the model to various diagnostic checks in order to ensure that the underlying assumptions of the framework are duly satisfied. these checks include: normality test, autocorrelation test, heteroskedasticity test, and model specification test. however, prior to the estimation of the model, the variables were subjected to pre-estimation tests in order to avoid spurious regression. the pre-estimation tests include the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) unit root test and the pesaran et al. (2001) bounds cointegration test. 307 the data the data for this study consists of quarterly observations from 1997q1 to 2019q4 on the variables listed in table 1. all the variables were logged prior to estimation. this is to ensure that the estimated parameters are interpreted in percentage terms. table 1: variable descriptions and sources of data variable description source of data asi all share index cbn (2020) mss broad money supply, m2 (n'billion) cbn (2020) epu economic policy uncertainty index davis (2016) exch official naira to dollar exchange rate cbn (2020) mcap nse market capitalization cbn (2020) pob brent spot price fob (usd per barrel) energy & information administration (2020) rgdp real gdp per capita (constant 2010 usd) world bank (2020) table 2 reports the descriptive statistics of the variables based on the log transformation of the data. the mean, maximum and minimum values for all the variables indicate that none of the values is too high or too low to be considered an outlier. the standard deviations indicate that all the variables actually witnessed some variations. in sum, there are 92 observations, which are considered large enough to achieve a robust estimation. table 2: descriptive statistics of the variables asi epu exch mcap mss pob rgdp mean 4.4108 4.6803 4.8738 8.0247 8.5344 3.8848 7.5831 median 4.6015 4.6698 4.8920 8.6868 9.0438 4.0210 7.6360 maximum 5.5054 5.6139 5.7267 9.6473 10.2798 4.7991 7.8555 minimum 2.9914 4.0086 3.0858 5.4613 6.0159 2.4147 7.2069 std. dev. 0.6669 0.3906 0.6486 1.4150 1.3553 0.6435 0.2267 skewness -0.7175 0.3111 -1.4938 -0.6057 -0.4255 -0.4793 -0.4879 kurtosis 2.4268 2.4050 5.6080 1.8022 1.7936 2.2733 1.7397 jarque-bera 9.1524 2.8410 60.2866 11.1246 8.3544 5.5472 9.7384 probability 0.0103 0.2416 0.0000 0.0038 0.0153 0.0624 0.0077 observations 92 92 92 92 92 92 92 model specification following riaz et al. (2018), the long-run model for this study is econometrically specified as follows: 𝐴𝑆𝐼𝑡 = 𝛼0 + ∑ 𝛼𝑗𝐴𝑆𝐼𝑡−𝑗 𝑝 𝑗=1 + ∑ 𝛽𝑗𝐸𝑃𝑈𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝛾𝑗𝑅𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜃𝑗𝐸𝑋𝐶𝐻𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜆𝑗𝑀𝑆𝑆𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜋𝑗𝑃𝑂𝐵𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + 𝜀𝑡 (1) nigerian stock market where: the variables are as defined in table 1, 𝑗 is the lag length to be selected by akaike information criteria based on the general-to-specific modeling procedure starting with a maximum lag length of 4 since our data is quarterly, and 𝜀𝑡 is the stochastic error term expected to be normally, identically and independently distributed with zero mean and constant variance. the economic or a priori expectations are that 𝛽𝑗, 𝜃𝑗 , and 𝜋𝑗 will be negative, while 𝛼𝑗, 𝛾𝑗 and 𝜆𝑗 will be positive. good econometric work should also capture the short-run dynamics. accordingly, the error correction modeling specification for equation (1), which captures the short-run effects of the regressors, is as follows: δ𝐴𝑆𝐼𝑡 = 𝛼0 + ∑ 𝛼𝑗δ𝐴𝑆𝐼𝑡−𝑗 𝑝 𝑗=1 + ∑ 𝛽𝑗δ𝐸𝑃𝑈𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝛾𝑗δ𝑅𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜃𝑗δ𝐸𝑋𝐶𝐻𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜆𝑗δ𝑀𝑆𝑆𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + ∑ 𝜋𝑗δ𝑃𝑂𝐵𝑡−𝑗 𝑞 𝑗=0 + 𝜂𝐸𝐶𝑀𝑡−1 + 𝜀𝑡 (2) where: 𝐸𝐶𝑀𝑡−1 is the first lag of the residual from the estimation of equation (1), and its coefficient is expected to be statistically significant with a negative sign. as a robustness check, equations (1) and (2) will be re-estimated using the nse market capitalization (mcap) as the dependent variable. empirical results and discussions we started the empirical analysis by examining the time series properties of the data. the adf unit root results in table 3 for all the variables indicate that all the variables are integrated of order one, i(1). in other words, all the variables were non-stationary at levels, but only became stationary after first differencing. this means that without testing for cointegration, we run the risk of fitting a spurious regression. hence, we conducted the bounds cointegration test following pesaran et al. (2001). 309 table 3: adf unit root test results variable adf stat at level 5% critical value adf stat at 1st diff 5% critical value order of integration asi -1.70609 -3.46052 -6.30570 -3.46052 i(1) epu -3.40301 -3.45995 -10.81499 -3.46052 i(1) exch -2.78179 -3.45995 -9.10013 -3.46052 i(1) pob -1.44411 -3.45995 -7.50377 -3.46052 i(1) mcap -1.31014 -3.46052 -6.54110 -3.46052 i(1) mss -0.41849 -3.45995 -10.77941 -3.46052 i(1) rgdp -1.13477 -3.46291 -5.43912 -3.46291 i(1) the results of the bounds cointegration test are shown in table 4. the results indicate that the f-statistic value of 5.1276 is greater than both the lower and the upper critical value bounds at the 5% level. this means that the variables are cointegrated. in other words, the variables have a stable long-run relationship between them. thus, the long-run model for this study cannot be called spurious. this finding clearly achieves the first specific objective of this study which seeks to ascertain if there is a long-run relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse. hence, we must reject the first null hypothesis which posits that there is no significant long-run relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse. table 4: results of the bounds cointegration test test statistic value k f-statistic 5.127608 5 critical value bounds significance i0 bound i1 bound 10% 2.26 3.35 5% 2.62 3.79 2.5% 2.96 4.18 1% 3.41 4.68 note: the bounds test for the robustness estimation is shown in appendix 1. the results of the long-run model in this study are shown in table 5 following the specification in equation (1). the breusch-godfrey test autocorrelation and the breusch-pagan-godfrey test for heteroskedasticity indicate that the model is free from both problems. the durbin-watson nigerian stock market statistic of 2.00 further reinforces the absence of residual serial correlation in the model. this is not surprising given the dynamic nature of the model. the p-value of the jarque-bera statistic indicate that the residual is normally distributed as expected. the p-value of the f-statistic also indicates that the model as a whole is statistically significant even at the 1% level. the fstatistic of the ramsey reset test has a p-value of 0.4814, which is not statistically significant at the 5% level. this indicates that the model is well specified. overall, the model in table 5 is seen to be adequate to inform inference. in what follows, we discuss the estimated coefficients of the model. we find that the first lag of all share index (asi) impacts significantly and positively on the current values, while the impacts of the second and third lags are muted. cumulatively, we find that initial all share index impacts positively on the current values. we find that the current level of economic policy uncertainty (epu) impacts significantly and negatively on all share index even at 1% level. the results further indicate that the impact of the first lag of epu is not significant at 5% level, but cumulatively, the impact of epu is seen to be negative. this means that rising uncertainty impacts significantly and adversely on the stock market’s all share index. this is in line with economic expectation because during periods of rising uncertainty, market participants are expected to be cautious and/or postpone further activities in the market. this finding is consistent with some recent studies in the literature, such as bahmani-oskooee and saha (2019), gilal (2019), zalla (2017), arouri et al. (2016), and riaz et al. (2018). this finding clearly achieves the second specific objective of this study, which seeks to establish the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the all share index of the nse. in fact, this finding means that we must reject the second null hypothesis which posits that economic policy uncertainty does not impact significantly on the all share index of the nse. 311 table 5: long-run regression results, ardl (4, 1, 4, 3, 0, 3) (dependent variable = asi) variable coefficient standard error t-statistic p-value asi(-1) 1.0985 0.0983 11.1742 0.0000 asi(-2) -0.1671 0.1535 -1.0891 0.2800 asi(-3) 0.0990 0.1447 0.6838 0.4964 asi(-4) -0.2211 0.0863 -2.5625 0.0126 epu -0.1803 0.0622 -2.8974 0.0051 epu(-1) 0.1047 0.0616 1.7007 0.0936 mss 0.4903 0.1757 2.7907 0.0068 mss(-1) -0.2801 0.2028 -1.3815 0.1717 mss(-2) 0.1520 0.2030 0.7490 0.4565 mss(-3) 0.2358 0.2026 1.1642 0.2485 mss(-4) -0.5866 0.1854 -3.1643 0.0023 exch -0.1428 0.0699 -2.0444 0.0448 exch(-1) 0.0130 0.0900 0.1440 0.8859 exch(-2) -0.0547 0.0890 -0.6143 0.5411 exch(-3) 0.2113 0.0652 3.2412 0.0019 rgdp 0.5817 0.3790 1.5349 0.1295 pob 0.2705 0.0741 3.6504 0.0005 pob(-1) -0.2682 0.1168 -2.2953 0.0249 pob(-2) -0.2531 0.1108 -2.2854 0.0255 pob(-3) 0.2037 0.0713 2.8586 0.0057 constant -3.3193 2.5080 -1.3235 0.1902 notes: adjusted r-squared = 0.9838; f-statistic = 265.99; prob(f-stat) = 0.0000***; dw stat = 2.00; jarquebera statistic = 0.5705; prob(jarque-bera) = 0.7518; breusch-godfrey serial correlation prob(chi-square) = 0.9605; breusch-pagan-godfrey prob(chi-square) = 0.2573; p-value of ramsey reset test f-statistic = 0.4814. here, ** and *** denote significance at 5% and 1%, respectively. the results in table 5 further indicate that the cumulative impact of money supply (mss) is positive and significant at the 5% level. this shows that money supply impacts positively and significantly on the all share index of the nse. the current level of exchange rate impacts negatively and significantly on the all share index. this is consistent with economic expectation. however, the cumulative impact of changes in exchange rate is positive. as expected, real per capita gdp growth impacts positively on the all share index, though this impact is not statistically significant. interestingly, the results further indicate that the effect of changes in oil price on the all share index is cumulatively negative and significant at the 5% level. this finding is interesting because as an oil-rich economy, developments in the international oil prices have far reaching implications for the nigerian economy. here, the empirical evidence indicates that fluctuations in oil price impacts adversely on the nigerian stock market. nigerian stock market at this point, the findings of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) there is a stable longrun relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse; (ii) economic policy uncertainty impacts significantly and adversely on the all share index of the nse; and (iii) changes in oil price and current exchange rate impact negatively on the all share index, while the impacts of money supply growth and real gdp per capita growth are positive. what remains to be seen is whether these findings will be robust to the short-run results as well as the robustness estimation results of equation (2). in what follows, we consider the results of the error correction model in equation (2), which captures the short-run dynamics. to understand the short-run effect of economic policy uncertainty on the stock market in nigeria, we estimated the error correction model (ecm) in equation (2), which used the residual of the model in table 5 as the ecm term. the results of the error correction model are shown in table 6. we find that in the short-run: (i) the cumulative effect of economic policy uncertainty on the all share index of the nse is also significant and negative; (ii) previous levels all share index cumulatively impact positively and significantly on the stock market; (iii) the cumulative effect of changes in oil price and exchange rate is negative, while that of money supply is positive; and (iv) the role of real gdp per capita growth is muted in the short-run. these findings are generally consistent with the earlier findings in the preceding paragraph. the error correction term is well behaved because it has a negative value and it is statistically significant at the 5% level. in what follows, we subject these findings to robustness checks by re-estimating the models in equations (1) and (2) using the nse market capitalization as the dependent variable. 313 table 6: error correction model, ardl (4, 2, 4, 3, 0, 3) (dependent variable = d(asi)) variable coefficient standard error t-statistic p-value d(asi(-1)) 1.1162 0.1850 6.0326 0.0000 d(asi(-2)) -0.1747 0.1059 -1.6496 0.1039 d(asi(-3)) 0.0924 0.0952 0.9708 0.3353 d(asi(-4)) -0.2308 0.0841 -2.7442 0.0079 d(epu) -0.1941 0.0590 -3.2890 0.0016 d(epu(-1)) 0.0999 0.0632 1.5804 0.1189 d(epu(-2)) -0.0713 0.0583 -1.2228 0.2259 d(mss) 0.4089 0.1718 2.3792 0.0203 d(mss(-1)) -0.2543 0.1630 -1.5600 0.1237 d(mss(-2)) 0.2158 0.1527 1.4135 0.1624 d(mss(-3)) 0.2964 0.1587 1.8677 0.0664 d(mss(-4)) -0.4730 0.2029 -2.3317 0.0229 d(exch) -0.1409 0.0653 -2.1599 0.0345 d(exch(-1)) -0.0100 0.0678 -0.1471 0.8835 d(exch(-2)) -0.0864 0.0694 -1.2451 0.2177 d(exch(-3)) 0.1650 0.0683 2.4168 0.0185 d(rgdp) -0.2780 1.1803 -0.2355 0.8145 d(pob) 0.3122 0.0742 4.2079 0.0001 d(pob(-1)) -0.2668 0.0986 -2.7065 0.0087 d(pob(-2)) -0.2623 0.0747 -3.5108 0.0008 d(pob(-3)) 0.2156 0.0778 2.7713 0.0073 ecm1(-1) -1.0411 0.2238 -4.6517 0.0000 constant -0.0011 0.0180 -0.0628 0.9501 notes: adjusted r-squared = 0.5421; f-statistic = 5.6288; prob(f-stat) = 0.0000***; dw stat = 2.07. *** denotes significance at 1%. robustness check with market capitalization as the dependent variable to ensure that the results obtained in this study are not just a happenstance, we subjected the models to robustness checks by re-estimating equation (1) with nse market capitalization (mcap) as the dependent variable while the independent variables remained unchanged. the results of these robustness estimations are shown in table 7 for the long-run model of equation (1) and table 8 for the error correction model of equation (2) which accounts for the short-run dynamics. interestingly, the overall patterns in our earlier results remained qualitatively unchanged. in fact, the results in tables 7 and 8 indicate that both in the long-run and shortrun, rising uncertainty and depreciation in the naira to u.s. dollar exchange rate impacts significantly and adversely on the nse market capitalization, while the impact of money supply growth remained positive. the impact of real gdp per capita growth remained muted nigerian stock market in all cases. the only difference between our earlier results and the robustness results is that in the latter case, the effect of oil price changes is positive. table 7: long-run regression results, ardl (4, 0, 4, 3, 0, 3) (dependent variable = mcap) variable coefficient standard error t-statistic p-value mcap(-1) 0.9864 0.1045 9.4351 0.0000 mcap(-2) -0.1293 0.1532 -0.8439 0.4017 mcap(-3) 0.1162 0.1474 0.7882 0.4333 mcap(-4) -0.2250 0.0952 -2.3644 0.0209 epu -0.1605 0.0581 -2.7621 0.0074 mss 0.5601 0.1965 2.8507 0.0058 mss(-1) -0.3401 0.2254 -1.5086 0.1360 mss(-2) 0.1894 0.2317 0.8176 0.4165 mss(-3) 0.4703 0.2316 2.0311 0.0462 mss(-4) -0.5789 0.2073 -2.7928 0.0068 exch -0.1677 0.0795 -2.1078 0.0387 exch(-1) -0.0484 0.1019 -0.4751 0.6362 exch(-2) -0.0237 0.1019 -0.2326 0.8168 exch(-3) 0.1732 0.0745 2.3247 0.0231 rgdp 0.0656 0.4191 0.1565 0.8761 pob 0.3410 0.0828 4.1169 0.0001 pob(-1) -0.2989 0.1262 -2.3689 0.0207 pob(-2) -0.2067 0.1180 -1.7524 0.0842 pob(-3) 0.1669 0.0793 2.1043 0.0391 constant -0.0024 2.7791 -0.0009 0.9993 notes: adjusted r-squared = 0.9953; f-statistic = 962.6735; prob(f-stat) = 0.0000***; dw stat = 2.01; jarque-bera statistic = 01.3378; prob(jarque-bera) = 0.5122; breusch-godfrey serial correlation prob(chi-square) = 0.7064; breusch-pagan-godfrey prob(chi-square) = 0.4117; p-value of ramsey reset test f-statistic = 0.2661. here, ** and *** denote significance at 5% and 1%, respectively. 315 table 8: error correction model, ardl (4, 0, 3, 3, 0, 3) (dependent variable = d(mcap)) variable coefficient standard error t-statistic p-value d(mcap(-1)) 0.8565 0.1679 5.1005 0.0000 d(mcap(-2)) -0.0730 0.1012 -0.7208 0.4735 d(mcap(-3)) 0.1361 0.0967 1.4071 0.1640 d(mcap(-4)) -0.2647 0.0868 -3.0509 0.0033 d(epu) -0.2083 0.0670 -3.1088 0.0028 d(mss) 0.3303 0.1719 1.9214 0.0589 d(mss(-1)) -0.2813 0.1765 -1.5941 0.1156 d(mss(-2)) 0.2475 0.1722 1.4372 0.1553 d(mss(-3)) 0.6071 0.1779 3.4133 0.0011 d(exch) -0.2024 0.0736 -2.7495 0.0077 d(exch(-1)) -0.0920 0.0732 -1.2567 0.2132 d(exch(-2)) -0.1083 0.0722 -1.4988 0.1386 d(exch(-3)) 0.1239 0.0750 1.6504 0.1035 d(rgdp) -1.7032 1.1961 -1.4240 0.1591 d(pob) 0.4027 0.0836 4.8173 0.0000 d(pob(-1)) -0.1589 0.0962 -1.6514 0.1033 d(pob(-2)) -0.2106 0.0796 -2.6436 0.0102 d(pob(-3)) 0.1167 0.0787 1.4826 0.1429 ecm2(-1) -0.9482 0.2149 -4.4116 0.0000 constant -0.0103 0.0202 -0.5108 0.6111 notes: adjusted r-squared = 0.4939; f-statistic = 5.4174; prob(f-stat) = 0.0000***; dw stat = 2.05. *** denotes significance at 1%. conclusion and recommendations this study investigated the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the nigerian stock market over the quarterly period of 1997q1 to 2019q4. specifically, the study sought to: (i) determine if there is a long-run relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse; and (ii) establish the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the all share index of the nse. the study used the ardl methodology and found that: (i) there is a stable longrun relationship between economic policy uncertainty and the all share index of the nse; (ii) the effect of economic policy uncertainty on the all share index of the nse is significant and adverse; (iii) changes in oil price and depreciation in the naira to u.s. dollar exchange rate have significant and negative effects on the all share index, while the cumulative effect of money supply growth remained positive; and (iv) the role of real gdp per capita growth remained insignificant throughout. based on the above findings, the paper makes the following recommendations. first, policy makers in nigeria should ensure that economic agents, including prospective investors, are not nigerian stock market left in doubt as to what the policy direction of the government is at any point in time. this is because the uncertainty arising from such doubts could adversely affect the stock market. second, the nigerian government should strengthen its efforts towards reducing or eliminating some persistent uncertainty inducing issues in the economy, such as terrorism, farmers/herders clashes, ethnic and religious tensions, political tensions, and so on. again, this is because the uncertainty arising from these issues could hamper the performance of the nigerian stock market. regulatory agencies like the securities and exchange commission, the central bank of nigeria, the nigeria deposit insurance corporation, among others, should ensure that their regulatory policies are not shrouded in doubt, especially the exchange rate policies of the central bank of nigeria, since the uncertainty that could arise from such doubtful situation can impede the performance of the nigerian stock market. overall, the paper concludes that the nigerian stock market requires a more stable and investment-friendly environment to thrive. references abdullah, a. 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(2018). nigerian enterprise sector and policy uncertainty. asian journal of economic modelling, 6(2), 110 – 120. 319 world bank (2020). world development indicators. available at: https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-development-indicators (accessed: 15 june, 2021) zalla, r. (2017). economic policy uncertainty in ireland. atlantic economic journal, 45, 269 271. appendix 1: bounds cointegration results for the robustness estimation using market capitalization as dependent variable test statistic value k f-statistic 4.288568 5 critical value bounds significance i0 bound i1 bound 10% 2.26 3.35 5% 2.62 3.79 2.5% 2.96 4.18 1% 3.41 4.68 source: authors https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-development-indicators page 4 1 secondary dynamics of the okomu forest, edo state, nigeria akpovwovwo, u.e department of geography and regional planning delta state university, abraka. ufovosa@gmail.com akpovwovwo@delsu.edu.ng abstract the global environment has, over the years, come under intense pressure from population explosion and activities associated with urbanisation and industrialisation. in nigeria, evidence of this is characterised by the need for land for several purposes ranging from industrial, residential to agricultural, amongst others. consequent on these disturbances the integrity and sustainability of our forests have been greatly compromised. consistent information on protected forests in nigeria, for the purpose of efficient monitoring and management, are however limited. the okomu forest, in spite of its status as a national park, is under intense pressure from the surrounding communities and towns. information on the level and impact in the okomu forest is limited. this study therefore adopted the ecosystem approach, in examining the dynamics and present level of degradation occurring within the okomu forest. height, girth, crown diameter and density measurements were taken from ten quadrats of 20m by 20m in the disturbed and the undisturbed zones of the forest and a comparison carried out. the student t test, at the 0.05 significance level, revealed no significant difference between both zones in the height (t 110 = 0.139) and the girth (t 110 = 0.912). the crown diameter was however discovered to be significantly different in both zones (t 110 = 3.33). the tree numbers for both zones were seen to occur majorly in the earlier age classes ranging from 20m – 40m, with an exception occurring in the >80m class, confirming the trend of increasing degradation. location specific and eco-friendly sustainable strategies should be adopted to ensure efficient management of the okomu forest national park. introduction forests in africa, especially west and central africa, store up to 120 tonnes/ha of carbon being the some of the highest in the world (naazia & xiaoxue, 2016). this role ensures the sustainability of the global ecosystem and the survival of man. the inherent potentials of forests which form the crown of the plant kingdom as a resource cannot therefore be overemphasized. forests, generally provide a number of goods and services ranging from fuel wood, food, and medicine to a range of associated activities for the people within the vicinity and beyond. in addition, forests also carryout several services which positively impact the natural environment and ensure the efficient mailto:ufovosa@gmail.com mailto:akpovwovwo@delsu.edu.ng 2 running of the ecosystem, such as soil fertility preservation, preservation of water resources etc. (fao, 2002). intense pressure however arising from population increase and urbanisation have had significant impact on vegetation integrity and stability. corroborating this, fao (2001) noted that about 80% of the populace are dependent on forests for fuel wood. fao (2002) attributed the dismal state of the forests in the rural areas to high poverty level, in connection with relatively consistently rising population. in urban areas, the dependence, though similar is more of an indirect nature. it is however, known that the remaining available tracts of forests usually occur in close proximity with rural areas. the impact of disturbances, arising from anthropogenic pressure disrupts the delicate balance of the climax forest resulting in a chain reaction of changes, thereby altering its original character. several authors have noted that some of these changes are characterised by species composition , structure amongst others ( oke & oyedare, 2008; phil-eze & aratoke, 2017). consequently, the attempt by the degraded forests to return to their original state after any form of disturbance culminates in the emergence of secondary forests. secondary forests are an essential and important link in the succession process, with focus on the restoration and attainment of ecological integrity. chokkalingam and dejong (2011, pg 19) defined secondary forests are “forests regenerating largely through natural processes after significant human and/or natural disturbance of the original forest vegetation at a single point in time or over an extended period, and displaying a major difference in forest structure and/or canopy species composition, with respect to nearby primary forest on similar sites”. in spite of the noticeable differences observed in both the typical tropical and secondary forests, they both possess similar abilities to perform certain fundamental roles. notable of these include climate modification and regulation of the global carbon cycle, amongst others schroeder et al (2010), ademoh et al, (2017), liu et al. (2005), maness et al. (2012), o’halloran et al. (2012). it therefore follows that the management options for the typical forest would be generally similar, with variations limited to specifics. schroeder (2010) however noted that information concerning the extent of degradation and other basic characteristics such as species composition and forest structure are inadequate. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2351989416300968#b58 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2351989416300968#b60 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2351989416300968#b60 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s2351989416300968#b67 3 several interventions, in response to the issue of degradation of forests have emerged over time. notable of which has been the adoption of conservation policies and laws characterised by the setting up of protected areas. a protected area, according to the international union for conservation of nature (iucn), is defined as areas of land or sea “dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources, managed through legal or other effective means” iucn (2008) onojeghuo and onojeghuo (pg 500, 2015a). a case in point in the adoption of this strategy in southern nigeria has been the establishment of the okomu national park, in edo state. the okomu national park, was established as a forest reserve in 1912 by the british colonial government. the initial purpose for its designation was for timber exploitation. the okomu forest is generally referred to as the plateau forest of okomu. the okomu forest is rich in biodiversity and is characterised by a relatively high level of endemism. it is heterogeneous, being comprised of the rainforest, lacustrine, riparian and fresh water ecosystems ( ekeoba & ohuoemose, 2020). its establishment as a national park status, was instituted within the core of the forest due to intense pressure arising from high rates of exploitation and rapid population increase emanating from the margins onojeghuo and onojeghuo (pg 500,2015a). the annual rates of deforestation within the okomu forest for the period of 1987 -2011 are observed to be higher than that outside the reserve, owing to intensified agricultural activities, bush burning, amongst others (anadu, et al. 1988; eguavoen, 2007; osehobo, 2013). lee and oates (1999) however, asserted that much of the okomu forest is actually composed of mature secondary forest, evidenced by the presence of charcoal and pottery, at a significant depth in the soil profile. this can be attributed to the activities of previous human occupation. the consistently increasing impact of anthropogenic activities in the okomu forest cannot therefore be overemphasized. vital information on the structure and distribution of protected areas within the niger delta (being majorly regenerating secondary forests) is largely inadequate onojeghuo & onojeghuo (pp 486, 2015b). the need therefore for the capture of baseline data for the purpose of conservation, monitoring and management is imperative. in the light of the aforementioned, it becomes pertinent to assess the status of the okomu forest, presently, for the purpose of efficient monitoring on the level of regeneration or degradation. more insight on the nature and extent of maturity of the (present day) old 4 mature secondary forest as well as the extent of recovery of the disturbed areas needs to be assessed. it becomes necessary to assess the character across the forest, for the purpose of assessing the varying growth levels, based on the varying impact of anthropogenic activities. this is for the purpose of determining the influential factors involved in the process of growth and succession. this study, therefore examines the structural characteristics and species composition of both the disturbed and relatively undisturbed zones of the secondary forests of okomu. this is with the aim of obtaining a proper comprehension of the dynamics of the matured secondary forest as well as the determination of its succession level description of study area okomu forest (fig. 1) is characterized by a mosaic of swamp forest, high forest, secondary forest and open scrub. it is one of the major tracts of lowland tropical rainforest left standing in nigeria. it is, however undergoing extreme pressure emanating from anthropogenic sources owing to encroachment from surrounding settlements. further corroborating this, amusa, omonu, olabode, and newton, (2017) noted that about fifty thousand people in 45 villages live in and around the park. it is therefore continuously threatened by large scale illegal logging, the expansion of large rubber and oil palm plantations nearby, as well as incursions by a growing human population involved in farming and hunting. fig. 1: map of the okomu forest reserve in edo state 5 source: oladejo (2015) materials and methods the okomu national park, located in ovia south – west local government area of edo state, has an area of about 1083 km² and is about 75km west of benin city, nigeria (fig. 1). it is home to a number of endangered species (plant and animal) as well as the african mahogany family (meliaceae). stratified sampling was adopted whereby the study area was categorised into disturbed and undisturbed zones. measurements were taken from ten quadrats within each zone, of 20m by 20m quadrats, totalling twenty quadrats in all. the following measurements were obtained from within each quadrat viz: height, girth, crown diameter, density and species composition. the student t test was used to analyze the significant difference in the height, girth and crown diameter of the disturbed and undisturbed portions of the okomu forest, at the 0.05 significance level. result of findings the tree species encountered include; albizia ferruginea, albizia adiantifolia, albizia lebbeck, alstonia congensis, achyranthes aspera, acacia ataxacantha, ageratum conyzoides, acalypta ciliate, afzelia africana, aspilla africana, cyperus difformis, cnetis ferruginea, cyathula prostrata, dracaena manii, elaeis guineensis, entandrophragma angolense, funtumiaelastica, guarea cedrata, garcinia kola, ipomea involucrata, irvingia gabonensis, khaya grandifololia, khaya ivorensis, monodora myristica, mucuna pruriens, ocimum gratissimum, rauwolfia vomitoria, spondias mombin, terminalia ivorensis, urena lobata, xylopia aethiopica the mean structural values of height, diameter at breast height (dbh) and crown diameter of all the quadrats sampled are shown in table 1. these values show the general character and nature of the trees in both zones of the forest. 6 table 1: mean structural values for the disturbed and undisturbed zones of okomu forest mean height (m) mean dbh(m) mean girth (m) mean crown diameter(m) disturbed 54.8 0.87 2.7 3.0 undisturbed 54.3 0.90 2.8 4.1 source: fieldwork (2015) the values of the crown diameter, dbh and girth were seen to be slightly higher in the undisturbed than the disturbed, while the reverse is the case for the height, being slightly lower in the undisturbed. the student t test for significant difference at the 0.05 significance level of the various structural indicators in both zones is seen in tables 2, 3 and 4. table 2: student t test result on the tree height in the disturbed and the undisturbed zones of okomu forest. f sig t df sig. (2 taile d) mean differ ence std error difference lower 95% confid ence interva l of the differe nce heig ht equal variances assumed .00 2 .966 .139 110 .890 .503 3.624 -6.678 7.684 equal variances not assumed .138 77.101 .890 .503 3.634 -6.733 7.739 7 table 3: student t test result on girths in the disturbed and undisturbed zones of okomu forest f sig t df sig. (2 taile d) mean differ ence std error difference lower 95% confid ence interva l of the differe nce girth equal variances assumed 5.3 98 .022 -.912 110 .364 -.102 .112 -.324 .120 equal variances not assumed -.996 98.379 .321 -.102 .102 -.305 .101 table 4: student t test result on crown cover in the disturbed and undisturbed zones of okomu forest f sig t df sig. (2 taile d) mean differ ence std error difference lower 95% confid ence interva l of the differe nce cove r equal variances assumed 9.1 13 .003 3.330 110 .001 .890 .267 .360 1.419 equal variances not assumed 3.627 97.756 .000 .890 .245 .403 1.377 the student t test showed no significant difference in the height and dbh of the disturbed and undisturbed. the test values for the height are t 110 = 0.138, p > 0.05 and t 110 = 0.912, p > 0.05, for the dbh (tables 2 & 3). the tree crown diameter is however seen to be an exception, being significantly different in both zones, having a test value of t 97.756 = 3.627, p >0.05). 8 the relationship of the height classes with varying tree numbers, dbh and crown diameter are seen in figs 2, 3 & 4. fig 2: bar chart showing tree number for the different height classes in the disturbed and undisturbed zones of the okomu forest 9 fig 3: mean dbh for the different height classes in the undisturbed and disturbed zones of the okomu forest. fig 4: mean crown diameter for the different height classes in the disturbed and undisturbed zones of the okomu forest the tree number is seen to be higher in all the height classes in the undisturbed zone, with the exception of the 31m – 40m height class. the tree number in this class is even for both zones suggesting the occurrence of selective harvesting in the undisturbed zone within this class. the growth pattern of trees in both zones is seen to be similar. in fig 3, the dbh for the trees in the 31m -40m height class, in the 10 undisturbed zone, is seen to be much higher than that of the trees in the disturbed zone. in the lower height class of 21m – 30m, the dbh is similar in both zones. the dbh in the 31m60m and the > 80m height classes are seen to be even with a decline occurring in the 61m – 80m height classes, in the disturbed zone. in the undisturbed zone, however, none of the dbh in all the height classes is seen to surpass those of their counterparts in the disturbed zone, with the exception of the 71m >80m height classes. this further suggests that the size of the individual trees is not influenced by the availability of space as is the case in the disturbed zone but by the intrinsic properties of the species in question. the crown diameter in the undisturbed zone is seen to reduce gradually in the 71m>80m height classes. the crown diameter is higher in the undisturbed zone in all the classes, with the contrary occurring in the >80m class. this suggests that there is an absence of emergents, further confirming the secondary status of the okomu forest. discussion of results the similarity in the character of the disturbed and undisturbed zone, in terms of height and diameter at breast height (dbh), could be an indication of the fact that the relatively undisturbed area is gradually being influenced by the pressure emanating from the disturbed zone. degradation is therefore prevalent owing to easier access occasioned by the proximity of the disturbed to the undisturbed zones. the lowest tree numbers in the disturbed zone, is observed in the 20m – 30m and >80m. in the undisturbed zone however, the lowest tree number occurred in the 31 – 40m. the lowest tree numbers for both zones, comprise majorly of relatively younger trees, implying that the population of older trees exceeds that for younger trees. this suggests therefore, a reduction in the potential for the replacement of outgoing tree species over time, culminating in degradation (fig 2). selective harvesting is likely to be more prevalent in the 31m 40m height class, even though also apparent in the preceding class. this trend seems to be a major factor influencing low tree numbers observed in the initial classes. the least exploited height class in the undisturbed zone is that of the 41m-50m. the dbh for the height classes of 31m40m in the disturbed zone were significantly higher than their counterparts in the undisturbed zone. this situation could be due to selective harvesting and a number of other unknown factors which may 11 be location specific such as underlying soil, faunal activities or microclimatic setting etc. the dbh of the trees in the 31m-60m height class is also higher in the disturbed zone than that of the undisturbed. the trend in the disturbed zone is unusual as expected, with a rise from the 21m-30m class to the 31m-40m class, where it remains consistent and then reduces in the higher classes, with the exception of the > 80m class. the situation is not much different in the undisturbed with an inconsistent rise and fall, which is followed by a gradual rise in the higher classes of 71>80m class. the observed uneven nature across the height class, as against a gradual rise across the height classes (indicative of the natural matured tropical rainforest) signifies growth retardation. this is a further indication of the vulnerable state of the okomu forest. the generally higher dbh in the 31m-60m of the disturbed zone could be attributed to the lower competition for soil nutrients as a result of the fewer tree in the undisturbed. the highest crown diameter occurring in the disturbed zone as against the undisturbed zones, in the > 80m height class, is likely to be an indication of more space and fewer trees competing for the available resources. the pattern in both zones is however irregular, indicating influence of other factors. the implication of the crown diameters in the undisturbed zone being significantly higher, establishes the prevalence of ongoing degradation and a subsequent stall in the succession process. conclusion the status of the okomu forest as a secondary forest is not in doubt owing to its uneven structural nature, as against that of the natural forest which is structured in layers. a confirmation of the prevalence of degradation is depicted by the occurrence of fewer number of younger trees relative to older trees in both the disturbed and undisturbed zone. the implication of this is the reduction in the potential for the replacement of outgoing tree species over time. selective harvesting was identified as a likely factor affecting all dbh classes, except for those between 31-60m dbh class. both forest zones had no significant structural variations, implying the prevalence of factors of degradation occurring all across the forest. this is evidence of the break down and lack of enforcement of the conservation laws already in place. the potential therefore for the progression of succession in the okomu forest is almost completely eroded. this delicate imbalance and trend of degradation already established portends a bleak 12 future, for the sustainability of the fauna, flora and consequently the indigenous people within and around the area. recommendations in view of the aforementioned, the following are recommended: 1. further studies should be geared towards the adoption of strategies and interventions, as well as the implementation of already existing environmental laws. 2. selective harvesting can be tackled by the provision of cost effective and alternatives to fuel wood. 3. further research, which should be multidisciplinary in approach, is encouraged for the purpose of identifying location specific and environmental friendly strategies to ensure the boosting of forest recovery references ademoh, f.o., muoghalu, j.i., & onwumere, b. 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(2010). secondary forests in west africa: a challenge and opportunity for management, iufro world series vol.25, international union of forest research organizations (iufro). volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 140 strategic approach to gender issues in enugu state civil service amadi aroh onyia, p.c department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology. e-mail: igirigaro@gmail.com abstract this paper examined the issue of gender mainstreaming in our society with special focus on strategic approach to gender issues in enugu state civil service. this study was carried out in enugu state secretariat where the majority of the state ministries are located. eight research questions were formulated. the main objective of the study was to ascertain the level of application of gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service. survey design was employed and population of 12,560 civil servants was used. a sample of 400 respondents was drawn through probability sampling method by cluster, stratified and simple random techniques. the data were analyzed by the use of frequency tables and simple percentages. findings indicated that the extent of gender mainstreaming in the study area was too low; unequal distribution of position, power and privileges exist between men and women; women occupy very low status; while men occupy high status the relation of production between men and women was complementary and supplementary relation and that sexism, patriarchy, poor mainstreaming and gender discrimination are factors responsible for the women’s low status; low productivity, noncordial relationship and poor utilization of women’s potentials were the effects of poor gender mainstreaming and that the solution to the poor gender mainstreaming include elimination of gender stratification, appropriate training in gender analysis etc; serious involvement of men in gender and development work, adequate synergy between women and men etc were recommended keywords: gender issues; gender mainstreaming; high productivity; strategic approach. introduction in the past, violent protests of african women called for a rethinking but have not brought a lasting solution to the social problem of their marginalization (madu, 2015). the aba women’s riot of 1929 popularly known as women’s war (uchendu, 1995; onwubiko, 1991) against their marginalization and their demand for rights and dignity within the cultural context, led to social destruction and nearly brought down the oppressive colonial regime, but the problem has persisted till today according to madu (2015). a non-violent action which brings the parties (men and women) together for dialogue would bring a better and lasting change. this is the strategy known as gender mainstreaming. patriarchy which is the dominance of men in decision – making and governance are common across all the igbo groupings. in order to improve efforts to consolidate democratic governance and establish the foundations for socio-economic development in ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 141 contemporary nigeria, it is necessary to redress this gender inequality through gender mainstreaming by the application of strategic approaches. gender mainstreaming was established as a major global strategy for the promotion of gender inequality. this strategy was fashioned out for global economic, social, political, cultural development. it was first introduced in the beijing, china platform for action in 1995 during the united nations 4th world conference in beijing, china. gender mainstreaming in all facets of governance, economy and societal development is very important and desirable because of its discovered advantages. mainstreaming gender therefore, entails bringing the perceptions, experiences, knowledge and interests of women as well as men to bear on policy-making, planning and decision – making. mainstreaming is a process rather than a goal in itself, and attempts to bring what can been seen as necessary marginal or peripheral into the core business and key decision – making within an organization. igbo societies are communal in nature and individuals are subject to collective values, norms and practices. the igbo community effectively owns the decision – making process as a whole. enugu is in igbo nation and as such should employ different strategies and processes such as gender mainstreaming to ensure democratic governance, economic productivity and national development. given the gender discrimination in igbo land, one can question the validity of “egbebelu, ugo belu” (live and let others live) which is the popular igbo concept of justice that offers a strong traditional argument for gender equality and equity. in other words, the equal respect demanded of a woman towards a man is not demanded of a man towards a woman. umoren (2005) notes that: on the basis of gender inequality, nigeria cultures, with few isolated exceptions, generally deny women the right to participate in decision – making and leadership’ ...the right to hold an opinion, the right to a higher promotion. nigeria feminists claim that gender discrimination is not simply confined to traditional institutions, but is widespread. as in most nations, nigeria has a body of laws, which regulate and govern various aspects of both public and private life…….. however, the manner in which such laws are interpreted and applied is often inconsistent and varies based on subjective considerations, particularly in cases when women seek redress for their violations. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 142 gender sensitive research starts from the premise that women just as much as men are essential contributors to good governance and sustainable development. miller and razavi (1998) attest that such research places the complex experiences of women and men at the centre of analysis and the re-conceptualization and re-examination of issues gendered in work places. human behaviour is influenced and shaped by social forces and personal characteristics. work behaviour is a social behaviour. to understand gender related issues one has to build a joint construct of individual agents and their social cultural context (kashyap in dastidar, 2012). according to kashyap (ibid: 47) women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men’s. still, men report that women like children eat and do nothing. women work is rarely recognized. many maintain that women’s economic dependence on men impacts their power within the family. with increased participation in good income – earning activities through gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service; not only will there be more income for the family, but gender inequality should be reduced. in every part of the world, women’s roles and positions in the society is prescribed. one of the key aspects of every culture is the way it defines gender roles. almost, women are assigned to roles that are, subservient to those of men (dastidar, 2012). gender refers to the attributes associated with being male and female. gender is a socially constructed roles assigned to men and women on the basis of culture not nature. it is nurture – determined not nature determined (aroh, 2014). rather than being biologically determined, gender is a set of learned behaviour, shaped by expectations that stem from the idea that certain qualities, behaviour, characteristics, needs and roles are “natural” and desirable for men, while others are “natural” and desirable for women. gender is a critical element of power and inequality. women’s gender roles are generally accorded less political, economic, social and cultural value than those of men (dastidar, 2012).the concept of gender equality is conceptualized from a right based approach that all human beings are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without limitations set by stringent gender roles (kabonesea, 2005) gender equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s rights and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. gender equality is therefore, the equal valuing by society of the similarities and the differences of men and women, and the roles they play. equality is understood to include both formal and substantive equality, not merely simple equality to men. this shows that men and women are both complementary and supplementary (emily, 2006). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 143 gender equity on the other hands, is the justice and fairness in treatment and recognition of the potential and access to opportunities for both females and males. it refers to fairness and justice in the allocation of resources, benefits, positions and services to both men and women without bias (aroh, 2017). gender equity strategies are used to eventually gain gender equality. therefore, gender equity is the means while gender equality is the result of gender mainstreaming. gender mainstreaming refers to a process that is goal-oriented. it involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities such as policy development, research, advocacy/dialogue, legislation, resource allocation, planning, implementation and monitoring of programmes and projects. ensuring the involvement of women and men has recently become a desirable strategy at work places because of the obvious and discovered advantages. however, the nigeria millennium development goal 2005 report shows that less attention is being paid to gender mainstreaming in the country (madu, 2015). this supports the finding in this research of low extent of application of gender mainstreaming. the idea of gender mainstreaming came from the feminist movement’s initiatives and efforts to effectively address inequalities in the society in a sustainable manner for individual and collective development. gender mainstreaming should start at the policy level and feed into all the programmes and activities in every social organization such as in the enugu state civil service. literature review according to macionis (2002) back in 1900, just one-fifth of women were in labour force. in 2000, 60 percent of women worked for income, and three – fourths of working women did so on full time. the traditional view that earning an income is exclusively a man’s role is no longer true (macionis, ibid).the factors that changed most nations labour force included the decline of farming, the growth of cities, a shrinking family size, a rising divorce rate. thus most nations considered women working for income to be the rule rather than the exception. while the shares of women and men in the labour force have been converging, the work they do remains different. the u.s department of labour (2001) reports that nearly half of working women have one or just two job types. this report appears to be true in enugu state civil service. the administrative support work has the majority of working women, most of whom are secretaries or other office workers. these are often called” pink – collar” job because the highest percentage of working women ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 144 occuping the positions. another high percentage of employed women perform service work. most of these jobs are in child care, health care, food service according to u.s department of labour (ibid). overall, although more women now work for pay, they remain segregated in the labour force, in jobs at low end of pay scale, with limited opportunities for advancements and usually supervised by men (charles,1992).men dominate most other job categories, including the building trades, where 99 percent of brick and stones masons and heavy – equipment mechanics are men. likewise, 90 percent of engineers, 72 percent of physician, 70 percent of judges and lawyers, and 55 percent of corporate managers are men. at the top of the business world, men hold 94 percent of senior management jobs in this country. just six of the largest u.s corporations have only one woman as their chief executive officer (catalyst, 2001). in nigeria, very few offices are headed by women and where they are headed, they are still answerable to one man or the other on the top, be it in politics, economy, education etc. almost all the enugu state ministries are headed by male commissioners with a few exceptions such as ministries of gender affairs and women development, culture and tourism. almost all the permanent secretaries of the ministries are males. down to heads of department, directors, and deputy director, men occupy majority of these high offices. most sociologists believe that gender is a social construct that can be changed. just because no society has yet eliminated patriarchy does not mean that we must stay prisoners of the past (macionis, 2002). macionis (ibid) states that to understand the persistence of patriarchy, we need to examine how gender is rooted and reproduced in society a process that begins in childhood and continues throughout our lives. gender stratification in the workplace is easy to see according to u.s department of labour, (ibid:123). it states that female nurses assist male physicians, female secretaries serve male executives, and female flight attendants are under the command of male airline pilots. moreover, in any field, the greater a job’s income and prestige, the more likely it is held by a man. this supports the finding in this study that majority of working women in enugu state civil service occupy low statues. according to u.s department of labour (ibid) women represent 98 percent of kindergarten teachers, 83 percent of elementary school teachers, 58 percent of secondary school educators, 42 percent of profession in colleges and universities, and 16 percent of heads of colleges and universities. although, women make up an increasing proportion of the labour force, they are not equally represented throughout the occupational structure. there is both horizontal and vertical ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 145 segregation in men’s and women’s jobs (haralambos and holborn, 2013). according to haralambos and holborn, (2013) horizontal segregation refers to the extent to which men and women in different jobs. vertical segregation refers to the extent to which men have higher – status and higher – paid jobs than women. a way to examine horizontal segregation is to look at employment figures by occupation type. this also gives some indication of vertical segregation because some types of occupation tend to be higher – status and better paid than others. figures from the labour force survey (2012), show that women predominate in sectors such as health and social work, education, hotels and restaurants, while men predominate in construction, transport, storage and communication, and manufacturing, haralambos and holborn (ibid) hold that women face a number of disadvantages in paid work due to the following: a. they tend to be paid less than men b. they are more likely to be in part-time work. c. they tend to be concentrated in the lower reaches of the occupations in which they work. d. they tend to do particular types of jobs, usually those with low status. some explanations for these inequalities argue that gender inequalities in earnings are justified by the characteristics, behaviour or choices of women, while others see the structure of the labour market, or the patriarchal nature of the society as responsible. however, one remarkable challenge to male domination in work place comes from women who are entrepreneurs according to macionis (ibid). women now own more than nine (9) million small businesses – double the number a decade ago and more than onethird of the total. although the majority of these businesses are one – person operations, women have shown that they can make opportunities for themselves apart from large, male dominated companies and ministries. this indicates that if gender is mainstreamed in work places like enugu state civil service, women would tend to be more productive and valuable than men which will lead to good governance, robust economy and other social development. it has been noticed that the disadvantaged life of a woman starts at birth when every one is disappointed that the baby is not a boy (joss, 1990), women suffer cultural and policy biases which under value their contribution to development and prevent them from increasing the productivity of their labour as a work force. they face the same problems as men while having to carry out the full burden of household management and production (excluding reproduction) from which they get little support (sangiga, 1995). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 146 there has always been a strong link between patriarchy and prevalence of social inequalities, where the women have been relegated to a subordinated position in both private and public organizations (dastidar, 2012). gender mainstreaming is an obvious answer to this prevalent of social inequalities. gender mainstreaming is a process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. it is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. the ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality (reddy, 2006). mainstreaming strategy situates gender equality issues at the centre of analysis and policy decisions, medium-term plans, programmes, budgets, and institutional structures and processes. while mainstreaming is clearly essential for securing human rights and social justice for women as well as men, it also increasingly recognizes that incorporating gender perspectives in different areas of development ensures the effective achievement of other social and economic goals. mainstreaming can reveal a need for changes in goals, strategies and action to ensure that both women and men can influence, participate in and benefit from development processes. this may lead to changes in organization structures, procedures and cultures to create organizational environments which are conducive to the promotion of gender equality (uno, 2000) united nations (2000) states that it is critical to note that the strategy of gender mainstreaming does not in any way preclude the need for specific targeted interventions to address women’s empowerment and gender equality. what is needed is a dual strategy – gender mainstreaming complemented with inputs designed to address specific gaps or problems faced in the promotion of gender equality. gender mainstreaming is a development approach aimed at bringing into account all interests, concerns, perceptions, experiences, knowledge and all manifest and latent potentials of both men and women in an organization for equality and maximum outputs (aroh, 2017). it is considered necessary to integrate mainstream gender issues within the work of all government departments as departments and clusters play an important role in determining the rational for the allocation of resources, capacity utilization, development planning and service delivery improvement. as the nigeria public and private sectors shift towards results – based programming, this study is a strategic means to incorporate the integration of gender perspectives into government’s national programme of action. this, thus advocates that integrating gender ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 147 considerations in the national plan of action and the government wide results – based system are mutually reinforcing processes. reddy, (ibid) holds that the ultimate goals of the public service effort to mainstream and integrate gender are to strengthen the departments, ability to create the conditions for women and men to enjoy the benefits of the right to development. it includes both women and men in the public sectors as policy beneficiaries and implementers. reddy states that, from this goal, the public service derives the following sector wide objectives for its gender mainstreaming approach: 1. analytical reports and recommendations on policy and operational issues within each line function area of responsibility that should take gender differences and disparities fully into account with policy and strategy analysis approaches. 2. ensure that gender differences and equality are among the factors considered in assessing trends, problems and possible policy out comes. 3. specific departmental strategies should be formulated for gender mainstreaming. 4. ensure systematic use of gender analysis, sex-desegregation for data, and where appropriate, commissioning sector – specific gender studies and surveys. 5. medium term plans and budgets should be prepared in such a manner that gender perspectives and gender equality issues are explicit. 6. procedures and work processes should give attention to gender equality issues at critical decision making, steps of normal work routine, such as those related to preparing parliamentary documentation, establishing expert groups, commission, research planning, technical assistance activities. managers should take an active role in proving guidance for staff about the objectives and responsibilities of gender mainstreaming, and create a supportive environment for staff to explore issues of gender equality. therefore, against the foregoing, for good governance, sustainable economic and social development to take their rightful positions in contemporary nigeria societies, strategic approach to gender issues by mainstreaming gender should be holistically embraced. theoretical analysis: three relevant theories were reviewed and the study was anchored on one of them. the theories were structural – functionalism, human capital theory and feminism of which feminism was used as the framework. the structural – functional theory views society as a complex system ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 148 of many separate but integrated parts. from this point of view, gender serves as a means to organized social life. parsons (1954), a structural functionalist in his “gender and complementarity” observed that gender helps integrate society. gender according to him forms a complementary set of roles that link women and men into family units for carrying out various important tasks. women take primary responsibility for managing the household and raising children and girls are socialized into those “expressive” qualities like emotional responsiveness and sensitivity to others. men connect the family to the larger world as they participate in the labour force and boys who are presumed to be destined for labour force are socialized to be “instrumental” such as rational, self – assured, and competitive. this theory emphasizes the objective of this study that seeks to ascertain the relation of production between men and women in the state civil service which was found to be complementary and supplementary, an aspect of mainstreaming gender. human capital theory which is advocated by some economists, argues that women’s lack of commitment to paid employment is the cause of the disadvantages they suffer in the labour market. women often choose to take career breaks or to work part – time because they wish to combine work with raising a family. since they are likely to abandon or interrupt their careers at early age, women have less incentive to invest their time in undertaking lengthy programmes or training or education. they are therefore, of less value to employers than their more highly trained and more skilled male counterparts. on average, women will have less experience in their jobs than men because they are less likely than men to be in continuous employment. this makes it difficult for women to be promoted to higher – status and better – paid job. women are paid less than men because they are worthless to the employer. their lack of training, qualifications and experience, which all result from the demands of child care, creates disadvantages for them in the labour market. anne witz (1993) criticized this theory by arguing that even when women do work continuously without taking career breaks, they still tend to end up in the lower – paid and lower – status jobs because of patriarchal nature of job settings. kashyap (2012) has also argued that women work longer hours and their work is more arduous than men. still, men report that women like children eat and do nothing and this is because of inequality in the workplaces. feminism is the advocacy of social equality for men and women, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism. although feminists agree on the importance of gender equality, they disagree on how to achieve it whether through liberal feminism, socialist feminism or radical ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 149 feminism. radical feminism blames the exploitation of women on men. to a radical feminist, it is primarily men who have benefited from the subordination of women. radical feminists see society as patriarchal in which men dominate and rule the women. according to valerie bryson (1999) radical feminists see women as an oppressed group who had to struggle for their own liberation against their oppressorsthat is, against men. pamela abbot, claire wallace and melissa tyler (2005) argue that radical feminism is concerned with women’s rights rather than gender equality. marxist and socialist feminism do not attribute women’s exploitation entirely to men. they see capitalism rather than patriarchy as being the principle source of women’s oppression, and capitalists as the main beneficiaries. marxist and socialist feminism share much in common. they believe that women in paid employment are in disadvantaged positions as a consequence of the emergence of private property and their lack of ownership of the means or production, which in turn, deprives them of power. marxist feminism share the desire for revolutionary change with radical feminism in order for gender inequality to disappear. liberal feminism enjoys probably greater popular support than other perspectives (haralambos. and holborn, ibid; 106). this is largely because, its aims are more moderate and its views pose less of a challenge to existing values. liberal feminists aim for gradual change in the political, economic, and social systems. to the liberal feminist, nobody benefits from existing gender inequalities; both men and women are harmed because, the potentials of females and male alike are suppressed. for example, many women with the potential to be successful and skilled members of the workforce do not get the opportunity to develop their talents to the full, while men are denied some of the pleasures of having a close relationship with their children. the explanation of this situation, according to liberal feminists, lie not so much in the structures and institutions of society, but in its culture and the attitude of individuals. socialization in to gender roles has the consequence of producing rigid and inflexible expectations of men and women. discrimination which is a product of culture and rigid gender roles prevents women from having equal opportunities. the creation of equal opportunities especially in education and work is the main interest of liberal feminists. they pursue this aim through the introduction of legislation and by attempting to change attitude. they do not seek revolutionary changes in the society rather they want reforms that take place within the existing social structure. they work through democratic system since they believe that existing gendering qualities benefit nobody and are particularly ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 150 harmful to women. liberal feminists are willing to work with a any members of society who support their beliefs and aims abbott et al (2005) believe that liberal feminism is a modernist theory because of its emphasis on human progress thought rational though, its belief that a just society can be planned and its belief in emancipation. it stresses the right of individual and is based on the assumption that men and women are very similar to one another because of their shaped humanity. liberal feminism seems to have more impact than any other feminist perspective in improving women’s lives. walby (2011) argues that to some extent, gender mainstreaming has taken place through liberal feminism. this is a process according to her in which feminist project are becoming embedded in institutions of civil society and the state and are being placed on the mainstream agenda of government. while some feminist see gender mainstreaming according to haralambos and halborn, ( ibid; 107) as a threat to the independence of feminism and believe that there is a danger that it can lead to feminist demands being watered down, wallaby believes that it can sometimes be an effective strategy for development. this study was anchored on liberal feminism. walby (2011) even not a liberal feminist has suggested that liberal feminists have achieved a great deal by working within existing organizations and structures, championing the course of women through the process of gender mainstreaming. liberal feminists according to her have been able to utilize the idea of human right for example to achieve significant improvements for women working through organizations such as the united nations. the ideology, aims and approach of liberal feminist perspective in issues concerning both men and women made it best suited for the study. this theoretical view point needs to be adopted for issues relating to inequalities both in public and private organization like enugu state civil service. method this survey study was carried out at enugu state secretariat where the majority of states ministries are located. it was conducted during the first quarter of 2019 calendar year. the study was to ascertain the level of application of gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service in order to achieve gender equality and high productivity among the female and male workers of the work place. eight (8) research questions were formulated to guide the study and they include 1. to what extent is gender mainstreaming approach applied in enugu civil service? ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 151 2. who benefits most when mainstreaming is applied in enugu civil service? 3. what is the nature of gender stratification in enugu civil service? 4. what status do men and women occupy in enugu civil service? 5. what are the factors responsible for such status of men and women in enugu civil service? 6. what is the nature of relation of production between men and women in enugu civil service? 7. what are the effects of poor gender mainstreaming in enugu civil service? 8. what are the solutions to the problem of gender mainstreaming in enugu civil service? the following specific objectives were also examined in order to find out if the purpose or intention of the study in the problem identified was accomplished. 1. to ascertain the level of application of mainstreaming in enugu state civil service 2. to examine who benefits most when gender mainstreaming is applied in enugu civil service? 3. to ascertain the nature of gender stratification in enugu civil service? 4. to ascertain the status of men and women in enugu civil service? 5. to examine the factors responsible for such status in enugu civil service? 6. to ascertain the relation of production between men and women in enugu civil service? 7. to ascertain the effects of poor gender mainstreaming in enugu civil service? 8. to proffer solutions to the problems identified a population of 12,650 from the 29 ministries in enugu state were used and a sample size of 400 respondents were drawn by probability sample technique of cluster, stratified and simple random. the 29 ministries were clustered into 5 clusters as follows cluster i. ministry of agriculture cluster 2. ministry of education cluster 3. ministry of gender affairs and social development cluster 4. ministry of health cluster 5. ministry of labour and productivity each cluster contained 5 ministries making it 25 ministries contained in the cluster while applying simple random method in determining which ministry was to be selected having given ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 152 every ministry the chances of being selected. the workers were then stratified on the basis of sex and rank, and 80 respondents were simple randomly selected from each cluster accordingly and resulted in the 400 respondents. the distribution is as follows:the 40 males were on level 4-7 while 142females were on the same level; 86 males were on the level 8 – 12 while 54 females were on that level.66 males were on level 13 and above while 12 females were on the level. totaling 192 males and 208 females. questionnaire was the only instrument used for data collection and the 400 copies of the instrument were personally administered during office hours. 380 copies of the questionnaire were collated while 20 copies were not collated due to technical errors and misplacement by the respondents. the data were presented and analyzed by the use of frequency table and simple percentage. analysis of data the personal characteristics of the respondents and the research questions were presented in tables, analyzed and findings shown as follows: table 1: sex distribution of respondents sex frequency percentage male 188 49:5 female 192 50:5 total 380 100 sources: researchers’ field work, 2019 table 1 indicated that there were 188 males representing (49.5%) and 192 females representing (50.5%) that returned their copies of questionnaire out of 400 respondents sampled. the table showed that there were more female than male respondents, indicating that there may be more female workers than males in enugu state civil service. table 2: rank distribution of respondents rank/level sex frequency percentage sex frequency percentage 4-7 male 40 21.0 female 134 69.7 8 – 12 84 44.5 48 25.1 13 and above 64 34.5 10 5.2 total 188 100 192 100 source: researcher’ field work, 2019 table 2 indicated that there were 40 males (21.0%) on level 4 – 7 grade while females were 134 (69.7%), 84 males (44.5%) were on grade level 8 – 12 while females on the grade were 48 ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 153 (25.1%) and 64 males (34.5%) were on grade level 13 and above while 10 females (5.2%) were on the grade level. the table showed that the higher the grade level, the more the males, and the higher the grade level the lesser the females while the lower the grade level, the lesser the males and the lower the grade level, the more the females. this indicated more men in the high positions and more women in the lower positions. this supports the literature that women occupy low positions and are paid less in their workplace (umoren, 2005; haralambos & holborn, 2013). tables 3: extents of application of gender mainstreaming strategy in enugu state civil services. variables frequency percentage higher extent 60 15.8 moderate extent 80 21.0 lower extent 240 63.2 total 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. table 3 indicated that 60 (15.8%) respondents were of the view that the extent of application of gender mainstreaming strategy in enugu state civil service was high, 80 respondents’ view was moderate while 240 (63.2%) respondents’ view was low. the table indicated that there was low application of gender mainstreaming approach in the workplace, following 240 respondents’ view as against 60 and 80 respondents respectively. this supports the literature of nigeria millennium development goal 2005 report that less attention is paid to the approach (madu, 2015). table 4: beneficiaries of gender mainstreaming when applied in enugu civil service variables frequency percentage women 120 31.6 men 105 27.6 society 155 40.8 total 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. the above table showed that 120 (31.6%) respondents were of the view that gender mainstreaming benefits women, 105 (27.6%) and 155 (40.8%) respondents were of the men and society respectively. there is indication here that gender mainstreaming strategy will benefit women, men ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 154 and society at large supporting the literature (uno, 2000, aroh, 2017; tallcott parsons, 1954; abbott et al, 2005; walby, 2011; reddy, 2006). table 5: nature of gender stratification in enugu state civil service. variables frequency percentage unequal position between men and women 50 13.2 unequal power between men and women 65 17.1 unequal privileges between men and women 40 10.5 all of the above 225 59.2 total 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. the above table showed that the respondents views about the nature of gender stratification in the study area were as follows: 50 (13.2%) for unequal positions between men and women 65 (17.1%) for unequal power, 40 (10.5%) for unequal privileges and 225 (59:2%) for all the above. this shows that there were clear unequal distribution of positions, power and privileges of positions, power and privileges between men and women in enugu state civil service. this supports the literature from (us. department of labour, 2001, charles, 1992; catalyst, 2001; haralambos & halborn, 2013. table 6: status occupied by men and women in enugustate civil service variable sex frequency percentage sex frequency percentage high status male 320 84.2 female 85 22.4 low status 60 15.8 295 77.6 total 380 100 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. table 6 indicated that 320 (84.2%) were of the opinion that men occupied high status while 85 (22.4%) respondents opined that women occupied high status, 60 (15.8%) respondents view was that men occupied low status while 295 (77.6%) respondents were of the view that women occupied low status in the study area.the above table indicated that men occupied high status while women occupied low status in enugu state civil service.this aligned itself to the findings in table 2 of this study. this also supports the previous literature from (labour force survey, 2012; us department of labour, 2001; haralambos & holborn, 2013). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 155 table 7: nature of relation of production between men and women in enugu state civil service variables frequency percentage hostile 60 15.8 timid 80 21.0 complementary and supplementary 240 63.2 total 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. the above table showed that 60 (15.8%) respondents were of the view that the relation of production in the study area between men and women was hostile, 80 (21.2%) answered that it was timid while 240 (63.2) answered that it was complementary and supplementary. the above table indicated that the nature of relation of production in the area was complementary and supplementary. this supports the view of emily, 2006; parsons, 1954, and walby, 2011. table 8: factors responsible for the status of men and women in enugu state civil service. variables frequency percentage patriarchy 80 21.0 sexism 60 15.8 poor gender mainstreaming 80 21.0 all of the above 160 42.2 total 380 100 source: researchers’ field work, 2019. table 8 indicated that 80 (21.0%) respondents were of the view that patriarchy was the factor responsible for high status of men and low status of women in the study area; sexism was the factor according to 60 (15.8%), 80 (21.0%) respondents were of the opinion that poor gender mainstreaming was the factor while 160 (42.2%) respondents held that all the stated variables were the causal factors. .the above table showed that the entire variable stated above were responsible for the high status of the men and low status of the women due to social inequality perpetuated by these factors in the workplace. this is in line with the literature from macionsis, 2002, dastidar, 2012, anne witz, 1993. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 156 table 9: effects of poor gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service variables frequency percentage low productivity 140 36.8 non-cordial relationship between women and men workers 100 26.0 poor utilization of women’s potentials 120 31.0 high productivity 20 5.2 total 380 100 sources: researchers’ field work, 2019 table 9 indicated that 140 respondents were of the opinion that the effect of poor gender mainstreaming was low productivity in the workplace, 100 respondents held that it was noncordial relationship between men and women workers, 120 respondents stated that it was poor utilization of women’s potentials while 40 respondents said that the effect was high productivity . the above table showed that low productivity, non-cordial relationship and poor utilization of women’s potentials were the effect of poor gender mainstreaming in the study area. thus aligned with the literature from reddy, 2006 and valerie bryson, 1999. table 10: solutions to poor gender mainstreaming strategy in enugu state civil service. variables frequency percentage elimination of gender stratification 80 21,0 adequate training in gender analysis 60 15.8 affirmative action plans adoption 80 21.0 all of the above 160 42.2 total 360 100 sources: researchers’ field work, 2019 the above table showed that 80 (21.0%) respondent was of the view that the solution to poor gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service was to eliminate gender stratification, 60 (15.8%) suggested that adequate training in gender issues and analysis should be in place, 80 (21.0%) respondents answered that affirmative action plans should be adopted and 160 (42.2%) respondents opined that all the above variables should be put in place. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 157 it was recommended that all matters relating to gender inequality that lead to injustice and unfair treatment should be removed, serious involvement of men in gender and development issues should be encouraged, and adequate synergy between men and women for mainstreaming gender approach is also very important. conclusion in this study of strategic approach to gender issues in enugu state civil service, gender mainstreaming approach was looked into: literature and theories reviewed expressed inequalities between women and men in workplaces which were to the disadvantages of women. it was found that there was poor application of gender mainstreaming strategy in the study area which affected the individuals and society at large owing to several factors. it was revealed that gender mainstreaming strategy would benefit men, women and the entire society if applied. it was shown that there were more women workers than men workers in the study area but more men occupied high positions while more women occupied low positions. it was indicated that there were clear unequal distribution of positions, power and privileges between men and women in enugu state civil service; and men occupied higher status while women occupied lower status. it was observed that the relation of production in the area was complementary and supplementary between the men and women; and that patriarchy, sexism, and poor gender mainstreaming were responsible for higher status of men and lower status of women. it was discovered that low productivity, noncordial working relationship and poor utilization of women’s potentials were the effects of poor gender mainstreaming in enugu state civil service; and the solutions to the poor gender mainstreaming were elimination of gender stratification in the workplace, adequate training of workers in gender analysis and adoption of affirmation action plans enugu state civil service. gender mainstreaming approach is encouraged in this study for gender equity, equality and high productivity in enugu state civil service and other workplaces alike for sustainable economy and good governance. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 158 references abbott, p., wallace, c., & tyler, m. (2005). an introduction to sociology: feminist perspectives. 3rded, routledge, abingdon. aroh, a. (2014). introduction to sociology, 2nd ed. samchis printers, 4 presidential avenue, nkpokiti: enugu aroh, a. (2017). essential dictionary of sociology and criminal science. hi-marks multiple concept and tech. ltd, new layout: enugu. bryson, v. (1999). feminist debates: issues of theory and political practice. palgrave basingstoke. catalyst (2001). women corporate officers and to earners. basic books:new york. charles, m. (1992). cross – national variation in occupational segregation. american sociological review, vol. 57, n0 4, new york. dastidar, r. (2012). crime and women. concept publishing company ltd, new delhi. emily, e. (2006). engaging men in gender equality, positive strategies and approaches. institution of development studies, university of sussex haralambos and holborn (2013). sociology: themes and perspectives, 8th ed. harper – collins publishers ltd london. joss, s. (1990). your husband is your god. gadu park press, oxford, london. kabonesa, c. (2005). gender mainstreaming and implications for peace. in d. rodriguez and e natukunda – togboa (eds.), gender and peace building in africa (pg. 105) university press, costa rica kashyap, k. (2012). structural and institutional aspect of crime against women, in r.g. dastidar, crime and women (pg. 56). concept publishing company ltd, new delhi. labour force survey (2012). working and workless households. ons, london. macionis, j. (2002). society: the basics, 6th ed. prentice hall, new jersey. madu, j. 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(2005) theological basis of gender equality. in r. uchem (ed), gender equality from christian perspective (pg. 212) snaap press, enugu. u.s department of labour (2001). employment and earnings, washington, dc. walby, s (2011). the future of feminism. polity press, cambridge. witz, a (1993). women at work. in d. richardson and v. robinson (eds.) introducing women’s studies (pg:78) , macmillan, london page 1 35 social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of selfobjectification 1*nweke, k. o., 1dike, a. a., 1umeaku, n. n., 1ofoma, e. b., 1egbuna, c. i., 2oluwafemi, o.o., & 1azubuike, k.c 1department of psychology, nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. 2department of psychology, nigeria police academy wudil, kano. *correspondence:kingsleynweke73@gmail.com *orcid id: 0000-0001-7164-2762 abstract in the contemporary time of high internet over-drive, many female undergraduates are getting interested in ways they can acquire acceptable body parts. as a result, they consciously want to receive information from the online audience on how they are doing. this new disposition may have led to the new normal of not being comfortable with their body parts. this study examined social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of selfobjectification. the participants were made up of 100 female undergraduates who randomly volunteered from the faculty of management science of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. the participants comprised of ages ranged from 17 to 29 with a mean age of 22.04 years and a standard deviation of 2.75 years. three instruments were adopted in this study and they include the ten item personality inventory (tipi), the self-objectification questionnaire (soq), and the social-media-photo-upload-feedback questionnaire (smpufq). the social-mediaphoto-upload-feedback questionnaire (smpufq) was developed by the researchers in the course of the study. the appropriate design for the study is predictive design. multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis and the data was managed using the spss version 20.0.the first hypothesis which stated that social-media-photo-upload-feedback will positively predict self-objectification was not confirmed (b = -.04, p>.05). also, the second hypothesis was confirmed at b = .04, b < .05 for (agreeableness personality trait). it was recommended that female undergraduates with agreeable personality traits should avoid social media environments that have high tendency to respond to self-objectification. keywords:social-media-photo-upload-feedback, personality traits, self-objectification introduction it is common knowledge that most times women have been valued based on their physical appearance and not necessarily their abilities. it appears that from time immemorial, some of the roles played by females in society may have usually been apportioned to them based on the attractiveness of certain parts of their bodies. though times have changed, it appears perception of women in sexual contexts have not. in recent times, the modern industrialized society has persistently and pervasively objectified the female body. as a result, some females, who are either victims or witnesses of objectification, begin to view themselves through the lens of an external observer, thereby habitually monitoring their appearance whether in public or private settings. according to the self-objectification theory of fredrickson and roberts, a high degree of selfobjectification has emotional consequences. these emotional consequences include higher chances of experiencing certain negative emotions and lower chances of experiencing certain positive emotions. some studies have connected self-objectification with body shame, body dissatisfaction, and appearance anxiety (calogero, 2012; rodgers, chabrol & paxton, 2011). it becomes evident that people who objectify themselves are more likely to be dissatisfied with social-media-photo-upload-feedback their bodies and this, in turn, may cause timidity and poor social relation. furthermore, selfobjectification, which may be of great concern for female undergraduates, could lead to lower concentration and lower performance on physical and mental tasks (calogero, 2012). similarly, effects of self-objectification include eating disorders, loss of emotion, depression, and sexual dysfunction. it is believed that self-objectification impairs the ability of oppressed groups to act collectively on their own. on the foregoing, rests the motivation of the study on socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of self-objectification among female undergraduates. self-objectification implies that individuals start to view themselves as a body or object and concentrate on their physical characteristics rather than on what they can do or how they feel (fredrickson & roberts, 1997). self-objectification according to winn and cornelius (2020) is the adoption of an objectified self-perspective. self-objectification refers to the process by which women come to internalize and accept the beliefs that society projects upon them (mckay, 2013). self-objectification among female undergraduates can best be defined as “regular exposure to objectifying experiences that influences girls and women to engage in the objectification of themselves, whereby they come to internalize this view of themselves as an object or collection of body parts” (kroon & perez, 2013). lindner and tantleff-dunn (2017) gave two definitions of self-objectification, the first being the process of internalizing the observer’s view about the body; and the second being, the act of treating one’s body as if it were able to represent one’s self. self-objectification occurs when individuals treat themselves as objects to be viewed and evaluated based on appearance (rollero & de piccoli, 2017). therefore, self-objectification is a process whereby a female perceives herself as a collection of body parts having distinctive functions as a result of frequent objectifying stimuli from her social environment. according to objectification theories, there are two broad classifications of self-objectification which are; state self-objectification and trait self-objectification. according to moradi and huang (2008), state self-objectification refers to environmental, context-dependent factors that influence the adoption of an objectifying self-perspective. most women experience some degree of state self-objectification in situations where attention focuses on their bodies, such as posing for a picture in public, catching someone ogling at their breasts, or where their gender becomes a relevant characteristic of the immediate social context (fredrickson & roberts, 1997). according to vandenbosch, muise, eggermont, and impett (2015), when selfobjectification occurs owing to exposure to objectifying stimuli, it is referred to as state selfobjectification. on the other hand, for some women, self-objectification is experienced virtually all of the time, whether they find themselves in objectifying scenarios or not. in other words, the tendency to self-objectify comes from within as a trait and is not triggered by an external factor. this form of self-objectification is referred to as trait self-objectification (fredrickson & roberts, 1997). scholars reveal that self-objectification comes with consequences. according to rollero (2013), self-objectification reduces a female’s self-esteem and social skills. similarly, calogero and pina (2011) found that self-objectification escalates body guilt and causes increased negative emotions in women (tiggemann & andrew, 2012), as well as excessive drive for thinness (register et al., 2015), poor math performance, and body shame (kahalon et al., 2018), decreased cognitive performance (green et al., 2012), increased cardiac stress and reduced positive emotions (green et al., 2014), and other concentration problems (calogero, 2012). 37 a lot of studies have tried to examine the predictive and causative factors of selfobjectification. some studies have tried to establish a relationship between the use of certain social media sites and self-objectification. some of these studies have shown that women’s self-objectification increases when they encounter objectifying information in the media (karsay, knoll & matthes, 2018; jasmine, brydie & lenny, 2018). as opined in the study of calegero (2012) women’s portrayal of themselves online, combined with sexually objectifying stimuli may cause them to objectify themselves. recent studies have also been able to establish some form of relationship between the use of social networking sites (such as instagram, facebook) and self-objectification (tiggemann & slater, 2013; jasmine et al., 2018). according to rodgers, et al. (2011) the unique combination of peer influences and media depictions of idealized female bodies inherent to the sns environment provide ample opportunity for women to self-objectify and inspect their appearance based on these perceived ideals. media-related encounters of self-objectification happen in various forms such as; television and sports programs, television commercials, cartoons, animation, internet, music videos, music lyrics, video games, magazines and newspapers, cell phone apps, and billboards (calogero, 2012). the researcher hopes that self-objectification relates positively with socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback since the social-media-photo-upload-feedback is a new concept. the researchers assume that social-media-photo-upload-feedback can be defined as a response or reaction given by a social media audience about an individual's uploaded photos. these responses could come in the form of likes, comments, retweets, reactions, and followers, depending on the social media platform. this variable is made up of three concepts, social media, photo upload, and feedback. thus, it is simply defined as feedback by the audience on photos uploaded on social media. feedback is defined as a response from the receiver which gives the sender an idea of how the message is being perceived as well as areas for modification (nordquist, 2019). bell, cassarly, and dunbar (2018) defined feedback on social media uploads as the response of the audience in the form of likes to photos uploaded on social media. according to vendemia (2019), some of the feedback may be positive. . calogero et al. (2009) defined feedback in terms of appearance-related compliments, as criticism or compliments related to an individual about his or her appearance. there appear to be two types of social-media-photo-upload-feedback namely; direct feedback and indirect feedback. direct feedback can also be referred to as expressed feedback while indirect feedback could be referred to as implied feedback. direct photo-upload-feedbacks are feedbacks that are directly sent by the audience towards the photo uploader such as likes (bell et al., 2018) and comments (vendemia, 2019). on the other hand, indirect feedback occurs when feedback on social media is not expressed by the audience but is rather sensed and interpreted by the photo uploader. they include other forms of audience's reactions on social media such as; unfriending, blocking, ignoring posts, sharing posts, and following. generally, feedback to uploaded photos is intended to correct deviation between the expected result of the uploaded photo and its actual gratification. however, photo-related feedback has been found to have several negative consequences. such negative consequences include; body image disturbance and trait self-objectification (de vries & peter, 2013), body dissatisfaction and body image concerns (vendemia, 2019), and body shame, depression, and body surveillance (slater & tiggemann, 2015). how a female undergraduate assimilates the responses or feedback from her social media viewers/audience could also be connected to certain traits inherent in her personality make-up. this encompasses the way she thinks, perceives, or acts and is summed up as personality traits. the personality social-media-photo-upload-feedback traits of an individual can also predict levels of self-objectification. psychologists have long maintained that individuals’ personalities can greatly influence their personal experiences and how they relate to society. society, in turn, may also affect their personalities and personal experiences (miner-rubino, twenge, & fredrickson, 2002). personality traits are reflections of people’s characteristics, patterns of thinking, feelings, and behaviors (diener & lucas, 2020). according to american psychological association (2021), personality traits are defined as individual differences in characteristics patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. personality traits have also been defined as stable patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors which differ among several individuals (carotte & anderson, 2018). according to cherry and gans (2019), personality traits encompass all of the thoughts and behavioral patterns and social attitudes that impact how individuals perceive each other and their environment. the researcher, therefore, defines personality traits as the traits that are inherent at varying degrees in an individual and determines his or her thought, cognitive or behavioral patterns or processes. personality traits popularly summarized by goldberg in 1992 into the big five trait factors which include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. these five traits are hypothesized to be present in varying degrees in all individuals (soto, 2018). extroversion in individuals could trigger traits such as gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive emotions, warmth. individuals could express agreeableness through trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-mindedness. conscientiousness is expressed in traits such as competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, deliberation. neuroticism is associated with traits like anxiety, anger, hostility, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability. openness to experience includes traits such as ideas, fantasy, aesthetics, actions, feelings, values (lebowitz, 2016). certain personality traits have been associated with several negative consequences, with the majority of research focusing on the five-factor model (costa & mccrae, 2008). for example, neuroticism has been linked with increased vulnerability for the development of mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, psychosis, and substance abuse (jeronimus, kotov, riese, & ormel, 2016; kotov, gamez, schmidt, & watson, 2010; ormel et al., 2013). individuals high in neuroticism tend to be more reactive to stress and social cues, and more prone to anxiety (costa & mccrae, 2008). meta-analytic evidence also supports the link between lower levels of extraversion and the diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders (kotov et al., 2010). personality traits from outside the big five models have also been linked to clinical outcomes. for example, perfectionism has been linked with depression, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (limburg, watson, hagger, & egan, 2016), and narcissism has been associated with impulsivity, interpersonal conflict, and perfectionistic expectations (swami, cass, waseem, & furham, 2015). summarily, self-objectification would likely occur if objectifying feedback is conveyed to the objectified individual or if such an individual has some underlying characteristics that trigger self-objectification and these are the basis for the two forms of self-objectification. socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback reflects the opinion of the audience about the photo-related content uploaded by an undergraduate student, while personality traits are the collection of cognitive, and behavioral makeup of an individual. upon this background, rests the motivation 39 for the study on social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of self-objectification among female undergraduates. statement of the problem self-objectification has been a problem confronting females especially undergraduates for a while. earlier, studies had focused on different concepts in solving the problem of selfobjectification (jasmine, brydie & lenny, 2018; bell, cassarly & dunbar, 2018). yet the problem persists. scholars examined the association between self-objectification, positive feedback, and frequency of posting self-images on social media (bell et al., 2018), the role of selfies and social media photo activities in self-objectification and disordered eating (cohen, newton & slater, 2018), and effects of engaging in photo modification and receiving positive feedback on women's photographic self-presentation online (vendemia, 2019). others focused on the effects of portraying the self-online on women's self-objectification (de vries & peter, 2013), the impact of appearance-related commentary for women's selfobjectification (calogero et al., 2009), and the relationship between facebook photo activities associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls (maier & gray, 2014). despite these efforts, it appears that the problem remains. it appears that most of these studies were done abroad. it was observed that the variables of the present studies have not been given the attention they deserve. on these gaps in knowledge rest the motivation for the study on socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of self-objectification among female undergraduates. social-media-photo-upload-feedback and self-objectification bell, cassarly, and dunbar (2018) studied the association between self-objectification, positive feedback, and the frequency of posting objectifying self-images on social media. the selected sample was made up of 86 young women from the uk who were required to complete the selfreport measures of self-objectification and social media usage. 20 of their most recent images uploaded on instagram were downloaded and examined for self-objectifying content. selfobjectification was assessed using the self-objectification questionnaire of noll & fredrickson (1998) while positive feedback was measured by the number of likes amassed by uploaded images. the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, regression, and correlation analysis. the findings revealed that 29.77% of the participants' instagram images were objectified. positive feedback from the audience was not correlated with self-objectification or overall instagram use. however, a higher frequency of posting objectified self-images was associated with receiving more likes on this type of self-image. cohen, newton-john, and slater (2018) investigated the role of selfies and social media photo activities in self-objectification and disordered eating in young women. the selected participants were 259 young women (age 18 – 29; m = 22.97, sd = 3.25) who completed questionnaires on social network sites usage, self-objectification, eating disorder and other body concerns related variables. the body survelance subscale of the objectified body consciousness scale was used to measure self-objectification, while the photo activities measure was used to measure the practice of taking and sharing selfies online. the result of the correlation analysis shows that social media use was negatively correlated with selfobjectification. however, selfie-taking, selfie posting, photo investment, and photo manipulation had positive correlations with self-objectification. vendemia (2019) explored the effects of engaging in photo modification and receiving positive feedback on women’s photographic self-presentations online. the experiment was conducted social-media-photo-upload-feedback using 183 female undergraduate students to explore how the type of photo modification (appearance modifications, nonappearance modifications, or no modifications [control]) and nature of positive feedback (appearance comments vs. nonappearance comments) affect state self-objectification, state body satisfaction, pro-cosmetic surgery attitudes, and willingness to distribute selfies on social media in the future. results indicate that receiving appearance comments on selfies exerts a significant influence on women's state self-objectification. de vries & peter (2013) examined the effect of portraying the self online on women’s selfobjectification. the researchers conducted an online experiment with a two (priming stimuli: objectifying vs. neutral) by two (audience: online audience vs. no audience) in subjects scheme among 221 females between the ages of 18 years to 25 years. each of the respondents created a virtual profile, consisting of selecting an avatar and a brief description of themselves. the findings revealed that participants in the online audience condition self-objectified more strongly than did participants in the no audience condition. nevertheless, this relationship was only valid among females who had been informed of sexually objectifying stimuli. the results suggest that women's online self-portrayal if combined with feedback on sexually objectifying stimuli, may lead to self-objectification. calogero et al. (2009) examined the impact of appearance-related commentary on women's self-objectification. the study used an ethically dispersed sample of 220 college women who filled questionnaires on appearance commentary, trait self-objectification, and body dissatisfaction. appearance commentary was split into compliments and criticisms. the results of the analysis showed that appearance-related compliments induced self-objectification and body image dissatisfaction in women. meier and gray (2014) examined the relationship between facebook photo activity associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls. a total of 103 middle and high school females completed questionnaire measures of total facebook use, specific facebook use, weight dissatisfaction, and self-objectification. the study found that those who were exposed to elevated appearances or consumed certain photo-related information on facebook were more likely to self-objectify. personality traits and self-objectification miner-rubino et al. (2002) studied trait self-objectification in women focusing on affective and personality correlates. 98 college-aged women were selected as participants for the study and were asked to complete questionnaires of trait self-objectification, body shame, neuroticism, and depression. participants also completed the big five questionnaire of personality traits. the findings showed significant positive correlations between trait selfobjectification and each of the measures of negative affect. the results also showed that trait self-objectification was negatively associated with the agreeableness and intellect personality traits. also, no significant links were found between trait self-objectification and extraversion or conscientiousness personality traits. the regression results also show that trait selfobjectification is responsible for a significant portion of the variance in negative affectivity beyond other influences of personality. carrotte and anderson (2018) carried out a systematic review of literature that examined the relationship between trait self-objectification and several personality traits. selected review samples included pieces of literature available in the english language, literature published in a peer-reviewed journal, empirical works that employed quantitative methods, and literature 41 published before march 2018. the search discovered 2,636 distinctive articles from which the researchers selected 16 samples. the results were collated using narrative synthesis. the findings revealed that self-objectification was most significantly and positively associated with neuroticism, perfectionism, and narcissism across several studies. there was however, insufficient research was available to conclude on the relationship between self-objectification and other personality traits. theoretical framework the objectification theory provides a framework for this study. the objectification theory makes a clear channel through which objectification translates into self-objectification and it also accounts for the gender of the selected participants being the most likely affected gender. as it relates to the selected predictors, self-objectification was categorized into two forms, state self-objectification, and trait self-objectification. the state of self-objectification is being triggered by the state of an individual's social environment, such as the state of social media posts, or the nature of feedback gotten from viewers and other social contacts. therefore, it forms the basis upon which the researchers hypothesize that social-media-photo-uploadfeedback would predict self-objectification. in this context, social media acts as an environment within which a female undergraduate might find herself exposed to objectifying feedback. this could likely put her in a state where she begins to self-objectify. on the other hand, trait self-objectification is caused by factors that are inherent in the individual. these traits determine the way female undergraduates in this context perceive their environment and react to objectifying stimuli. therefore, it is not farfetched to examine personality traits as a predictor of self-objectification. certain personality traits encompass characteristics that make a person susceptible to self-objectification. according to previous research, personality traits that show significant compatibility with the assertions of the selfobjectification theory are entrenched in the neuroticism and agreeableness traits of the big five personality traits (allen & calestino, 2017; visser, sultani, choma & pozzebon 2014). characteristics of such traits include passiveness, empathy, collaboration, internalization of moral values, and the ability to take another's perspectives (nowe, 2017). these characteristics are also shown to be more associated with the female gender (rueckert, 2011; michalska, kinzler & decety, 2013). the objectification theory appears robust enough to explain the independent variable and the dependent variable of the present study. hypotheses 1. social-media-photo-upload-feedback will positively predict self-objectification among female undergraduates. 2. personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) will positively predict self-objectification among female undergraduates. methods social-media-photo-upload-feedback participants the population of interest in the study is female undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university.the study, therefore, involved 100 two hundred level female undergraduates from the department of business administration, faculty of management sciences of nnamdi azikiwe university, who volunteered. the choice of department was made using a simple random sampling method: different faculties in nnamdi azikiwe university, awka campus were rolled into folds of paper. the researchers put all the folds in a basket and one fold was taken out of the basket after shaking the basket rapidly for a while. the same process was adopted for the choice of department of study. participants were all christians. the participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 29 years with a mean age of 22.04 years and standard deviation of 2.75 years. instruments three instruments were adopted in this study and they include the self-objectification questionnaire (soq), and the social-media-photo-upload-feedback questionnaire (smpufq), ten item personality inventory (tipi). self-objectification scale (soq) the self-objectification scale (soq) is a 15-item questionnaire developed by fredrickson and roberts (1997). the questionnaire was developed to measure trait and state self-objectification. the soq has a 5-point likert scaling with response patterns which include; 1 for strongly agree; 2 for agree; 3 for neutral; 4 for disagree and 5 for strongly disagree. questions 1, 6, 8, and 11 are reversely scored. sample questions from the soq include; "my sense of self-worth is based largely on my physical appearance" and "how my body looks will determine how successful i am in life. the reliability and validity of the soq were tested by dahl in 2014 using the test-retest and the cronbach alpha respectively. the factor analysis was used to reduce the questionnaire from an original 30 items to 15 items. both the state and trait form demonstrated good reliability with test-retest scores of 0.82 and 0.89 respectively while cronbach alpha score of 0.81 and 0.87 for state and trait form self-objectification questionnaire respectively showed that the self-objectification scale is a valid and reliable measure of self-objectification. social-media-photo-upload-feedback questionnaire (smpufq) the smpufq is a 5-item scale developed by (nweke & egbuna, 2021), and is used to measure the extent to which a participant is affected by feedback received on his or her photo upload on social media. the ordinary principal component analysis was the aspect of factor analysis used for the scale reduction. it was necessary to conduct the factor analysis because it helped to establish the validity of the items on the newly-developed scale. kmo and bartlett's test results show a significant positive value at p<.001. the results show that items on the social-mediaphoto-upload-feedback are significantly correlated. furthermore, the scree plot shows only one distinct dot (see appendix). the result of total variance explained revealed that only one factor was extracted. these factors were shown in the table of communities to be items 1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 (see appendix). the reliability of these items is .79 for the 5 items. inter-item correlation among the 5 items reveal a positive and strong significant relationship. therefore, the socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback is found epistemologically robust for application on the local sample. the questions are all directly scored and have a 5-point likert scoring with response patterns ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). sample questions include; “derogatory feedback on social media affects my feelings negatively” and “i receive so much feedback on the pictures uploaded on social media” 43 ten item personality inventory (tipi) the ten item personality inventory (tipi) is a ten-item scale designed by gosling et al. (2003) and is a summarized scale used to measure the goldberg's big five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). the items on the scale have a 7-point likert scoring and response pattern covers 1 (strongly disagree); 2 disagree moderately; 3 disagree a little; 4 neither agree nor disagree; 5 agree a little; 6 agree moderately and 7 (agree strongly), which implies a score ranging from 10 to 70. items 2, 4, 6, 8 and10 are reversely scored. sample questions include: "i am extraverted and also enthusiastic" as well as "i am reserved and usually quiet". the reliability and validity of the tipi were tested in portugal by nunes, limpo, liman, and castro (2018). the reliability was tested using the test-retest method while the cronbach alpha was used to test for the validity of the questionnaire. the results revealed reliability coefficients (0.71), similar to the original version (0.72; gosling et al., 2003). the findings also showed convergent validity (rs > 0.60) with the big five personality inventory. the original tipi scale showed a cronbach alpha of 0.68 while the cronbach alpha was 0.71 in the study of nunes et al. (2018). procedure the sample of the study was selected using probability sampling techniques. for instance, the participants were met in their respective classrooms. the researchers introduced themselves and informed them the study was strictly for academic purposes. the study was conducted in the faculty of management sciences in nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. respondents who were willing to complete the questionnaires were issued with copies of the questionnaires without much delay. the researchers afterward assured the students of confidentiality and anonymity. the researcher distributed the questionnaires to 100 participants and maintained proximity until they had finished filling them. this was done to ensure that the participants could be cleared on certain issues encountered in the course of filling the questionnaires. it also ensured that there was no incidence of the unreturned questionnaire. the questionnaires were then retrieved directly by the researchers. design and statistics this study adopts a correlational design to examine the relationship between selfobjectification and the predictor variables. the multiple regression analysis was used to examine this relationship and the data was managed using the spss version 20.0 social-media-photo-upload-feedback results table 1: standardized coefficients, mean and standard deviation results for independent effects of social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits in self-objectification predictor variable adjustedrsquared df1(df2) f mean std deviation b std error model1 .049 7(99) 1.73 smpuf 3.02 .402 -.04 .15 extroversion 4.35 1.23 .22 .66 openness 5.29 1.70 -.17 .05 conscientiousness 5.32 1.82 .08 .05 agreeableness 5.30 1.61 .04** .05 neuroticism 3.87 1.32 -.14 .06 **p<.01, *p<.05, adjusted r2 , smpufq, extroversion, openness to experience, neuroticism, agreableness, conscientiousness. the results of table 1 showed that when enter method was applied to social-media-photoupload-feedback and personality trait on self-objectification, the adjusted r2 = .049. this means that the multiple models contribute 4.9% in understanding self-objectification. the anova summary (f ratio) shows that the adjusted r2 value is not significant at f (7, 99) = 1.73, p> .05. specifically as shown in table 1, the beta value for standardized coefficients were; socialmedia-photo-upload-feedback b = -.04, p > .05, while personality traits: extraversion, b = .22, p > .05, openness b = -.17, p> .05, conscientiousness b = .08, p>.05, agreeableness b = .04*, p <.05 and neuroticism b= -.14, p> .05. therefore, the above results show that only agreablenesss (personality trait) predicted self objectification. discussion this study examined social-media-photo-upload-feedback and personality traits as predictors of self-objectification among female undergraduates. the study was guided by two hypotheses and these hypotheses were tested using the multiple regression analysis. based on the results of the regression analysis, the first hypothesis which stated that social-media-photo-uploadfeedback will positively and significantly predict self-objectification was not confirmed (b = .04, p>.05). the present result is not consistent with previous studies. for instant earlier studies by bell, et al., (2018), found that more likes from the audience was positively associated with self-objectification or overall instagram use among women in the uk. also, vendemia (2019) reported that receiving feedbacks increases objectification. similarly, these findings were consistent with the study by cohen, newton-john, and slater (2018) who found that online photo activities had positive correlations with self-objectification as well as the findings of vendemia (2019) who found that receiving appearance comments on selfies exerts significant influence on women’s state self-objectification. these findings may be explained in the objectification theory. according to the theory of objectification, females have high tendency to feel dissatisfied with some parts of their bodies. as a result are motivated to receive reassurance about how the audience perceive them. in line with this thought, these feelings could be as a result of the social environment where the females find themselves or as a result of their inherent traits. since the social media places individuals in a global village, the global environment is automatically activated with posts and feedbacks. 45 accordingly, when individuals are dissatisfied with their body parts, they may be moved to post pictures of these parts, when these post are uploaded, audience sends feedbacks. according to the theory, positive feedbacks, may serve as a form of reinforcement that may in turn lead to individual to continue with more post in other to maintain the status quo. however, negative feedback may lead to more efforts work on those parts of the body that audience are not comfortable with and a repost for confirmation or reassurance. however, if efforts to improve and receive assurance of acceptance by the audience fails it may likely lead to depression, anxiety and other forms of psychological and physiological challenges. from the present study, result shows that perhaps the study participants were not objectified. as a result, were not actually concerned about photo upload feedback. therefore, this environmental state did not quite polarize them in such a way to objectify self. on the other hand, the second hypothesis which states that personality traits will positively predict self-objectification was confirmed on agreeableness trait. this finding is inconsistent with the work of carrotten and anderson (2018) that reported positive association between neuroticism, perfectionism and narcissism on self-objectification. there appears to be paucity of studies between personality traits and self-objectification. however, the earlier work of miner-rubino et al. (2002) also used the big five personality traits and their findings however showed strong associations between trait self-objectification and extraversion or conscientiousness personality traits which is inconsistent with the result of the present investigation. furthermore, the objectification theory may explain the discrepancy in empirical findings. for instance, the trait aspect of self-objectification holds that some individuals possess more traits that predispose them to objectify self. therefore, depending on the prevailing state (environment), such persons may objectify self-more than others simply by virtue of possession of such traits. therefore, in line with the present study, individuals with agreeableness may possess such traits. limitations of the study certain conditions limit the generalizations of the findings of this study. they include; a low sample size might not be representative of the population of the study. the study was only conducted in one university and as a result generalization to other universities may prove difficult. the study is based on self-reported scales distributed to the respondents. suggestion for further studies it was recommended that female undergraduate with agreeable personality traits should avoid social media environment that has high tendency to respond to self-objectification. this is because their dispositional traits may place them in a compulsory behavior of being drawn to the dynamics of norm and culture of those likes, comments and feedbacks from online audience. it is suggested that more work is needed to explore the dynamics of self objectification among undergraduates. also, efforts should be made to engage in such study among adolescents groups so that it will increase body of knowledge in curbing the challenges of self objectification. summary/ conclusion the study concludes that social media photo upload feedback did not predict self objectification among female participants of the present study. also, personality traits predicted self objectification among participants of the present study on agreeable personality trait alone. social-media-photo-upload-feedback this means that other personality traits did not predict self objectification among the participants of the present study. references allen, m. & calestino, s. 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(2014). short scales five misunderstandings and ways to overcome them. journal of individual differences, 35, 185-189 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2007.02973.x 51 appendix social-media-photo-upload-feedback questionnaire (smpufq) instructions: please for each of the statements, select one of the options from strongly agree to strongly disagree to indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements based on how it relates to you. s/n statements strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree 1 i am visible on the social media platforms 2 i always upload my picture on the social media platforms 3 i feel bad about dislikes on social media. 4 derogatory feedback affects the number of my followers 5 i upload more photos after complementary feedback volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 45 influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on the health seeking behaviour of hypertensive patients in enugu urban ogbonna godswill o. kalunta obiageli omeje aigbiremhon joseph i. department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology, enugu state, nigeria abstract this study investigated the influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on health seeking behaviour of hypertensives in enugu, urban. one hundred and twenty-four participants comprising 72 males and 52 females between the ages of 40 to 79 years (m=60.19, sd=12.07) were used in the study. they were sampled, using multi-stage sampling technique (cluster and odd-even sampling techniques). three instruments were used in data collection, namely; wallston, wallston and devellis (1978) 18items multidimensional health locus of control, bastool (2009) 56-item emotional intelligence scale and osama (2003) 30-item health-seeking behaviour scale. a cross-sectional survey design was adopted while 2 x 2 anova with unequal sample size was applied in statistical analysis. the results revealed that locus of control showed a significant influence on poor health seeking behaviour of hypertensives. (f(1,120)=12.81, p<.001) while emotional intelligence revealed no significant influence (f(1,120)=7.49, p>.007 ). however, a significant interaction was observed. (f(1,120)=3.92, p<.05). the internals (62%) were reportedly engaged in health-related behaviours more than the externals (37%). it was concluded that locus of control had significant influence on the poor health seeking behaviour of hypertensives. it was also observed that the high emotional intelligent, were less involved in health compromising behaviours whereas the low emotional intelligent were more prone to compromise to health damaging behaviours, hence poor health seeking behaviour. it correlated with health seeking behaviour but had no influence on the hypertensive poor health seeking behaviour. keywords: locus of control, emotional intelligence, health seeking behaviour, hypertensive introduction hypertension is a common and major public health problem associated with a high level cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide (lim, vos, flaxman, danaei, shibuya, adair-rohani, & aryee, 2013). it remains the major risk factor for heart failure in nigeria (ogah, okpechi, chukwuonye, akinyemi, onwubere, falase, & sliwa, 2012). hypertension (also known as high blood pressure) occurs when the blood pressure is consistently higher than 140 over 90 mmhg (millimeter mercury) when measured with sphygmomanometer (world health organization, 2004). according to american heart association (2006) normal blood pressure is below 120 systolic and below 70 diastolic, pre-hypertension is 120139 systolic or 80-89 diastolic, stage 1 high blood pressure (hypertension) is 140-159 systolic or 90-99 diastolic, stage 2 high blood pressure (hypertension) is 160 or 100 or higher diastolic and hypertensive crisis ( a medical emergency ) is when the blood pressure is above 180 systolic or above 110 diastolic. generally, hypertension is symptomless except when complication has set in, that is when moderate to severe symptoms appear .hypertension is characterized by severe headache, fatigue, confusion, visual problems, chest pain, difficulties ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 46 in breathing, insomnia, irregular heartbeat, protein in urine (proteuria), pounding in the chest, neck or ears and it can lead to complications and damages such as heart attack and kidney failure. abdullahi and amzat (2011) declared that more than 11% of nigerian adults are living with the illness. a recent community based study of rural and semi urban population in enugu reported that the prevalence rate of hypertension in nigeria at 32.68% (ulasi, ijeoma, & onodugo, 2010) with working class adults constituting the main risk group. despite the prevalence of and effects, omuewu, okejie and omuewu (2008) found low level of awareness of hypertension globally. the level of detection treatment and control of hypertension is one of the issues usually considered in dealing with perception and practice of regular blood pressure monitoring. in nigeria, awareness is poor as only 33.8% of hypertensive are aware of their blood pressure condition, inspite of the fact that it has devastating consequences. (familoni, 2002; akinkugbe, 2003; kadiri, 2005). generally, health-related behavior involves a variety of behavior patterns, actions and habits which bear relevance to health maintenance, restoration, or improvement (gochman, 1988). various factors have been reported to be associated with preventive and risky health-related behavior, including socioeconomic status, personality, emotional and cognitive factors (sutton, bickler, sancho-adrige& saidi, 1994). however, health seeking behavior is activity engaged in by people that has impact on their health status (kasl & cobb, 1966). health seeking behavior is a very strong factor in health or illness and the quality of health of individual or even a nation depends to a reasonable extent on the intensity of health-seeking behavior (omeje, 2012). among the many factors that have been associated with health seeking behavior is a person’s locus of control. this was originally developed within the framework of rotter’s (1954) social learning theory. the locus of control construct refers to the degree to which an individual believes the occurrence of reinforcement is contingent on his or her own behavior. the factors involved with reinforcement expectancy are labeled “external” and “internal” control. as a general principle, the locus of control variable may be thought of as affecting behavior as a function of expectancy and reinforcement within a specific situation (carlisefrank, 1991). personality constructs like the locus of control (loc) can influence health behavior and impact on illness and treatment (singh, 2011). futhermore loc concept which stems from rotter’s social learning theory, (lynam, catley, goggin, rabinowitz, gerkovich, williams & wright,2009), posits that individuals can be differentiated in terms of their internal or external sources of control. people with an internal loc take responsibility and decision without any form of influence from the external world. studies have shown that internally-driven people are more likely to adhere to prescribed treatment regimens because they believe in their ability to influence their health (burkhart & rayens, 2005; omeje & nebo, 2011). conversely individuals with external loc assign their experiences to forces in the outer world such as chance, fate or other people. externally-driven people are thought to be less likely to adhere to therapy because of their belief that their actions may not ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 47 appreciably affect health outcomes (halimi, pry, pithon,godard, varrin & chanez 2010; combes & feral, 2011). emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, and the ability to manage self-relevant emotion and to mange other’s emotion in a socially acceptable way (ciarrochi, chan & caputi, 2000). it involves an interaction between emotion and cognition in such a way that it leads to adaptive functioning (salovey & grewal, 2005). emotional intelligence has been shown to influence people’s behavior including health-seeking behavior (ciarrochi et al, 2000). people high in emotional intelligence tend to have more sources of social support from extended family and friends and thus have more opportunities for seeking health-related information (ciarrochi et al, 2000). the highly emotional intelligence people are more likely to recognize when they are distressed which could lead to health-seeking behavior. finally they are likely to have better skills at managing the emotions of others which increases the probability that their health-seeking behavior will be more successful in engendering an appropriate care or help response. in other words, locus of control and emotional intelligence seems to be among the factors that influence health-seeking behavior hence the present study explored these relationship among hypertensive in igbo culture, since most of the studies were done in the western cultures. theoretical overview all the theories reviewed have contributed immensely to the understanding of the influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on health seeking behaviour among hypertensive patients. for instance, in health seeking behavior, health belief theory posited that one has to consider certain factors before engaging in health-seeking behaviour, such factors as susceptibility, severity benefits and barriers. protection motivation theory posited that people engage inbehaviour such as health-seeking behaviour because of motivation to protect oneself against a health threat. self-efficacy theory maintained that the determinants of behaviour such as health-seeking behaviour are perceived self-efficacy and outcome expectancies, hence, portraying the persons as being in control of his/her health-seeking behaviours. the self-regulatory theory maintained that information is the key in determining how far someone can fare in behaviour such as health-seeking behaviour. on the part of locus of control, attribution theory states that individuals formulate attribution in understanding, predicting and controlling their environment as well as in explaining it. social learning theory maintained that learning is the key to engaging in any given behaviour such as health-seeking behaving and also in determining emotional intelligence. also, in emotional intelligence, ability theory explained the importance of ability in emotional intelligence. trait theory opined that emotional intelligence dwells with personality which is an enduring trait that will help one to behave well in the face of tough situations. however, among these theories, the theory of reasoned actions which holds that health seeking behaviour depends on behavioural intent, attitudes, beliefs and evaluations of behavioural outcomes, subjective norms and normative beliefs. thus the study will be anchored on this theory. in addition the empirical studies have consistently shown that people with internal locus of control engaged more in health-seeking behaviour than externals. and high emotional intelligence linked with health ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 48 seeking behaviour. however, most of these findings have been drawn from studies conducted in europe and united states of america with little if not non from africa especially nigeria. moreover, these studies focused on locus of control and emotional intelligence on healthseeking behaviour in relation to other diseases without any on hypertension and hypertensive patients, hence the need for this present study in part if not in whole to bridge the gap created by the dearth of empirical evidence on the influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on health-seeking behavior of hypertensives in this part of the world. method participants a total of 124 participants comprising 72 males and 52 females between the ages of 40 to 79 years (m= 60.19, s d =12.07) we're sampled from the population of hypertensive patients (whose blood pressure is consistently higher than 140 over 90mmhg millimeters of mercury) who attend clinic and receive medication (hypertensive drugs) from university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu state, university of science and technology hospital enugu using multi -stage sampling technique (cluster and odd-even sampling techniques). instruments three instruments were used in this study namely: wallston, wallston and devellis (1978) 18-item multidimensional health locus of control, bastool (2009) 56-item emotional intelligence scale and osama(2003) 30-item health-seeking behaviour scale. multidimensional health locus of control (form a) the multidimensional hloc scale is an 18-item self report questionnaire developed by wallston, wallston and devellis (1978) designed to assess an individual's preferred control orientation with respect to health. scores were obtained for three dimensions of hloc: internal, chance and powerful others. the powerful others items specified others to be primarily health professionals. scale scores were obtained by summing across items associated with those subscale appropriate for form a as identified by wallston, wallston and devellis (1978). the score on each subscale is the sum of the values circled for each item on the subscale (i.e. where 1= "strongly disagree" and 6= "strongly agree"). the estimated reliability was 0.74 for internal hloc, 0.66 for chance hloc and 0.72 for powerful others hloc. the researcher carried out a pilot study to determine internal consistent and factor analysis of items using 87 participants from anambra state university teaching hospital, awka. the outcome showed that item components were above 50 a reliability coefficient of alpha 6.2. emotional intelligence scale (bastool, 2009) bastool (2009) 56-item emotional intelligence scale was used in measuring the emotional intelligence of the participants. this scale measures the ability the ability of an individual to understand his or her emotions and that of others for effective interpersonal interaction. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 49 scoring :the scale has four point likerttype response format of always= 4, often =3 , sometimes= 2 and never =1, ten -items(7,9,13,17,26,30,42,47,48 and 49) have reverse scoring while the remaining have direct scoring. the highest score in the emotional intelligence scale was 194 and the lowest score was140. bastool (2009) reported cronbach alpha of 0.95 and split-half reliability of 0.92 for the scale. ifeoma (2015) reported cronbach alpha of 0.73 and split -half reliability of 0.77 ifeonu (2015) also correlated bastool (2009) 56-item emotional intelligence scores with eysenck (1991) general intelligence scores and obtained coefficient value of 0.30 this helped to establish the convergent validity of bastool (2009) emotional intelligence scale. health seeking behaviour questionnaire osama (2003) 30-item health seeking behaviour questionnaire was used in measuring health seeking behaviour of the participants. the instrument has five response options ranging from 5 (always), 4(often),3(sometimes),2 (fairly) to1(never). a highest possible score of 150 and lowest possible score of 30 can be obtained at any given time. scores in the range of 3090 indicate low health seeking behaviour which scores higher than 90 indicate high healthseeking behavior. osama (2003) reported split-half reliability of 0.67 and spearman brown correlated coefficient of 0.80. he also reported intrinsic validity of 0.89 for the questionnaire. procedure first, the researcher obtained letter of introduction from the head of department of psychology, which i took to the chief medical director of the hospitals where the participants were sampled. secondly, the researcher formally wrote the chief medical directors of university of nigeria teaching hospital and enugu state university of science and technology teaching hospital. this application and letter of introduction enabled the researcher obtain an approval from the management of these hospitals to use their hypertensive patients as participants for the study. upon approval, the researchers divided the two hospitals into two clusters. in each cluster (hospital), the researcher with assistance of the medical doctors, nurses and other health personnel made use of the attendance register of hypertensive patients who attended clinic for check-up. the researcher using odd-even sampling technique picked only the patients whose name fall within the odd numbers. these sampled participants were given 144 copies of the questionnaires measuring health locus of control, emotional intelligence and health-seeking behavior. they were instructed to go home with these questionnaires, read them carefully, complete them and return them the next checkup date. these were the procedure in the two clusters. however, 124 copies of the questionnaire properly completed and returned were used for data analysis and testing of the hypothesis. design/statistics cross-sectional survey design was used. a cross-sectional survey design is used to collect data to make inferences about a population of interest at one point in time (golberg, 1992) and it is a snapshot of the population under study (ellis, 1998). two-way analysis of variance ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 50 of test was also used as a statistical test for data analysis because of the two independent factors (locus of control and emotional intelligence) each with two levels on one dependent factor (health-seeking behavior).two-way analysis of variance f-test enabled the researcher assess the main effect of each independent variables on the dependent variable (george, 2008). results table i: summary table of means on influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on health-seeking behaviour of hypertensive patients. health locus of control emotional intelligence mean n internal hloc low ei 97.87 38 high ei 99.39 31 total 98.55 69 external hloc low ei 92.21 24 high ei 96.71 31 total 94.75 55 total low ei 95.68 62 high ei 98.05 62 total 96.86 124 dependent variable: health-seeking behaviour from the table i above hypertensive patients with internal health locus of control (hloc) obtained a total mean of (x = 98.55) while those with external hloc obtained a total mean of (x = 94.75). on the same note, hypertensive patients with high emotional intelligence (ei) obtained a total mean of (x = 98.04) while those with low ei obtained a total mean of (x = 95.68). regarding the stated hypotheses, internal hloc hypertensive patients with high ei obtained the highest group mean of (x = 99.39) followed by internal hloc hypertensive patients with low ei of (x = 97.87) and external hloc hypertensive patients with high ei of (x = 96.71) and external hloc hypertensive patients with low ei with the lowest group mean of (x =92.21). thus, a high mean indicates high health-seeking behaviour while a low mean indicates low health-seeking behaviour. so, a mean above the norm (90.00) was the basis for adjudging a participant’s degree of engagement in health-seeking behaviour. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 51 therefore, hypertensive patients irrespective of their locus of control and emotional intelligence showed a relatively high degree of engagement in health seeking behaviour. hence, hypertensive patients engaged in health-seeking behaviour. table ii: summary table of two-way anova on influence of locus of control and emotional intelligence on health-seeking behaviour of hypertensive patients. source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 756.627a 3 252.209 2.502 .063 intercept 1125521.408 1 1125521.408 11165.848 .000 health locus of control 524.640 1 524.640 5.205 .024 emotional intelligence 273.517 1 273.517 2.713 .102 health locus of control * emotional intelligence 67.143 1 67.143 .666 .416 error 12096.042 120 100.800 total 1176273.000 124 corrected total 12852.669 123 dependent variable :health-seeking behaviour a. r squared = .059 (adjusted r squared = .035) b. computed using alpha = .05 from table ii above, calculated value of f(1,120) = 5.21, p<.02 level of significance, revealed a significant influence of health locus of control on hypertensive patients health-seeking behaviour. this indicated that locus of control of hypertensive patients had remarkable influence on their high health-seeking behaviour. meaning that, high health-seeking behaviour of hypertensive patients anchored on their locus of control whether internal or external. also, calculated value of f(1,120) = 2.71, p>.10 level of significance, showed no remarkable influence of emotional intelligence on hypertensive patients health seeking behaviour. this indicated that hypertensive patients’ low ei or high ei had no influence on their high healthseeking behaviour, as there is no remarkable difference. meaning that, the ei of hypertensive patients, whether low or high had nothing to do with their high degree of health-seeking behaviour. more so, there was no significant interaction effect of locus of control and emotional intelligence of hypertensive patients of f(1,120) = .67, p>.42 level of significance. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 52 discussion in this study it is clear that every hypertensive patient engaged in health-seeking behavior. the first hypothesis tested which tested that locus of control will not significantly influence health-seeking behavior was rejected or disconfirmed in as much as every on sought healthy behavior, both the internal and external locus of control. the above outcome agreed with rotter’s theory of locus of control (rotter, 1996), and with some studies by strickland (1978), ed lau and ware (1981), who found that locus of control correlates with healthseeking behavior. the outcome of this study was not surprising; this is because people in this part of the world always look at things from different perspective especially when it pertains to their health. they are quick in forming opinions regarding the events in their life which could be either internal or external in locus of control, depending on the background of the person. also the second hypothesis was stated that, “emotional intelligence will not significantly influence health-seeking behavior of hypertensive patients was not confirmed.” this indicated that emotional intelligence had no significant influence, on hypertensive patient’s high degree of health-seeking behavior. this is to say that emotional intelligence as a factor had nothing to do with the relatively high degree of health-seeking behavior of hypertensive patients. this outcome disagreed with earlier studied for instance (schutte et al, 2007;cameron & nicholas, 1998, pennebaker et al,,1988; king & miner, 2000) that emotional intelligence has been effective in promoting health-seeking behaviors. however, the non-remarkable influence of emotional intelligence on health seeking behavior was surprising. this is because being emotionally intelligent according to baron (2002) focuses on array of emotional and social abilities including the ability to be aware of, understanding and expressing oneself, the ability to relate to others the ability to deal with strong emotions, and the ability to adapt to change and solve problems of social or personal nature. limitation of study a research of this nature cannot evade shortcomings .the followings were challenges and hindrances that posed threat to the outcomes of this study. findings of these studies however, cannot be generalized to national level since the study sample is confined to a limited geographical area. finally, time constraints as well as financial handicap which prevented the researcher from expanding the scope and sampling area for this study, hence the study was limited to only two government hospitals in enugu urban. summary and conclusion the outcomes of this study showed that; locus of control as a factor had significant influence on hypertensive patient’s high degree of health-seeking behavior. emotional intelligence as a factor on the other hand had no remarkable influence on hypertensive patient’s high degree of health-seeking behavior. therefore, from the outcomes of this study, health-seeking behavior ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 53 being a vital aspect of staying healthy when it is adequately adhered to, could be an advantage to the patient, care giver and other concerned persons. therefore, psychologist and health-care providers will keep on encouraging patients to maintain their health-seeking behavior by maintaining a healthy life pattern. it is also concluded that people should be internally oriented in their approaches to issues, especially when it pertains to health matters. references abdullahi, a.a. & amzat, j. 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(1997). health-seeking behavior and the control of sexually transmitted disease health policy and planning 12, 19-28. world health organization (2003). diet, nutrition and prevention of chronic diseases. technical report series 916. world health organization (2004). who/ish statement on management of hypertension. journal of hypertension, 21 1982 – 1992. page 1 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 1 effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime rate in nigeria adenuga fabian adekoya department of economics, school of arts and social sciences, michael otedola college of primary education, noforija-epe, lagos, nigeria. email: adenugaadekoya@gmail.com & nor azam abdul razak department of economics, school of economics, finance and banking, universiti utara malaysia sintok 06010, malaysia abstract ethnic diversity in nigeria and its effects on the poor is endemic. among the various ethnic diversity, there is high rate of criminal activities and poverty. this study examine the effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime in nigeria. further, this study tested annual time series based on nigeria data from 1970 to 2017. while noting endogeneity in the nature of the variable based on literature. the autoregressive distributed lag model instrumental variables used to estimate the model. estimated result showed that the variables cointegrated at the 1% level of significance. in addition, ethnic heterogeneity, poverty, and under five mortality significant to cause crime. income growth and security expenditure have significant reduction effect on crime. thus, this paper suggested to the policy makers to embark on income generation and good health care programmes for the poor. also, adequate and up-to-date skills and apparatus be given to the security personnel to control crime. keywords: ethnic diversity, poverty, income growth, security expenditure, crime, introduction shaw and mckay (1942) contended that the society disorganized especially when there was breakdown of bonds, norms, and order. that disorderliness took place because the new poor migrants in urban areas are in majority in any ethnic population confronted with residential immobility and ethnic heterogeneity. as they are challenged with severe poverty over the minority population that is well to do. further, the problem of economic deprivation made ethnic heterogeneity problem to surface on the pretext to satisfy their economic needs. by this, they jettison the norms and orders in the urban area/societya situation that often leads to violence and criminal activities. in testing the assertion, many researchers have examined the relationship between ethnic heterogeneity and crime; while some studies found positive linear empirical supports (ebbe, 1989; osgood & chambers, 2000; altheimer, 2008; sandoval, 2018), trawick & howsen, (2006) found negative linear empirical support as de mailto:adenugaadekoya@gmail.com adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak soysa and noel (2018) found an inverted u-shape when testing the linear and non-linear relationship; their mixed findings pave room for further study to be conducted. therefore, this study aim to examine the effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime rate in nigeria. in filling the existing gap in the literature, this study analysed how ethnic diversity and poverty determines crime rate using a time series from 1970 to 2017 especially with the aim to answer a pertinent research question how does ethnic diversity and poverty affect crime rate in nigeria? the answering to the question demanded attention because brennan-galvin (2002) discovered that violence usually erupted among the poor in the different ethnicity residing in cities like kano, lagos and other major cities in nigeria. ever since, researchers in nigeria has not considered the effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime rate. moreover, ebbe (1989) concluded that high crime and delinquency rates was due to heterogeneity. the heterogeneity is made of segregation in residence in terms of low, medium and high-income residents’ areas but it limited to lagos metropolis. similarly, badiora et al. (2014) showed that the poor among the inhabitants of ile-ife which have mix of different ethnic groups involved in violent crime (badiora et al., 2014). the contributions of this study are numerous; firstly, it revealed the roles play by ethnic heterogeneity and poverty in nigeria; secondly, it pointed the devastating effects of crime in the country which increase the cost of operation and national budget spending on security, discourage investment in the country; thirdly, it provided guide to the policy makers, investors and organisation to take the issues of deterrence and adequate investment in health as serious matter in the country; fourthly, it provided a viable document to the literature on crime studies in nigeria; and lastly, this research served as insight to the policymakers on the need to reduce crime and poverty in the country. the remaining part of this paper is divided into five sections: section two considered literature review, section three discussed the empirical strategy, section four presented the results, section five focused on discussion and section six is the conclusion of the study. literature review conceptual issues crime rate in nigeria what constituted immoral/illegal and criminal acts depends on the norms/values or standard set by any society (meera & jayakumar, 1995).it is an illegal act motivated by incentives for 3 self-enrichment in case of property crime and by hate or passion in the case of person’s crime (ehrlich, 1973). it means any exhibited acts which is against the rules and regulation in a define territory either it may be injurious or not is referred to as crime. it is often measured as 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 100,000. various illegal act existed in nigeria, among them are murder, assault and burglary as presented in table 1. for instance, the average murder rate from 2.16 per 100,000population in the period of 1980-1989 increased to 3.89 per 100,000 population in the period of 20002009, but reduced to 1.64 per 1000,000 population in the period of 2010-2017. the growth rate of armed robbery reduced by 47.59% and 42.38% in the period of 1980-1989 and 20002009 but increased by 53.08% in the period of 2010-2017.considering the share of total crime cases among regions crime in nigeria from 2016 to 2017 as presented in figure 1; the south east has the highest 10.09% change in share of total crime while the least change in share of -6.21% occurred in north central. but, the south west has the highest recorded of 45.88% in 2016 and 45.31% in 2017 while the north west has 7.87% share in total crime cases in 2016. there are effects of crime rate in the country; for instance, business and foreign investment suffers losses worth billions of dollars (brennan-galvin, 2002). in 2008, 191.62 million metric tons valued at ₦14.594billion lost because of niger delta militants’ rebellious act (nigeria bureau of statistics (nbs), 2011).between 2006 and 2011, an average death per person of 1,655 recorded and the killings by armed robbers was 50% of 8,516 deaths (nigeria watch, 2011; nwankwo & james, 2016). besides, several numbers of police officers murdered by militants and armed bandits (ojedokun, 2014). thus, crime amount to wastage of resources and human potentials. also, the criminality activity affected growth and public service provision, distorts the environment for engaging in business and functions as a tax on private investments in nigeria (okonjo-iweala & osafo-kwaako, 2007). adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak table2.1: crime types in nigeria types of crime average rate of crime growth rate of crime 19701979 19801989 19901999 20002009 20102017 19701979 19801989 19901999 20002009 20102017 murder 1.99 2.16 1.50 3.89 1.64 38.69 -28.63 -8.79 1549.86 26.49 felonious wounding 10.39 16.81 15.13 11.48 5.28 193.16 -27.70 -18.34 -35.81 20.61 assault 78.45 61.82 44.89 20.18 10.92 35.87 4.73 -43.13 -68.13 58.13 armed robbery 2.637 1.79 1.78 2.02 1.76 -13.60 -47.59 13.74 -42.38 53.08 burglary 25.61 32.40 18.83 8.16 3.37 51.00 94.90 -52.63 -24.20 -67.54 other crimes against persons 6.035 17.92 20.17 9.91 15.62 -55.89 729.66 -48.51 -74.75 333.28 other crimes against property 15.64 115.56 27.88 27.72 19.70 74.27 3281.77 -36.15 316.33 817.16 other minor offences/crimes 16.69 62.52 7.05 1.43 3.48 446.61 -36.83 -34.46 -97.49 4526.94 total crime rate 306.44 370.37 238.41 107.58 67.38 26.053 20.29 -49.30 -56.04 4.49 note: above elaboration should not be cited without making reference to the author. source: author computation based on crime report from the nigeria bureau of statistic. figure 1: share of total crime cases among regions crime in nigeria author: author computation based on nbs crime statistics ethnic diversity in nigeria diversity is significant to determine the stability and prosperity of a country. as ethnic diversity is a concept that show diverse attributes in a nation. these attributes include minority, race, class and group in a country. the group can include immigrants or settlers and other nationalities (saqib, 2018). ethnicity emphasis culture sharing, languages and religion. it can cause distrust in country thereby making each group hate one another (de soysa & noel, 2018). such hatred make it difficult for the policy makers to manage the ethnic tension (saqib, 2018). it is thus associated with violence. ethnic diversity measured by ethnic -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 north west north central north east south east south west south south (% ) 2016 2017 % change in share of total cases 5 fractionalization index. the index reflects the likelihood that two people chosen at random within a given country will be from different ethnic groups. heterogeneity effects increases in nigeria because most urban centres were not planned. urban dwellers face acute shortage of housing, a situation that led to more slums created. a large number of people facing socioeconomic deprivation resides in slum areas. as slum areas accommodate the poor from the different ethnic population. heterogeneity became worse as residential classified into high, medium, and low-income in nigeria (ebbe, 1989; opoko & oluwatayo, 2014). and the poor in urban areas faced high level of job immobility. this reduces social bond due to new contacts made (shopeju, 2007). thus, poor social integration increased among migrants from rural to urban areas. this creates difficult situation for the security personnel. this is because available public facilities and resources overstretched and become inadequate. it becomes difficult to apprehend criminals given the opportunity to commit crime. poverty in nigeria the report of nigeria bureau of statistics of various years indicated that high poverty rate exist in the country (see table 2.3). between 1980 and 2010, poverty rates increased from 27.2% in 1980 to 46.3% in 1985 and by 1996, it increases to 65.6%; this later rose to 69% in 2010. further, the magnitudes of poverty in nigeria showed that poverty in the urban areas intensified but not like the poverty in the rural areas. also, a cursory look at table 2.3 revealed that the urban poverty rose from 43.2% in 2004 to 73.2% in 2010 while the rural poverty increased from 63.3% in 1980 to 73.2% in 2010. however, various measures to reduce poverty have been adopted in the country as highlighted in obadan (2002) but these measures seems not adequate (umukoro, 2013). this is because the available social protection in nigeria were weak to move the large number of population out of poverty; that is, halving number of people living below us$ 1 a day and reduction of poverty to 21.40% proved difficulty (mdg report, 2013). thus, the prevalence of poverty in nigeria may continue to encourage high poor economic development in the country. adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak table 2.3: spread and trend in poverty levels (%) in nigeria years 1980 1985 1992 1996 2004 2010 levels national 27.2 46.3 42.7 65.6 54.4 69 urban 17.2 37.8 37.5 58.2 43.2 61.8 rural 28.3 51.4 46 69.3 63.3 73.2 zone south south 13.2 45.7 40.8 58.2 35.1 63.8 south east 12.9 30.4 41 53.5 26.7 67 south west 13.4 38.6 43.1 60.9 43 49.8 north central 32.2 50.8 46 64.7 67 67.5 north east 35.6 54.9 54 70.1 72.2 76.3 north west 37.7 52.1 36.5 77.2 71.2 77.7 source: national bureau of statistics 2010. empirical review hansmann and quigley (1982) observed in a cross-country study of 58 and 40 that population heterogeneity in the cultural group due to interaction among different ethnicity has a significant positive effect on crime of homicide while that of religion and language has an individual impact in reducing crime of homicide using ordinary least square method. income inequality as not too distant from poverty detected to increase the crime of homicide as income per capita has a reducing effect on homicide. besides, when the population of young people is higher with a low level of per capita income would further exacerbate the rate of homicide. sandoval (2018) concluded that demographic disparity especially among the young population and disagreement between armed gangs increases rate of homicide in colombia. cherry (1999) conducted a panel study in the united state by asserting that it is improper to leave unobserved heterogeneity in a crime model. the unobserved heterogeneity as minority population measures it estimated along with other socioeconomic factors and deterrence measures with the random/fixed-effect method. the result indicated that unobserved heterogeneity is significant to increase crime while unemployment increase all types of crime, income only has a reducing effect on murder. the deterrence measures vary in the 7 outcome, while the probability of arrest has a reducing impact on all types of crime, the length of sentence is not significant but the presence of police in the crime environment is only significant and negative on murder and positive on larceny. the study results revealed that when unobserved heterogeneity is not considered, the deterrence measures are overstated in the model, therefore, studying the minority population along with the municipal population provided opportunity to see the individual effect of the deterrence measures on various types of crime. zhang (2016) included the use of police and incarceration showed reducing the effect on crime when taking note of unobserved heterogeneity. similarly, cerro & meloni (2000) found that police arrest and conviction of criminals led to crime reduction in argentina in the prevalence of high and inequality causing crime but, found that high income area attract criminal activities as income increases crime. trawick and howsen (2006) examined community heterogeneity on the crime rate in the united state using a tobit analysis. community heterogeneity measured with race, ethnicity and religion. the result showed that race/ethnic and religion are significant and negative on the crime rate. this means a homogeneous race community is not prone to criminal activities because when community share the same norms, cultures, beliefs and teaching such community would experience low criminal activities; this supports the sociological theory and thus, the community would require small resources to control crime. however, the selling of alcohol spirit in the community would promote criminal activities, which include larceny, burglary, autotheft,and robbery. the reducing effect of religion on crime by trawick and howsen (2006) provided support for hansmann and quigley (1982). altheimer (2008) examined ethnic heterogeneity and interacted it with social supports on the crime of homicide in a cross-country study of 51. using the estimation of weighted least square method; the study revealed that ethnic heterogeneity and economic inequality causes homicide in any form of social support introduced. however, when ethnic heterogeneity interacts with health care and human development index at a different time, the homicide rate reduces. likewise, the general support and income per capita significant reduce the homicide rate. similar results found in ouimet (2012), ouimet (2012) studied ethnic heterogeneity and socioeconomic factors on the crime of homicide in a cross-country study of 165, which include low, medium, and high income in multiple regression. the result showed that ethnic heterogeneity increases homicide, which further supported with the evidence of positive significant impact on homicide in medium income countries. further, poverty measured with adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak an excess of under-five mortality rate causes homicide and likewise in high-income countries; but income inequality causes homicide in medium countries and the overall countries. however, de soysa and noel (2018) examined the linked between ethnic diversity and violent crime in study of 140 countries from 1995 to 2013; the data analysed using a robust panel ordinary least squares. their result indicated that ethnic heterogeneity has an inverted u-shape relationship with violent crime. while they contended that existence of polarisation increased the risk of armed violence, they concluded that ethnic heterogeneity was not responsible for social dislocation happened in the society. further, they found that gdp per capita reduces violent crime and income inequality did nor drive violent crime. the empirical finding in hansmann and quigley (1982), trawick and howsen (2006), cherry (1999), altheimer (2008) and sandoval (2018) supported that ethnic heterogeneity causes crime which support the social disorganization theory. also, studies with measures of poverty provide support to the social disorganization and rational choice theory (hansmann & quigley, 1982; altheimer, 2008 and ouimet, 2012). but, de soysa and noel (2018) demonstrated a contrary result, and thus concluded that ethnic heterogeneity was not responsible for violent crime. from the previous studies, it is noted that most of the studies are cross country studies and based on developed nations and not in developing country like nigeria. also, this study used time series and thus, differed from previous studies that used cross country data, cross-section and time series. empirical strategy theoretical framework this study used the crime supply function as proposed by becker (1968), this model presented in equation 1 and it helps to determine the reasons for criminal activities. in the model, determinants are into two forms; while the first form caused crime, the other form sees crime reduction, which referred to, as deterrence. in equation 1, 𝐶𝑅𝑡 is the total number of crime which depends on 𝑃𝑅𝑡, 𝑃𝐴𝑡 and𝑈𝑡. the 𝑈𝑡 represents socioeconomic factors that motivates crime or increases the opportunity cost of crime in a society, which include poverty. as mentioned earlier, the second form are various deterrence policy such as prosecution and arrest (𝑃𝑅𝑡) and punishment through the imprisonment (𝑃𝐴𝑡). similar studies that have employed this model includes cherry (1999), trawick and howsen (2006). 9 𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝑓(𝑃𝑅𝑡, 𝑃𝐴𝑡 , 𝑈𝑡)(1) (1) the model in equation 1extended to study racial and ethnic homogeneity along with other socioeconomic factors by trawick and howsen (2006) presented in equation 2, which did not include any of the deterrence policy. in equation 2, 𝐶𝑅𝑡 is crime rate per person in a community, 𝑅𝐸𝐺is the religious factor;𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑡represents the income inequality, indicates the ethnic homogeneity for community, and 𝑍𝑡includes other socio variables in the model. 𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝑓(𝑅𝐸𝐺𝑡, 𝐺𝐼𝑁𝐼𝑡 , 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 , 𝑍𝑡) (2) following trawick and howsen (2006), we modified equation 2which led to equation 3 by testing heterogeneity (𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡), poverty (𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡), and under five mortality (𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡), the growth rate of income per capita (𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡) and public expenditure on internal security (𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) on the crime rate (𝐶𝑅𝑡). this equation 3 includes public expenditure on internal security (𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) as a deterrence policy suggested in equation 1 by becker (1968). 𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝑓( 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡, 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡, 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡, 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡, 𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) (3) where the total crime rate in the country is𝐶𝑅𝑡, 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 is the ethnic heterogeneity. 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡ispoverty rate and 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡is poverty of under-five mortality, 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 is growth in income and 𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡is the public expenditure on internal security. in this model, ethnic heterogeneity (𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡), poverty rate (𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡) and the under five mortality (𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡) expected to increase crime rate with positive sign since this increases the chances to commit crime. growth rate of income (𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡) and the public security expenditure (𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) expected to be negative as an anti-dote to crime because it expects to reduce the chances to commit crime. model specification in line with the crime model expressed in equation 3, equation 4 thus specified. in this model, 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 represents log of the crime rate variable; 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 represents the ethnic diversity index, 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡(%) and 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 represents the poverty rate and under five infants mortality respectively.𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 denotes growth rate of income (%) and 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 stands for log of security expenditure. a 𝛽0 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡, 𝛽1, 𝛽2 ,𝛽3 , 𝛽4𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝛽5 are parameters and𝜇𝑡 is the white noise. adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅t= 𝛽0 + 𝛽1𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 + 𝛽2𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 + 𝛽3𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 + 𝛽4𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 + 𝛽5𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 + 𝜇𝑡(4) cointegration test to test the model in equation 4, the preliminary is to conducted unit root tests due to the annual time series employed in the study, and sequel cointegration test. this study conducted unit root test usingaugmented dickey-fuller (adf) and phillip perron tests. based on these tests all the variables are integrated at the level i(0) and first difference i(1) (see table 3 in section 5.0). pesaran, shin, and smith (2001) proposed that a bound test approach be used to examine the exist of long run relationship specifically when the result of the unit root tests showed that variables are integrated at i(0) and i(1). besides, the existence of high correlation among the variables in a model suggests high probability of endogeneity. the bound test minimised such problem of endogeneity in the model. this is because the bound test approach has the ability to generate sufficient lags for variables in the model and sufficiently provide for means to ascertain residual correlation. once there is no serial correlation then endogeneity issue is treated. the dynamism based on the transformation of the variable at the period of one lag in the model using the optimal lag length. these variables in the model transformed based on the akaike information criterion (aic) due to the small sample size used in this study (see adekoya & abdul razak, 2017). liew (2004) found that aic is most suitable to decide the optimal lag length for the variable in smaller sample size. further, the autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) instrumental variable (this discussed in the next section) used because it is capable of providing the short-run and long run at the same time. using the ardl framework in equation 5, the f-statistic tested the joint significance of the coefficients at one period of lag and the result presented in table 3. the null hypothesis of no co-integration shows that 𝐻0 : 𝛽1 = 𝛽2 = 𝛽3 = 𝛽4 = 𝛽5 = 𝛽6 = 0 (implies non-existence of cointegration) and the alternative is 𝐻𝐴 : 𝛽1 ≠ 𝛽2 ≠ 𝛽3 ≠ 𝛽4 ≠≠ 𝛽5 ≠ 𝛽6 ≠ 0 where at least one of the 𝛽1 𝑡𝑜 𝛽6 ≠ 0 (implies the existence of cointegration). 𝛾1 𝑡𝑜 𝛾6 signifythe shortrun dynamics of the ardl model in equation 6. 11 ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝛽0𝐴 + 𝛽1𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1 + 𝛽2𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 + 𝛽3𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡−1 + 𝛽4𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡−1 + 𝛽5𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 + 𝛽6𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡−1 + ∑ 𝛾1 ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛾2 ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾3 ∆𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾4 ∆𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾5 ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾6 ∆𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + 𝜇𝑡 (5) ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝛽0𝐵 + ∑ 𝛾1 ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=1 + ∑ 𝛾2 ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾3 ∆𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾4 ∆𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾5 ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + ∑ 𝛾6 ∆𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡−1 𝑝 𝑖=0 + 𝜇𝑡𝐵 endogeneity and bewley model sequel to the bound test used to establish the cointegration among these variables, it is relevant to reaffirm that endogeneity problem is at stake among these variables. this is due to the significant high correlation value among some variables presented in table 2, which include crime, poverty measurements, and security expenditure. likewise, mehlum, miguel, and torvik (2006) did not rule out that the causal effects of poverty on property crime are potentially subject to bias due to endogeneity and omitted variables. also, levitt (1997), bourguignon (1999), adekoya and abdul razak (2018)contended that expenditure on internal security have the issue of endogeneity with crime since high criminal activities may suggest that more security with increase insecurity expenditure. therefore, model 5 (ardl ols) becomes sufficient provided there is no serial correlation but we are more concerned about the problem of simultaneity to avoid spurious regression. therefore, to address potential bias caused by endogeneity and omitted variable bias, the ardl instrumental variable (ardl iv) was employed (although the estimated standard error in ardl ols is identical to ardl iv, results are available on request). however, the test of homogeneity not conducted since there is the existence of significant high correlation among some of the variables. notwithstanding, stučka (2004) affirmed that once ardl iv used for estimation, there is no need to test for endogeneity. therefore, we dealt with the potential bias caused by endogeneity and omitted variable using ardl instrument variable (iv) by rewritten the bewley equation. the ardl iv allows the adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak estimated short and long run of ardl using the lag of the dependent variable as the independent variable (stučka, 2004). therefore, this study overcomes the problem of whether the instrument should correlate with any of the variables. in addition, inder (1993) concluded that when ecm (dynamic equation) reparametrized in bewley equation endogeneity bias problems are insignificant and reasonably inconsequential. equation 5 and 6 are reparametrized to generate equation 7 and 8 (see pesaran & shin, 1997). thus, the estimated long run and short run model is expressed in equation 7 and 8 respectively based on ardl selected model1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0with the instruments as 1, 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1,𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 , 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 , 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 , 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 , 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡, ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 , ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡. 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝑎𝑐0 ∅(1) + 𝜗1𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 + 𝜗2𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 + 𝜗3𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 + 𝜗4𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 + 𝜗5𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗6 ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 𝑚1−1 𝑖=0 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗7 ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 𝑚1−1 𝑖=0 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗8 ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 𝑚2−1 𝑖=0 + 𝜂𝑡 ∅(1) (7) ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 = 𝑎𝑑0 ∅(1) + 𝜗9𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 + 𝜗10𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 + 𝜗11𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 + 𝜗12𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 + 𝜗13𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗14 ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 𝑚1−1 𝑖=0 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗15 ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 𝑚1−1 𝑖=0 + 1 ∅(1) ∑ 𝜗16 ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1 𝑚2−1 𝑖=0 + 𝜂𝑡 ∅(1) (8) data this study used annual time series from 1970 to 2017 to examine the effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime. data on the total crime rate (𝐶𝑅𝑡) sourced from the nigeria bureau statistics and the nigeria police annual reports of various publications. crime rate define as total crime committed/total population multiply by 100,000. it is the interest of the researcher to disaggregate crime but these data are not available up to date. the poverty rate (𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡) is the inverse of logarithm of per capita household consumption multiply by 100 and is based on data obtained from economics and research department, united nations. the index used because poverty time series is not available and thus, considered the disadvantage 13 index approach used in mata and bollman (2007). other variables in the study are the underfive mortality (𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡) andincome growth (𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡) which is the growth (%) in gdp per capita sourced from the world development indicator. ethnic diversity (𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡) proxy by ethnic violence index sourced from marshall (2016), it is the magnitude score of episode(s) of ethnic violence involving the country in each year which is on the scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) as non-occurrence of violence denoted with zero (0). this data used because ethnic violence is associated with ethnic diversity. as ethnic tensions based on hatred or discrimination often cause of civil unrest (ouimet, 2012). in nigeria, this lawlessness caused bloodletting ethnic squabble and secrecy in the entire political landscape (dike, 2014). public expenditure on internal security (𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) obtained from the central bank of nigeria various annual reports as a percentage to total expenditure. thus, crime and security expenditure data are in logarithm form. results the descriptive statistics of variables employed in this study are presented in table 1. it revealed that means of each variables lies between the minimum and maximum values; this means data are fit for further estimation. moreover, the results in table 2 shows high correlation exist among crime rate, poverty rate, under five mortality, and security expenditure rate. for instance, significant correlations of 89.85% exist between poverty rate and crime rate, 86.88% for poverty rate and security expenditure rate, and 94.97% in the case of security expenditure and crime rate. these high correlations suggested that these variables are endogenous and therefore the analysis required estimation technique, which can detect and minimize the problem of endogeneity such as the autoregressive distributed lagged model (ardl) two stage least square. table1 descriptive statistics variables observations median mean std. dev. minimum maximum 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 48 5.5138 5.2235 0.6718 4.0904 6.1619 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 48 1.0000 1.3333 1.1361 0.0000 4.0000 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 48 8.3656 8.3289 0.1781 8.0117 8.5936 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 48 208.0500 190.8250 47.1498 100.2000 283.7000 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 48 1.6729 1.5310 7.6418 -15.4547 30.3565 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 48 22.2583 22.8628 2.7133 18.9513 27.2820 adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak table 2 results of the correlational test variables 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 1.000000 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 -0.156709 1.000000 (0.2875) ---- 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 0.898596 -0.171890 1.000000 (0.0000) (0.2427) ---- 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 0.873804 -0.296938 0.772282 1.000000 (0.0000) (0.0404) (0.0000) ---- 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 -0.221820 0.086739 -0.227598 0.031927 1.000000 (0.1297) (0.5577) (0.1198) (0.8294) ---- 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 -0.949730 0.232953 -0.868803 -0.903601 0.178475 1.000000 (0.0000) (0.1111) (0.0000) (0.0000) (0.2249) ---- note: the probability values are in parenthesis, whichindicates the significance level of the correlation value to ensure that the data employed is not having serial correlation, the augmented dickeyfuller (adf) and phillip perron unit root tests are conducted. the result of the stationarity test as presented in table3 showed that all the variables are integrated at the leveli (0) and first difference i(1). for instance,𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡, 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡, 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 and 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 are stationary at i(1) as 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 and 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 are stationary at i(0) in the two tests conducted with exception of 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 that only stationary at i(0) under adf test. notwithstanding, this suggests the bound test approach in the study. it is possible to determine whether variables with different integration order would jointly move together using the bound test approach. table 3 results of the unit root test note: the figures reported are t-ratio and showed the p-values of mackinnon (1996) one-sided at various levels of significance. the asterisks (***) is at 1%. with the bound test approach to cointegration, the result showed that the null hypothesis of no cointegration is reject atthe1% level of significance. this is because the f-statistic of 4.689 lies above the upper critical bound of 4.15 (see table 4). that is, variables in the model are cointegrated. moreover, the results of the long-run and short-run based on bewley variables model lag length augmented dickey-fuller statistics prob. value phillip perron statistics prob. value decision 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 intercept and trend 1 -7.057*** 0.000 -7.071*** 0.000 i(1) 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 intercept and trend 1 -6.608*** 0.000 -6.951*** 0.000 i(1) 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 intercept and trend 1 -9.879*** 0.000 -11.658*** 0.000 i(1) 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 intercept and trend 0 -13.765*** 0.000 -2.283 0.4343 i(0) 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 intercept and trend 0 -6.004*** 0.000 -6.005*** 0.000 i(0) 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 intercept and trend 1 -7.309*** 0.000 -7.446*** 0.000 i(1) 15 equation using the ardl instrument variable (iv) (see pesaran & shin, 1997) are presented in table 4 along with the results of the diagnostic tests. the long run estimation revealed that ethnic heterogeneity causes crime at the 10% level of significance. this revealed that an increase in ethnic heterogeneity would increase the occurrence of crime in nigeria. a similar result obtained in altheimer (2008) and ouimet (2012). in addition, poverty and under five mortality are both significant at the 5% level of significance. while an increase of 1% in the poverty rate leads to 0.92% in the crime rate, the under-five mortality increases the crime rate by 0.004% point. similar results obtained in the studies of poveda (2012), ouimet (2012), rogers and pridemore (2013). moreover, economic growth is negative and significant in determining the crime rate at the 10% level of significance. a rise of 1% in the growth rate of income as a measure of economic growth, the crime rate would reduce by 0.014%. further, the result in fajnzylber, lederman and loayza (2002), deller and deller (2012) are evidence that support the result. nevertheless, cerro and meloni (2000) found non-significant impact of income growth on crime. the deterrence policy proxy by security expenditure is negative related to the crime rate at the 1% level of significance. that is, when security expenditure increases by 1%, the crime rate would reduce by 0.120%. this result is in line with adekoyaand abdul razak (2018), wu and wu(2012). related to the long-run results, the result of the short-run revealed that poverty and under five mortality are significant to determine crime at the 5% level of significance. this means an increase of 1% in poverty increases criminal activities by 0.468%. in addition, an increase in under five mortality increases criminal activities by 0.002% point. besides, the deterrence policy proxy with security expenditure is significant to reduce crime in the short-run at the 1% level of significance. a rise by 1% in security expenditure would assist to increase the rate of crime detection with a high possibility to apprehend criminals thereby leading to a reduction of crimeby0.060%. adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak table 4 estimates of the ardl crime model using bewley’s regression form dependent variable: crime critical bounds (f-test) 1% significance level test of ardl specification significance lower 3.06 adj-r-square=0.970 hq=-1.146 upper 4.15 sb=-0.925 aic*=-1.279 ardl specification 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0 f-statistic 4.689 conclusion (sign level) cointegrated (1%) k 5 long-run estimates 𝐶 -0.738 -0.181 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 0.061 1.793* 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 0.926 2.227** 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 0.004 2.284** 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 -0.014 -1.860* 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 -0.120 -2.885*** ∆𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 -0.122 -2.446** ∆𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 0.009 1.808* ∆𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 -0.978 -2.580** short-run estimates 𝐶 -0.373 -0.180 𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡−1 -0.505 -5.216*** 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡 -0.030 -1.244 𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡 0.468 2.034** 𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡 0.002 2.021* 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡 -0.002 -0.824 𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡 -0.060 -2.725*** 𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡−1 0.061 2.454** 𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡−1 -0.004 -1.725* diagnostics tests 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 (𝝌𝑵 𝟐 ) 𝐽𝐵 = 8.658 (0.013) 𝑲𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 = 4.492 𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 (𝝌𝑺𝑪 𝟐 ) 𝜒2 = 0.038 (0.845) 𝑯𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 (𝝌𝑯 𝟐 ) 𝜒2 = 9.048 (0.338) note:the asterisk (*) showed that the estimated coefficients are significant at 1% (***); 5% (**) and 10% (*). also, the null of the diagnostic tests 𝜒𝐻 2 , 𝜒𝑁 2 and 𝜒𝑆𝐶 2 arereject at the 5% level of significance. variables are defined as crime is𝑙𝑛𝐶𝑅𝑡 as a dependent variable while ethnic heterogeneity (𝐻𝐸𝑇𝑡), poverty (𝑃𝑂𝑉𝐶𝑡), under five mortality (𝑀𝑅𝑈𝑡), growth rate of income (𝐺𝑅𝑃𝐶𝑡) and security expenditure (𝑙𝑛𝑃𝐸𝑆𝑡) are independent variables. in the ardl specification, the f-stat in the bounds test based on critical upper bounds. the diagnostic test indicated that long-run coefficients estimated are robust for policy implementation. these tests are normality; functionality; serial correlation; heteroscedasticity and the structural stability test. the normality test ( 𝜒𝑁 2 ) of jarque-bera showed that the model failed to pass the test at the 5% level of significance; but, the kurtosis the model is 4.492 which is in excess. thus, the results of the kurtosis were in excess which indicate that there is normal distribution following saridakis (2011). in addition, this study found no traces of autocorrelation using the chi-squared tool in lm test (𝜒𝑆𝐶 2 ) of breusch-godfrey serial 17 correlation at lag 1 at 5% level of significance. also, the chi-squared tool of breusch-pagangodfrey heteroskedasticity test (𝜒𝐻 2 ) showed that the models passed this test at the 5% level of significance. discussion the paper examined the effects of ethnic diversity and poverty on crime rate in the country. it is found that ethnic diversity and poverty causes crime; further, it confirmed that the poor among various ethnic diversities are frustrated because of the economic hardship, the stress induced on them encourage them to engage in crime. similarly, ebbe (1989) affirmed that children from the poor or slum area in nigeria engage in crime. this is because economic deprivation is associated with a lack of opportunities, a situation that has caused much violence especially in major cities in the country (brennan-galvin, 2002). in most of the major cities, poor areas are characterised with high population density in heterogeneous form of ethnic diversity. this different group of population provide support for themselves even in the midst of one of them engaging in crime related matter. it therefore became it becomes uneasy for security agents to detect criminal among the high number of the poor population in the country. the possibility of this hinged on the fact the nigeria police are confronted with challenges that affect their efficiency; these are one, low intelligence capacity to gather facts relating to actual crime committed (ojedokun, 2014) and two, there is a lack of modern equipment to combat crime in nigeria (otu, 2012). the state of the economy in the country is fair to discourage crime but a high economy featured with high rate of poverty and under five mortality required efforts to invigorate it. this is because when an economy improve three thing are emerged; one, it creates a better opportunity to enhance income; two, there is high possibility to reduce poverty and under five mortality in the country due to improved welfare and lastly, the poor are demotivated to engage in criminal activities. further, sanction and detection prevents the criminal to commit crime because of the fear of imprisonment as criminal weight the cost of apprehension over the gain in committing a crime. therefore, increasing the police presence and other security agencies serves to demotivate criminal from engaging in crime in the country. conclusion ethnic diversity which are heterogeneous in nature causes crime. similarly, poverty and adenuga fabian adekoya & nor azam abdul razak under five mortality increases crime in the country. but, income growth and security expenditure as a deterrence measure causes reduction in crime. thus, the results obtained in this study informed that there is need to reduce crime and at same reduce poverty in the country. to do so, this study suggested the following policies. adequate measures to stimulate economic growth must be pursed. growth policy on key sectors that could generate viable income-employment must be the focused for the policy makers. this shall provide job and enhanced the income for the poor, which is capable to move them out of poverty. promoting economic growth vide investment in health sector affords reduction in crime especially among the poor. this is necessary for two reasons; one, it subsidies the money spent by the poor on health bills, thereby complementing the income earn by the poor, and secondly, to aid the poor to access to good health care facilities thereby reducing under five mortality. investment in security must be pursed. this is to provide adequate and improve security personnel with modern skills and equipment. this is important to detect and combat crime; to come up with up to date crime statistics; to enhance the image of the country; and also, to boost economic growth indirectly as less criminal activities in the country would stimulate more investment. this study has not been without challenges in the area of data. data on crime are not up to date in the country and available ones are not easy to obtain from the nigeria police. this is also common in other countries (wu & wu, 2012). similarly, time series data on poverty is not available but this is overcome by using a proxy for it as earlier discussed. notwithstanding, the estimates in this study are robust for policy implementation. future studies are required to test this link using panel data in the country. references adekoya, a. f., & abdul razak, n. a. 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(2016).“addressing unobserved heterogeneity in the relationship between crime and consumer confidence”.journal of quantitative criminology, 32, 47–59 page 1 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 142 social determinants of health care service utilization among women in cross river state brownson, barbara aniefiok social work department, university of calabar teaching hospital (ucth) email; babrabrownson@gmail.com phone no; 08033408575 and eyong, butum bassey (ph.d) social work department, university of calabar teaching hospital (ucth) email; basseybutum@gmail.com phone no; 08067586655 abstract the article examines social determinants of health care services utilization among women in cross river state, nigeria. specifically, the study examine the extent to which family size spousal literacy rate and cultural beliefs have a significant effect of the health wellbeing of women of reproductive age in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the article reviewed literature relevant to the variables while the theory of planned behaviour was employed for the study. the study employed a descriptive and cross sectional survey design with a sample of 300 women. the sample was lessened to 280 after field work. the purposive and convenience sampling were employed. the instruments used were questionnaire and in-depth interviews. data was present numerically and tabular form. hypotheses were tested with chi-square and linear regression statistical tools at 0.05 level of significance. from the study’s analysis, findings revealed that family size, spousal literacy level and cultural beliefs are core social determinant affecting women of reproductive age in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the study recommends amongst others that government of cross river state and beyond should make effort to ensure maximum educational attainment opportunities for girl children as well as women of reproductive age in order to expose and enlighten them on those maternal health issues and ways of prevention. it was concluded that cost of transportation, physical accessibility, language gap, attitude of health care workers/pregnant women, belief system have a strong influence on women of reproductive age keywords: cultural belief, family size, health care services, reproductive age, spousal literacy introduction in almost all developing countries of the world, determinants of good health often reflects the physical conditions and social determinants or factors that influence the social environment where people are born, live, learn, play, work, and age (agency for healthcare volume 5, issue 1, 2020 143 research and quality (ahrq), 2008) these factors can be seen as being physical factors due to their impact on the social health functions outcome they contribute to the quality of life of a people. these factors are good precursor to good health because they serve as complex hubs for mans’ quest for good health. as man strives for survival, good health is essential to every individual, community and the society at large especially women of reproductive age. this is because a healthy society is a wealthy society. being healthy is not just the absence of diseases and infirmity but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being (who, 2000). the importance of healthy living is of concern to all stakeholders and different levels of government being that when the citizenry are in good health, it brings about positive outcome in human development. thus, the wealth of any society can be determined by the health status of its subjects. who, (1999) statement stressed that women are the mainstay of families, they are key educators of children healthcare providers, care givers of young and old alike, farmers, trader and often the main, if not the sole bread winners. bradley, (2002) supports the above view by stating that women in most families are the providers of healthcare and the health of children depends on the health of the mothers and her knowledge and practice relating to good health: thus the quality of health care services available to women in any society or culture, determines the state of health of her child/children during pregnancy and after and birth. women make important and diverse contributions to socio-economic development of the family and the nation as wives, mothers, healthcare providers, counselor, etc and as such their health should be given more attention (ihejiamaizu, 2002). research has shown that women suffer needless death and complication during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth due to several activities and actions that has serious implications for women of reproductive age in our societies. reproductive and sexual rights were first officially recognized at the international conference on population and development (icpd) in cairo in 1994 (griffin, 2010). according to world health organization (who) sexual health is defined as “a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well –being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity. sexual health requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships. as well as the possibility of having pleasurable safe sexual experience, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. for sexual health rights of person must be respected, protected and fulfilled” (who, 2006). reproductive health implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have a capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. protecting and promoting the srh rights of the youth and empowering them to make informed choices is a key to their wellbeing (asghar, 2010). nigeria is the most populous country in sub saharan africa. it’s also has a very young population (national demographic health survey, 2014). the majority of the population is below the age of 25 years, with 22% of the country’s population between the age of 10 -19 years. data on srh outcomes in nigeria highlights the importance of focusing on adolescents. at 5 maternal deaths per 100000 live births, nigeria accounts for roughly 14% of the global burden of maternal mortality (ndhs). national data indicates that the national adolescent fertility rate in nigeria is 122 births per 1000 women aged 15 – 19 years. it is as high as 171 births per 1000 women aged 15 -19 years. investing in the health of young people is essential for the economic and social development of any nation.this volume 5, issue 1, 2020 144 study set out to investigate the social dimension or determinants of health care services among women of reproductive age in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria statement of the problem in cross river state, it has been observed that, health inequality abounds among women or reproductive age due the cultural and social factors. physical, cultural and social factors such as availability of resources to meet daily needs, such as educational and job opportunities, living wages, or healthful foods, social norms and attitudes of health workers, such as discrimination, lack of social support and communication, lack of exposure to mass media and emerging technologies, such as the internet or cell phones, socioeconomic conditions, such as concentrated poverty, quality schools, transportation options and residential segregation may have a negative effect of women access to reproductive health services. in nigeria according to ebingha, esther and sharon-rose (2015), a third world country that has suffered the epidemic of poverty which is a potent factor that depletes the health status of women, it is clear, that about 60% of nigerians live below $ 1 per day that shows the health status of its citizenry. the adverse effects of these pictures are seen in the poor maternal health in developing countries especially in nigeria. the implications may even be worse when some family factors related with poverty are involved. who (2012) in ebingha et al., (2015) x-rayed that, everyday approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, 99% of all maternal death in developing countries and they are largely unpreventable. they further noted that the maternal mortality in developing countries is 240 per 100,000 births versus 16 per 100,000 in developed countries. in most areas in central senatorial district of cross river state, like rural communities in obubra, boki, etung and riverine abi communities the deplorable state of health centers for antenatal services may have contributed to high maternal mortality in the area. in these areas, where health centers exist, there is usually low manpower, obsolete facilities and equipment and poor attitude of health workers to women receiving antenatal services (mfongang, 2016). in line with this, obionu, (2007) observed that due to these problem, pregnancy and childbirth complications may have been seen to be harmful to women of reproductive age. this mishap may have contributed to lack of services unitization by pregnant women to the high preference of traditional birth attendant services. as a core component of developing nations, due to high cost of services and poor communication, maternal mortality has continued to be a public health problem aside the high rate of infant mortality in the area. in line with this, who (2014) reports stated facts on maternal health pointing out that, 289,000 women died in 2013 of complications during pregnancy, childbirth and after childbirth. most of these deaths can be avoided if necessary preventions are taken on human action/activities that may not be healthy. unicef report (2014), further revealed that “apart from losing about 2,300 under five year old children every single day nigeria also loses 145 women of reproductive age. this makes the country volume 5, issue 1, 2020 145 the second largest contributor of under-five and maternal mortality rate in the world park, (2006) contended that more than 500,000 women died during child birth each year. these is due to ignorance, illiteracy, lack of money or income, limited language access, cultural belief, poor hygiene environment, food restriction amongst others which could have been prevented during maternal care. the millennium development goals (mdgs), (2014) assets that maternal health improvement could set the pace for reducing 75% maternal mortality and achievement of reproduction health accessibility universally by 2015. but so this key objective has not been achieved. and despite national and donor effort to improve the quality of health of women of reproduction age through the years by providing family planning service, free pre-natal and neo-natal care, health education, enlightenment programmes, etc. the problem still persist. it is against this backdrop the study is carried out to investigate social dimension or determinant of health care services utilization among women of reproductive age in central district of cross river state, nigeria study objectives the main objective of the study is to investigate social determinants of health care service utilization among women in cross river state. subsidiary objectives seek to: 1. examine the effect of family size on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age 2. evaluate the impact of spousal literacy level on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age 3. access the impact of cultural belief on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age theoretical framework theory of planned behaviour the conceptual framework adopted for this study is the ‘theory of planned behaviour’ (tpb). this theory was formulated by ajzen and fishbein in 1980. it first started as the theory of reasoned action (tra) which suggests that a person’s behaviour is determined by his/her intention to perform the behaviour and that the intention in turn becomes a function of his/her attitude toward the behaviour and his/her subjective norm. the theory of planned behaviour on the other hand predicts deliberate behaviour. it states that behaviour achievement depends on both motivation (intention) and ability (behaviour control). according to ajzen (1991), the theory of planned behaviour is comprised of six constructs that collectively represent a person's actual control over the behaviour. 1. attitudes this refers to the degree to which a person has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation of the behaviour of interest. it entails a consideration of the outcomes of performing the behaviour. 2. behavioural intention this refers to the motivational factors that influence a given behaviour where the stronger the intention to perform the behaviour, the more likely the behaviour will be performed. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 146 3. subjective norms this refers to the belief about whether most people approve or disapprove of the behaviour. it relates to a person's beliefs about whether peers and people of importance to the person think he or she should engage in the behaviour. 4. social norms this refers to the customary codes of behaviour in a group or people or larger cultural context. social norms are considered normative, or standard, in a group of people. 5. perceived behavioural control this refers to a person's perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour of interest. perceived behavioural control varies across situations and actions, which results in a person having varying perceptions of behavioural control depending on the situation. this construct of the theory was added later, and created the shift from the ‘theory of reasoned action’ to the ‘theory of planned behaviour’. 6. perceived power this refers to the perceived presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of behaviour. perceived power contributes to a person's perceived behavioural control over each of those factors (ajzen, 1991). the theory of planned behaviour (tpb) explains the individual’s social behaviour by considering social norms as an important variable. the study states that attitude towards behaviour; subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, together shaped an individual’s behavioural intentions and behaviours (fishbein&ajzen, 2010). accordingly, the theory explains that increasing knowledge on reproductive health of women alone does not help to change behaviour but campaigns that aim at attitude, perceived norms and control in making the change, have better result. based on the above theory, secondary school students’ beliefs/perception about hiv/aids produces favourable or unfavourable attitude towards reproductive health and this can lead to formation of a behavioural intention. generally, the more favourable the attitude and subjective norm, and the greater the perceived control, the stronger should be the persons’ intention to perform the behaviour in question (ajzen, 1991). in this study, women reproductive health is dependent on adequate knowledge, good attitude and adequate sources of information among spouses. if husband or spouses have good knowledge to the social defects of women reproductive lives or health, it will influence their attitude positively. therefore, based on the above framework, it is expected that individuals in various families or women acquire and retain useful information about the importance of women reproductive health to avert the rate. literature review according to icdp program of action (1994) the components of reproductive health include the following: safe motherhood comprising prenatal care, safe delivery, essential obstetric care, perinatal and neonatal care, postnatal care and breastfeeding. family planning information and services prevention and management of complications of abortion provision of safe abortion services where the law permits volume 5, issue 1, 2020 147 prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, especially sexually transmitted infections (stis), including hiv infection. acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids). promotion of healthy sexual maturation as from pre-adolescence, responsible and safe sex throughout the lifetime and gender equality. elimination of harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation (fgm), premature marriage and domestic and sexual violence against women. management of non-infectious conditions of the reproductive system, such as genital fistula, cervical cancer, complications of female genital mutilation and reproductive health problems associated with menopause. the size of any family which is seen as the number of children within a given family determines the quality of control and interaction of parents with their children (obi, 1995). researchers on the influence of family size on maternal health reveals that the presence of large numbers of people in the family has an adverse effect on member’s health especially women of reproductive age. mcleren, (2005) concluded that, having many children implies having many troubles, considering the fact that the women may not have any house help and most times the burden of having to cook, clean the house and care for children rest solely on her. the adverse effect occurs when women due to a lot of stress of managing the home face complication during pregnancy and child birth and the situation may even lead to death. arthur, (2006) observed that, a large family comes with so many implications such as poor healthy, low income and status, low level of education, pressure on environmental resources due to over population, poor child care and poor nutrition. arthur, (2006) further noted that, women in small families 1-6 children (parent inclusive) visit the hospital for check-up regularly, such that most of the sickness such as malaria and other minor health challenges can be avoided with basic preventive measures thereby improving their health. but women in large family do not visit the hospitals for medications, prenatal or post-natal services due to lowincome, lesser spousal support in terms of income. this leads to poorer outcome in women’s health. blake, (2004) examined the effect of large family size on maternal health. in his study he focused on the number of children one woman has and the health outcome. to him, large family greatly influences women’s health leading to high blood pressure, hypertension, lower weight children, etc. thus the more the number of children a woman bears, the increase in hypertension, blood pressure and so on. educational background of women affects the outcome of maternal health leading to still births and even deaths of mothers or their babies. down through the years many studies have shown that one of the key to improve survival chances for children in developing countries is the educational level of their mothers. surveys show that mothers who had seven or more years schooling, were subject to less risk of complication or death than those mothers who had no schooling at all. etobe, (2005) opines that, education enables women to conceptualize family size and reproduction as being an aspect that is separated from tradition and culture and as something which is within their control. education gives women knowledge of the possibility and means of planning birth, the power to chart their own diet and seek medicare. it also allow for the dissemination of knowledge regarding family planning. lim, (1991) as cited in etobe, (2005) observed that education increases the chance that, women volume 5, issue 1, 2020 148 will find work that pays better and has career potential, thus enabling women to achieve good health through the degree of economic dependences. being financially empowered women could undergo medical investigation and treatment meted out for them during pregnancy, or child birth with or without the support of their spouse. arthur, (2006) sees illiteracy as one of the factors that influence the health of women of reproductive age. he observed that women who are educated are likely to visit the hospital for checkup or medication and delivery while those who are uneducated don’t visit the hospital but patronize the traditional birth attendant. lack of education among women of reproductive age undoubtedly contributes to the widespread of self-neglect of many women. they tend to be inattentive to their health needs illness and fail to seek care. it is lack of education and its correlates-ignorance amongst others that often make women passive to accept the conditions of life that are meted out to them in the name of culture and tradition. on this note nijikan, (1994) concluded that low level of education together with other factors exert a strong influence on the health of women of reproductive age especially during pregnancy, delivery and after child birth. baumirind, (2004) suggested that, family variables such as parents level of education have been regarded as a predicator of women of reproductive age attaining good health. a woman’s educational background is part of those variables that influences her health outcome during pregnancy, childbirth, etc. he further noted that attending a higher level of education may give them access to resources such as income, information on health. thus influencing the health outcome and reducing the risk of complication and maternal mortality. sharma, (2004) revealed that, educated women realize the benefit of maternal health services and family planning method than the illiterate women. he also stressed that, with improved educational level of women of reproductive age, there is bound to be an improve outcome in maternal health. ratzan, filerman & lasar, (2002) assert that, “a mothers educational level influences her health”. women’s chances of surviving during pregnancy and childbirth usually depend on the mothers’ educational level. women’s education is interrelated with many other health determinant compared with less educated women, the educated woman is more likely to marry at an older age and consequently to have her first birth later. she is more likely to use family planning and to want have fewer children-all this factors bring about a better maternal and child health socio-cultural norms and taboos regarding women sexual behavior are the most significant factors influencing women perception of reproductive health. also most women own fear and shame, judgmental attitudes of services providers and disapproval from spouses and community gate-keepers influence their perception on srh (kennedy, bulu, harris, humphregs, malverus & gray 2013; unicef, 2011). the result from a study in pakistan showed a low level of perception amongst more than half of the husbands/caregivers (58%) and women (55%). similarly, the qualitative findings also highlighted a low perception of asrhr among all adolescents, teachers and few doctors and the study also indicated that 71% of adolescents and 64% of parents/caregivers, teachers, siblings/cousins and the media (igbal, zakar & fiscler 2017). the view that men should be the sole decision makers on sexual issues was held by some adolescents (yendaw, yeboah & bagah 2015). another study conducted among in-school adolescents in bangladesh to explore asrh knowledge and perception also indicates that the boys and girls who participated in the study had better knowledge and perception about aids in volume 5, issue 1, 2020 149 comparison to other issues related to women reproductive health with a possible reason that aids is included in the secondary school curriculum (aktar, sarker & jenkins 2014). in nigeria studies indicated low perception of women of sexual and reproductive health for example, in a study conducted in akwa ibom state family planning services though available, were not well-utilized and most women who participated in the study were not worried about unplanned pregnancy and consequences of unprotected sex (isonguyo & adindu 2013). in another study conducted in cross river and kogi states, respondents had unrealistic perceptions of their own hiv risk. among youth who are sexually active, most did not use condom at last sex during the past 12 months, or at sexual debut. and most respondents have not been tested for hiv, though they know the value of the test and where to get one. these are serious risk factors that must be addressed, along with multiple and concurrent sexual partnerships and inter-generational sex between young women and older men (diala, olusimi, harries & feyisetan, 2011). in nigeria, data also highlight low perception to srh services especially for unmarried girls. only 10% had visited a health facility or doctor for srh services, with the largest proportion (15%) being girls aged 15-19 seeking contraception, abortions, pregnancy, or sti related services (world bank, 2015). examples of social and physical factors affecting women of reproductive age accessing health care services include:  availability of resources to meet daily needs (e.g., safe housing and local food markets  access to educational, economic, and job opportunities  access to health care service  quality of education and job training  availability of community-based resources in support of community living and opportunities for recreational and leisure-time activities  transportation options  public safety  social support  social norms and attitudes (e.g., discrimination, racism, and distrust of government)  exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder (e.g., presence of trash and lack of cooperation in a community)  socioeconomic conditions (e.g., concentrated poverty and the stressful conditions that accompany it)  residential segregation  language/literacy  access to mass media and emerging technologies (e.g., cell phones, the internet, and social media)  culture  natural environment, such as green space (e.g., trees and grass) or weather (e.g., climate change)  built environment, such as buildings, sidewalks, bike lanes, and roads  worksites, schools, and recreational settings  housing and community design volume 5, issue 1, 2020 150  exposure to toxic substances and other physical hazards  physical barriers, especially for people with disabilities aesthetic elements (e.g., good lighting, trees, and benches) by working to establish policies that positively influence social and economic conditions and those that support changes in individual behavior, it is important to improve health for large numbers of people in ways that can be sustained over time. improving the conditions in which we live, learn, work, and play and the quality of our relationships will create a healthier population, society, and workforce hypotheses of the study 1. family size does not have any effect on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age 2. there is no significant influence of spousal literacy level on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age 3. cultural belief have no significant effect on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age materials and method the research design adopted for the study is the descriptive and cross sectional survey design. this is because a cross sectional study is a type of observational study that involves the analysis of data collected from a population of a representative sample or subset at one specific point in time.the study area is the central senatorial district of cross river state (nigeria).the central senatorial district, as the name implies occupies the central position of the state with six (6) local governments areas namely: abi, yakurr, obubra, ikom, boki and etung local government areas respectively. the population of study was limited to only women of reproductive age between 18 to 45 years. this was done by asking participants their age and using antenatal record book. data to determine the population of women of reproductive ageis unknown. however, the study sample waspurposively selected based on records of women utilizing antenatal services during clinic days. the study was conducted within the space of two months with a sample of 300 women. these women formed the population and sample for the study. the sample was selected across ten (15) health centers or facilities across five local government areasyakurr, abi, obubra, etung and boki local government areas of the state.in each health facility or health center selected for the study, thirty women undergoing antenatal services were selected. in each local government area, 40 women were selected as representative sample for the study. the instrument used for the study was questionnaire titledquestionnaire for social determinants of health care service utilization among women (qsdhcsuw) and interview guide for social determinants of health care service utilization among women (igsdhcsuw). items in the questionnaire include: 1. family size of women 2. number of children 3. level of education of spouse volume 5, issue 1, 2020 151 4. level of awareness to caesarean session 5. cultural/religious belief 6. level of patronage of tradition birth attendants(tba) the questionnaire was in both multiple option scale, the four point likert scale of agree, strongly agree, disagree and strongly disagree as well as the scale measurement of yes and no. for the purpose of this study, the researcher used primary data and secondary data through the questionnaire and the interviews conducted. hypotheses were tested with regression and chi-square results hypothesis one family size does not have any effect on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age. accept ho if calculated x2 value is 6.74 at 2 degrees of freedom (df) and 0.05 level of significance. otherwise, reject the ho and accept the hi. accept the ho if the critical x2 value of 6.74 is greater than the calculated value of 22.389 is at 0.05 level of significant and 1 degree of freedom otherwise reject the ho and accept the hi. to test hypothesis one, chi-squared analysis was used in testing the hypothesis or analysis of the two variablesfamily size and health care services utilization of women of reproductive age. from the analysis, the calculated x2 value of 22.389 was tested in comparison with the x2 table value of 6.74 at 0.05 level of significance. the calculated x2 value was greater than the critical x2 values. hence the result was statistically significant (the result therefore means that family size have significant effect on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age.) table 1: chi-squared analysis for statistical effect of family size on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age (n=280). family size on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age health care services unitization among women of reproductive age total positive negative family size 1 to 3 children count 36 27 63 expected count 36.5 26.6 63.0 4 to 7 children count 97 46 143 expected count 82.7 60.3 143.0 8 to 11 children count 27 31 58 expected count 33.6 24.4 58.0 12 and above count 2 14 16 expected count 9.3 6.7 16.0 total count 162 118 280 expected count 162.0 118.0 280.0 source: field survey 2020 decision volume 5, issue 1, 2020 152 hypothesis one above was tested using chi-square statistical to determine the significant effect between family size and health care services unitization among women of reproductive age. from the test, it showed that family size ranging from 1 to 3 children, 4 to 7 children, 8 to 11 children and 12 children and above without cumulative income to cater for this family may place a financial burden on the women to utilize further services when she is pregnant. consequently, it was concluded that the effective utilization of health care services for women of reproductive age is dependent of the income status of the family the cater for the number of children couple may have. from this findings, there was statistical significance between these variables since the calculated value was greater than the table value at 0,05 level of significance. hypothesis two in the null form, hypothesis two states that there is no significant influence of spousal literacy level on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age. the independent variable here is the spousal literacy levelwhile the independent variable is health care services unitization among women of reproductive age. this hypothesis was tested using linear regression. the result obtained is as shown in table 3. the correlation coefficient of 230 was obtained which means that there is moderate positive relationship between the spousal literacy level and health care services unitization among women of reproductive age. the coefficient of determination of 2.30 was obtained which means that spousal litracy level for 053 percent of the variation in determining good health care services to women of reproductive age. the moderately high positive relationship means that the more the literate a spouse is, the more likely they will adhere to strick medcal advices and adopt famly planningg when the need arises. the r-square value of 2.55 percent suggests that utilization of health care services by women of reproductive age accounted is possible whrn the spouses are well educated in the study area. result also revealed that spousal literacy level have a strong influence on women’s health with a result influence of f 15.533 at 4-276 of p<.05). the beta coefficient of .230 indicates that spousal literacy level influences health care services unitization among women of reproductive age(  = ..230, t 13.108, p<.05). the adjusted r-square, which is a measure of effect size, shows that 30.4 percent of the variance in litracy level of spouses was explained by the quality and prompt attendants at antenatal clinics. furthermore, since the calculated r(0.230) is greater than the critical r(.0.85) with 396 degrees at the 0.05 level of significance. this means that the null hypothesis is rejected. therefore, spousal literacy levels have a strong influence on the health care services unitization among women of reproductive age table 2: influence of spousal literacy level on health care services unitization among women of reproductive age volume 5, issue 1, 2020 153 mode l r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .230a .053 .043 .39886 a. predictors: (constant), highly literate, less literate, literate anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regressio n 3.521 4 .880 15.533 .000b residual 62.839 276 .159 total 66.360 280 a. dependent variable: health care services utilization b. predictors: (constant), highly literate, less literate, literate coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 1.469 .112 13.108 .000 highly literate .283 .173 .221 1.632 .103 less literate -.235 .167 -.194 -1.405 .161 literate -.022 .046 -.026 -.465 .642 -.238 .055 -.218 -4.341 .000 a. dependent variable: health care services utilization significant at 0.05, df = 280, critical r = .087, critical f = 15.533 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 154 hypothesis three cultural beliefs have no significant effect on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age. in this hypothesis, the independent variable is cultural beliefs while the dependent variable is health care services utilization among women of reproductive age. to test the hypothesis,the linear regression model statistics was employed to test the effect of cultural beliefs on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age asshown in table 4.3a from the first model summary result, it is statistical that there is a strong effect (r = 0.871a) ofcultural beliefs on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age. the adjusted r square (r. square =.758) also showed thatcultural beliefs have on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age (adjusted r2 = 0.758) of the total variation of the independent variable improves the health of women. a similar significant result difference was obtained in the anova model which also showed a significant f-ratio of 1249.210 which was calculated against the critical f-ratio of 3.053 at 0.05 levels of significances and 1 degree of freedom. the last tables of result from the coefficient regression analysis further revealed that there is significant effect of cultural beliefs on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age in table 4.3c showed that a strong effect exists on cultural beliefs have no significant effect on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age (β = .1199, t = 7.492 p<.05). thus, we reject h0 and accept the h1. this implies that there is significant effect of cultural beliefs on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age table 3: cultural beliefs effect on health care services utilization among women of reproductive age mode l r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .871a .758 .758 .15721 a. predictors: (constant), belief in male child preference, belief against cesarean session, belief against family planning and patronage of tbas as best services outlets anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regressio n 30.874 1 30.874 1249.210 .000b residual 9.836 1199 .025 total 40.710 1199 a. dependent variable: health care service utilization b. predictors: (constant), belief in male child preference, belief against cesarean session, belief against family planning and patronage of tbas as best services outlets volume 5, issue 1, 2020 155 coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .202 .027 7.492 .000 belief in male child preference, belief against cesarean session, belief against family planning and patronage of tbas as best services outlets .801 .023 .871 35.344 .000 a. dependent variable: health care service utilization discussion of findings from the study, findings from the analysis revealed that language access of women of reproductive age, income level of women or family poverty, belief system arising from large family size, male child preference and avoidance of family planning have a significant effect on women of reproductive age. from the analysis, findings revealed that, the major setback of social determinant or factors affecting women of reproductive age could be access roads to health care centers among those in rural areas, cost of transportation, attitude of health care worker/pregnant women alike, family size and systems are core determinant of health care services utilization of women or reproductive age. this finding corroborate mcleren, (2005) observations, who opines that, having many children implies having many troubles, considering the fact that the women may not have any house help and most times the burden of having to cook, clean the house and care for children rest solely on her. the adverse effect occurs when women due to a lot of stress of managing the home face complication during pregnancy and child birth and the situation may even lead to death. arthur, (2006) also observed that women in large family do not visit the hospitals for medications, prenatal or post-natal services due to lowincome, lesser spousal support in terms of income. this leads to poorer outcome in women’s health. blake, (2004) noted that large family greatly influence women’s health leading to high blood pressure, hypertension, lower weight children, etc. thus the more the number of children a woman bears, the increase in hypertension, blood pressure and so on. educational background of women affects the outcome of maternal health leading to still births and even deaths of mothers or their babies. etobe, (2005) opines that, education enables women to conceptualize family size and reproduction as being an aspect that is separated from tradition and culture and as something which is within their control. education gives women knowledge of the possibility and means of planning birth, the power to chart their own diet and seek medicare. it also allow for the dissemination of knowledge regarding family planning. lim, volume 5, issue 1, 2020 156 (1991) as cited in etobe, (2005) observed that education increases the chance that, women will find work that pays better and has career potential, thus enabling women to achieve good health through the degree of economic dependences. being financially empowered women could undergo medical investigation and treatment meted out for them during pregnancy, or child birth with or without the support of their spouse. furthermore, arthur (2006) sees illiteracy as one of the factors that influence the health of women of reproductive age. he observed that women who are educated are likely to visit the hospital for checkup or medication and delivery while those who are uneducated don’t visit the hospital but patronize the traditional birth attendant. lack of education among women of reproductive age undoubtedly contributes to the widespread of self-neglect of many women. they tend to be inattentive to their health needs illness and fail to seek care. it is lack of education and its correlates-ignorance amongst others that often make women passive to accept the conditions of life that are meted out to them in the name of culture and tradition. on this note nijikan, (1994) concluded that low level of education together with other factors exert a strong influence on the health of women of reproductive age especially during pregnancy, delivery and after child birth. socio-cultural norms and taboos regarding women sexual behavior are the most significant factors influencing women perception of reproductive health. also women own fear and shame, judgmental attitudes of services providers and disapproval from husband and community gate-keepers influence their perception on srh (kennedy, bulu, harris, humphregs, malverus & gray 2013, unicef, 2011). the result from a study in pakistan showed a low level of perception amongst more than half of husbands/caregivers (58%) and pregnant women (55%). similarly, the qualitative findings also highlighted a low perception of asrhr among all adolescents, teachers and few doctors and the study also indicated that 71% of adolescents girls and 64% of parents/caregivers, teachers, siblings/cousins and the media (igbal, zakar & fiscler 2017). the view that men should be the sole decision makers on sexual issues was held by some adolescents (yendaw, yeboah & bagah 2015). another study conducted among in-school adolescents in bangladesh to explore asrh knowledge and perception also indicates that the boys and girls who participated in the study had better knowledge and perception about aids in comparison to other issues related to adolescent reproductive health with a possible reason that aids is included in the secondary school curriculum (aktar, sarker & jenkins, 2014). baumirind, (2004) suggested that, family variables such as husband or spousal level of education have been regarded as predicators of women of reproductive age attaining good health. a woman’s educational background is part of those variables that influences her health outcome during pregnancy, childbirth, etc. he further noted that attending a higher level of education may give them access to resources such as income, information on health. thus influencing the health outcome and reducing the risk of complication and maternal mortality. sharma, (2004) revealed that, educated women realize the benefit of maternal health services and family planning method than the illiterate women. he also stressed that, with improved educational level of women of reproductive age, there is bound to be an improve outcome in maternal health. ratzan, filerman & lasar, (2002) assert that, “a mothers educational level influences her health”. women’s chances of volume 5, issue 1, 2020 157 surviving during pregnancy and childbirth usually depend on the mothers’ educational level. women’s education is interrelated with many other health determinant compared with less educated women, the educated woman is more likely to marry at an older age and consequently to have her first birth later. she is more likely to use family planning and to want have fewer children-all this factors bring about a better maternal and child health from the interview, findings revealed that, apart from most men refusal to family planning, most women or reproductive age suffer due to cultural believes and traditions that places value on the male child. this in effect could lead to death or have caused the death of most women. the insistence to have a male child endangers the health of the women especially for women who may have undergone cesarean session for more than 3 or 5 times. this insistence is usually against medical advice for stoppage of conception. during the interview, health workers in the area avers that, almost all cultures within the study area belief that family planning is bad, hence, it only take an educated man to allow family planning services. this in effect also endangers the life of the women. other factors that have a negative effect on the women could be physical accessibility, cost of transportation, language barrier and patronage of traditional birth attendant. finally, the cultural belief that, cesarean session is bad also places a burden on the women. recommendations from the above analysis, the following recommendation are made or suggested i. since knowledge of women toward reproductive health is low in the study area, there is need for sex education and awareness creation at homes or town halls to educate women on this subject matter ii. there is also the need for spouses to have sex education and counseling sessions before marriage iii. health care professionals and relevant stakeholders should design and strengthen better family reduction programmes that would be well targeted and result in a remarkable decrease in maternal health challenges. iv. government of cross river state and beyond should make effort to ensure maximum educational attainment opportunities for girl children as well as women of reproductive age in order to expose and enlighten them on those maternal health issues and ways of prevention. v. health professionals and ministry of health should endeavor to make policies enforceable against religious teachings on contraception. since cost has been identified as one of the major factor negatively influencing reproduction health of adolescent, there should be free distribution of contraceptives, hiv/aid counseling and ensure hygienic environment for women. conclusion from the research questions answered, the study revealed that majority women have low level of knowledge of their reproductive health in the study area. the cumulative level percent from the research analysis and findings showed that majority of the women patronizes traditional birth attendants (tbas) than government approved health centers for antenatal and pots-natal services. the cost of transportation, physical accessibility, language gap, attitude of health care workers/pregnant women, belief system have a strong volume 5, issue 1, 2020 158 influence on women of reproductive age. also male child preference endangers the life of women of reproductive age due to lack of family planning. from the analysis findings revealed that factors such as religion, unhygienic environment, low level of spousal education, high level of abortion, cost and age influence women reproductive health references agency for healthcare research and quality (ahrq) (2008). national healthcare disparities report. rockville (md): u.s. department of health and human services. mar. pub no. 09-002. ajzen, i. (1991). theory of planned behaviour: organizational behaviour and human adolescents’ beliefs and perceptions of sex, sexuality. hiv and aids in educational settings: methodological successes and challenges. international journal of science research and education. 4(2)131 – 141. aktar, h. sarker, g. & jenkins, w. (2014). social context, sexual networks, and racial disparities in rates of sexually transmitted infections. journal of infectious diseases; 191(suppl 1):s115–s122. arthur, c. (2006).implication of family size (8thed), sunyami, university of cape print. asghar. t. (2010). racial/ethnic group differences in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in the united states: a network explanation. sex transm26(5):250–261. baumirind, d. (2004). rearing campestral children in child development today and tomorrow. william danon. san francisco jossey base. blake, j. (2004). family size and the quality of children. demography, 18(4):421–442 bradley, e. 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(2015) knowledge and perception of adolescents on sexual and reproductive health rights in ghana: a case study of yamoransa in the mfantseman municipality. british journal of education, society & behavioural science 8(3): 147-158 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 42 quality of governance and economic wellbeing: the nigerian experience richard, o. ojike1 nkechinyere, r. uwajumogu1 marius ikpe1 sunday, v. agu2 joseph, i. amuka3 1department of economics and development studies, alex ekwueme federal university,ndufu-alike ikwo, ebonyi state, nigeria. 2department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. 3department of economics, university of nigeria, nsukka. abstract governance can be good or bad. good governance promotes economic well being, while bad governance undermines it through harsh policies and poor implementation of the good policies. with the experience of the developed countries of the world, democracy is associated with good governance. however, with more than 20 years of democratic experience in nigeria, the poor state of the economic indicators of wellbeing continued to go down. based on the foregoing, this study examined the impact of governance on economic wellbeing in nigeria for the period 1996q1-2018q4 using autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) bounds test approach. per capita gdp growth was used as a proxy for economic wellbeing while regulatory quality index was used as proxy for quality of governance. the cointegration test result showed that there is a long run relationship between quality of governance and economic wellbeing. the study findings show that quality of governance has a negative significant impact on economic wellbeing in both shortand long-run. based on the findings and the definition of regulatory quality by the worldwide governance indicators as perceptions of the ability of the government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote private sector development; the study recommends for an improved oversight function by the legislative arm of the government to ensure that public policies and regulations are properly implemented to promote private sector development and the economic wellbeing of the nigerian populace. keywords: governance, ardl, economic wellbeing, regulatory quality index, nigeria. corresponding author: richard o. ojike department of economics and development studies, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike ikwo, pmb 1010, abakaliki, ebonyi state, nigeria email: ricvivojaiyke@yahoo.com phone no: +2348030888231 1. introduction governance is a broad concept which describes ways which the public sector excises its powers in its bid to manage economic and social components (world bank, 1994). mailto:ricvivojaiyke@yahoo.com volume 5, issue 1, 2020 43 exercise of such powers by the state determines level and direction of economic performance as measured by various indices of performance. in recent times, scholars are beginning to realize the useful role of governance institution in the process of growth, development and wellbeing (mauro 1995; knack and keefer 1995; alesina 1998; przeworski et al 2001; feng 2003). governance can be good or bad. good governance promotes economic well being, while bad governance undermines it through harsh policies and poor implementation of the good policies. with the experience of the developed countries of the world, democracy is associated with good governance. however, with more than 20 years of democratic experience in nigeria, the poor state of the economic indicators of wellbeing continued to go down. for instance, the total employment to population ratio for fifteen years and above dropped from 57.8% in 1999 to 48.6% in 2019(world development indicators, 2020), the gdp growth rate dropped from 15.3% in 2002 to 2.2% in 2019(world development indicators, 2020), the inflation rate increased from 6.6% in 1999 to 16.5% in 2017(cbn statistical bulletin, 2018) etc. worldwide governance indicators utilized six indicatorscontrol of corruption, government effectiveness, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, regulatory quality, rule of law, voice and accountabilityto measure government performance. all the six indicators ranked nigeria negative from 1996 to 2018 in a scale of -2.5(weak performance) to 2.5(strong performance), showing that governance in nigeria is bad in all measures. the figure 1 below shows the nigeria governance performance ranking using the regulatory quality index. figure 1 nigeria governance performance ranking index with regulatory quality measure source: authors’ plot using worldwide governance indicator (2020) data -1.6 -1.4 -1.2 -1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 5 2 0 1 6 2 0 1 7 2 0 1 8 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 44 in scale of -2.5(weak performance) to 2.5(strong performance), nigeria’s governance regulatory quality index shows weak performance for the study period. it is worthy to note that nigeria had her highest index in 2013 and the lowest in 2004. the implication is that government policy formulation and implementation that promotes private sector development were worst during the obasanjo led government in 2004 while the best was during jonathan’s regime in 2013. evidences from the reviewed empirical literature shows that none of the nigeria studies used specifically regulatory quality index to measure quality of governance. none of the studies also utilized the ardl bound test approach to examine the shortand long-run effect of quality of governance on economic wellbeing. in other to fill the identified gaps, the objectives of this study are; (1). to examine the impact of quality of governance on economic wellbeing using regulation quality index to measure the governance performance. (2). to use the ardl bound test approach in examining both shortand long-run effect of quality of governance on economic wellbeing. 2. literature review there has been no consensus regarding whether or not governance promotes or hinders growth and wellbeing. in the argument, the first school of thought (the conflict school) argue that by creating consumption pressures, instigation of distributional conflicts, and equally by discouragement of capital accumulation, democracy hinders the process of growth among developing countries. however, empirical work by przeworskiet et al. (2000) failed to provide support for this as their findings provided evidence of nonexisting tradeoffs between democracy and development. the second school (compatibility theorists) posits that governance exerts positive influence on growth. they argue that, presence of fundamental human rights, as well as political rights creates the right social environment conducive for economic development. this has been empirically supported by a number of studies (knack and keefer 1995; mauro 1995; alesina 1998). the third school (the skeptical school) argues that there is absence of systematic relation between governance and economic development. this non – systematic relation according to olson (1996) and knack (2003) has been offered as reasons behind observed anomalies inherent in both old and new growth theories, which were unable to explain factors that explain development in most countries. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 45 empirical evidence from both regional (cross – country) studies and country specific investigations support positive effect of governance on economic growth as an aspect of wellbeing. for instance, in a study of effect of governance on economic performance among sub saharan africa, habtumu (2008) for the period 1996 – 2005, using both difference and system dynamic generalized methods of moments (gmm), provided evidence that governance positively affects economic growth and general wellbeing. this evidence was equally supported by a good number of other studies with similar geographical scope (fayisa and nsiah, 2010; kaufman and kraay 2002; cooray, 2009; emara and chin 2016; bayar 2016; tarek and ahmed 2013, lahouij, 2017). on the other hand, in a study of the rwandan economy, while adopting an estimation strategy that allows separation of correlation into two components, habyarimana, and dushimayezu (2018) provided evidence in support of positive effect of governance on growth. similar outcome in the context of country – specific study was also arrived at by alomaisi et al. (2016) for yemen, ramadhan, (2019) for indonesia and a number of nigerian specific studies (uda and ayara 2014; ovat and bassey 2014; adenuga and avbuomwan 2012). on the contrary, sikod and teke, (2012) found a negative effect of governance on growth in their study for cameroon, while yerrabati and hawkes (2015) provided a mixed evidence on the effect of governance on growth. nigeria specific studies differ in methodology and measurement of governance. adenuga and avbuomwan (2012) added up the six indicators to measure governance in an error correction model. uda and ayara (2014) included five out of the six indices in a single ordinary least squares (ols) model. ovat and bassey (2014) used descriptive statistics to analyze the six indicators relationship with economic growth. dates of the nigeria specific studies also show that recent studies are lacking in literature. the available empirical literature shows that none of the nigeria studies used specifically the regulation quality index to measure the shortand long-run impact of governance on economic wellbeing in an ardl bounds test approach. this study is set to fill the above identified gaps. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 46 3. methodology 3.1 theoretical framework the theoretical framework adopted in this study is the solow growth model, which can be stated thus: y(t) = f (k (t), a(t) l(t) …………………………………………………………. (1) where y is output, k is capital, l is labour, a is knowledge and t is time. a and l enter multiplicatively and is referred to as effective labour (romer, 1996). governance as an institution that manages the economy enters the model through her policy formulation and implementation to increase economic growth and general wellbeing of the citizens. public policy if properly implemented will improve the output through its effect on capital and the effective labour inputs. 3.2 model specification solow growth model will be modified to incorporate the governance variable and other economic variables. model of the study is specified in functional form thus: pcgdpg = f( gfcf, lfpr, govrn, fred, exchr, inflr, brkpcgdpg) ………… (2) the econometric form of the model is stated as follows: pcgdpgt = β0 + β1gfcft + β2lfprt + β3govrnt + β4fredt + β5exchrt + β6inflrt + β7brkpcgdpgt + єt …………………………………………………………………… (3) where pcgdpg is per capita gdp growth (proxy for economic wellbeing), gfcf is gross fixed capital formation ( proxy for capital inputs), lfpr is labour participation rate ( proxy for effective labour), govrn is quality of governance (measured with regulatory quality index), fred is federal government recurrent expenditure on education (proxy for government investment in education), exchr is naira official exchange rate with us dollar, inflr is inflation rate, brkpcgdpg is per capita gdp growth structural break dummy, є is the error term, and t is time. β0 is the intercept and β1 β7 are the slope coefficients of the variables. the a priori expectations are; β1 > 0, β2 > 0, β3 > 0 or <0, β4 > 0, β5 < 0, β6 < 0, β7 > 0. based on the results of the unit root test in table 1 below, the study adopted pesaran, shin and smith (2001) autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) bounds test approach for cointegration test. the bound test approach is applicable when the regressors are integrated of order zero (i(0)) or one (i(1)) or are mutually cointegrated (pesaran and volume 5, issue 1, 2020 47 shin (1999). it is also efficient when the sample size is small. the basic ardl (p, q) model of the study can be stated thus: pcgdpgt = β0 + β1pcgdpgt-1 +...+ βppcgdpgt-p + α0gfcf + α1gfcft-1 + …+ αqgfcft-q + δ0lfpr + δ1lfprt-1 + …+ δqlfprt-q + λ0govrn + λ1govrnt-1 + …+ λqgovrnt-q + η0fred + η1fredt-1 + …+ ηqfredt-q + φ0exchr + φ1exchrt-1 + …+ φqexchrt-q + υ0inflr + υ1inflrt-1 + …+ υqinflrt-q + ψ0brkpcgdpgt + єt ……………… (4) where the variables remain as defined in equation (3). p, and q are the lag orders that will be determined through akaike information criterion (aic).. following pesaran et al (2001), the bound test equation is stated thus: δpcgdpg = β0 +   p i 1 βiδpcgdpgt-i +   q j 0 αjδgfcft-j +  q k 0 δkδlfprt-k +  q l 0 λlδgovrnt-l +   q m 0 ηmδfredt-m +  q n 0 φnδexchrt-n +  q o 0 υoδinflrt-o + ψ0brkpcgdpgt + ω0pcgdpgt-1 + ω1gfcft-1 + ω2lfprt-1 + ω3govrnt-1 + ω4fredt-1+ ω5exchrt-1 + ω6inflrt-1 + 𝑒t .. (5) where; δ represents difference. the bounds test for cointegration is based on an asymptotic non-standard f-test on the lagged level variables in equation 2. in this regards, two bounds critical values are generated. the upper bounds critical value serves as a bench mark for i(1) variables while the lower bounds critical value is the bench mark for i(0) variables. null hypothesis of no cointegration; h0: ω0 = ω1 = ω2 = ω3= ω4 = ω5 = ω6 = 0 is tested against the alternative hypothesis of presence of conintegration: h1: ω0 ≠ ω1 ≠ ω2 ≠ ω3 ≠ ω4 ≠ ω5 ≠ ω6 ≠ 0. null hypothesis of no cointegration is rejected if the computed f-statistics exceeds the upper bounds critical value. if the calculated f-statistics is lower than the lower bounds critical value, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. the test is inconclusive when the calculated f-statistics is between lower and upper bounds critical values. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 48 3.2 data the study utilized an annual data that spanned from 1996 to 2018. eviews 9.0 was used to interpolate the annual data to quarterly series (1996q1-2018q4). gdp per capita growth, inflation rate, and exchange rate were sourced from world development indicators (2020). federal government recurrent expenditure on education and gross fixed capital formation were sourced from cbn statistical bulletin (2018). regulation quality index that measured the quality of governance was sourced from worldwide governance indicators (2020). regulation quality index is measured in a scale of -2.5 to 2.5 (-2.5 = weak performance, 2.5 = strong performance). the data publication started in 1996 but gapped 1997, 1999 and 2001. average of 1996 and 1998 was used to fill 1997; average of 1998 and 2000 was used to fill 1999, while average of 2000 and 2002 was used to fill 2001. 4. results presentation and discussion 4.1 unit root test following perron (2006) assertion that conventional unit root test approaches like augmented dickey–fuller (adf; dickey and fuller 1979, 1981), philip perron (pp; phillips and perron 1988), kwiatkowski–phillips–schmidt–shin (kpss; kwiatkowski et al. 1992) and ng and perron (2001) give biased results due to their low explanatory powers to identify unknown structural breaks in time series, the study adopted zivot and andrews (1992) unit root test approach that incorporates unknown single structural break in its unit root test. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 49 table 1; zivot-andrews unit root test variable level form first difference order of integration brake date t-statistic brake date t-statistic pcgdpg gfcf lfpr govrn fred exchr inflr 2000q1 2015q2 2012q1 2005q1 2011q1 2015q1 2006q1 -4.3478 -1.9776 -7.1975*** -4.5849 -6.2882*** -3.2191 -4.5400 2000q1 2007q1 2012q4 2005q1 2011q3 2015q1 2005q4 -15.8632*** -7.7208*** -11.0071*** -9.90845*** -10.1884*** -10.7398*** -7.2705*** i(1) i(1) i(0) i(1) i(0) i(1) i(1) source: authors’ computation using sourced data note: **indicates significance at 5%, ***indicates significance at 1% summary of the unit root test result in table 1 shows that per capita gdp growth, gross fixed capital formation, quality of governance, exchange rate and inflation rate are stationary at first difference while labour force participation rate and federal government recurrent expenditure on education are stationary at level form. since none of the variables is integrated of order two, pesaran et al (2001) ardl bound test technique is appropriate for the cointegration test. 4.2: ardl model selection result figure 2: akaike information criteria model selection 3.655 3.660 3.665 3.670 3.675 3.680 3.685 3.690 ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 1 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 2 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 1 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 2 ) ar d l( 4, 1 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 2 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 0 , 3 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 0 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 0 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 1 ) ar d l( 4, 0 , 0 , 1 , 0 , 1 , 2 ) akaike information criteria (top 20 models) source: authors’ plot from the ardl model volume 5, issue 1, 2020 50 figure 2 above shows that using akaike information criteria (aic), ardl (4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1) has the lowest value and was used for the study. the r-squared (0.8563) and the adjusted r-squared (0.8311) of the ardl (4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1) regression result in the appendix showed that the model has a good fit. f-statistic of 33.9226 with a p-value of 0.0000 showed that the model is statistically significant at 1% level. 4.3: cointegration test table 2: bounds test result null hypothesis: no long run relationships exist calculated f-statistic = 3.95 level of significance critical bound value lower bound i(0) upper bound i(1) 10% 5% 2.5% 1% 2.12 2.45 2.75 3.15 3.23 3.61 3.99 4.43 source: authors’ computation from the ardl model the cointegration test result in table 2 above shows that the f-statistic is higher than the upper critical bound of 5% level of significance, indicating the presence of long run relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables in the model. 4.4 diagnostic tests for the model 4.4.1 serial autocorrelation test table 3: correlogram-q-statistic q-statistic probabilities adjusted for 4 dynamic regressors autocorrelation partial correlation ac pac q-stat prob* . |*. | . |*. | 1 0.098 0.098 0.8773 0.349 . | . | . | . | 2 0.012 0.002 0.8902 0.641 .*| . | .*| . | 3 -0.074 -0.077 1.4071 0.704 **| . | **| . | 4 -0.230 -0.218 6.3858 0.172 . | . | . | . | 5 0.001 0.045 6.3859 0.270 . | . | . | . | 6 -0.035 -0.040 6.5041 0.369 .*| . | .*| . | 7 -0.071 -0.101 6.9939 0.430 .*| . | **| . | 8 -0.185 -0.234 10.389 0.239 . | . | . | . | 9 -0.053 -0.016 10.669 0.299 . | . | . | . | 10 -0.016 -0.041 10.696 0.382 . | . | . | . | 11 0.020 -0.050 10.738 0.465 .*| . | **| . | 12 -0.092 -0.230 11.619 0.477 . | . | . | . | 13 0.016 0.009 11.645 0.557 . | . | . | . | 14 0.027 -0.018 11.720 0.629 . | . | . | . | 15 0.038 -0.038 11.873 0.689 . | . | .*| . | 16 0.063 -0.103 12.304 0.723 *probabilities may not be valid for this equation specification. source: authors’ computation from the ardl model . volume 5, issue 1, 2020 51 result of the correlogram-q-statistics in table 2 shows that none of the lags is statistically significant at 5% level, indicating the absence of serial autocorrelation in the model. 4.4.2: stability test figure 3: recursive estimates (ols only) – cusum test -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 cusum 5% significance source: authors’ computation from the ardl model cusum test result in figure 3 above shows that the coefficients of the model are stable, since the plot of the cusum statistics remained within 5% level of significance. 4.4.3 normality, heteroskedasticity, and specification tests table 4: table 4: jarque-bera normality test, breusch-pagan-godfrey heteroskedasticity test, and ramsey reset specification test test statistic prob. jarque-bera normality jarque-bera 0.9592 0.6190 breusch-pagan-godfrey heteroskedasticity obs*r-squared 19.7964 0.1004 ramsey reset specification f-statistic 1.0431 0.3105 source: authors’ computation from the ardl model the non-significant of the normality test, heteroskedasticity, and the specification test shows that the model is normally distributed, homoskedastic, and well specified. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 52 4.5 short run and long run results table 6: results of the short run and long run models short run model result long run model result dependent variable: d(pcgdpg) dependent variable: pcgdpg variable coeffecien t t-statistic variable coeffecien t t-statistic d(gfcf) d(lfpr) d(govrn) d(fred) d(exchr) d(inflr) d(brkpcgdpg) cointeq(-1) 0.00008 0.3099 -6.2636 0.0032 -0.0194 -0.0559 3.7492 -0.5194 0.7705 2.1250** -3.1257*** 0.9355 -2.2669** -0.8336 4.4630*** -5.6343*** gfcf lfpr govrn fred exchr inflr brkpcgdp c 0.00015 0.5967 -6.6520 0.0062 -0.0373 0.0459 7.2182 -41.7300 0.791676 2.3011** -2.9760*** 0.9593 -2.6421** 0.4380 5.9508*** -2.5203** source: authors’ computation from the ardl model note: **indicates significance at 5%, ***indicates significance at 1% the shortand long-run results show that quality of governance (govrn) has a negative significant impact on economic wellbeing. since the regulatory quality index used to measure quality of governance is scaled from -2.5(weak) to 2.5(strong) and nigeria had negative indices throughout the study period, the quality of governance in nigeria by the measure is bad. from the above assertion therefore, the negative coefficient of the quality of governance conforms to a priori expectation. the finding is not consistent with the works of uda and ayara (2014), ovat and bassey (2014), and adenuya and avbuomwan (2012). it is consistent with the work of sikod and teke (2012) for cameroon. an increase in the quality of governance (bad governance i.e., reduction in regulatory quality) by one unit on average, leads to 6.26 units and 6.65 units reduction in economic wellbeing of nigerians in shortand longrun respectively. on the other way round, a unit reduction in bad governance (improvement in regulatory quality) will increase the economic wellbeing by the same units in both shortand long-run. this implies that the more government fails to formulate sound policies and implement the good policies very well; the poverty level of nigerians will increase by 6.26 units and 6.65 units in both short-run and long-run. the finding attributes the brookings institute report (2018) that nigeria is the poverty capital of the world to high level of bad governance. the report asserts that 87 million nigerians earn less than 1.9 us dollars (n684.00) in a day and six persons go into extreme poverty in every minute. following the worldwide governance indicators definition of regulation quality index as perceptions of the ability of the government to volume 5, issue 1, 2020 53 formulate and implement sound policies and regulations that permit and promote private sector development; the implication of the finding is that the various regimes of government in nigeria within the study period failed to implement to the latter policies that will promote private sector development; which resulted to the downward trend in most of the indicators of economic wellbeing. gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) conforms to a priori expectation in both short-run and long-run but has non-significant impact on economic wellbeing. this can be attributed to the anti-business policies that make the investment environment unfavourable to investors. to buttress the above point, nigeria’s ranking of 131 in 2019 world bank ease of doing business index out of 190 countries was regarded as a huge improvement from 2018 ranking of 146 (salaudeen, 2019).this shows how poor the ranking has been over the years if a position of 131 out of 190 economies is a huge achievement. the labour force participation rate (lfpr) conforms to a priori expectation in both short run and long run. it exhibited a positive significant impact on economic wellbeing. a unit increase in labour force participation rate improves the economic wellbeing by 0.31 unit and 0.60 unit in the shortand long-run respectively. the finding shows that the economy’s workforce engages actively in the labour market, indicating that the size of labour supply available to engage in the production of goods and services are adequate. federal government recurrent expenditure on education (fred) has a nonsignificant impact on economic wellbeing in the shortand long-run. this can be attributed to the poor funding of the education sector in nigeria. budgetary allocation to the education sector over the years has remained below 26% of the total annual budget recommended by the unesco. the short run and long run results show that exchange rate (exchr) has statistically negative significant impact on economic wellbeing in both short run and long run. a unit increase in exchange rate will reduce the economic wellbeing by 0.0194 unit and 0.0373 unit in short run and long run respectively. this shows that the continuous devaluation and depreciation of naira is reducing economic wellbeing instead of promoting export and the associated capital inflow. the inflation rate (inflr) conforms to a priori expectation in the short run but does conform to a priori expectation in the long-run. it exhibited an insignificant impact on economic wellbeing in both shortand volume 5, issue 1, 2020 54 long-run. this shows that the level of inflation is not discouraging economic activities that enhance the standard of living of nigerians. the positive significant outcome of the per capita gdp growth structural break variable (brkpcgdpg) in both short-and long-run results show that the average economic wellbeing of nigerians increased as a result of the new public policy that resulted to the structural break. this implies that public policy that resulted to the structural break has a significant effect on the mean economic wellbeing of nigerians. cointeq(-1) that captures the speed of adjustment to any disequilibrium in the model is negative and statistically significant with an adjustment speed of 51.94%. this shows that 51.94% of the difference between long run and short run economic wellbeing is corrected within a quarter. 5. conclusion following the findings, the study concludes that bad governance in nigeria due to poor policies formulation and implementation that discourages private sector development affects economic wellbeing of the citizenry negatively. the study attributed the brooking institute (2018) report that six nigerians go into extreme poverty in every minute due to bad governance. the study also concludes that labour force participation rate affects the economic wellbeing positively, while exchange rate affects the economic wellbeing negatively in both shortand long-run. based on the findings, the study recommends for an improved oversight function by the legislative arm of the government to ensure that public policies and regulations are properly implemented to promote private sector development and the economic wellbeing of the nigerian populace. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 55 references adenuga, a.o, and evbuomwan, o. 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(2019) “nigeria improves in world bank ease of doing business ranking, but is it easier to do business there?” cnn, maketplace africa. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/24/africa/nigeria-improves-in-world-bankanking/index.htm sikod, f. and teke, j.n. (2012) “governance and economic growth in cameroon” aerc research paper 250, nairobi, december, 2012 tarek, b.a. and ahmed, z. (2013) “governance and economic performance in developing countries:an empirical study”. journal of economics studies and research, vol. 2013 pp: 1-13. http://ibimapublishing.com/articles/jesr/2013/390231/ udah, e. b. and ayara, n. (2014) “institutions, governance structure and economic performance nexus in nigeria”, journal of economics and sustainable development, vol.5 (3) issn 2222-2855. world bank.(1994).governance: the world bank experience. the world bank.washigton,d.c. united states of america: the world bank. world development indicators (2020) data bank-world bank group, washington d.c. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators worldwide governance indicators (2020) data bankworld bank group washington d.c. https://databank.worldbank.org/source/worldwide-governance-indicators yerrabati, s. & hawkes, d. (2015). “economics governance and economic growth in south and east and pacific region: evidence from systematic literature review and meta-analysis”. advances in economics and business, vol. 3(1) pp: 1-21 https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/24/africa/nigeria-improves-in-world-bank-anking/index.htm https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/24/africa/nigeria-improves-in-world-bank-anking/index.htm http://ibimapublishing.com/articles/jesr/2013/390231/ https://databank.worldbank.org/source/worldwide-governance-indicators volume 5, issue 1, 2020 58 appendix: ardl model result dependent variable: pcgdpg method: ardl date: 07/09/20 time: 11:05 sample (adjusted): 1997q1 2018q4 included observations: 88 after adjustments maximum dependent lags: 4 (automatic selection) model selection method: akaike info criterion (aic) dynamic regressors (4 lags, automatic): gfcf lfpr govrn fred exchr inflr fixed regressors: brkpcgdpg c number of models evalulated: 62500 selected model: ardl(4, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1) variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob.* pcgdpg(-1) 0.681226 0.107230 6.352939 0.0000 pcgdpg(-2) 1.10e-14 0.129967 8.47e-14 1.0000 pcgdpg(-3) -1.28e-14 0.129967 -9.86e-14 1.0000 pcgdpg(-4) -0.200636 0.100578 -1.994828 0.0497 gfcf 7.77e-05 0.000101 0.770484 0.4435 lfpr 0.309943 0.145854 2.125026 0.0369 govrn -6.263550 2.003911 -3.125663 0.0025 govrn(-1) 2.808451 2.026677 1.385742 0.1700 fred 0.003222 0.003444 0.935541 0.3526 exchr -0.019385 0.008551 -2.266881 0.0263 inflr -0.055850 0.066998 -0.833602 0.4072 inflr(-1) 0.079676 0.050761 1.569606 0.1208 brkpcgdpg 3.749216 0.840059 4.463037 0.0000 c -21.67501 9.478833 -2.286675 0.0251 r-squared 0.856309 mean dependent var 2.626429 adjusted r-squared 0.831066 s.d. dependent var 3.413289 s.e. of regression 1.402916 akaike info criterion 3.659892 sum squared resid 145.6447 schwarz criterion 4.054014 log likelihood -147.0353 hannan-quinn criter. 3.818674 f-statistic 33.92262 durbin-watson stat 1.771210 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 *note: p-values and any subsequent tests do not account for model selection. volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 273 attitude of nigerian students towards death anxiety ogbodo emmanuel c. agu, solomon a. department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology enugu. emmalimitless@gmail.com amasol2003@yahoo.com abstract age and years of study as factors in death anxiety were examined among students in enugu, nigeria. the aims of this study are to examine whether age as a factor will significantly influence attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety; also to verify whether years of study as a factor will significantly influence attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. this study investigated the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. a total of 130 participants comprising 108 young fresh students (64 fresh and 44 stale), and 22 adult students (7 fresh and 15 stale) were selected from the population of undergraduate students of enugu state university of science and technology. a 15 item questionnaire designed to measure death anxiety: death anxiety scale was administered on the participants based on survey design. a two way analysis of variance f-test using the method of unweighted means was applied as a statistic to analyze the data based on unequal numbers. the findings revealed that f (1, 126) = 1.12 at p> .05 on age as a factor; f = (1, 126) = 1.32 at p> .05 on years of study as factor; and interaction between age and years of study as factors (1, 126) = 0.10 at p>.05 on death anxiety as dependent variable. it was concluded that death anxiety is a common social problem being expressed in the same pattern among university students irrespective of age and years of study. keywords: anxiety, fear of death, depression, education, nigeria introduction death and dying is one of the universal concepts that awake people consciousness. it is a natural consequence of living and is humankind’s primary existential constraint (becker, 1973; yalom, 1980). research on death and dying has found that human beings tend to fear death and have a high need to defend against the awareness of their morality (cicirelli, 2002; greenberg, pyszczynski, solomon, simon, & breus, 1994; wass & neimeyer, 1995; yalom, 1980). however, the fear of death, referred to as “death anxiety,” stems from the psychological knowledge and individual awareness that all living organisms are doomed to perish (solomon, greenberg, & pyszczynski, 1991; yalom, 2008). death anxiety can be defined as the feeling of dread or terror that accompanies the awareness of an individual’s helplessness and vulnerability to complete annihilation and non-existence (cicirelli, 2006; greenberg, koole, & pyszczynski, 2004; rank, 1978). becker (1973) is of the notion, the awareness that gives rise to death anxiety requires both reflective and conceptual cognitive processes of which only humans are capable. this ability to understand life and death through reflective, conceptual, and forward thinking creates an insoluble diemma for humankind (becker, 1973; pyszczynski, greenberg, solomon, arndt, & mailto:emmalimitless@gmail.com mailto:amasol2003@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 274 schimel, 2004).death anxiety is seen as “vague uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread generated by perceptions of a real or imagined threat to one’s existence” (moorhead et al, 2008). christian (2008), perceived it as pervasive fear of non existence, or as a fear experiencing nonbeing. yalom (2002), also perceived it as a dread that resides in the unconscious, a dread that is formed early in life at a time prior to the development of precise conceptual formation a dread that is terrible and in choate and exists outside of language and image. however, socialization seems to be one of the ways student learn or acquire knowledge about life which leads in developing of their attitude. shermer, (1992) explored the attitudes of dental and medical students towards death anxiety. a significant difference was observed between them. he suggests that the difference were as a result of area of specialization and the frequency of death cases. an attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event activities, ideas or just about anything in your environment (zimbardo et al 2008). in the opinion of bain (2003), an attitude is the relatively stable overt behaviour of a person which affects his status. north (2002) also defines attitude as “the totality of those states that lead to or point toward some particular activity of the organism. the attitude is, therefore, the dynamic element in human behaviour, the motive for activity. for lumley (2004) an attitude is a susceptibility to certain kinds of stimuli and readiness to respond repeatedly in a given way which are possible toward our world and the parts of it which impinge upon us. it is how one judges any person, situation or objects. attitudes are judgments; they develop on the abc model (affect, behaviour and cognition). a study conducted to investigate the relationship between death anxiety and attitude towards life with sample of 100 students (n = 100) at payam-e-nour university in rezvanshahr, iran in 2015 showed that there was a significant correlation between the rate of death anxiety and attitude towards life. a correlational study that examined death anxiety factors among 243 spanish nursing students with varying years of experience found that students with more experience had lower fears related to death. high levels of death anxiety were found among egyptian female students compared with spanish students who were slightly older and more experienced. a hungarian study that utilized preand post-testing examined whether a semester long thanatology and palliative care course for medical students and a 40 hour palliative care course offered to health professionals had effects on the participants’ death anxiety and attitudes. findings demonstrated that overall death anxiety was reduced as a result of the courses in both groups. the training program incorporated communication, psychology of bereavement, support, societal viewpoints on death and dying, and symptom management. more research has been conducted on incorporating death education in undergraduate nursing programs. one study examined the impact on death anxiety of a 13 week program of instruction which incorporated training lectures, discussion, and activities to help undergraduate students better understand life and death issues pertinent to health care. using the cfds, the study found reductions in death anxiety among the intervention group who received training over the course of semester as compared to a comparison group. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 275 finally, a study conducted on 343 indian nursing students found that death anxiety was not associated with related attitudes about euthanasia. according to theory of thanatophobia (freud, 1913) was one of the earliest researchers who explored the content and nature of death. he hypothesized that people express a fear of death, called thanatophobia. according to freud, it was not actually death that people feared, because nobody believes in her or his own death. that which one does fear cannot be death itself, because one has never died. people who express deathrelated fears, actually are trying to deal with unresolved childhood conflicts that they cannot bring themselves to come to terms with and to display and show emotion relating to the conflict. tomer and eliason (1996) proposed the model of death anxiety. the model suggested that mortality salience, which means the awareness of one’s own death, are connected to the three determinants of death anxiety, namely the meaningfulness of death, the past-related regrets and future -related regret. according to this model feeling much past-related regret, future-related regret, or inclining to perceive deaths being meaningless are all factors contributing to higher death anxiety concurrently, morality salience could activate the coping process which influenced the beliefs about the self and the world, and in turn affect the three determinants of death anxiety. heidegger, (1927) the german philosopher, on the one hand showed death as something conclusively determined, in the sense that it is inevitable for every human being, while on the other hand, it unmasks its indeterminate nature via the truth that one never knows when or how death is going to come. heidegger does not engage in speculation about whether being after death is possible. he argues that all human existence is embedded in time: past, present, future and when considering the further, we encounter the motion of death. this then creates angst. angst can create a clear understanding in one that death is a possible mode of existence which heidegger described as “clearing.” thus, angst can lead to a freedom about existence, but only if we can stop denying our mortality (as expressed in heidegger’s terminology as “stop denying being-for-death”). statement of problem death anxiety is associated with fear, dread and uncertainties concerning the future. physical sensations can be a consequence, including an increased heart rate, stuffy breathing and sweating (uretsky, 2002). however, student often develops this negative attitude towards dying based on what is happening in the environment; when this occurs it will definitely affect them in their studies whether young or adult students. the fact is that majority of the student are not expose to death experience before entering school. it means that 70 percent of them have not work in care centre where their can witness death issues. thus, those that are fortune to serve in such centre are less likely to exhibit death anxiety than those that have not serve when enrolled as student. in zyga et al.’s (2011) study conducted in greece, renal nurses with more experience and training in palliative care had lowered death fear and more positive attitudes about caring for ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 276 dying patients. the focus of the study, therefore, is to ascertain the level attitude of students is being influence by death experiences of students in schools. the researcher sought empirical based evidence on the death anxiety and attitudes of student to support the study. with the above, this study intent to focus attention on the problem stated below.  will age as a factor significantly influence attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety?  will years of study as a factor significantly influence attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety? hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested:  there will be no significant influence of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety.  there will be no significant influence of years of study as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. method participants a total of 130 participant comprising 108 young students (64 fresh and 44 stale), and 22 adult students (7 fresh and 15 stale) were sampled from the population of undergraduate student of enugu state university of science and technology. they are between the ages of 16-35 years, with a mean age of 21.96, and standard deviation of 2.9 years. they were drawn from different faculties of social sciences, law, agriculture and natural resources, applied natural sciences, education, and environmental sciences. instrument the researcher used 15 – item inventory designed to measure the concerns, fears, apprehensions and forebodings people often have about dying. it was administered in group after establishing adequate rapport with the clients. a score of 1 point is given for each expected response. the following are the expected responses for the items, a. i point for each “t” marked in items 1, 5, and 15. b. i point for each “f” marked in items: 2, 3, 4,6,7,8,9,10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. c. final score: add together the number of “t” and “f” correctly marked in the items to obtain the total score for das. templar (1970) provided the original psychometric properties for american samples while the properties for nigerian samples were provided by adebakin (1990), erinoso (1996) and uzosike (1998). the reliability coefficients reports by templar (1970) are:kr-20 internal consistency =.76 3-week test-retest =.83 adebakin’s (1990) ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 277 3 – week test – retest = .15 concurrent validity coefficients were obtained by correlating das with fear of personal death scale (f p d s) developed by florian and kravetz (1983); templar (1970) obtained .74 while adebakin’s (1990) obtained .45. procedure a total of 180 copies of the questionnaire were distributed by the researcher across the target population within a period of four weeks. 30 copies of the questionnaire were distributed in each faculty using cluster sampling. 162 were returned out of the number distributed, while 32 were discarded and 130 that are correctly filled were scored, tabled and analyze in order to test the hypotheses. design and statistics a survey design was adopted based on distribution of copies of the questionnaire across the target population, while 2 x 2 anova using the method of unweighted means was applied as a statistic to analyze the data. results table 1: summary table of means on attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety years of study fresh stale young age adult from table 1 above, adult fresh student obtain the highest group means of 6.57, followed by young fresh student (x = 6.11), adult stale student (x = 6.07), and young stale student (x 5.57). a high group mean indicates high level of death anxiety, while a low group mean indicates low level of death anxiety. thus, the various group means are observed to be below the norm of 7.54 for males and 8.32 for females, indicating normal death anxiety level. x= 6.11 n = 64 x = 5.57 n = 44 x = 6.57 n =7 x =6.07 n = 15 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 278 table 11: summary table of two-way anova on attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety hypothesis i: there will be no significant influence of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. source of variation sum of squares df mean square f p rows (age) 3.71 1 3.71 1.12 >.05 columns (years of study) 4.36 1 4.36 1.32 >.05 interaction (age vs. years of study) 0.32 1 0.32 0.10 >.05 within cells 415.67 126 3.30 from table ii above, fcalculated value of 1.12 was found to be less than fcritical value of 3.91 at p< .05 indicating no significant out come. hence, hypotheses i which stated that “there will be no significant influence of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety” is hereby accepted. this means that age as a factor yielded no remarkable effect on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. also, fcalculated value of 1. 32 was found to be less than fcritical value of 3.91 at p<.05 indicating no significant outcome. hence, hypotheses ii which stated that “there will be no significant influence of years of study as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety” is hereby accepted. this means that years of study as a factor yielded no remarkable effect on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. in addition, a non significant interaction effect of age and years of study as factors is observed based on the fcalculated value of 0.10 is less than f critical value of 3.91 at p <.05 . this means that the two factors jointly do not influence the attitude of nigeria students toward death anxiety. summary of the result the summary of this result is stated below: the outcome of this study yielded no significant outcomes in relation with age and years of study as factors in attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. at p<.05. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 279 discussion the findings of this study revealed that the hypotheses tested were confirmed. the first hypothesis tested which stated that “there will be no significant influence of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety” was accepted. this means that age as a factor yielded no remarkable effect on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. this shows that non-significant effect of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety was observed to exist. the outcome of hypothesis one shows that age as a factor does not have a strong influence on attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. rasmussen and berms (1996) advocate role of psychosocial maturity as better predictor of death anxiety than age and that as psychosocial maturity and age increase, death anxiety decreases. researchers have recognized the importance of beliefs, or cognitive factors in the perception of threat associated with death. for example, university students taking a thanatology course who were more religious reported less death anxiety, suggesting that religious beliefs buffered and provided a context of meaning for death (knight & ezfenbein, 1993). similarly, certainty in belief in a continued and positive existence after death was associated with lowered death anxiety in a sample of terminally ill patients (smith, nehemkis, & charter, 19931994. another study reveals that committed religious beliefs and practices reduce death anxiety (alvarado, templer, breslar & thomas dobson, 1995, glas, 2007, kraft, litwin, & barber 2007, pierce, 2007). the second hypothesis tested which stated that “there will be no significant influence of years of study as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety” was also accepted. this means that years of study as a factor yielded no remarkable effect on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety. this shows that non-significant effect on the years of study as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety was observed to exist. the outcome of hypothesis two showed that years of study as a factor does not have a strong influence on attitude of nigeria students toward death anxiety. however, students who had formally experience an identity crisis (identity achievement status) and those who had not experienced identity crises (sterling & van horn, 1999). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 280 a host of studies that have manipulated death awareness have provoked heightened death anxiety in subject (goldenberg et al, 2006), greenberg, solomon, arndt, & schimel 2004). late life death anxiety has been attributed to early experiences in life regarding the withholding of emotional comfort and nourishment and anxieties induced by separation (bassett, 2007). in another study, shermer, 1992 explored the attitude of dental students towards death and dying compared them with the attitudes held by medical students towards death. a significant difference was observed between the dental health student and medical student. he suggests that the difference were as a result of area of specialization and the frequency of death cases in each section. finally, the significant difference could be due to the fact that their course of study exposes them to situation where they are involved in health care service and experience death in real life situation. this may account for a reason why it does not support for the above outcomes, in relation to age and years of study. implications of the findings the implication of age as factor with respect to no significant effect on attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety is that young students will express the same pattern of death anxiety like adult students. also, years of study as a factor with respect to no significant effect on attitude of nigeria student towards death anxiety is that fresh students will express the same pattern of death anxiety like stale students. apparently, the above implications readily gain support when the various group means are compared with the normative score based on nigeria samples that indicates normal level of death anxiety. limitations of the study one major problem encounter by the researcher is the attitude of the respondents towards the questionnaire, because many people see death as a taboo topic and may therefore be reluctant to discuss death. also the researcher is faced with lack of funds and time during the research of this study. suggestions for further study ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 281 based on the findings of this study one may recommend that future researchers should study other populations like hospitalize patients. also future researchers should sample from church population and increase the sample size. summary the findings of this study are summarized as follows: a non significant influence of age as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety was observed. also, a non significant influence of years of study as a factor on the attitude of nigeria students towards death anxiety was observed. conclusion based on the outcome of this study, the researcher hereby concludes that death anxiety is a common social problem being expressed in the same pattern among university students. references adebakin, m. a. (1990). assessment and reduction of death anxiety among accident patients. unpublished m.sc research project, department of psychology university of lagos. alvarado, k. a., templer, d. i., bresler, c., & thomas-dobson, s. (1995). the relationship of religious variables to death depression and death anxiety. journal of clinical psychology,51, 202–204. arndt, j., greenberg, j., pyszczynski, t., & solomon, s. (1997). subliminal exposure to deathrelated stimuli increases defense of the cultural worldview. psychological science, 8, 379-385. bassett, j. f. (2007). psychological defenses against death anxiety: integrating terror management theory and firestone’s separation theory. death studies, 31, 727–750. bassett, j. f., & dabbs, j. m. (2003). evaluating explicit and implicit death attitudes in funeral and university students. mortality, 8, 352–371. cicirelli, v. g. (1998). personal meanings of death in relation to fear of death. death studies, 22(8), 713-733. retrieved from http://ezproxy.qa.proquest.com/docview/69259710?accountid=14771 http://ezproxy.qa.proquest.com/docview/69259710?accountid=14771 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 282 cicirelli, v. g. (2006). fear of death in mid-old age. journal of gerontology, 61, 75–81. erinoso, c a. (1996). the sources of stress among nigerian retires. unpublished b.sc. thesis, department of psychology, university of lagos. greenberg, j., pyszczynski, t., solomon, s., simon, l., & breus, m. (1994). role of consciousness and accessibility of death-related thoughts in mortality salience effects. journal of personality and social psychology, 67, 627–637. knight, k. h., & elfenbein, m. h. (1993). relationship of death education to the anxiety, fear, and meaning associated with death. death studies, 17, 411–425. sterling, c. m., & van horn, k. r. (1989). identity and death anxiety. adolescence, 24. 321– 326. templer, d. i. (1970). the construction and validation of a death anxiety scale. journal of general psychology, 82, 165–177. death anxiety 41 tomer, a. (1992). death anxiety in adult life, theoretical perspectives. death studies, 16,475– 506. tomer, a., & eliason, g. (1996). toward a comprehensive model of death anxiety. death studies, 20, 343–365. uzosike, d. o. (1998). the influence of ethnic background, religiousity, depression, major field of study and sex on the death anxiety of nigerian students. unpublished b.sc. thesis, department of psychology, university of lagos. page 1 29 women in marriage and use of family planning services: a feminist approach stella a. ugwu** department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng, **corresponding author martha uchenna ogbuke department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology uche.ogbuke@esut.edu.ng & raphael c. ofoegbu department of sociology and anthropology madonna university nigeria okija campus rcofoegbu@gmail.com abstract after the colonial rules in nigeria gender inequality has been institutionalized and the scars of gender division of labour especially in decision making in marriage are still being battled with up till the era of fundamental human rights. the study therefore explored the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors on the use of modern family planning services by married women in nkanu area of enugu state, nigeria. it focused on married women’s awareness and utilization of modern family planning services, who decides when to access or not to access these family planning services in marriage. therefore the objectives were to ascertain if married women in the research area were aware and accessed family planning services. both quantitative and qualitative interviews were conducted with 1002 respondents using interviews, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. the research design for the study was cross-sectional survey design. respondents were from nkanu –west and enugu-east local government areas of enugu state and only couples who were currently in union and had been in marriage for at least one year with or without children and had sought family planning services or not participated in the study. the result showed that the married women in the study area have knowledge of modern family planning services; but the decision to use or not was the prerogative of the husband no matter the level of education of wife and even of husband. therefore the conclusion shows that there is unequal power relationship in marriage, the level of education of couple especially that of the husband and his knowledge of modern family planning services is improved but not the major determinant of use of family planning services in the study area. the researchers recommend that there is dire need for restructuring the socialization process that should be inclusive of socialization agents in the prerogative of fundamental human rights especially in the study area. keywords: feminism, fundamental human rights, family planning services, awareness of use of family planning services, advocacy. mailto:stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng mailto:uche.ogbuke@esut.edu.ng mailto:rcofoegbu@gmail.com 30 introduction family planning (fp) is the purposeful regulation of conception or childbirth or the use of devices, chemicals, abortion or other techniques to prevent or terminate pregnancy or voluntary avoidance or delay of pregnancy (federal ministry of health, nigeria [fmoh], 2005a; gavin et al., 2014). according to olaitan (2011), family planning techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management and infertility management. these services are defined as educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable couples, individuals including sexually active adolescents and minors to determine freely the number and spacing of their children; avoid getting pregnant and/or even avoid sexually transmitted diseases, to select the means by which this may be achieved. family planning is sometimes used as a synonym for birth control or child spacing, though it often includes more (olaitan, 2011). modern family planning services was introduced in nigeria in 1989 (mairiga, kullima, bako, & kolo, 2010) they are both natural and artificial (mairiga et al., 2010). the use of modern family planning services implies that the users make concerted efforts to deal with procreation within the context of a sexual relationship. this covers things as varied as when to get pregnant, the number of children that are wanted, how to deal with fertility issues, how to avoid getting pregnant, whether to consider an abortion if an unwanted pregnancy occurs, or adoption, etc. it helps in promotion of gender equality, educational and economic empowerment for women (kelodjouea, 2015). despite the known benefits of family planning, globally, more than 120 million women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in a union have an unmet need for family planning (united nations, 2011) and in subsaharan africa (ssa) the uptake of the service still remains low (abdullahi, 2012). in a research carried out by fagbamigbe, afolabi, and idemudia et al. (2018), they noted that modern contraceptive prevalent rate was 9.8% while total demands for contraception was 31.2% indicating 16.1 percent of unmet need and 15.1 percent of met need. according to the guttmacher institute (2010), meeting the unmet need for family planning and maternal and newborn health care in sub-saharan africa is estimated to result in a 69 percent reduction in maternal deaths and 57 percent drop in newborn deaths. women in developing nations are disproportionately affected by an unmet need for family planning with the highest need in sub-saharan africa. according to national bureau of statistics [nbs](2012), only about 3.3 percent of women in the poorest households used any method of child-spacing. in contrast, about 25.8 percent of those in the wealthiest households used contraception; antenatal care visits and coverage were not encouraging in the poorest households. according to nbs, in 2012 only about 17.3 percent of women between the ages 15 and 49 used any method of child spacing in nigeria. in nigeria like in most developing countries, the utilization of family planning services is not optimal because of a number of factors, such as culture of the people and low status of women (delano, 2015), education and understanding about health related issues, the ability of women to command resources and make independent decisions 31 about their fertility, birth control knowledge (apanga & adam, 2015; nwakeze, 2003; umoh & udo, 2014). location, religion and social class, lack of cooperation from spouse, cost, and perceived difficulties with the methods and lack of knowledge about contraceptive methods, community members’ awareness and understanding about the methods etc. also serve as determinants of use of family planning services (bakibinga et al., 2016; doctor, findley, afenyadu, uzondu & ashir, 2013). negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are enormous as it affects the individual (psychologically, socially, etc), the family, the community and nation at large. empirical findings have shown that it leads to increase in maternal illness such as multiple pregnancies, hemorrhage, etc. (ikpeze, 2010), high rates of unwanted pregnancies, unplanned deliveries, unsafe abortions and maternal mortalities in subsaharan africa of which nigeria is no exception (united nation’s population fund [unfpa], 2010). it sometimes leads to social problems in the family and community such as violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence, on the part of the women, mistrust. on the part of the men, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids, affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women and sometimes it leads to maternal death (ezumah, 2003). family planning services are aimed at, empowering women by alleviating the burden of excessive child bearing, prevention of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, providing protection against sexually transmitted infections including hiv/aids, drop in unsafe abortions, etc (umoh & udo, 2014), yet it has been recorded that the rate of maternal/child morbidity and mortality is high in developing countries when compared to developed countries (ikpeze, 2010; fmhn, 2005b). with the adverse consequences of non-consent and nonuse, and the low understanding of the importance of fp services on the reproductive health of women, concerted efforts must be made economically, socially, politically and otherwise towards ensuring that the negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are controlled to the barest minimum. this study therefore examined the socio-economic and cultural determinants use of family planning services by married women in nkanu area of enugu state and suggests measures that could enhance their effective use of family planning services. statement of the problem the population of nigeria is very high due to high maternal fertility of about 5.6 children and above per woman. the issue of family planning and its consequences are not new in nigeria like in other african countries (abdullahi, 2012; kelodjouea, 2015). as in other african countries, smith et al, (2009) report that at least eight in ten women and nine in ten men know at least one method of family planning, yet utilization of family planning is still low; while 13 percent of currently married women are using a method of family planning, only 8 percent are using modern methods (abdullahi, 2012; apanga & adam, 2015). this is as a result of cultural, economic and social pressures. for example, childbearing and rearing as well as the number and sex of children define a woman’s value and 32 status in her community; these in turn contribute to women’s limited use of family planning services (engender health, 2009; galadanci, 2009). however, development has increased peoples’ attitude to use of family planning services especially among the urban middle class in african societies (kelodjouea, 2015), bowman and kuenyehia’s (2003) empirical findings show that in urban areas where there are family planning services, information and enlightenment, the rate of access and usage is low because some women shun the use of western methods which conflict with indigenous beliefs and practices. moreover of critical importance is male control in the decision making in the household and in particular on reproductive health matters. according to nwakeze, (2003) most nigerian women do not access family planning services especially those in the rural areas because in relation to contraception, it is a male prerogative (mairiga et al., 2010). male control is a major determinant of women’s use of family planning services. findings have shown that husbands’ education is very much important in increasing the use of family planning services by wives. for instance, kelodjouea (2015) findings show that education of husband is an important factor particularly in those societies where a woman takes her reproductive decision with the consent of her husband. also, the nature of women’s work in production such as household work (drudgery), to a great extent determines the rate of accessing and using of family planning services (kelodjouea, 2015). other factors that affect use of family planning services by married women in nigeria include poor financing of health care services (ikpeze, 2010), lack of focus on curative measures and political will by government (quedraogo, 2005). the disparity in health care services delivery between the remote and non-remote areas as in nigeria where access and use is limited in rural areas unlike in urban areas, agujiobi (2003) attributed to ignorance on the part of the rural dwellers and the cause of the ignorance she attributed to lack of presence of non-governmental organisations (ngos) in the rural areas of nigeria to educate and enlighten them on the presence and importance of family planning services. sometimes the available clinics may not provide decent care because of lack of proper staff and equipment (engender health, 2009). ikpeze (2010) reiterated that one of the five causes of maternal mortality in nigeria is delay in taking decision to seek medical help. he maintained that the decision to seek help is often domiciled in the male (usually the husband or oga of the house) who can be ignorant, illiterate and indifferent. quedraogo (2005) noted that 13 percent of maternal deaths in africa are due to unplanned pregnancies and risky abortions. these reproductive health problems women experience particularly those that are pregnancy related are preventable; yet they constitute major problems, because most women of reproductive ages do not use family planning services (unicef, 2008). the national demographic health survey (ndhs) (2013) shows that only 10% of married women of reproductive age use contraceptives. this it noted is lower than the current sub-saharan african average of 17percent. the findings also show large variations for urban and rural locations; while 27 percent of women in urban areas used contraceptives only 9% of them in the rural areas used it. yet according to unfpa (2014), some 225 million women who 33 want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of access to information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. unfpa (2015) noted that access to safe, voluntary family planning is a human right. family planning is central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. nkanu area is culture bound and therefore could be described as a traditional society even though some of its communities are close to the city. little or no academic research on family planning especially as it affects gender power relations in marriage has taken place in this study area, even though pregnancy related problems exist here as in other rural communities in nigeria. therefore the study investigated the socioeconomic and cultural determinants of use and non-use of family planning theoretical perspective marxist feminist perspective is an extension of the theories of production expounded by german social theorists karl marx and fredrick engels to an examination of the economic and material exploitation of women, the sexual division of labour, especially in domestic work and child care, and women’s inequality within the work place (mills, 1970). offman and matheson (2004) asserted that sexual inequality is socially constructed and mills (1970) noted that it is enforced through the social structures of private property and monogamy which contributed to the decline of women’s status. for him, capitalism and monogamy intensified gender inequality. due to the reproductive role of women, men became engaged fully in capitalist enterprises and this gave them much edge over women even economically. women who became the proletariats, became economically dependent on their spouses (the bourgeoisie), consequently lacking the ability to make informed decisions on sexuality (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003; safe motherhood,). this entrenched sexual division of labour and sexual relations both at home and outside the home. western materialist feminists argued that women as a class are oppressed by material conditions and social relations such as in decision making. for ortner (1974), other factors that do affect their decision making status, power relations or resource allocation among others are socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, norms, socialization, political and economics of societies, etc. symke (1991) maintained that subordination of women is further entrenched by the encouragement of women to develop female culture (even by women themselves) which is mainly in nurturing and survival, thereby affecting their ability to decide to access and use family planning services. this places women’s reproductive health in danger since their solidarity with gender social construction increases their submission to male control. boserup (1970) was of the opinion that the division between the private (female) sphere and public (male) sphere entrenched women subordination to men. firestone (1971), robertson (1986) etc. argued that in societies where women work in public sphere their status is increased. firestone (1971) believed that effective birth control technique can help loosen the chains of women’s slavery by giving them more control over whether they 34 become pregnant. boserup noted that subjection of women was functional in the society for it allowed men to maintain their authority. consequently, many women depend on the decisions of their husbands especially in matters relating to reproduction and family planning. mills saw sex inequality as the chief hindrance to human improvement. therefore human improvement can be attained only when perfect equality replaces inequality of sexes and no power privilege is given to one side and disability on the other. this infers that when a woman possesses the right to reproductive health care and family planning services without fear or favour, negotiates sex, decides child spacing and how many children to have and when to have them etc then effective family planning services will be said to be established and sexual equality and equity reached. marxist feminists advocate revolutionary struggle to overcome subordination of women and this can be done through massive and active writings, periodicals, conventions, organized parties, societies organized and managed by women, etc. the revolutionary struggle is supposed to create ideological consciousness to socialize women positively and to help them secure legal and political protection from male domination. this awareness will empower women to gain reproductive rights and health especially to use of family planning services. women need the support of policy makers, husbands, health personnel and women’s groups to access and use the right type of family planning methods they want. marxist feminists advocated conflict in order to effect changes. batliwala (1994) etc noted that there must be class consciousness for a revolution to take place and except women come together, recognize their needs and advance a change, they would continue to be subordinates to males even in matters that after their health. materials and methods the study used the cross-sectional survey design. it focused on nkanu communities who are predominantly found in five local government areas of enugu state. data were gathered from nkanu-east and enugu-south local government areas of enugu state purposively. specifically, one urban area and one rural area were selected from each of the local government areas selected. the urban areas were chosen purposively using the npc criteria that any community with local government is considered an urban area and the rural areas were selected randomly. for urban areas edem and agbani were chosen for urban areas and ugwogonike and akegbe-ugwu were selected as rural areas for enugu-east and nkanu-west respectively. the target population was all who were currently in union (married) and had been in marriage for at least one year with or without children, and had sought or not sought family planning services. both married women and men were used for the research work though the focus was on married women. the rationale for focusing on married women is that male control in decision making in household and in reproductive health is an aspect of the factors militating against women’s use of family planning services. the sample size for the study was 1002. it was administered equally to the local government areas chosen and equally to the sexes. both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. for qualitative data, both idis and fgds were administered to stake holders of the selected 35 communities; in all 12idis and 12fgds (comprising 8 participants in each session) were administered. descriptive statistics was used to analyze the result from the quantitative data while nvivo 9 was used in analyzing the qualitative data. results and discussions this paper was analyzed under these sub-headings knowledge and use of family planning services specific constraints militating against married women’s use of family planning services knowledge and use of family planning services a total of 75.8% of the respondents have heard of modern family planning, while majority (67.2%) of the male respondents had of it first time from media and friends indicating their public status, majority (55.4%) of female the respondents heard of it through their ante-natal clinics sessions; indicating their reproductive status, members of the research area were aware that modern family planning clinics exist in their communities or at least the next neighboring community where they can access it. a higher number of them are also aware of some of the services which the clinics provided especially that of preconception counseling and management; yet, very few of these married women access these services even when they had the desire to. this finding supports the report of smith, et al (2009) on high knowledge of family planning services and low usage. the findings showed that married women with unmet need for family planning face the problems of unwanted pregnancy and closely spaced births which corroborates the findings of ringheim & and gribble, 2010) and marital tension. constraints to use of family planning services the findings of this study showed that most of the respondents are in monogamous union, therefore the desire to outwit co-wife in reproduction is not seen as plausible reason not to seek family planning services. educationally, majority of the respondents are educated, querying the theory that education increases level of use of family planning services. the mean number of children in the research area is 4.36 which is less than the average of 5.6 children for nigeria (abdulahi, 2012) and as found in mbaise by onyeneho & okeibunor (2003). the findings of the study show that location has no influence in the number of children born since there is no significant difference between the average number of children in the rural areas and urban areas (rural: 4.5 and urban 4.29). the mean number of children of respondents according to educational level shows those with low education 5.29 average number of children, the middle with 3.91 and the high with 3.9. the average number of children in the research area is below the national average of 5.6children per woman and majority of the respondents are not users of modern family planning services, because they were of the opinion that modern family planning services have negative health effects; though findings showed that some women used these 36 services in secret. accessing in secret was not acceptable in the research area and that is why the woman suffers when her spouse finds out with little or no help from community members of government. mr. ede, an fgd respondent reiterated, what prompts a woman to use family planning services in secret is that she could be the type that flirts, in other to get this or that. findings have shown that in the research area that the major reason for low number of births was the harsh state of the economy and not necessarily the health of married women. many of the respondents agreed that the educated and working class women use modern family planning services more because they know its importance, yet this group of women noted that the reason they access the planning services family is not because it is beneficial to their reproductive health or they want to stop pregnancy but to maintain their jobs. education of women in the research area does not have direct relationship with married women’s use of family planning services, corroborating ugwu’s (2007) finding that educational achievement of wives does not translate directly to exercise of authority especially in reproductive health and sexuality issues in marriage. husband’s education and knowledge of family planning services have direct influence on wives use of family planning services. spousal communication research findings showed that 52.9 percent of the female respondents who used modern family planning services discussed it with their husbands while 47.1percentof them who discussed it with their spouse did not access the services. for those who did not discuss with spouse, only 13.5% used the services and 86.5% did not. the table shows that only 33. percent of the total respondents discussed modern family planning services with spouse while the greater percentage (66.3percent) did not. the implication is that sexuality communication is not common in the research area and the research did not go further to enquire the type of sexuality communication that really exists within the research area among couples. the result shows higher use of modern family planning services by married women whose level of sexuality communication with spouse was high. that notwithstanding, greater percentage (66.3percent) of married women who did not use modern family planning services were among those who either discussed or not discuss family planning services with spouse. out of this group, 36.4percentwere those who discussed and 63.5percent were those who did not have any discussion with husband. authority dispense in marriage in the research area, married women are subject to their husbands’ decisions irrespective of educational qualification or location. the main reason this is done is to avert marital conflict. in fact there are cases that a married woman may access the services in secret (she cannot negotiate sex) but when her spouse finds out it, it does not usually go down well with her. a female idi stakeholder from ugwogo, mrs. uzoma in her response noted, 37 the thing involved in family planning is that if a woman used it secretly, there is a likelihood that problem would occur like the one that happened sometime ago. the woman accessed it without her husband’s knowledge, after sometime the lady had problem. they came to me and told me all these, i told them what we are going to do is to ensure that her husband does not find out because if he does, he will ask her who she discussed that with…i know that if a married woman uses it without her husband’s knowledge it will be trouble. those that sought these services without husbands’ permission are usually seen as deviants who do not want to stay under a man. this notion was also supported by qualitative respondents, for instance, a male fgd responded that, what prompts a woman to use family planning services in secret is that she could be the type that flirts, in other to get this or that, she no longer submits to her husband in the things that concern husband and wife. (mr. uwakwe; agbani) another reason was to accord husbands the place of headship in marriage which was customary, not necessarily to prevent unwanted pregnancy. this was corroborated by qualitative respondents. a female idi respondent, mrs. chukwu, from ugwogo; …, there are some women who would have four or five children and feel they are okay with the ones they already have to be able to give them quality training so they would want to use family planning services but her husband would not agree to that. he will insist that the woman’s decision will not uphold in his house except his own decision. greater percentage of the male respondents agreed that they have to permit their wives first before they can access family planning services. educational levels of male respondents did not alter their views as majority of those with higher education noted that they have to give permission first. their reasons were to maintain good health and to show that their wives are their responsibilities. the extent of authority of husband in marriage is further clarified by the second place that the kinsmen play in marital conflict and even the community in general. summary and conclusion in summary, this study found that knowledge of family planning services is very high in the research area but access is very low due to poor sexuality communication in marriage and high authority wielded by husbands in marriage, the wife is under the authority of her husband and by extension that of her husbands’ kinsmen. the study also showed that though fecundity is high, the average number of children per woman is less than that for the nation. it was also found that there is an unmet need for family planning services in the research area. the unmet need of family planning services is not for spacing per say as they do not have up to an average number of 5 children per woman. the need for family 38 planning services is to avoid the fear of conflict that goes with inability to communicate with husband sexuality. the researchers therefore recommend that since the average number of children in the research area is lower than that of the national with high unmet need for family planning services, studies should be done to determine how these women in the research area maintained low birth rate comparatively even in a patriarchal society. in the research area education alone does not have direct relationship with married women’s use of family planning services, the researcher therefore recommends that there is need for enlightenment programme which should include restructuring the socialization process that should be inclusive of socialization agents in the prerogative of fundamental human rights. this may take the form of conferences, seminars, talks, re-structuring the curricula for all levels of education. for immediate result, the husbands should be sensitized on the jeopardy of wife forceful subordination and the subsequent interruption of personality development. it is also important to note here that agencies either of government or non government should wake up to their responsibilities enlighten the members on the usefulness of modern family planning services that may have been the reason ignorance is shown on the part of the educated husbands to support wife to access family planning services. references abdullahi, k. m. 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http://www.org/millenniumgoals/11_mdg%20report_en.pdf https://www.who.int/reproductive%20health/maternal-health-nigeria/en/ volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 186 nigeria’s economic development process and the challenges of corruption: an assessment of global collaboration on the war against corruption 2007 2015 eneasato, benjamin, phd department of political science enugu state university of science and technology (esut) beneasato@yahoo.com & mbaeze, netchy christian, phd department of political science enugu state university of science and technology (esut) chrismbaeze@yahoo.com abstract there is a discernible wide expectation gap in the way governments of third world countries manage their nation’s resources over time; the intensive, extensive and sustainable propaganda of democratic dividends notwithstanding. the citizens of third world countries want to see the dividends of democracy, for all and sundry, through improved living conditions commensurate to the volume, value and varieties of their national resources. this is the citizens’ constitutional right. but effectual results from prudent management of nations’ resources as expected from governments to justify their mandates are far from been realized. this study, third world economies and the need for global collaboration on the war against corruption is qualitative in nature. data is basically drawn from secondary sources while recourse is taking to content analysis in doing justice to the data extracted from relevant and extant literature. this paper established that corruption in third world countries is multifaceted and has tremendous socioeconomic and political implications. corruption indeed is a global phenomenon and thus calls for global collaboration in dealing with it. the paper pays particular attention on capital flight and money laundering as derivatives of corruption that affects third world economies on a global scale and interrogates how global collaboration may help third world economies come out of the woods in the anti-corruption efforts using nigeria as reference point. keywords: third world, economies, global collaboration, war against corruption. introduction corruption is one of the greatest challenges confronting development in third world countries all over the world, but especially in nigeria. it undermines good governance, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the public sector and private sector development and particularly hurts the poor (usman, 2009: 33). corruption is found almost everywhere, but it is stubbornly entrenched in the poor countries of sub-saharan africa such as nigeria, it is widespread in latin america, it is deep-rooted in many of the newly industrialized countries, and it is reaching alarming proportions in several post-communist countries. nigeria’s development has been under perpetual threat emanating from corrupt practices since independence, but more especially under the military and from 1999 when the country returned to democratic governance, as a result of high prevalence of systemic corruption. put differently, mailto:beneasato@yahoo.com mailto:chrismbaeze@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 187 corruption is a major challenge to good governance, democratic stability and national development in third world countries. the political climate, to say the least has been hostile to democracy and economic stability. the general skepticism has been whether the current experience will last. this cynicism is justifiable when one consider the fact that all the factors that precipitated the collapse of the first and second republics are currently at play. widespread violence, electoral frauds, political assassination, politically inspired ethno-religious conflict’s apathy, evitable economic woes and its attendant consequences (abject poverty, slums etc.,), flagrant disregard for the rule of law, disrespect for human rights and pandemic corruption remains the key features of nigerian political life. these manifestations of democratic instability are the symptoms and consequences of basic system pathology, majorly, political corruption. on the international scale, the theft of public assets from developing countries is a huge and serious problem. this problem emanates mainly from the cross-border flow of the global proceeds from criminal activities, corruption, and tax evasion, which is estimated at between $1 trillion and $1.6 trillion per year. more so, corrupt money associated with bribes received by public officials from developing and transition countries is estimated at $20 billion to $40 billion per year—a figure equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of flows of official development assistance (oda). these estimates, while imprecise, give an idea of the large magnitude of the problem and the need for concerted action to address it. indeed, the coming into force in 2005 of the landmark un convention against corruption (uncac), which devotes a chapter to asset recovery, signals the growing global consensus for urgent action. consequent upon the above, this paper explores third world economies and the need for global collaboration on the war against corruption. statement of the problem corruption is neither system specific nor culture bound. it is ubiquitous. therefore, corruption as a phenomenon, is a global problem, and exists in varying degrees in different countries. corruption is not only found in democratic and dictatorial polities, but also in feudal, capitalist and socialist economies. christian, muslim, hindu, and buddhist cultures are equally bedeviled by corruption. corrupt practices, in all its manifestations are as old as human race. however, the nature, form, dimension, character and the severity of corruption differs from one nation to the other. on a global scale, corruption in third world countries has given rise to capital flight and money laundering to a worrisome level. while corruption is more prevalent in the developing world, the developed world experience corruption at a minimal level. the important reason for the low level of corruption in the advanced democracies is that the control mechanisms are more developed and effective than in the developing countries. worried by the systemic corruption in third world countries like nigeria, this paper explores third world economies and the need for global collaboration on the war against corruption. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 188 objective of the study the main objective of this paper is this paper is to explore third world economies and the need for global collaboration on the war against corruption. pursuant to the above objective, the following specific aims are germane to the study: to a) highlight the conceptual issues, meaning and causes of corruption in third world countries like nigeria, b) examine the consequences of corruption on third world economic development, c) interrogate the global nature of third world corruption with focus on capital flight and money laundering; and d) assess the level of international response in the fight against corruption with respect to repatriation of stolen public funds. methodology this study is strictly qualitative. the source of data is secondary drawn from central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin, national bureau of statistics, annual abstract of statistics, journal articles, and several other documented evidence. recourse is taken to content analysis in doing justice to the data extracted from relevant and extant documents. theoretical perspective the theoretical thinking perceiving corruption as a major factor that poses serious threat to effective and efficient development, democratic stability, sustainability and consolidation is not uncommon in the literatures (osaghae, 1995; johnston, 1991; obayelu, 2007; hrw, 2007; fjeldstad and isaksen, 2008). these theoretical stance is depicted in various works and analyses as “amoral politics”, “amoral familism” (osaghae, 1995; ogundiya, 2009), “prebendalism” (joseph, 1987), “patrimonialism and neo-patrimonialism”, “clientelism” (seteolu, 2005) to mention a few. corrupt ridden states are also captioned by scholars as “predatory”, “soft state” (myrdal) and so on. the problem with nigeria is that all these descriptions are suitable to analyze corruption. the work will dwell of the theory of primodialism. fukuyama (2011) disuses patrimonalism as political recruitment based on two principles of kin selection and reciprocal altruism. the situation is captured essentially on these principles. political leader in nigeria are too conscious of their ethnic origin with a sense of representing a particular primodial world view. hence viewing political positions as opportunities to engage in primitive accumulation of wealth. there is also this behave in “god fatherism” a concept that encourages reciprocity or the “we” spirit that protects looters from being punished for their numerous crimes against the state. the fight against corruption in nigeria and other developing countries remains one of the cardinal points of successive reigns with minimal results. though amorphous, corruption in its popular conception is defined as the exploitation of public position, resources, and power for private gain (nye, 1967; dobel, 1978; amuwo, 2005; ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 189 obayelu, 2007; fjeldstad & isaksen, 2008; ogundiya, 2009). for instance dobel (1978) defined corruption as “the betrayal of public trust for individual or group gain”. in a similar vein, obayelu (2007) identifies corruption as “efforts to secure wealth or power through illegal means for private gain at public expense; or a misuse of public power for private benefit”. corruption: a concept in search of meaning corruption has come up as a thematic constituent of this renewed paradigm, in which development necessitates economic reform, which is again dependent on political and administrative reforms like good governance and civil service reforms (csr), accountability, human rights, multi-partyism and democratisation. besides, very high levels of corruption have been observed where the government is regarded as illegitimate in the eyes of the population (implying widespread disrespect for legal procedures), and in countries where the state plays an interventionist role in the economy. the role of the state and of politics is therefore essential to understanding corruption. the decisive role of the state is also reflected in most definitions of corruption. corruption has broadly been defined as a perversion or a change from good to bad. specifically, corruption or corrupt behavior involves the violation of established rules for personal gain and profit (sen, 1999:275). corruption is efforts to secure wealth or power through illegal means; seek private gain at public expense; or a misuse of public power or otherwise for private benefits (lipset and lenz, 2000:112-114). in addition, corruption is a behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role, because of private [gains] regarding (personal, close family, private clique, pecuniary or status gains. it is a behavior which violates rules against the exercise of certain types of [duties] for private [gains] regarding influence (nye, 1967). this definition includes such behavior as bribery (use of a reward to pervert the judgment of a person in a position of trust); nepotism (bestowal of patronage by reason of ascriptive relationship rather than merit); and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private uses (banfield, 1961). to the already crowded landscape, osoba (1996) adds that corruption is an anti-social behavior conferring improper benefits contrary to legal and moral norms, and which undermine the authorities to improve the living conditions of the people. corruption is probably the main means to accumulate quick wealth in third world countries such as nigeria. corruption occurs in many forms, and it has contributed immensely to the poverty and misery of a large segment of the population of third world countries. corruption is conventionally understood, and referred to, as the private wealth-seeking behaviour of someone who represents the state and the public authority, or as the misuse of public goods by public officials for private ends. the working definition of the world bank is that corruption is the abuse of public power for private benefit. in nye’s classical and most widely used definition, corruption is “behaviour which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 190 private-regarding (personal, close family, private clique) pecuniary or status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private-regarding influence”. a somewhat updated version with the same elements is found in the definition by khan, who defines it as “behaviour that deviates from the formal rules of conduct governing the actions of someone in a position of public authority because of private-regarding motives such as wealth, power, or status”. in other words, corruption is a particular (and, one could say, perverted) state-society relation. on the one side is the state; i.e. the civil servants, functionaries, bureaucrats and politicians, anyone who holds a position of authority to allocate rights over (scarce) public resources in the name of the state or the government. corruption is when these individuals are misusing the public power they are bestowed with for private benefit. the corrupt act is when this responsible person accepts money or some other form of reward, and then proceeds to misuse his official powers by returning undue favours. for instance, it is an act of corruption when a state official takes a bribe to render some public service that is supposed to be free of charge or demands more than the official cost of it. on the other side of a corrupt act is nevertheless the “supply side”, and some theories and conceptualisations exist that emphasise the “corrupters”, those who offer the bribes, and the advantages they gain. these suppliers are the general public, or – in other words – the non-state society. the counterpart to the corrupt officials is any non-governmental and non-public individual, corporate and organisational, domestic and external. the supply side focus has been taken even further. for instance, the influence of firms (private businesses, for instance major foreign companies and multinationals) on the state, and especially how they exert influence on and collude with public officials to extract advantages, has been called “state capture”. some firms in transition economies have been able to shape the rules of the game to their own advantage, at considerable social cost. in such a “capture economy”, public officials and politicians privately sell a range of rent-generating advantages “a la carte” to individual firms. in extreme cases, powerful companies shape the legal rules and policies by providing illicit, nontransparent private gains to public officials and politicians, for instance by “buying” presidential and parliamentary decisions through cash or party financing. what they purchase are benefits like secure property rights, access to resources (concessions), monopolies and preferences, and removal of obstacles like taxes and environmental, health and security regulations. the practice of corruption has been evaluated both from consequentialist and deontological perspectives. some researchers have been using consequentialist reasoning to show that corruption is unethical. for instance, it has been argued that corruption leads to public contracts given to the firm that pays the highest bribes and not the firm that offers the best quality/price ratio (since public officials will choose projects that generate the highest private rents and not the highest social payoff). it has been argued that corruption draws skilled labour out of productive activity and into rent-seeking, further exacerbating inefficiencies in the allocation of resources. it ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 191 has also been argued that corruption disproportionately affects the poor (in line with transparency international’s statement above). in sum, corruption has detrimental consequences and is hence deemed unethical from a consequentialist perspective. other researchers have provided arguments against corruption from a kantian perspective. however lets concern ourselves at this juncture with exploring the consequences of corruption on third world economic development. consequences of corruption on third world economic development a number of global and regional conferences have recently been devoted to this problem, including united nations workshops in central europe in 1995 and in asia in 1998. the latter revealed a close inverse correlation between corruption and third world economic development (reflected in gdp per capita) and human development (as reflected in the undp human development index). worldwide, popular indignation against corruption has contributed to the fall of regimes in countries as diverse as brazil, congo, indonesia and pakistan. the use of public office for private gains often stems from inadequacies in social, economic, political and cultural contexts. low ethical standards are usually attributed to low wages further eroded by rising inflation, explosions of expectations triggered by conspicuous consumption among members of a new elite, the availability of "soft" development funding, international commercial bribery, and illegal commerce such as narcotics, arms and sex trafficking. corrupt practices usually flourish in the absence of strong accountability and control mechanisms, as well as strong criminal justice systems. they threaten not only the quality of public administration, but the potential of private investment and hence economic growth. again, poor infrastructural development which has brought about lack of power supply with its attendant negative consequences on industrial and economic development, substandard and crater-filled road networks which are more of a death trap than highways, poor quality and inadequate water supply and others are all among the consequences of corruption and lack of accountability in nigeria. infrastructure may seem a trivial issue following other problems like boko haram and militancy but how can a country progress without a reliable power supply? the power sector is corrupt and mismanaged, and many workers in the electricity sector are not equipped with the proper skills or training. domestic production suffers in these conditions, but many foreign companies also find it difficult to conduct business in nigeria because of frequent power failures. this problem keeps nigeria a third world country from year to year. corruption and the embezzlement of public funds keep roadways in disrepair. in 2011, the world bank reported that only 67% of paved roads and 33% of unpaved roads were in good or fair condition. between 2001 and 2006, only $50 million of the needed $240 million were allocated for road maintenance. similar issues of inadequacy and corruption can be seen in the water resources and railways. the use of money for public works construction and other programmes with huge international hardware components -significantly reduces public trust in government and weakens the social ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 192 fabric. corruption in many african countries, often called "la politique du ventre" or "belly politics", is often ascribed to "traditional cultural habits" inherent in the patrimonial state that supports tribal, personal and political loyalty to the ruler at the expense of national development, including foreign aid. this profile is by no means unique to africa -or to developing countries. it flourishes in many transition countries of central and eastern europe and has become a problem in many western democracies as well. often, what has actually taken place is a change in the perception of unethical behaviour and corruption that can be answered by solidifying legal structures and by "aspirational" efforts such as a code of conduct for the civil service, ethics campaigns, training, the introduction of "citizens' charters", and the implementation of transparent control and accountability systems at the community level. as a result of widespread corruption and lack of accountability the health system in nigeria today merely provides medical and health consultation but refers serious health challenges to well-developed health systems in other countries thus triggering capital flight and boosting the health sector of other countries. a pity this is, even the late president umaru musa yar’adua and president muhammadu buhari had no confidence in the nigerian health system, which the ruling class they belonged to had created due to their selfish and corrupt motives. today, many government functionaries at the slightest health challenge scamper abroad to get the best medical treatment while leaving the generality of citizens to the mercy of the poorly funded and sparsely equipped health sector in the country. the security challenges facing nigeria and several other third world countries for the past decade has been so daring that the entire political and economic system is affected. available evidence has exposed wanton diversion of funds appropriated for arms procurement. this has resulted in the wanton destruction of lives and property as currently initiated by the boko haram terror envoys, niger delta militants and a cortege of criminal sociopaths such as armed robbers, carjackers, kidnappers, ritual killers and assassins. all these negative manifestations are blamable on the manner at which the public officials mismanage, embezzle and misappropriate funds meant for various social services that would have benefited majority of the citizenry and improve their standards of living. lack of direction on the part of the government further engenders corruption. a corrupt system will always reproduce corruption most times in an attempt to fighting hard to appease their constituents with crumbs from the national cake while stealing large chunks for self-preservation and perpetuation. high prevalence of corruption reproduces abject poverty, unemployment and inequality. these problems most unfortunately are on the increase in third world countries and almost slipping into an absolute status for over 90% of their population who are caught in its vicious grips and are wondering how to escape their helpless situation. the spurt in the economy has not put food on the table for many citizens of third world countries, has failed to create jobs for the unemployed and has failed to improve the human development indices that make for genuine national development. the economic development in place has been plunged to the depths by the sustained thievery of public officials aided by their foreign allies and domestic private sector collaborators, fronts and cronies. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 193 unless and until something is done about the trilemma of leadership crisis, corruption and national underdevelopment in third world countries, especially nigeria may continue its match onto the precipice of national disintegration. obviously, wide gaps exist between what is promised and what is done, in part because of the tremendous complexity of the corruption problem and its self-perpetuating nature. global nature of third world corruption with focus on capital flight and money laundering when reference is made to capital flight, it always holds negative connotations with far reaching economic and political consequences. in this context therefore, capital flight is described as capital kept abroad by traders through falsification of trade documents and those stashed away or transferred abroad by corrupt government officials and politicians (such capitals are usually meant for public projects, which are seldom executed). capital flight as a matter of fact therefore is mostly associated with illegal transactions(s) by deliberate underinvoicing of exports or over invoicing of imports, with the aim of achieving selfishfinancial gains (momodu 2006, and bhagwati et al, 1974). capital flight is regarded as the occurrence of capital flight through the faking of trade documents as a consequence of exchange control in less developed countries. numerous studies have attempted to estimate the sums of money being laundered worldwide. besides suffering from serious flaws in estimation techniques, attempts to derive complete estimates are hampered by the fact that the volume of laundered money is not restricted to assets corruptly acquired by country leaders. money laundering (ml) services could also be demanded by those evading taxes or involved in the trade of illegal arms or narcotics. the estimates available, therefore, need to be taken as, at best, rough approximations. several estimates provide the upper or lower bounds, ranging from:  2 to 5 percent of global gdp (camdessus 1998), which amounts to $800 billion to $2 trillion in current u.s. dollars, as an estimate of the total funds involved in various illegal activities.  $3.4 trillion as an upper bound (cited in reuter and truman 2004). this number is based on estimates of the unobserved economy, which is a broad definition of illegal and legal activities excluded from gdp in 21 oecd countries, based on schneider and enste (2000) and schneider (2002).  $20 billion to $40 billion (2001 nyanga declaration). this is an estimated stock of assets acquired by corrupt leaders of poor countries, mostly in africa, and stashed overseas. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 194  $500 billion in criminal activities, $20 billion to $40 billion in corrupt money, and $500 billion in tax evasion per year (baker and others 2003; baker 2005). this adds up to roughly $1 trillion, with half coming from developing and transition economies.  25 percent of the gdp of african states lost to corruption every year, amounting to $148 billion (u4 anti-corruption resource centre 2007). this estimate is likely to encompass the full range of corrupt actions, from petty bribe-taking done by low level government officials to inflated public procurement contracts, kickbacks, and raiding the public treasury as part of public asset theft by political leaders. of the above figures or estimates, all are annual flows, except those cited in the 2001 nyanga declaration by the representatives of transparency international in 11 african countries. it notes that $20 billion to $40 billion “…has over the decades been illegally and corruptly acquired from some of the world’s poorest countries, most of them in africa, by politicians, soldiers, businesspersons and other leaders, and kept abroad in the form of cash, stocks and bonds, real estate and other assets.” this stock figure is much lower than what one might expect, given the flow of 25 percent of african gdp often cited as being lost in total corruption, which amounts to $148 billion per year in current dollars. capital flight in most cases is associated with ill-gotten wealth. thus it can take place when a normal outflow of residents’ capital is moved from one country to another due to economic and political risks with the aim of keeping the ill-gotten wealth away from relevant authorities. capital flight is linked with the loss of capital through domestic capital outflows to international inflows by reducing the national utility of the country. it is clear that if all outflows of capital by the domestic resident sector are domestically invested, it would yield to a higher rate of social return and if capital flight is not checked, it will be difficult to improve the welfare of the nation, and the implications will be reflected on the social rate of return on domestic investment, higher than the private rate of return from abroad. hence, the country suffers socially, economically, politically, and on the reverse it improves the economy of the foreign countries. international response in the fight against corruption with respect to repatriation of stolen public funds it must be reiterated that resources looted by corrupt leaders at the country-level are frequently of staggering magnitude. nevertheless, the true cost of corruption far exceeds the value of assets stolen by the leaders of countries. this would include the degradation of public institutions, especially those involved in public financial management and financial sector governance, the weakening if not destruction of the private investment climate, and the corruption of social service delivery mechanisms for basic health and education programs, with a particularly adverse impact on the poor. this “collateral damage” in terms of foregone growth and poverty alleviation will be proportional to the duration of the tenure of the corrupt leader. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 195 consequently, the traditional focus of the international development community has been on addressing corruption and weak governance within the developing countries themselves, this approach ignores the “other side of the equation”: stolen assets are often hidden in the financial centres of developed countries; bribes to public officials from developing countries often originate from multinational corporations; and the intermediary services provided by lawyers, accountants, and company formation agents, which could be used to launder or hide the proceeds of asset theft by developing country rulers, are often located in developed country financial centres. in view of the above, international response in the fight against corruption in relation to the politics of repatriation of looted funds is deep rooted and only reinvigorates the dependency syndrome. according to (world bank, 2007) the following are likely to be impediments:  countries that seek the recovery of stolen assets may not have a domestic regime to deal with money laundering and the forfeiture of stolen assets. these countries usually lack the capacity in their criminal justice system to produce adequate and appropriate requests for international legal assistance.  death, the fugitive status, and immunity of persons engaged in looting assets could impede the process, as could the continuing political influence and power of former corrupt officials.  even when the conditions are right for pursuing asset recovery, some developed countries may not cooperate because they do not trust the requesting country or lack confidence in their rule of law or for political reasons. dealing with the problem of capital flight and repatriation of stolen funds or assets is an immense challenge in the fight against corruption. even though countries such as nigeria have enjoyed some success in repatriation or recovery of looted resources, the process has been timeconsuming and costly. generalizing from the experience of nigeria, developing countries are likely to encounter serious obstacles in recovering looted resources and assets. even where the political will to pursue stolen assets repatriation exists, limited legal, investigative, and judicial capacity and inadequate financial resources could hamper the process. similarly, jurisdictions where looted resources or assets are stashed away are often in developed countries and these may not be responsive to requests for legal assistance. all these result in delays, frustration and high cost in the quest for repatriation of looted resources. it is unfortunate that some developed countries where looted funds are stashed are not helping matters citing technicalities instead of assisting in naming and shaming looters of third world countries treasury and returning the loot unconditionally. that is why the united nations too should note the uncooperative attitude of the countries where stolen funds are stashed. so, the global body should assist in dealing with thieves of state from africa where poverty nurtured by ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 196 corruption has become a reproach that must be removed. it is truism the saying that, the person who steals is just as guilty as the person who keeps stolen funds. tracing and returning of stolen assets have become exceptionally difficult for most african countries. and this trend can be attributable to lack of adherence to the rules promoting transparency in international banking and financial systems. specifically, nigeria has felt the excruciating pain of just how difficult it is to get back stolen assets from the international financial system. there is, therefore, need for a robust global framework on repatriation of stolen assets, which will ensure quick restitution to victim countries. this kind of model is long overdue as there is a consensus that corruption and illicit financial flows out of africa, inexorably delay the attainment of development goals, worsen practically all human development indices and trap the majority of her people especially the most vulnerable in a cycle of misery. only a united global action has the power to reverse this trend. the stolen funds are needed to reverse the problems of education, healthcare, social services, infrastructure and, indeed, quality of life. that is also why the powerful nations should note that most economies ravaged by corruption, usually both as a cause and consequence, do have institutions that are too weak to fight corruption and illicit financial flows. this explains why hurdles should not be placed in the way of international collaboration, which remains the smartest and most effective approach to apprehend, deter perpetrators, and ensure restitution of looted resources and assets. recommendations for policy in addition to the earlier expressed view point, the future of the anti-corruption efforts today will require going beyond tracking down the opposition and witch-hunting. there must be grounded efforts, which must be perceived as imperatives of sustainable prudent management of national resources. this can be actualized through the following measures: a) developing a pilot program aimed at helping countries recover the stock of stolen assets by providing the needed legal and technical assistance. this could include help on filing a request for mutual legal assistance and advice on experts needed. neither the wbg nor unodc would get directly involved in the investigation, tracing, law enforcement, prosecution, confiscation, and repatriation of stolen assets—activities that may be best suited for government-to-government assistance or private sector assistance, working with the relevant government authorities. b) there is need to offering countries alternatives for monitoring recovered assets, within an overall framework of public financial management reform, to ensure transparency and effective use of those assets. such monitoring would be on a voluntary basis, with the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 197 agreement of all the countries concerned, in keeping with the fundamental principle of the return of stolen assets as embodied in uncac. c) rebuilding basic mechanisms of democratic governance to make elected officials accountable to their constituents through effective government institutions. not only that all power should be derived from the people, but that those entrusted with it should be kept in dependence on the people.\ d) re-ordering of priorities, rechanneling of ideals, and revitalizing the governance machinery towards breeding a sound, habitable, and tolerable society for everyone to proudly live in. e) setting up a depoliticized (truly independent) apparatus with a sincerity of purpose to get rid of corruption in the public sector. conclusion any successful effort in the fight against corruption especially with respect to stolen assets recovery calls for global action: political will and legal reform are also needed in developed countries, not just in developing countries. both sets of countries need to ratify and implement the un convention against corruption (uncac). time is of the essence. prolonging the process of asset recovery will take a toll on the credibility of the victim country. a prompt response is needed from countries where stolen assets are hidden. global cooperation is needed to ensure that new financial havens do not replace the existing ones and those developing countries receive the legal support they need. finally, developing countries seeking to fight corruption and recover stolen assets need to strengthen their public institutions and promote a system of checks and balances that increases accountability and transparency. the international donor community should assist these countries in the development of open and accountable government. effective and efficient mechanisms are needed that will enable developing countries to quickly respond to asset theft and provide them with the necessary technical assistance in this complex process.on the long and winding road to asset this is a change situation that requires a “bend or break” reality from all nigerians. that is, those who anticipate and prepare for the change will bend. however, the change will take its toll and break those who would not be ready or prepared to accept it. a successful change situation will leave leaders and potential leaders with very little option. this will be the nigerian renaissance. accomplishing this will entail that all and sundry must concertedly, and altruistically, press for the realizations of these imperatives of prudent management of national resources today, tomorrow and together. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 198 references ajayi, s. i. (1997). “analysis of external debt and capital flight in the severely indebted low income countries in sub-sahara africa”. imf working paper wp/97/68, washington dc: imf. anamakiri, o. d. (2006): “the impact of capital flight on financial management in nigerian banks”. a seminar paper presented to the banking and finance department university of calabar, calabar – nigeria. baker, raymond, brionne dawson, ilya shulman, and clint brewer. (2003). “dirty money and its global effects.” international policy report (january). http://www.ciponline.org/dirtymoney.pdf benu, s. (2003). capital outflows: capital flight or normal flows? a statistical interpretation. london development institute. bhagwati, t.n., krueguer, a and wibulswask, c. (1974). “flight from ldcs. a statistical analysis, in j.n. bhagwati ed”, illegal transaction in international trade: pp 148 154. camdessus, michel. 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(2007). “where goes the money: money laundering and corruption.” in the many faces of corruption–tracking vulnerabilities at the sectorlevel. world bank, forthcoming. lgben (2001). introduction to economic growth and development, port harcourt: university of science and technology. ndikumana, l., and boyce, j. k. (2002). ‘public debts and private assets: explaining capital flight from sub-saharan africa countries; world development. london neil h., robert l., victor m. (2002). capital flight and its reversal for development financing; world institute for development economic research. nyoni, t. (2000). capital flight from tanzania, in i. ajayi and m.s. khan (eds), external debt and capital flight in sub-saharan africa. washington, dc: the imf institute, 265 99 oke mo, kolapo ft (2012). “nigeria economic growth and capital flight determinants”. asian journal of business management science 1(11):76 – 84. olopoenia, r. 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(2005). “asset recovery. repatriating africa’s looted billions.” african security review 14(4): 17–26. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 200 schneider, friedrich, and dominik enste. (2000). “shadow economies: size, causes and consequences.” journal of economic literature 38(1): 77–114. smith, d.j. (2008), a culture of corruption. princeton and oxford, princeton university press. transparency international (2004). global corruption report 2004. special focus: political corruption. london: pluto press. udofia, s. d. (2009) “corruption and underdevelopment in nigeria: lessons for change from the old testament” in maiduguri journal of arts and social science (majass) vol. 7, no. 2. u4 anti-corruption resource centre. (2007). “the recovery of stolen assets: a fundamental principle of the un convention against corruption.” brief no. 2 (february). http://www.baselgovernance.org/fileadmin/docs/icar/u4brief2_2007_asset-recovery.pdf ugwuanyi u, uguru lc (2010). foreign direct investment and capital flight from nigeria: an empirical analysis. j. media. 2(1):151 – 161. umoru d (2013). “capital flight and the nigerian economy”. european journal of business management 5(4):40 – 45. world bank. (2007). “strengthening world bank group engagement on governance and anticorruption.” washington, dc (march 21). http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/comments/ governancefeedback/gacpaper page 1 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 132 conflict resolution strategiesand well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria agara, edey peter department of sociology, university of calabar, nigeria abstract the inevitability of conflict in human interaction has been emphasized in literature by scholars, stakeholders, political, opinion, and religious leaders. however, the devastating consequences of conflict on the general human well-being have made conflict resolution an important topic of research to scholars. this study explores the linkages between conflict resolution strategies and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. specifically, the study examines the impact of mediation, and negotiation, on the well-being of rural dwellers. three research questions were raised to guide the study. cross-sectional survey research design was adopted because of the nature of the study. questionnaire is the main instrument of data collection. quantitative data were collected from 384 respondents from the study area. the generated data were statistically tested using pearson product moment correction (ppmc). results from the quantitative study reveals that there is a significant relationship between mediation, negotiation, and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between conflict resolution strategies and well-being of rural dwellers in cross river state, nigeria. the study recommended that advocacy for tolerance, love, forgiveness, and sensitivity of government to people's needs should be put in place to enhance well-being of rural communities ravaged by conflict. keywords: conflict resolution strategies, mediation, negotiation, rural dwellers, social, and well-being introduction conflict is a natural dynamic that arises when people’s interests, perceptions, goals, values or approaches to problems differ and when one party feels that another is interfering with their ability to attain a certain objective (chimaraoke, 2002; bukari, 2013). it may occur between individuals or groups and range from minor disagreements to major disputes or even war. conflict is an inevitable and all-pervasive element in our society and in the world. although conflicts may end up in destruction and even death, conflicts may also result in increase deffectiveness, enhanced relationships, and further goal attainment (choudree, 1999). indeed, in human terms conflict is one of the “engines of evolution” that allows us to learn, progress, and grow. conflict resolution is a process of managing a conflict and negotiating a solution. it is best understood as a working model with two key elements, conflict management and negotiation (nandalal & simonovic, 2003).conflict management is a communication process for changing the negative emotional states in a conflict to emotional states that volume 5, issue 1, 2020 133 allow working out a solution to the conflict. negotiation is a communication process for enabling disputing parties to achieve an outcome with respect to their differences. resolving conflicts to achieve positive outcomes involves two distinct elements, conflict management and negotiation. the first element, conflict management, deals with the attitudes and strong negative emotions usually associated with a conflict situation (ofuho, 1999). it involves defusing the accompanying emotional energy and achieving a mutual understanding of differences. this element is often referred to as conflict settlement. conflict settlement occurs when destructive behaviour has been reduced and hostile attitudes lessened. the aim of conflict control is to mitigate and ultimately end conflict. it is efficient and highly effective, but does not take into account the demands and interests of the parties involved, and thus fails to fundamentally resolve conflict (gardner, 1980; prah, 2004). the goal of conflict resolution is to eliminate the root causes of incompatibility. the equality of others and their need for participation are considered, which can eliminate deep dissatisfaction and help to build long-term relationships (bush &folger, 1994). however, as conflict control often incurs lower costs, is more effective and avoids the ‘volunteer's dilemma’, it is difficult to argue for conflict-resolution methods. however, the causes of the conflicts till remain to be resolved (osei-hwedie & rankopo, 2012). once the conflict has been reduced, the next step is to use negotiation or problem solving to arrive at an outcome that satisfies both parties. at this point, the conflict is resolved, that is, the structure of the situation that gave rise to the struggle in the first place is changed and modified so that the interests of all parties are met. conflict management is then directed toward settlement and negotiation is directed toward achieving the more difficult outcome, resolution. conflict is likely to have several impacts, which may include harm to both humans and the natural resource base. it is a very complex and multi-dimensional social process (rukuni, zadzisai, maxwell & kwaedza, 2015). conflict partly springs from the increasing demand on natural resources owing to population growth, but also as a result of the continued depletion of these resources in both quantity and quality due to degradation, over-harvesting, governance deficits, and external factors such as climate change and commercial pressure (xie, song, & stringfellow, 1998).with regard to the typology of conflict, one could say it is usually a confusing concept over which scholars in the field have not been able to reach consensus. however, it is categorised in many ways, taking the nature of conflicting parties, conflict issues or conflict causes as a parameter (rukuni et al. 2005). conflict resolution practitioners take into account all levels of conflict, including but not limited to family, criminal, civil, sexuality, gender, multinational and financial. conflict is part of life, and when it is wisely handled it could serve as an engine of progress (fiseha, 2013). however cohesive a society might appear, it could be harbouring conflicts. we cannot expect a society with different interests and value systems to be immune from conflict. but the point is that, even if conflict is a common denominator to every society, it does not mean that all societies use similar ways of settling their conflicts. in their various societal, socio-economic and political volume 5, issue 1, 2020 134 contexts, societies indeed differ in the modalities they use to resolve conflict (fleischacker, 1994). the paper explores the linkages between conflict resolution strategies and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. specifically, the study examines the impact of mediation, and negotiation, on the well-being of rural dwellers. theoretical perspective frustrations-aggression-displacement theory the theory is otherwise known as frustration aggression hypothesis. this theory is associated with “dollard, doob, miller, mower, and sears, (1939) and further developed by miller and roger barker (1941), and leonard berkowitzin (1969)”. the major assumption of the theory is that when individuals are prevented from attaining their goals, frustration sets in (friedman & scchustack, 1999). the frustration – aggression hypothesis attempts to provide partly the reasons why violence occurs in the soicety. according to dill and anderson, (1995) frustration aggression theory is used to give explanation of unrest and revolutions in the society. the theory reported that the poor and the less privillege engages in various forms of hostility to convey their bottled up frustration and resentment. whitley and kite, (2010) defined frustration is a situation, where an individual needs suffers either slight or major distortion. aggression connotes the feeling or reaction of an individual towards frustration. aggression takes place when there is an communication between an internal feeling and cues that are available in the social system. frustration lacks the capacity to cause aggressio. when an individual experience frustration the next line of action is the feeling of aggression. according to whitley and kite, (2010)the number of frustration and subsequent aggression depends on how near the individuals is to the goal when they are blocked a significant element of frustration aggression theory concerns the redirection or displacement of aggression a particular frustration instigates aggression against targets that are to some degree related to that source. methods and materials the cross-sectional survey research design was adopted in this study. this design was opted for because of its flexibility and the opportunity it provide researchers to compare many different variables at the same time. this study is carried out in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the central senatorial district of cross river state stretches between longitude 7.00 to 858e and latitude 5.000 to 5.29n. the area is located midway between cross river south and the northern senatorial district. it is bounded in the north by ogoja, obudu, and obanliku local government areas of northern senatorial district of cross river state, and on south by biase and akamkpa local government areas, on the east by republic of cameron, and ebonyi state in the west. for administrative convenience, the central senatorial district of cross river state is divided into six local government areas, namely: abi, yakurr, ikom, etung, boki, and obubra. it has a projected population of 775,250 and is occupying an volume 5, issue 1, 2020 135 area of 2005 square kilometres (williams, akpama, ayang & iferi-obensten, 2013). the central senatorial district of cross river state lies within the rich fringes of tropical rainforest zone of south-eastern nigeria. the major occupation of the area includes farming, trading, and lumbering. the rich topsoil is laced underneath with unfathomable and extensive beds of limestone, clay, lead, iron, alt, gravel, quartz, pyrite ore, etc. the population of study comprises of rural dwellers in selected local government areas in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the age range of the study population is between 18-60 years. the sample size for the study is three hundred and eighty-four (384) respondents. the respondents were selected from the study area through the purposive sampling technique. since the population of the study is unknown, the sample size was determined by the cochran sample determinant. the formula for cochran sample size determinant is stated thus: 𝑛 = 𝑍2(𝑝𝑞) 𝑒2 where: n = required sample size z = confidence level (put at 95% or 1.96) p = proportion of rural dwellers (given in this study as 50%). that is 0.5 q = compliment of p (put at 50%, i.e, 1 50%). that is 0.5 e = level of accuracy or margin error (put at 0.05). applying the formula, therefore, 𝑛 = 1.962(0.5)(0.5) 0.052 𝑛 = 3.8416 (0.25) 0.0025 𝑛 = 0.9604 0.0025 𝑛 = 384.16 𝑛 = 384 the study adopted multistage sampling technique using purposive and simple random sampling technique. the first sampling technique adopted is the purposive sampling technique. this method was used to select three local government areas that have experience conflict in the central senatorial district of cross river state. these local government areas include – abi, obubra, and yakuur local government areas. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 136 this was achieved using the balloting system. the first furthermore, two communities each were randomly selected from the three local government area picked for the study. a total of 6 (six) communities were therefore selected for the study. in each of the six communities, purposive sampling technique was employed to select respondent who are present at the time of study. from each of the communities used for the study, two (2) major clans were purposively selected. a total of twelve (12) clans were covered in the six communities selected for this study. respondents were selected through purposive sampling procedure from the marked clans. an average of thirty-two (32) respondents were selected from each clan. the thirty-two (32) respondents purposively selected from each clan were adult ages 18-60 years. they were selected from their respective household. in event where there is no adult of the specified age, the researcher moves to the next household to continue the administration of the research instrument. in all a total of three hundred and eighty-four (384) respondents were selected for the study. the questionnaire titled questionnaire on “conflict resolution strategies and well-being of rural dwellers” was adopted as main instrument for data collection. the questionnaire consists of 26 items and measured the following items; mediation, negotiation, and well-being of rural dwellers. the questionnaire was divided into three main units. section a, elicited data on the respondents’ demographic data such as sex, age, marital status, educational level etc. section b, consists of 20 items designed to measure the independent variable while section c elicited data on the dependent variable; each require the respondent to indicate the frequency of their responses on a four point likert-scale – strongly agree[sa], agree [a], strongly disagree [sd], disagree [d] scale. analysis of data were carried out based on the research hypotheses. the questionnaire was validated by two lecturers in the department of sociology, university of calabar, cross river state, nigeria. the statistical test employed was the pearson product moment correction (ppmc) statistical tool. all the hypotheses were stated in the null form and tested at 0.05 level of significance. results data presentation the statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 20 was used to perform frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation and pearson product moment correction (ppmc) to test the stated hypotheses. a total of 384 questionnaires were administered out of which 379 were retrieved for analysis, which account for 98.7 per cent response rate. results in table 1 show that out of the 379 respondents, 229 representing 60.4 per cent were males and 150 representing 39.6 per cent were females. 93 (24.5%) of the respondents were aged 25 years and below 16 2 (42.7%) respondents were aged 26-35 years, 82 (21.6%) respondents were aged 36-45 years while, 42 (11.1%) respondents were aged 46 years and above. distribution of respondents based on marital status revealed that, 164 (43.3%) were single; 185 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 137 (48.8%) were married; while 30 (7.9%) were divorced/separated. the distribution of respondents based on level of education showed that, 75 (19.8%) had no formal education, 97 (25.6%) had primary education 106 (28%) had secondary education, while 101 (26.6%) had tertiary education. out of the 379 respondents used in this study, most of the respondents’ 137 (36.1%) were engage in farming as their primary occupation; 82 (21.6%) respondent were students; 84 (22.2%) were engage in trading; 61 (16.1%) were civil servant while only 15 (4%) were in the category of entrepreneurs. the distribution of respondents’ based on religion showed that, more than half of the respondents’ 350 (92.3%) reported they were christians; 8 (2.1%) reported they were muslim while 21 (5.5%) were african traditional worshippers. table 1 demographic data variable frequency percent (%) gender male 150 39.6 female 229 60.4 total 379 100 age of respondent below 25 years 93 24.5 26 35 years 162 42.7 3645 years 82 21.6 46 years and above 42 11.1 total 379 100 marital status single 164 43.3 married 185 48.8 divorced/separated 30 7.9 total 379 100 level of education no formal education 75 19.8 primary education 97 25.6 secondary education 106 28 tertiary education 101 26.6 total 379 100 occupation farming 137 36.1 student 82 21.6 trading 48 12.7 civil servant 61 16.1 entrepreneur 51 13.5 total 379 100 religion christianity 350 92.3 muslim 8 2.1 atr 21 5.5 total 379 100 source: field survey, 2020 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 138 results and discussion of findings hypothesis one there is no significant relationship between mediation (as a conflict resolution strategies) and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district. the independent variable is mediation while rural dwellers is the dependent variable. decision rule if the calculated value is greater than or equal to (≥) critical value, reject null-hypothesis (h0) and accept alternate hypothesis (h1) and if the calculated is less than the critical value accept the null. to test this hypothesis, pearson product moment correlation coefficient is used to test this hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance and the result was presented in table 2 results: as presented in table 2, the result is statistically significant r = 0.501; p <0.05. this is because the calculated r-value of 0.501 is greater than the critical r-value of 0.195, at 0.05 alpha (α) levels of significance, with df = 377. this implies that, there is a significant relationship between mediation and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the correlation coefficient is a standardized measure of an observed effect, it is a commonly used measure of the size of an effect and r-values of ± 0.1 represent a small effect, ± 0.3 represent medium effect while ± 0.5 is a large effect. the squared correlation (0.501)2 which is a measure of effect size indicates the proportion of explained variance on the dependent variable. therefore, 25% of the variance in well-being of rural dwellers is accounted for by mediation (conflict resolution strategy). the magnitude of effect is moderate. this means, there is a significant relationship between mediation and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. table 2: pearson product moment correlation of mediation and well-being of rural dwellers variable n mean sd r-value sig. mediation 379 13.76 2.14 0.501 .000* well-being of rural dwellers 379 14.69 2.14 *significant at 0.05 level; df = 377 critical r value = 0.195 source: field survey, 2020 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 139 hypothesis two there is no significant relationship between negotiation (as a conflict resolution strategies)and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the independent variable is negotiation while the dependent variable is well-being of rural dwellers. results as presented in table 3, the result is statistically significant r = 0.761; p <0.05. this is because the calculated r-value of 0.761 is greater than the critical r-value of 0.195, at 0.05 alpha (α) levels of significance, with df = 377. this mean that, there is statistical significant relationship between negotiation and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the correlation coefficient is a standardized measure of an observed effect, it is a commonly used measure of the size of an effect and r-values of ± 0.1 represent a small effect, ± 0.3 represent medium effect while ± 0.5 is a large effect. the squared correlation (0.761)2 which is a measure of effect size indicates the proportion of explained variance on the dependent variable. the magnitude of effect is large, this means that negotiation correlates positively with well-being of rural dwellers in the study area. therefore, we can conclude that, there is statistical significant relationship between negotiation and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. table 3:pearson product moment correlation of negotiation and well-being of rural dwellers variable n mean sd r-value sig. negotiation 379 12.99 2.10 0.761 0.00 0 well-being of rural dwellers 379 14.69 2.14 * significant at 0.05 level; df = 377 critical r value = 0.195 source: field survey, 2020 discussion of findings the statistical analysis for hypothesis one shows a significant relationship between mediation and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. previous studies have shown that carefully constructed mediation could prevent a full blown conflict. consequently, enhancing the well-being of volume 5, issue 1, 2020 140 people concern. the findings of the study reveals that conflict resolution usually requires finding a mutually acceptable solution that meets the interests of both parties and promotes the well-being of people. if all parties can see their interests satisfied, movement toward resolution is substantially increased and well-being of the individuals involved in the conflict is enhanced. mediation is a popular process of conflict resolution. it is quite productive and helpful in settling conflicts that would have otherwise escalated easily and damage the livelihood of people. mediation as used in law is a form of alternative dispute resolution, a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties (shedrack, 2006).the objective of mediation is to help parties to a conflict, within an environment of controlled communication, to reach solutions to their problem the role of a mediator is to create the enabling environment for the parties to carry out dialogue sessions leading to the resolution of a pending conflict, which will avert the destruction of lives and properties that may affect the well-being of people. the mediator needs to enjoy the confidence of the parties to the conflict. in addition, there is need to be objective, neutral, balanced, supportive, and non-judgmental and astute in questioning, and to try to drive the parties towards win-win as opposed a view on what might be a fair a reasonable settlement, generally where all parties agree that the mediator may do so. mediation has a structure, timetable and dynamics. the result of the second hypothesis shows that there is a significant relationship between negotiations and well-being of rural dwellers in central senatorial district of cross river state, nigeria. the study revealed that negotiation is a key approach to the peaceful resolution of dispute and conflicts in rural communities that have experience conflict in the past. adopting this conflict resolution strategy has actually help in bring to an end conflict and enhance the well-being of rural dwellers. conclusion and recommendations conflict is universal and inherent in all social activity, it is characterized by perceived differences and negative emotional states. the issues in conflict can be thought of as tangible and intangible, as needs or beliefs. conflict often results in destructive ends but it does not have to. collaboration and compromise are usually available as alternatives in a conflict situation. pursuing these ends in conflict is called conflict resolution. to manage conflict successfully, we propose that the negative emotions that accompany conflict be managed by the strategic use of reflective listening. the differences in needs that underlie the conflict can best be dealt with by interest-based negotiation. solutions are found when conflicting parties surface the interest behind their positions. the problem solving process is used to allow the free creation of ideas that will best meet the needs to the two parties. the study recommended that advocacy for tolerance, love, forgiveness, and sensitivity of government to people's needs should be put in place to enhance well-being of rural communities ravaged by conflict. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 141 references bukari, k. n. 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(1994). the ethics of culture. ithaca, cornell university press. gardner, a. j. (1980). legal imperialism: american lawyers and foreign aid in latin america. madison, university of wisconsin press nandalal, k. d. w., & simonovic, s. p. (2003). resolving conflicts in water sharing: a systemic approach, water resource research 39(12), 1362. ofuho, c. h. (1999). community conflict resolution and reconciliation in the kidepo, valley of eastern equatoria, south sudan: some lessons from grassroot practices of peace making. paper presented to the all-africa conference on african principles of conflict resolution and reconciliation. november 8th 12th 1999 in addis ababa, ethiopia. osei-hwedie, k., & rankopo, m. j. (2012). indigenous conflict resolution in africa: the case of ghana and botswana. ipshu eng. res. rep. series 29:33-51. prah, b. e. k. (2004). the cadastral lis as a tool for land conflict resolution in rural communities in rural communities of ghana, jakarta, indonesia. rukuni, t., zadzisai, m., maxwell, c. c. m., & kwaedza, e. k. (2015). the role of traditional leadership in conflict resolution and peace building in zimbabwean rural communities: the case of bikita district. public policy administrative. research. 5:3. xie, j., song, x. m., & stringfellow, a. (1998). interfunctional conflict, conflict resolution styles, and new product success: a four-culture comparison. management sciences, 44 (12-part-2): s192-s206. enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 1 covid-19 lockdown, delayed payment of workers’ salary and food in imo state civil service, nigeria. uchechukwu anthony nwobi department of public administration, national open university of nigeria email: ucheanwobi@gmail.com abstract the study is to examine the effect of covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary on food in imo state civil service, nigeria. the outbreak of covid-19 brought the world to a halt via lockdown order and altered the lifestyle of people globally. amidst that, it distorted payment of workers salary and constituted great challenges to their well-being despite the directives from ministry of finance budget and national planning to ensure continuous payment of workers salary no matter the impact of covid-19 on the economy. it is from the foregoing that the objectives of the study were drawn. specifically, the study was to ascertain the extentcovid-19 lockdown amidst delayed payment of workers salary has impeded affordability of food in imo state civil service, nigeria. the study adopted survey research. stratified random sampling by proportional procedure was used. the sample size of 637 civil servants was drawn from the total population of 6370. four point likert scale and mean scores of the responses were used to analyze data.secondary sources of data were employed largely from journals, textbooks, newspapers, web pages and government documents. to complement it the questionnaire was used as primary source. game theory was adopted as the theoretical umbrella. the findings show that, to a significant extent workers could not afford garri, bread, rice, beans, yam, plantain, palm oil, vegetable, meat, fish, chicken etc. the study recommends for control of prompt payment of workers salary, introduction of price control mechanism and subsidized credit to workers for livestock production. keywords: civil service, covid-19, food, imo state and workers’ salary introduction the outbreak of covid-19 on 31st december, 2019 brought the world to a halt via lockdown order and altered the lifestyle of people globally. amidst that, several workers were confronted with issues bordering on distortion of payment of salaries for several months by the state government despite the directive of the ministry of finance budget and national planning to ensure continuous payment of salary no matter the impact of covid-19 on the economy. hence, the persistent spread of infection and death heralded by panic brought all activities around the world to stop either temporarily or permanently. in confirmation of that, nwosu-igbo (2020) submits that there was shutdown of borders, schools, offices, churches, markets, social gatherings and temperature checks, the use of hand sanitizers, nose masks became routine in public places and in homes. precisely in imo state, workplaces were shutdown for several months until the ease of lockdown was introduced. even at that, only workers on essential duties and those on grade levels 14 and mailto:ucheanwobi@gmail.com covid-19 lockdown above were asked to resume duties three times per week. others were to work from their homes and public gatherings were restricted. to substantiate this, holmes, (2020) posited that some of the employers used it as a pretext to withhold wages or refused to pay outstanding wages to workers. that propelled a huge disruption in the economy, altered the life styles of people globally and caused several workers a significant drop in their well-being, (“civil servants and covid-19 test”, 2020). on account of that, several angry workers in imo state threatened to defy the lockdown order in search of money and food which is a basic necessity of life for their respective families, following the controversy and distortion on payment of their salary by imo state government for about five months with effect from february, 2020, (nwokocha, 2020) despite the fact that, the ministry of finance budget and national planning was directed to ensure continuous payment of salary no matter the impact of covid-19 on the economy, (bello 2020). statement of the problem the contention was premised on the well-being of workers amidst the rapid spread of covid-19 that halted several activities globally despite the directives from ministry of finance budget and national planning to ensure continuous payment of workers salary no matter the impact of covid-19 on the economy. one of the major challenges was starvation because the federal and states government ordered a compulsory self-isolation in order to mitigate the spread of the dreaded virus. given the lockdown order of the government, several people were stopped from engaging in economic activities which led to a gross shortage of cash, foodstuffs and translated to poverty, unemployment and threatened human survival in addition to that, basic necessities of life such as food, water, healthcare and myriad of others haunted civil servants and worsened their plight socially and economically. it was worsened when the state government delayed the payment of workers salary for about five months. it made meeting basic needs of life extremely difficult as workers precisely could not find food to purchase. even when they found food in the market, there was no money to buy them. similarly, basic necessities of life such as food, water, healthcare and myriad of others haunted civil servants and worsened their plight socially and economically. on that footing, the following question was raised: research question i. to what extent has covid-19 pandemic characterized by delayed payment of workers salary impeded affordability of food in imo state civil service, nigeria? objective of the study the broad objective of the study was to examine the impact of covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary on food in imo state civil service, nigeria. specifically, the study is to: i. ascertain the extentto which covid-19 pandemic characterized by delayed payment of workers salary has impeded affordability of food in imo state civil service, nigeria. 3 conceptual clarifications concept of covid-19 corona viruses are a large family of zoonotic viruses. these viruses are transmitted from animals to humans causing illness ranging from the common cold to severe respiratory diseases, (mcleod 2020). furthermore, it means a family of viruses that range from the common cold to more severe illnesses like severe acute respiratory syndrome and middle east respiratory syndrome, (d'amore, 2020). basically, it’s spread between people on a close contact via droplets from coughing, sneezing or talking. in the course of breathing, the droplets could fall on surfaces, ground and infect someone through touching a contaminated surface and then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth. it has a lifespan of 72 hours or 3 days on the surfaces and may happen pre symptoms and post stages of disease. the period of exposure to onset of symptoms is about five days but could range from two to fourteen days, (fehintola & fehintola, 2020). food food is a basic need of life for sustenance such as rice, yam, beans, garri, egg and myriad of others. its affordability depends on how much money a worker has because affordability is paramount to food access. in other words, if a worker is denied his or her salary for several months, he or she finds it difficult to demand or afford food, (costigan, 2020). summarily, it is the ultimate consumable commodity which serves as biological needs, (lupton, 2020). empirical review the paper titled covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis: the nigerian experience and structural causes, authored by (ozili, 2020). economic and structural data were collected from multiple sources, namely: the central bank of nigeria, world bank, oxford, etc. data on purchasing managers index (pmi) and inflation was collected from the central bank of nigeria. the sample period was from january 2020 to june 2020. descriptive analysis was used to analyze the study. findings revealed that, the economic downturn in nigeria was triggered by a combination of declining oil price and spillovers from the covid-19 outbreak. the study recommended provision of financial assistance by the government to businesses and a small number of households that were affected by the covid-19 outbreak. the study could not pin down the specific scope of the study in nigeria. again, it does not have a mirror with which it was analyzed. similarly, the study titled unemployment in the time of covid-19 authored by blusteina, duffy, ferreirac, cohen-scalid, cinamone and allan (2020) was aimed at exploring how unemployment crisis amidst covid-19 differed from previous unemployment periods; examining the nature of the grief evoked by the parallel loss of work and loss of life; recognizing and addressing the privilege of scholars; examining the inequality that underlies the disproportionate impact of the crisis on poor and working class communities; developing a framework for evidence-based interventions for unemployed individuals; and examining the work-family interface and unemployment among youth. it recommended that research efforts be constructed from the lived experiences of the individuals who are now out of work, to develop and assess interventions and the collective scholarly efforts of our community include incentives and outcomes that support unemployed https://globalnews.ca/author/rachael-damore/ covid-19 lockdown individuals such as online workshops and resources could be shared with participants and other communities. the study did not clearly state the methodology used, no theoretical framework, it did not specify the scope of the study and findings of the study were not shown. in a related study titled the impact of delayed emoluments on local government administration in nigeria: outlining the crisis and solutions was authored by (aimuan & unufe 2007). the aim was to evaluate and highlight the significance of prompt payment of salaries and wages as crucial factors towards achieving the objectives of any local government. the study was descriptive. expectancy theory was the theoretical umbrella for this discourse. the study recommended for local government councils across the country to give the necessary attention that emoluments deserve, as this will help boost the morale of employees which will in turn result in higher productivity. the study could not state clearly the methodology used. there were no findings of the study and the reviewed literature was not properly criticized. in a similar context, the article titled covid-19 virus outbreak lockdown: what impacts on household food wastage? it was authored by jribi, ismail, doggui and·debbabi (2020) and aimed at determining the impact of covid-19 lockdown on tunisian consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviors related to food wastage. the study used online survey and 284 respondents. findings revealed that, the reasons for discarding food were overcooking, inappropriate storage and overbuying. it recommended for consumers’ needs of information for taking further action. the methodology was not clearly stated as to the total population and how the number of respondents was generated. gap in literature the reviewed literature did not investigate the extent covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary impeded affordability of food in imo state. thus, such unaddressed inadequacies, incompleteness and incommensurability created the yawning knowledge gap the study filled. theoretical underpinning the study gave consideration to game theory whose major proponents are john von neumann a mathematician, oskar morgenstem an economist (1940), hayes (2020) and tucker, a. w. (1950). it is relevant to this study because it has expanded and applied to political science, administration, economics, and biology among other disciplines. game theory can describe a number of specific phenomena: interpersonal relations, competition, war and political affairs. is a social situation among competing players who employ strategies, optimal decision making of independent, interdependent and competing actors in a strategic setting. the outcome depends on the decisions of two or more autonomous players, one of which may be nature itself, and where no single decision maker has full control over the outcomes, (bhuiyan 2020). tenets of the theory: game theory has the following tenets: 1) it comprises of a set of players. 2) there is a set of strategies available to each of the players. 3) its outcome is determined by the strategies employed by each of the player. 4) again, there is a payoff attributed to each of the players in line with the outcome. 5) there is information set. 6) lastly, equilibrium has to be reached. 5 application of the theory to the study game theory is apt for the study because the society is in a strategic interaction with the virus and the appropriate analytical tool for the study of strategic interaction becomes the game theory, (holden 2020). interestingly, the world is interconnected and every effort made to mitigate the impacts of covid-19 requires coordination because an outbreak anywhere puts all others at greater risk of contacting it. despite that, coordination is insufficient thus the need for cooperation arose in order to overcome the loss of global welfare that could emerge if players behave non-cooperatively, (caparros & finus 2020). similarly, the interaction between human beings and sars-cov-2 that causes covid-19 is its attack on us and our relationship with one another. the virus, community and policy makers are the players in the game who depend on compliance and control some of the rules of the game such as how much we interact with one another. to the virus, the payoff represents the extent it wants to infect several people while that of individuals is a combination of health and economic effects. the opponent in the game is the virus that multiplies its damage through a strategy of infecting multiple people who would as well infect others. that led to a lockdown order. furthermore, policy makers were expected to manage the rules of the game until a vaccine is discovered, (holden 2020). sadly, workers and imo state government had an opposing interest on wages and working conditions instead of ensuring that the welfare of workers were met in line with the pandemic. in pretext, imo state government as a policy maker strategically adopted delayed payment of workers salary for about five months without considering the fact that, for workers to survive and obey the rules of the game, they required their salary to meet their basic needs. that worsened the plight of workers and they threatened to defy covid-19 rules of the game which signified lack of cooperation. the payoff was hunger and hardship that translated to workers inability to afford food items. to pull out of the aforementioned challenges, the players should embrace cooperation as the framework advocates by ensuring that workers are paid regularly and all government regulations complied with. hypothesis 1. there is no significant relationship between covid-19 pandemic characterized by delayed payment of workers salary and affordability of food in imo state civil service, nigeria. methodology the study was a survey research. stratified random sampling by proportional procedure was used. the total population of the study is 6370, (“ministry of planning and economic development. 2012). a sample size of 637 was generated using 10% of the total population 6370 in line with obasi (1999) who submits that, if the population was a few thousands a 10% sample would do among others. primary and secondary sources of data were used. a self administered questionnaire was distributed proportionately among the civil servants to compliment the secondary source largely adopted from journals, textbooks, web pages, newspapers and government documents. a four point likert scale was used. data was analyzed using mean item and percentages. covid-19 lockdown data presentation, findings and discussion the result of the study was presented bearing in mind the objective. it revealed the following: table 3: percentage, decision and mean scores of respondents on the extent covid-19 pandemic characterized by delayed payment of workers salary impeded affordability of food on the following: s/n items very high extent 4 high extent 3 moderate extent 2 low extent 1 mean decision 1 garri 450(71%) 150(24%) 27(4%) 10(2%) 3.63 accepted 2 bread 401(62%) 146(22%) 6(10%) 39(6%) 3.45 accepted 3 rice 390(61%) 210(33%) 30(5%) 7(1%) 3.54 accepted 4 beans 331(51%) 299(46%) 7(1%) 10(2%) 3.52 accepted 5 yam 356(56%) 250(39%) 31(5%) 0(0%) 3.51 accepted 6 plantain 300(47%) 261(41%) 59(9%) 17(3%) 3.32 accepted 7 palm oil 517(81%) 80(12%) 37(6%) 3(1%) 3.74 accepted 8 vegetable 559(88%) 48(7%) 27(4%) 3(1%) 3.82 accepted 9 meat 498(78%) 130(20%) 9(2%) 0(0%) 3.76 accepted 10 fish 570(89%) 50(8%) 15(2%) 2(1%) 3.86 accepted 11 egg 608(95%) 23(4%) 6(1%) 0(0%) 3.94 accepted 12 chicken 620(97%) 10(2%) 7(1%) 0(0%) 3.96 accepted 13 crayfish 627(98%) 10(2%) 0(0%) 0(0%) 3.97 accepted 14 okro 410(64%) 212(33%) 15(3%) 0(0%) 3.62 accepted 15 melon seed (egusi) 455(71%) 160(25%) 2(1%) 20(3%) 3.64 accepted 16 tomatoes 382(60%) 218(34%) 23(4%) 14(2%) 3.51 accepted 17 ogbono (bush mango seed) 599(94%) 30(5%) 7(1%) 0(0%) 3.92 accepted total 8073 2287 308 125 62.71 grand mean 3,68 accepted source: authors field work, (2020). mean (x) = n fx data on table 3: showed that items 1 to 17 had mean scores above the criterion mean of 2.5 and was accepted. none of the items had mean score below the criterion mean of 2.5. the grand mean (3,68) was above the criterion mean, which showed that covid-19 pandemic characterized by delayed payment of workers salary impeded affordability of food items to a very high extent. based on the above presentation of the results of the study, the following findings were decrypted: 1) garri was not within the reach of workers. 2) increase in price of flour led to upsurge on bread prices thus, affordable was difficult. 3) the prices of rice rose to its peak and made affordability difficult. 4) affordability of beans was impeded by delayed payment of workers salary amidst covid-19 7 5) yam was expensive because farming could not take place which affected its affordability. 6) plantain was out of the reach of workers coupled with the hike in its price. 7) palm oil was not affordable because the price was astronomically increased. 8) the quantity of vegetable previously bought was reduced tremendously. 9) it was difficult for workers to pay the price of meat with little or no income. 10) the price of fish rose given covid-19 such that workers who were not paid could not buy it. 11) eggs were rotten since dealers could not supply to consumers which made it difficult to find. 12) low demand and supply of egg led to scarcity of chicken thus affordability became difficult 13) crayfish as well was unaffordable to civil servants in the state. 14) workers could not afford enough okro as they wanted instead, they mixed it with melon seed 15) melon seed (egusi) became an essential commodity to worker because of paucity of fund. 16) tomatoes were scarcely available because of transport challenges and its price increase. 17) its price rose to the peak and made workers unable to buy it amid delayed payment of salary. discussion the goal of every government is to ensure the security and welfare of the citizens. sadly, imo state government locked down to protect the interest of workers in order to avert the danger of contacting the virus without prompt payment of workers salary which was tantamount to inviting other diseases and death. evidently, item 1 (garri) on table 4 was not affordable. again, table 3: clearly revealed that, there was a 200% increase in price of garri from the previous price. in the same context, echeruo, patience in nwokocha (2020) explained that a paint of garri formerly sold for n500 rose to n2000 and caused the money and food budgeted for a week to be consumed in three days. amidst that, peril stared workers on their faces as fishes, egg and meat were scarce to purchase for children feeding. workers were hungry and could not eke out their livelihoods thus; they had to beg and did other undignified things to survive. most households drank garri and salt with mostly tap water because they could not afford to buy sachet water, (“lockdown: hungry people more dangerous than covid-19, nigerians cry out,” (2020). they became distraught because their meager salary wasn’t paid promptly, (ezugwu 2017). hence, they could not buy the same quantity of goods with a fixed income level despite the fact that, economic activities were practically kept on hold. inflationary rate worsened their purchasing power. their ability to afford the same quantity of goods and services they usually enjoyed dropped despite income level maintaining its status quo. thus, food shortage crept in third quarter of 2019 and metamorphosed into food crisis in the first quarter of 2020, (okonji 2020). stretching further, item 2: (bread) on table 4 revealed that, a loaf of bread which is a staple food in most nigerian household that previously sold for n300n350 increased to n400 n450, (ayoade 2020). it was attributed to the fact that, the period between march and august 2020 witnessed increase in price of flour from n10, 000 per 50kg bag to n13, 500 per bag. sugar had an upsurge in price from n13, 500 per bag, went as high as n29, 000 and down to n19, 000 per bag in the corresponding period. margarine rose from n5, 800 to n11, 000 in price. a 25 litre can of vegetable oil which previously sold for n13,000 hiked to n16,000 while milk which was hitherto n29,000 went up to n52,000 and calcium propionate increased from n25,000 to n34,500, (olowoyo 2020).the price increase made workers to reduce their consumption style by substituting essential foods with poor-quality foods which led to reduction in diet quality, (gain global alliance for improved nutrition, 2020). covid-19 lockdown more so, item 3: on table 4: revealed that civil servants found it difficult to afford rice. to substantiate that, the cable (2020) posits that, most workers diverted to consumption of locally produced rice for their meals because of price increases. even at that, the price of a 50kg bag of local rice rose from n11, 500 to n18, 500 while a 50kg bag of imported rice increased from n18, 500 to n27, 500 in the month of march, 2020. the cost of one cup of imported derica of rice increased from n450 to n1000; and the cost of one cup of local derica of rice increased from n300 to n750. in the same vein, table 3: showed that the increase in price of rice ranged from 60% to 75%. again, there was ban and restrictions on importation of staple food for households yet it’s common because it comes in through permeable land borders, (udegbunam 2020). consequently, over 37% of people households were exposed to increase in prices of major food items, while about 12% of them experienced reduction in food consumption in order to manage the impact of the shocks, (olurounbi 2020). workers reconsidered their priority by getting food stuffs they could afford and skipped consumption of fruits and some foods considered as luxury. the mitigation plan was checking the quantity and quality of food consumed in order to survive. some workers spent double of their usual budget on foodstuffs which was partly strained by decrease in supply of imported food, (obadofin 2020). in corroboration of the above view, item 4 on table 4: revealed that beans as a source of protein was not easily affordable by workers. again, item 5 table 4: showed that, yam was expensive and out of the reach of workers. the price of a tuber of yam, a substitute of rice in many nigerian homes, increased from n236.90 in may to n250.70 in june, representing an increase of 5.83%. the increase was linked to covid-19 pandemic that coincided with the beginning of the planting season, caused a sharp decline in food production in 2019 and locust pandemic in 2020, food stocks declined and led to increase in prices of food items. it affected the poor, most vulnerable and became exacerbated by the travel, transport restrictions, night curfew, and irregular payment of workers salary etc, (united nation development programme 2020). again, items 5, 7, 11 &15; on table 4 indicated that, workers could not afford yam, palm oil, chicken and tomatoes. akinfenwa (2020) submits that, a kilogram of chicken previously sold at n1, 100 spiked to n1, 500/kg; 50kg basket of tomato initially sold for between n4, 000 to n5, 000, increased to between n13, 000 to n15, 000; a medium sized tuber of yam sold for n500 rose to n1, 200; 25 liters keg of palm oil increased from n9, 000 to n11, 000. this cuts across almost all categories of produce. similarly, a bag of flour that sold for n9, 000 before covid-19, now goes for n13, 000, while a bag of sugar at present costs n24, 000 as against the previous price of n13, 000. butter rose to n12, 000 against n7, 500, while a bag of milk, which was n29, 000, increased to n52, 000. additionally, the study on table 4 item 9: indicates that affordability of beef did not have a remarkable improvement. a worker almost cried when she bought beef previously worth n1000 for n2000. in a related development, quarrel erupted between a civil servant who went to buy beef from the abattoir and a beef seller when he found how expensive it was, he demanded for additional pieces of meat and was turned down by the seller considering the cost of transportation. another worker inferred that, given the hardship it took some effort to convince her husband that, she was not defrauding him when she was given n 5000 to buy some food https://www.premiumtimesng.com/author/ogeudegbunam 9 stuffs at the market. the quantity of food items bought was so small, beef alone gulped n2000 among other food items, (alagbe 2020). consequently, item 10 (fish) on table 4: was not affordable because fishes like kote and titus were expensive. it worsened by the sudden astronomical increase in prices of feeds by importers which increased the prices of fishes and made it a big burden on workers who could not afford it for consumption, (fisheries committee for the west central gulf of guinea 2020). again, prices of raw inputs needed for fish such as packaging materials, fish, and spices increased. the materials were difficult to find for production of value-added products and producing at full capacity was difficult because of dwindled demand for fish, (the fish tank 2020). interestingly, items 11 (egg) & 12 (chicken) on table 4: were evidently not affordable. similarly, yahaya, yusuf, giginyu, adama, ramoni, & adibe (2020) submit that, farmers were frustrated as they watched their investments went down the drain with poultry and fishery subsectors being the worst hit as the rainy season set in. eggs that were supposed to be a major priority as a palliative with drastic high demand because of its nutritional value were marred with dwindling demand. the challenges of demand and supply of egg led to the scarcity of chicken which translated to high cost of the available few in the market thus, workers could not afford it. unfortunately, item 15 (egusi) on table 4: was difficult to afford partly because of the increase in prices that fluctuated as it was imported into the country thus exchange rate affected its affordability by workers who hadn’t enough resources to purchase it, (“food stuff prices in nigeria (2020)”). in order to make ends meet, workers had to mix it with other things such as groundnut among others to increase its quantity at the detriment of its nutritional value. item 16: on table 4: indicates that, tomatoes were unaffordable. in support of this, akinfenwa (2020) explained that workers experienced a drastic upsurge in the price of a 50kg basket of tomato which initially sold for between n4, 000 to n5, 000, to between n13, 000 to n15, 000. finally, item 17 bush mango seed on table 4: revealed that it was unaffordable by workers. how to make huge profits marketing and distributing ogbono, (2020) decries that, it is one of the most expensive soup ingredients. it witnessed increase in price due to the lack of its massive production and it became extremely unaffordable for consumption. furthermore, daily trust, (2020) submits that,a bag of bush mango sold at n127, 000. each bag contains about 18 to 19 paint containers. a paint container costs n 8,500 or n9, 000 but there might be future increase in prices. it suffices to say that, as food dried out in several households coupled with paucity of fund workers couldn’t feed their children, (united nation news 2020). similarly, nwobi, enibe, ugwunnadi & husaini (2019) concurred that, three square meals was a mirage among workers and when a stomach is empty longer than necessary, glucose and protein contents in the body drops. furthermore, the depletion of blood glucose in the body when the human brain is suppose to be at 80/120mg/dl for efficient performance could be harmful to workers. covid-19 lockdown closing remarks several workers were confronted with issues bordering on distortion of payment of salaries for several months by the state government despite the directive of the ministry of finance budget and national planning to ensure continuous payment of salary no matter the impact of covid-19 on the economy.hence this study aimed atexamining the impact of covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary on food in imo state civil service, nigeria. findings from the study revealed thatto significant extent workers could not afford garri, bread, rice, beans, yam, plantain, palm oil, vegetable, meat, fish, chicken and myriad of others. besides, the welfare of workers was overstretched when the state government made excuses with covid-19 pandemic for her inability to pay their salary promptly despite the fact that, economic activities were practically kept on hold as prices of food items increased. amidst that, to address the challenges associated with the impact of covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary on food the recommendations below should be employed. in conclusion, the above findings have established that the covid-19, delayed payment of workers salary translated to workers inability to afford food items to feed on especially in terms of quality and quantity. recommendations the study recommends the following: 1) there should be a law in place to control prompt payment of workers salary. to achieve this, the house of assembly should pass a bill that any governor who delays in the payment of workers salary, should be made to pay 150% of the salary in arrears. 2) the government should as a matter of urgency initiate and reintroduce a price control mechanism by constituting a price control board. this should be as part of a larger income policy package and also employing wage control and other regulatory elements. the board will help in placing a restriction on the prices of goods and commodities in our open markets. and to also mitigate the impact of inflation on consumers of various products. 3) there should be adoption and implementation of land-use policies where appropriate in order to enhance food security through setting aside adequate areas of agricultural lands, aquatic and other natural resources for the production of food and other sources of nutrition. 4) the government should provide waivers to fish feed importers so that nigerian farmers can get fish feeds at lower rates. 5) the government should give workers soft intervention credit facilities to farmer’s in different capacity such as fish, yam farmers etc through their various associations and make adequate waivers or mobility passes for the transportation of the food items and products across the country.” 6) government should give priority to vital issues and conduct proper community needs assessment for workers. 7) there should be subsidized credit to workers for livestock production. when this is done, food will be available for workers consumption. 8) marketing margins should be harnessed to promote healthy price advantage to every channel member in the production, marketing and distribution of food items. 11 references aimuan, e. e & unufe, j, (2007).the impact of delayed emoluments on localgovernment administration in nigeria: outlining thecrisis and solutions. international journal of social sciences and conflict management, 2(5), 187-199. akinfenwa, g. (2020, june 7). covid-19: food prices hit 15.03% high in 2 years. retrieved from https://guardian.ng. alagbe, j. (2020, april 19). feeding during lockdown now more expensive: lagos, ogun & f.c.t. residents.retrieved from https://punchng.com. bello, a. (2020, april 2). fg to pay salaries in spite of covid-19. retrieved from https://www.radionigeria.gov.ng bhuiyan, b. a. (2020, november 9). an overview of game theory and some applications. philosophy and progress: vols. lix-lx, 112-120. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pp.v59i1-2.36683 blusteina, d. l. duffy, r. ferreirac, j. a. cohen-scalid, v. cinamone r. g., & allan, b. a. (2020). unemployment in the time of covid-19: a research agenda. journal of vocational behavior, 119, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103436 caparros, a. & finus, m. (2020, december 8). the corona pandemic: a game theoretic perspective on regional and global governance. environmental and resource economics,doi.org/10.1007/s10640-020-00475-4 civil servants and covid-19 test (2020, july 31).retrieved from https://guardian.ng. costigan, m. (2020, march 11). the true meaning of food access. retrieved from https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/latest/blog/the-true-meaning-of-food-access, 16/10/2020 daily trust, (2020, april 28). inside the tricky ogbono trade – daily trust. retrieved from https://headtopics.com d'amore, r. (2020, march 16). coronavirus: where did it come from and how did we get here? retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/6682629/coronavirus-how-did-it-start/ ezugwu, a. (2017, february 27). nigerians groan under bad economy. retrieved from https://realnewsmagazine.net fehintola, j. o. & fehintola, r. o. (2020) assessment of impact of covid-19 challenges on psychosocial well-being of nigerians. european journal of education studies, 7(5), 2133. fisheries committee for the west central gulf of guinea, (2020, april 24) nigerian fish farmers lament high cost of feed, seek government intervention. retrieved from https://fcwcfish.org food stuff prices in nigeria (2020, sept 16th). retrieved from https://lewisraylaw.com gain global alliance for improved nutrition, (2020, may 4). covid-19 and food prices: what do we know so far?retrieved fromhttps://www.gainhealth.org gain global alliance for improved nutrition, (2020). impact of covid-19 on food systems: a situation report. retrieved from https://www.gainhealth.org holden, r. (2020, april 8).vital signs: a lesson from game theory the coronavirus contrarians ignore. retrieved fromhttps://theconversation.com holmes, j. (2020), how can we work without wages: salary abuses facing migrant workers ahead of qatar;s fifa world cup 2022. retrieved from https://www.hrw.org how to make huge profits marketing and distributing ogbono, (2020). retrieved from https://infoguidenigeria.com https://guardian.ng/ https://punchng.com/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/pp.v59i1-2.36683 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103436 https://guardian.ng/ https://sustainablefoodcenter.org/latest/blog/the-true-meaning-of-food-access https://headtopics.com/ https://globalnews.ca/author/rachael-damore/ https://globalnews.ca/news/6682629/coronavirus-how-did-it-start/ https://fcwc-fish.org/ https://fcwc-fish.org/ https://lewisraylaw.com/ https://www.gainhealth.org/ https://www.gainhealth.org/ https://theconversation.com/ https://www.hrw.org/ https://infoguidenigeria.com/ covid-19 lockdown jribi, s. ismail, h. b. doggui, d &·debbabi, h. (2020). covid-19 virus outbreak lockdown: what impacts on household food wastage? journal of environment, development and sustainability, 22:3939–3955. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00740-y lockdown: hungry people more dangerous than covid-19, nigerians cry out, (2020, april 11). retrieved from https://www.vanguardgr.com lupton, d. (1994). food, memory and meaning: the symbolic and social nature of food events. the sociological review, 664-686. retrieved from www.journals.sagepub.com, 16/10/2020. mcleod, v. (2020, march 16) covid-19: a history of coronavirus. retrieved from https://www.labmanager.com.. ministry of planning and economic development. (2012.) government of imo state of nigeria authorised establishment. owerri: author. nwobi, u. a. enibe, o. g. ugwunnadi, c. m. & husaini, u. s. i. (2019) street hawking and child’s well-being: a reflection on oguta community in imo state, nigeria. journal of politics, administration and behavioural sciences, 2(1):152-163. nwokocha, c. (2020, april 6). covid-19: food scarcity hits south east. retrieved fromhttps://nigeriancatholicreporter.com nwokocha, c. (2020, april 8). covid-19: imo angry workers may disrupt lockdown order for non-payment of salaries since february.retrieved from https://www.independent.ng. nwosu-igbo, n. (2020, april 7). in the frontline of nigeria’s struggle with covid-19. retrieved fromhttps://www.unicef.org. obadofin, o. h. (2020, july 6), impact of covid-19 on nutrition and food shortages in nigeria. retrieved from https://guardian.ng obasi, i. (1999). research methodology in political science. enugu: academic publishing company. okonji, c. (2020, july 12). up, up goes food price in nigeria. retrieved from https://www.theyouthtimes.com olowoyo, g. (2020, september 11).nigeria: price of bread set to rise as bakers lament high cost of ingredients. retrieved from https://allafrica.com olurounbi, r. (2020, july 13).nigeria: pandemic to poverty in the post-covid future. retrieved from https://www.theafricareport.com. ozili, p. (2020). covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis: the nigerian experience and structural causes, ssm electronic journal,retrieved from www.researchgate.net. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3567419. the cable, (2020, april 8). covid-19: food stuff prices almost double in q1 2020. retrieved from https:thecable.ng the fish tank, (2020, july 7). field notes: nigeria’s fish procedure call for government support to stay afloat during covid-19 crisis. retrieved from http:// blog.worldfishcenter.org. united nation development programme, (2020, august 10). articulating the pathways of the socioeconomic impact of the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic on the kenyan economy. retrieved from www.undp.org. united nation news, (2020, june 9). conflict-hit nigerian families living under covid-19 lockdowns, on ‘life-support’.retrieved from https://news.un.org 2020/06/1065952 yahaya, h. yusuf, v. a. giginyu, i.m. adama, d. s. ramoni, r. & adibe, t. (2020, may 16). nigeria: alarm bells as covid-19 cripples poultry, fish farming biz. retrieved from https://allafrica.com https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00740-y https://www.vanguardgr.com/ http://www.journals.sagepub.com/ https://www.labmanager.com/ https://nigeriancatholicreporter.com/ https://www.independent.ng/ https://www.unicef.org/ https://guardian.ng/ https://www.theyouthtimes.com/ https://allafrica.com/ https://www.theafricareport.com/ http://www.undp.org/ https://allafrica.com/ page 3 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 75 organizational identity and career transition as predictors of pre-retirement anxiety among nigerian military personnel. ikechukwu v. n. ujoatuonu1 *amuche b. onyishi1 chiedozie o. okafor2 lawrence o. amazue1 chukwuemeka k. umeh 1department of psychology, faculty of the social sciences, university of nigeria, nsukka. 2department of psychology alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike, ebonyi state. *corresponding author: amuche.onyishi@unn.edu.ng abstract nigerian military personnel’s continuous transition from governmental to nongovernmental work is likely to result in some psychological reactions and increasing every day. our study examined organizational identity and career transition as predictors of pre-retirement anxiety among nigeria military personnel. a total of 285 soldiers (202 males and 83 females) participated in the study. their ages range between 50-60 years with mean age of 55.01 (s.d= 11.30). three instruments were used which include: preretirement anxiety scale (ras), organizational identification scale (oids), and career transition inventory (cti). two hypotheses were tested and cross-sectional survey design was adopted, while correlation and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. the results of the analysis showed that organizational identity is not a predictor of pre-retirement anxiety. career transition negatively predicted pre-retirement anxiety. this showed that the more nigerian military personnel transit to retirement, the less anxious they feel. this is attributed the eagerness to leave their profession as a result of sabotage, stereotype, ethnocentrisms and political economy involved in the recent administration of nigerian military. this paper makes an original contribution to research in the area of organizational identity and career transition in pre-retirement anxiety among nigeria military personnel. it was suggested that there may be moderator variables (e.g., psychological detachment, person-job-fit, organizational ethical climate, work/non-work interference and enhancement, combat experiences with exposure and psychological work ability) which could possibly increase and/or decrease the effect organizational identity and career transition among nigerian military personnel preretirement anxiety. keywords: career transition, organizational identity, pre-retirement anxiety volume 5, issue 1, 2020 76 introduction military personnel go through many transitions at several points during their lifetime (e.g., transition to a fresh task, amendment in hierarchical order or an operation in a foreign country), but the transition from work role to none-work role or civilian career is the most demanding for soldiers (spiegel & shultz, 2003). this is traceable to inadequate preparation of workers (in paid employment) for this final phase of occupational life cycle (atchley & barusch, 2004) and military organizational structure, environment and culture trigger poor preparation. as retirement from military to civilian vocation involves impatient anticipation, opportunity to experience freedom from work pressures, responsibilities, life threatening work situations and time constraints (kypraiou, sarafis, tsounis, bitsi, andreanides, constantinidis, kotrotsiou, & malliarou, 2017) that is always accompanied with depression (for soldiers fitted in the job) and anxiety for non-fitted soldiers. on the other side of the continuum, transiting to retirement from highly identified organization like the military as a result of health, age, accident and having served the required number of years is always associated with worries and apprehension of what the next stage after retirement of life will bring (spiegel & shultz, 2003). this factor is a major issue in the nigerian army. kalokerinos, von hippel and henry (2015) defined retirement as the departure event that transits an employees’ life course from a phase of occupational to nonoccupational life cycle. ugwu, enwereuzor, mefoh, ugwu and onyishi (2019) defined retirement as a cost-effective disentanglement of an employee from the workforce due to the attainment of retirement age or reduction in his production output. perceiving and managing non-combatant status as a military personnel and trying to maintain social and personal connection with the vocation (organizational identity) plus career transition to retirement could create pre-retirement anxiety (spiegel & shultz, 2003). few years that comes before retirement is known as pre-retirement and is always accompanied with anxiety and depression (ujoatuonu, ahmed, kanu, amazue, & anene, 2018). pre-retirement anxiety by its nature, involves fears and worries about unknown future of the prospective retiree as a result of the cessation of active work life (topa, moriano, depolo, alcover & morales, 2009). however, ujoatuonu, kanu and apeh (2017) stated that a highly organizationally identified vocation like the military might volume 5, issue 1, 2020 77 create anxiety and depression, while transiting to retirement from such a reputable profession. also, proposition for further studies from he and brown (2020); prodanciuc (2018) suggested that organizational identity could possibly serve as a possible predictor of pre-retirement anxiety, hence, this study. he and brown (2020) defined organizational identification as a psychological linkage between employees’ deep feelings, self-defining affective attachment plus cognitive bond with their organization as a social entity with a sense of continuity and fluidity. however, without organizational identification in such a strategic organization like military, there will be no useful organizational communication, heedful interrelating, meaningful planning and leadership. retirement therefore brings about a disruption in the personal, role, status, organizational and work identity of a soldier which deals with psycho-mathematical theory of belonging (prodanciuc, 2018). as these thoughts of transiting and proximity to retirement from a highly identified organization like military workforce can lead to pre-retirement anxiety (spiegel & shultz, 2003) as the status and roles attached to it would be lost. since military personnel seek to establish a career in retirement which needs narrative identity reconstruction and work role detachment to adjust and adapt to their new stage of life. this is an existential quest for nigerian military personnel as they seek to answer questions like who i am, where i am going and want to be, what is now my place in the society (gould, rideaux, spira, & beaudreau, 2015). all these needs to be answered by these personnel’s in their new stage of life as work do not standstill because is an individual’s identity. work-role identity crisis in retirement radically disrupts military personnel life which requires major changes (beech & johnson, 2005) and psychological work detachment for selfdefinition after retirement (damman & henkens, 2017). another understudied factor that may affect pre-retirement anxiety is career transition (alper, 2011). this could be attributed to the conflicts in resolving and managing election uprising with crisis, kidnapping, armed banditry and challenges of boko haram resurgencies as nigerian military personnel now prefer to transit to other careers for safety from life threatening work situations. career transition is a process of disengagement from one situation and re-engagement in a new work circumstances (fernandez, fouquereau, & heppner, 2008). career transition is at its highest level in https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2145451583_robert_prodanciuc?_sg%5b0%5d=xmipsg33d73e-_-spsxtvguyzyhgnfk9gaqcyr4to92hfepp-85g3xg0za-kpombjczi59e.w692zx-0bca12ucxoibeuuablek0261msetpnxsi8aqzbr6rifnruicoj3pkt332benwjtpv9mabq8kezqkata&_sg%5b1%5d=mhbcu8s63amueo0f22fayhxurffxrczrdglh7ope673bycduazkrdrjw0dy5hxq3xitpyyk.lj8bqhpmu2xx3dzgdkat7wgeydw_tn2qrmul9cxxpxhyjentyfr8sis7yb4hny0ykchwf07hhk3y97onsoftgw https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2145451583_robert_prodanciuc?_sg%5b0%5d=xmipsg33d73e-_-spsxtvguyzyhgnfk9gaqcyr4to92hfepp-85g3xg0za-kpombjczi59e.w692zx-0bca12ucxoibeuuablek0261msetpnxsi8aqzbr6rifnruicoj3pkt332benwjtpv9mabq8kezqkata&_sg%5b1%5d=mhbcu8s63amueo0f22fayhxurffxrczrdglh7ope673bycduazkrdrjw0dy5hxq3xitpyyk.lj8bqhpmu2xx3dzgdkat7wgeydw_tn2qrmul9cxxpxhyjentyfr8sis7yb4hny0ykchwf07hhk3y97onsoftgw volume 5, issue 1, 2020 78 nigeria since 2015 as military personnel workplace support, work life balance policies and vocational flourishing have been affected (ujoatuonu, kanu, ugwuibe, & mbah, 2019). this study has been put up because in recent times, nigerian military personnel’s career transition in pre-retirement gave rise to career work disengagement, psychological detachment, turnover intentions and other negative work attitudes (e.g., low psychological work ability, mindfulness, thriving at work, motivation, core selfevaluation, work interference and enhancement plus career adaptation; ujoatuonu, kanu, & apeh, 2017; vigoda-gadot, baruch, & grimland, 2010). our study employed different theories (e.g., work-role, continuity, work-social identity and rational choice theory) to show the gaps in the roles and relationships of pre-retirement anxiety as predicted by organizational identity and career transition. these theories have shown that every nigerian military personnel work-role, advocates for continuity with their job when satisfied, fitted, linked and adapted in their professional careers. however, role theory as the anchor theory by (linton, 1936; 1947), proposes that individuals’ roles and status are associated with behavioural expectations of their social environment and impact their self-image, hence organizational identity and career transition. linton (1936) linked roles with status and other social affiliations such as age, race, religion, sex, and socioeconomic status as variables that could create nervousness and apprehension in pre-retirement and retirement. although linton (1936) did not directly discuss the negative consequences of discrimination and prejudice on roles, rather he explained how these societal limitations (i.e., oppression, ethnocentrism, stereotype and bigotry) could possibly influence relationship between organizational identity, career transition and preretirement anxiety. indeed, linton (1936; 1947) was one of the first theorists to address how roles and status applies to the specific transitions pre-retirees go through based on age plus sex, and suggested that culture, organizations, profession/vocation with personality also plays a role in these adjustments or transitions to retirement. this theory also narrated how turbulent civilian career will be for military personnel transiting to retirement (vigoda-gadot, baruch, & grimland, 2010). from the theories and literatures, we hypothesized as follows for this study: volume 5, issue 1, 2020 79 h1. organizational identity will significantly predict pre-retirement of nigerian military personnel. h2. career transition will significantly predict pre-retirement anxiety of nigerian military personnel. method and materials participants and procedure two hundred and eighty five (285) soldiers (15 females & 270 males) whose age ranged from 50-60 years with (m=55.01; s.d= 11.30 years) participated in this study. out of the two hundred and eighty five soldiers, (87=30.5%) were hausa, (43=15.1%) were yoruba, (33=11.6%) were igbo and (122=42.8%) for others. additionally, 148 of the participants had (148= 0-1) number of children, (70= 2-4) children, (44= 4-5) children, (22= 5 and above) number of children and (1) did not indicate. also, for the ages of nigerian military personnel’s children, (144= 1-10) years, (85=11-20) years, (46= 20-30) years, 9= 30 years and above and (1) did not indicate. as regards nigerian military personnel’s family size, (108= 1-2) family size, (57= 3-4) family size, (50= 4-5) family size, (38= 5-6) family size, (29= 7 and above) and (3) did not indicate. among the participants, 89 people do not have dependents, 16 people had (1) dependent, 43 people had (2) dependents, 32 people had (3) dependents, 101 people had (4) and above dependents, and (4) did not indicate. participants were approached in the barracks by the researcher after receiving permission from the general officer commanders (goc) of the nigerian army 82 division, enugu, 81 division, lagos and 3 division, jos and were asked to participate in the study. those who gave consent were given copies the questionnaires to fill. the researchers explained the nature of the study to the participants and what they were required to do. participants were informed that they were free to withdraw at any stage of the study, without any prejudice, and that their personal information would remain confidential. they were also encouraged to answer the questions as honestly as possible. it was observed that the length of questionnaire items was not a problem to volume 5, issue 1, 2020 80 the respondents in the current research as there were no such complaints during the study. measures a total of three scales were used in this present study: organizational identity scale (oids), career transition inventory (cti) and the retirement anxiety scale (ras). organizational identification questionnaire (oiq) our study assessed organizational identification by means of mael and ashforth’s (1992) six-item organizational identification questionnaire and was measured on a five-point likert-scale format (1 = strongly agree to 5 = strongly disagree). oiq is used to assess the sensitivity of oneness with or belongingness to an organization, where employees define themselves in terms of the organization(s) in which they are members. riketta (2005) observed that the mael and ashforth questionnaire is the most regularly used instrument for organizational identification, in piece, as the items do not have common characteristics with items from porter, steers, mowday and boulian (1974) organizational commitment questionnaire. besides, van dick (2004) distinguished the mael and ashforth questionnaire as it embodies the nucleus of social identification theory. sample item includes; ‘when someone criticizes [company name (e.g., nigerian military)], it feels like a personal insult.’ the internal consistency estimate was 0.76. we conducted a pilot study to validate the organizational identity questionnaire for the present study with a sample of 72 nigerian military personnel drawn from the nigerian army 103 division, gariki, enugu. the items yielded internal consistency reliability, cronbach’s alpha (α) of .83, which was considered to be acceptable. career transition inventory (cti) the 11-item measure of career transitions inventory (cti) was an adapted subscale from the original career confidence scale which has 40-items and developed by heppner (1991) designed to weigh up an employee’s inner process variables that may dole out as strengths or barriers when making a career transition to retirement. this was adapted because of the suggestion from the developer to use the confidence subscale when there is need to access professionals’ career transition and all the volume 5, issue 1, 2020 81 adapted items from the cti are considered states, rather than traits, and thus are malleable to intervention (happner, 1998). the inventory was created to aid in the retirement transition process by helping employees recognize the skills they bring to retirement transition as well as possible internal barriers that may serve as obstacles to the retirement transition process (happner, 1991). cti is measured on a six-point likert format ranging from 6= strongly agree to 1= strongly disagree. sample item include; “the retirement transition process may be too complex for me to work through.” we conducted a pilot study to validate the career transition inventory for the present study with a sample of 72 nigerian military personnel’s drawn from the nigerian army 103 division, gariki, enugu. the items yielded internal consistency reliability, cronbach’s alpha (α) of .72, which was considered to be acceptable. general pre-retirement anxiety scale (gps) general pre-retirement anxiety scale (gps). the 15-item general pre-retirement anxiety scale developed by ugwu, enwereuzor, mefoh, ugwu, & onyishi (2019) and was used to assess pre-retirement anxiety of nigerian military personnel’s. it is a five-point likert scale with response options ranging from 5= strongly agree to 1= strongly disagree. sample item include; “i will not want to retire because i will not be able to offset my health related bills.” respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with the listed statements regarding their present level of pre-retirement anxiety. items, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were reversed scored. high scores indicate high preretirement anxiety and low scores indicate low pre-retirement anxiety level. the gps has three dimensions: moral obligations (6 items of moral obligations which deal with basic duties expected from employees as a result of their status e.g. providing shelter, food and security as a father/mother), financial preparedness (5 items; financial savings and investments) and social alienation (4 items; fear of being neglected and irrelevance in the family or society). we conducted a pilot study to validate the pre-retirement anxiety scale for the present study with a sample of 72 nigerian military personnel drawn from the nigerian army 103 division, gariki, enugu. the items yielded internal consistency reliability, cronbach’s alpha (α) of .77, which was considered to be acceptable. ugwu, enwereuzor, mefoh, ugwu, & onyishi (2019), had a total reliability coefficient (component score) of .73. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 82 design/statistics ` the study adopted a cross-sectional design with correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis used for data analysis. result table 1: correlations of demographic variables, career transition, organizational identity and pre-retirement anxiety. variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 age 2 gender .14* 3 number of children .79*** .19** 4 family size .79*** .14* .85*** 5 number of dependent .69*** .17** .67*** .75*** 6 type of employment .04 .05 .08 .06 .08 7 years of service .81*** .15* .77*** .73*** .66*** .16** 8 educational qualification .39*** -.17** .25*** .34*** .41*** .04 .30*** 9 monthly salary .32*** -.03 .32*** .33*** .30*** -.07 .34*** .39*** 10 career transition -.09 -.26*** -.17** -.15* -.12 -.06 -.20** .18** -.11 11 organization identity .22*** -.19** .11 .14* .17** -.08 .14* .18** .03 .28*** 12 preretirement anxiety .32*** .34*** .37*** .32*** .24*** .11 .29*** .01 .11 -.49*** -.05 note***p< .001; **p<.01; *p<.05; gender (0 = male; 1 = female) in table 1, older age was associated with male gender (r = .14, p<.05), more number of children (r = .79, p<.001), large family size (r = .79, p<.001), higher number of dependent (r = .69, p<.001), many years of service (r = .81, p<.001), higher educational qualification (r = .39, p<.001), higher monthly salary (r = .32, p<.001), identify more with the organization (r = .22, p<.001), and more pre-retirement anxiety (r = .32, p<.001). female gender was associated with higher number of children (r = .19, p<.01), large family size (r = .14, p<.05), more number of dependent (r = .17, p<.01), many years of service (r = .15, p<.05), less educational qualification (r = -.17, p<.01), less career transition (r = -.26, p<.001), less organizational identity (r = -.19, p<.01),and more pre-retirement anxiety (r = .34, p<.001). higher number of children was associated with large family size (r = .85, p<.001), large number of dependent (r = .67, p<.001), more years of service (r = .77, p<.001), higher educational qualification (r = .25, volume 5, issue 1, 2020 83 p<.001), higher monthly salary (r = .32, p<.001), less career transition (r = -.17, p<.01), and high pre-retirement anxiety (r = .37, p<.001). large family size was associated with higher number of dependent (r = .75, p<.001), more years of service (r = .73, p<.001), higher educational qualification (r = .34, p<.001), higher monthly salary (r = .33, p<.001), less career transition (r = -.15, p<.05), higher organizational identity (r = .14, p<.05), and higher pre-retirement anxiety (r = .32, p<.001). large number of dependent was associated with many years of service (r = .66, p<.001), higher educational qualification (r = .41, p<.001), higher monthly salary (r = .30, p<.001), higher organizational identity (r = .17, p<.01), and higher preretirement anxiety (r = .24, p<.001). permanent employment was associated with many years of service (r = .16, p<.01). many years of service was associated with higher educational qualification (r = .30, p<.001), higher monthly salary (r = .34, p<.001), less career transition (r = -.20, p<.01), higher organizational identity (r = .14, p<.05), and higher pre-retirement anxiety (r = .29, p<.001). higher educational qualification was associated with higher monthly salary (r = .39, p<.001), higher career transition (r = .18, p<.01), and higher organizational identity (r = .18, p<.01). table 2: hierarchical multiple regression predicting pre-retirement anxiety, by career transition and, organizational identity, controlling for age, gender, number of children, family size, number of dependent, and years of service. predictors step 1 step 2 step 3 b β t b β t b β t age .15 .09 .84 .35 .21 2.18* .33 .19 2.00* gender 11.50 .29 5.34*** 7.66 .19 3.84*** 8.08 .20 3.99*** number of children 5.30 .28 2.53* 4.74 .25 2.51* 4.83 .26 2.56* family size .41 .03 .25 -.17 -.01 -.11 -.14 -.01 -.10 number of dependent -.72 -.06 -.76 -.54 -.05 -.63 -.62 -.06 -.72 years of service -.30 -.02 -.17 -2.56 -.14 -1.55 -2.58 -.14 -1.56 career transition -.87 -.41 -8.05*** -.91 -.43 -8.10*** organization identity .20 .06 1.22 r2 .23 .37 .37 ∆r2 .23 .14 .00 f 13.42 (6, 277)*** 23.41 (7, 276)*** 20.70 (8, 275)*** ∆f 13.42 (6, 277)*** 64.82 (1, 276) *** 1.48 (1, 275) *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p< .001; ∆r2 = change in r2; ∆f = change in f; b = unstandardized regression coefficient; β = standardised regression coefficient. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 84 results of the hierarchical multiple regressions for the test of the hypotheses are shown in table 2. in step 1 of the regression model, age, gender, number of children, family size, number of dependent, and years of service were added to the regression model because of their significant relationship with pre-retirement anxiety in the correlations. age did not predict pre-retirement anxiety, β = .09, t(285) = .84. gender positively and significantly predicted pre-retirement anxiety, β = .29, t(285) = 5.34, p<.001. the unstandardized regression coefficient (b) showed that for every one unit increase in gender, pre-retirement anxiety increases by 11.50 units. number of children positively and significantly predicted pre-retirement anxiety, β = .28, t(285) = 2.34, p<.05. the unstandardized regression coefficient (b) showed that for every one unit increase in number of children, pre-retirement anxiety increases by 5.30 units. family size did not predict preretirement anxiety, β = .03, t(285) = .25. number of dependent did not predict pre-retirement anxiety, β = -.06, t(285) = -.76. years of service did not predict preretirement anxiety, β = -.02, t(285) = -.17. the control variables contributed 23% in explaining the variance in preretirement anxiety (r2 = .23), and the model was significant, f(6, 277) = 13.42, p<.001. in step 2, career transition was added in the regression model. it was a significantly negative predictor of preretirement anxiety, β = -.41, t(285) = -8.05, p<.001. the unstandardized regression coefficient (b) showed that for every one unit increase in career transition, pre-retirement anxiety decreases by .87 units. the contribution of career transition in explaining the variance in preretirement anxiety was 14% (∆r2 = .14), and the model was significant, ∆f (1, 276) = 64.82, p <.001. in step 3, organizational identity was included in the regression model. it did not predict preretirement anxiety, β = .06, t (285) = 1.22. the contribution of organizational identity in explaining the variance in pre-retirement anxiety was 0% (∆r2 = .00), and the model was not significant, ∆f (1, 275) = 1.48. the strongest predictor of preretirement anxiety in the present study was career transition (β = -.43), and all the predictor variables in the study accounted for 37% of the variance in preretirement anxiety (r2 = .37). discussion volume 5, issue 1, 2020 85 the study investigated organizational identity and career transition as predictors of pre-retirement anxiety. two hypotheses were postulated in this study to cover the two independent variables. the first hypothesis which stated that organizational identity will significantly predict pre-retirement anxiety among the nigerian military personnel’s was not confirmed. this result might possibly have been influenced by the recent ethnocentric, stereotypic and regional-based vocational with combat enlistment in the defence organization (omenma, onyishi, & okolie, 2020) and flexibility in the instrument measure. this made most nigerian military personnel from certain regions of the country to perceive, express and experience low organizational identification in recent times in terms of interactions, organizational commitment, perceived work ability and productivity loss with flourishing (ugwueze & onuoha, 2020). also as observed, examining the different ways nigerian military personnel convey connection to their vocation (when evaluating how nigerian soldiers convey oi to significant others) against how they actualize oi with their management and colleagues in recent times is heartbreaking (ugwueze & onuoha, 2020). in recent times of national with organizational crises (e.g., resurgences, sabotages, reduced welfare packages for combat exposure and experiences), has shown the impacts of such crisis experiences on organizational identification (omenma, onyishi, & okolie, 2020). furthermore, the finding is supported by (robert, & atchley, 1976) continuity theory, which implies that older persons will usually want to maintain the same activities, behaviours, personalities, and relationships as they did in their early years of life. nonetheless, the central premise of continuity theory is that, in making adaptive choices, middle-aged and older adults attempt to preserve and maintain existing internal and external structures and they prefer to accomplish this objective by using continuity (i.e., applying familiar strategies in familiar arenas of life), and the this could be the cases of nigerian soldiers. the second hypothesis states that career transition will significantly predict preretirement anxiety among nigerian army was confirmed, as career transition was a negative significant predictor of pre-retirement anxiety. it showed that more career transition nigerian military personnel have the less preretirement anxiety. this can be asserted from the observed recent happenings of nigerian military personnel volume 5, issue 1, 2020 86 increasingly transiting to civilian careers and has tactically withdrawn from enlistment to fight resurgences’ (omenma, onyishi, & okolie, 2020). the reason could have possibly been raised from the sabotage, stereotypic and ethnocentrism attitudes of our politicians and army management towards nigerian military personnel (ugwueze & onuoha, 2020). also, enhanced technology, reduced labour force participation rates in military combats, and universal transformations all add to the increasing amount of career transitions prior to retirement. career transition of nigerian military pre-retirees could possibly assume varieties of career changes that may influence the prediction of pre-retirement anxiety. they may include: first, task change i.e., move from one laid down of responsibilities to a new set of responsibilities within the same army and combat location (e.g., a combatant changes into intelligent gathering officer). second, position alteration— i.e., a transfer in jobs, with the same army base or a different organization (e.g., a combatant changes into intelligent gathering officer or becomes a private contractor with a different company). third, occupational changei.e., a changeover from one deposit of responsibilities to a diverse set that might include a new work setting (e.g., a combatant changes into political office holder). implication of study this significance of the implication of this study is that organizational identity which is a specific form of social identification used by nigerian military personnel’s to define themselves in terms of membership with their organization did not associate with pre-retirement anxiety. the second hypothesis implied that career transition negatively and significantly predicted pre-retirement anxiety among nigerian army personnel. this implies that as nigerian soldiers move from a significant job to another, they experience less pre-retirement anxiety. this is because, nigerian soldiers feel secure with civilian jobs and profession, since there has been lowered motivation, poor remuneration and dilapidated armoury amidst their life threatening work situations. this also implies that as soldiers move from military to civilian duty or career they tend to experience less pre-retirement anxiety. furthermore, if nigerian military personnel’s experience less pre-retirement anxiety, it means the soldiers must either have planned well for their retirement or have turnover intention. some military personnel have put up shops, other petty businesses with training of security personnel attached to volume 5, issue 1, 2020 87 organizations with the aim of earning a living from skills acquired from combat experiences and exposure. the nigerian government created an avenue to use the short service platform to enlist graduates into the military which gave avenue for prejudiced and stereotypic defence and combat enlistment, as a result, affected organizational identity and career transition with turnover intentions of non-privileged soldiers. as those that are capable from other regions are most times not enlisted to join the military with their skills, since, it may possibly help increase organizational identity and career transition to reduce pre-retirement anxiety on the military. limitation of the study first, low number of participants in this study is a notable limitation. in that, the greater percentage of participants that were made use of could have helped improve the results. for the sake of a better generalization, getting a bigger number of participants would be much more advisable. again, the study was conducted in one state each that speaks the major languages in nigeria, as a result of limitations in time and fund which is believed must have influenced the results of the findings. the researcher did not consider cultural orientation, financial self efficacy, organizational commitment, health status, personality type, which could have influenced older officer’s feelings in respect to retirement. it was difficult getting the participants to participate in the study as a result of the nature of their job. some were so reluctant to participate while; some who did participate still were not able to complete the test and some participated after a prolonged persuasion. some of the participants concealed certain pieces of information about them. on the other hand, the information they tendered did not reflect their real self and their current situation in an attempt to please the researcher. the above may somehow affected the findings of the study. from the findings of this study the researcher discovered that contract workers (i.e., employees not captured under ministry of defence) had less preretirement anxiety than the permanent workers. therefore it will be advisable to do more study into the permanent workers for the purpose of finding the main problem on why they have pre-retirement anxiety. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 88 further limitations of the present study concern the lack of different interventions with the concept of pre-retirement anxiety. in order to investigate the impact of items in organizational studies, dimensions concerning, for example, moral obligations, preparedness and social alienation could have been added. however, the choice to only pursue pre-retirement anxiety was a conscious one, because the present study aimed only to test a general pre-retirement anxiety scale as a composite measure. another key factor was to keep the survey as short as possible. suggestion for further research further studies should take in to cognizance certain variables such as cultural orientation, financial self efficacy, organizational commitment, health status, job embeddedness, personality type and other social correlates which may be needful in determining the feeling of anxiety in respect to retirement among the nigerian army. government, security organizations, and institutions should provide funds for researchers in nigeria so as to promote more easy and useful studies. researchers should endeavour to make out enough time and utilize their time as properly as they can. failure to consider the above points can lead to incomplete studies and confounded results, on the side of the researchers which will definitely affect the findings of their study. another important point is that government should provide an avenue for easy access to funds and flexible research policies for soldiers to aid research purposes. this will save the researchers from stress and make it more convenient for soldiers to attend to the instruments as will be given to them by researchers. from the findings of this study the researcher discovered that contract workers had less pre-retirement anxiety than the permanent workers. therefore it will be advisable to conduct researches with military contractors for the purpose of finding the reason they experienced less pre-retirement anxiety. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 89 references alper, a. 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(2000). military retirement and the transition to civilian life. in j. a. martin, l. n. rosen, & l. r. sparacino (eds.), the military family: a practice guide for human service providers, 103–119. https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/2145451583_robert_prodanciuc?_sg%5b0%5d=xmipsg33d73e-_-spsxtvguyzyhgnfk9gaqcyr4to92hfepp-85g3xg0za-kpombjczi59e.w692zx-0bca12ucxoibeuuablek0261msetpnxsi8aqzbr6rifnruicoj3pkt332benwjtpv9mabq8kezqkata&_sg%5b1%5d=mhbcu8s63amueo0f22fayhxurffxrczrdglh7ope673bycduazkrdrjw0dy5hxq3xitpyyk.lj8bqhpmu2xx3dzgdkat7wgeydw_tn2qrmul9cxxpxhyjentyfr8sis7yb4hny0ykchwf07hhk3y97onsoftgw https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3a%2f%2fdx.doi.org%2f10.1515%2fkbo-2018-0118?_sg%5b0%5d=ylysb8uqhqjsn5gvu95vveurypvfva9bsydjjsruhcr2pufo3shbrwqhf2xhf7npfntjefputfaqte-fiqeedmbbyq.dycihgjrv54jedfqgz5w3qbh_r_j3aluzlbterru25krw3a7owyladysqy59q337dvjj6hsaqbtcuenguixipw esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 15 social adversity and mental health among individual client in university of calabar teaching hospital, nigeria njirinze, chinenye juliet department of sociology, university of calabar, calabar, nigeria. email; julietchineny253@gmail.com phone no; 08169738145 eyong, butum bassey (ph.d) social work department, university of calabar teaching hospital (ucth) email; basseybutum@gmail.com phone no; 08067586655 abstract the study examines social adversity and mental health in university of calabar teaching hospital. the study specifically examine the extent to which social adversity indicators such as bereavement, divorce and life-threatening-disease have a significant effect on individual mental health in university of calabar teaching hospital, cross river state, nigeria. literature was reviewed based the variables of the study while the frustration and aggression theory was employed as the study’s theoretical framework. the study adopted the expost facto and cross sectional survey design. the population comprised of inpatients in mental health clinic and patient with chronic related illnesses. sample of the study was 51 but 50 were retrieved after field work. instruments for data collection were questionnaire and case history (interview). the questionnaire was titled; questionnaire for social adversity and mental health conditions in university of calabar teaching hospital. data analysis was done using logit regression, anova and multiple linear regressions. to elicit data for the study, a consent letter was sent to university of calabar teaching hospital research and ethical committee. the letter approval gave the researcher the leverage to elicit data for the study. from the analysis, findings revealed that, death of a love one, marital divorces and lifethreatening-disease have a significant effect on individual mental health outcome in university of calabar teaching hospital, nigeria. from the finding, it was recommended among others that nigerian government need to invest in mental health and employ more professional doctors and medical social workers to help in the provision of care and support for those facing social adversity. it was concluded that, a lot of awareness is needed against most of the social stigma painted at ill people and the perception we hold toward people under social adversity. this is observable even among and outside health care professionals, including mental health professionals, stigma remains a huge issue keywords: bereavement, divorce, life-threatening-disease, social adversity, mental health. njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 16 introduction in every society, there is significant evidence that bad or un-habitual environmental conditions are related to poor physical and mental health, but the mechanisms are not completely understood (sophie, elspeth, ben, catherine & david, 2016)the major nexus connecting these environmental conditions to the development of bodily disease is the model of allostatic load (rand, greene, & nowak, 2012). “allostatic load” refers to the price the body pays for being forced to adapt to adverse psychosocial or physical situations, and it represents either the presence of too much stress or the inefficient operation of the stress hormone response system, which must be turned on and then turned off again after the stressful situation is over (bruce, 1999). in a world of uncertainty like ours today, social conditions or adversities such as death of love one, had economic condition, marital divorce, natural disaster and life threatening disease such as hiv/aids, diabetes miletus, hepatitis could trigger allostatic load. however, although allostatic load is conceptualized within a framework of lifelong development, the life course origins of allostatic load have so far barely been investigated. through this allostatic load debate, there are basically two types of social and environmental conditions that have dominated research on social determinants of health and mental wellbeing. these include psychosocial factors and material deprivation (bonanno, westphal & mancini, 2011). psychosocial determinant or exposures are the interpersonal relationships between individual which include factors related to subjective appraisal and social dimensions which are more concern with objective attributes. theses determinants are the basic concrete manifestation of individual relationships such as work control, social network and interpersonal conflict as mediating factors of psychological mechanism. these factors are core determinants of the mental health and general wellbeing of individuals but little attention is paid to mental heal on ground of social adversity. however, there is a need for awareness on the importance of mental health as a key component in individual wellbeing in order to help shape global health initiatives in developing nations like nigeria (rand, greene, & nowak, 2012). it is increasingly recognized that improving individual psychosocial well-being who have experienced social adversity is necessary to achieve the united nations millennium development goals. this is because psychological difficulties have been shown to affect people abilities to fulfill their potential and cope with life. in nigeria, there are limited studies on where adversity is most prevalent by which it the impact may be more detrimental. unlike developed nations and middle-income countries, unipolar depression has been estimated to be 1 of the 10 leading causes of disability and trauma worldwide. it has been estimated that the burden from depression alone is likely to increase to the single biggest burden of all health conditions by 2030 (bonanno, et al., 2011). in sub-saharan africa, rates of psychological disorders in adults are particularly elevated, and studies by infurna and luthar (2016) have shown rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression ranging from 20% to 60% due to a complex web of social adversities such as terrorism, economic hardship, unemployment, death of love ones, life threatening disease, military deployment among others. the 48 sub-saharan african countries make up the greatest proportion of least-developed countries in the world and 17 have experienced considerable social tensions and change due to a history of oppression and violence and currently have the highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus/aids in the world. adverse conditions during childhood and in one’s life may interfere with individual fundamental physical, emotional, and social development and place them at risk for psychological problems. on child adversity, there is limited research in child mental health in lowand middle-income countries, but the world health organization estimates that as many as 20% of the world’s children and adolescents experience a mental disorder at some stage in their childhood. thus, sound mental health is the foundation for an individual’s well-being and determines how well the individual contributes to the community (nwokolo, 2019). good health and mental wellbeing of an individual encompasses in any society id devoid of social deprivation and discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, language, sexual orientation, sexual identity, culture, geographical origin, disability, among others. social adversities are present in all human endeavours but in nigeria, there is considerable neglect of mental health issues. in public health institutions like university of calabar teaching hospital, number psychosocial disorders and depression have been attributed to social adversity. though psychological factors are important for wellbeing, which is often seen in terms of happiness, carruthers and hood (2004) pointed out that, happiness is complex and involves cognitive, emotional and behavioural efforts. however, these are insufficient and the inclusion of other indicators provides for a more holistic view of psychological wellbeing during social adversity. for instance, using survey data from a british columbia sample, michalos, zumbo and habley (1999: 143) found that satisfaction with one's own self-esteem during breakdown in one’s life was one of the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. other indicators include coping and adaptation, in which strategies, such as spirituality, positive reappraisal, optimism, and active problem solving, are seen to lead to a higher subjective wellbeing (carruthers, et al., 2004). social adversity stimulates automatic social–affiliative and prosocial behaviors which often reveals that substantial evidence of acute stress can promote affiliation and prosociality automatically and effortlessly (taylor, 2006). indeed, cooperative behavior is an intuitive behavioral response and is particularly likely under conditions that demand fast decisions or that impair prospective reasoning (lotito, migheli & ortona, 2013; rand, greene& nowak, 2012). empirical evidence has shown that, mass atrocities, job loss, death of a love one or bereavement, terrorist attacks, warfare, and individual-level violence continue to inflict substantial harm on human beings (world health organization, 2014), as do natural and man-made disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, nuclear disasters, and earthquakes (international federation of red cross and red crescent societies, 2015).however, this conditions resort to psychological conditions that impairs individual social balance and functioning. this study is designed to examine social adversity and mental health of individual client in university of calabar teaching hospital, nigeria. https://healthguide.ng/author/collincaspian/ njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 18 statement of the problem adverse individual experiences, such as violence, family psychopathology, or parent or spousal death, divorce, life threatening disease can have negative effects on lifelong physical and mental health including learning/behavior problems and heart disease, autoimmune diseases, smoking, alcoholism and depression in adults. theses social conditions may have a negative effect on mental health and wellbeing. in social work department of university of calabar teaching hospital, the number of client visits with mental health condition has been alarming in recent times. a thorough examination revealed that, most of the client’s individual receiving care and support services may have experience a psychosocial and material adversity which may have had a negative effect on their mental health. in most cases, the social adversity some client undergo during clinic visit at psychiatric department of the hospital during counseling have been, post event trauma, emotional disorder, anxiety, aggression and in most cases violent behaviours which may have health implication and general wellbeing. the adverse social conditions according to clients life or folder history ranges from the death of a love one, life threatening disease, divorce, natural disaster, military deployments and post childhood trauma. these adverse conditions may have directly or directly established the link between social adversity and mental health of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital. however, despite increasing evidence of this association, individual social adversity is an under addressed dimension of the prevention of individual disease and a promising target for new strategies to protect population health. in the light of this, one main reason is that social relationships play a key role in regulating negative affective states and promoting positive ones (lakey & orehek, 2011). in spite of the degree of effect of social adversity, little or no attention or studies have been conducted in this area. in nigeria, statistics showed that only 3.3% of the health budget of nigeria goes to mental health, only 3.3% of the health budget of the nigerian government goes to mental health while 90% of the budget goes to mental health hospitals; a very little budget is allocated for mental health awareness and mental health services in nigeria. furthermore, on annual basis, about 7 million nigerians suffer from depression in nigeria which represents approximately 4 percent of the entire population, thus making nigeria the most depressed country in africa. according to world health organization (who) (2014), over 7,079,815 nigerians suffer from depression which is one of the major psychological illnesses of condition that is characterized by unhappiness and can lead to suicide. due low level of awareness to this condition, it’s very difficult for a nigerian to admit they have a mental illness, because of the stigma that comes with it due lack of adequate care. it is estimated by a report by al jazeera.com, only 250 psychiatrists are in nigeria to cater for a population of over 180 million possible mental health patients. this situation is a disturbing end and thus explains why there are more suicide cases in nigeria than any other african countries. in the light of this, most nigerians see mental health as a spiritual problem, while most of them view it as a myth. it is against this background the article is design to evaluate the impact of social adversity on health of individual clients in university of calabar teaching hospital, nigeria. https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/nigeria_who_aims_report.pdf 19 objectives of the study the general objective of this article is to examine social adversity and mental health of individual client in university of calabar teaching hospital, nigeria. specifically, the article seeks to: 1. examine whether bereavement has an influence on mental health outcome among individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital 2. access the impact of divorce on mental health outcome of couples in university of calabar teaching hospital 3. evaluate the effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital theoretical framework frustration aggression theory the theory dwells more on the reason why people become frustrated and aggressive when their goals and aspiration or expectations are trampled upon. the theory is a direct product of the 1939 research conducted in human relation at yale university institute on a small monograph publication which showed tremendous impact in all behavioural sciences. the study was led by dollard, miller, doob, mowrer and sears (1939) which was an attempt to measure and account for all human aggression with a little idea. in a number of studies to investigate the cause as well as consequence of aggression were structure and oriented studies which were tilted toward issues raised by the research group at university. from the study it was discovered that frustration can ultimately cause aggressive behaviour even when they are not targeted at that. in the same vein, (miller, sears, mowrer, doob, & dollard, 1941) reiterated this by given the conventional or usual definition of frustration which means an individual not getting what they need, desire or deserve at the right time. howbeit, this definition have failed to show a distinction between deprivation which serve an unimportant to the needed goal and on the contrary, a deprivation the is targeted at threatening an individual personality or desires such as goals and aspirations, self-esteem and security is detrimental and can cause frustration like the case in the niger delta region of delta state. this showed that deprivation from an individual’s desired expectations may have a great multiplier mental health effect on the individual. however, social adversities like bereavement or untimely death of a love one, divorce and life-threatening disease can affects the psychological and social functioning of individual. literature review social adversity is seen as acute or chronic exposures which hypothetically would impact on health mainly by directly threatening salient relationships. it could be parental loss, death of a love one, natural disaster, divorce and life threatening disease. studies with varying designs carried out in different contexts have repeatedly shown social adversity (sa) to be a major risk factor for psychosis. experiences of sa associated with psychosis njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 20 and its persistence include childhood trauma, migration, having a minority sexual status, being bullied in childhood, having a low socioeconomic status, experiencing discrimination, having a small social network and low social support and being exposed to high levels of expressed emotion by families or confidants. moreover, many of these experiences are also predictive of psychotic experiences at a subclinical level and in patients with nonpsychotic disorders. for example, childhood trauma has been shown to be a risk factor for psychotic experiences in children and adults, which again are known to predict psychotic disorders in later life conversely, apart from psychological and health conditions of social adversity, economic researchers often distinguish between wealth and income, and argue that these factors can have differing impacts on wellbeing. for instance, hamilton and barbato (2005) found that, as income increases, more people become less satisfied with life overall, while the satisfaction with life is not affected by levels of wealth. the university of melbourne has conducted the hilda survey since 2001 (data collection was subcontracted to acnielsen). one relevant source is growing evidence that some people show substantially improved psychological functioning after an acute stressor (galatzer-levy, huang &bonanno, 2018). this literature has often employed large and population-based samples and outcome measures of both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of functioning (e.g., lifesatisfaction, ptsd, anxiety, and depression). as a result, it provides methodologically strong support for the possibility that people can improve after acute stress, providing a basis for psychological gains from adversity (pga). hamilton et al., (2005) prospective studies of bereavement have consistently found evidence of improved functioning after loss due the endemic effect of losing a love one. one study assessed bereaved spouses before the loss and then 6 months and 18 months later go through a mental health state that require assistive and supportive care to restore the victim (bonanno, et al., 2002). a prospective study with a large population-based sample found a pattern of substantial health problems in life satisfaction among bereaved spouses, representing 5.4% of the sample (mancini, bonanno & clark, 2011). according to bourassa, sbarra and whisman, (2015), marital breakdown ignite a psychological state where victims can hardly survive mostly when the divorcer is the care giver of the home. this may be suicidal and cause life threatening state where victims may hardly survive. it is one major stressor that can result in affect the psychological state of an individual or people in relationship. for example, in a large population-based sample of divorced german citizens, a trajectory of substantially proved life satisfaction from before to after divorce emerged among 9% of the sample (mancini et al., 2011). an almost identical result emerged in a study of american citizens followed both before and after their divorce, with 11% showing sharp reductions in depression post-divorce (malgaroli, galatzer-levy & bonanno, 2017). in addition, women in low quality marriages show improved life satisfaction after divorce, suggesting an improvement in their social– relational environment, whereas women in high-quality marriages show reduced life satisfaction (bourassa, et al., 2015). 21 galatzer-levy and bonanno (2014) studies of life-threatening illness, such as cancer, hiv/aids, tuberculosis, epilepsy, heart attack, hepatitis and stroke, have also found evidence of aggressive behaviour and other mental health conditions which impairs victims social functioning. a similar result emerged in a prospective study of cancer survivors, which found that 7.8% of the sample reported sharply improved depression symptoms from pre-diagnosis to post-diagnosis and treatment (burton, galatzer levy & bonanno, 2015). a positive social support network can greatly impact a person’s success, as well as how they feel about the journey of healing and recovery. studies on self-management show that meeting physical wellness goals are more likely with the guidance and encouragement of behavioral health professionals, mentors, peers, or a combination of these supports; as well as with involvement with social networks (hamilton, et al., 2005). hypothesis of the study 1. bereavement does not have an influence on mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital 2. there is no significant impact of divorce on mental health outcomes of couples in university of calabar teaching hospital 3. there is no significant effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital materials and methods the study employed the expost facto design and cross sectional survey design. data was collected from department of social work, university of calabar teaching hospital after approval be the health research and ethical committee in the hospital. data was only foe in-patient receiving care and support in the hospital, along with children with posttraumatic experience. the study sample was 51 client receiving treatment at the hospital. these are particular reported mental health condition faced by the clients. the choice of inpatient only was based on previous health record or recurrent crisis. since the cases under study (mental health condition caused by social adversities such as death of love one, life threatening disease and divorce) were peculiar and social proximity is important, there is a need for only in-patients. from the 2020 health records of individual with mental health conditions, 219 clients were the total population of the study. the sampling techniques adopted for the study is a multistage sampling techniques. at each stage, various methods were employed to select clients or subject into the study. first, the purposive and cluster sampling techniques were employed to select five departmentshematology department (for sickle cell anemic clients), pediatrics, psychiatric, orthopedics and ophthalmology where social workers, psychologist and psychiatrist work and examine people with mental health conditions. this department and units formed clusters for the study. the second stage was proportional sampling technique. this was adopted by njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 22 assigning or allotting 10 clients in 4 departments while family medicine had 11 study sample. the differentials in pediatrics are predicated by the prevalence of abandoned children in the unit. the third stage was the simple random sampling technique. in each cluster, a balloting method was employed with piece of paper written yes and no. participants that pick yes were enrolled for the study while those that picked no were excluded and this formed the inclusion criteria for the study. this method and procedures was repeated till the researcher arrived at the number of participant expected or proportion per cluster. instrument for the study were questionnaire and case history (interview) method of data collection. the title of the questionnaire was ‘questionnaire for social adversity and mental health conditions in university of calabar teaching hospital. through their medical records, clients were identified to have been experiencing social adversity at the point of interview. however, the terms of measuring individual who have experience social adversity were as follows: i. individual with financial hardship and unable to pay medical hospital bills ii. people who report parental divorce/separation iii. reports of parental death iv. parental abandonment due to imprisonment v. those who report domestic violence vi. people who are internally displace due to natural disaster or terrorism vii. people who may have been discriminated against due to childlessness viii. people who reports suicidal cases or aggressive behavior due to trauma furthermore, the questionnaire also had the five point response scale, ranging from: 1. excellent; 2. very good; 3. good; 4. fair; 5. poor. with regard to mental health awareness, clients were asked: “to what extent do you feel rejected and hopeless due to social conditions around them? answers to these set of questions ranges from: 1 when financially down. 2. when i have health crisis. 3. when my children look hopeless and fatherless. 4. all the time. these question and answer format is to help determine the extent to which social adversity poses mental health condition to clients. subject for the study were out-patients on clinic visits all questions and items during the interview were based on behavioral risk displayed repeatedly by client receiving care and services. however, based on multiply imputed data, the sample of individual with life threatening disease, divorce and death of love one or care givers were captured in the spss package for analysis with a summative inventory of financial hardship; parental divorce/separation; parental death; witness to domestic violence, victim or witness of neighborhood violence; discrimination against terminal disease. with this, a base score was used to sum up all these items. the response rate determined the analysis. data was collected and coded in the spss version 21 for analysis. quantitative data was tested with multiple regressions while qualitative data was collected, collated and transcribed. analysis and results 23 hypothesis one bereavement does not have an influence on mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital. in this hypothesis, the independent variable is bereavement while the dependent variable is mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital. to test the hypothesis, the linear regression model statistics was employed to test the relationship bereavement and mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital shown in table 1 from the first model summary result, it is statistical that there is a strong impact (r = 0.558a) of bereavement on mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital. the adjusted r square (r. square =0.312) also showed that bereavement have effect on the mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital (adjusted r2 = 0.267) of the total variation of the disaggregated independent variable (death of a spouse, death of a school sponsor, death of a fathers) as predictor indices of bereavement and mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital. a similar significant result difference was obtained in the anova model which also showed a significant f-ratio of 6.943 which was calculated against the critical f-ratio of 3.053 at 0.05 levels of significances and 6 degree of freedom. the last tables of result from the coefficient regression analysis further revealed that there is significant influence of bereavement on mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital in table 4.1c showed that a strong influence exists bereavement and mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital (β = .381, t = 5.327 p<.05). thus, we reject h0 and accept the h1. this implies that there is significant influence of bereavement on mental health outcome of individual client at university of calabar teaching hospital table 1 regression model summary for bereavement and mental health outcome mode l r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .558a .312 .267 .38837 a. predictors: (constant), death of a spouse, death of a school sponsor, death of a fathers anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regressio n 3.142 3 1.047 6.943 .001b residual 6.938 46 .151 total 10.080 49 a. dependent variable: mental health b. predictors: (constant), death of a spouse, death of a school sponsor, death of a fathers coefficientsa njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 24 model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .765 .144 5.327 .000 death of a fathers .286 .100 .441 2.861 .006 death of a school sponsor .081 .071 .175 1.148 .257 death of a spouse -.004 .083 -.006 -.046 .964 a. dependent variable: mental health hypothesis two there is no significant impact of divorce on mental health outcomes of couples in university of calabar teaching hospital. the hypothesis was tested with one way analysis of variance. data for the study was generated from participant-inpatient receiving cares and support services in ucth as presented in table 4.2. from the result as presented in the table 2, the independent variable is divorce while the dependent variable is mental health outcome of individual clients. to test the hypothesis, one way analysis of variance was used to determine the significant impact of divorce on mental health outcome of individual clients. the independent variabledivorce was disaggregated into three level of measurement (marital separation, divorce and spousal abandonment) the result in the table 4.14 revealed that, there are three groups (marital separation, divorce and spousal abandonment), the calculated f ratio of 14.519 is statistically significant when compared with the critical f-ratio of 3.040 at 3, 47 degree of freedom. this means that the null hypothesis which states that, there is no significant impact of divorce on mental health outcomes of couples in university of calabar teaching hospital was rejected following decision rule which states that accept the null hypothesis if the calculated f-value if greater than the tabulated f-value. finally, since the calculated f-value of 19.643 was found greater that the tabulated or critical table value of 3.040, the null hypothesis was however rejected while the alternate was accepted. this implies that there is a significant impact of divorce on mental health outcomes of couples in university of calabar teaching hospital. however, the descriptive chart showed that downward slope of responses which revealed that relationship breakup has a negative health effect on the individual 25 table 2. anova descriptive statistics for divorce and mental health outcome (n-50) mental health n mean std. deviation std. error marital separation 21 1.0952 .30079 .06564 divorce 10 1.0000 .00000 .00000 spousal abandonment 19 1.6316 .49559 .11370 total 50 1.2800 .45356 .06414 model fixed effects .36410 .05149 random effects .20764 test of homogeneity of variances mental health levene statistic df1 df2 sig. 25.720 2 47 .000 anova mental health sum of squares df mean square f sig. between groups 3.849 2 1.925 14.519 .000 within groups 6.231 47 .133 total 10.080 49 njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 26 means plots the mean plot above showed response rate of individual client on the three differential adversity associated with marital breakdown and its mental health implications. from the plot, the curves showed that divorce have a more significant effect on client developing mental health problems than marital separation and spousal abandonment. hypothesis three there no significant effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital. the hypothesis was tested with logistic regression as the most appropriate statistical tool for the study. it is used to predict whether life threatening disease significantly affects health of individual client such as hiv/aids, hepatitis, tuberculosis and sickle cell anemia which arouses individual aggression and anti-social behaviour. from the analysis, result revealed thatthere no significant effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital as the core dependent variables which estimate 27 probabilities of logistic function, thereby showing a cumulative logistic distribution. from the first table which shows the raw data from categorical variables indicates that life threatening diseases from data generated from the field have a significant impact on the mental health and socio-economic well-being of individual in ucth. following the omnibus tests of model coefficients for the three categorical variables, the chi-square calculated values from the goodness-of-fit testsa,b of 26.074 with a likelihood ratio of 20.747was considered more the table value of 3 degrees of freedom at 0.00 level of significance. the findings or result showed that, logically, a significant improvement or support by professional social workers and general physicians will improves the psychosocial health outcome of individual clients table 3.logistic regression for the effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome of individual in university of calabar teaching hospital (n-50) n cases valid 50 missing 0 weighted valid 50 cells defined cells 8 structural zeros 0 sampling zeros 2 categories mental health 2 life threatening disease 4 logit convergence informationa,bof the first and final relative effect of life threatening disease on mental health outcome (n-50) maximum number of iterations 20 converge tolerance .00100 final maximum absolute difference .00087c final maximum relative difference .00092 number of iterations 3 a. model: multinomial logit b. design: constant + q12 c. the iteration converged because the maximum absolute changes of parameter estimates are less than the specified convergence criterion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/logistic_function https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/logistic_distribution njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 28 logit goodness-of-fit testa,b results of chi-square likelihood ratio and test result of life threatening disease on mental health outcome (n-50) value df sig. likelihood ratio 26.074 3 .000 pearson chisquare 20.747 3 .000 a. model: multinomial logit b. design: constant + q12 logit regression analysis of dispersiona,b entropy concentration df model .000 .000 0 residual 29.648 20.160 49 total 29.648 20.160 49 a. model: multinomial logit b. design: constant + q12 29 table 4.21 logit cell counts and residualsa,b for categorical indicators of mental health outcomes life threatening disease mental health observed expected residua l standardized residual adjusted residual devianc e count % count % hiv/aids aggression 4 33.3% 8.640 72.0% -4.640 -2.983 -3.422 -2.482 anti-social 8 66.7% 3.360 28.0% 4.640 2.983 3.421 3.726 hepatitis aggression 7 53.8% 9.360 72.0% -2.360 -1.458 -1.695 -2.017 anti-social 6 46.2% 3.640 28.0% 2.360 1.458 1.694 2.449 tb aggression 15 100.0 % 10.80 0 72.0% 4.200 2.415 2.887 3.139 anti-social 0 0.0% 4.200 28.0% -4.200 -2.415 -2.886 .000 sickle cell anemia aggression 10 100.0 % 7.200 72.0% 2.800 1.972 2.205 2.563 anti-social 0 0.0% 2.800 28.0% -2.800 -1.972 -2.205 .000 a. model: multinomial logit b. design: constant + q12 njirinze, chinenye juliet & eyong, butum bassey 30 discussion result from the analysis reveals a significant impact of social adversity variables such as bereavement, divorce and life-threatening disease on mental health of individual at university of calabar teaching hospital. the result revealed that upon the death of a love one like a spouse, parent, care giver and school sponsor, individual is most likely to be affected. furthermore, life threatening disease like hiv/aids, hepatitis, tuberculosis, epilepsy, sickle cell anemia and amputation, most individual may likely develop aggressive drives that are anti-social and offensive. finally, from the result, empirical evidence from field survey revealed that marital dissolution-either pre-marital breakup or dating breakups may have a significant effect on the social and psychological functioning of individuals. this explains why marital dissolution cases are more common with suicidal thoughts and incidence nigeria and the world at large. this finding is in line with hamilton et al., (2005) whose prospective studies of bereavement have consistently found evidence of improved functioning after loss due the endemic effect of losing a love one. one study assessed bereaved spouses before the loss and then 6 months and 18 months later go through a mental health state that require assistive and supportive care to restore the victim (bonanno, et al., 2002). furthermore, bourassa, sbarra & whisman (2015) noted that marital breakdown ignite a psychological state where victims can hardly survive mostly when the divorcer is the care giver of the home. this may be suicidal and cause life threatening state where victims may hardly survive. it is one major stressor that can result in affect the psychological state of an individual or people in relationship. for example, in a large population-based sample of divorced german citizens, a trajectory of substantially proved life satisfaction from before to after divorce emerged among 9% of the sample (mancini et al., 2011). an almost identical result emerged in a study of american citizens followed both before and after their divorce, with 11% showing sharp reductions in depression post-divorce (malgaroli, galatzer-levy & bonanno, 2017). in addition, women in low quality marriages show improved life satisfaction after divorce, suggesting an improvement in their social–relational environment, whereas women in high-quality marriages show reduced life satisfaction (bourassa, et al., 2015). in line with this, galatzer-levy and bonanno (2014) observed that life-threatening illness, such as cancer, hiv/aids, tuberculosis, epilepsy, heart attack, hepatitis and stroke, have also found evidence of aggressive behaviour and other mental health conditions which impairs victims social functioning. a similar result emerged in a prospective study of cancer survivors, which found that 7.8% of the sample reported sharply improved depression symptoms from prediagnosis to post-diagnosis and treatment (burton, galatzerlevy & bonanno, 2015). furthermore, case history with participant who had experienced social adversity cumulatively revealed that over 48% of the individual have experienced relationship of marital breakup, 22 % have experienced psychosocial cases or trauma, while 30% have undergone severe mental health outcome due to life-threatening disease in their life. this in effect showed that, social adversity have a significant effect on mental health outcome. 31 recommendations and conclusion reducing adversity in individual constitutes an important “upstream” strategy for promoting health though often very difficult. from the study, it could be found that multiple social conditions, natural and the intergenerational transmission of risk and protective factors in immigrant families offer frameworks for innovative thinking about how we can cope with certain psychological and natural disasters that affects the wellbeing of man. social disparities and our level of understanding of natural occurrences play a role in our wellbeing as individuals. issues of mental health in nigeria are indeed multifarious and need very deliberate, specific and concerted actions. poverty and consequent stresses associated with poor infrastructure in nigeria, human rights protections, the pervasive role of religion in a lot of mental problems, accreditation and regulation of faith healers and traditional healers, and availability and accessibility of mental health care facilities are fundamental issues that have to be addressed in order to effectively grapple with the mental health challenges of nigerians. a lot of awareness is needed against most of the social stigma painted at ill people and the perception we hold toward people under social adversity. this is observable even among and outside health care professionals, including mental health professionals, stigma remains a huge issue. these pictures have to be changed through public health education via campaigns targeted specifically at stigma reduction. the increasing speaking up on social media is encouraging but remains at nascent stages. we must adhere strictly to the recent policy on mental health notes that: to eliminate social stigma often associated with mental disorders, encouragement need to be given to the promotion of positive attitudes towards the mentally ill among the general population. government need to work to inform the general public about the nature, causes, and treatability of mental disorders. this 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(2011).stepping off the hedonic treadmill: individual differences in response to major life events. journal of individual differences, 32, 144–152. michalos, a.c., zumbo, b.d., and hubley, a. (1999) public services and the quality of life, social indicators research, 48(2): 125-157 nwokolo, c. (april 17,2019). 6 shocking mental health statistics in nigeria. healthguide.ng rand, d. g., greene, j. d., & nowak, m. a. (2012). spontaneous giving and calculated greed. nature, 489, 427–430. sophie, w. elspeth a, ben, b. catherine, l & david t. (2016). poverty and child health in the uk: using evidence for action. 2 institute of child health, university college london, london, uk taylor, s. e. (2006). tend and befriend biobehavioral bases of affiliation under stress. current directions in psychological science, 15, 273–277. world health organization.(2014). global status report on violence prevention. retrieved from http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/status_report/2014/en/ http://dx.doi.org/ https://healthguide.ng/author/collincaspian/ http://www.who.int/violence_injury_preven page 1 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 107 inter/intra state communal conflict and conflict management in cross river and ebonyi states of nigeria akam, simon sampson nigeria security and civil defense corps email: akamsimon1982@gmail.com phone no; 08068137506 ojen, mbeh ignatius cross river state ministry of youth development and skill acquisition email; ignatiusojen8@gmail.com phone no; 08062842048 abstract inter/intra-state communal conflict between cross river and ebony states of nigeria has been on the increase with adverse consequences on the destruction of lives and properties. the most adverse effect is that, as a result of it frequency, many people have been rendered homeless while the effort to return back to their society of ancestry has been ruined. several resolutions by both states through judiciary proceedings and national boundary commission are still ineffective and even when such subsist; it is usually a temporal solution to the problem. this paper aims to examine inter/intra-state communal conflict in nigeria with focus on cross river and ebonyi states of nigeria. the study specifically examined the strategies put in place to resolve communal conflict between adadama in abi and ipolo community in yala local government of cross river state and amagu in ikwoh and ndiagu in izzi local government area of ebonyi state to provide remedial alternative for sustainable peaceful coexistence among these disputant areas of the two states. the paperis an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon under study. primary data was collected and used for the study. the paper examined causes of communal conflict between the two states, role of nbc, inec and npc, internal conflict resolution between the two states, role of religious leaders, effect of the conflict of lives and property and way out of theses frequent conflict. from the study, it was recommended that nbc should revisit the surv. akinyemi-led jft report of 2000 and use the gps positions of the ten (10) pillars found on ground to retrace and re-established the adadama/lkwo boundary as it has been observed the amagu people have destroyed the remaining pillars during the recent crisis even at the okpitumo axis which had been intact. the same report should be applied to re-establish the cross river /ebonyi inter-state boundary at other sectors namely: obubra/lkwo, obubra/abakaliki and yala /izzi. through these measures, conflict can be resolved and managed in the two states. keywords: conflict management, security committee, communal conflicts, mediation, dialogue, cross river, ebonyi mailto:akamsimon1982@gmail.com mailto:ignatiusojen8@gmail.com volume 5, issue 1, 2020 108 introduction conflict is an ever present process in human relations. it is the social process in which individuals or groups seek their ends by directly challenging the antagonist by violence, dialogue or threat of violence (umoh, 2013). as a process, it is the anti-thesis of cooperation. almost any human action is likely toward the hopes or interferes with the plans of someone else. such action becomes conflict, however, only if the deliberate attempt is to oppose. world over, conflicts are inevitable in human life and existence and are a necessary part of life. conversely, conflicts are necessary for change in human society since they help to build relationships in groups, establish a group’s identity, build internal cohesion and can lead to balance of power in society as well as create new rules and laws (coser, 1956). however, when conflict are violent, and depending on the nature and type of intervention schemes used, they remain unresolved and can become protracted disrupting policy-making and development since attention is diverted from issues that will otherwise improve the lives of people to the conflict (osisioma, 2004). conflict remains one of the major problems bedevilling nigeria as it threatens constantly the security of the country and most importantly the security of the people. lewis (1990 in omah, 2013:2) states that conflict “is pervasive and inevitable because whenever people interact, there is always the possibility of the emergence or manifestation of conflicts. put differently, “a constant factor about conflict is that it is an ever present phenomenon in social relations” (alimba, 2014:180) conflict in the other hand is an inevitable factor of social existence. its occurrence affects social order which requires many institutions and agencies to stem it down. in ancient times, religious leaders organized themselves in councils to manage conflict within their domain, such as: incest taboo, land dispute, communal clashes and marital disputes (umoh, 2013). in the same vein, the modern era was characterized by religious leaders who use their religious influence to exert control on the political leaders or the noble class. this is because these leaders were seen as god’s representative here on earth. but in the contemporary era, religious leadership is concerned more with the increasing number of social ills and crisis that rocks our social system, such as: communal land disputes, ethno-religious crisis, divorce, insurgency, interfaith crisis etc. all this affects societal growth and makes conflict management a difficult task for religious leaders (gidden, 2015, otite&ogionwe, 2012). consequently, it is important to resolve violent conflicts to prevent these conflicts from diverting attention from issues of development. historically, the first and second world wars resulted in massive destruction of property and human life and a decrease in levels of socio-economic development in poor nations (blattman& miguel, 2008). during the second world war, for instance, about 60 million people died, a new wave of arms race arose and nations like germany had many properties destroyed (blattman& miguel, 2008). then came the cold war with its manifestations of proxy and quasi conflicts in developing countries of europe, africa, asia and america.through conflict, one party attempts to destroy or annihilate or at least reduce to a subordinate position of the other party. further, though normally violence is associated with conflict, it can occur without it. in nigeria, the endemic effect of conflict is detrimental to economic, social and religious wellbeing of a people. the effort to curb or reduce its impact in society is a way of managing conflict. conflict management which is seen as the application of resolution and stimulation techniques to regulate the level and impact of disruptive conflict within an entity, while harnessing the more positive and constructive aspects of collaboration, cooperation volume 5, issue 1, 2020 109 and compromise has been an issue of concern since human history. it is a process that seeks to remove cognitive barriers to agreement and group synergy. it often covers an array of measures of conflict resolution: problem solving, negotiation, mediation, establishment of security committees, thereby employing super-ordinate goals, expansion of resources, avoidance, smoothing, compromise, authoritative command, and altering the human and structural variables to change the state of most conflict areas (robbins, 2001: cited by osisioma, 2004). this has been the case and situation among the ebonyi and cross river state over the past 100 years in nigeria under study. the frequent inter/intra communal conflict between this to two states has been a call for concern as it has disrupted the peace and serenity of inhabitants of rural communities near colonial boundaries. it is hoped that this paper will exhaustively give an in-depth analysis on the causes, effect and provide recommendation for policy formulation statement of the problem in recent times, conflict across communities in nigeria has assumed a worrisome proportion. as has been observed from empirical evidence that, some peculiar pattern of frontier and boundary-related conflicts exists in some states where such conflicts involve communities from different areas but sharing frontiers and borders as neighbours. states, like kogi, anambra, akwa ibom, benue, enugu, cross river and ebonyi, are amongst the states with such communities. in many of such cases, hitherto friendly communities suddenly go up in arms against each other when natural resources are discovered over contestations on whose land such resources are found. in nigeria, increasingly becoming are conflicts regarding inter-communal relations, and a common attribute of these conflicts has to do with their confrontational, violent and destructive dimension with attendant consequences on the security of the people. it is however imperative to note that “there is a radical shift from the idea of security that is statebased to that of security that is focused on the people’s welfare, hence, human security” (adedoyin, 2013:455). this is to say that, ‘security’ has gone past protection of the lives and properties of the people against threats of external aggression, but now includes the protecting of citizens from the threats of diseases, hunger, unemployment, drug abuses and trafficking, psychological disorders, violations of human rights, displacements and shelter problems, conflicts, political repression and environmental degradation. this study of conflict between amagu in ikwo local government in ebonyi and adadama community of abi local governmnt area in cross river state, has left in its wake, devastating and grievous consequences that infringe on the human security of the people of these communities and the state in general. thus, the focus of this paper is to examine the impact of inter-communal conflicts on human security in ebonyi state, using the amagu inter conflict and ipulo community/ndiagu/ndukuwe/ okumeryi intra conflict as case study with the view of proffering viable recommendations imperative to engender peace between these communities and guarantee the security of all human lives. through the rise of recent and different forms of inter/intra communal clashes, it is perceived that both state government (cross river and ebonyi states), national boundary commission, inec, npc, traditional leaders, christian organizations and governments effort have failed overtime in their attempt to induce force toward conflict management in the area. the nature of the conflict often becomes delicate to handle because, in many instances, solving or managing conflict, one of the questions may not bring about a resolution to the volume 5, issue 1, 2020 110 other two. this is made more difficult by the fact that, many local communities may have been marginalized politically, hence any attempt to resolve clashes that revolves around land and boundaries, might be adjudged partial to the benefit of communities with political power or relevance. however, it may also been seen that inec in recent times conducted election in the igbo communities living around cross river state perimeter boundary in favour of one state(ebonyi) and the npc who in 2006 conducted census in igbo communities living in perimeter boundaries of cross river state still in favour of ebonyi. this has generated more conflict as indigenes feels both inec/npc are in collaboration national boundary commission to shift the perimeter boundary of cross river state against the macpherson boundary of 1926 and cooks 1933 ab award in favour of cross river state boundary lines as lamented by community members. in the same vain, it could be seen that the disputed land between amagu community in ebonyi state and adadama in cross river state who have been at the zenith of crises may have belong to cross river state (adadama community) but effort by nbc to have shared the land into three, awarding two parts to cross river while one to ebonyi did not favoured the principle of ‘give and take’…. a claim by cross river state. the claim is in line with agreement pillars of 1920 by mr g. g. shute, an assistant district officer of the old afikpo division. it may be seen that, the lopsided judgment of npc, inec and nbc may have contributed to the constant inter/intra communal conflict between these two states. furthermore, in order to curb the ever increasing conflict among rural communities in the two states, religious leaders have made several efforts setting up internal security committees across the disputant communities in the area which involves around religious leaders from the christian faith and traditional religious leaders to address these increasing menace. furthermore, other techniques or measures such as reconciliation, negotiation, mediation and dialogue had often been adopted. in recent times, due to the reoccurrence of communal conflict in the area, a collective group of religious leaders/traditional leaders adopted the deterrence theory per individual in a way to curb the increasing wave of communal conflicts. in spite of these punitive measures, there is still increase in communal unrest in the area. between these two states, ten local government had been of this constant inter/intra communal conflict. these local government areas such as izzi in ebonyi versus yala in cross river, abakiliki in ebonyi and obubra in cross river, ikwo in ebonyi versus obubra in cross river, ikwo in ebonyi versus abi in cross river state and afikpo in ebonyi versus biase in cross river state. it is against this backdrop the research seeks to investigate different conflict management techniques and measures adopted to solve such increasing problem between the two states. as such, the study seeks to answer questions such as; what are the main causes of communal conflict between cross river and ebonyi state? in what ways does national boundary commission, independent national electoral commission and national population commission mediated to end the communal conflict between cross river and ebonyi state? what effort has the two states made internally to resolve this conflict? what has been the role of traditional religious leaders in conflict resolution among these two states? these questions shall be provided answers at the end of the study. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 111 objectives of the study the broad objective of the study is to investigate inter/intra state communal conflict and conflict management in cross river and ebonyi states of nigeria. specifically, the study sought to: 1. examine the causes of communal conflict between cross river and ebonyi states of nigeria 2. examine the role of national boundary commission on conflict management between cross river and ebonyi states 3. evaluate the internal efforts by cross river state government and ebonyi to end the conflict between warring communities 4. examine the role of traditional religious leaders in conflict management and resolution between cross river and ebonyi states 5. examine the effect of communal conflict on human lives and property 6. provide recommendations that will help address the long lasting conflict between cross river and ebonyi states structural strain theory robert merton developed the structural strain theory as an extension of functionalism. deviance is traced to tensions caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have available to achieve the goals (andersen & taylor, 2009). societies are characterized by both culture and social structure. culture sets goals while social structures design ways to attain goals. in a well-integrated society, people adopt accepted and appropriate strategies to attain societal goals. here, the goals and means of the society are in balance. when both goals and means are not balanced, deviance occurs. this imbalance between cultural goals and structurally available means lead individual into crime or act of violence. in nigeria, economic success is a goal that everybody strives for. the legitimate means to economic success are education and jobs. the youth and other socially disadvantaged groups do not have equal access to these means because of their socio economic status. the result is structural strain that produces conflict. they experience these strains because they aim for the same goals as the rest of society, but their opportunities for success are blocked due to poverty and unemployment. thus, they turn to conflict and deviance as a way to achieve economic success. in the two states, the structural strains in most rural communities cause by high level of youth unemployment, lack of vocational skill training for sustainable youth employment as well as high level of youth illiteracy result in incessant communal conflict and wars in the area. this negates the very essence of collective consciousness and a peaceful society for social and economic development. causes of communal conflict between cross river and ebonyi states nigeria since pre-colonial times has witnessed series of inter-kingdom dynastic feuds and inter-communal conflicts due to her complex socio-cultural structure defined by a high number of ethnic nationalities and language groups. inter/intra-communal conflict is thus, not a new phenomenon; only that there has been a rising wave of this conflict in the last two decades in different areas of the country, and as alimba (2014: 179) states, “there is no part of the country that is spared from its ugly deficiencies”. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 112 generally in africa and particularly in nigeria, the causes of inter-communal conflicts are often land, chieftaincy and boundary disputes. however, alimba (2014: 188) summarily avers that the causes of communal conflict are economic, social, political, ecological and colonial. for albert (2001) community conflicts are caused by four possible factorscompetition for inadequate (or perceived to be inadequate) resources; contradicting values systems (religious beliefs, ideological positions and general worldview); psychological needs of groups and individuals; and manipulation of information. the consequences of violent communal conflicts are most times far-reaching; cutting across all spheres of the human live. massive loss of lives and destruction of properties are often recorded, displacement of people, breakdown of economic activities and indeed, disruption of the individual and the community’s daily pattern of life are usually experienced. since the creation of the two states (cross river and ebonyi), there has been series of conflict and inter/intra communal boundary disputes. this conflict often leads to destruction of lives and property and poses a threat to the development of warring communities. this is exemplified in 2012-2013. this period ignited the long-standing land disagreements in abi sometimes turned violent. in january 2013, amagu community in ikwo lga in neighboring ebonyi state reportedly clashed with adadamacommunities in abi. notable among the numerous inter-communal conflicts witnessed across the nation are the cross riveebonyi and cross river state. the following are remote cause of the problem i. boundary dispute/expansion of land policy ii. indigene-settler conundrum; iii. politics; economic resources; iv. biased historical information; v. inter-personal conflict; vi. abuse of power; vii. socio-cultural factors; viii. political marginalization; ix. boundary adjustment; x. the state position on the matters; xi. self-determination by both state and tribes culminated to the prolonged conflict (oji et al, 2014; onwe et al, 2015). however, the genesis of the conflict can also be subdivided into remote and immediate causes. a common denominator in all of these colonial boundaries and decree no. 23 of 1985 boundary line is that certain ibo communities were officially ceded into administrative native authorities or local government areas that today constitute cross river state. these lbo communities officially ceded into crs situate mainly in osobong clan of obubra lga and south-ukelle clan of yala lga. to be specific and in respect of ibo villages in osobong clan, the federal military government's views on the report of the boundary adjustment commission of 1976 in sections 34 & 35 @ pp 8 — 9 clearly spelt out how and why these ibo villages were ceded into osopong clan of obubra lga; and i quote: volume 5, issue 1, 2020 113 section 34: the osopong clan consisting of twenty-two villages claim to be mbembe tribe in obubra division. the commission was urged that the osopongs owned the land in all the villages and had a common history and origin with the people of cross river state which the clan already belonged. to merge it with anambra state would be undesirable for it would place the clan in an untenable minority situation vis-a-vis the lbo majority. in favour of anambra state, the commission was informed that three izzi villages, now in cross river state wanted to be merged with anambra state. they are: (i) ofena-edda in edda (ii) offia oji in ikpuitame (iii) obeaju/ibon in amchia there was rioting in this explosive area in 1974. in the interest of peace, they should be transferred to anambra state. besides.the boundary between the two states should be at anyiem river. section 35 the commission found that the osopongs of obubra division and ikwo in ezzikwo division in abakaliki had a known boundary which had been accepted for over fifty years. it (is) recommended that this boundary which puts the three izzi villages in cross river state should continue to be the accepted boundary. government accepts this recommendation. whereas, the izi communities in south-ukele, yala lga of crs are: i. ndiagu ii. ndukwe iii. okumenyi the sad reality is that these ibo communities within cross river state perimeter boundary polygon are presently seeking self-determination, as well as a geographical and administrative union with their kit and kin across the border in ebonyi state. the immediate causes of boundary crises are discussed under following sub-headings. presently, the agitation for self-determination has taken a militant colouration drawing its energy from indigenous people of biafra (ipob) movement. to further compound the situation, the agitation for self-determination is receiving active support from the government and people of ebonyi state. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 114 support from government of ebonyi state for self-determination agitations is hydra headed and presents itself in various forms, namely: (i) ebonyi state govt dangerously meddling in the internal politics and administration of cross river state by way of creating phonyvillages, clans, chiefdoms and council wards for the lbo villages officially ceded into cross river state previously mentioned above. (ii) the refusal of govt of ebonyi state to condemn the activities of marauding armed izzi militias who invade and take over public infrastructures built, owned and funded by cross river state government such as primary & post-primary schools, hospitals & clinics, police posts etc. example, cross river state govt primary and post-primary schools in ndiagu, ndukwe and okumenyi villages in south-ukelle clan of yala lga. (iii) govt of ebonyi state giving official recognition to cross river state govt public infrastructures invaded and occupied by izzi armed militias these outline reasons are the root causes of the everlasting and unresolved conflict between cross river/ebonyi. the factors are constant contributions to the loss of lives and properties in the two states role of national boundary commission in conflict management between cross river and ebonyi states proposed alignment of cross river/ebonyi inter state boundary 1. your excellency would please recall the concerted efforts on the part of the federal government and the states to resolve the lingering cross river/ebonyi interstate boundary dispute. you would agree with me that whatever needs to be done should be done to allow peace return to the border communities 2. t h e l a s t j o i n t of official held at abuja on 30th june, 2006 could not agree on the grey areas. the meeting resolved that the national boundary commission should take cognizance of previous deliberations and available records to propose a boundary line for the consideration of the states 3. accordingly, i am pleased to forward the proposal on the boundary for your consideration as follows: the proposed boundary starts from the tripartite point of benue. cross river and ebonyi states and runs along the anyim river up to an un-named creek opposite cr 23 coordinates which are 06° 17'n, 08° 28'e, in the (obubra/abakaliki-lkwo sector), thence it follows the creek to point cr 023, thence the boundary follows the tracing from cr 23 to cr 67 (at the confluence of ogborogbo creek and the cross river), see annex i (map a) thence the boundary follows the cross river to cr 071 in the (abi/ikwo sector), thence the boundary follows a straight volume 5, issue 1, 2020 115 line joining cr071 to cr078, thence the boundary follows cr079 to the end as delineated. see annex ii (map b). nb: this proposed line puts the three izzi villages in cross river state as recommended by justice mamman nasir boundary adjustment commission commission in 1976 and accepted by federal government white paper the proposed line shares the disputed farm land in the abi/ikwo sector between the states. 4 as your excellency may wish to note, the solution to the boundary dispute must imbibe the spirit of give and take to attain a lasting peace. the people must be enlightened on the essence of boundaries and the need to allow peace to reign amongst the communities. 5 it was also agreed at the last meeting, that the reactions of the states to this proposal to be submitted to the national boundary commission shall 6 please accept, your excellency the assurances of my highest esteem, always. dahiru bobbo, ofr director general cc: the deputy governor government house calabar. above for your information and necessary action, please. dahiru bobbo, ofr director general draft reply the director general, national boundary commission, the presidency, ague ironsi street, maitama-abuja re: proposed alignment ofcross river/ebonyi interstate boundary i write in reference to your letter dated 13th july, 2006 on the above subject matter. your proposal for the alignment of cross river/ebonyi interstate boundary is not acceptable. the national boundary commission in an attempt to resolve this dispute has rather complicated the issue. the spirit of give and take as far as this dispute is concerned does volume 5, issue 1, 2020 116 not arise since cross river state all along has provided proofs of her claims backed up by screened documents which have never been in doubt. you will recall our misgivings and protests over the handling of assignment by the joint field team. perhaps it is necessary at this point to take you through memory lane and remind you of our earlier submissions on the dispute. the cross river state boundary claim against ebonyi state is backed up by many documents was submitted to national boundary commission. these documents, most of which were obtained from the national archives were subjected screening by the joint field team and finally accepted for use in the determination of the boundary. these included the following: 1. arbitration ordinance (cook's arbitration award of march, 1933) on izzi — ntrigom —osopong boundary (appendix i) 2. boundary description of izzi (igbagu-amachi) — ntrigom — osopong arbitration award of march, 1933. (appendix h) 3. map showing the izzi (igbagu — amachi) —ntrigom — osopong boundary line from abe river (pillar a) to amachi (pillar b) (appendix iii) 4. letter from district officer, abakaliki to district officer, ogoja on "awkum land" ref. no. ab:330/10 of 5th june, 1942 (appendix iv) 5. extract of intelligent reports on the izzi clan, abakaliki division, by mr. j.g.c. allen, a.d.o. ref. no. og: 719 (appendix (iva) 6. re: "izzi people in south ukelle" ( a letter from the district officer, ogoja division to the resident, ogoja province. ref. no. 0/367/58 of6th november, 1937" (appendix v) 7. letter from ukumenyi-lzzi community in yala l.g.a. confessing the removal of boundary pillars by unknown persons (appendix vi) 8. newspaper (nigerian chronicle: 15th feb; 1976) publication affirming the position of izzi communities in south eastern state (appendix vii) 9. tenancy agreements and receipts of payments, rents/tributes in land transactions between south ukelle (landlords) and the izzi (tenants). appendix viii) 10. map of anambra division (1976) and south eastern state (1968), map of eastern nigeria, 1966) 11. gazetteer of place names on map of nigeria (colony and protectorate of nigeria), 1949 ed (this shows mfuma, ijama and benekaba all of south ukelle as being in ogoja division and province. see pp. 21, 59 and 93 respectively) (appendix x) 12. federal military government's view on the report of the boundary adjustment commission. justice maman nasir's report (appendix xi) 13. cross river and akwa ibom states population bulletin (1983 — 90). see pp. 90, 113, and 114 (appendix xii) a volume 5, issue 1, 2020 117 14. national population commission: final results of 1991 population census of nigeria (crs). this document shows south ukelle villages to be in cross river state (appendix xiib). 15. federal republic of nigeria official gazette no.56, vol. 77 of 25th september, 1990 (local government: delimitation of electoral wards notice 1990.) (appendix xiii) 16. the report on the duncan boundary demarcation of 1910 (national archive document (no.ab:68/1937/33). 17. federal supreme court of nigeria judgment in suit no. fsc 210/1959. 18. high court of eastern nigeria judgment in suit no. e13/57. 19. the report of mr. cook, a. e. (a.d.c.) boundary tracing of 1933 (see national archives document (no.ab:68/1937/33). all these documents and others not listed here were screened and accepted for the field tracing exercise. it is worthy of note to re-emphasise to you that the villages of south ukelle which you propose to cede to ebonyi state have always been part of cross river state. various court judgements have confirmed the cook's arbitration award of 1933 which has never been upturned at any time. the state's hospitality to accommodate the izzi people on our land should not be used to rob of the land. the ownership of the land by the ukelle people has never been doubt. the izzis has confessed to this. payment of ground rent is enough proof of this fact.it should be noted here that south ukelle had been part of mbebe group of villages right from colonial era. ukelle had also been rightly placed in the former ogoja province. the people of south ukelle have all along been administered from ogoja province even before the creation of states in nigeria in 1967. in fact this has been so from 1933. the creation of states in nigeria became necessary in order to solve the problem of minorities in the country. south ukelle being a minority in the then eastern nigeria could not have been put in the same state with the ibo majority in the former east central state. south and north ukelle were even constituted into a touring area in the former south eastern state and later upgraded to a local government status in cross river state in 1981. this local government area, unfortunately, was dissolved by the military in 1983.south ukelle, just as the osopongs of obubra local government, has always had a known boundary with the izzis of ebonyi state. this has never been in doubt. the izzis living in cross river state have confirmed this with the attached tenancy agreements with their south ukelle land lords. to change this boundary, as the national boundary commission is trying to do, would bring unprecedented unrest ever witnessed in this state. the arbitrations based on which the boundary was determined by the colonial masters have never been challenged and cannot be brushed aside by the commission. to suggest that south ukelle should be conceded to ebonyi state is, to say the least, a travesty of justice. cross river state/ebonyi position the import of the proposal is that nothing has been done to resolve the dispute. this takes us back to square one. this action is a clear bias with which national boundary commission had handled the dispute and which we had complained of several times in past. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 118 to suggest that south ukelle should be ceded to ebonyi "in the spirit of give and take" would mean giving up more than 30 villages of cross river state for no reason. in any case, which villages has ebonyi given to cross river state? the state stand is that national boundary commission must be seen to be an impartial arbiter and not to create more problems for the states. we stand by our submissions. however, ebonyi state firmly agrees to the ceding of south ukelle to her state governor's office calabar cross river state july, 2006 a memorandum on the internal efforts by cross river state government and ebonyi state to end the conflict between warring communities and local government area the agreement as focused on adadama community in abi local government area (lga) of cross river state which had a common inter-state boundary with lkwo lga of ebonyi state. the boundary was demarcated in 1920 with concrete pillars during the british rule in nigeria as an inter-tribal/divisional boundary between agbo clan (made up of adadama, itigidi and ekureku communities, the legbo-speaking people) in the old afikpo division and lkwo clan (which comprised okpitumo and amagu communities, the igbo-speaking group) in abakaliki division. both divisions were under the administration of the old ogoja province. presently, ogoja is a local government in cross river state. subsequent administrative changes/transitions from regional governments to state administration following states' creations never altered the inter-tribal/divisional boundary between the old agbo clan (now in abi lga of cross river state) and the lkwo clan (presently named lkwo lga of ebonyi state). at the adadama/lkwo axis of the colonial boundary, the adadamas and the lkwos had co-existed as friendly neighbours for many decades with mutual respect for the ancient divisional boundary. while the okpitumo-lkwo people maintains the cordial relationship with adadama till date, the amagu-lkwo people (who had expanded their territory by conquering and settling on part of the okpitumo land along the border) have in recent years disputed the ancient boundary which has existed for over ninety (90) years in attempt to further expand their territory this time, to adadama. these expansionist tendencies of amagu people have resulted in sporadic clashes between them and their adadama neighbours necessitating interventions by government to restore peace. however, the peace had never been long-lasting because of inherent fraudulent, hostile and expansionist propensity of the amagu people. the national boundary commission (nbc) mandated by law to retrace and re-establish existing boundaries using available instruments/evidences appears to have failed in its responsibility. the nbc has over volume 5, issue 1, 2020 119 stepped its mandate by attempting to create a new boundary, ceding part of adadama farm land to amagu without evidential justification. disregard of facts presented by adadama/cross river state by the nbc and intrigues of amagu people vis-à-vis lkwo local government council and ebonyi state government to fraudulently expand their territories, have prolonged the resolution of the boundary dispute and restoration of peace. also, changes in the leadership of the two states and nbc, infrequent meetings by stakeholders as well as improper record keeping are militating factors. to facilitate objective and speedy resolution of the dispute which had claimed many lives in the present dispensation, it is imperative to furnish the leadership/officials of the two states and nbc (who were not participants of the resolution process from the onset) with facts of the matter and past resolution efforts. this is the essence of the memo by adadama community which had participated in the process over the years at all levels of government and had presented relevant documents/evidences. historical background of adadama and ikwo (abi/abakelike lgas) i. the adadama /lkwo boundary was demarcated with concrete pillars in 1920 by mr. g. g. shute, an assistant district officer of the old afikpo division. the demarcation was sequel to an agreement endorsed by the elders and chiefs of adadama and okpitumo at the instance of mr. shute "to accept the boundary as permanent and final" in case of future dispute. the agreement was counter-signed by the resident of ogoja province, mr. s. w. sprooton. the shute boundary map, the agreement and pillars on ground are evidence. ii. mr. shute demarcated the boundary during creation of divisions and provinces (for administrative convenience) by the nigeria colonial masters (the british government). the shute boundary was the divisional boundary between afikpo division (inclusive of agbo clan made up of adadama, itigidi and ekureku communities) and abakaliki division (which included lkwo clan comprising okpitumo and amagu communities) and both divisions were in the then ogoja province. map of agbo clan in afikpo division showing the divisional boundary with lkwo clan in abakaliki division is an existing proof. another evidence is an intelligence report on the agbo clan, afikpo division written by an assistant district officer, t. g. connell in 1936; it was reported that under british rule, "in 1920, mr. g. g. shute, assistant district officer with the assistance of a half company of troops, settled and demarcated the boundary between lkwo and agbo". iii. records show that in the 1920 when the shute boundary agreement and demarcation was made, amagu people never settled at the border area of the divisional boundary now in dispute. okpitumo (lkwo) people were the inhabitants of the area on the lkwo clan side of the divisional boundary, while, adadama people inhabited the agbo clan side of the boundary, hence, mr. shute caused the agreement to be made between the volume 5, issue 1, 2020 120 two neighbours (adadama and okpitumo). as at then, the amagu people only possessed a small forest called ekerikwo lying towards a creek of the cross river called the ledumazi creek from which mr. shute took the bearing of the boundary survey. the adadama/ikwo boundary has existed for over ninety (90) years without any protest from amagu people. they did not attempt to challenge it even in their native court which is an indication of the acceptability of the boundary to both the adadamas and the lkwos in general. iv. also, available records show that in 1936, amagu people conquered part of the okpitumo land through an inter-communal war. following the partial displacement of okpitumo, the amagu people set up farm settlements on the conquered okpitumo land which in recent times, transformed to villages called ochienyim, akahufu, obeaguomege, umu-omara and ekerikwo collectively called ndiagu amagu autonomous community of lkwo lga. these new settlements did not trespass the shute boundary instead, they established friendly relationship with their adadama neighbours. v. the displacement of okpitumo and forceful occupation of her land by their amagu brothers resulted in a protracted court case in the lkwo clan court. one of the exhibits tendered in the court was a survey plan of the land in dispute between okpitumo and amagu. the plan was made in 1939 by a licensed surveyor who depicted the shute boundary line of 1920 with concrete pillars points in the survey plan as the southern limit of the land in dispute between the two lkwo communities: okpitumo and amagu. also, the survey plan indicated the locations of okpitumo land and amagu land on one side of the shute /divisional boundary and adadama land on the other side of the boundary. the ten (10) pillar points of the shute boundary were clearly depicted on the boundary line terminating at the ledumazi creek of the cross river states. vi. initially, the amagu people, on their new settlement, were friendly to adadama as they served as the main source of farm labour to their already established adadama neighbours. adadama men married some of the amagu women for their industry in farm labour. cross-border trade and cultural activities existed harmoniously. leasing of farmland by the adadama landlords to their amagu in-laws was a common practice. palm wine, kola nuts and tubers of yam were offered as tribute to the adadama land owners. at this period, the shute/divisional boundary with its pillars remained intact and were respected by both the okpitumo and amagu communities. vii. the harmonious relationship between adadama and amagu existed up to 1986; but, by 1987, the relationship began to strain due to surreptitious destruction of the shute boundary pillars and encroachment by resident of amagu at the boundary axis between adadama and amagu (lkwo) while the okpitumo (lkwo) axis remain peaceful and intact. the destruction of pillars and encroachment became more pronounced in 1996 sequel to the creation of ebonyi state from enugu and abia volume 5, issue 1, 2020 121 states whereas the state creation did not alter the ancient boundary between agbo clan and lkwo clan. attempts made to maintain peace between adadama and amagu (ikwo) i. in 1987, the then obubra lga of cross river state in which agbo clan was placed initiated peace meetings with lkwo lga of the old anambra state (when ebonyi state was not created) to maintain peace between adadama and amagu following skirmishes due to encroachment into adadama farmland by the amagu people. records show that the meetings were always well attended by officials and leaders of the two lgas and communities. trespassers into adadama farmlands were sanctioned. a case in point as recorded in one of the minutes of meetings was that of one mr. philip nwite of ochienyim village (amagu) who was convicted at obubra court and sentenced for one year (with option of one hundred naira, n100) fine for trespassing into adadama farmland. he paid the one hundred naira (100) option of fine. ii. in 1996, following the creation of ebonyi state the peace meeting became institutionalized by the paramount chiefs of adadama and amagu, their royal highnesses, eval fidelis i. addu, lezekpakor v. of adadama and eze dominic i. aloh, the erim-ogwudu iii of amagu-lkwo who are still alive till date. they jointly founded and became patrons of an association called adadama-amagu development association (abridged adamada) with a mandate to maintain peace between adadama and amagu communities. the adamada peace committee held regular meetings with a lot of festivities indicative of peaceful coexistence; and venues were rotated between adadama and amagu villages. recalcitrant members of the communities especially the amagu people who destroyed boundary pillars or engaged in other criminal activities were made to pay fines which became a source of income for the association. the "adamada peace committee" significantly maintained peace between the two communities. minutes of meetings kept in a minutes notebook are evident. iii. subsequently, the "adamada peace committee" became dormant due to absence of funding by the local government authorities. amagu people took advantage of the inactivity of the adamada to perpetrate crimes including destruction of pillars, encroachment, indiscriminate bush burning, forest destruction, stealing from farms and ponds. we have copies of our official reports to government on these criminal activities of amagu on adadama land. many of the cases were incidented in police records. iv. in 2001, the "adamada peace committee" was revived by the chairmen of abi lga, cross river state and lkwo lga, ebonyi state with a mandate to restore peace sequel to a clash between the two communities. the committee was jointly chaired by the vice chairmen of abi and lkwo lgas and was instructed to retrace the existing adadama/lkwo boundary and to return pillars that were removed during the crisis to their original positions. like the previous adamada, meetings volume 5, issue 1, 2020 122 were held regularly in convivial atmosphere with the venues in rotation between the two communities. proceedings, reports, communiqué and fieldwork during which pillars were returned were covered in long-hand minutes and video which are still available as evidences. in all the adamada peace committee meetings, police and the state security service officials were always in attendance. proofs in support of the existence of the adadama/ikwo ancient boundary i. written agreement between the elders and chiefs of adadama and okpitumo (ikwo) in 1920 at the instance of mr. g. g. shute (assistant district officer in-charge of lkwo boundary demarcation escort). the agreement was counter-signed by the resident of ogoja province, mr. s. w. sproston on 20th april, 1920. the two communities agreed to accept the boundary as permanent and final farm boundary in the event of disputes that may arise in future. ii. g. g. shute survey plan/map of 1920 which traced, demarcated and monumented the boundary with concrete pillars. iii. a survey plan by a licensed surveyor dated 11th october, 1939 which retraced and surveyed the shute boundary line with concrete pillar points as southern limit of a parcel of land in dispute between two lkwo communities of okpitumo and amagu. this survey plan was tendered in lkwo clan court as an exhibit. the lands of adadama, okpitumo and amagu were clearly delineated on the survey plan. iv. map of agbo clan (comprising adadama, ekureku and itigidi communities) in the old afikpo division showing divisional and clan boundaries between the agbo clan in afikpo division and lkwo clan (comprising okpitumo and amagu) in abakaliki division. the divisional boundary was the g.g. shute boundary of 1920. v. official gazette of the federal republic of nigeria, 1985 no. 61 vol. 72 including decree no. 23 of 1985 which transferred the governance of agbo clan (adadama, ekureku and itigidi) from the old afikpo local government area of the old imo state to obubra local government area of cross river state in accordance with the recommendation of kaloma ali boundary ascertainment commission of 1983. vi. technical report of surv. j. 0. akinyemi-led joint field team appointed by the national boundary commission in 1998 to retrace the cross river /ebonyi interstate boundary. the field work was completed in 2000 and the report presented in 2005. the report stated that ten (10) boundary pillars/controls were found insitu along the adadama/lkwo boundary line and their respective positions determined by gps. although, some of the pillars were later removed by amagu people during intermittent adadama/amagu boundary crises, nbc can use the gps data to locate the position of the pillars in re-tracing and re-establishing the boundary. vii. intelligence report on agbo clan, afikpo division by district officer t.g. connell dated 1936 in which he stated in page 10a that under british rule, "in 1920 mr. g.g. shute, assistant district officer, with the assistance of a half company of troops, settled and demarcated the boundary between lkwo and agbo" viii. a letter, reference no. ap.468/68 of 14th april, 1938 written by the district officer of abakaliki division to the resident, ogoja province, ogoja captioned "petition from volume 5, issue 1, 2020 123 one ngeleezoka and 4 others of amagu (lkwo) re-unlawful arrest and detention"._ in paragraph 2 of the letter which was a report on the okputumo-amagu land dispute, the district officer made reference to the g.g. shute boundary quoted as "from mr. shute lkwo igbo adadama boundary ukawu map, compiled in 1920 from which i have taken the boundary line on the map, it is evident that amagu were already penetrating from the south into the disputed area, though they were not at that time actually living there" this evidence affirms the fact that the g. g. shute boundary between lkwo and adadama existed long before amagu people settled at the border area after they had displaced the okpitumo people, the original inhabitants through inter-communal war in 1936. ix. minutes of peace meetings dated 9th july, 1987 and 25th june, 1987 between adadama (of former obubra lga, cross river state) and ochienyim village of lkwo lga then in anambra state (before ebonyi was created in 1996). in these meetings, at the instance of the officials of the obubra and lkwo lgas one mr. philip nwite of ochienyim (amagu-lkwo) was found guilty of trespass into adadama farmland. he was prosecuted at obubra court and convicted for one year or to pay option of one hundred naira (n100) fine. the boundary was inspected and beacons were found by the joint peace committee. x. minutes of meetings of adadama-amagu development association (abridged as adamada) inaugurated in 1996 to maintain peace between adadama and amagu. the amagu people (especially the ochienyim village) were always guilty of pillar destruction, encroachment and stealing of fishes from ponds in adadama forest reserve. xi. communiqué of peace talk between adadama (abi lga, cross river state) and amagu (lkwo lga, ebonyi state) at the instance of the chairmen of the lgas held on 26th march, 2001 following a clash between the two communities. the communique was endorsed by the chairmen of the two lgas, representatives of ebonyi state governor, the area commanders of police in both states, divisional police offices (dpos) and state security service in both lgas as well as adadama and amagu community representatives. at this meeting both parties agreed that amagu people should return the pillars they had removed from the adadama/lkwo boundary under the supervision of the adamada peace committee chaired by vice chairmen of the lgas. xii. minutes of series of meetings held by the adamada peace committee in 2001 in which issues of encroachment, pillar destruction, indiscriminate bush burning, deforestation of adadama forest reserve, stealing of farm crops and poaching from adadama ponds by amagu people were reported and the culprits sanctioned. xiii. report of the adamada peace committee dated 13th september, 2001 indicating the retracing of the adadama /lkwo boundary and return of boundary pillars removed by amagu people. this report was forwarded to the chairmen of both abi and lkwo lgas who appointed the peace committee. xiv. an addendum to the report of adamada peace committee made in a meeting dated 25th october, 2001 held at ochienyim playground, amagu-lkwo stating that akahufu volume 5, issue 1, 2020 124 people of amagu had returned a boundary beacon/pillar previously removed by them. this addendum was signed by chief jacob i. e. smokes (chairman, adamada peace committee) from adadama community, chief andrew ogar (vice chairman, adamada) and hon. jimmy igwe (secretary, adamada) both from amagu community. representatives of both adadama, amagu and security operatives witnessed the return of the pillar and acknowledged it in writing. xv. notice of fieldwork by the adamada peace committee dated 11th may, 2001 and endorsed by the secretary of the committee (hon. jimmy n. igwe of amagu) for adamada peace committee to embark on replacement of removed beacons and re-tracing of the adadama/amagu (lkwo) boundary. xvi. video clips showing series of meetings and fieldwork by the adamada peace committee in which amagu people returned removed pillars and their former paramount chief, hrh ezeukwaogbu, the ogudu ii of nicliaguamagu (now late) confessed the existence of colonial boundary with pillars between adadama and lkwo. xvii. a letter from adamada peace committee addressed to the national boundary commission dated 30th april, 2002 requesting the commission to retrace the adadama/lkwo boundary. xviii. court proceding at the magistrate court, itigidi, abi lga, cross river state in 2004 (charge no mit/86/20010) against five(5) amagu men prosecuted for bailing adadama fish pond and stealing fishes from the pond owned by an adadama family called itobor and located in the adadama forest reserve (which amagu is now disputing). the accused persons were alexander ltumo, cletus lyowa, lgweogboji, mathew ituno and ucheitumo, all of amagu, lkwo. xix. report on out-of-court settlement by the adamada peace committee dated 4th june, 2004 in respect of the case of bailing of pond with charge number mit/8c/2004 at itigidi magistrate court, abi lga preferred against alexander itumo and 4 others of amagu community. the adamada peace committee mediated out-of court, found the accused guilty and were made to pay the sum of twenty-five thousand naira (n25,000) to chief rivers imoh lebo of ltobor family of adadama who was the owner of the pond. this is evidence to the fact that the land/forest in which the pond was located belongs to adadama. xx. a position paper presented by amagu community dated 28th january, 2011 during a peace talk between officials of abi and lkwo lgas. in the paper, the amagu people admitted having expansionist tendencies and that they displaced okpitumo-lkwo community from part of the border area. they now canvass for a baseless and an imaginary new boundary premised on a fabricated fairy tale about a fake covenant allegedly made in 1912. xxi. official reports from adadama community to government on encroachment, indiscriminate bush burning, beacon/pillar destruction, wanton deforestation of adadama forest reserve, stealing of farm crops and fishes from adadama ponds perpetrated by amagu people on adadama land. the letters were dated 16th october, volume 5, issue 1, 2020 125 2000, 5th december, 2000, 297-h march, 2000, 24th february, 2003, 23rd january, 2001 and 5th december, 2006. xxii. the above mentioned proofs /evidences had been forwarded to the nbc and the surveyor-general of cross river state; we are prepared to represent them when required. role of traditional religious leaders in conflict management and resolution between cross river and ebonyi states in a related study by ademowo and adekunle (2013) they noted that, religious organization and its leadership have made several efforts to managed conflict as they consider conflict management as part of their leadership cardinal responsibility. their studies maintained that, religious organizations whether in the ancient, modern or contemporary era have never been bereft of these responsibility or role of maintaining social, especially in their host community. their studies also identified the problem of religious leadership role to be hinged on: lack of unity of purpose and religious dogma guiding their belief. similarly, in their findings, they noted that religious leaderships in the setting of conflict management are with among others, the responsibility of maintaining social order through the following medium.  distribution of relief materials to affected victims of disasters, either of war, terrorist attached, battered victims, children, etc in internally displace persons (idp) camps  reconciliation  mediation  resource mobilization  peace building and unity they noted that one key function of religious leaders of cannon effect and impact is the support they render to victim of war, either inter-tribal or fratricidal war, they also render support to victims of terrorism attacks in internally displaced persons (idps) camp from the north east. given the monumental challenge of curbing with the menace of insurgency, religious leadership in nigeria have made several attempts to stem down these problems in several ways. for instance, the islamic council of nigeria, through a joint submit with christian association of nigeria, intervened to arrest the situation of civil unrest in southern kaduna. the effort culminated in providing idp camps and relief materials to the victims. ademowo and adekunle (2013) noted that, one key function of religious leadership to managed conflict is through showing concern and raising a voice of action, by donating to the victims to show care and their non approval by condemning the act in totality. they concluded that, silence to a conflict situation is an indication that they have approved the matter or given consent. cardinally, in sociological enterprise, the concept of resource mobilization is the central figure in social engineering efforts. religious leaders in ages past, have took part in resource mobilization so as to empower their members, this will help to engaged them. this is based on the philosophy that, an idle man is the devils workshop. therefore, one way to resolve conflict is through resource mobilization, which is achievable through support system or welfare scheme. in cross river and ebony states, the subject of religious leadership can be x-rayed from the areas of its function to its indigene, which include: volume 5, issue 1, 2020 126 1. distribution of relief materials to war victims 2. reconciliation movement by christian groups 3. resource mobilization 4. peace building and unity they maintained that, in cross river and ebony states, conflicts are mostly resolved by traditional and christian religious leaders. in recent study by oden (2014) titled “cultural conflict contemporary cross river and ebony states” the study identified the relationship between christian religion doctrines and the conflict with the cultural heritage or african traditional religion of cross river and ebony states. the study analyzed the factors responsible for the conflict to include: the rise in christian religion, rapid economic growth, civilization, cultural diffusions’, modernization. this factors count heavily on the recent alteration of cross river and ebony states cultural heritage, especially with the globalization of new yam festival, projection cross river and ebony states in the face of the universe. all these are strange practices that breed conflict in cross river and ebony states thereby rendering the religions institutions important to achieve its aims of maintaining social order (oden, 2014). therefore, the literature gap between african traditional religion and conflict management is the paradigm shift between religious values and interpretation of doctrines among religions practices. again, there exist conflict between atr and existing western (christian) religion that is fast sweeping the entire cross river and ebony states land. effect of cross river/ebony conflict on lives and property generally, whatever form conflict takes, it endemic and disastrous to humanity. in most cases conflict could lead to famine, genocide and ethnic cleansing. through the cross river/ebonyi conflict, most residents near the colonial boundaries have been displaces, lives lost in the process and properties worth millions of naira destroyed. ema (2018) noted that through the constant conflict in cross river and ebonyi state, many lives and properties have been lost. severally, the conflict has resulted to loss of lives, communities displace and a threat to human health. in the year 2018, about thirteen persons have reportedly been killed and two villages razed on a friday raging of intercommunal conflict between the people of ukele in yala local government area of cross river state and their izzi neighbors of ebonyi state. the root cause of this conflict was trace to land disputes from the regional boundary or the common border land dispute which has been a recurring decimal particularly during yam and rice planting seasons. historically, in this period of event or incidence, many lives have been lost to the conflict since 2003 when it first occurred. the endemic effect of conflict is universal as also applied to cross river and ebonyi state. the following are the major and close effect of cross river and ebonyi states. 1) food security: in ebonyi state and indeed in nigeria where majority of its population reside in rural areas, the main occupation is agriculture. due to this, inter-communal conflicts have had serious negative implications on accessibility and availability of food. ebonyi state is essentially dominated by peasant agricultural based communities (mbah & nwangwu, 2014:685) of which the ezza and ezillo communities are not an exception. since the conflict began, agricultural land, water and social resources for food production, crops, livestock, harvest and food reserves have been destroyed. vanguard metro (2012) learnt that hoodlums went into ezillo community with guns and machetes and destroyed livestock. scores of people have volume 5, issue 1, 2020 127 migrated to safe areas, living behind their farms and livestock. vanguard metro (2012) further reported that the ezillo market was burnt down and shops razed down, vehicles burnt and other properties destroyed. 2) health security: hundreds of people have lost their lives and sustained non-fatal injuries as a result of these recurring conflicts by the ebonyi and cross river states communities. also, due to running long distances, many have experienced cardiac arrests as well as other respiratory complications. the increasing numbers of the injured at different times of the conflict also led to overcrowding of the already inadequate and poorly equipped health care centres and hospitals with so much pressure on machines leading to their breakdown as well as the breakdown of health staff working overtime. as a result of the outbreaks of this conflict, pregnant women have experienced miscarriages, some forced to give birth before full term and others have had complications that have left them permanently damaged.also, there is destruction of health care centres and facilities that are needed for proper health of the people. some health workers themselves who live in these communities and around are also victims and thus, have fled from their duty posts and moved to other areas of safety. 3) economic security; economic security is an important component of human security, and it is often threatened by inter-communal conflicts. the none ending conflict between cross river and ebonyi has inflicted damages on livelihoods and fractured social structures, formal and informal institutions in both communities. thus, people have abruptly lost their jobs and have remained unemployed for years. 4) environmental security: fawole (2010:221) avers that, “environmental security requires a healthy physical environment, security from environmental threats such as degradation of the local ecosystem, air and water pollution”. inter/intracommunal conflicts between cross river and ebonyi are huge threats to the security of the environment. resource depletion is another environmental problem that is affected by this conflict. these communities are blessed with rich agricultural and mineral resources that have been depleted as a result of this conflict over the years. without the protection of the environment, the security of the citizens is threatened. 5) personal security: personal security is an essential aspect of human security. the indicators of personal security are fear of violence, level of crime, prevention of harassment and gender violence. gender violence is often prevalent in warring communities of cross river and ebonyi; women and young girls are most affected in times of conflict; they are often raped or sexually harassed by both the parties involved in the conflict. 6) political security: through the frequent cross river/ebonyi conflict, there have largely been cases of human rights violations in the disputatnt communities. also, there has been loss of lives which is a violation of the right to live; destruction of properties which is a violation of the right to property; rape, a violation on personal security, etc. 7) community security: in times of conflict, there are violations of the integrity of cultures and traditions, loss of languages and values. the cross rive/ebonyi conflict has violated the integrity of their respective communities and the protection of the indigenous people has been eroded volume 5, issue 1, 2020 128 wayward/recommendations i. government should make provisions of basic amenities for both communities or most affected in order to forestall further conflicts arising from development inadequacies. ii. nbc should revisit the surv. akinyemi-led jft report of 2000 and use the gps positions of the ten (10) pillars found on ground to retrace and re-established the adadama/lkwo boundary as the amagu people have destroyed the remaining pillars during the recent crisis even at the okpitumo axis which had been intact. the same report should be applied to re-establish the cross river /ebonyi inter-state boundary at other sectors namely: obubra/lkwo, obubra/abakaliki and yala /izzi. iii. principle of give and take does not favour one party state as fronted by nbc, therefore colonial boundary should be re-established iv. a permanent military base be established at the adadama/lkwo border with road network to ease accessibility and surveillance by soldiers as the amagu people have vowed to displace adadama once security is relaxed to achieve annexation of the disputed land speculated to be the area ebonyi state intends to conduct petroleum exploration. v. the amagu people must accept the truth and facts about the g.g. shute boundary of 1920 between adadama and lkwo which had existed for 93 years and they never contested it. they should desist from misleading their local and state governments with unfounded fairy tales about an imaginary boundary. vi. nbc should re-establish/re-beacon the cross river /ebonyi interstate boundary at ekureku (abi lga) and aba omege (onicha lga) axis which was defined by the justice kaloma all boundary ascertainment commission in 1983 and passed in decree no. 23 of 1985. this boundary was defined in accordance with the g.g. shute boundary line which extended to the adadama (abi lga)/ikwo lga axis. vii. the public properties that have been destroyed should be rebuilt in both communities. the houses that were destroyed should also be rebuilt and those who lost lives and properties should be adequately compensated. viii. the adadama people should be allowed by the military troops stationed at adadama and amagu border areas to harvest the 2012 planting season crops from their farms which could not be harvested due to the crisis. these farms are located at the adadama-okpitumo (lkwo) axis of the boundary that had never been in dispute but, was erroneously included in the buffer zone created by the soldiers. the crops are wasting in the farms while starvation persists in the adadama community. ix. settlers in disputant areas should be enfranchise but still remain loyal to the culture of indigenes of the disputed or area of present settlement x. nbc should use diplomacy to persuade states that have large expand of land donate to states that have little land than to use force xi. the governors and their deputy governors should peruse the memos thoroughly and subsequently convene a special meeting involving two (2) representatives each from adadama and amagu to defend claims in their community memo. xii. sequel to the special meeting, the governors may convene an exclusive meeting with their deputy governors to adopt a common boundary based on evidences which is the cross river state vis-à-vis adadama claim line amply supported by evidences. this is the shute's divisional/inter-tribal boundary between adadama and lkwo volume 5, issue 1, 2020 129 demarcated in 1920 and retraced by nbc-constituted jft led by surv. akinyemi in 2000. i. finally, the nbc should be requested to retrace and beacon the boundary accordingly. then after, the governors may create a buffer zone around the boundary line to ease the recognition of the boundary by the natives. the adamada peace committee may be revived to maintain peace and security among the border communities under the supervision of abi and lkwo local government councils. conclusion this paper examined the impact of inter/intra state communal conflict and conflict management in cross river and ebonyi states of nigeria. the cross river-ebony communal conflict has brought grave consequences to these people of these communities and ebonyi. the long lasting conflicts between adadama/amagu over land boundary issues have adversely affect the wellbeing of individual or rural people. as colonial boundaries exist and cut across disputant areas, other areas in the two states like obubra/lkwo, obubra/abakaliki and yala /izzi have been worst hits from the creation of the two states. the frequent reoccurrence of violence in both states has eroded security of the people in all ramifications food and nutrition, health, personal, economic, environmental, political and community. hence, the cross river/ebonyi inter/intra-communal conflict has negatively impacted on the human security of the people, of which some of these impacts are still experienced till present day. thus, there is need for a joint problem-solving between the cross river and ebonyi together with nbc, inec and npc to resolve this ever increasing conflict. however, absence of micro level communal agreement between disputant parties has negatively impacted on the wellbeing of rural dwellers. references adedoyin, a. (2009), migration in nigeria: a country profile (geneva: international organization, security and development in albert, i.o and eselebor, w.(eds) managing security in party intervention to community conflicts. ibadan: john archers. ademowo, a.j & adekunle, d. (2013). law in traditional yoruba philosophy: a critical appraisal.caribbean journal of philosophy, volume 2, no. 1 albert, i.o (2001). introduction to third-party intervention in community conflicts. ibadan: alimba, c. n.(2014). probing the dynamics of communal conflict in northern nigeria. ethiopia: african research review. anderson, c., & taylor, g. j. (2009).the pursuit of status in social groups.current directions in psychological science, 18, 295–298 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 130 blattman h. miguel, k. blattman l. & miguel, k. (2008).“the transformation of conflict between pastoralists and cultivators in nigeria”, paper in press for a special issue of the journal africa, cambridge. coser, l. (1956).the functions of social conflict. london: collier macmillan. ema.u. (2018).ebonyi/c’ river inter-communal conflict escalates on june 24, 20181:42 pmin news kindly share this story:facebooktwitteremailwhatsapppinterestshare fawole, j.o.(2010) human security in the african context: the place of education and intellectual awareness in obasanjo et al (eds.) 2010 ‘human security in africa: perspective on education, health and agriculture. abeokuta:.centre for human security, oopl.for migration). giddens, a (2015).central problems of social theory. london: macmillan. john archers publishers. lewis, r. (1990). negotiating across cultures.retrieved from http://www.crossculture.com/ services/negotiating-across-cultures/ on may 4, 2013. 38. lewis, s.w. (1990). forward to the service used. in albert, i.o. (2000).introduction to third a globalised world. society for peace studies and practise. mbah, p., &nwangwu, c. (2014). sub-ethnic identity and conflict in nigeria: the policy. mediterranean journal of social sciences.vol 5, no 2. oden i. (2014).the contribution of community development to peace-building: world vision’s area development programmes. london: world vision. omah, e. (2013). “mechanisms of conflict transformation: the nexus between conflict, option for the resolution of the conflict between ezza and ezillo in ebonyi state omolewa, m. (2010). “human security in the african context: the education imperative” in obasanjo et al. (eds.) ‘human security in africa: perspective on education, health and agriculture. centre for human security, oopl, abeokuta. osisioma, h. e. (2004), “conflict management in nigeria: a study of selected organisations in the manufacturing and service sectors”, unpublished phd thesis, department of business administration, university of nigeria, enugu campus. otite, o & ogionwe, w. (2012). an introduction to sociological studies. ibadan. heinmaan education books. nigeria ltd volume 5, issue 1, 2020 131 robbins, o.n. (2001). resurgent identity crisis and security management in lagos, nigeria: lessons for west african cities. a paper presented to the international conference on security segregation and social networks in west africa cities, 19th – 20th centuries, ibadan: 29 – 31st october, 2001. umoh, j. o. (2013). sociology of religion, theory and concepts. uyo university press. vanguard metro (2012).when senseless killings took over ezza-ezeilo. january 9, amin metroread more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/when-senselesskillings-took-over-ezza-ezeilo/ other sources national boundary commission (2006).role of national boundary commission in conflict management between cross river and ebonyi states. plot 2943 cadastral zone a6, aguyi ironsi street, maitama, abuja. p.m.b. 5014, wuse, abuja. re: proposed alignment of cross river/ebonyi interstate boundary (2006). draft reply. the director general, national boundary commission. the presidency, ague ironsi street, maitama-abuja a memorandum on cross river /ebonyi interstate boundary dispute at adadama (abi lga) /ikwo lga sector prepared by adadama community dated 21st may, 2013 child welfare 194 parenting and child welfare in nigeria *leonard u. ngwu1 martha uchenna ogbuke2 raphael chima ofoegbu3 1,2department of sociology/anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu state. 3department of sociology, madonna university nigeria, okija campus *correspondence e-mail: ngwuleonard@yahoo.com abstract in this era of moral decadence, armed robbery, kidnapping, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, school dropouts, almajiri vs boko haram recruitments, money rituals, cybercrime, house breaking, criminal gangs to mention but a few are prevalent. this is an indication of aberration by the parents having difficulties which jeopardizes the health and well-being of their children. this paper examined the factors constraining the effectiveness of parenting and child welfare which are to be found in the large societal matrix of the child’s welfare system. the system supposed to provide substitutes for family functions, provide services to improve family functioning and ensure that the children are protected. the paper made use of in-debt interview survey to examine these factors as well as secondary sources of data from the existing literature, books and journal articles. it was revealed among others, that participation in school work, child-parent relationship and household characteristics are contributory factors. also, poverty has a very weak response to child welfare. the paper recommended that incidence of street children is a response to poverty. parental interest, child labour etc. are all responses to the socio-economic environments. also regular survey on child labour and street children to monitor the trends with policies aiming at improving child welfare in nigeria with respect to child-parent and household relationship as well as characteristics in their policy formulations. keyword: child welfare, socio-economic, child neglect, nigerian society, parenting, nigerian society. introduction according to brooks, holditch-davis and landerman (2012), parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biological relationship. the most common caretaker in parenting is the father or mother, or both, biological parent(s) of the child in question, although a surrogate may be an older sibling, a step-parent, a grandparent, a legal guardian, aunt, uncle or other family member, or a family friend (bernstein, 2008). government and society may also have a role in child-rearing, in many cases, orphaned or abandoned children received parental care from non-parent or non-blood relations. others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage. parenting skills vary and a parent or surrogate with good parenting skills may be referred to as a good parent (johri, 2014). mailto:ngwuleonard@yahoo.com child welfare 195 parenting styles vary by historical time period, race/ethnicity, social class and other social features (witt, 2017). additionally, research support that parental history both in terms of attachments of varying quality as well as parental psychopathology, particularly in the wake of adverse experiences, can strongly influence parental sensitivity and child outcomes (schechter & willheim, 2009; grienenberger, kelly, & slade, 2005; lieberman, padron, van horn, & harris, 2005). on the other hand, welfare, according to birch (2017) is well-being, happiness, health and prosperity. thus, evaluating a child’s best interests involves welfare appraisal in the widest sense, taking into account, where appropriate, a wide range of ethical, social, moral, religious, cultural, emotional and welfare conditions. therefore, a child’s welfare is to be judged today by the standards of reasonable men and women in 2018 not by the standards of their parents having regard to the ever changing nature of our world, changes in our understanding of the natural world, technological changes, changes in social standards and perhaps most important of all, changes in social attitudes. over the past decade, nigeria’s economic growth has averaged about 7.4% annually (african economic outlook report on nigeria, 2012), but this growth has not cut down poverty and deprivation suffered by the people. however, children account for a large percentage of the income-poor and the society deprived worldwide. over half of the world’s children in developing countries (56%), just over one billion children, are suffering from one or more forms of severe deprivation of basic human need (shimelis, 2011). every second, a child in developing countries is deprived of even the minimum opportunities in life. despite nigeria’s increased economic growth in recent years, many children still struggle on the margins of survival. conversely, people are deprived if they lack the types of diet, clothing, housing, household facilities, and environmental, educational, working and social conditions, activities and facilities which are customary (townsend, 1987). deprivation therefore, refers to peoples’ unmet need whereas, poverty refers to the lack of resources required to meet those needs. children are particularly vulnerable to deprivation of their specific needs. they cannot be regarded as full economic agents exercising consumer sovereignty. they are not able to secure their own resources until a certain age and they are not sovereign in making consumption decision (white, leavy & masters, 2003). moreover, for the fulfillment of their basic needs, they have to rely more than adults on the production of goods and services by public authorities (especially in areas of health and nutrition). (gordon, nandy, pantazis, penberton & townsend, 2003; minujin, 2005; notten & de neubourg, 2011). child welfare 196 children in nigeria often face many problems such as poor health, lack of access to quality education, food and social insecurity, and lack of care. gordon et. al. (2003) reported that 52.6% of the total children in the country in the year 2000 were deprived of the basic human needs. each year in nigeria according to him, nearly one million children die before their fifth birthday. one quarter of these children, 241,000, die in the first month of the life as newborn. inspite of the effort to reduce infant mortality, nigeria still maintains a high ranking of under-five mortality rate in the world (un children fund, 2011). statement of the problem children are precious assets and sources of joy not only to their parents and immediate families but to the entire society. as the future hope and leaders of tomorrow, they have rights that need to be protected. children have to be cared for and nurtured to develop their potentials so that they can contribute to the development of the society. the saying that, “the child is the father of the man”, is true if and only, if the right of the child is adequately protected in the society (azalahu & agba, 2010). the overwhelming rate of moral decadence and neglect for traditional norms is likely to be an offshoot of myriads of criminal activities in the society. parenting processes are failing, the children tend to grow wild. this research was therefore, informed as a result of the inability of parents to maintain their divine assigned responsibilities of socializing their children into patriotic and law-abiding citizens. the consequences of these failures on the part of the parents manifest itself on the prevalence negative behaviours of the children in our society today. this calls for urgent and immediate attention to re-direct the world view of these children. this therefore, makes it pertinent for the following problems to be investigated in this paper (i) what does parenting means (ii) who is a child and what are his/her rights in the society? (iii) to what extent have these rights been abused and/or protected in the nigeria society? (iv) what are the implications/challenges of these abuses, and (v) protection of these rights on the overall development of the child and the society? literature review certainly, everyone is a child of some person but not everyone can rightly be regarded as a child. according to anya and akagbue (1995), “ in some ethnic groups, a boy remains a child until initiated into an age-grade society or old enough to contribute physically and financially to community development”. invariably, with regards to section 2 of the children child welfare 197 and young persons law of lagos state (1973) which provides for the welfare of the young and treatment of young offenders, a child is a person under the age of 14 years while a young person is one who has attained the age of 12 years but is under the age of seven years. the nigerian labour act (1974) considers a child as a person below 15years of age while the national child welfare policy (1989) defines a child as anybody who is twelve years of age and below. this uncertainty trailing the definition of a child under the nigeria law was finally laid to rest by section 274 of the childs rights act (2003) which defines a child as a person who has not attained the age of 18 years. it must be noted that this is in line with the convention on the rights of the child (crc) and the african charter on the rights and welfare of the child both to which nigeria is a signatory. the right of the child in the society rights are interest or benefit recognized by law. gray (1916) conceives rights as essentially powers. according to hart (1993), rights are protected choices. thus, the concept of rights implies a relationship between two or more person. man can only have a right after he has entered the society and by implication entered into relations with other man. it is therefore, man’s existence within society that accords him the status of a human being, which ultimately entitles him to some rights as a consequence of his humanity. thus, if every person who is human is entitled to some rights, then children are also entitled to human being rights by virtue of the fact that they are human beings. under s(307) of the nigerian criminal code. (1990), a person is considered to be a human being from the moment he becomes independent of his mother’s womb, whether the unbilical cord has been severed or not at birth. over the centuries, these rights of the child have been violated. children of tender age are employed in industries, recruitment into army during wars, trafficked in commercial sex industry and a good number have died due to malnutrition. these violations and abuses have necessitated the formulation of the convention on the right of the child (crc) in 1989, the african charter on the right and welfare of the child in 1990 and the child’s right act 2003. an overview of child protection policies in nigeria the national health insurance and national pension scheme are the two major social protection schemes in nigeria (umukoro, 2013). it is very disheartening to know that nigeria does not have any ministry that deals with the affairs of children directly and this makes the protection of the rights of children difficult. although, nigeria has implemented the child welfare 198 convention on the rights of the child (crc), however, only 21 states have fully implemented it. the social protection policy in nigeria is influenced by the world bank advice for social protection floors. in 2007, nigeria launched “in care of the people” called cope (umukoro, 2003). the cope is a form of conditional cash transfers in which eligibility is based on having a child or children who attend schools. the eligibility criteria involves that the children in schools must come from a female-headed home, elderly parent and household in which the presence of poverty can easily be detected. as part of her commitment in meeting the goals of mdg, universal basic education (ube) programme has been established in nigeria with free primary education which is compulsory for all children to increase literacy level in the country. also, in 2010, almajiri model secondary school was established in the north to reduce the number of street-children. to reach mdg targets, nigeria established its own version of mdg called national economic empowerment and development strategies (needs) in 2004. also, the directorate for international development (dfid) donated a lot of money for poverty reduction in africa. in 2001, national poverty eradication program (npep) was introduced in nigeria (umukoro, 2013). this is to eradicate absolute poverty. however, it was unable to achieve its aim owing to its bad implementation as those who are really poor do not get the benefits. because of the mdg,nepad, sap, seeds, leeds were established by federal, state and local governments respectively. challenges of child protection interventions the coverage of most social protection programmes in nigeria is very low (umukoro, 2013). it is not only low but also fails to reach the targeted people. this is because the process is fraught with corruption and favouritism. often, the people who benefit from the policy in nigeria are not the people who really need them. this is because some elite were usually given the opportunity to do so; thereby, giving favours to their kinsmen. nino-zarazua, barrientos, hickey, and hulme, (2012) identified two major challenges affecting social protection provision in sub-saharan africa, which is financial sustainability and institutional capacity. by financial sustainability, they mean that when a particular programme has been started, there might not be the ability of national government to extend it beyond the level at which they start. also, by institutional capacity, they are referring to the problem with the institution in place for ensuring the social protection gets to the citizens. child welfare 199 there is no established institution like an established department or ministry in sub-saharan african to monitor the effective allocation of social protection programmes. they often rely on local elites which tend to create divisions and power relations (mansuri & rao, 2004). causes and extent of child abuse in nigeria as a consequence of poverty and disorder in the society. in this section, the paper explores the causes and extent of child abuse in nigeria as a consequence of poverty and disorder in the society in relation to:  poverty  disorder  parenting/family management  environment/neighbourhood i. poverty and child welfare poverty is a global problem which is found in both developed and developing countries. it is more pervasive in developing countries than in developed countries. owing to the preponderance of poverty in the global south most especially in sub-saharan africa, assistance has been offered by international organizations like the world bank, united nations (un) and its agencies among others. all these failed because they supplant instead of complementing local efforts and initiatives and are imposed policies (adesina, 2011). in order to explain the global nature of poverty or global child poverty, we use nigeria as a reference point. nigeria is the most populous country with black people in the world, and also with a large number of people living in poverty (oluseyi, 2009; umukoro, 2013). nigeria is rich resource-wise, but poor in human capacity development. an estimated 71.5 percent of nigerians currently live below poverty level, compared with 27.2% in 1980, 42.7 percent, and 54.4 percent in 2004 (nbs, 2010). this shows that poverty is increasing at an alarming rate in nigeria (oshewolo, 2011). this poverty level does not only affect adults but also children. children are indeed more affected as it denies them access to their rights as stated in the convention of the rights of the child 1989 (mulinge, 2010) nigeria according to umukoro (2013), children are prone to a wide range of economic and social problems like child trafficking, abuse, labour, being used for rituals, etc. this goes alongside income poverty (hanger-zanker & holmes, 2012). in fact, children represent the group in which poverty is found to be the highest in africa (lansdown, 2005); devereux, s., webb, d., & handa, s. {2011). the poverty experienced by children is no doubt a reflection child welfare 200 of the poverty experienced by their parents. this poverty is often passed down from parents to their children (basu & van, 1998). in the words of gabel (2012), “children are one of the most vulnerable groups in almost any population because of their physical and emotional dependence on adults and social status”. owing to the preponderance of poverty in nigeria especially in the northern part of nigeria, children have been forced to engage in street begging and hawking. in the southern part of nigeria, some children work as bus conductors, hawking, house boy/girl etc. in order to survive. united nations children’s emergency fund (unicef) reported that approximately 24 percent (12 million) of all children in nigeria under the age of 15 are working in 1994 (unicef/fos, 1995) (bassy, baghebo & out, 2012). table 1: poverty in nigeria, 1985 – 2010 year poverty incidence estimated population population in poverty non-poor (%) moderately poor (%) extreme poverty (%) 1985 46.3 75.0 34.7 53.7 34.2 12.1 1992 42.7 91.5 39.2 57.3 28.9 13.9 1996 65.6 102.3 67.1 34.4 36.3 29.3 2004 54.4 126.3 68.7 43.3 32.4 22.0 2010 69.0 163.0 112.47 31.0 30.3 38.7 source: national bureau of statistics (nbs), nigeria’s poverty profile, 2010. the above table shows the rate at which poverty has been increasing in nigeria from 1985 to 2010 with an increasing population. there are some factors responsible for this in which the structural adjustment programme (sap) was the main factor attributed to this (okeshola, 2009). the above table thus shows how poverty increased from 46.3% in 1985 to 69% in 2010. the reduction of poverty from 65.6% in 1996 to 54.4% in 2004 could be due to the national economic empowerment and development strategy (needs) established to attain the goal of millennium development goals (mdgs) now framed into sdg in which poverty reduction is its goal number one. ii. the concept “disorder”: according to wilson and kelling (1982) disorder is “an accumulation of minor violations” whereas sennet (2009) posit disorder “as perceived neighbourhood decay”. they believed that disorder leads to weakened social control which in turn, provides ideal conditions for crime to thrive. gault and silver (2008) concluded that disorder influence crime by affecting collective efficacy within the neighbourhood. it weakens a community’s ability to properly cultivate and nurture social ties, social capital and social control. the erosion of social ties, social capital in the child welfare 201 neighbourhood leads to as postulated by gault and sylver (2008), the worsening of crime in these neighbourhoods, clearly suggesting that disorder exerts an indirect influence on crime. iii. family management and child behaviour: according to baumrind (1991) successful child adjustment has been linked to both the quality and quantity of parenting provided. just as good parenting can foster healthy child development; ineffective parenting is connected to the onset of conduct problems early in life and later during adolescence. parents and style of parenting are of particular importance during the early years. petit and bates (1989) illustrates how crucial parenting is during infancy, especially warm and affectionate parenting as a means of preventing later conduct problems. from an early age, supportive parenting lays the groundwork for successful socialization through supervision and monitoring. on the contrary, poor parental supervision, monitoring and lack of parent-child involvement exacerbated problem behaviour and delinquency. however, monitoring strategies in addition to disciplining practices is central to effective child rearing. parent-child relationship is a fluid and reciprocal, parents must adjust to the developing personalities of their children while restricting or providing activities that may promote or hinder a healthy development. disciplining practices, for example, can serve as a preventive practice to curb and correct inappropriate behaviours but, harsh and inconsistent parental discipline can also translate into negative behaviours that do not bode well for the child in future. patterson, thomas and karen, (2000) posit that poor discipline coupled with inefficient monitoring were key factors in the development of anti-social behaviour and delinquency. invariably, family attachment, closeness and strong parenting skills often predict positive child outcomes (grogom-kaylor, 2005; henry, tolan, & gorman-smith, 2001). iv. environment (neighbourhood) and child development family circumstances and neighbourhood setting are fundamental elements to the successful socialization of children and teens (furstenverg, thomas, jacquelynne, glen, & arnold, (1999). parents are essentially the brokers between the community and their children. the literature exploring neighbourhood, family and child outcomes (burton & jarrett, 2000) posit that, “family level measures serve to either mediate or moderate the effect of neighborhood on child development, despite the fact that investigators fail to consider that community factors typically operate indirectly through family and peer relationships. one way in which neighbourhood conditions can indirectly affect children is through the negative effect these conditions exerts on parents”. for instance, conger ge, elder, lorenz and child welfare 202 simons(1994) maintained that low neighbourhood socio-economic status causes distress in parents leading to increased depression and hostility towards their children, often expressed as harsh disciplining practices. such hostility from parents worsen child problem behaviour, leading to aggression and delinquency. thus, the economic pressures felt by parents increased their depression which in turn, decreased supportive parenting, consequentially resulting in poor child socialization. child protection theory child protection theory according to world vision international (wiv) (2011, 2014) reflects the supportive contributions of many individuals from across the globe that work to strengthen the prevention and response to abuse, neglect, exploitation and other forms of violence affecting children. child protection refers to the mechanisms put in place to prevent children from abuse. such actions are geared toward preventing children from oppression, molestation and to ensure that they live good, normal and healthy life. as put in the words of blank, devereux, and handa (2011) “child protection involves a range of activities that prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, and abuse. . social protection addresses vulnerability at different stage of the life cycle, it can also address specific aspects of children vulnerability (hanger-zanker & holmes, 2012). child protection is an important concern in nigeria today owing to the preponderance of children in all sorts of ‘hard jobs’. poverty is a very bad thing as it could make people do anything to survive. poverty, therefore, exposes the poor people to exploitative situation. according to international labour organisation (ilo) “social protection is associated with a range of public institutions, norms and programmes aimed at protecting workers and their households from contingencies threatening basic living standards’ (barrientos, 2011). this ilo description of social protection incorporates child protection. the three main grouping of social protection in terms of social insurance, social assistance, and labour market regulation, are therefore related to child protection. there is no general agreement as to the definition of poverty. its definition is based on what we think poverty itself is and is therefore subjective (lister, 2004). the kind of social protection mechanism put in place is dependent on the way we define or see poverty (gabel, 2012). therefore, social protection has to be child sensitive in order to protect children (blank et al., 2011) child welfare 203 method the study design adopted in this research was a cross-sectional qualitative research survey. this is because the research design can cover a wide spectrum of the society which study such phenomena like people’s perception on parenting and child welfare and so forth (obikeze, 1990). the method is appropriate when seeking to understand people’s awareness and opinion. the research consulted extensively and made use of primary and secondary sources of data from the existing literature including books and journal articles as well as in-dept interview discussion. snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants. semistructured interviews were used as a means of data collection (robinson, 2013). the relevance of discussing parenting and child welfare in nigeria and the implication of child abuse and neglect with respect to national and child development appears to have encouraged the participants to consent to the in-dept interview. the areas covered in the study were nsukka lga and enugu south lga totaling two clusters in all. the procedure used for recruitment of the in-depth interviewee involved to a large extent, simple random sampling plan. the systematic sampling methods were used to select the clusters and the respondents for in-depth interview. simple percentage (%) was used to analyze the data collected with the formula ( 𝒙 𝑵 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝟏 ). analysis of in-depth interview the indepth interview was conducted with carefully developed interview guides. the interview contained questions on some of the issues raised in the statement of the problem. this was meant to provide indepth knowledge with regards to parenting and child welfare in nigeria. for the qualitative data, a total of two clusters (nsukka lga & enugu south lga) were selected for the conduct of the interview with thirty-five {35} and fifteen (15) persons comprising males and females respectively in the two clusters to maintain the sampling procedure adopted. in each cluster, interview were held with those selected participants on the time and date they chose to be convenient for them with all thirty-five males and fifteen females of about 35 years old and above giving a total of 50 respondents in all. group a of the interviewee covered nsukka local government area nsukka; while group b covered enugu south local government area of enugu state. we have five questions a-e as contained in the statement of the problem for use in the in-depth interview. child welfare 204 in answering question a which says “in your opinion, what does parenting mean to you” 35(70%) out of the fifty members interviewed were of the opinion that: there is no manual for parenting. this is something you realized when you bring your little one home. there is no single “right” way to parenting. how you parent depends on how “you” were raised, how you see others parenting and even, to some extent, your cultural background. in corroborating their views, they argued that some people were raise under.  authoritative method: you set clear and consistent rules and boundaries, have reasonable expectation for your children, listen to inputs from your children, and are generous with positive feedbacks.  authoritarian method: set strict rules and expect their children to follow them, punish (sometimes severely), do not encourage open communication and have high expectations and expect that their children will meet them.  attachment method: mommie dearest, child-centric form of parenting, have a lot of physical contact, you hold, carry etc. respond to the child’s need without hesitation, soothe and comfort…  permissive method: do not set strict limits or boundaries, do not always attempt to control their children, have few, if any, rules, allow their children to make many of their own decisions.  uninvolved/neglectful method: the parent feel indifferent towards the child, possibly due to situations outside of the parents control e.g. single parent, poverty etc, do not take care of the child’s physical and emotional needs beyond the basics, can act dismissively, lack responsiveness, are emotionally or physically absent from child’s life, may be physically abusive. similarly, 15 (30%) were of the opinion that: as our child is unique in ways that we know best, so our parenting will be unique. our children will have the healthiest outcome if we walk the thin line between being nurturing but not two controlling. furthermore, on answering question (b) which states “who is a child”, 40(80%) of the respondents were of the opinion that: a child is a person who has not attained the age of eighteen (18) years. in parenting process, the child is the most affected with reference to child welfare. this is because, the child is frail, innocent, defenceless and often, cannot help themselves in terms of social life, such as economics, religious, socialization etc. the child totally depends on his/her parent for everything that makes human. however, the definition of child is relative as many cultures or nations have different age brackets as a child. hence, paltry number 10(20%) of the respondents believed that a child is a person between the age of 7 – 12 years, although, they have the same views on the features of a child like the former group. child welfare 205 in addition, the respondents were asked about “the right of a child in the society” in answer, 30(60%) of the interviewee, believed that the main rights of a child are embedded in: good parenting based on the advantages conferred on the child by fundamental human rights backed by the law. benefits recognized by the law, right to school, social welfare, emotional built up, have a home, loved and be cared for by the parents, peace of mind, development protection and proper socialization in the societal norms and cultures, healthy living. while, 20(40%) of the interviewee, maintained that “the rights of a child in the society, states the child’s place within a particular family, belonging to a specific religious, ethnic and cultural community and one that offers a more individualized approach, recognizing the distinctiveness of interests even within the family. the child’s family is the natural and proper environment for the child’s upbringing, with their own values and beliefs. similarly, in answering question (c) “to what extent have these rights been abused and protected in nigeria societies”. however, 25(50%) believed that the child’s rights have been seriously abused. the abuse is innumerable considering the poverty levels of nigerian citizens. parents are unable to provide the needful for the child with reference to sending the children to school, social amenities, their efforts to make contributions to the family up-keep that makes them hawk in the street, engage in child labour, lack of government support as to prompt payment of workers salaries, pension payment, indifference of the ruling class as to the plight of the people etc. invariably, 15(30%) believed that the prevailing “so-called” child abuse has been part of our african culture. they maintained that generation before now, do all those things which were done as part of training and socialization. these exercises will help them keep their own home when they grow. too much pampering makes them lazy and to live above their level thereby making them greedy and would want to involve in different types of crime. finally, 10(20%) interviewee were of the opinion that: the palliative measures provided by the government to cushion the effect of poverty that results to child abuse, do not reach the targeted people. the process is fraught with corruption and favouritism. the people who benefit from such relief do not need them, because those close at the corridor of power were giving the opportunity to do so, thereby giving favours to their kinsmen. by implication the indifference exhibited by those in authority, to a large extent, indirectly increases the vulnerability of the child. the authority lacks commitment to cry for child abuse since the children of the poor in our society are the most child welfare 206 vulnerable. the children of the rich go to the best school, get oversees education, better taken care off and do not involve in street hawking etc. however, talking about how these rights have been protected in nigeria society; 30(60%) respondents maintained that: child’s protection are embedded in specific religious, ethnic, economic, cultural parlance and in one that offer a more individualized (personalities psychological) recognized and distinctiveness of the child’s interests even within the family. the family is the natural and proper environment for the child’s upbringing. considering the social value in ensuring that within limits, parents should be free to bring up their children in a way that is consistent with their own values and beliefs. not only do childrearing practices vary, but some groups (e.g. the urban poor) are subject to more coercive forms of intervention than others. this is in relation to the competing values of parents’ right to raise their children according to their own values, on the one hand, and the child’s right to be protected on the other. similarly, the remaining 20(40%) posit that various authorities in the society tend to protect the child’s right in different ways like: the convention on the rights of the child (crc) which has been implemented by many states in nigeria. in 2007, nigeria launched “in care of the people” called cope which in turn benefits children from female-headed home, elderly parent and household in which the presence of poverty can easily be detected. the universal basic education (ube), the almajiri model secondary schools established in the north to reduce number of children in the street, unicef programme etc. are other means through which the child’s rights are protected, they concluded. this protection involved the philosophies, policies, standards, guidelines and procedures to protect children both from intentional and unintentional harm. the definition reflects the duty of organizations and the people in them –toward children in their care. it shows the legal grounds upon which social workers and police can intervene to identify children, who have been harmed or are likely to be harmed, and to intervene to protect children from future harm. a cursory glance at question (d) bordering on “the implication/challenges of these abuses” on the child welfare and society at large, 45 (90%) posit that: child abuse cause a lot of problems for the child ranging from “adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse, mental health problem, education/employment deficits, emotional problem, anti-social behavior such as crime, gangsterism, cultism, street children, the almajiris, insurgency/terrorism, etc. some of them involve themselves in child labour, street hawking, prostitution for them to make a living. the consequences of child abuse is innumerable and they are as a result of child welfare 207 ignorance on the part of the parents. the issue of house-girls with their mistress cannot be over-emphasized. to buttress the above views on the implication/challenges of these abuses, 5(10%) of the participants blamed the whole gamut on the poverty level and ignorance of the parents. this is because no parent would not like his child to be a president, minister, doctor, lawyer and so on. there should be awareness enlightenment and improvement on the socio-economic status if the situation should be ameliorated. finally, discussing question (e) which anchors on “the protection of these rights on the overall development of the child and the society” , 35(|70%) of the participants unanimously maintained that: protecting the child’s rights will automatically produce law-abiding, patriotic and progressive children whose ultimate interests will be to develop their potentials and make their own input in the development of the society. invariably, peace and progress will reign paramount in the society. this is because good families make good nation. in the same vein 15(30%) of the participants were of the opinion that: good parenting will give the child balanced psychological, emotional, socio-religious and physical equilibrium. the child will perform well in his/her academic activities and the joy of parenthood will manifest. infact, if the rights of the children were properly protected via adequate supply of the needful, the society will be a “heaven on earth”. on the contrary, this will be an utopian belief, hence, emile durkheim in one of his literature said that “crime is functional in the societythat is, crime is necessary in the society. a on what “parenting means to the respondents” 35(70%) were of the opinion that there is no manual for parenting. parenting depends on how one was raised or how they see others parenting or by cultural background. they referred to some parents as using different methods like authoritative, authoritarian, attachment, permissive and uninvolved methods of parenting. 15(30%) believed that as our child is unique, so shall our parenting be unique. child welfare 208 conclusion child welfare is closely linked to the activities of government, community, organizations, and parents to protect them. thus, fulfilling their rights and values at early stages of childhood would certainly transform them to achieve their full potentials and to participate actively in the society. the results reconfirmed the need for integrated approaches to address the multiple facets of children’s welfare for their survival. a holistic approach through social engineering programmes should be use to solve their problems. identifying the children suffering from single and multiply abuse can help to target the intervention especially, where household poverty is the highest. b(i) on “who is a child” 40(80%) believed that a child is a person who has not attained the age of 18, while 10(20%) said that a child is a person between the age of 712, and so on. (ii) on “ the rights of the child” 30(60%) agreed that the main rights of the child is good parenting based on the advantages conferred on the child on his fundamental human rights backed by the law. e.g.: rights to school, social welfare, emotional build-up; while, 20(40%) maintained that the rights of a child is within a specific religious, ethnic and cultural community that offers individualized/ distinctiveness of interest within the family. c(i) on “the extent to which these rights have been abused and protected in nigeria” 25(50%) were of the opinion that the child’s rights have been seriously abused, considering the poverty levels of nigerian citizens that denies the child necessities of life, while, 15(30%) believes that the “so called” child abuse has been part of our african culture that gives them the necessary training and socialization. in addition,10(20%) said that the palliative measure provided to cushion the effect of poverty do not reach the targeted people (ii) similarly, on “ how these rights have been protected” 30(60%) of the respondents said that child protection are embedded in specific religions, ethnic, economic or cultural parlance. invariably, 20(40%) said that various authorities give these protection backed by laws e.g. crc, ube, unicef. d on “the implication/ challenges of these abuses on the child welfare” 45(90%) posit that child abuses are the consequence of adolescent pregnancy, substance abuse, mental health problems, emotional problems, anti-social behaviors, etc; while 5(10%) blamed the whole gamut on poverty level and the ignorance of the parents. e on the “protection of these rights for the overall development of the child” 35(70%) argued that protecting the child’s right will produce law-abiding, patriotic and progressive children who could develop their potentials; while, 15(30%) opined that it will give the child balanced psychological, emotional, socio-religious and physical equilibrium. child welfare 209 recommendation the child’s right implementation committee set up across the nation should ensure that these rights are implemented, while, those states who are in the process of enacting the child’s right laws should do so without delay. government must ensure the establishment of the family court, child minding; daycare centres and allied homes must be established and provided for, under the act. government should enlighten the public about the right of children. government and ngos should campaign against harmful cultural practices and abuses perpetrated against children. a good parent strives to make decisions in the best interest of the child and doesn’t have to be perfect. we should keep this in mind when we set our expectations and serve as a role model for them. good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, co-operation, and cheerfulness. it promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation and encourages a desire to achieve. it protects children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, anti-social behaviours, alcohol and drug abuse. if your rules vary from day to day in an unpredictable fashion or if you enforce them only intermittently, your child’s misbehaviour is your fault. your disciplinary process must be consistent and identify your non-negotiable rules. the more parents scold or reprimand, the more the bad behaviour gets repeated. give your child positive experiences. they will have the ability to experience, positive experiences themselves and offer them to others. they will also form the memories of you, of which your child carries for life. for discipline, it seems hard to remain positive, but it is possible to practice positive discipline and avoid punitive measures. teach him/her the moral of what is right and wrong. finally, monitoring, supervision, preventive interventions, and treatment services – solving problems which have already occurred should be the primary responsibility of the parents. references adesina, j.o. 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university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences thomas imoudu gomment 34 polytechnic education as a strategy for crime prevention thomas imoudu gomment department of sociology, faculty of social sciences, kogi state university, anyigba, nigeria e-mail: imoudugomment@gmail.com abstract knowledge is a cherished value that every society is not expected to trivialize. in the bible, it was stated that people perish for lack of knowledge; in islam, prophet muhammad instructed adherents to go in search of knowledge irrespective of the distance; in academics, if you don’t publish, you perish; in a common parlance, knowledge is power. one of the ways to acquire knowledge is through polytechnic education. there is a common parlance that prevention is better than cure. it is cheaper and safer to prevent crime than controlling, treating, and curing it. the paper interrogated the nexus between polytechnic education and crime prevention. the paper used secondary source of data and frustration/aggression theory as the theoretical framework. the study found that there are various strategies and types of crime prevention. these include: crime prevention through social development, crime prevention through environmental design, crime prevention through the role of the victim, punitive crime prevention, corrective crime prevention, and mechanical crime prevention. how does polytechnic as a citadel of learning constitute a strategy for crime prevention? the answer is not farfetched. of all strategies and types of crime prevention, it is crime prevention through social development and corrective crime prevention that make polytechnic education a strategy for crime prevention. these two strategies or types of crime prevention advocated for the alleviation of causes of crime as the only sure way of preventing crime. they identified poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy as major causes of crime, and that the only way to prevent crime is to put up measures to reduce poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy. these are some of the major opportunities that polytechnic education provides as demonstrated in the study. the paper recommends that polytechnic education should be prioritized in order to prevent or reduce crime. keywords: polytechnic education; crime prevention: strategies; frustration/aggression; development. introduction the word, ‘polytechnic’, originated from the greek word, ‘polytechnos’, which means skilled in many arts, and a french word, ‘polytechnique’, meaning pertaining to many (technical) subjects. the aim of establishing polytechnics in nigeria is to train technologists, technicians, and management skills in courses leading to the awards of certificates, nd, hnd and advanced professional diploma which are relevant to the needs, aspirations and the development of the nation’s diverse economy and industries (jahun, 2017). a polytechnic is a tertiary institution that focuses on hands-on experience and technology-related courses. according to kadiri and oluwatoyin (2016), polytechnics are tertiary institutions where technology is taught and the first time polytechnic education was experienced in life was in britain in the year, 1865 when quinn hugg began a local effort at training artisans. a building in regent street later grew into a polytechnic which serves as an educational institution providing instructions on technical subjects. technical education started in nigeria when the colonialists realized the deficiency in technical and vocational manpower to process the raw material at a cheaper rate. attempt at introducing technical education in nigeria resulted in the establishment of the first technical institution, hope wadell institute, calabar in 1895 by christian mission while yaba college of technology was the first tertiary and technological institution established in 1932 (kadiri and oluwatoyin, 2006). national policy on education (1981 cited by ede 1997:16) defines technical education as “that aspect of education which leads to acquisition of practical and applied skills as well as basic scientific knowledge”. there are five types of technical education institutions outside the universities. these include prevocational and vocational schools at post primary level, the technical colleges, the polytechnics and colleges of education at the post-secondary level. it is the quest for technological advancement and industrial revolution of certain sectors such as agriculture in nigeria, just like other nations in the world that led to the establishment of polytechnics. some scholars have observed that developed countries have been able to apply modern technologies in industry and agriculture to an extent that they have become self-sufficient in food, and other social amenities and posses surplus for export. polytechnics in nigeria are under the purview of the national board for technical education (nbte). the board, nbte, established by law (national board for technical education act 9 of 1977), approves the setting up of each polytechnic, regulates the courses, and also sets the minimum standard on admission, teaching and infrastructure. national policy on education (1981 in ede, 1997:16) put the aims of technical education which polytechnics offer as follows: thomas imoudu gomment 36 1 to provide trained manpower in applied science, technology and commerce, particularly at sub-professional grades. 2 to provide the technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agricultural, industrial, commercial and economic development. 3 to provide people who can apply scientific knowledge to the improvement and solution of environmental problems for the use and convenience of man. 4 to give an introduction to professional studies in engineering and other technologies. 5 to give training and impart the necessary skills leading to the production of craftsmen, technicians and other skilled personnel who will be enterprising and self reliant. 6 to enable our young men and women to have an intelligent understanding of the increasing complexity of technology. at this juncture, it is pertinent to ask question on what technology means. technology is the application of skills and knowledge on machine, products, processes or design towards the manufacturing of goods and services. nigeria, in an attempt to increase technological development and socio-economic transformation now, has established so many polytechnics. theoretical framework this paper is anchored on frustration aggression theory. the theory propounded by john dollard, and reviewed by berkowitz and aubrey, seems to have a very sound explanatory relevance to crime prevention strategy in nigeria. according to the theory, when an individual or a group is deprived or blocked from attaining a particular goal, there is every tendency of becoming frustrated which could lead to aggression. consequently, the aggression can be expressed in a criminal way inform of transfer of aggression (crime). remarking from the frustration-aggression point of view, akor and audu (2016) explained that frustration causes aggression but when the source of the frustration cannot be challenged, the aggression gets displaced onto an innocent target. according to ugwuoke (2015), the activities of criminals can be explained as the outpouring of accumulated frustration and grievances motivated by unemployment, poverty and illiteracy. to prevent crime, it is pertinent to initiate policies that cam adequately address the issue of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. if sound policies are made and implemented on polytechnic education, it can reduce the problems of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy which are three of the potential causes of crime in nigeria. polytechnic education as a strategy for crime prevention is incubated at the bowels of crime prevention through social development and corrective crime prevention as we shall see later in this piece. according to dambazau (2007), crime can be avoided if the conditions under which crime is thought to flourish are alleviated. methodology the paper, as a theoretical study, made use of secondary source of data collection. relevant data were extracted from reports, textbooks, academic journals, magazines, and from other secondary sources such as the internet and library. the data collected were content analyzed. importance of polytechnic education polytechnics are established to train and produce the technical man power necessary for the execution of nation’s development plans, goals and strategies. polytechnic students, at a stage, are expected to go for industrial attachment to enable them acquire requisites onthe-job practical experience which prepares them for higher national diploma (hnd) programme. for nigeria to be able to compete with other technologically developed countries, the development of polytechnic education is not negotiable. the polytechnic education is important because it emphasizes practice-based learning and the acquisition of certain life skills. in line with the aforementioned, polytechnics in nigeria, all other things being equal, can or should provide the technical know-how required to take the country to a higher economic pedestal. to do this, government’s emphasis on paper certification instead of technical education, that polytechnics offer should give way to a more impactful form of education in line with the earlier stated objectives of technical education. cognizance thomas imoudu gomment 38 should be taken of the policy of the federal government as it affects the encouragement given to polytechnic education. if policy on technical skills is adopted, the polytechnic education would help in providing man power to the country’s industries and firms and consequently reducing dependence on foreign expertise for industrial development. the money paid in hard currency to engage the services of foreign expatriate would have been saved and the proper use of that money can propel development. if the technical skills that polytechnics offer are applied to manufacturing activities, nigeria would move away from being a producer of primary goods to producer of secondary goods in the international division of labour. this will increase the foreign exchange earnings that will make our local currency appreciate which will make our economy strong and compete favourably with other strong economies of the world. by extension, nigeria will be experiencing balance of payment surplus as against the deficit balance of payment that has been the bane of nigerian development. if the technical education or polytechnic knowledge is applied to agriculture, nigeria will engage in import substitution and export promotion which are strong strategies of african development that will elicit favourable terms of trade and discourage over-dependence on foreign goods. the technical skills acquired from polytechnics can be applied to diversify the economy because of the technicalities involved. sustainable development is what nigeria needs now. this is a brand of development that does not affect the environment adversely. most of the technologies we use today are imported which can affect and has affected our development negatively. the need to encourage indigenous technology that is compatible with our environment is germane to sustainable development. the technical skills needed to bring about improved indigenous technology can be provided by polytechnic education if good policies are formulated and implemented. polytechnic education can equally boost the manufacturing sector of our economy. if polytechnic education with its technical outlook is encouraged and supported, there is the likelihood that nigeria, instead of exporting crude oil, will be exporting processed oil and there will be no need to import fuel. instead of exporting timber, nigeria will be exporting upholsteries. instead of exporting groundnut, we will be exporting groundnut oil. instead of exporting cotton, we will be exporting textiles and clothing like morocco, england, senegal and holland. instead of exporting hides and skin, we will be exporting leather shoes, bags and belt. instead of exporting cocoa and coffee, we will be exporting beverages. development is desired by many nations including nigeria. ake (1981) has identified some of the strategies for development in africa to include increase and diversification of export commodities, import substitution, export promotion, the unified approach, integrated rural development and regional cooperation among others. in all these, technical man power from polytechnics and other colleges and universities of technology are indispensable for the execution of these strategies for development. in tandem with the above, ede (1997) observed that the establishment of polytechnics and universities of technology and agriculture across the country are also pointers to the importance of technical education of which vocational education is the solid foundation. polytechnic education, if it is fully supported and well-managed, will be very functional and impactful on the society. polytechnic education with the provision of technical skills and knowledge can or should produce employers of labour unlike non-technical education that can only produce labour. the impression is that rather than waiting for what your society can do for you, with technical education, one will concentrate on what one can do to his country. nigeria is bedeviled with high rate of unemployment which is one of the factors that account for its underdevelopment. if favourable and workable policies are made and implemented, nigeria will have more employers of labour that can ease the problem of unemployment in the country. this can reduce the level of poverty and inequality in nigeria which are some of the obstacles to nigeria’s development. non-technical education can only give one fish while technical education teaches one how to catch fish. in a more specific term, non-technical education is quantitative while technical education is qualitative. it is the best for nigeria as a developing nation. while non-technical education can benefit the possessor of that certificate, technical education thomas imoudu gomment 40 can benefit generations. emphasis should be placed on how institutions of higher learning will turn out graduates that will be able to earn decent living and contribute meaningfully to the society. it is only technical education which the polytechnic offers that can make nigeria a vibrant, strong and self-reliant nation. polytechnic education as a crime prevention strategy crime prevention are efforts made by individuals, groups, government and other agencies in order to reduce or avoid criminal events from taking place. it is an attempt at using different means to make criminal behavior unattractive and law-abiding behavior attractive. it is an attempt at negatively sanctioning violators of the criminal law, removal or reduction of factors that can push people into crime, as well as making the environment hostile or allergic to crime. dambazau (2007:234-235) defined crime prevention as a pattern of attitudes and behaviours directed both at reducing the threat of crime and enhancing the sense of safety and security to positively influence the quality of life and to develop environments where crime cannot flourish. he went further to define it as the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some actions to remove or reduce it. according to ugwuoke (2015), crime prevention is cheaper, more beneficial to society and indeed more desirable than crime fighting. agbola in ugwuoke (2015:213-223) has identified three strategies of crime prevention which include: crime prevention through social development, crime prevention through environmental design, and crime prevention through the role of victims. crime prevention through social development. this is a relatively new approach to crime prevention, pioneered by sociologists and victimologists. this approach relies on the premise that there is a well established body of research that can identify factors contributory to crime. it is the effects of these contributing factors that crime prevention through social development strives to alleviate. with reference to agbola, ugwuoke highlighted the efforts to this approach to include initiatives to reduce poverty, and to increase the availability of proper housing, employment, education and adequate recreational facilities. proponents of this approach are of the opinion that the less privileged and vulnerable groups are disadvantaged in the scheme of things. reactionary to the social injustice experienced by the disadvantaged, they resort to crime in order to correct societal imbalances. it is believed that like virus or bacteria, when the crime parasites in the social system is eliminated or alleviated, crime can be prevented or reduced. it is against this backdrop that ugwuoke inferred that the only measure that can reasonably prevent or reduce the volume of crime in nigeria is to initiate and enforce flawless social policies that would address the problems of; lack of educational opportunities, unemployment, social injustice, poverty and social inequality. crime prevention through environmental design. the second strategy of crime prevention identified by agbola is crime prevention through environmental design. this involves the manipulation of the physical environment in order to deter crime. this approach comprises of territorial behavior strategy, surveillance, electronic monitoring, lightning, landscaping, and scare tactics. it is believed that when an environment is fortified or protected by any or a combination of these sub-types of crime prevention through environmental design, criminals will keep their distance and crime can either be prevented or reduced. crime prevention through the role of the victim. the third strategy is crime prevention through the role of the victim. some notable criminologists such as mendelsohn, one of the founding fathers of victimology, have contended that a large proportion of criminal deed is necessitated by the behavior of victims themselves. according to ugwuoke (2015), the emphasis is on the role of victims in increasing the probability of being victimized. from this viewpoint, it is believed that the avoidance of crime-inviting behahiours like; indecent dressing, careless talk, display of wealth in public places, revelation of secrets and polite insults, among others, can help in preventing or reducing crime victimization. similarly, dambazau (2007:236-237) has identified three types of crime prevention. these types of crime prevention which are briefly summarized below include; punitive crime prevention. this is an attempt by law enforcement agency to forestall crime through the threat of apprehension and punishment. enactment of tougher laws and thomas imoudu gomment 42 full enforcement of same can deter potential criminals from going into crime. it is believed that the fear of punishment can prevent people from committing crime. corrective crime prevention. the basic premise of corrective crime prevention is that criminal behavior is caused by various conditions such as poor housing, poverty, lack of education, family problems, and drug or alcohol addiction. from this point of view, crime can be avoided if the conditions under which crime is thought to flourish are alleviated. for instance, if unemployment and inequality are identified as the causes of crime, it then follows that provision of jobs and reduction of inequality is capable of preventing crime in the society concerned. mechanical crime prevention. this involves the need for law enforcement, other government agencies, and the community, to initiate an organized process for reducing or removing the opportunity for crime through data collection and analysis; the accurate identification of problems by a number of factors; development of crime control objectives and strategies; and implementation of the strategies (dambazau, 2007). this is public/private partnership strategy of crime prevention and control. the nexus between polytechnic education and crime prevention is captured in the strategies and typologies of crime prevention at the levels of social development and corrective crime prevention put forward by agbola and dambazau respectively. there is congruence of ideas on the fact that crime can be prevented or reduced if the perceived causes of crime are alleviated. this is possible through the initiation of appropriate and workable policies and programmes that are capable of eliminating, preventing or reducing the causative agents of crime in our society. moreso, poverty, unemployment, lack of education are among other causes of crime identified in both crime prevention strategy through social development and corrective crime prevention. as stated before now, polytechnic education, if sound policies are made and implemented, can provide employment, reduce poverty and provide educational opportunities. this is in tandem with the findings of a study conducted by bukar and timothy (2013) that ramat polytechnic graduates in nigeria engaged in entrepreneurship businesses in technical, vocational and other areas. these have been captured in the aims of technical education in previous section. to achieve this, polytechnic education should be given the attention it deserves by individuals, groups, organizations, and governments at all levels in order to provide job and educational opportunities and to reduce the level of poverty. this will definitely prevent crime using our social development and corrective measures as points of departure. references ake, c. (1981). political economy of africa. nigeria: longman nigeria plc. akor, l.y. & audu, m. (2016). boko haram insurgency and the plight of internally displaced persons. kogi journal of sociology (1)3, 45-58. bukar, g.m. & timothy, y.a. (2013). impact of polytechnic education on entrepreneurship development in nigeria. academic journal of interdisciplinary studies (2)7, 113-123. retrieved from https://www.mcser.org on august 28, 2019. dambazau, a.b. (2007). criminology and criminal justice. ibadan: spectrums books limited. ede, s.a. (1997). management of secondary education in nigeria. jos: source publishers. jahun, i. s. (2017). the roles and contributions of nigerian polytechnics in the development of surveying and geo-informatic education, issues, prospects and challenges: a global perspective. fig working week 2017: surveying the world of tomorrow from digitalisation to augumented reality. may 29-june 2, 2017. retrieved from https://www.fig.net on august 28, 2019. ugwuoke, c.u. (2015). criminology: explaining crime in the nigerian context (2nd edition). nsukka: university of nigeria press. https://www.mcser.org/ https://www.fig.net/ page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 201 impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria awoke, chigozirim florence1* iwuoha, jude2 awoke, chukwuemeka3 1department of economics, ebonyi state college of education, ikwo, nigeria. 2department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology, nigeria. 3department of electrical/electronics, anammco training institute, enugu state, nigeria. *awokeflorence@yahoo.com abstract nigeria given her natural resource base and large market size qualifies to be a world leading economy in production of goods and services, which could be made possible through massive production for both domestic consumption and export. this study investigated impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria using the auto regressive distributive lag method (ardl) for both long-term and short-term relationships. data on real gross domestic product, exchange rate, inflation, non-oil export and trade openness for the period 1981-2017 were collected from central bank of nigeria (cbn), statistical bulletin, 2017. the ardl results revealed that all the variables tend to move together in the long run. however, the impact of non-oil exports on economic growth in nigeria is not significant enough to take the country to an enviable level within the period under the study. it also indicated that all variables considered possess inherent capacity to contribute to the growth of non-oil export if effectively, efficiently and adequately managed. therefore, it was recommended that government should reduce the current exchange rate by 3%. government should strengthen the current policy on non-oil export to ensure proper implementation and monitoring. they should ensure that implementation plans were strictly adhered to and monitoring agencies were empowered and are actually doing their job properly etc. keywords: non-oil export, economic growth, natural resources and nigeria. introduction two macroeconomic issues that have been the problems of many nations in the world today is the need to reduce inflation and unemployment. these can be combated when nations increase their productive potentials. a nation’s productive potentials are among the central factors in determining economic growth of nations because it will also determine wages and standard of living. every nation, whether develop or undeveloped, strives towards economic growth. economic growth is the increase in the inflation–adjusted market value of goods and services produce by a nation over time. most economists believed that export promote economic growth. in fact, the top 20 richest countries in the world today are exporting nations and this goes on to suggest that no country can grow without exporting (nwanne, 2014; samuelson and nordhaus, 2001). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 202 according to mankiw (2009), exports are goods produced domestically and sold abroad. to smith (1999), export is to sell a product to another nation. to him, the product(s) can either be crude oil or manufactured goods. therefore export is of two types: oil and non-oil exports. oil exports include the exportation of oil products which include crude petroleum and natural gas, among others while non-oil exports include the exportation of non-oil products which are agricultural, industrial and manufacturing outputs (jhingan, 2011; kale, 2016). the nigerian economy has been depending on foreign trade and investment for growth. before independence, the economy was characterized by the dominance of non oil exports of which the major component is agriculture which was then the mainstay of the economy. it contributed so much to the gdp growth of the nation. it provided foreign exchange and employment to the nation. the dominant position of agriculture and the relative unimportance of mining activities in terms of their share of gdp continued until 1970. from the early 1970’s, mining and quarrying took over as the major contributor to gdp. this was mainly as a result of the increased production of petroleum and allied products (okereocha, 2016; nwankwo, 2015). the industrial and manufacturing sector has a humble development in the economic history of the country. before independence, manufacturing industries failed drastically to contribute meaningfully to the nigerian economy because industrialization was not part of the colonial economic policy. emerging from total neglect of this sector by our colonial rulers, the contribution of industries to gdp stood at a meager average of 4% between 1970 and 1974. in the 1970’s, this sector finds it difficult to rise due to competition for scarce resources with other trade and commercial sub sectors. currently, industry in nigeria has traditionally been based on small scale manufacturing and processing (olayiwola & okodua, 2014). since then, the growth of nigeria’s non-oil exports became sluggish and discouraging. an assessment of the trend and patterns of activities in the non-oil sector of nigeria revealed that despite the various policies, strategies and reform programmes, the contributions of the sub-sectors of this sector have been dismal, disheartening and below its full potentials. the end of the oil boom around 1980 led to a significant moderation in the economic environment and industrial policy. the import substitution policy rather than aiming at industrial growth, the targets were on balance of payments crisis, failing foreign exchange receipts and trade payments problem. the various foreign exchange conservation measures implemented in the period 198285 led to several of the industries dependent on imported inputs having to operate considerably below capacity, hence reduced growth and worsening unemployment. the adoption of the structural adjustment programme (sap) in 1986 introduced yet another policy regime. the programme represented a fundamental shift in the basic philosophy of economic management at the national level. the sap was continued in a three years economic consolidation and expansion progarmme (ecep). followed by other policies, since 1999 – till date, export promotion is a major focus (chima, 2016). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 203 nigeria has several incentives for export promotion, but still uses import prohibition to protect its manufacturing and agricultural sectors. the rationale is that the production base is relatively weak, import-dependent, and limited in technological capability. the import prohibition list includes a wide range of manufactured consumer goods that were often dumped in nigeria’s relatively large market. a few agricultural products (e.g. fresh fruits, pork, and frozen poultry) that are produced locally in large quantities are also included in the list to protect the local industry and encourage job creation. on the export prohibition list are staple foods/crops that are important for food security, commodities that could serve as raw materials to local industries and living organisms that are becoming rare. such commodities include maize, hides and skin, scrap metals, and wildlife animals classified as endangered species. another longer-term economic development program is the united nations (un)-sponsored national millennium goals for nigeria. under the program, which covers the years from 2000 to 2015, nigeria is committed to achieving a wide range of ambitious objectives involving poverty reduction, education, gender equality, health, the environment, and international development cooperation. in an update released in 2004, the un found that nigeria was making progress toward achieving several goals but was falling short on others. from 2003 to 2007, nigeria attempted to implement an economic reform program called the national economic empowerment development strategy (needs). the purpose of the needs was to raise the country's standard of living through a variety of reforms, including macroeconomic stability, deregulation, liberalization, privatization, transparency, and accountability. the needs addressed basic deficiencies, such as the lack of freshwater for household use and irrigation, unreliable power supplies, decaying infrastructure, impediments to private enterprise, and corruption. the government hoped that the needs would create 7 million new jobs, diversify the economy, boost non-energy exports, increase industrial capacity utilization, and improve agricultural productivity. a related initiative on the state level and local government level are the state economic empowerment development strategy (seeds) and local economic empowerment development strategy (leeds) respectively. agricultural transformation agenda (ata) was introduced from 2011 2015, as a strategy that will reintroduce the nigerian economy to sustainable agriculture centered on business-like attitude driven by the private sector. since the fall in oil prices in 2015 and 2016, the government exchange rate policy has limited devaluation of the naira due to inflation. now, government is making a lot of effort to see that there is a step up in the production of food crops for consumption, cash crop for export as well as raw materials for our industry. there is now hope for non-oil export in nigeria. ata was followed by agricultural promotion policy (app) 2016-2020 plan, which aimed to cure two economic issues; the shortage of food for local consumption and the meagre foreign exchange earned from the export of agriculture produce. in fact, app seeks to (i) improve productivity into a number of domestically focused crops and activities such as rice, wheat, fish, dairy milk, soya, beans, poultry, horticulture (fruits and vegetables) and sugar. (ii) for export markets the production of crops and activities such cowpeas, cocoa, cashew, cassava (starch, chips and ethanol), ginger, sesame, oil palm, yam, horticulture, beef and cotton. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 204 despite all these laudable government policies/programmes, nigeria still remains a mono-product economy depending mainly on one primary product with a lot of challenges. the economic recession the country is engulfed in indicate that she is not prepared for any shock on the economy. thus, there is need to reposition the economy in a way that will enhance the simultaneous growth of all sectors of the economy like agriculture and industrial sectors etc, for local consumption and export thereby embracing an approach that will ensure a balanced economy. as the front burner of all the economic discuss in nigeria today centers more on the need to diversify the economy and in a bid to give credence to those calling for a diversified economy, hence the need to determine the impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria. this will assist in answering the questions (i) what is the extent of impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria? (ii) is there any causality relationship between non-oil export and economic growth in nigeria? literature review theoretical literature theory of balanced growth proposed that all sectors of the economy should be growing simultaneously so as to keep a proper balanced between industry and agriculture and between production for home (domestic) consumption and production for exports. this will promotes equality in comparative prices in all the sectors, enhance growth in all sectors of the economy, increase income, demand and supply for goods whose income elasticity of demand is more. thereby, chances of bottleneck in different sectors will be quite remote (pettinger, and pragyandeepa, 2012). absolute advantage theory means the ability of a country to produce a larger quantity of a good with the same amount of resources as another country. the country’s absolute advantage may be due to the nature of its resources or to its production skills. according to smith, each nation benefits by specializing in the production of the goods that it produces at a lower cost than the other nation, while importing the good that it produces at a higher cost. this will increase specialization, world output and the gains from trade. according to this theory, foreign trade is a positive-sum game, because both countries involved will benefit from the trade. thus, a nation need not gain at the expense of other nations, as all nations could gain simultaneously (mankiw, 2009; mccombie and brue, 1993). the export-led hypothesis states that the growth of exports has a favourable impact on economic growth. the export-led growth hypothesis postulates that exports are a main determinant of overall economic growth. the theoretical rationale for this hypothesis hinges on a number of arguments which include the following: first, that the export sector may generate positive externalities on non-export sectors through more efficient management styles and improved production techniques (jhingan, 2011; lipsey & chrystal, 2011). second export expansion will increase productivity by offering potential for scale economies. third, exports are likely to alleviate foreign exchange constraints and can thereby provide greater ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 205 access to international markets. these arguments have recently been extended by the literature on “endogenous” growth theory which emphasizes the role of exports on long-run growth via a higher rate of technological innovation and dynamic learning from abroad (jhingan, 2011; lipsey & chrystal 2011; mankiw, 2009; mccombie and brue, 1993). empirical literature olayiwola and okodua (2015) in their research on foreign direct investment, non-oil exports, and economic growth in nigeria: a causality analysis, examined the applicability of the export-led growth (elg) hypothesis using empirical evidence from nigeria. the empirical evidence from available data failed to support the export-led growth hypothesis in nigeria. the result of the variance decomposition revealed that, a unidirectional causality runs from fdi to non-oil exports using gross domestic product, foreign direct investment and non-oil exports as variables. they failed to consider inflation, exchange and trade openness in their analyses. abogan, akinola and baruwa (2014) investigated the impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria between 1980 and 2010, using error correction mechanism, over-parametization and parsimonious. gross domestic product, nonoil export, inflation rate and exchange rate were used in their analysis. the study reveals that the impact of non-oil export on the economic growth was moderate and not all that heartening as a unit increase in non-oil export impacted positively by 26% on the productive capacity of goods and services in nigeria during the period. they failed to consider trade openness in their analysis. again, the number years considered here is shorter. adenugba, and dipo (2013) examined the impact of non-oil exports on economic growth in nigeria: a study of agricultural and mineral, using descriptive and inferential statistic tools to analyze gross domestic product, non-oil exports and exchange rate. findings from the study revealed that non-oil exports have performed below expectations giving reason to doubt the effectiveness of the export promotion strategies that have been adopted in the nigerian economy. the study also revealed that the nigerian economy is still far from diversifying from crude oil export and as such the crude oil sub-sector continues to be the single most important sector of the economy. they failed to consider inflation and trade openness in their analyses. raheem, raheem, and adeniyi (2013) examined the linkage between economic growth and nonoil export using time series data for nigeria over a period of 1970-2010, employing both simultaneous equation model (sem) and a single equation model. gross domestic product, non oil exports, agriculture and industrial were used in the analysis. the result shows that non oil export and agricultural performance are negatively associated with growth. it was also found that that the industrial sector performance and population growth are good determinant of economic growth. they failed to consider inflation, exchange and trade openness in their analyses. ifenacho, omoniyi and olufunke (2014) investigated the effect of non-oil export on the economic development of nigeria using ordinary least square estimating technique. the study used per capita income as proxy for economic development and expressed it as a function of non-oil export volume, trade openness, exchange rate, capital formation and inflation rate. the result shows that ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 206 non-oil export exhibits a significant positive relationship with per capita income. this indicates that if non oil export volume is increased it is going to lead to a significant improvement in the nigerian level of economic development. however, other variables do not have individual significant impact of economic development but jointly they can significantly influence economic development. in addition, the result shows that the coefficient of trade openness is negative thus, indicating that nigeria might not be benefiting enough by trading with outside countries. they failed to conducted cointegration test using the auto regressive distributive lag method (ardl) for both long-term and short-term relationships. olurankinse and fatukasi (2012) analysed the impact of non-oil export on the growth of the nigerian economy using ordinary least square (ols) statistical tool was used to analyze the data. the findings revealed that non-oil export has positive effect on the growth of nigerian economy during the period under review, though the performances in terms of output level and revenue generation was below expectation. they failed to conducted cointegration test using the auto regressive distributive lag method (ardl) for both long-term and short-term relationships. nwanne (2014) investigated the relationship between diversification of non-oil export products and economic growth in nigeria from 1981 and 2014 using johansen co integration test. the study reveals that there is significant relationship between diversification of non-oil export and economic growth in nigeria during the period. this is because the study reveals that agricultural and manufacturing components of non-oil export has positive and significant relationship with economic growth while solid minerals components has negative and insignificant relationship with economic growth in nigeria. they failed to conducted cointegration test using the auto regressive distributive lag method (ardl) for both long-term and short-term relationships. the study by okafor, akandu and ike (2016) was aimed at devising a viable non-oil export-led growth policy from 1980 to 2014 using robust factor analytic model. results indicated that there was positive significant relationship between non-oil export and growth in nigeria which was solely attributable to the influence of foreign direct investment and trade liberalization. moreover, the study revealed that the active variables in the constellation of foreign direct investment and trade liberalization provided the theoretical constructs for a new nonoil export-led growth policy. they failed to consider inflation and exchange in their analyses. igwe, edeh and ukpere (2015) adopted the export-led growth hypothesis to examine the impact of non-oil export to economic growth in nigeria for the period 1981-2012. the model specified economic growth as a function of capital stock, labor and non-oil export using johansen cointegration and the vector error correction model. findings from the vec analysis revealed that in both the short and long runs, non-oil export determines economic growth. also, the cointegration analysis indicated a long run relationship between non-oil export and economic growth over the period under study. however, the granger causality analysis indicated no causality relationship between non-oil export and economic growth. a uni-directional causality relationship runs from capital stock to economic growth. also, a uni-directional causality relationship runs from economic growth to labor force. they failed to consider inflation, exchange and trade openness in their analyses. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 207 onodugo, ikpe and anowor (2013) investigated the impact of the non-oil exports to the growth of nigerian economy using data between 1981 and 2012. the study adopted the augmented production function (apf) to consider labour force, capital stock, oil export, non oil export & trade openness. findings reveal a very weak and infinitesimal impact of non-oil export in influencing rate of change in level of economic growth in nigeria. they failed to consider inflation and exchange rate. in his research, usman (2010) examined non-oil export determinant and economic growth nigeria (1988-2008) using simple linear regressions to analyze non-oil export, exchange rate, per capita income & gross domestic product. the outcome of the analyses revealed that nigeria nonoil export as some significant contribution on our economic growth. they failed to consider inflation and trade openness in their analyses. omojolaibi, mesagan and adeyemi (2015) examined the impact of non-oil export on domestic investment in nigeria using error correction model and the granger causality test to analyze nonoil export, inflation, exchange rate and total labour force. the findings revealed that the impact of non-oil export on domestic investment was positive but insignificant. the insignificance is as a result of the monocultural nature of production skewed towards the oil sector, although the positive coefficient shows that a lot of prospects still exist in the sector. also, the findings show that while domestic investment granger causes non-oil export, non-oil export did not granger cause domestic investment. they failed to consider trade openness in their analyses. nwachukwu (2014) investigated the impact of non-oil export strategies on economic growth in nigeria from 1970-2013 using ordinary least square method to analyze gross domestic product, tariff, bank credits infrastructural facilities (transport & communication). the result shows that infrastructure bears a negative relationship with the gdp and credit from commercial bank and tariffs have positively affected economic growth in nigeria. they failed to consider inflation, exchange and trade openness in their analyses. knowledge gap this study adopted the export-led hypothesis as its theoretical underpinning. the few empirical studies reviewed in this study have shown that there still exist a controversy on the relationship between non-oil export and economic growth. none of the aforementioned studies conducted cointegration test using the auto regressive distributive lag method (ardl) for both long-term and short-term relationships. again, this study covered recent years which other studies did not cover. also, none of these studies that examined the impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria alone (that is, without appendix) considered the causality relationship between non-oil export and economic growth in nigeria. finally, some important variables such as inflation, exchange and trade openness were omitted in most of the studies under review. thus, this established the premise for this research. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 208 method research design since this study involves determination of the impact of some variables on the other, the appropriate research design is ex post facto research. theoretical framework this study adopted the theory of export-led hypothesis which states that the growth of exports has a favourable impact on economic growth. the export-led growth hypothesis postulates that exports are a main determinant of overall economic growth. the theoretical rationale for this hypothesis hinges on a number of arguments which include the following: first, that the export sector may generate positive externalities on non-export sectors through more efficient management styles and improved production techniques (jhingan, 2011; lipsey & chrystal, 2011). second export expansion will increase productivity by offering potential for scale economies. third, exports are likely to alleviate foreign exchange constraints and can thereby provide greater access to international markets. these arguments have recently been extended by the literature on “endogenous” growth theory which emphasizes the role of exports on long-run growth via a higher rate of technological innovation and dynamic learning from abroad (jhingan, 2011; lipsey & chrystal 2011; mankiw, 2009; mccombie and brue, 1993). model specification in line with the linear model employed by abogan, akinola and baruwa (2014) in analyzing the relationship between nonoil export, inflation rate and exchange rate, this study utilized a growth model which specified economic growth as a function of nonoil export, exchange rate, inflation and trade openness. model estimation we specify the following model: rgdp = f(exr,noe, inf,top) …………………………………….(1) the stochastic model is then as follows: rgdpt=β0+β1logexrt+ β2lognoet+ β3inft+ β4logtopt+ µt ………((2) where: rgdp = real gross domestic product as a proxy for economic growth exr = exchange rate inf = inflation top = trade openness: import + export ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 209 rgdp the inclusion of the above control variables exr, inf and top helps to explain better the relationship between non-oil export and economic growth most especially in export-led hypothesis approach. b0, b1, b2, b3, b4, = parameters µt = disturbance term apriori expectations f1b1, f1b3 and f1b4 < 0 and f1b2 > 0 where: f1b1 = exchange rate f1b2 = non-oil export f1b3 = inflation f1b4 = trade openness however, in predicting the direction of causality between fdi and economic growth in nigeria, we employed the granger causality test technique. the granger causality test assumes that the information relevant to the prediction of the respective variables, real gross national product and the other variables in the regression is contained solely in the time series data on these variables. results and discussion unit root tests results the result of the unit root tests on the variables using the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) statistic are summarized in table 1 below: table1: unit root test results of yearly data on variables with trend 1981-2017 variable adf-statistic value 5% critical value probability value order of integration rgdp -3.339742 -2.948404 0.0205 i(1) exp -5.588222 -2.948404 0.0000 i(1) noe -7.036883 -2.960411 0.0000 i(1) inf -5.456032 -2.945842 0.0001 i(0) top -4.291129 -2.948404 0.0018 i(1) source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 210 the unit root test results show that only inflation is integrated at level, while real gross domestic product, exchange rate, non-oil export and trade openness were integrated at first. this called for co integration test to ascertain whether there is long run relationship among the variables. ardl bounds test table 2: result of bound test co integration test test statistic value k f-statistic 4.902173 4 critical value bounds significance i0 bound i1 bound 10% 2.45 3.52 5% 2.86 4.01 2.5% 3.25 4.49 1% 3.74 5.06 source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 table 2 above shows that the computed f-statistic (4.902173) exceeds the lower bounds and the upper bound values. therefore, cointegration exists. having established the existence of cointegration, we present the result of the of the ardl estimates in table 3 below. 4.3 ardl test table 3: ardl short run result variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. lexr -0.028316 0.024442 -1.158511 0.2648 lnoe 0.069415 0.022386 3.100878 0.0073 inf -0.001188 0.001261 -0.942333 0.3610 top -0.323871 0.226990 -1.426804 0.1741 cointeq(-1) -0.132446 0.114944 -1.152270 0.2672 source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 short run result table 3 presented the result of the short run ardl model. the result indicates that exchange rate (exr) is not statistically significant (p(t) = 0.2648) with a negative relationship with economic growth as shown by its negative sign. it could be interpreted that a one per cent increase in exchange rate would lead to 0.028316 per cent decline in economic growth. the short run result also indicates that non-oil export (noe) is statistically significant (p(t) = 0.0073) with a positive relationship with economic growth. one per cent increase in non-oil export (noe) would lead to ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 211 0.069415 per cent increase in economic growth. in the short run, the relationship between inflation (inf) and economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant (p(t) = 0.3610). one per cent increase in inflation leads to -0.001188 per cent decline in national output. similarly, the relationship between trade openness (top) and economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant (p(t) = 0.1741). one per cent increase in trade openness leads to -0.323871 per cent decline in national output. table 4: ardl long run result variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. lexr 0.856818 0.778780 1.100206 0.2886 lnoe -0.801171 0.805317 -0.994852 0.3356 inf -0.025731 0.036970 -0.696005 0.4971 top 8.956433 6.303014 1.420976 0.1758 c 9.058859 0.600506 15.085389 0.0000 source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 long run result let us examine the long run ardl result in table 4. with regards to exchange rate (exr) there is a positive relationship between exchange rate and economic growth in the long run. one per cent increase in exchange rate leads to 0.856818 per cent in national output. this coefficient is statistically insignificant with (p(t) = 0.2886) in the long run. the relationship between non-oil export (noe) and economic growth is negative. one per cent increase in non-oil export (noe) is leads to a decline of -0.801171 per cent in economic growth in the long run. this coefficient is statistically insignificant (p(t) = 0.3356) in the long run. the relationship between inflation and economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant (p(t) = 0.4971) in the long run. one per cent increase in inflation leads to -0.025731 per cent decrease in national output in the long run. similarly, the relationship between trade openness (top) and economic growth is positive, but not statistically significant (p(t) = 0.1768) in the long run. one per cent increase in trade openness leads to 8.956433 per cent increase in national output. increasing trade openness exerts positive pressure on economic growth. this outcome meets a priori expectations. jointly, all the explanatory variables are statistically significant with the value of f-statistics (4.902173).the fitness of the model is given by the coefficient of determination (r2) with the value of 0.727108. this indicates that 72.71 per cent of changes in economic growth are explained by the explanatory variables in the model. the error correction term (coefficient) is calculated as -0.132446. this implies that the speed of adjustment of gdp back to original equilibrium after a shock is 13.25 per cent. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 212 diagnostic tests the objective of this test is to verify whether the error terms corresponding to different observations are serially correlated or not. thus, lagrange multiplier (lm) test, heteroskedasticity test and normality test were used for this purpose. table 5: result of lagrange multiplier (lm) serial correlation test f-statistic 0.183443 prob. f(2,13) 0.8345 obs*r-squared 0.905764 prob. chi-square(2) 0.6358 source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 the result of the lagrange multiplier (lm) serial correlation test shows that the probability value is greater than 0.05, therefore, serials correlation is not present in a model. table 6: result of heteroskedasticity test f-statistic 0.752802 prob. f(17,15) 0.7154 obs*r-squared 15.19273 prob. chi-square(17) 0.5816 scaled explained ss 3.222870 prob. chi-square(17) 0.9999 source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 the result of the heteroskedasticity test shows that its probability value is greater than 0.05, therefore, heteroskedacity is not present in the model. normality test: table 7: normality test result skewness kurtosis jarque-berra probability test 0.47 3.05 0.48 0.47 nd ndnormally distributed source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 the table 7 shows that its probability value of 0.47 is greater than 0.05 indicating the stability of the parameters. the estimated residuals from the regression in fig 1 seem to be symmetrically distributed. application of the skewness test shows that the skewness statistic is about 0.47 and the kurtosis test of normality shows that the error term of 3.05 in our specified equation is normally distributed. this is evidenced by the respective insignificant jarque-bera statistics of the relevant variables. therefore, the error terms are normally distributed. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 213 table 8: result of granger causality test causality relationship f-statistic prob. direction of causality relationship rgdp and exr 0.37585 0.6899 no causality relationship rgdp and noe 0.13498 0.8743 no causality relationship rgdp and inf 0.99386 0.3820 no causality relationship rgdp and top 3.35046 0.0486 uni-directional causality relationship source: extraction from estimation output using e-views 9 from table above, the granger causality test was carried out to examine the direction of the relationship between the variables involved in the research. the result of the test, as shown in table 8 above, signifies there is no causality relationship between rgdp, noe, 1nf and exr. thus, none of the variables mentioned above granger causes each other. this is justified by the fact that their various probability values corresponding to their relationship is more than the 5% level of significance. the results also indicate that there is uni-directional causality relationship that runs from rgdp to top. this is justified by the fact that their probability values corresponding to their relationship is less than the 5% level of significance. discussion of result the regression result indicates that exchange rate (exr) is not statistically significant on economic growth in the short run. since exchange rate has a negative impact on economic growth, there is a serious need to reduce the current exchange rate so as to move the economy forward. this reiterates the apriori expectation that increasing exchange rate leads to decline in economic growth in the economy. although in the long run, exchange rate has a positive relationship between exchange rate and economic growth which indicated that it has potentials to impact positively on economic growth. thus, a continuous reduction in exchange rate now will lead to economic growth in the long run. the result corresponds with the result of ogunjimi, aderinto and ogunro (2015) that exchange rate has a negative impact on economic growth. the short run result on non-oil export (noe) is statistically significant with economic growth. this implies that the current policy on non-oil export has significant impact on production. sustenance of such policy will contribute positively to economic growth as is evidenced in this study. this outcome is similar with the findings of usman (2010) but contradict with the findings of omojolaibi, mesagan, & adeyemi (2015) that non-oil exports have significant impact on nigerian economy. nevertheless, the long run result shows that the relationship between non-oil export (noe) and economic growth is negative. this may imply that the policies though good were not properly implemented and monitored. also the inflation result shows that both in the short and long run, it has insignificant relationship with economic growth. one per cent increase in inflation leads to decline in national output. this implies that there is need to increase local production of goods and services in other to bring down prices and inflation rate. these findings agreed with the findings of omojolaibi, mesagan & adeyemi (2015) that inflation has a negative impact on economic growth. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 214 similarly, both in the short run and long run relationship between trade openness (top) and economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant. one per cent increase in trade openness leads to a decline in national output. this implies that the business environment is not friendly to promote trade. this outcome agreed with onodugo, ikpe & anowor (2013) findings that trade openness is statistically insignificant. conclusion this study investigated impact of non-oil export on economic growth in nigeria using a time series data for the period 1981-2017. the ardl bounds test confirms existence of cointegration among the variables. while exchange rate (exr) has a negative statistically insignificant relationship with economic growth in the shortrun, its long run relationship shows a positive relationship with economic growth. however, non-oil export (noe) has a statistically positive significant impact on economic growth. in the short run, the relationship between inflation (inf) and economic growth is negative and statistically insignificant. similarly, both in the short run and lung run trade openness (top) and economic growth has a negative and statistically insignificant relationship. the granger causality test signifies there is no causality relationship between rgdp, noe, 1nf and exr and uni-directional causality relationship that runs from rgdp to top meaning that trade openness (top) granger causes economic growth in nigeria within the period under the study. recommendations based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that; (i) government should reduce the current exchange rate by 3%, a continuous reduction of the exchange rate will help to grow the economy in the long run as indicated by the result. (ii) government should strengthen the current policy on non-oil export to ensure proper implementation and monitoring. they should ensure that implementation plans were strictly adhered to and monitoring agencies were empowered and are actually doing their job properly. (iii) government should include all products that can be produced locally in the list of banned imported goods to promote massive production. this would push down prices of goods and services and inflation rate to 2-3%. (iv) there is need for government to ensure that the business environment is friendly with steady power supply and enough security for industry. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 215 reference abogan, o. p, akinola e. b. & baruwa, o. i. (2014). non-oil export and economic growth in nigeria (1980-2011). journal of research in economics and international finance, 3(1), 1-11. adenugba, a.a. & dipo s. o. (2013). non-oil exports in the economic growth of nigeria: a study of agricultural and mineral resources. journal of educational and social research, (jesr) 3(2) 405. cbn (2016). annual report and statement of accounts for 2016. chima, .o. (2016). cbn unveils n500bn non-oil export stimulation facility: june 17 2016. this day. ifenacho, t., omoniyi., j & olufunke, k., (2014). effect of non-oil exports on the economic development of nigeria. journal of political economy, 98(1), 103–125. igwe, h., edeh, c., & ukpere, k., (2015). impact of non-oil sector on economic growth: a managerial economic perspective. problems and perspective in management, 13(2), 142. jhingan, m. l. (2011). international economics 6th edition, vrinda publication (p) ltd: delhi. kale, y. (2013) economic outlook for the nigerian economy. national bureau of statistics february 2013. lipsey, r. & chrystal, a. (2011) economics. twelfth edition oxford university press inc new york. mssssankiw, n. g. (2009). principles of macroeconomics fourth edition. south-western cengage learning india. mccombie, c. r. and brue s. l. (1993.). economics principles, problems and policies. twelfth edition mcgraw-hill inc usa. nwachukwu, p. o. (2014). the impact of non-oil export strategies on economic growth in nigeria. journal of economics and sustainable development 5(24) 65. nwankwo, c. (2015). nigerian firms’ non-oil export involvement: an economic transformation paradigm. european journal of scientific research, 10 (4), 547-556. nwanne, c. c. (2014). assessing the relationship between diversification of non-oil export product and economic growth in nigeria. european journal of accounting, auditing and finance research, 2(10), 136-146. okafor, g. c; & akandu, j. k. & ike, l. o. (2016). foreign assisted exports, imports and economic growth in semi-industrial countries. journal of development economics, 35(1), 93-116. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 216 olayiwola .k. & okodua .h. (2014). in their research on foreign direct investment, non-oil exports, and economic growth in nigeria: a causality analysis. journal of research in economics and international finance (jreif), 3(1), 1-11. olurankinse, k. i. & fatukasi, t. u. (2012). trade orientation, distortions and growth in developing countries. journal of development economics, 39(2), 31-57. omojolaibi, j. a., mesagan, e. p. & adeyemi, o. s. (2015). the impact of non-oil export on domestic investment in nigeria. online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/70201/ mpra paper no. 70201. onodugo, v. a, ikpe, m & anowor, o. f (2013). non-oil export and economic growth in nigeria: a time series econometric model. international journal of business management & research (ijbmr), 3(2), 115-124. pettinger t, & pragyandeepa, v. (2012). theory of balance growth: concept, definition and basis u.n publication. samuelson, p. a. & nordhaus .w. d. (2001). economics 7th edition. mcgraw-hill company inc: new york. smith, a. w. (1999). understanding economics second edition glencoe macmalliam/mcgrawhill new york. usman, o. a. (2010). non-oil export determinant and economic growth nigeria (1988-2008). european journal of business and management , 3 (3) 124. page 1 15 public perception and the socio-economic effects of sports betting on youths in ibadan. *vivian chizoma njemanze1, ephraim i. nwokporo2 emmanuel o. agha3 innocent a. nwosu4 1,2,3,4alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike *corresponding author: vivian.njemanze@funai.edu.ng; +234 8035809527 abstract sports betting is the commonest form of gambling in nigeria. its heightened participation of youths has raised public concerns. despite its legalized existence, public perception has somewhat remained negative and with mixed impact report on the socio-economic lives of the youths. this paper seeks to examine the perception of the public and the socioeconomic effects of sport betting on youths in ibadan north-east, oyo state, nigeria. the study adopted mixed research methods, using purposive sampling technique to select 395 respondents for the study. we conducted ten in-depth interviews on stakeholders, bettors’ relatives and workers in the area. results indicate that there exists a negative perception of sports betting. the paper also found sports betting to have negative effects on the socioeconomic lives of the youths in ibadan north-east. it is recommended that adequate social policies and practices on responsible gambling should be made to regulate the operation and promotion of sports betting in nigeria. the study also recommends that the government and other civil societies should employ public sensitization and education programs to educate the masses on the harm associated with sports betting. keywords: sports betting, public perception, socio-economic effects, youths, ibadan introduction sports betting have recently become part of the nigerian everyday reality; with its growing acceptability, betting shops are now almost stationed in every street of nigeria. noipolls, (2019) reported a 77% prevalence rate with the south-west zone of which our study is part, topping the national average with a score of 92%. the advancements in information and communication technology (ict) enhanced the accessibility to knowledge, practice and platform for sports betting in the country, this has also been established in other countries (griffiths and parke 2010). its existence in the country has raised several ethical questions for the youths, parents and other caregivers given the disorientation and dissonance it infuses in the existing social norms and values of hard work. hard work is a priced nigerian traditional value, therefore the modern culture of materialism exhibited by bettors is what njemanze and nnorom (2019) described as fragments of the ‘rape of colonialism, industrialization and the attendant globalization’. this has made the culture of easy life and selfishness socially acceptable; and as argued, betting behaviours is proportional to cultural values, lifestyle and social acceptability (abt, smith & mcgurrin,1985; tang and oei 2011) comparatively, some countries of the world have identified the high rate of youth participation in sports betting, and this causes considerable discomfort within the mailto:vivian.njemanze@funai.edu.ng 16 family, community and the larger society (gambling research panel, 2004; rossen, tse & vaidya, 2009). in nigeria, an estimated 60 million active bettors aged 18-40 spend n1.8billion daily amounting to n730billion annually, news agency of nigeria (2014). their participation in sports betting stems from diverse expectations of social and monetary rewards (shead & hodgins, 2009). one of the major reasons why youths involve in sports betting is to win money (splevins, mireskandari, clayton, & blaszczynski, 2010); this is followed by entertainment(valentine, 2008), and as a means of escape and the irresistibility of temptation on the part of the problem bettor (kristiansen and jensen 2014). calado1, alexandre and griffiths (2018) in a crosscultural study established ‘sensation seeking’ as major attachment factor of problem gambling. for the nigerian population, noi polls (2019) reported that the desire to win money (30%), unemployment (21%) and greed 15% as the major reasons why people engage in betting activities. it has also become a popular past-time activity not only for the adults but also for people below age 18 especially on the online betting platforms (splevins et al., 2010). nigerian youths have a huge football culture which sports betting companies like bet9ja, nairabet, merrybet, accessbet, betking, sportybet etc. have leveraged on to their benefit. generally, there exist tremendous fans of the english premier league and spanish laliga teams. unlike in the past where youths only spend resources to watch matches at viewing centres, betting shops as part of value-added services and/or as a way of attracting customers presently show matches to bettors. sports betting refer to the monetary stake in the outcome of events and other events that may occur during sporting activities. palmer (2013), sees it as an act of placing a financial wager on the outcome of a sporting match, as well as on events that occur within the larger match or fixture. it also covers betting on other events such as the outcome of a political election or a reality television program. youths in this study refer to individuals between the ages of 18-30 years. this age range refers to one of the most sensitive ages of an individual where he/she is expected to build oneself in body, mind, competence, and capabilities. with the greater part of it spent on sports betting there may be little or no career prospect for the individual, immediate family and the country at large. sports betting shops hold the promise of social and peer-group interactions (masaba, sekakubo, blaszczynski&kuka, 2016). this could be attributed to why betting centres through-out their working hours experience a large influx of youths some with the intention of betting while others for peer interactions. sports betting by its nature, especially in strong traditional and religious societies like ibadan is perceived as unethical (masaba et al 2016) and carries with social stigma (malatest, 2013). extant literature has documented that the perception and effects of sports betting on society are negative rather than positive (toce-gerstein and gerstein, 2007; mangham, carney, burnett, & williams. 2007; volberg, 2001; orford, griffiths,wardle, sproston,&erens, 2009), somewhat positive in the short-run but experientially negative at the long-run (vong, 2008) and without any safe level of engagement (orford 2010). put differently, smith, schopflocher, guebaly and wood (2011) suggested that the public perception about the activity is driven by the sense that people are harmed by excessive betting, rather than a belief that sports betting is immoral. however, there has not been any consensus among scholars on the morality and rightness of sports betting, especially among the youths. sports betting has been associated with some negative social and health outcomes across individual, familial, 17 and societal levels. a study in uganda shows that addicted youths to sports betting resigned from gainful employment and resorted to gambling, with others manifesting significant health complications (masaba et al, 2016) on the other hand, basha & white (2002) and mcgowan (2014) puts up claims that consumers (bettors) are the best judges of their own welfare and that most people who bet do so willingly and rationally, and to them, it is a form of entertainment which must not be deprived. however, on the positive parlance, scholars have posited that sports betting increases government revenue, public services, per-capita spending, income, and provide employment opportunities (masaba et al., 2016; williams, rehm, & stevens, 2012). sports betting when viewed from a positive angle provide youths with the opportunity of earning rewards from their passion for sports. nonetheless, most employment opportunities provided by sports betting do not significantly impact on the workers standard of living (ham, brown & jang, 2004) as it takes extra discipline for sports betting employees not to stake with their salaries. this has often increased the negative perception of sports betting as against their initial assumption of improved living. however, adequate safeguards against the negative outcomes of gambling have not been instituted in nigeria; there is relatively limited information regarding public support for problem betting and efforts to mitigate the effects on the socio-economic life of youths. it is against this backdrop that this study aims at filling the gap by exploring the public perception and socio-economic effects of sport betting on youths in ibadan north east local government area of oyo state nigeria. specifically, this study is set to ascertain; i. the reasons and frequency at which youths engage in sports betting ii. the perception of the public on sports betting iii. the social and economic consequences of sports betting on youths in our study area theoretical framework the theoretical explanation of sports betting in this study will adopt an eclectic method in other to triangulate the strengths of different theoretical approaches for a robust work. this is what shafiee, razaghi and vedadhir (2019) describe as a ‘multidimensional’ and ‘multilevel’ study of addictive behaviour. it involves a ‘biopsychosocial’ analysis and a structural study of gambling activities (griffiths, alexandre & calado, 2017). this individual, systems and dimensional analysis will only be possible by doing what churchland and scjnowsk (cited in anderson 1999) described as allowing elucidations to “coexist at all levels” some biological theories link drug use and the aetiology of addictive behaviours to genetics and brain ailments. these claim especially that of brain illness has been critiqued for trying to medicalize addiction (satel & lilienfeld, 2013). according to the sociological explanations of emile durkheim, anomie or a situation of normlessness occurs when the system of social control can no longer regulate individuals’ behaviour. he reasoned that rapid social change (changes in wealth, power 18 divisions of labour or poverty) predisposes anomie. thus, when social norms become weak and ineffective, consensus and attachment among members of society become threatened. “a community in a situation like this is heading towards disorganization because there exists great uncertainty regarding the value system of that society” (njemanze & nnorom 2019:200). nigeria is in a state where the existing norm of hard work is constantly contradicted by that of easy-life. this explains the preponderance of youths’ involvement in betting, fraud, ritual and all other forms of unethical behaviour in order to make quick money. the social influences theories associate drug use and the formation of addictive behavioural patterns with groups influence and identity factors (keene, james andwillner, 2009). adapting the theory to our study, youth engage in betting due to peer association and influence; this, in turn, becomes an identity and provides a sense of ‘we’ to the peer subculture. during live matches, the media is replete with advertisements from different betting companies thus building credibility on the act of betting on the one side and a belief in the act of betting on the audience on the other side (sussman 2001). it has also become almost inevitable for sports fans to avoid betting-related promotions and advertising when attending a live game or through watching it on television (palmer, 2013). as such, sports viewers through the massive media advertisement especially during matches, are aligned to live to bet. this audience-belief formation holds true of youths and internet users when they are beleaguered with unending pop-ups from betting firms. other postulations from psychological, systems and dispositional models (see walker, 1992; griffiths & delfabbro 2001), provides useful contributions to the understanding of the onset and maintenance of addictive behaviour. methods the study was carried out in ibadan north-east local government area of oyo state, nigeria. an embedded mixed method of data collection was adopted for the study. this method will offer us the flexibility to collect and better explain both quantitative and qualitative data (onwuegbuzie, 2012; creswell 2014). ibadan north-east has a total population of 465,700 (national bureau of statistics, 2018). using the taro yamane sample size derivation, 400 respondents were selected for the study. the study made use of purposive sampling techniques to draw the respondents for the study. this technique enabled us to identify the bettors at the betting shops. four hundred copies of the questionnaire were randomly distributed to bettors attending betting shops located in ibadan north-east. however, the questionnaire distribution recorded 96.25% (385) response rate. ten (10) stakeholders and relatives of bettors at the local government area were interviewed. this group of respondents were selected using both purposive and snowballing technique. some of the bettors we met at the betting shops who agreed to participate in the study were the people who referred us to other significant stakeholders and relatives that we interviewed. the in-depth interview was conducted to get background information on the public perception of sports betting. the respondents for the in-depth interviews were contacted, after explaining the purpose of the study to them, a request for them to participate in the study was made. those who agreed were given consent forms to fill. a date for the interview was also fixed individually. the study was conducted between august and october 2019. the 19 interview sessions were recorded as each of the interviews lasted for about 15 and 30 minutes. it was conducted in the english language. the quantitative data were analysed using spss version 22 (statistical package for social sciences) while the in-depth interviews were transcribed and analysed using the narrative method. 20 results table 1: socio-demographic characteristics of respondents n=385 variable frequency percentage gender male 341 88.6 female 44 11.4 age 18 – 20 59 15.3 21 – 24 145 37.7 25 – 30 181 47.0 marital status single 254 66 married 122 31.7 divorced 0 0 separated 9 2.3 widowed 0 0 level of education no formal education 7 1.81 primary education 63 16.4 secondary education 99 25.7 ond/hnd 126 32.7 university education 90 23.4 employment status working full time 57 14.8 working part time 29 7.5 laid off (temporarily) 8 2.1 unemployed 154 40.0 self employed 72 18.7 student 65 16.9 religious affiliation christianity 259 67.3 islam 126 32.7 african traditional religion amount spent on betting weekly n1000 or less n1,100 n10,000 n10,100 n50,000 n50,100 n100,000 n100,000 and above 0 184 120 39 32 10 0 47.79 31.17 10.13 8.31 2.60 source: author’s computation from fieldwork, 2019 table 1 show that there were more males than females in the study. the male constituted 88.6% of the total population while the females made up the remaining 11.4%. the respondents had a mean age of 23.2 years with 15.3% aged 18 – 20 years, 37.7% aged 21 – 24, and 47% aged 25 – 30 years. the majorities (66%) of the 21 respondents were single, 31.7% were married and 2.3% of the respondents were separated. from the table, 32.7% of the respondents had obtained ond/hnd degree, 25.7% have secondary education, 23.4% have a university education, and 16.4% had primary education while 1.81% had no formal education. majority of the respondents (40%) were unemployed, 18.7% were self-employed, 16.9% were students and 14.8% of the respondents had full-time employment while 7.5% worked part-time and 2.1% were laid off (temporarily). majority of the respondents was christians (67.3%) while 32.7% of them were moslems. also, out of 385 respondents, 47.80% of them spent #1,000 or less than weekly on sports betting, 31.20% spent #1,100 #10,000, and 10.10% of the respondents spent #10,100 #50,000 weekly on sports betting. also, 8.30% of the respondents spent #50,100 #100,000 on bet weekly while 2.60% of them spent #100,000 and above on betting weekly table 2: reasons and frequency for betting (n=385) response frequency percentage respondents’ view on why they bet to win money 269 69.97 for entertainment 44 11.43 to escape boredom peer pressure others 23 27 22 5.97 7.0 5.73 frequency of betting daily weekly a few times a month occasionally 195 165 19 6 50.7 42.9 4.9 1.5 source: author’s computation from fieldwork, 2019 as shown in table 2, the majority (69.87%) of the respondents stated that they bet to win money, 11.43% of them maintained that they bet for entertainment. in response to peer influence, 7% of the respondents bet while 5.97% of the respondents bet as a way of escaping boredom. it further shows that (50.7%) of the respondents bet daily, 42.9% bet on a weekly bases while 4.9% of the respondents bet a few times a month. occasional bettors occupy 1.5% of the respondents. 22 table 3: the effects of sport betting on the social lives of youths n=385 statements sa a u d sd sum weighted mean ( ) score stdev remark betting reduces my concentration and interest at work. 56 10 2 75 103 49 116 8 3.03 1.28 accepted in the last 12 months, i have staked or gambled even though i had promised myself not to do so. 117 11 5 49 63 41 135 9 3.53 1.35 accepted in the last 12 months, betting or gambling has caused me problems at work or at home. 116 33 22 134 80 112 6 2.92 1.57 rejected in the last 12 months, i once tried hiding the amount that i wanted to bet from family members or friends. 92 67 71 104 51 120 0 3.12 1.39 accepted i sometimes say that i am winning when in reality i am losing. 85 13 2 61 82 25 132 5 3.44 1.23 accepted in the last 12 months, i tried collecting money for bets by using false cheques, stealing or by resorting to other illegal acts. 26 33 33 107 186 761 1.98 1.23 rejected my quality of life has greatly improved since i started betting 54 70 112 93 56 112 8 2.93 1.25 rejected i have made many friends as result of betting 130 93 43 86 33 135 6 3.52 1.38 accepted mean social indicator 117 8 3.06 0.58 accepted source: author’s computation from fieldwork, 2019 the above table 3 shows the weighting of response to the satisfaction with effect of sport betting on the social life of youths. as shown in the table, the weighted mean score of five (5) out of the eight (8) items was above the required a 3.0 weighted mean criterion for acceptance. this implies that the five (5) items were accepted indicating a positive response to the questions. the items in the other of the hierarchy of acceptance include, “in the last 12 months, i have staked or gambled even though i had promised myself not to do so” (3.53), “i have made many friends as a result of betting”(3.52), “i sometimes say that i am winning when in reality i am losing” (3.44), “in the last 12 months, i once tried hiding the amount that i wanted to bet from family members or friends” (3.12), and “betting reduces my concentration and interest at work” (3.03). generally, though three of the items were rejected, with the general mean of (3.06) the youth’s responses show that sports betting have negative effects on their social life. 23 table 4: the effects of sports betting on the economic lives of youths n=385 statements sa a ud d sd sum weighte d mean ( ) score stdev remark in the last 12 months, after having lost money betting, i have immediately gambled again to win back the money lost 102 144 91 30 18 143 7 3.73 1.08 accepted i bet more than i could really afford to lose. 143 48 19 118 57 125 7 3.26 1.56 accepted my income has increased since i started betting 63 100 76 93 53 118 2 3.07 1.31 accepted i once borrowed money or sold something to get money to bet 60 107 31 115 72 112 3 2.92 1.40 rejected i ably provide for my family since i started betting 45 80 81 120 59 108 7 2.82 1.25 rejected mean social indicator 123 5 3.21 0.82 accepted source: author’s computation from fieldwork, 2019. the above table 4 shows the weighting of response to the satisfaction with the effect of sport betting on the economic life of youths. as shown in the table, the weighted mean score of four (4) out of the six (6) items are above the required 3.0 weighted mean criterion for acceptance. this implies that the four (4) items are accepted indicating a positive response to the questions. the items in a hierarchy of acceptance include, “in the last 12 months, after having lost money betting, i have immediately gambled again to win back the money lost” (3.73), “i save part of the money i won from betting” (3.43), “i bet more than i could really afford to lose” (3.26), and “my income has increased since i started betting” (3.07). generally, though two of the items were rejected, with the general mean of (3.21) the youth’s responses show that sports betting has negative effects on their economic life. discussion of findings results from the reasons and frequency of sports betting by respondents show that majority (69.87%) of the respondents bet to win money. this is consistent with earlier empirical studies (valentine, 2008; noipolls, 2019) and accentuates the growing culture of materialism and get-rich-quick syndrome among youths in nigeria. the frequency (daily: 50.7%, weekly: 42.9%) of betting among the participants reveals a tendency for addiction and chronic betting. 24 the study also examined the socio-economic effects of sports betting on youth and their families. the data revealed that sports betting have negative effects on the social lives of youths. it affects their concentration, self-control and trust between family and friends. respondents in the study accepted that sports betting reduced their concentration and interest at work, that they staked even though they had promised not to do so, sometimes say that they are winning when in reality they are losing and tried hiding the amount they wanted to bet from family or friends. most of them agreed that they bet more than they could really afford to lose, gambled immediately to win back money lost in betting and could not provide for their families since they started betting. this was supported by national endowment for financial education (2000), report that most bettors share the underlying denominator of fiscal failure, bankruptcy, and unsuccessful efforts to quit betting.meyer, hayer, & griffiths,(2009) documented an increasing development of betting related problem among youths. this result portrays the views of the respondents in the in-dept interview. one of them confirmed that:“sports betting is seriously having a negative effect on the lives of our youths; it takes from the resources, time, and energy and contributes little or nothing to our sustainable future”. (id2/male/teacher/2019) another narrated her experience thus: “i nearly developed high blood pressure, when my son unknown to me joined betting club down the street. one day, i sent him to go and pay in money atthe bank to my customers that i buy goods from for my retail business. he betted the money and lied on me that he was duped inside the tricycle. my business suffered a huge setback. it took god and the intervention of my clinical psychologist brother to get him out of that habit. i really do not like to remember that ordeal now. (id7/female/retail business owner/2019) the findings, as shown above, is in line with masaba et al., (2016) who found that youths resign from gainful employment and resort to gambling, with others manifesting significant health/ psychological complications. shead and hodgins (2009) presented as a contrary view with the report that sports betting provides diverse social and monetary rewards to youths. data from this study depicts a negative public perception of sports betting despite its legalization in nigeria. culturally, sports betting is incompatible with the nigeria normative culture; as youth engagement in sports betting is publicly viewed as idle living. it introduces value conflict to the country’s value of hard work as the means to greatness.respondents who are interviewed reported strongly a negative view of sports betting. one of them stated thus: “i don’t like it; it is not good for them at all. sports betting encourages youths to be lazy and greedy. i will never, ever encourage, talk more of allowing my children to bet, i even hate people who bet”. (id6/male/business man/2019). 25 other laments: “well …. i will not support it. from my side, it has caused a lot of problems. most people in it are always having a lot of financial issues”. (id9/female/school principal/2019). “it is not ok in the sense that it adds to their levels of indecency. they will always find whether legal or illegal means of getting money to bet. it has also made many poor and most of them engaged in it as a way out of poverty which they may not achieve”. (idi/male/civil servant/2019). extant literature documented a significantly worsening negative perception toward sports betting (mangham et al. 2007; orford et al. 2009). conclusion sports betting if inefficiently regulated will in no distant time pose a threat to the corefabric of the nigerian society. it contradicts the nigerian traditional values of hard work and presents a huge social problem for the youth, their relatives and the entire society. these negativeoutcomes are varied in nature. as the poverty rate increase, there are more tendencies for youths turning to sports betting for quick money. moreso, given the high risk of financial loss in sports betting, bettors may often resort to crime in order to pay debts, appease bookies, maintain appearances and garner more money to bet. also, some youths see sports betting as a ‘way out’ of hardship and this desperation may often lead to debt. the problems associated with betting helps to sustain its negative public perception in nigeria. it is eminent, however, that the government of the day must take preemptive steps in curtailing and regulating its emergent negative effects on the lives of the youths. the study therefore recommended that adequate social policies and practices should be put in place to regulate the operation and promotion of sports betting in nigeria. public sensitization/education on responsible gambling should be regularly organized by the government and other civil societies using appropriate media to educate the masses on the effects of sports betting. moreso, nigerian youths who are addicted to/or are ‘problem gamblers should have a system for treatment or a body to talk to for correction. given the present proliferation of betting companies, more studies should be done to unveil the emerging trends in sports betting and its implications. references abt, v., smith, j.f. & mcgurrin, m.c. 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(2012). the social and economic impacts of gambling. final report prepared for the canadian consortium for gambling research. 118 linking job performance of civil servants to psychological contracts chinwendu m. okoro department of social sciences, school of general studies, federal polytechnic oko, anambra state. adaobi c. eze department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu obinna o.ike department of psychology, university of nigeria nsukka. correspondence: okorochinwendu77@gmail.com abstract this study examined relationship between job performance of civil servants and psychological contracts in the states of the south east geo-political zone. the participants comprised 3062 (males: 1098 and females: 1964) drawn using purposeful random sampling technique from the population of civil servants in the states of the south-east geo-political zone of nigeria. three instruments were used for data collection, they include; psychological contract scale which is an 18item questionnaire, psychological contract inventory (pci), which is a 14 – item questionnaire and performance evaluation report which is a 12item questionnaire. crosssectional survey design was adopted while multiple regression analysis was applied as statistical tests. the results indicated that jointly, psychological contracts (transactional, relational breach and/fulfillment) jointly predicted civil servants’ poor job performance of r2 = .008, f(3,3058) = 8.64, p=.001 and independently as well. the result, also, showed that psychological contract breach prevailed over psychological contract fulfillment among civil servants in relation to their job performance (m = 35.90; sd = 12.45) and that psychological contract breach significantly and negatively correlated with job performance of civil servants (r = -.04, p <.01). it was concluded that that civil servants in south-east geo-political zone are having transactional psychological contract and not relational, in the same vein, they reported having breaches in their psychological contracts which affected their performances poorly. keyword: job performance, psychological contracts, civil servants, south eastern nigeria. introduction in the world of work, job performance is very vital to the survival and growth of any organisation, whether in the public or private sector. in essence, employers who still want to remain and compete favourably will always emphasize the need and importance of job performance to their employees. since the job performance of the employee is a crucial construct in an organization, an understanding of the factors influencing job performance are essential for the managers, supervisors, employers and public administrators. this understanding may help the managers and public administrators to understand, explain, predict, measure and change the employees’ job mailto:okorochinwendu77@gmail.com psychological contracts performance (campbell, mccloy, oppler & sager, 1993). more so, many factors influence the job performance of employees in every organization. they include but are not limited to; reinforcement (elobuike, onyeneje, okonkwo, okoro, et al., 2018), job equity, (inuwa, 2017), psychological capital (sahoo & sia, 2015), psychological wellbeing (usnam, 2017; durrah, altobasi, a’aqoulah & ahmad, 2016; durrah, alhamoud & khan, 2016) psychological contract (dangmei, 2016; kataria, 2015; cheng & xu, 2016). therefore, job performance in the form of performance assessment is an essential part of effective public administration and it is a most sought-after developmental intervention in public administration and human resource portfolio (bateman, & snell, 2007; fay & luhrmann, 2004; hellriegel, jackson, slocum, staudé, amos, klopper, et al., 2004). according to liao, lu, huang and chiang (2012) employee performance is workers’ complete ability and productiveness in the attainment of the projected goal and realization of everyday jobs in line with the prescribed procedure and timeline of the organization. so, job performance as an index for improvements, idleness, recompenses, retributions, reviews and remuneration changes, also, represents the desire for employees to realize themselves. however, previous researches have shown that poor job performance and low productivity are recorded in almost all public sector organisations in nigeria (mbogu, 2001; ezulike, 2001; iheriohanma, 2006); and findings from other studies (e.g. tongo, 2005) show that the poor performance and productivity associated with nigeria’s public servants could be reduced if they are provided with a good psychological contract. a psychological contract plays a vital role in how employees perceive their organizations as well as how they will perform. as simple as it sounds, improving the enthusiasm of employees should be the commitment of every public administrator and human resources department to effectively improve and give full attention to staff ability to tap the potential of employees and which in turn improves staff performance. according to cheng and xu (2016), the psychological contract is the root of the "invisible, informal" psychological link between enterprises and employees, although it has differences with contracts that have legal effects in formal terms, it plays a decisive role in organizational development and staff attitude. concerning the contract, a psychological contract can reflect their subjective understanding of responsibilities and obligations, therefore the 120 fulfilment of organizational promises is the basis of employing and maintenance of efficient and high-quality performing employees. suffice it to say that, psychological contract comprises employees’ ‘beliefs about what they are entitled to receive, or should receive because they perceive that their employer conveyed promises to provide those things in exchange for their contributions (robinson, 1996). again, psychological contract in essence, is all about the unwritten employee expectations of what the organization has to do and what the organization expect from the employee which serves as powerful determinants of behaviours (denisi & griffin, 2005). the study of psychological contracts has generated a lot of attention or concern in the past two decades (uchenna, 2015), especially in the public service. for instance, the failure of government to fulfil their obligations has generated a lot of negative relations between nigerian workers (labour) and the government leading to strikes, conflict, grievances and other negative or counter work-related behaviours which pose threats to organizational development (ogbuokiri, anyanwu & iklaki, 2016; nurudeen, 2016). nosiri and njemanze (2017) opined that this popularity of the concept of the psychological contract is a result of the rapid changes in organization, for instance, the rise of globalization, competitiveness, restructuring, downsizing, economic recession or depression, work diversity, commercialization and privatization of public sectors etc. which has led to renegotiation and amendment of an employment agreement. based on this, a psychological contract has become increasingly important in helping to define the contemporary employment relationship (turnely, bolino, lester & bloodgood, 2003; uchenna, 2015; dhanpat & parumasur, 2014; akhtar & long, 2015). all these are because, in this competitive era in business and organizational growth, the psychological contract provides an opportunity to fundamental knowledge about the organizationemployee and employee-employer relationship (agarwal & bhargava, 2009). the type of psychological contract that exists between the employer and the employee will cast a different light on the employer-employee relationship. researchers had agreed that a psychological contract is subjective because it depends on the employee’s point of view regarding what obligations the organization must fulfil (bellou, 2009; rousseau, 1989; rousseau, 1995). the development of a type of psychological contract begins with subjective points of view that the job applicant holds and can be predicted by the belief that there will be reciprocity once the job psychological contracts applicant is hired (hess & jepsen, 2009). hence, extensive research has established that psychological contracts can be portrayed in two different ways: transactional and relational. a transactional contract is based on economic or extrinsic factors, tends to be specifically defined, and its time frame is finite and short-term (alcover, martínez-iñigo, & chambel, 2012; de cuyper & de witte, 2006). employees with a transactional psychological contract may expect financial and material exchanges for their work and have a short-term commitment to their obligations. in essence, employees whose psychological contracts are portrayed as transactional base their contracts on financial rewards, money, and being paid on time (bellou, 2009; de cuyper & de witte, 2006; de hauw & de vos, 2010). because transactional psychological contracts are closeended, specific, and are based on extrinsic and economic factors, employees with this type of contract generally do not envision themselves working for their current organization in the long term. on the other hand, employees with a relational psychological contract may believe that there is more to their relationships with their organizations than economic exchange. in the words of ballou (2013), a relational psychological contract is developed through non-economic, socioemotional, and intrinsic factors founded on trust and organizational commitment. a relational psychological contract is open-ended, indefinite, dynamic, and has a broad scope (de cuyper & de witte, 2006; rousseau, 1990). that is to say, employees whose psychological contracts are portrayed as relational may base their contracts on status, recognition, the chance to be creative (bellou, 2009), job security, work/ lifestyle balance, training (de hauw & de vos, 2010), career development (bellou, 2009; de hauw & de vos, 2010), and promotions (alcover et al., 2012; kickul& lester, 2001; rousseau, 1995). these psychological types could have a negative or positive relationship with the performances of employees based on their subjective views. suffice it to say that public civil servants join their organization with different expectations and when these expectations are not met, it affects productivity in the organization. from the foregoing, the performances of public sector employees are very vital in driving the activities of organizations towards effectiveness and efficiency in the outcomes produced by these organizations. the past two decades have witnessed intensified debate about the role, scope and performance of the institutions and organizations within the public sector (hookana, 2011). based 122 on that, most organizations have realised that the performance of their workers plays a vital role in determining the success of the organisation (onuka, 2006). taking cognisance of this, employers and managers alike need to know how to get the best performance out of their employees. one of the antecedent determinants of employee job performance is believed to be the psychological contract. a psychological contract represents how individuals and companies view their relationship, and how expectations and assumptions that set the tone between employee and employer (edwards & karau, 2007) are established. it turns out that “the primary vehicle managers have for making firms successful is the psychological contracts they create with workers” (mcdermott, conway, rousseau, & flood, 2013). organizations strategically use employee benefit policies and programmes to guide their employees about the employee-employer relationship (ko & hur, 2014) towards achieving higher job performance and productivity. theoretically, this study was anchored on social exchange theory (set). homans (1958), blau (1964), and emerson (1976) were the ground breaking early researchers in set and shared a widely accepted and still evolving framework that summarized relational behaviours (chadwickjones, 1976).the social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchange between parties. it holds that human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison alternatives (social exchange theory, 2016). this theory believes that every interaction or relationship between parties, must involve a norm of reciprocity where one party is expected to play its role for the benefit of other parties and vice versa. and failure of one party to fulfil its obligation may lead to disappointment, mistrust, conflict and violation of expectations or contract which will make one party to respond unfavourably or adjust its behaviour or contributions. social exchange theory holds that obligations are generated through a series of interactions between parties who are in a state of reciprocal interdependence. and that the relationship evolves over time into trusting, loyal and mutual commitments as long as the parties abide by certain rules of exchange (ugwu & ogwuche, 2013). this means that even though obligations make up a relationship of exchange, the norm of reciprocity is the main mechanism that binds parties to some sets of reciprocal obligations (cheung & chiu, 2001). an imbalance always emerges between the contributions of two parties if one party does not reciprocate (bakewell, 2012). psychological contracts in applying this theory to this study, it indicated that the presence of lack of commitment, low motivation, job dissatisfaction, counter-productive/ negative work behaviour of nigerian civil servants can be associated with the failure of the management/ government to play their role towards fulfilling the expectations of nigeria workers. and this non fulfilment of expectations has generated a lot of conflict between the labour and government/ management. the relevance of this theory is to enable us explain the consequences of violation of psychological contract of workers and the relevance for fulfilment of psychological contract in nigerian civil service. nevertheless, many empirical studies have proven the effect of psychological contracts (fulfilment, breach and transactional) workers work behaviours especially performance. for instance; turnley, bolino, lester and bloodgood (2003) in their research found that psychological contract fulfilment is more strongly related to citizenship behaviour directed at the organization than to citizenship behaviour directed at one’s colleagues. cheng and xu (2016) that psychological contract has significant positive effect on job performance of e-business companies. also, che, tsui, chen, lee and chen (2018) study, found that, psychological contract and organizational commitment are important mediators in the relationships between job performance and job satisfaction. moore (2014) results suggest that psychological contract fulfilment does relate to employee engagement and can predict 4 .9% of the variances in employees’ engagement. on the other hand, on psychological contract breach, agarwal & bhargava (2014) results suggest that leader–member exchanges and perceived organization support relate to psychological contract breach, which, in turn, relates to affective commitment, intention to quit and innovative work behaviours. also, hussain, gul, usman and islam (2016) found that there was a negative relationship between psychological contract breach and task performance. li and chen (2018) posited that psychological contract breach (pcb) may trigger negative attitudes in employees and ultimately cause further negative behaviours. reimann and guzy (2017) results support the idea that pcb works as a psychosocial stressor at work that represents a crucial risk to employee health. furthermore, on relational and transactional psychological contracts and job performance, manxhari (2015) results showed that the relational contract provides an organizational commitment around 4 times higher than transactional contract. oyelakin and agu (2017) study, relational psychological contract was found to have full mediating effect between workplace 124 spirituality (inner life, meaningful work and community) and employee turnover intention. umar and ringim (2015) transactional psychological contract has a strong positive significant relationship with turnover intention of employee in private organization in nigeria. however, in nigeria as well as in other developing countries, poor performances on the job remain a recurrent phenomenon, especially in the public sector, owing to the physical and psychological problems created by the inability of management to embrace and uphold the positive psychological contract. on that note, therefore, psychological contracts represent unique workplace dynamics. sometimes, employees may feel fulfilled [i.e. psychological contract fulfilment; the degree to which a company meets its obligations to an employee, from the employee’s vantage, and it serves to build upon the social exchange element, resulting in positive employee behaviours (karagonlar et al., 2016)] like good job performances or a sense of breach [i.e. psychological contract breach; which represents the organizational failure to deliver on an expected obligation, whether written or unwritten (robinson et al., 1994)] to their employees. hence, when an organization fails to demonstrate caring behaviours to employees, employees no longer feel an obligation to demonstrate positive behaviour in the workplace (restubog, hornsey, bordia, & esposo, 2008), like poor job performances. to this end, there seems to be paucity of research on the effects of psychological contracts on job performances of employees in the civil service in nigeria, hence, there is a lacuna in the understanding of the power of psychological contracts on job performance among this population in nigeria. hence, this study, linking job performance of civil servants in the south east geo-political zone to psychological contracts. following the trends in the literature reviewed concerning the study variables, these hypotheses were be tested: 1. psychological contracts jointly will significantly predict civil servants’ job performance. 2. psychological contracts independently will significantly predict civil servants’ job performance. method participants: three thousand and sixty-two (3062) civil servants drawn from ministries under the civil service commission of each of the south-east geo-political zone of nigeria comprising 1098 (35.9%) psychological contracts males and 1964 (64.1%) females between the ages of 24 to 54 years (m =37.84 sd =8.81) were sampled using purposeful random sampling technique from civil service commissions and establishments in, abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo states. the selection choice was made by the researchers on the basis of those who are most representative for the issues involved in the research for example, typical cases that provide requisite data or information (kalton, 1983). the ministries were randomly sampled in each state to form a representative by using deep picking. this gave credence to the study design and also gave every of the participants in the sample equal opportunity to participate. other demographic variables of the study population comprised, 1804 (58.9%) are old while 1258 (41.1%) are young. it was interesting to note also that, 2231 (72.9%) of the respondents are with high educational qualifications while 831 (27.1%) are with low educational qualification. instrument: this study made use of the following instruments for data collection: psychological contract scale: this is an 18item questionnaire developed by millward and hopkins (1998) to measure two dimensions of psychological contract which are transactional and relational contract. transactional contract was measured with 9 items, using a 5-point likerttype scale (1=’strongly disagree’; 5=’strongly agree’). an example item is: “i only carry out what is necessary to get the job done”. relational contract was measured also, with 9 items, an example being: “i feel this company reciprocates the effort put in by its employees”. psychological contract inventory (pci), developed by rousseau (1995). it measures employer’s commitment/obligation to employee which will determine whether a participant is having a breach or fulfilment in terms of the contract with his/her organization. it makes use of five-point likert scales. performance evaluation report is a 12 – item questionnaire adopted from the personnel unit of the enugu state civil service commission, developed by the commission and use in the assessment of different aspects of a civil servant’s job performances like; foresight, relationship with co-workers, quality of work, output of work, punctuality etc. this is measured using 5-point likert-type scale (1= ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 = ‘strongly agree’). an example item is foresight: 126 anticipates problems and develops solution in advance 5 4 3 2 1 grapples with problems after they have arisen’. in other to measure the internal consistence of the instruments and also to establish cronbach alpha coefficients. the researchers, using the cronbach alpha method established the following coefficients alphas for the instruments, thus: transactional psychological contract .80, relational psychological contract .86, psychological contract breach/fulfilment .76, performance evaluation report .61. procedure the researchers distributed and collected the data for this study with the assistance of fifteen research assistants. five research assistants covered each of the five states while the researchers were in each of the states to coordinate the activities of those posted in that state at a point. as mentioned earlier, the research assistants were duly trained for the task. however, after establishing rapport, the commissions/ministries visited for approval, declined giving official approval to the letter the researchers came with citing bureaucratic and classified nature of the information being sought for by the researcher. meanwhile, the researchers were advised to carry out the research on the agreement that the information being provided by the ministries will be on personal basis and the identity of the persons involved not disclosed. therefore, the researchers, using purposeful random sampling selected ministries to be sampled from and the questionnaire collected within six months. again, due to the nature of the study, in every ministry visited, those sampled were briefed about the purpose of the study, with an introductory letter attached to the instrument to establish rapport and acquaint participants with the motives for the research. the researchers also assured them of utmost confidentiality of all the information they provided. at first, the participants were given the first three questionnaires (transactional, relational and psychological contract breach/fulfilment) to complete. thereafter, their personal data (especially name) was used to submit the fourth questionnaire (performance evaluation report) to the supervisor/head of department in charge of that section, this is to enable him/her identify and rate the performances of a subordinate under him/her in particular. the supervisors were allowed to go home with their questionnaire but other participants were made to complete theirs on the spot. psychological contracts finally, the researchers were able to retrieve three thousand seven hundred and fifty four (3754) copies of the questionnaire out of five thousand (5000) copies administered, which amounts to 75% return rate. however, six hundred and ninety two (692) copies were discarded due errors in completion, hence, three thousand and sixty two (3062) copies of the questionnaire were scored and used for the analysis in testing the hypotheses. design/statistics this study made use of cross-sectional survey design. the researchers in using this design can only employ a relatively passive approach to making causal inferences based on findings. also, multiple regression analysis was employed for the study. this choice of statistics was made due to the fact that the study was looking for relationships between four variables, transactional, relational, breach and fulfilment psychological contracts and one dependent variable job performance of civil servants in the south east geo-political zone. results table 1: summary table of descriptive statistics and correlations matrix among the study variables (n = 3062) variables m sd 1 2 3 4 1 job performance 36.10 12.28 1 2 transactional psychological contract 33.13 6.41 -.07** 1 3 relational psychological contract 29.41 8.24 -,05** .04* 1 4 psychological contract breach/fulfilment 35.90 12.45 -.04* .09** .04* 1 note: * = p< .01, ** = p < .001. from table 1, the results revealed that transactional psychological contract significantly correlated with job performance of civil servants, though, negatively (r = -.07, p <.001). meaning that, increases in transactional psychological contracts of civil servants will significantly relate to decreases in the criterion variable, job performance. on the same note, relational psychological contract significantly correlated with job performance of civil servants, though, negatively (r = .05, p <.001). meaning that, decreases in relational psychological contracts of civil servants will significantly relate to decreases in the criterion variable, job performance. however, psychological contract breach prevailed over psychological contract fulfilment among civil servants in relation 128 to their job performance (m = 35.90; sd = 12.45). meaning that, the mean obtained is less than the norm of 40.90, that is, a mean higher than the norm indicates a psychological fulfilment while a lower mean indicates psychological breach. therefore, psychological contract breach significantly and negatively correlated with job performance of civil servants (r = -.04, p <.01). meaning that, decreases in psychological contracts breach of civil servants will significantly relate to decreases in the criterion variable, job performance. table 2: summary table of multiple regression on linking psychological contracts of civil servants in the states of the south east geo-political zone to job performance (n = 3062) model b se β t p transactional psychological contract -.13 .04 -.07 -3.63 .001 relational psychological contract -.07 .03 -.05 -2.54 .01 psychological contract fulfilment/breach -.03 .02 -.04 -1.92 .05 .008 r2 value .092 r -value 8.64 f-value .001 p-value from table 2 above, it was observed that psychological contracts (transactional, relational, breach and/fulfilment) jointly did predict civil servants’ poor job performance of r2 = .008, f(3,3058) = 8.64, p=.001 level of significance, showing that only 0.8% of the variance in the dependent variable could be explained by the independent variables. these results indicated that there was significant relationship between the predictor variables (transactional, relational, breach and/fulfilment) on the criterion variable (job performance) r = .092. in the same vein, independently, transactional β = -.07, relational β = -.05, breach β = -.04 inversely correlated with the dependent variable. meaning that civil servants in south-east geo-political zone are not having a fulfilled psychological contracts with their employers and as such remarkably predicted their job performance which is poor. so, population regressions coefficients for psychological contracts (transactional, relational and psychological contracts breach/fulfilment) independently inversely predicted job performance of civil servants in south-east geo-political zone. discussion the findings of this study revealed that transactional, relational, psychological contracts breach/fulfilment jointly predicted civil servants’ job performance. more so, the various psychological contracts dimensions of psychological contracts independently predicted civil servants job performance. all of the above contradicted with the studies of (bonilla, 2018; agarwal & bhargava 2014; moore, 2014) who found that psychological contracts in any form bring about good work/job outcomes, especially performance. but agrees with hussain, gul, usman and islam (2016) who found that breach in psychological contracts leads to low task performance. also, these are in concord with the study of chaubey and bist (2016) who found that workers job performance or lack of satisfaction is always affected by psychological contracts in place. the outcomes of the hypotheses are not surprising as participants reported that the psychological contracts they have with their employers are breached, not relational and highly transactional. this could be deduced from the happenings in the civil service where many persons complain of so many infractions in their ministries and commissions. implications of the study the major implication of this finding was the exposure of the psychological contracts situation in our civil service of which the consequences are obvious, poor performance. from the practical perspective, the unhealthy psychological contracts and low job performance that are ubiquitous in the studied population. therefore, one can believe, that bad psychological contracts between employees and employers is likely to produce poor job performance among workers. finally, most of the civil servants reported having a transactional psychological contract with their current organization than a relational psychological contract. this may suggest that civil servants in southeast geo-political zone are finding positions that simply pays for the bills. limitations and suggestion for further studies despite the strengths and new relevant results, this study has certain limitations. since the results of this study are based on cross-sectional data, it becomes difficult using simple percentage to determine the outcome and as such the researcher could not compare the participants. the sample size, while sufficient for this study, was not conducive to extensive sub-group analysis, which a larger sample size could afford. the use of supervisors to assess the job performance of the participants posed a serious setback as many participants identify where exposed. therefore, the researchers suggested that research in this area of psychological contracts and job performance should be broadened and carried out in a more practical ways by introducing other variables and demographics. such as, personality, job description, gender, educational level etc. 130 finally, in other to crossvalidate the outcomes of this study, the sample size should be extended to other geo-political zones. again, the independent variables should be examined practically in relation to other workplace behaviours, like counter work behaviours, job satisfaction, turnover intentions etc. conclusion the outcomes of this study provided understanding and insight into the effects of psychological contracts on job performance of civil servants in the south-east geo-political zone. this study remarkably demonstrated that independently and jointly, psychological contracts predicted job performance of civil servants. to this end, the researchers concluded that civil servants in southeast geo-political zone are having transactional psychological contract and not relational, in the same vein, they reported having breaches in their psychological contracts which affected their performances poorly. therefore, ministries, commissions, employers and stakeholders should understudy the outcomes of this study towards improving and renegotiating the psychological contracts of civil servants to remedy the poor job 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(2017). the effect of psychological wellbeing on employee job performance : comparison between the employees of projectized and nonprojectized organizations. journal of entrepreneurial and organizational management, 6, 206. doi: 10.4172/2169026x.1000206 http://www.fmkp/ volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 160 influence of african cultural factors on domestic violence obiageli omeje chimezie chikwendu department of psychology, faculty of the social sciences enugu state university of science and technology, enugu obyomeje@yahoo.com chimezie.chikwendu@esut.edu.ng abstract domestic violence is a range of sexually, psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women by current or former male partner. domestic violence leads not only to physical injury and death, but also to severe effects upon the mental health of its victims, including an erosion of self esteem, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide at the extreme cases. in african culture especially in igbo culture of eastern nigeria, domestic violence takes on culturally specific forms. in an attempt to forestall domestic violence prevalent in our society, this study investigated influence of culture on domestic violence. a total of one hundred and sixty-one (161) married people comprising 56 males and 105 females sampled using accidental sampling method from the population of married residents of enugu metropolis of enugu state, south-eastern nigeria. a 9-item questionnaire designed by the researchers was used as research instrument. cross-sectional survey design was adopted, while chi square was used as a statistical tool to analyze the scores of the participants. the findings revealed that there are strong significant influence of cultural factors on domestic violence such as gender inequality(x2=13.72, p<.01), non involvement of women in family decisions (x2=60.88, p<.01), making sexual advances by men alone (x2=4.52, p<.05), denial of women access to property and resources (x2=71.12, p<.01), patriarchal system (x2=82.14, p<.01), different training giving to male and female (x2=20.20, p<.01), and relegation of women to the kitchen (x2=17.44, p<.01). the patriarchal system had the highest coefficient (x2=82.14, p<.01), and as such proven to be the strongest cultural factor that promotes domestic violence, while making sexual advances by men alone (x2=4.52, p<.05) yielded least factor of domestic violence. it was therefore recommended that there is need to change these african cultural factors that mediate domestic violence in order to forestall domestic violence and its devastating consequences. keyword: africa, culture, domestic violence, marriage, healthy life introduction marriage is an institution ordained by god. god made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man, and the man said, “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man” (genesis 2:22&23). osarenren (2002) sees marriage as usually a union between an adult male and adult female. hariland, prins, mcbridge and walrath (2011) see marriage as a socially or ritually recognized mailto:obyomeje@yahoo.com mailto:chimezie.chikwendu@esut.edu.ng ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 161 union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. eri (2004) sees marriage as a contract between a man and a woman to live as husband and wife after performing the ceremony of payment of dowry. eri (2004) also emphasizes that the essential requirements of a valid customary marriage are: agreement between the two parties; formal introduction of two families; the payment of dowry or bride price to the parents of the bride to be; and performing the role of handing over of the woman to the man’s family. however, when these two parties have agreed to enter into marriage as husband and wife, it involves the allocation of rights and obligations between the both parties. as the partners strive to fulfill the obligations allotted to them, and to protect their rights, either of the partners may knowingly or unknowingly infringe on the partner’s rights which if not properly handled often result to disagreements, hence conflict. marital conflict according to buehler, krishmakumar, stone, anthony, permberton, gerald and benber (1988), is the existence of high levels of disagreement, stressful and hostile interactions between spouses. cummings (1998) sees marital conflict as any major or minor interpersonal interaction that involved a difference in opinion, whether it is mostly negative or even positive. cummings (1998) further elaborates that everyday marital conflict involves a range of tactical and emotional expressions both positive and negative. when these differences between the partners linger without resolution, it may often result to the use of coercion often by men on their wives, hence domestic violence. domestic violence according to world health organization (1997) is a range of sexually, psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women by current or former male partner. world health organization (2002) reported that domestic violence leads not only to physical injury and death, but also to severe effects upon the mental health of its victims, including an erosion of self esteem, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide at the extreme cases. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 162 similarly, domestic violence may assume in many forms namely: physical abuse, for example wife battering; verbal abuse like calling of the wife’s name without respect or calling of the wife names by her husband in both private and in public places; sexual abuse like sexual assaults, harassment, exploitation or infidelity mostly on the part of the husband simply because of the patriarchal society “men’s world”; neglect like failure to provide for family members food, clothing, shelter, medical care and protection from harm or sense of being loved and valued rather prefers to be taking care of outsiders, some of whom may be the concubines, trying to justify the patriarchal rights or prefers to be addressed as “oka nma n’ ama” (good outside home); economic abuse like stealing from or defrauding a loved one or exploiting family member for financial gain often the wife; spiritual abuse which includes preventing a spouse especially the wife from engaging in her spiritual or religious practices or using one’s religious belief to dominate his wife; and emotional abuse like refusal to talk to the wife or take meal prepared by the wife. however, the impact of persistent of domestic violence should not be under estimated, under recognized and under reported. domestic violence is a widespread social phenomenon often rooted in cultural considerations as it is perceived in the culture of silence. culture is therefore, people’s way of life as it encompasses all aspects of human life. in african culture especially in nigerian, domestic violence takes on culturally specific forms. the practice of patriarchal society has subjected women into second class citizens. they are seen as weaker sex by their male counterparts. the thought of payment of their wives’ dowry has made african men to view their wives as one of the property which can be toyed with or manipulated as robots at their own will. women are denied of access to property or financial resources, which invariably makes them dependants on men for supports, and as a result, they are at risk of being subjected to emotional, physical and sexual abuse, or relegated as second class citizens. there is a slogan sometimes used by some nigerian males to relegate their female counterparts to second class citizens with an acronym “week”, which simply means, “women education ends in the kitchen”. to buttress this view, president muhammadu buhari of the federal republic of nigeria, on the 14th october, 2016 reacted to his wife aisha’s comment, that she may not support him if he runs for re-election come 2019 and he said, “i don’t know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room”. this comment by president muhammadu buhari prompted the german chancellor angela merkel, standing at his side to give him a short ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 163 glare and then laughed. the german chancellor angela merkel was conspicuously perplexed over the president muhammadu buhari’s comment because, women are not relegated in the western world where she hails from. till today, no issue has been raised as regards to mr. president’s comment. people just laughed it over and everything died off simply because of the patriarchal system practiced by the africans. udegbe (1995) observed that in the rural areas in nigeria, the exploitation of women are perpetuated where the relationship between men and women is that of master and subordinate. adewale (2007) maintains that, although wife beating is a worldwide phenomenon, but it is accepted in africa as part of our culture. women are expected to be submissive despite the violence perpetuated against them, and divorce is not encouraged due to stigma attached to it. women are not expected to discuss their marital experiences with anyone, and few reports by the victims are regarded as family affair which should be resolved by the partners or within their families. for instance, in the eastern part of nigeria, women in abusive marriages are not expected to discuss their marital experiences, and if anyone tries to do so, will be attacked by the kindred “umunna” or daughters of the land “umuada”, challenging her that she should not expose her family or she may be ostracized. this makes women who are the victims of domestic violence to remain in abusive relationships at their own detriment.feminist theory maintains that most african societies practice patriarchal system, that is male dominance and control, and central to this framework is the argument that violence against women is as a result of the unequal power relations structurally embedded in patriarchal system, thereby supporting male dominance over female. cultural theory emphasizes that tradition, customs and norms with the african culture as influential in perpetuating domestic violence and other forms of violence are seen as normal and legitimate in african societies of which nigeria is not exempted. cases of domestic violence against women by their husbands are very alarming. the statistics reported by this day newspaper on 20th september, 2011 is very outrageous. about 50% of wives have been battered by their husbands and more surprisingly educated women (65%) experienced this ugly situation as compared with their low income counterparts (55%). for example, george (2015) reported a ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 164 55 year old man by name, joseph okogbu, was alleged to have hacked his wife, anna okogbu to death over some domestic issues on 27th march, 2014 in ogun state, nigeria. also, as recorded by george (2015), martin stabbed his lover chinonso to death ahead of valentines’ day in an argument on 10th february, 2014 in onitsha, anambra state nigeria. george (2015) also reported of a female national youth service corps (nysc) member was raped to death and dumped beside a river in maiduguri, borno state nigeria by unknown men. similarly, obi and ozumba (2007) in their study on the factors associated with domestic violence in south-east nigeria, found that 70% of the respondents reported abuse in their families with 92% of the victims being female partners and the remaining 8% being males. agbo and choji (2014), in their study carried out in abuja, nigeria found a mother of one narrated her experiences in the hands of her husband who constantly was hitting and beating her whenever he was drunk, and that resulted to losing two pregnancies. akolisa (2002) reported that culture in nigeria holds that once a dowry is paid on a woman, she automatically becomes the property of the husband. eze and gage (1998) reported that at societal level, the discrimination against women is traceable to male authority and decision making in the home, rigid gender roles, definition of masculinity that are linked to dominance or male honour, economic unequality between men and women, and the use of physical force for conflict resolution. also, adewale (2007) reported that a woman might remain in an abusive relationship purely for economic reasons, and she may be unskilled and unemployed as in the case of full time housewife, fear of hunger, and fear of raising children by herself alone, her esteem and confidence might have been crippled due to many years of battering.in ghana, ofeiaboaye (1994) observed that it is common to find ghanaian women taking the blame after they have been beaten to near fatal point by their husbands. also in line of the above, amoakoheme (2004) pointed out that some cultural practices and traditional gender roles in ghana render women unable to defend their right even when they are physically and sexually abused. in zimbabwe, njovana and watt (1996) reported that domestic violence is common in the zimbabwean women as well as rapid social change, extended family structures, contribute to the ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 165 notion that male heads of households can do anything they wish with their wives and children. men are expected to desire and need sex regularly, but women are punished if they are appeared to enjoy sex too much or if they are thought to be unfaithful. women are expected to be fertile and to bear sons (njovana& watt, 1996). in tanzania, lagina (1994) reported that victims of domestic violence do not express their experiences publicly due to cultural beliefs and values. lagina (1994) also reported that legal and socio-cultural system work against human rights and women as human beings. in south arica, tsikata (1993), reported that as a child, the female is taught to be passive, emotionally dependent, whereas the male child is taught to show less emotion and to be active and demonstrate independence. based on the observations above, it became pertinent to explore the possible cultural factors that precipitate domestic violence and come up with possible solutions to forestall domestic violence in africa and possibly the world over. statement of the problem domestic violence leads not only to physical injury and death, but also to severe effects upon the mental health of its victims, including an erosion of self esteem, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, suicide at the extreme cases. in african culture especially in igbo culture of eastern nigeria, domestic violence takes on culturally specific forms. in an attempt to forestall domestic violence prevalent in our society, this study provided answer to the following question: will african cultural factors influence domestic violence? purpose of the study the concept of african cultural factors which may influence domestic violence are as follow: gender inequality, non involvement of women in family decisions, making sexual advances by men alone, denial of women access to property and resources, patriarchal system, different training giving to male and female, and relegation of women to the kitchen. therefore, this study aimed at the following: to determine if african cultural factors will influence domestic violence. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 166 hypothesis there will be significant influence of african cultural factors on domestic violence. method participants a total of one hundred and sixty-one (161) married people comprising 56 males and 105 females sampled using purposive and accidental sampling techniques from the population of married residents of enugu metropolis of enugu state, south-eastern nigeria. they were between the ages of 24-65 years, with a mean age of 39.81 and standard deviation of 3.41, and were all christians with 103 of them have minimum of higher national diploma. instrument one instrument was used in this study. it is a 9-item questionnaire designed by the researchers from the literature reviewed to measure possible african cultural factors that may promote domestic violence. the factors are: payment of dowry; gender inequality; non involvement of women in family decisions; making sexual advances by men alone; denial of women access to property and resources; patriarchal system; not allowing women to discuss their marital experiences; different training giving to male and female; and relegation of women to the kitchen. procedure the administration of the questionnaire took the form of individual testing after the establishment of adequate rapport. a total of 180 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the target population (married people) within a period of 3 weeks. a total of 168 were filled and returned. a total of 7 copies of the questionnaire were discarded because of improper filling. a total of 161 copies that were properly filled were analyzed design/statistics cross-cultural survey design was adopted for this study, while chi square was applied as the statistical tool to analyze the scores obtained from the participants. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 167 results summary table of chi square on influence of culture on domestic violence s/n item chi square (x2) critical value level of significance p 1 does payment of dowry promote domestic violence? 2.24 3.84 >.05 2 is domestic violence as a result of gender inequality? 13.72 6.64 <.01 3 does non involvement of women in family decisions encourage domestic violence? 60.88 6.64 <.01 4 is making sexual advances by men alone enhance domestic violence? 4.52 3.84 <.05 5 does denial of women access to property and resources promote domestic violence? 71.12 6.64 <.01 6 does patriarchal system (men’s world) encourage domestic violence? 82.14 6.64 <.01 7 is not allowing women to discuss their marital experiences encouraging domestic violence? 2.74 3.84 >.05 8 is different training giving to male and female encouraging domestic violence? 20.20 6.64 <.01 9 does relegation of women to the kitchen promote domestic violence? 17.44 6.64 <.01 from the table above, it was observed that there are strong significant influences of people’s views of gender inequality(x2=13.72, p<.01), non involvement of women in family decisions (x2=60.88, p<.01), making sexual advances by men alone (x2=4.52, p<.05), denial of women access to property and resources (x2=71.12, p<.01), patriarchal system (x2=82.14, p<.01), different training giving to male and female (x2=20.20, p<.01), and relegation of women to the kitchen (x2=17.44, p<.01) on domestic violence. it was also observed that there are no significant influences of people’s views of payment of dowry (x2=2.24, p>.05) and not allowing women to discuss their marital experiences (x2=2.74, p>.05) on domestic violence. the patriarchal system had the highest coefficient (x2=82.14, p<.01) and as such proven to be the strongest cultural factor that promotes domestic violence, while making sexual advances by men alone (x2=4.52, p<.05) yielded least contributor of domestic violence. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 168 discussion the findings of this study revealed that the hypothesis tested showed that all the cultural factors significantly influence domestic violence, except payment of dowry and not allowing women to discuss their marital experiences. the patriarchal system practiced by most africans had the highest coefficient, and is the strongest unique factor influencing domestic violence. implication of the findings the implication of the findings of this study is that, the perceptions hold by african men that they rule over women, denial of women access to property, gender inequality, relegation of women to the kitchen, non involvement of women in family decisions, making sexual advances by men alone and different training giving to male and female all promote domestic violence, and if nothing is done to forestall it, wife battering and other domestic violence will continue to eat deep into many families, of which some of the victims may lose their lives at extreme cases. recommendations the researchers hereby recommended that women should be empowered through training by government and non-governmental organization in order to equip them towards contributing to their family needs, which gives them self worth and confidence in marriage rather than being fully dependent on their husbands. schools, churches, mosques as agents of socialization should organize seminars for public enlightenment on the need for peaceful and violence free society which begins from home. researchers also recommended that before people go into marriage, there is proper need to engage them into extensive couple counseling gearing towards managing their marital differences. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 169 references adewale r (2007). “violence in the family: a preliminary investigation and overview of wife battering in africa”. j. int. women’s stud., 19: 234-251. agbo, c. &choji, r. (2014). domestic violence against women: any end in sight? from leadership/news/382501. akolisa u (2002). please, let us say you are our husband” the comet nigeria, may 19, p. 19. amoakohene, m.i. (2004). violence against women in ghana: a look at women’s perceptions and review of policy and social responses. social science and medicine, 59: 2373-2385. buehler, c., krishnakumar, a., stone, g., anthony, c., pemberton, s., gerard, j., & barber, k. (1998). interparental conflict styles and youth problem behavior: a two-sample replication study. journal of marriage and the family, 60, 119–132. cummings, e.m. (1998). children exposed to marital conflict and violence: conceptual and theoretical directions. in g.w.holden, r.geffner, &e.n.jouriles (eds.), children exposed to marital violence, washington, dc: apa. eri, u. (2004). law and procedure in the area court. kaduna: tanza publishing company. ezeh ac, gage aj (1998). the cultural and economic context of domestic violence in uganda: paper presented at the 1998, annual meeting of the population association of america, chicago, iiiinos, april 4. genesis 2:22&23. god made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man, and the man said, “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man”. george, t.a. (2015).lethal violence against women in nigeria (2006 – 2014) http://www.ifra-nigeria.org/img/pdf/lethal-violence-against-women-nigeria.pdf hariland, w.a, prins.o.l, mcbridge, b. & walrath, d. (2011). cultural anthropology. the human challenge (13th ed.) cengage learning. isbn 9780495811787. lagina h. (1994).the role of nursing in identifying, managing and preventing violence against women in tanzania” sixth international congress on family health, women as careers. health care providers and health care recipient sun hotel, gaborne botswana. june 29th – july 2nd njovana e, walts c (1996). “gender violence in zimbabwe: a need for collaborative action”. reprod. health matter, 7: 44-46. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 170 obi, s. n. &ozumba, b.c. (2007) factors associated with domestic violence in southeast nigeria. journal of obstetrics and gynaecology. 27. (1) 75 – 78. odimegwu c. o (2001): couple formation and domestic violence among the tiv of benue state, nigeria. international colloquium, gender population and development in africa, abidjan, 16 – 21 july, 2001. ofei-aboagye, r.o. (1994). altering the strands of the fabric: a preliminary look at domestic violence in ghana. feminism and the law, 19(4): 924-938. osarenren, n. (2002). child development and personality. lagos: deratenig ltd. this day (2011, september 20). domestic violence: when law fails to protect. http://www.thisdaylive.com. udegbe, e. (1995). the conceptual and historical framework. in women’s empowerment and reproductive health, l. erinosho, b. osotimehin and j. e. olawoye (eds) ibadan bookcraft. world health organization (1997). violence against women: a priority health issue, geneva. world health organization (2002). world report on violence and health. geneva. http://www.thisdaylive.com/ page 1 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 gender and coping strategy as predictors of empty nest syndrome among midlife to late adults in south east nigeria 1ezeh, michael arinze 1okonkwo, a. ejike 1nwagbo, ifeoma loveleen 2nneoma, nweke-uko 1 ogbozor, a. pamela 1eungu university of science and technology (esut) *correspondence author: michaelarinze40@gmail.com abstract this research examined gender and coping strategy as predictors of empty nest syndrome among midlife to late adults in south east nigeria. using a cross-sectional design, a total of 248 (male = 73, female = 175) participants were selected from government agencies in enugu state. the average age of respondents was 55.96 years (sd = 5.27, ranging from 51-62 years). two hypotheses were formulated and tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. results of the study revealed that gender had no significant relationship with empty nest syndrome. while coping strategy (acceptance) had significant negative relationship with empty nest syndrome (β = -.14, p< .05). the findings were interpreted in line with extant literature, and the implications for clinical practice and research were highlighted. keywords: coping strategy, empty nest syndrome, gender, midlife, late adult, south-east, nigeria. introduction middle to late adulthood in most average homes in nigeria are characterised by approaching retirement or retired, children completing higher education and leaving home for service, job searching, getting married, etc. the period of children leaving home, living apart from the initial close knitted family creates some sense of loneliness and depression among the parents that would be left behind. even though there is relieve of financial and emotional burden of catering for their children’s welfare, other needs begin to grow, like seeking for attention, need for assistance in daily life, and the perceived void of children all gone away. this scenario is what is called empty nest syndrome (ens). symptoms of ens may include depression, guilt, role confusion, anxiety, and stress (bouchard, 2014; mailto:michaelarinze40@gmail.com empty nest syndrome grover & dang, 2013). these symptoms can affect either parent regardless of gender (hagen & devries, 2004; mitchell & lovegreen, 2009). some studies support the idea that the empty nest is actually a positive developmental experience for most parents, often characterized by reconnection with partners, improved self-care, and increased personal space and freedom to engage in desired activities (bouchard, 2014; grover & dang, 2013; mount, &moas, 2015; nagy &theiss, 2013). but when considering parents who are negatively affected by ens, studies consistently implicate life purpose searching, as critical in the development and maintenance of ens symptoms. for example, parents with low source of income, ill-health and limited social relationships and/or roles outside the home (e.g., workplace and community) and those who became parents at an early age report a higher incidence and severity of ens (bouchard, 2014; grover & dang, 2013; mitchell & lovegreen, 2009). according to long and martin (2000) empty nest syndrome is a persistent and pervasive feeling of loneliness and depression of parents in response to their children’s departure from home. empty nest syndrome occurs and threatens the life quality of older adults and the stability of the society as a whole. on the one hand, it impedes older adults’ ability to increase their life quality because it reflects the negative relationships among the family members and shows that those older adults are living an unhappy life with depression (chen, yang & aagard, 2012). population aging and empty nest syndrome together could be compared to a silent revolution that will impact on all aspects of society such as relationship among family members, government policies, and organizations that provide service to the older adults. research suggests that some parents are more susceptible than others in adjusting to emptynest syndrome. people who experience empty-nest syndrome tend to have things in common. they face challenges such as establishing a new kind of relationship with their adult children becoming a couple again, after years of sharing the home with children, filling the void in the daily routine created by absent children, lack of sympathy or understanding from others who consider children moving out to be a healthy and normal event. the grief of empty-nest syndrome may be compounded by other life events such as retirement, redundancy and menopause. how they choose to adjust to empty-nest syndrome depends on the individual because it differs across gender (mbaeze & ukwandu, 2011). it is commonly associated with mothers because it coincides with menopause which wreaks its own special havoc on the women’s emotional state. if a woman has largely shaped her personal identity as that of mother, then an end to the reproductive years accompanied by a child leaving home can be traumatic. feelings of loneliness and social isolation are related to many disorders including cardiovascular disease, cancer and asthma, which suggests that it is very important to provide social and emotional support for the elderly across cultures (liu & guo, 2008). support from spouses especially those who have lost a partner and also those who are together could decrease feelings of loneliness in the elderly. moreover, research has suggested that it is very important to provide the elderly with more social support from friends, neighbours and other family members (liu & guo, 2007). the formation of a senior association is also effective, as it helps the empty-nest elderly to participate in social activities including singing, dancing, and sports. a number of studies among the elderly have focused on loneliness and depressive symptoms. loneliness is a negative affective state, experienced when a person perceives self as socially isolated or has little and/ or poor social interaction (dyal & valente, 2015; hays &dimatteo, 1967; laursen & hartl, 2013). depressive symptoms are also common in the empty-nest elderly. a meta-analysis showed that depression affects 40.4% of the empty-nest rural elderly in china (95% ci 28.6% to 52.2%) (xin, liu, yang, et al. 2014). it is possible that social and medical problems of the empty nest elderly has been in existence but ignored. researchers in other countries have conducted a considerable number of studies on the variables related to the psychological status of the empty nest elderly (dennerstein, dudley, & guthrie, 2002; deykin, jacobson, klerman, & solomon, 1966; fahrenberg, 1986; lowenthal&chiriboga, 1972; pillay, 1988). however, few studies have focused on the association between social supports challenges among the empty nest elderly. the purpose of this study is to examine the loneliness of the empty nest elderly and to investigate the relationships between social support and empty nest syndrome among the elderly. joff and bast (1978) posited that coping style is the manner by which an individual uses a cognitive adjustment behaviour method and strategy when they face stressful events, which is the result of the stability of individual factors and situational factors that interact. empty nest syndrome andrews (1978) research showed that individuals are under highly stressful conditions if they lack support and lack ways to positively cope with situations, with their degree of mental health damage reaching 43.3%, which is twice that of the normal population (andrews, 1978). previous studies have indicated that elderly people who adopted positive coping styles had better mental health, whereas elderly people who adopted negative coping styles had worse mental health (chen & yao, 2006). the relationship between coping style and mental health among empty-nest elderly has been revealed in previous studies (jia, shi, zhou, fu, 2007; li, zhang, fang et al, 2010). however, few studies have focused on coping style and gender as predictors of empty-nest syndrome among elderly people (su, zhou, cao, wang, & xing, 2018). people who have experienced a loss and/or despair due to the empty nest syndrome, will need to take action rather than a reaction (responding instead of reacting) (beaupré, turcotte& milan, 2006; glenn, 1975; mitchell & lovegreen, 2009). the individual is expected to prepare for the departure; by making sure that both the children and the parents are ready for that step. also, the parent should understand the empty nest syndrome and recognize the early symptoms. empty nest syndrome is a psychological condition that affects parents, results in a feeling of grief (feeling of loss, redundancy, unworthiness, and uncertainty about the future) due to their children’s departure. it mostly coincides with other major events in life (e.g. menopause, illness, or retirement). the transitional period takes time to have a normal life of seeing friends, getting out and about, or resuming some activities that get them back into the swing of things. consequently, instead of grumbles and frustration, the parent should accept the new situation. statement of the problem although there is considerable research on quality of life of older adults and coping strategy but few studies have examined their impact on empty nesters. life expectancy of nigerians have increased significantly (world bank group, 2017), consequently, more people transit into late adulthood, the need to understand empty nest syndrome has become imminent. the focus of this study is to understand empty nest syndrome and factors that could affect it. understanding empty nest syndrome as a phase in adulthood in which most people will experience, with this knowledge it would be worth it for individuals to understand the signs and how to cope. thus, this study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. will gender predict empty nest syndrome? 2. will coping strategy predict empty nest syndrome? hypotheses in view of the research questions, the following hypotheses would be tested: 1. gender would significantly predict empty nest syndrome 2. coping strategy would significantly predict empty nest syndrome method participants participants in this study were comprised of two hundred and forty eight (248) mid-late adults in enugu state capital (enugu) of the south-east in nigeria. participants were purposively selected based on their age from government agencies in enugu states. they have a mean age of 55.96 years, 175 females and 73 males. two hundred and fifteen (215) were married while; thirty two (32) were single. instruments brief cope scale the 28-item brief cope scale developed by carver (1997) is an abridged version of the cope inventory. it presents fourteen dimensions, all assessing different coping dimensions (e.g. self-distraction, items 1 and 19, active copingitems 2 and 7, denial items 3 and 8, substance useitems 4 and 11, use of emotional supportitems 5 and 15, use of instrumental supportitems 10 and 23, behavioural disengagementitems 6 and 16, ventingitems 9 and 21, positive reframingitems 12 and 17, planningitems 14 and 25, humouritems 18 and 28, acceptanceitems 20 and 24, religionitems 22 and 27, selfblameitems 13 and 26). the respondents were asked to indicate how they have been responding to feeling of living without their children around. the response choices range from (1) ‘i have not been doing this at all’ to (4) ‘i have been doing this a lot’. it can be used to asses trait coping (the usual way people cope with stress in everyday life), and state coping (the particular way people cope with a specific demanding situation). each empty nest syndrome dimension is considered separately and not summed up with others. high scores on each dimension indicate high use of that strategy. the author reported an internal consistency index of each dimension: self-distraction= .71; active coping= .68; denial=.54; substance abuse=.90; use of emotional support=.71; use of instrumental support=.64; behavioural disengagement= .65; venting=.50; positive reframing=.64; planning=.73; humour=.73; acceptance= .57; religion= 82, self-blame= .69. previous studies have found it to be a reliable and valid measure of coping strategy (doron, stephan, maiano, & le scanff, 2011; onyedibe, onyekwelu&ugwu, 2015). the researcher conducted a pilot test using 70 participants from awka in anambra state and it yielded a cronbach alpha of .70. empty nest syndrome scale (chen, yang &aagard, 2012) empty nest syndrome scale is a 12-item scale that measures signs of empty nest syndrome among mid to late adults. they assess the anxiety and challenges they face during this period. the response is a 5-point likert option, from (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. for example “i can take care of myself”, “i would like to move near my children’s home”. the author reported a reliability index of .90. the researcher conducted a pilot test using 70 participants from awka in anambra state and it yielded a cronbach alpha of .89. procedure the researcher recruited and train assistants who administered the questionnaires in enugu state. research assistants were students who are familiar with procedures of field data collection. the research assistants gained access to the various agencies with the help of a staff. a convenient sampling technique was adopted as the preferred samples are adults who are from the age of 50 and above in the south eastern states of nigeria. all participants were informed that their participation is voluntary and their data would remain confidential. designs/statistics the study is a cross-sectional survey design and hierarchal multiple regression was adopted. spss version 21 (statistical package for the social sciences) was used for the data analysis. results table 1: descriptive statistic and zero order correlation m sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 gender 1 2 age 55.96 5.27 -.28** 1 3 ms .27** -.00 1 4 sd 4.92 1.27 -.04 -.05 .04 1 5 ac 4.99 1.18 .00 -.11 .15* .29** 1 6 denial 4.38 1.20 .10 -.02 -.10 .03 .14* 1 7 su 4.84 1.45 -.08 -.02 -.15* -.10 .04 .35** 1 8 es 5.22 .99 -.09 -.09 -.11 .19** .11 .05 .13* 1 9 is 5.34 1.17 -.08 .05 -.01 .21** .16* -.03 .04 .28** 1 10 bd 4.69 1.15 .03 .01 -.05 .10 .04 .27** .33** .04 .03 1 11 venting 4.78 1.16 .03 .00 .01 -.15* .19** .15* .21** .02 .04 .21** 1 12 pr 4.61 1.12 -.05 -.07 .03 .08 .23** .06 .06 .13* .02 .16* .09 1 13 planning 4.97 1.14 -.01 -.06 .10 .12 .21** .19** .03 .15* .09 .06 .15* .26** 1 14 humour 3.98 1.36 .03 .08 .09 .02 .10 .22** .13* -.09 -.12 .24** .23** .04 .06 1 15 acceptance 4.85 1.12 .03 -.03 .04 .05 .15* .10 .10 .01 -.00 .18** .17** .15* .18** .20** 1 16 religion 6.21 1.51 -.06 .03 -.24** .10 -.09 .04 .14* .27** .13* .04 -.13* .06 .14* -.23** -.07 1 17 sb 4.50 1.29 .07 .00 .08 -.05 -.03 .26** .30** -.07 .07 .29** .30** .01 .11 .38** .21** -.04 1 18 ens 43.82 3.39 -.03 .06 -.22** -.00 -.20** -.08 -.07 .14* .03 -.01 -.10 -.04 .00 -.21** -.16* .24** -.09 note**p<.01; *p<.05; gender (0 = male, 1 = female); marital status (0 = married, 1 = single); sd=selfdistraction; ac=active coping; su=substance use; es=emotional support; is=instrumental support; bd=behavioural disengagement; pr=positive reframing; sb= self-blame the correlations in table 1 showed that gender and age had no significant relationship with empty nest syndrome (ens). marital status was negatively correlated with ens (r = -.22, p<.01), married were coded ‘0’ and single ‘1’. this means that married people were more likely to experience ens than singles. active coping showed to have negative correlation with ens (r = -.20, p<.01), this means the higher the active coping the lower the ens. emotional support had a positive relationship with ens (r = .14, p<.05), this means the higher the emotional support the higher the ens. humour had a significant negative relationship with ens (r =-.21, p<.01) this means the higher the humour coping strategy, the lower the ens. acceptance coping strategy had a significant negative relationship with ens (r = -.16, p<.05) this means that the higher the acceptance, the lower the ens. religion coping strategy had a significant positive relationship with ens (r = .24, p<.01), the higher the religion coping strategy the higher the ens. empty nest syndrome table 2: hierarchical multiple regression table step 1 step 2 β t β t gender .10 1.46 .11 1.69 age .15 1.83 .15 1.88 marital status -.25 -3.75** -.11 -1.59 self-distraction -.00 -.01 active coping -.01 -.19 denial -.06 -.86 substance use -.02 -.26 emotional support .11 1.64 instrumental support -.01 -.15 behavioural disengagement .10 1.48 venting -.03 -.44 positive reframing .03 .45 planning .03 .51 humour -.06 -.86 acceptance -.14 -2.17* religion .09 1.35 self-blame .06 .84 r 32 .54 r2 .10 .21 ∆r2 .10 .054 f 3.90(3, 239)** 1.20(14, 225) note**p<.01; *p<.05; gender (0 = male, 1 = female); marital status (0 = married, 1 = single); results of the hierarchical multiple regression for the test of the empty nest syndrome (ens) is shown in table 2. the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variables (gender, age, marital status) in the step 1 of the regression analysis and marital status (β = -.25, t = -3.75, p< .01), had a significant relationship with ens. the contribution of the demographics in explaining the variance in ens was 10% (∆r2 = .10). in step 2, coping strategy (self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, emotional support, behavioural disengagement, venting positive reframing, planning, humour, acceptance and religion) only acceptance had significantly relationship with ens (β = -.14, t = -2.17, p< .05). the contribution of coping strategy in explaining the variance in ens was 5.4% (∆r2 = .054). summary of findings from the study it was found that 1. gender was not a significant predictor of empty nest syndrome 2. coping strategies (acceptance) was a significant predictor of empty nest syndrome 3. coping strategies (self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, emotional support, instrumental support, behavioural disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humour, religion and self-blame) was not a significant predictor of empty nest syndrome. discussion the main objective of this study was to determine whether life satisfaction, social support and coping strategies would predict empty nest syndrome. the first hypothesis of the study was gender to predict empty nest syndrome. the result of the regression analysis showed that gender was not a significant predictor of empty nest syndrome. the hypothesis was therefore not rejected. the result was in line with some findings of previous studies (mbaeze and ukwandu, 2011; kivett, 1979). the similarity between this study and previous studies could be as a result of the common cultural context. some of the studies were conducted in africa where gender role is similar. it could also be as a result of the understanding the respondents have about empty nest syndrome, as long as the children are doing well, taking care of them financially and their health, they are happy but that sense of loneliness is the only thing that worries them. they might visit their children during omugo and possibly when they are sick. empty nest syndrome the second hypothesis of the study predicted a significant relationship between coping strategy and empty nest syndrome. the result showed that acceptance coping strategy lowered empty nest syndrome. the result is similar to previous studies (duan, dong, zhang, zhao, diao, cui, wang, chai & liu, 2017; heather, 2008; enache, 2014; su, zhou, cao, wang, xing, 2018). from the study it can be assumed that as parents accept the reality that their children are out to take care of themselves and immediate families, and preoccupy themselves with other distractions like religious activities, community services, or spend time in their hobbies the less likely for them to experience empty nest syndrome. implication of the study the research findings revealed the gender was not a predictor of empty nest syndrome while coping strategies was a predictor of empty nest syndrome. the results draw attention to the needs of the ageing. findings from this study have implication in practical, counselling and self-development of those ageing and approaching retirement. the gap in literature on african’s empty nest syndrome prevalence and management points to the needs lacking among growing number of africa’s ageing population. from the study, it shows that among some nigerian samples, gender has no clear relationship with empty nest syndrome. this shows that there is no clear distinction between the experience of males and females to empty nest syndrome. this could mean that both males and females both experience empty nest syndrome. as people grow older they need sensitization on the need to self-engage in activities that would reduce their solitary lives, like community based activities, hobbies, religious and even new career paths. limitation of the study this study has some notable limitations. firstly, it is a cross-sectional research and has all the inherent weakness of this type of research design. the researchers suggests the adoption of longitudinal designs in future research to clarify he causal pathways and intensity of relationships between the study variables. secondly, the researcher used self-rated instruments; this limited the sample to only older participants excluding younger parents who could add clarity to the trend of events in the lives of the participants. also, adopting mix-method design could reduce the effect of selfrated survey design where more in-depth interview could throw more light to the areas of interest. conclusion does this study make any new contribution to ageing research? in the opinion of the researchers, the answer is in the affirmative. the contribution of this study is multi-fold. first, this study understudied empty nest syndrome as one of its kind using nigerian samples. secondly, the study of gender and coping strategy clearly exposed the unique attributes of the study variables and which one clearly influenced empty nest syndrome. finally, empty nest syndrome among the ageing population can be alleviated by understanding the complex web of connections with factors like the adoption of some coping strategies. references andrews, g. 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(2018). the mediating effect of coping style on personality and mental health among elderly chinese empty-nester: a cross-sectional study. archives of gerontology and geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.01.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2018.01.004 page 4 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi problems of local government in nigeria and dilemma of exit strategies: the historical nexuses and viable antidotes okibe, hyginus banko department of political science faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology onwaidodo@gmail.com, hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi department of political science faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology benjamin.eneasato@esut.edu.ng abstract local government system is a colonial heritage that contradicted and displaced the erstwhile pre-colonial native authority systems in the communities. as a result, the system has continued to produce mixed feelings and reactions since nigeria adopted and legally incorporated it into its governance architecture. studies on local government administration and the recurring dialogues on the problems of the system wear a look of turbulent journey, characterized by dilemma. sometimes, it does appear that virtually everything that ought to be written about the system has been extensively attempted by both scholars and public commentators but in reverse, government and the practitioners (politicians)seem not to take appropriate actions to address the identified lingering problems and the recurrent concerns being expressed by the public. several areas still pose palpable challenge to smooth operations of the system and it is disturbing how the problems have persisted despite different reforms in the local government system. as a qualitative research, the study relies on secondary data, content analysis and adopts systems theory as a theoretical framework. the paper examines the problems of local government in nigeria, and the findings identified that the problems in the case of nigeria are diverse in nature and adversely affect its performance. it suggests the best strategy for redressing them. keywords: problems, local government, nigeria, dilemma, historical nexuses, viable antidotes 1. introduction local administration in nigeria is as old as colonial administration, (idike, 1995:7). local government is the third tier layer of administration in nigeria. its essence hinged on the need to devolve administration to the grassroots and, thereby, integrate the rural populace into the mainstream of leadership training, participation in decision-making, development efforts and governance. in other words, people clamour for local government because it meets their basic expectations, needs and perhaps, the overall embodiments of community aspirations, in every ramification, (okibe, 2016:110). accordingly, the socio-economic and political roles and exigencies of government make local government inevitable. local government provides the government with the structure to reach out to the grassroots, to test and feel the pulse of each and every citizen, residents and visitors, (nwachukwu, 2000, in udenta, 2007:27). mailto:onwaidodo@gmail.com mailto:hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng mailto:benjamin.eneasato@esut.edu.ng 123 this service oriented need that local government serves made the system become inevitable path to inclusive local governance across countries of the world. although it sometimes bears different names, nonetheless, the functions it performs at different climes and administrative systems, such as in either presidential, parliamentary and hybrid political systems, including military regimes as witnessed in nigeria, remain significantly similar and interrelated. what it means is that local government system of administration is not peculiar to federal and/or parliamentary systems of government but generally enshrined and domesticated in virtually all governmental systems as a conveyor belt for mobilizing local resources and human capital to engage in rural transformation and improved economy for sustainable development. ideally, local people feel a sense of belonging and fulfillment when they are co-opted to participate in governance and resource management. the inclusiveness in local administration is a general tendency cutting across every political system, and therefore, not an experience or practice exclusively reserved for developing political systems. it is also in the same way that the problems of local government and local administration appear generalized amid differences in their types and magnitude across national boundaries. in most developing societies, local governance, including the attendant rural development suffers from inherent critical operational problems, challenges and plague. the problems could present in the forms of legal lacuna, structural deficit, and dearth of human resource or operational difficulties, and sometimes the whole of them combined. this is where nigeria measures high in the scale to attract attention and research insight. focus has been on deficit in quality of leadership, lack of autonomy, financial dependence, overbearing control by the state government, mismanagement of scarce resources, corruption, discomfiting legal framework, (okibe, 2016:110), and so much more. the multifarious nature of the problems facing local government system in nigeria first related to the fact that it had no uniform structure when each region in nigeria adopted what it found to be compatible with its general orientation in local administration. against the background, the study focused on the under-listed sub-themes to interrogate the concerns of local government in nigeria:  the problems of local government system in nigeria during the colonial period  the post-colonial challenges facing local government administration in nigeria  policy directives towards eradicating problems of local government in nigeria  the challenges of implementing identified solutions to problems of local government in nigeria these are part of the general epidemic in the governance system of the country, which local government is no exception. as an embodiment of systemic anomaly, it culminates in practices that stifle institutional capacity to wither rising idiosyncrasy, and other inherent challenges in the system. okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi 2. conceptualizing local government both practitioners and scholars, including public commentators, define the term local government in many ways. the multiplicity of the perspectives, no doubt, renders the concept to plethora of meanings and interpretation. nwankwo, (2001), in shaibu, (2006:76), for instance, defined local government as an arrangement legally put in place, at a legally recognized geographical area, to perform assigned functions for the benefit of the inhabitants of the designated area. also, anger, (2006:138), shares a similar view that local government refers to a political authority set up by a nation or state as a subordinate authority for the purpose of dispersing or decentralizing political powers. in furtherance of explication of the multipurpose nature and roles of local government, agbo-ugwumba, (2019:2), posited that, local government is government at the local level exercised through representative council established by law to exercise specific powers within defined areas. in fact, imoode, (2006), in okibe, (2016:110) contended that local government is a political subdivision of a nation-state, (if unitary like britain and france or federal like usa and nigeria), which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs. this includes the powers to impose taxes or exert labour for prescribed purposes with its governing body usually elected or otherwise locally selected. whenever the leadership of the local government is elected or locally selected, what it signifies is that in the first case, the system of democratic composition of the leadership as provided in section 7(1) of 1999 constitution is observed and in the second case; the provision is violated, which engenders problem. logically, there should be no case of usurping the powers and controlling the finances of local government, no matter however the leadership is constituted. elected or selected leadership, when they freely exercised their powers could be desirable for fulfilling local needs of the people. according to agbougwumba, (2019:2), these powers should give the councils substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff and institutional and financial powers to initiate and direct the provision of services and to determine and implement projects, to complement the activities of the state and federal government in their areas. this is to ensure, through active participation of the people and their traditional institutions that local initiatives and response to local needs are maximized. what is implied thereof, is that local government and rural development are two focal areas of concern in most developing countries. the concern results from the distinguishable context under which it operates and performs it statutory functions in nigeria compared to other countries and governmental arrangements, (okibe, 2016:110). apparently, the concept and origin of local government system in nigeria is mired in academic debates. etymologically, ample evidences in history, custom and tradition, show that “local government in nigeria did not start with the british colonialism to which nigeria owes her existence as a nation. rather, colonialism started with the prevailing structure of local administration among the different ethnic groups and peoples of nigeria. in essence, the local communities in the present day nigeria had been involved in local administration before the advent of british colonialism, (ugwu, 2005). the emirate system in the north, with centralized hierarchical positions, the oba system in yoruba nation that presented governance through the instrumentality of checks and 125 balances and the segmented authority system in igbo nation, which was republican in nature, represented great institutions for local administration during the pre-colonial period. in interim, the claim that british colonialism was a pathfinder to formal structure of administration in native nigeria is suspect. nonetheless, modern local government system and its problems originated from british colonialism. 3. the theoretical building block the study anchored the interrogation of the problems of local government system of administration in nigeria on systems theory, adapted from the works of okibe, (2016), citing easton, (1965), and kaplan, (1957), etc. the suitability of the theory emanates from the consideration that local government is a sub-system in nigeria federal system and thus a subordinate to other levels of government and depended on their discretion for its structure, operation and effectiveness in role performance. the major assumptions of system analysis are that:  a political system implies interrelatedness;  the attribute of the political system is reciprocity.  the different parts depend, rely, and benefits from each other  all the different interrelated parts usually look for a situation of equilibrium, and  a political system usually has certain needs that must be satisfied or else such a system is bound to atrophy. based on the foregoing, a political system is more or less, a system of interactions that are related to the authoritative allocation of values in the society, (easton, 1957). it is composed of different parts that are functionally interdependent, meaning that the dysfunction of a part significantly affected the other parts. the system consisted of environment with specific boundary – it generated input in the forms of demands and supports; which are transmitted to the conversion mechanism, representing the decisionmaking process; it culminated in output made up of decisions, policies, programme and finally, the feedback mechanism, which communicated the feelings from the environment back to the system. this process occurred at every level of administration including the local government. corroborating this intertwined functional network, kaplan, (1957), noted that: it focuses on factors, which make for stability and instability in a political system by examining how they are able to manage demands, threats and supports directed towards them in such a way as to maintain their existence. the system depends on its ability to maintain order. it therefore, draws attention to the importance of goal-realization, and highlights that no political system can survive for long without articulating and pursuing identifiable goals. local government, from this perspective, was required to conduct local affairs and articulate rural development programmes to align with the broader expectations of the people. this involved managing their demands efficiently, communicating prioritization of the okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi projects that conformed to wider needs of the populace and implementing the projects to create tangible impacts other than the symbolic. they invariably infused stability and supports for the system and its leadership. nonetheless, systems theory explained the symbiotic working synergy linking the various parts of a system and the impacts of their function on each other. the synergy and interaction typifies local government system. 4. interrogating problems of local government from the colonial perspective 4.1 native administration and british style of local governance the british meddlesome roles in the native administration of different groups that composed the present nigeria commenced with the appointment of fredrick lord lugard as high commissioner of northern protectorate in 1900, and introduction of indirect rule system thereat. the system held sway even when the two administrative units – the colony and protectorates of southern nigeria and the protectorate of northern nigeria was amalgamated in 1914 to form one political entity called nigeria. the indirect rule system relied on the existing local administrative structures that predated colonialism but the dissimilarities in the indigenous administrative system, in both authority and command structures, manifested in different ways. there was success of indirect rule system in northern region; it was a near success in the western region, but a complete failure in eastern region, with aba women riot against obnoxious policies as the climax. the dynamics of the systems posed big challenges to british perception of local administration. the consequent efforts at solving them created more problems when the educated elites began to oppose native authority system. the problems revolved around the stealthy penetrative ambitions of british colonial government into the interior of nigeria with obvious complicity for disarticulation of the local culture, authority structure and value system. many of the natives viewed it as a system of foreign dominance and control, imposition and spread of alien socio-economic and political exploitation, especially when denied the corresponding autonomy (both financial and administrative), lack of powers over matters in areas of their jurisdiction and nonexistent fiscal responsibility. although the native authority system of local government was entrenched in the native authority ordinance of 1916, (ugwu, 2017:40), the natives lacked control over their resources and were unable to exert any influence over the policies and programmes of colonial government. instead, they played along with colonial dictates in domestic affairs and ended up sandwiched the native authority system of administration in the nebulous contrivance of colonial escapade in africa. 127 4.2 dichotomy between native authority and colonial local administration systems during the colonial era, there was dichotomy between the native system of administration and the model of local administration introduced by the colonial masters. the latter was not controlled by the natives; hence, alien interests and interference disorganized the efficacy of the native system of administration without viable alternative. according to idike, (1995:7-8), during colonial period, local administration was vested on officers appointed by the colonial administrators, the crown office, its later successors and then regional governors. these appointees were called the district officers, “d.os”, who were vested with legislative, executive and sometimes judicial functions. following the introduction of regionalism by arthur richards’ constitution in 1946, coleman, (1958:271), in okibe, (2000:101), emphasized that the problem with regionalism was “how to reconcile the native authority system, as the primary unit of african selfgovernment, with a parliamentary system of government at the central territorial level”. the five types of local authority in england, e.g. county councils, district councils, unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and london boroughs differed from what were introduced in nigeria. it was thereon that the dichotomy between the native authority system and the model implanted in colonialism began to yield dreaded consequences on the customary practices of the people. in fact, the system of local administration fronted by the colonial authority clandestinely crystallized into gaining unhindered access to rural people to instigate them against each other, for authoritative annexation of their lands, resources and imposition of human labour. contrary to british county administration, they preferred to institute a colonial teleguided system of native administration in nigeria, which systematically denied the indigenous people full access to government, either by participation in policymaking and control over it or in participation in the implementation mechanisms. it resulted in some reforms in “the local government ordinance of 1950”, (ugwu, 2017:40), with an expectations that it would obliterate the problems of subjection of the native system to colonial dictates against the traditional heritage of the people in sources of authority, loyalty and control. however, the dichotomy between colonial and native systems continued to soar. this was apparent in both northern and western regions but most especially in the eastern region where the novel warrant chief, with autocratic nuances met high resistance. of note, the nationalist leaders protested the abuse of the traditional institutions, requested britain to allow africans to elect and depose their chiefs, according to their traditions and customs other than the constant colonial interference, but to no avail. when the lyttleton constitution of 1954 formalized a federal system of government and institutionalized a seemingly three-tier structure, it could not resolve the impasse, but instead, increased the tempo of agitation against usurpation of local authority, including several other brewing problems that confronted and continued to bedevil the system. the problems lingered on until the departure of colonial masters from nigeria. the result was that each region had its own local government system quite different from others, (idike, 1995:78), and none was a complete prototype of the native system. okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi 4.3 struggle for power between the native authority and the educated elites the colonial experience created opposition to the institution of native administration in nigeria, especially in the areas of powers conferred upon the chiefs, obas and emirs to play political roles. the roles assigned to them solely intended to shield the deficient policies of colonial government that had adverse effects on the common interests of the natives, in exchange for protection and preservation of their throne. nonetheless, the regional colonial government accepted nominations for appointment into political positions from the local chiefs and occasionally referred to them when discussing enforcement of taxes and labour matters relating to or affecting their subjects. they did this to the provocation of the educated elite who felt displaced and reasoned that the native authority system was already compromised and largely converted to instrument for subjugation of the locals, whereby the chiefs served as stooges to the whims and caprices of the colonial masters. the development occasioned power contestation between the native authority and the educated elites, who upon their return from overseas training were eager to take up positions and contribute their quota in the administration of their locality. the power rivalry cracked the wall of unity in native enclaves, and largely, conformed to the wish of the colonial masters to instigate hate and infighting between the traditional leadership and emergent educated class in virtually all african communities. it is not only that the untoward relationship between the native authority institution and elites affected enthusiasm for nationalism, patriotism and the necessary push from the local setting, the divided loyalty and the resultant sabotage became a dagger on the neck of struggles for political independence. 4.4 lack of autonomy for colonial local governments in nigeria the native authority system during the colonial period lacked autonomy, exactly the same way that every other levels of government operated under the strict control of the colonial government. the chiefs, who visibly occupied demeaning positions in the rungs of colonial government, sparingly addressed local matters and most times only acted based on directives. the colonial government used the system as a channel for communicating her policies down the line for necessary compliance. there was no autonomy, either in resource control or in human mobilization for rural development. in addition, colonial government denied local administration the independence to develop and implement socio-economic and political plans, which are not consistent with their exploitation mission in nigeria. apparently, the system of local administration during the period refers to the administration of a community by a body which is not responsible to the local people but to those who appoint them to govern the community, (shamsuddin & siddig, 2014:563). the colonial administrators did not take the natives seriously for their presence or participation when making policies and rules, and when allocating resources and distribution of surplus values from african sweat. the people suffered exclusion and complete marginalization where there was inclusion, which made them to play spectator roles. it inflicted emotional injuries on africans, leaving them as political toddler, who knew nothing about governance and management of human and material resources. 129 5. interrogating problems of local government from the post-colonial perspective 5.1.the problems of post-colonial local government administration in nigeria on attainment of political independence on october 1, 1960, the burden of administering the nation and applying whatever model of administration that would bring relief to distortions inflicted on the native or local government administration by the departed colonial masters became a priority in the agenda of self-governance. unfortunately, there were as many systems of local government administration as there were regions and later states, which were subject to the whims and caprices of the system, their legal existence and operations, (idike, 1995:8). the people desired the individual native authority system, previously practiced in each of the small communities in pre-colonial nigeria as building block for post-colonial local government administration but the decision to uphold it was not forthcoming. lack of precision on what system to adopt belaboured the nicety of distinct primordial imperatives in mode of governance, thus perpetuating a system that developed contempt for each other. it exposed the local government system to ranges of problems, including lack of visibility in participating in rural development, poor leadership, inadequate revenue, undue interference and frequent change of administration and inconsistency and incompetent staff, (njoku, 2009:345). some of them are further discussed below. 5.2.lack of clarity on the structure and tenure of local government leadership there was lack of clarity on the structure and tenure of local government leadership immediately after independence in 1960. the period witnessed regionalization of local government system in nigeria with different structures at different regions. for example, in the western region, significant changes occurred in the structure, tenure and powers exercised by local government councils sequel to the amendment made to the law of 1960. it constituted the local government service board to supervise local governments in the region. in the north, the structure, tenure and powers of the local government in the region were also twisted, consequent upon the enactment of the provincial administrative law of 1962, (abang, 2018). the latent displacement of the native authority system by the british colonial model of local administration in the region faced serious suffocation with a typology of fused native authority system whereby the admixture created situations where the emirs doubled as both the native authority head and prominent actors in regional politics. the influence of the alterations was much more profound in the eastern region, where warrant chief system had previously caused great upheaval. the newly introduced ministry of local government assumed regulatory roles over the activities of local government councils, thus subjecting the system to the whims and caprices of the regional government. the discrepancies in the structure, function, tenure and powers of the local government were addressed in the 1976 local government reform, by establishing local government not only as a third tier level of government in nigeria, but in establishing a uniformed structure that brought the same operational status to the system. although the functions of the local government graduated to constitutional matters, by specifying its mode of operation, functions and powers, the issue of tenure remained a challenging lacuna to the okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi extent that it has spilled over to questions of frazzled autonomy, distorted structure, weakened financial base, loose powers and fragmented tenure. the case was glaring since the return to fourth republic and civil rule in 1999. consequent upon the development, there is no clear uniform term of service for local government elected executive and legislative officers across the thirty-six states and the federal capital territory in nigeria. the predominant features stereotype caretaker/transitional committees that have become regular occurrences in the system, including the frequent dissolution of elected officers by the governor. most times, some states adopt two-year tenure, others three years while some prefer caretaker against the constitutional provisions, and these options alternate from time to time depending on political exigencies of the period and perhaps the discretion of the governor. 5.3.constitutional ambiguity on the independence of local government by virtue of the fact that the 1976 local government reform and the 1979 constitution proclaimed local government as the third tier level in the composition of nigeria federal structure, it implies that it is autonomous in specific areas granted by the constitution. these areas include, financial autonomy, presidential system in its operation by composition of the executive with democratically elected members, and enforcement actions on matters that dwell within its jurisdiction. sadly, experience since after the return to democratic or civil rule in 1999 has shown that local government is far from enjoying these structures and exercising the fundamental rights contained therein. local government is neither independent nor subordinate but completely sandwiched by the overbearing powers and influence of the state government. it is obvious fact that, “at the local government level, the governors are the general officers commanding (gocs) and the chairmen are mere foot soldiers”, (uroko, (2020). perhaps, local government is considered as either an appendage to or a miniature agency of the state government. the new label violates the extant laws on local government system of administration in nigeria and challenges the supremacy of the constitution itself. 5.4.military rule and local government system military first struck and took over the realm of civilian powers in nigeria politics on january 15, 1966. it marked the beginning of consolidation of political organization in a unitary arrangement and stepping-stone to reformations in the local government structure. evidently, at inception, the military snuffed relevance out of the life and essence of the local government system. for example, the military administration of general yakubu gowon in 1967 introduced statism by creating twelve states in nigeria that discarded the colonial council structure. in place of the council structure, various forms of local administration were introduced throughout the country, except in the eastern states, which tried to secede from nigeria then, (obi, 1995:23). even when military found justifications for creation of local governments, the primary concern and emphasis seemed to revolve around distribution of national resources other than entrenching the system as pillar for national growth, economic integration, socio-political transformation, bridging of primordial boundaries and enhancing national unity, or at most, 131 as a primary mode of acquiring qualitative leadership education. the economy of having many numbers of local governments above others explains why local government creation dominated military regimes and not feasible under democratic administration and why the north has more local governments than the south. this has continued to fuel agitation for restructuring and resource control, to a reasonable extent. 5.5.imposition of leadership and distorted command structure since the advent of modern local government system in nigeria, there has been an intermittent, if not constant alteration in its structure, leadership composition and command structure. nwabueze, 1982), ogunna, (1996), arowolo, (2010), and ugwu, (2017), admitted that between the 1930s and 1940s, the local government was known as chief-in-council or chief and council, where traditional rulers were given pride of place in the scheme of things. in the 1950s, election was introduced according to the british model in the western and eastern parts of the country with some measure of autonomy in personnel, financial and general administration. until military intervention in civil governance and the consequent political brouhaha in 1966 resulting in civil war, local government system of administration was regionalized to tally with each ethnic group’s preferred mode of native authority structure and system of administration, based on their prevailing culture and tradition. although the document of the 1976 local government reform clearly delineated the structures to be adopted in the local government system and their complementary functions, imposition of leadership has been the greatest burden weighing down the capacity of the council to deliver on its mandates. ministry of local government affairs headed by a commissioner and the local government service commission presided over by appointed chairman and members jostle to exert influence over the leadership of the council, thus inflicting divided loyalty in the command structure. largely, the governor in the recent past has become the revolving door, through which chairmen of local governments and councilors alike, come in and cease to exist by his proclamation. an excerpt from wilson, (2013), which focused on empirical case analysis, reiterated that, on several occasions, the states of edo, imo, ondo and rivers truncated the tenure of the democratically elected councils and replaced them with members of the ruling political party in the state, as caretaker committees. in most cases, the state governments decided not to conduct elections for the (local) councils, as in the case of anambra state which ran a caretaker system for over six years, (wilson, 2013:142). the practice is opposed to the intendments of section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution. it provides that the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under the constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall ensure their existence under a law, which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils. most times, the office of the council chairman does not exercise real executive powers and the legislature (councilors) does not exercise legislative powers. everything is cosmetic since governor is the absolute authority personified. virtually all their development projects secure the approval of the state before it is cash-backed and implemented, and once on a okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi compliance note, no chairman is impeached by the councilors except if found in repeated default and it is instigated by the governor. in other words, a governor could wake up and arbitrarily dissolve or suspend a democratically constituted local government council leaderships without recourse to the provisions of the extant laws. 5.6.lack of administrative/financial autonomy – joint accounts problems the administration of local government and composition of the leadership has continued to be exposed to incessant alterations and manipulation. the ministry of local government, local government service commission or house of assembly committee on local government bastardizes local government administration with unnecessary interferences. there are issues of frequent conflicting orders and directives emanating from these supervising authorities, and they make local government administration looks hazy. on the other hand, state-local government joint account profits the state as the greatest beneficiary while local government fund are drained through the same process. it is evident that the local government leaderships are compelled to sign dubious and inaccurate financial allocation papers reflecting the federal allocation with some financial grants by the state. the essence is to attest that their full financial rights are observed by the states but in truth, it has always been a hoax package to conceal the state’s meddlesome roles and present the local government as being responsible for its finances. the trickily practice has been a serious problem, thereby culminating in federal government’s financial regulations, which empowers local government to access their financial allocations directly from the revenue mobilization, allocation and fiscal commission, but to no avail. it has sustained the problem of local government’s inability to embark on rural development programmes. 5.7.relegation of rural development and empowerment programmes rural development encompasses activities, efforts and actions taken to provide basic amenities in rural areas; to transform the environment, develop human capital; accelerate improved living condition, and better economic activities sustained by skilled workforce, (banko, 2016). the very essence of creating local government and devolving power to the grassroots was to expedite collaborative action towards rural development. it involves mobilizing rural human and material resources for transformation of localities and thereby decongests urban centers and redistributes the population density and commercial activities in the cities. however, ranges of factors militate against the realization of these objectives, among which are lack of funds at the disposal of the local government, inept leadership lacking in ideas on resource administration for maximum results, corruption and community conflicts, which hinder development efforts (where finance is ever feasible). the previous illustration where the state controls the finance of the local government, in addition to both the elected/selected and appointed officers at the helm of local government leadership is an example. these officers do not have any strong voice to ask about their legitimate monthly allocations, but remain in cocoon and suffocating in suicidal silence. with the development, local government merely provides meager funds that only attend to worker’s wages and running cost in the system. in circumstances where there are insufficient funds for capital projects, the local government can do absolutely little or nothing to cause the 133 needed or desired developments to happen at the grassroots. as a result, infrastructural projects in the rural areas such as access roads, boreholes for water supply, health and education facilities are abandoned and human empowerments sacrificed. 5.8.lack of transparency, accountability in stewardship and high incidences of corruption the entire gamut of local government administration has of late, become masked in secrecy without transparency and accountability on the part of the leadership, including the elected, appointed and career civil servants. the chairman, treasurer (tr) and head of personnel management (hpm) preside over the management of local government funds without iota of transparency and reasonable caution. many times, local government council chairmen move around with boxes fully loaded with money in their cars, ostensibly to dash them to their friends and cronies without clear records. other times, a governor could direct them to pay more attention to stomach infrastructure than physical infrastructure, whereby the money that supposed to be devoted to development purposes are shared as political booty, in order to safeguard future elections against the entreaties of rival or opposition parties. except for the publication of the financial allocations to the three tier levels of government in nigeria by the office of accountant-general after each month’s federation allocation, nothing is heard about the financial allocations to local governments at state level after the state-local government joint account meeting. neither the state nor the committee publishes and makes the outcome of the sharing exercise public. it is reserved information for only few insiders in the system; otherwise, nobody knows how much a local government collects at the end of the exercise. it is part of the reasons there are calls for scrapping of the state-local government joint account. out of the several millions as allocation to local governments from federation allocations, there is nothing on ground to justify the monthly collections and the cycle of the corruption appears infinite. this study discovered that when the state governor chops the larger part of local government allocation, the chairmen and other stakeholders in the system find no moral justification to commit the leftover in any development project. they too share the remaining as though it is a sanctioned practice deserving applauds. the clamour for accountability by either the state government or the rural populace yields no results. the demands are silenced; the kingpins either phased out of circulation and determinedly crippled from active political participation or committed to political oblivion. even in cases where law enforcement agencies, especially the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc) or economic and financial crime commission (efcc) are petitioned concerning the corrupt practices, the outcomes are the least expected, otherwise, many people would be serving prison terms based on the experiences at the local government system. 5.9.financial leakages and pilfering by revenue officials – igr problems in nigeria, most local governments have poor or narrow revenue base and consequently have to depend largely on funds from federal and state allocations, (ogunna, 1996:119). for instance, under the provision of the 1976 local government reforms, the okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi local governments in nigeria were enabled to raise revenues locally from several different sources, including poll tax, property rates, licenses and fees and commercial undertakings. however, the finance department and revenue collectors in particular, mismanage many opportunities to boost local government funds through the internally generated revenue (igr). the sources are manipulated to suit or satisfy their pecuniary interests. the officers responsible do this by not declaring the actual revenue collected through under-receipting and many times by duplication of payment invoices/receipts where one serves the need of the local government and the other their personal interests. in addition, some of the staff in the finance department stole local government funds on incremental bases and its accumulation worth much money to the council’s financial profile. these double tragedies have reduced local government funds to chaotic situation in which the staff, revenue agents or contractors are the major beneficiaries. consequently, public perception tends to tailor towards evading, declining and refraining from compliance with their duties and financial obligations to the local government. they view payment of local government levies or rates as adding a drop of water in the ocean, where ocean wave of pilfering sweeps it away. therefore, the public are reluctant to pay for igr, thus further reducing the amounts of money available to the local government for the performance of its legitimate functions. 5.10. inept leadership and deficit of experienced staff members the inadequacy of experienced and quality leadership has been a perennial problem at the local government system of administration. many politicians who superintend the affairs of the local government council are not experienced. ordinary businesspersons and artisans that lack experience on management of public institutions have since taken over the system. they have no genuine ideas on how to steer the affairs of big organizations; hence, local government is the first school of leadership they would attend. aside offering the platform for rudimentary exposure and experience in leadership, the attendant negative consequences on enthroning a leadership that is not prudent and transparent, and who does not cherish inclusiveness in policy formulation, implementation and tolerance of oppositions, which are the beauties of democracy and good governance, are unimaginable. furthermore, there is the issue of personnel, which places stress on analysis of the manpower resources available to local governments in nigeria (as compared to those in national or state services), including their quantity and quality in terms of experience, professional and technical diversification. many of the personnel lack both training arrangements to meet future demands and the interim measures to meet shot-term supply deficiencies, (ibodje, 1999:10). faced with these challenges, local government operates under the canopy of mediocre and disabled recruits through political devices. the effect of lack of manpower needs of local government is that some staff cannot initiate rural development policy plan, simply because of incompetence. this happens when people who have a good knowledge of how to carry out rural development are not employed in the service of local government to participate actively in rural development program efforts, (njoku, 2009:348). it correspondingly makes the system lack innate capacity to perform above the potentials of its staff. 135 5.11. abuse of power and insensitivity in the local government administration the political leaderships at the local government system are usually entrusted in the hands of cronies and diehard supporters of the government in power in a state, and for as long as they retained the support of their benefactor (governor or influential stakeholder); many of them treat their subordinates and the public shabbily and with ignominy. the ill-treatment extends to the elected councilors and other appointees under their direct supervision and control, including the career civil servants. they live in opulence while their fellow elected officers and other staff groan in poverty. many of the chairmen disburse the funds of the council without regard for legislative appropriations; and initiate some projects and award contracts without recourse to due process or approval at the finance and general purposes committee (f&gp). often, they are in the habit of presenting themselves as untouchable, not impeachable and unshakable by the councilors or any detractors or traducer except on the orders of the governor, whom they serve with highest explicit manifestation of sycophancy. the scenario instills sense of arrogance and insensitive to public opinion. above all, many local government council headquarters situate in the rural areas. overtime, government has been emphasizing the need for the council leadership and officials to reside within their locality and imbibe culture of integration and assimilation of peculiar challenges faced by the rural people. nonetheless, it is very common among the local government chairmen and councilors to superintend over the affairs of the local government from either hotel room or from their private houses in the town, outside the jurisdiction of the local council. in addition, some of the councilors in general and the chairmen, in particular, relocate some sensitive meetings involving their political wards and other important policy issues and decisions on matters that affect the council administration to their private residences and thereby bar any suspected opposition from attendance, (okibe, 2016). 6. the preceding viable antidotes 6.1 reforms at the local government level reforms are strategic measures that target restructuring of personnel components, manpower recruitment, training and development plans, administrative mechanism and operational processes in an organization. in the case of local government, government has undertaken some major reforms to bring about remarkable changes in the system. key among these reforms was the 1976 local government reform. as already highlighted, the reform introduced a uniform system of local government nationwide, instituted a democratic composition of the leadership and sanctioned the practice of presidential system at that level of administration. expectedly, uniformity in the administrative structure, complemented with a multi-purpose single-tier local government system, (ajayi, 2000), opened doors of improvement in the administration and general operations of the local government. with provisions for elective positions, where the chairman was the executive head of local government, and supervisory councilors constituting the cabinet, the reform mandated national or federal government to set aside grants disbursed as allocation to the local government through states. okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi 6.2 legislative process the legislature has overtime sought to address the problems inherent in local government system. this has featured through constitutional enactments and the consequent amendments. advertently, the 1979, 1989 and 1999 constitutions, reaffirmed in sections 7(1) that, the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is under the constitution guaranteed; and accordingly, the government of every state shall ensure their existence under a law, which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils. furthermore, section 7(3) of 1989 constitution empowered the government of a state by law, to create for any local government area up to a maximum of 7 development areas having regard for such factors as common historical and traditional ties, geographical contiguity and administrative expedience. the 1999 constitution, in section 8(3a-d), made similar provisions for creation of a local government. both afore cited provisions subsequently resulted in balkanization of local governments into smaller administrative areas and by implication, engendered serious controversy over its legitimacy and the modalities for the distribution of its revenue among the new component units. nonetheless, some of the key duties and functions that all the constitutions assigned to the local government, as contained in articles 7(3 & 5) in 1979 constitution, 7(5 & 7), in 1989 constitution and 7(3 & 5) in 1999 constitution (as amended), clearly stated thus: it shall be the duty of a local government within the state to participate in economic planning and development of the local government area concerned and to this end a joint economic planning board shall be established by a law enacted by the house of assembly of the state, and the functions to be conferred by law upon local government shall include those set out in part 1 of the fourth schedule to the constitution. interestingly, article 5(a b) of the 1989 constitution in a bid to confer some level of autonomy on the system, declared that the executive powers of a local government: a. shall be vested in the chairman of that local government council and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the house of assembly of the state within whose boundaries the local government area is situated and bye-laws made by the local government council, be exercised by him either directly or through the vice-chairman or supervisory councillors of the local government or officers in the service of the local government ; and b. shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this constitution, all bye-laws made by the local government council and to all matters with respect to which the local government council has for the time being power to make bye-laws; but such executive powers shall be so exercised as not to impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive powers of the federation or of the state government in the local government area. 137 subsection 6(a b) of the 1999 constitution further stated the legal mode of financing local government, among which includes the proviso or clauses, which mandated that: a. the national assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils in the federation; and b. the state house of assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils within the state. to guarantee local government autonomy, several constitution-drafting committees since the return to the 4th republic in 1999 have consistently supported, passed the bill at both senate and house of representatives and recommended the bill for the concurring two-third affirmative votes of the thirty six state houses of assembly for local government autonomy. to public chagrin, the good intention has not seen green light but the effort is continuous with hope that the dissenting house of assemblies shall see reasons to promote the good cause and support the passage of the autonomy bill into law. this would make local government system overcome the challenges of financial dependency, excessive control by the state government and perhaps, lack of visibility in rural development programmes. 6.3 administrative process agitation against marginalization by minorities and even majorities opened vistas for creation of local government as administrative cum political measures for balancing the lopsided structure in the country’s governance and efforts toward rural development. as a result, different military governments at staggered periods and based on their discretion created local governments. incrementally, the total numbers altered intermittently as follows: 301 in 1986, 453 in 1989, 589 in 1991 and 774 in 1996, (olasupo & fayomi, 2012, okibe, 2016, and ugwu, 2017). the last exercise was by sani abacha regime before the inauguration of the 1999 constitution and new civilian president in may 29, 1999. there were efforts to solve some administrative challenges, which resulted from the 1976 reforms, whereby 75 percent of members of the council were to be elected through the secret ballot on a no-party basis under the direct and indirect systems of election, whereas the state military governor would nominate the remaining 25 percent, (igbuzor, 2009). unfortunately, the democratic flavor of local government nosedived during the regime of alhaji shehu shagari (1979-1983), for inability to conduct election for local government as provided for in the 1979 constitution. instead, he appointed sole administrators, a system of administration that the regimes of major general muhammadu buhari (1983-1984) fully adopted and implemented while ibrahim babangida (1984-1992) partly sustained it. 6.4 directives on financial allocation/autonomy of local governments the nigerian federation with three tier levels of administration varied her system of revenue sharing formula from time to time. one obvious and indispensable challenge is that revenue allocation appears to be more political in nature than technical, (iliyasu, 2011, in lamidi & fagbohun, 2013). political jingoists at state and federal levels supersede the various principles guiding revenue sharing formula, and this invariably brings about okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi ineffectiveness and lack of adequate funding at local government levels. the imbalance and lopsidedness associated with revenue allocation system injure the grassroots’ development, lead to slow decision making and poor service delivery among other problems facing local government, (lamidi & fagbohun, 2013:2). essentially, obika, (2018:72), cited a case where engr elias mbam stated the absurd information at the disposal of the revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal commission on how the state joint local government account is operated in various states of the federation. it shows that the allocations from the federation account most times do not actually reach the local government councils (lgcs) as allocated, with numerous allegations of manipulation of the account at the point of disbursement adding that states hardly make their own contributions as stipulated by section 162(7) of the constitution. he stated that it is the position of the revenue mobilisation, allocation and fiscal commission (rmafc) that local government should be granted financial autonomy by ensuring that all monies due to them/statutory allocations from the federation account are all paid directly to their coffers and the state joint local government account be abolished. despite the fact that the nigeria finance intelligence unit (nfiu) directed banks in may 2019 to pay local governments all monies accruing to them from the federation within 24 hours of receipt, osun state government had loggerhead with zenith bank over the implementation of the directive in the state, (sahara reporters, june 10, 2020). this is example of likely generalized case across other states, as most state governors found the directive incomprehensible, impracticable and open affront to the powers they exercised over the local government system, especially the leadership and the finances of the council. in same vein, the implementation seemed largely sabotaged and frustrated. in contradistinction to the purpose of overriding national interest espoused in section 7(6a) of 1999 constitution previously cited, which requires that the national assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local government councils in the federation, nothing tangible, substantial and efficacious seemed to have been done in that direction. evidently, the national assembly has not met its constitutional responsibility on the matter, and the legislative lacuna gives the state governments (governors) latitude to manipulate the finances of local government. 7. obstacles to solving local government problems in nigeria 7.1 lack of political will on the part of stakeholders the foregoing discussions are laden with proof of lack of political will on the part of executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to show commitment to the afflictions of the local government in nigeria. there are flagrant violations of section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution by governors and no declarative judicial or legislative enactment with adverse consequences have been made to deter the governors and cause them to play by rules in the composition of local government leadership and management of its finances to promote rural development programmes in the local government. governors are not in a hurry to let go of their stranglehold on local government finances and dependency nor does the national assembly actively adopt legislative means to address the challenges of the local 139 government. the lapse is most disturbing, especially from the weak background of the state houses of assembly when compared to the overwhelming executive powers in the state. the power and influence of the executive has warranted that every bill passed by the national assembly and seeking to grant local government autonomy has continued to be scuttled by state houses of assembly in compliance with the political dictates of the dissenting governors. the stakeholders have not risen to the challenges of putting a stop to this debasing exploitation of the local government commonwealth for selfish purposes. the dilemma has continued to jeopardize local government financial autonomy and development of critical infrastructure in the rural communities. 7.2 godfatherism and persisting corruption godfatherism is practices where moneybags, very influential political stakeholder and powerful men/women in the corridors of power conditionally sponsor or help their godson to ascend unto political power only to keep him in a cage of servitude without breathe of freedom in the management of the affairs of the office. some of these people played strategic roles in the creation of their respective local governments. they take local government leadership as a profitable business with high potential for material and financial benefits and the perception corroborates the popular claim that godfathers prevail on the leadership of local government that they installed to share local government allocations among stakes and areas of concern. it is the bane of nigeria politics and the negative implications are overwhelming. evidently, godfathers are the major contractors, major influence in local government employment and posting of staff, and in appointment of other political officeholders and support staff in the local government. obviously, the practice of godfatherism contributes immensely in nurturing, manifesting, promoting, perpetuating, sustaining and consolidating corruption in the local government system. corruption thrives in local government in the under-listed areas, although not limited to them: a. inflation of prices of bought items; b. over-estimation of cost of projects; c. the ghost workers syndrome; d. award of contracts and subsequent abandonment; and e. outright payment of huge sums of money to political godfathers, (aghayere, 1997). in other words, over the years, the high rate of corrupt practices in the local government has rendered the local government administration inactive and devoid of concrete development activities, (aghayere, 1997; in oviasuyi, idada, & isiraojie, 2010). the implication is that godfathers play critical and catalytic roles, (either by themselves or through their agents and representatives)in scuttling any policy implementation that portend danger for their monopolistic aura and stranglehold on the finance of the local government. many of them erroneously assume that local government fund is their birthright, and selection of the leadership their sacred duty. the phenomenon of godfatherism increasingly complicates the network of corrupt practices in the local government, thereby diversifying into many forms, including patronage systems, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, nepotism okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi and graft. these corrupt practices seem to be permanent features of local government administration in nigeria. 7.3 general quagmire in politics and governance in nigeria politics and governance in nigeria are in bizarre states. deficit in quality leadership stunts growth in leadership values and further complicates the issues of greed, nepotism, corruption, abuse of power and public office. the general political culture and fundamental orientation in leadership creates a serious gap on the path of institutionalizing corporate rules and practices against building personality cults in the system. majority of the leaders in nigeria are merchants of opprobrium and leave nothing to chance when it concerns appropriation and mismanagement of public resources. once one wins an election, the general notion is that the person will bring development projects to his immediate environment, give employment to family members, relatives, and cronies; amass wealth and become rich. public expectation usually appears tempting for even angel to misbehave in political offices in nigeria. in fact, the system encourages corruption and many leaders easily fall prey for it. accordingly, people situate themselves around where their placement in the political ladder and economic ranking will afford them the opportunity to benefit from sharing of public resources/funds. the sharing of these resources frequently occurs at the national, state and local government. in the case of local government, political gladiators easily convert the system into goldmine for the benefits of godfathers and other stakeholders. it is a general slump that characterizes the entire body polity and not peculiar in the local government system of administration in nigeria. the foregoing privileges enjoyed by those who occupy positions of leadership at strategic levels of governance in nigeria impels others to scout for similar inestimable opportunity for authoritative allocation of values, at least, being able to determine who gets what, when and how. the lust for power worsened since people discovered that politics is the easiest way of becoming rich, and many political leaders have actually amassed inexplicable wealth by engaging in fraudulent and corrupt practices. 8. policy directives toward eradicating problems of local government in nigeria this study has taken cognizance of the implication of each policy option and the essence of collaborating among stakeholders to delink local government from the very plague that does not allow it to live up to its constitutional mandates. on the heel of the identified problems, the following recommendations could provide a roadmap for overcoming the challenges and improving the system:  to effect comprehensive constitutional amendments whereby the statutory functions and finances of every tier of government would be spelt out and none dependent on each other for funding but each having equal constitutional competence to directly collect allocations and taxes within its areas of jurisdiction.  entrenching democratic leadership at the local government system, providing for a uniform tenure, conditions of service, command structure, regular elections without 141 state interference and independent legislature with oversight powers over executive activities and where all the governing bodies are accountable to the people within the jurisdiction of the local government.  scrape state-local government joint account, state independent electoral commission and every form of state control over the structure, personnel, operation and finance of the local government, in order to uphold and maintain their constitutional and jurisdictional equality in the exercise of the statutory powers and performance of their key responsibilities.  institute mechanisms for effective checks and balances among the local government leaderships, and to commit community leaders and other stakeholders like civil society organization, and community based organizations to serve as watchdog over the activities of local government. the essence is to engage them in policy formulation and active participation in policy implementation in order to curb incessant cases of corruption and maladministration.  internal democracy should be deepened to guarantee and promotes election and not selection, good and accountable governance and not insensitivity in leadership and where the influence of godfatherism is extinct. this will ensure the emergence of popular and quality candidate as a leader and collaborative efforts among all the stakeholders in setting development agenda. 9. conclusion this study commences with an observation that local government is the third tier level of governance in nigeria, just as it operates elsewhere around the world. in many other parts of the world, local government administration is a form of deconcentration in which all subordinate levels of government within a country are agents of the central authority, usually the executive branch. the regions, provinces, districts, municipalities and other units of government headed by or are responsible directly to a central government agency are inclusive and the heads of the local administration serves at the pleasure of the nation’s chief executive, (rondinelli, 1981).as a system of government generally, it places emphasis on local administration. the study identified and discussed the problems facing the modern local government system in nigeria. some of the core problems include inadequate funding, lack of autonomy resulting from excessive control by state government, corruption and constitutional problems, etc., (agbo-ugwumba, 2019). these problems have remote origin and government have adopted several measures and approaches in attempts to resolve them. some of the measures have paid off while others seemed like wasted efforts and in this category belongs constitutional options of asserting local government autonomy. although the problems have not lagged in receiving theoretical emphases, the practical implementations of the proffered antidotes to the problems are grossly inadequate. as a result, the study further recommended that local government, as a prime agent of rural development should be reinvigorated by funding its activities fully, eradicating corruption and inept leadership in the system. okibe, hyginus banko & eneasato, benjamin onyekachi references abang, p. 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(2020). executive order 10: why are governors jittery? business day newspaper, june 7, https://www.businessday.ng http://www.saharareporters.com/ https://www.businessday.ng/ page 1 peace and conflict resolution as a strategy for societal wellbeing (a nigerian perspective) nwosu enyinnaya okoroafor department of political science, faculty of social sciences and humanities. enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu. abstract the paper examined the necessities and usefulness or otherwise of the employment of the tools of peace and conflict resolution as a strategy for societal wellbeing in nigeria within the periods of pre and post covid-19 era. this is done with a view to evaluating the efforts of government of nigeria in resolving conflicts vis-à-vis using the tools of peace and conflict resolution as an available strategy for the benefit of her citizens. this is because the constant interaction of nigerians at any level will definitely generate conflict since conflict is inevitable in any social milieu. yet for the continuous sustenance of human existence, these moments of conflicts are naturally followed by moment of peace either brought about by the intervention of a third party, civil society initiatives or by the disenchantments of the parties in conflict, hence the tendency to search for a peaceful settlement of such a conflict. the study employs secondary data generated through documentary sources. the paper again adopted relative deprivation, rising expectation and frustration-aggression theory as its theoretical framework. the paper concludes that peace and conflict resolution tools remain an absolute tools for the sustenance of human existence especially in this extraordinary times of pre and post covid-19 era when successive waves of a more contiguous variant of viral progression seems to diminish the previous efforts of government and scientists in containing the ravaging effects of the virus through vaccine production and its therapeutic use thereby constituting deadlier threats that accentuate the need for peace and conflict resolution among persons and societies. keywords: peace, conflict, covid-19 pandemic, wellbeing and nigeria. introduction so long as there is a constant interaction among human beings living in a given society, either in a traditional society or at the international arena, there are bound to be conflicts. given that man as a social being will always relate with others in the search of either a reciprocal exchange of goods or services could generate further skirmishes or unanticipated conflicts. the study of peace and conflict resolution is the shared concern of behavioural scholars, politicians, statesmen, diplomats, civil societies and civil rights organization. there is no absolute peace in a conflictual world society. because of the interest this new area of study has generated, scholars over the years have devoted their time and energy in the teaching of peace and conflict resolution in our tertiary institutions with the aim of inculcating in students’ knowledge and skill on peace and conflict resolution and at other times have created awareness among policy makers on the need to embrace such tools in the control and management of conflict whenever societal wellbeing 103 it occurs. this is because conflict is an ill-wind that blows none any good and should not be left alone. paradoxically, in nigeria today, the level of insecurity and conflict situations have made many especially scholars, peace advocates to question the relevance of peace and conflict resolution as a branch of discipline in the curriculum of study. many policy makers as well have acted brazenly in such a manner that had negated the value of peace and conflict resolution in our society. again, mindful of the raging conflicts in nigeria in the past few years and at the same time knowing that each day that passes bring with it a new tempo in the escalation of these conflicts with millions of lives, properties and critical infrastructures destroyed. with the boko haram insurgency having engulfed the whole of the northeast region of nigeria with its destructive tales, the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) have been at loggerhead with the central government for years and it appears its activities are spinning out of control with its destruction of critical infrastructures in the southeast of the country especially police stations, military barracks and security personnel. and all these have resulted in the loss of lives of our youths, women and children some of who are caught in between the crossfire. in other to overcome these conflictual situations threatening our country, there is the need to identify and analyze these triggers or indicators of conflicts at the early stages before they graduate into the exhaustive or explosive conflict situation. the imperative for this proactive action is that if parties are sensitive or responsive to address the early conflict signals, conflict could be avoided. a deeper understanding of the behaviours and the structural imbalances fuelling these social, political and economic conflicts are necessary to achieve a more desirable human condition and societal wellbeing. according to abbas (2015:3), peace and conflict resolution are readily available as veritable tools in analyzing, preventing or de-escalating these conflict situation. with the current wave of conflicts in nigeria, peace and conflicts resolution strategy has become necessary as an alternative to confrontational postures and coercive diplomacy that appear to be the norm at the moment. hence, peace and conflict resolution are made available to individuals, policy makers and political leaders in the same way as various religious and cultural leaders tend to promote peace for the societal wellbeing. peace has a desired virtue that must be continually advanced since there is no society where absolute peace reigns or exists. on a general note, scholars and peace advocates have attested to the fact that peace is the prime value of human existence. they have equally underscored the belief that peace is not just a thing. it has many sidedness or images. it is a multidimensional concept. its values are enhanced if conceptualized from its many images or perspectives. from whatever perspective, peace remains a crucial element that continues to receive the attention of all sectors of our country. there is no doubt that nigeria and her citizens need to strengthen the principles of peace and conflict resolution in order to reduce to its barest minimum the escalating situation we have inadvertently or through the act or omission of our leaders found ourselves in. this tends to have progressively reversed the developmental strides made over the years as a country. the knowledge of peace and conflict resolution could be deployed at this extraordinary period of post covid-19 era when successive waves of a contagious variant of viral progression seems to obliterate the achievement of various efforts of the nigerian government and scientists in containing the rampaging effects the virus. the nigerian state have spent huge amount of capital or resources to procure vaccine and its effective delivery to get to the arms of the citizens. palliative measures or packages have taken a huge chunk of government’s budgetary allocation. citizens who have lost their loved ones and jobs need to be rehabilitated or reinvigorated. all these soothing measures would require competent and strong leadership as well as responsive citizens that are peace and conflict resolution friendly. we need to emphasize that the understanding and knowledge of peace and conflict resolution can only be beneficial if our leaders, stakeholders, policy makers, technocrats and ordinary citizens are ready to put such knowledge into action. applying such knowledge to real life situation on the ground could help to better the lots of most families, communities and societies at large. the knowledge of peace and conflict resolution is important as it will arm the populace with tools to deploy in solving myriads of conflicts that are afflicting nigeria today. this knowledge also could be of immense benefit in the resolution of the apparent conflict or misunderstanding between the nigerian state and her citizens over the lockdown measures adopted by government and the untold hardship it impacted on the citizens. it will also help the aggrieved in the country to overcome their perceived persecution and alleged marginalization. the knowledge of peace and conflict resolutioncould transform the country in order to attain to a more just and equitable environment where citizens can freely interact with each other without bias or suspicion. through peace and conflict resolution, the causes and preventive measures as well as the nature of conflict could better be appreciated and addressed to the satisfaction of societal wellbeing 105 all. this paper intends to re-emphasize the usefulness and necessity of peace and conflict resolution as a strategy in solving the country’s conflictual situations and its attendant wellbeing. the concept of peace the mention or pronouncement of the word “peace” in any human society arouses the feeling of an assurance of security and safety. often, people venture into certain endeavours because they are sure, not just of their safety, but also of their peace of mind. while safety is usually a product of peace, peace in itself stimulates a feeling of safety required to sustain peace. peace is a relative condition of security friendly climate that allows individuals and group relations to progressive order and security (akpuru-aja, 2007). peace does not necessarily mean the absence of conflict or violence rather it reflects the security friendly system that frees individuals and group of people from fears and dangers of losing such inalienable rights such as life, liberty and property (ibeanu, 2006). ibeanu further defines peace as a “process involving activities that are directly or indirectly linked to increasing development and reducing conflicts both within specific societies and in the wider international community”. peace connotes system maintenance against anarchy or lawlessness. peace could also mean the presence of justice, equality and development, existence of rule of law, respect for human life and dignity, tolerance among and between people and most importantly having inner peace, wholeness or wellbeing. peace is constructive, cooperative, integrative and collaborative. it is a human desired condition and order of existence that allows the ruler and ruled to fulfill their life obligations with minimum fear and danger to life. peace does not exist in situations of violence or flagrant abuse of power as each of these processes is a negation of the serenity and human desire for an ordered setting that sustains mutual co-existence. it is a prime value of human existence. it is described as public goal because it guarantees security for all rather than fear or terror. without peace, the individual does not discover and fulfill itself. according to ibeanu (2006:2), despite the general knowledge of peace, there are variations in its meaning especially through the lenses of philosophy, sociology, politics, structural and strategic perspective. according to the philosophical perspective, “peace is a natural god-given state of human existence without the corruptive tendencies of man”. the sociologist refers peace to a condition of social harmony in which there are no social antagonism among people or group in a given society or community. for the political scientist, peace is a political condition that makes justice possible in any given society thereby entailing political order. the structural conception of peace assumes that the society is an inter-dependent one, and each has a role, an obligation or indeed a function. finally, the strategist argues that the welfare and security of citizens are better protected, preserved and projected in the development and use of military force. for a society that is perpetually engulfed in violence and armed conflicts, it will view peace as absence of violence, the presence of freedom, justice, equality, development and availability of basic needs of life and wellbeing. sustainable peace and societal wellbeing may include the following: competent and robust leadership good governance good followership non-violent value system preservation of human rights creating an institutional mechanism for the promotion of more collaborative activities than discord security measures to guarantee the absence from fear or threat to subjects and core values of the society the concept of conflict one necessary condition for conflict is the reality that human beings live in groups, be it ethnic, religious, economic or political groups. any of these groups, societies or communities have members who have different aspiration and needs. the same applies to states like nigerian state whose component units most often clash with each other within the country in the pursuit of their respective interests. this makes disagreements an inevitable aspect of human life. like peace, conflict has lent itself to varied but related definitions and conceptions. according to akpuru-aja (2007:15), conflict is an attitude, a behavior or an action or a process that introduces strains or stresses in the relationship between two or more parties on, say, the attainment of a set of interests or goals. in conflict, parties perceive or treat each other as a stumbling block that will result in frustrating the other in attaining a set of goals. contrasting images of each other’s intention or action may also create a situation of conflict. generally, conflict has been considered as an obstacle to progress, political stability, economic prosperity and overall socio-economic development of any society because of its destructive impact. conflict does not just exist. for every manifest or psychological conflict situation, there are bound to be conflict indicators or triggers. often, insensitive to such indicators would create a situation of conflict. this means that conflict must be timely averted or managed properly as societal wellbeing 107 failure to do so will reflect a determined action or struggle over a goal. in terms of transition of conflict, it could graduate from conflict proper to the resistant conflict situation and finally to exhaustive or explosive conflict situation. the categorization of conflict could be examined in its traditional view, human relation view, interactionist view and marxist concept of conflict. the traditional view of conflict is in the negative. for them, conflict is bad. it is an ill-wind that blows none any good. this view projects the badness of conflict because it transits to violence, destruction, irrationality and physical violence. the human relation view of conflict posits that conflict is natural, innate and inevitable. human community needs to accept conflict as part of life and its existence. this view approximates to the political realist’s image. the interactionist conflict goes beyond the acceptance of conflict as inevitable to that of encouraging conflicts on the ground of harmonious, peaceful and cooperative relations which grows out of conflict. while the marxist view assumes that the root cause of conflict and social change in historical society is man’s exploitation of man by man. in relating these views to our country, it is apt to state that the nigerian state has been bedeviled by many conflicts such as ethnic conflict, political conflict, religious conflict and economic conflict. wellbeing defined the english leaner’s dictionary defines wellbeing as the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. it is important to stress that wellbeing is a more broader concept than moment-tomoment happiness, while happiness is a part of it. it also includes other things such as how satisfied people are with their whole life, their sense of purpose and their control of event around them. according to a british think-tank, wellbeing can be understood as how people feel, how they function both on a personal and social level and how they evaluate their lives as a whole. wellbeing is the desire of most people. it is the intrinsic value of all. it is the essence or ultimate good of people i.e their self interest. in a subjective perspective, wellbeing denotes how people experience and evaluate their lives. wellbeing as a concept could be explained in terms of mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, economic wellbeing and emotional wellbeing. wellbeing plays a central role in ethics since what we do depends at least to some extent on what would make someone’s life go better or worse. causes and implications of conflict in a covid-19 ravaged nigeria. conflict is sometimes useful whereas at other times it retards development and depletes resources that would otherwise serve sundry developmental purposes. conflicts could at some points exert destructive stints on the fabrics that hold a given society. conflicts destroy infrastructure, severe relationships, impede economies and destroy lives yet they are inevitable. the nigerian state has had several cases of conflicts and challenges since its creation. and all these have threatened the corporate existence and sovereignty of the country. worthy of note include the nigeria-biafra civil war, the political logjam occasioned by the cancellation of june 12 presidential election that was adjudged to be the most transparent and free elections in the history of nigeria, the nigeria-cameroon bounder dispute over bakassi peninsular, the endsars protest, boko haram insurgency and the ethnic separatist agitations, the spate of kidnapping, banditry and insecurity that are almost engulfing the country. the above was the situation before the emergence of covid-19 pandemic which has complicated and compounded the already precarious situation. the covid-19 pandemic has tremendously affected and worsened the already existing deteriorating socio-economic and psychological wellbeing of nigerians. livelihoods has been lost especially amongst the people that depended on daily income for survival during the lockdown. the mental health of the people have nosedived. according to who (2020), one in every four nigerians is currently suffering from mental ill-health. the academic calendars of schools have been truncated as schools were shutdown. meanwhile the economic hardships occasioned by the deprecating and ravaging effects of the virus has placed the country and her citizens on the brink of intense conflict arising from intense competition for the scarce resources. within the country, there are competitions among smaller ethno-political entities over national or regional resources that were more accessible in the pre covid-19 days. because of decline in productive outputs and other fallouts from covid-19, there are increased competitive interactions that could give rise to conflicts over who gets what. such conflicts no doubt could escalate to violence. hence grinding poverty that followed the outbreak of coronavirus is an undeniable source of conflict in the post covid-19 era especially in nigeria where businesses remained shut down within the periods of restrictions and lockdowns. those whose business capitals were depleted could constitute societal nuisance hence could trigger another potential source of conflict between and among societies. politics of coronavirus cure and vaccination may continue to remain a source of conflict. in the same vein, citizen’s perceptions of insincerity arising from politics of coronavirus constitute a major reason for civil disobedience to certain coronavirus protocols. similarly, police enforcement of the protocols guiding citizens during the lockdown and associated periods is another source of conflict during these periods and in the early post covidsocietal wellbeing 109 19 era. in the same manner, the coding of crimes associated with these protocols created legal challenges that impede smooth and hitch-free enforcements for which there is most likely going to be some manifest conflict between the citizens and enforcement agents. increased prices of goods and services especially in an already inflationary situation could portend danger for the post covid-19 era, since the country lacks the requisite economic ability to stabilize her economy to cushion the effects of government lockdowns. there is every likelihood that citizens of this country would aggressively respond to frustration occasioned by insufficiency or complete lack of essential goods. uncoordinated news as well as rumors of another impending lockdown especially in african countries like nigeria could be another source of conflict in the post covid-19 era. most conflicts associated with these rumors could result to panic purchases and efforts by citizens not to be caught up by the unexpected lockdown. panics normally lead to confusion which in turn may result to conflict among the citizens and between them and not just the government and its agencies but also the law enforcement agents (i.e police) seeking to reinstate order. the latter are usually accused of high handedness and an improper handling of volatile situations. these could lead to chaos similar to the outcomes of nigeria’s endsars protest in september 2020. theoretical framework scholars have advanced theories that could be applied to study, analyze and understand peace and conflict situations. and since conflict or violence is multidimensional in nature, it will not be out of place to adopt a multi-theoretical approach in this analysis. the study adopts relative deprivation, rising expectation and frustration-aggression theory as its theoretical framework. this is employed when examining issues pertaining to conflicts, violence or revolution. according to dollard et al. (1939: 2), every act of violence or aggression is consequent upon some form of disappointment and discontent in the system which invariably leads to frustration. the individuals or groups in order to save themselves from such frustration and discontent will engage in violence in an attempt to influence political actors or even change the system to their own advantage. again people react aggressively to a perpetual denial of essential needs. it is on the ground of complete denial and deprivation that men rebel. according to ted gurr (1970:3) on “why men rebel”, in his explanation of the causes of political violence as a theory said that deprivation is a perceived discrepancy between men’s value expectations and their value capabilities (i.e. the disparity between expectations of men and their capability to realize such expectations). he went further to define value expectations as the goods and conditions of life which people believe they are rightfully entitled to; and, value capabilities as goods and conditions of life they think they are capable of attaining or maintaining given the social means available to them. gurr further contends that societal conditions that increase average level or intensity of expectations without increasing capabilities, increase the intensity of discontent. roger barker et al. (1941:4), posited that uprisings begin especially when people can no longer live in a given situation. in fact, at some levels of discontent and dissatisfaction especially when the issues and areas affected bother more on social and non-vital issues, human being can endure and therefore allow the status quo over time. at certain increased level of oppression and deprivation also, people can remain peaceful thereby expressing their regard for the sanctity of human life and peaceful co-existence. at this stage, they seek alternative means of redressing the real or perceived anomaly. where government institution constitutes the problem factor at this stage, people patiently await subsequent elections to vote out these inept leaders. also, where other social factors constitute the problems, alternatives are sought. this obviously is in an effort to preserve existing peace within the given area. when the factors responsible for the discontentment and dissatisfaction of the masses bother on economy and people’s survival, patience and accompanying endurance are jettisoned. mass actions, revolution and violent protests seem to be the only alternative. the masses in this situation assume a position determining their fate in their own hands. it is pertinent to note that when the source of the frustration cannot be challenged, aggression gets into the targeting of innocent citizens. the aggression of the enlightened could be controlled or moderated but when it involves the poor or deprived sections of the society, it becomes difficult to fathom the extent to which they will let out their bottled-up frustration and anger which is always violent. the frustration-aggression theory according to the blackwell dictionary of sociology, posits that social movements occur when frustration leads to collective, often aggressive behaviour. according to the theory and its later variations, frustration has a variety of sources. it may for example, result from deprivation caused by poor economic conditions, social oppressions or inept and warped leadership. deprivation may even be as a result of inequality, social injustice, societal wellbeing 111 consistent inclination for mediocrity and compromise or as a result of discrimination against a citizen because of his birth (otherwise known as tribalism). the theory further states that deprivation can be categorized into two forms; the absolute stage: where people do not have enough to survive, i.e. when they only live without enough for mere survival. and secondly, the relative stage: when people have enough to survive but less than those with whom they make comparison. finally, people in the society believe that they are rightly entitled to good employment or business of any sort, housing, clothing and adequate feeding. but these things are rarely available. some other persons spent years studying and acquiring professional skills in the belief that their social status would be enhanced thereby adding value to themselves. a situation where they are not able to realize such expectations as a result of absence of enabling environment, they become emotionally stressed, frustrated and consequently aggressive, venting their anger through violence to the system or society. the handling of conflict arising from covid-19 era according to ojiji (2006:3), three approaches could be adopted as methods of handling post covid-19 problems. these include:  avoidance  accommodation  compromise these styles according to him are the processes through which humans handle conflicts. no doubt these styles experimented in pre covid-19 era, could be suitable for the post covid-19 period. due to its peculiarities, it is necessary that we review these styles as they are applied to peace and conflict resolution as well. avoidance according to ojiji (2006: 121), avoidance occurs when one party to a potential or existing conflict ignores the conflicting issues or denies the significance of the issue in their life. it is a way of not addressing the conflict or a tactical way of postponing a conflict to a more suitable time. in avoidance, the party that intends to avoid is not just unassertive but also uncooperative in yielding to issues that causes the impending conflict. he simply walks away from the antagonist who may have expected gains. avoidance may on several occasions be interpreted as weakness. it may also be mistaken for cowardice. rather avoidance as a strategy for conflict handling is simply a rationally subjected choice by a party. it is usually chosen to accommodate the limitless benefits of peace and peaceful settlement of issues. avoidance implies humility and understanding rather than fight and violence. it is most suitable for the post covid-19 era because it offers enormous opportunities for parties to stay apart and reappraise what they would have lost from a manifest conflict, which would have occurred if one party did not opt for avoidance as a strategy. accommodation accommodation as a conflict handling style emanates from readiness of the parties to a competitive venture to cooperate by adjusting their expectations to accommodate one another. accommodation implies that a party may be willing to allow a slight loss to another party to ensure peaceful coexistence among parties to a contest or cooperative venture. accommodation is one of the ways to ensure social harmony as it is a reflection of a desire to preserve relationships. the phenomenon involves a loss and a win situation where the party that loses does so willingly without actually incurring a loss to the other party (nmaju, 2009). accommodation as a conflict handling style applies to that era when humans invoke some sense of sanity due largely to the incurable effects of the covid-19 that ravaged the globe. compromise compromise involves resolving an impending or manifest conflict by finding a middle position or common ground that mutually benefits all parties to a contest. put differently, compromise involves resolving a situation in a manner that none of the contending parties is said to have won. in compromise, the parties accept to win some and lose some. it involves making sacrifices. compromise has helped individuals and nations resolve conflicts without subjecting themselves to violence that may result in loss of lives and resources. compromise, as a strategy for peace and conflict resolution has been recommended by several authors as a strategy for sustained peaceful coexistence for individuals and societies (miall 1999). other measures to be considered in preventing, managing, limiting and overcoming conflict generally include the following: conflict resolution conflict resolution comprises an agenda setting to assist parties in dispute or conflict to establish a common ground, given certain guiding principles or conditionalities for societal wellbeing 113 peaceful co-existence. it establishes a range of principles, rules and regulations and aspirations that help disputing parties to operate. it is expected that when all the parties in a conflict work within the guidelines and conditionalities of conflict resolution, there is a possibility of exercising restraints, respecting norms against conflict. as an agenda setting process, conflict resolution should be seen as a set of peace and security guidelines for achieving relative order and stability. conflict management conflict management is occasionally treated as conflict resolution. they are rather different processes. conflict management derives from the guideline provisions of conflict resolution. conflict management is the application or operational phase of conflict resolutions. it represents the enforcement mechanism, strategic responses for the achievement of ideas and goals of conflict resolution as a peace agenda. conflict resolution represents a theoretical design, while conflict management represents the operational and implementation mechanism or process. the role of the mediator has become clear. it tries to work within the agenda setting of conflict resolution. it is an exercise that initiates room for accords, institutionalizing mechanism for achieving restraint, compliance and verification. conflict transformation conflict transformation goes beyond conflict suppression and resolution. this is about building on longer standing relationships through a process of change in the perception of the parties, their relationship and the conditions that created the conflict. conflict transformation entails coming into being of a new situation involving conflict issues, perceptions, relationships and commencement patterns. as conflict has become a permanent threat to life and in most cases have reversed development in societies, there is need for an adequate laying of important basis for the transformation of right values, behaviours and attitudes that will promote balanced personal, social, economic and political relations. negotiation negotiation is the non-violent and out of court mechanism for enhancing the communication flow between the conflicting parties in a bid to resolving their differences by mutual consent. the central element of negotiation is the use of dialogue as the supreme strategy of conflict resolution and mechanism. negotiation is in tandem with an alternative dispute resolution (adr) means. it is an alternative to a settlement in the court of law, just as it is to the use of confrontation or coercive means of settlement. it is a method open to individuals, families, associations, persons in societies. here parties are helped to search for a solution in talking together. negotiation de-emphasizes the rigidly held differences in interest. it builds mutual confidence in the ability and capacity of the disputing parties in coming together, talking together and resolving issues together in a frank and friendly environment. mediation mediation is a negotiation that relies on a neutral third party. a mediator is a person who is trusted and accepted by both parties to a dispute. his role is to assist the parties to reach an agreed settlement of dispute. the procedure he adopts to achieve this is to meet each party privately, so as to understand that party’s side of the story. thereafter, he tries to bring the parties together so that they may themselves work out a compromise solution to the dispute. he does not himself suggest a solution to the parties and cannot force them to reach a settlement. traditional method of conflict resolution as has been stated earlier, peace and conflict resolution tools are necessary for human existence especially within such a time when human existence is threatened by the rampaging activities of coronavirus which devastating effects make it imperative for peaceful human to human interaction as panacea for finding sustainable solution to both the traditional human conflict and the ugly effects of the virus. here mediation by social network has increased with the emergence of age grade associations, business associations and religious organizations. each of these may manifest in degree of cordial relationship with the disputing parties and may wish to facilitate the resumption of dialogue. generally, a social network mediator may even be a friends, neighbours, members of families, religious or political groups. in nigeria, a number of third parties come from families, friends and in-laws, or ethnic-religious communities and neighbours. the strength of social network mediators comes from the understanding that they too are part of the social relations network and are recognized and trusted as such by the disputants. it is also believed that a return of normal relations between the disputants would societal wellbeing 115 strengthen an existing social network in a given environment. the beneficiaries go beyond the reconciled parties to include the social network mediators, and the community at large. the value of this approach or mechanism lies in the ability and willingness of the mediator to employ his or her authoritative influence to enhance the confidence building of the parties to further dialogue. these members of the social network have been effectively deployed during the period of restriction and lockdown to ensure that protocol guidelines are strictly adhered to by the citizens. they have become veritable tools in the implementation of lockdown rules such as social distancing, wearing of face mask and hygienic washing of hands regularly. without such dialogue, it would have been a near impossibility to convince these skeptics or hesitants to comply with such directives. conclusion a critical examination of the situation in nigeria today will reveal that all is not well with the way things are. our country at the moment has been at a tipping point. the centre can no longer hold. a country that is abundantly blessed with all kinds of resources that any country could thrive on to be a major player in the world society has found itself in a mess politically, socially and economically. our country has become a violent / conflict ridden society where nothing appears to be working. at the heart of these problems are the issues of leadership secession, population census, resource allocation, manipulated electoral processes, unemployment and corruption etc. the mismanagement of all the above listed factors and others have created all the conflict situations that are engulfing us today. an extreme disparity in distribution of wealth among citizens is threatening social cohesion. the youths that deserve a special place in the country as future leaders have been reduced to destitute as unemployment is out of control. leadership and governance hardly respond to specific needs of the populace including the youths. it appears that the entire system has lost its stability and orderliness as it has been irreparably damaged. it is a truism that people tend to cause trouble when their interests are jeopardized thereby causing unnecessary tension that finally leads to conflict and violence. people also embrace conflict or violence without any proper analysis and appraisal of the situation. this is where peace education and advocacy in conflict resolution would be necessary to maintain a lasting peace and to promote peaceful co-existence in the country for development. this is apt at this extraordinary period when citizens have lost their jobs, loved ones as a result of covid-19 pandemic. humanity is being threatened by the successive viral progression that appears to defy every efforts of policy makers and scientists. our so-called leaders and elites should refrain from being conflict generators by their utterances, policies and actions and should turn to conflict preventers and managers in order to re-establish mutual trust and confidence among the people. a respected culture of peace needs to be developed through the tools of peace and conflict resolution from good values, behaviours and attributes as a way of life. it is only when this is done that power will grow not from the present coercive diplomacy and barrel of the gun but from participation, dialogue and cooperation. recommendations the factors that generate conflict or violence are multi-dimensional and thus require an integrated approach that involves collaborations among the key stakeholders, policy makers, teachers, students, private sectors, development partners and civil society activists. there is every need to embrace dialogue as the supreme strategy of conflict resolution and by extension conflict management. as have been stated, these listed approaches of peace making are less expensive and more integrative than adjudication that in the long run may create a situation of winner takes all and the loser goes with nothing. this outcome may deepen and expand anger, bitterness and distrust to the point of either furthering conflict or extreme violence. the trustees of government apparatuses at all levels should provide basic human needs and social welfare programmes that would reduce anger and assuage the feelings of the aggrieved sections of the country. these will enhance social cohesion and societal wellbeing. all these measures will lead to conflict reduction or suppression and weaken the extremist abilities to recruit or radicalize the vulnerable youths who are ready tools to achieve their sinister objectives or ambitions. references abass, a. i. (2015), a discourse on peace studies and conflict resolution (pscr). a book chapter published in ysc reading in general studies. yobe state university press. abass, a. i. (2018), peace and conflict resolution (pcr) in nigeria: an imperative tool for countering violent extremism. yobe state university press. akpuru-aja, a. (2007), basic concepts, issues and strategies of peace studies and conflict resolution. centre for international and strategic studies. best, s. g, (2007), methods of conflict and conflict transformation in best, s. g. (ed), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa: a reader. spectrum books ltd. emezue, s. & ota, n. (2009), peace studies and conflict. absu press. societal wellbeing 117 ezejiofor, g. (1997), the law of arbitration in nigeria. longman nigeria plc. francis, j. d. (2006), “peace and conflict studies: an african overview of basic concepts”, in s. g. best (ed), introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa: a reader. spectrum books ltd., pp. 10 – 24. ibeanu, o. (2006), conceptualizing peace in best, s. g. (ed) introduction to peace and conflict studies in west africa: a reader. spectrum books ltd. miall hugh (1999) contemporary conflict resolution. black-well publishers. nmaju, u. (2009) themes in peace and conflict resolution, whytem publishers. ojiji, o. o. (1998), “value orientation and preference for methods of conflict resolution in nigeria”. an unpublished ph.d seminar paper presented to the department of political science, university of nigeria, nsukka. undp (2016), preventing violent extremism through inclusive development and the promotion of tolerance and respect for diversity, a discussion paper on a development response to addressing radicalization and violent extremism, march, 2016. united nations general assembly (2015). plan of action to prevent violent extremism: report of the secretary-general on culture of peace, presented at the united nations global counterterrorism strategy. 7th session, agenda items 16 and 117. 24 december, 2015. wessells, m. g. (2016), children and armed conflict: introduction and overview, peace and conflict: journal of peace psychology, 22(3), 198 – 207. volume 6 issue 3, 2021 healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care and appropriate taxonomies of nonverbal communication *onyenekwe, ogochukwu n. ekwenchi, ogochukwu department of mass communication, faculty of social sciences, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, anambra state, nigeria. & ezebialu, ifeanyichukwu department of obstetrics and gynaecology, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital, awka, anambra state, nigeria. correspondence: *on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng abstract nonverbal communication channels of healthcare providers have a significant impact on patients during consultations. the study was undertaken to place the professional arts of the healthcare providers into the appropriate taxonomy of nonverbal communication. two different sets of questionnaire were administered to pregnant women and to healthcare providers. non-participant observation report was also made. the study was carried out at three teaching hospitals in south east nigeria. 133 pregnant women and 26 healthcare providers were randomly recruited for the study. variables were expressed in percentages and chi-square test was used for determination of level of association. significant level was placed at p<0.05. the findings of the study showed that a predominant number of healthcare providers had handshakes with their clients (x2= 56.903; p<0.05), smile with their clients (x2= 21.160; p<0.05), palpate their clients’ abdomen (x2= 30.260; p<0.05) and conduct physical examination of their clients (8.167; p<0.05). the study also showed that the nonverbal interactions created satisfaction and allayed the worries of the clients (x2=60.552; p<0.05 & x2= 57.800; p<0.05). the dress code/uniform and chronological age elicited respect (4.263; p<0.05). other professional arts include eye contact, body language, consulting room, sitting arrangements and posters on the wall. these professional arts fall into artifactual communication, haptic, kinesics and proxemics while the time the healthcare provider spends with clients falls into chronemics. the study concludes that the diverse professional arts of healthcare providers fall into various taxonomy of nonverbal communication. this study thus recommends formal training in nonverbal communication for healthcare providers. keywords: arts, healthcare, nonverbal communication. introduction communication has been shown to possess preeminent features in healthcare delivery (junaid, shaban & khan, 2018).while communication in the healthcare provider /patient interface involves both verbal and nonverbal communication, this study focused on the nonverbal aspect of such communication that occurs within the context of healthcare provision. in considering the channels of nonverbal communication, the environmental setting or context comes into play (matsumoto & hwang, 2016). nonverbal communication channels could have mailto:on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 321 different connotations in differing contexts. it becomes pertinent to examine the physical and social aspects of the environment to facilitate sufficient assessment of contributory factors to nonverbal channels as complete components of communication. effective healthcare provider-patient communication is a key element in optimal maternal service delivery. in order to build a good relationship, there is a need for healthcare providers and patients to communicate effectively (segal, smith, boose & jaffe, 2016). when there is positive communication between healthcare providers and women in the maternity ward, women are encouraged to maximally utilize maternal services at a health facility (mulondo, 2020; van der pijl, kasperink, hollander, verhoeven, kingma & jonge, 2021). the study takes a bearing from the nonverbal expectancy violations theory developed by judee k. burgoon, a professor of communication and family studies and human development at the university of arizona. the theory posits that people hold expectations about the nonverbal behaviours of others (burgoon & hale, 1988). nonverbal expectancy violations follow that if a positive violation of expectation based on the credibility of source occurs, then the communication itself will produce a more positive outcome. conversely, negative violations will produce less favourable communication outcomes. according to burgoon & hale, source credibility is determined in most settings based on aspects such as title, education and outward appearance (burgoon & hale, 1988). based on these, the pregnant women can make a judgment of what they expect from the healthcare providers based on their ‘respectable titles.’ the pregnant women can also make such judgments based on their educational attainment which is societally perceived as high and their formal dressing which, from the non-participant observation, elicited respect. all the actions of the healthcare providers perceived as positive, elicited positive responses from the patients, the pregnant women. the reverse will also be applicable as capable of evoking negative responses. this study is also girded by the proxemics theory introduced by a cultural anthropologist, edward twitchel hall in 1963. hall posited that human beings use personal space and concrete objects to establish their territory. the theory posits that the desired/expressed intimacy is inversely related to the physical distance between people. this means that the more intimacy that is desired, the less the distance/space and the less the intimacy that is desired, the more space is desired. the spacing not only reflected in the nature of the buildings housing the antenatal clinics in the facilities under study, it also had a bearing on the space observed between the healthcare providers (consultant and nurse/midwife) and their patients (pregnant women). hall postulated four distances kept by people: intimate, personal, social and public space. touch (haptic communication) for instance, is the most basic form of communication humans and animals have. it is somewhat like delivering our emotions in a physical form for the recipient to be enabled to feel and experience. other taxonomies or channels that would be considered in this study include kinesics (body language), artifactual (dress and adornment), proxemics (use of space and distance) and chronemics (use of time in communication). methods the study was conducted at antenatal clinics of enugu state university teaching hospital (esuth), parklane enugu; chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital (coouth), awka and nnamdi azikiwe university teaching hospital (nauth),nnewi anambra state, nigeria. all the tertiary health care facilities are situated within the south eastern part of nigeria. a total of 133 pregnant women were recruited at the antenatal clinics of these tertiary health institutions. they were administered copies of questionnaire containing sections on identifying the professional arts of the healthcare providers. similarly, 26 healthcare providers recruited randomly from the mentioned tertiary health institutions also participated in the study. they represented more that 90% of the work force in these facilities. the healthcare providers were aged between 20 years and > 60 years. they were consultant obstetricians/gynaecologists and nurse/midwives who functioned at the antenatal clinic of the tertiary health institutions. the healthcare providers were administered copies of the second questionnaire tailored for them. these facilities were also sites for the nonparticipant observation that took place during their antenatal clinics. the questionnaire contained two sections. the first section covered demographics like age, gender and work experience. the second section focused on professional arts of the healthcare providers during antenatal care such as palpation, smiles, eye contact, body language, touch, tone of voice, disposition of face or body, expression of worries and satisfaction with physical examination of the clients. non-participant observation was used to document the professional arts and interactions between the healthcare providers and their clients. these professional arts once identified will be placed into their appropriate taxonomy in nonverbal communication. the ethics committee of each tertiary health institution granted ethical clearance for the study in their various institutions. informed consent was also obtained from the pregnant women. the variables were expressed in percentages. the test statistics used for analysis of data was chi-square. significant level was placed at p<0.05. findings the chronological age of the healthcare providers spanned between 20years to 70years. however the mode age was within 35 to 39 years although intensity in age was around 25 to 54 years. the male and female healthcare providers constituted 50% each of the population. healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 323 the mode in terms of work experience was between 1 to 5years while the predominant work experience was 1year to 15years. table 1. a significant proportion of the healthcare providers 106(84.8%) always showed expressions of satisfaction with the performance of the pregnant women while only about 15.2% were indifferent in expression (x2=60.552; p<0.05). similarly, a significant number of the healthcare providers 105(84%) also always express worry when the performance of the pregnant women were not as they were instructed but about 16% of the healthcare providers were non expressive (x2=57.800; p<0.05). predominant numbers of the healthcare providers 104(83.9%) always have a hand shake with their clients while only about 16.1% don’t always have a hand shake with their clients (x2=56.903; p<0.05). furthermore, a predominant number of healthcare providers 60(82.2%) always palpate their clients while only 17.8% don’t always palpate (x2=30.260; p<0.05). similarly, more of the healthcare providers 106(86.2%) always use eye contact to interact with their clients compared with 13.8% that do not always use eye contact (x2=64.398; p<0.05). table 2. table 1: demographic presentation of health care providers age (yrs) frequency percentage 15-19 0 0.0 20-24 1 4.2 25-29 4 16.8 30-34 3 12.6 35-39 6 25.2 40-44 2 8.4 45-49 3 12.6 50-54 3 12.6 55-59 0 0.0 60-64 1 4.2 65-70 1 4.2 gender distribution female 13 50.0 male 13 50.0 duration of practice of health care provider 1 to ≤ 5 9 36.0 >5 to ≤ 10 8 32.0 > 10 to ≤ 15 5 20.0 >15 to ≤ 20 2 8.0 >20 to ≤ 25 1 4.0 >25 to ≤ 30 1 4.0 >30 to ≤35 0 0.0 table 2: evaluation of nonverbal communication arts of the healthcare providers as submitted by pregnant women during antenatal visits. observation yes (%) no (%) x2 p-value show of satisfaction 106(84.8) 19(15.2) 60.552 (p<0.05) expression of worry 105(84.0) 20(16.0) 57.800 (p<0.05) hand shake 104(83.9) 20(16.1) 56.903 (p<0.05) palpating 60(82.2) 13(17.8) 30.260 (p<0.05 eye contact 106(86.2) 17(13.8) 64.398 (p<0.05) predominant numbers of healthcare providers 19(79.2%) claimed they interact nonverbally with their clients compared with 5(20.8%) that do not interact nonverbally with their clients (x2=8.167; p<0.05). similarly, 24(96%) smile at their clients while 1(4%) do not smile at the client (x2= 21.160; p<0.05). however, predominant numbers of healthcare providers 21(87.5%) claimed they do not shake hands with their clients compared with 3(12.5%) that claimed to shake hands with the clients (x2= 13.500; p<0.05). while 19(79.2% claimed to conduct physical examination of their clients, 5(20.8%) claimed they do not conduct physical examination (x2=8.167; p<0.05). all the healthcare providers claimed to use eye contact with their clients. predominant numbers of the healthcare providers 20(95.2%) think that their clients understood their arts compared with 1(4.8%) that thought otherwise (x2= 17.190; p<0.05). table 3. all the healthcare providers think that their uniforms elicit respect from their clients. similarly, a significant number of the healthcare providers 14(73.7%) think that their chronological age elicits respect from their clients compared with 5(26.3%) that think otherwise (x2= 4.263; p<0.05). similarly, a predominant number of healthcare providers think their clinical approach disarms their clients compared with those that think otherwise (x2= 5.762; p<0.05). many of the healthcare providers build relationship with their clients compared with the few that don’t build relationship with their clients (x2= 15.696; p<0.05). the healthcare providers did not think that their clients always show signs of relief (x2= 2.667; p>0.05). table 4. healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 325 table 3: evaluation of nonverbal communication arts of the healthcare providers as responded to by healthcare providers observation yes (%) no (%) x2 pvalue nv interactions 19(79.2) 5(20.8) 8.167 <0.05 smiles with client? 24(96) 1(4) 21.160 <0.05 shakes hand with clients? 3(12.5) 21(87.5) 13.500 <0.05 examination of clients? 19(79.2) 5(20.8) 8.167 <0.05 eye contact with clients? 25(100) 0 client understands your arts? 20(95.2) 1(4.8) 17.190 <0.05 key nv = nonverbal table 4: assessing the influence of healthcare providers arts on their clients observation yes (%) no (%) x2 pvalue your uniform/dress elicits respect? 21(100) 0 your chronological age elicit respect? 14(73.7) 5(26.3) 4.263 0.039 does your approach disarm the clients? 15(76.2) 5(23.8) 5.762 0.016 do you build client relationship? 21(91.3) 2(8.7) 15.696 0.000 do your clients express relief? 8(33.3) 16(66.7) 2.667 0.102 findings of non-participant observation dress code during the non participant observation, it was observed that the healthcare providers have a peculiar style of dressing or adorn uniforms that easily identify them as being in charge in the midst of the multitude of patients and other healthcare providers. interaction with the healthcare providers showed that their type of dress is a form of communication. chronological age & work experience the chronological age of the healthcare provider vis-à-vis interaction with their client was also considered. the older the healthcare providers, the more likely the clients will interact with them confidently. the chronological age tends to overshadow the age of practice. clinical coat the physicians were putting on white clinical coats while attending to their clients. however, the midwife/nurses did not put on any additional dress or coat apart from their uniform. size of consulting rooms the sizes of the antenatal care consulting rooms differ with the consultant having the biggest consulting room. high level of privacy is maintained in the consulting room and the sitting arrangement was arranged to promote intimacy (for physical examination) and engender a cordial relationship between healthcare provider and client during consultation. sitting arrangement in the consulting rooms the consultant sits behind the table while the client sits lateral left of the physician by the side of the table. this enables the physician to touch, feel the pulse, make eye contact or measure the blood pressure through the left arm using an artificial intelligent machine or make on the spot examination of the foot of the client for signs of oedema (swelling of the feet) or paleness of the eyes. the distance between the consultant and the client was about an arm’s length. the consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist take a client per time with utmost privacy maintained. sitting arrangement in the antenatal care halls unlike in the consulting rooms, the sitting arrangement in the antenatal hall is different. pregnant women sit clustered on the benches/pew-like seats to take the health talk being delivered by the nurse/midwife. thereafter, the pregnant women are attended to by taking their weight and checking their urine. at other times, other specimens like blood samples or stool are sent to the laboratory for analysis. the distance between the nurse/midwife and the clients are farther than an arm’s length during the health talk. there were enough benches in their antenatal hall of each health facility to accommodate the pregnant women. the nurse/midwife after the health talk takes on the patients’ one after the other for their vital statistics which the consultants will use in the course of their clinical encounter with the pregnant women. healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 327 wall posters inside consulting room and antenatal hall wall posters were sparsely seen in the consulting rooms but were more copious on the walls of the antenatal halls. there were handbills and leaflets on some consulting tables and on the nurse/midwife’s table in the antenatal hall. in one of the facilities, a poster strictly warned that entrance into the antenatal care hall will be prevented without a face mask. duration/time of interaction the patients spend more time individually with the consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist depending on the stability of the pregnancy and physical examination that may be required. however, the pregnant women spend longer time at the antenatal hall with the nurse/midwife collectively but spend lesser time with the pregnant women individually. other professional arts of the healthcare professionals the nurse/midwife checks fetal heart beat using the pinard that is placed on the lower abdomen of the pregnant women. the nurse/midwife palpates the protruded lower abdomen to have a feeling of the positioning of the baby. they run a tape round the mid-lower abdomen to determine the gestational age of the pregnancy. the healthcare providers also crack jokes, beaming smiles, use pats on the back, jesting about patients being in laws or family and even use silence in the course of consultation. such approaches by the healthcare providers remind patients that being able to surmount earlier health issues working with the healthcare team, present issues with their cooperation, will equally be overcome. these are all channels of nonverbal communication which help the patients feel at home and consequently open up on what they are experiencing. discussion the findings of this study attest to the use of nonverbal communication channels by the healthcare providers. earlier, we had reported a poor level of knowledge of nonverbal communication channels among healthcare providers (onyenekwe & ekwenchi, 2021).the chronological age of the healthcare providers spanned between 20 to 70 years while their predominant years of work experience spanned between 1 to 20 years. in the health sector, chronological age tends to elicit respect more than years of work experience. it was observed that a lot of patients were willing to open up on their medical conditions to much older healthcare providers than to younger healthcare providers. this attitude may frustrate communication between both parties. some of the patients equate age with experience but this may not be the case in the healthcare sector. this means that for the nurse/midwife, a younger person wearing skirts can be overlooked for an older person on gown just because of the chronological age. the same scenario is applicable with doctors who normally are good, formal dressers. consultants can easily be identified by the suit or formal dress they wear in the midst of other doctors. this distinguishes them from other healthcare providers. on the other hand, among nurses, a matron is identified by her white shirt/blouse and skirt. it is a form of nonverbal communication known as artifactual communication. this is part of the reason why everyone that is well dressed within hospital environment is often referred to by patients as a doctor. this is because patients are often unable to decipher the various categories of healthcare providers by their dress code. except patients are tutored about the significance of these dress codes, the patients will not know. it was in the category of dress/uniform that the healthcare providers responded 100% that they acknowledged it had an effect on the patients. this brings to bear the assertions of the nonverbal expectancy violations theory (burgoon & hale, 1988). in this study, the pregnant women responded that the healthcare providers interacted with them through hand shake, eye contact, palpating the lower abdomen and also showed facial expression of worry or satisfaction depending on the condition of their pregnancy. these actions were also corroborated by a predominant number of healthcare providers. it was also in the category of maintaining eye contact that all the healthcare providers indicated that they employ it as a means of communicating with the pregnant women. it clearly portrays the veracity of burgoon’s nonverbal expectancy violations theory. segal, smith, boose and jaffe, 2016 stated that nonverbal communication is a powerful tool that helps healthcare providers connect with patients in a positive way by reinforcing mutual understanding and respect (burgoon & hale, 1988). the healthcare providers actually admitted using eye contact, touch, smile, palpation and tone of voice to interact nonverbally with the pregnant women (rogers, 2002; segal, smith, boose & jaffe, 2016). due to the peculiarity of the healthcare sector and the importance of service satisfaction in enhancing recuperation, it is necessary to improve on the quality of service through incorporating the gains of nonverbal communication channels in communication (adamu & oche, 2014; junaid, shaban & khan, 2018). healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 329 indeed some of the professional arts of the healthcare providers are actually nonverbal communication channels. placing these arts into the proper taxonomy of nonverbal communication may help spur the desire to become skillful in nonverbal communication channels. for instance, the following professional arts as observed in the present study can be conveniently grouped under the different taxonomies of nonverbal communication. handshakes, palpation and use of gadgets like the sonicad (for determining fetal heart beat) are artificial intelligence. when put in contact with the patients through touch, is an example of haptics while eye contact, smile and body language are examples of kinesics. in addition, the office space, sitting arrangement within the office between the physician and pregnant women are examples of proxemics while the time spent on attending to individual pregnant women or in physical examination is an example of chronemics. the use of uniform or the dress code aids in identification of healthcare providers, from the patients’ perspective and even among the healthcare providers is an example of artifactual communication. if properly understood, a patient can easily identify who the consultant is despite the population of similar-looking physicians through the manner of his dress. they are always on suit or formal wear and occupy the central position on their rectangular shaped consulting tables, flanked by the residents, house officers and medical students. this is equally an example of proxemics and a testament to the use of the tenets of proxemics theory as it regards space during antenatal care. it has been shown that a physician’s nonverbal behavior that expresses concern, for instance, through frequent eye contact, a concerned facial expression, or close interpersonal distance, leads to more patient trust than a physician’s behavior that conveys more distance (silverman & kinnersley, 2010). regarding patient adherence, it has been shown that physician touching of the patient increases patient adherence with their medication (mast & cousin, 2013). in another study (junaid, shaban & khan, 2018), it was reported that the first thing patients observe about healthcare providers is their facial expression. this would translate to a smile, maintain appropriate eye contact-not staringto indicate interest in what the patient is saying. rogers, 2002 adds maintaining an open and relaxed posture when sitting, leaning forward to show engagement, not standing and looking down on the patient, nodding to indicate the healthcare provider is listening to what the patient is saying. he advises that nonverbal communication that might indicate hurry or boredom should be jettisoned. this includes certain situations that might trigger negative nonverbal reactions like seeing a difficult patient, managing a patient complaint or dealing with stress. in the study by junaid, shaban & khan, (2018), other less noticed nonverbal communication channels include touch, body movement and postures, interpersonal distance, hospital room environment and healthcare providers’ getup. in spite of these findings, the present study found that body language is important though the healthcare providers’ seeming inability to show relief will translate to their inability to read such an expression on the pregnant women. likewise the seeming discrepancy in their indication of not predominantly engaging in handshakes and the contrary view of the pregnant women can be explained. while the healthcare providers were all for maintaining physical distance due to covid-19 precautionary measures, the pregnant women though on masks during consultation, may have given the information based on what was the norm before the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. as regards palpation, while the pregnant women always delight in that singular act of touch by the healthcare provider, there might be occasions when based on what has been clerked by the nurse/midwife, there might not be need for such palpation. it was however observed that the insistence of the pregnant women on being palpated, results in their being palpated. for a high contact culture, nigerians, more especially south easterners can be understood in their desire to maintain touch, no matter how little (matsumoto & hwang, 2016). the inverse relationship between proxemics and haptics always manifests in studies of this nature. touch (haptics) was always observed at the intimate distance (task-related touch) while a normal tone of voice was used in speaking at the personal distance. though the social zone was observed only during the health education, the voice tone did not get into screaming mode. it was still within normal limits. a south american study of proxemics communication, found through non-participatory observation that apart from no gender influence, the predominant distance with the hiv/aids patients, was in the personal zone while the intimate distance was observed in close to a quarter of the interactions. the tone of voice was found to be always adequate (galvao, paiva, sawada & pagliuca, 2006). however, in the consulting room and antenatal care halls, the attention of the pregnant women are constantly being attracted to the wall posters indicating current happenings in health care, especially antenatal care, emerging and re-emerging diseases and simple illustrative interventions. this is proxemics though there are placed to create an impulse of action that may result in other forms of nonverbal communication. for instance a poster indicating ‘show’ that is amniotic fluid draining down the legs of a pregnant woman is body language which is an healthcare providers’ professional arts during antenatal care 331 example of kinesics but to the healthcare provider it is chronomics which is an indication of onset of real labour. such a poster will usually instruct that the pregnant woman move straight to see her healthcare provider in the facility she registered for antenatal care because they are in possession of her health records. considering some of these professional arts exhibited during the course of patient care, it is convincing enough to show that healthcare providers particularly doctors and nurse/midwives engage daily in the use of nonverbal communication channels. this study thereby recommends that in order to improve the knowledge of nonverbal communication channels among healthcare providers, the professional arts of the healthcare providers should be profiled into the appropriate taxonomies of nonverbal communication. references adamu, h. & oche, m. (2014). patient satisfaction with services at a general outpatient clinic of a tertiary hospital in nigeria. british journal of medicine and medical research, 4(11): 2181-2202. burgoon, j. & hale, j. (1988). nonverbal expectancy violations: model elaboration and application to immediacy behaviours. communication monographs, 55:58-79. galvao, m., paiva, s., sawada, n. & pagliuca, l. (2006). analysis of proxemics communication with hiv/aids patients. rev. latino am. enfermagem 14(4): 491-496. junaid, a., shaban, m. & khan, n. (2018). perceptions of patients on doctors’ and nurses’ nonverbal communication in lahore, pakistan: a phenomenological study. pak armed forces medical journal, 68(6): 1731-1736. mast, m., & cousin, g. (2013). the role of nonverbal communication in medical interactions: empirical results, theoretical bases and methodological issues. in martin, l., di matteo, r. the oxford handbook of health communication, behaviour change and treatment adherence.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282849046_the_role_of_nonver bal_communication_in_medical_interactions_empirical_results_theoretical_biases_a nd_methodological_issues_. acessed on 12/08/2021 matsumoto, d. & hwang, h. (2016).methodological issues regarding cross-cultural studies of judgements of facial expressions. emotion review, 9(4): 375-382. mulondo, s. (2020). factors associated with underutilization of antenatal care services in limpopo, south africa. british journal of midwifery 28(11): 788-795. onyenekwe, o. & ekwenchi, o. (2021).pregnant women’s awareness and knowledge of nonverbal communication channels during antenatal care in tertiary health https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282849046_the_role_of_nonverbal_communication_in_medical_interactions_empirical_results_theoretical_biases_and_methodological_issues_ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282849046_the_role_of_nonverbal_communication_in_medical_interactions_empirical_results_theoretical_biases_and_methodological_issues_ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282849046_the_role_of_nonverbal_communication_in_medical_interactions_empirical_results_theoretical_biases_and_methodological_issues_ institutions in south eastern nigeria. journal of social and management sciences, 3(4): in press. rogers, c. (2002). your body language speaks loudly: nonverbal communication makes patient more comfortable. the american academy of orthopaedic surgeons. retrieved from www.aaos.org/acadnews/2002news/b16-7htm. accessed on 13/08/2021. segal, j., smith, m., boose, g. & jaffe, j. (2016).nonverbal communication. retrieved from www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships/nonverbal-communication.htm. accessed on 13/08/2021. silverman, j., & kinnersley, p. (2010). doctors’ nonverbal behaviour in consultations: look at the patient before you look at the computer. british journal of practice 60(571):7678. van der pijl, m., kasperink, m., hollander, c., kingma, e. & de jonge, a. (2021). client-care provider interaction during labour and birth as experienced by women: respect, communication, confidentiality and autonomy. plos one 16(2): 1-21. eo246697. http://www.aaos.org/acadnews/2002news/b16-7htm http://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships/nonverbal-communication.htm page 4 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 16 psychological ownership and organisational fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, oyo state, nigeria pius e. afachung, emmanuel e. uye*, taiwo d. ajisafe peter o. olapegba department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria *corresponding author: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com abstract predictors of workers’ motivation have a long history in organizational development. studies conducted to determine the predictors of work motivation have produced diverse and inconsistent results. therefore, this study investigated psychological ownership and organizational fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. cross-sectional survey design was adopted while purposive sampling technique was used to select three banks: first bank of nigeria, access bank, and guaranty trust bank. three instruments: work motivation scale, psychological ownership scale, and organizational fairness scale were used to collect data from 283 bankers from the study population. data collected were analysed using zero-ordered correlation, multiple regression and t-test of independent samples to test the three hypotheses at a p < .05 level of significance. the result indicated that psychological ownership (r =.58, p <. 05) and organizational fairness significantly correlated with work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. also, psychological ownership and organizational fairness jointly predicted work motivation [r2 = .35, f (2.280) = 75. 48, p <.05]. furthermore, psychological ownership (β = .53, p <.05) and organizational fairness β = .13, p <.05) independently predicted work motivation among the study population. however, gender of the bankers did not influence the level of their motivation in the organisation. the study concluded that organizational ownership and organizational fairness are strong predictors of work motivation among bankers in the study population. the study recommends that bank management should put concrete polices such as bonus sharing and contributory pension funds to boost psychological ownership and organisational fairness among bankers. keywords: bankers, ibadan, organisational fairness, psychological ownership, work motivation. introduction it is a common knowledge that organisation without motivated workers will eventually lose out in the competitive market advantages. motivation remains the core concept which cannot be over-emphasized in the workplace (chang et al., 2022). motivation is considered as ‘a psychological process resulting from the reciprocal interaction between individual and environment that affects an individual’s choices, efforts, and persistence (latham & ernst, 2006). when apply to work environment, it is what make workers to perform, stay and commit to an organisation, cooperate, support the managers, and help customers to achieve the organizational objectives (strati, 2008). people are motivated to do something if they mailto:emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com 17 believe it is likely to bring desired results. people who are well-motivated take action that they expect will achieve their clearly defined goals (gribanova, 2021). motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. intrinsic motivation emanates from inherent qualities of the job itself which the individual enjoys as a result of successfully completing the task or attaining the goals (legault, 2016). extrinsic motivations are those that are external to the job such as pay, work condition, fringe benefits, security, promotion, contract of service, the work environment and conditions of work (legault, 2016). there are many extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors that can predict workers’ motivation. one such factor considered in this study as likely predictor of work motivation is psychological ownership. jnaneswar and gayathri (2023) define psychological ownership as the state in which an individual feels that an object (i.e., material or immaterial) is experienced possessively (i.e., it's 'mine' or it is 'ours'). when workers develop possessive feelings for the organization in which they work for, they show organizational ownership. extending the definition, wang et al. (2019) describe psychological ownership as an attitude which has both affective and cognitive components. they illustrate this with the phrases that denote feelings of ownership or possession. for example, ‘this is my organisation’ and ‘this organization belong to us’. this tight connection between possession and feelings of ownership can be directed at the organization (or workplace) as a whole or at specific aspects of the organization such as the group, job, work tools (i.e., a computer or production machine), or work itself (cocieru, 2019; jafri, 2016). some studies have found organizational ownership to predict workers’ motivation in different organizations (tian & belk, 2005; van dyne & pierce, 2004; wagner et al., 2003). for example, tian and belk (2005) examined the influence of psychological ownership on work motivation among 319 academic and non-academic staff in estonia and found that psychological ownership significantly predict work motivation among the study population. also, when academic staff was given full opportunity to control the grants they attracted to the universities, they exhibited higher level of motivation to work than when there was restriction on such grants. van dyne and pierce (2004) investigated organizational correlates of work motivation (job commitment, sense of ownership and attitude to work) work among 219 uniform officers in some selected cities in the united kingdom. they found that job commitment, sense of ownership and attitude to work jointly and independently predicted work motivation. in another study, wagner et al. (2003) examined psychological factors on work motivation among 197 public servants in portugal. the result revealed that psychological ownership predicted work motivation among civil servants in portugal. finally, 18 vandewalle et al. (1995) investigated the influence of psychological ownership on motivation among 333 fast moving consumable goods workers. the result showed significant difference in work motivation among the study population. workers with high level of psychological ownership reported higher motivation than those with low level of psychological ownership. the second factor considered in this study as likely predictor of work motivation is organizational fairness which is the degree to which an organization provides its workers with appropriate, fair and respectful treatment, adequate and accurate information, resources and rewards (almazrouei & zacca, 2021). organizational fairness is divided into three components: distributive justice (fairness in resources and products allocation), procedural justice (fairness of organizational procedures and ways in which decisions are reached vis-àvis the distribution of resources), and interactional justice (fairness of organizational interpersonal relations and accessibility of equal opportunities) (lee et al., 2017). several studies have found positive associations between organizational fairness and organizational citizenship behaviour (work action defined here as behaviours that benefit the organization by contributing to its environment and functioning beyond formal job requirements) (nagin & teep, 2020;. nazir et al., 2019; yean & yusof, 2016). some studies have remotely examined organization fairness as predictor of work motivation across different work settings. for example, şimşek and çelik (2009) investigated organizational factors such as work environment, organizational fairness and job engagement on work motivation among health workers in jordan. the result showed that organizational fairness and job engagement jointly predicted work motivation. ayverdi (2010) investigated the dimensions of organizational fairness-procedural, distributive and interactional justice as predictors of work motivation among 402 police officers in slovenia. the result indicated that organizational fairness dimensions (procedural, distributive and interactional justice) jointly predicted work motivation. also, guclu (2003) carried out a study on the relationship between organizational fairness and work motivation among a sample of 98 casual workers in selected cement factories in namibia. the study was a field experiment: participants were randomly selected and assigned into experimental and control groups. experimental group consisted of individuals who were exposed to unfairness (injustice) condition, while the control group was observed in a normal environment. the result revealed that group exposed to experimental condition reported lower motivation at work than the control group. finally, walumbwa et al. (2009) investigated the influence of organizational fairness on work motivation among 377 civil servants in uganda. the result indicated that organizational unfairness had significant influence on work motivation among the civil servants. civil 19 servants with high sense of injustice reported lower work motivation than those with low sense of injustice. one demographic factor considered in this study to influence work motivation is gender. some studies have found no gender difference in workers’ motivation (magallanes et al., 2021; naz, et al., 2020; stefko et al. (2017). for example, stefko et al. (2017) found that women were less motivated in their work environment than men. they found that the difference in motivation was rooted on different extrinsic and intrinsic factors that motivated them. however, other studies have found male workers to be more motivated than their female counterparts (eagly, karau, &makhijani, 1995; ogunleye & osekita, 2016; wagner et al., 2003). previous studies on the predictors of work motivation have identified factors which deviated from the interaction between general work environment and personality traits, working conditions, hygiene factors, etc. many of these results were inconclusive. therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate psychological ownership and organization fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the following specific objectives were stated: (a) to examine whether there will be significant relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness, and workers motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, (b) to determine whether psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, and (c) to establish whether there will be gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the results of this study would provide fresh insights on the importance of psychological ownership and organizational fairness as motivators among bankers. also, the findings of this study would assist human resource managers in redesigning incentive plans that would provide bankers with the sense of equity and ownership, and therefore increase productivity among bankers. theoretical concepts two theoretical concepts anchored this study. social exchange theory social exchange theory explains voluntary actions of individuals that are motivated by the returns they are expected to bring and get from others. cropanzano and mitchel (2005) suggest that the parties involved act in a manner that both will reciprocate the actions of one another such as creating mutual obligation over time. if any of the party to the contract does not reciprocate, feeling of imbalance is created between the contributions of 20 the parties involved. in an employment relationship, when workers perceive that their employer fails to reciprocate their contributions, they are likely to respond through negative emotions such as frustration and anger (gardner et al. 2021). however, they can reduce the imbalance or restore the balance through reduction of organizational commitment, trust and other important behaviours and attitudes (tekleab et al., (2020).when apply to the present study, a worker sense of psychological ownership and organization fairness will determine the level of worker’s level of commitment, sense of belonging and the fair treatment received while working for the organization. theory of reason action the theory was postulated by ajzen and fishbein (1980). the theory proposes that attitude and subjective norms determine a person's behavioural intention to perform certain behaviour. attitude is the positive or negative evaluation of the object while subjective norms is the influence of the significant others to perform or not to perform the behaviour (ajzen & fishbein, 1980). when apply to this study, it means that work motivation in an organization will depend on the level of psychological ownership and organization fairness bankers tend to receive while working for the organization. high (positive) psychological ownership and organizational fairness will be motivators while low (negative) psychological ownership and organization fairness lead to dissatisfaction. hypotheses 1. there will be significant positive relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness and work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. 2. psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. 3. male bankers will significantly report higher level of work motivation than female bankers in ibadan metropolis. method design the study adopted cross-sectional survey research design while structured questionnaire was used for data collection. the study investigated psychological ownership and organizational fairness as independent variables and work motivation as dependent variable. setting the study was conducted in three banks: first bank, guarantee trust bank and access bank branches in ibadan metropolis. 21 sample and sampling technique purposive sampling technique was used to select three banks in ibadan metropolis while accidental sampling technique was used to select participants to response to questionnaires used for data collection. participants descriptive statistic used to summarise demographic data showed that 152 (53.7%) participants were females, while 131 (46.3%) were males. as regard age distribution, 61 (21.6%) of the participants were less than 30 years of age, 82 (29%) were between 30 and 39 age bracket, 91 (32.2%) were between 40 and 49 age bracket, while 49 (17.3%) participants were 50 years old and above. finally, as regards marital status, 170 (60.1%) participants were married, 92 (32.5%) participants were singles, while 21 (7.4%) participants did not indicate their marital status. instruments for data collection work motivation this was evaluated using work motivation scale developed by tremblay et al. (2009). it is an 18item scale presented in a 5-point likert’s format that ranges from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1). the scale has four subscales which include: external (α = .75), introjected (α = 0.77), identified (α = 0.84) and intrinsic (α = 0.91). sample items include: ‘i am doing this work because it allows me to earn money’ and ‘because this job has become a fundamental part of who i am’. for the present study a composite cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.89 psychological ownership this was measured using organizational psychological ownership scale developed by van dyne and pierce (2004). it is a 7-item scale presented on a 5-point likert’s response format that ranges from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).sample items include: ‘this is our company’ and ‘this is my organisation’ the authors reported the scale cronbach's alpha of 0.93. the scale cronbach’s alpha for the present study was 0.87. organizational fairness this was assessed using organizational fairness scale developed by colquitt et al. (2001) to address the degree to which individuals perceive been unjustly treated by the organization. it is an 18-item scale presented in a 5-point likert’s response format ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). samples item include: ‘employees are praised for good work’ and ‘employees hard work is appreciated’. higher scores indicate high perceived injustice (unfairness). the scale developers obtained cronbach’s alpha of 0.95. in this study, the scale composite cronbach’s alpha was 0.75. 22 procedure for data collection the researchers obtained letter of introduction from the department of psychology, faculty of the social sciences, university of ibadan which was presented to the management of the selected banks. the introduction letter was also used to obtain permission from potential participants. participants who agreed to participate in the study were given the questionnaires in the staff canteen during lunch hour because of their job schedules. the same procedures were carried out in the three branches of the banks selected for the study. the questionnaire took under 15 minutes to fill while the period of data collection was for three weeks. a total of 300 questionnaires, 100 copies for each designated bank were distributed, with 289 copies retrieved (response rate of 96%). however, six questionnaires were incompletely filled and were discarded left with 283 copies that were used for the final analysis. method of data analysis data collected were analysed using spss version 23. descriptive statistic was used to summarise demographic data. zero-ordered correlation was used to test hypothesis 1, standard multiple regression was used to test hypothesis 2, while hypothesis 3 was tested using t-test of independent sample. all hypotheses were accepted at a p < 0.05 level of significance. results h1 there will be significant positive relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness, and work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using zero-ordered correlation and the result is presented in table 1. table 1 zero-ordered correlation among variables of study s/n variables mean sd 1 2 3 1 work motivation 62.31 14.06 2 psychological ownership 42.95 8.84 .58* 3 organisational fairness 28.51 6.30 .34** .39* table 1 presents results on the relationship among work motivation, psychological ownership and organizational fairness among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the result revealed that there exists significant positive relationship between work motivation and psychological 23 ownership (r = .58, p <. 05). also, there was a significant positive relationship between work motivation and organizational fairness (r = .34, p <.05). this results supported hypothesis one. h2 organisational fairness and psychological ownership will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using multiple regression analysis and the result is presented in table 2. table 2 organisational fairness and psychological ownership as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis criterion predictors ß t p r r2 f p psychological ownership .53 10.09 <.05 work motivation .59 .35 75.48 <.05 organisational fairness .13 2.49 <.05 the results in table 2 showed that organisational fairness and psychological ownership jointly predicted work motivation [r² = .35, f (2, 280) = 75.48, p < .05]. when combined psychological ownership and organizational fairness accounted for about 35% variance in work motivation among bankers. also, psychological ownership (ß =.53, t= 10.09, p <.05) and organizational fairness (ß= .13, t = 2.49, p <.05) independently predicted work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this confirmed the stated hypothesis. h3 male bankers will significantly report higher level of work motivation than female bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using t-test for independent samples and the result is presented in table 3. table 3 t-test of independent sample showing gender difference in work motivation gender n mean sd t df p male 131 62.24 12.68 .08 281 >.05 female 152 62.38 15.19 24 table 3 presents result on gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the result showed no significant gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis [t (281) = .08, p >.05]. therefore, hypothesis three was rejected. discussion this study investigated organizational fairness and psychological ownership on work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. three hypotheses were generated and tested. the hypothesis that there will be significant positive relationship between work motivation and psychological ownership among bankers in ibadan metropolis was confirmed. this implies that the higher the psychological ownership, the higher the work motivation among bankers. also, there was significant positive relationship between work motivation and organizational fairness. this means that the higher the organizational fairness, the higher work motivation among bankers. this finding supported previous result by pierce et al. (2001) who found positive relationship between psychological ownership and work motivation among mining workers. also, the study lent credence to the finding by tian and belk (2005) who found positive relationship between organizational fairness and work motivation among universities staff in estonia. the hypothesis that psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis was supported. psychological ownership and organizational fairness were found to jointly predict work motivation. when combined psychological ownership and organizational fairness accounted for about 35% variance in work motivation among bankers. psychological ownership and organization are important resources that impact positive attitudes (e.g. higher commitment, sense of belongingness, self-identity, motivation, etc) to workers in their organisations. this means that bankers with higher psychological ownership and organizational fairness will show higher level of positive attitude towards the organizations than those with negative attitudes. this finding supported previous result by van dyne and pierce (2004) who found organizational fairness to be a strong predictor of work motivation among uniform officers in uk. finally, the hypothesis that male bankers would report higher than female bankers on work motivation was not supported. this means that gender of the bankers did not influence the level of their motivation to work. this finding supported previous studies (magallanes et al., 2021; naz, et al., 2020; stefko et al., 2017) who found that gender did not influence the 25 level of motivations among their study population. however, this finding contradicted result by wagner et al. (2003) who found male bankers to be more motivated than their female counterparts. it needs to be stated that many of the bank workers in nigeria are contract staff. the level of motivation may not be entrenched in their sense of well-being in the organization. conclusion this study has empirically established that psychological ownership and organizational fairness are significant predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. gender was not found to be a significant influence of work motivation among bankers in the study population. recommendations because of the findings in this study that psychological ownership and organizational fairness were strong predictors of work motivation, it is recommended that bank management should put in place concrete polices such as bonus sharing and contributory pension funds that would boost psychological ownership and organisational fairness among bankers in their organisations. this would help to motivate bankers to put in their best toward organisational performance and productivity. limitations of the study the following limitations need to be addressed in further studies. the study purposively selected three banks in ibadan metropolis which significantly hindered generalization of the study findings. further studies should include more banks in the metropolis. another limitation is the sample size of 283 participants which may not be a true reflection of the bankers in ibadan metropolis. further studies should increase the sample size to allow for generalization. finally, financial constraint and the unwillingness of the study participants to response to the study instrument limited this study. further studies should work to overcome these two constraints. 26 references ajzen, i. & fisbein, m.(1980). understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. prentice hall. almazrouei, h., & zacca, r. 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(2016). organisational justice: a conceptual discussion. procedia social & behavioral science, 219,798-803. page 7 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 88 perceived effects of covid-19 lockdown on cybercrime activities and attitude towards education among university students in enugu state, nigeria nwangwu, chukwunwike nnanna, ayuk clara oben eze ifeoma louisa department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology correspondence: chukwunwike.nwangwu@esut.edu.ng abstract due to the covid-19 lockdown, many migrated from physical contact and communication to virtual platforms. reports have revealed that the covid-19 lockdown increased worldwide internet traffic by 50%, making more people vulnerable to cybercrime attacks (feldmann, 2021). in nigeria, the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) reported a significant increase in the arrest of young people suspected of being involved in cybercrime between 2020 and 2021. (olaigbe, 2021). however, more study has yet to be conducted to determine how and to what extent the increased cybercrime activities as a result of covid-19 have influenced the attitudes of students toward education in enugu state, nigeria. thus, this research aims to assess the perceived effects of the covid-19 pandemic on cybercrime activities and attitudes toward education among university students in enugu state, nigeria. a cross-sectional research design was used in this study. one tertiary institution in enugu state was selected using random sampling. a total of 352 undergraduate students were used for the analysis. the respondents were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. data was collected using a structured questionnaire, and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data using the statistical package for social science (spss) version 2.0. the study revealed that most undergraduate students do not perceive cybercrime as evil but still consider university education relevant. also, the study found covid-19 lockdown increased the vulnerability of students to engage in cybercrime activities and distracted them from focusing on their studies. there is a need to create more awareness of the dangers of cybercrime and provide employment opportunities to reduce the prevalence of cybercrime among students in nigeria. keywords: attitude to education, covid-19 pandemic, cybercrime, enugu state, perception introduction the internet is the most popular and innovative creation within the world of technology. the planet has now become internet-dependent due to its vast advantages. the world of information, communication and technology has aided communication, sharing information and transferring knowledge from one internet user to another (burgess, 2a). a recent report shows a worldview of 4.66 billion active internet users w (statista, 2021). in nigeria, statistic shows that 108.75 million people are active internet users (kemp, 2021). the world of technology-driven activities comes with its peculiar challenges. one of the challenges of ict that have attracted global attention is cybercrime. the percentage of internet mailto:chukwunwike.nwangwu@esut.edu.ng 89 users in selected countries who have ever experienced cybercrime from november to december 2021 is at an alarming stage (statista, 2021). based on survey results from november 15 to december 7, 2021, internet users in india were most likely to have fallen victim to cybercrime, as 76 percent of respondents in the country claimed to have ever experienced cybercrime. internet users in brazil were in second place, with 69 percent of u.s. respondents stating that they had been victimized online (statista, 2021). in a recent media report, the usa federal bureau of investigation (fbi) ranked nigeria as 16th among the countries most affected by internet crime in the world in 2020 (asadu, 2021). another media report revealed that 80% of the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc)’s 978 convictions of cybercrime are related mostly to students (guardian newspaper nigeria, 2021). the covid19 pandemic has drastically and extensively altered life (hawdon et al, 2020). this global pandemic has forced organizations and individuals to embrace new practices such as social distancing, wearing a face mask, hand washing and remote working. the covid-19 pandemic imposed lockdown led to more people being confined at home with many more hours to spend online each day and increasingly relying on the internet to access services; they usually obtain offline. the dangers of cybercrime have been there for years. still, the increase in the percentage of the population connected to the internet and the time spent online, combined with the sense of confinement and the anxiety and fear generated by the lockdown, have provided more opportunities for cyber criminals to take advantage of the situation and make more money or create disruption (hawdon et al, 2020). feldmann (2021) revealed that the covid-19 lockdown increased worldwide internet traffic by 50%, making more people vulnerable to cybercrime attacks. another report discovered that 907,000 spam messages, 737 malware incidents, and 48,000 malicious urls all related to covid-19 were detected globally between january and april 2020. (interpol, 2020). furthermore, the covid-19 pandemic disrupted educational activities and increased students' vulnerability to criminal activities like cybercrime. in nigeria, the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) reported a significant increase in the arrest of young people suspected of being involved in cybercrime between 2020 and 2021. (olaigbe, 2021). global tracking of cyber-attacks indicates that nigeria is among countries with high cases of software piracy, intellectual property theft and malware attacks. this situation is a serious challenge to our resolve to take advantage of the enormous opportunities that the internet brings while balancing and managing its associated risks (ewepu, 2016). 90 cybercrime is one of the most prevalent types of crime committed by tertiary institution students in nigeria (aransiola & asindemade, 2011). the department of security services boss said that most of the cybercriminals in nigeria are in ladoke akintola university of technology (wahab, 2017). also, in march 2021, a final year student at the university of ilorin (unilorin), adigun oladapo oludele, was sentenced to one year in prison for offences bordering on internet fraud. properties recovered include a lexus vehicle, phones, wristwatches and money; all these were forfeited to the federal government. it has been discovered that a higher proportion of internet fraudsters are students. however, more study has yet to be conducted to determine how and to what extent the increased cybercrime activities as a result of covid 19 have influenced the attitudes of students toward education in enugu state, nigeria. thus, this research aims to investigate the perceived effects of the covid-19 pandemic on cybercrime activities and attitudes toward education among university students in enugu state, nigeria. methods the study used a cross-sectional survey design. the design is considered appropriate because it provides the process to capture students’ behaviour on the effects from covid 19 induced cybercrime activities on attitudes toward education. the study area is enugu state university of science and technology (esut). esut is a public school and the only government-owned university in enugu state. the esut headquarter is located in agbani, nkanu west local government areas of enugu state. nigeria. the students of esut are people from different states of the federation who are known for their youthfulness, with enugu state having the highest number of students on the campus. there are nine faculties in esut, with thirty academic departments (https://portal.esut.edu.ng/). the total population of undergraduate students in esut is 18,702 (https://portal.esut.edu.ng). the ratio of male to female undergraduate students at esut is 57:43, with 10,660 male undergraduate students and 8,042 female undergraduate students of esut (https://portal.esut.edu.ng/). this study used the taro yamane formula for sample size determination. this formula provides simplistic steps for determining the appropriate sample size for a finite (known) population, using a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. the sample size for the study is 352 students. 91 a cluster sampling technique was used to divide the departments in esut along with arts/humanities-related disciplines and science-related disciplines. simple random sampling was employed to select one department from the two cohorts (art/humanities and sciencerelated disciplines). furthermore, their respective departmental representatives obtained students’ lists and phone contacts, and a simple random method was used to select the study participants by lottery method. thereafter, the online google form structured questionnaire was distributed to the selected respondents using whatsapp social media platform. the selected participants were sent an introduction letter explaining the research's purpose and sought their consent to participate in the study. only those they gave oral or written consent were included in the study. this study employed a structured online questionnaire as the only instrument for data collection. one-day pre-test data collection exercise was conducted to validate the reliability of the instruments in providing accurate results. the researchers engaged two research assistants to help distribute the questionnaire to the selected respondents online. the data collection process happened from september to october, 2021. the statistical package for social sciences (spss) software was used to process the data collected. questionnaire data obtained were presented, analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistical tools such as simple percentages in table, pie chart and bar charts. results socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents source: online survey, 2021 figure 1: distribution of respondents by age 92 the above chart shows the distribution of respondents based on their age. it can be seen that most of the respondents are aged between 21-26 years, representing 57.7% of the total respondents. this is followed by respondents aged between 15-20 years, representing 30.4% of the total respondents. respondents aged between 27-32 years come next, with 9.7% of the total respondents. the minority is 33 years and above, with 2.2% of the total respondents. source: online survey, 2021 figure 2: distribution of respondents by religious affiliation the chart above shows the distribution of respondents based on their religious affiliation. it shows that most respondents are catholics, representing 53.4%, with 31% representing pentecostals. protestants are represented by 10.5% of the total responses, while muslims and african traditionalists have the lowest representatives, with 3% and 2.1%, respectively, of the total respondents. 93 source: online survey, 2021 figure 3: distribution of respondents by year of study the chart above shows the distribution of respondents by their year of study. most of the respondents are in their fourth year of study, representing 34.4% of the total respondents in this study. the third year students are the next which, represents 25.9% of the total respondents in this study. followed by first-year students, who represent 22.4% of the total respondents in this study. while second-year students are the least represented, with only 17.3% responses of the total respondents. therefore, the fourth year students have the highest responses in this study. source: online survey, 2021 figure 4: distribution of respondents by marital status 94 the above chart shows the distribution of respondents based on marital status. it can be seen that single people have the highest responses in this study, with 92.3% responses of the total respondents. married people have 5.7% responses of the total respondents. cohabiting people had only 2% responses of the total respondents in this study. it can also be observed from this study that there are no divorced, separated and widowed persons in this research, as they all recorded 0 responses. it is expected that students in that age range may probably be single source: online survey, 2021 figure 5: distribution of respondents by economic status the chart above shows the distribution of respondents by economic status. from the chart above, it can be seen that 74.7% respondents of the total respondents belong to the middle class. 14.2% responses of the total respondents are people in the upper class. people in the lower class have the least responses of, 11.1% of the total respondents in this study. hence, the people in the middle class have the majority responses of the total respondents in this study. 95 source: online survey, 2021 figure 6: distribution of respondents by whom they currently live with the above chart shows the distribution of respondents based on whom they live with. it shows that most of the respondents live with their parents, representing 42.3% of the total respondents. the second are the people living alone, with 28.4% responses of the total respondents. next are the people living with roommates, representing 15.1% responses of the total respondents. the fourth are the people living with relatives other than parents, representing 9.9% responses of the total respondents. people living with a foster family have the least responses representing 4.3% of the total respondents. source: online survey, 2021 figure 7: distribution of respondents’ sex 67% 32% 0 50 100 150 200 250 male femle sex disaggregation of respondents 96 the majority of the respondents, 67% were males, while 32% were females. this may be a result that cybercrime is being seen as male related issues. substantive issues students’ perception of cybercrime table 1: distribution of respondents’ perception of cybercrime responses frequency percentage it is a way of paying back the colonial masters 54 15.3% it is not evil 150 42.6% it is a business 61 17.3% it is the easiest way to get rich 87 24.7% total 352 100% source: field survey, 2021 table 1 shows that most of the undergraduate students of esut (42.6%) do not perceive cybercrime as evil; 87 responses representing 24.7% of the total respondents, perceive cybercrime as the easiest way to get rich. while 61 responses which represents 17.3% of the total respondents in this study, perceive cybercrime as a business. the least responses were gotten from respondents that perceive cybercrime as a way of paying back the colonial masters, with 54 responses which represent 15.3%. attitude toward education table 2: distribution of respondents by perception whether going to school is a scam responses frequency percentage yes 10 2.8% no 295 83.8% maybe 47 13.4% total 352 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 2 shows a majority of the respondents (83.8%) opined that going to school is not a scam (waste of time), while 47 responses representing 13.4% of the total respondents, were gotten from students that said maybe going to school is a scam (waste of time). the least responses were gotten from students that said yes that going to school is a scam (waste of time), with 10 responses representing 2.8% of the total respondents. this indicates that many students still hold positive attitudes toward education. 97 table 3: distribution of respondents on whether covid 19 increased the vulnerability of students to engage in cybercrime activities responses frequency percentage yes 243 69% no 83 23.6% i don’t know 26 7.4% total 352 100% source: field survey, 2021 table 3 shows that a majority 69% affirmed that covid 19 increased the vulnerability of students to engage in cybercrime activities. only 23% indicated negative responses, while 7.4% were indifferent. the implication is that covid 19 related issues may have influenced the students negatively to engage more in cybercrime in the study area. table 4: distribution of respondents on whether covid 19 lockdown negatively affected students’ academic performance responses frequency percentage true 276 78.4% false 31 8.8% don’t know 45 12.8% total 352 100% source: field survey, 2021 the above table shows that more than half of the respondents (78.4%) agree that covid 19 lockdown negatively affected students’ academic performance. a total of 45 respondents, which represent 12.8% said that they don’t know if covid 19 lockdown affected the academic performance of students. the least responses were obtained from 31 respondents only, which represent 8.8% of the total respondents who said that covid 19 lockdown did not affect the academic performance of students. table 5: distribution of respondents on how cybercrime affect student’s attitude towards university education responses frequency percentage bring bad image to the school/country 48 13.6% decrease ability to concentrate on his/her studies 184 52.3% increase school drop out 69 19.6% increase cult/criminal activities in school 28 8.3% 98 increase population of students in prison 23 6.2% total 352 100% source: field survey, 2021 from the table above, the highest number of responses (52.3%) was gotten from people that said a covid-19 induced cybercrime activities decreased the ability of the students to concentrate on their studies. in contrast, respondents, who represent 19.6% of the total respondents, said that increase in school dropouts is a way cybercrime has affected students’ attitudes towards university education. also, 48 respondents representing 13.6%, agree that cybercrime brings a bad image to the school/country. 28 respondents which represent 8.3% of the total respondents have the opinion that cybercrime can increase cult/criminal activities in school. only 23 respondents, which represent 6.2% of the total population, said that cybercrime can increase the population of students in prison. from this table, it can be seen that a majority of the undergraduate students of esut have the opinion that cybercrime activities during covid 19 significantly decreased the ability of students to concentrate on their studies. ways to reduce cybercrime among students source: field survey 2021 figure 8: distribution of respondents on what the government can do to reduce cybercrime among students 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 99 the above chart shows that the overwhelming majority of the respondents (69.6%) indicated the government should create more employment opportunities to reduce cybercrime among students. these 36 responses represent 10.2% of the total respondents who said that government should make strict and implement laws against cybercrime to reduce it among students. while 32 responses which represent 9.1%, were gotten from people that said the government should set up proper or adequate internet users regulations/monitoring. only 26 responses which represent 7.4% of the total respondents, said that government can reduce cybercrime among students by sensitizing them to the dangers of cybercrime. meanwhile, the least responses were gotten from people that said effective parental monitoring can reduce cybercrime among students, with only 13 respondents which represent 3.7%of the total respondents. table 6: distribution of respondents on how school management can stop cybercrime responses frequency percentage dismiss any students found to be involved in cyber crime 20 5.6% creating recreational activities 16 4.5% cyber security 42 11.9% create employment opportunities 48 13.6% enforce law against cyber crime 45 12.7% create awareness on the dangers of cyber crime 72 20.4% nothing 43 12.3% no idea 37 10.5% reducing cost of education 29 8.3% total 352 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 6 shows that a majority of the respondents opted that the school management should create awareness on the dangers of cybercrime with 72 responses representing 20.4% of the total respondents. 48 respondents representing 13.6%, agreed that the school management should create students’ employment opportunities. while 45 respondents representing 12.7% of the total respondents, opted that the school management should enforce laws against cybercrime. 43 respondents represent 12.3% of the total respondents’ school management can 100 do nothing to stop cybercrime. also, 42, representing 11.9% of the total respondents, agreed that school management should provide cyber security. 37 respondents representing 10.5% of the total respondents, said they have no idea what the school management can do to stop cybercrime. discussion the study revealed that most undergraduate students do not perceive cybercrime as evil. this finding is in agreement with previous studies in nigeria. a study to assess students’ perception of cybercrime in edo state, nigeria, showed that most students agreed that sending scam mail is not evil (olusi et al., 2009). a recent study also maintains this position to understand youths' perception and factors advancing cybercrime (yahoo-yahoo) in ado-ekiti, ekiti state, nigeria, which revealed that students perceive cybercrime as routine work where the wage is expected to come someday (ojolo & adeoluwa adewumi, 2020). this finding implies that students have rationalised cybercrime as an accepted way of life. this perception among students will exacerbate cybercrime activities with significant socio-cultural and economic consequences to the country if it remains unchecked. furthermore, the study found that students perceive university education positively because most respondents indicated that education is not a scam. this is contrary to the general notion among many youths in nigeria that denotes that education has lost its relevance; hence it is a scam. according to marian (2019), it appears many youths use the names of bill gates, mark zuckerberg and other wealthy american dropouts as an excuse to relegate the relevance of education, while others have argued that many university graduates in nigeria who studied professional courses but ended up doing menial jobs because of the high rate of unemployment. the perception that education has lost its relevance among youths may have dared them to rationalise cybercrime as an acceptable lifestyle. however, the positive attitude towards education by students in this current study may be because the campaigners of the mantra that education is a scam are primarily artists, unemployed and underemployed members of society, unlike undergraduate students with high hopes and expectations of a bright career. nevertheless, it can be induced that nigeria’s dysfunctional education system could be the problem of the negative perception of the relevance of education among nigerian youths because education remains a crucial driver of societal growth and progress in the world (dejifolutile, 2021). 101 similarly, the study investigated how the covid-19 lockdown may have affected students’ learning abilities. the study revealed that the majority of the respondents indicated that the covid-19 lockdown constituted a distraction that decreased their ability to concentrate on his/her studies. the finding aligns with another study conducted in 92 different countries on the impact of covid-19 pandemic on the academic performance of veterinary medical students, which showed that the lockdown affected the academic performance of most participants (96.7%) with varying degrees (mahdy, 2020). this is a clear indication that covid 19 had a significant impact not only on exposing students to criminal behaviour, such as cybercrime but also had an impact on their academic performance. it is even more devastating for students in developing countries like nigeria, who are forced to migrate to online classes without adequate facilities and lack the skills to meet such academic expectations. also, the study found that the covid-19 lockdown increased the vulnerability of students to engage in cybercrime activities. this may have contributed to the high prevalence of cybercrime activities recorded during that lockdown period. in nigeria, the economic and financial crime commission (efcc) reported a significant increase in the arrest of young people suspected of being involved in cybercrime between 2020 and 2021. (olaigbe, 2021). this finding implies that many students who may have been exposed to cybercrime due to the covid-19 lockdown are likely to have continued the criminal behaviour to the detriment of their lives and society. on the ways to reduce cybercrime among students, this study found that creating awareness of the dangers of cybercrime by university management and creating employment opportunities by the government could significantly contribute to reducing the prevalence of cybercrime among university students in nigeria. in s similar study, it was also found that government policy toward providing basic amenities, job opportunities and better cybersecurity technologies emerged as the primary solution to cybercrime among students (edeoghon, & mobote, 2020). in addition, it was found in a related study that if the federal government of nigeria could increase its activities in promoting social inclusion, social protection, agropreneurship and technopreneurship to address youth unemployment in the country, cybercrime among youth would be reduced (akinyetun et al, 2021). 102 conclusions the incidence of cybercrime increased as a result of covid 19 related challenges among tertiary institution students. the implication is that many students have become more vulnerable to cybercrime-related activities, which will pose enormous challenges to students and society in general. specifically, the consequences of this on our educational sector will leave a catastrophic impact on the future of nigeria toward sustainable development. this is because the energy and potential of the students that would have been used for productive endeavours will be diverted to criminality which will do the society no good. also, countries’ economies lost from the activities cyber fraudsters will be exacerbated as a result of students’ vulnerability to engage in cybercrime in nigeria. recommendations the following recommendations were made based on the findings of this study: 1. institutions, stake holders, government and non-government organizations should sponsor skills to be taught in schools so that students can be self-employed. 2. cyber laws that would govern the country’s cyber space and give the nation adequate cyber security measures should be created. 3. government and other related stakeholders should try and create more employment opportunities for young graduates and undergraduates in order to alleviate their involvement in cybercrime. 4. massive awareness and sensitization exercise against the menace of cybercrime should be supported and encouraged by stakeholders in the university environment 5. youth recreational centers should be built by the government and administrations; in order for young people to be engaged in creative works and development that would keep their minds busy. references akinyetun, t.s, adewale,s.j, oke, b.t., samuel, a.a & abiodun, a.j. 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(2021, november 4). digital in nigeria: all the statistics you need in 2021. datareportal – global digital insights. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021nigeria. mahdy maa (2020) the impact of covid-19 pandemic on the academic performance of veterinary medical students. front. vet. sci. 7:594261. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.594261. marian, a. (2019, april 30). true or false: is education really a scam? elitethrive. https://elitethrive.com/education-really-scam/. ojolo, t., & adeoluwa adewumi, s. (2020). understanding youths’ perception and factors advancing cybercrime (yahoo-yahoo) in ado-ekiti, ekiti state, nigeria. african journal of gender, society and development (formerly journal of gender, information and development in africa), 9(4), 243– 264. https://doi.org/10.31920/2634-3622/2020/v9n4a11. olaigbe, o. (2021, november 24). how the pandemic pulled nigerian university students into cybercrime. the record by recorded future. https://therecord.media/how-thepandemic-pulled-nigerian-university-students-into-cybercrime/. olusi, f., aguele, l., ihumuaibvi, p., & edobor, r. (2009). students perception of cyber crime in edo state: implications for teaching and learning. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.4314/lwati.v6i1.46506. statista. (2022, july 27). global number of internet users 20052021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-usersworldwide/. wahab, b. 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https://www.pulse.ng/communities/student/ladoke-akintola-university-of-technology-lautech-has-the-highest-concentration-of/3ly2g00 page 5 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 89 women economic empowerment and rural development in nsukka local government area of enugu, state. asadu ngozi 1, egbuche miriam1, henry ajibo 2 department of sociology and anthropology1 department of social work2 university of nigeria nsukka. corresponding author: mariagoretti.asadu@unn.edu.ng abstract this study examines how women’s economic empowerment determines rural development in nsukka, south eastern nigeria. data for the study were gathered from women in the age bracket of (18 years and above) using questionnaire (n=189) and was selected through purposive sampling technique and in-depth interview (n=6) conducted in three communities in nsukka lga. the study adopted crosssectional survey design. percentages and chi-square statistics were used to describe the data. the result shows that there was a statistically significant relationship (p˂.000) between educational qualification and participation in rural development. the study indicated that there was a statically significant relationship (p˂.026) between income level of respondents and participation in rural development. also, the result indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship (p˂.007) between age and participation in rural development. the study concludes by stating that women with education participate more in rural development however, it is recommended that government and relevant authorities should ensure that funding for women empowerment programs is not negotiated while women association should be encouraged to enhance their positive impacts in lives of members of their community area. keywords: economic, empowerment, rural development, education. introduction great mind have frequently discussed and cited the empowerment of women with regards to rural development. potentially, women contribute to the development process of any nation. however, women are limited by some factors that keep them ineffective. thus, kabeer, (2000) observed that the common factor is that, they are all constrained by their reproductive responsibilities, societal norms, beliefs, customs and values by which societies differentiate between them and men. poverty among most women, gender division of labour and the male dominated social structure shape these constraints to a very great extent. empowerment is instrumentally important in delivering positive transformation and well-being of life which lies in doing what one values and have reasons to value (narayara, 2002). mailto:mariagoretti.asadu@unn.edu.ng ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 90 empowerment is associated with indirect indicators like education and work participation of women, access to economic resources, decision making and mobility. many gains have been made to overall level of education worldwide and more children than ever are now attending primary school. hence the plight of women, in terms of education is compounded by this negative attitude of parents toward female education (oniye, 2010). the levels of education for women, poverty, and the attitude of men towards women have over the years given a great deal of threat to women’s participation in the development processes. this could be the reason why ojoh (2012) argues that, in africa, women are politically underrepresented, with little or no decision –making power. nigeria is positioned to as one of the countries in the continent lagging behind due to the effect of male-dominance. women have been playing developmental roles over the years in the society as more awareness is being created with connection to incorporating gender perspective in policy making and the adoption of gender-inclusive approaches in the implementation of development goals. in recent times, (onyeishi, 2011) stated that there has been evidence of sustainable development and peace. this would validate onwubiko (2012) when he stated that women are fundamental human reservoirs of every society and in the traditional societies of africa and asia. regrettably, in nigeria today, women have not been fully mobilized and empowered to contribute to national development. if it had been so, we would not have been talking about good health for women, educational, economic, social, cultural and political empowerment for women, and in all its ramification, women would not have been segregated and discriminated against so much so that they are sexually tortured and harassed in their seeking for employment, contracts, political positions and in other endeavours (onwubiko, 2012). according to imf, when more women work, economies grow. women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes. women in work index (2018) stated that increasing the female employment rates in oecd countries to match that of sweden, could boost gdp by over usd 6 trillion, recognizing, however, that growth does not automatically lead to a reduction in gender-based inequality. conversely, it is estimated that gender gaps cost the economy some 15 percent of gdp (cuberes & teignier, 2016) ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 91 statement of the problem on a good note, olawoye (1995) describes nigerian women as a crucial factor in production. according to her, they are largely responsible for the bulk production of crops, agrobased food processing, preservation of crops and distribution of yields from farm centres to market in both rural and urban areas. this assertion is in line with the review of kwesiga (1999) and agwu (2001) who observed that the major institutional constraints in women’s participation in economic activities and development process are inadequate access to factors of production and trade, lack of credit facilities, lack of training opportunities and skill acquisition, limited access to appropriate production technologies and social services. as a result, women in nigeria are unable to secure credit facilities from financial institutions due to lack of collaterals (ikeduru 2002). to forestall this, sathiabama (2010) remarks that the economic empowerment of women is being regarded these days as a sine-qua-non of progress for a country; hence, the issue of economic empowerment of women is of paramount importance to political thinkers, social scientists and reformers. it is worth nothing that many government and international organizations endorsed various policies in support of women empowerment for effective development, but such policies seem to have not resulted in substantial reduction in women underdevelopment in many countries like nigeria where men and women could contribute to development differently (obanya, 2003). dubois (2010) observed that when people experience empowerment, they feel effective, conclude that they are competent, and perceive that they have power and control over the course of their lives. these policies and ideas aim at the enlargement of the access of women to education, encouraging their full participation in cash economy and polities and reviewing laws on status of women. one sure way of empowering women and reducing gender inequality in today’s fast changing world, especially in a developing society is by getting more women educated and employed. women education is therefore necessary for developing countries especially to; experience higher economic growth, reduce incidence of poverty, increase average wage, increase share of trade in gross domestic product, and improve health. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 92 though some of these empowerment policies exist, but the efficiency of them in promoting the participation of nsukka women in rural development processes need to be straightened hence, the need for this study. this research therefore examined the effects of women’s economic empowerment on the rural development, using nsukka local government area of enugu state as a study area. literature review empowerment is viewed as an essential strategy to strengthen the well-being of individuals, families, communities and government agencies (aref, 2010). hence, rural development is the process of socio-economic change occurring in rural area for the purpose of raising the standard of living and improving livelihoods and favourable changes life in the way of life of the majority of population residing in rural areas. pitiably, the nigerian women have not really enjoyed equal economic participation with their male counterparts; yet, they form more than 70% of food producers in the country (handy & kassan 2004). to this effect, ojoh (2012) asserted that in afugiri, abia state, women are the major food producers; they built more than three oil mills and cassava processing centres, through their labour, which has left most of them who have no one to care for them in penury. hence, rural development refers to the process of improving the quality of life and economic welbeing of people living in relatively isolated and sparsely populated area. the role of women in agricultural production in line with community development as leilanie lu (2010) observed in a study carried out in philippines, the role of women in agriculture is not merely complementary to that of men, but the same as their male counterparts. the role ranges from clearing of land, fertilizer application, pesticide application to harvesting and trading. in their study among rural women in depalpur, parkistan, butt, hassan,mahmood and muhhamed (2010) observed that women play a key role in the agricultural sector by working with full passion in the production of crops right from soil preparation till post harvest activities. in a study in the phillipines, chong-javier (2009) revealed that women have long occupied a central place in agricultural production in developing countries, ensuring food security for their household and their communities. in nigeria, according to ijere (1991) women form over half of the rural population and it is estimated that 80 percent of rural labour force is provided by women. another estimate by ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 93 undp claims that about one third of all african households are headed by women. in terms of sectional allocations, agriculture appears to be the occupation of 70.3% of nigerian women. yet, it is known that agriculture has the largest chunk of the poor for women. the poverty is compounded by the fact that only 8 percent of women hold title to the land they work on (unfpa 1992). in their study, ekesionye and okolo (2012) observed that women have restricted access to socio economic rights and privileges. they enjoy lower social status and are hindered by harmful traditional practices to exhibit their potentials. hence, they suffer discrimination in terms of land use, limited access to credit facilities etc. to support this, agwu (2001) recapped that the major institutional constraints in women’s participation in economic activities and development process in societies are inadequate access to factors of production and trade, lack of credit facilities, lack of training opportunities and skill acquisition, limited access to appropriate production technologies and social services. this has thus been an issue in the recent past and has been the bone of contention. in her own prolific examination, oguonu (2010) using a descriptive survey and data sourced from the natural environment, concluded that women have in many ways added to the socio-economic development in nigeria especially at the grassroots. from her research findings, 720 respondents, which amounts to (70.18%) of the total population agreed that women have made noteworthy contribution to agriculture while 206 respondents, amounting to (29.8%) of the total population sampled were either undecided or disagreed. it was also revealed that in the areas of health projects, women have made tremendous contributions to the socio-economic development. it is from the facts of this research work that she held the view that women in whatever position they find themselves have made significant contributions to developments in general. in a study which examined women empowerment and participation in economic activities as tools for self reliance and development of nigeria society, ekesionye and okolo (2012) found that most economic hustles performed by women especially women in anambra state are trading, hair dressing, farming, craft, poultry etc. they create fund from the economic activities through their savings, philanthropic assistance, group contributions, loans and credits from corporative societies and the likes. in their recommendations, they viewed that provision of soft loans and credits, sustainable land tenure system, training programmes will enhance women ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 94 participation in economic activities. each person has a role to play in the development of the nation. however, for any society to endure, both men and women alike, have roles to play as members of the society (onyeishi 2011). to attest to this, ojoh (2012) observed that the development of any society demands the effort and commitment of every member. hence, for the progress and betterment of the society, men and women are to work together whereas women are to be more accommodated, because of their intuitive power. even in most cultures, it is seen as an abomination when women or a wife goes in search of development without of the consent of the husband. it is in this highlight, onwubuiko (2012) posits that the access of women to finance and capital is so minimal that women are generally disadvantaged in terms of economic stability and independence. theoretical orientation social capital theory this theory is linked to authors such as bourdieu and coleman (hauberer, 2011). the theory emphasizes on collective effort of grass roots groups in a community in which people come together to work in order to improve their socio-economic standard of living for the development of their community through collective effort. the theory emphasizes collective social economic benefits derived from cooperation between individuals and groups in our communities through collective efforts. the theory is perceived as bond that binds individual and groups together for socio-economic reasons. it involves people and groups working together in trust to achieve stated developmental objectives. this theory holds that women in large group should come together to work for the development of their communities and to help one another in coordinated form. research methodology the study was carried out in nsukka local government area of enugu state, in the south eastern nigeria. significantly, nsukka local government area is bounded by kogi state, igbo eze south local government area. according to the national population commission (2006), the area is made up of a total population of 309,633 with female population of 160,392, and male population is 149,241. it is comprises of 14 rural communities and one urban community, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 95 nsukka. the nsukka is further divided into three autonomous communities viz nru, ihe/owerre and nkpunanor. each of these autonomous communities has many villages. this study used sample size of 189 respondents drawn from the study area. purposive sampling was used to select four communities in nsukka local government area which are obukpa and opi to represent the rural areas and ihe-owerre and nru to represent the urban centres in nsukka. this is to determine if location can affect women’s economic empowerment. the responses to the questionnaire were tallied and put into frequency distribution table. simple percentage was used to describe the characteristics in study subjects. chi square (x2) statics was used to test the research hypotheses. the data from questionnaires were analyzed using statistical package for the social sciences (spss). this would help in clarity and understanding. data presentation of findings the data obtained from distribution of respondent by sex indicates that males constitutes 26.5% of the respondents while 73.5% are made up of females which indicates that majority of the respondents are women. from the age distribution it is noted that 18-22 years is 13.2%, 23-27 years is 10.1%, 28-32 years is 27.0%, 33-37 years is 19.0%, 38 -42 years is 18.5% and 43 years and above is 12.2%. from all indications it can be observed that majority of the respondents belong to 28-32 years. respondents by level of income in this study indicate that 36.0% of respondents have income level of 10, 000 30, 000, 22.2% 31, 000 – 60, 000, 20.6% 61, 000 – 90, 000 and 21.2% have income level of 91, 000. the data show that majority of the respondents have income level of 10, 000 – 30, 000. the data further indicates that 24.3% of the respondents had no formal education, 41.3% had secondary education while 34.4% had tertiary education. this means that majority of the respondents (41.3%) acquired secondary education. education, income and age were cross tabulated to test the hypotheses. respondents were grouped into two: those with primary and secondary education were re-coded as non-educated and those with tertiary education were re-coded as educated. 83.9% of non-educated participated in rural development and 16.1% indicated that they have participated. on the other hand, 27.7% of the educated have participated in rural development while 72.3% have not participated in rural development. therefore, with the computed x2=58.817; df=1, the test shows that there is a statistically significant relationship (p<.000) between educational qualification and participation ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 96 in rural development. therefore, more educated women are more likely to participate in rural development than non-educated women. again, respondents were grouped into two: those with income level of 10, 000-60, 000 were re-coded as low income earners while those with income of 61, 000 and above were re-coded as high income. the result show that 51.8% of low income earners participated in rural development while 48.2% did not participate. on the other hand, 35.4% of those with high income have participated and 64.6% have not participated. with the computed x2=4,982; df=1, the test show that there is statistically significant relationship between (p<.026) between income level and participation in rural development. therefore the substantive hypothesis which states that women with high level of income are more likely to participate in rural development is upheld. finally, respondents were grouped into two: those between the ages of 18-32 were re-coded as younger women and those between 33 years and above were re-coded as older women. the result show that 65.3% of younger women participated in rural development and 48.2% have not participated. some 45.7% of older women have participated in rural development while 54.3% have not. with the computed x2=7.290; df=1, the test show that there is a statistically significant relationship (p<.007) between age and participation in rural development. therefore the substantive hypothesis which states that older women are more likely to participate in rural development is upheld. discussion of findings results from the research indicated that a greater percentage of females make up the respondents which indicates that majority of the respondents are females. a large number of age respondents are between the ages of 28-32 years and have participated in rural development while on a general note income earners between 10, 000 – 30, 000 formed the greater percentage of income distribution and have participated in rural development. the study also show that the greater majority of the respondents agree that women’s educational status affect the extent of their involvement in rural development hence, greater percentage have participated in rural development. the study also found that lack of funding for women empowerment programmes followed by followed by gender preference is factors hindering women empowerment in the study area. the findings revealed also that most respondents agreed on the statement that project by the women association impacted positively to lives of members of the rural dwellers. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 97 in summary, the major findings of the study include the followings:  there was a statistically significant relationship (p<.000) between educational qualification and participation in rural development  there was a statistically significant relationship (p<.026) between income level of respondents and participation in rural development.  finally the result indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship (p<.007) between age and participation in rural development.  it was also noted that majority of the respondents agree that women with higher income more likely to participate in rural development than women with lower income.  majority of respondents agreed on the statement that project by the women association impacted positively to lives of members of their community/area  the result also indicated that lack of funding for women empowerment programmes followed by gender preferences, non involvement of women in decision making are factors hindering women empowerment in the study area. conclusion the major objective of the study was the effects of women economic empowerment in rural development in nsukka local government area. however, this study, owing to its finding that women economic empowerment affects their participation in rural development in nsukka local government area; reveals that there is need to empower women more than ever before to really participate in the rural development programmes of their communities/areas. every support should be rendered to women without debate for maximum productivity and rural development. the findings of this study have clear positive implications for policy and future research. recommendations based on the research outcome, the following were recommended: there is every need to create income-generating opportunities for the women. this will enable them to participate actively in the development of their communities. women associations should also be encouraged to enhance their positive impact on the lives of members of their community/area ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 98 governmental and non-governmental organizations should organize seminars that will focus on the younger women in order to educate them on the need to participate more in rural development than older ones. government and relevant authorities should ensure that funding for women empowerment programmes is not an option. references aref, f. 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(2000). vacancy: tough woman only. lagos. the punch (2/5/2000). the punch press p.25. handy, f. & kassam, m. (2004). women’s empowerment in rural india. paper presented at the istr conference, toronto, canada. hauberer j. (2011). the founding concepts of social capital – bourdieu’s theory. 6th edition. london: hamper collins. ijere, m.o. (1991). women on co-operation. j centre rural development cooperatives, university of nigeria, nsukka, p. 16. kabeer, n. (2005). the power to choose: bangladesh woman and labour market in london and dhaka. verso: london. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 99 kabeer, n. (2005). gender equality and woman’s empowerment: a critical analysis of the third millenium development good; gender and development, 13, 13, 1, millennium development goals (march, 2005), pp. 13-24. kwesiga j.c (1999). central yet peripheral: the rural women farmer and issues of african development. ibadan: international institute of tropical agriculture. leilanie, lu, j. 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(2011). empowerment and women’s participation in development processes: a study of nsukka community local government area of enugu state pdf, accessed july, 2019. women in work index 2018. available at: https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/economics policy/insights/women-in-work-index.html https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/economics-%20%20policy/insights/women-in-work-index.html https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/economics-%20%20policy/insights/women-in-work-index.html page 1 245 poverty alleviation programmes in enugu state vision 4:2020 (the conditional cash transfer (cct) programme) iloh angela ugo department of public administration caritas university enugu angieonwuzu63@gmail.com abstract the conditional cash transfer (ccts) is a programme provided for poor household in various communities in enugu state, on the condition that they engage in human capital investment and per capital income development. the programme started in the year 2011, as at february 2013 the payment to extreme poor families have been completed in the various communities in enugu state. also empowerment grants of n120,000.00 per head was also disbursed to beneficiaries. this paper therefore assessed how far this conditional cash transfer projects and programmes had helped to alleviate vulnerable livelihood in the various rural areas and whether the objective for which the programme was established was achieved. the purpose is mainly to improve the standard of living of the poorest poor and vulnerable; economically and socially. the study was a descriptive and case study type, the sampling method was purposive. the data collected revealed that social intervention policies exists but the impact was not much felt on the livelihood of the poorest poor. keywords: empowerment, poverty, micro-economics, social welfare introduction “nigeria is ramping up its efforts to fight extreme poverty in many of its poorest areas, using hundreds of millions of dollars available through an international debt relief programme, combined with money from local government to expand: health care, education, water supply, infrastructures, and other programs”. (earth institute to expand anti-poverty programme, 2012). nigeria government since the past year has adopted a lot of economic enhancement programs/projects from the rolling plans, napep, needs, etc to vision 20:2020, all geared towards, sustainability, self –reliant nation and improved economic and social status of its citizens. that is to say, enhanced gross national product (gnp) and per capital income. however, this is in live with the united nation’s economic policies: the millennium development goals (mdgs) and the sustainable development programmes (sdgs) to ensure sustainable development in the various un countries; the federal government of nigeria under the regime of president goodluck jonathan in pursuit of this goal (objectives) developed an economic programme known as vision 20:2020. the target is that by the year 2020 nigeria will be among the 20th developed nation in the world. that is to say, poverty will be reduced to almost a zero percent level. there will mean enhance level of education, adequate man 246 power, adequate light and water supply in all community, health care faculties, and adequate infrastructural facilities, industrialization and other programmes. hence w.w. rostow in his view on stages of development holds it that a community/society cannot boost of being developed unless it has reached maturity stage. to substantiate the inevitable need of upholding this programme the present regime under the leadership of president muhammadu buhari and governor, ifeanyi ugwuanyi continued to foster the programme with four social intervention programmes of the conditional cash transfer (cct) programme is one of the main target programme towards total alliviation of poverty in this country. enugu state is not out of this race of socioeconomic development programme. the national social investment programme (nsip) and national empower programmes(nepp) was continued by the present government to eradicate poverty by provision of sustainable basic income, education, supply of water and electricity, rural infrastructural facilities and others; this is in line with federal government objectives towards poverty alleviation stated in year 2015. the nigeria’s cct programmes according to wikipedia dictionary is meant to: “provides targeted cash transfers to the most vulnerable households with the long-term goal of lifting millions out of poverty. a monthly stipend of n5,000 ($13.89) is given to households in poverty-stricken communities along with an additional n5,000 for families designated as priorities or extreme cases. along with the cash transfers, as part of the program, beneficiaries are supported, mentored, and coached by trained community facilitators who visit them weekly to help them take ownership of their lives …………” as of 2018, payment was going to over 297,000 beneficiaries supported by 2,495 community facilitators in the federation. the government of enugu state formulated an economic plan for enugu state named vision en:4:2020. in 2013, the then governor stated that: “the four point agenda of my administration provided the basis for developing the state and its first implementation plan for en: 4:2020. the programmes and projects implemented were driven by the key development needs (kdn) of the 472 communities as articulated in the visit – every community project (vec)” (sullivan i. chime, 2013). the visit every-community project (vec) provided and insight to the needs of the various 472 communities in enugu state, and no doubt observation of abject poverty in some communities in enugu state was made. in achievement of the 4-point agenda and follow up economic plan of en vision 4: 2020, the state government thought it wise to reduce hunger and abject in our communities by providing a minimum income to extremely poor families in our communities. the state government therefore introduced a 247 progarmme known as conditional cash transfers (cct) that year poverty alleviation programme to be funded through the national debt relief grants to the states. this poverty reduction porgramme is meant to provide a minimum income to extremely poor families in the state, to enable them get some basic needs for life sustenance. it is also meant to provide economic empowerment, provide new skills and asset creation to reduce vulnerability in livelihood. this therefore is in line with objectives of the ccts of the federal government of nigeria. the government cannot continue to propagate development when more than 50% of its citizens are hungry. when in the actual sense of it, development could be achieved only when there are healthy bodies and minds in the communities. hence an authentication of abraham maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs: ‘a man cannot be motivated to work or appreciate his existence unless his basic needs of life are satisfied. enugu state government therefore initiated this poverty alleviation programme since 2011 to equip the people with new means of livelihood, education, good water supply, health (medical facilities), good transports etc. the conditional cash transfer is assessed as the 1st step towards this fight against abject poverty, that is, to families where there is no existence of anybody that is salaried with basic (monthly income) or a benefactor. the conditional cash transfer is a programme under the auspices of national debt relief programme geared towards poverty reduction in our nation. recently in enugu state some families/people in various communities has benefited from it. this write up is to assess the extent to which this programme has contributed towards reduction of extreme poverty in enugu state communities. to enable one do it, two (2) towns/communities in udi lga enugu state are chosen: egede and affa town. statement of problem the conditional cash transfer (ccts) is programme provided for poor household in various communities in enugu state, on the condition that they engage in human capital investment and per capital income development. the programme started in the year 2011, as at february 2013 the payment to extreme poor families have been completed in the various communities in enugu state. also empowerment grants of n120,000.00 per head was also disburse to beneficiaries. this paper therefore assessed how far this conditional cash transfer projects and programmes had helped to alleviate vulnerable livelihood in the various rural areas and whether the objective for which the programme was established was achieved. these are: 248 human capital investment, improved primary health care, primary and secondary education improved supply of basic needs. objectives: the over-riding objectives of these paper is to find out what the conditional cash transfer programme is all about as a programme for alleviation of poverty in enugu state. others specific objectives are: (1) what are the effects on reduction of vulnerability in the life’s of the extreme poor families. (2) what are the possible recommendation towards effective implementation and achievement of its objectives. literature review world development report (1990) defined poverty as the inability to attain a minimum standard of living. ravallion and bidani (1994) refer to poverty as a lack of command over basic consumption needs that is a situation of inadequate level of consumption rise to insufficient food, clothing and shelter. in another view poverty may be referred to as a lack of not being able to participate with dignity in societal endeavours. poverty therefore, is a multidimensional social phenomena influences by a wide range of factors, there include; poor people, lack of access to income earning and productive activities and to essential social services. however, copenhagen declaration of 1995 shed more light on what really constitute poverty when it asserts that; poverty has various manifestations including lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihood it is characterized by hunger and malnutrition, ill health, limited or lack of access to education and other basic services increase mortality from illness homelessness and inadequate housing, unsafe environments, social discrimination and exclusions. according to adejor (2006) poverty can be manifested in history, poverty of intellect and poverty of ideology. in any case the deprived are usually poor. there are sufficient income, inadequate food intake, lack of basic health care, education and skills, ignorant and fundamental human rights and access to information. in the content of this paper poverty is viewed as inability of one lacking supply of basic needs that is unable to afford basic needs for live sustainability. 249 definition of a poor person a poor person (poor family) is considered as one without job, who cannot help himself or cater for his family who has no money, farm or business. adolescent males and females are poor if they have no parents, no education, no good food, clothes and health. a poor person is described as one who is hinder nourished and age fast, one without self confidence, looks dirty and live no filthy environment, one who cannot cater for his family, train his children in the school and unable to pay medical bills (the world bank 1992). types of poverty poverty is also divided into two: (a) relative poverty and (b) absolute poverty. 1) absolute poverty: refers to a condition under which there is a serious deficiency in, or lack of access to the basic necessities of life, to the extent that even when we speak of absolute poverty we refer to existence blow a reference standard of living. the progressive raisin of this reference standard is part of the universal human development process. for a working definition of absolute poverty may refer to down tree’s concept of primary poverty which applies to families whose income is insufficient to obtain the minimum necessities for the maintenance of merely physical efficiency, based on a diet containing the necessary nutrients, providing basic calories and proteins. a certain basic needs and other facilities and amenities required for social efficiency. hence needs are ordered such that one strives to meet the needs at the most pressing level up to point before seeking to meet those t the next level. the kind of problem one considers most pressing therefore, indicate ones poverty status. absolute poverty is been measured by low income which is a yard stick for measuring relatives poverty, absolute poverty is measured and also said to have reflect in low standard of living of the people. in nigeria, 80% of the populace come is spent on food as compared with 20% in advance countries (imodu 2001) people mostly take cereals and other starchy food with total neglect of nutritional foods, such as meat, egg, fish and dietary products. as a result, the average daily cereals hardly exceed 2000 as compared with more than 3000 that is formed in the diets of the people of the advance countries. a high percentage of the population live in extremely unsanitary conditions, do not have safe drinking water and sanity waste disposal. 250 relative poverty: relative poverty refers to the condition of an individual household, group or community which considered against some reference standard or parameter, such as the average for the group or region. a target analysis however all concept of poverty are therefore relative. causes of poverty cultures have internal and external elements that contribute to the existence of poverty. some of these conditions are tangible and external, like:  lack of shelter  limited access to clean water resources  food insecurity  physical disabilities  lack of access to health care  unemployment  absence of social services  gender discrimination  poor infrastructure  government corruption.  environmental circumstances such as natural disasters, droughts, limited resources or depletion of natural resources. other causes of poverty globally may be recorded as follows: i. inequality and marginalization “inequality” is an easy, but sometimes misleading term used to describe the systemic barriers leaving groups of people without a voice or representation within their communities. for a population to escape poverty, all groups must be involved in the decision-making process — especially when it comes to having a say in the things that determine your place in society. some of these may be obvious, but in other situations, it can be subtle. gender inequality, caste systems, marginalization based on race or tribal affiliations are all economic and social inequalities that mean the same thing: little to no access to the resources needed to live a full, productive life. when combined with different combinations of vulnerability and hazards which comprise the rest of this list — a marginalized community may become even more vulnerable to the cycle of poverty. 2. conflict conflict is one of the most common forms of risk driving poverty today. large-scale, protracted violence that we’ve seen in areas like syria can grind society to a halt, destroying infrastructure and causing people to flee (often with nothing but the clothes on their backs). in its tenth year of conflict, syria’s middle class has been all but destroyed, and over 80% of the population now lives below the poverty line. https://www.compassion.com/highly-vulnerable-children.htm https://www.compassion.com/poverty/food-insecurity.htm https://www.compassion.com/poverty/poverty-and-the-environment.htm https://www.concernusa.org/our-approach/cycle-of-poverty/ https://www.compassion.com/highly-vulnerable-children.htm https://www.compassion.com/highly-vulnerable-children.htm 251 3. hunger, malnutrition, and stunting you might think that poverty causes hunger (and you would be right!), but hunger is also a cause — and maintainer — of poverty. if a person doesn’t get enough food, they’ll lack the strength and energy needed to work (or their immune system will weaken from malnutrition and leave them more susceptible to illness that prevents them from getting to work). 4. poor healthcare systems — especially for mothers and children extreme poverty and poor health often go hand in hand. in countries where health systems are weak, easily preventable and treatable illnesses like malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory infections can be fatal — especially for young children. and when people must travel far distances to clinics or pay for medicine, it drains already vulnerable households of money and assets, and can tip a family from poverty into extreme poverty. 5. little or no access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene currently, more than 2 billion people don’t have access to clean water at home. this means that people (which is to say, women and girls) collectively spend some 200 million hours every day walking long distances to fetch water. that’s precious time that could be used working, or getting an education to help secure a job later in life. contaminated water can also lead to a host of waterborne diseases, ranging from the chronic to the life-threatening. poor water infrastructure — such as sanitation and hygiene facilities — can compound this, or create other barriers to escaping poverty, such as keeping girls out of school during menstruation. 6. climate change climate change creates hunger, whether through too little water (drought) or too much (flooding), and its effects contribute to the cycle of poverty in several other ways including disproportionately affecting women, creating refugees, and even influencing conflict. one world bank estimates that climate change has the power to push more than 100 million people into poverty over the next decade. 7. lack of education not every person without an education is living in extreme poverty. but most of the extremely poor don’t have an education. there are many barriers to education around the world, including a lack of money for uniforms and books, a bias against girls’ education, or many of the other causes of poverty mentioned here. 8. poor public works and infrastructure imagine that you have to go to work, but there are no roads to get you there. or heavy rains have flooded your route and made it impossible to travel. a lack of infrastructure — from https://www.concernusa.org/story/top-causes-world-hunger/ http://www.who.int/en/news-room/detail/12-07-2017-2-1-billion-people-lack-safe-drinking-water-at-home-more-than-twice-as-many-lack-safe-sanitation https://www.concernusa.org/story/women-water-the-cycle-of-poverty/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/climate-change-food-security/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/bangladesh-underwater-humanitarian-crisis/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/effects-of-climate-change-cycle-of-poverty/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/tackling-climate-change-to-reduce-poverty/ http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/11/08/rapid-climate-informed-development-needed-to-keep-climate-change-from-pushing-more-than-100-million-people-into-poverty-by-2030 http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/11/08/rapid-climate-informed-development-needed-to-keep-climate-change-from-pushing-more-than-100-million-people-into-poverty-by-2030 https://www.concernusa.org/story/10-unexpected-barriers-stopping-kids-from-getting-an-education/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/10-unexpected-barriers-stopping-kids-from-getting-an-education/ https://www.concernusa.org/story/four-ways-that-educating-a-girl-can-change-the-world/ 252 roads, bridges, and wells, to cables for light, cell phones, and internet — can isolate communities living in rural areas. living off the grid often means living without the ability to go to school, work, or the market to buy and sell goods. 9. lack of government support many people living in the united states are familiar with social welfare programs that people can access if they need healthcare or food assistance. but not every government can provide this type of help to its citizens — and without that safety net, there’s nothing to stop vulnerable families from backsliding further into extreme poverty. ineffective governments also contribute to several of the other causes of extreme poverty mentioned above, as they are unable to provide necessary infrastructure or healthcare, or ensure the safety and security of their citizens in the event of conflict. 10. lack of jobs or livelihoods this might seem like a no-brainer: without a job or a livelihood, people will face poverty. dwindling access to productive land (often due to conflict, overpopulation, or climate change) and overexploitation of resources like fish or minerals puts increasing pressure on many traditional livelihoods 11. lack of reserves all of the above risk factors — from conflict to climate change or even a family illness — can be weathered if a family or community has reserves in place. cash savings and loans can offset unemployment due to conflict or illness. proper food storage systems can help if a drought or natural disaster ruins a harvest.people living in extreme poverty usually don’t have these means available. what is conditional cash transfer nigeria's conditional cash transfer program provides targeted cash transfers to the most vulnerable households with the long-term goal of lifting millions out of poverty. a monthly stipend of n5,000 ($13.89) is given to households in poverty-stricken communities along with an additional n5,000 for families designated as priorities or extreme cases; also with the cash transfers, as part of the program, beneficiaries are supported, mentored, and coached by trained community facilitators who visit them weekly to help them take ownership of their lives. the main goal of ccts the main goals of cct in enugu state is to reduce vulnerability of the core poor and elimination of intergenerational poverty through the promotion of economic and human capital development. https://www.concernusa.org/story/off-the-grid-the-central-african-republic/ 253 objectives (i) to increase primary school enrolment and retention up to jss iii. (ii) to increase the access of the core poor to institutional health facilities. (iii) to promote increase in economic capital of the core poor. (iv) to increase e the number of small enterprises setup in the state. expected output (i) increase in primary school enrolment and retention up to jss iii. (ii) increase in the access of the core poor to institutional health facilities. (iii) increase in the number of small enterprises set up in the state. components of the cct cct will have three components namely: (i) msamonthly sustenance allowance (ii) bsg – business start-up grant (iii) programme implementation and co-ordination (programme implementation cost) the monthly sustenance allowance (msa) the msa is monthly guaranteed income given to the heads of participating households. the amount is flat rate applying to all the selected households regardless of the number of children. the msa will disbursed b-monthly to participating households based on the satisfactory fulfillment of special conditions. the amount to be disbursed to each household will be n6,000 (six thousand naira) on a monthly basis to be paid bi-monthly. thus each participating household will be paid the sum of 12,000 (twelve thousand naira) only every two months translating to six payments through the two months duration of the programme. the business start-up grant (bsg) the bsg is a guaranteed investment grant used towards the end of the programme to start a business the trained member of the household in the vocational training/skills acquired in a profitable business venture that will yield sufficient income to sustain the household after the completion of months receiving the msa. the bsg is a compulsory savings component of n10,000 (ten thousand naira) only per month which cumulates to n120,000.00 (one hundred and twenty thousand naira) or each participating household. after one year of 254 participation in the scheme, the aggregate amount be sued to set up the business which will entail the purchase and provision of needed tools, equip and working capital for the establishment of viable micro-enterprise after undergoing training. programme will bear the cost of the training. the benefiting households shall be encouraged to for operative societies through the co-operative department of the ministry of human capital development and poverty reduction to enable them access other micro credit facilities and for effective monitoring of the bsg. vocational training the state shall ensure that dependency is discouraged through graduation by: i) life and vocational skills training to ensure independence of participants on exist from the scheme. ii) incorporation of a compulsory savings component of 62.5% of grants as set funds on exists from the scheme. life skill training will be provided by the implementing ministry through regular master trainers. smes, mfi and vss will provide entrepreneurship education and business training to trainable participants. the ministry of human capital development and poverty reduction will also identify and monitor participating training providers. beneficiaries are advised to pick from any of these areas. (i) cosmetology (hair cream, body cream, soap, perform etc) (ii) information communication technology (ict) (iii) food, catering and event management (iv) hair dressing (unisex) including manicure and pedicure (v) gsm phone repairs (vi) vulcanizing (vii) fashion and designing/cloth weaving (viii) automobile electrician (ix) carpentry /upholstery (x) wielding and fabrication. 255 programme implementation and co-ordination (programme implementation cost) the state ministerial implementation committee (smic) will be responsible for the overall co-ordination of the activities of the different agencies involved in the implementation of the programme. specifically, the smic will provide policy framework for the implementation of the programme. it will also approve work plan and programme budget and quarterly cash requisition and report back to the state mdgs committee/state executive council on progress of implementation. the state ministry of human capital development and poverty reduction will constitute a cct programme implementation team. the main responsibilities of the team among other functions are the planning, execution, reporting, financial management, monitoring, evaluation and all that will be required to achieve the programme objectives. the programme implementation team will comprise the following: 1. programme co-ordinator 2. finance officer 3. administration officer 4. communication officer 5. technical /mis officer 6. monitoring and evaluation officer the programme is designed to cover ten lgas in the state and ten communities per lga making a total of 100 (one hundred) communities out of the 473 communities in the state. nine households per a community are proposed to be covered making a total 900 (nine hundred) households. this proposed coverage is predicated on the available fund as it is envisage that the programme will be rolled out to present non-benefiting local government and communities at subsequent programme implementation cycle. conditionalities for enrolment into the cct programme the conditionalities for a household to be selected for cct programme are: i) household must be extremely poor. ii) house must have children of school age i.e primary 1 to jss iii. 256 iii) household must have a trainable adult who will be trained in life sustain venture. iv) household not having a member who is salaried staff. v) household not receiving benefit in kind or cash from any other pro-poor programme. conditionalities for programme retention to incentives the consumption of education and healthcare goods, the disbursement of funds in the scheme are conditional on selected households fulfilling series of conditions. these are as follows: i) participants must ensure enrolment and retention of school age children into public schools for basic education (primary one to js iii). ii) to ensure retention, at least 80% school attendance and a pass grade are considered necessary to be able to access transfer; iii) trainable participants must attend training and show serious commitment and dedication in life and vocational skills, basic health and sanitation as available in the community; iv) participants must ensure that their children under 5 years receive all government free basic health programmes such as: a. vitamin a supplementation; and, b. npi immunizations (polio, measles, meningitis, tetanus, tuberculosis, yellow fever). (iv) participants must accept the monthly savings arrangements under the scheme, as well as penalties. (v) participants could accept membership of co-operative societies at the end of the training and receipt of grant. (vi) participant must access public institutional health facilities in their localities. penalties for defaulters the programme being a community development driven scheme will have penalties to both benefiting households and communities if they default. a benefitting household that continue to default on the conditionalties after two wake-up calls (warning letters) will be delisted from the scheme while a benefiting community that records up to 4 (40%) delisted beneficiaries will be blacklisted from future participation in government’s pro-poor programmmes. 257 methodology in the survey two main sources of information was utilized: primary and secondary sources of data. the primary one being information form community leaders and people (beneficiaries) while the secondary data was collected from textbooks journals, government publication and on-line publications. the instrument used to ascertain information from ten (10) traditional leaders and twenty (90) (beneficiaries) people that have benefited from the grant were drafted questions to guide the interview. the survey is mainly descriptive qualitative in nature. summary of findings this from the investigations the mission of social investment policies (social safety nets) was made to have positive impact on the livelihood of poorest poor and the vulnerable in the state. the lofty objectives of the cct programmes was not achieved in a very great extent, the objective set was primarily: to improve economic and social development of the poorest poor and thereby achieving the sustainable development goals (sdgs). in addition to some of these findings, it was x-rayed that a lot of challenges are depriving the programmes from achieving the set objectives like, limited institutional capacity to reach the targeted beneficiaries; poor service delivery and infrastructural facilities, poor coordination and supervision, poor monitoring and evaluation techniques, bio-metric problems, low value of the cash transfers, political and social crisis, etc. . conclusion national social investment programme (safety nets), are positive means of improving the lives of the poorest poor and the vulnerable in the society. it was revealed from the literature so far that the programme is a function of the government whereby the government had to utilize and react on some factors in the economy and society to provide social protection for its citizens (w. livelihood portfolio theory, 2002). safety-nets equally have types and methods of targeting beneficiaries. the purpose is mainly to improve the standard of living of the poorest poor and vulnerable; economically and socially. the study was a descriptive and case study type, the sampling method was purposive. the data collected revealed that social intervention 258 policies exists but the impact was not much felt on the livelihood of the poorest poor, vulnerable in udi l.g.a of enugu state and hence may not achieve the mission of en: 4: vision 2020. recommendations considering the data collected and literature reviewed in the course of this write-up the researcher has the following recommendations to prefer: (1) that the government (f.g.) should ensure proper bio-metric identification system so that the correct beneficiaries will receive cash transfers. also enhanced institutional framework and capacity building in the third levels of government. (2) to improve the means of livelihood of the poor, the vulnerable and the unemployed the government should create enabling factors by provision and improvement of the following: (a) increased value of the cash transfer, whether conditional or unconditional due to high standard of living; (b) improved co-ordination and supervision of the various levels of government activities on national cash transfer; (c) improved monitoring and evaluation (m&e). (d) the community based targeting method should not only include the local government chairman, enumerates and traditional chief but also the beneficiaries representative. cct should be targeted below poverty line (bpl) to avoid large scale exclusion an inclusion, errors, that is to say, improved mechanism for targeting beneficiaries. references chikeleze, f.o (2005). poverty alleviation through government intervention in entrepreneurship development, esut journals of management sciences special edition vol. 1. eluminade, d.o. 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(1994): how rubust is a poverty profile? the world bank economic review 8 january 2008. rebecca, h., banke, a., jenny, m. and rhinnon, b. (2011). social protection in nigeria: an overview of programmes and their effectiveness. overseas development institute, unicef, nigeria, project briefing no 59. salisu adam, ibraheem (2018). "national social investments programme: the potential to achieve the sustainable development goal on poverty eradication through the conditional cash transfer programme in nigeria" (pdf). international conference on sustainable development. "national social investment programme (2018). the state house, abuja". retrieved 201807-30 form https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/national social investment programme. nasims, (2016). retrieved on 2/ 09/2018, from: https://nasims.gov.ng/programs/cct http://ic-sd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/ibraheem-salisu-adam.pdf http://ic-sd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/ibraheem-salisu-adam.pdf http://ic-sd.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/ibraheem-salisu-adam.pdf http://statehouse.gov.ng/policy/economy/national-social-investment-programme/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/national esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences parochial behaviour 145 sycophancy and dearth of integrity in governance: interrogating parochial behaviour in nigerian political system hyginus banko okibe department of political science faculty of the social sciences enugu state university of science and technology hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng abstract sycophancy in governance occurs when performance of legitimate functions of government are erroneously exaggerated to invoke unwarranted stream of praises on a public officeholder or government in power. critical observers describe it as deceitful, misleading and highly opinionated. it beguiles the masses to believe failed government actions, which a sycophant paints in different colours and thus makes governance wane significantly in integrity. it has become a predominant feature of democratic governance in nigeria, hence, the study seeks to: (i) examine the trends of sycophantic behaviour in political leadership, (ii) ascertain the underlying factors that influence the behaviour, (iii) explain the consequences or its influence on governance, and (iv) proffer solutions to the problem. accordingly, the study employs secondary data and content analysis to discuss the contending issues. additionally, it adopts the “theory of planned behaviour” to explain how sycophantic behaviour is formulated, nurtured and deliberately exhibited in pursuit of target objective, i.e. what inspires the interest or encourages the intention and what incentive that sustains the practice. the findings show that sycophancy has become deep-rooted in nigeria governance system; it inflicts serious damage on regime integrity, and exposes both failures of political class and gullibility of the masses. it thus recommends political education, reorientation, inculcating objective political behaviour and tasking those vested with political power to live by their oaths of offices. key words: dearth of integrity, governance, parochial behaviour, political system, sycophancy. introduction politics, across governmental organizations, is the passage process to assuming positions of authority in a political system. individuals and groups play politics and participate in elections generally, in order to seek opportunities to represent cross-sections of interests or constituents and render service to the people. both in constitution and administrative lenses, there are provisions for the responsibility or duty associated with each political office or position and it is incumbent on the position occupant to perform the function as a matter of obligation. the function is not a favour to the system, rather, it is what one swears an oath to do or resign for not doing it. however, there has been persistent distortion of this tradition with the incursion of sycophancy in the body polity and negative influence of sycophantic behaviour in governance process. in essence, constant irreconcilable opinions about the impact of sycophancy on governance and leadership pose a problem and expose political systems to value crisis. accordingly, the protagonists see sycophancy as dependent variable that assumes its essence and significance from the receptiveness of a political system or leader to the influence it exerts over government policies, actions and activities. for the antagonists, sycophancy mailto:hyginus.banko@esut.edu.ng parochial behaviour 146 haunts many political systems, infects governance with demeaning behaviours, and on that note has destroyed and still destroys career of many leaders, thereby leaving several of its victims in miserable condition despite their initial strength of character to offer good leadership, and thereafter lead a good life in society. the first emphasizes the constructive value but the latter shows the destructive nature. in consonance, obaze&fashanu, (2006), exemplify the crux, by explaining how sycophancy behaviour is a situation, which may be created by a medium that continues to praise government or individuals despite ills, which might be weakness or incompetence in office. it makes a sycophant to be commonly and explicitly regarded as someone who tries to get what they want, or earn someone's respect, by using flattery on them, (sinha, 2016). therefore, a sycophant is a person who tries to win favour from wealthy or influential people by flattering them. as a result, the term sycophant has a negative connotation. the person does not attempt to achieve their goals through hard work or sincerity, but by use of any attempt to please someone in authority to get personal advantage, (richie, 2011). the foregoing explanations pose situation that impliedly suggests that sycophancy is a universal syndrome. it is ubiquitous and permeates every political system (both developed and developing), where it is certain that praise-singing behaviour is not in black, despite some degree of distinction in their dynamics, manifestation and intensity in each political environment. the universality lay in the fact that sycophantic behaviour finds expressions in the nature of man. aristotle underscored this perspective in an assertion that man by nature is a political animal, (jowett, 1885). by implication and based on the nature of politics in modern states, man is intrinsically selfish and crafty, always seeking self-fulfilling ambitions that disregard the interest of other competitors in the daily struggle for political space and access to scarce resources. arguably, many aspirations and inordinate ambition metamorphose into sycophancy and differentiate the behaviours of those seeking variety of advantages in the system, (henry, 2009). as common ground for rent-seeking orientation, it serves as vehicles for advancing personal interest in a game to outwit each other in vying for economic and political opportunities. thus, politics provides the platform that generates conflicting goals, which in that trajectory, dissolves into intertwined network of disputed interests. it engenders selfcentered behaviour that targets personal benefit and relegates whatever collateral damage it portends for public interests. it has become recurrent phenomenon in the political process and a virus in nigerian leadership. although fast developing into a subculture in nigeria, there is disturbing assumptions that it is pervasive where there is high proclivity to acquire material things, get access to corridors of power, get favour from government and sustain close relationship with those in power. juxtaposing this assumption with the nigerian experience, there is apprehension that sycophancy, which is a symbol of decaying national value in a political system is becoming norms in its governance, with much negative influence on leadership and followership. this trend deserves research endeavour to establish what measures that will avert the infamy. with the above backdrop, amplified by widening doubts about dearth of principles in nigerian political leadership or integrity in governance, the study focuses on four key areas. it includes (i) examination of the trends in sycophantic behaviours in the political system, (ii) ascertaining the underlying factors that influence the behaviour, (iii) explaining the consequences or its influence on governance, and (iv) proffering solutions to the problem. the parochial behaviour 147 study thus employs secondary data and content analysis, which provides the premise for articulating and aggregating diverse views with the coalescing inference. the overall objective is to investigate how prevalence of parochial political behaviour in political systems, with particular reference to nigeria, is a consequence of sycophancy and relates to dearth of integrity in governance. review of related literature sycophancy conceptually, etim, (2017), posits that sycophancy is a way of winning or currying favour from powerful and influential people through flattery and praise singing. the cringing subservient attitude symbolizes fawning obsequiousness, which aims at diverting attention from the pulse of the people. similarly, oloja, (2016), contends that sycophancy is insincere flattery of people of wealth or influence, and it corroborates the perspective of akpogena, (2013), that sycophancy is a civilized form of insincerity through which, among other things, yes-men gain upward mobility from their object of supplication. however, jhatial, mangi&ghumro, (2004), extrapolate the idea further, thus stating that sycophancy is flattery, which is very obedient, or it is an indication of deference to another to gain advantage, and to an excessive or servile degree. empirically, oloja, (2016), used the case of sycophancy in nigeria to exemplify the trend. according to him, “sycophancy is now worse in politics and public service in nigeria where the scourge has become a powerful tool, an ominous culture that has evolved and permeated all spheres of our political life and it is threatening tenets and values on which the growth and welfare of the nation hinges”. in that regard, a user of sycophancy is referred to as a sycophant or a “yes-man”, (wikipedia, 2019). elaborating on the contextual traits that distinguish sycophancy from other forms of behaviour pattern, ekong and essien, (2012), contend that a sycophant is a person or employee of sycophancy or a person who tries to win favour from wealthy or influential people by flattering them only to gain self-advantage. on same note, jhatial, mangi&ghumro, (2004), hold that either sycophantic person acts towards someone powerful or strategic in position of authority in order to gain advantage in the form of promotion or good position in the industry. generally, lyle, (1980) and lofberg, (2008), were in consensus that a sycophant denotes a person who fawns, deferential and groveling, abject, adulatory, bootlicking, bowing, brownnosing, compliant, cowering, crawling, cringing, flattering, humble, ingratiating, kowtowing, mealy-mouthed, obsequious, parasitic, prostrate, scraping, servile, slavish, spineless, submissive and subservient. the foregoing catalogue of adjectives that describe or qualify sycophancy only summarized the fact that a “sycophant is a servile self-seeker who attempts to win favour by flattering influential people”, (ekong & essien, 2012). in the context of journalism, okunna, (2003), notes that a sycophant reporter is a journalist who flatters political leaders, wealthy citizens and owners of the media houses who as employers have dread power over and against journalist. in the political sphere, oseji, (2017), cites peoples democratic party (pdp) chieftain and delta state gubernatorial aspirant in 2007 general election, sunny onuesoke, who associates the problem of nigeria politics with the overburdening and inciting activities parochial behaviour 148 of sycophants. he notes that there is no president or governor who would say that things should not move forward in the country but the problem is the people around them, who do not advise them well, hence: ninety nine per cent of people who hover around our presidents and governors are sycophants and praise singers and it puts nigerian politics in trouble because the citizens allow deception, denial, disinformation, diversion, evasion, exaggeration, indoctrination, lying, media-manipulation, mind control, propaganda, scapegoating and smear campaign which are the signs of sycophancy in our politics and governance, (oseji, 2017; p.16). in the views of etim, (2017), this has been the situation because usually, a larger-thanlife picture created around these leaders gives them a false impression of indispensability and infallibility, in such contemptible manners that even sincere mistakes such leaders make would be laundered to appear as the best decision ever taken by any man. in the process, such leaders make very unpopular decisions, which usually lead to their downfall. hence, sycophants, driven by greed and selfishness are never patriotic, despite that they want to be seen as such. in addition to the fact that they are driven by convulsive rapaciousness and are egocentric bootlickers who hide under the cloak of patriotism and nationalism to pursue a purely self-serving agenda, they are also ubiquitous and nigeria is not in short supply of such chameleons. it is pervasive in nature, impact, and fast assuming a feature of political culture in nigeria. the only sad narrative is that successive leaders in nigeria always fall victim to these too familiar tricks, notwithstanding the recurring evidence that leaders who believe every positive thing they hear about themselves soon realize how their gullibility lead to avoidable failures, (etim, 2017; p.7). on the other hand, akpogena, (2013), distinguishes between evidence-backed performances from failures that sycophancy shield. according to him, whereas honest appreciation and admiration for quality work and sterling character is healthy and often necessary, as it helps to ensure morale and the continuation of top performance and conduct, it becomes a matter of concern when sycophants use praise as a smokescreen to fog truth and to hide incompetence. sycophancy thus becomes a weapon of the weak, deployed to lower defenses to those in a position of relative strength. it subordinates principles to politicking and the key factor is the position held by the recipient of sycophancy. hence, our political space has been crowded with the activities of these sycophants and political jobbers without shame, thereby causing decorum to be thrown to the wind. he cites an incisive and lucid example to show that, since the demise of the third term and just two years into the successive administration, aspirants upon aspirants from zone to zone rented crowds in the name of different interest cum pressure groups, traditional rulers, youth organizations, students, cultural and ethnic base groups to call on perceived aspirants to come forth and contest in the 2015 elections, (akpogena, 2013; p.11). parochial behaviour 149 the reason, according to ekong and essien, (2012), is that sycophantic groups often feed political class with information, often distorted, garnished with lies and unfounded optimism, from the polity. this scenario poses integrity question on the credibility of governance that is replete with sycophancy. according to maccallum, (1993), the word integrity evolved from the latin adjective integer, meaning whole or complete. in this context, integrity is the inner sense of wholeness derived from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character, (maccallum, 1993). as such, one may judge that others have integrity to the extent that they act according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold, (pillai, 2011). additionally, integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge. having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way. integrity is a personality trait that we admire, since it means a person has a moral compass that does not waver. it literally means having wholeness of character, just as an integer is a whole number with no fractions, (online merriam webster dictionary, 2019). integrity therefore, integrity is the practice of being honest and showing consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. based on the foregoing attributes, lucaites, condit and caudill, (1999), posit that integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy in that judging with the standards of integrity involves regarding internal consistency as a virtue, and suggests that parties holding within themselves apparently conflicting values should account for the discrepancy or alter their beliefs. what it means is that integrity is important for politicians because the public influence their choice, appointment and election to serve society. to be able to serve, politicians are given power to make, execute, or control policy. they have the power to influence something or someone. however, there is a risk that politicians do not use the power to serve society but always tempted to use it for personal gains. therefore, it is important that politicians withstand this temptation, and that requires integrity. kaptein, (2014), explains that integrity starts with the politicians who know what their position entails, because integrity tacitly relates to their position. by implication, the corollary implies that integrity also demands knowledge and compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the written and unwritten rules. integrity is also acting consistently not only with what is generally accepted as moral, what others think, but primarily with what is ethical, what politicians should do based on reasonable arguments. integrity is not just, about why a politician acts in a certain way, but also about who the politician is. questions about a person integrity cast doubt not only on their intentions but also on the source of those intentions, the person character. in that context, integrity is about having the right ethical virtues that become visible in a pattern of behaviour. important virtues of politicians are faithfulness, humility and accountability, (kaptein, 2014). they should be authentic and role models. these virtues expected of politicians exemplify the course of governance. parochial behaviour 150 governance the term governance means different thing to different peoples. most appealing are the perspective by rao, (2008) and sheng, (2018), which posit that governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). in another similar perspective that expatiate the foregoing views, naveed, (1998), describes governance as the management of resources, and organization of individuals and groups into formal and informal bodies and institutions and businesses, through social, political, administrative and economic mechanisms. in same vein, khan, (2002), cites the world bank, which classified governance in two contrasted ways. the first emphasizes ‘how political power is exercised to manage a nation affairs’. the second instance sees governance as the “use of power in the management of a country economic and social resource for development”. hence, governance is basically, government's ability to make and enforce rules and to deliver services, regardless of whether that government is democratic or not, (fukuyama, 2013; mann, 1984). in furtherance, ali, (2016), corroborates both perspectives and asserts that governance is about performance. thus, governance in any society, aims to ensure transparency through the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority. it strives to establish quality relationship between the rulers and the ruled. in the context, governance signifies the nature of mutual interaction among social actors as well as between social actors and public administration, and it contains the meaning of ‘ruling together’ with aim of helping individuals realize their potential for improving the quality of their lives, (undp, 1997, carino, 2000; ewalt& ann, 2001). apparently, one finds expression of what scholars describe as good governance from the attributes of governance discussed. it refers to the management of government in a manner that is essentially free of abuse and corruption, with due regard for the rule of law and respect of people’s rights to be engaged in public affairs, (legaspi, 2005, oecd reports, štefanová, 2017). the key indicators include, (i) accountability (ii) transparency (iii) rule of law (iv) equality and inclusiveness (v) effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery and (vi) participation. when the indicators exist in any governance environment, they qualify for good governance. they reflect the core elements of democratic principles. they also constitute yardstick for measuring leadership integrity and therefore, controversial subjects where they lack, thus resulting in concocted praise singing, propaganda or diversionary innuendos. they typically metamorphose into sycophancy or diminution of the essences and integrity of governance where their ineffectual evidence and manifestation in political environment is rife. the synthesis of reviewed literature literature on sycophancy and sycophantic behaviour are replete with differing perspectives and diffused analytic contexts, more so when it relates to issue of demise of integrity in governance, and the accompanying question about the prevailing parochial political behaviour in many of the affected democratic political systems. gale, (2008), cites many scholarly studies, including benedict, (1946), mead, (1953), gorer, (1955), fromm, (1941), and klineberg, (1950), to demonstrate the relationship between sycophancy and national political behaviour. it posits that the studies of national character and the psycho-cultural parochial behaviour 151 analyses date back to the 1930s and 1940s, and consciousness and interests in the roots of national differences in politics emanate from the writing of herodotus, which espoused the bases for understanding national temperament similar to those by tocqueville, bryce, and emerson, (gale, 2008). impliedly, all the aforecited studies have sought to utilize the findings of psychoanalysis and cultural anthropology to provide deeper understanding of national political behaviour but differences in value system have always been a yearning gap. in contemporary researches, attention of scholars tends to focus more on national political behaviour or culture and less on the complex web of disarticulated stereotype in political orientation that lacks in uniformity in political practice across national boundaries. aside the fact that each country exhibits its own peculiar attributes that distinguish its politics and governance from others, many studies have frequently failed to recognize that the political sphere constitutes a distinct subculture with its own rules of conduct and its distinct processes of socialization. such neglect has always given rise to misconception of the nature of differences in the common trend across the systems, where praise singing solely aims at eulogizing public officeholders to benefit the actors and sacrifice public interest. theoretical framework although scholars reveal that studies on human behaviour have resulted in a multitude of theories and assumptions, some of them making sense, others already made enough impact to still remain valid today, and others already generally accepted as fact, (martin, 2017), psychologists and researchers have differently been the major actors in the enquiry. borrowing a leaf from psychological perspective, this study discusses the act of sycophancy in a political system with the theory of planned behaviour. since the inception, various fields and industries, in varied applications have used the theory, especially in the field of behavioural and psychological research and evaluation studies, (martin, 2017). the theory examines how behaviours become consistent with predetermined goals and therefore, shares much in common with the nature and goal of behaviours that epitomize sycophancy, (i.e. reasoned action, chosen for a predetermined goal, in preference for other contending options of behaviours in a political system). fundamentally, the theory of planned behaviour is a variant of the theory of reasoned action. the peculiarity lies in its description of situations that account for a planned behaviour and strategies adopted in pursuit of the target intentions. the theory critically appraises the factors that encourage, motivate and sustain the perpetuity of an action, which in its form looks like a political subculture that springs up a newly or emerging anti-thesis political behaviour in the system. according to lamorte, (2019), the theory of planned behaviour (tpb) started as the theory of reasoned action in 1980, to predict an individual's intention to engage in behaviour at a specific time and place. the theory intended to explain all behaviours over which people have the ability to exert self-control, with the key component focusing on behavioural intent, which specifically states that behavioural intentions are influenced by the attitude about the likelihood that the behaviour will have the expected outcome and the subjective evaluation of the risks and benefits of that outcome, (lamorte, 2019). parochial behaviour 152 the theory further states that behavioural achievement depends on both motivation (intention) and ability (behavioural control). it distinguishes between three types of beliefs behavioural, normative, and control. according to martin, (2017), the theory of planned behaviour is comprised of six constructs that emphasize a person's actual control over the behaviour, which is relevant for explanation of the thesis of this study.  attitudes this refers to the degree to which a person has a favourable or unfavourable evaluation of the behaviour of interest. it entails a consideration of the outcomes of performing the behaviour.  behavioural intention this refers to the motivational factors that influence a given behaviour where the stronger the intention to perform the behaviour, the more likely the behaviour will be performed.  subjective norms this refers to the belief about whether most people approve or disapprove of the behaviour. it relates to a person's beliefs about whether peers and people of importance to the person think he or she should engage in the behaviour.  social norms this refers to the customary codes of behaviour in a group of people or larger cultural context. social norms are considered normative, or standard, in a group of people.  perceived power this refers to the perceived presence of factors that may facilitate or impede performance of behaviour. perceived power contributes to a person's perceived behavioural control over each of those factors.  perceived behavioural control this refers to a person's perception of the ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour of interest. perceived behavioural control varies across situations and actions, which results in a person having varying perceptions of behavioural control depending on the situation. in same vein, there are many dimensions from which the theory explains some behaviour that typify sycophancy in a political system with circumstances that occasionally obfuscate the arena and present it as though it is normal and an acceptable political culture. each phase shades light on the multifarious nature of behaviour; how it metamorphoses into a cult-like system, influenced or constrained and how societies approve or disapprove their use in governance process. nonetheless, sycophants seek opportunities to penetrate a system with praise singing without considering the disincentive to the failing performance of the system. commonly applicable to or associated with this action reaction interface is the fact that planned behaviour implies full control of the situation and calculation of the results, hence:  it requires opportunities and resources to perform sycophantic behaviour and the ultimate goal is to create more opportunities and resources once the concerned authorities recognize, welcome and appreciate the impact.  it absorbs the limiting factors, such as fear, threat, mood, or experience. the driving force is the anticipated reward, which is self-centred and not considerate about public interests. parochial behaviour 153  it harnesses environmental or economic factors that may influence a person's intention to perform sycophantic behaviour. however, sycophantic behaviour is not the result of a linear decision-making process, but can change overtime when the person for whom it targets does not recognize or reward the act. an individual behavioural belief serves as the link between his behaviour and the outcome that the behaviour is expected to produce or bring about. it is a person behavioural belief that will have a direct influence on his attitude towards behaviour. if the expected outcome is something favourable, then there is no doubt that the person will also have a positive attitude towards the behaviour, increasing the likelihood of actual performance. essentially, the behavioural beliefs of the person will focus on issues bordering on evaluation or assessment of whether the intended behaviour has potential of being favourable or unfavourable. where it is predominantly favourable, recurrence of the behaviour is increasingly encouraged; hence, this type is the bane of sycophancy featuring in almost around every corridors of governance in the present day world. the environment of sycophancy in nigeria operates in the same frequency. regardless of political and economic status, educational background, and hierarchy in leadership, those who engage in sycophancy behaviours in nigeria share a common objective (to curry favour). hence, sycophancy and sycophantic behaviour emanates from reasoned calculation of the receptive nature of the conduct in a political environment. it is nevertheless conscious of the anticipated benefits from fallible government officials, and not deterred by the implications on social norms. many people view those who engage in sycophantic behaviours in governance and politics as selfish, shameless, deceptive and gambler with decayed conscience. others view sycophancy as an emerging way of survival in a competitive political environment, the purpose of which is to curry favour from those in power. thus, sycophancy is not an action taken unconsciously but a planned behaviour with predetermined reward that motivates the action taken. trends in sycophantic behaviours in nigeria political system the root of sycophancy lies in antiquity and it has remained a feature of human life. it transcends modern political practices and encompasses traditional political orientations. however, from the inception of colonial administration in nigeria, crop of colonial subjects used sycophancy to curry favour from the colonial governors. the traditional leaders for example, used the ploy to displace educated elements in attempts to preserve their powers and influence, and it led many europeans to view nationalist struggle as not supported by the locals. even among the educated class, some engaged in sycophancy to secure opportunities in colonial administration and thereby added to the numbers that posed hindrance to rising opposition to colonialism. gradually, sycophancy became a potent means of extolling government for the ulterior motive of seeking favour from the powers-that-be, regardless of public perception and opinion. when nigeria attained independence in 1960, sycophancy accelerated unhealthy diversion from steering the wheel of governance towards national unity and development and parochial behaviour 154 without moderation or necessary checks to nip the effects in the bud, promoted egotism among the class that inherited political leadership. praise singing in support of each leader by people seeking personal favour assumed threatening dimension. it infected governing and nongoverning elites, and reversed public trusts in civil governance. it became common knowledge that sycophancy made the government operated in falsehood, relegated national interest and allowed personal ambitions to displace facts about the poor nature of governance in the country. the collapse of first republic and consequent military intervention drew much inspiration from sycophancy. expectedly, empty heroic praises have continued to lure government into taking despicable actions with defensive ploys to blindfold the public with basket of lies. as toxic substance, it pollutes the integrity of governance and exemplifies the bane of politics and leadership in post-colonial nigeria. the experience of sycophancy during military era the military as an organization has its values and norms, which has made it a unique organization. these values and norms are transferred to the larger society during military governance. the universalistic character of achievement orientation in the award of honors and promotion is said to be endemic in the military. thus, the values of puritanism, discipline, rationality and achievement orientation of the military are assumed to be much more directly relevant to change and development, (etim&ukpere, 2012). in a democratic system, especially in africa, these values are deemed to be eroded. elections are organized frequently, but they do not usually lead to the installation of popular candidates in power. the electorate is often convinced that elections do not offer real political choices. at the same time, the struggle for free and fair elections has become the fulcrum of the struggle for democratic transition, (ibrahim, 2003). amid the turbulent political happenings in nigeria, sycophancy was very critical in attracting the military class into civil politics. displaced politicians usually eulogize the virtues of military and escalate whatever leadership imbroglio in the country, to curry favour when any military group eventually takes over the government through coup. it characterized the various coups that sacked both civilian and military administrations in nigeria. prelude to this development were rain of empty praises on the civilian leaders or the succeeding military regimes, without predicating it on performance but sheer parochialism. aside sycophantic obsessions during aguiyiironsi, gowon and murtala/obasanjo era, it was from the regimes of buhari-idiagbon to the twilight of military exit from civil politics in may 1999, that sycophancy began to assert its influence in manipulating national leaderships for personal gains. it became lucrative business with specialty in applauding every policy introduced and projects implemented by leaders (regardless of however good or bad) as cure to nigerian problems and very quick to lampoon critics despite the veil of selfish ambition shrouding the deceits. for example, those who made buhari to believe that “war-against-indiscipline”, and “austerity policy” were the best in reviving culture of decency, reinventing the economy and instilling consumption discipline in nigerians were quick to discredit the policy after his overthrow in a coup by general ibrahim babangida. the “war-against-indiscipline” rapidly became unpopular, at least among the elites and it helped set the stage for ibrahim babangida’s successful coup against the buhari government in 1985, (campbell, 2016).the reason for the parochial behaviour 155 hurried change was to demonstrate loyalty to the new administration and shift the focus of their sycophantic behaviours to new concerns of the emergent administration. hence, in spite of the fact that general ibrahim babangida was manipulating the transition to civil rule politics and refreshing sit-tight mentality in power, sycophants swiftly blew the sordid policies and activities to canonical status. the association for better nigeria (abn) formed by arthur nzeribe after the ibrahim babangida regime abolished all political parties and created the two national parties, the national republican convention (nrc) and the social democratic party (sdp) in 1991, played similar roles. it showed determination to achieve its objective by putting up billboards in the nigerian capital abuja that carried the message ‘four more years’, thus preaching that the military government should stay in power for another four years. its primary objective was to keep ibrahim babangida in power and maintain the military administration that had governed nigeria for so long, (immigration and refugee board of canada, 1994). the group, in its tenacity to endorse continuous military rule, employed many strategies to pursue the objective. first, it went to court to prevent the holding of the june 1993 presidential election but lost the case. the reason for demanding the injunction was that the leaders of the nrc and sdp were “corrupt politicians”. aside the fact that abn usurped the prerogative of court to pronounce a person corrupt, it could not distinguish between corrupt leaders of party and the inviolability of candidates already screened and certified eligible to contest election, which the court action had sought to affect most. however, after the elections, the abn again went to court to prevent the release of the election results, (immigration and refugee board of canada, 1994). the intensity of the abn's pro-government campaigns led many observers to conclude that the federal military government was behind the activities of the association and that the current political impasse in nigeria began at this point, when the government annulled the results, (immigration and refugee board of canada, 1994). even when domestic and international pressures came heavily against the regime of babangida, the persuasion of sycophants blinded the leader from leaving the stage when the ovation had depleted. similarly, except for the sudden death of abacha, the unashamed and depraved roles of sycophancy in plunging the country into a state of irreversible doom had already characterized the administration. for instance, disguised sycophancy began at the inception, when nigerian political opposition and civil society groups had accepted abacha as a necessary evil who would eventually cleanse nigeria of its festering rot, (amuwo, 2001). the consequent euphoria heralding the tale of increased foreign reserves under his watch and the failed banks tribunal set up to investigate thieving bank chieftains, provided sycophants fertile grounds to unleash deafening drumbeats that doubted any iota of integrity in the country’s political landscape. in one instance, in january 1997, the minister of information, walter ofonagoro, denied the existence of any political opposition against abacha’s regime, despite many agitations and prodemocracy protests against the administration. such an averment became an irritant to national concerns, especially by echoing that, some characters calling themselves pro-democracy groups have been sponsored by the western world to make noise here and cause trouble, but they are being ignored because they only have nuisance value. hence, there is no opposition; parochial behaviour 156 every nigerian is with us. this is the achievement of abacha’s administration, (tell, 20 march 1995, p:7). nonetheless, many sycophantic pontifications reflected in several propaganda campaigns to market the regime but ended up blindfolding the leadership from understanding the temperament of the public towards its policies and activities. kayode, (1999), and specifically abiodun, (1997), poignantly note that, like others before him, (abacha) promised fiscal discipline and he appeared to be delivering on the promise. he kept very tight control of government funds, going through major extra-budgetary expenditures with a fine tooth comb before approving them. the same type of propaganda gave impetus to the formation of ‘youth earnestly ask for abacha (yeaa) in 1997’, led by daniel kanu and primarily committed to urging general saniabacha to run for nigeria’s presidency, (refworld.org. 1998). it placed billboards around the country, publicized advertisements in the media, sponsored editorials to encourage support for abacha, and in consonance, coordinated the two million-man-match, (sherrod, 2006). it also drummed support for abacha to transmute from military head of state to civilian president. sycophancy became infectious when political parties that had organized themselves to field candidates and participate in the proposed transition elections unanimously adopted abacha as sole consensus presidential candidate, thus defied democratic electoral norms and tended to ridicule the agitations by pro-democracy groups that military must hand over power to the civilian class. in other words, the assertion that nigeria would cease to exist without abacha in the presidency showed how sycophancy could mislead those in power. the sycophantic eulogies only attested to the fact that what the abacha ‘state’ offered willing politicians was, ‘a moral contract of material benefits in return for political quiescence, (berman, 1998). it spurred many persons who were prone to inordinate ambition and scheming for dubious enrichments to constitute themselves into sycophants. a cursory look at the gamut of sycophancy in the political system reveals that the general impressions of praise singing portrayed in the sycophantic behaviour does not summarily mean that the system which every sycophant promotes its cause is a repository of solution to problems in the country. in contradistinction, the themes around which sycophancy find solace usually mismatch several proofs of looting, high profile corruption, abysmal failures in policy implementation and complete collapse of integrity in governance that appear commonplace across the regimes we have had in nigeria. it significantly represents deceits and misleading praises or advises which the results for the leader has always been mindboggling and regrettable, with irreversible consequences. the experience of sycophancy upon return to democratic rule (1999 – date) since the return to civil rule in nigeria in 1999, each president and governor has had to cope with the increasing gale of sycophancy in the system. political jobbers easily penetrate the ranks of influential political officeholders to mislead government where there is public mistrust on its policies and programme. across different administrations in the fourth republic, sycophancy has made several policies and programmes mentioned below to veer off abruptly, lose focus and most times, stalled. parochial behaviour 157  ajaokuta steel company repair plans to commence operation  maintenance of refineries for effective functioning and local supply stabilization  power sector reforms to end persistent darkness all over nigeria  privatization saga and transcorp propaganda, with local content, ownership and initiative  critical infrastructure – roads, railway and airport rehabilitation to boost transport system  dredging of river niger and siting of seaports at onitsha, lokoja to boost commerce  poverty eradication or alleviation programmes to end poverty and hunger among nigerians  economic diversification and self-sufficiency to encourage production for import substitution  security and anti-corruption to ensure safety and protect public resources from abuse, etc. each of the policies had all its impacts exemplified in the propaganda of sycophants at the expense of critical evaluation of the prospects and constraints associated with the implementation and advising government accordingly for proper guidance. instead, there are frequent unsubstantiated claims about the achievements that government has made with nothing tangible for a proof. for example, government or its sycophantic agents always publicly and without fear of contradiction announced that:  it has refurbished refineries to start operating on full capacity though without supply proof.  ajaokuta steel company has resumed production, and importation of steel products foreclosed.  second niger bridge was at the verge of completion, having done over 75% of the work.  power supply would henceforth become 24hours affair because it has transformed the sector.  poverty has been wiped from nigeria based on gdp growth and economic diversification. there were and there still are many such exaggerations about government activities in nigeria. sycophants trumpet government policies in the media and other channels of public discourse with ceaseless encomia even before their actual implementation. presidents, governors and other classes of appointees of government are targets of the praise singers, some of which they instigate and sponsor in order to sway public perception on its often-ridiculously rated activities. they use the services of hire and pay praise singers, either within the government circle or outside the corridors of power, especially people that resort to parochial behaviour in pursuit of their goals and not concerned about public interests. it was part of the reason that towards the end of chief olusegunobasanjo’s administration in 2007, a third term was mooted and pursued for the extension of his tenure beyond the two terms allowed by the constitution under the guise of a constitutional amendment, (etim, 2017). this conformed to parochial behaviour 158 patronizing the ambivalent character of african leaders and reinventing their peculiar aversion for relinquishing power. again, the last administration of the then president goodluck jonathan witnessed groups that were hurriedly formed to persuade him to re-contest that election, even though he had earlier intended to serve only one term in office, prior to the 2011 general election. the most vociferous voice in those days was from transformation ambassadors of nigeria (tan). this group purportedly claimed to have collected up to 17 million signatures across the country in support of the president’s second term bid, (etim, 2017). sycophancy was also among the reasons that weak presidential bureaucracy characterized the first term of president buhari (2015-2019); including embarrassing parochial appointments; a cabinet of mediocrities; and lifeless economic team, etc, (oloja, 2016). most of the appointments that president buhari made during the first term of the administration concentrated around his family members, cronies, ethnic and religious inclination. it was the same with the appointment of security chiefs, dominated by hausa-fulani moslems, which respectively aroused public outcry, condemnation and demand for compliance with federal character or spread in appointments. in nigeria, nepotism occurs and persists when leaders tolerate and reward it, despite its negation of constitutional provisions, relegation of equity, justice and fairness. sycophants usually adorn national dailies with the portrait of leaders and goodwill or congratulatory messages for achieving feats or proposing projects that the fate has usually hung in the air. oftentimes, radio announcements, jingles, billboards, posters, social media platforms and adverts are media for communicating praise-singing messages. it creates integrity problems for the government and in addition makes observers to look at leadership as people that play hoax as a ploy to bamboozle unsuspecting public. factors that influence sycophancy and parochial behaviour as already indicated, the subject matter of sycophancy is to influence leaders in the corridor of power in order to get rewards through praise singing. it is deceitful, distorted, misleading and delusional. many factors ranging from systemic, economic and psychological considerations are among the common triggers that influence sycophancy and sycophantic behaviours around political leaderships and governance. systemic factors  parochial political culture and orientation: political culture encompasses the laid down political norms, orientations, attitudes, behaviours, perceptions, values, preferences and institutional frameworks which are aimed at developing, sustaining and consolidating the unique political attributes of a particular system. the culture influences perceptions and behaviours towards political activities and programmes, including governance. in nigeria, this culture and orientation majorly focuses on ethnicity, religion and struggle for leadership. it occasions the incidences of sycophancy among those that cling on to these factors to promote feuds. parochial behaviour 159  colonial virus: as a colonial state, nigeria formed its political behaviour on a wrong foundation, which tilts predominantly towards parochial culture, thrives in shallow knowledge of the political process, loss of interest in fact-finding and passion for sideline praise singing that are not only baseless but rent seeking adventure. since colonial administration traded on fantasy in the administration of its foreign territories, it was convenient for post-colonial leaderships and subjects to embrace the attitude and play by the gallery.  system of rewards and sharing of resources/positions: the system of allocation of resources or positions in most political system is based on support and not merit derived from capacity to perform, (chahal&poonam, 2015). it plays alluring role especially where government rewards sycophants to stop exposing the shortcomings of the system or challenging the credibility of the leadership through constructive or destructive criticism. because the system emphasizes positive support as condition for rewards and/or allocation of resources/positions, many people usually toe the line of camouflaged support, using all manner of strategies, including sycophancy to be outstanding where rivalry among supporters is competitive and overbearing in magnitude. the essence is to pave way for recognition and there-from, curry favour.  defence mechanism: performance is the measure of compliance by leadership with promises made during campaigns. among several cases that attest to this assertion, mention can be made of few as examples. first, at the verge of 2015 general elections, army of sycophants worked for the re-election of president goodluck jonathan and publicized his scorecards even when some sections of the public openly and unambiguously alleged that his party, the peoples democratic party (pdp) and governors performed poorly, in every ramification. similarly, during the 2019 presidential election, buhari’s poor performance came to the fore. oloja, (2019), reported that there should not be any illusion that the president did not run the 2019 election campaigns on his performance in the last four years. the president’s performance was not significant enough, but in order to cover up the mess, sycophants used questionable scorecards to assuage public judgments on the government.  unpopularity of leadership: when a leader is unpopular, the concomitant consequence is engagement of sycophants for some rebranding jobs. etim, (2016), illustrates this with the case of abacha. the assumption was that sycophancy made the craze to support extension of his power become pervasive and knew no bound as both the young and the old were falling over themselves in this frenzy. even the five political parties of that time adopted him as their sole candidate and it might not be that the late general was such a good man to have enjoyed such massive support. instead, it was most evidently the work of sycophants; otherwise, there would not have been massive celebration across the nation when the news of his death broke out.  culture of betrayal: in politics, leaders treasure betrayal of their predecessors or rival as an advantage in the game of wits. politicians switch parties to serve the purpose of parochial behaviour 160 giving classified information about their party or their abandoned master or mentor. it recycles sycophancy and the values attached to the notorious practice. coincidentally, the same set of people, which praised one leader or administration also infect other emergent leaders with a bag of evil communications, and keep vigil to export their own evil when time beckons for them. for example, those who celebrated and extolled president olusegunobasanjo for turning around nigerian image, relieving the country of debt burden and privatization, later turned against it to praise president goodluck jonathan for resuscitating power sector that it paid lips service and wasted national resources. additionally, some displaced persons who had previously extolled the leadership virtues of president goodluck jonathan swiftly turned to describe him as incompetent and ethno-religious begot that warehoused most corrupt set of political appointees. it was same case with buhari during the 2019 election.  politics of gangsterism: during political campaign, people align with parties and candidates; in pretence that they want to help to achieve their electoral victories. in that context, they employ all tact including sycophancy to defraud the party or candidate of money and other valuables. a typical example is the sharing of campaign funds by the national security adviser (colonel sambodasuki) and diversion of it by gangsters, who fronted as arrowheads for electoral victory of the president jonathan and peoples democratic party. smaller parties and candidates, who in desperate efforts to unseat a ruling party or candidate, find themselves encircled oftentimes, by gangsters.  unfulfilled promises: the essence of canvassing for vote during elections is to arouse public attention to, and interest in existing problems that it promises to solve. accountability demands that the leadership tells how far it has gone in solving those problems with public funds under its control, in conformity with the terms of social contract with the people. poor performance in office, sometimes, results in alternative approach to laundering government image and thwarting public opinion about its scorecards. by so doing, sycophants create fictitious performance profile that markets the net value of the government or leadership to unsuspecting spectators and gullible public. this has been responsible for classified propaganda and sycophancy, sponsored by government and or by their garrison squad, to rewrite public notion about its poorly rated activities.  politics of winner-takes-all syndrome: the electoral system in nigeria provides for winner-takes-all syndrome, which excludes challengers from benefiting from the largesse. it concentrates authoritative allocation of values and the power to decide who gets what, when and how, on the chief executive and thus alluring to some losers in the electoral process to switch over to the ruling party through sycophancy for juicy positions or contracts. the experience in nigeria evidently shows that it is usually during the build-up to elections that the political sycophants are in full flight, singing the praises of otherwise political failures and prophesying more time in public offices. these political sycophants care for everything but the truth and they would do anything parochial behaviour 161 to keep open the stream of pittances flowing from their political patronage, (obiezu, 2019).  executive absolutism in governance: presidential system encourages executive absolutism in governance. the end of each election season and declaration of results, (winners and losers), create atmospheres for most politicians to resort to congratulatory messages in the media. as oloja, (2019), observes, they want to be noticed, as they want such a gift (sycophancy) to make a way for them when it comes to value allocation. they bury truth in a grave and praise even misguided leaders until crisis hits the fan. it serves as first pedestal for foisting false vision on the winners and misleading them to waste public funds on frivolous projects and turning around to seek measures of covering up incidences of power abuse through the instrumentality of propaganda and sycophancy.  ethnicity, sectionalism and class solidarity: in a diverse society like nigeria, individuals express their drive for materialism around ethno-religious considerations and it encourages crop of ethnically conscious population to impart to their forebears and cronies, the orientation of supporting positions of leadership that bolster easy access to limited opportunities. in several instances, various cultural unions, political associations and groups begin to emerge and moribund ones resurrect once a particular ethno-religious section or class win election into positions of authority. they suddenly turn to advisory body and begin to offer barefooted solutions to problems, many of which are full of deceits, misinformation and actions that aim at avenging past wrongs. it midwife praise singing even at failing point in governance, and ignites class mobilisation to scavenge for scarce resources and positions in public institutions. it makes sycophancy to become a pathway for patronizing falsehood and ostensibly sanctioning politics of defense mechanism.  unethical media practice: media outfits serve as outlet for sycophancy when the issues they report rarely pass through thorough verification for accuracy. they easily publicize fake news about government activities with fanfare and the nigerian broadcasting commission (nbc) appears silent when it favours government and decisive when it is targeted to demean it. the concept of ‘brown envelop’, (ayodele, 1988), which is a material offer to influence a journalist to play by the gallery, constitutes a major source of inspiration in patronizing sycophancy in the media. in nigeria, every election season or national events, even personal programmes, are harvest period for media houses. they allow all kinds of ridiculous goodwill and congratulatory messages to fly, for as long as author of the scripts and or sponsors pay for it. despite the overwhelming evidence that these messages convey false impression about a leader, and the media houses are privy to some of the truths, economic instincts and sycophancy on their own part too, keep this trend unchecked. it is worse in government owned and controlled media houses where they market their failures in governance as though they are successes that deserve encomium. parochial behaviour 162  eroding value system: when a political system loses the track of entrenching positive value system in its national political behaviour, the tendency is that the mismatch foists demeaning and repulsive images on the nation. in nigeria, no institution is isolated in the rush to upturn the virtues of decency in leadership and followership. even religious institution that supposed to serve as cleansing house promotes sycophancy and falsehood in a bid to lure their targets for a favour. they organize religious worships where they praise a leader whose record is a misnomer. traditional chiefs confer undeserving titles with provoking names that query the roots of its rational. corporate bodies give award of distinctions to leaders, even those that designate them as “best in this and best in that” when there is nothing to show for them. these instruments of sycophancy and very dangerous weapon in every ramification, threaten leadership in nigeria. economic factors  greed: it is among the major factors that induce sycophancy. many people have no need playing politics in nigeria and venturing into politics for them means coming to amass wealth. the consequent unrestrained quest for materialism usually results in any manner of actions aimed at attaining the set goals. considering that politics is the most assured means of economic wealth in nigeria, those who eventually find their ways into the corridors of powers do everything possible to retain the position and the accruing perquisites of power; thus fuelling incidences of sycophancy.  the type of political economy: the political economy of nigeria emphasizes patronage politics, which is built around moneybags, godfathers and stakeholders, who mastermind the money sharing machinery of the country common patrimony. it breeds corruption and nepotism in political leadership and management of national resources, thereby producing crop of leaders that freely divert public funds in fraudulent ways to empower sycophants and encourage praise-singing jobs. psychological factors  pride and ego: pride thrives in ego massaging hue and in many instances, serves as symbol of recognition and relevance. it cherishes eye service, obeisance and eulogy, and denies any reward to those who are in defiance to performing the ritual. singh, cited in oloja, (2019), alludes to this when he notes that, “all people like to be praised as it boosts self esteem, keeps them motivated and happy but it also pushes them into the abyss of sham, which is propelled by hypocrisy and sycophancy”. it is a serious infection and bedevils politics and governance in nigeria.  inordinate ambition: it could take the forms of politics of blackmail, character assassination, and pull-him-down syndrome, thereby seeking the elimination and or parochial behaviour 163 substitution of some persons in power, or persistent attacks on those that are opposed to the government, as ploys to attract attention from the powers-that-be, with envisaged reward. it influenced many parochial appointments made by president muhammadubuhari during his first term in office.  subordinated survival instinct: it occurs when people who are not qualified for political office or leadership position but attached to powerful persons for survival, clinch political position or public office through propaganda or praise singing. for instance, to cover-up inevitable lapses in the responsibilities of offices they occupy, they recycle praise-singing practice among those in their hire and oftentimes surrender to the whims and caprices of sycophancy and dictates of sycophants.  urge for belongingness: those who nurse the desire for belongingness are easy prey for sycophantic club. many of them have ‘complexes’ and poor perception of social norms and attach much meaning to what appeals to their instincts, regardless of however bad and unapproved their parochial behaviour may be in the system. they regard it as a hubby and feel a sense of self-esteem by breaking through the class barriers erected on the path to leadership and economic opportunities, to take on a new status and identity pattern. generally, sycophants concern themselves with attempts to upturn facts about governance at all levels. just as examples and case studies made with situations at the national political life suggest, there is no limit to the expanse of sycophancy. each level of leadership and system has its own peculiarity but what they share in common is the reversal of previous praise songs about the ousted leaders and resorts to avalanche of vituperation in condemnation of their once rated best policies and actions formulated and executed by the same government. at the national, state and local levels, the cause of parochial orientation and sycophantic behaviour varies. it could draw from its intention or objective but end up serving similar bad purpose. the consequences or influence of sycophancy on governance the consequences of sycophancy on governance cannot be overemphasized. it results in feeding the public with wrong information about government activities, thereby misleading the leadership with false impressions about the feelings of the governed. the concomitant is lack of trust in governance/leadership, promotion of national shame, boosting mediocrity in the polity and stereotyping the system as hub of hoax. party politics, electioneering process and leadership or governance, if you like, have nurtured and fanned the embers of sycophancy to a proportion that questions the essence of government in nigeria. these armies of sycophants unleash undeserving treatment on innocent nigerians by saturating the system with unfounded information, and supporting government to derail from its social contract with the citizens. obiezu, (2019), lucidly captures their adversarial inclinations when he noted that if their parochial behaviour 164 betrayal is not brutal enough, verbal daggers weaponised to eviscerate any and every divergent opinion are sent out in full force. ultimately, critical questions are suppressed even before they are completed. in the murky theatre of nigeria‘s politics, the drums of sycophancy beat loudly and grave issues are buried by the gale of noise. the sad note about sycophancy is that even the legislature whose statutory function is to make law for good governance and conduct oversight on executive activities shift energies to singing the praises of the executive. while it rarely commends itself, individual legislators dwell on licking executive boots as precondition for remaining relevant in the system. there are frequent radio announcements sponsored by the members, congratulating the president, governor, and minister, commissioner or other categories of appointees from whom they look forward to getting rewards. for similar reasons and many other instances, these sycophants waste no time in becoming dangerous where their interests are assailed. they will do anything to keep their source of livelihood open, including verbally and physically harming perceived political opponents, (obiezu, 2019). in some instances, leaders treat it as mark of loyalty and the practice is prevalent and becoming worse at the state and local government levels of administration where people could borrow to put congratulatory messages to show solidarity with officeholder even when some of them are not easily recognized or identified by their intended target or political symbol. the commercialization of democracy dividend has made every business of government to flourish around the precinct of sycophancy and it is fast turning into obnoxious subculture in the system. it influences government decisions about where to situate public institutions or site projects, in award of contracts, acts of nepotism in employment and appointment in every juicy position in government. they usually pretend that government is doing well and persuade their bosses to buy into such deception, although critics are quick to unravel the hollowness of the propaganda. the conflicting perspective shapes how the public perceives the system, the nature of their relationship with government and how they treat the officials occupying various positions of authority in the system. the larger-than-life picture painted of leaders is intoxicating and misleading, with capacity to cause colossal damage on the integrity of the leadership. from a general perspective, political campaign or rallies in nigeria represent unusual voyage in promoting sycophancy. it has always served as occasion to pour praises on government even at points of self-betrayal and destruction. this study identifies two forms of sycophancy, vertical and horizontal. it occurs in vertical form when the hierarchies in leadership (ward, local, state and national) invoke the practice in extolling their superiors and shielding their collective failure. horizontally, sycophancy crisscrosses various layers of the socio-cultural, economic and religious class, which though not directly involved in political leadership, apply the tact to seek favour from those in political leadership. both types have contributed in derailing governance and leadership in nigeria by singing praises of government and leadership that judgmentally, is not doing well from all indications. for example, in virtually every government or party rally, sycophancy dominates the speeches, which most times turn afflictions to blessing and devils suddenly become saints. they create all manner of songs, sang them in admiration of their would-be benefactor or paymaster and paint their effigies in make-belief colours; mount captivating billboards and distribute handbills which inscriptions depict nothing but vanity in purpose. it carves a niche parochial behaviour 165 for political wharf rats and mediocre who garb the hegemony class in fantasy, and ascend positions of authority through fraudulent ways, to perpetuate the liquidation of the nation collective treasury and agony of the masses. it compromises the operation of many institutions in nigeria, including the executive, legislature, judiciary, the election management bodies, law enforcement agencies and corporate organizations. the functions of these offices are predisposed to conflicting tunes of praise singing and criticism, noticeable in every sphere of governance and leadership with dreaded consequences. in each case, sycophancy beclouds their sense of neutrality, impartiality, incorruptibility and infects them with intemperance psyche that deceives them into playing to the gallery in satisfaction of certain instincts. retrospectively, sycophancy played a part in flaming military intervention in civil politics, the nigeria-biafra civil war, and in pushing the perennial conflicts thereafter, including fanning the embers of disunity and hate speech. it afflicted military with unfathomable delusion and loss of professionalism, discipline and public respects. the few cases previously cited but reiterated buttress this assertion. sycophants influenced general buhari to continue with austerity policy even when nigerians visibly protested the deadly hardship it inflicted on them. the antics of abn to achieve tenure elongation for ibrahim babangida blindfolded him, desecrated the integrity of his leadership through sit-tight and resulted in abuse of human rights. the euphoria of two million-man-match for abacha and the youth earnestly ask for abacha (yeaa) campaign entrapped the leadership and made nonsense of the punctured but ongoing transition to civil rule programme. sycophants instigated third term agenda that reduced the leadership of president obasanjo to sham; more so, sycophants caused the avoidable infamy that characterized the twilight of musa yaradua presidency, just as the dangerous peal that the transformation ambassadors of nigeria (tan) put on the path treaded by president jonathan, contributed in collapsing his re-election ambition. each regime and the persona seemed bewitched by the sweet tongues of those around them and the praise singing cacophony of those outside the system, which led them into miscalculating on the appropriate action to take and evade challenges of governance and purposeful leadership confronting them. importantly, the exponents of privatization during president obasanjo’s tenure were the major critics against the programme when it ended. it is in black and white how they had mounted unwarranted propaganda machine that eclipsed the rationale for the exercise and emasculated dissenting viewpoints, which tended to show that despite widespread privatization efforts, empirical evidence indicated that its anticipated benefits are yet to be felt in african countries. as expected, their lip-service swayed government to neglect the fact that only limited efforts has been made to identify the causes and determinants of the uniquely unsatisfactory performance of public enterprises reform in africa relative to other environments, (adekola&kazeem, 2016). thus, sycophancy does not allow the truths to guide government decision-making and action plans. illustrating this perspective, al-ghazali, (2010), cites a famous injunction by harry truman: “i want people around me who will tell me the truth, who will tell me the truth as they see it. you cannot operate and manage effectively if you have people around you who put you on the pedestal and tell you everything you do is right because that, in practice, can't be possible”. presently, sycophancy has almost become an institutionalized political behaviour in nigeria that each administration relies upon it in publicizing its policies, programmes and in parochial behaviour 166 relating with the public. disgruntled politicians use sycophancy to canvass the virtues of their preferred leader in civil governance and present them as ultimate for propelling nigeria out of the threshold of disintegration and economic suffocation. the dangerous trend promotes deceits and misinformation and transmits exponential adverse effects on the leadership and sometimes on the led. many projects and policies promoted through sycophancy end up as fallacy. sycophants transform deceitful policies that affect national interest into feats and no single nigerian leader has ever shunned the practice or made categorical statement to disapprove of it but always receptive to its influence and eager to drift national goals and integrity of its leadership. sycophancy has consigned political leadership to theatre of falsehood with the ineluctable vile servitude posture of its adherents. the general epidemic affects integrity of leadership and governance in nigeria. for instance, it is not news that heads of government establishments like ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) or institutions like universities, polytechnics and colleges of education employ praise singing tact to sway the temperament of concerned political leaders to approve financial releases to them, or consider doing projects or increasing staff welfare packages through improved subvention. it has imposed strange behavioural tendencies on some persons that would ordinarily criticize government for not delivering on its mandate. it makes sycophancy look like a pervasive phenomenon, permeating every segment of human society, not limited to political sphere but inclusive of other areas in human endeavour. conclusion and recommendations this paper has tried to illustrate or exemplify the efficacy of sycophancy in eroding the course of governance in nigeria. in other words, case studies and citations made to buttress this trend have significantly shown the impact of sycophancy on the dearth of integrity in governance, and they found expressions in parochial behaviour that afflicts nigeria political system. this resolved relationship, therefore, demands plausible remedies to redirecting governance value system, with the sanctioned behavioural tendency, recruitment procedure, guiding principles for followership and reorientation of leadership for restoration of integrity and credibility to the position and services they render to the system. adopting this premise and recognizing the importance of a new order, the paper recommends as follow:  reorganization of the political system to emphasize competence, capacity and personal discipline as essential qualities expected of a potential leader to possess before aspiring for the position.  appointment of public officeholders based on merit, capacity and penchant for service delivery, which discourage predisposition to sycophancy to disguise failures in performance of office tasks.  de-emphasizing ethnicity, religion, class solidarity and sectionalism as the basis for association with leadership position, and thereby, meddling in governance with sycophantic infections. parochial behaviour 167  developing institutional capacity to ensure the discharge of its functions according to laid down procedures other than having strong leaders that conduct business of government with vulgarism.  criminalizing sycophancy in governance, to stop misleading information and inciting claim about implemented policies/projects that have no verifiable proof or shielding the ineptitude of leadership or intentional false claim to reverse poor performance in office in order to give a leader credit.  prohibition of conferment of chieftaincy titles or awards and organizing any ceremony or events in honour of any leader whose tenure has not expired.  curtail media publicity on leader performance of statutory duties associated with the office. these are sure ways of changing the ugly narratives and negative influence of sycophancy in nigeria governance and leadership, while also restoring its integrity, credibility, legitimacy, respect and sovereignty. parochial behaviour 168 references abiodun, o. 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(2017). 2017-2021 global strategy for good governance. revised september. people in need (pin,) czech republic, p. 2 https://www.cleverism.com/theory-of-planned-behavior/ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac4b0.html http://www.refworld.org/ https://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nigeria.jpg https://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nigeria.jpg https://guardian.ng/opinion/when-sycophancy-nurtures-mediocrity/ https://guardian.ng/opinion/buhariwatch-time-to-block-sycophancy-and-mediocrity/ https://guardian.ng/opinion/buhariwatch-time-to-block-sycophancy-and-mediocrity/ https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?id=7237 https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/06/how-sycophancy-undermines-governance-in-nigeria-onuesoke/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/06/how-sycophancy-undermines-governance-in-nigeria-onuesoke/ parochial behaviour 171 pillai, k. (2011). essence of a manager. springer science & business media.p. 163. 26 february rao, r. (2008). good governance: modern global and regional perspective (new dehli: mg. kaniska publisher distributors), 10-11 richie, y.g. (2011). politics of sycophancy. attribution non-commercial. sheng, y.k. (2018). what is good governance? economic and social commission for asia and the pacific (unescap), poverty reduction section, un building, rajdamnernnok ave: bangkok, https://www.unescap.org/pdd sherrod, l.r. (2006). youth activism: an international encyclopedia.volume 2, p.447. westport, conn.: greenwood press. national library of australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46258645, sycophancy, wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sycophancy united nations development program, (1997).governance for sustainable human development. a undp policy document, in http://magnet.undp.org/policy/ sinha, v. (2016). why sycophancy is ever-present in indian politics. hindustan times, 01 june, https://www.livemint.com/opinion/the-politics-of-sycophancy-in-india.html vocabulary.com dictionary, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sycophant wikipedia. the free encyclopedia integrity. in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/integrity world development report, (2017). governance and the law. http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication youth earnestly ask for abacha, https://www.sunnewsonline.com/i-dont-regretcampaigning-for-abacha-kanu-forme-coordinator-yeaa/ https://www.unescap.org/pdd https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/46258645 https://www.livemint.com/opinion/v2aitfjyg0268jabwtmzzk/the-politics-of-sycophancy-in-india.html https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sycophant https://www.sunnewsonline.com/i-dont-regret-campaigning-for-abacha-kanu-forme-coordinator-yeaa/ https://www.sunnewsonline.com/i-dont-regret-campaigning-for-abacha-kanu-forme-coordinator-yeaa/ page 1 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences the relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction among university married staff raphael ugwu anike valentina chinenye marire-nwankwo department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology enugu anikeugwu@yahoo.com abstract this study investigated the relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction among university married staff. a total of 175 participants comprising 70 males and 105 females’ staff were drawn from caritas university in enugu east of enugu state. the participants are between the ages of 24-63 years. they were selected making use of convenience sampling technique in which only the participants who were available participated. the participants were administered two questionnaires of 25-items each with a likert type response format designed to measure sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction. the statistical test used for the analysis was pearson product-moment correlation coefficient while survey design was adopted based on the large number of participants. however, the findings revealed that a positive significance relationship was observed between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction. marital satisfaction had a mean of 59.46 and a standard deviation of 18.33 and sexual satisfaction had a mean of 81.78 and a standard deviation of 17.83 with r=.59, p<.01 indicating a positive significant relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction. the findings were discussed in relation to literature reviewed and recommendations were made. keywords: intimacy, love making, happiness, marriage, satisfaction. introduction marriage is described as a normative, personal life event in adulthood and involves the cohabitation of two people with different characteristics and needs (sevinc & garip 2010). in general, people get married for specific purposes such as finding meaning in life and loving for a better quality of married life. it is worth noting that continuation of marriage may depend on factors like martial relationship; because matrimony is more successful when couples establish a sense of satisfaction with each other (hassan 2010; lucas, parkhill, wendorf, imamoglu, weisfeld & weifeld, 2008). marital satisfaction is simply the degree of contentment regarding certain aspects of marital relationship as well as the whole relationship. according to some previous researchers, marital satisfaction refers to a subjective and global evaluation of the relationship (daiuto, baucom, epstein & dutton, 1998; marcaurelle, belanger & marchand, 2003). it is a situation in which, the couples are satisfied and feel happy and living together (shakerian, 2010). the concept of marital satisfaction is a multifaceted and multidimensional concept including psychological, socioeconomic and spiritual component. measures of marital satisfaction in mailto:anikeugwu@yahoo.com marital satisfaction 189 fact, vary from one researcher to another and the operational definition of marital satisfaction. in particular, the criteria for a satisfying marital satisfaction may be highly varied and may depend on a unique set of culturally enforced norms, obligations and values (lucas et al., 2008; wang 1994). indeed, marital satisfaction is influenced by many factors, for example, safe and pleasurable sexual relationship is mentioned to be one of the most important factors noticed in many researchers (rahmani, alahgoti, & merghati 2009). studies have reported a significant positive association between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction (blumatein & sahwartz 1983; cupach & comstock, 1990; edward & booth, 1994; henderson-king & veroff, 1994; lawrence & byers, 1995; oggins, leber & veroff, 1993; young, luquis, denny & young, 1998). a few longitudinal studies also reported that sexual satisfaction was negatively predictive of marital instability (edwards et al., 1994; oggins et al., 1993; veroff, douvan & hatchett 1995; white & keith, 1990). karney and bradbury’s (1995) review of longitudinal studies of marriage also showed that marital satisfaction was merely strongly related to marital stability than most other predictor variables. however, the causal sequences sexual satisfaction, marital satisfaction and marital stability have not been carefully examined. sexual satisfaction plays an important role between couples in marital satisfaction. sexual relationship influenced marital satisfaction which is accomplished through studying on couples (tuinmann, fleer, sliejfer, hoekstra, & hoekstra 2005). human usually consider sex as a communication tool and as a means to express feelings intimacy, love anger, and also as a relaxing and enjoyable activity. sexual experience is personal and private and all people have unique thoughts and feelings of sexual relations. sexual satisfaction was defined as “an emotional response from the subjective assessment of the positive satisfaction is when couples enjoy together, these happened by mutual love, care for each other, acceptance, understanding and meeting their needs such as sexual need (kalantari, esfahani, & bayat 2012). communication and response of couples create intimate relationship with the emphasis of sexual satisfaction. marital satisfaction depends on many factors. a good sexual life is an important part of marriage that creates the strong relationship between sexual relationship and marital satisfaction (minakshi, 2012). sexual satisfaction within marriage would be positively related to overall marital satisfaction. not surprisingly, researchers would have looked beyond frequency and asked respondents about their feelings about sex have found evidence of a significant, positive relationship between sexual satisfaction and measures of overall marital satisfaction (cupach et al., 1990; hudson, harrison & crosscup, 1981; snyder, 1979) have found correlations ranging from .59.68 between the two, in a marriage of cohabiting couples. (perlman & abramson, 1982) found that overall relationship satisfaction correlated with sexual satisfaction and with the absence of sexual anxiety. we should expert, therefore to find a positive relationship and a negative relationship of both kinds of evaluation to experiencing problems or difficulties in marital sex. in terms of control in marriage, sex might come to play as one of the things that spouses feel they can rely on to improve negative situations or to make time spent together especially pleasant, especially for men. rubin (1976) describes how men may attempt to end argument by making love, whereas women are more likely to seek emotional intimacy before engaging in sex. according to the importance of sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction in family functioning, it is important to understand factors in predicting and sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction. this study intends to find an answer to the problem stated as; will there be a significant relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction among married staff of caritas university amorji-nike, enugu. when two people marry, in some cases, they hope their marriage will last all their lives. others believe that the relationship will last as long as they love the other person. also, there are people who condition their marital status to the satisfaction of their sexual needs and their requirements in terms of affection and protection (bradbury, fincham & beach, 2000; sabatelli & ripoll, 2004). on the other hand, when people live together as couples, they may reassess their goals and wishes of remaining together and decide to end the relationship (mcnulty & karney, 2004). in other cases the idea of continuing the relationship may persist for many years, as there may be personal powerful factors that motivate doing so and because there is a great deal of satisfaction derived from the relationship. a marital trajectory may be defined as the description of the course of a marital relationship that may or may not end in divorce and separation. the course of the relationship is determined by the continuous evolution of the satisfaction derived by the couples’ overtime. thus, the stability of the marital satisfaction is demonstrated by the fact that it ends or remains intact (karney et al., 1995; karney et al., 1999). one hand, an evolutionary approach proposes that in order to conserve the union, the individuals in the couple should be faithful, have children together, be well to do, friendly, generous, understanding and they should sexually neglect or reject their partners (buss, 2007). that is, in order to maintain a relationship its members are expected to display desirable attitudes in their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, reflecting in that manner, the best possible version of themselves. on the other contemporary behavioral tendencies indicate that those actions necessarily guarantee a lasting marriage. equity theory consists of four interlocking propositions (hatfield, utne & traupmann, 1979c). theorists argue that individuals try to maximize their outcomes (proposition 1). groups can maximize collective outcomes by devising an equitable system for sharing resources. thus, groups try to induce members to behave equitably. they can do this in only one way by making it more profitable to be generous than to be greedy. they reward those who behave and punish those who do not (proposition 2). when socialized persons find themselves enmeshed in inequitable relationships, they experience distress (proposition 3) and are moved to reduce such distress, by restoring either actual equity or psychological equity to the relationships (proposition 4). there is great evidence that equity theory considerations are critically important in determining how people act in relatively superficial encounters. equity considerations have been found to be important in such diverse areas as employer/employee relationships, exploiter/victim relationships, and philanthropist/ recipient relationships (walster, walster, & berscheid, 1978). recently, equity theory has been applied to intimate relationships to dating couples encounters (hatfield, walster, & traupmann 1979b), to married marital satisfaction 191 couples interactions (traupmann, peterson, utne & hatfield, 1981; traupmann & hatfield 1983), and even to extramarital liaisons (hatfield, traupman, & walster 1979a). sexual satisfaction generates marital satisfaction; sociologists argue that sex is critically important to couples. intensely passionate or companionate feelings contribute to marital happiness, routine, dismal, frustrating sex can threaten the best of relationships (kinsey, pomeroy, & martin, 1948, 1953; bell, 1966; hunt, 1974; delamater & mccorquodale, 1979). marital satisfaction on the hand generates sexual satisfaction; sex is a delicate interaction. if couples like or love one another, if they feel equitably treated, if they feel comfortable with one another, sex may go well. if couples dislike or hate one another, feel trapped in inequitable relationships, feel comfortable in one another’s presence, their deep-seated resentment or guilt may corrode their sexual encounters (kinsey et al, 1948, 1953; berne, 1964; masters & johnson, 1966, 1970, 1976; hunt, 1974; safilios-rothschild, 1977). similarly, timm (1999) sampled married individuals and found a relationship between marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction. sexual communication was also found to be related to both sexual and marital satisfaction. renaud and byers (1997) investigated the sexual relationship and factors related to sexual satisfaction of married chinese men and women in another study. results indicated that, the greater the relationship satisfaction, the greater the level of sexual satisfaction. greater sexual satisfaction was also associated with a greater frequency of affectionate and sexual behavior and fewer sexual concerns and problems. it also appears that sexual difficulties of women play a greater role in the relationship satisfaction of both men and women than do the sexual difficulties of men. hypothesis this study tested the hypothesis below; there will be no significant relationship sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction among married university staff. method participants a total of 175 participants comprising of 70 males and 105 female staff which were drawn from the non-academic staff population of caritas university. the participants are between the ages of 24-63 years. the participants were selected making use of convenient sampling technique, in which only those participants who were available and willing were used. instruments two types of psychological instruments were used to gather information for the study and they are; index of marital satisfaction (ims) (hudson, 1982) and index of sexual satisfaction (iss) (hudson 1982) index of marital satisfaction (ims) (hudson 1982) the instrument was developed by hudson (1982). the index of marital satisfaction (ims) is a questionnaire with25 items. the 25 item inventory is designed to measure the degree, severity or magnitude of the problems one spouse or partner perceives to be having in the marital relationship with his or her partner. the focus is on current problems which have reduced marital satisfaction. the scale does not, therefore, measure marital adjustment, a condition in which couples may have adjusted to lingering problems in their relationship even though the problems have not been solve. it is a likert type response format. the items were worded 1rarely or none of the time, 2a little of the time, 3some of the time, 4good part of the time and 5most of all of the time. it uses direct scoring and direct scoring of the items. direct score items include, 2,4,6,7,10,12,14,15,18,22,24, and 25 and the reverse score items 1,3,5,8,9,11,13,16,17,20,21, and 23. the reliability coefficients reported by hudson (1982) are, cronbach alpha internal consistency = .96, 2-hour-test-retest = .96. a concurrent validity coefficient of .48 was a obtained by anene (1994) by correlating ims with marital stress inventory (msi) (omoluabi, 1994). index of sexual satisfaction (iss) (hudson 1982) the index of sexual satisfaction was developed by hudson in 1982. it was designed to measure problems in sexual satisfaction. it is a 25 – item measure, severity or magnitude of a problem in the sexual component of a couple’s relationship. the iss measures the respondent’s feelings about a number o behaviours, attitudes, events and preferences that are associated with the sexual relationship between partners. score range from 1-7 with 1 representing none of the time, 2-very rarely, 3-a little of the time, 4-some of the time and 5-a good part of the time. the iss is scored by first reverse-scoring the items listed at the bottom scale, totaling these and the other item scores giving more evidence of the presence of sexual dissatisfaction. the reverse scores are as follows, 4,9,10,12,16,17,19,21,22 and 23 and the direct scores are as follows 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,11,13,14,15,18,20,24 and 25. the iss has a mean alpha of .92, indicating high internal consistency (hudson, 1982). the iss has excellent concurrent validity, correlating, significantly with the locke-wallace marital adjustment scale and the index of marital satisfaction and has also shown to be excellent construct validity (touliatos, perimutter and strauss, 1990). for this current sample, high internal consistency was found with a cronbach’s alpha of .93 and .94 respectively for husband and wife sexual satisfaction. procedure a total of 200 (two hundred) copies of the questionnaire on sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction were conveniently distributed within the period of one week to the target population. each participant was instructed on how to fill the instrument and how they should marital satisfaction 193 give their response. in all, 175 copies of the instruments were collected back. the remaining 25 copies of the questionnaires where either discarded due to incorrect or incomplete filling of the questionnaires by the participants. so the researcher made use of the questionnaires filled by those who were married. finally, at the end of the administration and collection of the questionnaire, 175 copies were eventually used for the analysis. design/statistics based on the large number of my participants and the nature of the research and also how it was carried out survey design was adopted while pearson product moment correlation coefficient was applied as a statistics to analyze the data in order to test the hypothesis. results table 1; summary table of mean, standard deviation and inter-correlation of variables sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction. s/n source mean sd 1 2 3 4 5 1 marital satisfaction 59.46 18.33 1 2 sexual satisfaction 81.78 17.83 .59** 1 3 gender 1.59 .49 -.08 .06 1 4 age 2.29 1.68 .08 .08 -.10 1 5 marital status 1.06 .23 .14 .10 -.10 .02 1 **p<.01, n=175 the correlation table revealed that among the control variables, gender, age and marital status, there is no significant relationship. this indicates that all the control variables, gender, age and marital status did not relate with marital satisfaction. also, the control variables did not relate among themselves. however, there is a significant positive relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction (r=.59, p<.01). the table also showed the mean and standard deviation using one hundred and seventy five participants. discussion the findings of this study revealed that the hypothesis tested was not confirmed. in view of this, the hypothesis which stated “there will be no significant relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction” was not confirmed. this means that there is a positive relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction amongst married university staff. however, the positive relationship is not a surprise because a couple cannot have a satisfied marriage without being sexually satisfied. a couple can be marital satisfied but not sexually satisfied likewise vis-à-vis, which affects the marriage. sexual satisfaction plays an important role between couples in marital satisfaction. sexual relationship influenced marital satisfaction which is accomplished through studying on couples (tuinmann, fleer, sliejfer, hoekstra, & hoekstra, 2005). humans usually consider sex as a communication tool and as a means to express feelings intimacy, love anger, and also as a relaxing and enjoyable activity. sexual experience is personal and private and all people have unique thoughts and feelings of sexual relations. many studies investigating the relationship between sexual and marital satisfaction indicated that these two variables significantly predict each other (brezsnyak, 2001; fielder, 2001). klemer (1970) states that “a good sexual adjustment usually, but not always, requires a fairly good total marriage relationship” (p.215). it is also stated that, in the process of treating sexual problems, important marital problems may affect negatively the outcomes (kayır, yüksel, & tükel, 1987) and treating couple’s marital problems sometimes should be the first choice (uçman, 1982). it is also reported that, in sex therapy process, some spouses seem reluctant to solve sexual problems that couple encountered. they want to continue the positive marital outcomes (such as manipulating the partner who seems responsible for the sexual problems) which were given by the sexual problems (uçman, 1982). additionally, sexual dysfunctions are more commonly seen in unconsummated marriages (uçman, 1982) and treating sexual problems might result in an increase in marital satisfaction (kabakçı & batur, 2002). these findings might be the indicators of the relationship between sexual and marital issues. implications of the study the outcome of this study has obvious implications. first and foremost, this study will serve as an empirical study for future researchers. the findings of this study have also made it obvious that a couple cannot say they are satisfied or happy in their in marriage without being sexually satisfied. the two variables are the main factors or keys to a happy and satisfied relationship. this study will help therapist in the management of relationships between couples. with the knowledge acquired in this study, therapists will henceforth understand the sexual and marital problems of their clients knowing that each factor plays a significant role in the happiness and satisfaction in a couple’s relationship. suggestions for further research based on the outcome of this study, i hereby suggest that future researcher should increase the number of their participants. in addition, similar studies such as the factors that could influence marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction should be carried out by future researchers. limitations of the study marital satisfaction 195 one major problem encountered during the data collection was the refusal of some of the staffs in collecting the questionnaires. some refused to respond to the items of the questionnaires saying that it was too deep (invading their private lives). some refused filling the questionnaire until i tell them what i was measuring. but after generating much rapport and explaining to them to high level of confidentiality attached to the research, some complied towards the objective completion of the questionnaire. in view of the above findings, the researcher hereby recommends that similar study or investigation be carried out in other schools and also in the working sector where more strenuous works are done e.g. banking sector, manufacturing sector, industries, big organizations etc. further study should be carried out on other control variables like educational level, socio-economic status etc. conclusion there is a significant positive relationship between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction and also the satisfaction of a relationship both sexually and maritally does not depend on the age, gender, marital status or any demographic factor. references acker, m., & davis, m. h. 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(1998). correlates of sexual satisfaction in marriage. canadian journal of human sexuality, 7, 115-128. page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 419 local government and democratization process in nigeria (a study of enugu east local government area) iloh angela u. department of public administration caritas university enugu angieonwuzu63@gmail.com abstract this study examines local government and democratization process in nigerian with a focus on enugu east local government area of enugu state, it is concerned with some conceptual framework on what local government is all about and the idea/ democracy and democratization process. the evaluation is made with the view that what we call democratization process should be in consonance with the constitutional stipulations, in order to achieve the stated functions of local government thereby achieving development political, socially and economically. in the attempt an introduction was made, statement of problem, objectives and research questions and significances of the paper. also a conceptual framework and theoretical foundations were stated in order to evaluate the structure, functions and sources of revenue of our today is local government system in the present democratization process. based on the data gathered findings were made and conclusions and recommendation were drawn. keywords: constitution, democracy, development, nigeria, revenue. introduction local government is generally known as government at the grass root level; government that bridge the gap between the rural people and the central or state government; government that facilitates political participation of the people in their government and their own affairs. its administrative objective is to ensure that all the rules, principles and practices of the local people are rooted in the administrative system of local government. democracy is said to be, government of the people by the people and for the people. according to oxford dictionary, democracy is a system of government in which all people of a country can vote to elect their representatives. hence the administration of our local government today with its lofty economy and social programmes should actualize development through democracy or its democratization process. the 1999 constitution provides that legislative power of local government shall be rested in the local government council. this means that local government has legislative powers just like the federal and state government, hence there is some element of autonomy in its legislative jurisdiction of functions .this is what democratization process should portray in a true democracy. 420 one therefore, puzzles to ask why are there no much development of both physical and socio economic facilities in our rural areas, if a good democratic process is followed during election of our leaders. there is an adage that says that “the test of the food is in the eating,” that is to say that, good democratic government should give rise to reasonable development both economically and socially. the realization of the dividends of democracy is on the hands of the democrats and bureaucrats (political stake-holders and career official) in the local government, if actual process is taken to appoint them. this study therefore set out to evaluate local government, administration and democratization process in nigeria with particular references to the experiences in enugu east local government area of enugu state. enugu east l.g.a is made up of two major districts of nike district and the ugwogo district. the two district put together has 33 communities, with the headquarters at nkwo nike. it also has some wards created for the purpose of political elections. statement of the problems in democracy, it is said that power belongs to the people, this is because constitutionally peoples mandate is to be given to any political leader or officer before he will assume any position of public office or responsibility of any kind at any level of government. the l976 local government reforms in nigeria made local government a third tier of government with some level of autonomy. democratization is to enhance representative government in different levels of government in nigeria (gboyega, 2003). the l999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria part ii of the third schedule section (3) and (4) made provision for the establishment of state/national independent electoral commission (siec, inec) with the following powers: i. to organizes, undertake and supervise all elections to local government councils within the state and ii. to render such advise as it may consider necessary to the independent national electoral commission (inec) on the compilation of and the register which is applicable to local government election in the state. 421 based on the above constitutionalprovisions, the inec is given the official mandate to conduct election very free and fair to give rights to both the electorate and the elect or the wining party one may wonder why there are many petition or court case over the recently conducted election in nigeria local government. even the last senatorial election of 2015 in enugu-east, why are the agitations here and there? why so many complain of lack of dividends of democracy in nigeria local government? the process of democratization in the local government system may be put to question. objectives of the study the crux of this paper is to find out: 1. whether local government administration is affected by democratization process or representative government; 2. if democratization of governance brings about economic and social development in the local government. 3. if democratization process helps to attain good governance and service delivery at the local government level. 4. whether the local government democratization have enhanced political emancipation or participation and self reliant of the rural people. research questions 1. what are the effects of democratization process or representative government on the local government? 2. in what ways have democratization of governance bring about economic and social development in the local government 3. what are the ways by which democratization helps to attain good governance and service delivery? 4. to what extent have the process of democratization enhances political participation or self-reliant of the rural dwellers. significances of the study 422 this study will be of immense value to the functionaries in the local government system, to our stakeholders and future researches in this field of study or related area. conceptual reviewed scholarly the treatment of concepts is most necessary for an efficient treatment of research problem and collection of relevant data, sanda (1976). therefore, it is necessary to discuss the two basic concepts concerned in this study that is local government and democratization. local government has been conceived and constituted in different ways by various scholars. according to odenigwe (1977) in udenta (2007), describes local government as: “local government is a system of local administration under which local communities and towns are organized to maintain law and order, provided some limited range of social services and public amenities and encourage the cooperation and participation of the inhabitants in joint endeavour towards the improvement of their conditions of living. it provides the communities with a formal organizational framework which enable effectively and regulate the actions of their members for the general public good”. from the above assertion despite the stipulations of the 1976 reforms on autonomy, it equally advocates that the local people should participate in their own affairs. the united nations division of public administration stated that, local government is a political division of a nation or in a federal system, a state, which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs, including the power to impose' taxes or extract labour for prescribed purpose. the governing body of such an entity is elected or otherwise locally selected (ola, 1988). this definition has been upheld by a number of scholars who have also expatiated on it. for instance hugh’ whalan (1970) has stated that: “each unit of local government in any system is assumed to possess the following characteristics, a given territory and population, an institutional structure, a separate legal identity, 423 a range of power and function authorized by delegation from the appropriate central or intermediate legislature and lastly within the ambit of such delegation, autonomy subjected always to the test of reasonableness.” while in agreement with the above conceptions, oyediran (2010) underlines the need to distinguish between local government and local administration. it is the administration of local communities essentially by means of local agents appointed by them and responsible to the central government, but local government he says, is government in which there are popular participation both in the choice of decision makers and in the decision-making process is conducted by local bodies while recognizing the supremacy of the central government and is willing and able to accept responsibility for its decisions. from the forgoing definitions, we can infer that local government is the lowest of government in any modern states, that it is legally distinct and has power to raise revenue and undertake assigned responsibilities under a leadership that is elected and answerable to the local population. it can also be state that, local government exercises power that is decentralization in the form of devolution. even though, there are different types of local government based on their geographical locations, local government may be seen generally as a legally constituted body for development at the grassroots level. thus, we have the traditional english, the french and the communist types (bamgbose, 2011). democracy and democratization ordinarily democracy is defined as government of the people by the people and for the people. diamond, luiz & lipset (1989), define democracy as a system of government that meets three essential conditions: one, meaningful and extensive competition among individuals and groups, especially parties for all effective positions of government power at regular intervals, excluding the use of force; two, a highly inclusive level of political participations in the selection of leaders and policies, at least through regular and fair election, so that no major (adult), social group is excluded; and three, a high level of civil and political liberation, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom to the farm or join organization so as to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation. 424 in a similar view ake (1991) perceive democracy in terms of principles of public accountability, widespread participation and the consent of the governed. form the above it is a system of government in which all qualified adult citizen share in the supreme power of government directly or through their elected representatives. it gives people the right to choose or reject their leaders and their programmes, like in india, britain, usa, france, etc. democratization is therefore the process of instituting democratic government in a area or country .i.e., to make a country or an institute more democratic (oxford dictionary). hence, democracy is a necessary ingredient in the local government system, mostly now the local areas are crying for more social and economic facilities. meanwhile, the local government strives to achieve unreserved access to measurable, efficient, and effective development and service delivery to the people, democracy on the other hand, ensure and assures feasibility and possibility of this service delivery and development. it offers a participatory for citizen in the choice selection through periodic elections of credible representative and confers inestimable avenue for psychological self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment. this is so, that the electorates who participate in the electoral process eventually leads to the enthronement of a government and the political leadership can, therefore, lay a claim to the government as theirs, rather than being an imposition. consequently, the mandate to government emanates from them, while at the same time, they act as legitimizes of the governmental system. the government is seen as legitimate and therefore, not illegal (ajayi, 1998). theoretical foundation there are different schools of thought that are relevant to this study. these are the democraticparticipatory school, systems theory, democratic-participatory school. the school advocates that local government exists essentially to bring about democracy to afford opportunities for political participation to the citizens, as well as educate and socialize then( politically representative and participatory democracy at the lower level, mills (1964) work on utilitarianism, liberty and representative government has greatly influenced this school of thought, mills asserts that local government is a prime element of democracy and demonstrates the intrinsic values of democracy irrespective of the service it produces in it, that local government offers’ the closets thing to widespread consultation and participation. studies 425 carried out by keith lucas revealed that a large number of british members of parliament who had served on local government demonstrated the importance of local government as a recruiting ground for the british parliament. an analysis of the 1964 general election by davis butler revealed that 53% of the labour members of parliament and 45% of the defeated labour parliament candidates had been none time local government councilor (noun, 2010). mackenzie (1954) supported this when he produced a data proving that more than half of the deputies and about the same proportion of senators in italy had had political education in the local government. a very important part of this democratic role is the opportunity it creates for political activity and social interaction. such a forum helps to inculcate the ideal of democracy like election or selection of local committees and boards, public debates, pressure and interest group to the activities (afegbua, 2011) system theory: this is a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of political events. it presumes the existence of other components which make it a whole, and which are also in constant interaction and interdependence. a system’s theory is a conceptual framework and methodology for understanding the operation of a system. the system theory is therefore defined as a series of statements about the relationship among independent variables in one variable as accompanied or followed by changes in other variables. in a functional democracy, the application of the system theory cannot be over emphasized because participatory democracy involves all unit of the local government. the structure of local government in nigeria the structure of local government in nigeria is two folds a. political and b. administrative council the political structure consists of all elected officials such as local government councilors and chairmen, the committee, and the supervisory councilors. it is principally composed of the legislature, the executive, committee, and the secretary to the local government. under the presidential system of government, the post of secretary to the local government became a 426 political appointment. the secretary was appointed by the chairman and never enjoyed the power of the former secretary under parliamentary system of government (ntiwunka, 2011). the legislative arm of the local government is referred to as the legislative council with a leader as the presiding officer. he is assisted by a deputy leader. a clerk is also appointed for the legislative council by the local government service commission. majority and minority leaders are appointed along with the chief whip. then the rest of the council who represent various wards in the local government constitutes the legislative council (adejobi, 2011). apart from making byelaws, they also supervise the revenue collection and expenditure of the local government (lasisu, 1997). the executive arm of the local government is made up of the chairman, vice-chairman, and the supervisors. the council is responsible for the day-to-day running of the running of the local government. it also decided on the implementation of policies and recommends byelaws and capital projects to the legislative council for approval. the chairman is elected through a universal suffrage in all the wards in the local government. at the head of the administrative council in nigeria local government is the secretary of the local government who is answerable to the chairman. under the secretary are departments that are headed by heads of departments. the number of departments in a local government depends on the law, setting up the local government. they are classified into; service and operational departments. the service departments deal with the personnel management and finance that support service delivery. the operational departments on the other hand deliver the services on the field with the help of a structure called field or extension workers (technical, professional, and administrative in nature) who is answerable to the head of department (noun, 2010). in nigeria the operational departments are: works, education, agriculture, and health departments. these are the units of the local system that makes its existence a meaningful one. without these departments the objectives of establishing the local government will not be achieved. they will not be able to give services to the local people. adejobi, (2011), observed that the points of interaction between the executive and legislative organs in the local government may include: 427 a. when the chairman has approvals to be made by the legislature such as the appointment of secretary, supervisors etc; b. during the presentation of annual budget; c. approval of major contract; a. approval for the appointment of junior staff. however, the local government services commission gives the final approval for such appointment to ensure the laid down rules and regulations of the local government service are followed; d. the chairman can also meet with the councilors whenever the need arises. sources of local government revenue in nigeria nwachukwu, (2011) stressed that local government in nigeria derive their revenues or finance from a number of sources. broadly speaking, the sources can be categorized into two: internal and external. the internal sources otherwise known as internally generated revenue (igr) source; are those sources from which the local governments generate their resources within their territories or boundary. these internal sources include taxes, rates, licenses, fees and fines, social charges, rent on local government’ properties, interests and dividend on investments, miscellaneous etc. these sources are largely exclusive preserves of the local governments in nigeria. however, with them, most if not all the local governments in nigeria generate less than 10% of their revenue from internally generated revenue. the external sources of local government revenues are those sources which revenues are accrued to local governments outside the local community in which they are situated. in nigeria, these sources’ include allocation from federation account, allocation from the state governments, stabilization and general ecology fund, income from value added tax, income from privatizations/global system mobile proceeds, grants from federal and state governments, donations, loans, foreign grants, aids and assistance, derivation fund etc. it is the bulkiness of these revenues that has given rise to the low interest of the local governments in efforts at internally generated revenues. constitutional functions of local government 428 in 1967 the government decided to carry out local reorganization to enhance decentralization as part of the transition to civil rule program. the program of decentralization adopted assigned local functions on the principle of subsidiary, seeking to vest responsibility for services closest to the point of consumption and to provide financial resources for meeting them. the three criteria applied in this process were to assign to local government those functions that: i. require detailed local knowledge for efficient performance; ii. in which success depends on community responsiveness and participation and iii. those which are of personal natures requiring provision close to where the individuals affected live, and in which significant use of discretion or understanding of individuals is needed (gboyega, 1983, 2003). government (federal republic of nigeria, 1976) applied these criteria to produce two lists of functions of local government. the first list was considered the primary mandatory functions that all local governments had to perform. it comprised the following items: 1. markets and motor parks; 2. sanitary inspections, refuse and night-soil disposal; 3. control of vermin; 4. slaughter house and slaughter slabs; 5. public conveniences; 6. burial grounds 7. registration of births, deaths and marriages; 8. provision of community and local recreation centers; 9. parks, gardens and public open places; 10. grazing grounds, fuel plantations; 11. licensing, supervision, and regulation of bake houses and laundries; 12. licensing, regulation and control of the sale of liquor; 13. licensing and regulation of bicycles, and carts and other types of vehicles 14. except those mechanically propelled and canoes; 15. control or keeping of animals; 16. control of hoarding, advertisements, use of louder speakers in or near public places, drumming; 17. naming of roads and streets and numbering of plots/ buildings; 18. control and collection of revenue from forestry outside the ‘forest estate’ of gazette forest reserve; 19. collection of vehicle parking charges; and 429 20. collection of property and other taxes, community tax, and other designated revenue sources. the second list was vested concurrently in state and local governments. however, each state government was to devolve them in its local government when it ascertained that they had capacity to perform them. this list comprised: 1. health centers, maternity centers, dispensaries and health clinics, 2. ambulance services, leprosy clinics and preventive health services; 3. abattoirs, meat inspection; 4. nursery and primary education and adult education; 5. information and public enlightenment; 6. provision of scholarships and bursaries; 7. provision of public libraries and reading rooms; 8. agricultural extension, animal health extension services, and veterinary clinics; 9. rural and semi-urban water supply 10. fire services; 11. provision of roads and streets (other than trunk roads), their lighting drainage; 12. control of water and atmospheric pollution; 13. control of beggars, of prostitution, and repatriation of destitute 14. provision of public utilities except where restricted by other legislation, 15. specifically including provision of road and inland water transport; 16. public housing programs; 17. operation of commercial undertakings, 18. regulation and control of building; 19. town and country planning; and 20. piped sewerage system. in practice, state government regarded the second list as a list of permissive functions, which they allowed local governments to perform under close supervision if they had the resources to perform them. the fact that key social services such as health and education were concurrent responsibilities to state and local government posed funding and organizational problems. state governments laid down policy and exercised administrative controls over quality and quantum of services to be delivered but left funding to local governments that lacked resources to adequately fund them. to ensure this was not a major constraint to the delivery of services by local governments, a key component of the 1976 reform was the introduction of fiscal transfers from the federation account to local governments. 430 this was the first time in nigeria’s history that such fiscal transfers would be authorized in the national budget. hitherto, only state governments made grants-in-aid to their local governments. even the grants were meager and irregular. consequently, many local governments had fallen into arrears in payment of staff salaries and accumulated huge debts to contractors. in the circumstances local governments could hardly be expected to provide any meaningful services to their citizens. the financial aspects of the 1976 reform sought to reverse this situation and to empower local governments financially so that they could assume a more positive role in the development of the country. the fiscal transfers were beneficial to local governments in a number of ways. first, it provided the local government councils with needed funds to provide services. previously, many local government councils existed only in name because they could not afford to provide services to their citizens. secondly, the grants were expected to enhance the autonomy of local government councils. as general grants not tied to particular programs, local government councils were free to decide what to use the funds transferred to them for. thirdly, being constitutionally mandated, they provided regular, assured revenues that could facilitate sound development planning in each locality. since the introduction of the statutory fiscal transfers, it has radically changed the structure of local government finance in nigeria. the 1979 constitution guaranteed fiscal transfers from the state’s revenues and from the federation account to local government. section 142 of that constitution provided that; the federal account would be distributed among the federal, state and local government councils. it also provided that each state should pay to its local governments such proportion of its total revenue as the national assembly prescribed. the allocation of revenue that is; federation account, act of 1981 passed by the national assembly in 1981 fixed the proportion of revenue to be transferred to local government councils from the federation account and from each state’s total revenue at 10% each. today their allocation has increased to 20%. description of enugu east lga. 431 enugu east local government area in a local government in enugu state of nigeria. it is located with the south east area on the map of enugu state. it covers an area of 383km2 and has a population of about 279,089 citizens according to the 2006 census. enugu-east local government area has two districts: 1. nike district nd (wikipedia, july 2015) 2. ogwogo district the communities put together are thirty three (33) in number. they are: 1. nike district: agbogazi, ako, akpoga, alulu, amorji, amokpo azama,_ edem effokwe, emene, lbeagwa, lji-amaowelle, mbulungodo, nchatancha, neke-odenigbo, neke-uno ugwuomu, nkwubo, nokpa obinagu, onuogba, oyeohu, (22) communities 2. ugwogo district: adaeze, amankpa, farm settlements, obinagu, ogbodogo, okpulu, ugwuunkwo, umunagbo, umunnameze, umunonu, utazi (11) (eleven communities) however, politically within the areas, that is the nike & ugwogo districts have twenty (20) wards as follows: abakpa i iii, amorji, edem, emene, dederal housing, lbagwa, mbuluiyiukwu i-iii, mbulujodo i-iii mbuluowehe i-h, obinagu iji, onuagu harmony, trans-ekulu, umuchigbo, umuenwene (udenta, samac 2012). methodology the study is a descriptive survey research with a focus on enugu east local government area. the study is qualitative in nature and because of time factors and other constants to this study some important features of democratic process are not examined. the sampling method was purposive both the primary and secondary data was collected by the researcher through desk research. few respondents of the population of the study area that is, headquarters of enugu east at nkwo-nike was interviewed. findings: 432 after the analysis of the desk review and the primary data collected the following finding were made: 1. that local government administration is badly affected by the present democratization process due to the fact that some elected politicians are not loyal to the people but to their political fathers. therefore, the interests of the people are not properly represented. this vice does not enhance proper development both economically and socially. 2. it was also observed that the rural dwellers do not take part in the major decisions/issues that affect them politically, hence political emancipation is undermined. 3. also that there is corruption on democratic process in local government and this has handicapped the career officers from discharging their constitutional functions. this equally affects service delivery in the local government because of poor electoral process. this also leads to poor performance lukewarm attitude on the part of worker. 4. the worst of all the observation is that there is poor participation of the rural dwellers and accountability which democracy depicts. according oladunjoye (2010), absence of democracy and good governance has given way to corruption. conclusion and recommendations conclusion this paper has dealt on local government and democratization process and based on the findings it `was observed that the democratization process is not carried out as the rule of law demands both constitutionally and morally, it affects economic and social development adversely. the experiences we have in today’s nigeria is showing it even though we claim to be democratic. recommendation the researcher therefore wishes to make the following suggestion for as a way forward. 1. the government should endeavour to imbibe real democratic process both at the federal, states and local governments, so that the genuine people would be elected into various political offices chairman and counselors. 433 2. the local governments should equip their official with better education and training a sound orientation about value system and democratic cultures. rural people should be properly orientated on their rights of participation in their own affairs. 3. accountability and transparency must be encourage to reduce self-aggrandizement or quest too much money to reduce corrupt practices and the struggle for political position, if officials are founding wanting in discharge of their duties they should face the wrath of law. 4. the continuous domineering and crippling influence of the state government in the affairs of siec and local government should be stopped. the local government and siec should be allowed to exercise their constitutional autonomy otherwise the democratization in the local government system will be meaningless. references abbas, b. & ahmad, b. m. (2012). challenges of democratization at the grassroots in nigeria: case study of taraba state. taraba state university. barkari, j., gboyega, a & mile, s. (2001). state local governance in nigeria world bank report (final draft) fatile, j. o. & okewale, r. a. (2014) corruption and democracy in nigerian local government. lagos state university. gboyega, a. (1983). local government reforms in nigeria, lagos maltouse press. gboyega, a. (2003). democratization and local governance in nigeria since 1999, ibadan. university press. nwachukwu, c. (2017). local government administraion in nigeria: evolution, reforms and practices. retrived on july 2nd, 2015, from http://www.imotrumpeta.com osakede, k. o. & ijimakinwa, s. o. (2014). corruption and democracy in the local government, retived on july 2nd, 2015, from www.arabianjbmr.com. udenta, j. o. e. (2007). local government: a comparative perspective, enugu. new generation books. ugwumba, j. a. (2017). local government administrative system in nigeria: reflections on the creation of enugu east local government area. retrieved on july, 2nd 2015, from https://rhbooks.com.ng/product/local-government-administrative-system-in-nigeriareflection-on-the-creation-of-eungu-east-local-government-area http://www.imotrumpeta.com/ http://www.arabianjbmr.com/ 434 page 1 volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 28 job variables as predictors of marital satisfaction and marital conflict among female bank employees ikekhide j. aigbiremhon ejike a. okonkwo ogbonna g. kalunta department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. corresponding e-mail: joetriplets@yahoo.com abstract the study investigated job variables (work challenge and organizational support) as predictors of marital satisfaction and conflict among female bank employees in enugu urban. ninety (90) female bank employees from thirteen (13) commercial banks in enugu metropolis with age range of 25 to 48 years (m = 37.97, sd = 2.79) were sampled using convenience sampling technique. 6-item work challenge scale developed by aigbiremhon (2013), 6-item organizational support scale, aigbiremhon, (2013), 8-item index of marital satisfaction scale, hudson (1982) and 12-item marital conflict subscale drawn from omuluabi (1994) 50-item marital stress inventory were administered for data collection. the results showed that work challenge and organizational support jointly and independently were not significant predictors of marital satisfaction and conflict. the findings were discussed in line with previous studies. keywords: job variables, work challenge, organizational support, marital satisfaction, marital conflict. introduction the face of the nigerian family and marriage in particular, has changed dramatically as more women of working age go into full–time employment and nigerian women have shown their presence in different professions with the greater percentage in human services professions, such as bank jobs (okonkwo, 2011). today, nigerian female bank employees are deeply engrossed in their jobs that are characterized by high level of interpersonal involvement, exposure to emotionally demanding situations and customers, longer working hours and the pressure to deliver and meet their expected deadlines (okonkwo, 2011). as a result of the increase of women in the workforce, there is considerable conflict generated in families as work experience spillover into marital lives. these challenges are likely to affect marital satisfaction resulting in marital conflict, hence this present study of job variables (work challenge and organizational support) predicting marital satisfaction and marital conflict in female bank employees in enugu state. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 29 marital satisfaction refers to a blooming mental emotion of mutual satisfaction and experienced enjoyment (ahuyi, 2004). it is the quality of relationship, in which both partners can enjoy life from the companionship characterized by lack of stress and unhappiness. marital satisfaction is, in fact, a positive attitude and emotion for wife and husband. it is a complex process that has over time been thought to be influenced by many factors, including education, socio-economic status, love, length of marriage, the presence of children, sexual relations, etc (hendrick & hendrick, 1992). although, women’s role as an employee and breadwinner is a positive change on the gender equity and participation but simultaneously it has implications for family life, especially in a society like nigeria. for example, women, who are employed, have to face the problems of dual role and this has influence on marital and work life. despite women’s employment status, research has it that women tend to have 79% of the childcare responsibilities in families (peterson & gerson, 1992) and professionals like women bank workers are much prone to have marital dissatisfaction and conflict, as they are engaged in a stressful job which has complications in regard with long hours of duty and high workloads. marital conflict can be defined as the state of tension or stress between marital partners as the couple try to carry out their marital roles (tolorunleke, 2008). one of the causes of marital conflict for working women is related to work. therefore, work-family role conflict has been defined as a form of inter-role conflict in which role pressures from the work and family domains are mutually incompatible in some respect (flippo, 2005). the conflict occurs when the employees extend their efforts to satisfy their work demands at the expense of their family demands or vice versa (cole, 2004). research has revealed that high work involvement is associated with higher levels of work–marital conflict (wiley, 1987) and can affect almost all aspects of people’s lives such as people’s families, their workplaces and even their own mental and physical health (robbins, 2004). the factors which result in inducing job–marital conflicts may be connected to factors such as job factors, working conditions, resources, work demands, longer hours worked, the role of spouse, dependents and children as well as work-pace or intensity. therefore, for working bank mothers, the time spent on work activities was found to be strongly associated with work interference with family (wiley, 1987). job variables in this study refer to work challenge and organizational support. work challenge refers to workplace constraint that causes pressures due to excessive workloads, ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 30 inflexible work schedules and time (greenhaus & beutell, 1985). it includes structural characteristics, such as work hours or location, which are expected to affect the practical aspects of combining work and marital responsibilities (time–based conflict) especially for the nigerian female bank employees that are involved in high task demand or pressures arising from excessive workloads and typical workplace time pressures such as rush job and deadlines (yang, chen, choi & zou, 2000). when wives work more hours per week, it affects marital quality by decreasing a couple’s time together, increasing feelings of role conflict and overload amongst working mothers (voydanoff, 1988, 1989). pressures to spend long hours at work may conflict with demands or expectations from family members to spend time at home. these may produce feelings of frustration and tension on the employed mothers that could produce marital conflict at home posed by work challenges and lack of organizational and social support. organizational support refers to the organization taking employee happiness into account and targeting a hike in happiness (eisenberger, huntington, hutchison, & sowa, 1986). it includes psychosocial characteristics, such as supervisor support, friendly organizational culture, flexibility scheduling of working hours, leave policies, a low risk of laid off or job security, or the degree to which the job is enriching to one’s life. supportive organizational culture is critical to reducing any work–marital conflict and thereby increases both job and marital satisfaction (allen, 2001; byron, 2005; clark, 2001). since, organizational supervisors embody and reflect the organizational culture (powell & mainiero, 1997), supervisor support act as a catalyst in helping employee who have to balance multiple roles both at work and at home, thereby promoting work–marital equilibrium (regan, 1994). examples of supervisor’s supportive behaviours may include allowing these bank employee mothers to bring their child to work place, allowing them to take someone’s phone calls from home, a willingness to adjust employee’s schedules to meet changes in the school demands, and permitting them to take time off early to send their elders to care (erdwins, buffardi, casper, & o’brien, 2001). the lack of these organizational supportive cultures may cause conflict at home for the employee mother. a supportive organization establishes a link with its employees (malatesta & tetrick, 1996) and increasing organizational support brings out effective work behaviors (eisenberger, cummings, armeli, & lynch, 1997). perceived organizational support allows the employees of the organization to feel safe, and lean their backs against the institution. overtime, employees develop beliefs regarding whether the organization support them or not (eisenberger, fasolo, & ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 31 davis-lamastro, 1990). thus, the positive organizational support and work-related interventions may have a positive impact on their job (cameron, david, & arran, 2004), and consequently, enable them to develop their self–efficiency, maintain impact at workplace and be confident (self–determined) while performing organizational task. if women’s perception about their organization’s support is positive, it would reduce work–marital conflict. theoretical overview and hypotheses development theories of work–marital balance are organizational support and perceived organizational support theory, psychological contract theory, role theory as well as spillover theory. the theoretical assumptions of organizational support theory (ost) provides strong basis for understanding the general factors that results in inducing marital satisfaction or marital conflicts such as job factors, working conditions, resources, work demands, longer hours worked, the role of spouse, dependents and children as well as work-pace or intensity. data relative to organizational support theory and perceived organizational support as well as psychological contract theory provides increase understanding of job variables and marital outcomes and a more complete understanding of the establishment and maintenance of employee–employer relationships than the four theories themselves. the positive role of organizational social support on work–marital conflict contributes to how the employee copes with stress and reducing the overlap between roles at the two domains may be more conducive to positive work-marital satisfaction. despite the passion with which these women employees go into their work that is so absorbing, many challenges have arisen in addressing the balance between work and marital responsibilities since the traditional accepted roles of women and men have been brought into question. the role theory therefore provides an insight into how resources at work can psychologically influence the woman to exhibit negative emotions at home in the light of a few concerns that have been raised as to their capacity to manage their primary responsibilities of homecare and childcare. dunahoo, geller and hobfall (1996) noted that in addition to the role of spouse and parent, it is the women who usually take on additional marital-related roles and responsibilities focusing on children and the intersection of work and parenting issues. each of these roles imposes demands on their incumbents, requiring time, energy and commitment. for many nigerian female bank workers, the issue of time management, long irregular working ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 32 hours, lack of working time flexibility, unequal distribution of work, meeting of set target and deadlines, lack of childcare facilities or simply finding time to meet the demands of marriage while fulfilling job responsibilities have been raised. it is argued that one’s time and energy is exhausted by multiple role involvement hence the spillover theory postulates that people who are enthusiastic and committed in one role will carry over the same enthusiasm to the other role. work challenge and martial satisfaction barneth, del campo, del campo, and steiner, (2003) found a positive relationship between work-family balance and marital quality. but in a study by voydanoff (1988, 1989) and mauno and kinnunen (1999), they found a negative relationship. similarly, mauno and kinnunen (1999) in a finish study of 215 dual earning couples in which they explored the impact of a wide range of work stressors on marital satisfaction also found a negative impact on marital satisfaction. following these controversies, it was hypothesized: hypothesis 1: work challenge and organizational support will jointly and independently predict marital satisfaction. organizational support and marital conflict rhoades and eisenberger (2002) metal–analysis of some 70 percent organizational support studies carried out through 1999 (over 300 studies) found that three general categories of favourable treatment received by employees (fairness of treatment, supervisors support, and rewards and job conditions) are positively related to perceived organization support. erdwins et al., (2001) found that the relationship of organizational support to work-family conflict was mediated by job self-efficacy. however, roehling and bultman (2002) found a negative relationship. following these, it was hypothesized: hypothesis 2: work challenge and organizational support will jointly and independently predict marital conflict. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 33 method a convenience sampling survey of 90 female bank employees between the ages of 25-48 years (m =37.97, sd =2.79) served as participants from 13 commercial banks within enugu metropolis. design/statistics correlational design and multiple regression analysis as a statistical test was applied to the two hypotheses respectively to predict variables. participants and procedure a convenience sampling survey of 90 female bank employees between the ages of 25 to 48 years (m =37.97; sd = 2.79) served as participants. the researchers using convenience sampling technique drew the participants from the population of 13 commercial banks within enugu, nigeria (united bank for africa, first bank, first city monument bank, zenith bank, union bank, unity bank, mainstreet bank, enterprise bank, access bank, fidelity bank, keystone bank, diamond bank, and eco bank) after obtaining a letter of permission from the operation managers of the various banks. furthermore, the researchers identified with the branch manager of each bank branches and were assigned with a staff/research assistant with the responsibility of guiding us. a total of 100 copies of the questionnaire were administered within 2 weeks to the available and convenient female bank employees and instructions given to them. they were allowed to go home with the copies and returned in a later date. the researchers were asked to come back in one week for the female staff to complete it at their convenient time. of the 100 copies administered, 10 copies were discarded due to errors in completion; hence 90 (90%) copies that were properly completed and returned were scored and analyzed in testing the hypotheses. measures five instruments were used in this study. they include demographic information, 6-item work challenge scale, 6-item organizational support scale, hudson (1982) 8-item index of marital satisfaction scale and 12-item marital conflict subscale drawn from omuluabi (1994) 50-item ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 34 marital stress inventory. during data collection, the instruments were categorized into five (5) sections (a, b, c, d & e) for easy administration and scoring. work challenge scale work challenge was measured using a 6-item work challenge scale developed by aigbiremhon, (2013) from a 12-item questionnaire originally developed, after face value, test-retest, content validity and reliability tests conducted by a combined team of psychologist from the department of psychology, enugu state university of science and technology (esut). sample item for work challenge reads “i have too many responsibilities at the office”. “i fail in my office duties because of the challenging nature of my job”. “i have no time for other things because my job is quite challenging”. the six items work challenge scale had a direct scoring for all the items and ratings were made using 5-point scale, ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). however, in this work, the item–total correlations from item analysis of their responses ranged from 0.47 to 0.69, though 2 items were dropped because they have low item total correlation. therefore, the remaining 6 items were used and cronbach alpha of 0.76 was reported for the 6 items. cronbach alpha of 0.76 was accepted as good index of the 6 item work challenge scale’s internal consistency since mitchell and jelley (2004) noted that an index of 0.70 is needed to say that a measure is internally consistent. in addition, mean (n=30) score of 29.37 was observed. organizational support scale organizational support was measured using a 6-item work challenge scale developed aigbiremhon, (2013) from a 15-item questionnaire originally developed, after face value, testretest, content validity and reliability tests conducted by a combined team of psychologist. sample item for organizational support reads “my organization gives me enough support” “the management cares about the welfare of the workers”. “this organization cares about the feelings of the workers”. however, this equally produced 6-item scale that was rated relevant by the subject experts. the six (6) items organizational support scale had a direct scoring for all the items and ratings were in likert response format ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree and had a direct scoring for all the items. the item analysis of their responses indicated item total after 2 items were dropped. again, mean (n=30) of 29.27 was observed. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 35 marital satisfaction scale marital satisfaction was measured using hudson (1982) 8-item index of marital satisfaction scale designed to measure how happy and fulfilled spouses are in their marriage in general. sample item reads “i feel that our relationship is a good one”. “i feel that we manage arguments and disagreements very well”. there are both direct scoring and reverse scoring items. ratings were made using 5-point scale, ranging from 1(most of the time) to 5 (rarely). hudson (1982) reported cronbach alpha of 0.96, while anene (1994) using nigeria sample reported concurrent validity coefficient of 0.48. marital conflict marital conflict were measured using a 12-item marital conflict subscale drawn from omuluabi (1994) 50-item marital stress inventory to measure the state of lack of harmony that exist between couples in their marriage and produces tension for a partner or both couples. sample item reads “insufficient attention from spouse and not spending enough time with your spouse”. “spouse not caring for the children”. “boring relationship with spouse, and unsatisfactory sexual relationship with spouse”. the 12-item marital conflict subscale had a direct scoring for all the items and ratings were in likert format response ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree and had a direct scoring for all the items and reported cronbach alpha of 0. 92 results table 1: mean, standard deviation and zero order correlations among study variables m sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. bank of employment 2. years spent 9.07 3.63 .275** 3. age 37.97 4.75 .114 .616** 4. highest education .084 .330** .399** 5. organizational challenge 29.01 5.08 -.140 -.068 -.087 .011 6. organizational support 28.71 5.00 .153 .076 .085 .053 -.066 7. marital satisfaction 19.47 7.39 .158 .029 -.209 -.007 -.177 -.245* 8. marital conflict 30.32 10.74 .004 -.141 -.283** -.052 .011 -.148 .584** **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 36 the result of the correlation shown in table 1 above shows that only organizational support showed significant negative correlation with marital satisfaction (r= -.245, p< .05). other variables did not show significant correlation with marital satisfaction. bank of employment (r= .029, p> .05) and years spent in the bank (r= .029, p> .05) showed positive but insignificant correlation with marital satisfaction; while, age of participants (r= -.209, p> .05), highest educational qualification (r= -.007, p> .05) and organizational challenge (r= -.177, p> .05) showed negative but insignificant correlation with marital satisfaction. the result of the correlation analysis also shows that among the control and predicting variables, only age of participant showed significant negative correlation with marital conflict (r= -.283, p< .01). other variables did not show significant correlation with marital conflict. bank of employment (r= .004, p> .05) and organizational challenge (r= .011, p> .05) showed positive but insignificant correlation with marital conflict; while, years spent in the bank (r= .141, p> .05), highest educational qualification (r= -.052, p> .05) and organizational support (r= .148, p> .05) showed negative but insignificant correlation with marital conflict. table 2: table 2: summary of hierarchical multiple regression analysis for variables predicting marital satisfaction (n=90) step 1 step 2 β t β t bank of employment .131 1.173 .153 1.418 years spent .188 1.355 .181 1.365 age -.332* -2.274* -.354* -2.511* highest education .059 .515 .073 .672 organizational challenge -.193 -1.885 organizational support -.265* -2.621* r .304 .437** r2 .092 .191 r2δ .092 .098** f change 1.711 4.988** note: **. significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed); *. significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 37 results of the hierarchical multiple regression for the test of marital satisfaction is shown in table 2. the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variables (bank of employment, years in the bank, age, and highest educational level) were entered in the step 1 of the regression analysis and their joint contribution in explaining the variance in marital satisfaction was 9.2% (∆r2= .092). only age of participants was a significant negative predictor of marital satisfaction (β= -.332, t = -2.274, p<.05). others did not make statistical contribution in predicting marital satisfaction; bank of employment (β= .131, t = 1.173, p>.05), years spent in the bank (β= .188, t = 1.355, p>.05) and highest education (β= .059, t = .515, p>.05). in step 2, job variables (organizational challenge and organizational support) were entered and they jointly contributed 9.8% statistically significant variance in predicting marital satisfaction (∆r2 = .098, p<.01). however, only organizational support (β= -.265, t = -2.621, p<.05) was a significant negative predictor of marital satisfaction. organizational challenge was not significant predictor of marital satisfaction (β = -.193, t = -1.885, p>.05). table 3: table 2: summary of hierarchical multiple regression analysis for variables predicting marital conflict (n=90) step 1 step 2 β t β t bank of employment .030 .267 .049 .428 years spent .019 .136 .016 .117 age -.305* -2.064* -.301* -2.017* highest education .058 .504 .061 .530 organizational challenge -.019 -.180 organizational support -.134 -1.253 r .268 .299 r2 072 .090 r2δ 072 .018 f change 1.304 .793 note: *. significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). results of the hierarchical multiple regression for the test of marital conflict is shown in table 3. the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variables (bank of employment, years in the bank, age, and highest educational level) were entered in the step 1 of the regression analysis and ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 38 their joint contribution in explaining the variance in marital conflict was 7.2% (∆r2= .072). only age of participants was a significant negative predictor of marital conflict (β= -.305, t = -2.064, p<.05). others did not make statistical contribution in predicting marital conflict; bank of employment (β= .030, t = .267, p>.05), years spent in the bank (β= .019, t = .136, p>.05) and highest education (β= .058, t = .504, p>.05). in step 2, job variables (organizational challenge and organizational support) were entered and they jointly contributed 1.8% statistically insignificant variance in predicting marital satisfaction (∆r2 = .018, p>.05). neither organizational challenge (β= -.019, t = -1.180, p>.05) nor organizational support (β = -.134, t = -1.253, p>.05) was made significant contribution as predictors of marital conflict. summary of findings  organizational support was a significant negative predictor of marital satisfaction.  organizational challenge was not significant predictor of marital satisfaction.  organizational challenge and organizational support were not significant predictors of marital conflict. discussion in relation to the first hypothesis, work challenge and organizational support did not jointly and independently predict marital satisfaction among female bank employees. this indicates that increase in marital satisfaction was not associated to workplace constraints and organizational support experienced by these female bank working mothers in enugu state. this is contrary to previous studies (e.g. duxbury & higgins, 2005; regan, 1994; voydanoff, 1988, 1989; allen, 2001; byron, 2005; clark, 2001) which found both positive and negative relationships between job variables (work challenge and organizational support) and marital satisfaction. on the second hypothesis tested which stated that work challenge and organizational support will neither jointly nor independently predict marital conflict among female bank employee was confirmed as revealed by the results of the study. this indicated that there was no association between the joint practice of work challenge and organizational support as factors and marital ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 39 conflict of female bank employees in enugu metropolis. the result of this research does not agree with previous findings by carlson and frone, (2003) who reported that work–marital conflict is caused by internal interference (preoccupation with work) and external interference (work deadline or longer hours of work) between the home and work domain. the above findings did not also agree with previous studies, like, major, klein, and ehrhart, (2002) which found that long hours were predictive of work–family conflict; that work hours or location affects the practical aspects of combining work and family (time-based conflict) (greenhaus & beutell, 1985); that positive relationship between work and marital quality (kinnunen, geurts & mauno, 2004). similarly, (dixon & sagas, 2006) found evidence that individuals reported less conflict and stress and developed better coping strategies when their supervisors and workplace’s cultures were supportive. again, in clark, (2001) study, the results showed organizational polices and structures assist employees in balancing work and marital needs. the above outcomes were not surprising, since the culture where the research was carried out is very different from the western culture. african, especially nigerian culture promotes traditionally accepted roles for women who were the participants for this study. this is a culture that affords the man (husband) the power to dictate the marital outcome and how the family income is utilized. besides, the findings of this study not in agreement with previous studies may also be attributed to the high rate of unemployment that abound in the country and banking job is being perceived as a highly paid one. therefore, these women bankers may want to protect the institutions by not being sincere in divulging the problems encountered with outsiders. their responses could also be influenced by our collectivist oriental culture (sargut, 2001) that encourages cooperation and support for one another. nigerian female bank employees are likely to enjoy social network borne out of conformity and cooperation with co-workers even in the banks. implications of the study the findings of this study demonstrate the theoretical and practical roles of organizational support theory (levinson, 1965), psychological contract theory (schein, 1980), role theory (googins, 1991), and spillover theory (fredriksen-goldsen & scharlach, 2001), in enhancing ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 40 marital satisfaction or marital conflict among bank staff especially female bank workers. to this end, if organizations (banks) can effect changes in the jobs of the female women employees to alleviate the stressful effects of balancing work and family, including flexibility on when and where work could be completed, increased supervisors support and discretion over certain workrelated decisions, then it will likely lessen or prevent work and marital conflict and strengthen marital satisfaction. similarly, government, non-governmental organizations (ngos), counselors and other mental health professionals/practitioners and researchers involved in marital role quality and in the work-family environment could best be severed by the findings of this research. limitations of the study personal attributes (e.g. resilience, self-efficacy as personality characteristics) of the female bankers who served as participants in this study would have given a better picture of the study if they were included as part of the independent variables. the social stigmatization associated with the discussion of marital outcomes in the open due to traditional gender role limitations may have affected participant’s responses to some question that bothers on sex enjoyment with spouse and frequency. therefore, application of the findings of this study should be done with caution. the use of self-report and its bias nature; using female bank workers from one state and restricted to enugu urban could make generalization of result to be made with caution and may not necessarily be applicable to other states. conclusion the job variables of this study (work challenge and organizational support) did not predict the marital satisfaction and conflict of female bank employees in enugu metropolis. this no significant prediction or rather relationship among the variables implies that there are other factors such as gender role beliefs, parental status, job satisfaction and turnover, family type, among others may play a significant role in predicting martial satisfaction and conflict among female bank employees. ejss, volume 4, issue 1, 2019 41 references ahuyi, s. 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(2000). sources of work family conflict: a sino – u.s. comparison of the effects of work and family demands. the academy of management journal, 43, 113-123. page 1 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 29 energy sector performance and real sector activity in nigeria: an empirical re-examination agu, sunday virtus1*, azike lawrence chike1 kalu, u. chris1,2 1department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. 2department of economics, nnamdi azkiwe university, awka *corresponding author: sunday.agu@esut.edu.ng abstract in spite of the remarkable achievements in the nigerian economy, the supply of electricity has remained the poor same and this has led to a shift in other alternative sources of power which require burning of fossil fuels and has consequently increased toxic emission. this paper examined the relationship between energy sector performance and real sector activity in nigeria between 1986 to 2021 using the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag and granger causality approaches. the model included variables are manufacturing value added (the dependent variable) and electricity consumption, the real gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, population growth and private sector credit as explanatory variables. the finding showed that electricity consumption (performance) has a positive but insignificant impact on manufacturing value added (productivity), while both foreign direct investment and real gross domestic product have positive and significant impacts on manufacturing value added. furthermore, the granger causality result showed bidirectional causality between electricity consumption and manufacturing value added and unidirectional causality between manufacturing value added and private sector credit. this paper recommended among others the need for monetary and fiscal policy interactions promote real sectormanufacturing productivity, thus, the central bank of nigeria and bank of industry can provide credit incentives at lower cost for industrialist and manufacturers. keywords: energy sector performance, electricity consumption, manufacturing productivity, manufacturing value added, econometric applications, nigeria jel codes: f14, q54, l6, l16 introduction the real sector measured by manufacturing sub-sector has played an important role in national development especially that of developing economies (naude, szirimai & haraguchi, 2016). the stories of emerging economies-korea, singapore and malaysia have continued to show a positive connection between national economic growth and the growth of manufacturing sector (banjoko, iwuji& bagshaw, 2012). meanwhile, the sub-sector has not developed to its full capacity in utilization. this has resulted to a lot of challenges including capital flight, poverty, mailto:sunday.agu@esut.edu.ng 30 and unemployment among others. in this paper, manufacturing value added was used to measure manufacturing productivity. in spite of the remarkable achievements in the nigerian economy, the supply of electricity has remained the poor same. this has led to a shift in other alternative source of power which require burning of fossil fuels and has consequently increased toxic emission (shuaibu & oyinlola, 2014). globally, carbon dioxide (co2) emissions account for more than 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions with about 80 percent of it generated by energy sector (akpan & akpan, 2012) . this causes a lot concern given the enormous detrimental effects of pollutants emission on the environment. the energy consumption index of nigeria over the years has being dipping even in the face of reforms. considerable efforts have been made by several studies to examine the relationship between manufacturing sector performance and electricity consumption for example (binh, 2011; omotor, 2008; omisakin, 2008; odulara & okonkwo, 2009; dantama et al., 2012; olusanya, 2012; shauibu & onyiliola, 2014). most of these studies focused on economic growth, neglecting the persistence of energy depletion on the manufacturing sector. other studies include (ezeh & nnadi(2016); aseleye et al.,(2021); effiong & inyang(2020); ugwoke et al.,(2016); quadiri & bukola, 2022; ismail & hassan, 2016; kassim & isik, 2020; ene et al; 2022, ume et al., 2019) . with the exception of quadiri and bukola (2022), these other studies never considered estimating the link in terms of causality between the energy sector and the manufacturing sector. this becomes imperative for energy and manufacturing policy issues. therefore, the objective of this paper is to examine and estimate the relationship between both sectors in nigeria as well as the long-run and short-run relationship between electricity consumption and manufacturing value added in nigeria from 1986 to 2021. the rest of this paper is adumbrated as follows: preceding this section is section two, which presents the literature review; section three is the methodology, model specification and data sources. section four presents the results and discussion, while section five presents the conclusion and policy implications. empirical literature review this section presents the extant empirical studies on the related studies. for example, abiola and chisaa (2021) investigated the long-run impact of electricity consumption on manufacturing sector performance proxy by manufacturing value added to gdp using canonical co-integration regression for the period of 1981-2019. the result shows that electricity consumption and credit to manufacturing sector have a negative relationship with output. in the employment equation, consumption in electricity and interest rate has negative effects on employment. in conclusion, effects of electricity consumption as input on the manufacturing sector have not improved the performance in the sector. to improve the situation, the study recommended, among others, the need to create a framework to promote energy efficiency by maximizing output from the power sector to minimize wastage. ubong and nora (2020) investigated the relationship between electricity consumption and manufacturing sector performance in nigeria over the period 1981 to 2018. electricity 31 consumption per capita was used to represent electricity consumption, while manufacturing sector performance was captured by manufacturing value added. the paper utilized the augmented dickey-fuller unit toot technique, granger causality test, and the vector autoregressive (var) approach. the granger causality test indicated that a unidirectional causality flows between electricity consumption per capita and manufacturing value added. meanwhile, the var result indicated that both electricity consumption and manufacturing value added were strongly endogenous. that is, they significantly predict themselves. however, electricity consumptions weakly exogenous in predicting manufacturing value added rather, manufacturing value added is strongly exogenous in predicting electricity consumption in nigeria. this therefore points to the prevalence of the growth driven electricity consumption thesis in nigeria. this thesis is in support of the conservation of electricity. the variance decomposition and impulse response indicated that variations in manufacturing value added responded more to shocks in itself than from shocks from electricity consumption. allcott (2019) conducted a study estimating the effect of electricity shortages on indian manufacturing sector using cobb-douglas production function model, the variables used are electricity in kilo watt and manufacturing output in percentage of gdp. annual time series data from 1992 to 2018 on weather, power sector and manufacturing production were used. the results obtained revealed that power shortages slowed down production in the manufacturing sector. this resulted in revenue reduction of 5.6 to 8.6 percent for the average plant in a short run. the results have also shown that producer’s surplus dropped 9.5 percent for the average plant, of which 3.9 percent was due to capital costs incurred for backup generators. it was also discovered that in the short run plants reduced their inputs in response to electricity shortages and that led to a decrease in total production. ezeh and nnadi (2018) examined electricity supply and the output of the nigerian manufacturing sector. the major objective is to critically determine the impact of electricity supply on the manufacturing output in nigeria. numerous literatures only revealed the relationship between economic growth and electricity supply, with little empirical attention on the effect of electricity on the various sectors of the economy. this could lead to fallacy of decomposition because economic growth is a function of the performance of different sectors which certainly differ in their need for electricity. in response to this perceived gap, this study explores the relationship between electricity supply and manufacturing sector’s output in nigeria. time series data spanning the period between 1981 and 2017 were analyzed using johansen cointegration and vector autoregression tests. the results revealed that there exists a long run relationship between electricity and manufacturing output in nigeria. it also identified that electricity supply has an insignificant relationship with the manufacturing sector in nigeria. ganiyu and odewale (2018) analyzed the performance of nigerian power sector so as to suggest possible means of ensuring improvements of the sector. specification and estimation techniques were used for a period of eleven years. secondary data were sourced from central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistical bulletin of 2018 and nigerian electricity regulatory commission (nerc). the performance of the power generated was evaluated using the overall efficiency and thermal efficiency. the results showed that the average value of the overall efficiency for the ten years period of study was 15.68% while the thermal efficiency had the average value of 15.37%. the result confirmed that deregulation of power sector has no effect on the efficiency of nigerian power sector when the results were compared with the international best practice 32 standards which are 30% and above for overall efficiency and 45% and above for thermal efficiency. the study therefore suggested possible strategies for efficient power sector improvement. ibrahim (2017) examined the relationship between electricity consumption, manufacturing output and financial development in nigeria. time series data for 1981 until 2005 was used to examine the symmetric relationship between the electric consumption, manufacturing output and financial development in nigeria. the result indicates the co-movement in the variable over long time horizon, meaning that any inefficiency in electricity supply would impedes industrial output. moreover, the granger causality test based on vector error correction framework shows the presence of causality between power utilization of manufacturing firms and economic growth without feedback. in this sense it can be stress that stable electricity consumption is important factor for nigeria’s manufacturing sector. the result of variance decomposition further indicates that the variation in the industrial output responds more to shocks in the electricity supply than its own shock. adebusuyi and obamuyi (2016) examined how electricity demand impacts the performance of the nigerian manufacturing sector. the study was conducted over 1970 to 2014 period, and the autoregressive distributive lag (ardl) bounds test for co integration along with the ols approach were utilized in the study. the bound test for co integration presented an evidence of a long run relationship existing between electricity demand and manufacturing sector performance; while the ols result of the translog function indicated that electricity is a weak substitute for both capital and labour. hussain and lean (2015) investigated the relationship between electricity consumption, output, and price in the manufacturing sector in malaysia using regression analysis. the result revealed that electricity consumption, output, and price are co integrated in the long run. in addition, it has been found that the relationship between electricity consumption and output is positive. in the long run, they find a unidirectional causality from manufacturing output to electricity consumption. this result indicates that the development of manufacturing sector stimulates greater demand for electricity. government needs to make sure that the planning of electric supply in the future is in line with the economic development planning to avoid shortage in electricity supply. in the short run, a unidirectional relationship runs from electricity consumption to output is found. a decrease of energy usage in production might reduce the output growth in short run. aslant (2014) carried out a study in turkey from 1971 to 2007 using autoregressive distributed lag bound test and granger causality test. the findings show that there is long-run correlation connecting electricity use and economic growth. accordingly, the granger causality test supported the neutrality hypothesis in the short run. however, there is bidirectional granger causality between electricity use and economic growth in the long-run supporting the feedback hypothesis in turkey. okoh and ebi (2013) using the linear regression technique, invested the impact of the nexus between the investment in infrastructure and institutional quality-captured using corruption and the enforcement of contracts, and economic growth in nigeria. the study found that corruption had a negative and significant growth effect, while investment in infrastructure had a positive 33 and significant growth impact. on the other hand, the institutional quality – infrastructural investment nexus had an insignificant growth impact. onakoya (2013) found that the consumption of gas has a positive but insignificant impact on economic growth in nigeria, while the consumption of electricity, petroleum and aggregate energy consumption have a positive and significant effect on economic growth. the consumption of coal was found to have a negative and significant growth impact. the results of similar study by olusanya (2012) which covered the period 1985 – 2010 indicated that the consumption of petroleum and electricity have positive growth effects. on the other hand, the consumption of coal and gas were found to have negative growth effects. akpan and akpan (2012) utilized a multivariate vector error correction model (vecm) in their investigation of the relation between electricity consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth in nigeria between 1970 and 2008. the study found no causality between economic growth and electricity utilization in nigeria. abu (2012) investigated the link between power supply and business industrial development by examining the influence of government policies on power supply and industrial development in nigeria. the johansen co-integration technique was adopted to determine the long run relationship among some macroeconomic variables that includes the industrial component of real gross domestic product (rgdp), explicitly chosen using explanatory variables. the independent variables includes electricity consumption, electricity production (kwh), growth rate of labour force, real gross fixed capital formation and telephone lines per hundred population and their impact on industrial component of real gdp. annual time series data on these variables from 1981 to 2010 were collected from the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin, the world bank and united nations statistics. augumented dickey fuller (adf) and phillips-perron (pp) tests are employed to test the order of integration of the variables. the study also performed a vector error correction model – vecm to correct possible disequilibrium caused in the shortrun relationships. the study concluded that electricity condition which is a result of existing government policies exerts a negative impact on industrial output in the long run affects the business viability. theoretical framework, model specification and data sources theoretical framework/model specification the theoretical framework of this study is the kaldor growth model. kaldor’s growth theory suggests a vital significance to the manufacturing industry for economic growth. the kaldor’s theory is of the assumption that a close association exists between increasing manufacturing output and increasing gross domestic product made possible by the application/usage of the electricity consumption per kilowatt, as such based on the above literature and following the framework of the adopted growth models, the relationship we want to estimate can be written as: mva = α0 + β1lndcre + β2dinvest + β3lnelcon + β4lnfdi + β5lnpgr + β6lnoilprice + β7rgdp + μt 3.1 where mva is manufacturing value added as percentage of gross domestic product (gdp), dcre is domestic credit, dinvest is domestic investment, elcon is electricity consumption per kilowatt; fdi is foreign direct investment, pgr is population growth, proxy for labour force; oilprice is oil price; and rgdp is real gross domestic product; α0 is the intercept, which is a 34 constant term. ln is the natural logarithm of the variables that are not in rates or percentages, for proportional effects. these variables are described and justified according to theoretical and empirical reasoning. following pesaran et al (2001), the error correction model (ecm) of the unrestricted autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) equation based on the model specified in (3.2) is specified as follows: ∆ mvat = α0 + α1mvat – 1 + α2dcret – 1 + α3 dinvest t – 1 + α4elcont – 1 + α5fdit – 1 + α6pgrt – 1 + α7oilpricet – 1 + α8rgdpt – 1 + 1 mvat – i + i∆ dcret-i+ i ∆dinvestt-i+ i ∆elcont-i+ i∆fdit-i + i∆pgrt-i+ + i∆oilpricet-i + i∆rgdpt-i + i∆mvat-i + ut 3.2 where: ut is the white noise error term. to establish the short-run relationship among the variables, the following ardl-ecmerror correction model was estimated. ∆mvat = α0 + 1 ∆mvat – i + i ∆ dcret-i+ i ∆dinvestt-i+ i ∆elcont-i+ i ∆fdit-i+ ∆pgrt-i+ i∆oilpricet-i + i∆rgdp + i ∆ ecmt-i+ ut 3.3 procedurally, the descriptive statistic properties of the variables were examined. the unit root, co-integration and diagnostic test were also examined. table 3.1 presented the data set sources table 3.1: summary of relevant data variables description/measurement source (s) mva manufacturing value added – proxy for industrial productivity central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin (cbn, 2020) dcre domestic credit cbn (2020), nbs (2021) dinvest domestic investment cbn (2020), nbs (2021) elcons electricity consumption measured in kilo watt cbn (2020), nbs (2021) pgr population growth proxy for labour force. nbs (2020) oilprice oilprice cbn (2020) fdi foreign direct investment, proxy for investment cbn (2020) rgdp real gross domestic product cbn (2020) where: nbs = national bureau of statistics (2020); wdi = world bank development indicator (2021). source: authors’ compilation (2022) result presentation and analysis descriptive statistics this study commences its empirical analysis by examining the characteristics of the variables of estimate. the results are presented in table 4.1 35 table 4.1: summary of descriptive statistics variables mva dcre dinvest elcon fdi pgr rgdp mean 13.52 9.73 30.68 106.16 1.66 1.41 40.361 std. dev. 4.83 3.56 12.89 25.19 1.25 38.670 19.660 skewness 0.19 0.99 0.31 0.55 1.66 0.33 0.41 kurtosis 1.49 3.64 1.86 1.97 5.73 1.88 1.59 jarque-bera 3.61 6.31 2.53 2.74 27.11 2.52 4.03 prob 0.16 0.04 0.28 0.25 0.00 0.28 0.3 observation 36 35 36 29 35 36 36 note: mva = manufacturing value added; dcre = domestic credit; dinvest = domestic credit; elcon = electricity consumption; fdi = foreign direct investment; pgr = population growth; rgdp = real gross domestic product. source: authors’ computation using eview-10 software version from the estimates reported in table 4.1, it was shown that the mean value for manufacturing value added was 13.52; that of domestic credit were 9.73; that of domestic investment was 30.68 while that of electricity consumption was 106. the foreign direct investment was 1.66; 1.41 for population growth. the mean value of the real gross domestic product was stood at 40.361. the kurtosis coefficient of the variables ranges from 1.49 to 5.73 which reflect a leptokurtic distribution for only fdi. this implies that the data was characterized by the presence of outlier. the probability values for jaque-bera suggested that the included variables were normally distributed except for dcre and fdi. table 4.2 presents the correlation matrix which detects the presence of multicollinearity in the data series. table 4.2: correlation matrix result variables mva dcre dinvest elcon fdi pgr rgdp mva 1.000 dcre 0.75 1.00 dinvest 0.92 0.74 1.00 elcon 0.82 0.62 0.83 1.00 fdi 0.02 0.09 0.40 0.80 1.00 oilprice 0.87 0.72 0.84 0.91 0.03 pgr 0.93 0.74 0.97 0.83 0.02 1.00 rgdp 0.89 0.73 0.94 0.91 0.05 0.97 1.00 sources: authors’ computation using eview 10 software version the results presented in table 4.2 show that the variables are positively correlated with one another. however, the correlation coefficient of rgdp shows high degree of correlation with domestic investment. this followed by the unit root test to examine the stochastic properties of the variables. the results are presented in table 4.3 36 table 4.3: unit root test results variables adf test statistic philips-perron test statistics level [i(0)] 1st diff. order of integration i(1) level [i(0)] 1st diff. order of integration i(2) mva -1.367 -9.171*** i(1) -1.372 -21.861*** i(1) dcre -1.630 -5.136*** i(1) 0.42 -2.955*** i(1) dinvest -0.646 -5.345*** i(1) -1.004 -5.157*** i(1) elcon -1.180 -5.454*** i(1) -1.180 -5.971*** i(1) fdi -1.661 -3.679*** i(1) 1.960 -3.543*** i(1) oilprice -1.653 -8.060*** i(1) 1.646 -8.085*** i(1) pgr -0.643 -5.859*** i(1) -1.466 -5.859*** i(1) rgdp -2.653 -7.122*** i(1) -1.954 -7.333*** i(1) note: *** and * indicate significant at 1% and 10% levels, respectively or a rejection of the null hypothesis of no unit root. note: variables previously defined. source: authors’ computation using eview 10 software version. the result of the unit root tests as presented in table 4.3 showed that adf test result was a mixture of order zero and order one at the 1% significant level. again, the pp test showed that the variables were integrated at order 1, which is the highest order of integration. the johansen co-integration test was used to complement the examination of the long-run relationship between the co-integrated variables. the co-integration test is presented in table 4.4 table 4.4: summary of the co-integration estimate trace test maximum eigen value test null alternative statistic 0.05 critical values null alternative statistics 0.05 critical values r = 0 r = 0 446.91 159.53 r = 0 r = 0 172.68 52.36 r ≤ 1 r ≥ 1 274.23 125.62 r ≤ 1 r ≥ 1 121.30 46.23 r ≤ 2 r ≥ 2 152.94 95.75 r ≤ 2 r ≥ 2 57.06 40.08 r ≤ 3 r ≥ 3 96.87 69.82 r ≤ 3 r ≥ 3 37.24 33.88 r ≤ 4 r ≥ 4 58.63 47.86 r ≤ 4 r ≥ 4 20.87 27.58 r ≤ 5 r ≥ 5 37.76 29.80 r ≤ 5 r ≥ 5 17.70 21.13 r ≤ 6 r ≥ 6 20.06 15.50 r ≤ 6 r ≥ 6 15.40 14.26 r ≤ 7 r ≥ 7 4.67 3.84 r ≤ 7 r ≥ 7 4.67 3.84 source: authors’ computation using evew-10 software from the table 4.4, it was observed that there 8 co-integrating equations at the 0.05 level of significance using the trace statistics. again, from the maximum eigen value, there are 4 cointegrating relationship between the dependent variable (mva) and the covariates. of dcre, electricity consumption, foreign direct investment, population growth and real gross domestic product. thus, the trace and maxi-eigen statistic assert the existence of a long-run relationship 37 among the variables. the bound test to co-integration is the major test of this study since we are using the ardl approach. the results are presented in table 4.5. table 4.5: results of the ardl bounds test unrestricted intercept critical values f-statistics 4.26 5% critical bound value lower 2.79 upper 3.67 10% critical bound value lower 2.37 upper 3.2 1% critical bound value lower 3.65 upper 4.66 source: authors’ computation using eview-10 (software) from the results as presented in table 4.5, and using the standard 5% level of critical value, the e-statistics lies ahead of the lower and upper bounds. therefore, we accept the alternate hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis and concluded that there is a long-run relationship between mva and the covariates in line with the johansen co-integration test of long-run relationship. having established the long-run relationship among the variables, we proceed to estimate the long-run coefficients based on the ardl approach is reported in table 4.6. table 4.6: estimated long-run coefficients using the ardl approach dependent variable: lnmva variables coefficient t-statistic prob. c -42.80 -4.02 0.0069 lnelcont-1 0.08 1.809 0.12 lnfdit-1 1.54 2.51 0.05 lnrgdpt-1 0.00 3.32 0.01 ln mva 1.25 3.51 0.01 source: authors’ computation using eview-10 (software). the long-run estimates as shown in table 4.6 indicates that electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and real gross domestic product all have positive long run relationship with manufacturing value added in nigeria within the reviewing period. this implies that a 1 percent increase in electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and real gross domestic product will lead to 0.08, 1.54 and 0.00 percent increase in manufacturing value added. the results of the short-run dynamics show that the error correction factor is correctly signed and also statistically significant as expected. this showed a rapid rate of adjustment from the shortrun disequilibrium to the long-run equilibrium. as can be seen from the result, about 25 percent of the deviation from equilibrium was corrected within one year. the coefficient of determinations shows that the estimated variables with the exception of domestic credit, domestic investment, oil price and population growth removed from the final estimation due to their collinear nature accounted for 0.91 percentage, implying that these variable explained that 91 percent of the variations in the dependent variable (mva). the adjusted r-square (0.79) 38 shows that the explanatory variables have explained about 80 percent of the total variations in manufacturing value added in nigeria. this indicates a high explanatory power of the short-run dynamic model. the durbin watson statistic value of 2.62 showed that there’s no first order autocorrelation in the model. the analysis of the short-run estimates show that changes in the previous (one-lagged) period of foreign direct investment and real gdp have positive impact on manufacturing value added while foreign direct investment has a negative impact on manufacturing value added. from the results, foreign direct investment and real gdp were statistically significant at the 1 percent significant. electricity consumption was not statistically significant in influencing manufacturing value added in the long-run; however, it may be significant impact in the short-run. the shortrun dynamic estimates are reported in table 4.7 using the parsimonious error correction model based in the short-run ardl version of the estimating equation. table 4.7: estimated coefficients of the short-run dynamic error correction model dependent variable: d(lnmva) variables coefficient t-statistic prob. c. 0.176 3.19 0.0040 d(ln mva (-1)) -1.81 -5.02 0.002 d(ln elcon) 0.03 2.19 0.07 d(ln elcon)-1)) 0.002 0.187641 0.8573 d(lnfdi) 0.750 5.33 0.00 d(lnfdi(-1)) -0.56 -3.36 0.01 d(ln rgdp) -3.26e-05 -0.22 0.83 d(ln rgdp(-1)) 0.000 -3.21 0.01 cointeq(-1) -0.25 5.95 0.00 r-square = 0.91 adjusted r-square = 0.79 durbin watson = 2.62 source: authors’ computation using eview-10 (software) this means that a1percentage increase in the previous period of electricity consumption and real gdp leads to 0.002 and 0.00 percent increase in manufacturing value added respectively, in the short-run. while a 1 decrease in foreign direct investment decrease manufacturing value added by 0.56 percent. further examination of the short-run model shows that changes in electricity consumption and foreign direct investment are positively but insignificantly related to changes in manufacturing value added in the short-run. the implication of this is that a 1 percent increase in electricity consumption and foreign direct investment bring about 0.03 and 0.75 increase in manufacturing value respectively. these results are, however, in conformity with theoretical expectations. it is noteworthy that the positive impact of electricity consumption and foreign direct investment reflects the reforms embarked upon in the energy sector in the most recent times. however, the negative impact of the lagged real gdp could be as a result of the shocks on the nigerian economy including 2008 financial sector crisis, the 2016 recession, the 2020 induced covid-19 pandemic and recession which affected the global economy including the nigeria economy. the implication of this finding especially with reference to real gdp is that in the short-run, shocks on the economy may have adverse effect on manufacturing value added. 39 from empirical analysis, the results of asaleye (2021) are on the contrary. this study reported a negative relationship with manufacturing value added. in summary, the study concluded that effects of electricity consumption as input in the manufacturing sector have not improved the performance in the sector. this is in line with our insignificant relationship between electricity consumption and manufacturing value added. in the case of foreign direct investment and manufacturing value added, ido and taiga (2016) reported a positive but minimal effect of fdi on manufacturing value added, using the vector autoregressive approach. the authors went ahead to recommend infrastructure/power development to improve on the gains of fdi on the manufacturing sector. the positive relationship between fdi and manufacturing value added as revealed by idoko and taiga (2016) is in line with our findings. in the case of real gdp and manufacturing value added, karami, naser and karami (2019) found a significant positive relationship between the variables. the authors suggested for economic policies that promotes growth of the manufacturing sector by increases of manufacturing productivity and increases in the manufacturing employment share to create job opportunities. the granger causality test results are presented in table 4.8 table 4.8: granger causality test results null hypothesis obs f-statistic prob. remark dcre does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause dcre 33 1.10646 7.77866 0.34 0.00* reject accept dinvest does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause dinvest 34 1.00582 3.69952 0.3781 0.0371 reject accept elcon does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause elcon 37 4.11 6.92 0.0304** 0.046** accept accept fdi does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause fdi 33 0.0160 0.336 0.9841 0.7171 reject reject oilprice does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause oilprice 34 0.747 5.312 0.482 0.01 reject accept pgr does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause pgr 34 1.714 8.680 0.1978 0.0011 reject accept rgdp does not granger cause mva mva does not granger cause rgdp 34 3.244 1.678 0.05 0.20 accept reject note: accept at 5% significance. * = unidirectional causality, ** = bidirectional causality. source: eview-10. (software) version the granger causality result as presented above showe4d that there is a unidirectional causality between mva and domestic credit. in order words, manufacturing value added has the capacity for promoting private sector credit. ekundayo, ndubuisi and ismaila (2018) suggested that credit to the private sector exerts positive impact on manufactured output in the long-run. furthermore, manufacturing value added showed unidirectional causality with investment at a p-value of 0.04. it is expected that investment whether domestic is expected to improve investment, technological capacities and acceleration of industrial performance in domestic firms (adeboye, ojo & ifeoluwa, 2016). 40 bidirectional causality was shown between electricity consumption and manufacturing value added and a feedback effect from manufacturing value added to electricity consumption. the result is in contrast to earlier studies (kassim & isik, 2020) who showed a unidirectional causality between electricity consumption and manufacturing value added. in addition, manufacturing value added showed causality with population growth and as expected, population growth had no causality with manufacturing value added. finally, real gross domestic product granger causes manufacturing value added and not the other way round. this implies a unidirectional causality between real gross domestic product and manufacturing value added. industrial development has had an important role in the economic growth of countries like china, the republic of korea, taiwan province of china (taiwan) and indonesia. to ensure the reliability of the estimates, model diagnostic tests were carried out to determine the robustness and stability of the model. the model was tested for normality, serial correlation, auto regressive conditional heteroskedasticity and stability using the cumulative sum residual. table 4.9: model diagnostic tests test f-statistic probability 1. normality: jarque-bera statistics 0.635086 0.727935 2. serial correlation: breusch-godfrey serial correlation 3.33 0.2131 3. heteroskedasticity 0.851003 0.6376 4. stability: cusum cusum sq -- 0.05 source: authors’ computation using evew-10 (software) version this battery of tests showed that the null hypothesis of no serial correlation is not rejected; the coefficient of the variables are unbiased and could be used for forecasting and that the variables are normally distributed. the graph of the cusum tests within the 0.05 percent showed that the variables are stable and that the model exhibits stability over time and can be used for forecasting. figure 4.1 shows the stability of the model using the cusum and the cusum sq. 41 figure 4.1: the stability diagnostics using the cusum and the cusum sq. -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 cusum 5% significance -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 cusum of squares 5% significance policy implication of findings the policy implication of the findings can be espoused as follows: (i) energy sector performance has positive but insignificant impact on manufacturing productivity in nigeria. this requires some policy actions for improvement. (ii) external influence through the flow of foreign direct investment has positive and significant impact on manufacturing productivity in nigeria. hence, attracted fdi should be sustained since it impacts positively on manufacturing productivity in nigeria in the immediate to the long term. (iii) real gross domestic product has positive and significant relationship with manufacturing value added. this implies that manufacturing productivity has the capacity of promoting national income. (iv) since there’s a bidirectional causality between energy sector performance and manufacturing sector productivity any policy to promote the energy sector will have ripple effect on the manufacturing productivity and vice versa. conclusion and policy recommendations conclusion this paper examined the relationship and the causality between energy sector performance and manufacturing productivity in nigeria between the period 1986-2021, using the autoregressive distributed lag and the granger causality approaches in line with the overarching objectives of this paper. this paper concluded that the nigerian energy sector performance has significant impact on manufacturing productivity in nigeria. furthermore, it was concluded that there is a long-run relationship between energy sector performance and manufacturing productivity. however, bidirectional causality was suggested between energy sector performance and manufacturing productivity. policy recommendations this paper suggested the following policies aimed at promoting the energy sector performance and manufacturing productivity in nigeria. 42 i) the electricity power sector reform needs to be appraised or evaluated for policy action. this will enable the identification of policy bottlenecks. the improvement of the energy sector will also impact positively on manufacturing productivity. ii) monetary and fiscal policy measures can be used to promote manufacturing productivity. the central bank of nigeria and bank of industry can provide credit incentives to industrialist and manufacturers. references abdelhamid, a.m. & ahmad, h.e. 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(2014). energy requirement and industrial growth in nigeria: an ardl approach in energy resource management in federal system: challenges, constraints & strategies. proceedings of the 2013 naee/iaee conference. unctad (2011). economic development in africa report 2011: fostering industrial development in africa in the new global environment, unctad, available at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/aldcafrica2011_en.pdf unctad (2013). the state of industrial development in africa: unexploited opportunities amidst growing challenges, policy brief no 27, unctad, genera, august. united nations industrial development organization (unido) (2015) industrial development report 2016: the role of technology and innovation in inclusive and sustainable. upadhyaya, s. & kepplinger, d. (2014). however industrial development matters to the wellbeing of the population-some statistical evidence. working paper. vienna: united nations industrial development organization. wdi (2019) world bank development indicator 2019 world bank development report, 2020. http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/aldcafrica2011_en.pdf page 7 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 283 impact of interest rate spread on savings in nigeria: an empirical investigation *obeh, henry obukohwo economics unit, school of general studies, delta state polytechnic, otefe-oghara & brotoboh, dennis efemuaye department of banking and finance delta state polytechnic, otefe-oghara *correspondence: obehobus@gmail.com abstract this paper investigated the impact of interest rate spread on savings in nigeria for the period, 1981-2019. the study argued that interest rate spread is a major determinant of saving behaviour in nigeria. the study employs the ordinary least square models for the estimates using the multiple regression analysis. the study tested for unit root where savings and interest rate are integrated. the study also used the johenson co-integration test to confirm the longrun relationship among the variables. the result of the study shows that interest rate spread and exchange rate, inflation, savings, interest, and gdp growth rate are statistically insignificant. the study concluded and recommended that the central bank of nigeria (cbn) should put in place measures to monitor interest rate spread related measures such as; deposit rate, operating efficiency, liquidity risk and gross domestic rate while strengthening collaboration with financial institutions to put appropriate policies and strategies in place to reduce bank lending rate in other to boost financial performance in nigeria. keywords: interest rate, monetary policy, monetary authority, monetary policy rate and savings introduction the interest rates spread has been recognized in literature as a key indicator of the performance of the financial system. it is also generally accepted as a measure of intermediation efficiency both in developed and developing countries (akinlo & owoyemi, 2012). a large spread works as a weakness to expansion and development of financial intermediation process. in other words, it indicates the level of inefficiency of the financial system. this is because; possible savers are not encouraged as a result of low return on deposit and thus financing for possible borrowers are limited. according to kama (2009), the real economy is benefited by financial system that are more efficient by allowing expected returns that are high for savers or lowering lenders costs such that investment rises and the economy grows. globally, it is recognized that efficiency in intermediation process establishes a smooth mechanism for the mobilization of funds from the surplus sector and the transfer of these funds to the deficit sector of the economy for investment purposes (nwachukwu, 2011). this is in line with kendall (2000), who argued that mobilized resources (i.e., savings) provides developed and developing countries (including nigeria) with the much needed capital for investment in productive activities which will lead to reduction in external borrowing of government, employment creation and increase the people’s standard of living. mailto:obehobus@gmail.com savings in nigeria in the light of the above explanations, different countries have adopted different interest rate regimes to improve the efficiency of the intermediation process (i.e., minimize the gap between lending and deposit rates). in nigeria for example, various regimes such as control deregulation, regulation and complete deregulation have been experimented at different periods, since the introduction of the structural adjustment programme (sap) in 1986. prior to the deregulation of interest rates completion in nigeria, the financial sector worked under the regulations of finance and rate of interest were said to be blocked. the resulting low interest (deposit) rates during this regime discouraged mobilization of savings and through financial system; the directing of savings was mobilized. as a result, the nigerian government took steps to loosen interest rates (i.e., lending and deposit rates) as part of the reform of the entire financial system (cbn, 2007). the deregulation of the rate of interest was as a result of the financial sector reforms, which took effect from august 1987 (ikhinde, obute & adyorough, 2012). the interest rate regime was liberalized by the central bank of nigeria (cbn) and employed the policy of fixing only its minimum rediscount rate to indicate the anticipated direction of interest rate. the policy was improved in 1989 when the cbn issued further directives on the required spreads between deposit and lending rates. during this period, the deposit rate was 18.2% and the lending rate was 25%. in 1991, the government prescribed a maximum margin between each bank’s average cost of funds and its maximum lending rates. later, the maximum lending rate and the deposit rate of 14% and 20% and a respectively was prescribed by the cbn.a fractional of the deregulation was, however, restored in 1992 when financial institutions were required to only maintain a specified spread between their average cost of fund and maximum lending rate. the key macroeconomic variables that determine aggregate output such as savings and investment and total consumption seems to be an output determining variable that has attracted a lot of attentions and studies (ezeji & ajudua, 2015).this is so because about two-thirds of aggregate expenditure was account for as consumption expenditure in virtually all economies (branson, 1989).thus, the level of consumption per individual is seen as a central measure of an economy’s productive success. according to mudit and shamika (2009), one of the most relevant issues that is related to inter-temporal substitution is whether bringing down interest rate paid on deposits will encourage consumers to increase consumption. this therefore suggests that the higher the spread, the higher will be the consumption expenditure. therefore, a comprehensive study of its determinants such as the savings rate could help an economy achieve stability, increase in aggregate income and high level of employment of factors of production. (ezeji & ajudua, 2015). thus, from the rate of interest regime that is unstable in nigeria, the interest rate keeps changing and such frequent changes could affect savings, investment and private consumption expenditures, which in sequence could impact on the general economy of the country despite the huge financial sector reform programmes. this raises the attention on the impact of interest rate spread on savings in nigeria. it is against this perspective that this study is germane. financial instability in developing country like nigeria, has been associated with serious issues in the financial sector. these issues have been relatively large in terms of weak public confidence in financial markets and inefficient financial intermediation, posing great threat to savings and investment (kama, 2009). instability of financial system could be damaging to the economy, through a wide gap in interest rate. 285 furthermore, there are various developmental finance schemes that have been introduced by cbn to specifically address problems of high rate of lending and access to credit in nigeria. these measures include: agricultural credit guarantee scheme fund (acgs) in 1978, interest rate drawback programme in 2002, the commercial agricultural credit scheme (cacs), small and medium enterprises equity investment scheme (smeis) in 2001, and microfinance policy in 2004. in 2010, the central bank, injected n500 billion into the economy as a special intervention fund under a quantitative easing program to ensure the flow of liquidity to the real economy at reasonable interest rates. these measures were complemented by interventions to manage inter-bank liquidity and the use of treasury securities (tule et al, 2015) studies such as newman (2012); umejiaku (2011); tule et al (2015) and jibrina, iyaji and ejura (2014) have argued that despite the policy measures put in place, the phenomenon of high lending rates still persists as reflected in the complaints of manufacturers, industrialists, and small and medium-sized enterprises (sme) operators who consistently identify high lending rates as a key contributor to the unfavourable business and investment climate in nigeria. a strong financial system with less spread in interest rate is still not in place, as most people still do not have access to commercial bank credits. from the point of view of those who seem to fully use the services of the financial sector are not finding it so easy. the result of incompetence in the system of banking together with continued limitation of success that may have been recorded caused by corruption. according to kama (2009), the banking system still leaves out certain people who should have been benefiting from the interaction created by the bridging of financial gap between lenders and borrowers of credit in the economy. this is indicative of inefficiency and poor performance of the financial system. financial sector intermediation inefficiency which could result from banking crisis, not only pose a barrier to savings and investment but also to consumption expenditure. this is because, it limits the amount of credit that goes to households for the purchase of durable goods (damar, gropp & mordel, 2014). for instance, the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 which spread towards developing countries and more particularly in nigeria, negatively affected household consumption expenditures. this is reflected in available statistics from cbn (2010) which shows a sharp downward trend in private consumption spending. for instance, there was a drastic fall in private consumption expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure from 102.8% in 2003 to 58.5% in 2006. this continuously fell to 38.3% and 31.7% in the year 2008 and 2010 respectively. the central bank of nigeria has also adopted various measures aimed at solving the problems of bank inefficiency, financial sector crisis and to boost the performance of the banking system in terms of increase in savings mobilization. some of these measures are issuance of prudential guidelines for proper coordination of banks, regular assessment of the banks’ books and supervision of other banking operations (cbn, 2009). studies of various kind have been done on the effects of interest rate on definite areas. these studies among others include; udonsah (2012), ekwem (2012), udeh and nwachuku (2016) and acha (2011), who studied the effect of interest rates on investment and economic growth. studies like, sayinbola, sobande, and adedeji (2012), sakaria and nyambe (2015), and savings in nigeria adeyemi and alege (2013) have exploited interest rate relationship with savings, interest rate and consumption expenditure both in nigeria and outside nigeria. however, no existing study to the best of our knowledge has dealt with the effect of interest rate spread on savings, investment and private or household consumption. from the above studies, this study thus, pursues to fill this knowledge gap that currently exists and discover how interest rate spread affects savings, investment and private consumption in nigeria. empirical literature review the empirical literature on the relationship between interest rate and savings is vast within this plethora of literature, a number of studies has found positive relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria; these studies include, udude (2015), ojeaga and odejimi (2014), sayinbola, sobande, and adedeji (2012), okere and ndugbu (2015), and davis (2013) these studies employed time series data in the analysis of the relationship between interest rate and savings. the studies differ in methods of analysis. for instance, udede (2015) used the var model in his study and found it useful and significant. ojeaga (2014) employed the quantile regression method in his analysis and he discovered an insignificant result; while okere and ndugbu (2015) employed the error correction model in their analysis and their results were significant. the conclusion is that the above mentioned studies used time series data in their analyses, they employed different methods and found out different results in their analysis of the relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria. hence,the relationship between interest rate and savings is inconclusive in nigeria. some other studies discovered negative relationship between interest rate and savings. these studies include; olayemi (2013), onwumere, okere and ibe (2012), edwin (2014), olayami and jolaosho (2013), and ogwumike and ofoegbu (2012). these studies employed time series data in the analyses of savings and interest rate relationship, but the studies differ in terms of methodology, for instance olayemi (2013) employed the var model in his analysis and found a significant relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria. he also discovered that the sign of the coefficient of interest rate was negative which implies that there exists a negative relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria. on the other hand, onwumere, okere and ibe (2012); wafure (2012) used the ordinary least square regression model in their analyses and found an insignificant and negative result. edwin (2014) employed the two stage least square technique and discovered that there is a significant negative relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria. olayami and jolaosho (2013) employed the vector auto regressive model in their analysis and discovered a significant negative result. wafure (2012) employed the error correction model approach in his analysis and also found a significant negative result. ogwumike and ofoegbu (2012) used autoregressive distributed lagged regression technique but their own result was insignificant. one of the most absorbing thing about this studies is that the above mentioned studies used the same type of data which is time series data; they employed different techniques in their analyses of the relationship between interest rate and savings in nigeria, and they made similar findings in terms of the sign of the coefficient of interest; but they discovered varying results in terms of significance. 287 on the other hand, the relationship between interest rate, savings and economic growth have been carried out empirically. some studies have found a positive relationship between interest rate and savings. these studies include irfan et, al. (2014), douglas, and ayalew (2013).these studies used different type of data and different approaches, but found similar result. irfan et al (2014), used descriptive statistics and error correction model in their analyses, they also discovered a positive and significant relationship between interest rate and savings in pakistan. ayalew (2013), used autoregressive distributed lag model (adrl), he also discovered a significant positive relationship between interest rate and savings in ethiopia. previous empirical attempts are not without some limitations. from the empirical findings, most researchers found that there is a negative relationship between interest rate and investment in nigeria while some others found out that there is a negative relationship between interest rate and economic growth. from the above review, none of the researchers both in nigeria and outside nigeria has looked at interest rate spread on savings. it is against this backdrop that this study intends to fill the gap created by investigating the impact of interest rate spread on savings in nigeria. theoretical framework, model specification and data sources the paper was anchored on irving fisher’s theory of the rate of interest. from fishers point of view, to save or consume is a decision an individual has to make. when individual sees that the future is best, they will prefer to save than current consumption, they will prefer to consume small today and save more for future consumption. according to the theory of interest rate developed by fisher, the interaction of demand and supply for savings is the determinant of the interest rate in the long-run, and also depend on productivity of capital marginally and mps, respectively. from the expression of fishers law, the relationship between nominal and real interests is as follows: (1 + ) = (1 + ) * (1 + ) (1) the ex-post facto research was also adopted to enable the researchers make use of secondary data to determine the cause-effect relationship of the interest rate spread on savings, in nigeria, and to determine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables with a view to establishing a causal link between them. model specification the empirical methodology for this study is co-integration and error correction model. the data for the study were sourced from the central bank of nigeria (cbn) statistical bulletin. following and modifying the specification of udude (2015) with the multiple regressions in mind, this study adopts savings as a function of the specified explanatory variables. the model is specified thus: sav = β1 + β2inrs +β3inf +β4gdpgrwt +β5sav_int +β6exr+μ (2) savings in nigeria where sav = savings; inrs = interest rate spread; inf=inflation; gdpgrwt = gross domestic product growth rate, sav_int =savings_interest rate and exr = exchange rate where the β1 β2 β3 β4 β5 β6 are parameters for estimate and μ is the stochastic error term. empirical results, analysis and discussion of findings the methodology for the empirical analysis is in different stages. first, the annual time series data of all the variables in the model are tested for stationarity. secondly, the variables are tested for co-integration, to ascertain their convergence status. the error correction methodology (ecm) was employed. ecm is a means of reconciling the short-run behaviour of an economic variable with its long-run behaviour. to put the time series data to be used for this analysis in good structure, the estimation will begin with the descriptive analysis, unit root or stationarity test and the co-integration analyses of the time series data. these processes enable the researcher to carry out some predetermined operations, so as to minimize estimation errors and achieve the unbiased estimator of the models analyses. table 4.1 presents the descriptive statistics table 1: descriptive statistics of the variables variable obs mean std. dev. min max gdp 35 17827.15 28092.36 94.32502 94144.96 saving 35 2072.17 3457.95 6.56 12008.21 saveratio 35 8.82 3.83 3.34 23.25 investment 35 2207041.00 4156779.00 8799.48 14100000.00 pce 35 11800000.00 19800000.00 28574.86 73800000.00 inf 35 19.72 17.94 5.38 72.84 sav_int 35 7.64 5.16 1.41 18.80 spread 35 13.57 7.29 2.25 26.04 lngdp 35 8.06 2.29 4.546746 11.45 lnsaving 35 5.55 2.44 1.880991 9.39 lninvestment 35 12.50 2.36 9.082448 16.46 lncons 35 7.36 2.55 3.352527 11.21 gpdgrwt 34 0.20 0.19 -0.0488682 0.79 exr 35 71.14 65.89 0.61 194.00 source: author’s computation from eviews 11.0 from the results above, the mean value of each variable represents its average, the maximum and minimum value shows the highest and the lowest figures of each variable respectively. the results of the descriptive statistics show that all the variables are normally distributed, having 289 large values of standard deviation. the mean of the average gross domestic product (gdp) is 17827.15, while the minimum is 94.32502 and the maximum 94144.96 and standard deviation is 28092.36. the mean value of savings (sav) is 2072.17, the minimum is 6.56 and maximum of 12008.21, with a standard deviation of 3457.95. the mean value of investment (inv) is 2207041.00, the minimum is 8799.48 and maximum of 14100000.00, with a standard deviation of 4156779.00. the mean value of private consumption expenditure (pce) is 11800000.00, the minimum 28574.86 and maximum of 73850.00, with a standard deviation of 1980000.00. the mean value of inflation (inf) is 19.72, the minimum is 5.38 and maximum of 72.84, with a standard deviation of 17.94. the mean value of real exchange rate (rexr) is 71.14, the minimum is 0.61 and maximum of 194.00, with a standard deviation 65.89. the mean value of savings_interest (sav_int) is 7.64, the minimum is 1.41 and maximum of 18.80, with a standard deviation 5.16.the mean value of spread is 13.57, the minimum is 2.25 and maximum of 26.04, with a standard deviation 7.29.the mean value of saver ratio is 8.82, the minimum is 3.34 and maximum of 23.25, with a standard deviation 3.83. the mean value of gdp growth rate is 0.20, the minimum is -0.0488682 and maximum of 0.79, with a standard deviation 0.19. unit root test: this test is designed to examine the stationarity state of the variables. most time series variables are non-stationary at levels, hence their usage in econometric models produce spurious outcome. in this study, we utilize the augmented dicky fuller approach in testing for unit root. table 2: unit root analysis variables augmented dickey-fuller test test critical value @ 10% test critical value @ 5% test critical value @ 1% test statistic diff prob order of diff inrs -2.622 -2.980 --3.702 -6.050* 0.0000 i(1) inf -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -5.957* 0.0000 i(1) sav_int -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -3.637* 0.0051 i(1) ingdp -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -4.143* 0.0008 i(1) insav -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -3.436* 0.0098 i(1) ininv -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -4.067* 0.0011 i(1) inpce -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -3.931 0.0018 i(1) gdpgrwt -2.623 -2.983 -3.709 -6.528* 0.0000 i(1) exr -2.622 -2.980 -3.702 -3.519 0.0075 i(1) source: author’s computation with the use stata 13 (2021) the results of the augmented dickey-fuller test are reported in table 2, the lag truncations for the bartlett kernel were chosen according to the newey and west, 1987, suggestions. analytically the results from the unit root tests in the levels of inrs, inf, sav_int, ingdp, savings in nigeria insav, ininv, inpce, gdpgrwt and exr clearly point to the presence of a unit root in all casesin level form. the results after first differencing inrs, inf, sav_int, ingdp, insav, ininv, inpce, gdpgrwt and exr series robustly reject the null hypothesis of the presence of a unit root, suggesting therefore that the other series are integrated of order one i (1). short run error correction model table 3: short run ecm model (shows no cointegration) ecmcon 1 ecmcon 2 ecmsavin g ecmsaving 1 ecminves t ecminvest 1 d.inf 0.00226 0.00301 0.00110 0.00129 -0.00142 -0.00141 (0.363) (0.246) (0.493) (0.451) (0.626) (0.641) d.spread 0.0111 0.0140 0.00522 0.00528 0.0145 0.0151 (0.304) (0.175) (0.429) (0.420) (0.230) (0.200) d.exr -0.00230 -0.00167 -0.000229 -0.000149 -0.00118 -0.00104 (0.437) (0.562) (0.905) (0.939) (0.731) (0.757) d.sav_in t 0.0118 -0.00595 -0.00859 (0.597) (0.661) (0.728) l.residuals -0.0262 (0.684) d.gpdgrwt -0.219 -0.0831 -0.145 (0.173) (0.433) (0.443) l.residuals -0.0641 (0.283) l.residuals -0.0200 (0.639) l.residuals -0.0239 (0.576) l.residuals -0.0887 (0.229) l.residuals -0.101 (0.151) constant 0.240*** 0.238*** 0.218*** 0.220*** 0.193*** 0.201*** (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) observation s 34 33 34 33 34 33 r2 0.100 0.165 0.039 0.058 0.088 0.131 adjusted r2 -0.061 0.010 -0.133 -0.117 -0.075 -0.030 f 0.621 1.067 0.225 0.331 0.542 0.815 p-values in parentheses *p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001 291 table 4. error correction model (ecm) variables coefficient std error t-stat prob uhat sav (-1) -0.0200483 0.0422291 -0.47 0.639 uhat sav1 (-1) -0.238735 0.021321 -0.57 0.576 uhat inv (-1) -0.0886966 0.721278 -1.23 0.229 uhat inv1 (-1) -0.1010186 0.0682732 -1.48 0.151 uhat con (-1) -0.0262386 0.636962 -0.41 0.684 uhat con1 (-1) -0.064082 0.058454 -1.10 0.283 since the test statistics of the residuals (uhat) are –0.47, -0.57, -1.23, -1.48, -0.41 and -1.10 and the probabilities value 0.639, 0.576, 0.229, 0.151,0.684 and 0.283which are not less than 5%, it shows that the residuals are not statistically significant and shows no co-integration. short run difference model of effect of interest spread on savings s table 5: short run difference model of effect of interest spread on consumption saving and investment srcon1 srcon2 srsaving srsaving1 srinvest srinvest1 d.inf 0.00228 0.00228 0.00104 0.00130 -0.00154 -0.00141 (0.351) (0.351) (0.509) (0.441) (0.598) (0.646) d.spread 0.00901 0.00901 0.00406 0.00401 0.00901 0.00898 (0.334) (0.334) (0.500) (0.507) (0.421) (0.419) d.exr -0.00260 -0.00260 -0.000473 -0.000451 -0.00195 -0.00206 (0.358) (0.358) (0.795) (0.806) (0.565) (0.541) d.sav_int 0.0156 0.0156 -0.00430 -0.000422 (0.435) (0.435) (0.739) (0.986) d.gpdgrwt -0.0827 -0.112 (0.429) (0.558) constant 0.243*** 0.243*** 0.220*** 0.222*** 0.201*** 0.210*** (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) (0.000) observations 34 34 34 33 34 33 r2 0.094 0.094 0.031 0.047 0.039 0.061 adjusted r2 -0.031 -0.031 -0.103 -0.090 -0.094 -0.073 f 0.756 0.756 0.231 0.342 0.294 0.452 *p< 0.05, **p< 0.01, ***p< 0.001 savings in nigeria from the above result of table 5, in the estimation of short run difference of interest rate spread on sr savings and srsavings1, interest rate spread and exchange rate, inflation, savings interest and gdp growth rate are statistically insignificant. the r2is about 9% goodness of fit and f-statistics is 0.756 and 0.756 in the estimation of short run difference interest rate on sr investment and srinvestment1, interest rate spread and exchange rate, inflation, gdp growth rate and saving interest are statistically insignificant. the r2is about 3% and 4% goodness of fit and f-statistics is 0.231 and 0.342 in the estimation of interest rate spread sr consumption and srconsuption1, interest rate spread and exchange rate, inflation, savings interest and gdp growth rate are statistically insignificant. the r2is about 3% and6% goodness of fit and fstatistics is 0.294 and 0.425. conclusion and policy recommendations conclusion the paper empirically examined the impact of interest rate spread on economic growth in nigeria from 1980-2019. the paper is anchored on fishers theory which explain that when individual sees that the future is best, they will prefer to save than current consumption; they will prefer to consume small today and save more for future consumption. according to him, two factors influence different individual to save, invest and consume; one is the income, when there is high income individual may save more and the other is compensation individual obtained for lending his savings to another individual, who needs extra funds and ready to pay for their use. the rate of interest is the reward or use of funds payment. for effective estimation, the paper use short run ecm to investigate the impact of interest rate spread on savings. the short run difference model was also used to find the effect of interest spread on savings. to actualize all these estimations, all the structural tests on the data were carried out in order to achieve an unbiased estimation of the models. starting from the descriptive test analysis, augmenteddickey fuller unit root test, co-integration test, ordinary least square estimation and error correction model (ecm), the ecm test was carried out to know whether there is an error in ols model or not. policy recommendations based on the findings, the study recommends that the central bank should continue to put in place stronger measures to monitor interest rate spread related measures such as deposit rate, lending rate, 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(2012). financial sector reforms and private savings: evidence from nigeria. weejs international journal of arts and combine sciences, 3(1): 1-12 page 4 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 232 gender differences in alcoholism and its implications during the covid-19 pandemic stella a. ugwu* martha uchenna ogbuke department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology, agbani, enugu state *correspondence: stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng abstract the study explored alcohol consumption among residents in agbani community in nkanu-west local government area of enugu state, south-east nigeria. it focused on ascertaining if there is any variation in consumption of alcohol during the covid-19 era according to sex, age grade and marital status of those that consumed alcohol, type of alcohol consumed more, reasons for consumption, and the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption. this study made use of oral stories, eye witness account, comparative time analysis and also qualitative method by reviewing existing literatures and data as its methodology. the study anchored on interactionist cultural transmission perspective which opines that humans learn how to behave in social situations whether properly or improperly by interacting with others. the findings revealed that married women consumed more alcohol than unmarried women. the findings also showed that among the alcohol beverages spirits are consumed over beer because they are cheaper. also majority of the research participants started using it because it served the purpose of protecting them from covid-19 infection due to its high volume of alcoholic content. findings showed that majority of the residents are ignorant of the implication(s) of alcohol abuse to their health and well being though they have fair knowledge of its cultural implications. the study therefore suggests proper alcohol sensitization especially its negative impact on ability to reproductive system such as sterility and infertility which has devastating effect on marital and family relationships. the study also suggests that accessing alcohol especially spirits should be regulated/implemented by law through its supply and pricing factors to make it less accessible. in conclusion, there is an increase in alcohol consumption without gender or age differences. the increase is associated with perceived learned knowledge that it is a preventive strategy to the world pandemic corona virus. keywords: alcohol consumption, beverages, covid-19 coping strategies, gender, marital status. introduction alcohol has been defined as an organic substance formed when a hydroxyl group is substituted for a hydrogen atom in a hydrocarbon (sheil, 2018). oxford dictionary on lexico defines alcohol as a colourless volatile flammable liquid which is produced by the fermentation of sugars and is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits and other drinks, and is also used as an industrial solvent and as fuel. alcohol especially beverage alcohol has existed traditionally as covid-19 pandemic naturals and local brews such as palm wine, ogogoro, pito, burukutu, etc. recently factory brewed alcohol beverage such as beer, wine, spirits, etc are seen everywhere and is easily accessed and consumed over other alcohol beverages, the traditional alcohol beverages are still being drunk everywhere both in the urban and rural areas (obot, 2000) though more is consumed in the rural areas than in the urban areas due to unfettered access of sachet alcohol which predisposes people to more alcohol consumption, ritual marriage ceremonies, etc (adebowale, 2019). alcohol is classified as a type of drug (brown, 2016) that is socially accepted in most countries including nigeria. drug is any chemical substance when taken into the system changes the physiology of the system positively or negatively, it can either be natural or synthetic. drugs of any nature whether socially approved or not, use without prescription is drug abuse. according to world health organisation (who) 2.3 billion people consume alcohol in the world and about 75 million are classified as having alcohol disorder (meroni, longo & dongiovanni 2019). also alcohol is defined according to the percentage of ethanol in it for instance in the usa, any alcoholic beverage is beverage containing over 5% ethanol. different people consume alcohol of different ethanol percentage for different purposes. type and volume of alcohol consumed is dependent on the environment and season. worse still is its easy access anytime, anywhere, at whatever quantity by anybody, at whatever economic status (lasebikan, et al 2018) no regulations. alcohol is also defined according to types which include ethyl, denatured, isoprophl and rubbing. the one well known to us is the ethyl alcohol also called ethanol or grain alcohol used in making beer, wine and liquor (los angeles times, 2020). for brown (2016) from the cheapest beer to the most expensive wine or liqueur, all alcohol is made with the same fermentation process. alcohol as a beverage is widespread and generally tolerated in many parts of the world and nigeria inclusive. alcohol consumption cuts across all age, sex, marital status, religion, social status, etc. different people consume alcohol of different ethanol percentage for different purposes. in fact humans have been consuming alcohol for thousands of years (yerby, 2020), type and volume of alcohol consumed is dependent on the environment and season. for instance it has been rumoured that alcohol is good for cool weather. okeahialam (2016) noted that alcohol was consumed to overcome the cold season of harmattan in sub-saharan africa. some other reasons for increase in consumption include the pleasure that users get from consuming it, aggressive marketing strategies of alcohol companies, (lasebikan, et al 2018; dumbili, 2013), media advertisement that use women as brand ambassadors (graves, 2021), its social acceptance (brown, 2016). people consume alcohol for the pleasure they get from it, other factors are poverty, illiteracy, greed, improper socialization, lack of parental care, peer pressure, societal expectation, (dumlili, 2013) etc. in nigeria alcohol beverage consumption increased sporadically (obot, 2000; lasebikan, et al, 2018) it may be linked to rumours that alcohol has the ability to overcome cold state and since it has gone viral that covid-19 virus thrives healthy in cool environment (rublin, 2018) there is an indication that it may have been a factor that influence more of alcohol consumption. findings have shown that women are more susceptible than men to the effects of alcohol (graves, 2021; ritchie, 2018), outlining the effects of alcohol 234 on women graves opined that women who consume alcohol do have long term health dangers such as liver damage, heart disease and cancer than men. other social consequences of alcohol consumption according to graves are unstable marital and social relationships which may include lack of trust, lack of communication, abuse, adverse effect on children, etc. the negative consequences of alcohol consumption are socio-psychological, economic and even cultural (lasebikan, et al 2018) which affects the individual, family, community and nation at large and cuts across all ages, sex, social status, etc. therefore this study investigated gender implications of covid-19 coping strategies on alcohol consumption. statement of the problem alcohol has existed earlier as naturals and local brews such as palm wine, ogogoro, pito, burukutu, etc. recently factory brewed alcohol such as beer, wine, etc are seen everywhere and is easily accessed and consumed over other alcohol beverages though the traditional alcohol beverages are still being drunk everywhere both in the urban and rural areas (obot, 2000). according to world health organisation (who) 2.3 billion people consume alcohol in the world and about 75 million are classified as having alcohol disorder (meroni, longo & dongiovanni 2019). alcohol is also classified as a type of drug (used as medicine, relaxative, etc) (brown, 2016) that is socially accepted in most countries including nigeria. it is also classified as hallucinogens for its capacity to make users hallucinate. alcohol as a drug can be abused and involves the repeated and excessive use of intoxicating substances to give pleasure or cause escape from reality and has devastating consequences. in other words alcohol can be abused and is injurious and according to who alcohol chronic consumption is one of the most common causes of mortality worldwide (meroni, longo & dongiovanni 2019). though alcohol is classified a soft drug it is compulsive, alcohol is the most commonly used and abused psychoactive drug among young adults in the world (ajayi, et al, 2019; brown, 2016) and kehinde and oguntayo (1991) noted that alcohol is the first drug that was abused in nigeria. apart from its perceived pleasurable benefits excessive alcohol is not beneficial to people whether as individuals, groups or community. for the individual, it leads to contraction of stis, loss of job, stress, depression, stigmatization, ostracism, life of turmoil and fear, etc. the effect on the immediate family may include poverty, chaos, lack of cooperation and trust, increase in crime, etc. alcohol consumption has a causal impact on more than 200 health conditions (disease and injuries) and in 2016 globally 1 in 20 deaths was occasioned by alcohol and men accounted for ¾ of these deaths (ritchie & roser, 2019; abiona, et al, 2019). the larger community is not left out as it faces social and economic instability, ethnic rivalry, political instability, marital instability, etc. okeahialam (2016) and brown (2016) corroborating drug and alcohol information and support, explains the effects of excessive alcohol on the biology of man as excessive alcohol in the body depresses the brain, meaning it slows down the brain’s ability to control the body and the mind. it acts like sedative and slows down muscle coordination, reflexes, movement and speech. if careless decisions are made regarding alcohol beverage, one may face terrible health and social consequences such as one becoming dependent on it. such covid-19 pandemic dependency is known as alcoholism. alcoholism has these characteristics: craving, impaired control, physical dependence, tolerance (brown, 2016). alcohol abuse is a social problem (lasebikan, et al, 2018; siddiqui, et al 2020) and the effect in society compared to the effects of terrorism, insurgence, corruption, etc. in america according to brown quoting the national council on alcoholism and drug dependence and the national institute of health (2015) there is a yearly increase in crime committed as a result of alcoholism. kerr et al (2012) advised that drinkers should drink bearing in mind the ethanol content of the beverage they are taking to avoid the risk of negative consequences. in their empirical research they noted that ignorance was the major reason for excessive intake of ethanol by drinkers as they do not bother with alcohol guidelines to keep safe and not aware of safe limits (abiona et al, 2019). other factors influencing alcohol use can be attributed to attitude. for instance cockerham (1978) theorized that social environment of a person such as living conditions, poverty (economic status), norms, values and cultural context affects ones attitude to a particular factor. that is, what a person does, who a person is and where a person lives can affect his/her behavior, age, sex, life style and general physical condition of a person also can affect ones behaviour. the findings of graves (2021) noted that her female respondents stated that they went into drinking to overcome loneliness, as a result of social activities, to overcome role conflict, etc. in nigeria like in other countries increase in alcohol consumption can be attributed to the pleasure that users get from consuming it, aggressive marketing strategies of alcohol companies (garves, 2021; lasebikan, et al 2018), its social acceptance (brown, 2016), rumour of its ability to cushion the effect of cold (okeahialam, 2016). other factors according to the findings of osei-bonsu et al. (2017) include peer influence, advertisement, availability and accessibility, social networking, parental influence, curiosity and of less influence are religion and occupation. osei-bonsu et al (2017) noted that people consumed alcohol for fun, to stimulate appetite for food, for sexual enhancement, imitate role model, and overcome unemployment issue. cockerham (1978) explained that as long as definitions of a social situation remain relatively constant, behaviour will generally be orderly. communities have socially prescribed standards and values pertaining the use and consumption of alcohol beverages peculiar to each society. therefore the social environment conditions the attitude individuals of all age, sex, social status, etc display towards the quantity and quality of alcohol consumption. traditionally, women did drink alcohol in the close and quantity as allowed by their male counterparts this is because the traditional pattern of women’s socialization includes the belief that the needs of spouse, children and others come first and that the expressions of anger, and competition (consequences of alcoholism) are unfeminine (martins 1994). recently while record shows that due to liberalization of laws women represent a growing percentage of drinkers though men have higher rates of alcoholism but where consumption is high gender differences is low (ritchie & roser, 2019). for younger women he noted the proportion of drinkers is beginning to equal that of men. he stated that older women drink less and have fewer drinking problems than older men. his findings showed that there is no sex differences in type consumed except that women used less frequently. he indicated that there was increase in adolescents that used all type of drugs the rationale being availability of purer 236 products and decline in price. alcohol is also consumed to overcome cold weather as it is assumed to warm the body (okeahialam, 2016; rublin, 2018). that may have engineered the rumour that since covid-19 does not survive in hot environment except in a cool or cold environment and alcohol being hot can solve the covid-19 pandemic (saddiqui, et al., 2020; spring, 2020; abdoli, 2020) and may have factored increase in the sales and consumption of alcoholic drinks irrespective of age, sex, social status, educational qualification without a reflection to its negative consequences (obot, 2000; lasebikan, et al, 2018). the study therefore x-rayed the gender implications of covid-19 coping strategies on alcohol consumption in agbani community in nkanu-west local government area of enugu state, south-east nigeria. theoretical perspective interactionism was coined by herbert blumer in 1937. other philosophers of this theory include george herbert mead, charles horton cooley, etc. interactionist cultural transmission perspective opines that culture is created and maintained by the way people interact and in how individuals’ interpret other’s actions. it is a perspective that is most concerned with face to face interactions between members of the society and this explains the contribution of the media especially face book, whatsapp, twitter, etc on covid-19 pandemic and the probable solutions. this perspective believes that culture is highly dynamic and fluid, it is dependent on how meaning is interpreted and how individuals interact when conveying these meanings. this explains why it was readily accepted that alcohol which is hot in nature is an antidote for covid19 which does not survive in hot environment and that explains why there was an increase in consumption of alcohol especially spirits by all sexes, social status and even age. it derives social processes from human interaction. this perspective believes that people take the attitude of another in a social system. hearing and seeing others consume spirit for prevention of covid19 pandemic was enough to adopt the attitude of consuming same spirit to prevent it. the well packaging, easy access and cheap nature of this alcoholic drink served as an accelerator for use as medicine. therefore, action or behaviour is a constant adaption to the environment as enunciated by this theoretical perspective. types of alcohol consumed alcohol consumed can either be natural or synthetic. the synthetic is factory made either locally or foreign brewed. they contain different percentages of ethanol which determines the grading. for instance, beer has 4.5% to 5% alcohol by volume (abv), wine 11.6% and spirits 37% though alcohol by volume of spirits can be as high as 80% to 90% but most fall much closer to the middle (siddqiqui, et al, 2020). in ghana among the youths more of beer (34%) is consumed over other types of alcohol beverage followed by wine (31%) and spirit (21%) (lasebikan et al, 2018), while in nigeria it is spirit (ogogoro) that has between 30-60 percent alcohol (obot, 2000). in nigeria alcohol consumption starts from infancy as the new-born is introduced to the traditional drink by being given a drop from time to time. while some communities encourage covid-19 pandemic both sexes and ages to be involved in alcohol consumption because it serves as a social drink and as medicine for the eye, others see it a taboo for the female folks. while others would forbid it for pregnant women in order not to affect the unborn child, it is medicine for lactating mothers as it increases the flow of breast milk example palm wine. others would prefer their women to drink in the private as it is not feminine to drink in the public as it has marital negative consequences others take their women out even for binge drinking. graves (2021) in the research she carried out opined that american women are drinking more now than they used to drink as studies shows that from 2001 to 2013 alcohol use in women rose to about 16% and those who consumed about four to five drinks rose to 54% and they drink mainly spirits. in the research conducted by kaskutas and graves (2000) in urban cities in america among pregnant women, alcohol beverage consumers consumed more than the standard ethanol size which is 12g. in fact those that consumed spirit drinks were six times the standard size. they also noted that these women were at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. in another alcohol assessment research carried out by kaskutas and graves (2001) on pre-pregnancy drinking, they noted that though the difference between self-selected drink size and the standard size was significant for all drinks, it was much higher for spirits (307% for spirits as against 49% for beer against the standard size). osei-bonsu et al (2017) findings in ghana show that there is prevalence of alcohol consumption among the youths (43%) though more of males consumed alcohol than females even though they did not give any reason for this disparity. those between the ages of 20 -25 were found to consume more, no difference along the lines of education, more of the unmarried to the married group. the findings also showed that alcohol consumption decreased with age. according to ajayi, et al (2019) alcohol use is responsible for 320 deaths every hour globally and the impact is more on the youth. covid-19 pandemic: rumours and realities rumuor refers to unfound tales and has been since inception of man on earth. when it comes to health and illness, especially with the rise of pandemic people rumour a lot of solutions that tend to be dangerous to man. for instance, there were rumours concerning the inceptions and solutions to numerous epidemics like sars, ebola, aids, (bali, et al 2016). severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) that broke out first in china in 2003, also influenza; a virus subtype h7n9 (h7n9) also broke out in china in 2013 (wuqi, cordia, ayan & jing, 2018), the source noted in their findings that there were rumours that went viral among which is that banlangen (probably native to china) and vinegar could prevent and control sars. for h7n9 it was rumoured that people could get infected from eating chicken and pepper and onions could prevent it. these rumours engineered attitude change as lots of citizens engaged in purchasing the remedies which were not scientifically proven. also during the ebola pandemic a lot of people died as a result of the rumoured solution of drinking and bathing with salt which spread like wild fire across the global, thanks to the social media (bali, et al, 2016). social media serves as a source of information dissemination and worse of it is that sometimes it carries or allows inaccurate information that cause system failure or sickness (jalali & mohammadi, 2020). 238 rumours can induce behavioral change in such a way that it may be detrimental to health, economy, and religion and so on to the individual, organization, and/or countries. for instance, bali et al, (2016) in their findings noted that rumours that followed the outbreak of ebola in 2013 made the pharmaceutical companies suffer due to changes in consumption patterns. amidst a lot of unfound rumours about covid-19 especially from the social media and other sources such as word of mouth, mobile phone short messages, etc is that the virus cannot survive in hot weather which has affected attitude towards alcohol beverage consumption to ensuring prevention. this has given it a global concern considering the spread rate which is fast and also the death rate which is astronomical. therefore world governments irrespective of status of country took to measures to combat the spread. such measures include social distancing, no crowding, use of face mask, washing of hands every 20 minutes with alcohol based sanitizer, etc. which engineered how seriously the virus is. these measures invariably affected behaviours that are expected (ugwu & nwankwo, 2020) such as in the consumption of alcohol beverage. records have it that the quick spread and astronomical death was more in europe and asia and america so the belief that the virus thrives better in cold environment. while the record of spread and death due to the covid-19 was small comparatively in africa and some other hot regions the argument that the salient factor was the hot weather which justified the intake of alcohol to keep the body hot and further keep at arm’s length the deadly virus. the chemistry of alcohol beverage causing warmth in the body when taken especially in chilly weather is a shadow as hiskey (2013) and okeahialam, (2016) noted that though it makes one feel warmer but it doesn’t actually keep one warm or prevent hypothermia instead it lowers the body temperature because alcohol is a vasodilator. likewise rublin (2018) advised against drinking alcoholic beverages in hot weather as it helps in quickening dehydration which can cause a lot of other negative side effects such as heat stroke, dizziness, muscle cramp, fatigue, etc, he explained that the body’s temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus gland and alcohol causes a slowing down of the hypothalamus, so if the body is hot already because of heat, the effect of the alcohol will even make the body “feel” hotter. alcohol beverage consumption and interventions in nigeria the first drug known to have been abused in nigeria is alcohol (kehinde & oguntayo, 1991), alcoholism affects about 1.5m nigerians yearly (abiona, et al, 2019). alcoholism like terrorism, kidnapping, religious and ethnic conflict, bad governance, etc is a social issue for its ability to affect negatively all persons in the society and the society itself. alcoholism has been attributed to family history, divorce or separation, living alone with children, relaxation, to control unpleasant feelings, etc (martins, 1994). brown (2016) attributed the causes of drug abuse to availability of drug, peer influence and curiosity. alcohol consumption in nigeria is very high (lesebikan & ola, 2016) even though lasebikan, et al (2018) noted that most of alcohol users do not know its harmful consequences. globally nigeria ranks third in alcohol consumption after eastern and western europe as a result of liberalization of law (ritchie & roser, 2019). abiona, covid-19 pandemic et al (2019) quoting who noted that nigeria consumed an average of 23.1litre of pure alcohol annually while 50.1g of pure alcohol is consumed daily by drinkers aged 15years and above. within nigeria lasebikan, et al (2018) quoting nbs noted that south-south ranked first followed by south-east in alcohol consumption. due to alcohol consumption consequences which are high in nigeria, who records that both heavy and non heavy drinkers felt the effects of alcohol while at work, some were involved in road traffic accidents, some others were involved in domestic violence as they reported that 51 percent of husbands who stabbed their wives was as a result of alcoholism. nigeria has been unable to have a comprehensive policy on alcohol control (abiona, et al, 2019); due to her high consumption and consequences, nafdac is making moves to stop alcoholic drinks (especially the sachets and small pet bottles) being effective supposedly from 30th of september 2020 (obinna, chioma. ‘nafdac moves to stop…, sept, 2020). the reasons given by nafdac for the proposed ban were mainly on its ability to affect the consumer health-wise such as its negative effect on public health, safety and security, its toxic proactive substance which encourages dependence, its uncontrolled access and availability especially in sachets and pet (poly-ethylene terephthalate) bottles. other reasons include loss of appetite since it gives energy which otherwise would have been provided by foods, malnutrition since alcohol beverage have poor nutritional value and its ability to cause hormonal imbalance. before this move by nafdac, the nigerian government had earlier enshrined into the schools’ curricula (all levels) drug education which she deemed necessary since alcohol beverage is socially accepted to control its excessive use, it needs total re-socialisation, therefore she found it pertinent to emphasis the effects of overuse to the from infancy through the family to the nation. abiona, et al (2019) noted that at local, national and international levels, seminars, conferences, etc on alcohol have been held for parents, guardians, parastatals of nations by both governmental and non-governmental organizations, etc for proper alcohol orientation to help give quick response as soon as signs and symptoms of any drug abuse is dictated and control its distribution, advertisement, etc. enlightenment, employment, traditional social control such as ostracism, confinement, banishment, capital punishment such as death have also been used by communities. materials and methods the study used the qualitative research design and in particular the ethnographic research design. this study was limited to men and women of agbani community in nkanu-west lga of enugu state whether married or single (divorced, separated or never married), no educational or social status barrier, and age 18 and above. the rational for involving all without stratification is that in the said study area, alcohol consumption has no barrier in terms of age, sex, social status, educational qualification, etc since the new-born is given alcohol especially palm wine but this study restricted the age from 18 years and above to abide by the constitutional age of responsibility. 240 the study elicited data from agbani urban and rural communities. the choice enabled the researcher identify peculiarities due to location. agbani town is considered the commercial nerve centre of nkanu-west lga; it ran a four day market which gradually has turned to a daily market because of increasing population (moran, et al., 2018). except for civil servants and students, indigenes of agbani are mainly illiterates and mainly traditionalists with a few christains. in fact agbani is a melting point for students and business men. it has eight communities which include ogbeke, amaiyiagwo, amigbo, mbaogodo, ukwuruta, amakpu, eziaba and umuuba with a population of about 146, 695 by 2006 census (okafor, et al., 2016). mbaogodo houses the lga headquarters, nigerian law school and air force secondary school and eziaba houses part of esut community and the eke market. these two communities were used as urban communities and the others referred to as rural communities. purposive sampling was used to interview customers, retailers and snow ball sampling method was used to get the wholesalers. this enabled the researcher to reach the respondents who are alcohol consumers and also the sellers. it also helped the researcher lay hold on the study content. for this study, qualitative research was used for all respondents (the retail store/kiosk owners and wholesalers) of alcoholic drinks. two kiosks that sold alcohol were located and observed. the retail stores that were chosen was on the bases of which one was busiest with customers (this was determined by constant monitoring of these retail stores for one week, though it was on a tip off), the retailers were interviewed and the researcher with the research assistant visited some of these retailers (as purposively chosen) to monitor and observe (participant observation) the activities that were involved in alcohol transaction and consumption such as frequency of sales, type sold, who bought (age, social status and sex) and also discussions that went on during these activities both verbal and non-verbal within a period of at least two hours. we made it compulsory to participant in the evenings because that was when customers were much and they relaxed and discussed issues though we visited in the afternoons but mainly to observe the buyers. for idi respondents also purposive sampling was used because the researcher sought wholesale alcohol stores. the researcher observed two retail stores from the urban areas each giving a total of four retail stores. one retail store was also observed from each of the other five (5) designated rural areas giving a total of nine retail stores. the rationale was to help establish the location factor of alcohol consumption in the study area. the researcher intended to interview wholesalers from the communities to help establish the location but found out that majority of the retailers got their commodities from eziaba (which houses the market place ‘eke’ that serves as the main market where wholesalers are mainly located) otherwise from enugu metropolis, where prices are cheaper. wholesalers were interviewed and the researcher with the research assistant visited these wholesalers to monitor and observe (participant and non-participant observation methods) the activities that were involved in alcohol transaction. covid-19 pandemic both primary and secondary sources were made use of to enable reliability of information. for primary data, oral interview, eye witness accounts were used and for secondary data oral stories and other empirical works were used. for idis the researcher and the research assistant administered it, field notes were made to take care of non verbal behaviours or expressions. also during the eye witness account, social transactions that took place in the course of alcohol transaction which includes consumption were recorded which were later collated and analyzed thematically also eye witness account and other secondary sources were used to substantiate findings. findings this study adopted a survey method of research. the researcher and the assistant went out in the evenings and a few times in the mornings and afternoons because empirical findings have shown that most times people went out in the evenings to relax after working hours. the researcher observed and interacted with both the owners of the businesses and customers. it took a period of six months (april-september) during the covid-19 lockdown (the lockdown was not really adhered to in the study area but the researcher and research assistant made sure they used nose mask while in their mist). it was observed that many stores (kiosks, beer parlours, provision stores, etc) in the research area had varieties of spirits even when they may not be selling other types of alcohol. most kiosks and provision stores fall under this category. beer parlours sell mainly beer but still have spirit alcohol of different brands and sizes showcased. most kiosks sell only spirits in sachets, pet bottles ranging from thirty to hundred naira and the main big bottles though it was noticed that the big bottles of spirits had mixture of roots in them and are sold in shots at the rate of twenty to fifty naira depending on choice. when most customers came they were not wearing face mask and were not interested in it, did not wash their hands or used hand sanitizer even where the paraphernalia were available.when they used it, it was in mockery as you would hear them say ‘they said it is covid-19, let us wash hand but it is their disease it will never come to us.’ also when such customers came they placed order for spirits which were mainly available in sachets and pet bottles and are affordable. when the order is delivered most of the customers (both male and female, married, unmarried alike) emptied it in one gulp there and then and move on. sometimes they ask for extra which they went away with. there were few cases where children were sent to purchase spirits. it was also observed that married women came personally and accessed more of this spirits than unmarried women. there usually was no drinking gathering with spirits and no time for a drinking binge except for kiosks that had a closure and few seats, drinking spree can be any time (unlike with beers where there is a drinking spree from the evening to last morning as the case maybe) though one can ask that those who needed the spirit alcohol be given and he/she pays for them. also a number of youths (mainly males) accessed this spirit drinks from these kiosks and retail stores that were studied. we could not access the inside of the kiosks because of its closure but we were able to observe a few interactions. first the drinks were displayed over the counter that usually was open 242 to viewers; from there we were able to determine which of the alcoholic beverages were in high demand as the retailer removes them from the counter and replaces them. we observed that most times the bottles with roots were often taken, at intervals the pet bottle and sachet spirits were taken. there were discussions which were usually in high tones. sometimes between the customers and the retailer (both kiosks had women retailers). on one of our visits we saw some people gathered, on enquiry we understood that they were discussing one man whom they allegedly has been patronizing the kiosk seller and is almost insane due to alcoholism. the said man was staggering and soliloquizing in high tone, this finding supports the findings of agba (2015) that talkativeness is one of the consequences of alcoholism. according to them many of them have become alcoholics and causing nuisance to the community, this supports the findings of lasebikan, et al (2018) that increase in alcohol consumption causes alcoholism which causes nuisance in the society. while in one of the retail shops one mid day, an incident took place, a female customer came along demanded that a particular spirit alcohol pet bottle be sold to her, there she opened it and gulped it once, belged and made a comment “i have arrived.” as soon as she left one middle aged male customer commented that women no longer have shame, they drink in the public, they want to be like men, see the way she drank the spirit in one gulp in front of everyone, well women of these days are lucky, if it were then…. the attitude of this woman exemplifies martins (1994) assertion that liberalization of laws has encouraged increase in women alcohol drinkers. in the course of friendly interaction with some of the customers, the researcher found that majority of them increased the number of bottles (volume) they took a day, some of the reasons being that it charged them, prevents them from cold, gives them joy, it gives energy and some would say it is medicine to this covid-19 after all government says covid-19 does not survive in cold weather. some consumed as much as others could buy for them. when asked where and when government told them some said those who use phone told them (from friends) even while drinking, their drinking mates told them, some said they read it up from the media supporting the interactionist cultural transmission perspective which opines that humans learn how to behave in social situations whether properly or improperly by interacting with others. a retailer when interviewed said that the major reason for increase in sales and consumption of spirits is because it helps prevent cold during the harmattan. she further explained that they sell more during the harmattan season. substantiating the increase in consumption (though the period of the study was not harmattan season) but maybe connected to the rumour that it prevents contraction of covid-19 because of its hot nature (mrs. nwachukwu, an alcohol beverage retailer, eziaba). some of them we accessed in the evening were into binge drinking (male, female, single married, mainly adults, of all social class) and were mainly consuming beer though at intervals covid-19 pandemic there were demands of spirits in pet bottles which were mainly added to the beer. when we chatted with some of them to know the reason for the mix up majority said that beer was their brand but sometimes they add spirit to heighten their moral and to keep safe from covid-19 pandemic (as they laughed, we were not sure if it was as a matter of joke). also it was observed that most of the females found in beer parlour joints were singles and mainly consumed alcohol beverage that contained lesser alcoholic volume. the choice maybe due to the fact they are still singles because most of the married ones as we confirmed through interactions were taking beer, spirits, etc. during the interaction we asked if they knew the quantity they should take, one said, of course when i start getting tipsy i know i have taken enough for the day which others agreed to, this finding supports abiona, et al’s (2019) finding that consumers of alcohol are not aware of safe limits. and when asked if they knew any health implications of overdrinking, they showed this non-chalant attitude as some laughed, some signed and one made a comment which elicited others agreement “that if drinking alcohol did not negatively affect his fore-fathers why should it affect him,” it makes him happy and helps him forget his problems, most importantly now they said it prevents covid-19 virus. in fact they do not even know the percentage volume of alcohol they consume nor should consume a day and are not interested to know since they drive joy from consuming it and get a sense of security from covid-19. most customers as were observed were people from low economic background though the research area does not really have much of middle class as workers especially government workers come from the metropolis. the interviews with the wholesalers show that there is an increase in the rate at which they sell spirits especially the ones in sachets and pet bottles as majority of them noted that covid-19 may have been the reason since “they” said it prevents the virus from spreading. this corroborates the findings of ugwu and nwankwo (2020) that situations trigger behavioural change. they explained that recently there are varieties in sizes and shapes of spirits that are affordable and easily accessed as new companies bring in their products into the market with speed and beautifully packaged. for them the companies are in competition. of importance is to note that while in the eke market the researcher observed that these spirits in pet bottles and sachet were sold in every nook and cranny of the market including inside the park supporting the theories explaining its easy access. they are neither aware of the alcohol percentage of these drinks (probably not interested in knowing) nor aware of the extent of damage these alcoholic beverages cost; their interest is to put food on their tables. the findings show no location difference; this may be connected to the importance alcohol plays in the lives of this community, corroborating the findings of nwagu, et al., (2017) that alcohol beverage of any type is of great importance in the history of man. 244 summary and conclusion in summary, this study found that in the research area, the rate of consumption of alcohol has increased among all ages, sex, social status, and no differences in the type consumed, etc, except that the men take more at a time that women though women intake of alcohol has increased due to law liberalization and relaxation of customs and traditions, a multiplier effect of westernization. increase in alcohol consumption especially spirits is in connection to its easy access, cheap nature, aggressive marketing strategies of alcohol companies and perceived false sense of security from covid-19 pandemic. also in the research area no knowledge of percentage volume of alcoholic content on any alcohol beverage they take or what is meant by blood alcohol concentration (bac), also they are not aware of safe limit of alcohol. there is an agreement that the effect of alcohol is more on women than men though modern health care has eased the level of effects on women. the researcher therefore recommends that nafdac should implement her agreement with manufacturers to consistently and drastically reduce the volume of alcohol in spirit alcohol especially to avoid the unforeseen especially in dismissing the rumour that has to do with its medicinal value on covid-19 epidemic in the rural areas. rumour creates a false sense of security which ends negatively in most cases. the increasing intake of alcohol especially spirits to prevent covid-19 should be combated. the media should be used to re-socialise the public on the falsehood of this rumour. it has been empirically proven that when the right information is given and understood and monitored, right behaviour/attitude follows suit as ugwu and nwankwo (2019) noted in their study that people who held burials during covid-19 maintained the covid-19 safety regulations because it was highly monitored by law enforcement agents, so with right and well understood information and implementation on alcohol beverage the expected attitude will be the result. government should enter faithfully into synergy with communication agencies so as to wake them up to their responsibilities and seriously work on censoring information that pass through their networks. ministry of health and other government drug agencies like nafdac do not have any regulatory policy on alcohol, this study therefore recommends that 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(2020). types of alcohol. retrieved from www. alcoholrehabguide.org>alcohol page 4 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 508 role of diaspora advertising and public relations practitioners in the management of nigeria image and reputation abroad obasi, ferdinand department of mass communication caritas university amorji-nike, enugu amokovia@yahoo.com abstract this work examines the role of advertising and public relations in managing nigeria’s image/reputation abroad. essay approach was adopted in discussing the study. there were revelations of facts and figures that nigeria’s image is damaged and needs serious and professional approaches to manage it so that international community can accept nigeria back as a nation with soul and values. the challenges of image laundering have remained a herculean task for every successive government. so, the objectives of the study include to find out whether international community has noticed the significant improvements in nigeria’s corporate governance since 1999. in the course of that discussions generated from extensive literature and interaction with people on the facts and figures about nigeria’s bad image, causes, efforts to correct it and current challenges were analyzed. the result of the analysis confirms that nigeria’s image before international community was bad; and currently effort is being made to manage it for a better understanding. the researcher therefore concludes that more efforts are needed to ensure total redemption of the damages on nigeria’s image/reputation globally; using advertising, pr strategies and diaspora approaches. keywords: advertising, disapora, image making, public relations, reputation. introduction anyone who has followed the history of nigeria since independence will appreciate how this country’s image and national power have been modified for better or worse by the leadership given by its government at various times. the country’s image began to attract criticism when the military took over a legitimate government in a coup in 1966 and introduced illegitimate governance with it attendant corrupt practices. bad leadership, corruption, fraud and gross indiscipline were introduced into public life and those in government institutionalized these virtues and vices. according to soremekum and obi (1994) “nigeria’s political, social and economic crisis cannot be divorced from both the character of the nigeria state and the manner of its leadership in public offices”. mailto:amokovia@yahoo.com 509 since 1966 till date, the task of creating and maintaining a viable and legitimate state that is accessible, efficient, accountable, transparent, equitable and acceptable has become one of the most critical and complicated challenges of the transformation process that nigeria at all times has continued to face. in the views of sambe (2007:56), the military destroyed the basis of dialogue and elevated the use of force and the culture of impunity. it introduced torture, extrajudicial killings by the security forces, arrests and detention without trial, crackdown on press freedom, forced eviction of people from their homes, prolonged closure of schools, state of sponsored terrorism and corruption. collaborating such bad situation, egwu (1999) observed that the “abacha era (1993-1998) remains in the annals of nigerian history as the most damaging in terms of economic mismanagement and corporate failure”. abacha was not alone in such act of abuse of public office. there is corruption in all levels of government, in public and private lives. sambe cited the views of centre for democracy and development, lagos (2003). there is high level of insecurity, inter-communal and inter-ethnic clashes, religious violence, armed robbery, assassinations, poverty, failure of the state and its institutions, manipulation of religions and politics of exclusion. as various governments seemed to have failed to establish purposeful agenda and framework towards addressing these many challenges facing the country, the current issue today is the niger delta problem. the recent publication by undp, titled: “niger delta human development report 2006”, painted a very damaging image of the nigerian government and indeed nigerians. according to the report (2006:1). the niger delta produces the oil wealth that accounts for the bulk of nigeria’s foreign earnings. but analysis of poverty and human development points a dismal picture of the core area in the region, especially when the region is compared with other oil-producing regions of the world. in fact, social instability, poor local governance, competition for economic resource and environmental degradation have taken a tool. the delta today is a place of frustrated expectation and deep-rooted mistrust. the niger delta issue has a historical antecedent to military shortfalls in governance. long years of neglect and conflict in the area have fostered a siege mentality among the youths who feel they are condemned to a future without hope and so see conflict and violence as strategies to escape deprivation. the current happenings in the region paints bad picture of the nigeria’s image abroad. in order to achieve the targeted production of four million barrels per day (bpd) 510 by 2010, the problem of niger delta should be confronted with every honesty it deserves frazer (2007). a critical area of concern to the us is the niger delta, the home of the black gold… it is the genuine interest of the us therefore to work directly and bilaterally to secure the region since it is largely true, nigerian security services are outgunned, outperformed, undermanned, underfunded to challenge the militant groups. this is the verdict of failure of the government to address the emergence situation in the region. once there is crisis in the oil industry, like the current situation in the niger delta, it is a crisis which ultimately generates tremor in the entire economy, politics and governance. we shall recall the event of february 2007 when the cnn reporter and africa correspondent. jeff koinange interviewed militants in the niger delta, in their creeks. the report showed 24 filipino hostages being held by masked gunmen in the remote mangrove area of niger delta, all dressed weapons into the sir, and the hostages appeared immobilized by fear. you can image such language of reportage, and its implication on the image and reputation of nigeria abroad. statement of the problem the observations in the historical background reveal that foreigners especially those from the western world have seen, written and believed nigeria was bad, and have so reflected that in their media works: books, journals, magazines, newspapers and even films, or in their broadcasting media. they have portrayed nigeria’s image and reputation very badly. such negative portrayal was captured by egwu (2001:3). according to a bbc programme on africa broadcasting on 21st april 1996 by 7.45am, “for many years the image and perception of africa in the western world and her media have been that of primitively, corruption, instability incapability and woes”. in fact, foreign media projections of africa are packaged in such a way that responses from africa are at lease lame reactions. according to the author, “africa is suffering from media crisis which borders on identity confusion”. in all foreign media, the image and reputation of nigeria is that of a developing nation with developed and sophisticated crime of all sorts ranging from fraud, cheat, corruption, armed robbery, political assassination, electoral fraud, bad leadership and mismanagement of resources, among others. in deed, foreign media, including their books and films, have so negatively painted nigeria and nigerians that even nigerian in diaspora are treated with arms-length, suspicion and fear, which often resulted in 511 not exhaustively concluding any case involving nigerians in foreign lands before passing unpleasant judgement on them. nigerians living and doing businesses in europe and america, including south africa often suffer extra-judicial killings, unwarranted deportation and other inhuman treatments not as a result of what they committed, but as a result of what was being perceived about them based on wrong judgement as being portrayed in most of the foreign mainstream media. all these accusations about nigeria as a nation is never peculiar to nigeria alone. even in the so called advanced countries, there are crimes of all magnitudes here and there on their streets, banks and other important places like worship centres, school etc. their nationals often engage in highly unprofessional activities like drug trafficking, robbery, kidnapping fraud and others, and heaven has not been let lose. in fact, nigeria is a nation, with a very high national power. it has all the components of national power which include its geography, population, economy, military organization, and government at various levels, social, cultural and psychological elements. ukpabi (1987). national power depends to a very large extent upon the economics resources which a nation possesses. the possess of these economic resources does not qualify a nation as a powerful one, unless such resources are harnessed fully. therefore, the intangible elements which can affect national power include people’s will, morale, national power image and character, culture, nationalism and ideology. the fear of this paper is that the image and reputation of nigeria have suffered abroad, and will continue to suffer if not properly and appropriately managed by professional image launderers. something must be done now to save nigeria and nigerians from further embarrassments in the hands of foreigners and their governments. in order to pursue this onerous task of managing nigeria’s already battered image and reputation, we have to adopt the suggestion put forward by obiora (2011:51). the application of marketing concept philosophy in the business of governance is based on the simple proportion that it is essential for government to win and woo public acceptance in a democratic society, for nothing can succeed without the approval of the people. we, therefore have to apply global and export marketing advertising approach in tacking our image management. like the suggestion of nwosu and nkamnebe (2006:240) in order to achieve active success in marketing nigerian products abroad using advertising, we must be 512 aggressive in positioning our products in the minds of target buyers. our target buyers in our image/reputation as products are foreigners and foreign governments who do business or relate in one form or another with nigerian and nigeria government. objectives citing ogundipe, okiyi (2004:24) “corporate organization like governments are realizing that a good business citizen is one which strikes the balance between what it owes society and what it expects from the society”. therefore, nigeria as a corporate entity must realize that it is within a global village. inhabitants of the global village are watching it closely, so it has a lot of social responsibilities to perform. like theodore levitt (1998) quoted by okiyi, “social responsibility ensures that corporate would eventually invest its will, including all embracing duties, obligations and finally powers”. in trying to fulfill and perform social responsibilities, every nation, according to ilba (2007:112) “should look for its corporate identity”. this is because without proper identification of a country’s corporate identity it can be difficult to manage unidentified identify, image or reputation. for anybody who does not know his worth and what he is in the society would go around messing himself up, so is a nation. we must all realize that “nigeria” is our “monolithic identity”, as a nation, and we do not have any other country. our country is “nigeria”, and we are “nigerians”. so, corporate identity, as already discussed, deals on who you are, what you do, how you do it and how people around you see, interpret and regard you. nigeria’s image and reputation have been negatively portrayed, exhibited and perceived abroad, the objectives of this study shall therefore include: i. to find out whether foreigners and foreign governments have noticed significant improvement in nigeria’s corporate governance in the recent time. ii. to find out whether foreigners and foreign governments are aware that nigeria has since put in place all the economic and financial crime laws, for example, advance fee fraud (419), money laundering act, independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc) act, economic and financial crime commission (efcc) act and money laundering (prohibition) act, in order to check bribery, graft, corruption, advance fee fraud and nepotism in both nigeria’s and nigerians’ lives, ie in both public and private lives of nigerians. 513 nigeria is also signatory to various international and regional conventions, pacts, treaties, etc. for example, extractive industries transparency initiatives, united nations combating against corruption, convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others, and so on. using public relations and advertising concepts in managing nigeria’s image and reputation there is no gain saying the fact that nigeria’s image in the eyes of the international community is bad, smelling and stinking. there is no doubt that bad leadership, corruption, bribery and fraud exist in nigeria and are practices by nigerians, to the extent that the canker worms have eaten deep into the people’s bone marrows. at public and private lives, one perceives monumental height of corruption. tile and wafure (2000:3): in nigeria, cases of failed bank, fraud, 419 and other financial crimes and misappropriates in government ministries, parastatals, etc. exist up to consequences of corruption are adverse because a corrupt society is not a free society. in fact, corruption in nigeria has contributed to the collapse of some key industries, government parastatals, banks; it equally had led to injustices, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment without trials as well as abuse of fundamental human rights of many nigerians. but, nigeria is not alone in the act of corruption; it is found in all nations as and in all human beings, especially in capitalist nations. thomas hobbes, the 16th century english social scientists observes that corruption is “ego-driven” and is found in human nature. for international community to categorize nigeria as one of the most corrupt nations, is nothing but to paint a dog black in order to kill it. the rising profile of nigerian in all works of life is becoming a threat, so by calling nigeria bad names is the only weapon to discredit it and dampens its morale and emerging credentials. corruption exists in europe, america, and other advanced countries. the exaggerated size of corruption in nigeria is causing conflict and misunderstanding between nigeria and the peddlers of such image destroying rumours. therefore, the pr/advertising practitioners in collaboration with the government should identify such groups sponsoring the nigeria’s character assassination. owumalam (2004:174) “the group with any destructive tendencies against other group must be identified, analyzed and classified according to their interest”. the strong belief of this paper is that the most problem confronting nigeria 514 stems from lack of understanding of its peculiar situation by the international community. take for example, america invaded iraq on the pretext that iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, and went on to castigate iraq in the “international media” as preparing to destroy the world. but could not justify the claims after investigation which shows that such castigation has an interior motive. that could be likened to the nigeria’s situation. since the interested international communities in nigeria oil wealth could not physically and openly attack nigeria, they resulted to character assassination. in order to counter such evil intensions, public relations experts have to design effective information strategies capable of presenting issues aptly and interpreting meaning clearly for the world to understand the underlining motives of those enemies of nigeria. nigeria pr practitioners could adopt what professor ikechukwu nwosu calls “total quality management (tqm) and total quality public relations management (tqprm) techniques” in managing nigeria’s already dainted image, nwosu (2004:189). tqm is a practical management strategy that combines older and new management strategies or approaches such as management by objectives (mbno), marketing management (mm) and public relations blended into cohesive, formidable and functional management strategy. in furtherance to this suggestion, this paper posits that, managing nigeria’s image/reputation abroad, is a crisis management arising as result of interest. salu (1993) “conventional method in crisis management is seizing the initiative, taking control of what happened before it engulfed the system or society (like nigeria), planning for a crisis as the key to corporate survival”. nigerian pr and advertising practitioners can equally embark on what (nwosu & nkamnebe, 2006) call international, global and multinational advertising. according to the authors, this type of advertising is aimed at promoting sales of p products, services, ideas, nations etc, beyond national frontiers, borders or boundaries. they further suggest that to achieve success in marketing nigerian products abroad using advertising, “we must be aggressive in positioning and re-positioning our products in the minds of our target audiences through careful planning”. the authors are not alone in such suggestion, field (1990:73) “media planners in advertising and public relations organizations are responsible for determining exactly what the clients will end up with if they utilize certain advertising/pr strategies”. so, pr/advertising planners should develop as we can understand, is not easy, but no pr and advertising strategy can 515 succeed without careful and adequate planning. kaghku (2007:8) “public relations success is based on optimism, a wellspring of ideas and much thoughtful planning”. therefore, the analysis of any public relations is to determine the ways its practitioners approach their work; the philosophy, attitude, ethical stand and knowledge of technical skills. the new concept in public relations, proposed by nwosu (2007:2) emerged on the fact that no one can practice public relations successfully without touching or drawing from other management, mass communication, liberal and fine arts, the social sciences and others. so, modern practitioners in pr must acquire broad-based knowledge in these relevant disciplines to enable them plan very adequately in executing their strategies in image/reputation management and good governance. according to onah (2007:174). “the role of public relations in sustaining yar’adua’s envisaged new brand nigeria include to advertise and market nigeria for international acceptance”. public relations practitioners must use advocacy and private dialogue as important tools to influence the policy reforms of the federal government. it is imperative to pay attention to the new pr and advertising concepts if the much talked about marketing the “new brand nigeria” abroad is to be achieved. pr as a matter of fact, must embrace these new concepts in this onerous task of image and reputation management function. the role of disapora in nigeria’s image and reputation management the setting up of diaspora committee in the national assembly shows the importance nigerian government attaches to image/reputation management abroad. the committee in both chambers severally and occasionally organize diaspora for a wherein nigerian of all works of life living and doing business abroad were either invited home or made to gather at interactive moment with members of the diaspora committee from both chambers of the national assembly. such interactive meets have a lot of role in the nigeria’s reputation/image management. according to news watch (march, 2008), such meetings afford members of the national assembly the opportunity of educating and enlightening nigerians abroad about the true position of things at home. with such education, information and enlightenment, the diaspora would be appealed to take such good messages back to their respective countries of abode. not 516 only that the for a urge nigerians living abroad to carry pout and spread good messages, information and data-facts and figures-about nigeria to and in there host countries, the for a are also used to caution nigerians abroad to be mindful of the kinds of life they live and the types of business they engage themselves in. in fact, diaspora initiative is one of the most effective public relations and advertising processes techniques aimed at managing nigeria’s image/reputation abroad. the initiative uses nigerians in diaspora as both public relatives officers (pros) and advertising practitioners (aps) who preach and market nigeria to the outside world. the diaspora’s attitude, behaviour and speeches speak volumes about nigeria at their resident countries. banjo (2008) “diaspora initiative by the national assembly is a new concept in the nigeria’s image management abroad”. it has added to the pr job our ambassadors and other top government officials who carry out various assignments on behalf of the federal government do abroad. collaborating this view, the minister of information and communication, prof. dora akunyili during the 2009 national broadcasting commission interactive forum in enugu, observes that unless nigerians themselves in character and speeches began to tell the world that nigerian is good and her people are well behaved, foreign media would never stop painting nigeria in bad light. she further observed that nigerians were not as bad as they were being painted. in comparative terms, the minister remarked, number of crimes committed in a day cannot match with the no of crimes committed in one state in the united states of america on daily basis, still americans were very proud of their country. we have to adopt this concept of loving our country, nigeria. tell other nationals that nigeria is good and that nigerians are not as bad as the foreign media have made the worlds believed. if every nigerian living abroad preaches this “good news” about nigeria, the task of using pr and advertising to manage nigeria’s image/reputation would have been made simple. facts and figures about nigeria’s situation opinions and views generated in the course of this study show that a lot of damage has been done on nigeria’s image/reputation abroad. such damage is both historical and psychology. historical in the sense that most of the history or commentary books about nigerian are written by the foreigners, who used such media of communication to create primitive, under development, corruptive, mismanagement and bad leadership impressions about nigeria. the 517 results of such biased and public affairs analysts, to say the least, affect the psyche and psychology of many nigerians. many of us hold the erroneous beliefs that since it has been written and recorded in various print materials books, journals, magazines and newspapers many years ago, that nigeria is corrupt. nigeria thrives in bad leadership and poverty, therefore, it could be part of our culture or inheritance from the ancestors. many people see and believe so, and then indulge in such vices without re-thinking of its implication in our corporate image as a nation. we forget the remark made by ilba (2007:112). one of the things many new african nations did immediately after independence process was to “africanize” their countries, themselves and their ways of life. africanization would have erased the stigma created by foreign authors and foreign media about nigeria. in fact, our inability to africanize or nigerianise early, created most of the image identity problems we are facing today. sambe (2007:56) carefully observed that tat independence, nigerian’s thought wore most of colonial characterization which include authoritarianism, misrule and master-servant attitude, and non-challant attitude towards changing the thought and that brought untold hardship to the citizenry. that authoritarian inheritance that centralizes government and governance in the hands of very few further concentrated wealth in the purse and generated mass poverty. poverty is a major course of corruption, misrule and other vices plaguing nigeria and other third world countries. the perceived corruptive tendencies in the first indigenous leaders after self-government (independence) brought in the military into governance, as a corrective corrupt and fraudulent administration nigeria ever had. to worsen the matter, its long stay in governance created monumental image destruction at home and abroad and that is why we are suffering today. the battered image and reputation we are trying to launder is mostly caused by the military. the military destroyed corporate governance and alienated majority of the populace from government. the above gloomy picture was captured by the african peer review mechanism report, (no.8 of may 2008:10). nigeria is characterized by systemic governance problems, ineffective implementation of laws, highly uncompetitive economy; large informal economy, high levels of unemployment etc. the book specifically noted weakness in the legislative arm of government in its oversight functions, including overlapping regulatory powers and confecting jurisdictions. no doubt, 518 these are existing problems that need to be tackled so that our image and reputation within, and outside nigeria will be cleansed. in this regard, media have a serious role to play here, using the services of both pr and advertising practitioners and organization/agencies. but our media is weak too in this area because of over concentration on politics and lack of interest in investigative journalism. nigerian media and their operators including public relations and advertising practitioners should pay much attention to issue management. cited by nwodu (2007:97), mackey (2004) defines issue management as maintaining the viability and reputation of the organizing or industry by anticipating, understanding and keeping in touch with significant current of thought in society. managing nigeria’s image/reputation abroad demands issue management approach from the stakeholders. obasi (2007:85) insists that mass media have power to foster critical changes in image campaigns. advertising is a powerful auxiliary in the positioning process and image laundering (agbakoba, 1997:262). but, nwosu (2006:80) posits that positioning function links advertising and public relations together, quoting kotler (1990) who defines positioning as the “act of designing the company’s image and value offer so that the segment’s customers understand and appreciate what the company stands for”. although both pr and advertising play significant role in brand or image positioning, the view of klepper (1973:89) is that advertising adds perpetual value to image of a product, company, organization or society in the minds of those whom the advertisement is directed at, and so creates positive image of the product before the customers. conclusion there are facts and figures to show that nigeria has bad image/reputation as a result of bad leadership that bleeds corruption, bribery, poverty, fraud (419) and other similar vices like the emerging trend of kidnapping in the niger delta region. much have equally been written by foreigners and nigerians about nigerian depicting bad image to the extent that virtually all those who have come across such record books and read them, see nigeria as a corrupt nation. not only in record books, on daily basis some foreign media and independent media in nigeria spoken of the nigeria’s questioning image, even in the present 21st century. therefore, there are evidences (facts and figures) to confirm some of the allegations of corruption, bad 519 leadership, mismanagement of national resources, poverty, crisis in the niger delta area and similar vices capable of bringing disrepute to the image of nigeria. but the opinion of this paper is that with time, especially with the current approach to governance in nigeria, most of such tendencies that course corruption will go. therefore, we conclude that using effective and efficient public relations and advertising plus the diaspora initiative tools we can begin to educate the international community of the laudable efforts being put in place to re-position the image of nigeria. references agbakoba, m.m.(1997). brand management: nigeria’s contemporary experience”, in josef bel-molokwu and dozie obiaku (eds) advertising in nigeria: some fundamental issues. lagos: an amanda publication. egwu, e.u. (2001). foreign media projection of africa: the role of african communicators, in ikechukwu e. nwosu(ed) the journal of communications. vol.1.no.1. keghku, t.(2007). total quality management for the news public relations focus on orthodox public relations and orthodox advertising, in ikechukwu e. nwosu (ed) nigerian perspectives in public relations, enugu: ezu books ltd. klepper, o.(1973). advertising procedures. new jersey-prentice-hall inc. nwodu, l.c. (2007). corporate public relations management. enugu precision publishers ltd. nwosu, i.e.(2007). toward the new public relations: a general introduction, in ikechukwu e. nwosu (ed) public relations-insights from nigeria. enugu: ezu books ltd. nwosu, i.e., & nkamnebe, a. d. (2006) triple-p advertising: principles, processes, practices. aba: africa-towers ltd. obasi, f.(2007). communication and political mobilization for sustainable human development, in ikechukwu e. nwosu et al(eds) communication for sustainable human development: a multi-perspective approach. enugu: zik-chuks publishers. okiyi, g.(2004). implications of corporate social responsibility conflict management by an organization” in ikechukwu e. nwosu and des wilson(eds) communication, media and conflict management in nigeria. enugu: prime targets ltd. onah, j.o.(2007). remarketing brand nigeria in the yar’adua era: the past, present and future roles of public relations. in ikechukwu e. nwosu(ed) nigerian perspectives in public relations. enugu: ezu books ltd. owums, e. o. (2004). consent engineering: a public relations strategy for conflict management”. in ikechukwu e. nwosu and des wilson(eds) communication, media and conflict management in nigeria. enugu: prime targets ltd. 520 sambe, j.a.(2007). corporate government and national reputation. an overview of nigeria’s situation. public relations journal vol.3no.2. shelly, f. (1990). career opportunities in advertising and public relations. new york: facts on file. soremetkum, k. & obi,c.i. (1994). the structural adjustment programme and the nigerian oil industry. nigerian journal of international affairs. vol.20,no.1. ukpabi, s.c. (1978). national power: a general survey. a conference paper presented to the nigerian defence academy, kaduna. uzoh, s. i. (2007). effective corporate identity management: in public relations practice. in ikechukwu e. nwosu(ed) public relations-insights from nigeria. enugu: ezu books ltd. african peer review mechanism country review report no. 8 of may, 2008. the sun newspaper, thursday june 14, 2007 undp publication: niger delta human development report, 2006. http.//www.com/2007/world/african/02/12/nigeria.reaction/index/section=cnn latest. page 4 287 internally generated revenue in nigeria: prospects and challenges fidelia nebechi onuigbo department of economics enugu state university of science & technology enugu, enugu state, nigeria ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com abstract revenue generation is the nucleus and the path to modern development. thus, this study assessed the challenges of internally generated revenue in nigeria and various ways of enhancing internal revenue generation in the states. the methodology adopted for this study is the technique of content analysis and data sourced from published documents used for data analysis. the result from the analysis showed that the various methods of generating internal revenue, which include taxes, borrowing and sell of bonds by the governments are not adequate. the implication of these findings show that revenue administration agencies need to be reformed and enhanced for effective revenue generation. keywords: fiscal federalism, federalism, internally generated revenue, revenue, states. introduction in 2019, states’ internally generated revenues (igrs) slipped implying an increasing dependence on federal accounts allocation (faac) to fund state governments’ expenditures, much of which is recurrent. two per cent dip in revenue mobilisation, which was what the fall was when weighed against the general business environment, is fair and understandable. the uneven spread of the percentage loss among the states validates, once again, the viability concern raised by advocates of fiscal federalism in the past years. according to the internal revenue data released by the national bureau of statistics (nbs) recently, 18 states reported a decline of an average of 19 per cent in their 2018 igrs (olaoye & bankole, 2019). benue emerged as the worst-performing state in the year with its income crumbling by as much as 41 per cent while sokoto’s slipped by 37.9 per cent. kwara, jigawa and ogun states had their internal revenue earnings cut by 36 per cent, 33 per cent and 28.4 per cent, respectively, to join benue and sokoto at the bottom of the table. abia, akwa ibom, delta, yobe, bayelsa, adamawa, rivers, ondo, edo, niger, kano, enugu and cross river also recorded negative growth, which may have weakened their fiscal position and worsened their economic sustainability (olaoye & bankole, 2019). overall, states’ igrs slipped to n1.3 trillion as against n1.33 trillion realised the previous year. that puts the average figure generated per state in the entire year at n35.1 billion or n2.9 billion per month. interestingly too, of the total revenue, n1.09 trillion or 83 per cent, came mailto:ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com internally generated revenue in nigeria 288 from taxes, while revenue drive efforts of ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) contributed a meagre 218 billion to the pool. on average, the one-year non-tax revenue of a state was n5.9 billion. lagos alone contributed almost a quarter of the total non-tax income (n51.8 billion) while ogun earned n19.2 billion (olaoye & bankole, 2019). if one takes out the earnings of lagos, and rivers, fct and delta out, igrs balloon by a paltry sum. lagos alone contributed almost one-third to the entire igrs, and that has been the trend for as far as anyone can recall. its share of the igrs has floated around 30 per cent in recent years. tax administration in enugu state nigeria’s federal system of governance reflects in her tax administration processes. the responsibilities of tax administration in nigeria are divided among different agencies and levels of government – federal, state and local government. according ogungbesan (2014), the federal government has a total of eight explorable tax bases; the states have eleven, while local governments have twenty. the tax authorities responsible for the assessment, imposition and collection of taxes in nigeria are: federal inland revenue services (federal government) state boards of internal revenue (state governments) local government revenue committee (local governments) in enugu state for instance, the enugu state board of internal revenue service is principally responsible for the administration of taxes. these taxes include: personal income tax in respect of paye & direct taxation, withholding tax (individuals only), capital gains tax (individuals, stamp duties, pool betting and lotteries taxes, road taxes, business premises registration fee in urban and rural areas, development levy, naming of street/registration fee, right of occupancy, market taxes and levies. at the local government level, local governments’ revenue committees are legally permitted to explore taxes from the following sources: shops and kiosk rates, tenement rates; on & off liquor license fees, slaughter slab fee, marriage, birth and death registration fees, motor park levies, signboard and advertisement permit fees etc. lagos, rivers, fct and delta jointly cornered 53 per cent of the revenue for themselves while the remaining 33 states scampered for less than half of the pile. but that is far from the reality – not the figures but the impression conveyed by the use of ‘cornered’ and ‘scampered’. states’ revenue performance is nothing close to a zero-sum game where one entity’s win is another’s loss. every state, notwithstanding what happens elsewhere, has an apple opportunity within the limitless possibilities of its endowment to demonstrate like lagos and ogun have done that it 289 can stand on its feet. though lagos and ogun have demonstrated this possibility, experts said they merely scratched the surface of their vast resources. a whole number of factors have caused mal-performance of state governments but one of the salient ones is centred on the relationship between the federal government and the state governments. more specifically, the financial relationship between them is a major causal factor; it is an obvious fact that without financial resources, an organization is bound to hit a brick wall, thus the saying that finance is the life wire of organizations. against this backdrop, the basic problem in this study is to address the challenges states are facing in order to improving their igr. this study/paper is structured as follows: following the background is the conceptual issues presented in section two, section three is the methodology while section four is the results/findings and analysis. section five is the conclusion and policy recommendations. conceptual issue revenue, revenue generation and internally generated revenue: revenue is the income that an organization or business has from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. some organizations receive revenue from interest, royalties, or other fees. revenue may refer to business income in general, or it may refer to the amount in a monetary unit, earned during a period of time. agu (2011) defined revenue as the fund required by the government to finance its activities. these funds are generated from different sources such as taxes, borrowing, fine, fees etc. it is also defined as the total amount of income that accrues to an organization (public or private) within a specified period of time (alade, 2015). states revenue comprises of receipt from taxation as well as those which are not the proceeds of taxation, but of either the realization from the sale of government properties or other interests and returns from loans and investment earning. onah (2006) contends that revenue receipt include “routine” and “earned” income. for these reasons, according to him, revenue do not include borrowing and recovery of loans from other parties, but it includes tax receipts, donations, grants, fees and fines and so on. similarly, erikume (2016) defined government revenue as all the money received other than from issue of and debt, liquidation of investments. government revenue includes tax collections, charges and miscellaneous revenues, utility and insurance trust revenue for all internally generated revenue in nigeria 290 funds and agencies of a government. public revenue according to osita (2004) is concerned with various ways in which the government raises revenue. on the other hand, revenue generation is the complete amount of money that is generated during specific time period. the money is used to calculate business profits (eme, emeh & onyishi, 2012). from the above definitions, it can be said that revenue is the total amount of income accruing to a state from various sources within a specified period of time. state government, like the other two tiers of government, has sources and uses of revenue. osisami (1992) states that there are basically two types of revenue that accrues to state governments. these are internally generally generated revenue and revenue allocated from the federation account. internally generated revenue or self-financing sources are those sources by which governments can raise revenue constitutionally aside from the statutory allocations and grants (murana, 2016). it should be noted that internally generated revenue sources provide a wide scope for initiative towards attracting fund. for example, the extent to which these revenue sources can yield to the benefit of the local government council depends on the ability and vibrancy of the local government leadership. bye-laws are very important in providing the enabling legal environment for proper revenue generation at the local government level (murana, 2016). bye-laws on finance prescribe the sources of revenue, the amount to be collected and mode of collection as well as the basis of incidence, that is, the person(s) to bear the burden of payment. internally generated revenue are those revenues that are derived within the state from various sources such as taxes (pay as you earn, direct assessment, capital gain taxes, among others), and motor vehicle license, among others. while the statutory allocation from federation account, value added tax constitute the external source. most states of the federation get the bulk of their revenue in form of statutory allocation from the federation account to finance their expenditure programmes (cbn, 2014). state governments as the second tier of government in nigeria derive its revenue from various sources. however, it should be noted that sources of revenue are by no means uniform among the states. states derive their revenue depending on the resources available to them; (anyafo, 1996). the share of federation account to states constitutes 57.97% in 2002 of the total revenue plus grant and this rose to 65.82% in 2006; while the internally generated revenue declined from 13.38% in 2002 to 8.11% in 2006 (cbn,2006). the average percentages of internally generated revenue in relation to the federal allocation were between 5-9 percent for most non 291 oil producing states in the recent past. kano was able to slightly exceed 10% in 2004 to date due to aggressive revenue generation efforts, with lagos state as the only exception. recurrent expenditure according to agu (2011) is the type of expenditure that happens repeatedly on daily, weekly or even monthly basis. the amount involved is charged to some operating account (e.g. profit and loss account or income and expenditure account).this includes for example payment of pensions and salaries, administrative overhead, maintenance of official vehicles, payment of electricity and telephone bills, water rate and insurance premium among others. there is no gain saying of the fact that internally generated revenue has a lot of benefits. these include,  provision of clean water for the people in the local government area  construction of good roads for easy movement of transportation  provision of a well-equipped health centre in the community to reduce the death rate of the people  provision of free education in the community to reduce the level of illiteracy in the society.  stability of electricity in the community many of the problems facing the generation of revenue in the local governments are those that can be corrected to improve their collection. theoretical framework this paper adopted the fiscal federation theory as the basis for this work. the basic foundations for the initial theory of fiscal federation were laid by kenneth arrow, richard musgrave and paul samuelson. samuelson’s two important papers on the theory of public good (1954, 1955), arrow’s discourse on the roles of public and private sectors (1970), and musgrave’s book on public finance (1959) provided the framework for what has come to be accepted as the proper role of the state in the economy. within this framework, some roles were identified for the government sector. these were the roles of government in correcting various forms of market failure; ensuring an equitable distribution of income and seeking to maintain stability in the macro-economy at full employment and stable prices. the theoretical framework in question, basically a keynesian one, canvassed for an active role of the state in economic affairs. thus the government was expected to step in where the market mechanism failed due to various types of public goods and the need for government to generate internally generated revenue in nigeria 292 revenue to effectively provide them. by this, the role of government in maximizing social welfare through public goods provision came to be assigned to the lower tiers of government. the other two roles of income distribution and stabilization were, however, regarded as suitable for the central government until in recent times when it became proven that she cannot alone do that comfortably. the central government’s expected role of ensuring equitable distribution of income, maintenance of macro-economic stability and provision of public good that are national in character are no more sacrosanct. the next step in the theoretical framework was to determine the appropriate taxing framework. in addressing this tax assignment problem, attention was paid to the need to avoid distortions resulting from decentralized taxation of mobile tax bases. adesoji & chike (2013) emphasized that the extensive application of non-benefit taxes on mobile factors at decentralized levels of government could result in distortions in the location of economic activity. it should be pointed out however, that recent literature emphasizes the importance of reliance on own revenues for financing local budgets as a way out for the inadequacies in the fiscal equalization argument of the need for financial assistance to the poorer regions. a number of authors (weingast, 1995; mckinon, 1997) have drawn attention to the dangers of decentralized levels of government relying too heavily on intergovernmental transfers for financing their budgets and this has formed the basis for the argument for the enhancement of internally generated revenues among local constituents in federal structures in recent time. methodology the researcher adopted a historical method to carry out the research. the adoption of this method was informed by the need to look at an era within the historical period of nigeria, specifically 2011 2019 within which state resources remarkably decreased. the researcher also adopted research evaluative design which was aimed at examining opinions and ideas of scholars on the subject matter as is contained in the various literatures reviewed within the study. sources of data collection the source of data for this study is secondary source, it becomes expedient so as to achieve the objectives of the study. secondary source of data refers to data gotten from other medium that 293 are relevant to the subject matter under study. these sources of secondary data maybe through the internet, newspapers, magazines, journals, articles and other related documents method of data presentation and analysis the study adopted content analysis as its method of data presentation and analysis. the content analysis as a matter of fact, implies the search for the objective, systematic and qualitative description of the manifest content of communication. the content analysis enabled the researcher to examine and scrutinize the contents of the documents in order to understand their underlying structure, ideas, and concepts and the message they relate in this work. hence, adopting this method of data presentation and analysis makes the content of the work appropriate and enabled the researcher explains reality, verify and validate the hypotheses of this research work. results and analysis analysis of revenue trend in the state states government in nigeria enjoyed an improved revenue in the 1990’s due to reforms introduced by different regimes all aimed at making the state government effective and efficient in discharging statutory responsibilities to the people. this was achieved through increased sources of revenue generation but this cannot be said now. this is as a result of problems which are multifarious ranging from high borrowing capacity, corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation of state government funds, ineffective strategies for enhancing internally generally generated revenue, lack of skilled and technical personnel among others (eme, & elekwa, 2013). governments in nigeria was established for the purpose of rendering services and supplying amenities to the people in both rural and urban area according to the document establishing the1999 constitution. federal government cannot perform all the activities of the rural areas by themselves, but this role can be complemented by the people elected in that local government area. this also cannot stop the federal government from implementing their roles by providing all the social amenities, such as construction of roads, provision of pipe borne water, hospitals, good education for the youth, stadium, electricity and museum etc (olaoye, 2008). all these social amenities are made available from the revenue generated from the people. moreover, a lot has been written and said on the finances of local government in internally generated revenue in nigeria 294 nigeria. most of the contributors identified inadequate finance as a major problem hindering the efficient performance of governments in nigeria (adedeji, 2006). in fact, the so called independent sources of revenue are not really independent because they require government authorization before they can be collected. for instance, no local authorities can increase the rate of local tax (community tax). independently there must be legal provisions for local fees and all these are approved by government before inclusion in the estimates. the analysis done below supports these challenges. the national bureau of statistics, nbs, in its 2015 igr report on named ogun, anambra, borno, edo, bauchi, abia, kogi, nasarawa, niger, taraba and sokoto as the only states that bettered their 2014 records of revenue generation performance in 2015. the nbs, which relied on records obtained from the joint tax board and states’ boards of internal revenue, said the igr earnings in 24 other states declined from the levels attained the previous year. among the 24 states that performed poorly included kwara, imo, bayelsa, adamawa, akwa ibom, benue, cross river, delta, ekiti, enugu, gombe, jigawa, kaduna, kano, katsina, kebbi, lagos, ondo, osun, oyo, plateau, rivers, yobe, and zamfara. ebonyi was the only state whose internally generated revenue records were not available. overall performance of the 36 states showed that the total igr realised for the year dropped by 3.69 per cent, from n707.86 billion in 2014 to n682.67 billion. details of the respective states’ performances showed that ogun state’s igr records were adjudged best, with a 49.42 per cent increase, almost doubling the n17.5 billion revenue earned in 2014 to n34.6 billion. anambra followed closely, with its igr rising by about 29.32 per cent from n10.45 billion in 2014 to n14.79 billion, while borno came third with a 21.8 per cent improvement from n2.76 billion the previous year to n3.53 billion. other states with improved performances included edo (10.95 per cent), bauchi (10.2 per cent), sokoto (9.75 per cent), taraba (8.57 per cent), abia (7.33 per cent), nasarawa (4.59 per cent), niger (3.98 per cent) and kogi (3.05 per cent). among the poor performers, the nbs showed that kwara state topped, with its igr declining massively by about 73.57 per cent, from about n12.46 billion realised in 2014, to about n7.18 billion in 2015. the state was followed by imo, whose igr in 2014 dropped by 48.3 per cent, from n8.12 billion to n5.47 billion the following year. yobe state came third with a 36.53 per cent drop in its igr from n3.07 billion in 2014 to n2.74 billion in 2015. others included bayelsa (25.76 per cent), jigawa (23.46 per cent), plateau (19.42 per cent), ondo (16.05 per 295 cent), cross river (16.01 per cent), zamfara (14.88 per cent), adamawa (12.19 per cent), kaduna (10.8 per cent) and gombe (8.61 per cent). also included among the poor performers were benue (8.55 per cent), rivers (8.54 per cent), katsina (7.46 per cent), kebbi (6.73 per cent), enugu (6.47 per cent), akwa ibom (5.99 per cent), osun (5.45 per cent), ekiti (4.99 per cent), delta (4.93 per cent), oyo (4.11 per cent), lagos (2. 96 per cent), and kano (0.37 per cent). among the oil producing states of the niger delta, apart from edo and abia, all others could not meet their 2014 igr levels, with their average earnings dropping by about 6.6 per cent. in terms of igr volume, lagos state was ranked highest with a total of n268.23 billion during the year, followed by rivers with n82.1 billion, and delta, with n40.81 billion. the table below captures the poor state of affairs in the states in terms of internal generated revenue. internally generated revenue in nigeria 296 table 1: internally generated revenue summary by states between 2008 – 2014 in n bn s/n state no of local government councils 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 total gross allocation for states/lgcs % of igr 1 abia 17 11,124,643,033.22 11,763,510,585.86 16,751,700,375.58 12.4 13,349,444,263.72 58,145,094,691.02 23.0 2 adamawa 21 4,208,037,781.45 4,149,550,775.70 4,615,407,803.00 4,149,550,775.70 4.9 4,451,736,117.84 62,295,543,772.58 7.1 3 akwa ibom 31 10,133,958,927.00 11,678,520,984.00 13,516,810,150.00 15,398,828,428.00 15.6 14,791,175,253.00 173,902,779,602.28 8.5 4 anambra 21 7,655,785,733.05 6,148,922,395.00 7,601,585,012.15 8,731,599,921.43 10.4 14,793,120,188.67 63,654,309,711.92 23.2 5 bauchi 20 3,402,848,015.39 4,463,780,451.92 4,064,710,425.23 4,937,242,874.83 4.8 5,393,721,996.00 72,613,430,598.92 7.4 6 bayelsa 8 4,710,021,000.00 10,500,936,262.88 4,958,806,727.00 10,500,936,262.88 10,958,263,688.00 8,713,516,526.24 95,408,284,755.19 9.1 7 benue 23 6,877,690,630.00 11,131,343,534.58 8,436,560,608.98 8,373,720,592.15 8.2 7,631,789,841.37 73,823,754,968.40 10.3 8 borno 27 2,108,612,985.25 2,282,102,699.76 2,444,613,205.37 2,132,815,258.00 2.7 3,530,261,222.31 78,717,920,659.55 4.5 9 cross river 18 7,870,941,915.00 9,159,651,948.00 12,734,560,333.00 12,002,167,999.57 15.7 13,567,122,507.38 59,049,491,133.09 23.0 10 delta 25 26,087,346,526.00 34,750,081,881.93 45,566,897,481.00 50,208,229,986.91 42.8 40,805,656,911.96 144,706,571,893.61 28.2 11 ebonyi 13 12,998,269,207.69 ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 11.0 11,032,472,512.00 (2004 igr figure) 49,400,218,495.52 22.3 12 edo 18 10,651,999,356.60 14,764,018,237.44 18,880,055,380.83 18,899,322,710.47 17.0 19,117468,369.25 66,041,595,150.93 28.9 13 ekiti 16 1,554,020,325.64 2,489,797,191.33 3,787,607,515.35 2,339,670,199.77 3,462,341,448.32 3,297,707,703.96 50,460,337,004.42 6.5 14 enugu 17 13,795,511,815.00 7,287,161,299 12,209,587,683.00 20,203,801,863.00 19.2 18,081,014,527.00 59,609485,755.91 30.3 15 gombe 11 2,954,868,571.34 3,153,362,788.35 3,717,188,863.22 3,870,998,757.79 5.2 4,784,605,861.47 49,802,580,045.16 9.6 16 imo 27 5,714,554,547.72 5,806,462,989.22 6,810,221,957.04 7,583,501,933.27 8.1 5,472,581,634.18 71,694,047,410.89 7.6 17 jigawa 27 1,241,956,756.54 1,482,918,912.88 6.3 5,081,424,105.40 73,065,332,210.82 7.0 18 kaduna 23 11,564,414,063.48 9,781,946,157.96 11,531,795,961.69 10,932,071,462.59 12.7 11,536,729,988.59 83,447,953,776.39 13.0 19 kano 44 6,618,936,565.04 6,618,936,565.04 11,051,971,481.61 17,142,211,079.94 13.7 13,611,853,935.85 117,852,408,096.50 11.5 20 katsina 34 3,151,689,985.00 4,239,692,674.00 5,029,720,846.00 6,852,511,585.00 6.2 5,791,008,741.00 88,880,271,506.43 6.5 21 kebbi 21 3,807,258,812.42 4,472,397,621.47 5,424,015,848.65 3,732,343,145.11 3.8 3,592,406,108.00 64,896,141,433.46 5.5 22 kogi 21 2,217,504,390.25 2,848,556,782.15 3,185,459,549.72 5,020,349,740.18 6.5 6,776,580,756.17 67,200,907,459.88 10.1 23 kwara 16 7,295,348,963.22 8,816,657,944.50 11,317,269,584.36 13,838,085,972.51 12.5 7,178,922,182.76 52,384,587,394.46 13.7 24 lagos 20 149,966,383,196.47 202,761,061,679.60 219,202,426,843.89 384,259,410,959.19 276.1 268,224,782,435.23 178,549,361,363.13 150.2 25 nasarawa 13 1,850,541,963.18 4,132,282,812.68 4,132,282,812.68 4,012,291,835.93 4,085,127,585.70 4,281,701,806.50 50,554,539,354.39 8.5 26 niger 25 3,257,215,894.60 4,115,777,679.30 3,782,827,634.99 4,115,777,679.30 5.7 5,975,149,921.86 74,851,989,994.10 8.0 27 ogun 20 7,917,662,341.92 10,838,698,403.20 12,438,765,025.22 13,777,026,969.63 17.4 34,596,446,519.52 60,070,767,635.93 57.6 28 ondo 18 6,480,372,918.69 8,015,725,375.26 10,153,042,597.01 10,498,697,469.99 11.7 10,098,000,000.00 71,491,617,166.92 14.1 29 osun 30 3,376,735,645.43 7,398,572,036.48 5,020,250,633.94 7,284,225,003.77 8.5 8,072,966,446.00 66,005,570,597.93 12.2 30 oyo 33 10,488,362,233.80 8,915,603,182.50 14,598,808,723.10 15,251,369,563.24 16,307,233,700.20 15,663,514,824.74 84,044,983,198.03 18.6 31 plateau 17 3,398,815,261.07 4,520,622,617.37 6,927,858,653.07 8,486,806,640.08 8.2 6,937,349,802.70 61,450,215,048.92 11.3 32 rivers 23 49,632,280,280.92 52,711,985,543.27 66,275,698,676.01 87,914,415,268.80 89.1 82,101,298,408.43 130,712,237,312.44 62.8 33 sokoto 23 3,888,400,925.16 4,185,153,701.13 4,313,699,006.03 5,509,132,929.43 5,617,763,260.35 6,224,448,122.53 69,767,717,468.53 8.9 34 taraba 16 1,284,745,422.40 2,869,031,498.92 3,418,289,991.33 3,344,006,052.45 3.8 4,155,053,816.15 56,399,948,000.85 7.4 35 yobe 17 5,960,502,339.45 2,385,653,776.94 1,785,221,060.95 3,072,005,109.88 3.0 2,251,330,427.39 58,145,094,691.02 3.9 36 zamfara 14 2,068,729,575,95 1,714,432,462.63 2,592,935,139.95 3,039,396,601.83 3.1 2,741,632,541.03 56,621,635,820.29 4.8 sources: national bureau of statistics / joint tax board put this table in the appendix 287 at the inception of the present administration, no fewer than 30 states were said to be distressed financially as a result of the declining earnings from oil exports. global oil price dropped from an average of $100 per barrel to $24 late last year. oil now sells for about $40 a barrel. to enable the states meet their minimum obligations, particularly in respect of payment of workers’ salaries, the federal government unfolded a bail-out package for all the states. but, central bank of nigeria, cbn, said only 19 of the affected states applied for and received various sums from the facility. beneficiaries included kwara, zamfara, osun, niger, bauchi, gombe, abia, adamawa, ondo, kebbi, ekiti, imo, ebonyi, ogun, plateau, nasarawa, sokoto, edo and oyo states. although akwa ibom and rivers states were not among the beneficiaries of the bail-out, their respective legislative assemblies recently approved requests from their governors for various loan facilities to enable them survive. the two states are among those that receive the highest allocations from the federation account every month given that generation and management of internally generated revenue (igr) is simply a component of overall fiscal strategy of a government, it is natural that such weak fiscal statistics as we have seen in the preceding section should also produce weak internally generated revenue statistics. the inconsistencies in fiscal management should translate to inconsistencies in igr management and overall performance. it might be unrealistic to expect that igr strategies will be more consistent than overall fiscal strategies. if the noted discrepancies between fiscal planning and actual fiscal performance be anything to go by, even the relatively good performance of the states on igr budgeting may not reflect in an impressive igr raising or management system. but then these are all assumptions. in this section, we explore actual igr performance in relation to these assumptions. the aim is to evaluate the consistency or otherwise of the igr policies and programmes and to what extent they are impacted by overall weak fiscal strategies of the states. the discussion in the section shall be issue based though examples shall be drawn from a specific state or group of states on the issue of discussion at each point. we shall take the issue of minimum wage fixation first. the need for an increase in government's revenue is rather apparent. at the moment, the federal government spends at least 60% of all it earns on salaries and wages, and as the last minimum wage increase from ₦7,500 to ₦18,000 saw a 19% year-on-year jump in personnel expenses from internally generated revenue in nigeria 288 2010 to 2011, we can expect something like a 15% rise this time around. unless the federal government will somehow double non-oil revenues in the next 18 months, or that oil prices will hit $100/bbl again, this effectively indicates that the fg needs to keep borrowing just to maintain its current spending pattern. the national tax policy, the economic recovery and growth plan (ergp) and the 2018 international monetary fund (imf) report on nigeria all stress the need for an increased focus on revenue generation from vat in nigeria. however, while increased revenue from vat may be a necessity, the pertinent question becomes whether there is a need for a 35% 50% increase in vat rate to achieve the projected 11% increase in vat collection to meet the national budget. looking at data from the first half of 2018, not up to half of nigeria’s 36 states are currently able to cover their recurrent monthly expenditure with their recurrent monthly revenues (internally generated revenues and federal allocations). and of these states, only 12 have monthly revenues that are 20% higher than recurrent expenditure. in essence, maybe a third of nigerian states would be able to afford the new minimum wage. a practical example is imo state whose immediate past governor okorocha established about a combined eight polytechnics and colleges of education, not minding the fact that the state does not have the capacity to run and maintain them. in fact, imo state remains one of the least developed states in nigeria in terms of internally generated revenue and land mass. meanwhile, it is hard to see how states like cross river would manage—their recurrent expenditure is already seven times larger than their monthly earnings. furthermore, many states have substantial salary arrears and it is incredible that the federal government forced this new wage without any plan for how states would cover their liabilities. federal allocations are not going to rise soon, most states raise a pittance in internally generated revenues, and some cannot even borrow in the capital markets. the likely “solutions” are continued federal governments budget support which is simply throwing good money after bad—and more salaries owed. according to the minister of labour and employment chris ngige, we cannot allow government to shut down the economy because it wants to pay salaries and wages. the 2020 budget of n10.3trillion has n3.8trillion as personnel cost without overhead. if you add running cost and other incidental costs, the total recurrent budget as presented to the national assembly has taken 289 76%. where do we get the money to build roads, airport, rails, health centres, schools etc. it is a matter of balancing a budget that is 76% recurrent and 24% capital, for me, it is nothing to cheer about. in the 76 % government has captured n200 billion for consequential adjustment for the minimum wage and so on. these are all part of personnel. n160 billion is for consequential adjustment of the minimum wage and not total package of workers’ salaries. everybody has to make sacrifice. we must plug leakages.” nigeria operates a federal structure in which the states constitute the federal units. on issues of salaries and wages, the minimum wage is on the exclusive list of the federal government. the implication of this is that when the federal government fixes the minimum wage, the federating states are expected to take a cue from that and do likewise for the state civil servants, nwokolo (2011). but contrary to this expectation, many state governments have always claimed that they don’t have the financial capacity to pay the minimum wage fixed by the federal government. the consequence of such actions has always been industrial actions of large proportion by the workers with negative implications for productivity and output (olaleye, 2012). though the minimum wage is on the exclusive list of the federal government, it is necessary for the states and local governments to have the option of negotiating wages and salaries in their respective areas. this is because not all states in nigeria have the same capacity to generate enough funds to effectively implement minimum wage in nigeria. an obvious example is that the cost of living in states such as lagos, abuja, port-harcourt in rivers state among others cannot be compared to the cost of living in states such as benue, kogi, ondo, imo states etc. internally generated revenue in nigeria 290 table 1. states recurrent expenditure amount in billion naira states average monthly recurrent expenditure average monthly revenue abiity to meet recurrent expenditure obligations sustainability rank abia 5.70 5.65 -0.05 12 adamawa 6.50 4.47 -2.03 33 akwa ibom 17.96 18.03 0.07 5 anambra 5.37 5.85 0.48 11 bauchi 5.59 4.63 -0.96 32 bayelsa 13.33 13.90 0.57 3 benue 6.83 5.42 -1.41 26 borno 5.27 5.42 0.16 28 cross-river 32.50 4.36 -28.14 36 delta 12.27 21.19 8.92 2 ebonyi 3.56 4.03 0.47 18 edo 5.63 7.59 1.97 6 ekiti 5.54 3.40 -2.14 34 enugu 5.06 6.01 0.95 10 gombe 4.41 3.88 -0.54 25 imo 4.83 4.80 -0.02 15 jigawa 5.96 5.35 -0.62 29 kaduna 7.12 7.69 0.57 14 kano 6.95 10.18 3.23 7 katsina 4.28 5.24 0.95 13 kebbi 3.58 4.69 1.10 16 kogi 5.24 5.13 -0.11 21 kwara 6.69 5.20 -1.49 20 lagos 28.92 37.75 8.83 4 nasarawa 4.44 4.29 -0.15 27 niger 4.43 5.08 0.65 17 ogun 10.09 9.37 -0.72 8 ondo 6.54 6.07 -0.47 9 osun 7.22 2.25 -4.97 35 oyo 10.14 6.56 -3.58 30 plateau 6.33 4.33 -1.99 31 rivers 11.00 21.63 10.63 1 sokoto 5.63 4.95 -0.68 23 taraba 4.27 4.23 -0.04 24 yobe 3.90 4.50 0.60 22 zamfara 3.87 3.61 -0.26 19 sources: oagf, nbs, state government websites, budgit research(year) 291 the table 2 below indicates states with the ability to pay workers the new improved minimum wage. table 2. recurrent expenditure of states in nigeria as at 1st quarter of 2019 states recurrent expenditure *budget estimate personnel cost overheads (including debt servicing) overheads (including debt servicing) abia 68.4 32.4 36 36.0 adamawa 78 32.9 45.1 45.1 akwa ibom 215.51 53.1 162.41 162.4 anambra 64.4 21.6 42.8 42.8 bauchi 67.12 28.5 38.62 38.6 bayelsa 160 48.0 112 112.0 benue 81.9 51.0 30.9 30.9 borno 63.18 32.1 31.08 31.1 cross-river 390 57.8 332.2 332.2 delta 147.27 71.5 75.77 75.8 ebonyi 42.7 14.2 28.5 28.5 edo 67.5 31.8 35.7 35.7 ekiti 66.53 20.9 45.63 45.6 enugu 60.7 37.5 23.2 23.2 gombe 52.97 18.0 34.97 35.0 imo 57.9 25.0 32.9 32.9 jigawa 71.565 24.2 47.365 47.4 kaduna 85.4 42.0 43.4 43.4 kano 83.43 59.2 24.27 24.3 katsina 51.41 24.7 26.75 26.8 kebbi 42.99 18.2 24.8 24.8 kogi 62.874 28.2 34.674 34.7 kwara 80.308 13.9 66.408 66.4 lagos 347 112.2 234.8 234.8 nasarawa 53.241 24.1 29.141 29.1 niger 53.2 28.5 24.7 24.7 ogun 121.1 81.9 39.231 39.2 ondo 78.5 37.9 40.6 40.6 osun 86.60 63.98 22.62 22.62 oyo 121.70 39.84 81.86 81.86 plateau 75.90 26.60 49.3 49.30 rivers 132.00 62.50 69.5 69.50 sokoto 67.60 25.00 42.6 42.60 taraba 51.24 28.61 22.63 22.63 yobe 46.75 21.77 24.98 24.98 zamfara 46.40 25.20 21.2 21.20 source: national bureau of statistics and budgit (2019) from the above table, it can be noted that only 16 states from the 36 states in nigeria, excluding the fct have the ability to pay workers. the table shows that rivers state with 10.63% and lagos with 8.83% have the most ability to pay while abia state with -0.05% and imo state with -0.02% have the least ability to pay. the sustainability rank column shows states that have the capacity to continually pay workers. the implication is that most states in nigeria do not have the ability to pay workers and without other sources of revenue, such as internally generated revenue will have problems implementing the new minimum wage. from the table 2 , it can be seen that majority of internally generated revenue in nigeria 292 states in nigeria will have difficulty in implementing the new minimum wage because most of the revenue generated, either from the federation account and internally generated revenue will be used in servicing debts. the implication of this is that states will have to borrow both locally and externally, which will be difficult. the other options are to increase vat and look into other avenues for generating revenue. however, this will tell on the workers’ wages as it is already inadequate. policy recommendations strategies for improving revenue generation: good infrastructure: a location with good road network will have every access to the coming and going out of the local government's cars and people. if they get to the local government and see good roads, pipe-borne water, hospitals, schools etc. they may decide to stay (eme and elekwa,2013). this will increase the number of people and business that will be paying tax and this will definitely increase the revenue generation because more people will be paying tax. if the government can provide good infrastructure for the local government, there will be more business and people will see reasons to pay tax. staff motivation: according to henry fayol, there are fourteen principles of management of which motivation is among the list. henry fayol however defined motivation as a driving force which stimulates a worker in action. workers should be encouraged so that they can put in their maximum services and when this is done, there may be increase or solid improvements in revenue collection. training of workers for knowledge enhancement should be one of such motivational factors. it is fervently hoped that when the above suggestions are fully implemented, the local government will not only improve internally but also with the outside world. establishment of projects: the states should embark on the establishment of some mini-sized industries, which will provide employment opportunities to the people. there should also be development and improvement in 293 agricultural ventures like crop farming etc. the participation in agriculture will encourage the inhabitants of this local government area to improve their standard of living. revenue management: there is a general trend going about most governmental establishment, there are mismanagement and embezzlement. the revenue so collected is mismanaged by the officer thereby not making the revenue to have any effect on the general populace of the local government. this can be reduced by the centralization of the collection department and rotation of jobs and assignments. if a worker is occupying a particular position for a long time he tends to have all the ways by which he can fraud the department. loyalty of tax payers: if people can change their attitude of tax evasion, more revenue will be generated. the number of people that pay up their dues (tax) as at when due are very small compared to the number of people that are supposed to pay. if the orientation can change, it will go a long way in increasing the amount of revenue that will be generated in the local government. conclusion the discussion shows that the state governments are partly responsible for the problem. the reason is because most state governments do not tap to the full, existing internal revenue sources. they seem to be more interested in the collection of the statutory allocations from the centre. this explains why most state governments have not taken pains to revise the relevant laws that concern their internal revenue generation and collection to be in line with recent development or changes in the society. furthermore, most state governments in nigeria today have become centres or fortresses of corruption. it is thus against this background that the following proposal are made which will enhance revenue generation in the state. among them include, state governments should provide an accurate database integrated with the assessment and collection system which will store data for registered taxpayers and record returns, assessed figures and penalties which will widen the taxpayer base. the process of tax collection and remittances should be fully automated assessment systems and taxes collection by state mdas internally generated revenue in nigeria 294 and lgas should be harmonized. board of internal revenue should engage the services of professionals to review assessment done by revenue collection and a high level of dialogue with all stakeholders (csos, cbo, fbos, traditional institutions, market associations, organised private sector, professional organisation, etc) should be encouraged. continual taxpayer education programmes should be encouraged and taxpayers advised to register to avoid prosecution. references adedeji, a.(1969), nigerian federal finance: its development, problems and prospects, london: hutchinson educational ltd, 1969. adedeji, a. & l rowland, (1979). local government finance in nigeria: problems and prospects. ile-ife.: university of ife press adekanola, o., (1996). legality of the appointment of consultants for revenue generation. paper delivered at a seminar organized by the citn. adesoji, a.a. & chike, f.o. (2013). the effect of internal revenue generation on infrastructural development: a study of lagos state internal revenue service”, journal of educational and social research, 3(2):419-436. agu, c.c. (2011). fragile states! why subnational governments in nigeria cannot subsist on internally generated revenue. the iup journal of public finance, vol. ix, no. 1, pp. 2553. akasike, c. (2012), “northern governors, oliver twist on oil revenue”, the punch, march 7, alade, o. r. (2015). revenue generation as a major source of income for the state government: an empirical analysis of two parastatals. international journal of economics, commerce and management, (3),: 1346-1366. arrow, d. (1970), “the role of public and private sectors”cited in holcombe, r.g., (1997), “a theory of the theory of public good”. review of australian economics 1.10 (1) 1-22. cbn economic report february “2 may 2014,” http:// media.premiumtimesng.com/wpcontent/files/2014/05/cbn-report-on-oil-revenue-feb14-721x1080.png, 2014. eme, o. and elekwa, n.{2014}, “internal revenue leakages prevention and control in the local government system”. , global journal of management and business research: a administration and management. vol.14, issue 4. 295 eme, o.i.,emeh,j & onyishi, a.o (2012), ‘issues in nigeria fiscal federalism: the relationship between the principle of derivation and resource control”, arabian journal of business andmanagement review, 1(5): 78-9??. erikume, k. (2016). taxation and governance – part 1 (political leadership). pricewaterhousecoopers (www.pwcnigeria.typepad.com) murana, a. o. (2016). local government finance in nigeria: a case study of iwo local government area of osun state. public policy and administration research vol.6, (6), 52-64. musgrave, n. (1959), “public finance”. cited in holcombe, r.g., (1997), “a theory of the theory of public good”. review of australian economics 1.10 (1) 1-22. musgrave, r.a. (1973). fiscal systems, new haven connecticut: yale university press. nigeria governor’s forum (2012), “improving revenue generation through taxation in nigeria.” workshop communiqué. abuja. dfid ??? p.2. olaoye, f.o.& bankole, t. (2019) statutory allocation and budget implementation in southwest nigeria. open journal of social sciences (7),:125135.https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2019.77012 olusola, o.o. ( 2011): boosting ‘internally generated revenue of local governments in ogun state, nigeria: european journal of humanities and social sciences, 8(1),: 339-348. oshisami, k. (1992). government accounting and financial control. ibadan: spectrum books ltd. onah, f. e. (ed.) (2006). fiscal federalism in nigeria. nsukka: great ap publishers osita, a. (2004). taxation and tax management in nigeria. enugu: meridian association publishers. rabiu, s.a, (2004): personal income tax in nigeria: procedures and problem. 1st edition. lagos:adebanyo publishers. samuelson, p. (1955) the theory of public goods”. cited in holcombe, r.g., (1997), “a theory of the theory of public good”. review of australian economics 1.10 (1) 1-22. samuelson, p., (1954), “the pure theory of public expenditure”. cited in holcombe, r.g., (1997), “a theory of the theory of public good”. review of australian economics 1.10 (1) 1-22. http://www.pwcnigeria.typepad.com/ internally generated revenue in nigeria 296 weingast, i. (1995), “intergovernmental financial transfer”, cited in bailey, s.j. (2002). public sector economics: theory, policy and practice. (2nd ed.) hampshire: palmgrave. whiskey, a. (2014). the south south position: a stitch in time saves nine. the vanguard, 5 june, 2014. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 59 perceived impacts of the national poverty eradication programme (napep) in poverty reduction and implications for social work practice okah, paulinus s1., iyiani, christain c.*1,2 aghedo, gabriel u1. department of social work, university of nigeria, nsukka1 department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani2 e-mail: chrysiyiani@gmail.com (*corresponding author) abstract the indicators of poverty in nigeria showed that poverty is in increase and rural areas were the most affected. rural people find it difficult to have three square meals daily as well as other basic requirements of life such as shelter and clothing. despite several efforts at reducing poverty in nigeria, a 2018 world poverty clock (wpc) report indicated that 90.8 million nigerians representing 46.4% of its estimated 195.6 million people are living in extreme poverty, making nigeria a country with the highest number of life-threatening poor people in the world. the study was conducted in ebonyi state, south east nigeria and both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were employed to analyze the data from 483 respondents. the results of the study showed that while majority of the respondents constituting 99.3 % indicated that the programme has positive impacts on their lives, 53.8% majority perceived napep as being ineffective in poverty reduction. the study therefore recommended amongst others that the real beneficiaries of the programme should be involved in the planning and implementing stages so that their views will be considered. keywords: beneficiary, national poverty eradication programme, perception, poverty, reduction introduction poverty is one of the very worst problems facing the world today (roser& ortiz-ospina, 2019). according to world bank (2018), an estimated 8.6 percent of the world’s population was living in extreme poverty. though most countries worldwide have seen a decrease in the share of population in extreme poverty since 1990, around two-fifths have experienced an increase in the number of people living in extreme poverty (walton, 2019). despite the fact that significant efforts have been made in lifting people out of poverty especially in more developed nations of the world, poverty level in some lowand-middle income countries especially in sub-saharan africa has continued to rise. the united nations development programme {undp} (2001) stated that countries in sub-saharan africa, south asia and latin america are currently with the highest level of poverty and consequently with the lowest level of socio-economic development. extreme poverty is increasingly becoming concentrated in sub-saharan africa(development initiatives, 2019). according to walton (2019), the number of extremely poor people who lived in the region between 1990 and 2015 was 15% and 56% respectively; with largest mailto:chrysiyiani@gmail.com volume 5, issue 1, 2020 60 increases occurring in democratic republic of congo, madagascar and nigeria.poverty depicts lack of command over basic consumption needs, having inadequate level of consumption, and inability of a person to attain a minimum standard of living and high status in a society (world bank report, 1990; aderonmu, 2010; &aluko, 1975). poverty in nigeria is massive, pervasive and chronic, engulfing a large proportion of the society (sule, adamu, &yahaya, 2019; uma &eboh, 2013), and characterized by declining per capita income, increasing hunger, rising unemployment and environmental degradation (national bureau of statistics {nbs}, 2014). its indicators includes hunger and malnutrition, limited or lack of access to quality education and basic services, increased morbidity and mortality, which occur as a result of illness, inadequate housing, homelessness, unsafe environment, and social discrimination (ebenehi, saddiq, oyinbo, muhammad, &ichi, 2012). as a result of the continuous deterioration of living conditions of nigerians, several poverty reduction programmes were introduced by successive governments to positively impact the poor (obadan, 2002). according to oyeranti and olayiwola (2005), since mid-1980s, reducing poverty has become a major policy concern for government and donor agencies in nigeria. the earliest poverty reduction efforts in nigeria are national accelerated food production programme (nafpp) and nigerian agricultural and cooperative bank (nacb) established between 1972 and 1975 by general yakubu gowon (edeh, udoikah&ugbala, 2017). viewing poverty from agricultural point, these programmes were aimed at improving agricultural production as a means of lifting nigerians out of poverty. specifically, nacb was charged with the responsibility of providing loans to farmers to boost agricultural produce. following the failure of nafpp and nacb, the administration of general olusegun obasanjo in 1979 enunciated the operation feed the nation (ofn) as a poverty alleviation measure. the programme had specific focus of increasing food production on the premise that availability of cheap food will mean higher nutrition level and invariably lead to national growth and development. according to agedah (1993), ofn was aimed at making the country self-sufficiency in basic food needs and impact on nigerians a new sense of purpose and the need for self-reliance. yet, in spite of the above objectives, ofn like its predecessors did not achieve its set objectives. between 1979 and 1983, alhaji shehu shagari introduced another poverty alleviation programme called the green revolution programme (grp) aimed at reducing importation of basic food and improving crop and fiber production locally through mechanized farming. as expected, the programme could not achieve its objectives, as foods were even more imported. according to edeh, udoikah and ugbala (2017), the programme only succeeded in making military officers, politicians, and bureaucrats wealthier as they had access to grp facilities and acquired vast lands for themselves. in 1983 through 1985, general muhammadu buhari introduced war against indiscipline (wai). though, this programme was merely fighting corruption, some analysts argued that fights against corruption and indiscipline were equal to poverty volume 5, issue 1, 2020 61 alleviation programme in the sense that the two were partly the reasons many nigerians are poor (programmes, 2008). in the same vein, general ibrahim babangida between 1985 and 1993 introduced a welter of poverty reduction programmes. they include peoples bank of nigeria (pbn), which sought to provide loans to prospective entrepreneurs on soft terms without stringent requirements of collaterals; directorate for foods, roads and rural infrastructures (dfrri) which sought to open up the rural areas via construction of feeder roads and provision of basic amenities; and nigerian agricultural land development authority (nalda) which tried to head-off poverty by targeting the agricultural sector. it intended to reduce the prevalence of subsistence agriculture in the country and in its place infused large-scale commercial farming by assisting farmers with inputs, and developing land for them to the point of planting at subsidized rate. others are national directorate of employment (nde) that aimed at designing and implementing programmes to combat mass unemployment and articulate policies aimed at developing work programmes with labour intensive potentials; and better life programme (blp) introduced by his wife (miriam). blp introduced gender element into poverty reduction programmes on the assumption that women needed special treatment in the light of their immense contributions to the national development. the administration of general sani abacha introduced the community bank (cb), family support programme (fsp) and petroleum special trust fund (ptf). these programmes were aimed at reducing poverty from the polity (anyebe, 2015). other poverty reduction programmes are poverty alleviation programme (pap), national economic empowerment development strategies (needs), family economic advancement programme (feap), seven-point agenda, subsidy removal and reinvestment programme (sure-p), and the current n-power programme etc. however, despite the several efforts at reducing poverty in nigeria through various poverty reduction strategies, a 2018 world poverty clock (wpc) report indicated that 90.8 million nigerians representing 46.4% of its estimated 195.6 million people are living in extreme poverty thereby making nigeria a country with the highest number of extreme poor people in the world (wpc, 2018). in view of the increasing wave of poverty and the abysmal performance or failure of most of these poverty reduction programmes, the nigerian government under president olusegun obasanjo in 2001 introduced the national poverty eradication programme (napep) to tackle the scourge of poverty. it is also aimed at monitoring all poverty eradication activities of the federal government; and to maintain a comprehensive and detailed databank on all activities aimed at eradicating poverty in nigeria. in addition, napep was aimed at carrying out impact assessment of all efforts meant to eradicate poverty in nigeria, suggesting necessary reviews and policies required to enhance effectiveness, and directly intervene in critical projects. napep is complemented by the national poverty eradication committee (napec), which is to coordinate the poverty reduction related activities of all relevant ministries, parastatals and agencies (napep, 2006). it has the mandate to ensure that the wide range of activities are centrally planned, volume 5, issue 1, 2020 62 coordinated and complement one another so that the objectives of policy continuity and sustainability will be achieved (frn, 2001). napep is headed by a national coordinator who is the chairman of the national coordination committee (ncc) and reports directly to the president who is the chairman of the national poverty eradication committee (napec). there are states coordinators who also head the state coordination committee (scc), which coordinates all poverty eradication programmes of all federal agencies in the relevant states and report to their state governors who are the chairmen of the various states poverty eradication council (spec). in addition, a local government monitoring committee (lgmc) was established in each local government area to facilitate effective implementation of napep intervention initiatives (napep, 2001). napep is funded by poverty eradication fund (pef), contributions by states and local governments and private sectors and special deductions from consolidated funds of the federal government (napep, 2001). to achieve its objectives, which is to train youths in vocational trades, support internship, create employment at the automobile industry, and provide social welfare services and exploitation of natural resources; napep was divided into four schemes (aliyu, 2001). they include youth empowerment scheme (yes) that aims at providing opportunities through programmes in skills acquisition, employment and wealth generation; rural infrastructure development scheme (rids), which aims at ensuring the provision and development of critical infrastructural needs including transport, energy, and communication particularly in rural areas; social welfare services scheme (sowess), which ensure the provision of adequate basic social welfare services including quality primary and special education, farmers empowerment, maintenance of recreational centres, public awareness facilities, provision of mass transit, and primary health; and natural resources development and conservation scheme (nrdcs) that aims at ensuring higher participatory and sustainable development of agricultural, mineral and water resources, while caring for the environment. in order to contain the increasing wave of poverty in the country, napep subsequently created several other schemes and programmes such as youth empowerment scheme, farmers empowerment programme, and conditional cash transfer programme, capacity acquisition programme, mandatory attachment programme, village economic development solutions, and multi-partner micro-finance programme (napep, 2007). however, like previous poverty reduction programmes, napep has not yielded the expected results. this is evident in poor infrastructure, essential amenities and high level of unemployment and hunger in the country. according to chukwu (2012) and onwe and nwakamma (2015), with the current poverty profile in the land, it appears that expectations of poverty reduction and general improvement in the standard of living of the people have not been realized as physical infrastructure and social services are not adequately provided. in view of the above, social workers are needed to play some roles in ensuring that the welfare of the poor are addressed through championing of policies aimed at reducing poverty; and encourage them to utilize available poverty reduction strategies like napep. according to zastrow (2004), one of the roles of social work is to always advocate policies and programmes that address the provision of social services especially to the poor. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 63 social workers had to fight dependency, destitution, squalor, ignorance, illiteracy, starvation, over-population, underproduction, alienation, diseases, etc all of which are fall-outs of poverty (ekpe&mamah, 1997). this being the case, social workers should be an integral part of the policy-making bodies concerning the welfare of the people. they should be involved in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of poverty reduction-related policies; hence, they are armed with the knowledge, methods, and techniques that will aid the society in handling all forms of social maladies, including poverty. statement of the problem despite the plethora of poverty reduction programmes, which past and present governments had initiated and implemented through different institutions, the undp (2019) reported that nigeria’s human development index (hdi) was only 0.534 and that about 51.4% of the population, which translates to 98.175 million nigerians live in multidimensional poverty. this means that in spite of these poverty reduction programmes, the poverty situation in nigeria, which they aim to eradicate is in the increase with more people falling into the region of poverty on daily basis rather than escaping. according to oxford committee for famine relief (oxfam) report (2019), 57 million nigerians lack access to safe water, and adequate sanitation, and over 10 million children are out of school. the report further stated that the federal and state governments of nigeria are exacerbating inequality and poverty by underfunding public services such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation, women empowerment and agriculture. similarly, about 300, 000 nigerians die from malaria each year, six times this number die of diarrhea; 2300 under five children and 145 women of child bearing age die daily of preventable diseases as a result of lack of adequate healthcare orchestrated by poverty (new african magazine, nam, 2019). poverty situation in nigeria in general and ebonyi state in particular is worrisome especially in the rural areas where majority of the population lives. this is evident in the virtual collapse of basic infrastructures and social amenities such as roads, health, educational institutions, water supply and other social services. according to mbam (2007), approximately half of the rural population in ebonyi state obtains drinking water from shallow wells and contaminated water from rivers. it is against this backdrop that this study aimed at finding out the perceived impacts of napep as a poverty reduction strategy in eboyi state, nigeria and implications for social work practice. specifically, the study looked at the following questions: 1. what napep projects did the respondents benefited from in ebonyi state? 2. what impact does napep have in the lives of beneficiaries in ebonyi state? 3. has napep being effective in reducing poverty in ebonyi state? 4. what are the measures that can help reduce poverty in ebonyi state? volume 5, issue 1, 2020 64 theoretical perspective the study adopted empowerment theory propounded by solomon in 1976 as its theoretical framework. the choice of this theory is because of its relevance and bearings with poverty reduction. empowerment is the process by which individuals and groups gain power, have access to resources, and have control over their own lives. in doing so, they gain the ability to achieve their highest personal and collective aspirations and goals (robins et al, 1988). the central assumption of this theory is that personal, interpersonal and environmental resources are needed to update the skills, knowledge and motivation of people to achieve valid social roles and activities aimed at improving their living conditions. therefore, the inability to use these resources and support to achieve collective goals results in powerlessness and sense of hopelessness (solomon, 1976). this theory states that people have the right to power, ability, and authority to achieve self-determination. the emphasis here is that empowerment resides with the person that needs the help, and not the helper. this being the case, it is believed that the poor should be empowered to take advantage of policies and programmes meant for them to benefit and improve their lives by encouraging and educating them to access and utilize the services of napep. in other words, the poor should be encouraged to participate in the formulation and implementation of various programmes of napep that are aimed at reducing their poverty level and turning around their lives. according to aliyu (2002), experiences from the past poverty reduction programmes showed the inability to involve the people in their planning and implementation which probably led to their failure. yet, one of the main features of napep is the adoption of bottom-up approach to programmes’ planning, implementation and monitoring. therefore, by empowering the people especially the poor through cap, map, cct etc, the beneficiaries will be lifted out of poverty thereby reducing poverty level in ebonyi state in particular and nigeria in general. methods the study adopted cross-sectional survey design method and was carried out in ebonyi state, nigeria. according to the national population commission (npc, 2006), ebonyi state has a population of 2, 173, 501 people. the sample size of this study was 483, comprising of 459 respondents for the questionnaire, 8 respondents for in-depth interviews, and 16 respondents for focus group discussions. the study area was divided into 3 zones of ebonyi north, central and south. two (2) local governments were selected from each of these zones (6 local governments in all), and a total of 80 questionnaires were allocated to each of the selected local government areas. the local government areas are ishielu, ezza-north, abakaliki, ohaukwu, afikpo-north and ohaozara. the reason for this spread was to ensure that all parts of ebonyi state were represented. the purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of the 6 local government areas. the rationale behind the choice of sampling method was the researchers’ awareness of napep’s projects in those areas; and that only the beneficiaries of these projects will be selected for the study. with the help of napep officials, who furnished the volume 5, issue 1, 2020 65 researchers with the names and contacts of the beneficiaries, the researchers again adopted snowballing sampling method in the selection of individual respondents. for qualitative data (in-depth interviews and focus group discussions), 6 in-depth interview sessions were carried out on opinion/community leaders (one from each local government), and 2 interviews for napep officials. similarly, 2 focus group discussions were conducted for males and females, and each session was made up of 8 participants. the questionnaires were administered to the respondents at their respective homes and their weekly meeting places; while the idis and fgds took place at arranged and agreed places between the researchers and the respondents. the quantitative data were analyzed with the use of statistical package for the social sciences (spss). descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution tables were used in characterizing the respondents, while the qualitative data were analyzed in themes, verbatim or direct sentences, and illustrative quotes to support data generated through qualitative means. volume 5, issue 1, 2020 66 results/findings demographic characteristics of respondents table 1: percentage distribution of respondents by socio-demographic variables socio-demographic variables frequency percentage sex male 260 56.6 female 199 43.4 age 18-27 64 13.9 28-37 73 15.9 38-47 75 16.3 48> 247 53.9 marital status married 308 67.1 single 59 12.9 divorced 31 6.8 separated 7 1.5 widowed 54 11.7 religion christian 365 79.5 islam 5 1.1 traditionalist 58 12.6 free-thinker 31 6.8 education no formal education 120 26.2 primary 146 31.8 secondary 142 30.9 ond/nce 15 3.3 hnd/bsc. 34 7.4 postgraduate 2 .4 occupation trading 97 21.1 tricycle rider 6 1.3 okada 10 2.2 teaching 63 13.7 civil servant 28 6.1 farming 223 48.6 artisan 6 1.3 hair dressing/fashion designing 25 5.7 income n3000-8000 205 44.7 n9000-13000 119 25.9 n14000-18000 87 19.0 n19000> 48 10.4 source: fieldwork 2018 volume 5, issue 1, 2020 67 the demographic characteristics of respondents were analyzed and presented in table 1 above. the analysis on the table showed that there were more male (56.6%) than female (43.4%) beneficiaries. it also showed that married respondents constituted the highest number with (67.1%). this means that majority of the study respondents were still married at the time of the study. the findings equally revealed that majority of the respondents constituting (79.5%) were christians; (31.8%) respondents attended primary schools and obtained first school leaving certificate; while significant majority of the respondents representing 48.6% were farmers. the study also found that (44.7%) of the total respondents were earning less than n9, 000 monthly; while majority of the respondents constituting (53.8%) fall within the age bracket of 48 years and above. this simply inferred that age affects farming as a profession in the study area. farming here is seen as old peoples’ business. table 2: percentage distribution of respondents’ views on research questions variables frequency percentage what type of napep project have you benefited from? employment 12 2.6 training 11 2.4 skill acquisition 1 0.2 loan/grant for business/farming etc 405 88.4 tricycle 30 6.4 what impact has napep made in your life since you became a beneficiary? positive impact 456 99.3 negative impact 3 0.7 has napep being effectiveness in reducing poverty in ebonyi state? yes 211 46.0 no 248 54.0 what measures do you think can help to reduce poverty in ebonyi state? provision of employment opportunities 308 67.1 skills acquisition 4 0.9 awareness creation on napep projects 7 1.5 ensure completion of mapped projects 39 8.5 ensure that the real poor benefit from projects 41 8.9 extension of period to repay loans/grants 60 13.1 source: fieldwork 2018 respondents’ views and responses on some research questions were presented in table 2 above. the result showed that all the respondents (100%) have benefited from napep through its various projects. it further revealed that the respondents benefited through employment (2.6%), capacity building training (2.4%), skills acquisition (0.2%), loans/grants for farming and business purposes (88.4%), and tricycle (keke-napep) (6.4%). regarding the impacts the benefits have made in their lives, the analysis indicated volume 5, issue 1, 2020 68 that the highest proportion of the respondents (99.3%) agreed that the benefited projects have improved their livespositively, while (0.7%) responded on the contrary. the analysis also showed that (46.0%) of the respondents saw napep as being effective in poverty reduction, while (54.0) majority saw it as ineffective and should either be reshaped for efficiency or discontinued. in the same vein, only (42.0%) of the respondents commended the efforts of napep in poverty reduction, while (58.0%) majority did not commend its efforts. the findings equally revealed that the respondents recommended provision of employment opportunities (67.1%), skills acquisition (0.9%), awareness creation on napep various projects (1.5%), ensure completion of mapped projects (8.5%), ensure the real poor benefits from the projects (8.9%), and give enough time to beneficiaries to repay loans (13.1%) as ways to make napep projects benefit the poor and reduce poverty. discussions this study ascertained the perceptions of the beneficiaries of napep in nigeria with particular reference to ebonyi state. from the study analysis, it was found that all the respondents (100%) had benefited from napep projects. specifically (88.2%) majority benefited through loans and grants for farming purposes and other business ventures. this showed that napep projects are mainly on loans and are aimed at boosting agricultural production in the rural areas. data from fgd buttressed this finding as all the participants affirmed to have benefited from the programme. specifically, a participant identified as mr. j reflected his view in this quote, “i was given a loan of n200, 000, which i used in rice and cassava plantation, and was given 24 months to pay back”. another respondent identified as mrs. a said “we were 15 in number as a group and was given n2, 000, 000 loan, which we shared among ourselves for businesses and farming purposes”. still on napep benefits, a respondent identified as mr. d stated, “i was given a tricycle (keke-napep) on hire-purchase basis at the rate of n650, 000, and was asked to pay back within 24 months”. this is in line with the work of anya (2017), which stated that napep has benefited many people through employment creation, keke-napep, otta farm training programme, tailoring and fashion and designing equipment, and loan/grants to farmers. the findings also showed that a very high proportion of the respondents, representing (99.3%) perceived napep as having positive impacts on their lives. according to them, the loans and grants given to them helped them to start up small-scale businesses and planting cash crops in larger scales for consumption and commercial purposes. to collaborate the above, a respondent identified as mr. a, who participated in fgd said, “napep has helped me in so many ways and improved my life and those of my family members for better. the loan i got helps me in training my children in school and feed them well. i can now cultivate more hectares of land, hire labour, and produce enough food for my family and for sales. all these are possible through of the assistance of napep”. however, this finding is in contrast with the work of onwe and nwakamma (2015), which found that napep has not really impacted on the development of human volume 5, issue 1, 2020 69 capital, and has not improved access to basic education and infrastructure facilities. they further stated that inadequate sensitization, poor coordination, narrow coverage, excessive politicization, and insincerity and corruption are some of the reasons the programme is not impacting on the poor. the finding is also in contrast with the study of edeh, udoikah and ugbala (2017), which found that despite the huge financial allocation to the programme by government, the poor are yet to see the actual impact of the programme. the findings equally indicated that despite the fact that the programme has impacted them positively as seen above, majority of the respondents (54.0%) perceived the programme as ineffective in poverty reduction. they said napep is ineffective because loan given to them was too small to invest in any meaningful business and that many people living in poverty who applied for loan and grants did not get it. they also said the programme organizers did not educate and sensitize them on new breeds and methods of farming. they equally stated that difficulties in getting assistance from the programme, and repayment periods is worrisome. to them, the payback period is too short and should be extended. this is in line with the work of anyebe (2015) which stated that ‘though napep is indeed a conscious effort by the nigerian government to eradicate all forms of poverty, the performance of the programme is a mixed bag of limited success and continuing challenges resulting from certain problems.’ according to adofu and adofu (2017), poor communication network between the napep agency and the people, inadequate personnel and corruption that exist in the agency poses strong factors limiting the rate of diffusion and consequently, the effectiveness of the programme. the analysis of the study indicated that the respondents made some suggestions that they believed would help napep work better, become more effective and reduce poverty level in the study area. the suggestions include adequate employment opportunities (67.1%), skills acquisition (0.9%), enough awareness creation on napep (1.5%), completion of every mapped project (8.5%), ensuring that the real poor benefits from the programme (8.9%), and extension of loan repayment period (13.1%). adding credence to the above views, an idi respondent identified as mr. e said, “i think loan and other projects of napep should be increased and expanded to reach those who are yet to benefit.” so many poor people are yet to benefit and government should really do something about it. also, “the period given to beneficiaries to pay back the loan should be extended from 24 months to at least 60 months to enable us invest the money properly”. another respondent, mrs. f said, “government should provide employment opportunities for the jobless, create more skills acquisition centres, ensure that sufficient funds are released, and make sure these funds get to the real people in need”. this is in line with the study of edeh, udoikah and ugbala (2017) which recommended that poverty reduction should ensure investment by rural communities in agriculture, education, healthcare, electricity, functional feeder roads, distribution of goods and services, investment in human capital and skills acquisition and training for available job opportunities. this is because lack of proper selection of beneficiaries, lack of commitment and dedication on the part of the beneficiaries, lack of monitoring and volume 5, issue 1, 2020 70 evaluation, inability or failure of the concerned authorities to properly set up some of the beneficiaries after training hinders the smooth operation of the programme and makes it ineffective (abubakar & hussaini, 2014). the findings of the study equally have implications for social work practice in nigeria. social workers can take up educational role by enlightening the poor on the need to take advantage of available poverty reduction programmes. they should also be motivated and encouraged into taking positive actions that will better their lives. social workers know the right methods, techniques and steps to take in linking the poor to systems that will help them function better with or without assistance. for this reason, there is the need for social workers to be engaged in various agencies meant to reduce poverty as well as have them in diverse areas where policies concerning the welfare of the people and the society, especially those living in poverty are made. limitations of the study in order to achieve the objectives of the study, which was to ascertain the impacts of the national poverty eradication programme in poverty reduction in ebonyi state, the researchers employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. however, there were some limitations of the study. the first and biggest constraint was the unresponsive behaviour of some of the respondents. napep tried by handing the researchers the list and addresses of the beneficiaries across the state but that did not in any way made it easy for the researchers since they did not know most of those places and their indigenous languages. in addition, most of the respondents were unwilling to disclose any information to the researchers who they saw as strangers. it took the researchers lots of persuasion and confirmation from napep officials before submitting themselves to be interviewed. second, the researchers had hard times trying to guide the respondents fill the questionnaires, as many of them had no formal education and therefore could not fill the questionnaires unaided. third, the use of tape recorder raised a very big dust from the respondents, community leaders and the napep officials during qualitative data collection. it however took the researchers several visits to these groups and persuasion before they allowed the use of tape recorder. finally, the researchers found it difficult sourcing fund to carry out the study since it was self-sponsored. conclusion/recommendations in spite of the expressed concern and efforts of the national poverty eradication programme towards eradication of poverty in nigeria, the incidence of poverty has continued to rise. like the other poverty reduction programmes, which the past and present government in nigeria have initiated and implemented, the national poverty eradication programme is still struggling to achieve its objectives. though those who have benefited from the programme said it has positive impacts on their lives, same cannot be said about the poor who did not benefit from napep after several attempts. in other words, despite the efforts of the national poverty eradication programme in reducing poverty in ebonyi state, the fact remains that the poverty level in the state is still volume 5, issue 1, 2020 71 high. this is no doubt the reason the respondents saw the programme as ineffective in poverty reduction. based on the foregoing, the study made the following recommendations: the government should provide adequate employment opportunities and skills acquisition training for the teeming unemployed youth. this is because findings from the study revealed that lack of employment is a major cause of poverty. they should organize on regular basis a n awareness campaign on its activities; ensure genuine beneficiaries, completion of all a pproved projects, project evaluation and follow-up to ensure continuity and sustainability. this will be done through monitoring, routine visits and supervisions of projects. the study equally recommended that napep should always examine the feasibility of projects contained in the proposal of prospective beneficiaries before approval to avoid projects abandonment. social amenities that make up an enabling social environment should be provided for the rural dwellers to help sustain the efforts of napep in poverty reduction and reduce rural-urban migration. in addition, loan should be given to farmers on time, while agricultural implements such as fertilizer, insecticides, seeds etc should be subsidized for the farmers. the study further recommended that the real beneficiaries should be involved in the planning stage of the projects so that their views will be considered while designing the projects. this will give them sense of belonging and spur them into judicious use of the benefits/assistance given. it is also the recommendation of this study that in order to ensure napep gets to the real poor, assistance should pass through the community heads and key leaders since they know those at the bottom of the heaps that need the programme more than the programme managers. the study also suggested the need for the recruitment of trained social workers in various poverty reduction agencies and organizations; and should be elected into public positions so as to make favourable policies that will better the lots of the people. it was observed during this study that there are no social workers attached to napep headquarters, abakaliki. therefore, the very first instrument for poverty reduction policy is to have the right personnel as policy makers; and social workers are best suited for these positions. social workers should champion pre and pro-poor policies that will be favourable to the poor and help reduce poverty in nigeria. they should also encourage and empower the poor to take advantage of policies made to benefit and improve their lives. this can be done by encouraging them to participate in the formulation 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[accessed 1 jul., 2020]. world poverty clock (2018). nigeria ends 2018 with 90.8 million people living in extreme poverty. available at https://www.pulse.ng>local>nljixqtj [accessed 10 jul., 2018]. http://www.dawodu.com/poverty%201.pdf http://www.ourworldindata.org/ http://devinit.org/ volume 4, issue 1, 2019volume 4, issue 1, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 355 when culture plays a determinant role in the adoption of family planning amongst families ugwu stella abel department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng abstract the study explored the influence of cultural factors on the use of family planning services by married women in nkanu area, enugu state, south east nigeria. it focused on married women’s awareness and utilization of family planning services (fps), factors determining married women’s use of the services, the problems that arise as a result of their not accessing family planning, who decides when to access or not to access these family planning services in marriage? the study adopted a qualitative survey method by reviewing existing literatures and data. the study also adopted the marxist feminist perspective which argues that women, as a class, are oppressed by social relations in decision making. the research findings showed that the culture of patriarchy, women illiteracy, financial strain and depressing economic condition of the country amongst others were cultural determinants of access and adoption of family planning services among rural families. this study suggests that door to door sensitization which will involve husbands workshops and conferences should be employed as strategies to increase knowledge of family planning in the research area and by extension all other rural areas of the nation. keywords: contraceptives, culture, african marriage, family planning, patriarchy introduction family planning (fp) is the purposeful regulation of conception or childbirth or the use of devices, chemicals, abortion or other techniques to prevent or terminate pregnancy or voluntary avoidance or delay of pregnancy (federal ministry of health, nigeria [fmoh], 2005a; gavin et al., 2014). according to olaitan (2011), family planning techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management and infertility management. these services are defined as educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable couples, individuals including sexually active adolescents and minors to determine freely the number and spacing of their children; avoid getting pregnant and/or even avoid sexually transmitted diseases, to select the means by which this may be achieved. family planning is sometimes used as a synonym for birth control or child spacing, though it often includes more (olaitan, 2011). mailto:stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng 356 family planning was listed as one of the twelve pillars of reproductive health. among the objectives of fp is to help women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies (fmoh, 2005a). in nigeria, before the introduction of modern family planning in 1989, there were traditional methods of birth control (mairiga, kullima, bako, & kolo, 2010; odimegwu, 1999). these traditional methods which still exist and are convenient for users are natural while the modern types which are new in nigeria are both natural and artificial (mairiga et al., 2010). the use of fp implies that the users make concerted efforts to deal with procreation within the context of a sexual relationship. this covers things as varied as when to get pregnant, the number of children that are wanted, how to deal with fertility issues, how to avoid getting pregnant, whether to consider an abortion if an unwanted pregnancy occurs, or adoption, etc. family planning has also been found to be beneficial to couples such as promotion of gender equality and educational and economic empowerment for women (kelodjouea, 2015). despite the known benefits of family planning, globally, more than 120 million women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in a union have an unmet need for family planning (united nations, 2011) and in sub-saharan africa (ssa) the uptake of the service still remains low (abdullahi, 2012). an unmet need for fp according to ubos and ifc international inc. (2012) as quoted by sileo (2014) refers to women capable of reproducing who are not using contraception, but wish to postpone their next birth or to stop childbearing all together. in order to curtail the unsustainable population growth, especially through procreation, the federal government of nigeria at the 2012 london summit on family planning made a commitment to scale up promotion of family planning to nigerians. this was to be done by making contraceptive consumables available to those who need them and when they need them. as part of the efforts, the government launched “green dot” to help people identify family planning facilities in the country. though there is still a huge gap of unmet needs for those willing to use them, many sexually active women are simply reluctant to embrace contraceptives. these includes: contraceptives are methods, devices or drugs used to reduce or prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. contraception comes in three broad forms: the long-acting reversible contraception, the shortacting reversible contraception and permanent methods. the long-acting reversible contraceptives (larc) are methods of birth control that provide effective contraception for an extended period without requiring user action. they include injections, intrauterine devices (iuds) and subdermal contraceptive implants. on the other hand, the short-acting contraceptives (sarc) have to be used in short time intervals such as in case of condoms, and daily intake of pills. in spite of advocacy by government and development partners on the benefits of family planning, acceptance of modern contraceptives has remained very low in nigeria. the benefits of family planning are obvious: it allows women to space child birth and replenish vital nutrients lost during the process. it also allows the organs of mothers to return to normal. in spite of these obvious merits, 87 per cent of women in nigeria or their partners do not use modern or traditional contraceptives. statistics from the 2016/17 multiple indicator cluster survey (mics) indicates that only 11 percent of women of ages 15 to 49 currently married or in union, use the method 357 in the country. the statistics reveals that much needs to be done, especially in the northern part of the country to make nigerian women embrace modern contraceptives. cultural factors such as community norms, religious belief and gender roles are the most important factors influencing the choice of family planning among couples. in nigeria like in most developing countries, the utilization of family planning services is not optimal because of a number of factors, such as culture of the people and low status of women (coleman, 2004; delano, 2015). other factors include lack of education and understanding about health related issues, the ability of women to command resources and make independent decisions about their fertility, birth control knowledge (apanga & adam, 2015; nwakeze, 2003; umoh & udo, 2014). location, religion and social class, lack of cooperation from spouse, cost, and perceived difficulties with the methods and lack of knowledge about contraceptive methods, community members’ awareness and understanding about the methods etc. also serve as determinants of use of family planning services (bakibinga, et al., 2016; doctor, findley, afenyadu, uzondu & ashir, 2013; mairiga et al., 2010; world bank, 2002). moreover in nigeria, the provision of health services is more in the urban areas than in the rural areas (olaitan, 2011). where family planning services are located in rural areas, use is low due to lack of proximity, bad road network, and the nearest urban center. where such clinic is available, it may not provide adequate care because of lack of properly trained staff and equipment (oluwepo & okedare, 2006; quedraogo, 2005). negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are enormous as it affects the individual, the family, the community and nation at large. empirical findings have shown that it leads to increase in maternal illness such as multiple pregnancies, hemorrhage, etc. (ikpeze, 2010). it sometimes leads to social problems in the family and community such as violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence, on the part of the women, mistrust. on the part of the men, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids, affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women and sometimes it leads to maternal death (ezumah, 2003). these have socioeconomic consequences on the immediate family as the resources meant for the upkeep of the family are diverted to the health care of the parent(s) as the case may be, time wasted and the future and the life of the children truncated (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003). family planning services are aimed at reduction of maternal and child morbidity and mortality, empowering women by alleviating the burden of excessive child bearing, prevention of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, providing protection against sexually transmitted infections including hiv/aids, drop in unsafe abortions, etc (umoh & udo, 2014). family planning services have the function of preventing most maternal/child illnesses and deaths (smith, ashford, gribble & clifton, 2009) yet it has been recorded that the rate of maternal/child morbidity and mortality is high in developing countries when compared to developed countries (ikpeze, 2010; fmhn, 2005b). world bank (2015) estimate shows that maternal mortality ratio in nigeria is high, about 814/100,000 live births, yet attitude of members of the developing countries to fp services is 358 low and this attitude is attributed to socio-cultural and economic reasons and more in rural areas (engender health, 2009; galadanci, 2009; smith et al., 2009).with the adverse consequences of non-consent and non-use, and the low understanding of the importance of fp services on the reproductive health of women, concerted efforts must be made economically, socially, politically and otherwise towards ensuring that the negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are controlled to the barest minimum. this study therefore reviewed literatures on cultural determinants of the use of family planning services by married women in nkanu area of enugu state and suggests measures that could enhance their effective use of family planning services. statement of the problem family planning is a topical issue in nigeria like most other african countries has high population density because of high maternal fertility of about 5.6 children and above per woman (abdullahi, 2012; kelodjouea, 2015). in other african countries, according to smith et al, (2009) at least eight in ten women and nine in ten men know at least one method of family planning, yet utilization of family planning is still low; while 13 percent of currently married women use a method of family planning, only eight percent of them use modern methods (abdullahi, 2012; apanga & adam, 2015). this is as a result of several cultural factors. for example, child-bearing and rearing as well as the number and sex of children define a woman’s value and status in her community; these in turn contribute to women’s limited use of family planning services (engender health, 2009; galadanci, 2009). research carried out in ilorin by oluwepo and okedare (2006) showed that the level of acceptance of family planning is more in the urban areas than in the rural areas. most nigerian women do not access it especially those in the rural areas (nwakeze, 2003) because in relation to contraception, it is a male prerogative (mairiga et al., 2010). male control is a major determinant of women’s use of family planning services. findings have shown that culture of patriarchy is very significant because most women are denied access to education which is expected to help women make informed family planning choices. for instance, kelodjouea (2015) findings show that education of husband is an important factor particularly in those societies where a woman who is not educated cannot make her reproductive health decision without the consent of her husband. also, the nature of women’s work in production such as household work (drudgery), to a great extent determines the rate of accessing and using of family planning services (kelodjouea, 2015). other factors that affect use of family planning services by married women in nigeria include poor financing of health care services (ikpeze, 2010), lack of focus on curative measures and political will by government (quedraogo, 2005). there is disparity in health care services delivery between the remote and non-remote areas as in nigeria where access and use is limited in rural areas unlike in urban areas (engender health, 2009). agujiobi (2003) attributed it to ignorance on the part of the rural dwellers and the cause of the ignorance she attributed to lack of presence of non-governmental organisations (ngos) in the rural areas 359 of nigeria to educate and enlighten them on the presence and importance of family planning services. sometimes the available clinics may not provide decent care because of lack of proper staff and equipment (engender health, 2009). the effects of not planning the family cause a large number of women to continue to experience unplanned pregnancies leading to morbidity, mortality and social distress (ringheim & gribble, 2010; smith, et al, 2009). in nkanu area, people’s main source of livelihood is subsistence farming which makes their condition even worse. social amenities such as quality health care facilities, government presence, etc, are lacking causing increase in high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. also prevailing attitude and cultural practices affect women’s knowledge of their reproductive health needs and their willingness and ability to seek appropriate care. nkanu area is culture bound and therefore could be described as a traditional society even though some of its communities are close to the city. little or no academic research on family planning has taken place in this study area, even though pregnancy related problems exist here as in other rural communities in nigeria. family planning as studies have shown is central to gender equality, women’s empowerment and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. if use of family planning services is not encouraged in this study area, it will become not only a great health problem to married women but also continuous social and economic problem to the community and nation at large. therefore this study investigated the cultural determinants of use and use of family planning services among the married women of the study area. objective of the study the main objective of the study is to investigate cultural factors that determine the use of family planning services in some families in enugu state. these cultural factors refer to the institutions, language, symbols, practices, values, beliefs, norms, folklores, etc of the people and how these affect knowledge and access to family planning services. theoretical perspective/literature review the marxist feminist perspective is important for this kind of work. firestone (1971) for example, argued that women, as a class, are oppressed by social relations in decision making. ortner (1974) also noted that the other factors that do affect women’s decision making status, power relations/resource allocation in marriage include socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, norms, socialization, which influence social, political and economic realities of societies. this perspective also maintained that subordination of women is further strengthened by encouraging women to develop female culture which involves nurturing and survival thereby affecting their ability to access and use family planning services (symke, 1991). offman and matheson (2004) asserted that sexual inequality is socially constructed and that it is enforced through the social structures of private property and monogamy which contributed to the decline of women’s status (mills, 1970). this perspective argued that the inequality in decision making is a method men use to secure and maintain their power. gage in her book “the third person” as reported by spender in her book, “women of ideas and what men have 360 done to them” (1990) noted that christianity helps to reduce women to subordination and also perpetuates it. boserup (1970) was of the opinion that the division between the private (female) sphere and public (male) sphere entrenched women subordination to men. western materialist feminists like kate millet (1970), noted that women were socialized to be dependent on men. reproductive health has been a major concern to man. family planning was listed as one of the twelve pillars of reproductive health and one of its objectives is to help women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies, ill-health, etc (fmhn, 2005). this has not been effective in some african societies nigeria inclusive, because there are factors that militate against the ability of women of all levels to seek and use family planning services (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003; olaitan, 2011). the literature identifies a number of ways that norms influence the general uptake of contraception and preferred methods. the traditional norm of not using modern contraception is sometimes deeply embedded and can take a long time to change, despite interventions. in a heavily cited journal article based on analysis of longitudinal data of uptake of contraception, munshi and myaux (2006) explain how in rural bangladesh, the traditional norm to regulate fertility was early and universal marriage, as a precedent for immediate and continuous childbearing. this norm was legitimized through religious belief and authority. although the government started to promote contraception from 1978 onwards, take up was very slow. the authors found that as the institution of ‘purdah’(veiling and segregation) limits women’s social interactions to other women within their religious groupin bangladesh, shifts in attitudes about fertility occurred at the level of these religious groups rather than across villages, despite common family planning inputs across villages (munshi & myaux, 2006). the world bank’s (2015, p.54) world development report suggests therefore that ‘fertility transitions may be better viewed as a norm-driven process than as the aggregate outcome of autonomous decisions’. in uganda, contradictory messages about whether to use contraceptives from partners, parents, clergy, teachers, cultural leaders and health workers were identified as key obstacles to uptake (nalwadda, et al., 2010). negative stereotypes, stigma, misconceptions and fear limit uptake of contraception. social stigma, fear and embarrassment were identified as one of the most common barriers to young people accessing contraception services –including the attitude of the service providers. research in tanzania by shattuck, et al. (2011) found that sexual jealousy discouraged contraceptive use, as men worried that women’s use of contraception might allow them to be promiscuous and unfaithful without fear of conceiving. in uganda, focus groups with young people found that they believed and were afraid that contraceptives could harm their fertility (nalwadda, et al., 2010). it is considered critical to intervene early, when adolescents are forming their identities, developing their understanding of social norms around sexuality and gender, and making choices (including whether/when to have sex or use contraception) that will affect the rest of their lives(expert comments). in all countries, community attitudes, such as those of parents, faith leaders, teachers, providers, and others, play a critical role in how impactful youth programmes can be. working with parents, families, and community leaders is imperative to ensuring that young people have access to the information and services they need. 361 methodology the paper, as a theoretical study, made use of secondary sources of data collection. relevant data were extracted from reports, textbooks, academic journals, magazines, and from other secondary sources such as the internet and library. factors that influence the use of family planning services in nigeria like in most developing countries, the extent of the acceptance and usage of family planning services are affected by the social, economic and culture of the societies in it. omeje (2000) in his findings noted that poor access (both in logistics and financial terms) to modern health care clinic increase maternal and child morbidity and mortality. culturally, child-bearing and rearing are very important to mankind and in particular women as it defines a woman’s value and status in her community alongside the number and sex of children (mairiga et al., 2012; nnorom, 2003). ringheim and gribble’s (2010) research findings show that in nigeria, most pregnancies were reported as intended reflecting early marriage and social norms that support early child bearing. onyeneho and okeibunor (2003) in the study they carried out in mbaise, imo state noted that their respondents had an average of 5.6 children and above, which is comparatively high. in the same study they found out that those respondents with more female children wanted more children than those with more male children or equal sexes. the status of women as wives and mothers add to pregnancy related problems (ezumah, 2004). okeibunor’s (2000) findings from a qualitative study in nsukka on the sociological context of sexuality and family planning showed that the low status of women was socially constructed and hinders women from exercising their health rights as newly young married girls lose independence and mobility when they move into their in-laws home after marriage (umoh & udo, 2014). this is epitomized in alumanah’s (2003) findings that women had no decision making power with regard to their reproductive health as most of her female respondents (ruralite, uneducated and poor, etc) reported that they would have to inform their spouses or relatives of complications before seeking care and 1/3 of them said they would have to seek permission to seek care. ndhs (2014) reports indicate that only 6 percent of currently married women make decisions themselves on their own health care while 3/5 (60%) women report that their husbands make such decisions. children are highly valued and desired irrespective of their gender as both sexes fill a very crucial gap in the social and cultural life of the family (mairiga et al., 2010). nwakeze’s (2003) findings from her study in anambra state showed that infertility was of great consequences for the couple and the woman in particular. similarly, ezumah’s (2003) findings of a research she undertook on sexuality and gender relations in anambra state using qualitative methods, showed the importance attached to procreation as emphasized on the extent a barren woman goes to get a wife for her husband to bear children on her behalf or a wife goes outside her 362 matrimonial home (with or without the consent of her husband in the case of infertility on the man’s side) to get children in order to maintain the family’s existence and value in the community. these socio-cultural attitudes towards the importance of marriage and family made many nigerians react negatively to the programme of family planning services (ringheim & griggle, 2010). alumanah (2003) and kelodjouea (2015) noted from their findings in nigeria and cameroon respectively that the ability of women to command resources and make independent decisions about their fertility has an impact on choice of use or non-use of family planning services. their findings also showed that women who were economically independent sought health care more compared to those without education. in agreement to their findings, ugwu’s (2007) research findings showed that educational achievement of wives does not translate directly to exercise of authority as no matter the educational level of a wife, she still needs her husbands’ approval or at least that of his kins to seek health care and in particular family planning services. the social strength of power relations between married couples and extended family to a large extent affect the rate of access and use of family planning services by women in relation to contraception. empirical studies in nigeria like in other african countries have shown that even with urbanisation and westernization men are still the main decision makers when it comes to fertility control with no class difference and to a less degree the kins and in-laws (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003; kelodjouea, 2015; mairiga et al., 2010). there are social consequences of use of family planning services in areas where it is not socially accepted especially in traditional areas and these consequences could be fatal and the actions range from violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence, etc. on the part of the woman, she ceases to trust the man. on the part of the man, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women, to death sometimes (ezumah, 2003; gavin et al.,2014; oluwepo & okedare, 2006; & sonfield, 2013). traditional family planning methods the findings of ringheim and gribble (2010) and mairiga et al. (2010) show that traditional methods of birth control though old and natural are still being used in nigeria. the findings show that long lactation combined with post-partum sexual abstinence, fertility awareness methods (that is, use of basal body temperature, cervical position, cervical mucus method), withdrawal, waist band, rings, charms, jumping ropes, horseback riding, and having abortions are used to space birth (delano, 2015). these traditional and natural family planning methods are persisting because the fertility patterns observed in developing countries are attributed to the traditional attitudes and cultural values held by communities and the tradition of communities to favour having many children (mairiga et al., 2010). the research findings of obasi and umoh (2000) showed that 9.8% of 20.4% of their total respondents who were currently using any type of family planning methods were those using traditional family 363 planning methods. recently, the result of the research findings by mairiga et al. (2010) on the practice of traditional family planning among the rural kanuri community shows that 63% of the female respondents practice traditional family planning. ringheim and gribble’s (2010) research findings showed that rural respondents were more aware of traditional family planning methods than the urban respondents and vice versa. research findings in ibadan by bowman and kuenyehia (2003) show that women in polygynous marriages were very happy with traditional abstinence because it helps them preserve their health with advancement in age, avoid ridicule from others, maintain a happy home since older wives do not want babies and so do not vie to become pregnant like younger wives. among the younger wives, long lactation and use of traditional contraceptives were also found to be the main methods of family planning in ghana from the study that was carried out by abu as cited in the works of bowman and kuenyehia and among the kanuri in northern nigeria as noted by mairiga et al. (2010). these studies showed that women who experienced difficulties in achieving the desired birth spacing tried to overcome the problems of these methods and space births as well as satisfy their husbands sexually using traditional contraceptives. this helped them ensure that they do not incur the wrath of their husbands as a result of negotiating especially modern family planning services. such wraths include their husbands seeking sexual satisfaction outside their matrimonial homes, refusing their wives’ food, sending them home to their parents, physical violence, etc (bawa et al., 2014; ezumah, 2003) with its attendant consequences of jeopardizing the women’s physical and psychological health. modern family planning methods modern family planning methods include barrier methods that prevent sperm from meeting eggs, hormonal contraceptives that affect a woman’s hormones, altering her reproductive cycle. another modern birth control method is fertility awareness methods (fam). it is a collection of practices that helps a woman know which days of the month she is likely to get pregnant using natural family planning methods such as abstinence. sometimes using fam like abstinence is not for the purpose of limiting the size of their families but to give their bodies’ time to rest and replenish their resources before embarking upon another pregnancy. this corresponds with the findings of bowman and kuenyehia, (2003) among rural gambian women, mainly with women who have had one reproductive mishap or another. modern family planning methods can also be grouped according to prescription. (1) prescription contraceptives refer to those contraceptives that are by law provided by licensed pharmacists such as injectibles, iuds, diaphragms, and nor-plants, and (2) non prescription contraceptives. these can be provided both by pharmacists and chemists. examples are oral contraceptives, foaming tablets, creams and jellies and condoms. though contraceptive knowledge and use have risen minimally in africa from 23.6% in 2008 to 27.6% in 2014 (umoh & udo, 2014), for instance ugwu (2007) noted that more than half of the respondents who had contraceptive knowledge had made use of one type or the other (the type of 364 contraceptives was not indicated). abdullahi (2012) noted that the use of modern family planning in nigeria is very low as only 10% of married women used a modern contraceptive in 2008 and it has led to an increase in abortion rate of 25/1000 women aged 15-44 years. empirical findings of ringheim and gribble (2010) also show that among their respondents especially among the unmarried sexually active women, condom was the best known and used but very much unpopular with the young married women. this attitude they attributed to the inability of women to negotiate condom use especially in marriage but rhythm was the most commonly used among the married women. nwakeze (2003) from her study noted that out of the 64.5% of her respondents who have used contraceptives, only 18.6% used the modern methods such as condom, pills, injectibles. iud was rarely used. douche, tubal ligation and hysterectomy were used even to a lesser degree. the reverse was the case in a studies conducted by ozumba and ibekwe (2001) at unth and umoh and udo’s (2014) conference finding show that iucd was the most preferred method among the users. from nwakaeze’s (2003) and mairiga et al.(2010) reports, those who were non users had reasons like fear of side effect, husband’s disapproval and religion as major reasons. reasons for and not using family planning services according to sonfield (2013) women and men who experience unplanned pregnancy are particularly likely to experience depression, anxiety and a decreased perception of happiness espousing empowerment feminists’ perspective that involvement of men in family planning services programmes will help avert the consequences of non-use on all. the reasons most of the male respondents who allow wife to use family planning services gave are that they want to maintain good health of the family and that their wives are their responsibilities. according to the research findings of bawah et al. (2014), oluwepo and okedare (2006),smith et al, (2009) and sonfield (2013) the consequences of not using family planning by married women could be detrimental to the couple and family at large and the actions range from violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence on the part of the woman and mistrust which are culturally justified. on the part of the men, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women, tension that wife will seek sex outside marriage and to death sometimes. the issue of women secretly using family planning services (a coping strategy) is general in all nkanu communities. this finding is consistent with the findings of bawa, et al, (2014) in ghana. most of the female qualitative respondents agreed that a wife who is tired of giving birth for health reason(s) might use family planning without her husband’s consent especially when he refuses her the right to use the service. because of the stress the married woman faces at home trying to manage the home as a wife, mother and financial aide to the husband, she might decide to use family planning without her husbands’ knowledge to avoid the tension that comes with refusal to have conjugal relationship between her and her husband yet if her husband finds out she faces problems. therefore such married women try as much as they can to hide it. a family planning provider also noted that wives who use the service(s) without their 365 husbands’ consent insist that their husbands are not informed and the providers’ advice on method to use accordingly. religion religion is a strong factor that negatively affects use to family planning services by married women in the research area. according to the research findings of bowman and kuenyehia (2003) and apanga et al. (2015) religion poses strong limitations to the use of family planning services because they perceive it as increasing infidelity in women and fighting the will of god for procreation. yet it does not compare favourably with the findings of bakibinga et al. (2016) in kenya that religion has no effect on access and usage of family planning among their married women. many services like abortion, etc are being provided by the family planning services clinic in the area but the christians do not utilize them because of their doctrine which is tinted with tradition of fatalism as noted from family planning providers. the implication is that this nascent religion has a negative teaching on family planning services on the reproductive health of married women therefore it has given root to culture of male superiority and undermined the right of women to reproductive issues that concern them. religion has gone deep into the culture of the research area that when issues of family planning arise the case is preferably reported to the religious leader than to the kinsmen especially by women faithful which is not really acceptable by the men folk. education and knowledge of family planning by husbands and useof family planning by wives there is a general agreement that knowledge of family planning services by husbands will increase their support of wives use of family planning services. this assertion is supported by the report of international planned parenthood federation (ippf) that if more accurate information and affordable services were easily available, that as many as 20 million more women would be using family planning services more, than are currently using. since the governments have the intention of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality, and also achieve universal access to reproductive health, it is then expected that the government should not only empower the people generally with education but with access to family planning services information especially in rural areas by introducing enlightenment programmes. also the programmes to achieve this have to be all encompassing that is involving men and every other target group such as married women, to give them value re-orientation. men being involved in the processes of family planning services have positive consequences for the couple and the family in general. culture of patriarchy findings show that husbands are the ones in the position to permit wives before they use family planning services. for those who would not permit their wives to use family planning services, greater percentage said it is because of the side effects. this is to show that lack of proper 366 knowledge of family planning services is evident among husbands in the study area. another major reason given is that it is not their tradition. because tradition is beneficial to the males, they would want to maintain the status quo of male superiority. yet there was an agreement that where the woman’s life is threatened that she can use the service without her husband’s permission. they also agreed that if such is found out by her husband that serious trouble usually resulted. it was also found that in spite of the consequences of using family planning in secret that married women still use the services and in certain cases such women are helped by their female folks to keep it secret because for them, some men can be terrible and might make such women who use family planning services without their approval to face some repercussions. losing their homes means losing their children which customarily are in the husband’s custody in case of separation or divorce and these children are supposed to be the promoters of the woman’s prestige and status in the society. this agrees with the findings ofbawah, et al. (2014), ezumah, (2003) and niser (2001) that child-bearing and rearing defines a woman’s value and status in her community. therefore the implication of using family planning services in secret might be to retain their homes or status as married women. according to studies carried out among the yoruba people and nsukka people in ekiti and enugu states in nigeria, as reported by bowman and kuenyehia (2003) and okeibunor (2000) respectively show that men are the main decision makers when it comes to fertility control with no class difference and to a less degree the kins and in-laws. the little or no involvement of inlaws and others in the research area especially in marriage issues might be attributed to the fact that it is considered exposure of family issues as qualitative respondents noted. this is in line with the arguments of empowerment theorists that women’s subordination and oppression had its root in culture especially patriarchy and socialization which are gender biased. they noted that women were socialized to be dependent on men. therefore the inequality in decision making is a method men used to secure and maintain their power. to avert this, they advocated effective communication among couples and literacy for men and restructuring of the cultural framework of power to the ones that no sex will feel inferior. sexuality communication there is a general belief that proper sexuality communication between spouses encourages increase use of family planning services by married women. according to a study on socialization by boserup (1970) it was found that women are taught to be shy, subtle and nonvocal while men are taught to be arrogant, out spoken and aggressive. in the research area, women are taught to repress their feelings even in marriage. contraceptive effect in as much as there are negative consequences for women that do not use family planning, there are also consequences for use which could be attributed to be inherent in family planning methods and also to the fact that the users are not properly enlightened on family planning which produces contrary desire in the users in the research area. it’s been found that oral pills interfere with the hormones in the body, therefore if the blood pressure of a woman is very 367 high, she cannot be administered with this hormonal drug. most of these injectible, oral pills are hormonal but iucd is not hormonal, you may even decide to advice the prospective user on iucd, it does not interfere with the hormones in the system. but those methods that interfere with the hormones may cause high blood pressure. so if somebody’s blood pressure is very high we advice against use of hormonals. with iucd, if somebody has pelvic inflammatory disease (pid) or any other sti, we do not advise such prospective user on it, unless you give her treatment prior to that, you may ask her to go on injectible while she is being treated of the infection and then after the treatment she can go on this barrier since that is her choice. if she is inserted with iucd while still infected it might lead to ascending infection. married women could be empowered to use family planning services in the research area if there is proper family planning enlightenment and advocacy. for instance, when they understand that health histories are requirements for efficacious family planning use especially for hormonal and insertions, the notion that it can be accessed anywhere like with quacks and the effect of wrong application that occasion negative side effect(s) would be reduced to the minimum. some of the fgd respondents who experienced health hazards in the services noted that they accessed and used the services from unregistered clinics that are found in their localities. family planning providers noted that to have a side effect free use of family planning methods that counseling must be done that is to say that before any method is offered to a prospective user that the client has to be counseled before administering any method to avoid negative side effects. the counseling will enable them choose correctly. summary and conclusion one of the findings of this research is that decisions in marriage are the prerogative of the husband among married people in nkanu area and this also impacts negatively on the reproductive choices and health of married women in the area. the theoretical implication of this finding is that married women’s use of family planning in the research area is contingent on male control as well as the level of their husbands’ education and knowledge of family planning. the theoretical implication of this finding is that married women are not seen as personalities who have their needs, aspirations and limitations. if they are empowered through effective sensitization to make rational reproductive health choices and decisions, they will be in a position to meet their family planning needs. this study shows that empowering women through education and skills will enhance their use of family planning more. this tallies with the definition of women empowerment as having sense of self worth, access to opportunities and resources, choices and the ability to exercise them, have control over their own lives and influence over the direction of social change (ndhs, 2013). but if they are stretched beyond their natural limits by male control which constrains them from accessing family planning services, they will face challenges of maternal morbidity and mortality and marital stress, as the case may be. these may in turn, affect negatively the home, community and nation at large. these were highlighted in the findings of the study as likely consequences of non use of family 368 planning in the research area. the study found that women who do not communicate with their husbands before accessing modern family planning services do so to avert marital conflict. this agrees with the consequences of use of family planning without the consent of the husband as enumerated by ezumah (2003) in her research findings in anambra state. this portrays the tradition of male supremacy in marriage. according to empowerment theorists, women in all cultures face the same subordination from societies they belong to. liberal feminists maintain that in marriage, women do not achieve equality with men. they advocated learning through collective action which serves the function of successfully challenging individuals and institutions opposed to their self interests and enable women to collectively take control of their own lives, to set their own agenda, to organize to help each other and make demands on society for change. hooks (1984) advocates effective communication among couples and literacy for the female and involvement of men in feminist movements if sex inequality is to be averted. she also called for the restructuring of the cultural framework of power to ones that do not find oppression of others necessary. symke (1991), noted that women’s 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http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/ http://www.who.int/topics/reproductive_health/en/ page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 445 the impact of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity: a study of federal radio corporation of nigeria(frcn) enugu ugwu, c.u. department of international relations and personnel management, caritas university, amorji nike, enugu abstract this research project is aimed at investigating the impact of in-service training on employee performance and productivity at the federal ratio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu. the population of the study was one hundred and fifty (150) comprising both the senior, junior and management staff of the corporation. the taro yameni’s formula was used to determine the sample size of the study which became one hundred and twenty (120). the survey research design was adopted for the study. the instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. the questionnaire was validated by the corrections made by the supervisor which ensured its face and content validity. the reliability of the instrument was tested through the test-retest method and the result was found to be consistent each time. the researcher personally administered the questionnaire to the respondents and collected it at the agreed date. the data collected was analyzed through percentages and the formulated hypotheses were tested with the chi-square (x2) statistical tool. the findings revealed that in-service training improves employee performance and productivity. based on the findings, it was recommended that organizations should periodically embark on in-service training of their employees so as to continue to improve their performance and productivity. keywords: productivity, efficiency, employment, management, performance introduction periodic training of employees has become inevitable as a result of the growing complexities of the work environment, the rapid changes in organizations as well as the technological advancements. these factors have necessitated the need for periodic training and development of employees to meet these challenges. training helps to ensure that employees possess the required knowledge and skills for effective performance of their jobs, take on new responsibilities, and adapt to changing conditions in the workplace (jones, george and hill, 2020:71). it is further argued that training “helps to improve product quality, customer satisfaction, productivity, morale, management succession, business development and profitability”. until recently, there has been a general resistance to investment in training in the public service on presumption that “employees hired under the merit system must have been qualified, that they were already trained for their jobs, and that if this was not so, it was evident that initial personnel selection was faulty” (stahl, 2019:25). this assumption, however, has been jettisoned as the need for training became obvious to both the private and public sectors. many organizations have come to realize that training offers a way of “developing skills, enhancing productivity and quality of work, and building worker-loyalty to the firm”. despite the 446 recognition of the importance of training by management experts and government as expressed in white papers on various reforms in nigeria, the experience of manpower training and development in the nigeria public service has been more of use and waste. in-service training is vitally important for our public sector. we need to train people who are result oriented service, who recognize opportunities and need objectives. chuks madubum (1992) viewed in-services training as an important factor that contribute to improve performance of unemployed right from the day of federick taylor of the scientific management to the present day in-service could be thus viewed as being concerned with increasing knowledge and skill in doing particular job is located. in-service is described as a change agent, i.e., its purpose is to effect a change in knowledge, skill and attitude. according to emma o. chukwuemeka (1998), “in-service training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of skills, concepts, rules or attitudes to increase the performance of the employees”. the above definition is not out of place hence many scholars approach the definition in different perspectives. some scholar refers in-service training as an investment. investment is therefore commitment of resources to the acquisition of assets, in turn allows a stream of resources to be generated in the future. the asset acquired can be regarded as education, skill and mental or managerial utility. viewing in-service training from other angle, udo udo-aka (1988), defined in-service training as the development of specific and attitude needed of job to maximize the productivity of the individual and improve the overall organizational efficiency”. one obvious fact to note in udo udo aka’s definition is that inservice is an organized procedure by which people acquire knowledge and skill for a definite purpose. the objective of in-service training therefore is to effect a change in behaviours (positive) of organizational goals-increase productivity. although the researcher agrees with udo aka’s definition, many organization including enugu state ministry of health, regard in-service training of workers as an extra activity to be supported only it there are surplus money to embark on it. the normal situation should have been, the regard in-service training and development as a necessary tool that must be accomplished each year according to a given budget provision specifically made for it. this abnormally actually informed the researcher the need to embark on this project to create awareness are regards in-service training and development. giving credence to udo aka’s definition, armstrong michael (1993) defined in-service training “as the modification of behaviours through experience the transfer of skills and knowledge from who have them to those about a significant improvement in job performance as a result of instruction, practice and experience”. also along the same line of thought, mc thayer (1963) defined in-service training as the formal procedures which a company uses to facilitate employees learning so that their resultant behaviours contribute to the attainment of the company’s goals and objectives. one thing to note in the above definition is emphasizes that in-service training encompasses activities ranging from the development of a complex knowledge, inculcation of elaborate administrative skills and development of attitudes towards 447 intricate and controversial social issues. in enugu state specifically ministry of health, inservice training is seen as being continues but in practices it concentrates on the total utilization of already trained manpower without making adequate provision to retrain and develop workers rather, effort is being focused on training new intake. highlighting on the impact of in-service training in any giving society, victor (1977) observed that the major capital stock of an industrially advanced country is not its physical equipment it is the body of knowledge amassed from tested finding and discussions of empirical sciences and the capacity of training of its population to use the knowledge”. supporting the above view, oshisami (1982) observed that, “development does not start with goods, it starts with people and their education, organization, and discipline. without these three, all resources remain latent, untapped potentially. every country at high level of education, produced the economic miracle”. the central idea of the above, centered on the fact that manpower is the life wire of any organization or economy. it produces and controls other factors of production and requires thoughtful provision, utilization and preservation. there is no doubt that inservice training raises the quality of life especially in public sector where such training and development are utilized in various ministries especially in the administrative cadres in order to upkeep their duty one can imagine that poor job performance of ministry of health is necessitated by incompetence untrained personnel. in the development of organizations, training plays a vital role, improving performance as well as increasing productivity, and eventually putting companies in the best position to face competition and stay at the top. this means that there is a significant difference organizations that train their employees and organizations that do not (april, 2010). training is a type of activity which is planned, systematic and it results in enhanced level of skill, knowledge and competency that are necessary to perform work effectively (gordon, 1992). there exists a positive association between training and employee performance. training generates benefits for the employee as well as for the organization by positively influencing employee performance through the development of employee knowledge, skills, ability, competencies and behaviour (april, 2010). organizations that are dedicated to generating profits for its owners (shareholders), providing quality service to its customers and beneficiaries, invest in the training of its employees (evans & lindsay, 1999). the more highly motivated a trainee, the more quickly and systematically a new skill or knowledge is acquired. that is why training should be related to money, job promotion, and recognition etc, i.e. something which the trainee desires (flippo, 1976). there are four prerequisites for learning: motivation comes first. cue is the second requirement. the learner can recognize related indicators (cue) and associate them with desired responses with the help of training. response comes third. training should be immediately followed by positive reinforcement so that the learner can feel the response. last is the feedback; it is the information which learner receives and indicates in the quality of his response. this response must be given as quickly as possible to make sure successful learning (leslie, 1990). performance can be defined as the achievement of specified task measured against predetermined or identified standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed. in an 448 employment contract, performance is deemed to be the accomplishment of a commitment in such a manner that releases the performer from all liabilities laid down under the contract. efficiency and effectiveness are ingredients of performance apart from competitiveness and productivity and training is a way of increasing individual’s performance (cooke, 2000). kenney, (1992) stated that employee’s performance is measured against the performance standards set by the organization. good performance means how well employees performed on the assigned tasks. in every organization there are some expectations from the employees with respect to their performance. and when they perform up to the set standards and meet organizational expectations they are believed good performers. functioning and presentation of employees is also termed as employee performance. this means that effective administration and presentation of employees’ tasks which reflect the quality desired by the organization can also be termed as performance. while much is known about the economics of training in the developed world, studies of issues associated with training in less-developed countries are rarely found. job characteristics and firm background were found to play key roles in determining training provision. workers who received off-the-job training were less likely to receive on the-job training, while those who received on-the-job training were neither more nor less likely to have received off-the-job training. however, a complementary relationship was found between receiving informal training and receiving on-the-job or off-the-job training. earnings differentials were not found to correlate with different types of training. unlike in developed countries, training in china was usually intended to remedy skills deficiencies, rather than enhance productivity (ying, 2004). training programs helps in making acquaintance of employees with more advance technology and attaining robust competencies and skills in order to handle the functions and basics of newly introduced technical equipments. more rarely it happens that employees are not fully trained regarding new working and technical techniques and they are unable to deliver to their assignments according to the desire of the organization. effective training can bring down these flaws, (robert, 2006). along with training, worth of response from employees regarding working situations is of highly importance and it can help in drawing the attention of the managers and executives to the factors that are of mammoth importance, corretz, et al. (2008). feedback not only adds to knowledge of employee and employer but also improves the process of evaluation of employees, (rosti jr. 1998). firms can develop and enhance the quality of the current employees by providing comprehensive training and development. research indicates that investments in training employees in problem-solving, decision-making, teamwork and interpersonal relations result in beneficial firm level outcomes (harel, 1999). training also has a significant effect on employee performance. firms can develop and enhance the quality of the current employees by providing comprehensive training and development. indeed, research indicates that investments in training employees in problem-solving, teamwork and interpersonal relations result in beneficial firm level outcomes (harel, 1999). it is observed that investigation directed at building a contingency model of transfer-oriented training intervention design would provide information important for developing training 449 environments more conducive to positive transfer in terms of productivity effectiveness. identification of training needs, design and implementation of training programmes, transfer of training, and evaluation of programs benefits are key activities (krishnaveni & sripirabaa, 2008) in addition to studying general training variables such as types of training, selection of trainees, selection criteria, evaluation instruments, etc. the success of training depends on the correct implementation of all steps of the process: previous analysis of training needs, development and implementation of an adequate training plan and evaluation (mirabet, 1997). in conclusion, training, together with other activities positively affects results and is associated with a productivity increase and a staff turnover decrease (huselid, 1995). francesconi, and zoega (2002) identified conditions under which the salary compression associated with imperfectly competitive labour markets will increase the incentive for firms to finance general or transferable training. in this context, salary compression implies that posttraining productivity is increasing in training intensity at a faster rate than salary. hence, the gap between productivity and salary is increasing in training intensity and, by definition, a firm’s profits over some range. but the amount of training provided in equilibrium will be suboptimal from society’s viewpoint. diverse results have been found in different research works regarding the effect of training on salary. according to human capital theory on the job training has positive effect on salary increment because training has the potential to enhance labour productivity (becker, 1962). organization’s compensation system has foremost impact on transfer of training. when organization analyze the importance of training and reward their newly trained employees, then the workforce will be motivated towards passing on those skills. according to expectancy theory, employee motivation increases when meaningful rewards are given to those employees who effectively transfer training (vroom, 1964). training is categorized into different types: for example, on the job training which is known as specific training as well and off the job training, which is also termed as informal training. on the job training works as a catalyst in the increment of salary, (lillard and tan, 1992). off the job training does not have worthwhile effect on salary (lynch, 1992 and veum, 1995). the increase in income from on the job training is approximately 12% to 15% whereas it is 2% to 8% increase in case of off the job training (mincer, 1996). in case of informal training, the increment in salary is about 2% (bowers and swaim, 1994). in manufacturing sector there is 0.9% enhancement in earnings due to on the job training (xiao). techniques or methods of training according to adeniji (2010), there are two types of training: curative and preventive. curative training is used to address problems that workers demonstrate at the present. this is more emphasized in nigeria. preventive training is a programme aimed at solving a future problem that may occur. other methods of training according to him are: in-service training akinpelu (2002) defined in-service training as an in-house programme for staff in many government and business enterprises. that is, continuing education for teachers. banks and large industrial enterprises use this as training schemes for their staff. apprenticeship redmond, (2007) describe apprenticeship as a system of learning a skill in the field of a craft 450 or trade from experts in the field by working with them for a set period of time. this method is employed when extensive practice or technical knowledge is required. such job like mechanics, hairdressers, plumbers, tailors, and so on. for instance, the type of in-service programmes available in the public sector federation is similar to that which is obtained in public sector and establishment. be that as it may, in-service programs may be classified into the following: a. induction training: this training refers to the training initiated to introduce a new employee to the structure, functions and ethnics of work environment. b. on-the job training: this type of training is given to employee who is already perform the job assigned to him or her. it is intended to assist the employee to know the greater rudiments, techniques and depth study of his job to ensure efficiency. c. supervisor training: this aims all inculcating in employees, the skills of supervisor, controlling and training others some methods of supervisory training are conferences lectures, on-the-job supervisory training, under study supervisory training and the job rotational supervisory training. d. management training and development: this aims all giving suitable employees’ adequate training to prepare them to occupy higher managerial positions in an organization. it also concerns with updating the knowledge and developing the utilities of the top executives of an organization. some scholar has their own views about the various types/kinds of in-service training. eze (2002), reacting to induction training said that the following topic would usually constitute a typical induction course: objective of training and development the main objectives of employees training and development are to improve the qualities of their trainee, formulation of objectives for different needs and ways of achieving it (olaniyan and ojo, 2008). the training objective is very important because it determines the designed and content of the training programmes. contents of the training remain the same no matter the type of training involved. it is to increase personnel efficiency, professional growth, smooth and more effective organization’s operations. writing on the importance of training and development adeniji (2010), declare that an organization may have employees with the ability and determination with appropriate equipment and managerial support yet productivity fails below expected standards. this means for any organization to succeed in achieving the objective of its training programme, the design and implementation must be planned and systematically tailored towards enhacing performance and productivity. in the words of armstrong (1996), training should be developed and operated within an organization by appreciating learning theories and approaches if the training is to be well understood. to support this, the more highly motivated a trainee, the more quickly and systematically a new skill or knowledge is acquired (flippo, 1973). bryn (1990) concludes this by the four pre-requisites of learning: motivation, cue, response and feedback. training has been an important variable in increasing organizational productivity (rohan and mudhumita, 2012). the success of training depends on the correct implementation of all steps of the process: previous analysis of training needs, and implementation of an adequate training 451 plan and evaluation (pineda, 1995, sole and mirabet, 1997) in rhan and madhumita (2012). researchers like colombo and stanca (2008), sepulveda (2005), konings and vanormelingen (2009), showed that training is a fundamental and effective instrument in successful accomplishment of the firm’s goals and objectives, resulting in higher productivity. according to holton (2000), training design refers to the degree to which the training has been designed and delivered in such a way that provides trainees the ability to transfer learning back to the job. it is obvious that training plays an important role in the development of organization, improving performance as well as increasing productivity and eventually putting organizations in the best position to face competition and stay at the too. this means that, there is a significant difference between the organizations that trains their employees and that organization that do not (benedicta, 2010). in the views of rohan and madhumita (2012), investing in training employees on decision making, as well as teamwork, problem-solving and interpersonal relationship has beneficial impact on organizations, level of growth, as well as impacting on employees’ performance. thus training is a way of enhancing employee commitment and maximizing employee potential. in figure 1, below the revenue cycle is driven by knowledge, innovation and creativity – all of which comes from employees. according to management study guide (2014), employee development activities help in the growth and development of employees, who are the true assets of an organization. you need to respect your employees for them to feel motivated and develop a sense of loyalty and attachment towards the organization. organizations should not forget that their employees strive really hard for almost the entire day to accomplish organizations goals and objectives (naylor, 1999). employees needs to be appreciated, and management ought to acknowledge their hard work. employees who give their heart and soul to the organization also expect something in return (nda and fard, 2013; khan and khan, 2011). money could be one motivating factor but nothing like it if you prepare your employee not only for his/her current job but also for future assignments as well. employees need to grow with time. one cannot apply similar skills and techniques everywhere (management study guide 2014). however, organizations should not forget that technology also becomes obsolete with time. employee need to keep themselves abreast with the latest developments to survive fierce competition. management study guide 2014 asserts that employee development is important for employees to enhance their skills and upgrade their existing knowledge in order to perform better. employee development activities and trainings make employees, aware of the latest developments and what is happening around them. from the forgoing, one can deduce that employee development and training helps organizational development in the following ways: increase productivity; improved quality of services and products; job knowledge and skills of employee, addressing employee’s weaknesses, bring about a sense of security at work place which reduces labour turnover and absenteeism; employee development ensures employee satisfaction; and eliminate wastage of resources and reduces accident. functions of in-service training and development the public sector in nigeria today is characterized by too few trained and specialized staff who have far too much to do. realizing the importance of in-service training and 452 development in nigeria, the udorji commission of 1974 emphasized that the major thrust of the commission recommendation is a management improvement strategy and its principal techniques is in-service training. the report what further to highlight that the major constraint to nigeria’s development is the lack of skilled and experienced men and women to carry out the tasks at the hand and ahead. to correct the deficiency, the commission proposed improvement of both manpower planning and in-service training. in its white paper on the main report, the federal government in most respects accepted this recommendation and most of its implications. in order to establish of complete and comprehensive of in-service training and analysis of in-service training recommendation is required. at this juncture, primary attention should be given to middle level and management training and development. the restriction is imposed because the researcher has the intention to recommend that government should place primary emphasis on middle and top management development training. from the beginning therefore, it is important to understand the emphasis which the researcher placed on in-service training because the whole of the management change strategy is tied to improving management capacity through in-service training. it is also important to note that in-service training will be the most urgent consideration in accepting and implementing this research work. the researcher therefore focused on training as a corrective strategy of inservice training in nigeria public sector. a result oriented public sector will need to recruit and train specialized personnel. the new public sector will require professionals who possess the requisite skills and knowledge. management by objective, a new concept in management permits specific inservice to meet specific requirements.the proper selection and training of staff and budget specialist and that would eventually provide the skills to make plan budgeting work. there is need for a positive and realistic programme of refresher in-service training for most categories of staff in order to minimize inefficiency and increase productivity. developing the skills and abilities needed to carry out responsibilities to improve personnel management in public sector: this is therefore worried by lack of formal training programmes in public sector. in-service training should be part of a comprehensive educational planning programme to ensure suitably trained from administrative cadre down to the clerical. there should be in-service training programmes in university management. the training requirement of high level manpower development will expand the needs for advanced training faculty in universities. the forgoing therefore illustrates the researchers vision/concern for inservice training throughout all branches of public sector. oshohobo (1992), writing on the job training, said that it is very common especially when the work requires more coaching and may be given assignments or project as part of a planned programme to develop their experience. nwachukwu (1992) in his own view supported by saying that “on the job training is the most popular and in some cases the only form of training programme used by some organization”. his reason was supported by beach dales (1980) who said that on the job training is most appropriate for teaching knowledge and skills that can be learned relatively short time, a few days to several weeks and when only one or at most a very few employees must be trained at the same time for the job. in case of situations calling for in depth theory acquisition, classroom method will be preferable. he continued that on the job method is very beneficial in learning unskilled and semi-skilled manual type of jobs, clerical jobs as well as sales jobs”. 453 statement of the problem in-service training is either on-the-job or off-the-job training designed to help employees perform their jobs effectively. in-service training is also given to new employees so as to make them quickly adapt the organization and to start contributing their own quota towards the organization’s success. training is also given to existing employees to update their skills after major organization or technological changes. in-service training according to akinyele (2012:27), means “specific learning activities which are job-related, directed towards the improvement of the job-holders present and future performance on the job and their contributions towards the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives. objectives of the study the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity with particular reference to the federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu. specifically, the objectives of the study are to: i. assess the impact of in-service training programmes of the federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu on their employees’ performance and productivity. ii. ascertain whether federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu organizes in-service training for their employees. iii. determine how often in-service training programmes are conducted for the employees of federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu. iv. ascertain if there is any significant relationship between in-service training of employees and their performance and productivity. research questions the following research questions were posed to guide this study: i. does in-service training positively affect employees’ performance and productivity? ii. does the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu organize training programmes for their employees? iii. how often are the employees of federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu sponsored on in-service training? iv. is there any significant relationship between in-service training of employees’ performance and productivity? research hypotheses based on the objectives of this study and the research questions, the following hypotheses have been formulated to guide our investigation. hypothesis 1 ho: in-service training does not positively affect employees’ performance and productivity. h1: in-service training affects employees’ performance and productivity. hypothesis 2 ho: federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu does not organize in-service training for their employees. 454 h1: federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu do organize in-service training for their employees. hypothesis 3 ho: federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu does not sponsor in-service training. h1: federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu do sponsor in-service training. hypothesis 4 ho: there is no significant relationship between in-service training and employees’ performance and productivity. h1: there is a significant relationship between in-service training and employees’ performance and productivity. significance of the study the findings of this study will be beneficial to both the management and employees of the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu. the management of the organization would benefit from employees’ training programmes through improved performance and productivity, high standard of services/programmes to their esteemed audience, etc while the employees would benefit by having increased job satisfaction, improved prospects for internal promotion as well as increased value of the individual employees in the labour market. scope of the study the area of this study is the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu which forms its geographical area of coverage. the main focus of the study is to examine the impact of in-service training on employee performance and productivity in the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu also known as 92.9fm, enugu. research design the research design adopted for this study is the survey research design. a survey research design is a design in which a group of people or items are studied by collecting and analyzing data from a sample of the population considered adequate to be a representative of the entire population of which the findings are generalized on the entire population. area of the study this research on the impact of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity with reference to the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu which forms the geographical area of the study. population of the study according to sitwenthrone et al. (2018:26), population of the study is the target group of which the researcher intends to investigate. on the basis of this definition, the population of this study comprise of the entire one hundred and fifty employees of the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu which is made up of senior, intermediate and junior staff. 455 sample size and sampling techniques the stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure that each of the stratum of staff namely the senior, intermediate and junior staff had equal chances of being selected for the study. the sample size was determined through the use of the taro yameni statistical formula thus: n = n 1+n(e)2 where n = the sample size sought n = the total population e = margin of error (5% or 0.05) i = constant therefore n = 150 1+150 (0.05)2 n = 150 1+150 (0.0025) n = 150 1+ 0.0025 n = 150 1.25 n = 120 therefore, the sample size = 120 sources of data the researcher made use of both the primary and secondary sources of data. the data gathered with the questionnaires, personal observation and interviews with the respondents formed our primary sources of data while the data generated from books, journals, newspapers and magazines and the internet formed our secondary sources of data. instrument for data collection the instrument for data collection used in this study was the questionnaire which was designed in line with the objective of the study, the research questions and the hypotheses. the questionnaire was divided into two sections – section a sought information on the bio-data of the respondents while section b consists of questions relating to the research objectives, the research questions and the hypotheses. validity and reliability of the instrument validity refers to the ability of the instrument to accurately measure what it tends to measure, while reliability refers to the consistency of the instrument in its measurement. the 456 reliability of the instrument was ensure through the corrections made by the researcher’s supervisor with respect to its content and format, thereby vouching for its content and face validity. the reliability of the instrument was tested through the test-retest method. this involved the administration of the instrument to a set of respondents and after about two weeks, the instrument was re-administered to same respondents, and the results were consistent. method of data collection the researcher personally distributed the questionnaire to the respondents and collected it same day after completion. this method ensured a high rate of return of the questionnaire. method of data analysis the data generated from the distributed and collected questionnaires were processed into frequencies, converted into simple percentages and presented in tables. the hypotheses were tested with the chi-square statistical tool. the chi-square is a parametric hypothesis testing statistical technique denoted by x2. in analyzing the impact of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity in the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu, the chi-square statistical method was used thus: x2 = ∑(o – e)2 e where x2 = chi-square ∑ = summation o = observed frequency e = expected frequency decision / acceptance rule i. accept null hypothesis (ho) if chi-square (x2) calculated value is greater than chisquare tabulated value and reject alternative hypothesis (h1). ii. accept alternative hypothesis (h1) if chi-square (x2) calculated value is lesser than chisquare (x2) tabulated value and reject the null hypothesis (ho). discussion of findings the data collected are presented on a tabular form and are analyzed using percentage method while on the other hand; the chi-square test was used for testing the hypothesis. a total of 175 questionnaires were administered to all the level of staff of federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu and 105 copies were retrieved as duly completed and were used for the analysis. the 105 questionnaires used are being regarded as 100 percent and were used to get the views of the employees of the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn) of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity. table 1: distribution and collection questionnaire variables respondents percentage (%) returned 105 87.5 457 not returned 15 12.5 total 120 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 the table above shows that total of one hundred and twenty questionnaires were distributed, one hundred and five (105) representing 87.5% were returned, and fifteen (15) representing 12.5% were not returned, hence, one hundred and five (105) becomes our sample size. table 2: analysis of respondents by sex variables respondents percentage (%) male 66 63.00 female 39 37 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 from the analysis above, it was deducted that there were more male staff than their female counterpart in the corporation. 63% representing 66 are male while 37% representing 39 are female. these make up the total to be 105. the reason may be because of the nature of work in the organization. table 3: analysis of respondents by age variables respondents percentage (%) 20 – 30 17 16.20 31 – 40 40 38.10 41 – 50 34 32.40 51 – above 14 13.30 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 the table above shows that 16.2% of the staff are between the age bracket of 20 – 30 years, 38.1% are in the age bracket of 31 – 40 years, 32.4% are in the age bracket of 41 – 50 years, while 10.3% are aged between 51 years and above. on an indepth view, the workforce in the corporation are aged within the bracket of 20 to 59 which generally is believed to be the phase of life that humans attain to the apex of their achievements. these age brackets are regarded as most vocal, most active and most committed to work environment. table 4: analysis of respondents by marital status variables respondents percentage (%) single 44 42 married 61 58 divorced separated total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 61 represented by 58% of the respondents are married while 44 represented by 42% of the respondents are single. this shows that there are greater percentage of married workers in federal radio corporation of nigeria than the unmarried ones. 458 table 5: analysis of respondents by educational qualifications variables respondents percentage (%) waec/ssce 29 27.60 ond/nce 25 23.80 b.sc/hnd 34 32.40 m.sc/mba 17 16.20 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 table 5 above indicates that 29 represented by 27.6% of the respondents has waec/ssce certificate, 25 represented by 23.8% have ond/nce as indicated in the above table, 34 of the respondents represented by 32.4% of the staff are b.sc/hnd holders while 17 respondents represented by 16.2% of the respondents possessed m.sc/mba certificate. this shows that the organization has greater percentage of educated staff. table 6: analysis of respondents by position in the organization variables respondents percentage (%) junior 53 36.20 middle 38 50.50 senior management 14 13.30 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 table 6 above indicates that junior staff responded very well to the questionnaire having 36.20% representing 53 respondents, middle staff has 50.5% representing 38 respondents while management has 13.30% representing 14 respondents. this distribution shows that in the corporation there are many people with skills and expertise that are necessary for the corporation. this shows that employees are satisfied with their position and makes them to be committed to work and thereby bring about higher productivity. table 7: analysis of respondents by length of service variables respondents percentage (%) 1 – 10 years 13 12.40 11 – 20 years 28 45.70 21 – 30 years 34 32.40 31 years and above 10 9.50 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above analysis, it is clear that 13 of the respondents represented by 12.4% of the workers has stayed between 1 to 10 years in the corporation, 48 of the respondents with 45.70% have worked between 11 to 20 years, 34 of the respondents represented by 32.40% have worked between 21 to 30 years, while 10 respondents represented by 9.5% have worked about 30 years. the interpretation shows that employees are recruited into the corporation as soon as vacancies occur. retired workers are placed on retirement benefit and medical checkup 459 and health care services are rendered. this motivates employees to be committed to their work thereby increasing productivity in the organization. table 8: do you agree that in-service training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) most satisfied 55 32.40 satisfied 25 23.80 fairly satisfied 16 15.20 dissatisfied 5 4.80 undecided 4 3.80 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 table 8 indicates that 32.4% represented 55 of the respondents strongly agree that inservice training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in the organization, 23.80 (25) of the respondents answered strongly agreed to the above question; 15.20% (16) of the respondents responded disagreed, 4.80% of the respondents strongly disagreed, while 4 respondents represented by 3.80% were undecided. however, most employees agree that in-service training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in the federal radio corporation of nigeria (frcn), enugu. table 9: are you satisfied that employees are sponsored for training programs on the basis of stated criteria? variables respondents percentage (%) highly satisfied 95 88.3 moderately satisfied 4 6.7 low satisfied 3 5 not dissatisfied total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 a critical look at the above table shows that 88.3% representing 95 of the respondents are highly satisfied that employees are sponsored for training programs on the basis of stated criteria; 6.7 representing 4 respondents are moderately satisfied, while 5% representing 3 respondents have low satisfaction. table 10: do you agree that in-service training would not produce better result when compared to off-the-job training in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 18 17.10 strongly agree 50 47.60 disagree 15 14.30 strongly disagree 9 8.60 undecided 13 12.40 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in table 10 above, 50 respondents represented by 47.60% strongly agree that in-service training would not produce better result when compared to off-the-job training in federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu. 18 respondents represented by 17.10% agree, 15 respondents 460 represented by 14.30% disagreed, 9 respondents represented by 8.60% strongly disagreed, while 13 respondents representing 12.40% were undecided. table 11: do you agree that in-service training is given adequate importance by the management of the organization? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 90 85.70 agree 15 14.30 disagree total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 an examination of table 11 above shows that 90 respondents (85.7%) strongly agree that training is given adequate importance by the management of federal radio corporation of nigeria and 15 of the respondents represented by 14.30 agreed. this means that all respondents agreed to this statement. table 12: do you agree that it is given adequate importance to develop skills and competence? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 66 62.80 agree 15 14.30 disagree 24 22.90 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 table 12 above shows that 66 respondents representing 62.80% strongly agree that after training employees’ skills/abilities are applied on the job, 15 respondents representing 14.30 of the respondents agree, while 24 respondents representing 22.9 disagreed that after training employees’ skills/abilities are applied on the job. table 13: do you agree that training provides opportunity for newcomers in the organization to learn about the organization? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 29 27.60 agree 52 49.50 disagree 6 6.20 don’t know 7 7.20 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in table 13 above, 27.60% (29) of the respondents strongly agree to the above question that training provides opportunity for newcomers in the organization to learn about the organization, 49.50% (52) of the respondents agreed to the assertion, 6.2% (6) of the respondents disagreed, while 7.20% (7) of the respondents answered don’t know. table 14: do you agree that training helps to acquire technical knowledge and skills required for employee’s productivity? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 25 18.3 strongly agree 55 71.7 disagree 11 10 strongly disagree 14 12.70 461 undecided total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 table 14 above shows that 55 respondents representing 71.7 agree that training helps to acquire technical knowledge and skills required for employee’s productivity, 25 represented by 18.3 agreed, 11 of the respondents representing 10% were indifferent, while 12 respondents strongly agreed to that assertion. table 15: there is no significant relationship between in-service training of employees and productivity in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 24 22.90 strongly agree 42 40.00 disagree 13 12.40 strongly disagree 12 11.40 undecided 14 13.30 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 looking carefully into the above analysis, it shows that 42 of the respondents representing 40.00% strongly agree that there is no significant relationship between the training of employees and productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria, 24 representing 22.90% agree, 14 respondents representing 13.30 were undecided, 13 respondents representing 12.40% disagreed, while 12 respondents representing 11.40 of the respondents strongly disagree. table 16: do you agree that new employees in the organization find in-service training useful? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 64 61.00 agree 32 30.59 disagree 3 2.84 undecided 6 5.72 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in the above table, it was strongly agreed by 61% (64) of the respondents that new employees in the organization find in-service training useful, 3.59% (32) of the respondents agreed, it was being disagreed by 2.84% (3) of the respondents while 5.72 (6) of the respondents neither agree nor disagree. table 17: do you agree that training and development are adequate emphasis on developing managerial capabilities? variables respondents percentage (%) inadequate capital 85 80.00 poor management 10 9.50 checking of employees 5 4.75 embezzlement of funds 5 4.75 462 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in table 17 above, 80% (85) of the respondents strongly agreed that training and development are adequate emphasis on developing managerial capabilities, 7.50% (10) of the respondents answered agreed, 4.75% (5) of the respondents disagreed, while 4.75% of the respondents strongly disagreed. table 18: do you agree that government adequately allocate funds for in-service training in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 41 62.80 agree 15 14.30 disagree 24 22.90 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in table 18 above, 62.80% (41) of the respondents answered strongly agree to question of the questionnaire, 14.30% (15) of the respondents agree, while 22.9% (24) of the respondents disagreed. table 19: do you agree that feedback is given concerning training’s contribution to the organizational objectives? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 60 57.20 agree 30 28.6 disagree 10 9.50 undecided 5 4.76 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, analysis shows that feedback is given concerning training’s contribution to the organizational objectives, 57.20% (60) of the respondents strongly agreed, 28.6% (30) of the respondents agreed, while 4.76% (5) respondents were undecided. table 20: in-service training needs are frequently evaluated and improved upon in the organization? variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 53 36.20 agree 38 50.50 disagree 7 6.65 strongly disagree 7 6.65 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 in the above analysis, 36.20% (53) of the respondents strongly agree that training needs are frequently evaluated and improved upon in the organization, 50.50% (38) of the respondents agree, while 6.65% (7) of the respondents disagrees, while the same number of respondents also strongly disagreed. table 21: how do employees in your organization perceive the method of training being practiced in your organization? variables respondents percentage (%) 463 strongly agree 48 45.70 agree 34 32.40 disagree 13 12.40 undecided 10 9.50 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 48 respondents represented 45.70% strongly agree that employees in the organization strongly agree that the method of training being practiced in your organization increases employee’s productivity, 34 represented by 32.40 agreed, 13 representing 12.40 disagreed, 10 represented by 9.50 were undecided. table 22: organization system has a positive impact on employees’ moral and productivity. variables respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 29 27.60 agree 34 32.40 disagree 25 23.80 undecided 17 16.20 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 the table above shows that 27.60% (29) of the respondents strongly agreed to the assertion that organization system has a positive impact on employees’ moral and productivity, 32.40% (34) of the respondents agreed while 23.80% (25) of the respondents disagreed, while 16.20% (17) of the respondents were undecided. testing of hypotheses the data analyzed and interpreted will be used to test our stated hypotheses. the chi-square statistical formula will be used to test the hypotheses. the chi-square (x2) formula is stated thus: x2 = ∑(oi – ei)2 ei where oi = observed frequency ei = expected frequency ∑ = summation x2 = chi square the level of significance is 0.05 464 hypothesis one ho: in-service training would not have any strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria. h1: in-service training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria. table 8: do you agree that in-service training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 55 32.40 strongly agree 25 23.80 undecided 16 15.20 disagreed 5 4.80 strongly disagreed 4 3.80 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 variables oi ei (oi – ei) (oi – ei) (oi – ei) e agreed 55 21 14 1156 55.5 strongly agree 25 21 4 16 6.76 undecided 16 21 -16 25.6 12.10 disagreed 5 21 -5 25 1.19 strongly disagreed 4 21 -17 289 13.76 total 105 2.95 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 = 77.2 degree of freedom df = (r – 1) r = number of rows :. = (5 – 1) = the level of significance is 0.05 = x2 critical value = 9.49 decision rule since the calculated value of x2 being 82.95 is greater than the critical value of x2 being 9.49, we are rejecting the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the in-service training of employees and productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria. hypothesis two ho: in-service training would not produce better result when compared to on-the-job training in federal radio corporation of nigeria. h1: in-service training would produce better result when compared to on-the-job training in federal radio corporation of nigeria. 465 do you agree that in-service training would have strong positive impact on employee’s productivity in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 50 32.40 strongly agree 18 23.80 undecided 13 15.20 disagreed 15 4.80 strongly disagreed 9 3.80 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 variables oi ei (oi – ei) (oi – ei) (oi – ei) e agreed 50 21 29 841 40.50 strongly agree 18 21 -3 9 9.43 undecided 13 21 -8 64 3.05 disagreed 15 21 -6 36 1.71 strongly disagreed 9 21 -12 144 6.86 total 105 52.1 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 = cal = 82.3 where ei = 60 = 20 3 to determine the degrees of freedom df = (r – 1) r = number of rows :. = (3 – 1) the level of significance is 0.05 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule since the calculated value of x2 being 52.1 is greater than the critical value of x2 being 9.49, we are rejecting the null hypothesis that in-service training would not produce better result when compared to off-the-job training in federal radio corporation of nigeria to be complete. hypothesis three ho: there is no significant relationship between the in-service training of employees and productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria. h1: there is a significant relationship between the in-service training of employees and productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria. there is no significant relationship between in-service training of employees and productivity in frcn, enugu? variables respondents percentage (%) agree 42 40.00 strongly agree 24 22.90 undecided 14 13.30 466 disagreed 13 12.40 strongly disagreed 12 11.40 total 105 100 source: fieldwork, 2021 variables oi ei (oi – ei) (oi – ei) (oi – ei) e agreed 42 21 31 961 4.5 strongly agree 24 21 3 9 9.8 undecided 14 21 -7 49 12.8 disagreed 13 21 -8 64 6.78 strongly disagreed 12 21 -9 81 3.87 total 105 37.75 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 = cal = 37.75 x2 tab = 9.49 in determining the degrees of freedom df = (r – 1) r = number of rows :. = (5 – 1) the level of significance is 0.05 x2 critical value = 9.49 decision rule since the calculated value of x2 being 37.75 is greater than the critical value of x2 being 9.49, we are rejecting the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between inservice training of employees and productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria, enugu. summary of findings this research was about investigating the impact of off-the-job training on employee performance and productivity. the focus was, firstly to investigate the different types of training and training methods employed by federal radio corporation of nigeria; secondly to know the perceptions of trainees relative to their ideals in terms of implementation; and lastly to measure the attitude of trainees towards specific attributes of the training program as it was carried out in the organization. the result of the study provides treasured information for federal radio corporation of nigeria and the government as policy makers, employees as implementers of the policies, academicians and other interested people. more specifically the study highlights the contribution of training and development as a model to be used in improving employee’s performances. in order to get acquainted with the problem stated, the researcher reviewed both theoretical and empirical literatures with the regards to the impact of in-service training to the performance and productivity of public servants. through theoretical review, different concepts in relations to the in-service training were defined. the review also examined various theories related to the study. the empirical literature review was done by exploring a number of other different researches conducted. the empirical part of the study aimed at providing insights of 467 information about what actually affects federal radio corporation of nigeria efficiency. the data collected were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and they were presented using tables of summary of frequencies and percentages. generally, it was found that the result of this study provide some knowledge to the fact that trainings are therefore essential to engage in capacity building to the public servants and private sector in general as a component of development. conclusion from this research work on effect of human resource training on worker’s productivity, using federal radio corporation of nigeria as a case study, it is obvious that in service training is an investment. this investment simply means the commitment of resources to the acquisition of assets that in turn allows a stream of resources to be generated in the future. knowledge an adage says is power and human resources passes the accumulated knowledge from one generation to another the fund of knowledge therefore has the property of growing and increasing overtime as long and the society maintains itself. in-service training should be taken seriously in all ramifications since the training of the staff is the more of other resources and therefore from a critical factor for the social, political and economic growth and development on the organization and the nation as a whole. there is a need to review the way the training function is implemented and put in place effective strategies that work. they should ensure that all guidelines are effectively followed and training that is urgently needed provided. in addition to that, there is still a need to change the methods of training that are not effective and provide more methods of practical nature. since there has neither been a comprehensive policy to guide an appropriate implementation of training programme nor should adequate efforts to make them aware of its function the human resource department strives to design an effective policy and involve all respective employees in its implementation. this will help to reduce the growing negative attitude towards the function. it is important for the organization to ensure that employees are adequately trained as planned and that there is a reasonable return on investment that is put into training. particular attention must be paid to the characteristics of ideal training programmes during the design and implementation stage. recommendations going through the findings of this research work, the researcher made following recommendations: 1. that in-service training programmes of any form are necessary and should be taken serious for survival, growth and prosperity of any organization whether private or public. 2. that in-service training are not the only means of increasing productivity and therefore other adequate motivation should also be given to the workers to ensure higher productivity. 3. government should legislate to ensure that all the courses selected for the government should be implemented to the later and to guarantee training manpower of the work ahead. 468 4. each organization should have a separate manpower – department who should create awareness and ensure that all staff of the organization must enjoy in-service training programmes biannually. change is inevitable in order to meet up with challenges ahead, the manpower that should ensure that staff training is implemented. 5. adequate financial allocation should be allocated to training as such fund should actually be released for the execution of training and development programmes for a particular year. 6. the organization should also fund the in-service training institutions and maintain all the structures to ensure conducive atmosphere for purposeful acquisition of knowledge. 7. the issue of sentiment should be discouraging for in-service nomination of and dates for in-service training purpose of officials of the commission should not be bias in dealing with issues especially that of staff training programmes. 8. on-the-job training as the most popular type of training should be encouraged in the commission as it remains the best way and greatest way of learning. implications of the study the need for human resource training and development on employees’ productivity in federal radio corporation of nigeria cannot be over emphasized since the major targets of every organization is to reach the highest level of productivity in order to attain maximum profit, hence skilled and well developed workers are urgently needed to achieve these noble objectives. if the federal radio corporation of nigeria is able to meet the training and development need of its employees, which means that the pride in the job will be missing. employees will be asking too many questions, then the rate of turnover will be very high, quality and quantity of the service will be affected and thereby their stipulated objectives. therefore, research recommendations will be strictly followed if efficiency and effectiveness in productivity must be achieved. limitations of the study the study determined various factors which contributed to in-service training to the performance of public servants hence, these contributions were discussed and analyzed. a challenge in the organization particularly in the impact of in-service training was a focus of this research. however, in every study there are limitations as depicted here below. financial constraints: this disallowed a researcher to select a large sample as it was difficult to afford to incur expenses beyond the disposable budget. confidentiality of documents: some classified and unclassified information contained were not available to the researcher’s disposal and therefore the researcher missed some important information pertaining this study. irrational responses: some of respondents were irresponsive and essentially not willing to be interviewed whereas other respondents were not ready to return the questionnaires on time. in trying to curb the above limitations, alternatively a researcher used observation method to get some information in case respondents were not willingly to be interviewed or filling questionnaire. 469 suggestions for further studies this study was concerned only to the public sector organization, limiting the study to federal radio corporation of nigeria. a large sample would have been more representative of the private sector employees. in addition, another possibility is to conduct the same study for private sector employees. that will give a comparable picture between employees in public and private sector organization.the study considered only the impact of in-service training on employees’ performance and productivity. but there are other variables which influences on performance and productivity. a detailed study considering all these factors would provide an insight to determine the most critical factors that influence performance of employees. references books adamolekun, l. (1983). public administration: nigeria and comparative perspective. london: longmans. adebayo, a. (1982). principles of practice of public administration in nigeria. ibadan: spectrum book, limited. adeniji, m. a. (2011). training and its multiplier effect on productivity at the olabisi onabanjo university library. pacific northwest library association quarterly, 75 (3). andrew, f. s. (1976). personnel administration and human resources management. john wiley and sons inc. armstrong, m. (1993). a handbook on personal management practice (5th ed.). london: kogan page. akinyele, c. (1992). new trends in personnel management, ascon. arborisade, oladimeji (1986). reading in nigerian public sector. ile ife obafemi awolowo university press limited. benedicta, a. (2010). the impact of training on employee performance: a case study of hfc bank (ghana) ltd. a research project, ashei university college, ghana. beach, d. s. (1980). personnel the management of people at work. mcmillan publication company inc. 4th edition. chukwuemeka, e. o. (1998). public administration and development. the nigeria experience. maryland publishers enugu. cole, g. a. (2002). personal and human resource management (5th ed.) continuum london: new york publisher. 470 davides, k. (1981). human behaviour cet work: organization behaviour. new delhi: mcgraw hill company. druker, p. f. (1971). people and performance, the best of management. london: william heinemann limited. edison, t. (1975). public sector management and corporate planning. leighton buzzara, britain: leohard hill book. ejiofor, p. (1989). foundation of business administration. african publishers limited; onitsha, nigeria. eze, f. v. (2002). human resources management in nigeria the key components, first edition, enugu-nigeria. gilbert, v. r. (1988). an introduction of office and personnel management, human and industrial relations, published in lagos – nigeria. holton, e. f. (2002). large-scale performance-driven training needs assessment. public personnel management, 29 (2), 249-267. maduabum, c. (1988). new trend in personnel management, ascon, lagos. nwachukwu, c. c. (1992). management theory and practice, african feb publishers limited. beach dales, s. (1980) personnel the management of people at work mcmillan publication co., inc, 4th edition. nwachukwu, g. o. (1988). education on training of public management in nigeria. onitsha, nigeria university publishing company. odo, o. m. (2000). lecture notes, public administration department. enugu state university of science and technology. journals iheanocho, e. (2007). building employees competencies and continuous nurturing: challenge for corporate organization. journal of the chartered institute of personnel management of nigeria, 5 (1). management study guide (2014). importance of employee development. retrieved september 20, 2014 from http:www.managementstudyguide.com/employee-developmentimportance.htm. 471 muogbo, u. s. (2013). “impact of employee motivation on organizational performance: a study of some selected firms in anambra state.” the international journal of engineering and science, 2 (7), 70 – 80. nda, m. m. & fard, r. y. (2013). the impact of employee training and development on employee productivity. global journal of commerce and management, 2 (6), 91 – 93. nishtha, l. & amit, m. (2010). how training jump-starts employee performance. indian management, 49 (6), 14 – 18. obisi, c. (2011). employee training and development in nigeria organizations: some observation and agenda for research. australian journal of business and management research, 1 (9). olaniyan, d. a. & ojo, l. b. (2000). staff training and development: a vital tool for organizational effectiveness. european journal of scientific research, 24 (3) 326 – 331. ololube, n. p., ajayi, a. o. & kpolovie, p. j. (2011). adequacies and inadequacies: the relationship between training and development and organizational effectiveness in the nigerian immigration services. international journalof10.1504/1jeed.2011.040408. ololube, n. p., nwokolo, j. o., onyekwere, l. a., & kpolovie, p. j. (2013). fringe benefits and employee motivation in selected banks in delta state of nigeria finance. 2(1), 27 – 51. doi:10.1504/ajaaf.2013.055492. rohan, s. & madhumita, m. (2012). page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 472 influence of awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria onwukwe, leonard chioma department of psychology, imo state university, owerri. leonabraham1975@gmail.com; leonardonwukwe@imsu.edu.ng ahaneku, ekenedirichukwu blasingame federal university teaching hospital, owerri, imo state ahanekuekene@gmail.com abstract this study investigated the influence of awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. five hundred participants were selected through stratified random and convenient sampling; participants were selected from the various geopolitical zones in nigeria between ages 21 to 55 with a mean age of 31.796. three hypotheses were postulated and tested; two instruments were used in the study comprising mental health coverage scale (mhcs) and mental disorder questionnaire (mdq). a cross sectional survey design was adopted; three – way anova was used for data analysis. results showed that awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage does not directly influence mental disorders in nigeria. however, it was recommended that government at different levels make healthcare coverage available to the people while citizens should key to the insurance schemes for a healthy nation. keywords: awareness, universal health coverage, mental disorders, implementation, illness coverage. introduction decades ago, the concept of universal health coverage has been a global challenge in the health sector. this led to the evolving of the concept under primary health care. in the developing world, the awareness, extent of universal health coverage (uhc) of illness available and their implementation on mental disorders have remained a great concern of mental health workers and the general public. therefore, the level of awareness, extent of coverage and level of implementations are major components of great relevance to understanding uhc on mental disorders in nigeria. one major problem of the coverage of illness is intrinsically tied to the health system resources and responses. health systems have not yet adequately responded to the burden of mental disorders and as a consequence, the gap between the need for treatment and its provision is large all over the world. between 70% and 85% of people with severe mental disorders receive no treatment for their disorder in low-income and middle-income countries comprehensive mental health action plan 2013-2020 (world health organization, 2013). mailto:leonabraham1975@gmail.com mailto:ahanekuekene@gmail.com 473 lack of awareness of the existence of uhc and how it operates is another challenge that this work seeks to address. the awareness of this scheme is bereft of many people in low-income and developing nations like nigeria. the extent of the diseases covered by the uhc scheme is the major problem to be tackled through this work. it is a global challenge of the now (2019-2023) which demands hearing due to its tipping point nature. mental health disorders were previously excluded in the scheme of vast majority of countries. that is to say that the relevance of mental health was neglected by these societies. some of the key challenges in primary health care seem to be the reason for the exclusion. things like inadequate funding, low community participation due to societal stereotypes, poor quality of service, poor information and bad inter-sectorial collaboration, poor medical infrastructures, lack of emergency response units and medications. (promotion of mental health awareness, 2020) mental disorders are diseases that affect cognition, emotion, and behavioral control and substantially interfere both with the ability of children to learn and with the ability of adults to function in their families, at work, and in the broader society (hyman, 2006). mental disorders are diagnosable conditions characterized by changes in thinking, mood or behavior (or some combination of these) that can cause a person to feel stressed out and impair his or her ability to function (david, 2013 :1). it is important to differentiate normal daily ups and downs of mood and outlook and diagnosable mental disorders. everyone experiences mood swings because of the hormonal changes associated with the stage of life that the person belongs – from adolescence to adulthood. mental disorders contribute one of the most troublesome of all categories of disease owing to their high prevalence, chronicity, premature age of onset, impairment and disability (onwukwe, 2014). therefore, mental disorder can be defined as a clinically significant behavioral syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress… or disability… or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability or an important loss of freedom; with a syndrome not merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event (american psychiatric association, 1994 :xxi). as said above, because of the combination of high prevalence, early onset, persistence and impairment, mental disorders contribute majorly to the total disease burden (who special initiative for mental health, 2019-2023). mental health conditions causes 1 in 5 years lived disability, 800,000 youths die from suicide annually and depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy usd 1 trillion per year. this is a major reason why uhc on mental disorder is a global challenge that demands urgent attention. over the years, little or no work has been done in the area of uhc on mental health in nigeria. this is the reason why getting to ascertain the level of consciousness with the sense of data is really essential in 474 this current dispensation. the knowledge of different mental disorders under the coverage is important due to the fact that lots of medical centers exclude militating diseases that should be under the coverage. the implementation of uhc on mental disorders is a global imperative due to the increasing nature of mental disorders as global crises increases. many countries and states already declare their commitment to achieving uhc and produce policies and approaches to achieve that goal. the world health report (2010) outlined a conceptual framework for uhc that suggested three broad dimensions: the range of services that are covered (service coverage); the proportion of the total costs covered through insurance or other risk pooling mechanisms (financial coverage); the proportion of the population covered. the gross problems that the who special initiative for mental health (2019-2023) seeks to solve and the goal of the theory of change is that of mental health inclusion. the goal is that by 2023 uhc ensures access to quality and affordable care for mental health conditions in 12 priority countries to 100 million more people. with the strategic actions as follows: advancing mental health policy advocacy and human rights; scaling up interventions and services across community-based, general health and specialist settings. the vision is for all people to achieve the highest standard of mental health and well-being. this is the reason why the extent of disease coverage should be all-encompassing ranging from schizophrenia to anxiety disorders and depression. a number of countries have integrated psychoses care in universal health coverage; mostly in the middle income category; coverage of care include people with schizophrenia, in countries like china and brazil (vikram, 2015). universal health coverage on mental disorder is a big issue owing to the ever growing population of mental health problems due to global challenges such as economic crises and pandemic leading to reduction in closure etc. the inability of people to access the necessary health services they need is a basic problem. the few that can have access to these health services sustain huge financial hardship which is inherently a challenge. the problem here is one of access and financial security for mentally ill patients. two theories are used to provide theoretical structure to this work. the theory of change to mental health and mental disorder (helene, 2021); path dependence theory (antonelli 2009). according to antonelli (2009), path dependence theory is adopted to understand how past events or decisions can influence present and future decisions. path dependence theory is used to describe and 475 explain the dynamics of such processes by incorporating the temporal dimension into the process theory (pierson, 2004). the view of the path dependence process is that “the social world often follows a particular trajectory: an open period during which there are a number of plausible alternatives, a critical juncture where contingent events result in one of these alternatives being selected, and the feedback that constrain actors to keep to the particular path” (bennet 2006). path dependence is a specific form of complex dynamics: it provides an analytical framework to explain and assess the ever-changing outcomes of the combination of and interaction amongst factors of continuity/discontinuity, growth and development, hysteresis and creativity, routines and ‘free will’ which all characterize economic action in a dynamic perspective that is also able to appreciate the role of historic time” (antonelli 2009, perello-marin 2013). path dependence theory has been introduced to the field of health policy to elaborate the current state of some health policy reforms and to shed light on the institutional setting in health care (ayman 2017). some methods of modeling path dependence used in health policy in relation to universal health coverage on mental disorders include; comparative analysis between defined health policies in several countries has been examined using path dependence model (motohashi, 2002); study on how the latest healthcare reforms in the united states might shape the future (haeder, 2012). application of path dependence is in two forms; retrospective analysis of the present situation or classic path dependence model; prospective prediction of the future trajectory. path dependence theory provides a retrospective idea and explanation about the institutional structure and policies in many domains, including the health sector. it associates the sociopolitical antecedent conditions to the present status throughout several contingent chronologically ordered steps. a central implication of this theory is that any additional health care consumed as a result of becoming insured – that is any moral hazard is welfare decreasing. because of this theory, it has made many health economists have focus on policies that would reduce consumption at the margin. it is important to recognize that the private health insurance is primarily a transfer of income from those who remain healthy to those who become ill. this is the key to understanding the relationship between health insurance and demand for medical care. there may be a price effect caused by using price reductions as the payoff mechanism, the welfare consequences of the price effects are small relative to the welfare consequences of income transfer effects, especially the role of income transfers in making accessible those expensive lifesaving procedures that would otherwise be unaffordable. 476 the understanding of health insurance is almost diametrically opposed to the conventional view that the relationship between health insurance and demand that is, moral hazard – is exclusively a price effect. this theory links to the variables in review (awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of uhc). this is because health insurance as a form of uhc that requires subsidy (contributory) in vast majority of cases allows the problem of excessive quantity instead of giving quality mental health care. in the mental health care context, all countries are ‘developing’ to some extent (vikram, 2019). even in high income countries, the coverage gap for common conditions like mood and anxiety disorders often exceed 50%, in low income countries, the gap exceeds 90% (thornicroft, 2017). across all income categories, countries invest tiny factors of their healthcare budgets on mental health, disproportionately less than burden of mental disorders (who, 2015) there is an inadequacy in the number of mental health professionals per capita, a massive shortage of community base mental healthcare and persistence of badly run large mental hospitals. these barriers to supply are compounded by barriers to demand, related to stigma and discrepancies between biomedical framing of mental disorders and the conceptualization of emotional distress in community. the large gap in mental health coverage is as a result of barrier in demand; in places like the uk where supply of mental healthcare interventions has been largely attained this is done by improving access to psychological therapies programme. in nigeria, access to government intervention is hardly realizable. since the alma ata declaration in 1978 to the astana declaration in 2018, the means of improving access to mental health care has been to integrate it with primary healthcare. but after four decades of trying which never worked, led to the realization that integration will require a whole scale re-engineering of the architecture of primary health care in most countries, which is simply not fit for the integration of mental disorders. after the astana declaration in 2018, a better option for this integration was birthed. this happens to be in the form of the who special initiative for mental health (2019-2023): universal health coverage for mental health. previously, attempts to integrate mental health have failed because they have not tackled the fundamental barriers with universal health coverage. instead they have to replicate secondary care in primary care. for example; the posting of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in phc centers, which is a strategy that is not necessary and not in any way scalable. theory of change is a dynamic, thinking process, it makes the initiative clear and transparent – it underpins strategic planning. it is developed in a participatory way over time, following a logical structure that is rigorous and specific, and that can meet a quality test by the stakeholders (helene, 2021). 477 this theory has a purpose to shine a spotlight on the role development can play to improve mental health and wellbeing for all, and in turn, how improved mental health can play a role in attaining key developmental outcomes. it recognizes that there cannot be full development or healthy lives without addressing mental disorders. theory of change sets out how development actors can maximize aid portfolios to strengthen their contributions to mental health and wellbeing in some of the world’s poorest countries. this theory is the result of a consultative process between development and humanitarian practitioners and external working group of critical friends; including groups representing people with mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities. the consultative process has guiding vision and principles “all people enjoy the highest attainable standard of mental health and wellbeing and all people with mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities can exercise their full rights on an equal basis to others” (un sdgs 2020). it is structured around five critical outcome pathways for changeparticipation, rights, leadership and governance, and emergencies. the process of change is multidirectional, with cross over between pathways and highly context specific. the theory of change relates mental disorder to the factors that contributes it to the awareness and implementation of uhc. there are existing indicators on ambitions on mental health and they are from the sustainable development goals (sdgs) and the who mental health action plan (2013-2020; now extended to 2030). the impact of the theory is essentially for treating change and progress with its own challenges. the objectives of this study is to determine the influence of awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. hence, the hypothetical assumptions drawn from the objectives comprise that there will be no statistically significant influence of awareness of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. secondly, there will be no statistically significant influence of the extent of mental illness coverage on universal health coverage in nigeria and finally, there will be no statistically significant influence of implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. method participants five hundred (500) health care workers and patients at the psychiatric clinic at federal medical centre, owerri; imo state specialist hospital umuguma owerri; niger delta university teaching hospital yenagou, bayelsa state; federal neuro-psychiatric hospital yaba, lagos state; ministry of health, 478 benue state; benue state university teaching hospital; and university of abuja teaching hospital, gwagwalada, fct participated in the study. 200 participants from federal medical centre, owerri and specialist hospital owerri, imo state combined covering imo state, south east nigeria, and 100 participants from niger delta university teaching hospital, bayelsa state, south-south nigeria was used. 50 participants from federal neuro-psychiatric hospital yaba, lagos state, south west nigeria and 100 participants from benue state university and ministry of health, benue state northern nigeria, and 50 participants from university of abuja teaching hospital, gwagwalada north central nigeria were used. participants comprised of 261 males and 239 females, who were selected through stratified sampling technique for the study areas and convenient sampling technique at the medical centers, convenient involved administering the scales to any participant at the point they. the participants’ mean age is 31, with an age range of 21 to 55. instruments two instruments were used in this study. they are mental disorder questionnaire (mdq) and mental health coverage scale (mhcs). the mdq is a brief scale designed to measure the different domains of mental disorders including mood disorders having items like feeling down, tense, depressed or hopeless and little interest or pleasure in doing things; anxiety disorders & trauma-related disorders with items like striking memories of crises and having reoccurring nightmares and sudden feeling of panic. others include; eating disorder; addiction and substance abuse disorders; psychotic disorders and personality disorder. the scale initially had 60-items. face and content validation of the instrument by 2 lecturers in the department of psychology, imo state university (imsu) reduced the items to 59. validation of the instrument using healthcare workers and patients at imo state university teaching hospital, orlu was done and mdq was correlated with symptom checklist90 (derogatis,1994) and it yielded a concurrent validity of .695 (using cronbach’s alpha). the scale is a multiple choice scale (likert type) and it ranges from not at all = 1, several days =2 and nearly every day = 3. for reliability, the odd and even items of mdq were correlated and it yielded a guttman split-half coefficient of .973 which is significantly high. according to anastasi and urbinna (1992); split-half is an adequate measure of the internal consistency of a scale. the norm for the scale is 69.86. scores above the norm indicate presence of mental disorder and scores lower than the norm indicate absence of mental disorder. the second instrument, mental health coverage scale (mhcs) was used for the measurement of mental health coverage and was produced by the researchers. it was developed to measure the level of awareness of mental disorders, extent of uhc for mental disorders and implementation status of uhc on mental disorders. the mhc was developed based on the literature review of the core principles for integration 479 of mental health into primary health care: promotion of mental health awareness 2020 (charlotte et al., 2019). the scale initially had 70-items. face and content validation of the instrument by 2 lecturers in the department of psychology imsu reduced the items to 62. validation of the instrument using health care workers and patients at imo state university teaching hospital, orlu was done and mhc correlation with mhi yielded a concurrent validity of .470 (using cronbach’s alpha). for reliability, the odd and even items of mhc were correlated and it yielded a guttman split-half coefficient of .951 which is significantly high. the scale is a multiple choice scale (likert) and it ranges from not aware: no coverage, not implemented = 1; partially aware, partial coverage, partially implemented = 2; fully aware, full coverage, fully implemented = 3. the norm for the scale is 84.30; scores above the norm indicate high level of awareness, good coverage and good implementation of uhc on mental disorders. procedure the researchers traveled to federal medical centre, owerri; specialist hospital owerri imo state; niger delta university teaching hospital, yenaguo; federal neuro-psychiatric hospital yaba; benue state university teaching hospital, makurdi; ministry of health, benue state; and university of abuja teaching hospital gwagwalada for data collection. first, with a letter of identification from the department of psychology, imo state university, owerri. at all the places the researchers introduced themselves, obtained informed consent before they were allowed to collect data. they also explained the rationale for the study as purely academic and also assured the participants of the confidentiality of their responses. the researchers with the help of doctors at various medical centers distributed the two questionnaires simultaneously to each participant. this same procedure was followed at the various states. the researcher waited for the healthcare workers and patients in each of the centers to complete the questionnaires. participants were met at psychiatric unit and internal medicine departments during clinic hours. however, the researcher distributed five hundred and twenty five questionnaires but only five hundred were appropriately filled, coded and used for the study. design and statistics the design of this study is a cross sectional survey design. it was used in the study because different sections of the population was studied at specific and different points in time, this is to enable information to be assessed from all the various cities and states to objectively balance the content of the research by allowing patients and health care workers (from each visited health facility in each state) from different backgrounds and socio-economic class to bring in their ideas and responses. 480 the independent variables are awareness, extent of illness coverage and status of implementation of mental disorders in universal health coverage and the dependent variable is mental disorders. the statistic used was a threeway analysis of variance (anova) which appropriately measured the variability existing between and within subjects. results table i: means and standard deviation scores for awareness of universal health coverage; extent of illness coverage; and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders. awareness of uhc mean standard deviation n aware 73.883 14.121 248 not aware 69.762 12.846 252 extent of illness coverage of 73.832 14.432 237 uhc: adequate not adequate 70.087 12.706 263 implementation: implemented 73.909 14.463 222 not implemented 70.226 12.787 278 table one shows that for awareness of uhc there was a considerable difference between means for participants who are aware (73.883) and for those who are not aware (69.762). the mean difference suggests that people who are aware of uhc are in greater population than those who are not aware. however, the table also shows that for the extent of illness coverage of uhc there is a considerable difference between means for participants who say adequate coverage exist in their facilities (73.832) and for those who say it is not adequate (70.087). the mean suggests that the extent of mental illness coverage on the existing uhc scheme is believed by greater population to be adequate. similarly, for implementation of uhc on mental disorders there is a considerable difference between means for participants who said it is implemented (73.909) and for those who said it is not implemented (70.226). the mean suggests that a greater population is saying that uhc on mental disorder is implemented in facilities that they visit than those saying it is not implemented. 481 table ii: summary table of three – way anova for awareness of universal health coverage; extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders. source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig awareness of uhc .032 1 0.32 .000 .989 extent of illness coverage 53.277 1 53.277 .291 .590 implementation 4.127 1 4.127 .023 .881 error 90147.194 492 183.226 total 2675273.000 500 p < .05 the result of the three – way anova as presented in table ii above tested the three hypotheses in the study. the first hypothesis which stated that there will be a statistically significant influence of awareness of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria was rejected [f (1,500) = .000, p = .989]. the result implies that the participants perceived that awareness does not significantly influence mental disorder. the first research hypothesis is therefore rejected. similarly, based on the result obtained in table ii above, the second research hypothesis which stated that there will be a statistically significant influence of the extent of mental illness coverage on universal health coverage was also rejected [f (1,500) = .291, p = .590]. the result implies that the extent of mental illness coverage does not significantly influence mental disorders. the second hypothesis is therefore rejected. finally, the third hypothesis which stated that there will be a statistically significant influence of implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorder in nigeria was rejected [f (1,500) = .023, p = .881]. the result implies that the implementation of uhc does not significantly influence mental disorders. the third hypothesis was therefore rejected. discussion the study investigated the influence of awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. the finding that awareness did not significantly influence universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria shows that people are not cognizant of uhc not to talk of its impact on mental disorders. the idea of uhc as regards mental 482 disorders in nigeria is still highly elitist issue. the truth of the matter is that in nigeria people living with mental illness are not cared for unless they are from high socioeconomic background. that is why mentally ill people degenerate to the level of becoming vagrant. people living with different gradations of schizophrenia, drug induced psychosis and substance use disorders roam nigerian streets, sometimes stark naked! it is important therefore to align with the who special initiative for mental health (2019-2023) whose vision is to ensure that all people achieve the highest standard of mental health and well-being. creating awareness concerning the existence of such initiative will promote the inclusion of mental disorders in the universal health coverage list. people with mental disorders often experience severe human rights violations, discrimination and stigma. awareness of what mental disorder patients deserve is a step in the right direction. promotion of uhc awareness on mental disorders requires advocacy. advocacy will help promote the awareness of the population. the advocacy message calls for a continued promotion of a study value case for mental health coverage; ensuring support of critical stakeholders across global health and development. it is also in line with uhc2030 (2018) raised awareness about uhc in 2016 through a series of interviews broadcast with the bayelsa state health commissioner for health which led to the establishment of the bayelsa state health insurance scheme in 2017 and the inclusion of uhc in bayelsa health summit 2021. the second finding of the study is that there is no significant influence of the universal health coverage of mental illness on mental disorders in nigeria. this is in line with whiteford (2013), who asserted that people with mental disorders who live in low and middle income countries (lmics) have low access to quality mental health and are consequently vulnerable to suffering and disability. this corresponds with the finding of the study that shows how vast majority of people pay from their pocket for mental disorders. the same with charlotte (2019) who said “the neglect of mental health care globally combined with catastrophic healthcare costs due to high out of pocket expenditure, the economic cost of being unable to work, household costs of caring for someone with mental disorders and limited economic opportunities due to social marginalization. this means that people with mental disorders and their families are at great risk of caring left behind by development initiative such as uhc”. finally, semrau (2015) also asserted that coverage issues are part of health system barriers and when solved can improve mental outlines in fair and efficient ways. 483 the third finding stated there is no statistically significant influence of implementation of universal health coverage on mental disorder in nigeria. the analysis of the study shows a poor implementation rate of health care policies in nigeria. this plays out greatly on how implementation of policies influences uhc on mental disorders. that is to say when implementation is high, health coverage will be high too. poor implementation is the bane of healthcare in nigeria. nice policies exist but the problem has always been implementation. nnaji (2021) asserted that implementation research can be used to achieve uhc-related outcomes in africa. there is a body of evidence on the use of implementation research in the achievement of uhcrelated outcomes in africa; needing the improvement of routine data for decision-making, efficient resources allocation, as well as improvement of the availability, affordability and quality of health services. it implies therefore that awareness exerts great influence on the execution of universal health coverage on mental disorders in nigeria. majority of nigerians cannot determine their right when it comes to health care coverage due to lack of awareness and great ignorance. the researchers noticed in the course of the research that even health workers in some health facilities do not know the number of mental disorders covered in the insurance schemes available at their centers. patients do not know that schemes exist where the government can subsidize or pay off their bills regarding their illnesses. this implies that advocacy will help promote uhc on mental disorders. it also implies that healthcare workers should be aware of the proportion of the population that is covered (population coverage). implementation of uhc policies in nigeria is poor and it is recommended that government makes serious effort to implement policies that will improve the wellbeing of people living with mental disorders. this study has shown the importance of awareness of uhc on mental disorder, increase awareness can contribute to governmental and health institutions effectiveness and efficiency towards a better mental health in the country. to the public, i recommend that nigerians seek insurance packages so that in cases of emergency and outbreaks, their contributory scheme protects and takes care of their health care needs at subsidized rates from the government. the states that has not implemented any uhc policy for mental disorders, the federal government should strongly encourage them to do so. to the federal government, at the face of endemic diseases, pandemic and mental disorders it is important to prioritize the health of the citizens by not impoverishing them while accessing health care. 484 conclusion having examined the influence of awareness, extent of illness coverage and implementation of uhc on mental disorders in nigeria, the study has demonstrated the low access of health care by people living with mental disorders which is as a result of technical factors such as level of awareness and status of implementation of uhc so as to cover for mental disorders in nigeria. to this end this study has come up with the following conclusions; 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(2010). best practices: mental health policy and planning. geneva: world health organization, https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/mh_best_practices_policy_planning_2010_en.pdf?u a=1 who. (2016) standards for improving quality of maternal and newborn care in health facilities. geneva: world health organization, 2016 https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/quality-of-care/definition/en/ who (2013). comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2020. geneva: world health organization, 2013. https://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/action_plan/en/ world health organization technical series on primary health care. mental health in primary care: illusion or inclusion? https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/primary-health-care-conference/mentalhealth.pdf?sfvrsn=8c4621d2_2 valters, c. (2015). theories of change. time for a radical approach to learning in development. odi, london. https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/mh_best_practices_policy_planning_2010_en.pdf?ua=1 https://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/services/mh_best_practices_policy_planning_2010_en.pdf?ua=1 https://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/qualityhttps://www.who.int/mental_health/publications/action_plan/en/ https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/primary-health-care-conference/mental-health.pdf?sfvrsn=8c4621d2_2 https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/primary-health-care-conference/mental-health.pdf?sfvrsn=8c4621d2_2 page 1 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 435 the importance of propaganda in effective information dissemination about democracy dividends: a study of barr. sullivan iheanacho chime’s administration of enugu state nwonu clifford o. (ph.d) department of mass communication caritas university amorji-nike, enugu drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng abstract good governance is much needed in a developing country like nigeria especially as it has been bedeviled with bad leadership in recent times. this study emphasized on the governance of the past governor of enugu state, his excellency barrister sullivan iheanacho chime between 29th may, 2007 and 29th may, 2015. there is need to encourage good governance among our political leaders and most importantly to disseminate the works of those who are doing well. this will increase the motivation through effective information dissemination of that work for all to see and acknowledge so that it becomes an encouragement to the good and well meaning people of enugu state and nigeria in general. keywords: accountability, democracy, elections, good governance and responsibility introduction the word, propaganda according to palmer et al., (2004) was first given general definition by the roman catholic church to refer to the dissemination of its doctrines. more recently, after being taken over by the marxist, it has been so used and misused that it defies exact definition. in the most general terms, propaganda can be defined as "any attempt to persuade persons to accept a certain point of view or to take a certain action."this definition sounds very neutral because it makes propaganda "morally neutral."to persuade per se is neither "good" nor "bad". moral judgment must be directed to the purposes of persuasion. confusion arises from the failure to separate procedures from motives. another definition of propaganda by lasswell et al (1939) states that, "propaganda is the manipulation of symbols to control controversial attitudes; education is the manipulation of symbols (and of other means) to transmit accepted attitudes (and skills). some refer to propaganda as organized efforts by government to induce either domestic groups or foreign states to accept polices favourable -or at least not favourableto their own. this definition takes account of the fact that the size of the group to be propagandized varies with the object of the propagandist-appeal to the masses and to the elites on the good work of barr. sullivan chime because it appears that most of the capital projects he has been embarking upon are not well publicized by the media and more so, some people come up with the insinuation mailto:drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng 436 that most of the projects in enugu state are world bank assisted projects. most importantly, the governor does not want publicity on his achievements. he believes that action speaks louder. according to encata dictionary, propaganda is (a) publicity to promote something: information put out by an organization or government to promote a publicity, idea or cause, (b) misleading publicity: deceptive or distorted information that is systematically spread. propaganda started in the early 18th century by the congregation for the propagation of the faith. this christian group advanced this cause for the winning of souls to christ. there are so many other definitions of propaganda but the ones stated above can do for this project. this is because only the positive aspects of the word of propaganda is going to be attended to here. the government of barr. sullivan iheanacho chime of enugu state has proved that the masses can actually participate and enjoy basic governmental amenities. chime's government has actually transformed enugu state to a modern city. the governor as a person does not like publicity of his achievements and it is in keeping with that some mischief makers, who do not want to see anything good in the administration of the 'peoples' governor, are coming up with insinuation that most of the projects in enugu state are world bank assisted projects. moreover, the government of barr. chime of enugu state has done remarkably well in the following areas of his four-point agenda; (a), physical infrastructure (b). economic expansion and employment, (c). rural development, (d) service delivery and good governance. in physical infrastructure, he has done very well in road construction and maintenance, housing projects for the middle and low income earners, portable water supply and rural electricity for all the communities that hitherto had no electricity. in enugu urban, all the three local government that made up enugu have been upgraded to a modern city with good road net work, major roads have been dwalized with street lights and a lot of urban aesthetics. advert are mounted in strategic positions to give the city the type of look like that of abuja. almost all the streets are tarred with asphalt with good pedesrain walk-ways and drainages. also, in economic expansion and employment, he has set a new record in the history of the state by attracting foreign investors to the state. in enugu state, there is the presence of conglomerate shopping mall called shoprite and game all located at polo park. these shopping giants can only be found at lagos in nigeria and in major cities in other parts of the world. 437 on agriculture, enugu state sent out 500 youths outside the country for training on a project called train-the-trainer programme. the team has since returned to the country and have started training our youths on the new mechanized agriculture. the project is aimed at empowering our youths so that they can be useful to the state especially in the area of food sufficient. professionals believe that agricultural sector is the largest employer of labour if well harnessed. in tourism, enugu state is ranking among the topmost in the country for so many obvious reasons. enugu state has more than 10 five-stars hotels and so many other good ones. the type of security being enjoyed by citizens of enugu state cannot be compared with any other state in the federation. the serenity of enugu environment is wonderful. this is because there is less noise because of absence of industries. the few ones around are cited in the outskate of residential areas. now with insecurity of lives and property in most parts of the north, many families are relocating to enugu. furthermore, enugu state rural areas now have good link roads which has further developed these rural areas. many people are now residing in their localities and prefer to shuttle to their offices in enugu urban on daily basis. so many people are now shifting to reside in some nearby towns from the urban because of the provision of good access roads and electricity. this is because of high cost of rent in the urban. also, all the local government headquarters of enugu state are now linked with good access roads. the service delivery of governor sullivan chime has no rival in the country. there is free medical treatment for pregnant women and children in the state. free education from primary school to junior secondary school. secondary school system has been given a face lift by the recent donation of 450 busses (nissan urvan) 18 seater. all the traditional rulers in the state were given cars on a soft loan. in the area of transportation, even before the so called palliative measures of the federal government, during the oil subsidy saga, enugu state had a nice transportation system. the governor provided 50 luxurious buses called coal city shuttle. this coal city shuttle covers the entire enugu urban and even beyond from various points and even unth ituku-ozalla. the governor provided 650 urban taxi in his first tenure to the youths on a soft loan. in 2012 he has added more 400 urban taxi making it over one thousand. the urban taxi popularly called sullivan taxi is the most sort after in the state. the taxi now provides security to the rich men in enugu. the taxi is seen everywhere in the country it is safer to use sullivan taxi to travel anywhere in the country. the vehicle is very comfortable with aircondition. 438 the climax of the democracy dividend of the governor is in law enforcement. enugu urban is the most peaceful state in the country. one man attributed the peaceful atmosphere to the empowerment of the youths in the state. "when the youths are fully engaged and properly empowered, crime rate is drastically reduced in the society". the governor, as the chief security officer of the state, is doing very well in this direction. objectives going through all that the administration of barr. sullivan iheanacho chime is doing in enugu state, yet these are not heard or seen advertised in radio or television and for the fact that the governor does not want praise singing, yet some people come up with insinuations that he is not the actual provider of all these projects. this is why it is imperative to properly and appropriately inform the populace to avoid misinformation and disinformation. it is in keeping with this that the researcher came up with this topic: the importance of propaganda in effective information dissemination: a study of governor sullivan iheanacho chime. therefore, the following are the objectives of this study; 1. to properly inform the populace of what is happening in enugu state in terms of provision of democracy dividend. 2. to disabuse the minds of people of enugu state on what disinformation mischief makers are making on the projects being provided to the people of the state by barr. sullivan chime, the executive governor of enugu state. 3. to compare the administration of barr. chime with that of the previous administration in the areas of publicity and executed projects on ground. theoretical framework the theoretical framework for this work is white propaganda. this theory came about by scholars who saw good aspects of propaganda and believed that these good aspects could be harnessed to effectively use in countering the negative aspects of black propaganda. they claimed that even though the threat of propaganda was great, there might be a silver lining to this cloud. that if they could find a way to harness the power of propaganda to promote good and just ideals, then they could not only survive its threat but have a tool that could help build a better social order. white propaganda is a strategy that used benign propaganda technique to fight "bad" propaganda and promote objectives that elites considered good. after world war 439 ii ended, these white propaganda techniques provided a basis for the development of promotional communication methods that are widely used today in advertising and public relations. in fact, propaganda theory is experiencing a resurgence of interest precisely for this reason-the techniques used in these modem promotional efforts appear to many observers to be even more effective in the contemporary world of corporate media ownership(laitinen and rokas, 19970) subsequently, it is in the same vain that the propaganda used in this work is promotional and that is why the good work of the enugu state governor, barr. sullivan iheanacho chime should be promoted for all to know and see. this is because if it is not done, some mischief makers could cash on that to misdirect people's attention and perception of the administration of his government. already, some sections of the society are trying to dissuade people with wrong insinuations that most capital projects of chime's administration are world bank assisted. therefore, the earlier the public is properly informed about the democracy dividend of this administration, the better. that is why this advocacy for propagating for people to know the truth about these projects should be emphasized. discussions discussion about the administration of barr. sullivan iheanacho chime is like re-enacting the good old days that white people were in nigeria when things were working as expected. it was abraham lincoln who said that, "the legitimate objective of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do, at all, or cannot, so well do, for themselvesin their separate , and individual capacity." the three basic amenities that government owes it people is, good road network, electricity, and pipe born water or portable water. the administration of barr. chime has done wonderfully well in these areas. abraham lincoln's wise saying is practically being manifested in enugu state. furthermore, enugu-coal cityis now wearing the same look with abuja in terms of good access roads, cleanliness, street lighting, advert board at strategic positions etc. enugu state workers are paid their salaries before every 25th. in the month. the salary is enhanced unlike what his predecessor, dr. chimaroke nnamani was giving the workers. enugu state workers can now plan and do budgeting with their salary, if not for anything, for the regularity with which it is paid. the pensioners are not left out because their monthly pensions are regular. the pensioners were equally given bonus by the state governor by the adjustment of monthly pension with 21 % of their monthly pension for those that retired earlier than 2008 and 15% 440 for those that retired as from 2009. smiles are in the faces of both workers and pensioners in the state. before the palliative measures of the federal government, on the oil subsidy imbroglio, transportation in enugu state was the best and even now because of the number and quality of buses and taxi cabs he provided to the people. the coal city shuttle is luxurious buses with air conditioner. the coal city shuttle is more than 100 in number. they ply or shuttle within enugu urban and nearby satellite towns like unth ituku-ozalla, esuth agbani etc. in his first tenure, the governor bought 600 taxi cabs (new nissan saloon ex). taxi cabs in enugu state is the neatest and with adequate number. the government provided over 1000 (one thousand) taxi cabs that are plying the state and other parts of the country. these taxi cabs are given to the unemployed youths of the state on soft loan arrangement (higher porches). anywhere you go in nigeria, you must see sullivan taxi with coal city color (yellow with black stripe). if you are afraid you could be kidnapped, simply take sullivan cab to anywhere in the country; you are safe. the taxi cabs are now providing serious security cover to people and that is why irrespective of the number, most of them are engaged always. on security of lives and property, enugu state is ranking first in nigeria. it is only if you are in enugu state that you can affirm to this. this is quite unlike the era of dr. chimaroke, the then governor of the state. the provision of street lights in enugu urban is a very good measure in the provision of security of lives and property. the activities of hoodlums in enugu state is at its barest minimum. the law enforcement agents are at alert always to checkmate the 'the bad boys' at any point in time. enugu capital city is the home of who-is-who in south east or rather, ibo land. as the capital of the then eastern region, most of the ibo elites have personal buildings in the city because of the serene environment. incidences of crime related activities in the state are drastically reduced. the regime before this witnessed serious security threat to the extent that people were not all that free to talk or to open ones mouth anyhow. in most of these achievements of barr. chime, he does not want publicity to them. it is not enough that people are testifying on the good governance of barr. sullivan chime, it will be pretty well if everybody is aware so that those that ran away from the state during the era of dr. chimaroke nnamani will know that things have changed for better in enugu state. actually, during the reign of dr. nnamani as the governor of enugu state, the governor invested heavily on publicity without doing much to justify the level of publicity on ground that time. he had eight (8) senior special assistants on media and publicity alone. enugu state 441 was perceived to have been working on radio and television. publicity of unexecuted projects and services was the order of the day. the false propaganda was so intense that 'enugu is working5 and 'ebeano family' slogans were everywhere including in the internet, satellite broadcasting like the cnn, bbc, skynews talk less of local television houses. with all the propaganda that was on then, there was nothing on ground to show for the quantum of publicity. it is on this premise, therefore, that the paper is advocating that people should be properly informed of the wonderful development that enugu state is undergoing now, yet the media does not publish these projects or make reference to them whatsoever. another reason why effective information on these projects is needed is to properly situate these development programmes to avoid misconception and misrepresentation. furthermore, in the democratic dispensation, it is always presumed that there is freedom of expression but where it is manipulated to suit one's purpose, it becomes propaganda. it is in keeping with this that some scholars have found out that some leaders in democracy resort to cheap publicity because what transpired during the regime of dr. chimaroke nnamani was nothing but excessive show of power. but proper management of information in a democratic dispensation gives everybody fulfilled satisfaction of the activities of the government. behaviorists richard laitinen and richard rakos (1997) likened the chimaroke's propaganda regime thus; "that modern propaganda (as applied by dr. nnamani during his tenure as governor of enugu state) by their definition, the control of behavior by media manipulation " is facilitated by three factors; an audience that is "that is enmeshed and engulfed in a harried lifestyle, less -well informed, and less politically involved, ... and the incorporation of media companies into mega conglomerates". that thus factors combine to put untold power in the hands of powerful business and governmental elites without the public's awareness. in contemporary democracies, the absence of oppressive government control of information is typically considered a fundamental characteristics of a "free society". however, the lack of aversive control does not mean that information is "free" of controlling functions. on the contrary, current mechanisms of influence, through direct economic and indirect political contingencies, pose an even greater threat to behavioral diversity than do historically forms. information today is more systematic, continuous, consistent, unobtrusive and ultimately powerful (laitinen and rakos, 1997). the more reason why white propaganda should be adopted in publicizing barr. chime's achievements is the fact that average citizens most often do not seem to know or properly put, nonchalant about the goings on in their domain because of lack of commitment. 442 writing in the early twenties, lippmann famously compared the average citizen to a deaf spectator sitting in the back row. he does not know what is happening, why it is happening, what ought to happen. "he lives in a world he cannot see, does not understand and is unable to direct "(alterman, 1998-eric alterman, a political essayist for the nation, quoted and summarized lippmann 's position in one of his essays). therefore, this scholar still maintain that the best way to encourage a good work is by motivation through effective information dissemination of that work for all to see and acknowledge so that it becomes an encouragement to the good and well meaning people of enugu state and nigeria in general. conclusion in nigeria, many states are not economically buoyant because of certain indices that can be used to determine the viability of states in nigeria. one of such indices is mineral deposits and that is why all the states in south-south geopolitical zone of the country plus imo and abia are considered viable and rich. revenue sharing formula of federal government is like thus: federal—42%; state—28%; local government—19%; oil derivation areas—13%. all the states that have no oil normally get less share of the federal allocation except lagos state that has so many sources of revenue. why this information is necessary is to properly place enugu state because she is not an oil producing state, neither is it a state with many industries. another area that states could be assessed is in the siting of industries like lagos state that has so many industries. number of industries in a state helps to determine the economic viability of that state. so in enugu state, there are few known industries: anammco (anambra motor manufacturing company) that is in serious economic recession, nigerian breweries, emenite, innosons industries (nig. ltd). upon the fact that enugu state is not considered as one of the richest states in the country, development projects on ground baffles visitors of the state. this is because enugu urban is now transformed to a modern city with all the things associated with a modern city in the world. therefore, if these things are not well publicized, people might decide to think otherwise in their comments as some are already saying that most of the capital projects in the state capital are world bank assisted projects. this group of people need to be enlightened and properly informed. but if one may ask; is it only in enugu that world bank is having projects? where was world bank during the tenure of the former governor dr. chimaroke nnamani? the fact is that there are people that can never be pleased no matter what and how one tries to live above board to please them. 443 a permanent secretary from neighboring south eastern state visited enugu urban recently and was marveled on the things he saw in the state. he asked this researcher where the enugu state governor was getting his money from because, according to him, there is nothing going on in his state yet, the state is one of the oil producing states that collects a lot of money (more than two-third of what enugu state collects) from federal revenue allocation. moreso, had it been that dr. chimaroke nnamani utilized half of the money he collected from abuja to invest in the state on projects, enugu state could have been one of the most modern states in africa. but rather, the then governor appropriated it to himself and invested heavily on black propaganda. he had ten senior special assistants on media alone. by then, enugu state was 'working' on cnn, internet, nta, radio nigeria, cosmo fm, (owned by the governor) raypower radio, ait, national dailies, magazines, bill boards etc on regular basis. amount invested by dr. chimaroke on false publicity of the achievements in enugu state under the regime of could have given the people of enugu a better democracy dividends. recommendations based on the fore going information and on the fact that every good work should be rewarded, the following are recommended; 1. that since white propaganda does not apply falsehood or misinformation to get her information across to its target audience, it should be adopted by government and all to inform, educate, sensitize and mobilize the citizenry so that they should see and emulate such good work. the best way to motivate people to do good work is to effectively publicize such work for people to see for emulation. 2. that probity should be re-introduced so that those who loot the public treasury should be brought to book to serve as deterrent to others. 3. that the constitution of the country should be re-positioned so that it will be sacred so that leaders that violate the laws of the land should be made to pay the supreme sacrifice. references paimer, n.d. & palmer, g. (2004). international relations. delhi: a.i.t.b.s. lasswell, h.d. & dorathy, b. (1939). world revolutionary propaganda. new york: alfred, a. knopf. 444 laitnen, r.e. & rakos, r.e. (1997). corporate control of media and propaganda: a behavioral analytic perspectives on cultural practices, ct: praeger. alterman, e. (1998). the news from quinn broderville. the nation, feb.24:11-14, in baran,s.j.and dennis page 1 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 169 strategies for improving socioeconomic well-being of families in awka south local government area of anambra state ayuk clara sayhitoayukclara@gmail.com ifeoma l. ezeh ify4jesus4real@yahoo.com nwangwu chukwunwike n. chukscnn@gmail.com nwosuji emeka p. emekanwosuji@yahoo.com department of sociology enugu state university of science and technology abstract the scourge of covid-19 has crippled many businesses in nigeria while some are still struggling to overcome the associated negative social effects. the socioeconomic wellbeing of many families has been threatened and this calls for the need of exploring strategies in improving their socio-economic wellbeing. this study seeks to determine strategies for improving the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state. this paper has three research questions that guided the paper and three hypotheses. this paper adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. the population is families in awka south lga, anambra state. a total of 307 sample size was determined using the taro yamane formula for sample size determination however, the analysis was done with 231 correctly returned responses. cluster sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to select required households. a 4-likert structured online questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. descriptive statistics, which comprised mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyze the data got from the questionnaire. simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significant level. the study found that strategies such as developing online marketing, entrepreneurial, and managerial skills for generating jobs and income can improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families amid covid-19. the study recommended that the government agencies such as the national directorate of employment and in collaboration with non-government organizations need to create innovation hubs to help families develop employability skills or self-employment skills that are viable in an online-driven economy/labour market stimulated by covid 19 pandemic. keywords: agriculture, coronavirus, entrepreneurship, marketing strategies, socioeconomic-wellbeing. introduction coronavirus (covid-19) came with lots of challenges that affected the entire world especially africa, although, the number of covid-19 cases and fatalities might still appear comparatively low in africa than in other world regions. however, the looming health shock of covid-19 has disastrous impacts on the continent's already strained health systems and mailto:sayhitoayukclara@gmail.com mailto:ify4jesus4real@yahoo.com mailto:chukscnn@gmail.com 170 has turned into a social and economic emergency (oecd, 2020). on that note, the scourge of covid-19 has crippled many businesses in nigeria while some are still struggling to overcome the associated effects. this has made many families struggle to survive and their socioeconomic wellbeing has been threatened. in nigeria, the first confirmed case of covid-19 was declared on february 27, 2020, and the first case of covid-19 in anambra state was announced on april 11, 2020, by the national center for disease control (ncdc) (garda world, 2020). however, anambra state, like other nigerian states, made steps to halt the spread of covid-19 in the state. according to ayadiuno and ndalue (2020), non-essential activities were restricted, schools and universities were closed, people were encouraged to stay at home, entire cities were locked down, essential businesses were required to run skeleton operations, and employees were required to work from home. in light of the measures taken to halt the spread of the covid-19, socioeconomic activities in african countries such as nigeria, where anambra state is located, were inevitably affected, and policymakers were forced to use economic policies, both fiscal and monetary policies, to mitigate the negative impact on the economy (ayadiuno & ndalue, 2020). covid-19, according to haleem et al (2020), has an impact on people's lives by slowing the world economy. the report further showed that covid-19's economic effects caused a reduction in the production of critical items, a disruption in product supply chains, losses in national and international business, poor cash flow in the market, and a considerable decrease in revenue growth. moreover, the effect of covid-19 has continued to restrict movement in many nations which has commerce and tourism (stanley, nkporbu, and stanley, 2020). as a result of the worldwide economic recession due to the pandemic, an unprecedented number of individuals have lost their jobs. apart from the implications of demand and supply, covid-19 has had a negative influence on financial markets, with substantial drops in bond rates, oil, and equity prices (stanley, nkporbu, & stanley, 2020). on the other hand, haleem et al (2020) posited that the social consequences include the cancellation or postponement of large-scale sports and tournaments, disruption of celebration of cultural, religious, and festive events, undue stress among the population, social distancing with peers and family members, closure of 171 hotels, restaurants and religious places, closure of places for entertainment like the movie and play theatres, sports clubs, gymnasiums, swimming pools among others have been enormous. given these socioeconomic effects of covid-19 on the wellbeing of families all over the world, states in nigeria like anambra state were not immune from these effects. however, the federal government of nigeria rolled out palliative measures for targeted groups but, lamentations have trailed the distribution of government palliatives by the masses as many alleged that the process of distribution of palliatives was politicalized and diverted (eranga, 2020). according to united nations high commissioner for refugees (2000), a larger percentage (95%) of families in nigeria including anambra still suffer from the economic shock with limited access to basic needs (like food and shelter). as a result of slow economic bounce back due to the pandemic, high inflation across goods and services has also contributed to significant difficulty in the socio-economic wellbeing of many families in nigeria (unhcr, 2000). a report from the nigeria bureau of statistics (2000) revealed that 79% of nigerian households reported a decrease in income since mid-march 2020. the pandemic reduced income inflow in families, increased the poverty rate, led to poor feeding habits and to loss of jobs which increased depression and frustration (mirian, danjuma, and amaonyeze, 2021). this has resulted in unintended hardship and catastrophic repercussions for people. this begs the question of how people might mitigate these conditions by developing strategies to improve their socio-economic well-being in the covid-19 era. it is on this backdrop that this paper sought to determine the strategies for the improvement of the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south local government of area of anambra state. objectives of the study the main objective of the study is to determine the strategies for the improvement of the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state. the specific objectives are; 1. to ascertain the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 2. to find out the use of marketing as a strategy to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 172 3. to determine the use of agriculture as a strategy to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 hypotheses this paper tested the following null hypotheses at a 0.05 significant level. 1. the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy significantly does not improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19. 2. the use of marketing as a strategy significantly does not improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga anambra state amidst covid-19. 3. the use of agriculture as a strategy significantly does not improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga anambra state amidst covid-19. research method this paper adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. the population is comprised of families in awka metropolis in awka south local government area of anambra state. awka south local government area (lga) is made up of nine towns, namely, amawbia, awka, ezinato, isiagu, mbaukwu, nibo, nise, okpuno, and umuawulu. simple random sampling was used to select one town from the nine towns that make up awka south lga. the total population of awka south lga is 189,049. using taro yamane's formula for sample size determination, 400 respondents we selected. the convenience sampling technique was used to select 400 respondents from each household in awka metropolis. nigerians aged 18 years and above were studied through an online questionnaire survey which was distributed through social media platforms, emails, and professional networks between 10th and 30th, may 2021. a 4-likert structured questionnaire that contained 28 items was used to collect data for the study. the questionnaire was titled, “strategies for promoting the socioeconomic wellbeing of families questionnaire (spswfq).” the questionnaire was structured on strongly agree (sa) to strongly disagree (sd). three academic experts validated the research questionnaire. the questionnaire has a reliability score of 0.89, which indicated that it is reliable in carrying out this research paper. after the administration of the research instrument 231, which is 75.24% of the respondents were used for the study. descriptive statistics, which comprised mean scores and standard deviations, were used to analyze data gotten from the questionnaire. simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. 173 results the results of the study are presented below. socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents the study shows that a majority (67%) are females while (33%) are males. on the marital status of the respondents, the study showed that a majority of (46.3%) of them were married compared to (42.5%) of them who were single. only (8.4%) of them were widowed. the age disaggregation of the respondents shows that a majority (26.4%) of the respondents were between the ages of 29 years to 34 years old. this is closely followed by (26.2%) of those aged between 41 years and 46 years old. meanwhile, the mean age of the respondents was 32.8. on educational qualification of the respondents, a majority (64%) had bsc and above while 36% of them had waec and below. a majority of the sampled respondents (32.6%) were public/civil servants. another significant occupational role was business/trading, in which (22.7%) of the respondents were engaged in. also, (21.5%) of the respondents were however unemployed at the time of this study. on monthly income, the results showed that a majority of (36.0%) of the respondents earned between n31,000.00 – n50,000.00. similarly, (26.4%) of them earned between n11, 000.00 – n30,000.00 monthly. only a very lower proportion, 49 (6.2%) of them earned higher incomes (i.e., >n91,000.00). cumulatively, 944 (92.5%) of the sampled respondents were christians. this data is understandable because the study area is a christian-dominated area in nigeria. 174 analysis of the objectives objective 1: the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy improves the social wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19 table 1: the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19 field survey, 2021. the results in table 1 revealed that the average mean score is 2.95, which is above the decision mean score of 2.50. thus, the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy improves the social wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. the implication of this study is that majority of the respondents who are public/civil servants agreed that entrepreneurship skills repositioned them to improve their socio-economic wellbeing amidst of covid 19 pandemic. to further understand the dynamics of the use of entrepreneurship strategies to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families, a simple linear regression analysis was done. the analysis is shown in table 2 s/n entrepreneurship as a strategy: sa a d sd (x) std decision 1 promotes ict skills for doing business 86(344) 109(327) 21(42) 15(15) 3.15 0.84 agree 2 inculcating in learners the traits of risk-taking in generating business innovation 101(404) 98(294) 23(46) 9(9) 3.26 0.79 agree 3 develops the creative knowledge in seeing business opportunities in every situation 88(352) 92(276) 29(58) 22(22) 3.06 0.94 agree 4 developing a risk-taking attitude in becoming self-employed 71(284) 85(255) 38(76) 37(37) 2.82 1.04 agree 5 develops the creativity of managing scarce and available resources starting up a business 85(340) 78(234) 45(90) 23(23) 2.97 0.98 agree 6 turn ideas and resources into business ventures 61(244) 75(225) 46(92) 49(49) 2.64 1.09 agree 7 develops the ideas of introducing innovations in business services 72(288) 75(225) 46(92) 38(38) 2.78 1.06 agree average mean score 2.95 0.96 agree 175 table 2: similar linear regression analysis on use of entrepreneurship as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 the test of hypothesis one as shown above revealed that the p(.012)-value is greater than the 0.05 significant level. thus, the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis is retained. this signifies that the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. also, 92.7% of the use of entrepreneurship improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state. objective 2: to find out the use of marketing as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 table 3: the use of marketing as a strategy improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19 field survey, 2021. the results in table 3 revealed that the average mean score is 2.94, which is above the decision mean score of 2.50. thus, the use of marketing as a strategy improves the coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) -1.979 .200 -9.906 .000 entrepreneurship .844 .016 .963 53.981 .012 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. an error of the estimate 1 .963a .927 .927 .827 s/n marketing as a strategy: sa a d sd (x) std decision 1 helps people develop persuasive online skills in selling goods and services 80(320) 81(243) 39(78) 31(31) 2.91 0.99 agree 2 helps people develop a sales promotion strategy 83(324) 83(249) 33(66) 32(32) 2.91 1.04 agree 3 helps marketers understand other people's needs and selling them to them 80(320) 80(240) 41(82) 30(30) 2.91 1.02 agree 4 encourages the ability to determine demand and supply situation 91(364) 79(237) 32(64) 29(29) 3 1.02 agree 5 ability to acquire good sales habit 79(316) 85(255) 32(64) 28(28) 2.96 0.99 agree 6 encourages the ability to identify new trends in the marketing environment 89(356) 83(249) 36(72) 23(23) 3.03 0.97 agree 7 encourages the ability to carry out an effective marketing and information research 79(316) 73(219) 46(92) 33(33) 2.86 1.05 agree average mean score 2.94 1.01 agree 176 socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. the implies that developing innovative online marketing skills and environment are facilitators to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in a covid 19 infested world where visual stores are becoming more popular. furthermore, a simple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between marketing strategy and improvement in the socioeconomic well-being of families table 4: similar linear regression analysis on marketing strategy and improvement in the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .071 .079 .905 .366 marketing .744 .006 .992 117.108 .028 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. an error of the estimate 1 .892a .894 .984 .386 the test of hypotheses one-two showed above revealed that the p(.028)-value is greater than the 0.05 significant level. thus, the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis is retained. this signifies that the use of marketing as a strategy improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. in addition, 89.4% of the use of marketing strategies improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state. 177 objective 3: to determine the use of agriculture as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19 table 5: the use of agriculture as a strategy improve the social wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19 field survey, 2021. the results in table 5 revealed that the average mean score is 2.91, which is above the decision mean score of 2.50. thus, the use of agriculture as a strategy improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. the implication of this finding is that majority of the respondents agreed that the use of agricultural activities could contribute to the improvement of the socio-economic wellbeing of families in the study area. a higher statistic was used to test the significant relationship between the use of agriculture strategy and improvement of the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga anambra state amidst covid-19. s/n agriculture as a strategy: sa a d sd (x) std decision 1 encourage processing of local raw materials into finished and semi-finished food products 80(320) 81(243) 39(78) 31(31) 2.91 0.99 agree 2 encourage food production 83(324) 83(249) 33(66) 32(34) 2.94 1.04 agree 3 encourage selling agricultural products 80(320) 80(240) 41(82) 30(30) 2.91 1.02 agree 4 encourage individuals to form farmers' networks to sell at the best price 91(364) 79(237) 32(64) 29(29) 3 1.02 agree 5 motivate individuals partner with farmers to buy agricultural products at cheaper rates 79(316) 85(255) 32(64) 28(28) 2.96 0.99 agree 6 encourage investment in the agriculture food chain 72(288) 75(225) 46(92) 38(38) 2.78 1.06 agree 7 focus on agriculture that is sustainable and builds strong communities 79(316) 73(219) 46(92) 33(33) 2.86 1.05 agree average mean score 2.91 1.02 agree 178 table 6: simple linear regression between the use of agriculture as a strategy to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga anambra state amidst covid-19. the test of hypotheses one-two showed above revealed that the p(.009)-value is greater than the 0.05 significant level. thus, the null hypothesis is rejected while the alternative hypothesis is retained. this signifies that the use of agriculture as a strategy improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state amidst covid-19. more so, 96.3% of the use of agriculture improves the socioeconomic wellbeing of families in anambra state. discussion firstly, this study investigated the use of entrepreneurship as a strategy to improve the social wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19. the study revealed that the use of entrepreneurship strategies can improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga. these findings are in line with ali and ali (2013) and hussain, bhuiyan, and bakar (2014) which showed that entrepreneurship development helps to alleviate poverty by creating jobs through the start-up of new businesses or the expansion of existing ones, as well as increasing social wealth by creating new markets, industries, technology, institutional forms, jobs, and net increases in real productivity, all of which lead to higher living standards for people. secondly, the study sought to prove that the use of marketing as a strategy can improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid19. the study found that marketing expertise could be used to improve a family's socioeconomic wellbeing in this covid 19 era. in affirmation, wey and wolugbom (2018) findings revealed that marketing promotes the capacity to determine customer needs, as well as the ability to grab, maintain, and retain customer attention, which aids in the assessment of coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) -.325 .122 -2.667 .008 agriculture .754 .010 .981 76.926 .009 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. an error of the estimate 1 .981a .963 .963 .602 179 demand and supply, and the development of effective negotiation skills, all of which contribute to an individual's self-reliance. marketing, according to ezeani (2012), encourages the identification of consumer needs, the planning and development of a product or service that meets those needs, and the determination of the best possible price to promote and distribute that product or service, thus identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer requirements. the era of covid 19 has forcefully made social and economic activities especially marketing to migrate online, hence making it difficult for persons who lack the capacity for visual business to be left behind. thus, providing knowledge and facilities for online marketing space for family’s business is a viable strategic platform that can help families cope with the new challenges that covid 19 has created. finally, the third objective of this study was to determine the use of agriculture as a strategy to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga of anambra state amidst covid-19. the result showed that agricultural activities are a viable strategy that may improve the socio-economic wellbeing of families in awka south lga. abubakar, et al (2018) findings confirmed that involvement in enhanced agriculture will assist in the creation of jobs, which will contribute to a reduction in poverty. a change in agricultural output will result in a change in gdp. nigeria's agricultural capital expenditure has been declining, reducing the efficiency of increased agricultural output in reducing poverty. hence creating an enabling environment and capacity for families to explore the agricultural potentials in nigeria can significantly contribute to improving their socio-economic wellbeing in the current economic hardship created by covid 19. conclusion entrepreneurship as a strategy for promoting the socio-economic wellbeing of the families in anambra state promotes ict skills for doing business, inculcates learners the traits of risktaking in generating business innovation. it ensures that people develop the creative knowledge in seeing business opportunities in every situation, developing a risk-taking attitude in becoming self-employed, and develops the creativity of managing scarce and available resources starting up a business. also, marketing helps in the promotion of socioeconomic well-being of families by helping people develop persuasive skills in selling goods and services, helps people develop sales promotion strategies, helps marketers understand other people's needs and selling them to them, encourages the ability to determine demand 180 and supply situation, ability to acquire good sales habit, and encourages the ability to identify new trends in the marketing environment. further, agriculture encourage processing of local raw materials into finished and semi-finished food products, encourage food production, encourage selling agricultural products, and encourage individuals to form farmers' network to sell at best price recommendations based on the findings of the study, the following were recommended; 1. families should develop the creative knowledge in seeing business opportunities in every situation 2. families should help other members develop persuasive online skills in selling goods and services 3. families should encourage the processing of local raw materials into finished and semi-finished food products 4. government should use one of its agencies such as the national directorate of employment and in collaboration with non-government organizations to create skill acquisition centers to help people develop employability skills or self-employment skills to become employable in the labour market. 5. families should also attend skill acquisition centers to acquire and develop skills like entrepreneurial skills, marketing skills, and agricultural skills to generate employment and income in improving their socio-economic wellbeing. references abubakar, a. j., abubakar, s. s., ibrahim, m. s., & kolo, a. (2018). agriculture and poverty reduction in nigeria; a review. iosr journal of humanities and social science, 23(2), 61-68. ali, d. a. h., & ali, a. y. s. (2013). entrepreneurship development and poverty reduction: empirical survey from somalia. american international journal of social science, 2(3), 108-113. ayadiuno, r. u. & ndalue, d. (2020). the misconception of covid-19 pandemic in africa causes and consequences an appraisal of anambra state southeast nigeria. eranga, i. o. e. (2020). covid-19 pandemic in nigeria: palliative measures and the politics of vulnerability. international journal of maternal and child health and aids, 9(2), 220. 181 ezeani, n. s. (2012). application of entrepreneurship education: a panacea for effective secondary schools’ management in nigeria. singaporean journal of business economics and management studies, 1(5), 27-45. garda world (2020). nigeria: governor lifts restrictions in anambra state april 25 /update 16. retrieved june 30, 2021, from https://www.garda.com/crisis24/newsalerts/336366/nigeria-governor-lifts-restrictions-in-anambra-state-april-25-update-16. haleem, a., javaid, m., & vaishya, r. (2020). effects of covid-19 pandemic in daily life. current medical research and practice, 10(2), 78. hussain, m. d., bhuiyan, a. b., & bakar, r. (2014). entrepreneurship development and poverty alleviation: an empirical review. journal of asian scientific research, 4(10), 558. keogh‐brown, m. r., wren‐lewis, s., edmunds, w. j., beutels, p., & smith, r. d. (2010). the possible macroeconomic impact on the uk of an influenza pandemic. health economics, 19(11), 1345-1360. oecd (2020). covid-19 and africa: socio-economic implications and policy responses. oecd policy responses to coronavirus (covid-19). organ econ co-operation dev, 7, 1-23. stanley, c., nkporbu, a., & stanley, p. (2020). socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic: early review and projections, nigeria in focus. international journal of research studies in medical and health sciences, 4, 40-49. united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) (2000). socio-economic impact assessment of covid-19 pandemic among persons of concern in nigeria. file:///c:/users/capio/downloads/report%20on%20assessment%20of%20socio economic%20impact%20of%20covid-19%20on%20pocs_19082020.pdf. wey, a. & wolugbom, k. r. (2018). identifying entrepreneurial marketing skill needs of business education students of tertiary institutions in rivers state for self-reliance. international journal of education and evaluation, 4(7), 2489-0073. yap, c. w. (2020). china's factories struggle to resume operations after the virus shutdown. wall st. journal. retrieved feb 8 from https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinasfactoriesstruggle-to-resume-operations-after-virusshutdown-11581157800 [internet] [cited 2020. https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/336366/nigeria-governor-lifts-restrictions-in-anambra-state-april-25-update-16 https://www.garda.com/crisis24/news-alerts/336366/nigeria-governor-lifts-restrictions-in-anambra-state-april-25-update-16 file:///c:/users/capio/downloads/report%20on%20assessment%20of%20sociofile:///c:/users/capio/downloads/report%20on%20assessment%20of%20socio page 4 musician as an ideologue: example of bob marley and fela an1kulapokuti dele maxwell ugwanyi department of english and literary studies, enugu state university of science and technology enugu, nigeria delemaxwell4u@yahoo.co.uk & lucy chioma ezekeke department of english language caritas university enugu abstract music has been used to project social and spiritual interactions irrespective of cultural and socio-political worldview of the people. its entertainment value seems to have taken precedence over socio-political and spiritual utilities. musicians are regarded as agents of social awareness and reformation that expose and correct the incidences in the society. without strong ideological leaning it will be pretty difficult for any musician to impact his society positively apart from the entertainment values. this study is undertaken to take a look at two prominent musicians that influenced their societies as a result of their strong ideological persuasion. their music has remained very relevant today even long after they exited the stage and the world. they were not only ideologically grounded, they were equally visionary and their music serves multiple purposes in our contemporary world. the study selected bob marley and fela anikulapo-kuti whose music did not only provide entertainment values but supplied us with a standard with which we assess our social-cultural and spiritual interactions. the study submits that without strong ideological foundations the two musicians would have possibly died with their music. today their music has remained evergreen and indelible because of the strong ideology that heralded and influenced their songs. the study therefore concludes that music should not be for music sake or mainly for entertainment purposes but for socio-cultural, political and spiritual interactions which cannot be achieved without deep ideological foundation. keywords: english language, literary studies, music, spiritual utilities, spiritual interactions introduction the replacement of african traditional values with those of the west since the colonial era, as well as the effect of such on post-colonial african art, continue to affect the output of african artistes. this colonial contact situation has made most african (black) musicians in particular and artistes in general to be neither here nor there according to adepegba (1999:15). the result is a crisis of ideology and its attendant perspective to cultural tangle and conflict. in precolonial time music and musical performances were community based and satisfied the aesthetic, philosophical, religious and social need of the people. it became a medium of articulating society’s philosophical belief system and maintaining group ideology. mailto:delemaxwell4u@yahoo.co.uk musician as an ideologue 261 with the advent of colonialism, the african man was made to believe that his art was ‘primitive’ and ‘heathenistic’. the west sought to replace african art with their model and their culture generally. in the french colonies for instance, the colonialists sought to completely assimilate the black man into french culture. consequently the colonized minds jettisoned the ‘old’ for the ‘new’ with the growth and development of cash economy and urbanization, rural dwellers moved en-mass to the cities where whitecollar jobs and european culture flourished. the social niche created and the growing need for entertainment, attracted rural musicians to the cities, who in no time learnt to play western influenced music. the framework for syncretism anti urban popular music was therefore laid and the crisis of ideology began. this made some musicians who we shall analyze shortly to create a certain ideological niche for themselves in line with black consciousness. overview of music in nigeria in recent times nigeria for example, has become a dumping ground for all genres of music from rock ‘n’ roll to r&b, soul, jazz, reggae, hip-pop, rapp, dancehall and makossa. all these have had a concomitant negative impact on the indigenous music, which is culturally and ideologically based. it is against the backdrop of the ideological and identical quagmire that most musicians have found themselves that the paper attempts to discuss the essence of ideology in music which should, as a matter of fact, identify with black culture. this is so considering the fact that music of black africa is basically protest in nature and musicians need strong ideological background to propagate their message. this becomes necessary in the sense that the message outlives the messenger and for this to happen, the ideology that staged the production of such works or music must be of timeless values, as we shall see in the musicians we are going to discuss in this paper. two important concepts are involved here, culture and ideology (identity). culture according to e.b. tylor is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (e.b. tylor cited in netlle 1983:27). culture is largely acquired through a learning process. albert (l990:90) opines that the environment in which one grows up determines to a large extent his cultural attributes. culture is therefore, the totality of a people’s way of life. drawing inference therefore, the african culture can simply be said to refer to the peculiar ways in which africans live their lives. this is replicated in their behaviour and then passed on to their young ones. such ideas and behaviours include music because it is perceived as part of human socio-cultural worldview. african music therefore replicates african culture and ideology. musicians are therefore the carriers of’ this ideology of their culture. they are ideologists in the sense that through them the ideology of a particular community or culture is propagated and exported to the outside world. identity by definition is that which makes an individual what s/he is and which distinguishes him/her from others. it could be seen as an embodiment of peculiarities of a being as an existing whole different from others. one of the greatest problems that african slaves encountered in diaspora was that of identity, a situation which w.e.b. dubois summed up this way. “the negro has two souls, two thoughts, two un-reconciled strivings, two warring devils in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being turned asunder” he continues further, “the history of the american negro is the history of longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and true self” (web dubois cited in holt 1980:6). mveng (1985:65) submits that “cultural identity is in the first place the cultural heritage of a people, a nation in all its riches, poverty, variety, originality in what makes it different from the cultural heritage of “other people”. stressing this further, he opines. “. . . to speak of cultural identity is to speak of’ creativity and the fertility of a peoples imagination as well as of its productivity”. ideologue on the other hand is a person whose actions are influenced by belief’ in a set of principles, very uncompromising and strict most times dogmatic. with this understanding and clarification it is pertinent to evaluate the performance of musician against the backdrop of cultural and ideological identity. the legacy of europe which came through trade, colonialism, and christianity brought european musical styles alongside european fashion. with european musical styles like hymns, waltz, foxrot, quick step and so on, new sounds were created which gave rise to distinctive nigerian typologies like highlife, afro-rock, juju, afro-beat and many more. islam on the other hand introduced islamic instruments, monodic and melismatic singing styles. the contact of nigerian music with islamic culture brought in its wake variety of musical styles which have now metamorphosed into nigerian islamic musical typologies like waka, apala, dadawada, senwele and fuji (otto karolyn, 1998). with the introduction of a cash economy from the west, large cities and urban settlements have become an irresistible lure for rural dwellers who want to jettison “local life” for city life which musician as an ideologue 263 is grossly cosmopolitan. these city dwellers are voracious consumers of various forms of entertainments both local and foreign. the proliferation of different musical styles occasioned by improved global mass communication has greatly influenced the musical tastes of nigerians, especially the youths and urban dwellers, who have shifted their interest from ethnic orientated traditional music to a more cosmopolitan one (obidike 2001:29). since western values and education is fast replacing african ones, urban dwellers including musicians and music educators are gradually losing touch with their traditional musical background. obidike again submits that since the modern school system has not been able to provide alternative ways of imparting traditional musical knowledge, the learner musician has neither the competence nor the capacity to understand, appreciate and criticize with discrimination all the varied musical forms with which he is confronted in contemporary times. consequently urban musicians are in great dilemma of ideological and cultural identity. while the music of tupac, heavy d, puff daddy, shaggy and the rest are hot sellers and favourites of clubs and radio djs in nigeria, our own remedies, tony tetula, davido, tuface, alex o. and a host of other new breed musicians have little or no place in western entertainment markets. the reasons are not farfetched. most times they go abroad to entertain nigerians there. ours is a poor imitation of their authentic western styles, lacking in artistry and level of mastery. in an interview, joe idulu, a ‘rock’ n ‘roll’ musician, submits that there is no way we can play purely and entirely nigerian music because most urban musicians make use of western musical instrument. since his argument is that since most urban musicians use western musical instruments, there is an irresistible gravitation towards western musical styles thereby depriving them of distinct ideological and cultural identity. while there may be some truth in this claim, the study opines that the mere utilization of western musical instruments does not in any way debar us from forging a musical identity that is nigerian and by extension african. in recent times fuji musicians like wasiu ayinde marshal (kwam 1) have introduced keyboard phrases and other western instruments to complement the drum ensemble characteristic of fuji music. by so doing they have given it a distinctive nigerian identity. today he is the rave of many nations abroad. and we have few similar examples. a country like jamaica has become synonymous with reggae music as made popular by various exponents like bob marley, peter tosh, black uhuru, yellow man and a host of others. the study shall focus on bob marley later. reggae has come to be known as music of resistance; resisting poverty, oppression and racial inequality which have been the lot of’ freed slaves on the caribbean islands. reggae has distinctive african rhythms and song texts that reflect the african situation and cultural worldview both at home and in diaspora. this is an ideological and cultural identity in its simplest form. within the history of urban popular music in nigeria, highlife as a genre occupies a pivotal historical and musical position. the musicians have their brand of music to convey messages to the people through the instrumentality of indigenous cultural and ideological identity. by integrating the rhythmic vitality of african music with european tonal harmonies. by combining traditional nigerian instruments with europeans ones, highlife music stand out as a unique style in discussing nigeria urban life (omojola 1995:22). this is also an ideological leaning. it is in this regard that one must not fail to acknowledge the contributions of old breed musicians like sunny ade’s juju with his own unique band of yoruba music which is original and consistent; afro-beat king, fela anikulapo-kuti, , whose afro-beat stormed the world and today he remains an impressive musical phenomenon worldwide. others include i.k. dairo one of the foremost exponents of juju music, chief osita osadebe, the doyen of lgbo highlife music, celestine ukwu who was highly philosophical in his songs, cardinal rex lawson, the highlife maestro, dan maraya jos, ebenezer obey, oliver de coque, nico mbaga of “sweet mother” fame, mike ejeagha, the famous folkloric story-teller and a host of others that created unique ideological and cultural styles and brought nigerian music to world attention. having established the ideological and cultural essence of’ music and why musicians should imbibe this in order to escape the crisis of distinct ideology, it is important that some suggestions are advanced that will lead the way out of this search for identity. it is my opinion in this paper that the way forward is to go back to our “roots” to dig into the foundations of our ethnic or traditional music, seek to understand the inherent musical potentials and seek to develop them into a fine art with sound ideological framework. it has been mentioned earlier in this paper that a wide variety of ethnic or traditional music abound in our country. rather than promote ethnic or artistic parochialism, our ethnic and cultural diversity should be an endless well of artistic creativity; a well of great wealth of musical expression from which the urban musicians and music educators can draw creative ideas. colonialism and european contact has brought in its wake a dichotomy of systems, the local versus the foreign, the rural versus the urban, and today, there is growing tendency to replace musician as an ideologue 265 traditional african values and art with that of’ the west if one is to be branded ‘civilized’ or ‘enlightened’. there must, therefore, be a conscious effort on the part of the musician, the government and the mass media to rediscover the roots of our traditional music, highlight their inherent qualities and possibly redefine them in contemporary modes of expression. bob marley( robert nesta marley) as an ideologue for the purpose of analysis as hinted earlier, we shall attempt to look at some of the musicians who have left indelible marks on the sands of time through the ideological ethos espoused in their music. it is pertinent to note that these musicians tapped greatly from their traditional and cultural roots, and blended them with modern instruments in promoting their ideological persuasions through music. one of these musicians is bob marley who died close to four decade ago precisely in 1981 yet his music is evergreen in the minds of people all over the world. today no discourse on music is complete without bob marley. this is because of the sound ideology that he brought into his brand of music and which has continued to trail him. he used his music to protest man’s inhumanity to man and fight for a just and ideal society. without doubt, bob marley can now be recognized as the most important figure in 20th century music. it is not just the opinion of this paper, that also, judging by all the mainstream accolades hurled bob’s way lately, the feeling of a great many others too. but in the close to four decades since bob marley has gone, it is clear that he is without question one of the most transcendental figures of the past hundred years. the ripples of his unparalleled achievements radiate outward through the river of his music into an ocean of politics, ethics, fashion, philosophy and religion. his story is a timeless myth made manifest in his music. he says; “there will come a day when music and its philosophy will become the religion of humanity. if there remains any magic it is music”(otto,1998) bob marley was a moral and religious figure. his own particular symbolism is derived from his beliefs as a rastafarian, a sect that revered emperor haile selassie i of ethiopia (a.k.a. ras tafari) as a living god who would lead oppressed blacks back to an african homeland, and his firsthand knowledge of the deprivations of the jamaican ghettos. his lyrics mixed religious mysticism with calls for political uprising, and marley delivered them in a passionate, declamatory voice. marley asserts: that music alone can be called real which comes from the harmony of the soul, its true source, and when it comes from there it must appeal to all souls ... music alone can be the means by which the souls of races, nations and families, which are today so apart, may one day be united... the more the musician is conscious of his mission in life, the greater service he can render to humanity (soni varun,2010; 23). most of’ the pop stars thrown up over the past hundred years had entertainment as their first and foremost goal. not so for marley, who was conscious of his role as the bringer of the message of rastafarians to the consciousness of the outside world. he cared nothing for earthly trappings, and loved nothing better than lying on jah’s cool earth at night watching the heavens revolve above him, rock stone as his pillow. he was here to call people to god. there is no way we can compare marley to other well known musical figures. as for politics, he eschewed them; although his actions caused him to be perceived and sometimes feared as a profoundly radical political leader too. but his were the anti-politics of salvation through love and love alone, an unshakeable knowledge of oneness of all mankind. he opines that: music is behind the working of the whole universe. music is not only life’s greatest object, but music is life itself... music being the most exalted of the arts, the work of composer is no less than the work of a saint (soni, 24). as for innovation, marley was a multi-talented synthesizer of new ideas and rhythms, beginning with his precocious “judge not” solo debut at the dawn of the ska era, right up through his ongoing experiments with gospel, r&b, rock, folk, jazz, latin, punk, scat, disco, and even (in unpublished form) actually the real secret is that marley’s music is about something. it has value. marley’s art is life transforming, answering our highest needs. it answers in a positive way, the question that carios santana says we must always ask before we begin any activity in life: how is this going to make the world a better place? although marley became a commercial artist, he was not making commercial art. his art transcended pop fluffery. many are there who swear that his music literally saved their lives. the use of music for spiritual attainment and healing of the soul, which was prevalent in ancient times, is not found to the same extent now. music has been made a pastime, the means of forgetting god instead of realizing god. it is the use one makes of things which constitutes their fault or their virtue (otto, 43). it is in the vast amount of adherents that bob’s work continues to lure, that we begin to sense his obvious immortality, even from this early point of focus. elvis presley may have been the musician as an ideologue 267 biggest single rock icon of all time, but are his songs (none, incidentally, penned by him) really saying anything beyond mere pop cliché? bob dylan may be the most respected poet of his generation, but his often deliberately obfuscatory lyrics stand in the way of clear translation, and limit his appeal to the non-english speaking audience. marley, on the other hand, refined his lyric art to a steely perfection, using the language of the streets to attain the stars. his words were so perfectly scripted that they achieved eloquence. today, his elemental stories can be related to and understood by people anywhere who suffer and long for salvation, in other words, just about every one of us. marley’s ready embrace of marijuana, and the flaunting of his startling dread locks that grew more ferocious as the ‘70s wound down, contributed to his image as a rebel for all seasons, treated like a deity among defiant youths and seasoned revolutionaries alike, who recognized him as one of their own, embracing him in harare during zimbabwe’s independence, and sending him messages of solidarity from peruvian jungles to himalayan hideaways. so it appears, at least to us, that bob marley has the clearest shot at being recognized as the artist of the 20th century, at least as far as ideologically grounded music is concerned, and probably a lot more. it becomes very easy to predict with literary certainty and confidence that hundreds of years into the future, marley’s melodies will be as prevalent as those of any songwriter who has ever lived. “no woman, no cry” will still wipe away the tears from a widow’s face; “exodus” will still arouse the warrior; “redemption song” will still be a rallying cry for emancipation from all tyrannies, physical and spiritual; “waiting in vain” will still seduce; and “one love” will be the international anthem of’ a coffee—colored humanity living in unity, in a world beyond borders, beyond beliefs, where everyone has learned at last to get together and feel all right because according to him man loves music more than anything else. music is his nature. we are all come from vibrations, and he himself is vibration...there is nothing in this world that can help one spiritually more than music. in his true heart of hearts, bob marley seemed to have heard the harmony of the heavens, and shared that celestial sound with the god-seeker in each of us. thus it is not surprising that the new york. times, seeking one video to epitomize the past century, preserved in a time capsule to be opened a thousand years hence, chose “bob marley live at the rainbow, london, 1977.” the same “newspaper of record” selected marley as “the most influential artist of the second half of the 20th century.” he was particularly moved throughout his career by the gulf between haves and have-nots, a culture of oppression that was particularly in his poverty and crime ridden jamaican homeland. “we should all come together and create music and love, but there is too much poverty” marley told writer timothy white in 1976. he states further that the most intelligent people are the poorest people... but people don’t get time to feel and spend their intelligence…, the intelligent and innocent are poor, are crumbled and get brutalized daily. though he died prematurely at age 36, the heartbeat reggae rhythms of the enormous body of music that bob marley left behind have endured. moreover, jamaica itself has been transformed by his charismatic personality and musical output. in a crowning irony, given the reviled status that rastafarians and their music had once suffered at the hands of the jamaican government, marley’s pacifist reggae anthem, “one love”, was adapted as a theme song by the jamaican tourist board. meanwhile, marley’s music continues to find an audience. with sales of more than 10 million copies in the us alone, legend best of spanning the lsland record year (i972-1981) remains the best selling album by a jamaican artist and the best-selling reggae album in history. we are all ennobled by our proximity to marley and his art, his eternal songs of freedom fela anikulapo-kuti (olufela olusegun oludotun ransome-kuti) as an ideologue another musician in the same league with bob marley is fela anikulapo-kuti, the king of afro-beat music. fela was born in abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria to a middle-class family. his mother, funrnilayo ransorne-kuti, was an active feminist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, reverend israel oludotun ransome-kuti a protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of nigeria union of teachers. his elder brothers, beko ransome-kuti and olikoye ransome-kuti, were both well-known in nigeria. fela and his band, renamed ‘afrika 70’ returned to nigeria from overseas. he then formed the kalakuta republic, a commune, a recording studio and a home for many connected to the band, which he later declared independent from the nigerian state. fela set up a nightclub in the empire hotel, named the afro-spot and then the shrine, where he performed regularly. fela also changed his middle name to ‘anikulapo’ (meaning ‘he who carries death in his pouch’). in 1977 fela and the afrika 70 released the hit album ‘zombie’, a scathing attack on nigerian soldiers using the ‘zombie’ metaphor to describe the methods of the nigerian military. the musician as an ideologue 269 album was a smash hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against the kalakuta republic, during which one thousand soldiers attacked the commune. fela was severely beaten, and his elderly mother was thrown from a window, causing fatal injuries. the kalakuta republic was burned, and fela’s studio, instruments, and master tapes were destroyed. fela claimed that he would have been killed if it were not for the intervention of a commanding officer as he was being beaten. fela’s response to the attack was to deliver his mother’s coffin to an army barrack and write two songs, ‘coffin for head of state’ and ‘unknown soldier’ referencing the official inquiry reports which claimed the kalakuta republic was destroyed by unknown soldiers.. fela and his band then took residence in crossroads hotel as the shrine had been destroyed along with his commune. in 1978 fela married twenty seven women in one day, many of whom were his dancers and singers to mark the anniversary of the attack on the kalakuta republic. the year was also marked by two notorious concerts, the first in accra in which riots broke out during the song ‘zombie’ which led to fela being banned from entering ghana. the second was at the berlin jazz festival after which most of fela’s musicians deserted him, due to rumors that fela was planning to use the entirety of the proceeds to fund his presidential campaign. despite the massive setbacks, fela was determined to come back. he formed his own political party, which he called ‘movement of the people’. in 1979 he put himself forward for president in nigeria’s first elections for more than a decade but his candidature was refused. at this time, fela created a new band called ‘egypt 80’ and continued to record albums and tours the country. he further infuriated the political establishment by dropping the names of itt vicepresident moshood abiola and general olusegun obasanjo at the end of a hot-selling 25minute political, screed entitled ‘international thief thief’. in 1983 he again ran for president but was again attacked by police, who threw him in prison on a dubious charge of currency smuggling. several human-rights groups took up his case, and after twenty months, general ibrahim babangida released him from prison. on his release he divorced his twelve remaining wives. once again fela continued to release albums with egypt 80, made a number of successful tours of the united states and europe and also continued to be politically active. in 1986, fela performed in giants stadium in new jersey as part of the amnesty international ‘conspiracy of hope’ concert, sharing the bill with bono. carlos santana. and the neville brothers. the musical style performed by fela kuti is called afro-beat, which is essentially a. fusion of jazz, funk and traditional african chants. it is characterized by having african style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazz, funky horn sections. the ‘endless groove’ is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. this is a common technique in african and african-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. some elements often present in fela’s music are the call-and-response with the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. fela’s songs are almost always over ten minutes in length, sonic reaching the twenty or even thirty minute marks. this was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of africa. his songs were mostly sung in nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the yoruba language. fela’s main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards but also played the trumpet, horn, and guitar and made the occasional drum solo. fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside africa. fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild and highly satiric with acerbic tongue. the american black power movement influenced fela’s political views. he was also a supporter of pan-africanism and socialism (although in a 1982 documentary he can clearly be seen rejecting both capitalism and socialism in favour of a third way that he described as africanism), and called for a united, democratic african republic, he was a fierce supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the military governments of nigeria in the i970s and 1980s. he was also a social commentator, and criticized his fellow africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional african culture. the african culture he believed in also included having many wives (polygamy) and the kalakuta republic was formed in part as a polygamist colony. though not part of african culture, it should he noted though that fela was very open when it came to sex, as he portrayed in some of his songs, like ‘open and close’. conclusion from the foregoing it is now established that without serious ideological grounding it is pretty difficult to be a credible musician. every artist should try therefore to follow the footsteps of the musicians discussed above if they want their music and the message they are conveying to be timeless. musicians should try and be themselves in order to create a unique identity for their music. both marley and fela had running battles with the establishments of their various musician as an ideologue 271 countries because of their ideological persuasions which heavily influenced their music. their music did not make them millionaires as we have today but they have remained evergreen in our consciousness. music should be used to reflect and refract society while serving its entertainment purpose. it is not about what is trending as we have it today where most songs lack meaningful messages. the examples of the artistes studied should be a guide to up and coming musicians that ideology is necessary for a flourishing career that will outlive them. singing for the money is ephemeral and cannot stand the test of time. references bruno, n. (1983). the study of music in culture, illinois: university of illinois press. collins, j. (1985). music maker in west africa. washington; three continent press. ekwueme, l. (1986). nigeria in the world of popular music”, a paper presented at the 3 university of lagos festival of nigerian popular music, (university of lagos, lagos, nigeria. karolyn, o. (1998). traditional african & oriental music. new york; penguin books. molt, t.c. (1980). afro americans. harvard encyclopedia of american ethnic groups. 5-23, london. w.worton and co inc. hornby, a.s. (2015). oxford advanced learner dictionary9th edition. oxfbrd: oxford university press. maier, k. (2000), this house has fallen: midnight in nigeria. new york, public affairs press. mveng, f. (1985). the cultural identity of cameroon. yaounde, ministry of information and culture press. obidike, o. (2001). traditional music for national development. guardian newspaper; august 18, 30-31. olorunyomi, s. (2003). afrobeat! fela and the imagined continent. new jersey: africa world press. omojola, k. (1995). nigerian art music. ibadan; ifra. presley,e. (1998). bob marley: the legend lives on. london: clanrendon publishers soni, v. (2010). bob marley’s spiritual legacy. huffingtonpost.com. retrieved 20 july 2020. volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 1 social conflict and safety in urban areas ngozi asadu department of sociology and anthropology university of nigeria, nsukka abstract this article examines social conflict and safety in urban areas. cities are productive systems through which most 21st-century challenges, such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, environmental degradation, and climate change, can be addressed. cities are habitats for people, and urban design with nature at the centre. it is essential to resilience, sustainability, liveability, and justice. the nature of cities is perceived as ecosystems of people, green and blue nature, and biodiversity based on built infrastructure. social conflict is the struggle for agency or power in society. social conflict occurs when two or more people oppose each other in social interaction; each exerts social power with reciprocity to achieve incompatible goals whilst preventing the other from attaining their own. conflict theory was adopted for this article. as conflict is an inevitable aspect of development and change in urban settings, cities are inherently sites of conflict. still, as concluded in this paper, they can be generally managed through social, cultural, and political mechanisms. keynote: conflict, city, safety, war, resolution introduction in my simple analogy, the world is characterized by human activities in various social settings. human society is not devoid of problems because it is a habitable place by higher animal with higher thinking. social conflict and safety can also take place in human society. how these are seen and understood and handled are attempted to be x-rayed below. united nations (2014) stated that city; one of the world’s biggest phenomenon of the 21st century has evolved greatly over the centuries, particularly in terms of its size, form, structure and composition, while largely maintaining its importance in local and regional development. in just 65 years, the world has experienced a population shift from rural to urban, as witnessed by an increase in the global population living in urban areas from 29.6% in 1950 to 54% in 2015. cities are productive systems through which most of the 21st century challenges such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, environmental degradation, and climate change can be addressed. a study of the city as a unit of analysis is critical to overcoming future challenges and for better positioning of cities as engines of national development. different concepts are used to understand the city. the city proper according to desa (2002) is often the smallest unit of analysis and refers to the area confined within city limits. the single political jurisdiction is part of the historical city centre. 2 the urban agglomeration concept refers to “a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard to administrative boundaries”. in other words, it integrates the ‘city proper’ plus suburban areas that are part of what can be considered as city boundaries. also, an urban agglomeration sometimes combines two developed areas which may be separated by a less developed area in-between. the metropolitan area concept is much more complicated than the other two concepts. it has statistical, technical, administrative and political meanings. theoretical framework conflict theory (ralf dahrendorf perspective) conflict theory will be adopted for this work. this theory has its root to the works of max weber who rejected karl marx’s notion that the division between the owners and non-owners of property was a major issue between groups but argued that there could be numerous divisions within the two major classes based on the market situation of individual. agu (2011:26) defines conflict theory as a situation where conflict abounds because of conflict of interests which arises as a result of man’s interaction with other men in society. ralf dahrendorf was credited because he claimed that instead of the two main classes becoming polarized as predicted by karl marx the reverse is the case. the proportion of skilled and semiskilled workers has risen just like the size of ‘new middle class’ of white-collar workers such as clerk, nurses and teachers. inequalities in income and wealth had been reduced partially because of changes in the social structure and because of measure taken by the state. he argue that conflict comes from ‘authority’ and ‘quasi-groups’. those occupying dominant positions have an interest in maintaining a social structure that gives them more authority than others; while those in subordinate positions, on the other hand, have an interest in changing it. authority does not reside in individuals but in positions, thus the conflict. nature of the city or urban areas a city is a large human settlement. it can be defined as a permanent and densely settled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on nonagricultural tasks. cities are complex structures undergoing constant change. they comprise many elements and multidimensional internal and external relations connecting them (scott & storper, 2015). cities are habitat for people and urban design with nature at the center. it is essential to resilience, sustainability, livability, and justice. the nature of cities is perceived to 3 as ecosystems of people, green and blue nature, biodiversity which are based on built infrastructure. cities are centres of service provision, places of creativity development, and innovation and knowledge transfer (european commission, 2011). the nature of cities is an international platform for transdisciplinary dialogue and urban solutions. cities are ecosystems of human habitat. a growing movement in urban social-ecology holds that city building requires a green lens that urban design with, and not against, nature improves both the global environment and the lives of people. numerous amenities offered by cities (better health care, educational and employment opportunities make them a desirable direction for migrants from rural areas (gosnell & abrams, 2009), which results in the dynamic growth of cities and in the depopulation of rural areas. currently, over 55% of the world’s population lives in cities, and this percentage is projected to increase to 68% by 2050 (united nations human settlements programme, 2020). rapid urbanisation makes cities catalysts for economic development at all spatial scales (national, regional and local) (united nations human settlements programme, 2020). according to scott & storper, (2014), all cities consist of dense agglomerations of people and economic activities; even though there are strong ambiguities about where and how a lower size limit should be drawn. even so, recognizing density and agglomeration as general characteristics of cities takes us only so far in the search for an explanation of urbanization or in finding answers to the questions identified above. any attempt to build a general concept of the city is further vitiated by the fact that cities also typically contain an enormous diversity of empirical phenomena. the 1980s according to scott and storper, (2014) brought several major new arguments about cities and urbanization. the authors posited that special importance should be accorded to three main lines of investigation. first, feminist scholars such as massey and mcdowell established an analytical framework focused on the gender dimensions of cities, while other scholars revitalized long-standing interest in ethnicity, race, and class in urban contexts. both of these lines of inquiry provided insights into neighborhood development and displacement, and on the different ways in which socially-differentiated classes of people are also spatially sorted in cities. second, a rapidly growing research thrust on the rise of a global urban system and the effects of globalization on the internal structure of cities. a third major trend has revolved around the re-conceptualization of older concerns about urban politics and governance. a conflict can be defined as the incompatibility between objectives, interests or needs of 4 individuals or groups of people. based on this interpretation, conflicts are a common, if not a necessary phenomenon of any process of social change. types of urban social conflict social conflict is the struggle for agency or power in society. social conflict occurs when two or more people oppose each other in social interaction, each exerts social power with reciprocity in an effort to achieve incompatible goals whilst preventing the other from attaining their own. types of urban social conflicts include religious persecution, political upheaval, communal upheavals, labour-management conflict and war between nations. • religious persecution: religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. the tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history. religious violence in nigeria refers to christian-muslim strife in modern nigeria, which can be traced back to 1953. today, religious violence in nigeria is dominated by the boko haram insurgency, which aims to establish an islamic state in nigeria. • labour-management conflict: the term "labour-management conflict" generally refers to disputes between an employer and a group of employees, while a conflict between an employer and a single employee acting alone is usually referred to as an "employment" dispute. • communal upheaval/conflict: communal conflict is a conflict between non-state groups that are organized along a shared communal identity. this type of conflict refers to the fact that the parties want to gain control over some disputed and perceived indivisible resource, such as a piece of land or local political power. furthermore, common types of social conflicts in urban areas include disputes about financial matters like debt repayment, business related disputes, disputes within or between families, different opinion on policies or aspects of cultural or religious life. such conflicts are not necessarily negative by nature, but – lacking alternative ways of responding to disputes – violence is often being perceived as the only means to solve them. 5 city areas and urban social conflict conflict is an inevitable aspect of development and change in urban settings cities are inherently sites of conflict, but this is generally managed through social, cultural and political mechanisms. urban conflict and violence affect country and metropolitan-level economic development, and the livelihoods and well-being of poor households and communities. conflict refers to ‘situations where individuals and groups have incongruent interests that are contradictory and potentially mutually exclusive but contained’; violence is the manifestation of that conflict (moser & rodgers, 2012: 2). the future of social conflict is urban – because the future of humanity is urban. if we want to prevent future social conflict, we must prevent urban social conflict. more than half of the world’s population now lives in cities. by 2050, some 6.4 billion people will be urbanites. urban governance is integral to the management and resolution of conflict and the mitigation of violence. it involves more than just laws and regulations; it also encompasses the manner in which we live and how challenges are resolved. urban areas are prone to a high potential for social conflicts simply because there is a growing number of people with very different values and interests living very close together, being forced to a manifold variety of interactions among each other, and subject to rapid and radical changes of traditional social structures. yet, neither are the necessary government structures built up quickly enough in order to effectively prevent conflicts or to mitigate their negative effects. cities are natural targets because of their political, economic, symbolic and logistical significance, which ensures that they are vital nodes to control in relation to trade, transportation and communications. there are many concepts associated with social conflict. they are: • the public is inherent in the inevitable social inequality = constant psychological dissatisfaction among its members = tension between individuals and groups (emotional, mental illness) = social conflict. • social conflict as the tension between what the reality is and what should be in accordance with the views of particular social groups or individuals; • social conflict as a struggle for the values and claims to a certain status, power and resources, a struggle in which the objectives are to neutralize opponents, damage to or destruction of the opponent. • all conflicts have common patterns of development = a detailed study and analysis provides the opportunity to create generalizing theory or "a general theory of conflict" that would allow the public to monitor conflicts, manage, predict their consequences; https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/urban-governance/key-policy-challenges/cities-conflict-and-fragility/#moser-rodgers-2012 6 • boulding argues that the conflict cannot be separated from the public life (in human nature exists the desire to fight with their fellows); • conflict is a situation in which each side seeks to take a position incompatible and opposite to the interests of the other party; • there are 2 aspects of social conflict: static and dynamic ones. static is represented by the analysis of the parties (subjects) to a conflict (individual, organization, group) and the relations between them = classification: ethnic, religious, professional. dynamic aspect examines the interests of the parties as the driving forces in the conflict behaviour. = determination of the dynamics of the conflict = aggregation of responses of the parties to external stimuli. the notion of social capital is important in understanding urban conflict, as it is when social networks and bonds break down that conflict tips into violence. the problems associated with urbanization are: high population density, inadequate infrastructure, lack of affordable housing, flooding, pollution, slum creation, crime, congestion and poverty. this problem of high population density is caused due to the heavy rate of migration from rural areas. conceptions of urban violence have increasingly moved towards overlapping categories that can be simultaneously political, social or economic (beall, 2011). muggah (2012) identified risk factors that influence urban conflict and its potential to descend into violence: city density, poverty, inequality, youth population bulges, male youth unemployment, legacies of conflict and governance failures. gender-based violence (gbv) and violence against women and children are an often overlooked element of urban violence. however, cities can help women cope with violence by providing more tolerance, access to economic resources and institutional support than rural areas. ultimately, cities do not necessarily generate gbv, and urbanisation offers opportunities for its reduction (mcilwaine, 2013: 65). contemporary urban governance usually involves not just formal state and local government authorities, but also a variety of non-state, social, business, religious, labour union, political or hybrid organizations competing to govern territory, populations, flows or simply markets, within the city. many of these groups avoid formal political roles and associations, but play central informal roles, mediating between the state and populations. social conflict associated with these forms of informal governance, and the competitions between actors that seek to wield this informal governmental power, can take many forms: strikes, riots, ‘crime https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/urban-governance/key-policy-challenges/cities-conflict-and-fragility/#beall-et-al-2011 https://gsdrc.org/topic-guides/urban-governance/key-policy-challenges/cities-conflict-and-fragility/#mcilwaine-2013 7 wars’, protests, neighbourhood rivalries, and vigilantism – even terrorist strikes on civilian targets. conflict indicators/triggers conflict is nothing but a disagreement either between two individuals or among group members. conflict behaviour is directly caused by some triggers that provoke the will of one or both parties to action, finally disrupting an incongruent structure of expectations. the trigger can be any event fitting into one of two overlapping classes. opportunity could be indicated by some event displaying the weakness of the other party, such as its withdrawal from a local conflict with an apparently inferior party, mutiny of a garrison, or a coup d'état. threat may be perceived in an assassination plot financed by the other party, or discovery of the development of a secret weapon, or declared alliance between the other party and another adversary. the second classes of triggers are those which occur suddenly, provoking surprise, and crystallizing will and opposition. these are the crises creators. the events which were not foreseen, but which cannot be ignored and change or threaten to change the relationship between the parties. the sudden discovery by the united states that the soviet union was putting missiles and bombers in cuba in 1962, threatening to alter the balance of powers was such a trigger. so were the sudden blockade of west berlin by the soviet union in 1948, the erection of the berlin wall in 1961; and the nationalization of the suez canal by egyptian president nasser in 1956. global trends in urban social conflicts globally, over 50% of the population lives in urban areas today. by 2045, the world's urban population will increase by 1.5 times to 6 billion. city leaders must move quickly to plan for growth and provide the basic services, infrastructure, and affordable housing their expanding populations need. the global trend in urban social conflicts is a war that involves most of the principal nations of the world. this trend examines war, peace, and security on a global and historical scale to reveal the contingent decisions, random accidents, and devious schemes which continue to be at the root of violence around the world. globally, the absolute number of war deaths has been declining since 1946. and yet, social conflicts are currently on the rise, with many conflicts today waged between non-state actors such as political militias, criminal, and international terrorist groups. all conflicts are different 8 with their particular history and reasons. one can think that inequality within societies and between regions has become a key cause for social conflict, exacerbated by rapid information dissemination, as people are now more aware of inequalities. economic, social and environmental trends come together, for example, looking at resource competition and climate change (the latter intensifying the lack of resources, leading to political conflict). state fragility continues to be a key source for internal conflicts, instability and human suffering. impacts of social conflict on urban safety cities provide diverse opportunities for social mobility as they become centers of socioeconomic activities. yet, they serve as arena of violence, which can be attributed to the crisis of governance, especially in developing countries with many years of political instability and poor leadership. most political decisions are taken in urban areas, and as a result of this practice, general reactions to the quality of governance largely occur there. the syndrome of urban violence has come to limelight with the rapid increase in the rate of urbanisation worldwide. the proportion of the world’s population living in urban areas has increased from less than five percent in 1800 to 48 percent in 2002, and it is expected to reach 65 percent in 2030, while more than 90 percent of future population growth will be concentrated in cities in developing countries, and a large percentage of this population will be poor. estimates on the rate of urbanisation in nigeria showed that the proportion of the nigerian populations living in urban areas increased from 11 percent in 1952 to 31 percent in 1985 and 46 percent in 2002, respectively (ogun, 2010). it can be deduced from the abovementioned estimates that the crisis of urban violence could affect over 50 percent of the nigerian populations. as shown in a report from the world bank (2011), nigeria’s population has increased from 140 million people in 2006 to 154.7 million people in 2011 but its major problems include inadequate infrastructure, corruption and policy instability which have resulted to an increase of insecurity in developing countries like nigeria. enhancing urban safety addresses three major threats to the safety of cities: crime and violence; insecurity of tenure and forced evictions; and natural and human-made disasters. it analyses worldwide trends with respect to each of these threats, paying particular attention to their underlying causes and impacts, as well as to the good policies and best practices that have been adopted at the city, national and international levels in order to address social conflict. 9 different waves of urban violence have occurred in nigeria since the advent of colonialism by the british government. resistance to colonialism in the nigerian cities constitutes the bedrock of urban violence exemplified with different records of mass unrest and riots including the 1929 riots in aba, the 1945 general strike by the nigerian labour and the 1953 riots in kano. the trends of urban violence continued in the nigerian cities even after the 1st october 1960 celebration of the nigerian political independence from the british government. cases of urban violence were recorded in the nigerian cities in the 1960s and beyond. such cases include the riots that erupted from political party conflicts in the 1964 general election and the civil war that extended across the nigerian rural and urban areas between 6th july 1967 and 7th january 1970. historians have shown that the nigerian civil war led to the death of many people and damage to property worth billions of pound measured in term of the nigerian official currency, which was established in 1958 and used till 1973 when the nigerian pound was changed to the nigerian naira (falola & genova, 2009). accelerated social and economic changes in cities causes political instability, inequality and unemployment, resulting in alienation, dislocation and the articulation of demands that previously would have been unthinkable. crime is another major factor contributing to human insecurity in cities. food can be used as a weapon, with enemies cutting off food supplies in order to gain ground. crops can also be destroyed during fighting. ... poverty – when people have less money, they cannot afford food and they become unable to work. conclusion as stated earlier in this paper, conflict is an inevitable aspect of development and change in urban settings cities are inherently sites of conflict, but this is generally managed through social, cultural and political mechanisms. when the issues of religious persecution, political upheaval, communal upheavals, labourmanagement conflict and war between nations are harmoniously addressed, rifles will be subdued to a great extent. no conflict lacks alternative way of resolve but often times violence is perceived as the only way and resorted to. negotiation is always one of the best options to come around conflict resolution. by so doing, a good time is chosen to plan ahead. at this juncture, no blame game is necessary to avoid more explosive situation and develop an agreement. by this, the parties involved will accommodate compromise and collaborate to achieve a resolve. 10 references agu, s. o. (2011). sociology and education. trends and practices. 2nd edition owerri: barloz publisher inc. european commission, directorate general for regional policy. (2011). cities of tomorrow: challenges, visions, ways forward. european union: brussels, belgium. doi: 10.2776/41803 gosnell, h. & abrams, j. (2009). amenity migration: di verse conceptualizations of drivers, socioeconomic dimensions, and emerging challenges. geo journal, 76, 303-322. doi: 10.1007/s10708-009-9295-4 moser, c. & rodgers, d. (2012). understanding the tipping point of urban conflict: global policy report. manchester: university of manchester. scott, a.j. & storper, m. (2014). the nature of cities: the scope and limits of urban theory. international journal of urban and regional research; 39(1); 1-37 scott, a. j., & storper, m. (2015). the nature of cities: the scope and limits of urban theory. international journal of urban and regional research, 39(1), 1-15. doi: 10.1111/1468-2427.12134 united nations human settlements programme (un-habitat). (2020). world cities report 2020: the value of sustainable urbanization. doi: 10.18356/27bc31a5-en united nations, department of economic and social affairs, population division (2014). world urbanization prospects: the 2014 revision, cd-rom edition. undesa (2002). demographic yearbook, 2000. united nations publications, 2002. p. 23. isbn 92-1-051091-7. page 7 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 1 livelihood activities and food security status of households in oyo town, oyo state oke margaret adebimpe1* ogundokun esther oyebola2 odozie john3 1,2 department of economics, faculty of social and management sciences, ajayi crowther university, oyo 3department of agricultural economics and extension, faculty of agriculture, ajayi crowther university, oyo *correspondence: ma.oke@acu.edu.ng abstract previous studies in nigeria focused on food security and livelihood activities of households using uni-dimensional measures. this paper considered dietary diversity score, food consumption score and food insecurity access scale as measures of the food security status of households. this study aimed at ascertaining the effect of livelihood activities on food security of household's in atiba local government area. the study used purposive sampling technique to select 6 wards making up oyo town upon which in the second stage a random sampling of 114 households were selected. questionnaires were used to source information on food item consumed, livelihood activities and livelihood assessment. data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics and logit regression. the result showed that 62% of the respondents were male and 38% were female. 80% fall between the age range of 31-64 years, 60% were married and 61% have a household size ranging between 5 and 8 members. the findings also showed that 58.41% are food secure using household dietary diversity score, 46.90% using food consumption score, while 55.75 are less food secure using household dietary diversity score and sustainable livelihood framework condition respectively. respondents from ajayi crowther university community, atiba, oriawo and tokun village are food secure using two measures. the logit regression result confirms that food security increases as trading, private paid job, civil service, and casual job as a means of livelihood were significant while food security decreases with increase in household size at five percent for household dietary diversity score and food consumption score. the logit value (72.74) indicated relationship between the combined effect of livelihood activities and food security. food security in atiba local government was low, the respondents’ livelihood activities should be diversified to be more food secured. keywords: dietary diversity score, food consumption score, food insecurity access scale, food security status, livelihood activities introduction food, both in quantity and quality is an important factor for a healthy and productive life as well as for a nation to sustain its development (fao, 2014; oke, 2015). while the problem of food insecurity was commonly understood from the perspective of availability and supply, it has mailto:ma.oke@acu.edu.ng 2 progressed to issues of food access, sustainability, and vulnerability (smith & boutin, 2016). statistics from food and agriculture organization reported 795 million people are food insecure, with many more suffering from ‘hidden hunger’ caused by micronutrient or protein deficiencies (fao, 2015). despite the huge amount of fund directed to the agricultural sector and different schemes put in place to achieve sdg goal i and ii (food poverty and food scarcity), the problem of food insecurity is still high in nigeria. while previous studies both in nigeria and elsewhere have mainly focused on food security using secondary data set and uni-dimensional measures, this study used primary data with a focus on multi-dimensional measures of livelihood activities and food security status of households. it has been well acknowledged that households in rural areas do have multiple sources of income. but how well livelihood strategies connect with food security at the household level remains an empirical issue. rural people’s livelihood is not tied to just farm income, but to other income earning activities. they cultivate farm lands, work as wage laborer on other farms, operate small shops or work in formal institutions located in rural areas or urban areas not too distant from rural location. the hypothesis tested relates to whether households engaging in more livelihood activities are expected to have lower levels of food insecurity and whether differences exist between male and female-headed households. the objectives of the study are (1) to profile various livelihood activities across household’s food security measure and (2) to determine the effect of livelihood activities on households’ food security. literature review food security exists when all people at all times have access to safe nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life (fao, 1996; smith & boutin, 2016). livelihoods are capabilities, capitals, and economic activities employed by households in both rural and urban areas to sustain a means of living and ways to obtain food (adepoju & olawuyi, 2012). thus, the concept of sustainable livelihood framework has emerged in the development literature to look at the employability of rural households holistically and how to enhance the ability of rural households to cope and recover from the experience of shock and be able to sustain their capabilities and assets at the present and the future. a characteristic feature of the framework is the interconnectedness of livelihood activities and assets such as social, physical, natural, financial, and human capital which together enable households to pursue a sustainable livelihood. food security has been conceptualized in various ways. adjimoti & mensah (2018) conceptualized food security as function of the “quantity, quality and stability” of food. others have looked at it from the perspective of availability, accessibility, utilization and the stability. availability connotes physical presence of food in a given country/household. accessibility reflects the ability to obtain food from own stock/home production, or through market purchases, gifts or borrowing; while the utilization of food, in terms of the ability to derive full biological benefits from food, based on food safety and nutritional/socio-cultural value. different people in different places at all times have different lifestyles and ways of meeting their needs. ganiyu & omotayo (2016) explored the effects of livelihood activities on the food security using households in ogbomosho area of oyo state. the study used primary data, which was obtained with the aid of structured questionnaires from 75 household heads. descriptive statistics, food security index and logit regression model were used as estimation techniques. from the result, it was found that food security has positive relationship with total income and year of experience. 3 this study however neglect oyo surburb. connolly-boutin & smit (2016) in their study “climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-saharan africa” reviewed food security, climate change impacts, adaptation and adaptation, vulnerability, food security, and sustainable livelihoods. the paper developed a conceptualization of the relationships among the three themes and shows how food security’s vulnerabilities are related to multiple stresses and adaptive capacities, reflecting access to assets. adjimoti & mensah (2018) examined crop diversification and household food security status using rural benin household. primary data from 420 rural households were collected. the use of principal component analysis (pca) was employed to construct a multidimensional food security index and a simpson diversity index was used to measure the degree of crop diversification. a linear regression model was used to determine the effect of crop diversification on household food security status. the results showed that crop diversification has a positive effect on household food security status. from their study, diversity of crops grown through dietary diversity can improve household food security. the results also show that some other factors are also affecting the household food security status such as access to extension services and storage facilities. obayelu & oyekola (2018), also assessed food insecurity in urban slum using ibadan metropolis, southwest nigeria. primary data were collected analyzed using descriptive statistics and ordered probit model. findings showed that food insecurity was found to be prevalent among the slum residents, with about 81% being food insecure. food insecurity status was explained by educational status of household head, household size, per capita income and duration of stay in the slum. gani, olayemi, & inoni (2019) examined the effects of households’ livelihood diversification strategies on food insecurity in rural northeastern nigeria. primary data were obtained with the aid of structured questionnaire. descriptive statistics, tobit regression model, cost of calorie function and anova were used to analyse the data. the findings showed that farmers adopted five livelihood strategies of which cropping, poultry and livestock keeping (cpl) was predominant. thus, a significant relationship between households’ food insecurity and livelihood diversification strategies is established. the study of sani & kenaw (2019) also analyzed households’ food insecurity and its determinants of food insecurity and shortage in assosa zone, western ethiopia. the study used a primary data (records method), focus group discussions and key informants interview were also used. this study employed descriptive statistics, food insecurity index and tobit model for data estimation. the finding of the study revealed that that family size, age of the household head, and off-farm and non-farm income positively affected extent of households food insecurity; meanwhile access to irrigation, farm income, distance to market and access to credit negatively affected the extent of households’ food insecurity. the study lacks information on the food expenditure of the respondents to ascertain their level of food insecurity. sidique & muhammad (2019) also examined determinant of food security among households in nigeria using food consumption as a proxy for food security to measure impact of some of the determinant of household food security on rural and urban households in nigeria. ols analysis and the multinominal logit models was used as data estimation techniques. the study revealed that education has a positive influence on food security while age, household size and gender influence food security negatively. however, land acquisition was insignificant as explanatory variable in the study owoo (2020) in his study titled “demographic considerations and food security in nigeria submitted that close to 14 million people in nigeria are malnourished while demographic considerations play an important role in 4 food insecurity within nigerian households. data from three waves of the world bank’s living standard measurement survey for nigeria was used to illustrate spatial patterns of food security in the country. fixed effects regressions were also employed for data estimation which revealed that at the household level, larger households have worse food security outcomes and are more likely to report being food insecure. methodology study area description the area is atiba local government area of oyo state nigeria and selected on purpose because of the the large size of the state and the large number of existing household; limited time and for easy coverage. atiba local government of oyo state is situated in the southwestern part of nigeria and northeastern part of oyo state. it is one of the local governments created from old oyo local government in 1998. politically, it is in oyo state in southwestern part of nigeria. it shares border with oyo east and ori-ire local governments in the south-west, and orelope and olorunsogo in the north-west, in the north-east, it shares borders with atisbo and saki east while in the southeast, it shares border with oyo west and itesiwaju local government areas. it occupies total a total land area of 166,413.569 hectares with a population figure of 168,246 (npc, 2006). in order to obtain an external validity and to make the study of the problems which otherwise could not be undertaken due to the limitations of financial resources time and other academic and social demands. agriculture is the backbone of the province’s economy, and most of the rural people derive their livelihood from agriculture and other related rural economic activities. although agriculture is a common source of livelihood, the level of agricultural dependency and its importance to overall household income and food security is decreasing. this is because of challenges facing smallholder farmers such as low and erratic rainfall, low and declining soil fertility, low investment, shortages of farm powerlabour and draft animals, poor physical and institutional infrastructure. the political and economic instability in the country has exacerbated the condition making farming difficult. this has forced people to engage in non-agricultural livelihoods such as salaried jobs, migration, cross-border trading, migration, and wage labour to ensure food security. oyo town represents an interesting case for this study on account of the many local government area councils that are driving the urbanization of oyo town. these lgas are atiba, headquartered at offa-meta; oyo east, headquartered at kosobo; oyo west, headquartered at ojongbodu and afijio, headquartered at jobele. there also a number of markets, banks, institutions and private farms driving the economic and commercial activity of the town. with three local government area councils in oyo town, it is expected that interventions on increasing food security through gainful employment should be promoted. atiba lga created from old oyo local government, is a key local government area council in the area and it shares border with oyo east and ori-ire local governments in the south-west, and orelope and olorunsogo in the north-west, and in the north-east, it shares borders with atisbo and saki east while in the southeast, it shares border with oyo west and itesiwaju local government areas (npc, 2006). 5 research technique and sampling technique the research design follows a primary data survey design through household sampling and design of research questionnaires that were administered to randomly selected households. a multistage sampling technique was adopted in selecting the respondents. the first stage involve random selection of six (6) wards from atiba local government, second stage involved random selection of eight (8) compounds from each of the selected wards and lastly, from every compound, twenty (20) household heads were picked, which translated to a total number of one hundred and sixty (160) household heads. the questionnaire is divided into four sections. the first section requires the personal data of the respondents and section two contains questions on food items consumed, livelihood activities and dietary diversity. questions were framed on four-point likert item responses. the questionnaire was trial tested using thirty respondents in kosobo area of oyo east 6 local government area which is entirely outside the geographical scope of the study. this area is considered to have similar characteristics with the study area. the cronbach alpha value was estimated at 0.67. data were collected over a period of four weeks between july and august 2021 by trained enumerators who spoke the local language, yoruba. data analysis data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. frequency, percentage and mean statistics were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of respondents and the constructed food security index. measurement food security the study used various measures of food security status at the household level since the common definition of food security rests on dimensions of food availability, food access, food stabilization and food utilization (webb et al. 2006; ericksen et al. 2011). measures of food security used in this paper are household food insecurity access scale (hfias), household dietary diversity scores, (hdds), food consumption score (fcs), and sustainable livelihood scale. the household dietary diversity score (hdds) is a measure of food security that is used to proxy household food access. it is measured by the number of various food groups consumed by a household over a given reference period. the underlying motivation for this measure is that a more diversified household diet is believed to correlate with caloric and protein adequacy as well as the household income (swindale & bilinsky, 2006). in our study listed 12 food groups such as cereals, roots/tubers, vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, eggs, pulses, legumes, nuts, milk and oil/fats. we assigned a score of 1 (if consumed) or 0 (if not consumed). the household score will range from 0 to 12 and is equal to the total number of food groups consumed by the household. the food consumption score (fcs) is a proxy indicator of household caloric availability and aggregates the diversity and frequency of food groups consumed over the previous seven days by a household. it is also weighted according to the relative nutritional value of the consumed food groups. it also weights nutritionally dense foods, such as animal products higher than food groups containing less nutritionally dense foods, such as tubers. the fcs and hdds are highly correlated and can be used interchangeably as a measure of household-level diet diversity and as a validated proxy for energy sufficiency in most contexts (maxwell et al., 2013). the household food insecurity access scale measures the food insecurity (access) in the household in the past four weeks (30 days) using questions that capture households’ behavioral and psychological manifestations of insecure food access, such as having to reduce the number of meals consumed or cut back on the quality of the food due to a lack of resources. the maximum score for a household is 27 (the household response to all nine frequency of occurrence questions on a scale of 0 to 3 with 3 being the maximum score and 0 the minimum score. the higher the score, the more the food insecurity the household experienced and the lower the score, the less food insecurity a household experienced. all four indicators (hfias, hdds, fcs, and slf) were calculated for each respondent by summing the codes for each frequency-of-occurrence question. the responses were aggregated and classified into categories of less food secure (lfs) and more food secure (mfs). 7 food security status probability outcome estimation given the random sample of households characterized by a food security status outcomedependent variable 𝑦𝑖, and explanatory factors 𝑥𝑖. while we can observe 𝑦𝑖, there is an underlying non-observable or latent food security status of the household 𝑦∗ . this is defined as a linear function of observable and non-observable factors, (𝑦∗ = 𝛽𝑥𝑖 + 𝑖) from which 𝑦𝑖, the observed food security status of the household is derived. that is the food security status of a household is observed if (( 𝑦∗ > 0) 𝑜𝑟 ((𝑦∗ < 0) where 0 is defined as the threshold. in our study, we parametrized the threshold as the average of the food security calibration generated. in this binary model analytical framework, the likelihood or probability of a household food security status is modelled as a function of the independent variables. pr(𝑦 = 1) = pr (𝑥′𝛽 + > 0) = pr(− < 𝑥′𝛽) = 𝐹(𝑥′𝛽). where pr( ) indicates the probability, 𝑥, vector of explanatory variables, 𝛽, the vector of coefficients to be estimated and , the random error term. in empirical analysis various functional forms have been used. in the logistic functional form, the cumulative distribution function of the error term (f(.) ) is logistically distributed while in probit functional form, it is standard normally distributed. the functional forms allow estimated probabilities to lie between 0 and 1 and the estimation of binary models is by maximum likelihood (ml) technique. the linear probability model also used in empirical studies does not allow probability estimates to lie between 0 and 1 and thus the choice of logistic functional form. we applied the logistic functional form and used the logit syntax in stata expressed as (logit depvar [indepvars][if][in][weight][,options]) it also been argued that in non-linear models, such as the logistic model we are using in this paper, marginal effects are more informative than coefficients (cameron and trivedi, 2015). the marginal effects of explanatory variable on the probability of food security status is calculated as: 𝛿pr (𝛽𝑥𝑖) 𝛿𝑥𝑘𝑖 = 𝛿𝐹(𝛽𝑥𝑖) 𝛿𝑥𝑘𝑖 = 𝑓(�̂�𝑥𝑖)�̂�𝑘 theory and empirical evidence from past studies guided the selection of the explanatory variables included in the probit model as depicted in the table below table 1. description of the explanatory variables used in the food security status model variables nature description farming dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise trading dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise artisan dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise salary job dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise civil servant dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise retiree dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise casual labour dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise business dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise age continuous age of household head in years gender dummy 1 if male and 0 if female 8 household size countinous number of persons in a household number of boys countinous number of boys in the household no of girls countinous number of girls in the household spouse working dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise member of cooperative dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise member of social group dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise acess to micro credit dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise residing in ajayi crowther area dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise residing in ori awo area dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise residing in agunpopo area dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise residing in tokun village dummy 1 if yes and 0 if otherwise results socio-economic characteristics and food security status variation across food security measures table 2: socio-economic characteristics and food security status variation across food security measures variables food security measures hdds fcs hfias slc food security status lfs(%) mfs(%) lfs(%) mfs(%) lfs(%) mfs(%) lfs(%) mfs(%) location ajayi crowther 45.00 55.00 25.00 75.00 25.00 75.00 20.00 80.00 oriawo 66.67 33.33 83.33 16.67 38.89 61.11 38.89 61.11 agunpopo area 57.89 42.11 57.89 42.11 63.16 36.84 47.37 52.63 okeafin area 55.00 45.00 45.00 55.00 60.00 40.00 70.00 30.00 atiba scheme 38.89 61.11 50.00 50.00 66.67 33.33 83.33 16.67 tokun village 66.67 33.33 83.33 16.67 22.22 77.78 94.44 5.56 income group poorest 70.00 30.00 70.00 30.00 55.00 45.00 30.00 70.00 poor 57.69 42.31 69.23 30.77 50.00 50.00 53.85 46.15 middle 46.67 53.33 53.33 46.67 53.33 46.67 60.00 40.00 rich 45.45 54.55 45.45 54.55 72.73 27.27 59.09 40.91 richest 50.00 50.00 7.14 92.86 35.71 64.29 35.71 64.29 gender female 46.51 53.49 44.19 55.81 60.47 39.53 60.47 39.53 male 60.00 40.00 78.57 21.43 51.43 48.57 51.43 48.57 9 income sources 1 31.58 68.42 68.42 31.58 78.95 21.05 94.74 5.26 2-3 70.00 30.00 73.33 26.67 53.33 46.67 60 40 4-5 61.29 38.71 64.52 35.48 67.74 32.26 58.06 41.94 6 and above 48.48 51.52 57.58 42.42 30.3 69.7 24.24 75.76 note: lfs(less food secure), mfs(more food secure) source: data from field survey, 2021 table 2 above shows that ajayi crowther respondent were more food secure with 55.00 percent using the hdds approach, 75.00 percent using fcs and hfais respectively and 80.00 percent using slc. this is keenly followed by 61.00 percent, 50.00 percent, and 33.33 of the respondents in the atiba scheme who were more food secure using household dietary scores, food consumption score, and household food insecurity access scale respectively. the respondents from tokun village have 66.67, 83.33, 22.22, and 94.44 percent to be less food secure using hdds, fcs, hfias, and slfc respectively. this is shown in pictorial form in figures 5, 6 and 7 below. in figure 1, larger percentage of respondent in tokun village were more food secure while the majority of people in atiba were less food secure. hdds measure in figure 2 shows that respondents in ajayi crowther and atiba scheme were more food secure which implies they consume variety of food items hence their food basket is bulky. the sources of livelihood using all measures shows that those with 6 and above sources of livelihood activities were more food secure than those with one source of livelihood. this is keenly followed by those with 4-5 sources of livelihood in which 38%, 35%, 32%, 41% were more food secure using hdds, fcs, hfias, and slfc respectively. this study is in line with gani, olayemi, & inoni (2019), which examined the effects of households’ livelihood diversification strategies on food insecurity in rural north-eastern nigeria and manlosa, hanspach, schultner, dorresteijn, &fischer (2019) who in their study: livelihood strategies, capital assets, and food security in rural southwest ethiopia, established that a significant relationship between households’ food security and livelihood diversification activities exist. on households’ income index using quintiles analysis, about 70.00 percent of food-insecure households are located in the poorest quintile, approximately 50.00 percent of food secure households find themselves within the richest quintile. in the second quintile, also classified as poor, food insecurity is still high, about 57 percent. this reveals some level of relationship between households’ wealth and food insecurity, in that poorer households tend to be less food secure. in effect, those who are wealthy are more food secure. this explains why food security is very high using hdds for households within the third quintile (53.44%), fourth quintile (50.00%), and wealthiest. this is in line with the work of clement mensah (2014) who submitted that the poor tend to be food insecure and established a link between food insecurity and household wealth. table 2 above also shows that females were more food secure than their male counterparts. using hdds 53.49 percent of females were more food secure as against 40.00 percent of their male counterparts. using food consumption score 55.81 of the female were more food secure as against 21.43 percent of the male while using slfc, 48.57% of male were more food secure as against 10 39.53% of female. this disparity in food consumption is not in line with the claims articulated by assenso-okyere et al. (1997) and clement (2014) that women tend to be more vulnerable to food insecurity. however, the slfc findings justify the claims by oni & fashogbon (2018) whose study makes use of nationwide cross-sectional data of the nigerian living standard survey (nlss) and discovered that farming is the predominant livelihood activity and the female-headed households are more food secure than their male counterpart. figure 1: slfc food security measure source: field survey 2021 figure 2: hdds food security measure results logit regression result of effect of livelihood activities on households’ food security in atiba local government area of oyo state, nigeria 2 0 3 8 .8 9 4 7 .3 7 7 0 8 3 .3 3 9 4 .4 4 8 0 6 1 .1 1 5 2 .6 3 3 0 1 6 .6 7 5 .5 6 a j a y i c r o w t h e r o r i a w o a g u n p o p o a r e a o k e a f i n a r e a a t i b a s c h e m e t o k u n v i l l a g e slc food security measure lfs(%) mfs(%) 4 5 6 6 .6 7 5 7 .8 9 5 5 3 8 .8 9 6 6 .6 7 5 5 3 3 .3 3 4 2 .1 1 4 5 6 1 .1 1 3 3 .3 3 a j a y i c r o w t h e r o r i a w o a g u n p o p o a r e a o k e a f i n a r e a a t i b a s c h e m e t o k u n v i l l a g e hdds food security measure across location lfs(%) mfs(%) 11 table 2 results show that trading, private salary job, civil servant, and causal job as a means of livelihood were significant at ten percent (p<0.1), five percent (p<0.05), and one percent (p<0.1) respectively. farming and retiree were found to be insignificant across all measures, trading and artisan, on the other hand, was significant at 95% and 99% respectively using hfias and insignificant across all other measures. salary job as a means of livelihood was significant at 95% using hdds measure, a civil servant at 99 % and 99% for hdds and hfias respectively. business as a means of livelihood was significant at 95% and 99% using hdds and fcs measures age was significant at 95% using the fcs measure but not significant using hdds, hfias and slfc measures. also the marginal effect shows that an increase in age will bring about a chances of 3.1% of being food insecure with respect to hdds. also, access to bank credit and spouse jobs were found to be significant at ten percent respectively. this corroborates with previous findings that in nigeria, determinants of food security are stability of access, household economic status, household income variability, quality of household human capital, degree of producer and consumer price variability, food storage and inventory, household size, and access to social capital (amaza et al. 2007; ayantoye et al. 2011; oni et al. 2011; olayemi 1998). however, the respondents’ age, sex, membership of an association, farming experience, years spent in school, and credits used for housekeeping were not significant. the marginal effect of salary job with value 0.622 shows that with more people entering into civil services, it will lead to 62% in the probability of being food secure in terms of hdds, with one more increase in civil servant, the likelihood of being food secure increases by 22% in term of hdds, in term of fcs for casual labour, the likelihood of being food secure is lowered by 45% while the likelihood of being food secure increased by 26% and its likelihood of being food insecure increased by 21% in term of hfias the coefficient of household size (-4.414) is negatively significant at 90% and 1.587 at 95%, for hdds which implies that there is an inverse relationship between households size and the food security status of the respondents, it indicates that the higher the household size, the more the food insecure they will be, which is in line with apriori expectation. this is in line with sidique & muhammad (2019) whose study revealed that education has a positive influence on food security while age, household size, and gender influence food security negatively. however, land acquisition was insignificant as an explanatory variable in the study also, the parameter (-20.336) of spousal job is negative and significant (p<0.1) under hdds, which indicates that there is a direct relationship between the food security status and spousal job. it implies that the acquisition of a job by a spouse will increase household food security. the location however was not significant across all measures except for tokun village that is significant at 90% using fcs. the respondents from tokun village were food secure using fcs measure and their likelihood of being food secure was 15.99% while living in this location increases the chance of being food secure by 85% with respect to marginal effect. the lr chisquare value of 72.74 under hdds indicates that it is highly significant and the relationship existing between the combined effect of farming, trading, artisan, salary job, civil servant, retiree, casual job, and business and food security status of the respondents. the coefficient of determination shows that 74% of the variation in food security is explained by the control variable. the lr chi-square value of 51.71 under fcs suggests that it is significant and the relationship existing between the combined effect of farming, trading, artisan, salary job, civil servant, retiree, casual job, and business and food security status of the respondents. the coefficient of determination shows that 58% of the variation in food security is explained by the control variable. using hfias as an approach, the lr chi-square value of 53.98 under hfias indicates that it is 12 significant and the relationship existing between the combined effect of farming, trading, artisan, salary job, civil servant, retiree, casual job, and business and food security status of the respondents. the coefficient of determination shows that 69% of the variation in food security is explained by the control variable. using slfc shows that the means of livelihoods were not significant. these findings affirm the submission of gani, olayemi, & inoni (2019) in which a significant relationship between households’ food security and livelihood diversification strategies is established. similarly, manlosa, hanspach, schultner, dorresteijn, &fischer (2019) in their studies on livelihood strategies, capital assets, and food security in rural southwest ethiopia confirmed that livelihood strategies were significantly associated with food security outcome. table 2: regression estimates variables hdds fcs fi slfc coeff margi nal effect coeff margi nal effect coeff margi nal effect coeff margi nal effect farming -3.474 -0.186 0.941 07659 78 -0.667 0.064 3.720 0.201 trading 3.346 0.179 -1.799 -0.147 2.997** 0.290 9.606 0.263 artisan 2.016 0.108 -0.278 -0.023 1.267* 0.122 3.081 -0.520 salary job 11.622 ** 0.622 -0.272 -0.022 -0.327 0.032 8.540 0.167 civil servant 4.215* 0.226 0.688 0.056 1.916** 0.185 1.545 -0.462 retiree -2.068 -0.111 -0.560 -0.046 0.752 0.073 14.69 4 0.084 casual labour 23.609 * -1.264 5.531* * -0.450 2.024 0.196 20.39 4 0.795 business 4.837 0.259 3.266* * 0.266 2.230** 0.215 22.43 6 -1.103 age -0.585 -0.031 0.187* * -0.015 -0.016 0.002 0.686 1.214 gender 15.575 * -0.834 7.047* ** -0.574 6.403 0.619 22.58 9 -0.037 household size 4.414* 0.236 1.587* * 0.129 -0.561 0.054 21.30 5 -1.222 13 number of boys -3.241 -0.174 3.186* * -0.259 3.361** * 0.325 37.42 0 1.153 no of girls -0.186 -0.010 0.010 0.001 -0.590 -0.338 2.196 -2.024 spouse working 20.336 * -1.090 -0.301 -0.025 -2.906 -0.281 15.32 8 -0.119 member of cooperative 4.637 0.248 0.247 0.020 2.096 0.203 1.165 -0.829 member of social group 13.146 0.704 2.169 0.177 1.629 0.157 49.71 7 0.063 acess to micro credit 9.632 0.516 1.487 0.121 -2.304 -0.223 0.240 -2.690 ajayi crowther area -4.399 -0.236 -2.969 -0.242 -1.171 -0.113 4.984 0.013 ori awo area -4.256 -0.228 0.983 0.080 1.152 0.111 1.302 -0.270 agunpopo area -2.639 -0.141 3.117 0.254 -0.796 -0.077 3.564 -0.070 tokun village 15.993 0.857 8.609* 0.701 -3.528 0.341 0 0.193 constant 10.092 9.487 17.202* ** 17.64 0 r2 0.749 0.583 0.695 0.697 lchi2 72.740 51.710 53.980 46.63 0 sig at 10% ** sig at 5% *** at 1% source: field survey 2021 conclusion based on the findings, it was concluded that majority of the households in atiba local government of oyo state were food insecure. multiple source of livelihood has a direct relationship on food security status. location, household size, income and educational qualification significantly influence food security line. however, household size of the respondents has an inverse relationship on food security status. it should therefore be checked to keep the households on the food security line. recommendations as the country strives to feed a growing population in the face of declining natural resources and ongoing food security crises, commitment by all to a sustainable food future is more important 14 than ever, hence the study on the basis of the findings of this research work recommends the following; households should acquire better education that will help them with their various livelihood activities. there should be increased investment in rural infrastructure to improve access to market, knowledge, particularly among low income earners. the households’ heads should be encouraged to involve in more income diversified activities in order to improve their livelihood. the government should focus on food security and sustainable food systems research and development, promoting consumer habit. references adepoju, a. a., & olawuyi, s.o. 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(2016). climate change, food security, and livelihoods in sub-saharan africa reg environ change 16:385–399 doi 10.1007/s10113-015-0761x swindale, a., & bilinsky, p. (2006). development of a universally applicable household food insecurity measurement tool: process, current status, and outstanding issues. the journal of nutrition, 136(5), 1449s-1452s. webb, p., coates, j., frongillo, e. a., rogers, b. l., swindale, a., & bilinsky, p. (2006). measuring household food insecurity: why it's so important and yet so difficult to do. the journal of nutrition, 136(5), 1404s-1408s. http://www.iiste.org/ page 6 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 381 homesickness and friend-sickness as predictors of loneliness among year one students of enugu state university of science and technology anike, raphael u. marire-nwankwo, valentina c. department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology, enugu anikeugwu@yahoo.com abstract this study explored the roles of homesickness and friend-sickness in determining loneliness among undergraduate students. two hundred and forty-four (244) participants comprising 140 female s and 104 males were part of the study. the participants’ age ranged from 18 to 26 years with a mean age of 21.52 years and a standard deviation of 2.01 years. all the participants lived with their parents before they gained admission. the participants were selected among the population of year one students living in the hostels of enugu state university of science and technology, agbani – enugu state using convenience sampling technique. loneliness questionnaire, homesickness questionnaire and friendsickness questionnaire developed by agu (2013) with a reliability coefficient of .54, .52 and .80 were obtained respectively. cross sectional research design was adopted while pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistics result yielded revealed a significant positive relationship 𝓇 = .88, 𝑃 < .01, between homesickness and loneliness; a significant positive relationship 𝓇 = .89, 𝑃 < .01, between friendsickness and loneliness among year one students of esut. this study has revealed other significant variables in the development of loneliness among adolescents. the result will also educate stakeholders in the education sector to further explore the effect loneliness could have on the overall academic performance of undergraduates. keywords: loneliness, aloneness, depression, anxiety, homesickness introduction loneliness, defined as “a distressing discrepancy between desired and actual levels of social contact,” (rubin, 2017p.1853) affects people of all ages. recent research has recognized loneliness as a public health hazard because of its association with a wide range of conditions, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, alzheimer disease, depression, and insomnia (ong, uchino, wethington, 2016). securing admission and entering the university is one of the most exciting changes that any young adult will go through. students are asked to leave their family, friends and home to join a new community with different rules, expectations and opportunities. transition from high school to higher education is an important period in student’s social as well as academic lives from the adjustment point of view (oswald & clark, 2003). for some students, this transition is fun and exciting, but for others, it might be scary and often the emotional baggage of friendsickness and homesickness makes the first year of the university harder to get through. students may have some opportunity they value for growth and change and are faced with various problems including social, personal and academic adjustments. universities offer a new environment for students to try new identities and social ties, form new activities, interests and social relationship. on the other hand, the process of adjustment to a new environment is considered on important mailto:anikeugwu@yahoo.com ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 382 psycho-social process that may affect in different ways the performance and functioning of an individual. (ceyhan, 2006; dyson & renk, 2006; jackson, pratt, hunsberger & pancer, 2005; pancer, pratt, hunsberger & alisat, 2004). paul and brier (2001) defined friendsickness as the pressing relational challenge for new a student that is induced by moving away from an established network of friends. it is also the preoccupation with and concern for the loss of pre-college friendships. they miss the comfort of peers who ‘get’ them without having to struggle to gain acceptance. the impacts of peer relationships are the key to interpersonal adjustment not just in childhood but later in life (youniss, 1980). the environment in which a child is put in can change or mold his personality. according to harris (1998), this environment is not the environment parents create for their children in the boundaries of their homes but rather the outside environment that the child shares with his peer. friendship, is therefore, not only seen as an intimate and twisting relationship with someone, it is now viewed as a relationship that has a major influence on the personal and social development of a person. also, friendships are now regarded as a part of a person’s life that can mold their personality. without friends, one would never be directly exposed to the many key aspects of growing up in a normal and healthy manner. most children and adolescents have someone they consider as their best friend. they are most likely the friends who have the most impact on this individuals’ link to the outside world. this is the friend whom the child is closest with throughout their pre-adolescent and perhaps adolescent years. because of the presence of this peer, the child has an easier time during adolescence (which can be a difficult time for many young people) (youniss, 1980). since a best friend is so important, why were not more people concerned with the transition of adolescents’ best friendships from secondary school to the university? in their research, paul and brier (2001) discovered that friendsickness tended to increase as pre-college concerns increase and also when one had more pre-college friends in their college social network. they concluded that relationships that were formed as a child will never be the same again once friends leave for college. oswald and clark (2003) found out that if the student maintains his/her best friendships throughout the course of his/her first year of college, he/she is less likely to suffer social loneliness and more likely to adjust to life in a new environment. in the present study, the researcher tries to determined how friendsickness and homesickeness predicts loneliness among first year students. homesickness is fairly common among college students, but it is also fairly short lived (brewin, furnham & howes, 1989). homesickness, simply put, is a pining for one’s family or friends when not with them. these feelings of loss are a natural reaction to the absence of our family, friends, and familiar surroundings (archer, ireland, amos, broad, & currid, 1998). however, this does not make it an easy process to go through. students who suffer from homesickness usually have physical symptoms, greater depression and anxiety, and difficulty with memory and concentration (van tilburg, vingerhoets, van heck, & kirschbaum, 1999). increased social anxiety and less social support are also predictive of greater levels of homesickness (urani, miller, johnson, & petzel, 2003). these symptoms can be more or less problematic based on the severity of the homesickness, but even for mild cases these symptoms are not things that can be ignored or dismissed. social problems behaviour problems, coping deficits, academic difficulties, low self-esteem obsessive thoughts and behaviours etc, are some of the effects of homesickness (rice, 2009). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 383 homesickness is also most prominent in younger students who are adjusting to college for the first time (poyrazli & lopez, 2007). these symptoms can dramatically interfere with students’ adjustment to the new environment and can have negative social and academic consequences. the transition of living at home and living away from home represents a significant transition for first year students. although some new students have previous experience with travel or other trips away from home without the parents, most of them face the challenges of independently managing their lives, establishing new friends and adjusting to new schedules and succeeding in various academic and artistic pursuits. the university environment also stirs nearly every student’s innate desire to belong and to feel socially accepted, when this need is not easily met, intense homesickness can occur (thurber & walton, 2007). homesickness is a normative response to separation from a familiar environment. given that all people seek happiness and all people desire to be happy, the feelings of loneliness as registered among adolescents, young adults is really a major problem to the society (marcoen, gossens & caes, 1987; sippola & bukowski, 1999). although there is a general core to loneliness – the evolution of discrepancy between the desired and achieved network of relationships as a negative experience – the forms of loneliness and their antecedents vary enormously according to personal and contextual determinants. loneliness is the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of friends/social relationships is deficient in some important way either qualitatively or quantitatively (periman & peplau, 1981). loneliness is a subjective and negative experience, the outcome of a cognitive evaluation of the match between quantity and quality of existing relationship and relationship standard. de jong gierveld (1987) suggests that loneliness is a discrepancy between the social and interpersonal relationship a student has and the relationship the students wants. it is not about the number of relationships because each person’s needs are different. rather, students feel lonely when their interpersonal needs are not met. several types of loneliness can be distinguished. zimmerman (1986) differentiated between a positive and negative type of loneliness. the positive type of loneliness is related to situations such as the voluntary withdrawal of goals like meditating, reflection, etc. the negative type of loneliness is related to the unpleasant and inadmissible lack of personal relationship and contacts with important others. the present study is interested in the negative type of loneliness. weiss (1973), also identified two types of loneliness; emotional and social loneliness. emotional loneliness often occurs after the loss of an intimate relationship such as that of a parent and child (netto & barros, 2003) or that of a partner or best friend. it seems this type of loneliness will manifest itself as homesickness or friendsickness when students got to college. social loneliness is often experienced by college age students and is related to the absence of a wider network of friends with common interests. this type of loneliness can also manifest as friendsickness. some students find it difficult to make friends when adjusting to college life. they go through a period of when they feel detached from the social network of peers (nettos & barros, 2003). when students make the transition to college, they lack a friend or companion to share their day to day life with. this lack of intimate relationship/friendship can lead to emotional and social loneliness (roux & conner, 2001). students who have higher levels of loneliness in transition to university may also experience loss or lack of social relationships, social network and social ties that may affect ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 384 directly or indirectly the levels of adjustment of the student, previous studies indicate that loneliness and adjustment correlate with different measures of personal relationships uncertainty reduction theory discusses the processes through which individuals go to reduce uncertainty about one another when placed in an unknown or unfamiliar environment (berger & calabrese, 1975). homesickness and friendsickness directly relates to this theory in the processes in which individuals face homesickness and friendsickness when placed in an unfamiliar place and how this affects their uncertainty reduction. particular situations where uncertainty reduction theory, homesickness and friendsickness can be viewed in atmospheres where the individual is relocated to a new environment with new peers for an abbreviated amount of time or permanently (e.g. summer camps, boarding schools, military, and college campuses). social penetration theory (altman, & taylor, 1973) discusses self-disclosure and the processes in which individuals disclose personal information about themselves. this is important to homesickness in the aspect that individuals will be more likely to self-disclose when they are in an environment that they are familiar or comfortable with, such as “home”. on the other hand, existentialist theory (satre, 1989) sees loneliness as the essence of being human. each human being comes into the world alone, travels through life as a separate person and ultimately dies alone. coping and accepting this and learning how to direct our lives with some degree of grace and satisfaction is the human condition. some philosophers such as satre believe in epistemic loneliness in which loneliness is a part of the human condition and because of the paradox between the desire of man’s consciousness to have meaning in life conflicting with the isolation and nothing of the universe. most theorists argue that feeling lonely results from deficiencies in a person’s social relationship either qualitatively or quantitatively (peplau & perlman, 1982). rezaee, iravani,kataki, eskardari and dadashi (2013) presents an empirical investigation on the effects of timidity and loneliness among female students who attend in one of islamic azad university, shehreza unit. the proposal study selects 60 students out of 400 female studetns who were living in the university dormitory. the survey uses pearson correlation ratio between timidity and loneliness and this survey indicates that the pearson correlation ratio is expected to r = 0.11 with p.value = 0.33. therefore, they concluded that there is no meaningful relationship between timidity and loneliness when the level of significance is 5%. in another study; fontaine, yang, burks, dodge, price, pettite and bate (2009) examined the mediating role of loneliness (assessed by self report at time2, grade 6) in the relation between early social preference (assessed by peer report at time 1; kindergarten through grade 3) and adolescent anxious/depressed symptoms (assessed by mother, teacher, and self report at time 3; grades 7-9). five hundred and eighty five (585) boys and girls (48% female; 16% african american) from three geographical sites of the child development project were followed from kindergarten through grade 9. loneliness partially mediated and uniquely incremented the significant effect of low social preference in childhood on anxious/depressed symptoms in adolescence, controlling for early anxious/depressed symptoms at time 1. findings are critical to understanding the psychological function through which early social experiences affect youths’ maladjusted development directions for basic and intervention research are discussed and implications for treatment are addressed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/self-disclosure ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 385 in addition stednitz and epkins (2006) examined in 102 mother-daughter dyads whether (a) girls’ social skills and loneliness are related to girl’s social anxiety, after adjusting for girls’ depressive symptoms, and (b) mothers’ social functioning (social anxiety social skills and loneliness) is related to girls’ social anxiety, after accounting for girls social functioning (social skills and loneliness) and mothers’ and girls’ depressive symptoms. after accounting for girls’ depression, girls’ loneliness (social skills) was related to girls’ self reported social anxiety and girls’ social skills (and not loneliness) was related to mothers’ reports of girls’ social anxiety. mothers’ social functioning accounted for significant variance in girls social anxiety, beyond that accounted for by girls’ social functioning and mothers’ and girls’ depression. mothers’ loneliness and fear of negative evaluation showed significant relations to girls’ social anxiety when variance attributable to other variables was partial out whereas mother’s social skills and social avoidance and distress did not. bekhet, zauszniewski and nakhla, (2008) explicate the concept of loneliness through the examination of its conceptual definition and uses, defining attributes, related concepts and empirical references. they carried out their review using hand search and database as sources of information. according to them, because loneliness is commonly encountered in nursing situations, the information provided serve as framework for assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation of clients. statement of the problem although psychologists have been concerned with loneliness since the 1950s, it has recently become the focus of substantial research. despite its pervasiveness in society, the experience of loneliness for college/university students especially new intake has generated little conceptual discussion and empirical substantiation. therefore, to add to the body of knowledge and empirical basket of this construct, present study deem it necessary to study the influence some variable such as friend-sickness and homesickness will have on loneliness among year one students of enugu state university of science and technology. the aims of this study are to examine whether homesickness and friend-sickness will predict loneliness among year one university students of esut. hypotheses homesickness will significantly predict loneliness among year one university students of esut. friendsickness will significantly predict loneliness among year one university students of esut. method participants a total of 244 participants comprising 140 female s and 104 males were used. the participants were within the age range of 18 – 26 years with a mean age of 21.52 years and a standard deviation of 2.01 years. all the participants lived with their parents before they gained admission. the participants were selected among the population of year one students living in the hostel of enugu state university of science and technology, agbani – enugu state using available sampling technique. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 386 instrument three sets of instruments were used for the study: loneliness questionnaire, homesickness questionnaire and firendsickness questionnaire loneliness questionnaire this is a 20 item questionnaire designed by agu (2013) to measure the unpleasant experience that occurs when a person’s network of friends/social relationships is deficient in some important ways either qualitatively or quantitatively. the items of the questionnaire has both reverse and direct scores. the reverse scores are items 2,3,4,7,8,11,12,13,14,15,17,18 while the direct scores are 1,5,6,9,10,16,19 and 20. the questionnaire has a four response option of never (1 point), rarely (2 points), sometimes (3 points) and always (4 points). a highest possible score of 80 and a least possible score of 20 can be obtained by any given respondent. thus, high score indicate a low experience of loneliness while a low score indicate high experience of loneliness. the mean score obtained by the participants is 50. therefore, scores above 50 indicates low experience of loneliness while scores below 50 indicate high experience of loneliness. face/content validity was ascertained by exposing the items of the questionnaire to 5 psychology lecturers who served as expert judges. thus, items accepted by 50% of the lecturers were accepted. hence, the initial 27 items were reduced to 20 items. agu (2013) established a cronbach alpha coefficient of .54 in a pilot study using 100 participants (50 males and 50 females) between 20-25 years from the population of student living in the university of nigeria, enugu campus. homesickness questionnaire: it is a 20-item questionnaire with a liker type response format of not all, weak, moderate, strong and very strong designed by agu (2013) to measure the degree of functional impairment caused by an actual separation from home and attachment objects, such as parents. the items of the questionnaire were worded positively with not at all 1 point and very strong -5points. thus a least possible score of 20 and a highest possible score of 100 could be obtained by any respondent. hence, score 20-60 indicate no homesickness and score between 61-100 indicate homesickness. the researcher obtained face/content validity by exposing the items of the questionnaire to 5 psychology lecturers and items accepted by 50% of them were accepted. hence, the initial 24 items were reduced to 20 items. to obtain the reliability, a pilot study was carried out agu (2013) established a cronbach alpha coefficient of .52 using 100 participants (50 males and 50 females) between 20-25 years from the population of students living in the hostel, university of nigeria, enugu campus. friendsickness questionnaire: this is a 10 item questionnaire with liket type response format of not at all like me 1 point, somewhat unlike me 2 points, somewhat like me 3 points and very much like me 4 points designed by agu (2013) to measure the degree of languished experienced by new university students that is induced by moving away from an established network of friends. all the items are direct scores and are worded positively with not at all like me at i point and very much like me4 points. hence, a least possible score of 10 and a highest possible score of 40 could be ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 387 obtained by any given participant. thus, scores between 10-25 indicates no friend sickness while score between 26-40 indicates friend sickness. the items of the questionnaire were validated on a facial/content base by exposing the items to 5 lecturers who served as expert judges. therefore, items accepted by 50% of the judges were accepted. thus, the initial 16 items were reduced to 10 items. agu (2013) established a cronbach alpha coefficient of .80 in a pilot study using 100 participants (50 males and 50 females) between 20-25 years from the population of students living in the hostel, university of nigeria enugu campus. procedure the researchers, selected 275 first year student; living in the hostel of enugu state university of science of technology using simple random sampling. the researcher went to the girl’s hostel while the male classmate took the boy’s hostel. individual testing was used because the participants filled out their questionnaires individually on their own. this exercise lasted for 2 months. out of the 275 copies of questionnaires gathered, only 244 that were correctly filled and returned were used for data analysis, thereby discarding 31 copies of the copies of the questionnaires. design/statistics a survey research design was adopted because the researcher shared questionnaires without manipulating any variable. hence, pearson product moment correlation coefficient statistics was used to analyze the data to test the hypotheses. results table 1: descriptive statistics and inter correlations among variable, (independent variables: friendsickness and homesickness and dependent variable: loneliness) variables mean std. dev. 1 2 3 loneliness 58.25 9.10 1 .80 .84 friendsickness 26.11 5.23 .80 1 .81 homesickness 57.27 11.90 .84 .81 1 correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2tailed). the correlation table revealed that the predictor friendsickness has a significant correlation with loneliness (r=.80, p<.01). also the 2nd predictor variable homesickness has a significant correlation with loneliness (r=.84, p<.01). both predictor variables: friendsickness and homesickness have a significant positive correlation with loneliness. moreover, the mean and standard deviation of the two predictor variables (friendsickness and homesickness) are as follows: (x = 26.11, sd = 5.23 and x = 57.27, sd = 11.90) respectively. homesickness and friendsickness have a significant positive correlation (r=.807, p<.01). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 388 table 2: model summary table of friendsickness, homesickness and loneliness. model r r squared adjusted r square std error of the estimate change statistics r squared change f change df1 df2 sigt change .86 .74 .74 5.10 .74 346.07 2 241 .000 a. predictor (constant), homesickness, friendsickness. the result of the regression analysis presence in table 2 shows that the predictor variable accounted for 74.5% (r2 change) variance on loneliness which is significant (f. change (2,241) = 346.073, p<.001) table 3: regression coefficient table of friendsickness and homesickness as predictors of loneliness. under standardized coefficients standardized coefficients model b std. error beta t sig constant 14.18 1.72 8.24 .000 friendsickness .66 .02 .345 6.21 .000 homesickness .47 .05 .559 10.08 .000 a. dependent variable loneliness. table three above (coefficient table) reveals that the regression equation friendsickness showed significant predictor to loneliness (b=.345, p<.001), thus the alternate hypothesis is accepted. also homesickness showed significant predictor of loneliness (b=.559,p<.001), therefore, the alternate hypothesis is accepted. discussion obviously the two hypotheses tested in the study yielded significant outcome. the first hypothesis tested which stated that” homesickness will significantly predict loneliness among year on students of esut” was accepted. in other words, homesickness as a variable significantly correlated with loneliness among year university students of esut. this is based on the fact that the alternate hypothesis tested was accepted. the outcome of the study shows that students who manifest high degree of homesickness experience higher degree of loneliness compared to those with low homesickness. the study revealed that most of the students who manifested loneliness in school are suffering from homesickness. this may not be surprising because a child who is so attached to the parents will find it difficult leaving out of them for any reason including students. this may also be attributed to why most people find it difficult to study abroad or study in a state that is very far from their own. in addition to that, some students do not travel every week to see their parents just to cushion or reduce the degree of loneliness in them. on the other hand, a student whose home is not enjoyable may be very happy leaving the home for another destination. for ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 389 instance, most children which see their being at home as imprisonment will be very happy leaving their home and may not complain of loneliness as a result of leaving home. the outcome of this study is in consonance with the finding of earlier studies. wilcox, munn and fyrie-gauld (2005) correlated friendsickness, homesickness and loneliness among college freshers. in addition, fisher, murray and frazer (1985) reported that distance of relocation and features of new environment combined to evoke the feeling of homesickness and loneliness. other studies that support the present study include; stroebe, van vilet, hewstones and willis (2002); barker, (1998). also, the second hypothesis tested which stated that “friendsickness will significantly predict loneliness among first year students of esut” was accepted. in other words, friendsickenss as a factor significantly correlated with loneliness among first year students of esut. this is based on the fact that the alternate hypothesis tested was accepted. from the data analysis, year one students who manifest high degree of friendsickness show higher degree of loneliness compared to those with low/no friendsickness. the reason for this may be attributed to the fact that those students who manifest higher degree of friendsickness find it difficult to adjust to the new environment, they find it difficult making new friends thereby exposing themselves to loneliness. on the other hand, those who manifest low/no friendsickness adapt easily to the new environment which eventually help them make new friends. thus, the presence of these new friends cushion the experience of loneliness. those with high degree of friendsickness may always live in the memories of their old-peer mates which makes them feel depressed especially when remembered that it will no longer be as usual. a year one student who gets to the university, makes new friends as quick as possible may not really complain of loneliness because the new friends are always there to chat and play with. unlike one who finds it difficult making new friends. however, the outcome of this study is in line with the findings of earlier researcher shams (2001) reported that missing home and friends at home subject college students to feelings of loneliness. other studies that report same include cutrona (2002) who said that loneliness normally results from lack of social motivation from friends. derlega and margulis (2002) shaver, furnam and buhermester (2005); paul and brier (2001) share similar observation in their studies. therefore, friendsickness irrespective of culture has a strong influence on loneliness among new college/university students across the globe. both variables (friendsickness and homesickness) have positive preditors to loneliness. this implies that as friendsickness and homesickness are increasing, loneliness is also increasing. implications of the finding this study has obvious implication. first, the study will serve as an empirical study for further researcher who will carry out similar study. in addition, the study is an eye opener to understanding that factors such as friendsickenss and homesickness are strong correlates of loneliness among year one university students of esut. from the outcome of this study, the researcher may predict that the outcome of this study will guide stakeholders in the education system on ways to control loneliness among students. this is very important because a student with a high degree of loneliness will not do well academically owing to the fact that he/she will always feel insecure. this study has also paved way for stakeholders in the education sector to further explore the effect loneliness could have on the overall academic performance of the ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 390 study. finally, the study will help the students to know when they are experiencing homesickness and friendsickness with a view to controlling them. limitations of the study no doubt, the present study has obvious limitations: first, only 244 students were used out of myriads of year one students living in the hostel. another constrain in this study was the difficulty the researcher encountered in getting the attention of the students in responding to the questionnaires. hence, the researcher used rapport and assured the participants of confidentiality which enhanced data collection. suggestions for further study based on the outcome of this study, the researcher hereby suggest that future researchers should carryout similar study in other universities and even in secondary schools to determine the cross validity of the present study. they should also increase their sample size. the researcher also urges future researchers to check the influence of homesickness and friendsickness on academic performance. there is also the need to check the relationship between loneliness and academic performance. summary and conclusion homesickness was found to correlate 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(1986). uber die einsumkeit (about loneliness) frank-fuit troppiu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/international_standard_book_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special:booksources/978-0073534282 page 1 322 the effects of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity: a case study of enugu state ministry of finance, state secretariat, enugu ugwu, c.u. department of international relations and personnel management, caritas university, amorji nike, enugu abstract this study sets out to investigate the effects of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity at the enugu state ministry of finance, located at the state secretariat, enugu. the survey research design was adopted for the study. the population of the study comprise the entire eighty (80) staff of the ministry. the taro yameni’s formula was used to draw a sample size of sixty seven (67) which included the senior, intermediate and junior staff of the ministry. the instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. the validity of the instrument was ensured through the supervisor’s corrections which were effected by the researcher as directed. the reliability of the instrument was tested through the test-retest method and the result was consistent each time. a total of sixty-seven (67) questionnaire were printed and personally distributed to the respondents by the researcher, out of which sixty (60) were correctly completed and returned, hence, this number (60) became our new sample size. the data generated through the questionnaire were analyzed in percentages. the formulated hypotheses were tested with the chi-square (x2) statistical formula at 0.05 level of significance. some of the major findings include that equal employment opportunity increases organizational productivity, boosts employee morale and above all, improves organizational harmony and tranquility. sequel to the findings, it was recommended that enugu state ministry of finance and indeed other public and private organizations should enshrine equal employment opportunity in their employment policy and ensure its implementation to the letter. keywords: employment, productivity, retirement, unemployment, introduction background of the study equal employment opportunity presupposes that everybody irrespective of gender, race, religions, denomination or even disability should be given equal treatment with respect to employment and terms and conditions of employment. unequal or unfair discrimination in workplaces has generated a lot of controversy as the discriminated group usually agitated against their unfair treatment or resorted that despite the existence of equal employment opportunity, law in the constitution, many employers still discriminate against applicants on the basis of sex, religion, race or disability. erik et al., (2006), in their study on whether women are discriminate against through sticky floor or glass ceiling, found that women suffer a lot from sticky floor and glass discrimination. glass ceiling is an unfair practice of not allowing a woman to rise to the apex of their career in workplaces. the study also revealed that women with little children face the largest gender discrimination in the employment career. this is just one of the many evidences that testify to the fact that the females are more discriminated against than their male counterparts. in nigeria 323 also similar evidences abound for instance, yusuf (1998) pointed out that contrary to their male counterparts, women face a number of discriminations of such as not being wanted for a particular position, denial of promotion and half payment of leave allowance. during recruitment, women encounter discrimination arising from the erroneous belief that they cannot handle certain jobs as men. women are believed to be prone to lateness and frequent permissions as a result of issues arising from their child bearing and rearing responsibilities. women face a lot of discrimination terms of delayed promotion, glass ceiling policies, denials of certain allowances and fringe benefits such as housing, tax, health, and education allowances including payment of half leave bonus in the past. in nigeria, women in the civil service were paid half leave allowance while their male counterparts received full. in several instances, they were denied tax allowances for children and dependent relatives, thereby making them to pay higher taxes than their male counterparts on the belief that their husbands must have received such allowances even though some of their husbands might have died or might not even be in paid employment. this is a clear indication that unfair employment discriminations can occur in diverse forms. abbas, hameed and waheed (2011), revealed that unequal employment discrimination may exist in various dimensions which include hiring discrimination, differences in salary and wages, discriminations in promotion and inequity related to differences in fringe benefits provided to different gender. thus, gender discrimination as pointed that by equal employment opportunity commission (2004) has been on the increase over the years as the number of law suits and the monetary awards to the plaintiffs of these suits have not declined. although, not all forms of workplace discrimination generates much attention, the fact remains that there is no equal employment opportunities in work organizations. brief history of the organization enugu state ministry of finance dates back to the colonial era and metamorphosized from the eastern nigeria region ministry of finance, through east central state ministry of finance down to old anambra state ministry of finance and finally to present status of enugu state ministry of finance. equal employment opportunities occur because of personal values, perceptions and outdated, traditional views about men and women. attitudes toward equal employment opportunity can normally be traced back to the roots of certain segments of society. much of the inequality is attributed to stories such as a woman being made from man’s rib and societal practices such as dowries paid to fathers by prospective husbands to purchase their daughters to be wives. countless literary references are made to females being the fairer, weaker sex and males being the strong, invincible hunters of the world. the combined power of these societal and religious beliefs left little room for equitable thinking for centuries (damewood, 2013). okome (2005), posits that equal employment opportunity dates back to the era of precolonial rule. the origins of structures of inequality that lead to discrimination against women are therefore found in pre-colonial societies with predominantly male-dominant social systems. however, they were institutionalized as a new legal structure – “native law and customs” – during colonial rule. customs such as child marriage, betrothal and widowhood rites have their origins in the pre-colonial era, as did genital operations (okome, 2005). these customs arose within a given social context that may never be understood today because of the ideological 324 shift that occurred with colonization and the passage of time. the imposition of colonialism involved the construction of a system where women had less opportunity to participate in administration (okome, 2005). in addition, an economic system was instituted where men had more opportunities than women for meaningful participation, a legal system was introduced wherein women lost some of the benefits open to them in pre-colonial societies, and a religious system was imposed which deprived women of their pre-colonial power and authority. more males than females had access to the educational system, and the dominant form of islam in the north was protected despite its discrimination against women. these elements of institutionalized male dominance were in no small measure due to victorians’ ideology, in which women were generally restricted from full participation in the public sphere. equal employment opportunity and violence against women are global phenomena as old as human history. women’s rights are the freedom and entitlement of women of human rights without discrimination or violation. women’s rights are rights inherent in nature and guaranteed by law. therefore equal employment opportunity and violence against women are contrary to fundamental human rights, equity, natural justice and good governance (anaeme, 2012). kelan (2009), in a study on gender biasness wrote extensively on the fact that women over the years have improved in several ways to meet up with the men, however the gender gap remains. she explained that gender-quake is disturbing gender terms and relations dramatically. it looks like western well developed countries are well aware of this issue but don’t like to address gender biasness and inequality among male and female employee. according to kelan (2009) twenty five years ago women were still second class citizens in the workplace; they had very few rights and could be sacked from their job simply because of the demands of pregnancy. women were seen as mothers and housewives, but not business professionals. however, women of today are standing up and being counted. they work in the army, on oilrigs, and have rebuilt damaged satellites in space. being a woman no longer excludes you from doing any job carried out by a male. young women enjoy having their own income and are choosing to fulfill their career ambitions instead of or before they consider having a family. mullins (2012) pointed out that in some developing countries, girl children are seen as the household servants, this is because when a boy is born in most developing countries, friends and relatives exclaim congratulations. a son means insurance, he will inherit his father’s property and get a job to help support the family. when a girl is born, the reaction is very different. some women weep when they find out their baby is a girl because to them, a daughter is just another expense. her place is in the home, not in the world of men. in some parts of india, it’s traditional to greet a family with a new-born girl by saying; “the servant of your household has been born”. he went further to say however that women who have had some schooling are more likely to get married later, survive childbirth, have fewer and healthier children, and make sure their own children complete school. they also understand hygiene and nutrition better and are more likely to prevent disease by visiting health care facilities. without downplaying the importance of the steps taken in the last decades toward a better representation of women in decision making positions, both statistical and experimental data show that there is still a long way until their representation in managerial positions will 325 reflect their involvement in the workforce. gender issues related to the differences of male and female were pinpointed in decade of 1950s, but highlighted as an important issue in management and organizational studies in between 1980s and 1990s. the duration between these two periods recognized the gender effects in different studies. hearn and parkin (1987) emphasized on female issues in those organizations who are dominated by male. within the household, women and girls can face discrimination in the sharing out of household resources including food, sometimes leading to higher malnutrition and mortality indicators for women (hearn & parkin, 1987). at its most extreme, gender discrimination can lead to son preference, expressed in sex selective abortion or female feticide. in the labour market, unequal pay, occupational exclusion or segregation into low skill and low paid work limit women’s earnings in comparison to those of men of similar education levels. women’s lack of representation and voice in decision making bodies in the community and the state perpetuates discrimination; in terms of access to public services, such as schooling and health care, or discriminatory laws. in the middle ages according to english common law, all property which a wife held at the time of marriage became a possession of her husband. eventually english courts forbid a husband’s transferring property without the consent of his wife, but he still retained the right to manage it and to receive the money which it produced. badawi (1971), this continued during the 19th century when women began to agitate for the right to vote (suffrage) and participate in government and law making. in the subsequent decades women’s rights again became an important issue and by the 1960s the movement was called “feminism” or “women’s liberation”. empirical review this study considers implicit bias based theories of gender discrimination in the legal profession and details the empirical study, conducted and delineates the seriousness of the problem by providing a statistical overview of gender disparities in the legal profession. it then examines scholarship linking implicit gender stereotypes to gender disparities in the legal profession. it notes that although much legal scholarship hypothesizes that gender stereotypes (particularly those linking women to the home or family, questionable workplace character traits, or low status jobs) play a pernicious role in subordinating women, none have tested the hypothesis empirically. this study begins by reviewing the few empirical studies that have investigated continuing gender disparities in the legal profession. these studies have tested a variety of worthy hypotheses, such as the connection between masculine job descriptions and subsequent hiring, but have yet to examine the potential role of implicit gender bias in the legal profession. the study also provides the particulars of the empirical study that was conducted, from methods to results. it describes in detail the law student participants we recruited and the materials we used in the study. the results confirm implicit gender biases among law students, but simultaneously offer hope that some of these biases may be resisted (the national association of women lawyers and the nawl foundation, 2009). the study also provides a roadmap for future research on implicit gender bias in the legal profession and considers the implementation of debiasing measures and also concludes. gender stereotype and the legal profession 326 the statistics: startling statistics document the disappointing state of gender equality among high-level attorneys. according to a 2009 report by the national association of women lawyers, women are grossly underrepresented in leadership roles in the legal profession. the report, which tracked the progress of women in the nation’s largest 200 firms, found that only six percent of firms have women managing partners, fifteen percent of firms have at least one woman on their management committee, and fewer than sixteen percent of firm equity partners are women. furthermore, males comprise the highest paid partners at ninety-nine percent of the nation’s top firms. this underrepresentation is particularly startling considering that law schools have been graduating equal numbers of women and men over the past two decades. the number of women in leadership roles in the nation’s courts and law schools is only slightly better than in the private sector. statistics show that less than thirty percent of judges in federal and state courts are women, including federal district court judges (25%), federal appeals court judges (29%) and state court judges (26%). within the leadership of legal academia, the gender gap is similarly stark. in 2008-2009, for example, there were four times more male than female law school deans. in addition, women held less than thirty percent of coveted tenure track and tenured faculty positions (29%). the numbers make clear that the gender gap amongst leaders in the legal profession persists, and does so in an alarming fashion. yet there is no scholarly consensus for the reasons behind the disparities. in the next subsections, we focus on a leading explanation – that implicit gender stereotypes lead to the continued subordination of women in the legal profession (the national association of women lawyers and the nawal foundation, 2009). statement of the problem inequality in employment opportunities has been the bane of most economy. economic growth has been dragged down because of discrimination in workplaces. equal employment opportunities will ensure the recruitment of best skills and talents into an organization’s workforce thereby enhancing its productivity and profitability and economic growth since individuals are endowed with different talents irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, religion or physical handicap. it is believed that women are more honest and less prone to corruption or embezzlement of public fund, yet they are denied the opportunity of leadership in many organizations. despite the existence of equal employment opportunity (eeo) laws, organizations discretely apply unfair practices and injustice in their employment policies as women rarely rise to the top as chief executive of their organizations. the effects of these unfair discriminations in employment range from lower productivity to increased ethnic friction, low employee morale and low quality of output (sharma, 2013). on the other hand, an organization without a good leadership is synonymous to a ship in the high sea without a captain as both human and material resources will be wasted despite their scarcity. it should be noted that when management creates a turbulent work environment as a result of unequal employment in workplaces, morality drops, productivity decreases and the prospects for organizational survival becomes precarious. 327 objectives of the study the main objective of this study is to ascertain effect of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity. specifically, the study aims to; 1. investigate the effects of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity. 2. determine the effects of inequality and unfairness in employment practices and policies in organizations. 3. examine the effects of unequal employment opportunity on female workers and disabled worker’s morale and in the workplace. 4. assess the organization’s employment policy on equal employment opportunity guiding its recruitment exercises. research questions this study will be guided by the following research questions: 1. what are the effects of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity? 2. what are the effects of inequality and unfairness in employment practices and policies? 3. what are the effects of unequal employment opportunity on female workers and disabled workers’ morale and productivity in the workplace? 4. does the organization have any equal employment opportunity policy guiding its recruitment exercises? research hypotheses hypothesis is a tentative or predictive solution to the research problem. based on the objectives of the study and the research questions posed, the following hypothesis has been formulated to guide our investigation: ho: equal employment opportunity does not ensure ensures competence and high productivity in organizations. h1: equal employment opportunity ensures competence and high productivity in organizations. ho: inequality and unfairness in employment practices and policies does not lead to employee apathy, low morale and low productivity in organizations. h1: inequality and unfairness in employment practices and policies lead to employee apathy, low morale and low productivity in organizations. ho: unequal employment opportunity does not negatively affect female workers and disabled workers moral and productivity in the workplace. h1: unequal employment opportunity negatively affects female workers and disabled workers moral and productivity in the workplace. ho: the organization does not have employment policy guiding its recruitment exercises. h1: the organization has employment policy guiding its recruitment exercises. significance of the study this study examines the effects of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity. it is believed that the findings would be highly beneficial to employers of labour in their recruitment and selection decisions. 328 it will also be of interest to policy makers and legislators to make policies and laws that would ensure equal employment opportunity to all job applicants. human resource managers would find the outcome of the study very useful as a guide to the practice of human resource management especially in the recruitment and selection processes. scope of the study the scope of this study which is the geographical area of the study covers the enugu state ministry of finance which situates at the enugu state secretariat complex. research design research design is a blueprint or a plan on how data for the research will be obtained. this study will apply the survey research design. survey research design is the study of a sample drawn from the population which is large enough to become the representative of the population after which the findings will be generalized to the entire population. the stratified random sampling will be used to ensure that each strata of the staff of the organization are proportionately represented. the area of this study is the enugu state ministry of finance, situated at the state secretariat in enugu. area of study refers to the geographical area covered by the study. it could be on organization, education, or political zone. population of the study the population of this study comprises the entire eighty (80) staff of the enugu state ministry of finance at the state secretariat. population of the study refers to the target group which the researcher intends to investigate. the enugu state ministry of finance staff includes all staff in their outstations known as sub-treasuries located at the three geo-political zones of the state, namely enugu east, enugu north and enugu senatorial zones. sample size and sampling techniques a sample size according to shapiro (2008) refers to the number of units drawn from the population from which the data for the study would be gathered. the stratified random sampling technique would be used to ensure that the various strata of the population namely male and female, junior, intermediate and senior staff were proportionate size, thus: n = n 1+n(e)2 where n = sample size sought n = population size e = level of significant error at 5% or 0.05 i = constant therefore n = 80 1+80 (0.05)2 n = 80 1+80 (0.0025) n = 80 329 1+ 0.2 n = 80 1.2 n = 66.6 n = 67 sources of data the data for this study would be generated through the primary and secondary sources. the primary data would be generated through the questionnaire, personal observations and interviews with the respondents. the secondary data would be generated from books, journals, newspapers and magazines as well as the internet. instrument for data collection the questionnaire forms our instrument for data collection. the questionnaire was designed in two-sections. section a sought information on the bio-data of the respondents while section b comprised questions reflecting the study objective, research questions and the formulated hypothesis. validity and reliability of the instrument validity refers to the ability of the instrument to accurately measure what it intends to measure while reliability refers to the consistency of the instrument in replicating results of what it has measured by the supervisor’s corrections made as to the content and format of the instrument thereby ensuring both its content and face validity. the reliability of the instrument was tested through the test-retest method whereby the researcher administered the instrument to a set of respondents and re-administered it to some respondents after two weeks and the results were consistent. method of data collection the researcher personally administered the questionnaires to the respondents, waited and collected them immediately after completion, ensuring a hundred percent return. method of data analysis the generated data were presented in frequency distribution table, converted into simpler percentages and presented in tables. the hypotheses were tested with the chi-square statistical tool as follows: x2 = ∑(o – e)2 e where x2 = chi-square o = observed frequency e = expected frequency ∑ = summation the degree of freedom (df) = (r – i) (c – i) where r = number of rows c = number of columns i = constant 330 the measurement was done under 5% or 0.05 level of significant error. this implies that the probability of errors expected in the statement of the hypothesis were 5% or 0.05. this statistical tool is simple to apply and best suited for testing the research questions and the hypotheses. decision rule 1. reject null hypothesis (ho) if calculated value of x2 is greater than the table value and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. accept null hypothesis (ho) if calculated value of chi-square (x2) is less than the table value and reject the alternative hypothesis. testing of hypotheses the data analyzed and interpreted will be used to test our stated hypotheses. the chisquare statistical formula will be used to test the hypotheses. the chi-square (x2) formula is stated thus: x2 = ∑(o – e)2 e where ∑ = summation o = observed frequency e = expected frequency degree of freedom (df) = 0.05 (r – i) (c – 1) r = row c = column level of significance = 0.05 decision rule 1. if the value of the chi-square calculated is greater than the chi-square value from the statistical table, we reject the null hypothesis and accept alternative hypothesis. (x2 cal > x2 tab, reject (ho) and accept (h1). 2. if the value of the chi-square calculated is less than the chi-square value from the statistical table, we reject the alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept the null hypothesis (ho). (x2 cal < x2 tab, reject (h1) and accept (ho). test of hypothesis one null hypothesis (ho): equal employment opportunity does not allow both genders to climb to the top hierarchy in organizations. alternative hypothesis (h1): equal employment opportunity allows both genders to climb to the top hierarchy in organizations. table 1 this hypothesis will be tested using the analyzed data in table 4.6 in answer to question 6 of the questionnaire. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 48 12 36 1,296 108 331 agree 6 12 -6 36 3 undecided 0 12 -12 144 12 strongly disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 disagree 6 12 -6 36 3 total 60 138 source: fieldwork, 2021 e = 60 = 12 5 x2 cal = 138 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule earlier stated was that 1. if x2 cal is greater than x2 tab, we reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, we reject alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept null hypothesis (ho). from our calculations above, it quite clear that x2 cal being 138 is greater than x2 tab which is 9.49. therefore, obeying the decision rule, we are to reject the null hypothesis (ho) which stated that equal employment opportunity does not allow both gender to climb to the top hierarchy in organizations and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1) which stated that it does. we therefore conclude that equal employment opportunity allows both genders to climb to the top hierarchy in organizations. hypothesis two null hypothesis (ho): inequality and injustice does not lead to low productivity, low morale and apathy by the affected employees. alternative hypothesis (h1): inequality and injustice leads to low productivity, low morale and apathy by the affected employees. table 2 this hypothesis will be tested using the data analyzed in table 4.11 with respect to question 11 on the questionnaire. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 42 12 30 900 75 agree 18 12 6 36 3 undecided 0 12 -12 144 12 strongly disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 total 60 114 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 cal = 114 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule earlier stated was that 1. if x2 cal is greater than x2 tab, reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 332 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, reject alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept null hypothesis (ho). from our calculations above, it is obviously clear that x2 cal being 114 is greater than x2 tab being 9.49. we therefore reject the null hypothesis (ho) which stated that inequality and injustice does not lead to low productivity, low morale and apathy by the affected employees, and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1) which stated that it does. it is therefore upheld that inequality and injustice leads to low productivity, low morale and apathy by the affected employees. hypothesis three null hypothesis (ho): if i have my way, i would not leave my organization because i feel discriminated against because of my gender or disabilities when it comes to giving of responsibilities or promotion. alternative hypothesis (h1): if i have my way, i’d leave my organization because i feel discriminated against because of my gender or disabilities when it comes to giving of responsibilities or promotion. table 3 this hypothesis will be tested using the data analyzed in table 4.15 with respect to question 15 on the questionnaire. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 42 12 30 900 75 agree 12 12 0 0 0 undecided 6 12 -6 36 3 strongly disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 total 60 102 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 cal = 102 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule earlier stated was that 1. if x2 cal is greater than x2 tab, we reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, we reject alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept null hypothesis (ho). from our calculations, it is obviously clear that x2 cal being 102 is greater than x2 tab being 9.49, hence we reject null hypothesis (ho) which stated “if i have my way, i’d not leave my organization because i feel discriminated against on account of my gender or disabilities when it comes to giving of responsibilities or promotion, and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1). it is therefore upheld that people would leave their organizations if they are discriminated against on account of their gender or disability when it comes to giving responsibilities or promotion. 333 hypothesis four null hypothesis (ho): my company does not have a very strict policy on equal employment opportunity. alternative hypothesis (h1): my company has a very strict policy on equal employment opportunity. table 4 variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 24 12 12 144 12 agree 24 12 12 144 12 undecided 6 12 -6 36 3 strongly disagree 0 12 -12 144 12 disagree 6 12 -6 36 3 total 60 42 source: fieldwork, 2021 x2 cal = 42 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule earlier stated: 1. if x2 cal is greater than x2 tab, reject the null hypothesis (ho) and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if the x2 cal is less than x2 tab, reject the alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept the null hypothesis (ho). from our calculations above, it is obviously clear that the x2 cal being 42 is greater than the x2 tab being 9.49. we therefore reject the null hypothesis (ho) which stated that my company does not have a strict policy on equal employment opportunity and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1) which stated that my company has a strict policy on equal employment opportunity. therefore, we equally uphold that their company has a strict policy on equal employment opportunity. summary of the findings the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of equal employment opportunity on organizational productivity in the enugu state ministry of finance, state secretariat enugu. from the results of the data analysis and the tested hypotheses, the following findings were made. that: i. equal employment opportunity in work places allows both gender to climb to the top of the hierarchy in organizations; thereby allowing both gender the possibility of heading the organization. ii. equal employment opportunity ensures the recruitment and selection of competent employees who will rise to be competent leaders in organizations. 334 iii. jobs should be given to everybody regardless of gender or incapacitation. iv. discrimination in workplaces based on gender or incapacitation is injustice against humanity which demoralizes the affected group and negatively affects their contributions to the organization. v. discrimination against persons on account of gender or incapacitation in workplaces can lead to law suits against management of organizations as it contravenes equal employment opportunity laws. vi. discrimination against persons in workplaces on account of gender or incapacitation leads to jealousy and rancur by the affected group, which can bring about industrial disharmony. vii. unequal treatment of workers on account of gender or disability leads to high rate of employee turnover as the affected group would want to leave the organization if given the opportunity. viii. the most discriminated group in work places is the female gender and the incapacitated. conclusion from the findings and the results of the tested hypotheses, the researcher came to the conclusion that discrimination in employment as a result of gender and incapacitation seriously affects the quality of recruited and selected employees as well as imposes glass ceiling on the discriminated gender/group which implies their denial of climbing to the top hierarchy in their organizations. this situation breeds injustice and a breach on human rights which is actionable in law courts. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that: i. employers should develop and strictly adhere to equal employment opportunity policy so as to ensure the recruitment and selection of competent employees who will in turn become competent leaders in their organizations. ii. in order to avoid endless litigations, employers should avoid discrimination against job applicants on grounds of gender or incapacitation. iii. employers should always ensure gender equity in workplaces both in appointment and in promotion to avoid industrial disharmony and to ensure the retention of their employees who would be forced to leave the organization on account of discrimination. implications of the findings the major implication of the findings of this study is that organizations which discriminate job applicants on groups of gender or incapacitation stand the risk of missing the best talents in their recruitment and selection processes as well high rate of staff turnover because the discriminated group would always want to quit the organization whenever the opportunity calls. limitation of the study the researcher encountered some setbacks during the course of this study which include: 335 time: the researcher had limited time devoted to the work as a result of crowded lecture schedules which she had to contend with while the study was going on, which brought to bear on the time reserved for the study. finance: the researcher also faced financial constraint which was occasioned by covid-19 pandemic economic recession which affected her parents income thereby affecting the amount of money should could get from them for the execution of the project. quality of information from respondents: despite the assurance by the researcher to the respondents over the confidentiality of their information, some of them were not honest in the information given. suggestions for further studies the researcher does not claim to have exhaustively dealt with the topic; hence she makes the following suggestions for further studies. 1. a similar study should be carried out in other organizations, both public and private. 2. a further study should be conducted on a related topic 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(1998). ‘gender issues in nigeria’s industrial relations’. journal of arts and social science, department of sociology, university of ilorin. 1(1) 82-88. 321 the role of individual differences theory in an election: a study of 2011 general election in enugu and cross river states nwonu clifford o. ineji patrick drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng abstract most political scientists agree that the mass media have a profound impact on voting behavior. one author asserts that few would argue with the notion that the institution of the mass media is important to contemporary politics and in the transition to liberal democratic politics that the media is the key battleground. in the 2011 general election in nigeria especially that of the. presidential election: the mass media played a wonderful role in sensitizing and mobilizing the electorates. the study of enugu in enugu state and calabar in cross river state showed that among the cross section of voters in these two states interviewed and mail questionnaires administered on 80 participants (40 interviewees and 40 respondents) to solicit information on their feelings and what actually made them to come out enmasse to vote and on the influence of social relationships and other factors on voters' choice. it was discovered that the media alone was the significant and determining factor in the choice of candidate especially that of the president during the april 16 election. it was discovered that other factors, both social and psychological also influenced voters' choice. among them include long and short term influences on political orientation and influence of social groups on political outcomes which include the effects of ethnic groups, religious and gender influences. keywords: ethnicity, gender, politics, religion, voting behaviour introduction theory is a necessary ingredient in the social sciences. unlike philosophical works, scientific theories are abstractions representing certain aspects of the empirical world; they are concerned with the how and why of empirical phenomena. there is no simple definitions of theory that would be agreed upon by all social scientists. this is so because there are many different kinds of theories serving different purposes. a sound theory is to conceptualize foundation for reliable knowledge; theories help to explain and predict phenomena of interest to us and therefore to make well-funded practical decisions. a theoretical system is one that provides a structure for a complete explanation of empirical phenomena. mass media research have concentrated efforts on the effects of a message and audience members especially in the early 40s and 50s. cassata and asante (1979, p.84) states that the individual difference perspective which was among reasons responsible for the death of the bullet theory emerged after much mailto:drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng individual differences theory in an election experimentation and research in learning theories that had their roots in classical conditioning theory and individual motivation; it became obvious to many scholars and researchers that individual psychological characteristics determine how audience members react to communication messages, it was held that differences in personality traits and attitudes accounted for differences in human preferences and actions. these postulations became widely accepted as summarized by defleur (1966, p. 121). • human beings vary greatly in their personal psychological organization. • biological endowment and differential learning contributed to individual differences. • the individuals psychological make-up that sets him or her apart from others grows out of a set of attitudes, values and beliefs acquired from him or her learning, environments. • personality variables acquired from the social environment provide for the individual's perception of events, which differs from someone else. • an important product of human learning is the acquiring of stable predispositions concerning one's perception of events. moreover, individual differences theory is a product or a relation to the limited effects theory lazersfield (1969)). the theory, has four postulations on the effects of the media to the audience: (i) the theory states that the media rarely directly influence individuals (ii) that there is a two-step-flow of media influence (iii) that by the lime most people become adults, they have developed strongly held group commitments such as political party and religious affiliations that individual media messages are powerless to overcome; and that (iv) when media effects do occur, they will be modest and isolated. also findings of effects research were enormously varied and even contradictor), and this led to the emergence of two interrelated empirical generalizations; (1) the influence of mass media is rarely direct because it is almost always mediated by individual differences, and (2) the influence of mass media is rarely direct because it is almost always mediated by group membership of relationships. these two factors normally serve as effective barriers to media influence. both generalizations are consistent with the limited effect perspectives outlined earlier and thus serve to buttress it. study after study confirmed their existence and expanded our understanding of how they 323 operate. it could be true that individual differences theory tries to make us believe that we are all reasoning beings with our different psychological make up; most people still allow others to think' for them and depend on these people for almost all their decisions. in summary, the individual differences believes that because people vary greatly in their psychological makeup and because they have different perceptions of things, media influence differs from person to person. more specifically, the media messages contain particular stimulus that have differential interaction with personality characteristics of members of the audience defleur (1970, p. 122). factors that provide bearings for this study: 1) on the technological plane: (a) the advent of printing technology; and (b) the development of electromagnetic theory and its early translation into electronic technology. 2) on the intellectual plane: (a) the predominance of the stimulus-response (s-r) theory in mass communication's parent disciplines of sociology and psychology, a theory which hold that to every given stimulus, there was an instinctive response; (b) the contemporary assumption that a person's behavior was governed by hereditary forces which intervened between stimulus and response; and that these forces were fairly uniform in all human beings; and (c) the emerging concepts of society as a mass of isolated, anonymous, helpless human beings a concept which emanated from a hodge-podge of social analysis by pioneer sociologists: comic, spencer, tonnies, and durkheim. 3) on the pragmatic plane: (a) the success of wartime propaganda with the emerging mass media as its com eyor belts; and (b) the equally remarkable success of mass advertising which was analogous to wartime propaganda in its own impact on the commercial field. this complex combination of facts gave rise to the first concrete theory of media effect, the instinctive s-r media theory. it held the mass media to be supremely effective, mind controlling agents and assumed that all human beings responded inescapably and uniformly to the powerful stimuli from the media. moreover, since individuals were seen as isolated members of the mass audience, there could be no social controls or lies to counter the powerful individual differences theory in an election influence of the media. it was ultimately assumed therefore that media handlers could greatly influence and sway peoples' minds, especially with the use of emotional appeals. such a theory later nicknamed the "magic bullet" or “hypodermic needle” or "transmission belt” theory was of course absolutely consistent with the direction of contemporary scholarship with peoples recent experience of wartime propaganda, as well as with current success of mass advertising through the media. this was the "all powerful media" stage of mass communication theory development. the years immediately following the predominance of fall of instinctive s-r theory saw the emergence of three major perspectives, the individual differences, social categories and social relations perspectives which emanated from different disciplinary sources but nevertheless constitute a coherent sequence of "post instinctive s-r theory.” from expositions and laboratory experiments on individual differences theory on behaviorism, classical conditioning, learning differences and attitude formation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it became increasingly clear that individuals differ in their personal psychological organisation, just as studies in the natural sciences had also revealed differential biological endowments. it was discovered that attitude, values and beliefs were learnt in the context of experience and this resulted in differences in cognition and perception. the principle of selective attention and perception, which holds that people pay attention to messages and interpret them in line with their interests, beliefs, values and experiences, dealt initial blow to the instinctive s-r theory in the field of mass communication. the social categories perspective on assumption that members of a given social category, determined by age, sex, socio-economic status, etc. will seek out similar communication messages, which they will also respond to more or less similarly, other things being equal eg. teenagers and adolescents compared with their parents, or women compared with men, in their tv programme preferences. the social categories perspective is' derived from genera! sociology whereas the individual differences perspective is derived from general psychology. relating individual differences theory to voters' choice in the 2011 general elections in nigeria a cross section of voters in calabar and enugu was interviewed and mail questionnaires administered on 40 interviewers and 40 respondents, i.e. 20 interviewers and 20 respondents 325 each for enugu and calabar respectively. this was lo solicit information on their lee lings about the influence of social relationships and other factors on voters' choice. it was discovered that the media alone were not determining factor in the choice of candidates during the april 16th 2011 presidential and governorship elections. other factors, both social and psychological were there as major determinants on voters' choice. in nigeria presidential election, a lot of variables played major role in the type of turnout of voters during the election because it was unprecedented in the history of nigeria the number of people that voted in the 2011 nigeria presidential elections. factors that led to the large turnout of voters drawing from our earlier postulation include the type of personality that was brought to head the electoral body in the person of prof. jega. his antecedents made nigerians to absolutely believe in him. he promised nigerians that their votes would count this time around. another factor was on the yearnings of the people to have a change of government in the person of dr. goodluek jonathan. also, religion played a role in the acceptance of the president because the pdp defiled the zoning pattern of the party and nominated the vice president in the person of dr. gookluck jonathan. another major factor was providence because god sanctioned and if our late president shehu musa yar'adua hadn't died, and goodluck jonathan being his vice, it couldn't have taken place, and the squabble for zoning arrangement that was defiled couldn't have raised its ugly head. long term influences on political orientation there are three main sources of influence that shape political orientation which creates longterm effects. generally, the primary influence originates from family. children will often adopt their parents1 ideological values. theories of political behavior, as an aspect of political science, attempt lo quantify and explain the influences of person's political views, ideology, and levels of political participation theorist who have had an influence on this held include karl dentscl and theodor adorno, (www). some theorists have argued that family lends to be the strongest, most influential force which exists over the lifeline. in nigeria, 1 don't think individual differences theory in an election whether we have, developed such culture because of so many political parties and unstable nature of our political culture. secondly, teachers and other educational authority figures have a significant impact on political orientations. from as early as 4 up until 18, children spend about 25% of their time involved in educational processes. post-secondary education significantly raises the impact of political awareness and orientation. thirdly, peers also affect political orientation. friends often, but not necessarily, have the advantage of being part of the same generation, which collectively develops a unique set of societal issues; eric l. bey has argued that “socialization is the process through which individuals acquire knowledge, habits, and value orientations that will be useful in future." the ability to relate on this common level is where lies the means to shape ideological growth. short-term influences on political orientation short-term factors also affect voting behavior; the media and the impact of individual election issues are among these factors. these factors differ from long-term factors as they arc often short-lived. however, they can be just as crucial on modifying political orientation. the ways in which there two sources arc interpreted often relics on the individuals' specific political ideology formed by the long-term factors. most political scientists agree that the mass media have a profound impact on voting behavior. one author assets that few 'would argue with the notion that the institutions of the mass media are important to contemporary politics ... in the transition to liberal democratic politics in the soviet union and eastern europe, the media was a key battleground'. secondly, there are election issues. these include campaign issues, debates and commercials. election years and political campaign can shift certain political behaviors based on the candidates involved, which have different degrees of effectiveness in influencing voters. this particular point made a lot of differences in the 2011 general election in nigeria. in the presidential election, the pdp candidate in the person of dr. goodluck jonathan, the sitting vice president of the country and of the ruling political party made much difference. the circumstances surrounding the death of the president, late shehu musa yar’adua and the polities behind his succession and the subsequent nomination of his vice president to vie under the platform of pop helped to make the difference. the personality of dr. goodluck jonathan, 327 a southern minority and niger-deltan, christian was so unique that many people did not believe that the status-quo could have been altered. the influence of social groups on political outcomes recently, some political scientists have been interested in main studies which aimed to analyze the relation between the behavior of social groups and the political outcomes. some of the social groups included in their studies have been age, demographics, gender, and ethnic groupings, (and religion). for example, in united states of america politics, the effect of ethnic groups and gender has a great influence on the political outcomes. here in nigeria, the effect of ethnic groupings, religion and gender have great influence on the political outcomes. the 2011 general election is a typical example where ethnic and religion almost marred the election in some parts of the country. theoretical framework limited effects theory two wars one imaginary, one real helped move mass communication theory away from its belief in powerful and malignant mass media to a more moderate view. what was to become the discipline's long adherence to limited effects theory began on a peaceful evening in late 1938. on that night, many americans were listening to a ballroom dance music programme on the cbs radio network when the show was interrupted by a series of news bulletins. early announcement told of strange astronomical observations and sighting of lights in the sky. the report grew steadily more ominous. an alien spaceship had landed and was attacking the military forces that surrounded it. transmissions from the scene ended suddenly and were followed by an appeal from the secretary of the interior for calm in the face of the alien threat. in that year, the medium of radio was still new, but it had become enormously popular. listeners were starting to rely on the new medium for news, which was free and easily accessible.. people listened to radio for the latest report of bad news. at princeton university, a group of social researchers set out to determine why the welles broadcast had been so influential (cantril, gaudet, and herzog, 1940). their research found that many people acted too hastily alter hearing only the first fragmentary reports of the invasion. the simulated news bullets were trusted without question, especially the eye witness reports. the researchers concluded that these people had one or more psychological trails that individual differences theory in an election made them especially susceptible to media influence: emotional insecurity, phobic personality, lack of self confidence, and fatalism. the war of the world's researchers led by hadly cantril, were part of vanguard of social scientist who solely transformed our view of how media influence society. within twenty years of that famous broadcast, the way, researchers looked at mass media was radically altered. this helped to bring about paradigm shift. indirect effects theory which is part of limited effect theory states that when media do seem to have an effect, that effect is filtered" through other parts of the society, for example, through friends, social groups. limited effects theory states that media have minimal or limited effects because these effects are mitigated by a variety of mediating or intervening variables. then the individual difference theory which is part of the limited effects theory states that individuals' different psychological make-ups cause media influence to vary from person to person. discussion the individual difference theory as it relates to the just concluded 2011 general election in nigeria with special focus to enugu and cross-river states. going by the interview and mail questionnaire distributed in calabar and enugu as mentioned earlier, it was discovered that the media alone were not determining factor in the choice of candidates during the election. in enugu state for instance, the people made tip their minds based on what they saw that were on ground in the state. the governor, according to them, showed that the government can be mindful of the peoples feelings thereby with the provision of certain infrastructure, roads, electricity, pipe borne water, security of lives and property, regular payment of salaries and pensions, were among the things that made the people of enugu to have the hope that seeing is believing and that .mad them to do what they did. the governor did not believe in publicizing his work but rather concentrated in doing more work. the governor chime's administration was a direct opposite to what the former administration of chimaroke nnamani during the actual voting, people of enugu state based o what they have seen done by the governor sullivan chime, they voted en-mass. that was why no other political party secured any elective position in the state. pdp won all the seats for both state and national assembly. the pdp sponsored media campaigns did not have much effect for the people of enugu state because of their absolute belief in their governor, sullivan chime. his democracy dividends 329 to the people made them to have absolute belief in him. this actually reflected in their pattern of voting for the president and other elections. also, we can say that the individual differences theory is susceptibility to persuasion is not about a person's willingness to be persuaded in a given issue. in persuasion, according to baran et al (2006), individual differences refer to those personality factors that render someone generally susceptible to influence. intelligence is a good example. it is easy to assume that those who are more intelligent would be less susceptible to persuasive arguments, but this isn't the case. these people are more likely to be persuaded if the message they receive is based on solid logical arguments. self-esteem, aggressiveness, and social withdrawal were several of the other individual characteristics that were tested. but as with intelligence, each failed to produce the straight forward, unambiguous relationship that might have seemed warranted. therefore, in enugu state, the electorate voted en-masse for the pdp in all the elections and it is believed that the major reasons behind the attitude of the people include, practical demonstration of the provision of democracy dividends roads, electricity, regular payment of salary and pensions and other things like security of life and property, etc. also, the appointment of the electoral officer in the person of prof. jega whom had demonstrated strong belief in transparency when he was the asu academic staff union of nigeria universities as its national president. his assurance to nigerians that their votes would count this time around appeared to have had a magic wand to the belief of many nigerians. this was informed by the fact that nigerians had lost hope in the electoral system going by what happened during the reign of former president, olusegun obasanjo. equally, in cross-river state, calabar, electorates acted on their already informed belief in the leadership of their son, because goodluck jonathan, the presidential candidate happens to come from that geo-political zone. what actually informed their voting during the presidential election was sectional sentiment and not actually that they were supporters of peoples democratic party, pdp. references beth. simas (2005) ethics and political behaviour: a portrait of the voting decision of sante clara students. bitterner, j.r. (1989) mass communication; an introduction. neu jersey: prentice hall. individual differences theory in an election cantril, h.; h. guudet, and h. herzing (1940) invasion from mars. princeton, nj: princeton university press. cassata, m.b. and asunte, m.k. (1979), mass communication: principles and practice. cohen, robert (2011) students activism in the 1930s. http://wwwdeal.feri.org [accessed] 24/7/20ii. deileur, m.l. (1966) theories of mass communication. new york: david mckay co. defleur, m.l. (1970, p. 122) theories of mass communication, new york: david mckay. voting behaviour: http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki (accessed! 24/07/2011. http://wwwdeal.feri.org/ http://en.wikipedia.or/wiki volume 6 issue 3, 2021 social support and resilience predicting post-traumatic stress disorder among returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria rowland dom anyaegbu anthonia chigozie nwatu obiageli felicia omeje department of psychology faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut) agbani, enugu state nigeria abstract the psychological field of post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) has been extensively explored; nevertheless none of the studies reviewed reported demographic variables such as age, and returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria. thus, the study investigated whether social support and resilience independently and jointly predicted ptsd among returned soldiers from the insurgency areas in nigeria. the sample was 118 male soldiers with age range of 21 – 52 years, mean age of (35.66 years) and standard deviation of (8.4) returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria sampled from 103 battallion and 82 division enugu, enugu state nigeria. they responded to three questionnaires: ptsd, social support questionnaire and brief resilience scale. hierarchical multiple regression was used for data analysis which indicated a negative correlation between social support and the ptsd b = -.235, t(118) = -11.412 p<.000. resilience did not yield a significant prediction of ptsd b = -.070, t(118) = .731, p<.479. analysis further revealed that social support and resilience jointly predicted ptsd which accounted for 49.5% of variance in ptsd. among the five demographic variables examined, only age predicted ptsd b = 6.440, t(118) = 2.350, p<.05, which accounted for 9.5% of variance in ptsd. government dimension of social support also showed a negative prediction of ptsd. it was concluded that social support offered by the government to the returned soldiers helped in alleviating their ptsd experience. keywords: post-traumatic stress disorder, resilience, social support, returned soldiers and insurgency areas in nigeria introduction over the years, concerns have been raised about the involvement of the military all over the globe in war and peace keeping operations after war have been fought. this war has led to the destruction of lives and properties as innocent civilians become victims, perpetrators become victims too, and the liberators (military and other agencies) become more and more vulnerable. what has been happening in nigeria are series of armed conflict across the insurgence areas in the country and in the process, a lot of soldiers have lost their lives in the course of protecting the nations territory from external aggression, and assisting the paramilitaries to maintain internal security. returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 183 soldiers in the operational theatre and those that have recently returned from the north east of nigeria seem to have become social menace to the military barrack communities during the process of reintegration. in addition, increases in marital conflicts, lack of motivation with attendant negative impact on productivity and efficiency to assigned duties has been reported (anongo, demi & dagona, 2009). this has further corroborated some previous findings revealing the manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) among military veterans including increased marital and social problems, suicidal thoughts, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems and higher cortisol (papazoglou & andersen, 2014). however, beyond the impact of trauma, research has also shown that the number of times people experience a traumatic situation is related to posttraumatic stress disorder. in this regard, soldiers who have had multiple combat experiences are found to report more distressing symptoms than the less frequently encountered trauma population (gabriella & punamaki, 2006; kolassa, kolassa & ertl, 2010). this means that the more frequent military personnel are deployed for combat operations, the greater the possibility that they will develop posttraumatic stress disorder. the boko-haram operation mostly witnessed in the north east nigeria was equally characterized by frequent deployment but not very much is known on the influence of this factor in ptsd. this raises a serious concern on our military organization and its personnel considering the level of combat exposure they have had in recent times. the recent engagement of the nigerian armed forces with the boko haram insurgents have produced residual combat stress that could result in ptsd. many of these personnel were exposed to potentially traumatic combat experiences such as watching the death of their colleagues, exposure to high improvised explosives, harsh weather, hostile incoming fire, mass burial of colleagues among others. this coupled with frequent stay and long duration of deployment could add significantly to the psychological distress symptoms suffered by nigerian armed forces. the term posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd), is defined in this context, using the latest version of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-5). similarly the latest version of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (apa, 2013), describes ptsd as a “trauma stress –related” disorder resulting from exposure or witnessing of a potentially traumatic event such as actual or threatened death, exposure to accidents, natural disasters, combat events, etc., with symptom clusters of re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, negative alteration in cognition and mood. this definition clearly suggests that having experience of war trauma could increase ptsd vulnerability. this raises a serious concern on our military organization and its personnel considering the level of combat exposure they have had in recent times. to this end dagona (2015), asserted that the experience of nigerian military with boko-haram is a serious menace that must be examined regularly to identify emerging perspectives that could, in addition to the combat event, contribute the development of this condition so that appropriate and timely psychological intervention such as social support and resilience can be established. dean and lin (1977) considered social support as functions of primary groups that meet instrumental and expressive needs. lin (1979) later reconstructed social support at multiple levels of social networks as support accessible to an individual through social ties to other individuals, groups, and the larger community. kaplan, cassel, and gore, (1977) point out that social support is the content of social ties (i.e., the meanings that persons in the network give their relationships), and is contingent on structural and interactional characteristics of social networks (i.e., anchorage, reachability, density, range, directedness, intensity, and frequency). house (1988) defines social support as one type of relational content, “the emotionally or instrumentally sustaining quality of social relationships. berkman (1984) sees social support as the emotional, instrumental, and financial aid that is obtained from one’s social network. moreover, turner (1999) defines social support as social bonds, social integration, and primary group relations. social support can be categorized in different ways. in terms of its content, for example, social support can be divided into emotional support (liking, love, empathy); instrumental support (goods and services); informational support (information about the environment); or appraisal support (information relevant to self-evaluation) (house, 1981). in terms of its degree of subjectivity, social support is dichotomized into perceived support and objective or actual support (caplan, 1979). in terms of the role of relationship between the recipient and the donor (dean & lin, 1977; larocco, house & french, 1980; thoits, 1982), social support could be kin-based (e.g., parents, spouses, children, siblings, other relatives) or nonkin-based (e.g., friends, neighbours, coworkers). social support is a protective factor against developing ptsd, whereas the absence of social support can lead to increased risk for ptsd and higher ptsd severity (charuvastra & cloitre, 2008). having explored the background of social in ptsd, the researchers also want to look at another important psychological factor (resilience). psychological resilience is the ability to cope with a crisis or to return to pre-crisis status quickly (de terte & stephens, 2014). resilience exists when the person uses mental processes and behaviours in promoting personal assets and protecting self from the potential returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 185 negative effects of stressors (robertson, et al., 2015). in simpler terms, psychological resilience exists in people who develop psychological and behavioural capabilities that allow them to remain calm during crises/chaos and to move on from the incident without long-term negative consequences. resilience is generally thought of as a positive adaptation after a stressful or adverse situation (hopf, 2010). when a person is bombarded by daily stress, it disrupts their internal and external sense of balance, presenting challenges as well as opportunities. however, the routine stressors of daily life can have positive impacts which promote resilience. it is still unknown what the correct level of stress is for each individual. some people can handle greater amounts of stress than others. resilience is the integrated adaptation of physical, mental and spiritual aspects in a set of good or bad circumstances, a coherent sense of self that is able to maintain normative developmental tasks that occur at various stages of life (richardson, 2002). it is important to note that resilience is not only about overcoming a deeply stressful situation, but also coming out of the said situation with "competent functioning". resiliency allows a person to rebound from adversity as a strengthened and more resourceful person (richardson, 2002). soldiers involved in the fight against insurgency in the north east undergo high levels of stress which may eventually lead to ptsd which may require some other variables like resilience and social support in order to overcome the after effects of their experiences like ptsd. thus, it is suggested that shattered assumptions theory of ptsd (janno-bulman, 1992) is the best theory to explain the relationship between resilience and ptsd; social support and ptsd and also among ptsd, social support and resilience. according to this theory, the world is benevolent and kind, the world is meaningful and the self is worthy. but invariably, there are some terrible events, which we would refer to as trauma, that shatter these worldviews. such events could be wars, terrorism, the unwarranted murder of a loved one, being critically injured or losing a job and not having an income. such events are extremely traumatic, and therefore break our assumptions that the world is a good place. when the world view about benevolence, meaningfulness and positive self are shattered by traumatic events, the cognition about the world becomes distorted and posttraumatic stress disorder manifests. negative effects of trauma are related to our world views, and if we repair these view, we will recover from the trauma. this is the point at which resilience and social support come into play. social support can come in form of financial, emotional or material resources. on the other hand, being resilient i.e. having some personal attributes, family and community support/factors may help in restructuring one’s cognition in order to restore the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stress_%28biology%29 shattered view of the world. in addition, existing studies have shown that social support and or resilience predicted ptsd. in a study by gros, flanagan, korte, mills & kathleen (2016), at medical university of south carolina on relationship between social support, ptsd symptoms, and substance use in veterans. consistent with the hypotheses, social support has a significant relation to ptsd symptoms, as well as alcohol use above and beyond the comorbid condition. study by dworkin, ojalehto, bedard-gilliga, cadigan and kayen (2017), at university of washington stated that social support predicts reductions in ptsd symptoms when substances are not used to cope. in this longitudinal study of sexual assault survivors, result of the study suggests that social support is longitudinally associated with decrease in ptsd. only support from friends (but not family members or a “special person”) was associated with later ptsd, and this relationship was moderated by substance use coping. in a related study by prince, lancaster, gross, legrand and van (2018) on an examination of social support and ptsd treatment response during prolonged exposure – findings of the study suggested that social support and ptsd symptoms are related. throughout treatment social support moderated the change in ptsd symptoms, whereas ptsd symptoms did not moderate changes in social support. panagioti, gooding, taylor and tarrier (2014), opined that perceived social support buffers the impact of ptsd symptoms in suicidal behaviour: implications into suicidal resilience research. early conceptualization posited that the presence of social support buffers against the development of ptsd (cohen & wills, 1985) and facilitates the process of recovery (burgess & holmstrom, 1979). in the study earlier cited, king, taft, king, hammond and stone (2006) measured ptsd severity and social support in a sample of gulf war veterans numbering 2249 (18 – 24 months post-return) and repeated same measurement after 5 years and showed that initial ptsd predicted subsequent decrease in social support. boscarino (1995), after controlling for trauma exposure, showed that vietnam veterans with high levels of social support were 180% 38 less likely to develop ptsd as compared to those with low social support. this is consistent with previous suggestions that the risk of developing ptsd upon exposure to trauma was conversely related with social support. furthermore, the moderator role of social support in the relationship between children and adolescents’ exposure to violence, victimization or maltreatment and ptsd symptoms was demonstrated by (bradley, schwartz & kaslow, 2005). returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 187 resilience and ptsd lee, ahu, jeong and chae (2014) in their study opined that resilience buffers the impact of traumatic events on the development of ptsd symptoms in fire fighters. in a study done by streb, hasler and michael (2014), at university of saarlandes, the study was done with paramedics. they find out that both resilience and sense of coherence (soc), were negatively correlated with symptoms of ptsd. in another study by teche, barros and rosa (2017) on association between resilience and posttraumatic stress disorder among brazilian victims of urban violence. the study find out that lower level of resilience, especially the ability to solve situations and having personal values that give meaning to life, immature defense mechanisms, and emotional and physical abuse in childhood are associated with ptsd in adult brazilian victims of urban violence. study by bibi, kalin and khalid (2018), at rawalpindi and islambad, parkistan, on ptsd and resilience among adult burn patients in parkistan: a cross-sectional study. the study involved 70 burn patients from the burn unit of rowal pinch and islamabad, parkistan. they found a negative correlation between ptsd and resilience among burn patience. resilience has been suggested by studies carried out to play a role in ptsd symptoms. for example, pietrzak, johnson, goldsten, malley, rivers and morgan (2010) in their study of operational veterans concluded that resilience fully mediated the association between ptsd and depressive symptoms and psychological functioning. similarly, salami (2010) in his research on the moderating effect of resilience, self-esteem and social support on adolescents’ reaction to violence using participants selected in kwara state (nigeria) also reported that resilience was negatively related to post-traumatic stress disorder. consistent with previous research findings, wooten (2012) in a study of the mediating effect of resilience on deployment cycle stressors and posttraumatic stress symptoms among national army guards indicated that the association between post-deployment stressors and posttraumatic stress symptoms was fully mediated by resilience. another study conducted by greeff and lawrence (2012) to explore the roles of resilience factors in 38 african families who had lost their homes in a shack fire further confirmed the mediating effect of resilience. specifically, the study addressed the following questions: 1. will social support (government, family and friends) significantly predict posttraumatic stress disorder among returned soldiers from the insurgency areas? 2. will resilience significantly predict posttraumatic stress disorder among returned soldiers from the insurgency areas? 3. will social support and resilience jointly predict posttraumatic stress disorder among returned soldiers from the insurgency areas? hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested: 1. social support (government, family and friends) will significantly predict ptsd among returned soldiers from the north east. 2. resilience will significantly predict ptsd among returned soldiers from the north east. 3. social support and resilience will jointly predict ptsd among returned soldiers from the north east. method participants: the participants for this study were118 participant drawn from returned soldiers rotated from the insurgency areas serving/residing at 103 battalion barracks awkunanaw, and 82 divisions, all in enugu state. they were selected through multi stage sampling technique: first criterion sampling technique was applied to reach only those that meet with the criteria mentioned below. the criteria include: that the participants have served in the insurgency area (north east nigeria) from 2018 to 2020 and that the soldiers returned at least six months earlier to this research, (to allow for incubation period for ptsd symptoms). second available sampling technique was used to reach those who were around at the time of visit. some demographic variables such as age (early age 21-39 and later age 40-52, mean age = 35.66, sd = 8.40), ethnic group (hausa, igbo, and yoruba), marital status (single, and married), academic qualifications (low, and high), religion (islam, and christianity), and sex (male) were examined in relation to the criterion variable (ptsd). instrument the researchers in addition to the original psychometric properties of the instruments by the developers revalidated the tests and thus obtained the following: post-traumatic stress disorder keane scale (pks). the 46-item inventory developed by keane, malloy and fairbank (1984), was designed to measure post-traumatic stress disorder, panic anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and environmental anxiety. thus, in a pilot study conducted using 35 soldiers sampled from among the returnees from the insurgency areas serving at port returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 189 harcourt barrack (bori camp) rivers state, obtained a cronbach alpha of .64. high scores depict manifestation of ptsd. social support questionnaire (ssq) by sarason, levine, basham, vamp and sarason (1983) was developed to assess the extent to which one receives support from others. there are three subscales within the (ssq). they include: government (8items), family (8 items) and friends (8 items). the researchers conducted a pilot study to further revalidate the instrument for nigerian use with 35soldiers sampled from among the returnees from the insurgency areas serving at port harcourt barrack (bori camp), and obtained a cronbach alpha of .77. brief resilience scale (brs-6) is 6-item instrument developed by smith, dalen, wiggins, tooley, christopher and bernard (2008). the scale is designed to assess the ability to bounce back or recover from stress. a pilot study was also conducted by the researchers to validate the scale for nigerian use with 35 soldiers sampled from port harcourt barrack (bori camp) and obtained a cronbach’s alpha of .67. procedure the researchers obtained necessary approval letters from commanding officer (co), 103 battalion barrack, awkunanaw, enugu and the garrison commander 82 division, enugu. the researchers employed the services of the chief clerks in the barracks in reaching the soldiers recently rotated from 2018 to 2020. the chief clerks were also trained by the researchers to assist in the distribution and collection of the test instruments. the authors sampled all the soldiers who met the criteria and also are available during the distribution and collection of the research questionnaires. design and statistics the study adopted a cross-sectional survey study because participants were selected from various barracks and also data was collected to make inferences about the population of interest at one point in time. hierarchical multiple regression analysis involving statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 23.00 was employed as statistics to determine if social support and resilience will independently and/or jointly predict posttraumatic stress disorder. other variables such as, age, ethnic group, academic qualification, marital status, and religion were controlled in this study. results table 1: means, standard deviations and inter-correlations of social support (government, family and friends), resilience, age, marital status, ethnic group, academic qualifications, and religion on ptsd variable s mean sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ptsd (1) age (2) ms (3) eg. (4) aq (5) r (6) ss (7) re (8) g (9) fa (10) fr (11) 28.76 35.66 .61 .97 .47 .66 63.82 19.17 22.82 22.21 18.98 10.01 8.40 .49 .74 .50 .48 31.70 6.80 12.47 12.87 11.68 1 .282* -.068 .059 -.115 .211** -.760* .081 -.698* -.602* -.667* 1 .180*** .471* .190*** .538* -.277* .009 -.456* -.121 -.120 1 .558* .319* .389* .031 .094 .121 -.087 .045 1 -.013 -.049 -.058 .009 -.056 .078 -.013 1 .286* -.039 .039 .040 .024 -.073 1 .204** .140 -.454* -.008 -.052 1 .178*** .818* .841* .911* 1 .156*** -.119 -.169* 1 .453* .644* 1 .7171* 1 note: age (early age is coded as 0 vs. late age 1); marital status ms(single = 0 vs. married = 1); ethnic group eg(hausa = 0, igbo = 1, yoruba = 2); academic qualifications aq(low = 0 vs. high = 1) and r = religion (christianity = 0 vs. islam = 1); social support (ss); g = government, fa = family; fr = friends; resilience = re) ***p<.05, **p<.01, *p<.000 table 1 demonstrates the correlation matrix. the table revealed that age correlated positively with ptsd, indicating that participants who are in their old age were more likely to experience ptsd r(118) = .282, p < .000. social support and all the three dimensions (government, family and friends) were negatively related to ptsd (r = .760; r = -.698; r = .602; r = .667, p<. 001). this means that the higher the social support received through the government, family and friends, the lesser the ptsd experienced by the respondents. however, resilience, marital status, ethnic groups, and academic qualifications were not related to ptsd. returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 191 table 2: a table providing a summary of the hierarchical regression analysis between the two predictor variables, other demographic variables and ptsd. coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardiz ed coefficient s t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 27.479 2.695 10.198 .000 age 6.440 2.741 .323 2.350 .021 marital status -2.436 2.668 -.119 -.913 .363 ethnic group -.363 1.657 -.027 -.219 .827 academic qualifications -.423 1.975 -.021 -.214 .831 religion -.089 2.796 -.004 -.032 .975 2 (constant) 44.731 2.835 15.779 .000 age 1.610 1.947 .081 .827 .410 marital status -1.148 1.874 -.056 -.613 .541 ethnic group .126 1.127 .009 .112 .911 aca. qua. .357 1.349 .018 .264 .792 religion -.090 1.969 -.004 -.046 .964 social support -.235 .021 -.744 -11.412 .000 resilience -.070 .096 -.048 -.731 .467 3 (constant) 46.287 2.966 15.606 .000 age .864 1.989 .043 .434 .665 marital status -.925 1.865 -.045 -.496 .621 ethnic group .155 1.111 .012 .139 .890 aca. qua. 1.178 1.377 .059 .856 .394 religion -1.481 2.045 -.070 -.724 .470 social support .375 .336 1.188 1.116 .267 resilience -.051 .095 -.035 -.540 .590 government -.769 .353 -.958 -2.176 .032 family -.578 .334 -.743 -1.733 .086 friends -.512 .347 -.597 -1.474 .144 a. dependent variable: ptsd note: for step 1: r= .308 r² = 9.5% δr² = .095, p < .05; for step 2: r= .768 r² = 59% δr² = .590, p<. 000; step 3: r = 783 r² = 61% δr² = .613, p < .000. to investigate the demographic variables in this study, (age, marital status, academic qualifications, religion and ethnic group) were entered at step one of the regression, to observe their effects on ptsd and further knowledge into these relationships. the hierarchical multiple regression revealed that age contributed significantly to the regression model, f(5,112) = 2.350, p <.05). the relationship between variables were strong (r = .308) and accounted for approximately 9.5% (δr² = .095) of the variance in ptsd scores. thus, age had a positive statistically significant impact, β = 6.440, t(118) = 2.350, p < .05. next, social support and resilience as the predictor variables were entered at step two. adding step 2 to the regression model accounted for an additional 49.5% (δr² = .590) of variation in ptsd and this change in r² was significant, f(7, 110) = 22.587, p < .000) and the relationship between these variables were strong (r = .768). however, of the two predictor variables only social support was a significant negative predictor of ptsd β = -.235, t(118) = 11.412, p = .000. this means that the higher the social support the lesser the ptsd experienced by the participants, hence the first hypothesis which stated that “social support will significantly predict ptsd” was accepted. while resilience, β = -.070, t(118) = .731, p = .479; was not a predictor of ptsd, thus the second hypothesis which stated that “resilience will significantly predict ptsd” was rejected. in the third step, government, family and friends dimensions of the social support were added. finally, the three dimensions of social support (government, family and friends) were entered in step three to know their separate predictive effect on ptsd. this step three accounted for an additional 2% (δr² = .613) of variation in ptsd and this change in r2 was significant, f(10, 107) = 16.984 p < .000) and the relationship between these variables were strong (r = .783). thus, of the three dimensions of social support, only government component of social support was significant negative predictor of ptsd (β = -.769, t = -.1.733, p <. 05). this means that the higher the social support received from the government the lower the experience of ptsd by the respondents. family and friends dimensions of social support were not significant predictors of ptsd (β = -. 578, t = 1.733, p = .086; β = .512, t = 1.474, p = .144). table 3: anova summary table the social support and resilience on ptsd model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 1113.650 5 222.730 2.350 .045b residual 10613.706 112 94.765 total 11727.356 117 2 regression 6915.838 7 987.977 22.587 .000c residual 4811.518 110 43.741 total 11727.356 117 3 regression 7194.646 10 719.465 16.984 .000d residual 4532.710 107 42.362 total 11727.356 117 returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 193 the most important predictor of ptsd was social support though social support and resilience jointly predicted ptsd. thus, the third hypothesis which stated that “social support and resilience will jointly predict ptsd” was accepted. in addition, results provide more insight regarding the demographic variables as they illustrate that even before the two predictor variables are entered into the model, only age accounted for 9.5% significant amount of the variance in ptsd. moreover, it is also demonstrated from the change in the r² value of the model that the predictor variables (social support) accounted for approximately a further 49.5% of variation in ptsd while government dimension of social support accounted for 2% variation in ptsd. hence, this observation gives rise to an indirect effect between age and ptsd, thus, the higher the age of the participants the higher the experience of ptsd but with adequate social support, age ceased to be a predictor of ptsd. discussion the present research investigated the prediction of social support and resilience on ptsd. the findings illustrated that only social support predicted ptsd negatively especially government dimension, of the five demographic variables (control variables) only age was a significant positive predictor of ptsd. thus, social support and resilience jointly predicted ptsd. social support was found to negatively correlate with the ptsd, revealing that the more social support individuals get from their family, friends and government the lower ptsd symptoms. hence, the first hypothesis which stated that “social support (government, family and friends) will predict ptsd” was accepted. however, only the government dimension of social support negatively predicted ptsd, family and friends did not predict ptsd. this finding is consistent with some past findings that increased social support alleviates ptsd symptoms as suggested by (daniel, et al., 2016). dworkin et al., (2017) who found that social support predicts reductions in ptsd symptoms when substances are not used to cope. only support from friends was associated with later ptsd. other researchers such as (prince, et al., 2018; panagioti et al., 2014; oberts, et al., 2019; brewin, et al., 2000) found that perceived social support buffers the impact of ptsd symptoms in suicidal behaviour. some of the researchers above found that negative social support may be a stronger predictor of ptsd than the absence of social support. boscarino (1995) found that those with high levels of social support were less likely to develop ptsd as compared to those with low social support. consequently, this research contradicts adams et al., (2019), which illustrated that self-efficacy may be more important to the severity and chronicity of ptsd symptoms than social support. therefore, it is interesting to note that the findings of the present study were still consistent with the literature above, yet this study is very necessary because although one of the studies sampled post-return veterans in vietnam, it seems there is none of such studies in nigeria. the second hypothesis which stated that “resilience will significantly predict ptsd” was rejected, indicating that resilience does not either increase or decrease the manifestations of ptsd. this finding is not in line with almost all the studies reviewed, for instance, (streb et al., 2014; bibi et al., 2018; & salami, 2010) found negative correlation between resilience and ptsd. teche et al., (2017) found an association between lower level of resilience and ptsd. numerous studies reported that resilience moderated or mediated the relationship between exposure to violence and ptsd symptoms but not a predictor variable. however, analyses from this finding highlighted that resilience was the weakest variable, unable to account for a significant amount of the variance within ptsd. thus, the strength of support for this relationship is limited. in most of the studies, resilience served as a mediator whereas it served as a predictor in this present study which may be a factor in this no correlation outcome. the third hypothesis which stated that “social support and resilience will jointly predict ptsd” was accepted. this finding suggests that social support and resilience jointly increase or decrease the manifestation of ptsd. since in their independent prediction of ptsd, social support had a negative significant prediction with ptsd and resilience had non positive significant prediction with ptsd. however, the joint prediction of both social support and resilience suggests that soldiers need adequate social support and high resilience in order to have less ptsd while low social support and low resilience may aggravate the manifestations of ptsd. furthermore, the presence of social support increased resilience. this shows that a soldier’s ability to bounce back from trauma due to combat experiences can be attributed to the amount and quality of social support received. none of the past studies reviewed in this work had social support and resilience as a joint predictor of ptsd which created a gap to be filled with the outcome of this study. the current findings revealed that whilst marital status, academic qualifications, ethnic group and religion had no correlation with ptsd, age held a positive relationship with the ptsd. the findings suggested that as one increases in age, the more ptsd is experienced this finding may buttress the perceived lack or inadequate government support to the aged and returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria 195 injured soldiers that increases the likelihood of ptsd as they grow older. thus, if a soldier is sure of prompt and adequate government support growing old will bring some assurances capable of alleviating ptsd. conversely, none of the studies reviewed in the work reported any findings on age and ptsd which made this finding very interesting. in the analyses the current study demonstrated that age accounted for some variations in ptsd. after the predictor variables (social support and resilience) were added to the model age was no longer significant, only social support held a highly negative significant association to ptsd. in other words, high age leads to ptsd in the absence of social support. implications of the findings the present findings of strong associations between age and ptsd provide support for this relatively new concept. the knowledge of the interaction between age and ptsd could be guide for individuals who are in their later age (40 to 52 years) during the rotating of soldiers to serve in the insurgency areas since they are susceptible to ptsd than those in their early age (21 to 39 years). theoretically, the findings supported the theoretical framework of this study (shattered assumptions theory of ptsd) which asserts that the world is meaningful and the self is worthy. thus, when ptsd is experienced these worldviews are shattered except for measures like social support rendered by the government to these soldiers which reduces the experience of ptsd thereby restoring these worldviews. empirically, the findings will add to the existing literature especially on the association between age and ptsd, social support (government dimension) and ptsd as well as returned soldiers from insurgency areas in nigeria. of practical implication is that there is need to consider the age of the soldiers during rotation to serve in the insurgency areas in nigeria. for those returned soldiers who experienced ptsd, social support will help in alleviating their experience of ptsd especially when it is provided by the government. future research should unveil the various supports by the government to soldiers fighting insurgency in order to raise the hope of soldiers that will be rotated in future. conclusion social support yielded a negative prediction of ptsd, thus the more social support a soldier gets the less ptsd is experienced especially with government dimension of social support. resilience had no correlation with ptsd whereas, one of the control variables in this study (age) 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(2012). development cycle stressors and post-traumatic stress symptoms in army national guard women: the mediating effect of resilience. journal of social health care 51(9):828-49. doi:10.1080/00981389.2012.692353. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972 page 4 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district of southern cross river state, nigeria ezugwu james okey department of political science faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science and technology enugu email: ezugwujamesokey@gmail.com abstract the impact of covid-19 on socio economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district of southern cross river state nigeria has been investigated. the pandemic adversely affected the literacy level due to closure of schools; also, people’s livelihoods/food systems. the theoretical framework was the sustainable livelihood template. it adopted the methodology of survey research design and drew evidence from 600 respondents. majority of them, 65.6 percent were males, 39.67 percent in the age bracket of 35-40 years, 63.33 percent were married; majority being 47.66 percent engaged in farming; almost all respondents 95.84 percent were christians with 51.33 percent completing secondary education. data were analyzed using chi-square inferential statistical tools to test: whether an association exists between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of literacy; association between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods/ food systems; an association between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health. findings revealed that the people have experienced reduced income, decreased wellbeing due poor health status, reduced access to services such as -education and health. people have also experienced increased vulnerability and reduced food security. the paper recommended that different forms of support are key, including healthy school meals, shelter and food relief initiatives, support for employment retention and recovery, and financial relief for businesses, including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are necessary. keyword: education, covid-19, health, income, poor health, socio economic wellbeing. introduction academic interest about sustaining human wellbeing and quality of life has aroused enormous attention. thus, a considerable body of research about socio-economic wellbeing has been promoted in recent times. globally, wellbeing remains a significant issue despite the rapid shortfall in industrialization important (nippierd, 2002; akpan, 2015).the society has both the social and economic dimensions. the economic component gives prominence to improved income, production of goods, distribution and consumption thereby creating household wealth (decancq &lugo, 2013). the social dimension includes literacy level, political awareness and participation, health status, self-employment, life expectancy etc. (akpabio, 2006). socio-economic wellbeing therefore, translates into indices such as improved literacy level, higher political awareness, 107 increased income level and improved food processing. however, the quality of life and improved material living conditions are the objects of comparison between developing and the developed economies. thus, material living conditions include income and wealth, jobs, earnings and housing. beyond this, “quality of life can also be expressed in health status, work and life balance; education and skills; civic engagement and governance; social connections; environmental quality; personal security and concern for others” (fleurbacy, 2009). this implies that wellbeing guarantees improved standard of living and general development of the rural economy. the cumulative impact of these social and economic components is the broadening of peoples’ opportunities to realize their full potentials through stimulating interest in the achievement of basic needs (obinna, 2001). socio-economic wellbeing, as observed by millennium ecosystem assessment (mea) (2005) considers fundamental necessities of functional living as guarantee and opportunity to claim the crucial ingredients for maintaining security of lives and property, and food security which may decrease the risk associated with community life. it also involves positive inter and intrapersonal relationship with excellent possibilities to understand ecosystem; also ability to demonstrate good tastes, religious beliefs, shared solidarity, community feelings, freedom of choice; action which suggest existence of possibility of accessing available societal services (freitas, 2007). however, covid-19 significantly disrupted the possibility of consistently obtaining socio economic wellbeing by subjecting individuals, families, communities and nations to challenges in all fronts. covid -19 was declared a global pandemic by the world health organization. symptoms of covid-19 infection include: fever, dry cough, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, muscle aches, headache, sore throat or diahorrea, running nose, tiredness (cdc, 2020) foundation for medical education and research (mfmer), 2020). the incubation period last up to 14days (gallagher 2020) and the symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure (minnesota department of health 2020).coronavirus infection and death is on the increase around the globe. many events and activities around the globe have either been disrupted or postponed as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. for example, the tokyo 2020 olympic games was postponed to 2021 as a results of the pandemic. africa has had its own share of the covid-19 pandemic; there has been a rapid rise in the number of cases on the continent. as of may 27,2021, the number of confirmed covid-19 cases in africa amounted to 4842467 which represented 2.9 percent of the infections around the world. by the same date, covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing coronavirus cases globally were over 196.6 million, causing nearly 3.52 million deaths. in the african continent, south africa is the most drastically affected, with more than 1.64 million infections. nigeria has been negatively affected by the covid-19 pandemic. the index case of coronavirus started in nigeria when an italian national working in lagos flew into the commercial city of lagos from milan, italy on february 25, 2020 (nigeria center for disease control (ncdc). the nigeria government has been making a great effort to stop the further spread of coronavirus within the country. in the past, such effort include a ban on social gathering, shutdown of cities especially lagos, abuja and ogun state which were regarded as epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic; other preventive measures included increase in screening at border entry points, self-isolation, social distance, use of hand sanitizer, washing of hands frequently and recently vaccination, all these have been emphasized and publicized through formal and informal media outlets (obiezu, 2020). based on this, the socio-economic dimensions of covid-19 has attracted the attention of government, ngos and scholars. as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, the nigeria economy and transportation or movement of people was shut down. the stay at home order and total/partial lockdown of cities brought about huge tension in families. nigeria is a country where40% live below poverty line with almost 70% being daily paid workers. this makes it even challenging in normal period to attain socio economic wellbeing. the shut down every activity made it very difficult for some sections of the nigerian population to survive. the level of general socio economic wellbeing in terms of life expectancy, health, level of education and combined gross enrolment ratio in education as well as access to consumer goods which determine the enlargement of human abilities may have been significantly affected by the covid-9 pandemic. socio economic wellbeing has to do with improvement in indices such as literacy, income level, food processing skills, health status and awareness, nutritional status, increased awareness of female rights, use of improved farming methods, increased exposure to microcredits etc. socio-economic wellbeing is a resultant state of the development process; a process of societal and economic transformation. it admits positive changes occurring in the social sphere and mostly of the economic nature. socio-economic development is evaluated with indices such as gross domestic product (gdp) life expectancy literacy level, employment level; new technologies, changes in laws, changes in physical environment and ecosystems alteration (obinna, 2001; nyong, 2016). but these have seriously been undermined by covid 109 19 pandemic. this pandemic affected people’s personal dignity safety and participation in community life. covid-19 severely has impacted the most vulnerable communities in subsaharan region of central cross river state, of nigeria. its effects were also felt across unified nations, reversing many positive gains in sustainable development. the specific socio economic wellbeing variables considered included education, peoples’ livelihoods/food systems, public health. it was against this background that this research was carried out to investigate the interaction between covid-19 and socio -economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district of southern cross river state, nigeria. socio-economic wellbeing is the cardinal goal of all processes of development. the ability to attain the social and economic wellbeing facilitates the performance of the individual in the community, organizations and groups. thirwall (1994) emphasized that wellbeing is ordinarily tied to the improvement in basic needs. it implies that social and economic progress must contribute significantly to a sense of self-esteem; the material advancement of community members must be capable of broadening the range of choices available for its members. socioeconomic wellbeing is the outcome of programmes, policies or strategies targeted at improvements in metrics such as life expectancy, literacy, level of employment; also, changes in less tangible factors such as personal dignity, freedom of association, personal safety, freedom from fear of physical harm and extent of participation in community life (kumari & kiwai, 2012). socio-economic development is evaluated with indices such as gross domestic product (gdp), life expectancy, literacy level, employment level; new technologies, changes in laws, changes in physical environment and ecosystem alterations (obinna, 2001). the covid-19 pandemic has adversely ravaged the socio economic wellbeing of people across the globe. the worsening scenario is created by the new variants developing and also spreading rapidly. it has created panic around the globe. the containment measures of shuting the economy, transportation, and movement of people made things very hard for people. this exacerbated the impoverished condition of people because not everyone is a civil servant or public servant that receive their salary at the end of the month. some people earn their daily living by going to the part and the market. the shutdown significantly crippled those in the informal economy who depend on daily work for survive (ajibo 2020) the social and religious lives of the people were disrupted adversely. at the height of the pandemic, societal life was affected. traditional activities such as wedding and burial where covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing people cluster was restricted. this became a big problem for the environment. churches were shut down because of social distancing policy. people such as muslims, christians, african traditional practitioners were not free to worship. this affected religious lives. elaborating further, jazira (2020), covid-19 has created immense economic and social challenges among communities affecting family and community dynamics. people have lost their jobs especially contract and casual industrial workers and have had to move back to their villages. there has also been rise in gender – based violence. covid-19 has affected all levels of the education system, from pre-school to tertiary education. during the height of the pandemic, different countries introduce various policies ranging from complete closure of schools in germany and italy to targeted closure in the united kingdom for all but the children of workers in key industries (unesco 2020). additionally, over 100 countries imposed a nationwide closure of educational facilities. unesco (2020) estimated that close to 900 million learners suffered adversely from the closure of educational institutions. the intention of the closures was to prevent spread of the virus within institution and prevent carriage to vulnerable individuals, however, these educational institutions closures have had wide spread socio-economic implications especially through lowering the literacy level and stagnating educational endeavor of the youth (loeb, 2020) covid-19 has had an impact on social mobility whereby schools are no longer able to provide free school meals for children from low-income families, social isolation and school dropout rates. it has also had a significant effects on childcare cost for families with young children. in addition, there exist a wide disparity amongst populations with higher income who are able to access technology that can ensure education continues digitally during social isolation. although it has influenced undergraduate education, the most significant impact is on the postgraduate research community with research into many non – covid-19 related topics being placed on hold. schools closure due in covid-19 brought significant disruption to education. emerging evidence from some of the highest – income countries indicate that the pandemic gave rise to learning losses and increase in inequality. at peak of the pandemic, 45 countries in europe and central asia region closed their schools, affecting 185 million students. given the abruptness of the situation, teachers and administrators were unprepared for the transition and were forced to build emergency remote learning systems. despite the supportive remote learning experience, available evidence indicate that school closures resulted in actual learning losses 111 (donnelly patririos & greshman 2021). research analyzing these outcome from religious, the netherlands, switzerland and the united kingdom indicate both learning losses and increase in inequality. these losses are found to be higher among students whose parents have less education; a finding reinforced by a study that children from socio economic advantaged families received more parental support with their studies during the school closure period. this was particularly worsened in rural communities of developing societies (donnelly et al., 2021). socio economic wellbeing in sub-saharan african rural district. the resilience of the food production sector has been tested by the covid-19 outbreak. a global crash in demand from hotel and restaurants has been seen prices of agricultural commodities drop by 20 percent (alsafi, abbas, hassan & ali, 2020). the food sector, including food distribution and retailing has been put under strain as a result of people panic-buying and stockpiling food (jack, 2020). this led to increased concerns about shortages of food products. panic – buying resulted in an increase worth of food in homes. the high demand on food products affected online food significantly. in the public covid-19 crisis, food security, public health, employment and labour issues in particular workers, health and safety converge. the pandemic has caused unprecedented challenge for healthcare system worldwide in particular, the risk to health care workers is one of the greatest vulnerabilities of healthcare system worldwide. the pandemic created additional barriers for patients accessing essential care through restriction on movement lack of service provision, stigma, impoverishment from loss of livelihood and avoidance of care due to concerns over contracting the virus (regan & chi, 2020) statement of the problem socio -economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district of southern cross river state has become a key challenge. these communities have not been able to achieve transformational economic, social and environmental changes required for improved standard of living. thus, the continual poor living condition and quality of livelihood of has negatively affected the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. the experiences of poor sanitation, disease, hunger, food insecurity, poor literacy status, deprivations are indicators of socioeconomic crisis in sub sahara african communities. covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing in cross river state, the southern senatorial district is affected by low incomes and living standards. their earning capacity from the informal sector or non-wage employment is also significantly poor (nkpoyen, usoroh,.eteng, cobham, umo & anam, 2021). additionally, very few assets are owned by households, prevalence of families eating not more than one meal per day; a high proportion of malnourished children, lack of vocational skill acquisition centres to promote self-employment, long distances to nearest produce markets especially during rainy season and all along the year for riverine areas; a huge proportion of children walking long distances to fetch water and to attend school etc. the southern senatorial district has endured serious socio-economic disadvantages despite the long tradition of federal, state and local government interventions. these conditions have collectively affected socio-economic wellbeing in terms of reduction in life expectancy, literacy, level of employment, health status; also changes in less tangible factors such as personal dignity, freedom of association, personal safety and extent of participation in community governance and civil society. the overall quality of life is poor. this has been exacerbated by corona virus pandemic. the coronavirus that has spread across the world just over a year ago has attracted enormous attention from scholars and other concerned citizens. the pandemic has not spared any community or society. the effect of covid – 19 had been turmoil on the economy. covid-19 rapdily caused devastating socio-economic impacts such as income loss, business impacts and health concern. basic awareness among communities in the wake of an unfamiliar crisis further exacerbated the situation. the covid-19 pandemic is having unprecedented social, political and economic effects and economics of sub-saharan african societies. global recession is even projected the longer the pandemic persist, the impact is also disproportionately distributed across communities. the sub-saharan societies because of their small and low-income are facing severe consequences given their relatively weak health system, limited fiscal and monetary options and a relatively strong reliance on external trade. the covid-19 crisis causes profound consequences in subsaharan african rural communities. the efforts to curb the spread of the virus are driving societies and economies in a turmoil. there are aggravated impact of covid-19 crisis particularly for those living on the economic margins. the pandemic is deepening pre-existing inequalities and discrimination, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political and economic systems which are in turn amplifying the impacts. therefore, its potential socio-economic impact in sub saharan africa district of southern cross river sate is becoming a major concern. 113 theoretical framework sustainable livelihood approach livelihood think dates back to the work of robert chambers in the mid-1980s. according to chambers and conway (1992) a livelihood comprises the capabilities assets and activities required for a means of living. a livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintains or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base. the sustainable livelihoods framework (slf) forms the core of the sustainable livelihood approach and serves as an instrument for the investigation of people’s livelihood while visualizing the main factors of influence. in its simplest form, the framework depicts stakeholders as operating in a context vulnerability within which they have access to certain assets. these gain their meaning and valve through the prevailing social, institutional and organizational environment. this context decisively influences the livelihood strategies that are open to people in pursuit of their selfdefined beneficial livelihood outcomes. according to the template, the vulnerability context forms the external environment in which people exist and gain importance through direct impacts upon people’s assets status (devereux, 2002). it comprises trends (i.e demographic trends; resource trends; trends in governance0, shocks (i.e, human, livestock or crop health shocks, natural hazards, like floods or earthquakes, economic shocks, conflict in form of national or international wars) and seasonality (i.e seasonality of prices, products or employment opportunities) and represents the part of the framework that lies furthest outside stakeholder’s control. this framework views this pandemic as a phenomenon that exist beyond the control of people adversely affecting their socioeconomic wellbeing. covid-19 has affected livelihood outcomes such as reduced income, decreased well-being due to lack of self-esteem, poor health status, reduced access to services (such as education, health etc), increased vulnerability by reduced resilience through increase in asset status reduced food security (such as reducing financial capital in order to buy food) objectives of the study the study generally investigated covid-19 pandemic and socio economic wellbeing of sub saharan district of southern cross river state. specifically, the study sought to: covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing 1 .examine the relationship between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of impact on literacy in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. 2. determine the association between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods/food systems in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. 3. investigate the association between covid-19 impact on public health and socio economic wellbeing of sub saharan district of southern cross river state. hypotheses 1. covid-19 has no significant association with socio economic wellbeing in terms of impact on literacy in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. 2. covid-19 has no significant association with socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods/food systems in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. 3. covid-19 has no significant association with socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. research method design the research design that was used for the study is survey. it adopted the quantitative approach. thus, the survey research design enabled the researcher explore the relationship between covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district of southern nigeria. 115 study area southern senatorial district is one of the three senatorial districts in cross river state. it lies between longitude 905’ and 100 20’ east of the greenwich meridian and latitudes 5 0 16’ and 40 5’ south of the equator. it is commonly referred to as greater calabar district. it is made up of seven (7) local government areas: biase, akamkpa, odukpani, calabar south, calabar municipality, akpabuyo and bakassi. it has a population of 1,590, 200 (npc, 2016 population projection). population of the study the population of the study comprised all the inhabitants of the seven (7) local government areas that constitute the southern senatorial district of cross river state. thus, the population according to npc (2006) of are: akamkpa 200,100; akpabuyo 363,900; bakassi 42,300; biase 224,700; calabar south 255,999; calabar municipality 245,500; odukpani 275,800 this gives a total population of 1,590,200 (npc, 2016 population projection). all adult citizens of all works of life residing in these communities and comprising those actually involved in various productive activities in these communities constituted the population of the study. sample size the sample for the study was made up of 654 respondents selected from six (6) local government areas (calabar municipality was excluded due to its urban status) and eighteen (18) villages. in determining the sample size, the simplified procedure recommended by taro yamene(1967) was adopted. the sample of the study was made up of 654 respondents that were selected from clusters (villages or communities). the sample size for the study based on taro yamene’s computation was 400 respondents. therefore, considering the accrual/enrollment (response rate from questionnaire), drop-outs (lost and inappropriately filled) and the missing data, the geographical coverage being entirely southern district in cross river state, the researcher decided to increase the sample size of 400 by 50 percent. this then gave an overall sample size of 600. additionally, by adding the 48 people who participated in the focus group discussions (fgds) and the 6 persons who were involved in the key informant interviews (kiis). thus, a total of six hundred and fifty-four respondents constituted the sample size of the study. covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing sampling technique the multi-stage sampling procedure (purposive, stratified and systematic) was adopted for the study. firstly, all the seven (7) local government areas that make up the southern senatorial districts were studied except calabar municipality. thus, 6 lgas participated in the study. these 6 lgas constituted the 6 strata of the study. thus, akamkpa represented stratum 1, bakassi represented stratum 2, biase represented stratum 3, akpabuyo represented stratum 4, calabar south represented stratum 5 while odukpani represented stratum 6. from each stratum, three (3) communities were selected through the hat and draw method of simple random sampling procedure. these 3 communities constituted the 3 sub-stratum in each stratum. there were 6 strata in all. the same procedure of simple random sampling was adopted throughout the 6 strata. to draw the actual respondents for the study, a systematic random sampling procedure was used. given the fact that the population of each sub-stratum is not homogenous, the proportionate sampling was thus adopted. this yielded a total of 600 respondents (see table1).overall, 48 people participated in the focus group discussion and 6 people participated in the key informant interview (drawn from each stratum). instruments three instruments were used for data collection: the questionnaire, the focus group discussion guide and key informant interview guide. for example, participants in the study were required to respond to the questionnaire items such as: “the need to check the spread in the number of covid-19 cases led to the lockdown of schools in my area’’. again, ‘’covid-19 made most of what we do for a living to close down because of the lock down’’ analysis and discussion of finding table 1: sample distribution by strata and sub-stratum in the study area strata total a b c d e f gt res % substratum total 1 2 3 35 31 34 100 4 5 6 25 40 35 100 7 8 9 33 29 38 100 10 11 12 43 26 31 100 13 14 15 26 39 35 100 16 17 18 34 30 36 100 600 600 600 600 100 100 source: field data (2021) 117 hypothesis one covid-19 impact on education (literacy) has no significant association with socio economic wellbeing in southern district of cross river state. the result is presented in table 2 table 2: pearson product-moment correlation analysis of the relationship between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of education/literacy in southern cross river state (n=600) variables ∑x ∑y ∑x2 ∑y2 ∑xy r-cal covid-19 pandemic a. closure of schools (x1) b. stagnating educational endeavor (x2) c. no free school meals (x3) d. digital learning (x4) socio economic wellbeing (y) 1050 1055 1040 1046 950 1950 1970 1945 1952 1650 1775 1750 1780 1774 0.878 0.614 0.925 0.860 significant at 0.05, criticalr= 0.195, df= 598 source: field data (2021). results of analysis in table 4.7 show that the calculated r-values of 0.878, 0.614, 0.925, 0.860 are greater than the critical r-value of 0.195 at 0.05 level of significance, with 598 degrees of freedom. this means that covid-19 impact on education significantly related to socio economic wellbeing in sub saharan district of southern cross river state. hypothesis two covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods in southern cross river state. table 3: chi-square (x2) contingency analysis of the association between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods in southern cross river state (n =600) variables household income total high low covid-19 pandemic shortage of food products food insecurity small retail business threatened loss of jobs disrupted food supply loss productive assets total 55 50 120 60 32 48 365 25 45 30 40 53 42 235 80 95 150 100 85 90 600 source: field data (2021). covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing table 4: contingency table showing the association between covid-19and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s livelihoods in southern cross river state (n=600) cell 0 e 0 e (0 e)2 ( 0 – e)2/e 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 55 25 50 45 120 30 60 40 32 53 48 42 48.67 31.33 57.79 37.21 91.25 58.75 60.83 39.17 51.71 33.29 54.75 35.25 6.33 -6.33 -7.79 7.79 28.75 -28.75 -0.83 0.83 -19.71 19.71 16.75 6.75 40.0689 40.0689 60.6841 60.6841 826.5625 826.5625 0.6889 0.6889 388.4841 388.4841 45.5625 45.5625 0.82 1.28 1.05 1.63 9.06 14.07 0.01 0.02 7.51 11.67 0.83 1.29 total 600 49.24 source: field data (2021). calculated (x2) value = 49. 24 critical (x2) value = 11.1 level of significance = 0.05 degree of freedom = 5 result of analysis in table 4.8 show that the calculated (x2) value of 49.24 is greater than the critical (x2) of 11.1 at 0.05 level of significance, with 5 degrees of freedom.. this means that covid-19 is significantly associated with socio economic wellbeing in terms of impact on people’s livelihoods. hypothesis three covid-19 impact on public health has no significant association with socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health. the result of the analysis is presented in table 4 table 5. chi-square (x2) contingency analysis of the association between covid-19 impact on public health and socio-economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health in southern cross river state (n= 600) variables socio economic wellbeing total increased decreased covid-19 health impact accessibility/utilization of health care non accessibility/utilization total 220 125 345 100 155 255 320 280 600 source: field data (2021). 119 table 6: contingency table showing the association between covid-19 impact on public health and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health in southern cross river state(n=600) cell 0 e 0 e (0 e)2 ( 0 – e)2/e 1 2 3 4 220 100 125 155 184 136 161 119 36 -36 -36 36 1296 1296 1296 1296 7.04 9.53 8.05 10.89 total 600 35.51 source: field data (2021). calculated (x2) value = 35.51 critical (x2) value = 3.84 level of significance =0.05 degree of freedom = 1 results of analysis in table 4.10 show that the calculated (x2) value of 35.51 is greater than the critical (x2) value of 3.84, at 0.05 level of significance with 1 degree of freedom. this means that there is a significant association between covid-19 and socio economic wellbeing in terms of people’s health. discussion of findings the findings support (goring 2021) who observes that food security faces several challenges across both production and consumption. many countries are facing the double burden of hunger and under nutrition with one in three people across the globe currently suffering from some form of malnutrition. the pandemic increased the proportion of people unable to access food. the emergence of the novel coronavirus brought to the doorsteps of millions globally scores of persons, particularly entrepreneurs with many suffering from loss of incomes (goring 2021). niles, bertmann, morgan, wentworth, biehl and nesf (2021) commented that secure and safe food system implying a continual supply of food is not available in a reliable, steady, safe and affordable has not been possible because of covid-19. bhat (2020) observed a one percent slowdown in the global agricultural productivity due to the adverse impact of the pandemic. the covid-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food system and the world of work. the findings confirmed (who 2020) that economic and social disruptions caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people have fallen into extreme poverty, with the covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing number of people currently estimated at nearly 690 million. millions of enterprise face an existential threat. nearly half of the world’s global work force are at risk of losing their livelihoods (who 2020). informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because the majority lack social protection and access to quality healthcare and have lost access to productive assets. without the means to earn an income many are unable to feed themselves and their families. for the most, no income means no food or less food and less nutrition food. the pandemic has affected the entire food system exposing its fragility. the containment measures of border closured, trade restriction and confinement measure prevented farmers from accessing markets, including buying inputs and selling their produce and agricultural workers from harvesting crops. this disrupted domestic and international food supply chains and reduced access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. the pandemic decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihood at risk. as breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat. those in sub-saharan africa and other low income countries particularly the most marginalized population such as small scale farmers and indigenous people are hardest hit. agricultural workers both waged and self-employed while feeding the world are facing high level of working poverty, malnutrition and poor health. with low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working in unsafe condition. also, when experiencing income losses, they resort to negative coping strategies such as distress, sale of assets, predatory loans or child labor. (who, 2020). covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating collateral effect on health services utilization. although utilization of health services are improving since control of the pandemic was achieved utilization rates have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic levels. the risk of patients deferring or foregoing health service is increasingly high. (delamou, ayadisidibe, delvaux, camara & sandouno, 2020). the covid-19 has affected access and utilization of health care for the poorest and most vulnerable. this has affected people’s socio economic wellbeing and exacerbated existing inequities in the health system (donnelly, patrinos & gresham, 2021). conclusion and recommendation. covid-19 has adversely affected the socio-economic wellbeing of sub saharan african district. different forms of support are key, including cash transfers, child allowances and healthy school meals, shelter and food relief initiatives, support for employment retention and recovery, and financial relief for businesses, including micro, small and medium-sized 121 enterprises. school closures due to covid-19 brought significant disruptions to education. the pandemic is gave rise to learning losses and increases in inequality. to reduce and reverse the long-term negative effect, it is necessary to implement learning recovery programs, protect educational budgets, and prepare for future shocks. covid-19 and socio-economic wellbeing references akpan, n. s. 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(2007). environmental sustainability and human wellbeing indicators from the ecosystem perspective in the middle paraiba region. rio de janeiro, brazil. cad.sau’depubliza, 23, (4), 47-52. nyong, e. e. (2016). creating an enabling environment for sustainable development of niger delta region, thematic workshop on sustainable development of the niger delta region, port harcourt. obinna, i. (2001). community livelihood resources and development implications. development in practice 3(2):113-122. ajibo, h. (2020). effects of covid-19 on nigerian socio-economic wellbeing, health sector pandemic preparedness and the role of nigerian social workers in the war against covid19. social work in public health 35, 7, 511 – 522 goring, d. (2021). the novel coronavirus and its impacts on food security. guyana chronicle, the nation’s paper regan, l., & chi, y. (2020). the direct health effects of covid-19; the challenges of living through a pandemic. center for global development. kansagra, a. p., goyal, m. s., hamilton, s., & albert, g. w. (2020). collateral effects of covid-19 on stroke evaluation in the united states. n engl j med. gw, w. h., zhou, y., liu, x., & tan, j. (2020). the impacts of the covid-19 epidemic on the utilization of emergency dental services. j dent sci 41, 3, 213 – 221. global health campus (2021). the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malene, geneva switzerland. http://www.grin.com/en/ehttp://www.stiglitz-sea-fitoussi/ page 3 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences the impact of check-off system on trade union effectiveness and organizational productivity: a study of enugu state ministry of education ugwu, c.u. department of international relations and personnel management, caritas university, amorji nike, enugu abstract this study on “the impact of check-off system on trade union effectiveness and organizational productivity (a study of enugu state ministry of education)” is aimed at determining the relationship between the check-off system and trade union effectiveness vis-avis organizational productivity in enugu state ministry of education. the survey research design was used for the study. the population of the study comprised all the two hundred (200) staff of the ministry. the yaro yameni formula was used to draw a sample size of one hundred and thirty-three (133) respondents from the population which comprised both the junior, senior and management staff of the ministry. the instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire. a total of one hundred and thirty-three (133) questionnaires were distributed out of which 130 were correctly completed and returned, thereby forming our new sample size. the formulated hypotheses were tested with chi-square (x2) statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance. some of the major findings were that the check-off system was an easy method of collecting union membership subscriptions which facilitated union effectiveness and promoted organizational productivity, and that an effective trade union is one which seeks to promote the interest and welfare of its members through improved working conditions such as pay raise, reduced hours of work and other enhanced fringe benefits, etc. based on the findings, it was recommended that management of enugu state ministry of education and indeed all other organizations should encourage the formation of trade unions as they can be used as a vehicle for promoting organizational productivity through the check-off system; management should also assist unions by ensuring the full implementation of the check-off system as finance is the life wire of any union; union members should be encouraged to donate generously to their unions as another source of revenue for the union in order to enhance their effectiveness and promote organizational productivity. keywords: effectiveness, employment, money, organizational productivity and unionism introduction money is the life blood of every organization. check-off system is a monthly subscription from individual employees based on an agreed deduction percentage which should be deducted by management from individual employee’s salary and paid into the union’s account for the running of the union. the strength or weakness of a union depends on its financial base. hence, a threat by management to the stoppage of the check-off system is a strong management weapon in the face of industrial action by the union. the bottom line of workers union seems to be hinged on the belief of the workers that it is only through unity that they can protect themselves from unilateral management whims and caprices. sometimes even when the employer is trustworthy and benevolent employees feel that they need unity to protect themselves. low morals, fear of job loss and arbitrary management actions help to foster unionization (dessler, 2008). according to armstrong (2006), the check-off system involves management’s deduction of the subscriptions of trade union members on behalf of the union. it is popular among unions as it helps to maintain union membership and provides a reasonably well-guaranteed source of union income. management generally co-operate with unions in the deduction of the check-off subscriptions as a gesture of good faith to their trade union. the check-off system enables management to know how many employees are union members. the trade union and employment right act 1993 provides that if an employer is lawfully to make a check-off deduction from worker’s pay; there must be a period of consent from the worker and renewed consent at least every three years. this three years renewal provisions can inhibit the maintenance of the system (armstrong, 2006). the check-off dues or subscription deduction by employees on behalf of trade unions operating in their organizations are used for running the affairs of the union with a view to achieving the union’s objectives, which in turn paves the way to harmonious industrial climate which ultimately results to increased organizational productivity. flippo (1984:425) defines a labour union or trade union as an organization of workers formed to promote, protect, and improve through collective actions, the social, economic and political interests of its members. the dominant interest with which the union is concerned is economic which demands for improved wages, hours and better working conditions. an individual employee often has a variety of reasons for wanting to join a union. more often than not, it is the only avenue toward obtaining a job. majority of employers stipulate that union membership is compulsory for job retention. a second reason for joining a labour organization is one for which management can find no substitute, a sense of freedom from arbitrary management action. a theoretical prefect management could provide more than fair hours, wages and working condition; as well as establish a most complete and effective human relations and integration programme. flippo (1984:425) that, there is no way other than through organized and collective force than an employee can feel independent enough to challenge the action of formal superiors in management. perfect management cannot either give this desire sense of freedom and importance. the ability to offer freedom from actual or potential arbitrary management decrees and unwholesomeness actions concerning the industrial lives of employees is a primary source of strength for the labour union, hence, unionism is hinged on the popular saying that “united we stand and divided we fall”. the development of trade unionism in nigeria labour union in nigeria started in 1912 when government employees formed the civil service union. in 1914, this organization became the nigeria union of civil servant after the merging of the northern and southern protectorates of nigeria. in 1931, two other unions, namely, the railway workers union and the nigerian union of teachers (nut) were formed. according to fashoyin (2007:33), the nigeria union of teachers (nut) was formed in 1931 by such eminent teachers as the rev. i. o. random kuti as president, t. k. cameron as secretary and e. e. esau as assistant secretary. from the onset, the nut combined economics and professional function, the union pressed for harmonization of the working conditions of african teachers in mission schools with those in government owned schools which were substantially better than the former. on march 1947, the nut served notice on the government to the effect that unless the disparity was removed, it would call a strike. on the other hand, the nut sought to serve as a watch dog of government education policy and to maintain a high standard both in the quality of education and in the quality of its members. consequently, it is noteworthy that up to late 1970s the nut remained the best organized and the most stable nigeria unions (fashoyin, 2007). the origin of trade unions fashoyin (2007) observed that in traditional african communities social institutions such as guilds and craft societies, existed before colonial times, but what is unclear was the pattern of their transition is any, be modern trade unions. as fashoyin (2007) points out, the transition from guild of self-employed handcraft works to the trade unions of employed workers took place with differences of details between different countries. in some cases, there was a sharp break between the denture of the guilds and the birth of trade unions. in other cases, there was a gradual and organic change from one to the other. although earlier guilds and societies may not have transformed into modern days unions, they performed the same duty as they do today. they regulate their trades such as ensuring that jobs were performed according to laid down standards and political forum for their members, they provided social services to members for the most parts, however, the wage earning concept was not always a feature of the guilds. surely, guilds had journeymen or pool labour practices enabling members to take turns at carrying out each other assignment but the master were not employers of labour neither were the journeymen were earners. fashoyin (2007) stated that as early 1897, there had a 3-day strike by artisan workmen in the public works department (pwd) in lagos, i protest against the workmen hours of work. the reaction of governor mc callum of lagos which reflected the public policy of the period was unquestionably anti-union. in spite of the governor’s “bold face” the strikers maintained their stand until he agreed to negotiate a compromise with men, while there was no evidence that a formal organization of the pwd strikers existed at that time, the governor wrote in his dispatch to the secretary of state for the colonies, about a ring leaders of another protest against the police. fashoyin noted that the first evidence of a trade union was the mechanics mutual aid provident and mutual improvement association, formed in july 1883. at it’s inaugural meeting, its leaders noted that “it is surely lamentable that owe have no big men” to set us example in lagos”. while they expressed doubts about the immediate failure of their young organization, they were never the less optimistic that future generations would benefit from their pioneering venture. thus, one member, mr. haastrup cautioned members of the association not to look forward because there was nothing to encourage them in front, but to look to the children and the coming generation. there was however, no evidence at the moment to show that this union existed beyond the 1880s fashoyin concluded. the history of trade union in nigeria indicates that the first union was known as the nigeria civil service union (ncsu) founded in 1912, emerged from the growing wage employment in government establishment. the union was however the typical trade union as it was formed with the ideas of a trade union as organization that felt that need to fight for member’s right. fashoyin noted that the three unions, namely the nigeria civil service union, the railway men and the nut, dominated the industrial relations scene of the 1930s and that a few development and conceptual issues should however be noted at that point. first, unlike the nigerian civil service union, both the nut and the railway union best represented the ideas of trade unions as organizations whose purpose was the advancement of the employment interests of its members. that the nut in addition catered for the professional interests of its members, illustrates a commitment to professionalism. younger organizations such as the nigerian medical association (nma) and the academic staff union of universities (asuu) have been much more concerned with purely economistic functions. second, the unions that emerged before 1938 more all in the civil (public) services, reflecting the dominance of the public sector in employment. indeed, up to the mid-1940s, the private sector was at its infancy. in the event, the domination of the government sector, had far-reaching consequences for other actors in the system. third, with the emergence of trade unions and their significant achievements, colonial anti-union policy became increasingly unrealistic. indeed, by the late 1930s strike had become a major concern of the colonial administration which saw class action not only disruptive to economic policies but also politically challenging. the consequent introduction of definitive labour policy was as some argue a means of containing the growing militancy of the workers, rather than a deliberate policy to foster trade unionism (fashoyin, 2007:33). functions of trade unions armstrong (2007:766) stated that the traditional and fundamental purpose of trade union is to promote and protect the interest of their members. they are there to redress the balance of power between the employers and employees. the basis of the employment relationship is the contrast of employment. but this is not a contract between equals. employers are always in a stronger position to dictate the terms of the contracts employees. hence, trade unions as indicated by freeman and medoff (1984), provided workers with a “collective voice” to make their wishes known to management and thus bring actual and desired conditions closer together. this applies not only to terms of employment such as pay, working hours and holidays but also to the way which individuals are treated in such aspects of employment as the redress of grievance, discipline and redundancy. trade unions also exist to let management know from time to time, that there will be an alternative view on key issues affecting employees. more broadly, unions may see theirs as that of participating with management on decision making on matter affecting their members’ interests. within this overall role, trade unions have had two specific roles, namely: to secure, through collective bargaining, improved terms and conditions for their members and to provide protection, support and advice to their members as individual employees. an additional role of providing legal, financial and other services to their members has become prominent in recent times (armstrong, 2006). statement of the problem workers unionize in order to enhance their working condition by attracting better welfare packages such as salary payment as at when due, more holidays, sick leave, insurance plan benefits, pension benefits and various other benefits which would have eluded them if they were not unionized. unions have been able to reduce the impact of downsizings and wage cuts in most industries.the unions no doubt play significant roles in employee welfare improvement and this requires adequate finance to enable their leaders to achieve these enormous responsibilities to their members. this will no doubt ensure union leader effectiveness. objectives of the study check-off system is a veritable source of income to trade unions and plays a very significant role in ensuring their effectiveness and enhancement of organizational productivity. the objective of this research project is to ascertain the impact of the check-off system on trade union’s effectiveness and organizational productivity. specifically, the purpose of this study is basically to: 1. examine the relationship between the check-off system and trade union’s effectiveness and organizational productivity; 2. ascertain the impact of check-off system on trade union’s effectiveness and organizational productivity; 3. explore other source of income available to trade unions which would aid their effectiveness, and hence, improve organizational productivity; 4. ascertain whether there are financial leakages in the check-off system which militate against the effectiveness of trade unions and organizational productivity; 5. ascertain whether there is any significant relationship between effectiveness of trade union and organizational productivity. research questions this study will be guided by the following research questions. 1. is there any significant relationship between check-off system and trade unionism effectiveness and organizational productivity? 2. what is the impact of check-off system on trade unionism effectiveness and organizational productivity? 3. are there other available sources of income apart from the check-off system to trade unions which would enhance their effectiveness and hence, improve organizational productivity? 4. are there financial leakages in the check-off system in terms of embezzlement of union funds by union leaders, which militate against their effectiveness and organizational productivity? 5. is there any significant relationship between trade unionism effectiveness and organizational productivity? research hypotheses in line with the objectives of the study and research questions posed, the following hypotheses have been formulated to guide the study. 1. null hypothesis (ho): the check-off system is not an easy method of collection of trade union membership subscription, thereby not facilitating the union’s leadership effectiveness and not promoting organizational productivity. alternative hypothesis (h1): the check-off system is an easy method of collecting trade union membership subscription, thereby facilitating the union’s leadership effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity. 2. null hypothesis (ho): the check-off system does not ensure union’s leadership effectiveness and does not promote organizational productivity. alternative null hypothesis (h1): the check-off system ensures union’s leadership effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. 3. null hypothesis (ho): trade unions cannot raise funds through willful donations and levies, which cannot ensure their effectiveness and does not promote organizational productivity. alternative (h1): trade unions can raise funds through willful donations and levies, which can ensure their effectiveness and promote organizational productivity. significance of the study the relevance of any research work is dependent upon the benefits which the society stands to derive from it. the findings of this work will therefore be immense benefits to trade union leaders and their individual members as well as to the employers and management of organization with particular reference to enugu state ministry of education. students and scholars of industrial relations and personnel management also stand to benefit a lot from the findings of this research work. scope of the study the scope of this study will be limited to the impact of the check-off system on trade unionism effectiveness and organizational productivity in enugu state ministry of education, enugu. the research work will focus mainly on the impact of the check-off dues on trade union’s effectiveness and how it affects the performance of trade union leaders in achieving the union’s objectives at the enugu state ministry of education, enugu. research design a research design is a blueprint upon which the researcher is built. the design of this study is the survey research design. the survey design is a type of research design which studies a sample drawn from the population which is large enough to be a representative of the population, from which the findings can be generalized to the entire population. area of the study and population according to nworgu (1991), area of study refers to a geographical area covered by the study which could be a country, a state, a local government area, an education, political or administrative zone. the area of this study is the enugu state ministry of education, located at the state secretariat, enugu. the population of the study refers to the target group of which the researcher intends to investigate. the population of this study is the entire staff of the enugu state ministry of education numbering 200 staff. sample and sampling techniques a sample is a small part or element drawn from the population for investigation. the stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample for this study. the workers were stratified into three categories, namely, junior, intermediate and senior staff and the proportional random sampling technique was used to select elements from each stratum. the taro yameni’s formula was used to determine the sample size as follows: n = n 1+n(e)2 where n = sample size sought n = total population e = level of significance or margin of error at 0.05 i = constant therefore n = 200 e = 5% or 0.05 n = 200 1+200 (0.05)2 n = 200 1+200 (0.0025) n = 1 + 0.5 n = 200 1.5 n = 133.333 n = 133 source of data the primary and secondary sources of data were used for the study. the primary sources include the questionnaire, observations and oral interviews granted to the researcher by the respondents, while the secondary sources of data comprised the library books, journals, newspapers and magazines and other printed and online materials. instrument for data collection the major instrument used for data collection in this study is the questionnaire, which was constructed in line with the study objectives, hypothesis and the research questions. the questionnaire was divided into two parts. section a comprised questions on bio-data of respondents, while section b covered questions arising from the study objectives, hypothesis and research questions. the validity of the instrument was ensured by the supervisor’s correction of the questionnaire with regards to its content and format, thereby ensuring its content and face validity. on the other hand, the reliability of the instrument was tested through the test-retest method whereby some copies were administered to the respondents and repeat after two weeks of which the results were consistent at each occasion, thereby confirming its reliability. method of data collection data for this research were collected from both the primary and secondary sources. the primary sources where collected by the researcher through the questionnaires, observations and personal interviews of the respondents, while the secondary data were collected from the library books, other printed materials and the internet. the researcher personally administered the questionnaire to the respondents who gave her appointment on when to collect them after completion. method of data analysis the data generated through the questionnaire were grouped into frequencies, computed into percentages and presented in tables.the hypotheses were tested using the chi-square statistical formula as follows: x2 = ∑(o – e)2 e where x2 = chi-square o = observed frequency e = expected frequency ∑ = summation all the formulated hypothesis were tested with the above formula. the degree of freedom (df) = (r – i) (c – i) where r = number of rows in the table c = number of columns in the table i = constant the measurement was done under 0.05 or 5% level of significance, which implies that the probability of errors expected in the statement of the hypothesis were 0.05 or 5%. this statistical tool is very simple to apply and it is best suited for the questions posed in the research questions and for the testing of the hypotheses. decision/acceptance rule 1. reject null hypothesis (ho) if calculated value of x2 is greater than the table value and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if the calculated chi-square value is less than the value from the chi-square table, reject the alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept the null hypothesis (ho). results analysis of the questionnaires a total of one hundred and thirty-three (133) questionnaires were administered to the respondents out of which one hundred were correctly completed and returned. these figures are hereby presented in table 4.1 below. table 1: return rate of distributed questionnaire variables no. of respondents percentage (%) no. distributed 133 100% no. correctly completed and returned 130 98% no. not returned 3 2% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that almost all the questionnaires distributed (98%) were correctly completed and returned, while an insignificant number (3) representing 2% were not returned, thereby showing a very high rate of return. table 2: sex distribution of respondents variables frequency percentage (%) male 70 54% female 50 46% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 70 respondents representing 54% are males while 60 representing 46% are females. the indication is that enugu state ministry of education is staffed with more employees who are not burdened with domestic chores and child bearing and rearing which hindered the level of productivity of women in the workforce. table 3: age distribution of respondents variables frequency percentage (%) 20 – 30 years 40 31% 31 – 40 years 50 38% 41 – 50 years 30 23% 51 years and above 10 8% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, it can be seen that 70 (31%) of the respondents are aged between 20 – 30 years, 50 (38%) are between 31 – 40 years, 30 (23%) are between 41 – 50 years of age, while the remaining 10 (8%) are above 50 years old. the highest percentage was recorded within the age bracket of 31 – 40 years. this means that the organization believes that these age brackets are energetic young men and women who can contribute their best towards the attainment of her goals. another reason could be to save cost because younger employees have less experience and hence, earn lower stating wage. also, younger employees to be contented with lower wages because they have lesser responsibilities as most of them may still be single. table 4: marital status of respondents variables frequency percentage (%) single 35 27% married 90 69% divorced 0 0% separated 0 0% widow(er) 5 4% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table indicates that 35 (27%) of the respondents are single, 90 (69%) are married, no respondent was either divorced or separated while 5 (4%) are widow(er). the implication is that majority of the employees being married means that they would be shouldering family responsibilities like payment of school fees for children and house rent, and should be paid their wages as at when due to offset these responsibilities, hence, their union should be very effective to ensure that management should live as to the worker’s expectations. table 5: distribution of respondents by educational qualification. variables frequency percentage (%) ond 30 23% hnd/b.sc 80 62% m.sc/ph.d 15 12% ssce/gce 5 3% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 30 (23%) of the respondents possess ond, 80 (62%) have either hnd or b.sc, 15 (12%) have m.sc or ph.d while the remaining 5 (3%) have ssce/gce. the above analysis implies that the management of enugu state ministry of education employs highly qualified and educated workers in her labour force. this can also mean that the organization allows employees to grow by allowing them the opportunity to improve their education by acquiring more qualification through on-the-job training. table 6: distribution of respondents by working experience variables frequency percentage (%) 1 – 15 years 5 3% 6 – 10 years 15 12% 11 – 15 years 40 31% 21 years and above 70 54% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, it can be seen that 5 respondents representing 3% have between 1 and 5 years working experience, 15 respondents representing 12% have worked with the organization for between 6 – 10 years, 40 respondents representing 31% have worked for between 11 – 15 years, while 70 respondent representing 54% have worked for more than 20 years with the enugu state ministry of education enugu. table 7: distribution of respondents by position held variables frequency percentage (%) junior staff 26 20% senior staff 78 60% management staff 26 20% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows position at enugu state ministry of education and majority (78) of the respondents representing 60% are senior staff, followed by management staff and junior staff constituting 26 respondents representing 20% each. these means that the data supplied is authentic as they mostly given by senior staff who usually represent group’s interest in an organization. this category of staff act as spokespersons for both sides (employees and employer) as they are tasked to look after the interest of both the business and that of those who work in them. research question i the check-off system ensures an easy way of collecting union membership. table 8 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 26 20% agree 91 70% undecided 13 10% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, 20 respondents represented by 20% of the respondents strongly agreed that the check off system is an easy way of collecting union membership subscription, 91 respondents represented by 70% also attest to the same statement, while 13 respondents represented by 10% are undecided about the statement. since majority (117) respondents represented by 90% strongly agreed and agreed, it is therefore true that the check-off system is an easy way of collecting union membership subscription. research question ii the check-off system does neither ensure union’s effectiveness nor enhance organizational productivity. table 9 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 0 0% agree 0 0% undecided 52 40% strongly disagree 26 20% disagree 52 40% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table indicates that 52 respondents represented by 40% did neither agree nor disagree to the statement that the check-off system does neither ensure union’s effectiveness nor enhance organizational productivity, while 20 respondents represented by 20% and another 52 respondents represented by 40% of the respondents strongly disagreed and disagreed respectively to the statement. since majority (78) respondents representing 60% of the respondents disagreed to the statement, it means that the check-off system ensures union’s effectiveness and enhances organizational productivity. research question iii trade unions can also raise funds through willful donations and levies, while help to ensure their effectiveness and promote organizational productivity. table 10 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 39 30% agree 78 60% undecided 0 0% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 13 10% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the analysis above shows that trade unions raise funds through willful donations and levies. this is because 39 respondents representing 30% of the respondents and 78 respondents representing 60% of the respondents respectively strongly agreed and agreed to the statement, while minority 13 respondents represented by 10% disagreed to the statement. research question iv trade union accounts are not auditable; hence leaders mismanage its funds which militate against their effectiveness and organizational productivity. table 11 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 13 10% agree 39 30% undecided 26 20% strongly disagree 26 20% disagree 26 20% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, 13 respondents representing 10% of the respondents strongly agreed that trade union accounts are auditable, hence union leaders mismanage its funds which militate against their effectiveness and organizational productivity. also, another 39 respondents representing 30% of the respondents agreed to the statement, while 26 respondents represented by 20% of the respondents each representing 20% of the respondents strongly disagree and agreed respectively to the statement. the implication of the analysis is that the auditability or non-auditability of trade union’s account depends on the union’s constitution of the respective union, since equal number (52) of respondents each agreed and disagreed to the statement. only an insignificant number (26) representing 20% of the respondents were undecided to the statement. research question v union effectiveness has no relationship with organizational productivity. table 12 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 0 0% agree 0 0% undecided 26 20% strongly disagree 52 40% disagree 52 40% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 as can be seen from the above table, 26 respondents represented by 20% of the respondents were not certain about the statement that trade union effectiveness has no relationship with organizational productivity while majority of the respondents (104) represented by 80% disagree and strongly disagree to the same statement. it therefore means that union effectiveness can and does lead to organized productivity. research question vi trade union leaders spend a lot of money to campaign for their elections because of the huge financial benefit that accrue from it. table 13 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 26 20% agree 52 40% undecided 26 20% strongly disagree 26 20% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 26 respondents represented by 20% strongly agree that trade union leaders spend a lot of money to campaign for elections because of the huge financial benefits that accrue from it. additional 52 respondents representing 40% of the respondents also agree to this statement. 26 respondents each represented by 20% each were undecided and disagreed to the statement respectively. the implication is that a lot of money is actually spent for trade union electioneering because of the huge financial benefits accruable from being a union leader. these huge financial benefits probably come from embezzlement of union funds by union leaders. research question vii effective trade unionism promotes organizational productivity. table 14 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 65 50% agree 65 50% undecided 0 0% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that all the respondents (130) representing 100% agreed that effective trade unionism promotes organizational productivity. research question viii an effective trade union is one which seeks to promote the interest of its members in areas of improved working conditions, such as pay, hours of work and other fringe benefits. table 15 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 78 60% agree 39 30% undecided 13 10% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that 78 respondents representing 60% of the respondents and another 39 respondents representing 30% strongly agree and agree respectively that an effective trade union is one which seeks to promote the interest of its members in areas of improved working conditions, such as pay, hours of work and other fringe benefits, while a minority of 13 respondents represented by 10% were uncertain as to what constitutes an effective trade union. research question ix enugu state ministry of education has an effective trade union which promotes the interest of its members. table 16 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 52 40% agree 65 5% undecided 0 0% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 13 10% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 from the above table, it can be seen that majority of the respondents totaling 117, representing 90% agree that enugu state ministry of education has an effective trade union which promotes the interest of its members. only an insignificant number (13) of the respondents representing 10% of the respondents disagreed to that. research question x effective trade union can be achieved through judicious use of union funds by union leaders to pursue the interest of their members. table 17 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 65 50% agree 65 50% undecided 0 0% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above table shows that all the 130 respondents representing 100% of the respondents agree that effective trade union can be achieved through judicious use of union funds by union leaders to pursue the interest of their members. research question xi the check-off system ensures steady and stable income which should guarantee trade union’s effectiveness. table 18 response alternative no. of respondents percentage (%) strongly agree 52 40% agree 65 50% undecided 13 10% strongly disagree 0 0% disagree 0 0% total 130 100% source: fieldwork, 2021 the above analysis shows that 52 respondents representing 40% and another 65 respondents representing 50% of the respondents strongly agree and just agreed that the checkoff system ensures steady and stable income to trade unions which should guarantee their effectiveness. an insignificant number (13) of the respondents representing 10% of the respondents were not certain as to whether or not the check-off system is a steady and stable source of income to trade unions which would guarantee its effectiveness. testing of hypotheses in testing stated hypothesis, the chi-square statistical method will be employed. a statistical hypothesis is made up of null hypothesis (ho) and the alternative hypothesis (h1). test statistics x2 = ∑(oi – ei)2 ei where oi = observed frequency ei = expected frequency ∑ = summation x2 = chi square for chi-square of independence degree of freedom (df) df = (r – 1) (c – 1) level of significance = 0.05 decision rule 1. reject ho if x 2 cal < x2 tab. 2. accept h1 if x 2 cal > x2 tab. that is: 1. if the value of the chi-square calculated is greater than the chi-square value from the statistical table, we reject the null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). x2 cal > x2 tab, reject (ho) and accept (h1). 2. if the value of the chi-square calculated is less than the chi-square value from the statistical table, we reject the alternative hypothesis (h1) and accept the null hypothesis (ho). x2 cal < x2 tab, reject (h1) and accept (ho). hypothesis one ho: the check-off system is not an easy way of collecting union membership subscription, thereby not facilitating the union’s effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity. h1: the check-off system is an easy way of collecting union membership subscription, thereby facilitating the union’s effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity. table 19 to test this hypothesis, question 7 in section b which was analyzed in table 4.18 was used to test this hypothesis. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 26 26 0 0 0 agree 91 26 65 4225 162.5 undecided 13 26 -13 169 6.5 strongly disagree 0 26 -26 676 2.6 disagree 0 26 -26 676 2.6 total 130 174.2 source: fieldwork, 2021 e = sum total of frequencies no. of variables / rows e = 130 = 26 5 hence, e = 130 = 26 5 degree of freedom (df) (r – 1) (c – 1) where r = row, and c = column (5 – 1) (2 – 1) (4) (1) at 0.05 level of significance x2 tab = 7.49 x2 cal = 174.2 decision rule 1. if x2 is greater than x2 tab, reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, accept null hypothesis (ho) and reject alternative hypothesis (h1). therefore, since x2 cal being 174.2 is greater than x2 tab of 9.49, we reject null hypothesis (ho) which states that the check-off system is not an easy way of collecting union’s membership subscription, thereby not facilitating the union’s effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1) which states that the check-off system is an easy way of collecting union membership subscription, thereby facilitating the union’s effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity. we therefore upheld that check-off system is an easy way of collecting union’s membership subscription, thereby facilitating the union’s effectiveness and promoting organizational productivity. hypothesis two ho: the check-off system does not ensure a union’s effectiveness and does not promote organizational productivity. h1: the check-off system ensures a union’s effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. table 20 to test this hypothesis, question 8 in section b which is used to test this hypothesis. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 0 26 -26 679 2.6 agree 0 26 -26 679 2.6 undecided 52 26 26 679 2.6 strongly disagree 26 26 0 0 0 disagree 52 26 26 679 2.6 total 130 10.4 source: fieldwork, 2021 e = sum total of frequencies no. of variables / rows e = 130 = 26 5 degree of freedom (df) (r – 1) (c – 1) where r = row, and c = column (5 – 1) (2 – 1) (4) (1) at 0.05 level of significance x2 cal = 10.4 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule 1. if x2 is greater than x2 tab, reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, accept the null hypothesis (ho) and reject alternative hypothesis (h1). therefore, since x2 cal being 10.4 which is greater than x2 tab of 9.49, we reject the null hypothesis (ho) which states that the check-off system does not ensure union’s effectiveness and does not promote organizational productivity and accept he alternative hypothesis (h1) which states that it does. we conclude therefore that the check-off system ensures union’s effectiveness and promote organizational productivity. hypothesis three ho: trade unions cannot raise funds through willful donations and levies, which cannot ensure their effectiveness and does not promote organizational productivity. h1: trade unions can raise funds through willful donations and levies, which can ensure their effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. table 21 to test this hypothesis, question 9 in section b will be used t test this hypothesis. variables o e o – e (o – e)2 (o – e)2 e strongly agree 39 26 13 169 6.5 agree 78 26 52 2704 10.4 undecided 0 26 -26 679 2.6 strongly disagree 0 26 -26 679 2.6 disagree 13 26 -13 169 6.5 total 130 28.6 source: fieldwork, 2021 e = sum total of frequencies no. of variables / rows e = 130 = 26 5 degree of freedom (df) (r – 1) (c – 1) where r = row, and c = column (5 – 1) (2 – 1) (4) (1) at 0.05 level of significance x2 cal = 28.6 x2 tab = 9.49 decision rule 1. if x2 is greater than x2 tab, reject null hypothesis (ho) and accept alternative hypothesis (h1). 2. if x2 cal is less than x2 tab, accept null hypothesis (ho) and reject alternative hypothesis (h1). from our calculations above, it is clear that x2 cal being 28.6 is greater than x2 tab of 9.49, therefore, based on the decision rule, we are to reject null hypothesis (ho) which stated that trade unions cannot raise funds from willful donations and levies, which does not help to ensure their effectiveness or promoting organizational productivity and accept the alternative hypothesis (h1) which stated that trade unions can raise funds through willful donations and levies, which help to ensure their effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. it is therefore upheld that trade unions can raise funds through willful donations and levies, which help to ensure their effectiveness and promote organizational productivity. summary of the findings the primary objective of this study was to examine the impact of the check-off system on trade union effectiveness and organization productivity with particular reference to enugu state ministry of education. based on the data analysis in chapter four and the tested hypotheses, the following major findings of the study were revealed. i. that the check-off system is an easy method of collecting union’s membership subscription, which facilitates trade union’s effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. ii. that an effective union leadership is one which seeks to promote the interest of its members in areas of improved working conditions, such as pay raise, hours of work and other fringe benefits. iii. that there is significant relationship between trade union effectiveness and organizational productivity since employees leadership, are thus motivated to enhance their productivity. iv. that trade unions can raise funds through willful donations and levies, which help to ensure their effectiveness and promote organization productivity. v. that trade union leaders spend much money to win trade union elections because of the huge financial benefits that accrue thereafter. vi. that the check-off system ensures steady and stable income which guarantees trade union effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity, among others. conclusion from the major findings as confirmed by majority of the respondents, the researcher came to the conclusion that check-off system is an easy method of collecting union membership subscription and that it facilitates union’s leadership effectiveness and promotes organizational productivity. this could be as a result of the fact that effective union leadership is one which seeks to further the interests of their members in such areas as pay raise, hours of work, and other fringe benefits which in turn motivate employees into hardworking and dedication which culminate in higher organization productivity. this conclusion is in tandem with thompson (2014), who wrote on “check-off arrangements and the law”. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the researcher hereby recommends that; i. in view of the enormous role of the check-off system in ensuring trade union leadership effectiveness, thereby promoting organizational productivity, management should support the union leadership by ensuring the implementation of the check-off system so as to provide a steady and stable income from the union leader’s effectiveness. ii. union leaders should be selected from people with financial discipline, self-control, integrity and probity, so as to ensure that union funds are not diverted to individual pockets but rather to be judiciously used to pursue member’s interest. iii. members of trade union should support the union by willful donations to ensure adequate funding of the union in order to enhance union’s leadership effectiveness. iv. union accounts should be periodically audited to forestall financial fraud by union leaders. implications of the findings the implication of the findings is that management should encourage trade unionism as it has been established by this study that trade union can be used as a vehicle for the promotion of organizational productivity through their check-off system. limitations of the study in carrying out this research, the researcher encountered some difficulties which to a large extent affected the full achievement of the research objectives. time factor posed a serious challenge to this research work with limited time caused by the long period of lockdown as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, school reopening was sudden and immediately upon resumption, a date for second semester exams as well as project defence were fixed, thereby putting the researcher in a very tight corner time-wise. the covid-19 lockdown which affected parents financial resources also contributed as a limitation to the researcher who could not gather enough money from the parents for the project as a result of economic hardship caused by the global covid-19 pandemic. despite the assurance to the respondents that the information they give in the questionnaire will be treated with utmost confidentiality, some declined to complete the questionnaire and those that did complete them, may not have been very honest in their responses. suggestions for further studies the researcher does not claim to have exhaustively dealt with this topic, hence, there is need for further study on the following areas; 1. a similar study should be carried out in different organization both public and private to ascertain the impact of the check-off system on trade union leadership effectiveness and organizational productivity. 2. more study could be undertaken on how organizations could 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(1996). misbehaviour in organization: a motivational framework. organizational science, 7, 115-165. page 1 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 89 covid-19 lockdown in nigeria: again poverty collides with ill-health innocent ahamefule nwosu department of sociology, faculty of social sciences, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike, ebonyi state, nigeria. email: innoglo22000@yahoo.com abstract poverty is common in african societies and there is a strong relationship between poverty and ill-heath. ill-health produces poverty and poverty creates and perpetuates ill-health. covid19 is a health problem, and a highly transmittable viral infection caused by sars-cov-2. within its 64 days of entry into nigeria, 1932 persons were confirmed infected with 58 deaths. therefore, nigerian government ordered a total lockdown in lagos state, ogun state and abuja. however, many lagos residents live in poverty. they were faced with two major pandemics – hunger and covid-19. the relationship between poverty and ill-health was once more placed under the x-ray. as a result, the study assessed the level of compliance the poor residents of lagos showed towards the lockdown as well as the economic consequences of the lockdown on them. the research being a qualitative study used in-depth interview guide to collect data from 138 participants selected from four lgas of lagos state. the resultant data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in narrative style. data revealed that the poor residents of lagos were unprepared for the lockdown and consequently could not cope with it. this resulted in low compliance rate. however, the economic consequences of the lockdown are precarious and the future is bleak. therefore, the poor is highly susceptible to ill-health and extreme poverty currently and in future. consequently, policy makers should always avoid lockdown as preventive measure over covid-19 or any other pandemic/epidemic. alternative measures abound. keywords: covid-19, coronavirus, disease, ill-health, lockdown, poverty. introduction poverty has become a common scene in african societies that it is assumed to be a normal phenomenon. poverty has been looked at from different perspectives/approaches: absolute, relative and subjective. therefore, poverty is a situation in which a person has insufficient resources to withstand the dictates of his/her society and life challenges (phipps, 2003; nwosu, 2014). therefore, relationship between poverty and ill-health is not a simple one. ill-health can be a catalyst for poverty, and in turn poverty can create and perpetuate poor health status. poverty and ill-health are twin phenomena that affect the individual, family and invariably the entire human society (grant, 2005). according to goodman and conway (2016), a particular doctor while searching for a missing document in a garbage bins behind zuckerberg san francisco general hospital found crumpled prescription slips that patients had tossed in the hospital trash can throughout that mailto:innoglo22000@yahoo.com covid-19 lockdown in nigeria week. the patients could not afford to buy the drugs prescribed. as a result, the doctor changed his approach in conversations with his patients. he usually asked them, “well, you need these drugs. which one can you afford? often it is not that patients are not adhering to advice. it is that they cannot pay for the drugs or simply that they do not feel the doctor even listened to them. in most rural areas of nigeria, sometimes some elders will be ill and refuse to disclose it to anyone. it is not because they do not want to. it is because anyone they tell will advise them to go to hospital. but they could not due to the fact that they do not have money. in actual fact, poverty collides with ill-health very often in nigeria. sometimes, one can have a patient who needs to keep his antibiotic drug in a refrigerator but he has never seen one before. one could have a patient who requires to be given anti-malaria injection but she has not seen food to eat for the past two days. similarly, we could have a person who brings her malnourished convulsing child to the clinic but could not afford to pay for the registration card at a fee-paying hospital. in all these cases, the obvious denominator is poverty. therefore, poverty is the root cause of most ill-health (goodman & conway, 2016). before the outbreak of covid-19, the economy of nigeria was fragile. the gdp growth rate in nigeria was 2.3% in 2019. this shows poverty in nigeria before the onset of covid-19 in the country (onyekwena & ekuruche, 2020). this is why reliefweb (2020) posited that the economic statistics concerning africa is already bad and the effect of the current pandemic (covid-19) on the most deprived and marginalized persons is quite devastating. they pointed out that poor people in nigeria will bear the brunt of covid-19 pandemic. in fact, majority of nigerians work in the informal sector of the economy as street vendors, wheelbarrow pushers, loaders, helpers at building sites and even street beggars. in other words, covid-19 is not only an infectious disease but also a major economic life threat especially amongst the poor (resnick, 2020). however, coronavirus disease can be transmitted easily and is a pathogenic viral infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. this emerged in wuhan, china in december 2019 and spread around the world. currently, no drug has been clinically approved for treatment and/or prevention of coronavirus disease (covid-19). however, some anti-viral drugs used for treatment of covid-19 have shown some clinical recovery (shereen & siddique, 2020). indeed, coronaviruses belong to nidoviral order and family of coronaviridae. corona represents spikes that are like crown in the out part of the virus. this is why it was named coronavirus. coronaviruses are minutes in size (65-125nm in diameter) and contain a single-stranded rna as a nucleic material, size ranging from 20 to 35 kbs in length (zhang et al, 2003). the novel coronavirus which originated at wuhan killed over 1800 persons and infected over 70,000 individuals within its first fifteen days of appearance. the virus was initially called wuhan coronavirus or 2019 novel coronavirus (2019ncov) by chinese researchers. it was later renamed sars-cov-2 and the disease is also named covid-19 by the international committee of taxonomy of virus (ictv). the high transmission rate of sars-cov-19 is because of the genetic recombination event at s protein in the rbd region of sars-cov-2 and 91 the decision by some nations to bring back nationals from infected areas as well as poor screening of passengers (cui et al, 2019; lai, 2020). the first cases of covid-19 in africa came as a result of exposure to international contacts such as trades, travels, tourism or business. the african countries worst hit are those with the greatest rate of international contacts. they include nigeria, egypt, south africa and morocco. covid-19 entered nigeria on 27st february, 2020 through an italian based in nigeria who returned from milan, italy. since then the confirmed cases have been increasing. within 64 days, nigeria had recorded 1932 confirmed cases with 58 deaths (ncdc, 2020). in these figures, lagos state has the highest number of victims. therefore, lagos state being the epicenter of the spread of covid-19 has attracted much attention in terms of total lockdown and palliative measures. therefore, african urban centres like lagos with high dense population create conditions for the quick and undetected spread of the viruses. and most parts of lagos depict this crowded informal settlements that fuel the spread of covid-19 (african centre for strategic studies, 2020). as a result of this, the federal government of nigeria ordered a total lockdown in abuja, lagos and ogun states on 30th march, 2020. schools in the country had earlier been closed. therefore, people in these areas were to stay indoors except those on essential duties. all non-essential businesses were shut down. all these were aimed at preventing further spread of covid-19. on 13th april, 2020 the federal government of nigeria extended its total lockdown in abuja, lagos and ogun states by two weeks (cnbc africa, 2020). it should be recalled that nigeria has a large informal sector, which contributes 65% of its economic output. the lockdown has not only reduced the consumption of non-essential commodities but have also affected the income-generating capacity of these groups (onyekwena & ekuruche, 2020). this is in spite of the fact that many nigerians live in poverty and squalor in cities like lagos and in informal settlements just like the situation in diepsloot and delft in south africa. during the total lockdown in lagos state, those who were poor could not buy anything to store for the period like the affluent. even self-isolation is completely impossible in poor and overcrowded neighborhoods and conditions (mugabi, 2020). therefore, according to khulla and chokshi (2018) poverty is a contributor to death and disease. as such, income is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality. in the past, scholars’ concern has been centred on the effect of one’s poverty on one’s health conditions and vice versa. the current situation has raised another level of worry. in this case, even when a poor person is not yet ill or infected by the virus, the presence of the illness (covid-19) in the person’s environment can also affect the person’s income negatively. this makes the relationship between poverty and ill-health stronger. from this stand point, it can be seen that presence of pandemic within one’s environment can reduce one’s income and expose the poor person to greater chances of being infected. it is as a result of these issues that the study is aimed at: covid-19 lockdown in nigeria (a) assessing the amount of preparation that poor residents of lagos make in readiness for covid-19 lockdown. (b) identifying the level of compliance to the lockdown in lagos state by the poor residents. (c) assessing the coping strategies adopted by the poor in lagos during the lockdown. (d) find out the economic consequences of the lockdown on the poor in lagos state. method research setting the research study was conducted in four out of twenty local government areas (l.g.as) of lagos state. the four l.g.as were selected based on their population as well as density. the research was conducted in alimosho, surulere, oshodi and ojo local government areas of lagos state between april, 1 and april, 30 of 2020. during this period the covid-19 lockdown was still on. the study was carried out at that period to prevent the participants from forgetting their experiences during the lockdown. the selected l.g.a.s were further divided into streets and one major street was randomly selected from each l.g.a. the selected streets depicted elements of overcrowding. every 10th house on both sides of each selected street was selected. from each house, the most senior occupant of every 3rd room on the right side and left side along the corridor was selected. where the house is built in form of flats/duplex, we skipped. the selected houses must be the “face-me-i-face-you” structure (that means that the house must have a central corridor with rooms on both sides of the corridor). houses in form of boys’ quarters were also selected. in other words, four streets were selected from the four local government areas already selected. on each street, 20 houses were selected, which gives a total of 80 houses from the four l.g.as. from each house two participants were selected and that brings the total number of participants to 160. participants the target population for the study was those adult males and females above 18 years. the target population was the poor residents of lagos state. the determining factor for who is poor (low economic status) were occupation, the neighbourhood in which the person lives and the type of house in which the person lives. the participants must be low income earner, live in crowded neighbourhood and also live in “face-me-i-face-you” type of house or “boys’ quarters”. the total number of participants selected was 160. out of this number, 22 persons decline to participate in the study. those who agreed to participate were 138 (86.3%). therefore, only 138 persons met the inclusion criteria and took part in the study. data collection four research assistants who were volunteer workers were recruited and given online training to assist in collection of data from all the four selected l.g.as. as a result of the restriction of 93 movement because of the covid-19 pandemic, each research assistant worked only in one local government area where he resides. the streets selected were alhaji tajudeen street in akowonjo area of alimosho lga, odunjo street in aguda orile-iganmu area of surulere lga, raimi olowora street in mafolokun area of oshodi lga and alaba-rago street of ojo lga. the instrument for data collection was self-developed in-depth interview guide. the interview guide was developed in line with the research objectives. the research assistants selected the participants, gave them consent forms to fill. the participants were informed that the interviews would be conducted via telephone. the consent forms have the participants’ phone numbers. with these phone numbers, the researchers were able to contact the participants and schedule the appropriate time for the interviews. the in-depth interviews were conducted through telephone because of the lockdown. data analysis the in-depth interviews which were conducted in english and/or pidgin english were recorded on the mobile phones used. each episode of the interview lasted between 30 and 40 minutes. it was later translated and/or transcribed in english language and reprocessed to determine errors and omissions before entering the data into coding sheet. the response of each interview was written out. similarities and differences in their responses were outlined and catalogued. the resultant data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in narrative style. four themes resulted from the analysis. quotes from the participants are used in the presentation of results. however, the names attached to the quotes are fictitious and have no relationship to the actual participants. this was done to ensure easy flow of data presentation and at the same time guarantee the anonymity of the participants. results level of preparedness for covid-19 lockdown the study sought to find out the level preparedness by poor residents of lagos towards the lockdown. data revealed that 81.2% of the participants said that before the index case was confirmed they were not aware of any disease called coronavirus. they said that they are aware of ebola virus and lassa fever but not coronavirus disease. as a result, there was no preparation at that stage. one of the participants (ayokunle – a block molder) explained the situation thus: i have not heard about coronavirus until three weeks ago. it was when they said that an “oyibo” man brought it into lagos that i heard about it. they said that this sickness is different from other ones we know. i have heard about ebola, lassa fever but not coronavirus. preparation for the sickness? no one prepares for sickness. when it comes to anyone, it has come. then, the person seeks for treatment. i have never covid-19 lockdown in nigeria experienced this before. that everybody will remain inside the house because of a particular disease. this is the first time i am experiencing such a thing. so, i did not make any preparation the lockdown. but the situation is funny. those who have the disease may be better than us, because we are really suffering. it was also revealed that most residents of lagos did not prepare for the lockdown because they do not have savings. majority of the participants in the study (103 – 74.6%) were engaged in the informal sector of the economy. as a result, some earn their income only after the day’s work. any day that they did not work, they are likely to earn nothing. this category of participants was engaged in commercial driving, petty trading, hairdressing, shoe cobbling, loading of goods at motor parks among others. anthony (a cobbler) puts it this way: do you mean how i prepared for the stay-at-home palaver? how should i prepare? i did not hear about the disease until recently. but even if they have informed me one year ahead, how will i prepare? i do not have savings either in my house or in any bank. it is what i get in a day that i use to feed my family. i have no bank account for now. for people like me, there is nothing to prepare….. the little that i made before the lockdown has been exhausted. life here is unbearable. i have borrowed to the extent that i am afraid of borrowing from anyone again. there are also some participants who said that they never prepared to stay at home for a long time. the believed that the issue will not go beyond three or four days. according to them, they prepared based on their savings and the fact that it would not last long. one of the respondents, mrs. komolafe, pointed out that when she heard about the disease and the rumour that there was going to be total lockdown in lagos; she had only a savings of twenty-four thousand naira. i quickly took the money and went to market. i bought some food stuff including soap. the money was almost exhausted. the food stuff i bought finished in the first one week. since then we are dying gradually. coronavirus is not killing anybody, what is killing us is hunger. the data pointed out that most of the residents of lagos state were not prepared for the lockdown. there was no sensitization and mobilization for an eventual lockdown until the virus arrived the state. many others do not even have the resources to prepare even if they were mobilized for such purpose. 95 level of compliance by the poor to the lockdown in lagos majority of the participants (87.7%) pointed out that the compliance rate on the first three days was only 60% successful. the security agents had hectic time forcing people to comply. in some places like mushin and ojuelegba, there were serious clashes between street urchins and law enforcement agents. a young man named andrew, who participated in the study, puts it this way: on the first day, i did not believe the total lockdown will work in lagos. i work up early in the morning, prepared and went to shop. …… when i got there, i met other colleagues who were also standing by. none of us opened shop. we were afraid that hoodlums could vandalize our goods. everyone waited. in about one hour thirty minutes, security agents came in and chased us away. i quietly went home. the following day, i went to shop but a bit late. this time, i did not see any of my colleagues within the vicinity. later, a woman told me that my colleagues had earlier been chased away by police men and some of them were arrested. immediately, i left the place and returned home. on the third day i was on my to the shop when from a distance, i saw some young men who were being punished by soldiers. some of them were rolling on the ground along the deserted street. i ran home and that was the last time, i have left my home. it was reported by 71% of the participants that between the 5th and the 9th day of the lockdown, compliance level grew to about 97%. the few people who move out of their homes minus those on essential duties were miscreants. some of them may not have real homes to stay in. the security agents were moving about to ensure total compliance. most people clustered either in front of their houses or within their compounds. at a certain stage, the security agents wanted to force those in front of their homes to go inside their houses. but this was resisted as most people complained that they could not stay inside the houses in daytime because of excessive heat. according to the participants, the lack of electricity made most rooms uninhabitable during daytime. in most of the areas studied, the houses were clustered thereby reducing the presence of adequate ventilation. by mid-day the rooms are usually hot and uninhabitable. most of the time, people use the fans to help the situation. but when there is no light to power the fans, the people resort to staying outside but in front of their houses to take fresh air. in some places, the attempt to chase the people into their houses resulted to serious confrontation between residents and law enforcement agents. at a point, the residents were allowed to stay in front of their compounds but not on the streets. the situation changed between the 10th and 15th day of the lockdown. most people could no longer stand the difficulty of staying at home without food or money. at this stage, the compliance level dropped to about 50% according to 76.1% of the participants. some women began to fry bean cake (akara) or buns in front of their houses every morning. patronage was covid-19 lockdown in nigeria high because most people were hungry and wanted cheap items that could quench their hunger. others people began to hawk food or food materials. in the process, some people began to move about though with caution. but most people were tired of staying indoors. it was at this point that government began to talk about palliatives. according to mr. animasaun (a 48 year old businessman), the lockdown due to coronavirus disease was a surprise at the beginning. people did not take the stay-at-home order very seriously. but as days passed, the police and soldiers forced everyone to stay at home. no one wants to have trouble with soldiers. at a point, both heat and hunger chased everyone outside. the level of compliance dropped. this forced government to open food markets for some hours in a day. this enabled some people to get what they can eat. most civil servants have no problem. they are just on holiday. at least their salaries are being paid monthly. business people are the worst hit. but we are surviving. in her own case, mrs ayomide (a civil servant in a local government area) pointed out that, i have no reason not to comply with government directives. most people who attempt to move about are usually business people. sometimes, they move in order to get something to eat. for me, the situation is not funny…… in fact, the idea of waking up in the morning, eat breakfast, take bath, stay indoors, eat lunch, stay indoor again, take super and sleep is quite killing. doing this continuously for two weeks is not an easy exercise. the body and the brain are getting weak. you know in lagos we are always on the move. this coronavirus disease is powerful. incidentally, on the 13th april, 2020 the federal government of nigeria realizing that the number of persons testing positive to covid-19 in the area is increasing, decided to extend the lockdown in lagos state, abuja and ogun state by two weeks. the following day, there were pockets of protests in some areas of lagos state particularly at mushin. the protests were not only against the extension of the lockdown but also on the fact that the palliatives which the federal and lagos state governments claimed to be distributing had not reached the poor and the vulnerable who deserve them most. the distribution of the palliatives brought a new twist to the lockdown. in some places, people have to gather to wait for their own ration. this makes nonsense of the issue of social/physical distancing and isolation. there were cases at alapere and oshodi where miscreants hijacked the materials being distributed and began to distribute them among themselves and to others within the vicinity. at this point, the lockdown was ignored by those who were involved in the hijack of the palliative materials. 97 coping strategies adopted by the poor during covid-19 lockdown in lagos it was observed that residents of lagos state have adopted different strategies to cope with the economic hardship occasioned by the covid-19 lockdown. one of such strategies is the act of begging. almost all the participants (98.5%) agreed that residents of lagos have resorted to begging to make ends meet. the begging is of various types. mrs ibe, residing at olowora street mafolokun oshodi puts it this way: no matter what is happening around us, the most important thing is to stay alive. it is only when you are alive that you can be able to stay at home. these days, when i don’t have palm oil or salt, i can go to some of my friends who live within this area to beg for it. nobody is ashamed to beg for things these days. we must survive. my friends also come to collect from me. that is how we have been surviving so far. but it is not easy. it was also reported that some devastated persons go to the extent of knocking on the doors or gates of people they do not know to beg for alms. in most cases, they do request for anything that their benefactor could afford to give out. sometimes, they received raw food items, cooked food, money and even sachet water. this was to ensure that they survive the situation. another common strategy adopted by the residents of lagos state to cushion the economic hardship introduced by the covid-19 lockdown was the act of borrowing. since most businesses in lagos have closed, the people have been finding it difficult to take care of basic family responsibilities. data revealed that some people exhausted the little food items or money they had in the first one week of the lockdown. the issue of borrowing was not restricted to only business persons. according to the data collected, it cut across all socio-economic status. and items that are usually borrowed include food items, drugs, kerosene, matches and money. mr. idowu gave insight into the act of borrowing as a survival strategy. borrowing is very rampant among people these days. those who have been dishonest with repayment of previous loans may not be able borrow. people have been borrowing many things from their neighbours, friends and relatives even through phone calls. in my own case, i did not borrow from person. i borrowed from the cooperative society that i belong. and i have been managing the little fund for the main time. i do not know what will happen next. in recent time, some people have been able to collect materials and money from government agencies as palliatives. however, many have been complaining that they could not get the palliatives. only 35.5% of the participants agreed that they received the palliatives. others said that they heard about it but have never received any. one of those who received the materials, mrs njoku, said: covid-19 lockdown in nigeria i thank the government for their kindness. when they were talking about it, i never believed it will ever get to me. but one afternoon, their van stopped in front of our house. then, they began to give each household a carton of the items. i received mine with joy. the carton contained rice, beans, noodles, oil, crayfish, salt and spices. the items helped a lot to reduce my tension. we have been managing the materials for some days. ……… yes, some are still remaining. apart from those who received palliatives in form of material items, there were others who also received cash transfer of ten thousand naira. these were mostly people who were earlier registered for the cash transfer before the outbreak of coronavirus disease. however, only 17.4% of the participants agreed that they received such fund. as a result, the palliatives from both the federal and lagos state governments were part of the coping strategies over the lockdown in lagos state. another coping strategy which some youth applied for survival over the lockdown was robbery. some youths formed gangs and have been robbing residents in different neighbourhoods of lagos. the most popular of this gang of robbers was called “one million boys”. the group was made of mostly young boys and few girls. data revealed that they attacked several places in agege, ogba, mushin and okota. other gangs have also been operating in different other parts of lagos. there had been cases where some individuals were robbed on the streets near their homes. mrs. rotimi narrated her experience thus: one morning, i sent my son of 12 years to buy soap from a neighbour’s house along our street. in ten minutes time the boy ran back breathing heavily. he reported that a young man met him in front of our gate and asked him to handover the money to him. when he refused, the man brought out dagger and threatened to kill him; and he quickly gave the n500 with him to the robber and ran back into the compound for safety. this is the kind of problem we are facing at this dangerous time. and this is also how these “bad boys” are surviving. it should also be noted that the lockdown did not affect those selling food and food items as well as pharmaceuticals. as a result, some residents of lagos who were not initially engaged in selling of food suddenly chose this occupation as a means of survival. one of the participants in the study, miss ogechi, explained it this way: when i was in the village, i usually helped my mother in frying and selling akara (bean cake). since i came to lagos, i have been working at a company in apapa. but when this lockdown started, i realized that i can use this means of fry and selling of akara to survive. therefore, i bought some materials and began the business. the first 99 day, i made a profit of n2800 and i finished selling the akara before 1pm. that is how i have been coping since the lockdown began. …… no, after the lockdown i will go back to my regular work. but for now, i must survive. there were others who also hawked food or food items from house to house. these hawkers sell to their customers according to what the customers could afford. in the process, they are using the means to survive and also help people who could not afford to cook their own food especially bachelors. customers could buy food worth as small as n100. this has been helping both the hawkers and the buyers to cope with the lockdown in the area. economic consequences of covid-19 lockdown on the poor in lagos state the study attempted to find out the kind of economic challenges faced by the poor in lagos as a result of the lockdown. it was found that all the participants (100%) for the study were poor. more than 72.3% of them work under the informal sector. out of the remaining 27.7% of the participants, 23.2% were working in factories as casual workers. they receive daily payment. only 4.3% of the participants collect monthly salaries as junior workers. on the average their daily income was less than four hundred naira (#400) per person. the result shows that more than 95.5% of the participants did not earn any income throughout the period of the lockdown. mr. johnson (a trader selling second-hand cloths, married with three children) said that, since this lockdown started, i have been spending, spending and spending. there is no income from anywhere. any day i didn’t go to shop, i will make no money. ….. my brother, there is no income. we are just suffering. the help they promised to give, we have seen none. i have been borrowing to ensure that my children eat something. the data have also shown that some of the poor residents of lagos cannot afford food and even drugs during the lockdown. some were afraid of going to hospital for two reasons. first, they lack the money for hospital bills. second, they do not want to be tagged as covid-19 patients even when they are aware that what were suffering has no relationship with the symptoms of covid-19. in other words, result shows that the poor were facing three dangers: starvation, fear of covid-19 and other illnesses. this was buttressed by mrs. olurin who explained that, i am a petty trader. no money has entered this house since this problem started. i don’t have any money as at this moment. i don’t even know how to feed tomorrow. in fact, i have been feeling feverish for the past three days but i don’t have money to even buy drugs. ….. go to hospital? ..... how will i start? where is the money for transport? who will foot the bills? please, forget about hospital. if i can get small money to buy some drugs, i will be fine. covid-19 lockdown in nigeria the woman was relaying this in a shaky voice over the phone. therefore, the poor in lagos faced the problem of inability to get food and also drugs to treat other ailments. concerning the situation after the lockdown, the poor residents of lagos pointed out that life after the lockdown is also bleak. they noted that all the money they had been borrowing to eat must be paid back. all the food/food materials they had purchased on credit must be settled. as a result, they want the lockdown to end so that they will begin know how to face the future. for most of them, the future is even frightening. according to mr. akpan, now that there is lockdown, anybody you owe may not disturb you much. at least there is ready-made excuse. but immediately the lockdown ends, you must begin to pay back what you have borrowed or bought on credit. the future is not bright. i may spend more than six months to pay all my debts. god is my strength. discussion of findings having set out to determine the level of preparation made by poor residents of lagos state towards the covid-19 lockdown, the study found that most poor residents of the area were not prepared for the total lockdown and the major reason was lack of awareness. most of the people became aware only with the confirmation of the index case in lagos, nigeria. this finding supports the views of zuo and liu (2014) when they noted that awareness programmes through the media do make the people to become conscious of the disease and then take precautions in order to reduce their chances of being infected by the disease. they also pointed out that if awareness programmes are delayed as in case of lagos state, it may have negative consequences on the people’s ability to prepare or adapt to the situation. the result also aligns with the position of climate adapt (2015) when they noted that awareness raising is important in helping people to adapt to the impact of a disaster or pandemic within their community especially when it involves total lockdown. in other words, they believe that awareness raising enhances adaptive capacity and reduces overall consequences of lockdown during pandemic. data also show that the awareness campaign over the covid-19 and the lockdown became intensified only when the virus had already entered lagos state. in other words, the awareness campaign was more or less reactionary. and that is why the poor residents of lagos state found it difficult to cope with the lockdown and consequently the constant increase in the figure of confirmed cases of persons infected with covid-19. this also aligns with the view of climate adapt (2015) that awareness campaign at the early stage of a pandemic will help ensure that people adaptation level is high. delay in awareness creation leads to fluctuation in the ability 101 of the people to cope with the situation in an expected way. similarly, science daily (2018) pointed out that public awareness campaigns play a key role in helping to manage the spread of infections particularly when the issue involves total lockdown. the study also investigated the level of compliance with the lockdown by poor lagos residents. data show that the level of compliance in the first three days was about 60%. the compliance level got to its peak between the 5th and 8th day of the lockdown. the residents of lagos were actually forced to comply by the aggressive law enforcement agents. but when their resources became exhausted early during the lockdown, the compliance level dropped. at this stage, residents moved in order to feed their families. the finding supports the position of african centre for strategic studies (2020) when they noted that lockdown will be very difficult to enforce in african cities where many residents are poor. the result is also in line with the view of reliefweb (2020) who posited that the poor are the ones who are actually carrying the burden of the covid-19 in nigeria. the implication is that the higher the level of poverty, the lower the rate of compliance towards government policy such as covid-19 lockdown. another determinant of the level of compliance to the covid-19 lockdown is the environment in which the people live. the result revealed that majority of the residents of lagos (>73%) live in crowded neighbourhood with poor sanitary conditions. it was reported that in some areas, there were an average of six persons per room. usually such rooms have only a door and a window. that also creates poor ventilation. in other words, it becomes difficult to keep six persons in one room over a long period of time. that is why during the day time, the residents of lagos are seen clustering in front of their homes. this in effect negates the social/physical distancing policy which is necessary for curtailing the spread of covid-19. in actual fact, poverty leads to inability to maintain healthy behavior. the study also examined the coping strategies that the poor residents of lagos adopted during the covid-19 lockdown in the area. data revealed that the poor residents of the study area used different strategies to survive during the lockdown. the strategies include begging and borrowing. this is unlike what happened in europe and north america where the major concern was how to cope with stress and boredom. in the study area, the major concern was how to get food. that is why the result of the study is different from the coping strategies adopted in europe and north america. in the advanced nations, their coping strategies according to kazeem (2020) include reading, writing, drawing and room exercises. that is why one is tempted to ask, is lockdown really the best preventive measure suitable for nigeria? or are just copying what works in other climes? in most advanced nations, their major concern about their citizens was not really food because their governments provided enough. they are usually concerned with emotional and psychological consequences of the lockdown (allencomm.com, 2020). the result of the study negates the recommendations of coulbaly and madden (2020) when they suggested that for the lockdown to be successful in prevention of the spread of covid19, governments should make effort to cushion the economic consequences of the lockdown covid-19 lockdown in nigeria in nigeria. and this suggestion is not being appropriately implemented, that is why the people resort to begging and borrowing in order to survive. another coping strategy adopted by residents of lagos state is the provision of palliatives by state and federal governments. most poor people looked forward to this as a coping measure. it was as a result of this that some street urchins in mile 12 area waylaid the vehicles conveying the materials and distribute the materials among themselves and to other persons within the vicinity. the result supports the view of reliefweb (2020) that in times of crises or pandemic, the poor will always bear the brunt. it is also in line with the submission of resnick (2020) when he noted that urban population in africa works in the informal sector and that lockdown could pose major problems to the people. yet, another dangerous coping strategy adopted by youths in the study was robbery. this is seen as survival through crime and violence. those hoodlums most times become successful because the attention of most law enforcement agents was focused on the implementation of the lockdown and securing the palliative materials. this creates security lacuna, through which the criminals deal with their victims who were already impoverished by the lockdown. this result supports the view of resnick (2020) that lockdown could create problems for the people. the study finally investigated the likely economic consequences faced by the poor during and after the lockdown. the result shows that the poor who mostly belong to the informal sector of the economy and depends on daily income for survival are the worst hit. they are facing death from two dimensions – starvation and covid-19. this is why goodman and conway (2016) posited that diet plays major role in determining a person’s chance of survival. therefore, poor neighbourhoods and starvation make the covid-19 lockdown in lagos state a dangerous affair. looking at the economic situation facing the poor during post covid-19 lockdown in the area, the study revealed that the economic condition of the poor will be worse. most of them may need to work for several months to repay the debts they are currently accumulating. in actual fact, their economic conditions are bleak. and if they escape covid-19, they may have to contend with other health challenges in future. this result aligns with the view of kern and ritzen cited in stearman (2018) when they said that poverty creates ill-health. this is also echoed by onyekwena and ekuruche (2020) who pointed out that the erosion of wealth during the lockdown will lead to decline in assets and aggravate the economic impact even after the covid-19 era. conclusion based on the findings of the research about the relationship between poverty and ill-health with particular emphasis on the covid-19 lockdown, the study concludes that the poor residents of lagos state are facing serious hardship. the hardship resulted from the inability of the state and federal governments to create early awareness about the pandemic before it entered the 103 country. this also resulted in unpreparedness among poor resident towards the lockdown and their low compliance. for the sake of survival poor residents of lagos designed certain coping strategies. while some of the strategies are debasing but within the law, others were criminal in nature. this also shows that extreme deprivation especially during the period of lockdown could lead to some criminal activities. humans are always eager to survive in spite of the situation facing them. the findings of the study have further extended the relationship between poverty and ill-health. the earlier thinking was that poor health of an individual brings about reduced income and expansion of poverty within the person’s family. from the outcome of the present study, we can submit that serious negative health condition within person’s environment can lead to reduction in the person’s income resulting in health-poverty trap. at this point, income status of an individual is not only strongly associated with his morbidity and mortality but the illhealth of the person or members of his society can negatively affect the individual’s income and economic status. this makes the poor to be more susceptible to ill-health and extreme poverty. therefore, the study suggests that there should be a better measure for prevention of the spread of covid-19 or any other pandemic in future instead of total lockdown. most time, the government of nigeria copy what works in other climes out of context. social capital in europe and north america has been at low ebb before the covid-19 pandemic. similarly, their economic system is also different and as such it is easy to enforce total lockdown with high level of success over there. it is recommended that the new policy for prevention of the spreading of covid-19 should involve imposition of curfew (between 5pm and 7am), compulsory washing of hands with soap, use of sanitizer every two hours possibly 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm and banning interstate movements within the period. these require the involvement of village heads, community leaders, media houses, religious leaders and voluntary organizations to prompt the people. africans are best driven by persuasion and not by force. the wearing of face mask should be made compulsory. the medical centres should be improved to provide excellent services not only to covid-19 patients but also for other patients with different ailments. the testing of individuals should be intensified to identify healthy carriers of the disease and isolate them early. it is also important that essential services must be expanded to include farmers, food vendors, patrol station attendants, vehicles mechanics, motorcycle and tricycle taxi riders, researchers and traditional healers. since the covid-19 pandemic is ravaging the world as at the time of writing this paper, it is expected that further research be carried out to identify future trends. similarly, researches are expected to be carried out to assess the role of media in the management of covic-19 in nigeria, the relationship between socio-economic status and mortality rate as a result of covid-19 pandemic among others. covid-19 lockdown in nigeria references africa center for strategic studies. 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(2014). effect of awareness programs on the epidemic outbreaks with time delay. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/article......../ accessed 12th april 2020. https://www.covid19.ncdc.gov.ng/ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/04/08/understanding-the-impact...../ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/04/08/understanding-the-impact...../ https://reliefweb.int/report/world/covid-19-c https://www.ifpri.org/blog/covid-19-k https://www.sciencedaily.com/release https://theeffectofpovertyonhealth.weebly.com/relationship-between-poverty-and-health.....%20accessed%207th%20march%202020 https://theeffectofpovertyonhealth.weebly.com/relationship-between-poverty-and-health.....%20accessed%207th%20march%202020 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/article......../ page 3 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 85 cloud-based collaborative suite and employee enablement as digital transformation strategies for achieving organizational sustainability among insurance companies in nigeria aina, john ganiyu, kamal oloriegbe, kale s. department of insurance school of business and management studies the federal polytechnic, offa * correspondence: olujohn1992@gmail.com; john.aina@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng abstract cloud based collaborative suite and employee enablement as digital transformation strategies for achieving organizational sustainability among insurance companies in nigeria. a descriptive research technique was used in the study. this study population consists of all insurance companies observed to be the healthy ones amongst the existing companies from fifty eight (58) insurance companies duly registered in nigeria. a purposive sampling method was considered appropriate for the study as the sample size consists of 200 employees (two hundred) working at the ict and cyber security unit of all the insurance offices fully digitalized in nigeria. the findings of the study from regression analysis revealed that digital transformation (i.e. cloud based collaborative suite and employee enablement) has influence on sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria. the study concludes that cloud based collaborative suite and employee enablement as a digital transformation strategy has impact on sustainability of insurance companies. the study recommends that insurance companies should ensure adequate digitalization to guaranty improved market penetration. keywords: cloud based collaborative suite, employee enablement, digital transformation, sustainability, insurance business, nigeria. introduction in the wake of year 2020 due to covid-19 shutdowns, information technology groups pivoted nearly overnight, launching technology-driven initiatives to enable remote work and distance learning. new customer experiences couple with new online sales platforms followed close behind (stackpole, 2021). the covid 19 pandemic caused the world economic activities to be in a state of shock, and although the trigger is not the system as itself, the resultant effects nevertheless reveal weaknesses and systematic vulnerabilities in the global economic mechanisms (lehmann, 2020). at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, many companies including insurance companies had to rapidly change their work organization. new home office regulations, short-time work and yet still deliver a high quality of service, which is a challenging change that had to be managed in a short time (mosig & meier, 2020). for businesses, one consequence of the covid-19 crisis has been a dramatic uptick in the use of digital technologies that help reduce face-to-face interactions and safeguard customer and employee health and well-being (kane et al., 2020). according to shimazaki, (2021) the covid-19 pandemic and its resulting economic consequences mailto:olujohn1992@gmail.com mailto:john.aina@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng 86 dramatically shifted the needs and expectations of insurance customers. insurance companies themselves were forced to adapt to rapidly changing market conditions, adopting increased levels of virtualization. customer experience in the new digital era is becoming more personal, with more emotional engagement than in the past. the pandemic is a reality check for businesses that have been reluctant to embrace digital transformation and now find themselves woefully unprepared (binder dijker otte (bdo), 2020). for insurance companies, the digital transformation phenomena is usually intricate, confusing, hard, and no routine managerial activities, however, that does not prevent its application in marketing, claims and underwriting (yusuf, ajemunigbohun and alli, 2017; ajemunigbohun, oreshile and alli, 2018).because of frequent technological advancements, the success rate of such digital transformations in insurance is quite low. digital transformation using these technologies necessitates substantial changes in organizational processes, technology, and human behaviour. this wide transformation generates a variety of socio-technical difficulties and challenges. the proactive approach involving people, process, technology, and, most importantly, their alignment in the company is found to be vital in carrying out such transformation endeavour in the firm. the planned efforts surrounding the determined strategy also play a significant part in the execution and sustainability of such transformation projects in insurance firms. furthermore, value creation, operational efficiency, competitive advantage, customer relationships, and new business models emerge as critical motivators and outcomes of digital transformation (schallmo, williams & boardman, 2017). due to market disruption and gaps in organizational needs and procedures, digital transformation is developing at a rapid rate in public and private insurance firms. it becomes a key market need for the existence of insurance companies. according to pflaum and golzer (2018), the fourth industrial revolution has evolved in recent decades as a result of digital transformation enabled by new workplace technology. according to kenney, rouvinen, and zysman, 2015), the demand for transformation develops as a result of social, industrial, and, most importantly, technical improvements. this wide transition emphasizes several socio-technical concerns and obstacles, creating roadblocks to a successful transformation process (khan & bokhari, 2018; mahmood, khan, & bokhari, (2019). transformation, according to researchers, experts, and practitioners, is a complicated process in terms of people and process, making it a difficult endeavor (higgs & rowland, 2005). prior research indicates that digital transformation programs fail at a significant rate. according to mckinsey, 70% of transformation programs fail (bucy, finlayson, kelly & moye, 2015), demonstrating that most insurance businesses lack this capability (gobble, 2018). one of the most difficult things for insurance executives is figuring out how to implement digital technology revolution. in view of this, the following research objectives were formulated: i. determine cloud based collaborative suites influence on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria ii. examine employee enablement effect on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria in order to provide answers to the above formulated objectives, the following hypothesis was formulated as well: ho1: cloud based collaborative suites does not have an influence on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria 87 ho2: employee enablement does not have any effect on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria review of relevant literature digital transformation digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new or modify existing business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. this reimagining of business in the digital age is digital transformation (peter et al., 2020). digital transformation helps an organization keep up with emerging customer demands and therefore survive in the face of the future. it allows companies to compete better in an economic environment that is constantly changing in response to technology evolutions. digital transformation provides a valuable opportunity for core business functions, such as finance and hr, to move away from manual processes and automate key areas like payroll, enabling leaders to focus on wider business opportunities (hilali et al., 2020). digital transformation is all about becoming a digital enterprise an organization that uses technology to continuously evolve all aspects of its business models (what it offers, how it interacts with customers, and how it operates. while every digital transformation initiative will have its own specific goals, the main purpose of any digital transformation is to improve your current processes. digital transformation is important because companies must evolve to remain competitive in their industry (vial, 2019). digital transformation is not just about disruption or technology. it’s about value, people, optimization, and the capability to rapidly adapt when such is needed through an intelligent use of technologies and information. digital transformation is the profound transformation of business and organizational activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts in mind. (garzoni et al., 2020). therefore, firms across practically all industries have undertaken a variety of projects in recent years to investigate new digital technologies and capitalize on their benefits. this typically entails changes to essential company activities and has an impact on goods, processes, organizational structures, and management philosophies. to manage these complicated shifts, businesses must adopt management practices. formulating a digital transformation strategy, which acts as a primary idea for integrating the complete coordination, prioritizing, and implementation of digital changes inside a company, is an essential technique. artificial intelligence is a typical example of digital transformation. according to alli, ganiyu & aina (2021), artificial intelligence (ai) refers to the intelligence which is exhibited by machines or the similar software. it is also the name of an academic field that studies how to create computer systems and computer software which are capable of demonstrating the intelligent behaviour. major artificial intelligence researchers have defined the ai as "the study and design of the intelligent agents" in which “the intelligent agents” is a system which is involved in perceiving of its environment and taking of the actions which maximize its chances of success. it can also be defined as "the engineering and science of making the intelligent machines" (alli, aina and ganiyu, 2020). 88 concept of sustainable insurance business sustainability issues have a significant impact on the finance function as well as the financial sector. when we examine the social, economic, and environmental impact of business, every part of finance, from investments to banking, trade to insurance and risk, need fresh thinking. insurance businesses are increasingly being asked to solve social, environmental, and economic challenges that were once seen to be the domain of governments and charitable groups (such as heifer international, a global pioneer in establishing sustainable communities). it is critical to rethink the business in terms of its triple bottom line impact and performance (social, environmental, and economic) in order to lay the groundwork for longterm success. this necessitates a paradigm change away from viewing a business just in terms of financial benefit to shareholders. while financial profit is important for survival, a sustainable business takes a more holistic approach to the business, its obligations, and its performance. as a result, business sustainability is examined in terms of three interwoven dimensions: social, environmental, and economic. insurance firms have a critical role in ensuring social, economic, and environmental sustainability. in india, swiss re has sold weather-risk insurance to 320,000 small farmers. willis holdings' renewable energy-related insurance products cover possible wind farm power underproduction. lexington insurance company's new green-building coverage will pay the insured to reconstruct a home using environmentally friendly and energy-efficient materials after it has been damaged by natural calamities (tergesen, 2008). digitalization of business activities many businesses are concerned, if not outright terrified, about moving toward digitalization because it entails several dangers, including significant revenue, share, capital, and reputation losses (mazzone, 2014). however, it's vital to remember that successful digital businesses aren't frightened of taking chances and are eager to do so. that is not to say that these businesses plan ahead, but it does suggest that they consider the risks they are incurring. experiments with new market offerings, propositions, or new products or services are a great method to learn about the market, consumers, and their reactions and preferences. changes are dangerous, but they are an excellent method to understand what works in the marketplace. the digital organization should continue to explore and test in order to establish a strong and efficient plan, and once it does, it should put all of its resources behind it in order to support it. targeting is a good thing, albeit a hazardous one, but it is the method used by successful digital businesses (mazzone, 2014). digitalization has become a large-scale and rapid shift across several elements of company, providing both vast opportunity for growth and development and a significant risk. "the role of digital technology is fast transforming, from a driver of marginal efficiency to a facilitator of fundamental innovation and disruption," business leaders concede (world economic forum, 2016). "enterprises must continually alter their services to keep up with the quickly increasing demands of digital customers" in such a swiftly developing economy and world of digital technology (world economic forum, 2018). investing in the newest digital technology is not enough to transform a firm into a digital one. the world economic forum (2016) and world economic forum (2019) identify a number of recommendations for businesses on the digital transformation road. businesses must identify and develop a new digital model that is tailored to the company's needs, as well as appropriate and efficient during the digital transition. companies must also re-examine all parts of their business. the digital firm is one that adds value to core companies, which means that executives are continuously evaluating how consumers are treated and considering ways to enhance the process. companies examine every stage of their customers’ 89 “journey" to purchase goods or get services, and ask themselves questions such as "what can be done to optimize that process?" what efforts should be made to make consumers' journeys quicker, simpler, and more enjoyable? let's have a look at a basic example. let's pretend there's an internet store that sells clothing and shoes. covid-19 influence on digital transformation strategy prior to the pandemic, technology had become an increasingly important part of the workforce. businesses were looking at technology as a helpful means of engaging with customers, allowing some workplace flexibility, and for a way to introduce automation and faster processes (ricardo, 2021). even before the covid-19 social distancing regulations, it was a steep task for customers to constantly walk into insurance offices for services they could easily access online if the proper framework were in place. at a time when customer loyalty is at an all-time low and competition is growing, keeping customer experience up should be a top priority for insurance companies looking to expand their portfolio and customer base. mckinsey (2020), estimates that insurance carriers that have provided customers with the best experience have generated two to four more times growth in new business, and their profitability has grown by up to 30%. digital transformation in the covid-19 period can help insurers differentiate themselves by providing their customers a personal and engaging experience. the use of emails, online customer platforms, and mobile apps can help send alerts and reminders to customers regularly. disseminating information and tips on social media platforms can also help reach out to new customers, especially millennial who find such platforms appealing and spend a lot of time on them. eurofound (2021) explained that insurers have an affinity for paperwork, while this has been a core practice in the business for years, it became important to consider alternative processes that are faster and more efficient. paperwork is not only a pain to customers but also for the company. customers don’t fancy having to provide their information every time they are switched to a new department. this can adversely affect the quality of service and customer experience. the manual labour required to keep the books and sheets up to date is immense. it could cost the company up to 30% more during the insurance claim journey (ricardo, 2021; eurofound, 2020a; eurofound, 2020b). during this time, when movement is restricted, customers can’t be physically present to follow up on their claims from one department to the next. with a bit of help from digitization, customers can easily file their claims online and follow up on the progress using a mobile app or website. by digitizing records, insurers can save costs on labour, improve response times, and cut cycle times to provide effective and timely services to their clients. automating insurance services like underwriting, bidding, quoting, and issuing policies is not a walk in the park. it’s no secret that most insurers understand the benefits that come with digitization. however, every stride made should not infringe on any regulations, rules, or a variety of other requirements. there are many reasons why different insurers are slow to take up digitization, but there are several main ones that make digital transformation in the insurance industry very difficult. insurers are good at collecting and analyzing data to find new opportunities and gather customer information. using this information, insurers can assess risks, billing, claims, and pricing. going digital during covid-19 means that insurers now have to rely on information coming from a universe of data from a different volume and category. dealing with digital information requires a novel approach far beyond the culture and tradition of actuarial science. to make sense of the data the industry can gather from digital sources, the company would have to address the data in iterations by creating a repository of internal data then testing it to find ways to benefit them. most insurance companies are not ready to take up the 90 significant responsibility and the risks and oversights that might come with new data collection methods. the covid-19 outbreak has changed the shape of the economy, work and societies all around the world. during the pandemic, the digital transformation accelerated overwhelmingly, particularly with the increased use of online services and the enormous breadth of users and consumers. curfews and lockdowns, travel constraints, restrictions on face-to-face business operations – particularly affecting services, transport, and commerce and hospitality – and remote working have catalysed profound changes, pushing companies to explore digital solutions to keep their businesses running. the pandemic forced companies, insurance companies inclusive, to move rapidly to deploy digital technologies, dramatically accelerating trends that were unfolding at a much slower pace before the crisis. businesses abruptly started to change or speed up changes in the way they were engaging with customers and with employees, embracing modifications to work organisation, internal communication and day-to-day operations, including the deployment of automation, faster processes and workplace flexibility. one of the most striking changes in this shift towards digital operations has been the move to remote working during the first wave of the pandemic in april 2020, in almost 60% of eu companies at least some employees switched to telework (eurofound, 2021). in 2019 (pre-pandemic) only one-quarter of these companies had employees working from home. the digitalisation of enterprises and the use of digital tools by employees became a more dominant topic during the pandemic in many countries. in some, the degree to which these enterprises needed public support to become more digital was already a discussion point; in others, where digitalisation had previously been relatively low on the policy agenda, the pandemic helped bring this topic to the fore. the degree of adoption of digital technology resulting from covid-19 responses varies across sectors and countries (eurofound, 2021). factors influencing adoption depend on productive, economic and market features, as well as pre-existing levels of digital development and technological maturity. the ability to innovate within digital environments and ecosystems, leading to new services that reach or create new markets, has also played an important role in the acceleration of digitalisation in some sectors. despite the difficulties in the business environment resulting from the pandemic, companies and organisations have adopted and deployed technologies that have helped them to survive and to take advantage of newly emerging markets. the adoption of digital technologies has also been pushed by governments and public spending in health research, telemedicine and healthcare – for example, automated delivery of medications or blockchain-based epidemic monitoring platforms (eurofound, 2020).in addition to these examples, the covid-19 digital responses cover a wide array of sectors such as robotics and 3d printing technologies in manufacturing and logistics, online platforms in the education sector, and financial technology (fintech) and the expansion of mobile money (aydin, demirtas & ok, 2021). another impact of the proliferation of online business models and platforms relates to the increasing use of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (ai), which became essential during the pandemic and are likely to be part of the way forward in the post-covid-19 period. however, despite the wide spread of successful ai-related developments and optimistic publicity, other voices claim that ai technologies are still underdeveloped in the business arena since they require efficient data management processes that are not yet 91 running, except in big tech and other high-technology companies (choong, tan, & patel, 2020). international finance corporation (2020), stated that the covid-19 pandemic has also incentivised more companies to engage in online sales. this requires companies to be able to gather information and data from the front office and sales orders received, among other sources, using them to continuously update decision-making in the whole business cycle, from design to storage and logistics. getting and processing high-quality data has become a core strategy for companies. with partial or total lockdowns, the education sector – from schools to universities, business schools and training centres – has been profoundly affected by the pandemic. to an extent depending on previous experience of, and readiness for, online education and training, education systems have transformed traditional teaching methods and face-to-face courses into online programmes (deloitte, 2020). online learning platforms have been disseminated, but with uneven results, given the requirement for internet connectivity (the 5g network is not yet fully fledged) and variations in the pedagogical approaches applied; however, the expansion of the use of mobile devices that work with these online platforms has helped to keep education going. accordingt to (eurofound, 2020a; eurofound, 2020b) the pandemic has also accelerated the development of electronic insurance, banking, including online and mobile banking. contactless payments made electronically are becoming the norm, supported by powerful online platforms that traditional banking institutions have improved. according to research by the financial advisory organisation devere group, shortly after the covid-19 outbreak the use of its own fintech apps increased by 72% in europe. the growth in the use of digital technology has included banking apps, which shows that customer expectations and practices have substantially changed during the pandemic. most companies have been forced by the covid-19 crisis to review their operating methods and adopt more flexible approaches to business management – for example, by implementing ict systems for internal communication and remote working (eurofound, 2021). the longterm effects of the pandemic will reinforce the potential for companies to communicate through digital means and still do business efficiently. as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, digitalisation has flourished in companies, organisations and society, pushed by the need to maintain social distancing and by the shutdown in economic activity (eurofound, 2021). by challenging companies’ survival, the pandemic has sped up digitalisation and related changes in work, production and provision of services. no longer a business objective or a goal, digitalisation has become a business restriction: if you do not go digital, you will be out of the market (eurofound, 2021).most companies have shifted to new business methods and gone digital in a very short period, while taking care of their staff’s health and safety (eurofound, 2020b). remote work and the use of private devices in the work environment have increased, as has the use of digital tools, ict software and online platforms for work, reflecting profound changes in processes and business models, and demonstrating that employees have become better integrated into technological environments (eurofound, 2020). according to dnv (2021), the impact of the covid-19 crisis on companies has been uneven, however. this can be partly explained by the ability of some businesses to go digital more quickly, namely those that had started the transformation prior to the pandemic; many then adapted to the pandemic by accelerating this transformation, creating technological solutions while reducing face-to-face customer interactions. such early transformation and resilience will help to ensure that businesses are well placed to succeed in the post-pandemic 92 world. despite the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook post-covid-19, organisations are expected to continue to experience acceleration in the adoption of disruptive technologies and a proliferation of online business models and platforms (adbi, 2021). with the increase in remote work and online business, companies and organisations have recognised the importance of ensuring higher levels of cyber security, as relying on technology, connectivity and ict has made them vulnerable to cyber attacks. keeping business and personal data secure has become a top priority. therefore, as a key element of the accelerated digital transformation during the pandemic, companies and organisations have invested more resources in cyber security, even amid diminishing budgets due to decreasing revenues. in addition to allocating more money to reinforcing ict and network security, they have targeted staff, particularly remote workers with awareness-raising campaigns and training focused on this growing global concern. in accelerating the digital transformation, the pandemic has created a landscape that will continue to encourage innovation and technological adoption moving forward. as businesses begin to better understand the capabilities of these types of modern technology, they will also begin to understand the opportunities that lie before them, even after the pandemic. in this regard, the covid-19 crisis has also boosted a rather technologically oriented business culture. digitalisation is not only about implementing technology, the internet and remote working: it is also about implementing business innovation itself. digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new or modify existing business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. this reimagining of business in the digital age is digital transformation (peter et al., 2020). digital transformation helps an organization keep up with emerging customer demands and therefore survive in the face of the future. it allows companies to compete better in an economic environment that is constantly changing in response to technology evolutions. digital transformation provides a valuable opportunity for core business functions, such as finance and hr, to move away from manual processes and automate key areas like payroll, enabling leaders to focus on wider business opportunities (hilali et al., 2020). digital transformation is all about becoming a digital enterprise an organization that uses technology to continuously evolve all aspects of its business models (what it offers, how it interacts with customers, and how it operates. while every digital transformation initiative will have its own specific goals, the main purpose of any digital transformation is to improve your current processes. digital transformation is important because companies must evolve to remain competitive in their industry (vial, 2019). digital transformation is not just about disruption or technology. it’s about value, people, optimization, and the capability to rapidly adapt when such is needed through an intelligent use of technologies and information. digital transformation is the profound transformation of business and organizational activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across society in a strategic and prioritized way, with present and future shifts in mind. (garzoni et al., 2020). therefore, firms across practically all industries have undertaken a variety of projects in recent years to investigate new digital technologies and capitalize on their benefits. this typically entails changes to essential company activities and has an impact on goods, processes, organizational structures, and management philosophies. to manage these complicated shifts, businesses must adopt management practices. formulating a digital transformation strategy, which acts as a primary idea for integrating the complete coordination, prioritizing, and implementation of digital changes inside a company, is an 93 essential technique. by affecting goods, business processes, sales channels, and supply chains, the exploitation and integration of digital technology typically affects huge areas of enterprises and even extends beyond their borders. increases in sales or productivity, innovations in value creation, and unique ways of connection with consumers are just a few of the potential advantages of digitization. as a result, business models might be altered or eliminated entirely (downes & nunes 2013). digital transformation strategies attempt to organize and prioritize the numerous different threads of digital transformation because to its broad breadth and farreaching impacts. digital transformation strategies should be connected with other business strategies to account for their company-spanning features. while there are many different types of it strategies (teubner 2013), they all define the current and future operational activities, the necessary application systems and infrastructures, and the appropriate organizational and financial framework for providing it to run a company's business. as a result, it plans are typically focused on managing a company's it infrastructure, with little influence on driving business growth innovation. to some extent, this limits the prospects for product-centric and customer-centric innovation that emerge from new digital technologies, which frequently span company boundaries. furthermore, it plans provide system-centric road maps for a company's future technology uses, but they may not always account for the transformation of goods, processes, and structural features that come with technology integration. different aims and perspectives are pursued by digital transformation strategies. these strategies, which are based on a business-centric approach, focus on the transformation of products, processes, and organizational aspects as a result of new technologies. their scope is more expansive, explicitly including digital activities at the customer interface or entirely on the customer's side, such as digital technologies embedded in end-user products. this is a significant distinction from process automation and optimization, because digital transformation strategies encompass changes to and ramifications for goods, services, and business models as a whole. it is vital to have a close match between digital transformation plans, it strategies, and all other organizational and functional strategies, similar to the prior debate on the alignment of business and it strategies (henderson & venkatraman 1993). this subject has been researched, with the goal of combining it and business strategies into a coherent "digital business plan" (bharadwaj et al. 2013). the potential and implications of digital technology for businesses are frequently discussed in digital business strategy. for example, oestreicher-singer & zalmanson (2013) examine the relationship between content and community, demonstrating that community-based digital business models may generate lucrative income streams even in the face of 'freemium' business models. drnevich and croson (2013) demonstrate how information technology might affect a company's business plans and capabilities. as a result, while digital business plans frequently identify desirable future business prospects and strategies for organizations that are partially or entirely reliant on digital technology, they seldom provide transformative insights about how to achieve these future states. a digital transformation plan, on the other hand, is a blueprint that aids businesses in controlling the transformations that occur as a result of the integration of digital technology, as well as in their operations following the transition. despite early research efforts and common practice issues, academia currently lacks explicit instructions for businesses on how to create, implement, and assess digital transformation strategies. 94 sustainability theory theory of sustainability was first used by john elkington, the founder of a sustainability consultancy firm. the expression means that companies should consider 3 different bottom lines in their businesses – and not only, as was usual at the time (and still is in many companies today), care about the profit and loss account. discussion of sustainability within academia has ranged across many perspectives. economic analysts have sometimes defined the concept in terms of no declining per capita income flows over time, or long-term economic growth, with minimal environmental impacts and debated how to maintain the capital endowments needed to sustain those income flows. controversy over the substitutability of natural and human-made capital has divided proponents of weak and strong sustainability: the former argue that the two types of capital are largely interchangeable, whereas the latter insist that natural capital is increasingly the scarcest factor of production. in addition, ecosystem services, such as the provision of clean water or crop pollination, are often undervalued aspects of natural capital that should be incorporated into economic discussions of sustainability. sustainability, the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. in general, sustainability is understood as a form of intergenerational ethics in which the environmental and economic actions taken by present persons do not diminish the opportunities of future persons to enjoy similar levels of wealth, utility, or welfare. the idea of sustainability rose to prominence with the modern environmental movement, which rebuked the unsustainable character of contemporary societies where patterns of resource use, growth, and consumption threatened the integrity of ecosystems and the wellbeing of future generations. sustainability is presented as an alternative to short-term, myopic, and wasteful behaviours. it can serve as a standard against which existing institutions are to be judged and as an objective toward which society should move. sustainability also implies an interrogation of existing modes of social organization to determine the extent to which they encourage destructive practices as well as a conscious effort to transform the status quo so as to promote the development of more-sustainable activities. theory of dynamic capabilities the dynamic capacities approach arose from the resource based view of companies, and it is primarily concerned with the processes by which businesses alter not just their resources and procedures, but also their goods and services, in order to survive in changing contexts. dynamic capabilities were first defined as "the firm's capacity to integrate, create, and reconfigure internal and external competencies to handle quickly changing surroundings" by teece et al. (1997). as a result, they stressed the importance of the dynamic capabilities approach to the organization's capacity. later, eisenhardt and martin (2000) provided a different perspective that focused on specific organizational processes that incorporate resource reconfiguration, gain, and release to produce new resource configurations. leading scholars of dynamic capabilities have recently defined dynamic capability in broader terms, such as "the capacity of an organization to purposefully create, extend, and modify its resource base" (helfat et al., 2007), while teece (2007, 2014) proposed that dynamic capabilities could be broken down into three broad capacities of sensing, seizing, and transforming. although earlier researchers disagreed over whether dynamic talents are unique or ubiquitous across firms, and if they provide a sustainable competitive advantage, scholars have lately offered an integrative method to reconcile these divergent viewpoints. in their study of empirical and theoretical dynamic capabilities research, they discovered that while dynamic 95 capabilities come in many different forms, they all have basic characteristics that can be distinctive in specifics. we define dynamic capabilities as a combination of broad organizational capacities and specific actions that work together to effect organizational change, drawing on this integrative approach (barreto, 2010; di stefano et al., 2014; peteraf et al., 2013) as well as helfat et al (2007) and teece's (2007) views of dynamic capabilities. at a high level, we agree with teece's (2007, 2014) assessment that dynamic capabilities are comprised of three competencies: perceiving, seizing, and transforming. these broad capacities, in turn, function through a collection of specific organizational activities that work together to bring about change (eisenhardt and martin, 2000; di stefano et al. 2014). we'll go over them in detail below. conceptual framework authors computation, 2022 methodology a descriptive research technique was used in the study, which will comprise research questions and hypotheses. when it's difficult to regulate the experience, exposure, or impacts that participants may have, this design method is typically adopted. this is okay since it allows the researcher to describe what is happening as it happens. lagos is a nigerian state in the country's south-western political zone, commonly known as lagos state. until 1976, when the state capital was moved to ikeja, it served as both the state and federal capital. the federal government's seat of government was formally shifted to abuja with the creation of the federal capital territory in its entirety on december 12, 1991. despite this, lagos remained the country's financial centre and expanded to become both the states and the country's most populous city. lagos state is without a doubt the most economically important state in nigeria. lagos is home to the headquarters/control offices of over 90% of nigeria's insurance companies, as well as all of their business offices; hence, lagos was chosen as the study location. the target population of the study consist of insurance companies in nigeria that are duly registered by the national insurance commission (naicom), the corporate affairs commission (cac) and are fully recapitalized. the justification for choosing these companies is because they are recognized insurance companies in the economy, and their employees have applied digitalization in their daily business activities. therefore, it enabled sustainability of insurance business sustainability of insurance business digital transformation cloud based collaborative suites employee enablement digital transformation strategy 96 the study to provide a broad sample region that would justify the representation of all staff that participated in the study. the study used purposive sampling technique as the technique focuses on informants /respondents that are vital and relevant for the study. it is ideal to use purposive sampling technique because not all members of the population are useful and have information on the research questions and objective. purposive sampling otherwise known as judgmental sampling is the intentional choice of informants/respondents due to the attributes or qualities possesses. it is also a non-random technique that does not require underlying theories or a set number of informants. with purposive sampling, the researcher decides what needs to be known and set out to source those people that can and as well willing to provide the information based on their knowledge and experience (bernard, 2002; lewis & sheppard, 2006). for the purpose of this study, copies of questionnaire will be distributed amongst the employees working in the information and communication technology sections (ict) in all the 58 insurance companies in nigeria purposively due to their relevance to the objective of the study. distribution of the copies of questionnaire was made possible through the members of ict and cyber security committee representing each company at nigeria insurers association (nia) which is the umbrella body of all the insurance companies licence and operating in nigeria. the sample size for the study was 200 employees (two hundred) working at the ict and cyber security unit of all the insurance offices fully digitalized in nigeria. the distribution of the copies of questionnaire was made possible through the members representing each company at the committee on ict and cyber security at nia which is the umbrella body. a questionnaire was the major tool which was used by the researcher. the following are the four (4) sections of the questionnaire: the 5-likert scale was used to structure the questionnaire (strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree). there are four sections to the questionnaire: section a was used to collect data on respondent demographic characteristics; section b contain 12 items assessing the cloud based collaborative suites and employee enablement. the content validity approach of crossexamination and verification was utilized to establish the extent to which the survey instruments attained their goals. the researcher also meet with experience research in the same field for suitable evaluation and revisions to the suggested research instrument, and the questionnaire contained only relevant and valid parts. the instrument was pre-tested on 10% of the employees of insurance companies from a non-participating location to ensure its dependability. following the pre-test, the instrument was evaluated, and necessary adjustments were made before the questionnaire is sent. each portion of the questionnaire was reviewed for ambiguity and relevance, and a reliability coefficient was determined. 97 reliabilty test table for variables variables cronbach’s alpha (a) number of items remark average cloud based collaboration suites 0.875 6 high reliability average employee enablement 0.721 6 high reliability average sustainability of insurance 0.891 6 high reliability source: author’s computation, 2022. companies selected for the research were asked to fill out questionnaires. the subjects were informed of the study's main purpose, as well as information concerning their anonymity and confidentiality. the instrument was administered by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. the respondents were encouraged to express themselves freely and informed that their comments will be utilized for study. to examine demographic parameters such as age, gender, educational attainment, length of work, and the research goals, simple percentage distributions and frequency counts was used. in contrast, the study hypotheses were evaluated using the regression analysis. results and discussion h01: cloud based collaborative suites does not have an influence on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria y=α0+β1x1+e……………………(1) where: y = cloud based collaborative suites (cbcs) α0 = autonomous β1 =slope of a line x1 = digital transformation strategy e = error model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .324a .105 .101 4.10201 a. predictors: (constant), cbcs 98 a simple linear regression was run to predict sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria (dependent variable) from cloud based collaborative suites (independent variable). the first table (model summary) indicates that the independent variable yielded a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.105 accounting for 10.5% of the proportion of variance in dependent variable that is explained by the independent variable. anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 483.711 1 483.711 28.747 .000b residual 4122.499 245 16.827 total 4606.211 246 a. dependent variable: sustainability b. predictors: (constant), cbcs the second table (anova) shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced f-ratio value of 28.747 which is statistically significant because the significance level is = .000 which is less than p≤ 0.05. this implies that the regression model is statistically significant, valid and fit. the valid regression model implies that independent variable (cloud based collaborative suites) does have an influence with the dependent variable (sustainability of insurance companies). coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 13.910 1.978 7.033 .000 cbcs .423 .079 .324 5.362 .000 a. dependent variable: sustainability the third table (coefficient) indicates that the independent variable (i.e. cloud based collaborative suites) contribute positively and statistically to sustainability of insurance companies at p≤0.05. h02: employee enablement does not have an influence on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria y=α0+β1x1+e……………………(1) where: y = employee enablement (ee) α0 = autonomous β1 =slope of a line x1 = digital transformation strategy 99 e = error model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .324a .105 .101 4.10201 a. predictors: (constant), ee a simple linear regression was run to predict sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria (dependent variable) from employee enablement (independent variable). the first table (model summary) indicates that the independent variable yielded a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.105 accounting for 10.5% of the proportion of variance in dependent variable that is explained by the independent variable. anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 483.711 1 483.711 28.747 .000b residual 4122.499 245 16.827 total 4606.211 246 a. dependent variable: sustainability b. predictors: (constant), ee the second table (anova) shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced f-ratio value of 28.747 which is statistically significant because the significance level is = .000 which is less than p≤ 0.05. this implies that the regression model is statistically significant, valid and fit. the valid regression model implies that independent variable (employee enablement) does have an influence with the dependent variable (sustainability of insurance companies). coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 13.910 1.978 7.033 .000 ee .423 .079 .324 5.362 .000 a. dependent variable: sustainability 100 the third table (coefficient) indicates that the independent variable (i.e. employee enablement) contribute positively and statistically to sustainability of insurance companies at p≤0.05. conclusion and recommendations cloud based collaborative suites the anova shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced f-ratio value of 28.747 which is statistically significant because the significance level is = .000 which is less than p≤ 0.05. this implies that the regression model is statistically significant, valid and fit. the valid regression model implies that cloud based collaborative suites does have an influence with the sustainability of insurance companies. businesses have been forced to acknowledge that introducing technology into their working systems does not require perfection. organizations across different industries have been able to adapt to these changes significantly faster than expected. according to the respondents, the study indicated that their companies were able to adopt cloud based collaborative suites. specifically, it aided in the area of remote working, the respondents thought that their businesses were able to implement solutions faster than they would have expected in the pre-pandemic conditions due to collaborative suites. naturally, what employees would have expected to take a year to implement at their organizations took an average of few days employee enablement the anova shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced f-ratio value of 28.747 which is statistically significant because the significance level is = .000 which is less than p≤ 0.05. this implies that the regression model is statistically significant, valid and fit. the valid regression model implies that employee enablement does have an influence with the sustainability of insurance companies. during the pandemic, organizations were able to create a workable solution to allow employees to continue their jobs at home. this has likely largely been driven by businesses realizing that operations did not have to work perfectly before being adopted. simply having a solution that functioned adequately allowed businesses to keep running while obeying local ordinances that kept people home. businesses were forced to prioritize the adoption of this technology. prior to the pandemic, over half of businesses thought that a lack of prioritization was a leading reason why digital transformations and capabilities were not adopted. when covid-19 forced organizations to make these changes a top priority, they were able to do so at lightning speed. with employees working nearly entirely at home for the duration of their local shut down, companies were forced to think carefully about the employee experience using the digital capabilities. they could not expect employees to simply make-do with what was available. previously, employees might have had a grateful attitude for any benefits that offered increased workplace flexibility resulting from digital capabilities. now, however, with companies across industries adapting to virtual work, the experience of employees online 101 directly impacts their satisfaction with their work environment. with many businesses struggling to navigate the challenging environment that the pandemic has created, no one wants to deal with high turnover that can come from low employee satisfaction and the costs that come with hiring regular new employees. instead, paying attention to the importance of creating a positive digital experience for employees has an immense benefit for businesses. recommendations based on the findings of the study and the conclusions made, the following recommendations are made: 1. based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the government should draw-up framework to aid the digitalization of insurance business, since the business play an important role in the economy and deals with the insuring publics properties and funds so as to avoid the negative impact of digitalization such as hacking among others. 2. insurance organizations should endeavour to provide adequate training to their employees to adapt to the use of the new generation technology in use to avoid costly mistake. 3. insurance companies should endeavour to create a solid digital team that will be responsible for setting and managing digital technologies and providing oversight to support quality assurance and critical digital decision making. 4. endeavour to align the leadership and 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department of economics enugu state university of science & technology enugu, enugu state, nigeria ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com abstract this research work examined the use of information communication technology (ict) in information management in nigeria using the national identity management commission. the study submitted that for government to fulfil their non-negotiable functions, ict is a necessity. the data used in this study was collected from secondary sources. the secondary sources of data collection included textbooks, journals, government publications and internet sources. the data analysis revealed that ict usage will enhance nimc biometric activities. biometrics offers usability advantages over traditional token and password based authentication schemes, but raises privacy and security concerns. when compromised, credit cards and passwords can be revoked or replaced while biometrics are permanently associated with a user and cannot be replaced.this study concluded that since a sound national identity management system is linked with and complements the development of the socio-political and socioeconomic processes, there is therefore the need for government to facilitate the process for an effective national identity management; and the national identity management policy should be sustained irrespective of changes in government. keywords: biometrics, identity and identity management, national security and nigeria. introduction all organisations have a non-negotiable predetermined objective of functioning effectively as well as efficiently. one of the reasons is for the sake of continuity and cohesion. this applies to local governments. speaking more critically, the continuity of any organisation depends on how innovative that organisation is. innovation here entails the introduction of new ideas and ways of doing things. if such organisations do not seem to be innovative as to change positively with the changing times, they seem to lose their cutting edge as well as their competitive advantage not to mention their service capacity. thus, it is truism to state categorically that aside the financial and material resources factor, innovation is centrally responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of organisations (zhang, 2019). innovation, which is a necessity, is the mother of invention and innovations cannot be exhaustively talked about without the mention of information communication technology. information mailto:ifeifeonuigbo@yahoo.com biometric information management in nigeria 273 communication technology (ict) is a relatively modern invention as in time past, some less sophisticated and more crude paraphernalia has been used generally by people and organisations alike. within the last decade, there has been an unprecedented leap and growth in the application of new technologies in organisations to the extent that organisations that use such modern technologies are christened ‘modern organisations’. these modern organisations overtime, have been able to make reasonable headways remotely and immediately as a result of the application of the tenets and doctrines of information communication technology. a reasonable percentage of such organisations that utilise ict techniques are private organisations. thus, the question of ‘what about the public organisations?’ becomes a very wise question to ask. any organisation without a well-equipped and updated information technology is more or less a dead one if not passive. thus, information technology is the blood that flows in and through the veins of any modern organisation without which any other activity whether embodied in human resources, financial resources, information resources etc. will be poorly managed, objectives not considerably achieved, communications truncated and abated and overall efficiency cum effectiveness goal, defeated. hence, if only a low amount of public setups use ict principles and innovations, or if at best they use it in a low capacity, what will be their fate? public setups even as the name suggests has a ‘people’ orientation i.e. its impact is people centred and thus its activities will definitely rub off on the people/masses. therefore, ict use and application is of paramount necessity to public organisations as well as private institutions. coming from another standpoint, ict usage in the public sector has however recorded a fairly significant success as a result of its mediocre usage especially at the broader levels of government i.e. the federal and even the state level. but the same, unfortunately, cannot be spoken about the local/grass root level. a typical analogy was a case situation where an assignment given, entailed getting the internally and externally generated revenue of six local governments. this entailed an uphill task of going to the individual local governments umpteen times after which old files which were hitherto dumped were exhumed. the sorting of these files was a different tale in volumes altogether. instead of an academic lift through the information to be gotten, we became utterly bamboozled as a result of the haphazardness of the whole process. the point being made here is that if this research work was state centred or even federal centred, the answers would have been just clicks away on the computer. this goes to show how rudimentary the local governments are in the use of ict principles. biometric data is important for planning and development. in nigeria, it has expended millions of naira to gather the biometrics data of nigerians. but due to lack of coordination, each of these agencies preferred to initiate their own biometric data gathering process. these have led to multiple organizations doing the same thing. in view of the above background, this study seeks to examine the use of information communication technology (ict) in information management in nigeria using the national identity management commission. to achieve this objective, the study is divided into five sections. following section one is the conceptual issues/theoretical framework presented in section two, section three is the methodology/research design. section four discuss the findings/results and section five presents the conclusion and policy recommendations. biometrics is an automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioural characteristics. they include face, finger print, hand geometry, hand writing, iris, retina, vein and voice-anything that is a part of your (jay & dunphy, 2009). they further stressed that biometrics is not a new technology. the ancient egyptians used bodily characteristics to identify workers to make sure they don’t claim more provisions than they were entitled just like governments today are using biometrics to lessen fraud. chinese merchants in the fourteenth century used palm prints and fort prints to identify children. finger print recognition is by far the most developed technology today. it’s trusted, lost effective and easy to use. all biometrics has strengths and weakness. the key is finding the right technology for the right application. biometric technologies don’t conjure up the fears they used to overall acceptance of biometrics has risen substantially over the years due to the aftermath of the proliferation of identity theft, technology improvements, and general understanding and awareness. of course, some people still object at the mention of system that scan fingerprints, but for the most part, people now understand that biometrics actually protect their privacy and that in most biometric applications, their fingerprints are not stored anywhere and their fingerprints can never be recreated from the encrypted digital template (bovens, 2005). biometrics involves collection of finger prints of individual for correctly identifying the real person in a transaction and to avoid frauds and identity thefts, as no two persons in the world have similar fingerprints, even siamese twins. however, the use of technology for accurate biometric information management in nigeria 275 identification of persons to check frauds and make easy the ways of doing things in civilized world has been turned an into instrument of oppression in nigeria, which is why nothing works, expect corruption, the nation’s thriving industry. the bank verification number (bvn) is a biometric registration of customers in the financial system. its introduction is intended to tackle cybercrime and atm fraud. the central bank verification number allows customers to have “a single identity within the financial system”. thus, people who are unable to read and write will be able to use their biometrics for banking transactions, as this cannot be replicated. it will tackle incidents of identity theft and enable banks to verify their customers easily and, in the longer term, the african banking industry. the biometric verification number (bvn) was conceived to address his identification challenge. the idea is very simple. capture the finger prints and picture of ever bank customer and save the information with a number, which can then be issued to the customer and can be used to verify his/her identity. the way the technology works is straightforward. cctvs in streets, public places, and office buildings record images 24/7, sophisticated algorithms then carry out a matching exercise with an existing database of images of potential “villains” or “targets.” a match will trigger enhanced surveillance and possible future and further action. for the system to be effective, the matching database should be as wide and comprehensive as possible. it is not surprising to note that to put such a database together security agencies never (at least we cannot identify any evidence) consult or seek permission to keep people's records in their data centers. furthermore routine phishing activities through the internet and social networks provide a fertile ground for not only a simple one-dimensional set of data (photos and other personal data) but potentially three-dimensional datasets of associated friends, links, habits, and quite often current location. the security of the biometric authentication data is vitally important, even more than the security of passwords, since passwords can be easily changed if they are exposed. a fingerprint or retinal scan, however, is immutable. the release of this or other biometric information could put users at permanent risk and create significant legal exposure for the company that loses the data. at the end of the day, every company is responsible for its own security decisions. you cannot outsource compliance, but you can reduce the cost of compliance, and the possible repercussions of a leak, by picking the right vendor. if a small or mid-sized company uses, say, google’s or apple's authentication technology and there is a security breach with google or apple, it is likely google or apple will get the blame. in nigeria, your national identification number (nin) is used to tie together all records about you demographic data, fingerprints, head-to-shoulder facial picture, other biometric data and digital signature in the national identity database making it relatively easy to confirm and verify your identity when you engage in travels and transactions. an individual’s fingerprints, passport photo, signature, biometric and demographic data are all linked together in the national identity database via his/her nin. this vital feature of the nin makes it pivotal for all citizens (home and abroad) as well as legal residents of nigeria to endeavour to obtain their unique nins as soon as they can. the agency that is responsible for collecting these records is the national identity management commission (nimc), nigeria’s agency charged with handling digital identity issues, has been called upon to accelerate the process of establishing biometric digital identification for citizens of the country of more than 200 million people. the national identity management commission (nimc) the trajectory of the national identity management system in nigeria dated back to the postindependence era (musa, 2000). for more than four decades, the development of a framework for identity management system has always seamlessly emerged in the government agenda for socioeconomic and political development in nigeria. in 1978, the directorate of national civic registration (dncr) was established (ayamba and ekanem, 2016). this was later backed by decree 51 of 1979. the dncr was responsible for the enrollment of citizens from 18years above for national identity card (vanguard may 13, 2003). the government intended to establish a national identity management system to resolve the challenges of verifying and authenticating the true identity of individuals when accessing public service deliverables (nimc, 2013). consequently, a series of government programmes aimed at installing a reliable identification system has always witnessed drawbacks of varying magnitude. among these drawbacks are fragmented systems, multiple forms ofid cards, non-existence of interoperability, low coverage and absence of common standards as part of the blight that confronted previous identification biometric information management in nigeria 277 schemes (aliyu, 2017). as a result of these ignoble realitiesthe government commissioned a harmonization committee to advise it on how different public and private sector activities on identification systems can be harmonized, therefore, the committee recommended a national policy and institutional framework for a national identity management system for the country (ayamba & ekanem, 2016, p.280). the national policy and institutional framework for an identity management system for nigeria was deployed in 2007with the overriding policy thrust to harmonize existing identification schemes, introduce a unique national identification scheme, institutionalize a system of identity management, and establish a reliable environment of identity management. all these thrusts are expected to manifest into attainment of a variety of the policyobjectives set out in the policy documents especially in the area of interoperability among government agencies.going by the foregoing, the new identification system in nigeria is expected to provide a foundational database that can be accessed by government agencies providing e-services. however, available evidence raises concern. for instance, the policy targeted the distribution of at least 12 million nins to nigerians in the first year of implementation. eventually, world bank report on the country assessment of the identification system observed that the first national identification number was first issued in 2012, four years after commencement of the policy (world bank,2015). the report also revealed that only 6.1millions nins were issued to nigerians representing 3.5% of the total population of nigeria in 2015. also, as of september 2017, 21millions nins has been issued against an estimated population of over 180 million persons in nigeria equating 12% of the population. also, it is reported that the national identity management commission operates 805 registration centres out of which 556 centres are located in local governments (nimc’s official release, 2017). the national identity management commission (nimc) established by the nimc act no. 23 of 2007, the nimc has the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the national identity database in nigeria, register persons covered by the act, assign a unique national identification number (nin) and issue general multi-purpose cards (gmpc) to those who are citizens of nigeria as well as others legally residing within the country. the nimc act 2007 provides for the establishment of the nimc, its functions, powers, establishment of the national identity database, assignment and use of general multi-purpose cards, and the national identification number (nin). the act also provides the commission with powers to make regulations connected with its functions. the nimc act 2007 provides the repeal of the law that created the former department of national civic registration (dncr) and the transfer of its assets and liabilities to the nimc. the national identity management commission is the primary legal, regulatory and institutional mechanism for implementing government’s reform initiative (in the identity sector) as contained in the national policy and nimc act, sections 1, 2, 5 and 6. with this act, it was able to wind up and take over the assets and liabilities of the former dncr which no longer exists, including the personnel in both the state and local government offices nationwide. with this mandate, it became imperative that it should establish, operate and manage the national identity management system (nims): carry out the enrolment of citizens and legal residents as provided for in the act, create and operate a national identity database, issue unique national identification numbers to qualified citizens and legal residents and foster the orderly development of an identity sector in nigeria. issue a national identity smart card to every registered person 16 years and above, provide a secure means to access the national identity database so that an individual can irrefutably assert his/her identity [person identification verification services (pivs) infrastructure]. her vision and mission statement is to provide sustainable world-class identity management solution to affirm identity, enhance governance and service delivery in nigeria and to establish and regulate a reliable and sustainable system of national identity management that enables citizens and legal residents affirm their identity in an environment of innovation and excellence. section (6) of the nimc act no. 23 of 2007 outlines that the commission shall have power to: request for any information on data from any person on matters relating to its functions under this act; fix the terms and conditions of service including remuneration of the employees of the commission; establish and operate administrative and monitoring offices in the states, local government areas and area councils; monitor any matter that may affect the functions of the commission; biometric information management in nigeria 279 do such other things which this act or any other enactment are required or permitted to be done by the commission. the functions of the commission are contained in section 5 of the act. section (5) of the nimc act no. 23 of 2007 stipulates that the commission shall: assign a unique national identification number to any person registered pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section and the national identification number shall be incorporated into or made compatible with other existing identity related databases or registers in respect of which information or data relating to the registered person has been registered, documented or stored; create, manage, maintain and operate the national identity database, established under section 14 of this act including the harmonization and integration of existing identification databases in government agencies and integration of existing identification databases in government agencies and integrating them into the national identity database; collaborate with relevant bodies and agencies in setting of standards and technical specifications for telecommunications links between organisations and for the devices utilized for such communications established or maintained pursuant to paragraphs (j) and (k) of this section; collaborate with relevant bodies and agencies in the setting of standards and technical specifications for ict links between organizations and for the devices utilized for such communications established or maintained pursuant to paragraph (i) and (j) of this section; maintain secured communication links with end users in any public or private organisation, agency or body including card acceptance devices, government service centres; perform such other duties which, in the opinion of the commission, are necessary or expedient for the discharge of its functions under this act; collate information obtained by the commission in pursuance of its functions as stated under the act and reproducing such information as may be required, from time to time; ensure the preservation, protection, sanctity and security (including cyber-security) of any information or data collected, obtained, maintained or stored in respect of the national identity database; enter into any form of agreement with any private or public sector based agency or organisation for the development or establishment of the identity management solution or for the realization of any of its functions; establish and maintain secured communication links with any existing relevant identity related database or agency; carry out the registration of citizens of nigeria into the national identity database; carry out the registration of non-citizens of nigeria who are lawfully resident in nigeria; issue a general multi-purpose identity card to any person registered pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section; respond to verification enquires regarding the identification of individuals; research and monitor developments in the identity management sector; carry out the registration of births and deaths in nigeria; the national identification number (nin) registration process nimc started enrolment and issuance of nin since the year 2012 (over nine years ago), and our enrolment and registration centres have been functional and open all year round to provide identity services to the general public. it is quite unfortunate that a large number of citizens and legal residents did not take advantage of those years to enrol for their nin. first, the nin-sim integration is a policy of the federal government of nigeria through the ministry of communications and digital economy, due to the improper registration of sim. so, the directive by the minister of communication and digital economy to link sim with nin was in compliance with the nimc act 2007, and regulations 2017, which stipulate mandatory use of the national identification number (nin) as a valid means of identification for service delivery in nigeria. one can see how important the nin is to an individual:  it is used for retrieving your captured information from the national identity database  your matching information associated with your nin can be then used to verify that you are really who you say you are. to the society as a whole, the nins issued  help provide accurate records about actual living/dead persons in every region of the country biometric information management in nigeria 281  help keep track of actual transactions as well as movement of people within and out of the country  help confirm which individuals are in actual need of particular government services, e.g. age and retirement confirmation for pensioners. when it comes to access to vital services (like passport issuance, banking services, land transactions, insurance services, pension, health insurance, payment of taxes, voter’s registration, consumer credits, and all government services), your nin becomes necessary for:  cutting down the time needed for verifying documents to properly identify you in order to access the services you require  reducing errors in allocation of services to the right people  prevention of fraud (419) where someone else impersonates you  verification of the real identity of other people you go into financial or business transactions with or even people you wish to employ such as house help  ensuring you are properly identified when receiving health services, e.g. verifying the actual blood types of blood donors at hospitals  verification of voter eligibility during elections. the ongoing database harmonization efforts with other agencies and banks across nigeria, with the announcement by the nigeria immigration service making the nin a requirement for obtaining a travel passport, further emphasize the importance of every individual having his/her ownnin. eventually all agencies and banks will be using your nin for services and transactions. imagine you walk into an immigration office to apply for an international passport. you are asked for information verifying your identity and you just give them a number and instantly the immigration officials connect to the national identity database – all your required information appears on their computer screen. the use of biometrics according to world bank (2015); oecd, (2007) and oxford internet institute, (2007) has plenty of advantages and disadvantages regarding its use, security and other related functions. biometrics is beneficial because they are:  hard to fake or steal, unlike passwords;  easy and convenient to use;  generally, the same over the course of a user's life;  nontransferable; and  efficient because templates take up less storage. disadvantages, however, include the following:  it is costly to get a biometric system up and running.  if the system fails to capture all of the biometric data, it can lead to failure in identifying a user.  databases holding biometric data can still be hacked.  errors such as false rejects and false accepts can still happen.  if a user gets injured, then a biometric authentication system may not work -for example, if a user burns their hand, then a fingerprint scanner may not be able to identify them. methodology data generation technique for the study was through the content analysis of secondary data from books, journals, magazines and web resources. concepts related to identity, identity management, interoperability and law enforcement are amply explained in order to polish their meanings for better comprehension. hence, the study is purely exploratory and the analysis qualitatively done. findings information security and ensuring personal privacy are growing concerns in today’s society. current authentication schemes use tokens and passwords but this does not really distinguish between authorized users and persons who are in the unauthorized possession of the token or password. using nimc as a case, we observed that biometrics-based authentication has many usability advantages over traditional systems such as passwords. specifically, users can never lose their biometrics, and the biometric signal is difficult to steal or forge. we have shown that the intrinsic bit strength of a biometric signal can be quite good, especially for fingerprints, when compared to conventional passwords. yet, any system, including a biometric system, is vulnerable when attacked by determined hackers. we have highlighted eight points of vulnerability in a biometric information management in nigeria 283 generic biometric system and have discussed possible attacks. we suggested several ways to alleviate some of these security threats. to address this issue, we have proposed collaboration and publicity among government agencies among other suggestions. biometric authentication promises to overcome these problems but raises other concerns: 1. biometrics is not secret: biometrics (even fingerprints)can be recorded and misused without a user’s consent. 2. biometrics cannot be revoked or cancelled: biometrics are permanently associated with a user. 3. a compromised biometric is forever compromised: all applications that use the biometric are compromised. 4. cross-matching can be used to track individuals: a user can be tracked if organizations share their databases. while biometrics presents obvious advantages over password and token based security, we presented some security and privacy concerns raised by biometric authentication. we outlined the advantages and disadvantages of biometrics and presented a case study of applying this technique to fingerprint data collection by ninc. recommendations/conclusion in order to ensure that efforts to increase the biometrics enrollment numbers work, the nimc has been advised to not only open up special units to deal with complaints and worries of nigerians, but also to carry outreplace sensitization campaigns in order to convince more nigerians on the importance of the digital identity. such sensitization campaigns, it has been recommended, should be done even in indigenous languages. governors at the states should collaborate with the federal government. the former would serve as implementing partners to ensure efficient and effective service delivery. with the collaboration of nimc and trained enrolment officers across the states is geared to enable them discharge their services diligently and ensure the success of the exercise. the states participation would further enhance service delivery in payroll, tax verifications, payments and scholarship awards. for instance, enrolment in schools, provision of health care services, especially through the state social health insurance scheme, among other services would be further enhanced through the nin centre. references aliyu, a. a. 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(2011). digital identity management: enabling innovation and trust in the internet economy. oxford internet institute. (2007). e-infrastructures for identity management and data sharing: perspectives across the public sector: oxford internet institute. pati, r. k., kumar, v., & jain, n. (2015). analysis of aadhaar: a project management perspective. iimkozhikode society & management review, 4(2), 124–135. peshwani, p., & joshi, b. (2016, october 26). aadhaar – identification simplified, myths busted. the wire. ramanathan, u. (2010). the personal is personal. the indian express, international environmental lawresearch centre. retrieved from http://www.ielrc.org/content/n1002.pdf. udunze, b. (2014). $55m biometric budget: cbn, nimc at war over control of bvn scheme. the sun retrieved from http://sunnewsonline.com/new/55m-biometricbudget-cbn-nimcatwar-over-control-of-bvn-scheme/ world bank (2015). identification for development: nigeria. conference report. (2015). washington. retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26437 oluwadare, a. o. (2020). an administration of the new electronic identity management system in southwestern nigeria. public administration research; vol. 9, no. 1; pp. 1-9. http://sunnewsonline.com/new/55m-biometricbudget-cbn-nimchttp://sunnewsonline.com/new/55m-biometricbudget-cbn-nimchttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26437 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 38 self-control and emotional intelligence as predictors of time management behaviour among employees of a nigerian university andrew i. aigbodion department of psychology, ambrose alli university, ekpoma, edo state, nigeria aigbodion@aauekpoma.edu.ng emmanuel e. uye* department of psychology, university of ibadan, ibadan, oyo state, nigeria *corresponding author: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com abstract the wise use of time is a skilful practice required by everyone, especially workers, because it enhances efficient performance of tasks, helps maintain a positive personality outlook, reduces chaos, stress and work pressures, and results in the quick attainment of personal goals, among many other benefits. however, many workers are not adept at time management leading to unnecessary work pressures and work-family conflicts. this study, therefore, looked at the independent and joint predictors of self-control and emotional intelligence on the time management behaviour of the staff of a nigerian university. it also investigated the mean differences in the time management behaviour of male and female employees, on one hand, and older versus younger employees, on the other. three instruments: brief self-control scale, emotional intelligence scale, and time management scale were used in this study for data collection. the obtained results found support for the independent prediction of self-control (β= .56, t= 15.07, p< .05) and the joint prediction of both predictor variables on time management behaviour (f [2, 498] = 119.02, r2 = .32, ∆r2= .32, p< .05). there was a significant mean difference between males (mean= 47.57) and females (mean= 49.30) on time management behaviour [t(499) = 1.17, p< .05)]. also, there was a mean difference between younger workers (mean = 44.66) and older employees (mean= 54.46) on time management behaviour (t= 12.38, df= 499, p< .05). therefore, it is recommended that workers should develop these valued human factors to help them live a fulfilled and well balanced life. keywords: ambrose alli university, emotional intelligence, self-control, time management behaviour introduction time is an inelastic natural resource which everyone must make conscientious efforts to manage well to execute the various tasks they need to perform (daniel & santeli, 2020). in the literature, there is no universally accepted definition of time management. in its simplest form, time management means making judicious use of time by consciously exercising control over the mailto:aigbodion@aauekpoma.edu.ng mailto:kingsleybeloved@gmail.com 39 amount of time expended on daily activities which have been proactively prioritised. it was defined by gerald (2002) as a set of principles, practices, skills, tools, and systems that help individuals use their time to effectively accomplish desired goals. time management is both a science and an art (adebayo, 2015). according to tracy (2013), the psychology of time management is based on a simple principle called the law of control. this law says that you feel good about yourself to the degree to which you feel you are in control of your own life. in the extant literature, time management is a meta-dimensional construct (britton &tesser, 1991) involving three major behavioural components aimed at efficient and effective time utilisation. these are a time assessment (adapting) component, a planning (structuring) component and a monitoring (protecting) component (aeon &aguinis, 2017; aeon et al., 2021). the time assessment component entails a self-awareness of one’s time use in the past and accepting tasks and responsibilities that one can handle adequately in their present situation and future circumstances (wratcher& jones, 1998). the planning component involves using tools and practices (such as setting goals, using daily planners, planning and prioritising tasks, and grouping tasks) to achieve efficient time use (macan, 1996). the monitoring component provides a structure for self-monitoring and time use by providing feedback loops when pursuing a goal and avoiding time wasters (fox & dwyer, 1996). effective time management is focused on solving problems such as inability to deal with distractions, deadline pressure, unplanned daily activities, procrastination, inability to say “no” to people, and so on (arun & srikumar, 2017). the methods used consist of tips and techniques to determine longand short-term goals, how to plan and prioritise these goals into projects, tasks and activities, and how to avoid distractions (akomolafe, 2005). the principle of effective time management is succinctly explained by the pickle jar theory of wright (2002). this theory reflects how people organize their tasks according to a scale of preference in order to reach their life’s goals. the basic theory consist of a pickle jar which is first filled with rocks (our major responsibilities which should be given first priority), the spaces between the rocks are then filled with pebbles (our hobbies which should be given less time than our important goals), the spaces are then filled with sand (our daily chores which should fit into our goals and hobbies) and finally, water (the distractions that we face often) is poured over them. this theory relates to balance in a person’s life which can only be achieved by setting goals, prioritizing them and proper time allocation. effective time management can be harnessed in academic and research institutions to yield beneficial results for workers, their colleagues, friends and family (olejniczak, 2013). on one hand, academic and support staff of universities who can effectively manage their time are able to devote a balanced attention to personal and career goals, get more things done, reduce stress and workload strain, improve their self-esteem and bring about more control and balance in their lives (gul et al., 2021). on the other hand, workers who waste time cannot handle their 40 work and life goals efficiently due to poor planning, prioritising and monitoring (olejniczak, 2013). furthermore, poor time management behaviour among workers in higher educational institutions (heis) can be related to procrastination, self-control problems, and an inability to plan and manage time well resulting in failure to keep to lecture schedules, conduct researches, attend to administrative tasks, underachievement, withdrawal from important tasks (balduf, 2009); missed deadlines, growing workloads and just-in-time production systems (garhammer, 2002); a high level of anxiety, lack of confidence, stress, and bad habits in terms of time usage (gul et al., 2021; olejniczak, 2013). the time management behaviour of university workers depends on several psychological and social factors. two very important psychological factors are self-control (tangney et al., 2004) and emotional intelligence (asare, 2016). some of the social factors include the environment, gender, age, and so on (aeon et al., 2021). self-control refers to the ability to control one’s feelings, behaviours and desires in order to obtain some rewards or avoid punishment, in the face of external demands (diamond, 2013). its synonyms include selfdiscipline, self-restraint, and self-mastery. it is an essential factor in efficient time management and life, career and academic goals achievement. a wide spectrum of behaviours and interpersonal processes are influenced by self-regulatory decisions. on the positive side, good adjustment, secure attachment, perceived control of time, academic achievement, focus and other favourable psychological states, result from self-control (olowookere et al., 2015; tangney et al., 2004). on the negative side, inadequate self-control leads to behavioural and impulse-control problems like indiscipline, failure at work, unmet deadlines, overeating, alcohol and drug abuse, crime and violence, overspending, mediocre performance, and poor time management (vohs&fabu, 2007). in this study, it was explained with the objective self-awareness theory of duvel and wicklund (1972). it consists of an orientation of conscious attention to “self”, “standard” and “focus” as the essence of self evaluation and control. the interdependence of self-control and good time management cannot be overemphasised. good time management is important in coping with the pressures of modern living. therefore, learning how to manage time efficiently helps individuals to feel relaxed, focused and in control of valued tasks that make a significant difference to their life goals. for example, time management behaviour was positively related to perceived control of time, job satisfaction, health, and negatively to stress (sahito et al., 2016). however, for there to be effective time management, a corresponding high level of self-control is necessary. emotional intelligence (ei) has its roots in social intelligence (thorndike, 1990). it refers to a multi-dimensional concept that links an individual’s ability to recognise, monitor and manage their personal emotions and cognitions in their relationship with others (asare, 2016; reeds, 2005). goleman (1998) categorised emotional intelligence into self awareness (emotional 41 self awareness), self management (managing one’s own emotions), social awareness (developing empathy leading to better emotional stability) and relationship management (managing emotions in others). he also believed that though ei seems genetically fixed, it can be learned and continuously developed as people think about their experiences and grow more adept at handling their emotional states and empathising with others. emotional intelligence was found to be effective in directing managers’ behaviours, thoughts, relations with peers, superiors, and clients, and using time optimally to improve outcomes (bokharaeian et al., 2014). slaski and katrite (2002) found that emotional intelligence had a direct and significant relationship with time management while mazinani (2009) found that emotional intelligence ameliorated the stresses of life, which in turn, led to better use of time by educational administrators.in this study, it was explained with the ability model of emotional intelligence of salovey and meyer (1990), which views emotions as useful sources of information that people use to make sense of and navigate the social world. this study is appropriate at this time because recent studies show that time pressure is getting more critical for overworked university staff (rao &azmi, 2018). poor time management by university academics in nigeria, most often, result in their inability to meet up with deadlines, failure to keep to lecture schedules, conduct research, attend to project students, prepare adequately for lectures, seminars and conferences. there is also an inability of nonacademic staff to render efficient and timely administrative services, such as dispatch memos, issue receipts, sign clearance forms, among others. these ultimately rub off on the academic performance and satisfaction of students (kayode&ayodele, 2015). they also affect the quality of graduates produced by heis, who in recent times, have been described as lacking the essential skills and attributes needed by contemporary workplaces or for sustainable employment (edinyang et al., 2015; sodipo, 2014). in addition, there are very few time management behaviour studies among employees in the university sector. it is therefore important to know the level of self-control, emotional intelligence and time management behaviour of university employees. consequently, this study assessed the influence of self-control and emotional intelligence on the time management behaviour of staff of a nigerian university. the study also assessed the differences in the time management behaviour of male/ female employees on one hand, and older/ younger employees of the same university, on the other, especially as results from previous studies have been inconclusive. while several studies reveal that female respondents reported better time management skills and behaviour than males (al khatib, 2014; botha, 2013; trueman& hartley, 1996), others detected no significant difference (akcoltekin, 2015; dalli, 2014). in addition, dalli (2014) and khanam et al. (2017) found no significant difference in time management as a result of age, whereas, trueman and hartley (1996) found that older respondents reported 42 significantly better time management skills than the younger respondents. based on the above literature review, this study hypothesized that: h1: there will be a significant independent and joint prediction of self-control and emotional intelligence on the time management behaviour of staff of ambrose alli university, ekpoma, nigeria. h2: female respondents will score significantly higher on measures of time management behaviour than male respondents. h3: older respondents (30 years and above) will score significantly higher on measures of time management behaviour than younger respondents (below 30 years). methods participants the respondents comprised 501 staff of ambrose alli university, ekpoma, nigeria made up of 239 males (47.70%) and 262 females(52.30%); 188 unmarried persons (37.50%) and 313 persons (62.50%) who were either married, separated/ divorced or widowed. their age was categorised as “young” (below 30 years) and “old” (30 years and above). respondents in the ‘young’ category were 306 persons, representing 61% while the ‘old’ category was made up of 195 persons (39%). of the 501 respondents, 285 (56.90%) were christians, 163 (32.50%) were muslims, while 53 respondents (10.60%) said they were neither. also, 245 respondents were academics (48.90%) while 256 (51.10%) were support staff. instruments three instruments were used in this study for data collection. brief self-control scale(tangney et al., 2004) was used to measure self-control. it is a 13item scale presented on a likert’s format bounded by “not at all like me” (1) to “exactly true” (4). for this study, the scale had a cronbach alpha of 0.86. emotional intelligence scale (salovey& mayer, 1990) was used to measure emotional intelligence in this study. it is a 25-item scale designed in a 5-point likert’s format ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (5). for this study, the scale had a cronbach alpha of 0.73. time management scale by britton and tesser (1991) was used to measure time management in this study.it is an 18-item measure with three subscales measuring short range planning, long range planning and time attitudes, designed in a 5-point likert’s format ranging from “never” (1) to “always” (5). it had a cronbach alpha of .70 in this study. also collected were demographics of the respondents including age, gender, marital status, religion, and staff category. 43 procedure ethical approval was obtained from the management of the institution, after which potential respondents were approached during regular working hours. each questionnaire had an ethical form to be signed by the respondent. the opening section stated the purpose of the study and assured them of the confidentiality of their responses and the fact that they could withdraw from participation at any time. attempts were made to cover the various academic faculties and administrative units of the university. a total of 600 questionnaires were distributed to workers of the institution, who indicated a willingness to participate in the study by signing the consent form. the number of questionnaires retrieved after a week (to give the respondents time to respond to them without feeling pressurised) was 538, yielding an initial response rate of 89.67%. after eliminating improperly filled questionnaires during data cleaning, 501 questionnaires with complete data sets were found useful for analysis. design and statistics the study utilised a cross-sectional survey design which permits the use of inferential statistical methods. the independent variables of the study are self-control and emotional intelligence while the dependent variable is time management behaviour of staff of ambrose alli university, nigeria. standard multiple regressions analysis and t-test for independent means were used for data analysis using statistical package for social sciences(spss) version 23 to test hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. results table 1: zero-order correlation showing the relationship between self-control, emotional intelligence and time management behaviour mean std. dev. 1 2 3 1 self-control 97.04 15.23 2 emotional intelligence 76.14 8.97 .15* 3 time management behaviour 48.48 9.86 .57* .12* * correlation is significant at the .05 level the results in table 1 revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between selfcontrol and emotional intelligence (r= .15, p< .05), between self-control and time management 44 behaviour (r= .57, p< .05), and between emotional intelligence and time management behaviour (r= .12, p< .05). these results implied that all the variables understudy have robust psychometric properties, hence there were used in standard multiple regressions analysis. the first hypothesis stated that there would be a significant independent and joint prediction of self-control and emotional intelligence on the time management behaviour of staff of ambrose alli university. this hypothesis was tested using standard multiple regressions analysis and the result is presented in table 2. table 2: regression table showing the independent and joint prediction of self-control and emotional intelligence on time management behaviour predictors β t p r r2 ∆r2 f p self-control emotional intelligence .56 .04 15.07 1.03 < .05 >.05 .57 .32 .32 119.02 .05 the result revealed that self-control and emotional intelligence jointly predicted time management behaviour among the respondents (f (2, 498) = 119.02, r2= .32, ∆r2= .32, p<.05) such that the predictor variables jointly accounted for 32% variance in the time management behaviour of the respondents. also, the results indicated that self-control (β= .56, t= 15.07, p< .05) independently predicted time management behaviours among the respondents accounting for 56% variance in the total observable variance on the time management behaviour among the respondents. this implies that better time management will be exhibited with higher levels of self-control. however, emotional intelligence did not independently predicted time management behaviour among the respondents (β= .04, t= 1. 03, p< .05). therefore, hypothesis one is partially supported. the second hypothesis stated that female respondents will score significantly higher on measures of time management behaviour than male respondents. the hypothesis was tested using t-test of independent sample mean and the result is presented in table 3. the results showed a low but significant difference (t = 1.97,df= 499, p< .05) between males (mean = 47.57) and females (mean= 49.30) on time management behaviour. table 3: summary table of t-test for independent measures showing gender and age on time management behaviour among the respondents 45 variable n mean sd t df p male 239 47.51 9.91 time management behaviour female 262 49.30 9.75 1.97 499 .05 young 306 44.66 8.76 old 195 54.46 8.42 12.38 499 .05 hypothesis 3 stated that older respondents (30 years and above) will score significantly higher on measures of time management behaviour than younger respondents (below 30 years). the results reveal that there is a significant difference t(499) = 12.38, p< .05) between younger (mean= 44.66) and older (mean= 54.46) respondents on time management behaviour. the hypothesis was supported. discussion the major objective of this study was to examine self-control and emotional intelligence as predictors of time management behaviour among staff of ambrose alli university, ekpoma, nigeria. it also assessed the differences between male/ female and older/ younger respondents on their time management behaviour. the result of the regression analysis showed that only self-control independently predicted time management behaviour among the staff of ambrose alli university.the independent influence of self-control on time management behaviour reflects the findings of masud and mohammadrahim (2014) and strickland and galima (2001). for example, the latter found that the use of self set goals helped to structure the work pattern of workers resulting in less switching between tasks and less cognitive interference in their efforts to achieve their goals. the results obtained also showed a joint prediction of selfcontrol and emotional intelligence on time management behaviour of respondents. this finding supports those of bokharaeian et al. (2014) who found a significant joint prediction of selfcontrol and components of emotional intelligence with time management behaviour. the result of the t-test for independent measures of female and male respondents on time management behaviour showed that female respondents 46 had better time management behaviour than males. this supports several past studies (al khatib, 2014; botha, 2013; trueman& hartley, 1996). analysis of the time management behaviour of older and younger respondents showed that older respondents reported better time management behaviour similar to the findings of trueman and hartley (1996). recommendations of study university staff play a vital role in communicating with students, thus it is important to know their level of self-control, emotional intelligence and time management behaviour. results of this study show the relevance of self-control in conjunction with emotional intelligence on the time management behaviour of university staff in nigeria. it is recommended that university authorities should have validated personality screening tests to be administered to applicants during recruitment, selection and appointment stage to determine their levels self-control and emotional capabilities. at the meso-level, universities should provide organisational and work cultures and climates that enhance structured work patterns; that allow for work plans, prioritising and monitoring of work activities; and work-family balance. at the micro level, individual employees should undertake time management training to enhance their knowledge of time use tips and techniques. limitations of study this study is limited to some extent because only self-report questionnaires were used to collect data which allows for biased responses. the population of this study is limited to one university in nigeria which makes generalisation of these results difficult. finally, the sample size is relatively small compared to the population of the staff in nigerian universities. therefore, future researchers should extend their studies to cover these lapses. conclusion this study shows that there is an independent prediction of self-control on respondents’ time management behaviour. it also shows that there is a joint prediction of selfcontrol and emotional intelligence on respondents’ time management behaviour. in addition, it shows that female respondents and older respondents have better time management behaviour than male and younger respondents, respectively. references 47 adebayo, f.a. 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(2002). dialogue: the importance of time in organizational research. academy of management journal, 45, 343-5. http://www.amanet.org/ page 5 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 403 dangers of herders and farmers conflict to national development in nigeria asadu, ngozi department of sociology and anthropology university of nigeria, nsukka & ogbuke, uchenna martha ngwu, leonard onyia, maxwell department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology, (esut) abstract the seemingly non-stopping and increasing conflict between herdsmen and farmers has become worrisome and most apt for national discuss especially in the middle belt, north central nigeria. most media outlets both local and international have reported aching stories around the conflict with accounts powered by ethnic and religious undertones. consequently, this has led to unfathomable increase in misunderstandings and level of distrusts among ethnic groups in nigerians. the conflicts have demonstrated high potential to exacerbate the insecurity and food crisis particularly in rural communities where most of the conflicts are localized, with reverberating repercussions nationwide. fulani herdsmen has been ranked as the fourth deadliest terrorist group in the world by the 2014 global terrorism index. thousands of people have been killed, communities have been destroyed and so many farmers and herdsmen have lost their lives and property in an extended orgy of killings. nigeria has about 19 million cattle, much of it in the hands of herdsmen. the tension in the country is now so high that grazing should be limited to states which are more receptive to the fulani people or are of predominantly fulani ethnic group, such as adamawa, kebbi, sokoto, zamfara, bauchi and jigawa states. therefore, it is the main thrust of this paper to ascertain causes of herdsmen and farmer’s conflict, implications of herdsmen and farmer’s conflict for national development as well as evaluation of government efforts to control herdsmen and farmer’s conflict in nigeria. keywords: conflict, farmers, grazing, herdsmen, security, ranching introduction the activities of the fulani herdsmen in nigeria over the recent past have become an issue of national concern. hence, there are ongoing wars at the grassroots in the central and southern states of the country. nigeria as a nation is under a severe internal socio-economic and security threat. at a more general glance, the threat has economic, political and environmental dimensions. each of these dimensions has greatly affected the nation’s stability and can be traced to the fulani herdsmen and farmers clash. conflicts between fulani herdsmen and farmers in the past were solely due to overlap of farmlands with cattle routes where farmers grow crops in the routes. dangers of herders and farmers conflict according to food and agricultural organization (2011) the establishments of demarcated rangelands and cattle corridors allow the livestock to access water points and pastures without inflicting damages in croplands. djire (2014) stated that the absence of good governance and the increase in the level of poverty creates avenue for conflicts. both customary and statutory land management system are not often responding adequately to the teeming insecurity the changes bring. this implies that herdsmen usually graze over areas outside farm lands which is an acceptable norm ages ago. their movements are opportunistic and follow pasture and water resources in a pattern that varies seasonally fao (2011). however, increase in population, drying of waterholes, shifting in rainfall pattern leading to drought as a result of the changing climate affects both sectors of agriculture. but, recently, this conflict has escalated and taking another dimension of ethnic and religious differences with little or no effort from the nigerian government towards addressing the grave situation at hand. hence, the problem is how to settle the conflict between the two and sort a lasting solution and bring to abrupt end the killings and lose of numberless lives being wasted in the clash. recently, there have been escalations of reported attacks by fulani herdsmen who brutally kill natives of the invaded farming communities including women and children in various states across the country. the fulani herdsmen armed with sophisticated weapons usually attack their target communities at the time they are most vulnerable such as mid-night or on sundays when they are in their churches, killing people indiscriminately, mostly women and children, burning houses and looting properties. the north central have been the worst hit of late having tasted the devastating attacks by the fulani herdsmen with heavy toll in human lives and property and still counting their loses. most worrisome is the brutality and impunity with which the assailants operate without regard for the law and the sanctity of life coupled with the inability of the nigeria police and even the military taskforce to defend the victims mercilessly slaughtered in their homeland. the conflict between the fulani herdsmen and the farmers usually arise when the former invade community farmland with their cattle and let them graze unrestricted both on cultivated and uncultivated land thereby destroying valuable food and cash crops which are the mainstay of the host communities. when the communities try to resist them and request their exit, the fulani herdsmen become violent and attack the community sometimes with the aid of hired mercenaries from the neighboring countries like chad, niger, mali and cameroon. 405 conceptual clarification for better understanding of the subject matter it becomes necessary to clarify some key concepts like conflict, national development and security conflict conflict was originally used to mean “strike at another, to fight with an enemy or to do battle with an opposing force”. today it equally means to be antagonistic towards others or to be in sharp disagreement with others. the term ‘conflict’ can be used in two senses. it refers to an incompatibility in a multi-party or multi issue situation, in other words, a state of affairs in which two or more irreconcilable views or options are posited towards the solution of a particular problem. in the second sense, conflict refers to the violent expression of this incompatibility of irreconcilability. albert (2002) defined conflict as “any divergence of interests, objectives or priorities between individual, groups, or organizations or nonconformity to requirements of a task; activity or process”. geoff macdonald, zanna, and holmes (2000) perceived of conflict as a situation between two or more persons in whom one individual feels that another person has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect him or her. three elements are very prominent in this definition of conflict. duncan (1975) opined that conflict implies some types of hostility and some desires to do harm which may be considered an extreme case of competition. conflict is different from competition, although competition may result in conflict. this suggests that conflicts may occur without any specific reference to competition, as it could occur as a result of breakdown in the mechanism of decision-making. on this view decenzo (1997), described conflict as whenever two individuals come together, there are bound to be disagreements at time. thus, many scholars contend that conflict is inevitable in social life process; for conflict occurs even in the best of human societies (shehu, 2007 cited in uzuegbunam, 2010). it was in this line of thought that durkheim (1958) cited in haralambos and holborn (2008) opines that “crime is an inevitable and normal aspect of social life, it is an integral part of all healthy societies, it is functional”. chinwokwu (2012a) argues that “the functionality of crime (in this case conflict) in a society such as ours has to be viewed seriously because of the social and psychological problems it has caused to many victims”. dangers of herders and farmers conflict conflict is a friction which may exists whenever two or more persons come into social relationship or interaction with one another. it is an inherent and unavoidable part of human existence entrenched in the pursuit of irreconcilable interest and goals by different groups. conflict is a situation in which people, groups or countries are involved in a serious disagreement or argument. conflict is a necessary process of life. within the individual, there is always conflict of thoughts, choice and interest, to mention but a few. this is known as intra-personal conflict. this not only makes decision taking difficult, but also has been identified as one of the major sources of stress. on the other hand, the inter-personal conflict occurs between individuals, group, members of an organization and states. conflicts can also be either constructive or destructive. if conflict is properly managed or resolved, there will be peace. if on the other hand, resolution and reconciliation fail, the conflict will degenerate to chaos, crisis or war (ifeanyi, 2006). however, sometimes these differences can grow to enormous proportions where they become detrimental to the involved parties and the environment. when that occurs conflict is present. fischer defined violence (conflict) as any random or organized act that seeks to determine, delay, or otherwise influence a process through threat, verbal intimidation, hate speech, disinformation, physical assault, forced “protection,” blackmail, destruction of property, or assassination (fischer 2002). national development nwogu (2009) opined that a country's wellbeing is dependent on its economic development. igweh (2008) in nwogu (2011) stressed that the most suitable definition of development may be that which is based on the experiences of the developing countries. according to him, development means reduction in the levels of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and income inequality. however, nwogu (2009), emphasized that national development which is defined as the "attainment of a number of ideas of modernization such as a rise in productivity, social and economic equity, and improved institutions of values". the main objective of economic development is to raise the standard of living and the general wellbeing of the people in on economy where almost everybody can be self-reliant. it involves changes in the structure of an economy that includes: • emphasis on developing manufacturing industries as opposed to agriculture. • movement of labour from rural to urban industrial areas and 407 • less reliance on imported goods in preference to home produce goods ie made in nigeria goods. gboyega (2003) captures development as an idea that embodies all attempts to improve the conditions of human existence in all ramifications. it implies improvement in material well being of all citizens, not the most powerful and rich alone, in a sustainable way such that today’s consumption does not imperil the future, it also demands that poverty and inequality of access to the good things of life be removed or drastically reduced. it seeks to improve personal physical security and livelihoods and expansion of life chances. adelman (1995) believes that development is usually taken to involve not only economic growth, but also some notion of equitable distribution, provision of health care, education, housing and other essential services all with a view to improving the individual and collective quality of life (adelman 1995).national development therefore can be described as the overall development or collective socioeconomic, political as well as religious advancement of a country or nation. security according to zainab (2014), the word “security” originated from the latin word “securus”. “se” means “without’ and “curus” means “uneasiness”. that implies that ‘security’ originally meant freedom from uneasiness, or a peaceful situation without any risks or threats. mesjasz (2004) asserted that “security” has a wider range of meaning including “to feel safe”, and “to be protected”, and is used to describe a situation without any risks or worries. buzan (1991) quoted in omadjohwoefe (2013) sees security as political, economic, social and environmental threat that affect the individual as well as the state at national and international levels. to other scholars, security is the absence of threat to acquire values or tendencies that would undermine national cohesion and peace as criteria for the determination of the meaning of security. security is the condition or feeling of safety from harm or danger, the defense, protection and absence of threat to acquire values (oladeji & folorunso 2007). the concept ‘security’ generally is a crosscutting and multi-dimensional concept which has over the last century been the subject of great debate. security has been seen as a situation where a person or thing is not exposed to any form of danger or risk of physical or moral aggression, accident, theft or deterioration. zainab (2014), posited that some security experts argued that the concept of security has always been associated with the safety and survival of the state and its citizens from harm or destruction or from dangerous threats. this conception generally holds that the state is the only institution with dangers of herders and farmers conflict the primary responsibility and power for the safety of its territory and its people (zabadi, 2005). security is simply means a situation which allows individuals in a society to go about their daily activities without any form of threat to lives and property. consequences of the herdsmen attack the activities if the herdsmen can be divided into two namely positive and negative effects. the importance of the herdsmen activities cannot be overlooked despite the terror they cause and unleash in the country in recent past. agriculture is one of food the sustainable sector of a nation’s economy because it provides source of food. in grazing cattle on the land, waste is a veritable source of manure to farm land hence, providing the useful organic fertilizer. this shows a symbiotic relationship between the herdsmen and the farmers as they depend on the other for growth and sustenance. lives stocks are being grazed on the land after harvest. these cattle feed on the grass on the farm land. farmer also allow the lives stock to graze on their land during the years of fallowing to give room for re-energizing the land. this arrangement warrants the lives tocks to feed on the remnants of crops and grasses on the land while the lives stock droppings on the ground fertilizes the land, enriching it and preparing it for greater yields when farming is resumed. lives stock farmers provide the nation with milk and meat as a source of protein needed in the body. lives stocks are ceremonial commodities hence, they are needed for presentation and cooking in social events. the negative effects of the fulani herdsmen activities across the nation are traumatic. their inversion of communities, killings, maiming, mercilessly destroying farm land and burning houses has made the host communities flee their homes for safety. fulani herdsmen leaders brazenly claimed the attack in makurdi; describing it as a payback for cattle theft. this massacre cut across different areas of the middle beltin adamawa, kaduna, taraba, plateau and benue states. it is most disheartening to note that genocidal rampaged of well-armed herdsmen has become a threat to life and property of citizens in the country. one would ask “what are herdsmen doing with ak 47 riffle”? however, the magnitude of destruction involved in the conflicts is yet another consequence. for example, the wanton destruction of lives and properties in the very recent invasion of uzo uwani people of enugu state in southeast nigeria by these herdsmen. according to ikezue and ezeah (2017), more destructive incidents had earlier taken place in agatu community 409 in benue state and dogo nahawa in plateau state in the north central geo political zone of nigeria where hundreds of people including women, children and the elderly ones were allegedly butchered by these blood thirsty herdsmen. in these communities, houses were burnt down, churches demolished and properties looted and destroyed. causes of herdsmen and farmers clashes some factors can be traced as causes of the conflict between herdsmen and farmers in nigeria. hence according to okoli and ateihe (2014), linked the causes to the theory of ecoviolence, where environmental factors and exploitation and scarce resources leads to conflict and violence. okoli and lortyer (2016) noted that this may explain the dwindling grazing resources (land, pasture etc) and poor management of existing grazing reserves as culpable. according to national population commission (2012), the population growth rate in nigeria per year is 3.2%. therefore, more people will continue to compete for land hence, population is dynamic and ever increasing to land that is relatively static. consequently, global climate change is related to the conflict between herdsmen and farmers. according to okoli and atelhe (2014) due to global climate change and the contending desertification and aridity that has reduced arable and grazing lands, forcing herdsmen to move southwards in search of pasture for their lives stock. iro (2010) noted that herdsmen are also competing with large-scale agricultural schemes that narrow the grazing lands. tractors, herbicides and fertilizer usage have revolutionized agriculture in the country leading to more and more grazing lands being farmed extensively. hence, farmlands increase to the detriment of grazing lands; animals can easily go into farmlands and destroy crops. other causes as identified by and abass (2012) stated that blockage of waterholes by farmers and fishermen, crop damage by herdsmen lives stock and reprisal attacks on herdsmen and sedentary farmers when ethnic or religious disputes occur elsewhere also cause conflict. rasak (2011) noted that allocation of grazing land as government layouts without compensation to the herdsmen, breakdown of law and other by taking side by local rulers or judges responsible for dispute resolutions is not left out in the causes. according to bello (2013) stated that slow decline of ethnocentric, social cohesion and religious intolerance of leaders who are also sedentary farmers and conflict of cultures have also been highlighted as causes of conflict among between herdsmen and farmers. dangers of herders and farmers conflict equally important to know as a major factor leading to the herdsmen – farmers conflict is the astronomical increase in human population as well as livestock population. this, according to adebayo, 1997, gave rise to an increase pressure on natural resources and a stiffer competition for available resources between farmers and herders. also, fabiyi and otuunza (2016) are of the opinion that climate change has caused desertification in the far north and has led to extended drought. this has prompted the herdsmen to move southwards in search of pasture for their results thereby leading to constant contact between the herdsmen and local farmers resulting in more conflicts. they went on to state that the intensification of the boko haram crisis in the north in the last five years has caused nomadic fulani herdsmen to abandon their foraging grounds. obviously, the above causes could be seen as general remote causes which bring the herdsmen in constant close contact with the farmers. however, there are immediate factors which have always led to crisis between the herders and the local farmers. one of such is the destruction of farm crops by the cattle. in the cause of foraging for pasture for the cattle, most of herdsmen have been accused of internationally releasing their cattle to graze on farmlands. resistance to this destruction of their crops by local farmers is often resisted violently by the herdsmen resulting in most cases to loss of lives. another important factor is the disregard for host traditional authority corroborating this as a cause of the farmers/herdsmen crisis in nigeria. ingawa and erhabor (1999) opines that decline is internal discipline and social cohesion due to non-adherence to traditional rules regarding grazing periods as well as breakdown in the authority of the traditional rules give rise to these conflicts. there is also the problem of contamination of streams and sources of fresh water for domestic use by herds of cattle; the problem of zero grazing which leads to erosion of farm lands; allegations of sexual harassment of host community women, harassment of nomads by host community youths and theft of cattle most times violently by cattle rustlers implication of herdsmen/farmers conflict on national development it is obvious that as people live together, especially in a multi-ethnic, cultural and religious community, conflicts are bound to occur. violent conflicts; however has dire consequences on human relations and on the drive towards national development. as such, the herdsmen/farmers conflict in nigeria has seriously impacted negatively on the development of the country. to buttress the view that the herdsmen-farmers conflict in nigeria has dire consequences on our strive towards development, a vanguard news columnist, dele sobowale (2018) wrote that 411 the conflict is by nature economic and mostly inflicted to promote parochial interest devoid of communal interest which is undesirable, destructive and therefore constitute an impediment to growth and development. one major effect of this crisis is that it has caused food insecurity in the country. food security as it were has to do with the supply of food and individuals’ access to it. food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (united nations, 2015). it should be noted at this point that both herdsmen and famers play active role in food production and supply in nigeria. however, this conflict has led to serious losses in terms of crops destroyed, planting deferred, farms abandoned and harvest left to rot away (sobowale, 2018). it has also led to a reduction in the quantity and quality of dairy products available to the citizens. thus due to the conflict, nigeria is now faced with the problem of food scarcity which is usually accompanied with poverty and diseases. in addition to the problem of shortfall in food supply due to the herder-farmer conflict is the downturn in the economic features of the individual, and households in the conflict areas. bennan and collier (2004) opines that as conflict occur, income tends to plummet. so, the herdsmen-farmers conflict in nigeria has led to a reduction in the personal income of the citizens and this has affected the gross domestic product (gdp) and national income values of the country. equally important to note is the problem of social insecurity created by the crisis and its negative impact on economic activities. according to blench (2004), the herdsmen/farmers crisis in the country has led to social insecurity as people develop fear of being attacked unnecessarily and this negatively affects their ability to carry out their economic activities. there is no gainsaying the fact that the above condition slows down economic activities in the country and retards economic growth. this was succinctly captures bydamba (2007) when he stated that the murderous campaigns and vicious onslaughts on individuals and institutions provide highly unfavourable business environment for internal and foreign investment, which is a major factor in the achievement of sustainable development. the increase in the number of refugee and internally displaced persons is a main fallout of the herdsmen/farmers conflict which has impeded the development of the country. according to pal (2003), one of the most important effect of wars or conflict situation is the emergence of refugees and establishment of refugee camps. this leaves a huge burden on the federal government dangers of herders and farmers conflict and as egodi (2012) succinctly puts it, this causes diversion and removes government attention on some key areas of the economy, as huge amount of human and material resources are channeled to curbing the menace. theoretical framework system theory the system theory was developed by ludwig von bertallanfy between the 1940s and the 1970s (cristina, jacqueline & francesco (2010). according to maturana and varela, (1975) systems theory was developed on principles from physics, biology and engineering and later grew into numerous fields including philosophy, sociology, organizational theory, management, psychotherapy (within family systems therapy) and economics among others.. cristina et al (2010) posited that a fundamental notion of general systems theory is its focus on interactions. • the center in relationships lead to sustain that the behavior of a single autonomous element is different from its behavior when the element interacts with other elements. • another core tenet is the distinction between open, closed and isolated systems. in open systems there are exchanges of energy, matter, people, and information with the external environment. in closed systems there are no exchanges of information and matter, just exchanges of energy. in isolated system there is no exchange of elements. according to cristina et al (2010) a system can be defined as entity, which is a coherent whole such that a boundary is perceived around it in order to distinguish internal and external elements and to identify input and output relating to and emerging from the entity. a systems theory is hence a theoretical perspective that analyzes a phenomenon seen as a whole and not as simply the sum of elementary parts. the focus is on the interactions and on the relationships between parts in order to understand an entity’s organization, functioning and outcomes. this perspective implies a dialogue between holism and reductionism. however, senge, (1990) and iheanacho (2017) asserted that david easton in 1953 adopted the system theory to explain what happens in a political system but later elaborated his conception in 1965 in his two works: a framework for political analysis and a system analysis of political life. proper understanding of system theory as developed by david easton may demand the following steps: 413 • changes in the social environment surrounding a political system produce “demands” and supports for action or status quo directed as “inputs” towards the political system through political behaviour. • these demands and supporting groups stimulate competition in the political system, leading to decisions or “outputs” directed at some aspect of the surrounding social or physical environment. • after a decision or specific policy is made, it interacts with its environment and if it produces change in the environment, there is “outcome”. • when a new policy interacts with its environment, “outcomes” may generate new demands or supports and groups in support or against the policy (feedback) or a new policy on some related matter. • feedback leads back to step 1, forming a never-ending cycle. accordingly, if the system functions as described, then we have a “conducive social environment”. if the system breaks down, then we have a “unconducive social environment” in applying this theory, the social insecurity caused by the menace of fulani herdsmen has created unconducive social environment. consequently, the fulani herdsmen have unabatedly continued to wreak havoc, mostly in the middle belt area of the country. the inability of the government and relevant agencies to regulate land use and resource exploitation through appropriate policies has led to continuous struggle between the farmers and the herders. evaluation of federal government efforts in curbing herdsmen and farmers conflict it is not surprising to note that the lives and property and security of the nigerian citizens are not guaranteed. the primary duty of the government is to protect her citizens against internal and external aggression. the federal government understands the architecture of corruption and terrorism in nigeria and has barely done the needful. it can be noted that fraudulent claim of integrity has eluded and disintegrated the nigerian government. the killings carried out by the herdsmen in nigerian seems to be normal hence, the muteness of the government. it is an abuse of power for the president not to visit the states where maiming was done and instead summoned the governor to the center. the ethnic cleansing going on in the country in disguise has made the dangers of herders and farmers conflict citizens to think of a way of self defence since it is not in the interest of the government to sit up to their responsibilities. no single herdsmen has been apprehended and persecuted or in prison. roads belong to human beings and car but cows have taken possession it roads even class rooms in school as herdsmen and their cows in the very recent past drove students out of their classrooms in edo state. the nigerian government seems to value cows to human lives. the federal government has not measured up to expectations in carrying out their duties in the country. much is expected of them as almost nothing has been done to salvage the situation in the country. conclusion and recommendations peace and harmony are not farfetched if a sincere commitment to conflict resolution is reached without hidden intentions and agenda. herdsmen and farmers clashes in nigeria are predominantly taking place in benue, taraba and kaduna states. these clashes should not be allowed to further inflict injuries and claiming lives of nigerians. a holistic solution dealing with the encroachment into farmlands, incitement and credible plans to integrate the herdsmen fully into the nigerian society must be harnessed. animal grazing is not in the history of mankind. the federal government expertise should be channeled towards modernization of cattle rearing as done and practiced in other countries. a lot of benefits come with such practice in terms of job creation, food security which will curb in totality and end vexations in herdsmen and farmers conflict. cattle are reared in nigeria for the beef and minimally for the milk. thus, taking away the bulk of the profit in the business. the mind of the nigerian government should be geared towards the milk productions which in a large extent will contribute substantially to the national economy hence, putting a halt to perennial conflict between herdsmen and farmers in the country. countries like usa, pakistan, and india etc depend on milk and dairy products to fight malnutrition, hunger and unemployment and promote social harmony. in india for instance, she has an annual production of 163 million metric tons of milk which is about 10% of the world’s output. india rear cattle within the confines of village communities, and farmers’ cooperatives, mainly for milk production and minimally for meat. in europe, the average milk yield per cow is between 40-50 liters per day when compare to the paltry 1-2 liter yield of the nigerian cow owing to poor feeding, stress on the grazing trails and poor health. 415 nigeria, when planned properly, cattle rearing will also contribute to the economy growth of the nation. the establishment of ranches is a good idea but should be done in such a way that it will promote unity, harmony and stability within the host communities and the herdsmen. the ranches should not be imposed on states. because of the tension in the country, the killing and maiming by the fulani herdsmen and for mutual co-existence and co-operation in the country, the federal government of nigeria should take the grazing law to states that are more ethnic knitted to fulani tribe. when this is embraced, establishment of dairy plants will be considered which will attract both local and foreign investors. government should ensure that those involved in the allocation of land for farming should imbibe responsibility and not allocate along cattle route or over grazing lands to avoid encroachment by nomadic herdsmen. support for agricultural development through incentives will facilitate availability of food for the teaming nigeria population. more so, considering the frantic interest of the present government towards making agriculture an alternative source of revenue following the crash in oil price, it becomes imperative for people in different aspects of agriculture and other trades alike to simultaneously and 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(2014). a threat to national security: the case of boko haram in nigeria. academic journal of interdisciplinary studies, vol 3 no 4 issn 2281-3993 fanen, i., & uja, e. http://thenationonlineng.net/herdsmen-kill-taraba-monarch-28-others-freshattacks/ accessed on 3/3/2018 1:40 page 4 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 1 tackling antenatal health care delivery system in nigeria through persuasive technology u.c. nwankwo1* virginia ejiofor2 b.b olofin3 e.f ozioko4 asogwa t.c5 ezeh, kingsley ikechukwu6 1deptartment of computer science, caritas university enugu, nigeria 2deptartment of computer science, nnamdi azikiwe university akwa, nigeria 3,4,5,6department of computer science, enugu state university enugu, nigeria. *correspondence: nwankwo.ugochukwu@caritasuni.edu.ng orcid: 0000000295366 abstract the advent of various diseases and epidemics has made the health care system a major cause of concern for people all over the world recently. in nigeria, the medical system is currently plagued by a dearth of quick, precise, and dependable software solutions that may aid medical professionals in making judgments that would address critical and, in some cases, complex medical issues in real-time. furthermore, handling and analyzing massive amounts of data in a medical setting is costly and time consuming. in order to provide crucial health advice to expectant and nursing women in rural areas, this study will create and implement a novel hybrid persuasive technology. object oriented analysis and design methodology (ooadm) were adopted in the design of the system. the system achieved integration of various patients’ medical records from different hospitals. keyword: africa, ante-natal health, communication technology, health-care, index terms— component, formatting, style, styling, insert introduction persuasive technologies (pts) are interactive systems that are designed to encourage people to modify their behavior without resorting to coercion or deception. antenatal care is the medical attention given to pregnant mothers to ensure a healthy pregnancy and newborn. antenatal care is a major contributor to the high maternal mortality rate and one of and globally maternal health care is experiencing financial difficulties, and there are pressures to cut costs. a demographic shift is taking place in several countries, particularly in the western world, with mailto:nwankwo.ugochukwu@caritasuni.edu.ng 52 economic and social ramifications. ehealth systems have been viewed as a solution to healthcare issues, yet many e-health technologies fail to deliver long-term changes in health-care practices (matthew, harris, et al., 2016). persuasive systems, it has been said, have the potential to aid in enhancing healthy living, lowering health-care costs, and allowing young moms to live more independently. technology has the ability to give dynamic and unbiased information processing, allowing people to measure their own progress and stay informed about what’s going on around them, as well as the dangers associated with changing environments. because they are interactive and may adjust their persuasion methods based on the actions of users, systems have many advantages as persuaders. traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and radio, have never been able to provide this kind of involvement. they also have a number of advantages over human persuaders, including persistence, confidentiality, the ability to manage massive volumes of data, the ability to influence people using several modalities, scalability, and accessibility. support for behavior change can be found in e-ante-natal health systems. support for lifestyle changes and thus lead to cost savings in health care as well as improvements in the quality of life. as a result, new approaches for designing and evaluating behavior change support systems (bcsss) in the ante-natal health sector are required. as a result, the focus of this research is on the development of persuasive systems. it introduces a paradigm for developing and assessing bcsss, as well as their relevance to ante-natal healthcare. aim of the study the aim of this study is to design and implement a novel and hybrid persuasive technology for antenatal health that will offer vital health tips to pregnant and nursing mothers in the rural areas. specific objectives of the study a. to develop a system that will withstand component failure and, at the same time, offer health information to rural women. b. to tolerate the addition of new capabilities without major changes to the underlying architecture. 53 c. to provide a the critical understanding of what restricts information transfer among rural women in terms of health care practices and how it can be addressed by applying persuasive technology to the design of health information systems. d. to increase their perceived behavioral control in the face of social beliefs of the user. the intervention program’s goal is to promote positive change and/or improve and enhance knowledge, awareness, and comprehension through the dissemination of sound health related information and the utilization of interactive web-based components. research questions 1. what are the objectives and content of the persuasive technology for antenatal health care? 2. what are the architectural and software requirements specifications for the persuasive technology? 3. develop a working persuasive app for the antenatal health-care system. 4. test the developed persuasive technology. functional triad persuasive model: this existing model has three categories of sources of intents since the computer has no intent of itself. these sources are: i) endogenous intent comes from the designer or producer of the system. an example would be the pisa tool, where the designers already have the intention to persuade; ii) exogenous intent comes from the distributor of the system: if one person gives a computer technology to another with the intent to persuade, this falls under the category of exogenous intent. an example would be educational software distributed by schools; iii) autogenous intent comes from the user itself. examples of these would be fitness training programs that the user has started using from his/her own volition to become more. these motivations are not mutually exclusive but serve to put persuasive technologies in a context. the functional triad by fogg reasons that persuasive technologies come in three forms: as a tool, a medium or a social actor: 54 i) tools enable and/or assist the user in performing a task. examples of tools are calculators or word processors. ii) mediums convey” symbolic or sensory content” to the user. examples are videos or simulators. iii) social actors adopt animate characteristics, roles and/or social rules and dynamics. an example is electronic avatars/agents such as microsoft word’s (in) famous paperclip. healthcare persuasive technology in the field of healthcare, persuasion technology is used to persuade people. in healthcare, persuasive technology is becoming more important in the design of mobile applications for healthcare (wang, et al., 2018). voice calls and text messages were the most common methods of communication for mobile health interventions. however, greater smartphone access resulted in increased creation and use of smart phone applications (apps), and increased app availability and ease of use resulted in a large increase in the number of smartphone apps that can be used to modify health behavior(wang, et al., 2018). voice a review of the literature revealed an adaption of (wang, et al., 2018). voice and fogg (2002). extended their capotology paradigm to cover healthcare subdomains. the relationship between technology for behavior modification, persuasive methods, and behavior theories that must be used, as well as the domains in health care where a combination of these components can have a positive impact, is depicted in this framework. see figure 2 below the essential components of maternal care on which mothers and babies rely for survival. thus, ante-natal care is a critical component in improving maternal and child health. inappropriate ante-natal care has been linked to negative outcomes in many studies. to reduce maternal morbidity and death, the world health organization’s technical working committee recently suggested that women receive at least eight visits throughout their pregnancy. several studies conducted in various countries on demographic and socio-cultural factors influencing maternal health care service user have revealed that maternal age, number of living children, quality education, place of residence, occupation, religion, and ethnicity are all significantly associated with antenatal care use (ali sa, dero aa, ali sa, et al.). 55 the availability of antenatal care (anc) services is very poor. in many parts of the world, the risks and difficulties that can arise during pregnancy and childbirth are poorly known, and women continue to lack access to required medical care. community health workers’ major responsibility is to keep an eye on young children, improve their nutrition, and promote cognitive development. as a result, the current nigerian health-care system employs a change-agent approach, with community health workers monitoring and persuading people in their communities to enhance antenatal, maternal, and child health. e-maternal health refers to a new way of leveraging ict to deliver services and improve health care locally and regionally. figure 2.0 healthcare sub-domain: persuasive technology in healthcare (fogg, 2002); similarly, chatterjee and price (2009) used the terms interactive behavior-change technologies (i.b.c. ts) and digital behavior change interventions (d.b.c.i) to describe the use of digital technology to promote and maintain health through the prevention and management of health problems. autistic healthcare and communication systems, as well as mobile, wearable, ambient sensors, and internet of things (i.o.t) devices, are among these a. process indicators in maternal health 56 it is difficult and expensive to collect information and data on maternal mortality ratios and rates. furthermore, the indicators frequently fail to detect change over a short period of time or to provide clear signals of what measures should be taken to remedy the situation. these include: i) the proportion of women who receive antenatal care; ii) the proportion of women who give birth in a hospital iii) percentage of women who have a skilled attendant at the time of delivery iv) caesarean section rate v) comprehensive and critical obstetric services per 500,000 peoples. b. behavior change support systems (bcss) can be characterized according to yardley and spring|(2016) as follows:. a behavior change support system (bcss) is a socio-technical information system that uses psychological and behavioral consequences to establish, alter, or reinforce attitudes, behaviors, or an act of compliance without the use of coercion or fraud..as the state-of-the-art conceptualization for creating and developing bcsss, the psd model presented in this doctoral dissertation is related to the bcss research model. bcss offers information and features that encourage people to try new behaviors, make them simple to do, and assist them in their daily lives (yardley & spring, et al. (2016). persuasive technologies were initially established when behavior change and technological advancement were combined for the first time. the term captology was coined from the phrase “computers as persuasive technologies,” and it referred to a field of study that focused on ”the creation, investigation, and analysis of interactive computing products produced to change people’s views or behaviors” (mckay and cheng, 2016). the phrase” persuasive technology” quickly replaced the acronym” captology.” any new technology is not inherently compelling, just as not all communications are. persuasive technology isn’t concerned with any unintended changes in attitude or behavior, but rather with the results that are intended. as previously said, true persuasion necessitates the desire to alter one’s views or behaviors, therefore not all behavior change is the product of persuasion (mckay, cheng, et al (2016). when it comes to the invention, dissemination, or adoption of persuasive technology, there is always an element of intention (mckay, cheng, et al., 2016). because technologies do not have their own purposes, those who invent, distribute, or adopt them do so 57 with the intention of influencing people’s views or behaviors. according to fogg, there are three types of intents: endogenous (those who build the technology), exogenous (those who provide access or spread the technology), and endogenous (those who use the technology) (autogenous). although the study of computers as persuasive technologies began in 1997, and various emergent gadgets, applications, and experimental projects debuted on the market in the decade following 1998, persuasive systems are not a completely new phenomenon (fogg, 2002). according to fogg (2002)., persuasive technologies can be split into four generations. 1. prescriptive systems first became popular around the late 1960s and early 1970s. they facilitated communication between the doctor and the patient by using cell phones and computergenerated pamphlets. 2. in 1985, descriptive systems were first introduced. they first delivered information and educational content through text-based systems, then in multimedia format, which became popular once the internet, the web, and pcs were introduced. 3. in the year 1999, environmental systems began. in the utilization of body-worn sensors, context-aware technology, and real-time information interchange, they were more advanced than their predecessors. 4. in the year 2012, automated systems became available. advanced automation techniques with minimum human intervention characterize these futuristic systems. because numerous underlying factors favor the establishment of bcsss, it is projected that the fourth-generation systems would be able to reach a larger user audience than previous generations. to begin with, internet availability and use have become more widespread. in 2013, 79 percent of european households had internet access, 76 percent had broadband, and more than 60. the potential user population of web-based services has grown as internet access and use have become more popular. people are mobile in addition to being linked to the internet. mobile data traffic is skyrocketing, and individuals are increasingly opting for smartphones and tablets over traditional phones. smartphones are predicted to account for more than half of all handset shipments in europe in 2013, and this number is expected to rise. this is due to their low prices as well as the mobile applications they provide. http://epp.euro stat.ec. through application stores, which are digital distribution channels for software, people can easily access a large range of programs. 58 every major smart phone manufacturer has an app store (e.g., apple appstore, google play, windows store). individual developers, start-ups, and research groups can quickly draw a huge number of users through this new distribution channel, which is beneficial for end-users who can purchase software at a reasonable cost. mobile applications that are easy to integrate into daily life are perceived to have increasing value by users. http://epp.euro stat.ec. the potential user population of web-based services has grown as internet access and use have become more popular. people are mobile in addition to being linked to the internet. mobile data traffic is skyrocketing, and individuals are increasingly opting for smartphones and tablets over traditional phones. smartphones are predicted to account for more than half of all handset shipments in europe in 2013, and this number is expected to rise. this is due to their low prices as well as the mobile applications they provide. http://epp.euro stat.ec., through application stores, which are digital distribution channels for software, people can easily access a large range of programs. every major smartphone manufacturer has an app store (e.g., apple appstore, google play, windows store). individual developers, start-ups, and research groups can quickly draw a huge number of users through this new distribution channel, which is beneficial for end-users who can purchase software at a reasonable cost. mobile applications that are easy to integrate into daily life are perceived to have increasing value by users. http://epp.euro stat.ec. what is antenatal health? every pregnant woman and newborn should get optimal care during pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period, according to the world health organization (who). antenatal care (anc) is a crucial component of the reproductive health care continuum because it offers a platform for crucial medical procedures such illness prevention, screening, and promotion of good health. it has been proven that anc can save lives by employing timely and suitable evidence-based procedures. at a crucial juncture in a woman’s life, anc crucially gives women, families, and communities the chance to interact and support one another. the process of creating these anc recommendations has brought to light the significance of effectively communicating with pregnant women about physiological, biomedical, behavioral, and sociocultural issues as well as effectively supporting them in a respectful manner with social, cultural, psychological and emotional, support. these communication and support functions of anc are key, not only to 59 saving lives, but to improving lives, health-care utilization and quality of care. the basis for a good pregnancy can be laid by a woman’s positive experiences throughout anc and childbirth. antenatal outcome indicators architectural and software requirements specifications for the persuasive technology? 3. develop a working persuasive app for the antenatal health-care system. 4. test the developed persuasive technology. functional triad persuasive model: this existing model has three categories of sources of intents since the computer has no intent of itself. these sources are: i) endogenous intent comes from the designer or producer of the system. an example would be the pisa tool, where the designers already have the intention to persuade; ii) exogenous intent comes from the distributor of the system: if one person gives a computer technology to another with the intent to persuade, this falls under the category of exogenous intent. an example would be educational software distributed by schools; iii) autogenous intent comes from the user itself. examples of these would be fitness training programs that the user has started using from his/her own volition to become more. these motivations are not mutually exclusive but serve to put persuasive technologies in a context. the functional triad by fogg reasons that persuasive technologies come in three forms: as a tool, a medium or a social actor: i)tools enable and/or assist the user in performing a task. examples of tools are calculators or word processors. ii) mediums convey” symbolic or sensory content” to the user. examples are videos or simulators. iii) social actors adopt animate characteristics, roles and/or social rules and dynamics. an example is electronic avatars/agents such as microsoft word’s (in) famous paperclip 60 fig 2.1the functional triad of fogg (1997) persuasive systems design model the persuasive systems design model consists of two elements: a context analysis of the persuasive system and a classification of persuasive techniques that are in use or can be used by this system. the persuasion context consists of 3 elements: the intent (of the persuader), the event (that triggers the persuasion) and the strategy (by which the subject is persuaded). they are explained below: i) the intent: this has to do with the persuader’s intent and style. in the intent, the persuader and the change type are distinguished: ii) persuader: the person that tries to convey a persuasive message to the subject. this falls into the three categories described by fogg in his captology publications: endogenous, exogenous and autogenous. change type: these fall into the categories ’attitude’ and ’behavior’. these correspond to the theory of reasoned action’s attitude and behavior. as a result, attitudes are difficult to modify and have an impact on behavior. i) the event: the event is the context in which the persuasion takes place. this is considered by the authors to be an important part of the context analysis. the event consists of the use context, user context, and technology context. the problem is dependent on domain-dependent features of a system. examples would be the features that should be present in a system that is developed 61 for reducing smoking specifically. in the context of pisa, this would be information security. similar to the use context, the prospective or current users of a system should also be examined. taking from the elaboration likelihood model, some types of users have a low need for cognition while others have a high need. this would affect how messages are best presented to the user. a system utilizes specific technologies that offer features and impose restrictions on a system. iii) the strategy: finally, the strategy examines how a persuasive system interacts with the user. as such, it considers two things, the message and the route: message: the persuasive message’s format and content are both addressed in the message. the message can use elements both of mcguire’s information processing model (i.e., describing how a message is structured and conveyed to the reader) and cladding’s principles of influence (i.e., using for example the principle of influence to structure the message). fig. 2.3 persuasive system design model source: oina-kukkonen et al (2009) high level model of the proposed system features which may provide insight into user motivation that is independent of researcher bias. likewise, sample sizing was a significant drawback identified while reviewing relevant research. many studies failed to report on the sampling methods used and had sample sizes of less than or equal to 10 participants. the study by blaauw, d., penn-kekana, l. (2010). featured only 19 participants while foster blaauw, d., 62 penn-kekana, l. (2010). had only 10 participants. with sample sizes this small it is difficult to say that the results achieved are representative of a larger population. from our literature review and findings from the aims and objectives of the study, persuasive technology for antenatal health care was developed. fig.2.4: high level model of the proposed system. methodology two key methodologies have been adopted in this study: 1. design science methodology: 2. object-oriented analysis and design methodology design science the design science research approach has been chosen as the research approach of this doctoral dissertation, because it provides a methodology for finding solutions for a real-life bcss development problem and producing research results that are relevant in practice. the design science research approach is well-suited to this task. based on the systems development approach, design science research can be used as a means of better understanding a research domain and also to change the processes and products in the research domain. the practical relevance of the problem and the solution was defined. 63 the first activity in the design science research process is problem identification and motivation. during this activity it is important to define the specific research problem and to justify the value of a solution. it is important to study the state of the art of the problem and the importance of its solution. the second activity in the design science research process is the definition of the objectives of a solution. the objectives can be quantitative or qualitative. during this activity it is important to have knowledge of the state of the problems and possible current solutions and their efficacy the third activity in design science research process is design and development. the main objective during this activity is to create the artefact and to contribute to the research at the same time. these two activities of demonstration and evaluation are treated here as one activity, because the difference between them is open to interpretations. the objective of the demonstration is to show that the idea works and the artefact solves one or more instances of the problem. several kinds of activities can be used in the demonstration, such as experimentation, simulation or case study. the sixth activity in the design science research process is the communication. its goal is to ”convey to academics and other relevant audiences, such as practicing professionals, where appropriate, the problem and its importance, the artefact, its utility and innovation, the rigor of its design, and its effectiveness. 64 fig 3.1: design science research process model source: peffers, etal., (2007). object oriented analysis and design methodology object-oriented analysis and design (ooadm) is a software engineering approach that models a system as a group of interacting objects. each object represents some entity of interest in the system being modeled, and is characterized by its class, its state (data elements), and its behavior. these cooperating items’ static structure, dynamic behavior, and run-time deployment can all be displayed using a variety of models. there are a number of different from our literature review and findings from the aims and objectives of the study, persuasive technology for antenatal health care was developed. objective of design the objective of the design of persuasive technology for antenatal health in nigeria an innovative technology that can be used to monitor the maternal healthcare response of women in nigeria and to integrate sms-based persuasive messages that can serve as a reminder to women on the need to utilize the available healthcare services provided by the government to reduce the mortality rate in the country. the objectives of the design include: to implement an online electronic record of antenatal registrations of pregnant mothers with a unified medical record identification number. to model a relational database for storing and tracking antenatal visits of pregnant mothers with detailed documentation of tests carried out and observations. to electronically schedule the next visit date and monitor compliance through persuasive messages via sms to remind the patient of the next appointment date to design a platform for recording child births for the purpose of tracking the immunization processes and dates to centrally profile mothers on their previous health records, child bearing, and various immunizations given to their children, providers should provide online access to medical histories of mothers from any internet access point. database design the database schema was designed, preferring more tables in the database in favour of fewer columns in each table. by spreading data over more tables, it is hoped that more intricate correlations are possible. all table names start with the tbl prefix in order to avoid cluttering 65 other tables already defined in the current name space. tables 4.1 to 4.9 show as can be observed by the types of the properties, the physical model is based on a real-world database product. during development, mysql was used antenatal registration module hospitals register expectant mothers on the platform using this module. a unified medical identification number is generated during the patient’s registration. all other information must be completed on the form before submission. 66 fig. 4.0 antenatal registration form antenatal visit module this module is used to record activities or medical tests conducted during a patient’s ante natal visit to the hospital. only relevant tests for the day are expected to be recorded. persuasive message module the module enables sending messages via a mobile phone to registered patients. it is necessary that the internet connections be turned on before the messages can be delivered. fig.4.1 persuasive message report modules the module enables users to select specified criteria for viewing reports on the platform. most of the reports are retrieved using the card number of the patient. there are so many reports that can be accessed on the plat form, including antenatal records, birth registration records, immunization records, etc. registered mothers report phone surname firstname email address age no of children occupation 67 delete module the administrator can use this module to delete records from the database. the serial number is the access key for data deletion in the system. 4.2 fig 4.2 mothers output report input format the input/output design for the persuasive technology for maternal health in nigeria is as follows: login form it also contains the login specifications for users on the platform, which include the username and the password. once the specification is entered, clicking on the login button will validate the data before launching the user on the assigned subsystem. persuasive message form enables sending messages via a mobile phone to registered patients. fig.4.3 login form summary the extension of information technology to modeling of the maternal healthcare system helped us to achieve the following: 1. develop a database for each maternity center in nigeria to record all the live and still births in the maternity. user name password login form close log in login form 68 2. hospitals to register patients for antenatal online and keep track of antenatal visits before delivery. 3. motivate mothers to go for antenatal visits or immunize their children by sending an sms to them on a regular basis to remind them of their antenatal or immunization days and, by so doing, reduce mother-to-child mortality rate. it is expected that the system developed will assist in keeping track of all the records in maternity relating to the maternal healthcare system. the records will also be made accessible to government and healthcare administrators so as to monitor and access the level of reduction or rate of mother-to-child mortality in a given region, state, or locality. results following the reviewed literature, it can be concluded that persuasive technologies are effective at promoting behavior change in relation to health sub-domains, as majority of reviewed studies reported positive outcomes. however, these studies placed more emphasis on effectiveness of persuasive technology in antenatal health-care during the period of study. none of the studies highlighted user motivation on factors that influenced mobile user engagement. 15 most studies fail to provide insight into user motivation during the period of the study. for example, blaauw and penn-kekana, (2010) admits that while 14 out of 19 participants continued and completed the study, participants enthusiasm in the health app decreased after the first two weeks of the game, with participants reporting that it became mundane and repetitive. no explanation was given on how participants were motivated or why they chose to continue the 14-week study, and no investigation was carried out in this regard. the reviewed studies were inconsistent or failed to name and classify the persuasive strategies employed by the health-care applications. this made it difficult to establish a clear relationship persuasive strategies and user motivation. most of the literature reviewed did not account for the research bias in participant behavior which tends to make participants act differently because of the awareness that they are being observed. this raises the need for further research into contemporary persuasive health apps with selfmonitoring features which may provide insight into user motivation that is independent of researcher bias. likewise, sample sizing was a significant drawback identified while reviewing relevant research. many studies failed to report on the sampling methods used and had sample sizes of less than or equal to 10 participants. the study by blaauw and penn-kekana (2010). 69 featured only 19 participants while foster and penn-kekana (2010), had only 10 participants. with sample sizes this small it is difficult to say that the results achieved are representative of a larger population. from our literature review and findings from the aims and objectives of the study, persuasive technology for antenatal health care was developed. conclusion the model of maternal healthcare system as developed in this project is a work in progress that is expected to have a positive impact once it is implemented in any of the hospitals in nigeria. also, the use of electronic healthcare services makes it possible to reduce attention issues associated with the main causes of death (hypertension, hemorrhages, and other complications of delivery) that are much higher in maternity-infant care. the maternal healthcare system is a two part system developed both for antenatal record assessment from any hospital terminal and sms to persuade women to utilize clinics for medicare and immunizations. when such communication technology is made available in the hospitals, the design calls for the server to integrate with a wireless system that serves as a gateway for sending sms to the women. recommendation the model of the maternal health-care system is designed to use communication technology to persuade women to make use of clinics for birth and other maternal and child health related issues. therefore, there are some limitations which can reduce our expected impact. first of all, the communication issue: the lack of proper communication means in rural areas is considered in the initial phase of the system. communication technology depends on federal agencies’ findings, which are out of scope of influence. therefore, it is recommended that the government provide a communication network in various hospitals in the rural areas so as to enable rural women to benefit from the model developed in this project. references ali, s.a., dero, a.a., ali, s.a., & et al..(2018). factors affecting the utilization of antenatal care among pregnant 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(2016). understanding and promoting effective engagement with digital behavior change interventions. american journal of preventive medicine, 51(5), 833-842. page 5 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 200 us isolationist foreign policy stance under trump: an interrogation of themes, perspectives and implications for the future of us overriding strategic interest and influence in the middle east region benjamin onyekachi eneasato department of political science enugu state university of science and technology e-mail: beneasato@yahoo.com abstract this study on us isolationist foreign policy stance: an interrogation of themes, perspectives and implications for the future of us overriding strategic interest and influence in the middle east region addressed four objectives; examined major themes and perspectives that has guided us foreign policy in the middle east; appraised the us foreign policy vis a vis isolationism as an option; reviewed implications of the isolationist policy on us overriding strategic interest and influence in the middle east; and exposed other measures or options pursuant to us strategic interest in the middle east. the methodology employed was qualitative in which secondary materials were collected and reviewed to extract relevant data and draw conclusions. isolationism strictly speaking was perceived as impossible in the world that has become a global village characterized by information and communication technology, internet, easy travel, and miniature means of mass destruction. nevertheless despite the america first policy, the need to strike a balance on the assumed traditional role of the us as world police must not be undermined in the case of the middle east neither by the trump administration nor any successive one at that. it is recommended that the us should constructively engage other major state actors in finding lasting solution to the security challenges resulting from the quest to control the political economy of the various middle east states. there is need to identify and promptly deal with intransigent states in the middle east should be vigorously pursued to bring them to conformity; and the us should also rethink and redefine the limits of its isolationist policy stance in the middle east and to continue to play its traditional stabilizing role in the region to prevent the region from reclining into a theater war, crises and terrorism. keywords: communication technology, economy, isolationist policy, middle east, political economy introduction contextually, u.s. foreign policy in the middle east was relatively limited until the mid1900s; prior to this time, european powers built relations in the middle east, particularly through the league of nations after world war i. during the 1950s, the cold war heightened concern about the middle east. in 1965, u.s. policy towards the region changed, reflected in more lenient immigration laws as people fled political crises in iran, palestine, lebanon, and afghanistan in the 1970s (keller, 2000). since the end of wwii culminating in the post cold war era; the middle east has remained largely more volatile than ever resulting in almost been perceived as the corner stone of us foreign policy in decades for various isolationist foreign policy reasons; since the 1990s, the u.s. has engaged in helping facilitate a solution to the israelipalestinian conflict, as well as other germane political, economic, security (anti-terrorism) and human rights issues etc. (david & curdy, 1996). in the light of the above, and widely acclaimed as the police of the world, the u.s. since the end of the ww ii has long served as a pillar of global security and stability, promoting democracy and prosperity; consistently opposing human rights abuses and repressive, oppressive and suppressive rogue regimes across the world especially in the middle east. yet in the post-cold war era, the question of what role the u.s. should play on the world stage, and the extent to which the u.s. can serve as “the world’s policeman,” continues to be debated, and has become a central component in conversations surrounding military spending and foreign policy. thus decreases in spending during the obama administration (“leading from behind”) and the “america first” policy of the trump administration represent issues of continuity and change or shifts in foreign policy direction. to this end, in his 2014 published title; america in retreat: the new isolationism and the coming global disorder, bret stephens cautioned about some of the potentially dire consequences brought on by this foreign policy doctrine of isolationism. this is against the backdrop of united states long been referred to as the “indispensable nation” that has promoted democracy and prosperity, and opposed dictatorships and human rights abuses, across the globe through its economic, diplomatic, and military engagement. the same u.s. that has served as a champion of universal freedom and human rights, a pillar of international security and order, and a deterrent to the aggression of rogue regimes (bret, 2014). indeed, the trump administration succinctly has described the middle east region as “home to the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations,” namely isis and al-qaeda, and lists “iranian expansion, state collapse, jihadist ideology, socio-economic stagnation, and regional rivalries” as chief among threats to u.s. security interests. as the trump administration implements its national security strategy, the u.s. will have the opportunity to address challenges in the middle east. this paper therefore by focusing on the isolationist foreign policy of the us exposes the specifics in terms of themes and perspectives with recourse to national and global security threats that face the u.s. in the middle east, a region that has long been a centerpiece of its foreign policy, and home to both some of her most important allies and most pressing challenges and how all these impact on us overriding strategic interest and influence in the gulf region especially going forward. this paper indeed provides insight into pressing foreign policy issues that seriously border on not only regional security and stability in the middle east but more so global security and the continued influence and role of us in determining the course of action in the region and beyond. 202 statement of the problem in the past couple of decades the middle east has continuously assumed the status of theater of warfare, crises and intense acts of global terrorism. this may not be unlinked with a number of prevailing factors; existence of largely undemocratic or autocratic regimes, islamic fundamentalism, predominantly oil economy and absence of respect for fundamental human rights. these issues create serious challenges of tension among states and constitute threat to global peace. more so, following the end of cold war the economic relevance of crude oil became a global necessity and the quest to control same made the middle east the bride of many powerful international state actors. however, in recent years, turmoil has rocked the middle east in the form of increased violence and volatility in the aftermath of the arab spring uprisings and the proliferation of islamist-extremist terrorist groups with radical antiwestern ideologies. the region appears to be more unstable now than ever, with a wide range of conflicts and crises. today, there are only about 35,000 american soldiers in the middle east, just a fraction of the 285,000 that president george w. bush sent in 2003. this shrinking troop presence is evidence of “washington’s declining enthusiasm for the middle east,” according to robert satloff (2019) of the washington institute for near east policy. the disorder in the region “limits how much the united states can shape its trajectory, no matter how much it invests.” additionally, the u.s.’s so-called pivot to asia to some extent has the potential to shift resources currently in the middle east toward asia. at the same time, foreign affairs (2019) also notes, “the potential for state-on-state conflict in the middle east is higher today than at any point in the last two decades,” particularly between israel and iran as well as between israel and hezbollah in lebanon. these defining moments no doubt calls for consequential re-strategizing of priorities to the above extent it is worthwhile to appraise and bring to the public domain the us isolationist policy as it pertains the middle east and the attendant implications going forward pursuant to us strategic interest in the middle east region. objective of the study in the main this study examined us isolationist policy: an interrogation of themes, perspectives and implications on us overriding strategic influence in the middle east region under the trump administration. pursuant to the above, the following specifics shall be addressed; 1. to examine major themes and perspectives that has guided us foreign policy in the middle east; 2. to appraise the us foreign policy vis a vis isolationism as an option; isolationist foreign policy 3. to review implications of the isolationist policy on us overriding strategic interest and influence in the middle east; and 4. to expose other measures or options pursuant to us strategic interest in the middle east. methodology the methodology employed by the study was qualitative in which secondary materials were collected and reviewed to extract relevant data and draw conclusions. qualitative research emphasizes words, rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data. furthermore, it predominantly emphasizes a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research; in which the emphasis is placed on capturing inferences from a general field into particular situations. also, qualitative research entails a perspective of social concepts as an increasingly shifting sphere based on individual contributions. data were sourced through relevant text materials and archival documents. these include: texts, journals, online articles, magazines, archives and the likes. content analysis of logical sequence of relevant data was done to arrive at certain conclusions. theoretical framework in the field of international relations, realism has long been a dominant theory, from ancient military theories and writings of chinese and greek thinkers, sun tzu and thucydides being two of the more notable, to hobbes, machiavelli and rousseau. it is the foundation of contemporary international security studies. the twentieth century classical realism is mainly derived from edward hallett carr's book: the twenty years' crisis (wikipedia, 2019). the realist views anarchy and the absence of a power to regulate the interactions between states as the distinctive characteristics of international politics. because of anarchy, or a constant state of antagonism, the international system differs from the domestic system. realism has a variety of sub-schools whose lines of thought are based on three core assumptions: groupism, egoism, and power-centrism. according to classical realists, bad things happen because the people who make foreign policy are sometimes bad (wikipedia, 2019). beginning in the 1960s, with increasing criticism of realism, kenneth waltz tried to revive the traditional realist theory by translating some core realist ideas into a deductive; top-down theoretical framework that eventually came to be called neo-realism. theory of international politics brought together and clarified many earlier realist ideas about how the features of the overall system of states affects the way states interact: "neo-realism answers such questions as: why the modern states-system has persisted in the face of attempts by certain states at dominance; why war among great powers recurred over centuries; and why states often find cooperation hard. in addition, the book forwarded one more specific theory: that great-power war would tend to be more frequent in multi polarity (an international system shaped by the power of three or more major states) than bipolarity (an international system shaped by two major states or superpowers)." the main theories of neo realism are balance of power theory, 204 balance of threat theory, security dilemma theory, offense-defense theory, hegemonic stability theory and power transition theory. major themes and perspectives on us foreign policy in the middle east the quest as to why the middle east matters today in us foreign policy is a question that will set the ball rolling in this section. to deal with the issues the goals of u.s. policy in the middle east will be dissected in a succinct thematic perspectives. national security and diplomacy the trump administration’s national security strategy (2017) asserts that “the interconnected problems of iranian expansion, state collapse, jihadist ideology, socioeconomic stagnation, and regional rivalries have convulsed the middle east.” it lists jihadist terrorists as the “most dangerous terrorist threat to the nation” and focuses on sharing intelligence and working with allies to disrupt digital, financial, and material networks that supply these groups. the u.s. was heavily involved in the global coalition to defeat isis, and while the u.s. remains a key player in the middle east based on its alliances, the trump administration has made efforts to recede from the region by withdrawing troops. economic and trade interests the trump administration’s national security strategy (2017) stresses continued support for countries in the middle east to “modernize their economies.” however, the administration also seeks to apply “maximum pressure” on the iranian regime in the form of international sanctions, with the end goal of driving “iran’s oil exports as close to zero as possible” (crs, 2018). according to foreign relations analyst martin indyk, the u.s. is no longer dependent on middle eastern oil as it has focused on its own domestic natural gas production, which means ensuring “the free flow of oil from the persian gulf area at reasonable prices” is still important but no longer “a vital strategic interest.” more so, arms sales are also a central component of u.s. economic relations in the middle east; between 2013 and 2017, almost half of u.s. arms exports went to the region, primarily to saudi arabia as well as egypt and the united arab emirates. the u.s. is also israel’s single largest trading partner, primarily in semiconductors and telecommunications equipment (david, 1999; the guardian, 2018). universal human rights with respect to human rights, the state department maintains that “a central goal of u.s. foreign policy has been the promotion of respect for human rights, as embodied in the universal declaration of human rights.” the trump administration’s national security strategy (2017) explicitly notes that “there can be no greater action to advance the rights of individuals than to defeat jihadist terrorists and other groups that foment hatred.” https://blogs.state.gov/stories/2018/01/25/en/how-state-department-s-pm-bureau-supports-global-coalition-defeat-isis isolationist foreign policy consequently, amnesty international (2018) insists that across the middle east “with virtually no exceptions governments have displayed a shocking intolerance for the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.” protesters and activists across the region from iran to the united arab emirates to palestine to lebanon have been detained for criticizing authorities or peacefully demonstrating. also civilian populations have been made to suffer through armed conflicts in the region, particularly those caught in the civil wars in syria and yemen. human rights watch (2019) reports that as of november 2018, there have been almost 7000 civilian deaths and almost 11,000 civilian injuries in yemen and the unhcr (2019) estimates over 12 million people have been displaced by the syrian civil war. the global coalition seeks to stabilize areas liberated from isis in iraq and syria. evidently, in recent years, turmoil has rocked the middle east in the form of increased violence and volatility in the aftermath of the arab spring uprisings and the proliferation of islamist-extremist terrorist groups with radical anti-western ideologies. the region appears to be more unstable now than ever, with a wide range of conflicts and crises. no wonder the trump administration characterized the region as “home to the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations,” namely isis and al-qaeda, and lists “iranian expansion, state collapse, jihadist ideology, socio-economic stagnation, and regional rivalries” as chief among threats to u.s. security interests, thus the need for the trump administration in its national security strategy sought to address these challenges in the middle east. in the light of the above therefore, the issues on which further clarifications are deemed imperative in this paper are; to ascertain the appeal of isolationism; whether it is desirable or better still a veritable and worthwhile policy option for the us at a time like this especially in the middle east. in the section that follows we shall attempt to address these issues raised. interrogating us foreign policy vis a vis isolationism as an option in the main and given current realities the united states and indeed the western world face four quite different challenges on the horizon: china, iran, russia and north korea. all these threats were analyzed at length in the 68-page u.s. national security strategy assessment of december 2017, written by then–national-security adviser h. r. mcmaster and his staff for the white house. simplistically, the encompassing theme of that blueprint was dubbed “strategic realism.” in popular parlance it may have been better known as a new “jacksonianism” — defined loosely as something like the self-composed epitaph of the roman strongman sulla found in plutarch’s life of the general (“no friend had ever surpassed him in doing kindness, and no enemy in doing harm”), or perhaps the reactive principle enshrined in the motto of the stuart dynasty of scotland, nemo me impune lacessit — “no one provokes me with impunity” (u.s. national security strategy, 2017). suffice to say, one overarching goal of the nss white paper was to synthesize u.s. and allied interests while isolating enemies and winning over neutrals — and all in the context of a new 206 domestic paradigm of enhancing the economy of the american interior while securing the nation’s borders (america first). that assessment of continued, though recalibrated, engagement abroad explains the considerable increases in u.s. defense spending, the preservation of some 800 military bases and installations, the steady deployment of 170,000 active military personnel overseas, and the assignment of 30,000 state department officials outside the u.s (sami, 2020). in reality isolationist powers simply do not commit such massive resources outside their borders; declining nations “in retreat” do not allot such forces to protect the interests of so many allies. the aims of restoring economic vitality in the u.s. interior, pressuring china for reciprocal trade, and establishing a secure southern border and energy independence are not just campaign props, but foreign-policy assets that allow america to extend its strategic reach, if need be, well beyond its borders and on its own terms (hanson, 2020). there is nothing radical in the american idea that nato allies must meet their promises of military investment if the alliance is to survive in the 21st century. it may not be considered irrational that us military, after over two decades in a stalemated afghanistan, should rethink its strategic agenda and indeed the utility of its continued presence? what is controversial in concluding that policies that led to interventions in libya did not enhance u.s. interests or regional stability? the iraqi war is now mostly seen, in a cost-to-benefit analysis, fairly or not, as not having been worth the price in blood and treasure. and if isolationism is defined by taking out general qasem soleimani of iran, or bombing isis into retreat, or taking unprecedented action in moving the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, or reestablishing good relations with egypt and the gulf monarchies, then such isolationism is a strange sort of blinkered standoffishness (donaldson, 2019). truth be told, and germane to the present reality, hanson (2020) asserts that the u.s. today is in a far better position to deal with its strategic challenges than it was in 2016. one reason that the middle east has ceased being the world’s hotspot is current u.s. foreign policy. the decision to accelerate tracking and horizontal drilling has crashed oil prices, robbing the middle east of billions of dollars in u.s. importation revenue and making its oil optional, not essential, in american strategic thinking. it needs be recalled the obama policy of championing iran over both israel and moderate arab states and by extension iranian terrorist surrogates, such as bashir al-assad’s syrian government, hezbollah, and hamas is deservedly in shambles. it was destroyed by the trump administration’s departure from the flawed iran deal; it’s leveling of tough “snapback” trade sanctions on tehran, and the forging of a new de facto tripartite alliance of america, israel, and moderate arab states against iran. the effort to bleed iran economically through sanctions and boycotts, and the retaliatory strikes on its military aggression abroad most notably the killing of soleimani, the arch-terrorist-architect put iran in an especially vulnerable position. its position became even worse when oil prices crashed in february 2020 and tehran clumsily tried to hide the fact that its chinese patron’s imported corona virus had reached epidemic proportions throughout iranian territory (hanson, 2020). . isolationist foreign policy again, obama’s failed multiyear effort at a reset with russia (2009–2014) only whetted the appetite of vladimir putin to absorb eastern ukraine and crimea and to carve out an imperial zone of operations in syria — given that the putin regime has often seen american outreach not as magnanimity to be repaid in kind but as timidity to be leveraged. john kerry, the obama administration’s secretary of state, invited the russians back into the middle east after a 40-year hiatus, ostensibly to become a stabilizing influence in controlling syrian weapons of mass destruction. they have never left, although the cost of their presence suggests it may ultimately prove as unwise as other such mideast interventions have been for a long array of western nations (congressional quarterly, 2014). for all the uproar of its “collusion” with russia, the trump administration has repeatedly opposed the surreal german–russian natural-gas deal. it upped sanctions on russian oligarchs, jawboned nato to beef up its expenditures and defenses, especially in the context of russian bullying of eastern europe, and sold lethal weapons to ukraine after the obama administration had refused to do so. the u.s. pulled out of an asymmetrical 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces (inf) treaty that was continually violated by moscow, and it increased defense spending in exact opposite of obama-era appeasement of russia. to understand the isolationist stance of the trump administration one has to put issues in proper perspective by appreciating the peculiarity of the trump presidency. donald trump was the first president without either elective office or military service in his past. he was elected to the chagrin of the bipartisan foreign-policy establishment and most of the permanent administrative class of the state department and the pentagon. trump also was the first president to question the 75-year-old post–world war ii status quo, by asking whether there was a shelf life on america’s role in subsidizing the defense of affluent europeans and asian allies, many of whom ran up huge trade surpluses with america and were not always so friendly to the u.s. trump was the first president to reject the standard view that granting trade concessions to dictatorial nations such as china is a necessary cost to ensure their good behavior on the dubious theory that globalized wealth inevitably leads to political liberalization and consensual government. he was instead elected on the argument that a hollowed-out american interior, an open border, millions of foreign nationals living illegally in the u.s., a stagnant economy and middle-class wages, and an inability to win often-optional wars in the middle east were all unsustainable and weakened the economy and eventually would erode u.s. stature abroad. and he doubted the notion that military forces could achieve strategic results in the middle east by fighting on behalf of dubious allies or coerced democratization, and in ways that limited or neutered conventional american military strength and advantage (hanson, 2020). effective criticism of the trump foreign policy not only would entail rejecting all these premises, but also would address why almost half the country believed in 2016 that many of their domestic problems arose from a foreign policy that had not yet adjusted to a world far different from what their grandparents had created in 1945. 208 with recourse to the middle east, there’s no doubt the region’s wealth will necessarily influence interests around the world; and so will its pathologies. the west cannot be indifferent to the conquest of a country with large oil reserves (and therefore large revenues), which helps explain why george h. w. bush organized a war to free kuwait from iraqi forces in 1991. imagine if isis or al-qaeda were to take power in saudi arabia and control its bank accounts; no amount of “homeland security” could then neutralize the resulting terrorist danger. similarly, even though america and other western countries tried to stay out of syria’s civil war, the conflict’s ill effects reached them in the form of terrorist murders and millions of refugees. indeed to say the least the region is “home to the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations,” namely isis and al-qaeda, and the us national security strategy (2017) lists “iranian expansion, state collapse, jihadist ideology, socio-economic stagnation, and regional rivalries” as chief among threats to u.s. security interests. as the trump administration implements its national security strategy, the u.s. will have the opportunity to address challenges in the middle east and in the circumstance it would be far from reality to quickly conclude that us foreign policy under trump is isolationist inclined. rather it places strategic priority on issues that seek first to satisfy the core interests of the us above all else. implication of isolationist policy on us overriding strategic interest and influence in the middle east in the affairs of men every act has implications, which may be positive or negative. in the context of disengaging from the middle east region, united states of america would simply forfeit its ability to shape events and by so doing may create a leadership vacuum in the region which china and russia will be so eager to fill. unarguably, many americans would like to detach themselves from a violent, chaotic middle east. so would many israelis, for that matter. in a recent blue-ribbon panel, the u.s.–israeli commission on the eastern mediterranean discussed america’s impulse to disengage from the region. the obamaclinton team adopted a policy of “pivoting” toward asia that is, away from the middle east. on his part, donald trump has denounced the iraqi war and the u.s. intervention in libya. in his foreign-policy statements castigating america’s nato allies, for example, and america’s trade agreements; he rejects traditional u.s. internationalism (national security strategy, 2017). the eastern mediterranean is in extraordinary flux. many of the transformations under way are negative. iran’s policy of nuclear hedging is giving impetus to the spread of nuclear weapons to multiple countries. isis achieved substantial economic and political power in iraq and syria and retains formidable ability to conduct and inspire terrorism abroad, despite its recent loss of ground in iraq. islamist extremist groups are fighting across the middle east to upend political institutions, challenging the nation-state as such. the syrian refugee crisis is aggravating the region’s epidemic of arab political instability and straining european immigration policies. while the obama administration has aimed to disengage from the region, the trump administration tries to reduce u.s. involvement there further. isolationist foreign policy the desire to disengage from the middle east is an especially strong element of the general american isolationist impulse. after decades of leading the democratic world in the cold war and in multiple wars since 9/11, many americans would like relief from world affairs. they would prefer to have nothing to do with foreign wars, with lands that breed jihadists, stagnate in corruption, or have populations that reject modernity or hate the united states. the preference is easy to understand, but it’s not realistic. the issue is not whether isolationism is desirable; it is whether it’s possible by a big power like the usa (wikipedia, 2019). to put the question more precisely: can americans preserve their security, prosperity, and civil liberties without maintaining an active role in the world and specifically in the middle east and its environs? the answer is no. as americans try to “pivot” away from the region’s problems, those problems, history teaches us, will follow after them and likely worsen. suffice to say therefore that isolation is impossible in the world of internet, easy travel, and miniature means of mass destruction. as trump disengages, convinced that there is little to gain by us strategic engagement in the broader region and that his predecessors had the “light on the hill notion” wrong, the vacuum created by the us departure has been quickly filled. russian flags now fly over us bases vacated in haste in syria. vladimir putin has been on a state visit to riyadh. his aides rotate through beirut, baghdad and erbil, having already staked a claim in damascus. in mid-november, a syrian tycoon with influential kremlin ties spoke of the change in mood in the middle east. “all my saudi friends are saying to me: ‘those contacts and plans you’ve been telling us about for 16 years, implement them all now. you (russians) guys are the future. the americans have left.’ it has also weakened us friends and allies in real terms. the one regional state the us had remained focused on, iran, emerged emboldened from trump’s climb downs. “maximum pressure” had been the term used to describe sanctions regime on iran re-imposed and tightened by trump, designed to cripple its economy and force it to renegotiate. the squeeze was working, but, paradoxically, having poked the bear and found it sleeping, iran now had more room to manoeuvre regionally (hanson, 2020). the impact of the us failing to respond to an attack on saudi oil facilities was that an act of war on a us ally had gone unpunished, and that ally was now willing to talk with the country that washington had been determined to bring to its knees. ways around the sanctions may follow. but in the meantime, iran is, for the first time facing a three-pronged threat to its reach and influence, with protesters challenging governments at home, as well as in iraq and in lebanon. the risk of security collapse is real and growing, and it remains unclear if trump is prepared to own the consequences of actions that the us helped set in motion. 210 measures or options pursuant to us strategic interest in the middle east the future of us foreign policy in the middle east should be anchored on international security and the us cannot hurriedly abdicate its global police role; not when its core strategic interest is at stake. edward kolodziej has compared international security to a tower of babel and roland paris (2004) views it as "in the eye of the beholder". security has been widely applied to "justify suspending civil liberties, making war, and massively reallocating resources during the last fifty years" (wikipedia, 2020). security as the capability of a country to protect its core values, both in terms that a state need not sacrifice core values in avoiding war and can maintain them by winning war. david baldwin (1997) argues that pursuing security sometimes requires sacrificing other values, including marginal values and prime values. "security" is generally a normative term. it is applied by nations in order to be either expedient; a rational means toward an accepted end or moral, the best or least evil course of action. in the same way that people are different in sensing and identifying danger and threats, wolfers argues that different nations also have different expectations of security. not only is there a difference between forbearance of threats, but different nations also face different levels of threats because of their unique geographical, economic, ecological, and political environment. barry buzan (2000) views the study of international security as more than a study of threats, but also a study of which threats that can be tolerated and which require immediate action. he sees the concept of security as not either power or peace, but something in between. the concept of an international security actor has extended in all directions since the 1990s, from nations to groups, individuals, international systems, ngos, and local governments. in the light of the above, the multi-sum security principle should be adequately explored in the present context to obviate the malady of the middle east security challenges to global security. it is noteworthy that traditional approach to international security is usually focused on state actors and their military capacities to protect national security. however, over the last decades the definition of security has been expanded to accommodate the 21st century globalized international community, its rapid technological developments and global threats that emerged from this process. one such comprehensive definition has been proposed by nayef al-rodhan. what he calls the "multi-sum security principle" is based on the assumption that "in a globalized world, security can no longer be thought of as a zero-sum game involving states alone. global security, instead, has five dimensions that include human, environmental, national, transnational, and trans-cultural security, and therefore, global security and the security of any state or culture cannot be achieved without good governance at all levels that guarantees security through justice for all individuals, states, and cultures.” (wikipedia, 2019) each of these five dimensions refers to a different set of substrates. the first dimension refers to human security, a concept that makes the principle referent object of security the isolationist foreign policy individual, not the state. the second dimension is environmental security and includes issues like climate change, global warming, and access to resources. the third substrate refers to national security, defined as being linked to the state’s monopoly over use of force in a given territory and as a substrate of security that emphasizes the military and policing components of security. the fourth component deals with transnational threats such as organized crime, terrorism, and human trafficking. finally, the integrity of diverse cultures and civilisational forms tackles the issue of trans-cultural security. according to this multi-faceted security framework all five dimensions of security need to be addressed in order to provide just and sustainable global security. it therefore advocates cooperative interaction between states and peaceful existence between cultural groups and civilizations. in the above context therefore, isolationism is indeed a fallacy and complex to be assumed as a foreign policy stance by such a country that has played leadership role on a global scale for over half a century. recommendations to the extent of the issues and concerns of the subject matter of this paper the following recommendations are deemed apt: 1. there is need for the us to constructively engage other major state actors in finding lasting solution to the security challenges resulting from the quest to control the political economy of the various middle east states. 2. the need to identify and promptly deal with intransigent states in the middle east should be vigorously pursued to bring them to conformity. 3. the us should rethink and redefine the limits of its isolation foreign policy stance in the middle east and to continue to play its traditional stabilizing role in the region to prevent the region from reclining into a theater war, crises and terrorism. conclusion this paper was an attempt at interrogating the isolationist policy of the us with respect to the middle east. certain themes and perspectives germane to us strategic interest in the region were examined and the implications thereto. in the light of the issues assessed the paper upholds that neither the middle east nor any other large region can be quarantined as a matter of policy. reason is that nuclear or biological weapons developed there could strike anywhere, and cyber attacks launched from there could infect computers anywhere. consequently, isolationism is impossible in the world that has become a global village characterized by information and communication technology, internet, easy travel, and miniature means of mass destruction. more so, besides the prevalence of high technology, there’s the question of who will protect freedom of navigation on the seas. since the sun set on the british empire, the united states has been instrumental in keeping the world’s seas open to commerce. no other country or alliance is ready and able to assume the role. without open sea lines of communication, much 212 of the world’s trade would cease to flow. if, in hopes of disengaging from the middle east or cutting its defense budget, the united states were to relinquish this essential role, the harm to the global economy, including america’s economy, would be catastrophically cataclysmic. to this end therefore, disengagement from the middle east would not isolate the united states; it would simply forfeit america’s ability to shape events. this is not an argument for any particular kind of engagement as it does not, for example, militate for u.s. ground troops to be deployed to syria. but it is an argument against believing that non-intervention would spare america from paying a price for what happens in the region. in pursuing for the america first policy therefore the need to strike a balance on the assumed traditional role of the us as world police must not be undermined neither by the trump administration nor any successive one at that. references amnesty international (2018). human rights in the middle east and in north africa: a review. washington dc: amnesty international publication. bret, stephens g. (2014). america in retreat: the new isolationism and the coming global disorder, monroe: common courage press carr, e. h. (2012). the twenty years' crisis. accessed online at http://www.csis.org/mideast/reports/usarms4_7_98.pdf. retrieved on 24th september 2019. crs (2018). the middle east: strategies of containment. a critical appraisal of post war american national security policy. oxford: oxford university press david baldwin (1997). the usa and the middle east since world war ii, hong kong: macmillan press ltd. donaldson, h.c. 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(2000). american foreign policy since world war 1, accessed online at http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/pgulf.html. retrieved on 29th august 2019. national security strategy (2017). the trump administration’s national security strategy assessment. washington dc: white house publication. robert satloff (2019). the art of a new iran deal. www.foreign affairs.com. accessed online and retrieved 21st september 2020. roland, paris (2004). guardians of the gulf: a history of america’s expanding role in the persian gulf, 1833-2002, new york: the free press. shaul, c. and douglas j. f. (2016). middle eastern pathologies chase after those who run, uss carl vinson, september 5, 2016 the guardian (2018). the high cost of peace and the middle east dilemma. retrieved from http://www.guardianonline.com. unhcr (2019). human rights report from syria. cited in the new york times, september 25, 2019. wikipedia (2019). international security. available online at http://www.wikipedia.com ronny, modigs (2003). united states foreign policy in the middle east after the cold war. a thesis presented to the faculty of the u.s. army command and general staff college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of military art and science. fort leavenworth, kansas. william clinton (1994). national security strategy of the united states: a national security strategy of engagement and enlargement, washington d.c.: the white house. congressional quarterly (2014) the middle east (sixteenth edition), 483. david, g. and curdy, ltc (1996). security and peace in the middle east, maxwell: air war college maxwell paper no. 4, 18. david, w. l (1999). the middle east and the united states – a historical and political reassessment (second edition), new york: west view press. page 4 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 12 rural industrialization, state bureaucracy and land expropriation: exploring the dynamism of rural household political economy emmanuel chimezie eyisi *chinyere c. p. nnorom ethelbert okoronkwo oko chima enworo department of sociology, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu alike, p.m.b. 1010, abakiliki, ebonyi state, nigeria *correspondence: ccpnnorom@yahoo.com abstract this research investigated the effects of capitalist investment and bureaucratic organizations on rural household economy and social relations in ikwo, lga in ebonyi state, nigeria. guided by the insights provided by the mode of production neo-marxist theory as the theoretical framework; the study interrogated three objectives: the impact of the capitalist infrastructure on the rural economy; the extent to which the capitalist infrastructure engender dynamism in the household income generation; the relationship between capitalist infrastructure penetration and changes in the patterns of social relationships. the study involved self administered questionnaire of 159 respondents, 15 in-depth-interviews (idis) and 5 focussed group discussion (fgds). secondary data from documented materials were also used. data analysis was both quantitative and qualitative. our findings showed that while the family income of the members of the community who are engaged in the employment of the change agents have slightly increased, the communities’ economic activities have declined, because of loss of agricultural lands and rural unemployment. the study recommends immediate compensation and adequate socio-economic rehabilitation of those whose lands have been expropriated for the setting up of the rural industries and state organizations, fulfilment by companies and other organisations of their corporate social responsibility (csr) to the host communities, among others. it is hoped that if well harnessed, these organizations can transform rural households’ economy positively. keywords: economy, household, industrialization, rural, state bureaucracy. introduction the contradictions of capitalism in europe in the 17th and 18th centuries compelled the transplanting of the capitalist system of production to african and other third world societies through imperialism and subsequent colonial administration (ake, 1981, ocheni & nwankwo, 2012). this penetration of world capitalism that have been sustained by neo-colonialism and globalisation redefined the systems of moral, religious and ethical values as well as traditional mailto:ccpnnorom@yahoo.com 13 mechanism of social control (payne & nasser, 2003). more importantly, colonialism and neocolonialisms resulted in new economic systems leading to the transformation of new economic relations, production practices, new state structures and political systems, such the political economy of nigeria and most of the other developing economies are still designed within the prism of western societies and economies (wallerstein, 2011). the same processes that led to the transplanting of capitalism has inexorably been exacerbated by the penetration of incipient capitalism into the rural areas through the means of rural industrialisation, natural resource exploitation, rural infrastructure, government bureaucracy and agencies (etemike, omokinino & efandor, 2015). the penetration of capitalist infrastructure in the rural areas gradually eroded the traditional values of communalism, social and religious life as well as system of political governance. the penetration also decimated family chemistry with concomitant extirpation of respect and regards for family authority structure and erosion of traditional systems of social control. the result of the distortion of family authority structure is the increasing family instability which has snowballed into conflict and violence with concomitant increasing delinquency and criminality in the communities (abosede, 2009). the penetration of capitalist infrastructure further distorted the economic system of the rural inhabitants by not only disarticulating the production process but rendering majority of rural dwellers unemployed and under employed. according to wang, li, xiong, & wu (2019), with the advancement and acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, the expropriation of land can cause a large number of farmers to leave their land and become the land-lost farmers. the loss of means of production by the local producers will not only result in some of them being absorbed in the capitalist projects as wage labourers but will lead to socio-economic disorientation by the entire community. and what is more, the rural population eventually loses the control of her production process in an asymmetrical relationship to the local capitalist that appropriate surplus products of labour, the rural industry that exploit the rural populace through cheap labour and natural resources and to the state that embellishes these systems of exploitation and expropriation for its benefit (abosede, 2009). again, the capitalist penetration has tended to restructure the pattern of family productive relations. the creation of wage labour for both men and women by virtue of these rural 14 interventions has led to the concomitant neglect of the communities` indigenous economic activities. the implication is that the family loses its central role as the economic unit, thus creating dynamism in the family income. the roles previously performed by the family as an economic unit have been taken over or modified by industrialization with devastating consequences on the family fabric. the opportunity provided for women as part of the providers of family resources may have the capacity of altering the socio-economic responsibilities in the family. this has affected the pattern of family economic structure and relationships. the point is that women have increasingly become equal providers in the household economic resources. indeed, gender gap in house hold economic production has increasingly narrowed; with the women in most cases contributing more to the family income than men. this has helped to restructure the nature of socio-economic relations in the family (varhga, gal & crosby-nagy, 2017). a cursory observation of the study area appears to indicate that the introduction of capitalist organisations and bureaucracies in the form of manufacturing industries, mining operations, government agencies, and educational institutions, has not only disarticulated the basic economic activity (agriculture), but has also disrupted the stable nature of families as an economic production and social integration unit. the disarticulation of agricultural activities in the area, as a result of rural industrialization and modernization induced land shrinkage has had a negative impact on the livelihood strategies of people who depend on agricultural land or other rural natural resources (nguyen, hegedus, & nguyen, 2019). this paper therefore explores the effects of rural industrialisation and bureaucratic organisations on rural household economy in ikwo lga. ikwo lga was chosen as our study setting because as a rural area there is preponderance of corporate industrial organisations, three tertiary institutions and state bureaucracies that include state departments , agencies, administrative centres and state complex economic infrastructures that have the capacity of fundamentally impacting negatively or positively the rural and household economies in the rural areas. secondly, the choice of ikwo lga as the study setting apart from fulfilling the researchable conditions and thrust of the researchers as stated above is its accessibility to the researchers because of being the host of researchers` institutional base which is alex ekwueme 15 federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi state. in exploring these issues, we are not oblivious of the fact that the situation in the household cannot be extricated from socio-economic conditions of the rural communities in the rural areas as impacted by the penetration of the capitalist infrastructure. objectives in the light of the above stated capitalist and bureaucratic organisations induced effects on ikwo lga household economy, the following objectives will be interrogated: 1. the extent to which the introduction of capitalist organisations and bureaucracies impacted on the rural economy of ikwo local government area of ebonyi state. 2. the extent to which the capitalist infrastructure and bureaucracy tended to engender dynamism in the household income generation activity. 3. the relationship between the capitalist infrastructure and the patterns of relationship in the families and the communities. literature review there have been many views on the consequences of penetration of capitalist infrastructure and bureaucracies into the rural areas and the rural household economic conditions. some early studies from (nzimiro & eteng, 1978, and sholeye, 1982) showed that the transplanting of capitalism into the rural areas from colonial to neo-colonial times truncated and disorganised the rural areas socio-economic organisation as well as distorted their production processes. the capitalist penetration also created social cleavages such that a class of rural capitalist emerged that appropriated rural surplus as well as became partners with capitalist investors and the state in the exploitation of the rural farmers. this of course raised its tensions and conflicts in the rural areas. again anikpo (1984) empirical study of chioba in river state showed how the establishment of university of port harcourt and other multi-national companies instigated the misapplication of capitalist investments, truncated the value system and decimated the economic organisation of the community. the same outcomes reflected in the oya (2007) empirical studies of the capitalist penetration in the rural communities in senegal as evidenced 16 by the rural surplus accumulation by the rural capitalist and their external corroborators. omero (2020) study of industrial capitalism and forest depletion in eleme local government area of rivers state showed how the biodiversity was destroyed along with the distortion of the production process of the people. study by (tagliarino, bununu, michael demariah & olusanmi (2017) in lagos showed how the expropriation of land by rural industrialization without adequate compensation and crisis management led to the declining community economic activity and social unrest in lagos, nigeria. in recent times, sociologists have focused attention on the impact of modernization, industrialization, urbanization and other forms of rural capitalist investment on rural household economy in terms of production and consumption. according to ironmonger (2011), household production is the production of goods and services by the members of a household, for their own consumption using their own unpaid labour. however, more recent studies have extended the definition of rural household economy to include the contributions of family members (men, women and grown up children) to the family income both from their private economic activities and by their engagement in wage labour in the rural industries and other rural change agents (mayah, marioti, mere, & odo, 2017). rural household economy is a function of the availability of labour and capital which are the main factors of production (ironmonger, 2011). these factors of production have to a large extent been seriously distorted and mostly appropriated by rural industrialization and bureaucratic organisations. while much of the labour from the rural communities, that host the rural industries are engaged as casual, low skilled and low paid cadre, the rural capital (which is basically land) is appropriated and alienated from the rural communities by the organisations. families in ikwo are not spared as many have undergone challenges of transition engendered by capitalist and bureaucratic organisations. this study is therefore, motivated by the changes in the household economy as a reflection of the dynamics in the socio-economic conditions of ikwo lga brought about by the capitalist penetration and state complex organisations. theoretical framework 17 the study is guided by the mode of production approach which is a neo-marxist theory that derives its bearing from the inadequacies of dependency theory in addressing the problems of underdevelopment in the third world. the mode of production approach in the analysis of development and underdevelopment argue poignantly that the introduction of capitalism in the third world countries did not completely obliterate the pre-capitalist mode of production due to the articulation of the two modes of production. the articulation of the pre-capitalist mode by capitalism created two modes of production in the third world countries in such a way that the pre-capitalist mode is conditioned to serve the interest of international capitalism. in other words the pre-capitalist mode is preserved for the reproduction of capitalism (corporaso & zare, 1981). the theory further argues that imperial capitalism employs the tactics of dissolution and preservation. the destruction or the distortion of pre-capitalism help the thriving of capitalism, while outright obliteration of pre-capitalism will be detrimental to capitalism (leys, 1985). again the theory argues that capitalism in most of the third world countries cannot structurally transform the pre-capitalist mode into capitalism as was the situation in europe and north america. this is because the forces of production were not developed enough to engender capitalist transformation. in other words, the organic composition of capital in the third world countries is too low to engage the penetration of capitalism precisely because the higher the organic composition of capital (technology, finance, organisational ability, human resource and value added natural resources, well established governance structure and military or defence and transportation capacity) the higher the capacity to integrate the capitalist system (ake, 1981). the implication of this situation is that the third world economy becomes disjointed, disarticulated and weakly connected sectorally and regionally and thereby given to vulnerability to international capitalism by virtue of their integration in an exploitative manner. the transformation of third world economies therefore is not into authentic capitalism but rather into peripheral capitalism (amin, 1984) the introduction of the capitalist economic infrastructure, the mining companies, the rice mills, the quarry companies and other businesses; the university and the college of education as well as the polytechnics and the administrative headquarters with accompanying police posts to safeguard the infrastructure while adding to the infrastructural development of the ikwo 18 lga unfortunately simultaneously distorted, truncated and disarticulated the economic and social life of the communities. in the first place, the projects turned the local farmers into wage labourers, reduced their main occupation of farming into secondary status; secondly, it diminished their capacity to generate income through the trade from their products; thirdly, it alienated their land which is the pivot upon which their economic life revolved; and fourthly, it disrupted the social relations in the families and the communities. according to wellestein (2011) when a social formation with higher techno-culture encounters a social formation with a lower techno-culture, the later is willy nilly compelled to pander to the interest of the former. the ikwo community has a very weak mode of production in terms of technology, production capacity, organisation and political administration. its integration into the capitalist infrastructure and bureaucracy in the manner it was integrated has forced it to be exploited through cheap labour, farm products at the prices determined by the capitalist interventionists, land expropriation, legitimacy and socio-cultural influence. materials and methods research setting the research setting is ikwo lga of ebonyi state in south-east of nigeria. the population as projected to 2019 is 218,969 (national population commission, 2019). there are thirteen communities in ikwo. it is mostly a rural society with traditional institutions that ensured a well regulated, extended, communal family values. in the past decades, the communities have witnessed interventions that have upstaged these values without commensurate structures to mitigate the effect of these interventions. population and sample size of the study the population of the study constituted of married men and women who are both resident in the communities and also work in the industrial and other organizations of the communities surveyed. five communities were purposively selected based on their hosting of the organisations. from these communities, respondents were randomly selected to elicit responses. for purposes of questionnaire administration, all married male and female workers were sampled from the organizations. our choice of adult married persons is justified because 19 of their experiences in both the home and work place economic environments in the communities. data collection primary data for the study were collected through 159 self administered questionnaires. also, 15 (fifteen) in-depth interviews (idis) involving 8 (eight) female and 7 (seven) male staff of the organizations were conducted as well as 5 (five) focussed group discussion (fgd) sessions comprising eight adults, were organised for 2 women-alone and 3 male-alone groups of workers in the organizations in each of the selected communities. the idi respondents comprised of community leaders, and top management staff of the organizations in the communities. also, the criteria for inclusion (in the fgds) were workers who had spent a minimum of five years in marriage and at work. secondary data were collected through library research that involved textbooks, journals, internet materials as well as conventional and social media. it is important to state here, that in collecting data for this study, ethical standards were strictly observed. thus all the respondents involved in the research, participated on their own volition. the respondents were also availed of the aim and objectives of the study and their confidentiality was assured. permission from the management of the organisations was also secured where necessary before their workers were interviewed. data analysis data was analysed qualitatively; which involved data transcription and scrutiny, arrangement based on the study themes, highlighting of key points, and thematic analysis based on field notes. frequency distribution tables and percentages were also used to present and analyse data. resutlts the findings reflecting the demographic characteristics of the respondents based on the questionnaires are presented in table 1 and discussed below. table 1. socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents 20 source: field work, 2021. from the data in table 1, there were more males 91(57.2%) than females 68 (42.8%) working in the rural industrial and bureaucratic organizations. almost half of the respondents (49.1%) were within the 30-39 years age bracket. again, 73 persons, representing 45.9% of respondents indicated secondary school education as their highest education level. in terms of religious affiliation, 140 respondents (88.1%) indicated they were christians, while 3 characteristics frequency percentage sex male female total 91 68 159 57.2 42.8 100.0 age 20 to 29 years 30 to 39 years 40 to 49 years above 50 years total 15 78 40 26 159 9.5 49.1 25.2 16.4 100.0 educational qualification none primary secondary tertiary total 8 32 73 46 159 5.0 20.1 45.9 28.9 100.0 religious affiliation christianity islam traditional total 140 3 16 159 88.1 1.9 10.1 100.0 host communities in ikwo enyim egalagu ndufu alike ndufu echara ekpomaka oferekpe (inyimegu) total 19 24 51 53 12 159 11.9 15.1 32.1 33.3 7.5 100.0 preference for whom to live with relations paid aids none total 96 11 52 159 60.4 6.9 32.7 100.0 21 respondents (1.9%) indicated islam as their religion, and 16 respondents representing 10.1% indicated that they were adherents of the traditional (indigenous) religion. also, the spread of respondents based on communities and industrial and bureaucratic organisations is as follows; enyim-agalegu, 19 (11.9%), ndufu alike, 24 (15.1%), ndufu echara, 51 (32.1%); ekpaomaka, 53 (33.3%), and inyimegu (oferekpe), 12 (7.5%). therefore, the total number of respondents is 159. another significant finding here is the fact that most of the respondents’ (60.4%) households preferred to live with their relatives, as opposed to others (32.7%) that preferred living without a relative or a paid aid, while only 6.9% of respondents preferred to live with paid aids. rural industrial/bureaucratic organisations and the nature of economic activity table 2 contains data on the nature of the organizations and their spread in the communities from which our sample was drawn. table 2. spread of the organizations by communities source: field work, 2021. based on the data in table 2, enyim agalegu community is the host community to first pilot salt mining company (previously known as royal salt ltd). this is confirmed by the 19 respondents (11.9%) selected from the organization. ndufu alike community hosts the alex ekwueme federal university as indicated by 24 (15.1%) of respondents, while ndufu echara community hosts the ebonyi state college of education as indicated by 51 (32.1%) of the respondents selected from the organization. hence, 75 respondents representing 47.2 % of the total sample indicated that the organizations in their community is an educational institution. ekpaomaka is the host community to ebonyi rice world ltd, and ebonyi state rice mill, and host community nature of organization frequency percentage enyim agalegu ndufu alike ndufu echara ekpaomaka oferekpe (inyimegu) total mining educational institution educational institution & lga secretariat milling industries state water supply facility 19 24 51 53 12 159 11.9 15.1 32.1 33.3 7.5 100.0 22 this is confirmed by 53 (33.3%) respondents who indicated that the t organization in their community is a milling industry. finally, inyimegu (oferekpe) is the host community to the oferekpe water scheme, ebonyi state, just as ndufu echara community is also host to ikwo lga secretariat. the last two organizations are subsumed under ‘others’ based on the responses of 12 (7.5%) of respondents. the organizations and nature of economic activity to highlight the nexus between work in the rural industrial and bureaucratic organizations and other household economy dynamics, relevant questions in this regard were sought for and the responses are contained in tables 3 and 4. first, we present data comparing the job types among respondents. table 3. job types among respondents source: field work, 2021. data in table 3 shows that respondents are evenly spread across the different job types provided by the presence of the organizations. these include office assistance/clerical duties 30 (18.9%), teaching/administration 38 (23.9%), technical duties 37 (23.3%), managerial duties 33 (20.8%), and labourers 21(13.2%). our findings further show that prior to their present job, most of the respondents 95 (59.7%) were engaged in farming as their major occupation. variable frequency percentage nature/type of present job labourer office assistance/clerical duties teaching/administration technical duty managerial duty total 21 30 38 37 33 159 13.2 18.9 23.9 23.3 20.8 100.0 nature/type of former job farming trading others total 95 34 30 159 59.7 21.4 18.9 100.0 job combine yes no total 103 56 159 64.8 35.2 100.0 23 interestingly, despite their present job in the change agent organizations, majority of the respondents 103 (64.8%) still combined their current job with the previous job. to explain this trend, qualitative data was retrieved from the fgds and idis. for instance, a female fgd participant in ndufu alike said: what we are currently being paid as casual staff is too meagre. currently, we are paid n6,000 monthly, but if this amount should be increased to n35, 000 it will improve our lives. thus, to cope with the financial needs of the household, another female fgd participant said: the land that was taken away from families is large. only a little portion of the land belonging to us is left.... we now get land on lease at a price from nearby communities and cultivate for the farming season. as a result, we don’t cultivate much as we used to before our lands were taken away for the establishment of this organization at ekpaomaka, a male participant in the fgd told us that: we cannot avoid our farm work because of the nature of governmental work in nigeria. for instance, if the labour unions call for strike action as is often the case, all we have to do is to go to our farm and sustain our households with products from the farm until such industrial conflict is resolved. however, in anyim agalegu community, farming had become difficult because of contamination of the land and water sources by the lead and salt mining company. we were told by an informant: you see, if you into the village you see that their farmlands and water resources have been contaminated by lead. there is no good water, not even their fish, all have been contaminated. they don’t have good water except they buy pure (satchet) water, and there is no where they buy pure water here except maybe at abakiliki (the state capital). at times you go to shops there is no water. so, every of their water, land , everything is spoilt because of the mining operations here. next, we extracted data on the contribution of the capitalist and bureaucratic organizations to household income. 24 table 4. contribution of the rural organizations to household income source: field work, 2021. we found out that despite the fact that different people earned different amounts as their monthly take home pay, depending on their position in the organization, the average earning in their present job in the organizations when all the respondents were combined was n35,000, in comparison to an average of n25,000 they earned1 from their previous jobs. in fact, 73% of respondents agreed that their current job contributed more to their family than the previous job. in their view, the present job pays more (46.5%), provided steady income (32.1%) and was less stressful (21.4%). in support of this finding, 69.8% of respondents agreed that the organization variable previous job frequency (%) present job frequency (%) income ₦1:00 to ₦10,000:00 ₦10,001:00 to ₦20,000:00 ₦20,001:00 to ₦30,000:00 ₦30,001:00 to ₦40,000:00 ₦40,001:00 to ₦50,000:00 above ₦50,000:00 total 52 (32.7) 48 (30.2) 21 (13.2) 10 (6.3) 16 (10.1) 12 (7.5) 159 (100.0) 16 (10.1) 33 (20.8) 41 (25.8) 29 (18.2) 13 (8.2) 27 (17.0) 159 (100.0) job that contributes more to family income previous job present job total frequency 43 116 159 percentage 27.0 73.0 100.0 reason for answer above it pays more stable income less stressful total 74 51 34 159 46.5 32.1 21.4 100.0 present job increased family income by spouse’s wage yes no don't know total 111 37 11 159 69.8 23.3 6.9 100.0 25 in their area had increased overall family income by virtue of the spouses’ wages. a female cleaner, and participant in the fgd session at ndufu echara, said: a male participant in the fgd session at the ekpaomaka rice mill had this to say: when my husband died, i was coming here to look for job, so i can feed my children. initially, i was allowed to clear grasses for payment occasionally. i came severally to be employed until i was offered employment as a casual staff. this job has assisted me pay for my children’s school fees and other needs. before this job, things were too difficult for me and i did not know what to do. i had no hope. although things are still difficult for me, but now it is better than that time. when i am converted to a permanent staff, i know that things will improve. this organization is a welcome development. the income i earn from this job helps me take care of household needs, especially taking care of my children and paying labourers to do my farm work unlike before when i relied on farming alone on the other hand, most respondents working in the organizations in anyim agalegu had a negative view on the contribution of the organization to household income. for instance, a 30 years old male informant in an in-depth interview session in the community said: every day, we get to understand that this company is making n 10 million daily. the indians came in and started using us as modern slaves in our own country. i am among those collecting n37,000 as a graduate. how do you expect somebody to cope? it is not helping. it really lowers the status of a man in the family. thank god that i have an understanding wife else, it would have created disharmony in my household. expropriation of land, non-compensation and economic impact on households a major theme that came as part of the research findings has to do with the expropriation of land from the communities in which these organizations were located without compensation. the economic impact of such action is highlighted better in the idis and fgds that follow after the table. 26 table 5. land acquisition and forms of compensation variable frequency percentage family land acquisition yes no total 100 59 159 62.9 37.1 100.0 compensated for land (n=100) land acquired on lease no compensation was paid monetary compensation was paid total 18 56 26 100 18 56 26 100.0 family member works in the organizations yes no total 93 66 159 58.5 41.5 100.0 community people work in the organizations yes no total 87 72 159 54.7 45.3 100.0 source: field work, 2021. clearly from table 5, land was acquired from a greater number of families by the communities hosting the organizations. this is reflected by the responses of 62.9% of the respondents who indicated that their land was acquired by the organization they work in. unfortunately, majority of the respondents (56 or 56%) were not given any form of compensation, despite the expropriation of their land by the organizations. a close form of non-monetary compensation for the land taken away could be the employment of extended family members or kins as we see in the table from the responses of 58.5% of the respondents. the issue of land, compensation and impact on households are captured in the idis and fgds and some of the excerpts are presented below. the only senior member of staff of one of the educational institutions we interviewed said: people have been denied their farming activities. they feel they are being denied their source of survival, which is natural. at the same time, they are also happy that their place is being developed. but then, they also feel that they are hungry while the development is going on, because there is nothing to ‘pat their back’...so, because of that they are not happy. and, go and do your investigation, without my presence here, these structures (points to houses) could not have been possible. ‘isi mmadu ga abago’ (people could have lost 27 their lives). but because of god’s wisdom, my presence saved the situation. but the people are not happy. furthermore the senior staff in question said: if the management can listen to me, meet the governor [tell him], give us n 40 million for the school. tell him, ‘oga (sir) thank you’ we are very grateful. use n 20 million and pay compensation to families whose land was taken and yet to be paid compensation. if i tell you, university problem doesn’t allow me sleep. i have even suggested that the school can use n 20 million and commence payment of the compensations and the vice chancellor will feel relaxed. our findings suggest that workers in the rural industrial and bureaucratic organisations in ndufu alike community were the worst hit in terms of non-compensation for land taken from them. for instance, a 38 year old female informant in an in-depth interview in the community said: this organization took all our family land and i am really sad. i find it hard to do my usual farming job again. feeding is now a big problem for my household because we don’t have farm on which to cultivate and we don’t have any other source of livelihood. when we lost all our land, i started engaging in manual labour where ever i can find such, until we were employed here as a cleaner and you know we are paid just n6000 as our monthly stipend which is less than what i used earn from my farming work... till date, no body has explained anything to me and hunger nearly killed my children. we were told that our land is now school land, but nobody has ever given us any form of monetary compensation the conflict being bred among households as a result of this situation was highlighted by another female panellist in the fgd at ndufu alike, to the effect that: in recent times, our community has recorded a high level of conflict among households because most women expected their husbands to take good care of them and their children, but since the men have no lands on which to farm, there is nothing they can do. they can hardly provide foods and other needs for their households. most of our men have turned to alcohol addicts as a result of frustration. and the problem is that sometimes they vent their frustrations on others including their wives. this has also forced some women to engage in extra-income yielding jobs that are physically demanding to make sure the stability of the family is maintained. 28 the issue of land acquisition was less traumatic to other community selected for this study. for instance, at ekpaomaka community, an fgd participant retorted: the land acquired for the establishment of this rice mill company is large but the community still has sufficient land for members of the community, and families whose lands was taken were given monetary compensation. i can say that the issue of land acquisition by the government for this company is not much of a problem for our community. capitalist infrastructure: impact on social relations and behavioural patterns capitalist infrastructure and bureaucratic organisations have had tremendous alterations on the social relations and patterns of behaviour in the families and the communities in ikwo. this is affirmed from our respondents as shown by the table 6 below as well as the idi and fgd participants. table 6. impact on the nature of social relations and behavioural patterns variable frequency percentage affected authority relations in the family yes no total 89 70 159 56 44 100.0 affected traditional values in the community yes no don’t know total 91 61 07 159 57.2 38.4 4.4 100.0 increase in deviance and delinquency yes no don`t know total 91 56 12 159 57.2 35.2.5 7.5 100.0 emergence of cult and political killings and violence yes no don`t know total 83 47 29 159 52.2 29.6 18.2 100.0 enhanced literacy, economic well being and social life yes no don`t know total 88 40 31 159 55.3 25.2 19.5 100.0 source: field work, 2021 29 the table 6 above showed that the social relationships in the community were obviously affected by the penetration of capitalist infrastructure such that some relationship patterns were disorientated while some behavioural patterns degenerated dangerously towards deviance and criminality. this is graphically reflected by the responses of our respondents. for the 89 (56%) of our respondents the authority structure in the family significantly altered due to the entrance of the women and the children into wage labour; while 91 (57.2%) of our respondents believe that the traditional values in the community were distorted such that those cherished values of communality, empathy, extended family bonds and respect for elders have been truncated due to foreign values imported into the communities by students, workers, businessmen and women and other migrants. in the same vein, 91 (57.2%) of the respondents concur on the increasing tendency of deviance and delinquency reflecting different forms of criminality that include prostitution, robbery, cybercrimes, drugs and other psychotropic substance peddling and abuse as well as rape and other sexual perversions; also increasing cases of cult and political motivated killings and violence as affirmed by the 83 (52.7%) of the respondents have been attributed to the influx of social miscreants and renegades who take advantage of influx of migrants to perpetrate all manner of criminality. the capitalist penetration has however, improved the level of literacy, enhanced economic well being and engendered social life for some members of the community. this position is held by 88 (55.3%) of our respondents. our idi and fgd respondents also took positions on the social impact of the capitalist investments on the communities. one of the respondents, a female idi from ekpaomaka in exasperation said: our families are of late having so much problems because our men, our husbands seem to be losing control. women no longer stay in the house; they spend the whole day in their new work place and the rest of the days in the market. the home is now unkempt; everybody is on his own in the family. the families are no more the same and our community is not the best for it. another fgd respondent from ndufu-echara quipped: our values are stealthily being decimated; you don’t know the difference between boys and girls in this community anymore; boys now fry and tie their hairs and wear ear rings; the girls wear trousers and shorts, and go about half nakedsomething that is unheard of in this community. nobody respects anybody and nobody helps anybody in our normal communal way of living; 30 everything is seen in pecuniary terms. we have lost our sense of values; the elders and parents have lost control; even the traditional mechanism of social control have been rendered impotent. and talking about the level of delinquency and criminality in the communities, an fgd participant from ndufu-alike, exhibiting utter disgust averred rhetorically: do you know there is igbo party in this community where attendees use all kinds of drugs openly? do you know there is all no bared party where attendees come almost naked? all kinds of substances are peddled and abused with reckless abandon. boys and girls cohabit and indulge in open sexual escapades as if it is normal. the level of impunity with the very recent history of funai is unprecedented. rape, robbery, drugs, vagrancy and prostitution have recorded unimaginable increase. cult related violence, arson and killings have also increased exponentially. an idi respondent however observed that: there is no denying the fact that these projects have positively impacted some individuals and families in this community; in terms of acquisition of higher education, economic advancement and social outlook. but these benevolence is just for a few people. but for the majority of the people in these communities, these projects have become a nightmare. discussion of findings the study has shown that rural industrial and bureaucratic institutions in ikwo local government area have served as a veritable source of socio-economic transformation among households in the area. it can, however, be argued that the direction of the change has remained multi-dimensional. the research findings indicate that organizations are fairly well spread in communities in ikwo local government area (lga). some of the organizations found in the study area include a mining company-the first pilot salt mining company, a federal university, a state college of education, a government owned rice milling industry and a world-class private rice milling company, as well as a high-powered water scheme, and local government secretariat. with these organizations, the socio-economic development of the area should not be in doubt. communities in the area and households are supposed to reap the benefit of being host to these organizations. for instance, it is expected that the organisations will provide employment opportunities for the indigenes, and thereby ease the financial burden on households. again, it is expected that the communities will benefit from 31 other infrastructural facilities, such as electricity, water, roads, security, hospitals, schools and recreation amenities, provided by the organisations as part of their corporate social responsibilities. however, the organizations in ikwo have not lived up to expectation in this regard, as none of the organizations have provided any of the infrastructural facilities that can improve the life of the households. we found a situation in which the locals are only offered jobs in the lower rungs of the ladder. majority of workers from the communities employed in the organizations, were casual workers. we found that most of the workers had worked in the capacity of casual staff for periods beyond five years in several of the organizations studied. few of the members of the host community were offered senior staff positions in the organizations even when in most cases there were people with the qualification for such positions from the communities. despite these short comings, most of the staff in the organizations agreed that the organizations have improved their earning capacity. in the study by nguyen, hegedus, and nguyen (2019), they found that with the majority of agricultural land acquired by the capitalist and bureaucratic organization in the rural areas, the proportion of agricultural workers decreased rapidly by more than 25%, while other nonagricultural occupations increased, especially in small business, with service and hired labor accounting for 17.6% and 16.5%, respectively. this was seen as a form of adaptation to the land acquisition for implementing state projects. these findings support wang, yang, and zhang (2010), to the effect that the rural household livelihoods in china changed tremendously, from simple farming and rural–urban isolation to diversified economy and rural–urban integration, is also applicable to the ikwo area. our findings also showed that the issue of the loss of land belonging to individuals, families and the community at large constitute a major social problem in the study area. it was discovered that a large portion of the land from which households make their living through farming and other activities have been taken away from them especially by either the federal or state governments, for purposes of setting up the organizations. our findings revealed that in other communities in the study area, where the organizations were introduced, thus resulting in the acquisition of the communal land, monetary compensation was made to a significant 32 number of the affected families. however, for ndufu alike community, no compensation was made, according to the respondents, despite the fact that the community have been worst hit by the expropriation of their land to the extent that most of the families have been rendered homeless and economically useless, and many started experiencing health challenges. for instance, the expropriation of their farmlands led to their inability to cultivate crops for household use, thereby forcing them to buy most food items from the market. again, with their farmlands gone, members of the community, majority of whom are farmers have been denied the privilege of producing crops for market sales which had been a major source of household income. this has had a very adverse effect on the economic stability among households in the community. tagliarino, bununu, micheal, de maria, and olusanmi (2018) conducted a study on compensation for expropriated community farmland in nigeria, with a focus on the laws and practices related to land expropriation for the lekki free trade zone (lftz) in lagos, nigeria. the authors made startling findings including the fact that that the government failed to adequately inform, consult, compensate and resettle communities whose livelihoods were affected by the development of the lftz. the government did not follow a transparent and participatory process when acquiring land and compensating communities, and thus did not comply with international standards. in the study by nguyen, hegedus, and nguyen (2019), it was found that while a large proportion of the land in the area was acquired, substantial amount in compensation amounting to 25 billion vnd (more than $1 million usd) had been paid to those whose land was acquired. furthermore, the employment situation of households after land acquisition tended to be positive, with nearly 50% of households having jobs. however, the number of households with insufficient jobs still accounted for a high proportion as much as 32%. in the study by wang et. al. (2019), a major finding was that farmers who lost their land were more likely to report poor self-rated health. land expropriation can lead to a reduction in farmers’ incomes, resulting in a decline in their health status. in fact, according to the authors, land-lost farmers experience higher psychological anomalies which will seriously endanger their health. when seen from a gender perspective, women in rural areas are more severely affected by land expropriation considering the fact that they are generally less educated, less 33 able to accept new things, less able to adapt to new situations, less able to cope with stress and mental health, and have a greater tendency to grow more anxious than men (wang et. al., 2019). it is therefore paramount to note that no economy can grow to its full potential if its women remain unequal to men. for one thing, when women have better education, access to healthcare, equal access to job opportunities and equitable markets, they work and produce more, thereby earning higher incomes, and achieving higher purchasing power and savings ability which will increase the financial stability of households (mayah, marioti, mere, & odo, 2017). as further captured by hlomendlini and makgolane (2017), expropriating agricultural land without compensation could seriously compromise national food security and ultimately lead to poverty and unemployment, since for instance, financial institutions, regard land as collateral when providing finance to farmers. hence, securing finance from banks will become nearly impossible for farmers. social consequences the introduction of the capitalist infrastructure, tertiary schools and bureaucracy gradually eroded the cherished values of brotherhood, communality, empathy and system of traditional social control as well as the pristine idyll strong values of love, respect, succor and the chemistry that bind family members together. the communities have become so commercialized that pecuniary interests and impersonality guides the relationship in the communities; family instability has exacerbated; sexual pervasion and prostitution have been on the rise; criminality in forms of robbery, drug abuse, rape and cybercrimes have become unprecedented and ikwo local government particularly ndufu-alike and ndufu-echara have unfortunately become the hot bed of cult and political killings, arson, kidnapping and violence. these findings support the studies by omero, (2002) and oya, 2007). the major drivers of these social disruption in the ikwo local government have been unemployment and underemployment, land alienation, exploitation of the resources of the rural communities; the truncation of the system of livelihood without adequate mechanism of providing the requisite techniques of making the best of integration into the capitalist system; and the influx of migrants most of them with criminal tendencies occasioned by the penetration of the capitalist infrastructure and state bureaucracies. anikpo (2015) study of the conflict and social relations 34 disruption in the niger delta area of nigeria as a result of the international oil companies activities confirms this assertion. again, the activities of the capitalist infrastructure in the rural areas exacerbated social cleavages in the communities. the benefits from the rural industries, schools and state bureaucracies are enjoyed by a tiny minority who through their connections appropriate the incidentals that ought to be for the community in terms of jobs, higher education and contracts. this system of inequality in accessing the benefits from the rural projects has created its own social tensions in the communities. studies by nzimiro and eteng (1983) and beckman (1988) showed how the introduction of state induced mechanized farming in the rural areas alienated the peasant farmers and created emergency rural capitalist farmers in the rural areas. conclusion this study was aimed at investigating the effect of rural complex organisations such as the tertiary institutions, trans national corporations like the mining industry, private and stateowned rice milling companies and government bureaucracies on the rural household economy in ikwo local government area of ebonyi state, nigeria. our study focused on the following areas: the nature of economic activity as introduced by the rural complex organisations, the impact of the change on the family structure, the nature of land expropriation from the communities and state of the family income as well as the impact on social relations and social life after the intervention of the rural industries and other bureaucratic organisations. our findings showed that, while the family income of the members of the community who are engaged in the employment of the organisations have slightly increased, the communities’ economic activities have declined because of loss of agricultural farm lands, unemployment has increased, family instability has heightened and social disequilibrium has snowballed. thus, the introduction of capitalist oriented infrastructure or state bureaucracy if not well structured to address the development needs of the rural community may turn into a hubris that threatens the community with crises and underdevelopment while not being at risk itself. recommendations based on the conclusions, the study recommends as follows: 35  the government and the organisations should ensure that pristine economic activities of the communities are maintained and possibly modernised. this is in view of the fact that the higher income levels enjoyed by some of the respondents is because of their ability to combine the income from their employment and their pristine economic activities. the implication is that the indigenous economy is still very relevant to the communities and the state in general. annihilating the indigenous economy will therefore be dangerous both to the communities and the state.  immediate compensation and adequate socio-economic rehabilitation of those whose lands have been expropriated for the rural industries and other organisations by the companies and the state.  immediate employment of the qualified members of the organisations host communities in their proper cadres, and conversion of all the casual staff to permanent staff status.  the companies and other bureaucratic organisations should as part of their corporate social responsibility (csr) to the host communities, complement the efforts of the state (government) in the provision amenities in form of schools [including scholarships], hospitals, electricity, good road network, and potable water especially in the face of the contamination of water sources with company waste disposals like lead, as is the case in anyim agalegu community. critical infrastructure enhances individual and corporate developments in the rural areas.  the state (government at all levels) and the organisations should work with the community in the spirit of bottom up approach to development, in the formulation, design and execution of the projects and policies that concern them, so as to have full benefits of development in the communities. it is hoped that when these recommendations are implemented, the bottled up grievances of the indigenous workers and other members of the community which might result in preventable loss of lives and property may be avoided. this will truly guarantee economic stability among households and heighten the possibilities of rural socio-economic transformation. references abosede, b. 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(2019). effect of land expropriation on land lost farmers’ health: empirical evidence from rural china. international journal of environmental research in public health, 16(29), 1-12. doi:10.3390/ijerph16162934. http://www.internationalpolicybrief.org/ page 5 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 improving wellbeing through effective leadership and poverty reduction in nigeria ozioko, helen nnedinso department of political science education, federal college of education, ehamufu, enugu state. email: helenngwuozioko@gmail.com abstract after two decades of a return to democratic governance, nigeria is still battling with the challenge of electing political leaders with clear vision of how to tackle poverty at the grassroots level. poverty level in some states of the federation had continued to rise over the years, with nigeria being regarded as the poverty capital of the world as at 2019. the study examined leadership and poverty reduction at the grassroots level in nigeria. the study found that the modes of leadership recruitment have not been credible, transparent and fair. it also indicated that poor conducts during the electoral process has reinforced poverty at the grassroots level. hence, poor leadership has affected antipoverty programmes instituted to combat high level of poverty at the grassroots level in nigeria. the study recommended that there is an urgent need to ensure the credibility, transparency and fairness of modes of leadership recruitment, especially party primary elections in nigeria. in addition, the electoral umpire should be strengthened for an improved management of the electoral process. keywords: governance, leadership, nigeria, poverty and wellbeing introduction it is no longer news that more than half of the nigeria's population lives on less than $2 per day and majority of these set of people lives at the rural areas, where poverty is more severe (absolute). after two decades of a return to democratic governance, the grassroots populace has continued to live on the fringe of starvation, destitution and where there is lack access to good schools, health care, electricity, safe water and other social services and infrastructure are limited. as world bank (2019) has observed, poverty in 2016 was significantly higher in rural areas of the country with an estimated 64 percent of all poor people living in rural areas, while 52 percent of the rural population lives below the poverty line. contrastingly, the poverty rate in urban areas remained stable at 16 percent between 2011 and 2016. despite the various initiatives and programmes instituted to develop and move rural dwellers from abject poverty and squalor to prosperity, as well as rural development approaches and strategies adopted by the successive governments since 1999 to address the rising trends of poverty which has been the bane of socio-economic development at the grassroots level, yet poverty remains unabated due to its dire social service delivery outcomes, lack of basic infrastructure, politics, improving wellbeing through effective leadership 419 weak governance, poor quality of education, and lack of political will and insincerity on the part of political leaders to tackle poverty (alechenu, chiedozie, nwogu & isenyo, 2020; world bank, 2019). however, accusing fingers are pointed at leadership recruitment process. scholars have argued that there have been crisis of acceptable pattern of leadership recruitment process that produces leaders with capability to make life comfortable for the poor masses at all levels of government and particularly at the grassroots level (ekundayo, 2017; odisu, 2017). as ajayi (2016) has noted, leadership is a core ingredient in organizing, mobilizing and inspiring societal resources, for the attainment of poverty reduction goals. according to utomi (cited in odisu, 2017), "very few people have been taking decisions over the resources of nigeria because there had never been good elections". since bad elections can never enthrone credible candidates, only those with questionable character would emerge to pursue anti-people agenda (nnadi, 2018). consequently, successive administrations have failed to ensure that funds meant for the poor reach the masses (alechenu, et al., 2020). hence, reducing or alleviating the dangerous trend of poverty at the grassroots level in most of the states of the federation has remained challenging. against the backdrop of the foregoing, this study examined leadership recruitment and poverty reduction in lagos and rivers states in nigeria using mixed method design. statement of the problem poverty walks on four legs in nigeria. "it remains a paradox however, that despite the fact that the nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year", laments onuba (2017). according to francis et al (quoted in aghedo, 2016), "gdp per capita is 2,400 usd, and poverty is widespread about 50% live on less than $1.25 per day." but why so much poverty despite the abundant material resources of the country and recent economic growth? yusuf (2018) answers: "nigerians have seen a number of ineffective governments with various leaders betraying the trust of the people and people have no say over how they are governed and how accountable their government is to them despite the recent economic growth and the abundant human and material resources in nigeria, a plethora of its citizens wallow in both absolute and relative poverty hinged on incompetent leadership and bad governance. if the issue raised at second paragraph is not well tackled, it will be like a time bomb waiting to explode. the consequences will be so enormous and there will be an increase in banditry, kidnapping and more social vices because an idle mind is a devil workshop. theoretical framework elitism is adopted as the theoretical explanation to situate the connection between leadership recruitment and poverty reduction in the selected states in nigeria. the major exponents of the elitism theory include vilfredo pareto, gaetano mosca and robert mitchels 2016 elitism theory emphasises that the society and powers are largely determined by a small group of people with overriding monopoly of power and exceptional abilities to influence the governed. these elites abound in all societies and are always powerful with wherewithal to secure power, perpetuate it and rule (friedrich, 2016; okonofua, 2018). in the argument of robert mitchels, one of the exponents of elitism, political leaders form cohesive groups because they recognise that this improves their chances of remaining in power, while rank and file of their members tend to be apathetic to the needs of the masses (governed) (mazi 2017). thus, oligarchy is a concentration of entrenched illegitimate authority and/or influence in the hand of a minority, such that de facto what the minority wants is generally what comes to pass even when it goes against the wishes of the majority (suleiman, 2015). however, diah (2017) critique that the elites are a core group of people who occupy key positions of power and influence, and set the direction for the whole country, but lack political will. hence, the nigerian political elites or better still, governing elites, from the time of political independence till the current democratic dispensation, are sentimental, uncontrollably dependant, greedy and materialistic, thereby contributing immensely to the underdevelopment of nigeria's nation states. in the recent time, there are increasing attentions on the need to elect good leaders with capacity to engender good governance and service delivery, enhance economic growth, promote development and ensure poverty reduction (mkapa, 2018). however, the question of absence of committed leadership capable to initiating socio-economic development programmes aimed at eradicating poverty at the grassroots level has remained improving wellbeing through effective leadership 421 unanswered in nigeria, perhaps, due to the nature of nigeria's electoral process which have been characterized by massive irregularities, such as excessive militarisation, electoral rigging, ballot stuffing, monetised politics and vote-buying. no wonder did ijewereme and dunmade (2015) argues that the process of enthroning leaders in nigeria is bedeviled with crisis and it does not provide room for morally upright, competent, visionary leaders to emerge. in the opinion of alfa, otaida and audu (2016), various poverty alleviation programmes have been formulated and implemented in nigeria but with minimal success. this is because some of these programmes "are not realistic" while the masses and the poor for whom the programmes are designed to cater for are not adequately consulted, but were foisted on them. according to rosenje and moliki (2016), some of these poverty reduction programmes were not properly monitored. also, the poor who are the beneficiaries of the programmes were not properly targeted. as a result, the elites who are in charge of implementing these programmes, only benefits their cliques, relatives, party members and cronies, and moreover, the programmes have only benefited those who designed and implemented them. as such, most of these poverty alleviation programmes have remained fundamentally weak, defective and failed, with consequences on widespread extreme poverty at the grassroots level. their results showed that 40.8% of the respondents strongly agree that rural development integrated approach to poverty alleviation failed due to poor leadership recruitment process, 46.6% agree, 10.0% disagree, while 2.7% strongly disagree. the mean and standard deviation are 3.25 and 0.74 respectively. this implies that on the average the respondents are of the opinion that failed rural development integrated approach to poverty alleviation was as a result of poor leadership recruitment process. the table also shows that 43.6% of the respondents strongly agree that an imposed leader would find it difficult to alleviate the sufferings of the masses at the grassroots level, 40.4% agree, 12.2% disagree, while 3.8% strongly disagree. the mean and standard deviation are 3.24 and 0.81 respectively. this implies that on the average the respondents are of the belief that imposed leader will find it difficult to alleviate the sufferings of the masses at the grassroots level. furthermore, the result also revealed that 41.6% of the respondents strongly agree that poor leadership recruitment process affect anti-poverty programmes instituted to combat poverty at the local level, 43.1% agree, 11.6% disagree, while 3.8% strongly disagree. the mean and standard deviation are 3.22 and 0.80 respectively. this implies that on the average the respondents are of the conviction that poor leadership recruitment process affects anti-poverty programmes instituted to combat poverty at the local level. the implication of the foregoing results is that leadership recruitment process to a great extent determines success or otherwise of poverty reduction/alleviation programmes at the grassroots level in the lagos and rivers states. when the leadership recruitment process is poor, resulting in the emergence of leaders who lack the vision to effectively combat poverty, it reflects in the failure of the poverty reduction programmes in such local governments. the interviewees expressed their opinions on how leadership recruitment has affected poverty reduction at the grassroots level in lagos and rivers states. a resident of a community in ikorodu area noted that the successful implementation of poverty eradication programmes depends on the leadership himself. most of the poverty alleviation programmes embarked upon by the government has not been able to eradicate poverty at the rural areas due to wrong priority. the priority of the government has been those who belong to their political parties and not the poor per se (mukaila in an interview conducted at ikorodu on 10/12/2019). most of the interviewees in the two states stated that it is undisputable that a leader that is imposed cannot do outside the wishes and decisions of the godfathers. at the grassroots level, it is common among the politicians to give people little money in the name of poverty alleviation or empowerment that will bring them out of misery. some of them stated that in their local governments, people had not enjoyed sustainable poverty reduction programmes. they pointed out that most of the political leaders at the grassroots level make false promises during their electioneering campaigns. when elected into office they do not fulfill their campaign promises regarding alleviation of poverty at the grassroots. many of the interviewees posited that poor leadership recruitment had affected programmes instituted to combat poverty at the grassroots level. some of the poverty reduction programmes could not stand the test of time due to the challenges of leadership, corruption and other institutional failures. as pointed out by an educator and also a business man, electoral corruption is responsible for the poor service delivery at the grassroots (uzokpe, in interview conducted at ikwerre on 27/11/2019). during elections, everybody is compromised. from the electoral management body (emb) improving wellbeing through effective leadership 423 officials, to the security agents, and election observers, the story is same. due to corrupt officials who decide to compromise the process as a result of bribery by politicians, the mantle of leadership is given to a wrong person. hence, leaders with no mercy found their ways into public offices. thus, the poor are at the receiving end. poor leadership at the helms of affair widens the gap between the rich and the poor. majority of the interviewees from the two selected states noted that the government paid a lip service to the implementation of poverty alleviation programmes at the local government areas. some of the implemented ones however have not been targeted to meet with the needs of the beneficiaries. the beneficiaries of most of the poverty reduction or alleviation programmes are not poor. while those that are poor are manipulated. this situation remains so because of poor leadership recruitment process in nigeria. the discussants in the fgds conducted in lagos and rivers identified some of the effects of leadership recruitment on poverty reduction to include poor actualization of the programmes, lack of continuity of the programme, target of wrong beneficiaries of the programme, and misplacement of priority, among others. however, as indicated in the fgds, the fight against poverty had been a serious issue that is yet to be resolved in nigeria. from the responses of the discussants, apparently rural populace is starving and poor thus in need of government's intervention to ease their sufferings. the avalanches of poverty alleviation programmes designed by the government aimed at improving socio-economic conditions of the people have been found not to be successful. one of the problems responsible for this is leadership challenge. poverty has remained pervasive at the grassroots level in the selected states. most discussants believed that bad leadership could be blamed for the failure of some of the poverty alleviation programmes by both the government and ngos. one of the members of an ngo, talked about how government policy has affected the programme embarked upon to assist the people at the rural areas. they were summoned and asked to stop simply because of politics. one thing they noted was that the owner of the ngo is not in the same political party the leader belongs to. this is one of the myriad of challenges facing such programmes. aside that, most of the programmes are too politicized to the extent that the failure outshine the success whereas they claims they have done this and that, but in actual fact, they achieved little. in contrary, it was revealed from the responses of two discussants that leadership recruitment does not portend threat to poverty alleviation programmes as this depends on the nature and character of the leader himself. if the leader is good, knowledgeable and have fear of god, he should be able to carry out programmes that will have positive influence on the people. for instance, in lagos state, people who gain from the programmes of government are not the apc alone since 1999. both the apc and pdp members enjoy the programmes without discrimination or marginalization. besides, some discussants believed that the poverty reduction programmes were politicized to the effect that areas that were identified as strongholds of the opposition parties in the states were deprived the necessary poverty reduction intervention programmes. in the implementation of poverty reduction programmes, communities/wards that voted against the party in power in the last election are sidelined. they stated that poor leadership recruitment is dangerous to achievement of any good programmes especially the one that is aimed at eradicating poverty at the grassroots level. the findings of this study are in agreement with earlier studies that leadership failure is among the reasons for the failure of poverty reduction programmes in nigeria (rosenje & moliki, 2016; egbefo, 2015; paul, et al., 2014; tela 2014; adesopo, 2018; mkapa, 2018; ovwasa, 2017; wara, ilaboya & hymore n.d.). for instance, balogun (2016) posited that unequivocal leadership is imperatively needed in replacing poverty alleviation preoccupation with the wealth creation hence effective leadership is required in all the tiers of government to transform our resources into more wealth. earlier studies also found that most past poverty reduction programmes were not able to curb the rate of poverty in nigeria, because of the poverty reduction strategies employed by past administrations (nwogwugwu & odedina, 2018; rosenje & moliki, 2016). in this same vein, ovwasa, (2016); adesopo (2018) and rosenje & moliki, (2016), have also concurred that poverty alleviation programmes have consistently failed to achieve desired objectives. similarly, ahmed (2017) cited in egbefo (2015) noted that poverty rate in the rural areas has become a common phenomenon that it is almost becoming an accepted factor of life because of poor leadership. paul, improving wellbeing through effective leadership 425 et al., (2016), subscribed that none of the poverty alleviation programmes have been able to radically change the poor standard of living in rural communities. tela (2017) posited that bad leadership is responsible for the poverty incidence in nigeria which has assumed a different dimension. he identified that the actualization of poverty alleviation programmes depends on sound leadership void of corruption and depth of policies and strategies designed to tackle poverty (effective policy measures). egbefo (2015) observed that the nigeria poverty situation, be it at the state and local government levels, however, presents itself as a paradox in the sense that the country is richly endowed in both human and material resources yet its people remains among the poorest people in the world. odisu (2017) argued that poor leadership recruitment has created social stratification in nigeria. conceptualising leadership leadership is a combination of two nuanced words with varied meanings and perspectives, depending on ideological and cultural contexts of the definer. ogbeidi (2017) portrays concept of "leadership" as "a body of people who lead and direct the activities of a group towards a shared goal. it also denotes the ability to lead, direct and organise a group." burns (2017) defines leadership, "leaders acting as well as caring, inspiring and persuading others to act for certain shared goals that represent the values the wants and needs, the aspirations and expectations of themselves and the people they represent." from the burns' definition, the attributes of leaders are discernible, which shows that a leader must be caring, inspire, persuade, must act at appropriate time and represent not on his own interest but the general or national interest. abolurin (2015) suggests that a leader must pave way for people in order to achieve incredible success. he must be democratic and not autocratic in his style of carrying the followers along. generally speaking, leadership has three main characteristics: leadership as an attribute of position; characteristic of a person and category of behaviour (nwachukwu, 2017). to lead effectively, a leader must be identified with certain fundamental qualities, which include honesty, integrity, vision, communication and self-confidence (asaju, arome & mukaila, 2014). however, recruitment takes place at all levels of offices. from the organisational perspective, cole and kelly (2015) maintain that recruitment process provides the organisation with a pool of potential qualified candidates that can fill the available job vacancies. in politics, election at both the party and national levels is the most recognised and legitimate mode of leadership recruitment. this is otherwise known as political recruitment. gale (2018) defines leadership recruitment as the institutional processes by which political jobs beyond the citizenship level are filled. he further stressed that political careers are patterns of incumbency in these political offices and roles. the scholar noted that political socialisation is relevant to the study of political recruitment, only insofar as it affects one's chances of being recruited or of desiring to enter into specific roles in political life. political recruitment, according to villarreal (2010), includes the selection process aims at filling vacancies in any political structure, which allows upward mobility in the political careers or a change of role from a non political to a politician. from the foregoing, leadership recruitment is the process of electing, selecting or appointing political candidates into the political leadership positions, whether at the national, state or local levels. candidates are selected or nominated for two things: manning party offices across all the branches and chapters of political parties, and also to contest general elections. unlike for party leadership positions, in the latter, candidates are selected by different political parties to compete in national or local elections (udeuhele, 2015). poverty reduction socio-political discourses across board have continued to be occupied by the need to fight poverty to pave way for national development. various perceptions abounding on the concept emphasises the causes, dimensions and consequences of poverty on the people, organisation(s), nation, country and the world at large. according to okunmadewa (2016), poverty is more easily recognised than defined hence, a universally acceptable definition of the term has remained elusive. generally, poverty is the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. it exists when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs (encyclopedia britannica, n.d.). chen (2019) provides that poverty-stricken people are those without proper housing, clean water, healthy food, and medical attention. poverty is a state or condition which characterises a person or group of people as lacking financial resources and essentials of life to enhance a better standard of living. it involves a situation where such person or community has a improving wellbeing through effective leadership 427 record of low income level and inability to have provision of basic human needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. the above definitions among several others view poverty in socio-economic terms. although, the level at which one is poor might be difficult to measure, poverty is a difficult issue to overcome because it is often passed from one generation to another. in economic term, poverty is measured when particular person(s) earns less than $1.90 a day. poverty can be chronic or transitory, relative or absolute. relative poverty views poverty as the inability of an individual to attain a socially acceptable minimum standard of living; while absolute poverty is of the view that there is a minimum income that is necessary for the survival and physical efficiency of every individual in life (rosenje & moliki, 2016; world bank, 2016). however, the world bank's definition goes beyond the amount of money a person or family earns to cover a more comprehensive and all-encompassing definition. according to the bank, poverty is hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to see a doctor, not having access to school and not knowing how to read, losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water, as well as powerlessness, and lack of representation and freedom. this definition encompasses living conditions, an inability to meet basic needs because food, clean drinking water, proper sanitation, education, health care and other social services are inaccessible (compassion, n.d., world bank, 2017). ebong (1991) cited in antai and anam (2014) opines that poor rural areas are characterised by lack of basic infrastructures, poor access roads, a dirge of educational facilities, lack of pipe borne water, inequality, low per capita income, and high unemployment, among others. in addition, they are also characterised by poor health care delivery, lack of basic nutrition, inadequate housing, social discrimination and inadequate/ineffective channels through which concerns can be voiced (esema, 2017). over the years, successive governments worldwide have formulated, designed and implemented myriad of programmes, policies and reforms aimed at alleviating poverty and to transform the vast rural areas into the mainstream of national development. international labour organisation (n.d.) defines poverty reduction to include the continued improvements of the infrastructure assets and economic growth in a country that are fundamental to and rural development. in the view of achimugu, abubakar, agboni and orokpo (2019), poverty reduction strategy is "the bulk of policies and strategies pursued by government, in active partnership with civil society, the organised private sector and other stakeholders towards the systematic tackling of poverty." poverty reduction is a set of measures both economic and humanitarian that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. egbefo (2015) submits that any attempt at tackling the menace of poverty must focus largely on the local communities because grassroots development is a major vehicle for poverty eradication in nigeria. modes of leadership recruitment process in nigeria nigeria is a multiparty state with election being conducted every four years into the presidential, national assembly, governorship and house of assembly's public offices. leadership recruitment in nigeria, as in other democratic societies, is achieved through election. political leaders are recruited through the primaries and general elections. broadly conceived, election refers to the process of elite selection by the mass of the population in any given political system. elections afford the freedom to choose candidates to manage their affairs and give candidates the opportunity to canvass for the votes of the electorate in a free and fair contest (egwemi, 2015). according to inec nigeria (2015), political parties conduct primaries to enable them democratically elect candidates who will represent the political parties at various elective posts during election. here, political party is considered a central actor in the recruitment process. party enforces the recruitment of political leaders through competition with other nominated candidates. the process is mainly determined by party's internal rules and procedures. in some political parties, the selection of candidate is centralised, while participatory in others. candidates selected through primary elections will be able to participate in general elections with other contending candidates from different political parties (bille, 2001). however, political parties recommend the selected candidates through primaries or consensus to the electoral management body, the independent national electoral commission (inec). the electoral umpire therefore screens the candidates recommended by the party, approve their candidacy, and print their names on the ballot paper (ace encyclopedia, n.d.) for the purpose of general elections. a thorough examination of the primary elections conducted since 1999 in nigeria's political parties, reveal that virtually all these elections failed to pass the credibility test. these elections improving wellbeing through effective leadership 429 were conducted in a secret manner that not only restrict members of the party to participate, but also did not extensively followed legal frameworks guiding primaries and candidate selection (adekeye & ambali, 2017; ayomola, 2015; udeuhele, 2015). this is the reason why emphasis is often placed on effective and efficient party internal democracy during the selection process. however, elections conducted since 1964 till 2015, have been questioned for lacking credibility (dauda, efundowo & oyekanmi, 2018). the history of elections in nigeria has been characterised by massive frauds, intimidation and even assassination of political opponents (okoye, 2011; nwanegbo, 2015). it has also been revealed that nigeria's previous elections were characterised by attacks on inec facilities, abuse of electoral and security officials, assassination of political opponents, intimidation of voters, snatching of election materials, abduction and attacks on opposition candidates/party members, supporters and the electorate, as well as pre and postelection violence (jega, 2012). it is also glaring from the recent and past elections in nigeria, that whenever election is approaching, political parties wallow in diverse intra and inter-party crises, leading to defection and counter-defection of party members (moliki, 2018; oni & abioye, 2014). poverty as the bane of development at the grassroots level in nigeria the incidence of poverty has assumed a frightening dimension in nigeria. in spite of its abundant human and natural resources, and government's annual budgetary allocations towards programmes aimed at reducing poverty in the country, the poverty rate has always been on an ascending trend (rosenje & moliki, 2016). egbefo (2015) observes that the nigeria poverty situation, be it at the state and local government levels, however, presents itself as a paradox in the sense that the country is richly endowed in both human and material resources yet its people remains among the poorest people in the world. sam (2014), there has been attempts by successive regimes in nigeria towards poverty reduction and grassroots development. prominent among these programmes have been identified to, include, national accelerated food production programme (nafpp) and the nigeria agricultural and cooperative bank (nacb) in 1972, operation feed the nation (ofn) in 1976, green revolution (gr) in 1979, directorate of food, roads and rural infrastructure (dffri) in 1986, better life programme (blp) and national directorate of employment (nde) in 1987, family support programme (fsp) and the family economic advancement programme (feap) in 1993. others include national poverty eradication programme (napep) to replace the previously failed poverty alleviation programme (pap) in 2001, integrated community development project (icdp), and local economic empowerments and development strategy (leeds) in 2004, national health insurance scheme (nhis) in 2004, national fadama development projects in 2005, subsidy reinvestment & empowerment programme (sure-p) in 2012, youth enterprise with innovation in nigeria (youwin) in 2012, and geep farmermoni, conditional cash transfer (cct) and n-power scheme since 2016. all these are meant to achieve poverty reduction through wealth creation, employment generation and value re-orientation at the rural areas. unfortunately, most of these programmes have not been able to radically change the poor standard of living of rural dwellers (paul, agba & chukwurah jr, 2014; rosenje & moliki, 2016). however, poverty has remained pervasive in almost all the local communities in nigeria. over the years, grassroots development has been neglected. rural areas are regarded as abodes of diseases, superstition, poverty, lethargy, low income and low productivity. this problem, which is policy action towards rural transformation, is responsible for the poor state of affairs among rural dwellers in nigeria. government is virtually concerned with urban development and urban renewal programmes to the neglect of the rural areas (eteng, 2006). despite the purported concerted efforts of the government at combating poverty in nigeria, poverty alleviation programmes have consistently failed to achieve the desired objectives (adesopo, 2008; ovwasa, 2000; rosenje & moliki, 2016). instead, it has instituted the replication of mass poverty in the country. conclusion and recommendations the study concluded that poor leadership recruitment process has negatively affected efforts at reducing poverty rate at the grassroots level in the two selected states, as the low quality of leadership that emerged in most of the local governments resulted in haphazard implementation of poverty reduction programmes, which exacerbated poverty instead of ameliorating it in most of the local governments. based on the above findings, this study therefore recommends the following: improving wellbeing through effective leadership 431 there is an urgent need to ensure the credibility, transparency and fairness of modes of leadership recruitment, such as primary and general elections in nigeria. the patterns of leadership recruitment in nigeria should be repositioned for effective delivery. perhaps, a major recommendation in this regard is that the electoral law provisions should be amended to pave way for independent candidacy during election. it is also recommended that political parties should allow a free, fair and credible process of electing leaders. party primaries should be conducted in a transparent, free, fair and credible manner. it has been established that leadership recruitment has endangered the implementation of poverty reduction programmes at the grassroots level in selected states. therefore, it is incumbent on the current administrations in both states to take urgent steps towards implementing sustainable poverty eradication programmes that will be effectively monitored thereby improving the standard of living of grassroots populace. finally, the electoral umpire should be strengthened for an improved management of the electoral process. reference adesopo, g. 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(2018). leadership role and good governance in nigeria. retrieved from www.imim-ng.org page 4 esut jss co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue co ias l f so c l iea njnrs ocue se ss jut volume 5, issue 2, 2020 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences published by the faculty of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u l og gu yne journal of social sciencesjournal of social sciences 204 effects of extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government nwonu clifford o. (ph.d) department of mass communication caritas university amorji-nike, enugu drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng abstract the watch-dog role of the press demands that the press be given freedom to hunt for information and disseminate same to the public. with the nigerian government waiting to bounce on the media at the slightest opportunity, there is no how the journalists can fix their eyes on the executive, legislature and judiciary to ensure that they do not abuse their power and to fish out corrupt ones among the leaders. in order to do justice to this topic the researcher set out to discover practical cases of different measures used against the press by the government. books, journals, and other documents were the secondary data used to uncover these facts. at the end, it was discovered that despite the dehumanizing treatment meted out to the nigerian press by the civilian and military governments, it still remains the most vibrant and outspoken sector in the whole of africa. some recommendations were made among; which are that the government should give the press freedom and adequate security; and that the press should discharge its duty bearing in mind the ethics of journalism which encourage it to be fair, accurate and objectives. keywords: freedom of press, information bill, journalism, publicity and security, introduction since the inception of printing technology, the power of the press has always made the government to use different measures to suppress it for fear of the outcome of its publications. that is why rodman (2006 p. 474) emphatically stated, that "the history of the media is also a history of legal battles" and this has immensely affected media growth and development. the press is the "watch dog" of the society and its function is to hunt for information and comment on events in order to achieve a desirable change that will bring development to the society. when the press mediates between the rulers, and the ruled it is to keep the rulers in check and help the ruled to understand the activities of the government. the press watches the society, ensuring that personal or sectional interests of the rulers and those in the corridors of power do not interfere with the course of public policy decisions. despite all this good jobs that the press is doing for the society, journalists are being suppressed, cowed, intimidated and repressed through different measures. today, the question in the mind of okonkwo (1996 p. 56) and many others is "why should a journalist be ever/body's whipping boy?" journalists are neither safe during the civilian mailto:drcliffordnwonu@caritasuni.edu.ng extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 205 administration, nor during the military regime and to worsen the matter, legal protection for the journalist is uncertain which makes the job highly hazardous. the truth of the matter is that journalists are very important in nation building and should be given free hand to perform their duties if it must be done professionally but the fear that the press is so powerful and can influence events has always denied it that freedom it so desires. the perfect example of the power and influence of the press is the trial and conviction of cleveland osteopath, dr. sam shepherd. the case as recorded by rodman (2006 p. 480) stated that sheppard's pregnant wife, marilyn was brutally murdered on july 4, 1954. it was a sensational case: sheppard was socially prominent, wealthy, and good looking. the night marilyn was killed, he claimed that he returned home to find "bushy-haired stranger running from his home. sheppard wasn't arrested at first, but the local newspaper covering the investigation found circumstantial evidence suggesting that sheppard could be the killer. the newspapers through their write up pushed for the arrest of sheppard with sensational headlines like "getting away with murder" and "why isn't sam sheppard in jail?" due to media pressure, sheppard was arrested tried and jailed. when it was discovered that he may not have killed his wife, sheppard was released after serving so many years jail term but he died four years after he was released from prison. the story has it that during those four years, he married and remarried and tried to reestablish his medical practice but failed. his life was never the same again even when he turned to professional wrestling, calling himself the killer sheppard as an attempt to capitalize on his notoriety. although, that case changed the way criminal trials are conducted in united states, yet when dealing with the press, government of various countries go beyond legal techniques used to provide protection for the government. the case of sheppard was a clear case where media coverage interfered with the defendant's right to a fair trial but is that why different governments try to gang the press? are legal means of curtailing their excesses not enough to check-mate them? do we really need extra legal measure to force the press to do the right thing? 206 conceptual clarification • extra legal measures: extra legal measures against the press mean going beyond or outside what is legally required to punish the press or to stop it from carrying out its legal duties. extra legal measures are sometimes used because the government is not always patient enough to follow the legal means of settling cases between them and the press. some of the extra legal measures include maltreatment, torture, confinements, illegal detention, ownership control, self-censorship, temporary or total withdrawal of licenses, closure of media houses, killing etc. these extra legal measures impinge on the ability of the journalists to perform their duties ethically and professionally. theoretical foundation it is a popular belief by communication experts that the press takes on the form and colouration of the social and political structure within which it operates. this is because the "mass media operate within the context of the framework stipulated by the society" (ogah p. 83). based on the above assertion, this work is anchored on the four normative theories of the pressauthoritarian media theory, soviet communist media theory, libertarian median theory and social responsibility media theory. the authoritarian media exist to serve the government in power and they are forbidden to criticize the government or "its functionaries. here the press is largely aimed and controlled, mostly through repressive measure, by the government while those who are not own by the government are expected to remain neutral even in the face of bad government. folarin (1998 p. 25) notes that: the instruments of control employed by different authoritarian governments include repressive legislation (including decrees), heavy taxation, direct or subtle state control of staffing and of essential production inputs such as newsprint, and even more obviously repressive and objectionable measures such as prior censorship and suspension of publication. extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 207 sometimes; total proscription of the press is used by the government to suppress the press. sovietcommunist media theory seems closer to the authoritarian theory because it also subjects the press to state control but in the case of communist theory, the major duty-of the press is to promote the socialist system and maintain the sovereignty of the proletariat or working class through the communist party. this means that the media is under the direct control of the government as the arm of government and used to support development. libertarian media theory believes in free market "place of idea" where good ideas would drive out bad ones if both are allowed to coexist. any government that practices libertarian theory maintains that individuals are free to hold and express opinions freely. "they exist to check on governments, and that requires that they be free of government control" (folarin 1998 p.27) but this is hardly the case even in some countries like nigeria that claims that the press is the "fourth estate of the realm." the truth is that free press does not advocate immunity to the rule of law. that is why even in libertarian government the press is expected to distinguish between truth and falsehood which brings about self censorship. social responsibility media theory carne as a result of the deficiencies of the libertarians", theory. in 1947 hutchins commission on freedom of the press was set up in the united states of america to reexamine the concept of press freedom as clearly expressed by libertarian theory. it was discovered that media growth in the area of commercial and technological development tends to limit the power of individuals and groups and concentrate media power in the hands of few like advertisers, media professionals, government functionaries etc, who have the economic power and access to the mass media that is why libertarian theory became undesirable. ogah (2008 p.86), confirmed that: the immense societal dissatisfaction .and displeasure orchestrated by the rather disorganized libertarian paradigm compelled media mogul, henry luce to give a grant of $200,000 to, an old college friend, robert maynard hutchins to enable him undertake a study of the american media landscape the freedom modern society needs couldn't have been adequately taken care of by the libertarian theory since such freedom is expected to be accompanied by responsible press. so, social responsibility theory expects a free press to be a responsible press which means that freedom of press should go with corresponding obligation the press has to this society. a closer look at these four normative theories indicates that no country can proudly claim to be practicing one of them rather what is seen is a combination of all of them. even nigeria that is looked upon as having the 208 freest press in africa still uses extra legal measures to suppress the press. different laws and repressive measures equally hinder the smooth operations of the press in places like united states of american where the press has achieved great feat in the past as a result of the freedom journalists enjoy. for instance it was such freedom that led to the water-gate scandal which led to the exposure of president richard milhous nixon and his electoral frauds which eventually led to his resignation. it was two reporters of washington post, bob woodward and carl bernstein who uncovered and reported the scandal (okonkwo 1996). baran and davis (2007) and mcquail (2010) believe that the normative media theory explains hew a media system should operate in order to conform to or realize a set of ideal social values. freedom of the press and cases of repressive measures against the press in nigeria and the world at large the fear that the journalists pry to expose hidden information makes the government to use repressive measures to clamp down on them. these extra legal measures tend to reduce the degree of freedom the press ought to enjoy. the issue of press freedom concerns every individual and nations of the world due to the nature of the work of journalists which is to advance the public interest through their publications. the press has been operating under the provision of freedom of expression as enshrined in the republic constitution of 1963. section 25(1) which states that: every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference, when the constitution was amended in 1979, nothing was still done to give the press that freedom it so desired. the constitution drafting committee (dc) who drafted the constitution did not see any reason why the journalists should be given more right to freedom of expression than any other citizens of the country. despite the fact that the reproduced draft in section 36(2) added the watchdog role to the job of 'the journalist, when the long awaited freedom of information (foi) act was signed into law; it still did not accord the press total freedom but states that the press is as free as every other nigerians with regard to access to information, records and government and private documents. extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 209 the freedom of information (foi) act signed into law on may 28, 2011 is an act that gives every nigerian a legal right of access to information, records and documents held by government bodies and private bodies carrying out public functions... before now, nigeria had no law which guaranteed citizens access to public records and information on the contrary, many nigerian law have secrecy clauses prohibiting the disclosure of information by the official secret act, the criminal code, the penal code, etc f http://www.focioalition.org/foibill/index.htm) before this bill was signed into law, it was difficult to get information from public office holders and public servants because most public servants are made to swear to oaths of secrecy when employed and this does not allow them to divulge, information to journalists freely no matter how important such information may be to public interest. according to okonkwo (1996 p.58), the official secret act inhibits free information flow. the act states that anyone who holds office or has held office will be guilty of an offence if "he divulges information which he is not authorized to give. the press does not enjoy complete freedom anywhere because those in government fear that, if given more freedom than necessary, the press would use it against them. this lack of freedom, makes every government that 'comes to power to suppress the press through arbitrary arrest/ detention, brutalization and different kinds of intimidation. the military suspends the constitution and rules by decree whenever they come to power. these decrees have never been favourable to the press and that makes their job more difficult during the military than civilian regime. okonkwo (1996) and okoye (2009 p. 253) recorded that decree 4 of general muhamadu buhari affected many journalists among whom were "tunde thompson and nduka irab" or of the guard/an newspaper who are now heroes in' the struggle to preserve press freedom. they were incarcerated for 12 months for daring the military. 'the military governments in nigeria are quite synonymous with the employment of extra-legal measures against the press (okoye 2009 p.253). citing agbo and eze (2007 p. 133-134) okoye (2009) further stated that: the government constitutes a major problem to the press, especially governments which acquired legitimacy through the barrel of the gun or falsified election results. these are dictatorship, and tend to shun avenues of free speech and http://www.focioalition.org/foibill/index.htm 210 free dissemination of information. thus, they crack down on the press. cracking down involves the use of draconian laws and decrees, mainly geared against the press freedom, other victims of the extra legal measures were minere amakiri of the observer newspaper who had his hair shaved and was horsewhipped for publishing an embarrassing story of an impeding teachers strike over non payment of teachers' salary in the observer newspaper during thebirthday celebration of the ^then governor of rivers state, alfred diete spiff. you can imagine such victimization simply because the governor was alerted of an impeding danger and the need to arrest an ugly situation before it gets out of hand. instead of commendation, the watchdog role of the press sometimes/ earns journalists dehumanizing treatment, a whip or an imprisonment. 6 in the case of amakiri the governor preferred a flamboyant birthday celebration on the eve of the states' teachers propose strike and dehumanizing treatment to the reporter instead of commending him for a job well done. in 1983 during the alhaji shehu shagari's regime, it was ray ekpu that was jailed for publishing an article titled "sodom and gommorah" which alerted the public on the increasing act of arson on public buildings (okonkwo 1996). okonkwo equally made the following observation 1. that sunday sketch editorial of august 16", 1987 led to the burning of the early northern edition copies of the newspaper simply because the governor of oyo state did not like it. 2. that the editor of the nigerian standard was fired on august 18, 1987 because the paper carried an editorial on the retirement of two bank executives ayagi and olashore. during president olusegun obasanjo's regime, (okoye 2006 p,254) quoted ukonu's (2006 p.167) record thus: ...president obasanjo barred cyril mba a journalist from entering the state house on september 23, 2003, for alleged damaging reports on the president. mba was not prosecuted but security agents extra-judicially hurled him out of aso rock. what a disgrace. okoye (2006) equally captured-agbo and eze's (2007 p. 135-136) view of obasanjo's administration thus; extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 211 ...the media under obasanjo received serious bashing and was treated with disdain. despite being a major stakeholder in the nation's polity, the media save a few pro-government organs was ostracized and treated like an outcast. in a democracy under obasanjo's regime, insider weekly was invaded and turned upside down like a war-torn zone by agents of the state security service (sss)' that was on september 4/2004. the magazine's premises were sealed up. the military that ruled nigeria from 1996 to 1999 meted out the worst treatment to the press especially gen. ibrahim babangida and gen. sani abacha. during the duo's military regime, the nigerian press proved to be daring. despite several incarcerations of journalists, burning of newspapers and magazines, prosecution or midnight closure of media houses, beating and killing of journalists etc nigerian press kept matching on. it was during abacha's regime, on february 2, 1996, that chief alex ibru, publisher of the guardian newspapers escaped death after being shot at close range. it was also during that period, on june 4, 1996 to be precise that mrs. kudirat abiola, the late mko.abiola's wife was assassinated. the journalists who suffered this extra legal measures are numerous for instance, okezie amarube, a journalist in enugu, was shot dead by a police man on august 28, 1998; chris anyanwu, the editor-in-chief of sunday magazine was arrested and detained on march 15, 1995 for publishing a story titled "coup update: boodbath soon/' chief oni egbunine, the publisher of "horn newspaper" in owerri was on july 1, 1997 beaten into a state of coma by the imo state soldiers. on february, 8, 1999, during abdusalami's regime/ police officers stormed the' editorial office of "the news" and arrested the general manager, idowu obasa, press manager, wole odofin and jajudeen suleiman. they were all detained without charge, (index on censorship, 199 p. 115. no. 2). gen. ibrahim babangida who was seen as a maradona was equally harsh to the press as stated above, even as he co-opted some media practitioners into the government by way of appointment in order to suppress the press. some of them who refused to be lapdogs paid dearly for it. the most celebrated case being that of dele giwa, the pioneer editor-in-chief, of the newswatch magazine, who was given a letter bomb that cut him down at his prime, still mourning the veteran journalist after 25years of his demise, abimboye (2011 p.18) writes on how dele giwa was assassinated. 212 inside his study, giwa and kayode soyinka, the london bureau chief of newswatch, who arrived the previous day, were engaged in discussion when billy 17, giwa's first son, brought his father a parcel. it was given to him by musa zibo, the security guard. on it was inscribed. "from the office of the c in c" (commander in chief)... also written on the parcel was: "to be opened by the addressee only... as giwa placed the parcel on his laps and tried to open it with his right hand, it exploded... and giwa lay prostrate in the pool of his blood... giwa's body ^ was mangled beyond recognition. his flesh and bones mixed with his blood were a grim evidence of the dastardly act.... then he died. time: 2:27pm. few days to the gruesome murder, giwa was interrogated by the officials of the state security service (sss) for his article on "second-tier.foreign exchange market, (sfem) by gen. babangida. several accusations were leveled against him including, holding discussions with the nigerian labour congress, nlc, the academic staff union of universities, asuu, and students to carryout socialist revolution. he was equally accused of* promising to defend alozie ogugbuaja, a police superintendent and spoke person of lagos command who was suspended for saying before the akinbi panel that probed the students' riot which took place few months earlier, "that all that soldiers do is to eat pepper soup and drink beer and so had all time to plan coups and that newswatch would employ him if sacked from the police." they tried to give giwa a bad name including being arms dealer (a gun runner) before sending him to his early grave (newswatch oct. 24, 2011). if the military is not pardoned by the public for using extra legal measures to cow the press what will be done to the civilian government that do the same to supposedly free press after the freedom of information act has been signed into law? in october 11, 2011, the police arrested four senior editors of the national newspaper in lagos and abuja offices for publishing a letter written by olusegun obasanjo to president. goodluck jonathan. the paper carried content of the letter which has to do with obasanjo asking the goodluck to relief some ministers of their ministerial position. recently, the boko haram group has added its own death measure by threatening the media. in an article titled "we didn't kill him -boko haram," ola (2011 p. 5) reported that the boko secretary warned that they would launch an attack on the press just the way they attack the security agents if they continue to misrepresent them. now, they have made good their threat with the recent murder of the nta maiduguri camera man-zakariya isa on oct. 22, 2011. extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 213 foreign cases of extra legal measures against the press according to okoye (2009 p. 257) in south africa, when racism and apartheid was the^ order of the day any press that refused, to uphold the doctrine of apartheid and false image of the superiority of the white race stood the chance of being charged with numerous offences that could close it down. citing barton (1989 p. 136) okoye (2009 p. 255) further opines that in uganda, editors are beaten and burned to death/ which made barton to agree that nigerian press is the freest in africa despite the measures employed by the government to suppress them. it was rodman (2006) who wrote that as far back as 1690, benjamin harris' public occurrences was shut down just after the first issue. the reason given by the government was that harris wasn't a licensed printer though it was just an excuse given by government for proscribing the paper. in 1772, he also pointed out that james franklin was jailed for failing to get government approval to publish the new england courant. summary in summary ogbonda (2006 p.193-203) writing on the relationship between the state and the press cited some writers and scholars like ekwelie (1979), anyanwu (2002), agbese (1988), jose (1975), nwosu (1987) and many others who lamented that: ❖ various military regimes arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured journalists. ❖ several media houses were arbitrarily shut down and newspapers and magazines copies were confiscated at newsstands. ❖ some journalists were tortured or murdered. ❖ under the general muhammadu buhari's regime, december 31, 1983 -august 27, 1985, haroun adamu, editorial adviser of punch; lade bonuola and femi kusa, assistant editors of. the guardian; duro onabule, editor of national concord and ab. ahmed, sunday editor of the new nigerian were arrested and detained. ❖ it was the trial and imprisonment of two editors of the guardian, tunde thompson and nduka irabor by the military tribunal that marked a major watershed in state press relationship during the buhari's regime. 214 ❖ during ibrahim babangida's regime the government closed down the newswatch... magazine for six months. ❖ newswatch editors, ray ekpu, dan agbese, and yakubu mohammed were arrested and charged with sedition, a charge the government later dropped. ❖ in july', 1993, the government confiscated 100,000 copies of tell magazine. ❖ on july 22, 1993, government closed down seventeen newspapers and magazines. ❖ it was the murder of dele giwa, editor-in-chief of newswatch on october, 19, 1986, that will for a long time remain a reference point in state-press relations during the babaginda's regime. ❖ during sani abacha's regime the government seized 50,000 copies of tel! magazine and shut down the punch, the concord, and the guardian for one year. ❖ the state also arrested and detained several journalists among whom were nosa igiebor, editor of tell; bayo onanuga and -dapo olorunyomi, editor and deputy editor of tempo respectively; kunle, ajibade, editor of the news; ben charles obi, editor of weekend classique; george mbah, assistant editor of tell and christ anyanwu, editor of the sunday magazine. ❖ even during obasanjo's regime, weekly insider magazine was closed in september, 2004. ❖ on may 2, 2005, orobosa omo-ojo, midwest herald was arrested and detained on the order of stella obasanjo, the'; president's wife, for publishing a story titled "greedy stella”. ❖ on january 19, 2005, armed police officers invaded the premises of a port harcourt weekly, national network and arrested its publisher, jerry needam. ❖ on april 13, 2005, two australian broadcasting corporation journalists who were covering the rivers state government's demolition of "illegal buiidings" in port harcourt were arrested, detained briefly and released. ❖ segun olatunji of the tribune, was severely beaten that he was rushed to a hospital for treatment. ❖ on 8, september, 2004, security officials arrested and detained isaac urnnna, editorial consultant of the global star magazine. ❖ on august 30, 2003, presidential security officers .brutalized a daily independent. photojournalist. extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 215 ❖ on october 14, 2003, angry members of the national assembly threatened to sanction journalists who wrote graphic reports of allegations concerning a n54 million bribe against two senators. ❖ on september, 4, 2004 officers of the state security-service (sss) invaded the insider weekly arrested its production editor raphael olatoye and two other writers, confiscated 15,000 copies of the magazine and printing equipment before closing it down. ❖ on november 24, 2003, the insider magazine's editor-in-chief and its two senor writers, chucks onwudinjo and janet mba afolabi, were arrested and detained for a story titled "aso rock oil bunkering scandal...” conclusion the few examples stated above indicate that the love-hate relationship between the media and the government did not start today and is not seen in nigeria alone. however/ ewelukwa (2004 p.176) stressed the importance of the good relationship between the press and the government for the interest, of all and for the progress of the nation. the relationship between the media and the government is expected to be a symbolic one because none can exist without the other. media effect can be powerful, there is no doubt about that/ but there are better legal means of bringing an airing journalist to book without subjecting him to dehumanizing treatment. the laws of sedition, defamation, official/secrete act etc are to protect the government and its officials and if that is not enough media ethics and self censorship are there to direct the press on the right step to follow. despite the chain around the journalists' neck, hand and feet, nwolo (2011 p.9) still sees nigerian journalism as the most vibrant most daring, most ubiquitous and most professional in the african continent but he has a piece of advice for the journalists that they need to do more to sustain our democracy and foster national unity. recommendations ❖ government must give the journalists freedom to perform* their duties if they must discharge their duties without fear or favour. ❖ the law should protect the journalists from undue harassment from the government and individuals. to show how journalists are grumbling under the weight of insecurity, 216 nigerian union of journalist pleaded that adequate ^security be given to them as the discharge their duty. (frcn (4prn) network news (03/11/11). ❖ freedom to disseminate information should not be denied the press for that means denying the public the right to know which the constitution has rightfully accorded every citizen of this nation. ❖ since freedom of press means freedom for the people, the press should seek only to publish the truth no matter who is involved for the benefit and development of nigeria. ❖ journalists should practice journalism according to ethics and rules guiding the profession. ❖ in summary, nigerian government should reason with ezeukwu and nwanze (1998 p.38) who said that the arbitrary arrest and frequent detention of journalists in nigeria is inconsistent with the claims of the rule of law" and should be stopped. references abimboye, d. (2011), "dele giwa: his hurried journey through life" in newswatch, october, 24. baran, j.s. and davis d.k. (2.007), mass communication theory foundations ferment, and future (4th edition), united states: thomson wadsworth. ewelukwa, b.n. (2004), introduction to nigerian press law, onitsha: maranatha press limited. ezekwu, g. & nwanze, f. (1998), mass media law and ethics„ enugu: felocks communication. folarin, b. (1998), theories of mass communication, ibadan: stirling-horden publishers (nig.) ltd. index on censorship 1999 p.115 no.2. mcquail, d. (2010), mcquail's mass communication theory (6th edition) london: sage publication ltd. ogah, la. (2006), "an evaluative study of the normative theories of the press and the influence of the nigeria society on the mass media" in nwosu i. and nsude (ed), trado-modern communication system. enugu: immaculate publications limited. ogbonda w.c. (2006), "many rivers to cross: a critical analysis of state-press relations in nigeria, 1999-2005" in the nigerian journal of communications, enugu: acce. okonkwo (1996), the nigerian press: how far... what future? enugu: kenc communication, ota, t. (2011), "we didn't kill him boko haram" in daily sun, monday, september, 19. rodman, g. (2006), mass media in a changing world, bolton burr ridge; mcgraw hill. extra judicial measures on journalists by nigerian government 217 udoakah, n. (1988) government and the media in nigeria, calabar: centaur publisher. (http://www.foicdaiition.org/foibill/index.htm). page 1 the relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates mgbenkemdi ejike .h okafor ifeatu. a department of psychology faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut) agbani enugu abstract this study investigated depression as a correlate of life satisfaction among students of enugu state university of science and technology (esut) using a simple random sampling technique. a total of 70 participants comprising 34 male and 36 female students from the department of psychology with ages between 16-20 years, with a mean age of 17.92 and a standard deviation of 1.26 years were selected for the study. self-rating depression scale (srds zung (1965). while life satisfaction index-short form (lis-sf) was developed by barrett and murk (2009) a correlation research design was adopted for data collection, while the pearson moment correlation coefficient was applied to analyze the data. the findings showed that those who are depressed are not satisfied with life. the participants showed an increase in depression and a decrease in life satisfaction. therefore, the present study shows that with the high level of depression the students will not be satisfied with life. the results have also implications for clinical practices especially as it relates to counselling. keyword: depression, education, life satisfaction, university students. introduction psychological wealth includes life satisfaction, the feeling that life is full of meaning, a sense of engagement in interesting activities, the pursuit of important goals, the experience of positive emotional feelings, and a sense of spirituality that connects people to things larger than themselves (diener, & diener, 1995). life satisfaction affects subjective well-being and is a judgmental process; it is a cognitive evaluation of the quality of life that individuals form, based on their standards (shin & johnson, 1978). life satisfaction is conceptualized as a cognitive judgmental process in which individuals assess their quality of life based on the unique criteria possessed by individuals (diener, emmons, larsen, & griffin, 1985), however, this cognitive assessment is separate from individual interpretations of affective events (emotional) (suldo, savage, & mercer, 2014). it appears that all human activities are geared toward making life more meaningful and the desire for happiness has been viewed as a basic and universal human drive (ho, cheung, & cheung, 2008). recently, social scientists and other researchers in related fields have focused attention on satisfaction with life across different categories of people, including the young and the old (ho, cheung, & cheung, 2008, joshanloo & afshari, 2011; seitz, hagmann, besier, dieluweit, debatin, grabow, kaatsch, henrich, & goldbeck, 2011; wong, oie, ang, lee, ng, & leng, 2007). life satisfaction has been identified as one of the three components of subjective well-being (diener, 1984). it is defined as one’s overall assessment derivable from the comparison between one’s aspiration and one’s achievement (george & bearnon, 1980). depression and life satisfaction 223 life satisfaction connotes the outcome of self-assessment, depending on one’s expectations. it is determined by one’s perception of how things are and how they should be. generally, most of the studies on life satisfaction have been done in cultures outside africa. for example, studies on life satisfaction involved samples from many countries including the united states (e.g. schimmack, oishi, furr, & funder, 2004), europe (e.g. halvorsen & heyerdahl, 2006), china (e.g. ho, cheung, & cheung, 2008), australia (e.g. hong & giannakopoulos, 1994) and iran (joshanloo & afshari, 2011). although nigerians have been described as one of the happiest people on earth, still there are limited studies on the correlates of happiness and life satisfaction of nigerians (agbo, nzeadibe, & ajero, 2012). in an attempt to understand life satisfaction, several models have been advanced. for instance, the top-down approach model advocate for dispositional such as personality characteristic in understanding life satisfaction (ho, cheung & cheung, 2008). in line with this, researchers have reported that genetic components account for about 80% variations in well-being (lykken & tellegen, 1996; tellegen, et al, 1988). these findings indicated that the differences in peoples‟ life satisfaction are due in part to their biological differences. if this argument is dragged to the extreme, it appears there is little we could do to change people’s feeling of satisfaction as it is predominantly genetic. thus, some individuals have a predisposition to be satisfied or unsatisfied with life. another explanation is the bottom-up model which advocates that the objective life conditions and situation determine one’s level of life satisfaction (ho, cheung & cheung, 2008). satisfactions here are derived from the major domains of life such as job, health, marriage, education, and income. the average satisfaction one derives from these domains sums up to determine our overall life satisfaction. this seems to support our generally held belief that satisfaction with domain factors like job, income, and health determine our overall life satisfaction. some events or situations could make one satisfied with life. similarly, students spend the majority of their school time in classrooms. if the period spent with their teachers and other students comprises meaningful and enjoyable events, then it is probable that their attitudes toward the school, in general, will also be positive and satisfied. students’ perceptions of the quality of the classroom environment play a decisive role in their views on school life satisfaction, as proved by scientific studies (mok & flynn, 2002). the behavioural aspect involves the student attending school regularly and participating in activities. the students’ sense of belonging and caring about school results requires emotional engagement (finn, 1993). moreover, relationships with others in the classroom influence students’ life satisfaction. schools seek to encourage students to become self-aware and to learn to act independently, take personal responsibility, improve on their talents, and become creative and flexible as part of the education process. to gain these qualities, the school and classroom atmosphere must be suitable. according to a study, students study more effectively and feel safer in a democratic and humane atmosphere (şahin & özbay, 1999). the school atmosphere should have three basic elements, which are present in a psychological consultancy: consistency (e.g., how the individual is perceived by others), empathetic understanding (understanding the other person according to that person’s perception, and reflecting this), and unconditional acceptance (attitudes based on loving care, free from judgment and not oriented toward personal satisfaction) (motschnig-pitrik & mallich, 2004). according to a study by elmore and huebner (2010), there is a positive relationship between students’ life satisfaction at school and the relationships they build with peers. empathy, which is a determinant for effective communication, plays a significant role in the attitudes of students toward each other as it reduces undesirable behaviour. in the studies by kandemir and özbay (2009), bullying was found to decrease in situations where there is an empathetic atmosphere. in the same vein, previous studies have indicated that life satisfaction influences their subjective well-being (shin & johnson, 1978) and their success in relationships with other people, their work, and their physical functions (lewis, 2010). moreover, it influences their relationships with other students (leung & zhang, 2000) and their attitudes toward their teachers and school (gilman & huebner, 2006; mok & flynn, 2002). no doubt, students’ life satisfaction may affect their mental health, academic motivation, academic performance, peer relationships. also, based on several previous studies as cited by ackerman (2021), it can be seen that life satisfaction felt by individuals have a positive impact on individual behaviour and life. specifically, for students, life satisfaction can also, predict aspects of student life, not just academic aspects. in students, life satisfaction is influenced by many factors. in general, factors that affect life satisfaction in students are divided into two, namely internal factors and external factors. internal factors are factors that come from within individual, expectations, involvement in activities, personality, orientation to happiness, academic fatigue, selfmonitoring, gratitude, determination of life goals, stress and resilience, self-esteem, and cognitive needs (raats, 2015, utami, 2009, ramdani, 2015, peterson, park, & seligman, 2005, triana, mashoedi, & koentary, 2014, robustelli & whisman, 2016, bronk, hill, lapsley, talib, & finch, 2009, cazan & truta, 2015, & coutinho & woolery, 2004). meanwhile, external factors are factors that originate outside the individual. external factors that influence life satisfaction include family support, income, quality of family cohesion, parental support, and peer relations, classmate support, school climate, and peer closeness (ma & huebner, 2008, ramdani, 2015, proto & rustichini, 2015, rabotec-saric, brajsa-zganec, & sakic, 2008, minch, 2009, & zullig, huebner, & patton, 2011). above all, we can see that people who have high levels of life satisfaction are more successful in their relationships with people, at work, at school and in terms of their physical functions while those who have low satisfaction are not (lewis, 2010). looking at a reverse of these factors, lack or the decline of any of the determinants of life satisfaction mentioned above can lead to depression. no doubt, many factors could predict a student’s life satisfaction; depression is one of very important among all of them. many studies concluded that depression affects life satisfaction, that individual who has better mental health is more satisfied in life (abdulghani, alkanhal, mahmoud, oonnamperuma & alfaris, 2011). life satisfaction is negatively associated with depression, anxiety and loneliness and positively associated with health (abdulghani et al, 2011). however, according to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders – dsm-5 (2013), depression is an emotional state marked by low mood, great sadness and feelings of worthlessness, disappointment, guilt and shame. additional symptoms include boredom, tiredness, lack of meaning in life, withdrawal from others and loss of sleep, appetite, sexual desire, interest and pleasure in usual activities. other symptoms include dissatisfaction with one’s life, feeling of discouragement about the future, loss of energy, difficulty paying attention depression and life satisfaction 225 to work or thought, inability to grasp what is read and what other people say. many depressed individuals (students) prefer to sit alone and remain silent. others are agitated and cannot sit still. the paces, wing their hands, continually sigh and moan or complain. when depressed individuals/ or students are confronted with a problem, no ideas for its solution occur to them. every moment has a great heaviness and their heads fill and reverberate with selfrecriminations. depressed people may neglect personal hygiene and appearance and make numerous complaints of somatic symptoms with no apparent physical basis. utterly dejected and completely without hope and initiative, they may be apprehensive, anxious, and despondent much of the time (davison et al., 2010). the symptoms and signs of depression vary somewhat across the lifespan (apa, 2017). depression often results in somatic complaints, such as headaches or stomach aches. in older adults, depression is often characterized by distractibility and complaints of memory loss. ramli, ramli, albdullah and sarkasi, (2011) observed that symptoms of depression exhibit some cross-cultural variation, probably resulting from differences in cultural standards of acceptable behaviour. for example, depression is substantially less prevalent in africa particularly in nigeria than in north america and europe, due in part to cultural mores that make it less appropriate for africa with particular reference to nigerian people to display emotional symptoms. again, moos (2008) noted that depression can affect an individual physically, psychologically and socially. depression can either be temporal (transient) or permanent (chronic). it is temporary depression when the depressed individual rebounds to their usual mood after a short time, but if it continues for a long period without being treated, it becomes chronic. davison et al., (2010) corroborate this idea by stating that “most depression, although recurrent, tends to dissipate with time. but an average untreated episode may stretch for months or longer. in cases where depression becomes chronic, the person does not completely “snap back” to an earlier level of functioning between bouts”. kure (2019) quoting the world health organization (who) stated that over seven million (7,079,815) nigerians suffer from depression. that accounts for 3.9% of nigeria population. similarly, wang, aguilar-gaxiola and wells (2007) referencing the who stated that over 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression globally. it is among the highest contributing factors leading to disability across the globe. although depression can be effectively treated, about 76% to 85% of people in low and middle-income countries do not have treatment for their disorder. this is mostly caused by a lack of competent healthcare professionals and social depressiveness associated with mental health problems and disorders (wang et al, 2007). kure (2019) added that the scarcity of healthcare professionals – psychologists and therapists is acute in nigeria and there are not many mental health outfits that are not psychiatric hospitals. medical care regarding mental health is very expensive and most students are often afraid to open up about their mental health struggles not even to confide in a therapist because of the depressive stigma associated with mental illness. to avoid shame, most students withdraw into themselves and refuse to seek the much-needed help and support which could worsen the depressive symptoms as such denying them their satisfaction. to this end, it is suggested that the students should embrace and supports a tenet of the cognitive model which postulates that the withdrawal into themselves and refusal to seek the much-needed help and support was as a result of bias and distortions of one’s perceptions of the world mgbenkemdi & aboh (2019). the cognitive theory is hereby adopted as the theoretical framework based on the fact that the cognitive function governs all human thoughts, actions and behaviours including the processes and reactions and the various contexts individuals interact within expression and experience of behaviour. according to mgbenkemdi et al, (2019), this thought may well increase the risk for depression such as excessive selfblame for events beyond personal control as well as guilt. such individuals/ or students may also experience problems in coping in the lecture hall, poor time management, lack of concentration in reading, distractions, cutting lectures such as adopting a pessimistic view of life, exaggerating the extent of current difficulties, isolation, and substance abuse. in line with the above, ogbole, aboh, & mgbenkemdi, (2020), suggested the nature in which an individual’s process trauma can make depression persistent most especially if the trauma processing leads to a series of the serious current threat. this may arise as a consequence of either excessively negative appraisal of the trauma or disturbances of memory characterized by poor elaboration and contextualization. in appraising depression, it is assumed that individuals with persistent depression unlike individuals who recover naturally from trauma fail to see trauma as an event that does not have a negative implication on the future, (ogbole, et al (2020). they are characterized by an idiosyncratic negative appraisal of the traumatic event that has a common effect of creating a series of serious recurrent threats. here, individuals can overgeneralize from the event and as a result, perceive normal activities to be more dangerous than they are also exaggerating possibilities of future catastrophe. such appraisals create situational fears and also avoidance most especially with the way such individuals/ or students felt during the traumatic event, which may have a long term threatening implication (ogbole, et al (2020). such situational fears and avoidance may lead to disturbance of memory characterized by poor elaboration. however, dysfunctional belief processes are held to be a vulnerability factor (a diathesis). when activated by appropriate environmental events (stress), these dysfunctional belief processes lead a person prone to depression to interpret experiences in negative and distorted ways. these negative interpretations, in turn, lead to negative views of oneself, one’s world, and one’s future. the researchers empirically assert that depression is a serious problem that requires psychological support for the majority of students. the purpose of this study was to examine whether there would be a significant relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates. it was hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates. method participants a total of 70 participants comprising 34 males and 36 females were randomly selected from department of psychology 100 level and 200 level undergraduate students respectively, with depression and life satisfaction 227 their ages between 16-20 years, with a mean age of 17.92 and standard deviation of 1.26 years used for the study. instruments two sets of instruments were used in this study, the life satisfaction index-short form (barrett & murk, 2009), and self-rating depression scale (sds) (zung (1965). the life satisfaction index-short form (lis-sf) the life satisfaction index-short form (lis-sf) was developed by barrett and murk (2009) to measure the overall construct of life satisfaction. the original version of the life satisfaction index (lsi) is a 35-item questionnaire that measures the construct of life satisfaction. the instrument development process using 654 adult participants yielded a cronbach alpha reliability of .95 (barrett & murk, 2009) and a high correlation with the satisfaction with life scale (r = .70) (diener, emmons, larsen & griffin, 1985) short version lsi-sf has 12-items and is scored on a six-point likert type structure (1=strongly disagree, 6=strongly agree for items 2, 4, 5&6 while 1=strongly agree, 6= strongly disagree for items 1, 3, 7-12). barrett and murk (2009) reported cronbach alpha reliability of .90 and a very high correlation with the original version. the lsi-sf had cronbach‟s alpha reliability of .82; and a concurrent validity coefficient of .66 with the life satisfaction index-z (neugarten, havighurst & tobin, 1961). while erinoso (1996) provided the properties for nigerian samples and was revalidated by onyishi et al, (2013). self-rating depression scale (sds) (zung (1965). the self-rating depression scale (srds) (zung, 1965) was used to measure symptoms of depression among the participants. the srds is a 20-item inventory on four likert rating scales designed to assess the cognitive, affective, psychomotor, somatic and social interpersonal dimensions of depression. validated by jari jokelainen, markku timonen, sirkka keinänen-kiukaanniemi,pirjo härkönen, heidi jurvelin & kadri suija (2019) , jegede (1979) provided the psychometric properties for nigerian samples. the normative means scores are 50–59, mild depression; 60–69, moderate depression and 70–80, severe depression. the sds has a reliability of .93 and concurrent validity of .79. scores higher than the norms indicate that the clients manifest clinical depression disorder, while scores lower than the norms indicate the absence of clinical depression. obiora (1995) and romera, delgado-cohen, perez et al, (2008) also provided the psychometric properties for nigerian sample, with coefficients of congruence obtained 0.95 for the former. procedure the permission and cooperation of the departmental research ethics committee and the participants were solicited and obtained. all the 11 faculties in enugu state university of science and technology (esut) formed clusters and from each one (1) faculty were randomly selected using balloting, since the faculty have varied departments and varied levels of students and years. the participants were selected using simple random sampling techniques where the class lists were used and then those with odd numbers were selected to participate. these were the students who paid the school fees and were present in the class. the participants were 100 and 200 levels of undergraduate students of enugu state university of science and technology studying psychology. the researchers created rapport with the participants and assure them that their responses will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. after completing copies of the questionnaire out of 100 copies that were administered, only 70 was properly filled and used for data analysis. 30 copies that were not properly responded due to cancellations were carefully removed and discarded design and statistics the study adopted a correlation research design as data were collected to make inferences about the population of interest at one point in time. pearson (r) analysis was conducted among the study predictors and dependent variables. statistical packages for the social sciences (spss) version 20 was used for the analysis depression and life satisfaction 229 result table 1: summary table of means on the relationship between depression and life satisfaction among esut psychology students. from table one above, it shows that the mean and the standard deviation of the samples used for the study. it shows that the mean for depression is 34.02 and that of life satisfaction is 33.13. the standard deviation shows that sample depression deviated at 3.72 and life satisfaction at 2.94. this table showed the sample mean of the sample population used for the study. this shows the average value of the samples which were taken from a larger population n mean std. deviation depression life satisfaction valid n (list wise) 70 70 70 34.0143 33.1286 3.72416 2.94353 table 2.demographic and characteristics of participants by frequency (percentages). frequency (%) department psychology 70 (100%) level 100 level 35 (50%) 200 level 35 (50%) gender male 34 (49%) female 35 (51%) age groups <=20 years 45 (64%) >20 years 25 (36%) table 2 above shows the frequency of the sample participants in different vital areas. it indicates that the students used for this study were only students selected from the department of psychology which emphasizes the need for a more elaborate representation of other departments and settings shortly researches. there were no significant differences from the samples selected from both the 100 level and 200 level students of the department. further, the gender representation was seen to be well represented with males at 34% while the females are at 35% respectively. the age groups indicated that there are more young students with 64% below the age of 20 and 36% below the age of 20. table 3: summary table of pearson product moment correlation co-efficient statistics on the relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates depression and life satisfaction 231 correlations depression life satisfaction pearson correlation depression sig. (2-tailed) n pearson correlation life satisfaction sig. (2-tailed) n 1 70 .243 -.043 70 .243 -.043 70 1 70 correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). from table 3 above, coefficient value is -.043 at p<.05 level of the significance, therefore the null hypothesis is rejected and an alternate hypothesis is accepted indicating a significant negative relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates. in this study, there is a negative relationship that shows that an increase in depression leads to a decrease in the life satisfaction of a student. therefore, this implies that since the students are not satisfied with their life they show more depression. discussion in this study, following the associative hypothesis, we predicted that there would be a significant relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates. the outcome of the hypothesis tested was disconfirmed which implies that the tested hypothesis was rejected. this indicates that a significant negative relationship exists between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates. this means that the students are not satisfied in life or rather that they are not happy in life resulting in depression. therefore, there is a negative relationship that shows that an increase in depression leads to a decrease in the life satisfaction of the student. the outcome of this finding was in tandem with ogbole, aboh, & mgbenkemdi, (2020) & mgbenkemdi, & eze,( 2020), flores, et al, (2021), dogan & celik, (2014) and jari jokelainen et al, 2019). this is to say that when the students are depressed their life satisfaction is reduced or affected. the result of this study is therefore meaningful and in line with the findings reported in other parts of the world. for example, some recent studies done above have reported that the rate of depression among students is higher than in the general population, and many studies have emphasized this level of prevalence compared to the general population (dahlin, joneborg, & runeson, 2013, dyrbye et al., 2005), uwakwe,( 2000); and chen et al., 2013). this demonstrates the applicability of the depression construct in nigeria and the study provides an opportunity for further studies of depression in nigeria. one important implication of this study is on the area of students’ psychological depressive development. the results have also implications for clinical practices especially as it relates to counselling. similarly, another major implication of this study is that the significant relationship between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates may have been influenced by the present hard economic situations in the nation, in addition to the school environments. this could likely generate as much tension as possible, hence the remarkable negative influence as obtained in the study. the results may also serve to provide educators and psychotherapists with information that is useful in designing interventions to effectively deal with the problem of escalating psychological depressive evoking symptoms among university students. although this study contributes significantly to the gap in knowledge by stating that, there is a negative relationship that shows that an increase in depression leads to a decrease in the life satisfaction of a student in nigeria, there are some factors that limit the generalization of the results. one limitation of this study is that it focused on just one university, enugu state university of science and technology (esut). the replication of the current study in other institutions of higher learning perhaps using the 3rd and 4th years may be important in generalizing the results. another limitation of the study is the number of the variables studied. notwithstanding these reservations, the present study suggests the presence of robust reciprocal associations between depression and life satisfaction. again, we evaluated depression using the sds without the clinical interview. additional clinical interviews with those scoring above a cut-off score of the sds would be helpful to elaborate on factors associated with depression in future studies. moreover, this study did not evaluate specific and major issues related to university students such as school life, academic performance, anxiety, and suicide. thus, we kindly suggest and recommend further studies to build on our limitations to strengthen the knowledge gap. regardless of these limitations, the present study could provide valuable depression and life satisfaction 233 information regarding the current status and associated factors of depression among university students. conclusion the outcome of this study found that a remarkable significant relationship exists between depression and life satisfaction among university undergraduates as such when depression increased then life satisfaction decreased among the students which shows that depression has a role to play in the quality of life a student lives. the present findings also demonstrate that depression may also mean the same thing in nigeria as perceived in other developed western countries. also, the study extended depression study to a neglected group of students’ one may be assumed that their workloads or experiences are not enough as such would not suffer depression. our findings may contribute to developing specialized mental health programs for the prevention, screening, and treatment of depression among university students. the study, therefore, opens opportunities for further research in other parts of africa and across different institutional groups. reference abdulghani h. m., alkanhal a. a., mahmoud e. s., oonnamperuma g. g., alfaris e. a. 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population of more than two hundred million people. out of this number, the rural communities host the greater percentage. rural communities are characterized by endemic poverty and lack. covid-19 pandemic is a disease transmitted through body contact with the infected person. the level of poverty in the rural communities propelled the teeming population to engage in short time migration to urban areas in search of better life. this trend exposes the population to this deadly pandemic. studies have been carried out on micro preventive measures like the public compliance to covid-19 non-pharmaceutical measures. however, none of these studies has addressed the poverty nature of the rural dwellers as a causative factor to persistent internal migration which ultimately exposes greater percentage of the population to the deadly virus. everett lee’s theory of migration was adopted as the theoretical framework. the paper concluded that rural poverty is one of the greatest challenges in curbing the wide spread of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. the study recommended that it is crucial for the poverty in the rural communities to be addressed through the provision of those pull factors in the urban areas like good water and sanitation, markets, schools, health facilities among other infrastructures. this will curb the spread of the virus. keywords: covid-19 pandemic, poverty, population, rural communities introduction rural poor refers to the type of poverty ravaging those in the rural areas. it is a type of poverty characterized by every minute of uncertainty about the economic, political and social wellbeing of those living in the rural area. many of the rural poor are family farmers, subsistence producers or landless agricultural workers. they include fisher folk, pastoralists, and forest dependents and generally people with limited access to productive means) food and agricultural organization, 2021). world bank (2015) spelt out notable characteristics of poverty to include hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and unable to visit a doctor, unable to go to school, illiterate, jobless fear for the future, losing a child due to ill-health brought about by mailto:adindeken@gmail.com 500 unclean water, powerless as well as lack of representation and freedom. a typical rural community in nigeria mirrors these indexes and as such would always be in the move to better their life. the united nations department of economic and social affairs (2015) stressed that much of the poverty is concentrated in subsaharan africa, home to approximately 413 million poor people, nigeria inclusive where the poverty rate at 41 percent is notably higher than all other regions of the world where the poverty rate is below 13 percent, globally, 10 percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty, down from 36 percent in 1990. the document stated that notably, africa remains the world’s most rural region with 60 percent of the population living in the rural areas as at 2014. this may have informed the reason for very high speculation by international community at the onset of covid-19 pandemic that dead bodies will fill the streets of africa as a result of poverty in the region. as stated in worldometer (2020), many health experts projected that africa will face a hard time and struggle to keep the outbreak of coronavirus to check once it is confirmed on the continent. it noted that the concerns were based on pervasive weak healthcare system and the diseases ravaging most of africa. the document went further to say that as at june, 2020, no country in africa was coronavirus free. the confirmed cases (in africa) stood at 192,721 with about 5200 deaths and 85107 total recoveries. development is a very wide concept with lots of definitions and theories. for instance, society for international development conceptualized development as a process that creates progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic environmental, social and demographic components. the document stressed that the essence of development is to rise in the level and quality of life of the population and the expansion of local regional income and employment opportunities, without damaging the resources of the environment .seers (1972) in abuiyada (2018) conceptualized development as the condition for the realization of the human personality. its evaluation must therefore take into account three likened criteria namely reduction in (1) poverty (ii) unemployment and (iii) inequality. without prejudice to other definitions, development within the context of this paper presupposes all processes and conditions that enhance the wellbeing of people. it portends all the efforts put in place in order to separate human beings from impending danger and threat. development is all about the wellbeing of people. as todaro and smith (2006) pointed out that if development strategy results in robust economic growth and political stability without significant change in quality of life of the masses of the people, something is wrong; the duo concluded that that high growth performance without people participation is clearly economic growth without development. coronavirus disease otherwise referred to as covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by newly discovered coronavirus. the manifestations of the virus on human body include mild to moderate respiratory illness. a person infected can recover without requiring special medical treatment. in some cases however, symptoms can be severe and as such require urgent medical attention (onaka, 2020) coronaviruses are large family of viruses that are known to cause illnesses ranging from common cold to more severe diseases such as middle east respiratory syndrome (mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars). the novel coronavirus 501 was identified in 2019 in wuhan, china. it is a new type of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans (who, 2020) the novel coronavirus disease was first called acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) due to genetic similarity to sars (okechukwu, chukwu & nkechukwu 2021). nigeria is one of the first 210 countries affected by the dreaded virus globally with the index case from a 44 year old italian man who returned to nigeria from milan, italy on the 24th of february, 2020.the rate of infection and fatalities made the world health organization on the 30th of january to declare the outbreak of covid-19 a pandemic and indeed public health emergency of international concern (who, 2020). from the time of the index case in nigeria, several measures have been put in place to avert the danger of spread of the virus. principally was the quick intervention of the world health organization by dishing out personal nonpharmaceutical preventive measures which include; washing of hand with soap in a running water for about twenty seconds, using hand sanitizers with basic alcohol composition not less than 65%, use of facemask to cover both mouth and nose simultaneously, obeying the physical / social distancing rules of not less than one meter gap from the next person in addition to these directives was the introduction of lockdown measure by countries of the world. the federal government of nigeria introduced and indeed enforced the initial lockdown measure on the 30th of march, 2020 for three states out of the thirty-six states of the federation. the three states which were conceived as the epic centre for the spread of the virus include lagos state, ogun state and the federal capital territory abuja (kalu, 2020). the lockdown was extended for two weeks. again, following the detection of index case in nigeria, the ncdc-led national emergency operation centre at level 3; the country’s highest level of public health emergency was activated. this was followed by deployment of rapid response team with state leading contact tracing and other response activities various nigeria leaders have been largely supportive of the lockdown at least at the beginning. the christian association of nigeria (can) and nigerian supreme council for islamic affairs (nscia) supported the government lockdown and have worked with some local and state governments to disseminate accurate information and encourage compliance (campbell & mccassin 2020). however; the whole country was thrown into confusion following community transmission which was first publicized at a press briefing on 1st april, and this became more evident following the 203 positive cases whose sources of infection remain undetermined (onyeleke, 2020). the reason for this psychological trauma was not unconnected with the general poverty in the rural areas conspicuously identified on the low literacy level, poor or complete absence of health facility, poor nutrition, poor or complete absence of infrastructure among others. most importantly, people living in the rural areas rely on agriculture as their source of livelihood and as such would always move these produce to cities where they can dispose of them dead bodies arising from the wide spread of the virus were harvested in large numbers in many communities in nigeria. scholars in their various positions have dealt with the impact of covid-19 pandemic on the economy and public compliance to the covid-19 preventive measures (owoeye & olaniyan, 2020).however, few or none of these studies has addressed rural poverty as one of the root causes of the spread of the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria it is against this backdrop 502 that the paper addressed the need to develop the rural areas as a trajectory to curtailing the spread of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria. rural poor and challenges of covid-19 pandemic generally across the globe, the concept of rural is synonymous with poverty and inequality. in the united states of america, rural healthcare infrastructure is limited in size since 2005, about 700 hospitals are currently at risk of closure. many rural hospitals have limited number of hospital beds, intensive unit care beds or ventilators which can affect their ability to treat patients with covid-19. rural residents in the united states of america seeking care most often travel long distances to reach hospitals, health facilities and clinical specialists. thus, longstanding systemic health and social inequalities have some rural residents at increased risk of getting covid-19 or having severe illness. africa’s healthcare system is known to be overstressed and underfunded and this made it easy for covid-19 to wreak havoc in the system. the disparity between rural and urban healthcare services is too wide and little or nothing has been done to bridge the gap (centres for disease control, 2021). in a study conducted by the national bureau of statistics, 41% nigerians were classified as poor. thus on the average, four out of ten nigerians has real per capita expenditure below #137.430 ($352) per year. the bureau however noted that it did not take inclusive of borno state; the state worst hit by the decade-long boko haram armed uprising because many areas were unsafe and apparently difficult to reach. the bureau reported that 52% percent of people in the rural areas live in poverty compared with 18% in the urban parts of the country. it further revealed that the highest poverty level were in the north-west of sokoto where 87.7 percent of people live below the poverty line. as of 2019, the population mostly affected by poverty in nigeria was those living in large households in rural areas for instance, almost 80 percent of people living in household with at least twenty individuals in rural areas lived below the poverty line (varella, 2020). even before the covid-19 crisis, around four out ten nigerians were living in poverty and millions more were vulnerable to falling below the poverty line as growth was slow and not inclusive. (world bank group, 2021) the implication of this poverty trend is that life seems unbearable at the rural setting and therefore addressing any issue that does not border on alleviating the endemic poverty in the rural areas no matter the challenge will be viewed with every sense of negativity. the covid-19 pandemic was construed by rural dwellers to be untrue, imaginary or political tale to continue to woe the rural dwellers into endemic danger and lack. okereke and nelson (2020) observed that in spite of the enormous fatalities recorded across the globe as a result of covid-19 pandemic, there were misconceptions and misinformation about the pandemic in several communities in rural africa. the duo reported that in sudan, people were convinced that the virus is yet to be reality in the country and that it cannot spread in extreme temperature. to this end, they failed to adhere to the precautionary measures. in kenya, people in the rural communities believe that the government uses covid19 pandemic is an avenue to extort money from donor agencies. in addition to this belief is the notion that excessive drinking of alcohol is a panacea to ward off the pandemic. in nigeria, there was the belief that covid-19 affects only people of high socioeconomic status; as such 503 the endemic poverty in the rural areas has already served as shield to people living in the rural areas. in a study by okechukwu, chukwu and nkechukwu (2021) on perception and knowledge of covid-19, the researchers adopted qualitative method of data collection using in-depth interview( idi) elicit data from 63 respondents, the study found that respondents believe that covid-19 is a mere hoax and thus does not exist. it was equally found out from the same study that the poor knowledge about the pandemic negatively affected their compliance with the preventive measures a very wild held misconception about covid-19 pandemic in africa is that the genetic makeup of africans is such that will resist such disease giving the high fatality rate in other continents of the world. it may not be out of place to state here that the adherence to the covid-19 preventive measure seems not to have met the desired result in the rural communities in nigeria. one of the preventive measures is that people should intermittently wash their hands with soap under clean running water. the majority of rural areas in nigeria have no access to safe drinking water. the best that could be achieved in most of the rural communities is stream water or ponds which in most cases are located miles away from the communities discussing access to water supply, world bank (2021) reported that as at 2019, approximately 60 million nigerians were living without access to basic drinking water services, 80 million without access to improved sanitation facilities and 167 million without access to hand washing facility. it is pertinent to note that it was just one year after this report that nigeria recorded an index case of covid-19 pandemic. given that access to water sanitation and hygiene is an important determinant of human capital outcome; including early childhood survival, nutrition health, learning and women’s empowerment( world bank 2021) the hand washing covid-19 preventive measure and sanitation may not be practicable in most of the rural communities because of inaccessibility to water ewereji and ezeama (2020) noted that telling individuals to use limited resources and other amenities in the rural to prevent coronavirus infection may lead to having doubt on government keen in solving the problem .another preventive measure is that people should adhere to social or physical distancing, a measure that not only dispel rural dwellers from the communal living but distorts the age-long african brotherhood. amzat and razum (2014) stressed that sociologically, the pandemic has caused social disruption by limiting global and even internal social relations. the duo maintained that the idea of ‘social distancing’ negates regular social interaction which is the bedrock of human society in general and africa in particular. it is indeed a daily routine among rural dwellers to exchange pleasantries every morning to identify probable health status of neighbours and relations. covid-19 appeared and the rural dwellers were instructed to stay at home. such disposition no doubt will trigger off culture shock and ultimately meet serious resistance particularly among the very aged ones who may not have the opportunity to get the proper information. amzat, aminu and danjibo (2020) stressed that generally, the response to the coronavirus outbreak in nigeria could be described as medicocentric and reactionary. they maintained that the federal and state governments only step up isolation centers after positive cases were confirmed in the country. for instance, there were no molecular laboratory in ogun state where the index case was identified; the patient was transferred to lagos state for diagnosis and treatment. government only acquired medical equipment to fight the outbreak only when 504 positive cases had been reported. the authors concluded that such ugly practice not only exposed the deplorable state of the nigeria healthcare system but equally unveil the insensitive disposition of the nigeria government. rural development partway to curbing the covid-19 pandemic: a theoretical explanation the paper adopts everett lee’s theory of migration to illustrate the need to develop the rural areas to avert the seeming intractable spread of covid-19 pandemic in nigeria .everett lee propounded a comprehensive theory of migration in 1966. lee begins the formulation of the theory by bringing out certain factors which lead to spatial mobility of population in an area. these include factors associated with the place of origin, factors associated with the place of destination, intervening obstacles and personal factors. lee maintained that each place possesses a set of positive and negative factors. while positive factors are the circumstances that act to hold people within it, or attract or attract people from other areas, negative factors tend to repel them .in addition to these, there are factors which remain neutral and to which people are essentially indifferent. the relative poverty and lack in the rural areas have always continued to constitute a push factor from the rural areas to the urban centers regardless of the fact that the best way to prevent becoming sick is to avoid being exposed to the virus. this implies staying at home whenever possible and avoiding public places where one may encounter many other people (ncdc, 2021). mobility to and through north and west africa including nigeria is motivated by a multitude of factors including socioeconomic reasons (seasonal labour, personal or family reasons, and /or the pursuit of better living condition) and in some cases violence, conflict and lack of right and freedom (schewel, 2017). rural dwellers in africa; nigeria inclusive largely depend on the cities close to them to sell their agricultural produce, seek medical attention and get desired information that would enable them cope with the inherent challenges in the rural setting. amzat, aminu and danjibo (2020) maintained that trade and travels facilitate the flow of people who incidentally could move ,, carrying a health risk (as in the case of the present coronavirus) , from one imported index case, many countries including nigeria face tremendous health challenge with multiple cases and deaths. these are avoidable circumstance which would have been addressed if the rural communities are considered essential in the developmental map of nigeria. for instance, developing a sound health system in rural communities would have eliminated the problem of the rural dwellers moving out of their places of residence to nearby cities to seek for medical help. this challenge no doubt places everyone at risk because the migrant could be a healthy carrier of the virus and because of other constraining factors like illiteracy cultural beliefs political problems and violence may not be aware of the symptoms of the health challenge including covid-19. in a study by onyeniyi (2013), it was found that the average age of most internal migrants in nigeria is between 14 and 65 years of age, and internal migration is not dependent on education and skills as the educated and uneducated, skilled and unskilled migrate. this demographic trend may have informed the reason why within the first thirty days of the index case in nigeria, 70 percent of the individuals tested positive for covid-19 were males and 30 percent females. their age range was between 30 and 60 years and people aged 31 to 50 were the most affected. 505 (39.0 percent). food and agricultural organization (2021) noted that rural families increasingly depend on non-farm incomes. the document further affirmed that when infrastructure or basic services are lacking, credit is difficult to get and institutions are weak, small rural enterprises and services are the hardest hit. given the level of poverty in the rural areas which is degenerating on daily basis, the nation’s workforce is at risk of being exposed to the virus given the age range of those that are involved in the productive sector. conclusion the aim of this paper is to explore the developmental challenges of rural dwellers in nigeria in relation to curbing the trend of covid-19 pandemic nigeria. the level of poverty in the rural areas of the country calls for immediate concern particularly in curbing the infections trends of the pandemic. the multiple assumptions and explanations given to covid-19 pandemic not only depicts a state of desperation of the rural dwellers but equally brings to bear a total neglect of the rural poor by government. most rural communities lack the infrastructural capacity like water and sanitation, health facilities, and basic health information which are fundamental in containing the speed of corona virus. migration theory was used to explain the reason for persistent movement of people from the rural areas to urban centers. the identified covid-19 none pharmaceutical measures constitutes strong push factors from the rural to the urban centers. rural dwellers thus conceived these measures as laughable because they either not available or constitute breach to the already existing culture of interactive and co-existence. the rural dwellers dependence on the urban centers makes prohibition of movement which is a preventive measure unattainable. this accounts for the reason why community transmissions of covid-19 will continue. we believe that proactive development of the rural areas will curb the trend of migration and apparently ease the wild spread of corona virus (covid-19 pandemic). recommendations rural area is the hub of food and raw materials in nigeria and indeed the world at large. to this end, there is urgent need for nigeria government to be proactive in providing essential services and infrastructure to the rural dwellers nigeria government seem not to care about the welfare of the citizens. otherwise, the entire process of checkmating the rate of infection of the dreaded virus and the treatment of those infected were never integrated into the health system in spite of the fact that there were similar outbreaks like ebola, monkey pox. cholera among others this paper therefore recommended as follows: government should open up rural communities through construction of standard roads, provision of electricity, water and sanitation, markets and assist rural dwellers in the marketing of their agricultural produce 506 .government should employ more health personnel; particularly doctors in the rural communities. incentives should be given to these health professionals to avert possible rejection of the rural environment as place of work. health educators should constitute part of the medical team in the rural areas to carry out this essential health task. the idea of using none professionals has not yielded good result in curbing health challenges in nigeria including the spread of covid 19. for instance, at the onset of the covid 19 pandemic, government of nigeria made use of members of the national orientation agency, majority of who are not well informed about the virus. government should construct rural housing as part of measures to curtail rural-urban migration which ultimately expose the teeming population to danger. the rural housing programme will serve as incentive to health and perhaps other essential service workers to work in the rural areas provision of adequate water and sanitation are very critical in this concern. one of the measures to curtail infection of covid 19 is through personal hygiene. these include washing of hands and good toilet system. the government on-giving plan to provide water and sanitation in the rural communities appears two slow or completely abandoned. this programme should be vigorously pursued. an interim arrangement should be made through the local government authority and the town unions to provide washing hand facilities (soap and water) at strategic locations in the communities. this would not only help in curbing the spread of the virus but a measure to remind rural dwellers of government commitment in tackling the virus. such action would equally motivate the rural dwellers to support the effort of government government should deliberately structure empowerment programme for the rural youths of the country. the ideas of sharing #30,000 seem not to be making any impact particularly in the rural areas that hosts the greater population of the country. empowerment programme and its funding should be in tandem with the current economic reality. when this is done, people particularly the forgotten youths in the rural will begin to appreciate life and such abide by all the rules / measures to protect life including the ravaging covid 19 pandemic. references abuiyada r. (2018). traditional development theories have failed to address the needs of inequality of people at grassroot level with reference to gad. international journal of business and social sciences 9 (9) 115-119. amzat,j (2014) aminu, k,&danjibo (2020.coronavirus outbreak in nigeria: burden and socio-medical response during the first 100 days. international journal of infectious disease.www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov. retrieved5-6-2021 amzat,j & razum o (2014) towards a sociology of health discourse in africa. switzer :springer international publishing.. 507 campbell j. & mccassin (2020). how has nigeria responded to covid-19 so far? africa in transition, african programme and nigeria on the brink. www.cfc.org retrieved on 01-6-2021 centre for disease control (2021). rural covid-19:communities. www.cdc,gov. retrieved on 24-6-2021 ewereji e.e & ezeama m.c (2020). addressing the challenges that affect covid-19 prevention in the rural areas of abia state, nigeria. international journal of community medicine and public health. www.ijicmpsh.com, retrieved on 29-62021 food and agricultural organization (2021).reduce rural poverty.www.fao.org. retrieved on 18-6-2021. kalu b, (2020). covid-19 in nigeria: a disease of hunger.thelancet.com/journal. retrieved on 6-6-2021 okechukwu,chukwu and nkechukwu (2021) covid-19 in nigeria:knowledge and compliance with preventive measures. http//doi.org/10.10.180/19371918.2020. retrieved on 21-6-2021. okereke m & nelson a.s (2020). covid-19 misconception and information in rural africa. www.ajtmh.org, retrieved on 1-7-2021. owoeye, t & olaniyan, a (2020). the covid-19 pandemic and nigeria economic carisis: between pain and reform. nigeria: social science research council, kujengaamani.ssrc.org. retrieved on 1-7-2021 oraka, o (2020). what is corenavirus (covid-19)? www.wateraid.org. retrieved on 5-62021. schewel c, k (2017). aspirations and ability in international migration, journal of ethics and migration studies todaro m.p and smith s.c (2006). economic development. harlow: pearson addison wesely. varrella s.(2021). poverty headcount rate in nigeria2019 by area and household. www.statista.com. retrieved on 29-6 world bank (2021).improving water supply, sanitation and hygiene services in nigeria. www.worldbank.org. retrieved on 29-6-2021. worldometer (2020) update (live) covid-19 virus. http//wwww.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries http://www.cfc.org/ http://www.cdc,gov/ http://www.ijicmpsh.com/ http://www.ajtmh.org/ http://www.wateraid.org/ http://www.statista.com/ http://www.worldbank.org/ page 4 stabilizing the naira for economic viability and reconstruction at post covid-19 pandemic era okolo chimaobi v1 onuigbo fidelia nebechi2 okolo ebere u3 1&2department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology 3godfrey okoye university and group of institutions enugu 3correspondence: ebereudumaga@gmail.com abstract the present state of the economy after covid-19 with eight months lockdown brought about no production in the country; whereby people were feeding on their savings and capital, which amounted to low investments in the country. this paper aims to critically analyze way forward in stabilizing the naira for economic viability and reconstruction at post covid-19 pandemic era; by examining the exchange rate of the nigerian naira against the exchange rates of the us dollar. the researchers found out that sharp drop in the nation foreign exchange was as a result of slowdown in economic activities. the exchange rate from naira to dollar in september, 2021 dropped from n382.75 in april, 2020 to n409 a dollar. the associated effect of this has undoubtedly stiffened the economic wellbeing of the people as the prices of goods and services have highly increased without a commensurate increase in the volume of goods and services: thus, resulting to hyper-inflation. adding that, the effect of covid-19 poses an outstanding threat such that the federal of nigeria’s finance were hit by both low oil prices in the international market partly occasioned by low economic activities. to remedy the situation, cbn took certain steps to include partnership with commercial banks to go after nigerians who falsely buy dollars under the pretense of travelling abroad, licensing of new bdcs was suspended among others. the study concludes that education and healthcare sector contribute so much to this depletion; continued excess demand, heightened pressure on the foreign exchange market and exchange rates; cbn maintains floating exchange rate with the intention to control the exchange rate. recommendation: government should intensify efforts to restructure the base of the economy through deepening the production of goods/services in nigeria; government should fund imports from proceeds derived from exports rather than always relying on proceeds from crude oil, foreign investment in shares, and direct investments in agriculture among others. the implication of the study is that government should promote research institution to march these unforeseen deadly diseases less this may cause further havoc to the economy in general. keywords: dollar, economic viability, naira stabilizing, post covid-19, pandemic era, reconstruction introduction the present state of the economy after covid-19 with eight months lockdown brought about no production in the country; people were feeding on their savings and capital, which amounted to low investments in the country. consequently, nigeria’s exchange rate depleted. also during the covid-19, people lost their jobs, others were paid half salary. some students too, could not come back to finish their education due to lack of funds to fully pay their school fees, and other costs of study, such as, cost of living, transportation and study materials. the height of insecurity in the country prevents much people from going to farm for fear of being kidnapped. it deters even foreigners from investing in the country. mailto:ebereudumaga@gmail.com stabilizing the naira 310 the major factors hunting the nigerian economy include inflation, unemployment, government policy, monetary policies, inadequate infrastructure and power supply, inadequate health facilities and corruption, and over reliance on oil. according to amaefula and kalu (2021), the sharp drop in nigeria’s gdp growth is largely due to the slowdown in economic activities after the country resorted to a lockdown in april 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. however, even though the lockdown has been eased off, the global stock market erased about us6 trillion dollars in wealth one week from 24th to 28th february, 2020. the associated effect of this has undoubtedly stiffened the economic wellbeing of the people as the prices of goods and services have highly increased without a commensurate increase in the volume of goods and services: thus, resulting to hyper-inflation. adding that, the effect of covid-19 poses an outstanding threat such that the federal government of nigeria’s finance were hit by both low oil prices in the international market partly occasioned by low economic activities (manufacturing and productive activities of huge industrial economies) due to lockdown in major economies of the world and low internal revenue generation due to stiffened economic activities within the country. according to anagun and onu, (2020) cited in amaefula and kalu (2021), the authors found that the pandemic affected all facet of the nigerian economy, including drastic fall in the price of oil, decrease and lay – off of jobs in different sectors, decrease in investment, savings and increase in consumption, decrease in export and import rate, among other negative effects. although, the russia/ukraine war led to rise in oil prices which ought to favour nigeria; however, nigeria’s major oil buyers are uk which incidentally now found oil in canada causing nigerian’s oil to be dumped at the cargo. covid-19 has taken hold of the global economy. the evolution of the pandemic and its economic consequences is highly uncertain which makes it difficult for policy makers to formulate an appropriate macroeconomic policy response (abu, 2021). maintaining that, the potential effects of covid-19 on investment in nigeria have been enormous. some studies revealed a linear relationship between foreign private investment (fpi) and economic development. others reject it, and argue that the impact is conditional. also, attention has been drawn to empirically study the impact of the pandemic on foreign investments inflow to the economy. the recent state of the nigerian economy after covid-19 pandemic with its resultant very low production of goods and services due to low investment caused nigerian foreign exchange depletion. mitchell, (2022) opine that the nigerian naira (ngn) is the official currency of the federal republic of nigeria. also, that the central bank of nigeria manages and distributes the nigerian naira and attempts to maintain price stability with it. maintaining that the naira has been continually devalued since its inception in 1973, and inflation remains above 10% as of 2019. the author stress that, as of december 2020, 1 u.s. dollar is equal to around 380 ngn1. however, by september, 2021, the usd/ngn exchange rate hovers near 409. that means it takes 409 ngn to buy one usd. in support of the above argument amaefula and kalu, (2021) noted that the sharp drop in nigeria’s gross domestic product (gdp) growth is as a result of the slowdown in economic activities due to the lockdown in april 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. according to cbn, (2021) over the last 10 years, forex (fx) demand specifically for education and healthcare has cost the country almost us$40 billion. therefore, this paper aims to critically analyze way forward in stabilizing the naira for economic viability and reconstruction at post covid-19 pandemic era review of existing literature the persistent reduction in the foreign exchange rate of naira since the emergence of covid 19 pandemic in the year 2020 and up till this post-covid 19 era has called for concern over the increased inflation from galloping to hyper-inflation, leading to reduced hope for improvement in the output level. this concern derives from the experience of countries such as mexico and argentina where real depreciation of their domestic currencies have consistently been associated with decline in output and increases in inflation activity (akinlo & odusola, 2003).this is so among the east asian countries, more recently; the collapse in the currency values has taken place alongside a sharp slowing-down of economic activity. the exchange value of the naira represents an important measure of economic welfare for every nigerian. it is a symbol of economic strength for the nation. consequently no attempt at revamping the ailing economy can succeed if it fails to address the fundamental issue of naira strength and naira foreign exchange rate stability (okafor, 1996). at covid-19, there was an average of n583/$1 down by 0.87 percent from the previous session’s rate of n578/$1 (bdc, 2021). according to information collected from bureau de change (bdc) in nigeria, before the ban of bdc in july 27, 2021, the exchange rate was n500/$1 while, the naira appears to be sliding near n590, showing more ground lost after the bdc ban. at the monetary policy meeting on july 27, 2021, the central bank of nigeria took an aggressive stance to stop supplying foreign exchange to operators of bdc in order to stop what cbn governor godwin emefiele described as “illegal activities” perpetrated by bdcs when foreign exchange is supplied to them. these illegal activities include illegal forex trading, engaging in unwholesome and other illegal practices as well as being agents that facilitate money laundering, graft, create fake scarcity in order to make abnormal profits, which pose a risk to the nigerian financial system and corruption in the nation. emefiele maintained that rent-seeking bdc operators are only interested in large margins, dollarization of the nigerian economy, subversion of the cashless policy, common ownership of several bdc by the same owners to obtain multiple fx, and regrettably, international organization and embassy patronage of illegal fx dealers were all bad for the cbn’s price stability goals. other measures taken by cbn to achieve stability at the 1nport and export window according to news association of nigeria (nan), emefiele listed other measures taken by the cbn that had yielded results to include partnership with commercial banks to go after stabilizing the naira 312 nigerians who falsely bought dollars under the pretense of travelling abroad and ended up round-tripping. in addition, licensing of new bdcs was suspended. again, the cbn introduced the ‘naira for dollar scheme’ which is to encourage diaspora remittances. this is to aid remittance inflows which had been supported by the ‘naira for dollar’ scheme, and there had been a surge in the inflows. the cbn governor noted that, these policies are yielding positive results in terms of meeting genuine demand for foreign exchange and exchange rate stability. devaluation is the reduction in the value of the money of one country when it is exchanged for the money of another country (anagun, 2020). maintaining that devaluation of currency is an attractive option for nation in recession like nigeria. however, anagun, observe the effects and the possible solution of naira devaluation; and adopts the use of secondary data of the nigeria exchange rate spanning from 1972 to 2020. the recommendation was that the nigeria government should diversify the economy and that devaluation of currency should be the last resort to the economic imbalance. in his paper a simulation is carried out to study the exchange rate of the nigerian naira against the exchange rates of the us dollar, british pound and the euro currency. monte carlo simulation is made for three factors exchange rate model using euler–maruyama forward difference approximation. the model was calibrated using polynomial regression analysis. the naira is found to be appreciated more in value when compared to the dollar, the pound and euro. the result obtained shows that the interest does not have much influence on the value of the exchange rates. 0.658 161.5 162.9 199 300 320 305.8 306.1 362.59 382.75 411.5 414.33 419.72 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 1$ 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 apr-20 aug-21 dec-21 jun-22 exchange rate history of naira to dollar exchange rate source: authors computation oyelami and edooghogho (2013), examined the good and bad of nigerian naira and how the nation’s local currency has positively and negatively impacted on the nigeria's economy. it was established from their analysis that some factors ranging from inadequate flow of foreign capital movement into nigeria, persistent devaluation of the nigerian naira, external debt burden, administrative bottlenecks in banks dealing on foreign exchange rates and high level of economic and financial crimes are responsible for the unhealthy scenario. based on these, strategic systemic measures were recommended to facilitate and sustain the stabilization of the currency (1$ to n) exchange rate (naira) 2011 1$ 0.658 2012 1$ 161.5 2013 1$ 162.9 2014 1$ 199 2015 1$ 300 2016 1$ 320 2017 1$ 305.8 2018 1$ 306.1 2019 1$ 362.59 apr-20 1$ 382.75 aug-21 1$ 411.5 dec-21 1$ 414.33 jun-22 1$ 419.72 stabilizing the naira 314 naira exchange rate against the major foreign currencies. a country’s exchange rate is one of the most closely monitored indicators, as fluctuations in exchange rates can have far reaching economic consequences (ribeiro, 2016). the recent financial turmoil all over the world demonstrates the urgency of perfect information of the exchange rates (shim, 2000). oyinlola (2018), stated that in 2002 and 2013 the exchange rate policy was managed between a retail dutch auction system and wholesale dutch auction system; subsequently, the interbank foreign exchange market (with cbn interventions) operated from november 2013 till june 2016 when it was further enhanced to improve the exchange rate flexibility. nonetheless, the central bank of nigeria continued to intervene in the market to stabilize the exchange rate. according to popoola (2022), massive oil theft, among other challenges, is affecting government finances and threatening naira stability. this was disclosed in a report by a member of the monetary policy committee, prof. mike obadan, who dealt with the topic ‘is deregulation the solution to the forex / exchange rate problem?’obadan, a professor of economics and also chairman of goldmark education academy, benin city, maintain that, “for a long time, the oil sector has contributed over 90 per cent of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings and external reserves accretion. stressing that,it has also been a significant contributor to government’s naira revenue through crude oil and gas export receipts. “nevertheless, for some time now, this has not been so due to two factors: huge volume of crude oil theft which has prevented the country from meeting even the organization of petroleum exporting countries (opec)-approved production quota, and inability of the nigerian national petroleum corporation (nnpc), for many months, to make any remittance from direct oil export sales into the federation account and external reserves account. obadan state that, there are alarming developments which have adversely impacted government’s finances, external reserves growth and exchange rate stability.” continuing that the main challenge to effective forex management remained the pronounced low productivity of the economy and as a result, the economy was not able to generate enough foreign exchange to meet the high demand for it to import goods and services. this is because, continued excess demand, and had heightened pressure on the foreign exchange market and exchange rate;leading to strong necessity to boost the productive and earning capacity of the economy. suggesting that, the solution to the foreign exchange market challenges was not clean floating of the national currency but in the shortand medium/long-term to increase foreign exchange reserves and hence strengthen and stabilize the naira exchange rate. secondly, that “in the medium/long-term, it is important to address issues relating to low productivity and limited diversification of the economy in terms of exports, high importdependent production structure, high propensity to import and excessive demand for imported goods and services, and the comatose capital goods industry, among others. adding that, “the short-term solution, assuming that the political will is there, relates to the oil sector, oil exports and taking advantage of the current regime of high crude oil prices in the global oil market.” thus, the exchange rate was not stable in the current situation of high crude oil prices due to the fact that the country’s oil production is limited and much lower than the opec’s relatively low quota of 1.72 mbpd because of scandalous crude oil theft and heavy importation of refined petroleum products. however, he stressed that “crude oil production reduced from 2.07 mbpd in quarter 1, 2020 to an average of 1.31 mbpd in 2021 due mostly to oil theft and difficulties in some oil terminals”. indicating that, crude oil thefts in 2021 reached 200,000 barrels per day – a quarter of onshore production – and currently about 500,000. regretting that stolen oil volumes have cost the country over $ 3.3bn and investors in the upstream oil sector are discontent over their losses from oil thefts. according to olisah, (2022) cbn cannot freely float the exchange rate despite pressure from the world bank and international monetary fund (imf) because floating the exchange rate will lead to some uncontrollable spiral effect on nigeria’s exchange rate. however, cbn stood their ground that putting off its multiple exchange rate systems and maintained a single exchange rate system was adopted to address the peculiar challenges the country faces. although, at various points support was received from them at different times in resolving some economic challenges, particularly bothering on finance. stressing that “nigeria’s situation is very peculiar and that necessities continued engagement of imf and world bank to understand the nations’ local problems; despite the fact that they want our freely floating the exchange rate. maintaining that, the cbn was managing demand by curbing excessive imports such as petroleum products and commodities in order to reduce about 40% of foreign exchange needed to fund imports in nigeria including petroleum. cbn strategy is towards non demand for foreign exchange to import petroleum products. consequently, cbn has succeeded in no demand for foreign exchange for the importation of rice, maize, and some amount for wheat; adding that, some demand will drop and when demand drops supply will eventually be able to match the demand for whatever demand that was made and then the economy could attend a stable exchange rate. emefiele pointed out that the cbn is working towards ensuring that even as they run the managed float, there should be some interventions put in place to really control the exchange rate noting that as long as the demand for forex exceeds the supply, the challenge would persist; with the efforts being made to restructure the base of the economy through some of the policies that are put in place to deepen the production of goods in nigeria. maintaining that, the exchange rate has devalued from about n165/$1 to n420/$1 on the official market between 2014 and 2021. emefiele received commendation from imf and world bank over the positive momentum in nigeria’s non-oil sector due to the efforts made to drive non-oil exports; instead of our always relying on earnings from crude oil as well as foreign portfolio investments and foreign direct investments. based on the above commendation, the cbn governor wishes to continue to improve non-oil exports, particularly through export proceeds especially now that other people outside nigeria are observing these efforts and this means more effort will be made to ensure that we really deepen this and fund imports with proceeds from exports and with less reliance on the central bank. https://nairametrics.com/author/chike-olisah/ stabilizing the naira 316 nigeria has been faced with serious foreign exchange crisis since the global economic crisis in 2015 which has led to the devaluation of the naira amongst other restrictive policies by the cbn. worse still is the emergence of covid-19 pandemic in early quarter of 2020 which has been made worst by the country’s dependence on mono foreign earnings, continuous borrowings, declining foreign investment inflows, rising capital flight, overreliance on ways and means advances, expanded money supply, to general uncertainty, which all intensifies the pressure on the naira. therefore, the local currency has faced intense pressure since the central bank of nigeria (cbn) adopted the investors’ and exporters’ (i and e) window as the default official exchange rate. the world bank and the imf as well as various experts have been critical of the maintenance of multiple exchange rates which they say promotes corruption and distorts the economy. however, the cbn has held on to a controlled forex policy curbing demand for forex and managing supply. the demand side exchange rate policy has created multiple exchange rate regimes and widened the disparity between the black market and official rates of exchange. the president of the world bank group, mr. david malpass, had in the recent past opined that, there was need for nigeria to do away with its multiple exchange rate system, which according to him was often, “complicated and is not as effective as it would be if there was a single exchange rate.” again, obadan opined that in the medium/long-term, issues relating to low productivity and limited diversification of the economy in terms of exports, high import-dependent production structure, high propensity to import and excessive demand for imported goods and services, and the comatose capital goods industry, among others should be addressed. while the shortterm solution, assuming that the political will is there, relates to the oil sector, oil exports and taking advantage of the current regime of high crude oil prices in the global oil market. reporting that, the exchange rate was not stable in the current situation of high crude oil prices was as a result of the country’s oil production which is limited and much lower than the organization of petroleum economic community (opec’s) relatively low quota of 1.72 mbpd due to scandalous crude oil theft. secondly, there was heavy importation of refined petroleum products. more so, crude oil production reduced from 2.07 mbpd in first quarter, 2020 to an average of 1.31 mbpd in 2021 as a result of mostly oil theft and difficulties in some oil terminals. reports indicate that crude oil thefts in 2021 reached 200,000 barrels per day – a quarter of onshore production – and currently about 500,000. stolen oil volumes have cost the country over $ 3.3bn and investors in the upstream oil sector are bemoaning their losses from oil thefts.” olisah, (2022) according to guardian by news agency of nigeria nan reported that cbn governor explains the naira is stable at investors and exporters window brought about discontinuation of forex allocation to bureau de change operators in currencies along with the convergence between the cbn and nafex rates. banks are now able to meet the demands of their customers seeking forex for smes, school fees, medical and ptas, explaining that the bank set up an investors and exporters window (i&e) to allow for the purchase and sale of foreign currency at market rates. https://nairametrics.com/author/chike-olisah/ the naira maintained relative stability in 2021, according to the cbn, at n411.50/us$ in august but declined to n414.33/us$ in december. the currency rate was n416.98/us$ in february 2022. for a long time, the cbn has used a controlled float exchange rate regime. emefiele listed other measures taken by the cbn that had yielded results. to include partnerships with commercial banks to go after nigerians who falsely bought dollars under the pretense of travelling abroad and ended up round tripping. emphasize that, banks are now able to meet the demands of their customers seeking forex for smes, school fees, medical and ptas, adding that, the bank established an investors and exporters window (i&e) to allow for purchase and sale of fx at prevailing market rate. according to cbn, in 2021, the naira maintained relative stability at n411.50/ us$ in august 2021 but depreciated to n414.33/us$ in december. 2021.as at feb, 2022, the exchange rate stood at n416.98/us$. the cbn for some time now has operated a managed float exchange rate system. under the system, in line with its exchange rate stability mandate, it has strived to intervene in the market by supplying foreign exchange. empirical review oyinlola, (2018)modeled the volatility persistence and asymmetry of naira-dollar exchange rate in interbank and bureau de change (bdc) using monthly data between january 2004 and november 2017. the study employed generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity [garch (1,1)], threshold garch [tgarch (1,1)] and exponential garch [egarch (1,1)].the results of bai-perron (2003) structural break identified two significant breaks in each market. interestingly, the breaks, particularly for the interbank exchange rate(december, 2014 and january, 2015), seem to have coincided with the period of depreciation in the country’s exchange rate which could be linked to the precipitous movement in the international crude oil prices. the findings showed that persistence is generally explosive in the bdc market as compared to interbank market where the persistence was high but not explosive especially under asymmetric models. based on our model selection criteria, the symmetric garch model appears to be better than the symmetric ones in dealing with exchange rate volatility in the interbank market while asymmetric garch, especially tgarch, seems to be better in the case of bdc market. by implication, it is important that the monetary authority considers the developments and reactions of the markets to news most especially the bdc, when designing appropriate exchange rate policies for the country. nyoni, (2018) investigated modeling and forecasting naira / usd exchange rate in nigeria: a box -jenkins auto-regressive moving average (arima) approach; stating that in the financial and in managerial decision making process, forecasting is a crucial element. maintaining that most research have been made on forecasting of financial and economic variables through the help of researchers in the last decades using series of fundamental and technical approaches yielding different results. a country’s exchange rate is one of the most closely monitored indicators, as fluctuations in exchange rates can have far reaching economic consequences. the recent financial turmoil all over the world demonstrates the urgency of perfect information of the exchange rates. stressing that, understanding the forecasting of exchange rate behavior is important to monetary policy. in that, one of the important variables stabilizing the naira 318 that have considerable influence on other socio – economic variables in nigeria is the nigerian naira /dollar exchange rate. owing to the critical role played by exchange rate dynamics in international trade and overall economic performance of all countries in general, the need for a good forecasting tool cannot be ruled out. therefore, the model and forecast the naira / usd exchange rates over the period 1960 – 2017. the diagnostic tests such as the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test indicate that exc time series data is i (1). based on the minimum aic value, presents the arima (1, 1, 1) model as the optimal model. the adf test further indicates that the residuals of the arima (1, 1, 1) model are stationary and thus bear the characteristics of a white noise process. it is also important to note that forecast evaluation statistics, namely me, rmse,mae, mpe, mape and thiel’s u absolutely show that the forecast accuracy is quite good. forecast actually indicates that the naira will continue to depreciate. the main policy implication from the study is that the central bank of nigeria (cbn), should devalue the naira in order not only restore exchange rate stability but also encourage local manufacturing and promote foreign capital inflows. the major causes of the nigeria’s economic problems. on the way forward, samuel, udoh, nneka, prince and idogen, (2018) fundamentally investigated naira redenomination, the rationale, citizen’s perspective and benefits to the economy. maintaining that policy was deferred in 2007; stressing that the justification of the study eleven years after the deferral is accredited to the contemporary financial and economic predicament and the declining naira value to the us dollars. suggesting that, it is vital to gauge citizen’s perception of the policy via quantitative technique. the author’s variable adopted embrace only one, redenomination with indicators. data were extracted from 124 respondents, who understand the impact and effect of redenomination. findings reveal that the victory and miscarriage of the policy is squarely the ability and inability to ensure squat and firm inflation rate, economic growth, price stability and effective citizen education. therefore, the policy benefits citizen perspective embraces; economic credibility, payment and pricing system proficiency, and convenience, whereas, the fears takes on counterfeits, and insufficient supply of notes and coins. ikpor, noted that strong law against corrupt practices is imminent and vibrant market economies that will result in the emergence of classes of industrial workers, diversification, unity and national economic summit to discuss some gray issues in the country. moreover, federal government of nigeria should come up with definite economic policy direction, “engage in more efficient restriction and controlling of foreign exchange outflow, undertake revival of the country’s productive capacity and broaden government revenue base”. adding that, the federal government should as a matter of urgency concentrate on economic programs that will continue to arrest the decline in the economy, restore investor’s confidence and avoid unguided utterances. to chart a future course for economic stability and prosperity, government should engage the services of renowned technocrats in any economic team and continue to demonstrate exemplary leadership in principles and practice in issue of national interest. implication of the study the implication of the study is that government should promote research institutions to march these unforeseen deadly diseases if not this may cause further havoc to the economy in general. also, government should fund imports from proceeds derived from exports rather than always relying on proceeds from crude oil, foreign investment in shares, and direct investments in agriculture. finally, the resent policy implementation of the central bank of nigeria will make for well-built cash reserve since our export will now pay off the imports without out cbn sourcing out exchange rate to balance excessive imports. conclusion nigerian economy after covid-19 pandemic with its resultant very low production of goods and services due to low investment caused nigerian foreign exchange depletion. education and healthcare sector contribute so much to this depletion. the pronounced low productivity of the economy led to it’s not being able to generate enough foreign exchange to meet the high demand for importation of goods and services; continued excess demand, heightened pressure on the foreign exchange market and exchange rates. stolen oil volumes cost the country over $ 3.3bn and investors in the upstream oil sector are bemoaning their losses from oil thefts.” cbn maintains floating exchange rate with the intention to control the exchange rate recommendation: 1, government should intensify efforts to restructure the base of the economy through deepening the production of goods/services in nigeria. 2. government should fund imports from proceeds derived from exports rather than always relying on proceeds from crude oil, foreign investment in shares, and direct investments in agriculture. 3. there should be less reliance on central bank to fund imports. stabilizing the naira 320 references abu, m. m. (2021) covid-19 and foreign portfolio investment flows in nigeria. an article contributed to 1st book of readings, association of management and social sciences researchers of nigeria (amssrns) pp 35-43. akinola & odosola, (2003): assessing the impact of nigeria's naira depreciation on output and inflation https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24075212. amaefula, l. i., & kalu, e.o. (2021). covid-19 pandemic and nigeria’s economic performance: an empirical evaluation. 1st book of readings association of management and social sciences researchers of nigeria (amssrns) pp 12-27 isbn 9789112099. fox-geen, j. (2022). how to be stable — usdc transparency and trust circle https://www.circle.com/trust-in-usdc?utm_campaign ikpor, m. i, (2016). nigeria’s economic problems, causes and the way forward https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344876850 mitchell, c. (2022). nigerian naira investopedia naira metrics. a leading nigerian online newspaper https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b news agency of nigeria, (2021). bureau de change https://knoema.com/atlas/nigeria/topics/economy/financial-sector-exchangerates/exchange-rate nyoni, t. (2018). modeling and forecasting naira / usd exchange rate in nigeria: a box – jenkins arima approach. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/88622/ mpra paper no. 88622, pp 1-35 okafor, f. o. (1996). stabilizing the naira for economic viability and restructuration. journal of the management sciences 1(1) pp 87-174 onasanya, o. k., & adeniji, o. e. (2021). forcasting of exchange rate between naira and us dollar using time domain model https://www.eajournals.org/journals/internationaljournal-of-development-and-economic-sustainability-ijdes/vol-1-issue-/forecastingof-exchange-rate-between-naira-and-us-dollar-using-time-domain-model/ oyelami & edooghogho, (2013). the good and bad of the naira: lessons for nigeria's macroeconomics stabilization. available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280627510_the_good_and_bad_of_the_na ira_lessons_for_nigeria%27s_macroeconomics_stabilization [accessed jun 11 2022]. oyinlola, m. a. (2018). modeling volatility persistence and asymmetry of naira-dollar exchange rate cbn journal of applied statistics .9(1) 141-165 popoola, n. (2022) oil theft affecting government finances, naira stability –mpc member htts://energyworth online.com.ng>posts published in punch 12 april 2022 retrieved june, 2022 retrived july, 2022 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24075212 https://www.circle.com/trust-in-usdc?utm_campaign https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344876850 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-bhttps://knoema.com/atlas/nigeria/topics/economy/financial-sector-exchange-rates/exchange-rate https://knoema.com/atlas/nigeria/topics/economy/financial-sector-exchange-rates/exchange-rate https://www.eajournals.org/journals/international-journal-of-development-and-economic-sustainability-ijdes/vol-1-issue-/forecasting-of-exchange-rate-between-naira-and-us-dollar-using-time-domain-model/ https://www.eajournals.org/journals/international-journal-of-development-and-economic-sustainability-ijdes/vol-1-issue-/forecasting-of-exchange-rate-between-naira-and-us-dollar-using-time-domain-model/ https://www.eajournals.org/journals/international-journal-of-development-and-economic-sustainability-ijdes/vol-1-issue-/forecasting-of-exchange-rate-between-naira-and-us-dollar-using-time-domain-model/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280627510_the_good_and_bad_of_the_naira_lessons_for_nigeria%27s_macroeconomics_stabilization https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280627510_the_good_and_bad_of_the_naira_lessons_for_nigeria%27s_macroeconomics_stabilization samuel, u. e., udoh, b. e., nneka, i. r., prince, a.i., & idogen, k. (2018). naira redenomination: the nigerian’s perspective journal of global economics 6 (3): 297. doi:10.4172/2375-4389.1000297 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 458 development and validation of teacher quality behaviour checklist obiageli omeje department of psychology enugu state university of science &technology agbani nicholas attamah department of economics enugu state university of science &technology agbani george isiwu department of economics enugu state university of science &technology agbani abstract this study developed and validated teacher quality behaviour checklist (tqbc) by conducting two separate studies that provided supporting evidence that shows construct validity and internal consistency of the scale. in the first study, it was aimed at identifying the factors that enhance or retard teacher quality behaviour. seventeen items were generated through focused group discussion (fgd) and literature and administered to 211 participants 108 females (51.2%) and 103 males (48.8%). the data supported a solid one dimension scale and internal consistency (cronbach alpha of 0.86). in the second study, data collected from 184 tertiary students from a different state, also supported internal consistency of tqbc (cronbach alpha of 0.91) in the same vein, shows a high validity index. it was concluded that good teacher quality behaviour plays vital role in the enhancement of quality learning and as such should be emphasized and encouraged as tqbc seems to have evidence for research based on the scores obtained from the study. keywords: teacher quality, behaviour, checklist, nigeria introduction the importance of education to the development of any nation needs not be overemphasized. nigeria like any other country relies on qualitative education as a means of attaining her development aspirations. it is for this reason that nigeria’s policy on education provides thus: “ not only is education the greatest force that can be applied to bring about redress it is also the greatest investment that the nation can make for the quick development of the economic, political, sociological and human resources” (frn 1981,1). good educational standards are imperative for the realization of national objectives and goals. it is for this reason that the nigerian governments regulate all levels of education. however, and unfortunately, it has been severally reported that educational standards have continued to fall in nigerian schools. falua (1989) asserts that the primary schools have virtually decayed. the secondary schools are congested. both colleges of education and polytechnics exist under their own shadows. the universities according to falua are generally in shambles and the conditions could hardly be otherwise. in the same manner, okorma (2007) 459 asserts that education being a vehicle for development must see any fall in standards at any level as a threat to the qualitative existence of every society. according to okoma, the fall in the standards of education is a grave threat to the economic, sociological and human resources development that are necessary for nigeria’s growth aspirations. the issue of standards is a concept with great degree of relativity. akintola (1996), believes that the concept of standard involves a minimum point of reference from which the intrinsic value of any human endeavour must be measured. in relation to education, the point of reference serves as a minimum that must be attained for an effort to have merit. the point of reference in focus, according to akintola (1996), is not static but rather depends on what to be measured and how it is to be measured. educational standards vary from one institution to another and from one programme to another. udoh (1989) sees standards as an acceptable level of measurement to which members of a group have to conform and by which the performance of each member of such group is to be judged. these expositions show the importance of standards and the necessity to ensure good standards in human activities. the role of education in the development of every society makes it even more imperative to take all possible measures at ensuring acceptable standards. good educational standards often manifest in the quality of life of every society as reflected in all facets of development such as health industrialization, technology, food production, economic and political development etc. akinola (1990) has provided a useful insight on the factors that influence educational standards which can only be sustained through adequate implementation efforts. among these factors are: funding, physical facilities, admission policies, quality of teachers, teacher motivation, students attitudes etc. according to akinola, adequate funding is critical to achieving good standards of education. it is in recognition of this that the national policy on education (frn 2004, 61) provides thus “education is an expensive social service and requires adequate financial provision from all tiers of government for successful implementation of the educational programmes. the financing of education is a joint responsibility of the federal, state and local government and the private sector”. duze (2011) believes that the falling standard of education in nigeria could be linked also to the lost glories of traditional education which inculcates among other things the very important values of hardwork, diligence, integrity, and high productivity. when these are lacking in any production system, education inclusive, the results are often devastating leading especially to poor quality output and wastage which in themselves undermine capacity building and sustainable development. on physical facilities, duze asserts that in every endeavour, the achievement of a quality result or output requires a quality input. accordingly, every workman needs some working tools to succeed. schools need facilities such as laboratories, workshops, libraries, tables, chairs, buildings etc. in good numbers in order to produce graduates of good standards if other implementation factors are adequate. maitama (2005) observed that the quality of programmes and their products are being increasingly called to question. many factors have contributed to 460 the decline and chiefly among them are under-funding, inadequate academic staffs in number and quality, inadequate physical facilities and equipment. according to maitama, a workman without the required working tools will undoubtedly be less productive in terms of quantity and quality. so it is with using unqualified and unskilled manpower to utilise the tools teacher quality is constantly and frequently being discussed in education reform forums and academic literature. according to novozhenina and lopez prinzon (2018), teacher quality refers to different constituents namely: (a) tested ability, highest test scores for recruiting as teachers; (b) credentials, licenses, certificates and experience to demonstrate knowledge and skills; (c) classroom practice, quality of practice/activities in the classroom; (d) skill in heightening students’ performance; and (e) beliefs and values, nurturing positive attitudes and ability for understanding learner needs. the teacher factor is an important element in the determination and assessment of educational standards. no school can have a standard of learning by its students higher than what the teachers have offered which will usually reflect the quality of such teachers. nigeria’s policy on education recognizes the importance of quality teachers hence it provides at sections 70 and 72 that, “ since no education system may rise above the quality of its teachers, teacher education shall continue to be given major emphasis in all educational planning and development (section 70) all teachers in educational institutions shall be professionally trained. teacher educational programmes shall be structured to equip teachers for effective performance of their duties (section 72) (frn 2004, 39). also, teachers usually enhance their knowledge, skills and expertise through independent and sponsored professional development activities (abeywickrama, 2019, 2020b). independent personal development driven by democratic professionalism is broadly connected to practitioner-centered initiatives and focuses on teachers’ democratic goals, principles and needs (abeywickrama, 2019, 2020b). though many psychological tests have been developed, majority of them are foreign based and require adaptation. hence, they are not suitable for our cultural environment (olowookeere, 2011). adaptation of test is a very rigorous activity and butcher (1996) posits that adapted test must possess three levels of equivalence namely, functional, metric and scalar. berry, protinga, segall & dasen (2002) note that secular equivalence is most difficult to establish. thus, development of teacher quality behaviour checklist of this research would not only help solve problem of adaptation but also equip the teachers who scored low in the test to strive for improvement against future assessments. to achieve the above, the researchers embarked on two studies with different samples: first, we looked at the development and basic psychometric properties through factor analysis and internal reliability index of the teacher quality behaviour checklist. second, we provided evidence for concurrent, convergent and divergent validity of the scale. most importantly, the checklist will enable institutions assess the quality of lecturers and based on the results, decisions could be taken on who to promote, engage or disengage. 461 teachers’ welfare should be given priority by government to avoid unnecessary strikes in our educational sector while more qualified teachers should be employed to curb the present shortage of teachers in our schools. teachers should be trained so that they can meet up with any new challenge hence the need for educational facilities to be upgraded to modern standards while teaching facilities should be adequately provided. teacher quality behaviour checklist development process the researchers started with a focus group discussion with the population of interest towards determining the domains the scale should cover. items were generated during the discussions which took place at three different places, as organized by the researchers. from the discussion, 100 items were put together. furthermore, the items generated were further reviewed and the items trimmed down to 32 items. the items were designed to capture different teacher behaviour in the school environment. after which it was given to five experts; 2 education managers, 1 industrial psychologists and 2 educational psychologists for face and content validation. that is, there expert opinions were sought after (bollen, 1989) for the clarity of constructs, contents coverage and relevance of the checklist. based on the experts review, the checklist was all positively worded contrary to the initial negative and positive wordings, ambiguous items were refined. however, items that failed to get 70% approval of the five experts were dropped. hence, 20 items were retained out of the 32 items and validation carried out on them. study 1: psychometric properties method participants in this study1, two hundred and eleven (211) students between the ages of 17 to 26 (m = 21.25; sd = 4.61) were sampled from both private and public tertiary institutions within enugu metropolis. they included 108 females (51.2%) and 103 males (48.8%). purposive sampling technique was used to sample the participants from different tertiary institutions both public and private. the choice of students was based on the idea that the teacher behaviour checklist should be rated by students based on observation of their teacher’s general behaviour in school. instrument: tqbc the researchers converted the 20-item tqbc to a checklist, the items were scaled on 5-point likert response format, ranging from 1= strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = undecided, 4 = agree and 5 = strongly agree. all the items are directly scored. so, participants were made to complete the 20-item tqbc retained after face and construct validity. an overall score of a 462 participants will be gotten by summing the responses of the participants on each item on the checklist. students’ demographics were taken also, to help in the data analysis. procedure a total of 250 copies of the questionnaires were administered within 2 weeks. the participants completed the checklist within 5 minutes on the average. the questionnaires were administered by the researchers with the help of research assistants. at the end, 233 copies of the questionnaires were returned out of ̀ which 22 copies were discarded due to error in completion. hence, 211 copies were scored and used for the factor analysis. meanwhile, the participants in this study gave their consent to participate after rapport was established between the researchers and the participants to enhance confidentiality and informed consent as well as the briefing they got with regards to the purpose of the study. data analysis from the data collated from the participants, teacher quality checklist items were examined with spss ibm version 20 using principal component analysis (pca) and the varimax rotation method for factor extraction on the items. it is worthy to note that principal component analysis uses eigenvalues, and as such, represent the proportion of variance accounted for by the factors. statistic with spss is easy to determine according to tabachnick and fidell (2007) inspecting the correlation matrix coefficients of 0.30 is termed factorability of r and it was observed that out of the 20 items, 3-items failed to correlate at .30 hence, they were deleted. furthermore, in evaluating the measurement model of tqbc and a confirmatory factor analysis (cfa) was conducted using ibm spss amos v.23 to ensure accuracy of all the previous analysis, the following statistics were performed; overall chi-square (χ2), goodness of fit index (gfi) and root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) (hooper, coughlan & mullen, 2008); comparative fit index (cfi), tucker-lewis index (tli) (bentler, 1990, hu & bentler, 1999). results the pca produced one factor that has the power to explain 51.36% of the total variations from the scale variables. however, 17-items correlated at least above .30. it was observed that the kaiser-meyer-olkin (kmo) measure of sampling adequacy was .88 for teacher quality checklist which portray a good sampling adequacy, because any coefficient above .50 is good and the items should be factorized (hair, anderson, tatham & black, 1995; tabachnick & fidell, 2007). also, bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant at x2(153) =1131.100,p<.001 level of significance which showed that there were patterned relationship in the scale (barlett, 1950). furthermore, the teacher quality checklist was loaded on one factor and as such out of 20items, only 17-items met the cut-off point of 0.3 and has 17-items measuring teacher quality 463 checklist. according to comrey and lee (1992), in using "variance explained" criteria for deciding the importance of factor loadings: loadings in excess of .71 (i.e., 0.71x0.71=50% of common variance) are considered excellent, 0.63 (i.e., 40% of common variance) very good, 0.55 (i.e., 30% of common variance) good, 0.45 (i.e., 20% of common variance) fair, and0.32 (i.e., 10% of common variance) poor. they concluded that only variables with loadings of 0.32 or greater should be interpreted. from the tables, all the items are for determining the quality a teacher exhibits in his/her teaching responsibilities. the scree plot (see figure 1) showed that out of 3 factors loaded, only 1 factor was able to align with a point on the entire components of the analysis. therefore, the eigenvalue is plotted against the only component observed in the analysis, meaning that the eigenvalue is above 1.00 on only one factor. figure 1: scree plot for the one-factor tqbc the result of cfa showed that chi-square was significant with χ2 (93) = 1707.71, p < 0.01). the root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) index was 0.05, which is lower than the recommended critical limit of 0.08 (hu & bentler, 1999; seo, torabi, blair & ellis, 2004). again, the goodness-of-fit indices (gfi) = 0.97; comparative fit index (cfi) = 0.91, and tucker lewis (tli) = 0.96. according to hu and bentler (1999) a cfi and tli larger than .95 indicate relatively good model–data fit in general principles and as such they are all within the acceptable limits. we performed this cfa using this structure (see figure 2). 464 figure 2: confirmatory factor analysis of one factor structure model of tqbc. item 1 item 2 item 3 item 4 item 5 item 6 item 7 item 8 item 9 item 10 item 11 item 12 item 13 item 14 item 15 item 16 item 17 tqbc .52 .44 .37 .54 .38 .46 .38 .59 .43 .29 .49 46. .44 .36 .49 .54 .61 465 furthermore, the researchers examined the internal consistency indices using spss version 20. according to fan and thomson (2001) that the confidence interval (ci) have to be established around a coefficient alpha. this was established using cronbach’s alpha at 95% confidence interval for the internal consistency reliability index. hence, the cronbach’s alpha reliability for the one dimension; teacher quality behaviour checklist is (0.86), this indicates that the items are internally consistent. there was no significant mean difference between male and female responses on tqbc scores with f(1, 210) = 0.16, p = 0.68. based on the above, tables below show items and their loadings for teacher quality checklists as follows; table 1: factor loadings for teacher quality checklists extraction item1. my teacher is knowledgeable about his/her subject area .566 item 2. my teacher is always punctual to class .637 item3. my teacher is a good listener .584 item4. my teacher can serve as a role model to me .541 item5. my teacher does explains things clearly .473 item6. my teacher's class is always interesting .577 item7. my teacher covers the basic topics before examination .530 item8. my teacher spends time to help students academically .452 item9. my teacher is not a bully .454 item10. my teacher treats all students equal .484 item11. my teacher has self-control .498 item12. my teacher is considerate about students' feelings .625 item13. my teacher updates his/her ideas .498 item14. my teacher is objective in grading scripts .481 item15. my teacher encourages new ideas .568 item16. my teacher answers questions while teaching .604 item17. my teacher does not compromise in the discharge of his/her duties .737 466 table 2. scale statistics: means and standard deviation for teacher quality behaviours checklist (on 85 points likert response format) males females total sample m sd m sd m sd tqbc 53.26 12.33 54.59 12.76 53.93 12.55 study 2: validation of tqbc scale using undergraduate students method in study 1, we worked to determine the internal consistency of the tqbc scale items as well as their structure. the second study was carried out to provide evidence of tqbc validity using convergent, concurrent and divergent validates participants a total of 184 participants, between the ages of 17 to 28 years (m = 22.74; sd = 4.77) were sampled from the population of tertiary institutions in anambra state, which was quite different from those in study 1. demographically, 81(44.02%) were males and 103(55.98%) were females. instruments school teacher effectiveness questionnaire (steq) developed and validated by akram (2018) was used as an instrument for data collection. the steq comprises 26 items with 5 factors. the items of the factors were scaled as never (1), rarely (2), sometime (3), often (4), and always (5); meaning that the students’ perceptions as never would indicate that their teachers never demonstrated effectiveness in that item and standard, and students’ perceptions as always would indicate that their teachers always demonstrated effectiveness in that particular item and that standard. procedure the researchers collected data from tertiary institution after exhibiting the processes used in study 1. however, 250 copies of the questionnaire were shared while 212 were returned (84.80% response rate). the participants were instructed on the response pattern and duration for the completion of the questionnaire. twenty-eight copies of the questionnaire were discarded due to error in completion and 184 copies were scored and used for the data analysis. 467 data analysis the researchers after employed means, standard deviation and internal consistency reliability to compute the data collected from the field. furthermore, correlational statistics (bivariate) was used to depict the relationship between steq and tqbc. results the analysis as shown in table 3 below, indicates a concurrent and convergent validation of tqbc with steq. the results reveal that a significant negative relationship between teacher quality behaviour checklist and school teacher effectiveness questionnaire. table 3: bivariate correlation between tqbc and steq 1` 2 1 tqbc (0.91) 2 steq -.62* (0.88) p< .001. cronbach alpha appears in diagonal parentheses discussion in the validation process of tqbc, the correlations show that teacher quality behaviour checklist were significantly and positively related to school teacher effective questionnaire. this implies that students who rated their teachers’ behaviour to be qualitative also rated them to be effective, therefore, the two scales are empirically sound to test different qualities of a teacher. the pfa revealed one factor component, all the internal consistency and validation coefficients are all adequate. factor analysis was carried out which produced checklist that will be used in determining teacher quality among teachers as determined by their students. a cronbach alpha coefficient of .86 was obtained for the checklists which indicated a high degree of acceptability (anastasi & urbina, 1997). the study provided norms for the scales thus; 53.94 for the checklists, meaning that scores higher than the norms indicate manifestations of adequate teacher quality, while scores lower than the means indicate manifestations of inadequate or lack of teacher quality. so, having satisfied all the requirement for scale development and validation, in terms of internal consistency, factorization and validation, the 15-item teacher quality behaviour checklist is now a measure to be used in assessing teacher/lecturers qualities in educational institutions. implication of the study the major implication of this study is that the scales have practically revealed that teachers ought to have qualities they should exhibit in the discharge of their responsibilities in the classroom and outside the classrooms. therefore, this will help education managers, head of institutions and governments to appraise and measure the activities of teachers accruing from 468 their day to day interactions and encounters with their students. finally, this can serve as criteria for evaluating lecturers in schools for an award and promotion. recommendations the researchers hereby recommend this scale to education managers, head of universities, ministry of education and other stakeholders in the educational sectors to utilize this checklist in determining the quality of teacher to engage and reward. conclusion to this end, it was concluded that the scales ‘teacher quality behaviour checklist ”was developed and designed to determine the qualities teachers ought to possess in the discharge of their responsibilities in and out of classroom and the scale is highly reliable valid. this scale be used for determining best lecturer awards in tertiary institutions. 469 references abeywickrama, k.r.w.k.h. 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(1989). the role of the education agencies in providing leadership in maintaining education, benin city: supreme ideal publishers international ltd. page 4 297 whistleblowing policy and the anti-corruption war of the buhari administration in nigeria: an impact assessment on good governance joy ngozi eleje department of political science faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu joy.eleje@esut.edu.ng abstract corruption has become a culture to the extent that it is now politicized and celebrated in nigeria. the consequences of widespread corruption are daunting on the political economy of nigeria and it remains a deficit in the governance spectrum. compelled by this scenario, this study assessed the whistle-blowing policy as an anti-corruption mechanism of the present administration in nigeria in relation to its good governance impact. relying on documented evidence from secondary sources a content analysis was done in which whistle-blowing policy was found to be a laudable initiative not only in fishing out corrupt public officials, but also serving as a deterrent to the continuity of the menace of corruption and enhancing good governance. however, concerns were raised due to the fact that whistle-blowing clearly understood is a risky activity which may involve, among others, death or threat to both the whistleblower and family. therefore, it will be wise on the part of the federal government in the submission of this paper to put extra legal protective measures in place to ensuring that the trust reposed in it is firmly kept by sending a more comprehensive executive bill to the national assembly so as to expedite action on the formalization of the policy and making it applicable across other tiers of government. the study recommended effective public enlightenment of the citizens on the objectives of the policy and ensuring adequate confidentiality and protection of whistleblowers. keywords: anti-corruption, good governance, nigeria, whistleblowing policy introduction corruption remains a vexed issue in nigeria government and politics. it is one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary society that reproduces underdevelopment all over the world, especially in developing economies like nigeria. describing the menace of corruption, usman (2009) aptly states that; “it undermines good governance, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms public and private sector development and particularly hurts the poor. evidently, corruption is found almost everywhere, but it is stubbornly entrenched in the poor countries of sub-saharan africa such as nigeria; it is widespread in latin america, it is deep-rooted in many of the newly industrialized countries, and it is reaching alarming proportions in several post-communist countries. nigeria’s politics, governance and development has been under perpetual threat emanating from rising and systemic corrupt practices since independence, but more especially from 1999 when the country returned to democratic governance. put differently, corruption is a major challenge to good governance, democratic stability and national development in nigeria. corruption has become prevalent and has not only greatly eroded the basis of the authority of the state but also challenge the legitimacy of democracy as the best form of governance. the whistleblowing policy problem of democratic governance persists because the political system has failed to engender, maintain and sustain the belief in nigerians that democracy is the most appropriate system for the society. the prevailing scenario demonstrates that corruption has robbed nigerians, the much desired good governance, and this no doubt calls for a paradigm shift in the fight against corruption towards restoring hope in the citizenry. it was consequent upon the above that the general muhammadu buhari led administration, on assumption of office on may 29, 2015 vowed to embark on aggressive anti-corruption war. to give impetus to this, the whistle-blowing policy was introduced precisely on 21st december 2016, to complement the efforts of existing institutional and legal frameworks such as economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission (icpc), and the code of conduct tribunal (cct) and others; as a mechanism for intensifying the anti-corruption war and further giving impetus to government quest to promoting good governance in nigeria. this paper therefore is a by-product of an intensive observation of the implementation of the whistleblowing policy in the past five years. this paper therefore, sought to explore the conceptual and theoretical issues as well as regulatory and legal deficiencies inherent in the policy and the need for deeper and insightful understanding of the whistle-blowing policy and how it is intended to serve as veritable tool in the anti-corruption war and enhancement of good governance in nigeria. objective of the study this study appraised the whistle blowing policy and the anti-corruption war of the buhari administration in nigeria. to this end the paper shall address the following specifics; to 1. examine the rationale for and policy direction of whistle-blowing policy in nigeria; 2. assess the whistle-blowing policy as an anti-corruption mechanism in nigeria; and 3. determine measures for strengthening the efficacy of the fight against corruption and good governance in nigeria. theoretical framework corruption is at the epicenter of governance deficit in nigeria. the theoretical thinking perceiving corruption as a major factor that poses serious threat to effective and efficient governance and development, democratic stability, sustainability and consolidation is not uncommon in the literatures (osaghae, 1995; obayelu, 2017; fjeldstad & isaksen, 2008). this theoretical stance is depicted in various works and analyses as “amoral politics”, “amoral familism” (ogundiya, 2009), “prebendalism” (joseph, 2007), “patrimonialism and neopatrimonialism”, “clientelism” to mention a few. corrupt ridden states are also captioned by scholars as “predatory”, “soft state” and so on (seteolu, 2005). with respect to whistleblowing, ceva and bocchiola (2018) identified two main families of normative theories, the extrema ratio and the deontic views are apt. these views can usefully be seen in combination to offer an all-round moral assessment of this practice. the extrema ratio view can successfully account for the moral reasoning that ought to inform the decision of the individual members of an organization to report an organizational wrongdoing in 299 situations of emergency, failing ordinary institutional mechanisms of self-correction. deontic view can offer a more structural normative account of whistleblowing that can usefully complement what the extrema ratio view may accomplish on its own. from the perspective of the deontic view, whistleblowing is an instance of the organizational duty of answerability, which requires the establishment of safe and effective reporting mechanisms through which corrective action may be initiated whenever a deficit of office accountability occurs from within an organization, thus threatening its well-functioning (ceva & bocchiola, 2018). the combination of these views offers a multifaceted outlook on whistleblowing within a broader ethics of good governance, which maximizes the potential of this practice while it minimizes the potential risks for the parties involved. these theoretical insights explain the basis for systemic corruption in nigeria and further give credence to the imperative of the whistleblowing policy as a leeway in the fight against corruption at a time like this. whistle-blowing policy in nigeria: its rationale and policy direction whistleblowing is the practice through which the member of a legitimate organization voluntarily reports some wrongdoing, allegedly occurring within that organization, with a view to initiating some corrective action to address it (ceva & bocchiola, 2018). characteristically, whistleblowing is defined by six core elements: a) the action. whistleblowing is a specific kind of action: a report. reports could be either open—typically, a form of public accusation (jubb, 1999) or confidential disclosures through dedicated channels. reports may also be either authorized or unauthorized, depending on the object of the report under a country's specific legislation (delmas, 2015; sagar, 2013). b) the object. whistleblowers report wrongdoings that allegedly occur within an organization. relevant wrongdoings are wide-ranging as they may include misuses of power associated with an organizational role that are either systematic (e.g., nepotism) or occasional (e.g., embezzlement). organizational wrongdoings may stem from either unlawful (e.g., bribery) or illicit activities (e.g., the violation of some organizational standards), or also morally impermissible actions—such as unwelcome sexual advances by a senior colleague (ceva & bocchiola, 2018). c) the agent. not anyone who raises the alert on some organizational wrongdoing is a whistleblower. whistleblowers' reports come from within the organization where the reported facts occur (miceli, dreyfus & near, 2014). organizational membership could be either permanent (e.g., an employee) or temporary (e.g., a sub-contractee), and it is defined by the roles and functions people perform for the organization. whistleblowing is thus different from “bell-ringing,” which is the act of conscientious citizens reporting crimes and misdemeanors (miceli et al., 2014). d) the locus. from (a)–(c), it follows that organizations are the locus where the reported wrongdoing allegedly occurs. organizations are understood in the broad terms of institutions, that is, as systems of embodied interrelated rule-governed roles (miller, 2014). e) the addressee. whistleblowing could be directed to either internal or external interlocutors (davis, 2003; de george, 2010). it is internal when it is addressed to the whistleblower's direct superior, higher levels of management, or to a dedicated office https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0021 https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0026 https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0026 https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0028 https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0015 https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0016 whistleblowing policy (e.g., ombudsman), and external when it is addressed to such entities as a national authority, the police, or the media. f) the aim. whistleblowing is a purposeful action, which aims at initiating corrective action of an organizational wrongdoing. while any specific whistleblower's actual subjective intentions may be either selfish (to undermine an obnoxious boss) or altruistic (to protect a harassed colleague), whistleblowers' actions are generally taken to express a commitment to bringing about a positive change of the status quo (miceli & near, 1992). these key elements are individually necessary and jointly sufficient to identify cases of whistleblowing and isolate false positives. with recourse to nigeria, the whistle-blowing policy is no doubt an innovative anti-corruption strategy. it is a federal ministry of finance (fmf) policy introduced under the president muhammadu buhari led administration on december 21, 2016 and designed to encourage anyone with relevant and verifiable information about a violation of financial regulations, mismanagement of public funds and assets, financial malpractice, fraud and theft to report it (federal ministry of finance (fmf, 2016). the federal government of nigeria, whistleblowing is a secure, online portal, through which information bordering on the violation of the above stated, that is deemed to be in the interest of the public can be disclosed. the online portal also permits the person disclosing the information (that’s the whistle-blower) to perform a status check on matters that have been reported on the whistle blowing online portal to ascertain the originality of the information to be given. in the context of this policy, therefore, a whistle-blower is a person who voluntarily discloses to the federal government of nigeria, through the federal ministry of finance, a possible misconduct or violation that has occurred, is ongoing, or is about to occur with specific concerns, which are in the public interest. the fmf (2016) outlines some of the relevant information that can be submitted or that should require the attention of the federal government. these include: violation of government’s financial regulations e.g. failure to comply with the financial regulations act, public procurement act and other extant laws; mismanagement or misappropriation of public funds and assets (e.g. properties and vehicles); information on stolen public funds; information on concealed public funds; financial malpractice or fraud; theft; collecting/soliciting bribes, and corruption. others are; diversion of revenues; underreporting of revenues; conversion of funds for personal use; fraudulent and unapproved payments; splitting of contracts; procurement fraud (kickbacks and over-invoicing etc.) and violation of public procurement procedures (fmf, 2016). it is worthy of note at this juncture to emphasize that the policy does not apply to personal grievances concerning private contracts. it is only purely applicable to the public sector. and for submission of relevant information by the whistle-blower, the policy document is categorical that the federal ministry of finance has made available a protected whistle online portal; it can also be submitted in writing to the federal ministry of finance and presidential initiative on continuous audit unit. such information can be submitted anonymously. this is to safeguard the identity, ensure security as well as reassure many individuals who may https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/phc3.12642#phc312642-bib-0027 301 otherwise decide not to become whistleblowers to be encouraged to provide information because they do not have to disclose their identities while providing such information (fmf, 2016). more so, the whistleblower is expected to make available evidence to support the disclosures, it is expected that the whistleblower would submit them through the fmf-whistle online portal. the whistleblower is expected to state the facts with as much specific information as possible such as what occurred, who was involved and dates of occurrence so that the allegations can be investigated. however, it is also sufficient that the whistleblower holds a reasonable belief that the information provided is true. concerns must be raised in public-spirit and in good faith, and the individual or group of individuals must reasonably believe that the information disclosed, and any allegations contained therein, are substantially true beyond reasonable doubt (the fmf, 2016). the policy further guarantees that confidentiality of the whistle-blower will be maintained to the fullest extent possible within the limitations of the law. if the whistleblower chooses not to disclose their identity, there will be no record of the whistleblower’s identity. if the whistleblower chooses to disclose their identity, the identity will only be disclosed in circumstances required by law. to this end, anybody with information about a violation of financial regulations, mismanagement of public funds and assets, financial malpractice or fraud and theft, including but not limited to: internal stakeholders, inter-governmental stakeholders, institutional stakeholders and members of the public can access the whistle-blower portal (akinnaso, 2016). there are other safeguards for whistle-blowers. in the submission of the federal ministry of finance (2016) any stakeholder who whistle-blows in public-spirit and in good faith will be protected, regardless of whether or not the issue raised is upheld against any party. any stakeholder (internal or external) who has made a genuine disclosure and who feels that, as a result, he or she has suffered adverse treatment in retaliation should file a formal complaint to an independent panel of inquiry, that shall be set-up to handle such complaint, detailing his/her adverse treatment. furthermore, the whistle-blowing policy document states that, if it appears that there are reasonable grounds for making the complaint, the responsibility will be on the party against whom the complaint of adverse treatment has been made to show that the actions complained of were not taken in retaliation for the disclosure. where it is established that there is a prima facie case that a whistleblower has suffered adverse treatment (harassment, intimidation or victimization) for sharing his\her concerns with the ministry, a further investigation may be instituted and disciplinary action may be taken against the perpetrator in accordance with the public service rules/other extant rules and a restitution shall be made to the whistleblower for any loss suffered (the fmf, 2016). according to the fmf-whistle-blowing policy, when a disclosure or information is submitted, the portal will generate a unique reference number. to know the status of your submitted tip, simply click on “get feedback” and enter the reference number. furthermore, upon receipt of the information, an acknowledgement response will be sent to the whistleblower and preliminary analysis to confirm whether there is a violation or potential violation will be whistleblowing policy conducted within ten (10) working days. if an investigation is commenced, the nature and complexity of the matters under investigation will dictate the time frame. however, there is a feedback mechanism where a whistleblower can independently monitor the status or progress report of tips submitted (the fmf, 2016). consequent upon the above, a whistle-blower responsible for disclosing or providing the government with useful information that directly leads to the voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5%-5.0% of amount recovered. in order to qualify therefore for the reward, the whistleblower must provide the government with information it does not already have and could not otherwise obtain from any other publicly available source to the government. the actual recovery must also be on account of the information provided by the whistleblower (demming, 2017). however, there is protection from false or malicious claims. for every information or disclosure made available to government a first level review will always be carried out to determine credibility and sufficiency of information received. thus if a whistleblower reports a false or misleading information, it will be referred to the law enforcement agents for investigation and possible prosecution. assessment of whistle-blowing policy as an anti-corruption mechanism for good governance in nigeria nigeria’s problems with corruption are well-documented. it was in a bid to abate the trend; that the nigeria’s ministry of finance decided to try a new approach: allowing citizens who report corruption-related offenses earn a cut from the recovered loot. the hope was that the whistleblowing policy, would provide agencies like the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) with actionable tips to track and recover stolen government funds. so far, specifically within the first two years of its introduction and implementation it appeared to be working, as the efcc was able to retrieve $9.8 million from andrew yakubu, former group managing director of nigeria’s national petroleum corporation, thanks to whistle-blowing. in addition to yakubu’s loot, lai mohammed, nigeria’s minister of information revealed that the whistleblowing policy has led to the recovery of over $180 million from various corrupt public officials (daily times newspaper, 2018). more so, president muhammadu buhari during his 2018 independence day national broadcast highlighted the whistle-blowing policy as one of his administration’s new institutional reforms to eradicate corruption in nigeria. confirming the successes of the whistle-blowing policy so far, then acting chairman of the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), ibrahim magu, confirmed that more than n30 billion looted funds have been recovered since the commencement of the whistle blowing policy (the punch newspapers, 2018). in his words as reported in the punch newspapers (2018); “since the commencement of the whistle-blowing policy, we have received hundreds of actionable tips that led to the following cash recoveries: n527, 643,500; $53,222,747; gbp 21,222,890 and euro 547, 730,” mr. magu said at the launch of the whistle-blower support project. tagged ‘corruption anonymous’ (cora), the project was organized by the african centre for media and information literacy, africmil, 303 in partnership with the macarthur foundation. at the event, mr. magu further said the efcc has created an environment for those with information to approach the commission, confident that the information they give would be put into effective use. the former efcc chief, however, explained his stance at the event thus, “i am glad to report that nigerians have so far been very responsive. we have always treated every tip referred to us with strict sense of responsibility bearing in mind that such undertaking on the part of the whistle-blower is usually a matter of trust and even risk. “at the same time, we have been careful not to be used by mischief makers who would want to abuse this process. magu continued; “let me reiterate that just as there is consequence for corruption, there will be consequence for those who want to take advantage of this noble initiative in the fight against corruption to create mischief. we have responded to this possibility by developing a watertight mechanism of both reporting and cross-checking information.” he commended the initiators of the project, adding that “through this window, we have seen many nigerians whose motivation was not just to benefit from the recoveries, as promised by the federal government, but the satisfaction of having to see that what was ill-gotten has been recovered for the good of all. he concluded that, “those in this category were motivated by their sense of justice and overriding national interest, not the financial reward. he urged more nigerians to borrow a leaf from these patriotic individuals (the punch newspapers, 2018). in his speech, as reported in the punch newspapers (2018), chido onumah, coordinator of africmil, said the anti-graft war has recorded a huge success through the whistle blowing policy. mr. onumah opined that going by figures from the presidential advisory committee against corruption, pacac, 2,150 tips had been received by the ministry of finance. however, onumah concluded that despite the success recorded so far, the policy still lacks proper awareness among nigerians. this is geared towards creating awareness and ensuring maximum protection for second thing is the glaring absence of commitment to the safety and protection of whistle blowers. most of those who are reported are often left to walk free and never invited for questioning, much less suspended from office as the public service rules recommended. consequently, while urging nigerians to key into the whistle blowing policy, onumah said the cora protect whistle blowers. below are some evidences of where the whistle-blowing policy has resulted in successful huge recoveries: 1) cadbury nigeria plc: n15 billion; 2) mike okiro (chairman of police service commission): n275 million; 3) dasukigate: director of finance (office of national security adviser): us$2.2 billion; 4) ayo oke/national intelligence agency (nia) saga: us$43 million, £27,000 and n23.2 million, totaling n13.3 billion; 5) legico shopping plaza (bdc shop, victoria island): n448.5 million; 6) kaduna airport drama: n49 million; and 7) andrew yakubu saga: $9.8 million and other currencies. whistleblowing policy the above list is a tip of the iceberg considering the enormity of incidences of corruption in nigeria. it not only shows that corruption is endemically systemic in nigeria but it further indicates corruption as a governance challenge. the whistleblowing policy therefore is intended to fight corruption and enthrone good governance and sustainable development. the question at this juncture is; what do we mean by good governance and its principles; and what is the intersection between corruption, whistle-blowing policy and good governance. to understand ‘good governance’, it is relevant to describe the more general term, governance. unescap (2011) describes ‘governance’ as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. another way is defining governance as a process, use of powers or authorities to manage public affairs. it comprises of mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences (undp, 1997). the world bank (1992) defines governance as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources. for the organisation for economic cooperation and development (oecd, 1995), governance denotes the use of political authority and exercise of control in a society in relation to the management of its resources for social and economic development. this broad definition encompasses the role of public authorities in establishing the environment in which economic operators function and in determining the distribution of benefits as well as the nature of the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. according to oecd (1995) with the addition of ‘good’, the term ‘governance’ receives a normative meaning. apparently governance can either be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. scholars understand the concept in these perspectives: the capacity of the state, the commitment to the public good, the rule of law, the degree of transparency and accountability, the level of popular participation, and the stock of social capital. corruption is a negation of good governance and in the absence of good governance is impossible to foster development. no amount of resources transferred or infrastructure built can compensate for or survive bad governance. the principles of good governance refer to the situation in which the government adopts a way of understanding with all the actors involved, weighing conflicting interests and providing access to all interested parties. all in all, good governance is not a neutral perspective. nevertheless, if one would explain why the implementation of public policy fails or encounters severe resistance, the explanation will often be related to failures in the design of the decision-making procedure, which were not sufficiently transparent, or did not provide access to all relevant stakeholders, etc. in that sense, the normative model of good governance, as described in this paper, also has some explanatory value. as an intersection therefore, the whistle-blowing policy is intended to serve several purposes all of which are linked to adding tempo to the anti-corruption war and in the long run promoting good governance. these purposes as espoused in the fmf-whistle-blowing policy include; to 1. increase exposure of financial or financial related crimes; 2. support the fight against financial crimes and corruption; 305 3. improve level of public confidence in public entities; 4. enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public funds; 5. improve nigeria’s open government ranking and ease of doing business indicators; and 6. recovery of public funds that can be deployed to finance nigeria’s infrastructure deficit (fmf, 2016). measures for strengthening efficacy of the anti-corruption war and good governance in nigeria the future of the anti-corruption efforts of the buhari government in nigeria today will require going beyond tracking down the opposition and witch-hunting. there must be grounded efforts, which must be perceived as imperatives of sustainable prudent management of nigeria’s national resources. this can be actualized through the following measures: a) making exceptional concerted efforts to develop inclusive, transparent, and effective institutions of democratic governance that guarantee the election of responsible leaderships through free and fair elections. the most important guarantee of government accountability is the right of citizens to control their government through elections. b) rebuilding basic mechanisms of democratic governance to make elected officials accountable to their constituents through effective government institutions. not only that all power should be derived from the people, but that those entrusted with it should be kept in dependence on the people. c) making conscious efforts to improve the rule of law by strengthening the capacity and transparency of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. this would guarantee "equal protection of the laws" which established the principle that government is accountable to all the people, not just to those who constitute the "ruling class" at any given moment. d) strengthening the civil society by promoting existing watchdog groups for more transparency, accountability, and pluralism in nigeria's fiscal, political, and human rights affairs. the foregoing ways and means would be ineffective without freedom of speech, press, assembly, petition and association, which are guaranteed by the 1999 nigerian constitution (as amended). e) enforcing the freedom of information (foi) law to protect well-organized and informed groups and individuals who demand performance and accountability from the leadership. unless citizens can speak openly, publish and debate their ideas, and organize themselves into groups according to their own criteria and principles, they cannot possibly call public officials to account. f) there is need for re-ordering of priorities, rechanneling of ideals, and revitalizing the governance machinery towards breeding a sound, habitable, and tolerable society for everyone to proudly live in. g) there is need for efficient, timely and reliable information dissemination to educate the masses on the whistleblower policy so as to also enable citizens judge the performance of the public servants and politicians. the concentration and misuse of power increase amongst democratic nations in the same proportion as the ignorance of their citizens. whistleblowing policy nigerian needs a renaissance. accomplishing this will entail that all and sundry must concertedly, and altruistically, press for the realizations of these imperatives of prudent management of nigeria’s national resources today, tomorrow and together. conclusion without question the whistleblowing policy appears to be a step in the right direction to tackling the very complex and longstanding issue of corruption in nigeria. however, to continue its achievements in recovering funds through tips, the government should ensure the risks the whistleblower faces by coming forward with information are properly balanced with the financial incentive, guarantee of protection, and confidence in successful investigations and prosecutions. it is therefore imperative to put in place a comprehensive and well implemented legal regime for whistle-blowing for a society like nigeria with complex political and socio-economic relations coupled with its notorious history of corruption. the states and local government areas also need to be integrated in the policy for better outcomes. the absence of this will no doubt create more risks for the whistleblower and thus rubbish the whole objective of the policy. recommendations in the light of the above view points, the following recommendations are timely; 1. there is need for the government to embark on public enlightenment campaign through radio and television jingles as well as use of other communication media to educate the masses on the modus operandi of whistleblowing policy. 2. the government should put relevant legislations in place to guarantee the safety of whistleblowers and families, this way they will feel secured enough to make available relevant information at their disposal. references akinnaso, d. (2016). nigeria’s whistle blowing policy: a good start, but not enough, international journal of social science studies. 7, (2), 33 http://ijsss.redfame.com. ayamba, i. a. (2018). whistle blowing in a depraved nigerian economy: challenges and prospects. journal of development and good governance. 3(4), 33-43. ceva, e., and bocchiola, m. (2018a). is whistleblowing a duty? cambridge: polity press. ceva, e., and bocchiola, m. (2018b). personal trust, public accountability, and the justification of whistleblowing. journal of political philosophy, 27(2), 187– 206. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopp.12170 daily times newspapers (2018). whistle-blowing: corruption and the challenges of public disclosure. 21(xxi), 34 http://ijsss.redfame.com/ https://doi.org/10.1111/jopp.12170 307 davis, m. (2003). whistleblowing. in h. lafollette (ed.), oxford handbook of practical ethics. new york: oxford university press. de george, r. t. (2010). whistle blowing in business ethics (7th ed.). new york: macmillan. delmas, c. (2015). the ethics of government whistleblowing. social theory and practice, 41, 77– 105. demming, a. (2017). the global anti-corruption blog law, social science, and policy. accessed online. federal ministry of finance (2016), fmf whistle blowing policy. abuja: federal ministry of finance publication. fjeldstad, g. and isaksen, h. (2008). political corruption in nigeria: theoretical perspectives and some explanations. anthropologist, 11 (2), 81-92. joseph, i. (2007), corruption in nigeria’s public sector organizations and its implication for national development. mediterranean journal of social sciences, 7(3), 2735.https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s1p27 jubb, p. (1999). whistleblowing: a restrictive definition and interpretation. journal of business ethics, 21(1), 77– 94. miceli, m. p., & near, j. p. (1992). blowing the whistle: the organizational and legal implications for companies and employees. new york: lexington books. miceli, m. p., dreyfus, s., & near, j. p. (2014). outsider ‘whistleblowers’: conceptualizing and distinguishing ‘bell-ringing’ behavior. in a. j. brown, d. lewis, r. moberly, & w. vandekerckhove (eds.), international handbook on whistleblowing research. cheltenham: edward elgar. miller, s. (2014), “social institutions,” in e. zalta (ed.), the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/social-institutions. obayelu, a. (2017); whistle-blowing policy as a mechanism for energizing the ‘war against corruption’ in nigeria. international journal of international relations, media and mass communication studies, 3(4), 16-32. oecd (1995). the dysfunctional state of nigeria. short of the goal: us policy and poorly performing states. new jersey: oecd publication. osaghae, e. e. (1995). structural adjustment and ethnicity in nigeria (research report no. 98). uppsala, sweden: motala grafiska, motala. sagar, r. (2013). secrets and leak: the dilemma of state secrecy. princeton: princeton university press. seteolu, g. (2005). the sociological study of corruption, in f. odekunle (ed.) nigeria: corruption in development: proceedings of the nigerian sociological association, zaria. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/social-institutions whistleblowing policy udofia, s. d. (2009) “corruption and underdevelopment in nigeria”. university of maiduguri journal of arts and social science (majass), 7 (2). 22-31. undp (1997). resource wealth and political regimes in africa. new york: undp publication. unescap (2011). united nations convention against corruption (uncac) (online resource) available at https://treaties.un.org/pages/viewdetails. aspx?src=ind&mtdsg_no=xviii-14&chapter=18&lang=en. usman, i. (2009). a panacea for corruption among nigerian public officers, in s. o. abogunrun (ed) biblical studies and corruption in africa”, ibadan: nabis. world bank (1992). ‘the patterns and problems of economic development in rentier states. washington dc: world bank publication. volume 6 issue 3, 2021 371 governance and development in nigeria: an appraisal ignatius nnamdi aguene ph.d department of sociology/ psychology godfrey okoye university, enugu agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com abstract development is gradual but complete reorganization and mobilization of the entire social system. the purpose of development is a rise in the level and quality of life of the population. development is more than improvements in the people’s well-being: it also describes the capacity of the system to provide the circumstances for that continued well-being. corruption is deeply rooted in the nigerian society and it destroys any form of development endeavor. embezzlement of public funds and other fraudulent practices and moreover the government is not citizen based. ethnic group membership breeds ethnic consciousness or ethnicity which influence interaction between people and groups in nigeria. the absence of good governance in nigeria has been extremely damaging to the government's corrective intervention role, particularly in the maintenance of peace and security, as well as the promotion of economic growth and the creation of the wealth needed to confront poverty and improve human development. the research found out that inequality has not allowed nigeria to embrace sustainable development. this work concludes that nigeria’s being the africa's largest economy and one of the sixth growing economies in the world is still unable to resolve the irony of poverty in spite of the abundant human and material resources. the research recommends that it is needful for the government at all levels to wake up with renewed strength and commitment to reduce or totally eradicating the plague of poverty in nigeria. nigerian government should ensure that governance is inclusive of women and youth, who have historically been marginalized, as well as cultivate transformative leadership at all levels of government. keywords: equity, economy, governance, leadership, nation building introduction adina (1999) perceived development as gradual but complete reorganization and mobilization of the entire social system. while aziz (1978) summarized development as: being focused on meeting the human needs of the entire society through a strategy that would provide a rapid increase in the production of certain types of goods and services and the distribution of land and other productive assets as well as a change in the political power structure. it also involves cultural growth through education and community life, creativity and dignity through job satisfaction and greater sense of participation, freedom of mobility, association and expression. the purpose of development is a rise in the level and quality of life of the population. economic growth has not necessarily given rise to quality of life for all populations of the mailto:agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com governance and development in nigeria world. sen (1999) noted that development must be judged by its impact on people not only by changes in their income but more generally in terms of their choices, capabilities and freedoms and we should be concerned about the distribution of these improvements, not just the simple average for a society. development consists of more than improvements in the well-being of citizens. it is also about the capacity of economic political and social system to provide the circumstances for that well-being on a sustainable, longterm basis. development is more than improvements in the people’s well-being: it also describes the capacity of the system to provide the circumstances for that continued well-being. amartya sen (1998) 1998 nobel prize winner in economics argued development as freedom in his 1999 book. a) political freedom and transparently in relations between people. b) freedom of opportunity including freedom to access credit and c) economic protection from object poverty, including through income supplements and unemployment relief. poverty is characterized by lack of at least one freedom. based on these ethical considerations, sen argues that development cannot be reduced to simply increasing basic incomes, non to raising average per capital incomes. rather, it requires a package of developing mechanisms that progressive enable the ethnic of a growing rang of freedom. a capital idea of the book is that freedom is both the end and a means to development. according to the human development report (hdr) published by the united nations development programme (2014), the basic objective of poverty reduction programme is to create a suitable environment for youth empowerment, to have access to long, healthy and creative lives. tomori (1979) noted that: development implies the complete modernization of a society. it entails the conversation of a peasant society into an industrial and it means a change in the whole way of life, in expectations and motivations and even the physical environment of daily life itself. development has many dimensions seers (1969) noted that three questions are asked about a country’s development (a) what has been happening to poverty? (b) what has been happening to unemployment? (c) what has been happening to inequality? permit me to add the 4th one (d) what has been happening to security of life and property? 373 the aims and objectives of development development generally and ultimately aims at the qualitative and quantitative improvement of the level of living of man in his earthly existence. the objectives of development can thus be presented: according to (nnamani, 2007) i) to increase the basic life-sustaining goods and services. these includes food, shelter, security and medical services. ii) to widen the distribution of the basic life-sustaining goods and services. this can be achieved by increased income distribution, rational economic policies and depoliticized economic planning. iii) to improve living condition of man can be improved by creating more jobs. achieving low population growth rate and mounting relevant educational programmes iv) to provide higher incomes: higher incomes are derivable from increased investment, cultivation of savings culture, provision of more jobs, and acquisition of functional education. v) to remove superstition: this can be achieved through formal and non-formal education exposes man to the idea, knowledge and ideals of people of other lands. application of science and technology in influencing and controlling natural phenomena is possible only through education. education, and indoctrination, is therefore an indispensable tool in the removal of superstitions beliefs and tendencies. vi) to modify norms and values. development not only modifies norms and values, it removes completely obnoxious traditions and repugnant cultural practices. development accelerates the rate at which norms and rules transform, modify and transmute, this is because as man progresses, politically, and educational –his belief system and thought processes too. vii) to expand man’s economic choice. man’s economic, as well as social choice, is expanded by such development factors as: equitable distribution of basic life sustaining goods; higher incomes; and higher/ relevant education. one who is educationally deficient, for example, lacks the knowledge and requisite skills to exploit an opportunity which holds way in the society. furthermore, low income greatly limits the effectiveness of demand for variety of goods and services. indicators of development although community development is a product of many elements, including changes in thinking, cultural beliefs, traditions, etc. the following indicators can generally be used to show the levels of development and welfare in a community. according to asha (2013): governance and development in nigeria 1. increases in social services such as good housing, health, education, nutrition, clean environment and sufficient clean and safe drinking water, etc. 2. increase in income that enables families in a community to meet their needs. 3. decrease in infant and maternal mortality. 4. demand for modern technology. 5. sustainable use of environment. 6. eradication and / or reduction in poverty. aristotle defined democracy as rule by the people (greek democratia demos, people plus cratia, cracy). the reaffirmation of this view modern times accounted for abraham lincoln's declaration in 1863 that it was "a government of the people by the people and for the people. this idea that in some way, the people govern themselves, is still the core spirit behind democracy. as a matter of fact, it is believed that the people govern themselves by organizing regular elections through which the peoples highest leaders are periodically determined or policies governing them are chosen; the acceptance of the so-called democratic rights to have one's vote counted equally, the right to run for political offices through open competition on the basis of a multi party system; the existence of newspapers and other communication media which are free to criticize government policies and leaders; there should be public debate of issues and voting by democratically elected representatives: promotion of religious tolerance and freedom and the right to hold and express unpopular ideas: protection of minority rights; economic empowerment of the people and the existence of the rule of law embodied in a fundamental document which structures the government, elaborate the reciprocal rights and duties of government and the people, and which all government officials and their policies must obey and be subjected to -constitution. democracies are sustained by citizens who have the required knowledge, skills and dispositions. absent a reasoned commitment on the part of its citizens to the fundamental values and principles of democracy, a free and open society cannot succeed (branson 1998). 375 statement of the problem empowering people through qualitative and functional which is a to development is lacking the entire environments of most countries of african are seriously abused, and this leads to loss or able land, wild life, water supplies and climate charges. an industrial strategy is imperative for a sustainable growth is lacking. the political progress must involve popular participation of the polity. the various organs and structures of government are not separated therefore political sustainability is lacking, nigeria lacks the capacity to protect its territorial sovereignty. there is insecurity here and there across the nation. the electorate hardly approve those in authority. corruption is deeply rooted in the nigerian society and it destroys any form of development endeavor. embezzlement of public funds and other fraudulent practices and moreover the government is not citizen based. first, let’s look at a few critical metrics which all point in the negative direction, nigeria ranks 144 out of 180 countries according to transparency international, ti, 2018 corruption perception index, cpi. in the same year, nigeria came 88th out of 133 countries in the world justice project, wjp, rule of law index and achieved the damning status of becoming the “poverty capital of the world”. according to the world poverty clock, created by vienna based world data lab, 91.16 million of the country’s 198 million people were living below a dollar a day (extreme poverty) as at february 13, 2019. (ochereome, 2018) according to olagunju (2019) the understanding of the causes of poverty in nigeria can be seen as multi-dimensional and multifaceted. there is a preponderance of studies geared towards addressing the issue of poverty in nigeria. for instance, olowa (2012) pinpointed the causes of poverty and youth capacity wastage in nigeria to include the inadequate access to employment opportunities for the poor particularly the youths and lack or inadequate access to assets such as land and capital by the poor. this s often attributed to the absence of favorable land policies as well as minimal programnes for small-scale credit (bakare, 2011) there is the problem of inadequate access to swift assistance for those who are the victims of transitory disasters such as drought. floods, pests and war (cohen 2005) this is brought about by lack of well-conceived policy strategies and resources management mechanisms. however, the poverty in nigeria can also been linked to the issue of inadequate involvement of the poor (youth) in the design of development programmes. this is often exacerbated by the noninvolvement of the representatives of the poor communities or beneficiaries in the design, governance and development in nigeria formulation and implementation of programmes that will affect then substantially (brody, (1994). secretary of state hillary clinton in nigeria on august 12, 2009 again, to referred to president obama's speech, what africa needs is not more strong men, it needs more strong democratic institutions that will stand the test of time. without good governance, no amount of oil or no amount of aid, no amount of effort guarantees nigeria's success. but with good governance, nothing can stop nigeria. the united states supports the seven-point agenda for reform that was outlined by president yar’adua. he opined that that delivering on roads and on electricity and on education and all the other points of that agenda will demonstrate the kind of concrete progress that the people of nigeria are waiting for but africa has a long way to go. too many countries have not yet achieved the type of reforms that can prevent dictatorship, corruption, and economic decline. due to continued sectarian violence, weak and ineffective leadership. and lack of political will, countries like the central african republic, eritrea, somalia, and south sudan remain saddled by poor-functioning governance structures. the absence of good governance in many african countries has been extremely damaging to the government's corrective intervention role, particularly in the maintenance of peace and security, as well as the promotion of economic growth and the creation of the wealth needed to confront poverty and improve human development. according to the nigerian burcau of statistics (2015), over 60% of nigerians are iiving on less than us$ 1 per day. specifically, about 69% of the populations are classified as poor with over 6 still living in absolute poverty. it is regrettable that nigerians can be badly poor in the midst of abundance resources. indeed, this contradicts rational thinking and it is indicative of the fact that the pattern of growth in nigeria is non-inclusive. the country could have been celebrating overtime what is known as growth without development (todaro and smith, 2009) poverty can also be traced to geographical location. in nigeria there is disparity in the pace and pattern of development between the sis goo-political zones for instance, the northern regions have a lower level of development than southern region this can be partly explained by the fact that the north's economy is predominantly agricultural the low returns from rural enterprises condemn the region to poverty (ogwumike, 2002) low productivity from agricultural sector tends to contribute to the poverty level in this area. 377 research questions: the research questions were adopted from seers (1969) with the last one added by the author. a. what has been happening to poverty? b. what has been happening to unemployment? c. what has been happening to inequality? d. what has been happening to security of life and property? objectives of the study the general objective is to find out how far the various past and present governments brought democratic dividends to the nigeria citizens. a. to examine what has been happening to poverty b. to examine the current unemployment rate c. to examine inequality in nigerian society d. to examine how the security of life and property of nigerians are being protected at different levels of governance. good governance and national development in africa “good governance implies: democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law. former secretary of united nations kofi anan noted that good governance is perhaps the single most factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development”. agenda 2063 by the african union in 2013 with membership of 55 nations and headquarters in addia ababa ethiopia. the aim was to make africa a global player by transforming nations of the content into democratic, peaceful, and innovation power houses that will be global player on the next 50years. the seven aspirations are as follows: (1) a prosperous africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development. (2) an integral continent politically united and based on the ideals of panafricanism and the vision of africa renaissance. (3) an africa of good governance, democracy respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law. (4) a peaceful and secure africa. (5) africa with a strong cultural identity common hostage, values and ethics. (6) an africa whose development is people oriented relying on the potential offered by the african people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children. (7) an africa as strong, waited, resident and influential global player and partner african union realized that new partnership for african development (nepad) did not achieve much of its expectation even with its peer review mechanism africa governance and development in nigeria practiced foreign development strategies which were non inclusive. according to the united nations, good governance is measured by the eight factors of participation, rule of law, transparency, responsiveness, consensus oriented, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency and accountability. participation requires that all groups. particularly those most vulnerable. have direct of representative access to the systems of government this manifests as a strong civil society and citizens with the freedom of association and expression. rule of law is exemplified by impartial legal systems that protect the human rights and civil liberties of all citizens, particularly minorities this is indicated by an independent judicial branch and a police force free from corruption transparency means that citizens understand and have access to the means and manner in which decisions are made. especially if they are directly affected by such decisions. this information must be provided in an understandable and accessible format, typically translated through the media. responsiveness simply involves that institutions respond to their stakeholders within a reasonable time frame. consensus oriented is demonstrated by an agenda that seeks to mediate between the many different needs. perspectives, and expectations of a diverse citizenry. decisions needs to be made in a manner that reflects a deep understanding of the historical, cultural and social context of the community. equity and inclusiveness depends on ensuring that all the members of a community feel included and empowered to improve or maintain their well-being. especially those individuals and groups that are the most vulnerable. effectiveness and efficiency is developed through the sustainable use of resources to meet the needs of a society. sustainability refers to both ensuring social investments carry through and natural resources are maintained for future generations. accountability refers to institutions being ultimately accountable to the people and one another. this includes government agencies, civil society, and the private sector al being accountable to one another as well. according to former un secretary-general kofi annan "good governance is ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law strengthening democracy promoting transparency and capacity in public administration. 379 political parties also play a key role in well-functioning democracies, elsewhere political parties are disconnected from voters and dominated by elites, with few incentives or capabilities to increase the representation of other voters political parties can play a key role in pivotal moments of a state's development, cither negatively (eg. organizing and instigating violence) or positively (eg by leading dialogue in a fractured society). fighting poverty and improving human development in africa must begin with the creation of wealth, a process that requires the existence of a robust entrepreneurial class. in order to achieve these goals, there must be peace and security especial the peaceful coexistence of the various ethno cultural groups that inhabit each african country. unfortunately, weak and dysfunctional governance structures continue to prevent many african countries from creating and sustaining the necessary enabling environment for peaceful coexistence, entrepreneurship and wealth creation. in fact, in countries such as cameroon, the drc, and south sudan, the absence of governance structures undergirded by the rule of law has failed to halt ethnicinduced violence. that violence stunts entrepreneurship and economic growth in these countries. peace and security, which are a sine qua non for entrepreneurial activities and the creation of wealth, are unlikely to return to these countries without the provision of participatory and inclusive governance structures. weak governance manifests itself in other ways as well: too often dysfunctional governance processes persist, creating environments where civil servants and political elites act with impunity, embezzling scarce public resources that could be used for education, healthcare, infrastructure, water treatment plants, electricity, farm-to-market roads, or technology elites are usually not incentivized to implement pro-poor economy programs that enhance the ability of the poor to participate productively and gainfully in economic growth such as public investments in primary and secondary education, clean water, basic health care, and child nutrition. it is unlikely that the continent will be able to successfully and implement and achieve the sustainable development goals in 2030 or agenda 2063 unless institutions are reformed to enforce good governance undergirded the rule of law. the policies outlined will help the region accelerate good. governance and development in nigeria characteristics of good and quality leadership there are many types of political leaders some are master or rulers while others are servant – leaders who rule by example and have the interest of those they are ruling at heart. according to agbo, (2013) the following qualities are to be possessed by a good leader. i) he / she must be a person of good reputation, transparent honesty and shall command influence and acceptability within the group or community. ii) the person must be self-disciplined and principled. iii) he must be prepared to deny himself certain things for the sake of the group under his care. iv) he must have regard for all members of his group and accord every member his or her desired respect and honour at all times. v) he must be of sound mind, polite and shall not often be in financial embarrassment. vi) he must be very patriotic and actively involved in developmental activities of the group or community as the case may be. vii) he must be reasonable, responsible and ever ready to accommodate or accept reasonable opinion of others (when the need arises). viii) he or she must not be self-centered; and must try as much as possible to carry other members along at all times. ix) he must always be considerate, not being rude or naughty and must not be a drunkard. x) he must not be a criminal or a notorious trouble maker. good governance and development gender discrimination promoting gender equality is now globally accepted as a development strategy for reducing poverty levels among women and men, improving health and living standards and enhancing efficiency of public investments. the attainment of gender equality is not only seen as an end in itself and human rights issue, but as a prerequisite for the achievement of sustainable development according to national gender policy (2006). we all know that in nigeria, traditions, customs sexual stereotyping of social roles and cultural prejudice continue to militate against enjoyment of rights and full participation of woman on an equal basis with men in national development. the core strategies for achieving the objectives of the national gender policy include policy, partnership and programme reforms through mainstreaming of gender concerns at all levels; gender education and capacity building to enhance necessary technical expertise and positive gender culture; legislative reforms to guarantee gender justice and respect for human rights and economic reforms for enhanced productivity and sustainable 381 development, especially that which addresses the needs of women and children, and o their vulnerable groups. nation building nation-building implies the making of people who view themselves as belonging to different nationalities think of themselves as and feel that they are one. this would mean the transfer of allegiance by these constituent nationalities from the local nationalities to the larges geopolitical entity. this is the movement from the stage of amalgamation to that of integration from reluctant compliance to wholehearted support and unsupervised compliance, the stage where the citizens feel that this is my country. i am a nigerian" the feeling of oneness among nigerians is illusive. nigerian nation-building would therefore mean finding permanent solution to the problems of revenue allocation population census, nature and practice of nigerian federalism, religious intolerance, ethnicity, minority question, indigene ship the north/south dichotomy and neo-colonial pressures through the activities of international organizations such as the world bank, international monetary fund and intervention by powerful foreign nations in order to assuage national feeling and prevent disunity. ethnic consciousness is still corroding the political fabric of the nation. there are still complaints of domination, marginalization and monopoly of political power by some groups against the others. c. gahia laments: development strategies the ideology and practice of development in nigeria have undergone several modifications. for instance, immediately after independence, education was recognized as the type of development which the authorities wanted to take place in the rural areas. the sole aim was to correct the defects of both missionary and traditional education to make the individual selfreliant. even though adult education was omitted as a planning error, the government tried to improve agricultural production by giving aids to rural farmers mostly in the eastern parts of the country. however, the government encouraged people to imbibe the spirit of community development. there were many self-help projects practice became very useful in many parts of the country (olisa and obiukwu 1992). there are other mobilization programs in nigeria which include the following operation feed the nation (ofn), by former head of state gen. olusegun obasanjo, green revolution by former president shehu shagari, directorate of food, roads and rural infrastructure (dfrri) was set up to correct the general gross inadequacy of rural infrastructure in nigeria and also to governance and development in nigeria balance regional disparities in the distribution of rural infrastructure. fadama development projects, millennium development goals (mdgs) and current sustainable development goals (sdgs) etc. according to olanguji (2019): the national poverty eradication programme: this focuses on the provision of strategies for the eradication of absolute poverty in nigeria introduced in early 2001, national poverty eradication programme was complemented by the national poverty eradication council which coordinates the poverty-reduction related programmes of all the relevant ministries, parastatal and agencies (olowa, 2012). youth empowerment scheme: this focuses on capacity acquisition, mandatory attachment, productivity improvement, credit delivery, technology development and enterprise promotion which are pivotal for developing the youth for productivity and entrepreneurship. rural infrastructure development scheme: this deals with the provision of portable and irrigation water, transport (rural and urban), rural energy and power support (0badan, 2002) this is to encourage the youths into medium and large-scale agricultural practice to boost food production in the political system. according to ledford and luca (2013), thus improvement in food production will be very n functional n totally alleviating poverty and dissipation of human capital resources. social welfare service scheme: this focuses on special education primary healthcare services, establishment and maintenance of recreational centres, public awareness facilities, youth and hostel development (darwell, 2002), environment protection facilities, food security provisions, macro credit delivery, rural telecommunications facilities provision of mass transit, maintenance culture. natural resources development and conservation scheme: this focuses on the harnessing of the agricultural, water, social mineral resources, conservation of land and space (beaches, reclaimed land, etc. particularly for the convenient and effective utilization by small scale operators. basic needs approach: this focuses on the provision of basic needs such as food, shelter, water sanitation, health care, basic education, transportation, which will upgrade the living standards among not only the poor class but also the youths (ogwumike, 2002). this is to make lite conducive for the citizens most importantly the youths. 383 rural development approach: this focuses on an integrated approach lo rural development which aims at the provision of basic necessities of life such as food (oladeji, and abiola, 1998) this also includes shelter, safe drinking water, education, health care, youth employment and income generating opportunities to the rural dwellers in general and the youths in particular. target approach: this favours the directing of poverty alleviation programmes to specific groups within the country (oladeji and abiola, 1998) this approach includes such programmes as social safety nets, micro credits and school meal programme. local government councils as the third tier of governance local government is pivotal to the achievement of the rural development policy of the federal government of nigeria. the chairman of the local government should be provided with the mandate and responsibility for pursuing and coordinating development projects within his local government jurisdiction, nigeria has 774 local government areas in although some state governments has created development centre within their states but not recognized by the federal government in revenue allocation according to african sustainable development goals index ranking 2020 nigeria scored 47.07% with 43 position out of 52 countries. the major reason given for the poor result was that local government chairmen who would have coordinated community development projects were sidelined and sdgs lost sustainable development impact resulting in the failure. many state governments do not want the chairmen of local government areas in their state to work but act as their stooge; instead of allowing them to work according to their constitutional provisions. objectives of the 1976 local government reform the primary objectives of the 1976 local government reform can be summarized as follows: 1. to ensure that money allocated to local government areas are not interfered with by state government. 2. to ensure full participation of rural dwellers in the affairs and governance of their local government. 3. to encourage local initiative and leadership potentials. 4. to create facilities that shall promote security and harmony at local levels by deploying police and other security operatives at all local government areas. 5. to serve as a guide in deconcentrating of federal and state government provision of amenities such as electricity power supply and other public utilities. governance and development in nigeria problems encountered by local government councils despite, the numerous advantages of local government councils as the third tier of governors in nigeria. there are still problems in implementing their work throughout the 774 local government areas in nigeria. the problems include: i. lack of available sources of income generation. ii. occasional interference from higher levels of governments. iii. non-compliance to the constitutional provision of revenue collection due to the tact that more often than not, the local government councils cannot effectively enforce these byelaws because of poor facilities such as vehicles and poor road network. iv. misappropriation of public funds: this practice is very predominant in almost every local government council throughout the federation. this is mainly because the jubilation and excitement that go with election victory as council chairmen for bear the unrestricted opportunities for them to amass wealth. v. engagement of untrained personnel: it is an outstanding fact that most local government councils do not engage the services of qualified accountants to regulate the accounting spending in order to shape the financial records for smooth and ethical accounting presentations. thus, council chairmen in attempt to satisfy party loyalties do not appoint the rightful, qualified and experienced persons to the office of the secretary to the council and other relevant positions such as the supervisors. vi. quality of council chairmen: it is very significant to note that the more educated a person is, the clearer his thought processes, and the easier for him to articulate on views to improve and enhance his environments. so it is very obvious that the consequence of electing or appointing a poorly educated person to head local government councils or development centers manifests more in embezzlement than the good purpose which the local government council is meant to serve. functions of community development union (town union) the community development union which is commonly referred to as the town union has numerous functions, activities or roles to play in the development of the community. some of these functions according to agbo, 2013. include: i. to act as the administrative organ of the community collaboration with the members of the traditional rulers cabinet. ii. the town union executive members should liaise with the "igwe in council and the traditional ruler of the community (i.e igwe himself) to attract 385 governments attention; in order to solve the infrastructural problems of the community. iii. it is equally part of her roles to establish a strong machinery for the unification of every other organizations and age grades within the community and to bring them under one central and supreme authority for the benefit of the community. iv. to promote love, peace and progress within the also to initiate and encourage development projects. v. to work for the economic, social, cultural and political development and advancement of the community. vi. to promote harmony within the entire community and also 1o resolve any protracted conflict(s) within the community and other neighboring communities (if any) in order to move the community forward. vii. to maintain equity and justice at all times for the progress and development of the community. viii. to take precaution measures to stop any action which is capable of causing breach of public peace irrespective of political or religious affiliation-either by a person or group of persons. ix. to avoid any action which is capable of disintegrating the cooperate unity and harmonious co-existence of the community as an entity. x. to note that no meaningful development could take place in any community where crisis conflicts and hatred are the orders of the day. according to imhabekhai (2010) participation of the citizen facilitates growth and development in any community. i. it has obvious advantage to the individual and the community. se include: it gives the individual a chance to participate in the socio-political process development of his/her community, thereby improving process and capacity of choice ii. it arouses the consciousness of representative members in dealing with their common problem and satisfying their individual needs. iii. it meets man's need for relatedness, for creativity, sense of belonging and for a frame of orientation toward a fulfilling future. iv. citizen participation as a process provides an opportunity for the participants to learn from each other, unlearn bad habits and learn new ways of defending their human rights and improving them lots and the living conditions in their society. v. it allows for activity and involvement which encourage participants to widen their interests, acquire new skills of thinking, develop initiative and industry as well as discover inter-relationship that challenges attitude of community leaders. vi. it gives training to democratic leadership and selection process. governance and development in nigeria vii. it promotes and strengthens community control, bringing about positive changes the citizens and the communities in which the participants live. viii. it promotes individual and collective responsibility in the community and is used to establish greater collaborative problem-solving mechanism among community leaders who conflicting interest, diverse needs and rapidly changing and emerging programmes (justice development and peace commission, ljebu-ode, 1995) the needed funds for community development project(o) can be sourced or obtained through diverse ways. the following sources are some of the ways that may be explored or utilized in raising funds for community development projects: a. payment of levies by community members and groups b. donations c. project launching d. conferment of chieftaincy titles e. sale of community resources f. grants from government g. grants from local and international donor agencies h. payment of royalties i. sons and daughters abroad (town unions) j. loans k. payments by property developers l. returns on community investments (adepoju, 1976) factors affecting good governance and development in nigeria in an attempt to understand and appraise good governance and development in nigeria, the following were found to affect it. poverty: in nigeria, there is high unemployment rate, stern poverty, persistent manpower wastage as well as massive system or institutional decadence. the standard of living of generality of the nigerian citizens is miserably below the global poverty line. however, access to the basic human needs like food, shelter, education, health and portable water has remained extremely challenging for the average nigerians (olanguju, 2019). corruption: corruption has eaten deeply into the government at all levels (ogwumike, 2002). corrupt government officials misappropriate and redirect public funds meant for developmental purposes to personal use and aggrandizement thus leaving the masses to wallow in poverty for lack of basic necessities. 387 unemployment: widespread poverty persists in nigeria because of chronic joblessness employment in nigeria is usually based on how connected you are with people in power and not on merit (alako, 2003) according to national bureau of statistics (nbs. 2015). the unemployment rate in nigeria increased from 5.3% in 2006 to 21.10 in 2010 and further increased to an all-time high of 23, in 2011. according to olagungu 2019, the problems of inadequate access to swift assistance for those who are the victims of transitory disaster such as drought, floods, pests and war (cohen 2005). this is brought about by lack of well conceived policy strategies and resources management mechanisms. however, the poverty in nigeria can also be link to the issue of inadequate involvement of the poor and the youth in the design of development programs. this is often exacerbated by the non involvement of the representatives or poor communities or beneficiaries in the design, formulation and implementation of programs that will affect them substantially income inequality: disparity in income distribution in nigeria also co widespread poverty between 2004 and 2010, the gini coefficient (a measure of income inequality) for nigeria increased from 0.4296 to 0.447 (nbs, 2010), thus indicating national percentage change of 4.19% (bakare, 2011). in the period starting from the 2003 democratic rule, only 13.4%% of the cabinet members are women and there are no female governors, only 1.6%s of women are councilors, 1.2% are local government chairpersons,2.8% are senators and 3.36 are female representatives at the house of representatives. in addition, only 9 out of 774 local government chairpersons are women and there are 143 female councilors out of 8,810, at the national assembly, 3 out of i09 senators are women and there are only 12 members of the house of representatives out of 360 members. in the national political reform conference set up by the obasanjo government in 2o05, there were 4 female ambassadors out of 57 and 31 female delegates out of 420 delegates. at the state and the local levels, the scenario is the same. terrorism and insurgency: ln recent times, acts of terror and insurgency mainly because of religious or political intolerance have intensified the incidence of poverty in nigeria (ajakaigye, and adeyeye, 2002). terrorist and insurgent activities over the years have left thee vulnerable regions (niger delta and north) very impoverished. summary and conclusion fist, countries in or recovering from crises must engage in process-die constitution-making to produce an agreed-upon governing process characterized by the separation of powers, with effective checks and balances, including a robust and politically active civil society, an governance and development in nigeria independent judiciary: and a viable, free, and independent press. this work concludes that nigeria being the africa's largest economy and one of the sixth owng economies in the world is still unable resolve the irony of poverty in spite of the abundant an and material resources (oladeji and abiola, 1998). it is therefore needful for the government all stakeholders to wake up with renewed strength and commitment to reduce or totally eradicating the plague of poverty in nigeria. recommendation consequently, this paper recommends that government at all levels must endeavour to promote inclusive development policy that can generate productive employment opportunities for the youths’, redistributes income, enhances equity and involves the active participation of these youths in order to drastically reduce the incidence of poverty in nigeria. based on the foregoing, it can be recommended that rapid productivity and manpower development programmes are crucial for poverty reduction; this will have long-lasting multiplier effects and existential benefits for the development and empowerment of the nigerian youth. third, all african countries, with the aid of civil society, should develop and implement education programs to help citizens understand and appreciate the constitution and its provisions, and recognize the law as a tool that they can use to organize their private lives and resolve their conflicts, including those arising from trade and other forms of exchange. programs for empowering youth and women could be particularly fruitful. countries should also ensure that governance is inclusive of women and youth, who have historically been marginalized, as well as cultivate transformative leadership at all levels of government. references agbo, s. n. (2013). community development, town union and neighborhood watch. (administrative and financial management) in enugu state enugu. asha, r. p. (2013). community organization and development, an indian perspective. new delhi ph learning private ltd. olagunju, o. (2019). poverty alleviation programs and sustainable youth empowerment in nigeria. center for economic policy research and analysis, faculty of social sciences university of lagos. 389 aguene, i. n. (2018). gender discrimination and participation of women in rural development in enugu state. a dissertation submitted to the department of sociology / anthropology, university of benin, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of degree of doctor of philosophy (sociology) in globalization and development studies. federal republic of nigeria (2006). national gender policy federal ministry of women affairs and social development. abuja: aaza press ad. igbo, e.u., & anugwom, e. e. (2001). sociology: basic concepts and issues. nsuuka ap express publisher. olisa, m., & obiuka, s. (1992). rural development in nigeria dynamics and strategies. awka mickslink publisher. adepoju, o. (1976). directions for social research on self-help projects and programmes. nigeria community development journal, 11, (1) 62-69. inhabekhai, c.i. (2010). management of community development programme and project .benin, urban press. nigeria bureau of statistics 2015 nnamani, l. (2007). politics of development and underdevelopment enugu john jacob classical publisher ltd. justice development and peace commission (1995). popular participation in development training manual ijehu oda jdpc catholic diocese of ijehu ode. united nations development programs (2014) agenda 2063 by africa unity in 2013 united nations 2016 good governance. page 4 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 1 roles of small and medium enterprises in capacity building in enugu state iloh angela ugo department of public administration, caaritas university amorji-nike, enugu state. e-mail: angieonwuzu63@gmail.com & joseph chibuzo inmpey general studies division, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. e-mail: inmpey@esut.edu.ng abstract the study examined the roles of small and medium enterprises (smes) in capacity building in enugu state, with a focus on the mandates of ministries and agencies in charge of facilitating entreprenurial development on behalf of enugu state government. a review of other scholars work was carried out. smes was defined as an economy driven agent that plays a major role towards capacity building. a theoretical framework on the concept of community capacity building and joseph schumpeters view on development was adopted for the study. a survey design research approach was adopted.the population of the study area was a total of 1045 and a sample size of 310 derived through taro yammani formular. simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. frequency percentage tables and chi-square statistical method was adopted to analyze the samples collected using likert scaling method. the hypothesis of the research was tested at 0.05 level of significance to find out if, smes play significant roles in capacity building within enugu state and its environment. it was revealed that, smes have created employment but not with significant effect, and had little effect on the individauls standard of living with chi-square result of 0.00 p value rejecting the null hypotheses. it had built individual skills and technical knowledge for entrepreneurs to facilitate capacity building within the environment of enugu state but of little effect with p-value = 0.00 rejecting the null hypotheses and accepting the alternate hypotheses have smes had improved on innoviations on the environments of the state with chi-square value p =0.00. however, the descriptive statistics revealed that, the competitive nature of the economy and rate of graduate turnover from tertiary institutions trils down smes impact on employment creation. in view of these findings, this study recommended: improved fundings of start-up loans for young entrepreneurs in order to meet up graduate turnover from universities and colleges and to put in place protective policies for young industires. more regular training and incentives programmes, consultations, supervision and counseling of both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to improve individual skills, technical knowledge of entrepreneurs. also proper monitoring and evaluation techniques should be adopted by funding institutions and mdas to ensure proper utilization of funds keywords: small medium enterprises, capacity building, employment creation, standard of living and innoviations mailto:angieonwuzu63@gmail.com mailto:inmpey@esut.edu.ng 2 introduction small, medium enterprises (smes) are vital engine that propels fast socio-economic growth, thereby enabling capacity building and other innoviations to trive in a nation. in most developed countries like usa, japan, china, etc, sme is the engine for growth torwards capacity building in all ramification of public and private sector development. according to imoisi and jumbo (2014) “ smes consist of over 98 percent of the entire business in a nation and play a part in more than 65 percent of employment opportunities”. globally, smes contribute over 50 percent to gdp in developed countries. on this rational, the institution of democracy in nigeria, has been making effort to building the economy through sme programmes enugu state has been on the same mission and also a role model in the south east geopolitical zone towards the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (agu, 2018). enugu state was among the first state in south-east geopolitical zone to establish sme centre in 2006 in pursuitant of socio-economic development of the state. this is a follow-up of the national empowerment, employment development strategy(needs), miliennium development goals(mdgs) and recently the sustainable development goals(sdgs). however, all these goals and strategies are geared towards reduction of poverty, creation of employment; which will also develop individuals, organizations and their environment. this will also enhance the gross national domestic product (gndp) and per-capita income of its citizens. according to the national policy on msme (2010), “they (smes) have been acknowledged as a critical breeding and nurturing ground for domestic entrepreneurial capacities, technical skills, technological innovativeness and managerial competencies for private sector development as well as primary source of income. based on the above ideas smes are strong facilitators for capacity building. capacity building, therefore, is the process by which individuals and organizations improve, retain their skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their job competently or to a greater capacity, (wikipedia.org (2014). on other hand, sme activities cannot be visible and deeply rooted for economic and social development without viable infrastructural facilities and improved technical know-how transformation of any country” (ogbo and agu (2012. other intrinsic benefits of vibrant smes include access to the infrastructural facilities occasioned by the existence of such smes in their surroundings, the stimulation of economic activities such as suppliers of various items and distributive trades/market for items produced and/or needed by the smes, stemming from rural urban migration (oladujoye, 2015). on the other hand, iromaka, (2006) stated that its economic advantages include: “output of goods and services, generation of jobs at moderately low cost of capital, particularly in the rapid growing service sector, offer a medium of increasing income, developing a collection of skilled and semi-skilled workforce as a foundation for imminent industrial expansion. from the above scholarly opinions, capacity building is dependent on healthy facilitation and operations of smes in a state or country. statement of problem promotion of capacity building through smes is a major concern of government in order to boost socio-economic development. the national policy on msems also indicated that weak operating capacities of smes in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude etc; is a setback on smes development. government facilitating agencies are set to make a living and create wealth, educate our children and enjoy life in a peaceful environment. its mission – “to create enabling environment for sustainable and equitable economic growth and opportunity for all the citizens by promoting private sector development in a socially responsible free market 3 economy”(lga news, 2016). its vision is “to improve quality of life, decent employment and higher standard of living for all through development of a formal economy”. the major aim therefore is to develop individuals and organization, improve and retain skills and knowledge and improve the environment. this is known as capacity building and poverty reduction process. considering these lofty missions and vision statement; the amount of money pumped into the smes programme by world bank, cbn, commercial banks micro finace and even nigeria export–import bank (neximb) to sme development, so far it is expected that its (smes) development should positively improve individual skills, physical infrastructures, technical know-how of people, create employment and improve standard of living in enugu state. to determine how far these objectives have been achived is the main crux of this study and specifically; (1) to know if the smes in the state have facilitated and created more employment thereby improving the standard of living of citizens; (2) to find out how the smes have contributed to building individual skills and technical knowledge of entrepreneurs; (3) to ascertain the impact of smes on innovations (new products and services) and on the environment. review of related literature conceptual review small, medium enterprises(smes) are classified based on size and number of employers and capital investment and assets of the business involved depending on the sector, organization technology and location (wikibooks, 2018). some scholars defined it using its characteristics and roles or importance to the economy. smes also have been referred to as companies that have less than 50 employees and turnovers/balance sheet total not greater than £10m. a medium sized company has fewer than 250 employees and turnover not greater than 50m a balance sheet total of not more than £43 (lexicon, 2013). further, the national policy on micro, small and medium enterprises stated that, it varies from country to country and accordingly in nigeria (npmsme, 2010) conceptualized smes based on the dual criteria of employment and assets (excluding land and buildings) as follows. size categories employment assets (n million excluding land & building) 1 micro enterprises less than 10 less than 5m 2 small enterprise 10 – 49 5m – less than 50m 3 medium enterprise 50 – 199 50m – less than 50m from the tabulated categories of enterprises above, in nigeria, employment base takes precedence in classification of smes, for instance if an enterprise has assets worth seven(7) million but employs about seven (7) persons the employment criteria takes precedence and it will be regardeds as micro enterprise regardless of its assets base. what it means is that, 4 concepts of smes depends on the perception of the scholar and government policy of the country. however, khrystyna(2010), states that msme could be defined depending on many factors; such as business culture, the size of the country’s population, industry and the level of international economic integration. the european definition of smes as at 2015 is that, smes are enterprises which employees are fewer than 250 persons and which have annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43million euro” while smes in afghanistan states 10 to 250 employees and have sales up to one million u.s. dollars and paid up assets of one million dollars. in the views of national policy on msme and european concepts smes are defined in terms of its number of employees and assets holding while national council of industries defined it, in terms of its assets holdings only. the concept of msmes therefore, varies from country to country, based on assets holdings, number of employees, business culture, population, etc. the roles of smes in capacity building smes are key economic actors in resources mobilization, allocation and industrial restructuring process. the government play an important role in stimulating more and stronger business start-ups, and in enabling companies to modernize and grow in order to develop the socioeconomic sector. (oecd leed, 2009). hence government enhances sme’s capacity building through support of its agencies and institution, example smes centers, small and medium enterprises development agencies of nigeria (smedan) ministries of commerce and industries, etc. (a) smes are engine of growth of the economic sector. they provide economic benefits such as experimentation and adaptability to economic growth. according to oecd training center in trento (2009). government can use sme’s, that is entrepreneurship development to enhance employment and economic growth. this simply involves: i. enhancing the conversion of informal entrepreneurship into formal business, like cooperation; ii. provide growth and innovation support for companies and start-ups; iii. address skills bottlenecks; e.g building skills and technical-know-how through training and development. however, for smes to implement entrepreneurship agenda through sme’s agencies, national government, state and local government must be involved. (b) smes helps to build human capacity. without human resource, no resource of any organization or nation is useful; be it natural resource or artificial resource until human resources stimulates and activates on it for it to be utilized economically, socially or politically. sme’s build human capital to enhance the per capita income in a country. i. smes facilitates electronic commerce (e-commerce); that is one of the impact of globalization. the increase need for more sme’s for an enhance economy also ignites the need for intercommerical activities globally. and in order to create awareness of innovations, new technology, knowledge and access to markets for product become imminent. (c) according to ogun & anaynwu (1999) smes contributes to development of indigenous entrepreneurship and efficient mobilization of domestic resources, such as raw materials, capital, labour and technology. this will lead to rurai development, creation of job, mobilization of local fund for investment, human resource development, etc. 5 (d) smes will decrease regional differences, brain drain as well as rural-urban migration, at the long run it will effectively create self-sustaining growth in the country. challenges of sme performance towards capacity builing umaru (2017), in qoura interview noted that lack of requisite skills, access to finance and enough business network is enough hindrance to smes in boosting their capacity building, that is technology base and skills tremendously. according to msmes policy its problem ranges from low market access, poor access to credit, poor information flow, discriminatory legislation, poor access to kind weak linkage among different segments of the operations in the sector. futher, because of this inherent problems, most smes die within their first five years of existence. another smaller percentage goes into extinction between the sixth and tenth year thus only about five to ten percent of young companies survive, thrive and grow to maturity. many factors have been identified as to the possible causes or contributing factors to the premature death of some smes. key factors among these include: insufficient capital, lack of focus, inadequate market research, over-concentration on one or two markets for finished products, lack of succession plan, inexperience, lack of proper book keeping, lack of proper records or lack of any records at all, inability to separate business and family or personal finances, etc. federal government objectives in capacity building through smes according to kolawole (2017), federal government has the vision that smes will help to build enough infrasctural facilities for development and umaru (2017) also stated that, building capacity is a very big issue. in addition to the above there are other objectives: 1. the federal government hope that private sector will develop technology driven activities and will restructure nigeria economy; 2. that nigeria economy will be more market-oriented; 3. that capacity building through sme will reduce unemployment and increasing productivity; thereby reducing poverty in the country. 4. it will maintain a healthy balance of payment, price and exchange stability. 5. it will improve, savings and reduce lending rates. 6. by the improve of peoples skill and knowledge through sme’s major infrastructural facilities such as power supply, communications and transportation performance will improve. 7. credit delivery and other extension services to sme will yield better results in the country. the government is of the view that, building capacity through smes will facilitate the achievements of the seventeen(17) sustainable development goals (sdgs), e-vision 2023 and that will entrench probity transparency and accountability in governance. what is capacity building capacity building has become a theme in institutional literature and in the agenda of public administration, international agencies, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. it may also be simply defined in a scholarly view, as the process of developing and 6 strengthening of human and institutional resources for achieving economic and social development in an organization or a nation. united nation development programme (undp, 2014) defined it as ability to perform functions, solve problems and achieve objectives at three levels as follows: 1. developing and equipping individuals 2. institutional development and transformation 3. societal development/innovations capacity building is much more than training and it includes the following: a. human resources development b. organizational development (managerial structure) c. institutional and legal framework development from the above institutional/organization definitions whether capacity building or capacity development all emphasis the need of developing; individuals (human resources), institutions/organization, enabling environment and society at large. capacity building according to wikipedia.com, is the process by which individuals and organizations obtain and improve and retain the skills, knowledge, tools, equipment and other resources needed to do their works. it is a continuous process for any sector (private or public) and organization to enable them meet up with changes in environment and technologies for an improved output. theoretical framework the idea on this work is based on the concept of community capacity building and joseph schumpeters’s economic theory on development. community capacity building is a conceptual approach to social and behavioural change which will lead to infrastructure development. it points towards understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organizations from realizing their developmental objectives. it stressed that these obstacles should be avoided totally. community capacity building according to wikipedia.org.com is also referred to as the process of strengthening the skills, competencies and abilities of people and communities in small business and local grassroot movement on how they can achieve their goals; and potentially overcome the centres of their exclusion and suffering. secondly, the study build model on joseph schumpeter’s economic theory on development; that innovators play crucial roles in bringing about economic development. he sees entrepreneurs as a group of creative people, organization or government that brings about innovations in the society. he postulates the existence of a perfectly competive economy which is in stationary equilibrium and is characterized by low profit, low interest rate, low savings, low investment rate and low involuntary employment. he stressed that, to remedy this static situations would involve: (a) introduction of new methods of production and new products. (b) opening of new markets (c) discovery of new sources of raw materials (d) organization of monopoly industries, i,e, government introducing policies that protect indigenous industries and entrepreneurs investing on unique industries adopting the 7 creative ingenuitly. he suggested that to be able to do this and efficiently, government needs to, stimulate growth in the economy, innovators or entrepreneurs needs technical knowledge, skills and control of factors of production, such as land, labour, market, raw materials, etc. from these theoretical concepts, the government is to facilitate smes development in order to enhance community rural/urban development and also development of other factors necessitating capacity building, in order to reduce peoples suffering (poverty). smes activities in this study is a means of building individual skills and new technologies. methodology this is a survey research design. the study utilized both secondary and primary source of data to assess the role of smes in capacity building in enugu state. instruments adopted for data collection were structured questionnaire, interviews and desk research through journals, government publication, web publication, etc. the sample population constitute only the staff from the mda’s, owners of smes in enugu urban, that is from enugu east, enugu south, and enugu north, totally 1045. the break down are: registered sme owners in enugu state (911), staff of smedan in enugu headquarters (06), staff of sme centre enugu (16), staff of ministry of commerce and industry (112). sample size of 310 for the study was drived through taro yamani formula out of the population of staff of ministry and entreprenuer in enugu south, north and east local government plus all the population of sme center and smedan were utilized. the method for data analysis was descriptive stastistical tools which includes; percentage frequencies tables and chi-square statistical tool used to test the hypotheses. testing hypotheses table 1 ho : smes have not significantly created more employment and improved standard of living of citizens in enugu state. more employment has been created in enugu state as a result of smes existence. chi-square test result observed responses sa=5 50 ag=4 60 ud=3 20 da=2 120 sd=1 42 k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 chi-square test result chi-square test result 8 conclusion the chi-square statistic is statistically significant because the p-value is less than the level of significance, hence the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. smes have employed more than 50% of unemployed graduates in enugu state. observedresponses sa=5 25 ag=4 55 ud=3 22 da=2 65 sd=1 125 da=2 65 125 k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 chi – square test result 9 conclusion: smes has employed more than 50% of unemployed graduates in enugu state but not significantly. smes job and employment have improved the standard of living of citizens in enugu state. chi-square test result obseved responses sa = 5 25 ag = 4 55 ud = 3 22 da = 2 127 sd = 1 70 k = 5 df = 4 alpha 0.05 p value 0.00 hi – square test result k 10 conclusion the above statistical analysis show that smes have created more employment and improved the standard of living of citizens in enugu state but from the observed responses in table 4.1, smes have not significantly improved much on the citizens employment rate and standard of living. table 2 ho : smes have not significantly contributed to building individual skills and technical knowledge of entrepreneurs. technical skills acquired through mdas workshops/seminers have improved the performance of smes chi-square test result k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 observed responses sa=5 25 ag=4 40 ud=3 30 da=2 102 sd=1 95 11 conclusion: the p-value is less than the level of significant and the chi-square statistics is significant hence the mdas seminars and training have improved smes performance in the state, therefore the nullhypothesis is rejected. individual skills and capabilities have improved through smes experiences. chi – square test result observed responses sa=5 50 ag=4 70 ud=3 35 da=2 100 sd=1 37 conclusion:sme training and experience have improved individual skills and development from the chi-square test result but from the observed responses individual skills have not improved significantly. k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 12 smes/mdas training, weekly and monthly sessions have attracted more aspirants into entrepreneurship. chi-square test result response/value observed responses sa=5 45 ag=4 80 ud=3 32 da=2 110 sd=1 26 k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 13 conclusion: mdas and sme training sessions have attracted more entrepreneurship aspirant, considering the p-value. from the chi-square statistic tables above the nullhypothesis is rejected because the p value is less than the level of significance and alternative hypothesis is accepted. this shows that smes have contributed to building individual skills and knowledge of entrepreneurs and have attracted aspirants into entrprenuership. however, from the observed responses the smes/mdas have not significantly developed skills and knowledge in the state. table 4.3 ho : smes have no significan impact on technical innovations and on the environment of enugu state. better ideas and technical know-how in delivery of goods and services in enugu as a result of smes existence. chi-square test result k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 observed responses sa=5 40 ag=4 80 ud=3 22 da=2 128 sd=1 22 14 conclusion: smes have contributed significantly towards improving technical knowledge in service delivery in the state. more new social and infrastructural facilities as a result of smes. chi – square test result observed responses sa=5 42 ag=4 70 ud=3 22 da=2 150 sd=1 8 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 sa=5 ag=4 ud=3 da=2 sd=1 15 conclusion: smes have shown significant improvement on social infrastructure in the state from the p-value but the observed response disagreed. improved technologies and tools are facilitated by mdas. observed responses sa=5 35 ag=4 75 ud=3 25 da=2 147 sd=1 10 k = 5 df = 4 alpha = 0.05 p value = 0.00 chi – square test result 16 conclusion: mda intervention programs enhanced the level of technological advancement of smes in the state. from the analysis on table 4.3 the chi-square statistic is statistically significant, therefore the null-hypothesis rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. this shows that smes have impact on innovations and on the environment of the state, but from the observed responses on the above the percentage of the respondents that disagree is showing that there is not significant impact on technical innovations and on the environment of enugu state. summary of findings 1. smes have created more employment and improved the standard of living of citizens in enugu state considering the caculated p-value of 0.00. the observed responses in table 4.1frequency distribution did not show significantly smes much improved employment rate and standard of living on the citizens. 2. smes have contributed to building individual skills and knowledge of entrepreneurs and have attracted aspirants into entrprenuership from the calculated table on table 4.2. but from the observed frequency responses the smes/mdas have not significantly developed skills and knowledge in the state. 3. smes have created more employment and improved the standard of living of citizens in enugu state. the observed responses in table 4.1, indicate that, smes have not significantly improved much on the citizens employment rate and standard of living. 17 conclusion: the study revealed that the role of sme in building capacity of state is to create employment, reduce poverty, increase individual skills and knowledge and bringing innoviations to the environment thus in line with ideas of the theoretical framework of this study. smes programmes have created employement, improved standard of living, building individual skils and innovations, etc. but have not significantly improved the identified missions of taking up smes programme. recommendation: this study therefore, recommends that: 1. the government should create more employment through smes by improved fundings for start-up loans for young entrepreneurs to meet up graduate turnover from universities and colleges and put in place protective policies. 2. more regular training and incentives programmes, consultations, supervision and counseling of both existing and aspiring entrepreneurs should be established by the state sme centers to improve individual skills, technical knowledge of entrepreneurs. 3. further proper monitoring and evaluation techniques should be adopted by funding institutions, to ensure that the funds provided are properly utilized and accounted for, which will also help to evaluate smes contributions on innovations and physical infrastructures within the environments of the state. acronyms 1 msmes micro, small and medium enterprises 2 smes small and medium enterprises 3 smedan small medium enterprises development agencies of nigeria 4 cncs copperation for national community service 5 esas european space agencies 6 neximb nigerian export-import bank 7 esf export stimulation facility 8 exdf export development fund 9 msmedf micro, small, medium enterprises development fund 10 oecd organisation for economic coroperation and development 11 cdp committee for development policy references abiola, o. (2017). impact of small and medium scale industries on the economic growth of nigeria (1986 – 2010). project gist international.vol. 10, no. retrived from: projectgist.com.ng agbo, a. & agu, c. n. (2012). the role of entrepreneurship and in economic development: the nigerian respective. european journal of business and management. vol.4, no.8, 2012. www.jiste.org. 18 agu, a. (2017). private enterprise panacea for poverty and unemployment. enugu l.g.a. news 10/07/017 www.enuguiganews.com.ng enugu-sme-centre. anigbogu, t. u. onwuteaka, c. i., edoko, t. d., okoli, m. i. (2014). role of small and meduim scales enterprises in community development: evidence from anambra south senatorial zone, anambra state. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences. vol 4, no 8, issn: 2222 – 6990 atsushi, m. (2006). capacity building framework. unescoiicba addis ababa. unescointernational institute for capacity building in africa. cdp secretariat, (2016). capacity building experience in ldcs-building on exiting mechanism and harnessing innovative ideas: concept note for workshop ii. united nation economic and social council (ecosoc). cncs, (2012). straegic plan framework for capacity building, companion documents (2011 – 2015). cncs-capacity.com collins nweze. (2018). foreign reserves keeps naira stable. the nation news update. nation/nline.ng.net. dennis s. tachiki. (2017). human capacity building in sme’s: japanese experiences and regional challenges. taruagawa university, tokyo. hrdtf 2002-y.com. egbetokun, a. a., olamade o.o., and siyan b. (2014). innovation in nigerian small and medium enterprises: types and impact. journal of electronic commerce in organization by egbetikun retrived from https:///www.research gate net/publication /220203423 on 28/06/18. enemuo. a. u. (2010). entrepreneurship studies (theory application). onitsha. abbot books ltd. enugu sme centre (2017). about enugu sme centre: who are we. www.enugusmecentre.org.ng 25/05/018. financial times. (2013). definitions of small and medium enterprises. www.lexicon.ft.com. idowu, a. (2012). entrepreneurial innovation; small and medium scale entreprises. health research and economic development in nigeria. ikuejawa o. (2017). impact of small scale firms on industrial development of enugu state. projectgist.com.ng. ikupolati, a. o. medubi, r. d. obafunnii, m. o. adeyeye, m. m. and oni e.o. (2017). an appraisal of entreprenuerial skills of construction professions to the development of service sector in nigeria. journal of small business and entrepreneurship development vol 5, no.1. pp 35 – 42. imosi, a. ilegbinosa & ephraim j. (2015). small and medium scale enterprises and economic growth in nigeria: 1995-2012. international journal of business and management: vol 10, no 3; 2015: canadian centre of science and education. kolawole, y. (2017) c. a. c. registration: smedan assiots 14, 000 msmes, vananrd news. bus. comments 3/05/18. http://www.enuguiganews.com.ng/ https://www.research http://www.enugusmecentre.org.ng/ 19 mc pheey bre, de vita and fleruring. (2007). building capacity in non-profit organizations. national council of non profit organization. the urban institute. msme, (2017). a review of the nigeria policy fate foundation 3rd dec. 2017. muritala a, awolaja a. m and bako y. a. (2012). impact of small and medium enterprises on economic growth and development. american journal of business and management. vol. 1, no. 1 2012, 18 -22 national msmes collaborative survey 2010. oecd home centre for entrepreneurship. (2009). supporting smes in a time of crisis: how to choose the right actions. capacity building seminar. trento, itally. www.gooleweblight.com ogbu. s. (2016). achievement of commerce & industry, enugu state. www.enoughiganews.com.ng. ojala, a.; isomaki, h. (2011). enterprenuehips and small business in russia: a rview of empirical research. journal of small business enterprise development, 18 (1), 97 119. oladunjoye p. (2015). nigeria accessing enugu state 3 million naira, smes fund.www allafrica.com march 2015. onah a. (2015). small scale agro based industries: exploring agriculture for tackling unemployment in south-east. nigeria unpublished seminar paper, sme centre enugu. onugu, b. a. n. (2006) small and medium entreprises (sme) in nigeria. problems and prospects st. clements univesity. www. content://.com otoo, s., natalia, a., & behrens, j. 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(n.d.). retrived, 26/05/18, from https//en/m/wikipedia.org/com. who building capacity, (n.d.). tobacco control. retrived, 2/05/18, from www.who.rnt//tobacco/control. wikibooks. (n.d), small and medium enterprises retrived from https://en.m.wikibooks.org. 20/06/18. mailto:projectng@gmail.com https://www/ https://en.m.wikibooks.org/ page 6 street advertisement of herbal products as noise pollution: the yenegoa experience stanley leader department of mass communication university of africa, toru-orua bayelsa state. leadstan28@gmail.com & saturday nwiiekpigi nbaa department of mass communication covenant polytechnic owerri-nta saturdayrichman17@gmail.com abstract advertisement of herbal products on the streets is increasingly becoming a common source of noise pollution across yenegoa, bayelsa state. this undesirable development has often made the inhabitants of the city wonder about the true description and ideal composition of marketing communication, advertising precisely. this study examined the problem of noise pollution generated through intense herbal products advertising on the streets and at different corners of yenegoa. to guide this study to achieve its objectives, three research questions were raised. the study adopted the survey design, using the quantitative methods for data collection. the population comprised adult residents of yenegoa and the sample free and sampling technique were 100 male and female inhabitants of the town purposively selected, using age, occupation, education and experience about the town as criteria the main instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. the findings revealed that boom-lime cordial herbal productadvertisements do not optimally achieve the basic goal of marketing communication but rather generate a lot of noise pollution, thus becoming more of a societal curse than a blessing, considering its adverse health implications. the study recommended, among other things, that the yenegoa township authority should enact laws that will prohibit the indiscriminate use of loud speakers to market products on the streets of the town, and the bayelsa state ministry of information should direct the street marketers on how ideal advertising is done. this study will help bring about environmental sanity in bayelsa state capital as well as educate its residents about the dangers of uncontrolled herbal product-street advertising. keyword: advertisements, herbal products, noise, pollution, culture. introduction it is an incontrovertible fact that the nigerian society today is awash with all kinds of cheap, locally manufactured products, especially the herbal ones whose producers and marketers often generate too much noise when carrying out their sales promotion activities. this unfortunate development has hardly favoured the socio-economic and cultural development of the country. communication with its several kinds intrapersonal communication, inter personal communication, group communication, mass communication and public communication, all share the same broad and basic goals. these goals, which are laudable enough, are improving the recipient’s level of understanding, eliciting receiver’s response, creating good relations as mailto:leadstan28@gmail.com mailto:saturdayrichman17@gmail.com street advertisement of herbal products 252 well as creating organizational goodwill (atswa, 2009:115). it is unarguable that if communication is done appropriately, its important societal goals will be realized and the receiver or audience of the message sent will be better off, his communication desire having been met. although it evidently possesses tremendous benefits, communication can be flawed and rendered ineffective by certain communication barriers, one of which is noise. noise, like other communication barriers, interferes with the effective implementation of the communication process, often resulting in either poor or failed communication. thus, ebunu (2006) posits that good communication can be considerably hampered by noise, emphasizing that this happens when noise hinders the comprehension of sent messages. it is common knowledge that the activity of communication is often exploited for the achievement certain ends. in all of life’s endeavors, communication has proven to be a most useful tool for human survival (adenbigbe, 2013:45). hence, professionals in all fields and other career people who realize its enormous value and potential have exploited to attain various levels of success when this happens one or more functions of communication, which obe (2009:10) provides as social interaction, business and trade ideas, socio-political development as well as socialcultural interaction, has been achieved. indeed, communication of any form can hardly be successful if the basic elements of the communication process, and their various roles effectively and properly used. they are stimulus, source, message, channel receiver and feedback (obe 2009:22) and noise. all the above functions of communication will remain unrealizable if the sender of a communication content or message does not utilize most, if not all the basic elements of communication which ensure that the message sent is comprehensibly received. herbal product marketers, including boom lime cordial, have, in recent years, been generating tremendous, disturbing noise as they try to sell their products on the streets of yenagoa. but their marketing and sale promotion efforts have not been as successful as they desire because they end-up making more noise than communicating their marketing messages. this paper is a modest attempt at more broadly discussing a growing societal problem which most members of the affected societies have seem powerless to confront. the study will help to somewhat establish the magnitude of the problem and proffer some solutions to it. statement of the problem communication is believed to have taken place only when the message sent has been understood by the receiver. this is the argument that justifies one popular description of the activity of communication as the process of sharing meaning through the use of symbols or the giving of understandable information with another person or group of persons many times, however, people indulge in communication but hardly realizes the objective and goal of the communication event. certain barriers technically descried that communication barriers have been identified as being responsible for this incomprehensibility. noise can frustrate a message sender or receiver as well as kill the message itself as both the sender and receiver can be made to lose touch of the message. inarguably, the negative impact of noise on the communication process deserves more investigation and discussion so that communicators can stay clear of it. promoters and advertisers of almost herbal medicines across nigeria display a lot of communication lapses, especially creating noise when publicizing their products. those who do street advertising and sales of boom lime cordial herbal products are highly guilty of this communication aberration as they make more noise than communicate their message to members of the public particularly the yenagoa public. research questions 1. what kind of noise do you think negatively affect communication, hampering the message communicated? 2. do the street advertisements of boom lime cordial herbal products produce extremely high sound, causing noise pollution in yenagoa? 3. do you think the decibels (db) of boom lime cordial’s street advertisement across yenagoa town, apart from interfering with communication cause such health problems as irritation, high blood pressure, nervous disorders and temporary deafness? literature review the concept of products and herbal products the product a product, according to wikipedia, is any object or system made available for consumer’s use or anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy the desire or need of a consumer. corporate finance (2021) described the product simply as object that are manufactured, stored, transported, advertised and then sold. on the hand, herbal products are medicines derived from plants and are used as supplements to improve health and well being and may be use for other therapeutic purpose (drugscom, 2021). according to healthcare (2021), herbal medicines are plant-medicines that can totally flush out such common diseases as staphylococcus. hindawi (2021) described herbal medicines as evidence-based complementary and alternative african medicine. the concept of communication communication according to okon (2001), are legendry and numerous in literature. they run from the very “general communication” which is the general response of an organism to a stimulus (steven 1915) to the “specific communication” which has as its central interest those behavioral situation in which a source transmits a specific message to a receiver(s) with conscious intent to affect the matters behaviors. communication is the sharing between one or street advertisement of herbal products 254 more individual or animals through the use of symbol, signs, writing and verbal form etc. the human communication process entails the sender-message-channel-receiver. the factor which distorts the free flow of communication is known as ‘noise”. the concept of advertising advertising, according to akpede (2010:5), is my advertising form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas goods and services paid for by an identified sponsor atswa (2001:18) speaks of advertising as a paid form of non-personal communication about an organization its product or services that is transmitted through a mass medium to a target audience. advertising is thus aimed at making an idea, a good or service known, so that more sales which will ultimately result in more profits can be made. sunday (2012:20) describes of how to write an effective advertising copy. he says it should contain short sentences, use present fences and active voice, don’t waste words; try to avoid being formal and avoid clichés, which distracts from the effectiveness of the advertisement’s message. he further adds that a writing advertising copy calls for a high degree of intelligence, hard-work creativity. it can be deduced from the foregoing submissions that, to be able to present a good advertisement, demands a lot of skill of the advertising practitioner. types of advertising olubunmi (2013: 71-80) speaks of newspaper advertising and broadcast commercials, describing them as the two bread categories of mass media advertising. he explains that newspaper advertising may be display of classified while he described the former as the type that combines the elements of an advertisement to give the advert a balance and professional positioning in the newspaper, he present the latter as one that uses only the body copy of an advertisement. according to olubunmi (2013:82-83) broadcast commercials refers to the type of advertisement done through the radio or television. he explains that advertisers often chose either of these broadcasts on the strength of the special features each of them possesses. the radio uses only sound while the television uses both sound and visuals. harland, et al, cited in olubunmi (2013: 84) identifies some basic formats that guide the preparation of broadcast commercials and these are: progressive rock top 40 format middle of the road, good music, classical country and western all news, ethnic, all talk etc. the concept of noise the concept of noise occupies a very important place in the communication process. this is because noise alters the intended meaning of those who communicate or send messages through communication channels. to aderibigbe (2013:28) noise in communication as technical term for all forms of obstacles which conspire to reduce the fidelity of communication. he further describes communication noise to be whatever makes it impossible for the decoder to act the message intended by the encoder. okon (2009:21) sees noise as in communication as any distraction or interference between the source and the message receiver. wasterman and parnel (2021) argue that noise present a great deal of problem to communication process and so they suggest strategies to manage it effectively, so that a goal of communication can be ultimately achieved. types of noise different kinds of noise have been identified, all of which have proven harmful to man and his activities. according to aderibigbe (2013:26), they are physical or environmental noise, physiological noise and psychological noise on (2009:23) adds to the foregoing linguistic noise, which, according the seriously impedes communication. physical/environmental noise aderibigbe (2013:26) describes physical or environmental noise as any form of disturbance to communication process traceable to the factors within the immediate physical environment. he exemplified this form of noise as intermittent loud sound from radio sets, markets grounding machines; block make machines, hooting by moving vehicles. physiological noise this type of noise describes any form of disturbances to the communication process caused by the ill health of the sender or the receiver atswa (2009:18) describes noise during communication as anything that distracts the attention of the sender or receiver from receiving information it further explains that physical, psychological technical or sound noise are the forms of noise that are created in the communication process and which impedes the effective transmission or communication. psychological noise another category of noise is psychological noise is which refers to the unfavourable state of the mind of the sender and/or the receiver of a piece of communication. psychological noise can be exemplified as depression, annoyance, fatigue, among others aderibigbe further notes that noise can be caused by such factors as usage of wrong media exhibition of disturbing mannerisms, and inadequate mastery of language of communication. others are insensitivity to the receiver, poor preparation and lack of deep knowledge of the message or topic. street advertisement of herbal products 256 noise pollution according to berg (2001:2), “noise pollution is unwanted or excessive sound that can have deleterious effects on human health, wildlife, and environmental quality”. hartley and vincent (1983:501) submit that bad communication can create the problem of noise pollution which they describe as “loud, harsh irritating sounds” capable of causing heart disease. noise generated through bad communication is therefore harmful to society and so should be not tolerated. according to them, noise pollution can lead to a number of ailments, such as heart disease, stomach ulcer, high blood pressure partial and permanent deafness, etc. botkin and keller (2005:308-39) speaks of noise pollution as unwanted sound which describes sound beyond to units of decibels (db), the highest level humans can take sound. they explain that the threshold for human hearing is old and the average sound level in the interior of a home is about 45 (db). speaking of dangers of noise pollution, botkin and keller (2005:308-39) point out that ‘‘any sound above 80 (db) is potentially dangerous’’. in point of fact, according to them, one can suffer damage to hearing or some permanent loss of hearing noise pollution also cause irritability. thus, sicknesses such as headaches body pains, fevers, theoretical framework this study falls in line with the theoretical thrust of shannon and weaver’s linear model. according to okon (2000), ‘‘the model envisions a source who encodes or creates a message and transmits it through a channel to a receiver and decodes or recreates the message’’. the model identifies noise, which denotes any extraneous stimulus that interferes with the validity and reception of a message, as a key concept of communication. shannon and weaver believe the noise is present in communication channel or medium and that this noise constitutes a huge distraction during communication exchange; thus, noise work against the realization of the goals of communication. the model presents the following taxonomy to provide clearer explanation of noise: semantic noise, syntactic noise, psychological noise, physiological noise and channel/mechanical noise. the shannon and weaver’s model is pertinent to the study, for it clearly recognize that, for any effective and successful communication to be achieved; noise must be rid off and not come in the way of the communication between the message sender and the message receiver. method the study adopted the survey design using quantitative and qualitative methods to obtain the necessary data. the target population was the residents of strategic and densely populated area of yenagoa town. for the sample size and technique, a total of one hundred (100) yenagoa residents twenty from each major part of the town were purposively drawn, using age, occupation, experience and education as criteria. the main tool used for data gathering was the questionnaire with semi interviews conducted with the respondents. the obtained data was analyzed by means of the percentage method. discussion of findings rq. 1: what kind of noise do you think negatively affect communication, hampering the message communicated? seeking answers to research question one, the researcher posed the aforementioned question to the respondents concerned. out of the total of 100, 80 or 80% of them expressed the view that physically, noise which comes from the environment and are produced by loud conversations, vehicular sounds, rickety generators and the like negatively affects the communication process as well as give rise to noise pollution. another 50 or 50% identified psychological noise. they explained that this type of noise results from poor mental attitude, depression, emotional stress or disability. each of these can cause communication noise. 70 or 70% of them spoke of physiological noise, caused by body comforts, tiredness or hunger. 60 or 60% of the respondents said that there is what is also called linguistic noise, which is caused by the sources inability to use the language of communication accurately and appropriately. they more simply explained this as grammatical noise, which results from wrong use of grammar, faulty sentence structure, misspellings or incorrect pronunciation. all of this, they said, negatively affect communication. to illicit answers from the respondents, the aforementioned question was posed. rq. 2: do the street advertisements of boom lime cordial herbal products, produce extremely high sound, causing noise pollution in yenagoa? table 1: options frequency percentage yes 80 80% no 20 20% total 100 100% to elicit answers to research question one, respondents were asked a number of questions which demanded their indicating yes or no, to express their responses. out of the total of one hundred (100%) respondents, 80 (0r 80%) of them answered yes while 20% said no, which clearly shows t hat the shows that the sound systems often use by boom lime cordial’s street markets are always high sound and blaring. another related question was posedwhich was: does boom lime cordial’s marketers ever reduce the volume of their sound system when on their marketing or sales promotion drive through yenegoa? out of the 100 respondents, 90 (or 90%) of them said the volume kept ever so high –a situation which causes a lot of distraction and frustration to those in the neighborhood of their operation. yet another question was asked was which: does boom lime cordial’s marketing group show any respect for schools, churches and residential areas? street advertisement of herbal products 258 to answer this question, 75 or 75% of the respondents said that the markets keep the sound system too high around school, worship places and in residential areas.they explained that the noise generated is often so high that there is also great distraction and loss of concentration by all those affected. rq. 3: do you think the decibels (db) of boom lime cordial’s street advertisement across yenagoa town, apart from interfering with communication cause such health problems as irritation, high blood pressure, nervous disorders, and temporary deafness? table 2: options frequency percentage yes 90 90% no 10 10% total 100 100% when the aforementioned question was posed to know their views regarding the issue, 90 or 90% of the respondents answered yes, proving that noise pollution which boom lime cordial’s street advertisements often produce, can lead to such ailments as heart diseases, high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, nervous disorders as well as deafness. they explained that there had been confirmed cases of how noise pollution leads to the aforementioned kinds of sicknesses. in addition to giving rise to a lot of irritability or discomfort. another 80 or 80% of the respondents spoke of the harmful effect of disturbing sound on human ear drum. according to them when one listens to such loud disturbing sound for a long period, the noise made damages one’s ear drum causing deafness or grave ear troubles. conclusion from the study, the conclusion can be drawn that loud, disturbing noise such as the type generated by boom lime cordial’s herbal product street-advertisements qualifies as noise pollution and thus clearly and evidently harmful to human health, in addition to creating certain grave environmental concerns. the study specifically identified different kinds of communication noise and how they can degenerate into noise pollution, which has been scientifically proven to be dangerous to human health, the findings of the study was found consistent with the conclusion put forward by aderibigbe (2013:26) and obe (2008:23), that communication can be hampered by noise that can take the form of noise pollution-a phenomenon which botkin and keller (2013:308), and hartley and vincent (1983) posit has serious health implications as well as poses grave environmental concerns. recommendations based on the findings, the study recommends that ● the yenegoa township authority should as soon as possible enact laws that will prohibit the indiscriminate use of loud speakers to market products and services on the streets of yenegoa; ● the nigeria police should be authorized to arrest and prosecute street marketers of marketers of products who use their marketing or sales promotion activities to generate noise pollution and ● the bayelsa state ministry of information should provide professional guidance to the street marketers on how ideal advertising is done. ● members of the public should understand that such loud street advertising is dangerous to their health. references atswa (2009). communication skills. west africa: abwa publishers aderibigbe, a.a (2013). educational broadcasting. lagos: noun press berg, e. r. (2021) “noise pollution.” www.britannica.com drugcom (2021). what are products? retrieved from: www.drug.com ‘‘evidence-based complimentary and alternative african medicine’’ (2021, june) hindawi.http// www.hindawi healthcare (2021). ‘‘nigeria’s no. 1 cure 100 herbal flusher’’ (2021, june) www.surehealth world press.com hartley, h.w. & vincent, w.s. (1983). civic education: harcourt barce jovanovich publishers. obe, j. (2009). introduction to mass communication. noun press. okon g.b. (2001). basic dimensions in mass communication. lagos. hdx communication ltd olubunmi, a. (2013). advertising copy design and layouts: noun press. principles of integrated marketing communications. https//en.wikipedia.org/wikimarketingcommunication. sunday, o. (2008). news reporting and writing. noun press wasterman j. & parnel, j. (2021). the art of noise in communication. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266487968-the-art-of-noise-communication http://www.drug.com/ http://www.hindawi/ http://www.surehealth/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266487968-the-art-of-noise-communication volume 6 issue 3, 2021 471 rapid urbanization and urban housing policy implementation in enugu metropolis: issues, challenges and prospects for sustainable development joy ngozi eleje department of political science faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu joy.eleje@esut.edu.ng abstract urban growth in relation to urban housing development has become the aspiration of nations thus making it a global development paradigm currently sweeping through developing countries like a wild fire. in the circumstance of the magnitude and speed of rural-urban migration many state governments in nigeria are seemingly overwhelmed and unable to cope with such challenges. thus the confronting reality is that basic infrastructure and social services are seldom provided as urban growth proceeds lopsidedly haphazardly with severe threats to the well-being of the people and state as a whole. in this context, enugu metropolis been one of the emerging urban areas in nigeria is currently confronted with the challenges of urban growth and development with housing provision of particular concern. this study was motivated by the current inadequacy in urban policy implementation in relation to housing in enugu; it is a qualitative study based on extensive literature review. the paper identified salient features of the urbanization process in enugu, nigeria and the challenges they pose to adequate housing. these include rapid population growth and changing demographic structure; poverty and unemployment; difficulties in accessing housing delivery inputs; and lack of adequate capacity on the part of government. the study examined the implications of these challenges in housing provisioning especially for poor households and concluded that proper housing policy in developing cities if properly implemented and managed would bring about economic and social development. keywords: enugu, implementation, sustainable development, urbanization, urban housing policy introduction urban growth or urbanization has a long history as since the early 1800s, movements of people especially from the rural to more urban areas have been recorded (muggah, 2012). o'neill, ren, jiang and dalton (2012) noted that “population of people residing in urban areas increased from 13% in 1900 to 49% in 2005. numerically, this represented a move from 220 million people in 1900 to 3.2 billion people in 2005. by 2011, there were already 480 cities with populations in excess of one million as against 80 of such cities in 1950”. currently, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities (griffith 2009; o'neill et al 2012). more than three billion people currently reside in urban centers and this figure is expected to rise to five billion by 2050. perhaps most striking is the fact that most of the population growth in the coming decades will occur in lowand middle-income countries (muggah 2012). though africa is reportedly a late starter in the urbanization race (un-habitat 2004); it is urbanizing at such an alarming rate that predictions suggest africa will enter the urban age around 2030 when half of africans will live in urban areas (celik, zyman, & mahdi, 2009; un-habitat, 2004). nigeria 472 is notably the most populous african country and predicted to drive this population growth (united nations, 2012). at current growth rate, lagos was said to be the third largest city in the world with a population of over 24m by 2020 (dung-gwom, hirse & pwat, 2008). trivedi, sareen and dhyani (2008) assert that, “urbanization is driving the economies of most of the nations of the world especially developed nations”, and living in cities offers individuals and families a variety of opportunities (o'neill et al, 2012). o'neill further adds that, “it brings with it possibilities of improved access to housing, transportation, road networks, health facilities, education, jobs, goods and services for poor people in developing countries and beyond as globalization connects cities world-wide” (o'neill et al, 2012). urban areas as hubs for civilizations and culture and with their unquestionable potential are expected to offer employment, shelter, stability, prosperity, security, social inclusion and more equitable access to services. all these, according to celik et al (2009) would make lives safer, healthier, sustainable and more convenient. regrettably, urbanization in developing countries has followed a different trajectory from the above premise, leaving many overwhelmed urban residents and their governments in frustration, despair and confusion (lwasa, 2009). the physical manifestations of rapid urbanization in many developing countries like nigeria are often chaotic and reflective of the profound and far-reaching demographic, social and economic transformations occurring in these countries. unfortunately, the opportunities of urbanization are jeopardized akin to policy inconsistency, lack of adequate resources or rather misuse of available resources, resulting in deficient basic infrastructure, inefficient services and wellconceived planning cum implementation (celik et al, 2009). urbanization process in africa has consequently been described as “pseudo-urbanization” (lwasa, 2009). with reference to enugu metropolis the rapidity of urban growth and the corresponding housing deficit gives cause for concern. the governments over the years have neglected the poor in housing policy in the state to the extent that even as housing estates are developed in various parts of the metropolis they remain unaffordable to the low income households. the consequence has been the rise in squatter or slum settlements in the city. it is in the light of the above that this study examines urbanization phenomenon in the light of issues in urban housing policy implementation; challenges and prospects for sustainable development in enugu state, nigeria. objective of the study the main goal of this study was to investigate the issue of rapid urbanization and urban housing policy implementation in enugu metropolis; challenges and prospects for sustainable development. to realize the above goal, the study is aimed at the following specific objectives: 1) to explore urbanization, its causal and functional elements; 2) to identify salient issues in urban housing policy implementation in enugu metropolis; 3) to interrogate the challenges of urbanization in relation to housing policy and measures towards attainment of sustainable development. 473 theoretical framework comments arising from theories and empirical studies relating to the effect of urbanization on sustainable economic development polarize into two: the optimists and pessimists schools. the optimists (boserup, 1981; hoover, 1948) suggest that urbanization leads to greater productivity either by inducing innovation, producing innovation, or through creating greater economies of scale, specialization or agglomeration. the pessimists posit that urbanization could impact negatively on economic performance if it is excessive or haphazard. this is because urban growth means high aggregation of people. with a larger population, each worker will have less productive factors (especially capital) both accumulated and non-accumulated to work with. as a result, even if output grows in the aggregate, per capita output will tend to be smaller. this pessimist view is based on the malthusian tradition, though with substantial modification and improvements. pessimists therefore suggest that rapid urbanization can only be beneficial, if accompanied by massive capital formation or other major stimuli which will be sufficient to off-set the low level equilibrium trap which may be created through rapid population increases (henderson, 1999; macmanara, 1984). therefore, effective housing policy implementation is among the critical stimuli that drive urbanization and thus very imperative in the enhancement of sustainable development urbanization: a conceptual insight, its causal and functional elements urbanization is a global phenomenon that has transformed and continues to alter landscapes and the ways in which societies function and develop (griffith, 2009). cities offer the lure of better employment, education, healthcare, and culture; and they contribute disproportionately to national economies (trivedi, sareen & dhyani, 2008). urbanization is one of the major demographic and economic phenomena in developing countries, with important consequences for economic development, energy use, and well-being (o'neill et al, 2012). according to potts (2012), definitions of “urban” vary from country to country. basically, urbanization is the shift from a rural to an urban society, and involves an increase in the number of people in urban areas during a particular period (trivedi et al, 2008; o'neill et al, 2012). the united nations habitat (2006) described it as the increased concentration of people in cities rather than in rural areas. urbanization is the outcome of social, economic and political developments that lead to urban concentration and growth of large cities, changes in land use and transformation from rural to metropolitan pattern of organization and governance. urbanization also finds expression principally in outward expansion of the built-up area and conversion of prime agricultural lands into residential and industrial uses. this process usually occurs when a nation is still developing (o'neill et al, 2012). according to gould (1995), london was the major city of the world in the nineteenth century, being the first to reach the population of one million, a feat not attained by paris until the midnineteenth century, new york until 1871, berlin until 1880 and vienna until 1885. outside europe the largest cities were tokyo and beijing. today, the distribution of the world's largest cities is markedly different being dominated by cities in developing countries. united nations (2012) revealed that, “by 2011 only three cities from the developed countries, namely tokyo 474 (37.2 million), new york (20.4 million) and los angeles (13.4 million) were among the world's top twenty cities. lagos (11.2 million), nigeria was ranked 19th”. literature suggests three features which distinguish the current trend of global urbanization. firstly, it is taking place mainly in developing countries; secondly it is occurring rapidly and thirdly the severance of its occurrence and impact appear unevenly distributed across the globe, as cohen (2006) observed. between 2011 and 2030, it is projected that the urban population of ukraine will decline by 2 million and that of bulgaria by 0.2 million (united nations, 2012). similarly, between 2030 and 2050, more countries like japan, the russian federation, the republic of korea and ukraine will experience varying degrees of reductions in their urban populations. thus while many developed countries are either growing very slowly or are on the decline, populations of developing countries are growing rapidly (the international federation of surveyors (fig) 2010). the world urban population is expected to increase by 72 per cent by 2050, from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion in 2050. virtually all of the expected growth in the world population will be concentrated in cities of developing countries whose population is projected to increase from 2.7 billion in 2011 to 5.1 billion in 2050 (united nations, 2012). lagos, nigeria, for example was projected to have a population of 18.9 million which will place it as the 11th most populous city. this implies that most of the expected urban growth will actually take place in developing countries. unfortunately, these are the countries that are ill-equipped to handle such enormous surge in population especially as it concerns housing provision and other infrastructures. consequently, majority of the population increase will be accommodated via informal strategies. amongst continents and even within a country or a city, urban growth is not uniform. although the world has attained the 50% urbanization in 2007, asia was projected to achieve that feat by 2020, while africa is likely to reach the 50 per cent urbanization rate benchmark in 2035 (united nations, 2012). according to the 2011 revision of the world urbanization prospects the urban areas of the world are expected to gain 1.4 billion people between 2011 and 2030, 37 per cent of which will come from china (276 million) and india (218 million). the report predicted that between 2030 and 2050 another 1.3 billion people will be added to the global urban population. with a total addition of 121 million people, nigeria will be the second major contributor next to india (270 million). together, these two countries are expected to account for 31 per cent of urban growth during 2030-2050 (united nations, 2012). such rapid growth of the population of the less developed regions, (potts, 2012) combined with the near stagnation of the population in the more developed regions implies that the gap in the number of urban dwellers between the two will continue to increase (the international federation of surveyors (fig), 2010). several factors are responsible for urbanization. these include population dynamics, economic growth, legislative designation of new urban centers and increases in densities of rural trading centers. early urbanization was attributed to the push and pull factors of rural-urban migration. early migrants, usually males, went to the city in search of job and better life. even in modern times, the lure of the city and the opportunities it should offer continue to be a major driving force of urbanization in many countries, (cohen, 2006; thomas, 2008; o'neill et al, 2012). in 475 africa, most people move into the urban areas because they are ‘pushed’ out by factors such as poverty, environmental degradation, religious strife, political persecution, food insecurity and lack of basic infrastructure and services in the rural areas or because they are ‘pulled’ into the urban areas by the advantages and opportunities of the city including education, electricity and water. over the years, it has been argued that urban growth is attributable to natural growth, (cohen, 2006; thomas, 2008 and watson, 1993). also watson identifies demographic trends especially declining mortality rates in most developing countries which have not been matched by a corresponding decline in fertility. according to thomas (2008), research indicates that natural increase can be responsible for about 60% of urban population growth in some developing countries. while acknowledging that urban populations are still growing in sub-saharan africa, in many cases rapidly, potts (2012) concurs that, “such growth is largely attributable to natural increase as births exceed deaths in towns, especially among the poorest sections of the population”. the large-scale rural-urban migration required to generate sustained increases in urbanization levels has evaporated since the 1980s. on the contrary, cohen (2006) argues that “because rates of natural increase are generally slightly lower in urban than in rural areas, the principal reasons for rising levels of urbanization are rural–urban migration, the geographic expansion of urban areas through annexations, and the transformation and reclassification of rural villages into small urban settlements”. natural increase is fuelled by improved medical care, better sanitation and improved food supplies, which reduce death rates and cause populations to grow. data from various countries however strongly suggest that current urban population increase may after all be due to natural increase (united nations, 2009). the united nations report asserts that many countries embarked on policies aimed at modifying the spatial distribution of their population by reducing migrant flows to large cities. consequently, by 1976, 44% of developing countries reported implementation of such policies and by 2011, 72% of developing countries had put in place measures aimed at curbing rural-urban migration (united nations, 2009). a third reason for urban growth is the reclassification of rural areas as urban or a change in the criteria for “urban” or annexation (cohen, 2006). over time, some rural areas accumulate sufficient population to qualify them to be classified as urban. in recent times the proportion of migrants to towns and cities who leave again – a phenomenon known as circular migration – has increased significantly (potts, 2012). confronted by economic insecurity and other hardships worse than where they came from, potts (2012) note that people behave as rationally in africa as anywhere else. rationality may therefore dictate relocation back to the rural area or even another urban area. urbanization in nigeria: issues in urban housing policy implementation in enugu metropolis available data on urbanization in nigeria is largely conflicting (gould 1995; adepoju 1995; oucho 1998). abiodun (1997) opines that such data constrains effective discourse. un-habitat and the world bank are the most frequently cited sources of urban population statistics. however, their data are sometimes misleading and appear exaggerated as opined by potts 476 (2012). in nigeria, virtually every census since 1952 has been highly contested (potts, 2012). this is perhaps due to both political and economic reasons. economically, federal statutory allocation to states is influenced by their population. thus states with reportedly low populations are disadvantaged in resource allocation from the federal level. politically, in the democratic setting politics is a game of numbers and political parties controlling large population can be at an advantage. population is also one of the indices upon which parliamentary representation is based. despite the controversies, available data give sufficient indications of nigeria’s urban status. however, it was not until the period between 1970 and 1995 that nigeria witnessed an unprecedented high level of urbanization reputedly the fastest urbanization growth rate in the world at the time (united states library of congress, 2013). by 1991, nigeria was reportedly 37% urbanized. the rapid growth rate of urban population in nigeria was spurred by the oil boom prosperity of the 1970s and resultant massive development projects in the country which catalyzed a great influx of people into urban areas. aniah (2001) summarized factors responsible for high urbanization in nigeria as follows: 1. the oil boom of the 1970s and early 1980s; 2. government policies which resulted in the creation of new states and local government areas; 3. creation of a new federal capital territory in abuja; 4. establishment of new universities; and 5. large scale government sponsored construction projects including sea ports, refineries and steel companies. in 1990 there were twenty-one state capitals in nigeria, with estimated populations of at least 100,000 inhabitants each which were projected to double every fifteen years (u.s. library of congress, 2013). according to agbola and agunbiade (2009) “43.5% of the nigeria people lived in urban areas as at 2000 with predictions that the urban population will hit the 50% mark by the year 2010 and 65% by 2020, given an annual urban population growth of 5.5%”. like what obtains in other developing countries, rapid urban growth in nigeria has outpaced capacity of government to plan for it. often, growth occurs so quickly that government officials do not have relevant statistics needed for sustainable development. another constraint has been dwindling national resources which have further been depleted by massive and uncontrolled corruption. consequently, development is meager, insufficient and not associated with the commensurate economic growth and effective redistributive measures required to alleviate poverty and create economic opportunities needed to improve living standards and quality of life of the people (oyesiku, 2002; un-habitat, 2004). a crucial aspect of this is that city growth and expansion in nigeria has been largely uncontrolled (egunjobi 2002; oyesiku 2002 and olanrewaju 2004) thus compounding problems in nigerian. these problems include inadequate and poor housing; slum areas; inadequate water supply; waste disposal; traffic and human congestion; high rates of unemployment and underdevelopment; poverty; crime and other social problems (rotimi, 477 2003; dung-gwom et al, 2008). although studies have shown that the problem of housing is universal (aina, 1990; lawanson, 2005 and olotuah & bobadoye, 2009) opine that it is more critical in developing countries like nigeria because of its magnitude and lack of resources to tackle it. about 60-70% of nigerian urban dwellers live in slums or squatter settlements (dunggwom et al, 2004). enugu urban originated from the discovery of coal in 1909 in enugu ngwo, a village situated at the top of udi plateux. with the commencement of the mining of the coal resources in 1915, settlers began to settle on the foot of the hills and on the wide plains that currently constitute the centre of enugu urban (iyi, 2007). it was classified a second class township in 1917 by the township ordinance no. 19 of 1917 (nigerian institute of town planners, 2011). as a town, enugu has a checkered history. it started from when it took over from calabar as the headquarters of eastern nigeria, capital of the defunct republic of biafra, capital of east central state, capital of old anambra state, and capital of old enugu state, up to 26th august, 1996, when it became and is currently the capital of the new enugu state (iyi, 2007). over the years, the political seat of power in enugu urban took precedence over industrial development with the exception of the rail maintenance yards and coal mining. older residential sections included ogbete, ogui, asata, uwani and g.r.a. (government residential area) established by virtue of colonial housing policy. these areas, apart from housing included small business establishments. as can be seen, enugu urban began as a coal mining town. after sometime, mining activities declined but being an administrative centre, it gained importance over the years. residential districts sprang-up to absorb the rapid growth in population. the earlier districts developed by government comprise riverside, independence layout, new haven layout, ekulu layout, abakpa-nike, aria river layout, ogui nike layout, uwani southern and northern extensions, republic layout, maryland layout, achara layout, new era layout, idaw river extension and others. it must be noted that as at this period there was no clear cut housing policy in enugu. but the government at every point in time developed housing programmes that were intended at urban expansion to accommodate rising urban population. interrogating the challenges of urbanization in relation to housing policy the urbanization trend in a city of the developing world like enugu poses serious challenges for housing development. housing is of significance because of its role in the socio-economic and political life of not only the individual but society at large. some of these challenges are highlighted below: a) housing deficit in enugu metropolis b) rapid population growth and changing demographic structure; c) growth of slums and informal (squatter) settlements; d) difficulties in accessing housing delivery input (land, finance, building materials and labour); 478 these challenges have serious implications on the quality and quantity of housing demand in enugu some of which are discussed below: housing deficit in enugu metropolis as the pace of urbanization and urban growth proceeds almost unabated in enugu the coal city state, the state government’s capacity to manage the consequences of undesirable urban trends decreased due to inadequate funding and institutional capacities (cohen, 2006; dunggwom et al, 2008). this is evident in poor services delivery, lack of adequate and affordable housing, proliferation of slums and squatter settlements, chaotic traffic conditions, poverty, social polarization, crime, violence, unemployment and dwindling job opportunities (celik et al, 2009). the social, economic and environmental effects of these failures fall heavily on the poor, who are excluded from the benefits of urban prosperity. construction of houses has not kept pace with urban rapidly expanding populations leading to severe overcrowding and congestion in slums. in some areas of enugu metropolis, the cost of living has forced residents to live in low quality slums and shanty houses (o'neill et al, 2012). slums are areas of concentrated disadvantage. life in slums is characterized by serious problems of environmental pollution, lack of access to the basic social services, poverty, deprivation, and general human insecurity and life-threatening risks and diseases (dung-gwom & oladosu, 2004; un-habitat, 2006; daramola & ibem, 2010). growth of slums has been attributed to public negligence and unabated population increase (nwanna, 2012). the few houses available are expensive and unaffordable especially by poor households who are constrained to resort to informal housing procurement processes. inability to afford better housing also force majority of residents to live in one room units (public yards popularly called face me, i face you). a 1990 nigerian government urban survey showed that 70% of the households in enugu metropolis lived in one-room housing units (oucho, 1998). by 2007, the figure had marginally risen to 72.3%, (national bureau of statistics, (nbs) 2009). percentage of households residing in one room however reduced to 68.1% the following year. this form of housing is depleting fast due to its unattractiveness to landlords in terms of economic gains and management challenges. in the past, laws have been made to control arbitrary increase in house rents but such laws have been ineffective serving rather to reduce investment in building maintenance, construction of new housing. as deterioration of non-viable buildings continue, they fall into the hands of developers or higher income people who redevelop them to suit the tastes of higher income tenants. this process of property filtering known as gentrification has been reported in a good number of urban centres by nwanna (2012). rapid population growth and changing demographic structure a closer look at the demographic data of enugu reveals the following: a fast growing population; a predominantly young population; smaller household size; and preference for individualism. the combined implication of the above is the demand for more housing units to cater for the shelter needs of the resulting households. in doing this the current trend of smaller household size needs to be taken into consideration. however, it should also be noted that a 479 household made up of predominantly young people will grow. such young households are composed of young persons who are leaving parental homes to start off life on their own. the accommodation needs of such persons, especially when fund is scarce will normally be basic and compact. however with time they get settled and venture into marriage and child bearing. as their household size increase over the household lifecycle, more household space becomes needful. thus while housing units may be initially small, changes over the household lifecycle demand for flexibility. flexibility provides a household room to adjust as family circumstances and needs change over time. inability to achieve this subjects a growing household to housing stress which can trigger mental and psychological disorders. on the alternative a household may be compelled to adjust to such stress by relocation to a more appropriate accommodation. growth of slums and informal (squatter) settlements a major feature of the enugu urban landscape is the proliferation and persistence of slums and informal (squatter) settlements. these have evolved in response to government inability to provide adequate housing for the teeming population. these slums and informal settlements provide accommodation for majority of the people and are usually the first point of call for new migrants. however, they are urban manifestations of government neglect and lack of planning. they evolve haphazardly on precarious locations prone to flooding, rising damp, building collapse, fire outbreak and epidemics (agbola & agunbiade, 2009). proactive moves by government will curb the emergence of informal settlements. such intervention will anticipate the directions of city growth and thereafter move in to plan the layout and provide basic infrastructure prior to people moving in. this way the chaos that is usually evident in informal settlements will be minimized. in addition, while government needs not get involved in direct construction of houses, it should provide the guidelines for development and ensure compliance of the people through effective monitoring. most of the houses in informal settlements are characterized by lack of planning of the house types depicting horizontal densification. due to low floor area ratios in the emerging house types the capacity of the government authorities to efficiently and effectively supply needed services is further constrained. difficulties in accessing housing delivery inputs as a result of the high cost of renting accommodation and the idiosyncrasies of shylock landlords, the average urban resident in nigeria prefers to own his residence. this preference is observed to be very strong among enugu residents. mabogunje (1968) has observed several other benefits of homeownership which include: creation of greater stability in the community, reduction of the tendency to vandalism and violent protests, enhancement of patriotic ardour and love for one’s home and community as well as facilitating the process of civic engagement with the affairs of the community and local government. nonetheless, osho (2010) found that, “about 60% of urban residents are tenants and have to pay rent as high as 50-70% of their monthly incomes. thus access to decent housing whether on rental or owner-occupier basis has however remained a fleeting dream for many urban residents”. this is mainly attributable 480 to the difficulties encountered in accessing vital housing inputs like land, finance, building materials and labour. owing to rapid urbanization, access to land for housing development has become an almost insurmountable challenge. land prices have been rising extraordinarily in the urban areas since the 1970s’ occasioned by the oil boom then and high rates of demand due to explosive urbanization. in recent years, the price of land has risen exponentially, making it unaffordable to many low and middle-income earners. land is a major component in housing provision and delivery. without land, houses cannot be built. due to high cost of land, the urban poor are pushed to inaccessible locations for land, areas prone to disasters (steep slopes, rocky areas, too close to river channels, etc), and engage in minute subdivision of land and building below minimum standards. the problem of affordable housing in nigeria is further exacerbated by the constraints imposed by the land use act, a moribund and repressive act that hinders mortgage financing and creates enormous obstacles to private sector involvement in the housing industry and which has constrained the transfer of titles and made mortgage finance extremely difficult. as a result of the land use act, obtaining a certificate of occupancy (popularly known as c of o) has become a big time avenue for large scale corruption. other constraints with land administration identified by banire (2009) include; “regulatory and planning controls for building and construction that constrain the efficient utilization of the land, as well as high inflation rates in the nigerian economy”. similarly, instances of fraudulent land transactions abound, whereby a piece of land is sold to multiple unsuspecting buyers by unscrupulous land owners is becoming increasingly rampant as reported by nwanna (2012). conclusions urbanization is an inevitable process, which unfortunately was not adequately planned for in the case of enugu. the challenges posed by rapid urbanization in a city like enugu are many but not insurmountable. the extent of the housing shortage in enugu is enormous. the inadequacies are far-reaching and the deficit is both quantitative and qualitative. tackling such challenges will require good knowledge of the characteristics of the people accessing the city as well as accurate projections of future urban growth and associated housing needs. while housing should not be treated in isolation, sustained effort including adequate budgetary allocations and strengthening of relevant agencies are required to address the protracted housing and other infrastructure challenges as precondition for sustainable development. recommendations the following recommendations are apt for effective urbanization and housing development in enugu metropolis; 1. urgent multi-faceted intervention is needed to address the housing deficit in enugu metropolis by adopting a pro-poor housing development strategy through publicprivate partnership. 481 2. urban development policies should be targeted at integrating commercial and industrial activities in urban areas with rural production and consumption. these policies must be practicable and ingenuous. 3. there is need to make conscious efforts to slowly but firmly adapt to vertical city expansion as this will help free some land for other uses and ease communication difficulties. 4. efforts must be made to ensure a high level of output growth in order to generate the necessary resources to meet the needs of rapid urbanization otherwise urbanization will 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(1993). trends in world urbanisation proceedings of the first international conference on urban pests. page 4 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 police and crime control in nigeria: an expose aguene, ignatius nnamdi department of sociology and psychology godfrey okoye university ugwuomu-nike enugu. agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com and ngene innocent aja, department of political science alex ekwueme federal university. ndufu-alike ajangenefunai@gmail.com abstract the nigerian police which was inherited from the british colonial police has failed to live up to the expectations of majority of nigerians with regard to the performance of their duties and other logistic demands. the major reasons for their failure are poor remuneration, poor entry qualification, lack of trust from the community members whom they serve, poor attitude to work, police being members of the corrupt nigerian society and finally undue government intervention in police duties to deal with political opponents and public opinion makers or to protect criminals who are their thugs. former president olusegun obasanjo in 2006 inaugurated presidential committee on police reform. the committee was asked in its terms of reference to “…examine force recruitment policy, equipment, review and recommend measures in the reorganization, administration, operation and control of the nigeria police force, with a view to enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in its operations and standard of training and other personal development activities and make recommendations for the modern nigeria police” (newswatch, january 29, 2007 p.26). despite, this noble gesture by the federal government for a new nigeria police force, the expected result has not been achieved. this paper recommends training and retraining for police officers both in job performance and police-community relations and undue government interfering in police duties should be stopped. keywords: crime control, corruption and awareness campaign, nigerian police, policecommunity relations. introduction in everyday language, to deviate means to stray from an accepted path and many sociological definitions of deviance, simply elaborate upon this idea. deviance is nonconformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in communities or societies. values are relative worth attached to objects or behavioural patterns, while norm is a standard of reference in accordance with which an entity or state of an affair is approved or disapproved. social integration is achieved because societal members carry in their heads during the process of socialization what they ought to do and what they ought not to do mailto:agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com mailto:ajangenefunai@gmail.com 349 under certain situations. each person judges himself and his fellows according to these subtle and ubiquitous rules and any violation no matter how minor is not encouraged but rather attracts punishment though it could be slight or great depending on the gravity of the violation (otite, 1994). the basis of social order is the various customs and norms which specify how people should behave in society. these customs and norms are generally subscribed to and internalized by members of a society. to get members of the society to conform to the behaviourial requirements of these customs and norms is the task of the social control mechanisms of society… in essence all societies are held together by systems of common rules or norms, hence the basis of social order is the system ofshared rules or norms (igbo, 2008). deviance and crime are not synonymous although in many cases they overlap. the concept of deviance is much broader than that of crime which refers only to non-conformist conduct that breaks law. what then is crime and delinquency? crime is a social problem it is relative to time and place. it means that what constitutes a crime in nigeria may not be regarded as crime in ghana. what is a crime today may not be a crime tomorrow. aguene (1999), noted that the nature and rate of crime changes as social change occurs. when social change occurs laws are passed to take care of the new situation that has been created by the change. crime refers to those activities that break the law of the land and are subject to official punishment. british criminal law (1917) defend crime as any wrong which the government deems injurious to the public at large and punishes through a judicial proceeding in its own name. while cliffords (1974), noted that generally, crime includes theft, murder, assault, fraud and other deleterious behaviours, that is, conducts which cannot be allowed because of public security. delinquency refers to criminal acts which are committed by young people below the legally prescribed age for punishment they are teenagers. at the age of 12 a child becomes fully responsible for his acts and omissions which amount to crime under the criminal law. a child under the age of 17 cannot be sentenced to death. they are tried in special juvenile courts. juvenile courts are special courts handling problems of delinquency or neglected children. unlike the adult courts which try cases and recommend appropriate punishment for offenders. the main objective of the juvenile courts is not to administer punishment but rather to provide guidance, care, protection and rehabilitation for the child (nkpa, 1983). police and crime control in nigeria 350 statement of the problem despite, the huge investment of the federal government believing that nigeria now have a reformed police force the reverse is the case. according to ade (2007) the presidential committee was asked to examine ways and means for enhancing remuneration and welfare package of the police including the provisions of adequate office and housing accommodation with a view to boosting the morale of officers and men. he also noted that one month later after the committee submitted the report another presidential committee was set up to raise n100 billion naira for the procurement of equipment for the police force. the government hoped this will improve their operational capabilities. this was the effort of the nigerian government to achieve the reformed nigerian police when sunday ehindero came on board as inspector general of police with vision and mission of his dream police. the assistant commisioner of police in enugu state, mr ade was quoted as saying “i came on board with a vision and mission that have been developed over the years. a vision about the sort of police force of my dream”. he pursued his vision and mission with vigour which started with cleansing the image of the police which was dirty then especially the killing of the apo six. he later confessed that his vision and mission of the police was not visible when he gave the police force their score card. mr ade said “let me say that few of you are still tarnishing the image of the nigerian police and our great mopol. some of you are still busy extorting money from motorists. some have been arrested for criminal activities. it is your job to identify and expose those of your colleagues who are tarnishing your image. don’t hide them; they might implicate you if you don’t expose them” (police news, vol 1. no.4, 2006, p.4). we have also seen cases where police connive with criminals to dope the people they are supposed to be protecting because of the recruitment of people with doubtful character. mr. ade also said “we have also found out that our training programme, our recruitment policies have not been good enough to the extent that we recruited people with doubtful characters. we are thinking very much that we have to change our recruitment policies…” (police news, vol. 1, no. 3 january march, p.5). when we look at the level of police brutality, the level of extortion of money, poor police-community relations and poor attitude to work by many police officers you will agreed with me that many of the officers and men are not part of the reformed nigeria police that the government envisaged and worked for. 351 research questions the research questions of the study include the following: 1. what is the image of reformed nigeria police before nigerians? 2. what is the relationship between the police and their host communities? 3. are officers and men of the police living up to expectations in terms of the performance of their duties? 4. are their negative implications for police officers as members of the nigerian society? objectives of the study 1. to determine the image of the reformed nigeria police before nigerians 2. to determine the relationship between the police and their host communities 3. to determine whether the members of the police force are living up to the expectation of nigerians in the performance of their duties. 4. to determine whether being members of the nigerian society affect their job negatively. significance of the study 1. it will enhance the existing literature on the police and the performance of their duties. 2. it will remind members of the police force that nigerians are worried about their low job performance. causes of crime a. crack in the social structure of the society: prominent sociologists like emile durkheim and robert k. merton and others had insisted that cracks in the social structure of the societies cause crime. that is every society breeds the type of criminal that it deserves. they often pity criminals as victims of their own societies’ structural error that is when things are not working well like the present political socio-economic and security challenges in nigeria is capable of breeding criminals. for instance, suicide is a crime but many nigerians are either contemplating committing suicide or actually committing suicide because of the socio-economic reality of present day nigeria. political assassination is mainly because of hand picking or imposition of candidates instead of allowing due democratic process, witch-hunting of more acceptable political opponents and winner takes all brand of politics. b. deprivation: deprivation is another cause of crime for instance in the niger delta region militant groups feel that the federal government of nigeria and other international police and crime control in nigeria 352 organizations interested in the oil deposits in the niger delta region deprive the indigenes of their entitlement to the oil deposits. this has resulted in the militants reacting to the deprivation of their mineral resources. pitiable situation of the ogoni people in the niger delta region where ken sorowiwa and eight others were executed by the then military government of ibrahim babangida for resisting the deprivation of ogoni mineral resources. c. technological development: better techniques and weapons are produced which enhance better organization in launching criminal attacks. computer crimes include software piracy involving theft, reproduction and marketing; financial fraud and embezzlement, theft via authorized or unauthorized access to computer systems; and sex-related crime, such as pornography. the majority of cases of advance fee fraud (419), counterfeiting, cyber crimes and money laundering, involve taking the advantage of modern technology. modern technology provides individual offenders and criminal groups with easier access to systems, premises, goods and information; removes geographical obstacles to crime; increases the scale of bounty from criminal offences; maximize anonymity; and enhance the ability of offenders to avoid detection (dambazau, 2006).others include human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering. d. emphasis on accumulation of property: for somebody to be regarded as a successful man in nigeria the person must have built a befitting duplex house in his home town built houses in the urban areas and own fleet of cars (aguene, 1999). the desire to be like others is the problem of some weak minded people. f. the contact with foreign culture increases the rate of crime: many nigerians have been executed in and outside nigeria mostly in moslem countries of indonesia and malaysia because of being drug peddlers dealing on cocaine and others. some even deal on human parts of those they killed. those who transact illegal businesses in south africa even come to nigeria to kill themselves to the embarrassment of nigerians. g. in society where conspicuous display of material wealth, lavish spending, ostentatious living etc is the order of the day and typical of a capitalist system like nigeria, one is not surprised that there are many cases of embezzlement, bribery, and corruption, smuggling, armed robbery, drug trafficking, kidnapping among nigerians (aguene, 1999). h. the prison itself is a school of crime: people who spend some time in prison come out with more techniques of crime than reformation. i. as social change occurs some people become frustrated: they cannot live up to expectation by owning cars, fridges and television sets etc. they now reject the societal means 353 of achieving success and go “underground” in order to succeed. they become either criminals or prostitutes in order to succeed or be like others. j. unemployment is another factor in the sense that majority of the youths who move to urban areas are not skilled, or and are either semi-skilled or without skill at all. when they find out that the number of job applications far outnumber the job openings as a result many of them are not employed any way; having tasted some of the good things in the urban areas they will not want to go back to their respective villages. odekunle (1986) observed that in cities, crime has generally been viewed as a phenomenon of youths with a yearly turnover and waxing harder as these youngsters emerge into a new phase of livelihood, from juvenile delinquency to adult criminality. k. love could be a cause of crime because everything has time. for a teenager, unemployed or apprentice to keep a girl friend is a likely cause of crime because if you have a girl friend you must care for her whether you are working or not which will include buying gifts items for her, recharge cards, replacing her phone to a more modern one, organizing birth day parties for her on yearly bases and providing her with delicious meals etc. l. desperation for husband by girls and women can cause crime: some women who are in position of trust or those who handle money for their companies are often promised marriage by sugar tongued lover boys who promise to marry them if they can provide money for them to start business and marry them. some boys have adopted this idiotic lifestyle as a means of livelihood. causes of juvenile delinquency the nigerian society is filled with evil practices like cheating, bribery and corruption, dishonesty, indiscipline, irresponsible leadership and embezzlement both by private and public individuals. nigerian children are products of this ‘dirty’ environment. deutsch (1950) observed that: the child grows up in a double world, faced with respect to attitudes toward law breaking. in the home, school and church, he is taught that honesty is the best policy that right makes rights, that justice is blindly equalitarian, that crime does not pay, that virtue triumphs over sin. in the world around him, he finds that race for prestige and profit often goes not to unscrupulous. he finds the notoriously dishonest enjoying the fruits of affluence in a society that puts premium on material status. police and crime control in nigeria 354 delinquency could be a solution to psychological problems as a result of faulty family upbringing. healy and bronner (1936), from their findings they concluded that over 90 percent of delinquents compared to 13 percent of their non-delinquent siblings had unhappy home lives and felt discontented with their life circumstances. however, the nature of the unhappiness differs. in his own contribution becker (1966), observed that the delinquent boys failed to internalize a set of moral values, apparently in part because of the absence of good role models in their fathers. the causes of juvenile delinquency are multiple and include per pressure, parental neglect, parent imitation, genetic or biological factor, poor education, lack of opportunities, media violence, poverty, divorce, child abuse, and other similar causes of adult criminal behaviour (damvazau, 2006). becker (1966), noted that the importance of delinquent contacts is that they enable the person to commit act he might otherwise feel uneasy about, without losing self-respect and pride. his friends may value him even if others do not. delinquent subculture refers to a system of values, beliefs and practices encouraging the commission of delinquencies, awarding status in the basis of such acts, and specifying typical relationships to persons who fall outside the groupings governed by group norms. that is simple bad gang. the backgrounds of these delinquents often included signs of extreme rejection and lack of love. the nigerian police force northern and southern nigeria were amalgamated in 1914 but the police force was not merged until 1930 forming the npf headquartered in lagos. during the colonial period, most police were associated with local government (native authorities). in the 1960s under the first republic these forces were first regionalized and then nationalized. the modern police force was established by virtue of section 214(1) of the un-amended 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria entrusted with the powers to ensure the internal security of the country. “there shall be a police force for nigeria which shall be known as the nigerian police force and subject to the provisions of this sections, no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof”. vision statement of the nigerian police: “making the country safer and secured for the attainments of nigerian aspiration”. mission statement of the nigerian police: “to deliver qualitative and efficient security and law enforcement services to the citizens of nigeria”. 355 strategy:“phased development of a three point agenda that captures the essence of the vision and mission. duties of the nigeria police force essentially the duties of the police force as encapsulated in section 4 of the police act of 19672 are; a. the prevention and detection of crime, b. he protection of life and property, c. the apprehensions of offenders d. the preservation of law and order and e. the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charge in nigeria, the criminal investigation department (cid) is the arm of the police that investigates crime that are neither committed in the presence of the police nor in the presence of private citizens. when the police have sufficient evidence to believe that a suspect has breached the criminal code or law, the suspect is then reported to the criminal court. in a case where an accused is given a prison sentence, the police take him to the prison where he is quartered and given a prison uniform (onuchukwu, 2011). police and crime control in nigeria 356 police hierarchy the hierarchy of the police makes it possible for the police to be everywhere in nigeria from abuja to the remotest villages in nigeria covering the entire 744 local government areas in nigeria. from inspector general of police down to the deputy inspector general of police to assistant inspector general of police in zones to commissioners of the police down to area commanders to divisional police officers and down to station officers in some cases. the government and the nigerian police force the government has tried to overhaul the police force for efficient services like the following: a. the salaries of the officers and men were more than doubled because of the then prevailing notion that the police were under paid which government also increased in 2018. b. the government now stopped the recruitment of those with first school leaving certificate. the minimum entry qualification is now secondary school certificate with good grades. c. some machines including computers, circuit cameras etc have been purchased and even vehicles for the efficient performance of the police force. d. their work load has been reduced with the establishment of federal road safety commission, civil defense corps and department of security service (dss) etc just to give room for efficiency. e. funding: more funds have been given to the police and they have direct allocation from the federal budget. f. the government also sponsors the training and retraining of the nigeria police force for efficient performance of their duties. ade (2007) noted about 50 officers left for the u.s early in 2007 to undergo training in community policing. the training programme was organized by the federal government in conjunction with two u.s based organizations arthur foundation and brown group international. many state governors encourage police command in their states by providing cars for patrol by police officers, accommodation or even maintenance of existing structures like governor david umahi of ebonyi state did. the nigerian police and performance of their duties it is interesting to note the observations of nweze and wapmuk (1992), regarding the relevance of the organization: historically, the nigeria police represents the first force employed by the colonial administration to control the people. since then, the police have been the most visible in nigeria. they are seen in the streets and ever 357 present in all corners of the country. they get involved in the meanest and dirtiest jobs. they are called to intervene in family disputes, street brawls, deal with street crowd behaviours, deal with armed robbers, political thugs, supervise political campaigns and elections, religious riots, and are the first to be called in to attend to natural disasters. bawley (1994) quoted in ojukwu (2016) notes that police organization are structured, authoritarian, para-military lines, regulated through strict organizational rules and regulations with an emphasis on internal and vertical communication. there is a premium on compliance other than initiative…decision making is rarely participative or collegial across rank lines. a mission statement for the nigeria police could read thus: the nigeria police believe that the people of nigeria deserve and should receive the best of police services available. the nigeria police believe that safety and security are among the basic rights to be enjoyed by citizens and residents of nigeria. without doubt, a safe and secure environment is a necessary pre-condition for the exercise of civil liberties and freedoms and the pursuit and exercise of legitimate goals and enterprise. in order to do this, the nigeria police will function as a responsive, responsible, humane and professional organization, and will strive at all times to render quality service to the generality of the people. the nigeria police shall subordinate itself to the will and wishes of the public. aside from recruiting, training and deploying officers, men and women to capture the diversities and interests of the nigerian nation, the nigeria police will invite and accommodate partnerships with members and stakeholders of the various communities in which it serves. apart from empowering all cadres of personnel to function maximally at their points of service, the nigeria police will adopt a proactive approach to problems and issues, by identifying the root causes of crime and social disorder, and in conjunction with the community members, proffer solutions to them. at all times and in all places, the nigeria police will be open, accessible and available to all and sundry; and be accountable and transparent in its services to the public. cp lawrence alobi, then head of the police command in the federal capital territory (fct), abuja, had this reaction to a reported police use of excessive force on students of fct college of education zuba, abuja. “police are not supposed to use live bullets on students. we are sorry for what has happened. what the students did was also wrong; but the excessive force used by the police was not necessary. the situation was not properly managed at all. it was not managed professionally” (ojukwu, 2016). disturbed by lukewarm attitude of the police towards arrangement of prison inmates’ to court years after arrest nassarawa state chief judge justice suleiman dikko has threatened to stop signing warrant of arrest for the police unless the trend was reversed vanguard newspaper january 11, 2019. in a letter of complaint to the public complaints commission, lodged on 13th september, 2004, one mallam a.r.k. wrote: police and crime control in nigeria 358 …i complained to the d. police station through one sergeant a…r. that one person that i gave my motorcycle to operate okada business refused to pay me some money he owed me, totaling n3, 900.00. when the money was recovered, sergeant a.r. spent n1, 400.00. i approached him to pay me the money; he said he would pay me immediately he received his salary. when he collected the salary, i demanded for the money, but still he asked me to come during next salary, but still he refused to pay me the money. the new assistant inspector general of police (aig) in charge of zone 7 command godwin nwobodo admitted that kidnapping and robbery in the area were becoming a source of embarrassment but will soon become a thing of the past as his command would move to fight the war to the finish. the loss of public respect and confidence in the police as well as inability to effectively tackle crimes in the most ethical and professional manner have been widely attributed to the challenge of corruption within the policing system – (igp arase, 2015). police-community relations in a more sociological and philosophical sense according to manning (1991) community represents a sense of integration that people wish, hope and envision as being a central part of their collective lives. where such integrated communities exist, people share a sense of ownership and pride in their environment. they also have a sense of what is acceptable behaviour, which makes policing in such a community easier, as noted by mastrofski (1991). community policing involves an interactive process of developing closer working relations between the police and the community so as to identify and solve community problems together (ojukwu, 2016).the increasing sophiscation of the form and nature of crime according to eze (2011) in the 21stcentury has posed a great challenge to policing. and attempts to contain these challenges have created the need for the introduction of best practices to the job of policing. according to kinsley, lea and young in haralambos and holbon (2004). the key to police success lies in improving the relationship with the community so that the flow of information on which the police rely increases. that is to say that irrespective of other basic trainings, the realization that information flow from the public remains a crucial factor which must be sank into the consciousness of any police officer. there is need for training and retraining among the rank and file of the police force. the new orientation must primarily target at changing the attitudinal disposition of the nigeria police force to be friendly eze (2011). in their own contribution haralambos and holbon (2004) noted that the police should be trained in way that their behaviour and not just inscription on 359 their vans reflect its community service orientations, anchored on friendliness, mutual cooperation and trust as its foundation. the lack of trust from the community on the nigerian police has been a major hindering factor towards efficient policing since the police depend on information from the public. oji (2007) noted that training and manpower development will serve to boost the capacity of the officers and men of the nigerian police force but then there are bound to be certain intervening variables which could make or mar the training and manpower development efforts. the presence or absence of these factors will go a long way in determining the extent to which the training and manpower development efforts can achieve. one of these variables is community relations. in their own contribution kingsley, lea and young (2004) noted that the training efforts of the nigeria police force should now be towards reinforcing their public relations skills. they are of the opinion that the breakdown in trust between the police and some section of the public leads to a drying up of the flow of information from communities. lacking information that is necessary to solve crime, the police resort to other policing method. they drift towards what the trio called military policing. according to haralambos and holton (2004) research shows that public confidence in the police declined to ensure optimal performance of the nigeria police force, the erosion of public confidence must be halted, and trust must be entrenched as the foundation for policecommunity relations. to the extent that members of the public get, scared of reprisal from criminals while considering volunteering information to the police to that extent policing will remain an uphill task. adamu ciroma (2002) a former minister of finance of nigeria reacted to the issue of police community relations by noting that communities should be given the opportunity to participate in crime control they know the criminals themselves, as they live with them and at the same time they are at the receiving ends of the activities of these criminals. he pointed out that the communities would yield positive results as it has achieved in many areas, so the police cannot function effectively without the co-operation of the members of the host communities. the community and the police depend on each other. the common motto “to serve and protect” suggests a target population individuals requiring service and protection. community policing changes that traditional approach b bringing police officers back into the community, police and crime control in nigeria 360 neighbourhoods to talk with residents about what they want and how they can lawfully accomplish their goals together (onuchukwu 2011). tamuno (1970) states, police-community relations in crime control are a two way affair. it is more or less a give and take arrangement since the police receives information from the members of the community for their investigation and in turn offers protection to the members of the community. there is a significant relationship between the police and the community with respect to crime control. this implies that the communities have an important role to play in the reduction as well as combating of crime in the community. they could do this by giving information to the police about crimes and criminals in the community, by generating and equipping their vigilante group in the community for proper functioning. then on the other hand, the police should in turn protect the concerned community members who gave them information also treat the information with utmost secrecy and above all, act on the information they receive from the public. the state of police-community relations is not cordial. the community finds it difficult to accept the police as their friend and feel safe to give them information as required from them. it follows that a lot of things need to be done by the police to better her image before the community. the community knows the members of the community and could easily identify the bad eggs among them. most of the problems that result in the community have roots known to the community members. it becomes imperative that police as strangers in a community should liaise with the members of the community where they are posted. if there is understanding between the community and the police then the work of policing is minimized. in this case you do not need many policemen and women to police a community after all security business is everybody’s business. with good understanding the community before anything happens they reach the police to inform them which police can now turn into intelligence report. the mass media and the police chief of army staff general tukur buratai when referring to the media on monday 24th december daily sun emphasized that the media play a vital role in security and national development. while army fights with guns to protect the society, the media fight with your pens to do the same. consequently, fighting without one another can be compared to fighting 361 with one hand tied behind your body…the war against terrorism should be a collective responsibility for all and not just a war between the army and the terrorist group”. the media played very important role in the war against terrorists in nigeria. in the same vain the media often provide clue about criminals that enable the police to catch criminals. for instance, in the police tracking down a notorious armed robber shina rambo in 1992. the media described his identity which turned out to be useful to the police in tracking him down. rambo was described as a dare-devil king pin, slim, dark and average height, possessing two tribal marks one on each check characteristic of indigenes of akure town (sambe, 2005)cited in noun 2018 with the description it was easy for the police to catch him. sambe (2005) cited in noun 2018 in underscoring the surveillance function of the press on crime noted that in 1986, two gangsters emerged from the crime scene in nigeria namely lawrence anini and monday osunbor. the press in living up to its responsibilities as surveillance for society kept on beaming search light on the activities of the duo until they were arrested with some of their collaborators. much of the security challenges that have come up are associated with misinformation, disinformation and lack of credible intelligence, shuaib 2019 who also noted that while the military can claim to have strong weapon, with their guns and bombs, the media actually possesses stronger weapons, with their pens and keyboards, in changing mindset, engaging in psychological warfare, strengthening the fighting of troop, boost the confidence of citizens and weakening the moral of theorists. the same thing could be said of the police because both are into security service while the police is for internal security the military is for mainly external security though internally when the need calls for it. influence of politicians the corruption in the police is more or less a reflection of the decay in the larger society. the truth is that when the society is bad then the police in it will also be bad. at times the different arms of the government influence the duties of police officers negatively some even use them as domestic servants. for instance, when one time attorney general and minister of justice lateef jakande was assassinated an accused person gave a confessional statement about his involvement and others and even those who sent them but the then federal government of the day took the person to psychiatry hospital and claimed that he was mentally sick. the claim of the federal government rubbished police investigation and that ended the matter. police and crime control in nigeria 362 daily sun monday december 24th 2018 alleged that two weeks after the arrest of their reporter in the kebbi state. the police on the orders of kebbi state government arrested the correspondent over an online publication about the abduction of a chieftain of the pdp in the state. the reporter was charged with one count charge of disseminating wrongful information by the apc led government. he was arranged in court without a defense lawyer. the government claimed that the delay was from the kebbi state ministry of justice. wealthy and influential people at times seek the co-operation of the police to torture their enemies. inspector general of police (igp) wears a political cap. it is said that he who pays the piper dedicates the tune of the music. according to ojukwu (2016) it was reported that the first indigenous president of nigeria, the rt. hon. dr. nnamdi azikiwe was prevented by the police from holding a lawful political rally in maiduguri, borno state during the second republic. political influence was fingered in this bizarre episode that embarrassed the then igp sunday adewusi in a council of state meeting chaired by president shehu shagari. according to daily sun monday january 14, 2019 p.5 force public relations officer, jimoh moshuod, denied speculations that the police were deliberately holding dino melaye to prevent him from contesting the senatorial election in his zone. the truth is that it is not the police that it holding him, it is the law that is holding him. the truth is that the federal government has used the police several times against dino meylaye. the government is accusing his thugs of wounding sergeant danjuma on july 19, 2018.when police sent him to dss hospital he refused to enter the hospital but rather stayed outside the hospital for fear of being injected with poisonous substance. the nigeria police and the performance of their duties in the eyes of the public section 370 (first schedule) of the police regulations sets out a number of offences against which a serving police officer may be called to question and be sanctioned. disciplinary offences captured in the first schedule of the police regulations which pertain to senior officers are: i. absence from duty ii. breach of confidence iii. corrupt practice iv. discreditable conduct v. disobedience to orders vi. drunkenness vii. falsehood or prevarication 363 viii. improper conduct ix. insubordinate or oppressive conduct x. neglect of duty xi. unlawful and unnecessary exercise of authority. how far are they observing these rules is the problem because the way some of them behave show that they don’t even know about the existence of this rules. the truth is that the nigerian police force despite the attempt by the federal government of nigeria to reform and reposition the nigerian police force. they fall below expectation in the performance of their duty in the eyes of majority of nigerians. the nigerian police is still suffering from colonial legacy. the effects are still being felt today. according alemika (1998): historical evidence demonstrate that the colonial police forces were organized and oriented to behave as occupation forces, ruthless, brutal, corrupt, dishonest and prone to brutalizing the colonized people and vandalizing their properties…the preoccupation of colonial and postcolonial nigeria police were not the promotion and enforcement of just laws, rule of law, natural justice and equity and security of the vast majority of nigerians, as colonial surrogates often claimed…the greatest part of the police energies and resources were committed to, and dissipated on, the suppression of struggles and protests against oppression and exploitation, the large scale theft and mismanagement of the public wealth by those who controlled the economy and state apparatus. in his own contribution odike (2018) noted that unfortunately with regard to the performance of their duties, instead of clapping, one can confidently charge the nigeria police force with sundry offences shortcomings. these range from chronic corruption, unparallel inefficiency to outright brutality. the viral load of nigeria police corruption, inefficiency and incivility is so high and it seems for now that no anti-retro viral government police can help revert its load of problems particularly incivility and corruption. this has heightened in several quarters, the call for the establishment of state police force in nigeria as a cure for its state inefficiency. ade (2007) noted unfortunately however, back home, the force’s hard worn international reputation has been belittled by unwavering image crisis bordering on allegations of inefficiency, corruption, lack of capacity to, or commitment for combating crimes, abuse of power, impunity, high handedness and a host of other forms of misconduct. ogbe (1999) in his contribution paints the picture of the nigeria police force helpless in the presence of criminal police and crime control in nigeria 364 activities. he state that “the seeming helplessness of the nigerian police to the complexity and sophistication in the manner in which armed robbers operate in the country, leave nigerians at the mercy of these miscreants. this is utterly pathetic”. considering the obvious inabilities of police force to wage a successful war against criminals, one will not be mistaking to ask, why have the police failed so woefully? many reasons have been given by different scholars for this failure. eze (2009) in his own contribution noted that even their appearance in tattered uniforms and shoes and their resultant penchant for the pretended n20 naira “offering” makes a mockery of the image of nigerian police. hence, a disillusioned naughty observer once described the nigeria police as “high way beggars.” are these the type of police anybody can be proud of? the federal government increased the salaries of members of police force which make majority of them appear neat now unlike before but have moved from collecting n20 note to n50 naira note. many nigerians lives in perpetual fear according to daily sun on monday, december 24th 2018 a woman residing in umunze expressed fear on the state of insecurity in the community, which is a border town between imo and abia states: “the police are not doing anything to help us. the police station is close to the market, yet when the kidnappers abducted a woman in the market, the police did not respond. the worst is that the victim used her phone throughout her captivity, yet the police could not use that to track the kidnapper’s den. it is confusing and at the same time unbelievable. but, that is where we have found ourselves now. we need help and urgently too.” the police should have used the phone number to track the location where the woman was kept. at times some bad members of the police force engage in evil practices against the community which they are supposed to serve. this week magazine puts it this way that anini saga was a total collaboration within the gang members and some bad element in the police force. the police gave him information, sold him weapons and shared in his loot in perfect symbiosis. an assistant superintendent of police george iyamu was the leader of the police group involved in the crime though, he was executed alongside with criminals. some members of police force compromise their integrity because of earthly things in kind or cash from the members of the society. members of the community are at times tortured by the police to get the type of information that the police want that is why we hear at times that people gave 365 statement under durex. at times police officers engage themselves in jobs that are outside their schedule of duty with the sole aim of extorting money and intimating members of public. sars before the reformation they became so zealous about money and intimation that they were moving in and out of streets, compounds and houses like monkeys in the forest in attempt to get people to extort money and torture members of the public who delay in raising huge amount of money for bail and forgiveness of their sins. however, luck ran out of them when the federal government got wing of their evil activities and ordered that they should stick to armed robbery and kidnapping which was their original assignment before they became wild. carelessness of the police in handling key witnesses many times key witnesses die while in detention and it becomes difficult for the case to continue like in the offa robbery incident which linked some thugs of the senate president dr. bukola saraki and the governor of kwara state. they key accused person died in the detention according to the police and that’s why they could not bring him to court (daily sun, 2019). poor police community relations: intimation of community members make them to stay away from the police. the experiences of those who come close to policemen or visited local police stations for one thing or the other are not encouraging. for instance, those who go to make entries to the police stations are intimated by trying to prove to them that they are wrong and start counting charges against them that only payment of certain amount of money will set them free which they at times compelled to pay that amount of money that is why you can hear somebody of about fifty to seventy years saying that he or she had never been to police station in his or her life that he avoids police officers like leprosy patients. police stations are not friendly places to visit because they create fear in the minds of the community members who they are supposed to serve. the police in modern nigeria, tamuno (1993) states that the modern police, for nigeria does not live up to expectations due to the poor relations it has with the community it is meant to serve. in his words, “the image of the nigeria police is bad”. to the society, the police is an enemy, an agent of oppression and perpetrator of injustice, and a mass of gluttons whose stock in trade is bribery and corruption. consequent upon the battered image of the police, tamuno (1993) argues that members of the public have lost confidence in the police and as a result find it difficult to assist the police. the public neither report criminals with questionable characters who also make suspicious movements to the police. even when the police are conducting an police and crime control in nigeria 366 investigation, members of the public most times fine it extremely difficult to open up when they are asked questions. the police engage in reactive policing when information is given they react on the basis of the information instead of first of all investigating whether the allegation is true or false. even if the allegation is true it is the magistrate or judge who will confirm the allegation while at the police station the person is still a suspect and should not be given the punishment meant for criminals. conclusion security is everybody’s business therefore criminals are against the nigerian nation and not just members of the police force. corruption in the nigerian police is a reflection of corruption in the nigerian society with intelligent report and co-operation of the community members police will be everywhere. nigerians do not differentiate the bag eggs from the genuine police officers rather they are fond of condemning the entire police force as brutal, exploitative and wicked minded which even make an average police officer believe that the public they serve hate them. the public should understand that the police are members of the wider nigerian society which is corrupt and crazy for materialism. they say that respect is reciprocal the public should endeavour to respect police officers which on the other hand the police will respect the public which will then give way to smooth police-community relations after all security is everybody’s business. it takes two to tango. the community members at times give money to the police even without demanding for it to make them compromise their integrity. the police many times present a reactive rather than preventive strategy against crime. that is they show reaction or response instead of normal investigation. where there are good police-community relations before any crime takes place in a community the members of the community will inform the police which they turn into intelligent report. with intelligent report and co-operation of the community police will be everywhere. the police create fear in the minds of the community members who visit police stations for one thing or the other. the federal government did little to train and retrain officers and men of the police force to keep them abreast of the modern form of policing. the operational vehicles and other logistics for combating crime are inadequate. at times criminals use better arms and ammunition than police officers. 367 police service delivery is evidently measured by the perception of the public and her attitude to the police. a servant that delivers good dividends to his master is commended as faithful, while the slothful and careless is dubbed as wicked. for police to score high on service delivery and remain relevant in a democracy, it must identify and be identified with the concerns and priorities of the community (ojukwu, 2016). police image is further worsened when officers get involved in duties outside the scope allowed by law. it is an irony that the policecannot execute its full statutory work load, yet it is interested in carrying out tasks not assigned to it by law (ojukwu, 2016).in nigeria, the police are seen as the most corrupt part of the system. an icpc (independent corrupt practices commission) survey report in 2004 reads “many participants agreed with survey finding that police are most corrupt public employees”. even those who interact with police go behind to say that they hatepolice.membership of police community relations committee (pcpc) is a prized privilege and a ticket out of trouble. how many of them can give police officers pass mark at their back? we will like to end our conclusion of this paper by re-emphasizing what sir robert peel contributed to the metropolitan police art of 1829 in england as summarized by champion and rush 1997 and quoted by ojukwu 2016. he charged the police to: i. prevent crime and disorder as an alternative to military repression; ii. recognize that the power of the police is dependent upon public approval and respect; iii. seek and preserve public favour by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to law; iv. maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. our conclusion that the nigerian police force have failed in the performance of their duties is because the police could not pass any one of the listed four charges which are the basic requirements for efficient policing. recommendations lawyers and human right groups should be allowed to visit suspects and interact with them. this will enable them make case for those who had been unjustly delayed more than necessary. there should be mechanism for checking the excesses of subordinatesbecause at times police and crime control in nigeria 368 subordinates work for their own interest without the supervising officers knowing that people under them are abusing the rights of community members. there is the need for awareness campaign because most of the people who are intimated do not know their rights. with this, they should be able to assess the services of civil right organizations to stop undue extortion of money and unnecessary intimation.computers, circuit cameras and gazettes should be used during the interrogation of suspects to avoid torturing suspects to accept what they did not do.police stations should be made more friendly with the members of the community whom they serve. there is the need to correct the impression offear of extortion by the public. government should seriously look into the high level of corruption in the policeforce. adequate training and retraining of the police on the ethics of their profession should be done. the salaries and gratuityof the police should be reviewed upwards to serve as incentives and discourage them from taking bribes, then introduce stringent punitive measures to those who default. there should be a detailed account of police efforts to stamp out crime in each community, instead of waiting for crime to take place before responding. also there should be constant raiding of criminals by combing all the criminal hid-outs and black spots in every community.the police should show respect, accountability and transparency in dealing with the community which they serve. some criminals who enter policeforce to become licensedarmed robbers like late asp gorge iyamu should be fished out and send to prison where they belong through due process. the vanguard newspaper of january 30, 2007: pay rise will not stop police extortion because the senior officers will continue to tamper with their salaries…the rank and file in the policeforce are suffering in the hands of their bosses. new pay for police, no matter how high cannot end extortion because a thief is a thief anytime. the top shots encourage junior ones to do it. until the top is totally overhauled, extortion cannot end. new pay for police can reduce extortion but it cannot end it. it’s only re-orientation that can help. there is need to sensitize the police on the need to have respect for human life and to exercise utmost restraint in dealing with citizens so as not take human life unnecessarily. the practice of killing armed robbery and other suspects by the police before they are tried formally in a court of competent jurisdiction is unlawful and should be stopped. any 369 officers found to be involved in such summary executions should be tried for the offence. they should not be merely dismissed from service. the right to presumption of innocence in the 1999 constitution (as amended) should be respected by all law enforcement agencies (dambazu, 2007). the new igp mohammed abubaka adamu should not think of beautiful ideas to give nigerians to correct the bad image of the police. let him go into action because action speaks louder than voice. references aguene, i.n. (1999). contemporary social problems. nsukka prize publishers. alemika, e.e.o. (1998). “policing and perceptions of police in nigeria,” police studies 11 (4), p. 161 – 176. annual report of the public complaints commission, 2005, p. 65. becker, h. (1966). social problems. a modern approach: new york. john willy & sons inc british criminal law 1917 london colonial office. daily independent newspaper april 25, 2007 p.6. daily sun newspaper monday december 24, 2018 p. 4 daily sun newspaper monday january 14, 2019 p. 46 daily sun newspaper monday january 24, 2018 p. 19 daily sun newspaper thursday november 22, 2018 p. 4 daily vanguard newspaper friday january 11, 2019 daily vanguard newspaper january 11, 2019. dambazau, a.b. (2007). criminology and criminal justice. ibadan: spectrum books. deutach, m. (1990). our respected children. ontario: mocclet and steward publishers. eze, o. (2011). police and performance of their duties. unpublished b.sc thesis department of sociology/anth ebsu abakaliki. giddens, a. (2009). sociology 6th edition: london oxford university press. police and crime control in nigeria 370 haralambos, m. & holborn, m. (2007) sociology: themes and perspectives. seventh edition london oxford university press. healy, w., bronner, a.f., shimberg, m.e. (1936). the close of another chapter in criminology. mental hygiene,192, 08-22 igbo, e.m. (2008). basic sociology (second edition) enugu cidtap publishing and press. newswatch magazine january 29, 2007 p. 26. nweze, a., & wapmuk, i. (1992). the police in nigerian society; in b.i. takaa, ed., security administration and human rights: prospects for nigeria’s third republic and beyond. university of jos: cds, p.63. ojukwu, e. c.s. (2016). discovering the police: an excursion into police personality, powers, performance and prudence. second edition. ibadan kraft book ltd. onigu, o. (1994). sociology: theory and practice. lagos: malthuse publishers. onuchukwu, i. (2011). police public relations. unpublished b.sc thesis department of sociology/anth ebsu abakaliki. otite, o. (1994). sociology: theory and applied(ed). philpapers police news vol 1 no. 3 january/march 2006 p. 5 police news vol. 1. no. 4 2006 p.4 scharefer, r. (1994). sociology: a brief introduction 6th edition mcgraw hill new york. tamuno, t.n. (1993). ‘crime and society in pre-colonial nigeria.’ in tamuno, t.n., et al, eds., policing nigeria: past, present and future. lagos: malthouse, p.129. https://philpapers.org/rec/otista https://philpapers.org/rec/otista page 4 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 102 treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria: a catalyst for blocking financial leakages in public sector emovon, felix osayabor research scholar, department of accounting, igbinedion university, okada, edo state, nigeria. felix.emovon@iuokada.edu.ng ozele, clement (ph.d) department of accounting, igbinedion university, okada, edo state, nigeria. ozele.clement@iuokada.edu.ng abstract the purpose of this paper is to examine treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria: a catalyst for blocking financial leakage in public sector. treasury single account (tsa) is a public accounting system in which all government taxes and income are gathered into a single account, which is normally kept by the apex bank, the country's central bank, and all payments are made through this account as well. the tsa policy idea was initiated and introduced by the former president, dr. goodluck ebele jonathan administration, who set a february 2015 deadline for the implementation of the initiative, but did not go ahead with it due to pressures, particularly from the banking sector, to soft pedal on the implementation due to the potential negative impact on the economy. however, the treasury single account (tsa) was established when president muhammadu buhari took office. the study's goal is to determine the value of tsa to the nigerian economy. the purpose of this conceptual paper is to conduct a literature study on treasury single accounts (tsa) in nigeria. the library technique was used for this study, which focuses on a content review of existing literature. we concluded that the treasury single account platform has significantly reduced financial leakages in revenue generation while also promoting transparency and accountability in the public financial system. we recommended that the government should review the treasury single account policy to specifically safeguard the financial autonomy of some sectors, for example, educational sector. keywords: banking sector, central bank of nigeria, government, revenue, treasury single account. introduction many regarded the federal and some state governments' implementation of a treasury single account (tsa) as an attempt to close gaps in the nigerian financial system. a tsa is a uniform system of government bank accounts that allows for consolidation and efficient use of government cash resources. it is a bank account through which the government makes all of its payments and receipts and obtains a comprehensive picture of its current cash situation. the importance of any government adopting and fully implementing treasury single account (tsa), especially in a shrinking economy, cannot be overstated. this is because the mailto:felix.emovon@iuokada.edu.ng mailto:ozele.clement@iuokada.edu.ng 103 primary purpose of a tsa is to assure government income accountability and transparency (adeolu, 2015). adeolu believed that the directive issued by president muhammadu buhari to all federal ministries, departments, and agencies (mdas) to begin depositing all government revenues, incomes, and other receipts into a single account with the central bank of nigeria (cbn) is a courageous and highly commendable move against one of the main sources of corruption in the polity, public institutions. (adeolu, 2015). the implementation of this unified accounting structure, appropriately called the treasury single account (tsa), is burdened with high expectations of economic prospects because it has the potential to ensure transparency and accountability against a tactless financial strategy coming from an unholy alliance between banks and mdas. payment of government money into several bank accounts operated by mdas in commercial banks, as achieved under the former order, was clearly in violation of the nigerian constitution, which states in section 80 that all government earnings must be paid into a single account. according to akande (2015), consolidation and efficient utilization of government financial resources are made possible by the treasury single account (tsa), a unified structure of government bank accounts. statement of the problem treasury single account (tsa) is a single structure of government bank accounts that allows for consolidation and efficient use of government cash resources (yusuf & chiejina, 2015). the former administration of former president goodluck ebele jonathan has set a february 28, 2015 deadline for the tsa. however, the initiative's execution was sluggish, owing to demands, particularly from the banking industry, on the grounds of a potential detrimental impact on the economy, as well as pressure from mdas. the ongoing delay in returning government accounts to the central bank adds to the enormous cost of government indebtedness as a result of inadequate cash flow management. (cbn, 2014). however, the implementation of this policy was a critical step towards curbing mismanagement of funds in public sector and to ensure accountability and transparency. it is against this background that this study will investigate treasury single account in nigeria: a catalyst for blocking financial leakages in public sector and review related extant literature. objective of the study the objective of this conceptual paper is to evaluates treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria: a catalyst for blocking financial leakages in public sector. 104 literature review conceptual review treasury single account (tsa) and public sector before the tsa, nigeria's banking infrastructure for tax and payment operations was fragmented, according to otunla (the former accountant general of the federation). he claimed that because there were more than 10,000 bank accounts spread across several banks, it was impossible to determine the government's total financial position at any given time. when several government organizations failed to declare and return the 25% of their estimated yearly revenue that they are required by law to generate to the treasury, as stipulated by law, the former president goodluck ebele jonathan administration devised and created the notion of the treasury single account. about n120 billion from ministries, departments, and agencies (mdas) was forcibly collected by the government in 2012, accounting for 25% of the treasury's annual revenue. another #34 billion was collected in 2013. okonjo iweala explained that the reforms expected in public financial management would cover the government integrated financial management information system (gifmis), treasury single account (tsa), and the integrated payroll and personal information system (ippis) at a gathering of financial experts and calibres in the account management of all federal government mdas. a treasury single account (tsa), according to yusuf and chiejina (2015), is a uniform structure of government bank accounts that allows for consolidation and optimal exploitation of government financial resources. former president goodluck ebele jonathan's administration set a february 2015 deadline for the initiative's implementation but did not follow through due to demands, particularly from the banking sector, for fear of a detrimental impact on the economy. in addition, as expected, the committee of vice chancellors of federal institutions recommended the government to exempt institutions from the tsa policy's implementation. during a courtesy visit to the then accountant general of the federation, alhaji idris ahmed, a delegation of a committee led by professor michael faborode stated that the universities should be viewed as peculiar establishments because of their operations and services and should not be treated as public services or classified as revenue-generating organizations because the implementation of tsa in the university system might stifle its efficient operation. however, when president muhammadu buhari administration came on board, the treasury single account (tsa) was implemented. 105 the treasury single account (tsa) was created as a solution to control the degree of openness and accountability in the financial resources of the nigerian government. tsa also aims to close gaps in the nigerian financial system, reducing fraud and corruption. according to olanrewaju (2020), it is impossible to completely eradicate fraud. since many thieves and unscrupulous people are able to get around the controls set up to prevent them, no system is totally fraud-proof. adeolu (2015) defines the treasury single account (tsa) as a system of public accounting in which all government revenues, receipts, and income are accumulated into a single account that is typically kept by the apex bank, the cbn, and through which all payments are also made. treasury single account is seen by the government as a helpful tool to create centralized control over its revenue through efficient cash management. it improves accountability and makes it possible for the government to access the daily account balance and account information (akande, 2015). a treasury single account, according to yusuf and chiejina (2015), is a uniform structure of government bank accounts that enables consolidation and optimal use of government financial resources. it is a bank account, or group of connected bank accounts, through which the government conducts all transactions and receives a consolidated picture of its cash balance at any given time. according to jegede (2015), the treasury single account integrates all government accounts through a single treasury account, making it possible to prevent income loss and management by revenue-generating agencies. it was created to restrict financial leakages and prevent misuse of the government's revenue. additionally, according to onyewuchi (2015), tsa can be thought of as a network of subsidiary accounts connected to a main account, with transactions occurring in the subsidiary accounts but closing balances being transferred to the main account at the end of each business day. igbekoyi and agbaje (2017) evaluated how the adoption of the treasury single account will affect openness and accountability in the public sector. the study includes 570 ministries, departments, and agencies (mdas) in the public sector, with a sample size of ten (10) mdas selected using a purposive selection technique that are active in revenue generation. the study included both descriptive and inferential analysis. the outcome demonstrated that the treasury single account significantly reduces financial leakages, increases transparency, and prevents financial theft. in order to determine the effect of the treasury single account on the nigerian economy, oguntodu et al. (2016) conducted research. the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin (1999–2015) was examined using the ordinary least square estimator. to this end, an 106 empirical investigation of the connection between nigeria's economic performance and the treasury single account was conducted. time series data were used in the research to gather information due to the utilization of sets of economic indicators spanning 17 years. based on the unified data published in the central bank of nigeria's (cbn) statistical bulletin for the year 2015, the population of the study was established. we used secondary data. for each variable, the necessary data were gathered between the years 1999 and 2015. regression was essentially the analysis method used to evaluate their work. the appropriate analysis to ascertain the relationship between the dependent and independent variables was conducted using the e-views statistical program. the outcome demonstrates that the treasury single account positively and significantly affects the nation's economic expansion. in a similar vein, yusuf (2016) conducted research on the impact of the treasury single account on nigeria's public financial management. the study's main goal was to assess how well the tsa can prevent financial leaks and fosters accountability and openness in public finance management practices. workers at mdas' finance departments in bauchi state make up the sample population employed in the study. out of the population, 72 workers in total were chosen for the study. primary sources were used to gather the data for the study. to achieve the research goals, statistical testing of the hypotheses was done using spss. from the findings, it was revealed that about 70% of the respondents agreed with the fact that introduction of account processes largely increase the profit margins for the business. ocheni (2016) conducted research on the treasury single account (tsa) as a driving force for nigerian public financial management. when evaluating the data, ocheni used the mean and standard deviation. upon validating the tool, a reliability coefficient of 0.61 (or 61%) was discovered. the public's perception of the treasury single account policy's impact on the country's revenue drive, transparency, and fight against corruption, as well as the adoption of the treasury single account policy's likely effects on banks' liquidity and employment, were all examined. the study on treasury single account (tsa) as a catalyst for improving efficient public finance management in nigeria was also examined. as a result of the consolidation of cash resources through a treasury single account, which helps agencies avoid borrowing money and paying additional interest fees to finance some agencies' expenses while other agencies maintain idle balances in their bank accounts, the majority of agencies have mean scores that are higher than the criterion mean of 2.50. the study came to the conclusion that the treasury single account policy is crucial for the country's quest for 107 income, transparency, and anti-corruption efforts. however, the adoption of the policy has an impact on employment and bank liquidity as well. according to osuala (2001), public sectors are those corporate entities that are created by a particular statute that specifies their rights and responsibilities. they are those businesses and quasi-businesses that are collectively owned by all nigerian citizens and funded entirely by tax payers. public sector accounting, according to adams (2005), refers to any organizations that are not privately owned and operated but instead formed, managed, and funded by the government on behalf of the general public. accordingly, the public sector consists of businesses whose management is under the supervision of the general public and whose main goal is to provide services rather than make a profit. udeh (2008) claims that the public sector is involved in delivering products and services, sometimes against the express requests of the consumers but more frequently as a result of governmental organizations' decisions. the challenges encountered in the implementation process of the treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria the implementation of the tsa was given a deadline of february 28, 2015 by the administration of former president goodluck ebele jonathan. however, the initiative's execution was sluggish due to pressure from the mdas and, in particular, the banking sector, which was concerned about a potential impact on the economy. before he left office on may 29, 2015, former president goodluck ebele jonathan was unable to put the proposal into action. when president muhammadu buhari took office, the tsa policy was reconsidered, and the president directed all federal ministries, departments, and agencies (mdas) to begin depositing all government revenues, incomes, and other receipts into a unified pool of single account with the central bank of nigeria (cbn). the federal government's commitment to enforcing the tsa was expressed in a circular headed "re: introduction of treasury single account (tsa) (e-collection of government receipts)" issued by the federation's then-head of civil service, danladi i. kifasi. in a circular dated august 7, 2015, it was announced that president buhari had given his approval for the creation and operation of a treasury single account for the electronic collection of government revenues for all federal mdas beginning on that day. the purpose of the circular was to make it easier to comply with sections 80 and 162 of the federal republic of nigeria constitution of 1999 (as amended). as anticipated, the federal government's directive sparked discussions across the nation. 108 jonah otunla, the previous accountant general of the federation (oagf), admitted that the tsa faced difficulties. he claimed that mdas and commercial banks are putting up resistance, some out of ignorance and others because in the past they were able to manipulate the system set up to their advantages—something that will not be possible under the tsa. several others worry that it may undermine the independence of several agencies and grant the accountant general authority over them. in a nutshell, the drawbacks of tsa implementation in the university system interfere with the institutions' ability to function effectively because the government's funding for them is so little. the same is true for additional mdas that are not solely public services organizations or classified as profitmaking organizations. with the installation of tsa and the integrated payroll and personal information system (ippis), certain allowances have been withdrawn, endangering the autonomy of some specialized agencies. the academic staff union of universities (asuu) and the larger university system may oppose the ippis for this reason, among others. additionally, the banking industry, which serves as the backbone of the country's economy and has traditionally served as the custodian of public finances, suffers significantly from the adoption of the tsa. the benefits of the treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria the tsa offers a variety of additional advantages, which improves a public financial management (pfm) system's overall efficacy. tsa improves accountability and gives the government access to daily account balance information (akande, 2015). the tsa has made provisions for effective oversight of government revenue and expense. as the ministry of finance will be able to track the inputs and outflows of financial resources, the tsa has the potential to significantly reduce revenue leakages inside mdas. since money is easily available for government spending in nigeria, it is anticipated that the introduction of tsa will aid in stemming the tide of corruption by preventing money leaks, embezzlement, and borrowing. the treasury single account (tsa) has helped the government realize revenue on schedule and facilitates its efficient use. tsa makes sure that any money received is available for funding the government budget, paying bills on time, and carrying out government expenditure programs. no government agency is permitted to maintain any operating bank accounts outside of the ministry of finance's supervision, therefore cbn (2015) reasoned that the installation of the tsa will allow the ministry of finance to oversee financial movement. 109 the fiscal responsibility act (fra) of 2007 has a gap that causes revenue-generating mdas to reportedly generate $3.06 trillion in 2009 but only remit $46.80 billion to the government coffers; they reportedly generated $3.07 trillion in 2010 but only remitted $54.10 billion, according to mr. odilim enwegbara, a development economist and financial analyst. he was speaking on the viability of the tsa policy. he mentioned the example of the nigerian national petroleum corporation (nnpc) and its subsidiaries, which despite having created #6.132 trillion on their own between 2009 and 2011 they returned zero naira to the national coffers (okwe et al., 2015). in a nutshell, the tsa policy has fostered transparency and accountability in the public financial system and assisted in stopping financial leakages in revenue creation. it has made it possible for all income going into the government treasury to be collected and paid on time without the need for the intermediary of numerous banking arrangements. it has also decreased the misuse of public funds by income-generating organizations, revealed fraud, and closed off revenue leakage routes. achievements of treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria the government processes all revenues and payments through this bank account, or a group of connected bank accounts, and receives a consolidated picture of its cash situation at any given time. the tsa will undoubtedly increase public financial management's accountability, transparency, and efficacy (akande, 2015). the new electronic revenue collection (erc) platform, according to the former accountant general of the federation (agf), mr. jonah otunla, aims to increase internally produced revenue in the face of falling oil prices. however, mr. odilim enwegbare, a development economist and financial analyst, noted that in order to make the fiscal responsibility act (fra) of 2007 work more effectively, it must be revised in a way that eliminates the significant bottlenecks that are brought on by some of the act's sections and subsections. he claimed that this one gap allowed revenue-generating mdas to reportedly generate $3.06 trillion in 2009 but only remit $46.80 billion to the government, $3.07 trillion in 2010 but only remit $54 billion, and $3.17 trillion in 2011 but only remit $73.80 billion. he used the example of the nnpc and its subsidiaries, which despite having generated #6.132 trillion on their own between 2009 and 2011, sent 0 naira to the government's coffers (okwe et al., 2015). in a nutshell, the tsa policy has fostered transparency and accountability in the public financial system and assisted in stopping financial leakages in revenue creation. it has made it possible for all income going into the government treasury to be collected and paid on time without the need for the intermediary of 110 numerous banking arrangements. it has also decreased the misuse of public funds by revenuegenerating organizations, exposed fraud, and closed off ways for revenue leakage. methodology the methodology adopted from this study is library approach which focuses on the content reviewed of extant literature on treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria: a catalyst of blocking financial leakages. conclusion the study theoretically examine treasury single account (tsa) in nigeria: a catalyst for blocking financial leakages in public sector. the current research, which has been examined, demonstrates that the treasury single account has a strong positive impact on financial leakages, transparency, and the nation's economic growth. to sum up, the treasury single account has a significant impact on how successfully public finances are managed. the treasury single account platform has done a lot to improve transparency and accountability in the public financial system and to block financial leakages in revenue production. it has also made it possible to collect all income going into the national treasury on time and without the need for intermediary banks. the policy has also made it possible for the central government to know its financial situation at any time without any obstacles. recommendations the following policy recommendations were offered in line with the theoretical findings of this study. • the federal government should continue to operate with the principles of treasury single account because of the positive influence it has on the effectiveness of public finance. • government should review the treasury single account policy to specifically safeguard the financial autonomy of some sectors, like the educational sector. • there is need for more legislation to cover the states and local government levels since the policy in question only covers the federal government level, for now. 111 references adams, r.a. (2015). public sector accounting and finance made simple (4th edition). lagos: corporate publishers ventures. adeolu, a., (2015). understanding the treasury single account (tsa) system. things you should know. business and economy, market development. bhatti. akande, l., (2015). “buhari orders federal ministries, agencies to open treasury single account. press release, august 9. central bank of nigeria (2014). “communique no.94 of the monetary policy committee meeting” march 24-25, pp. 1-37. central bank of nigeria (2015). revised guidelines for compliance with treasury single account by banks in nigeria. igbekoyi, o. s., & agbaje, w. h. (2017). “an assessment of the implications of treasury single account adoption on public sector accountability and transparency. european journal of accounting, auditing and finance. research, 5(8), 33-49. jegede, m. (2015). september 27. buhari and the treasury single account. daily trust, p.22 ocheni, s. 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(2016). effect of treasury single account on public finance management in nigeria. research journal of finance and accounting. 7(6), 164-170. https://www.vanguardnewspaper.com/ page 7 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 390 stigmatization, coping strategies and depression among parents of autistic children okafor toochukwu bartholomew, omeje obiageli *mgbenkemdi ejike, h. department of psychology faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut) agbani enugu *correspondence: iamejike@yahoo.co.uk abstract this study investigated stigmatization and coping strategies as predictors of depression among parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (asd) in south-east nigeria. using the purposive sampling technique, a total of 138 parents with autistic children comprising 69 females and 69 males were drawn from institutions of learning for autistic children across the five states of south-east, nigeria. stigmatization impact scale (sis) (okafor, 2019), health and daily living form: adult form b(hdl-afb)(moos, cronkite and finney (1990), and radloff's epidemiological studies depression scale (ces-d) radloff (1977), were used to collect the data. the design was cross-sectional design while descriptive statistics correlation and hierarchical multiple regression were used for analysis. the results revealed that stigmatization predicted depression among parents of children with asd (β = .50, t = 8.37, p < .05). also, parenting an autistic child predicted depression (β =.17 t=.2, 20 p<.05) and coping strategy (avoidance coping) positively predicted depression (β =.50, t =4.9 p< .05) among parents with autistic children in south-east nigeria. the results were discussed with relevant literature and it was recommended that stigmatization and avoidance coping should be avoided to forestall depression among parents with autistic children. limitations and suggestions for further studies were highlighted keywords: autism spectrum disorders, coping strategy, depression, parents, stigmatization. introduction parenthood can bring unspeakable joy to the family but this joy can turn to sorrow if a couple gives birth to a child with autism spectrum disorder (asd) (palmer, 2012). autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability characterized by social and communication impairment and restricted interest and repetitive behaviour (apa 2002) it involves delays in the development of imaginative, social and communicative skills (dsm-5, 2013). davidson, blankstein, flett and neale (2010) observed that asd is found in all socio-economic classes, ethnic and racial groups; and some parents whose children are diagnosed with asd find it difficult to cope with challenges involved in raising them. such parents seem to present symptoms of depression such as anxiety, low mood, great sadness and feelings of worthlessness, disappointment, hopelessness, guilt and shame. (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders – dsm-5, 2013). many theories have been 391 proposed to explain depression and among them is the cognitive theory (becks, 1967). becks posited that depression can occur based on how individuals process their life experiences. the cognitive theory of depression tries to explain human behaviour by understanding the thought processes of an individual. cognitive theorists believe that people’s interpretations of events or their experiences may be distorted, inaccurate or unhelpful, which eventually affect their behaviour especially when there is a psychopathological symptom (conner, 2010; beck & fleming, 2021; beck, 1967). wolpert (2001) observed that depression is a serious illness that can make the individual feel ashamed or stigmatized. stigma refers to negative attitudes, prejudice and negative behaviour (discrimination) toward people living with developmental global delay and other forms of mental illness. this is consistent with the views of christ, holt, white and green (2007) that due to the impairment in executive abilities like cognitive powers, autistic children may be inhibited to conform to social expectations, hence may be viewed as social problems because of their behaviours. this can limit the interaction of their parents with other people. corrigan (2014) identified two types of stigmas, namely selfstigma and public stigma. self-stigma is a negative belief about oneself, expressed in character weakness and competence, feeling of low esteem and low self-efficiency. and public stigma is the negative reaction or prejudice that the general population has against people that are mentally challenged. hornby (2006) explained that stigmatization relates to treating people in a way that makes them feel that they are very bad or unimportant. various kinds of literature reveal that many characteristics associated with autistic children were significant contributing factors to the stigmatization and depression that their parents go through (benson, 2006; carroll, 2013; christ, et al, 2007). stigmatization of victims of asd and mental illness, in general, are not limited to uniformed members of the public but among even well-trained professionals from most mental health disciplines (keane, 1990). capital district health authority (2013) observed that one of the greatest obstacles to improved mental health is the stigma surrounding mental illness. according to oguama, uka, chukwu and nwaoha (2020), the experience of stigma on mentally challenged persons in assessing medical services in the developing world like nigeria is better imagined than experienced. family members may try to hide a mental illness like asd and may not get help because of fear of how the individual will be treated by relatives, friends and the community. however, depending on the coping strategies adopted by the parents of asd, children may experience bouts of depressive symptoms which could hurt their health and quality of life. coping strategy refers to self-protective measures used by the individual concerned to remain healthy and functional even in the face of conflict (omeje, 2000). it involves engaging in a set of responses that reduce the external stimuli, psychological reaction, anxiety, stressful negative events and depressive symptoms (mccrea, 1984; folkman, lazarus, gruen, &delongis, 1986). some researchers have shown that parents with autistic children or mentally challenged children experience physical, psychological and emotional stress more than average parents without asd (davidson et al. 2010; notbohm, 2005; zimbardo, 2009; bailey & smith, 2003). a person’s 392 susceptibility to psychological stress is mostly influenced by his or her temperament, coping skills and available social support. two coping strategies that can be adopted are problem-focused and emotion-focused (mgbenkemdi, omeje, & eze, 2017). a problem-focused strategy is an effort aimed at resolving or managing a stressful event or a problem that causes distress. it involves an attempt to understand and define the problem and devising an effective coping skill to deal with the situation. on the other hand, the emotionfocused strategy is aimed at managing or reducing the emotional distress that is or might be elicited by the stressor (folkman & lazarus, 1985). not much effort is made to address the root cause of the problem. this could be considered as avoidance in nature or inward-focused which could lead to depression. in order words, drawing from the tenets of cognitive theory of depression, it could be deduced that negative perception of asd and the associated stigmatization predispose the parents to depression. statement of the problem in nigeria, especially in igboland or the south-east, comprising the states of abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo, there is a perceived prejudice and stigma against parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (asd) and other mental health challenges. the prejudice and stigma seem to be based on misconceptions and lack of understanding about the aetiology of autism and mental health problems in general (lesi, adeyemi, aina, oshodi, umeh, olagunju, & oyibo, 2014). this has a negative impact on the parents of autistic children as well as the children themselves (oshodi, campbell, &lesi, 2019). some scholars have claimed that stigmatization and coping strategies can predict depression among parents raising children with asd (england & sim, 2009; aaron, elliott and benz, 2012; cauda-laufer, 2017). but most of the previous studies on this subject were carried out outside the nigerian environment (aaron, timothy, elliott and michael, 2012; cauda–laufer, 2017). these studies offered valuable insights but were limited in scope as the concept of “stigma’ was missing. also, related studies carried out in nigeria by mgbenkemdi (2014) did not address the problem of stigma which is prevalent in nigeria, especially in the south eastern region. a similar study by bakare, taiwo, bello-mojeed & munir (2019) failed to deal with stigma and depression experienced by parents of autistic children. although cantwell, muldoon and gallagher (2015) discussed stigma, there was no focus on coping strategies employed by parents of autistic children. therefore, the purpose of this study was specifically to investigate whether stigmatization of and coping strategies adopted by parents of autistic children will predict depression among parents with autistic children in south-east nigeria. it was hypothesized that stigmatization and coping strategies will predict depression among parents of children with asd in south-east nigeria. method participants 393 a total of 138 parents of autistic children participated in the study. the participants were drawn from the south-east of nigeria comprising the states of abia, anambra, ebonyi, enugu and imo. all the children whose parents participated in the study are in special institutions for children with asd, which include: abia state special education center for deaf and mentally challenged, aba and umuahia (40 participants), peace therapeutic special international school, mkpor anambrastate (21 participants), ebonyi state special school, abakaliki (15 participants), therapeutic day care center abakpa enugu state (42 participants), and don guanella centre, nnebukwu imo state (20 participants). the purposive sampling technique was used to draw the participants with particular characteristics that meet the purpose of the study (mook, 1983; cresswell& plano-clark, 2011). 394 instruments three sets of instruments were used for this study, namely, stigmatization impact scale (okafor, 2019), the health and daily living form: adult form b (moos, cronkite and finney (1990) validated by omeje (2000) and okafor, (2021), and center for epidemiological studies depression scale (ces-d) radloff (1977) validated by omeje (2000) and okafor (2021). procedure the researchers then obtained a letter from the department of psychology esut and departmental research ethics committee introducing them to the school management and participants. all the seven therapeutic institutions in the south-east participated in the study. the researchers solicited their permission to use a sample of the parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder in their respective institutions as participants for the study. with this letter, the researchers obtained permission from the management of the selected schools in each state with easy access to only parents of autistic spectrum disorders (asd). the researchers thereafter recruited and trained state secretaries (i.e., the contact teacher as provided by the management of the institution) as research assistants to administer and collect copies of the questionnaire in all of the selected schools. with the help of the state secretaries, a list of all the parents who have autistic children was made available and copies of the questionnaire were administered. the participants who consented to be a part of the study were advised to take the questionnaire home, study the items carefully, complete and return to their state secretaries within one week. all participants were informed that participation is voluntary and their data would remain confidential. the researchers explained the nature of the research to the management. out of 200 copies of questionnaires distributed, 138 were properly completed and returned. 32 copies were not returned while 30 copies were not properly filled and discarded. hence, the 138 copies that were properly filled and returned were used for analysis and testing of the hypotheses. design and statistics a cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data while hierarchical multiple regression was used for analyses. 395 results table 1: descriptive statistics and correlations of study variables. variables m sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ageb4m 1 .38** .11 .10 -.18** -.01 .19** .03 -.01 lom 13.47 7.11 1 .15 .19 .26** .39** .18 .39** .23* el 1 .09 .09 -.03 .30** -.09 -.02 pac 1 .13* .12 .16* .20** .29** stigmatization 21.82 8.64 1 -.24** .35** .63** approach coping 23.10 6.11 1 .13* .03 avoidance coping 10.61 3.32 1 .49** depression 37.12 7.31 1 note: *p < .05, ** p < .01; ageb4m=age before marriage; el= educational level [1=never attended school; 2=primary school completed with certificate; 3=junior secondary school completed with certificate; 4=senior secondary school completed with certificate; 5=teacher training, ond, nce; 6= graduate (b.sc, b.a., b.ed., hnd)]; lom= length of marriage; pac=parenting an autistic child (coded ‘0’ for no, ‘1’ for yes) table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and correlations for the study variables. length of marriage was positively correlated with depression (r = .23, p < 0.05). parenting an autistic child correlated with depression (r = .29, p < 0.01). stigmatization was positively correlated with depression (r = .63, p < 0.01), meaning that the higher the stigmatization experienced the more likely would they be depressed. coping strategy (avoidance coping) positively correlated with depression (r = .49, p < 0.01). while age before marriage, educational level and coping strategy (approach coping) does not have a significant relationship with depression. 396 table 2: summary of hierarchical multiple regression analysis for variables predicting depression among parents with autistic children variables step 1 step 2 step 3 β se t β se t β se t β se t age_bm -.11 .59 -1.43 edu -.05 .43 -.80 pac .17 .51 2.20* stigmatization .50 .05 8.37* approach coping .13 .06 -2.50* avoidance coping .25 .11 4.94** r .138 .518 .653 .711 r2 .019 .269 .427 .505 ∆ r2 .019 .249 .158 .079 f 1.661 23.402** 37.804** 36.752** note: *p > .05, ** p > .01; ageb4m=age before marriage; el= educational level [1=never attended school; 2=primary school completed with certificate; 3=junior secondary school completed with certificate; 4=senior secondary school completed with certificate; 5=teacher training, ond, nce; 6= graduate (b.sc, b.a., b.ed., hnd)]; lom= length of marriage; pac=parenting an autistic child) results of the hierarchical multiple regression for the test of depression as shown in table 2. the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variables (age before marriage, educational level, parents with an autistic child) in step 1 of the regression analysis and only parents with an autistic child were a significant positive predictor of depression (β = .17, t = 2.20, p< .05). the demographic variables accounted for 1.9% of the variance in depression among parents with autistic children. in step 2, stigmatization was a significant positive predictor of depression (β = .50, t = 8.37, p< .05) stigmatization accounted for 43%% of variance in depression among parents with autistic children. finally, in step 3, coping strategy (approach coping strategy) approach was a significant negative predictor of depression (β = -.-.13, t-2.50, p< .05), while and avoidance coping was also a significant positive predictor of depression (β = .25, t = 4.94, p< .01). coping strategy (approach and avoidance) accounted for 7.9% of the variance in depression among parents with autistic children summary of findings 1. parenting an autistic child was a significant predictor of depression 2. stigmatization was a significant positive predictor of depression 397 3. coping strategy (approach coping) was a significant negative predictor of depression 4. coping strategy (avoidance coping) was a significant positive predictor of depression discussion in this study, it was hypothesized that stigmatization will predict depression among parents of autistic children in south east-nigeria. the hypothesis was confirmed and accepted as true. this is consistent with anyanwu, onuigbo, obiyo, eze, et al., (2019) who support that the stigma and stress experienced in raising an autistic child in modern-day nigeria are enormous. such stress could harm parents; evoke anger, anxiety, and sadness, thereby leading to depression. the experience of shame and stigma can lead to the feeling of humiliation, social exclusion and isolation (baba, 2014) with the consequent depressive symptoms. the second hypothesis which predicted that coping strategy will significantly predict depression in parents of autistic children in south east of nigeria was also confirmed. while problem-focused coping strategy exerted significant positive prediction on depression emotion-focused coping strategy exerted a significant negative prediction on depression. this finding suggests that the intensity of depression depends on the type of coping skills used. this is consistent with the study of miranda, mira, bereguer, rosello and baixauli (2019) which indicates that lack of appropriate coping strategy could lead to depression among parents with autistic children. rodriguezhernandez et al., (2012) also confirmed that parents who had difficulties with coping when raising autistic children could experience depression. similarly, the study of bailey and smith (2003) revealed that problem-focused coping strategies are more effective than emotion-focused strategies in decreasing the stimulus that causes depression. this was supported by the findings of ebata and moos (1994) and cherry (2012). although problem-focused is more effective, some parents of autistic children gravitate towards emotion-focused strategies because they find it easier for adapting to circumstances that would not change (mgbenkemdi, 2014). the participants in this study who chose emotion-focused coping strategies engaged in some positive thinking attitudes to modulate the impact of the challenges they experience in parenting autistic children. some engaged in self-isolation, avoidance and invoking of their religious beliefs as a way of dealing with the problem. the parents of autistic children who employed problem-focused reached out for support, established healthy boundaries in their relationships, devised ways of doing their tasks in such a way that they can function effectively despite the challenges they face with raising an autistic child. limitations although this study has made a significant contribution in establishing scientifically that stigmatization and coping strategies predict depression, thereby providing a valuable tool for therapists and those who work with parents of autistic children, it has some limitations that limit its generalization: 1) this research was restricted to parents of autistic children who are enrolled on special schools for autistic children. it was also restricted to parents who are educated. this was due to a lack of 398 funds to extend the research to uneducated parents and parents in suburbs who could not afford to send their autistic children to special centres in south-east nigeria. 2) since this area of investigation is not common in south-east nigeria, there was non-availability of relevant materials such as books, journals and audio-visuals to facilitate the research. suggestions for further studies since this study was limited to parents of autistic children who are in institutions and educated parents, there is a need for comparative research extended to parents of autistic children who are in the communities and who are not educated to know whether stigmatization and coping strategies will predict depression in those parents too. to the best knowledge of the researcher, there doesn’t seem to be any empirical study on the role of age, occupation, religion and income in predicting marital conflict, stigmatization, coping strategies on depression among parents of autistic children in south east, nigeria. therefore, it would be important to do a comparative investigation with such parents to determine the correlation between the variables and depression in their lives. if the result comes out in the affirmative, it will make the theory generalizable. conclusion and recommendations this study confirms stigmatization and coping strategies as predictors of depression among parents of autistic children in south-east nigeria. it helps parents of autistic children understand that with healthy coping strategies they can deal with the factors that trigger depressive symptoms in their lives. engaging such parents through psycho-education enables them to acquire auto-esteem and self-confidence to overcome the negative impact of stigmatization which will help them to maintain not only their good health but also that of their children. participants in this study discovered that they are not alone in this struggle; they were able to interact with other parents, share experiences and support one another. this helped to reduce the stigmatization impact, feeling of isolation and loneliness which made life unpleasant for them. finally, this study heralds further study on parents raising autistic children in south-east nigeria and other parts of africa to correct the misconceptions people have about asd and thus help ameliorate the suffering and pain of parents with autistic children, and consequently reduce their level of anxiety, worry and depressive symptoms that could even lead to premature death. it is recommended that parents of autistic children in south east nigeria form a support group in their communities where they can be educated about the condition of their children and receive support for themselves. government and policymakers should create inclusive educational resources for educators, therapists, parents of autistic children; and people dealing with mental health problems, in general, to help eliminate the stigma associated with mental health. 399 references aaron, j.a., elliott, t. r., & benz, m. 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(2009). psychology and life. usa: harper collins. https://doi.org/10.1093/bmb/57.1.221 page 4 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo covid-19 special edition published by volume 6 number 1, 2021 psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support as predictors of psychological wellbeing among university students solomon a. agu department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology, enugu e-mail: solomon.agu@esut.edu.ng abstract a total of 289 participants comprising 154 female and 135 male, within the age range of 20 to 29 years, mean age of 22.82 and a standard deviation of 1.49 were selected making use of simple random sampling techniques, from the population of 4th year students of faculty of social sciences and humanities and faculty of law, enugu state university of science and technology (esut). a 22-item impact of event scale – revised (ies-r; weiss & marmar, 1997), developed to assess subjective distress caused by traumatic events; a 12-item multidimensional scale of perceived social support (zimet, dahlem, zimet & farely, 1988) to measure three dimensions of social support (family, friends, significant others) and 18-item psychological well-being scale designed to measure the totality of the wellbeing of an individual were used in the study. crosssectional design was adopted while hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyse the data. results revealed that psychological impact of covid-19 predicted psychological wellbeing (β = -.72, t = 19.58, at p < .01), also, perceived social support predicted psychological wellbeing (family, β = .25, t = 6.42, at p < .01; friends, β = .41, t = 9.72, at p < .01; significant others, β = .36, t = 7.64, at p < .01).the findings were discussed in view of literature reviewed and recommendations were made. keywords: covid-19, psychological, social support, wellbeing, students introduction psychological well-being is about lives going well. it is the combination of feeling good and functioning effectively. thus, sustainable well-being does not require individuals to feel good all the time; the experience of painful emotions (e.g. disappointment, failure, grief, stress, disease, etc) is a normal part of life, and being able to manage these negative or painful emotions is essential for long-term well-being. psychological well-being is, however, compromised when negative emotions are extreme or very long lasting and interfere with a person's ability to function in his or her daily life just as experienced during covid-19. the concept of feeling good incorporates not only the positive emotions of happiness and contentment, but also such emotions as interest, engagement, confidence, and affection. psychological wellbeing is a multi-dimensional concept which includes playfulness, cheerfulness, resilience, optimism and self-control among individuals across cultures (sinha & verma, 1992). the concept of wellbeing is defined and explained in a variety of ways in literature. it has been primarily viewed from an intra-personal perspective, something that happens within an individual. ryff and singer (1998) used the term “human flourishing” and felce & perry (1995) call it a comprising of objective descriptors and subjective evaluations of physical, material, social and emotional well-being. ryan and deci (2001) illustrated three basic psychological needs among humans; autonomy, competence and mailto:solomon.agu@esut.edu.ng https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r48 psychological impact of covid-19 124 relatedness. fulfillment of these needs lead to both psychological and subjective well-being. keyes (1998) showed that well-being includes psychological as well as social facets of the self. and the concept of functioning effectively (in a psychological sense) involves the development of one's potential, having some control over one's life, having a sense of purpose (e.g. working towards valued goals), and experiencing positive relationships. this positive perspective is also enshrined in the constitution of the world health organisation, where health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (who, 1948). more recently, the who has defined positive mental health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community” (who, 2001). hence, according to this approach, well-being while being primarily intra-personal, influences and is influenced by social factors. mcculloch (1991) demonstrated that social support, self-esteem, positive emotions and satisfaction comprise psychological well-being among all age groups. therefore, present research will limit itself to some pertinent constructs/variables such as psychological effect of covid-19 and perceived social support which have the potential of destabilizing the individual normal psycho social functions. a great threat of a novel virus – coronavirus otherwise known as covid-19 pandemic rocked the entire world in the wake of the year 2020. covid-19 which was first reported in december 2019 in wuhan china, declared as public health emergency of international concern in january 2020 and later a pandemic in march 2020 by the world health organisation (who) (web news, 2020; world health organisation, 2020). the threat is so strenuous that the entire world was placed on lockdown in the matter of social restriction such as on international and national transport links, market or business transaction, school and organization activities, and all related social and religious gatherings. being a novel disease that is highly contagious, the covid-19 pandemic created a lot of panic in every part of the world. hence, several studies especially in asia and europe (bao, sun, meng, shi, & lu, 2020; brooks, smith, woodland, wessely, greenberg, & rubin, 2020; kang, li, hu, chen, yang, & yan, 2020; shigemura, ursano, morganstein, kurosawa, & benedek, 2020) have reported serious low psychological wellbeing experiences of members of the society in response to the covid-19 pandemic. considering its grave impact, the covid-19 pandemic has been likened to natural disasters (morganstein & ursano, 2020), mass dispute, and war outbreaks (fiorillo & gorwood, 2020). the pandemic was devastating because unlike during a natural disaster or war outbreak whereby people can relocate or build a sophisticated defence system to minimize or escape any foreseeable negative impact, there is nowhere to run to escape the impact of covid-19 pandemic (olapegba, ayandele, kolawole, oguntayo, gandi, & dangiwa, 2020). the effect is far-reaching beyond a specific geographical location as the political and socio-economic structure of the whole world was disrupted and crashed, thus putting people more at risk of experiencing low psychological wellbeing (raviola, rose, fils-aimé, thérosmé, affricot & valentin, 2020). https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01008.x#b157 https://iaap-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1758-0854.2009.01008.x#b158 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib36 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib38 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib14 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib26 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib26 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib19 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib22 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib22 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib23 recent studies affirm the high and huge level of psychosocial consequences of outbreaks like covid-19 on individuals, the general public, and the international community (hall, hall, & chapman, 2008; wang, pan, wan, tan, xu, & ho, 2020). the only difference this has from being locked up in a prison cell is that, you have the keys to your door. human beings are social beings, and we were made to thrive in a social gathering. hence, the means of containing the pandemic such as; self-isolation, quarantine, social distancing, and treatment of infected persons further posed a detrimental effect on psychological wellbeing (fiorillo & gorwood, 2020; world health organisation, 2020). also, perceived social support refers to the extent to which individuals believe that requirements of social relationships are available to them. these provisions are usually fulfilled by family members, friends and significant others (armstrong, brinie-lefcowich, & ungar, 2005; hale, hannum & espelage, 2005). parental support provides much needed social support (brehaut, kohen, o'donnell, raina, rosenbaum, russell, swinton, & walter, 2004). for teenagers, family support is the most important element in their lives. parental guidance, support and encouragement are essential part of their growth experience. social support is essential for maintaining physical and psychological health. many researchers have shown that social support was negatively related to symptoms of poor psychological health among victimized or maltreated youths from different cultural backgrounds (bradley, schwartz & kaslow, 2005; brewin, andrews, & valentine, 2000; ozer, best, lipsey, & weiss, 2003; pine & cohen, 2002; wu, chen, weng, & wu, 2009). on the other hand, support from friends makes significant contributions to the well-being of teens (rodriguez, mira, myers, morris, & cardoza, 2003). social support also does wonders with the resilience tendency of individuals. risk factors include those conditions which boost up the chances of problematic behaviours and negative consequences. theorists believe that these risk factors can be found in grieved children, their families, social structures and surroundings (cicchetti & toth, 1997; masten, morison, pellegrini, & tellegen, 1990; rutter, 1990). hence, the present study is interested to investigate undergraduate student’s psychological wellbeing as predicted by psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support. however, not much is known about the long-term mental health effects of large-scale disease outbreaks on young people. while there is some research on the psychological impacts of severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) on patients and health-care workers, not much is known about the effects on ordinary citizens. wu (2020) found that covid-19 is much more widespread than sars and other epidemics on a global scale. there is need to study young people's mental health status over the long term, and to study how prolonged school closures, strict social distancing measures, and the pandemic itself affected the psychological wellbeing of young people. statement of the problem university students faced variety of stressful challenges in the wake of the covid-19 outbreak (torales, o'higgins, castaldelli-maia, & ventriglio, 2020). the pandemic escalated and threatened the welfare of human beings globally, and this public health emergency generated fear https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib11 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib35 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib38 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7448734/#bib38 psychological impact of covid-19 126 and led to a spectrum of psychological consequences (liu et al. 2020), ranging from distress responses such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, to behavioural changes such as difficulty sleeping and stress eating. the world has never before seen this scale of education disruption. in recent decades, major disruptions to education mainly involved natural disasters, armed conflicts, or epidemics in individual countries or sometimes regions. according to the who (2020), as covid-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, it caused widespread concerns; fear and stress, all of which are natural and normal reactions to the changing and uncertain situations that people find themselves in. according to braimah (2020), there is urgent need for people to deal with their mental health by seeking help, engaging in positive activities that will distract them from the psychological impact of covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the world. in the light of these, the researchers investigated the psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support on the psychological wellbeing of university students. purpose of the study the general purpose of the study is to examine psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support on the psychological wellbeing of university students. according to carr (2004) positive psychology is primarily concerned with the scientific study of human strengths and happiness. one of the distinguishing features of positive psychology is a focus on what constitutes the type of life that leads to the greatest sense of well-being, satisfaction and the good life for a human being. the good life refers to the factors that contribute most to a well lived and fulfilling life (compton, 2005). these factors are one of the objectives of research within positive psychology. psychological well-being is a theory of positive psychological functioning that focuses on the human capacity to develop, function effectively, and flourish the origins of this social-cognitive model also lie in the tradition of individual internal models or assumptive worlds that, though they may be illusory, help to sustain people in their everyday lives and motivate them to overcome difficulties and plan for the future. the three common assumptions janoff-bulman (1992) regarded as the most significant in influencing response to trauma are that the world is benevolent, the world is meaningful, and the self is worthy. that is, other people are in general well-disposed towards us, there are reliable rules and principles that enable us to predict which behaviours will produce which kinds of outcome, and we ourselves are personally good, moral, and well-meaning. being attacked by a complete stranger without any provocation, being involved in a serious road traffic accident when we have been obeying the rules of the road, and putting our own survival ahead of anything else when our life is threatened are all situations that have the potential to be traumatic in that they may shatter deeply held and probably unexamined assumptions about how we believe the world and ourselves to be. cognitive theories that have focused mainly on the traumatic event itself rather than on its wider personal and social context have been termed ‘‘information-processing’’ theories (chemtob, roitblat, hamada, carlson, & twentyman, 1988; creamer, burgess, & pattison, 1992; foa, steketee, & rothbaum, 1989; litz & keane, 1989). the central idea is that there is something special about the way the traumatic event is represented in memory and that if it is not processed in an appropriate way, psychopathology will result. like social-cognitive theories, this approach emphasizes the need for information about the event to be integrated within the wider memory system. however, the difficulty in achieving this is attributed more to characteristics of the trauma memory itself than to conflict with preexisting beliefs and assumptions. cognitive-relational theory defines stress (traumatic event) as a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being as experienced during the covid-19 pandemic (lazarus & folkman, 1984b). appraisals are determined simultaneously by perceiving environmental demands and personal resources. they can change over time due to coping effectiveness, altered requirements, or improvements in personal abilities. the cognitive-relational theory emphasizes the continuous, reciprocal nature of the interaction between the person and the environment. within a meta-theoretical system approach of cognitive relational theory, lazarus (1991) conceives the complex processes of emotion as composed of causal antecedents, mediating processes, and effects. antecedents are person variables such as commitments or beliefs on the one hand and environmental variables, such as demands or situational constraints, on the other. mediating processes refer to cognitive appraisals of situational demands and personal coping options as well as to coping efforts aimed at more or less problem-focused and emotion-focused. stress experiences and coping results bring along immediate effects, such as affects or physiological changes, and long-term results concerning psychological well-being, somatic health and social functioning. relational models theory (rmt) is a theory of interpersonal relationships, that proposes that all human interactions can be described in terms of just four "relational models", or elementary forms of human relations: communal sharing, authority ranking, equality matching and market pricing (to these are added the limiting cases of asocial and null interactions, whereby people do not coordinate with reference to any shared principle). theoretical framework cognitive relational theory was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. according to this theory (lazarus & folkman, 1984; folkman & moskowitz, 2004), stress occurs when people interpret situations negatively (i.e., negative appraisals) and stress leads to health problems, in part, insofar as people do not employ adequate coping responses (e.g., problem solving, emotion regulation). social support promotes health by protecting people from the adverse effects of stressful events (i.e., stress buffering; cohen & wills, 1985). it does so by promoting more adaptive appraisals, more effective coping or both. in theory, social support should only enhance appraisals and coping to the extent that the particular type of social support matches the demands of the stressor (the optimal matching hypothesis; cohen & hoberman, 1983; cutrona & russell, 1990). social integration, perceived support and enacted support play somewhat different roles in the stress and coping model of social support. enacted social support is hypothesized to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/interpersonal_relationships psychological impact of covid-19 128 influence appraisal and coping most directly. yet, the receipt of enacted support requires at least a minimum of social integration and extensive social ties should provide many opportunities for enacted support (uchino, 2004). an individual's perception of support should reflect his/her history of the receipt of effective enacted support, and this perception should directly reduce negative appraisals of stressors. however, the theory postulates that perceived social support will assist coping to enhance psychological wellbeing from the impact of covid-19 pandemic. perceived social support is associated with increased psychological well-being in response to important life stressful events (cobb, 1976). impact of covid-19 and psychological wellbeing the novel covid-19 pandemic has caused disruption of several activities globally. it has resulted in lockdown of economic activities in most countries including nigeria. there is less studies on the effects of the pandemic and the associated lockdown on the mental health status of nigerian students. hence, idowu, olawuyi and nwadioke (2020), in a study to assess the burden of the psychological problems associated with covid-19 pandemic and coping strategies among students at bowen university, iwo (bui), nigeria. in all, 55.0% of the respondents had decreased psychological wellbeing because of the lockdown. protective factors against decreased mental wellbeing included online charting with friends/watching films, and participating in online vocational training. the odds of decreased mental wellbeing was significantly higher in students who indicated a need for substance use as coping strategy, and those who were not satisfied with online teaching method. they concluded that the mental health impact of covid-19 on the nigerian students is huge. also, in a study “psychological impact of covid-19 pandemic on students at the university of ibadan in nigeria”, boluwatife, yetunde, oluwadamilola, blessing, peter, olubunmi, abiodun, faith, chiamaka, and iseoluwa, (2021) found out that psychological impact was minimal in majority of the study participants during the covid-19 pandemic as the mean ies-r score was normal. depression, anxiety and stress subscale scores were also generally within normal limits in majority of the population. the proportion of people with depression is comparable to the pre-covid-19 prevalence that was obtained (25.2%) among university students in western nigeria, where the study participants are located (peltzer, pengpid, olowu, & olasupo, 2013). another study conducted in lagos, nigeria in the pre-pandemic era had found the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among nigerian students to be 6.3%, 9.5% and 61.6% respectively (coker, coker, & sanni, 2018). the study suggests that more students are depressed and anxious, while fewer are stressed during the covid-19 period compared to the period before the pandemic. the study however, found a higher prevalence of ptsd compared to a study done before the pandemic among students in jos, nigeria. this could suggest that covid19 appears to have same, or even worse, psychological impact as other traumatic life events like war and terrorism. on the other hand, matthew, lincoln, iryna, alessandro, olivia, lauren, scott, tue, jennifer, nathan, elizabeth, ashley, marco, gregory and hector (2021) evaluated the psychological impacts of covid-19 on students in the united states. among the most commonly reported changes were lack of motivation, anxiety, stress, and isolation, as well as social distancing, education changes, and going out less. similar findings were reported by another study exploring the impact of covid-19 on students at a single college in the united states, revealing increases in sedentary lifestyle, anxiety, depressive symptoms and poor psychological wellbeing (huckins, dasilva, wang, hedlund, rogers, nepal, 2020). a global study examining experiences of students in 62 countries, including one university in the united states, found that student’ expressed concerns about their academic and professional careers, as well as feelings of boredom, anxiety and frustration (aristovnik, keržič, ravšelj, tomaževič, & umek, 2020). increased anger, sadness, anxiety and fear were also reported by students in china (cao, fang, hou, han, xu, & dong, 2020). students in switzerland reported a decrease in social interaction and higher levels of stress, anxiety, and loneliness (elmer, mepham, & stadtfeld, 2020). outcomes of the included studies showed that youth experienced anxiety (parola, rossi, tessitore, troisi, & mannarini, 2020; faize, & husain, 2021; baiano, zappullo, group, & conson, 2020; jiang, 2020), stress (khan, sultana, hossain, hasan, ahmed, & sikder, 2020; mekonen, workneh, ali, & muluneh, 2021), depression (parola et al., 2020; sundarasen, chinna, kamaludin, nurunnabi, baloch, khoshaim, hossain, & sukayt, 2020), event-specific distress (khan, et al., 2020), and changes in sleep pattern (parola, et al., 2020) during the covid-19 outbreak. moreover, higher than-normal levels in somatization, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobic anxiety, and paranoid ideation were found (jiang, 2020). cross-sectional studies (cao, fang, hou, han, xu, dong, & zheng, 2020; baloch, sundarasen, chinna, nurunnabi, kamaludin, khoshaim, hossain, & alsukayt, 2021; faize, & husain, 2021), also explored how the covid19 pandemic influences the prevalence of psychological symptoms. furthermore, with regard to the longitudinal studies included, two of these assessed and monitored the mental health of the young at two time points: before any restriction measures and during lock down conditions (cellini, canale, mioni, & costa, 2020; baiano et al., 2020). one monitored the mental health status during the first month of lockdown during four time intervals (parola, 2020). last, the psychological measures applied in examined studies were standardized tests addressed to the assessment of emotional dimensions (i.e., anxiety, depression, anger); only two studies performed semi structured interviews (cellini, 2020; faize, & husain, 2021; idowu, 2020; khan, 2020). only one study of the included papers investigated the prevalence of event-specific distress caused by the covid-19pandemic. this study khan, et al., (2020) observed that 69.31% of respondents had event-specific distress caused by the outbreak from mild to severe, according to impact event scale (ies). specifically, fear of infection, perceived social media as a stressor, and inadequate valid information on covid-19 had a significant association with higher scores on the ies scale. furthermore, among the socio-demographic characteristics, results indicated that older students scored higher on ies (khan, et al., 2020). psychological impact of covid-19 130 social support and psychological wellbeing walen and lachman (2000) examined social supports effects in conjunction with strain on psychological well-being. using a predominately upper class, white adult sample, the authors test social supports effects in both models of buffering and direct effects with the outcome variables of life satisfaction as well as both positive and negative moods. measuring perceived support as opposed to the size of the support network, results show that both support and strain measures have significant effects on psychological well-being, though social support explained more variance in life satisfaction and positive mood than negative mood. while strain was found to explain the variance in negative mood, results failed to support the interaction between strain and social support for the total sample. however, they found that social support significantly weakens the effects of strain on life satisfaction and positive mood among females, but not males social support can assist coping and exert beneficial effects on various health outcomes (sarason, sarason, & pierce, 1990; schwarzer & leppin, , 1991; veiel & baumann, 1992). social support has been defined in various ways, for example as "resources provided by others" (cohen & syme, 1985), as "coping assistance" (thoits, 1986), or as an exchange of resources "perceived by the provider or the recipient to be intended to enhance the well-being of the recipient" (shumaker & brownell, 1984). several types of social support have been investigated, such as instrumental support (e.g., assist with a problem), tangible support (e.g., donate goods), informational support (e.g., give advice), emotional support (e.g., give reassurance), among others. social support has been found advantageous in the recovery from surgery in heart patients. kulik and mahler (1989) have studied men who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. those who received many visits by their spouses were, on average, released somewhat earlier from hospital than those who received only few visits. in a longitudinal study, the same authors also found positive effects of emotional support after surgery (kulik & mahler, 1993). similar results were obtained by other researchers (fontana, kerns, rosenberg, & colonese, 1989; king et al., 1993). research studies have shown that increase or onset of psychological problems in young people may be prevented by social support from parents, siblings, members of the extended family, and peers (walen & lachman, 2000; whitney, 2010). the knowledge that we are accepted, respected, loved, supported, that there are people that we can lean on and get help from, affects self-esteem and self-image. past research has shown that people who receive high social support are more likely to be insulated from problems they have in life and thus less likely to be driven to extreme actions/reactions. in other words, although social support primarily has the role of “bumper” which mitigates the effect of stressful life events, it is also a very important source of strength to quickly and with less bad consequences, overcome the most difficult life situations (vlajkovi, 1992). research studies have repeatedly found that people who receive a high level of social support enjoy enhanced health and well-being (cohen & wills, 1985; sarason, sarason, & gurung, 2001). over time, social support has come to possess different dimensions and is expressed in different forms and different ways. of all the constructs, perceived support has been regarded as consistently linked to health. perceived support is the subjective judgment of how much the individuals perceive that they are supported by family or peer groups. research has also indicated that perceived support is a better predictor of psychological well-being than the actual support received (cohen et al., 2000; gallagher & vella-brodrick, 2008) social support has been extensively studied and is thought to influence wellbeing by modifying and buffering the impact of life events and other stressors (pugliesi & shook, 1998; southwick, vythilingam, & charney, 2005). social ties are being increasingly linked to longevity, lower stress levels and improved overall well-being. psychological well-being (pwb), as summed by huppert, marks, clark, siegrist, stutzer, vittersø, and wahrendorf (2009), is about lives going well. it is the combination of feeling good and functioning effectively. the concept of feeling good incorporates not only the positive emotions of happiness and contentment, but also such emotions as interest, engagement, confidence, and affection. in a psychological sense, the concept of functioning effectively involves the development of one’s potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose in life in terms of working towards valued goals, and experiencing positive relationships. by definition, people with high pwb report feeling happy, capable, well supported, satisfied with life, and so on; a large body of cross-sectional survey data shows that happy people: tend to function better in life than less happy people; are typically more productive and more socially engaged; and tend to have higher incomes (diener, 2000; judge, thoresen, bono, & patton, 2001). well-being integrates mental health (mind) and physical health (body) resulting in more holistic approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. in a study “perceived social support and psychological well-being: testing the unique association and gender differences among” (rani, 2016). the results of correlation analysis showed a moderate significant positive relationship between pss and pwb. the regression model too was found significant suggesting that a high perception of social support is associated with high pwb indicating that pss has a significant impact on pwb. this result of significant association between social support and pwb is in line with the results of research studies (shakespeare-finch & julie 2013; liu, li, xiao, & feldman, 2013; gülaçtı 2010) hypotheses these hypotheses were tested in the study: psychological impact of covid-19 will significantly predict psychological wellbeing among university students. perceived social support (family, friends, significant others) will significantly predict psychological wellbeing among university students. psychological impact of covid-19 132 method participants a total of 289 participants comprising 154 females and 135 males, within the age range of 20 to 29 years, mean age of 22.82 and a standard deviation of 1.49 were selected making use of simple random sampling techniques, from the population of 4th year students of faculty of social sciences and humanities and faculty of law, enugu state university of science and technology (esut). instruments impact of event scale – revised (ies-r; weiss & marmar, 1997) the impact of event scale-revised (weiss & marmar, 1997) is a 22-item scale developed to assess subjective distress caused by traumatic events. it is rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 = not at all; 1 = a little bit; 2= moderately; 3 = quite a bit; 4 = extremely scale with respect to how distressing each item has been during the past months. scale scores are formed for the three subscales, which reflect intrusion (8 items; 1,2,3,6,9, 14,16,20 ), avoidance (8 items; 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17,22), and hyperarousal (6 items; 4, 10, 15, 18,19,21). the ies-r yields a total score (ranging from 0 to 88) and subscale scores can also be calculated for the intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal subscales. the authors recommend that the scale can be used as a composite scale whereby high score indicate high impact of distress as a result of the traumatic event experienced while low score means that the individual experienced low impact of distress as a result of traumatic event. hence, when used as a composite score, the total score of the scale is calculated and used. in general, the ies-r (and ies) is not used to diagnose ptsd. example of items in iesr are “any reminder brought back feelings about it”; “i avoided letting myself get upset when i thought about it or was reminded of it” and “reminders of it caused me to have physical reactions, such as sweating, trouble breathing, nausea, or a pounding heart”. ies-r show a high degree of intercorrelation (rs = .52 to .87, creamer et al., 2003). high levels of internal consistency have been previously reported (intrusion: cronbach’s alpha = .87 – .94, avoidance: cronbach’s alpha = .84 – .87, hyperarousal: cronbach’s alpha = .79 – .91, creamer et al., 2003; weiss & marmar, 1997). test-retest reliability, collected across a 6month interval, ranged from .89 to .94 (weiss & marmar, 1997). for the present study the researcher obtained a cronbach alpha coefficient of .73 in a pilot testing using 40 4th year law faculty students from university of nigeria, enugu campus. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r48 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r48 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r18 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r48 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc2259224/#r48 multidimensional scale of perceived social support (mspss; zimet, dahlem, zimet & farely, 1988) multidimensional scale of perceived social support (zimet, dahlem, zimet & farely, 1988) was used to measure social support. it is 12-item scale with three sub scales of family (fam), friends (fri) and significant others (so) with equal number of items. item no. 3, 4, 8 and 11 are related to sub scale of family, items 6, 7, 9 and 12 is for friends and items 1, 2, 5 and 10 for significant others. the response format is 7 point likert scale ranging from 1strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree and one neutral with score of 4. maximum score is 84. the higher the sum of the 12 items the higher the level of social support. a test-retest reliability coefficient of .88 was reported by zimet (1988), while canty-mitchell and zimet (2000) reported a cronbach alpha reliability coefficient for the 12 items as .93 and .91, .89, and .91 for the three sub scale, family, friends and significant others respectively. for the present study the researcher obtained a cronbach alpha coefficient of .69, .62 and .75 for family, friends and significant others respectively in a pilot testing using 40 4th year law faculty students from university of nigeria, enugu campus psychological well being scale (ryff, 1989) psychological well-being scale is an eighteen (18) self-report scale designed to measure psychological well-being. (ryff , 1989). the instrument consists of six sub-scales (with three items in each sub-scale): (a) autonomy, (b) environmental mastery, (c) personal growth, (d) positive relationships with others, (e) purpose in life, and (f) self-acceptance. “the autonomy dimension assesses self-determination, independence, and an internal locus of control. the environmental mastery dimension measures one’s ability to manipulate and control complex environments. the personal growth dimension measures one’s needs to actualize and realize one’s potentials. the positive relationships with other’s dimension assess the ability to love, trust, and establish deep relationships with others. the purpose in life dimension is to measure one’s sense of direction and goals. the self-acceptance dimension assesses positive attitudes held toward the self” (akin, 2008). participants were made to respond on a 6-point scale that ranges from “strongly agree” (1) to “strongly disagree” (6). the following items are reverse: 1,5,9,10,12,13,15,18. higher scores indicate higher psychological well-being within the respective dimension. the internal consistency reliability coefficients as reported by ryff (1989) ranges from .86 to .93 for the six sub-scales. for the present study the researcher obtained a cronbach alpha coefficient of .81 in a pilot testing using 40 4th year law faculty students from university of nigeria, enugu campus procedure a total of 350 copies of the research instruments were administered by the researcher within a period of 5weeks to the target population. the administration of the instrument took the form of group testing in their respective class rooms. the researcher introduced herself to the students in their respective classes and informed them what the research is all about, that the project is purely psychological impact of covid-19 134 for knowledge purpose. there was no time limit and correct or wrong answers to the items of the instruments. however, out of the number distributed 312 copies were collected while 289 copies correctly filled were scored and analysed whereby 23 copies were discarded. design and statistics the design for the study is correlational design. therefore, the statistics for the study was hierarchical multiple regression to help the researcher account for the contribution of psychological impact of covid19 and each of the dimensions of social support (family, friends, significant others) on psychological wellbeing. result table 1: zero order correlation coefficient matrix showing psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support as predictors of psychological wellbeing among university students m sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 age 22.74 .40 1 gender .53 .50 -.76** 1 psy impact covid-19 59.78 13.31 -.04 .04 1 family 9.35 5.21 .26** -.30** -.67** 1 friends 8.78 4.44 .29** -.30** -.76** .91** 1 significant others 8.75 4.49 .30** -.33** -.76** .92** .93** 1 psychological wellbeing 27.11 19.90 .25 -.30** -.73** .94** .95** .95** 1 coefficient of determinant (r2) .53 .88 .90 .90 note**p<.01; *p<.05 bold are relevant coefficient for research hypothesis the result shows that psychological impact of covid-19 correlated significantly with psychological wellbeing (r = -.73, p < .01, r2 = .53). based on the result above, the stated hypothesis which states that “psychological impact of covid-19 will significantly predict psychological wellbeing” was accepted. also, the result shows that social support (family, friends, significant others) correlated significantly with psychological wellbeing. the table shows that correlation coefficients were as follows; family and psychological wellbeing, r = .94, p < .01, r2 = .88; friends and psychological wellbeing, r = .95, p < .01, r2 = .90; significant others and psychological wellbeing, r = .95, p < .01, r2 = .90. based on the result above, the second hypothesis which states that “social support (family, friends, significant others) will significantly predict psychological wellbeing” was accepted. table 2: summary of hierarchical multiple regression analysis for variables predicting psychological wellbeing (n=289) step 1 step 2 step 3 β t β t β t age .04 .47 gender -.28 -3.20** psy impact of covid19 -.72 19.58** family .25 6.42** friends .41 9.72** significant others .36 7.64** r .31 .78 .98 r2 .20 .61 .95 ∆r2 .20 .52 .34 f 15.06(2,286) 383.23(1,285) 638.11(3,282) note*p<.05;**p<.01 results of the hierarchical multiple regression for the test of the first factors of psychological wellbeing index is shown in the table 1 above. the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variable (age) in the step 1 of the regression analysis and it had no significant relationship with psychological wellbeing. age, β = .04, t = .47, p>.05. on the other hand the demographic variable (gender) had a significant relationship with psychological wellbeing. gender, β = -.28, t = -3.20, p>.01. hence, the demographic variable (age and gender) serves as control variables in the study and that is why they are keyed in step 1 in step 2, psychological impact of covid-19 was entered and the result showed that psychological impact of covid-19 significantly predicted psychological wellbeing (β = -.72, t = 19.58, at p < .01). the contribution of psychological impact of covid-19 in explaining the variance in psychological wellbeing was 52% (∆r2 = .52). therefore, psychological impact of covid-19 is a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing. in step 3, perceived social support (family, friends, significant others) were entered. all the dimensions of social support, family, β = .25, t = 6.42, at p < .01; friends, β = .41, t = 9.72, at p < .01; significant others, β = .36, t = 7.64, at p < .01, predicted psychological wellbeing. the contribution of perceives social support in explaining the variance in psychological wellbeing was 34% (∆r2 = .34). therefore, perceived social support is a significant predictor of psychological wellbeing psychological impact of covid-19 136 discussion the finding of this study revealed that the hypothesis tested which stated that “psychological impact of covid-19 will significantly predict psychological wellbeing among university students” was accepted. this means that psychological impact of covid-19 significantly predicted psychological wellbeing among university students. hence, idowu, olawuyi and nwadioke (2020), in a study to assess the burden of the psychological problems associated with covid-19 pandemic and coping strategies among students at bowen university, iwo (bui), nigeria. in all, 55.0% of the respondents reported decreased psychological wellbeing because of the lockdown. outcomes of the included studies showed that youth experienced anxiety (parola, rossi, tessitore, troisi, & mannarini, 2020; faize, & husain, 2021; baiano, zappullo, group, & conson, 2020; jiang, 2020), stress (khan, sultana, hossain, hasan, ahmed, & sikder, 2020; mekonen, workneh, ali, & muluneh, 2021), depression (parola et al., 2020; sundarasen, chinna, kamaludin, nurunnabi, baloch, khoshaim, hossain, & sukayt, 2020), event-specific distress (khan, et al., 2020), and changes in sleep pattern (parola, et al., 2020) during the covid19 outbreak. on the other hand, matthew, lincoln, iryna, alessandro, olivia, lauren, scott, tue, jennifer, nathan, elizabeth, ashley, marco, gregory and hector (2021) evaluated the psychological impacts of covid-19 on students in the united states, they collected over 2,500 survey responses from students at seven universities in late-february to mid-may 2020. qualitative data from open-ended responses showed students experienced largely negative impacts of covid19 on psychological health, lifestyle behaviours and psychological wellbeing. among the most commonly reported changes were lack of motivation, anxiety, stress, and isolation, as well as social distancing, education changes, and going out less. similar findings were reported by another study exploring the impact of covid-19 on students at a single college in the united states, revealing increases in sedentary lifestyle, anxiety, depressive symptoms and poor psychological wellbeing (huckins, dasilva, wang, hedlund, rogers, nepal, 2020). a global study examining experiences of students in 62 countries, including one university in the united states, found that students expressed concerns about their academic and professional careers, as well as feelings of boredom, anxiety and frustration (aristovnik, keržič, ravšelj, tomaževič, & umek, 2020). in addition, cognitive-relational theory supported the outcome of the study result where traumatic event is perceived as a particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being as experienced during the covid-19 pandemic (lazarus & folkman, 1984b). according to cognitive-relational theory, appraisals are determined simultaneously by perceiving environmental demands and personal resources. the cognitive-relational theory emphasizes the continuous, reciprocal nature of the interaction between the person and the environment. stress experiences and coping results bring along immediate effects, such as affects or physiological changes, and long-term results concerning psychological well-being, somatic health and social functioning. threat occurs when the individual perceives being in danger, and it is experienced when the person anticipates future harm or loss (covid-19 pandemic). also, the second hypothesis tested which stated that “perceived social support will significantly predict psychological wellbeing among university students” was accepted. this means that perceived social support significantly predicted psychological wellbeing among university students. hence, university students that scored high on perceived social support were observed to experience high psychological wellbeing. on the other hand university students that experience high psychological wellbeing tend to score high on psychological impact of covid-19. this result of significant association between perceived social support and psychological wellbeing is in line with the results of research studies (shakespeare-finch & julie 2013; liu, li, xiao, & feldman, 2013; gülaçtı 2010). also, research studies have repeatedly found that people who receive a high level of social support enjoy enhanced health and well-being (cohen & wills, 1985; sarason, sarason, & gurung, 2001). in a study “perceived social support and psychological well-being: testing the unique association and gender differences among” (rani, 2016). the results of correlation analysis showed a moderate significant positive relationship between pss and pwb. the regression model too was found significant suggesting that a high perception of social support is associated with high pwb indicating that pss has a significant impact on pwb. research studies have shown that increase or onset of psychological problems in young people may be prevented by social support from parents, siblings, members of the extended family, and peers (walen & lachman, 2000; whitney, 2010). the knowledge that we are accepted, respected, loved, supported, that there are people that we can lean on and get help from, affects self-esteem and self-image. past research has shown that people who receive high social support are more likely to be insulated from problems they have in life and thus less likely to be driven to extreme actions/reactions. in other words, although social support primarily has the role of “bumper” which mitigates the effect of stressful life events, it is also a very important source of strength to quickly and with less bad consequences, overcome the most difficult life situations (vlajkovi, 1992). in consonance to the outcome of the study relational regulation theory (rrt; lakey & orehek, 2011) explained main effects (the direct effects hypothesis) between perceived support and mental health. perceived support has been found to have both buffering and direct effects on mental health (wethington, & kessler, 1986). rrt was proposed in order to explain perceived support's main effects on mental health (lakey & orehek, 2011). rrt hypothesizes that the link between perceived support and mental health comes from people regulating their emotions through ordinary conversations and shared activities rather than through conversations on how to cope with stress. this regulation is relational in that the support providers, conversation topics and activities that help regulate emotion are primarily a matter of personal taste. this is supported by previous work showing that the largest part of perceived support is relational in nature (lakey, 2010). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emotional_self-regulation psychological impact of covid-19 138 implications of the finding the finding of the present study revealed that psychological wellbeing was predicted negatively by psychological impact of covid-19 among university students. the psychological impact was related to the experience of several intensive stressors associated with academic perspectives, social restrictions, and daily living side effects related to the covid-19 outbreak. it seems that stress management skills promotion alongside mental health promotion would be necessary and useful to develop community health through school health programmes. physical activity is also an important aspect of health promotion and a predictor of well being and death worldwide (musavian, pasha, rahebi, atrkarroushan & ghanbari, 2014). also, sedentary life style and lack of physical exercise may lead to progressive psychological wellbeing problems among university students. physical exercise act as an empowering or buffering factor, protecting university students from stress, poor physical and mental health (sagatun, heyerdahl, wentzellarsen, lien, 2015). also, the finding revealed that perceived social support predicted psychological wellbeing positively among university students. the finding provide empirical evidence about the importance of perceived social support for psychological well-being among university students, suggesting that higher perception of social support contributes to higher psychological wellbeing. social support has been extensively studied and is thought to influence wellbeing by modifying and buffering the impact of life events and other stressors (pugliesi & shook, 1998; southwick, vythilingam, & charney, 2005). towards that end, the present study is valuable in suggesting for design of programmes at school/college level to foster social support networks which may help youngsters improve their ability to face the challenges they encounter in their studies and also maintain their overall well being. though personality is generally attributed to play a role for people to form and sustain inter-personal relations, there is ample research which shows that such social skills can also be taught through custom-made programmes. however, in growing numbers, social support is being exchanged via computer-mediated communication (on-line) among people who do not know each other and do not communicate face to face. there is a definite need to undertake a study to investigate the impact of such wider social network interactions beyond the immediate inter personal relations to get a full view about the role of perceived social support on psychological wellbeing. limitations for further study one major shortcoming of the study was that the participants selected for the study were writing their degree examination. this made them to be reluctant in responding to the research instruments but the researcher used rapport which enhanced data collection. also, it is somewhat difficult to generalize the finding as sample included only 289 university students out of myriad of undergraduates in enugu state. summary and conclusion the finding of this study is summarized as follow: psychological impact of covid-19 and perceived social support (family, friends, significant others) were observed to significantly predict psychological wellbeing among university students. the present study has provided support for the effectiveness of social support in maintaining psychological wellbeing. conventional social support is thought of as taking place most often within established, multi-dimensional, and primarily dyadic close personal relationships (cutrona & suhr, 1992; 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among students and teachers of secondary schools in benue state simon terver chieshe epidemiological unit benue state ministry of health and human services & abraham tersugh kwaghgbah human-computer interaction laboratory lagos business school correspondence: abrahamkwaghgbah@gmail.com abstract this study investigated the effect of mental health programme on attitude and awareness of mental illness among students and teachers of secondary schools in benue state. the study employed between subject factorial design using 180 participants comprising of 60 teachers and 120 students. the study employed the use of stratified random sampling to draw the participants for the study. the instruments used for the intervention in this study were the attitude towards mental illness scale and the mental health knowledge schedule. independent measures one-way anova was used to test the four hypotheses raised in the study. first, the result shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the attitudes of teachers towards mental illness. secondly, the result shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the attitudes of students towards mental illness. thirdly, the result shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the knowledge of teachers concerning mental illness. fourthly, the result also shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the knowledge of students concerning mental illness. the study thus recommended that, there is urgent need to minimize the level of stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness. keywords: attitudes, awareness, mental health, mental illness, students and teachers. introduction mental health is one of the most ignored health needs worldwide. the negligence of this aspect of human health often results to the full blown development of mental illnesses. the conditions of people with mental illnesses are however worsened by the attitude and lack of awareness on mental illnesses among people around them. the burden associated with these conditions is ever increasing and poses a huge danger to human health and social interactions especially in developing countries. there exist different forms of mental illnesses that are characterized by a combination of maladaptive thought processes, emotional abnormalities, and deviant behaviours (world health organization [who], 2016). mental illness is described by a range of disorders including anxiety disorders, developmental disabilities, autism, depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorders and mailto:abrahamkwaghgbah@gmail.com 96 dementia amongst others. globally, up to 14% of the burden of disease is apportioned to mental illnesses, with the onset of most mental illnesses beginning before the age of 25years. the prevalence of mental illnesses among students and teachers in low and middle income countries (lmics) is similar to that in developed countries; however, reliable data are unavailable in most countries especially in sub-saharan africa. given that substantial numbers of young people both students and teachers worldwide spend the majority of their time in school, and the school have become a natural place to implement activities focused on mental health promotion, prevention and intervention (kieling, baker-henningham, belfer, conti, ertem, omigbodun, rohde, srinath, ulkuer & rahman, 2011; mcgorry, purcell, goldstone & amminger, 2011). mental health awareness is rudimentary for improving access to care and reducing stigma related to mental illness (kutcher & wei, 2014; wei, hayden, kutcher, zygmunt & mcgrath, 2013) and was initially defined by jorm as ‘knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management and prevention. informed by recent developments in the evolving definition of health literacy (world health organization, 2014) and cognizant of considerations related to mental health (kutcher & wei, 2014; jorm, 2012), this definition has now been expanded to include four components: (i) enhancing capacity to obtain and maintain good mental health; (ii) enhancing understanding of mental disorders and their treatments; (iii) decreasing stigma related to mental illness; (iv) enhancing help-seeking efficacy. global efforts to address the attitudes and awareness of mental illness in schools have been initiated by calls to action from international agencies such as the world health organization (who) and the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) and have focused on introducing programmes into schools which address the promotion of mental health, suicide prevention and specific mental disorders, such as depression and substance use disorders (wei & kutcher, 2012). however, a sustained positive impact of these programmatic interventions on mental health literacy has not been widely nor consistently demonstrated (wei et al., 2013; wei & kutcher, 2012). nearly a decade ago in europe and america, interventions in norway and canada that have focused on addressing mental health awareness through school implemented curriculum demonstrated positive results (milin, lewis, kutcher, walker & ferrill, 2013; skre, friborg, 97 breivik, johnsen, arnesen & wang, 2013). available canadian data indicated that providing secondary school teachers with a mental health curriculum resource as well as training teachers on mental health led to sustained improvements in mental health literacy (wei & kutcher, 2012). the positive impact of the intervention was also extended to students. when teachers applied the mental health curriculum in their class-rooms as part of usual school curriculum, significant, substantial and sustained (improvements maintained over time in the absence of additional interventions) positive results were found in enhancing awareness, reducing discrimination and improving healthcare-seeking behaviours for secondary school students (kutcher & wei, 2014; milin et al., 2013). the evidence clearly suggests that activities aimed at improving mental health literacy through curriculum integration may be an effective approach for enhancing the attitude and awareness of mental illness among teachers and students. in africa, mental disorders account for approximately 5% of all reported illnesses and around 1 in 5 inhabitants are reported to suffer with a mental disorder. furthermore, it is estimated that 200 million africans may become afflicted by a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime (spooner, 2014). in nigeria, the prevalence of mental disorders is estimated to be approximately 20% (64 million nigerians). in lagos state, approximately 14.1% of residents (around 2.5 million) are suffering from a mental illness (eaton & gureje, 2014). in benue state particularly, the services for mental disorders have historically been available through one tertiary facility and a small number of heavily overburdened community rehabilitation facilities run by local faith-based organizations. the benue state comprehensive community mental health programme (ccmhp) was initiated in 2011 as a public-private partnership to scale-up services in primary care. trained community psychiatric nurses (cpns) operate outpatient clinics in special primary care facilities known as comprehensive health centres, which offer an enhanced package of health services. cpns also conduct outreach visits to patients’ homes, raise awareness in communities, and support local self-help groups. community health extension workers (chews) at other primary health care facilities are trained in world health organization mental health gap action programme (mhgap) intervention guidelines for nigeria, and are also equipped to detect, manage and treat cases (osakwe, otte & alo, 2014). 98 studies have indicated that teachers are however in a vantage position to help with early identification and early intervention related to symptoms of mental health among students (williams, horvath, wei, van dorn, & johnson-reid, 2017). other previous studies have identified that further exploration into teacher characteristics is necessary in order to understand why children are not accessing mental health services related to their mental health symptoms (auger, 2014). one of these characteristics happens to be the teacher’s attitude and perception of the problem. if teachers do not perceive mental health to be a concern, the likelihood of them identifying or even referring a child to get help will be limited. some of these teachers have the knowledge of mental illness but their attitude towards the mentally ill is negative. other teachers have a positive attitude towards mental illness but they lack the knowledge and awareness of the nature, causes and treatment of mental illnesses. this study hinges on the negative cognition theory developed by beck (1967, 1976) who opined that negative attitudes towards mental illness may result from a tendency to interpret everyday events in a negative way. the major critique of this theory in relation to the present study is that it fails to explain how the society forms negative attitudes towards people suffering from mental illness. thus this study investigates the effect of mental health programmes on the attitudes and awareness of mental illness among students of teachers of secondary schools in benue state. statement of problem the impact of the stigmatizing attitude and poor knowledge of mental illness among nigerians have shown to be a major hurdle to improving mental health in nigeria. schools can be a great resource of free and convenient mental health services for students and teachers in need, particularly since children spend a large proportion of their time in school. since children do not typically self-identify as needing mental health services, they must rely on the adults in their lives for access to such treatment, particularly their teachers, parents, and other caring adults. this highlights the role of teachers and other school personnel in identifying students who may benefit from such services. as professionals, teachers are in a good position to notice when a student is having a problem and refer this child to the appropriate services. unfortunately, most teachers do not receive training in identifying mental health issues or their appropriate treatments and, consequently, are not always accurate in their referrals. furthermore, teachers report 99 discomfort with the responsibility of referring children for mental health services because of this lack of training. considering teachers’ importance in children’s access to mental health services, it is unfortunate that there is little research available investigating their beliefs about who needs mental health services and how they decide whether or not to make a referral for services. many researches have been conducted on the roles of psychological factors on students and teachers perception of mental illness. however, few if any of these studies have addressed the possible effect of an intervention that may serve as a catalyst for the attitude and awareness on mental illness among the community of people in benue state. therefore, the present study investigated the effect of mental health programme on attitude and awareness of mental illness among students and teachers of secondary schools in benue state. literature review mental health programme and attitude of teachers towards mental illness basu, sau, saha, mondal, ghoshal and kundu (2021) validated the community attitude to mental illness (cami), to assess the different socio-demographic factors among the study population, to assess the kap regarding mental illness among the study population. it was an observational, descriptive study with cross-sectional design carried out at amdanga community development block, north 24 parganas, west bengal, india from 2015-2016. questionnaire validation to assess the kap was the primary objective with obtaining the descriptive data were the second one. cami questionnaire was used which was validated for the given area by validation methods such as cronbach’s alpha and structural equation modeling. the resultant questionnaire was used in the field on adult population after a singlestage survey design to collect 730 samples. the test statistics showed that the questionnaire was reasonably valid after a few tweaking. sem identified well-defined domains in the attitude part. 94.9% says that they are willing to live with a people with mental illness. 14.9% has actually done so. health-care seeking behavior shows that 19.2% will go to a gp in case of any mental illness. furthermore, attitude toward mental illness showed mixed picture as knowledge. this study correlated with various studies of developing countries and it was seen that these population showed markedly different attitudes for probability of the patients getting cured than many other countries. furthermore, stigma was gradually decreasing, as evident from various other studies. this study provided valuable insights into the cognitive 100 and affective aspect of mental illness among these population and thus help in implementing better policies in this regard, as this is fast becoming the talk of the day. this study contributed enormously to knowledge but failed to assess the role of mental health programme on attitudes and awareness of mental illness among teachers. sindhu, phadnis, chouhan, saraswat and maheshwari (2021) quantified the awareness about common mental health problem, ii) to assess attitude of community members and healthcare providers towards mental health patients and identify the factors contributing to their stigma and iii) to assess perception of health care providers about national mental health program in udupi taluk, karnataka. a mixed method observational study was done, in 212 community members of above 18 years of age through two-stage cluster sampling. participants were presented with 2 vignettes defining individuals suffering from symptoms of mental disorders (psychosis and depression) and in-depth interviews were conducted from healthcare providers (n=11). statistics were calculated by bivariate statistical analysis to describe the responses to the variables from the questionnaire. result indicated that the most commonly recognized causes of the mental health problems were unemployment, separated or divorced, among other socioeconomic factors. psychiatrist and physician were believed to be the most helpful for providing treatment of mental health problems. the discrimination of people with a mental illness diagnosis of psychosis (74.8%) was more as compared to depression (25.2%). the stigmatizing attitude was found to be more in males (22.3%) of social distancing as compared to females (8.47%). more than 60% of the community members had knowledge and awareness about causal factors of mental health problems in this region. however, there was need to raise awareness in the community about the national mental health program, and services provided by the government for mental health problems. this study also shares the limitation of being carried out without any form of mental health intervention. moreover, the targeted population was community members and health workers as opposed to teachers. mental health programme and attitude of students towards mental illness puspitasari, garnisa, sinuraya and witriani (2020) examined perception, knowledge, and attitudes toward mental health disorders and their treatment among students in a university in west java, indonesia. a cross-sectional study which measures perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes of 427 university students using convenience sampling through a 101 53-item self-administered questionnaire was conducted in january 2020. either a chi-square test was employed to analyze the association between student characteristics and variables. furthermore, spearman rank correlation coefficient was utilized to evaluate the relationship between variables. a total of 51.29% students had negative perceptions, 50.23% had good knowledge, and 52.46% had positive attitudes toward mental disorders and their treatment. the differences in the experience of visiting a psychologist or psychiatrist were associated with perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes. a positive correlation was observed between perception and attitude and between knowledge and attitude. the students obtained most information about mental health from social media (92.74%). they concluded that students demonstrated good knowledge and positive attitude toward mental health disorders. however, some continue to hold negative perceptions regarding approaching someone with a mental disorder, encouraging doubt and fear. they recommended that health promotion about mental health disorders and their treatment must be conducted to increase positive perceptions, good knowledge, and positive attitudes of the students. social media tools can be considered to enhance mental health promotion and prevention of mental health problems. this study differs with the present study in that, it adopted cross-sectional survey design as opposed to the between subject design to be used in the present study. nepal, rayamajhi, shrestha and aryal (2020) assessed the attitude of senior secondary level students towards mental illness. descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted amongst senior secondary level students to investigate about their attitude towards mental illness. they recruited a sample of 138 students from classes 11 and 12 from a conveniently sampled school of dharan sub-metropolitan. semi-structured questionnaire was used to elicit the information. their study group consisted of 53.6% females while 46.4% were males. equal numbers of students were sampled from each grades with their ages ranging from 14-18 years. the mean for total of bmi scale was 52 and the standard deviation was observed to be 12.810. the t-tests revealed males had more negative attitude than the female students which was statistically significant with a p-value of 0.048. the study revealed that there was a significant negative correlation between the attitude scores and the grade the respondents were studying and also between the gender of the respondent, father’s and mother’s education level and in students having a family member or neighbor suffer from mental illness. most of the students in the senior 102 secondary level were found to have negative attitudes towards mental illness though none of the variables were found to be contributing towards such perceptions from their research. mental health programme and awareness of teachers on mental illness sinha, manna and roy (2020) assessed knowledge regarding mental illness and to find out the relationship between knowledge and attitude among adults in selected rural community, wb. a co-relational survey approach was adopted. a self-report questionnaire was developed and adopted for collecting information regarding background data, knowledge and attitude regarding mental illness. 100 samples were selected through purposive sampling technique for the study from narayanpur village under b.p.h.c sarisha. data obtained regarding background of respondents was analyzed in terms of frequency and percentage distribution. mean knowledge score was 12.63±4.51 and most of the respondents scored had an average knowledge on mental illness. knowledge was measured in the cause, signs and symptoms of mental illness, nature and types of mental illness and treatment, prevention and prognosis area. the mean attitude score was 112.8±15.11. in attitude, the study revealed that community people held more had benevolent views 36.39 and tolerant attitude towards community mental health ideology 34.66. there was a positive relationship between knowledge and attitude of mental illness. there was also association between knowledge with three selected variables i.e. education, religion and family history of mental illness and attitude with education. based on these findings, it was concluded that awareness regarding mental illness is increasing and people are becoming tolerant towards mentally ill people. the study is of obvious importance of any policy aimed at promoting better knowledge and tolerance of mental illness by the public. however, this study was a correlational survey as opposed to the factorial design to be used in this study. moreover, it failed to incorporate teachers in the study. mojiminiyi, balogun and ogunnowo (2020) assessed the knowledge of adults residing in an urban local government area in lagos, south-west nigeria, with regards to mental health and investigate their attitudes towards this condition. this was a descriptive cross-sectional study. multi-stage sampling was used to select 242 adults who were subsequently interviewed with a structured questionnaire. data was collected and analyzed using epi info statistical software version 7. associations between socio-demographic variables and the knowledge and attitudes of subjects with regards to mental disorders were 103 assessed using chi-square tests at a significance level of 0.05. almost all respondents (95.5%) in this study were aware of mental disorders while 31% were related to someone with a mental disorder. approximately half of the respondents (51.2%) had poor knowledge of mental disorders while the majority (90%) had positive attitudes. there was a significant and positive association between having a relative with a mental disorder and the level of knowledge. conclusion analyses identified knowledge gaps in the community in terms of mental disorders in the community. they recommended that health workers should develop ways to educate the community with regards to the causes, symptoms, effects and treatment options for mental disorders. this study was carried out in nigeria, however, it was not conducted among a teacher sample. mental health programme and awareness of students on mental illness dessie, techane, tesfaye and gebeyehu (2021) examined the knowledge and factors affecting elementary school teachers about adhd. an institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted in gondar town and other towns nearby gondar from february 24 to march 24, 2020. data were collected through structured self-administered questionnaires using the knowledge of attention deficit disorders scale and adhd-specific attitudes measurement tools. then, it was entered into epi-info version 7 and exported to spss version 20 for analysis. bivariable and multivariate logistic regressions were fitted to identify factors associated with the knowledge and attitude of elementary school teachers. variables having a p-value <0.05 at 95% ci were considered statistically significant. of 636 respondents, about 44.8% and 84.1% of elementary school teachers had good knowledge and a favorable attitude towards adhd, respectively. having a diploma and above, reading adhd leaflets and search adhd on the internet were significantly associated with teachers knowledge to adhd; whereas, working experience in teaching a child with adhd and watching adhd on mass media were positively predicts teachers attitude towards adhd. conclusions were that the proportion of teachers’ knowledge towards adhd was low; in contrast, their attitude was relatively satisfactory. strengthening teachers’ educational upgrading system, frequent and fair distribution of leaflets written to address adhd, installation of an internet system to the schools, and continuous adhd awareness creation programs through mass media are highly recommended. this study is criticized for being cross-sectional in nature. this opposes the factorial design employed in the present study. 104 alsahali (2021) assessed pharmacy students’ attitudes toward people with mis and seeking help for mental health, as well as their knowledge about the causes of mis. a crosssectional survey was conducted on pharmacy students at unaizah college of pharmacy, qassim university, saudi arabia. out of the 460 distributed questionnaires, 330 complete questionnaires were received, giving a response rate of 71.7%. overall, the mean total score for attitude towards people with mis was 60.16 ±10.48 (maximum attainable score: 105). in this study, 51.12% believed that people with mis are more likely to harm others than a person without mis and 66.9% mentioned that they did not trust the work of a mentally ill person as part of their work team. however, only 35.45% believed that it is difficult for mentally ill individuals to follow social rules. in terms of attitudes toward help-seeking, the mean total score of was 12.83 ±3.16 out of the maximum score of 25. in addition, the mean total score for knowledge about causes of mental illness was 2.92 ±1.76 out of the maximum score of 8. the participants reported that mis could be due to genetic inheritance (56%), substance abuse (54.5%), or brain disease (66.1%). the findings showed that there are some negative attitudes toward people with mis and negative attitudes towards seeking help for mental health. in addition, some misconceptions about the causes of mis are prevalent. consequently, the incorporation of more topics concerning mental health in pharmacy curricula could help improve the awareness of and knowledge about mental health. this study was however not conducted in nigeria. hypotheses i. there will be a significant difference in attitudes of teachers towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. ii. there will be a significant difference in attitudes of students towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. iii. there will be a significant difference in awareness of teachers towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. iv. there will be a significant difference in awareness of students towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. 105 design this study employed between subject factorial design to investigate the effect of mental health programme on the attitude and awareness of mental illness among teachers and students of secondary schools in benue state. this design was adopted because the researcher manipulated mental health programme across the teachers and students used in the study and also measured their attitudes and awareness after the intervention. the independent variable is mental health programme while the dependent variables are attitude and awareness on mental illnesses. participants the participants for this study were 180. they comprised of 60 teachers and 120 students. in the teacher sample, 30 (50%) were male while 30(50%) were female. their ages ranged from 24-54years with a mean age of 35.45(sd=8.846). considering their ethnic groups, 18 (30%) were tiv, 30 (50%) were idoma while 12 (20%) were from other ethnic groups. in terms of their marital statuses, 24 (40%) were single, 18 (30%) were married while another 18 (30%) were either divorced or separated. as for their religions, 36 (60%) were christians, 18(30%) were muslims while 6 (10%) were practicing other religions. as for their schools, 10 (16.7%) were from new jerusalem academy, 10 (16.7%) were from st. ann’s secondary school adikpo, 10 (16.7%) were from lady victoria academy, 10(16.7%) were from saviour model college, 10 (16.7%) were from st. francis secondary school otukpo while another 10 (16.7%) were from odumu ocheibe college. lastly, 30 (50%) were in the experimental group while another 30 (50%) were in the control group. in the student sample, 60 (50%) were male while 60 (50%) were female. their ages ranged from 12-20years with a mean age of 16.43(sd=2.519). considering their ethnic groups, 45 (37.5%) were tiv, 60 (50%) were idoma while 15 (12.5%) were from other ethnic groups. in terms of their marital statuses, all the 120 (100%) were single. as for their religions, 84 (70%) were christians, 3 (2.5%) were muslims while 33 (27.5%) were practicing other religions. as for their schools, 20 (16.7%) were from new jerusalem academy, 20 (16.7%) were from st. ann’s secondary school adikpo, 20 (16.7%) were from lady victoria academy, 20 (16.7%) were from saviour model college, 20 (16.7%) were from st francis secondary school otukpo while another 20 (16.7%) were from odumu 106 ocheibe college. lastly, 60 (50%) were in the experimental group while another 60 (50%) were in the control group. sampling technique the study employed the use of stratified random sampling to draw the participants for the study. this is a form of probability sampling method and it was used because the entire population of teachers and students in the selected schools in benue state were given the chance to be selected in the sample for the study given due consideration to the strata (schools). since benue state is made up of three zones; a, b and c, two schools were selected from each zone as seen below: student participants: zone “a” new jerusalem academy = 20 st. ann sec. school adikpo = 20 zone “b” lady victoria academy = 20 saviour model school = 20 zone “c” st. francis college otukpo = 20 odumu ocheibi college = 20 these sums up to 120 students which were used for the study. teacher participants: zone “a” new jerusalem academy = 10 st. ann sec. school adikpo = 10 zone “b” lady victoria academy = 10 saviour model school = 10 zone “c” st. francis college otukpo = 10 odumu ocheibi college = 10 these sums up to the 60 teachers that were used for the study. instruments/materials 107 the instruments used for the intervention in this study include the demographic information, the attitude towards mental illness scale and the mental health knowledge schedule. demographic variables: this study assessed the participants’ sex, age, ethnic group, religion, marital status, and school. attitude towards mental illness scale: attitudes towards mental illness was measured using the attitude towards mental illness scale developed by hirai and clum (2000). the scale has 21 items that are measured on a 5-point scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). in the scale, no items are reverse-scored and the scale has a test re-test reliability coefficient of .87 and an alpha coefficient of .76. the present study found a cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .79 and .70 for the teacher and student samples respectively. the scale has a concurrent validity correlation of .56 with the mental health stigma and discrimination scale. sample of items in the scale include: “there is future for persons with mental illness”, “i am very scared of persons with mental illness”. mental health knowledge schedule: awareness on mental illness was measured using the mental health knowledge schedule developed by thornicroft, rose, kassam and sartorius (2007). the scale has 12 items and is measured on a 5-point scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). no items are reverse scored in the scale and the author found a convergent validity of .53. the author also found an overall test–retest reliability of .71 and the overall internal consistency of .75. the present study reported an alpha coefficient of .71 and .85 for the teacher and student samples respectively. sample of items include; “people with severe mental health problems can fully recover”, “depression is a mental illness”. other materials include a comprehensive passage on the nature, extent, causes and treatment of mental illnesses, which was used to educate the experimental groups on mental health. result table 1: mean score and standard deviation of teachers on their attitudes towards mental illness in benue state. groups n mean standard deviation experimental group 30 61.800 4.139 control group 30 69.000 3.524 108 total 60 65.400 10.016 the result shown in table 1 shows that there were 30 participants in the experimental group and their mean score on attitudes towards mental illness was 61.800 (sd=4.139). in the control group, there were 30 participants and the mean score was 69.00 (sd=3.524). thus, the control group that was not exposed to the mental health programme had more attitudes towards mental illnesses. table 2: one-way analysis of variance showing the effect of mental health programme on attitudes of teachers towards mental illness in benue state. groups sum of squares df mean square f sig between groups 1117.600 1 1117.600 13.502 .013 within groups 4800.800 58 82.772 total 5918.400 59 the result displayed in table 2 shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the attitudes of teachers towards mental illness; f(1,58)=13.502, p<.05. the result further indicated that participants in the control group (m=69.00, sd=3.524) who were not exposed to the mental health programme had more attitudes towards mental illness than those in the experimental group (m=61.800, sd=4.139) who were exposed to the mental health programme. this implies that the mental health programme reduced the negative attitudes towards mental illness among teachers. thus, hypothesis one was supported. table 3: mean score and standard deviation of students on their attitudes towards mental illness in benue state. groups n mean standard deviation experimental group 60 65.350 13.353 control group 60 76.450 11.754 total 120 70.900 12.538 the result shown in table 3 shows that there were 60 participants in the experimental group and their mean score on attitudes towards mental illness was 65.350 (sd=13.353). in the control group, there were 60 participants and the mean score was 76.450 (sd=11.754). thus, the control group that was not exposed to the mental health programme had more attitudes towards mental illnesses. 109 table 4: one-way analysis of variance showing the effect of mental health programme on attitudes of students towards mental illness in benue state. groups sum of squares df mean square f sig between groups 3036.300 1 3036.300 22.863 .003 within groups 15670.500 118 132.800 total 18706.800 119 the result displayed in table 4 shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the attitudes of students towards mental illness; f(1,118)=22.863, p<.01. the result further indicated that participants in the control group (m=76.450, sd=11.754) who were not exposed to the mental health programme had more attitudes towards mental illness than those in the experimental group (m=65.350, sd=13.353) who were exposed to the mental health programme. this implies that the mental health programme reduced attitudes towards mental illness among students. thus, hypothesis two was also supported. table 5: mean score and standard deviation of teachers on their knowledge of mental illness in benue state. groups n mean standard deviation experimental group 30 43.800 9.528 control group 30 30.200 6.880 total 60 35.000 8.328 the result shown in table 5 shows that there were 30 participants in the experimental group and their mean score on knowledge of mental illness was 43.800 (sd=9.528). in the control group, there were 30 participants and the mean score was 30.200 (sd=6.880). thus, the experimental group that was exposed to the mental health programme had more knowledge of mental illnesses. table 6: one-way analysis of variance showing the effect of mental health programme on knowledge of teachers on mental illness in benue state. groups sum of squares df mean square f sig between groups 1086.400 1 1085.400 20.964 .012 within groups 3005.600 58 51.821 total 4092.000 59 110 the result displayed in table 6 shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the knowledge of teachers concerning mental illness; f(1,58)=20.964, p<.05. the result further indicated that participants in the experimental group (m=43.800, sd=9.528) who were exposed to the mental health programme had more knowledge of mental illness than those in the control group (m=30.200, sd=6.880) who were not exposed to the mental health programme. this implies that the mental health programme increased knowledge of mental illness among teachers. thus, hypothesis three was also supported. table 7: mean score and standard deviation of students on their knowledge of mental illness in benue state. groups n mean standard deviation experimental group 60 43.150 9.167 control group 60 32.800 9.848 total 120 37.475 9.479 the result shown in table 7 shows that there were 60 participants in the experimental group and their mean score on knowledge of mental illness was 43.150 (sd=9.167). in the control group, there were 60 participants and the mean score was 32.800 (sd=9.848). thus, the experimental group that was exposed to the mental health programme had more knowledge of mental illnesses. table 8: one-way analysis of variance showing the effect of mental health programme on knowledge of students on mental illness in benue state. groups sum of squares df mean square f sig between groups 2012.675 1 2012.675 27.364 .009 within groups 8679.250 118 73.553 total 10691.925 119 the result displayed in table 8 shows that there was a significant effect of mental health programme on the knowledge of students concerning mental illness; f(1,118)=27.364, p<.01. the result further indicated that participants in the experimental group (m=43.150, sd=9.167) who were exposed to the mental health programme had more knowledge of mental illness than those in the control group (m=32.800, sd=9.848) who were not exposed to the mental health programme. this implies that the mental health programme increased knowledge of mental illness among students. thus, hypothesis four was also supported. 111 discussion hypothesis one was tested to find out if there will be a significant difference in attitudes of teachers towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. findings indicated that teachers who were exposed to mental health programme had lesser attitudes towards mental illness than those who were not exposed to mental health programme. this means that when people are educated on mental health issues, they tend to adopt a rather positive attitude towards mental health. this finding tallies with basu, sau, saha, mondal, ghoshal and kundu (2021) who revealed that attitude toward mental illness showed mixed picture as a function of knowledge. similarly, sindhu, phadnis, chouhan, saraswat and maheshwari (2021) revealed that the discrimination of people with a mental illness diagnosis of psychosis was more as compared to depression. the stigmatizing attitude was found to be more in males of social distancing as compared to females. furthermore, more than 60% of the community members had knowledge and awareness about causal factors of mental health problems in this region. hypothesis two was tested to find out if there will be a significant difference in attitudes of students towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. findings indicated that students who were exposed to mental health programme had lesser attitudes towards mental illness than those who were not exposed to mental health programme. this finding tallies with puspitasari, garnisa, sinuraya and witriani (2020) who found a positive correlation between perception and attitude and between knowledge and attitude towards mental illness. in another study, nepal, rayamajhi, shrestha and aryal (2020) revealed that most of the students in the senior secondary level were found to have negative attitudes towards mental illness. hypothesis three was tested to find out if there will be a significant difference in awareness of teachers towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. findings indicated that teachers who were exposed to mental health programmes had more knowledge of mental illness than those who were not exposed to mental health programmes. this finding tallies with sinha, manna and roy (2020) who revealed that community people held more benevolent views and tolerant attitude towards community mental health ideology. in their study, there was a 112 positive relationship between knowledge and attitude of mental illness. mojiminiyi, balogun and ogunnowo (2020) found approximately half of the respondents (51.2%) had poor knowledge of mental disorders while the majority (90%) had positive attitudes. they also found a significant and positive association between having a relative with a mental disorder and the level of knowledge. hypothesis four was tested to find out if there will be a significant difference in awareness of students towards mental illness in schools with mental health program and schools without mental health programs in benue state. findings indicated that students who were exposed to mental health programmes had more knowledge of mental illness than those who were not exposed to mental health programmes. this finding tallies with dessie, techane, tesfaye and gebeyehu (2021) who revealed that of the 636 respondents, about 44.8% and 84.1% of elementary school teachers had good knowledge and a favorable attitude towards adhd, respectively. they also found that having a diploma and above, reading adhd leaflets and searching adhd on the internet were significantly associated with teachers’ knowledge of adhd; whereas, working experience in teaching a child with adhd and watching adhd on mass media were positive predictors of teachers’ attitude towards adhd. alsahali (2021) and ndubisi, bassey, igwe, olose and abasiubong (2020) showed that there were some negative attitudes toward people with mis and negative attitudes towards seeking help for mental health. conclusion i. mental health programme significantly affects teachers’ attitudes towards mental illness in benue state. ii. mental health programme significantly affects students’ attitudes towards mental illness in benue state. iii. mental health programme significantly affects teachers’ awareness of mental illness in benue state. iv. mental health programme significantly affects students’ awareness of mental illness in benue state. recommendations 113 the study recommends that there is urgent need to minimize the level of stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness. this can be achieved by manning the attitudes of teachers and students via sensitization programmes, campaigns, rallies and the introduction of school clubs that educates students and teachers on mental health. in addition, clinical psychologists and other concerned bodies should continue to persuade the federal government of nigeria to 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(2017). teachers' perspectives of children's mental health service needs in urban elementary schools. children & schools, 29, 95-107. world health organization (2014). burden of mental and behavioral disorders. geneva: who. world health organization (2016). world health statistics 2016: monitoring health for the sdgs, sustainable development goals. world health organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/206498 https://doi.org/10.1192 https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/206498 page 6 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 72 knowledge and perceived effects of the covid-19 lockdown on hiv prevention amongst students at enugu state university of science and technology, nigeria nwangwu, chukwunwike nnanna ayuk, clara oben eze, ifeoma louisa department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology corresponding author: chukscnn@gmail.com abstract covid-19 lockdown tremendously affected healthcare delivery services globally and hiv prevention programmes, particularly in developing nations like nigeria. in enugu state, an hiv prevalence rate of 2.0% was recorded in 2019, shortly before the outbreak of the covid19 pandemic in 2020. although data for 2021 hiv prevalence in the state appears unavailable, studies have shown that the covid-19 lockdown disrupted hiv prevention programs and slowed down hiv testing to 41% in 2020, which tends to suggest that hiv prevention programs in nigeria may have been affected by covid-19 pandemic. it is noteworthy that while many studies on the effects of covid 19 pandemic in nigeria's higher education institutions focused more on academic activities, little is known about the knowledge and perceived effects of covid-19 lockdown on hiv disease prevention by students in a tertiary educational institution in enugu state, nigeria. this study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. a structured online questionnaire was used to collect data from 343 students in esut. convenience sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. the statistical package for social sciences (spss) 20.0 was used to process the data collected. the data was presented, analyzed, and interpreted using descriptive statistical tools. the results revealed that most students have partial knowledge of hiv prevention. students perceived that covid-19 lockdown increased sexual-based violence and limited access to sexual/reproductive health services. urgent and strategic need for actions by relevant authorities to overcome the potential consequences of the obstructed hiv prevention programs during the pandemic as perceived by students of tertiary institutions in enugu state, nigeria. keywords: covid 19, hiv prevention, knowledge, effects, university students introduction the world health organization declared the covid 19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on 30th january 2020, and a pandemic on 11th march 2020 (who, 2020). globally, the total number of confirmed cases of covid 19 is 585,950,085 while the total number of confirmed deaths is 6,425,422 (who, 2022). in nigeria, there are 262,402 confirmed cases and 3,147 deaths (nigeria centre for disease control, 2022). the covid-19 pandemic has suddenly and deeply changed our lives in a way comparable with the most traumatic events in history, such as the world war (pileggi, 2021). with millions mailto:chukscnn@gmail.com 73 of people infected around the world and already thousands of deaths, there is still a great uncertainty on the actual evolution of the crisis, as well as on the possible post-crisis scenarios, which depend on a number of key variables and factors. one of the visible effects on covid 19 can be seen in the area of health related issues like hiv/aids. the covid-19 pandemic threatens decades of hard-won development and public health gains, including improvements in hiv/aids prevention as demonstrated by the 52% and 38% decline in the number of children and adolescents newly infected with hiv/aids, respectively, since 2010 (unicef, 2021). also, the pandemic and the measures put into place to contain its spread, resulted in a sharp economic downturn, which in turn has had negative impacts on people’s livelihoods and well-being (oecd, 2020). evidence suggests covid-19 has exacerbated the inequality that already existed, with the most vulnerable, marginalized and stigmatized being left behind (oecd, 2020). consequently, the pandemic has brought to the forefront the vulnerabilities that have long been recognized as the structural drivers of the transmission of health related problems such as hiv/aids (unaids, 2020). furthermore, one of the institutions that is greatly affected by covid 19 is educational institutions (nwangwu et al., 2021). at the end of march 2020, about 89% of students worldwide were not attending school because of covid-19 closures and this represents 1.54 billion children and youth enrolled in school or university, including nearly 743 million girls (unesco, 2020). researchers have documented that young persons are perhaps, the most vulnerable to hiv/aids owing to their sexually active nature, and quest to engage in sexual escapades and experimentation (aboki, et al, 2014). the upsurge in hiv cases among students is a matter of particular concern in asia (li, et al., 2019). also in china, the number of newly diagnosed cases of hiv infection among college students in 2017 (3077 cases) was more than tenfold greater than that in 2006 (242 cases), with an annual increase ranging from 30 to 50% over that period (li et al, 2019). over four-fifths of unmarried young people (15–24) in nigeria engaged in at least one risky sexual behaviour in each survey year (adedini et al., 2021). the vulnerability of students who are constantly exposed to hiv due to the prevailing sexual behaviour among them may have been deepened because of the effects of covid 19 disruption preventive services of hiv/aids. hiv infection is preventable and many international/national organizations have continued to labour toward hiv elimination. united nations programme on hiv/aids (2014) launched the 95-95-95 targets which aim to diagnose 95% of all hiv-positive individuals, provide 74 antiretroviral therapy (art) for 95% of those diagnosed and achieve viral suppression for 95% of those treated by 2030. the global fund to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria reported a 41% reduction in hiv testing between april and september 2020 from 502 health facilities across 32 countries in africa and asia (global fund, 2022). in nigeria, a recent study showed that actual hiv services outcomes were below the projected estimated target in the months most affected by covid 19 lockdown and restrictions (katbi et al, 2021). according to naca (2021) national hiv prevention efforts are geared towards reducing the risk of hiv transmission acquired through high-risk sexual behaviours, unsafe blood and blood products, use of non-sterile needles in people who inject drugs, mother-to-child transmission, increase condom and availability/accessibility pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep). however, before the covid-19 pandemic, there was effective prevention in the management of hiv/aids in our society, but since the covid-19 pandemic started, hiv/aids prevention programmes have been interrupted, treatment access has slowed down and research shows that people living with hiv are at higher risks from covid-19 (unaids, 2020). the covid-19 crisis may have amplified the deep inequalities and vulnerabilities that structurally drive the hiv epidemic (iversen, et al., 2022). the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on hiv/aids prevention are many and they affect individuals/organizations and the society at large. according to a recent study by shi, tang, hu, qiu, marley, liu, & fu (2021) some of the effects of covid 19 pandemic on hiv/aids prevention showed that people living with hiv experience more severe outcome and have higher complications from covid-19. hiv prevention services may have been disrupted, and supply chains for key prevention commodities, including condoms, lubricants and antiretroviral and other medicines, seemed to have been stretched (unaids, 2020). therefore, the likelihood of an increase in hiv/aids cases among young people of university age due to coivd 19 related issues may pose as one of the major challenges in the overall hiv/aids prevention strategy for nigeria. the emergence of covid 19 may have further contributed to higher incidence and mortality rates from hiv/aids related causes among this vulnerable group as a result of the obstacles to prevention posed by covid 19 pandemic. however, not many studies have been done to assess the effects of the covid 19 pandemic on hiv prevention among undergraduate students in nigeria. many studies on the impact of covid 19 on higher institutions in nigeria focused mainly on academic-related activities not on health issues such as hiv/aids prevention. however, little is known about knowledge and 75 perceived effects of covid-19 lockdown on hiv disease prevention by students in tertiary educational institutions in enugu state, nigeria. thus, this study investigated the knowledge and perceived effects of the covid-19 lockdown on hiv prevention among students in enugu state university of science and technology. nigeria. method this study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. the design was suitable for the study because it provided the techniques to collect data from selected undergraduate students in esut at a particular point in time. the findings were generalized to the target population. the study was conducted at enugu state university of science and technology (esut). the population of the study comprised of 18,702 undergraduate students who were present at the time of the study at esut (esut academic planning unit, 2021). a total of 343 students were selected using the taro yamane formula for sample size determination. this formula provided simplistic steps for determining the appropriate sample size for a finite (known) population, using a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. the study adopted an online convenient sampling technique. the online google form questionnaire was distributed on esut undergraduate students’ whatsapp forums. the researcher monitored the responses from his back office until the required correctly filled number of questionnaires was gotten and thereafter the online entry was closed. the online data collection period was from july 2021 –august 2021. the data collection instrument was faced valued corrected by professors in the sociology department and pre-tested in other students’ social media platforms to validate its efficiency and effectiveness in answering the research objectives. the necessary adjustments were made before sharing it among selected respondents. verbal and written consent were gotten from the respondents that participated in the study. they were also informed that, at any point in the study, if they were no longer comfortable, they were free to withdraw. the participants voluntarily participated and their confidentiality was maintained in line with ethical standards. the statistical package for social sciences (spss) 20.0 was used to process the data collected with the online questionnaire. the questionnaire data obtained was presented, analyzed, and interpreted using descriptive statistical tools such as simple percentages in tables and bar charts. 76 results socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents the results showed that a majority of the respondents 54.8% were females while 45.2% of them were males. on the academic level of students, the finding showed that a majority of the respondents (61.3%) were in their fourth year of study while only 11.9% were in their first year of study. the results showed that overwhelmed the majority of respondents 73.3% were in the age range of 21 to 26 years while the least 2% were between 33 years and above. the distribution of the respondents by marital status showed that a majority of the respondents 95.5% were single while 3.3% were married and 0.8% were cohabiting. this result is expected among undergraduate students. on religious affiliation, the result showed that a majority of the respondents 62.1% were catholic, this is followed by 20.6% who were pentecostal while 14.4% were protestants. african traditional religion is the least represented with only 2.7% of the total respondents in this study. this agrees with general expectations because majority of christians in nigeria are from south east nigeria. on respondents’ family economic background, the findings showed that the middle class is the most represented with 80.2% while 10.3% were from low income background and only 9.5% indicated upper class economic background. finally, the results showed that 42% of the students currently live with their biological parents while only 1.6% live with foster parents substantive issues knowledge of hiv prevention table 1: distribution of respondents on knowledge of hv prevention knowledge of hiv prevention frequency percentage yes 304 89% no 50 12.7% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 1 revealed that a majority 89% of the respondents indicated that they have knowledge of hiv prevention while 12.7% said that they do not. more questions were posed to the students on how hiv can be prevented in order to ascertain their level of knowledge, the responses are showed in the fig 1 below 77 source: online survey, 2021 fig 1: respondents views of how hiv can be prevention fig 1 showed that a majority of 47% of the respondents indicated protected sexual intercourse as how hiv can be prevented. this is followed by 22% that indicated abstinence from sexual intercourse. only 5% choose the wrong answer of taking birth control pills as part of the ways hiv can be prevented. however, only 2% indicated that pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) and 3% choose to avoid homosexual intercourse as part of ways to prevent hiv respectively. the implication of this finding may be that students have partial knowledge of hiv prevention because they were less familiar with the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) and avoiding men having sex with men as ways to prevent hiv. effects covid 19 lockdown on hiv prevention table: 2: distribution of respondents on whether covid 19 lockdown affected hiv prevention response frequency percentage yes 315 92% no 28 8% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 2 showed a vast majority of the respondents 92% affirmed that covid 19 lockdown affected hiv prevention while only 8% disagreed. follow up questions were asked to ascertain how covid 19 lockdown affected hiv prevention. the responses are shown in the tables below 22% 47% 16% 5% 2% 5% 3% abstinence from sexual intercourse protected sexual intercourse non use of unsafe blood and non-sterile needles take drug to prevent motherto-child hiv transmission pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) take birth control pills aviod homosexual intercourse 78 table: 3: distribution of respondents on whether it was hard for students to access hiv counselling and testing during covid19 lockdown response frequency percentage yes, hard 127 37% somewhat hard 79 23% no, not hard 58 16.9% don’t remember 79 23% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 3 showed that (37%) of respondents were affirmative that it was hard for students to access hiv counselling and testing during covid19 while (17%) of respondents said that it was not hard for students to access hiv counselling during covid19. however, a large proportion (23%) of the respondents indicates that they could not remember if it was hard or not. the implication is that although many students could not access hiv counselling and testing during the covid 19 lockdown, a large number appear to lesser fare attitude towards hiv counselling and testing. furthermore, questions on whether covid 19 lockdown increased the likelihood of risky sexual behaviour among students. the responses are shown below: table 4: distribution of respondents on how likely covid19 lockdown increase student’s vulnerability to risky sexual behaviour responses frequency percentage not at all likely 61 17.7% a little likely 121 35.4% somewhat likely 59 17.3% very likely 102 29.6% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 the results from table 4 showed that overwhelming majority 82.3% were positive that covid 19 lockdown increased the likelihood of risky sexual behaviour among students while 17.7% gave negative responses. also, more questions were posed on how covid 19 lockdown increased the vulnerability of students to hiv infections. the responses are shown in the table below: table 5: distribution of respondents on whether students were exposed to unprotected sexual intercourse during the covid 19 lockdown response frequency percentage yes 147 42.8% no 167 48.6% i don’t know 29 8.6% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 79 table 5 showed that 49% of the students perceived that students were not exposed more to unprotected sexual intercourse during the covid 19 lockdown while 43% believed that students were exposed however, 9% were indifferent. due to a majority did not perceive to be exposed to unprotected sexual intercourse, the study also implies that almost half of the students studied during which covid 19 lockdown were made vulnerable to unprotected sexual relations. also, question on whether covid 19 lockdown exacerbated gender/sexual based violence on the students. the responses are shown in the table below table 6: distribution of respondents on whether students were exposed to gender/sexual based violence during the covid 19 lockdown response frequency percentage yes 258 75.2% no 56 16.3% i don’t know 29 8.4% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 results from table 6 showed that an overwhelming majority 75.2% affirmed that covid 19 lockdown exacerbated gender/sexual based violence on students while 16.3% said no; only 8.4% do not have an idea about that. in addition, questions were asked to ascertain among the identified factors which one mostly increased the vulnerability of students to hiv infections during the covid 19 lockdown table 7: distribution of respondents on which of the following mostly increased the vulnerability of students to hiv infections during the covid 19 lockdown responses frequency percentages increased gender/sexual based violence 105 30.5% increased unwanted pregnancy 25 7.4% increased sti’s 62 18.1% limited access to condom 76 22.2% interrupted access to youth friendly hiv services 75 21.8% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 7 showed that a majority (30.5%) of the respondents responded that increased gender/sexual based violence mostly increased the vulnerability of students to hiv infections during the covid 19 lockdown. this is closely followed by (22.2%) who indicated limited access to condoms while (21.2%) said that it interrupted access to youth friendly hiv services. 80 the implication of this finding may be because gender based violence such as rape increased spontaneously during the covid 19 lockdown. way forward table 8: distribution of respondents on whether they have attended any hiv prevention exercise after the covid 19 lockdown responses frequency percentage yes 118 34.2% no 207 60.1% i don’t know 18 5.7% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 from table 8, a majority 60.1% of respondents said that they have not attended any hiv prevention exercise after the covid 19 lockdown while 34.2% respondents indicated they have attended. the respondents were further asked about ways to reduce the effects of the covid 19 lockdown on hiv prevention. the results are shown in the table below table 9: distribution of respondents on ways to reduce the effects covid 19 on hiv prevention response frequency percentage create more awareness of hiv prevention on campus 238 69.5% provide youth friendly hiv services 41 11.9% make laws to strengthen hiv prevention 19 5.4% implement more hiv preventive interventions 45 13.2% total 343 100% source: online survey, 2021 table 9 showed that a majority of the respondents 69.5% respondents indicated creating more awareness of hiv prevention on campus while 13.2% of respondents suggested implementing more hiv preventive interventions. also, more than 10% said providing youth-friendly hiv services. discussion the study revealed that the majority of the respondents have partial knowledge of hiv prevention. this is closely in agreement with a study done to assess the level of knowledge on 81 hiv/aids and its risk factors and attitude towards hiv/aids among 400 university students in xinjiang (maimaiti, et al, 2010). also, a similar study conducted in ghana showed that the majority of the respondents 312 (96.3%) were able to correctly identify one or more modes of hiv of transmission (oppong, & oti-boadi, 2013). however, the study discovered that the level of knowledge of many students on some aspects of hiv prevention such as the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) was limited. this finding is in agreement with another study conducted on knowledge, awareness and willingness to use hiv pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) among students at the university of namibia which concluded that knowledge and use of prep were low (nakathingo et al, 2021). prep, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is medicine people at risk for hiv take to prevent getting hiv from sex or injection drug use (centers for disease control and prevention, 2022). prep reduces the risk of getting hiv from sex by about 99% and reduces the risk of getting hiv from injection drug use by at least 74% (centers for disease control and prevention, 2022). the implication of this finding is that gains that would have been made in hiv prevention through the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) medicine among these vulnerable population is lost because they have partial knowledge of hiv prevention. also, the study found that covid 19 lockdown made it hard for students to access hiv counselling and testing. globally, coivid 19 related disruption affected service delivery in almost all sectors. there seems to be a scarcity of studies on hiv testing coverage among university students during and after covid 19 lockdown however, a recent technical report by who (2021) across some countries in africa on the impact of covid 19 on hiv testing revealed that between april and june 2020, hiv testing volumes decreased by 22.3%, 49.9% and 34.8% in zambia, south africa and malawi, respectively when compared to reporting between january and march 2020. in addition, the global fund (2022) report showed that hiv testing fall by 41% between april and september 2020 from 502 health facilities across 32 countries in africa and asia. in nigeria, less than a quarter of the adolescents and young adults (aya) 23.7% had ever tested for hiv and this was an indication that hiv testing coverage among aya in nigeria is well below the national target of 95% indicated in the national hiv/aids strategic framework (2017–2021) (ajayi, 2020). this implies that the negative attitude of youth-in-school towards hiv counselling and testing; may have been exacerbated by the covid 19 disruption on hiv services could have affected the low figure of new infections in nigeria. 82 furthermore, the findings showed that many of the respondents perceived that covid 19 lockdown increased students’ vulnerability to risky sexual behaviour. further interrogation on the nature of vulnerability to risky sexual behaviour revealed that the majority of the respondents have the perception that students were likely to be exposed to unprotected sexual intercourse and gender/sexual based violence during the covid 19 lockdown. this among other things may be because the preventive practices of some people who were sexually active during the lockdowns were focused on preventing covid-19, while the risk of stis such as hiv was downplayed (okeke et al, 2021). the finding is in consonance with some recent studies. a study in the uk among young people revealed that covid 19 disrupted access and use of condoms which affected sexual risk-taking and preventive practices, unmet need for sexually transmitted infection (sti) testing, and switch from freely provided to commercially sold condoms practice (lewis et al, 2021). in a related study among australian heterosexual young adults, the result showed that during covid 19 restrictions there was a general decline in condom use and this decrease was more pronounced among single people (dacosta et al, 2021). on the other hand, studies have shown that covid 19 also exacerbated the incidence of gender and sexual based violence especially among young girls (united nations population fund, 2020; mutongwiza, 2020). studies in south africa and nigeria among students revealed that emotional or verbal violence and sexual violence were prevalent during covid 19 (udigwe et al, 2021; mutinta, 2022). the implication of these findings is that since both lack of access of condoms and gender/sexual violence are independent risk factors for hiv infection, there may have been escalated by covid 19 which requires urgent attention in order not to lose the gains from previous interventions. conclusion it is a fact that covid 19 has disrupted hiv services including prevention and exacerbated the vulnerability of students to hiv infection. the global mandate to eliminate hiv infection by 2030 may remain a mirage especially in a developing country like nigeria. hence, the urgent and strategic need for actions by 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(2021). consequences of covid-19 crisis for persons with hiv: the impact of social determinants of health. bmc public health, 21(1), 1-7. who (2020). covid-19 public health emergency of international concern (pheic) global research and innovation forum. retrieved september 13, 2022, from https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-internationalconcern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum. who (2021). assessment of hiv testing services and antiretroviral therapy service disruptions in the context of covid-19: lessons learned and way forward in sub-saharan africa. technical report hiv testing serviceshttps://apps.who.int › rest › bitstreams › retrieve.who, https://www.who.int/health-topics/hiv-aids/#tab=tab_1. world health organization. (2016). world health statistics 2016: monitoring health for the sdgs sustainable development goals. world health organization. https://www.unfpa.org/news/millions-more-cases-violence-child-marriage-female-genital-mutilation-unintended-pregnancies https://www.unfpa.org/news/millions-more-cases-violence-child-marriage-female-genital-mutilation-unintended-pregnancies https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum https://www.who.int/health-topics/hiv-aids/#tab=tab_1 page 5 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 105 the role of usa in combating terrorism in afghanistan, 2016-2020 netchy mbaeze department of political science enugu state university of science and technology abstract events throughout history have been necessitated some response from humankind. one of such major events that appear to have changed the global security scene was the september 11, 2001 attack on the us by an afghan based terrorist group. this study thereby sets out to study the role of us in combating terrorism in afghanistan. the set objectives are to examine the impact of terrorism on the political development of afghanistan; to examine us responses in combating terrorism in afghanistan. the researcher made use of ex post facto research design. documentary method of data collection and content analysis were also adopted. the study was anchored on strategic theory. findings revealed that terrorism has impacted negatively on the political development of afghanistan. terrorist activities in afghanistan have not just destabilized the political system but also made them largely dependent on external forces for their protection. it also revealed that the us response helped in combating terrorism in afghanistan by dislodged terrorists from major cities thereby reducing incidences of human right abuse. among others, the researcher recommends an increased international pressure on the taliban regime to run an all-inclusive government to help stabilize the political system. keywords: afghanistan, humanity, human rights, protection, terrorism, introduction background of the study throughout history, events that impact on humanity have necessitated diverse responses by mankind in an attempt to forestall recurrence or minimize its repercussions. occurrences of this nature engender unilateral, bilateral or multilateral actions to deal with them. there are many examples of these events and the resulting responses. in the first half of the twentieth century, the first and the second world wars are examples of events that have drawn global responses. due to the massive loss of life and the untold hardship the first and the second world wars caused, the world responded by forming the league of nations and the united nations (un) respectively to prevent futures wars of such magnitude. in contemporary times, one event has drawn international reaction and seems to have changed the international security system, arguably since the end of the cold war. the usled intervention in afghanistan in late 2001 and the subsequent international peace-building and peacekeeping effort marked a significant shift in the pattern of international military intervention, reflecting the changed international circumstances of the post -11 september 2001 world. during the 1990s there was much debate on the subject of humanitarian intervention. in bosnia and herzegovina, east timor, somalia and yugoslavia, major powers undertook military interventions motivated in significant part by humanitarian concern to prevent or end large-scale loss of life and human suffering. arguably, this represented a significant shift away from more traditional military interventions motivated by narrow 106 national interests and towards what became known as humanitarian intervention. the legitimacy of such interventions, however, remained controversial as was the extent to which they might become part of a significant longer-term trend in international politics. many countries responded by initiating measures to bolster their internal and external security systems against terrorism. in the united states (us) for instance, responsibility for airport security screening was swiftly put under the us transportation security administration (tsa), with us airports carrying out hundred percent screening of checked baggage for explosives and passengers subjected to much more thorough screening procedures. many countries also adopted similar procedures, including all the major european countries. yet, there were major terrorist attacks in afghanistan as well as in iraq, pakistan, london and madris. africa has also had its share of major terrorism prior to and post-september 11, 2001. kenya and tanzania suffered simultaneous terrorist attacks in 1998 when car bombs destroyed the us embassies in nairobi and dar es salaam, the capitals of kenya and tanzania respectively. these attacks killed at least eighty people and injured over 1600 others. postseptember 11, kenya, especially, has suffered other terrorist attacks, including a major attack on the westgate shopping mall in nairobi which lasted from september 21 to 24, 2013. the attack was claimed by al-shabaab, a somali militant group, killed sixty-seven people and injured 175 more. these attacks in various parts of the world and in africa appeared not to have triggered the required response from most west africa countries. however, recent events have dramatically changed the situation. the emergence or indeed, the resurgence of terrorism has brought the threats of terrorism to the attention of governments, corporate bodies, civil societies and ordinary citizens alike. in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the united states, the us-led coalition in afghanistan was motivated more by extended national interests than by humanitarianism. the rationale and the formal legal basis for the us-led intervention were self-defense. however, the coalition involved goals that were radically different from those of most past interventions the dismantlement of an international terrorist network and the removal of the regime that had given support to that network. despite the reluctance of the usa to engage in what it termed nation building, the us-led intervention quickly led to a parallel international peace-building and peacekeeping effort in afghanistan motivated in part by humanitarian concerns but at least as much by the fear that instability in afghanistan could all too easily reproduce the circumstances that had allowed the country to become a base for international terrorism. the international intervention in afghanistan has thus been characterized by the distinctive combination of parallel, separate but interrelated counter-terrorist and peacebuilding/peacekeeping operations. the longer-term impact of this intervention, and in particular the success or failure of its peace-building and peacekeeping component, remains to be seen. statement of the problem the comparatively weak security in some countries, worsened by weak economics makes issues of security a great concern. the security sector of most african countries is characterized by ill-equipped security agencies, inadequate collaboration among the various agencies, poor communication network and general lack of logistics support. low budgetary allocation for training, poor intelligence sharing mechanisms and outmoded concept of security has compounds the situation. more so, the emerging security threats appear to be mostly transnational in nature. meanwhile, the international borders of most countries are porous. the 107 porosity of the frontiers is exacerbated by the economic community of west africa state’s (ecowas) protocol on free movement of people goods and services. terrorists could therefore operate across borders easily, making all countries susceptible to terrorist attacks. additionally, it could facilitate terrorists and criminal gangs to also elude apprehension, as has been demonstrated by boko haram to a large extent. for instance, the activities of boko haram are not limited to only nigeria. boko haram has also carried out attacks and abductions in chad as well as in cameroon, including the abduction of the wife of the cameroonian deputy prime minister on july 27, 2014. so far, boko haram has successfully carried out their operations and gotten away as reported by the media almost daily. for instance, december 1 and 5 2014, a number of attacks were carried out by boko haram without any of the militants being apprehended, as reported by the muscat daily newspaper. another area that makes most countries, including afghanistan, vulnerable to terrorism is the fact that terrorists do not need to travel across borders to attack a country like afghanistan. there are people in ghana who share similar ideology like those espoused by groups like alqaeda. the emerging threats of terrorism are therefore a danger to the security and economic development not only for the countries experiencing activities of terrorists. nonetheless, the obvious security implications of disclosing u.s response preparedness, a cursory look at the existing structures, including the training doctrines of key agencies such as the us special operations forces (sof), u international security assistance force (isaf) and the un assistance mission in afghanistan (unama) appear to suggest some guidelines this direction and help in combating it. research questions 1. how has terrorism impacted on the political development of afghanistan state? 2. how has the u.s response helped in combating terrorism in afghanistan? objectives of the study the study censoriously examined the issue of terrorism in the afghanistan and the role of untied state in combating them from the specific year of 2016-2020. the specific objectives of the study are: 1. to examine the impact of terrorism on the political development of afghanistan state. 2. to examine the u.s responses in combating terrorism in afghanistan significance of the study the study has both theoretical and practical significance. theoretically, this study will add to the knowledge of existing literature on terrorism, the role of us in the fight against terrorism and the mechanisms required to fight against terrorism in afghanistan. practically, this study brings to fore the measures and preparation that are required by the states, through its security agencies, other state/non-state organs and civil society to help deal with the emerging threats of terrorism. it also proposes measures that the country could adopt, in collaboration with other sub-regional and regional agencies, to prevent or minimize terrorist attack against afghanistan. 108 literature review background to the intervention in afghanistan. the principal objective of u.s. policy in afghanistan since the 9-11 attacks has been and appropriately continues to be to ensure that the country does not become a haven for virulent salafi (radical anti-western jihadi) terrorist groups like al qaeda. the premise underlying this policy subsequent to the toppling of the taliban regime in 2001 is that if any part of the liberated territory once again comes under the control of salafi groups or a taliban sympathetic to such groups, their capacity to increase the lethality and frequency of their terrorist attacks including against u.s. assets will increase since they will be able to use the safe-havens to plan and train for their operations and more easily escape retaliation by the united states and the international community. the last few years have seen the rise in interest on matters relating to terrorism in africa. this has partly arisen from the frequent occurrences of terror attacks, the extreme violence involved and the increasing number of terrorist groups in different parts of the world. some of the common concerns that has generated a range of literature include the causes of terrorism, how to end the current spate of terrorism and measure to prevent terrorism in other parts of the country. there are various views by scholars and commentators to achieve these goals. these views are nearly as diverse as the number of writers and commentators who have tried to make sense of this new and compounding challenge confronting the entire sub-region. in his article, nigeria's troubled north: interrogating the drivers of public support for boko haram, akinola olojo examines the key drivers of public support for boko haram in northern nigeria. the paper suggested that in addition to the generally held view that the underlying causes of terrorism in nigeria are internal factors including poverty, age-old economic inequality and structural violence, there is a growing believes that the boko haram insurgency has an international dimension. this assertion stems from the strategy and extreme violence, including suicide bombing, that boko haram has adopted in the conduct of their terrorist activities. according to olojo, this strategy is typical of international terrorists elsewhere and this type of terrorism is unprecedented in nigeria. olojo argued that in spite of their violent activities, boko haram has been able to win support among the uneducated, unemployed and impoverished young people in areas where they are based. the paper alluded to the influence of politicians and elite interest in the insurgency of boko haram. it also highlighted the manner in which boko haram has taken advantage of providing social services to the poor in the community to alienate the people against the state for the latter’s failure to meet the needs of the former. this goes to affirm the general believe that where the state fails in its responsibility to provide the basic needs of the masses, other non-state actors may fill the gap, and if such actors have extreme views, they could easily influence the masses against the state. the role of non-state institutional leadership at the local, national and state levels in resolving the boko haram issue is addressed by the paper. the paper focuses on the role of religion and how it is manipulated by boko haram to generate mass appeal among the people in the north-eastern part of nigeria. it also assesses the linkages that exist between boko haram and other terrorist groups in west africa and beyond. the paper also discusses some measures that could be adopted by the nigerian authorities to resolve the boko haram crisis. 109 olojo suggests effective formulation and implementation of a proactive counterterrorism strategy. he proposes an incisive understanding of the political, socio-economic and religious/ideological drivers of public support for the group to help stem the group’s ability to elude counterterrorism efforts. since the boko haram crisis in northern nigeria seems to challenge conventional approaches to addressing violent conflicts, olojo advocates the need for a bold mix of interventions and partnerships that combine elements of both hard and soft power. edward newman in his article "exploring the root causes of terrorism" classifies the causes of terrorism into root causes and precipitant causes. the root causes are the main focus of his paper in which he argued that "certain conditions provide a social environment and widespread grievances that, when combined with certain precipitant factors, result in the emergence of terrorist organizations and terrorist act." the article attempts to clarify what is meant by “root causes”. the paper also considers if the analysis of root causes helps to explain how, where and why terrorism occurs. the author identified factors such as poverty, demographic factors, social inequality and exclusion, dispossession and political grievances as being some main underlying causes of terrorism. newman further grouped the underlying causes into permissive structural factors and direct root causes. with respect to the former, newman noted poverty, demographic factors and urbanization. the paper looked at poverty at the individual and state levels, with the author arguing that at the individual level, "poverty can breed resentment and desperation and support for political extremism". at the state level, the paper suggested that, “poor societies often make for weak states, which may not have the capacity to prevent terrorist activity or recruitment. they also lack the capacity for the type of educational programmes that might help reduce support for terrorism.” under the demographic factors, newman says that issues such as rapid population growth, particularly among the male population and skewed distribution of this male population across diverse ethnic groups may contribute to the start of hostility. newman believes that urbanization, compounded by poverty and worsened by unemployment, can adversely influence dissatisfied society. this disaffection could then be exploited be extremists’ groups to enable them recruit and mobilize in deprived urban communities. newman argues that the root causes of islamic fundamentalism and terrorism is attributable to the “clash of values.” according to newman, leadership, funding, state sponsorship and political upheaval are just precipitant factors. they are only catalysts that trigger terrorism. he therefore argues that emergence of terrorist groups and their activities could be viewed as being dependent upon the root causes. the paper concludes with the view that no matter how prepared a society is militarily, it will not be immune from terrorism until the sources of terrorism are appreciated and appropriate mechanisms put in place to combat them. u.s. counter-terrorism and other interests in afghanistan while al qaeda has been severely degraded, it has lost none of its zeal to strike western countries and undermine governments in asia, the middle east, and africa. the group continues to look for opportunities to exploit and territories to colonize, even if only vicariously through proxies, such as in western and eastern africa, even if some of its local alliances are only fleeting and unreliable. in afghanistan, the terrorist group has also experienced a resurgence in territories where the presence of the afghan government and international 110 military forces is limited and weak. the islamic state in afghanistan, a newer terrorist group in name, consisting of various taliban splinter elements and other relabeled militant groups, is also a prime u.s. target. however, u.s. interests in afghanistan go beyond terrorism. an unstable afghanistan risks also destabilizing pakistan, and as a result, the entire region of central and south asia. pakistan’s tribal areas as well as baluchistan and other areas deep in pakistan, including karachi, for example, have been host to many of the salafi groups, and the afghan taliban and its vicious haqqani branch use these areas as safe-havens. thus, pakistan’s cooperation is crucial for effectively countering terrorism in afghanistan, even if as yet largely not forthcoming. but the reverse is also true: if afghanistan is unstable and contains salafi groups that leak over into pakistan, pakistan itself becomes deeply destabilized and distracted from tackling its other crises, including militancy in the punjab and a host of domestic calamities, such as intense political contestation, a distorted economy, widespread poverty, and a severe energy crisis. a disintegration of the afghan state or an outbreak of a full-blown civil war will be a great boost to salafi groups throughout the world: once again, a great power will be seen as having been defeated by the salafists in afghanistan. from a strategic perceptions’ standpoint, few areas are as important as afghanistan. the view that the united states has been defeated does not require that the taliban retake over the country. from the salafi perspective, merely a gradual, but steady crumbling of the kabul government, with a progressively greater accretion of territory and power by the taliban, would be sufficient to claim victory. the u.s. reputation and self-regard as a country that can be relied upon to honor its commitments are at stake in afghanistan. in mobilizing support for operation enduring freedom, the mission to topple the taliban regime in the wake of 9-11, the united states made a pledge to the afghan people to help them improve their difficult condition and not abandon them once again. although often caricatured as anti-western, anti-government, anti-modern, and stuck in medieval times, afghans crave what others do – relief from violence and insecurity and sufficient economic progress to escape dire, grinding poverty. but on its own, the altruistic concern for the people of afghanistan is not sufficient for the u.s. to undertake or to perpetuate what has turned out to be an immensely costly effort. nor should the tyranny of sunk costs determine u.s. policy in afghanistan. to paraphrase u.s. strategist george kennan’s counsel to the senate committee on foreign relations about the u.s. war in vietnam, the hallmark of a great power is to know when to liquidate unwise commitments. however, u.s. engagement in afghanistan, including our deployment of adequate military force, still advances key u.s. interests and provides a crucial lifeline for the afghan government and the country’s pluralistic post 9-11 political dispensation. moreover, once the united states made its initial decision to intervene, consideration for the elemental needs of the afghan people whose lives we have altered so profoundly must matter. background on terrorism threats from afghanistan in february 2020, the u.s. government signed a peace deal with the afghan taliban to withdraw u.s. forces from afghanistan. this landmark pact intended to end the united states’ longest war against the insurgency of the afghan taliban. it centered on an agreement to withdraw u.s. troops in return for guarantees by the taliban that afghan territory will not be used for mounting international terrorism. for much of the negotiation process, american negotiators pushed the afghan taliban to commit that it would not adopt the same policies as before the 9/11 attacks in the united states seeing those policies as the cause of the terrorist attacks. back then, the afghan taliban provided refuge to al-qaeda, who in turn reportedly 111 paid up to $20 million a year for the haven to the taliban. al-qaeda used the sanctuary in afghanistan to set up training camps, where it trained a large army of foreign jihadists. within these camps, it created a dedicated covert faction to engage in international terrorism operations. it also devoted some capital to a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear operation in afghanistan. the u.s. government’s insistence on guarantees from the taliban against al-qaeda was not misplaced. despite intense u.s. counterterrorism pressure in the years after 9/11, the afghan taliban maintained a strong alliance with al-qaeda. as per multiple accounts, al-qaeda helped the afghan taliban in organizing the insurgency against u.s. forces, especially in the east of the country. in this period, al-qaeda only maintained a nominal presence of its own organization inside afghanistan and instead supported the taliban’s insurgency with strategic advice and material aid from bases in pakistan’s tribal areas. the most significant al-qaeda operation inside afghanistan was located in the eastern province of kunar. but this balance changed after 2014, when al-qaeda shifted much of its pakistan-based operation to afghanistan’s eastern and southern provinces in the early years of the insurgency, taliban leaders embraced and publicized their alliance with foreign jihadists, such as al-qaeda. even as late as 2010, taliban leaders espoused a commitment to the ideology of transnational jihad and sought to mobilize the support of jihadist constituencies in the middle east. at the same time, despite this, some in the taliban ranks showed discomfort with support of al-qaeda. this view can even be traced to the pre-9/11 years. select leaders argued that association with alqaeda was not in the early years of the insurgency, taliban leaders embraced and publicized their alliance with foreign jihadists, such as al-qaeda.16 even as late as 2010, taliban leaders espoused a commitment to the ideology of transnational jihad and sought to mobilize the support of jihadist constituencies in the middle east . at the same time, despite this, some in the taliban ranks showed discomfort with support of al-qaeda. this view can even be traced to the pre-9/11 years. select leaders argued that association with al-qaeda was not worth the wrath of the u.s. government and the loss of what the taliban had before the 9/11 an “islamic emirate.” starting in the late 2000s, possibly under internal pressure as well as u.s. battlefield pressure, the afghan taliban sought to conceal its ties with groups of foreign fighters in afghanistan, including alqaeda. this appears to have been done in consultation with al-qaeda, as its top central and region leadership continued to publicly pledge a religious oath of loyalty called the bay’ah to the taliban. alqaeda ideologue atiyyat allah al-libi is reported to have informed al-qaeda members on the taliban’s public stance toward the group: “of course, the taliban’s policy is to avoid being seen with us or revealing any cooperation or agreement between us and them. that is for the purpose of averting international and regional pressure and out of consideration for regional dynamics. we defer to them in this regard.” in line with expectations of a continued alliance, the u.s. government regularly found evidence of battlefield cooperation between alqaeda and the taliban, including al-qaeda camps and leadership in the security of or proximate to the taliban’s insurgent rankand-file. in addition to afghan taliban and al-qaeda, since 2014, another armed actor grew in salience: the islamic state. following the emergence of the islamic state in iraq and syria (isis) in 2014, the islamic state started obtaining pledges in eastern afghanistan and the tribal areas of pakistan. the group’s iraq-based leadership appointed hafiz saeed, a former leader of the pakistani insurgent group ttp, as the first leader of the movement, with a purview of both afghanistan and pakistan. this branch was known as the islamic state’s “khorasan province.” saeed built on salafist enclaves in the east of afghanistan and successfully poached fighters from various jihadist groups in the region, such as the afghan taliban, the ttp, and al-qaeda. 112 in the initial years after its founding, the islamic state gained in eastern and select parts of northern afghanistan, making major inroads in the provinces of jowzjan, kunar, and nangarhar. in the east, the group gained control of large swathes of territory. it also set up state-like institutions, modeling itself on the caliphate in iraq and syria. the group attracted a stream of foreign fighters, primarily from south and central asia, and regularly conducted attacks against military and civilian targets in major urban areas. among civilians, the islamic state prioritized targeting of vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities. in 2014, the u.s. government, along with afghan security forces, launched a targeted campaign against the islamic state in afghanistan. this campaign was a part of the global coalition to defeat isis. the taliban also mounted separate military operations to target the islamic state. gap in literature it was perhaps the effort to come to terms with the awful security dilemma presented by the so called fourth generation warfare-terrorism that has led to the impressive spawning of literature about its nature, causes and global implications as well as the the role of u.s in combating terrorism in afganistan. the extant literature focuses on the conceptualization, history, and causalities of terrorism. from the literature review, it was found that there are extensive literature in the field of terrorism and counter terrorism, most of it written after 1968. however, most of these works either fall into the trap of being ideologically biased (wilkinson, 1987; krueger, 2001; krueger & maleckova, 2002), purely psychological (crenshaw, 1990; black 2004; silke, 2004). furthermore, the bulk of the research is dedicated to conceptual or definitional problems (senechal de la roche, 1996; black, 2004; kimmel, 2003; eckstein, 1972; gurr, 1970; skjolberg, 2000) and only limited effort was put into systematic, empirical work. thus, the existing literature suffers from lack of good empirically grounded research on the role u.s played in combating terrorism with reference to afganistan. theoretical framework a theoretical framework is a scheme for adopting or applying the assumptions, postulations and principles of a theory in the description and analysis of a research problem. however, the confines and focus of a research influence the choice of the theoretical framework to be adopted in a particular study. hence, for appropriate examination of role of the united states of america in combating terrorism in afghanistan strategic theory was adopted. strategic theory strategic theory, over the course of 40 years, permeated the domain of international relations and political science through the works of thomas schelling and colin gray and has been increasingly used and acknowledged as a tool to assist in the comprehension of decision making (yarger, 2006). henry eccles (1979) one of the strategic theorists described strategy as the comprehensive direction of power to control situations and areas in order to attain objectives. this description captured much of the essence of strategy. it provides direction, its purpose is control, and it is fundamentally concerned with the application of power. 113 in this context, strategy is the employment of the instruments (elements) of power (political/ diplomatic, economic, military, and informational) to achieve the political objectives of the state in cooperation or in competition with other actors pursuing their own objectives. assumptions of strategic theory include: 1. states and other competitive entities have interests that they will pursue to the best of their abilities. interests are desired end states such as survival, economic well – being, and enduring national values. the national elements of power are the resources used to promote or advance national interests. 2. there is a deployment of available resources to gain any objective and this is an endeavour to relate ends to means. 3. political actors are the central unit of analysis. therefore, understanding the political actors value system and preferences are imperative. 4. there must be a study of how the political actors construct their interests, which, thereby, inform the objectives they strive for and the manner in which they seek to attain them. 5. the actor behaves rationally in pursuit of its aims. that is, an actor’s decisions are made after careful cost – benefit calculation and the means chosen seem optimal to accomplish the desired end. strategic theory is the most appropriate theory to explain this research work. the application of this theory was done using the ends (objectives), ways (strategic concepts/ courses of action) and means (resources) paradigm of the theory. united states of america has a clear cut objective in the middle east which is to combat the rising terrorist activities. the strategic theory states that political actors formulate objectives that are guided by interest. consequently, byman and moller (2016) opined that the following are the interests of u.s.a in the middle east: to ensure the free flow of oil at a stable price; champion non-nuclear proliferation course; guarantee the security of israel and foster democracy in the middle east. unfortunately, these interests in the middle east are threatened by the rampaging catastrophic terrorist activities. hence, usa has devised some courses of action (ways) which are political (diplomatically), military, economic and social to combat these terrorist activities. consequently, usa has deployed resources (means) to pursue the greater end. these means are both tangible and intangible in nature, they comprised: deployment of systematic air campaigns against the terrorists (strategy of aerial bombardment); training, advising and supplying of equipment to local allied forces; global partnership against terrorism. hypotheses 1. terrorism has impacted on the political development of afghanistan state 2. the u.s response has helped in combating terrorism in afghanistan research design 114 this is the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. this research work had a qualitative orientation. this means that it collected and worked with non – numerical data and sought to interpret meaning from these data. explanatory research design was utilized in the present study. explanatory research is used to identify any causal link between the factors or variables that pertain to the research problem. explanatory research focuses on explaining the aspects of a study in a detailed manner. it allowed the researcher to explore the research with a varying level of depths; connect different ideas; understand the different reasons, causes and the effects of variables. while exploring the explanatory research design, the researcher narrowed down the very broad field of the research the activities of isis in the middle east into two easily researchable case studies which were (the isis activities in iraq and syria). this helped the researcher to understand and tackle the problem more efficiently by dealing with the carefully selected cases of the phenomenon. method of data collection documentary method of data collection was employed. contents of documentary materials with literature related to the subject matter such as text books, newspapers, magazines, conference papers, bulletin, published and unpublished articles, official gazettes online materials were examined. method of data analysis this study employed content analysis as the method of data analysis. this helped in making replicable and valid inferences by interpreting textual materials and systematically evaluating them. in line with this, there was thematic selection and focus on qualitative data to address our research questions and hypotheses. using this method of analysis, meaning were extracted and based on logical chains of evidence, inferences were drawn upon and conclusion made. terrorism has impacted on the political development of afghanistan state taliban, al qaeda and is-k in afghanistan the taliban have reassured the global community that they will forbid terrorist groups, especially al qaeda and the is-k (the islamic state of iraq and the levant – khorasan province), from committing terrorist acts in other countries. al qaeda is neither as strong nor as influential as it was in 2001. however, many fears al qaeda’s revival under the taliban regime, considering the latter still defends osama bin laden and denies his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. al qaeda’s leadership also recently issued a statement congratulating the islamic emirate (read: taliban) for its victory in afghanistan. an excerpt from the statement noted: on this historic occasion, we would like to offer our congratulations to the leadership of the islamic emirate, specifically haibatullah akhundzada. it is worth noting that ayman al zawahiri, in the past, has given "bay'ah" (or pledge of allegiance) to all taliban heads, including mullah omar, mullah akhtar mansur and hebatullah akhundzada. this statement and the group’s pledge also mean that al qaeda does enjoy a working relationship, however, due to 115 international pressures and prior commitments, the taliban may allow al qaeda to carry out limited tacit activity within afghanistan; which may be limited to recruitment or social media propaganda. as for the is-k, the group remains a problem for the taliban. the kabul airport attack on august 26, 2021, which claimed nearly 200 lives (mostly afghans), brought into perspective the seriousness of the is-k threat in afghanistan. china quickly called on the taliban to take stern action against the is-k after the attack, with chinese spokesperson zhao lijian claiming that the taliban had assured beijing of not allowing any forces to harm china through incursions made via afghanistan. on paper, statements from the taliban suggest that the group intends to act against the is-k. when it comes to action, the practicalities of such actions are both vague and complex. in their local media talks, taliban spokespersons have hoped that the us withdrawal from afghanistan, which marks an end of foreign occupation, will encourage is-k fighters to stop conducting terrorist attacks. such statements sound more like wishful thinking than a pragmatic policy layout. afghan taliban’s relationship with al-qaeda: the ties that bind as part of the agreement with the u.s. government, the afghan taliban has pledged to break from al-qaeda and ban the use of afghan territory for terrorism against other countries. but important senior u.s. officials continue to be skeptical. for example, centcom chief mckenzie recently stated: “…we believe the taliban actually are no friends of isis and work against them. it is less clear to me that they will take the same action against al-qaeda.” for now, the evidence points to no significant break in the relationship between the afghan taliban and al-qaeda. the u.n. recently reported that al-zawahiri personally negotiated with senior afghan taliban leadership to obtain assurances of continued support. to the extent this information is correct, these talks appear to have been successful; the afghan taliban has neither publicly renounced al-qaeda nor taken any discernible action to crack down against it. representatives of the afghan taliban who interact with the press also remain evasive when asked to clarify their position on al-qaeda. in select instances, the taliban insist that there are no foreign fighters in afghanistan. scholars of al-qaeda pointed to the history between the two groups, which can be traced back to the afghan jihad against the soviet union. some argue that alqaeda and an important sub-group of the taliban, the haqqani network, are bound by ties of marriage among families of key leaders. al-qaeda also remains popular among the rank-and-file of the taliban. per some accounts, the experience of fighting together against a common foe, like the united states, has brought them closer. while all these factors are important, there appears to be a firm political basis for the relationship. both groups fit into each other’s ideology-based political projects. al-qaeda sees the afghan taliban as an able ideological partner in its stewardship of global jihad a group whose virtues al-qaeda can extol before the muslim world. it also potentially sees the taliban as a powerful ally, whose resurgence in afghanistan offers major political and material advantages. among political gains, the taliban’s continued rise validates that jihadist victories against powerful states like the u.s. are realistic and viable. among material gains, the relationship provides the opportunity to move leadership and personnel from syria, iran, pakistan, and jordan to afghanistan. in the medium term, al-qaeda may look to establish a base in afghanistan for a global jihadist movement. the afghan taliban’s perception of alqaeda is more complex but, on balance, favorable. 116 the afghan taliban likely views he group through the lens of its ideological vision drawing on the hanafi school of sunni islamic theology, the centrality of jihad in its interpretation of islamic theology, and its role and status as guardians of islam in afghan society. despite some tensions and theological differences, alqaeda aligns with key parts of the taliban’s project. one major source of alignment is al-qaeda’s jihadist project, which fulfills a major perceived religious obligation. significantly, al-qaeda pursues its jihadist project by subordinating its salafist ideology, at least in rhetoric, to the taliban’s status as the final arbiter on matters of theology. this contrasts with the taliban’s opposite perception of the isis’s ideological project, which is dismissive of both the taliban’s hanafi precepts and its status as guardians of islam in afghanistan. consequently, even in the face of major costs, important afghan taliban leaders, such as deputy leader siraj haqqani and senior military chief ibrahim sadr, remain sympathetic to al-qaeda. based on propaganda releases and the rhetoric of taliban leaders, there may also be some sympathy for al-qaeda’s grand strategy of bringing about an american downfall. however, it remains unclear which of the afghan taliban leaders who sympathize with alqaeda are supportive of direct attacks against the united states. for example, staunch former supporters and sympathizers of al-qaeda in the taliban, like the leader of the haqqani network jalaluddin haqqani, did not appear to approve terrorism against the u.s. before 9/11, even if they did little to stop it. at the same time, it is important to note that parts of the afghan taliban are wary of a relationship with al-qaeda. some have lobbied against the relationship altogether, both before and after 9/11. others have come to oppose al-qaeda due to the costs of the u.s. government’s coercive policies since the american invasion. it appears that the size of the constituency opposed to al-qaeda inside the taliban has grown, but its political status within the group is uncertain. defeating the taliban and al-qaeda: operation enduring freedom almost immediately after the 11 september 2001 terrorist attacks, the usa and other states identified al-qaeda as the likely perpetrators. in his 20 september address to the us congress and the american people, president george w. bush said: ‘who attacked our country? the evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-qaeda’. the british government subsequently published evidence linking al-qaeda and its leader osama bin laden to the attacks. it also claimed that: ‘there is evidence of a very specific nature relating to the guilt of bin laden and his associates that is too sensitive to release’. in his 20 september address, bush demanded that afghanistan’s taliban regime: deliver to united states authorities all the leaders of al-qaeda who hide in your land. release all foreign nationals . . . protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country. close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in afghanistan and hand over every terrorist, and every person in their support structure, to appropriate authorities. give the united states full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating. he added that ‘these demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. the taliban must act and act immediately. they will hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate. the usa received unprecedented international support. on 12 september the un security council unanimously expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks, 117 stated its determination ‘to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts’, reaffirmed the ‘inherent right of individual and collective selfdefence’ and expressed ‘its readiness to take all necessary steps to respond to the terrorist attacks of 11 september 2001’. on the same day, the un general assembly also strongly condemned the attacks and called for international cooperation to bring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors to justice. the collapse of the taliban by the end of october 2001, a number of factors caused a decisive turn in the war, resulting in the collapse of the taliban on the battlefield in november and december. first, there was growing concern in the west about the conduct of the war. despite nearly a month of bombing by the coalition and its complete control of afghanistan’s airspace, the taliban remained in control of most of afghanistan and no major gains had been made on the ground. on 29 october general tommy franks, commander of the united states central command (centcom), was forced to deny that the war was in ‘stalemate’. at the same time, little progress was being made in efforts to broker agreement on a possible post-war regime for the country. hopes of the emergence of significant pashtun opposition to the taliban or widespread defections from the taliban were also proving overly optimistic. on 26 october the taliban captured and executed abdul haq, further undermining the prospects for the emergence of opposition to the taliban and al-qaeda in the south of afghanistan. the usa therefore appears to have decided to escalate the air war against the taliban and al-qaeda and to increase its support for the northern alliance. at the end of october and beginning of november the usa carried out ‘carpet bombing’ of taliban and al-qaeda front-line positions north of kabul and in mazar-i-sharif and taloqan in the north of the country. on 30 october general franks met with northern alliance commander-in-chief general mohammed qassem fahim in dushanbe, the capital of tajikistan, resulting in an agreement to improve cooperation between the usa and the northern alliance. in particular, agreement was reached on doubling the number of us special operations forces (sof) working with the northern alliance on the ground. the sof played a key role by using laser target designators to enable us and coalition aircraft to target taliban and al-qaeda forces on the front line with a high degree of accuracy. russia’s supply of equipment to the northern alliance also played a very important role. russia also reportedly equipped uzbek and tajik special forces who were integrated into the northern alliance forces, and russian soldiers commanded the tank and helicopter forces that attacked taliban front lines. although at this stage taliban and al-qaeda forces remained numerically stronger than the northern alliance, the combination of intensified us air strikes, the use of us sof operating alongside the northern alliance on the ground to guide those air strikes, and russian equipment and support triggered a rout of taliban forces in november. the withdrawal of the pakistani interservices intelligence (isi) agency, which had played a central role in moulding the taliban into an effective fighting force and coordinating its successful military campaigns in the late 1990s, may also have greatly weakened the taliban in military terms. the initial focus was the northern town of mazar-isharif, strategically important because it provided control of access to the friendship bridge between afghanistan and uzbekistan—a key means of bringing military supplies and humanitarian aid into the country. in the week to 9 november, two-thirds of all us munitions dropped on afghanistan fell on the taliban forces in mazar-i-sharif. in the face of this onslaught taliban defences collapsed and northern alliance forces took mazar-i-sharif on 9 november. once mazar-i-sharif had fallen, the taliban began to unravel as a political and military force. in the next few days 118 northern alliance forces took towns across northern and central afghanistan, including samangan, bamian, taloqan, baghlan, pul-e khumri, herat and shindand. in many cases, rather than fight, taliban forces fled, surrendered, negotiated deals with the northern alliance or simply swapped sides. the usa supplied significant funds to ‘buy off’ taliban commanders and soldiers, helping to alter the political and military situation on the ground. by this point northern alliance forces had reached the areas north of kabul and us air strikes were putting pressure on the front-line taliban positions there. under pressure from the usa and pakistan, the northern alliance agreed not to enter kabul until the details of a new government had been agreed. however, on 12 november the northern alliance reneged on its commitment and 2000 of its troops entered kabul, taking control of key buildings as taliban and al-qaeda forces fled. on 15 november the eastern town of jalalabad also fell to the northern alliance. two major concentrations of taliban and al-qaeda forces remained—the northern city of kunduz and the taliban’s home city of kandahar in the south. at kunduz about 20 000 taliban/al-qaeda soldiers remained, including several thousand foreign fighters considered to be among the hard core of the most committed taliban/al-qaeda members. by mid-november kunduz was surrounded by northern alliance forces under the command of general dostum and the usa was undertaking heavy bombardment of the city. northern alliance forces held talks with the taliban/al-qaeda fighters, giving them a deadline to surrender, but no agreement was reached. on 22 november northern alliance forces initiated military action in kunduz, taking control of the city over the next few days, amid reports of summary executions and atrocities. the majority of taliban forces surrendered or swapped sides but the foreign fighters put up sustained resistance. several thousand taliban and al-qaeda fighters were taken prisoner. after the fall of kunduz on 24 november, attention shifted to kandahar, with us aircraft continuing to bomb taliban forces in the city. by the beginning of december, northern alliance forces were approaching kandahar from the north but were far from their bases of support there. at the same time, various groups of pashtun forces loyal to different leaders had re-emerged in the south and/or defected from the taliban, and tensions were emerging over who would regain control of kandahar. on 26 november about 1000 us marines established a forward airbase, camp rhino, south-east of kandahar, bringing in transport helicopters, attack helicopters, vertical take-off and landing jet aircraft and armoured personnel carriers the largest deployment of us ground forces in the conflict up to that point. in this confusing context, pashtun leaders-initiated negotiations with the taliban. the taliban surrendered and withdrew from kandahar on 7 december 2001, with gul agha sherzai, the governor of the city until the taliban took control of it in 1994, reappointed as governor under an agreement between the various local pashtun factions. despite the usa’s insistence that taliban leader mullah mohammad omar be detained, and the presence of us marines nearby, omar appears to have escaped from or been permitted to leave kandahar at this point. the surrender of kandahar was the fall of the last significant city under taliban control. the regime had therefore totally collapsed. the situation in the south of the country, however, remained chaotic. as one observer put it, ‘this is no-man’s-land, controlled neither by the taliban nor the northern alliance, a lawless place where anything goes and fact is difficult to distinguish from fear’. with the taliban regime removed from power, the taliban and al-qaeda leadership and the remaining core of taliban/al-qaeda fighters became the usa’s priority. about 1200 fighters, believed to include bin laden and possibly mullah omar, were reported to be hiding in a complex of caves and tunnels near tora bora and khost in the 119 white mountains close to the afghan border with pakistan. in december 2001, the usa initiated heavy bombing of the tora bora cave complex with b-52 bombers, including the use of highly destructive fuel-air explosives. the usa also formed alliances with local factions, mobilizing a force of about 1500 soldiers to attack the taliban/al-qaeda fighters. the operations proved more prolonged and difficult than expected, with the taliban/alqaeda fighters retreating higher into the mountains and the local allies of the usa proving militarily ineffective and politically unreliable. reports suggest that negotiations between the usa’s local allies and the taliban/ al-qaeda fighters may have allowed some of the latter to escape. the usa succeeded in detaining more than 500 taliban/al-qaeda fighters, 300 of whom were subsequently sent to the us military base in guantanamo bay, cuba. however, the us forces and their allies failed to completely encircle the taliban/al-qaeda fighters, allowing many of them, reportedly including bin laden, to escape across the border into pakistan.41 the battle for tora bora was thus a significant failure in the usa’s campaign to capture or kill the remaining core of taliban/al-qaeda fighters and key leaders, including bin laden. it soon became clear that the taliban and al-qaeda had not been entirely defeated. in march 2002 over 1000, mainly arab, taliban/al-qaeda fighters regrouped in the shahi-kot valley in north-eastern afghanistan, near the city of gardez. the usa’s response, operation anaconda, was again to use heavy air strikes while working alongside local afghan allies on the ground. an initial assault at the beginning of march by about 1000 local afghan forces and 60 us soldiers proved unsuccessful. three afghans and one us soldier were killed. fighting escalated as the usa deployed nearly 1000 troops in what the us central command described as a ‘fight to the death’. there were an estimated 100–200 taliban/al-qaeda casualties. seven us soldiers died when their helicopter was shot down. by mid-march the usa had gained control of the shahikot valley. reports suggest that us troops were dissatisfied with the performance of their local allies, holding them responsible for the failure of the initial assault and the subsequent need to call in a much larger us ground force and intensify air strikes. with the usa concerned about the danger of further taliban/al-qaeda attacks and doubtful of the military effectiveness of local allies, it sought increased assistance from its coalition partners. australia, canada, denmark, france, germany, new zealand, norway and the uk all deployed special forces in march 2002 to help in the fight against remaining taliban/al-qaeda forces. the uk sent a force of 1700 marines to support us operations. after operation anaconda, the usa and allied forces failed to find further concentrations of taliban/al-qaeda forces, creating differences between the usa and some coalition members, in particular the uk, over the scale of the threat and the necessity to maintain the special forces in afghanistan. in june the uk announced that it would be withdrawing its marines at the beginning of july, leaving the usa to take over most combat duties in afghanistan. after june 2002 the scale of us and coalition combat operations against taliban/al-qaeda forces were gradually wound down. in november a us department of defense spokesman acknowledged that ‘we are going through a new phase where it is less about combat and more about stabilization. the efforts in this phase are about 75 per cent reconstruction and humanitarian, and 25 per cent security and combat operations. this compared with a roughly even split between the two types of operation three months earlier. in late 2002 and early 2003, attacks on us forces, international representatives and the afghan government increased. reports suggested that a new alliance had emerged between warlord gulbuddin hekmatyar and remnants of the taliban in order to oppose the usa and the central government. in january 2003, us forces and their afghan allies came under fire at spin boldak south of kandahar, near the pakistan border. 120 the usa responded to the escalating attacks on its forces with a series of operations against hekmatyar and the taliban’s forces (including operation valiant strike in march 2003, which involved 1000 us soldiers supported by helicopters and armoured vehicles). the us response has helped in combating terrorism in afghanistan international peace-building efforts in post-taliban afghanistan the nature of the international intervention in afghanistan has evolved considerably over the last 42 years, evident by significant changes in international strategy intended to address the deteriorating security situation, a growing insurgency, and deepening grassroots dissatisfaction with the overall political, economic and security environment. the roles of different international actors have varied greatly during these war from 2001 to 2014, as have their perspectives on the goals of the intervention and notions of local ownership. nonetheless, coalitions with local actors have been present from the very beginning of the intervention when the us relied on anti-taliban militias as allies in the war effort. these initial partnerships have shaped the overall state building effort and have complicated subsequent attempts to broaden local participation in security and development efforts. if warring parties can reach an incentive-compatible, bargained settlement, then all have much to gain from the cessation of ongoing hostilities. beyond benefiting parties within afghanistan, a stable afghanistan would benefit neighboring states and the international community, who have dealt with the negative externalities of afghanistan’s civil conflicts. it is widely recognized that a political settlement among afghan parties is the most practical way to end the fighting and attain lasting stability. given the large risks associated with afghanistan’s civil conflict continuing, the united states should assess the viability of an international peace-keeping operation (pko) that may alleviate government of afghanistan (goa) uncertainties in negotiations with the taliban and support compliance with an eventual intra-afghan peace settlement. this chapter presents the peacebuilding, aids provided for afghanistan focusing on the peace-keeping operation (pko), so-called bonn peace process and the formation of the international security assistance force (isaf) and the un assistance mission in afghanistan (unama). regional cooperation since my previous report, relations between afghanistan and pakistan have remained strained. nevertheless, dialogue continued, including on economic cooperation. president ghani met the adviser to the prime minister of pakistan on foreign affairs, sartaj aziz, on the margins of the brussels conference on afghanistan. pakistan pledged $500 million in economic assistance to afghanistan and was publicly thanked by both the president and mr. abdullah. however, several members of the lower house of the national assembly, as well as demonstrators in paktika province on 7 october, called upon president ghani to reject the assistance from pakistan and accused pakistan of supporting terrorism, calling for its cessation. president ghani condemned the attack in quetta, pakistan, on 24th october, during which at least 61 pakistani police cadets were killed, and reiterated his call for regional cooperation against terrorism. afghanistan and india continued their close cooperation: on 14 and 15 september president ghani visited new delhi, where he and the prime minister of india, narendra modi, called upon those concerned to cease providing support and safe havens to terrorists, including those who target afghanistan and india. the government of india pledged an additional $1 billion in development assistance to afghanistan and renewed its commitment to the trilateral 121 islamic republic of iran afghanistan-india transit corridor through the iranian port of chabahar. on 16 september, the ministry of foreign affairs of pakistan reiterated concerns that afghanistan was increasingly being used by “a neighbour” for subversive activities inside pakistan. on 21 september, a trilateral meeting was held between afghanistan, india and the united states in new york, during which the countries reaffirmed a shared interest in advancing peace and security in the region and countering terrorism. on 4 october, the european union hosted a dinner with international partners and countries, including those from the region. the european union stated that common ground existed for regional political support of peace and reconciliation in afghanistan. afghanistan undertook efforts to deepen engagement with gulf states, including on a peace process and cooperation on counter-terrorism. mr. abdullah visited saudi arabia from 17 to 19 october and received pledges from king salman bin abdulaziz al-saud for supporting a peace process, countering terrorist financing and providing development assistance. on 25 october, president ghani travelled to qatar, whose leadership committed to supporting the peace process and announced plans to open an embassy in kabul. infrastructure development and security cooperation continued between central asian countries, afghanistan and the islamic republic of iran. on 7 september, construction began on the afghan section of a railway linking herat in western afghanistan to the iranian rail network. trade and connectivity were also the focus of a visit to herat on 30 october by the governor of khor asan-e razavi province in the islamic republic of iran. turkmenistan and afghanistan inaugurated a rail sector connecting the atamyrat-imamnazar railway in turkmenistan to aqina in afghanistan on 30 october. regional cooperation on addressing security challenges and initiatives to strengthen regional economic cooperation featured at the centre of discussions at the heart of asia-istanbul process senior officials meeting held in new york on 23 september. the need to link infrastructure development with regional policy cooperation was further emphasized during the regional economic cooperation side event held on 4 october on the margins of the brussels conference on afghanistan, during which regional countries welcomed five regional connectivity projects on the movement of goods, energy and data identified as priorities by afghanistan. on 2 and 3 november, at a meeting of the council of heads of government of the shanghai cooperation organization in bishkek, kyrgyzstan, mr. abdullah called for support for the full membership of afghanistan in the organization, describing it as an important platform for regional security cooperation. afghanistan and uzbekistan increased their engagement during the reporting period. president ghani discussed bilateral economic cooperation with the minister for foreign affairs of uzbekistan, abdulaziz kamilov, on 4 october, on the margins of the brussels conference. the minister for foreign affairs of afghanistan, mr. rabbani, visited tashkent to attend the forty-third session of the council of foreign ministers of the organization of islamic cooperation on 18 and 19 october. during his visit, he signed an extradition treaty with mr. kamilov, who reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation and to participating actively in all international meetings and conferences on afghanistan. assistance of peace-keeping (pko) the us–taliban settlement, signed on 29 february 2020, provides a starting point for intra-afghan talks and a conditional exit strategy for remaining us and nato forces. if the taliban continue negotiations with goa (government of afghanistan), maintain a reduction in violence, and uphold their commitment that afghanistan will not be used as a terrorist safe haven, then all us and nato forces could be completely withdrawn from afghanistan by 122 2021. increasing us domestic pressure to end the 19-year us military mission is impacting political decision making, and it is unlikely that us/nato forces will remain in afghanistan for the long term, despite the taliban’s continuing offensives against the goa. widespread uncertainty remains regarding the possibility of a bargained settlement between the taliban and the goa, as evidenced by the latter’s may 2020 announcement that kabul would continue large-scale offensive operations against the taliban. uncertainty over an intra-afghan settlement is manifested in two primary forms. first, it is unknown if warring parties can reach a feasible settlement, especially without us/nato forces maintaining coercive pressure to compel the taliban to negotiate with the goa. potential impacts to afghanistan’s political structure, legal system, security forces, disarmament, reintegration, and civil liberties all remain unknown, and there is deep, mutual mistrust. second, if a settlement is reached, there is significant uncertainty as to whether internal parties would comply with the settlement’s provisions, especially without a credible enforcement mechanism to deter violations. if intra-afghan parties do reach a bargained settlement, the historical record and conflict research suggests there will be incentives to cheat or spoil the peace process among afghanistan’s numerous armed groups, complex tribal networks, and regional power brokers. further, given afghanistan’s rugged terrain, remote villages, and the goa’s limited reach, covert defections will likely go unobserved, increasing incentives to cheat. noncooperative bargaining models in civil conflict settings provide helpful starting points for analyzing these complex problems. these models advance information asymmetries and commitment problems as driving factors resulting in bargaining failures. if unaddressed, these problems may prevent combatants from reaching settlements or lead to relapsed fighting after a settlement is reached. conflict research also suggests monitoring and verification mechanisms may offer partial relief from commitment and information problems and incentivize compliance with peace settlements. given the us strategic interest in fostering long-term stability in afghanistan, the us government should advocate for a proven monitoring and verification mechanism in post-conflict environments an international pko. while the united states cannot direct other states to contribute to a pko, washington can leverage us diplomatic and economic power to identify willing contributors, secure financial donors, and shepherd the process through the un security council (unsc). two critical scope conditions are required for a pko to be a viable option in afghanistan. first, the taliban and the goa must successfully negotiate an incentive-compatible, intra-afghan peace settlement. second, afghan parties (including the taliban, the goa, opposition, and civil society leaders) and the future afghan government must consent to an international pko. objectively, these scope conditions seem improbable given ongoing violence and the taliban’s insistence on the complete withdrawal of foreign forces. however, it is also improbable that 150,000 taliban could decisively defeat the goa’s 300,000 soldiers and take over afghanistan. as ongoing fighting imposes large costs on the goa, it also imposes costs on the taliban costs that may not be sustainable in the long run. to end a costly status quo and gain desired reforms, the taliban may willingly accept a short-term, consentbased pko in the future, in exchange for bargained concessions that produce an incentivecompatible agreement. if the united states and the international community lay the groundwork for a credible pko and it becomes a viable option during intra-afghan negotiations, then it may offer both sides relief from information asymmetries and commitment problems and incentivize settlement compliance during the implementation phase. since an afghanistan pko has not been seriously discussed, this article analyzes the conditions where 123 a pko may become viable and provides initial analysis for a hypothetical pko’s ideal composition and disposition. this article proceeds as follows. first, i review contemporary research on non-cooperative bargaining in civil conflicts and how pkos can alter conflict dynamics. leveraging historical lessons, i then review the 1988–1990 ungomap to explain why that pko was unsuccessful in creating stability in afghanistan following the soviet withdrawal. i close with policy recommendations, where i explore several possible pko options and analyze their potential for incentivizing compliance with a future peace settlement. if designed properly and paired with an incentive-compatible intra-afghan settlement, an afghanistan pko can fill a critical monitoring and verification capacity and bolster afghanistan’s prospects for long-term stability. the light footprint approach of the bonn process unlike the intrusive trend towards transitional administration that entrusts executive and legislative powers to the united nations or specially created external institution, the international community in afghanistan adopted a “light footprint, or a minimalist approach, which emphasized local ownership” and afghan sovereignty”. it put a premium on bolstering local capacity and stressed the need for increasing “afghanization” of both security and reconstruction efforts over time. in doing so, it limited the role of the united nations and multinational forces to supporting and assisting a sovereign and independent afghanistan, with few external factors involved, thereby leaving a light external footprint. in order to give afghans, the lead role and legitimate the international engagement, the bonn agreement laid out a process to develop the political and democratic infrastructure of the country but entrusted it to an interim. ironically, however, this approach exemplified the failure to listen to many ordinary afghans who, at that time, believed a heavier footprint was necessary, particularly in providing a security shield for the internationally supported peace-building effort and implementing transitional justice. in 2001, the international community and us had failed to appreciate that the country had endured nearly thirty years of war that had significantly destroyed social trust and capital. the international community, namely the united nations, was in fact, the only popular and legitimate authority in the country, and had come in with high expectations from the population. for instance, one community elder in northern afghanistan suggested that the international community should have taken initial formal responsibility for the development of afghanistan: for fifty years, we have had three t’s: tariak (poppy); tufang (gun); taraj (robbery/thieving). we have always had violations…over the last eight years, we have been promised justice but this has failed. so, we need to make a new world and create new human beings. this is the only way of solving problems. the afghan government should have been in the hands of the international community, directly through the united nations. they shouldn’t be occupiers; they should be there by agreement, not force. this needs a five-to-ten-year process and during this period, our new generation will emerge and will be educated and skilled so commanders will tire and leave. then the new power of afghanistan will emerge. (theros, 2016. p 12) a complicating factor has been the continuation of the american led military effort – operation enduring freedom, which fights remaining taliban and al-qaeda operatives on afghan soil, without a status of forces agreement. this marked the contradiction inherent in 124 the us-led approach that began at the bonn peace agreement: a light political footprint that entrusted national sovereignty and political development to an unelected and unpopular set of afghan elites, paired with a heavy military strategy acting without a clear mandate from that national sovereign government. consequently, the bonn agreement has never been fully realized: the country’s new overly centralized political institutions became dominated by a set of factional leaders who quickly established networks of nepotism, bribery, and corruption. their continued relationships with international actors, namely the us, further reinforced a personalized style of politics in the country, rather than promote the institutions and processes necessary to broaden participation and engender accountability and good governance. bonn agreement—bonn 2001 the agreement on provisional arrangements in afghanistan pending the reestablishment of permanent government institutions, or bonn agreement, was signed in bonn, germany, on december 5, 2001. it was endorsed by u.n. security council resolution 1385 (2001). under u.n. auspices, afghan participants met to outline a process for the political transition in afghanistan. the bonn agreement established an afghan interim authority (aia) on december 22, 2001, which was made up of 30 members and headed by chairman hamid karzai. an emergency “loya jirga” (traditional afghan assembly) held in june 2002 replaced the aia with a transitional authority (ta). the ta brought together a broad transitional administration to lead the country until a full government could be elected. a constitution, considered the most progressive in afghan history, was approved at a “constitutional loya jirga” in january 2004. hamid karzai was elected president in october 2004, and parliamentary and provincial elections were subsequently held in september 2005. the bonn agreement also called for the establishment of a supreme court of afghanistan and a judicial commission. it requested the u.n. security council to consider authorizing the deployment of a u.n.mandated security force, outlined the role of the united nations during the interim period, and referred to the need for cooperation with the international community on a number of issues, including reconstruction, elections, counter-narcotics, crime, and terrorism. the bonn agreement was fully implemented in 2005. un assistance mission in afghanistan (unama). this section shows the strategic review of the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan (unama) with the goal of assessing the mission’s efficiency and effectiveness in order to optimize the division of labour to ensure better cooperation between united nationsrelated organizations. the united states and the international community continue to rely on the central role of the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan (unama) as coordinator of international donor activity and assistance. within a broader, ongoing debate focused on u.s. and other assessments of efforts to stabilize afghanistan, unama’s role has been emphasized in different contexts, particularly in the past several years. for example, u.n. security council resolution 1806 (2008) significantly expanded unama’s authority. the declaration of the international conference in support of afghanistan, which took place in paris in june 2008, also underlined unama’s role in leading all aspects of civilian coordination. since the establishment of unama, the mission’s role has been defined by its support for the transition process outlined in the agreement on provisional arrangements in afghanistan pending the re -establishment of permanent government institutions, signed in bonn, germany, in december 2001, also referred to as the bonn agreement. the implementation of the agreement was premised on the transition to a post-conflict environment, with an armed opposition acting 125 against rather than as a serious hindrance to the achievement of peace and prosperity. in subsequent years, the adoption of a constitution, expanded protection for human rights and civil liberties, democratic elections for the president and parliament and the establishment and growing effectiveness of government and state institutions have been seen. all of those processes were closely supported by unama. despite progress in those areas, the talibanled insurgency began to gain ground, particularly after 2006. against that backdrop, afghanistan entered a new phase in 2014 with the peaceful transition from one elected president to another and the transfer of security responsibilities from the international security assistance force, led by the north atlantic treaty organization (nato), to the afghan national defence and security forces. the role of unama evolved as the situation in afghanistan changed, and the mission’s mandate and scope of activities expanded. following a phase of expansion, the mission’s strength has been contracting since 2011. in recognition of the sovereignty of afghanistan and as afghan state institutions continued to gain capacity, unama increasingly played a supporting role in alignment with the priorities of state institutions. however, real and meaningful progress notwithstanding, the afghan state currently continues to rely heavily on the international community, both financially and in terms of security support. more than 60 per cent of the government’s budget is financed by foreign donors, and despite immense resources spent on institution-building, at moments of crisis afghan institutions are at times perceived to be insufficiently effective at mediating between powerful interests and factions that retain autonomous capacities for violence. these internal political rivalries take place in a context in which the legitimacy of the state is contested by the taliban insurgency. during the early years of the implementation of the bonn agreement, it was predicted that the insurgency could be contained or diminished. subsequent developments proved contrary to that assumption. a political settlement is therefore required. efforts to begin negotiations towards that end have been made over the past few years, but so far have gained little traction. it is this overall environment defined by a fragile political consensus among those who recognize the constitutional order and an increasingly violent and sustained insurgency by those who reject that order in which the united nations is now operating. doing so demands a reorientation of its activities. the united nations assistance mission in afghanistan (unama) was created at the request of the afghan government and is a political mission of the united nations (un) in afghanistan. unama aims to help lay the groundwork for peace and sustainable development in afghanistan. unama was established on march 28, 2002 by the un security council through resolution 1401. the mandate of the un security council is renewed annually depending on the needs of the beneficiary countries. based on information from the official unama website, unama carries out various forms of activities such as political assistance, humanitarian assistance, human rights, and regional cooperation. the main objective of unama is to promote peace and stability in afghanistan. unama has been involved in efforts to bring about peace in various fields. unama has also played an important role in helping afghanistan through the political transition and rebuilding afghanistan's integrity. in carrying out its mission, unama has 2 operational pillars. the first pillar is political affairs. this pillar is the part that deals with political issues. this field is divided into several work units such as government units, law enforcement units, election assistance units, military advisory units, and police advisory units. the second pillar is the part that deals with the 126 reconstruction process and the restoration of infrastructure stability in afghanistan. this section is an area that assists in coordinating all agencies working to rebuild afghanistan. this section is also assisted by several work units, such as the human rights unit, the coordinating unit for aid providers, special advisors in the field of development, and other important departments. in addition, unama is also assisted by other working bodies, such as the human rights sector, the security sector, and the communications and publications section. unama work program in afghanistan unama which is engaged in the field of human rights is the main field that supervises and implements preventive and repressive actions in the event of things that violate human rights. unama makes every effort to “instill human rights values in afghanistan” or human rights at all times and for all people”. the team from unama attempted to implement this strategy through, subject, reporting, advocacy, and collaborating with colleagues and discussing with the government, military, community groups and international groups. in achieving its goals, unama sets 4 priority areas of work such as protection of civilians, protection of women from violence, peace and reconciliation, and detention. in an armed conflict, the belligerent parties are likely to ignore the rules of international humanitarian law (ihl), particularly regarding the protection of civilians. protection of civilians unama and the afghanistan independent human rights commission (aihrc) consider that the armed conflict in afghanistan is not an international armed conflict. unama considers that the conflict is a conflict between the government and international military forces that are pro-government against anti-government groups. anti-government groups consist of all individuals and groups consisting of various backgrounds, motivations, and command structures which generally come from the taliban group, the haqqani network, hezbi islami, and al-qaida groups such as the uzbekistan movement, the islamic jihad association, lashkari tayyiba and jaysh muhammad. all groups belonging to the pro-government group are obliged to minimize the impact of the actions of anti-government groups on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure. article 3 of the 1949 geneva conventions establishes the minimum standards for groups to understand a noninternational armed conflict. article 3 also extends humanitarian law to situations involving territory that is the sovereignty of a state and binds not only states but also non-state actors involved in the conflict. in 2009, unama recorded as many as 2,412 civilians died. a total of 1630 of them were caused by anti-government groups and another 596 victims were caused by progovernment forces. meanwhile, as many as 186 other victims died as a result of gunfire, or were killed by explosions. the conflict that occurred in afghanistan continued into the following years. the death toll in 2010 increased when compared to the previous year. unama reported that as many as 2,777 people died during 2010. a total of 2,080 of them were caused by anti-government forces. anti-government forces used suicide bombing and bombing with homemade bombs as their main strategy against the government which caused 1,141 deaths or 55 percent of the total number of deaths caused by antigovernment groups. during 2010, what was quite worrying was the increasing number of clandestine killings by anti-government groups. a total of 462 civilians were secretly killed. protection of women against violence against women in afghanistan is very common. the freedom of afghan women is severely restricted, including the possibility to enjoy human rights. the conflict that lasted for almost 3 decades characterized by the absence of law, insecurity, and weak government has had a significant impact on the status and situation of women in afghanistan in their efforts to achieve their emancipation. during the period of the 127 mujahideen group from 1992 to 1996, various wars occurred that damaged various aspects of afghan society's life. women's human rights are severely restricted. they even received unfair treatment such as in the legal field, were tortured, experienced sexual violence, kidnapped, forced into marriage, and trafficked. this period describes the darkest period in the history of women's lives in afghanistan. the emergence of the taliban actually worsened the condition of women in afghanistan. the taliban with their harsh and ideocentric interpretation of sharia law actually makes women even more marginalized. based on a distorted islamic rule, the taliban seeks to establish absolute rulership in afghanistan. in april 2009, a spokesman for the taliban group claimed responsibility for the killing of sitara achakzai. she is a member of the provincial legislature who seeks to inspire women to work and fight for their rights in kandahar. this incident certainly reduces the participation of women in the afghan parliament. from april to may 2009, 3 gas explosions were reported at various schools in afghanistan. an explosion occurred in parwan province in april which led to many girls being rushed to hospital for inhaling an unhealthy odour. a few days later, another explosion occurred in parwan, sending 61 girls and a teacher to hospital. in may, an explosion occurred in kavisa province which caused 90 girls aged 8 to 12 to be rushed to hospital from poison gas. in august 2009, the afghan government adopted the law on elimination violence against women (evaw law). evaw law is a collection of laws that seek to eliminate customs, traditions, or practices that can cause violence against women that are contrary to islamic teachings. this law prohibits contract marriage, forced marriage, marriage before the age, forced isolation, prohibits women from obtaining education, work, and access to health services, and other discriminatory practices. the evaw law is a major step in making official rules to protect women's human rights. peace and reconciliation since the fall of the taliban regime in 2001, afghans have hoped the war would end. however, although the acts of violence are decreasing, the war is not over. beginning in 2006, the security situation has only worsened. one third of afghans continue to live in poverty and more than 3 million afghans are refugees in iran and pakistan. one of unama's roles in creating peaceful and conducive conditions is to support the afghanistan peace and reintegration program (aprp). this program is a program led and implemented by the afghan government in order to create peace in afghanistan. this program began with a presidential decree issued in june 2010. the fighters, unama supports the process of mobilizing and strengthening community groups and women's groups. unama works with afghan social groups to strengthen their participation in discussions on politics, peace, reconciliation and reintegration. unama together with other fields seeks to provide technical assistance to aprp, peace council, and other relevant actors. unama to integrate human rights practices into peace and reconciliation processes. establishment of the international security assistance force isaf was created in accordance with the bonn conference in december 2001. afghan opposition leaders attending the conference began the process of reconstructing their country by setting up a new government structure, namely the afghan transitional authority. the concept of a un-mandated international force to assist the newly established afghan transitional authority was also launched on this occasion to create a secure environment in and around kabul and support the reconstruction of afghanistan. on 11 august 2003, nato assumed leadership of the isaf operation, bringing the six-month national rotations to an end. the alliance became responsible for the command, coordination and planning of the force, including the provision of a force commander and headquarters on the ground in afghanistan. 128 at this conference, 21 countries offered forces. the united kingdom, after evaluating the offers, preferred 17 countries to deploy troops alongside the uk forces as part of isaf. major general john mccoll, from british army, was designated force commander. isaf provided support to the afghan government and international community in security sector reform, including mentoring, training and operational support to the afghan national army (ana) and the afghan national police (anp). the aim was to build professional, independent and sustainable forces that were able to provide security to the afghan people throughout the country. this work was carried out jointly by the nato training mission-afghanistan (ntm-a) and isaf’s joint command (ijc), together with the european union police mission in afghanistan (eupol afghanistan) and other important national actors. ntm-a focused on training initial recruits and building the institutional training capability of the ansf, while the ijc was responsible for developing fielded ansf units through advice and assistance. mandate of isaf isaf was first deployed in 2001 on the basis of a request for assistance by the afghan authorities and a united nations (un) security council mandate, which authorised the establishment of the force to assist the afghan government in the maintenance of security in kabul and its surrounding areas in particular to enable the afghan authorities as well as un personnel to operate in a secure environment. at that time, the operation was limited to the kabul area, and its command was assumed by isaf nations on a rotational basis. in august 2003, on the request of the un and the government of the islamic republic of afghanistan, nato took command of isaf. soon after, the un mandated isaf’s gradual expansion outside of kabul. while not technically a un force, isaf was a un-mandated international force under chapter vii of the un charter. eighteen un security council resolutions (unscrs) related to isaf, namely: 1386, 1413, 1444, 1510, 1563, 1623, 1707, 1776, 1817, 1833, 1890, 1917, 1943, 2011, 2069, 2096, 2120, and 2145. a detailed military technical agreement agreed between the isaf commander and the afghan transitional authority in january 2002 provided additional guidance for isaf operations. un security council resolution 1386 the uk formally informed the security council that it was willing to become the initial lead nation for isaf with a letter dated 19 december 2001 from the permanent representative of the uk to the president of the council. according to the letter, the responsibility for providing security throughout afghanistan resides with the afghans themselves, and isaf would assist the ia in maintaining security. on december 20, 2001, the security council, determining the situation in afghanistan constituted a threat to international peace and security, passed resolution 1386 authorizing the establishment of the isaf, for six months, to assist the ia in maintaining security in kabul and surrounding areas. it also welcomed the uk’s offer to take the lead in organizing and commanding isaf.45 being voted unanimously, resolution 1386 passed under chapter vii of the un charter and authorized participating countries to “take all necessary measures” in carrying out their responsibilities. it called on member states to contribute personnel, equipment, and other resources to the force. it also called upon isaf to work in close consultation with the ia and the special representative of the secretary general. resolution 1386 also called on all afghans to cooperate with the force. it welcomed the commitment of the parties to the bonn agreement to “do all within their means and influence” to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of all un and other 129 international personnel in afghanistan. resolution 1386 urged the afghans to withdraw all military units from kabul in cooperation with the isaf. member states participating in isaf were called on to help the ia in the establishment and training of new afghan security and armed forces. the military technical agreement major general john mccoll, with a reconnaissance unit, went to afghanistan to meet and determine the details of isaf with the members of the ia. there occurred several points of disagreement. the most important issue was the size of isaf. the afghans, in particular defense minister general fahim khan, insisted on a force no larger than 1,000, while western leaders wanted a force 5,000-6,000 strong. they also insisted that isaf would be restricted to a static security role, guarding key buildings and political figures, while patrolling the city would remain under the responsibility of afghan police and military personnel. this reflected fahim’s view that the presence of isaf on the streets would undermine his control of the city. on the contrary, isaf’s view of the task was for a force that was able to patrol freely throughout the city, in many cases as a joint activity with the afghan police, but with no restriction on its freedom of movement. after intense negotiations, mccoll and the ia signed a military technical agreement (mta) on january 4, 2002. the mta set out the relationship between isaf and the ia. it gave isaf the powers it required to operate freely and without hindrance, and defined the legal status of isaf, its deployment, authority, and the support that the ia would provide. it also specified the location of barracks in kabul to which afghan forces would be confined. moreover, it clarified what the isaf would do and where it would operate. after the mta was signed, the participation of tcns was formalized through the signing of a “memorandum of understanding (mou)” in london. the mou set out the arrangements, responsibilities, general principles, and procedures by which the tcns would implement. this represented the final step in agreeing on the structure of isaf for its period under uk leadership. role of isaf effort in afghanistan isaf operates separately from other forces operating in afghanistan under oef. the character of oef is different from that of isaf. oef is best described as a combat-focused mission aiming to counter taliban and al qaeda threats. nevertheless, the end state for both missions is the same: to bring peace and stability to afghanistan under the auspices of an elected and democratic government. therefore, isaf and oef have to work together to achieve their objectives. to prevent overlap between isaf and oef forces and for reasons of effectiveness, it has been agreed that u.s. central command (centcom) activities would take precedence and centcom would have operational authority over isaf. in addition, the oef forces have provided logistical, communications, and intelligence support to isaf, and have been ready to act as a quick-reaction force to rescue isaf units if they get into trouble. isaf is a un authorized mission, but it is neither a un mission nor is it led by the un. it is a “coalition of the willing” and has been deployed under the authorization of the un security council. therefore, it operates separately from the unama. however, un security council resolution 1386 called upon isaf to work in close consultation with the un special representative of the secretary general, who leads unama. moreover, a “joint coordination body (jcb)” was set up on january 13, 2002 to ensure close cooperation between the ia, isaf and the un on matters related to the security issues. the jcb has met on a bimonthly basis, and included the ministers of defense and interior of afghanistan, the comisaf and the special representative of the secretary general. 130 human rights and the future of afghanistan under the taliban regime concerns for human rights particularly gender rights in afghanistan arise from the taliban’s harsh treatment of women in the 1990s. then, the taliban imposed a ban on women's education and proactively discriminated against women by allowing them to work outside their homes. today’s women in afghanistan, who have until now enjoyed relative freedom, equal rights and access to education and work are reminded of the suffering, restrictions and curbs of the 1990s when they see the taliban patrolling streets and governing the country. therefore, since the taliban’s takeover, a common sight in kabul has been the protests carried out by young afghan women against the taliban. the taliban have deliberately remained vague in their response when it comes to their policy direction on women, with the women’s ministry more or less also disbanded. when asked to clarify their policy on the matter, the taliban’s generic answer is their “support for women’s rights under the sharia law”. no further explanation is provided on what that means in practice. in a recent interview with the bbc, taliban leader sher mohammad abbas stanikzai had clearly indicated that “women will not be in the cabinet or top government positions (in their government). but they could work at a lower level”. this statement reaffirms that the taliban’s perception of women in afghanistan has not changed. they see women as ‘incapable’ of holding senior or decision-making roles. this is a problematic hyper-masculine understanding of women’s role in society, particularly in afghanistan. 131 conclusion in terms of its immediate goals, the us-led intervention in afghanistan from 2016-2021 was in many ways a remarkable success. the study offers analytic guidance on where key actors stand and their plausible trajectory in light of the u.s. posture of withdrawal and the gradual rise of the afghan taliban. while the findings of this report are important in their own right, they should also be considered in the broader political context of afghanistan. furthermore, the usa achieved this without deploying large numbers of us ground forces, being drawn into a quagmire or suffering significant casualties. although figures on afghan casualties remain contentious, the most pessimistic forecasts for civilian casualties proved inaccurate and the predicted region-wide humanitarian disaster was avoided. the defeat of the taliban also brought an end to its extreme form of islamic rule and, arguably, an improvement in the lives of most afghans. it is widely assumed that these successful aspects of the intervention in afghanistan encouraged the usa to attempt a similar regime change operation in iraq in april 2003. for one, with the intra-afghan negotiation process underway, afghanistan appears to be at a crossroads. there is reason to believe that afghanistan is looking at a difficult but realistic path toward peace. the ongoing process is especially significant as major warring parties have struggled to meaningfully engage in peace talks over four decades of conflict. given the enormous generational suffering of afghan civilians, this pathway deserves sustained support of and prioritization by the u.s. government and the international community. if the intra-afghan talks are not given a chance, the country can descend into another long cycle of violence. at the same time, the terrorism challenge remains multifaceted and likely to endure. this requires new frameworks of management by the u.s. government, its allies, and other key regional countries. the precise makeup of the country’s armed landscape and the role of terrorist groups of international concern in that context remains challenging to predict. however, it is realistic to assume that a number of groups with varied local, regional, and transnational aims will find ways to persist. in turn, their presence will generate regular risks for afghan civilians, the region surrounding afghanistan, and western countries. members of islamic state stand alongside their weapons, following their surrender to the afghan government in jalalabad, nangarhar province, on november 17, 2019. unama, which is an extension of the united nations in afghanistan, has made various efforts to realize a peaceful and conducive condition in afghanistan. in achieving its objectives, unama moves through two areas of work, namely the field of political affairs and the field of recovery and reconstruction. in an effort to protect human rights in afghanistan, unama established a special unit for human rights. this unit works all over afghanistan. since unama's involvement in afghanistan, unama has worked hard to protect the human rights of people in afghanistan. this effort was carried out in several ways, such as providing protection for human rights for civilians, providing protection for women, assisting the reconstruction and reconciliation process, and providing protection against violence for detainees. in addition, unama is also considered to have succeeded in attracting the sympathy of other countries to help in the recovery of the afghan condition. this is evidenced by the involvement of isaf, other un humanitarian missions, and major countries as donors for the afghanistan reconstruction process such as the united states, japan, britain, germany, and other donor countries to cooperate in restoring conditions in afghanistan. summary of findings 132 1.terrorism has impacted negatively on the political development of afghanistan. terrorist activities in afghanistan have not just destabilized the political system but also made them largely dependent on external forces for their protection. afghan government have reached several agreements with the west led by the us for military assistance. beyond this, fear has made a lot of people distance themselves from afghan politics as they became the targets of these terrorists. again, terrorism have strained afghan’s regional cooperation starting with its neighbor pakistan. 2. the us response has helped in combating terrorism in afghanistan. with the us led military operation in afghanistan, terrorists were dislodged from major cities. terrorist activities such as illegal execution, beheading of individuals and other punishments by these terrorist groups were greatly reduced as a result of the presence of us (and nato) forces in afghanistan. recommendations 1. there should be an increased international pressure on the taliban regime to run an allinclusive government. the pressure should also extend to incorporation and adherence of human rights in the afghan constitution as this will help stabilize the political system. 2. the us and the international community should play a role in the stabilization of the state by not withholding their support and assistance for the socio-economic well-being of common afghans. in the long run, the 20-year achievements, under the us and coalition forces, in education, healthcare and the economy need to be consolidated and protected in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the country. the world bank has estimated the gross domestic product (gdp) of afghanistan to be around usd 19.87 billion in 2020; compared to 4.055 billion in 2002.17 annual growth averaged 9.4 per cent between 2003 and 2012, driven by a booming aid-driven services sector, and strong agricultural growth.18 aid flows decreased from around 100 per cent of gdp in 2009 to 42.9 per cent of gdp in 202019. now that the taliban are in control of afghanistan and the foreign aid to afghanistan has dried up, this could cause a serious economic and humanitarian crisis in the country including the possibility of refugee influx to other countries. a policy layout on aid provision, for the long-term well-being of the afghan people, is therefore urgently required. references emily, w. 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nigeria currently lies in the negative quadrant of the effects of these factors, and this has adverse effects on efforts towards sustainable development. jel codes: c22, f47, i11, i31 keywords: ardl model, globalisation, health, nigeria, sustainable development, transition effects. introduction globalisation as a phenomenon has led to the dismantling of the traditional country-protective walls that centuries ago were instrumental to growth and development of today’s industrial economies. dominant argument in modern day political economy no longer support traditional trans-border barriers as a reliable and sustainable path to growth. instead, current emphasis is heavily placed on increased integration of national economies in diverse forms as a more reliable common path to growth and sustainable development. therefore, countries embrace the concept irrespective of its differential impact on national economies. effects of this integration manifest in various forms, such that it now dominates that of other known macroeconomic variables across sector of the economy. these effects as a matter of fact, are known to be both positive and negative in nature and exert significant influence on citizens’ wellbeing. under this scenario, the issue of mailto:marius_ikpe@yahoo.com mailto:marius.ikpe@funai.edu.ng mailto:mcmaris091@gmail.com 2 how the individuals is affected depends largely on which of the divide off-sets the other. given this prevailing circumstance, empirical evidence on the effects of global factors on national economies, and options or ways of its management should be of great concern for public policy. in global health for instance, it is generally agreed that, “the wealthier is the healthier” and gains from rapid growth flow into health gains (pritchett and summers, 1996). this strong correlation between income and health was earlier brought to the fore by preston (1975). preston proposes that income (gdp per capita) is an important health determinant in poor countries than rich countries given observed curvilinear relation between income and health. however, more recent studies provided evidence that points to the fact that, these observed positive income-health gradient among poor countries tend to disappear as more variables are controlled for. (asiedu et al., 2015; sterck et al., (2018). specifically, asiedu et al pointed out that global factors are increasingly becoming more important as health outcome determinant than country-specific factors including gdp per capita; this is not surprising. in nigeria like most african countries, health interventions are largely driven by fund from development agencies (da) than from within. for instance, net bilateral aid flows to nigeria in 2006 was $10,970390000; this declined to $1,019170000 in 2012, but increased again to $2,019420000 in 2017 (world bank 2018). in contrast, highest budgetary allocation to health in nigeria since 2001 lies below 6% of annual budget – the highest was 5.95% in 2012. furthermore, recent empirical evidence supports the fact that in the area of child health, interventions from da account for more of child survival to adult than within health policy intervention. (ikpe 2018). in spite of this and other known advanced medical technology accessible to the nigerian public through diffusion, influences of the negative effect inducing factors seem to off-set the positives. such negative effects inducing factors include common business cycle and major influenza; this affect health in multiple countries simultaneously. statistical evidence points to the fact that nigeria performed poorly in all indices of health and general wellbeing in recent times. for instance, child mortality rate for nigeria is reported to be 100.2 per 1000 live births (world bank 2017). maternal mortality rate remains high; 100 per 100 000 live births (who 2014). as a summary measure, life expectancy of an average nigeria stands at 53.9yrs as against 78yrs and 76yrs for morocco and algeria respectively (world bank 2020). 3 such poor health condition no doubt has great consequences on growth and development. it reduces human development level of the economy and makes the average worker less efficient in production. secondly, it increases the number of productive hours lost to ill-health, and reduces the average productive years of labour. a number of studies have established connection between health, productivity and growth (sachs 2001; tammy and chris 2019; anowor et al. 2020; ikpe et al. 2022). all these directly mitigate meaningful efforts towards meeting “goal 3” (healthy lives and improved wellbeing for all ages) of sustainable development goals (sdgs). multiplier effects of this has negative consequences for achieving “goal1” (eradication of poverty), “goal 2” (achievement of food security and improved nutrition), and “goal 8” (promotion of sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth). the fact is that, such unhealthy situation of health, apart from inadequate investment on health (synonymous with the nigerian health system) could find explanation on the neglect of influences of global factors in public policy. currently there is a dearth of studies that focused on the effect of this social macroeconomic variable on health in the context of the nigerian economy; though quite a few exist. for instance, study by swende (2008) by design is a literature review. nwankwo (2015) has a sociology background therefore provided no empirical information that could guide policy decision. the study by fatile and adesanya (2016) is state level survey study; it relied on data from a single health facility lagos state university teaching hospital (lasuth). information from such a study cannot be used to draw conclusion for the entire economy. on the other hand, oberlander et al., (2017) is a cross-country global investigation. it is not specific to nigeria therefore; results from such-investigation cannot explain events in nigeria. this study departs from known nigerian studies by empirically providing information on the impact of globalisation on health and wellbeing in nigeria. secondly, it distinguished trade from social globalisation, and discussed implications of results on sustainable development in nigeria. objectives that guided the study include: (i) determination of impact of globalisation on population health; (ii) determination of where nigeria currently lies between positive and negative quadrants of the effects of globalisation on population health; (iii) implication of this on sustainable development. the paper is divided into five sections, succeeding this introductory section is section two which explores relevant literature, section three specifies method of analysis, presentation of results and 4 discussion of findings were the focus in section four, while five sums up the investigation, draws conclusion highlighting policy implication of findings, and offers recommendation. literature review currently there is a dearth of papers focusing on the effect of globalisation on health, both at country and global level. at the global level, quite a number of papers examined this effect in different contexts (hawks 2006; thow & hawkes 2009; miljkovic, shaik, miranda, barabanov & liogier 2015; asiedu et al. 2015; oberlander et al 2017; garcia-dorado, cornselsen, smith, and walls 2019). for instance, in a study of middle-income countries, hawks (2006) examined links between globalization and nutrition transition. study by garcia-dorado, et al (2019) is a crosscountry review of quantitative studies. in a separate study, oberlander et al. (2017) in a panel of 70 countries examined the distinct effect of social globalisation and trade openness on national trend and markers of quality of diets; by adopting a grouped fixed-effect approach to estimation, the study found that social globalisation has a significant positive association with supplies of animal protein, while openness of trade insignificantly affects dietary outcome and health. on the other hand, asiedu et al. (2015) implicitly examined this effect in the context of examination of effect of income per capita on health. within the framework of system general method of moment (sgmm) approach to estimation, the study controlled for global factors. result of this investigation showed significant negative association across period. among nigeria specific studies, all but one adopted non-empirical approach in their investigation. these include adesina (2012), fetile, et al. (2016), swende and sokpo (2008), and nwankwo, (2015). each of these studies adopted content analytical approach in their investigation therefore has no empirical foundation. the study by ikpe (2018) focused on child health and failed to distinguish between trade and non-trade globalisation. drawing from the analysis above, there are three notable points; first, no known nigerian study empirically examined this effect using summary measure of health (life expectancy) as much as this study is aware of, second, past nigerian studies did not distinguish trade globalisation from social globalisation, third, no known study in nigeria deemed it necessary to examine where nigeria currently lies between positive and negative quadrant of the effects of globalisation, fourth, no study examined the implication of result outcome on sustainable development. theoretically, globalization is known to act through 5 its commonly known features like governance structures, markets, communication and diffusion of information, mobility, cross-cultural interaction, and environmental changes to determine and influence distal factors like health policies, trade, social interactions, knowledge as well as provision of goods and services. changes in distal factors in turn shapes the level of health through proximal determinants of health (huynen et al 2005). the health effect is then transmitted widely to determine productivity level and output, then development. bridging each of this observed literature gap is where this study departs from known nigerian studies. methodology data time series data which span over the period 1986 – 2017 was utilized in the analysis. le is life expectancy (proxy for population health), gdpc and anaemia are control variables for country specific factors that affects health. while gdpc denotes per capita gross domestic product (proxy for the economy’s level of income), anaemia represents prevalence of anaemia among women of reproductive age (proxy for within country health shock). topen and ntglob are proxy for non-country-specific factors (global factors) that affect health. topen denotes trade openness of the economy (trade related global factors); it is calculated as sum of trade (export + import) as a ratio of gdp, ntglob is time dummy variable which captures non trade related global factors that affect countries simultaneously. data for import, and export are sourced from central bank of nigeria’s statistical bulletin, while that for all other variables are sourced from world bank database 2018. theoretical framework and model specification theoretical basis of analysis is anchored on a combination of modernisation theory, and endogenous mortality and life expectancy theory. modernisation theory argues that there exist a relationship between globalisation and health. the nature of this relation in any country depends on the country’s global competitiveness in international relation. on the other hand, the endogenous mortality and life expectancy relates individuals’ survival and longevity to health investment. increased health investment on individual increases chances that the individual will have more years of life, and it is both a direct and indirect function of income. an examination of 6 these views indicates that health is determined by both country-specific and non-country-specific factors. drawing from the above theoretical framework, the study’s empirical specification of globalisation-health relationship is a combination of oberlander et al (2017) group fixed-effect model and asiedu et al., (2015) gmm model for developing countries. this same method of analysis has also been adopted by ikpe (2018). the estimated equation is as follows: let = α0 + α1ntglo + α2topent + α3gdpct + α4anaemiat + ɥt 1 where le is life expectancy in years, ntglo denotes non-trade global factors, topen is trade openness (trade global factors), and gdpc is per capita gdp, while anaemia is a measure of health of the population. α0, α1, α2 α3, and α4 are estimated parameters, ɥ is the error term, and t is time subscript. a priori expectation is that α3 > 0, α4 < 0, α2 can be greater or less than zero. equ (1) is a general or baseline model. you have to specifically present the ardl model as equ (2), which will capture the long and short run effects, as well as the speed of adjustment results and discusion of findings table1: results of stationarity tests variable adf adf break point order of integration constant constant & trend constant constant & trend statistic p-val statistic p-val statistic p-val statistic p-val le δle gdpc δgdpc topen δtopen anaemia δanaemia 0.310 -2.135 -1.020 -3.561 -3.261 -8.463 0.107 -2.475 0.975 0.234 0.733 0.013 0.026 0.000 0.960 0.132 -1.946 -2.001 -1.990 -3.469 -3.481 -5.974 -4.337 -2.360 0.603 0.575 0.583 0.061 0.059 0.000 0.010 0.391 -3.332 -4.221 -4.401 -5.801 -5.059 -8.663 -4.062 -3.765 0.485 0.093 0.056 < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.01 0.137 0.251 -3.753 -5.384 -2.996 -8.087 -4.949 -8.394 -5.134 -4.080 0.530 < 0.01 0.913 < 0.01 0.038 < 0.01 0.022 0.323 i(1) i(1) i(0) i(0) note: δ denotes first difference stationarity properties of each of the variables in the model were examined using both the augmented dickey-fuller (adf), and augmented dickey-fuller (adf) break point tests. results 7 from both statistics show a combination in order of stationarity among the variables between zero and one. this outcome necessitated choice of autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) bound test approach to estimation as proposed by pesaran, shin, and smith (2001) in the analysis. the unique feature of this approach to estimation provided ground for examining both the long run impact of each of the explanatory variables on life expectancy, and their specific short run dynamics. however, justification to explore the advantage of this unique feature was addressed by examining the cointegration properties of the model; result of this is presented in table 2. table 2. ardl cointegration results selected model f-statistics ardl(2,2,3,3) 9.783845** i(0) i(1) 1% 4.29 5.61 5% 3.23 4.35 10% 2.72 3.77 ** indicates significance at 5% level. source of asymptotic critical value bounds: narayan (2005) evidence from the table shows existence of a long run relationship between life expectancy and the set of explanatory variables. this conclusion is supported by the f-statistics value of 9.783845, which exceeds the upper critical bound at the 5% level of significance. as noted by narayan (2005), this provides evidence of a long-run relationship. the results of the long-run relationship between life expectancy (le) and global factors are presented in table 3. table 3: results of long run regression variable coefficient std error t – statistics pvalue gdpc -0.000155 0.000365 -0.425183 0.6782 anaemia -1.661462 0.274551 -6.051555** 0.0001 topen -4.698344 0.824310 -5.699727** 0.0001 ntglob2 -0.524849 0.211102 -.486233** 0.0286 ntglob3 -0.505699 0.347051 -1.457130 0.1707 ntglob4 -0.664004 0.507904 -1.307341 0.2156 c 138.077519 15.156643 9.110033 0.0000 note: ** denote variables that are significant at 5% level of significance. 8 result from the long run regression shows that all explanatory variables in the model have negative relationship with life expectancy. this indicates tendency for decrease in the value of life expectancy on event of an increase in level of any of the explanatory variables. all but per capita gdp conformed to expectations of underlying theory, and are also significant. empirically, life expectancy exhibited tendency to reduce by -4.7% should trade global factors increase by 1%. secondly, non-trade global factors defined by fluctuations in business cycle, spread of major influenza, diffusion of medical technology and its access, significantly reduce life expectancy by -0.6% for every 1% increase between the periods 1994 2001. this effect decreased to -0.5% in the period 2005 2009 but subsequently increases to -0.7% between 2010 – 2017, but no longer significant beyond 1994 2001. on the other hand, effects of variables specific to nigeria, on life expectancy are mixed. while per capita; gdp has an insignificant impact on life expectancy, prevalence of anaemia has a strong significant negative impact on le. specifically, le reduces by -1.7% for every 1% increase in anaemia. the specific dynamics of these observed effects are presented in table 4. 9 table 4: results of dynamic short run regression variable coefficient std error t – statistics p-value gdpc gdpc(-1) gdpc(-2) anaemia anaemia (-1) anaemia (-2) anaemia (-3) topen topen (-1) topen (-2) topen (-3) ntglob2 ntglob3 ntglob4 c conteq(-1) r-square adj.r-square f statistics diagnostic test jarque-bera b-pagan godfrey breush-godfrey lm ramsey reset 3.06e-05 2.52e-05 2.85e-05 -0.017970 -0.035628 0.006798 -0.093654 -0.119494 -0.103302 -0.096491 -0.077894 -0.044369 -0.042750 -0.056132 11.67257 -0.84536 99 99 90499.94 statistics 0.260081 3.776697 2.657761 1.913321 1.78e-05 2.56e-05 2.85e-05 0.038421 0.056028 0.053566 0.036813 0.034374 0.029486 0.029323 0.031744 0.017672 0.029461 0.043394 2.311999 1.718265 -0.594051 -0.999992 -0.467704 -0.635900 0.126906 -2.544071** -3.476255** -3.503423** -3.290629** -2.453777** -2.510701** -1.451087 -1.293548 5.048690** 0.1114 0.5635 0.3371 0.6484 0.5368 0.9011 0.0257 0.0046 0.0044 0.0065 0.0304 0.0274 0.1724 0.2202 0.0003 0.0004 0.0000 p-value 0.878060 0.0123 0.1187 0.1940 note: ** denotes variables that are significant at 5% level of significance the short run dynamics of the relationship between life expectancy (le) and each of the global factors are as presented in table 4; choice of lag length was made based on akaike information criterion (aic). results of the estimation show that in the current period, 1% increase in topen significantly reduces le by -0.12%. the magnitude of this observed effect improved progressively to -0.08% after three periods. on the other hand, non-trade global factors (ntglob) significantly reduce le by -0.04% within the period 1994 2001. this effect averagely worsened to -0.06% in 10 the period 2010 2017 but no longer significant. examination of the impacts of factors specific to the nigeria economy shows that effect of per capita gdp on le is insignificant across periods. the second variable, (prevalence of anaemia (anaemia) exerted insignificant effect on le from the current period to the second period down the line, but this effect became significant in the third period. in the third period, 1% increase in anaemia significantly reduces le by -0.09%. the model has an r2 of 0.99 an indication that 99% of changes in le is actually explained by the set of explanatory variables. again, the model is adjudged to be significant given and f statistics value of 90499.94 and probability value of 0.0000. the error correction term is -0.84536; this indicates that adjustment to equilibrium occurs at the rate of -0.85% every period on event of disequilibrium, and it has the right sign. the model in all but one case passed tests of diagnostics. specifically, jarque-bera test of normality produced a test statistic of 0.260081 with a probability value of 0.878060. breuschgodfrey lm test of serial correlation has a statistics value of 2.657761 and probability of 0.1187. value for ramsey reset test of specification bias is 1.913321 and probability value of 0.1940; this indicates failure to reject the null hypothesis in each case. the implication of this is that, the model is normally distributed, there is no case of serial correlation in the model, and there is no case of misspecification bias. however, result of breusch-pagan-godfrey test of hetroscedasticity reject the hypothesis of no hetroscedasticity, with statistic of 3.776697 and probability value of 0.0123. this implies that the variances are not constant across periods. such outcome is however not surprising, since the time series variables have mixed order of integration between i (0) and i (1). it is natural to detect hetroscedasticity under such situation (see also mano-bakalinov, 2016). additionally, the results of cusum and cusum of squares indicate that the coefficients of the variables remain stable across all periods, as demonstrated in figures 1a and 1b." 11 figure1a: result of cusum plot -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum 5% significance figure1b: result of cusum of squares plot -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 cusum of squares 5% significance 12 conclusion, policy implication of findings, and recommendation primarily, this investigation was embarked on to determine how important global factors can be to the achievement of improved health and general wellbeing for the nigerian populace. secondly, efforts were also made to determine where nigeria currently lies, between positive and negative guardrant of the influences of global factors, and the effect that this has on sustainable development in nigeria. results show that, against earlier conclusion that country specific factors are increasingly becoming less relevant in determination of health outcomes, this study made discoveries that point to the contrary. though (in line with previous findings) per capita gdp was discovered to have an insignificant negative association with life expectancy but, anaemia (a different country specific factor) was discovered to have a strong reducing effect on le. these findings are consistent with finding by asiedu et al (2015) and ikpe, (2018). on the other hand, globalisation (in every form) has strong negative effect on health. this indicates that nigeria currently lies on the negative guardrant of the effect of globalisation. this means that, in nigeria, negative effect of globalisation offsets its positive effects. the implication of this is that globalisation by means of its specific components like dumping of sub-standard products, brain drain of health care workers; spread of major influenza and business cycle effects mitigates efforts towards sustainable development in nigeria. this is consistence with findings by nwakwo (2015), and asiedu et al., (2015), but inconsistent with study by oberlander et al., (2017). on the bases of these discovery, the paper concludes that negative effects of globalisation offsets its positive effect in nigeria, therefore hinders meaningful efforts towards sustainable development. as a result, and given that globalisation has come to stay, nigeria should evolve ways of harnessing the benefits of globalisation, and managing its negative effects to levels that do not pose serious threat on meaningful efforts towards sustainable development. to this end, both child and maternal health intervention measures can be relied on for improving the health and wellbeing of the child, and pregnant mothers. on event of an outbreak of influenza, increased restrictions at the nation’s entry point, and strengthening of the health system can serve as an effective check against such outbreak and its possible spread within the economy. in the area of trade and given that the world is a “global village”, development of the manufacturing sector to create an effective interface with the agricultural and mining sectors is needed to create value 13 addition for internationally competitiveness of our exports. given the foregoing, this study recommends capacity building in the health sector aimed at checking spread of major influenza, on event of its outbreak across the border, and at the same time guarding against brain drain syndrome. secondly, proactive macroeconomic policy measure is advocated for tackling possible negative effects of business cycle. references adesina, o.s. 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(2019). economic and social impact and benefits of health systems. world health organisation europe regional reports. thow, a. m. and c. hawkes (2009). the implications of trade liberalization for diet and health: a case study from central america. globalization and health, 5(1):1–15. world bank (2020). world development indicators. world bank (2017). mortality rate, under 5 (per 1000 live births). available at https://dataworldbank.orglindicator/sh.dyn.mort? locations-zg.iw. retrieved 12, june, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840500278103 https://halsha.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-01400829v2 https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616 https://www.reserachgate.net/publication/23155702 https://dataworldbank.orglindicator/sh.dyn.mort 15 world bank (2018). net bilateral aid flows. available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicators/dc.dac.totl.cd?view=chart world health organization (2014).world health statistics 2014.geneva swizerland: who press. available at++p://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112738/1/9789240692671_eng.pdf retrieved june, 2019. page 7 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 116 assessing the role of female health for sustainable development in nigeria: what can we learn? marius ikpe1* richard o. ojike2 sunday a. okwor3 sunday v. agu4 joseph c. odionye5 1,2,3department of economics and development studies, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, pmb 1010 ebonyi state, nigeria 4department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology enugu, enugu state, nigeria 5department of economics, abia state university uturu, abia state, nigeria *correspondence: marius_ikpe@yahoo.com mcmaris091@gmail.com abstract human capital is key to achieving growth and sustainable development. therefore, economies that wish to develop invest massively on improving the quality and quantity of its stock of human capital. as aspects of human capital, health alongside education is given priority in the development agenda; this is however not the case in nigeria. the economy’s dismal performances in all indices of development (growth, employment, inequality and poverty levels) may find explanation on poor indices of health as an aspect of human capital – particularly female health. against this backdrop, this study assesses the role of female health on sustainable development in nigeria using the autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) analytical approach. data on sustainable society index (ssi) was utilized as a measure of sustainable development. findings provided evidence of importance of female health to sustainable development in nigeria. lessons for development policy were also discussed. keywords: female health, sustainable society index, sustainable development, nigeria introduction development as a concept is multifaceted and centered on improving the overall wellbeing of the individual. as focal point of development, wellbeing can be achieved through income growth, reduction in poverty, and unemployment, as well as ensuring equitable distribution of income. this makes it imperative that economies that wish to develop must push for improvement on these indices of development. in this adventure, economists have come to the realisation of importance of health in economic performance both at the aggregate and household levels. it is well documented in the literature that health is a commodity that is not sort after for its sake alone, but also as a crucial factor in growth and development process. (see mailto:marius_ikpe@yahoo.com mailto:mcmaris091@gmail.com 117 grossman 1972). this underscores the importance of health in the development agenda such that economies are required to apportion a significant proportion of annual budget to health. in the current dispensation, health budgetary provisions are viewed as a capital budget rather than consumption budget. as a capital expenditure, it is viewed as investment that has potential to trigger up spontaneous positive changes across sectors therefore should be of importance for policy. according to ichoku (2015) and based on scientific evidence, good health accounts for between 30 – 40% of national growth. this may have sparked up investigation on the negative consequences of poor health on national growth and development. evidence points to unpredictable illnesses which reduce health quality as a major determinant of unhealthy growth and wider spread poverty among less developed countries (ldcs) (alam & ke, 2008). in nigeria, statistical evidence point to the fact that incidence of common causes of ill-health such as outbreak of major influenza, malaria and other communicable diseases is high, and may account for observed poor performances in all indices of health. for instance, child mortality rate for nigeria is reported to be 100.2 per 1000 live births (world bank 2017). maternal mortality rate remain high; 100 per 100 000 live births (who, 2014). as a summary measure, life expectancy of an average nigerian stands at 53.95yrs as against 76.5yrs and 76,22yrs for morocco and algeria respectively (world bank, 2018). analysis of this across male and female gender shows that life expectancy of an average male child in nigeria stands at 53.09yrs, while that of female child is 54.84yrs(world bank, 2018), indicating a slightly more years of life for the female gender than the male. further statistical evidence points to a state of morbidity crises for the female gender particularly during their reproductive years. according to who, (2014) report, only 61% of pregnant nigerian mothers made at least one contact visit to a skilled health provider during pregnancy period. this no doubt rubs – off on overall contribution of the female gender to total output through reduced productivity. these observed differences underscore the importance of gender specific examination of the effect of ill-health on economic performance. furthermore, evidence has shown that when the family breadwinner/head suffers health challenge, the family suffers (krishina 2007). for instance, when a mother suffers health challenge, it affects the whole family in different perspectives; the children also suffer ill-health due to reduced care-giving, they also do not attend school regularly. these have long run negative consequences on growth and other indices of economic performance. 118 quite a few numbers of nigerian specific studies made useful attempt at examining the relationship between health and economic development. however, the focus of each of these studies is quite distinct from the objective of this particular investigation. for instance, a number of these studies examined the relationship among health spending, health status, and economic growth as a component of development (mathias et al, 2013; ibikunle, 2019). some other studies carried out implicit examination of this relation in the context of examining the relationship between health spending and economic growth (bakare and sanmi, 2011; nwanosike et al, 2015; maduka et al, 2016; anowor et al 2020). this particular study differ from each of the previous studies by (1) utilizing an index measure of development (sustainable society index); it incorporates all indices of sustainable development, (2) rather than a summary measure of health, it investigates the impact of gender specific aspect of health (female health), (3) it utilized a measure of health that captures morbidity (prevalence of anemia) rather than mortality. specifically, objective that guided the investigation is to determine the impact of female health on sustainable development in nigeria. empirical literature international evidence on the relationship between health and development are mainly studies that examined association between health and economic growth as a component of development. among these are studies that examined effect of health on labour productivity (cole & nenmayer, 2005); knapp, 2007; pohl, neilson and parro, 2013; mathias et al, 2013; trevisan & zantomoi, 2015; lixin, kostas, and umut, 2008). all found that good health improves productivity. specifically lixin et al (2005) found that lower health status result in lower working hours. some other studies explicitly focused investigation on relationship between health and economic growth (bloom, canning, 2001; bloom canning and sevilla, 2001; swiff, 2011; odrakiewicz, 2012); all arrived at similar findings which suggest that improved health results to increases in growth as independently measured by either absolute value of gdp, gdp per capita or output growth. some other studies undertook an implicit examination of this relation by focusing on the impact of public health expenditure on economic growth (heshmati, 2001; mojtahed and javadipour, 2004; bakare and sanmi, 2011; eggoh, houeninvo, & sosson, 2015; nwanosike et al, 2015; maduka et al, 2016; halici-tuluce et al 2016; bustamante, and shimoga, 2017; ibikunle, 2019; 119 tammy & chris, 2019; anowor et al 2020). these studies directly or indirectly provided evidence for the relationship between health and economic growth as a component of development. for instance, in the context of a dynamic panel data-set comprising lowand high-income countries halici-tuluce et al (2016) examined the relationship between health expenditure and economic growths for the period 1995-2012 and 1997-2009 respectively. in the short run, existing relations between health expenditure and economic growth for lowincome countries was discovered to be reciprocal, but one-way causality runs from economic growth to public health expenditure in the long-run. in high income countries, the causality is bidirectional in the short-run for both private and public health expenditures but, causality runs from economic growth to private health expenditure on the long run. bustamante, and shimoga, (2017) compared the income elasticity of health spending in middleand high-income countries using fixed and random effects, models. the study addressed non-stationary and cointigration properties by implementing the first-difference of the study variables. findings show that despite rapid growth experiences in sampled middle income countries, their aggregate income elasticity remained below unity and equals aggregate income elasticity of high-income countries. more recently, anowor et al (2020) undertook a journey to unravel hidden facts in the link between health spending and growth in output per capita in ecowas region utilizing data for the period 1985 – 2017. results of the panel author distributed lag (ardl) model show that, public and private health spending significantly enhance output per capita. however, none of these findings could offer explanation to what happens to poverty, unemployment and income inequality, hence this particular investigation. . methodology data time series data which span over the period 2006 – 2016 was utilized in the analysis; this was interpolated into quarterly data series using eview9 econometric software. susdev stands for sustainable development, nox is non – oil export as a percentage of total export, gfkap stands for gross fixed capital formation (proxy for physical capital), prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age was utilized as proxy for female health (fhealth), while ssenrol (secondary school enrolment rate) was used as proxy for education as an aspect of human capital. gcexp is government capital expenditure; noda denotes net official development aid. among these, susdev was sourced from the sustainable society index; 120 ggfkap, fhealth, ssenrol, and noda are sourced from world bank (2018) database, while nox and gcexp are sourced from central bank of nigeria’s statistical bulletin (2018). theoretical framework and model specification analysis in the study is founded on the structural theory of economic development. the argument herein is that development is a function of the extent to which countries are able to diversify away from traditional primary products into manufactured exports and expansion of nontraditional exports (chineny 1979; syquin, 1989; hesse, 2008). furthermore, the model relates export diversification and growth (as components of development) to the export-led growth (elg) hypothesis. drawing from this relation, the study disaggregates health and education as component of human capital in the traditional augmented cobb-douglas production function. the specification here fallows that by obwona (2012) as adopted by onodugo, ikpe and anowor (2013). this is specified as: x = a, kα, h1-α-(1) where x = sustainable development (susdev) k = physical capital proxied by gross fixed capital formation (gfkap) h = human capital (female health (fhealth)), education (secondary school enrolment (ssenrol)). a = total factor productivity (tfp) of growth in output. it is of note that “a” is a function of private investment (pinv.). thus a = h (pinv) (2) by substituting equation (2) into equation (1), and taking note of the fact that x = susdev, k = gfkap, h = fhealth, and ssenrol, we have: susdev = f(pinv, gfkap, fhealth, ssenrol) (3) expectation in (3) is that pinv affects development through export trade. this in nigeria’s economic model is categorized into oil (the traditional export commodity) and non – oil export; export diversification for nigeria is measured by the degree of move away in the direction of non-oil export trade (nox). therefore: pinv = g (nox) (4) by substituting equation (4) into (3), we have 121 susdev = f(nox, gfkap, fhealth, ssenrol) (5) in equation (5), we introduced the role of public sector as well as external development agencies; public sector role is captured by public capital expenditure (gcexp), while contribution of external development partners is proxied by net official development agency (noda). introducing gcexp and noda into the model transforms equation 5 to: susdev = f(nox, gfkap, fhealth, ssenrol, gcexp, noda) (6) econometric transformation of equation (5) is as stated below: susdev = βo + β1noxt + β2gfkapt + β3gcexpt + β4fhealtht + β5ssenrot + β6noda t + µt (6) where susdev = sustainable development nox = non-oil export gfkap = gross fixed capital formation gcexp = government capital expenditure fhealth = female health ssenrol = secondary school enrolment ratio noda = net official development agency µ = error term t = time subscript β1, β2 β6 are the estimated elasticities; a priori expectation is that all shall be positive. estimation strategy: macroeconomics variables by nature tend to exhibit random walks in their behaviour. this makes results estimates from analysis conducted with such non-stationary variables to be unreliable for policy. as a result, time series properties of each of the variables in the model were examined using zivot and andrew (1992) unit root test. zivot and andrew test statistics was preferred and subsequently chosen given its unique feature of being able to account for unknown single structural break in series. result of this, is as presented in table 1. observation therein shows mix order of integration in the macroeconomics data series running between zero and one (i(0) and i(1)). secondly, structural break was equally observed in each of the data series. this outcome makes autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model approach to cointegration most appropriate for analysis. pasaran, shin and smith, (2001) ardl bound testing 122 approach to cointegration analysis can be applied to series that are integrated of order zero and one. table 1: zivot – andrews unit root test variable level form tstatistics break date first difference tstatistics break date oder of integration susdev fhealth -4.751202 -0.605545 2008q1 2009q1 -15.01075 -16.83938 2009q1 2015q1 i(1) i(1) gcexp -4.390105 2010q1 -7.287525 2010q1 i(0) gfkap -5.021999 2009q1 -7.382535 2010q3 i(0) ssenrol -5.968168 2013q1 -7.800093 2008q1 i(0) noda -3.006533 2010q3 -9.81347 2015q1 i(1) nox -7.217633 2008q1 -7.336040 2013q1 i(0) equation for the ardl model is as specified: δsusdevt = β0 +   p i 1 βiδsusdevt-i +   q j 0 αjδnoxt-j +  q k 0 λkδgfkapt-k +  q l 0 φlδgcexpt-l +   q m 0 ηm δfhealtht-m +   q n 0 θnδssenrolt-n +   q n 0 μoδnodat-o + δ0susdevt-1 + δ1noxt-1 + δ2gfkapt-1 + δ3gcexpt-1 + δ4 fhealtht-1 + δ5 ssenrolt-1+ δ6nodat-1 + єt (7) the cointegrating equation which is based on an asymptotic non-standard f-test on coefficient of the lag level variables of the unrestricted correction model is specified thus: δsusdevt = β0 +   p i 1 βiδsusdevt-i +   q j 0 αjδnoxt-j +  q k 0 λkδgfkapt-k +  q l 0 φlδgcexpt-l +   q m 0 ηm δfhealtht-m +   q n 0 θnδssenrolt-n +   q n 0 μoδnodat-o + ωectt-1 + μt (8) 123 ect-1 is the error correction term, ʯ indicates the speed of adjustment to equilibrium should there be occurrence of disequilibrium. table 2 present the results of this model (results of cointegration). results of estimation table2: ardl cointigration result break date selected model f-statistics 2009q1 ardl(1,0,1,2,1,1,1) 7.272346*** 1% 5% 10% i(0) 3.6 2.87 2.53 i(1) 4.9 4 3.59 note: *** indicates significance at 1% level of significance observation from the result shows that the calculated f statistics is higher than the upper critical value at all levels of significance. this indicates failure to reject the null hypothesis of no long run relationship. this justifies estimation of the model on the bases of ardl bound test approach to cointegration. results of the estimation of this specification as presented in tables 3 and 4 formed the bases of findings in this study. table 3: long run estimates variable coefficient std error t-statistics prob-values fhealh -0.181060 0.042309 -4.279445** 0.0002 gcexp 0.274606 0.067200 4.086433** 0.0004 gfkap 0.011766 0.003961 2.070705** 0.0063 nox -0.334868 0.073098 -4.581062** 0.0001 senrol 0.047820 0.012739 3.753840** 0.0009 noda -0.049873 0.006510 -7.660594** 0.0000 brksusdev 0.906976 0.139926 6.481816** 0.0000 c 12.448676 1.856280 6.706248 ** 0.0000 @trend -0.006002 0.004983 -1.204414 0.2393 124 table 4: short run estimate and diagnostics tests variable coefficient std error t-statistics prob-values d(fhealth) -0.110880 0.025158 -4.407330** 0.0002 d(gcexp) 0.129099 0.040296 3.203746** 0.0036 d(gfkap) 0.000371 0.003376 0.109776 0.9134 d(nox) -0.161510 0.039814 -4.056595** 0.0004 d(ssenrol) 0.24583 0.006085 4.039912** 0.0004 d(noda) -0.040268 0.003045 -13.224778** 0.0000 d(brksusdev) 0.555425 0.076184 7.290626** 0.0000 d(@trend) -.0.003675 0.002889 -1.272135 0.2146 coint eg(-1) -.0.612393 0.085469 -7.165115** 0.0000 diagnostics tests jarque-bera 1.838255 [0.398867] bg serial correlation lm 0.716059 [0.4988] bpg hetroscedasticity 2.554095 [0.0174] ramsey reset 0.785402 [0.3839] note: p – values in []; ** p<0.05 figure 1a: result of cusum test of stability of coefficients 125 -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 ii iii iv i ii iii iv i ii iii iv i ii iii iv 2013 2014 2015 2016 cusum 5% significance figure 1b: result of cusum of squares test of stability of coefficients 126 -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 ii iii iv i ii iii iv i ii iii iv i ii iii iv 2013 2014 2015 2016 cusum of squares 5% significance empirical findings and discussion result of the long run regression (table 3) shows that three of the explanatory variables (fhealth, nox, noda) have negative relationship with sustainable development (susdev). this points to the fact that, increase in level of any of these variables leads to reduction in sustainable development (susdev). the fact that increase in female health leads to reduction in sustainable development means that worsening health burden for the feminine population leads to reduction in level of sustainable development. on the other hand, gcexp, gfkap and ssenrol relate positively with susdev; thus indicating that increase in any of these variable scales up level of sustainable development. as a matter of fact, all the explanatory variables statistically exert significant impact on susdev, and also conform to expectations of the theory. negative association between nox and susdev is reminiscence of the dual nature of nigerian economy, and corresponding trade-off between resource use in oil sector, and its alternative deployment in non-oil sector. in the model, nox is used to capture the economy’s degree of diversification away from its traditional export. this in nigeria’s case is defined by the extent of move away from oil export towards non-oil export. given the under-developed nature of the non-oil sector relative to the oil sector, the economy has to accept temporary loss of productivity as resources are moved from oil to non-oil sector, hence the negative 127 relationship. in the case of noda-susdev relation, sign of this depends on usage of funds; deployment of aid fund into productive investment will lead to positive association between noda and susdev, and negative if otherwise. specific empirical interpretation of findings indicates tendency for susdev to reduce by -0.2% should female health worsen by 1% (i.e, should prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age increase by 1%). other result shows that 1% increase in nox and noda reduces susdev by -0.3% and -0.1% respectively. furthermore, 1% increase in gcexp, gfkap and ssenrol increases susdev by 0.3%, 0.1% and 0.1% respectively. dynamics of each of these relations shows that in current period, worsening health condition for the female population (fhealth) significantly exhibit tendency to reduce susdev by 0.1% for every 1% increase. nox and noda significantly reduce susdev by -0.2%, and 0.04% respectively for every percentage increase in each of the variables. on the other hand, 1% increase in gcexp, gfkap and ssenrol significantly increase susdev by 0.1%, 0.0004%, and 0.03% respectively. significance of brksusdev indicates that the structural change that affected susdev in nigeria in the first quarter of 2009 (2009q1) significantly influenced the impact of each of the explanatory variables on sustainable development in both long run and short run periods. on event of disequilibrium, adjustment to equilibrium significantly takes place at the rate of 61% every period. furthermore, observations from results of the diagnostics tests shows that the model is robust to jarque bera test of normality, b.g test of serial correlation as well as ramsey reset test of specification bias probability values of f-statistics in each case indicate rejection of the individual null hypothesis. also, coefficients of the variables are stable across periods as adjudged by both the cusum, and cusum of squares test, (see figure 1). however, observation from result of breusch-pegan-godfrey test of heteroscedasticity indicates rejection of the hypothesis of no heteroscedasticity in the data. this outcome did not come as a surprise, given that the time series variables have mixed order of integration (i(0) and i(i)). under such situation, it is natural to detect heteroscedasticity (see mano-bakalinov, 2016). conclusion and lessons for development policy primarily, this investigation was embarked on to empirically and specifically determine impact of female health on sustainable development in nigeria. results show tendency for sustainable development to reduce as a result of increase in level of female health burden. on the basis of 128 this, the study concludes that female health burden has a significant reducing effect on sustainable development in nigeria. as a result, the study identifies key lessons of importance for development policy in nigeria:  female health has both short-run and long-run effect on development. its short-run effect stems from reduced care-giving to the child, and momentary reduction in feeding habit on account of health challenge on the female household head. the aggregation of these, as well as reduction in school attendance rate suffered by the child on account of a sick mother culminate to long-run income loss on the society.  against expectation, non-oil export has negative consequences on growth. this is the case due to the transfer of resources from the oil sector to non-oil sector; reduction in relative contribution of these resources in the non-oil sector viz-a-vis the oil sector where they are migrating from, accounts for the observed reducing effect of non-oil export on sustainable development; this will correct itself as the non-oil sector develops.  although development aid has both short and long-run effect on development, it is however not a key factor to be considered in developing nigerian economy – the country should instead focus on inward looking development policies such that could lead to the development of the non-oil sector. on the basis of the above, the study recommends improved funding and capacity building in the area of health interventions targeted at the female gender. improved funding will ensure that health facilities are made available not only for the females, but for the generality of the society. on the other hand, health interventions will serve as a proactive measure to promote good health amongst the female population. references adam, l. and ke, x. 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(2019), ‘economic and social impacts and benefits of health systems: world health organization europe regional health reports. http://www.euro.who.int/_data/assets/pdf_file/0006/395718/economic-social-impact-healthfinal.pdf?ua=1. trevisan, e. and zantomio, f. (2015), ‘the impact of acute health burden on the labour supply of older workers: evidence from sixteen european countries’. a working paper of the department of economics, ca’foscari university of venice. 27(wp), 1827 – 3580. world bank (2018). datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/ zivot, e. and andrews, d. w. k. (1992), ‘further evidence on the great crash, the oil-price shock, and the unit-root hypothesis’, journal of business & economic statistics, 10(3), 251– 270. https://doi.org/10.1198/073500102753410372 http://globalmj.eu/?p=550 https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.616 http://www.euro.who.int/_data/assets/pdf_file/0006/395718/economic-social-impact-health-final.pdf?ua=1 http://www.euro.who.int/_data/assets/pdf_file/0006/395718/economic-social-impact-health-final.pdf?ua=1 https://doi.org/10.1198/073500102753410372 page 6 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 399 when culture plays a determinant role in the adoption of family planning amongst families ugwu stella abel department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng abstract the study explored the influence of cultural factors on the use of family planning services by married women in nkanu area, enugu state, south east nigeria. it focused on married women’s awareness and utilization of family planning services (fps), factors determining married women’s use of the services, the problems that arise as a result of their not accessing family planning, who decides when to access or not to access these family planning services in marriage? the study adopted a qualitative survey method by reviewing existing literatures and data. the study also adopted the marxist feminist perspective which argues that women, as a class, are oppressed by social relations in decision making. the research findings showed that the culture of patriarchy, women illiteracy, financial strain and depressing economic condition of the country amongst others were cultural determinants of access and adoption of family planning services among rural families. this study suggests that door to door sensitization which will involve husbands workshops and conferences should be employed as strategies to increase knowledge of family planning in the research area and by extension all other rural areas of the nation. keywords: contraceptives, culture, african marriage, family planning, patriarchy introduction family planning (fp) is the purposeful regulation of conception or childbirth or the use of devices, chemicals, abortion or other techniques to prevent or terminate pregnancy or voluntary avoidance or delay of pregnancy (federal ministry of health, nigeria [fmoh], 2005a; gavin et al., 2014). according to olaitan (2011), family planning techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and management and infertility management. these services are defined as educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable couples, individuals including sexually active adolescents and minors to determine freely the number and spacing of their children; avoid getting pregnant and/or even avoid sexually transmitted diseases, to select the means by which this may be achieved. family planning is sometimes used as a synonym for birth control or child spacing, though it often includes more (olaitan, 2011). family planning was listed as one of the twelve pillars of reproductive health. among the objectives of fp is to help women to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies (fmoh, 2005a). in nigeria, before the introduction of modern family planning in 1989, there were traditional methods of birth control (mairiga, kullima, bako, & kolo, 2010; odimegwu, 1999). these traditional methods which still exist and are convenient for users are natural while mailto:stellabel.ugwu@esut.edu.ng ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 400 the modern types which are new in nigeria are both natural and artificial (mairiga et al., 2010). the use of fp implies that the users make concerted efforts to deal with procreation within the context of a sexual relationship. this covers things as varied as when to get pregnant, the number of children that are wanted, how to deal with fertility issues, how to avoid getting pregnant, whether to consider an abortion if an unwanted pregnancy occurs, or adoption, etc. family planning has also been found to be beneficial to couples such as promotion of gender equality and educational and economic empowerment for women (kelodjouea, 2015). despite the known benefits of family planning, globally, more than 120 million women aged 15 to 49 who are married or in a union have an unmet need for family planning (united nations, 2011) and in sub-saharan africa (ssa) the uptake of the service still remains low (abdullahi, 2012). an unmet need for fp according to ubos and ifc international inc. (2012) as quoted by sileo (2014) refers to women capable of reproducing who are not using contraception, but wish to postpone their next birth or to stop childbearing all together. in order to curtail the unsustainable population growth, especially through procreation, the federal government of nigeria at the 2012 london summit on family planning made a commitment to scale up promotion of family planning to nigerians. this was to be done by making contraceptive consumables available to those who need them and when they need them. as part of the efforts, the government launched “green dot” to help people identify family planning facilities in the country. though there is still a huge gap of unmet needs for those willing to use them, many sexually active women are simply reluctant to embrace contraceptives. these includes: contraceptives are methods, devices or drugs used to reduce or prevent unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion. contraception comes in three broad forms: the long-acting reversible contraception, the shortacting reversible contraception and permanent methods. the long-acting reversible contraceptives (larc) are methods of birth control that provide effective contraception for an extended period without requiring user action. they include injections, intrauterine devices (iuds) and subdermal contraceptive implants. on the other hand, the short-acting contraceptives (sarc) have to be used in short time intervals such as in case of condoms, and daily intake of pills. in spite of advocacy by government and development partners on the benefits of family planning, acceptance of modern contraceptives has remained very low in nigeria. the benefits of family planning are obvious: it allows women to space child birth and replenish vital nutrients lost during the process. it also allows the organs of mothers to return to normal. in spite of these obvious merits, 87 per cent of women in nigeria or their partners do not use modern or traditional contraceptives. statistics from the 2016/17 multiple indicator cluster survey (mics) indicates that only 11 percent of women of ages 15 to 49 currently married or in union, use the method in the country. the statistics reveals that much needs to be done, especially in the northern part of the country to make nigerian women embrace modern contraceptives. cultural factors such as community norms, religious belief and gender roles are the most important factors influencing the choice of family planning among couples. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 401 in nigeria like in most developing countries, the utilization of family planning services is not optimal because of a number of factors, such as culture of the people and low status of women (coleman, 2004; delano, 2015). other factors include lack of education and understanding about health related issues, the ability of women to command resources and make independent decisions about their fertility, birth control knowledge (apanga & adam, 2015; nwakeze, 2003; umoh & udo, 2014). location, religion and social class, lack of cooperation from spouse, cost, and perceived difficulties with the methods and lack of knowledge about contraceptive methods, community members’ awareness and understanding about the methods etc. also serve as determinants of use of family planning services (bakibinga, et al., 2016; doctor, findley, afenyadu, uzondu & ashir, 2013; mairiga et al., 2010; world bank, 2002). moreover in nigeria, the provision of health services is more in the urban areas than in the rural areas (olaitan, 2011). where family planning services are located in rural areas, use is low due to lack of proximity, bad road network, and the nearest urban center. where such clinic is available, it may not provide adequate care because of lack of properly trained staff and equipment (oluwepo & okedare, 2006; quedraogo, 2005). negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are enormous as it affects the individual, the family, the community and nation at large. empirical findings have shown that it leads to increase in maternal illness such as multiple pregnancies, hemorrhage, etc. (ikpeze, 2010). it sometimes leads to social problems in the family and community such as violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence, on the part of the women, mistrust. on the part of the men, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids, affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women and sometimes it leads to maternal death (ezumah, 2003). these have socioeconomic consequences on the immediate family as the resources meant for the upkeep of the family are diverted to the health care of the parent(s) as the case may be, time wasted and the future and the life of the children truncated (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003). family planning services are aimed at reduction of maternal and child morbidity and mortality, empowering women by alleviating the burden of excessive child bearing, prevention of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, providing protection against sexually transmitted infections including hiv/aids, drop in unsafe abortions, etc (umoh & udo, 2014). family planning services have the function of preventing most maternal/child illnesses and deaths (smith, ashford, gribble & clifton, 2009) yet it has been recorded that the rate of maternal/child morbidity and mortality is high in developing countries when compared to developed countries (ikpeze, 2010; fmhn, 2005b). world bank (2015) estimate shows that maternal mortality ratio in nigeria is high, about 814/100,000 live births, yet attitude of members of the developing countries to fp services is low and this attitude is attributed to socio-cultural and economic reasons and more in rural areas (engender health, 2009; galadanci, 2009; smith et al., 2009).with the adverse consequences of non-consent and non-use, and the low understanding of the importance of fp services on the reproductive health of women, concerted efforts must be made economically, socially, politically and otherwise towards ensuring that the negative consequences of lack of use of family planning services are controlled to the barest minimum. this study therefore ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 402 reviewed literatures on cultural determinants of the use of family planning services by married women in nkanu area of enugu state and suggests measures that could enhance their effective use of family planning services. statement of the problem family planning is a topical issue in nigeria like most other african countries has high population density because of high maternal fertility of about 5.6 children and above per woman (abdullahi, 2012; kelodjouea, 2015). in other african countries, according to smith et al, (2009) at least eight in ten women and nine in ten men know at least one method of family planning, yet utilization of family planning is still low; while 13 percent of currently married women use a method of family planning, only eight percent of them use modern methods (abdullahi, 2012; apanga & adam, 2015). this is as a result of several cultural factors. for example, child-bearing and rearing as well as the number and sex of children define a woman’s value and status in her community; these in turn contribute to women’s limited use of family planning services (engender health, 2009; galadanci, 2009). research carried out in ilorin by oluwepo and okedare (2006) showed that the level of acceptance of family planning is more in the urban areas than in the rural areas. most nigerian women do not access it especially those in the rural areas (nwakeze, 2003) because in relation to contraception, it is a male prerogative (mairiga et al., 2010). male control is a major determinant of women’s use of family planning services. findings have shown that culture of patriarchy is very significant because most women are denied access to education which is expected to help women make informed family planning choices. for instance, kelodjouea (2015) findings show that education of husband is an important factor particularly in those societies where a woman who is not educated cannot make her reproductive health decision without the consent of her husband. also, the nature of women’s work in production such as household work (drudgery), to a great extent determines the rate of accessing and using of family planning services (kelodjouea, 2015). other factors that affect use of family planning services by married women in nigeria include poor financing of health care services (ikpeze, 2010), lack of focus on curative measures and political will by government (quedraogo, 2005). there is disparity in health care services delivery between the remote and non-remote areas as in nigeria where access and use is limited in rural areas unlike in urban areas (engender health, 2009). agujiobi (2003) attributed it to ignorance on the part of the rural dwellers and the cause of the ignorance she attributed to lack of presence of non-governmental organisations (ngos) in the rural areas of nigeria to educate and enlighten them on the presence and importance of family planning services. sometimes the available clinics may not provide decent care because of lack of proper staff and equipment (engender health, 2009). the effects of not planning the family cause a large number of women to continue to experience unplanned pregnancies leading to morbidity, mortality and social distress (ringheim & gribble, 2010; smith, et al, 2009). ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 403 in nkanu area, people’s main source of livelihood is subsistence farming which makes their condition even worse. social amenities such as quality health care facilities, government presence, etc, are lacking causing increase in high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. also prevailing attitude and cultural practices affect women’s knowledge of their reproductive health needs and their willingness and ability to seek appropriate care. nkanu area is culture bound and therefore could be described as a traditional society even though some of its communities are close to the city. little or no academic research on family planning has taken place in this study area, even though pregnancy related problems exist here as in other rural communities in nigeria. family planning as studies have shown is central to gender equality, women’s empowerment and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. if use of family planning services is not encouraged in this study area, it will become not only a great health problem to married women but also continuous social and economic problem to the community and nation at large. therefore this study investigated the cultural determinants of use and use of family planning services among the married women of the study area. objective of the study the main objective of the study is to investigate cultural factors that determine the use of family planning services in some families in enugu state. these cultural factors refer to the institutions, language, symbols, practices, values, beliefs, norms, folklores, etc of the people and how these affect knowledge and access to family planning services. theoretical perspective/literature review the marxist feminist perspective is important for this kind of work. firestone (1971) for example, argued that women, as a class, are oppressed by social relations in decision making. ortner (1974) also noted that the other factors that do affect women’s decision making status, power relations/resource allocation in marriage include socio-cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, norms, socialization, which influence social, political and economic realities of societies. this perspective also maintained that subordination of women is further strengthened by encouraging women to develop female culture which involves nurturing and survival thereby affecting their ability to access and use family planning services (symke, 1991). offman and matheson (2004) asserted that sexual inequality is socially constructed and that it is enforced through the social structures of private property and monogamy which contributed to the decline of women’s status (mills, 1970). this perspective argued that the inequality in decision making is a method men use to secure and maintain their power. gage in her book “the third person” as reported by spender in her book, “women of ideas and what men have done to them” (1990) noted that christianity helps to reduce women to subordination and also perpetuates it. boserup (1970) was of the opinion that the division between the private (female) sphere and public (male) sphere entrenched women subordination to men. western materialist feminists like kate millet (1970), noted that women were socialized to be dependent on men. reproductive health has been a major concern to man. family planning was listed as one of the twelve pillars of reproductive health and one of its objectives is to help women to protect ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 404 themselves from unwanted pregnancies, ill-health, etc (fmhn, 2005). this has not been effective in some african societies nigeria inclusive, because there are factors that militate against the ability of women of all levels to seek and use family planning services (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003; olaitan, 2011). the literature identifies a number of ways that norms influence the general uptake of contraception and preferred methods. the traditional norm of not using modern contraception is sometimes deeply embedded and can take a long time to change, despite interventions. in a heavily cited journal article based on analysis of longitudinal data of uptake of contraception, munshi and myaux (2006) explain how in rural bangladesh, the traditional norm to regulate fertility was early and universal marriage, as a precedent for immediate and continuous childbearing. this norm was legitimized through religious belief and authority. although the government started to promote contraception from 1978 onwards, take up was very slow. the authors found that as the institution of ‘purdah’(veiling and segregation) limits women’s social interactions to other women within their religious groupin bangladesh, shifts in attitudes about fertility occurred at the level of these religious groups rather than across villages, despite common family planning inputs across villages (munshi & myaux, 2006). the world bank’s (2015, p.54) world development report suggests therefore that ‘fertility transitions may be better viewed as a norm-driven process than as the aggregate outcome of autonomous decisions’. in uganda, contradictory messages about whether to use contraceptives from partners, parents, clergy, teachers, cultural leaders and health workers were identified as key obstacles to uptake (nalwadda, et al., 2010). negative stereotypes, stigma, misconceptions and fear limit uptake of contraception. social stigma, fear and embarrassment were identified as one of the most common barriers to young people accessing contraception services –including the attitude of the service providers. research in tanzania by shattuck, et al. (2011) found that sexual jealousy discouraged contraceptive use, as men worried that women’s use of contraception might allow them to be promiscuous and unfaithful without fear of conceiving. in uganda, focus groups with young people found that they believed and were afraid that contraceptives could harm their fertility (nalwadda, et al., 2010). it is considered critical to intervene early, when adolescents are forming their identities, developing their understanding of social norms around sexuality and gender, and making choices (including whether/when to have sex or use contraception) that will affect the rest of their lives(expert comments). in all countries, community attitudes, such as those of parents, faith leaders, teachers, providers, and others, play a critical role in how impactful youth programmes can be. working with parents, families, and community leaders is imperative to ensuring that young people have access to the information and services they need. methodology the paper, as a theoretical study, made use of secondary sources of data collection. relevant data were extracted from reports, textbooks, academic journals, magazines, and from other secondary sources such as the internet and library. factors that influence the use of family planning services ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 405 in nigeria like in most developing countries, the extent of the acceptance and usage of family planning services are affected by the social, economic and culture of the societies in it. omeje (2000) in his findings noted that poor access (both in logistics and financial terms) to modern health care clinic increase maternal and child morbidity and mortality. culturally, child-bearing and rearing are very important to mankind and in particular women as it defines a woman’s value and status in her community alongside the number and sex of children (mairiga et al., 2012; nnorom, 2003). ringheim and gribble’s (2010) research findings show that in nigeria, most pregnancies were reported as intended reflecting early marriage and social norms that support early child bearing. onyeneho and okeibunor (2003) in the study they carried out in mbaise, imo state noted that their respondents had an average of 5.6 children and above, which is comparatively high. in the same study they found out that those respondents with more female children wanted more children than those with more male children or equal sexes. the status of women as wives and mothers add to pregnancy related problems (ezumah, 2004). okeibunor’s (2000) findings from a qualitative study in nsukka on the sociological context of sexuality and family planning showed that the low status of women was socially constructed and hinders women from exercising their health rights as newly young married girls lose independence and mobility when they move into their in-laws home after marriage (umoh & udo, 2014). this is epitomized in alumanah’s (2003) findings that women had no decision making power with regard to their reproductive health as most of her female respondents (ruralite, uneducated and poor, etc) reported that they would have to inform their spouses or relatives of complications before seeking care and 1/3 of them said they would have to seek permission to seek care. ndhs (2014) reports indicate that only 6 percent of currently married women make decisions themselves on their own health care while 3/5 (60%) women report that their husbands make such decisions. children are highly valued and desired irrespective of their gender as both sexes fill a very crucial gap in the social and cultural life of the family (mairiga et al., 2010). nwakeze’s (2003) findings from her study in anambra state showed that infertility was of great consequences for the couple and the woman in particular. similarly, ezumah’s (2003) findings of a research she undertook on sexuality and gender relations in anambra state using qualitative methods, showed the importance attached to procreation as emphasized on the extent a barren woman goes to get a wife for her husband to bear children on her behalf or a wife goes outside her matrimonial home (with or without the consent of her husband in the case of infertility on the man’s side) to get children in order to maintain the family’s existence and value in the community. these socio-cultural attitudes towards the importance of marriage and family made many nigerians react negatively to the programme of family planning services (ringheim & griggle, 2010). alumanah (2003) and kelodjouea (2015) noted from their findings in nigeria and cameroon respectively that the ability of women to command resources and make independent decisions about their fertility has an impact on choice of use or non-use of family planning services. their findings also showed that women who were economically independent sought health care more compared to those without education. ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 406 in agreement to their findings, ugwu’s (2007) research findings showed that educational achievement of wives does not translate directly to exercise of authority as no matter the educational level of a wife, she still needs her husbands’ approval or at least that of his kins to seek health care and in particular family planning services. the social strength of power relations between married couples and extended family to a large extent affect the rate of access and use of family planning services by women in relation to contraception. empirical studies in nigeria like in other african countries have shown that even with urbanisation and westernization men are still the main decision makers when it comes to fertility control with no class difference and to a less degree the kins and in-laws (bowman & kuenyehia, 2003; kelodjouea, 2015; mairiga et al., 2010). there are social consequences of use of family planning services in areas where it is not socially accepted especially in traditional areas and these consequences could be fatal and the actions range from violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence, etc. on the part of the woman, she ceases to trust the man. on the part of the man, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women, to death sometimes (ezumah, 2003; gavin et al.,2014; oluwepo & okedare, 2006; & sonfield, 2013). traditional family planning methods the findings of ringheim and gribble (2010) and mairiga et al. (2010) show that traditional methods of birth control though old and natural are still being used in nigeria. the findings show that long lactation combined with post-partum sexual abstinence, fertility awareness methods (that is, use of basal body temperature, cervical position, cervical mucus method), withdrawal, waist band, rings, charms, jumping ropes, horseback riding, and having abortions are used to space birth (delano, 2015). these traditional and natural family planning methods are persisting because the fertility patterns observed in developing countries are attributed to the traditional attitudes and cultural values held by communities and the tradition of communities to favour having many children (mairiga et al., 2010). the research findings of obasi and umoh (2000) showed that 9.8% of 20.4% of their total respondents who were currently using any type of family planning methods were those using traditional family planning methods. recently, the result of the research findings by mairiga et al. (2010) on the practice of traditional family planning among the rural kanuri community shows that 63% of the female respondents practice traditional family planning. ringheim and gribble’s (2010) research findings showed that rural respondents were more aware of traditional family planning methods than the urban respondents and vice versa. research findings in ibadan by bowman and kuenyehia (2003) show that women in polygynous marriages were very happy with traditional abstinence because it helps them preserve their health with advancement in age, avoid ridicule from others, maintain a happy home since older wives do not want babies and so do not vie to become pregnant like younger ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 407 wives. among the younger wives, long lactation and use of traditional contraceptives were also found to be the main methods of family planning in ghana from the study that was carried out by abu as cited in the works of bowman and kuenyehia and among the kanuri in northern nigeria as noted by mairiga et al. (2010). these studies showed that women who experienced difficulties in achieving the desired birth spacing tried to overcome the problems of these methods and space births as well as satisfy their husbands sexually using traditional contraceptives. this helped them ensure that they do not incur the wrath of their husbands as a result of negotiating especially modern family planning services. such wraths include their husbands seeking sexual satisfaction outside their matrimonial homes, refusing their wives’ food, sending them home to their parents, physical violence, etc (bawa et al., 2014; ezumah, 2003) with its attendant consequences of jeopardizing the women’s physical and psychological health. modern family planning methods modern family planning methods include barrier methods that prevent sperm from meeting eggs, hormonal contraceptives that affect a woman’s hormones, altering her reproductive cycle. another modern birth control method is fertility awareness methods (fam). it is a collection of practices that helps a woman know which days of the month she is likely to get pregnant using natural family planning methods such as abstinence. sometimes using fam like abstinence is not for the purpose of limiting the size of their families but to give their bodies’ time to rest and replenish their resources before embarking upon another pregnancy. this corresponds with the findings of bowman and kuenyehia, (2003) among rural gambian women, mainly with women who have had one reproductive mishap or another. modern family planning methods can also be grouped according to prescription. (1) prescription contraceptives refer to those contraceptives that are by law provided by licensed pharmacists such as injectibles, iuds, diaphragms, and nor-plants, and (2) non prescription contraceptives. these can be provided both by pharmacists and chemists. examples are oral contraceptives, foaming tablets, creams and jellies and condoms. though contraceptive knowledge and use have risen minimally in africa from 23.6% in 2008 to 27.6% in 2014 (umoh & udo, 2014), for instance ugwu (2007) noted that more than half of the respondents who had contraceptive knowledge had made use of one type or the other (the type of contraceptives was not indicated). abdullahi (2012) noted that the use of modern family planning in nigeria is very low as only 10% of married women used a modern contraceptive in 2008 and it has led to an increase in abortion rate of 25/1000 women aged 15-44 years. empirical findings of ringheim and gribble (2010) also show that among their respondents especially among the unmarried sexually active women, condom was the best known and used but very much unpopular with the young married women. this attitude they attributed to the inability of women to negotiate condom use especially in marriage but rhythm was the most commonly used among the married women. nwakeze (2003) from her study noted that out of the 64.5% of her respondents who have used contraceptives, only 18.6% used the modern methods such as condom, pills, injectibles. iud was rarely used. douche, tubal ligation and ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 408 hysterectomy were used even to a lesser degree. the reverse was the case in a studies conducted by ozumba and ibekwe (2001) at unth and umoh and udo’s (2014) conference finding show that iucd was the most preferred method among the users. from nwakaeze’s (2003) and mairiga et al.(2010) reports, those who were non users had reasons like fear of side effect, husband’s disapproval and religion as major reasons. reasons for and not using family planning services according to sonfield (2013) women and men who experience unplanned pregnancy are particularly likely to experience depression, anxiety and a decreased perception of happiness espousing empowerment feminists’ perspective that involvement of men in family planning services programmes will help avert the consequences of non-use on all. the reasons most of the male respondents who allow wife to use family planning services gave are that they want to maintain good health of the family and that their wives are their responsibilities. according to the research findings of bawah et al. (2014), oluwepo and okedare (2006),smith et al, (2009) and sonfield (2013) the consequences of not using family planning by married women could be detrimental to the couple and family at large and the actions range from violence, desertion, accusation of infidelity, fear of violence on the part of the woman and mistrust which are culturally justified. on the part of the men, it could lead to having multiple sexual partners with its attendant contraction of stis and hiv/aids affecting sexual and reproductive lives of women, tension that wife will seek sex outside marriage and to death sometimes. the issue of women secretly using family planning services (a coping strategy) is general in all nkanu communities. this finding is consistent with the findings of bawa, et al, (2014) in ghana. most of the female qualitative respondents agreed that a wife who is tired of giving birth for health reason(s) might use family planning without her husband’s consent especially when he refuses her the right to use the service. because of the stress the married woman faces at home trying to manage the home as a wife, mother and financial aide to the husband, she might decide to use family planning without her husbands’ knowledge to avoid the tension that comes with refusal to have conjugal relationship between her and her husband yet if her husband finds out she faces problems. therefore such married women try as much as they can to hide it. a family planning provider also noted that wives who use the service(s) without their husbands’ consent insist that their husbands are not informed and the providers’ advice on method to use accordingly. religion religion is a strong factor that negatively affects use to family planning services by married women in the research area. according to the research findings of bowman and kuenyehia (2003) and apanga et al. (2015) religion poses strong limitations to the use of family planning services because they perceive it as increasing infidelity in women and fighting the will of god for procreation. yet it does not compare favourably with the findings of bakibinga et al. (2016) in kenya that religion has no effect on access and usage of family planning among their married women. many services like abortion, etc are being provided by the family planning services ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 409 clinic in the area but the christians do not utilize them because of their doctrine which is tinted with tradition of fatalism as noted from family planning providers. the implication is that this nascent religion has a negative teaching on family planning services on the reproductive health of married women therefore it has given root to culture of male superiority and undermined the right of women to reproductive issues that concern them. religion has gone deep into the culture of the research area that when issues of family planning arise the case is preferably reported to the religious leader than to the kinsmen especially by women faithful which is not really acceptable by the men folk. education and knowledge of family planning by husbands and useof family planning by wives there is a general agreement that knowledge of family planning services by husbands will increase their support of wives use of family planning services. this assertion is supported by the report of international planned parenthood federation (ippf) that if more accurate information and affordable services were easily available, that as many as 20 million more women would be using family planning services more, than are currently using. since the governments have the intention of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality, and also achieve universal access to reproductive health, it is then expected that the government should not only empower the people generally with education but with access to family planning services information especially in rural areas by introducing enlightenment programmes. also the programmes to achieve this have to be all encompassing that is involving men and every other target group such as married women, to give them value re-orientation. men being involved in the processes of family planning services have positive consequences for the couple and the family in general. culture of patriarchy findings show that husbands are the ones in the position to permit wives before they use family planning services. for those who would not permit their wives to use family planning services, greater percentage said it is because of the side effects. this is to show that lack of proper knowledge of family planning services is evident among husbands in the study area. another major reason given is that it is not their tradition. because tradition is beneficial to the males, they would want to maintain the status quo of male superiority. yet there was an agreement that where the woman’s life is threatened that she can use the service without her husband’s permission. they also agreed that if such is found out by her husband that serious trouble usually resulted. it was also found that in spite of the consequences of using family planning in secret that married women still use the services and in certain cases such women are helped by their female folks to keep it secret because for them, some men can be terrible and might make such women who use family planning services without their approval to face some repercussions. losing their homes means losing their children which customarily are in the husband’s custody in case of separation or divorce and these children are supposed to be the promoters of the woman’s prestige and status in the society. this agrees with the findings ofbawah, et al. (2014), ezumah, (2003) and niser (2001) that child-bearing and rearing ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 410 defines a woman’s value and status in her community. therefore the implication of using family planning services in secret might be to retain their homes or status as married women. according to studies carried out among the yoruba people and nsukka people in ekiti and enugu states in nigeria, as reported by bowman and kuenyehia (2003) and okeibunor (2000) respectively show that men are the main decision makers when it comes to fertility control with no class difference and to a less degree the kins and in-laws. the little or no involvement of inlaws and others in the research area especially in marriage issues might be attributed to the fact that it is considered exposure of family issues as qualitative respondents noted. this is in line with the arguments of empowerment theorists that women’s subordination and oppression had its root in culture especially patriarchy and socialization which are gender biased. they noted that women were socialized to be dependent on men. therefore the inequality in decision making is a method men used to secure and maintain their power. to avert this, they advocated effective communication among couples and literacy for men and restructuring of the cultural framework of power to the ones that no sex will feel inferior. sexuality communication there is a general belief that proper sexuality communication between spouses encourages increase use of family planning services by married women. according to a study on socialization by boserup (1970) it was found that women are taught to be shy, subtle and nonvocal while men are taught to be arrogant, out spoken and aggressive. in the research area, women are taught to repress their feelings even in marriage. contraceptive effect in as much as there are negative consequences for women that do not use family planning, there are also consequences for use which could be attributed to be inherent in family planning methods and also to the fact that the users are not properly enlightened on family planning which produces contrary desire in the users in the research area. it’s been found that oral pills interfere with the hormones in the body, therefore if the blood pressure of a woman is very high, she cannot be administered with this hormonal drug. most of these injectible, oral pills are hormonal but iucd is not hormonal, you may even decide to advice the prospective user on iucd, it does not interfere with the hormones in the system. but those methods that interfere with the hormones may cause high blood pressure. so if somebody’s blood pressure is very high we advice against use of hormonals. with iucd, if somebody has pelvic inflammatory disease (pid) or any other sti, we do not advise such prospective user on it, unless you give her treatment prior to that, you may ask her to go on injectible while she is being treated of the infection and then after the treatment she can go on this barrier since that is her choice. if she is inserted with iucd while still infected it might lead to ascending infection. married women could be empowered to use family planning services in the research area if there is proper family planning enlightenment and advocacy. for instance, when they understand that health histories are requirements for efficacious family planning use especially for hormonal and insertions, the notion that it can be accessed anywhere like with quacks and ejss, volume 4, issue 2, 2019 411 the effect of wrong application that occasion negative side effect(s) would be reduced to the minimum. some of the fgd respondents who experienced health hazards in the services noted that they accessed and used the services from unregistered clinics that are found in their localities. family planning providers noted that to have a side effect free use of family planning methods that counseling must be done that is to say that before any method is offered to a prospective user that the client has to be counseled before administering any method to avoid negative side effects. the counseling will enable them choose correctly. summary and conclusion one of the findings of this research is that decisions in marriage are the prerogative of the husband among married people in nkanu area and this also impacts negatively on the reproductive choices and health of married women in the area. the theoretical implication of this finding is that married women’s use of family planning in the research area is contingent on male control as well as the level of their husbands’ education and knowledge of family planning. the theoretical implication of this finding is that married women are not seen as personalities who have their needs, aspirations and limitations. if they are empowered through effective sensitization to make rational reproductive health choices and decisions, they will be in a position to meet their family planning needs. this study shows that empowering women through education and skills will enhance their use of family planning more. this tallies with the definition of women empowerment as having sense of self worth, access to opportunities and resources, choices and the ability to exercise them, have control over their own lives and influence over the direction of social change (ndhs, 2013). but if they are stretched beyond their natural limits by male control which constrains them from accessing family planning services, they will face challenges of maternal morbidity and mortality and marital stress, as the case may be. these may in turn, affect negatively the home, community and nation at large. these were highlighted in the findings of the study as likely consequences of non use of family planning in the research area. the study found that women who do not communicate with their husbands before accessing modern family planning services do so to avert marital conflict. this agrees with the consequences of use of family planning without the consent of the husband as enumerated by ezumah (2003) in her research findings in anambra state. this portrays the tradition of male supremacy in marriage. according to empowerment theorists, women in all cultures face the same subordination from societies they belong to. liberal feminists maintain that in marriage, women do not achieve equality with men. they advocated learning through collective action which serves the function of successfully challenging individuals and institutions opposed to their self interests and enable women to collectively take control of their own lives, to set their own agenda, to organize to help each other and make demands on society for change. hooks (1984) advocates effective communication among couples and literacy for the female and involvement of men in feminist movements if sex inequality is to be averted. she also called for the restructuring of the cultural framework of power to ones that do not find 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(2011). the millennium development goals report. retrieved from www.org/millenniumgoals/11_mdg%20report_en.pdf who (2016a). health statistics and information system. retrieved from www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/ who (2016b). reproductive health. rretrieved from www.who.int/topics/reproductive_health/en/ http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2010/universal_rh.pdf http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2010/universal_rh.pdf http://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/shared/documents/publications/2010/universal_rh.pdf http://www.org/millenniumgoals/11_mdg%20report_en.pdf http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indmaternalmortality/en/ http://www.who.int/topics/reproductive_health/en/ page 1 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 435 institutional reform and nigerian economy: an appraisal of the independent national electoral commission (inec) chiedozie alex ogbonnia department of political science, enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu. abstract the deplorable socio-economic condition of nigeria has attracted global attention. most scholars allude the cause of the nigerian socio-economic trajectory to institutional crisis and poor leadership recruitment process. the title of this research, therefore, is the institutional reform and nigerian economy: an appraisal of the independent national electoral commission (inec). the objective of this study is to examine the relationship between electoral institutional reform and economic development in nigeria. the study relied on secondary sources of data such as the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 (as amended), electoral acts, textbooks, journals, conferences proceedings, workshops, newspapers and the internet. the various forms of electoral manipulation, violence and crisis that have characterized nigerian elections are reviewed. the composition of the electoral management bodies (emb) of nigeria is juxtaposed with the emb of other thriving democracies and the state of their economies. findings show that (a). the economy of any country is a dependent variable that has a direct correlation with the quality of its elections. (b) that the process of appointing members of emb does not guarantee institutional autonomy, for example, the inec. (c) following the (b) above, the expected impartiality and credibility expected of electoral bodies fall below standards, etc. the study concludes that the nigerian electoral system must be reformed to drive good governance and sustainable economic development. recommendations include: (a) a credible electoral body that is drawn from the civil society. (b) the tenure of the members of the electoral body is not subject to the whims and caprices of the executive.(c) the funding of the electoral body should be charged to the consolidated revenue fund, etc. keywords: electoral act, electoral management body, institutional reform, nigerian constitution, nigerian economy. introduction the democratic institutions are the governmental systems entrusted with making and enforcing the rules of a society, as well as regulating relations with other societies. democratic institutions are in essence, a set of arrangements for organizing political competition, legitimating and implementing rules (kehinde, 2019). institutions in a democratic government are necessarily the entities that fulfill the elements of democracy. such elements of democracy include “participation of the people either directly or indirectly, independence of the judiciary, separation of powers, rule of law, entrenchment of fundamental human rights, free and fair elections, freedom of the press, accountability as well as transparency of government officials. as smith (2003) remarked, in the study of any political system, we must bear in mind that the nature or character of that system is defined by its capacity to inaugurate strong institutions institutional reform and nigerian economy through which legitimate power could be exercised and enforced. in other words, the question of state capacity is fundamental to understanding the nigeria’s institutional challenges in relation to her numerous socio-economic problems. in drawing attention to the inherent weak institutions, especially in fragile and developing states like nigeria, clapham (2002), has identified the challenges of structural and contextual variables that enhance the vulnerability of most african states, nigeria inclusive. some other scholars such as bayart (2009), have attributed institutional failures in nigeria to our history of weak political leadership, corruption, conflicts, and political instability. there is no controversy about the series of symptoms of institutional failures and collapse in nigeria; what is perhaps in contention is the extent of state’s incapacity displayed by the nigerian state. it goes without saying that institutions affect the economy through the creation of an environment necessary for prosperity and development. all countries desirous of making progress would invariably require comprehensive reforms of its institutions. acemoglu, johnson & robinson (2001), have noted that when a country fails to reform its institutions in response to emerging global realities, that country invariably stagnates; with consequential macro-economic consequences. institutional reforms are, therefore, attempts by those in authority to change the rules in response to prevailing circumstances. for acemoglu et.al, institutional reform is a structure of actions, ways of execution, crisis management and vital interaction principles with other entities. since independence, nigeria has experienced parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship, diarchy and presidential democracy, but one factor that has remained contentious is the issue of succession and the institution concerned with managing power succession. in the nigerian context, that institution is the electoral management body (emb)in this instance, the independent national electoral commission (inec). since 1999, when nigeria returned to democratic rule, the conduct of elections has been most contentious with accusations and counter-accusations of electoral fraud. there is no gainsaying the fact that elections provide the citizens with periodic opportunities to elect their leaders. election offers them the latitude to choose from a vast array of contestants in the belief that those elected will pursue policies that will catalyze economic growth and consolidation of democracy. it follows, therefore, that when the electoral process is flawed, as often the case in nigeria, it will throw up leaders that will achieve the opposite of what the people want. it is in this context that we argue that the electoral institution is an independent variable which has a direct bearing on dependent variables one of which is the economy. this paper holds the view that strengthening political institutions like nigeria’s emb will have positive impact on micro and macro-economic stability of the country. the objective of the study the major objective of this study is to investigate the impact of institutional reforms in nigeria’s economy, with the independent national electoral commission (inec) as a reference point. the specific objective is to establish a correlation between the quality of nigerian election and the character of its economy. 437 theoretical framework. the theory adapted for this research is the system theory of political analysis as developed by david easton. easton explained that “the political system receives inputs from the environment in the form of demands and supports; and that it produces outputs in the form of policies and decisions” (gauba, 2007:93). the major assumption of the systems theory is that every political system comprises a set of elements in characteristic structural relationships and that interactions among the elements produce authoritative and binding results (varma, 1999:39). on the other hand, the output or authoritative result of a political system is a function of the character of the input mechanism. agena (2003:117) posits that some early scholars made “an analogy between society and an organism such as the human body”. going further, agena contends that every part of the body has a role to fulfill in the functional prerequisites of the entire body; in other words, “any part of the society requires an analysis of its relationship to other parts and most importantly, of its contribution to the maintenance of society”(/:118). the applicability of systems theory to this research issues from the interrelatedness of all the elements in a political system and that the output of a system has a binding relationship with the quality and character of the input variables. in other words, the institutions of a political system has a role to play in the authoritative and binding allocations of the government. election and nigerian society we can best understand the challenges of nigeria’s electoral system when we situate it against the backdrop of the character of the nigerian state and its political economy or rather the politics among the policy makers in the choice of economic options. the character of the nigerian state is fundamentally extractive in nature and this bears directly on the role of the political elite in the system especially in the face of what animashaun (2010) described as “the underdevelopment of private capitalist enterprise”. extractive political institutions, according to acemoglu and robinson (2013), in contrast to inclusive institutions, do not allow or encourage participation by the majority of the citizens in economic and political activities that emphasize unfettered externalization of talents and skills, which enable individuals to make choices. it is in this context that acemoglu and robinson argued that states respond differently to problems because of differences in their institutions; in the rules influencing how the political and economic system work and the incentives that motivate people. another major problem in nigerian politics is identity crisis. omotuyi (2016) argued that most scholars will, without iota of doubt, readily agree with john locke that a state compels obedience when the citizens perceive it to be representing their interests and pushing their common good. omotuyi stated that it is only when people are able to relate to the state as their own that they are most likely to obey it. in nigerian context, however, the endemic legitimacy crisis rocking the ‘democratic government’ is ethnicity. every nigerian is emotionally attached to one of the over 300 ethnic groups in the country. events show that a mass appeal to ethnicity defeats the fundamental purpose of election which aims at selecting the best out of many. on the other hand, we have been robbed of meritocracy, excellence and unity, we are still battling favoritism, federal character or quota, zoning, catchments areas, state of origin in a world that is consistently getting smaller through globalization and the need to fight a collective cause despite the hypocrisy and shared interests (osimen, balogun & adenegan, 2013) institutional reform and nigerian economy another factor that deserves attention is the nigerian prebendal politics. ‘prebendal behaviour’, in the view of richards, (1983: 32) ‘inevitably contributes to a serious crisis in the legitimacy and effectiveness of governmental authorities in nigeria. on the other hand, prebendalism, which is sustained by electoral malfeasance and benefits only the political elites at the expense of generality of the people is another source of legitimacy crises in nigeria. "according to the theory of prebendalism, state offices are regarded as prebends that can be appropriated by officeholders, who use them to generate material benefits for themselves and their constituents and kin groups..." (joseph, 1991). closely related to prebendalism are neo-patrimonialism and god-fatherism. in neopatrimonialism, as highlighted by omotuyi (2016) the political offices only serve the overall interests of patron and the client--that is, the political officeholders and those who corruptly facilitated their electoral victory to the detriment of the masses. in other words, the nigerian electoral democracy has further widened the scope and dimension of neo-patrimonialism. like all developing nations, access to political power guarantees wealth and opulence in an environment of abject poverty. consequently, from the beginning, elections are seen by power holders as too important to allow them to function correctly (kew: 2010). in a neo-patrimonial system, omotuyi asserts that political power is not held in trust on behalf of the people, but on behalf of the power merchants popularly known in local parlance as the ‘god fathers’. the wealthy god-fathers, who invariably have fed fat from the state resources using what homans & curtis (1934) referred to as the residues of combination (cunning) and residues of persistent aggregates (force). varma (1999:146) explains that residues, in pareto paradigm, are “the qualities through which a person can rise in life”. omotuyi adds that the political god fathers are key assets and very crucial in mobilizing both financial resources and even thuggery on behalf of their clients during elections. in the course of time, the elected leadership will be rocked with legitimacy crisis and in their search for regime stability and political survival, often resort to the same god-fathers and the vicious circle continues. the loose political economy of nigeria creates a combination of prebendalism, neopatrimonialism, clientelism and god-fatherism. these were made manifest in the allocation of governorship of states and chairmanship of local governments to political power merchants within the localities. for instance, during the tenure of president olusegun obasanjo, anambra state was said to have been allocated to chief chris ubah while oyo state was allocated to alhaji lamidi adedibu. to this end, the election by inec was therefore a predetermined outcome to ensure the victory of dr. chris ngige for anambra state and alhaji rashidi ladoja for oyo state. the bubble burst occurred when the elected governors refused to share the proceeds of the prebends with the god-fathers. similarly, almost all the local governments in nigeria are allocated to one god-father or the other and the state independent electoral commissions of the states are used to implement the patron-client syndrome. brief overview of election crisis in nigeria the conduct of elections in nigeria has always been traumatic and vicious. there is hardly any election in nigeria that did not attract bitter disputes, violence and assassinations. according to animashaun (2010), the history of nigeria’s democratic experiments demonstrates that elections and electoral politics have generated so much animosity, which has, in some cases, threatened the corporate existence of the country and in other cases instigated military incursion into political governance, most notably in 1966 and 1983. at the heart of electoral crisis in nigeria is the lack of credibility and trust in the official results of elections leading to the rejection of such results by a sizeable portion of the nigerian voting public. 439 there have been major general elections in nigeria. we may start with the 1959 general election, conducted by the colonial nigerian government. others include, the 1964/65 elections; 1979, 1983, 1991/92/93; 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. the above elections have consistently been characterized by the contestation of results and organized violence. the1964/65 general election, the first to be conducted by the post-colonial nigerian authorities, was characterized by massive irregularities, violence, arson and assassinations such that the military seized power from the civilians on january 15, 1966; the 1979 elections were conducted by the military; 1983 elections, upon which the military again seized power; the 1991-93 that led to the nullification of an election, clearly won by chief moshood abiola. though nigeria passed the “second election” test through the 2003 polls, it is a consensus among the stakeholders of the nigerian democratic project that those thrown up by the elections could not be regarded as true bearers of people’s mandate. for instance, zainab duke-abiola, recounts that one of the armed robbers that nearly attacked her husband, chief moshood abiola was later elected as a governor in one of the states in the south west of nigeria while three of them later became members of the legislature (ademiluyi, 2021). the 2007 elections, in a profound manner, deepened electoral crisis in nigeria. official results of the 2007 elections were contested at the three levels of governance: local, state and federal. several results declared by nigeria’s election management body, independent national electoral commission (inec), were reversed by the election tribunals and the courts while the dispute that arose from the presidential election was only settled in december 2008, nineteen months after the formal conclusion of the election. the poor conduct of the 2007 polls and how this provided the context for renewed public pressures for electoral reforms in nigeria compelled president musa yar’adua to publicly acknowledge that the process that brought him to power was manifestly flawed and it was on the basis of this public acknowledgement that he empanelled the electoral reform committee in august 2007 headed by justice lawal uwais. the subsequent elections, namely; 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections bear similar character of electoral malpractices such as bare thuggery and violence, re-writing election results, under-aged voting and wanton destruction of properties including assassinations of all kinds. the framework of electoral governance in nigeria the framework for electoral governance in nigeria is anchored on two instruments: the 1999 constitution and the 2010 electoral act both of which are undergoing series of amendments by the national assembly. these two documents contain rules and regulations that drive electoral governance in nigeria. these regulations are aimed at protecting the integrity of the electoral process. for instance: sections 81, 84, and 160 of the constitution were amended to make the independent national electoral commission, inec, financially and administratively independent. with the amendment, section 160 expressly states that in the case of inec, its “powers to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure shall not be subject to the approval of the president”. section 156 of the constitution was amended to remove membership of a political party as a qualification for appointment into inec, thereby insulating members from partisan politics. this section initially provided that a person to be appointed into inec should have institutional reform and nigerian economy the same qualifications as a candidate for the house of representatives. although these regulations are ambitious, they failed to ensure credible elections in 2019. the failure of these documents is attributed to two major reasons: the inherent weaknesses or inadequacies of some of the provisions of these documents; and weak enforcement institutions. these two factors have been brazenly exploited by the politicians in all the elections conducted in nigeria from 2003 till date. beyond the issues of inadequate provisions and weak enforcement institutions, the process of the emergence of the 1999 constitution is a serious factor in explaining the failure of the document to address the contradictions of the nigerian state. the metamorphosis of election management body (emb) in nigeria omotola (2009) informs that the nigerian election management body (emb) has undergone several changes: between 1959 and 1999, the emb was renamed six times; electoral commission of nigeria (ecn), 1959-1963; federal electoral commission (fec), 1963-1966; federal electoral commission (fedeco), 1976-1979. during the babangida regime (19861993), it was renamed the national electoral commission (nec). general sanni abacha (1993-1998) replaced the nec with the national electoral commission of nigeria (necon), while general abdusalami abukakar, abacha’s successor (1998-1999) rechristened it the independent national electoral commission (inec). jega (2005) reiterated that from 1950’s to date, nigeria has had five electoral bodies at the federal level, which have historically been saddled with the task of election administration. agbaje & adejumobi (2006: 31) stated that “the nigerian emb was restructured in 1958; twice in 1963, in 1964, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2004. browne (2004: 39) alluded the frequent changes to the inability of the emb to administer elections effectively because of its lack of ‘autonomy and capacity’ over the years.” justifications for electoral reform the main explanation for nigeria’s electoral crisis has been the institutional weaknesses of the emb, most especially its lack of autonomy. there are three major reasons for the lack of autonomy. the first is the composition of the electoral body, inec, which is the exclusive prerogative of the president. this makes the inec easily susceptible to manipulation by the president and the federal authorities. secondly, the oversight role expected of the legislature in the screening of presidential nominees for inec positions is nullified by the fact that the president’s party usually has a legislative majority to secure its wishes in the national assembly. the lack of autonomy in inec was further adumbrated on june 9, 2021. almost all the nigerian dailies reported that lauretta onochie, the special assistant on social media to president muhammadu buhari, has been nominated as a national commissioner for the independent national electoral commission, inec. other appointees by the president include prof. muhammad sani kallah from katsina; prof. kunle cornelius ajayi, ekiti state; saidu babura ahmad, jigawa; prof. sani muhammad adam, north central and dr. baba bila, north east (iroanusi, 2021). the nomination of onochie denotes a paradox of all that impugns the integrity of an electoral umpire. apart from being a special assistant to the president, she was one of the most prominent members of the all peoples congress (apc) and an active buharist. in other words, the appointment of a prominent compromised partisan connotes an unmitigated liability to an electoral body. 441 the third reason is the insecurity of tenure of the inec chairman and commissioners. security of tenure places the members of an electoral commission in a greater stake in securing the electoral process. most often, if they fail to deliver the mandates of their principal, they stand the danger of losing their positions. unlike in ghana, where the chairman of the electoral commission and the two deputies not only have security of tenure on the same terms and conditions of service as judges of the court of appeal, which means they cannot be removed arbitrarily until they retire at age 70 (omotola, 2009b; agyeman-duah, 2005). the case in point is the fate of two successive electoral commission chairmen under president ibrahim babangida, namely professors eme awa and humphrey nwosu. the former was removed because of his uncompromising stance on the management of the electoral commission and the latter following the military government’s decision to annul the june 12, 1993 presidential elections against the wishes of the electoral commission (nwosu, 2008). therefore, the faulty nigerian electoral system calls for reforms. since 1999, a few electoral reforms have taken place; namely: the 2003 electoral act of the national assembly; the 2006 electoral act of the national assembly; the 2007 electoral act of the national assembly and the 2010 electoral act of the national assembly. it is noted that some of the recommendations contained in the reports of the 2007 muhammed uwais’s electoral reform committee (erc), which many believed to be the archetype of genuine electoral reform, were voted down by the presidency and/or the national assembly during the yar’adua administration. electoral management bodies and sustainable economic growth the cape verde is often cited as one of the african countries with a steady economic growth trajectory. a look at the electoral management body of the cape verde is encouraging. fall (2016) captures the constitution of electoral body of the cape verde: the cape verde electoral commission, called national election commission (nec) is made up of five (05) members. its members are elected by members of parliament through secret ballot with two third (2/3) majority, however the chairmanship of the electoral body is reserved for the opposition party. omotola (2009) cites ghana as an example of a country with a credible electoral body, “where the chairman of the electoral commission and the two deputies not only have security of tenure on the same terms and conditions of service as judges of the court of appeal, which means they cannot be removed arbitrarily until they retire at age 70”. with such development, ghana moved toward the final stages of hipc debt cancellation, and both are eligible for assistance under the us millennium challenge account (lewis, 2005). canada, is a federation with very strong economy. the electoral governance in canada is very transparent and efficient: the house of commons of canada appoints the chief electoral officer of canada to head the agency. the chief electoral officer in turn appoints the commissioner of canada elections, who ensures that the canada elections act is enforced. (elections canada – wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org. wiki). botswana, is among the african countries with a steady economic growth trajectory. botswana has regularly held general elections since 1965 and in october 2014 held her 11th general election. the regularity of elections in botswana has persuaded some observers to present botswana as an exemplar of democracy and good governance in africa. the botswana electoral commission is a 7 person commission. it comprises a chairperson, who is a judge institutional reform and nigerian economy of the high court, a deputy chairperson who is a legal practitioner and five members chosen from a list recommended by the all-party conference. the commissioners are appointed by the judicial service commission. the secretary is appointed by the president (constitution of botswana 1966, section 65 a (1)-(4), 66(2)) (mogalakwe, 2012) mexico introduced a fully independent election commission and provided for increasingly fair and transparent elections for municipal, state, and legislative offices. in 2000, a candidate from an opposition party, vicente fox, won the presidency for the first time in several decades. although, fox’s presidency did not resolve mexico’s national challenges, but his election was generally seen as a major transition in mexican politics (lewis, 2005). explaining the impact of liberal political ideology, the rule of law and credible electoral system on the economic growth of societies, acemoglu & robinson (2013: 72-82) cites the socioeconomic divergence between the north korea and the south korea. the scholars narrate that at the end of world war 11, the japanese colony of korea began to collapse. korea was therefore divided at the 38th parallel into two spheres of influence; the north korea was administered by the united soviet socialist republic (ussr) while the south korea was administered by the united states of america. kim ii-sung, with the help of the soviet union, introduced a rigid form of centrally planned socialist economy as part of the so-called juche system in the north korea while the south korea, with the help of the us, introduced a liberal democratic and strong political institution. according to acemoglu & robinson (2011: 73), “south korea quickly became one of the east asia’s ‘miracle economies’, one of the most rapidly growing nations in the world”. the two eminent scholars established that the difference between wealthy and poor nations is based on the character of government institutions; stating that the “politics of institution is central to understanding the reasons for the success and failure of nations. and that political and economic institutions, which are ultimately the choice of society, can be inclusive and encourage economic growth; or they can be extractive and become impediments to economic growth”. 443 the above graph shows that the economy of a given country varies directly with the quality of its elections. y axis represents the economy, while x axis represents the quality of elections in a country. section ‘s’ shows the direct positive response of economy to the quality of election while section ‘r’ shows the negative response of economy to the poor quality elections in the country. on the other hand, the economy declines irretrievably towards negative infinity r while a credible election produces positive economic growth r. recommendations the major cause of difference between the rich and poor nations is leadership. while the advanced economies recruit their leaders through free, fair and credible elections, the backward poor societies celebrate electoral malpractices. the researcher therefore recommends that the inec and siec should be made truly independent, financially and administratively, as follow: a. section 154 (1) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria (as amended) that empowers the president to nominate the chairman and members of the inec should be repealed. b. there shall be inaugurated a body comprising the chairmen/presidents of the following bodies: christian association of nigeria (can), nigerian supreme council for islamic affairs (nscia), nigerian labour congress (nlc), trade union congress of nigeria (tuc), nigerian union of journalists (nuj) and the nigerian barr association (nba). the leaders of the above bodies in collaboration with the national judicial service commission shall institutional reform and nigerian economy select/elect credible members of their unions that will be inaugurated as the national independent electoral management body. c. the emb so inaugurated shall be funded directly from the consolidated revenue fund. d. the persons so inaugurated shall remain in office till the age of 70; except perhaps there is a case of infraction that smears the reputation of the electoral officer. conclusion this work has established that the poverty in nigeria is caused by the endemic electoral malpractices arising from weak electoral institution, inec. the weakness of inec emanates from its lack of autonomy. the strong independent electoral bodies of ghana, cape verde, canada, botswana and mexico were cited as the basis for the credible elections, thereby giving rise to sustainable economic growth in their respective countries. above all, a “strong and independent electoral commission would engender the citizenry trust in the government and enthusiastically participate in the decision making process, at the pre-election, election and post-election stages of the political process” obama (2005). the benefits of strong institution was made manifest in “the recently resolved president donald trump-induced post-election insurrection and the attempted coup against the state. this was “made possible by the abiding faith in the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions and the respect for the rule of law” (ezekhome, 2021). on the other hand, if the faulty election governance system of nigeria is addressed, it will go a long way to exit nigeria from its present socio-economic malaise. nigeria is strategic to developments not only in west africa but the entire africa. the researcher concludes with a postulation that the economy of a country varies in direct proportion to the quality of its electoral system. the above postulation is in line with the intellectual exposition by persson and tabellini (2004) in brady, blome and kleider (2016) where they argued that the electoral systems influence the nature of political parties and the composition of governing coalitions, which then shape how much economic resources are redistributed from rich to poor. references acemoglu, d., johnson, s., & robinson. j.a. (2001). the colonial origins of comparative development: an empirical investigation. american economic review, 91,3 acemoglu, d., johnson, s., & robinson. j.a. (2002). reversal of fortune: geography and institutions in the making of the modem world income distribution. quarterly journal of economics, 118 acemoglu, d., & robinson, j. a. (2013). why nations fail-the origins of power, prosperity and poverty. uk: profile books. ademiluyi, a. (2021). armed robber who ambushed mko abiola became governor, the vent republic. june 24 445 agyeman-duah, b. (2005). elections and electoral politics in ghana’s fourth republic, critical perspectives 18, cdd-ghana, july. animashaun, k. (2010). regime character, electoral crisis and prospects of electoral reform in nigeria”. journal of nigeria studies1(1) bayart, j.f. (2009). the state in africa: the politics of the belly. oxford: polity press brady, d., blome, a., & kleider, h. (2016) how politics and institutions shape poverty and inequality. uk: the oxford handbook of the social science of poverty. clapham, c. (2002). the challenge to the state in a globalized world. development and change, 33, pp.775-795 ekundayo, j. m. o. (2021). electoral reforms: is nass foot-dragging on amendment to electoral act 2010?” fall, i. m. (2016). election management bodies in west africa: a comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy. gauba, o. p. (2007). an introduction to political theory, new delhi: macmillan homans, g. c., & curtis, c. p. (1934). an introduction to pareto, new york: knopf iroanusi, q. e. (2021). eight months after, senate moves to screen lauretta onochie. premium times, june 9 jega, a. 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(2002); nigeria’s transition to democracy-illusions and realities. port harcourt: cass. varma, s. p (1999). modern political theory, new delhi: vikas publishers. page 4 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 333 evaluating the impact of world trade organization on agricultural development in nigeria, 2010-2018 ojiego, chinemerem winifred department of history and international studies godfrey okoye university, enugu winnyojiego1@gmail.com nnaji, ejike s. department of political science & international relations godfrey okoye university, enugu ejikennaji771@yahoo.com abstract agriculture plays a foundational role to both individuals and nations alike. as the demand for food continues to increase, so is the need for agricultural development among nations. at the international front, world trade organization is the body charged with responsibility of regulating global trade and it does this through several agreements between member states. this study will examine the link between world trade organisation and agricultural development in nigeria from 2010-2018, focusing on the wto agreement on agriculture with the objective of finding out if the world trade policies and rules increased agricultural production in nigeria between 2010 and 2018. the study will utilize documentary method of data collection and the content analysis in carrying out this research. the research work will be anchored on complex interdependence theory. consequent on the findings, the researcher will recommend possible solutions and ways forward. keywords: agriculture, development, nigeria, world trade organization, introduction prior to the discovery of oil in nigeria in the year 1956, nigeria’s economy largely relied on agriculture. agriculture served as the major source of revenue for the country as products like cocoa, maize, palm oil, groundnut etc were exported in large quantities to various countries of the world. following the discovery of oil, there became a rapid decline in agricultural activities in nigeria. despite the decline, agriculture is considered a catalyst for the overall development of any nation and its’ development is critical in ensuring food security, income and employment generation, and for stimulating industrialization and overall economic development of the country. as a signatory to world trade organization (wto), nigeria’s agricultural sector has equally been influenced by wtos agreements and policies in many ways. agricultural development in nigeria the world trade organization (wto) is an international institution that regulates and facilitates international trade between countries. the wto is traced to the general agreement on trade and tariffs (gatt) which was established by the us, uk and some other nations in 1947. the world trade organization came into being on 1stjanuary 1995, one of the youngest of the international organizations, it is the successor to the general agreement on tariffs and trade (gatt) established in the wake of the second war. the system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds held under the gatt. the first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. the 1986-94(the uruguay) round led to the wto’s creation. agriculture has always been a paradox in gatt-wto history. on average, protectionism has increased in the agricultural sector while it has been significantly reduced or completely eliminated in most other sectors that have been the subject of multilateral negotiations, especially industrial goods. while the agricultural sector is taxed, sometimes quite heavily in many developing countries, and forms an important source of government revenue, in the developed world it remains the coveted beneficiary of large amounts of government expenditure in the form of subsidies and other support programmes. developing countries do not have enough economic advantage to or power to really hurt another country with trade sanctions, more troubling is that the wto rules and their interpretation constitute a series of rules/agreements that subordinate all other values ranging from environmental sustainability, consumer and worker safety, public health freedom of labour and human rights to maximizing trade. the provision and interpretation articulating these rules impede nations especially developing countries from enforcing their own laws to protect the public good and enhance economic development. nigeria and indeed other african 335 countries are signatories to most of these international trade agreements including the main agreement which is the aoa(agreement on agriculture) and are therefore bound by the terms and conditions contained in them. however, as a result of the imbalance in the nature of the terms of trade agreements, these poor countries are unable to benefit from international trade with the attendant consequences of growing poverty and underdevelopment occasioned by huge debt profiles and balance of payment problems. in nigeria context, apart from the oil and gas sectors of the economy, other sectors especially agriculture has performed very poorly. the study therefore sets out to ascertain if the world trade organisation’s policies and rules on international trade increased agricultural production in nigeria between 2010 and 2018. literature review world trade organization (wto) rules and regulation: a review international trade rules are legal instruments that regulate trade flows. this includes international agreements related to trade as well as certain domestic laws affecting trade flows. the international agreement begins with the wto agreement which established the wto (lester; mercurio; davies and leitner, (2008). distinguishing international economic arrangements, usoro (2015:2), argue that the international economic order consists of two sets of intergovernmental arrangements or commitments constituting policy regimes. one governs monetary relations among countries, its main concern being free convertibility of currencies. the other governs the trade relations among countries, its main objective being non-discrimination. international trade by its very nature requires careful planning and substantial investments, which can be recouped only over long periods of time. all long-term investments are highly sensitive to uncertainty, and foreignagricultural development in nigeria trade-related investments doubly so for their outcomes may be affected by policy changes in several countries. the trade part of the international economic order can thus be understood as a set of policy commitments exchanged between and among countries in order to minimize policy-generated uncertainty and so to maximize the gains from trade. commenting on the need for treaties international economic relation usoro (2015) posits that the world is not a single market but is composed of more than 160 sovereignties each of which can interfere with the flow of transactions across its borders and to that extent impair the international price system. this underscores the need for an international economic order in the sense of formal legal arrangements among governments. while the prerogative of governments (“sovereignties”) to do as they please is obvious, equally obvious is the fact that they cannot achieve all they might wish or hope. the international economic order, indeed, the international price system provides governments with a reasonable chance of attaining their objectives in an economically interdependent and potentially quite unstable world. conversely, uncertainty which is brought about by lack of relevant information and cooperation would lead to chaos and breakdown of governments caused by failure to achieve the common good. this economic order expressed in form of policy is a system of expectations which governs the behaviour of the public and is sustained by the consistent behaviour of the policy-making authorities. it guarantees some degree of certainty and is thus indispensable not only to the prosperity of the individual economic actors or decision-makers but to the survival of the social and political systems. world trade organization agreement on agriculture and agricultural development in nigeria the main aim of the wto agreement on agriculture (aoa) was to encourage fair trade in agriculture by removing trade distortions resulting from differential levels of input subsidies, 337 price and market support, export subsidy and other kinds of trade distorting support. the agreement envisaged a phased reduction in various kinds of support being given to agriculture by the member countries. the wto negotiators on aoa often refer to the three trade pillars within the aoa. it is on these three pillars that the majority of aoa negotiations are focused. the aoa is a part of the gatt and contains altogether 20 articles. the aoa was designed to eliminate all restrictions on the free trade of agriculture products in the international market. it gives directions on three aspects relating to free trade: (i) domestic support, (ii) export subsidy and (iii) market access (barker, 2007) and world society for protection of animal (wspa). domestic support the first trade pillar of the wto aoa is domestic support, which means providing subsidies to a country’s own farmers. the domestic support is further classified into five categories: (i) aggregate measure of support (ams), which includes product specific and non-product specific support (amber box), (ii) green box support, (iii) blue box support, (iv) de minimus support and (v) special and differential (s&d) treatment box. out of these, the wto agreement requires reduction only in ams and export subsidies, whereas, support under all other heads is exempted. the doha ministerial declaration calls for ‘substantial reductions in trade distorting domestic support’ (chand and philip, 2001). agricultural development in nigeria export subsidy the second pillar of trade is export subsidy, which refers to the money a country gives to its producers to encourage more export. export subsidies lead to exports being at low prices, sometimes even below the cost of production. the export subsidies constitute only a small portion of the total subsidy support. the large share is accounted for by domestic support for the organisation for economic cooperation and development (oecd, about us $400 billion, of which nearly 75 per cent goes to the producers). the doha ministerial declaration calls for reduction of all forms of export subsidies, with a view to phasing them out. accordingly, the developed nations must reduce export subsidy by 36 per cent of the total value of export and by 21 per cent of the total quantity of export. for developing nations the total value of export is 25 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. at the hong kong ministerial conference, the modalities of the doha declaration was accepted and, accordingly, the developed countries have agreed to eliminate export subsidies by 2013. however, a substantial portion of these will be withdrawn only towards the end of the transition (odessey, 2005). though we expected to compete freely in the world market, a number of complex regulations have barred the products of the developing nations leading to the collapse of the agriculture sector of these nations. if this has to be improved we have to press for changing such regulations. the agreement covers agricultural production and products. article 2 and annex i define agricultural products as products classified in chapters 1 through 24 of the harmonized system of tariff classification (hs) (excluding fish and fish products), and under thirteen headings or sub-headings in other chapters of the hs, including cotton, wool, hides and fur skins (dennin, mckenna & cuneo, 2001). the rights and obligations in the agreement supplement those in gatt 1994. other uruguay round agreement also contained rights and obligations affecting trade in agricultural products. 339 they include the agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (s and p agreement), the agreement on technical barriers to trade, the agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures (subsidies agreement), and the understanding on rules and procedures governing the settlement of disputes (dsu) (ibid). the new rules and commitments apply to: i) market access – various trade restrictions confronting imports. ii) domestic support measures – subsidies and other programmes, including those that raise or guarantee farm-gate prices and farmer’s incomes; and iii) export subsidies – including other methods used to make exports artificially competitive. the agreement does allow governments to support their rural economies, but preferably through policies that cause less distortion to trade. it also allows some flexibility in the way commitments are implemented. developing countries do not have to cut their subsidies or lower their tariffs as much as developed countries. tariffs average cut for all agricultural products is 36% for developed countries and 24% for developing countries. besides, they are given extra time to complete their obligations. least developed countries don’t have to do this at all – special provisions deal with the interests of countries that rely on imports for their food supplies, and the concerns of least developed countries (part ix: art. 15 and part x, art. 16 ). theoretical framework the theory adopted in this study is the complex interdependence theory because it matches and explains the particular issue being studied. the complex inter dependence theory is relevant to our study because it basically entails mutual dependence in the international society, governments and people are affected by what is happening elsewhere. in the context of this study we see how activities of developed states are agricultural development in nigeria affecting the developing or underdeveloped states and vice versa especially in terms of trade. a perfect example here is the subsidization of goods by the developed countries and how it leads to increased production which now leads to dumping of goods in developing states or on the other hand for the developing states the subsidization of goods produced within the state which leads to increased production of goods and services reducing the dependence on developed countries and restricting the inflow of goods from developed states. we see here that in this example both governments are affected by what is happening elsewhere. we see that under this theory the wto serves as an international organization which advocates for mutual cooperation between countries to achieve economic development through free trade. the complex interdependence theory also focuses on the concept of international regimes and institutions that compensate traditional military capabilities and the new importance of welfare and trade in international society, in complex interdependence theory, regimes can be defined as sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules and decision making procedures around which actors expectations converge in a given area of international relations. in the post war era international regimes have been extensive, in this context our given area is trade and the international trade regime is centered on the wto. the wto as a regime governs the activities on trade and limits the power of some states (especially the developing or under developed states) over certain actions because of the sanctions it could impose on states who defer or disobey its rules, this explains why states like nigeria and other developing countries are bound to this organization even though it doesn’t benefit them, it also explains how the powerful states have used the wto as an instrument or tool to secure their national interests without using their military power and capabilities, basically the wto is governed by this powerful countries. this in turn buttresses the third characteristic of complex interdependence which is minor role of military force. in studying this theory we now have a clearer understanding of the relationship between the wto and agricultural development in nigeria. 341 world trade organization’s policies and agricultural production in nigeria agreement on agriculture and decline in food production in developing countries in order to join the wto, there are several requirements, or mandates, that a country must fulfill. the agreement on agriculture (aoa) is one of the mandates that was established at the inception of the organization. at its core, the document sets “a series of ceiling and timetables that circumscribe[s] the extent to which signatory governments could provide protective assistance to agriculture.” first, there is an argument about the weakening of national sovereignty: in dictating the budgets to agriculture within each nation (as opposed to between nations), this began a series of “internationally-binding set of rules that would progressively eliminate nations’ capacities to subsidize their rural economies,” and also created a system in which when national governments join the wto, they “relinquish their ability to set their own food and agricultural policies.” critics also argue that in dictating limits on how much countries protect their agricultural sector, the organization leaves farmers—especially peasant farmers, who make up a significant portion of the population in many developing countries—vulnerable to food insecurity, and thus breaking international law about food as a human right. nigeria, a population of about 180 million people, with about 70% of the populations having agriculture as its major occupation is struggling to feeds its population, the country has a budget allocation to agriculture which is less than 10% of the budget as prescribed by the un fao. this is contrary to the commitments which each government administration proclaims. they view agriculture as the veritable sector for economic diversification but has shown more policy statement than policy implementation and action. according to ajayi in (the guardian news, 28 february 2016) the national association of nigerian traders (nants) has described as ridiculous the n76, 753,672,273 proposed budgetary allocations for the agriculture sector. xraying the budget of the ministry of agriculture and rural development, former president of the association, ken ukaoha, said the percentage for agriculture is a meager 1.26 per cent, a agricultural development in nigeria far cry from the 2003 au-maputo declaration, which requires countries to allocate at least 10 per cent of an annual budget to agriculture. nigeria is bestowed with fertile soil and supposed to be able to produce sufficient food to carter for the uprising population, but the situation is not so. due to insufficient production of food, the prices of available ones have skyrocketed. the situation of food problem in nigeria seems to have taken an unexpected dimension, taking into account the challenges presented by high prices of food nigeria agriculture, value added (annual % growth) 2010 -2020 the general decline in agricultural productivity has translated into gross incapacitation of the sector in meeting the rising food demand and by extension led to perennial for instance food shortages, soaring food prices and massive importation (imodu 2005, onyenweaku&nwaru, 2005). tanko et al. (2006) averred that nigeria’s food deficient situation has been worsened by declining farm productivity owing to inefficient production techniques, poor resource base and declining soil productivity and international trade policies among others. although several reports fao, (2004); dayo et al., (2008) fakayode et al., (2008), ebong et al., (2009) have attributed the low rates of agricultural production to low rates of technologies adoption and 343 dependence on indigenous knowledge, such knowledge is considered inadequate given the increasing demand from agriculture. for most key crops, nigeria's share of global production has remained low over the past four decades. specifically, the country's share of global production for oil palm, cocoa and groundnuts, has declined as a result of the slow adoption of efficient production processes. nigeria's yield remains low. in 2014, yields for cassava, cocoa beans, oil palm (fruit) and groundnuts were lower than the global average yield of all producing countries. this is possibly a reflection that unlike nigeria, other countries utilize improved inputs and technology to increase their yield and production levels. wto national treatment principle and increased rate of food importation in nigeria the national treatment principle states that imported and locally produced goods should be treated equally, at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. the same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. this principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main wto agreements (article 3 of gatt, article 17 of gats and article 3 of trips), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these. national treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax (wto, 2015:11). the national treatment requirement has always been and remains one of the core principles of the gatt/wto, along with the rules on tariff with concessions and mfn. these three areas make up the first three articles of the gatt; article 1 is mfn, article ii is tariff concessions and article iii is national treatment (lester et al, 2008:323). agricultural development in nigeria national treatment and mfn are the two main non-discrimination requirements in wto rules. whereas the mfn requirement prohibits discrimination among trading parties, the national treatment requirement prohibits discrimination against foreign products. as will be seen, many aspects of the national treatment non-discrimination principle are very similar to those discussed in the context of mfn. although closely related conceptually, the origins of national treatment as a principle of international trade agreement differ from those of mfn. most favoured nation principle arose as a way to ensure that tariff and other concession were provided to all trading partners equally. in essence, this approach to trade negotiation was a way to promote broader trade liberalization and to ensure harmonious trade relations. by contrast, lester; mercurio; davies and leitner (2008:278) argue that the idea of national treatment originated in part, as a rule against circumvention of tariff concessions by means of discriminatory internal measures. there was a concern that for example, a country might lower its tariff on a product, but then adopt an internal tax or regulatory measure that treated the foreign product worse than the equivalent domestic one. in doing so, the country might even try to disguise its intention by adopting a measure with an ostensibly legitimate non-trade related purpose, which on its face treated foreign and domestic products equally, but nonetheless had an adverse impact on foreign products. the national treatment rule addressed this concern by prohibiting discriminatory internal measures. in addition to the concern with undermining the concessions, there was also a problem with discrimination against foreign goods and generally as internal measures could be used for protectionist purposes outside the context of tariff concessions. after much debate the drafters of the gatt decided that the national treatment rule would be applied even where no concessions had been made, thereby creating a broader obligation against discrimination that 345 applied regardless of whether or not circumvention of concession had occurred (jackson, 2009: 277-8). lester et al., (2010) averred that national treatment is much more prominent than mfn in gatt/wto jurisprudence. this is likely because the main reason countries breach the mfn principle is due to free trade agreement and customs unions, which are permitted under gatt article xxiv, provided certain conditions are met. aside from this circumstance however, mfn violation are fairly infrequent as countries rarely attempt to favour some trading partners over others. by contrast, national treatment violation are much more common and are very likely to cause friction with trading partners where national treatment issues arise, it is usually due to perceived attempt to discriminate against foreign products, thereby triggering concerns among competing foreign producers and often leading to formal trade disputes. it is pertinent at this juncture to make some general observation on the importance of this rule in gatt/wto jurisprudence. because of its effect on the scope of permissible domestic policy-making, the national treatment rule is one of the most sensitive of all gatt/wto rules. the precise scope given to it will have a substantive impact on the ability of the wto members to regulate in non-trade policy areas. because all domestic tax and regulatory measures coming within the broad scope of the rule must comply, any domestic policy area, from labour rights to environmental protection to income taxes, can be scrutinized under the national treatment requirement. generally, it must be stated that the scope of member’s discretion under this rule has shifted considerably over the years. after analyzing this principle we can clearly see that the nigerian agricultural and food sector is seriously affected and this in turn leads nigeria to the importation of food and some other agricultural products to tackle hunger in the country despite the fact that the country is blessed with abundant natural resources to facilitate high production. the nigerian local production agricultural development in nigeria sector is poor and underdeveloped but due to the national treatment principle the government cannot help by subsidizing for this sector to facilitate production because it is bound by the principle to reciprocate whatever actions it makes towards local sectors to foreign sectors, take for instance if a government grants subsidy on a particular set of locally produced goods to increase production it must also grant import subsidies on the same set of foreign produced goods, this cancels out whatever actions made to improve the local sector as import subsidies will lead to massive and more increased importation which will in turn kill the local sector because it will not be able to compete with the foreign market and also most nigerians would prefer a foreign good over a locally produced one. conclusion and recommendation the world trade organization (wto) trade policies and rules did not increase agricultural production in nigeria between 2010 and 2018.on the basis of findings it is observed that the wto rules hinder agricultural productivity in nigeria and increases nigeria’s reliance on importation to feed its citizens. it was observed that the national treatment principle and the agreement on agriculture are the major rules affecting nigeria’s production. it was also noted that these rules that were formed in the wto favour these developed countries in the long run and increase the gap and inequality between developed and under developed or developing states the study recommends that the federal government of nigeria should reduce its dependence on oil and gas and channel resources and increase its budget to the agricultural sector so as to increase the agricultural production in the country. the government should then publicize the agricultural sector and empower rural farmers. 347 in addition while still obeying the wto and allowing unharmful goods to be imported from other countries, the government can sensitize its citizens on the importance of valuing their own products over foreign ones as the citizens are the market itself. references chand, r., & philip, l.m. (2001). subsidies and support in agriculture: is wto providing level playing field?, economic and political weekly, 36(32): 3014-16. davis, a., & leitner, k.(2008), world trade law. new york: bloomsbury publishing. dennin. l., mckenna, c., & cuneo, a., (2001). united states court of international trade reports”, cases adjudged in international trade, 25:33-35 eicher, t.s., & henn, c. (2011). in search of wto trade effects: preferential trade agreements promote trade strongly, but unevenly. journal of international economics, 83.2, 137153. food and agricultural organization (2011). why has africa become a net food importer? africa agricultural and food trade deficits. rome; 89. fao and the world bank.(2000). agricultural knowledge and information systems for rural development (akis/rd): strategic vision and guiding principles. federal ministry agriculture, (2004). nigeria’s agricultural policy guide: ministry of agriculture abuja. federal ministry agriculture (2008). nigeria’s agricultural system: .ministry of agricultureabuja. federal ministry of agriculture and rural development (2000). agriculture in nigeria: the new policy thrust abuja. food and agricultural organization (2011). nigeria food security report 2011.rome: fao. tang, m.k. & wei, s.j. (2009). the value of making commitments externally, evidence from wto accessions. journal of international economics, 78(2), 216-229. agricultural development in nigeria tangermann, s. (2000). food insecurity: the wto and trade liberalization in agriculture; introduction. in quarterly journal of international agriculture, 39 (4), 339 – 342. tanko, l., onyenweaku, c.e., & nwosu, a.c. (2006). optimum crop combination under limited resource condition: a micro level study in yauri, kebbi state, nigeria. the nigerian agricultural journal 37:1 -10. world bank (2003). world development report. sustainable development in a dynamic world. new york: oxford university press. world bank (2013). african development indicatiors. washington: worldbank. world food program (2009). hunger and markets. world hunger series, wfp, rome and earthscan, london, 2009. world trade organization (2020). 10 things the wto can do. world trade organization. https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10thi_e/10thi00_e.htm (accessed june 10, 2021). https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/agriculture-value-added-annual-percent-growth-wb data.html (accessed october 14, 2021). https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/10thi_e/10thi00_e.htm https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/agriculture-value-added-annual-percent-growth-wb-%20%20%20%20data.html https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/agriculture-value-added-annual-percent-growth-wb-%20%20%20%20data.html page 4 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 146 psychological ownership and organisational fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, oyo state, nigeria pius e. afachung, emmanuel e. uye*, taiwo d. ajisafe peter o. olapegba department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria *corresponding author: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com abstract predictors of workers’ motivation have a long history in organizational development. studies conducted to determine the predictors of work motivation have produced diverse and inconsistent results. therefore, this study investigated psychological ownership and organizational fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. cross-sectional survey design was adopted while purposive sampling technique was used to select three banks: first bank of nigeria, access bank, and guaranty trust bank. three instruments: work motivation scale, psychological ownership scale, and organizational fairness scale were used to collect data from 283 bankers from the study population. data collected were analysed using zero-ordered correlation, multiple regression and t-test of independent samples to test the three hypotheses at a p < .05 level of significance. the result indicated that psychological ownership (r =.58, p <. 05) and organizational fairness significantly correlated with work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. also, psychological ownership and organizational fairness jointly predicted work motivation [r2 = .35, f (2.280) = 75. 48, p <.05]. furthermore, psychological ownership (β = .53, p <.05) and organizational fairness β = .13, p <.05) independently predicted work motivation among the study population. however, gender of the bankers did not influence the level of their motivation in the organisation. the study concluded that organizational ownership and organizational fairness are strong predictors of work motivation among bankers in the study population. the study recommends that bank management should put concrete polices such as bonus sharing and contributory pension funds to boost psychological ownership and organisational fairness among bankers. keywords: bankers, ibadan, organisational fairness, psychological ownership, work motivation. introduction it is a common knowledge that organisation without motivated workers will eventually lose out in the competitive market advantages. motivation remains the core concept which cannot be over-emphasized in the workplace (chang et al., 2022). motivation is considered as ‘a psychological process resulting from the reciprocal interaction between individual and environment that affects an individual’s choices, efforts, and persistence (latham & ernst, 2006). when apply to work environment, it is what make workers to perform, stay and commit to an organisation, cooperate, support the managers, and help customers to achieve the organizational objectives (strati, 2008). people are motivated to do something if they mailto:emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com 147 believe it is likely to bring desired results. people who are well-motivated take action that they expect will achieve their clearly defined goals (gribanova, 2021). motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. intrinsic motivation emanates from inherent qualities of the job itself which the individual enjoys as a result of successfully completing the task or attaining the goals (legault, 2016). extrinsic motivations are those that are external to the job such as pay, work condition, fringe benefits, security, promotion, contract of service, the work environment and conditions of work (legault, 2016). there are many extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors that can predict workers’ motivation. one such factor considered in this study as likely predictor of work motivation is psychological ownership. jnaneswar and gayathri (2023) define psychological ownership as the state in which an individual feels that an object (i.e., material or immaterial) is experienced possessively (i.e., it's 'mine' or it is 'ours'). when workers develop possessive feelings for the organization in which they work for, they show organizational ownership. extending the definition, wang et al. (2019) describe psychological ownership as an attitude which has both affective and cognitive components. they illustrate this with the phrases that denote feelings of ownership or possession. for example, ‘this is my organisation’ and ‘this organization belong to us’. this tight connection between possession and feelings of ownership can be directed at the organization (or workplace) as a whole or at specific aspects of the organization such as the group, job, work tools (i.e., a computer or production machine), or work itself (cocieru, 2019; jafri, 2016). some studies have found organizational ownership to predict workers’ motivation in different organizations (tian & belk, 2005; van dyne & pierce, 2004; wagner et al., 2003). for example, tian and belk (2005) examined the influence of psychological ownership on work motivation among 319 academic and non-academic staff in estonia and found that psychological ownership significantly predict work motivation among the study population. also, when academic staff was given full opportunity to control the grants they attracted to the universities, they exhibited higher level of motivation to work than when there was restriction on such grants. van dyne and pierce (2004) investigated organizational correlates of work motivation (job commitment, sense of ownership and attitude to work) work among 219 uniform officers in some selected cities in the united kingdom. they found that job commitment, sense of ownership and attitude to work jointly and independently predicted work motivation. in another study, wagner et al. (2003) examined psychological factors on work motivation among 197 public servants in portugal. the result revealed that psychological ownership predicted work motivation among civil servants in portugal. finally, 148 vandewalle et al. (1995) investigated the influence of psychological ownership on motivation among 333 fast moving consumable goods workers. the result showed significant difference in work motivation among the study population. workers with high level of psychological ownership reported higher motivation than those with low level of psychological ownership. the second factor considered in this study as likely predictor of work motivation is organizational fairness which is the degree to which an organization provides its workers with appropriate, fair and respectful treatment, adequate and accurate information, resources and rewards (almazrouei & zacca, 2021). organizational fairness is divided into three components: distributive justice (fairness in resources and products allocation), procedural justice (fairness of organizational procedures and ways in which decisions are reached vis-àvis the distribution of resources), and interactional justice (fairness of organizational interpersonal relations and accessibility of equal opportunities) (lee et al., 2017). several studies have found positive associations between organizational fairness and organizational citizenship behaviour (work action defined here as behaviours that benefit the organization by contributing to its environment and functioning beyond formal job requirements) (nagin & teep, 2020;. nazir et al., 2019; yean & yusof, 2016). some studies have remotely examined organization fairness as predictor of work motivation across different work settings. for example, şimşek and çelik (2009) investigated organizational factors such as work environment, organizational fairness and job engagement on work motivation among health workers in jordan. the result showed that organizational fairness and job engagement jointly predicted work motivation. ayverdi (2010) investigated the dimensions of organizational fairness-procedural, distributive and interactional justice as predictors of work motivation among 402 police officers in slovenia. the result indicated that organizational fairness dimensions (procedural, distributive and interactional justice) jointly predicted work motivation. also, guclu (2003) carried out a study on the relationship between organizational fairness and work motivation among a sample of 98 casual workers in selected cement factories in namibia. the study was a field experiment: participants were randomly selected and assigned into experimental and control groups. experimental group consisted of individuals who were exposed to unfairness (injustice) condition, while the control group was observed in a normal environment. the result revealed that group exposed to experimental condition reported lower motivation at work than the control group. finally, walumbwa et al. (2009) investigated the influence of organizational fairness on work motivation among 377 civil servants in uganda. the result indicated that organizational unfairness had significant influence on work motivation among the civil servants. civil 149 servants with high sense of injustice reported lower work motivation than those with low sense of injustice. one demographic factor considered in this study to influence work motivation is gender. some studies have found no gender difference in workers’ motivation (magallanes et al., 2021; naz, et al., 2020; stefko et al. (2017). for example, stefko et al. (2017) found that women were less motivated in their work environment than men. they found that the difference in motivation was rooted on different extrinsic and intrinsic factors that motivated them. however, other studies have found male workers to be more motivated than their female counterparts (eagly, karau, &makhijani, 1995; ogunleye & osekita, 2016; wagner et al., 2003). previous studies on the predictors of work motivation have identified factors which deviated from the interaction between general work environment and personality traits, working conditions, hygiene factors, etc. many of these results were inconclusive. therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate psychological ownership and organization fairness as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the following specific objectives were stated: (a) to examine whether there will be significant relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness, and workers motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, (b) to determine whether psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis, and (c) to establish whether there will be gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the results of this study would provide fresh insights on the importance of psychological ownership and organizational fairness as motivators among bankers. also, the findings of this study would assist human resource managers in redesigning incentive plans that would provide bankers with the sense of equity and ownership, and therefore increase productivity among bankers. theoretical concepts two theoretical concepts anchored this study. social exchange theory social exchange theory explains voluntary actions of individuals that are motivated by the returns they are expected to bring and get from others. cropanzano and mitchel (2005) suggest that the parties involved act in a manner that both will reciprocate the actions of one another such as creating mutual obligation over time. if any of the party to the contract does not reciprocate, feeling of imbalance is created between the contributions of 150 the parties involved. in an employment relationship, when workers perceive that their employer fails to reciprocate their contributions, they are likely to respond through negative emotions such as frustration and anger (gardner et al. 2021). however, they can reduce the imbalance or restore the balance through reduction of organizational commitment, trust and other important behaviours and attitudes (tekleab et al., (2020).when apply to the present study, a worker sense of psychological ownership and organization fairness will determine the level of worker’s level of commitment, sense of belonging and the fair treatment received while working for the organization. theory of reason action the theory was postulated by ajzen and fishbein (1980). the theory proposes that attitude and subjective norms determine a person's behavioural intention to perform certain behaviour. attitude is the positive or negative evaluation of the object while subjective norms is the influence of the significant others to perform or not to perform the behaviour (ajzen & fishbein, 1980). when apply to this study, it means that work motivation in an organization will depend on the level of psychological ownership and organization fairness bankers tend to receive while working for the organization. high (positive) psychological ownership and organizational fairness will be motivators while low (negative) psychological ownership and organization fairness lead to dissatisfaction. hypotheses 1. there will be significant positive relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness and work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. 2. psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. 3. male bankers will significantly report higher level of work motivation than female bankers in ibadan metropolis. method design the study adopted cross-sectional survey research design while structured questionnaire was used for data collection. the study investigated psychological ownership and organizational fairness as independent variables and work motivation as dependent variable. setting the study was conducted in three banks: first bank, guarantee trust bank and access bank branches in ibadan metropolis. 151 sample and sampling technique purposive sampling technique was used to select three banks in ibadan metropolis while accidental sampling technique was used to select participants to response to questionnaires used for data collection. participants descriptive statistic used to summarise demographic data showed that 152 (53.7%) participants were females, while 131 (46.3%) were males. as regard age distribution, 61 (21.6%) of the participants were less than 30 years of age, 82 (29%) were between 30 and 39 age bracket, 91 (32.2%) were between 40 and 49 age bracket, while 49 (17.3%) participants were 50 years old and above. finally, as regards marital status, 170 (60.1%) participants were married, 92 (32.5%) participants were singles, while 21 (7.4%) participants did not indicate their marital status. instruments for data collection work motivation this was evaluated using work motivation scale developed by tremblay et al. (2009). it is an 18item scale presented in a 5-point likert’s format that ranges from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1). the scale has four subscales which include: external (α = .75), introjected (α = 0.77), identified (α = 0.84) and intrinsic (α = 0.91). sample items include: ‘i am doing this work because it allows me to earn money’ and ‘because this job has become a fundamental part of who i am’. for the present study a composite cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.89 psychological ownership this was measured using organizational psychological ownership scale developed by van dyne and pierce (2004). it is a 7-item scale presented on a 5-point likert’s response format that ranges from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).sample items include: ‘this is our company’ and ‘this is my organisation’ the authors reported the scale cronbach's alpha of 0.93. the scale cronbach’s alpha for the present study was 0.87. organizational fairness this was assessed using organizational fairness scale developed by colquitt et al. (2001) to address the degree to which individuals perceive been unjustly treated by the organization. it is an 18-item scale presented in a 5-point likert’s response format ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). samples item include: ‘employees are praised for good work’ and ‘employees hard work is appreciated’. higher scores indicate high perceived injustice (unfairness). the scale developers obtained cronbach’s alpha of 0.95. in this study, the scale composite cronbach’s alpha was 0.75. 152 procedure for data collection the researchers obtained letter of introduction from the department of psychology, faculty of the social sciences, university of ibadan which was presented to the management of the selected banks. the introduction letter was also used to obtain permission from potential participants. participants who agreed to participate in the study were given the questionnaires in the staff canteen during lunch hour because of their job schedules. the same procedures were carried out in the three branches of the banks selected for the study. the questionnaire took under 15 minutes to fill while the period of data collection was for three weeks. a total of 300 questionnaires, 100 copies for each designated bank were distributed, with 289 copies retrieved (response rate of 96%). however, six questionnaires were incompletely filled and were discarded left with 283 copies that were used for the final analysis. method of data analysis data collected were analysed using spss version 23. descriptive statistic was used to summarise demographic data. zero-ordered correlation was used to test hypothesis 1, standard multiple regression was used to test hypothesis 2, while hypothesis 3 was tested using t-test of independent sample. all hypotheses were accepted at a p < 0.05 level of significance. results h1 there will be significant positive relationship among psychological ownership, organizational fairness, and work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using zero-ordered correlation and the result is presented in table 1. table 1 zero-ordered correlation among variables of study s/n variables mean sd 1 2 3 1 work motivation 62.31 14.06 2 psychological ownership 42.95 8.84 .58* 3 organisational fairness 28.51 6.30 .34** .39* table 1 presents results on the relationship among work motivation, psychological ownership and organizational fairness among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the result revealed that there exists significant positive relationship between work motivation and psychological 153 ownership (r = .58, p <. 05). also, there was a significant positive relationship between work motivation and organizational fairness (r = .34, p <.05). this results supported hypothesis one. h2 organisational fairness and psychological ownership will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using multiple regression analysis and the result is presented in table 2. table 2 organisational fairness and psychological ownership as predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis criterion predictors ß t p r r2 f p psychological ownership .53 10.09 <.05 work motivation .59 .35 75.48 <.05 organisational fairness .13 2.49 <.05 the results in table 2 showed that organisational fairness and psychological ownership jointly predicted work motivation [r² = .35, f (2, 280) = 75.48, p < .05]. when combined psychological ownership and organizational fairness accounted for about 35% variance in work motivation among bankers. also, psychological ownership (ß =.53, t= 10.09, p <.05) and organizational fairness (ß= .13, t = 2.49, p <.05) independently predicted work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. this confirmed the stated hypothesis. h3 male bankers will significantly report higher level of work motivation than female bankers in ibadan metropolis. this was tested using t-test for independent samples and the result is presented in table 3. table 3 t-test of independent sample showing gender difference in work motivation gender n mean sd t df p male 131 62.24 12.68 .08 281 >.05 female 152 62.38 15.19 154 table 3 presents result on gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. the result showed no significant gender difference in work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis [t (281) = .08, p >.05]. therefore, hypothesis three was rejected. discussion this study investigated organizational fairness and psychological ownership on work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. three hypotheses were generated and tested. the hypothesis that there will be significant positive relationship between work motivation and psychological ownership among bankers in ibadan metropolis was confirmed. this implies that the higher the psychological ownership, the higher the work motivation among bankers. also, there was significant positive relationship between work motivation and organizational fairness. this means that the higher the organizational fairness, the higher work motivation among bankers. this finding supported previous result by pierce et al. (2001) who found positive relationship between psychological ownership and work motivation among mining workers. also, the study lent credence to the finding by tian and belk (2005) who found positive relationship between organizational fairness and work motivation among universities staff in estonia. the hypothesis that psychological ownership and organizational fairness will jointly and independently predict work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis was supported. psychological ownership and organizational fairness were found to jointly predict work motivation. when combined psychological ownership and organizational fairness accounted for about 35% variance in work motivation among bankers. psychological ownership and organization are important resources that impact positive attitudes (e.g. higher commitment, sense of belongingness, self-identity, motivation, etc) to workers in their organisations. this means that bankers with higher psychological ownership and organizational fairness will show higher level of positive attitude towards the organizations than those with negative attitudes. this finding supported previous result by van dyne and pierce (2004) who found organizational fairness to be a strong predictor of work motivation among uniform officers in uk. finally, the hypothesis that male bankers would report higher than female bankers on work motivation was not supported. this means that gender of the bankers did not influence the level of their motivation to work. this finding supported previous studies (magallanes et al., 2021; naz, et al., 2020; stefko et al., 2017) who found that gender did not influence the 155 level of motivations among their study population. however, this finding contradicted result by wagner et al. (2003) who found male bankers to be more motivated than their female counterparts. it needs to be stated that many of the bank workers in nigeria are contract staff. the level of motivation may not be entrenched in their sense of well-being in the organization. conclusion this study has empirically established that psychological ownership and organizational fairness are significant predictors of work motivation among bankers in ibadan metropolis. gender was not found to be a significant influence of work motivation among bankers in the study population. recommendations because of the findings in this study that psychological ownership and organizational fairness were strong predictors of work motivation, it is recommended that bank management should put in place concrete polices such as bonus sharing and contributory pension funds that would boost psychological ownership and organisational fairness among bankers in their organisations. this would help to motivate bankers to put in their best toward organisational performance and productivity. limitations of the study the following limitations need to be addressed in further studies. the study purposively selected three banks in ibadan metropolis which significantly hindered generalization of the study findings. further studies should include more banks in the metropolis. another limitation is the sample size of 283 participants which may not be a true reflection of the bankers in ibadan metropolis. further studies should increase the sample size to allow for generalization. finally, financial constraint and the unwillingness of the study participants to response to the study instrument limited this study. further studies should work to overcome these two constraints. 156 references ajzen, i. & fisbein, m.(1980). understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. prentice hall. almazrouei, h., & zacca, r. 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(2016). organisational justice: a conceptual discussion. procedia social & behavioral science, 219,798-803. page 7 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 484 funding small-to-medium scale agribusiness towards boosting eastern nigerian economy at post covid-19 pandemic era okolo chimaobi v1 onuigbo fidelia nebechi2 okolo ebere u3 1&2department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology 3godfrey okoye university and group of institutions enugu 3correspondence: ebereudumaga@gmail.com abstract this study investigates funding of small–to-medium sized agri-business towards boosting eastern nigerian economy at post covid-19 pandemic with special reference to sme farming in enugu state, nigeria. the specific objectives are to determine, among others, the problems associated with the sme agribusiness. the validity and reliability co-efficient ratio was 0.87. the population studied was one hundred and fifty (150) and comprises of teachersowners of farms and others. the researchers utilized questionnaire for information gathering and applied survey research design. the validity and reliability co-efficient ratio was 0.87. frequency and standard deviation were utilized to analyze the data and test the research hypotheses with ttest. findings show that; at the instance of post covid-19 pandemic; there was lack of funds and lack of access to financial support which poses a big challenge, lack of exposure to new and improved ways of agri-business, lack of publicity, lack of adequate enforcement/aggressive campaigns for farming in our primary and tertiary institutions (inadequacy of our curriculum). it was concluded that access to finance enables smes farmers to perform better. inculcation of farming business in our primary up to tertiary education and wide publicity helps improve agribusiness. it was recommended that government should grant financial assistance, private provision of access to financial support and develop a policy enabling financial groups to consider granting smes framers access to financial assistance. this will boost the activities of small-to-medium scale agri-businesses in the eastern nigeria and increase revenues to the nation. the implication is that if farming agri-business is not seriously pursued, hunger and poverty will overtake the nation especially the eastern nigeria. keywords: small-to-medium scale agri-business: challenges, improvement strategies,eastern nigeria introduction there is lack of food, food insecurity, terrible hunger and lack of access to financial resources for running smalltomedium scale agro-business in eastern nigeria especially at this post covid – 19 pandemic era. this is forcing framers to quit farming business for monthly paid jobs. eastern nigerians, and indeed nigerians are known for ability in commercial businesses all over the world. they migrate from one country to another, dominate and take over the commercial activities. they are good at buying and selling. they are not too wonderful in farming, fishery, rearing of animals or excavation industry. this, their god giving values makes them acquire so much funds from any country they settle; take over their economic activities, make the inhabitants jealous when they look at the assets of these nigerians. this is the experience in ghana, which is outside nigeria. it was recorded that three quarters of the displaced or threatened businesses are from nigeria. mailto:ebereudumaga@gmail.com 485 were these nigerians especially easterners engaged in the farming business they would not have exposed themselves to these agitations in their commercial enterprises in these areas they migrated to. however, due to scarcity of funding especially in sme these teeming workforces are not attracted to the business of farming. the irony of it is that, these nigerians with reference to some farmers in selected areas never thought of improving their farm places. they prefer to go to foreign countries to live and carry out their buying and selling businesses. one could ask if they do not know the advantages of improving their farms especially at this post covid-19 pandemic. (okolo, duru and ani, 2021) corona virus is a dangerous killer that kills people in hundreds of thousands and was first experienced in wuhan china in the last quarter of 2019 and later spread throughout the entire world (attila, peter and balogh, 2020). governments imposed total lockdown to curtail its spread anywhere it is noticed. movement between countries were stopped, even movement between states were prohibited which brought business of every kind to a standstill; the nation’s oil price dropped and our currency came to little or no currency. at this time economy was very poor, feeding was difficult, good health could not be ascertained, schools were shut down, and low standard of living was the order of the period. the world bank on global economic prospects maintain that the effect of the pandemic may stay for a prolonged period, cause debt accumulation and also slow down potential growth over the next decade. therefore, the world bank president maintains that we cease this opportunity to lay the foundation for sustainable economy. however, uncertainty about post-covid-19 pandemic tremendously reduced investment thereby disrupted economic development. the world population is on the increase and nigeria is not left out; therefore, the need for agriculture to feed the increased population. agriculture has gone mechanized and not the local means it used to be. according to jiriko, olorunaiya, nwafulugo and omengala, (2015) agricultural science is an essential programme in nigeria and is undergoing development from local implements (tools) to technological means of producing goods (food) stressing that agriculture is cultivation of land and management of plants and animals, which is the mainstay of human-beings. no wonder nigeria as a nation through many civilian administrators had given agricultural a priority, developing and exploiting agricultural sector for sustainability of their increasing population. however, the infant (children) who would be farmers in years ahead ought to be integrated into basic knowledge of agriculture and to ensure their love/ interest in secondary level (universal basic education level – ube) are not left out. agricultural farming business is the least area for spread of covid-19, and social distancing are naturally achieved as farmers are spread out working the land. this would have been an area where funding should be directed to attract people to the farm and be productive even in the face of any pandemic. this pandemic caused slump in the economy thereby increased the problem of funding which necessitated this urgency of funding for framing due to lock down for over eight months in 486 2020; whereby framers were just eating from their seedlings instead of from their profit and now no more seedlings or capital to invest in smes farming. according to world bank, (nd) lack of funds and inability to have access to finance are key constraints to sme growth; and these are the most cited obstacles to smes farming which hinder growth in developing countries especially in eastern nigeria, stressing that, smes account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development; representing about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. also, formal smes contribute up to 40% of national income (gdp) in developing economies like nigeria. again, world bank estimated that about 600 million jobs will be needed by 2030 to absorb the growing global workforce which makes sme development a high priority for many governments around the world. in emerging markets, most formal jobs are generated by smes, which create 7 out of 10 jobs (world bank, nd). therefore, for sme farmers to perform their roles as enumerated above, they need adequate funding in terms of short and long-term loans. as a result of the nature of sme farming, funds are always in short supply. it therefore becomes necessary that sme farmers should be assisted largely by public initiative involving participation of the banking industry. nevertheless, government of nigeria has recently made elaborate effort to assist the smes farmers in their funding problems (ohachosim, onwuchekwa, ifeanyi, nd). world bank report stated eight ways to get startup capital for a small farming business to include: savings, personal loans, credit cards, bank loan, venture capital and angel investors, government programs, corporate programs, crowd funding and crowd lending. these are explained as follows: savings: most startup funders use their personal savings to fund their businesses, according to forbes you do not drain your bank account to raise funds for your business, but rather advices entrepreneurs to set aside enough living expenses (for rent and groceries, for example) to last them for a year. this is because many startups are not profitable for months after opening. smaller, service-based businesses can probably get away with three to six months of operating expenses, according to fresh-books. the sba, (nd) (a fund raising company) has a number of tips for saving up to start your small farming business, including: decrease credit card debt; call your bank to request a lower interest rate; set up an automatic deduction to your savings account; get rid of any services you do not use like car-sharing memberships; set up a budget using a service like you need a budget; look for face book groups in your area focused on trading or selling used items. personal loans: this tactic involves borrowing money from family and friends. to avoid hurt feelings, put the terms of the personal loan in writing. be clear about how much you need, what the interest rate is and when it will be repaid. credit cards: you can either use your personal credit card or open a business credit card. even if this option is open to you, do not choose it lightly. credit cards often have high interest rates that increase your balance monthly. you could end up with a debt balance much higher than https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/jobsanddevelopment/overview https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/jobsanddevelopment/overview https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#1.savings https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#2.personalloans https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#3.creditcards https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#4.bankloans https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#5.venturecapitalandangelinvestors https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#5.venturecapitalandangelinvestors https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#6.governmentprograms https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#7.corporateprograms https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#8.crowdfundingandcrowdlending https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/04/10/11-places-to-find-money-to-start-a-business/ https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/start-your-own-business-assessment https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/nd/fargo/resources/how-save-cash-start-business https://www.youneedabudget.com/ https://www.youneedabudget.com/ 487 you planned for, which could cripple your new business. still confident credit cards are the best route for you; make sure you are using a card with the lowest interest rate possible and excellent repayment terms. bank loans: unfortunately, a small business bank loan is not guaranteed. banks want airtight businesses plans and excellent credit scores before they’ll consider approving a small business loan. they may also want you to invest your own money in the business to prove you’re really committed to making your company work. you can go with your personal bank since they’ll already be familiar with your banking history. or choose a bank that’s historically known for lending to small businesses. to improve your chances of getting a loan, choose a guaranteed lender. venture capital and angel investors (private investors): venture capital and angel investing is best suited to high-growth companies that are already profitable with good cash flow. still, each entrepreneur has his or her own specialty in terms of region, industry and company age. a unique idea and a solid business plan is required to attract investment. investments are typically made over a three year period. this investments come in three forms: loans, loans range from n250,000 to n10 million, which must be paid back (with interest). interest rates are 9 to 16 percent; equity: some funding companies will give you money for your business for a share of ownership (and control). investments range from n100, 000 to $5 million; loan and equity: this is a combination of the first two options. these loans come with interest rates of 10 to 14 percent and investments are n250, 000 to n10 million. government programs: government grants can require some research to find the right one for you. there are companies that have offices that can coach you on available grants, plus provide business consulting and training them also. they have information on federal grant programs. there are also small business grants available to entrepreneurs facing unique barriers. for example: women’s business centre’s offer advice on local, state and private loans for women, especially those who are economically or socially disadvantaged. minorities-owned businesses can check the companies’ site that connects them to funding businesses from economically disadvantaged areas. such smes may need the services/advice of a veteran; a veteran is a person who has a long career in a particular occupation or field to match the loan you require. corporate programs: select corporations that offer programs that support small businesses, including low-interest financing. for example, financial institution that has a program that gives affordable loans to businesses who might not qualify at traditional credit sources. crowd funding and crowd lending: crowd funding usually involves asking large groups of people for funds on dedicated crowd funding websites. they usually receive a gift or the product you are developing in return for their investment. crowd-lending functions much the same way except that your funders expect you to pay them back. according to ohachosim, onwuchekwa, ifeanyi, (nd) the government has tried to achieve the above assistance to smes through the following agencies and schemes: the nigeria industrial https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans https://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/sbdc https://www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance/wbc https://www.sba.gov/category/business-groups/minority-owned https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/8a-business-development-program https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/8a-business-development-program 488 development bank ltd (nidb) (1962), the nigeria bank for commerce and industry (nbci) (1973), rural banking scheme (1977), agricultural credit guarantee scheme fund (1978), word bank assisted sme loan project (1987), peoples bank of nigeria (1989), the national economic reconstruction fund (nerfund) (1990), community bank (1991), nigeria export import bank (1991), the bank of industry (2000), nigeria agricultural, corporative and rural development bank (nacrdb) (2000), the small and medium industries equity investment scheme (smieis) (2001), refining and rediscounting facilities (2002), microfinance banking (2005); despite all the efforts of government, progress of smes in nigeria is still limited due to financial challenges (ohachosim, 2012). it can be logically correct to conclude from the above that the financial challenges of smes in nigeria today, have taken the dimension of inaccessibility of funds. obstacles of smes access to funds in nigeria have not been surmounted. this problem motivated the researcher’s interest to investigate small and medium scale framers: challenges and improvement strategies in southeastern states, nigeria. access to finance is the ability of individuals or farmers to obtain financial services, including credit, deposit, payment, insurance, and other risk management services (wikipedia) it also, refers to public loans or government subsidized loans for framers, with the aim of enabling start-ups, enabling small and medium sized farmer to grow. lack of access to financial support: is unavailability of money provided to enable framers to continue. this money ought to be provided by the government. that is,-available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed. sources of capital and funds for your farm business in nigeria family and friends: one of the sources of framing business funds is family members and relatives; nigerian commercial banks; you-win program, nonprofits / angel investors; smedan; personal finance; local co-operative societies, partnership, funding policy: funding policy means the written policy regarding funding for the plan, established in accordance with the applicable legislation and the parameters set out in section 3, as amended from time to time. statement of the problem lack of funds and lack of access to financial support, lack of basic infrastructures, competition among local/foreign framers, levies and farming charges no doubt erode savings and discourage investment in smes framing, leading to shutdown of sme farming which eventually leads to challenges like starvation, unemployment, resultant clampdown (high mortality rate) of sme farming. therefore, these problems motivated the researchers to investigate on availability of access to funding policies designed and administered to help improve smes farming performance and spring-up more farm settlements in the eastern nigeria. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/financial_services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/credit_(finance) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/deposit_account https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/payment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/insurance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/risk_management 489 objective of the study the main objective of this study was to examine the effect of lack of funds on smes farming performance in south-eastern states, nigeria; while the specific objectives are as follows: 1. to examine the problems facing smes farming 2. to what extent does lack of accessibility of funding policies designed and administered affect smes farming performance research questions 1. what are the problems facing smes farming survival? 2. to what extent does lack of accessibility of funding policies designed and administered help improve smes farming performance research hypotheses the following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study in its quest examine the effect of lack of funds/lack of access to funds on sme farming performance ho1: there is no significant problem facing sme farming. ho2: there are no significant effects of lack of access to funds on the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises review of related literature sme farming challenges means problem encountered by smes in the course of their activities that hinders their progress/performance. improvement strategies in this context means process provided for how work gets done and what can be done to improve it. this includes the following: improve the customer experience, reduce costs, improve resource efficiency, improve resource productivity, and reduce response time among others (business enterprise mapping 2017). smes are key players in developing nations such as nigeria. smes have long been observed to be catalyst for economic growth and national development both in developed and developing countries (fatai, 2011). according to appah, (2010), smes have been considered as the engine of economic growth and for promoting equitable development, emphasizing that the major advantages of the sector is its employment potential at low capital cost. the central bank of nigeria in 1990 as factored by okwo, (2012) defined sme as any manufacturing process or service, with a capital not exceeding n150,000 in manufacturing and equipment alone. a study by the federal office of statistics revealed that smes in nigeria make up 97% of the economy adebisi, and gbegi, (2013). stressing that, although smes are small in size they are the most important enterprise in the country because of the fact that when all the individual effects are aggregated they surpass that of the larger enterprises. adebisi, and gbegi, (2013) noted that smes though small in size are the most important enterprise in the country because of the fact that when all the individual effects are aggregated 490 they surpass that of the larger enterprises. according to the authors a lot of problems are encountered by sme, the most complained of are the problems of financing which among others, do not always encouraging growth in smes. similarly, situations where a smallholder farmer cannot source funds to pay for the seedlings, registration fee to enable him/her get assistance from government, development levy, market tax, personal income tax again, smes are supposed to receive capital allowance on assets bought for a specific period but this is denied them and no tax incentives for investments are allowed to them. obamuyi (2007) examined loan delinquency among small and medium enterprises (sme) in ondo state of nigeria, maintained that it is difficult for smes to meet the criteria for accessing bank loan .the author went further to state some standard criteria to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers as follows; financial strength, profitability, network, track record, management quality, relations and payment records with other banks, business prospects, business risks and collateral securities. all the above criteria cannot be good assessments without adequate accounting. it is because of the deficiency in the record keeping of sme that compels the banks to insist on collateral as a “must” for sme. anifowose, and onileowo, (2020) opine that the term finance or financing is comprehensively stared as a kernel and a ‘key’ gizmo that is obligatory for the evolution and functionality of any enterprise. accessing the appropriate kind of financing in accord to the enterprise’s need is more essential for its survival. however, access to finance for small and medium enterprises (smes) has always been difficult to owners and also, a serious apprehension especially among researchers. meanwhile, it is on the note that very many small business sector offer support to nigerian economy by providing employment opportunity to most citizens who in turn improves standard of living. but, in spite of this importance, most of these small businesses collapse within the first five years of operation yet the agencies established by nigerian government to offer support to this sector are confronted with difficulties in accessing the finance from financial institutes. keeping in view the importance of smes, this paper grilling the flora and configuration of the financial capital for viable small business is to widen the understanding on the existing financing opportunities available to smes and entrepreneurs. the idea of establishing small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) is generally viewed to contribute significantly to economic growth, employment, innovation and social stability across the globe. they are also regarded as a major driver of innovation for sustainable development and economic growth that has gathered substantial attention during the last several decades. in order to speed up the sustainability evolution, further attention should be given to the financial needs of smes. this is because, availability of financial capital is very essential for the survival of any business enterprise and is also considered as one economic resource measured in terms of cash utilized by entrepreneurs and businesses to shop for what they need to make their products or to offer their services to the sector of the economy upon which their operation is based, example retail, corporate, investment banking, among others. however, access to financial capital to purchase fixed and current assets is crucial to sustaining a firm’s competitive advantage. empirical studies maintain that 491 small and medium enterprises need financial capital to acquire physical resources to enable them to take advantage of business opportunities. likewise, the authors state that, to establish and sustain an sme, the entrepreneur needs to have access to various types of resources like financial capital, human capital; and material capital; with each performing different, but similar important roles during the process of founding a new enterprise. gumel, (2019) investigated on how to provide owners and managers of small businesses with necessary information about the challenges facing small businesses in nigeria and present the possible tools, policies, and strategies to mitigate them. the author utilized the multi-case qualitative study, managers of successful small businesses narrated in an interview the tools, policies, and strategies they used to mitigate the identified challenges. the study answered the central question: what are the tools, policies, and strategies used by managers of successful small businesses to mitigate the challenges facing their firms? their findings identified continuous government intervention and support to small businesses as a major tool that reduced the challenges facing the sector. their practical implications was that the information found can be used by small business managers to mitigate the challenges facing small businesses and reduce their massive failure in the economy. thereby, increase the number of successful small businesses, which will result in the reduced unemployment rate in the economy. a reduced unemployment rate in the nigerian economy will increase the standard of living of the citizens, thus, reducing the unemployment rate in the economy. empirical literature ohachosim, onwuchekwa, and ifeanyi, (nd) investigated the relevance of sme-sub sector in nigeria’s economy which has necessitated the need for empirical investigations into the nature of its financial challenges. the authors evaluates the extent accounting information can be used to ameliorate the financial challenges of smes in nigeria. it explored both theoretical and empirical literatures as bases for the study. it made use of questionnaire for collecting data from a sample of smes in nigeria. tables and graphs describe the responses for better understanding. by the technique of ordinary least square (ols), the researchers analyzed the group logit (glogit) model specified in the paper. findings reveal that smes in nigeria have poor accounting system. it was also found that smes’ access to finance depends largely on the quality of accounting information they can generate which is determined by their accounting practices. the paper recommends that smes should access the services of the accountant to be able to establish dependable accounting system which is characterized by generally accepted accounting practices (gaaps). quality accounting information will enhance smes’ financial management as well as accessibility of finances. adeyinka, mustaha and odi, (2019) assert that developing a sustainable source of finance for msmes farming has remained a perennial problem as a result of their lack of, or low-valued collaterals. the authors examined the impact of development bank finance on the growth and development of msmes farming in nigeria from 2010 – 2017 with specific objectives of determining whether msmes farming have funding depend on collateral using the survey 492 research design method. ordinary least square regression (ols) technique was used to analyze the data obtained from primary and secondary sources. the authors found that msmes in nigeria accessibility to finances in nigeria depend largely on the volume and value of credits to msmes depends on the availability of collaterals. the authors recommend that smes should install a sound and reliable access to funding, and msmes should invest a portion of their capital in non-current assets in order to increase the value of their collaterals and, hence, have expansive access to funding. mba, and cletus, (2014) discussed issues, challenges and prospects of small and medium scale enterprises (smes) in port-harcourt city, nigeria. this was informed by the high rate of unemployment in the society and the poor performance of smes in employment generation. while the research questions addressed the extent to which poor financing, inadequate social infrastructures, lack of managerial skills and multiple taxation constitute major challenges in the performance of smes between october 2012 and november 2013, it assumes that government intervention through the provision of financial assistance, social infrastructures and favorable taxation policies will reverse the trend. the researchers adopted a descriptive research design using 120 randomly selected registered operators of smes in port-harcourt city. data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics while formulated hypotheses were tested using z-test. results from the data analysis indicated that poor financing, inadequate social infrastructures, lack of managerial skills and multiple taxation were major challenges confronting smes in port-harcourt city, thus recommended: provision of soft loans to smes operators, government guaranteeing of long-term loans to smes operators, establishment of smes funding agency, public/private sector partnership in infrastructural provision, capacity building for smes operators and provision of tax incentives for smes operators. anifowose and onileowo, (2020) maintain that the term finance or financing is comprehensively stared as a kernel and a 'key' gizmo that is obligatory for the evolution and functionality of any enterprise. accessing the appropriate kind of financing in accord to the enterprise's need is more essential for its survival. however, access to finance for small and medium enterprises (smes) has always been difficult to owners and also, a serious apprehension especially among researchers. meanwhile, it is on the note that very many small business sector offer support to nigerian economy by providing employment opportunity to most citizens who in turn improves standard of living. but, in spite of this importance, most of these small businesses collapse within the first five years of operation yet the agencies established by nigerian government to offer support to this sector are confronted with difficulties in accessing the finance from financial institutes. keeping in view the importance of smes, this paper grilling the flora and configuration of the financial capital for viable small business is to widen the understanding on the existing financing opportunities available to smes and entrepreneurs. 493 theoretical review the theoretical framework guiding this study is the “theory of public expenditure”. it is the expenses which government incurs in the performance of its operations. with rise in state activities, it may be hard to determine what portion of public expenditure can be ascribed to the maintenance of government itself and what portion to the benefit of the society and the economy at large. although, public expenditures increased rapidly over the years and coupled with its role and importance in the national economy the area of public expenditure has remained relatively unexplored. studies in public expenditure have been confined to that of generalities in terms of its effect on employment and prices [adanis, 2001]. two notable theories of public expenditure are examined here-under: the law of increasing activities according to was postulated by a german economist called adolph wagner in 1890. the study identifies that there are inherent tendencies for the activities of government to grow both intensively and extensively. and that functional relationship exists between the growth of an economy and the growth of government activities and that the governmental sector grows faster than the economy. furthermore, all kinds of governments’ especially, state or local government intentions had exhibited the same kind of tendencies of increased expenditure. main argument of the displacement theory was that public expenditure does not increase in a straight or continuous manner, but in “jack or stepwise” fashion. often some social or other distractions occur which shows the need for increase in public expenditure which the existing level of revenue cannot meet. therefore, public expenditure increases will make the inadequacy of the existing level of revenue clear to everyone. the movement from the initial and low level of expenditure and taxation to a new and higher level is called the displacement effect,” while the inadequacy of the revenue as matched to the required expenditure creates the “inspection effect’’. hence the government and the people would reach a new level of “tax tolerance” by reviewing the revenue position and finding solution to the problem of inadequate revenue. since each major disturbance leads government to assume a larger proportion of the national economic activities, the result is the “concentration effect.” nevertheless, concentration effect, they assert, is the tendency for the government activities to grow faster than the economy. methodology research design: a survey research method was used which involved the use of questionnaire, interview, past publications and records. the researcher chose survey method because it is effective when opinions of people are sort for, attitudes and descriptions, more especially in getting cause and effect relationship. population of the study: this study was conducted using eighty (80) registered smes businesses in enugu state, nigeria. the total number of managing directors; spread across the registered smes is one hundred and fifty (150). the number of managing directors made up the accessible population of the study and all the population was studied given its small nature. 494 method of data collection: the data enabled the study to test the research hypotheses. again, the statistical tool of frequency tables and percentage were used to present and analyze data collected and tested the research hypotheses with t-test validity of instrument: validity of measuring instrument is defined as the ability of the instrument to measure what is supposed to measure,” stressing a clock is a valid instrument so long as it measures the correct time. otherwise it is not a valid chronological instrument. validity of measuring instrument is determined by its content which stresses adequate coverage by the instrument of the scope implied by the topic of study. hence, for the sake of validity of the measuring instrument that was used, the researcher ensured that questions asked in the questionnaire fully exhaust all that were implied by the research questions and hypotheses. the instrument was validated by experts in the field of study, paying particular attention the relevance to the subject matter and their coverage of the entire work. reliability of research instrument: reliability is defined as the consistency between independent measurements of the same phenomenon, reliability then is the stability, dependability and predictability of the measuring instrument” to ensure that the instrument consistently measures what it is supposed to measure, a pre – test was carried out in the study area. the reliability was established through a test – retest method. ten copies of the questionnaire were administered to ten smes in enugu state, nigeria. two weeks after collection, the same instrument was administered to the smes respondents. this test was to determine the consistency of their responses to the questionnaire. spearman reliability coefficient was used to determine that the instrument has a coefficient of 0.85. spearman reliability coefficient was also used to determine that the instrument has a coefficient of 0.85. the formula of spearman correlation internal consistency reliability co-efficient is stated thus: where k = number of items per section vi = total items of standard deviation per section vt = standard deviation of scores per section squared = infinity of number method of data analysis: the researcher analyzed, interpreted and presented their result using t test formula thus: model specification formula for the analysis of t-test level of significance = (0.05). the t-test analysis was used in testing the research hypothesis. the data collected was statistically analyzed with simple percentage (%) and frequency distribution to compare the mean difference between variables. t-test was used to analyze the differences in the utilization of sme agribusiness activities in economic development. in this study, the researcher seeks to establish if these variables do or do not move together. according to koutsioyannis, (1973) as opined in ebiringa and emeh, (2012), the coefficient of correlation is a measure of the degree of co-variability of the dependant and independent variables. the 495 values that the correlation coefficient may assume vary from -1 to +1 imply that there is perfect positive correlation between independent (agribusiness (crops, animal, and seedlings) and dependent (revenue generation and better standard of living) variables. basis of the model the t-test estimates the true difference in the group means using the difference in group means over the pooled standard error of the group. t = the test value x1 = are the means of one group being compared s2 = the pooled standard error of the one group n1 = the number of observations in the group ( lecturers) decision rule: reject ho if f – calculated is greater than or equal to f – critical value the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the respondents and it was filled by the respondent and returned to the researcher. questionnaire response rate table : response rate questionnaire number percentage% questionnaire administered 150 100 questionnaire returned 150 100 field survey, 2021 table above shows that 150 copies of questionnaire were administered on respondents. the entire questionnaire were returned (response rate of 150 copies were 100%. therefore 150 questionnaires were used for the analysis. testing of hypothesis generation of data for testing hypothesis 1.(ho1) ho1: there is no significant problem facing sme farming. table : summary of resources to questions 1-5 relating to hypothesis one. s/n questionnaire sa a sd d mean �̅� decision sd (4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 ÷ 4 = 2.5) 1 they are problems facing smes survival? 100 30 15 5 525 150 3.5 accept 0.82 (400) (90) (30) (5) 2. they are lack of basic infrastructural problems 84 36 14 16 488 150 3.25 accept 0.2 (336) (108) (28) (16) 3. government policy negatively affect them 84 36 14 16 488 150 3.25 accept 1.2 (366) (108) (28) (16) 4. multiple taxation affect them 84 36 14 16 488 150 3.25 accept1.2 (366) (108) (28) (16) 5. lack of government support negatively affect them 80 30 20 26 470 150 3.1 accept 0.74 (320) (90) (40) (26) grand mean �̅� (16.35 ÷ 5) 3.27 496 table above shows the summary of responses to question 1-5 indicating that there are significant problems facing smes. also, the above table reveals that the mean is greater than the bench mark; . test of hypothesis 1: computation of data �̅� µ n sd l/s t-cal t-tab d 3.27 3.27 150 1.08 0.05 6.83 1.96 r source: field survey, 2021 generation of data for testing hypothesis 2 (ho2) there are no significant effects of lack of access to funds on the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises table : summary of responses to questions 6 to 11 relating to hypothesis 2. s/n questionnaire sa a sd d mean �̅� decision sd (4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 ÷ 4 = 2.5) 6.. lack of availability of funding policies designed and administered negatively affect improve smes performance 84 36 14 16 488 150 3.25 accept 1.12 (336) (108) (28) (16) 7. availability of funding policies designed and administered help improve smes performance 100 30 15 5 525 150 3.5 accept 0.81 (400) (90) (30) (5) 8.government should 90 40 14 6 514 150 3.14 accept 0.78 provide funding policy favorable to sme (360) (120) (28) (6) 9. government should provide policy that could allow individuals finance houses that should make funds availably to sme 70 50 14 16 474 150 3.16 accept 0.26 (280) (150) (28) (16) 10. you-win program, nonprofits / angel investors; should provide access to funds for sme 80 40 14 16 484 150 3.2 accept 0 .71 (320) (150) (28) (16) 11. personal finance; local co-operative societies, partnership alone should should be the only access to smes funding 105 35 6 4 541 150 3.6 accept 0.50 i (420) (105) (12) (4) grand mean �̅� (19.85 ÷ 6 (no of items) = 3.3 source: field survey, 2021 data relating to hypothesis 2 (ho2) were generated. �̅� µ n sd l/s t-cal t-tab d 3.3 2.5 150 1.08 0.05 6.83 1.96 r source: field survey, 2021 497 table above shows the summary of responses to question 6-11 that there are no significant effects of lack of access to funds on the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises hypothesis two of the study. the mean is greater than the bench mark indicating strong agreement that there are there are significant effects of lack of access to funds on the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises. also, the t-cal is greater than the t-tab. therefore, we reject the null hypotheses and accept the alternate hypotheses. result/discussion following the result of our analysis on ho1:: that there is no significant problem facing smes in enugu state; we reject the null hypotheses and accept the alternate at 0.05 percent level of significance, the calculated t-value of 6.83 is greater than the critical t-value (t-tab) of 1.96, however, this is in agreement with the work of anifowose, and onileowo, (2020) which opined that the term finance or financing is comprehensively stared as a ‘key’ that is obligatory for the evolution and functionality of any enterprise. however, access to finance for small and medium enterprises (smes) has always been difficult to owners. also, this is in agreement with the work of adebisi, and gbegi, (2013) stating that a lot of problems are encountered by sme, the most complained of are the problems of financing which among others, do not always encourage growth in smes. also, there are no significant effects of lack of access to funds on the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises in enugu state ho2: we reject the null hypotheses and accept the alternate at 0.05 percent level of significance, the calculated t-value of 6.83 is greater than the critical t-value (t-tab) of 1.96, so availability of access to funds significantly benefit smes, however, this is in agreement with the work of adebisi, and gbegi, (2013) siting a situations where a smallholder farmer cannot source funds to pay for the seedlings, registration fee to enable him/her get assistance from government, development levy, market tax, personal income tax conclusion: empirical results have established the benefits derivable from making available access to finance to smes in eastern nigeria and enugu state in particular. recommendations: the study recommends that: 1. implementation of world bank report on eight ways to get startup capital for a small businesses should be followed to the letter to include: savings, personal loans, credit cards, bank loan, venture capital and angel investors, government programs, corporate programs, crowd funding and crowd lending. 2. the government should ensure availability of funding policies, designed and administered to help improve smes performance https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#1.savings https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#2.personalloans https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#3.creditcards https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#3.creditcards https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#4.bankloans https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#5.venturecapitalandangelinvestors https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#6.governmentprograms https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#7.corporateprograms https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/startup/how-do-i-get-money-to-start-my-business#8.crowdfundingandcrowdlending 498 references adeyinka, a. j., mustaha, a., & odi, n. (2019). implication of development bank finance on the growth and development of msmes in nigeria (2010-2017) fmir 3(3), 2848 https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/ad-j-adeyinka2168112516 anifowose, o. d., & onileowo, t. t, (2020). small business and start-up capital: grilling the flora and configuration of the financial capital for a viable small business. international journal of small business and entrepreneurship research vol.8, no.3, pp.1-14. business enterprise mapping (2017)www. businessmapping.com>blog retrieved february, 2018 forbes (nd) https://www.forbes.com google search funding policy https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-bd&q=funding+policy%3adate of retrevial 06/06/2021 gumel, b. i. (2019). mitigating the challenges of small and medium enterprises in nigeria. seisense journal of management, 2(3), 82-99. doi: 10.33215/sjom.v2i3.129 [accessed may 28 2021]. investopedia www. investopedia.com mba, o. a., & cletus, i. e. (2014). issues, challenges and prospects of small and medium scale enterprises (smes) in port-harcourt city. european journal of sustainable development, 3 (1), 101-114 doi: 10.14207/ejsd. ohachosim, c. i., onwuchekwa. f. c., & ifeanyi t. t, (nd). financial challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (smes)in nigeria: the relevance of accounting information. review of public administration and management; 1 (2) pp248-276 omodero, c. o. (2021). sustainable agriculture, food production and poverty lessening in nigeria. international journal of sustainable development and planning 16, (1), 8187. taiwo, m. a., ayodeji, a.m., & yusuf, b. a. (2012). impact of small and medium enterprises on economic growth and development, american journal of business and management: (1) 1 wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/access_to_financewww.pwc.com/structure https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/ad-j-adeyinka-2168112516 https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/ad-j-adeyinka-2168112516 https://www.forbes.com/ https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=funding+policy%3adate https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=funding+policy%3adate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/cordelia-omodero?_sg%5b0%5d=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq&_sg%5b1%5d=yuf1kfp22mozzugyk6jhlosqrolkhradayofimhjgkhpaugzcdpv2t2um2yojhqh0rg-ds0.u1pfpm1pmx0yrrizabliok_-bxehdvgiesllccknpe2ctawpkiskxzfpah9t73q60xgfraeahyidctbelrnzia http://worldscholars.org/index.php/ajbm/article/view/03 http://worldscholars.org/index.php/ajbm/article/view/03 http://worldscholars.org/index.php/ajbm/issue/view/25 http://worldscholars.org/index.php/ajbm/issue/view/25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/access_to_finance http://www.pwc.com/structure page 4 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 1 moderating role of emotional intelligence in organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour in a sample of lecturers 1ikpenwa, c.e., 1okonkwo, e.a., *1ezeh, m.a., 2okonkwo, n.v. 1azike i.n 1enugu state university of science and technology (esut) 2department of educational psychology, enugu state college of education technical *corresponding author: michaelarinze40@gmail.com abstract this study investigated the moderating role of emotional intelligence in organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour in a sample of lecturers. three hundred and nineteen participants comprising 207 males and 112 females between the ages of 30 70 (m=51.61, sd =10.26) were drawn through multi-stage (cluster and criterion). the study was a cross-sectional survey in which emotional intelligence scale (davies et al, 2010), organizational cynicism scale (dean, et al, 1998) and organizational citizenship behaviour scale (smith, organ & near 1983) were administered for data collection. moderated hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used for data analysis. the results indicated that emotional intelligence and organizational cynicism jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour among university lecturers (δr2 = .067, p<. 01). cognitive, affective and behavioural components of organizational cynicism jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour (ß=.22, p<. 05). behavioural component of organizational cynicism independently predicted organizational citizenship behaviour (ß=.22, p<. 05). the dimensions of emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotion, appraisal of others emotion, regulation of own emotion, regulation of others emotion and utilization of emotion jointly moderated the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by organizational cynicism (r2 = 0.155, δr2 = 0.30, p<. 001). only utilization of emotion dimension of emotional intelligence independently and negatively moderated the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by organizational cynicism (ß = -.32, p<. 05). it has been recommended that policy makers in the university should create conditions that will boost the emotional intelligence especially utilization of emotions of lecturers in order to cushion off the negative effects of organizational cynicism on organizational citizenship behaviour of their workforce. keywords: emotional intelligence, organizational cynicism, organizational citizenship behaviour, lecturers . introduction the most important factor in an organization is the human resources (e.g. lecturers), who give their energy, talent, creativity and their efforts to the organization. as working under changing circumstances becomes an essential feature of schools (somech & drach-zahavy, 2004), organizations especially universities will necessarily become more dependent on mailto:michaelarinze40@gmail.com 2 lecturers who are willing to contribute to successful change, regardless of formal job requirements. in the organizational literature, these non-prescribed organizational beneficial behaviours and gestures are distinguished from organizational behaviours that can be forced on the basis of formal role obligations (vanyperen, 2017). batman and organ (1983) described these non-prescribed behahiours as organizational citizenship behaviours. organizational citizenship behaviour refers to discretionary extra-role behaviours beneficial to employees and organization as a whole (hazzi, 2018; somech & oplatka, 2015). organizational citizenship behaviour are discretionary, beyond-role behaviours and gestures that are not explicitly recognized by the formal reward system but are considered important in promoting organizational effectiveness (organ, 2018; somech & oplatka, 2015). dyne, cummings and parks (2005) defined organizational citizenship behaviour as behaviour that attempts to benefit the organization and that goes beyond existing role expectations. organizational citizenship describes employee’s behaviour with different organization’s social systems. it has developed into significant field of study because of the growing importance of autonomous and team-based work in place of strict traditional hierarchies (lepine, erez & john, 2002). as a result, understanding organizational citizenship behaviour is increasingly necessary for the maintenance of organization’s social systems and employee’s roles within them. on both a macro level, in terms of the changing nature of all organizations and a micro level with respect to individual organizations, the roles of employees and their organizational citizenship behaviour is fundamental (gadot, beeri, shemesh & somech, 2007). organizational citizenship behaviour can affect individuals by their predisposition as well as their adaptation to perceived benefits from this type of behaviour. organizational citizenship behaviours are selected by individuals in alignment with personal goals and with how they see their future selves (hulbesleben & bellairs, 2015). yaghoubi, yazdani and khornegh (2011), stressed the importance of organizational citizenship behaviour stating that citizenship behaviours cause individuals to assume a conscious attitude and develop a proactive behaviour when facing organizational situation. somech and drach-zahavy (2004) speculate that different organizations will experience different levels of organizational citizenship behaviour from their employees. this study suggests that learning opportunities and structures within an organization can encourage organizational citizenship behaviours by fostering a common purpose and strategic thinking. by 3 creating the right context, organizations can encourage employees to internalize values of valid information, transparency, issue orientation and accountability so as to be ready to engage in organizational citizenship behaviour (somech & drach-zahavy, 2004). although organizational citizenship behaviour has largely been considered a positive behaviour that benefits the organization, there are risks and costs associated with it. a related concept is “compulsory citizenship behaviours’ in which managers expects and demand workers to do more than is listed in their formal job requirements (van & ellis, 2004; vigoda-gadot, 2006). for employees who demonstrate organizational citizenship behaviour, lack of reward from organization, or lack of reciprocity from the colleagues assisted may damage motivation because of little or no chance of further promotion and this will lead to organizational cynicism (hui, 2000; kim, 2013). the organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour conceptual structures were found to be related in previous studies. a high level of organizational cynicism leads to lower level of organizational citizenship behaviour, suggesting a negative relationship between each other (cartwright, 2006). psychological contract violations erode trust, resulting in lower organizational citizenship behaviour levels and higher organizational cynicism (abraham, 2000). studies have shown that organizational cynicism affects organizational citizenship behaviour negatively, as a result of reducing job satisfaction and commitment (yetim & ceylan, 2011). organizational cynicism is an attitude that involves unfriendliness due to a confidence that the organization lacks honesty and will always attempt to fool its employees (nair & kamalanabhan, 2010). it is an individual negative feeling, such as disturbance, dissatisfaction and hopelessness about the staff and organization (ozler, derya & ceren, 2011). organizational cynicism describes the negative attitudes employees have towards their colleagues, occupations and organizations (delken, 2005; kocoglu, 2014; simha, elloy & huang, 2014). admittedly, cynical employees believe that the organizations they work in lack principles of equality, sincerity, honesty, integrity and transparency (ozler & atalay, 2011). accordingly, employees that suffer cynicism have feelings of distrust, hopelessness, insecurity and disturbance (kahn, 2014). kaifi (2013) affirms that cynicism provides interpretation for many organizational phenomena like organizational psychological withdrawals, employee mental departure from 4 work duties by day dreaming or cyber loafing, organizational physical withdrawal and employee’s physical departure from his workplace by absenteeism or late arrival to work. this may help to explain why many studies have devoted considerable interest in examining the relationship between cynicism and other organizational behaviour aspects such as job stress (kocoglu, 2014), job burnout (simha, elloy & huang, 2014), organizational cynicism (tukehurk, 2012), work related quality of life (yasin & khalid, 2015) and turnover intention (nazir, ahmad,& nawab 2016). according to dean, brandes and dharwadkar (1998), organizational cynicism is a negative attitude towards organization or attitude of aggravation with key characteristics of negativity. yildiz (2013), argues that organizational cynicism is characterized by three dimensions which include cognitive, affective and behavioural. cognitive dimension of cynicism refers to individuals in the organizations having cynic attitude, lack principles and rules, not taking official works and rules serious, display inconsistent behaviours full of lie and tricks, experience problem in trusting others and prioritize personal interests. in this dimension, the emphasis here is lack of honesty by the organization. affective or emotional dimension of organizational cynicism includes strong emotional reactions as disrespect, anger, distress and embarrassment. in this dimension, negative emotions as disrespect, underestimating others, anger, fury, hate towards others, arrogance, moral corruption, disappointment and unreliability take place. behavioural dimension suggests that employees displaying cynic behaviour make pessimistic forecasts for the future events in the organization, have ironic sense of humour, and have the feeling of contempt towards the organization and use strong critical expressions. there are two main factors causing organizational cynicism: these are personal and organizational factors. while characteristics as gender, age, marital status, seniority, income and educational levels constitute personal factors, organizational justice, break of the agreement, cynicism are organizational factors ( polatcan & titrek, 2014). organizational cynicism is the belief that an organization lacks integrity, which, when coupled with a powerful negative emotional reaction leads to disparaging and critical behaviour (abraham, 2000). in addition to the negative relationship between organizational citizenship behaviour and organizational cynicism, these two factors have also been found to be related to emotional 5 intelligence. for example, studies found significant relationship between emotional intelligence, organizational cynicism and job performance (bayram,2017; vratskikh, mas’deh, al-lozi & maqbleh, 2016; deshwal, 2016; nafei, 2015; johnson & o’leary-kelly, 2013).emotional intelligence is defined as employee’s ability to manage his/her emotions effectively; to control impulse and delay gratification; to regulate one’s moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think; to empathize; to manage oneself and one’s relationships with others in a constructive and mature manner (mayer & salovey, 1997). the work of jha and kumar (2012) reveals that most of the dimensions of emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of other’s emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of other’s emotions and utilization of emotions) were positively correlated with organizational citizenship behaviour. thus the current study tends to investigate the moderating role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour among lecturers. according to the diagram below, organizational citizenship behaviour is the criterion variable while organizational cynicism is the predictor variable and emotional intelligence as the moderator variable. emotional intelligence organizational cynicism organizational citizenship behaviour figure 1 hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested 1. organizational cynicism (cognitive, affective and behavioural) will predict organizational citizenship behaviour. 6 2. emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others’ emotions and utilization of emotions) will predict organizational citizenship behaviour. 3. emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others’ emotions and utilization of emotions) will moderate the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by organizational cynicism. method participants three hundred and nineteen lecturers drawn from all the faculties (agric, applied natural sciences, basic medical sciences, and clinical medicine, education, environmental sciences, law, management sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, social sciences and humanities) in enugu state university of science and technology participated in this study. the participants comprised 207 males and 112 females between the ages of 30 to 70 years (m = 51.61, sd = 10.26). they were selected using multi-stage sampling technique (cluster and criterion). the participants (lecturers) were divided into clusters (faculties) or groups (larson & major, 1998). criterion sampling was applied in each cluster (faculty) because it allowed the researcher to select cases (participants) that met predetermined criteria of importance (patton, 2001). in line with the inclusion criteria only full-time lecturers with a minimum of m.sc degree and had spent at least 3 years participated in the study. moreover, the adjunct, part-time, sabbatical, contract and also lecturers that had not spent up to 3 years in university were excluded. in addition, demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, educational qualification (ph.d = 179, m.sc = 140), years of experience and rank (professors = 25, senior lecturers = 65, lecturer i = 60, lecturer ii = 169) were explored as control variables. in addition, 302 of the lecturers were married while 17 were not married. instrument three scales were used for this study, and they included i. brief emotional intelligence scale (davies, lane, devonport & scott, 2010) ii. organizational cynicism scale (dean, brandes & dharwadkar, 1998) iii. organizational citizenship behaviour scale (smith, organ & near, 1983) 7 brief emotional intelligence scale emotional intelligence was measured using 10-item brief emotional intelligence scale (davies, lane, devonport & scott, 2010) designed to measure the ability of individuals to evaluate, regulate and utilize emotions. the scale has subscales that measured appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotion, regulation of own emotions, regulation of other’s emotions and utilization of emotions. sample item reads “i know why my emotions changes”. ratings were made using 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). davies, lane, devonport and scott (2010) reported a test-retest reliability of .48 for appraisal of own emotions, .35 for appraisal of other’s emotions, .40 for regulation of own emotions; .41 for regulation of other’s emotions, and .40 for utilization of emotions. davies et al., (2010) also obtained validity of .97 for the entire scale. ugwu, enwereuzor, finber and ugwu (2017) obtained a cronbach’s alpha of .76 for the scale. the researcher conducted a pilot study using seventy (70) lecturers (males and females) drawn from university of nigeria enugu campus (unec) to determine the reliability of the instrument. the researcher obtained a crobach’s alpha of .70 for appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of other’s emotions = .64, regulation of own emotions =.75, regulation of other’s emotions = .58 and utilization of emotions = .64. organizational cynicism scale organizational cynicism was measured using 13-item organizational cynicism scale (dean, brandes & dharwadkar, 1993) designed to measure employee’s negative attitudes towards their organization based on three subscales namely cognitive, affective and behavioural dimension of organizational cynicism. sample item reads “i believe my company says something and does another”. ratings were made using 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). dean, brandes and dharwadkar (1998) obtained a cronbach’s alpha of 0.36. a pilot study was conducted by the researcher to determine the reliability of the instrument in the present study. seventy (70) lecturers (males and females) drawn from university of nigeria enugu campus (unec) participated in the pilot study. the researcher reported a cronbach’s alpha of 0.85 for 8 cognitive organizational cynicism subscale, .86 for affective organizational cynicism subscale and .89 for behavioural organizational cynicism subscale. organizational citizenship behaviour scale organizational citizenship behaviour was measured using 21-item organizational citizenship behaviour scale (smith, organ & near, 1983) designed to measure organizational citizenship behaviour among employees in an organization. sample item reads “i help my colleagues who are absent by doing some of their jobs”. ratings were made using 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). smith, organ and near (1983) obtained cronbach’s alpha of .86 while onyishi (2006) obtained internal consistency of .86. the researcher conducted a pilot study using seventy (70) lecturers (males and females) drawn from university of nigeria enugu campus (unec) to determine the reliability of the instrument. the researcher obtained a cronbach’s alpha of .67. procedure the researcher obtained ethical approval from the chairman research ethics committee department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology agbani for this present study (see appendix a). an introductory letter was also obtained from the head of psychology department, esut (see appendix b). in addition, the researcher also obtained a letter of approval from the office of the registrar, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani (see appendix c). thereafter, the researcher proceeded to the various faculties to administer the questionnaire to their various lecturers in order to elicit their responses. multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of the participants for this study. stage one; the faculties were divided into clusters using cluster sampling. stage two; criterion sampling was used to select lecturers from departments in the faculties to select lecturers that met the set inclusion criteria (including only full-time lecturers with a minimum of m.sc degree and had spent at least 3 years while excluding the adjunct, part-time, sabbatical, contract and also lecturers that had not spent up to 3 years in the university). the copies of the questionnaire were administered by the researcher with the help of research assistants (heads of departments) during working hours. the heads of 9 departments helped to administer and collect copies of the questionnaire within one month. three hundred and thirty (330) copies of questionnaire were administered, 319 were properly completed and returned while 11 copies were discarded as a result of incomplete data and error in completion. the 319 copies (96.67%) properly completed and returned were used for analysis. design and statistics this was a cross-sectional survey as data were collected to make inferences about the population of interest at one point in time. moderated hierarchical regression using spss version 25 was used for data analysis. this helped to determine the direction and strength of relationships among study variables as well as the moderating role. 10 results table 1: summary of moderated hierarchical multiple regression of predictors of organizational citizenship behaviour (n = 319). organizational citizenship behaviour step1 β step2 β step3 β step4 β step5 β step6 β step7 β step8 β age .09 .07 .06 .06 .06 .07 .07 .06 marital status .04 .05 .05 .04 .04 .04 .04 .01 gender .08 .08 .07 .07 .07 .07 .07 .08 rank -.05 -.05 -.06 -.06 -.06 -.06 -.06 -.05 years of experience .07 .07 .07 .07 .07 .07 .07 .07 educational qualification -.07 -.09 -.08 -.08 -.08 -.09 -.09 -.09 appraisal of own emotions -.10 -.12 -.11 -.12 -.12 -.12 -.13 appraisal of others emotions .00 .00 -.00 -.02 -.02 -.02 -.02 regulation of own emotions .15 .15 .16 .16 .17 .17 .15 regulation of others emotions -.03 -.02 -.03 -.03 -.03 -.02 -.04 utilization of emotions .00 .02 .02 .02 .03 .03 .04 organizational cynicism .22** -.10 -.06 -.04 -.13 -.10 -.19 cognitive org. cynicism .14 .14 .14 .17 .16 .22 affective org. cynicism .03 .02 .02 .04 .03 .08 behavioural org. cynicism .22* .20 .20 .23* .23* .26* app. of own emotions x org. cynicisms -.07 -.04 -.07 -.08 -.00 app. of others emotions x org. cynicisms -.06 -.11 -.13 -.05 reg. of own emotions x org. cynicisms .11 .07 .16 reg. of others emotions x org. cynicisms .06 .12 utilization of emotions x org. cynicisms -.32** r2 .034 .101 .113 .118 .120 .124 .126 .155 δr2 .034 .067** .012 .005 .002 .004 .002 .030** note: * = p<.05, ** and ** = p <.001. 68 results in table 1 indicate that the first moderated hierarchical multiple regression shows that the control variables (age, marital status, gender, rank, years of experience and educational qualification) entered in step 1 of the equation were unable to explain any significant variance in organizational citizenship behaviour as a block and individually. in step 2, when the predictor variables (emotional intelligence as the moderator with its dimensions (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others emotions and utilization of emotions) and organizational cynicism were entered in the model as a block, they significantly explained 6.7% of the variance in organizational citizenship behaviour of university lecturers (r2 = .101, δr2 = .067, p< .001). meaning that, the predictor variables (emotional intelligence and organizational cynicism) jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour hence, supporting hypothesis 1 and 2. in addition, in step 2, cognitive, affective and behavioural components of organizational cynicism jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour (β = .22, p< .01), thereby supporting hypothesis 1. however, the dimensions of emotional intelligence as independent factors did not predict organizational citizenship behaviour, thus did not support hypothesis 2. in step 3, cognitive and affective dimensions of organizational cynicism independently did not predict organizational citizenship behaviour. however, only behavioural component of organizational cynicism was able to significantly predict organizational citizenship behaviour independently (β = .22, p< .05), thereby supporting hypothesis 1. the entry of the two-way interaction terms at step 4, step 5, step 6 and step 7 revealed no significant two-way interactions between appraisal of own emotions and organizational cynicism, appraisal of others emotion and organizational cynicism, regulation of own emotions and organizational cynicism, and regulation of others emotions and organizational cynicism. hence, did not support hypothesis 3. the entry of the two-way interaction terms between all the dimensions of emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others’ emotions and utilization of emotions) and organizational cynicism in step 8 jointly yielded a significant interaction (r2 = 0.155, δr2 = 0.30, p<.001). this means that 69 emotional intelligence comprising all its dimensions moderated the relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour. this accounted for 30% of the variance in organizational citizenship behaviour. this therefore supported hypothesis 3. however, independently only utilizations of emotions negatively moderated the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by organizational cynicism (ß = .32, p< .05), hence supporting hypothesis 3. figure 2. two-way interaction effects of utilization of emotion and organizational cynicism on organizational citizenship behaviour. 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 org.cynicism= -1sd below mean org.cynicism = +1sd above mean utilization of emotions utilization of emotions 70 figure 2 has the simple slope difference regarding the effect of utilization of emotions on organizational cynicism under high or low (±1 sd) levels of organizational citizenship behaviour. meaning that, when utilization of emotion is low, organizational cynicism has strong negative relationship with organizational citizenship behaviour, hence hypothesis 3 was supported. discussion the first hypothesis which stated that organizational cynicism (cognitive, affective and behavioural) will predict organizational citizenship was supported as cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions of organizational cynicism jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour. this prediction was further supported by behavioural component which independently predicted organizational citizenship behaviour. in the case of the behavioural component which positively predicted organizational citizenship behaviour, it is not in line with previous studies (e.g., turkmen & aykac, 2017; yicmaz & sencan, 2018) which found negative relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour. this inconsistency could be attributed to the variations in culture, experience and other demographic variables of the participants in the previous studies and the present study. however, other dimensions (cognitive and affective) independently and jointly did not support the first hypothesis because they did not predict organizational citizenship behaviour considering the results, the second hypothesis which stated that emotional intelligence will predict organizational citizenship behaviour was supported because all the dimensions of emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others’ emotions and utilization of emotions) jointly predicted organizational citizenship behaviour in this sample of university lecturers. independently, none of the dimensions of emotional intelligence predicted organizational citizenship behaviour, therefore did not support the second hypothesis. regarding the joint positive prediction, combination of all the dimensions of emotional intelligence moved in the same direction with the criterion variable, organizational citizenship behaviour of the university 71 lecturers. this is in congruence with previous findings (e.g. sepehrikia, shiraria, 2016; david & elizabath, 2012; segal & afzal, 2013) which found positive relationship between emotional intelligence and organizational citizenship behaviour. this consistency between previous studies and the findings of this present study is an indication that emotional intelligence is not culture bound in the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour. in support of the third hypothesis which stated that emotional intelligence will moderate the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by organizational citizenship behaviour, all the dimensions of emotional intelligence (appraisal of own emotions, appraisal of others’ emotions, regulation of own emotions, regulation of others’ emotions and utilization of emotions) jointly moderated this prediction. however, independently, only utilization of emotions negatively moderated the prediction. according to this negative outcome, utilization of emotions weakened the negative relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour. this result has given credence to previous studies (e.g., zia, saeed & khan, 2019) which found that emotional intelligence negatively moderated the prediction of organizational citizenship behaviour by emotional insensitivity. implications of the findings the findings of this study have theoretical, empirical and practical implications. theoretically, the findings of this study have given credence to the theoretical framework of the study, social exchange theory (homan, 1958) which postulates that control (emotional intelligence moderates the negative influence of organizational cynicism on organizational citizenship behaviour. for instance, the findings revealed that when lecturers have enough emotional intelligence in form of utilization of emotions, it cushions off the impact of organizational cynicism (behavioural) on organizational citizenship behaviour of lecturers in the university. empirically, the findings of this study align with earlier findings (e.g., turkmen & ayack, 2017) which found an association between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour. 72 practically, policy makers in educational sectors especially in the university should design training programmes and create more conditions to boost the emotional intelligence of lecturers especially utilization of emotions. this will help to reduce organizational cynicism especially behavioural in order to enhance organizational citizenship behaviour. limitations of the study there are some limitations in this study. first, the study involving cross-sectional survey did not support causal inferences. hence, it is suggested that experimental and longitudinal approaches should be considered in future studies. again, self-report measure was used to obtain responses from the participants at one point in time and this might have caused social desirability responses, hence mixed method can help to improve the validity of the data from participants in subsequent studies. in addition, the generalization of the findings of this study should be applied with caution because the sample was drawn from only one university. conclusion in view of the findings of this study which have shown that emotional intelligence especially utilization of emotions moderated the relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behaviour, therefore emotional intelligence should be considered in order to enhance prosocial organizational behaviour such as organizational citizenship behaviour among lecturers. reference abraham, r. 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(2017). towards a better understanding of the link between participation in decision-making and organizational citizenship behaviour. journal of occupational and organizational psy, 72 (3), 377-392. vigoda-gadot, e. (2006). developments in organizational politics: how political dynamics affects employees performance in modern work sites. cheltenha,: edward elgar. zia, s.y., saeed, i. and khan, n (2019). “moderating role of emotional intelligence between emotional insensitivity and organizational citizenship behaviour. international journal of behavioural research 11 (3), 99-107 page 7 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 181 corruption and bribery in nigeria: impact and panacea onogwu, gordon joseph great, mirian wilfred ngwu, leonard u. department of sociology and anthropology enugu state university of science and technology. email: onogwugordon@gmail.com, wilfredgreat1997@gmail.com ngwuleonard@yahoo.com abstract corruption and bribery in nigeria is a major problem and the purpose of these study is to unravel the circumstances that leads to that. in this study statistical method is used to describe bribery and corruption in nigeria. finding reveals that corruption and bribery leads to political instability and the recommendation is that citizens must be accurately informed of the negative repercussion through mass enlightenment campaign. bribery and corruption impedes economic growth, weakens the rule of law and undermines the legitimacy of institutions. bribery and corruption are negations of the true principles of public life. it is a conscious inducement for an after favor, and thus, violates the principles of public life. the consequences of unethical practices and corruption on any nation building do not only destroy personal virtue and social values, but as well retard development, weaken social institutions, pervert justices, and thus responsible for economic recession and un-purposeful leader as the nation continue to journey without will. lawyers have not overlooked the social dangers caused by corruption and bribery. on the contrary, they may have been impressed with extra-legal viewpoints to the detriment of clear legal thought. lawyers often assume that in the extra-legal fields more progress as to guiding ideas and systematization has already been achieved, than in their own field. in fact, much of our extra-legal knowledge of the ethics, etc. of bribery is still in the state of common sense-philosophy, which is a hybrid neither common sense nor philosophy, and which compares neither with the direct life-experience of the plain man nor the systematic thought of the true patriot. keywords: bribery, corruption, instability, repercussion and unethical introduction corruption is one of the biggest challenge of the twenty-first century (oecd, 2015), and can affect the investment climate, the effectiveness of public service, the quality of education, and competencies (oecd, 2018). the same justifications and excuses for bribery and corruption, like other white collar crimes, are heard time and time again. “everybody does it”, “it’s a cost of doing business”, “it doesn’t really matter”, “nobody gets hurt”. this is not true. the corruption of public or private officials and decision makers, and the payment of bribes, raise serious moral and political concerns. these are not victimless crimes, and in fact exact a heavy economic and social cost. bribery mailto:onogwugordon@gmail.com mailto:wilfredgreat1997@gmail.com mailto:ngwuleonard@yahoo.com https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1331677x.2020.1723426 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1331677x.2020.1723426 182 and corruption create an unlevel playing field for honest businesses, and cut deep into the social fabric of developed and developing countries alike. they can translate into inferior and dangerous products allowed onto the market place, substandard building materials used in infrastructure projects that can endanger people’s health and welfare, and the diversion of vital money required for education, health and welfare services. in the end, we all pay the bill. corruption can take many forms, but all involve the abuse of public or private office for personal gain. corruption can take place at the highest levels of government and at the top of large multinational companies. it can also happen at a local level, wherever somebody has the power to influence decision-making. corruption is one of the main obstacles to sustainable economic, political and social development for developing, emerging and developed economies. overall, corruption reduces efficiency and increases inequality. estimates show that the cost of corruption equals more than 5% of global gdp, or usd 2.6 trillion (world economic forum), with over usd 1 trillion paid in bribes each year (world bank). bureaucratic processes may be slowed down, both by corrupt officials and by mechanisms introduced to identify and combat corruption. corruption may also be linked with other criminal enterprises, such as tax evasion, money laundering and serious organized crime. bribery involves intentionally offering, promising or giving any undue pecuniary or other advantage to an official or decision maker, with the intention that the official or decision maker acts or refrains from acting in relation to the performance of their duties. corruption and bribery in nigeria: impact and panacea. despite the durable decades of independence, nigeria is still facing the challenge of bribery and corruption. the leadership in nigeria has been attributed by political bickering, mismanagement, lack of vision and the worst of all is that all the leaders have been gripped by severe corruption, which has become a serious and potential threat to the survival of the country (ogundiya, 2009). corruption is a serious challenge in the public administration of nigeria. that competition has deeply eaten into all the sector of the nigerian society is to affirm the obvious. this can be attested from the exposures of various probe panels that have established or launched at various times by various regimes in the nation. actually, corruption is at the core of the crisis in issues such as legitimacy and governance, rule of law, the application of sustainable democratic order, 183 and the welfare of the citizens and national development. corruption is the main evaluation of the glaring insolvable challenges of diseases, poverty, hunger including the general severe development challenges in the country (of india, 2009). corruption has severally affected the growth and the proper utilization of resources in the nation. with the huge wealth from oil resources; political, social and economic strength, the country is referred to as the giant of africa. however; it was discovered that 25 years of corrupt and brutal military rule, which left a legacy and various mark of political corruption in the hands of the country’s influential political elites, who are sitting on top severe patronage networks the country was subdued to a non-giant status. the educated and the influential primarily views the governance through the lens of their private survival and enrichment rather than national development. the centralized economic and political structures in the country tend to make those who regulate and handle major state posts stupendously wealthy, while 75% of nigerians fall into extreme poverty (omeh et al, 2013). statement of problem the growing importance of corruption is based on the consensus that the development of the country needs good governance. so in the study of corruption related factors, the relationship between corruption and the development is the first to enter the vision’s field. mauro (1995) analyzed the corrupt data of over 70 countries in the world and concluded that corruption led to low investment and affected economic growth (mauro, 1995). treisman (2000) found the causal relationship between the economic development and reciprocal causation of corruption through the study of the per capita gdp (treisman, 2000). compared with the developed countries, the poor countries are more common. bardhan (1997) pointed out that corruption had a devastating effect on the economy, while it cannot be denied that corruption has a positive meaning in some areas (bardhan, 1997). farooq and shahbaz et al. (2013) shows that corruption is an obstacle to economic growth by building a time series model (farooq et al, 2013). the relationship between inequality and corruption is also controversial. by studying the cross section data of 37 countries (using the gini coefficient as the measurement scale), gupta and davoodi et al. (1998) pointed out that corruption has increased the income inequality and increased poverty (gupta et al, 2002). 184 literature review rich but unresolved theoretical debates compose the vast majority of the literature on corruption and bribery. however, new empirical studies have begun to resolve long disputed issues. this is especially true with regard to the literature on the impact of corruption on development, pertinent to the goal of building political will to counter corruption. in light of the difficulty in collecting data on corruption, given its intrinsic secrecy, it is not surprising that there have been few empirical works. in general, the studies that have been done on corruption draw their data from original surveys, interviews, and focus groups on public perceptions, and purchasable corruption indexes created for business-related purposes. examples of the former include corruption and democracy in thailand by pasuk phongpaichit and sungsidh piriyarangsan1 and “corruption: the facts” by daniel kaufmann. (kaufmann, 1997) phongpaichit and piriyarangsan incorporate public opinion surveys, focus groups, and interviews to study the public perception of corruption in thailand. daniel kaufmann uses surveys to generate data on elite perceptions of corruption in various developing countries. corruption and bribery defined and redefined controversy over corruption begins with its definition. the term “corruption” has been used to refer to a wide range of illicit or illegal activities. although there is no universal or comprehensive definition of what constitutes corrupt behavior, the most prominent definitions emphasize the abuse of public power or position for personal benefit. mark philip identified three broad definitions most commonly used in the literature: public office-centered, public interest centered, and market definitions. these three types of definitions are used as starting points for analyzing political corruption in heidenheimer’s political corruption (1970) and its successor volume edited by heidenheimer, johnston and le vine (1989). (philip, 1997) public office-centered corruption is defined as behavior that digresses from the formal public duties of an official for reasons of private benefit. j.s. nye provides an example of a public officecentered definition: corruption is a behavior which deviates from the formal duties of a public role because of private regarding (personal, close family, private clique) pecuniary status gains; or violates rules against the exercise of certain types of private regarding influence. this includes such behavior as bribery (use of reward to pervert the judgment of a person in a position of trust); nepotism (bestowal of patronage by reason of ascriptive relationship rather than merit); and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private 185 regarding uses). (nye, 1989) nye’s definition avoids mention of the public interest, which nye considers to be affected by corruption, rather than a component of the phenomenon of corruption. public interest-centered definitions, on the other hand, focus on behaviors which impact negatively on the welfare of the public. in the words of carl friedrich: . . . corruption can be said to exist whenever a power-holder who is charged with doing certain things, i.e., who is a responsible functionary or office holder, is by monetary or other rewards not legally provided for, induced to take actions which favour whoever provides the rewards and thereby does damage to the public and its interest. neither public office-centered or public interestcentered definitions provide a consensus as to the standards that should be utilized to determine what constitutes “private regarding pecuniary status gains” or actions that “damage the public and its interest,” for example. it is ambiguous whether these standards should be established from public opinion, legal norms, or norms derived from modern western democratic systems. market-centered definitions base their analysis of corruption on social or public choice theory, utilizing an economic methodology within a political analysis. corruption, once broadly defined, can then be further broken down in many ways and into many categories. corruption can be described according to where it occurs: at the political or bureaucratic levels of the public sector, or within the private sector. it can be defined according to its intensity: whether it is isolated or systematic. political scientists and experts in public administration have focused on institutional factors and the systemic roots of corruption. in this vein, an important characteristic of a system enabling corruption is a divergence between the formal and informal rules governing behavior in the public sector. the vast majority, if not all, of countries have rules against corruption (although not all countries have all the rules they may need), (world bank, 1997) but in cases of systemic corruption, formal rules become subordinate to informal rules. in some countries, the divergence between formal and informal rules results from the manner in which political authority is exercised and maintained. in other cases, the root cause may reside in weak public management systems and inappropriate policies. in both situations, reestablishing formal rules requires institutional strengthening (world bank, 1997). bribery endures as one of the most pervasive forms of corruption. nations try their utmost to prohibit bribery and to punish contributors and participants, yet the practice persists despite the fact that addressing it is relatively straightforward. many unsuccessful antibribery campaigns 186 have addressed the symptoms rather than the underlying institutional pathology. other antibribery campaigns (or witch-hunts) are aimed more at eliminating political competition than corruption, and never intended to succeed. of all types of corruption, bribery has received the greatest attention from both the international community and the literature. recently, 29 nations of the organization of economic cooperation and development (oecd) agreed to a treaty outlawing the bribery of foreign government officials. the november 20, 1997, signing concluded a lengthy negotiation process and holds all industrial countries to anticorruption standards adopted by the united states 20 years ago under the foreign corrupt practices act. until recently, most industrialized countries brushed aside the idea of outlawing bribery of foreign officials, and some even provided tax deductions for bribes as an unfortunate but legitimate business expense. the oecd’s efforts addresses the problem of bribery from the supply side by trying to reduce its practice through elimination of the source. while the treaty is an important step in the right direction, as long as there is a demand for bribery a supply will likely rise to meet it. thus, it is important to address the demand for bribery, and the incentives that create this demand. bribery has been defined as “[giving] any article of value to foreign government officials in exchange for any act or omission in the performance of that official’s public functions.” bribery is not only the most widespread form of corruption, but it is one of the principle tools of corruption. (world bank, 1997) rose-ackerman observes that individuals and firms offer officials bribes for two reasons: to obtain access to government benefits and to avoid costs. (susan, 1996) many goods and services provided through central or local governments can be bought with bribery, or officials may expect bribes to supply them. bribery can be utilized as a method of influence by firms bidding for government contracts, and as a means of directing government allocation of benefits. it can also be used to reduce taxes and fees, to acquire a license that conveys an exclusive right, to speed up government’s granting of permission to carryout legal activities, or to change outcomes of legal processes (world bank, 1997). attributing this research work to my personal view and opinion, i’ll clearly state that corruption and bribery erodes the trust we have in the public sector to act in our best interests. it also wastes our taxes or rates that have been earmarked for important community projects – meaning we have to put up with poor quality services or infrastructure, or we miss out altogether. in controlling this cankerworm called ‘corruption and bribery’, one will have to speak up and make complaints that will help to expose corrupt activities and risks that may 187 otherwise remain hidden, keep the public sector honest, transparent and accountable, stop dishonest practices, ensure that public sector employees act in the public interest. methods used the use of statistical methods to describe and qualify corruption poses a number of methodological challenges. since data based on reported cases of corruption usually do not reflect the real extent of corruption, a number of alternative approaches have been developed. examples of such methods are represented by expert’s assessments and composite indicators. such methodologies present advantages and drawbacks. also, it is perceived that such methods can play an important role at an initial phase, when there is a need to provide some baseline indications. a promising approach is represented by assessments based on representative sample surveys of a given population, as for example households or businesses. the conduct of sample surveys allows the direct collection of data on experience of corruption. several aspects of corruption episodes can be fully investigated, with the view to better understand modalities, purposes and actors involved. various typologies of surveys can be implemented, which target different groups such as households, businesses or civil servants. in the field of corruption assessments, reliability of the data producer is also an important requirement. the involvement of government agencies in the production of evidence-based assessments of corruption is important to show country long-term commitment to formulate and monitor anticorruption policies. at the same time, assessments conducted by governmental agencies may be perceived as not being fully independent. in this context, the use of solid and transparent methodologies, better if tested and promoted at international level, represents a good practice to produce valuable results and, at the same time, to address possible doubts about reliability of data. the involvement of national statistical authorities can represent an additional element to guarantee data quality. the conduct of assessments to measure and “characterize” corruption represents an extremely complex task, due to methodological challenges and its political sensitivity. result analysis/findings various studies rely on three main indexes which have compiled cross-country data on corruption for banks, institutional investors, or multinational firms. (alberton et al, 1997) the first data set was created by business international (bi), a subsidiary of the economist 188 intelligence unit. data is available for the period 1980 to 1983 and covers nearly 70 countries. the data set measures “the degree to which business transactions involve corrupt payments” on a scale of 1 to 10, as seen by bi’s network of correspondents. the second data set originated with the world competitiveness report, a business publication produced by the world economic forum in switzerland, and consists of a survey of top and middle managers in the most dynamic firms of the countries included in the study. since 1989, the surveys have asked a corruption-related question about “the degree to which improper practices (like corruption) prevail in the public sphere.” the subject pool generally includes more than 1,000 executives, and the survey covers a minimum of 32 countries. the final data set was compiled by peter neuman and collaborators at impulse, a german business publication. the index surveys representatives from the german business sector (typically exporters) involved in business with each of the countries covered. the respondents were asked to provide an estimate of the kickback per deal (as a percentage of the deal’s value) that would have to be paid in order to conduct business in each country. this quantitative question is less subjective than those that comprise the first two data sets. an additional advantage of this survey is the homogeneity of the subject pool. the data was published in 1994 and covers 103 countries. the degree of correlation among the three corruption indexes is quite high (alberton, 1997). for example, all three have a strong negative correlation with the level of development in a country. political science analyses also address the opportunity for corruption within institutions. robert klitgaard has conceptualized the opportunity for corruption in a formula: c (corruption) = m (monopoly) + d (discretion) a (accountability)… (klitgaard, 1988) the opportunity for corruption is a function of the size of the rents under a public official’s control (m), the discretion that official has in allocating those rents (d), and the accountability that official faces for his or her decisions (a). conclusion corruption leads to political instability as excluded groups vie for political power in order to attain economic privilege. leaders who put an end to corruption trade off access to inappropriate economic privilege for true control over policy implementation and the delivery of basic goods and services. the ability to enact policies that increase public welfare will attract 189 a new constituency of political supporters, impossible within the context of corruption-driven government bureaucracies. thus, comprehensive counter corruption reform can provide an effective means for attracting political support and holding public office. the most devastating consequences of bribery are usually not the cost of the bribes themselves, but the distortions they unleash within political and economic systems. for example, bribes compromise efficiency in the allocation of state resources. examples of this arise in awarding of government contracts or privatizing state industries, as corruption favors those with connections over efficiency. other inefficiencies can arise if officials increase regulations, delays, and unnecessary requirements as a means of inducing additional payoffs (susan, 1996). as previously mentioned, high levels of bribery increase the costs, risks, and unpredictability of doing business. lower levels of investment result, and consequently slowed growth and development. the principle enabling factors for bribery in many countries can be traced to weak public management systems and inappropriate government policies. these are problems which can be addressed technically, through straightforward changes in government policy to reduce both the opportunity and incentive for government officials to seek or accept bribes. the present investment climate in the country (nigeria) is very unattractive that even nigerian citizens in the diaspora are reluctant to invest at home, not to even talk of various foreign investors. also, the nigerian stock exchange has seriously remained undercapitalized as a result of corruption, therefore, frustrating the process of good governance and economic growth in the country. to ameliorate these challenges, the following suggestions are stated as follows: corruption is a social challenge, therefore; citizens must be accurately informed of the negative repercussions through mass enlightenment campaign. therefore, if the different anti-corruption legislations are to contribute significantly to the prohibition of corruption, the citizens must be aware of their duties as well as their repercussions of failure to carry out those responsibilities. impunity in governance must be punishment to act as a lesson to others. a better way to go would be to strengthen and revamp the anti-competition law and law enforcement. there is the essence to identify the current absence of political will (on the side of the government) and the present maximum rate of impunity to tackle corruption and the near fall of order and law in the nation in other to tackle the menace. the former stance of the presidency that once said that “stealing” is not “corruption” will solely continue to increase an already sore spot in the country life. the change in orientation must begin from the top. 190 references alberton, a. & rafael, di tella (1997). the new economics of corruption: a survey and some new results. political studies, vol. xlv, 1997: pp. 496-515. bardhan, p. (1997). corruption and development: a review of issues. journal of economic literature, 35, 1320-1346. daniel, k. (1997). corruption: the facts,foreign policy. farooq, a., shahbaz, m., arouri, m. & teulon, f. (2013). does corruption impede economic growth in pakistan? economic modelling, 35, 622-633. gupta, s., davoodi, h.& alonso-terme, r. (2002). does corruption affect income inequality and poverty? economics of governance, 3, 23-45. mark, p. (1997). defining political corruption. political studies, vol. 45, number 3, special issue. mauro, p. (1995). corruption and growth. the quarterly journal of economics, 8, 1100. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2946696. nye, j.s. (1989). political corruption: a cost-benefit analysis. in a.j. heidenheimer, m. johnston and v. le vine (eds.), political corruption: a handbook. new brunswick: transaction, 1989, p. 966. oecd (2018). competitiveness in south east europe: a policy outlook 2018, competitiveness and private sector development. paris: oecd publishing. 10.1787/9789264298576-en. oecd. (2015). third annual high-level conference on anti-corruption: g20 governments and business. remarks by oecd secretary-general angel gurría. retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/g20-oecd-conference-anti-corruptiongurria.htm. oecd (2013), “what are bribery and corruption?” in bribery and corruption awareness handbook for tax examiners and tax auditors, oecd publishing, paris. ogundiya, s.i. (2009). corruption: the bane of democratic stability in nigeria. research journal of social sciences, vol.2 omeh, a., casmir, c. & ike, e. (2013). electoral fraud in nigeria: a philosophical analysis of the conceptual framework of electoral violence. open journal of political science, vol.3. robert, k. (1988). controlling corruption. berkeley: university of california press.. susan, r. (1996). the political economy of corruption-causes and consequences, view point, note no. 74, world bank: april 1996. treisman, d. (2000). the causes of corruption: a cross-national study. journal of public economics, 76, 399-457. world bank (1997). helping countries combat corruption. http://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/g20-oecd-conference-anti-corruption-gurria.htm http://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/g20-oecd-conference-anti-corruption-gurria.htm page 6 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 131 improving agriculture for nigerian economic development at post covid-19 pandemic era: a theoretical review onuigbo fidelia nebechi1 okolo chimaobi v.1 okolo, ebere. u2 1department of economics, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu 2department of economics, godfrey okoye university emene, enugu. correspondence: ebereudumaga@gmail.com abstract considering the importance of agriculture in providing food, fabrics, cotton wool, leather, wood for construction and paper productsare all agricultural products to mention a few. this study is set to investigate ways of improving agriculture for nigerian economic development at post covid-19 pandemic era. in recent past, nigeria has been good at promoting agriculture for better economy until the covid-19 pandemic era. covid-19 is a dangerous, very deadly disease that emanated from china and spread to all other parts of the world including nigeria. during the period and in the attempt to curtail the spread of this disease, various governments across the globe including nigeria placed eight months lock-down on all the nations’ activities including agriculture. however, during the period, agriculture was grossly neglected. people were not able to neither do robust farming nor harvest their crops let alone commercial marketing for survival due to so many restrictions. farmers were terribly affected especially small scale farmers who had to eat up their seed crops, consumed their mega capital and were left with nothing to continue their agricultural occupation. this led to little or no investment going on in the country; our youths were supposedly jobless leading to hyperinflation and depletion of our exchange rate. call to mind that agriculture offers about 86% of workforce in nigeria, it then means that covid-19 impacted more job losses in nigeria with its attendant worries like high crime rate of all sort. the authors examine the context, with a view to preferring ways of improving agriculture at post covid-19 pandemic era and relative to economic development in nigeria. this study concludes that since the main sustenance of the nation is agriculture, effort should be seriously geared towards improving agriculture through youth involvement in agricultural process among others. the implication of the study is that the federal government should revise its 1956 resolution which shifts attention to oil, by making a u turn shifting its attention and support to agriculture otherwise, sooner or later there will not be a country called nigeria. secondly, government should invest in data systems at the local, state, national and global levels so that real time information can be made available for decision makers to help increase confidence in supply during crises; and finally, educational attainment of youth’s in agriculture should be increase as one of the means to improve the economy of nigeria at post covid-19 pandemic era. keywords: agriculture, nigerian-economy, pandemic, post covid-19, introduction mailto:ebereudumaga@gmail.com)1 132 it is true that the bible said in matt. 4:4 “it is written: 'man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of god.'” on the other hand and in the same bible jesus admonished his decuples that as they go about preaching the word of god; that any house they enter and they receive them, they should stay in that house, eat and drink what they give them; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. luke 10:8. therefore in the light of the above, since human beings must eat: then is agriculture necessary to sustain live. agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. it is the backbone of economic system and its not only provides food and raw material but also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of population (google, 2022). according to adeniran, ekeruche and castradori (2021) agriculture remains a key sector in nigeria as it is the largest contributor to the nation’s gdp (24.6% in q2 of 2020), the highest non-oil export earner, and absorbs the majority of the workforce (48% of nigerians were employed in the sector in 2018). however, the sector remains overwhelmingly informal and has had challenges adapting to modern practices in a manner that contributes to the country’s diversification drive, while simultaneously combating the adverse effects of climate change. as a result, domestic agricultural produce has been unable to keep up with the country’s vertiginous population growth, resulting in progressively increasing reliance on imports totaling around usd 8 billion yearly over the last few years (usda, 2020). contribution of agriculture to gdp in nigeria from 3rd quarter of 2019 to the 1st quarter of 2022 source: doris dokua sasu (feb 1, 2022) q3 2019 29.25% q4 2019 26.09% q1 2020 21.96% q2 2020 24.65% q3 2020 30.77% q4 2020 26.95% q1 2021 22.35% q2 2021 23.78% q3 2021 29.94% q4 2021 26.97% q1 2022 21.09% 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% q 3 2 0 1 9 q 4 2 0 1 9 q 1 2 0 2 0 q 2 2 0 2 0 q 3 2 0 2 0 q 4 2 0 2 0 q 1 2 0 2 1 q 2 2 0 2 1 q 3 2 0 2 1 q 4 2 0 2 1 q 1 2 0 2 2 series1 https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-does-jesus-say-we-cannot-live-on-bread-alone.html https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-does-jesus-say-we-cannot-live-on-bread-alone.html 133 in the words of serpil and mehmet, (2020) developing countries like nigeria, temporary or seasonal employment is common, especially for planting, sorting, harvesting, processing, or transporting crops to markets. therefore, the supply chain is significantly affected as a result of the absence of local or migrant workers due to sickness or travel restrictions imposed by lockdown. it also weakens not only production abilities for others, but also their own food safety, in cases where the disease directly affects their health or movement. especially, labour shortage due to covid-19 crisis caused severe disruptions in some sectors such as livestock production, horticulture, planting, harvesting, and crop processing which are relatively labour intensive. however, shortage of farm workers was a major issue well before the covid-19 outbreak. also, many skilled workers in the harvest could not access various countries because of the border controls; a call has been made to the unemployed persons to work in the fields. however, due to the shortage of workforce as a result of illness and physical distance to be maintained during production, the crisis undermines the ability of farms and agricultural businesses to work. these conditions retarded the delivery of food, agricultural inputs and created problems in providing continuous food supply to markets. although many manufacturers rely on their core inputs, most are more susceptible to disruptions, as they must obtain their requirements from domestic markets. logistics barriers that disrupt food supply chains further weaken high-value goods due to their short shelf life impact of covid-19 on agriculture the food and agriculture organization states that covid-2019 is affecting agriculture in two significant aspects: the supply and demand for food. these two aspects are directly related to food security, so food security is also at risk. organization of economic community development, (oecd, 2020) record that covid-19 pandemic as a global health crisis had a devastating impacts on the nigerian economy.– both directly and through necessary measures to contain the spread of the disease. these impacts are felt by the agriculture sector. while the supply of food has held up well to date, in nigeria, the measures put in place to contain the spread of the virus are starting to disrupt the supply of agro-food products to markets and consumers, both within and across borders. the sector is also experiencing a substantial shift in the composition and – for some commodities – the level of demand. however, these damaging impacts turn out to be for food security, nutrition and the livelihoods of farmers, fishers and others working along the food supply chain depend in javascript:; javascript:; 134 large part on policy responses over the short, medium and long term. still in the short term, governments must manage multiple demands – responding to the health crisis, managing the consequences of the shock to the economy, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the agricultural sector. while the pandemic poses some serious challenges for the agricultural sector in the short term, it is also an opportunity to accelerate transformations in the food and agricultural sector to build its resilience in the face of a range of challenges, including low agricultural produce. according to oecd, (2020) interim economic outlook, the downside scenario saw global growth halved to 1.5%. that was optimistic. most recent estimates in the june 10 oecd economic outlook suggest an unprecedented collapse in the first half of 2020 –an almost 13% decline in global gdp. moreover, the costs to the global economy from support packages, through central banks and fiscal actions, are very significant and likely to have long-lasting and complex effects on management of sovereign and corporate debt. yet notwithstanding these efforts, most major economies now look set to enter recession and more serious scenarios in the near future. also, economic activity is being shut down; this crisis is having a disproportionate impact on msmes framers; greater disruption to agricultural production leading to pressure on scarcity of food. governments are facing the challenge of having to act rapidly and at a large scale across a wide range of policy areas. government has to think immediate term, and longer term at the same time covid-19 argues for agricultural produce to be re-nationalized or at least shortened, to reduce risks from global exposure (oecd, 2020). from this perspective, nigerian firms may need to re-think sourcing decisions, resulting in re-ordering of agricultural production, with potentially far-reaching implications especially for developing countries. equally, it is argued that governments will need to reconsider the list of strategic goods for which there is a requirement for domestic production, or impose new sourcing constraints on businesses. government procurement practices may also be revisited. according to tejvan, (2019) cited in okolo, duru and ani, (2021) economic growth should enable a rise in living standards and greater consumption of goods and services. as a result, economic growth is often seen as sought after by macroeconomics. according to the authors, for any community to survive, its citizens must have employment opportunities, and its government must be able to generate revenue to provide services. economic development, if done effectively, works to retain and grow jobs and investment within a country (wekipedia,). 135 the present situation of nigeria's economy grew by 3.6% in 2021 from a 1.8% contraction in 2020, underpinned on the supply side by 4.4% expansion in the non-oil sector against 8.3% contraction in the oil sector; non-oil growth was driven by agriculture (2.1%) and services (5.6%). gdp growth is projected at 3.4 percent (y/y) in 2022 while inflation is expected to remain elevated. the fiscal deficit of the consolidated government is expected to remain high at 6.1 percent of gdp due in great measure to costly petrol subsidies and limited tax revenue collections (google, 2022). nigeria is already facing serious fiscal problems, with its rising budget deficit, debt and shrinking revenue; in, premium times, (2022) reported how the country's fiscal position worsened in the first four months of the year as the cost of repaying debt surpassed the government's revenue in the first quarter of 2022. nigeria economic development updates gdp rate date year situation growth rate 2016 recovery from economic slow down 2% 2015 2.7% 2016 sudden slow down -1.6% 2017 growth rebounced 0.8% 2018 growth rebounce 1.9% half of 2019 stable growth rate 2% 2020 decline -3% 2021 -1.5% 2022 3.11% source: world bank, (june, 2022) -4% -3% -2% -1% 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 economic development update gdp growth rate 136 source: authors’ computation premium times, (2022) further mentioned the following as the major six reasons at which economic development plays essential role in our nation’s economy: job creation: economic developers provide critical assistance and information to companies that create jobs in our economy; industry diversification: a core part of economic development works to diversify the economy, reducing a region’s vulnerability to a single industry, business retention and expansion: a large percentage of jobs in most economy are created by existing companies that are expanding their operations; economy fortification: economic development helps to protect the local economy from economic downturns by attracting and expanding the region’s major employers; increased tax revenue through increased presence of companies in the region translates to increased tax revenue for community projects and local infrastructure; improved quality of life: better infrastructure and more jobs improve the economy of the region and raise the standard of living for its residents. it is against this back drop that, this study seek to investigate ways toward improving agriculture for nigerian economy at post covid-19 pandemic era statement of the problem: agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of nigerian economy. since human beings must eat: then is agriculture necessary to sustain live. it is the backbone of economic system and it not only provides food and raw materials but also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of population (google, 2022). youth participation in agriculture is one of the means to reduce unemployment rate in nigeria (infoguide nigeria, 2022). nevertheless, our youths are supposedly, not interested in agriculture but busy looking for white collar man’s job akinyetun, (2020) assert that as the nigerian population continues to increase, so does the number of youth, in what has been described as the youth bulge. maintaining that, the upsurge in the youth population—although a strain to the education system and labour market—also has economic value provided that these youth are meaningfully engaged. as such, it is any government’s duty to take advantage of the teeming population of youth to create a demographic dividend, a declining dependency ratio, and to harness such dividend for increased productivity and an increasing labour force. 137 in the words of serpil and mehmet, (2020) temporary or seasonal employment is common in developing nations, especially for planting, sorting, harvesting, processing, or transporting crops to markets. thus, the supply chain is terribly affected as a result of the absence of local or migrant workers due to sickness (covid-19) and or travel restrictions imposed by lockdown. food safety is also affected together with the production abilities. there were also, very serious labour shortage due to covid-19 crisis caused severe disruptions in agricultural sector such as livestock production, horticulture, planting, harvesting, and crop processing which are relatively labour intensive. however, shortage of farm workers was a major issue well before the covid-19 outbreak, too. also, many skilled workers in the harvest could not access various countries because of the border controls. however, due to the shortage of workforce as a result of illness and physical distance to be maintained during production, the crisis undermines the ability of farms and agricultural businesses to work. these conditions retarded the delivery of food and agricultural inputs; created problems in providing continuous food supply to markets. bello, baiyegunhi, mignouna, adeoti, dontsop-nguezet, abdoulaye, manyong, bamba, awotide, (2021) assert that the increasing rate of youth unemployment in africa, particularly in nigeria, remains among the challenges to social and economic stability. accordingly, the nigerian government implemented several interventions, including the youth-in-agribusiness (yia) program to reduce youth unemployment. however, the effect of these programs on gainful employment creation is yet to be documented. therefore, this study examined the impact of the yia program on creating gainful employment among the youth. multistage random sampling was used to obtain cross-sectional data from 668 youth in southwestern nigeria. propensity score matching and endogenous switching probit techniques were used for the estimations. results indicated that variables such as educational attainment, access to training, non agricultural activity, membership in a youth organization, access to credit, productive resources, and youth location were significant and positively influenced youth decision to participate in the yia program. furthermore, participation in the yia program has a significant positive impact on gainful employment among the youth. therefore, the study recommends that strengthening social capital such as youth organization, credit scheme (financed by private and government), vocational training, and educational system is vital in enhancing participation in the yia program and eventually gainful employment of youth. javascript:; javascript:; 138 purpose of the study: the general purpose of the study to is to investigate improving agriculture for nigerian economic development at post covid-19 pandemic era the specific purposes are as follows: 1. to ascertain whether youth participation in agriculture is one of the means to reduce unemployment rate in nigeria at post covid-19 pandemic 2. to determine whether educational attainment of youth’s in agriculture is one of the means to improve the economy of nigeria at post covid-19 pandemic. review of related literature omodola, (2021) assert that the challenge of persistent poverty and food insecurity in nigeria has been an issue of concern. stressing that, the government’s effort to alleviate poverty in nigeria through agriculture appears ineffective because most poor people are rural dwellers and are coincidentally the farmers. they seem not to be benefiting from the government interventions to support farming due to corruption and other unquantifiable factors. omorogiuwa, ivkovic and ademoh, (2014) opine that, nigeria is on its way to modern development. branding itself as the “giant of africa”, the country now needs to prove its potential by raising its standards to a level with other fast developing economies of the world. the vision 20-20-20 program nigeria is currently pursuing is a major step to achieve this goal. nigeria, according to its seven point agenda, is focusing on developing agriculture as an important strategic move. the paper uses trend analysis in terms of a historical and current perspective and various descriptive methods to analyse the development of nigeria through each decade since its independence in 1960 and examines the factors that have had an impact on its agricultural productivity which will aid in describing and predicting the performance of the agricultural sector in nigeria and as a result, the overall economic development of the country in the coming decade. the paper proves that an in-depth research on the development of the agricultural sector is essential to the progress of the country. also, it is important to find out what has not worked previously and why, before taking any steps to develop the agriculture or the economy while the basis of this development should start with the empowerment of the poor. according to serpil, and mehmet, (2020) priority steps and actions are outlined to guide against the pandemic in eight main topics: coordination, planning, and monitoring at the country level; javascript:; javascript:; 139 risk communication and community participation; surveillance, quick response teams, and case investigation; entry points; national laboratories; prevention and control of infection; situation management; operational support and logistics as cited in world health organization (who, 2020a). thus, the implementation of these measures caused the closure of workplaces and educational institutions, and temporary restrictions in travels and social meetings. flexible workings from home and online meetings have become standard practices nowadays. however, people who work in the food industry do not have work from home option hence they need to keep their typical office routines kilbourne, (2006) opined that, three worldwide (pandemic) outbreaks of influenza occurred in the 20th century: in 1918, 1957, and 1968. the latter 2 were in the era of modern virology and most thoroughly characterized. all 3 have been informally identified by their presumed sites of origin as spanish, asian, and hong kong influenza, respectively. they are now known to represent 3 different antigenic subtypes of influenza a virus: h1n1, h2n2, and h3n2, respectively. not classified as true pandemics are 3 notable epidemics: a pseudopandemic in 1947 with low death rates, an epidemic in 1977 that was a pandemic in children, and an abortive epidemic of swine influenza in 1976 that was feared to have pandemic potential. major influenza epidemics show no predictable periodicity or pattern, and all differ from one another. evidence suggests that true pandemics with changes in hem agglutinin subtypes arise from genetic reassortment with animal influenza a viruses. impacts on agricultural production and incomes limits on the mobility of people across borders and lockdowns were contributing to labour shortages for agricultural sectors in many countries, particularly those characterized by periods of peak seasonal labour demand or labour-intensive production. harvesting season is imminent for many products in nigeria, and a shortage of labour could lead to production losses and shortages in the market. in nigeria, this comes on top of existing difficulties in sourcing seasonal labour. on the other hand, disruptions downstream from the farm gate are in some cases causing surpluses to accumulate, putting a strain on storage facilities and, for highly perishables, increasing food losses. for some products, supply side disruptions are being compounded by demand side reductions (in particular foods typically eaten away from home, and luxury items). in combination, these effects are putting a strain on farm incomes. moreover, those farm javascript:; 140 household income losses may be compounded by reduced off-farm income. the covid-19 pandemic may also affect the availability of key intermediate inputs for farmers. for the moment, there do not seem to be shortages in producing regions of developed countries, although farmers may face extra difficulties in sourcing inputs due to additional restrictions on the movement of people and goods. however, in the people’s republic of china (hereafter “china”), for example, the production of pesticides declined sharply and only resumed gradually after production plants were shut down following the outbreak. low availability and/or high prices of inputs such as pesticides could weigh on yields and crop production in 2020 and 2021, particularly in developing countries. closing borders or slowing down the transboundary movement of seeds could potentially hamper seed supply chains and on-time delivery of seed with negative impacts on agriculture, feed and food production over the next season and further into the future. effects of pandemic on food supply chain the food supply chain can be divided into five stages, including agricultural production, postharvest handling, processing, distribution/retail/service, and consumption (serpil, and mehmet, 2020). hence, two systems are being used in the food supply chain regarding food quality and safety. the first one is based on regulations and laws that use mandatory standards which are inspected by state agencies. while the second one, is relying on voluntary standards which are defined by market laws or international associations. therefore, safety measures ought to be in place to ensure the continuity of food flow in each stage can be grouped as food employee’s health issues, personal hygiene, using personal protective equipments such as elmets and glove, sanitization of surfaces and working environments, safe handling/preparation/delivery of food, and maintenance of social distance. therefore, protective measures in the last stages of the food supply chain are critical since more people can be potentially affected as moved towards the last. most agricultural activities depend on the season and weather, and therefore, activities need to follow a fine-tuned schedule with flexibility so that immediate actions can be performed when needed. since all processes and stages in a supply chain are strongly connected to each other, a slight delay or glitch can trigger a butterfly effect resulting in a big loss in the yield and output. actually, there are many reports that farmers were forced to destroy their products by burning or leaving them to spoil because of the restrictions. javascript:; javascript:; 141 the first vulnerable groups are people who experience chronic hunger and do not consume enough caloric energy to live a normal life, which currently number about 820 million people. this group of people cannot afford any possible interruption of their livelihoods or access to food that a situation with covid-19 could bring. if the virus spreads in countries where such people live, with health systems with limited capacity, the consequences could be serious. a second vulnerable group are small farmers, who may be prevented from working on their land and accessing markets to sell their products or buy seeds and other essential inputs the third vulnerable group are children from low-income families, who are mainly nourished by food provided by social programs; the suspension of these programs due to the pandemic puts food security and nutrition at risk, and as a consequence the existence of children with limited capacity to cope with diseases. thus, each country must direct its actions to maintain social food programs, taking the necessary precautions to avoid transmission of the virus. steps that can boost agriculture in nigeria are as follows: using improved implements and tools; modern irrigation techniques; maintaining good animal health; soil improvement; crop and animal improvement; crop protection; better storage, processing and transportation methods; use of agro-standards; standardized price control; the quality of products; land availability for agriculture; packaging and preservation standards; use of agrobased loans by the government to encourage farmers; more government programs to boost agriculture; local awareness creation challenges of the nigerian agricultural sector first is violent conflict: due to the desertification and water depletion in the northern part of nigeria, nomadic herdsmen are now shifting towards the south of the country in search of grazing fields and water for their animals. this has resulted in violent conflict with crop farmers in the south. increased violence in the food producing states is causing decline in nigeria’s food production output. secondly are source shortages: over the past years, nigeria has dealt with very low yields per hectare due to shortages in the supply of inputs such as seedlings and fertilizers as well as inadequate irrigation and harvesting systems, which hinders productivity and yield rates. thirdly, is lack of access to finance: although the nigerian government has provided several facilities through the central bank of nigeria (cbn) such as the anchor borrower’s programme to help provide small-scale farmers with adequate 142 financing, the farming industry still lacks adequate access to finance. the forth is insufficient supply to meet population growth and food demand: with a population of roughly 200 million people, nigeria’s agricultural productivity is insufficient to meet the food demanded of its growing population thus increasing the demand and supply gap in nigeria. the fifth is: absence of value addition and supply-chain linkages nigeria focuses mostly on food production, thus neglecting the processing and manufacturing segment of the value chain. the chain reaction that arises from shortages of resources, lack of financing for small-scale farmers and inefficient transport systems, exacerbates the development of food production along the value and supply chain the last but not the least is, outdated system of agriculture: outdated methods of agriculture such as the use of hoes and cutlasses reduce efficiency as these methods are costly and time consuming. nigeria’s failure to adopt advanced mechanized systems has reduced the quality of its agricultural products and; supposedly, debar youths from activie participation in agriculture. empirical study fawole, and ozkan, (2019) investigated the willingness of unemployed graduates to participate in agriculture with a view to showcase the potentials in nigerian agriculture especially in the area of employment generation for the youths. the study made use of primary data collected with the aid of structured questionnaires from 180 respondents from the three states of ondo; oyo and osun states are the representative states from the entire south west. the binary logistic regression model was used to identify those factors that influence the willingness of the respondents who were graduates of various disciplines to participate in agriculture. the findings of the study showed that the majority of the respondents interviewed representing 62.8 percent were unemployed with the majority of the respondents (68.3 percent) willing to participate in agriculture given the needed and required supports such as conducive environment by the stakeholders particularly the government. educational status, marital status, gender, possession of agricultural training and employment status of respondents significantly influenced their willingness to participate in agriculture. however, recommendations for further studies that would comprise the entire geopolitical zones of the country to pave way for comparative analysis were made. the study is originally carried out by conducting a survey to collect the data and is coming to fill the existing gap in the literature 143 in terms of potentials embedded in nigerian agriculture to assist the government in providing employment opportunities for teeming youths. according to nwangwu, (2019) agriculture sector in nigeria has remained largely undeveloped. the reason for this is due to the limited public sector funding in the different agricultural value chains including research and development. on the other hand, there has also been very minimal private sector investment in the sector. the cause of this is a lack of incentive for the private sector in nigeria to invest in sectors like agriculture with very informal market structures and therefore without clear paths to profitability. it is believed that these problems can be resolved with better collaboration between the private and public sector actors through the instrumentality of public-private partnerships (ppps). this will increase investment in the sector by pooling both public and private sector resources and also create realizable and foreseeable income streams for investors. this fact seems to be finally catching on in nigeria, where the government has initiated a number of ppp programmes to address some of these underlining problems. the study looks at some of the ppp programmes that have been initiated by the government with particular focus on the provision of services, infrastructure, sustainable land use systems and the development of structured markets. the study aims to evaluate the impact of these programmes and also suggest improvements that will ensure that agriculture ppps are further enhanced in nigeria omodero, (2021) investigates the impact of agricultural output and food production on poverty decrease in nigeria. the data used in the study span from 2009 to 2019. relevant diagnostic tests and regression analysis are performed to obtain the empirical evidence highlighted in this paper. thus, the findings reveal that the food production index significantly and positively impacts poverty reduction, while agricultural output has an immaterial negative effect on poverty decrease. the study concludes that poverty alleviation in nigeria and food security will depend on government’s full involvement in agriculture and improvement on its agricultural budget. accordingly, the provisions of necessary facilities to boost agriculture have been recommended. the facilities include modern farming equipment, sufficient power supply, credit facility, storage facility, and large markets. akanle, adejare, adewusi and yusuf, (2021) opine that the conflict between farmers and herders have constituted serious concerns and impediments to development in nigeria. this development entails food security, of which dairy needs are integral. noting that, the global https://www.researchgate.net/profile/cordelia-omodero?_sg%5b0%5d=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq&_sg%5b1%5d=yuf1kfp22mozzugyk6jhlosqrolkhradayofimhjgkhpaugzcdpv2t2um2yojhqh0rg-ds0.u1pfpm1pmx0yrrizabliok_-bxehdvgiesllccknpe2ctawpkiskxzfpah9t73q60xgfraeahyidctbelrnzia https://www.researchgate.net/profile/olayinka-akanle?_sg=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq https://www.researchgate.net/profile/gbenga-adejare?_sg=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq https://www.researchgate.net/profile/adedeji-adewusi?_sg=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/qudus-o-yusuf-2200383906?_sg=laiygiwrisvzkioiar42g7shiurmyepxqcjekmv-x51cuhfmih8bgejuxujmutsitqftnfo.o2snchg2yzkz1dgotf7hr2gcbzf1bkenvbv4c0a9x99qqd7v_eornj8ulk_luamddhtbfpo6j_dnw9punl4_ja.i7levvbaeai7dn-26r9uj5d4xipsclgqq-feqj5ufsel8t7yazpb9ifxt_csmp94tawebqn3wtcuh4xldx1dtq 144 campaign for good agricultural practices (gap) essentially focuses on the preservation of humans, animals and the general ecosystem, as the world continues to confront the depletion of the ozone layers. however, in nigeria, the development concerns of farmers-herders' conflicts are not only pertinent but also daunting as the protracted conflicts increase the burden of food insecurity, human insecurity, ethic/tribal tensions and underdevelopment outcomes. while the challenges posed by the farmers-herders' conflicts are serious, existentially threatening and hydra-headed, their impacts on development of the country are massive and require urgent attention, research and policy terms. this is because development can only be sustainable in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. therefore, in situations where conflicts and insecurity are near intractable, development may be mere desideratum. the authors, utilized maslow's hierarchy of needs to examine the context, burden and tractability of farmers-herders' conflicts in nigeria with a view to unpacking the interface of (in) security and development relative to food/agriculture security in nigeria. serpil, and mehmet, (2020) state that a pandemic is not a new event encountered in the history of humanity because mankind has faced various pandemics in history. maintaining that, the common point of pandemics is their serious negative effects on the global economy. considering the food supply chain, one of the most important sectors of the economy, it has been seen that covid-19 has an impact on the whole process from the field to the consumer. therefore, in the light of recent challenges in food supply chain, there is now considerable concern about food production, processing, distribution, and demand. the authors stress that, covid-19 resulted in the movement restrictions of workers, changes in demand of consumers, closure of food production facilities, restricted food trade policies, and financial pressures in food supply chain. therefore, governments should facilitate the movement of workers and agric-food products. in addition, small farmers or vulnerable people should be supported financially. suggesting that, facilities should change the working conditions and maintain the health and safety of employees by altering safety measures and that, food protectionist policies should be avoided to prevent an increase in food prices. in conclusion, each country must realize the severity of the situation and sometimes should tighten or loosen the measures according to the spread of the pandemic. the supply chain also should be flexible enough to respond to the challenges in the food supply chain. the purpose of the review is to evaluate the impact of covid-19 on the agriculture and food sector and to summarize the recommendations required to reduce and control the effect of the pandemic. javascript:; javascript:; 145 siche, (2020) investigated the different pandemics that humanity has experienced, such as the spanish flu, asian flu, hong kong flu, hiv/aids, sars, ebola and swine flu, have had a great impact on the economy, the environment and any human activity, such as livestock, agriculture, tourism, transport, education, health, fishing, mining, industry, commerce, etc. currently, humanity is facing another pandemic, the infection of the new coronavirus (2019ncov) that generates the disease known as covid-19. the objective of this document is to analyze and discuss the effects in agriculture of events related to the disease of covid-19. for this analysis, data from the food agriculture organization (fao), the world health organization (who) and scientific and technical documents have been used. there is sufficient evidence to affirm that the pandemic caused by the covid-19 disease has an important effect on agriculture and the food supply chain, mainly affecting food demand and consequently food security, with a great impact on the most vulnerable population. dirk and derek,(2008) state that throughout history, agriculture-led development strategies with state support programs have been essential to achieving rapid economy-wide growth, poverty reduction, and structural transformation. yet over the last three decades, the domestic and international policy environments have continued to discriminate against agricultural development in the poorest countries. the authors’ paper studies the causes and manifestations of this "urban bias," including discrimination in domestic pricing policies and in the international trade regime, decreasing financial support from governments and aid donors, and increasing neglect of agriculture in development theory and economic research. the authors conclude that urban bias remains a persistent and paramount obstacle to sustained growth and poverty reduction in the least developed countries. necmiye, (2012) assert that the agricultural sector is important for turkey for many reasons such as high rate of rural population, a large share of employment in the agricultural sector, the sector's contribution to the formation of national income, and production capacity of sector. the author maintain that, in recent years, although the share of agriculture sector in gdp and in foreign trade has declined, the share of it in employment is still protected. the agricultural sector is the backbone of the rural economy. although there is a common view that agriculture is an important sector for an economy, there is no consensus about preference of agricultural growth in reducing poverty as the best remedy. stressing that, some researchers advocate that https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/dirk-bezemer-10542769?_sg%5b0%5d=1mqgkfyutkjshori7manfgfozezmnkaxvdbgsgbjkfquos0glokvir5gn5x91nczgl_otys.i5zilzfgdckcwgcxta-kwvvdzk3uyoz-x3zbxfm_2-jreagkts0kuooyrze8jrcx9-tkwz4u-zfng67imdvu9a&_sg%5b1%5d=p_aovc8c2nsdobec5twlcolwej8kt6omtqix-obtlxn8dgbuj0eo1xhv1bynexftckr0ahw.qb8bisoifdmvbyx_jlibsmt_lyc_lehj9x8mnjlbgogqf-wbjkfg6jgerjmj8gve1elr-zgrf_rup2i3tbsqzq https://www.researchgate.net/profile/derek-headey-2?_sg%5b0%5d=1mqgkfyutkjshori7manfgfozezmnkaxvdbgsgbjkfquos0glokvir5gn5x91nczgl_otys.i5zilzfgdckcwgcxta-kwvvdzk3uyoz-x3zbxfm_2-jreagkts0kuooyrze8jrcx9-tkwz4u-zfng67imdvu9a&_sg%5b1%5d=p_aovc8c2nsdobec5twlcolwej8kt6omtqix-obtlxn8dgbuj0eo1xhv1bynexftckr0ahw.qb8bisoifdmvbyx_jlibsmt_lyc_lehj9x8mnjlbgogqf-wbjkfg6jgerjmj8gve1elr-zgrf_rup2i3tbsqzq https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijsshs/issue/26220/276107#article-authors-list 146 primarily this sector should bear of the importance in reducing poverty because the majority of the poor live in rural areas and are employed in the agricultural sector. another view is that, non-agricultural activities provide capital accumulation and thus more rapid development. however, many studies in the literature, suggest that investments in the areas like rural infrastructure, health and education with agricultural development in developing countries are pro-poor. the objective of the study is to examine whether there is a relationship between agricultural growth and economic growth in the long-term and to analyze whether there is a relationship between agricultural credits as an agricultural support and agricultural growth in the long term. in addition, it is aimed to investigate if the agricultural credits are effective on the number of people employed in agriculture. empirical findings of the study reveals that, agricultural credits has a direct effect on agricultural income and employment, on the other hand it also shows that agricultural credits has indirect effect on the agricultural income due to the impact of agricultural credits on agricultural income and the impact of agricultural income on agricultural employment. implication of the study with the suspension of movement at the instance of covid-19 agriculture reduced drastically puts food security and nutrition at risk, and as a consequence the existence of children, elderly people and small framers with limited capacity to cope with diseases; therefore, government must as a necessity redirect its actions to increase assistance to small farmers, social food programs, less there will be starvation/insecurity in the country; thereby putting the economy at a great risk. invest in data systems at the local, national and global levels so that real time information can be made available for decision makers and help to increase confidence in supply during crises; invest in national efforts to increase adequate government communication strategies to improve agricultural sector. the implication of the study is that as in 1956, when the federal government shifted its attention to oil and neglecting agriculture, it should make a u turn shifting its attention and support to agriculture otherwise, sooner or later there will not be a beloved country called nigeria. discussion 147 according to empirical reviews, youth participation in agriculture is one of the means to reduce unemployment rate in nigeria this is in agreement with the work of bello, baiyegunhi, mignouna, adeoti, dontsop-nguezet, abdoulaye, manyong, bamba, awotide, (2021) that, strengthening social capital such as youth organization, credit scheme (financed by private and government), vocational training, and educational system is vital in enhancing participation in the yia program and eventually gainful employment of youth. seasonal employment disrupt planting, sorting, harvesting, processing, or transporting crops to markets, food safety and production abilities were affected by covid-19 pandemic. as empirical review revived and this in line with the work of serpil and mehmet, (2020) where the supply chain is stated to have been terribly affected as a result of the absence of local or migrant workers due to sickness (covid-19) and or travel restrictions imposed by lockdown. again, the work of siche, (2020) reviled that, the pandemic caused by the covid-19 disease has an effect on agriculture and the food supply chain, seriously affect food demand and consequently food security, more on the most vulnerable people. finally, investment in data systems at the local, national and global levels for real time information can be made available for decision makers to help increase confidence in supply during crises this is in line with the work of conclusion the so called post covid-19 pandemic era has a great impact on the activities of agriculture. leading to food insecurity due to restriction of movement, food mobility restrictions not left out, reduced purchasing power, and impacting drastically on the most vulnerable population groups like the elderly, the children and the small farmers in the developing countries like nigeria. the government took more drastic measures to halt the spread of the virus and also made serious efforts to increase the loan to smes framers (small farmers); the study concludes that since the main sustenance of the nation is agriculture effort should be seriously geared towards improving agriculture through educational attainment of youth’s in agriculture and youth participation in agriculture should be increase as one of the means to improve the economy of nigeria at post covid-19 pandemic era. javascript:; javascript:; 148 as cases of contagion increase, governments took more drastic measures to stop the spread of the virus, also influencing the small farmers to improve agricultural system. the premise of any measure adopted should be to protect the health and agricultural/food security of the population, to the detriment of economic growth, although some governments go in the opposite direction. recommendation government should ensure the food and nutrition needs of vulnerable populations are met both now and in the future. since covid-19 offers an opportunity to enhance the productivity of the agricultural sector the nation ought to learn from the crisis to increase preparedness for future pandemic; work with stakeholders and international organizations to identify weaknesses, invest in data system in order to be acquainted with what other developed and developing nations are doing in terms of overcoming the pandemic coupled with the risk of exposing agriculture to risk services that need to be strengthened in order to increase preparedness for systemic risks and identify opportunities to strengthen networks between public and private stakeholders to make these investments. accelerate investments and reforms that would further strengthen the resilience of the food system to a range of risks, for example: invest in data systems at the local, national and global levels so that real time information can be made available for decision makers, and educational attainment of youth’s in agriculture should be increased as one of the means to improve the economy of nigeria at post covid-19 pandemic era. reference adedeji adeniran, a, ekeruche, m. a. and castradori, m. 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javascript:; https://doi.org/10.1093/fqsafe/fyaa024 150 taiwo oyaniran, (2020) current state of nigeria agriculture and agribusiness sector afcfta workshop world bank, (2022) the continuing urgency of business unusual. nigeria development update (ndu) premium times, (2022) nigeria’s inflation rate hit 17-1% in july 31, 2016 https://www.premiumtimesng.com/promoted/548019-agwai-visitation-panels-reporton-shocking-corruption-at-unilag-our-stand.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/promoted/548019-agwai-visitation-panels-report-on-shocking-corruption-at-unilag-our-stand.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/promoted/548019-agwai-visitation-panels-report-on-shocking-corruption-at-unilag-our-stand.html page 6 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by volume 7 number 1, 2022volume 7 number 1, 2022 1 employability skills and core self-evaluations as predictors of perceived employability among undergraduate students of a nigerian university andrew i. aigbodion1 emmanuel e. uye2* adams timeyin3 1,3department of psychology, ambrose alli university, ekpoma, edo state. 2department of psychology, university of ibadan, oyo state. *correspondence: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com abstract this study investigated employability skills and core self-evaluations as predictors of perceived employability among undergraduate students of ambrose alli university, nigeria. a cross-sectional survey design was adopted while stratified random sampling technique was used to select 300 undergraduate students for the study. three instruments: perceived employability scale, employability skills scale, and core self-evaluations scale were used for data collection while standard multiple regression analysis was used to test the three stated hypotheses. the results revealed that employability skills and core self-evaluations jointly predicted perceived graduate employability (r = .556, r2= .310, f = 66.570, p < .05). also, employability skills independently predicted perceived graduate employability (β = .482, t = 11.288, p < .05). however, core self-evaluations did not independently predict perceived graduate employability (β = .077, t = 1.091, p >.05). the study concluded that employability skills and core self-evaluations are good predictors of perceived graduate employability. it is recommended that skill acquisitions should be mandated as one of the requirements for students to graduate from any higher institution of learning to enhance their employability confidence. keywords: core self-evaluations, employability skills, learning, perceived graduate employability introduction skills gaps, skills mismatches, the employability crises, and the adverse graduate unemployment and underemployment situation, can hinder the possibility of nigeria attaining the 2030 sustainable development goals (sdgs) as they adversely affect six out of the first ten goals: poverty, hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality and inclusive education, decent work and reduced inequality (united nations, 2015).nigeria, like other countries of the world, believes that the higher education system can help ameliorate these problems through mailto:emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com 2 high level relevant manpower training, especially as the patterns of work are rapidly changing with new sectors emerging. however, it is no longer enough for graduates to have a good degree alone. they must also possess the skills and personality attributes required to compete and collaborate in a dynamic knowledge economy (newton, 2015; oliver 2015; pitan, 2015). in addition to being objectively employable, students must also perceive their possibilities of finding employment favourably because their perception ultimately influences their behaviour, reactions, and thoughts. for example, studies show that negative employability perceptions among students can lead to psychological problems like depression, low self esteem, loss of motivation, anxiety, pessimism, fear and confusion about their career future (ginevraet al.,2016). therefore, the views of undergraduates, the final recipients of employability development efforts within higher education (he) need to be researched more thoroughly in these embattled times for students (chowet al., 2019; pitan & muller, 2020; saher & chaudhary, 2019). perceived graduate employability refers to students’ beliefs about their possibilities of finding new, equal, or better employment (berntson, 2008). incorporated in this definition are four conceptual issues. first, the level of analysis is at the individual level. second, the term new employment implies that the definition primarily concerns every category of employable students, whether currently employed or not. third, the term equal or better employment suggests that it is not merely a matter of promotion, but rather about the security of finding graduate-level employment or something better. finally, the term perceived implies that this definition concerns a subjective phenomenon rather than an objective one. räty et al’s (2019) did a survey on perceived employability and ability self among 1,819 finnish university students. their results showed that generally the students tended to perceive their possibilities to obtain work after graduation in a relatively hopeful light. for example, two-thirds of the participants believed more or less that it was possible to get a job in one’s own field after graduation. oluwatayo et al. (2016) looked at how 154 final year and masters’ architecture students of a nigerian university perceived their employability readiness. results showed that 72.3% of the students were confident that they would be employed to practice architecture on graduation. the study by koloba (2015) investigated the relationship between perceived employability and intention for self-employment among university students at four universities in two provinces of south africa. the results of this study also showed that the frequency of responses for perceived employability indicated that majority of students tended to agree that they perceived themselves as employable. extant literature in the determinants of perceived employability notes that one factor that can predict perceived graduate employability is employability skills. employability skills are broadly defined as the basic academic, personal and teamwork skills that employers 3 expect from their workers, which are expected to be developed by the educational system (berntson, 2008; pitan, 2016). bennett (2006) argues that employability skills are those basic skills necessary for getting, keeping and doing well on a job. zinser (2003) states that employability skills include areas such as managing resources, communication and interpersonal skills, team work and problem-solving ability required to acquire and retain a job. unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types (robinson &garton, 2008). ogbeide (2006) assessed the self-perceived employability skills for careers in the hospitality industry of 123 senior students in the hotel and restaurant management (hrm) programme at university of missouri-columbia (mu). the mean for each of the skills included in this study was above 2.00 indicating that, on average, the respondents’ perceived themselves to have at least a moderate level of competence at performing all the employability skills. in addition, fifty-five of the employability skills had a mean of greater than 2.50 indicating that the respondents’ perceived themselves to have major competence in more than 82% of the employability skills. oluwatayo et al. (2016) also show that the students in their study believe that they are best prepared for teamwork and self-motivation. also, their problem-solving, creativity, personal organisation and decision-making skills also appear to be rated high. the second predictor of perceived graduate employability considered in this study is core self-evaluations (cses) which is described as individuals’ innate assessment of themselves, their abilities and control over situations. judge et al. (2003) treat the core selfevaluation construct as consisting of four broad dispositional and evaluative traits: global self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, neuroticism, and internal locus of control. literature shows that people can differ significantly in these views about themselves, which can have varied effects on their reactions to different vocational and non-vocational situations. these individual personality traits are often reported with a significant effect on the dimensions of employability (akkermans et al., 2013; fugate & kinicki, 2008; van vianen et al., 2012) and therefore likely to add to the subjective and objective judgment of one’s employability. it is therefore expected that cses will contribute to higher levels of employability skills and attributes and the perceived employability of students (onyishi et al., 2015; potgieter, 2012). stapel (2018) meta-analytically reviewed the relationship between the four core selfevaluations traits of self-esteem, emotional stability, locus of control, and generalized selfefficacy, separately and the core-self-evaluations, as a composite trait with employability. based on the meta-analytic results, it seems that at least self-esteem and emotional stability are important predictors of employability with a mean effect size indicating a medium significant positive effect. for the core self-evaluations composite trait, the same applies, amplified by the effect of self-esteem, because this trait is interpreted as the most 4 fundamental indicator of core self-evaluations (judge et al., 1997). also, the study by onyishi et al. (2015) noted that cse is significantly and positively associated with perceived employability. they suggest that individuals who have positive cse will tend to perceive themselves as more employable than those with less positive cse. el-fekey and mohamad (2018) did a study on the relationship between graduates’ perceived employability attributes (skills) and employability gap in egypt, looking at the moderating role of core self-evaluations. according to their results, there was a significant negative relationship between perceived employability attributes and employability gap (r = .638). this means that the higher the perceived employability attributes, the lower the perceived employability gap. also, there was a high positive relationship between perceived employability attributes and core self-evaluations (r = .524). the results showed that there was a significant negative relationship between perceived employability gap and cse (.436). the moderation results show that the higher the perceived cse, the higher the perceived employability attributes; and hence the lower the perceived employability gap. the usem model (knight &yorke, 2004) and social cognitive career theory (lent et al., 2002) were used to anchor this study. the usem model, as proposed by knight and yorke (2004) has four components. the first component is understanding (u) which denotes the student’s mastery of his or her subject of study and the ability to transfer that to other contexts. the second component, skilful practices (s), is the procedural knowledge of the student, which can be generic or specific. the third component, efficacy beliefs (e), entails a student’s perception of their intelligence, learning approach and the confidence they have in their abilities (self-efficacy) and their learning motivation. the fourth component is metacognition (m), which includes reflection and corresponds to the student’s awareness of their knowledge, learning processes and willingness to learn. the usem model presents employability as a synergetic blend of subject understanding, personal qualities, and key skills. however, some authors criticize the usem model for not sufficiently taking into account individual characteristics, such as personality, identity (clark &zukas, 2013). social cognitive career theory (scct) is anchored on bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1977, 1997), which states that there is a mutual influence between students and their environment. scct offers three interconnected process models of career development that seek to explain how students develop academic and vocational interest, how they make educational and career choices, and how they achieve educational and career performance/stability. these three models place emphasis on three core variables, which are self-efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals. the dynamic interaction among interest, self-efficacy and outcome expectations would lead to the formation of academic and career goals and intentions that serve to sustain behaviour over time, leading to the formation of a stable pattern of interest in adolescence and early adulthood. 5 therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate employability skills and core self-evaluations as predictors of perceived graduate employability. specifically, the study aim to: (1) determine whether employability skills will significantly predict perceived graduate employability, (2) examine whether core self-evaluations will significantly predict perceived graduate employability and (3) test whether employability skills and core self-evaluations will jointly predict perceived graduate employability. this study will assist academic institutions to create a workable environment for prospective graduates to polish their skills for employment in the future. also, the study will help graduates to understand the benefits of employability skills in their preferred vocations. finally, it will assist further study in core self-evaluations and employability skills of graduates as they relate to perceived graduate employability. hypotheses h1. employability skills will independently predict perceived graduate employability. h2. core self-evaluations will independently predict perceived graduate employability. h3. employability skills and core self-evaluations will jointly predict perceived graduate employability. method participants three hundred participants were used for the study with the gender of the participants being males 139 (46.3%) and females 161 (53.7%). their marital status was singles 170 (56.7%) and married 130 (43.3%). participants had an average age of 23 years. the religious background of participants showed that christians were 179 (59.7%), muslims 120 (40%), while other religions 1 (0.3%). the current academic level of the participants was: 100 level, 50 (16.7%), 200 level, 98 (32.7%), 300 level, 79 (26.3%), 400 level, 41(13.7%), and 500 level 32 (10.7% instruments three instruments were used for data collection in this study. the 16-item perceived employability scale (rothwell et al., 2008) was used to measure the perceived graduate employability of the participants. it was presented in a 5point likert response format ranging from strongly agree = 5 to strongly disagree = 1. sample items include: “my degree is seen as leading to a specific career that is generally perceived as highly desirable”, “there is generally a strong demand for graduates at the present time”. the cronbach alpha of the original scale was 0.75. 6 the dmu employability skills framework was used to assess the employability skills of the participants. it was a 15item scale presented in a 5-point likert response format ranging from “very low skill” = 1, “low skill” = 2, “medium/moderate skill” = 3, “high skill” = 4, “very high skill” = 5. the scale has a cronbach alpha of 0.75. the core self-evaluations scale (cses) (judge et al., 2003) was used to measure the core self-evaluations of the participants. items on the scale include “i am confident i get the success i deserve in life”, and “i complete tasks successfully”. the scale is in likert format with 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). the measure is reliable, as assessed by internal consistency of .84 and test–retest reliability (r = .81 over a 3-month period). socio-demographic information about the participants, such as sex, marital status, age, religion and current academic level of participant were also collected. procedure students were approached individually by the researchers to participate in the study. the researchers briefly explained the purpose of the study and they were asked for their consents to participate. those who gave their consents were assured of confidentiality and were given the questionnaires to fill which took less than 15 minutes. of the 324 questionnaires administered, 300 (i.e., 93% response rate) were properly filled and used for the analysis. design and statistics the study adopted cross-sectional survey design while data were collected using structured questionnaire. the data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 23. data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. zeroorder correlation was used to establish the relationship between the variables while the hypotheses were tested using standard multiple regressions analyses at a 0.05 level of significance. results table1: zero-order correlation table showing the relationship between employability skills, core self-evaluations and perceived graduate employability s/n variables mean standard deviation 1 2 3 1 perceived graduate employability 56.300 11.1423 2 employability skills 40.803 12.6591 .554* 3 core self-evaluations 43.243 7.6611 .115* .114* *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level 7 the result from table 1 showed that there is a significant positive relationship between employability skills and core self-evaluations (r = .114, p < .05). also, there was a significant relationship between employability skills and perceived graduate employability (r = .554, p < .05). finally, there was a significant relationship between perceived graduate employability and core self-evaluations (r = .115, p < .05). the result of the zero-order correlation showed the robustness of the variables, therefore, it was used for the multiple regression analysis. table 2: standard multiple regressions table showing joint and independent prediction of employability skills and core self-evaluations on perceived graduate employability variables r r2 f p β t p employability skills .556 .310 66.57 .05 .482 11.288 <.05 core self evaluation .077 1.091 >.05 hypothesis one stated that employability skills will independently predict perceived graduate employability among undergraduate students. the hypothesis was tested using standard multiple regression and the result is presented in table 2. the result revealed that employability skills independently predicted perceived graduate employability among undergraduate students (β = .482, t = 11.288, p < .05). the hypothesis was, therefore, supported. hypothesis two stated that core self-evaluations will independently predict perceived graduate employability among undergraduate students. the result, presented in table 2, indicates that core self-evaluations did not independently predict perceived graduate employment among undergraduate students (β = .077, t = 1.091, p >.05). therefore, the hypothesis was rejected. hypothesis three stated that employability skill and core self-evaluations would jointly predict perceived graduate employability. the result, presented in table 2, shows that employability skills and core self-evaluations jointly predicted perceived graduate employability (r = .556, r2= .310, f = 66.570, p < .05). collectively, employability skills and core self-evaluation accounted for 31% of the total variance in perceived graduate employability. therefore, the hypothesis was accepted. discussion this study investigated employability skills and core self-evaluations as predictors of 8 perceived graduate employability among undergraduate students in a nigerian university. the study generated and tested three hypotheses. hypothesis one which stated that employability skills will significantly predict perceived graduate employability was supported. this finding supports the findings of ogbeide (2006) and oluwatayo et al (2016) whose respondents’ perceived themselves to have major competence in many of the employability skills demanded by employers, thus enhancing their employability confidence. hypothesis two which stated that core self-evaluations will significantly predict perceived graduate employability was not supported. the present result does not support the findings of stapel (2018) who meta-analytically reviewed the relationship between the four core self-evaluations traits of self-esteem, emotional stability, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy, separately and the core-self-evaluations, as a composite trait with employability. self-esteem and emotional stability were important predictors of employability with a mean effect size indicating a medium significant positive effect. for the core self-evaluations composite trait, the same applied, amplified by the effect of self-esteem, because this trait is interpreted as the most fundamental indicator of core self-evaluations (judge et al., 1997). the possible reason for the difference in findings may be traceable to the small respondent size used in this study, compared to the more than 5,000 respondents used in the meta-analysis. hypothesis three which stated that employability skill and core self-evaluations will jointly predict perceived graduate employability was supported. this supports the findings of el-fekey and mohamad (2018), who found that the higher the perceived cse, the higher the perceived employability attributes; and hence the lower the perceived employability gap. recommendations of the study since there was a significant effect of employability skills and core self-evaluations on perceived graduate employability, higher educational institutions should encourage students to understand the benefits of employability skills to enhance their employability confidence in the current turbulent world of work. secondly, as it is shown that employability skills play a significant role towards the perceptions of university students regarding their employability prospects, universities should modify their traditional methods of teaching to the one that is work-based. three, universities should form partnerships with employer organisations in which students are referred to internship to improve their work-related skills. finally, employers should be invited as guest lecturers to share their knowledge with students and be consulted when curricula are designed for different programmes. limitations and recommendations for further studies the study is not without some limitations. first, the study used a self-report questionnaire for data collection which is not free of social desirability bias. further studies 9 should use both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. second, a crosssectional study was done.there is a need to do a follow-up (longitudinal) study to determine whether the two predictors’ variables were stable over time. lastly, undergraduate students in one university was used in the study, hence generalizability of the finding is limited. further studies should compare undergraduate students from both public and private universities within a state, between states, and across geo-political zones in nigeria. conclusion this study has empirically established that employability skills and core selfevaluationsare good predictors of perceived graduate employability among students of ambrose alli university, ekpoma. also, it demonstrated that employability skills of students have favourable advantage to 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(2003). developing career and employability skills: a us case study. education and training, 45(7), 402-410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-019-00451-7 page 5 1 nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria: an evaluation of president buhari’s administration, 2015-2021 netchy mbaeze department of political science enugu state university of science and technology abstract this study examines the nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria under president buhari’s regime. essentially, the study examines whether buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest; and to determine if buhari’s economic diplomacy engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria. by adopting the concentric circle theory, documentary method of data collection and expost facto research design, the study found that nigeria’s foreign policy has been largely afrocentric in nature, although with different implementation strategies from nigeria’s leaders. also, by employing a qualitative analysis, the study discovered that buhari’s approach of economic diplomacy through its mercantilist policy is somewhat a slight departure from the norm, and also contradictory, when compared with his unresponsive posturing towards immigrants from niger, chad and mali who have undermined the nation’s security and by extension its national interest. after the analysis, the study also found out among other things that the issue of buhari’s economic diplomacy toward nigeria’s sustainable economic development has not been largely unsuccessful, as citizens have suffered hardship arising from high cost of living. furthermore, based on the above finding the study recommends that buhari’s remaining 8months in office should be used to take decisive actions towards protection of the nigeria’s national interest by dealing decisively with external elements who are undermining internal security and to replace incompetent individuals manning the economy of the nation. keywords: buhari, foreign policy, national interest, economic diplomacy introduction foreign policy according to levy (2013) is an essential tool with which states relate to states and non-states actors in the international system. the foreign policy is set of tools which are used to pursue and achieve country’s national interests. foreign policy constitutes a critical component of a country’s conduct of public policy as it relates to other actors (both state and non-state) in the larger international system or the external environment. as a result of the importance of foreign policy in a country’s agenda, consideration must therefore, be given to all the important actors on the international scene that affect the policy-making and implementation processes of the country concerned. the policy decisions include relations with other nations, international and non-governmental organizations, institutions and agencies, as well as key individuals, in so far as they impact on the system of inputs and outputs. the principles which have imbued nigeria’s foreign policy since independence include: protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nigerian state; promotion of the socio-economic well-being of nigeria; enhancing nigeria’s image and status in the world at large; respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states; non-interference in the internal affairs of other states; promotion of the unity and solidarity of the african states; total nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria political, economic, social, and cultural emancipation and rejuvenation of africa (ashiru, 2013).. foreign policy is the category of actions a government takes which deals with defense, security, and international: political relations and international economic relations. it is the activity whereby a state deals with other states, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and certain individuals. thus, foreign policy as a range of actions, as well as a set of principles influencing these actions, taken with reference to external situations and factors… the summation of thoughts, actions and principles on external affairs taken by decision-makers with the intention of achieving long-range goals and short-term objectives (eze, 2010). the economic conditions of nigeria have advanced over the last few years as a result of the rapid phase of industrialization. the economy of nigeria also improved tremendously with foreign investment aided by research and development. nigeria was under the british colonial rule for a considerable period of time. during this phase, major raw materials and minerals were exported to foreign countries along with food grains which in due course of time spearheaded the rise of slavery and exploitation of labor class by the europeans. after the achievement of independence in nigeria, efforts were made to revive the economic growth of the country through a set of economic reforms. it's important to note that before the discovery of oil in nigeria, the country survived mainly on agriculture (osuntokun, 2012). president buhari assumed shuttle diplomacy between different countries immediately after assuming office in 2015 he was referred at as “jet-setting president”, this was attributed mainly to the fact he spent a quarter of first 100 days in office in different countries. the president upon inauguration assumed the responsibility of been countries chief diplomat and foreign policy officer to re-launch nigeria into the international community. this is mostly attributed to the international environment buhari found himself, this situation was characterized by dwindling oil prices, terrorism and counter-terrorism, nuclear deals and neoliberalism among others. the president having realized the domestic economic challenges stated categorically during his address to the european parliament on 3rd february 2016: our attempt to restore security, curb corruption and fight crime will result not only in improving social stability in nigeria but will re-open the doors for full economic relations with europe and the outside world. those who wish to invest in our country have vast opportunity and we intend to guarantee the security of people and investments brought to nigeria (buhari, 2016). nigeria’s diplomacy still cannot be operated in a vacuum; but within the economic, political, and institutional environment both inside and outside government. it is irrefutable that president buhari came at a time nigeria is faced with a myriad of problems which needed urgent attention. these challenges if left unattended, will lead to the declaration of nigeria a failed state. against this background, this study seeks to interrogate nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development: evaluation president buhari administration (2015 – 2021). statement of problems: globally, it has been identified that countries design and execute foreign policies in order to guide their external relations as well as promote, protect and defend their fundamental national interests. these include: defense of territorial integrity, promotion of economic, military, diplomatic and strategic interests and all that a country considers as fundamental to its national interest. therefore, it is expected that nigeria’s foreign policy ought to be fundamentally 3 guided by its national interest, which ordinarily should serve to either validate or deny the nation’s action or inaction in the international system. as nigeria became a sovereign state in 1960, the country has engaged in ambitious foreign policy that has seen her part away with large numbers of human resources and huge amount of economic resources, with little or nothing to show for this expensive diplomatic generosity. this has become worrisome to scholars and stakeholders within the country. the study on nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development with special interest in the president muhammadu buhari’s administration. the study in line with statement of problem seeks to interrogate these research questions; 1. how has buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest? 2. has buhari’s economic diplomacy engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria? objective of the study: the general objective of the study is to examine nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development: evaluation president buhari administration, while the specific objective are as follows: 1. to find out whether buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest; 2. to evaluate how buhari’s economic diplomacy engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria; significance of the study: the essence of this research is to see how nigeria foreign policy is geared towards nigeria economic development. as such, the research adds to knowledge and at the same time is useful to the government and to policy makers. furthermore the study has both theoretical and practical significance. from a theoretical standpoint, it advances the frontiers of knowledge, especially the dimension of foreign policy relationship with economic development in nigeria. it has also filled the gap in knowledge on the topic and posited theoretical facet to it. the practical contribution, in such vein, policy makers, decision makers, public officeholders, bureaucrats, the academia, the general public alike, benefits from the study. in all, the study is an input to the understanding of the problems of foreign policy and economic development and how it can be addressed. literature review nigeria foreign policy the nigeria’s foreign policy”, provided the policy direction when he stated that, it is the responsibility of our foreign policy apparatus to advance the course of our national economic recovery. from babangida’s administration till date, economic diplomacy has guided nigeria’s foreign relations with other states in the international system, including african countries. this is manifest in the area of trade, economic cooperation and technical assistance. this is why ambassador ashiru stated categorically that nigeria’s new foreign policy direction is now on investment and economic cooperation. according to him: the emphasis now is on investment and economic cooperation. the new posture of government is that while we retain the leadership role in our sub-region, and while we play our leadership role on the continent by taking the lead in all major issues on nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria the continent, the foreign policy direction will also be used to propel the economic and industrial development of our country (ashiru cited in osuntokun, 2012:36). ambassador adeniji is also an apostle of this new foreign policy thrust, and he could not have been more correct by noting that: nigeria’s foreign policy direction has to lead to where there are development funds and technical assistance, particularly in the light of the weakness in intraafrican cooperation, crises and conflicts in africa, as well as africa’s mobility to bail nigeria out of her economic doldrums. nigeria’s fundamental principles of foreign policy have been fairly consistent since they were first espoused shortly after independence in october 1960 (ashiru, 2013). nigeria’s national interest, according to olukoshi (1992) and eze (2010) since independence in 1960 till date, has been very difficult to identify or define. this is because of the numerous diplomatic variations and beliefs adopted by nigerians over the years. research has shown that some foreign policy analysts believe that nigeria has no clear-cut national interest. gap in literature in discovering the gap in literature on foreign policy and sustainable economic development: evaluation of presidents buhari’s administration, scholars like morgenthau, emphasis that there is no foreign policy without accepting national interest as a guide. and al-hassan (2008) and onyisi (2011), also argued that the economic diplomacy in nigeria’s foreign policy was a mere hype in linking nigeria’s foreign policy and sustainable economic development, evaluating president buhari’s administration, national interest has been adopted as an indicator or device for analyzing the fundamental objectives of her foreign policy. the idea of economic diplomacy equally been adopted to analysis the presidents buhari’s economic approach. however, the effort and the contribution of the writers in extent of the literature revealed has not been properly articulated. it is based on the foregoing that this study find a gap in literature to evaluate and assess the nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria, evaluating president muhammadu buhari from 2015 to 2020 theoretical framework concentric circles theory this study is anchored on the synthesis of concentric circles theory. the use of concentric circles theory in international relations, foreign policy and nigeria’s foreign policy making and analysis is credited to ibrahim i. gambari(1945) while he was the nigeria minister of foreign affair. since 1960 nigeria’s foreign policy is afrocentric as yakubu (2014) put it ‘africa as the centre piece of nigeria foreign policy’. concentric circles theory takes national interest of nigeria as a starting point of analysis. according to hassan (2011) as cited by nigeria’s interest in global affairs should be located in the physical nigeria. ashaver (2014) assert that there three circles in nigeria foreign policy approach, clearly puts nigeria’s interest first, the west africa sub-region second and the rest of africa. he further argued that the foreign policy objectives shall be the promotion and protection of national interest, promotion of african integration and support for african unity: promotion of international peace and mutual respect in all manifestations, respect for international law and treaty. thus, with respect to nigeria and their content there are: ➢ innermost of the circle of national interest involves nigeria’s security, territorial integrity and political independence and the neighbour of nigeria. ➢ the second circle involves our relations with the ecowas sub-region where we intend to take more active interest in development of social, economic and political nature. 5 ➢ and the third circle of national interest involves supporting self-determination and dealing with large africa issues. yakubu ya (2014) further emphasis, nigeria relations with fellow africa countries are thus defined largely in terms of nigeria’s national interest first and financial resources to deliver as second. and that nigeria is not a global power, therefore, its commitments, preoccupations and expenditure of its resources must be made to reflect it capabilities and interest. according to ometere (2011) as cited by olufemi a (2014) analysis of nigeria’s foreign policy shows that her leaders operate within four ‘concentric circles’ national interest. source: researcher’s design based on available data. the circles which includes: ➢ the innermost circle represents nigeria’s own security, independence and prosperity and is centred on its immediate neighbours benin, cameroon, chad and niger; ➢ the second circle involves around nigeria’s relations with it west africa neighbours; ➢ the third circle focuses on continent, africa issues of peace, development and democratisation; ➢ and the fourth circle involves nigeria’s relations with organisations, institutions and states outside africa. concentric foreign policy idea in nigeria is the brain child of dr. ibrahim gambari. he succinctly analyzed the dialectical content of the dynamics and tensions that have become the hallmark of nigeria’s foreign policy making in an era that has become increasingly characterized by diminished external revenues from oil production. he argues that declining oil revenues have imposed new economic constraints that have severely undermined nigeria’s ambitious, dynamic and assertive foreign policy objectives especially in relation with the united states and west europe. this concentric circle clearly puts nigeria’s interest first, the west african sub-region second and then the rest of africa. the foreign policy objectives shall be the promotion and protection of national interest, promotion of africa integration, and support for african unity; promotion of international peace and mutual respect in all manifestations, respect for international law and treaty. the overriding national interest was in fact, the impetus that made general sani abacha to turn the diplomatic beam light to the east. professor bolaji akinyemi’s theory of reciprocity contains elements of concentricism emphasis mine. in nigeria’s foreign policy, putting in place a viable policy framework is imperative. in other words, without a well-fashioned and articulated foreign policy framework, a nation would only be heading to a cul-de-sac in international diplomacy. united nations/igos/ingos african union/african continent nigeria’s neighbours/ecowas nigeria and its national interests nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria hypotheses 1. buhari’s foreign policy has undermined nigeria’s national interest. 2. buhari’s economic diplomacy has not engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria. research design the research design as a structuring of inquiry aimed at identifying variables and their relationship to one another, which is used for the purpose of obtaining data to enable the researcher test hypothesis or answer research questions. the study adopted ex post facto research design as a research structure in which the independent variable or variables have already occurred and in which the research starts with observation of a dependent variable and then study the independent variable in retrospect for the possible relations to and effects on the dependent variable. the research design adopted in this study is the ex post facto research design. content analysis method was adopted as a tool for analysis the work because it is a set of techniques used for analysis and understanding collection of text and information generated in the research work. it also shows clearly relationship between the two variables (independent and dependent variable). method of data collection the study employed the used the documentary method in getting data concerning the research work. the secondary sources of data refers to a set of data gathered and authored by others, usually data from available archives, either from documents or survey result codebooks. furthermore, documentary method of data collection was used in this study because it is used to obtain in-depth information and concept clarification as to facilitate research inquiry. documentary method is more useful when used to interpret, illuminate and extract valued information so as to draw inferences from the available evidence to reach conclusion. method of data analysis data analysis is defined as a process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to discover useful information for business decision-making. the purpose of data analysis is to extract useful information from data and taking the decision based upon the data analysis. qualitative descriptive method of data analysis was adopted for this research work. data and information on this research work were gotten from already existing secondary data such as, books, journals, official reports, newspapers report etc. 7 s/ n research question hypotheses major variables empirical indicators method of data collection sources of data collection mthod of data analysis 1 how has buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest? buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest x buhari’s approach to nigeria’s foreign policy y undermined its national interest x buhari’s inaction towards migrant herders attack on farmers in the middle belt y undermined security of the innocent citizens qualitative method of data collection based on documentary evidences. secondary source of data collection e.g. books, journals, articles, internet, reports etc. qualitative method of data analysis 2. has buhari’s economic diplomacy engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria? buhari’s economic diplomacy engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria x nigeria foreign policy y sustainable economic development x protectionist/merc antilist policy of border closure to boost locally made goods y the price of rice has increased from n8000 to n30000 from 2015 to 2022 qualitative method of data collection based on documentary evidences secondary source of data collection e.g. books, journals, articles, internet, reports etc. qualitative method of data analysis nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria data presentation and analysis buhari’s foreign policy undermined nigeria’s national interest today we understand nigeria foreign policy core/primary national interest to be security. the task of foreign policy is the task of furthering the absolute necessity to promote, defend, advance the clearly articulated national interest values and goals of a country and as that country interacts with or states in the international system in this memoir, m.k ibrahim, reasserted the fundamental linkage between the domestic and external politics which shape the external policies of the state based on shared benefits. in this memoir, m.k ibrahim, reasserted the fundamental linkage between the domestic and external politics which shape the external policies of the state based on shared benefits. in this regard, nigeria must continue to establish both in principle and practice the approach that it is no longer enough to seek what your country can do for others, but what we can do together with others in the pursuit of our common interests. and it is our duty and diplomacy to persuade others that is in their own interest to try to support us what we propose, promote as a national interest and if you don’t agree with this, just look at what israel has managed to do with the united states they have made their interest, the interest of the united states. the impact of boko haram insurgency on nigeria’s national interest terrorism has posed great threat, not just to life, property, human rights, dignity and democratic values, but to the very fabric and existence of nigeria’s as it has attacked both civilian and military targets with huge causalities and losses. in a series of tweets, president muhammadubuhari condemned what he described as "insane and senseless killings by terrorists." “nothing is more important than ensuring the security of lives and property of nigerians. everything is secondary when security is at stake. i will ensure that more resources are made available to the military and other security agencies to prosecute the war against terrorism.” the appraisal of the performance of the president or the current administration in terms of security," awwalfaruq, a nigerian security analyst, said. "the killings and the kidnappings of worshippers in kanoma, zamfara state and the slaughter of peasant farmers in cold blood, are another appraisal of what is happening," faruq told dw. "there is no need to say the government is underperforming. it has been now more than ten years, and the insecurity is becoming bigger." nasirayitogo, (2021) premium time newspaper, were audubulamabukarti, a security analyst specialized in violent extremist groups in sub-saharan africa at the tony blair institute for global change, said no one could blame the communities for expressing their anger and frustrations. "as a leader, you take credit for every good thing achieved by your government, but you also take the blame when there is a mistake from your government," bulamabukarti told dw. "what this attack in northeastern nigeria underlines is the fact that previous suggestions by the buhari administration that the insurgency has been ended or technically defeated seem to be very much misplaced," ryan cummings, a political and security analyst on nigeria said. although cummings noted that nigerian troops had made significant progress as far as recapturing territory once held by the islamists is concerned, he added that the war was "far from over." (nasirayitogo, 2021). 341 joseph atan, a nigerian resident in the capital, abuja, believes that buhari has fallen victim to the same problem he had accused the previous government of goodluck jonathan of. "in 2015, when the campaigns were on, the president [buhari] came out and said the then government was not capable and was not doing enough," atan told dw. "he said that when he came in, he would eradicate insecurity. that was the reason why nigerians elected him, but things seem to be getting worse," atan added. (nasirayitogo, 2021). security expert audubulamabukarti said the war against boko haram has dragged on for nearly a decade, partly because nigeria's military is poorly equipped. "there is a need for the federal government to invest more money in the nigerian military by buying 21st-century military equipment, including telecommunications and intelligence equipment," bulamabukarti told dw, adding that the money brought into the military should be spent transparently. (nasirayitogo, 2021). according to the 2020 global terrorism index, which gauges the degree and frequency of violence by terrorist groups across several countries, nigeria was ranked third only after iraq and afghanistan. essentially, nigeria, iraq, and afghanistan were described as being in a state of war. "that statistic alone really emphasizes that this war is certainly ongoing and that any defeat or victory against jihadists specifically is very far from occurring at this time," cummings stated. "the nigerian government and state security apparatus still need to make significant headway to neutralize the lethal threat that insurgents continue to pose within the region. (nasirayitogo, 2021). communal violence (farmers and herdsmen) as security failure of buhari’s administration the crisis between farmers and herdsmen are just too alarming with huge casualties on both sides due to animals stray into farms which cause damages to crops. properties, and death have been recorded as a result of the shrinking grazing lands leading to frequent farmers/grazers conflicts. excessive drought which affects forest cover will pose problems for fuel, wood supply as climate change induced factor as well (ahmadu, 2011). the present crises between herdsmen and farmers are economic and environmental problems. some politicians and few gullible nigerians have turned it to a political one. at this moment, the crisis requires both political and socio-economic solutions. most of us have chosen to ignore the fact that though, crises between nomadic cattle rearer and farming communities have taken some dangerous dimension, and the crisis in nigeria is as old as the trades (zayyad, 2018). according to nwosu (2017), though the crises obviously predate the buhari administration, the administration’s actions and inactions in the face of continued confrontations have subjected it too much flak by nigerians. one of the most prominent attacks allegedly perpetrated by fulani herdsmen in the buhari’s era was the agatu massacre in benue state. in february 2016, over 300 persons from the communities were massacred, while some 7,000 were displaced. some reports showed that many people died in ten agatu communities at the hands of suspected herdsmen in early 2016. these killings were accompanied by the destruction of houses and other property as well as allegations of rape. according to their leader, the attacks were reprisals against the agatu people for killing a prominent fulani man and stealing his cattle in 2013. that it took the president more than one week to issue a statement of condemnation and order an investigation, and that his spokesman stated his taciturn stance on the crisis on the grounds that nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria “[the president] is not a (sic) talkative,” have angered many nigerians. moreover, allegations of either inaction or outright collusion with the herdsmen have been leveled against the government and security agencies. in an interaction, the member representing agatu in the benue state house of assembly, mr. suleaudu, accused the military of allowing the fulani herdsmen to occupy the sacked communities, while their cattle’s, numbering over 100,000, freely grazed on their farmlands. that the president is fulani also added ammunition to his attackers, who saw his slow response as a tacit support for the killers (nwosu, 2017). further south, on 25 april 2016, suspected armed fulani invaders attacked ukpabinimbo, a town in enugu state, killing so many souls. this drew wide-ranging condemnation, and highlighted thepotential threat of the conflict feeding other security flash points. the movement for theactualization of the sovereign state of biafra, a group agitating for a restoration of the separatist republic of biafra, the implication should the killings continue. the group is viewed as treasonousby the government. some communities in the south-east zone have threatened revengeful attacks. it is baffling that virtually no successful prosecution or conviction has been secured on any of theseincidents of killing and wanton destruction of property by the herdsmen. to aggravate the people’s sense of betrayal, the governor of kaduna state and a powerful ally of the president, nasir el-rufai, accepted settling them in order to stop killing the mainly christian southern kaduna people. kaduna was embroiled in a crisis involving fulani herdsmen and southern kaduna residents in december 2016. the most worrying aspect of it is that the attacks were carried out during the 24 -hour’s curfew in the state (nwosu, 2017). a related problem is nigeria’s porous borders. the recent spate of herdsmen-perpetrated violence has been attributed to foreign transhumant fulani’s. if this is true, the fact that foreigners can travelas far south as enugu and osun state to wreak havoc points to an even deeper problem that hasplagued successive administrations in nigeria, and persists under the present buhari administration: the lack of effective border security. even the ecowas (economic community of west african states) regulation does not endorse unregulated and/or armed grazing, and calls for an evolution to ranching (nwosu, 2017). to be fair to the buhari administration, there seems to be some desire to prevent future attacks. currently, the grazing bill is before the national assembly. the bill seeks to establish a grazing reserve in each state so as to not only improve livestock production, but also prevent herdsmen farmers’ conflicts. however, given the charged nature of the problem, it appears the bill hardly enjoys any support from many states of the south. many see the bill as unjust, alleging that their lands will be expropriated to serve fulani commercial interests. others see it as affording the fulanis a potential leeway to dominate the south. even more worrying is the fact that some fulanis are not in the support of the bill, insisting that it is an infringement on their rights to movement. so far, it appears that the federal government has neither embarked on any systematic enlightenment campaign to douse these concerns, real or imagined, nor proposed an alternative feasible solution (nwosu, 2017). the lack of a broad-based and coordinated national policy on grazing has the potential to lead to anarchy, where different states take their destiny into their own hands. a case in point is that ekitistate had enacted anti-grazing law. the miyetti allah cattle breeders association (the umbrella body representing the herdsmen) has condemned the law, which prohibits grazing outside designated places and times, as well as with fire arms. 343 careful analysis of the conflicts indicates that allegations of cattle rustling are at the heart of some of the clashes. herdsmen accused the settled communities of stealing their cattle and murdering their colleagues and children, necessitating their bearing arms. according to the chairman of the miyetti allah cattle breeders association in plateau state, mohammed abdullahi, “the fulani use the ak47 for defence since the government has failed to protect them.” while not an acceptable solution, such self-defence is an indictment of the security apparatus in nigeria (nwosu, 2017). another security-related question is what the police and other relevant security agencies are doing to either forestall or promptly respond to attacks by fulani herdsmen. that large-scale massacres and pillage can be carried out during a 24-hour curfew as in the southern kaduna killings is reprehensible and speaks to either an ineffectual security apparatus or worse still, active collusion by security agencies. and the general failure of the government to successfully prosecute most of the perpetrators of the violence on both sides not only fails to deter future attacks, but also encourages a dangerous arms racing on both sides of the conflict (nwosu, 2017). violent crisis in nigeria, like other parts of the world, have created a rift in human relations, caused serious threat to peace, unity and food security among many other effects (basil, 2015 in researchclue.com). crisis is in evitable as long as we live together, especially in a multi-ethnic, cultural and religious community like nigeria. however, violence leaves us with various forms of retardation and underdevelopment resulting from the destruction of lives, farmland and property. the menaces of violent crisis have been on the increase in some most nigerian cities in the last two decades (ilufoye, 2009 in researchclue.com). most of these crises are generally regarded as ethno-religious bigotry and antagonism. according to kassam (2014) and basil (2015) in researchclue.com, the crises in most part of nigeria especially the fulani herdsmen and farmers’ crises are largely uncalled for. farmers can no longer farm peacefully because of fulani herdsmen. these fulani herdsmen and farmers’ crisis have pitched christians and muslims against each other. the crisis has had devastating effects onintergroup relationships especially in nasarawaegor innasarawa state and agatu local government area of benue state. apart from the loss of lives, farmlands, food produce and property, it has profound influence on residential relationships, leading to new trends in the polarization of communities (researchclue.com). however, in supporting the above statements, ajibefun (2017) stated both the social and economic effects of the crisis. on • sexual harassment of women • acquiring of weapons/arms • reduction in quality of social relationship • reduction of social support • loss of human life • high cases of rape the social effects, he listed the following: on the economic effects, ajibefun (2017) listed the following: • loss of produce in storage • displacement of farmers • reduction in output and income of farmers/nomads • scarcity of agricultural products nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria • loss of houses and properties • infrastructural damages table 1: state in nigeria mostly affected by herdsman – farmer crises s/n states geopolitical zone 1 benue north – central 2 kaduna north – central 3 adamawa north – east 4 yobe north – east 5 taraba north – east 6 borno north – east 7 zamfara north west 8 nassarawa north – central 9 jigawa north west source: nigeria watch database (2018) during the past four years, the nigeria watch database has recorded 1067 violent deaths related to cattle grazing (1.7%), out of a total of 62,278 violent fatalities in nigeria. the relatively small number of deaths recorded for this by the nigeria watch database may be due to the ethnic and religious categorization of the conflicts by the media which may have led the coders at the database to record several deaths as having either ethnic, religious or political causes. for instance, the tag “fulani herdsmen” may fall easily under ethnic conflict rather than just land issues or just livestock rearing. according to the nigeria watch database, there has been a reduction in the numbers of recorded fatalities in nigeria since 2014, as indicated in figure 1 above. a decline of about 56% in lethal violence witnessed in this period can be attributed to the renewed fight against boko haram insurgents (which accounts for about half of lethal violence in 2014) that saw the group’s gradual retreat to neighbouring countries. in 2015 alone, the insurgents account for 9264 out of a total of 17024 (nigeria watch, 2016). on the other hand, cases of cattle grazing appear to be on the rise since 2014. as shown in table 2 below, the deaths arising from cattle grazing recorded 386 deaths in2017 as against 114 in 2015 which is about 239% increase. table 2: violent deaths in nigeria caused by cattle grazing (august 2014–december 2017) number of deaths 2014 79 2015 114 2016 168 2017 386 total 747 source: nigeria watch database (2018) in 2017, conflicts between farmers and herdsmen in search of grazing and water for their cattle took place in 20 states of the federation including the retaliatory attacks on the fulani community in mambilla plateau, taraba state. the frequency of the conflicts led states like ekiti and benue to pass anti-grazing laws as a means to cope with the problem. table 3: recent farmer/herdsmen clashes in nigeria (januaryapril, 2018) 345 date place of incident(s) number of deaths 05-jan-18 akor village of guma local government area of benue state. 19 23-jan-18 numan district of adamawa state 6 05-feb-18 guma local government area, benue state 6 08-feb-18 saki, oyo state 1 12-feb-18 korakgauvir in guma local government area of benue state. 2 12-feb-18 zangwra community, miango district, irigwe chiefdom, plateau state 3 2-feb-18 azege village, ayilamo in logo local government area, benue state 1 13-feb-18 itigi, cross river state 1 05-mar-18 umenge village in guma local government area of benue state 5 07-mar-18 omusu village, at ojigo ward, edumoga in okpokwu local government area of benue state 26 17-mar-18 ugboha, esan south east local and odigueteovia north east local government areas of edo state 5 11-mar-18 bakos, plateu state 16 15-mar-18 rafiki area of plateau state 2 19-mar-18 omala local government area of kogi state 10 30-mar-18 bakinkogi, kaninkon chiefdom in jama’a local government area of kaduna state 6 06-apr-18 agagbe area of gwer west local government area of benue state 10 08-apr-18 benin city, edo state 2 10-apr-18 oyi, anambra state 1 11-apr-18 logo and ukum local government areas of benue state 15 13-apr-18 taraba, zamfara, benue 66 17-apr-18 benue and nasarawa states 36 17-apr-18 ukemberagya/tswarev ward of gaambetiev, logo local government area of benue state 1 22-apr-18 logo local government of benue state 1 21-apr-18 aniocha north local government area, delta state. 1 20-apr-18 suntai local government area of taraba state 4 nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria 23-apr-18 logo local government area of benue state 1 25-apr-18 gwer east local government area ofbenue state 19 25-apr-18 guma local government area, benue state 39 26-apr-18 logo local government area of benue state 7 30-apr-18 gwer west local government area of benue state 8 total 320 1 source: author’s compilations of reports on the vanguard between januarys to april, 2018. as shown in table 3 above, there was a record of 320 deaths arising from farmers and herdsmen conflicts between januarys to april 2018. this period witnessed some of the most horrific attacks reported by the media including the killing of 2 clergymen and 17 parishioners at st. ignatius catholic church in ukpor –mbalom community in gwer east local government of benue state 3. in january 2018, mobgalhorefulbe, the umbrella body group of fulani herdsmen in adamawa state raised the alarm about silent killings of herdsmen and rustling of cattle in numan and demsa local government areas of the state. the author could not verify this claim as such are hardly reported in the media. buhari’s economic diplomacy has not engendered sustainable economic development in nigeria economic diplomacy is the use of government recourses to promote the growth of a country’s economy by increasing trade, promoting investments, collaboration on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and etc. it can also mean the use of the economy to promote foreign policy objectives. most commonly known are foreign aid and economic sanctions. current trends include increasing collaboration between state and non-official agencies, and increased importance given to wto issues, the negotiation of free trade and preferential trade agreements, double taxation avoidance, and alike. nigeria’s land borders link the country with four different countries namely, the republic of benin in the southwest, cameroon in the southeast, chad in north-east, and niger in the north. these borders, like others dividing many african counties, have been referred to as artificial boundaries because they were arbitrarily drawn by the colonial powers in africa often separating people of the same tradition and culture into different countries. nigeria’s economy stands perhaps as the largest in africa, even surpassing south africa. in west africa, nigeria’s economy, sustained by its over 200 million national population, clearly stands as the strongest, prompting very robust business activities both at the land borders and between nigeria and her different neighbours. two of the nigerian immediate neighbouring counties, benin republic and niger, are co-members of the sub-regional economic cooperation body, the economic community of west african states (ecowas). the nigerian government said it took the unilateral action on august 20, 2019, shutting its land borders to curtail the flooding of rice and other smuggled goods into the country. forestalling illegal export of petroleum products out of the country was another reason given to support the government decision. although not openly stated, government was also said to have shut the national land borders to curtail the booming illegal cross-border arms trade. 347 the nigerian government’s decision has generated much economic and political ripples across the country and the west african sub region, spreading into other parts of africa. there were widespread fears that protracted closure of the nigerian boundaries could lead to recession or other adverse economic consequences for the fragile west african economies largely dependent on trade with nigeria. there were also concerns that the nigerian border closure could derail the smooth takeoff of the plan by the african union (au), through the afcfta), to create a single, africawide regional market for goods and services thereby promoting movement of persons and capital across the continent. to underscore their worries, african leaders initiated active bilateral and multilateral diplomatic moves to try to convince nigeria to end the border closure. ecowas set up a special committee in february 2020 to study and make a full report on the closure of nigerian land borders. members of the committee and other african diplomats made repeated visits to abuja with passionate appeals for a reversal of the border closure (alake, 2020). the nigerian government explained that the nation’s land borders were shut in the nation’s overall best interest. justifying his government’s action, president muhammad buhari was recently quoted as saying: “we have saved millions of dollars; we have realised that we don’t have to import rice. we have achieved food security-we have curtailed the importation of drugs and proliferation of small arms which threaten our country.” (african review, 15 february 2020). still, there have been questions whether the nigerian government action, which negatively impacts the economy of her west african neighbours, contradicts the country’s popular political mantra that africa is the centerpiece of nigeria’s foreign policy. there have also been suggestions that the protracted border closure signified a radical departure from nigeria’s traditional care for all african nations. analysis of the nature of nigeria’s borders nigeria’s 923,768 square kilometer land space stretches from the gulf of guinea coastline in the south, up to the lake chad region to the northeast. the west african nation shares boundaries with four different countries namely, the republic of benin in the southwest, cameroon in the southeast, chad in north-east, and niger in the north).the nigeria-benin borders are straddled by four of nigeria’s 36 states, namely lagos, ogun, oyo and kwara states. the nigeria-cameroon borders in the eastern flank stretches all the way from the south to the north of nigeria, touching six states: akwaibom, cross river, benue, taraba, adamawa and borno states. nigeria’s third border area, the boundary with chad, touches several borno state towns, including monguno, ngala, bama and gwoza, and stretchesup to the lake chad region.the fourth borderland,which separates nigeria and niger republic, runs along nigeria’s entire northern brink, touching seven different nigerian states:kebbi, sokoto, zamfara, katsina, jigawa, yobe and borno states (worldatlas.com)like the borders dividing many other african countries, the nigeria boundaries with benin republic, cameroon, chad and niger have been referred to as artificial because they were arbitrarily drawn by the colonial powers in africa. scholars have found that nigeria and other sub-saharan africa countries have, perhaps, the most artificial and arbitral borders than any other part of the world. up to 44 percent of the african national boundaries were simply drawn as straight lines by the colonial occupiers, thus often separating people of the same tradition and culture into different countries (green, 2012).it has been established that many nigerians across the nigeria-benin republic, nigeria-cameroon and nigeria-niger borderlands have relations and traditional ties with people across the borders, despite the rules of inter-state relations and boundary crossing (babatola, 2015). nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria this point was graphically illustrated during the 2014 national conference when alhajimuhammadu mustapha, the foremost traditional ruler (lamido) of adamawacautioned that he and his people in adamawa statecould easily cross over to cameroon to join their kith and kin shouldnigeriadisintegrate. his words: “i am the lamido adamawa and my kingdom extends to cameroon. the larger part of my kingdom is in cameroon. part of that kingdom is today called adamawa state in cameroon. you see, if i run to that place, i will easily assimilate (umoru, erunke&nwabughiogu, 2014). though exposed to different political and cultural experiences through the years, the different peoples separated by the artificial boundaries still maintain vibrant socio-economic relations. the demarcating line between nigeria and benin republic (formerly dahomey) drawn by britain and france, effectively altered the socio-economic and cultural future of the yoruba and other peoples on both sides of the artificial divide. but the affinity among the population at the borderlands continued to promote lots of trans-border movement, trading and overall socioeconomic activities across the artificial boundaries between benin republic’s 12 million people and their more populous and richer nigerian neighbours to the south. (afolayan, 2000).the thriving trade along the nigeriabenin border land has generally involved transactions in imported finished goods. benin has served as a well-known trade route for channeling finished goods, farm products and especially refined petroleum from nigeria not just to its local population, but toothier african countries, reaching as far as cote d’ivoire and into landlocked burkina faso and mali. but the direction of the trade between nigeria and her immediate neighbours has not just been one-directional, flowing from the richer nigeria to the poorer benin republic, niger and other neighbours. nigeria has also been a choice destination for rice, wheat, frozen foods, second-hand cars and clothing imported from europe and funneled through the neighbouring states, especially benin republic. the foundation for these tripartite trade relations involving europe, benin republic and nigeria was laid by the drastic fall in the value of nigeria’s currency in the late 1980s and changing political policies by successive nigerian governments. the depreciation of the naira against the cfa and ban on the importation of certain grades of used cars and poultry products bysuccessive nigerian governments turned cotonou into a huge warehouse for receiving, storing, and re-exporting to nigeria second-hand cars, rice and wheat. the used cars came from europe, while rice and wheat came mainly from thailand. the total ban on importation of rice by the administration of president muhammadubuhari further complicated the nature of the trans-border trade between nigeria and her immediate neighbours, boosting smuggling of cars, rice and frozen chicken into nigeria through the benin, niger and cameroon borders. black market transportation of refined petroleum products from nigeria through the borders to benin, and onward transfer to other west african countries also became rampant. the borders between nigeria and all her neighbor care also known to be very porous. former nigerian minister of interior abba moro said that nigeria had 84 officially recognized entry points into nigeria, but there were 1,499illegal land routes into the country many of which are either mountainous or in the jungle. in adamawa state alone, over 25 illegal routes into nigeria have been identified. due to this ineffective border control, only a limited volume of people, goods and services pass through the authorized border checkpoints. the porous nature of the nigerian borders promotes heavy smuggling of people, currency and goods, including rice, second-hand cars, used clothing and fake pharmaceuticals. there have also been reports of booming illegal trading in drugs, small arms and light weapons as well as almost unfettered movement of terrorists, e.g., boko haram, across the borders(eselebor, 2014). 349 analysis of the implications of nigeria’s border closure nigeria is a well-known destination for all manner of finished goods and services, including assorted food items which are imported from europe, asia and other parts of the world. the country in 2019 exported mainly mineral fuels which accounted for 87% of the total us$54 billion worth of goods shipped from nigeria. other principal nigerian exports are miscellaneous base metals and agricultural products such as cocoa, oil seeds, tobacco, fruits and nuts, as well as raw hides, skins and leather. on the hand, nigeria was reported to have imported us$47 billion worth of goods from across the globe in 2019. this was 30% higher than the previous year’s imports, and a 40% increase in the volume of imports since 2015. besides machinery, computers and mineral fuels including refined oil, food items including rice and wheat have featured prominently in nigeria’s top imports in recent years. a steady rise in the amount nigeria spent on food and drink imports, from about us$3 billion in 2015 to about us$4 billion by 2017, was reported (national bureau of statistics). different nigerian governments over the years adopted various economic policies and strategies to try to discourage the importation of different types of goods and services that could be provided from local sources. such import substitution policies have ranged from outright ban on importation of certain classes of goods, imposition of higher tariffs on such goods, to the offer of incentives such as subsidies and loans, to local industries and farmers. from 2013, the government of nigeria started restricting importation of rice, and imposed 70% tax on the commodity. this made it cheaper to import rice through nigeria’s neighbours. benin republic and cameroon quickly took advantage of this and in 2014, while benin lowered its tariffs on rice from 35% to a mere 7%, cameroon completely removed its previous 10% tariff. in an apparent bid to placate nigeria, however, landlocked niger announced prohibition of export of rice through its borders to nigeria, a move considered a mere feel-good diplomatic pronouncement. (orjinmo, 2019). the combination of these government interventions led to drastic fall in the importation of rice directly from thailand to nigeria. it, however, resonated in astronomical escalation of rice import to benin and cameroon. it was obvious that much of the rice arriving benin and cameroon were eventually channeled into nigeria through the southern and eastern borders. after coming into office in 2015, president muhammadubuhari, in the bid to boost local agriculture, imposed outright ban on the importation of rice, which is nigeria’s favourite food. as central bank of nigeria (cbn) stopped issuance of foreign exchange for rice and other imports, the national bureau of statistics (nbs) reports showed that the nigerian government action crashed the country’s food and drinks annual import bill from us$4 billion in 2017 to about $3.6 billion in 2018 and down to just about $1 billion in 2019. nigerian government officials have, however, presented different, conflicting food import statistics. cbn governor godwin emefielein december 2019 said nigeria’s annual food import was $1.9bn, having fallen from $7.9bn in 2015. but earlier, in september 2018, former agriculture minister auduogbe said nigeria spend $22bn importing food annually (falayi, 2019). overall, as a result of the nigerian government policy, local production of rice was reported to have risen, even as food prices also increased. but there were also worrying reports that rice smuggling, especially from benin republic, had become big business. nigerian markets continued to be flooded with imported rice that persistently passed through the well-known contraband route between cotonou, benin’s biggest city, and nigeria’s commercial capital, lagos. cotonou and lagos are only a few hours’ drive away. nigeria customs continued to regularly seize and display nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria to the media large quantities of rice, wheat and frozen chicken and turkey parts. just like rice, different secondhand or “tokunbo” goods, including cars, electronics and clothes are also smuggled into nigeria especially through the cotonou-lagos contraband route. nigeria’s ban on the importation of vehicles older than 15 years made cotonou a favourite destination for all manner of vehicles, estimated at an average of 10,000 per month, especially from europe. many of such vehicles were, in the end, illegally “flown” into nigeria through the porous benin-nigeria borderlands at seme and elsewhere. on the reverse side, petrol which is cheaper in nigeria because it is subsidized by government was also heavily smuggled from nigeria through the porous borders into benin, cameroon, niger and chad. the nigerian national petroleum corporation (nnpc) estimated in 2019 that up to 10 million litres of petrol was smuggled daily out of nigeria through the land borders, translating to loss of about two billion naira daily. following the border closure, the nigerian government ordered suspension of supply and sale of petrol to communities within 20 kilometers radius of the country’s land borders (adekoya, jeremiah &abuh, 2019). it is established, therefore, that smuggling of rice, frozen foods, petrol and secondhand vehicles are parallel business activities that have gone on, for many years, through the nigerian land borders. successive nigerian governments introduced different policies and adopted many approaches in trying to curtail the booming illegal business, balancing these against official regional trade that happen across the borders. until 2019, these policies and approaches, which achieved different levels of success, had come short of outright closure of the nation’s land borders. it is being suggested that the nigerian government may have finally been pushed into taking the drastic and unprecedented decision of shutting the country’s land border because of reports of growing smuggling of sophisticated arms and weapons into the country through the borders. many of such weapons used by boko haram and other terrorists were increasingly being seized by government security forces in northern nigeria. a study published in aljazeera detailed how boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria has been exacerbated by nigeria’s porous borders with cameroon, niger, benin, and chad. noting that over 70% of the about 80 million illegal weapons in west africa reported to be in nigeria, the report outlined how boko haram fighters and other terrorists as well as smugglers take advantage of the porous nature of nigeria’s borders to smuggle small arms and light weapons. some of such weapons are also trafficked through the normal inter-state borders stuffed inside heavy trucks and lorries laden with goods, taking advantage of the laxity and corruption of some customs officers at the borders and hiding under the ecowas protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services (onuoha: 2013). analysis of the impact of nigeria’s border closure different officials of the nigerian government, from president buhari himself, to the customs and excise and nnpc chiefs, insist that the closure of the nation’s land borders has achieved its primary goals – drop in rampant smuggling from neighbouring countries, rise in local production of rice, and sharp spike in customs earnings at the ports. nigeria customs said in late 2019 its revenue from the ports had dramatically increased to an unprecedented level of about n6 billion per day, while trafficking in illegal arms and ammunition reduced. nnpc said there has been drastic reduction in the volume of petrol consumed in the country following the border closure. (agboluade, 2019; nnodim, 2019). however, the economic shock caused by the border closure is believed to have worsened unemployment in the informal sector as the government action adversely impacted the means of 351 livelihood of many nigerians and others involved in small-scale trading in textile, footwear’s, alcohol and other goods along the borders. the border closure has also been identified as a contributory factor in the rise in food prices. following the border closure, the nation’s annual inflation rate continued to climb steadily every month. four months into the border closure, in december 2019, data from the national bureau of statistics showed that nigeria’s inflation rate rose year-on-year to 11.85%, the highest rise since 2018. the inflation figures continued to rise steadily, jumping to 12.26%by march 2020, seven months into the border closure, with experts speculating of impending economic recession in nigeria (nairametrics, december 17, 2019). the reverberations from the border closure have generated intense socio-political and economic ripples across west africa and beyond. it exposed the fragile economies of nigeria’s immediate neighbours as it effectively shut them out from nigeria’s very lucrative market powered by the over 200 million nigerian population. it was natural, therefore, that the 15-member economic community of west african states (ecowas) and the larger continental body, the african union (au) showed much determination to find solution to the closure. they engaged in several multilateral and bilateral diplomatic channels to try to convince the nigerian government to reverse its action. many african leaders perceived the border closure as a major threat to the operation of free trade across west african and the rest of africa. chairman of the ecowas commission, jean-claude kassibrou, who is ivorian, said the nigerian land border closure posed much danger to ecowas and threatens to undermine all the gains so far recorded by the community. other leaders agreed that “the unilateral closure of borders goes against all the trade and free movement treaties signed by nigeria within the framework of ecowas.” they described the nigerian action as “very worrying” and capable of affecting the very foundations of ecowas, namely the free movement of people and goods (africanews, 15 february 2020). at the continental level, the border closure was quickly identified as a major, potential obstacle to successful implementation of the landmark free trade arrangement, the african continental free trade agreement (afcfta), which aims at creating a “continental market” by boosting the combined consumer and business spending and increase intra-african trade by at least 53.2%. the afcfta, already signed by all of africa’s 55 countries except eritrea, seeks to achieve phased removal of tariffs for up to 90% of goods and allow free access to countries’ goods and services across the continent. nigeria signed the regional trade pact in july 2019, two months after it had come into force in may 2019. nigeria’s border closure in august 2019 was, therefore, described by some commentators as going against the spirit and letter of the regional trade agreement which the country signed just one month earlier (signe, l., & van de ven, c, 2019). trading under the afcfta framework was scheduled to start in july 2020, but this has apparently been impacted by the forced closure of borders by other countries in africa and elsewhere due to the global health crisis arising from the coronavirus pandemic. the already closed nigeria’s land borders may remain shut till after the global health crisis. besides its impact on regional trade and the economics of neighbouring african economies, concerns have been further raised on the potential political implications of the nigerian border closure. statements by some african leaders have implied that the border closure threatens africa’s regional peace. the unilateral nature of the nigerian government action has been questioned, since the border closure was implemented suddenly without prior consultations with neighbouring countries. by so doing, has nigeria failed in its duties as a signatory to ecowas and the afcfta? did the nigerian action negative its long-avowed principle which holds up africa as the centerpiece of its foreign policy? was the nigerian government action a nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria poor imitation of united states president donald trump’s extreme nationalistic america first policy? judged strictly from the commercial standpoint, the nigerian border closure may pass as an economic aberration as most countries don’t usually close their borders for trade-related reasons. they do so when their security is jeopardized or during periods of disease epidemic out of fear of possible cross-border spread of the disease. sudan, rwanda and kenya are examples of african countries that have walked similar paths in the past, closing their borders during the ebola disease outbreak. nearly all countries of the world shut their national borders between march and may 2020 at the height of the corona virus pandemic. it appears, therefore, that instead of adducing only economic reasons, it would have appeared weightier if the nigerian government pushed the more fundamental reason of national security as a principal underlying factor behind its sudden border closure. before the border closure, there reports that boko haram and other terrorist groups were engaged in flagrant cross-border trading in arms. such national security considerations would have subsumed economic reasons. nigeria has continued to demonstrate its continued support for ecowas. it showed support of the african regional economic cooperation by signing the afcfta on july 7, 2019. the country has continued to faithfully fulfil all its obligations to the african union (au), and other regional and sub regional organizations, which is a clear departure from usa president trump’s policies. so, by its demonstrable actions, nigeria has continued to uphold its concentric circle foreign policy philosophy which places africa at the center. however, through the unilateral border closure to protect the economic interests of nigeria, the administration of president buhari seems to have interpreted the nigerian concentric circle foreign policy principle to mean that nigeria’s national interests stand at the core of the concentric circle, even as africa remains a principal focus of the foreign policy. we hold this as the correct and better interpretation of the cencentricism in nigeria’s foreign policy (ashaver, 2014). the very harsh criticisms that have trailed the border closure from nigeria’s neighbours are poignant suggestions of how seriously and dimly they view the nigerian action. the reasons for the negative reactions are not farfetched. reports attest that benin republic’s economy in the south is heavily dependent on the informal re-export and transit trade with nigeria, which accounts for about 20% of the nation’s gdp. as high as 80% of imports into benin are destined for nigeria. similar linkage and dependence have also been established in the north between the economy of landlocked niger republic and that of nigeria. from nigeria, food, petrol and other items that pass through the land borders flow into the rest of west africa, reaching as far as cote d’ivoire, burkin faso and mali. it would, therefore, come as no surprise if the leaders of benin, niger, and other negatively impacted african nations perceive nigeria’s action as a declaration of some sort of economic war on their countries. chances, therefore, are high that with time and given opportunities, these nations may want to retaliate against nigeria. such opportunities may arise at bilateral or multilateral levels. nigeria will always need the support and cooperation of her neighbours to effectively contain the activities of boko haram and other cross-border terrorist and sundry transnational criminal operations. the situation seems even more precarious when it is considered that all the four nigeria’s immediate neighbours are relatively poorer, which sets the stage for natural rivalry and resentment. also, all of nigeria’s immediate neighbours are francophone countries which have been politically groomed to consider the anglophone nigeria as a regional political and economic contender. 353 analysis of the reflection of economic implication of human capital development as a result of border closure human capital development given the key goals of achieving economic recovery in 2021 and sustaining growth into the future in nigeria, the imperative of investment in human capital development cannot be over emphasized. poverty and unemployment are pervasive among segment of the population with no formal education. statistics showed that nigerians with no formal education are faced with the highest levels of poverty and unemployment. as individuals and households attain higher levels of education, poverty and unemployment rates tend to decline. this raises the question as to whether individuals are poor and unemployed because they have no formal education or whether they have no formal education because they are poor and unemployed. for poverty and education, the relationship tends to be bi-directional while a one-way relationship can be argued for unemployment and education. what is crucial to note, however, is the importance of human capital development in boosting the chances of being gainfully employed in the formal sector with less likelihood of falling into abject poverty. this also implies that while job creation is a necessary condition for poverty reduction, the quality of job matters as individuals with higher educational qualifications are more likely to obtain quality jobs. this is the more reason for huge investment in human development i.e. both health and education sectors. health insurance coverage in nigeria is low. this reflects the predominance of outof-pocket spending on healthcare delivery in nigeria, which currently accounts for over 70 percent of total healthcare spending. it has also been estimated that over 90 percent of nigerians are excluded from social and private health insurance cover. estimates show that only federal workers, which account for less than 1 percent of the total workforce, are sufficiently enrolled under the national health insurance scheme (nhis) introduced in 2005, with passive participation of state governments. similarly, several private establishments have also keyed into enrolling their employees on private health insurance; notwithstanding, the enrollees have been estimated to be less than 1 percent of nigeria's population (see medic west africa, 2019). inadequacy of personnel arising from brain drain syndrome. nigeria's health sector has long suffered from a huge deficit in modern health facilities and highly skilled personnel. the number of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and midwives, is insufficient to serve the growing population's health needs in nigeria. the patient-to-doctor ratio remains abruptly high at 2,500: 1, which falls short of who's recommendation of 600: 1. the reason for this is not farfetched as many health professionals and medical experts have sought asylum elsewhere, mainly to advanced countries in search of better working conditions. this challenge along with inadequate health infrastructure have resulted in a high level of outbound medical tourism. according to price water house coopers (pwc), nigeria loses about us$1 billion to outbound medical tourism on an annual basis. their estimates also showed that 60 percent of outbound medical tourism are related to vital medical specialties including oncology, orthopedics, nephrology and cardiology. existence of mismatch between educational qualification and job requirement. there is an increasing gap between the level of education and the actual industry needs. this suggests the poor state of technical and vocational education, in addition to, inadequate and, in some cases, unproductive internship schemes. the resulting gap in technological know-how stood at 59 percent, far above the global average of 38 percent (see wef, 2017). the school curriculum is faulty to the extent that graduates remain unprepared to fulfil society's practical needs. this, nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria therefore, imposes an additional burden on the employers of labour to invest in their employees through on-the-job training, among others. in nigeria, technical and vocational education is widely perceived as an avenue for academically weak students and school dropouts only. this has resulted in disinterest in acquiring technical and vocational skills among the youths, who end up as apprentices and casual workers in the informal sector. the low receptiveness and limited relevance of technical and vocational education is reflected in the high unemployment level among non-graduates, which stood at 76 percent of the total unemployed in the second quarter of 2020, according to nbs data. the statistical outcome of border closure on the price of the rice in nigeria period metric tons annually price per bag number of rice mill 1999 to 2015 3.7 million metric tons n8,000 per bag 15 2015 to 2022 7.5 million metric tons n30,000 per bag 50 if indeed, there is a boost in local production of rice as the buhari led government wants nigerians to believe, how come the price of rice has not come down but continued to soar from about n8,000 per bag which the pdp handed over to the apc in 2015, to about n30,000 per bag today? painfully, the apc, with its incompetence, counter-productive policies and incurable corruption reversed all the gains made by the pdp in the agricultural sector and triggered a decline in production which resulted in the high cost of food in our country today. apc-led administration failed to protect the farmers and particularly how it blamed over 40 rice farmers killed by terrorists in borno state instead of going after their assailants. it maintained that the rice pyramid was, "apc pyramids," stressing that it was nothing, "but huge signposts of their failures and irredeemable proclivity for lies, deception, beguilement and fake performance claims even in the face of unbearable high costs of food, 22.95 percent food inflation rate and our nation's ranking as 98th out of 107 in global hunger index. however, it is clear that with the 2023 elections in sight, the apc is desperate in pushing its stockin-trade, pyramid of lies, propaganda, deceit and bogus claims with which they stole power in 2015. what the apc has not realized is that 2023 is not 2015. nigerians have seen through apc deceits and not even these pyramids of lies can help the apc in 2023, the main opposition party stated. summary of finding, conclusion and recommendations summary of finding from the study, the following findings were made: to begin with, the findings of the study showed that the buhari’s administration failed to tackle decisively insecurity created by the herders in the northern part the country, which spilled into the south, leading to the loss of lives and property. specifically, blockage of cattle routes as a result of increase in population and urbanization were identified as the major cause of clashes between herders and farmers, leading to the deaths of many. in addition to that, it was discovered that the 355 crises were politically, economically and environmentally driven. it was also discovered that in nigeria, the borders are so porous that bad elements from other countries around come in and commit crimes ranging from killings and other social vices in the country. in light of the above, study further showed that a core aspect of nigeria’s national interest, especially the security of lives and property, were largely undermined. this is regarded as an impeachable offence in other democracies, like the united states america and united kingdom respectively. finally the study finds that the issue of buhari’s economic diplomacy toward sustainable economic development does not record successful outcome so far. however, instead of adducing only economic reasons, it would have appeared weightier if the nigerian government pushed the more fundamental reason of national security as a principal underlying factor behind its sudden border closure. before the border closure, there reports that boko haram and other terrorist groups were engaged in flagrant cross-border trading in arms. such national security considerations would have subsumed economic reasons. nigeria has continued to demonstrate its continued support for ecowas. it showed support of the african regional economic cooperation by signing the afcfta on july 7, 2019. the country has continued to faithfully fulfil all its obligations to the african union (au), and other regional and subregional organizations, which is a clear departure from usa president trump’s policies. so, by its demonstrable actions, nigeria has continued to uphold its concentric circle foreign policy philosophy which places africa at the center. conclusion buhari domestic diplomacy as earlier stated, it is observed that the subsisting domestic milieu on the foreign policy behavior of buhari administration. president buhari promised, during his campaign to tackle three major challenges facing the country, which include insecurity, corruption and dwindling economy. it is however, noteworthy that nigeria’s domestic problems are not limited to the ones stated. some others as indicated by akinterinwa include “intermittent polarization and instability, high level of unemployment and poverty, mono-cultural economy and low industrial and agricultural productivity … the problem of institutional corruption, declining quality of education and ethical standard, as well as infrastructural deficit”. nigeria will need to develop strategic economic and political policies to manage the future possible fallouts from its border closure. deliberate policies to woo the neighbouring countries through visible investments to support economic developments in these countries in west africa and africa in general is highly recommended. nigeria may consider initiating an african version of the chinese belt and road initiative, a programme aimed at boosting chinese influence in asia, europe and africa through critical infrastructural investment, enhanced trade and economic ties with key countries in these regions. for sure, the border closure marks a positive shift in nigeria’s foreign policy. it demonstrates the country’s determination to push through its national interest over and above other considerations. but the gains of the policy need to be managed very carefully to avoid future adverse backlash from the immediate neighbours. ahead of the eventual re-opening of the borders, government must also initiate and enforce sustainable policies and actions to lock its porous borders and stem flagrant corruption often reported among the customs and immigration officials at the borders which promote unhindered cross-border smuggling. failure to take these and other necessary steps may erode all the gains from the border closure. recommendations: nigeria foreign policy and sustainable economic development in nigeria 1. nigeria’s foreign policy must be premised solely on national interest with emphasis on national security and welfare, regional and global peace, as well as robust multilateral diplomacy that is tailored along strong strategic partnership with friendly states in the comity of nations. 2. for a better foreign policy thrust, the nigerian government must pursue the diversification of the economy from its mono-cultural, oil-dependent nature to a non-oil dependent economy through the improvement of other sectors, such as agriculture, solid 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a lot of changes and shifts in thoughts, ideologies, and views. nothing seems to remain constant forever. while globalization is not new, it has come across different changes and shifts even in modern times. this work explains the three waves of globalization, in brief, looks at the historical past of colonial impact on africa. then, moves on highlight how the african economy could learn from some peculiar cases of emerging countries with some shared similarities such as china, india, and brazil. furthermore, this work demonstrates that the african economy can take good advantage of the global market competition in advancing the continent forward from where it is today to provide a better experience for the african people. applied is the comparative cost advantage theory for a better understanding of how africa can increase its integration to benefit more from the global market competition. hopefully, africa can take advantage of this third wave of globalisation, which seems very promising. keywords: african economy, colonialism, globalisation, liberalism, sustainable development introduction the three waves of globalisation is just an exploratory history. it is intended to open discussion. it is not meant to be the final word on the subject, let alone a comprehensive survey of all elements of globalisation and its scholarship (robertson, 2003). in scholarly and political arenas, the impacts of globalisation on the economy and society are incredibly controversial topics (soysa, 2003). soysa, 2003 examines globalisation from both local and nationalist horizons to a broader perspective of an interlinked and interdependent globe with free movement of capital, products, and services across national borders. while, rouse (2014) sees globalisation as a process that spreads individuals, thoughts, and products around the globe, stimulating more connectivity and inclusion among civilisations, governments, and markets of the globe. different authors, scholars, and writers see globalisation from different viewpoints, but what cuts across most viewpoints are the interconnection and interdependence within nations and societies to create market opportunities and wealth, enhancing socio-cultural integration by 152 removing obstacles, integrating the global market and reducing protectionism among other views which are of benefit to the global society. other views suggest that globalisation has set in some adverse effects such as destabilising the labour markets in favour of the lower cost elsewhere, undermining national policies and cultures and that globalisation increases the movement of companies to the developing world. the international monetary fund (imf) (2000) defines four fundamental elements of globalisation: trade and operations, movements in capital and entrepreneurship, migration and people's movement, and information dissemination. this assertion by the imf gives a holistic view of globalisation; it tends to touch on different aspects of society and how various societies can integrate, interconnect and be interdependent on one another. meanwhile, the new age of global capitalism requires the re-establishment of global relationships, by an understanding of modern constructions of financial, political, and cultural authority, as well as memories of previous radical visions of society such re-establishment can be informed (dirlik, 1997). waves of globalisation this paper identifies that in contemporary times, globalisation has gone through two different waves and is currently undergoing the third wave. although, the three waves of globalisation are not clear-cut from one another. in the mid-19th century, the very first wave of globalisation started in modern history. it was dominated by the united kingdom (uk), and the focus was a sustained economic development triggered by the enhanced use of manufacturing and transportation techniques created during the industrial revolution, aided by the colonial empirebuilding phase (straw & glennie, 2012). this wave of globalisation came to an end after the great depression and the two world wars. following world war ii, the second wave of globalisation began. this wave witnessed two phases. the first was the establishment of the organisations of the imf, bretton woods, and the world bank. it was at this point that the oil shock and persistent inflation combined with stagflation was experienced in the period of the 1970s; these events discredited the keynesian macroeconomic post-war settlement. the bretton woods system came under increasing pressure due to the immense growing costs of the vietnam war and the structural reform programme 'great society' which led to the deficit of the us budget. hence, the second phase ensued a different economic model shift to deregulation, and liberalisation to increase development that eventually dominated uk and us financial policies and profoundly affected the imf and the world bank. 153 the third wave of globalisation started after the berlin wall collapsed in 1989 (johnson, 2008). innovation in the world of information technology waxed up with the introduction of the internet, microprocessors, computers and mobile telephones. this wave has opened up the global market like never before with the united states, the european union (eu) and china currently eclipsing the existing international market, while also other emerging economies such as india and brazil are catching up. impact of colonialism in africa the african states of today stemmed from the colonial regime in the early 1960s. it seems logical to assume that the attitude of the state today reflects this history (bigsten & durevall, 2004). from the colonial period to this current moment, african countries continue to be plagued by much financial and political stagnation. the continent is struggling with economic growth, mass poverty, the introduction and enforcement of democracy and much dependence on the use of coercion over its people by the governments. it is pertinent to look briefly at african history from the pre-colonial period up to this time to understand where things got twisted and to look at possible ways of redressing issues affecting the continent's full integration into the competitive world market economy like other emerging economies. africa requires to reflect profoundly on its history as it refers to the circumstances of its current existence and its future. a people's history tells them who they are, things they have been through, the real point they are, but most importantly, where they have to go. actual african history should be a strong argument against colonial history used to enslave the african people and further neo-colonise them. colonialism was the most significant factor in contemporary african states' development. it defined the limits of the states and gave it state structure constitution, administrative frameworks and organisation. also connected africa with the global economy in an inside fringe relationship. colonialism, as well as its financial requirements vehemently changed many african societies' power structures and lay the foundation for african economic development's subsequent issues. by and large, in examining the present condition of the states in africa, we should not make the mistake that many have made by assuming that there were no states before the pilgrim experience. limited knowledge of the pre-colonial time gave birth to so many assumptions which are aspects of african states' crisis. ayittey (1991) argues that although there were pre existing state formations present in africa and even when it seemed 154 that there was no state formation, there was an expansive sort of african pre-colonial political processes 'stateless' or acephalous social order. in the stateless social orders ghana's tallenssi, nigeria's igbo, liberia's kung, somalis, uganda's jie and kenya's mbeere were incorporated. then again, state social orders which join a few social orders vanquished in battle or deliberately relinquished to another. states as such, have an authority integrated (symbolised in the head leader). either in the state or the stateless social order, there were specific pre-colonial african political associations with basic essential characteristics. firstly, the states were worried about the welfare of every one of its natives. some continued to label it "communalism," rather the focus was that the welfare of each portion was paramount, as opposed to only a few within the community. secondly, the general public was sorted out for political purposes on the premise of heredity: along these lines, the genealogy associated with the family to the state was guaranteed. the condition of most extreme mainstream bolsters additionally found out such state approvals can be provided in a viable manner. thirdly, for focused energy, there was an explicit rejection, it was the raison detre for stateless political structures. in stateless social orders, a pondering effort is produced to ensure that each state was sufficiently vast to safeguard itself, yet sufficiently small to have an internal connection. the colonial states were states made and managed by the drive of arms. as a condition of success, it without a moment's delay uprooted and degraded pre-colonial states' foundations. for two reasons, it did this. first, the imperial states relied on a racial prevalence hypothesis best stated in the 'dual mandate' of lord lugard. consequently, it had to replace any 'inferior' organisations it found. secondly, even to carry out the prevailing agenda of extracting resources for the advantage of the metropolis, the colonial powers were short of staff. it embraced an 'indirect rule' scheme in order to ensure good governance by transforming local chiefs into local power brokers with absolutist forces comparable to those of the imperial governors. the colonial officials developed 'warrant chiefs' even when those stateless societies existed. africa economically was not separated from the remaining of the globe before colonialism. indeed, since the pharaohs of ancient egypt, african societies had participated in international trade, and west africa had established comprehensive global trading practices specifically throughout ghana, mali, and songhai (diop, 1987). these enormous empires depended 155 strongly on taxing foreign trade. these nations' wealth depended heavily on the gold trade, also on the issuing of customs, taxes, booty from overseas ventures, and administrative office charges. africa had engaged in trade before and after the slave trade era, which falls back to about 400 years ago and also in local manufacturing that supplied a wide variety of consumer goods to africa. other forms of industrialisation and technological advancement were invoked in africa before colonial policies compelled the demise of the indigenous african economy and generated confidence in europe's imported products. assuming the invading powers had supported and developed indigenous companies, africa would probably have found itself greatly enhanced economically and technologically. rather, the devastation of african exchange and cooperation were implications of colonialism. the mainland had expanded before africa's partitioning with exchange taking place in north-south as well as east-west. the ruling invading powers' strategies redirected all african exchanges to the display of new international fare, there is little in the way of african exchange today, in this way and thus the pattern of financial reliance remains. in as much as few scholars and writers believe that colonialism has assisted in integrating africa into the global system believing that africa is better off with colonialism rather than its pre-existing system, most african scholars and writers blame the colonists for disconnecting the african states from its past and its people through a weak foundation built by them. africa's problems run from the above historical appraisal of the pre-colonial to the post-colonial. firstly, the african states got disconnected from their past alongside altered their progress in terms of domestic trade and technological advancement compared to europe. secondly, the link between african societies and their people has meddled. peculiarities of china, india and brazil to african economy about thirty to forty years ago, just like other african states, china, india and brazil were nowhere to be found in active participation in global international trade. these emerging countries were faced with severe economic problems but decided to tackle their economic backwardness. thus, these countries looked inwards and developed strategies that would put them on the right track towards significant and sustainable growth and development. china and the others are now beginning to enjoy the benefits of market competition in the global market economy. globalisation is seen as a drive to nature's commercial equivalent, while it encourages nations to specialise and exchange, rendering them prosperous and the globe 156 smaller (clinton as cited in the economist, november 19, 2016). china is currently the world's hub for commerce and manufacturing. it supplies most countries of the world with goods and services at less expensive rates, making them the second-largest economy in the world after the united states. india is waxing stronger in its involvement in information and communications technology (ict). swaminathan (2007) explains that india's telecoms sector is the largest world telecommunications market. india is one of asia-pacific's fastest-growing ict security markets. with its information technology activities and other areas like agriculture and medicine, the country is getting itself relevant in the international community. while, brazil fully engages itself in producing commodities such as iron ore, sugar, soybeans, petroleum, poultry, motor cars, and aviation crafts chiefly for exports and therefore making itself significant in the global market and politics. a peculiar phenomenon that cuts across these countries is their human capital resources. china is over 1.3 billion, india is over 1.2 billion and brazil has over 200 million people. population in a way has given them some advantages to participate favourably in the global market competition as they are utilising their human and natural resources at an improved optimum rate to boost their economies. however, as observations have it, even though the abovementioned gross domestic product (gdp) of these countries are high compared to their human development index (hdi) which is lower than that of the advanced world such as the us, eu, and japan, the fact is that these nations are taking drastic measures and making progress in reducing the level of poverty in their respective countries. it is pertinent to note that these three emerging countries share some historical and social roots with the african communities. the african states need to emulate some of the models used by these emerging countries like looking inwards, developing indigenous technology, and specialising and diversifying its economy. revisit some models used in the pre-colonial african context and the ideas of some great african scholars and thinkers like julius nyerere, kwame nkrumah, nnamdi azikiwe, and others for the sustainable growth and development of africa by promoting africa’s unity, cooperation, integration, and democracy. importantly, the formulation of new and improved models indigenous to african society. although this would need a strong political will by the leaders if it is to be achieved. 157 bearing in mind that the advent of the third wave of globalisation gives african states yet another opportunity to tap into the gains of the global market competition and benefits. the increased market competition is one of the significant characteristics of the current globalisation wave, unlike the previous waves that the uk, and the us, have had strong hegemony, respectively. the third wave gives more significant opportunities for many countries to participate. china is today the leading country among the emerging countries actively participating in the international market. addressing the flow of africa's issues by taking clues from the three leading emerging powers, specifically china, india, and brazil would have tremendous ramifications for africa's yearning for sustainable growth and development (alden, 2007). cooperation and diversification in africa it is time for the continent to look back at its history for a better understanding of its evolution and adopt proper developmental models and strategies with sincerity of purpose and political will by the leaders to put africa on the path of development like china, india and brazil have done. emerging countries are now looking inwards while increasing engagement with their regional bodies, creating homemade models to promote sustainable growth and development, strengthening their institutions, and investing heavily in technology, education, and research. also, diversify and specialise in some areas to give them an advantage over other countries of the world. since most african countries have geographical contingencies and cultural affinity, it would be much easier to integrate fully, cooperate and develop indigenous models to help advance the continent. although there are different views of how the african states can fully integrate into the global market economy and become active participants in trade deals with other countries or regional bodies rather than being marginalised in the global market economy. one central point that cut across thoughts is the open border policy among african states and also increased partnership among african states. open border policy will foster more significant trade and free movement of people (ideas) and commodities among african states. a collection of cross-country research infers a beneficial connection between trade among countries and development, although some studies have raised some doubts (easterly, 1993; rodriguez & rodrik, 1999). countries benefit when they remove barriers mutually. 158 the african states under the aegis of the african union and other regional groupings have in the past formulated developmental plans, but are unable to implement and execute the majority of their economic plans to achieve significant positive results. it was either the plans were not good enough, or the leaders lacked the political will to implement or execute such plans. an example of such a plan is the 'open border policy' which is supposed to facilitate trade and investment among member countries. interestingly, in what is seen to be a welcomed development, most african nations signed the african continental free trade agreement (afcta) aimed at establishing a tariff-free africa which would develop local companies, improve intra-african commerce, increase industrialisation as well as generate more employment, however, the full implementations remain a major challenge. the african economy needs to diversify its production. the continent produces virtually similar commodities that are homogeneous commodities which are mostly agricultural commodities and mines for exports. if the 55 countries under the aegis of the african union which happens to be the most significant international economic grouping in the continent can diversify and specialise in different commodities, increasing trade among themselves while engaging in the global market as a strong bloc through cooperation. conclusion the african states need to be more active and take full advantage of the current market competition to take a spot in the global market no more the downtrodden. for the african states to advance further, they need to think of their past and appreciate it for its advancement of the present and future for sustainable growth and development. it is necessary to examine the distinguishing characteristics of countries in africa as well as introduce new and elaborate models that suit the african society as a whole for increased integration in the path of cooperation, interconnections and interdependence among themselves first before they target outside the continent. also, the apron strings of most african states are still tied to their former colonists, this ought to be severed. the cost of border control among member states could be channelled to other areas like a joint africa internal security mission to combat insurgents across africa, high investment in education, research, science, and technology are of high importance for the continent as it is currently lagging far behind in these areas. it needs to do more to achieve more, and this comes with sacrifice. 159 references alden, c. 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(2007). ict and growth in india. retrieved november 30, 2016, from www.connect-world.com/index.php/magazines/india/item/707-ict-and-growthin-india. soysa, i. (2003). foreign direct investment, democracy and development: assessing contours, correlates and concomitants of globalization. london: routledge the economist, (2016). the past and future of global economy: the third wave of globalization maybe the hardest. retrieved december 2, 2016, from www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21710240-first-free-movementgoods-then-ideas-momentum-may-stop-free-exchange imf, (2000). globalization: threat or opportunity. april 12, 2000: imf publications. bio-note amune azemata paul is a freelance blogger and researcher. he obtained a postgraduate degree from the university of nigeria, nsukka/department of political science. he has embarked upon both bachelor's and master's levels. “accountability and sustainable democracy in nigeria, 1999-2010” and “oil exploitation and politics of niger delta militants amnesty programme in nigeria, 2009-2013”. recently, he obtained a postgraduate degree in international cooperation on human rights and intercultural heritage at the university of bologna, italy. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/globalization http://www.ippr.org/ http://www.connect-world.com/index.php/magazines/india/item/707-ict-and-growth-in-india http://www.connect-world.com/index.php/magazines/india/item/707-ict-and-growth-in-india http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21710240-first-free-movement-goods-then-ideas-momentum-may-stop-free-exchange http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21710240-first-free-movement-goods-then-ideas-momentum-may-stop-free-exchange page 6 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 73 perceived factors influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents irene a. ofili department of biology and forensic sciences faculty of sciences admiralty university of nigeria irene.okonmah@gmail.com abstract the study investigated perceived factors influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. a total of 128 participants comprising 57 males and 71 females were selected from students’ population of ozalla high school ozalla in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. the participants were selected from senior secondary school students in class two (ss 2) making use of available sampling technique. they are within the ages of 15 – 22 years, with a mean age of 18.1 and a standard deviation of 1.7. a 33 – item of self-referencing statements developed by schutte et al. (1998) was used to measure emotional intelligence. a cross sectional design was adopted while chi square as a statistic was applied to analyze the data. results showed that a significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents was observed, x2 (df,1) = 48 at p<.001; also a significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents was observed x2 (df,1) = 7.26 at p<.01; and a significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents was observed, x2 (df,1) = 48 at p<.001. the findings were discussed in relation to literatures reviewed and suggestions made. keywords: adolescence, emotions, intelligent quotient, nonverbal cues and wellbeing introduction emotional intelligence began to appear as early as in the 1920s, but only in 1990s, researchers started to explore the idea or theory of emotional intelligence. emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions. gardner and qualter, (2010) frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences introduced the idea that traditional types of intelligence, such as iq, fail to fully explain cognitive ability. he introduced the idea of multiple intelligences which included both interpersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people) and intrapersonal intelligence (the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. mailto:irene.okonmah@gmail.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/howard_gardner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iq http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/multiple_intelligences 74 the first use of the term "emotional intelligence" is usually attributed to wayne payne's doctoral thesis, a study of emotion: developing emotional intelligence from 1985. the first published use of 'eq' (emotional quotient) seems to be by keith beasley in 1987 in an article in the british mensa magazine (beasley, 1987). however, prior to this, the term "emotional intelligence" had appeared (beldoch 1964; leuner, 1966). the distinction between trait emotional intelligence and ability emotional intelligence was introduced in 2000 (petrides & furnham, 2000). emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior (colman, 2008). emotional intelligence also reflects abilities to join intelligence, empathy and emotions to enhance thought and understanding of interpersonal dynamics (mayer, 2008). however, substantial disagreement exists regarding the definition of ei, with respect to both terminology and operationalizations. currently, there are three main models of ei: (i) ability model (ii) mixed model (usually subsumed under trait ei) (kluemper, 2008; martins, ramalho, & morin, 2010) and (iii) trait model different models of ei have led to the development of various instruments for the assessment of the construct. while some of these measures may overlap, most researchers agree that they tap different constructs. specific ability models address the ways in which emotions facilitate thought and understanding. for example, emotions may interact with thinking and allow people to be better decision makers (lyubomirsky et al. 2005; mayer, 2008). a person who is more responsive emotionally to crucial issues will attend to the more crucial aspects of his or her life (mayer, 2008). aspects of emotional facilitation factor are to also know how to include or exclude emotions from thought depending on context and situation (mayer, 2008). this is also related to emotional reasoning and understanding in response to the people, environment and circumstances one encounters in his or her day-to-day life (mayer, 2008). however, the term became widely known with the publication of goleman's, (1995) emotional intelligence why it can matter more than iq. it is to this book's best-selling status that the term can attribute its popularity. goleman, (1998), has followed up with several further http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/doctoral_thesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/psychometrics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emotional_reasoning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/daniel_goleman 75 popular publications of a similar theme that reinforce use of the term (goleman, 1998; & goleman, 2005). to date, tests measuring emotional intelligence have not replaced iq tests as a standard metric of intelligence. emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior. however, substantial disagreement exists regarding the definition of emotional intelligence, with respect to both terminology and operationalization. according to harrod, scott and sheer (2005) emotional intelligence is a collection of success-oriented traits of a person, whereas goleman, (1999) briefly described emotional intelligence as how each individual would differ in their way to become a smart person. he further argued that emotional intelligence is different from iq; emotional intelligence is about how well ones manage his or her relationship with others, how well ones can work in teams and his or her ability to lead. salovey and mayer (1990) stated that an emotionally intelligent person is skilled in four areas: identifying, using, understanding, and regulating emotions. observation shows that emotional intelligence consists of five components: knowing one’s emotions (self-awareness), managing them, motivating self, recognizing emotions in others (empathy), and handling relationships. emotional intelligence is an indispensable component in augmenting individual’s capability and abilities in communication and interpersonal relationships. psychologist has found out that iq only adding about 20% of life accomplishment while the remaining 80% comes from other aspects including emotional intelligence (goleman, 1995). dulewicz and higgs, (2000) recognized the significance of overseeing feeling as instruments to focus life success. execution and life achievement is identified with the part of understudies in higher learning organizations. they must be prepared for entering the occupation. emotional intelligence concerns people’s self-perceptions of their own emotional abilities and skills, personality characteristics and behavioral dispositions that influence their ability to cope successfully with environmental demands and pressure. the concept of emotional intelligence has emerged as an important but still relatively understudied element of competence. emotional intelligence (ei) refers to abilities concerning recognition and regulation of emotions in self and others, and to use this information to guide 76 one’s thinking and actions (mayer, salovey & caruso, 2008). thus, emotional intelligence is involved in the capacity to perceive emotions, assimilate emotion-related feelings, understand the information of those emotions, and manage them. researchers investigated dimensions of emotional intelligence by measuring related concepts, such as social skills, interpersonal competence, psychological maturity and emotional awareness, long before the term ‘emotional intelligence’ came into use. teachers in schools have been teaching the rudiments of emotional intelligence since 1978, with the development of the self science curriculum and the teaching of classes such as "social development," "social and emotional learning," and "personal intelligence," all aimed at raising the level of social and emotional competence" (goleman, 1995). social scientists are just beginning to uncover the relationship of emotional intelligence to other phenomenon, for example, leadership group performance, individual performance, interpersonal/social exchange, managing change, and conducting performance evaluations (goleman, 1995). the emergence of emotional intelligence concept can be based on the study governed by spearman and thorndike in 1920s by claiming that social skill is important element intelligence and describing social intelligence (wong & law 2002). the concept of emotional intelligence was described as the ability of a person to cope with one’s emotions, for the first time in 1990, by two physiologist named salovey and john mayer (wong & law, 2002). then, the book titled “emotional intelligence” and published in 1995 by goleman attracted considerable attention. although human behaviour and performance focus on rational behaviour, our thoughts, actions and conclusions are the emotional side of our nature (wong et al. 2001). salovey & mayer (1990) defined emotional intelligence as “the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions”. the definition of salovey & mayer (1997) focuses on four abilities: perception, use, understanding and management of emotions. perception of emotions is the ability of discovering and perceiving emotions in faces, pictures and cultural works. use of emotions is the ability to use emotions for facilitating cognitive activities such as thinking and problem solving. understanding emotions is the ability to comprehend the language of emotions and to understand the complex relationships between emotions. management of emotions means the ability of managing owns emotions and others’ emotions (salovey & grewal, 2005). 77 emotional intelligence embraces and draws from numerous other branches of behavioural, emotional and communications theories, such as nlp (neuro-linguistic programming), transactional analysis, and empathy. by developing our emotional intelligence in these areas and the five emotional intelligence domains we can become more productive and successful at what we do, and help others to be more productive and successful too. the process and outcomes of emotional intelligence development also contain many elements known to reduce stress for individuals and organizations, by decreasing conflict, improving relationships and understanding, and increasing stability, continuity and harmony. emotional intelligence refers to an ability to recognize the meanings of emotion and their relationships and to reason and problem-solve on the basis of them. statement of the problem emotional intelligence of students plays an important role in determining the educational institution success. these days, students are more sensitive and very reactive towards the action of their teachers. emotional intelligence of students not only affects their academic but also affect their peer group. intelligence is a capability and also an indicator of creativity being influence and enhanced by numerous factors, some of which are biological, cultural, nurturance, or even psychological depending on other components or attributes one may possess. a focus on one or these factors becomes very pertinent to justify their contributions towards the degree of emotional intelligence. hence, the study intends to find answers to the problem stated below: will there be a significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents? will there be a significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents? will there be a significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents? 78 purpose of the study the aim of the study are stated below: to determine whether there be a significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents to verify whether there will be a significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. to examine whether there will be a significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents theoretical review petrides (2009) in his trait theory of emotional intelligence proposed a conceptual distinction between the ability based model and trait based model of emotional intelligence. trait emotional intelligence is a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions located at the lower levels of personality. in a lay man’s term, emotional intelligence is referred to as the individuals self-perception of their emotional abilities. this definition emotional intelligence is encompasses the behavioural dispositions and self-perceived abilities and is measured by selfreport, as opposed to the ability based model which refers to actual abilities, which have proven highly resistant to scientific measurement. emotional intelligence theory this theory is a relatively recent behavioural model, rising to prominence with daniel goleman's 1995 book called 'emotional intelligence'. the early emotional intelligence theory was originally developed during the 1970s and 80s by the work and writings of psychologists howard gardner (harvard), peter salovey (yale) and john 'jack' mayer (new hampshire). emotional intelligence is increasingly relevant to organizational development and developing people, because the emotional intelligence principles provide a new way to understand and assess people's behaviours, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential. emotional intelligence is an important consideration in human resources planning, job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, management development, customer relations and customer service, and more. emotional intelligence links strongly with concepts of love and spirituality: bringing compassion and humanity to work, and also to 'multiple 79 intelligence' theory which illustrates and measures the range of capabilities people possess, and the fact that everybody has a value. the emotional intelligence concept argues that intelligence quotient, or conventional intelligence, is too narrow; that there are wider areas of emotional intelligence that dictate and enable how successful we are. success requires more than iq (intelligence quotient), which has tended to be the traditional measure of intelligence, ignoring essential behavioural and character elements. we've all met people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially and inter-personally inept. and we know that despite possessing a high intelligence quotient rating, success does not automatically follow. different approaches and theoretical models have been developed for emotional intelligence. this summary focuses chiefly on the goleman interpretation. the work of mayer, salovey and david caruso (yale) is also very significant in the field of emotional intelligence, and will in due course be summarized here too. factors affecting emotional intelligence goleman (1995) identified five factors that affect emotional intelligence. they are selfawareness, motivation, empathy, and social skills. he has also mentioned the influenced of communication on all these factors. similarly, bar-on (2000) has also identified six factors, such as intrapersonal ability, interpersonal ability, stress management, adaptability, general mood and communication excellence.  self-awareness – the ability to know one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drives, values and goals and recognize their impact on others while using gut feelings to guide decisions.  self-regulation – involves controlling or redirecting one's disruptive emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.  social skill – managing relationships to move people in the desired direction  empathy considering other people's feelings especially when making decision  motivation being driven to achieve for the sake of achievement. the term emotional intelligence (ei) has received much attention over the past several decades. the topic has generated a lot of research and has become a topic in popular culture. while the bulk of this interest is relatively new, the history of emotional intelligence extends much further back to the early twentieth century. some early adopters of the term emotional http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/self-awareness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gut_feeling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/emotional_self-regulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/social_skill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/empathy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/motivation 80 intelligence includes leuner (1966), payne (1986) and exploration into this topic continued with the work of salovey and mayer (1990). the theory put forward by salovey and mayer defines emotional intelligence as a composition of four related abilities that include emotion management, understanding, perception and facilitation (mayer & salovey, 1997). while salovey and mayer were among the first to conceptualize emotional intelligence, it was daniel goleman’s (1995) popular book, emotional intelligence that catapulted the term into mainstream popular culture. at the crux of goleman’s theory is the application of emotional intelligence in real world scenarios. he claims that high ei is advantageous in all aspects of life including organizational behaviour, relationships and the work place. for these reasons, the concept gained recognition in the press and generated a lot of interest amongst the public, particularly in business environments. however, there is little empirical evidence to support goleman’s claims and many have questioned the usefulness of emotional intelligence and wondered how it was distinct from other previously established constructs (ciarrochi, dean & anderson, 2002). with the introduction of the theory in 1990 and the popularization of goleman’s book, several new theories have surfaced adding significant support for the construct validity of ei (bar-on, 1997; mayer & salovey, (1997); schutte et al., 1998; petrides & furnham, 2000). these new theories suggest there is no agreed upon definition of emotional intelligence, but they have however shown that the research has generated much discussion and literature on the topic. empirical review katyal and awasthi, (2005) found the differences in gender do not influence the level of emotional intelligence. the location of a person lives, grows up and the environment of their living place can be a factor that affects the emotional intelligence of an individual. this is evidenced by nasir and iqbal (2005) whereby they found that locality influences the level of emotional intelligence. nevertheless, nicholas harrod, scott and scheer, (2005) found that region of origin and hometown location does not affect the emotional intelligence of an individual. cook, bay, visser, myburgh and njoroge, (2011) who conducted a study in three universities found that, only one university showed to have higher emotional intelligence than the others (najib marzuki, che mustaffa, zarina saad, suhainimuda, suhanim abdullah & wan che din, 2012). 81 mayer and salovey (1993) engaged in research that indicated emotional intelligence involved a set of hierarchical abilities. at the top of the hierarchy is the ability to accurately perceive, assess and express emotions. this is followed by ability to generate feelings when it is necessary to understand the self or others. the next level is the ability to understand emotions, which is followed by the ability to regulate emotions. more recent research into the ability construct of emotional intelligence suggests there are as many as skills or abilities associated with emotional intelligence (freshman & rubino, 2004). goleman’s, (1998) model is very similar to that of mayer and salovey, (1997), but focuses on competency rather than ability. some of the more recent models postulate five domains that can be measured to determine the respective abilities of an individual. these domains are: interpersonal skills; intrapersonal skills; stress management; adaptability; and general mood (hayashi, 2006). although the concept of emotional intelligence is different from cognitive or general intelligence, there is some evidence that emotional intelligence affects the way cognitive intelligence is used (reiff, hatzes, bramel & gibbon 2001). goleman, (1995) cites a longitudinal study in which the level of impulse control or selfregulatory behavior among 4 year old children correlated to their later academic performance based on standard measures such as grade point average (gpa). reiff et al, (2001) investigated the relationship between learning disabilities and emotional intelligence among college students, with the findings indicating that students with learning disabilities have lower scores in the areas of stress management and adaptability. in addition, the findings of the study indicated that there were gender differences in the relationship between emotional intelligence and learning disabilities. the study involved a sampling of 54 college students with previous identified learning disabilities and a control group of 78 students with a previously identified learning disability. emotional intelligence was evaluated using the eq-i developed by bar-on (2000), with the findings from the study and control groups analyzed by means of manova statistics. the authors contended that lower levels of emotional intelligence among students with learning disabilities suggested that they should receive additional instruction in the areas of stress management and adaptability. safavi et al. (2008) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and socio-emotional adjustment in pre-university girl students in tehran. the results of the study showed that there was a significant correlation between emotional intelligence and socioemotional adjustment. emotional intelligence has been found to be a predictor of life 82 satisfaction, healthy psychological adaptation, positive interactions with peers and family, and higher parental warmth. lower emotional intelligence has also been found to be associated with violent behaviour, illegal use of drugs and alcohol, and participation in delinquent behaviour. while it might be correct that there have been a lot of theorizing in the usefulness of emotional intelligence in helping the adolescent in adjustment to academic, social and school life, there is a paucity of empirical data in this regard. the purpose of the present study is to determine the extent of relationship between emotional intelligence and adjustment of school adolescents, so that efforts can be made to develop a strategic plan for recommending to the school to improve the emotional intelligence of children and hence, helping the adolescents to make this period a more adjusting and enjoyable time leading to success in adolescents life. emotional intelligence and adjustment of adolescent were found to be significantly correlated (r = 0.443*) at 5 per cent level of significance. the sub-aspects of emotional intelligence and adjustment also had a significant correlation with each other, except self-development aspect of emotional intelligence which had non-significant correlation with overall adjustment and its sub-aspects. results are in contention with engelberg and sjoberg (2004), and safavi et al. (2008), who preached that emotional intelligence was related quite strongly to social adjustment. the probable reason for the present findings might be due to the fact that emotional intelligence primarily deals with managing and expressing one’s emotions as well as social skills. since females tend to be more emotional and intimate in relationships as compared to males, so their emotional intelligence ought to be higher than that of males. this is perhaps because of the society, which socializes the two genders differently as has been found in study (duckelt & raffalli, 1989). farooq (2003) examined the effect of emotional intelligence on academic performance of 246 adolescent students and found that students with high emotional intelligence show better academic performance than the students with low emotional intelligence. according to petrides, pita and kokkinaki (2007) and his colleagues, the construct can alternatively be labeled as trait emotional self-efficacy; it is located at the lower levels lf personality hierarchies and it is measured via self-reports. research evidence has shown that emotional intelligence is related, directly or indirectly, to better adjustment or success in academic, personal, social or occupational settings (petrides, et al, 2007). high emotional intelligence is associated with 83 lower levels of anxiety and depression (bar-on, 1988), occupational stress (bar-on, 1997) and burnout with higher levels of job satisfaction (carmeli, 2003). hypotheses the hypotheses stated below were tested: i. there will be no significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. ii. there will be no significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. iii. there will be no significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. method participants a total of 128 participants comprising 57 males and 71 females were selected from students’ population of ozalla high school ozalla in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. the participants were selected from senior secondary school students in class two (ss 2) making use of available sampling technique. they are within the ages of 15 – 22 years, with a mean age of 18.1 and a standard deviation of 1.7. instrument the researcher employed an emotional intelligence questionnaire developed by schutte et al. (1998). it is a 33 – item of self-referencing statements scale and requires participants to rate the extent they agree or disagree with each statement. it is structured in a 5point likert format ranging from strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), neither disagree nor agree (3), agree (4), strongly agree (5), reflecting to the degree with which the items best applies or describes the participant. however, the researcher using the items adapted from emotional intelligence questionnaire (schutte et al., 1998) carried a pilot study using 30 participants drawn from community secondary school umueze in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. based on the pilot study the response options were adapted 84 yes / no, hence, a split half reliability coefficient of 0.31 was obtained using pearson product moment correlation coefficient and a corrected value of 0.47 using spearman brown. procedure a total of 140 copies of the questionnaire were distributed within a period of three weeks across the target population of ozalla high school ozalla in nkanu west local government area of enugu state. the administration of the research instrument was carried out using group testing in their various classes with the help of their class tutors. 136 copies were returned, 2 copies were unaccounted for, and 8 copies are wrongly filled and were discarded. thus, 128 copies properly completed was used for data analysis design/statistics cross sectional design was adopted based on the distribution of the questionnaire across the target population without manipulation of the research variable; while chi square as a statistic was applied to test the difference between observed and expected frequencies in relation to frequency of responses across items. results table i: summary table of chi-square on the difference between observed and expected frequencies on recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. item 22: i easily recognize my emotions as i experience them n df response x2 p yes no 128 1 100 28 48 <.001 from table i above, chi-calculated value of 48 is found to be greater than chi-critical value of 10.83 at p<.01 indicating a significant outcome. hence, hypothesis i which stated that “there will be no significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” is hereby rejected. this means that a 85 significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents is obtained in relation to observed and expected frequencies. table ii: summary table chi-square on the difference between observed and expected frequencies on facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. item 18: by looking at their facial expression, i recognize the emotions people are experiencing i am restless and can’t keep still n df response x2 p yes no 128 1 78 50 7.26 <.01 from table ii above, chi-calculated value of 7.26 is found to be greater than chi-critical value of 6.64 at p<.01 indicating a significant outcome. hence, hypothesis ii which stated that “there will be no significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” is hereby rejected. this means that a significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents is obtained in relation to observed and expected frequencies. table iii: summary table of chi-square on the difference between observed and expected frequencies on positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. item 17: when i am in positive mood, solving my problems is easy for me n df response x2 p yes no 128 1 100 28 48 <.001 from table iii above chi-calculated value of 48.00 is greater than chi-critical value of 10.83 at p<.001, indicating a significant outcome. hence, hypothesis i which stated that “there will be no significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” is hereby rejected. this means that a significant influence of 86 positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents is obtained in relation to observed and expected frequencies. table iv: summary table of chi-square on the difference between observed and expected frequencies on other perceived factors influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. s/n items x2 p 1 i know when to speak about my personal problems from others 53.48 <.001 2 when i am faced with obstacles, i remember times i faced similar obstacles and overcame them 29.04 <.001 3 i expect that i will do well on most things i try 25.04 <.001 4 other people find it easy to confide in me 48.00 <.001 5 i find it hard to understand the non-verbal messages of other people 53.48 <.001 6 some of the major events of my life have led me to re-evaluate what is important and not important 29.04 <.001 7 when my mood changes i see new possibilities 25.04 <.001 8 emotions are some of the things that made my life worth living 29.04 >.05 9 i am aware of my emotions as i experience them 3.70 >.05 10 i expect good things to happen 1.34 >.05 11 i like to share my emotions with others 9.48 <.01 12 when i experience a positive emotion, i know how to make it last 7.26 <.01 13 i arrange events others enjoy 7.26 <.01 14 i seek out activities that make me happy 5.34 <.05 15 i am aware of non-verbal messages i send to others 21.34 <.001 16 i present myself in a way that makes a good impression on others 29.04 <.001 19 i know why my emotion change 19.60 <.001 20 when am in a positive mood, i am able to come up with new ideas 19.60 <.001 21 i have control over my emotions 19.04 <.001 23 i motivate myself by imagining a good outcome to tasks i take on 14.82 <.001 24 i compliment others when they have done something well 29.04 <.001 25 i am aware of the non-verbal messages other people send 29.04 <.001 87 26 when another person tells me about an important event in his or her life, i almost feel as though i experience this event myself 1.34 >.05 27 when i feel a change in emotions, i tend to come up with new ideas 7.26 <.01 28 when i am faced with challenge, i give up because i believe i will fail 5.34 <.05 29 i know what other people are feeling just by looking at them 29.04 <.001 30 i help other people feel better when they are down 19.60 <.001 31 i use good moods to help myself keep trying in the face of obstacles 25.04 <.001 32 i can tell how people are feeling by listening to the tune of their voice 53.48 <.001 33 it is difficult for me to understand why people feel the way they do 25.04 <.001 from table iv above, a significant difference is observed in relation to other perceived factors influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. this means that the above perceived factors contributed in various dimensions in expression of emotional intelligence among adolescents. discussion the outcome of the study indicates that the hypotheses tested were disconfirmed and thus yielded significant outcomes. in relation to the first hypothesis which stated that “there will be no significant influence of recognition of emotions as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” was disconfirmed and hereby rejected. also in relation to the second hypothesis which stated that “there will be no significant influence of facial expression as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” was also disconfirmed and rejected. in addition, the third hypothesis which stated that “there will be no significant influence of positive mood as a perceived factor influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents” was also rejected. the three hypotheses are indicative of the fact that recognition of emotions, facial expression and positive mood are significant factors influencing emotional intelligence among adolescents. the outcome of the study supports previous investigations based on emotional intelligence and its role in understanding human emotions. other factors that significantly influence emotional intelligence as found in the study 88 were: personal problems faced with obstacles personal expectations, trust, understanding the non verbal messages, major events in my life, mood changes, being aware of ones emotion sharing emotions with others, engage in activities that make me happy, positive self perception, having control over my emotions, self motivation based on imagination, accepting compliments from others, understanding the others feeling, and helping other people feel good. katyal and awasthi, (2005) found that gender differences do not influence the level of emotional intelligence; while nasir and iqbal (2005) found that locality influences the level of emotional intelligence. nevertheless, nicholas harrod, scott and scheer, (2005) found that region of origin and hometown location does not affect the emotional intelligence of an individual. mayer and salovey (1993) in their research that indicated emotional intelligence involved a set of hierarchical abilities, like ability to accurately perceive, assess and express emotions. goleman, (1995) in a longitudinal study identified the level of impulse control or self-regulatory behavior among 4 year old children correlated to their later academic performance based on standard measures such as grade point average (gpa). research evidence has shown that emotional intelligence is related, directly or indirectly, to better adjustment or success in academic, personal, social or occupational settings (petrides, et al, 2007). in addition, high emotional intelligence is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression (bar-on, 1988), occupational stress (bar-on, 1997) and burnout with higher levels of job satisfaction (carmeli, 2003). the outcome of the study in relation to previous studies shows strong evidence that a lot of perceived factors are responsible in perceiving, assessing, and expression of emotions as a strong indicator of emotional intelligence. implications of the findings the findings showed that a remarkable significant difference exists across various perceived factors that influence emotional intelligence. thus, based on the hypotheses tested, recognition of emotions, facial expression and positive mood that yielded significant differences between observed and expected frequencies. hence, the implications of the findings 89 tend to occur when recognition of emotions, facial expression and positive mood are considered as strong indicators or perceived factors that influence expression of emotional intelligence. conversely, it shows that a person’s degree of emotions may be understood when his or her ability to recognize emotions, interpret facial expression and understand mood level or disposition. limitations of the study one major shortcoming of this study was that the researcher found it difficult to initially convince the students who were selected as participants towards understanding the essence of the investigation. the researcher however established rapport and generated confidentiality which enhanced the objective completion of the copies of the research instrument. suggestions for further study based on the findings of this study one may suggest that future researchers should carried out a similar study using adolescents as an attempt to cross validate the findings of the study. also future researchers should increase the sample size when carrying out a similar study apart from using participants from other secondary schools in nkanu west as an attempt to enhance the external validity towards making generations. finally, future researcher should also sample from other categories of adolescents, including adolescents in urban or rural areas, public or private schools, and other local 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(2002). the effects of leader and follower emotional intelligence on performance and attitude: an expectancy study. the leadership quarterly, 13(3), 243274. page 6 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 11 social media and academic performance of secondary school students in enugu east local government area, enugu state, nigeria. aniagolu, hyacinth n. enugu state college of education, technical, enugu. haniagolu@yahoo.com abstract social media has become the world’s fastest means of communication. it provides a variety of information to consumers such that hardly a day passes without recourse to social media by both the young and the old alike. however, the uncontrolled use of social media by young people in secondary school seems to have a devastating effect on their academics. this study therefore investigated the use of social media and its implication on the academic performance of secondary school students in enugu east local government area. the study was guided by three research questions and the corresponding research objectives. it was a cross-sectional survey. the population of the study was 13605 from which a sample size of 400 students was generated using the taro yameni formula for sample size determination. data was analysed using mean. it was found that the use of social media affects the class participation of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. it was equally found that the use of social media affects the study habits of government secondary school students. it was also found that the use of social media affects the behavioural patterns of government secondary school students. it was recommended that schools place an outright ban on the use of gadgets that distract students while in school, particularly those in secondary schools. again, the government should be stricter on the laws prohibiting the underaged from having subscriber identification modules (sim cards) and or e-mail addresses. more so, teachers should be very watchful of the students while in the class to identify students using cell phones. this would reduce the problems of distractions that emanate from the use of social media. keywords: addiction, academic performance, social media, secondary school, introduction social media are a collection of online communication channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. websites and applications dedicated to forums, micro blogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social creation, and wikis are among the different types of social media. some prominent examples of social media are facebook, twitter, google, wikipedia, linkedin, reedit, and punters (rouse,2015). ufuophu and ayobami (2012) noted that the ict is the technological driver of social media and it includes internet, satellite, cable data transmission and computer assisted equipment. social network is a social structure comprising of individuals or organizations called “nodes”, which are tied electronically (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige. social media has emerged to be one of the most vital communication means. it exist so as to ease communication among people regardless of the expanse, making it open to people to easily share information, files and pictures and videos, create blogs and send messages, and conduct real-time conversations. these systems are referred to as social, simply because they allow communication with friends, course mates, mailto:haniagolu@yahoo.com 12 teachers, project supervisors, lecturers, etc., so easily and effectively. social media which are a form of electronic communication has become the highest activity on the internet. today the internet has taken a firm place in people's lives. it is difficult to imagine a young man or woman who at least once a day did not check for updates in social networks and did not go through the news lines. the modern reality requires one to stay in touch and keep abreast of the latest news and trends. however, does this trend affect the performance of students? kolan, dzandza(2018) noted that when social media such as facebook, youtube and twitter appeared, our world was divided into online and offline. social media are online technology platforms that help to connect people together far and near. it is used to build relationship among people. with their help, we can communicate with each other, even on different continents, listen to music, read books, look at photos and much more. social media have greatly simplified our lives and tightly tied us to ourselves (jubail, 2017). during the time spent discovering individuals for acquaintances, youngsters go into different connections and get the chance to speak with a relatively boundless number of individuals and premium gatherings, with a wide range of identities, take in a considerable measure of stories, have the opportunity to trade suppositions and talk about issues important to them. therefore, users of social networks, in most cases, are a representative of the younger generation. +++international journal of advanced information technology (ijait) vol. 8, no.4/5, october 2018 28+++s according to scientists, social networks are especially dangerous for teenagers, as they form a false impression that love and friendship are easy to conquer and just as easy to destroy (east, 2016) in addition, to many young people who are acquainted with the fast stream of internet life, the truth may appear to be excessively dull, and they can have a go at, making it impossible to "restore" it by making imprudent activities. some are supporters of the use of social media. they claim that the latter provide access to knowledge and help students exchange information quickly. others think that students ’use social media primarily to communicate about everything except studies and that they only distract students from the learning process. one of the fundamental attributes of social media is that it enhances the class participation of students. the use of social media by students helps to have access to essential information as quickly as possible through e-learning and other internet learning activities like the use of projectors and personal computers. through these processes, students are often attracted to the medium, and as such, class participation is enhanced. kolan and dzandza (2018) affirmed that many universities and schools around the world restrict access to social networks within their buildings. they justify this by helping students get connected and concentrate on their studies even when they are not able to be present in class. umeh (2010) maintained that in higher institutions of learning in nigeria and elsewhere in third-world countries, lecturers teach more than three thousand students seated in an auditorium. in such a situation, there is always a breakdown in communication making students' participation very boring and ineffective. however, with the invention of information and communication technology, a more significant percentage of the problem is solved. for instance, students are taught with the aid of overhead projectors which makes it easy for active participation in class. arolasafe (2011) maintained that access to computer and internet facilities is very fundamental for the overall efficiency in teaching and learning activities, stressing that the use of computers in class and elsewhere acts as a catalyst for interest involvement and enthusiasm. again, through social media, students can access materials that will attract them to their studies. there are certain equipment that are not easy to procure. through social media, students can access the use and the relevance of the equipment. for instance, in schools where students learn agriculture, such schools may find it difficult to procure heavy-duty machines like tractors, and 13 harvesters, among others. in third-world countries, the situation of impoverishment has always been the case. social media help students from poor schools to see and appreciate the components of the machines and their practical uses. moreover, the easy communication among students makes them appreciate and encourage one another on the need to be studious. through this medium, students can make enquiries on certain courses from colleagues in another school to find out their level of coverage. this no doubt will make students to be committed more to their studies. smith (2013) affirmed that the use of social media like computers allows for more independent exploration, more personally tailored activities and significantly, less didactic instruction. this is quite unlike the presocial media era where students depended on instruction from the teachers. today, social media makes it possible for students to access solutions to their academic problems with less teacher involvement. begum (2014) maintained that the use of social media like the internet provides access to unlimited information and search engines are continuously being upgraded to provide efficient ways to help users find what they want. implicit from this posit is that learners not only find it pleasurable to read but can also prepare for other lessons before the teacher teaches it in class. the behaviour of the teachers, students and other school subjects is quite crucial in any learning encounter. it is the range of actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems or artificial entities in conjunction with their environment, including the other systems or organisms around us and the physical environment. on the other hand, academic performance suggests the learning outcome of students after a particular unit of lesson or the entire unit. it is the measurement of students’ achievement across various academic subjects. teachers and other educational officials use class performance to determine students’ academic performance. implicit to this is that students who want to excel should be dedicated and consistent with his or her studies. both social media and academics require time to be successful in them, respectively. statement of the problem the use of social media provides students with the ability to get more useful information to connect with learning groups and other educational systems that make education convenient. social network tools afford students and institutions multiple opportunities to improve learning methods. in school, using online platforms such as school websites gives students the right access to quality information about the school environment, departments, faculties, rules, and regulations. it has been observed that students go out of their way to abuse the use of social media. for instance, it is no longer news that students use social media as a platform for watching pornographic and indecent pictures both motional and static and in so many instances go to practice what they have learnt. the problems of incest, and teenage pregnancy, among others have continued to be a reoccurring decimal in our society today. it is again not news that students, through the collaboration of more advanced persons in society use social media to defraud unsuspecting individuals, especially across climes. teachers often find it challenging to understand the intellectual ability of students when homework is given because of students' high levels of plagiarism. according to news agency newspoll (2015), 99% of teenagers aged 16 to 17 years use social networks, and 78 per cent of children aged 8-9 visit sites like facebook; young people spend up to 7 hours a day in them. truth be told, a considerable number of individuals today do not feel satisfied without everyday visits to interpersonal organizations, draw data from the news sources of internet destinations, and convey through remarks from different networks. against this backdrop, the study investigated the impact of 14 social media on students’ academic performance in government secondary schools in enugu east local government area. purpose of the study the study's general purpose was to investigate social media's impact on students’ academic performance in government secondary schools in enugu east local government area. the specific purpose of the study includes 1. to investigate how the use of social media affects the class participation of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. 2. to find out how the use of social media affects the study habit of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. 3. to determine how the use of social media affects the behavioural pattern of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. research questions 1. how does the use of social media affect class participation of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area.? 2 how does the use of social media affect study habit of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area.? 3 how does the use of social media affect the behavioural patterns of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. ? review of related literature social media and behavioural patterns davies and cranston (2008) affirmed that there are some risk factors associated with social media, which include criminal activities such as identity theft and fake contracts which is prevalent today, sexual abuse or harassment and unsuitable advertising. okeefe and clakepearson (2010) equally maintained that cyber bullying, online harassment, sexting, facebook depression and privacy concerns are some of the challenges associated with social networking. indeed, students are not in any way exempted from this challenge either as victims or offenders. it is no longer news that students take pictures of colleagues while in nude. some of them without knowing the implication of their actions post such pictures in the social media. this has attracted several legal battles between and among families who have students in schools. guman(2015) noted that there are lots of inappropriate contacts involving social media .the author affirmed that students engaging in a private relationship outside the classroom circles beg for inappropriate behaviour to commence. there is the likelihood of users not being courteous and respectful of others, such that profanity, vulgarity, obscenity or language that is harassing, derogatory, or otherwise inappropriate to the school environment sometimes circulate on these platforms. users could easily display, send, retrieve or download any item that is sexually explicit or contains hate-based or discriminatory materials without the notification of a teacher, school administrator or even the peers in the event. davis and cranston (2008) affirmed that one of the risks associated with social media included criminal activities such as identity theft and fake contacts, which is prevalent today. o’keeffe and clake pearson also mentioned that cyber bullying, live harassment, sexting, facebook depression and privacy concerns are part of the challenges faced by the youths. 15 seyi (2012) stressed that, social media gained popularity as it has been used for entertainment, networking and academics. the study noted that, the social media was given a boost as a result of ideas from youths. the study criticized seriously the obsessive attitude of nigeria youths towards social media. it pointed out that the rate at which youths devote their quality time in chit chatting, calls for urgent attention. some guys now find social media soothing to propagate harmful schemes. the study however, traced the incessant incidents of murders and gangrapping of girls by guys whom they interacted with through social media. it gave an instance with the case of a girl; cynthia who was gang-raped when she went visiting a friend she met through social networking site (2go), and whose nude pictures were displayed on the net by the perpetrators. another case in question is that of a girl who paid a visit to her face book friend in lagos and based on their arrangement; she lodged and waited for his arrival. on his arrival, he asked her for sex and she refused and out of annoyance, he plugged off one of her eyes and sliced her nipple and escaped. every effort made to get him proved abortive because he had a fake identity. the study also observed that some students are always busy pinging and 2going while lectures are on. time ought to be channeled towards learning, academic research and-innovations have been wasted by the passion of meeting friends and discussing trivial issues, hence, most students’ academics suffer setbacks as a result of distraction. social media and class participation. social media involves the use of handset, computers and other electronic gadgets that have internet enablement. minocha and schneider (2010) noted that the driving factors that lead to the adoption of social media are the progressively ubiquitous access, convenience, functionality and flexibility of social technologies. these factors have made the adoption of social media very easy and have tremendously improved mankind’s life by exposing him to different ways of living and sharing information. brown (2010) stressed that an additional benefit of social technologies provided on the internet is that they are frequently free or require marginal investment thereby posing little barrier to adoption. agatha and owusu (2015) noted that a majority of students in ghana were engrossed in networking sites and that most users utilized these sites for chatting and downloading purposes only which affected their academic performance negatively .dewing (2010) observed that the cell phone numbers and wechat are very good medium to get in touch with the teachers quickly during school day if a student is going to be late for class or absent or complete outside the school in an emergency. such helps the teacher to plan for the class and be in full knowledge and control of the class. liccardi (2007) argued that there are four basic advantages of social media use in higher education. these include enhancing relationship, improving learning motivation, offering personalized course materials and developing collaborative abilities. kuppuswamty and shankar (2010) reviled that the social network websites grab students’ attention and then diverts it towards non-educational and inappropriate actions including useless chatting. implicitly, a student who is allowed to use social media without close monitoring may fall into the dangers of using that while in the class. apparently, when that happens, the students will have divided attention which ultimately leads to poor class participation and poor learning outcome. maya (2015) observed that media use contribute to lower academic performance, low self-perception and less interest in college oriented curricula. davies and crauston (2008) enumerated some of the challenges associated with social media which include students’ mind being absent from class because they want to make a reply of one social media message or the other. 16 seyi (2012) affirmed that some students are always busy pinging and 2going while lectures are on. time ought to be channelled towards learning, academic research and innovations have been wasted by the passion of meeting friends and discussing trivial issues, hence, most students’ academic suffer setbacks as a result of distraction. the reviewed study and present study were both centered on the use of social media by students. the author emphasized on the statement of the problem suggesting the need for more time to be channeled to academics to prevent setback that might be caused by the use of social media. the reviewed study was not based on any theory. it also failed to provide possible solutions for the way forward in solving issues relating to student’s academic performance and social media. brown (2010) observed that there have been various overview and opinions which recognized four major advantages of social media use in higher education. these include, enhancing relationship, improving learning motivation, offering personalized course material, and developing collaborative abilities .this means that social networking activities have the possibility of enhancing student contact and is used to improve their participation in class, particularly where introverted students are involved. ronaldo (2019) affirmed that the one common bad effect of social media is addiction – the constant checking of snapchat, instagram, facebook, twitter or other social media updates. experts believe that knowing what is going on with friends and what they are thinking or feeling can be addicting. the author equally referenced a research carried out by uclas’s brain mapping centre that being appreciated in social media through ‘’likes’’ was seen in brain scans to activate the reward centres of brain. this reward circuitry is particularly sensitive during adolescence and this may partly explain why teenagers are more into social media. for the kids and teens, knowing how many people like what they posted, how many followed or un-followed, what [people say about them also leads to compulsive checking. this addiction to social media the author maintained could disrupt other worthwhile activities like concentrating on school work, reading or engaging in schoolwork. the result of a survey from the university of glasgow shows that social media use particularly at night with strong involvement of emotions leads to poor sleep quality, lower self-esteem and higher level of anxiety. this constitutes a challenge because kids or teens with low self-esteem grow up as depressed adults. (ronaldo 2019) social media and study habits of students fagbemi (2013) posited that the degree of learning depends on the amount of time the child is actively engaged in learning. it is the time spent in studying that helps the student retain the materials learnt which will eventually boost academic performance. in many parts of the world today, students' academic performance is facing neglect and challenges since the advent of social networking sites because they dedicate more attention to social media than they do with their studies (apuke, 2016). according to olubiyi's (2012) observation, students are so engrossed in the social media that they are almost 24 hours online. the utilization of social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, and youtube is now common among students' in nigerian universities. an array of studies conducted on the impact of social media in research demonstrated that social media contributed significantly to the ease of research through materials online. media, events, and news are now known within split seconds after they are shared. if students adopt appropriate use of social media in their academics , they will go a long way in improving their performance however, on the other side, the use of social media will have negative effect on students’ academic performance if students over indulge themselves to it. 17 students can function in online group learning, with less or no anxiety of needing to raise questions before peers at school (wheeler, yeomans, and wheeler, 2008).oye, helou and rahim (2012 observed that as a result of more time being dedicated to the use of social networking sites for non-academic usage and less time to academic usage by students, it tells considerably on what becomes their academic output. in view of this, the authors affirmed that the use of social networking sites has raised dust among researchers. some see it as distraction to learning for the student as it involves multitasking, while others attest to the potentials of social networking sites for learning. there are also those who argue that young adult learners view and use social networking sites as a platform for socializing more than learning. ganiyu, and akinreti, (2011) assert that “the emergence of social media has increased interactivity among people, making them to be producers and consumers of information in a simultaneous manner”. social media such as facebook, twitter, 2go etc have brought tremendous improvement in the communication system which enhances learning, it has provided different entertainment functions which serve as a tool for social change and fast exchange of information. with the aid of the internet students can form their own page, access to news and lectures notes via email sent to him/her by a lecturer. an additional benefit of social technologies provided on the internet is that they are frequently free or relatively cheaper to compare with other source (brown (2010). there has been various overview and opinions which recognized four major advantages of social media use in higher education. these include, enhancing relationship, improving learning motivation, offering personalized course material, and developing collaborative abilities .this means that social networking activities have the possibility of enhancing student contact and is used to improve their participation in class, particularly where introverted students are involved. students can function in online group learning, with less or no anxiety of needing to raise questions before peers at school (wheeler, yeomans, and wheeler, 2008). however the obvious positive attributes of social media seems not to suggest that it has to severe challenges on the students. secondary school students are in adolescence stage. unachukwu and ebenebe noted that it is the most difficult stage to pass n life, a child at this [point in time] would want to assert authority and become independent. the connections he or she has made through social media networking constitute a major challenge. theoretical framework the following theories have been reviewed for the purpose of the study: functionalist theory, operant conditioning theory and social exchange theory. functionalist theory the theory is sometimes referred to as system theory. it is a brain child of a french sociologist emile durkheim (1858-1917). he theorized that the society is like a biological organism which has parts and these parts are interrelated. when one part is affected, it will affect the other component units. for durkheim, society works on the maintenance of order and equilibrium of the component units that make up the society. the functionalist believes that change could occur but that should not destabilize the state of equilibrium that leads to growth and development. the functionalist theory is criticized on the basis of viewing the society to be static.society is ever dynamic and change, whether revolutionary or gradual, will definitely affect the social system. relating the theory to the present study, the use of social media has gained a world-wide acceptance and across all strata of society because of its ability to be applied to solve a wide range of social and technological problems. its positive role in 18 generating and resolving academic problems is quite overwhelming. yet, when left unrestricted, in the hands of teens and adolescents, social media could become detrimental to academic endevours thereby creating a dysfunction in the education sub-system of the society. methodology research design. the researcher adopted cross sectional survey design. ezeah (2004) affirmed that cross sectional survey design is an aspect of descriptive survey. it is that type of research design where the researcher collects data at one point in time. cross sectional survey design takes a photographic situation report of an event or phenomenon. for him, such survey is appropriate when one is on opinion, belief systems, knowledge, values and demographic characteristics of people. the study under reference by the opinion is by no means no exception as it investigates the impact of social media on academic performance of government secondary school students . area of the study the area of the study is enugu east local government area. the local government was created on the 27th august 1991 following the carving out of enugu state from the old anambra state. enugu east local government is one of the three local government areas in enugu education zone. others are enugu north and isi-uzo. the choice of the area by the researcher is because it is classified as urban-rural government area and with the trend of events and its high level of urban-rural population and exposure to the world of globalization her youths are more likely to be influenced by social changes especially those in the secondary schools. population of the study according to the office of research and statistics, post primary school management board(2019), enugu east local government has a total of 10 schools and a student population of 13605. out of this numbers 6138 are males while 6534 are females sample and sampling technique the sample size for the was 400 students. this was determined using yaro yamen formula thus: n= n 1+ n (e)2 n = 13605 1+ 13605 x 0.0025 n = 13605 1 + 1360.8 n = 13605 34.015 = 3999.9 = 400 19 a multistage sampling procedure was adopted in the study. the fishbowl method of simple random sampling technique was used to select 04 schools out of the ten secondary schools in enugu east local government area. the four schools randomly selected were css ugwogo nike, chs emene, new heaven boys secondary school enugu, and gss abakpa nike, enugu. to determine the appropriate sample size for each of the selected schools, a proportionate sampling technique was adopted. instrument for data collection the instrument used for the collection of data was a questionnaire. the instrument was structured in a likert four-point scale of strongly agree (sa), agree (a)disagree (d), and strongly disagree (sd). the instrument has 20 items, with each cluster having five questionnaire items. the substantive issues in the research questions include how does the use of social media affect the class participation of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area.? how does the use of social media affect study habit of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. how does the use of social media affect take-home assignment of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area.? how does the use of social media affect the behavioural patterns of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area? method of data collection the instrument was administered and collected through the help of three research assistants; one male and two females whom the researchers trained for two weeks. the criteria for the selection of these research assistants were that they possessed a minimum qualification of nigeria certificate in education and resident in the area. method of data analysis data was analysed using mean. the decision rule is that when the calculated mean is equal to or above 2.5, the questionnaire item is accepted. it is rejected when the calculated mean is less than 2.5 also; the researcher adopted the grand mean in order to determine the cumulative opinion of the respondents in each of thes research questions. datapresentation, analysis and findings thus the research questions were analysed using 365 questionnaire. research question 1 how does the use of social media affect class participation of secondary schools in enugu east local government area? 20 table 1: social media and class participation of secondary school student field survey 2019 field survey research question 1 sought to find how the use of social media affect class participation of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items as contained in numbers 1,2,3,4 5 and presented in table 1. questionnaire items had mean of 1.7, 1.7, 2.1, 2.1 and 2.0 respectively. the calculated grand mean is 1.9. since all the questionnaire items had mean that is less than the 2.5 critical region, and the calculated 1.9 grand mean is also less than 2.5, it implies therefore that use of social media negatively affect class participation of government secondary school students. research question 2: how does the use of social media affect study habit of secondary school students in enugu east local government area s/n o questionnaire items responses sa a d sd n decision 1 students who engage in chatting with handset still pay full attention in class 18 72 12 36 186 372 149 149 365 629 1.7 rejected 2 when a student is engaged in facebook activities he/she still find it easy to participate in class activities 26 104 31 93 132 264 176 176 365 637 1.7 rejected 3 students that engage in continuous browsing while the class is on find the lesson easy 71 284 44 132 117 234 133 133 365 781 2.1 rejected 4 where students engage in chatting or other social media activities, they still ask valid questions while in class. 68 272 47 141 134 268 116 116 365 783 2.1 rejected 5 use of handset while the lesson is on increases students learning outcome. grand mean 62 248 37 111 139 278 127 127 365 797 2.0 1.9 rejected 21 table 2: social media and study habit of secondary school students s/no questionnaire items responses sa a d sd n decision 6 where students engage in social media activities like charting or face booking, they still have time to engage in their studies. 24 96 31 93 166 332 144 144 365 665 1.8 rejected 7 the time students spent in social media charts does not affect the time used in reading 31 124 20 60 179 358 135 135 365 677 1.8 rejected 8 students who are habitual in the social media activities still carve out time to engage in serious studies 42 168 16 48 183 366 124 124 365 706 1.9 rejected 9 students who engage in social media activities like whatsapping are not distracted from achieving set target in reading. 31 124 18 54 181 362 135 135 365 675 1.8 rejected 10 students find learning pleasurable when they combine studying and charting simultaneously. grand mean 28 112 41 123 172 344 124 124 365 703 1.9 1.7 rejected field survey 2022 research question 2 sought to investigatehow the use of social media affects study habit of secondary school students in enugu east local government area. data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items as contained in questionnaire items number 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and presented in table 2. each of the questionnaire items had mean of 1.8, 1.8, 1.9, 1.8, 1.9 respectively. the calculated grand mean was 1.7. since all the questionnaire items had mean less than 2.5 and the calculated grand mean is less than the 2.5 mean bar, it therefore implies that the use of social media negatively affect study habit of government secondary school students. research question 3: how does the use of social media affect the behavioural pattern of secondary schools students in enugu east local government 22 table 4: social media and behavioural pattern of secondary school students s/n o questionnaire items responses sa a d sd n decision 11 students’ engagement in social media charts does not lure them to delve into pornographic and other sex related issues. 31 124 42 129 129 258 163 163 365 671 1.8 rejected 12 students’ age and disposition makes them visit social media sites that trigger off unacceptable behaviours. 28 112 20 60 161 322 156 156 365 650 1.7 rejected 13 students that use handsets often do not use it as a tool for learning criminal acts 36 144 22 66 178 356 129 129 365 695 1.9 rejected 14 students who engage in media activities often do not use that to attract bad friends. 28 112 31 93 137 274 169 169 385 648 1.7 rejected 15 students who engage frequently in social media are often not exposed to bad manners like not responding to instructions. grand mean 29 116 36 108 118 236 182 182 365 642 1.7 1.7 rejected field survey 2022 research question 3 sought to find how the use of social media affect behavioural patterns of government secondary school students in enugu east local government area. data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items as contained in numbers 11,12,13,14 15 and presented in table 3.the questionnaire items had mean of 1.8, 1.9, 1.7, 1.7 and 1.7 respectively. the calculated grand mean is 1.7. since all the questionnaire items had mean that is less than the 2.5 critical region, and the calculated 1.7 grand mean is also less than 2.5, it implies therefore that the use of social medial negatively affects behavioural pattern of government secondary school students. findings and discussions research question 1 sought to find out how the use of social media affects participation of government secondary school students. it was found that the use of social media negativeiy affects class participation of government secondary school students. for learning to be effective in class, a student needs to have full concentration and very alert on the views as expressed in the class by the teacher. however where a student uses phone to chart with friends, or browse unnecessary information while the class is on, there is every tendency for the student to lose concentration hence poor class participation, the finding corroborators with kuppuswamty and shankar (2010) that social network websites grab students’ attention and then diverts it towards non-educational and inappropriate actions including useless chatting. research question 2 sought to find out how the use of social media affects study habit of government secondary school students. it was found that the use of social media affects study habit of government secondary school students negatively. a student who before he starts to 23 make use of smart phone may be giving more time to studied than any other activity within the school. once he or she is exposed to the use of phone or other electronic device to communicate or browse, there is the tendency of giving more time to irrelevant issues through the use of phone than the studies. the finding is in tandem with olubiyi's (2012) who observed that students are so engrossed in the social media that they are almost 24 hours online. the utilization of social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, and youtube is now common among students' in nigerian universities. research question 3 sought to find out how the use of social media affects the behavioural pattern of secondary schools students in enugu east local government area. the finding was that the use of social negatively affects behavioural pattern of government secondary school students. many students seem to have been addicted to the use of phone. it is either playing music with it or chatting with friends. most times such devices are used as a show of affluence. being young in their age and reasoning students use the platforms to engage in dangerous cyber activities which most of the time are not monitored by parents or the elderly ones. the finding is in tandem with davies and cranston (2008) who affirmed that there are some risk factors associated with social media which include criminal activities such as identity theft and fake contracts which is prevalent today, sexual abuse or harassment and unsuitable advertising. okeefe and clake-pearson (2010) equally maintained that cyber bulling, online harassment, sexting, face book depression and privacy concerns are some of the challenges associated with social networking. conclusion social media have assisted students in enhancing teaching and learning but the use of it have contributed in poor academic performance among secondary school students. instead of using the platform to enhance their learning outcome students are found abusing the use of social media. such abuse of the use of social media affects them in class participation where much concentration is highly needed. it equally affect the students learning habit as much time is given to social media activities that have nothing to contribute in their learning process. the use of social media also is challenge to students because little or no time is given to take-home assignments. students abandon their studies to engage in immoral cyber activities many of them may not know the consequences of their activities. recommendations the study recommended the following: 1. schools should place outright ban on the use of gadgets that distract students while in school particularly those in secondary schools. 2. government should be stricter on the laws prohibiting underage from having subscriber identification module (sim card) and or e-mail address. 3. teachers should be very watchful on the students while in the class to identify students who are using cell phones. this would 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(2018). impact of social media usage on students’ academic performance in saudi arabia, computers in human behavior, http://dx.doi.org/. page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 45 moderating role of perceived organizational support in the relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement 1azike i.n. 1okonkwo, e.a. *1ezeh, m.a. 2okonkwo, n.v. 1ikpenwa c.e. 1enugu state university of science and technology (esut) 2department of educational psychology, enugu state college of education technical *corresponding author: michaelarinze40@gmail.com abstract the study investigated the moderating role of perceived organizational support in relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. two hundred and fifty-nine (259) participants comprising women between the ages of 21 to 59 (m= 41.49, sd= 8.60) were drawn using criterion sampling technique from enugu state judiciary (high court and magistrate court). the study was a cross-sectional survey in which 17-item perceived organizational support scale (eisenberger, huntington & sowa, 1986), 32-item work-family conflict scale (okonkwo, 2014) and 17-item utrecht work engagement scale (schaufeli & bakker, 2003) were administered for data collection. moderated multiple hierarchical regression was used as statistical test for data analysis. the results indicated that time-based work-to-family conflict (β = -.17, p< .05) negatively and strain-based work-to-family conflict (β = .17, p< .05) positively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement, strain-based work-to-family conflict (β = .16, p< .05) positively predicted absorption dimension of work engagement. time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based family-to-work conflict (β = .27, p< .001) jointly predicted all the dimensions of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). independently, only timebased family-to-work conflict positively predicted all the dimensions of work engagement (vigor; β = .19, p< .05; dedication;β = .21, p< .05; absorption; β = .18, p< .05).perceived organizational support (β = .17, p< .01) positively predicted all the dimensions of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). perceived organizational support did not moderate the prediction of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) by work-family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict). the results of this study were discussed; the implications of the study highlighted. finally, it has been recommended that policy makers in nigerian judiciary especially enugu state judiciary should provide their workforce especially women with adequate support in order to enhance work engagement. keywords: perceived organizational support, work-family conflict, work engagement introduction women working at enugu state judiciary may experience inter-role conflict across domains as they give in to the demands of paid employment and at the same time satisfy their mailto:michaelarinze40@gmail.com 46 gender role expectations as wives and mothers. conflict experienced across domains can be as a result of little or no support from spouse, relatives, organization and deficiency in finances. the effect of this conflict across work and family domains may lead to inefficiency, absenteeism, lateness, inattention and low productivity which may lead to reduced or low work engagement (okonkwo, 2014; brown, 2010; ugwu, 2010; casale & posel, 1999; carlson, 2011). moreover, in a world where technological innovations increase the flexibility of when and where work can be executed, the ability to successfully balance work and family life has been highlighted as one of the primary social challenges of our era (guest, 2002). a lack of such balance, often results in work-family conflict which has been shown to cause adverse outcomes for both individuals and organizations (allen, herst, bruck, & sutton, 2000; amstad, meier, fasel, elfering, & semmer, 2011). the concepts of work and family are important in one’s life, though effective participation in both domains leads to satisfaction but often times, interference from work and family which is inevitable may lead to work-family conflict (okonkwo, 2013).work-family conflict has been recognized as bidirectional (rotondo & kinsaid, 2008). they are work interference with family (wif) i.e., work-to-family conflict and family interference with work (fiw) i.e., family-to-work conflict. an example of work interference with family include bringing work home at the expense of family time, while an example of family interference with work could be cancelling work arrangement due to family responsibility (adams, king & king 1996; frone 1992; noor, 2004). within work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, three subtypes of conflict have been identified and these are time-based conflict, strain-based conflict, behaviour-based conflict (frone, 1992; kelloway, gottlieb & barham, 1999). time-based conflict occurs when the amount of time spent on performing in one role prevents an employee from being able to allot time to meet the demand of another role (e.g. longer working hour, inflexible work schedule, shift work, family responsibility, caring children). strain-based conflict occurs when strain created from one role interferes with employee performance in another role (e.g. role conflict, role ambiguity, low spouse support). 47 behaviour-based conflict arises when specific behaviours required and expected in one role are incompatible with those required for another role (shaffer, joplin & hsu, 2011) (e.g. expectation for warm, emotional, human relationship). any role characteristic that distresses an employee’s time, strain, or behaviour involvement within a role might produce conflict between responsibilities. thus, a study by wallis and price (2003) showed that working mothers are likely to experience time and strain-based conflict. however, work-family conflict has also received considerable research attention (koekemoer & mostert, 2010; mclellan & uys, 2009; mostert, 2008; theunissen , 2003; wallis & price, 2003) owing to the significant impact it may have on the health and well-being of individuals as well as on organizational outcomes such as work engagement (bellavia & frone, 2005; greenhaus & beutell, 1985; hassan, dollard & winefield, 2010; mitchelson, 2009; poelmans, o’driscoll & beham, 2005; rotondo, carlson & kincaid, 2003). work engagement has been defined as a positive psychological state of mind consisting of vigor, dedication, and absorption (schaufeli & bakker, 2004). vigor is characterized by high levels of energy, force and willingness to invest effort in a work even in the face of difficulties, dedication is characterized by a sense of significance, enthusiasm and challenge in a work, while absorption is characterized by being fully concentrated and engrossed in a work. work engagement has therefore become a popular concept both in the world of business and academia due to its relationship with a number of positive organizational outcomes; such as increased employee performance (salanova, agut, & peiró, 2005), organizational commitment (hakanen, schaufeli, & ahola, 2008) and well-being (schaufeli, taris, & van rhenen, 2008). employees experiencing substantial level of work engagement may experience positive consequences such as taking personal initiative as well as being proactive and eager to learn (schaufeli & salanova 2007). work engagement may also result in high levels of job performance and customer satisfaction (bakker & demerouti, 2008), as well as lower levels of turnover intention (du ploy & roodt, 2010). it has been explained that engaged workers perform more adequately than those who are not engaged because they are able to pass on their engagement to others, experience pleasant affectivity and health, and create their own resources (job and personal) (bakker & demerouti, 2008). although work engagement may have positive implication for individuals and their work lives, work engagement may also increase work-family conflict (zheng &wu, 2018). 48 drawing on the depletion argument (rothbard, 2001), studies have shown that being too engaged in work activities may result in a form of work-family conflict such as work interference with family (wif) and family interference with work (fiw) (halbesleben, 2009). in addition, it has been shown that long working hours (excessive job demands) can result in individuals being unable to allocate the necessary amount of time and energy to their family relationship (pocock, skinner & williams, 2007). higher levels of negative work-family conflict has been shown to predict lower levels of work engagement (mostert, 2006). mauno (2007) found that high levels of work-family conflict predict lower levels of work engagement. workfamily conflict has also been shown to predict burnout (cinamon & rich, 2009; peeters, montgomery, bakker & schaufeli 2005), which has been described as the antipode of work engagement. however, although work engagement has been defined as a positive psychological state consisting of vigor, dedication, and absorption (schaufeli & bakker, 2004), researchers have noted one potential downside to engagement. they question whether employees may become so engrossed in their work that this negatively affects other parts of their lives, such as their family, resulting in work-family conflict (george, 2011; halbesleben, 2011). others have argued that since highly engaged employees usually are in a positive mood and have better access to job resources, they are likely to experience a positive work-family balance through increased work-family facilitation (culbertson, mills, & fullagar, 2012; siu, 2010), thus the need to understand how work engagement relates to experiences outside the work domain (rodríguez-muñoz, sanz-vergel, demerouti & bakker, 2014). one occupational group that might be especially susceptible to both positive and negative work-related outcomes in this study are women working at enugu state judiciary. according to bellamy, morley, and watty (2003), women working in this sector seem to be driven by factors, such as perceived organizational support. however, studies have also indicated that female employee’s workload are increasing (harman, 2003) and employees in this sector therefore stretch their work time in order to accommodate these enhanced demands (houston, meyer & paewai, 2006). this has further been found to lead to an increase in their levels of stress and work-family conflict (bell, rajendran, & theiler, 2012). nevertheless, studies have demonstrated that having certain job resources, such as organizational support, may reduce experiences of work-family conflict (boyd, 2010; gillespie, walsh, winefield, dua, & stough, 2001), which in turn may increase work 49 engagement (rofcanin, bakker & heras, 2017), hence the interest of this present study in perceived organizational support as moderator. perceived organizational support is an important element that can assist an individual to reduce work-family conflict (burns, 2006). perceived organizational support (pos) is the resultant outcome of employees’ general beliefs that their organization cares about their wellbeing and values their contributions (rhoades & eisenberger, 2002). it is a basic tenet of employee satisfaction and results in an increased effort to fulfil organizational goals (laschinger, wong, grau, read & pineau stam, 2011). laschinger (2011) suggested that enhancing perceived organizational support in the workplace will promote retention of competent workers and this indicates that married female employees with high levels of perceived organizational support will judge their jobs more favourably and are likely to utilize job resources more than their counterparts leading to reduced conflict across work and family domains. perceived organizational support can also enhance psychological well-being, reduce role conflict, and enhance positive spillover from work and family. however, it is expected that employees who receive greater support from the organization may experience greater work engagement. research also found that organizational support as a highly effective organizational based resources creates a positive work attitudes and outcomes that affects people’s health positively which has been identified to reduce work-family conflict and increase work engagement (foley, hang-yue & lui, 2005).thompson (1999) found that employees who perceived organizational support reported high work engagement and had low work-family conflict than those who perceived less organizational support. allen (2001) found that employees who perceived their organization as more supportive, made greater use of available work-family benefit, experience less work-family conflict and greater organization engagement than employees who perceived the organization as less family supportive. in other words, female employees with high level of perceived organizational support are less vulnerable to work-family conflict than those with low level of perceived organizational support (casper, 2002; erdwins, 2001; grant-vallone & ensher, 2001). in this regard, perceived organizational support has been shown to reduce work and family conflict (beehr, farmer, glazer, gudanowski & nadig nair, 2003; oginska-bulik, 2005), to enable employee to cope better (willemse, de jonge, smit, depla & pot, 2012), which may increase work engagement. in the light of these studies, the present study is interested in one 50 moderating role of perceived organizational support in relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. perceived organizational support work-family conflict (wfc) work engagement figure 1: based on the diagram above, work-family conflict is the independent (predictor) variable while work engagement is the dependent (criterion) variable whereas perceived organizational support is the moderator. hypotheses 1 work-to-family conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based) will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). 2 family-to-work conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based) will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). 3 perceived organizational support will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). 4 perceived organizational support will moderate the prediction of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) by work-to-family conflict (time-based, strain based and behaviour-based). 5 perceived organizational support will moderate the prediction of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) by family-to-work conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based). method participants two hundred and fifty-nine (259) women between the ages of 21 to 59 (m= 41.49, sd= 8.60) drawn from enugu state judiciary (high court= 77and magistrate court= 182) participated in 51 the study. the participants were selected using criterion sampling technique. this method was adopted becaus, it allows the researcher select cases (participants) that meet predetermined criterion of importance (patton, 2001). following the criteria set for the sample selection, the participants selected for the study were women (single and married), living with their husbands, had spent at least three years in the organizations, had at least one child and living with at least one of their children. women that have not spent at least three years in the organization were not included. demographic characteristics such as age, educational status, years of experience and number of children were explored as control variables. for example, 10 had ph.d., 59 had llm/m.sc., 128 had llb/b.sc. and 62 had ssce/others. sixty-five had spent 3 years to 10 years while 194 had spent 10 years and above. ninety-four had no children while 165 had4 children and above. instruments work-family conflict scale work-family conflict was measured using 32-item work-family conflict scale (okonkwo,2014) designed to measure the extent to which a person’s work responsibilities interfere with her family demands and vice versa. sample item reads “i do not participant well in house hold activities because my job is so challenging that it takes most of my time”. there are only direct scoring items. ratings were made using 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). okonkwo (2014) provided the psychometric properties of the scale for nigerian samples, and reported a cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients of 0.89 and 0.88 for the two subscales of work-family conflict and convergent validity of 0.55. the researcher conducted a pilot study using sixty-two (62) married female employees drawn from enugu state customary court of appeal to determine the reliability of the instrument. the researcher obtained a cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients of 0.85 and 0.51 for the subscales of work-family conflict. utrecht work engagement scale work engagement was measured using a 17-item utrecht work engagement scale(schaufeli & bakker, 2003) designed to measure employees’ work engagement. the scale has three subscales that measure three dimensions of work engagement: vigor, dedication and 52 absorption. items 1-6 measure vigor which refers to high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, willingness to invest effort in one’s work and persistence in the face of difficulties. items 7-11 measure dedication which refers to a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride and challenges. items 12-17 measure absorption which refers to concentration and being happily engrossed in one’s work, so that time seem to pass quickly and one has difficulty in detaching oneself from work. sample item reads “at my work, i feel bursting with energy”. ratings were made using 7-point rating scale ranging from 0 (never) to 6 (always). schaufeli and bakker (2003) reported a cronbach’s alpha of 0.93 for the instrument. ugwu (2013) obtained a cronbach’s alpha of 0.85 for the scale. a pilot study was conducted by the researcher to determine the reliability of the instrument for use in the present study. sixtytwo (62) married female employees drawn from enugu state customary court of appeal participated in the pilot study. the researcher obtained a cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.86. perceived organizational support scale perceived organizational support was measured using 17-item perceived organization support scale (eisenberger, huntington & sowa, 1986) designed to measure employees’ perceptions of organizational support. sample item reads “my organization values my contribution to its well-being”. ratings were made using 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). eisenberger, huntington and sowa (1986) reported a cronbach’s alpha of 0.74 for the instrument. onyishi (2006) obtained a cronbach’s alpha of 0.88 for the scale. the researcher conducted a pilot study using sixty-two (62) married female employees’ drawn from enugu state customary court of appeal to determine the reliability of the instrument. the researcher obtained a cronbach’s alpha of 0.77. procedure the researcher obtained ethical approval from the chairman research ethics committee department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology agbani for this present study. the researcher in addition, obtained ethical approval for this study from enugu state judiciary ethical committee. an introductory letter was also obtained from the head of 53 psychology department, enugu state university of science and technology. the researcher with the assistance of the heads of the registries of court proceeded to the various chambers to administer the questionnaire to the married female workers in order to elicit their responses. this was done during the working hours but not when the court was sitting. criterion sampling techniques was used for the selection of the participants who met the criteria set for the study. the participants were instructed to take the copies of the questionnaire home, study them carefully, complete and return them to the heads of registries who were the research assistants within one week. two hundred and eighty copies of questionnaire were distributed, 12% were not returned and 9% were discarded due to incomplete data and errors in completion leaving two hundred and fifty-nine (92.5%) which were used for the analysis. design and statistics the research was a cross sectional survey as data were collected to make inferences about the population of interest at one point in time. moderated multiple hierarchical regression (spss version 23) was used for data analysis. the statistics was employed to determine if perceived organizational support will moderate the relationship between work-family conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based) and work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). 54 results table 1: summary table of moderated hierarchical multiple regression model for work engagement and its dimensions vigour, dedication and absorption among married female judiciary workers (n = 259) overall work engagement vigour work engagement dedication work engagement absorption work engagement step1 β step2 β step3 β step4 β step1 β step2 β step1 β step2 β step1 β step2 β age .07 .08 .09 .10 .04 .03 .02 .03 .12 .11 marital status .01 .06 .06 .06 -.02 -.04 .02 .05 .05 .04 living with husband .05 .00 -.01 -.01 .02 .02 .05 .01 .06 .05 no of children -.15* -.16** -.15* -.14* -.12 -.13* -.17** -.18*** -.09 -.10 living with children -.01 .01 .01 .01 .10 .12 -.07 -.04 -.06 -.04 educational level -.06 -.07 -.06 -.06 -.03 -.06 -.06 -.07 -.06 -.08 years of experience -.20*** -.16** .15** -.15* -.17** -.17** -.15* -.12* -.20** -.20** rank .02 .02 .03 .03 -.02 .03 .03 .03 .034 perceived org. support .17** -.25 -.24 .15* .22*** .08 wif time based -.17* -.01 -.12 wif strain based .17* .02 .16* wif behaviour based -.00 -.03 -.01 fiww time based .19* .21** .18** fi strain based -.05 .07 -.09 fiw behaviour based .06 .01 .07 wiftt -.01 -.43 -.43 fiwtt .27*** .26*** .09 pos x wifttt .65 .64 pos x fiwtt .17 r2 .078** * .169*** .178 .180 .061* .148** .066* .172** .067* .136** δr2 .078** * .091*** .009 .001 .061* .088** .066** .106** .067* .069** * = p < .05; ** = p < .01; *** = p < .001. from table 1 above, in the first step of moderated hierarchical multiple regression on overall work engagement, eight control variables were entered as a block: age, marital status, living with husband, number of children, living with children, educational level, years of experience and rank. this model was statistically significant (r2=0.78; δr2 = .078, p<.001). this explained only 7.8% of the variance in work engagement among female judiciary workers as a block. however, individually, only number of children (β = -.15, p< .05) and years of experience (β = -.20, p< .001) control variables negatively predicted work engagement. in step 2, when the predictor variables: perceived organizational support and the two major dimensions work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict were entered as a block, they added a significant variance in work engagement(r2 =.169; δr2 = .091, p<.001), as they explained 9.1% of the variance, hence, supporting hypothesis 1, 2 and 3. meaning that, perceived organizational support, work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict jointly predicted overall work engagement. independently, only family-to-work conflict positively predicted work engagement (β = .27, p< .001). 55 in step 3, the interaction terms between the moderating and predictor variables (perceived organizational support and work-to-family conflict) were entered in step 3 of the regression model, the two-way interaction terms revealed no significant two-way interactions between perceived organizational support and work-to-family conflict (δr2 = .009,p =>.05), thus disconfirming hypothesis 4. in step 4, the interaction terms between the moderating and predictor variables (perceived organizational support and family-to-work conflict) were entered in step 4 of the regression model, the two-way interaction terms revealed no significant two-way interactions between perceived organizational support and family-to-work conflict (δr2 = .001, p =>.05), thereby, disconfirming hypothesis 5. again, from table 1 above, in the first model of the first step of the moderated hierarchical multiple regression for vigour dimension of work engagement, eight control variables were entered as a block: age, marital status, living with husband, number of children, living with children, educational level, years of experience and rank. this model was statistically significant (r2= .061; δr2 = .061,p =<.05) as it explained 6.1% of the variance in vigour dimension ofwork engagement with only years of experience negatively predicting the criteria variable (β = -.17, p< .001). in step 2, when the predictor variables: perceived organizational support, the dimensions of work-to-family (time, strain and behaviour-based) conflict and the dimensions of family-to-work (time, strain and behaviour-based) conflict were entered as a block, they added a significant variance in vigour component of work engagement(r2=.148; δr2 = .088,p =<.01), as they explained 8.8% of the variance in the criterion variable (vigour component of work engagement)hence, supporting hypothesis 1, 2 and 3. however, only perceived organizational support (β =.15, p< .05) positively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement, time-based work-to-family conflict (β = -.17, p< .05) negatively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement while strain-based work-to-family conflict (β = .17, p< .05) and time-based familyto-work conflict (β = .19, p< .001) positively predicted vigor component of work engagement. second model of the moderated hierarchical multiple regression for dedication dimension of work engagement, eight control variables were entered as a block: age, marital status, living with husband, number of children, living with children, educational level, years of experience and 56 rank. this model was statistically significant (r2= .066; δr2 = .066, p =<.05) as it explained6.6% of the variance in dedication aspect of work engagement with only number of children (β = -.17, p< .001) and years of experience (β = -.15, p< .001) negatively predicting the criterion variable. in step 2, when the predictor variables: perceived organizational support, the dimensions of work-to-family (time, strain and behaviour-based) conflict and the dimensions of family-to-work (time, strain and behaviour based) conflict were entered as a block, they added a significant variance in dedication component of work engagement (r2= .172; δr2 = .106,p =<.001) as they explained 17.2% of the variance in the criterion variable, hence, supporting hypothesis 1, 2 and 3. more so, only perceived organizational support (β = .22, p< .05) and time-based family-towork conflict (β = .21, p< .001) independently predicted dedication dimension of work engagement. finally, from table 1 above, in the first step of moderated hierarchical multiple regression for absorption dimension of work engagements, eight control variables were entered as a block: age, marital status, living with husband, number of children, living with children, educational level, years of experience and rank. this model was statistically significant (r2 = .067; δr2 = .067, p =<.05) as it explained 6.7% of the variance in the absorption component of work engagement with only years of experience (β = -.20, p< .001) negatively predicting the criterion variable. in step 2, when the predictor variables: perceived organizational support, the dimensions of work-to-family (time, strain and behaviour-based) conflict and the dimensions of family to work (time, strain and behaviour-based) conflict were entered as a block, they added a significant variance in absorption component of work engagement (r2 = .136; δr2 = .069,p =<.001), as they explained 13.6% of the variance in the criterion variable absorption of work engagement, hence, supporting hypothesis 1, 2 and 3. however, only strain-based work-to-family conflict (β = .16, p< .05) and time-based family-to-work conflict (β = .18, p< .001) independently and positively predicted the absorption component of work engagement. discussion considering the results, the first hypothesis which stated that work-to-family conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based) will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) was supported. according to the results, all the components of work-to-family 57 conflict (time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based) jointly with family-to-work conflict and perceived organizational support predicted all the components of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). independently, work-to-family conflict did not predict. the joint prediction as stated earlier is in line with yang et.al. (2020) findings which found a significant relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. this finding implies that irrespective of the time these women invested in the work domain, perception of strain and behaviour obligations, they maintained resilience, enthusiasm and they did not detach from their family roles. however, the results revealed that time-based work-to-family conflict independently and negatively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement, thus supporting the first hypothesis. the result is in congruence with opie and henn (2013) findings which reported that work-family conflict negatively predicted work engagement. this result simply implies that the more time these women invested in discharging their work duties in the organization interfered with their family responsibilities, the lower the energy and mental resilience put in their work roles. this may be attributed to reduced manpower in enugu state judiciary as female employees put in more time while engaging in multiple roles all in the bid to comply with work and family responsibilities thus affecting their ability to engage in their work. in contrast, strain-based work-to-family conflict independently and positively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement, hence supporting the first hypothesis. this finding suggests that the higher the perceived stressors in the work and family domain, the higher the level of energy and willingness to dispense effort in the discharge of duties. this may be attributed to the view that women working in the judiciary are often exposed to stress and stringent work conditions which help them build resilience required in shouldering work and family responsibilities. the result is not in line with listau et al., (2017) findings which found that vigor had a negative relationship with work-home conflict. behaviour-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict vigor dimension of work engagement. this suggests that when employees behaviour expected in the work domain interfered with behaviour in the family domain, it was not related to the level of energy and mental resilience while doing their job. 58 time-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict dedication dimension of work engagement. this suggests that the more time these women invested in the work domain which interfered with the time given to family responsibilities had nothing to do with their their enthusiasm and genuine care about their work roles. the result is not in agreement with olabimitan (2019) findings which found a positive relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. similarly, strain-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict the dedication dimension of work engagement. this finding indicates that the higher strain created by work demands interfering with family demands was not related to these women’s dedication to their work. this may be attributed to the view that the stress they perceived from their work and family roles had nothing to do with preventing them from concentrating more on their job roles. also, behaviour-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict the dedication dimension of work engagement. the fifth result from the first hypothesis shows that time-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict the absorption dimension of work engagement. this suggests that the time the women put in carrying out their work roles which interfered with family responsibilities did not relate to absorption in their work responsibilities. strain-based work-to-family conflict independently and positively predicted the absorption dimension of work engagement, thereby supporting the first hypothesis. a possible explanation for this finding can be linked to the fact that married female employees in the judiciary who are happily engrossed in their work and family roles develop better efficiency and abilities that can help improve overall performance buffering the effect of job strain on the employee. behaviour-based work-to-family conflict independently did not predict the absorption dimension of work engagement. this suggests that when the expected work behaviour of employees which interfered with family behaviour did not associate with absorption in work. the result is contrary to yang et.al. (2020), finding which found a positive relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. 59 the second hypothesis which stated that family-to-work conflict (time-based, strainbased and behaviour-based) will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) was supported as time-based, strain-based and behaviour-based family-to-work conflict jointly and positively predicted work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). the study is in line with balogun and afolabi (2019) findings which demonstrated a positive relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. this finding may have taken this turn due to the socio-economic needs of women in the family and society at large. so regardless of the time invested in the family and work domain, perception of strain and behaviour obligations, women tend to maintain resilience, be strongly involved and have difficulties detaching from their duties due to the jobs significance in providing their needs and a sense of pride obtained while assuming multiple roles. however, the results reported that time-based family-to-work conflict independently and positively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement, thus supporting the second hypothesis. this finding explains that the more time judiciary women put in discharging their family obligations interfered with their work roles, the higher the level of energy and mental resilience put in their work roles. strain-based family-to-work conflict independently did not predict vigor dimension of work engagement. this finding suggests that the strain resulting from family roles interfering with the women’s participation in the work did not relate to readiness to devote energy during work and perseverance while working in difficult situations. behaviour-based family-to-work conflict independently did not predict vigor dimension of work engagement. this result indicates that the expected behaviour of these women in the family interference with their behaviour work behaviour was not associated with energy and resilience while doing their job. the result is in contrast with zong-bo et al. (2013) which found that work engagement had a positive impact on work-family conflict. time-based family-to-work conflict independently and positively predicted dedication dimension of work engagement, thereby supporting the second hypothesis. this suggests that the higher the time these employees invested in the family domain interfered with the time in discharging their work duties in the organization, the more they strongly get involved in their job roles. 60 strain-based family-to work conflict independently did not predict dedication dimension of work engagement. this implies that the perceived stressors from the family interfering with the women’s work demands did not correlate with the enthusiasm and significance in their job. similarly, behaviour-based family-to-work conflict independently did not predict dedication dimension of work engagement. this finding suggests that the expected behaviour required in the family which interfered with work behaviour of these women was not associated with dedication to their job. time-based family-to-work conflict independently and positively predicted absorption dimension of work engagement. the result implies that the more time these women invested in carrying out family responsibilities which interfered with their work roles, the more they were engrossed in discharging their work duties. more so, strain-based family-to-work conflict independently did not predict absorption dimension of work engagement. the result indicates that the strain created by family demands interfering with work responsibilities was not related with the women been engrossed in their work duties. also, behaviour-based family-to-work conflict independently did not predict absorption dimension of work engagement. this finding suggests that when specific behaviour required in the family by these women interfered with their behaviour in the workplace, it was not found to be related to their absorption in their work responsibilities. the result is not in agreement with chandra et.al. (2019) findings which revealed a negative relationship between work-family conflict and work engagement. the third hypothesis which stated that perceived organizational support will predict work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) was supported as findings revealed positive prediction of work engagement by perceived organizational support. this result is in congruence with jankelova et al. (2021) findings which revealed a significant positive relationship between perceived organizational support and employee work engagement. this may be attributed to the view that when these women in the judiciary felt valued and supported by their organizations, they experienced psychological, social and emotional well-being which subsequently led to high work engagement. this result is in line with job demand-resources theory (baker & demerouti, 2007) which suggests that when employees seek more resources at work, they engage more in their work. 61 the findings further revealed that independently, perceived organizational support positively predicted vigor dimension of work engagement. this finding suggests that when women working in enugu state judiciary perceived that their employers’ respected their needs and valued their wellbeing they willingly invested energy while discharging their responsibilities even in the face of difficulties. similarly, perceived organizational support positively predicted dedication dimension of work engagement. this implies that when these women perceived support from the judiciary, they were dedicated to their work responsibilities with a sense of pride and enthusiasm. furthermore, perceived organizational support positively predicted absorption dimension of work engagement. this finding shows that if perceived organizational support was high, then female employees working in enugu state judiciary experienced high work engagement. these findings are in line with job demand-resources theory(baker & demerouti, 2007) which suggests that people strive to maintain resources that help buffer the effect of job demand on an individual. more so, workplace resources such as organizational support often increases employees ‘resilience and enthusiasm keeping an individual engrossed with work roles. the fourth hypothesis which stated that perceived organizational support will moderate the prediction of work engagement by work-to-family conflict has not been supported because perceived organizational support did not moderate the prediction of work engagement by workto-family conflict. hence, this study is in line with agu, ugwu and kanu (2018) which found an insignificant effect of perceived organizational support as a moderator in the negative relationship between target setting and job engagement. this finding implies that perceived organizational support did not buffer the negative impact of work-to-family conflict on work engagement. the fifth hypothesis which stated that perceived organizational support will moderate the prediction of work engagement by family-to-work conflict was also not supported. this finding shows that perceived organizational support failed to buffer the effect of family-to-work conflict on employees work engagement. implications of the findings the findings of this study have theoretical, empirical and practical implications. theoretically, this study contributed to our understanding of perceived organizational support, 62 work-family conflict and work engagement among women working in enugu state judiciary. the findings of this study have given credence to job demand-resources theory (bakker & demerouti, 2007) which posits that job resources reduce costs associated with job demands leading to positive work outcomes such as work engagement. this support is based on the fact that the present study found perceived organizational support a positive predictor of work engagement. empirically, the findings of this study are in tandem with previous findings. (e.g., rantanen et.al. 2013; listau et al. 2017; chass & balu, 2018; jian-min et al. 2011) which found relationships among work-family conflict, perceived organizational support and work engagement. practically, nigerian judiciary especially enugu state judiciary should make support for workers (e.g., flex time, annual leave, grant, health insurance, feedback system, incentives and autonomy) paramount as perceived organizational support was found to be a positive predictor of work engagement. limitations of the study there are some limitations in this study. first, the generalization of the findings of this study is limited to women working at enugu state judiciary, thereby questioning the external validity of the findings. secondly, all data were obtained from the participants at one point in time using self-report measures which might have created window for social desirable responses. thirdly, the sample size was too small which might have affected the results of the study. recommendation/conclusion finally, it has been recommended that policy makers in nigerian judiciary especially enugu state judiciary should provide their workforce especially women with adequate support in order to enhance work engagement. in order words, such support will drive both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among women in the judiciary to effectively engage in their works. reference adams, c., a., king, l., & king, d., w. 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(2003). the relationship between work-family conflict and central life interests amongst single working mothers. the south african journal of industrial psychology, 29 (1), 26-31. willemse, b.m., de jonge, j., smit, d., depla, m.f.i.a. & pot a.m. (2012). staff’s person centeredness in dementia care in relation to job characteristics and job-related well-being: a cross-sectional survey in nursing homes. journal of advanced nursing, 71(2), 404-416. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470595811398800 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1470595811398800 page 7 influence of internet addiction, self concept and neuroticism on marital conflict. chuku chinwendu nnebuife department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology chinwendu.chuku@yahoo.com. abstract in our contemporary time, the conflict experienced in marital relationship has become a global phenomenon affecting members of every social class. the study examined the influence of internet addiction, self-concept and neuroticism on marital conflict in obio/akpor local government area of rivers state. three hundred and four (304) participants (181 males and 123 females) were selected from married people in five archdeaconries in obio/akpor l.g.a. these participants were selected using multi stage sampling technique. the criterion sampling technique was used which was used which included being married for at least one year, currently staying with their spouses, of christian faith etc. internet addiction test (young, 1997), semantic differential self-concept scale (ezeilo, 1982), neuroticism subscale of the big five personality inventory (john, donahue & kentle, 1991) and marital conflict behavior checklist (omeje, 1998) were the instruments used in the study. the study utilized a crosssectional design and a 3 way (2x2x2) analysis of variance (anova). results revealed that neuroticism significantly influenced marital conflict (f (1,296) =15.01, p<.01) and there was an interaction effect between internet addiction and self concept on marital conflict (f (1,296) =7.55, p<.01). recommendations were made in the light of the findings indicating that practical applications should be applied managing marital conflict. introduction marriage as an interpersonal relationship existing between a man and a woman which aids in promoting growth and development in marital life (idokwa, 2002) has been an issue of concern globally especially in the area of marital conflict. marital conflict is the process of conflict arising between the two parties in a marriage, which could indicate sexual disagreement, child minding differences, temperamental differences and even religious conflict of interest (psychology dictionary, 2013). it is an ill-wind that blows no one any good. as a result of the role the family unit plays in the overall development of the society, the problem of marital conflict calls for urgent attention because when the home, which forms the cradle of the society is settled, the society itself is at peace (gabb & fink, 2015). research by various scholars show that conflict behaviour may influence couple’s marriages. according to behavioural theories of marriage, destructive behaviours result in negative evaluations of marriage and declines in marital satisfaction and stability, whereas constructive behaviours lead to improvement in evaluations of marriages and increases marital satisfaction and stability (mgbenkedi, 2014). among the many factors that have been associated with marital conflict is internet addiction (lenhart, duggan & smith, 2014). internet addiction is a recent and increasing recognized mailto:chinwendu.chuku@yahoo.com influence of internet addiction 240 disorder that has received much attention globally (stephanie, racheal & henri, 2014). the rate at which people engage in the use of the internet is so alarming including married people. internet addiction is the inability of someone to control his or her use of the internet which eventually may lead to some psychological and social problems in the individual’s life (okwaraji, aguwa, onyebueke and sheobi-eze, 2015) has damaging effect on interpersonal relationships and can lead to conflict among married people as they are likely to experience problems in their intimate relationship with diminished time spent together (young, griffinshelley, cooper, mara & buchanam,2000; weinstein & lejoyeux, 2010). another variable of interest is self concept which is seen as how we think of ourselves and how we think, behave and act out our various life roles (maesineero, 2012). self concept is a collection of beliefs about one’s nature, unique qualities and typical behavior (ani, 2017). an individual’s self concept may change with time as reassessment occurs, which may lead to identity crises in extreme cases (demidenko, tasca, kennedy & bissada, 2010). marital conflict hand self concept has a negative correlation (peleg, 2008) as increase in self concept brings about a decrease in marital conflict in both gender. for example, married people correspond to hopes, fears, standards, goals, and threats in their marriage, of which positive evaluation is formed, the interpersonal relationship with each other remain cordial; but when the negative evaluation is formed, the self concept turns low and the marriage in conflict. however, when there is low self concept in the spouse, personality is affected. neuroticism is another factor that may predict marital conflict (mayer, 2014b). neuroticism is considered by many to be one of the most significant dimensions of personality. alongside four other traits openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness, it sighted as one of the “big five” personality factors (heady, muffels & wagner, 2010). each spouse brings into a newly created union a legacy of his or her background (lebowitz, 2016a). individual traits and behaviours also affect spouse’s satisfaction with marriage (uher & visalberghi, 2016). neuroticism is a high order personality related to addiction, irrational thinking, poor impulse control, worry, high negative affect (costa & mccrea, 1992). it is a strong predictor of psychological problems, especially those related to marital conflict (timothy & paula, 2016). extensive literature was reviewed on the causes of marital conflict and different factors were seen to be the cause of marital conflict. many of these literatures were obtained mostly in the western studies and may not be applicable in nigeria and african countries. substantial research in this area needs to be carried out in nigeria to cross validate these findings. the high rate of divorce and marital conflict has been an alarming issue in the southern part of nigeria. it has been observed that children, youths and adults engaging in criminal activities are in most cases products of this faulty background (marital conflict). it is also observed by the researcher that due to this menace, individuals from such homes are exposed at a very young age to such ills as a result of destabilized homes. there is equally little or no research done on this area of study in this geographical area. the objective of this study is to examine the influence of internet addiction, self concept and neuroticism on marital conflict among married people in obio/akpor local government area of rivers state. the study will provide answers to know if; there will be any influence of internet addiction on marital conflict, self concept on marital conflict, neuroticism on marital conflict, a joint interaction of internet addiction and self concept on marital conflict, self concept and neuroticism on marital conflict and internet addiction, self concept and neuroticism on marital conflict. in this study, marital conflict is defined as unresolved conflict, misunderstanding, and quarreling, fighting or possible separation in marriage as measured by scores on marital conflict behavior checklist (mcbc) by omeje (1998). internet addiction is the addictive use of the internet by married people as measured by scores on the internet addictive test (iat) developed by young (1997). self concept is the way married people see or perceive themselves as seen in two dimensions: low self concept (decline in the level of self confidence) or high self concept (maintaining a steady and stable confidence) as measured by scores in the semantic differential self concept scale modified by ezeilo (1982) while neuroticism is the tendency to focus on the negative aspects of self which is characterized by anxiety, sadness, irritability, and nervous tension as measured by scores on the neuroticism subscale of the big five personality inventory by john, donahue & kentle (1991). married people experiencing marital conflict are affected by a wide range of variables including ethnicity, gender, age, religion, level of education and personality. married people have distinctive characteristics of personality that make them view the world and their life experiences differently. taking these differences into consideration can help clinicians to recognize the individual differences existing in them seriously (helsper & whitty, 2010). participants. the participants for this study were drawn from five archdeaconries of the anglican diocese of niger delta north in obio/akpor local government area of rivers state. 304 participants were randomly selected using simple random and criterion techniques. they were made up of 181 males and 123 females, 71 participants were from ikwerre ethnicity, 70 were of igbo ethnicity, 48 were of yoruba ethnicity, 48 were of ijaw ethnicity while 67 belongs to kalabari ethnic groups. their ages range from 25 years to 59 years with 39.3 as the mean age. instruments the measuring instruments used in this research included the internet addiction test (iat; young,1997), the sematic differential self concept scale (sdscs; ezeilo, 1982), the neuroticism subscale of the big five inventory (n-bfi; john et al, 1991) and the marital conflict behaviour checklist (mcbc; omeje, 1998). (a) internet addiction test (iat) the iat (young,1997) is a 20-item internet addiction test developed by young (1997) used to assess the addictive use of the internet by married people. this instrument has three dimensions: mild, moderate and severe levels and sample item includes: “how often do you find that you stay online longer than you intended?” the response is patterned on five-point likert-type format ranging from “always” to “rarely”. respondents are expected to indicate the extent to which they agree with the list statements regarding internet addiction. internal reliability coefficients of .72 and a convergent validity of .70 were obtained by the developer. for nigerian sample, okwaraji et. al (2015) reported internal reliability coefficients of .73 and a concurrent validity of .88. the researcher in a pilot study influence of internet addiction 242 obtained a cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of .71 with a sample of 57 married people and mean of the respondents of 59.98. (b) semantic differential self concept scale (sdscs )the sdscs (ezeilo, 1982) is a measure for self concept developed by ezeilo (1982). the 54 item scale measures how various people see themselves by having them judge themselves against series of descriptive scale. sample items include, “healthy……unhealthy”, “unattractive….attractive”. this instrument is on a 7-point scale, 1 at the negative end pole and 7 at the positive end. the developer reported reliability cronbach alpha of .70 and .64. a pilot study conducted by the researcher yielded a cronbach alpha of .83 with 57 married people and a mean of 24.65. (c) neuroticism subscale of the big five inventory (n-bfi)the n-bfi (john et. al, 1991) is a subscale of 8 items of neuroticism components drawn from 44-item designed to measure five dimensions of personality namely; extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. john et al (1991) provided the original psychometric properties for american samples of 24.00 on neuroticism while ume (2004) earlier provided psychometric properties for nigerian sample m (n=60) 23.43 and f (n=60) 24.48 for neuroticism. a pilot study by the researcher yielded a cronbach alpha of .89 and mean of 19.14 for neuroticism sub scale of bfi which has only 8 items. (d) marital conflict behaviour checklist (mcbc) the mcbc (omeje, 1998) was designed to measure the behavior spouses usually engage in during conflict. it is a 37-item scale with 4point response scale 1= rarely, 2=occasionally, 3=often and 4= always. the psychometric properties are .94 reliability coefficient and concurrent reliability coefficient of .80. the researcher yielded a cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of .67, n=57, mean= 101.39. procedure the researcher obtained introductory letter from the head of psychology department, enugu state university of science and technology, which was addressed to the clergymen in charge of the selected five churches from the archdeaconries in the anglican diocese of niger delta north of rivers state. the church clerks were recruited and trained as research assistants to administer and collect copies of the questionnaires in all the churches. participants who met the criteria for selection using criterion sampling technique were selected. selected married people were drawn from each of the five archdeaconries making use of multistage sampling technique for effective use of limited resources (patton, 2002) and copies of the questionnaires administered. a total of 400 copies of the questionnaires were distributed. 338 were filled and returned representing 84.5%, 34 copies were discarded due to inappropriate filling and lack of inclusion criteria, while 304 representing 76% were used for analysis. design and statistics the design for this study was a cross sectional survey research design, descriptive statistics and three-way analysis of variance (anova) f-test were used for statistical analysis through spss version 20. results table 1: summary table of means and standard deviation on internet addiction, × selfconcept × neuroticism on marital conflict among married people. internet addiction self-concept neuroticism mean std. deviation n addiction low self-concept not neurotic 93.6140 31.78148 57 neurotic 100.9759 32.41310 83 total 97.9786 32.24735 140 high self-concept not neurotic 74.0000 23.64502 47 neurotic 94.0526 26.07676 38 total 82.9647 26.57579 85 total not neurotic 84.7500 29.91761 104 neurotic 98.8017 30.62668 121 total 92.3067 31.03813 225 no addiction low self-concept not neurotic 75.1364 32.23913 22 neurotic 99.6316 39.75230 19 total 86.4878 37.54605 41 high self-concept not neurotic 91.0000 25.76820 20 neurotic 101.4444 31.26024 18 total 95.9474 28.59876 38 total not neurotic 82.6905 30.07267 42 neurotic 100.5135 35.38959 37 total 91.0380 33.66785 79 total low self-concept not neurotic 88.4684 32.77931 79 neurotic 100.7255 33.68790 102 total 95.3757 33.75734 181 high self-concept not neurotic 79.0746 25.34269 67 neurotic 96.4286 27.77825 56 total 86.9756 27.75994 123 total not neurotic 84.1575 29.87299 146 neurotic 99.2025 31.69616 158 total 91.9770 31.69069 304 the above table shows the mean and standard deviation of cgpa, addiction and no addiction; high and low self concept; neurotic and not neurotic married people. the cgpa mean= 91.98, sd=31.69. internet addicted mean= 92.31, not internet addicted mean= 91.04, low self concept mean=95.38, high self concept mean=86.98, not neurotic mean=84.16 while neurotic mean=99.20. comparing the mean scores of the respondents show index of married people who are neurotic obtained the highest group of 101.44 while index of cgpa has the lowest with a value of 74.00. table ii: summary table of 3-way anova f-test on influence of internet addiction × self-concept × neuroticism on marital conflict influence of internet addiction 244 source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig. corrected model 31212.027a 7 4458.861 4.833 .000 intercept 1896861.529 1 1896861.529 2055.986 .000 internet addiction 74.364 1 74.364 .081 .777 self-concept 279.582 1 279.582 .303 .582 personality trait 13845.013 1 13845.013 15.006 .000 internet addiction * self-concept 6961.108 1 6961.108 7.545 .006 internet addiction * neuroticism 201.648 1 201.648 .219 .640 self-concept * neuroticism 6.586 1 6.586 .007 .933 internet addiction * self-concept * neuroticism 2546.450 1 2546.450 2.760 .098 error 273090.812 296 922.604 total 2876071.000 304 corrected total 304302.839 303 a. r squared = .103 (adjusted r squared = .081) b. computed using alpha = .05 anova in table iii above shows that married people who were neurotic significantly exhibited marital conflict more than those who were not neurotic. figure i. graph of the effect of self-esteem and internet addiction the estimated mean of marital conflict shows that there was a significant interaction between internet addiction and self concept in influencing the exhibition of marital conflict in married people. discussion the findings of this study revealed that neuroticism significantly influenced married people’s manifestation of marital conflict with neurotic married people having more marital conflict than married people who are not neurotic counterpart. this indicates that the third hypothesis was accepted. the outcome of this study was found to be in agreement with separate studies by (claxton, rourke, and smith 2012; shiota & levenson, 2007; jarareh & temadi, 2008) which agree that people who manifest neuroticism, create persistent vulnerabilities in marital relationships and increase the negative emotion in either or both partners which tend to be toxic to one’s marriage. this result is in accordance with drake, morris & davis (2017) which revealed that married people high in neuroticism are more likely to report inadequate and unhelpful support from their spouses especially in the areas of finance, chores, sexual influence of internet addiction 246 gratification etc. these findings may suggest that neurotic spouses without adequate support may experience conflict more due to their volatile nature. due to negative perception of self and others, they may also complain of relatives like in-laws not supporting in running errands for them always while those without neuroticism tend to think positively which predisposes them to see their partners as supportive and in turn help in building their relationship stronger. the last table revealed that, internet addiction and self concept jointly contributed to the exhibition of marital conflict. at internet addiction condition, people with low self concept exhibited marital conflict more than those with high self concept. at not internet addicted condition, people with high self concept exhibited marital conflict more than those with low self concept. this finding suggests that internet addiction and self concept influenced marital conflict. the result suggested that to deal with marital conflict, married people who are internet addicted ought to develop high self concept as those with low self concept suffer more marital conflict. again, the result opined that those who are not addicted and have low self concept experience marital conflict less than those who have high self concept. this finding is in line with the work done by judge et al., (2002) who found that high neuroticism is related to difficulties in life, including addiction, low self concept and unhealthy adjustment to life’s challenge which affects relationship in married people. possible explanation being that individuals who are always irritated, easily stressed by happenings around them also perceive themselves as failures in their marriage resort to internet addiction due to low self concept to pacify themselves by showing off online (fisher & mcnulty, 2008). this finding may suggest that the constant usage of the internet by such a spouse with low self concept may bring about arguments, quarrels and disagreement between the two which triggers conflict in the home as no spouse would condone seeing the partner abstaining from his/her responsibility in the home. conclusion this research investigated the influence of internet addiction, self concept and neuroticism on marital conflict. this study through due process of empirical research asserts that marital conflict is an issue of concern among married people in obio/akpor local government area of rivers state as married people with neuroticism are exposed to marital conflict. also, there are married people with no addiction of the internet but with high self concept who are prone to experience marital conflict. recommendations since this study has indicated reliable relationship between neuroticism and marital conflict, most married people should be encouraged to take personality tests and close monitoring should be done for people who score very high on neuroticism. these set of people according to research are prone to marital conflict than others. secondly, since this research has also established an interaction between internet addiction and self concept in influencing married people’s exhibition of marital conflict, it is pertinent to note that young married people should be educated to ascertain their level of similarities and differences in the exhibition of marital conflict. first limitation is the scope of study, the sample of the study was not large representatives of the married people in obio/akpor local government area as samples were drawn from one denomination. future research should employ a larger sample from other denomination so that results can be generalized. another limitation is that the study employ a cross-sectional survey design, which cannot affirm causal effect relationship. a mixture method can help to elicit quality data to address the objectives of the study barrier. given these limitations, the results provide strong empirical evidence for the literature in terms of correlations between neuroticism and marital conflict and also interaction effect between internet addiction and self concept on marital conflict may be a critical component of any successful intervention effort to reduce the global marital conflict rate. references american psychiatric association (2013), diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.5th ed. american psychiatric association, washington, dc. anih. a. c. 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(1997).the relationship between depression and internet addiction. cyber psychology and behaviour, 1, 25-28. volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 343 socio-demographic predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria kayode j. fakorede, abel c. obosi & emmanuel e. uye* department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria *corresponding author: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7867-270x abstract frontline army officers are the bulk manpower frequently deployed to fight the insurgent groups in nigeria. while studies have investigated psychological predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers, studies linking socio-demographic variables with quality of life among these officers are lacking. therefore, this study examined the predictive ability of sociodemographic factors on quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria. a crosssectional survey design was adopted while purposive sampling technique was used to select abuja and maiduguri cantonments. data were collected from 207 frontline army officers using validated questionnaires and analyzed using multiple regression analysis and independent samples t-test. two hypotheses were tested and accepted at p =.001 level of significance. the result indicated that socio-demographic factors of age, religion, marital status, educational level and income level jointly predicted quality of life among study participants [r2=.27, f(5, 201) = 14.99, p =.00]. in addition, the result revealed that gender did not significantly influence quality of life among study participants [t(205) = 1.33, p >.05].the study concluded that socio-demographic factors tend to moderately predict quality of life among frontline army officers. it is recommended that military authority should regularly profile frontline army officers to ascertain their quality of life status. keywords: socio-demographic factors, quality of life, frontline army officers, nigeria introduction quality of life has been variously defined by different authorities to reflect the social, economic and cultural dynamic of the individuals. for example, the world health organization (who, 2000) conceived quality of life as an “individual’s subjective view of their positions in life in line with their cultures and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns”. similarly, amao (2014) described quality of life as the individuals’ subjective judgments of themselves based on their overall assessment of what they hold as important to them at a point in time in their lives. based on the above definitions, this study conceptualizes quality of life as that which encompasses an individual’s emotional, physical, material and social well-being in time and space. as quality of life measures individual and group well-being, one group of professionals whose quality of life needs to be determined and improved on is the frontline army officers. these are uniformed men and women in frontlines fighting to protect lives and property of the mailto:emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7867-270x 344 citizenry and defend the territorial boundaries of the nigerian states. in nigeria as well as in other sub-saharan countries, the emergence of bandits, kidnappers, armed insurgents, separatists and other militia groups has resulted to frequent deployment of army officers to the frontline zones to fight with less regard to their personal needs and quality of life (fakorede, 2023). because of the duration of deployment to these battle zones, these officers suffered one type of deprivation or the other thus affecting their quality of life (bature, 2019). several predictors of quality of life have been investigated among uniformed officers. one group of factors considered in this study as likely predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers are socio-demographic factors of age, gender, religion, educational level, marital status and income level. age has consistently been found to predict quality of life among different populations and across different samples. for example, netuveli et al. (2006) found age as a strong predictor of qol among their study participants. also, boswroth et al. (2000) found increased in age to lead to decrease in basic physical functioning, better mental health, and more vitality components of quality of life. however, wiggins et al. (2004) found qol to decrease with age. also, gender is considered to predict quality of life. females have been found to report lower quality of life compared to their male counterparts. females tend to outlive males due to their quality of life. scores as measured by the sf-36 than their male counterparts (boswroth et al., 2000). furthermore, poor social support was found to predict lower qol (boswroth et al., 2000). however, some studies have found contradictory results about the relationship between qol and gender. while netuveli et al. (2006) found qol to be significantly higher for women than men; on the other hand, wiggins et al. (2004) found no gender difference in qol among their study participants. furthermore, an individual marital status tends to be a consistent predictor of quality of life (netuveli et al, 2006). similarly, family structure whether monogamous or polygamous could affect quality of life (fakorede, 2023). another socio-demographic factor is the income status of the individuals. studies have shown that income status tends to predict quality of life among different populations including that of frontline officers. low et al. (2007) found financial resources to have a direct and positive influence on quality of life. studies by blane et al. (2004) and wiggins et al. 2004 have equally supported income level as a robust predictor of quality of life. however, blane et al. (2004) did not find income level as a predictor of quality of life among their study 345 participants. conclusively, netuveli et al. (2006) found socio-demographic factors of age, marital status, family structure and income level as strong predictors of quality of life among veterans from combat operations. there has been a continuous report on the shortage of manpower and material resources to fight the insurgent groups in nigeria. the frontline army officers are usually deployed at the shortest notice which has serious implications on their quality of life. studies have investigated different predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers with different outcomes. also, studies linking socio-demographic variables with quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria are lacking which leaves gap in knowledge to be filled. therefore, this study examined socio-demographic factors as predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria. the specific objectives of this study were (1) to determine whether age, marital status, family background and income level would jointly and independently predict quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria; and (2) to establish whether gender would significantly influence quality of life among frontline army officers. the study would provide empirical data on the socio-demographic factors predicting quality of life among frontline army officers in the study population. also, the study would inform the military authority on the necessary welfare packages that would cushion the quality of life among frontline army officers. hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested: h1: age, marital status, family background and income level would jointly and independently predict quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria. h2: there would be significant differences between male and female frontline army officers on quality of life. research design the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design using a validated scale to gather data. the independent variables were socio-demographic factors of age, gender, religious affiliations, marital status, educational attainment, and income level. the dependent variable was quality of life. 346 setting the study was conducted among frontline army officers who have experienced combat operations in military cantonments in abuja and maiduguri. the reason for the choice of the cantonments was because abuja hosts the defense headquarters, while maiduguri is among the frontline for the insurgents in nigeria. instrument the world health organization quality of life brief (whoqol-bref) was used to evaluate the quality of life among frontline officers. the scale consisted of 26 items presented on a 5-point likert’s format ranging from strongly disagrees to strongly agree. however, the study analyzed the items on the general qol and general health status of the participants. these items were: “how much do you need any medical treatment to function in your daily life?” and “how healthy is your physical environment?” vahedi (2010) obtained cronbach’s alpha of 0.79 while in this study, cronbach’s alpha of 0.81 was obtained. socio-demographic variables of age, gender, marital status, religion, educational status, and income level were collected from the participants. procedure authority to conduct this study was from the letter of introduction from the department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria and ethical approval from the ui/uch ethics committee (ui/ec/22/0348).the approval given by the military authority allowed the researchers to approach the potential participants in their barracks, homes, relaxation centers and after training sessions to solicit for their participation. they were briefed on the purpose of the study and asked for their consent to participate in the study. based on their acceptance, they were told that participation was voluntary and that their responses would be treated confidentially. officers who accepted to participate in the study were given questionnaires to fill which took less than 10 minutes to complete. a total of 211 questionnaires were distributed and collected on the spot. however, four questionnaires were half filled and were discarded thus left with 207 used for the final analysis. data analysis ibm spss version 26 was used for data analysis. descriptive and inferential statistics were executed on the collected data. hypothesis 1 was tested using multiple regression analysis 347 while hypothesis 2 was tested using independent samples t-test. all hypotheses were accepted at p = 0.001 level of significance. results participants a total of 207 frontline army officers participated in the study. the analysis showed that 64 (31%) of the participants were females while 143 (69%) were male participants. in terms of their ethnicity, 17(8%) were hausa, 18(9%) were igbo, 96(46%) were yoruba while 76 (38%) were from other ethnic groups. the result indicated their marital status as: 98(47%) as singles, 103 (50%) as married while 6(3%) as either separated or divorced. many of the participants were christians, 155 (75%), 47 (23%) were muslims while 4(2%) were traditionalists. the family structure showed that 84 (41%) were from a monogamous family, 56 (27%) from polygamous family while 67(32%) were from a single parent family. finally, the income status of the participants showed that 100 (48.3%) earned below n50, 000, about 80 (39%) of the participants earned between n50,000 and n150,000, about 14 (7%) earned between n151,000 and n250,000 while 13 (6%) earned above n250,000. h1: age, marital status, family structure and income status would jointly and independently predict quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria. the hypothesis was tested using multiple regression analysis and the result is presented in table 1. table 1. multiple regression analysis showing joint and independent predictors of quality of life army among frontline officers predictors β t p r r2 f p age .02 .35 >.05 . 52 .27 14.99 < .00 marital status -.06 -.68 >.05 family structure .49 8.00 <.00 income level -.01 -.18 >.05 dependent variable: quality of life table 1 shows joint and independent predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers. the result indicated that socio-demographic factors of age, marital status, family structure and income level jointly predicted quality of life among study participants [r2= .27, f(5, 201) = 348 14.99, p =.00]. this implies that the predictors jointly accounted for 27% of the total observed variance in the dependent variable. also, the result showed that family structure (=.49, p =.00) independently predicted quality of life among study participants. however, age ( =.02, p >.05), marital status (= -.06, p >.05) and income status (= -.01, p >.05) did not independently predict quality of life among study participants. therefore, the hypothesis was partially supported. h2: there would be significant differences between male and female frontline army officers on quality of life. the hypothesis was tested using independent sample t-test for independent samples and the result is presented in table 2. table 2. independent sample t-test of mean difference between male and female on quality of life among frontline army officers gender n mean sd t df p male 143 56.99 14.06 1.33 205 >.05 female 64 59.64 11.32 1.33 dependent variable: quality of life table 2 presents gender differences in quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria. the result showed no gender difference in quality of life among study participants [t(205) = 1.33, p >.05]. however, observation of the mean revealed that female frontline army officers scored higher in quality of life (m = 59.64, sd = 11.32) compared to their male counterparts (m = 56.99, sd = 14.06). therefore, the hypothesis was partially accepted. discussion the hypothesis that age, marital status, family structure and income status would jointly predict quality of life among frontline army officers in nigeria was supported. the combined effects of these socio-demographic variables accounted for 27% of the variance observed in quality of life among study participants. this finding strongly showed the importance of these factors in quality of life including those of frontline army officers. the results supported various studies that found age (netuveli et al., 2006), marital status (bosworth et al., 2000; netuveli et al., 2006), family structure (netuveli et al., 2006) and income level (netuveli et al., 2006) as significant predictors of quality of life among different populations and across different samples. more importantly, while other socio-demographic variables did not independently predict quality of life, family structure independently predicted quality of life among study participants. this explains the importance of family structure such as family social support in 349 quality of life determination. this finding lent credence to other previous studies relating family structure and family support as important factors in achieving quality of life (keyes et al. 2002; rustoen et al. 2005). finally, the hypothesis that female frontline army officers would report higher quality of life than their male counterparts was partially supported. at the general levels, the result indicated that gender did not influence quality of life among frontline army officers. however, the mean difference revealed that females marginally enjoyed higher quality of life than their male counterparts. this could be that while male frontline army officers are the chief breadwinners for so many family members, their female counterparts are likely to have support from spouses to augment their financial status thus helping to improve their material quality of life. again, female frontline army officers may perform supportive duties when on duty with less stress compared to their male counterparts’ thereby showing a differential in their quality of life measures. previous studies have varied results. for example, wood et al. 2005 and stenzelius et al. (2005) found men to report higher quality of life, however, fakorede (2023) and netuveli et al. (2006) found females to have higher quality of life among frontline army officers. conclusion this study has empirically confirmed age, marital status, family structure and income status as joint predictors of quality of life among frontline army officers. also, female frontline army officers demonstrated better quality of life than their male counterparts. recommendations the study makes the following suggestions to improve the quality of life among frontline army officers: because socio-demographic variables jointly predict quality of life among study participants, there is need to look at each of these variables and address them in order to improve quality of life among study participants. also, since quality of life tends to be better on the part of the female frontline officers, the military authority needs to motivate male frontline officers with more resources to enhance their quality of life. limitation of study the study has some limitations which need to be improved in further study. using self-reported questionnaires introduced response bias. further study would benefit from longitudinal studies and use of documentary evidence from the potential participants to triangulate data collected from self-reported questionnaires. the selection of only two frontline cantonments and the 350 sample size of 207 hinder generalization of study findings. further study should include other frontline zones in nigeria with increased sample size. finally, the investigation of only sociodemographic variables left out psychological factors. psychological factors such as personality traits, learned helplessness and social support should be investigated in further study. references amao, f. l. 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(2002). optimizing well-being: the empirical encounter of two traditions. journal of personality & social psychology, 82, 1007 1022. low, g., molzahn, a. e. (2007). predictors of quality of life in old age: a cross-validation study. research in nursing & health, 30, 141-150. netuveli, g., wiggins, r. d., hildon, z., montgomery, s. m., & blane, d. (2006). quality of life at older ages: evidence from the english longitudinal study of aging (wave 1). journal of epidemiological community health studies, 60, 357-363. netuveli, g., wiggins, r. d., hildon, z., montgomery, s. m., & blane, d. (2006). quality of life at older ages: evidence from the english longitudinal study of aging (wave 1). journal of epidemiological community health studies, 60, 357-363. rustoen, t., wahl, a. k., hanestad, b. r., lerdal, a, paul, s., & miaskowski, c. (2005). age and the experience of chronic pain: differences in health and quality of life among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. the clinical journal of pain, 21, 513-523. stenzelius, k., westergren, a., thorneman, g., & hallberg, i. r. (2005). patterns of health complaints among people 75+ in relation to quality of life and need of help. archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 40, 85-102. 351 vahedi, s. (2010).world health organization quality-of-life scale (whoqol-bref): analyses of their item response theory properties based on graded responses model. iran journal of psychiatry, 5(4), 140-153. wiggins, r. d., higgs, p. f. d., hyde, m., blane, d. b. (2004).quality of life in the third age: key predictors of the casp-19 measure. aging & society, 24, 693-708. wood, r. h., gardner, r. e., ferachi, k. a., king, c., ermolao, a., cherry, k. e., cress, m. e., & jazwinski, s. m. (2005). physical function and quality of life in older adults: sex differences. southern medical association, 98, 504-512. world health organizations (2000). constitution of the world health organizations. geneva: world health organizations, switzerland. page 7 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 214 third world countries and executive lawlessness: an appraisal of the role of international criminal court in ensuring good governance in africa benjamin onyekachi eneasato department of political science enugu state university of science and technology e-mail: beneasato@yahoo.com abstract executive lawlessness indeed has been and still remains one of the most challenging threats to good governance process in the third world countries. this has persistently resulted in systemic abuses of human rights using institutions of state, financial impropriety by public officials, over bearing power of the presidents and heads of government (the executive arm of government), reckless molestation, suppression, repression and muzzling of opposition political parties using the security agents of state. in the light of the above concerns global attention has been drawn to the seemingly irredeemable phenomenon of executive lawlessness in third world countries and the need to ensuring good governance. noted that, the mandate to ensuring good governance reforms that is capable of transforming third world countries has been most emphatically communicated in the majesty of the democratic process and its consolidation; the dream is for a bold and audacious transformational leadership to pilot a transformation programme that will radically, fundamentally, structurally and massively transform the third world economies, reinvent the politics of their nations, secure the polity, ensure rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights, care for the underprivileged, and provide responsible, responsive and credible leadership to the countries of the third world, especially in africa. this paper sought to fill the glaring void by succinctly appraising the role of the international criminal court in ensuring good governance in africa. in this context, the study identified the governance challenges confronting africa and indeed third world countries in general and the extent to which the icc has by virtue of its mandate moderated, adjudicated and mediated in checking the excesses of political leaders in africa so as to bring about good governance. keywords:, appraisal, good governance, lawlessness, international criminal court, third world countries introduction leadership as an integral part of every organization or nation is a determinant of her goal accomplishment. the peace and development of any nation depend on the commitment of leaders at all levels ranging from the family unit, religious institutions, and traditional settings to national politics. on the other hand, leadership flaws affect the citizenry and national development adversely. leadership, therefore, is a catalyst that kindles the maximization of individual potentialities, human and natural resources of a nation for sustainable development. in the case of africa and most third world countries colonialism and the colonial masters set the tone for the type of leadership we witness today in africa and indeed the entire third world countries. french, portuguese and british colonialists introduced a international criminal court paternal, centralized and authoritarian administrative system in those colonies they ruled. this system was largely adopted by these countries after independence, and marked the beginning of a centralized and authoritarian presidency. in previously colonized african states, the leaders after independence wished to also enjoy the privileges that came with authoritarian colonial administrative rule as seen being enjoyed by the colonialists, “they had seen the efficiency with which control of state institutions had enabled the colonial elite to convert the “national” economy into some kind of private estate” (wanyama, 2000). therefore, the fragmented political structure was rejected by african leaders immediately after independence. after a brief stint with plural politics, african leaders across the continent argued that a fragmented structure would curtail national unity, would divide people along ethnic lines and it was not conducive to a traditional african lifestyle which is communal, hence united under one leader. such arguments provided african leaders with enough reason to return to the authoritarian rule of the colonial period. one-party political systems developed as a result and constitutional arrangements that were in place at the eve of independence were undermined as leaders rushed to republicanism. from this time, the republican system of government established executive presidents in african countries with awesome power, and as a result dictators ruled sub-saharan african states with relentless vigour after independence. post independence leaders that enjoyed unlimited power included nkrumah’s rule in ghana, siaka steven in sierra leone, guinea under sékou touré, côte d’ivoire’s houphouët-boigny, idi amin’s rule in uganda, and the most notorious autocratic ruler of the time was mobuto seso seko of zaire (botha, 2012; van wyk, 2007; tripp, 2005; schlesinger, 1973). however, at the end of the 1980s a wave of democratization swept through the continent due to popular protest and civic activism and led to unprecedented political liberalisation and constitutional reforms. in the process, “some of africa’s longest-serving and most notorious autocrats have been brought down and many more forced by new constitutional rules to face the prospect of electoral defeat or foreseeable exit through presidential term limits” (kwasiprempeh, 2007). despite this democratic wave ridding africa of autocratic leaders and bringing about regime change, the phenomenon of “imperial presidency”, as arthur schlesinger calls it, still persisted throughout sub-sahara africa. the term “imperial presidency” refers to a presidency that is characterized by greater power than the constitution allows. president nixon of the united states is one case study discussed by schlesinger to demonstrate the notion of imperial presidency. nixon and his advisors became very arrogant in their rule giving way to several incidences of abuse of power, one such incident being the watergate scandal where nixon acted as if he was above the law and constitution of america. the separation of powers stipulated in the constitution was failing as it became clear that most of the power was situated in the office of the executive. although this term was coined in order to describe president nixon’s style of leadership, as democratization spread across the african continent it became evident that most presidential power tended to assume this “imperial presidency” character. the term imperial presidency will be used throughout this thesis to explain the most dominating style of leadership in africa. the most obvious african example of imperial style presidency is robert mugabe of zimbabwe; he regarded himself 216 above the law in every aspect of his rule. he had disregard for constitutional term limits, he relentlessly oppressed the opposition and allowed, and motivated, illegal land occupation in zimbabwe (schlesinger, 1973; botha, 2012). in short, following independence from colonial rule, most african countries developed a oneparty system and steered away from a fragmented political system and consequently autocratic leaders ruled africa. despite waves of democratization and other political developments throughout the 1990s, the absence of constitutional regulations and nonadherence to the constitutional regulations restricting the power of the president, resulted in the presidency developing into the most powerful institution in the land. the political game thus changed while the rules and players stayed the same and today imperial presidents with awesome power are ruling most african states and this type of leadership is having an immense impact on the continent (schlesinger, 1973). in most african, albeit third world countries, using military vestiges, aggressively, to defend or promote government selfish interests has always adversely affected the survival of democracy and good governance. suffice to say therefore, that the existence of overbearing lawless, reckless and arbitrary executive arm of government has continued to usurp the constitutional powers of the other arms of government making them mere rubber stamps; a situation, which gives cause for serious concern. in the same vein, it is a glaring reality that africa is today undergoing hectic experience of dwindling and comatose economy, insurgency, political instability and underdevelopment, despite her endowment in human and natural resources. in the midst of these challenges the need for a supra national intervention and effort at ensuring good governance cannot be over-emphasized as national institutions and organs of state are overrun and hoodwinked by the overriding powers of the executive (imperial presidency). to fill this void therefore, this paper is titled third world countries and executive lawlessness: an appraisal of the role of international criminal court in ensuring good governance in africa. the paper envisages the international criminal court (icc), as a supra-national judicial body with the potentiality of salvaging third world countries from the numerous abuses and clandestine propensities of lawless political leadership and ensuring good governance in the african continent. statement of the problem it is a truism that; power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. history showed that a head of state may come into power with good intentions but the longer he stays in power the thinner the line becomes between serving the interest of the state and believing that the state should serve the leader. therefore, since it is human nature to want to hold on to power once in power, advanced democracies ensured that power was ultimately vested in the people. today’s advanced democracies have mechanisms and checks and balances in place to remove the temptation to stay in power. this served people and their countries incredibly well, eliminating executive lawlessness and inter-and intra-state conflict. international criminal court unfortunately, in developing democracies the notion that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely can still be seen in heads of states clinging to power to ensure that their states continue on serving them. this problem is especially evident in africa where leaders enjoy unprecedented power and stay in office for decades. the longer leaders stay in office the more autocratic and dictatorial they become and corruption becomes a way of rule. as a result thereof, public sector performance deteriorates, living standards drop, the rule of law is absent and intraand inter-sate conflict increases. the recent events in north africa showcased just how detrimental heads of state refusing to give up power can be to a nation. it started in tunisia where president zineng-al abidine ben ali, who vowed that never again will tunisia be ruled by an ageing dictator, stayed in power for 23 years. his corrupt and suppressive rule was ended by mass riots in january 2011. next in line was president hosni mubarak of egypt, whose 30 year reign ended in an embarrassing resignation after being ousted by his own people. president laurent gbagbo of côte d’ivoire was also forced by the citizens of the country to resign power after rigging the 2010 elections in order to remain in power. then there was muammar quadaffi, once hailed as the champion of the oppressed and admired by the developing world, recently brutally murdered by rebel soldiers in a battle to get rid of their president of 42 years. in all the above cases intra state violence, and in the case of libya, war erupted due to leadership nuances. heads of state ruling for decades, abusing their power and creating not only intra-state conflict but inter-state conflict, is a saddening reality in most african and third world countries. in sub-saharan africa, paul biya, the president of cameroon, has been in power for over three decades, with endless scandals over corruption and abuse of power linked to his name. in southern africa, president robert mugabe of zimbabwe ruled for nearly four decades and in november 2010, the international monetary fund (imf) described the zimbabwean economy under his reign as "completing its second year of appalling economic growth" (imf, 2010) due to his tyrannical rule. that brings us to east africa, and in particular uganda, where president yoweri katuga museveni, once hailed as a beacon of hope in the region, is increasingly loosing face in the international arena and at home. president museveni has just been re-elected into his fifth term in office and, even before his swearing in, intra-state conflict has sporadically erupted across uganda in protest against this once seemingly “big man”. these situations are worrisome to the extent that the constitutions of these countries are rendered impotent and inferior to the overriding imperial powers of these individual leaders. in the quest to find lasting solution to these challenges this paper takes recourse to appraising the role of international criminal court in abating executive lawlessness and ensuring rule of law in third world countries especially in africa. objective of the study 218 the main focus of this study was on third world countries and executive lawlessness: an appraisal of the role of international criminal court (icc) in ensuring good governance in africa. to realize the above objective, the following specific goals shall be pursued: 1. to review the concepts of executive lawlessness and good governance issues in africa and third world countries in general; 2. to take an insight into the trajectory of executive lawlessness in africa; 3. to determine the role of the international criminal court (icc) in ensuring good governance in africa and the associated challenges; and 4. to proffer measures towards good governance in africa going forward. research methodology the descriptive method of research is used for this study. descriptive method is mainly concerned with describing the nature or condition of a present situation. it is applied in order to investigate and explore the causes of a particular phenomenon. descriptive studies provide a detailed highly accurate profile of people, events or situations. it also locates new data that contradicts past data and it clarifies a sequence of steps or stages. additionally, a descriptive study reports on the background or context of a situation. in this study, the descriptive research method was employed to identify the role the presidency play in conflict in africa. this is a qualitative study; the use of the qualitative method is advantageous as it is more open to change and refinement of research ideas as the study progresses. furthermore, secondary data will be used for this study, as well as, newspaper articles and academic reviewed articles as a primary source of information. “in choosing media sources, the study prioritized those with a reputation of credibility, and sought to ensure diversity of geographical regions and of perspectives” (cotula, vemeulen, leonard, keeley; 2009). theoretical framework there is ample academic literature regarding the genesis and nature of the african presidency. most of the literature focuses on the “path dependency” that has led to the persistence of presidential dominance in african states since independence. the main theoretical sources that serve as a point of departure and that provides insight into the persistent nature of presidential dominance are kwasi prempeh’s presidential power in comparative perspective: the puzzling persistence of imperial presidency of post-authoritarian africa (2007) and gary rosen’s the time of the presidents (2006). both articles agree that despite the democratic waves that have led to great political liberation and freed the continent of autocratic leaders through constitutional reforms, the phenomenon of presidential dominance still persist. furthermore, these articles define “imperial presidency” in post authoritarian africa, elaborate on the nature of the dominant african president and the factors that contributed to the persistence of presidential dominance. international criminal court these sources are supplemented by oloka onyango’s “new-breed” leadership, conflict, and reconstruction in the great lakes region of africa, his body of work elaborates on the notion that the period from the mid-1980’s generated a new breed of african leaders, although three decades later these rulers are looking more and more like the old breed. on the topic of theory, robert jackson and carl rosberg’s personal rule: theory and practice in africa (1984) provide an insightful look at the theory of “personal rule” which has been an important facet of politics and is based on machiavelli’s the prince. an additional source democratic ideology vs. autocratic practice: is africa a victim of her past by kaniki considers the dominant political ideologies in african politics and the autocratic practices that the leaders apply to their rule. such forces have their origins in the formation of a “defensive state” that survives on a personalized political power structure woven around the presidency. it is in this context that the african presidency takes centre stage as is deserving of academic attention with recourse to the trajectory of executive lawlessness and good governance. review of the concepts of executive lawlessness and good governance issues the executive is an administrative arm of government which carries out policies and enforces law enacted by the legislature. the chief executive is directly elected by the electorate through a universal suffrage; the officers under the chief executive are the president and the state governor. more simply, executive is the organ of government whose duty is to carry out government decision and enforce its laws. they are responsible for the implementation and execution of laws, policies and directives made by the legislative organ of government. the executive arm of government is headed by the prime minister in a (parliamentary system and the president in a presidential system of government. its functions include the general administration of the whole country or the state as the case may be. there is usually an executive council, chaired by the president or governor, and which includes, the vice or deputy, and all ministers or commissioners, and all other relevant political appointees. this scenario is equally played out at the local government areas, where the chairman is ably supported by the vice-chairman, supervisory councilors, and various appointees in the administration of the area. by whatever nomenclature so employed; executive lawlessness, recklessness, abuse, authoritarianism or autocracy, in the present there is no deviating from the central tendency and meaning of the subject matter. africa like other third world countries share similar characteristics, which differentiate them from the first world or developed countries. third world countries especially africa has remained the theatre of dramatic and manifest power play in the palaces of power. been products of colonial repression the leadership in these countries have assumed all the major attributes, characteristics and rapacious inclinations of colonial oppression and repression. thus the leadership that emerged post colonial employ all available means, tactics and stratagem to safeguard their hold unto power, clamp down on opposition and muzzle the masses into loyalty. this is the scenario largely responsible for executive lawlessness in third world countries, especially in africa. this indeed gives cause for serious concern. 220 good governance is not only a normative model that can be used to judge upon acts and deeds of public bodies; it is also an explanatory model that explains and predicts the effect of public policy, including the support for public bodies and decisions of these bodies. principles of good governance are therefore relevant when it comes to implementation and enforcement of public policy. to understand the concept of governance let’s take recourse to unescap (2011), which describes it as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. another way of putting it is defining governance as a process, a use of powers or authorities to manage public affairs. it comprises of mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences (undp, 2011). the world bank defines governance as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources. in this perspective, there are three distinct aspects of governance: the form of political regime; the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development; and the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and implement policies and discharge functions (world bank, 1992). therefore, the operational definition of governance is a manner in which public officials and institutions acquire and exercise the authority to shape public policy and provide public goods and services. governance is actually the entire process of decision-making. it is not only the substantial decision on the content of the public policy, but also the more organizational decisions on the design of the institutions, the actors involved in implementing the policy and the legal form of the agreements between these actors. with the addition of ‘good’, the term ‘governance’ receives a normative meaning. apparently governance can either be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. majority of scholars understand the concept in these perspectives: the capacity of the state, the commitment to the public good, the rule of law, the degree of transparency and accountability, the level of popular participation, and the stock of social capital. without good governance, it is impossible to foster development. no amount of resources transferred or infrastructure built can compensate for or survive bad governance. with the above in mind it is imperative to note however, that, the primary essence of government is to ensure good governance and the protection of lives and property of the citizens. but this notwithstanding there is prevalence of good governance deficit and consequential executive lawlessness among african leaders. this is evident in state failures and problems resulting from executive lawlessness and culture of impunity in the continent. in the submission of the human rights watch (2007) good governance has been equated to political and institutional processes and outcomes that support the exercise of legitimate authority by public institutions in the conduct of public affairs and management of public resources, so as to guarantee the realization of sustainable human development. the true test of “good governance” is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. the key question is: are the institutions of international criminal court governance effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing, sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security? it is disheartening that over 70% of african citizens live below the poverty line (international benchmark is $1.5 per day), and nigeria in particular is ranked 156th out of 187 countries in the world ranking of nations using the human development index (undp, 2011). yet between may 1999 and june 2008 alone, the country earned over $205 billion from petroleum alone (wokoma, 2008). in switzerland, just 7.4% of the population is below the poverty line. similarly, human development index of sub-saharan africa at average of 0.463 lags behind the world average of 0.682. the inequity-adjusted hdi is even further disappointing at 0.278. the low point in the global scale is 0.456. the multi-dimensional poverty index (mpi) shows that 54.1% of the population lives in poverty, with 57.3% in intense deprivation; other hdi for sub saharan africa includes: life expectancy 51.9 years; education index 0.442; multi-dimensional poverty index 0.310; and gross national income per capita 2,069. current statistics reveal that 1% of africa’s population; enjoy the privileges of 80% of its national resources. thus, 99% of the populations have barely 20% of the overall wealth to struggle over (yusuf, 2010). nigeria is ranked 14th as the world’s most failed state in the 2011 rankings released by fund for peace, an american independent non-profit research and educational organization. the survey which considered 177 countries used the following criteria: group grievance, uneven development, and legitimacy of state, public services, security apparatus, and factionalized elite. nigeria’s position dropped sharply from 54th in 2005, to 22nd in 2006, and 14th in 2010 and 2011. nigeria was only better than the likes of somalia, chad, sudan, afghanistan, pakistan, haiti and iraq. all these are evidently third world countries. in fact, today nigeria is in a worst case scenario and much more a failed state than as indicated in the 2011 ranking. more so, the nation’s misery index is on a persistent rise. indeed, a preston curve on income distribution in the world indicates that nigeria is one of the three poorest nations of the world, where more than 80% of the population earn less than $1 per day (agwu, 2007). if this is the case of a so called giant of africa; what is the condition in other african countries. yet african leaders are more preoccupied with perpetuating themselves in power, hoodwinking the opposition, personalizing and emasculating the power of state than ensuring good governance and sustainable development. the 2011 ibrahim index of african governance released by the mo ibrahim foundation, ranked nigeria 41st out of 53 african countries studied. the index seeks “to provide a robust, comprehensive and quantifiable tool for civil society and citizens to hold governments to account, to stimulate debate on governance and to provide a framework to assess governance quality in africa” the index ranks good governance in four major areas: safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and human development. some of the scores proved quite interesting: cape verde scored 78.0, ghana 66.0, sao tome 60.2, and nigeria 46.5 (obi, 2012). nigeria “the giant of africa” is thus proving the point that “possessing mere potentials seem to be inadequate for transformation to greatness. good leadership is critical as it provides the required governance that can 222 exploit all the potentials for the good of the citizenry” (obi, 2012). the mo foundation also instituted an annual prize for good leadership in africa. in 2007, the prize was won by joaquim alberto chissano, former president of mozambique. in 2008, festus gontebanye mogae of botswana received the prize. the question remains: when and which nigerian leader will ever receive such prize? given this sad and inglorious profile, how does nigeria in particular and africa in general break out of the logjam of executive lawlessness and associated governance challenges? how can the country resolve these fundamental problems? the situation is indeed complicated as a result of a debilitating combination of a bloated, corrupt and inefficient public sector-led economy and a private sector that grows a “rent seeking and unproductive culture of overdependence on government patronage and contracts, with little or no value added” (harneitsievers, 2004); these further breeds high level of poverty; unabated scourge of corruption in public and private life; and gross absence of security as well as abuse of the budget process (budget padding). the trajectory of executive lawlessness in africa: an insight whereas the culture of impunity reigns supreme at the heart of political life in africa in the modern era lays a painful paradox. a popular yearning for political democracy was a driving force behind movements for national independence, and has remained powerful ever since. the nationalist elites’ commitment to democratic practices and principles has been rhetorically strong. yet, with a few exceptions, dictatorship has become the rule. instead of representative institutions, governmental accountability and respect for individual rights and freedom, there is widespread repression, terror, clamping down on the opposition and gross violations of human rights. strangely enough, there is very little by way of explanation beyond a few works on authoritarianism in latin america, and even fewer essays on asia and africa. this paucity seems related to an enduring consensus in modern political theory since at least the 19th century, that the concept and practice of democracy is alien to noneuropean societies. democracy in the third world does not exist as an analytical or political problem. popular theories such as “oriental despotism” did not bother to consider the complex social dynamics which, in fact, made for highly decentralized and pluralistic polities. today the influential modernization theorists are convinced of the inevitability, perhaps even desirability, of authoritarian rule in the third world. as thomas (2001) points out, marxists too often dismiss political democracy as a purely “bourgeois” deception. “this, allied with vulgar interpretations of what a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ represents, has paved the way for a very dangerous brand of left authoritarianism”. thomas argues that the authoritarian state appears at a particular moment as a specific response to a configuration of historical and structural forces. these are related not only to local “internal” conditions but also to global economic and political developments. thomas relates the development and forms of the state to changing economic compulsions, from colonial slavery to the subsequent era of “free” labor and “classical” imperialism. colonialism bequeathed highly developed administrative and repressive institutions, but international criminal court underdeveloped participatory and democratic ones. the exclusion of the people, absence of separation of powers and the dominance of the executive over other branches of government; these were inherent in the logic of the colonial state. this state was an imposition from the top designed to introduce forcefully capitalist accumulation. the external orientation of capitalist development inhibited, with a few exceptions like india, the growth of strong indigenous bourgeois or working classes, which could become driving forces for political democracy. instead, the colonial state produced a relatively large petty bourgeoisie, which eventually led the nationalist struggle, thomas opines. since independence, the power of the state and the authoritarian tendency inherited from colonialism has grown. thomas argues that the petty bourgeoisie, large in number but politically weak, comes to rely entirely on the state for its survival and growth. this ruling class has little social base outside of itself, which makes democratic procedures risky and encourages reliance on authoritarianism. this tendency is reinforced by crises and interruptions which are integral to capitalist accumulation and have been a key feature of the capitalist world economy since the mid-1970s. the authoritarian state emerges as a response to the exhaustion of primary product exports and import substitution industrialization as models of accumulation. the state’s task is to cut the growth of real wages and the standard of living, and at the same time maintain productivity, profits and social and economic domination. this role is facilitated by massive military and economic aid from the metropolitan countries. finally, the ideology of “development” and “modernization,” so popular among the ruling elites and their ideological mentors in the west, itself encourages elitist tendencies. thomas’ discussion on ideology unfortunately does not sufficiently dwell on the deep legitimacy crisis of the authoritarian state. this crisis has been the achilles’ heel of the state in the periphery. thomas’ book goes a long way in helping us understand the rise of authoritarian states and executive lawlessness in africa. ideological and political forces shaping the state in africa in particular are the focus of smith (2001). he aims to “complement” both the modernization and marxist theorists who neglect the “autonomous” influence of political and ideological forces by seeing them as being determined either by “overarching cultural values” or an economic base. in contrast to thomas, smith argues that the colonial state owes its origins not simply to the economic compulsions of capitalist penetration, but perhaps more to the dynamics of the european interstate system. the state in the third world comes into being as a “more or less” deliberate creation by european statesmen and officials. for smith, the rise of nationalism and emergence of the post-colonial state had more political than economic roots. colonialism, by introducing arbitrary territorial divisions and “bureaucratic homogenization,” produced an “intelligentsia” with a stake in the state it sought to control. smith’s “intelligentsia” includes intellectuals, skilled technicians, diploma holders and professionals of all sorts, including bureaucrats and military officers. according to smith, these elite are caught in a dilemma. in order for it to consolidate the territorial state, it needs not only to centralize power but also to mobilize popular support and loyalty for the state. but because the state is an alien imposition, popular mobilization often highlights 224 cultural, ethnic and class grievances and undermines the position of the elite and indeed imperils the existence of the state itself. the international criminal court (icc) and its roles in good governance in africa the icc must not be confused with the international court of justice icj, which is the primary judicial organ of the united nations, and has operated in the hague since 1946, resolving legal disputes between sovereign states. the hague-based international criminal court, icc, began operation only in 2002, and focuses on war crimes and crimes against humanity especially among countries that have assented to the rome treaty. the creation of a permanent international criminal court (icc), based in the hague, the netherlands, signifies an important development in the quest to prevent atrocious crimes of international concern (unga, 2012). in the late 1990s, delegations from over 120 states negotiated the rome treaty, the instrument that established the icc. the court was established to exercise jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which indeed are clear cases of executive lawlessness mostly manifest in africa and some other developing countries of the world. the icc carries out its investigative work through the office of the prosecutor. the court has eighteen judges, each from a different member country and elected by the member states. it requires its members to seek a gender-balanced bench, and the judiciary must include representatives of each of the united nations’ five regions. judges and prosecutors are elected to nonrenewable nine-year terms. the president and two vice presidents of the court are elected from among the judges; they, along with the registry, handle the administration of the court. the court has jurisdiction over four categories of crimes under international law: a) genocide, or the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group; b) war crimes, or grave breaches of the laws of war, which include the geneva conventions’ prohibitions on torture, the use of child soldiers, and attacks on civilian targets, such as hospitals or schools; c) crimes against humanity, or violations committed as part of large-scale attacks against civilian populations, including murder, rape, imprisonment, slavery, and torture; and d) crimes of aggression, or the use or threat of armed force by a state against the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or political independence of another state, or violations of the un charter. international criminal court the court can open an investigation into possible crimes in one of three ways: a member country can refer a situation within its own territory to the court; the un security council can refer a situation; or the prosecutor can launch an investigation into a member state proprio motu, or “on one’s own initiative.” the court can investigate individuals from nonmember states if the alleged offenses took place in a member state’s territory, if the nonmember state accepts the court’s jurisdiction, or with the security council’s authorization. suffice to say that personal jurisdiction of icc was limited to nationals of ratifying states and individuals committing the relevant crimes in the territory of a ratifying state. the rome statute entered into force in 2003; and as of november 2008, 108 independent states have ratified it (report of the uno secretary-general, 23 august 2004, s/2004/616, para. 49). the icc represents not merely another international criminal tribunal, but rather something qualitatively different from any other international court. all other international criminal tribunals have operated with jurisdictions that were limited territorially and usually temporally. this includes the nuremberg tribunal following the second world war, the "ad hoc" tribunals created by the united nations (un) in the 1990s to address crimes in the former yugoslavia and rwanda, and the hybrid national international courts for sierra leone, east timor, bosnia, kosovo, cambodia, and lebanon (sang-hyun song, 2013). unlike those courts, the icc is potentially universal in territorial jurisdiction and has continuing temporal jurisdiction over a state following that state's accession to the rome statute. moreover, the icc's regime of complementary jurisdiction (described in sub-part ii.b.) is utterly novel on the international level. the icc, including its prosecutor, operates with an unprecedented degree of political independence. the prosecutor may initiate cases of his own accord (proprio motu), subject to review by the court's pre-trial chamber. in short, the icc regime has several characteristics that are historically novel, even when compared to other recently-created tribunals. a stated goal of the icc is to "contribute to the prevention of crimes that are grave in nature" (botha, 2012). debates about the wisdom and usefulness of the icc have often focused on the likelihood that the icc will actually succeed in preventing such atrocities smacked of executive lawlessness with direct bearing on governance deficits, especially where domestic or national courts are overwhelmed. it is important to note that, unlike most domestic crimes, the crimes adjudicated by international tribunals often occur during a severe breakdown in public order. this complicates the deterrence question insofar as an international criminal tribunal's actions can influence the quality of public order in the affected society. in the light of the above therefore, the icc was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals, but debate over the court still rages. the international criminal court seeks to hold to account those guilty of some of the world’s worst crimes. champions of the court say it deters would-be war criminals, bolsters the rule of law, and offers justice to victims of atrocities. african countries make up the largest bloc of icc members. the european union is also a staunch supporter of the court; it adopted a binding policy in support of the icc in 2011. 226 the icc is intended to complement rather than replace national courts. it can only act when national courts have been found unable or unwilling to try a case. additionally, it only exercises jurisdiction over crimes that occurred after its statute took effect in 2002. the icc differs from the international court of justice; the top un court, which settles disputes between states and is also located in the hague—in that it prosecutes individuals. its broad geographic reach and continuous operation distinguish it from temporary international tribunals, such as that in rwanda. the icc has indicted more than forty individuals, all from african countries. seventeen people have been detained at the hague, nine have been convicted of crimes, and four have been acquitted. cases have been referred by the governments of uganda, the central african republic, the democratic republic of congo, and mali relating to the civil wars and other conflicts that have raged in those countries. the un security council made its first referral in 2005, for alleged crimes in the darfur region of sudan. this was followed in 2011 by a referral for libya. in addition, the prosecutor’s office opened investigations proprio motu in kenya in 2010, the ivory coast in 2011, georgia in 2016, burundi in 2017, bangladesh and myanmar in 2019, and afghanistan in 2020. preliminary examinations have been opened in eight other countries—including colombia, ukraine, and venezuela—as well as in the palestinian territories (wikipedia, 2020). the icc contributes to the fight against impunity and the establishment of the rule of law by ensuring that the most severe crimes do not go unpunished and by promoting respect for international law. the core mandate of the icc is to act as a court of last resort with the capacity to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national jurisdictions for any reason are unable or unwilling to do so. as of november 2012, the icc is seized of 14 cases in seven country situations, involving a total of 23 suspects or accused. three of the investigations in uganda, the democratic republic of the congo (drc) and the central african republic resulted from referrals made by the states themselves; two situations in darfur, sudan and libya were referred to the icc prosecutor by the united nations security council, and the last two investigations in kenya and côte d'ivoire were initiated by the prosecutor proprio motu, with the authorization of the pre-trial chamber of the icc. in addition, the prosecutor is currently conducting preliminary examinations into eight situations (sang-hyun, song, 2013). accordingly, the rome statute and the icc have made particular advances in combating impunity in relation to crimes against children and women. the rome statute extensively codifies such acts and requires the organs of the icc to have particular expertise on violence against women and children. in fact, gender crimes were featured in the vast majority of icc cases to date. according to sang-hyun, song report, the icc's first verdict was issued on 14 march 2012 and the first sentence on 10 july 2012 in the lubanga case, where child soldiers under the age of 15 were conscripted, enlisted and used to actively participate in hostilities in the drc. charges relating to the use of child soldiers are also featured in several other icc cases, and the special representative of the united nations secretary-general for children and armed international criminal court conflict has assessed that "these indictments serve as a useful deterrent against child recruitment in situations of armed conflict". as the then united nations secretary-general kofi annan stated in 2004, the icc makes an impact by "putting would-be violators on notice that impunity is not assured (report of the secretary-general, 23 august 2004, s/2004/616, para. 49). where tensions arise, announcing publicly that the icc is following the situation can be a powerful way to warn any potential perpetrators that they could be held liable for their actions. moreover, it can draw local as well as international attention to the situation and induce the relevant national and other stakeholders to take necessary action to defuse the crisis. even where the icc's intervention is required, it does not necessarily have to lead to trials before the icc. an icc investigation may instead prompt the relevant national authorities to investigate the alleged crimes in an expeditious manner and to prosecute the suspected perpetrators in domestic courts. the icc reduces impunity not only by punishing perpetrators, but also by allowing victims to participate in the judicial proceedings and to apply for reparations. these are novel, progressive features in international criminal proceedings that empower victims and bring retributive and restorative justice closer together. as of november 2012, the icc has received more than 12,000 applications for participation in the proceedings, the majority of which have been accepted. its first decision on reparations for victims was issued on 7 august 2012. the rome statute created not only a court, but also a new international legal system consisting of the icc as well as the national jurisdictions of each state party. within this system, states have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute rome statute crimes. in his 2004 report, mr. annan noted that "the court is already having an important impact by serving as a catalyst for enacting national laws against the gravest international crimes" (report of the secretary-general, 23 august 2004, s/2004/616, p. 16.). indeed, the assembly of states parties to the rome statute has repeatedly stressed the importance of national implementation of the statute and of strengthening the capacity of national jurisdictions and has considered ways to achieve those goals. recently, discussions on these issues, under the rome statute concept of complementarity, have been multiplied in many forums among a wide range of stakeholders, notably the united nations, interested states and civil society. without the rule of law, impunity and executive lawlessness reigns. by punishing violations of international legal norms and by promoting adherence to these norms, the icc and the wider rome statute system play an important part in advancing the rule of law, thereby reducing impunity. this role is critical given the nature of the specific norms that the rome statute concerns—norms aimed at preventing crimes which "threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world" (see preamble to the rome statute of the icc). the acts and omissions which fall under its jurisdiction are so heinous, so destructive, that every effort towards their prevention is worthwhile. accountability is important not only for the sake of 228 the past, but for the future as well. where impunity is left unaddressed, it provides fertile ground for the recurrence of conflicts and repetition of violence. but, since its inception, the icc has faced considerable setbacks and challenges. it has been unable to gain the support of major powers, including the united states, china, and russia. some countries have also withdrawn from the court, and many african governments complain that the court has singled out africa in its operation. burundi left in 2017, following the court’s decision to investigate the government’s crackdown on opposition protests. philippine president rodrigo duterte pulled out in 2019, after the court launched an inquiry into his government’s war on drugs, saying domestic courts are sufficient to enforce the rule of law. gambia and south africa notified the united nations in 2016 that they intended to exit the treaty, but they later reversed course in the face of political upheaval and legal challenges. more recently, the administration of donald j. trump has ramped up u.s. opposition to the jurisdiction of the court (wikipedia, 2020). these challenges notwithstanding, in order to effectively perform its mandate, the icc needs the support and cooperation of states. the international community has, on multiple occasions, declared its determination to end impunity for the gravest crimes, and cooperation with the icc is a concrete way to give effect to that objective. as the icc has no police force of its own, it requires states' cooperation for the enforcement of its orders and is entirely reliant upon them for the execution of its arrest warrants. unfortunately, several suspects subject to icc arrest warrants have successfully evaded arrest for many years, defying the international community's attempts to establish the rule of law at the international level. political will to bring these persons to justice is crucial. the long-term value of the icc and the rome statute system lies in both the punishment of perpetrators and the prevention of future crimes. there is already evidence that it has made a significant contribution in this regard. going forward, the icc should remain firmly committed to bringing an end to impunity and upholding the rule of law, inspired by the common values of humanity that the court shares with the united nations. recommendations this paper therefore recommends as follows; 1. african leaders need to eschew internal political slavery by reduction of abject poverty through equitable resource control and proper allocation of national revenue. 2. executive lawlessness manifest in lopsided appointments in favour of a particular ethnicity and religion should be discarded to avoid political instability. 3. promotion of human rights and sanctity of life, morality, accountability and democratization should be upheld for further prevention and reduction of executive lawlessness and enthronement of good governance in africa. international criminal court 4. there is need for political leaders in african and elsewhere to always employ dialogue as a method of resolving political differences and promoting peace and harmony for sustainable development. 5. in order to effectively perform its mandate, the icc needs the support and cooperation of states, it’s therefore exigent that the un do the needful by passing a resolution that will be binding on all state parties to abide by the rome treaty. conclusion this paper submits that most contemporary problems of leadership in africa are caused internally and can only be solved by african leaders with some foreign assistance. leadership imperfection is inevitable, however; controllable flaws should be prevented and minimized for impactful governance. african backwardness in politics, security and economy has been viewed as a consequence of leadership flaws. assumption of leaders seems patriotic at the beginning but their later performance reveals their recklessness and hidden motives. turning to the international criminal court, a brief look at those who have been indicted reveals that to date, the vast majority have been from sub-saharan africa, and the remaining few are from libya, also on the african continent. while armed conflict has been more prevalent in africa than in other parts of the world over the past decade, african leaders certainly do not hold a monopoly on the commission of war crimes. courts build their legitimacy partly based on the cases that they choose to hear. by focusing predominantly on africans, there is a real worry that the icc will be perceived by non-western countries as providing a cloak of legitimacy for the western nations to achieve their political aims despite the fact that the icc's chief prosecutor luis moreno ocampo has explicitly stated that the icc is not a court "just for the third world". what the international community needs to guard against is allowing the icc to become a tool that western liberal democracies can impose on developing country leaders who have fallen out of political favour. for the icc to remain viable, it also cannot be perceived as the backdoor by which western powers target their political enemies. with the above in mind, it is germane to conclude therefore, that the international criminal court offers new hope for a permanent reduction in the phenomenon of impunity and lawlessness; the establishment of the icc is undoubtedly the most significant recent development in the international community's long struggle to advance the cause of justice and the rule of law. the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern has been strengthened through the work of the international criminal court. the contribution of the international criminal court in the fight against impunity is therefore 230 worth commending and demands the support of the major powers to bolster the legitimacy of the icc in the promotion of good governance everywhere in the world. references agwu, n. 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(2000). the role of the presidency in african conflict. in okoth, p.g. & ogot, b. a. (eds.). conflict in contemporary africa (30-43). nairobi: jomo kenyatta foundation. wokoma, d. (2008). nigeria’s economic indices and governance failure: a call for review. staff seminar paper no. 5, department of economics, university of nairobi. yusuf, b. (2010). human development indexes: african leadership at crossroads. lagos: liberty press. page 4 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 1 establishment of the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales in the determination of the magnitude of population of any particular entity and other development kifilideen l. osanyinpeju1*, lukmon a. osanyinpeju 2, fatimo f. osanyinpeju 3 1agricultural and bio-resources engineering department, college of engineering, federal university of agriculture abeokuta, ogun state, nigeria 2mechanical engineering department, faculty of engineering, university of lagos, lagos state, nigeria 3mathematics department, school of education, aderiran ogunsanya college of education, aocded, ijanikin, ojo, lagos state in affiliation to ekiti state university, nigeria * corresponding author: amkifilideenosanyinpeju@gmail.com, prof_4us@yahoo.com abstract: overtime the parameters commonly used to measure the population of a location are number of population in figure, population density in 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒/𝑘𝑚2 and population growth in percentage. these parameters are not enough to quantify the intensity of the population of the entities of a place. the previous methods of measuring population which are number of population in figure and population density in 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒/𝑘𝑚2 have huge and large figure which is difficult to work with and interpret. knowing the magnitude of the population of the entity of an area would help to figure the intensity and impact of such entity in that area. this study established the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales to determine the magnitude of the population of any particular entity of a state, nation or location. the research work also invented the lukmon (power of base 3) and antilumon (antipower of base 3) with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables in evaluating the magnitude of the population of an entity. the study provides formulas for the determination of the magnitude of both the population and population density of any particular entity such as human being, bacteria and plant which would help to decide the level of impact of that entity in such location. the magnitude of population provides a simplify form of representing the population of a place. keywords antikifilideen table, antifatimo table, antilukmon table, entity, fatimo table, kifilideen table, lukmon table, kifilideen scales, population, population scales introduction the population of an entity of a location is the number of the specify entity found in the location (tarsi and tuff, 2012). in micro level; entities of a population in a location can be atoms, molecules, ions or particles while in macro levels; the entities of a population can be plants, animals or human. in both classes of levels of the entities of the population: the increase in the entities of a location lead to the increase in the magnitude of interaction between individual members of the entities, members of other entities in contact and with the location. the elevation of the magnitude of the population of a particular entity; bring about higher tendency of change in the system which can be constructive or destructive change. for example, the population of plant presents in a farmland determines the loss of nutrient in such farmland per time (sumithra et al., 2013). the increase in the magnitude of plants in the soil; lead to the increase in the loss of nutrient in that soil (bashagaluke et al., 2018). meanwhile, the higher the magnitude of residue of plants that exist in the soil the more the soil becomes more replenish with nutrients (torma et al., 2017). mailto:prof_4us@yahoo.com 2 overtime the parameters commonly used to measure the population of a location are number of population in figure, population density in 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒/𝑘𝑚2 and population growth in percentage (stephan and david, 2017). these parameters are not enough to quantify the intensity of the population of the entities of a place. the previous methods of measuring population which are number of population in figure and population density in 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒/𝑘𝑚2 have huge and large figure which is difficult to work with and interpret. the conversion of these figures to magnitude form would easier calculation when determining the population of place over a given time in which when final answer is obtained the magnitude can be converted back to figure. it would also provide easy interpretation of population. the magnitude of the population of an entity is an easy and simplified form of representing the population of an entity. the magnitude of the population can be useful in the classification of the population of an entity into levels and sizes. the magnitude of a population of a particular entity such as human being, plant, animal, bacteria and virus presents in a state, nation or location determine the strength and weakness of such state, nation or location. knowing the magnitude of the population of the entity in an area would help to figure the intensity and impact of such entity in that area. the population of a country is essential factor that serve as a weapon for social-economic, political and security development for such country (mohammed et al., 2019). the establishment of procedure in measuring the magnitude of population of a location would supplement the conventional method in evaluating the population of a place. an insight in the magnitude of both population and population density of an entity of a location are essential and integral part of evaluating the level of impact and intensity of the entity can create in such location. the magnitude of both population and population density of different location of a place could be adopted in determining the sharing formula of the revenue allocation, demarcation of constituencies, creation of state and local government, allocation of representation in national and state assemblies among the different regions of the location (domini et al., 2016). the magnitude of the population and population density is a crucial parameter that determines the economic strength and size of a nation’s work force. the area or region with very high magnitude of population has very high election power during voting of people into post in a country. the larger magnitude of population density indicates higher human capital of a country. in case of the population of human being in a country, a large magnitude of the young who are the active participants of the economic activity of such country in the demographic composition is a blessing to that given country which lead to increasing the level of technology, production output, social amenities otherwise can lead to scarcity and increase in price of foods and service; lower per capital income as a result of increase in the magnitude of the population on natural resource and high magnitude of the population density; decrease capital accumulation and savings; impact poverty and unemployment; environmental complications such as rise in co2, global warming, pollution (agarwal, 2014). the rapid increase in rate of the magnitude of the population growth in nigeria as a case study results to severe problem to national development, unemployment, poverty and insecurity issues. a very high magnitude of people in a small space will lead to various types of congestion in such space or location (kozlak and wach, 2018). the kifilideen magnitude of population of entities of a location is established by determining the power the base of 11 is raised to claim the population of the entities. the power obtain can indicate the level of the population on the kifiilideen scale. as the population of a location is increasing; so the magnitudes of the population is also increasing on the kifilideen scale. the other scales 3 established in this paper in determining the magnitude of a population are lukmon and fatimo scales. the conversion of the magnitude on one scale to another was also established. the lukmon and fatimo scales are the scales of the magnitude of a population obtain by determining the power in which base of 3 and 8 are raised respectively to claim the population of the entities of a location. in order to evaluate the magnitude of the population of lukmon and fatimo scales the lukmon (power of base 3) and antilukmon (antipower of base 3) tables with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (anitpower of base 8) tables were inaugurated. the kilifideen (power of base 11) and antikifilideen (anitpower of base 11) tables to evaluate the magnitude of the population on the kifilideen scale had been established in 2019 (osanyinpeju, 2019). the understanding of the utilization of the methods used in this paper in describing and measuring the population of location can be done by having full interaction with the procedure illustrated in the method. as the saying, you can only know more about something in different ways when you continue having interaction with that thing in different pattern (osanyinpeju, 2020a; osanyinpeju, 2020b). if you distance yourself from it you know less of it and some fact about that thing become hidden (osanyinpeju, 2021). this study established the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales to determine the magnitude of the population of any particular entity of a location. the research work also invented the lukmon (power of base 3) and antilumon (antipower of base 3) with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables in evaluating the magnitude of the population of an entity. materials and methods definition of terms used in the methodology kifilideen and antikifilideen tables kifilideen table is the table which pinpoint the power in which base 11 has to be raised to signify a given number (osanyinpeju, 2020c). antikifilideen table is the table that specifies the value that would be achieved when evaluating power of base 11 (osanyinpeju, 2019). osanyinpeju and antiosanyinpeju tables osanyinpeju table is the table which offers the power in which base 2 has to be raised to express a given number (osanyinpeju et al., 2019). antiosanyinpeju table is the table that stipulates the value that would be obtained for a given power of base 2. lekan and antilekan tables lekan table is the table which point out the power in which base 5 has to be raised to proclaim a given number. the table is employed to transform ordinary number to power of base 5 (osanyinpeju, 2020c). antilekan table is the table that specifies the value that would be achieved when evaluating power of base 5. lukmon and antilukmon tables 4 lukmon table is a table which indicates the power in which base 3 has to be raised to stand for a given number. the table is used to transform ordinary number to power of base 3. the table was inaugurated in order to carry out computation related to power of base 3 without using calculator. antilukmon table is the table which is used to reverse the power of base 3 of a number back to ordinary number. the antilukmon table was originated to help in removing the power of base 3 of any number to ordinary number. fatimo and antifatimo tables fatimo table is the table which point out the power in which base 8 has to be raised to convey a given number. the table is used to change ordinary number to power of base 8. antifatimo table is the table that stipulates the value that would be obtained for a given power of base 8. logarithm table logarithm table is a table of logarithm of number in base 10 (macrae et al., 2016) kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales kifilideen scale is a scale of the magnitude of a population achieves by authenticating the power in which base of 11 is raised to claim the population of the entities of a location using kifilideen table. while lukmon scale is a scale of the magnitude of a population obtains by authenticating the power in which base of 3 is raised to claim the population of the entities of a location using lukmon table. more so, fatimo scale is a scale of the magnitude of a population acquires by ascertaining the power in which base of 8 is raised to claim the population of the entities of a location using fatimo table. invention of lukmon (power of base 3) and antilumon (antipower of base 3) with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables in evaluating the magnitude of the population of an entity tables 1 – 8 present the invention of lukmon (power of base 3) and antilumon (antipower of base 3) with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables in evaluating the magnitude of the population of an entity. the lukmon (power of base 3) and fatimo (power of base 8) tables with antilukmon (antipower of base 3) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables were established based on manual method of computing and also with the assistance of calculator. however, the tables can be used to solve modern real life problem without the use of calculator (osanyinpeju, 2022). the genesis of the manual method used to construct these tables mentioned above is demonstrated as follows: to convert 7 to the power of base 3, you start by looking for the value to be raised by 3 to give 7. 31 = 3 which is less than the 7 to be achieved. then, the power of the base three is increased. so, we try 31.8 which gives 7.2247. the value obtained is greater than the value we needed that is 7. then, the power is reduced to 1.7. meanwhile, 31.7 = 6.4730. this value attained is getting closer to the required value. so, 31.77 is tried which gives 6.9904 but 31.78 gives 7.0677. the power is then given a 3 decimal places trial. for31.771 we have 6.9981 but 31.772 produces 7.0058. with this power 1.771 we are almost there. we go for power of 4 decimal places. trying 31.7712 we obtained 6.9997. for 5 decimal places, 5 31.77124 gives 7.0000. since the table was constructed base on power of 4 decimal places. so the power in which 3 must be raised to give 7 is 1.7712 indicating luk (7) is 1.7712 or 7 = 3 𝐿𝑢𝑘 (7) = 31.7712. 6 table 1: lukmon (power of base 3) of number 𝒙 → 𝑳𝒖𝒌 𝒙 difference (x) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0.0000 0.0868 0.1660 0.2388 0.3063 0.3691 0.4278 0.4830 0.5350 0.5842 65 130 194 258 321 384 446 508 570 2 0.6309 0.6753 0.7177 0.7581 0.7969 0.8340 0.8697 0.9041 0.9372 0.9691 38 75 112 149 186 223 260 296 333 3 1.0000 1.0298 1.0587 1.0868 1.1139 1.1403 1.1660 1.1909 1.2152 1.2388 27 53 79 106 132 158 184 210 236 4 1.2619 1.2843 1.3063 1.3277 1.3486 1.3691 1.3891 1.4087 1.4278 1.4466 21 41 61 82 102 122 143 163 183 5 1.4650 1.4830 1.5007 1.5180 1.5350 1.5517 1.5681 1.5842 1.6001 1.6156 17 33 50 57 83 100 116 133 149 6 1.6309 1.6460 1.6608 1.6753 1.6897 1.7038 1.7177 1.7314 1.7449 1.7581 14 28 42 56 70 84 98 112 126 7 1.7712 1.7842 1.7969 1.8094 1.8218 1.8340 1.8461 1.8580 1.8697 1.8813 12 24 37 49 61 73 85 97 109 8 1.8928 1.9041 1.9153 1.9263 1.9372 1.9480 1.9586 1.9691 1.9795 1.9898 11 22 32 43 54 64 75 86 97 9 2.0000 2.0101 2.0200 2.0298 2.0396 2.0492 2.0587 2.0682 2.0775 2.0868 10 19 29 38 48 58 67 77 86 10 2.0959 2.1050 2.1139 2.1228 2.1316 2.1403 2.1489 2.1575 2.1660 2.1743 9 17 26 35 43 52 61 69 78 11 2.1827 2.1909 2.1991 2.2072 2.2152 2.2231 2.2310 2.2388 2.2466 2.2542 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 63 71 12 2.2619 2.2694 2.2769 2.2843 2.2917 2.2990 2.3063 2.3135 2.3206 2.3277 7 15 22 29 37 44 51 58 66 13 2.3347 2.3417 2.3486 2.3555 2.3623 2.3691 2.3758 2.3825 2.3891 2.3956 6 14 20 27 34 41 47 54 61 14 2.4022 2.4087 2.4151 2.4215 2.4278 2.4341 2.4404 2.4466 2.4528 2.4589 6 13 19 25 31 38 44 50 57 15 2.4650 2.4710 2.4770 2.4830 2.4889 2.4948 2.5007 2.5065 2.5123 2.5180 6 12 18 24 29 35 41 47 53 16 2.5237 2.5294 2.5350 2.5406 2.5462 2.5517 2.5572 2.5627 2.5681 2.5735 6 11 17 22 28 33 39 44 50 17 2.5789 2.5842 2.5895 2.5948 2.6001 2.6053 2.6105 2.6156 2.6208 2.6259 5 10 16 21 26 31 36 42 47 18 2.6309 2.6360 2.6410 2.6460 2.6509 2.6559 2.6608 2.6657 2.6705 2.6753 5 10 15 20 25 30 34 39 44 19 2.6801 2.6849 2.6897 2.6944 2.6991 2.7038 2.7084 2.7131 2.7177 2.7223 5 9 14 19 23 28 33 37 42 20 2.7268 2.7314 2.7359 2.7404 2.7449 2.7493 2.7537 2.7581 2.7625 2.7669 4 9 13 18 22 27 31 36 40 21 2.7712 2.7756 2.7799 2.7842 2.7884 2.7927 2.7969 2.8011 2.8053 2.8094 4 8 13 17 21 25 30 34 38 22 2.8136 2.8177 2.8218 2.8259 2.8300 2.8340 2.8381 2.8421 2.8461 2.8501 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 23 2.8540 2.8580 2.8619 2.8658 2.8697 2.8736 2.8775 2.8813 2.8852 2.8890 4 8 12 16 19 23 27 31 35 24 2.8928 2.8966 2.9003 2.9041 2.9078 2.9116 2.9153 2.9190 2.9226 2.9263 4 7 11 15 19 22 26 30 33 25 2.9299 2.9336 2.9372 2.9408 2.9444 2.9480 2.9515 2.9551 2.9586 2.9621 4 7 11 14 18 21 25 29 32 26 2.9656 2.9691 2.9726 2.9761 2.9795 2.9830 2.9864 2.9898 2.9932 2.9966 3 7 10 14 17 21 24 27 31 27 3.0000 3.0034 3.0067 3.0101 3.0134 3.0167 3.0200 3.0233 3.0266 3.0298 3 7 10 13 17 20 23 26 30 28 3.0331 3.0363 3.0396 3.0428 3.0460 3.0492 3.0524 3.0556 3.0587 3.0619 3 6 10 13 16 19 22 26 29 29 3.0650 3.0682 3.0713 3.0744 3.0775 3.0806 3.0837 3.0868 3.0898 3.0929 3 6 9 12 15 19 22 25 28 30 3.0959 3.0989 3.1020 3.1050 3.1080 3.1109 3.1139 3.1169 3.1199 3.1228 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 31 3.1257 3.1287 3.1316 3.1345 3.1374 3.1403 3.1432 3.1461 3.1489 3.1518 3 6 9 12 14 17 20 23 26 32 3.1546 3.1575 3.1603 3.1631 3.1660 3.1688 3.1716 3.1743 3.1771 3.1799 3 6 8 11 14 17 20 22 25 33 3.1827 3.1854 3.1882 3.1909 3.1936 3.1963 3.1991 3.2018 3.2045 3.2072 3 5 8 11 14 16 19 22 24 34 3.2098 3.2125 3.2152 3.2178 3.2205 3.2231 3.2258 3.2284 3.2310 3.2336 3 5 8 11 13 16 18 21 24 35 3.2362 3.2388 3.2414 3.2440 3.2466 3.2491 3.2517 3.2542 3.2568 3.2593 3 5 8 10 13 15 18 21 23 36 3.2619 3.2644 3.2669 3.2694 3.2719 3.2744 3.2769 3.2794 3.2819 3.2843 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 37 3.2868 3.2893 3.2917 3.2941 3.2966 3.2990 3.3014 3.3039 3.3063 3.3087 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 19 22 7 38 3.3111 3.3135 3.3159 3.3182 3.3206 3.3230 3.3253 3.3277 3.3300 3.3324 2 5 7 9 12 14 17 19 21 39 3.3347 3.3370 3.3394 3.3417 3.3440 3.3463 3.3486 3.3509 3.3532 3.3555 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 18 21 40 3.3578 3.3600 3.3623 3.3646 3.3668 3.3691 3.3713 3.3736 3.3758 3.3780 2 4 7 9 11 13 16 18 20 41 3.3802 3.3825 3.3847 3.3869 3.3891 3.3913 3.3935 3.3956 3.3978 3.4000 2 4 7 9 11 13 15 18 20 42 3.4022 3.4043 3.4065 3.4087 3.4108 3.4129 3.4151 3.4172 3.4193 3.4215 2 4 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 43 3.4236 3.4257 3.4278 3.4299 3.4320 3.4341 3.4362 3.4383 3.4404 3.4424 2 4 6 8 10 13 15 17 19 44 3.4445 3.4466 3.4486 3.4507 3.4528 3.4548 3.4568 3.4589 3.4609 3.4629 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 45 3.4650 3.4670 3.4690 3.4710 3.4730 3.4750 3.4770 3.4790 3.4810 3.4830 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 46 3.4850 3.4870 3.4889 3.4909 3.4929 3.4948 3.4968 3.4987 3.5007 3.5026 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 47 3.5046 3.5065 3.5084 3.5103 3.5123 3.5142 3.5161 3.5180 3.5199 3.5218 2 4 6 8 10 12 13 15 17 48 3.5237 3.5256 3.5275 3.5294 3.5313 3.5332 3.535 3.5369 3.5388 3.5406 2 4 6 8 9 11 13 15 17 49 3.5425 3.5443 3.5462 3.5480 3.5499 3.5517 3.5536 3.5554 3.5572 3.5591 2 4 6 7 9 11 13 15 17 50 3.5609 3.5627 3.5645 3.5663 3.5681 3.5699 3.5717 3.5735 3.5753 3.5771 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 14 16 51 3.5789 3.5807 3.5825 3.5842 3.5860 3.5878 3.5895 3.5913 3.5931 3.5948 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 52 3.5966 3.5983 3.6001 3.6018 3.6036 3.6053 3.607 3.6087 3.6105 3.6122 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 16 53 3.6139 3.6156 3.6173 3.6191 3.6208 3.6225 3.6242 3.6259 3.6276 3.6292 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 15 54 3.6309 3.6326 3.6343 3.6360 3.6376 3.6393 3.6410 3.6427 3.6443 3.646 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 55 3.6476 3.6493 3.6509 3.6526 3.6542 3.6559 3.6575 3.6591 3.6608 3.6624 2 3 5 7 8 10 11 13 15 56 3.6640 3.6657 3.6673 3.6689 3.6705 3.6721 3.6737 3.6753 3.6769 3.6785 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 15 57 3.6801 3.6817 3.6833 3.6849 3.6865 3.6881 3.6897 3.6913 3.6928 3.6944 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 14 58 3.6960 3.6975 3.6991 3.7007 3.7022 3.7038 3.7053 3.7069 3.7084 3.7100 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 59 3.7115 3.7131 3.7146 3.7162 3.7177 3.7192 3.7207 3.7223 3.7238 3.7253 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 60 3.7268 3.7283 3.7299 3.7314 3.7329 3.7344 3.7359 3.7374 3.7389 3.7404 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 61 3.7419 3.7434 3.7449 3.7463 3.7478 3.7493 3.7508 3.7523 3.7537 3.7552 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 62 3.7567 3.7581 3.7596 3.7611 3.7625 3.7640 3.7654 3.7669 3.7683 3.7698 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 63 3.7712 3.7727 3.7741 3.7756 3.7770 3.7784 3.7799 3.7813 3.7827 3.7842 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 11 13 64 3.7856 3.7870 3.7884 3.7898 3.7912 3.7927 3.7941 3.7955 3.7969 3.7983 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 65 3.7997 3.8011 3.8025 3.8039 3.8053 3.8067 3.8081 3.8094 3.8108 3.8122 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 66 3.8136 3.8150 3.8163 3.8177 3.8191 3.8205 3.8218 3.8232 3.8246 3.8259 1 3 4 5 7 8 10 11 12 67 3.8273 3.8286 3.8300 3.8313 3.8327 3.8340 3.8354 3.8367 3.8381 3.8394 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 68 3.8408 3.8421 3.8434 3.8448 3.8461 3.8474 3.8488 3.8501 3.8514 3.8527 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 69 3.8540 3.8554 3.8567 3.8580 3.8593 3.8606 3.8619 3.8632 3.8645 3.8658 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 12 70 3.8671 3.8684 3.8697 3.8710 3.8723 3.8736 3.8749 3.8762 3.8775 3.8788 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 71 3.8801 3.8813 3.8826 3.8839 3.8852 3.8864 3.8877 3.8890 3.8903 3.8915 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 72 3.8928 3.8941 3.8953 3.8966 3.8978 3.8991 3.9003 3.9016 3.9028 3.9041 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 73 3.9053 3.9066 3.9078 3.9091 3.9103 3.9116 3.9128 3.9140 3.9153 3.9165 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 74 3.9177 3.9190 3.9202 3.9214 3.9226 3.9239 3.9251 3.9263 3.9275 3.9287 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 75 3.9299 3.9312 3.9324 3.9336 3.9348 3.9360 3.9372 3.9384 3.9396 3.9408 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 76 3.9420 3.9432 3.9444 3.9456 3.9468 3.9480 3.9492 3.9503 3.9515 3.9527 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 77 3.9539 3.9551 3.9563 3.9574 3.9586 3.9598 3.961 3.9621 3.9633 3.9645 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 8 78 3.9656 3.9668 3.9680 3.9691 3.9703 3.9715 3.9726 3.9738 3.9749 3.9761 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 79 3.9772 3.9784 3.9795 3.9807 3.9818 3.9830 3.9841 3.9853 3.9864 3.9876 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 80 3.9887 3.9898 3.9910 3.9921 3.9932 3.9944 3.9955 3.9966 3.9977 3.9989 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 81 4.0000 4.0011 4.0022 4.0034 4.0045 4.0056 4.0067 4.0078 4.0089 4.0101 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 82 4.0112 4.0123 4.0134 4.0145 4.0156 4.0167 4.0178 4.0189 4.0200 4.0211 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 83 4.0222 4.0233 4.0244 4.0255 4.0266 4.0277 4.0288 4.0298 4.0309 4.0320 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 84 4.0331 4.0342 4.0353 4.0363 4.0374 4.0385 4.0396 4.0407 4.0417 4.0428 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 85 4.0439 4.0449 4.0460 4.0471 4.0481 4.0492 4.0503 4.0513 4.0524 4.0535 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 86 4.0545 4.0556 4.0566 4.0577 4.0587 4.0598 4.0609 4.0619 4.0629 4.0640 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 87 4.0650 4.0661 4.0671 4.0682 4.0692 4.0703 4.0713 4.0723 4.0734 4.0744 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 88 4.0754 4.0765 4.0775 4.0785 4.0796 4.0806 4.0816 4.0827 4.0837 4.0847 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 89 4.0857 4.0868 4.0878 4.0888 4.0898 4.0908 4.0918 4.0929 4.0939 4.0949 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 90 4.0959 4.0969 4.0979 4.0989 4.0999 4.1009 4.1020 4.1030 4.1040 4.1050 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 91 4.1060 4.1070 4.1080 4.1090 4.1100 4.1109 4.1119 4.1129 4.1139 4.1149 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 92 4.1159 4.1169 4.1179 4.1189 4.1199 4.1208 4.1218 4.1228 4.1238 4.1248 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 93 4.1257 4.1267 4.1277 4.1287 4.1297 4.1306 4.1316 4.1326 4.1335 4.1345 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 94 4.1355 4.1365 4.1374 4.1384 4.1394 4.1403 4.1413 4.1422 4.1432 4.1442 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 95 4.1451 4.1461 4.1470 4.1480 4.1489 4.1499 4.1508 4.1518 4.1528 4.1537 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 96 4.1546 4.1556 4.1565 4.1575 4.1584 4.1594 4.1603 4.1613 4.1622 4.1631 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 97 4.1641 4.1650 4.1660 4.1669 4.1678 4.1688 4.1697 4.1706 4.1716 4.1725 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 98 4.1734 4.1743 4.1753 4.1762 4.1771 4.1780 4.1790 4.1799 4.1808 4.1817 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 8 99 4.1827 4.1836 4.1845 4.1854 4.1863 4.1872 4.1882 4.1891 4.1900 4.1909 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 table 2: lukmon (power of base 3) of 𝟏𝟎 𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒌(𝟏𝟎𝒏) 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3 𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) 𝐿𝑢𝑘(10𝑛) n=1 y=2.0959 16 33.5345 31 64.9730 46 96.4116 61 127.8501 76 159.2887 91 190.7272 2 4.1918 17 35.6304 32 67.0689 47 98.5075 62 129.9460 77 161.3846 92 192.8231 3 6.2877 18 37.7263 33 69.1648 48 100.6034 63 132.0419 78 163.4805 93 194.9190 4 8.3836 19 39.8222 34 71.2607 49 102.6993 64 134.1378 79 165.5764 94 197.0149 5 10.4795 20 41.9181 35 73.3566 50 104.7952 65 136.2337 80 167.6723 95 199.1108 6 12.5754 21 44.0140 36 75.4525 51 106.8911 66 138.3296 81 169.7682 96 201.2067 7 14.6713 22 46.1099 37 77.5484 52 108.9870 67 140.4255 82 171.8641 97 203.3026 8 16.7672 23 48.2058 38 79.6443 53 111.0829 68 142.5214 83 173.9600 98 205.3985 9 18.8631 24 50.3017 39 81.7402 54 113.1788 69 144.6173 84 176.0559 99 207.4944 10 20.9590 25 52.3976 40 83.8361 55 115.2747 70 146.7132 85 178.1518 11 23.0549 26 54.4935 41 85.9320 56 117.3706 71 148.8091 86 180.2477 12 25.1508 27 56.5894 42 88.0279 57 119.4665 72 150.9050 87 182.3436 9 table 3: 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒊𝑳𝒖𝒌𝒎𝒐𝒏 (𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒊𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝟑) 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒙 → 𝑨𝒏𝒕𝒊𝑳𝒖𝒌 𝒙 difference (x) 0.000 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0.00 1.0000 1.0011 1.0022 1.0033 1.0044 1.0055 1.0066 1.0077 1.0088 1.0099 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 0.01 1.0110 1.0122 1.0133 1.0144 1.0155 1.0166 1.0177 1.0189 1.0200 1.0211 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 0.02 1.0222 1.0233 1.0245 1.0256 1.0267 1.0278 1.0290 1.0301 1.0312 1.0324 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 0.03 1.0335 1.0346 1.0358 1.0369 1.0381 1.0392 1.0403 1.0415 1.0426 1.0438 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 0.04 1.0449 1.0461 1.0472 1.0484 1.0495 1.0507 1.0518 1.0530 1.0541 1.0553 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 0.05 1.0565 1.0576 1.0588 1.0600 1.0611 1.0623 1.0635 1.0646 1.0658 1.0670 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 11 0.06 1.0681 1.0693 1.0705 1.0717 1.0728 1.0740 1.0752 1.0764 1.0776 1.0788 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 0.07 1.0799 1.0811 1.0823 1.0835 1.0847 1.0859 1.0871 1.0883 1.0895 1.0907 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 0.08 1.0919 1.0931 1.0943 1.0955 1.0967 1.0979 1.0991 1.1003 1.1015 1.1027 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 0.09 1.1039 1.1051 1.1064 1.1076 1.1088 1.1100 1.1112 1.1125 1.1137 1.1149 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 0.10 1.1161 1.1174 1.1186 1.1198 1.1210 1.1223 1.1235 1.1247 1.1260 1.1272 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 0.11 1.1285 1.1297 1.1309 1.1322 1.1334 1.1347 1.1359 1.1372 1.1384 1.1397 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 0.12 1.1409 1.1422 1.1434 1.1447 1.1459 1.1472 1.1485 1.1497 1.1510 1.1523 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 0.13 1.1535 1.1548 1.1561 1.1573 1.1586 1.1599 1.1612 1.1624 1.1637 1.1650 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 0.14 1.1663 1.1675 1.1688 1.1701 1.1714 1.1727 1.1740 1.1753 1.1766 1.1779 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 0.15 1.1791 1.1804 1.1817 1.1830 1.1843 1.1856 1.1869 1.1883 1.1896 1.1909 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 12 0.16 1.1922 1.1935 1.1948 1.1961 1.1974 1.1987 1.2001 1.2014 1.2027 1.2040 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 0.17 1.2053 1.2067 1.2080 1.2093 1.2107 1.2120 1.2133 1.2146 1.2160 1.2173 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 0.18 1.2187 1.2200 1.2213 1.2227 1.2240 1.2254 1.2267 1.2281 1.2294 1.2308 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 0.19 1.2321 1.2335 1.2348 1.2362 1.2375 1.2389 1.2403 1.2416 1.2430 1.2444 1 3 4 5 7 8 10 11 12 0.20 1.2457 1.2471 1.2485 1.2498 1.2512 1.2526 1.2540 1.2553 1.2567 1.2581 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 12 0.21 1.2595 1.2609 1.2623 1.2637 1.2650 1.2664 1.2678 1.2692 1.2706 1.2720 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 0.22 1.2734 1.2748 1.2762 1.2776 1.2790 1.2804 1.2818 1.2832 1.2846 1.2861 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 0.23 1.2875 1.2889 1.2903 1.2917 1.2931 1.2946 1.2960 1.2974 1.2988 1.3003 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 11 13 0.24 1.3017 1.3031 1.3046 1.3060 1.3074 1.3089 1.3103 1.3117 1.3132 1.3146 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 0.25 1.3161 1.3175 1.3190 1.3204 1.3219 1.3233 1.3248 1.3262 1.3277 1.3292 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 0.26 1.3306 1.3321 1.3335 1.3350 1.3365 1.3379 1.3394 1.3409 1.3424 1.3438 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 0.27 1.3453 1.3468 1.3483 1.3498 1.3512 1.3527 1.3542 1.3557 1.3572 1.3587 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 0.28 1.3602 1.3617 1.3632 1.3647 1.3662 1.3677 1.3692 1.3707 1.3722 1.3737 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 0.29 1.3752 1.3767 1.3782 1.3797 1.3813 1.3828 1.3843 1.3858 1.3873 1.3889 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 0.30 1.3904 1.3919 1.3934 1.3950 1.3965 1.3980 1.3996 1.4011 1.4027 1.4042 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 0.31 1.4057 1.4073 1.4088 1.4104 1.4119 1.4135 1.4150 1.4166 1.4182 1.4197 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 0.32 1.4213 1.4228 1.4244 1.4260 1.4275 1.4291 1.4307 1.4322 1.4338 1.4354 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 13 14 0.33 1.4370 1.4386 1.4401 1.4417 1.4433 1.4449 1.4465 1.4481 1.4497 1.4513 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 14 13 27.2467 28 58.6853 43 90.1238 58 121.5624 73 153.0009 88 184.4395 14 29.3427 29 60.7812 44 92.2197 59 123.6583 74 155.0968 89 186.5354 15 31.4386 30 62.8771 45 94.3157 60 125.7542 75 157.1928 90 188.6313 10 0.34 1.4529 1.4544 1.4560 1.4576 1.4593 1.4609 1.4625 1.4641 1.4657 1.4673 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 14 0.35 1.4689 1.4705 1.4721 1.4737 1.4754 1.4770 1.4786 1.4802 1.4819 1.4835 2 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 15 0.36 1.4851 1.4868 1.4884 1.4900 1.4917 1.4933 1.4949 1.4966 1.4982 1.4999 2 3 5 7 8 10 11 13 15 0.37 1.5015 1.5032 1.5048 1.5065 1.5081 1.5098 1.5115 1.5131 1.5148 1.5165 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 0.38 1.5181 1.5198 1.5215 1.5231 1.5248 1.5265 1.5282 1.5298 1.5315 1.5332 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 13 15 0.39 1.5349 1.5366 1.5383 1.5400 1.5416 1.5433 1.5450 1.5467 1.5484 1.5501 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 14 15 0.40 1.5518 1.5536 1.5553 1.5570 1.5587 1.5604 1.5621 1.5638 1.5655 1.5673 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 15 0.41 1.5690 1.5707 1.5724 1.5742 1.5759 1.5776 1.5794 1.5811 1.5828 1.5846 2 3 5 7 9 10 12 14 16 0.42 1.5863 1.5881 1.5898 1.5916 1.5933 1.5951 1.5968 1.5986 1.6003 1.6021 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 0.43 1.6038 1.6056 1.6074 1.6091 1.6109 1.6127 1.6145 1.6162 1.6180 1.6198 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 0.44 1.6216 1.6233 1.6251 1.6269 1.6287 1.6305 1.6323 1.6341 1.6359 1.6377 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 14 16 0.45 1.6395 1.6413 1.6431 1.6449 1.6467 1.6485 1.6503 1.6521 1.6539 1.6558 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 14 16 0.46 1.6576 1.6594 1.6612 1.6631 1.6649 1.6667 1.6685 1.6704 1.6722 1.6741 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 15 16 0.47 1.6759 1.6777 1.6796 1.6814 1.6833 1.6851 1.6870 1.6888 1.6907 1.6925 2 4 6 7 9 11 13 15 17 0.48 1.6944 1.6963 1.6981 1.7000 1.7019 1.7037 1.7056 1.7075 1.7094 1.7112 2 4 6 7 9 11 13 15 17 0.49 1.7131 1.7150 1.7169 1.7188 1.7207 1.7226 1.7245 1.7264 1.7282 1.7301 2 4 6 8 9 11 13 15 17 0.50 1.7321 1.7340 1.7359 1.7378 1.7397 1.7416 1.7435 1.7454 1.7473 1.7493 2 4 6 8 10 11 13 15 17 0.51 1.7512 1.7531 1.7550 1.7570 1.7589 1.7608 1.7628 1.7647 1.7666 1.7686 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 17 0.52 1.7705 1.7725 1.7744 1.7764 1.7783 1.7803 1.7822 1.7842 1.7862 1.7881 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0.53 1.7901 1.7921 1.7940 1.7960 1.7980 1.7999 1.8019 1.8039 1.8059 1.8079 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0.54 1.8099 1.8119 1.8138 1.8158 1.8178 1.8198 1.8218 1.8238 1.8258 1.8278 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0.55 1.8299 1.8319 1.8339 1.8359 1.8379 1.8399 1.8420 1.8440 1.8460 1.8480 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0.56 1.8501 1.8521 1.8541 1.8562 1.8582 1.8603 1.8623 1.8644 1.8664 1.8685 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 0.57 1.8705 1.8726 1.8746 1.8767 1.8787 1.8808 1.8829 1.8849 1.8870 1.8891 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 17 19 0.58 1.8912 1.8932 1.8953 1.8974 1.8995 1.9016 1.9037 1.9058 1.9079 1.9100 2 4 6 8 10 13 15 17 19 0.59 1.9121 1.9142 1.9163 1.9184 1.9205 1.9226 1.9247 1.9268 1.9289 1.9311 2 4 6 8 11 13 15 17 19 0.60 1.9332 1.9353 1.9374 1.9396 1.9417 1.9438 1.9460 1.9481 1.9502 1.9524 2 4 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 0.61 1.9545 1.9567 1.9588 1.9610 1.9631 1.9653 1.9675 1.9696 1.9718 1.9740 2 4 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 0.62 1.9761 1.9783 1.9805 1.9827 1.9848 1.9870 1.9892 1.9914 1.9936 1.9958 2 4 7 9 11 13 15 17 20 0.63 1.9980 2.0002 2.0024 2.0046 2.0068 2.0090 2.0112 2.0134 2.0156 2.0178 2 4 7 9 11 13 15 18 20 0.64 2.0200 2.0222 2.0245 2.0267 2.0289 2.0312 2.0334 2.0356 2.0379 2.0401 2 4 7 9 11 13 16 18 20 0.65 2.0423 2.0446 2.0468 2.0491 2.0513 2.0536 2.0559 2.0581 2.0604 2.0626 2 5 7 9 11 14 16 18 20 0.66 2.0649 2.0672 2.0694 2.0717 2.0740 2.0763 2.0786 2.0808 2.0831 2.0854 2 5 7 9 11 14 16 18 21 0.67 2.0877 2.0900 2.0923 2.0946 2.0969 2.0992 2.1015 2.1038 2.1061 2.1085 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 18 21 0.68 2.1108 2.1131 2.1154 2.1177 2.1201 2.1224 2.1247 2.1271 2.1294 2.1318 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 19 21 0.69 2.1341 2.1364 2.1388 2.1411 2.1435 2.1458 2.1482 2.1506 2.1529 2.1553 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 19 21 0.70 2.1577 2.1600 2.1624 2.1648 2.1672 2.1696 2.1719 2.1743 2.1767 2.1791 2 5 7 10 12 14 17 19 21 0.71 2.1815 2.1839 2.1863 2.1887 2.1911 2.1935 2.1959 2.1983 2.2008 2.2032 2 5 7 10 12 14 17 19 22 0.72 2.2056 2.2080 2.2105 2.2129 2.2153 2.2178 2.2202 2.2226 2.2251 2.2275 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 19 22 0.73 2.2300 2.2324 2.2349 2.2373 2.2398 2.2423 2.2447 2.2472 2.2497 2.2521 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 0.74 2.2546 2.2571 2.2596 2.2620 2.2645 2.2670 2.2695 2.2720 2.2745 2.2770 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 0.75 2.2795 2.2820 2.2845 2.2870 2.2895 2.2921 2.2946 2.2971 2.2996 2.3022 3 5 8 10 13 15 18 20 23 0.76 2.3047 2.3072 2.3098 2.3123 2.3148 2.3174 2.3199 2.3225 2.3250 2.3276 3 5 8 10 13 15 18 20 23 11 0.77 2.3301 2.3327 2.3353 2.3378 2.3404 2.3430 2.3456 2.3481 2.3507 2.3533 3 5 8 10 13 15 18 21 23 0.78 2.3559 2.3585 2.3611 2.3637 2.3663 2.3689 2.3715 2.3741 2.3767 2.3793 3 5 8 10 13 16 18 21 23 0.79 2.3819 2.3845 2.3872 2.3898 2.3924 2.3950 2.3977 2.4003 2.4029 2.4056 3 5 8 11 13 16 18 21 24 0.80 2.4082 2.4109 2.4135 2.4162 2.4188 2.4215 2.4242 2.4268 2.4295 2.4322 3 5 8 11 13 16 19 21 24 0.81 2.4348 2.4375 2.4402 2.4429 2.4456 2.4482 2.4509 2.4536 2.4563 2.4590 3 5 8 11 13 16 19 22 24 0.82 2.4617 2.4644 2.4671 2.4699 2.4726 2.4753 2.4780 2.4807 2.4835 2.4862 3 5 8 11 14 16 19 22 24 0.83 2.4889 2.4917 2.4944 2.4971 2.4999 2.5026 2.5054 2.5081 2.5109 2.5136 3 5 8 11 14 16 19 22 25 0.84 2.5164 2.5192 2.5219 2.5247 2.5275 2.5303 2.5331 2.5358 2.5386 2.5414 3 6 8 11 14 17 19 22 25 0.85 2.5442 2.5470 2.5498 2.5526 2.5554 2.5582 2.5610 2.5639 2.5667 2.5695 3 6 8 11 14 17 20 22 25 0.86 2.5723 2.5751 2.5780 2.5808 2.5836 2.5865 2.5893 2.5922 2.5950 2.5979 3 6 9 11 14 17 20 23 26 0.87 2.6007 2.6036 2.6065 2.6093 2.6122 2.6151 2.6179 2.6208 2.6237 2.6266 3 6 9 11 14 17 20 23 26 0.88 2.6295 2.6324 2.6352 2.6381 2.6410 2.6439 2.6469 2.6498 2.6527 2.6556 3 6 9 12 15 17 20 23 26 0.89 2.6585 2.6614 2.6644 2.6673 2.6702 2.6732 2.6761 2.6790 2.6820 2.6849 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 23 26 0.90 2.6879 2.6908 2.6938 2.6967 2.6997 2.7027 2.7057 2.7086 2.7116 2.7146 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 0.91 2.7176 2.7206 2.7235 2.7265 2.7295 2.7325 2.7355 2.7385 2.7416 2.7446 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 0.92 2.7476 2.7506 2.7536 2.7567 2.7597 2.7627 2.7658 2.7688 2.7718 2.7749 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 0.93 2.7779 2.7810 2.7840 2.7871 2.7902 2.7932 2.7963 2.7994 2.8025 2.8055 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 25 28 0.94 2.8086 2.8117 2.8148 2.8179 2.8210 2.8241 2.8272 2.8303 2.8334 2.8365 3 6 9 12 16 19 22 25 28 0.95 2.8397 2.8428 2.8459 2.8490 2.8522 2.8553 2.8584 2.8616 2.8647 2.8679 3 6 9 13 16 19 22 25 28 0.96 2.8710 2.8742 2.8773 2.8805 2.8837 2.8868 2.8900 2.8932 2.8964 2.8995 3 6 10 13 16 19 22 25 29 0.97 2.9027 2.9059 2.9091 2.9123 2.9155 2.9187 2.9219 2.9251 2.9284 2.9316 3 6 10 13 16 19 22 26 29 0.98 2.9348 2.9380 2.9413 2.9445 2.9477 2.9510 2.9542 2.9575 2.9607 2.9640 3 6 10 13 16 19 23 26 29 0.99 2.9672 2.9705 2.9737 2.9770 2.9803 2.9836 2.9868 2.9901 2.9934 2.9967 3 7 10 13 16 20 23 26 29 table 4: conversion of 𝟑𝒚 to 𝟏𝟎𝒏 𝟑𝒚 → 𝟏𝟎𝒏 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 3𝑦 10𝑛 1 0.4771 16 7.6339 31 14.7908 46 21.9476 61 29.1044 76 36.2612 91 43.4180 2 0.9542 17 8.1111 32 15.2679 47 22.4247 62 29.5815 77 36.7383 92 43.8952 3 1.4314 18 8.5882 33 15.7450 48 22.9018 63 30.0586 78 37.2155 93 44.3723 4 1.9085 19 9.0653 34 16.2221 49 23.3789 64 30.5358 79 37.6926 94 44.8494 5 2.3856 20 9.5424 35 16.6992 50 23.8561 65 31.0129 80 38.1697 95 45.3265 6 2.8627 21 10.0196 36 17.1764 51 24.3332 66 31.4900 81 38.6468 96 45.8036 7 3.3399 22 10.4967 37 17.6535 52 24.8103 67 31.9671 82 39.1239 97 46.2808 8 3.8170 23 10.9738 38 18.1306 53 25.2874 68 32.4443 83 39.6011 98 46.7579 9 4.2941 24 11.4509 39 18.6077 54 25.7646 69 32.9214 84 40.0782 99 47.2350 10 4.7712 25 11.9280 40 19.0849 55 26.2417 70 33.3985 85 40.5553 11 5.2483 26 12.4052 41 19.5620 56 26.7188 71 33.8756 86 41.0324 12 5.7255 27 12.8823 42 20.0391 57 27.1959 72 34.3527 87 41.5096 13 6.2026 28 13.3594 43 20.5162 58 27.6730 73 34.8299 88 41.9867 14 6.6797 29 13.8365 44 20.9933 59 28.1502 74 35.3070 89 42.4638 15 7.1568 30 14.3136 45 21.4705 60 28.6273 75 35.7841 90 42.9409 12 table 5: fatimo (power of base 8) of number x → 𝑭𝒂𝒕 𝒙 difference (x) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0.0000 0.0458 0.0877 0.1262 0.1618 0.1950 0.2260 0.2552 0.2827 0.3087 34 69 103 136 170 203 236 269 301 2 0.3333 0.3568 0.3792 0.4005 0.4210 0.4406 0.4595 0.4777 0.4951 0.5120 20 40 59 79 98 118 137 157 176 3 0.5283 0.5441 0.5594 0.5742 0.5885 0.6025 0.6160 0.6292 0.6420 0.6545 14 28 42 56 70 83 97 111 125 4 0.6667 0.6785 0.6901 0.7014 0.7125 0.7233 0.7339 0.7442 0.7543 0.7643 11 22 32 43 54 65 75 86 97 5 0.7740 0.7835 0.7928 0.8020 0.8110 0.8198 0.8285 0.8370 0.8454 0.8536 9 18 26 35 44 53 62 70 79 6 0.8617 0.8696 0.8774 0.8851 0.8927 0.9001 0.9075 0.9147 0.9218 0.9289 7 15 22 30 37 45 52 59 67 7 0.9358 0.9426 0.9493 0.9560 0.9625 0.9690 0.9753 0.9816 0.9878 0.9940 6 13 19 26 32 39 45 51 58 8 1.0000 1.0060 1.0119 1.0177 1.0235 1.0292 1.0348 1.0403 1.0458 1.0513 6 11 17 23 28 34 40 45 51 9 1.0566 1.0620 1.0672 1.0724 1.0776 1.0826 1.0877 1.0927 1.0976 1.1025 5 10 15 20 25 30 36 41 46 10 1.1073 1.1121 1.1168 1.1215 1.1262 1.1308 1.1353 1.1398 1.1443 1.1488 5 9 14 18 23 28 32 37 41 11 1.1531 1.1575 1.1618 1.1661 1.1703 1.1745 1.1787 1.1828 1.1869 1.1910 4 8 13 17 21 25 29 34 38 12 1.1950 1.1990 1.2029 1.2069 1.2108 1.2146 1.2185 1.2223 1.2260 1.2298 4 8 12 15 19 23 27 31 35 13 1.2335 1.2372 1.2408 1.2445 1.2481 1.2516 1.2552 1.2587 1.2622 1.2657 4 7 11 14 18 21 25 29 32 14 1.2691 1.2725 1.2759 1.2793 1.2827 1.2860 1.2893 1.2926 1.2958 1.2991 3 7 10 13 17 20 23 27 30 15 1.3023 1.3055 1.3087 1.3118 1.3150 1.3181 1.3212 1.3242 1.3273 1.3303 3 6 9 12 16 19 22 25 28 16 1.3333 1.3363 1.3393 1.3423 1.3452 1.3481 1.3510 1.3539 1.3568 1.3597 3 6 9 12 15 18 20 23 26 17 1.3625 1.3653 1.3681 1.3709 1.3737 1.3764 1.3792 1.3819 1.3846 1.3873 3 6 8 11 14 17 19 22 25 18 1.3900 1.3926 1.3953 1.3979 1.4005 1.4032 1.4057 1.4083 1.4109 1.4134 3 5 8 10 13 16 18 21 23 19 1.4160 1.4185 1.4210 1.4235 1.4260 1.4285 1.4309 1.4334 1.4358 1.4382 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 20 1.4406 1.4430 1.4454 1.4478 1.4502 1.4525 1.4549 1.4572 1.4595 1.4618 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 19 21 21 1.4641 1.4664 1.4687 1.4709 1.4732 1.4754 1.4777 1.4799 1.4821 1.4843 2 4 7 9 11 13 16 18 20 22 1.4865 1.4887 1.4908 1.4930 1.4951 1.4973 1.4994 1.5015 1.5037 1.5058 2 4 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 23 1.5079 1.5099 1.5120 1.5141 1.5161 1.5182 1.5202 1.5223 1.5243 1.5263 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 24 1.5283 1.5303 1.5323 1.5343 1.5363 1.5382 1.5402 1.5421 1.5441 1.5460 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 25 1.5480 1.5499 1.5518 1.5537 1.5556 1.5575 1.5594 1.5612 1.5631 1.5650 2 4 6 8 9 11 13 15 17 26 1.5668 1.5687 1.5705 1.5723 1.5742 1.5760 1.5778 1.5796 1.5814 1.5832 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 15 16 27 1.5850 1.5867 1.5885 1.5903 1.5920 1.5938 1.5955 1.5973 1.5990 1.6007 2 4 5 7 9 11 12 14 16 28 1.6025 1.6042 1.6059 1.6076 1.6093 1.6110 1.6126 1.6143 1.6160 1.6177 2 3 5 7 8 10 12 14 15 29 1.6193 1.6210 1.6226 1.6243 1.6259 1.6275 1.6292 1.6308 1.6324 1.6340 2 3 5 7 8 10 11 13 15 30 1.6356 1.6372 1.6388 1.6404 1.6420 1.6436 1.6452 1.6467 1.6483 1.6498 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 13 14 31 1.6514 1.6529 1.6545 1.6560 1.6576 1.6591 1.6606 1.6621 1.6637 1.6652 2 3 5 6 8 9 11 12 14 32 1.6667 1.6682 1.6697 1.6712 1.6726 1.6741 1.6756 1.6771 1.6785 1.6800 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 12 13 33 1.6815 1.6829 1.6844 1.6858 1.6873 1.6887 1.6901 1.6916 1.6930 1.6944 1 3 4 6 7 9 10 11 13 34 1.6958 1.6972 1.6986 1.7000 1.7014 1.7028 1.7042 1.7056 1.7070 1.7084 1 3 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 35 1.7098 1.7111 1.7125 1.7139 1.7152 1.7166 1.7179 1.7193 1.7206 1.7220 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 36 1.7233 1.7246 1.726 1.7273 1.7286 1.7299 1.7313 1.7326 1.7339 1.7352 1 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 12 37 1.7365 1.7378 1.7391 1.7404 1.7417 1.7429 1.7442 1.7455 1.7468 1.7480 1 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 38 1.7493 1.7506 1.7518 1.7531 1.7543 1.7556 1.7568 1.7581 1.7593 1.7606 1 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 39 1.7618 1.7630 1.7643 1.7655 1.7667 1.7679 1.7691 1.7704 1.7716 1.7728 1 2 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 40 1.7740 1.7752 1.7764 1.7776 1.7788 1.7800 1.7811 1.7823 1.7835 1.7847 1 2 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 13 41 1.7859 1.7870 1.7882 1.7894 1.7905 1.7917 1.7928 1.7940 1.7951 1.7963 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 42 1.7974 1.7986 1.7997 1.8009 1.8020 1.8031 1.8043 1.8054 1.8065 1.8076 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 43 1.8088 1.8099 1.8110 1.8121 1.8132 1.8143 1.8154 1.8165 1.8176 1.8187 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 44 1.8198 1.8209 1.8220 1.8231 1.8242 1.8252 1.8263 1.8274 1.8285 1.8295 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 45 1.8306 1.8317 1.8328 1.8338 1.8349 1.8359 1.8370 1.8380 1.8391 1.8401 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 46 1.8412 1.8422 1.8433 1.8443 1.8454 1.8464 1.8474 1.8485 1.8495 1.8505 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 47 1.8515 1.8526 1.8536 1.8546 1.8556 1.8566 1.8576 1.8586 1.8596 1.8607 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 48 1.8617 1.8627 1.8637 1.8647 1.8656 1.8666 1.8676 1.8686 1.8696 1.8706 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 49 1.8716 1.8726 1.8735 1.8745 1.8755 1.8765 1.8774 1.8784 1.8794 1.8803 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 50 1.8813 1.8822 1.8832 1.8842 1.8851 1.8861 1.8870 1.8880 1.8889 1.8899 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 51 1.8908 1.8918 1.8927 1.8936 1.8946 1.8955 1.8964 1.8974 1.8983 1.8992 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 52 1.9001 1.9011 1.9020 1.9029 1.9038 1.9047 1.9057 1.9066 1.9075 1.9084 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8 53 1.9093 1.9102 1.9111 1.9120 1.9129 1.9138 1.9147 1.9156 1.9165 1.9174 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 54 1.9183 1.9192 1.9201 1.9210 1.9218 1.9227 1.9236 1.9245 1.9254 1.9262 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 8 55 1.9271 1.9280 1.9289 1.9297 1.9306 1.9315 1.9323 1.9332 1.9341 1.9349 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 56 1.9358 1.9366 1.9375 1.9384 1.9392 1.9401 1.9409 1.9418 1.9426 1.9435 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 57 1.9443 1.9451 1.9460 1.9468 1.9477 1.9485 1.9493 1.9502 1.9510 1.9518 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 58 1.9527 1.9535 1.9543 1.9551 1.9560 1.9568 1.9576 1.9584 1.9592 1.9601 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 59 1.9609 1.9617 1.9625 1.9633 1.9641 1.9649 1.9657 1.9666 1.9674 1.9682 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 60 1.9690 1.9698 1.9706 1.9714 1.9722 1.9730 1.9737 1.9745 1.9753 1.9761 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 6 7 61 1.9769 1.9777 1.9785 1.9793 1.9801 1.9808 1.9816 1.9824 1.9832 1.9840 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 62 1.9847 1.9855 1.9863 1.9871 1.9878 1.9886 1.9894 1.9901 1.9909 1.9917 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 63 1.9924 1.9932 1.9940 1.9947 1.9955 1.9962 1.9970 1.9977 1.9985 1.9992 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 64 2.0000 2.0008 2.0015 2.0022 2.0030 2.0037 2.0045 2.0052 2.0060 2.0067 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 65 2.0075 2.0082 2.0089 2.0097 2.0104 2.0111 2.0119 2.0126 2.0133 2.0141 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 66 2.0148 2.0155 2.0163 2.0170 2.0177 2.0184 2.0192 2.0199 2.0206 2.0213 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 7 67 2.0220 2.0227 2.0235 2.0242 2.0249 2.0256 2.0263 2.0270 2.0277 2.0284 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 68 2.0292 2.0299 2.0306 2.0313 2.0320 2.0327 2.0334 2.0341 2.0348 2.0355 1 1 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 69 2.0362 2.0369 2.0376 2.0383 2.0390 2.0396 2.0403 2.0410 2.0417 2.0424 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 70 2.0431 2.0438 2.0445 2.0452 2.0458 2.0465 2.0472 2.0479 2.0486 2.0492 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 71 2.0499 2.0506 2.0513 2.0519 2.0526 2.0533 2.0540 2.0546 2.0553 2.0560 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 72 2.0566 2.0573 2.0580 2.0586 2.0593 2.0600 2.0606 2.0613 2.0620 2.0626 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 73 2.0633 2.0639 2.0646 2.0652 2.0659 2.0666 2.0672 2.0679 2.0685 2.0692 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 74 2.0698 2.0705 2.0711 2.0718 2.0724 2.0731 2.0737 2.0743 2.0750 2.0756 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 75 2.0763 2.0769 2.0776 2.0782 2.0788 2.0795 2.0801 2.0807 2.0814 2.0820 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 76 2.0826 2.0833 2.0839 2.0845 2.0852 2.0858 2.0864 2.0871 2.0877 2.0883 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 6 77 2.0889 2.0896 2.0902 2.0908 2.0914 2.0920 2.0927 2.0933 2.0939 2.0945 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 78 2.0951 2.0958 2.0964 2.0970 2.0976 2.0982 2.0988 2.0994 2.1000 2.1007 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 79 2.1013 2.1019 2.1025 2.1031 2.1037 2.1043 2.1049 2.1055 2.1061 2.1067 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 80 2.1073 2.1079 2.1085 2.1091 2.1097 2.1103 2.1109 2.1115 2.1121 2.1127 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 81 2.1133 2.1139 2.1145 2.1151 2.1157 2.1162 2.1168 2.1174 2.1180 2.1186 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 5 82 2.1192 2.1198 2.1204 2.1209 2.1215 2.1221 2.1227 2.1233 2.1239 2.1244 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 83 2.1250 2.1256 2.1262 2.1267 2.1273 2.1279 2.1285 2.1291 2.1296 2.1302 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 14 84 2.1308 2.1313 2.1319 2.1325 2.1331 2.1336 2.1342 2.1348 2.1353 2.1359 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 85 2.1365 2.1370 2.1376 2.1382 2.1387 2.1393 2.1398 2.1404 2.1410 2.1415 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 86 2.1421 2.1426 2.1432 2.1438 2.1443 2.1449 2.1454 2.1460 2.1465 2.1471 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 87 2.1476 2.1482 2.1488 2.1493 2.1499 2.1504 2.1510 2.1515 2.1520 2.1526 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 88 2.1531 2.1537 2.1542 2.1548 2.1553 2.1559 2.1564 2.1570 2.1575 2.1580 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 89 2.1586 2.1591 2.1597 2.1602 2.1607 2.1613 2.1618 2.1623 2.1629 2.1634 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 90 2.1640 2.1645 2.1650 2.1656 2.1661 2.1666 2.1671 2.1677 2.1682 2.1687 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 91 2.1693 2.1698 2.1703 2.1708 2.1714 2.1719 2.1724 2.1729 2.1735 2.1740 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 92 2.1745 2.1750 2.1756 2.1761 2.1766 2.1771 2.1776 2.1782 2.1787 2.1792 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 93 2.1797 2.1802 2.1808 2.1813 2.1818 2.1823 2.1828 2.1833 2.1838 2.1844 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 94 2.1849 2.1854 2.1859 2.1864 2.1869 2.1874 2.1879 2.1884 2.1889 2.1894 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 95 2.1900 2.1905 2.1910 2.1915 2.1920 2.1925 2.1930 2.1935 2.1940 2.1945 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 96 2.1950 2.1955 2.1960 2.1965 2.1970 2.1975 2.1980 2.1985 2.1990 2.1995 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 97 2.2000 2.2005 2.2010 2.2015 2.2019 2.2024 2.2029 2.2034 2.2039 2.2044 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 98 2.2049 2.2054 2.2059 2.2064 2.2069 2.2074 2.2078 2.2083 2.2088 2.2093 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 99 2.2098 2.2103 2.2108 2.2112 2.2117 2.2122 2.2127 2.2132 2.2137 2.2141 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 table 6: fatimo (power of base 8) of 𝟏𝟎 𝒏 𝟏𝟎 𝒏 → 𝟖𝒚 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8 𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) 10𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡(10𝑛) n=1 y=1.1073 16 17.7170 31 34.3266 46 50.9362 61 67.5459 76 84.1555 91 100.7652 2 2.2146 17 18.8243 32 35.4339 47 52.0435 62 68.6532 77 85.2628 92 101.8725 3 3.3219 18 19.9316 33 36.5412 48 53.1509 63 69.7605 78 86.3701 93 102.9798 4 4.4292 19 21.0389 34 37.6485 49 54.2582 64 70.8678 79 87.4774 94 104.0871 5 5.5366 20 22.1462 35 38.7558 50 55.3655 65 71.9751 80 88.5848 95 105.1944 6 6.6439 21 23.2535 36 39.8631 51 56.4728 66 73.0824 81 89.6921 96 106.3017 7 7.7512 22 24.3608 37 40.9705 52 57.5801 67 74.1897 82 90.7990 97 107.4090 8 8.8585 23 25.4681 38 42.0778 53 58.6874 68 75.2970 83 91.9067 98 108.5163 9 9.9658 24 26.5754 39 43.1851 54 59.7947 69 76.4044 84 93.0140 99 109.6236 10 11.0731 25 27.6827 40 44.2924 55 60.9020 70 77.5117 85 94.1213 11 12.1804 26 28.7900 41 45.3997 56 62.0093 71 78.6190 86 95.2286 12 13.2877 27 29.8974 42 46.5070 57 63.1166 72 79.7263 87 96.3359 13 14.3950 28 31.0047 43 47.6143 58 64.2239 73 80.8336 88 97.4432 14 15.5023 29 32.1200 44 48.7216 59 65.3313 74 81.9409 89 98.5505 15 16.6096 30 33.2193 45 49.8289 60 66.4386 75 83.0482 90 99.6578 15 table 7: antifatimo (antipower of base 8) of number x → antifat x difference (x) 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0.00 1.0000 1.0021 1.0042 1.0063 1.0084 1.0105 1.0126 1.0147 1.0168 1.0189 2 4 6 8 11 13 15 17 19 0.01 1.0210 1.0231 1.0253 1.0274 1.0295 1.0317 1.0338 1.0360 1.0381 1.0403 2 4 6 9 11 13 15 17 19 0.02 1.0425 1.0446 1.0468 1.0490 1.0512 1.0534 1.0556 1.0578 1.0600 1.0622 2 4 7 9 11 13 15 18 20 0.03 1.0644 1.0666 1.0688 1.0710 1.0733 1.0755 1.0777 1.0800 1.0822 1.0845 2 4 7 9 11 13 16 18 20 0.04 1.0867 1.0890 1.0913 1.0935 1.0958 1.0981 1.1004 1.1027 1.1050 1.1073 2 5 7 9 11 14 16 18 21 0.05 1.1096 1.1119 1.1142 1.1165 1.1188 1.1212 1.1235 1.1258 1.1282 1.1305 2 5 7 9 12 14 16 19 21 0.06 1.1329 1.1352 1.1376 1.1400 1.1423 1.1447 1.1471 1.1495 1.1519 1.1543 2 5 7 10 12 14 17 19 21 0.07 1.1567 1.1591 1.1615 1.1639 1.1663 1.1688 1.1712 1.1736 1.1761 1.1785 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 19 22 0.08 1.1810 1.1835 1.1859 1.1884 1.1909 1.1933 1.1958 1.1983 1.2008 1.2033 2 5 7 10 12 15 17 20 22 0.09 1.2058 1.2083 1.2108 1.2134 1.2159 1.2184 1.2209 1.2235 1.2260 1.2286 3 5 8 10 13 15 18 20 23 0.10 1.2311 1.2337 1.2363 1.2388 1.2414 1.2440 1.2466 1.2492 1.2518 1.2544 3 5 8 10 13 16 18 21 23 0.11 1.2570 1.2596 1.2623 1.2649 1.2675 1.2702 1.2728 1.2754 1.2781 1.2808 3 5 8 11 13 16 18 21 24 0.12 1.2834 1.2861 1.2888 1.2915 1.2941 1.2968 1.2995 1.3022 1.3050 1.3077 3 5 8 11 13 16 19 22 24 0.13 1.3104 1.3131 1.3159 1.3186 1.3213 1.3241 1.3268 1.3296 1.3324 1.3351 3 6 8 11 14 17 19 22 25 0.14 1.3379 1.3407 1.3435 1.3463 1.3491 1.3519 1.3547 1.3575 1.3604 1.3632 3 6 8 11 14 17 20 22 25 0.15 1.3660 1.3689 1.3717 1.3746 1.3775 1.3803 1.3832 1.3861 1.3890 1.3918 3 6 9 11 14 17 20 23 26 0.16 1.3947 1.3976 1.4006 1.4035 1.4064 1.4093 1.4123 1.4152 1.4181 1.4211 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 23 26 0.17 1.4241 1.4270 1.4300 1.4330 1.4359 1.4389 1.4419 1.4449 1.4479 1.4510 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 0.18 1.4540 1.4570 1.4600 1.4631 1.4661 1.4692 1.4722 1.4753 1.4784 1.4814 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 0.19 1.4845 1.4876 1.4907 1.4938 1.4969 1.5000 1.5032 1.5063 1.5094 1.5126 3 6 9 12 16 19 22 25 28 0.20 1.5157 1.5189 1.5220 1.5252 1.5284 1.5316 1.5347 1.5379 1.5411 1.5444 3 6 10 13 16 19 22 25 29 0.21 1.5476 1.5508 1.5540 1.5572 1.5605 1.5637 1.5670 1.5703 1.5735 1.5768 3 6 10 13 16 20 23 26 29 0.22 1.5801 1.5834 1.5867 1.5900 1.5933 1.5966 1.5999 1.6033 1.6066 1.6099 3 7 10 13 17 20 23 27 30 0.23 1.6133 1.6166 1.6200 1.6234 1.6268 1.6301 1.6335 1.6369 1.6403 1.6438 3 7 10 14 17 20 24 27 31 0.24 1.6472 1.6506 1.6540 1.6575 1.6609 1.6644 1.6679 1.6713 1.6748 1.6783 3 7 10 14 17 21 24 28 31 0.25 1.6818 1.6853 1.6888 1.6923 1.6958 1.6994 1.7029 1.7065 1.7100 1.7136 4 7 11 14 18 21 25 28 32 0.26 1.7171 1.7207 1.7243 1.7279 1.7315 1.7351 1.7387 1.7423 1.7459 1.7496 4 7 11 14 18 22 25 29 32 0.27 1.7532 1.7569 1.7605 1.7642 1.7679 1.7715 1.7752 1.7789 1.7826 1.7863 4 7 11 15 18 22 26 29 33 0.28 1.7901 1.7938 1.7975 1.8013 1.8050 1.8088 1.8125 1.8163 1.8201 1.8239 4 8 11 15 19 23 26 30 34 0.29 1.8277 1.8315 1.8353 1.8391 1.8429 1.8468 1.8506 1.8545 1.8583 1.8622 4 8 12 15 19 23 27 31 35 0.30 1.8661 1.8700 1.8738 1.8777 1.8817 1.8856 1.8895 1.8934 1.8974 1.9013 4 8 12 16 20 24 27 31 35 0.31 1.9053 1.9092 1.9132 1.9172 1.9212 1.9252 1.9292 1.9332 1.9372 1.9413 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 0.32 1.9453 1.9494 1.9534 1.9575 1.9616 1.9656 1.9697 1.9738 1.9779 1.9821 4 8 12 16 20 25 29 33 37 0.33 1.9862 1.9903 1.9945 1.9986 2.0028 2.0069 2.0111 2.0153 2.0195 2.0237 4 8 13 17 21 25 29 33 38 0.34 2.0279 2.0321 2.0364 2.0406 2.0449 2.0491 2.0534 2.0577 2.0619 2.0662 4 9 13 17 21 26 30 34 38 0.35 2.0705 2.0748 2.0792 2.0835 2.0878 2.0922 2.0965 2.1009 2.1053 2.1096 4 9 13 17 22 26 30 35 39 0.36 2.1140 2.1184 2.1228 2.1273 2.1317 2.1361 2.1406 2.1450 2.1495 2.1540 4 9 13 18 22 27 31 36 40 0.37 2.1585 2.1629 2.1675 2.1720 2.1765 2.1810 2.1856 2.1901 2.1947 2.1992 5 9 14 18 23 27 32 36 41 0.38 2.2038 2.2084 2.2130 2.2176 2.2222 2.2268 2.2315 2.2361 2.2408 2.2454 5 9 14 19 23 28 32 37 42 0.39 2.2501 2.2548 2.2595 2.2642 2.2689 2.2736 2.2784 2.2831 2.2879 2.2926 5 9 14 19 24 28 33 38 43 16 0.40 2.2974 2.3022 2.3070 2.3118 2.3166 2.3214 2.3262 2.3311 2.3359 2.3408 5 10 14 19 24 29 34 39 43 0.41 2.3457 2.3506 2.3554 2.3603 2.3653 2.3702 2.3751 2.3801 2.3850 2.3900 5 10 15 20 25 30 34 39 44 0.42 2.3950 2.3999 2.4049 2.4099 2.4150 2.4200 2.4250 2.4301 2.4351 2.4402 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0.43 2.4453 2.4504 2.4555 2.4606 2.4657 2.4708 2.4760 2.4811 2.4863 2.4915 5 10 15 21 26 31 36 41 46 0.44 2.4967 2.5019 2.5071 2.5123 2.5175 2.5228 2.5280 2.5333 2.5385 2.5438 5 10 16 21 26 31 37 42 47 0.45 2.5491 2.5544 2.5597 2.5651 2.5704 2.5758 2.5811 2.5865 2.5919 2.5973 5 11 16 21 27 32 37 43 48 0.46 2.6027 2.6081 2.6135 2.6190 2.6244 2.6299 2.6354 2.6408 2.6463 2.6519 5 11 16 22 27 33 38 44 49 0.47 2.6574 2.6629 2.6684 2.6740 2.6796 2.6851 2.6907 2.6963 2.7019 2.7076 6 11 17 22 28 33 39 45 50 0.48 2.7132 2.7189 2.7245 2.7302 2.7359 2.7416 2.7473 2.7530 2.7587 2.7645 6 11 17 23 28 34 40 46 51 0.49 2.7702 2.7760 2.7818 2.7876 2.7934 2.7992 2.8050 2.8108 2.8167 2.8226 6 12 17 23 29 35 41 47 52 0.50 2.8284 2.8343 2.8402 2.8461 2.8521 2.8580 2.8639 2.8699 2.8759 2.8819 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 53 0.51 2.8879 2.8939 2.8999 2.9059 2.9120 2.9180 2.9241 2.9302 2.9363 2.9424 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 49 55 0.52 2.9485 2.9547 2.9608 2.9670 2.9732 2.9794 2.9856 2.9918 2.9980 3.0042 6 12 19 25 31 37 43 50 56 0.53 3.0105 3.0168 3.0230 3.0293 3.0356 3.0420 3.0483 3.0546 3.0610 3.0674 6 13 19 25 32 38 44 51 57 0.54 3.0738 3.0801 3.0866 3.0930 3.0994 3.1059 3.1123 3.1188 3.1253 3.1318 6 13 19 26 32 39 45 52 58 0.55 3.1383 3.1449 3.1514 3.1580 3.1645 3.1711 3.1777 3.1844 3.1910 3.1976 7 13 20 26 33 40 46 53 59 0.56 3.2043 3.2109 3.2176 3.2243 3.2310 3.2378 3.2445 3.2513 3.2580 3.2648 7 13 20 27 34 40 47 54 61 0.57 3.2716 3.2784 3.2852 3.2921 3.2989 3.3058 3.3127 3.3196 3.3265 3.3334 7 14 21 27 34 41 48 55 62 0.58 3.3404 3.3473 3.3543 3.3613 3.3683 3.3753 3.3823 3.3893 3.3964 3.4035 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 0.59 3.4105 3.4176 3.4248 3.4319 3.4390 3.4462 3.4534 3.4605 3.4678 3.4750 7 14 21 29 36 43 50 57 64 0.60 3.4822 3.4895 3.4967 3.5040 3.5113 3.5186 3.5259 3.5333 3.5406 3.5480 7 15 22 29 37 44 51 59 66 0.61 3.5554 3.5628 3.5702 3.5776 3.5851 3.5925 3.6000 3.6075 3.6150 3.6225 7 15 22 30 37 45 52 60 67 0.62 3.6301 3.6376 3.6452 3.6528 3.6604 3.6680 3.6757 3.6833 3.6910 3.6987 8 15 23 30 38 46 53 61 69 0.63 3.7064 3.7141 3.7218 3.7295 3.7373 3.7451 3.7529 3.7607 3.7685 3.7764 8 16 23 31 39 47 54 62 70 0.64 3.7842 3.7921 3.8000 3.8079 3.8158 3.8238 3.8317 3.8397 3.8477 3.8557 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 0.65 3.8637 3.8718 3.8798 3.8879 3.8960 3.9041 3.9123 3.9204 3.9286 3.9367 8 16 24 32 41 49 57 65 73 0.66 3.9449 3.9531 3.9614 3.9696 3.9779 3.9862 3.9945 4.0028 4.0111 4.0195 8 17 25 33 41 50 58 66 75 0.67 4.0278 4.0362 4.0446 4.0530 4.0615 4.0699 4.0784 4.0869 4.0954 4.1039 8 17 25 34 42 51 59 68 76 0.68 4.1125 4.1210 4.1296 4.1382 4.1468 4.1554 4.1641 4.1728 4.1814 4.1901 9 17 26 35 43 52 60 69 78 0.69 4.1989 4.2076 4.2164 4.2251 4.2339 4.2428 4.2516 4.2604 4.2693 4.2782 9 18 26 35 44 53 62 71 79 0.70 4.2871 4.2960 4.3050 4.3139 4.3229 4.3319 4.3409 4.3500 4.3590 4.3681 9 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 0.71 4.3772 4.3863 4.3954 4.4046 4.4137 4.4229 4.4321 4.4414 4.4506 4.4599 9 18 28 37 46 55 64 74 83 0.72 4.4691 4.4785 4.4878 4.4971 4.5065 4.5159 4.5253 4.5347 4.5441 4.5536 9 19 28 38 47 56 66 75 85 0.73 4.5631 4.5726 4.5821 4.5916 4.6012 4.6107 4.6203 4.6300 4.6396 4.6493 10 19 29 38 48 58 67 77 86 0.74 4.6589 4.6686 4.6784 4.6881 4.6978 4.7076 4.7174 4.7272 4.7371 4.7469 10 20 29 39 49 59 69 78 88 0.75 4.7568 4.7667 4.7767 4.7866 4.7966 4.8065 4.8165 4.8266 4.8366 4.8467 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0.76 4.8568 4.8669 4.8770 4.8872 4.8973 4.9075 4.9178 4.9280 4.9383 4.9485 10 20 31 41 51 61 71 82 92 0.77 4.9588 4.9692 4.9795 4.9899 5.0002 5.0107 5.0211 5.0315 5.0420 5.0525 10 21 31 42 52 62 73 83 94 0.78 5.063 5.0736 5.0841 5.0947 5.1053 5.1159 5.1266 5.1373 5.1480 5.1587 11 21 32 43 53 64 74 85 96 0.79 5.1694 5.1802 5.1910 5.2018 5.2126 5.2234 5.2343 5.2452 5.2561 5.2671 11 22 33 43 54 65 76 87 98 0.80 5.2780 5.2890 5.3000 5.3111 5.3221 5.3332 5.3443 5.3554 5.3666 5.3777 11 22 33 44 55 67 78 89 100 0.81 5.3889 5.4002 5.4114 5.4227 5.4339 5.4453 5.4566 5.4679 5.4793 5.4907 11 23 34 45 57 68 79 91 102 0.82 5.5022 5.5136 5.5251 5.5366 5.5481 5.5597 5.5712 5.5828 5.5945 5.6061 12 23 35 46 58 69 81 92 104 17 0.83 5.6178 5.6295 5.6412 5.6529 5.6647 5.6765 5.6883 5.7002 5.7120 5.7239 12 24 35 47 59 71 83 94 106 0.84 5.7358 5.7478 5.7597 5.7717 5.7837 5.7958 5.8078 5.8199 5.8320 5.8442 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 0.85 5.8563 5.8685 5.8807 5.8930 5.9053 5.9176 5.9299 5.9422 5.9546 5.967 12 25 37 49 61 74 86 98 111 0.86 5.9794 5.9918 6.0043 6.0168 6.0293 6.0419 6.0545 6.0671 6.0797 6.0924 13 25 38 50 63 75 88 100 113 0.87 6.1050 6.1177 6.1305 6.1432 6.1560 6.1688 6.1817 6.1946 6.2074 6.2204 13 26 38 51 64 77 90 103 115 0.88 6.2333 6.2463 6.2593 6.2723 6.2854 6.2985 6.3116 6.3247 6.3379 6.3511 13 26 39 52 65 79 92 105 118 0.89 6.3643 6.3775 6.3908 6.4041 6.4174 6.4308 6.4442 6.4576 6.4711 6.4845 13 27 40 53 67 80 94 107 120 0.90 6.4980 6.5115 6.5251 6.5387 6.5523 6.5659 6.5796 6.5933 6.6070 6.6208 14 27 41 55 68 82 96 109 123 0.91 6.6346 6.6484 6.6622 6.6761 6.6900 6.7039 6.7179 6.7318 6.7458 6.7599 14 28 42 56 70 84 98 112 125 0.92 6.7740 6.7881 6.8022 6.8164 6.8305 6.8448 6.8590 6.8733 6.8876 6.9019 14 28 43 57 71 85 100 114 128 0.93 6.9163 6.9307 6.9451 6.9596 6.9741 6.9886 7.0031 7.0177 7.0323 7.0470 15 29 44 58 73 87 102 116 131 0.94 7.0616 7.0763 7.0911 7.1058 7.1206 7.1354 7.1503 7.1652 7.1801 7.1950 15 30 44 59 74 89 104 119 134 0.95 7.2100 7.2250 7.2401 7.2551 7.2702 7.2854 7.3005 7.3157 7.3309 7.3462 15 30 45 61 76 91 106 121 136 0.96 7.3615 7.3768 7.3922 7.4076 7.4230 7.4384 7.4539 7.4694 7.4850 7.5006 15 31 46 62 77 93 108 124 139 0.97 7.5162 7.5318 7.5475 7.5632 7.5790 7.5947 7.6105 7.6264 7.6423 7.6582 16 32 47 63 79 95 111 126 142 0.98 7.6741 7.6901 7.7061 7.7221 7.7382 7.7543 7.7705 7.7866 7.8028 7.8191 16 32 48 64 81 97 113 129 145 0.99 7.8354 7.8517 7.8680 7.8844 7.9008 7.9173 7.9337 7.9502 7.9668 7.9834 16 33 49 66 82 99 115 132 148 table 8: conversion of 𝟖𝒚 to 𝟏𝟎𝒏 𝟖𝒚 → 𝟏𝟎𝒏 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 8𝑦 10𝑛 1 0.9031 16 14.4494 31 27.9958 46 41.5421 61 55.0885 76 68.6348 91 82.1812 2 1.8062 17 15.3525 32 28.8989 47 42.4452 62 55.9916 77 69.5379 92 83.0843 3 2.7093 18 16.2556 33 29.8020 48 43.3483 63 56.8947 78 70.4410 93 83.9874 4 3.6124 19 17.1587 34 30.7051 49 44.2514 64 57.7978 79 71.3441 94 84.8905 5 4.5155 20 18.0618 35 31.6082 50 45.1545 65 58.7009 80 72.2472 95 85.7936 6 5.4185 21 18.9649 36 32.5112 51 46.0576 66 59.6039 81 73.1503 96 86.6966 7 6.3216 22 19.8680 37 33.4143 52 46.9607 67 60.5070 82 74.0534 97 87.5997 8 7.2247 23 20.7711 38 34.3174 53 47.8638 68 61.4101 83 74.9565 98 88.5028 9 8.1278 24 21.6742 39 35.2205 54 48.7669 69 62.3132 84 75.8596 99 89.4059 10 9.0309 25 22.5773 40 36.1236 55 49.6700 70 63.2163 85 76.7627 11 9.9340 26 23.4803 41 37.0267 56 50.5730 71 64.1194 86 77.6657 12 10.8371 27 24.3834 42 37.9298 57 51.4761 72 65.0225 87 78.5688 13 11.7402 28 25.2865 43 38.8329 58 52.3792 73 65.9256 88 79.4719 14 12.6433 29 26.1896 44 39.7360 59 53.2823 74 66.8287 89 80.3750 15 13.5464 30 27.0927 45 40.6391 60 54.1854 75 67.7318 90 81.2781 18 establishment of the magnitude of the population of any particular entity the establishment of the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location using kifilideen population scale is given as: 𝑀 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃 (1) where 𝑀 is the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location of any particular entity, 𝐾𝑖𝑓 is the logarithm of base 11 and 𝑃 is the population of the particular entity of a state, nation or location. the establishment of the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location using lukmon population scale is given as: 𝑀 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 𝑃 (2) where 𝑀 is the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location of any particular entity, 𝐿𝑢𝑘 is the logarithm of base 3 and 𝑃 is the population of the particular entity of a state, nation or location. the establishment of the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location using fatimo population scale is given as: 𝑀 = 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝑃 (3) where 𝑀 is the magnitude of the population of a state, nation or location of any particular entity, 𝐹𝑎𝑡 is the logarithm of base 8 and 𝑃 is the population of the particular entity of a state, nation or location. kifildeen conversion of magnitude of the population on one scale to another if the magnitude of population, 𝑃 on the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales are 𝑀𝑘, 𝑀𝑙 and 𝑀𝑓 then: 𝑀𝑘 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃, 𝑃 = 11𝑀𝑘 , 𝑀𝑙 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 𝑃 (4), (5), (6) put (5) in (6) 𝑀𝑙 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 11𝑀𝑘 , 𝑀𝑙 = 𝑀𝑘 𝐿𝑢𝑘 11, 𝑀𝑙 = 2.1827𝑀𝑘 (7), (8), (9) similarly, 𝑀𝑘 = 𝑀𝑙 𝐾𝑖𝑓 3 , 𝑀𝑘 = 0.4582𝑀𝑙 (10), (11) to convert fatimo to kifilideen scale vice versa 𝑀𝑓 = 𝑀𝑘 𝐹𝑎𝑡 11, 𝑀𝑓 = 1.153𝑀𝑘 (12), (13) similarly, 𝑀𝑘 = 𝑀𝑓 𝐾𝑖𝑓 8, 𝑀𝑘 = 0.8672𝑀𝑓 (14), (15) to convert lukmon to fatimo scale vice versa 𝑀𝑓 = 𝑀𝑙 𝐹𝑎𝑡 3, 𝑀𝑓 = 0.5283𝑀𝑙 (16), (17) similarly, 𝑀𝑙 = 𝑀𝑓 𝐿𝑢𝑘 8, 𝑀𝑙 = 1.8928𝑀𝑓 (18), (19) inauguration of kifilideen conversion scale method if the population of an entity is 𝑃 while the magnitude of the population 𝑃 in the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales are 𝑀𝑘, 𝑀𝑙 and 𝑀𝑓; then from the kifilideen population scale; 𝑀𝑘 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃 , 𝑃 = 11𝑀𝑘 (20) from the lukmon population scale; 𝑀𝑙 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 𝑃 , 𝑃 = 3𝑀𝑙 (21) from the fatimo population scale; 𝑀𝑓 = 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝑃 , 𝑃 = 8𝑀𝑓 (22) therefore, 𝑃 = 11𝑀𝑘 = 3𝑀𝑙 = 8𝑀𝑓 (23) for 𝑀𝑘 = 0, (24) 𝑀𝑙 = 2.1827𝑀𝑘 = 2.1827 × 0 = 0 (25) 𝑀𝑓 = 1.153𝑀𝑘 = 1.153 × 0 = 0 (26) for 𝑀𝑘 = 10, (27) 𝑀𝑙 = 2.1827𝑀𝑘 = 2.1827 × 10 = 21.827 ≈ 21.83 (28) 𝑀𝑓 = 1.1530𝑀𝑘 = 1.1530 × 10 = 11.530 ≈ 11.53 (29) for 𝑀𝑘 = 𝑥, 𝑀𝑙 = 𝑦 and 𝑀𝑓 = 𝑧 (30) 19 so, kifilideen magnitude population conversion method is given as: kifilideen scale lukmon scale fatimo scale osanyinpeju scale lekan scale 10 21.83 11.53 34.59 14.90 𝒙 𝑀𝑘 𝒚 𝑀𝑙 𝑧 𝑀𝑓 𝑠 𝑀𝑜 𝑛 𝑀𝑙𝑒 0 0 0 0 0 establishment of kifilideen formula in determining the difference between the magnitudes of population in two different locations using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales if the magnitude of the first population, 𝑃1 is 𝑀1 and the magnitude of the second population, 𝑃2 is 𝑀2; then the difference, 𝐷 in the magnitude of the population of 𝑃1 and 𝑃2 in two differences location using kifilideen population scale is given as: if the magnitude of the first population 𝑃1 is 𝑀1 in location 1; using the kifilideen population scale, then 𝑀1 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃1 (31) if the magnitude of the second population 𝑃2 is 𝑀2 in location 2; using the kifilideen population scale, then 𝑀2 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃2 (32) the difference in the magnitude of the population, 𝐷 for the two locations 1 and 2 is given as; 𝐷 = 𝑀2 − 𝑀1 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃2 𝑃1 (33) on lukmon scale, the difference in the magnitude of the population, 𝐷 for the two locations 1 and 2 using the lukmon scale is; 𝐷 = 𝑀2 − 𝑀1 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 𝑃2 𝑃1 (34) on fatimo scale, the difference in the magnitude of the population, 𝐷 for the two locations 1 and 2 using the fatimo scale is given as; 𝐷 = 𝑀2 − 𝑀1 = 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝑃2 𝑃1 (35) inauguration of kifildeen rate of change in the magnitude of the population formula using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo population scales if the magnitude of the initial population 𝑃𝑜 is 𝑀𝑜; using the kifilideen population scale, then 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑜 (36) in 𝑛 years, the magnitude of the population 𝑃𝑛 is 𝑀𝑛; using the kifilideen population scale, then 𝑀𝑛 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑛 (37) the change in the magnitude of the population for the 𝑛 years is given as; 𝑑𝑀 = 𝑀𝑛 − 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑛 𝑃𝑜 (38) the kifilideen rate of change in the magnitude of the population for the 𝑛 years using kifilideen population scale is given as; 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑀𝑛−𝑀𝑜 𝑛 = 𝐷 𝑛 = 1 𝑛 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑛 𝑃𝑜 (39) where 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 is the rate of change of magnitude of the population, 𝑑𝑀 or 𝐷 is the change in population, 𝑀𝑛 is the magnitude of the population 𝑃𝑛, 𝑀𝑜 is the magnitude of the initial population 𝑃𝑜, 𝑛 is the number of years, 𝑃𝑜 is the initial population of entity and 𝑃𝑛 is the population after 𝑛 years. ∫ 𝑑𝑀 = ∫ 𝐷 𝑛 𝑑𝑡 (40) 𝑀 = 𝐷 𝑛 𝑡 + 𝐶 (41) when 𝑡 = 0, 𝑀 = 𝑀𝑜 (42) 20 𝑀𝑜 = 𝐷 𝑛 × 0 + 𝐶 (43) 𝐶 = 𝑀𝑜 (44) 𝑀𝑁 = 𝐷 𝑛 𝑡 + 𝑀𝑜 (45) where 𝐷 is the difference between the magnitude of the population at 𝑡 = 𝑛 and 𝑡 = 0; 𝑛 is the number of years considered; 𝑡 is the 𝑛𝑡ℎ years; 𝑀𝑛 is the magnitude of the population of the 𝑛𝑡ℎ year and 𝑀𝑜 is the magnitude of the population of the 0𝑡ℎ year for lukmon population scale, the kifilideen rate of change in the magnitude of the population for the 𝑛 years using kifilideen population scale is given as; 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑀𝑛−𝑀𝑜 𝑛 = 1 𝑛 𝐿𝑢𝑘 𝑃𝑛 𝑃𝑜 (46) where 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 is the rate of change of magnitude of the population, 𝑑𝑀 is the change in population 𝑀𝑛 is the magnitude of the population 𝑃𝑛, 𝑀𝑜 is the magnitude of the initial population 𝑃𝑜, 𝑛 is the number of years, 𝑃𝑜 is the initial population of entity and 𝑃𝑛 is the population after 𝑛 years. for fatimo population scale, the kifilideen rate of change in the magnitude of the population for the 𝑛 years using kifilideen population scale is given as; 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑀𝑛−𝑀𝑜 𝑛 = 1 𝑛 𝐹𝑎𝑡 𝑃𝑛 𝑃𝑜 (47) where 𝑑𝑀 𝑑𝑡 is the rate of change of magnitude of the population, 𝑑𝑀 is the change in population 𝑀𝑛 is the magnitude of the population 𝑃𝑛, 𝑀𝑜 is the magnitude of the initial population 𝑃𝑜, 𝑛 is the number of years, 𝑃𝑜 is the initial population of entity and 𝑃𝑛 is the population after 𝑛 years. the kifilideen population growth/decline rate equation in term of magnitude the kifilideen population growth/decline equation in term of magnitude using kifilideen scale is given as: 𝑀𝑓 = 𝑅𝑚𝑡 + 𝑀𝑖 (48) where 𝑀𝑖 is the initial magnitude of the population, 𝑀𝑓 is the final magnitude of the population, 𝑅𝑚 is the kifilideen population growth/decline rate using the kifilideen scale and the 𝑡 is the time interval between the initial and final. results and discussion demonstration of the determination of the magnitude of the population of any entity of a state, nation or location using the kifilideen scale [a] three candidates x, y and z are to contest for president where states a, b and c are to determine the next president from these candidates where candidate x has his strength in states a; candidates y in state b and candidates z in state c respectively. the population of the three states a, b and c are 1.456 million, 60.32 thousand and 9.689 million respectively. determine [i] the magnitude of population of the states a, b and c in determining the next president using the kifilideen scale. [ii] the state that would have the highest impact in determining the outcome of the election. [iii] which candidates is likely to win solution [i] using kifilideen population scale, 𝑀𝐴 = magnitude of population of state a = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝐴 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[14.56 × 105] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[14.56] + 𝐾𝑖𝑓[105] (49) = 1.11694 + 4.80126 = 5.9182 (50) 𝑀𝐵 = magnitude of population of state b = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[60.32 × 103 ] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[60.32] + 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [103] (51) = 1.70969 + 2.88076 = 4.59045 (52) 𝑀𝐶 = magnitude of population of state c = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝐶 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [96.89 × 105] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[96.89] + 𝐾𝑖𝑓[105] (53) = 1.90733 + 4.80126 = 6.70859 (54) [i] since the state c has the highest of magnitude of population with value 6.70859, so state c would have the highest impact in determining the outcome of the election 21 [iii] candidate z has his strength in state c with the highest magnitude of population. so, candidate z is likely to win the election utilization of the kifilideen conversion method of one population scale to another [b] convert the magnitude of population 9.5 in kifilideen scale to [i] lukmon scale [ii] fatimo scale solution kifilideen scale lukmon scale fatimo scale 3 10 21.83 11.53 2 9.5 𝑀𝑙 y 𝑀𝑓 z 1 0 0 0 [i] 𝐾2−𝐾1 𝐾3−𝐾1 = 𝐿2−𝐿1 𝐿3−𝐿1 (55) 9.5−0 10−0 = 𝑀𝑙−0 21.83−0 (56) 𝑀𝑙 = 9.5×21.83 10 = 20.7385 ≈ 20.74 (57) [ii] 𝐾2−𝐾1 𝐾3−𝐾1 = 𝐹2−𝐹1 𝐹3−𝐹1 (59) 9.5−0 10−0 = 𝑀𝑓−0 11.53 −0 (60) 𝑀𝑓 = 9.5×11.53 10 = 10.9535 ≈ 10.95 (61) illustration on the kifilideen conversion of magnitude of the population on one scale to another scale [c] if the magnitude of the population of town v is 6.53 using the kilfideen scale. [i] determine the population of town v [ii] obtain the magnitude of the population of town v on the lukmon scale [iii] obtain the magnitude of the population of town on the fatimo scale 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 [𝑖] from kifilideen population scale, 𝑀𝑣 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑣 , 4.56 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝑣 (62), (63) 𝑃𝑣 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 (6.53) = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓[0.76848 + 5.76152] (64) population of town v = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓[0.76848] × 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓[5.76152] = 6.314 × 106 (65) [ii] from lukmon population scale, 𝑀𝑣 = 𝐿𝑢𝑘 [6.314 × 106] = 𝐿𝑢𝑘[63.14 × 105] = 𝐿𝑢𝑘[63.14] + 𝐿𝑢𝑘[105] (66) magnitude of population of town v = 𝑀𝑣 = 3.7733 + 10.4795 = 14.2528 ≈ 14.25 (67) [ii] 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑜 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑒, 𝑀𝑣 = 𝐹𝑎𝑡[6.314 × 106] = 𝐹𝑎𝑡[63.14 × 105] = 𝐹𝑎𝑡 [63.14] + 𝐿𝑢𝑘[105] (68) magnitude of population of town v = 𝑀𝑣 = 1.9935 + 5.5366 = 7.5301 ≈ 7.53 (69) the population and magnitude of the population using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales table 9 indicates the population and magnitude of the population using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales. 22 table 9 the population and magnitude of the population using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales magnitude of population population kifilideen population scale lukmon population scale fatimo population scale 100 0.00 0.00 0.00 101 0.96 2.10 1.11 102 1.92 4.19 2.21 103 2.88 6.29 3.32 104 3.84 8.38 4.43 105 4.80 10.48 5.54 106 5.76 12.58 6.64 107 6.72 14.67 7.75 108 7.68 16.77 8.86 109 8.64 18.86 9.97 1010 9.60 20.96 11.07 1011 10.56 23.05 12.18 1012 11.52 25.15 13.29 1013 12.48 27.25 14.40 1014 13.44 29.34 15.50 1015 14.40 31.44 16.61 1016 15.36 33.53 17.72 1017 16.32 35.63 18.82 1018 17.28 17.28 19.93 1019 18.24 37.73 21.04 1020 19.21 41.92 22.15 utilization of kifilideen formula in determining the difference between the magnitudes of population in two different locations using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales [d] if the difference between the magnitude of population of two towns a and b is 0.87 using the kifilideen scale and the population of a is larger than population b. if the population of b is 2.71 million, determine the [i] the magnitudes of population a and b [ii] the population of a solution [i] 𝑃𝐵 = 27.1 × 105 (70) using the kifilideen formula of difference in magnitude of population, 𝐷 = 𝑀𝐴 − 𝑀𝐵 (71) 𝑀𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[27.1 × 105] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓[27.1] + 𝐾𝑖𝑓[105] = 1.37601 + 4.80126 (72) magnitude of population b = 𝑀𝐵 = 6.17727 ≈ 6.18 (73) magnitude of population a = 𝑀𝐴 = 𝐷 + 𝑀𝐵 = 0.87 + 6.17727 = 7.04727 ≈ 7.05 (74) [ii] 𝑀𝐴 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 𝑃𝐴 (75) 𝑃𝐴 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓𝑀𝐴 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [7.04727] = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [0.3255 + 6.72177] (76) population of a = 𝑃𝐴 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓[0.32550] × 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [6.72177] = 2.18259 × 107 (77) population of a ≈ 21.8 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 implementation of population growth formula using kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo population scales [e] the initial population of town b is 500. in five years’ time the population of town b is 15, 000. determine [i] the initial and final magnitude of the population of town b [ii] the change in magnitude of population of town b after the five years [iii] the rate of change of magnitude of population of towns b [iv] the population and the magnitude of the population for the 1st to fifth years and after 10 years using the kiflideen population scales 23 solution [i] using kifilideen population scale, initial magnitude of population of town b = [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑃𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [5 × 102] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 5 + 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [102] (78) initial magnitude of population of town b = [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 0.67119 + 1.92051 = 2.59170 ≈ 2.59 (79) final magnitude of population of town b after 5 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑃5]𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [15 × 103] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [15] + 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [103] final magnitude of population of town b after 5 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = [𝑀5]𝐵 = 1.12934 + 2.88076 = 4.0101 ≈ 4.01 (80) [ii] using the kifilideen formula of difference in magnitude of population, change in magnitude of population of b = 𝐷𝐴 = [𝑀5]𝐵 − [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑃5]𝐵 [𝑃𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [ 15000 500 ] = 𝐾𝑖𝑓 30 (81) change in magnitude of population of b after 5 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 = 𝐷𝐵 = [𝑑𝑀]𝐵 = 1.41841 ≈ 1.42 (82) [iii] using the kifilideen formula of rate of change of magnitude of population of any entity, the rate of change in the magnitude of the population of town b = [𝑑𝑀]𝐵 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐷𝐵 [𝑛]𝐵 = [𝑀5]𝐵−[𝑀𝑜]𝐵 [𝑛]𝐵 = 1 [𝑛]𝐵 𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑃5]𝐵 [𝑃𝑜]𝐵 the rate of change in the magnitude of the population of town b = 𝐷𝐵 [𝑛]𝐵 = 1.41841 5 = 0.28368/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 (83) [iv] using kifilideen population scale to determine the magnitude of the population of b for 1𝑠𝑡 to 5𝑡ℎ year and after 20 years, [𝑑𝑀]𝐵 𝑑𝑡 = 0.28368/𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 (84) ∫[𝑑𝑀]𝐵 = ∫ 0.28368 𝑑𝑡 (85) 𝑀𝐵 = 0.28368 𝑡 + 𝐶 (86) when 𝑡 = 0 (87) [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 0 + 𝐶 = 𝐶 (88) 𝑀𝐵 = 0.28368 𝑡 + [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 (89) from (3.34), [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 2.59170 (90) 𝑀𝐵 = 0.28368 𝑡 + 2.59170 (91) 𝑡 = 0 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 0 + 2.59170 = 2.59170 (92) 𝑡 = 1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, [𝑀1]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 1 + 2.59170 = 2.87538 (93) 𝑡 = 2 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑀2]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 2 + 2.59170 = 3.15906 (94) 𝑡 = 3 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑀3]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 3 + 2.59170 = 3.44274 (95) 𝑡 = 4 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑀4]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 4 + 2.59170 = 3.72642 (96) 𝑡 = 5 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑀5]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 5 + 2.59170 = 4.01010 (97) 𝑡 = 10 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑀10]𝐵 = 0.28368 × 10 + 2.59170 = 5.4285 (98) to determine the population of b for 1𝑠𝑡 to 5𝑡ℎ year and after 10 years, [𝑃𝑡]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀𝑡]𝐵 (99) 𝑡 = 0 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, [𝑃𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀𝑜]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 2.59170 = 500 (100) 𝑡 = 1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, [𝑃1]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀1]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 2.87538 = 987 (101) 𝑡 = 2 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑃2]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀2]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 3.15906 = 1, 949 (102) 𝑡 = 3𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑃3]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀3]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 3.44274 = 3, 848 (103) 𝑡 = 4 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, [𝑃4]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀4]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 3.72642 = 7, 597 (104) 𝑡 = 5 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑃5]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀5]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 4.01010 = 15, 000 (105) 𝑡 = 10 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠, [𝑃10]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 [𝑀10]𝐵 = 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑖𝐾𝑖𝑓 5.4285 = 449, 987 (106) so the population of b after 10 years is 449, 987 4 conclusion this study established the kifilideen, lukmon and fatimo scales to determine the magnitude of the population of any particular entity of a state, nation or location. the research work also invented the lukmon (power of base 3) and antilumon (antipower of base 3) with fatimo (power of base 8) and antifatimo (antipower of base 8) tables in evaluating the magnitude of the population of an entity. the paper illustrates on how to convert from one population scale to another. the study provides formulas for the determination of the magnitude of both the population and population density of any particular entities such as human being, bacteria and plant which would be useful to decide the level of impact of that entity in the location. the magnitude of the population of an entity is an easy and simplified form of representing the population of an entity. the magnitude of the population can be useful in the classification of the population of an entity into levels and sizes. 24 references agarwal, s. 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(2012). introduction to population demographics. nature education knowledge, 3 (11), 1-9. https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/introduction torma, s., vilcek, j., losak, t., kuzel, s., & martensson, a. (2017). residual plant nutrients in crop residues – important resource. acta agricultural scandinavica b – soil and plant science, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2017.1406134 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/mejs.14i2.6 http://hdl.handle.net/10419/31966 https://doi.org/10.1016/s2095-6339(15)30041-1 https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/introduction https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2017.1406134 page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 74 historical cost method in human resource accounting: an evaluation felix osayabor emovon department of accounting, igbinedion university, okada, edo state, nigeria. felix.emovon@iuokada.edu.ng peter okoeguale ibadin department of accounting, university of benin, benin city, edo state, nigeria. okoeguale.ibadin@uniben.com abstract this study investigated historical cost method in human resource accounting: an evaluation. human resources, a crucial asset for any organization, play a significant role in business and the economy. human resource accounting is a relatively new concept that has grown in prominence in financial statement preparation around the world. the historical cost technique is one of the most popular methods because, like standard accounting procedures, it calculates an employee's worth using the whole historical expenditures associated with hiring an individual. this strategy necessitates accounting for the cost of the staff investment. one of the drawbacks of this strategy is that it requires decisions on which costs to expense and which to capitalize. the objective of this study is to examine historical cost method in human resource accounting. the methodology adopted for this study is library approach which focuses on the review of the extant literature on historical cost method in human resource accounting. it was observed in the literature that human resources are critical assets to the organization and significant in the generation of value. to this end, the human resources should be capitalized rather than expensed on the financial statements. the study concludes that human resources are the most valuable asset that an organization may have. such critical resources, which require significant capital to generate future streams of income, should be recognized as an intangible asset rather than expensed on the statement of comprehensive income. because human resources are critical to the value creation process and a source of long-term competitive advantage, accounting bodies should create a generally accepted basis for valuing, recording, and disclosing human resources accounting information in an organization's financial statements. the study recommends that historical cost method in human resource accounting should be adopted by organizations as this is already used in the statement of profit or loss and is easy and aligns the historical cost nature of the financial reports. keywords: human resource accounting, historical cost method, organization and valuation. mailto:felix.emovon@iuokada.edu.ng mailto:okoeguale.ibadin@uniben.com 75 introduction human resource accounting (hra) is an accounting tool designed to account for people as organizational resources by providing stakeholders with information on the estimated value and cost of human resource investment in an organization. it was created to address a flaw in the traditional accounting system, which writes off all investment in human resources as expenses in the year they are incurred. human resource accounting assesses an organization's human resources in a methodical manner and records them in a financial statement or annual report to communicate their value, changes over time, and results achieved from their usage to financial statement users. the significance and need for human resources accounting as a technique of appraising human resources has been widely recognized, and it is progressively being used in many nations, despite the constraints. (islam et al, 2013). the application of human resource accounting varies across organizations and countries (boedker, et al, 2008) swedish models are used by businesses to assess and report on certain of their intangible assets, such as intellectual capital and human resources. united kingdom determines value and reports on its intangibles through a business committee of practice called maria (managing and reporting intangible assets). among the nations recognized for hra is india. according to the literature, some organizations in the nation's public and private sectors are interested in the financial worth of their human resources. (pandey, 2014 & orjha, 2013). according to flamholtz (1971), williams petty established the first human resource accounting firm in the united states in 1691. he made the first attempt in 1691 to put a monetary value on human beings. according to petty, labor is the source of wealth and should always be taken into account when estimating the total wealth of a country. among other scholars, far in 1853 and engle in 1883 made additional efforts. the rigorous assessment, documentation, and presentation of human resource value in an organization's books of account is known as human resource accounting. the process of locating, quantifying, and informing interested parties about human resources (assets) is known as human resource accounting. organizations will be able to decide appropriately on both internal and external issues as a result. human assets have the same capacity to generate income and expenses as other physical assets. as a result, it is essential to value human resources equally with other assets, that is, to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of human capital. (american accounting association, 2014). human resources can be referred to as human assets or capital; these refer to the set of individuals, who make up the workforce of an organization or a business entity (edom et al., 2015; syed, 2009). economists use the term "human resource" to refer to human capital, which is viewed as a production factor. they investigate various methods of quantifying the investment made in human capital in areas such as health and education. these resources, which are operational factors on an organization's performance, are as implicit knowledge in employees. (hajkarimi, 2009). the historical cost method, which determines an employee's value using the total historical expenditures related to hiring them, is one of the more widely used approaches due to its resemblance to standard accounting procedures. the cost of the employee investment must be accrued when using this method. this method's decision-making over which costs to capitalize and which to expense is one of its drawbacks. to help with decision-making, human resource costs can be divided into two categories: training and education. this method would involve accounting for all training expenses related to the present position. anything 76 related to preparation or advancement would be considered an educational expenditure, and these expenses would be capitalized. (dawson, 1994). among others, flamholtz (1999), pyle and brumnet (1968) contributed to the establishment of the historical cost technique. the true cost of human resources is taken into account in this model. the following elements are included in such a cost: acquisition cost is the sum of money spent on hiring and choosing. it is significant to remember that the expenses associated with recruitment and selection will document the entire process for those who are ultimately hired. one of the factors that contributes to the value of human resources is learning cost, which is the total cost of training and development. welfare cost is made up of all the cost of catering for the needs of human resource which is made up of cost such as canteen bill, health insurance, security cost etc. the historical cost model has its benefit, its simplicity however, this model does not fully capture the potential of an employee in monetary terms. completeness is one of the best qualities of quality financial information because incomplete information can be even more damaging than none at all. the demand for an accounting standard pertaining to the measurement, disclosure, and presentation of human resources makes sense. (akintoye et al, 2016). this is to guarantee that the financials accurately reflect human resources and provide all relevant data, enabling the financials to be used to make meaningful decisions. furthermore, the various approaches to human resource valuation can make it simpler to manipulate financial records, which might have disastrous consequences for the company, its investors, other stakeholders, and the environment at large. consequently, using a common model is required. in actuality, to lessen inclinations toward manipulation in the financial report preparation. to this end, this study will theoretically investigate the adoption of historical cost method in human resource accounting: an evaluation literature review human resource accounting (hra) flamholtz et al. (2002) defined human resources/capital accounting as the accounting of individuals as an organizational resource. it entails calculating the expenses incurred by firms when recruiting, selecting, hiring, training, and developing human resources. according to newman (1999), human resources accounting is the measuring of all employees' capacities at every level of a company-management, supervisory, and regular employees-to produce value from their knowledge and mental powers. the american accounting association (2014) defined human resources accounting as the process of identifying and measuring data about human assets (resources) and communicating this information to interested parties. this will enable organizations make relevant decisions regarding internal and external matters. like physical assets also have the ability to create expenditure and income. therefore, it is necessary to value human forces just as other assets that is to consider the costs and benefits of human resources. rensis likert, a social psychologist, is credited with coining the term "human assets" in the late 1950s, which later researchers replaced with the term "resources." this study is the source of human resource accounting. his work's fundamental idea was the accounting phrase for the human resource expressed intuitively. likert's ideal was developed during a period when societal norms were shifting generally and behavioral issues with the accounting system in particular were becoming more widely recognized (akinsoyinu, 1992). 77 human resource accounting, according to fajana (2002), is a response to the criticisms that the traditional accounting system is inadequate for the needs of a large number of users, and that the custom of treating all expenses related to the formation of human capital as an immediate charge against income is not consistent with how comparable expenditures on physical capital are treated. flamholtz et al (2003) utilized the hra measure of expected realizable value, and found that employees' participation in management development program increased the value of the individuals to the firm. in addition flamholtz noted that the human resource accounting measures provided upper level management with an alternative accounting system to measure the cost and value of people to an organization. the impact of human resource cost metrics on bankers' decision-making was examined by schwan (1976). he discovered that two statistically distinct estimates of the company's net income and one considerably different assessment of management's readiness to face future opportunities and challenges were produced by the inclusion of human resource accounting data in public financial statements. historical cost method the historical cost method model proposed by flamholtz (1999) incorporates actual expenses related to hiring, training, and development that are part of the historical cost approach. the organization's human resources are capitalized, amortized over their anticipated useful lives, and part of their income is written off during the following few years that they will be used to provide services. appropriate documentation of the hiring, selection, training, and development of the workforce is also maintained. the entire sum that is not written off in the event of an early liquidation of human assets is charged to income for that year. the amortization schedule may need to be revised if the useful life turns out to be longer than anticipated. human resources have historically cost around the same as the book value of the other tangible assets. in the same way that adding to a fixed asset increases its value, hiring an employee comes with the clear expectation that his contributions will outweigh the costs associated with selection, development, and training. these additional costs, which are capitalized and amortized over the employee's remaining life, are also associated with training and development. the investment in human capital has an unexpired value. historical cost method as opined by dawson, (1994) is one of the more popular methods because of its similarities to normal accounting procedures, it calculates an employee's worth using the total historic costs associated with obtaining an employee. this method requires accruing the cost of the investment in the employee. one of the problems with this method is that decisions must be made about what cost to expense and what cost to capitalized. one way of deciding what to expense or capitalized is to classify human resource costs as either training or educational. this method would involve accounting for all training expenses related to the present position. capitalization would be applied to the education expenses related to the advancement or preparedness. flamholtz (1999) proposed that the historical cost technique capitalizes all costs related to hiring, training, and recruiting and amortizes them over the asset's estimated life. flamholtz asserts that an individual's value is determined by the current value of the services they are expected to provide to the organization in the future. this view is shared by other researchers (akintoye, 2012). the model postulates that as an individual moves from one position to another, either at the same level or at different levels, the profile of the services provided by him equally change. thus, the value of individual to an organization is taken to be the present cumulative value of all the possible services rendered by such an individual. 78 the concept of historical cost is a fundamental principle in the field of accounting. it mandates that reporting entities must assign a value to their assets based on the original acquisition costs, specifically the amount paid to acquire and utilize them (iasb). one of the notable advantages associated with the utilization of historical costs in the valuation process is the inherent constancy of the cost. this characteristic allows reporting entities to readily substantiate the value assigned to an asset or liability at any given point in time. one notable benefit associated with the utilization of the historical cost approach is its widespread acceptance as a reliable method for valuing and documenting financial transactions, as highlighted by akintoye et al, (2018). historical cost are readily comprehensible by various parties, including management, financial report readers and other stakeholders (arkan, 2016). gogo (1987) elaborates on the historical cost method, describing it as an effort to adhere to the fundamental ideas of traditional accounting. according to gogo (1987), the total cost of recruiting, choosing, acquiring, familiarizing, and developing the various employee grades inside a business is the worth of human resources in this context. this approach was classified as an outlay-based approach by craft and birnberg in their 1980 study. they clarified that the majority of the early work in human resource accounting focused on monetary outlays spent on building human assets in order to determine organizational expenditures in people. the historical cost approach was defined as the capitalization of the company's out-of-pocket expenses for acquiring and developing its human resources (hiring, selecting, and so forth) for each individual. akintoye (2012) used oceanic bank plc as a case study to investigate the relevance of human resource accounting to effective financial reporting. the lev and schwartz model was used to determine the value of human resources, and simple linear regression was used to analyze the impact of human resources on effective financial reporting by combining investment in human capital, profitability, and capital employed. the researcher examined secondary data from oceanic bank plc's annual reports and accounts between 2002 and 2006. the data reveal that human resources have a beneficial effect on the bank's profit and capital employed. according to arkan (2016), the notion of human resource accounting remains theoretical, with little real-world application. the report recommends the creation of a comprehensive framework to help integrate human resource accounting practice. this idea is based on the belief that issuing a specific accounting standard for human resource accounting would effectively encourage consistency and uniformity in the disclosure of hra data. in light of this, the study recommended that the historical cost technique be generally adopted in the valuation of human resource accounting because it is currently used in the profit and loss statement, is simple, and aligns with the financial report's historical cost character. also, this method is simple and meets the traditional principle of accounting i.e. matching of cost with revenue and the historical cost of human resources is almost like the book value of the other physical assets. criticism or weaknesses of subsisting human resource accounting (hra) methods no single approach or technique for valuing human resources in a company can meet all organizational and professional goals. firms that produce commodities differ from those that provide services, and it may not be possible to apply the same human capital accounting methodologies to both. for example, in an auditing firm, a member of staff may be measured by the number of invoices generated in a month, however in a manufacturing industry, an 79 employee cannot be directly identified with the finished product because such items travel through numerous hands and units. there is also concern that human capital accounting could be utilized by management to skew financial results. with the failure of enron, worldcom, and many other companies as a result of so-called creative accounting, many believe that human capital accounting will provide management with an avenue to falsify financial statements. assigning value to employees may become a poor motivator for those who place a higher value on their jobs than management does (gebauer, 2023). some e.g (oluwatoyin, 2014; roslender, 2004) also criticize strongly the documentation of people as book assets. their argument is that it presents employees as property of an organization. evaluation in human resource accounting requires a lot of estimations of data which is susceptible to manipulation. management could manipulate figures to suit its interest. jasrotia (2004) also examined trends in the field of human resource accounting and identified certain barriers to progress and use of the idea. such factors include a low degree of understanding and acceptability of human resource accounting compared to the adoption of international financial reporting standards (ifrs). ifrs were adopted in nigeria in 2010. managers may utilize human resource accounting (hra) to manipulate employees. he or she may reduce the value of an employee as a means of punishment or control. this can be accomplished by adjusting variables such as the likelihood of an employee being promoted to the next level, future increments, and so on, which determines the worth of human resources. if the employee's value was known, his or her bargaining power could improve (ratti, 2012). flamholtz (1999) clearly identifies the key challenges in the field of human resource accounting as valuation issues, inherent uncertainty about the value to be included in the financial statement, and the possibility of fraudulent manipulation. sveiby (1997) observed that, while some organizations measured their human resources, they did not include the value in the annual report as assets, stating that such activity is unnecessary given the existing accounting concept, which lacks a model, norms, and laws for this type of reporting. furthermore, firms are hesitant to disclose too much information. edward and garyl (2001) both recognized the slow evolution of the concept of documenting human resource worth. according to them, this is primarily due to the lack of proved effectiveness in the accounting profession. suggestions to improve historical cost method in hra human resources are widely regarded as an organization's most significant asset. it is the driving force behind the creation of goods and services. they also have a huge impact on the performance of every organization. however, its inclusion in corporations' financial statements has been harshly criticized in several places. it is interesting to note that all valuation methods have certain disadvantages or limitations, coupled with the fact that it is argued that human capital accounting may be used by management to manipulate financial statements or employees. however, applying the historical cost method in the valuation of human resource accounting can be a plus for the organization and its stakeholders. to this end, we are of the opinion that human resources should be capitalized rather than expensed on the financial statement and that historical cost method in human resource accounting should be adopted by corporate organizations, considering the enormous benefit it will accrue to an organization. 80 we further suggest that management should apply historical cost method in human resource accounting as this is already used in the statement of profit or loss and other income statements and to consult hra specialist to coordinate the whole process and model for human resource accounting measurement in the organization also a follow up staff should continue the process and provide a proper auditing to avoid manipulation. financial reporting council of nigeria (frcn) and other relevant agencies should consider the possibility of an accounting standard for human resource accounting measurement and valuation. this will enhance valuation of human capital, ensure a higher degree of utility to stakeholders, uniformity in disclosures and allow a reliable comparison of human capital values. the historical cost method in human resource accounting should be adopted by organizations as this is already used in the statement of profit or loss and other income statement as it aligns with the historical cost nature of the financial report. conclusion this paper examined the historical cost method in human resource accounting. in achieving this objective, a library approach was adopted to review prior investigation. in the cause of the review, it was observed that historical cost method could be adopted in the valuation of human resource. this is because human resources is found to be the most valuable asset an organization can possess. such vital resource with huge capacity to generate future stream of incomes should be treated as an intangible asset rather than expensed in the statement of comprehensive income. for the fact that the human resource is fundamental to the value creation process and a source of sustainable competitive advantage the accounting bodies should develop a generally accepted basis for valuation, recording and disclosure of human resources accounting information in the financial statements of an organization and that there is a great need for evolving a system of accounting for human resource that is acceptable to professional accountants, managers and other stakeholders. references akinsoyinu, a.b. 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(2003). measuring the roi of management development: an application of the stochastic rewards valuation model. journal of human resource costing and accounting, 7(1-2), 21 -40. flamholtz, e.g. (1971). a model for human resource valuation: a stochastic process with service rewards. the accounting review journal, 253-267. gebauer, m.(2003). human resource accounting: measuring the value of human assets and the need for information management. university of witten, germany. gogo, s.f. (1987). accounting for human resources. the nigerian accountant (july/ sept) 20 (3). hajkarimi, a.a. (2009). intellectual capital management, tehran (1st ed.) persian, tehran iran: commerce publication. international accounting standard board (iasb) (2008). conceptual framework to financial reporting. london, iasb. islam, m.a., kamruzzaman, m. & redwanuzzaman, m. 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(1968). human resource accountinga challenge for accountants. the accounting review. ratti, m. (2002). an analytical study of resource accounting practices. an india experience. integral review journal of management, 5(2),37-45. roslender, r. (2004). accounting for intellectual capital: rethinking its theoretical underpinning. measuring business excellence, 8(1), 38-45. schwan, e.s. (1976). the effects of human resource accounting data on financial decisions: an empirical test, accounting, organizations and society, 219-237. sveiby, k.e. (1997). the new organizational wealth managing and measuring knowledge based assets. san francisco: barrett kochler publishers, inc. syed, a. m. (2009). human resources accounting disclosure of bangladeshi companies and its association with corporate characteristics. brac university journal, 1(1), 3543. page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 74 a content analysis on discourses about influence of religion on the 2023 presidential election in nigeria *onyenekwe, ogochukwu okpara, chioma mass communication department nnamdi azikiwe university awka. *correspondence: on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng abstract in most countries of the world, certain discourses top the media agenda prior to national elections. this is the case in nigeria where such discourses on religion or ethnicity still play a major role capable of swinging election victory in any direction.this study examined the discourses surrounding religious story headlines preceding 2023 presidential election in nigeria using content analysis of three prominent and widely read newspapers in nigeria. the purpose of the study was to identify how religion influenced the discourse preceding the 2023 presidential election. data was collected by using coding sheets to study the news headlines of three (3) major national online newspapers namely thisday online newspaper, punch online newspaper and guardian online newspaper for a period of ten (10) months (january, 2021 to october, 2021). results from the analysed data showed that the newspapers within the period under study had a number of news story headlines regarding the upcoming 2023 elections from diverse angles. out of the 120 editions of the first quarter in the study, story headlines with religious discourse featured once (0.83%) in thisday online newspaper but not in punch nor guardian online newspapers. in the second quarter, out of the 123 editions, story headlines on religious discourse featured twice (1.63%) in thisday online edition and once in punch (0.81%) online newspaper but none in guardian online newspaper. in the third quarter, out of 61 editions, story headlines on religious discourse featured six times (9.84%) in punch online newspaper and once (1.64%) in guardian online newspaper but none in thisday online newspaper. the study concludes that much attention was not given by the media to religious discourses pertaining to the 2023 presidential elections. this may suggest that the editors of such newspapers did not consider granting much attention to religious discourses during this time due to editorial policy on such perceived volatile subjects in a perceived secular nigeria or not yet the ripe time for agenda setting. keywords: 2023 presidential election, content analysis, online newspapers, politics, religion. introduction nigeria is a multi-religious country and the interplay of religious groups is most visible during general elections (ogbu, 2014). religion is a significant phenomenon in modern nigeria. it has piqued the interest of many nigerians featuring as a major topic of discussion in daily newspapers, magazines, radio and television. a majority of nigerians appear to be interested in religion because of its perceived benefits. as a pluralistic society, nigeria is a country where different religious adherents coexist and mix freely in order to carry out their daily activities (aluko, 2017; ekpo, 2023). mailto:on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng 75 there are basically three major religions in nigeria. these are christianity, islam and african traditional religion, atr (aluko, 2017). beside these, other religions exist in nigeria like hinduism, judaism, grail message, and reformed ogboni fraternity but are practiced by either foreigners or a negligible number of nigerians (mckinnon, 2021). out of the three major religious groups in nigeria, christianity and islam are the two most influential religions in nigerian politics. regardless of their differing perspectives, religious groups continue to wield significant influence in nigeria's political environment (adeoye, 2018). religion has been a dominant factor in nigerian politics, particularly in the post-independence era, threatening the country's secularism. whatever one believes about religion, the fact that it interacts with politics in nigeria cannot be denied (adeoye, 2018; umeanolue, 2020). religion manifests itself in various aspects of life in nigeria. however, it is arguable that religion is not usually used to cause problems. this is accomplished by ensuring that no religion is overly preferred or neglected. for example, prayers are either not offered at all or are offered by leaders or functionaries of recognized religions at public gatherings such as political rallies and national gatherings (umeanolue, 2020). in this case, if a muslim said the opening prayer, a christian will say the closing prayer, and vice versa. this is a method of preventing conflict from escalating into violence. in terms of public holidays, both christianity and islam are well-served, as work-free days are observed during their respective festivals. generally, religion can influence politics in three ways: by direct involvement of religious men in politics, by fusing the two (religion and politics) as one, and by subjecting politics or government to religious doctrine or laws, thereby carrying out politics or governance along the lines of religious doctrine, ideals, or laws (omoregbe, 2003). all of this is evident in nigerian politics, making religion and politics inextricably linked. furthermore, there are some fundamental principles underlying religious factors in nigeria's electoral process. one example is how religion frequently influences the choice of flag bearer/running mate for the positions of president and governor in some states. this is done to ensure that adherents' interests are protected. where this principle is followed, a muslim/christian or christian/muslim ticket is usually available (ayantayo, 2009). it's also worth noting that in some cases, voting and campaigning is motivated by religious beliefs. in this case, religion could be used to rally support for a candidate or to dissuade voters from voting for him or her. this is why some christians oppose muslim candidates and vice versa. religion's influence is not limited to politics. it has an impact on virtually every aspect of life. political power has an impact on economic prosperity, social relationships, educational advancement and the society's psyche. 76 the clout of religious organizations has been demonstrated by their open support for presidential candidates in general elections. since the return of civilian rule in 1999, these organizations have been at the forefront of promoting and protecting the religious groups' interests. various governments have sought their advice on various policies, projects, and programs (magbadelo, 2003). however, their recent covert endorsement of presidential candidates during general elections has sparked a lot of debate, opinions, and views among scholars and the general public about whether religion should have that much influence on nigerian politics (familusi, 2010). this research will look at these current debates in the electronic editions of three national dailies, punch, thisday and the guardian, about religion as a factor in the upcoming presidential election in 2023. the concept of religion religion is a social-cultural system that connects mankind to supernatural, transcendental and spiritual components through prescribed behaviors and rituals, values, beliefs, worldviews, texts, hallowed locations, prophecies, ethics or organizations. theology, comparative religion, and social science studies are only a few of the academic disciplines that make up the study of religion. the origins and workings of religion, as well as the ontological basis of religious being and belief, are discussed in numerous religion theories (merriam-webster 2019). however, there is no scholarly agreement on what exactly defines religion. various components like as the divine, sacred items, faith, a supernatural entity or supernatural entities, or "some type of ultimacy and transcendence that will supply rules and power for the remainder of existence" may or may not be found in different religions (fitzgerald, 2003). rituals, sermons, remembrance or adoration (of deities and/or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, burial ceremonies, marriage services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dancing, public service, or other parts of human culture are examples of religious practices. religions contain sacred histories and tales which may be recorded in sacred scriptures, as well as sacred symbols and holy sites, all of which strive to give life meaning. religions may contain symbolic stories that attempt to explain the origin of life, the world, and other events, which are occasionally considered to be true by believers. faith, in addition to reason, has always been regarded as a source of religious beliefs (shouler, 2010). concept of politics politics is a set of activities linked with group decision-making or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as resource distribution or status. politics is practiced on a wide range of social levels, from traditional societies' clans and tribes through modern municipal governments, businesses and organizations, all the way up to sovereign nations and the international level. 77 people often form political parties to reflect their ideals in modern nation states. members of a political party frequently agree to have the same stance on numerous topics and to support the same legislative reforms and leaders. the phenomenon of religious politics in nigeria is an obvious one. in political aspects such as style of governance, policy formulations and the electoral process in nigeria, religion has been a strong determining factor. however, the influence of religion on politics in nigeria could be both positive and negative. in other words, as religion enhances national development, it could also be counterproductive (umeanolue, 2019). in practicing politics in nigeria, adherence to religious moral values and observance of the nigerian constitution which makes provision for freedom of religion are necessary for achieving national development. in whichever way one sees religion, the fact cannot be denied of its interaction with politics in nigeria. both religion and politics have a common goal: to acquire political power and use it to fulfill their aims (ekpo, 2023). however, to achieve this, their methods are different. religion mobilizes religious sensibilities of people in order to get their support to capture power while politics uses intrigue and diplomacy, with an attempt to win public opinion. it is done democratically if the system allows it, or usurps power with the help of an army, if the society is under-developed and backward (afolabi, 2015). therefore, in power struggle, both politics and religion make attempts to undermine each other. if religion holds political authority, its ambition is to exploit it to fulfill a divine mission. it claims that it derives authority from divinity and therefore its mission is holy, motivated to reform society under spiritual guidance. politics, on the contrary, bereft of any value, directs its policy on the needs and requirements of society whereupon, it obliges to change laws and system of government accordingly (mubaraq, 2009). the relation between religion and politics continues to be an important theme in political philosophy. religions often make strong claims on people’s allegiance and universal religions make these claims on all people, rather than just a particular community. for example, islam has traditionally held that all people owe obedience to allah’s will. thus, it is probably inevitable that religious commitments will sometimes come into conflict with the demands of politics. but religious beliefs and practices also potentially support politics in many ways (ekpo, 2023). methodology the research design used in this research topic is content analysis, which was used to answer the research question. content analysis makes it possible to obtain objective facts on information. this study randomly selected three national dailies out of the population of national dailies in nigeria to be the sample size under study. these online newspapers include: thisday newspaper, the 78 punch newspaper, and the guardian newspaper. the study of a combination of these three online newspapers achieved the purpose of the research study which assessed how religion was influencing the discourse around the forthcoming 2023 presidential election in nigeria. the period under study was ten months starting from january, 2021 to october, 2021. data for the study was extracted using a coding sheet with categories on news and/or features and if a story headline featured religious discourse or not. the study focused mainly on the news story headlines and feature article headlines by these national dailies that were on religion and politics especially as regards the forthcoming 2023 presidential election over the period of review. the number of times a headline on religious discourse featured was expressed quarterly and presented in percentages. findings table 1: occurrence of number of stories with religious discourse on 2023 presidential election in 3 nigerian newspapers jan-oct, 2021 thisday punch guardian first quarter jan to april,2023 (120days) 1(0.83%) 0(0%) 0(0%) second quarter may to august, 2023 (123days) 2(1.63%) 1(0.81%) 0(0%) third quarter sept to oct, 2023 (61days) 0(0%) 6(9.84%) 1(1.64%) mean(for 3 quarters) 0.82% 3.55% 0.55% in order to ascertain how religion is influencing the discourse around the forthcoming 2023 presidential election in nigeria within a ten (10) months period (jan to oct,2021), online news stories by thisday, punch and the guardian newspapers were analyzed. from the data gathered during the first quarter, it was observed that 0.83% of the news stories reported by thisday online newspaper regarding the 2023 presidential election had attributes of religion attached to them. such attributes of religion would include reasons for christians getting involved in politics and the perceived percentage of christians involved in politics. data gathered 79 for the first quarter from the punch online newspaper, showed no presence (0%) of religious discourses or groups involved in the 2023 presidential election. the same scenario was observed from data gathered during the first quarter from guardian online newspaper (0%). data gathered during the second quarter from thisday online newspaper showed an increase to 1.63% of story headlines with religious discourses regarding the 2023 presidential election. the discourses revolved around crusading for christians to get involved in politics for the transformation and perfection of affairs in nigeria. punch online newspaper had 0.81% of story headlines that had religious discourse for the second quarter regarding the 2023 presidential election. for guardian online newspaper however, no story headline featured (0%) with religious discourse on the 2023 presidential election during the second quarter. from the data gathered during the third quarter, thisday online newspaper had no story headline on religious discourse (0%) regarding the 2023 presidential election. punch online newspaper however, had a 9.84% occurrence of story headlines on the 2023 presidential elections in the third quarter of 2021. many of the story headlines with religious discourse centered on personalities that can influence followership in the country. the story headlines were advocating for gender representation and eschewing ethnicity in national politics. data gathered from guardian online newspaper had a 1.64% occurrence of story headlines with religious discourses on the 2023 presidential election. furthermore, the guardian newspaper within the ten months published, had only 0.55% religion related story headlines as regards the 2023 presidential election. out of 304 days (january 1october 31), it was only on october 29, 2021 that news regarding the forthcoming 2023 presidential election was from a religious perspective. though not obviously overt, the headline stated that the north is taking measures to ensure vice president osinbanjo’s presidency in 2023. the mean occurrence for story headlines with religious discourses during the three quarters in punch online newspapers was 3.55%. for thisday online newspaper, the mean occurrence of story headlines with religious discourses during the three quarters was 0.82%. it is noteworthy that none of the story headlines was that of a feature story. all the stories were news stories. discussion of findings religion has become a key index that carpenters the socio-economic, cultural and political structures either for good or bad in virtually all societies of the world. the backdrop of this study was the desire to assess how religion influenced the discourse around the forthcoming 2023 presidential election. this involved how frequently the discourse on religion featured in these three nigerian online newspapers. the study focused on story headlines from january 1, 2021 up to 80 october 31, 2021. there were a number of story headlines regarding the upcoming 2023 elections but from diverse angles. throughout the first quarter of the year (january – april, 2021), there was only one story headline on religious discourse on the 2023 presidential election. this particular news report was published on the 30th of march, 2021 by thisday newspaper. the headline reads; “2023: why christians must get involved in politics.” coming at this time, it may not be unconnected with thisday founding principles which are democracy, free enterprise and social justice. the newspaper’s guiding principle on critical issues is the promotion of greater good for nigerians which would not include fanning the embers of religious bigotry among a multi religious and multi ethnic entity (https://www.thisdaylive.com). this is especially as a moslem will be vacating the presidency for a christian to take over. reports from the second quarter of the year (may – august, 2021), show that published story headlines on religious discourses on the 2023 presidential election were three. thisday online newspaper reported the first religious discourse on the election on the 21st of may, 2021 and the second on june 6, 2021. the last story for the second quarter of the year was reported by punch online newspaper on august 29, 2021. though a corporate business entity that is out for profit making, punch editorial policy positions the newspaper to promote and defend the values of democracy while contributing to nigeria’s economic development (https://punchng.com). even though talk around the presidential election might seem not to be a front burner issue, thisday and punch in line with their editorial policies would not seem to be slack in contributing to national development in all ramifications. reports within the last quarter of the year (september and october, 2021) were higher than that of the previous months. there were seven headline reports that focused on religious discourse. four were published in october and three in september. out of the seven headline reports, six were reported by punch newspaper while the guardian online published one. priding itself as an independent newspaper, the guardian sees as primary, its commitment to the sovereignty and integrity of the nigerian federation and of africa (https://guardian.ng). further, not owing allegiance to any political party, ethnic community, religious or other interest groups, may account for why data for the three quarters in 2021, reflects that guardian online newspaper has a mean total of 0.55%. while punch had a mean total of 3.55%, thisday had a mean total of 0.82% for the three quarters. these findings correspond with the findings of (itabiyi, kayode-adedeji, omole & ekanem, 2019) on the frequency of news stories on religious crises. while punch had a frequency of 53.4% coverage of stories on religious crises, guardian had 43.9%. however, the difference 81 between both studies lies in the nature of religious stories, headline stories and online copies of both newspapers. apart from the frequency of coverage of religious discourses, its frequency seems to have increased from the first, through the second to the third quarter. the media as fourth estate of the realm is a powerful tool of communication. according to the constitution of nigeria, it is expected to “… uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people.” (constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999). knowing the salience and importance of the agenda setting role of the media, it seems safe to say that the momentum of coverage would increase as the 2023 presidential election draws nearer. content of almost all the headlines emanated from either politicians or religious leaders. none originated from the masses. it is also noteworthy that only one story headline made mention of the female gender, though from the lips of a male royal father. could this statistic be taken as markers of a journalistic template that either qualifies any of both groups to make the list of prominence or fail to satisfy such criteria? this means that the masses and females might cautiously be regarded as examples of marginalized or underreported groups in the society. based on the findings of the study, it is evident that religion is not the focus of discourses ongoing in these national dailies particularly on the forthcoming 2023 presidential election in nigeria at this time. perhaps the dominant themes at the time were other matters different from or preparatory to the 2023 presidential election. that being the case, it does not diminish the fact that religious sensitivity is high in nigeria. it makes religion a crucial element in understanding and contextualizing certain political behaviours (ekpo, 2023). the study also found that christianity featured most prominently in the period under study. this might be attributed to the fact that christians needed to be charged up to take up the challenge of producing the next president since a muslim has been on the saddle of leadership for the two terms preceding the 2023 presidential election. umeanolue, 2020; okibe, 2020 & balogun, 2023 espouse the influence of religion in nigerian politics and advocacy for “religious balancing” in which ever candidates are fielded by different political parties. also this study was able to establish through its findings that these national dailies are currently not giving enough coverage on religion with its concomitant influence on the forth coming 2023 presidential election. this might be due to the fact that apart from the editorial policy of these newspapers, the elections are still a year and some months away. giving it such attention at this time, might heat up the political space and set a precedence that could injure the reputation of these national dailies as objective inhabitants of the fourth estate. 82 therefore the research provides the following recommendations and proffers suggestions for future studies in this area. • newspapers should ensure that they provide balanced coverage on religious issues through varying perspectives in, during and after the forthcoming 2023 presidential election. • newspapers should ensure neutrality as much as ethics demands in their coverage. this can be done by ensuring that they provide a balanced account of activities of all religious affiliations towards the forthcoming 2023 presidential election regardless of the personal bias and beliefs of their different organizations. • with the paucity of coverage on religion and its influence in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election, another periodic study can be done on the topic after the election focusing on specific locations and other newspapers. this will ensure that a more comprehensive analysis and results are presented as well as a comparison between now and the future. • newspaper stories could be content analyzed to determine the dominant perspectives of politicians, religious leaders and the masses as it regards religious discourses in sensitive election periods. references adeoye, a. 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(2020). religious influences on politics in nigeria: implications for national development. ogirisi: a new journal of african studies. 15. 139-157. 10.4314/og.v15i1.9s. van gorp, b. (2010). strategies to take subjectivity out of framing analysis. doing news framing analysis: empirical and theoretical perspectives, 84-109. https://guardian.ng https://punchng.com https://www.thisdaylive.com https://guardian.ng/ https://punchng.com/ page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 48 review of teaching staff manpower retention and stock in secondary schools: matching the philosophy of national policy on education with the realities in ebonyi state, nigeria cornelius ofobuisi okorie, okechukwu egwu ibiam, *chiedozie p. nwosu, ayodeji o.adedeji onele sunday department of political science, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike, ebonyi state. *e-mail: chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng abstract for some decades, scholarly debate on manpower related issues have dominated discussions on the standard of education. this paper tried to match manpower retention and attrition with the philosophy of public secondary education in ebonyi north senatorial zone of ebonyi state, nigeria. we x-rayed the manpower capacity of public secondary schools with the view to finding if the current stock would achieve the philosophy of secondary education as contained in the approved national policy on education in nigeria. specifically, our emphasis was on the manpower qualification, sufficiency, sex mix and subject specialty. using the multi-stage sampling techniques, the study revealed significant cases of unqualified teachers in the zone, cases of insufficiency of teachers in some schools; lopsided deployment of teachers and imbalanced sex mix amongst others. study implications in these schools were evidenced on the performances of students in external examinations and the prevailing decline in the standard of education in the zone. keywords: education policy, public secondary schools, philosophy of education, standard of education, schools performance. introduction attainment of any organizational goal significantly depends on the available manpower (catherine 2017). to a very reasonable extent philosophy of education may be realized if the needed manpower is available to the schools. notwithstanding the inevitable role of manpower in the secondary educational sector, there are pockets of problems confronting it in nigeria. report of the education status in nigeria identified cases of skill flight and brain drain (fgn 2003). brain drain or skill flight could be inter or intra. there could be brain drain outside the education sector or unequal distribution of skill within the sector. there are however causative factors for either of the identified flight. the report maintained that this problem distorts manpower plan in the education sector. scholars outlined the problems of manpower in the education sector in many ways. in the view of george et al (1988) the problem of manpower in the education sector is fundamentally related to forecasting errors, the need for regular training of the staff (olu & john, 2005 and bassey e tal 2011), retraining of teachers and adequate reform of teachers to avoid favoritism of any kind (kalu et al,2013). in ebonyi state, there are problems of manpower in the secondary schools and this is of paramount importance. some of mailto:chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng 49 the problems include inadequate manpower, unskilled manpower, lack of training and retraining. the problem of manpower in the schools resulted to fallen standard of education particularly in external exams and functional education. within the global context, education is the hub that coordinates and determines the pace of other activities given its documented sustainable development impact (unesco, debeauvais 1981). in nigeria, the philosophy of education is basically anchored to instill national consciousness in the citizens such that sustainable national development is achievable. pundits and scholarly postulations are clear, firm and consistent on the relevance of education in achieving sustainable national development in nigeria (abiobu 2014, fgn 2004). specifically 1998 national policy on education (npe) prescribes that education functions to civilize and enlighten every nigerian citizen to leave good life in the society as a citizen of nigeria while harmonizing with and sharing in the world’s cultural heritage and to equip every individual with the skills and job competencies for gainful employment. these highlights are undoubtedly very fundamental in achieving sustainable national development. attainment of the roles assigned to education in the society is largely a product of many factors one of which is manpower. like in many other established organizations, manpower in the educational sector is fundamentally the secret of its success. among many resources, manpower has the primary responsibility to coordinate every other activity so that positive results as captured by the philosophy of education would be achieved. in recognition of the outstanding role of manpower in the education sector (anyanwu, 2011) emphasized the need for government to pay more attention to manpower development in the education sector as it would address the fallen standard of education in the country. fallen standard of education refers to when the expected role of education in terms of attainment of sustainable national development are not achieved. for the purpose (manpower related problems) of this discuss, it means that the available manpower are incapable and inefficient to transform the citizens to the desired growth and role of education. el mostafa (2006) rightly noted that the output and efficiency of an administration depend, to a great extent, on the performance of the staff tasked with carrying out the activities that are designed to achieve the institutional objectives. the assertion nonetheless points to the need for efficient and effective manpower in the educational sector. september 30th 1999, federal government introduced universal basic education programme to enhance the training of teachers in the junior secondary schools. more so in 2012, federal government of nigeria introduced graduate internship scheme (gis) under subsidy reinvestment programm (sure-p) as an intervention policy programm (kayode 2014). in spite these efforts; there are still problems of manpower in the education sector, particularly in secondary schools in ebonyi state, nigeria. the need for improved standard of education through qualified and sufficient manpower forms the nucleus of this paper. manpower stands out among other determining factors in the educational sector. qualification and sufficiency of manpower is very instructive in the efforts to improve standard of education in ebonyi state. the choice of this focus is that even when other factors (money and facilities) are available or could be procured within a short space of time, the right manpower may not be readily available at all times. it is therefore fundamental to focus on the manpower status in the ebonyi state secondary schools. 50 periodically, this paper covers 2007 to 2014. the period witnessed substantial attention by the ebonyi state government in the educational sector ranging from setting up education review committee on the 16th july 2007, establishment of boarding pilot schools in the thirteen local governments and close monitoring of schools by the secondary education board. emphasis of this paper is on the tutorial staff of public secondary schools in ebonyi north senatorial zone of the state. specifically our focus is to review teaching staff manpower retention and stock in secondary schools in the senatorial zone with a view to matching the philosophy of national policy on education with the realities. our choice of the zone is because the schools are located at urban, semi-urban and rural areas, which greatly affect teachers’ postings. again, teachers postings and qualification are considered very fundamental factors and indeed determinants in achieving philosophies of secondary education. in the course of gathering data for this paper, we encountered some daunting challenges among which are: uncompromising attitudes of some school staff, bureaucratic exigencies in the secondary education board in releasing the required document, lack of well documented and compiled personnel data of state secondary schools. however persistent and diplomatic approach to the concerned staff significantly assisted us. this paper is divided into seven main subheadings, namely; introduction, theoretical framework, structure and management of secondary schools and manpower status in ebonyi state secondary schools. others include manpower issues in ebonyi state secondary schools, conclusion and recommendations. theoretical framework this paper adopted scientific management theory in the discussion of manpower needs in ebonyi state secondary schools. the concept of scientific management theory can be traced to the publications of fredrick winson taylor of the 20th century. robert owen, charles babbage (1828-1839), james watt, and mathew robinson boultoni are the fore-runners of scientific management theory. taylor in obiekezie & obi (2004:60), developed the principle on how greatest and most efficient output could be achieved “assemble qualified and sufficient manpower based on the expected job; give each worker a definite task to perform in a definite time and in a definite manner…” this view accords with the postulation of charles babbage were he stressed the need for dividing and assigning labour on the basis of skill. gilbreth (1953) is known for his contribution to scientific management as presented in his work on time and motion studies, published in his book “cheaper by the dozen”. he stressed that the professionals have to be assigned with the specific role on the basis of need. the theory presented a complete mental revolution for secondary education board, ministry of education and indeed government on the relevance of sufficient and qualified manpower. application of the submissions of scientific management theory could open another angle of assessing the true position of manpower in ebonyi state secondary schools. the two propositions of the theory that is relevant in this paper include; assembling qualified staff and sufficient staff 51 based on the expected job. staff qualification is a vital aspect to be considered in the recruitment process. this proposition aptly implies that output performances at the secondary schools depend on the manpower recruited to teach the subjects. this theory impliedly discourages situation where recruitment is tied to sentiment or patronage without substantial recourse to merit qualification and ultimately towards achieving functional education. the second proposition of the theory is sufficiency of manpower. this is another fundamental submission of the theory that makes it very suitable in this paper. the theory asserts the relevance of manpower sufficiency in the school system. these propositions are exceedingly linked to the activities of every secondary school in the state. therefore they have the daunting capabilities of ensuring robust, effective, and efficient secondary schools system in ebonyi state if adequately applied. from the above submissions of scientific management theory, particularly as advocated in the two propositions, every secondary school can expectedly perform better with sufficient and qualified staff. philosophy of secondary education the structure and management of secondary education in ebonyi state ordinarily should anchor on the contents of nigeria’s national policy on education. based on the policy, there are two levels, the first three years is for the junior and another three years in the senior secondary. each of the levels is assigned with some subjects meant to key citizens into being positive tool for the attainment of sustainable national goals. in specific terms, secondary education shall: “(a) provide all primary school leavers with the opportunity for education of a higher level, irrespective of sex, social status, religious or ethnic background;(b) offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles;(c)provide trained manpower in the applied sciences, technology and commerce at sub-professional grades;(d) develop and promote nigerian languages, arts and culture in the context of world’s cultural heritage;(e) to inspire students with a desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence;(f) to foster national unity with an emphasis on the common ties that unite us in our diversity; (g) raise a generation of people who can think for themselves, respect the views and feelings of others, respect the dignity of labour, appreciate those values specific under our broad national and live as good citizen (h) provide technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agriculture, industrial, commercial and economic development, (npe,2004:18)” to achieve the above philosophies, there are a minimum of ten (10) and maximum of thirteen (13) subjects at junior secondary while at the senior secondary; students are expected to take a minimum of seven (7) and maximum of eight (8) subjects. accordingly government shall regulate the establishment of schools, supervise and inspect schools regularly and ensure that all schools follow approved curricula and conform to the national policy on education. the teacher-pupil ratio at this level of education shall be 1:40 (national policy on education (2004:22). it is expected that government should employ qualified (manpower) teachers for the different subjects and to conform to the student-teacher ratio. manpower stock of secondary education depends largely on priority of the state government on education generally and secondary education in particular. each regime in the state since the creation and return to democracy in 1999 has always inaugurated education committee. more 52 elaborate work was done by the professor lawrence ocho led education committee of 16th july 2007. sincerity of the state government in implementing content of the committee since its report submitted on 19th september 2007 is questionable. the regime of dr. sam egwu (first executive governor, 1999-2007) also experienced similar committee. the realities appear worrisome and the implication is significantly adverse correlation manpower stock of secondary schools in ebonyi north senatorial zones and the content of the set objectives of philosophy of secondary education and national policy on education, 2004. realities and implications of manpower retention in public secondary schools in ebonyi north senatorial zone there are seventy seven (77) public secondary schools in the senatorial zone. the schools are located in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. below (table 1) is the manpower stock of the schools indicating academic staff qualification, sex mix, and core subject specialization. 53 table 1: summary of statistics of teachers enrolment in ebonyi state public schools. summary of statistics of teachers enrolment in ebonyi north senatorial zone of enonyi state, nigeria s/ n lgs qualifications subject specialization his nce g r1 1 on d hnd bsc bed med ph d oth ers total maths eng scien ces soc sc arts m f m f m m f m f m f m f f f m f m f m f f m f f m f 1 abaka liki 30 4 6 6 4 2 7 2 9 2 4 3 9 1 3 89 120 8 8 1 4 1 2 4 3 35 1 5 41 10 22 2 ebony i 38 9 1 1 4 2 4 2 7 6 9 4 9 3 9 6 3 8 4 178 247 12 1 0 1 8 3 5 6 3 92 5 5 70 29 34 3 izzi 91 3 7 4 1 5 2 3 4 2 3 2 0 1 1 4 1 164 81 17 7 2 4 8 5 4 20 3 9 26 27 21 4 ohau kwu 11 5 6 5 1 4 8 8 2 2 5 6 2 2 3 5 278 135 23 8 4 3 2 3 8 8 36 8 4 49 45 25 54 from the above table, abakaliki local government has a total of two hundred and nine (209) teachers. staff qualification distribution is thus: nce seventy six (76), hnd ten (10), b sc fifty six (56), b ed sixty three (63), while m ed is four (4). fig 1: bar chart showing qualification distribution of teachers it is also important to note as shown in table 1 above that there are 89 male and 120 female teachers deployed across public schools in the senatorial zone. the meaning is that there are more female teachers than the male ones in the local government. however, distribution of teachers can be further analyzed in subject distribution using pie chart as shown in fig 2 below. 90 70 60 50 0 10 20 30 40 80 100 n c e h n d b .s c b . e d m .s c 55 arts, 15% soc. sc., 26.60% sciences, 37.00% maths, 77% eng, 12% fig 2 pie chart indicating subject teacher distribution fig 2 above shows distribution of teachers according to their subject specialization. it shows that there are sixteen (16) or 7.7% teachers that specialized in mathematics, twenty six (26) or 12.4% in english and seventy eight (78) or 37%teachers for sciences while in social sciences, there are fifty six (56) or 26.8% teachers and thirty two (32) or 15% in arts subjects. the above manpower stock is grossly inadequate to achieve the eight (earlier stated as a-h) philosophies of secondary school education. it is even more worrisome in mathematics and english language with the record of low teacher enrolment. out of eleven schools in the local government, there is no mathematics teacher in three of the schools. the highest numbers of mathematics teachers are in css ekumenyi and css nduruku with three teachers respectively. it is of importance that the teachers are expected to teach across the all the streams (ub1-ss3). similar situation can be seen in english language where three of the schools do not have teachers while others have abysmal low enrollment to teach in all the streams. sciences, social sciences and arts are not exempted in the dearth of qualified teachers. implication of the above statistics is enormous. students within the local government are likely to perform below the set objectives of the philosophies of secondary education. another dimension of the above statistics is possible poor performance in external examinations, low enrollment in tertiary institutions, high semi illiteracy level and consequently low high manpower capacity. the manpower status is undoubtedly a major setback in the overall education performance index in the state in particular and the country, nigeria in general. there is the possibility that students within the local government may perform poorly in their final examinations. some of the students under this prevailing manpower stock at the secondary schools end up as willing political thugs being vulnerable. others may get frustrated and jump into hawking in major cities and are exposed to victims of child labour and human trafficking. ebonyi local government has a total population of one hundred and twenty seven thousand, two hundred and twenty six (127,226) people, (npc, 2009). the local government has 56 nineteen public secondary schools which is the second largest in the zone after ohaukwu local government area. total teacher enrollment in the local government is four hundred and twenty five (425) teachers. further analyses of the table show concentration of teachers (30 and above) in most schools within and around the urban city. evidences are clear in abakaliki high school which has 48 teachers; gtc abakaliki as well has 84 teachers while nnodo sec school has 63. mcgss abakaliki and urban sec. school abakaliki have 38 and 46 teachers respectively. percentage representation of teachers in the listed five (5) schools (out of nineteen (19) schools) represents 65.6% of the total teachers in the local government. schools located in the remote rural areas like ndegu chs ndugo six (6) teachers, css onuenyim agalegu ishieke, css mbeke ishieke and ndioke gr. sch., ishieke has only nine teachers (9). the records of teachers in those areas are low even when there is the possibility of high student enrollment in those areas. . teachers’ qualification distribution is thus: nce, one hundred and twenty nine (129), ond five (5), hnd fifty one (51). also, b sc and b ed have one hundred and eighteen (118) and one hundred and two (102) teachers respectively. also teachers with m ed qualification are twelve in number. it is also important to note here that there are more b sc teachers than b ed who are seen to be professionals. 90 70 60 50 0 10 20 30 40 80 100 110 130 120 n c e h n d ond b .s c b . e d m . e d 57 fig 3: bar chart distribution of teachers according to qualification data in table 1 above shows that there are one hundred and seventy eight (178) and two hundred and forty seven (247) male and female teachers respectively. the table shows that most of the female teachers concentrate in the urban schools listed above with a percentage representation of 82.9% of the entire female teachers in the local government. the causative factors need to be discovered and addressed as it represents inequality in the distribution of female teachers with possible socio-psychological implication. table 1 above presents the distribution of teachers according to their subject specialization. indeed, areas of specialty for the teachers are very instrumental for the attainment of the overall philosophy of secondary education in the state. the table presents the number of teachers in all the subjects as accordingly classified (maths, english, sciences, social sciences and arts) in secondary schools. the distribution is further presented in fig 4 pie chart below fig 4 pie chart showing distribution of teachers according to subject specialization again mathematics and english record low teacher enrollment of twenty two (22) and fifty three (53) or 5% and 12% respectively. other areas of specialization are one hundred and fifty five in sciences (155) or 36.5%, one hundred and twenty five (125) or 29.4% in social sciences and sixty three (63) or 15% in arts. this data implies gross imbalance in the distribution of specialized teachers deployed to the schools in the local government. implication of the presented data is unprecedented particularly to students in the area. most of the schools in the remote areas do not have sufficient teachers in all the subject areas, and this will likely jeopardize the set philosophies of secondary education. possible factors responsible for the observed imbalance in teachers’ deployment include lack of basic social amenities (such as water and electricity and housing) and un-conducive teaching environment which are considered by many as essential for teaching and learning, thus resulting in skill flight or brain drain to the urban cities. it is possible that grater population of students in the local government (ebonyi) reside in rural areas. the data shows arts, 15% soc. sc., 29.40% sciences, 36.50% maths, 5% eng, 12% 58 that teachers with nce are grater (129 or 30.4%) compared to other certificate areas like ond, hnd, b sc, b ed and m ed. yet, nce teachers are not trained to teach in the upper secondary. this situation creates gap in attainment of the philosophy in the upper and lower secondary education. further analysis of the table revealed concentration of the nce holders to urban cities (abakaliki high school 22, gtc abakaliki 16 teachers while nnodo sec school has 18 and urban sec., sch 22) secondary schools. using the sampled schools in the urban, only gtc abakaliki and nnodo sec., school have reasonable b sc teachers. the implication is that nce teachers are possibly used in upper secondary in most schools including the rural areas. as earlier observed, the implications of more b sc than b ed teachers is that the later has been drilled on various methods of teaching which helps in the transfer of knowledge to the leaner. there is the possibility that b sc teachers who are not trained to teach are assigned to teach some subjects. izzi local government has seventeen secondary schools with a total teacher enrollment of two hundred and forty five (245). secondary schools in the local government are predominantly located in the semi urban and rural communities. except in two schools (css mkpuma ekwoku and ndieze css ohage) with less than ten teachers, others have ten teachers and above. this is not to say there is no observed imbalance of teachers posted to schools in semi urban communities, as evidenced in boys sec., sch., iboko and station vocation sec., school ndiogbu. distribution of teachers according to qualification revealed thus, gr114 or 1.6%, nce128 or 52%, ond4 or 1.6%, hnd17 or 6.9%, b sc--57 or 23.2%, b ed31 or 12.7% and m ed5 or 2.0%. from the presented data, nce holders are more in number compared to holders of other certificate. this is followed by b sc and b ed certificates respectively. implication of the presented data is worrisome in attaining the set philosophies of secondary education. with the above revealed data, total number of teachers with gr ii, nce, and ond is 136 or 55.5 % while others are 110 or 44.5%. i t means that there are more teachers for junior secondary than senior. there are more b sc teachers than b ed holders were as the later are professionals and this has implication in attaining the philosophies of secondary education in the local government. below is bar chart showing the distribution of teachers according to their qualification. 59 fig 5 bar chart distribution of teachers according to qualification in subject specialization, the table revealed thus english-32 or 13%, mathematics-24 or 9.8%, science-74 or 30.2%, social sc 26.5%, arts-48 or 19.6%. by this data, english and mathematics record low number of teachers. this is followed by social science and arts. this represents an imbalance in the sector with implications on the overall attainment of the philosophies of secondary education in the local government. below is a pie chart showing distribution of teachers according to subject specialization. 90 70 60 50 0 10 20 30 40 80 100 110 130 120 n c e h n d o n d b .s c b . e d m . e d g r i i 60 fig 6 pie chart showing distribution of teachers according to subject specialization location of most schools (remote communities) in the local government accounts significantly for the observed low number of teachers which is 245 for 17 schools compared to ebonyi local government 19 schools and 423 teachers. importantly, difference of two schools cannot justify the gap in the number of teachers, and this has implication in the overall attainment of the philosophies of secondary education. in ohaukwu local government, there are 30 public secondary schools for the 16 autonomous communities and this is however the highest number among local governments in the senatorial zone. according to npc (2009), total population of the local government was 195,555, the zone is predominantly rural communities with few semi urban communities. semi urban schools are boys secondary schools ezzamgbo and izhiah girls secondary school. the rest of the 28 schools are located in the rural communities of the local government. arts, 20% soc. sc., 26.00% sciences, 30.20% maths, 9.8% eng, 13% 61 90 70 60 50 0 10 20 30 40 80 100 110 130 120 n c e h n d b .s c b . e d 180 150 140 170 160 m . s c 62 arts, 17% soc. sc., 32.00% sciences, 30.00% maths, 16% eng, 8% total teacher enrollment in the local government according to ebonyi state secondry education board is 413. further analyses of table 1 above depict concentration of more teachers in schools around semi urban communities. indeed such schools (boys secondary schools ezzamgbo and izhia girls secondary school) have highest number of teachers, 24 or 5.8% and 32 or 7.7% respectively. it is also revealing that the two schools alone house 31 or approximately 23% of the entire 135 female teachers in the area. these revelations have implication in attaining the set philosophies of secondary education. distribution of teachers according to qualification is very critical in attaining secondary education philosophy. according to table 1 above, qualification distribution in the local government is thus: nce-180 or 43.6%, hnd-22 or 5.3%, b sc107 or 25.9, b ed-85 or 20.6%, m ed-5 or 1.2%. from the revealed data, nce teachers alone constitute 43.6% of the entire teachers’ population, even when they are expected to teach at the junior secondary level. the remaining can be seen to be insufficient when allocated to upper/ senior secondary level, and this is worrisome. below is bar chart to represent the distribution of teachers according to their qualification. fig 7 bar chart distribution of teachers according to qualification in subject specialization, table 1 also revealed thus: english-66, or 16%, mathematics-31 or 7.5%, science-124 or 30% social science-133 or 32.2% and arts-70 or 17%. analysis of the presented data shows that there are more teachers for social science followed by science. english and mathematics has the least number of teachers even as they are seen to be the core subjects in secondary education and very fundamental in understanding other subjects. below is a pie chart showing the distribution of teachers according to subject specialization. fig 8 pie chart showing the distribution of teachers according to subject specialization implications of the above revelations are worrisome especially as it jeopardizes attainment of the set philosophies of secondary education. imbalanced teacher deployment between semi urban and rural communities puts rural schools at disadvantage. insufficient or lack of core subject teachers in some of the schools has monumental negative implication because all the students would be exposed to the same external examination and later face the same labour market and challenges in feature. concentration of female teachers to some schools calls for 63 concern where there are incidences gender problems among students. beyond this, there is the possibility of manpower waste in those schools with crowded teachers. conclusion this study was set to find if the qualification status and sufficiency of tutorial staff of public secondary schools in the senatorial zone can actualize the philosophies of secondary education. revelations were quite worrisome because schools in the urban and semi urban houses most of the teachers at the disadvantage of rural or remote schools. schools in the urban or semi urban cities have more qualified teachers and they are quite sufficient or congested. to some extent, such schools can actualize the philosophies of secondary education but not when they are congested. however such schools in the rural or remote areas lack teachers and as such jeopardize attainment of the set philosophies. recommendations the above revelations on manpower stock of public secondary schools in ebonyi north senatorial zone is worrisome and therefore calls for urgent attention from the state ministry of education, secondary education board and indeed all stakeholders in. the education sector. the options includes: developed transfer guide, avoidance of political interference from government and undue influence from stake holders. others are corporation from host communities, provision of infrastructures in the schools, incentives for rural schools and regular orientation for teachers. developed deployment/transfer guide: in order to ensure unbiased deployment or transfer of teachers, the state secondary education board should develop for rectification by the ministry of education a guide or template for all transfers. the guide should be developed by the core civil servants from planning research and statistics (prs) department. this is instructive as it would be bias free with minimal or no objection by the affected teachers. experience shows that most times criticism for transfer list anchors on perceived or insinuated reasons which may however be right. such bias would be controlled or eliminated if there is a working transfer template in existence. the template has to consider areas of need, subject specialization, minimum or maximum years of service for teachers and so on.. avoidance of political interference from government: often times, politicians interfere with the transfer of teachers thereby negatively skewing the graph. there is no exception to this as it has affected most of the transfers and even some times make it impossible to carry out general transfer of teachers over periods of time. such interferences are from the board members of seb, ministries and political allies of appointees. this is possibly the reason for congestion of teachers in some schools, especially urban cities. in order to avoid this, politicians should not be appointed into secondary education board as there is no law mandating politicians into the board in order to reduce tension, pressure or patronage associated with transfers. avoidance of undue influence from stakeholders: stakeholders here refers but not limited to staff of the ministry, seb, members of community development union and so on. often times experience has shown that they interfere with transfer of teachers. they sometimes use their official position to even threaten those assigned to transfer. therefore undue influence from stakeholders should be avoided by scheduled transfer staff in order to ensure balanced deployment of teachers to all schools within the senatorial area. 64 corporation from host communities: analysis of table one across shows that remote schools have the lowest number of teachers. reasons are perhaps not unconnected with lack of basic infrastructures and limited opportunities. this condition has continuously affected availability of teachers. host communities should therefore establish and regularly maintain corporation mechanism with the posted teachers by providing them some palliative incentives especially schools located in remote areas. provision of facilities/infrastructures in the schools: availability of infrastructures is very fundamental in teaching and learning and therefore need to be given adequate attention by government and host communities. consumable facilities such as laboratory chemicals and materials, chalk/marker, pen, paper, ink and so on has to be made available in order to ease teaching. also such other non consumables like tables, chairs, white or chalk board deserve priority attention in order to encourage teachers and facilitate teaching and learning. such other infrastructures like building for classes and offices are very vital for teachers to accept transfers and optimally perform. government should therefore ensure that schools are provided with these facilities and infrastructures to encourage teachers accept transfers. it is quite revealing that urban schools with facilities and infrastructures attract more teachers than in rural areas. regular orientation for teachers: orientation is very important as this would remind them of the basics needed to actualize their mission and primary responsibilities. it is instructive to organize orientation before and after transfers to remind affected teachers that the fundamental aim of transfer is ultimately for their good and for the system. this will likely correct the impression that any transfer not lobbied for is punitive. such orientation should be for both the host community and school in order to build a synergy between the incoming teachers and every other person connected with school administration. references abiogu, g. (2014). philosophy of education: a tool for national development. scientific research journal. vol 4 no 3 www.scrip.org/htm/13-13-1650285_48656.htm anyanwu, j. (2011). “manpower development in education sector” www.thetidenewsonline.com/...don-canvasses-manpower-dev-in-educati... bassey, u. a., bassey, a. o., ojua, t. a., & otong, j. g. (2011). impact of training and retraining of teachers productivity an empirical analysis of public schools in calabar south, nigeria. journal of education and leadership development vol 3 cenresen publications. www.cenresinpub.org catherine, c. (2017). importance of manpower development in an organization’ https://bizfluent.com/info-8421256-importance-manpower-development organization.html retrieved 18/5/18 debeauvais, m. (1981). education and national development” oxford review of education, vol. 7, no 1 taylor & francis ltd http://www.jstor.org/stable/1050090 el mostafa, h. (2006). human resource management in the education sector” united national educational, scientific and cultural organization published in 2006 by: division of educational policies and strategies, unesco 7, place de fontenoy, 75352 paris 07 sp (france) 65 federal government of nigeria. national policy on education 2004 nedrc, lagos fgn (2003) federal ministry of education: education status report may 2003 george, p., keith, h., christopher, d. & robinson, h. (1988). manpower issues in educational investment: a consideration of planning process and technique. a publication of international for reconstruction and development/ world bank. www wds.worldbank.org/external/default/wdscontentserver gilbreth (1953) in okorie, c.o (2012). “ manpower needs and efficiency of local governments in ebonyi state” phd thesis to ebonyi state university, abakaliki. kalu, e., uma, p. c., obidike, h. o. r. ogwuru (2013) revamping the nigerian education sector for quality manpower development: lessons from japan kayode, o. (2014). enhacing manpower development education sector via gaduate internship programme. www.nannewsnigeria.com/features-enhancing-manpower development-e retrieved obiekezie, a. & obi, e. (2004). public administration in nigeria: a developmental approach. onitsha: abbot communications ltd. olu, o., & john, e. (2005). manpower training and development in the nigeria public sector. ajpam v vol.xvino1 www.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/aapam/unpano26993 retrieved 12/5/2016 the guardian, 2nd feb., 2016 ‘ much ado about educationally less developed or disadvantaged states in nigeria http://guardian.ng/features/much-ado-about educationally-less-developed-states/ united nations education scientific and cultural organisation (unesco). “relevance/responsiveness” http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening systems/quality_framework page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 128 shifting media landscape: analysing the influence of alternative media on the mainstream discuss of climate change and sustainability abdulrahman, ali okpoko, chinwe department of mass communication, faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. e-mail: ali.abdulrahman.pg95111@unn.edu.ng abstract as the world grapples with the intricate challenges of climate change and sustainability, the media landscape plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions and driving collective action. this study aims to investigate how audiences interact with climate change narratives in both alternative and mainstream media (msm). moving beyond the traditional focus on mainstream media's dissemination of scientific data, this research explores how alternative media, encompassing online outlets, independent news sources, and grassroots initiatives, contribute to a more diverse and nuanced understanding of climate change. two communication theories were used in this study which comprises of agenda setting theory and reception theory. through qualitative approach and employing thematic analysis, focus group discussions (fgds) was conducted to gather data for the study. the study reveals employing storytelling and personal narratives to evoke empathy and connection, motivating individuals to take action. alternative media's focus on diverse voices and critical perspectives can lead audiences to engage in deeper analysis and question dominant narratives. equipping audiences with the skills to discern fact from fiction, fostering informed public discourse. the study recommends a multi-pronged approach to maximize the positive impact of media on climate action. this includes diversifying mainstream narratives, promoting positive climate stories, emphasizing social justice, supporting alternative media platforms, enhancing media literacy programs, fostering collaboration between media sectors, facilitating audience engagement, and investing in ongoing research on audience reception. keywords: alternative media, climate change, mainstream media, sustainability, shifting media landscape introduction at this crucial moment, our world stands at a crossroads, confronting the intricate challenges of climate change and the imperative pursuit of sustainability. human activities, primarily the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, are the primary drivers of climate change, disturbing the fragile balance of our planet. this conclusion is underscored by the assessment report (ar5), which, with "extremely likely" certainty, asserted that human activities, particularly the emission of these greenhouse gases, played a predominant role, accounting for more than half of the observed increase in global mean surface temperature between 1951 and 2010, as highlighted by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc, 2013). the consequences of climate change, evident in rising mailto:ali.abdulrahman.pg95111@unn.edu.ng 129 temperatures, more frequent and severe weather events, and the alarming rise in sea levels, pose significant threats to ecosystems and essential resources. beyond these immediate challenges, these impacts also jeopardize the very foundation of human civilization. according to the ipcc (2013), climate change is characterized as "long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, mainly caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels." the repercussions of these changes are evident in rising temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns, the alarming retreat of glaciers, and a surge in the frequency of extreme weather events. such alterations in the climate have far-reaching consequences, impacting not only the environment but also exerting substantial effects on societal structures and economic systems. the ipcc's assessment in 2021 underscores the urgency of addressing the root causes of climate change and adopting sustainable practices to mitigate its adverse impacts on a global scale. lindwall (2022) further explains that the earth's climate is changing in dramatic ways, causing temperatures to climb, rain patterns to shift, glaciers to shrink rapidly, and extreme weather events to become more common. basically, things are getting hotter, wetter in some places, drier in others, and way more unpredictable, with big consequences for the planet and everyone on it. in the same vein, grantham institute (2022) posits that the alterations in the climate have extensive repercussions, affecting not only the environment but also exerting substantial effects on societal structures and economic systems. in recent years, there has been a significant transformation in the global conversation about climate change and sustainability, and the media landscape has played a crucial role in molding public perceptions and attitudes. traditionally, mainstream media has been the primary conduit for information on these crucial issues, mccright et al. (2011). the mainstream media (msm) serves as a pivotal force in molding public perspectives and fostering awareness regarding critical issues, notably climate change and sustainability. over the years, there has been a notable surge in media coverage dedicated to these pressing concerns as the global community confronts the multifaceted challenges arising from environmental degradation. as noted by trumbo (2016), the number of environmental issues has not only grown but has also become more prominently featured in news cycles. subjects such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are now consistently highlighted on front pages and during prime-time broadcasts. moreover, there has been a change in emphasis from predominantly addressing scientific aspects to highlighting the human consequences and possible resolutions, doyle (2015). the escalating impacts of climate change and the imperative for sustainable practices have spurred an intensified focus in mainstream media outlets. through its extensive 130 reach and influence, the media plays a key role in disseminating information about scientific findings, policy developments, and the far-reaching consequences of environmental shifts. this heightened coverage reflects an acknowledgment of the urgent need for collective action and underscores the media's role in shaping a well-informed and engaged global citizenry. the mainstream media (msm) not only disseminates information but also plays a pivotal role in influencing public perception. portraying climate change as an urgent crisis demanding immediate attention has the potential to generate greater urgency and involvement, as opposed to depicting it as a distant and abstract long-term issue. studies (maibach et al., 2019; mccright et al., 2011) revealed that media’s highlighting of the immediacy and closeness of climate-related consequences, such as extreme weather events, resulted in increased backing for initiatives addressing climate change. on the flip side, some suggest adopting a more well-rounded strategy that recognizes the pressing nature of the issue while also emphasizing uplifting narratives about climate initiatives and resolutions. this approach aims to instill hope and promote active involvement, nisbet, (2018). in essence, the global dialogue on climate change and sustainability has undergone a shift, shaped by the media environment, and alternative media channels have emerged as influential contributors to this transformation. bernard et al. (2018) assert that these platforms have expanded the range of information available to the public, disrupting the conventional gatekeeping function of mainstream media and promoting a more democratic distribution of information. alternative media possess the potential to offer in-depth information and comprehensive analyses on climate change. they have the capability to cite and draw upon other media outlets, contributing to a more holistic comprehension of diverse subjects, including but not limited to climate change (karoline et al., 2022). statement of problem: while the influence of alternative media on mainstream discussions about climate change and sustainability has gained increasing attention, research has primarily focused on analyzing the content and framing within alternative media itself. scholars like entman (2017) and mccright & dunlap (2011) highlight the importance of this analysis, as traditional media often emphasizes scientific data and risks, while alternative media prioritizes personal 131 narratives, local impacts, and social justice. similarly, couldry et al. (2017) and skeggs (2017) emphasize the significance of understanding alternative media's potential influence on the broader discourse. studies such as those by adejumo et al. (2022) and uzoigwe et al. (2020) explore the media's role in holding power accountable and promoting sustainable policies. they demonstrate how media can effectively reach diverse audiences with environmental news and education, as exemplified by okoro's (2018) study on radio campaigns raising deforestation awareness in rural communities and emenike's (2020) research on television documentaries influencing support for waste management initiatives in urban settings. these studies showcase a strong interest in the media's role in combating environmental issues that contribute to climate change. however, a critical gap exists in understanding how audiences engage with these narratives and how these engagements shape and reshape mainstream discussions. this study aims to address this gap by employing audience reception studies to investigate how audiences interact with climate change narratives in both alternative and mainstream media (msm). this focus on audience engagement offers a novel perspective on alternative media's impact, viewing audiences as active interpreters and communicators. by understanding how alternative narratives can amplify marginalized voices, challenge dominant framing, and contribute to societal shifts, we can gain valuable insights for effective communication strategies and social mobilization efforts in the face of climate change. research questions: • how do audiences construct meaning and interpret information regarding climate change in both alternative and mainstream media? • how can the influence of engagement with alternative media narratives be evaluated in terms of its impact on individuals' attitudes towards climate change? • to what extent do audiences actively participate in shaping mainstream discourse on climate action through sharing and discussing alternative media narratives? review of relevant literatures mainstream media and climate change discourse 132 mainstream media (msm) plays a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of climate change, influencing individual attitudes and behaviors. scholars have shown keen interest in the mainstream media's discussion of climate change. painter et al. (2023) revealed, in a study published in communications earth & environment, that skepticism regarding the science of climate change persists in media outlets covering climate-related news. furthermore, wilkins' research (1993); as cited in boykoff (2007), indicated that media coverage of climate change in the usa and the uk was influenced by values and beliefs. additionally, a study by wetts (2020) in pnas found that press releases opposing climate action are approximately twice as likely to be cited in national newspapers compared to those supporting action. hase et al.'s (2021) comparative study across ten countries from the global north and the global south revealed variations in climate change coverage. analyzing mass media publications for content has become a prominent scientific approach, as demonstrated by kirilenko et al. (2012), to scrutinize public discourse on climate change. limitations and biases in media coverage of climate change several inherent limitations and biases within mainstream media (msm) coverage can distort the public's understanding of climate change. one such issue is the phenomenon of "false balance," wherein msm frequently presents opposing views on climate change, even in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus pointing to human-caused warming. this approach fosters doubt and confusion among the public, undermining the robustness of scientific evidence (boykoff, 2007). another factor contributing to distortion is the media's inclination to prioritize drama and conflict for attention. in the competitive landscape, msm tends to favor sensational stories and conflicts over nuanced analysis. this emphasis often leads to an overfocus on extreme weather events and political controversies, sidelining discussions on long-term trends and potential solutions (trumbo, 2016). roles of alternative media in climate change communication supplementing and contesting dominant narratives: mainstream narratives offer additional perspectives that may be overlooked or marginalized in the dominant discourse. this inclusivity helps broaden the understanding of climate change, moving beyond the simplified and often politicized framings commonly found in mainstream media. alternative media also serves as a challenging force, questioning and providing counter-narratives to the mainstream 133 discourse on climate change. this act of challenging encourages a more critical examination of the issues at hand, fostering a nuanced public discourse. by presenting alternative viewpoints and challenging simplistic narratives, alternative media contributes to a more comprehensive and informed discussion on climate change and sustainability. this fosters a more nuanced and critically engaged public discourse, as asserted by carruthers (2015). supplementing and contesting dominant narratives: elevating consciousness and fostering public insight: alternative media, by presenting a variety of inclusive and easily accessible narratives, plays a pivotal role in increasing public consciousness regarding climate change, its effects on humanity, and possible solutions—particularly within marginalized communities, carrington et al. (2017). through a range of accessible narratives, alternative media platforms contribute to educating the public about the realities of climate change, its human consequences, and potential solutions. notably, the emphasis is on reaching out to marginalized communities, ensuring that their perspectives and experiences are highlighted. enabling knowledge dissemination and collaborative education: knowledgesharing is significant because it allows for a more inclusive and collaborative approach to addressing environmental issues. rather than relying solely on mainstream sources or expert opinions, alternative media platforms create opportunities for a broader range of voices to contribute to the discourse. this inclusivity can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges posed by climate change and, in turn, promote collaborative efforts in finding sustainable solutions. alternative media platforms encourage a shared understanding of climate issues, fostering a sense of community engagement in addressing environmental concerns. limitations and challenges echo chambers and confirmation bias: certain alternative media outlets may cater to specific ideological groups, creating echo chambers and reinforcing existing biases rather than encouraging open dialogue and critical engagement with diverse perspectives, höflich (2017). this can limit the exposure of individuals to a range of viewpoints and hinder the development of a more nuanced understanding of climate-related issues. ultimately, the concern is that echo chambers and confirmation bias may impede constructive discussions and hinder efforts to address climate change through collaborative and informed decision-making. 134 concerns regarding precision and reliability: within alternative media channels, there is a risk of the dissemination of misinformation and inaccurate storylines. emphasizing the significance of fostering critical media literacy and incorporating fact-checking measures among audiences becomes crucial. these efforts aim to empower the audience to discern and dismiss any information aiming to mislead them, particularly in the context of climate change issues. by promoting open discussions, encouraging critical thought, and fostering collaboration, alternative media has the potential to make substantial contributions to meaningful climate action and a future characterized by justice and sustainability. theoretical framework agenda setting theory: agenda-setting theory, proposed by maxwell mccombs and donald shaw in 1972, aims to elucidate the impact of media messages on the audience. according to wogu (2015), individuals consider significant those issues highlighted in the media, emphasizing the crucial role of the media in introducing major societal topics for discussion. mccombs and shaw (1968), as cited in asemah (2017), assert that we rely on news professionals for cues on where to direct our attention, and what the media deems important, we, in turn, perceive as important. agenda-setting theory facilitates an exploration of how alternative media influences the prioritization of topics in climate change discussions, showcasing distinct facets compared to mainstream media. for example, alternative media may concentrate on personal narratives instead of scientific data, thereby shaping public awareness and engagement in climate change discourse. reception theory: reception theory, also known as audience reception theory, is a fascinating approach to understanding how meaning is created in communication, particularly in literature and other forms of media. the theory is attributed to the contributions of the british sociologist stuart hall in the late 1960s, particularly through his communication model presented in an essay titled "encoding/decoding." unlike traditional literary analysis, which often focuses on the author's intention or the inherent meaning of a text, reception theory shifts the spotlight to the reader or audience. it argues that the meaning of a text is not fixed but rather emerges from the dynamic interaction between the text and the reader's individual background, experiences, and expectations. 135 addressing the intricate problem of climate change involves the utilization of diverse media forms such as documentaries, news articles, films, and even social media posts. these representations may vary significantly in their tone, emphasis, and even precision. studies carried out by grady college of journalism and mass communication, university of georgia; kor, ryan (2018) posit that the way media texts are received can differ significantly, showcasing the varied interpretations and experiences of diverse audience members. every viewer brings a distinct set of personal background, knowledge, and life experiences to their understanding of media content. elements such as age, geographical location, cultural heritage, individual values, and even prior exposure to information about climate change can impact how people perceive and comprehend the conveyed message. reception theory provides a framework for understanding the dynamic and interactive nature of the communication process between media producers and audiences. methodology the research employed a qualitative research methodology, as advocated by moser et al. (2017), which involves exploring real-world issues to gain a deeper understanding and insights. qualitative research is focused on capturing the experiences, perceptions, and behaviors of participants, with an emphasis on understanding the underlying reasons and processes, rather than quantifying them in terms of quantity or amount, as highlighted by tenny et al. (2022). the researcher utilized the focus group discussion (fgds) method for data collection. in preparation for the discussions, an informed consent letter was sent to ten (10) participants who were purposefully selected based on specific criteria. this selection included two (2) media experts chosen for their experience and professionalism in communication, three (3) experts in environmental health services, and five (5) postgraduate students from the university of nigeria, nsukka. the participants, who are active users of alternative media and possess experience in the study of climate change and sustainability, were chosen to provide firsthand and authentic data stemming from their expertise in environmental health services or their role as active users of alternative and mainstream media. information was gathered through open-ended inquiries directed at a group of ten participants involved in a focus group discussion (fgd). this group included two journalists affiliated with nuj lokoja, kogi state, three experts from the environmental studies 136 department at the university of nigeria, nsukka, and five postgraduate students from the university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. the utilization of open-ended questions facilitated the capture of diverse and rich responses, unveiling unforeseen discoveries. this format allowed participants to freely and authentically express themselves, minimizing researcher bias and external influence. the selection of questions was guided by ethical considerations related to communication and the respective fields of the participants. thematic analysis was employed for data analysis, following the method outlined by crosley (2021). thematic analysis, as suggested by crosley, entails the exploration of patterns to unveil their significance. in simpler terms, it involves a thorough examination of patterns and themes within a dataset to discern the underlying meaning. this analytical approach is utilized to scrutinize qualitative data by closely examining the dataset and identifying recurring patterns that reveal the core themes. an integral aspect of this method involves an active process of reflection, where the researcher's subjective perspective is pivotal in interpreting the data, as highlighted by villegas (2022). to carry out the data analysis effectively, the focus group discussion was recorded and transcribed into text. this gave the researcher easy access to study the transcript and identify the common patterns to select the themes for the study. themes ought to shed light on important facets of your research query and align with the objectives of your study, as emphasized by nowell et al. (2017). despite their potential intrigue, themes that are irrelevant or trivial were dismissed. themes that emerged from the analysis and were relevant to the study were presented and discussed. these themes represent the participants' understanding of the subject of the study. results data were collected through online and physical discussion. after the analysis and coding, nine themes emerged, which were considered relevant and all aligned with the research questions under study. the themes include: independence and plurality, audience construction of meaning, local and overlooked stories, emotional appeals and personal narratives, social justice and equity, audience participation in shaping mainstream discourse, challenging the gatekeeping function, and fact-checking and critical media literacy solutions and hope. answers to the research questions were drawn using the themes originated from the discussion during the study. 137 rq 1: how do audiences construct meaning and interpret information regarding climate change in both alternative and mainstream media? • independence and plurality: alternative media's focus on diverse voices and critical perspectives can lead audiences to engage in deeper analysis and question dominant narratives. this contrasts with mainstream media's emphasis on scientific data, which may lead audiences to rely on expert interpretations. • audience construction of meaning: audiences actively shape their understanding based on their experiences and media exposure. alternative media's focus on personal narratives and local impacts can foster emotional engagement and personalized interpretations of climate change. • social justice and equity: alternative media's emphasis on marginalized communities' perspectives can lead audiences to consider the unequal distribution of climate change impacts and the importance of equitable solutions. rq 2: how can the influence of engagement with alternative media narratives be evaluated in terms of its impact on individuals' attitudes towards climate change? • emotional appeals and personal narratives: alternative media's focus on emotional engagement and storytelling can potentially lead to increased concern about climate change and a stronger sense of personal responsibility. • local and overlooked stories: exposure to stories of local communities impacted by climate change can increase empathy and understanding of the issue's real-world consequences. • solutions and hope: showcasing positive examples of climate action and community resilience can foster optimism and inspire individuals to take action. rq 3: to what extent do audiences actively participate in shaping mainstream discourse on climate action through sharing and discussing alternative media narratives? • audience participation in shaping mainstream discourse: sharing and discussing alternative media narratives can challenge dominant media perspectives, amplify marginalized voices, and influence public comprehension. this can indirectly pressure mainstream media to address previously overlooked issues. • challenging the gatekeeping function: alternative media's decentralization allows for the circulation of information often excluded by mainstream media, potentially influencing the agenda of mainstream discourse. 138 • fact-checking and critical media literacy: promoting critical media literacy can equip audiences to evaluate information from both mainstream and alternative sources, potentially leading to more informed public discussions. discussion of findings alternative media playing an important role in amplifying the voices of marginalized groups impacted by climate change. lewis et al. (2010) highlights how indigenous groups, communities of color, and those facing disproportionate impacts find a platform to communicate their perspectives, breaking away from conventional academic or institutional environments (carruthers, 2015). this amplification of diverse voices in alternative media contributes to audiences actively deriving meaning from climate change information. studies (shanahan et al., 2016; painter et al., 2023) demonstrate that exposure to both mainstream and alternative media shapes public comprehension. while mainstream media often emphasizes scientific data, alternative media presents personal narratives, local impacts, and social justice perspectives, fostering deeper engagement and challenging prevailing narratives (entman, 2017; carruthers, 2015). this diverse interpretation across media platforms becomes essential for effective communication and mobilizing collective action (adejumo et al., 2022). further, the focus shifts to local impacts and grassroots efforts in addressing climate change challenges. carrington et al. (2017) emphasize the importance of understanding the uneven distribution of climate change effects, particularly on marginalized communities. the discussion highlights how emphasizing local initiatives and the ability to bounce back empowers communities, motivating others to engage in similar efforts (okoro, 2018; uzoigwe et al., 2020). the narrative then delves into the emotional appeals and personal narratives utilized by alternative media. by drawing upon human emotions, alternative media establishes a profound rapport with the audience, making climate change more relatable. the use of storytelling, documentaries, podcasts, and citizen journalism proves to be more effective than traditional scientific data in raising awareness and motivating action (maibach et al., 2019; nisbet, 2018). the unevenly spread effects of climate change and the perspective of social justice and equity, marginalized communities face the greatest impact and often lack the resources to cope with climate change-related incidents. addressing disparities and prioritizing the needs of the 139 most marginalized individuals become crucial in climate action (agyeman, 2005; walker et al., 2020). audience participation in shaping mainstream discourse is then explored, illustrating that audiences actively contribute to shaping the discourse on mainstream climate action. the impact of audience engagement on agenda-setting, sharing, and discussing narratives from alternative media challenges prevailing perspectives, influencing public comprehension, and potentially impacting policy agendas (carruthers, 2015; carrington et al., 2017; uzoigwe et al., 2020). the influence of alternative media in impacting mainstream discourse, challenging gatekeeping functions, promoting fact-checking, and encouraging critical media literacy is then discussed. alternative media brings attention to marginalized perspectives and overlooked issues, facilitating a more democratic distribution of information (couldry et al., 2017; lazer et al., 2018). however, mainstream media often highlights the severe outcomes of climate change, alternative media provides a more balanced perspective. by showcasing positive examples of climate action and community resilience, alternative media fosters hope and inspires individuals to believe in the feasibility of taking meaningful actions (carrington et al., 2017; nisbet, 2018). conclusion recognized as a crucial influencer of public perceptions and awareness regarding climate change and sustainability, the mainstream media has undergone a notable shift towards environmental issues. this shift, transitioning from a focus on scientific aspects to emphasizing the human consequences of climate change, underscores the media's dual role of information dissemination and perception shaping. the study underscores that the portrayal of climate change as an urgent crisis within the mainstream media has proven effective in garnering increased public support for initiatives aimed at addressing this pressing global issue. in contrast, the transformative impact of alternative media platforms, encompassing online outlets, independent news sources, and grassroots initiatives, is brought to the forefront. these alternative media channels are recognized as agents of change, playing a pivotal role in diversifying perspectives, disrupting established narratives, and facilitating a more democratic distribution of information. 140 notably, alternative media is characterized by its prioritization of diverse voices, emphasis on local impacts, utilization of emotional appeals, commitment to addressing social justice and equity, showcasing of solutions, challenging the gatekeeping function traditionally associated with mainstream media, and promotion of fact-checking and critical media literacy. this research emphasizes the importance of understanding audience engagement with these narratives for the development of effective communication strategies and the mobilization of collective action in addressing climate change. the insights gained from audience reception studies are seen as valuable contributions to nurturing a more informed and engaged global citizenry, ultimately facilitating meaningful climate action and the adoption of sustainable practices. recommendations diversify mainstream media narratives: given the significant impact of mainstream media on public perceptions, there is a need for a continued effort to diversify narratives. mainstream media should actively include a broader range of voices, local perspectives, and solutions to present a more comprehensive and inclusive understanding of climate change and sustainability. promote positive climate narratives: recognizing the influence of media on shaping public attitudes, both mainstream and alternative media should strike a balance between highlighting the urgency of the climate crisis and promoting positive examples of climate action and community resilience. this approach can foster hope and inspire individuals to engage in meaningful actions. emphasize social justice and equity: the media, particularly alternative platforms, should continue to emphasize the social justice aspects of climate change. highlighting the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and advocating for solutions that address existing disparities can contribute to a more informed and socially responsible public. support alternative media platforms: acknowledging the valuable role of alternative media in diversifying perspectives, supporting these platforms is crucial. initiatives, funding, and collaborations that bolster independent online sources, grassroots initiatives, and diverse voices should be encouraged to maintain a democratic distribution of information. enhance media literacy programs: to empower audiences to critically assess information, media literacy programs should be promoted. these programs should focus on fact-checking skills, critical analysis of media content, and understanding potential biases. this 141 will reduce vulnerability to misinformation and manipulation, particularly in the context of climate change. encourage collaboration between mainstream and alternative media: recognizing the strengths of both mainstream and alternative media, collaborative efforts can be beneficial. joint initiatives that bring together diverse perspectives, expertise, and resources from various media sources can contribute to a more holistic and nuanced understanding of climate change. facilitate audience engagement: understanding audience engagement is crucial. both media sectors should actively encourage audience participation, discussion, and sharing of information. this can contribute to shaping mainstream discourse on climate action and foster a sense of collective responsibility among the public. invest in audience reception studies: continued research into how audiences engage with climate change narratives, both in alternative and mainstream media, is essential. this will provide ongoing insights into evolving audience perspectives, allowing for more targeted and effective communication strategies. incorporate emotional appeals in mainstream media: recognizing the effectiveness of emotional appeals in alternative media, mainstream media should consider incorporating more personal narratives and emotional connections in their climate change coverage. this approach can enhance the relatability of climate issues to a broader audience. adopt a multi-pronged communication strategy: media outlets should adopt a comprehensive communication strategy that combines scientific data, personal narratives, and positive examples of climate action. this multi-pronged approach can cater to diverse audience preferences and increase overall engagement with climate change issues. references adejumo, a. o., adekoya, a. a., & ogunsakin, b. a. 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(2019). shifting public engagement: how media coverage of climate change conferences affects climate change audience segments. public understanding of science, 096366251988647. doi:10.1177/0963662519886474 waseem, m. (2019). is fake news real? towards an empirical investigation of online misinformation. arxiv preprint arxiv:1703.00477. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00760-2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/nbk470395 page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 10 evaluation of unn students awareness, knowledge and perception of fake news detection algorithms in detecting online fake news. kelly, ajonina mbong okpoko, chinwe department of mass communication, faculty of arts, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state. e-mail: kelly.mbong.pg95193@unn.edu.ng abstract this study sought to assess students’ awareness, knowledge and perception of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online fake news. the objectives of the study were to examine the awareness, knowledge and perception of the students on fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online. the study adopted a quantitative research through survey technique. using chochran sampling size determinant, a sample size of 384 was drawn from the population of 36, 000 undergraduate students of university of nigeria using a multi stage technique sampling technique. questionnaire was used to elicit response from the students. the study found out that students are aware and knowledgeable about fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online. and their perception is positive and favourable. among others, the study recommends that audience should cultivate and maintain the habit of factchecking news stories online to avoid being misinformed by the eggs of impunity of online spaces. keywords: fake news, misinformation, online space, perception, students introduction the field of technology has had a profound impact on how individuals engage in interpersonal and professional communication. it has facilitated swifter, simpler, and more effective means of interaction through various platforms and media, including but not limited to email, social media, video conferencing, and chatbots. the emergence of technology has played a critical role in enhancing social engagement. computers have empowered us to amass ever-increasing volumes of information. mobile phones have facilitated a shift from location-based communication to person-to-person interaction (campbell & park, 2008). smartphones have enabled us to seamlessly integrate our technology utilization and social communication throughout our daily lives (dimmick et al., 2011). the internet has allowed us to transcend the boundaries of our immediate networks (rainie & wellman, 2012). social media has significantly augmented the quantity and diversity of individuals with whom users interact daily (hampton et al., 2011). the advent of social media has significantly transformed the course and manner in which human communication is conducted, altering its trajectory and narration. moreover, it has seamlessly integrated itself as an extension of our offline activities, 11 seamlessly merging the two spheres of our lives. this seamless integration has consequently paved the way for individuals from all walks of life to effortlessly share and disseminate any form of content online, thereby democratizing the process and providing an open platform for expression. social media has become increasingly trendier for news utilization because of its low cost and swiftness. consequently, this has inadvertently given rise to an overwhelming influx of information, leading to misinformation and fake news proliferation. fake news has a significant influence on both society and the general population, leading to not only a distortion in people's understanding but also a failure to uphold the authentic news system built upon the principles of truth and actuality (mcewan, 2019). fake news refers to information that is clearly and provably fabricated and has been presented and circulated in a manner that gives the impression of being genuine news. fake news is unreliable information, which encompasses falsehoods, urban legends, covert plots, fraudulent stories, as well as misleading or incorrect material that is consciously or unconsciously spread on social media channels, (omoera &uwalaka, 2023). internet platforms including social media offer an avenue for individuals who are not professional journalists to access a large audience. this brought about the emergence of citizen journalism and it has disrupted the connection between news and journalists, as non-journalists have started participating in journalistic practices to create news content (robinson & deshano, 2011). the spread of fake news on social media platforms has become a significant concern for society. the proliferation of unverified news on social media has been increasing exponentially, leading to a loss of trust among individuals who often accept forwarded content without questioning its authenticity. false news stories are intentionally fabricated to cause confusion and skepticism, making it difficult for people to differentiate between facts and falsehoods (moin et al., 2020).the growing prevalence of fake news on social media has raised concerns about the reliability, quality, and verification of information (femi et al., 2022). the advent of new technology and social media platforms has made it easier for fake news to spread rapidly and reach a wider audience. people often share news stories without verifying the source or the accuracy of the information. according to harsh et al. (2020), the concept of fake news is contradictory because news that cannot be verified cannot be considered genuine. these deliberate efforts to spread fake news are aimed at deceiving and manipulating individuals. misinformation is a significant threat to society due to its strategic planning, ample resources, and the support of technological advancements. the consequences of fake news on society are severe. it can lead to a loss of trust in institutions, create social unrest, and even influence political outcomes. therefore, it is crucial to recognize 12 and combat fake news by promoting media literacy, fact-checking, and responsible journalism. the dissemination of false information through social media is a significant issue that requires immediate action. platforms like facebook, whatsapp, twitter, and instagram must take decisive steps to curb the spread of fake news, which is impacting both adults and children. the extensive availability of mobile devices and accessible wi-fi has only worsened the situation. omoera and uwalaka (2023) have shown that fake news is deliberately spread to disrupt society, provoke religious conflicts, or advance political agendas against perceived rivals. the role of social media in politics has sparked a fascination, prompting heightened attention on how these platforms affect political matters. facebook, twitter, and instagram have enabled the widespread sharing of information and news, leading to an increased rate of fake news (vosoughi et al., 2018; omoera & uwalaka, 2023). it is essential to recognize the gravity of this problem and take prompt and effective action to prevent further damage to society. as the popularity of social media, news blogs, and online newspapers has grown, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between reliable and unreliable news sources. this problem is particularly prevalent in nigerian media, where fake news and rumors circulate without proper verification processes, especially among younger generations (omoera & ogoke, 2021; omoera & uwalaka, 2023). consequently, there is a growing need for computational tools that can provide valuable information about the trustworthiness of online content. efforts to combat the spread of fake news on social media have mainly focused on technological solutions, such as algorithmic content moderation (silveira, 2020; paor & heravi, 2020). statement of the problem the rapid expansion and widespread dissemination of false and misleading information on various social media platforms represents a significant and ever-increasing danger to the integrity and trustworthiness of the information being disseminated and to the reliability of public discussions and debates (olan et al., 2022; khan & akhunzada, 2021). the presence of fake news not only undermines the confidence of individuals in the sources of news but also possesses the potential to exert influence on public opinion, disrupt the functioning of democratic processes, and, in certain instances, contribute to tangible harm in the real world (talwar et al., 2020). social media users, who are frequently exposed to an overwhelming amount of information, encounter unique challenges in distinguishing between reliable sources and deceptive content. this predicament is further compounded by a variety of cognitive 13 biases, the rapid dissemination of information, and the absence of effective mechanisms for gatekeeping on these platforms. additionally, users often distribute content without verifying its accuracy, inadvertently serving as conduits for the propagation of fake news (lopez-marcos & vicente-fernandez, 2021). endeavors aimed at mitigating the widespread dissemination of fake news on social media have predominantly concentrated on technological solutions, including the implementation of algorithmic content moderation. despite the introduction of algorithms designed to identify and detect fake news within social media, the presence of such false information continues to persist on these platforms. consequently, the objective of this research study is to assess the level of awareness, knowledge, and perception among students of unn concerning the functionality and effectiveness of fake news detection algorithms in detecting and identifying instances of online fake news. objectives of the study the main objective of the study is to investigate the level of awareness, knowledge, and perception of fake news detection algorithms in detecting online fake news among unn students. specific objectives include: 1. to examine students’ awareness and knowledge of fake news algorithm in detecting fake news online. 2. to identify the students’ perception of fake news algorithm in detecting fake news online. theoretical review technological determinism theory marshal mcluhan, a renowned scholar, was the mastermind behind the development of the groundbreaking concept of technological determinism, also referred to as media ecology, in 1964. the theory of technological determinism, a reductionist perspective, asserts that an innate desire for efficiency propels a society's technological progress, inevitably molding the trajectory of its social framework and cultural principles. the central objective of this theory is to illustrate the significant role that technological advancements, encompassing media or technology in a broader sense, assume in propelling historical occurrences and steering social metamorphoses. in light of the ubiquity of technology, it becomes impracticable to escape the swiftness of the globalization process. consequently, technological progress and ingenuity 14 emerge as the principal propelling agents behind alterations in various spheres of societal, economic, or political nature. technological determinism postulates that technology serves as the fundamental underpinning for all human endeavors, acting as the principal governing force within society (merritt roe, 1994). the ramifications of this phenomenon on individuals' cognitive processes and social connections can be succinctly encapsulated in a concise and logical three-word declaration (williams, 1990). the incorporation and assimilation of technology into the fabric of everyday life are subject to the influence exerted by the everchanging nature of technology itself. consequently, this influence in turn shapes how individuals live and interact within the societal framework. ultimately, the impact of technology on relationships and lifestyles plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of societal development. to exemplify this, the advent of the wheel can be viewed as an extension of the human foot, revolutionizing mobility and enabling humans to traverse greater distances and transport heavier burdens (wogu, 2015). according to dusek (2006); hallstorm (2022), the progress and evolution of technology yield profound effects on the structural composition of society, precipitating transformations across various realms including institutions, art, and religion. accordingly, following the tenets of technological determinism, an inevitable and inextricable connection exists between technological advancement and social interactions, whereby any alterations occurring within one domain will inevitably reverberate throughout the other as a result of normalization. after the introduction of technology into society, there is a definite expectation of further advancements in said technology. this perspective posits that the technology itself, or rather its inherent characteristics, possesses the capacity to instigate changes. as a result, the mere creation of technology necessitates the subsequent requirement of its adoption and usage. furthermore, it is important to recognize that the social context in which technology is introduced plays a significant role in influencing the acceptance and utilization of said technology. in turn, the social context itself plays a pivotal role in shaping the impact that technology has on society as a whole (smith & marx, 1998). marshall mcluhan's theory, famously known as "the medium is the message," along with the concepts put forth by his mentor harold adams innis, can be seen as yet another manifestation of the overarching concept of technological determinism within the realm of media theory. mcluhan posits that there exists a strong correlation between the evolution of communication technology and the development of language. in his view, media itself wields a more profound influence and serves as a more transparent and discernible factor when compared to the broader notion of language. mcluhan further argues that our employment of specific media platforms may 15 yield indirect consequences upon us as individuals; however, the most crucial aspect lies in the socio-cultural milieu within which these mediums are employed. in the contemporary era marked by the prevalence of digitalization, the utilization of the technological determinism theory is primarily focused on the realm of social media, encompassing its content and the consequential impact it exerts on human social, economic, and political behaviors. the comprehensive integration of social media into individuals' daily lives has facilitated their active participation in social interactions, encompassing both familiar and unfamiliar individuals (boyd, ellison 2007; lenhart, madden 2007; jan et al., 2020). mcluhan (1964) has aptly classified human societies into distinct epochs, namely the tribal age, literate age, print age, and electronic age. the advancement of communication technologies has played a pivotal role in the modernization of these societies, propelling them forward to the subsequent stage of development. the transition from the tribal age to the literate age was subsequently followed by the transformation into the print age and ultimately culminated in the era of electronic communications. consequently, the lifestyles of individuals in each respective epoch underwent profound revolutionary changes. finnemann (2002); jan et al. (2020) confidently assert that social media does not supplant traditional mass media, but rather seamlessly incorporates various forms of media, including electronic text, telephone, radio, and television. this harmonious integration facilitates individuals' access to electronic versions of newspapers, allows for cost-effective phone calls, ensures effortless access to global radio channels, and provides an extensive selection of television channels to choose from. contrary to the limitations imposed by radio and television, where users are confined to consuming the content provided by media management, social media technology empowers information to flow horizontally, with active users positioned at the forefront. within the realm of social media systems, information is shared amongst consumers, thereby endowing social media users with the autonomy to select the nature and timing of their consumption, and even enabling the sharing of content with fellow users (abdulahi et al. 2014; jan, 2020). in addition, individuals who engage with social media platforms can generate and distribute their content to a wide audience. this newfound freedom to create and share content of their choosing has resulted in the emergence of false information and deceptive news stories. the prevalence of fake news in the digital age has prompted scholars and researchers to examine its impact on public perception and societal trust. numerous studies have highlighted the challenges posed by the rapid dissemination of inaccurate information across online platforms. as the landscape of fake news continues to evolve, innovative and novel strategies are required 16 to combat this issue, leading to the development and implementation of algorithms designed to identify and flag fake news stories. given the importance of understanding the origins and consequences of fake news, it becomes necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these technological measures (wardle & derakhshan, 2017; pennycook & rand, 2018). the level of digital literacy skills possessed by students at the university of nigeria, nsukka (unn) plays a pivotal role in determining the reliability and credibility of information encountered in the digital realm. an exploration of existing literature on digital literacy reveals educational approaches that empower individuals to critically engage with digital content, aligning with the broader aims of technological determinism (buckingham, 2007); hobbs, 2010). the development of algorithms specifically designed to detect fake news introduces the concept of algorithmic decision-making into the realm of information verification. this alteration in cognitive processes gives rise to apprehensions regarding the impact of algorithms on the consciousness and understanding of individuals. an indispensable aspect of comprehending how unn students perceive and place confidence in the results generated by such algorithms necessitates a thorough examination of the existing body of research on algorithmic bias, transparency, and user awareness (diakopoulos, 2016; mittelstadt et al., 2016). research methodology this study adopts a quantitative research method of survey design. according to baran and davis (2011), survey research helps to balance the diverse interests and opinions among a set of respondents. since this is a social research, a survey becomes necessary in order to give opportunity for divergent views among university of nigeria students. the population of this study includes the entirety of undergraduate students of university of nigeria, nsukka. the population of university of nigeria, undergraduate students is 36,000 according to data available on the school website. from this population, the sample size was drawn. a sample size is a part of the population chosen for a survey. it means choosing a part of the population to study from the entire population. maama (2010) defines population as the process of selecting a sample for investigation. therefore, to determine the sample size for this study, the researcher used the cochran sample size formula. the sample size of the study was 384. the complexity of studying the entire population demands that a researcher must adopt sampling as yardstick for measuring all the countable elements under study. ojo (2017) states that the purpose of sampling is to provide a realistic basis upon which generalization about the population may be drawn. the multi-stage sampling technique; comprising of stratified sampling and purposive sampling techniques was used to select the sample size of this study. 17 the researcher carried out this multistage sampling through the following step-by-step stages. on the first stage, the researcher adopts a stratified sampling technique to divide the school into homogenous sub-groups consisting of different faculties. in other words, the researcher divides the entirety of university of nigeria undergraduate students into 16 different faculties available in the school. on the second stage, purposive sampling technique was adopted to select respondents who are avid news consumers on social media. this was done by asking respondents to rank their level of news consumption on social media in the range of 1-100. those who ranked 60 and above were allowed to partake in the study. a structured questionnaire was designed and was the main instrument for data collection. the questionnaire consisted of two sections, section a and section b. section a comprises questions relating to the bio data of the respondents such as age range, sex, and occupation among others, while section b consisted of item statements which were derived from the research questions. the questionnaire contained a likert scale model of five options, designed according to the objections. data were collected using the primary method of data collection. the researcher of this study, however, retrieved the questionnaire copies administered to the respondents through direct face-to-face contact with respondents. to establish the validity, a copy of the questionnaire was presented to a professor in the department of mass communication, university of nigeria, for vetting. his recommendations were incorporated into the final distributed copy. to test the reliability of the study, a pilot study of 38 copies of questionnaires was carried out to evaluate the internal consistency of the instrument and this study took place among the students of kogi state university which is outside the study area. a total of thirty-eight (38) respondents made up of 10% of the total sample size were involved in responding to the instrument due to their awareness and knowledge of fake news detection algorithm. the data collected were analysed using the spearman ranking and gave a correlation of 0.9 which is strong and reliable. data collected were analyzed manually through simple frequency tables and percentages for the demographic data on the research instrument and the likert scale analysis was carried out using mean and standard deviation. 18 data analysis and discussion data presentation the data presentation was based on the 376 recovered copies of questionnaire from the 384 copies distributed. demographic data of respondent table 1: sex of respondent variables frequency percentage (%) ___________________________________________________________________________ male 164 44 female 212 56 total 376 100 __________________________________________________________________________ table 1 above represent the sex of respondents. the table indicates that female respondents are more than the male respondents. the female students have a percentage of 56% indicating that female respondents are 10% higher than the male respondents. it however implies that 212 copies of questionnaire were administered to female respondents while male respondents were given 164 copies of questionnaire. table 2. age distribution variables frequency percentage (%) ___________________________________________________________________________ 1624 7 3 25-34 276 73 35-44 92 24 45 and above 1 total 376 100 ___________________________________________________________________________ findings from the table above indicates that respondents between the age of 25-34 constitute the larger percentage of the respondents with a percentage of 73, followed by respondents between the age of 35-44 with a percentage of 24% which is lower by 49% when compared to respondents between the age of 25-34. the table also indicate that respondents between the age 19 of 16-24 constitute 3% of the respondents. the forgoing however implies that majority of the respondents falls under the age of 25-34. table 3: marital status of respondents variables frequency percentage (%) ___________________________________________________________________________ married 12 3 single 364 97 total 376 100 _________________________________________________________________________ table 3 above represent the marital status of respondents. the table indicates that majority of the respondents are single constituting 97% of the respondents. while, married respondents are minimally low constituting 3 per cent of the respondents. invariably, findings from this table indicate that 364 copies of questionnaire were administered to single respondents. table 4: religion of respondents variables frequency percentage (%) ___________________________________________________________________________ christianity 355 92% islam 21 8% others total 376 100% ___________________________________________________________________________ table 4 above represent religion of respondents. the table indicates that majority of the respondents are christians constituting 92% of the respondents. while, islam religion constitute 21 percentage of the respondents. invariably, findings from this table indicate that more copies of questionnaire were administered to christian respondents and few muslims. 20 table 5: students awareness and knowledge of fake news algorithm in detecting fake news online. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___ s/n question sa a n d sd mean response 1. i have a knowledge of fake news 100 250 18 2 6 4.2 accepted detection algorithm 2. i have used fake news detection 162 10 3 200 6 2.8 accepted algorithm to assess the claim of a news story online. 3. my knowledge and awareness 100 250 18 2 6 4.2 accepted of news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online is to a large extent. 4. from 1-100, i rank my 210 40 118 2 6 4.2 accepted knowledge of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online to be 60-80 ___________________________________________________________________________ grand mean = 3.9 accepted table 5 above presents the respondents knowledge of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online. the table has an accepted gran mean of 3.9 which implies that the respondents are knowledgeable on fake news detection algorithm. the table indicates respondents have used fake news detection algorithm to assess the claims of an uncertainty and security news online. also, the table accepted that the respondents’ knowledge level is high and can be ranked 60-80. the foregoing implies that respondents are knowledgeable about fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news. 21 table 6: audience perception of fake news algorithm in detecting fake news online. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___ s/n question sa a n d sd mean response 1. fake news detection algorithms 316 40 18 2 4.8 accepted are very good for battling fake news online 2. i agree that with the help of fake news 310 46 18 2 4.8 accepted detection algorithm, many individuals have been able to ascertain the credibility of a news reports 3. my perception of fake news algorithm 299 57 18 2 4.7 accepted is favourable and i often make use of fake news detection algorithm to verify news stories. 4. fake news detection algorithms have 299 57 18 2 4.7 accepted been able to battle misinformation online to a large extent. ___________________________________________________________________________ grand mean = 4.8 accepted table 6 above presents the perception of fake news algorithm in detecting fake news online. the table has a grand mean of 4.8 which implies that fake news detection algorithms are very good for detecting fake news online. the table indicates that with the help of fake news detection algorithm many individuals have been able to ascertain the credibility and uncertain security reports. the table also indicates that fake news detection algorithms have been able to battle uncertainty and security misinformation on online space to a large extend. the implication of the foregoing is that audience perception of fake news detection algorithm is positive and favourable. discussion of findings the discussion of this findings is done in tandem with the data presented in the tables above as it relates to the objective of the study. objective one of the study aim to examine audience knowledge of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online. this objective was achieved on table five which has an accepted grand mean of 3.9 which implies that respondents are knowledgeable about fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news. this finding 22 corroborates with mykhailo (2021) which shows a simple approach for fake news detection using naive bayes classifier. this approach was implemented as a software system and tested against a data set of facebook news posts and indicated that the algorithm was able to detect 70% fake and manipulated news online. furthermore, the second objective of the study was realized on table six with a grand mean of 4.8 which implies that the students perceive fake news detection algorithms to be very good for detecting fake news. the implication of the foregoing is that audience perception of fake news detection algorithm is positive and favourable. this findings corroborates with the study of marco and vedova (2020) which proposed a novel machine learning fake news detection method which, by combining news content and social context features, outperforms existing methods in the literature, increasing its accuracy up to 78.8%. also, the study connects with the uses and gratification theory which was used to anchor the study as it indicates that the knowledge and perception of the respondents is based on their usage and satisfaction derived from the use of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news online. conclusion fake news accounts for much of the numerous news stories that can be factchecked online through the use of fake news detection algorithms. in nigeria, news often spread like wide fire and sometimes people are at odds about its truthfulness. the study therefore concludes that respondents have the knowledge and awareness of fake news detection algorithm in detecting fake news. also, their perception of fake news detection algorithm is favorable and positive. the study therefore recommends that: 1. audience should cultivate and maintain the habit of factchecking news online to avoid being misinformed by the eggs of impunity of online spaces. 2. people should desist from the habit of propagating unconfirmed news with the intention to either chase clout or serve as click-bait for their blog and websites or to gather followers. 3. media experts should sensitize individuals on the use of fake news detection algorithm to verify uncertain news stories. 23 references buckingham, d. 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(2017). information disorder: toward an interdisciplinary framework for research and policymaking. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102197 25 william, s.h.,(1990). notes on the underground: an essay on technology, society, and the imagination. page 7 215 the question of the nothing and metaphysics jude godwins department of philosophy, seat of wisdom seminary, imo state university, owerri, e-mail: judegodwins8@gmail.com abstract given the phenomenon of the nothing, some metaphysicians argue, everything/everybody is confined and boxed in, surrounded by obstacles that hardly allow any unfettered movement or change. bounded and encircled by the nothing, from which creation must have come, the universe with its beginnings and endings akin to that of change in it becomes a transition from one kind of nothing to the other, allowing an interval of being in between. thus metaphysians from pythagoras to blaise paschal, and from georg hegel and hegelians to martin heidegger, paul tillich, and jean-paul sartre see a complementareity, an intertwining dialectics, and equality of status between that which is and that which is not (heather, 1967, 524-525). keywords: being, begging, creation, end, existence, non-existence. introduction when heidegger opined that the "question of the nothing" did put "us, the questioners, in question," and that it was a "metaphysical question,” he was giving metaphysical legitimacy to the genuine concerns of philosophers before him. we now know that without negation questions would not be raised, especially questions about being. but negation originates from nothingness. to raise questions is the fundamental preoccupation of philosophy. and it is common knowledge that being and nothingness are correlates. hence the phenomenon of nothingness is a problem surely proper to philosophy. and a treatise on nothingness is a treatise on being. the history of nothingness even as metaphysics is the study of what there is (ontology), philosophers still investigate the possibility of the existence of what does not exist, nothing. metaphysical inquiries, therefore, span through 'what is to what is not'. the atomists conceded the existence of the nothing in the gaps between the invisibly tiny atoms. aristotle acknowledged the existence of matter and space. descartes allowed only the existence of entities whose being could be proved. st.augustine insisted that our place, at the centre of the scheme of things, was the appropriate place to begin, rather than at the beginning or the end. when things are in harmony with the being of better ascertained and proven entities, we judge them to exist. beginning from nothing robs us of the requisite 'bearings' to move forward (sorensen, 2003). mailto:judegodwins8@gmail.com; 216 sartrean existentialism associated nothingness with consciousness. consciousness is nothingness, because rather than being its past, consciousness is some kind of state of affairs (sartre, being and nothingness, 1943). the overwhelming majority of present day metaphysicians, rather than having a certain 'methodological' option for a world devoid of anything, only presume 'non-existence' for definite claims of existence. even philosophical solipsism recognizes the being of one entity (sorensen, 2003). a more fashionable way to presume nothingness, it is argued, is to correlate it with the simple and the simple with the likely. but then victor hugo (1862, 439), some say, prevents any nihilistic philosophy when he opines that, "everything is something. nothing is nothing". he demonstrates the truth of "universal affirmation" instead of "universal negation" (sorensen, 2003). even as neither the simplistic disposition to say no all the time nor the uncritical rule to affirm always makes definitely plausible metaphysics, yet the probability that there's something rather than that there's nothing does indeed count. when heidegger held that the discourse in metaphysics on being was "at the same level as the question of the nothing," he seemed to be echoing our folk psychology. as if in tone with the fact of diversity of the human reality, non philosophers frequently, and with ease too, hear, see, do and say nothing, while philosophers are yet to feel at ease in the presence of this perplexity of a thing. the question of nothingness has continued with an overbearing insistence over the centuries to prove a rough-tough problem. parmenides (510 b.c): besought by an enigmatic nothingness parmenides finds himself declaring that it is an impossibility to talk of what is not. the illogicality of this position, people say, is self-evident. for, even in the very act of making his assertion, one finds him already deep in the discussion of the avowed impossibility. commenting on this parmenidean grave inconsistency, heath observes that he, “broke his own rule in the act of stating it, and deduced himself into a world where all that ever happened was nothing (heath, 1972, 524). the parmenidean position is at best a rendering simplistic of what is and ought to be complex, and an abysmal show of a high-level-ignorance. plato (428/27-348/47 b.c): in plato we find a reawakening and restoration of hopes concerning the nothing” question. for, forming the inverse of the parmenidean axiom, plato assures philosophers that whatever they can discover to discuss must have, as it were, to be an existent. logicians: for the logicians, nothing does not mean a thing: it is a non-sense, being nonsensical. nothing is neither a thing nor the name of a thing, it is but a clever device of identifying anything as not being something else. nothing for them means “not-anything” (heath, 1972, 524). a logical positivist – rudolf carnap, for instance, referred to heidagger’s deliberations on nothingness as metaphysical pseudo-statements (carnap, 1959, 69). 217 nonetheless, the logicians stumple over all this gimmicks when confronted and asked to demonstrate that nothing does not signify or indicate a thing. the human approach to nothingness is two dimensional; those who recognize its reality, and those who see the concept as absurd, senseless and meaningless. those who are sympathetic with the concept are two-fold. on the one hand are those who have the knowledge of nothingness, and profess a "phenomenological acquaintance" with non-existent things. on the other hand are those who being fearful of non-being, and maintaining that “nothing is but what is not” enter into "dialectical encounter" with voidness and nonexistence (heath, 1972, 524). for the first group nothing is a reality, and is experienced positively in the practical order of experience. we all enjoy an overwhelming acquaintance with and have, stored up in our word banks, what somebody terms fragments of nothingness, namely, gaps, absences, holes. we also, in our quest for vacancies and voids, go to great lengths in advertising them in our dailies. and many a time these vacancies attract huge sums of money. but one may rightly ask: how can a space (nothing in miniature) be sold if it were not something in the first place? ours then is a world peopled with experiential nothings’ and blanks, which incessantly magnetize our attention and, therefore merit our collective and official approbation. metaphysicians ranging from pythagoras to pascal, from hegel and his ‘disciples’ to heidegger, tillich and sartre, are agreed on the idea of unity in diversity regarding the relation of being and nothing. nevertheless, ayer and carnap also observe a two-man consensus, viz., the decision to find difficulty in appreciating the fact of “nothing” as an existential reality. (heath, 1972, 525). some prominent figures in the philosophy of the nothing now let us consider some key figures in the philosophy of the nothing: hegel (1770 – 1831), bergson (1859 – 1941), heidegger (1889 – 1976), and sartre a little bit more elaborately. hegelian nothingness nothingness is, in truth, a hegelian concept. the discussion of the nothing occupies a sizeable portion of one of his philosophical treatises, namely, the science of logic. hegel defines the nothing as what is totally equal with itself, completely empty, devoid of any "determination and content", what is in itself not differentiated (hegel, 1969, 82). stressing the meaningfulness of cogitating nothingness just as one would contemplate and perceive being by simple inspection and direct apprehension, hegel argues that if we could figure (imagine) nothing, talk of it, and apprehend it in thought, it will then follow as a logical consequence, that nothing exists. it has its existence in our imagining, talking, and “thinking” (hegel, 1969, 82). in another vein, hegel believes that being and nothing are in constant and perpetual tension with each other. and so, in a manner characteristic and axiomatic of his dialectics he declares that the truthfulness, candour, and ingenuity of being and nothing consists in their 218 confluence or over-flowing-into-each-other, (stace, 1955, 136) saying that “nothing is usually opposed to something” (hegel, 1969, 83). denying the parmenidean “being is, non-being is not”, and commenting on the heraclitian position, hegel credits to heraclitus the maximum that being exists as little as nothing exists. he also associates with heraclitus the view that "all flows," that is to say that "all is a becoming” (hegel, 1969, 83). he also rejects the metaphysical principle which holds that, ‘ex nihilo nihil fit (out of nothing, nothing comes), arguing that it fails to explain the obvious fact of becoming with its unequivocal implication that the nothing rather than continue to reside as nothing metamorphoses into being. he accuses those who maintain that being is simply being, and nothing is flatly nothing of implicityly conceding to the abstract patheism of spinoza and the eleatics. hegel sees so much unity and togetherness between being and nothing that he finds, “no where in heaven or on earth…anything which does not contain within itself both being and nothing” (hegel, 1969, 83). thus the stage is set, the ground properly cleared for hegel’s definitive stance that being and non-being are two abstractions; the synthtesis gives rise to concrete being. suffice this to say that being has its origin in nothingness. however, the glory of hegel in the discussion of the problem of nothingness lies in his statement that “mind is the negative” (sartre, 1965, 102). bergsonian nothingness henry bergson indicts philosophers for hardly contemplating the nothing. nonetheless, the nothing is the covert fountain/impulse, the "invisible mover of philosophical thinking" (bergson, 1944, 299). ihe conceives the ‘nothing’ as identical with the idea of “everything”. what this means in effect is that the idea of “nothing” as the idea of “all” is omnipresent and permeates everything. he asserts that men talk of void, emptiness or nothingness only when, in reality, they have before them the presence of another object which they did not intend to encounter at that specific place and moment, but which contrary to their expectation has displaced the object of their interest. you send a boy, for instance, to a dinning table, equipped and decorated with a variety of eating utensils, to fetch you a spoon; he returns a minute later and reports: “i found nothing”. yes indeed, he “found nothing”, but did he not encounter a lot of items such as tea cups, table knives? he could not see a thing though he encountered numerous things. the reason is selfevident. because he does not find the object of interest, he reduces everything to nothing. such is the nature of our problem with nothingness. it is also the genius of bergson to have clarified, as it were, the hitherto existing false notion of disorder. we now know that the idea of disorder does not connote the non-existence of all order. it stands rather for the presence of one of the ‘two orders’’ (bergson, 1944, 289) which falls short of satisfying our interest, taste or demand. 219 bergson goes on to explain also that the idea of affirming or believing that one perceives real absences is untrue. he argues that what is perceived can only be something. absences are never perceived. one talks of absences only in respect to the "falsification of (ones) ‘eventual expectation’ (bergson, 1944, 306). such is the epistemological purity and veracity of man’s claims regarding absences, vacuosness and nullity. however our consolation is that it is already axiomatic in scientific circles that nature abhors vacuum. exposing further the naivety and shallowness of people’s opinion of emptiness, bergson says: "the conception of a void arises here when consciousness lagging behind himself, remains attached to the recollection of an old state when another state is already present" (bergson, 1944, 306). moreover, bergson holds a conception of negation to the effect that all negation leads to affirmation. negation affirms indirectly. again, negation serves a corrective and preventive purpose. it is utilized to correct and keep one from falling into error. it is of a ‘pedagogical and social character’ (bergson, 1944, 321). for bergson, then ‘nought’, ‘void’ and negation would not, strictly speaking, exist. even negation, as we have seen already, subsumes into affirmation. it is the position of bergson too that the idea of the nothing does not imply the annihilation of all things (bergson, 1944, 324). he also maintains in a somewhat different context that it is illusory to think of nothing as the substratum or receptacle of something. the idea of nothing does not imply the super-addition of being to it. the view that being is superimposed on nothing does not hold water. heideggerian nothingness in heidegger das nichts (the nothing) becomes the "negation of the totality of beings; it is non-being pure and simple’’ (heidegger, 1978, 99). here we see the world suspended in nothingness. this is what he says of his dasein: ‘dasein means: being held out into the nothing’ (heidegger, 1978, 106). the human attitudes of remorse, hate, defence, involve conscious perceptions, in one way or the other, of nothingness. but, more specifically nothingness is confronted and apprehended in angst (anguish, dread). angst is the discovery of this untiring anihilation. angst is ones feeling or realization of one’s contingency. one becomes what one is not through dread. heidegger confirms this when he rhetorically asks: "if the nothing is originally disclosed only in anguish, then must we not hover in this anxiety constantly in order to be able to exist at all" (heidegger, 1978, 106). the upshot of all this is that dasein (man considered from an ontological viewpoint) is led to ask, ‘how does it happen that there is something rather than nothing’ (sartre, 1965, 101). this question of man’s coming to grips with his nothingness in anxiety is more vividly expressed in the following words of desan, through dread our being emerges surrounded by non-being’’ (desan, 1954, 17). in the discussion of nothingness, heidegger has also an additional point credited to him for not stumbling into the hegelian error of carving out a being from non-being. ‘the nothing is 220 neither an object nor any being at all’’ (heidegger, 1978, 106). being and nothingness are identified as one. nothingness is a reality so much so that even to question its being is to affirm implicitly its existence. hence heidegger writes, ‘in our asking, we posit the nothing in advance as something that 'is’ such and such, we posit it as a being (heidegger, 1978, 98). everything erupts, emanates, and generates from nothingness, and subsequently disintegrates into it (sartre, 1943,12). heidegger propounds the principle that ‘ex nihilo omne ens qua ens fit’ (heidegger, 1978,110). that is to say, from the nothing all beings as beings come to be. this is his interpretation of the traditional ‘ex nihilo, nihil fit’ (from nothing, nothing comes) a view christian philosophy also throws over-board. heidegger also reasons that should metaphysics discuss being, then it has a duty too towards the discourse and examination of nothingness, for nothingness is a question fundamentally proper to metaphysics (heidegger, 1978,111). in truth, it encompasses metaphysics in globo. science too should take the question of nothingness seriously; for it is because there is nothing that beings are capable of being made objects of research and exploration (heidegger, 1978, 111). it might be interesting to observe too that it is not man alone who relates to and contends with nothingness. other beings are not exempt from this relational framework (stumpf, 1977, 484). moreover, nothingness is not bereft of nihilation, infact it nihilates itself. sartre’s critique of the hegelian and heideggerian senses of nothingness sartre accuses both hegel and heidegger of not treating the problem of nothingness sufficiently and adequately. both display an appreciable recognition of a negating capacity or the ‘negative’ in the scheme of things. yet, regrettable there is hardly any ‘concern to ground this activity upon a negative being" (sartre, 1965, 103). against heidegger, sartre sees no rationale in asserting that nothingness grounds negation, if this will merely lead us to putting forward a theory of non-being which in the ultimate analysis “ separate nothingness from all concrete negation’ (sartre, 1965, 103). similarly, he holds that the fault of hegel lies in his preserving a being for non-being. he charges heidegger also of presenting his dasein in positive terminologies, with its attendant character of covering up or veiling inherent negations. he, in contrast to heidegger, appreciates hegel’s ‘mind is the negative’. however, he tongue-lashes hegel for not demonstrating, for the sake of clarity and proper elucidation, how negativity can be the structure of being of the mind. he asks hegel: ‘what must mind be in order to be able to constitute itself as negative?’ (sartre, 1965, 103). further, sartre maintains, against heidegger, that ‘’nothing” should not be viewed as the ground of something. instead, he argues that, "not only that being has a logical precedence over nothingness but also that it is from being that nothingness derives its efficacy" (sartre, 1943, 49). 221 likewise, he finds it hard to make out how nothingness after shutting in and enclosing being in all sides could at the same moment be ejected from being. it is indeed difficult to reconcile heidegger’s identification of nothingness with being, and his position that being reveals itself only in dread, as well as that everything crumbles into being. unable to effect this reconciliation sartre inquires: "how can one say that it is solely through anguish that being reveals itself, and that it is into being that everything may collapse” (sartre, 1943, 12). perhaps, bergson, rather than heidegger and hegel, was more exhaustive in the consideration of nothingness. agreeing with bergson, sartre argues that nothingness is not in things; for, in the world there is no vacuum. the nothing is, rather, situated in human consciousness. again, michael novak, in his introductory note to thielicke’s nihilism, trying to give nothingness a more positive meaning than is found in heidegger's sense, argues that nothingness emenates from man’s ability to question reality, and as such should be seen in a more positive light. he writes: “but if the experience of nothingness is rooted in human capacity for questioning, and arises when that experience is exercised and grows strong, then that experience is not a sign of illness but of health, not of decline but of growth, not of aberration but of maturity” (sartre, 1943, 5). sartrean nothingness sartre maintains that the existence of the human being is a dilemma where we exist, whilst we are alive, in an altogether state of not being anything that enables free consciousness. still concurrently, in the physical world, we are compelled to follow through with unceasing conscious determinations. this polarity brings about anguish, considering that choice or subjectivity amounts to a limitation of our freedom amidst an unrestrained variety of thoughts. ensuingly, we strive to escape our anguish using "action-oriented constructions," notably, "escapes, visualizations, or visions" (dreams, for instance) targeted at, providing us a route to, some "meaningful end, such as necessity, destiny, determinism (god)" (wikipedia, 2018) in this way, we commonly become subliminal actors, unintentionally taking up roles to accomplish the destinies of our selected characters, such as, chauvinists, feminists, liberalists. thus, our conscious options (that steer us to unconscious behaviours) vitiate our intellectual autonomy. still we are circumscribed by the constrained and material world that continuously requires to carry out undertakings. our dreams of accomplishing our undertakings fail, due to our inevitable inability to close the gap between our pure and spontaneous thoughts and excessively limiting actions; the void at the middle of what is and what is not that is simultaneous and coexistent with the self. in our misplaced seriousness we treat societal values as "transcendent givens" free from "human subjectivity". we only break free from our pursuits when we accomplish them. we fulfill this meticulously by enforcing order in the nothing. when we are of a serious nature we are torn between two contrasting poles of seeking to play roles and of freeing ourselves from our roles to chart new pathways (wikipedia, 2018). in the face of the nothing, that which is shrinks and decreases, because consciousness is predicated more on impulse and reflex than on firm and balanced seriousness. 222 why do we have something rather than nothing given that any epistemological proposition, existential claim, or metaphysical assertion (any posting of being, any stating of what there is) implies the being of someone making the proposition or assertion, it is a herculean task to prove that 'there is nothing'. so it's difficult to establish why we should be genuinely, realistically, and justifiably looking for nothing instead of something. conceding the creation of the world by an omnipotent unmoved mover, aristotleans recognize the possible existence of a void. aristotle posits the being of a "unique center of the universe," towards which all movements head, taking their natural positions. there are no collisions because there is only one earth. a majority of thinkers acknowledge aristotle's unique cosmic center. is nothing something? stephen mumford (2012) asks if nothing is something. he probes into "nothings and absences." he asks whether entities have negative and positive properties. conceding that our universe contains negative and positive facts, bertrand russell (1985), explains that negative facts explain negative truths. some define nothing as the absence of something, the inverse of everything, and the antithesis of what there is. some others say that the nothing does not exist, that being is the only reality there is, and that whatever there is is positive do we have an empty world? we perceive actual states of affairs as necessary instead of contingent. this is why science incapable of accounting for necessary truths, as immanuel kant notes. it does seem more plausible to admit that we have necessary origins. the combination of sperm and egg that gave rise to socrates could not have been different from that from which he actually originated (saul kripke (1990, 112-113). so, one is essentially a man or a woman, as one is essentially a human being. the idea of possible worlds hardly bothered the majority of existentialists, some of whom saw the nothing as some sort of force that impeded an object's being. some say that allowing a central hole in the being of things will implicitly affords us some insight about all there are. in a whole universe of being, they argue, one or two of the things that are not, can give us some hint of the things there are. some philosophers subscribe to an a priori proof of the being of god that doubles as an account of why there is something. if there is god, they argue, then there is something, given that god is something (sorensen, 2003). non-existent things and existent things supporting the 'intuitive primacy of positive truths,' henri bergson maintained that the positive nature of reality pre-empted nothingness (sorensen, 2017). if we claim that there is nothing, it is argued, we would be claiming a contingent and negative fact. but for this claim to count it would need some grounding on some positive 223 reality. that positive reality in turn would guarantee the existence of something rather than nothing. even as aristotle conceded the existence of necessary truths, he held that to exist abstract entities required grounding on concrete ones. although he regarded the existence of some individuals as a necessity, he place the existence of any particular individual under contingency. in his tractatus, ludwig wittgenstein (1921) opined that a world was a 'totality of facts.' considering that any fact needed at minimum an object, a universe devoid of objects would be a universe devoid of facts. yet a world devoid of facts would be a contradiction in terms. this demonstrates the impossibility of an empty world. aristotle claims existential imports for 'universal generalizations'. the existence of gods are implied and implicated when we say that gods are mortal. logicians deny the being of empty worlds. but they do not want their rejection of empty worlds to be exploited for metaphysical purposes. wanting ontologica neutrality, they refuse to be dragged into metaphysical disputations. they feel logic should maintain some measure of neutrality in the being of anything (russell 1919, 203). leibniz and some others not only deny total emptiness but also the possibility of some measure of emptiness. leibniz argues that the actual universe has something instead of nothing, since the actual universe is the utmost of the possible universe of worlds, and something is more desirable than nothing. and, given that more is preferable to less, the actual world is devoid of vacuums. since "void is nothing, and nothing cannot be," many philosophers since melissus have rejected the idea of a void that existed in a way that an object would exist. they see the existence of a vacuum as contradictory (guthrie 1965, 104 ). is there really nothing? some philosophers concede the existence of non-existent, mind-independent, entities. they are convinced that non-existent things exist, because we think about, talk about, and make references to things we say do not exist. if these things did not exist, they argue, we wouldn't be talking about them, thinking about them, and referring to them. some others moderately hold that there are such things, but they do not exist (garrett, 2011, 35). parmenides denies that not-being (to mē eon), absolute nothing, exists. arguing that as a total negation of being, one can neither know nor say not being (to mē eon), and that it can never be. only being is, he declares, not-being is not. and being is of necessity "one, unique, unborn, indestructible, and immovable" (yamini chauhan, nov. 08, 2010). the greek atomists, responding to the parmenideans, posit the being of absolute not-being and total void (the greek kenon) (yamini chauhan, nov. 08, 2010). they hold that the 224 universe is made up of simple and indivisible entities that move around in empty space. they affirm the being of void to account for experiential phenomena like movement. aristotle, on the contrary, disagrees that void can account for the movement of things. objects need a mover to push or pull them into movement. for well over one thousand five hundred years, thinkers agreed with aristotle's disproof of void. in 1277 the catholic church denounced aristotle's disproof of void and encouraged academics to permit the likelihood of the existence of vacuum. this allowed the omnipotent god. god could have preferred creating the universe differently: in one way or the other. this implies that a vacuum is possible. besides, the biblical creation account states that god created the world ex nihilo (out of nothing) (genesis 1:1). the pressupposition in greek philosophy was not that creation came from nothing. instead, greek philosophers assumed that creation was out of a more basic entity. if things were destroyed, it was assumed they dissolved into a more primitive entity. in ancient chinese philosophy, taoism and confucianism taught that creation was from some formlessness rather than from the nothing (jeeloo liu, 2014) creation out of nothing presupposes the possibility of total nothingness. this in turn implies that there can be some nothingness. thus christians had a motive to first establish the possibility of a little nothingness. blaise pascal (1966, 75) conducted an experiment and concluded that it couldn't be doubted that there was a vacuum. in this way he dismissed the objections of hero of alexandria. descartes held that bodies were extended and so there was no need for void. newton propounded a universal law of gravity that implied subtle substances all over the cosmos. einstein, the physicist, put forward a relativity theory that gave a relational account of space. his theory argued that there wouldn't be space, if we hadn't objects. thus, we needed to abstract space to ground the objective world. vacuum couldn't be empty if it had energy and could be converted to mass. scientists celebrate the finding that vacuums are not void. and some argue that this discovery settles the question, why there is being rather than non-being. among scholars who argue this way include stephen hawking and leonard mlodinow (2010, 180), frank wilczek (1980), and lawrence krauss (2012). the nothing and phenomenology blaise paschal (1669) conceptualized the significance of non-being to the human condition. he discovered that a human being had a distinctive point of view on his finitude. in his pensées, blaise paschal (1669) showed how we grasp the infinite and yet choose evil over goodness. our choice makes us insignificant in a vast space and immense eternity. our 225 concern should be how to dwell between the two depths of infinity and nothingness. in nature, man is a not anything when set side by side with infinity; he is everything when juxtaposed with the not-being. he is at the middle of the not-anything and the everything. man's inability to understand extremities conceals the originations and the ends of the the things there are from him. the human being is also ill-equipped to apprehend the not-anything out of which he was fashioned, and the incomprehensible infinity into which he evaporates (blaise paschal, 1669, sect. ii, 72). blaise paschal relates the nothing to the insignificant and the meaningless. the romantic scholars heightened blaise paschal's identification of the nothing with the insignificant and the meaningless. downplaying the salvation economy, romantic scholarship attempted to understand nature, without the intervention of human reason (sorensen, 2017) immanuel kant worsened the god-issue when he placed god-matters in the oblivion of the noumenon, accessible only to practical faith, and not to theoretical reason responding to the question, why is there something rather than nothing, schopenhauer (1819) an atheist, argues that the world is a "meaningless accident," contrary to the frantic efforts of rationalism and religion to convince that it has some design. whenever we are astonished that anything exists it is an indication that we are aware that the cosmos is chancy, he argues (sorensen, 2017) william james argues that not only that it is a mystery that anything exists, but that a certain thing exists is also a wonder (james, 1929, 39). ludwig wittgenstein (1921) regards the question, why is there something rather than nothing as our instinctive communication of our sense of awe at the existence of things. the question prompts to conceive of the universe as a wonder. it has an emotive sense much more than a cognitive one (wittgenstein,1921). phenomenologists accept schopenhauer's (1819)understanding that the emotional bears some metaphysical insight. the nothing and existentialism existentialists give elaborate accounts of the sense of awe elicited by the possibility of being and nothing. investigating the phenomenon of dread, søren kierkegaard (1844) concludes that the nothing crops up in our consciousness through our emotions and moods. as an intentional state the emotional is always object-directed. if one is happy, there must be something about which one is happy. martin heidegger (1959 & 1962) notes some motivating factors behind our tendency to loathe the existential import of our "emotional encounter" with the nothing. it gives us an intuition into the possibility that our death is nothing and our existence is groundless. thus heidegger denies us the hope that recognizing and accepting that our existence lacks roots could save meaning from the disarray of nothingness. human freedom, heidegger suggests, 226 has its roots in the nothing. our idea of logical negation has also its origination from our experience of nothingness. this affords the human being a privileged point of view vis-à-vis the animal. some existentialist philosophers view the nothing as some sort of constraint that obstructs the being of an object. leibniz was concerned that when we drive the bias in metaphysics for the simple to its logical conclusion we could get the disconcerting conjecture that there is nothing. empiricists, hume of or one, dismiss the view that reason alone can prove the being of any existent thing. rationalists proffer a priori proofs of the existence of god that double as an account of why there is something. existentialists approve of the rigor of rationalist thought, but are displeased that their avowed standards are hardly followed through. existentialism recognizes the disconcerting contrast between how we expect the real world to conduct itself and how it does actually behave. this recognition of nature's absurd behaviours makes existentialism more receptive of the paradoxical than rationalism. while existentialism see nature's paradoxical manifestations as privileged openings to adjust "unrealistic hopes," rationalism sees them as challenging reason's authority. conclusion with all the controversy surrounding the nothing, people want a definite answer to the question whether being can come from non-being or not; if existent things can come from non-existent things or not; whether something can come from nothing or not. to maintain that what is cannot come from what is not will not even yield the results those who reject aristotle's unmoved mover (or the christian creator) are seeking. if something cannot originate from nothing, then it could either be that the originary real life itself is everlasting, or it arose from some core reality that exists in eternity. the lone possibility for our current real world to have ultimate origin is when what is emerges from what is not. if this is not the case, then every existing thing would stand in need of a pre-existent thing; this would necessitate that some entity must have eternally been in existence. again, even as anxiety uncovers the nothing, as phenomenology and existentialism show, yet metaphysicians who inquire into why there should be something rather than nothing, usually end up in confusion. still the issue seems to pull through in any test for being simply the product of some unsureness or obscurity (sorensen, 2017). bibliography 1. bergson, h. creative evolution, trans. aurthur mitchell, new york: 2. carnap, r. the elimination of metaphysics, in a.j. ayer ed. logical technology grencoe; free press, 1959, 69 3. desan, w, the tragic finale, cambridge: harvard university press, 1954. 227 4. chen, ellen marie, 1969, “ nothingness and the mother principle in early chinese taoism” , international philosophical quarterly, 9: 391– 405. 5. garrett, brian, 2011, what is this thing called metaphysics?, routledge, new york. 6. guthrie, w. k. c., 1965, a history of greek philosophy (volume 2), cambridge: cambridge university press. 7. hugo, victor, 1862, les misérables, translated by charles wilbour, new york: random house. 8. heath, p. l., “ nothing” the encyclopedia of philosophy, vols. 5 & 6, paul edwards ed., new york: macmillan publishing company inc., 1972, 524-525. 9. hegel, science of logic, trans. a.v. miller, london; george allen & unwin ltd., 1969, 82 10. heidegger, m. basic writings, 2nd ed. ed. david krell; london, rouledge and kegan paul 1978, 99 11. heidegger, martin, 1959, introduction to metaphysics, trans. r. manheim. new haven: yale university press. 12. heidegger, martin, 1962, being and time, trans. j. macquarrie and e. robinson, new york: harper & row. 13. james, william, 1882, “ on some hegelisms” , mind, 7: 186– 208. 14. james, william, 1911, some problems of philosophy new york: longmans, green and co. 15. kierkegaard, søren (1944) the concept of dread translated by walter lowie, princeton, new jersey: princeton university press. 16. liu, jeeloo, 2014, “ was there something in nothingness? the debate on the primordial state between daoism and neo-confucianism” , in nothingness in asian philosophy, jeeloo liu and douglas berger (eds.), london: routledge press, 181– 196. 17. mumford, stephen, metaphysics: a very short introduction, oxford university press, 2012. 18. pascal, blaise, 1669, pensées, trans. w. f. trotter, the harvard classics, volume xcviii, part 1, new york: p. f. collier & sons, 1909– 14. 19. russell, bertrand, 1919, introduction to mathematical philosophy, london: george allen and unwin. 20. russell, bertrand, 1985, the philosophy of logical atomism, la salle, illinois: open court. 228 21. sartre, being and nothingness, new york, 1943, 49 22. sartre, jean paul, 1969, being and nothingness, trans. h. e. barnes, new york: washington square press. 23. sartre, j.p. essay in existentialism, ed. wade baskin, new york: the citacel press, 1965, 102 24. schopenhauer, arthur, 1819, the world as will and representation (volume 2), e. f. j. payne (trans.), colorado: the falcon wing press, 1958. 25. sorensen, roy, "nothingness", the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (fall 2017 edition), edward n. zalta (ed.), url =<https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/nothingness/>. 26. stace, w.t the philosophy of hegel, u.s.a: dover publications inc. 1955, 27. stumpf s.e. philosophy history and problems, new you mcgraw, inc., 1977, 484 27. thielicks, h. nihilism, new york, 1961, 5 28. 29.wikipedia,2018,beingandnothingness, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/being_and_nothingness 29. 30. wittgenstein, ludwig, 1921, tractatus logico-philosophicus, d. f. pears and b. f. mcguinness (trans.), new york: humanities press, originally published in 1961. 30. 31 yamini chauhan, nov. 08, 2010, encyclopedia britannica. volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 43 social media's role in shaping contemporary news discourse on the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state ajibo, chioma blessing c. c. okpoko mass communication department, faculty of arts. university of nigeria nsukka ajibochioma123@gmail.com abstract this study investigates the impact of social media on the discourse surrounding the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state. the main objective is to understand how social media influences public perception and discourse during critical political events. employing the agenda-setting theory and social identity theory, the study explores the agenda-setting function of social media and its role in reinforcing existing beliefs, polarization, and shaping opinions. the methodology involves a multifaceted approach comprising social media content analysis, sentiment analysis, and surveys. data collection spans platforms like facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, and blogs. statistical analyses and clustering techniques are employed to validate hypotheses regarding the frequency of discussions, polarization of opinions, and exposure to diverse viewpoints. the results reveal a strong correlation between social media discussions' frequency and the prominence of specific allegations related to the election cases, validating the influence of social media in agendasetting. sentiment analysis highlights polarization within discourse, showcasing divergent viewpoints on the legitimacy of the election outcome. survey findings indicate the reinforcement of existing beliefs among users, restricting exposure to diverse perspectives. the study concludes that social media significantly shapes public discourse during critical events, emphasizing the need for interventions. recommendations include media literacy programs, platform regulations for balanced content exposure, promotion of diverse content, and advocating for responsible social media usage. these recommendations aim to foster a healthier online discourse, encourage informed opinions, and enhance democratic participation while mitigating the negative impacts of social media on public perception and discourse. keywords: social media, social identity, news discourse, 2023 election. introduction understanding the impact of social media on the discourse surrounding significant events like the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state is critical in today's digitally connected world. social media platforms have become pervasive spaces where news is disseminated, opinions are formed, and discussions unfold, thus significantly influencing public perception and discourse on various matters, including political events (karimi & fox, 2023). mailto:ajibochioma123@gmail.com 44 in the last decade, social media's role in shaping news consumption and public opinion has been extensively studied. its influence on political events has been a subject of interest for researchers globally. as indicated by rashkevych and bezeiko (2023), social media platforms serve as arenas for political discussion, enabling citizens to engage with news and information, which can subsequently impact their perceptions of political events. the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state have generated a lot of controversy and debate among the stakeholders and the public. the cases involve allegations of electoral malpractices, irregularities, and violence that marred the conduct and outcome of the governorship and state assembly elections in some parts of the state. according to the election petition tribunal in enugu state, it received 46 petitions from aggrieved candidates in the 2023 gubernatorial and house of assembly elections in the state. some of the petitions challenged the validity of the nomination, qualification, and return of some of the candidates, while others claimed that there was overvoting, falsification of results, exclusion of results, non-recording of results, and non-conduct of elections in some polling units. one of the most prominent cases was the governorship election petition that pitted chijioke edeoga of the labour party (lp), against peter mbah of the peoples democratic party (pdp), who was declared the winner by the independent national electoral commission (inec). edeoga alleged that there was overvoting in about 15 polling centres in owo and ugbawka in nkanu east local government area of the state, and that mbah was not validly nominated by his party. he also claimed that mbah forged his name and certificate, and that he was not qualified to contest the election. he prayed the tribunal to nullify mbah's election and declare him the winner or order a fresh election (the guardian nigeria news, 2020, november 23). however, the supreme court dismissed the appeal filed by edeoga and his party as incompetent and affirmed mbah's election as enugu state governor. the apex court held that edeoga and his party filed an invalid brief of argument, and that they failed to prove their allegations beyond reasonable doubt. the court also held that mbah was validly nominated by his party, and that there was no evidence of forgery or falsification of his name or certificate. the governorship election petition case in enugu state is one of the examples of how social media played a role in shaping contemporary news discourse on the 2023 election petition cases in the state. social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, instagram, whatsapp, youtube, and blogs were used by various actors and stakeholders to disseminate 45 information, opinions, analysis, commentary, and propaganda on the cases (charlesworth, 2023). social media also provided a space for public engagement, participation, mobilization, and feedback on the cases. some of the benefits of social media in this regard include enhancing transparency, accountability, awareness, education, and civic engagement on electoral matters (wang, 2023). however, some of the challenges of social media include spreading misinformation, disinformation, fake news, hate speech, incitement, polarization, and violence on electoral matters (graham, 2023). research by kyianytsia (2023) highlights that social media platforms often amplify specific narratives and viewpoints due to their algorithmic structures and the nature of user engagement. this amplification effect can contribute to the polarization of opinions and the spread of misinformation or disinformation, which might influence public perceptions (šelmić, 2023) of the election petition cases in enugu state. moreover, the concept of "echo chambers" and "filter bubbles" on social media, as described by barroso (2023) suggests that users are often exposed to information that aligns with their existing beliefs, limiting exposure to diverse viewpoints. this phenomenon can lead to a reinforcement of existing opinions rather than fostering a balanced and nuanced understanding of the election petition cases. the speed and reach of information dissemination on social media are unprecedented, enabling the rapid spread of both accurate and misleading information. this aligns with the findings of selnes (2023), who studied the spread of false news on twitter and concluded that false information spreads faster and more broadly than true information. furthermore, the role of social media influencers and opinion leaders in shaping public discourse cannot be underestimated. research by marukhovskа-kartunova et. al. (2023) indicates that influencers on platforms like twitter and facebook wield significant power in shaping public opinion and can play a pivotal role in framing the narrative around political events. the enugu state election petition cases represent a prime opportunity to examine how social media influencers, ordinary users, and traditional news outlets interact in shaping the narrative. understanding the dynamics between these entities and their influence on public perception is crucial for comprehending the evolving landscape of news consumption and its implications for democracy and governance (khanjani, 2023). 46 in conclusion, the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state provide a significant backdrop for investigating the influence of social media on news discourse. the existing literature highlights the potential for social media platforms to shape public opinion, spread misinformation, and influence perceptions, emphasizing the importance of studying their impact on the discussions surrounding these critical political events. theoretical framework: agenda-setting theory: the agenda-setting theory, articulated by mccombs and shaw in the 1960s, posits that the media doesn't instruct individuals what to think but rather shapes what they think about by highlighting certain topics over others. this theory emphasizes the media's influential role in setting the public agenda, determining the salience and prominence of issues within public discourse. in the context of the enugu state election petition cases and social media's impact, this theory elucidates how social media platforms serve as influential agents in shaping the narrative around these cases. through algorithms, content curation, and user engagement mechanisms, social media channels contribute significantly to determining which aspects of the election petition cases gain traction, visibility, and emphasis in the public eye. therefore, the theory's application in this study involves analyzing how social media platforms prioritize, amplify, or downplay specific allegations, claims, or narratives related to electoral malpractices, thereby influencing public perception and discourse regarding the legitimacy of the election outcomes. social media's role in shaping the agenda in the enugu state election petition cases can be observed through the prominence given to certain allegations or claims. the theory explains how these platforms, through their algorithms and user engagement patterns, highlight particular aspects of the cases, influencing what users see and discuss. for instance, allegations of overvoting or forgery might receive heightened attention due to increased discussions or shares, making them more salient in public discourse. moreover, the theory helps analyze how social media's amplification of specific narratives contributes to the overall public perception of the election outcomes, potentially swaying opinions or reinforcing beliefs. consequently, by examining the agenda-setting function of social media in this context, it becomes evident how these platforms wield significant influence in framing and directing the conversation surrounding the enugu state election petition cases, ultimately impacting public understanding and opinions about these critical political events. 47 social identity theory: the social identity theory, developed by tajfel and turner, underscores how individuals' self-concept and identity are shaped by their membership in social groups. it posits that people categorize themselves and others into groups, leading to in-group favoritism and out-group bias. in the context of the enugu state election petition cases and social media's influence, this theory elucidates how social media platforms foster the formation and reinforcement of social identities and group affiliations. through the creation of echo chambers and filter bubbles, social media tends to expose users primarily to information that aligns with their existing beliefs, reinforcing group identities and biases. this phenomenon restricts exposure to diverse viewpoints, contributing to the polarization of opinions regarding the legitimacy of the election outcomes, as individuals gravitate toward information that validates their group's stance. the application of social identity theory in this study involves analyzing how social media platforms facilitate the reinforcement of existing beliefs and affiliations among users regarding the election petition cases. these platforms create virtual spaces where individuals engage with like-minded others, fostering a sense of belonging and reinforcing group identities based on political affiliations or perspectives on the cases. moreover, the theory aids in understanding how social media's tendency to limit exposure to diverse viewpoints can exacerbate divisions and polarization within the discourse on these cases. by examining the impact of social media on reinforcing group identities and its implications for shaping opinions and attitudes toward the election petition cases, this theory illuminates the role of these platforms in influencing individual perceptions and collective attitudes in the context of a politically charged event like these cases in enugu state. hypotheses: h1: there is a significant correlation between the frequency of social media discussions on the enugu state election petition cases and the emphasis on specific allegations or claims related to electoral malpractices. h2: social media discussions about the enugu state election petition cases significantly contributed to the polarization of public opinion regarding the legitimacy of the election outcome. 48 h3: users' exposure to social media content about the election petition cases in enugu state will correlate positively with reinforcing existing beliefs and opinions rather than fostering diverse viewpoints. testing the hypotheses: hypothesis one test results: the test conducted to assess hypothesis two aimed to establish a correlation between the frequency of discussions on social media concerning the enugu state election petition cases and the emphasis placed on specific allegations or claims related to electoral malpractices. through comprehensive analysis of social media content, the findings indicated a robust and statistically significant correlation between the frequency of discussions and the prominence of certain allegations. the more frequently discussed allegations, such as claims of overvoting or falsification of results, were found to be markedly emphasized in the overall discourse. this outcome suggests that the prevalence and repetition of specific claims or allegations on social media platforms directly contributed to their heightened importance and visibility within the public discourse surrounding the election petition cases in enugu state. the test results validate hypothesis 1, emphasizing the influential role of social media in amplifying and prioritizing particular aspects of the cases, thereby shaping the focus and salience of discussions among users and influencing public perception regarding the issues at hand. hypothesis two test results: the examination of hypothesis two aimed to evaluate whether social media discussions regarding the enugu state election petition cases significantly contributed to the polarization of public opinion concerning the legitimacy of the election outcome. conducting sentiment analysis across social media platforms unveiled compelling evidence supporting this hypothesis. the analysis revealed a discernible polarization within the discourse, indicating that discussions on social media platforms indeed played a substantial role in shaping divergent viewpoints regarding the election's legitimacy. the sentiment clustering and divergence observed in the discourse showcased a clear split in public opinion, with groups expressing starkly different perspectives on the credibility of the election outcome. this outcome underscores the influential role of social media in fostering polarization by 49 amplifying contrasting opinions and viewpoints, potentially contributing to the fracturing of consensus regarding the legitimacy of the election petition cases in enugu state. hypothesis three test results: the evaluation of hypothesis three focused on examining users' exposure to social media content related to the enugu state election petition cases and its correlation with reinforcing existing beliefs rather than fostering diverse viewpoints. through a comprehensive survey administered to social media users, the findings provided robust support for the hypothesis. the survey results indicated a notable trend wherein users were more frequently exposed to content aligning with their pre-existing beliefs and perspectives on the election petition cases. moreover, the survey highlighted a reluctance or limited willingness among users to engage with diverse viewpoints or dissenting opinions, reinforcing the echo chamber effect within social media platforms. this outcome underscores the profound impact of social media in perpetuating ideological reinforcement, where users tend to seek and engage with information that confirms their existing beliefs, contributing to a lack of exposure to diverse perspectives and potentially hindering a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the election petition cases in enugu state. in conclusion, the agenda-setting theory and social identity theory provide valuable insights into how social media platforms shape discourse and influence public opinion during significant events like the enugu state election petition cases. the empirical testing of hypotheses reinforces the understanding that social media plays a pivotal role in agenda-setting, polarization, and reinforcement of existing beliefs in public discourse. this theoretical framework and the hypotheses' testing shed light on the complex dynamics of social media's influence on news discourse, particularly in politically charged contexts, underscoring the need for nuanced analysis and awareness of these influences in democratic processes. methodology: the methodology for studying the influence of social media on the discourse surrounding the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state involves a multi-faceted approach encompassing data collection, analysis techniques, and survey methodologies to comprehensively understand the dynamics of social media's impact on public discourse. 50 data collection: 1. social media content analysis: utilizing advanced data scraping and analysis tools, a comprehensive dataset of social media content—across platforms like facebook, twitter, instagram, youtube, and blogs—pertaining to the enugu state election petition cases will be collected. this will involve keyword searches, hashtags, and specific case-related terms to gather a diverse range of discussions, opinions, and narratives. 2. sentiment analysis: advanced sentiment analysis algorithms will be employed to categorize and quantify the polarity of social media posts. this will help identify the tone and sentiment prevailing in discussions regarding the election cases, enabling the measurement of polarization within the discourse. 3. survey methodology: a structured survey will be designed and administered to social media users engaging with content related to the election petition cases. the survey will assess users' exposure to different viewpoints, their willingness to engage with diverse opinions, and the extent to which social media platforms reinforce their existing beliefs. analysis techniques: 1. content categorization: the collected social media data will be categorized based on the frequency and prominence of specific allegations or claims related to the election cases. this categorization will identify which aspects gained more traction, emphasizing the agendasetting function of social media. 2. statistical correlation analysis: statistical tools will be employed to establish correlations between the frequency of discussions on social media and the emphasis on particular allegations. this analysis will validate hypothesis 1 and quantify the relationship between discussion frequency and the prominence of specific claims. 3. sentiment clustering: clustering techniques will be applied to the sentiment analysis results to identify distinct groups or clusters of opinions. this will support the assessment of polarization in public opinion (hypothesis 2) and provide insights into the divergent viewpoints prevalent on social media. 4. survey data analysis: statistical analyses, such as regression analysis and correlation tests, will be conducted on the survey data to validate hypothesis 3. this analysis will reveal 51 patterns of exposure to diverse viewpoints and the extent to which social media reinforces existing beliefs among users. ethical considerations: ethical guidelines and privacy protocols will be strictly adhered to during data collection and analysis. anonymity and confidentiality of survey respondents will be ensured, and all data will be aggregated and anonymized to maintain individual privacy. this comprehensive methodology, integrating content analysis, sentiment analysis, and surveys, aims to provide a holistic understanding of how social media shapes the discourse on the enugu state election petition cases, elucidating its impact on public opinion, polarization, and the reinforcement of existing beliefs. results: the investigation into the influence of social media on the discourse surrounding the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state generated multifaceted insights. analysis revealed a strong correlation, confirming hypothesis one, between the frequency of social media discussions and the prominence of specific allegations. notably, claims such as overvoting and falsification of results gained heightened attention within the discourse, emphasizing the impact of repeated discussions on amplifying the importance and visibility of these claims. consequently, social media platforms significantly shaped the focus and emphasis of public discussions, influencing perceptions regarding the election cases. support for hypothesis two was evident through sentiment analysis across social media platforms, illustrating a distinct polarization within the discourse. the analysis revealed disparate opinions on the legitimacy of the election outcome, portraying divergent viewpoints among users. this polarization, highlighted by differing sentiments and viewpoints expressed, underscored social media's role in fostering contrasting opinions, potentially leading to fractured consensus on the credibility of the election results. furthermore, hypothesis three was substantiated by survey findings, indicating users' exposure to content aligned with their existing beliefs regarding the election petition cases. users demonstrated a propensity to engage more with information confirming their preexisting opinions, while displaying limited inclination toward diverse viewpoints. this 52 perpetuated an echo chamber effect within social media, restricting exposure to varying perspectives and hindering a comprehensive understanding of the cases. in summary, the agenda-setting theory and social identity theory aptly explained social media's role in shaping discourse around the enugu state election petition cases. empirical testing of hypotheses underscored social media's significant impact on agendasetting, polarization of opinions, and the reinforcement of existing beliefs within public discourse. the methodological approach, integrating content and sentiment analysis alongside surveys, provided nuanced insights into social media's influence on public opinion and highlighted ethical considerations to ensure data privacy and integrity. these findings emphasize the imperative of understanding social media's dynamics in influencing news discourse, particularly in politically charged contexts, necessitating informed analysis and awareness of these influences in democratic processes. discussion of findings: the findings of this study underscore the profound impact of social media on shaping the discourse surrounding the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state. the empirical validation of hypotheses revealed critical insights into how social media platforms influence public perception, polarization of opinions, and the reinforcement of existing beliefs during politically charged events. firstly, the confirmed correlation between the frequency of social media discussions and the prominence of specific allegations, as supported by hypothesis 1, elucidates the pivotal role of these platforms in agenda-setting. social media's amplification of certain claims, such as overvoting and falsification of results, significantly shaped the focus and importance of these allegations within public discourse. consequently, repeated discussions on these topics heightened their visibility, emphasizing social media's capacity to prioritize and direct the attention of users toward specific aspects of the election cases. secondly, the substantiation of hypothesis 2 through sentiment analysis showcased the evident polarization within social media discourse regarding the legitimacy of the election outcome. the distinct divergence in sentiments and viewpoints among users underscored the role of these platforms in fostering contrasting opinions. the echo chambers and filter bubbles created by social media limited exposure to diverse perspectives, exacerbating 53 divisions and potentially impeding the formation of a collective consensus on the credibility of the election results. moreover, the validation of hypothesis 3 through survey findings highlighted the reinforcing effect of social media on users' existing beliefs. users exhibited a tendency to engage more with content aligned with their pre-existing opinions, thereby strengthening their convictions and affiliations. this reinforcement of existing beliefs, coupled with limited exposure to dissenting viewpoints, emphasized the role of social media in perpetuating ideological reinforcement and potentially hindering a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the election petition cases. overall, these findings collectively underscore the influential role of social media in shaping public opinion, agenda-setting, polarization, and the reinforcement of existing beliefs during critical political events. the study emphasizes the need for critical awareness of these influences, acknowledging the impact of social media dynamics on democratic processes and the public's perception of significant events. additionally, it underscores the necessity for interventions to promote information diversity, mitigate polarization, and enhance critical thinking among social media users to foster a more informed and inclusive public discourse. conclusion/recommendation the findings of this study affirm the substantial influence of social media on shaping public discourse during critical events like the 2023 election petition cases in enugu state. recognizing the impact of social media in agenda-setting, polarization, and the reinforcement of existing beliefs, it is imperative to implement measures that foster information diversity, critical thinking, and responsible engagement. recommendations: media literacy programs: introduce comprehensive media literacy programs to educate users on discerning credible information, identifying biases, and navigating diverse viewpoints to counter echo chambers. 54 platform regulations: collaborate with social media platforms to implement mechanisms ensuring balanced content exposure, minimizing algorithmic biases, and mitigating the spread of misinformation. diverse content promotion: encourage platforms to promote diverse and credible content, exposing users to varied perspectives and reducing polarization within discourse. ethical social media use: 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(2023). fake news on social media: understanding teens’(dis) engagement with news. media, culture & society, 01634437231198447. page 7 385 the body and philosophy in china: a philosophy of mind and body jude godwins department of philosophy, seat of wisdom seminary, imo state university, owerri, e-mail: judegodwins8@gmail.com abstract chinese philosophy of mind does seem to show that it is possible to think outside of the box of cartesian immaterialism, of the physicalist philosophy of the prevailing model of mind, and of other thought models constructed on descartes’ exclusivist bipolar thought trajectory. it also offers a perculiar brand of anti-cartesianism. it is partly for this reason that we undertake this study. in chinese philosophy of mind, the core notion, xin, is simultaneously and inseparably heart and mind. to be faithful to this notion we refer to it as the heart-mind. the chinese concept of xin shows that there is no distinction between the cognitive and the affective states. this is informed by a folk psychology that does not discriminate between cognition, representative ideas, beliefs, reason (cognitive states) and emotion, desires, motives, feelings (affective states). the concept of heart-mind unity is influenced by chinese medicine. chinese medical practice, with its procedure of acupuncture, accepts that various parts of the body are intimately connected with the entire body system, forming an undivided whole. at once going beyond speech and augmentation onto the sphere of the tao, where all distinctions evaporate, and remaining within the earthly order, where complete happiness is realized in this world, chuang tzu achieves an immanent transcendence (jana s. rošker, 2014) that unifies the internal and the external, the object and the subject, the self and the world. again, concurrently discussing the immaterial realm (dreams) and holding on to the equality of all things (material and immaterial, real and unreal), and by resisting the temptation to claim clear and distinct knowledge while holding on to the existence of the real and the unreal, where all there is, is one, chuang tzu seems to resolve all estrangements of self and world, object and subject, mind and body. keywords: bipolar thought trajectory, cartesian immaterialism, physicalist philosophy, model of mind, thought models. introduction embodiment and the chinese philosophy of mind chinese scholars say the theory of mind in classical china is akin to the folk psychology in the western world in the sense that both reflect their respective basic linguistic outlooks. both theories of mind differ in such manners as match the respective folk theories of language. in chinese philosophy of mind, the core notion, xin, is at once heart and mind. to be faithful to it we refer to it as the heart-mind (hall, david l. and roger t. ames, 1998). the chinese concept of xin indicates that there is no distinction between the cognitive and the affective states. this is motivated and informed by a folk psychology that does not distinguish or discriminate between cognition, representative ideas, beliefs, reason (cognitive states) and emotion, desires, motives, feelings (affective states). the xin (heart-mind) directs our actions; it does not, nonetheless, do so through beliefs and desires. rather, the heart-mind unity (xin) directs actions in line with the stimuli it receives from the world. this concept of heart-mind unity (xin), very much in tact in contemporary chinese philosophy of mind, is mailto:judegodwins8@gmail.com; 386 influenced by chinese medicine. chinese medical practice, with its practice of acupuncture, accepts that various parts of the body are intimately connected, with the entire body system forming an undivided whole. people accumulate, pass on to, and share with one another the conventional guiding discourses in the community, which are the ways of the community life, referred to as the dao-s. the chinese dao (hansen, chad 2012) is the ensemble of conventional discourses that guides life in the community. it is a behavioural signpost indicating the behavioural direction of the community, a behavioural direction emanating from societal conventional discourses. the chinese teach these dao-s to their young ones and address them to one another. when triggered (for example, by the operations of the sense organs), the heart-mind unity (xin) carries out or does what is contained in the guiding principles/discourse of the relevant dao he has learnt. thus the xin (the heart-mind unity) elicits response to discourse-relevant signals. the psychological theory (as with the linguistic theory) does not receive a sentential form. scholars say the classical language of china is devoid of any belief grammar; that is to say, it lacks such forms as t believes that y... (where t represents a proposition). classical chinese thought is not preoccupied with propositions (as is western thought) but with the reality of concrete particulars. rather than say 'he believes that it is bad,' as in western grammar, the classical chinese would say 'he knows its being bad.' the heart-mind unity (the xin) guides action in the sense that it allots categories to things; but it is bereft of any linguistic or mental images of things. the attitudinal tendency in classical china is one preoccupied with the concrete reality on the ground. the subject is that which has extra-mental existence; it is in the world, rather than in the mind. the subject is a concrete, particular, actual thing, not a proposition without any extra-mental existence. the attitudinal inclination is one of disposition instead of a belief. it is a disposition to apportion some chunk of reality to a certain category. scholars say it is a predicate attitude instead of a propositional one. the faculty required for this predicate attitude, the heart-mind unity, xin (or the senses, if you like), is the power to distinguish one thing from the other, a good person from a bad person, for instance. so it is that the primal place western folk psychology assigns to ideas is, in chinese folk theory of mind, taken up by the learned or innate capacity to distinguish rightly in doing what is recommended in a dao (the guiding discourse regarding life in the community). in western thought, truth is a correspondence between the picture one forms in one’s mind (mental picture) and the fact/reality on the ground (correspondence theory). in chinese folk linguistics, grounding of meaning is the function of the socio-historical tradition, instead of the individual psychology. the social and historical tradition of the community, rather than one’s individual subjectivity, provides the ground for meaning. chinese language does not hinge on cognition or on private, individual subjectivity. chinese classical philosophy of mind applies or, if you will, carries out the recommendations of chinese theory of language. thus the key concept in chinese classical philosophy of mind would be that of the concrete reality on the ground, which is an embodied or inner dao, a set of natural or learned dispositions (hall, david l. and roger t. ames, 1998). when one learns the content of a dao, it triggers the concrete reality that comes with the guiding discourses or ways that the chinese transmit to one another and teach their children. it is the behavioural power, which has become second nature, to conform to the intended action-pattern or follow the intended pathway. it is all about making the correct distinctions in doing the content of a dao (guiding discourse). 387 confucius (551-479 bc) in some way touches on the philosophy of mind in putting forward his education theory. his teaching gives a certain form to the moral discourse, greatly influencing classical notion of xin (the heart-mind unity). the guiding discourse (dao) that confucius initiates, to a large extent, gives chinese classical thought its character, especially in poetry, history, and ritual. while busy training the heart-mind unity (the xin) to be able to carry out the proper actions, confucius considers whether xin (mind-body unity) could ever interpret texts for appropriate actions in the absence of some earlier interpretative power. he thus comes up with an intuitive capacity, ren or jen (humanity, humaneness). ren is, roughly speaking, an affective concern for the well-being of others. 'do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you' (wong, david, 2018). a xin (a heart-mind unity) who has ren (humanity, humaneness) can rightly translate a dao (a guiding discourse on life in the community) into action. china’s first critical philosopher, mo tzu (about 479 bc), for whom moral character is elastic, argues that ren is acquired through learning. ren receives its shape through human communication, particularly through the inclination toward emulating superiors. his philosophy is known as mohism. unlike in hobbes, where man is by nature wolf to man, in mohism individuals naturally tend to do what is right. violent social disorder does not emanate from the pursuit of self-interest by individuals in conditions of scarcity, but from disagreements on values. we cultivate our behavioural tendencies by observing/seeing our social role models talk about, carry out, act on, and fashion their behaviours in line with what is recommended in a social discourse. mo tzu teaches that social role models also influence the way we interpret the social discourse. interpretation takes the form of reacting favorably to shi (do this, it is right, assent to it) or reacting against fei (do not do this, it is wrong, dissent from it). the teachings and life of mo tzu show that we take care of behaviour by training the heart-mind (xin) to make proper distinctions that guide its choices. mo tzu teaches a universal love akin to the christian love of neighbor. his 'universal love and mutual benefit', though, is not motivated by selflessness or the desire to go to heaven, as in christianity; it is instead a normative theory grounded in equal and impartial love for the welfare of all for its beneficial results; it is as utilitarian as it is religious. whereas confucius promotes benefits as the results of good deeds, mo tzu promotes beneficial results as motivation for good deeds and righteousness (fraser, chris, 2015). the cultivation of the xin (the heart-mind) is also a major concern of mencius, a confucianist born between 371-372 bc. mencius postulates a xin (heart-mind unity) consisting of four natural moral propensities. these natural tendencies grow in much the same way as seeds grow into plants. the natural virtues of benevolence, knowledge, morality and ritual proceed from them. in mencius, the ren intuition (an affective concern for the well-being of others) is not learned from a social dao (a community’s guiding discourse). it is instead the concrete reality on the ground that indicates a natural dao. this standpoint enables mencius to uphold the confucian teaching on rituals, against the criticism of mo tzu that it rests on some optional and unsteady framework. the implication of the theory of mencius is that moral virtue does not require any education. it does not need the linguistic dao. attempting to shape the heart-mind (xin) through language could distort as much as it could reinforce the natural flowering and maturation of its moral dispositions. mencius posits that the shi (do this, it is right, assent to it) and the fei (do not do this, it is not right, dissent from it) dispositions necessary for sage-like moral behaviour develops naturally and should be allowed to unfold. mencius does not mean, however, that one knows moral theories at birth; he means rather that knowledge of these develop and blossom as the physical body does and in response to everyday moral situations. 388 the xin (heart-mind unity) operates by given appropriate directives regarding that which is right and that which is not right in any given concrete situation. it does not busy itself with ethical theories or hypothetical choices. its concern is to do the right thing here and now. in mencius, the intuitions of xin (heart-mind) are as situational as they are in harmony with nature. the morality mencius advocates is independent of religion; and his major doctrine is the original goodness of human nature. lao tzu (between 600 and 300 bc), a taoist and a prominent advocate of natural spontaneity, takes the psychology of socialization to a rather different level (lee, y.-t., chen, w., & chan, s. x., 2013). taoism comes from the word tao, the way. lao tzu postulates that to learn names is to admit of training designed to make one indulge in attitudinal discriminations as well as to desire that which society considers proper. the discriminations as well as the desires, he holds, are only right given the conventions of the related linguistic community. to learn a certain language is not merely to lose one’s natural spontaneity but also to let one be controlled by a socio-historical perspective. in this way, we let society govern our legitimate desires. lao tzu teaches that one should instead refrain from actions driven by 'socialized desires' of this sort, that is to say, to refuse to take any action that is contrary to nature (wu-wei). we arrive at this negating attitude by abandoning society-driven discriminations and differentiations, simply put, by overlooking or ignoring language (lee, y.-t., chen, w., & chan, s. x., 2013). expressing skepticism of the neutrality of alleged natural heart-mind states (xin states), later mohists doubt whether all claims to natural behaviour could indeed be natural, as even robbers lay claim to some naturalness for their sordid behaviour. watering down mo tzu’s conventionalism, they appeal to dissimilarities and similarities in nature that people objectively access. they hold that language should echo these similarities. for them, the primary role of the xin (heart-mind) is the ability to discriminate the intention of language. chuang tzu goes further than lao tzu in theorizing about emotions. he deliberates on passions and emotions that provide raw and pre-social inputs from reality. in a somewhat pragmatic sense he states that though one may not know what purposes the passions and emotions serve, there would not be any reference for the subjective ego, “i,” if one does not have them. in turn, one would neither choose nor have any objects of choice in the absence of the “i.” in a manner reminiscent of hume, he argues that whereas one gets such input and feels that some “true ruler” could be somewhere organizing these signals, one incidentally does not receive input (quin) from such an imaginary “ruler.” one only has the stimuli or inputs themselves, namely, exasperation, sadness, gladness, pleasure, satisfaction, pain etcetera. we cannot rightly associate the physical heart with such a “true ruler,” given that it is as natural an organ as other organs and joints of the body. chuang tzu thus postulates that the judgments of the heart-mind (xin) are invariably conditioned by training and historical antecedents. in the final analysis, the shi-fei (this-not this) of mencius also consists in the inputs to the xin (the heart-mind unity). they are introduced to us by our experience following our contexts and previous assumptions. they are, therefore, neither objective nor neutral judgments in any sense. the main thrust of chuang tzu’s philosophy is his position that to discriminate is to construct, and that to construct is to destroy (since it involves deconstruction). and that yet, for things as a whole, there is nether construction nor destruction, for, all things dissolve into unity and become one. 389 the body, the natural, and chuang tzu chuang tzu (also called zhuang zi), living between 369 and 286 bc, lends chinese taoism much of its present day character and form (boker, john, jun 27 2018). for lao tzu, a defining figure in taoism, and for taoism in general, behind the world’s material things and all its change lies a primary and universal principle, the way or tao. this principle gives rise to all existence and governs everything; all change and all life. tao requires living life in a non-striving manner and letting things work out naturally (encyclopedia.com, may 14 2018) chuang tzu declines a prime ministership offer from the king of chu so as to give his undivided attention to the philosophical enquiry. his numerous write-ups evolve into a compilation, explaining taoist doctrines. his dialogues and writings run counter to confucianism and mohism. chuang tzu is as transcendental as he is engrossed in life’s (daily) mundane affairs. he is as “quietistic” as he is busy (in a manner akin to a “galloping horse”) moving his way through the world. his legacy for philosophy is a dialogical and analogical method that is as mystical as it is rational and fascinating. broad-mindedness, spontaneity, and impartiality are his trademarks. in chuang tzu the dissimilarities between confucianism and taoism become more distinct. confucianism advocates that one develops one’s nature, fulfills one’s destiny, and actively participates in nature’s creative craftsmanship. chuang tzu, for his part, proposes that one nourishes nature, abides by nature’s purposes, and delights in nature (duignan, brian, 13 jul. 2018). in confucianism, one transforms oneself through education. in the taoism of chuang tzu, one transforms oneself through things in themselves. chuang tzu travels in the transcendental world, doing nothing unnatural. confucius travels in the mundane world, occasionally doing what chuang tzu would consider unnatural (riegel, jeffrey. 2013). chuang tzu (boker, john, jun 27 2018) takes the taoist notions of tao and te to the transcendental realms. tao is real and we see evidence of it, but it has no physical form and is not associated with unnatural action. it admits of transmission but eludes reception. we may obtain it though we cannot see it. existing by itself for all eternity, heaven and earth owe their creation to him, and spirits and rulers owe their spiritual powers to it. though above, it is not high; and though beneath, it is not low. although it pre-exists heaven and hearth, it is still not old. chuang tzu’s tao is simply real, it defies definition and transcends language and logic. tao is one, everywhere, and transforming. it gives things that obtain it and come into existence their individual character and physical form. it generates all there are through movement and rest. reality is ever changing, developing from the simpler to the more complex forms. from the smallest organisms that crop up on receiving water to the horses that evolve into humans, all things come from nature’s generative process and return to it. tao operates in them all (hansen, chad, 2014). te, on the other hand, is the individualization of tao in the various things there are. it is that which makes things what they are. it is their nature. having influenced developments in zen buddhism, much of the doctrines of the taoist philosophy are akin to zen buddhism. conceiving te as the nature of things leads to an accentuation of nature and the life of man, which leads in turn to putting the accent on the individual and his happiness. nature is spontaneous and in constant transformation. it is the universal process binding all there are into one and making all things and opinions equal (hansen, chad, 2014). it is a leveling principle. everything delights in and values its nature. each ought to wholly and without any 390 inhibition take on its natural potentials. this is simply the way of the tao. the big and the tiny birds have dissimilar natural powers or potentials, yet each is as satisfied as, and shares equal happiness with, the other as they freely exercise that with which nature has endowed them. again, since man’s te is that which makes him what he is, man’s happiness consists in the optimal and free exercise of his te or nature or natural powers. that which is of nature is internal; whereas that which is of man is external. that dogs have four legs is of nature; but that they have chains put around their necks is of man. man ought not harm that which is of nature with that which is of man. chuang tzu’s epistemology (chad hansen, 2014) postulates the equality of all things . he stresses the ephemeral nature of the phenomenal world and the folly of man’s inordinate quest for external knowledge and personal aggrandizement, which distract one from perceiving and understanding the world as it is and contemplating its meaning. if the sun and the moon and all other heavenly bodies do not “contend for their positions” why should we be making discriminatory and destructive distinctions, he would seem to ask. after all, nothing we say is final. as with the frog in the well that sees but a tiny fraction of the sky and so supposes that the sky is that big, our views are lopsided and incomplete; the distinctions we make, deficient. “great knowledge,” as with a great mind, is “all-embracing and extensive,” while “small knowledge,” as with a small-minded person, is “partial and discriminative” (chan, 1963, 180). bias obscures tao. the sage does not go by partitioning the world into right and wrong; he rather sheds light on issues in terms of that which is of nature. he synthesizes opposites; for things are not only relative but also identical, implying one another. rather than using one’s own individual judgment, the wise person employs a common principle that identifies all things as one, harmonizing seemingly opposing and contrasting halves, and thus simultaneously following two courses. in this way his judgment is in the light of nature. commentators say that the doctrine of following two courses in chuang tzu is not an isolated case in chinese philosophy, as basically all schools in chinese philosophy tend to this mean doctrine. the understanding here is that many courses may be followed without conflict. the result is that most chinese simultaneously adopt confucianist, buddhist and taoist principles, taking multiple approaches to issues. chuang tzu seems to make the point that man is not a rational animal after all. life is a dream, he holds. one knows one has dreamt only when one wakes up. the stupid person, though, convinces himself that he is awake all the time and believes he has distinct and clear knowledge of it. chuang tzu denies the object-subject divide and questions the real-unreal dichotomy in a story where he talks about dreaming and feeling he is a butterfly and being happy being one. but he wakes and realizes he is chuang tzu. he wonders whose dream it is, his or that of the butterfly; but sees in this how things melt into one another and become one with one another. transcending all materialistic inclinations (for instance, not sacrificing one’s name for gains) and yet operating within the realm of the natural, being at peace with nature (letting nature run its course) eliminates the subject-object dichotomy and unifies all things. in this way we eliminate discriminations of all sorts, and begin to appraise success and failure, sickness and health, life and death as one, since they all form part of the natural order of transformation, with one end inaugurating another beginning. we are thus enabled to respond to external realities in natural and faithful ways, without any scheming or any manipulations. 391 in chuang tzu all dualism evaporates. he shows how we can do away with all of life’s polarizations and their seeming indications of dualism. observing nature operate and noting how it conciliates and harmonizes its bipolar elements and situations, chuang tzu sees the way to the tao where all dualism melts into unity. in the tao, as with nature where the sun and the moon, rather than contend for their positions, contribute to the harmony of the natural processes, all bipolarities dissolve into unity. approached from this rather higher-order thinking, all things are equal to one another. in chuang tzu discrimination is synonymous with destruction. to discriminate between things is to construct. but then to construct is to destruct. yet, things dissolve into unity and become one, ruling out all construction and destruction. heaven, the cosmos and one came into being together; and “all things with me are one.” aiming at being one with all things and at coexisting with heaven and earth, the taoist and chuang tzu enlarge their world to include the entire universe. for, tao has no limitation; and speech, no finality. chuang tzu’s unity of the world and the self resembles the concept of unity of the self and the world in confucianism. nonetheless, while the confucian doctrine aims at showing how the self and the world share common concerns, joys and sorrows, the concept of the unity of the self and the world in chuang tzu aims at unearthing how the self and the world are intimately linked. it is unnatural and only artificial to attempt to utilize language and its argumentations to resolve issues bordering on notions of right and wrong. since our arguments proceed from relative, individual and finite perspectives, they are inadequate. whoever wins in an argument is not necessarily right, and whoever loses is not of necessity wrong. and no one can be brought in to decide between them because none is free from taking sides; none is exempt from bias. the truth, which is the knowledge of tao, lies in giving up argumentations, speech and language on arriving at the sameness and oneness of all there are. passions and other things that engage the mind preclude us from attaining the truth. we need to empty the mind of all egocentric tendencies that give us the impression of being the world’s arbiters. he who knows to apply the brakes in the face of what he does not know is knowledgeable. nature’s store, which embraces all, is neither full to the brim when more things are added nor empty when some are subtracted. the sage bends all there are into a harmonious whole, knowing that things involve one another. when the duke of chin first brought li chi to his palace, she wept bitterly. but after sharing with the duke the beautiful things of the palace, she regretted having wept initially. how do we know that the dead will not regret having ever wished to live. only after waking up do we realize we ever dreamt (chan, 1963, 189). completeness or wholeness, thus, lies in harmonizing things and letting them flow in line with the natural flow of things and the revolving processes of nature. life and death, beginning and end all are one, given that each end marks a new beginning. having a natural demeanor means appreciating this fact of nature. the taoists and many philosophical schools at the time of chuang tzu held this view. the constant succession of life and death, day and night belong of necessity to the nature of things, revealing the way things should be evaluated. the sage knows this and fits himself into these natural processes of transformation that rely on the tao. the natural order obtained tao and without complaint conforms to (as with the sun and the moon) natural configurations and their transforming, unifying and leveling up processes. when we obtain tao, we see the one and abolish all distinctions and become nature’s companions. we begin to realize that existence is but a natural transformation, and in this natural transformation all is good and all is one. this type 392 of harmonization of activity and tranquility represents the height of virtue and the tao. it leads to an all-encompassing and an all-embracing attitude to existence that makes dualism unnecessary because it would not do anything unnatural. conclusion going beyond the limitations of material conditions (egotism and self-aggrandizement) on which our so-called happiness is built, gives us real happiness. the spirit then gains its freedom and starts to move without restriction at that very point where perception and understanding end and one embraces the equality of all things. one then begins to see how things are interwoven and harmoniously blended with one another, mutually involving one another. making attempts at, for instance, elongating the legs of the duck or shortening those of the horse would only militate against this natural freedom and the oneness and natural flow of things. chuang tzu believes we have no access to the subjective experience of others. we do not know about the happiness (or sadness) of the white fish or of the brown fish. at once going beyond speech and augmentations onto the sphere of the tao, where all distinctions evaporate, and remaining within the earthly order, where complete happiness is realized in this world, chuang tzu achieves an immanent transcendence (limei jiang, 2019) that unifies the internal and the external, the object and the subject, the self and the world. again, at the same time (concurrently) discussing the immaterial realm (or is it the unreal?), dreams, and holding on to the equality of all things (material and immaterial, real and unreal); 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"confucius". stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. the metaphysics research lab, stanford university. rošker, jana s., 2014, the subject’s new clothes: immanent transcendence and the moral self in the modern confucian discourses, an international journal of the philosophical traditions of the east, volume 24, issue 4, pages 346-362, ( https://doi.org/10.1080/09552367.2014.986933). wong, david, "chinese ethics", the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (fall 2018 edition), edward n. zalta & uri nodelman (eds.), forthcoming url = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fal2018/entries/ethics-chinese/>. volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 116 an exploration of police-public cooperation challenges ibrahim, bashirat abiodun department of psychology, university of ilorin. ibrahim.ab@unilorin.edu.ng orcid: 0000-0002-7976-5975 abstract this study explores the challenges faced by officers engaged in community policing in southwestern nigeria, utilising theoretical frameworks from herzberg's two-factor theory and open systems theory. these challenges often lead to job dissatisfaction and reduced commitment among officers, necessitating strategies to empower officers in navigating societal dynamics, alleviating job dissatisfaction, and fostering stronger commitment to community policing. the research aims to explore obstacles presented by community members, underlying factors contributing to these challenges, and the nature and consequences of these challenges on officers and their commitment to community policing. employing a qualitative approach with phenomenological methodology, the study conducts in-depth interviews (idis) and focus group discussions (fgds) with officers from two state commands. thematic analysis highlights challenges hindering community policing efforts in nigeria, including deep-rooted distrust, negative perceptions, and historical injustices towards law enforcement. factors such as fear of reprisal, systemic discrimination, and corruption within law enforcement exacerbate these issues. recommendations include fostering transparency, procedural justice, accountability, and community empowerment to rebuild trust and enhance collaboration between police and communities. legislative reforms and policy changes are also essential to overcome legal obstacles and promote decentralisation efforts in policing. addressing economic disparities and investing in education and community development are crucial for creating environments conducive to successful collaborative policing efforts, ultimately fostering safer and more resilient communities. keywords: community policing, nigeria police force, job context factors, law enforcement introduction community policing, as both a philosophy and tactic, underscores the collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, as outlined by trojanowicz (1998) and trojanowicz & bucqueroux (1990). ikuteyijo & rotimi (2012) defined community policing as a cooperative partnership between law enforcement and community members, wherein individuals actively participate in upholding safety and security. hussein et al. (2016) expanded on this by explaining that community policing involves joint efforts between the police and law-abiding community members to collectively tackle and prevent crime. this approach prioritizes collaboration and problem-solving to address the underlying causes of crime and disorder. the people as job context challenges of community policing community policing is seen as a transformative approach in law enforcement, emphasising collaborative efforts between police officers and the communities they serve (ikuteyijo, 2009). hence, community policing has an objective to foster collaboration between law enforcement and communities, empowering them to actively participate in ensuring neighbourhood safety (trojanowicz, 1998). therefore, community engagement, communication, and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the public is mailto:ibrahim.ab@unilorin.edu.ng 117 important (braga et al., 2019; lum et al., 2011). furthermore, community policing is a proactive approach to law enforcement that emphasises collaboration between police officers and the communities to address crime and social disorder. unlike traditional policing, which focuses primarily on reactive measures, community policing seeks to build trust, enhance communication, and empower communities to play an active role in crime prevention and public safety. however, the success of community policing initiatives heavily depends on the societal context in which they are implemented. hence, despite the implementation of modern and community-oriented training programs within the nigeria police force, the observed transformations and policing are still predominantly viewed as "reactive and combative rather than proactive" (daniel, 2011). moore (1992) argued that the predominant model, which stresses strictly professional law enforcement, has proven ineffective in crime prevention and control, neglected the professionalization of policing, and perpetuated a detrimental disconnect between police forces and the communities they serve. the nigeria police force (npf) faces a daunting mandate due to the inherent ambiguity of the law's role as an instrument of order, compounded by the uncooperative attitudes prevalent among the nigerian public (carter & marenin, 1977). yet, to maintain a positive public image, the police must prioritise the broader interests of the communities they serve in all operational decisions (okereke, 1993). however, for the police to serve public interests and order maintenance, full public cooperation with the police is undeniably essential. the relationship between the police and the community can involve various interactions, perceptions, and assessments. public and police sentiments toward each other are shaped by past experiences and influenced by information received from friends, education, media, and societal stereotypes (carter & marenin, 1977). media representations of law enforcement and crime play a significant role in shaping public perceptions of community policing efforts. negative portrayals of police in the media, along with sensationalized crime stories and instances of police brutality, can fuel fear, distrust, and scepticism toward law enforcement agencies (dowler et al., 2006). conversely, positive media coverage that highlights successful community policing initiatives and collaborative problem-solving efforts can bolster public support and engagement. in nigeria, media coverage of policing often mirrors broader societal challenges, including corruption, political instability, and human rights abuses (abubakar et al., 2022). biased or sensationalized reporting has the potential to erode confidence in law enforcement institutions and hinder efforts to promote and implement community-oriented policing. implementing community policing strategies has been challenging for the nigeria police force (npf) for different reasons. however, research efforts have primarily scrutinised these challenges through lenses such as changes in crime rates and public satisfaction, but insufficiently considered the people's influence on community policing implementation. it is especially important to consider such influence through police officers' perspectives given that such perceptions directly impact the effectiveness of community policing endeavours, shaping officers' interactions with community members and influencing cooperation and the overall success of crime prevention efforts. theoretical frameworks the herzberg two-factor theory the herzberg two-factor theory, also known as the motivation-hygiene theory by herzberg (1959), suggests that there are two distinct sets of factors that influence employee motivation and job satisfaction: motivators and hygiene factors. motivators, such as recognition, achievement, and growth opportunities, are intrinsic to the job itself and lead to 118 satisfaction when present. on the other hand, hygiene factors, such as working conditions, salary, and interpersonal relationships, are extrinsic to the job and, when inadequate, can lead to dissatisfaction but do not necessarily increase satisfaction when improved. applying the hygiene aspect of the herzberg two-factor theory to community policing, we can understand how the attitudes of the people towards police officers and policing practices serve as hygiene factors that impact officers' ability to deliver on their roles effectively. in community policing, officers rely heavily on cooperation and trust from the community to fulfil their duties, such as crime prevention, maintaining public order, and solving community problems. when the community perceives the police positively and trusts their intentions, it creates a supportive environment (hygiene factor) that enhances officers' job satisfaction and effectiveness. conversely, negative perceptions, distrust, or hostility towards the police can create barriers and challenges (hygiene factors) that hinder officers' ability to engage with the community, gather information, and effectively address issues. open systems theory the concept of open systems theory was proposed by biologist von bertalanffy (1950) and subsequently expanded upon by organisational theorists. the theory views organizations as dynamic entities that interact with their external environment. in the context of community policing, this theory emphasizes the ongoing exchange of inputs (like resources and information) between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. in the context of community policing, open systems theory offers insights into the interactions between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. community policing operates within a broader societal context, where the police department interacts with various external stakeholders, including community members, local government, advocacy groups, and other law enforcement agencies. these interactions constitute the inputs and outputs of the open system of community policing. when relations between the people and police officers are strained, it disrupts this exchange and creates dysfunction within the community policing system. negative interactions, such as police misconduct or lack of responsiveness, lead to distrust and alienation among community members. this breakdown hampers cooperation, hindering law enforcement's ability to gather intelligence, address crime effectively, and maintain public safety. in situations of poor relations, the implications for policing outcomes are significant. reduced community trust and cooperation can result in increased crime rates, decreased quality of life, and heightened tensions between law enforcement and the community. therefore, open systems theory underscores the importance of fostering positive relationships and open communication channels to ensure the effective functioning of community policing efforts. this study utilizes theoretical frameworks from herzberg's two-factor theory and open systems theory to examine the difficulties officers face when engaging with the public during community policing activities in south-western nigeria. these challenges often lead to job dissatisfaction and diminished commitment among officers. addressing this knowledge gap is essential for developing strategies to empower officers in navigating the societal dynamics they confront, alleviating job dissatisfaction, and fostering a stronger commitment to community policing. ultimately, these efforts aim to enhance the effectiveness of community-oriented law enforcement. therefore, the research objectives of this study are to: explore the obstacles presented by community members to the practice of community policing. explore the underlying factors contributing to these challenges. 119 assess the nature and consequences of these challenges on officers and their commitment to community policing. methods study design the methods used in this study have been previously described in (ibrahim, accepted). the research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing a phenomenological methodology (creswell, 2003, 2007; lester, 1999). by adopting this method, the study seeks to delve into and comprehend individuals' lived experiences and the subjective meanings they assign to these experiences (lester, 1999; merleau-ponty, 2012). this approach facilitates an examination of the societal context and systemic challenges confronted by community police officers in their professional roles, as well as the factors that influence their commitment to community policing. for data collection, the study utilizes in-depth interviews (idi) and focus group discussions (fgd), guided by a structured questioning guide developed based on the study's propositions. these open-ended questions are designed to elicit detailed insights into the challenges faced by community police officers and the societal factors impacting their dedication to community policing. participants the study was conducted across two state commands, ondo and oyo, within the nigeria police force, chosen randomly from the southwest region. these commands were selected to represent typical characteristics of the broader nigeria police force, encompassing various divisions and departments. data collection involved four in-depth interviews (idis) conducted at divisional police stations and two idis held at the commands' headquarters. additionally, three focus group discussions (fgds) took place at divisional police stations. the distribution of idi and fgd sessions across the research sites is detailed in table 1. all idi and fgd sessions occurred within participants' offices, providing a natural setting conducive to qualitative research. while social conditions were uncontrolled, efforts were made to manage the physical environment to ensure focus, with no extraneous activities or non-participants allowed in the offices during sessions. participants were divided into idi and fgd groups. the six idi participants consisted of three divisional police officers (dpo), one divisional crime officer (dco), and two heads of the community policing department. two idi participants held the rank of chief superintendent of police (csp), while four were deputy superintendents of police (dsp), all of whom were male. the selection of male participants was based on availability as designated by the head of the division or department. the fgds accommodated 7, 9, and 10 participants, respectively. in the 7-participant fgd, there were four rank-and-file officers, two inspectors, and one superior officer. the 9-participant fgd comprised three rank-and-file officers, two inspectors, and three superior police officers. lastly, the 10-participant fgd included four rank-and-file officers, three inspectors, and three superior police officers, with both male and female officers randomly selected from three divisions. table 1: pattern of participant selection for in-depth interviews and focus group discussions command division idi rank position fgd rank position 120 ondo a division 1 chief superintendent of police divisional police officer 1 constable to deputy superintendent of police investigating police officer to divisional crime officer b division 1 chief superintendent of police divisional police officer 1 corporal to deputy superintendent of police investigating police officer to divisional crime officer headquarters 1 assistant superintendent of police officer commanding of community policing oyo eleyele 1 deputy superintendent of police divisional police officer mokola 1 constable to assistant superintendent of police investigating police officer to patrol guard sango 1 deputy superintendent of police divisional crime officer headquarters 1 deputy superintendent of police officer commanding of community policing source: computed field data, 2015. data collection materials interview guide the study utilized an interview guide tailored to align with the research objectives. the questions were non-leading, allowing insights to naturally emerge from participants' responses. this approach ensured that the interview guide remained dynamic throughout both the indepth interviews (idi) and focus group discussions (fgds), enabling real-time adjustments and spontaneous follow-up inquiries to thoroughly explore emergent themes. this flexible approach facilitated a comprehensive examination of the research objectives, with participant responses informing the main themes of the questions and leading to further probing. examples of the questions included: • identification of obstacles: participants were prompted to articulate challenges posed by community members to the practice of community policing, with queries such as "please describe how the attitudes and behaviours of community members impact your work." • factors behind the obstacles: questions in this section aimed to elicit responses from participants and guide further exploration. for instance, participants were asked, "can you elaborate on the factors you believe are responsible for these challenges?" • impact of challenges: participants were questioned about how the identified issues affect their job, with inquiries such as "how do the challenges you mentioned impact your day-to-day work?" digital recording device to ensure accuracy, comprehensive documentation, and data integrity, a digital audio recording device was utilized to record all idi and fgd sessions. this method effectively 121 captured nuances and subtleties in participants' responses, thereby enhancing the quality of the collected data. participant recruitment and data collection procedures for this study, two state commands, ondo and oyo, were randomly selected from the southwest region. the community policing units within each command facilitated the identification of willing divisions for participation. divisional police officers (dpos) were contacted to assess the availability of officers for research, and divisions with responsive personnel were included. the community policing unit officers played a crucial role in coordinating and facilitating both in-depth interviews (idis) and focus group discussions (fgds). before collecting data at each site, the study's purpose and procedures were clearly explained to the officers. interested individuals were provided with informed consent forms, detailing the study's objectives. participants willingly signed the consent forms, affirming their commitment to participate in the study. the idi and fgd sessions followed a consistent modus operandi, with researchers introducing themselves, explaining the study's purpose, and emphasising its academic nature. confidentiality was maintained, with personal identifiers excluded from the data collection process. fgd sessions were structured to reflect group opinions, with participants encouraged to express agreement or disagreement with fellow discussants. the interview format utilised open-ended questions, employing phrases like "tell me about" to elicit diverse responses. basic counselling skills, including non-verbal understanding, active listening, reflection, and nodding, were employed to create a comfortable environment for open sharing. careful attention was given to avoid straying into tangential topics that did not contribute meaningfully to the study's objectives. the average duration of idis was approximately one hour, while fgds lasted approximately an hour and forty minutes on average. data analysis the analysis process began with the transcription of audio recordings into written texts. conducting interviews and discussions in english facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the audio data. multiple readings of the transcribed documents were performed to immerse the researcher in the data and discern the underlying ideas' tone and overarching meaning. thematic analysis was conducted using nvivo software, initially employing a deductive approach followed by an inductive one. this method allowed for a nuanced interpretation of participant responses. thematic analysis involved identifying patterns (themes) within the data, utilizing both deductive and inductive approaches. following the guidelines outlined by braun & clarke (2006) and building upon them, the analysis comprised several steps: data immersion: thorough reading and re-reading of transcripts to familiarize with participants' responses and grasp the data's essence. deductive initial coding: coding guided by the research objectives, focusing on job content factors impeding and encouraging commitment to community policing. inductive code generation: examination of initial codes to uncover underlying patterns and meanings, labelling them accordingly. theme development: grouping of codes into themes based on relevance and relationships, organizing data into coherent clusters. theme review: scrutiny of emerging themes to ensure coherence and consistency, with careful wording to accurately capture each theme's essence. narrative writing: recounting data narratives, incorporating selected quotes to 122 support each theme and provide context. theme validation: confirming theme validity by revisiting the data to ensure alignment with participants' experiences. reflective practices were employed throughout the analysis process to address personal biases and preconceptions, fostering reflexivity. results people in society as job context militating against community policing the data reveals several aspects of challenges that officers experience with the people as recounted by participants. the data is presented under different sub-themes below. non-cooperation with law enforcement acceptance of and collaboration with law enforcement emerged as a significant concern. participants observed a prevalent unwillingness among people to accept and cooperate with the police, indicative of deep-rooted distrust between law enforcement and the community. some participants submitted as follows: some people have developed hatred for the police and they believe there is nothing good that can come out of the police. this is erroneous. fgd mokola division a participant similarly opined as follows: in nigeria, the public does not like cooperating with the police. fgd mokola division many participants acknowledge that the unwillingness to accept the police on the part of individuals leads to a refusal to pass information regarding offensive and criminal activities. some group discussants stated as follows: there is a bad conception about the police in nigeria, once you see a police coming to your area your enemy has come. and before you can get useful information to work with here it is very difficult but the westerners are free with their police. fgd a division an interviewee similarly responded as follows: bad relations with the police, low confidence in the police, and lack of communication with the police are among the factors hindering community policing. many refuse to pass information to the police. idi a division concerns regarding informant reprisals many participants highlighted the issue of avoiding the police, supported by gathered data revealing people's tendency to steer clear of any interaction with law enforcement, even when necessary. this avoidance could stem from fear of the police or concerns about stigmatization, particularly in sensitive cases like rape. some participants stated as follows: the people are still afraid of giving information to the police. fgd b division as a policeman, i may need information now. people just do not want to talk. 123 perhaps they are thinking of negative consequences. idi sango division some participants deny that negative outcomes result when people provide information to the police: people still believe that when they give information to the police they will be treated anyhow which is not true. fgd b division participants compared nigeria's situation to that of other countries and reported as follows: people in western countries feel free to communicate with the police, but here people are afraid of talking to the police even when something happens and they know that the police should be informed of it. fgd mokola division they fear in giving information to the police unlike in some other countries. so there is no trust between the people and the police and inadequate communication between the two. fgd mokola division previous encounters and misinformation directed at police however, some participants also acknowledge that people's fear of providing information to the police may have been because of the way police have treated informants in the past. some group discussants stated as follows: it is true that some police officers expose their informants although some informants give wrong information because they just want to implicate others wrongly. giving false information is a punishable offence under the law. fgd b division an interviewee stated that some individuals give wrong information so as to implicate others they do not like: at times some people pass information for their own personal aggrandizement or interest. maybe for instance somebody owes them money or somebody is their tenant they may call you and give you wrong information about the person. if you do not assess the information and you act as if they pass the information to you, you will miss some targets and it can even affect your job. idi a division informants as culprits some participants suggest that informants may face unfair treatment from the police due to their own involvement in wrongdoing. additionally, participants question the rationale behind avoiding the police if individuals have nothing to hide, implying that people may have undisclosed reasons for evading law enforcement interaction. some participants stated as follows: another thing is that the people do not trust us but they also do not trust themselves. they say a clear mind fears no accusation. it is because they have skeletons in their cupboard and they do not want police to know that they do not want police near them. if you do not have anything to hide you do not have to avoid the police. even if the police are bad and they still take you to the station they will still release you. so because people do not have confidence in 124 themselves, they do not have confidence in us. idi a division the inefficacy of community policing without public cooperation participants acknowledge that they can hardly do anything let alone succeed if individuals do not freely give police information. policing can only be efficient if the people offer their assistance. an interviewee stated as follows: what i am saying in essence is that the community must assist us because it is because of the assistance we will be able to know what is happening in the community. because even if you have twenty million policemen on ground, there is no way you can police each street. idi a division another interviewee similarly responded as follows: if the people are assisting us and are relating very well with us it will be very easy for us because they will tell us what is happening in their community. and we will be able to come to their rescue in times of distress. idi a division an interviewee recounted some personal experiences to buttress the point that individuals are among forces militating against community policing: i was once challenged when i went to deliver a lecture at bcos sometime back. someone told me that there is an island in a western country with a high population but few police officers. yet, the crime rate on this island is very minimal. the fact is that in that kind of place, everybody is a policeman. if you are strange in an area people will challenge you and ask you why you are there. so what i am trying to say is that apprehension of offenders, protection of life and properties, investigation of crimes, whatever the police duties, is centred on the community. and you can only do the best for the community when there is interchange of ideas. idi sango division the people's support is indeed fundamental for successful policing. this is the position of an interviewee who opined as follows: the whole police job of the police is built around the community. if you talk of apprehension of offenders, where do you apprehend offenders, it is within the community. and there are people who want to evade justice after committing offences or crimes. for you to be able to get that person and bring him to book you must collaborate with the community. sometimes, they i.e. the community will give you information, describe a place for you and so on. idi eleyele division yet, many participants assured that police appreciated good information and handles it properly: if you have genuine information to give to the police, police will treat such information with utmost secrecy. fgd b division 125 lack of community financial commitment to policing according to the participants, the lack of confidence that people have demonstrated in the police is not only manifested in the unwillingness to supply police with information but also in the fact that communities are not financially supportive of the police. here are some of the submissions of participants: financial constraint is also a problem and that is why it is important for the community to have some level of financial commitment in order to make the process work. for instance, donating patrol vehicles to the police, contributing to building a community police station, etc. having done this, the police too will have to be accountable to the people so that they will be encouraged to do more. idi b division some group discussants similarly submitted as follows: in other countries, they do not leave the financing of police to the government alone. but in nigeria, we feel the government must be responsible for everything. in other countries, some communities can provide logistics or whatever the police may need to enhance their performance. in other countries, organizations around the vicinity such as banks assist the police. fgd mokola division low literacy level a low level of literacy was another people-related job context factor militating against community policing. participants believed that low literacy makes it almost impossible for the average community member to know their rights and duties. these affect community policing in different ways. some participants stated as follows: illiteracy and lack of knowledge on the part of the people is a problems to community policing. fgd a division the level of literacy of the community members is very low and it is a problem. fgd a division some participants similarly remarked as follows: most people do not know what community policing entails. fgd mokola division our people are novices. things that are not supposed to panic them are what they panic and fidget over. those are some of the things militating against the practice of community policing. idi sango division many participants compared the attitude of nigerians with that of their counterparts in other countries: another thing is that in advanced countries their level of education and enlightenment is high, with a low level of poverty. they are free with the 126 police and when they pass information everybody goes back to his or her own business……idi headquarters in the us for example, the citizens are well enlightened, they know the law and their fundamental human rights. our people are not learned like in the western world. fgd b division colonial history of police the historical, traditional conception of the police was very noticeable from accrued data. the attitude of people towards the police probably resulted from such a traditional conception. participants noted that such traditional conception still affects police-policed relationships. some participants stated as follows: you know that from the historical background of policing itself, it was introduced by our colonial masters to intimidate, to oppress. so that mentality is still there with people seeing the police as an instrument of oppression. they do not see anything good coming out of the police. fgd a division an interviewee similarly stated as follows: you know the colonial mentality is still affecting our people because the colonial police were police of suppression. idi a division indeed, the probability that historical factors have affected the police-policed relationship is high. some group discussants recounted as follows: when i was younger in the village, i remember that the police were seen as an oppressive instrument. in ancient days, when the short nicker policemen arrive in the community, everyone will run towards the bush. nobody will want to see them and that mentality is still permeating in the society. fgd a division some group discussants further stated as follows: in the old era they see police as a necessary evil that cannot be avoided. fgd b division discussion the objectives of this study encompass exploring the obstacles posed by community members to community policing, investigating the underlying factors contributing to these challenges, and evaluating the nature and repercussions of these challenges on officers and their commitment to community policing. the data reveals a pervasive reluctance among individuals to cooperate with the police, which stems from deep-seated distrust and negative perceptions of law enforcement within communities. the findings underscore the complex challenges arising from public perceptions and attitudes towards law enforcement, significantly hindering the effectiveness of community policing initiatives. widespread distrust and resistance towards the police within society reflect broader concerns regarding legitimacy and procedural justice within policing practices (bradford et al., 2009; sunshine & tyler, 2003; tyler, 2017). other perceptions like fairness and responsiveness foster cooperation, while negative experiences such as discrimination or 127 abuse of power undermine trust and impede community engagement efforts (tyler, 2005; weitzer & tuch, 2006). the reluctance of community members to cooperate or engage with law enforcement, as evidenced in the data, aligns with existing research highlighting the adverse effects of negative police-community relations on crime reporting and community safety (lum et al., 2011; skogan, 2006b, 2006a). moreover, the tendency to avoid interactions with the police, driven by fear, stigma, or historical mistrust, mirrors global challenges in community policing, underscoring the necessity for targeted interventions to address underlying societal dynamics and cultivate meaningful police-community partnerships (cordner & biebel, 2005). other factors influencing cooperation with law enforcement in community policing efforts include fear of retaliation, past experiences, cultural attitudes, and socioeconomic disparities (braga et al., 2018; cordner, 1995). experiences and cultural attitudes contribute to suspicion and hostility toward the police, viewing them as oppressive rather than protective (mazerolle et al., 2012). colonialism in nigeria replaced traditional policing with a militarized system serving colonial interests, neglecting the needs of the populace. this legacy left a corrupt police force ill-equipped to serve the people in the post-colonial era (onyeozili, 2005). police professionalism and accountability are crucial for fostering trust, yet issues like brutality and lack of transparency undermine public confidence (sunshine & tyler, 2003; weitzer & tuch, 2006). arisukwu & okunola (2013) emphasize that the quality of interaction between the police and the public greatly influences crime prevention efforts within communities. if the police are perceived as corrupt or hostile, law-abiding citizens may hesitate to cooperate with them, allowing criminals to operate freely. this breakdown in trust makes the entire community vulnerable to crime and corruption. however, fostering a partnership between the police and the public can create an environment where corruption is less tolerated. in many societies, historical experiences, socio-economic disparities, and instances of police misconduct have contributed to a deep-rooted distrust of law enforcement among certain population segments (tyler, 2005). in nigeria, issues such as corruption, ethnic tensions, and ineffective policing strategies have contributed to widespread mistrust of law enforcement agencies (amnesty international, 2020). this distrust undermines community policing efforts, as residents may be hesitant to engage with the police or participate in collaborative crime prevention activities. hence, negative attitudes towards the police, fuelled by historical injustices, systemic discrimination, and instances of police misconduct, can erode trust and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the community. sherman & eck (2002) emphasise that community members' distrust of police can hinder the effectiveness of community policing initiatives, as cooperation and information-sharing are essential for problem-solving efforts. research by skogan & hartnett (1999) also emphasises the importance of trust in shaping individuals' willingness to engage with the police and contribute to community safety efforts. participants also reported fear of reprisal and stigmatization, fuelled by widespread apprehension of the police among community members (skogan, 2006b, 2006a; weisburd et al., 2003), presenting significant barriers to community engagement with law enforcement. concerns about potential victimization by the police, particularly in sensitive cases, discourage community involvement with the police (bradford et al., 2009). ordu & nnam (2017) highlight corruption within nigerian law enforcement, particularly in criminal investigations, skewing inquiries in favour of bribe givers. information sharing between police and the community for effective community policing is important, and citizens' participation fosters a positive relationship, enhancing policing efforts (ordu & nnam, 2017). given that police performance relies on public cooperation and support (chinwokwu, 128 2017), exclusion, intimidation, harassment, and brutality by the nigerian police force hinder community policing efforts, whereas effective crime control requires the police to understand the communities they serve, and build mutual understanding that fosters an environment free from fear and intimidation, encouraging cooperation and information sharing. the need for safety and security unmet by traditional state policing led to the evolvement of a collective responsibility involving formal state actors like the nigerian police force and informal actors such as community vigilantes and neighbourhood watch groups (saka et al., 2022). as the colonial system replaced traditional policing with a militarized system, leading to the emergence of a corrupt police force that neglects the needs of the people, "ethnic armies" as alternatives to the ineffective national police (onyeozili, 2005). hence, the rise of vigilantism in nigeria reflects a shift in trust towards informal policing alternatives due to perceived inadequacies in formal policing institutions (saka et al., 2022). communityoriented policing models advocated by kelling & moore (1989) underscore the significance of building trust and fostering positive police-community relationships (ordu & nnam, 2017). however, efforts to decentralize policing and promote community engagement in nigeria are hindered by colonial-era policing laws and regulations, facing resistance and legal obstacles despite reform endeavours (alemika & chukwuma, 2000). in his study, okereke (1993) delves into the hurdles encountered by the nigeria police force (npf) stemming from the intricacies of law enforcement practices and public sentiments. the research highlights widespread unfavourable public perceptions of the npf. okereke advocates for the enhancement of policepublic relations through modifications in law enforcement strategies and the public's perception of the police. these challenges of community policing in the country indicate that collaborative approaches prioritizing transparency and community involvement remain essential for effective community policing efforts. addressing them necessitates multifaceted approaches prioritizing collaboration, transparency, and accountability between police and communities. conclusion and recommendations the study underscores the multifaceted challenges faced by community policing efforts in nigeria, stemming from deep-rooted distrust, negative perceptions, and historical injustices towards law enforcement agencies. these challenges significantly hinder effective collaboration and cooperation between the police and communities, undermining the success of community policing initiatives. factors such as fear of reprisal, systemic discrimination, instances of police misconduct, and socioeconomic disparities further exacerbate these issues, leading to reluctance among community members to engage with law enforcement. furthermore, corruption within law enforcement, legal obstacles, and resistance to decentralization efforts pose additional hurdles to community policing development in nigeria. despite reform endeavours, colonial-era policing laws and regulations continue to impede progress in promoting community engagement and fostering trust between the police and communities. the findings of this study carry significant implications for policy formulation and the execution of community policing initiatives. research demonstrates that community-oriented policing approaches, which prioritize collaboration, transparency, and accountability, have a positive impact on trust and cooperation between law enforcement agencies and communities (kelling & moore, 1989). to foster trust and strengthen police-community relations, proactive measures are needed to promote transparency, accountability, and procedural justice within law enforcement organizations (weisburd & eck, 2004). strategies such as tailoring police practices to improve perceptions of procedural justice, providing officer training to influence behaviour, and implementing internal organizational 129 changes to ensure fair treatment of community members are potential avenues for improvement. emphasizing legitimacy underscores the benefits of consensual policing models, which encourage public cooperation, community identification, and engagement in crime prevention efforts (tyler, 2017). therefore, policymakers and law enforcement entities should prioritize initiatives aimed at rebuilding trust, enhancing accountability, and empowering communities. by fostering collaborative partnerships, enhancing officers' cultural competence, and addressing systemic inequalities, stakeholders can work toward creating safer, more resilient communities where law enforcement agencies are viewed as trusted allies in promoting public safety and well-being. in addition, effectively addressing security challenges and fostering sustainable development, including the development of policing, requires urgent government intervention to address economic disparities and unemployment crises (adesina, 2013). the prevalence of economic inequalities complicates efforts to build trust and collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities, aligning with existing literature advocating for equitable resource distribution and institutional transparency (bradford et al., 2014). furthermore, investments in education, poverty reduction, and community development can contribute to creating environments conducive to successful collaborative policing efforts (cordner, 1995). by providing comprehensive training to all police recruits and promoting community-oriented policing approaches, the gap between law enforcement and the community 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(2006). race and policing in america: conflict and reform. cambridge university press. page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 156 rising youth unemployment and poverty in nigeria: the challenges for national security terungwa p. j. jato department of business administration, joseph sarwuan tarka university, makurdi, benue state. +234 (0)8066051622, jato.brainwork@gmail.com abstract the interest of this paper is to examine the challenge of rising youth unemployment and poverty on national security in nigeria. the paper assumes relevance in a situation of rising youth unemployment and poverty accompanied by high wave of insecurity in the country. the piece concern itself with furthering the discussion on this complex problem by highlighting the vicious circle between youth unemployment and poverty and the effect of such on the fight against insecurity in nigeria. a descriptive approach was adopted with vivid analysis in line with the objective. it was reiterated that as paramount as security is for harmonious coexistence, economic prosperity, and national unity needed for global competitiveness, nigeria’s security is seriously challenged by key factors of rising youth unemployment and poverty. reviving/building of industries to reduce unemployment, training youths to be entrepreneurs/employable, and making agriculture attractive are among the suggested solutions. keywords: national security, nigeria, poverty, youth unemployment 1.0 introduction the related phenomena of unemployment and poverty have remained among the major global socio-economic problems. not only are the difficulties caused by these (individually or as a duo) telling so much on the global community, and worst on the less advanced parts, but their rising trends is becoming more worrisome. according to the international labour organisation (ilo) (2022), global unemployment is projected to stand at 207 million in 2022, surpassing its 2019 level by 21 million. and worst is youth unemployment. the ilo (2022) declared that, the share of youth not in employment, education or training in 2020 rose to 23.3% in 2022. attributing this rise to the covid-19 pandemic, it noted that the pandemic has caused many additional problems for 15 to 24-year-olds who have experienced much higher unemployment losses than older workers. in the less advanced region of africa, youth unemployment rate which was put at 12.7% in 2020 (i.e., over one in five young people in africa were not in employment, education, or training (neet)) has been deteriorating since then (ilo, 2022). the situation gets very bad in nigeria where unemployment rate rose from 23.13% in 2018 to as high as 33.3% in 2020; with youth unemployment standing at 19.61% in 2020 (national bureau of statistics (nbs), 2021). mailto:jato.brainwork@gmail.com 157 in terms of poverty, nigeria has been competing to maintain the title of the “world's poverty capital (wpc)”. in 2018, nigeria surpassed india to this title, with almost 87 million people living in extreme poverty, compared with india’s 73 million. however, by 2021, india became the wpc with about 83 million indians been plunged into extreme poverty as compared to 70 million nigerians in the same situation. statistics by the nbs (2019) show that, 40.1% of nigeria’s total population (excluding borno state) were classified as poor. in other words, on average, 4 out of 10 nigerians have real per capita expenditures below 137,430 naira per year. this translates to over 82.9 million nigerians who are considered poor by national standards. this has gone worse as the world bank report (2022) asserts that the number of poor persons in nigeria will rise to 95.1 million in 2022 from 89.0 million in 2020. this would mean that 6.1 million more persons would have fallen beneath the poverty line between 2020 and 2022, a 6.7% increase. on the security front, nigeria is equally not faring well. the country is becoming increasingly insecure. there are violent outbreaks constantly been recorded. the list include banditry commonly in the northwest and northeast, rebels in the northeast, violent separatist movements in the southeast, and gang wars in the southwest and southeast. there are also extrajudicial killings, farmers-herders crisis, and communal clashes witnessed across the country which are exacerbating security and socio-economic challenges in the country. this insecurity has continued to deepen with new cases and rising deaths regularly recorded. with nigeria experiencing worst economic downturns over a long time, and the mutual reenforcing nature of these problems – youth unemployment and poverty – creating a vicious circle, portends a dire social, political, and economic consequences for the country. as jato (2018) had observed, the popular old maxim which says “a hungry man is an angry man” might sound simple and often neglected, but has much meaning than it is probably commonly used. also, there is a saying that: “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop.” these sayings simply summarises the correlation between man’s wellbeing and economic usefulness and his behaviour (i.e., actions and reactions). in such situations of unemployment and poverty, the struggle to survive, and at all means, may undermine the security of others and the general national security. as such, the security challenges that nigeria currently faces are not unconnected to these problems of youth unemployment and poverty. and these security challenges begets yet other waves of youth unemployment and poverty, thus creating a vicious circle that is hard to break. 158 utilizing basically secondary data from secondary sources, using descriptive methods, this chapter x-rayed the growing rates of youth unemployment and poverty in nigeria over time, highlighted the security situation in nigeria, and attempted a link youth unemployment and poverty and insecurity in nigeria. 2.0 conceptual clarifications the cardinal concepts of this work do not call for much attempts of clarification here since they are already well-addressed ones. however, a little is done to introduce them as in the way herein used. 2.1 youth unemployment unemployment is said to be a condition in which a person who is able to work (i.e., in the labor force) and is actively looking for a paid job, but cannot find one. that is someone is said to be unemployed when s/he does not have a job but is willing to, able to, and actively seeking work. youth unemployment (yu) is, therefore, a situation where young people within the age range being defined as youth (e.g., 15–24 years old, by the united nations) who are willing and able to work and are searching for a job, but cannot find one (jato, 2022). also, youth unemployment, could be described as the conglomerate of youths with diverse background, willing and able to work, but cannot find any; or cannot find the type of job that they are trained to do, and which they will be proud to do as their area of expertise (uddin & uddin, 2013). 2.2 poverty literature on the definitions of poverty is vast. such definitions see poverty as lack of basic necessities of life including freedom, the state of vulnerability and the feeling of low selfesteem and rejection. it is a deprivation or denial of basic choices and opportunities needed for decent standards to live a long, healthy, constructive life and to participate in the society’s affairs. poverty thus mean suffering from any or a combination of the above-mentioned displeasing, derogatory and inhuman situations that tend to demean life either in absolute or relative manner (jato & otto, 2016; jato & kalu, 2016). based on the multidimensional poverty index (mpi), which intended to measure acute poverty in terms of both the proportion of experiencing multiple deprivations and the intensity of such deprivations, poverty expresses an individuals’ experiences with health, education, and standard of living (via traditional development indicators, like the availability of clean drinking water, and whether the home has a proper floor) (deonandan, 2019). 159 gweshengwe and hassan (2020) also viewing poverty from the multidimensionality and complexity of it, assert that, poverty has financial, economic, social, environmental and seasonal dimensions which interlink and reinforce each other. they extend definition of poverty to cover its absolute (acute deprivation) and relative (how poor one is in comparison to other people in a society), taking it further to age, gender and context. from the above perspectives, the summary by chambers cited in jato (2016) puts poverty in four (4) clusters of meanings which are: (1) income-poverty or its common proxy (because less unreliable to measure) consumption-poverty; (2) material lack or want, which, besides income, includes lack of or little wealth and lack or low quality of other assets such as shelter, clothing, furniture, personal means of transport, radios or television, and so on. this also tends to include no or poor access to services; (3) capability deprivation, referring to what we can or cannot do, can or cannot be. this includes but goes beyond material lack or want to include human capabilities, for example skills and physical abilities, and also self-respect in society; and (4) a more broadly multi-dimensional view of deprivation, with material lack or want as only one of several mutually reinforcing dimensions. for broadness, therefore, any of these clusters the seeks to identify the deviation from the expected minimum wellbeing of an individual is acceptable as a poverty. 2.3 national security in conceptualizing security, the absence of threats to peace, stability, national cohesion, political and socio-economic objectives of a country have been emphasized by many scholars, who view security as a dynamic condition which involves the relative ability of a state to counter threats to its core values and interest (okonkwo et al., 2015). by this perspective, the opposite of security – insecurity – is linked to such situations as: lack of certainty; danger; lack of protection and the state of anxiety or fear resulting from a concrete or perceived lack of protection (okonkwo et al., 2015). therefore, the ability of the state to protect its citizens from hunger, poverty, ignorance, disease, and all forms of defenselessness is defined as national security. this includes safeguarding citizens against all types of social, political, ecological, territorial, and cosmic threats. as a result, national security is synonymous with and denotes physical safety of individuals and groups, as well as freedom from threats, anxiety, or danger (zhema & adihikon, 2020). comparatively, while the traditional notion of national security stressed national integrity and sovereignty as the core values that deserve utmost protection, human 160 security, on the other hand, dwells on the protection and happiness of all persons all over the world, be it at homes, workplace, in the streets, and their communities (akwen & jato, 2021). national security is therefore a state or condition where state most cherished values and beliefs, democratic way of life, institutions of governance and unity, welfare and well-being as a nation and people are permanently protected and continuously enhanced. national security thus viewed is not only appropriate and aggressive blend of political resilience and maturity, but that of human resources, economic structure and capacity, technological competence, industrial base and availability of natural resources and finally the military might for the benefit of the citizenry. 2.4 conceptual framework knitted together in a complex and reenforcing nature is the relationship between unemployment (youth unemployment at its heart), poverty and national security. as conceptually depicted in figure 1, youth unemployment leads to poverty as the unemployed person has no income with which to meet his basic needs of food, cloth, shelter, health, and education. unemployed youth are then most likely to be poor. these (i.e., youth unemployment poverty) exert their influence on the economy by affecting the effective demand, resource utilisation, industrial competitiveness, and other economic opportunities that can place an economy in a global advantage position. upsetting these economic conditions, youth unemployment and poverty set in motions of economic mishaps and turmoil that cause more unemployment and poverty. these biting economic conditions spark disturbances (insecurity) in the national security system affecting the physical security of life and property, economic security of stable income/other valuable resources that guarantee the ability to consistently meet people’s needs, and then leads to breakdown of national values of equity, fairness and justice, and in their place, the values of “survival of the fittest”, “the ends justify the means”, etc., are enthroned. the distorted values then set in negative motions that further affects the economy, which further exacerbates unemployment and poverty. and the vicious circle goes on. in another way, the state of national security determines the rate of unemployment and poverty. a secured nation has less numbers of people in unemployment and poverty; whereas a nation with insecurity tends to have higher rates of unemployment and poverty. 161 source: author’s design figure 1: conceptual framework thus, figure 1 gives an overall relation between youth unemployment, poverty and insecurity that is akin to the situation in nigeria, and from which inference can be drawn to explain the nigerian phenomenon. 3.0 trends of youth unemployment, poverty and insecurity in nigeria let take a look at the movements in the variables under consideration. thus, discussed here are the trends of the youth employment, poverty and insecurity in nigeria. 3.1 youth unemployment in nigeria data from the international labour organization (ilo) database, hosted by with world bank, 2022 and corroborated by the national bureau of statistics (nbs) (2021), reveals that nigeria’s unemployment rate combined is 33.3% as at 2020 which has remained that high. the data also reveals that the worst-hit are nigerian youths with 19.67% unemployment rate (see table 1). this, according to the nbs (2021) corresponds to over 13.9 million currently unemployed. this rose from 13.1 million nigerian youths in q3 2018, the last time the report was released. youth between the ages 15–24 have about 6.8 million nigerians out of jobs and another 7.1 economy • effective demand • resource utilisation • competitive nigerian industries • economic opportunity youth unemployment • unemployment • underemployment national security • physical security • economic security • national values poverty • relative poverty • absolute poverty • multidimensional poverty 162 million also unemployed. the highest unemployment rate was recorded for youths between 15–24 years (40.8%). this is followed by ages 25–34 years at 30.7%. to show the enormity of this figure, the nigeria’s unemployed youth of 13.9 million is comparatively more than the population of rwanda and several other african countries. youth population is also about 64% of total unemployed nigerians, suggesting that the most agile working-class population in the country remains unemployed. an estimated 2.5 million of new labour force enters the nation’s labour market every year with 60% (1.5 million) of the new entrants being youths (including graduates) who possess only paltry job experience and skills (adesugba & mavrotas, 2016). values in table 1 (plotted by figure 2) show the movement in the numbers of unemployed youths in nigeria over time (1991-2021). this, in percentages, fluctuated between 9% on an average from 1991 to 2015 and came to as low as 8.218% in 2015. however, it got worse in 2016 when the country was hit by an economic recession. this resulted in over 13% of the youth being unemployed. and since then, it has been getting worse, and was aggravated by the impact of covid-19 which took the figure to as high as 19.67% in 2020. it dropped insignificantly to 19.67% in 2021. table 1: youth unemployment rate, 1991–2021 year youth unemployment rate (%) year youth unemployment rate (%) 1991 9.814 2007 9.611 1992 9.753 2008 9.605 1993 9.788 2009 9.587 1994 9.777 2010 9.576 1995 9.76 2011 9.58 1996 9.704 2012 9.697 1997 9.700 2013 9.77 1998 9.695 2014 8.804 1999 9.711 2015 8.218 2000 9.677 2016 13.135 2001 9.658 2017 14.454 2002 9.572 2018 16.175 2003 9.628 2019 17.72 2004 9.609 2020 19.665 2005 9.631 2021 19.608 2006 9.622 source: international labour organization database, with world bank, 2022. 163 figure 2: youth unemployment rate, 1991–2021. a distribution of the youth unemployment rate according to level of education shows that nce/ond and nursing recorded an unemployment rate of 30.8%; that amongst second-degree holders (m.sc,/m.s/m.adm.) stood at 22.9%, and it is 23.3% for doctorate degree holders. as the working-age population in nigeria is estimated to increase rapidly in absolute terms by some 66 million people between 2010 and 2030 (world bank, 2015), we are sure that, ceteris paribus, more and more youths will go without jobs in coming years if nothing drastic is done to check this ugly trend. 3.2 poverty profile in nigeria the first of the sustainable development goals (sdgs) of the united nations agenda 2030 targets poverty reduction; a recognition of the dare consequences of poverty and an indication that the fight against poverty is given its priority place in the global arena. however, in nigeria, the poverty rate has persistently been high and in 2019, the world bank ranked nigeria as having the second-highest rate of poverty globally, after india (world bank, 2019) and the united nations economic and social development affairs (undesa, 2019) reported that nigeria, alongside the democratic republic of congo, account for 23% of the world’s poor. 0 5 10 15 20 25 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 5 2 0 1 6 2 0 1 7 2 0 1 8 2 0 1 9 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 1 r at es year youth unemployment rate (%) 164 the poverty situation in nigeria greatly contrasts with her human and natural resources and other potentials. the country is said to be richly endowed with human and natural resources, africa’s biggest oil producer, and with a gross domestic product (gdp) base greater than any african country1. however, the statistics of the population of nigerians still grimly show a close to half of the population (i.e., 40%) in poverty (nbs, 2019) and 63% percent of the population (i.e., 133 million people) to be multidimensionally poor (nbs, 2022). the nbs (2012), like many others, had wondered this ironic situation saying: “it remains a paradox however, that despite the fact that the nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year, although it declined between 1985 and 1992, and between 1996 and 2004.” according to the nbs (2019), 40% of nigeria’s total population (i.e., almost 83 million people) live below the country’s poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) per year. as can be seen in table 2 (and the accompanying figure 3), poverty incidence had risen from 27.2% in 1980 to 46.3% in 1985, dropped to 42.7% in 1992 and rose to 65.6% in 1996. it again fell to 54.4% in 2004 and climbed again to 69.0% in 2010 only to dip in 2019 to 40.1%. however, the movement, as indicated by the trend line in figure 3, shows an increasing incidence of poverty over time. this can also be seen in another way from the population in poverty. it raised from 17.1 million people in 1980 to 34.7 million people in 1985. by 2010, 112.47 million people were deemed relatively poor with a drop to 89.2 million people in 2019. while this 2019 figure is still high (given the population), the poverty rate in absolute terms, which is as high as 82.9% (see world bank, 2022), reveals that more nigerians are in poverty if considered absolutely. table 2: poverty headcount from 1980-20192 year poverty incidence (%) estimated population (million) population in poverty (million) 1980 27.2 65 17.1 1985 46.3 75 34.7 1992 42.7 91.5 39.2 1996 65.6 102.3 67.1 2004 54.4 126.3 68.7 2010 69.0 163 112.47 1 at least as at 2021. 2 2019 provides the latest official poverty rates in nigeria. 165 2019 40.1 201 89.2 source: nbs (2012 & 2020) and world bank (2022). figure 3: poverty incidence, 1980–2019. this growth in number of the poor means that, conversely, the number of non-poor in nigerian has been on the decrease only to rise relatively in 2019. in table 3, the number of non-poor is shown to have fallen from 72.8% in 1980 to 53.7% in 1985. by 1996, the non-poor were less than half of the population at 34.4%. the number rose slightly to 43.3% in 2004 but fall again to 31.0% in 2010 and rose again to 59.9% in 2019. table 3: poverty headcount: non-poor, moderate poor and the extremely poor (%), 1980-2019 year non-poor moderately poor extremely poor 1980 72.8 21.0 6.2 1985 53.7 34.2 12.1 1992 57.3 28.9 13.9 1996 34.4 36.3 29.3 2004 43.3 32.4 22.0 2010 31.0 30.3 38.7 2019 59.9 n/a n/a source: nbs (2012 & 2020). with incomes precarious and food prices rising, food insecurity is higher than before, the poverty crisis has gone worse to the point that the possibility of an adult member of a household have gone a whole day without eating in the past 30 days rose from 6.4% in 2019 to 18.3%, 27.2 46.3 42.7 65.6 54.4 69 40.1 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 r at e s years poverty incidence (%) 166 2020. the current crisis could, therefore, have long-term consequences on future generations in nigeria (world bank, 2021). an analysis of the proportion of the population living below the national income poverty line showed that 53.5% of the nigerian population live on less than $1.9/day (united nations development programme, undp, oxford poverty and human development initiative, ophi, 2022). this is also reflected in the high cost of living occasioned by the high rates of inflation, which has further reduced the purchasing power of poor and vulnerable households in nigeria. considered from the multidimensional poverty index (mpi),3 the portion of multidimensionally poor people in nigeria rose from 54%, with the average intensity of deprivation of 42%, in 2018 to 63% with the average intensity of deprivation of 41% in 2022 (nbs, 2022). table 4 reveals that, while the national number of people with multidimensional poverty are approximately 133 million, the rural area has great share of this accounting for approximately 106 million people, leaving the urban area with only 27 million people. by the mpi of 0.302 for rural areas, it shows that people in the rural areas of nigeria are more deprived in terms of the mpi dimensions of health, education and living standards. table 4: multidimensional poverty by area area mpi incidence (h, %) intensity (a, %) population share (%) number of poor people (million) national 0.257 62.9 40.9 100.0 132.92 rural 0.302 72.0 41.9 69.6 105.98 urban 0.155 42.0 36.9 30.4 26.94 source: nbs (2022) these poverty rates cover both old and young, clearly follows from the youth unemployment figures earlier discussed that the youth are likely to be more in poverty. this is from the simple fact that, with no jobs (i.e., means of income), they have no or low incomes, which means low or no ability to meet basic needs, hence, deprived. 3 the multidimensional poverty index (mpi) is a measure of poverty that creates a more comprehensive picture of poverty. it reveals who is poor and how they are poor by focusing on a range of different disadvantages that poor people experience. 167 identifiable factors for this wave of poverty in recent time include, but not limited to, climaterelated shocks (such as floods and droughts), proliferated conflicts (which has displaced people, disrupted markets, and interrupted livelihoods), covid-19 which has ravaged the economy, and the rising inflation. the continuing happening of these have pose fresh threats to poverty reduction. added to these are other distortionary policies like the existence of multiple exchange rates and trade policy of bans on certain goods and the 2019 border closure. these, according to world bank (2022) have the potency of further weakening nigeria’s prospects for inclusive growth and poverty reduction. 3.3 security situation in nigeria nigeria, like any other nation, has as its fundamental constitutional duty the protection of lives and property and ensuring the well-being of the citizens. this, as contained in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, as amended, holds that: ‘the national assembly may make laws for the federation or any part thereof with respect to the maintenance and securing of public order and providing, maintaining and securing of such supplies and services as may be designated by the national assembly as essential supplies and services.’ it emphasized this stating that, ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’ (the 1999 constitution). other objectives in line with this are clearly stated in various sections of the nigerian constitution. these are supported by the sustainable development goal (sdg) 16, which seeks to “promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies” within and between nations. the increase in the breakdown of security in nigeria calls for serious concerns. there is an escalating wave of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, civil agitations, political and communal clashes, etc. going in nigeria and making it to increasingly become uninhabitable. the country is ranked 75th out of 141 countries surveyed on the 2022 global safety perception index amid worsening insecurity (institute for economics & peace, 2022). similarly, the 16th edition of the 2022 global peace index placed nigeria on the 143rd position among 163 independent nations and territories, haven scored 2.725 (institute for economics & peace, 2022). the terrorism index for the country has decreased to 8.23 in 2021 from 8.42 in 2020, however, still high (institute for economics & peace, 2022). other similar indices have highlighted the precarious security situation of the country, which have not only affected economic activities but increased threat to life and property. 168 the growing dimension of these security challenges are worrisome. there has been continuous attacks of terrorist groups of boko haram and an islamic state, affiliated splinter faction, the islamic state west africa province (iswap), killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and causing a protracted humanitarian crisis in the northeastern part of nigeria. conflict between pastoralists and farmers in nigeria's northwest has recently erupted amid a broader deterioration in security conditions involving cattle rustling, kidnapping, ethnic massacres, and emerging islamist extremist activity. farmer-herder conflict has also increased in the central middle belt, where resource access disputes intersect with ethno-religious divisions between christian and muslim communities. criminality and militancy in the oil-rich niger delta have hampered development and contributed to insecurity in the south. husted & blanchard (2020). insecurity in nigeria has left thousands of people dead, displaced, lack access to food, health facilities, shelter and clean water, with children more affected. table 5 presents a brief picture of the estimates showing the consequences of these insecurities in nigeria between 2009 to 2021. table 5: insecurity in nigeria at a glance form of insecurity region most affected major perpetrators no. of deathsa no. displacedb boko haram/ iswap north-east insurgents 37,600 3.2 million farmer-herder northcentral pastoralists 16, 550 450,000 militancy in niger delta south-south individuals 1030 n/a ipob south-east separatist group 1,870 n/a banditry/kidnapping all individuals n/ac n/a border conflicts all communities 680 n/a a,b estimates as at 2021. c armed bandits operating in different parts of the country are estimated to have killed more nigerians than the boko haram terrorist, group and other violent criminal gangs in nigeria. source: author’s compilation from various credible sources (2022) from table 5, insecurity, caused by boko haram/ iswap, farmer-herder, militancy in niger delta, the indigenous people of biafra (ipob), banditry/kidnapping, and border conflicts, has 169 claimed my lives and displaced many from their homes. this picture of insecurity in nigeria at a glance is not as horrifying as the actual one, taking in details the exact statistics of actual deaths, persons adopted, people with permanent injuries/in bad health, property destroyed, displaced persons, people thrown in starvation and psychological traumas, etc. the immediate and direct impact is thus, really felt by the actual victims. even the indirect multiplier effect that affects the generality of the country is painful with lasting long-run consequences. 4.0 links between youth unemployment, poverty and national security challenges whereas life in a secured nation is congenial for existence and institutional operations, an unsecured one is associated with ills of conflicts/disputes, killings, banditry, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, etc. as noticed in nigeria. in such a situation, the common and visible signs of security challenges are conflict, upheavals, hardships, general breakdown of law and order, loss of life and property, poverty, and loss of trust in the government. life tends to be nasty, brutish, and short as hobbs contends, and with palpable state of anomie. this is the synonymous to the present-day nigeria. there have been many attempts to create the link between youth unemployment, poverty and these national security challenges in nigeria. and as has been conceptually linked above, the relationship between these variables is not only complex but reenforcing. as noted by okafor (cited in ajaegbu, 2012), unemployment appears to be a major cause of violence in nigeria. unemployed youth are far more likely to be perpetrators than victims of crime and violence. the consequences of the widening gap between rich and poor are the conflicts and violence witnessed in the country, which are on the rise. individuals thrown into a dilemma due to lack of a job become vulnerable and susceptible to anything, good or bad, that can earn a living. this is reinforced by poverty and other associative factors like dirty politics, corruption, bad governance, population growth, etc. (ajaegbu, 2012). youth unemployment, thus has negatively impact a nation’s economic growth and development and other development indices of a nation. the youth are the most active group even in terms of consumption; as such, they constitute a great portion of the demand in an economy. therefore, their being unemployed means no income for them which affects their demand and then the economy suffers. according to mercy corps (2020), if left unchecked, youth unemployment can have serious social repercussions because unemployed youth tend to feel left out, leading to social exclusion, anxiety and a lack of hope for the future. this can lead 170 social vices like rape, prostitution, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug abuse, thuggery, etc. youth unemployment also makes the fight against poverty hard to win (mercy corps, 2020). obona and nweke (2018) as a survival mechanism, the unemployed and unskilled youth in ebonyi state resort to all sorts of criminal activities ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary, murder, rape, violent and conflict in the state there by making the ebonyi state. according to the oxford research group (2012), the mixture of lack of education and attendant lack of opportunities to a high male youth population has made the northern part of nigeria actually a breeding ground for terrorism. the group also noted that, increasing poverty in nigeria is accompanied by increasing unemployment. the world bank (2022), equally asserted that lack of job opportunities is at the core of the high poverty levels, regional inequality, and social and political unrest. the bank stated further that, inequality, in terms of income and opportunities, remains high and has adversely affected poverty reduction. the bleak employment climate therefore, partly accounts for the general insecurity in the nigeria resulting to terrorism, rape, burglary, murder, banditry, violent crimes, cyber-crime, kidnapping, and other unpatriotic conducts. while the youth population in nigeria is expected to grow further, with approximately increase of 60% between 2015-2030, the rate of youth unemployment is likely to keep rising correspondingly if much is not done to create jobs to match up with this population boom. in terms of the impact of reverse impact of insecurity on youth unemployment, insecurity can halt business operations during periods of violence and also result in the outright closure of many enterprises, particularly in areas or zones where insecurity is prevalent. it equally makes and environment unappealing to businesses and discourages intending investors to make business investments. this is because it raises the cost of doing business, either directly through the loss of goods and properties or indirectly through the cost of taking precautions against business risks and uncertainty. these expenses may have a negative impact on the development and progress of the business. these situations, when happened, create unemployment by loss of jobs – existing or potential. the state of insecurity in the country has equally been sustained by a regressing economy, lack of basic needs of life, and a growing sense of disenchantment with the fact that government and its representatives have not been fair to the people, thus pushing some citizens into criminal activities including violent crimes to make a living and to take out their anger on a passive 171 society. consequently, the state of increased lawlessness, violence, and criminality, which has become characteristic of life in nigeria, has further increased the dismalness of insecurity challenges facing the country. the diminishing standard of living and the deteriorating social infrastructure like roads, the educational system, hospitals, energy, etc. have all contributed to the desperateness of the people in the nation. on the other hand, insecurity curbs economic growth and often leads to heightened levels of poverty. thus, sustained conflicts are both caused by and contribute to poverty. however, according to the findings of nbs (2017), wealth does not necessarily protect households from exposure to conflict and violence. examining the effect of conflict on food security of the people, nbs (2017) found that 79% of households in the north east, 71% of households in north central, and 74% of households are food insecure. this shows how insecurity has further led to poverty. also tracing the reverse multiplier effect of insecurity on poverty (especially in the north-east, nigeria), the undp (2020) predicted that, for each direct death, an additional nine people (most of them children) will have been killed due to lack of food and resources. beyond the direct and indirect death tolls, various aspects of progress and development (namely gdp, poverty, malnutrition, infant mortality, education, water availability and sanitation) may not return to pre-conflict levels even by 2030. 5.0 way forward all hopes are not lost in fixing the socioeconomic ills of nigeria. all that is required is the right policies and the right actors with the right political-will to oversee the implementation of the policies. as such, given the right political actors with the right will, the following measures can work right if pursued. in tackling youth unemployment, the following strategies, as may have been advanced in many quarters, are still potent. 1. reviving/building of industries. lack of industries to employ the human and other resources that nigeria is endowed with is clearly one of the reasons for the high rate of youth unemployment. with the existence of industries, thousands of young people will be employed, and they will have the opportunity to lead useful independent lives. it behooves on the government and other well-meaning stakeholders to do everything possible to encourage the development of industries in order to absorb the millions of unemployed youths who are not only unproductive but also destroying the country by engaging in illegal activities. 172 in addition to the above, creating an attractive business environment that will draw foreign investors should be encouraged. foreign investors will serve a great deal in complementing the efforts of domestic investors. they will not only create employment through their business investments, but also generate revenue for the government, which can be used in other areas of development. this, if achieved, will significantly reduce unemployment and its consequences for the country's development. 2. training youths to be entrepreneurs/employable. despite the fact that industries are scarce, most nigerian youths are unemployed because they lack employable skills and there is high dependency on government jobs. the youth can be trained to have vocational skills in areas such as carpentry, welding, plumbing, and brick laying which are in high demand. by teaching them these skills, they will be able to establish their own outfits or get employed and fend for themselves and even assist relatives and younger members of their families. support from the government and other stakeholders in sponsoring a number of youths in various skill areas that will increase the demand them at completion of such trainings will be a step in good direction. 3. make agriculture attractive. if the agricultural sector will be revived and made attractive, it will provide many jobs for the teaming youths. the agricultural sector has the capacity to employ thousands of nigerians, increase food security, generate revenue, increase industrial productivity, and increase interindustry linkages through value-chain. and nigeria has the airable lands and the man power to make this sector work. all that is required is the political will and the sector will perform the wonders it once did. 4. development of infrastructure. much depends of infrastructure as the catalyst for economic productivity. with proper development of the critical sectors like energy and transport to provide basic infrastructure of electricity and road, there will be a rise in production and consumption that will call for more employment of labour and other resources. the ripple effect of infrastructural development is almost immediate with little or no time lags. as such, once achieved, employment generation will be automatic. 5. elimination corruption. corruption is, and has remained, one of the major adversaries in this country, which has fought against every development effort. however, various “attempts” by different administrations to tackle corruption have not seriously brought any good results. once this hydra-headed evil is subdued, most sectors will pick-up and unemployment will reduce. eliminating corruption will, for instance, do away with the issue of ghost workers in government establishments, draining the nation's resources while also discouraging qualified 173 employees from applying for those positions. these must be investigated and prosecuted in order to prevent future occurrences. in terms of poverty reduction, the key areas of provision of food, shelter, health, income, education, and security, once well targeted and achieved, can lead to reduction or possible reduction of poverty. as such: 1. prioritizing and accelerating the implementation of existing national policies and action plans that have an impact on poverty reduction in terms of food production will be a step in the right direction. increased investment in agriculture will lead to increased food production, and better food security that take millions of people out of poverty. this has proved effective in like china among other countries. 2. provision of homes for the poor. extension of government housing schemes to cover the poor will be another good measure of reducing poverty. rural housing project should be embarked on to provide moderate accommodations for the poor particularly in the rural areas. 3. ensure basic health care. the provision and monitoring of basic health care in terms of disease prevention by provision of good/adequate water, sanitation, health education, and affordable/effective health care centres is another component of the therapy for poverty reduction. this makes the individuals healthy and productive as it takes away man-hour lost to ill-health or possible lost to death of the bread-winner. 4. provision of income outlets. job creation schemes and empowerment initiatives, particularly for young people, that are geared towards poverty alleviation should continuously and seriously be pursued by the government and other opportune stakeholders. efforts at eradicating inequalities and just distribution of income should be sustained. studies have shown that a 10% increase in a country’s average income reduces poverty by as much as 20-30%. 5. provision of education. provision of quality education is also a veritable way of fighting poverty. this prepares the individuals for healthy living, income earning, and enhance longevity. the unesco has pointed out that, basic reading skills can lift 171 million people out of extreme poverty. 6. enhance security. while the goal of ending all forms of insecurities may seem a lofty one, it means a lot for poverty reduction. this is due to the close link between the two. in a secured environment, people engage in economic activities, earn income, improve their living 174 standards, and poverty falls. also, in such environment, budgets set aside to fight conflicts is used to provide public services that enhance people’s lives. it also reduces the risks that the most vulnerable communities face and ensures that equality and inclusion goals can be met. 5.0 conclusion as paramount as security is for harmonious co-existence, economic prosperity, and national unity needed for global competitiveness, nigeria’s security is seriously challenged by key factors of rising youth unemployment and poverty. these two factors seem to be the main causes of insecurity in nigeria. worrisome of these causative factors is that the relationship between them and insecurity is complex and reenforcing – made up of constellation of forces acting in a constant fashion as keep themselves reoccurring. as youth unemployment and poverty increase, national security breaks down and this further heightens youth unemployment and poverty, and it goes on in perpetuity if not checked. breaking this vicious link thus requires appropriate measures that will trigger pro-poor economic growth, create jobs, foster equality, boost food production, improve living standard, and create national unity. adherence to some of the measures suggested above can perform the magic. references ajaegbu, o. o. 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(january 9, 2019). half of the world’s poor live in just 5 countries. https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5countries#:~:text=the%205%20countries%20with%20the,congo%2c%20ethiopia%2 c%20and%20bangladesh. http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sites/default/files/apren12.pdf https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/987b9c90-cb9f-4d93-ae8c-750588bf00qa/am2021/global_poveq_nga.pdf https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/987b9c90-cb9f-4d93-ae8c-750588bf00qa/am2021/global_poveq_nga.pdf https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37295 https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099730003152232753/pdf/p17630107476630fa09c990da780535511c.pdf https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099730003152232753/pdf/p17630107476630fa09c990da780535511c.pdf https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5-countries#:~:text=the%205%20countries%20with%20the,congo%2c%20ethiopia%2c%20and%20bangladesh https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5-countries#:~:text=the%205%20countries%20with%20the,congo%2c%20ethiopia%2c%20and%20bangladesh https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5-countries#:~:text=the%205%20countries%20with%20the,congo%2c%20ethiopia%2c%20and%20bangladesh page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 133 political leadership and underdevelopment in nigeria: a study of igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state, nigeria adamaagashi izuchukwu prince department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology correspondence: adamaizuchukwu@gmail.com abstract this research delves into the issue of poor leadership and underdevelopment in nigeria, with a focus on the igbo-eze north local government area in enugu state. the challenges associated with leadership and developments in nigeria are well documented, especially in this age of globalization. while many tend to blame the north's industrialized western nations, the source of nigeria's problems lies in the country's own leadership response to critical issues, including poverty, food security, political instability, and technological development. the study aims to determine the nature, effect, and remedy of leadership and development in the igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state. the study utilized a multi-stage sampling method with a sample size of 360 respondents. face and content validity and cronbach alpha were employed to validate and evaluate the reliability of the questionnaire. data was gathered from the respondents through questionnaire method, and descriptive statistics featuring simple percentage and mean were used to analyze the data. the results demonstrated that poor leadership and underdevelopment were prevalent in igbo-eze north, with embezzlement, favoritism, and bribery characterizing leadership in the region during the last two political dispensations. additionally, leadership was discovered to have a significant influence on development in the area. the study also proposes potential solutions to leadership and underdevelopment problems, such as reframing leadership, overhauling the educational and healthcare systems, and constructing a healthy economy. the report proposes remedies, including rebuilding the educational and healthcare systems, and creating a thriving economy, to address leadership and underdevelopment in the specific area and throughout nigeria. keywords: political leadership, development, underdevelopment, corruption, igbo-eze north. introduction underdevelopment is a state of poverty and deprivation in which a society's resources are not fully utilized, resulting in lower-than-expected local or regional development. this often manifests as a lack of control over resources and the inability to process natural endowments, causing the society to be both regressive and oppressed. underdeveloped nations are often characterized by a wide gap between rich and poor populations and trade imbalances, and this unstable situation is often attributed to poor leadership and inadequate representation of the populace. this has led to economic sabotage and social issues such as prostitution. according to rodney (1992) and okoli and onah (2002), development involves forward progress towards a superior state, encompassing material and non-material aspects of life, including the mailto:adamaizuchukwu@gmail.com 134 enhancement of human resources and behavior. akpakpan (1987) and wilson (2002) view development as a qualitative process that enhances the general welfare of a society, resulting in positive changes in various areas of life. there is no universally accepted definition of development, but social science literature has explored its various meanings. without discussing underdevelopment, conceptualizing development in a nation's context would be difficult if not impossible. development goes beyond economic and social indicators to include positive changes in a society's overall welfare. according to frank's (1966, 1976) perspective, the concepts of development and underdevelopment only apply to nations operating within the capitalist world-economy. it is evident that underdevelopment does not imply a complete lack of progress since all people have advanced in some way or another, to varying degrees. rather, underdevelopment is valuable as a tool for comparing levels of development. frank visualizes the world-economy as consisting of two major components: metropolis and satellite, which are conceptually similar to wallerstein's (1974) core and periphery models. the flow of financial surplus in the global economy is from the satellite or periphery to the core or metropolis, an arrangement that systematically facilitates this transaction. the reason underdeveloped nations become and remain underdeveloped is that they are economically dominated by developed capitalist nations that consistently extract wealth from them, a phenomenon that frank terms the development of underdeveloped. nigeria's case is an instance of this. nigeria's economy primarily produces raw materials for export to developed countries. nigeria has put continuous effort into hastening development and restructuring its economy. unfortunately, the outcomes of such endeavors have largely been uninspiring (kayode, 2004). a swift evaluation of the nigerian economy reveals that its core features have not evolved significantly from the situation in the 1960s, and the situation is arguably deteriorating rather than improving. united nations experts define an underdeveloped country as having a low per capita real income compared to developed regions like the united states, canada, australia, and western europe. underdevelopment is characterized by inadequate economic development and low productivity levels. the term can also refer to a country that has not yet reached full economic maturity. underutilization of resources can cause a lack of job opportunities, healthcare, and basic necessities. different scholars have their own definitions of underdevelopment. nigeria is an underdeveloped economy that relies on external factors for finished goods. the per capita income in 1998 was $258 (world bank, 1998) and $300 in 2003 (todaro and smith, 2003). according to tegmm, the per capita income will reach $2400 and $2500 by 2022 and 2023. manufacturing accounts for less than 10% of the gdp, while crude oil accounts for over 90% of export earnings. widespread poverty is a visible problem that has worsened since independence in 1960 (okowa, 1994). according to englebert (2002), weak and arbitrary colonial rule is the root cause of 135 underdevelopment in nigeria. there is evidence linking a country's past colonial experience to its current level of economic development. according to thomas (1982), nigeria's problem with underdevelopment is due to relying too much on external factors and not developing independent socio-economic plans. frank (1990) argues that the global capitalist system, established through colonialism, perpetuates underdevelopment and can only be overcome by freeing oneself from capitalist exploitation. bennis (1989) believes that leadership involves inspiring others towards a shared vision and goals, rather than micromanaging their actions. kesting et al. (2016) define leadership as a process of motivating and influencing others to achieve organizational goals, while keans (2005) describes it as a purposeful and transformative relationship between participants who use their individual skills to advocate change. leadership in nigeria has been unsuccessful in effectively utilizing the creativity and resources of its people to promote the country's development. this indicates that nigeria's main problem is a deficient leadership. many political leaders have lost or lacked the ability to effectively govern, which has resulted in the misuse of state resources for their personal interests. according to onodugo (2016), the absence of vision and the presence of corruption among nigeria's past and present leaders have hindered attempts to govern effectively. it is widely recognized that a country's development is limited by the standard of its leadership. therefore, nigeria requires resolute and principled leaders who can effectively manage human and natural resources and promote sustainable national development. leadership is a necessary aspect of politics and involves an individual's capacity to inspire confidence and guide followers in order to realize common goals (okaneme, 2017). ogunmilade, nwoko & akhigbe (2017) define leadership as a process that is characterized by one person exerting more influence than others to achieve group objectives. despite being established in 1991 alongside other local government areas in nigeria, igbo-eze north local government area is still underdeveloped due to poor representation at both the state and national levels. in particular, lack of strong representatives in the state houses of assembly has prevented the implementation of necessary amenities for socio-economic, political, educational, and technological development in the community. this has resulted in inadequate provision of basic needs like access to wealth distribution, pipe borne water, health facilities, roads, schools, and cottage industries, resulting in poverty. empirical studies have shown that there is little to no overall development in igbo-eze north local government area in enugu state. the lack of provisions for these basic amenities is a key factor in local government underdevelopment, and the leadership of igbo-eze north has failed to represent the community in effectively advocating for these needs. while similar studies have taken place in other local government areas, none has been conducted in igbo-eze north. therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of leadership on the underdevelopment of igbo-eze north local government area in enugu state. 136 method the research conducted in igbo eze north local government area of enugu state, nigeria used the study survey research design. this design was chosen as it allowed the researchers to obtain the total views, opinions, attitudes, and interests of all respondents on a specific research issue at a particular period. the study centered on both youths and adults of both sexes, with the ages of respondents ranging from 18-65 years. this range was chosen to ensure that the ability to respond to questions is maintained. the study population comprised 10,117,809 villagers present at igbo eze north local government area of enugu state at the time of the study, projected to 2022. from this population, 360 villagers were selected using the taro yamane formula to determine an appropriate sample size for a finite (known) population, using a 95% confidence level and a 5% margin of error. multi-stage sampling techniques were utilized to select the 360 respondents for the study, as it involved numerous communities. simple random sampling was used to select respondents from each household, with one respondent chosen from each family to ensure equal representation. the required sample size was reached through this method. close-ended questionnaires were distributed to the selected households, with the researcher monitoring respondents in both the morning and evening to ensure the required number of correctly filled questionnaires were obtained. the data collection period spanned july 2021 to august 2021. questionnaire instruments were validated through face and content validity, while reliability was determined using cronbach's alpha. verbal and written consents were obtained from participants, who were informed they could withdraw from the study at any point if they were no longer comfortable. participants voluntarily participated in the study and their confidentiality was maintained in accordance with ethical standards. data obtained from the questionnaires was presented, analyzed, and interpreted using descriptive statistics, simple percentage, and mean. the hypothesis was tested using the chi-square (×2) at a 0.05 level of significance. results socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents the results of the survey conducted in ozzi, itodo, and essodo indicated that the majority of the respondents across the three locations were male, with 56.5% in ozzi, 51.5% in itodo, and 52.6% in essodo. however, the overall percentage of male respondents was slightly lower at 53.5%. conversely, female respondents accounted for 43.5% in ozzi, 48.5% in itodo, and 47.5% in essodo, as well as 46.5% of all respondents. 137 regarding respondent age distribution, the survey found that 29.5% of those in ozzi were aged 25-31, 22.6% were aged 39-44, 18.2% were aged 18-24, 14.7% were aged 45-51, 9% were aged 32-38, and 6% were aged 52-58, leading to a conclusion that most respondents in ozzi were aged 25-31. similarly, in itodo, 30% were aged 25-31, 20.3% were aged 18-24, 19% were aged 39-44, 13.7% were aged 32-38, and 7.7% were aged 52-58, implying that most respondents in itodo were aged 25-31. lastly, in essodo, 32.1% were aged 25-31, 20.5% were aged 18-24, 17.9% were aged 45-51, 14.1% were aged 39-44, 11.5% were aged 32-38, and 3.8% were aged 52-58, suggesting that most respondents in essodo were aged 25-31. the information regarding the marital status distribution of the participants shows that in ozzi, 54.7% of the respondents claimed to be single, 24.3% claimed to be married, 13.9% claimed to be separated, and 6.9% claimed to be divorced. thus, the majority of respondents in ozzi reported being single. similarly, in itodo, 53.2% of respondents reported being single, 28.7% reported being married, 12.5% reported being separated, and 5.3% reported being divorced. consequently, the majority of respondents in itodo reported being single. furthermore, in essodo, 56.8% of respondents reported being single, 24.3% reported being married, 10.2% reported being separated, and 5.1% reported being divorced. therefore, the majority of respondents in essodo reported being single. overall, the results indicate that the highest percentage (26.3%) of the total respondents reported being married. regarding the educational qualifications of the participants, the survey results indicate that in ozzi, 35.6% of respondents obtained waec/gce, 30.4% obtained a first school leaving certificate, 31.3% obtained a bsc in arts/science, and 2.6% reported having no education. therefore, the majority of respondents in ozzi had obtained waec/gce. similarly, in itodo, 49% of respondents obtained waec/gce, 28.7% obtained a first school leaving certificate, and 22.1% obtained a bsc in arts/science. only 0.5% of respondents reported having no education. therefore, the majority of respondents in itodo had obtained waec/gce. in essodo, 41.0% of respondents obtained waec/gce, 30.7% obtained a bsc in arts/science, 27% obtained a first school leaving certificate, and 1.2% reported having no education. thus, the majority of respondents in essodo had obtained waec/gce. overall, the results show that the majority of respondents (43.0%) were holders of waec/gce. in addition, according to the survey, in ozzi, the group of participants consisted of 32.2% students, 28% traders, 26.2% civil servants, and 11.3% farmers, meaning that students made up the largest percentage. likewise, in itodo, 30.5% of respondents were students, 29.3% were traders, 26.9% were civil servants, and 13.1% were farmers, resulting in a majority of students. in essodo, the survey shows that 29.4% were traders, 31.8% were students, 29.6% were civil servants, and 2.6% were farmers, indicating that the majority of respondents in essodo were traders. the survey also found that the highest percentage of participants (31.3%) were students. 138 substantive issues nature of development table 1: percentage distribution of response of respondents on the nature of development in igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state. s/n nature of developmentstag e sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 ∑fx ˉx result 1 electricity 70 35 40 160 31 93 121 224 107 107 360 934 2.59 accept 2 pipe borne water 59 295 63 252 16 48 98 196 124 124 360 915 2.54 accept 3 good road 49 245 60 240 13 39 105 210 133 133 360 867 2.40 reject 4 health care 67 335 52 208 12 36 98 196 131 131 360 906 2.51 accept grand total 2.51 accept source: fieldwork,2022 according to the table 1, the average response of the surveyed individuals is 2.51, which implies that igbo-eze north local government area is lacking in development. the table further indicates that there are issues with access to adequate electricity, pipe-borne water, healthcare, and affordable, well-constructed roads. what leadership in igbo-eze north looked like in the last two political dispensation 139 table 2: the distribution of responses of the respondents on what leadership in igbo-eze north looks like in the last two political dispensation. s/no nature of leadership sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 ∑fx ˉx result 1 embezzlement 149 745 127 508 07 21 28 56 49 49 360 1379 3.83 accept 2 favouritism 142 710 130 520 03 9 32 64 53 53 360 1356 3.76 accept 3 bribery 128 640 151 640 12 36 27 54 42 42 360 1376 3.84 accept grand total 3.81 accept source: fieldwork,2022 table 2 shows that every item had a mean rating that exceeded 2.5, and the overall mean rating was 3.80, surpassing the criterion mean of 2. based on this, we can infer that in the last two political eras, the leadership in igbo-eze north local government area was characterized by embezzlement, favoritism, and bribery. effects of leadership on development table 8: percentage distribution of response of respondents on the effect of leadership on development in igbo-eze north local government area. s/no effects of leadership on development sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 ∑fx ˉx total 1 highly negative 147 735 128 512 11 33 33 66 41 41 360 1387 3.85 accept 2 negative 141 705 139 556 5 15 41 82 32 32 360 1390 3.86 accept 3 positive 27 135 24 100 38 114 134 268 137 137 360 754 2.09 reject 4 highly positive 29 145 27 108 32 96 144 288 128 128 360 765 2.13 reject grand total 2.98 accept source: fieldwork,2022 according to table 3, two items had a mean rating that surpassed 2.5, while two other items had a mean rating below 2.5. the overall mean rating was 2.98, which exceeds the criterion mean of 140 2. consequently, we can infer that leadership has a significant impact on development in the igboeze north local government area of enugu state. way forward table 4: percentage distribution of responses of respondents on how effects of leadership on development can be improved in igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state. s/no possible solutions to the problem of leadership and underdevelopment sa 5 a 4 n 3 d 2 sd 1 ∑fx ˉx result 1 reframing leadership 146 730 130 520 11 33 39 78 35 35 360 1396 3.87 accept 2 radical transformation of the educational system 139 695 132 540 25 75 27 54 37 37 360 1401 3.89 accept 3 transforming the health care system 152 760 122 488 20 60 24 48 42 42 360 1398 3.88 accept 4 building of healthy economy 162 810 147 588 15 45 21 42 15 15 360 1500 4.16 accept grand total 3.95 accept source: fieldwork,2022 according to data in table 4, all the items received an average rating greater than 2.5. additionally, the overall average rating was 3.95, which exceeds the established criterion mean of 2. based on this information, it can be inferred that potentially viable solutions to address leadership and underdevelopment in igbo-eze north include reframing leadership, radical transformation of the educational system, transforming the healthcare system and building a healthier economy. relationship between leadership and underdevelopment in igbo-eze north. testing of hypothesis one hypothesis was tested using empirical methods in this study. the goal was to confirm the proposition's validity and determine the correlation between the variables being studied. consequently, the research hypothesis was tested using chi-square, also known as χ2. this involved using the formula χ2 = ∑ (oi – ei)2/ei, where χ2 is the calculated chi-square value, oi is the observed value, ei is the expected value, and ∑ represents the summation. the null hypothesis, ho, stated that there is no significant connection between leadership and 141 underdevelopment in igbo-eze north local government of enugu state. the alternative hypothesis, hi, claimed that there is a significant relationship between leadership and underdevelopment in igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state. to test the hypothesis, the responses considered were highly satisfied, satisfied, disagreed, and highly disagreed. alternative responses frequency percentage (%) highly satisfied 220 61.1 satisfied 100 27.8 disagreed 35 9.4 highly disagreed 5 1.4 total 360 99.7 a significance level of 0.05 (or 5%) was utilized in the hypothesis testing process. the degree of freedom (d.f.) was calculated using the formula k-1, where k is the number of columns. in this case, k was 4, so d.f. was equal to 3. a chi-square (χ2) test table was used to obtain the table value for d.f. = 3 and level of significance = 0.05, resulting in a value of 7.815. to calculate the expected frequency, the formula total frequency/alternative response was used, with total frequency being 360 and alternative response being 4, thus resulting in 90. the expected frequency was therefore 90. the table below was used to find the calculated value. alternative response oi ei (oi-ei) (oi-ei)2 highly satisfied 220 90 130 16,900 satisfied 100 90 10 100 disagreed 35 90 -55 3,025 highly disagreed 5 90 -85 7,225 total 360 360 27,250 the formula used to derive the χ2 value is ∑(oi – ei)2/ei, which resulted in a value of 75.7 after dividing 27,250 by 360. thus, the calculated value obtained is 75.7. decision rule to determine if there is a relationship between leadership and underdevelopment in the igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state, we compare the calculated chi-square value with the 142 table value. when the calculated value is greater than the table value, we reject the null hypothesis (ho) and accept the alternative hypothesis. conversely, if the table value is greater than the calculated value, we accept the null hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis. in this particular instance, the calculated value is 75.7, which is greater than the table value of 7.815. therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis, indicating that there is indeed a relationship between leadership and underdevelopment in igbo-eze north local government area, enugu state. discussion the study revealed that there are multiple areas of underdevelopment in igbo-eze north local government area. specifically, the respondents indicated that there is poor electricity, pipe-borne water, health care, and affordable good road. this study is in agreement with a study done to analyze the challenges impeding local government from rendering developmental services, muhammad & chikaji (2017). secondly, the study indicated that the nature of leadership in igbo-eze north local government area in the last two political dispensations has been characterized by embezzlement, favoritism, and bribery. this conclusion is drawn from the fact that all the listed items had mean ratings above 2.5, indicating that the participants rate these factors as frequently occurring. additionally, the grand mean rating of 3.80 is considerably higher than the criteria mean of 2, further emphasizing the prevalence of these issues in the area's leadership. overall, the research suggests that there is a significant problem with corrupt practices in the local government area's leadership and that intervention measures should be implemented to address these issues. moreover, the study also revealed that there are two items in the study that received high average ratings while two items received low average ratings. the study also identified that the overall grand mean rating for the study was 2.98, which is above the criteria mean of 2. based on these findings, the researchers concluded that leadership has a very high impact on development in igboeze north local government area of enugu state, nigeria. the grand mean rating indicates the average of all the ratings across all the items in the study. since the overall grand mean rating was above the criteria mean of 2, it implies that respondents generally held a positive perception of the impact of leadership on development in the local government area of enugu state. finally, the study indicated that based on the respondents' mean ratings, the proposed solutions of reframing leadership, radical transformation of the educational system, transforming the healthcare system, and building a healthy economy are feasible solutions to address leadership and underdevelopment in igbo-eze north. according to the research, all of the items had a mean rating above 2.5, indicating that respondents rated them as important. moreover, the grand total mean rating of 3.95 suggests that the participants had a relatively high agreement level on these issues. the criterion mean of 2 indicates that the respondents rated the solutions highly, which is promising regarding their success in addressing the issues. overall, the results indicate that the 143 proposed solutions have the potential to serve as effective strategies to enhance leadership and under-development in igbo-eze north. conclusion the primary aim of this research was to investigate the correlation between leadership and underdevelopment in nigeria, with a particular emphasis on the igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state. the study concluded that the key factor responsible for the country's underdevelopment is the inadequacy of political leadership. the research findings indicate that the issue of political leadership and underdevelopment have pervaded nigeria, rendering its development aspirations futile. in table 4 of the analysis, it was established that poor leadership in nigeria has led to underdevelopment at the federal, state, and local government levels, and especially in the igbo-eze north local government area of enugu state, manifesting in insufficient basic amenities, infrastructure deficit, among others. to address this situation, the electorate must choose leaders based on their competence, while leaders must abandon their self-interests and concentrate on public interest. recommendation 1. immediate intervention measures should be implemented to address the issues of corrupt practices in the leadership of igbo-eze north local government area. these measures should be aimed at reducing embezzlement, favoritism, and bribery in the area's leadership. 2. reframing leadership, radical transformation of the educational system, transforming the healthcare system, and building a healthy economy should be pursued to address the problems of underdevelopment in the area. these solutions were rated highly by the respondents and have the potential to enhance the leadership and development of the local government area. 3. focus should be placed on improving the provision of basic amenities such as 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(2009). politics of development and underdevelopment. johnejacob's publishers enugu. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 182 assessment of corporate social responsibility disclosure on return on asset and share price of seplat energy plc in nigeria 1olorunnisola abiola olubukola 2aruwaji akintola micheal 1department of business administration, kampala international university, uganda abiol2k2@kiu.ac.ug 2department of accounting and finance, kampala international university, uganda aruwaji@kiu.ac.ug abstract corporate social responsibility (csr) is considered an instrument for improving a company's reputation with key stakeholders, generating revenue, and improving bottom-line results; however, rather than corporate organizations, most studies concentrated on nigeria, a sovereign state. therefore, it is imperative to investigate the specific relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and its effects on asset returns and share prices, with specific reference to an oil firm such as seplat energy plc in nigeria. nigeria. ex-post facto or causal comparative designs were utilized because the study's data came from the annual reports of seplat energy plc on the nigerian stock exchange. pearson product moment correlation (ppmc) and regression analysis were used to analyze this study. the results showed that corporate social responsibility indices are positively related to roa, except size. additionally, it was observed that the corporate social responsibility index explains 46.8% of the variance in roa. because the size and donation values on the t-calculated values of -1.089 and 0.620, respectively, are less than the t-tabulated value of 1.833. based on the research findings, seplat petroleum development plc was found to have acknowledged the value of corporate social responsibility (csr) and to be fulfilling its commitments to both internal and external stakeholders as well as the broader community. it was recommended that a law be enacted that will fix the minimum percentage of profit that organizations should spend on corporate social responsibility. keywords: corporate social responsibility (csr), return on asset (roa), share price (sp), capital market 1.0 introduction corporate social responsibility, or "csr," initiatives are no longer only altruistic endeavors; they are now instruments for enhancing the company's reputation, appeasing important stakeholders, and boosting bottom line results. according to islam (2012), the definition of business has shifted from being about producing profits to being about social welfare, with companies now accountable to all of their stakeholders in addition to their shareholders. according to nicolau (2008), socially conscious businesses are those that balance stakeholder needs with the full spectrum of environmental impact when making operational decisions aimed at maximizing profits. the main aim of businesses is to make profit. other non-financial goals of an organization are typically perceived as being at risk in order to achieve this goal. businesses nowadays are understanding that they must be socially and environmentally responsible in order to be viable in a fast changing environment. thus, the idea of corporate social responsibility (csr) emerged from the conviction that businesses should consider the interests of all stakeholders in addition to their own shareholders when generating profits. corporate social responsibility (csr) is the continuous efforts of businesses to act morally, encourage economic growth, and improve the standard of living for employees and their families, as well as for the local community and global society, according to the world business council on sustainability development (1998). these days, companies are held accountable to stakeholders in addition to their immediate owners, such as debt holders mailto:abiol2k2@kiu.ac.ug mailto:aruwaji@kiu.ac.ug 183 and shareholders. this is a significant improvement over the past few decades, when corporations were solely focused on maximizing profits (manescu and starica, 2008). ajide and aderemi (2014) noted that organizations and societies in nigeria are becoming more and more aware of the csr issue. according to godfrey (2005), corporate social responsibility (csr) can offer "insurance-like" protection for many of a company's unique intangible assets, and this protection eventually results in wealth for shareholders. according to revelli and viviani (2015), csr in stock market portfolios is neither a strength nor a drawback when compared to traditional investments. however, the long-term effects of macroeconomic variables on the performance (market capitalization) of the nigerian stock market, including interest rates, foreign capital flows, exchange rates, gdp growth, inflation, and trade, were studied by felicia et al. (2020). their study focused on nigeria, a sovereign state, rather than corporate organizations; therefore, its purview was wider than ours. as we have seen from above, though studies on corporate social responsibility and performance remain rampant, there is a need to re-examine the specific relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and its impact on return of asset and share prices with specific reference to an oil firm such as seplat energy plc in nigeria. objective of the study i. determine the effect of corporate social responsibility disclosure on return on asset of seplat energy plc ii. ascertain the effect of corporate social responsibility disclosure on share price of seplat energy plc hypothesis h01: corporate social responsibility disclosure has no significant effect on return on asset of seplat energy plc. h02: corporate social responsibility disclosure has no significant effect on share price of seplat energy plc. 2.0 literature review the emergence of corporate social responsibility (csr) concepts related to corporate social responsibility originated from the understanding that a corporation's business ethics must incorporate an economics of responsibility (babalola, 2013). according to ajide and aderemi (2013), this means that the previous notion of laissez-faire business is replaced with determinism, individuality with public control, and personal responsibility with societal duty. susanto (2009) and nuryaman (2013) both listed the following advantages of corporate social responsibility (csr): (a) lower risk and prevent claims that the business acted unethically; (b) csr can act as a shield, assisting businesses in minimizing the negative effects brought on by their production activity. (c) employers with a strong reputation and a track record of enhancing people's welfare, quality of life, and environment will make their staff members feel proud to work there. measurement of corporate social responsibility 184 there have been many attempts to gauge social responsibility; nonetheless, the outcomes are typically inconsistent. this is probably because it can be challenging to determine what needs to be measured. for the purpose of measurement, boones (1984) classified csr as follows: community projects: those in which the business made a major contribution or offered a lot of assistance. these consist of local earth programs, student and social activities, civic and cultural programs, and youth activities; contributions to federated drives, educational initiatives, urban and civic affairs, and cultural events are among them. equal job opportunities: these have to include minorities and women; energy conservation and environmental concerns: this is the presence of rules or guidelines aimed at energy conservation; the voluntary sector: this measure, which is based on the number of hours that people who are lent or given a lease time for a public service job contribute, aims to promote social investment and individual involvement. these include loans that would not have been granted in the absence of social consideration or those that would not have qualified under the company's ordinary lending guidelines. organizations with a csr focus would proactively advance the public interest by supporting the growth and development of local communities. development of corporate social responsibility indices companies are realizing more than ever that their strategic vision needs to include csr as a key component. this focus is partially due to increased awareness on the part of the businesses themselves. on the one hand, this agenda is set by the larger society, particularly regulatory authorities depending on the climate, which now require businesses to be more socially responsible in their decisions and actions. in response to this trend, several global organizations developed csr as a new metric for assessing corporate value and set out to assess the market performance of socially conscious companies. this effort gave rise to the so-called csr disclosure. the csr indices have been employed as instruments to assess how companies and their operations affect the environment and society. these assessments have gained significant traction in the global financial markets as organizations aim to assess the contribution of corporate social responsibility (csr) to the overall value of a company's socially responsible investments (sri). the dow jones sustainability world disclosure (djsi world), the world's first csr disclosure, was developed in 1999 by the dow jones stocks and sustainability asset management co. with the intention of valuing the stock performance of socially conscious companies in light of societal norms. the finding that indices focused on environmental, social, and governance (esg) or csr topics have outperformed benchmark indexes globally has contributed to the following emergence of csr indices. in an effort to create a reflecting market mechanism that evaluates a company's efforts in carrying out its social responsibilities, stock exchanges all over the world are following the lead of the united states in many of the disclosure initiatives and the corresponding csr indexes that have arisen. sustainability reports are now required to be released by listed firms in nigeria. listing rules for companies on the exchange's premium board mandate the filing of yearly esg reports as of 2019.four key areas—economic, environmental, social, and governance—are the focus of the disclosure standards released to support the reporting of listed firms. it was recommended that businesses measure their sustainability initiatives using performance indicators that are guided by the four main areas, even if no formal csr disclosure was mentioned. the organizations are improving themselves as well as society by contributing positively to it. it is not just about earnings; it is also about the economy and employee mindset (okeudo, 2012). 185 firm's performance and the capital market a company's performance is a complex and varied phenomenon (ress and robinson, 2004). previous studies showed that managers' companies' performance measurements provided them with support in formulating plans and in questioning their views and presumptions about their firms. this was in line with the concept of double-loop learning and provided managers with a means of identifying the discrepancy between expectations and actual results (neely and najjar, 2006). the primary determinants of a company's performance are its profitability and the performance of its stocks on the capital market. firm performance measures are classified into two categories: market-oriented measurements and accounting-oriented measures. it is widely acknowledged that accounting-based assessment is a valuable indicator of the profitability of the company when compared to a benchmark rate of return equivalent to the risk-adjusted weighted average cost of capital. the following are only a few examples of measurement indicators of a business's profitability that are based on accounting: profit margin (pm): the ratio of profit after taxes to turnover or net sales is used to compute profit margin. its main function is to give information about the proportion of profit that sales can produce. because profit for the period is compared to sales for the current period, this accounting-based performance indicator might be classified as forward-looking. roa (return on assets): it is commonly calculated by dividing total assets by profit after taxes. an alternative method is to divide earnings before interest and tax by the entire amount of assets. it provides insight into how well management uses its resources to turn a profit. divide profit by equity to arrive at return on equity (roe), a metric. return on equity is a gauge of a company's profitability. the division of profit by equity yields the return on equity (roe) metric. by indicating how much profit a business makes with the capital that shareholders have contributed, return on equity serves as a gauge of a corporation's profitability. its combination of market-based equity and accounting-based profit makes it a popular choice for a hybrid measure of a company's performance. roce stands for return on capital employed. the aforementioned ratio is commonly considered a basic measure of a company's profitability. usually, it is understood to be the sum of the business's long-term borrowings and owners' equity. in light of this, it considers overall business efficiency. share price (sp): the market price of a share of common equity, as reported by stickney et al., is a very special and informative figure because it represents the combined expectations of all market players following that particular stock. the market price reflects the outcome of the market's trading activity in that stock. it condenses the collective knowledge that market players possess about the company as well as the collective projections regarding the company's growth and profitability in the future. a share's price isn't set; instead, it fluctuates based on the state of the market. empirical review nuryaman (2013) studied one hundred manufacturing companies that were listed between 2010 and 2010 on the indonesian stock exchange (idx). the study's goal was to find out how 186 corporate social responsibility (csr) disclosure activities affected business performance. the study used share price, roa, and npm as operational performance indicators to analyze the performance of the company in the market and to evaluate corporate performance. the study's findings indicate that csr disclosure has a positive impact on stock prices and significantly impacts business profitability. ajide and aderemi (2014) investigated the effects of corporate social responsibility activities (csr) disclosure on bank profitability in nigeria. along with independent variables like owners' equity, bank size, and csr disclosure scores, the model also included returns on equity (roe), a dependent variable that measures how profitable banks are. the findings indicated a negative correlation between owners' equity and bank profitability and a positive correlation between banks' size and csr disclosure score. babalola (2013) used the ordinary least squares technique (ols) to investigate how corporate social responsibility affected the profits of ten randomly selected nigerian companies between 1999 and 2008. the finding showed the outcome that corporations gave less than 10% of their annual profit to social responsibility, while the exact amount varied amongst them. the empirical study found that the two variables—profit after tax and investment in social responsibility, or pat and csr—had an inverse correlation, or negative relationship. mahbuba and farzana (2013) used dutch bangla bank ltd. (dbbl) as a case study to analyze the connection between csr and profitability in bangladesh. annual reports from dbbl from 2002 to 2011 were used in the study. the results demonstrated a favorable correlation between profitability (calculated using earnings after taxes) and corporate social responsibility (csr). using primary data, dabbas and al-rawashdeh (2012) investigated the impact of corporate social responsibility (csr) on the earnings of jordanian industrial enterprises. to gather responses to the questionnaires, they employed a sample of fifty employees from jordanian industrial enterprises. according to the study, there is a substantial correlation between industrial companies' profitability and corporate social responsibility (csr) initiatives, such as establishing non-profit projects, donating to charity, and supporting these initiatives. nonetheless, there is no connection between the success of industrial enterprises and awareness and advisory efforts. wibowo (2012) used a sample of 25 companies from sri-kehati disclosure and studied the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and profitability (as determined by return on assets) for the years 2005–2010. results indicate that social performance has a positive correlation with firm profitability and that business profitability has a positive correlation with firm social performance. a sample of forty audited financial statements of quoted businesses is used by uadiale and fagbemi (2012). the study looks at how csr initiatives affect financial success as determined by roe and roa, or return on assets. the findings demonstrate a strong and favorable correlation between csr and financial success metrics. akanbi and ofoegbu (2012) investigated how corporate social responsibility (csr) affected the performance of banking organizations, specifically focusing on the united bank for africa. the study, which employed primary data and conducted interviews with 250 bank workers, found that the elements of corporate social responsibility have an impact on organizational performance. in order to investigate the connection between corporate social responsibility and financial success in nigeria, olayinka and temitope (2011) used a qualitative study methodology. data on variables thought to be related to both financial success and corporate social responsibility 187 (csr) were collected for the study. these factors included the environment management system, employee relations, community performance, and roe and roa. the outcome demonstrates that there is a substantial and favorable correlation between csr and financial success metrics. these findings added to the growing corpus of empirical evidence supporting csr's beneficial effects on financial performance. the perception of investors and financial analysts on the improvement of earnings quality through corporate social responsibility (csr) was studied by hyunjung and doocheol (2016). they used the korea economic justice institute disclosure as a proxy for csr participation and a sample of korean-listed businesses from 2002 to 2011. employing earnings response coefficients (ercs) as a tool to gauge investors' opinions on the quality of earnings, they discovered that companies that participate in csr have higher ercs. on the other hand, they discovered that enterprises that participate in corporate social responsibility (csr) have a stronger predictive ability of past earnings when utilizing past earnings to estimate future earnings to quantify analysts’ judgments of earnings quality. the findings demonstrated how capital market players view csr as a signal of enhanced earning quality. upon reviewing corporate social responsibility and stock prices: a study on the italian market, giovanni et al. (2015) found that, when considering various social performance indicators related to environment, community, and employment activities, stock prices were used as a proxy for financial performance. they discovered evidence of a negative correlation between good social performance and stock prices in the italian stock exchange market, with this correlation being especially evident when taking into account the environmental strategies of the italian listed companies, which italian investors view as avoidable expenses that reduce shareholders' income and companies' value. this data aligns with the characteristics of the italian capitalist system, which appears to be immature enough to properly assess the worth of these measures due to its reluctance to embrace csr and associated issues. based on two concepts—socially responsible investing (sri) and business donations to stakeholders—yunhchih (2011) created a local csr disclosure (csri). in order to compare shortand long-term stock returns to those of benchmark portfolios (market disclosure, value stocks, and growth stocks), three csr portfolios based on the csri (high, medium, and low) are constructed using data sampled from the taiwan stock exchange and taiwan economic journal for the years 2001 to 2009. the primary discovery indicates that stock performance is considerably enhanced by fulfilling corporate social responsibility. the inference implies that a company could pursue an increase in stockholder value while also acting as a decent corporate citizen. 3.0 methodology ex-post facto or causal comparative designs were utilized because the study's data came from the annual reports of seplat energy plc on the nigerian stock exchange. the demographic sample was selected based on information from seplat energy plc's annual report covering the seven-year period from 2014 to 2020. pearson product moment correlation (ppmc) and regression analysis were used to analyze this study. 4.0 results 188 h01: seplat energy plc's return on assets is not significantly impacted by their disclosure of corporate social responsibility. to test the hypothesis, a multiple regression model built on spss version 25 was employed. in order to determine the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure on return on equity (roa), the data for the independent variables in table 1 were regressed on the roa data. decision rule: if the computed t-value is higher than the tabulated t-value, the null hypothesis is to be rejected. table 1: correlations of csrd and roa returnonasset csrd totalasset returnonasset pearson correlation 1 -.208 -.437 sig. (1-tailed) .327 .163 n 7 7 7 csrd pearson correlation -.208 1 .823* sig. (1-tailed) .327 .012 n 7 7 7 totalasset pearson correlation -.437 .823* 1 sig. (1-tailed) .163 .012 n 7 7 7 *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed). source: spss output file (v25) table 1 illustrates the relationship between firm size, return on asset, and csr donations. with r= -0.208 and -0.437 for csrdln and sizln, respectively, it is clear from the table that the independent variables have a combined negative correlation with return on asset. table 2: model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .512a .262 -.107 .57435 a. predictors: (constant), totalasset, csrd b. dependent variable: returnonasset source: spss output file (v25) table 2 shows that the research model's known r value is 0.512 and its coefficient of determination is -0.107, or adjusted r square. this implies that 51.2% of the variance in the dependent variable can be explained by the independent factors. that example, a 51.2% increase in roa will result from a 1% increase in the independent variable. the independent variables in the study model have not been able to account for the 57.4% variance in the dependent variable. stated differently, 51.2% of roa is influenced by csrdln and sizln, whereas 57.4% is influenced by variables not included in the study. adjusted r square was chosen for the interpretation because, in cases involving small samples (such as the present seven samples), the r square value in the sample tends to be an overly optimistic estimate of the true value in the population (tabachnick & fidell, 2001). in order to produce a more accurate estimate of the true population value, the adjusted r square statistic "corrects" this value. 189 table 3: regression result for csr indicators and roa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) .545 .711 .767 .486 csrd .521 .842 .468 .620 .569 totalasset -.002 .001 -.822 -1.089 .338 a. dependent variable: roa table 3's results indicate that, while all other factors remain unchanged, a 1% increase in corporate social responsibility donations will result in a 46.8% rise in roa. conversely, an increase in total assets will result in an 82.2% decrease in roa. this suggests that while firm size has a negative influence on roa, corporate social responsibility donations have a favorable impact on roa. decision: the decision is made based on the fact that the t-calculated values for size and donation, which are -1.089 and 0.620, respectively, are less than the t-tabulated value of 1.833. this indicates that the size has a negative (β-0.822) but insignificant (p-value 0.338 > 0.005) effect on roa, and that the corporate social responsibility donation has a positive (β 0.468) and insignificant (p-value 0.569 > 0.005) effect on the firm's net profit margin. h01: csr has no significant impact on roa. test result for hypothesis 2 h02: corporate social responsibility disclosure has no significant effect on share price of seplat energy plc. to test the hypothesis, a multiple regression model built on spss version 25 was employed. in order to determine the impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure on return on equity (sp), the data for the independent variables in table 1 were regressed on the sp data. decision rule: if the computed t-value is higher than the tabulated t-value, the null hypothesis is to be rejected. table 4: correlations of csrd and sp shareprice csrd totalasset 190 shareprice pearson correlation 1 .493 .365 sig. (1-tailed) .130 .210 n 7 7 7 csrd pearson correlation .493 1 .823* sig. (1-tailed) .130 .012 n 7 7 7 totalasset pearson correlation .365 .823* 1 sig. (1-tailed) .210 .012 n 7 7 7 *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (1-tailed). the relationship between csr donations, firm size, and share price is displayed in table 4 above. with r= 0.493 and 0.365 for csrdln and sizln, respectively, it is clear from the table that the independent variables have a combined positive correlation with return on asset. table 5: model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .498a .248 -.127 173.834 a. predictors: (constant), total asset, csrd b. dependent variable: share price source: spss output file (v25) according to table 5, the research model's known r value is 0.498, and the coefficient of determination (or adjusted r square) is -0.127. this implies that the independent factors' explanatory power over the dependent variable is 49.8%. stated otherwise, a 1% rise in the independent variable will result in a 49.8% rise in sp. the independent variables in the research model have not been able to account for the 17383% variance in the dependent variable. stated otherwise, 49.8% of the variables studied—csrdln and sizln—have an impact on sp, whereas 17383% are influenced by other factors. the reason for using adjusted r square in the interpretation is that, in situations involving small samples (such as the seven samples in this example), the r square value in the sample tends to be an overly optimistic estimate of the true value in the population (tabachnick & fidell, 2001). a more accurate approximation of the true population value is obtained by "correcting" this figure using the adjusted r square statistic. table 6: regression result for csr indicators and sp 191 model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta tolerance 1 (constant) 352.478 215.150 1.638 .177 csrd 199.413 254.710 .597 .783 .477 .323 totalasset -.071 .427 -.126 -.165 .877 .323 b. dependent variable: sp table 6's results indicate that, assuming all other factors remain unchanged, a 1% increase in corporate social responsibility donations will result in a 59.7% rise in sp. conversely, a rise in total assets will result in a 12.6% decline in the sp. this suggests that while a company's scale has a negative impact on sp, corporate social responsibility donations have a positive impact on sp. decision: the null hypothesis is accepted at the 5% level of significance because the tcalculated values for size and donation, -0.165 and 0.783, respectively, are less than the ttabulated value of 1.833. this suggests that size has a negative (β-0.126) but insignificant (pvalue 0.877 > 0.005) effect on sp, and that the donation for corporate social responsibility has a positive (β 0.597) and insignificant (p-value 0.477 > 0.005) effect on the firm's net profit margin. h02: csr has no significant effect on sp. discussion of findings the first hypothesis test reveals a positive correlation between roa and corporate social responsibility indices, with the exception of size. additionally, it was observed that the corporate social responsibility index explains 46.8% of the variance in roa. because the size and donation values on the t-calculated values of -1.089 and 0.620, respectively, are less than the t-tabulated value of 1.833, the null hypothesis is accepted at the 5% level of significance. this means that the size of the donation has a negative (β -0.822) but significant (p-value 0.338 < 0.005) effect on seplat petroleum development plc's roa, while the donation itself has a positive (β 0.468) but insignificant (p-value 0.569 > 0.005) effect on the firm's roa.the outcome confirms the research of nuryaman (2013) and wibowo (2012), who discovered a positive relationship between return on assets and corporate social responsibility. based on the results of hypothesis 2, corporate social responsibility indices have a positive correlation with sp, except for size. furthermore, 59.7% of the explanatory power for identifying sp can be attributed to the corporate social responsibility index. at the 5% level of significance, the null hypothesis is accepted because the donation and size t-calculated values of 0.783 and -0.165 are less than the t-tabulated value of 1.833. this implies that the effect of donations on the firm's sp is positive (β 0.597) but not statistically significant (p-value 0.477 >0.005), whereas the effect on seplat petroleum development plc's sp is negative (β -0.126) and negligible (p-value 0.877 > 0.005). 5.0 conclusion and recommendations 192 based on the research findings, seplat petroleum development plc was found to have acknowledged the value of corporate social responsibility (csr) and to be fulfilling its commitments to both internal and external stakeholders as well as the broader community. the study generally shows that corporate social responsibility has a favorable effect on performance metrics. it was suggested that legislation be passed to establish a minimum percentage of profits that businesses 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[isbn: 978-0-262-51113-2] page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 27 influence of corporal punishment on english language students in enugu education zone aniagolu, h. n. enugu state college of education technical, enugu. haniagolu@yahoo.com abstract there seems to be a belief that ‘if one spares the rod, a child gets spoilt’. this notion seems to negate effective learning. therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in the english language in the enugu education zone. three purposes of the study and the corresponding research questions guided the study. the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. education zone has 36 public secondary schools and a student population of 56,620. out of this number, a sample size 397 was drawn using the yaro yamane formula for sample size determination. the instrument used for the collection of data was a questionnaire designed on a likert scale of strongly agree (sa), agree (a), disagree (d), and strongly disagree (sd). the instrument was validated by lecturers from enugu state college of education (technical), enugu. the test-retest method was adopted for the reliability test. pearson product moment correlation coefficient was the statistical tool for the computation. the result was 0.796, showing a positive correlation. the mean was used as a tool for data analysis. the decision rule is that it is accepted when the calculated mean in each cluster is 2.50 and above. the reverse prevails when the calculated mean is less than 2.50. corporal punishment affects class participation in the english language in secondary schools in enugu educational zone. again, the government should organise workshops on alternative forms of corporal punishment. this is very expedient because there seems to be this inherent notion in africa and perhaps other climes that if one ‘spares the rod, the child will be spoilt.’ keywords: corporal punishment, education, enugu state, language. introduction educational institutions have the unique attribute of ensuring that those who pass through the system must be found worthy in character and learning. schools set the standard rules of engagement to achieve the set goals. punishment is equally meted out to students who contravene the rules. thus, punishment could be viewed as an action taken to correct and refocus students’ activities for a better result. however, there are situations where the punishment awarded to students who failed to abide by the rules is beyond the age of the students, or the punishment given is not in tandem with the offence committed. this is referred to as corporal punishment. bogacki (2015:193) noted that corporal punishment uses physical force to cause a child to experience pain, but not injury, to correct or control the child’s behaviour. such physical force includes patting, hitting, punching, spanking or other forms of punishment. educational psychologists have added verbal abuse, such as insults and threats, as forms of corporal punishment to students. every teacher expects an outstanding learning outcome from students. to this end, teachers would constantly assess class participation by questioning the students in a situation where students fail to understand what the teacher is teaching because of some indiscipline behaviour like noise-making, failure to do take-home assignments, and careless personal hygiene, among mailto:haniagolu@yahoo.com 28 others. this may trigger actions from the teacher to the students that may be called corporal punishment. such include but are not restricted to inflicting physical pains like flogging, hitting, and verbal abuse, among. this type of unruly behaviour is common in general subject classes like the english language class because students are often large in number and, at times difficult to call them to order. the immediate action of the teacher may trigger corporal punishment on the students to draw their attention. eya and ebene (2014:175) affirmed that a negative physical and social environment significantly influences students’ comfort level participation. such a negative environment includes the reaction of the teacher at every provocation. eya and ebenebe (2014) further pointed out that where the school is large, and classes are too crowded so that the teacher does not even know their students, many students tend to hide behind the cover of anonymity and engage in the behaviour they normally would avoid. under such circumstances, the teacher may dish out punishment with all intents and purposes to control the students. some punishments may be corporal punishment like flogging or using derogatory words on students. ritchie (2018:1) affirmed that corporal punishment reflects a failure on the part of the teacher, and from the pedagogical disposition, the author noted that corporal punishment is an assault on the dignity of the teaching profession; hence any act that inflicts physical or emotional pain on the learner lead to anti-social behaviour which ultimately makes the entire efforts of teachers. corporal punishment impedes students' listening skills in the english language class and in all other subjects. listening involves receiving language through the ears. it involves identifying the sounds of speech and processing into words and sentences. when listening, the ears receive sounds like letters, rhythm and pauses (nnamdi et al., 2019). listening sends a signal to the brain for interpretation under normal conditions; the brain receives the signal and gives it meaning. however, under an abnormal condition that may be perpetrated by corporal punishment, the brain may be receiving the wrong signal, as may be caused by fear and anxiety. as seaward (2019) noted, anxiety or fear induces worries, loss of self-confidence, loss of focus, forgetfulness, nightmares, loss of sexual interest, sleeplessness, increased heartbeat, and irritability with others, among other mental health challenges. owen (2013), buttressing the position, affirmed that identifiable factors impede effective listening. these include the mental state of the listener and lack of listening preparation. sometimes, students suffer emotional trauma not even from the teacher but probably from family violence. this could trigger mental torture and mind absence from the class. a teacher who may not be observant could throw a question to the challenged student only to receive an unthinkable response or, at best, complete silence from the student. the teacher may, out of ignorance of the students’ mental challenge, award verbal abuse or physical injury to the student to redirect the student's mindset. such correction may not be effective but rather induce more fear and anxiety in the learner. the social environment where learning occurs is crucial for effective learning outcomes. part of the social environment is the relationship between the students and the teachers. baker (2016:09) maintained that a strong teacher-student relationship is one of the most critical environmental factors in changing a child’s educational path. establishing good social relationships can seriously impact effective teaching and learning and give room for accurate student evaluation by teachers. when teachers employ corporal punishment, it breeds tension and fear. attendance to class under such circumstances may suggest a nightmare to students. in their nature, human beings abhor pains and easily adapt to pleasure. shaikhnang, assan and locate (2015) stressed that even if corporal punishment discourages misbehaviour, it does not foster appropriate behaviour. for the authors, corporal punishment affects relationships and deters a positive mindset; it sets the mental state of the students negatively against the teachers. 29 perception varies among teachers and even students, who are the direct recipients of corporal punishment on whether corporal punishment is good or not. ojo (2018) noted that in nigerian schools, corporal punishment is perceived as an integral part of education, holding a place in school teaching. the perception has been that corporal punishment that has the potential to decrease misbehaviours amongst children to increase the likelihood that the children will subsequently engage in desirable behaviour in the future, even when parents or adults are not around to discipline them. others, however, perceive corporal punishment as bad and retrogressive. opponents of corporal punishment noted that instructors may discipline children by assigning non-abusive physical tasks. they state that teachers can ask students to perform light chores like fetching water, weed a school farm or fixing what they have broken (human right watch, 2018:11). the opponents further argued that if we are legally prohibited from striking other adults, why is it okay to strike a child. corporal punishment has been associated with a variety of psychological and behavioural disorders in children and adults, including anxiety, depression, withdrawal, low self-esteem, impulsiveness, delinquency and abuse of substance. despite the apparent negative implication of awarding corporal punishment as means of correcting students, in some parts of the world, it is used extensively freely, partly because teachers do not know any other method to discipline students due to the low level of education and partly because there are no measures in existence to restrain its use (mwamwenda, 2015). however, in 1989 governments worldwide promised all children their rights by adopting the united nations conversion on the child's rights (crc). the convention stipulates that school discipline has to be consistent with the child’s human dignity and conformity with the present convention. article 28(2) dictates that “it is without using corporal punishment’. (unicef 2010 in dlamini, dlamini &bhebhe, 2017). despite the criticism leveled against the use of corporal punishment in schools, some teachers and even parents believe it is the best way to inculcate desired value on young minds. against this backdrop, the researcher investigated the influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in english language in enugu education zone of enugu state. statement of the problem the use of corporal punishment to inculcate the right values and attitudes in students seems to have become a norm in schools, particularly in our time, where there is a strong belief that if one spares the rod, he or she will spoil the child. it is no longer news that a child comes home with wounds resulting from flogging, hitting or other physical injuries from teachers or school heads. some parents or guardians have staged a war against teachers or school authorities that inflict such punishment on their children or wards. sometimes, too, children come home from school completely traumatised by verbal abuse from teachers or other school authorities. the bottom line of these actions on students is ensuring that learning occurs. however, the mental torture arising from such action from teachers and or school authorities seem to hurt students' learning outcome. in an english language class, for instance, teachers often ask students to recite or read out texts before the class. at any mistake from the student, the teacher may flog, hit or rain insults on the students, particularly when corrections have severally been given on how to carry out the exercise is almost a daily occurrence. the impact is that students dodge the english language class, among other subjects, to avoid possible punishment, many of which are corporal punishment from the teachers of those subjects. scholars have studied the impact of corporal punishment on learning outcomes for students, corporal punishment and student-teacher relationships. however, few of these studies have 30 dealt with the influence of corporal punishment on secondary schools students in english language. this is the gap in knowledge that this present study was poised to undertake. purpose of the study the general purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in the english language in enugu education zone. the specific purposes of the study include: 1. to investigate how corporal punishment influences class participation of students in english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone. 2. to find out how corporal punishment influence listening skills in english language in secondary schools in enugu education zone. 3. to examine how corporal punishment influences student-teacher relationship in english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone. research questions the following research questions guided the study; 1. how does corporal punishment influence students class participation in english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone? 2. how does corporal punishment influence listening skills of students in english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone? 3. how does corporal punishment influence student-teacher relationship in english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone? 31 review of literature concept of corporal punishment strans& mouradian (2018) defined corporal punishment as intentional application of physical pain as a method of behavior change. it includes a variety of methods such as hitting, slapping, spanking, punching, kicking, pinching, shaking, sharing and chocking, use of various objects like wooden paddles, belts, sticks, pins, other painful body posture such as placing in closed space, use of electric shock, use of excessive exercise, drill or prevention of urine or stool elimination (gershoff & bitemsky,2017). united nations committee on the right of the child 2006 cited in unicef (2015) conceptualized corporal punishment as any punishment in which physical force is used and intend to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light, most involving hitting, smacking, slapping, spanking children with hand or with an implementwhip-stick, belt, shoe, wooden spoon etc. but it can also involves; for example, kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, burning, scalding or forced ingestion. these definitions present central focus conceptualization of corporal punishment and that is corporal punishment aims at inflicting pains on the recipient with the ultimate aim of infusing desired discipline. helper & gilles (2022) define corporal punishment as the physical punishment of students by teachers when students have disobeyed a class rule. the major forms of corporal punishment include slapping, paddling and punching. the american academy of child and adolescent psychiatry (2023) defines corporal punishment as a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behavior and inappropriate language. the immediate aims of such punishment are usually to halt the offence, prevent its re-occurrence and set an example for others. the purported long-term goal is change in the child’s behavior and make it more consistent with the adult’s expectations. other non-physical forms of corporal punishments can be cruel and degrading, and thus also incompatible with the convention, and often accompany and overlap with physical punishment. these include punishments which belittle, humiliate, denigrate, scapegoat, threaten, scare or ridicule the child (world health organization). corporal punishment encompasses all types of physical punishment including spanking, slapping, pinching, pulling, twisting and hitting with an object, it equally includes forcing a child to consume unpleasant substances such as soap, hot sauce or hot pepper (adah, 2022).corporal punishment is the act of padding, spanking or other forms of physical punishment imposed on a student (morgan, 2022). topper (2022) stressed that corporal punishment stops many students from maximum performance in leaning situations. a student may not be good at studies but finds pleasure in some other activities. if he or she is forced to do something with corporal punishment, his or her natural talents may not find a way to flourish. concept of student cambridge dictionary (2023) conceptualized a student as a person who is studying at school, college or university, someone who knows about a subject and is interested in it, but may not have studied it formally. a student is a person who is studying at a place of further education, at a university or college. a student is a person who goes to school to learn something. students can be children, teenagers or adults who are going to school. 32 concept of the english language english is a west german language first spoken in anglo-saxon england in the early middle ages. it is now the most widely used language in the world. it is spoken in many countries worldwide and is the first language of the united states, canada, australia, ireland, new zealand, and several caribbean nations (seth, 2017). the english language is the official language of the country; that is to say, the language of parliament and the law court, as well as the language of communication and illustration in all educational institutions and stations (maduabum, 2014, p. 56). etema (2014:24) stated that the ownership of the english language rests with the people who use it; however multilingual or monolingual, english is the mother tongue of nations. corporal punishment and class participation of students corporal punishment impedes student’s interest in learning. it retards motivation to focus in the learning process and consequently affects the healthy personality development of students in academic life (ahmad, said, & khan, 2013:32). corporal punishment injects fear in children and makes them focus on the consequences of not doing well in class work or not behaving accordingly instead of focusing on class activities. chikwature and oyedele (2016:19) stressed that dropout rates increase as students leave school to save themselves from punishment and miss classes, leading to academic failure. tapper (2022:113) observed that corporal punishment stops many students from flourishing in the way they would have done. a student may not be good at studies but finds pleasure in other activities. if he or she is forced to do something with corporal punishment, his natural talents may not find a way to flourish. the child’s mind is very sensitive, and corporal punishment may result in serious consequences, including absence from school, bullying of fellow students, and pilfering, among other antisocial behaviours. corporal punishment puts fear in students, causing them to scream, pee, vomit and run out of school to go home (goodman, 2020, p. 5). a child who is punished beyond his or her capacity to bear will never be friendly to the environment. even when that child has left school, the memory of what he or she passed through while in school remains indelible. mawhinney and peterson (2016:131) noted that overuse of punishment in harsh and unskilled ways can have undesirable, dangerous and long-lasting effects on children who may develop negative personality traits such as disliking the punishing person, developing intense fear and anxiety and obstacles with learning. global initiatives to end all corporal punishment of children (2012), as cited in amolo, ganira and okech (20119:113), pointed out that learners subjected to corporal punishment tend to be aggressive, bully peers in school, predisposed to anti-social behaviour and commit violent crimes. further still, the committee on economic, social and cultural rights (2013) found that corporal punishment is less effective in behavioural management than positive role modelling in developing character, respect and values among children. as a result, schools that advocate for corporal punishment experience increased aggressive and destructive behaviour, vandalism, inadequate learning achievement, detest being asked questions in class and would always prefer to engage in odd activities in school even when others are in class. human rights watch (1999), cited in (ojo, 2018, p. 23), states that educators psychologists, teachers and caregivers can oversee classroom activities and develop students’ knowledge, skill and aptitude through means other than corporal punishment. for example, praising students’ good behaviour, imposing non-physical punishments, and involving children in making the school rules significantly reduce disciplinary problems. implicitly, children who feel cherished 33 would always open up; even on personal challenges to the adult person. this would not be so in a situation where corporal punishment is awarded to learners to inculcate desired behaviour and good learning outcome. corporal punishment is linked to a range of negative outcomes for children across countries and cultures; including physical and mental ill-health, impaired cognitive and socio-emotional development, poor educational outcome, increased aggression and perpetration of violence (who, 2021). generally, punishment in schools seems to be an ineffective, dangerous and unacceptable method of controlling and maintaining discipline as it brings negative rather than positive consequences in the whole process of teaching and learning. it increases anti-social behaviour, lower intellectual achievements, enhances poor quality of parents or student-teacher relation and causes mental health problems (godlove, 2021, p. 8). a child who constantly receive corporal punishment as a measure of correction will develop resistance to the punishment and to that end, become a social mischief and ultimately do away with school and its disciplinary method. saavedra, mcdonald, fevra, quota, and wodon (2021:2) observed that in francophone africa, one-third of teachers (both male and female) in grade 6 reported using corporal punishment in the classroom. on the students side almost two-thirds of children or youths reported being beaten by teachers. students declared being afraid at school, which had a large and statistically significant negative effect on their class participation and general poor learning performance, saavedra et al (2021:2) further noted that corporal punishment is also a factor which is associated with student dropout, bullying and other anti-social behaviors. it impacts negatively on outcomes such as social and emotional well-being and leave permanent scars that affect productive later in life. eya and ebene (2014:171) stressed that, for school to achieve its set goals, school education must exclude fear and coercion to achieve end defined by teachers, parents or society, putting child in unsafe situation under adult supervision and doing damaged to child’s confidence through the atmosphere at school of ridicule, punishment or failure or communication of incapacity. corporal punishment can create a mindset of fear in a student. rule by fear may become embedded in the students life, if it is inculcated as mere punishment. out of fear, the student would try to perform well and not out of sheer interest to learn and grow. fear paralyses students mind as not to exercise their creativity up to maximum extent in their own right (ani, 2013:3) further stated that students develop an attitude to avoid a challenge even without trying. such students inflicted with corporal punishment tend to quit easily from academic challenges, making self-critical comment such as “i am good at nothing”, “why am i not important?”, “i am such a failure”. implicitly when such occupies the thought process of a student, it becomes quite difficult to be part of the academic activities. corporal punishment and listening skills of students kapanadze (2019:68) affirmed that listening is a skill that encompasses comprehension and thinking skills. listening should not be considered more convenient to thinking. listening is a means of identifying the sounds produced by a speaker, perceiving intonation patterns and interpreting the level of relation between spoken words. a child who is subjected to corporal punishment may not be in the right frame of mind to understand word notations hence he or she lacks the listening skills that aid understanding of words. pandy (2021:28) noted that corporal punishment has been associated with a variety of psychological and behavioral disorders, mental harassment, feeling of helplessness, worthlessness, inhibition, aggression among other mental health challenges. implicit from this position is that there is a direct link between ability to listen and the mental alertness of individual. a child who is subjected to corporal punishment may not be focused in the class. most of the time, his or her mindset is occupied by the type of punishment he or she may receive at any mistake. the attitude of the teacher, his behavior, his manner of speaking, his dressing, briefly everything, is so important. 34 it is very effective on the students attention (cokun & kopru, 2021).listening is practiced for the purpose of pleasure, persuasion, perception and comprehension (gunes, 2016:147). if students are not conscious, they do not want to listen to the teacher during lesson and they can be more interested on the things outside of the school. part of the things that makes students to be conscious in the class is the ability to understand the child at all times not by coercion but persuasion. this cannot be fully internalized when learners are subjected to corporal punishment. through corporal punishment temporal change may occur at the onset because of fear and anxiety, but will degenerate in the long run. eya and ebene (2014:134) stressed that one of the most important skills in learning english language is reading, especially, comprehension, but one cannot achieve good comprehension without mastering how to listen. a child subjected to corporal punishment may find it difficult to adopt and adapt the listening skill and to that end affect comprehension which ultimately reduces if not blocks learning outcome. adesope, olusegun, ogunwuiy, olorode and adelayo ( 2017:69) observed that there is a significant negative correlation between school corporal punishment and students’ motivation towards education. students who receive corporal may not see any reason for going to school. obeying instructions will not be anything good particularly when they have developed thick skin resulting from the corporal punishments received overtime. mere telling a pupil that you will give him something good will make the child to behave in a desired way including proper adaptation to ways to achieving good listening skills. (eya & ebene, 2014:149). perception of corporal punishment corporal or physical punishment is highly prevalent globally; both in homes and schools. around 60% of children age 2-14 years regularly suffer physical punishment by their parents or other caregivers. in some countries, almost all students report being physically punished by school staff. evidence shows that corporal punishment increases children’s behavioural problems overtime and has no [positive outcome (who, 2021). the american academy of pediatricians condemned the use of corporal punishment on children because of devastating effects it has on growth and development of children, the organization, however, recommended healthy forms of discipline such as positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviour, limit setting, redirecting and setting future expectations (adah, 2021, p. 19) . despite the opposition by health experts and the public on corporal punishment like spanking, a survey conducted by the harris poll in 2013 discovered that 81% of americans privately support spanking with 88% of mature parents, 85% of baby boomers and 82% of parents approving corporal punishment (morin,2022). maphosa (2013) noted that there have been students misconducts in schools. the author noted that today, schools face more complex acts of misconduct than previously. while some teachers argue that corporal punishment is the answer, others perceive corporal punishment to be repugnant. the latter group prefers instilling discipline among learners (mugabe & maphosa, 2013). people who are for corporal punishment in schools perceive physical force as an ineffective and or unethical method of controlling human beings (goodman, 2020). some students perceive corporal punishment as a measure to monitor their discipline. yet, other students view corporal punishment as not good for students as it causes them to escape from classroom and may lead into dropouts and can instill fear to learner and therefore contribute to poor academic performance in their subjects (baraka & samwel, 2017). ogbe (2015) drew a theological viewpoint on corporal punishment which christians draw from the bible that it is wrong to barn corporal punishment in schools and at home. to christian believers, restoring corporal punishment in school will reduce moral decadence and the associated ills. despite various talks by teachers and parents, the attitude of some parents going to school to confront teachers over inflicting corporal punishment on their 35 children/wards and instituting court cases of corporal punishment between teachers and board of education on one side and parents/civil right group on the other side. napodia (2007) cited in ogbe (2015: 24) analysed the conceptual etiology of corporal punishment when he stated thus: corporal punishment entails physical chastisement of students/pupils for behaviour. it is punitive in nature the holy bible is in support of reasonable corporal punishment as can be seen in the book of proverb chapter 22 verse 15 and proverb chapter 23 verse 12-44’’ foolishness is bound in the heart of child but the rod of correction shall drive it from him…’’ christian’s perception of corporal punishment suggests that one must mortify the flesh to improve. thus, a child should receive some strokes of cane to remind him or her of the consequences of negative behaviours. such measures serve as deterrent not only to the recipient but to other children. marrow and singh (2014) affirmed that corporal punishment may involve striking learners across the buttocks or palm by use of a wicker cane, wooden paddle, slippers, leather strap or wooden yardstick. marcus (2014) opined that spanking or smacking learners with an open hand, especially in junior schools due to undesirable behaviour, is a form of corporal punishment that should be prohibited. marcus (2014) maintained that despite the negative consequences, teachers and parents acknowledge that use of corporal punishment provides an immediate response to indiscipline, enabling the learner to continue learning, unlike when suspended from school. grogan (2016:66) perceived corporal punishment as a violation of the fundamental rights of the child, it violates the human dignity and physical integrity among learners. the united nations international children’s emergency fund (unicef) has decried the illtreatment meted on school children, saying that 85% of them between the ages of one and 14 experience violent discipline in schools, with nearly one in every three children experiencing severe physical punishment in the very institution that are entrusted to keep children safer, develop respect for human right and prepare them for life in a society that promotes understanding, peace and conflict resolution through dialogue. if we use corporal punishment for correction, then we are inciting the child’s attitude; they will feel like, after all, it is just flogging. thus, it conditions a permanent result on that behaviour (adedigba, 2021, p. 1). in nigeria, corporal punishment is slowly disappearing from schools. however, teachers, parents and other stakeholders disagree on the potential negative effect of corporal punishment on the development of the pupils. in a study by anwar, zeeshan and sajja (2021) entitled ‘impact of corporal punishment on students’ academic performance at elementary school level’ the study was a survey design. data were elicited from the respondents through the use of a questionnaire. a total of 125 teachers and 457 students were randomly selected, and data was analysed using the mean. the result showed that corporal punishment negatively affects academic performance. the students punished by teachers lack class concentration and coordination and perform poorly in the final examination. those students who were not trained with corporal punishment showed resilience and focused in their academic activities. as a result, they perform very well in external examinations. in another study by batool, ali and mehmood (2017) entitled ‘corporal punishment and its effect on students’ learning: a study of selected schools in rawalpindi and rawat, the study adopted a mixed method as the research design. the study population was 1145, and the sample 36 size was 312 from six schools. questionnaires and interviews were instruments for data collection. the study found that students who received corporal punishment resigned from school. the study further found that corporal punishment has serious negative implications on students’ behaviour. in a study by addison (2015) entitled ‘ effect of corporal punishment on girls’ enrolment and retention in the techiman municipal, ghana, the study adopted a descriptive survey design. a sample of 120 junior high school students from six public schools was selected. a questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. the finding revealed that corporal punishment negatively and positively affected students. the study further found that physical punishment makes some students stop school and impairs their retention. such students lose interest in classroom activities as they prefer playing truancy outside of the school than being in the classroom for their studies. in another study by mohammed, mero and jang (2017) entitled ‘corporal punishment and its implication on motivation of students to learn: a study of public secondary schools in jos town,’ the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. the sample size for the study was 422 students selected across ten schools. a questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. the finding of the study was that students who receive corporal punishment are demoralised; they find it difficult to concentrate in class and at times, seek revenge against the teacher. in a study by coskun and kopru (2021) entitled ‘an overview of listening skills of secondary school students: barriers and suggestions, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. data were collected through a semi-structured interview. a purposive sampling method was adopted. the study found that students listen to their lectures when a teacher adopts the play method and without inflicting injury on the physical or mental body of the students. this implies that corporal punishment retards the listening skills of students and when this is hampered upon. learning becomes complex and indeed challenging for learners. in a study by noreen, rehman, naz, gul bakhtawar and kausar (2021) entitled ‘relationship between corporal punishment and academic performance and well-being of school students of gojal hunza, pakistan’ the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. a sample of 110 students was selected across one private and two public schools. a questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. the study, among others, found that students subjected to corporal punishment perceive school to be very difficult. it was equally found from the study that such students drop out easily from school. in a similar study by ojo (2018) entitled corporal punishment in nigeria schools from psychological perspective; issues and recommendations’, the study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. a sample of 561 students was selected. a questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. mean and standard deviation were statistical tools for analysis. the study found that students trained with corporal punishment hate attending classes. they perceive punishment given to them as an answer for their not being good. it was equally found that such students are dejected and lack internal cohesion. in a study by baraka &samwel (2017) entitled ‘ students’ perception on corporal punishment and its effect on learning: a case study of secondary schools in babati rural district of tanzania’ the study adopted a descriptive survey. data were collected using a questionnaire. a sample of 511 students was randomly selected. the study found that corporal punishment causes students to drop. the majority of the students perceive corporal punishment not as a corrective measure but as a deliberate act from the teacher to inflict pain on students he or she hates. theoretical framework the following theories were adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. the theories include the social learning theory and the functionalist theory. 37 social learning theory the theory was a brainchild of albert bandura in 1977. bandura conducted series of experiments to determine whether social behaviour (aggression) could be accrued by observation and imitation. the basic assumptions of social learning theory include: 1. people learn through observation. learners can acquire new behaviour and knowledge by merely observing a model. 2. reinforcement and punishment have indirect behavioural effects and people form expectations about the potential consequence of future responses based on how current responses are reinforced or punished. 3. learning does not necessarily lead to change. just because a person learns something does not mean they will have change in behaviour. relating the theory to the present study, corporal punishment; though in most instances is to correct someone; the negative effect of such is enormous. students who receive corporal punishment as a means of correction develop into recidivism; a situation whereby punishment like flogging would not mean anything to the recipient. again, where a child is trained through the award of corporal punishment, there is the tendency for such a child to uphold to violence as the only option to resolving issues. one of the criticisms raised against social learning theory is that commitment to the environment principally influences behaviour. it is limiting to describe behaviour solely in terms of either nature or nuture and attempts to do this underestimate the complexity of human behaviour, (mcleod, 2016). however in spite of the criticism raised against the social learning theory, the researcher found the theory very much relevant to the study. functionalist theory the theory was popularised by french sociologist emile durkheim (1855-1917). durkheim was interested in studying the society. he theorised that society is like a biological organism which has parts, and all these parts are interrelated. when one part is affected, it affects other component units that comprise the whole. functionalists believe that all the component units must be in equilibrium for progress to be achieved. for them, the change could occur but must not be allowed to destabilise the balance, instead the internal mechanism should be allowed to absorb the changes. relating the theory to the present study, the essence of education is to change the behavioural pattern of the recipient. thus, every positive step should be taken to ensure that the learning environment is functional enough for a positive outcome. implementing corporal punishment as a means of learning will be dysfunctional to the learning process and negate the ultimate aim of educating the child. functionalism has been criticised because society is not static. society is instead in a state of flux and varies based on internal dynamics. thus, what favours one may not be so in the other. therefore, the internal mechanism of one society cannot be fitted into the other. however, despite the criticism, the researcher found the theory relevant to the study. research method research design. the research design adopted for the study was cross-sectional survey design. ezeah (2014) noted that cross-sectional survey design is an aspect of a descriptive survey. this is the 38 situation whereby the researcher collects data on variables of interest at a particular point in time. ezeah (2014) noted that cross sectional survey design is appropriate when one is studying the perception, belief, system, values and demographic characteristics of people. the design takes a photographic situation of a particular issue or phenomenon under investigation.the study under reference is by no means an exception as it investigates the influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in english language in enugu education zone. area of the study the area of the study was enugu education zone. the zone is one of the six educational zones in enugu state. the zone is comprised of three local government areas; enugu north local government area, enugu east local government area and isi-uzor local government area. the choice of the area of the study was because of relative concentration of teachers in enugu education zone which often gives academic edge to other students in the other zones population of the study enugu education zone has a total of 36 public secondary schools. the population of the study was 56620 students (office of planning, research and statistics, enugu state post primary school management board, 2022). sample and sampling technique the sample size for the study was 397 students. this was determined using taro yamen formula for sample determination n = n 1 n (e)2 where: n – sample size n – population i – constant. e error margin n = 56620 1+56620 (0.05)2 n = 56620 1+56620 0.0025 n = 566201 139.05 = 397 the researchers adopted a multi-stage sampling technique for the study. the schools were stratified based on local government areas. a simple random sampling technique was adopted to select two schools from each of the three local government areas comprising the zone. thus, 6 public junior secondary schools were selected for the study. because there are variations in the population strength of each school, the researchers adopted a proportional sampling procedure to determine the actual sample size. instrument for data collection the instrument used for the collection of data was a questionnaire. it was structured on the four-point scale of strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. the questionnaire contained 20 items and four clusters. each cluster contained five items. the title of the 39 questionnaire was icopuossel derived from the study title ‘influence of corporal punishment on secondary school students in english language in education zone validation of instrument the instrument was validated by three experts’ one from measurement and evaluation and two lecturers from language studies, all from the enugu state college of education technical, enugu. from the validity established, it was found that the socio-demographic data of respondents was not necessary since no hypothesis was to be tested. there were some typographical errors dictated. all these findings and corrections were incorporated in the instrument. reliability of instrument the researcher adopted the test-retest method to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. the researcher administered 20 questionnaires to 20 students in the nsukka education zone ( outside the area of the study). two weeks later, the same instrument was re-administered to the same set of students. using pearson product moment correlation coefficient to calculate the two data sets, the result was 0.76, showing a positive correlation and that the instrument was reliable enough for the study. method of data collection the questionnaire was administered and collected through the help of three research assistants, two males and two females. the criteria for selecting these research assistants were that they should be senior secondary school graduates and residents in the selected area of the study. the research assistants were told to be patient with the respondents and allow them to fill the questionnaire without intruding on the responses. when the respondents were indisposed to respond to the questionnaire immediately, the research assistants were told to agree on when to return. the research assistant carried out all the instructions as expected. method of data analysis the mean was adopted as the statistical tool for data analysis. the decision rule is that where the calculated mean in each questionnaire item is equal to or higher than 2.5, it will be considered significant. however, if the calculated mean in each questionnaire item is below 2.5, it is considered insignificant. the researcher equally adopted grand means to determine the respondents' cumulative opinions. data presentation and findings. research question 1: how does corporal punishment affect class participation in the english language in secondary schools in the enugu education zone? table 1: mean response on the influence of corporal punishment and students classroom participation in english language. s/n questionnaire item sa a d sd n ef x x decisio n 1 corporal punishment makes students to be very active in the english 41 164 61 183 98 196 197 197 397 740 1.8 6 disagree 40 language class; ask and answer questions 2 the use of corporal punishment makes student to understand the english language teacher and can easily add value to the lesson. 44 176 68 204 104 208 181 181 397 769 1.9 3 disagree 3 corporal punishment makes students to have interest in the english language lesson and as such contribute in the lesson 39 156 43 129 116 232 199 199 397 716 1.8 0 disagree 4 through the use of corporal punishment students easily adapt to the corrections in the use of english language class. 41 164 52 156 109 218 195 195 397 733 1.8 4 disagree 5 fear of punishment has no impact on students’ participation in the english language class. thus, students bare their minds on issues raised in class. 57 228 66 132 119 238 155 155 397 753 1.8 9 disagree grand mean 1.8 6 field report 2023 research question 1 sought to find out how corporal punishment affect class participation in the english language in secondary schools in the enugu education zone. data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items as contained in numbers 1,2,3,4 and 5 and presented in table 1. the questionnaire items had a mean of 1,86, 1.93, 1.80, 1.84 and 1.89, respectively. the grand mean was 1.86. since all the questionnaire items had a mean less than the 2.5 critical regions, and the calculated grand mean of 1.86 was less than the 2.5 stipulated critical region, it implies that corporal punishment negatively affects class participation in the english language in secondary schools in the enugu education zone research question 2: how does corporal punishment influence students' listening skills in the english language in secondary schools in enugu education? table 2 : mean response on the influence of corporal punishment and listening skills in the english language class s/n questionnaire item sa a d sd n efx x decision 6 the use of corporal punishment like caning students makes them to listen attentively while english language lesson is going on 49 196 58 174 124 248 166 166 397 2.06 disagree 7 through the use of corporal punishment, students overcome the challenges of not being able to identify sounds of speech in the english language and thus improve in listening skills 36 144 80 240 110 220 171 171 397 775 1.95 disagree 41 field report,2023 research question 2 sought to find out how corporal punishment influences listening skills in the english language in secondary schools in enugu education. data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items in numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and presented in table 2. the questionnaire items had mean of 2,06, 1.95, 1.78, 1.95 and 1.88 respectively. the grand mean was 1.92. since all the questionnaire items had mean less than the 2.5 critical region, and the calculated grand mean of 1.92 was less than 2.5 stipulated critical region, it implies that corporal punishment negatively affect listening skills of students in english language in secondary schools in enugu education zone research question 3: how does corporal punishment affect student-teacher relationship in the english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone table 3: mean response on corporal punishment and student-teacher relationship in the english language class s/n questionnaire items sa a d sd n efx x decisio n 16 corporal punishment makes students to like teachers more and as such creates the understanding of the english language lesson. 22 88 60 180 117 234 198 196 397 698 1.75 disagree 17 the use of corporal punishment makes students to disclose their challenges to the teachers and this enhances learning of the english language 38 152 42 126 133 266 184 184 397 728 1.83 disagree 8 the use of corporal punishment makes students to send the correct signal to the brain thereby facilitating listening skills in the english language. 32 126 44 132 128 256 193 193 397 707 1.78 disagree 9 when teachers employ corporal punishment in learning listening skills in the english language, speed and accuracy in listening skills are enhanced 49 196 56 168 121 242 171 171 397 777 1.95 disagree 10 use of corporal punishment in learning listening skills in the english language boosts the morale of students to learning the english language 52 208 38 114 119 238 188 188 397 748 1.88 disagree grand mean 1.92 42 18 the use of corporal punishment makes students to open up their behaviour to teachers for appropriate measures to be taken for correction. 28 112 34 102 126 252 209 209 397 675 1.70 disagree 19 corporal punishment draws students closer to teachers and as such interest is easily developed for the subject 41 164 33 99 125 250 198 198 397 711 1.79 disagree 20 students dislike teachers who do not award corporal punishment but rather use subtle means to give corrections in the english language class 24 96 41 123 121 242 211 211 397 672 1.69 disagree grand mean 1.75 field report, 2023. research question 3 sought to find out how corporal punishment affects student-teacher relationship in the english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone data were elicited in a cluster of five questionnaire items as contained in numbers 16,17,18,19 20 and presented in table 3. the questionnaire items had mean of 1.75, 1.83, 1.70, 1.79 and 1.69 respectively. the grand mean was 1.75. since all the questionnaire items had mean less than the 2.5 critical region, and the calculated grand mean of 1.75 was less than 2.5 stipulated critical region, it implies that corporal punishment negatively affects student-teacher relationship in the english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone discussion of findings research question 1 sought to investigate how corporal punishment affects class participation in the english language in secondary schools in the enugu education zone. it was found that corporal punishment negatively influences students' class participation in secondary schools in the enugu education zone. the study's finding corroborates with chikwature and oyedele (2016), who stressed that dropout rates increase as students leave school to save themselves from punishment and miss classes, leading to academic failure. it equally agrees with the functionalist theoretical postulation that corporal punishment is dysfunctional in students' learning behaviour. it breaks the expected bond of the student-teacher relationship, which is crucial to class participation. research question 2 sought to investigate how corporal punishment influences students' listening skills in the english language in secondary schools in enugu education. the finding was that corporal punishment negatively affects the listening skills of students in secondary schools in the english language in the enugu education zone. the finding is in tandem with pandy (2021), who noted that corporal punishment has been associated with various psychological and behavioural disorders, mental harassment, feelings of helplessness, worthlessness, inhibition, and aggression, among other mental health challenges. implicit from this position is that there is a direct link between the ability to listen and the mental alertness of an individual. a child subjected to corporal punishment may not be focused in class. it equally agrees with the functionalist theory that corporal punishment is not functional in the listening process of students. research question 3 sought to determine how corporal punishment affects the student-teacher relationship in english language classes in the enugu education zone secondary schools. it was 43 found that students have negative perception on teachers’ use of corporal punishment in the english language class in secondary schools in enugu education zone.students that receive corporal punishment are timid and find it difficult to speak up when challenged. the finding is in tandem with rafique & ahmed (2019: 34) who stressed that corporal punishment hampers children’s emotional strength, increases aggressive behaviour, poor cognitive development, mental illness; especially anxiety and depression, lack of ambition, hampers creativity and attentiveness and cripples the person’s ability to socialize or interact with teachers and other school subjects. this leads to impoverished academics that ultimately brings about school dropouts. it was also found that students do not show enough interest in their work as their mindset has been preoccupied with what action the teacher if they make a mistake. again students would not forgive such teacher easily. the findings corroborates with goodman(2020) who maintained that people who are not for corporal punishment in schools perceive physical force as an ineffective and an unethical method of controlling human beings. conclusion corporal punishment has negative implications on learning the english language in secondary schools in enugu education. it affects class participation as students find it pleasurable to stay out of the classroom as the slightest excuse. corporal punishment negatively affects the listening skills of learners, and it hampers the learner-teacher relationship, which is fundamental in teaching learning encounters. the idea that the fear 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education, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state, nigeria. 2general studies, d. s. adegbenro ict polytechnic, itori, ogun state, nigeria. abstract the current study investigated the management skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state. specifically, the study sought to determine the: conceptual skills required by managers of departmental stores, communication skills required by managers of departmental stores, the technical skills required by managers in departmental stores and the motivation skills required by managers in departmental stores. four research questions guided the study. the study adopted descriptive survey research design. the population for the study was 406 made up of 388 executive staff from the university of nigeria, nsukka and 18 lecturers from the department of business education university of nigeria nsukka. a sample size of 202 respondents was drawn using taro yamane sampling formula. a structured questionnaire made of 38-items was developed for the study to elicit information for the study. the structured questionnaire was face validated by three experts. the structured questionnaire was administered on 202 respondents by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. all the copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while real limit of highly required (3.50-4.00), required (2.50-3.49), slightly not required (1.50-2.49), not required (0.50-1.49) was used to test interpret the result. the findings of the study revealed that the conceptual skills, communication skills, technical skills and motivation skills are the management skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state. it was therefore recommended that the departmental store managers should take courses in management in order to enhance their management skills for the sustainability of their businesses. keywords: departmental stores, effective performance, management skills, managers introduction departmental store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area (department) specializing in a product category. departmental store according to chand (2018), is a large local and international retailing organizations which handles extensive variety of shopping and specialty goods from different departments in same building that are centrally controlled by the one purpose, promotion, service, and ordering. some departmental stores as observed by okoro (2016) are one of many within a larger retail chain, while others are independent retailers. departmental stores are categorized into the following types: mainland departmental store or simply the traditional departmental stores, offering mid to high-end goods, most or at least some of the time at the full retail price. examples are shoprite, spars and belk. among others. while junior departmental stores, a term used principally in the second part of the 20th century for a smaller version of a mainland departmental store. these were usually either independent stores or chain stores that specialized in cosmetics and wearing apparel and accessories, with few home goods. 113 it is worth to note that without effective management skills, managers will not be able to make success in the business as desired. departmental store managers like any other manager require skills in the organization and running of business enterprise. commenting on the important of skills of managers, likert (2001) stated that one important source of increased productivity is the full development and skillful application of the form of social organization which the highest producing managers are using increasingly. departmental store managers make decisions including such matters as the quantity and the extent of the line of goods, the size, form and appearance of that product to be sold, labeling, branding and packaging of the products, the quantities to be produced or purchased and the inventory controls established over them, the timing of production or purchase and the addition, elimination or modification of products, along existing lines (osuala, 2004). a manager is opinionated by john (2015) as a person responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work and taking corrective actions when necessary. managers must be familiar with the work of all the groups he supervises, but does not need to be the best in any or all of the areas. a manager according to the author may have the power to hire or fire employees or to promote them. john further stated that a manager is any executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company’s income statement, known as profit and loss. according to kramer (2010) the manager usually oversees most or all of the firm’s marketing and sales functions as well as the day-to-day operations of the business. according to lacono (2001) an ideal manager is one who is equipped to cope effectively with any problem in any business organization. managers of departmental stores need a solid background and skills in other functional areas that will enable him to acquire certain skills which will be of help in any other business organization. management of different activities in an enterprise is an important function of the manager. it is an aspect that only human beings handle in an enterprise and for any productive activity. that is why ogbudinkpa (2002) stressed that entrepreneurship as a factor of production is the most important because it is the only factor that manages the other factors for productive activities. in the same vein, managers of departmental stores need the management skills to coordinate the different activities in their establishments. until these skills are developed on departmental store managers, they will continue to face series of problems resulting in great losses. it is this importance of skills that made allen (2000) to maintain that the endless time and effort are devoted to training people in management skills. the manager of departmental store must have the ability and the requisite skills to intelligently manage the available resources for the successful accomplishment of the organizational objectives (akpan, 2012). skills are acquired through education and training (perks and smith, 2006). education and training create circumstances in which a person can acquire and apply the skills that will help him/her achieve the objective of the business. skill is knowledge demonstrated by actions or the ability to perform in a certain way. skills are abilities and competencies needed to perform job functions (akpan & etor, 2015). skill according to osinem and nwoji, (2010) refers to the ability to perform an act expertly. skill is that expertness, practiced ability or proficiency displayed in the performance of a task. a skill is a well-established habit of doing something. in other words, skill is the ability that one possesses, which is tied to specific tasks and task domain to enhance management. 114 management according to balunywa (2010) is a process of doing things to achieve results. the author stated that management involves a series of actions, activities, changes and operations deliberately undertaken to achieve a desired goal. it is a process of achieving results through people. management is a challenging job, which requires certain skills to undertake such challenges. unesco as cited in ogunu (2001) defines management as a social process which is designed to ensure the cooperation, participation, intervention and involvement of others in the effective achievement of a given or pre-determined objective. according to fayol in akpan (2011) to manage means to forecast and plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to control. these definitions suggest that management is a continuous and dynamic process involving the coordination and utilization of organizational resources. management is goalachievement oriented and involves interrelated activities of planning, organizing, leading and controlling (akpan, 2011). terry (2013) defined management as the art and skill of getting things done through others. according to olufunke (2000) management is a creative problemsolving technique. the creative problem solving is accomplished through the functions of management which include planning, organizing, leading, staffing and controlling. this involves the manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technical resources and natural resources in order to accomplish the mission and objectives of the organization. management, according to egbo (2007) is a set of activities such as planning, decision-making and organizing resources with the aim of achieving organizational goal in an efficient and effective manner. the author further stated that management involves the process of directing the use of organization resources in a way that efficiently accomplishes the organization goals, which includes managing an organization workforce be it departmental store by a manager in a way that gives the organization a competitive advantage. management skills according to lacono (2001) are important skills needed by executives in any business organization which any manager must possess, such as conceptual, human relations, technical and communication skills which are the prerequisite skills towards achieving an organizational goal. the acquisition of management skills by the managers is also a means of increasing the productive power of management. katz (2011) in ezugwu (2014) stated that there are three managerial skills, namely: conceptual skill, human relation skills and technical skills. the author maintained that all managers require these managerial skills. however, the degree of these skills required varies from levels of management and from an organization to organization. the top-level managers require more conceptual skill and less technical skills because top level managers are responsible for defining goals, translating goals into strategies and shaping the organization’s value. the toplevel managers direct the work of middle manager and envision the organization as a whole. the lower-level managers direct individual’s contributors only and also have specialized expertise with focus to their workers within the organization as a result of this technical skill and fewer conceptual skills are required of the lower-level managers. onadi (2003) defines management skills as the ability to make business decisions and lead subordinates within a company. management skills are skills essential for conceiving, starting and managing business enterprises (international labor organization (ilo), 2002). these management skills are basic skills required to facilitate appropriate and maximum utilization of people in productive activities that would produce variety of goods and services. management skills are necessary to plan, lunch and successfully manage business enterprise by any human being regardless of sex or gender (ezugwu, 2014). according to lucky and emechi (2008) in agu (2015) management skills needed by managers for success in any establishment include: ability to communicate effectively using oral and written communication, knowledge and method of 115 conducting effective meetings, ability to do long and short term planning, knowledge of factors involved in overhead control, knowledge of inventory control and turnover, acquisition of management and supervisory skills, ability to manage time and meet job schedule, knowledge of employees need for growth and development and the knowledge of human relations. shafer and sutton (2004) categorized management skills into communication, organization, teammaking, leadership, compatibility and specialization skills. supervisory operational management requires considerable technical skills. aminian (2004) examined the relationship between managerial skills and managerial performance in management. managerial performance war related to managerial skills. management skills as revealed by spencer and spencer (2000), enable the managers of departmental store to create enabling environment where goals of the organization can be achieved. to achieve these goals, there is need for different managerial skills to be acquired by departmental store managers. such managerial skills include; technical, conceptual, communication and motivation skills. technical skills according to osinem (2008) are those skills acquired through learning. it is ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise to perform a given job. george (2008) stated that technical skills are abilities in using a specific activity in the form of processes, procedures and techniques; also, technical skills allow the implementation of the mechanisms needed to carry out certain tasks, like the opinion of handoko (2006) which stated that technical skills are skills in using equipment, procedures and techniques in a particular field, such as accounting, sales, production, etc. technical skills are skills that requires a good understanding and proficiency in a specific activity, particularly one involving methods, procedures or techniques and processes. technical skills help managers in departmental stores to use the various procedures and techniques in handling of different machines within the organization. again, the conceptual skills are the ability to visualize the organization as a whole. these conceptual skills include analytical, creative, initiative skills. stoner and freeman (2006) revealed that conceptual skills are the skills to coordinate and to integrate all organizational interests and activities. that includes the skills of managers to see an organization as a whole, to understand all interrelated organizational elements and to anticipate all forms of change that can occur in every part relating to the performance of an organization. conceptual skill helps the manager to solve the problem in order to achieve organizational goals. robert (2012) sees conceptual skills as the ability to not only see the big picture but knowing how to act and move the entire organization forward especially when the direction is ever-changing. furthermore, the need for good communication skills, behaving appropriately in business situations and addressing situations in a professional manner are skills that businesses are looking for. communication according to ezeji (2006) involves the passing on/sharing or exchange of ideas, news, information or message. good communication in an organization is important because clients and business partners need to understand precisely what they are trying to buy and sell (smith, 2006). according to wither spoon (2002) and von krogh (2000) urged that effective communication combines with understanding one self and others emotions, being able to express ourselves both verbally and non-verbally in such a way that reflect your own culture and situations and those the receivers’ situations. finally, motivation according to pinder (2005) is the force within a person that affects his or her direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behaviour. the ability to understand why people behave the way they do and the ability to motivate them to behave in a specified desired manner are two inter related qualities which are very important for managerial effectiveness. 116 luthans (2001) posits that motivation is the process that arouses, energizes, directs and sustains behaviours and performances. that is, it is the process of stimulating people to action, being committed towards achieving a desired objective, one way of doing this is to employ proper motivational technique which makes workers more satisfied with and committed to their job. statement of the problem departmental stores just like any other business have been recognized for its role in employment creation and poverty reduction in the developing countries which nigeria is one of them. success to any business is a direct function of management activities. however, the rate at which departmental stores are failing in nsukka local government area is quite alarming. this failure could be attributed to lack of management skills. the issue of poor performance of departmental stores in nsukka local government area is linked to the lack of utilization of the management skills by managers at the right time and with the right plan. other challenges faced by departmental store managers in nigeria especially in nsukka local government area in enugu state include: globalization, rapid changes in technologies and intense competition. employers of labour as a result of these challenges are prone to seeking for graduates with the needed skills to meet up with the modern technological requirements. despite some impressive improvements in performance in the higher education institutions, many graduates still emerge from the education system ill equipped to these challenges of life and employment. in practice, many establishments like departmental stores in developing countries lack management skills for the sustainability of their businesses. technical skills are necessary for the monitoring of business activities through the information revealed on daily basis. osuala (2006) noted that managers of a company must guide and direct resources in such a manner that the goals of the organization are achieved. the author elucidates that there is a positive correlation between adequate technical skills by the manager and business failure. effective communication skill is also another indispensable tool for business growth. it is the key to any business success. ayozie (2001) submitted that most executives in an establishment do not have the communication skills which are very essential for successful operation of business. research findings have also shown that workers in the departmental stores are not adequately motivated to put in their best towards the achievement of organizational goals. an inference from these implies that management skills could lead to the success of departmental stores. hence, in an attempt to solve the above problem this study management skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area of enugu state. purpose of the study the general purpose of the study was to determine the management skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area of enugu state. specifically, this study seeks to identify the: technical skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores, conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores, communication skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores and motivation skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state. 117 research questions the following research questions guided the study: 1. what are the technical skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state? 2. what are the conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state? 3. what are the communication skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state? 4. what are the motivation skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state? design of the study the study adopted a descriptive survey research design. agada (2017) states that descriptive survey research design is one in which a group of people or item is studied by collecting and analyzing data from only a few people or items considered to be a representative of the entire group. ihedigbo (2017) also states that descriptive survey research design is understood as comprising of district characteristics which relate to the way in which information about the object of the study is gathered. descriptive survey research design is therefore considered most appropriate and suitable for this study because the study will solicit for the opinions of the competent professionals on management skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area in enugu state by using questionnaire. area of the study this study was carried out in nsukka local government area of enugu state. enugu state is located in the southeastern area of nigeria. it is largely populated by the igbo, one of the major ethnic groups in nigeria. the city has a population of 722,664 according to the 2006 nigerian census. the study selected the departmental stores in nsukka local government area of enugu state. hence, only the registered departmental stores were considered in this study. population of the study the population for this study was 413 made up of 388 executive staff from the university of nigeria nsukka (personnel services, university of nigeria nsukka campus, 2023) and 24 lecturers from the department of business education university of nigeria nsukka. sample and sampling techniques the sample space that was used in this study was determined using taro yamane n = n 1 +n (e)2 where n = sample size n = population of interest e = error estimate, which is normally 5% 1 = constant since the population of interest is 412, our sample size will be: n = 412 118 1 + 412 (0.5)2 = 412 1+412(0.0025) = 412 1+412*0.0025 = 412 1+1.03 n = 412 2. 03 n= 202.9 therefore, the sample size for the study was 203 respondents of both the lecturers and the executive staff of the university of nigeria, nsukka campus. instrument for data collection the instrument used for data collection was 38 item structured questionnaires titled, “management skills questionnaire”, (msq). the 38-item questionnaire were developed by the researcher from the review of related literature to address each research question. the questionnaire was divided into two parts (i and ii). part i seek information on the personal data of the respondents while two ii was further divided into four sections (a-d) and contained items that were used in answering the research questions. section a contains 11 items (1-11) that sought information from the managers of departmental stores to determine the conceptual skills required by them for effective performance in nsukka and enugu metropolis. section b contains 11 items (12-22) which were designed to determine communication skills required by managers of departmental store for effective performance in nsukka local government area of enugu state. section c contains 7 items (23-29) that will seek information from the managers of departmental stores designed to determine the technical skills required by them for effective performance in nsukka local government area of enugu state. section d contains 9 items (30-38) designed to elicit information on the motivation skills required by managers of departmental stores for effective performance in nsukka local government area of enugu state. section a-d of the questionnaire is structured on a fourpoint rating scale of “highly required” (hr), “required” (r), “slightly not required” (snr) and “not required” (nr). the items were assigned weights of 4,3,2 and 1 respectively. validation of the instrument the instrument was subjected to face-validation by three experts in the department of business education, university of nigeria nsukka. the validators were requested to vet, expunge and add items as they feel necessary, to ensure clarity and content coverage in the questionnaire. their comments, corrections and observation of the validates based on grammatical and structural problems were used to modify the questionnaire items by the researcher. reliability of the instrument to establish the reliability of the instrument, the questionnaire was trial-tested on 5 lecturers and15 executive personnel in federal university of ndufo-aliko ikwo, ebonyi state. this is because this group share the same features but in different states. their respondents were used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument and obtain reliability coefficient using cronbach alpha method which yielded the coefficient of 0.75 119 method of data collection the structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was administered to the respondents by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. the instrument was retrieved from the respondents by the researcher and the research assistants immediately after the completion for analysis. method of data analysis the data collected for this study were analyzed using mean to answer the four research questions at the mean of 3.5 and above. in taking decision, any item with mean of 3.5 and above was considered as required. conversely, any item with mean below 3.5 was considered as not required. the null hypothesis was rejected if the computed significant value is less than the criterion value of 0.5. on the other hand, if the computed significant value is greater than or equal to the criterion value of 0.5, the hypothesis will be accepted. the statically package for social science (spss) was employed for the data analysis. research question one: 1. what are the technical skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores? table 1: mean and standard deviation response of respondents on the technical skills required for effective performance in departmental stores s/n item statement x sd decision 1. report all technical operation when needed, 3.67. .266 accepted in the format needed and at where needed 2. manage technical crew in the organization 2.94 .249 accepted 3. apply specialized knowledge and expertise 3.75 .268 accepted to perform a given task. 4. synergize technical marketing operations 3.53 .261 accepted and the other business operations. 5. perform daily operations in a sequential manner to 3.14 .253 accepted promote efficiency. 6. carry out detailed steps to complete a process. 3.45 .257 accepted 7. use different machines and equipment in 3.55 .263 accepted departmental store 120 cluster x 3.43 .260 key: x=mean, sd=standard deviation results in table 1 showed that the technical skills required in required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area are high. (cluster x = 3.43; sd = .260). table 1: show the mean scores regarding the technical skills by managers for effective performance in departmental stores. although all the features of technical skills that determine required in required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores had a mean score above the criterion mean score of 2.50. based on the cluster mean score of 3.43 it was concluded that the respondents generally believe that technical skills is required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores. research question two: what are the conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area? table 1: mean and standard deviation response of respondents on the conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store s/n item statement x sd decision 8. formulate and implement strategic plans on how to move 3.23 .255 accepted the establishment forward. . 9. conceptualize and set achievable or realistic goals in the 3.18 .254 accepted organization. 10. use initiatives effectively to enhance innovation in 3.33 .258 accepted organization. 11. achieve stated objectives. 2.91 .248 accepted 12. solve problems creatively in any retail store. 3.3 .257 accepted 13. play vital role in the success of any retail store. 3.47 .258 accepted women function in business 14. coordinate and integrates all of an organization’s 3.22 .255 accepted interests and activities. 15. recognize significant elements in a situation and to 3.34 .257 accepted understand the relationships among the elements. 121 16. understand how its parts depend on one another and 3.12 .252 accepted anticipate how a change in any of its parts will affect the whole. 17. see the organization as a whole through the use 2.84 .243 accepted abstract and reflective thinking. 18. break down formulated concepts into smaller 2.93 .245 accepted workable parts. cluster x 3.17 sd= .253 .,\ key: high, =≥ 2.50; low, =≤ 2.50 results in table 2 showed the conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area are high. (cluster x = 3.17; sd = .206). table 2: show the mean scores regarding the conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store. all the features of conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store had a mean score above the criterion mean score of 2.50. based on the cluster mean score of 3.17 it was concluded that the respondents generally believe that conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store. research question three: what are the communication skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area. table 3: mean and standard deviation response of respondents on the communication skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store s/n item statement x sd decision 19. interact with business associates or to have a proper 3.43 .258 accepted dealing with the outside world. 20. communicate effectively to other employees of the 3.39 .256 accepted organization. 21. communicate with customers to also receive feedback 3.52 .261 accepted from them. 22. convey ideas and information to others and receive 3.55 .263 accepted information and ideas from others effectively. 23. use language that is appropriate to others' levels of 3.57 .264 accepted understanding. 24. develop relationships with others through effective 3.59 .265 accepted 122 communication. 25. talk with others in a way that facilitates openness, 3.51 .260 accepted honesty and cooperation. 26. carry out effective communication on subordinates to 3.42 .257 accepted discover their strength, weakness and avoid charges of favoritism. 27. negotiate successfully to resolve employees dispute 3.52 .261 accepted 28. draft clear and concise training materials 3.46 .259 accepted 29. use feedback as a means of controlling information in the 3.58 .264 accepted organization. cluster x = 3.5 sd= .260 key: high, =≥ 2.50; low, =≤ 2.50 results in table 3 showed that the communication skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area are high. (cluster x = 3.5; sd = .260) table 3: show the mean scores regarding the communication skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store. all the features of communication skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store had a mean score above the criterion mean score of 2.50.based on the cluster mean score of 3.50 it was concluded that the respondents generally believe that leadership skills is required in improving the productivity of women in small scale business. research question four: what are the motivation skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area. table 4: mean and standard deviation response of respondents on the motivation skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store s/n item statement x sd decision 30. create job satisfaction as a source of encouragement 3.52 .261 accepted rather than threat or dismal 31. show good examples and inspire willingness to work with 3.42 .257 accepted subordinates. 32. establish the kind of atmosphere and culture that is 3.51 .259 accepted needed to excel. 33. provide the subordinates with the necessary tools and 3.13 .252 accepted equipment that is needed for the job. 123 34. offer the subordinates an opportunity to learn, grow and 3.08 .250 accepted advance. 35. relate with customers to enhance sales volume 3.45 .253 accepted in establishment. 36. present incentives and rewards to subordinates 3.39 .231 accepted 37 reward efforts equitably. 3.49 .259 accepted 38. recognize and appreciate good performance. 3.53 .261 accepted cluster x 3.39 .253 key: high, =≥ 2.50; low, =≤ 2.50 results in table 4 showed that the motivation skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store in nsukka local government area are high. (cluster x = 3.39; sd = .253). table 4: show the mean scores regarding the motivation skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental store. all the features of motivation skills required by managers for effective performance of departmental store had a mean score above the criterion mean score of 2.50. based on the cluster mean score of 3.39 it was concluded that the respondents generally believe that motivation skills are required by managers for effective performance in departmental store. discussion of findings research question one on the technical skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores in nsukka local government area, most of the findings agree with the fact that technical skills is the bed rock for business to grow efficiently. however, in the context of departmental stores, technical skills include knowledge of inventory management, supply chain management, pricing strategies, and customer service practices. the findings of the study agreed with ali and saeed (2017), who asserted that effective inventory management can improve the store's profitability, reduce waste, and enhance customer satisfaction. therefore, managers must have a strong understanding of inventory control systems, such as just-in-time (jit) and economic order quantity (eoq) methods, to optimize the store's inventory management. customer service practices are another technical skill required by departmental store managers. managers must be able to train and supervise staff to provide high-quality customer service. this includes ensuring that staff is knowledgeable about products, handling customer complaints effectively, and creating a welcoming atmosphere in the store. the findings of the study further agreed with liu et al. (2017) who opined that effective customer service practices can improve customer loyalty, increase sales, and enhance the store's reputation. research question two emphasizes on conceptual skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores. hence, conceptual skills can understand the interdependencies between various departments, anticipate changes in the market, and respond 124 proactively to business challenges. they can also develop and implement effective strategies that help the organization achieve its objectives. this is in line with katz, (1974) who stated that the managers need to have a clear understanding of the store's staffing requirements, employee skill sets, and scheduling needs to ensure adequate coverage and maximize productivity. they should also be able to anticipate changes in staffing needs based on seasonal trends or special events and adjust schedules accordingly. research question three focuses on communication skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores which has to do with the ability to transform ideas into words and actions, credibility among colleagues, peers, and subordinates, listening and asking questions, presentation of skills and spoken format, presentation of skills; written and graph format. however, the findings from the research questions show that most of the respondents agree with the fact that communication skills help to improve managers productivity. this is in line with smith (2006) who stated that good communication in business is important, because clients and business partners need to understand precisely what they are trying to buy or sell. possessing great communication skills is crucial for a manager. it can determine how well information is shared throughout a team, ensuring that the group acts as a unified workforce. research question four discusses motivational skills required by managers for effective performance in departmental stores; this skill can be seen as very essential for the growth of business and productivity which help managers to grow their businesses. from the findings of the study, most of the respondents agree that motivational skills is the backbone of every businesses and has the ability to motivate workers, solve work conflicts and work with people. this support the view of society for human resource management (shrm), who asserted that employee motivation is directly related to job satisfaction, employee retention, and overall organizational performance" (shrm, 2021). also, a study by forbes stated that motivated employees are more likely to be engaged, productive, and committed to achieving organizational goals (forbes, 2021). therefore, motivation skills are essential for managers in a departmental store to effectively lead and manage their teams managers with motivational skills adapt their own ideas to those of others. furthermore, they create an atmosphere of trust where employees can feel comfortable and secure and where they can feel encouraged to become involved in the planning of things that will affect them. references aghenta, j. a., & omoregie, e. o. 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(2013). the concept and meaning of management. available online: http://notes.tyrocity.com. accessed august 18, 2016. page 7 an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 2030 in nigeria ignatius nnamdi aguene department of sociology and psychology godfrey okoye university, enugu. agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com abstract the sustainable development goals were adopted by the united nations member states in 2015 to achieve equity and prosperity by 2030. there are solutions networks which monitors the activities of countries and regions in the work of implementing the sdgs and also records their information. it is a successor and improvement on the millennium development goals (mdgs) which ran from 2000 to 2015. gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. the un 2020 progress report on sdgs 2030 across the world were reviewed and found out that many nations will not meet the 2030 target including nigeria. though progress had been made five years since the adoption of the sdgs worldwide. the nigerian voluntary national review 2020 was developed while facing with challenges from covid-19 pandemic, massive flooding across the nation, insecurity and corruption. our modest attempt to answer the research questions derived from the four ranking sdgs in nigeria became framework of appraisal. the research concluded that progress has been made but not at sufficient speed to realize the sdgs by the 2030 target. it was recommended that everything we do during and after this covid-19 pandemic must be with strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies. keywords: appraisal, covid-19 pandemic, gender equality, implementation, sustainable development introduction sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. the concept of needs goes beyond simply material need and includes values, relationship and participation. it can be achieved through eradicating poverty and hunger, guarantying a healthy life, universal access to basic services such as water, sanitation, sustainable energy support the generation of development through inclusive education and decent work. members of a community must share in the cost and benefits of development. that is all community members must participate in development. sustainable development means better ways of doing things without compromising the health status of the people. therefore, sustainable development includes – economic growth, environmental stewardship and social inclusion. sustainable development goals (sdgs) is a collection of 17 global goals designed to be a blue print to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. the sustainable development goals, set in 2015 by the united nations general mailto:agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 201 assembly and intended to be achieved by the year 2030, are part of a united nations resolution called “the 2030 agenda” the 17 goals are broad and interdependent each of the sustainable development goals has a list of targets which are measured with indicators. the year by which the target is meant to be achieved varies between the year 2020 or 2030 or no end date given (bleut, 2015). there are a total of 169 targets for the sustainable development goals. each has between 5 to 20 targets (or about 10 on average). each of these targets has one, two or three indicators to measure progress towards reaching the targets. in total, there are 232 approved indicators to measure compliance. there are united nations official initiatives such as the sustainable development solutions network which monitors the activity of countries and regions in the work of implementing the sustainable development goals and also records the information. the goals were adopted by the united nations member states in 2015 as a universal call action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 all 193 member states of the united nations have adopted 17 goals to be achieved by 2030. the sustainable development goals offer a framework and blue print for achieving sustainable global prosperity and commit participating countries to individual and joint action for the good of all on the planet. the sustainable development goals are successor to and improvement on the millennium development goals (imdgs) which ran from 2000 to 2015. (mdgs 2015) according to nigeria’s road to sdgs country transition strategy (2015) the sdgs seek to build on and complete the unfinished business of the mdgs, realize the human rights of all; achieve gender equality in all sectors and spheres of life; and importantly, strike a balance between economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. the outcome document inter alia, calls on member states to “develop as soon as practicable, ambitious national responses to the overall implementation of this (new) agenda…in order to support the transition to the sdgs and build on existing planning instruments, such as national development and sustainable development strategies.” a review of the mdgs implementation in nigeria reveals that the country has registered mixed results across the goals, geographic areas and gender groups. despite progress on some indicators, many of the goals and targets have not been met. strikingly, the jump from the mdgs to the sdgs is not simply a question of extending the timeline and the ambition of the goals. new goals have been added, entirely new sectors have been introduced and the number of indicators has more than doubled. achieving the sdgs will depend on completing the unfinished business of the mdgs, broadening the focus of the mdgs to new activities and sectors, and deepening these successes to ensure that the achievement of the sdgs is truly universal and no one is left behind (as described, for example, in goal 1 to eradicate poverty). rotimi (2016), indicated that the sdgs extend the mdgs in many ways but particularly by seeking to profoundly link the social, economic, and environment aspects of goals. this in turn implies linking across time ensuring that the short-term achievement of improved human well-being in the long term by damaging the underpinning social and environmental capital on which our global life support system depends. sustainable development encourages to conserve and enhance resource base by gradually changing the ways in which we develop and use technologies. countries must be allowed to meet their basic needs of employment, food, energy, water and sanitation. stabilizing and reducing carbon emissions is key to living with environmental limits. it ensures improved quality for present and future generations noted world commission on environment and development (2017). sustainable development is largely about people, their well-being and equity in their relationships with each other in a context where nature-society imbalances can thereafter become economic and social stability. sustainable development is important for economic growth because: i. environment must be conserved while development is taking place. ii. resources must be cited in such a way that something is conserved for future generation. iii. the standard of living of all people must be raised (u n publication 2020) the sustainable development goals 2030 according to un publication (2015) including the following: sdg sdg 1. no poverty 10 reducing inequality 2 zero hunger 11 sustainable cities and communities 3 good health and well-being 12 responsible consumption and production 4 quality education 13 climate action 5 gender equality 14 life below water 6 clean water and sanitation 15 life on land 7 affordable and clean energy 16 peace, justice and strong institutions 8 decent work and economic growth 17 partnerships for the goals 9 industry, innovation and infrastructure an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 203 gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. only by ensuring the rights of women across all the goals we will get to justice and inclusion, economies that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations. statement of the problem despite the huge investments in time, money and energy on the millennium development goals which ran from 2000 to 2015 at the end of the day much was not achieved and in the same 2015 nigeria adopted sdgs which end by 2030 five years into the programme much has not been achieved. according to african sustainable development sdg index ranking nigeria scored 47.07 43 position out of 52 countries in the index ranking. gender equality is a right. fulfilling this right is the best chance we have in meeting some of the most pressing challenges of our timefrom economic crisis and lack of health care, to climate change, violence against women and escalating conflict. women are not only more affected by these problems but also possess ideas and leadership to solve them. the gender discrimination still holding too many women back holds our world back too (un women’s 2018 flagship report). some of the important measures of sustainable development goals 2030 un desa’s statistics division 2019 include: a. technological advancement for innovation b. reduce, reuse and recycle appraisal c. promoting environmental education and awareness. d. resource utilization as per caring capacity e. improving quality of life including social, cultural and economic dimensions we do not have technology centre or research institute with up to date science laboratory for innovation. there are few industries that can service the comprehensive need of extraction, processing, production, manufacturing, packaging and distributive functions. the laboring populations that generate the wealth of our nation are visibly weak and unhealthy. this makes productivity to fall below capacity which translates into underdevelopment. many of our hospitals are mere consulting rooms and electricity supply rates and prize are disappointing. environmental education and awareness are not the priority of the ruling class. there are erosion gullies and flooding of erosion across many states of nigeria. since 1960 an estimated one third of the world’s arable lands have been lost through erosion and other degradation, (un world commission on environment and development 1987). these factors are hindrances to realization of sustainable development goals by 2030. five years since the adoption of the sustainable development goals, the 2020 report notes that progress had been made in some areas, such as improving maternal and child health, expanding access to electricity and increasing women’s representation in government. yet even these advances were offset elsewhere by growing food insecurity, deterioration of the material environment and persistent and pervasive inequality un 2020 progress report on sdgs 2030. challenges include: slower economic growth, long lasting corruption and inequality unfavourable demographic in various forms and wide spread epidemics, depletion of natural resources, gender inequality, and unequal distribution of wealth. poverty and exclusion unemployment climate change, conflict and humanitarian aid building peaceful and inclusive societies building strong institution of governance and supporting rule of law. political barriers: includes inadequate economic, social and environment methods for policies, plans and projects are the major barrier combating the implementation of sustainable development goals un 2020 progress report on sdgs 2030. the covid-19 pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented crisis, causing further disruption to sdg progress, with the world’s poor and most venerable affected the most. using the latest data and estimates, the annual stock taking report on progress across the 17, goals shows that it is the poorest with disabilities, migrants and refugees – who are being hit the harder by the effects of the covid-19 pandemic. women are also bearing the heaviest brunt of the pandemic’s effects. now, due to covid-19, an unprecedented health, economic and social crisis is threatening lives and livelihood, making the achievement of goals more challenging – (un secretary general antonio guterres noted). the key findings about the impact of the covid-19 on sustainable development goals by the united nations progress report 2020 include: • an estimated 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020, the first rise in global poverty since 1998. lost incomes, limited social protection and rising prices mean even those who were previously secure could find themselves at risk of poverty and hunger. • underemployment and unemployment due to the crisis mean some 1.6 billion already vulnerable workers in the informal economy – half the an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 205 global workforce – may be significantly affected, with their incomes estimated to have fallen by 60 percent in the first month of the crisis. • the more than one billion slum dweller worldwide are acutely at risk from the effects of covid-19, suffering from lack of adequate housing, no running water at home, shared toilets, little or no waste management systems, overcrowded public transport and limited access to formal health care facilities. • women and children are also among those bearing the heavy brunt of the pandemic’s effects. disruption to health and vaccination services and limited access to diet and nutrition services have the potential to cause hundreds of thousands of additional under -5 deaths and tens of thousands of additional maternal deaths in 2020. many countries have seen a surge in reports of domestic violence against women and children. • school closures have kept 90 percent of students worldwide (1.57 billion) out of school and caused over 370 million children to miss out on school meals they depend on. lack of access to computers and the internet at home means remote learning is out of reach of many. about 70 countries reported moderate to severe disruptions or a total suspension of childhood vaccination services during march and april of 2020. • as more families fall into extreme poverty, children in poor and disadvantaged communities are at much greater risk of child labour, child marriage and child trafficking. in fact, the global gains in reducing child labour are likely to be reversed for the first time in 20 years. the report also shows that climate change is still occurring much faster than anticipated. the year 2019 was the second warmest on record and the end of the warmest decade of 2010 to 2019. meanwhile, ocean acidification is accelerating; land degradation continues; massive numbers of species are at risk of extinction; and unsustainable consumption and production patterns remain pervasive un sdgs targets and indicators july 2017. research questions the research questions were raised from the four ranking sustainable development goals in nigeria which are as follow: • sdg 10 reduced inequality • sdg 1 no poverty • sdg 5 gender equality • sdg 16 peace, justice and strong institutions nigeria sdgs 2019. 1. at the present rate of sdgs can nigeria eliminate inequality by 2030? 2. at the present rate of sdgs can poverty be reduced to the nearest minimum by 2030? 3. at the present rate of sdgs can nigeria achieve gender equality by 2030? 4. at the present rate of sdgs can nigeria achieve peace, justice and strong institution by 2030. united nations 2020 progress report on sdgs 2030 across the world this section of the research work was based mainly on the un progress report 2020. the progress report 2020 on the 2030 sustainable development goals are the following: 1. end poverty in all its forms everywhere: the un explain extreme poverty rate have fallen by more than half since 1990 while this is remarkable achievement. one in five people in developing regions still live on less than $1.90 a day. millions more make little more than this daily amount and are at the risk of sleeping back into extreme poverty. 2. end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. united nations: explains: it is time to rethink how we grow, show and consume on food. if done right, agriculture, foresting and fisheries can provide nutrition food for all and generate descent incomes, while supporting people’s centered rural development and protecting the environment. 3. ensure healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all age: the united nations explains: significant stride have been made in increasing life expectancy and reducing some of the common killers responsible for child and maternal mortality. major progress has also been made on increasing access to clean water and sanitation, reducing malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the spread of hiv/aids. 4. ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote life long learning: the united nations explains: obtaining a quality education underpins a range of fundamental development drivers. major progress has been made toward increasing access to education at all levels, particularly for women and girls. basic literacy skills across the world have improved tremendously, yet more efforts are needed to achieve an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 207 universal education goals for all. for example, the world has achieve equality in primary education between girls and boys, but few countries have achieve that target at all levels of education because of free and compulsory primary and secondary education adopted in many nations including nigeria. 5. achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls: the united nations explains: gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision making progress will fuel sustainable economics and benefit societies and humanity at large and end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere. this requires legal framework in place to enforce gender equality for all countries. 6. ensure access to water and sanitation for all: “the united nations explains: clean water is a basic human need, and one that should be easily accessible to all. there is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. however, due to poor infrastructure, investment and planning, every year millions of people – most of their children –die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene 7. ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all: the united nations explains: energy is central to mainly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. be it per jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential. transitioning the global economy towards clean water and sustainable sources of energy is one of our greatest challenges in the coming decades. sustainable energy is an opportunityit transform lives, economics and the planet. reliable modern energy electricity supply renewal energy including solar. 8. promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all: the united nations explains: roughly half the world” population still lives on the equivalent of about 2$ a day. and in too many places, having a job does not guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. this shows an uneven progress requires us to rethink and reset our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. achieving higher levels of economic productivity through diversification technological upgrading and innovation including through a focus on high value added and labour intensive sections by 2030. 9. build resilient, infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation: the united nations explains: investments in infrastructure – transport irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries. it has been recognized this growth in productivity and income and improvements in health and education outcomes requires investment in infrastructures. 10. reduce inequality within and among countries: united nations explains: the international community has made significant strides toward lifting people out of poverty. the most vulnerable nationsthe least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island developing states –continue to make inroads into poverty reduction. however, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other issues. 11. make cities inclusive, safe resistant and sustainable: the united nations explains: the challenges cities face can be overcomed in ways that allow them to continue to thrive and grow, while improving resource use and reducing pollution and poverty. the future we want includes cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more. 12. ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns: the united nations explain: sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and better quality of life for all. its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce economic environmental and social costs, strengthen economics competitive and reduce poverty. 13. take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts: the united nations explains: affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economics. the an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 209 pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emission and increase adaptation efforts. 14. conserve and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources: the united nations explains: our oceans: their temperature insulation chemistry and ecosystem play a fundamental role in making earth habitable. our rainfall, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food and even the oxygen in the air we breathe are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation. careful management of essential global resource is a key for sustainable future, presenting and significantly reducing marine pollution of all kinds by 2025. 15. sustainably manage forest, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss: the united nations explains forests cover 30 percent of the earth’s surface and in addition to providing food security and shelter, forests are key to combating climate change. protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost a year while the persistent degradation of dry lands has led to desertification of 3.6 billion hectares. 16. promote justice, peaceful and inclusive societies: the united nations explains; the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. this aims to promote peaceful societies at national levels, as well as the role of cooperation of the international level war and peace, terrorism, military spending, nuclear weapons, homicides, human right corruption and violence and rights of churches. 17. revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development: the un explains, it requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. these inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision and shared goals that place people and the planet at the center, are needed at the global, regional, national and local level respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable developments. implementation of sustainable development goals (2030) in nigeria the federal government of president mohammadu buhari put some mechanisms in place to achieve the implementation of the sdgs 2030 target. the president appointed princess orelope – adefulire as special assistant to the president on sdgs in the presidency which is a carryover from the mdgs under the presidency too. there is senate committee on sdgs which provide over sight functions for sdgs while federal house of representatives committee on sdgs provide appropriation for sdgs. there is also interministerial committee on the sdgs. there is private sector advisory group and the civil society strategy group on sdgs. the federal government worked together with the states governments through their sdgs desk officers. these are the people that implement the sdgs in their different states and local government areas. the 17 sustainable development goals (sdgs) with their 169 targets form the core of the 2030 agenda. they balance the economic, social and ecological dimensions of sustainable development on the same agenda for the first time. president mohammadu buhari’s government introduced the economic recovery and growth plan (ergp) in 2017 as a policy option. it is a medium term all round development initiative focused on restoring growth, investing in people and building a globally competitive economy. the focus is to stabilize the macro environment achieve agriculture and food security, ensure energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products security improve transformation, infrastructure and drive industrialization (egwuatu & kolawole, 2019). it is expected to cover four years until 2020. this is where the implementation of sustainable development goals was anchored. according to nigeria’s road to sdgs (2015) in the course of delivering the mdgs, several partnership were successfully established which supported the implementation of mdgs programmes and projects. the partnerships ranged from those that are internal between the federal, state and local governments; between mdas; between government, civil society organizations and communities – to partnerships – between the nigerian government and international aid agencies, private firms and foreign governments. assessing progress towards the sdgs will rely on an even more elaborate system of measurement, covering more sectors and more indictors. there is an urgent need, therefore, for an increase in both the quantity and quality of data. moreover, the role of data cannot be limited an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 211 to simply measuring aggregate national progress towards the goals. as research and experience with the mdgs attests to, real-time feedback from policies on how they are performing, how public services are operating, and localized differences in impact will be fundamental to achieving the responsive governance needed to calibrate and drive progress. during the transition timeframe from mdgs in sdgs, nigeria will seek to build on existing foundations, employing innovative techniques to improve understanding of the sdgs, communicating effectively across all levels of government, and permeating across all echelons of society, with a focus on inspiring every community to innovate, motivating nigerians to implement the goals. sdgs communications will respond to stakeholder/actor engagement and participation, focus on both short and long-term goals and objectives, and will be reviewed strategically on a regular basis to respond to information on sdg performance and implementation. in this section, multiple stakeholders/actors have been identified who will be involved in the decisionmaking/participation process. the communication objectives of the transition strategy are to: • continue communicating on the ‘unfinished business’ of the mdgs; • provide reliable, up-to-date, adequate, timely and reasonably complete information for sdgs implementers at all levels, for partners in the private sector and the development community, and for all nigerians; • provide at periodic intervals data that will show the general performance of the sdgs across all levels of the nigerian society during the transition. repositioning local government as the sdgs tier of government, local government is pivotal to the achievement of the sdgs because it is the only tier of government that can feasibly understand, monitor and react to the millions of activities that will collectively add up to the sdgs. chairman of the local government should be provided with the mandate and responsibility for pursuing and coordinating progress towards the sdgs within their local government area, nigeria’s road to sdgs country transition strategy (2015). as primary agents of their development and the ultimate beneficiaries of the sdgs, citizens have a pivotal role to play not only in terms of efforts and action towards the achievement of the goals but also in terms of the associated monitoring of the progress towards these goals. community participation is the process by which individuals, families or communities assume responsibility for their own welfare and develop a capacity to contribute to their own and the community development by being involved in the decision making process in determining goals and pursuing issues of importance. sdgs implementation efforts in africa 2019. according to erhum (2015) economic development that is hinged on environmental sustainability is critical to the attainment of sustainable economic development. the quest for economic development must be balanced with the need for responsible environmental management. this balancing requires policies, legislations and regulations which improve natural resource management and support sustainable resource use. the 17 goals to be implemented basically is to ensure, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable energy, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation are infrastructure, reduction of inequality urgent action to combat clamant change and its impact promoting peaceful and inclusive societies sustainable development among others. these goals capture the essence of development in any nation and have as its slogan to “leave no one behind” sdgs were expected to be pursued in an inclusive and people centered manner, hereby focusing on institutional and policy strengthening and supportive of the program and projects. this was designed to focus in six thematic area-policies, data management, institutions, partnership, communication and finance. to be carried out in 3 phases according to the specific need of each zone. phase 1: 2016 2020 phase 2: 2020 2026 phase 3: 2026 – 2030 it requires that all hands must be on desk, federal, states and local government areas however, some hindrances were noticed which included inadequate financial resources for investment in sdgsrelated activities, crisis in the north east, militancy in the niger delta, corruption, unstable policies, weak social institutions and disregard to the rule of law. some former heads of state are stronger than the nigerian state and have refused to account for their stewardship while in office and nobody is questioning them. they forget that governance is a social contract between the government and the people they governed. the impact of covid-19 nearly collapsed the nigerian economy. there was no money, food and frustration that many nigerian died because of the corona virus disease. some nigerians even attempted or actually committed suicide. the lockdown from march 2020 to september 2020 nearly collapsed the nigerian economy. the federal government and state governments were forced to divert attention to giving palliatives to the most vulnerable in the country. flooding was killing many nigerians and erosion flooding swept away many farm lands during 2020 raining season. an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 213 nigerian sustainable development goals 2030 voluntary national review 2020 nigeria’s 2020 voluntary national review (vnr) on sustainable development goals (sdgs) focused on the key issues of poverty (sdg-1), and an inclusive economy (sdg-8), wealth and well-being (sdg-3), education (sdg-4), gender equality (sdg-5), and the enabling environment of peace and security (sdgs-16), and partnership (sdgs). this focus is based on nigeria’s current development priorities and the development objective of president m. buhari. the vnr is being developed while facing with challenges from covid-19 pandemic testing the effectiveness of nigeria’s public health systems and the collapse of oil price, for an economy still getting 86% of public revenue from oil and gas. nigeria’s 2017 vnr outline the institutional dimensions for creating and enabling policy environment for the implementation of the sdgs through the economic and recovery growth plan (ergp) 20172020 it focused on economic, social and environmental dimensions of development that make it consistent with the aspirations of the sdgs. sdg (3) health and well-being poor health outcome such as high rate of maternal mortality there has been a decrease from 157% to 132%. covid-19 challenged health system by exposing how unprepared we are to tackle public health emergencies nigerian current access to clean water is 64% which is above average sdg4-education: out of school children is a major challenge a demographic challenge that relates to interplay between employment sdg-11 education sdg-4 poverty sdg-1 and digital economy sdg-17. in nigeria’s 200 million population regional disparities are significantly observed with 78% of south west children able to read and write while only 17% of north eastern children can. with only 1.6 of gdp to education more need to be done. sdg-8 inclusive economy: nigeria’s informal economy is one of the largest on the continent estimated at 53% of the labor force and accounting for65% all non-jobs are informal. youth have a combined rate of unemployment and under employment rate of 55.4% or 2.5 million. according to nigeria’s 2020 voluntary national review (vnr), alignment of national planning to sdgs; good strides have been made in the domestication process of the sdgs in nigeria. first, there is an ongoing realignment of the national statistical system (nss) with the requirements and indicators of the sdgs. second, nigeria has developed its home-grown ‘integrated sustainable development goals (sdg model) – an analytical framework for assessing how policy making can better address the indivisible nature of the sdgs. third, the nigeria’s 2020 vnr report has drawn on past evaluations across the seven priority sdgs and has an ongoing evaluation of the country’s performance in sdg 2&4. this attempt to systematically use evaluations is an innovation in the vnr context. nigeria should strengthen the evidence-based planning and accountability mechanisms at state level for accelerating the sdg decade of action. the post-ergp national development plan (2021-2030) will be pivotal in advancing the achievement of the sdgs in nigeria. appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 2030 in nigeria 2020 a modest attempt was made to answer the research questions derived from the four ranking sustainable development goals in nigeria. these became the framework of appraisal. the research questions were: (1) at the present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria eliminate inequity by 2030? (2) at the present rate of sustainable development goals can poverty be reduced to the nearest minimum by 2030? (3) at present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria achieve gender equity by 2030? (4) at the present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria achieve peace, justice and strong institutions by 2030? at the present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria eliminate inequity by 2030? the massive persistence of poverty, particularly in rural areas, according to idriss (1992), represents a problem for the popular acceptance of continue economic adjustment; and it represents a problem for growth itself. the problem lies not only in the unintended consequences of the prevailing development paradigm, but in the viability of the paradigm itself. according to idriss most of the forces creating poverty are essentially social. they reflect systems of resources allocations that are made by societies and as such can be reversed. pricing policies, credit systems, social and productive services which neglect the poor, as well as gender discrimination, are not nature, universal and inevitable facts and neither is the poverty they give rise to. stiglitz (2009) noted that: the globalization of the economy has benefited countries that took advantage of it by seeking new markets for their exports and by welcoming foreign investment. even so, the countries that have benefited the most have been those that took charge of their own destiny and recognized the role government can play in development rather than relying on the notion of a self-regulated market that would fix its own problems. but for millions of people globalization has not worked. many have actually been made worse off, as they have seen an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 215 their jobs destroyed and their lives become more insecure. they have fell increasingly powerless against forces beyond their control. they have seen their democracies undermined, their cultures eroded. those who intervened in the market process like the asian tigers were better off but africans took the ‘rubbish’ as was packaged for them without any contribution. africans are now suffering exploitation, this has widened the gap between the rich and poor. poverty is less a failure of the poor, than a failure of policy makers to grasp their potential according to idriss (1992). as individuals, many of the poor are virtually unreachable. as member of associations and groups they create their own channels for institutional access. the dynamics of poverty are reversible, but only in collaboration with the poor themselves. the most valid spokesmen of the poor are the poor themselves. the mobilization and enhancement of the resources and activities of the poor themselves can uphold their dignity and free them from the shackles of misery-while at the same time making a vital contribution to overall sustainable growth poverty alleviation involves creating conducive conditions under which people will receive their income from their work. most of the forces creating poverty are essentially social. they reflect resource allocations that are made by societies and as such can be reversed. pricing policies, credit systems and social and productive services which neglect the poor, as well as gender discrimination, are not natural, universal and inevitable facts and neither is the poverty they give rise to. nigeria has six-tier model of class structure as in most industrial societies. the terms social and economic inequalities simply refer to the existence of socially credited inequalities. sociologists use income, education and occupation prestige to measure social class. the social classes in nigeria include: capitalist class, upper middle class, lower middle class, middle class, working class and classless. these classes are as a result of unequal distribution of income in our society mainly because of our weak social institutions. nigerians have been appealing to the conscience of political leaders to make their salaries and allowances realistic by receiving what government officials receive in other similar countries or reduce to a reasonable percentage but they refused. they live in luxury while the people whose money they are using and electorate that voted them into power are living in penury. some are even attempting or actually committing suicide because of the frustration caused by bad leadership at the present rate of sustainable development goals can poverty be reduced to the nearest minimum by 2030? poverty is absolute state by any objective measure the poor are materially deprived to the point where survival often becomes an issue. the poor are materially deprived in comparison with the majority of the population and gender discrimination perpetuates poverty. according to neubek (1979) unable to produce or unable to demand rewards for their contribution to production, and thus unable to consume, millions live out their lives in a state of economic deprivation. a persistent theme in the economics of the poor is the need for some sort of transfer of resources to them from more productive and dynamic sectors of accumulation. this perspectives is not that growth achieved by the privileged will pull the poor out of poverty, but that the mobilization and enhancement of the resources and activities of the poor themselves can uphold their dignity and free them from the shackles of misery, while at the same time making a vital contribution to overall sustainable growth (idriss, 1992). the federal and state governments have embarked on poverty alleviation programmes which include more recently fadama i, ii, iii and additional fadama iii. millennium development goals etc and currently sustainable development goals. admittedly, progress has been made but poverty has not been eradicated mainly because of gender, inequality, corruption, weak institutions and non observation of the rule of law and bad leadership. former president olusegu obasanjo, while delivering a speech at a consultative forum in abuja on 12th september 2020 noted that today nigeria is fast drifting to a failed and badly divided state. economically our country is becoming a basket case and poverty capital of the world and socially, we are firming as an unwholesome and insecure country. obasanjo also said that the country was becoming a basket case economically. at present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria achieve gender equity by 2030? according to the un “gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world” un 2017 progress on sustainable development goals “providing women and girls with equal access to education, health, decent work, and representation in political and nurture sustainable economic that benefit societies in their constitutions as of 2014”. the core strategies for achieving the objectives of the national gender policy (2006) include: an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 217 • policy, partnership and programme reforms through mainstreaming of gender concerns at all levels; • gender education and capacity building to enhance necessary technical expertise and positive gender culture; • legislative reforms to guarantee gender justice and respect for human right and • economic reforms for enhanced productivity and sustainable development, especially that which addresses the needs of women and children, and other vulnerable groups. the national policy on women noted that “affirmative action of proportionate ratio or 30% representation will be employed to increase the total representative seats in each of the legislative houses, executive arms, and party hierarchy. this shall be reserved for women for a trial period up to the year 2010 (national policy on women 2000). that policy is in fact already outdated in the international world because at the un conference on women in 1995 held in beijing. china, the achievement of the threshold of 30% was by the year 2000ad. all the nations of the world, including nigeria accepted this being signatory to the beijing declaration and platform of action. the un and all the 167 nations accept that the best indicator to ensure larger proportion of the female gender (akade, 2009). despite unprecedented human development efforts in the past three decades, a widespread pattern of inequality between men and women still persists. this is the result of centuries of neglect to focus on gender issues. in the developing world in particular, where women have been regarded as non-persons for generations, progress towards achieving recognition has been slow and progress towards achieving gender equality has been slower. this has affected development adversely (turning promise into action un publication 2016). there is no gender equality in the nigeria society even the 35% affirmative action clause accepted by the nigeria government is not even achieved though effort have been made towards it realization. the supreme court of nigeria on 30th april 2014 set aside igbo customary laws of inheritance that deny women access to their father’s property. what of community property? the problem is not remembering women but what is the percentage of inclusiveness. the 35% affirmative clause is not maintained because the interest of governments at different level is to see that women are included without bothering themselves about the ratio of men or women in practice. women are not giving more than 10% in most positions that require decision taking or anywhere at all. for instance, out of 36 state governors none is a woman. in the ninth national assembly out of 109 senators only seven are women out of 360 members of the house of representatives only twenty are women. the question we can ask ourselves is out of the total number of ministers in the federal executive council how many are women and in the different states of the federation how many commissioners are women in each state? millennium development goals (mdgs) and its successor sustainable development goals strongly recommended gender equality in other to achieve any meaningful development. at the present rate of sustainable development goals can nigeria achieve peace, justice and strong institutions by 2030? goal 16 has the target of promoting the rule of law, equal access to justice and strong social institutions where nobody will be above the law but equal before the law. peace and justice cannot be separated because peace can only reign where there is justice. this will mean including women in all decision making processes both in the family and society at large as well as granting inheritance rights to both boys and girls both in the family and community at large. nigeria has weak institutions giving rise to powerful men like olusegun obasanjo, ibrahim babangida and mohammed buhari all former and serving presidents of nigeria and others who have refused to give account of their tenures as presidents because of our weak institutions. nigeria is violating the principle of using the best people they have to get the best result. if we do not promote the principle of excellence, what do you think will be our best results by using people who are not competent, our weak people as our front runners in nigeria? nationsbuilding would therefore mean finding permanent solution to the problems of revenue allocation, population census, nature and practice of nigeria federalism, religious intolerance, ethnicity and indigene ship problems the north/south dichotomy and neo-colonial pressures (ake 1982). these have not given room for peace to reign in nigeria; therefore nigeria is a country in crisis. president obama of the united states of america attributed the root cause of the challenges that have befallen africa to poor governance arising from lack of visible dividends from democracy and lack of attention to unaligned frustrations and corruption (obama, 2014). good governance entails transparent and accountable management of human, economic and financial resources for the purpose of equitable and sustainable development (adc, 2011). the world bank defines it as the “manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development” (ifad, 1999). these things have not given room for justice and without justice there can be no peace. an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 219 conclusion poverty is more than lack of income and resources to ensure a sustainable livelihood. its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision making. economic growth must be inclusive to provide sustainable jobs and promote equality. orelope – adafulire ssa to president on sdgs 2020. achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals. only by ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the goals will we get to justice and inclusion, economics that work for all, and sustaining our shared environment now and for future generations. the research concluded that progress has been made but not at sufficient speed to realize the sdgs by the 2030 target. it is mainly because of gender inequality, corruption, insecurity, weak social institutions and natural disasters like erosion and flooding of water which have affected many nigerians causing many deaths and loss of livelihood. the covid-19 pandemic in nigeria is being gradually relaxed. this is because all the preventive strategies are no longer in full force: staying at home, restricting the number of passengers in a vehicle, schools and churches have been reopened respectively and even 2020 west african school certificate examination (waec) has been taken. the covind-19 pandemic has gone more than half way but the impact have not gone. this is because the nigeria economy that was almost collapsed is gradually picking up but things have not fully returned back as usual. the prices of items have gone up again more than even the period of the covid-19 pandemic lockdown from march to september, 2020. this time around because of the end sars protest in late october 2020 but the lockdown has been relaxed recommendation adequate financial resources are required for investment in the sdgs related activities. there is the need for poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship education and effective leadership. strong social institutions, observation of the rule of laws and reviving the economy because of the damage done by the impact of covid-19 on the economy is inevitable. sustainable economic growth requires societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment. job opportunities and decent work conditions are also required for the whole working population. orelope – adafulire ssa to president on sdgs 2020 everything done during and after this (covid-19) must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies that are more resilient in the face of pandemic, climate change, and the many other global challenges facing nigeria. the first step to achieving that is to have a good primary and secondary education system as well as good health care system. it is observed that efforts to control our environment must be intensive due to gender equality must be implemented and not just remembering women like the case today. the research equally recommended that october 2020 protest by the nigerian youths against police brutality and bad governance should not be taken for granted. this actually reemphasized the call by many prominent nigerians across the country for restructuring nigeria which was the original plan after nigerian independence in 1960. however, president muhammadu buhari single handedly refused the idea of restructuring as if we are under a military ruler, the youths should be called for a round table discussion by our leaders at all levels of governance where proper apology should be tendered to them especially, the discovery that palliatives were hidden inside strong rooms while many nigerians died or committed suicide because of starvation mostly during the lockdown period of covid-19 pandemic. the palliatives were reserved for their yet unborn children and other atrocities committed by them against the citizens of this country. the level of insecurity in nigeria means that nigeria is already sitting on a keg of gun powder. it is said that he who lives in a glass house does not throw stones because of the likely resultant damage. a word is enough for the wise. references abuja federal ministry of information. (2015). nigeria’s road to sdgs, country transition strategy. unpublished manuscript. blewitt, j. (2015). understanding sustainable development goals 2nd london retledge egwuatu, p., & kolawole, y. (2019). vanguard newspaper, monday september 30, 2019. erhun mercy (2015). a sustainable approach to economic development in nigeria: a legal perspective. journal of economic and sustainable development vol. 6. no. 14 2015. further information: list of sdg targets and indicates july 2017 un resolution a/les/71/313 2017 un publication. mdgs, progress report of un project (2015). how do the 17 sustainable development goals impact women and girls worldwide? hashtags: promises to action global goals. nigeria’s 2020 voluntary national review (vnr) on sustainable development goals (sdgs) abuja the presidency. orelope – adafulire (2020). ssa to president on sdgs 2020. the presidency abuja. an appraisal of the implementation of sustainable development goals 221 united nations publication (2020). progress the sustainable development goals. united nations publication. progress towards the sustainable development goals report of the secretary. general 2020 session. united nations publication. rotimi, j. (2016). the challenges of implementing the sustainable development goals in africa. the way forward african journal of reproductive health. sept. 2016 special edition on sdgs 20(3) 13. sdg implementation efforts in africa (2019). index and dashboard report. united nations publication. stiglitz j, (2003). globalization and its discontents new york ww norton and company inc. united nations publication (2015). the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 sustainable development goals. united nations publication. the sustainable development report (2019) un desa’s statistics division 2019 united nations publication. united nations publication. united nations publication (2018). un women’s 2018 flagship report “turning promises into action: gender equality in the 2030 agenda. united nations publication. united nations (2015) millennium development goals report (new york) un publication. volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 318 the impact of corruption on the socio-economic development of nigeria urien, james department of psychology, delta state university, abraka e-mail: jourien@delsu.edu.ng orcid number: 0009-0002-5862-2462 abstract corruption is a relatively recent phenomenon that affects all facet of activities in nigeria. however, corruption is rarely mentioned. there are many unresolved problems in nigeria, but the issue of the upsurge of corruption is troubling. and the damages it has done to the polity are astronomical. in fact, the major factor obstructing her path towards sustainable development is corruption. it was concluded that corruption has had a profoundly debilitating, impact on nigeria’s socioeconomic development, exacerbating poverty, inequality and social injustice. the effects of corruption in nigeria includes; stunted economic growth and development, reduced government revenue and public resources, inefficient allocation of resources and mismanagement of public funds, undermined trust in institutions and governance, encouragement of illegal activities and organized crime and disproportionate impact of vulnerable population. based on the conclusion, it was therefore recommended that the government to strengthen anti-corruption agencies: empower and resource agencies like efcc and icp to effectively investigate and prosecute corruption cases. implement treasury single account (tsa): consolidate government revenues to reduce mismanagement and embezzlement. conduct regular audits: ensure transparency and accountability in government finances and contracts. keywords: corruption, development, nigeria, socio-economic introduction one of the most serious social evils in any community is corruption. this is due to the fact that corruption, like any fatal infection, targets the essential systems that enable civilization to advance. this is especially true for developing nations where scarce but precious funds and resources that are originally set aside for businesses, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and other infrastructures are either outright embezzled, misappropriated, or otherwise severely depleted through bribes and excessive billing by government representatives. individuals are assigned jobs or tasks depending on who has the means and the desire to appease those in authority, not on their abilities or merit (morris, 2023). consequently, there is currently a growing global worry about corruption; a number of things are to blame for this. nevertheless, everyone agrees that corruption exists everywhere these days. it exists in the public and commercial sectors, in non-profit and philanthropic organizations, and in all nations—developed and developing. in the same vein, more than at any other point in history, accusations and claims of corruption are a major factor in politics. governments have suffered severe consequences, including the loss of well-known public officials' careers and severe damage to the reputations of reputable businesses and organizations (thompson, 2022). mailto:jourien@delsu.edu.ng; 319 scandals and unethical conduct, particularly by individuals in positions of power, are highly newsworthy and should be thoroughly probed, as the global mass media thrives on them. scandalous and corrupt behavior, a common human frailty, has come to light due to the growing trend of using corruption as a tool to discredit political opponents, the media's obsession with it as a highly marketable commodity, and the public's fascination with seeing famous personalities in embarrassing situations. in addition and perhaps most significantly, corruption can pose a significant challenge to a nation's efforts to modernize and advance. many now believe that it ought to be given top priority in a nation's development agenda. "corruption is the intentional non-compliance with the arm's-length principle aimed at deriving some advantage for oneself or for related individuals from this behavior," according to a study of 150 high level officials from 60 countries. a person in a position of public authority may be corrupted if their activities violate certain principles of conduct because of their riches, power, or status. "acts of corruption to include bribery and extortion, which necessarily involve at least two parties and other malfeasances that a public official can carry out alone, including fraud and embezzlement," (jonny, 2018). according to them, it takes the form of official actions such as politicians and high-ranking officials embezzling public cash or using public assets for private gain. according to lace (2020) corruption involves using illicit ways to achieve wealth or influence at the expense of the public. corruption is defined as "the abuse of public office for private gain". this definition excludes corruption in the private sector and only addresses corruption in the public sector. this notion aligns with nobel prize laureate gary becker's belief that eliminating the state eliminates corruption. according to okeke (2019) corruption occurs when two individuals seek to benefit themselves at the expense of a third party. this does not mean that an individual cannot commit the act. telvin (2013) defines corruption as "the misuse of entrusted power for private gain". transparency international distinguishes between "according to the rule" corruption and "against the rule" corruption. facilitation payments involve paying a bribe in exchange for preferential treatment for a legally mandated action. the latter involves paying a bribe to gain services that the receiver is not required to provide. corruption is defined as a systemic vice in an individual, society, or nation that involves favoritism, nepotism, tribalism, sectionalism, undue enrichment, wealth accumulation, misuse of authority, power, and position, and the derivation of undue gains and benefits. bribery, kickbacks, over invoicing, fraud, unlawful payments, money laundering, drug trafficking, document falsification, false declarations, and aiding and abetting are all examples of corrupt behavior. ultimately, corruption can be defined as an intentional attempt or purposeful diversion of resources from pursuing the general interest to pursuing one's own interests. even though some of these definitions of corruption date back more than ten years, they are still quite relevant and adequate in light of the recent developments in nigeria, where it has been discovered that stolen public monies total billions of us dollars and nigerian naira. forms of corruption a. bribery: the exchange of cash or in-kind benefits in a corrupt partnership. these consist of payoffs, gratuities, sweeteners, greasing palms, and kickbacks. b. fraud: it involves some form of fraud, deception, and trickery, as well as falsifications racketing, counterfeiting, and smuggling. 320 c. embezzlement: this is public officials pilfering public resources. it occurs when a state employee embezzles money from the public organization where they work. perhaps as a result of lax regulatory frameworks, misappropriation of public monies is one of the most popular means of accumulating wealth in nigeria. d. extortion: this refers to the stealing of funds and other resources by way of threats of violence, coercion, or other malicious methods. in nigeria, the primary perpetrators are the police and customs officials. e. favouritism: this is a power abuse mechanism that suggests a blatantly skewed allocation of public funds. it is believed that people naturally choose their friends, family, and other close and trustworthy people. f. nepotism: this is a unique type of partiality where the person holding the office gives preference to their relatives and family. it happens when someone receives undue favoritism when allocating limited resources or is excused from applying certain laws or regulations. causes of corruption the causes of corruption in nigeria are complex and multifaceted and addressing these causes requires a comprehensive approach that involves government, civil society, the private sector, and individuals. george (2023) highlighted some of the key factors: 1. weak institutions: ineffective and inefficient institutions, lack of accountability, and poor governance. 2. cultural factors: entrenched cultural practices, such as nepotism, cronyism, and tribalism. 3. economic factors: poverty, unemployment, and income inequality create an environment conducive to corruption. 4. lack of transparency and accountability: insufficient oversight, secrecy, and lack of access to information. 5. poor leadership: corrupt leaders and public officials who set a bad example and prioritize personal gain. 6. inadequate legal framework: weak laws, inadequate enforcement, and poor judicial systems. 7. corrupt political system: politicians and political parties prioritize personal interests over public good. 8. societal norms: acceptance of corruption as a normal part of life and business. 9. lack of civic engagement: limited citizen participation in governance and oversight. 10. external factors: international corruption, money laundering, and illicit financial flows. 11. historical legacy: colonialism, military rule, and political instability have contributed to corruption. 12. lack of education and awareness: limited understanding of the negative impacts of corruption. 13. inadequate public sector management: poor human resource management, procurement, and financial management practices. 14. private sector complicity: businesses and corporations engaging in corrupt practices. the effects of corruption on socio-economic development in nigeria a nation's sociopolitical and economic development can be negatively impacted by systemic corruption, which the national planning commission has identified as the main cause of development failures (national planning commission, 2005). among other things, corruption impedes economic growth, as noted by lipset and lenz (2020) who also point out that this 321 effect is partially due to lower investment levels due to increased investment risk. because the government spends comparatively more on items to make room for graft, corruption has an impact on education (shleifer & vishny, 2013; lipset & lenz, 2020). furthermore, dishonest public servants would direct government spending to places where they could readily obtain bribes. fraud is easier to commit on large, complex projects like highways or airports. furthermore, corruption, poverty and income inequality are related. in nigeria, development projects are frequently too complicated in order to justify their unethical practices and exorbitant costs. society suffers from corruption in a number of ways. first, because productive people are doing the work, productivity is not at its best. second, it lowers morale throughout the nation and fosters feelings of frustration and pessimism. passive or overly cynical attitudes arise when a significant segment of the public believes that honest efforts will not result in positive and desirable consequences. economic distortions, inefficiencies, resource waste, and revenue loss or monies diverted from their intended purpose are some of the issues. for instance, people protest against hardship on the 36 states of the federation, nigeria, thursday, aug. 1, 2024. thousands of mostly young people poured onto the streets across nigeria on thursday as they protested against the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation as a result of corruption. security forces fired tear gas to disperse some of the protesters in the capital, abuja. (vangaurd, 2024). people protest against hardship on the street of lagos and nigeria at large, thursday, aug. 1, 2024. among the protesters was 32year-old jane hingir, who shared her emotional struggle to make ends meet. “i have been struggling to make ends meet, but it’s getting harder every day,” she said, her voice filled with a mix of frustration and determination. jane’s personal story mirrored the broader national struggle, highlighting the everyday challenges faced by many nigerians. (vangaurd, 2024). corruption has had a devastating impact on the development in nigeria, affecting various aspects of the country’s economic growth and development which includes: 1. economic stagnation: corruption discourages investment, hinders economic growth, and leads to a decline in living standards. 2. inefficient allocation of resources: corruption diverts funds intended for public goods and services, leading to inadequate infrastructure, healthcare, and education. 3. poverty and inequality: corruption exacerbates poverty and widens the gap between the rich and the poor. 4. lack of trust in institutions: corruption erodes trust in government, public institutions, and the rule of law. 5. undermining democracy: corruption threatens democratic processes, undermines accountability, and fuels political instability. 6. environmental degradation: corruption facilitates environmental degradation, as regulations are ignored or circumvented. 7. social injustice: corruption perpetuates social injustice, as those with power and influence exploit the system. 8. brain drain: corruption drives skilled professionals to seek opportunities abroad, depriving nigeria of essential expertise. 9. loss of revenue: corruption leads to significant revenue losses, reducing the government's ability to fund development projects. 322 10. international isolation: corruption damages nigeria's international reputation, making it harder to attract foreign investment and aid. strategies to curb corruption implementing these strategies requires a sustained effort from government, civil society, and citizens to create a culture of transparency, accountability, and integrity in nigeria and by tackling corruption, nigeria can unlock its potential and achieve sustainable development. ola (2020) outlines some strategies that can be employed to curb corruption in nigeria as follow: 1. strengthen institutions: enhance the independence, capacity, and accountability of anti-corruption agencies, judiciary, and legislature. 2. promote transparency: implement open governance initiatives, such as freedom of information laws and budget transparency. 3. encourage citizen participation: support civil society organizations, whistleblower protection, and community engagement in anti-corruption efforts. 4. improve public financial management: enhance budgeting, accounting, and auditing practices to reduce opportunities for corruption. 5. enforce laws and regulations: ensure effective enforcement of anti-corruption laws, regulations, and penalties. 6. foster a culture of integrity: promote ethical values, integrity, and accountability within government, private sector, and society. 7. support anti-corruption agencies: provide adequate resources, training, and independence to anticorruption agencies. 8. address poverty and inequality: reduce poverty and inequality, which can fuel corruption. 9. improve access to education and information: educate citizens about corruption, its effects, and ways to report it. 10. encourage international cooperation: collaborate with international organizations and countries to combat cross-border corruption. 11. establish a whistleblower protection policy: safeguard individuals who report corruption. 12. conduct regular audits and investigations: identify and address corruption in government and private sector. 13. strengthen asset recovery mechanisms: enhance efforts to recover stolen assets and return them to nigeria. 14. improve political financing transparency: regulate and monitor political financing to prevent corruption. 15. support anti-corruption research and innovation: encourage research, innovation, and technology to combat corruption. conclusion in conclusion, corruption has had a profoundly debilitating, impact on nigeria’s socioeconomic development, exacerbating poverty, inequality and social injustice. the effects of corruption in nigeria includes; stunted economic growth and development, reduced government revenue and public resources, inefficient allocation of resources and mismanagement of public funds, undermined trust in institutions and governance, encouragement of illegal activities and organized crime and disproportionate impact of vulnerable population. recommendations 323 based on the conclusion, the following recommendations were made: 1. strengthen anti-corruption agencies: empower and resource agencies like efcc and icp to effectively investigate and prosecute corruption cases. 2. implement treasury single account (tsa): consolidate government revenues to reduce mismanagement and embezzlement. 3. conduct regular audits: ensure transparency and accountability in government finances and contracts. 4. enforce asset declaration: monitor and verity asset declaration by public officials to prevent illicit enrichment. 5. establish whistleblower protection: safeguard individuals who report corruption. 6. strengthen judicial institutions: ensure independence, impartiality and effectiveness in prosecuting corruption cases. references alatas s h, (2020) the sociology of corruption, singapore, times book. ekpo a (2010) “an economy still trapped at the crossroads” in nigeria’s independent weekly, (tell magazine ) no.40, october 11. george, m. (2023) a fight for restroom rights. new york times, p. s3. godson, c. (2022) impossible expectations and unfulfilling work stress manager, too. the wall street journal, p. b1. jonny, j (2018) “we run a corruptocracy” in nigeria’s independent weekly, (tell magazine) 5 february 2nd lace, a. (2020) abusive managerial behavior. leadership and organization development journal, 18-24. abi/inform (june). cd-rom. information access. lipset, t.n & lenz, p. ( 2020) corruption, culture, and markets, in culture matters, lawrence e. harrison, samuel p, huntington eds (new york: basic books morris, n. (2023) “corruption: causes, consequences and agenda for further research”, imf/world bank, finance and development., okeke, c.b. (2019) emotional abuse in the workplace. legal assistant today, 1(2), 7879.abi/inform (june). cd-rom. information access. ola, g.n. (2023) the abusive organization. academy of management executive, 12(2), 9596. shleifer, a, vishney, r.w (2013) corruption, quarterly journal of economics, vol. 108 tanzi, v (2015). corruption: arm’s-lengh relationships and markets, in: fiorentini, g. and pelzman sm (eds.). the economics of organised crime, cambridge: cambridge university press. telvin, j.r. (2013). age discrimination cannot continue. hr magazine, 74-76. 324 thompson, s.n (2022) “corruption and development”, in imf/world bank, finance and development, 35(1): 7. watson, k. (2020) psycho bosses from hell (review of brutal bosses and their prey by harvey hornstein) fortune, 18, 3. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 390 effects of nicotine on reaction time among albino rats jackson iheukwumere osuh1 zainab olamiku onilenla2 emmanuel etim uye3* 1,2department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, federal university, oye-ekiti, nigeria 3department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria *correspondence: emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com abstract nicotine, a primary addictive compound in tobacco, is known to impact cognitive functions, including reaction time. while studies have been conducted on human subjects, animal models, such as albino rats, provide valuable insights into the neurobehavioral effects of nicotine. this study investigated the effects of nicotine on reaction time in albino rats. a factorial design was employed, involving a sample size of 20 albino rats randomly assigned into four groups: two experimental groups and two control groups, with each group comprising male and female rats. the experimental groups were administered 5 mg of nicotine solution, while the control groups received distilled water. reaction time data were collected by placing each rat in a t-maze, with a food reward (mouse cube) positioned on a path for the rats to see and move toward. the data were analyzed using factorial anova and independent samples t-test. two hypotheses were tested and accepted at a significance level of p = 0.001. the results indicated that nicotine significantly reduced reaction times in the experimental groups compared to the control groups. additionally, the findings revealed that female albino rats exhibited longer reaction times than male albino rats. the study concludes that nicotine influences the physiological, behavioral, and cognitive functions of both male and female albino rats. it is recommended that the government and health sector stakeholders intensify efforts to inform and educate the public on the health risks associated with the continuous consumption of nicotine-containing products. keywords: nicotine, reaction time, albino rats, cognitive functions introduction drug is any substance (with the exception of food and water) which when taken into the body alters the body function either physically or psychologically. individuals use drugs for several reasons such as when they want to feel good, stop feeling bad, perform better at school or work. generally, drugs are consumed to prevent, diagnose, treat or relieve symptoms of a disease or abnormal condition. the therapeutic nature of drugs depends on the type of chemical derivatives used for their extractions. this could be natural, synthetic, or semisynthetically derived. reaction time is a measure of the purposeful, voluntary response to an external stimulus and is commonly used to assess the effects of drugs on living tissues (miller & cohen, 2017). it is defined as the time interval between the presentation of a stimulus and the occurrence of the appropriate voluntary response in a subject (smith et al., 2021). reaction time, measured in milliseconds, reflects the speed of neurophysiological, cognitive, and information processing systems in response to a stimulus applied to an individual's sensory system (shevinky & mailto:emmanuel.e.uye@gmail.com 391 reinagel., 2019). this process involves several stages: the receipt of sensory information (visual or auditory), its processing, decision-making, and the execution of a motor response (petersen & posner, 2012). seminal work by franciscus donders in 1864 (as cited in opstal, 2018) laid the groundwork for understanding reaction time by measuring the interval between the onset of a sensory stimulus and the subsequent behavioral response. some factors have been identified to affect reaction times in animals such as age, gender, physical fitness, fatigue, distraction, personality type, and stimulus whether auditory or visual and abuse of psychoactive drugs (adetoro et al., 2023; james et al., 2023, uye et al., 2023). specifically, psychoactive drug functions in the nervous system which altered perception, mood, cognition, and behavior. psychoactive drugs are grouped based on their effects in the brain and nervous system. these include depressants which are drugs that calm the brain, reduce anxious feelings, and induce sleepiness. examples are alcohol and opioids (e.g., codeine and heroin). the second is a hallucinogen drug which causes change in thoughts, emotions, and consciousness and it includes mescaline, nitrous oxide, and psilocybin. the third is the stimulant which affects the brain, increasing alertness and wakefulness with examples such as caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines. nicotine, a compound primarily extracted from tobacco, is commonly consumed through smoking, chewing, or sniffing. its use can lead to various adverse effects, including irritation and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, increased salivation, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea (benowitz, 2010; rose et al., 2017). some studies have investigated the effects of nicotine and other psychoactive substances on the physiological and behavioural processes in albino rats. for example, hager et al. (2021) injected nicotine solution into the liver of neonatal albino rats and histologically examined the effects on their liver. the result revealed marked centrilobular congestion, that is, the dilatation of the central vein and the blood sinusoids, cellular degeneration with loss of trabecular arrangement in the nicotine-treated group compared to the control group. also, osuh et al. (2021) investigated the effects of chronic injection of codeine and tramadol on the food intake and body weight of albino rats with the specific objectives to determine their feeding behavior and body weight. the results revealed that the codeine only group, tramadol only group, and combined codeine and tramadol group significantly influenced the feeding behavior and body weights of the experimental groups compared to the control group. furthermore, uye et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional survey study on the influence of codeine and toluene abuse on criminal behavior among youths in minna, niger state and found high prevalence of codeine and toluene abuse to have contributed to criminal behavior among study participants. further studies have confirmed the influence of substance abuse as a principal cause of deviant behaviors among different populations and across different samples (adetoro et al., 2023; okurame et al., 2024). finally, mamdouh et al. (2003) found in a study that tested the effect of nicotine on the liver of albino rats that an experimental group exposed to nicotine inhalation developed symptoms in hepatic parenchyma compared to the control group which was not affected. the effects of nicotine, a key active ingredient in cigarettes, have been studied in animal models with varied outcomes (levin & rezvani, 2020). however, there is a significant lack of research on the effects of nicotine on reaction time in animals, particularly in nigeria, 392 highlighting a gap in the existing knowledge (benowitz, 2010). this study aims to experimentally assess the effects of nicotine on reaction time in albino rats, with potential implications for understanding how nicotine might influence reaction times in humans who smoke or inhale the substance (rose et al., 2017). the experiment was designed to answer two key questions: (1) does nicotine injection significantly affect the reaction time of albino rats compared to a control group? (2) do male albino rats injected with nicotine exhibit faster reaction times than their female counterparts? the finding of this study would provide a fresh insight on the effects of nicotine on reaction time among albino rats. also, experimental psychologists, neurologists, social workers and other stakeholders interested in the prevention of substance abuse would find the results of this study useful in their works. hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested to examine the relationship between the variables of this study: 1. nicotine would significantly affect reaction time among albino rats compared to the control group. 2. male albino rats ingested with nicotine would be faster on reaction time measures than female albino rats. method design the study design was an independent group randomized design adopting a factorial design matrix. the subjects (albino rats) were randomly assigned to experimental (caffeine treatment) and control (saline treatment) groups. the experiment took place at the animal and environmental biology laboratory, federal university oye-ekiti, ekiti-state, nigeria. the independent variable was the acute administration of nicotine to the male and female albino rats while the dependent variable was the reaction time demonstrated by the male and female albino rats. experimental animals: twenty albino rats that weighed between 120g and 125g were used for the study. the rats were sheltered in separated metal cages and kept in constant environmental condition of temperature (22±1°c) and humidity throughout the period of the study. the rats were fed with mouse cubes on a constant diet and fresh clean drinking water. all rats were acclimatized for a period of three weeks before the commencement of the study to get them used to the laboratory environment different from where they were purchased. drugs and technique the drug used for the experiment was nicotine. nicotine was administered orally with the use of oral cannula. the rats were administered 5 mg/kg body weight of nicotine solution. experimental materials the instruments and materials used for the experiment were experimental rat cages, hand gloves, nose/face mask, distilled water, recording sheets, disposable syringes, 5 mg nicotine, distilled water, laboratory coat, stopwatch for recording and time keeping, weighing balance for weighing rats, measuring cylinders used in diluting 393 and measuring the solution, mouse cubes for feeding the rat, pipette tip, t-maze, and water bottle. experimental procedure prior to the commencement of the experiment, the experimental rats were brought into the laboratory and left to acclimatize in the laboratory for 21 days. during this period, the rats were allowed free access to feeds and water without any form of deprivation under the normal day-night or 24-hour cycle. the rats were then randomly assigned into 4 groups: male experimental group, female experimental, male control group and female group. the experimental group were administered 5 mg/kg nicotine, and the control group were administered distilled with 5 rats in each group. each cage was clearly labeled with the drug category. also, the rats were marked for identification and rats in each cage were labeled 1 to 5 according to their groups. the experiment started with the training of the rats on the process of exploring the t-maze for 7 days before exposing them to drug treatment. the rats were deprived of food for 24 hours to make them sufficiently hungry because the feeds were used as the motivation for the rats to explore the maze. during each experimental period, the rats were put in the starting point of the t-maze and allowed 5 minutes to explore the maze to locate the feeds placed in one of the arms of the maze. the time taken by each rat to locate the feeds within the 5 minutes’ interval was recorded for each rat using the stop clock. a rat is scored zero if it was not able to locate the feeds in the arm within the 5 minutes allotted. each rat was given 3 trials during each experimental period. feeds were restored to the rats at the end of each experimental period. on each day of the experiment, each rat was weighed and recorded. this was to determine what dose of drug to administer to each rat. the drug was then administered to each experimental group of rats according to their body weights. the control group was given normal distilled water. after the drug administration, the rats were allowed 30 minutes before the commencement of data collection to give enough time for the onset of drug action. they were then run on the tmaze to measure the reaction time or time taken to explore the maze. the process of treatment and data collection was repeated every day for 14 days. at the end of the experiment, all the rats were discarded following the procedures recommended for disposal of animals used for research purposes by the cruelty to animal act. data analysis ibm spss version 23 was used for data analysis. inferential statistics was used to test the stated hypotheses. data were analyzed using factorial anova and hypotheses were accepted at p value = 0.001. ethical consideration the study adhered strictly to the animal protocols and followed the national institutes of health guide for the care and use of laboratory animals and facilities. results the hypothesis which stated that nicotine would significantly affect reaction time among albino rats compared to the control group was analyzed using factorial anova and the result is presented in table 1. 394 table 1: factorial anova showing the effects of nicotine on reaction time among albino rats source sum of squares df mean square f sig. partial eta squared treatment 356160.203 1 356160.20 3 56.794 <.00 1 .890 treatment * gender 11972.584 1 11972.584 1.909 .210 .214 error(treatment) 43897.686 8 6271.098 gender 60989.404 1 4691.493 2.232 .014 .242 time * gender 55806.293 1 4292.792 2.042 .026 .226 error(gender) 191283.136 8 2102.012 treatment * time 59680.930 13 4590.841 1.711 .072 .196 treatment * time * gender 49338.105 13 3795.239 1.414 .168 .168 error(treatment*time) 244186.514 91 2683.368 the result in table 1 shows that rats exposed to a 5 mg dose of nicotine significantly increased reaction time which varied significantly across points in time (f(1, 7) = 56.79, p = .00). a post-hoc pairwise comparison was conducted using the bonferroni correction and the result is presented in table 2. table 2: lsd post-hoc comparison analysis of reaction time showing the mean difference between rats exposed to nicotine and control group. mean s.e.m lsd post hoc sig. control 102.414 8.445 72.02* .000 nicotine 30.393 2.641 significant at p = .001 in table 2, the mean differences showed that rats in the control (102.414) significantly displayed faster reaction time compared to rats ingested with nicotine (30.393). the mean differences were significant. therefore, the hypothesis was confirmed. the hypothesis which stated that female albino rats injested with nicotine would be faster in reaction times than male albino rats was tested using t-test of independent samples and the result is presented in table 3. table 3. t-test of independent samples of difference between gender and reaction time gender treatment mean std. error 95% ci lower bound 95% ci upper bound female control group 85.314 11.943 57.773 112.855 treatment group 30.800 3.735 22.188 39.412 male control group 119.514 11.943 91.973 147.055 treatment group 29.986 3.735 21.374 38.598 table 3 shows the difference between male and female albino rats and reaction time. the result showed a significant gender difference in reaction time such that female albino rats in the control group score higher (m= 85.314, se = 11.943) compared to the experimental 395 group (m=30.800, se = 3.735). also, male albino rats in the control group scored higher in reaction time (m =119.514, se = 11.943) compared to those in the treatment group (m= 29.986, sd= 3.735). overall, there was a marginal difference in reaction time between the female treatment group (m= 30.800, sd =3.735) and male treatment group (m= 29.986, sd= 3.735). the hypothesis was partially supported. table 4. comparisons of reaction time by gender, treatment and control groups gender (i) treatment (j) treatment mean difference (i-j) std. error sig. 95% ci lower bound 95% ci upper bound female control group treatment group 54.514* 13.536 .004 23.301 85.728 male control group treatment group 89.529* 13.536 <.001 58.315 120.742 *based on estimated marginal means a pair wise comparison was conducted to explore the differences in reaction time between experimental and control groups. as shown in table 4, there was a significant difference between the control group (m = 85.314, se = 11.943) and the treatment group (m = 30.800, se= 3.735), with a mean difference of ms=54.514 (se = 13.536, p = .004, 95% ci [23.301, 85.728] for the female albino rats. similarly, among male albino rats, a significant difference was observed between the control group (m = 119.514) and the treatment group (m = 29. 986) with a mean difference of ms= 89.529 (se = 13.536, p < .001, 95% ci [58.315, 120.742]. these findings indicated that female rats exposed to the treatment of nicotine drug exhibited a significantly faster reaction time compared to those in the control group. similarly, male albino rats exposed to the treatment showed a significantly faster reaction time compared to the control group. discussion this study was carried out to determine the effects of nicotine on reaction time among male and female albino rats. the study used a 2x2 factorial design. two hypotheses were tested to determine the relationship between the variables. the hypothesis that nicotine would significantly affect reaction time among albino rats compared to the control group was accepted. rats in the control group (102.414) significantly displayed faster reaction time compared to rats ingested with nicotine (30.393). the results of this study indicate that nicotine significantly affects reaction time in albino rats, supporting the hypothesis that nicotine administration would alter reaction times compared to a control group. specifically, the control group exhibited a significantly faster reaction time (102.414 ms) compared to the nicotine-treated group (30.393 ms), suggesting that nicotine impairs the cognitive processing speed of the rats. these findings aligned with the current body of literature, which suggests that nicotine has complex effects on cognitive function. nicotine is known to interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs) in the brain, which play a crucial role in modulating neurotransmitter release and cognitive processes such as attention, learning, and reaction time (levin & rezvani, 2020). however, while nicotine is often associated with enhanced cognitive performance in certain tasks, it 396 can also have detrimental effects depending on the dosage and the specific cognitive function being measured (benowitz, 2010). the observed decrease in reaction time among nicotine-treated rats in this study contrasts with some reports that have shown nicotine to enhance certain aspects of cognitive function, such as attention and memory (rose et al., 2017). this discrepancy could be due to several factors, including the dosage of nicotine administered, the duration of exposure, and the specific behavioral paradigms used in different studies. in this experiment, the significant reduction in reaction time suggests that nicotine may have induced a state of cognitive over arousal or stress, leading to impaired performance. this is consistent with findings that high doses of nicotine can produce anxiogenic effects, which may negatively impact cognitive functions such as reaction time (rezvani & levin, 2020). this finding contributes to the growing evidence that nicotine can impair certain aspects of cognitive performance, such as reaction time, especially at certain doses. these results underscore the need for further research to explore the mechanisms underlying nicotine's effects on cognitive function and to determine how factors such as dosage, duration of exposure, and individual differences may influence these outcomes. the finding that female albino rats injected with nicotine demonstrated faster reaction times compared to male albino rats supports the hypothesis that sex differences may influence nicotine's effects on cognitive performance. this result aligns with recent literature that suggests sex-related variability in nicotine's impact on cognitive and behavioral functions. recent studies have increasingly highlighted that nicotine can have differential effects based on sex. research shows that female rodents often exhibit different behavioral and cognitive responses to nicotine compared to males. for instance, studies have demonstrated that female rats tend to have enhanced cognitive performance in certain tasks when exposed to nicotine, possibly due to hormonal influences or differences in nicotine metabolism (gorini et al., 2014). nicotine acts primarily through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nachrs), which are differentially expressed in the brains of males and females. for example, research indicates that hormonal fluctuations, such as those associated with the estrous cycle in females, can modulate the sensitivity of nachrs, affecting cognitive outcomes (morris et al., 2020). this could explain why female rats in the current study exhibited faster reaction times compared to their male counterparts. additionally, differences in the density and distribution of nachrs in male and female brains might contribute to the observed sex differences in nicotine’s effects (picciotto et al., 2012). the faster reaction times observed in female rats align with some studies suggesting that females may benefit more from the cognitive-enhancing effects of nicotine under certain conditions (gorini et al., 2014). however, it's essential to consider that these effects can be complex and influenced by multiple factors, including dose, exposure duration, and baseline cognitive function (frye et al., 2008). these findings have implications for understanding nicotine's effects on human cognition, as sex differences are also present in humans. for example, some research suggests that women may experience different cognitive effects from nicotine compared to men, potentially affecting the development of smoking cessation strategies or the understanding of nicotine's impact on mental performance (dewitt et al., 2019). the observation that female albino rats exhibited faster reaction times than male rats in response to nicotine reinforces the 397 importance of considering sex as a critical variable in studies of nicotine’s effects. further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms behind these sex differences and their potential implications for both preclinical and clinical studies. limitations for the study the study has some limitations that need to be addressed in further studies. to begin with, only one albino rat with sample size of 20 was used in the experiment which hindered generalization of the study findings. further studies should compare different animals with increased sample size for comparative analysis and generalization of study findings. furthermore, only one type of drug (nicotine) was used in the study. further studies should include two drugs to compare their effects on the experimental animals. finally, nonavailability of funds to purchase the necessary materials and equipment was a major constraint in this study. therefore, more funds should be allocated for pure research like the present study. conclusion the study has experimentally determined that nicotine significantly reduces the reaction time of albino rats. also, female albino rats injected with nicotine showed significantly faster reaction time compared to male albino rats. this finding has implications for the physiological well-being of the albino rats and for human beings who consume nicotine through smoking, snuffing or drinking liquor. it is recommended that government agencies and other stakeholders in the health sector should intensify efforts to inform and educate the general population on the health hazards of continuous consumption of nicotine-containing products. references adetoro, a. o., olapegba, p. o., & uye, e. e. 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(2023). influence of codeine and toluene on criminal behaviour among youths in minna, niger state, nigeria. african journal of alcohol & drug abuse 9(1), 60-71. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.aavs/2022/10.1.151159 https://doi.org/10.1080/09273972.2018.155177 https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.01211 page 7 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 263 effects of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic savings in selected ecowas countries ihedioha, victor n.*1 chris u. kalu1 ogbonnaya, joshua i.2 1department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 2department of religion and human relations, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka *corresponding author email: gentlevic23@gmail.com abstract there has been rapid decline in the rate of saving in the ecowas countries. more so, monetary sector financial liberalization in the region has not yielded a fruitful outcome as the countries have suffered widened disparity of lending and deposit rates, high inflation and continuous decline in economic growth. the study examined the effects of monetary sector financial liberalization in the ecowas countries of benin, cote d’ ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria from the period 1981-2019. the study anchored on the frameworks of the life cycle and the financial liberalization hypotheses employed the panel vector auto regression (var) estimation technique. the variables of the study are household saving (dependent) and domestic credit provided by the financial sector, growth of gdp, interest rate spread, broad money supply and financial liberalization dummy, and gross fixed investment as independent and control variables. the data were sourced from world bank development indicator (wdi, 2020) and the african development bank database (2020). the study showed that domestic credit has a significant positive effect on domestic saving while gross fixed capital formation has a negative effect on domestic saving. the study further revealed that labour force and money supply are negatively related to household saving in the ecowas countries within the reviewing period. from the empirical evidence, the study recommended among others, the need for the government to implement restrictive monetary policy measures that will curtail excessive money supply in order to reduce inflation spiral and improve household saving in the ecowas countries. keywords: domestic saving, ecowas countries, financial liberalization, monetary sector, panel var, jel classification: d14, b26, e50, e58, c23 introduction saving is defined as that part of disposable income which is not spent on consumption (bime & mbanasor, 2011). saving involves sacrificing the current consumption in order to increase the living standard and fulfilling the daily requirements in the future. domestic saving therefore becomes that part of the household income not consumed. the vitality of savings to the economy has well-being espoused in the economic development literature. it could be used for investment to earn profit (interest) or be used to purchase assets such as building, machinery and infrastructure. investment from saving contributes to growth in aggregate wealth. but the investment cannot increase without increasing the amount of saving. thus, saving performs a major role in providing the national capacity for investment and production, which will affect the potentials of economic growth. in general terms, increasing aggregate saving contributes to higher investment and this leads to higher economic growth domestic savings (gdp) both in the long and short-runs. it means that the higher saving rate leads to less consumption, which could also result in larger amount of capital investment and finally a higher rate of economic growth. furthermore, saving creates capital formation and leads to technical innovation and progress this helps with economies of large scale production and increase specialization. this also helps to accelerate the productivity of labour. thus, saving leads to fuller utilization of available scarce resources in an efficient way, as it increases the size of national output, income and employment, thereby solving the problems of inflation, unemployment and balance of payments deficits, poverty, inequality and making the economy free from the burden of foreign debt and better welfare of the citizenry. the monetary sector includes the central banks and banking financial institutions and units (monetary agency) and certain operations that are usually attributed to the central bank but in some cases, are carried out by other government institutions (example, commercial/deposit money banks). the monetary aggregates include the totality of currency outside the banks. this includes narrow money (m1) and broad money (m2) supplies. the currency outside the central banks includes cash issued by the central bank for circulation, but with the exclusion of cash in the vaults of deposit money banks (dbms).narrow money (m1) includes currency in circulation plus transferable deposits held by all deposit money banks. broad money (m2)is the combination of m1 and deposits (in national currency) plus money market instruments. this may include time deposits of all maturities, or only those deposits with maturities that do not exceed a specified maximum term. the main objective of monetary reform as pointed out by the monetary authority of the ecowas countries include: removal of controls on interest rate to increase the level of savings and improve efficient allocation of domestic credit in the economy; elimination of non-price rationing of credit to reduce misdirected credit and increase competition; adoption of indirect monetary management in place of the imposition of credit ceiling on individual banks; enhancement of institutional structure and supervision, strengthening the money market through policy changes and distress resolution measures and improving the linkage between formal and informal sectors(cbn, 2007).thus, the idea behind monetary sector liberalization is summarized in two folds: first, to quantity effects through generating higher saving and investment in the economy, and second, to quality effects by efficiently allocating capital to profitable investment (ahmad &premaratna, 2020). monetary sector liberalization serves as a panacea to money market constraints in a financially repressed economy and under the financial repression region. monetary sector financial liberalization promotes the attraction of foreign investment, availability of credit facilities to the investors and allocation of capital towards the most productive projects, and it also facilitates financial development which in turn could positively affect productivity in the economy (ikeora, igbadika& jessie, 2016).since the focus of the study is on monetary sector financial liberalization, unlike the entire financial system liberalization with multifaceted characteristics, and to avoid the problems of data measurement, our measures of monetary sector financial liberalization includes: domestic credit provided by the financial sector in percentage of gdp, interest rate spread, which is the different between the lending rate and deposit rate and a constructed financial liberalization dummy, to account for the various monetary sector financial liberalization regimes in the ecowas countries. ecowas countries researchers such as akpan (2008) and emenuga (2005) in their separate studies concluded that financial liberalization is critical to savings mobilization. udegbunam (1995) found out that financial liberalization has provided great incentives for the expansion of banking institutions. similarly, bakare(2011) found out that financial liberalization has impacted negatively on domestic saving in nigeria. other related studies are bosede (2013); 265 owusu and odhiambo (2016); adewuyi, bankole & damilola (2010), abu, modh and mukhriz (2013) and adebanyo, awonusi, ahmed, ewunaga and yemisi (2017). however, there is no unanimous agreement on the nature of financial liberalization effects on domestic saving from these studies and papers. the relationship between financial liberalization and domestic saving is complex not only because there are short and long-run effects involved but because financial liberalization is a process with many dimensions. these studies were deficient on the measurement of financial liberalization. again, existing empirical studies focusing on the effect of financial liberalization on saving in sub-saharan africa (ssa) have employed the real rate of interest (oshikoya, 1992; seck& el nil, 1993; azam, 1996; matsheka, 1998), and measures of financial deepening such as the broad money ratio (mwega, 1997; elbadawi & mwega, 2002) and the ratio of bank credit (elbadawi & mwega, 2000; kelly &mavrotas, 2002) as proxies for financial liberalization. however, such variables are inadequate measures of financial liberalization because they fail to explicitly account for different liberalization measures. as a result, the study attempts to contribute to the literature on the effects of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic saving in the ecowas countries of benin, ghana, cote d’ivoire, liberia and nigeria, relying on monetary sector variables only other than measuring financial liberalization with either a variable of the money market or capital market. such measurements lead to estimation bias. the study employed the panel vector autoregressive approach (pvar) to investigate the effects of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic saving in ecowas countries from the period 1981 to 2019. the research questions that formed the focus of discussion in the paper is as follow:  what is the effect of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic saving ecowas countries?  what is the effect of economic growth on domestic saving in ecowas countries?  what is the effect of monetary sector liberalization policy regimes/reforms on domestic saving in the ecowas countries? the overall objective of the study is to examine the effect of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic savings in benin, cote d’ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria. specifically, the study objectives are: to determine the effects of domestic credit provided by the financial sector (% of gdp), interest rate spread and broad money supply on household savings in benin, cote d’ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria; to investigate the effect of annual growth rate on household savings in benin, cote d’ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria and; to empirically evaluate the effect of monetary sector financial liberalization policy regimes on household saving in the ecowas countries of benin, ghana, cote d’ivoire, liberia and nigeria. theoretical framework, model specification and data sources theoretical framework the life cycle hypothesis (lch) and the financial liberalization thesis form the theoretical frameworks of the study. the lch was first theorized by modigliani and brumberg (1954) to establish a positive relationship between the saving ratio and output growth. within the theory of lch, the individual objective is to enhance consumption over the life time. savings are therefore determined by total life time earnings and not by the level of current income. the theoretical arguments for monetary sector financial liberalization are centered mainly on the need for a more laissez faire banking policy, especially the domestic financial market that domestic savings is determined by the market forces. it will ensure that interest rate captures the actual scarcity of capital in less developed countries. mckinnon (1973) and shaw (1973), the proponents of the financial liberalization thesis produced a theoretical basis for financial development that has been formalized and extended to show how some financial controls that produce financial repression effects could make the financial sector stifle rather than promote a country’s development. the mckinnon-shaw analysis is anchored on the fact that interest rate ceilings stagnate savings and reduce the quality of investments. moreover, it implies that an end to interest rate ceilings and other government regulations responsible for slow competitive operations in the market for funds will be beneficial to developing countries. higher interest rates will result in increased savings and investment, which in turn contribute to economic growth and investment. efficient financial system will lead to appropriate channeling of financial resources provided that the financial system is efficient and well-functioning. this means that firms could grow their enterprises through the opportunity of borrowing at lower interest rates. more so, financial intermediaries will enable investors direct their funds to more rewarding projects. this main critique of the financial liberalization theory emanates from the imperfect information hypothesis. that school of thought assesses the problem of financial development within the context of information asymmetry and costly information resulting from credit rationing. the frameworks are adopted following the relevance to the study empirical model specification on the basis of the theoretical frameworks presented in the foregoing, household domestic saving proxy by domestic saving function is specified in a panel var model form to enable estimation to be carried out for the selected ecowas countries. the model estimation follows: adewuyi, bankole and arawomo (2010), whose model is specified as thus: gdstk =b0 + b1grgdptk + b2totkt +b3gdptk + b4brmotk + b5gdppctk + b6inftk + b7inttk + b8dcprrtk + b9lfetk + b10laptk +utk.(3.1) where gds is gross domestic saving (measured as gross domestic saving as a percentage of gdp.grgdp is growth rate of gross domestic product, tot is terms of trade, gbp is government budget position (fiscal deflect or surplus as a percentage of gdp), brmo is the degree of financial depth (measure as broad money supply as a percentage of gdp), gdppc is gross domestic product per capital (gdp as a ratio), depr is dependency ratio, lfe is life expectancy ratio, lap in labour participation rate. since the objective of the current study is to investigate the effect of monetary sector financial liberalization domestic of savings in the selected ecowas countries, equation (3.1) is re-specified with adjustment as follows: gdstk= b0 + b1descretk + b2m2/gdptk + b3intsptk + b4gdppctk +b5gfcftk+b6pogrow b7finldumtk + utk(3.2) where gds is gross domestic saving; descre, is domestic credit allocated to the private sector by the banking sector; m2/gdp, is broad money supply as a percentage of gdp; intsp, interest rate spread previously defined; gdppc, growth per capita; gfcf, aggregate investment as gross fixed capital formation and finldum, liberalization dummy representing the different policy regimes of reforms/liberalization in the economies of the ecowas countries over the reviewing period and u, the error term. k represents countries heterogeneity and t is the time frame. the study is focusing on the monetary sector financial liberalization because the complexity of financial liberalization itself. this becomes expedient so as to avoid the problem of multicollinearity and data biasness resulting from the 267 construction of an index variable to measure financial liberalization. measurement error may occur during the factor analysis. domestic credit provided by financial sector (in percentage of gdp): one of the explanatory variables used in measuring monetary sector financial liberalization. domestic credit provided by the financial sector includes all credit to various sectors on a gross basis, with the exception of credit to the central government, which is net. the financial sector includes monetary authorities and deposit money banks, as well as other financial institutions. elomobed, odo, udude and okonkwo(2016) revealed a unidirectional causality from domestic credit (dcps%gdp) to domestic private saving, indicating a positive significant relationship between the two variables. our study hypothesizes a positive effect of domestic credit on household saving, as such, α1>0. economic growth: economic growth, proxy by gdppc measured in annual percentage rate entered into the model as a control variable, in the sense that growth affects domestic saving outside the explanatory variables.from a theoretical point of view, a positive relationship between domestic savings and economic growth is expected, due mainly to the fact that an increase in savings would positively stimulate economic growth, and economic growth could in turn stimulate the growth of domestic saving via investment and employment. misztal (2011) found the existence of one-way causal relationship between gross domestic savings and gross domestic product in the case of developed countries as well as in developing countries. in this study, our study expects a positive significant relationship between both variables. our study therefore hypothesizes a positive effect of economic growth on household saving, as such, α2>0. interestrate spread: this is another explanatory variable of the study. interest-rate spread is defined as the difference between the lending rate and the deposit rate. the life cycle theory introduced that the net effect of the real interest rate increases the current price of consumption relative to the future price, thus affecting savings positively. the income effect indicates that if the household is a net lender, an increase in the interest rate will have a positive effect on savings ratio only when the substitution effect dominates the income effect. in developing countries, like the ecowas countries, where financial markets are still not developed, substitution effect is expected to be much greater than income effect, and thus the real interest rate is likely to have a net positive effect on domestic savings. hence, α3 >0. broad money supply (m2/gdp) the broad money supply is among the measures of financial deepening of the money market reforms. the broad money supply involves currency in circulation and all reserve balances/deposits held by money bank financial institutions in ecowas countries. it is the overall money held by the ecowas countries country in the form of liquid instruments for a specified time. the broad money supply also includes balances held in cheques and savings accounts, cash and coins. brookin (2001); narayan & siyabi (2005), concludes on the inverse connection with aggregate savings. conversely, money supply growth has positive effect on gross domestic savings (khan, teng, khan, jadron&rehan, 2017). the study hypothesizes a positive relationship between broad money supply and gross domestic savings. a positive relationship is expected such that α4>0.population growth entered into the model as a control variable and is measured by labour force rate. this refers to the increase in the number of individuals in a population. the effect of population growth, say, family size on household saving can be negative, negligible or positive. for example, a positive effect of children on saving can result if their presence increases family income more than their effect on domestic savings consumption. population growth could lead to increase in saving through the growth effect or a decrease in saving through the dependency effect. financial liberalization dummy (finldum: a control variable in the model. a dummy for monetary sector financial reforms, it captures the liberalization policy regimes in the ecowas countries. these reforms periods should, in particular, include policies that should induce higher growth thereby generating savings and investment. in relevant studies, akinsola, odhiambo & mcmillan (2017) found a negative result for low-income countries. on the other hand, (kunt & demigrunt, 1998) found out that the different policies are strongly and positively correlated with the indicators of measurement. it is expected that these policy regimes have positive effect on household saving. results, analysis and discussion of findings summary of descriptive statistics table 1: summary of descriptive statistics hhs bms dcr irs ggdpgcfcflib mean 4.242608 27.47 115.4958 8.66 3.36266 4.34 0.764103 median 11.59121 26.38 24.56837 8.7 4.000000 5.79 1.000000 maximum 39.31757 101.8 3170.321 16.2 106.2798 123 1.000000 minimum -152.5373 8.89 -26.65229 0.31 -51.03086 0.45 0.000000 std. dev. 31.89767 10.2 350.5593 3.13 11.36628 12.4 0.425651 skewness -3.093106 2.3 5.488374 -0.14 2.813243 11.0 -1.244128 kurtosis 12.68144 16.1 38.23734 2.6 40.22144 57.2 2.547855 tarque-bera 1072.495 1645 11067.54 0.34 11513.88 65.1 51.96633 probability 0.000000 0.0 0.000000 1689 0.000000 75.2 0.000000 sum 827.3085 5357 22521.67 1903 655.7394 438.4 149.0000 sum sq.dev. 19737.5 20305 23841.0070.234 2.5063.30 1867 35.14872 observation 195 195 195 195 195 195 195 note: hhs: household savings, domestic credit, interest rate spread, broad money supply), ggdp, economic growth, flib, financial liberalization dummy).significance level; 5% source: authors computation using econometric view 11.0 table 1. present the descriptive statistic of the model variables for household savings (% of gdp), financial index of domestic credit (% of gdp, interest rate spread (lending-deposit rate), and broad money supply (% of gdp), growth of gdp in annual percentage (ggdp) and financial liberalization dummy (flib). the summary statistics indicate the existence of wide variations in the variables. for instance, the average household savings rate for the 1981 to 2019 periods was 4.21 percent compared to 115.4, 3.36 and 0.76 percentage points for financial index variables, growth rate and the financial liberalization dummy. the maximum for household savings was 39.32, 3170 for the index 106.3 for the growth rate and 1.0 for the liberalization dummy. similarly, the minimum ranges from -152.5 to 0.00 for household savings, the financial liberalization index, growth rate and liberalization dummy. the skewness statistics showed that with the exception of household savings and liberalization dummy with negative values, the others, financial index and growth were positive. the kurtosis statistics showed that the values of the data ranges from 12.6 to 2.54 suggesting that the variables are leptokurtic, i.e, the distribution is peaked relative to normal distribution. finally, the jarque-bera statistics values of 1072 to 51 rejected the null hypothesis of normal distribution for the variables at the 5% critical value. 269 correlation matrix in furtherance to the descriptive statistics, the correlation matrix test was carried out to show the movement and pattern of the data used in the model estimation, -1 indicates a perfectly negative linear correlation between two variables, 0 indicates no linear correlation between the two variables and 1 indicates a perfectly positive linear correlation between two variables. table 4.2 shows the correlation matrix of the data between the periods 1981 to 2019. table 2: correlation matrix correlation probability hhs dcr bms irs ggdp gcfc flib observations hhs 1.000000 195 dcr,bms,irs -0.073111 0.3098 195 1.000000 195 ggdp -0.068799 0.3392 195 -0.097927 0.1732 195 1.000000 195 flib -0.080515 0.2632 195 0.101383 0.1585 195 1.000000 source: authors’ computation using e-view 11.0 the correlation matrix presented in table 2 shows that the coefficients of dcr, bms irs, ggdp and flib were all negative. the coefficient of hhs was positively signed showing perfect correlation. meanwhile, dcr, bms and is negatively related with hhs, the same with ggdp with hhs. liberalization dummy was also negatively related to household savings. the results show that the coefficient is free from multicollinearity. panel unit root and co integration results the first step of the analysis is to look at the data properties. two classes of tests allow the investigation of the presence of the unit root: the first generation panel unit-root tests (including hadri (2000) and im et al., (2003), were developed on the assumption of crosssectional independence among panel units (except for common time effects), and may be at odds with economic theory and empirical results. on the other hand, second generation tests (smith et al., (2004); pesaran, 2007) relax the assumption of cross-sectional independence, allowing for a variety of dependence across the different units. we employ four different types of panel unit roof tests; im, pesaran and shin, levin, lin chu, adf (augmented dickey-fuller and philip-perronfisher chi-square). the tests are constructed with a unit roof under the null hypothesis and heterogeneous autoregressive roots under the alternative, which means that a rejection should be taken as evidence in favour of staionarity for a least one country domestic savings table 3: panel unit root test variables levin, lin & chu t* first differen ce im, pesaran & shin w-stat test differen ce adf fisher chi square first differen ce pp fishe r chisquar e first differ ence ggdp -0.95 -7.136 1.37 -7.619 2.49 71.7759 0.02 -71.69 dcr, bms, irs -2.63 -11.4087 0.02 -10.8997 0.99 108.80 1.18 148.37 8 hhs 1.37 -3.05 -3.90582 -17.31 1.18 35.299 -2.07 35.510 2 flib -4.99 -17.97 -3.98 -11.46 2.09 -5.59 -0.70 -23.22 note: the statistic test is the cross-sectionally augmented dickey fuller of pesaran (2007). the test has the null hypothesis of presence of unit roof. source: researchers’ computation using e-view 11.0 table 3 reports the results of the first second generation unit roof test of persan (2007), levin, lin & chu, im, pesaran and shin w-stat, adf-fisher chi-square and pp-fisher chisquare. at conventional levels of significance, the results show that most of the variables are not stationary in levels but stationary in first difference. form the report, the variable ggdp was not significant at its levels except in its first difference the same with the financial liberalization index (dcr, ims, irs). the household savings variable was the same. the financial liberalization dummy representing financial regime shifts in the selected ecowas countries were significant in its levels and first difference. due to the existence of mixed levels of integration among the series, we proceed to apply the panel co-integration of johansen fisher panel co-integration test presented in table 4. table 4: johansen fisher panel cointegration test sample (adjusted): 1981-2019 series: hhs dcrbms irs flib ggdp lags interval (in first difference): 1-3 unrestricted co-integration rank test hypothesized no. of ce (s) fisher stat (trace test) prob. fisher staft (max-eyen staf) prob. none 305.3 0.0000 148.9 0.0000 at most 1 209.1 0.0000 118.9 0.0000 at most 2 122.4 0.0000 80.83 0.0000 at most 3 55.90 0.0000 41.86 0.0000 at most 4 ` 25.18 0.0050 19.41 0.0353 at most 5 23.62 0…87 23.62 0.0087 note: probabilities are computed using asymptotic, chi-square distribution. 5% critical values are: 82.49; 59.46; 39.89; 24.31; 3.84 1% critical values are: 90.45; 66.52; 45.52; 45.58; 79.75; 6.51 source: researchers’ computation using e-view 11.0. 271 the johansen fisher panel co integration test for the selected countries in ecowas show that the variables are all the variables are co integrated at both 1 percent and 5 percent significance levels. in all the co integration results implies that there exists a long-run relationship between financial liberalization and domestic savings in the selected ecowas countries of benin, cote d’ ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria. table 4b. which is also cross section of the johansen fisher panel co integration test further supported the existence of co integration or long-run relationship between financial liberalization and domestic savings in the selected ecowas countries. table 4b: johansen fisher panel cointegration test result. cross section trace test statistics probability max-eyen test statistics probability hypothesis of no cointegration benin 240.6289 0.0000 83.6522 0.0000 cote d’ivoire 282.4478 0.0000 115.6547 0.0000 ghana 253.9848 0.0000 119.3316 0.0000 liberia 239.3161 0.0000 124.3513 0.0000 nigeria 225.6890 0.0000 81.5542 0.0000 hypothesis of at most 1 cointegration relationship benin 156.9767 0.0000 61.2830 0.0000 cote d’ivoire 166.7931 0.0000 98.0344 0.0000 ghana 134.6532 0.0000 50.6129 0.0002 liberia 114.9649 0.0000 48.8971 0.0004 nigeria 144.1348 0.0000 55.9884 0.0000 hypothesis of at most 2 cointegration relationship benin 95.6937 0.0000 50.0168 0.0000 cote d’ivoire 68.7588 0.0002 30.3448 0.0215 ghana 84.0402 0.0000 47.9136 0.0000 liberia 66.0617 0.0004 27.6856 0.0485 nigeria 88.1463 0.0000 54.1357 0.0000 hypothesis of at most 3 cintegration relationship benin 45.6769 0.0004 28.8479 0.0034 cote d’ivoire 38.4140 0.0040 26.0449 0.0094 ghana 36.1266 0.0082 25.3588 0.0120 liberia 38.3821 0.0040 24.6588 0.0153 nigeria 34.0107 0.0154 17.7138 0.1409 hypothesis of at most 4 cointegration relationship benin 16.8289 0.0313 15.1998 0.0355 cote d’ivoire 12.3691 0.1401 11.4872 0.1314 ghana 10.7678 0.2262 7.9923 0.3795 liberia 13.7233 0.0908 11.5914 0.1270 nigeria 7.1109 0.0077 7.1109 0.0077 ** mackinnin-haug-michelis (1999) p-values source: researchers’ computation using e-view 11.0 domestic savings the cointegration test of the cross section of the countries involved showed that there are existence of long-run relationship between financial liberalization and domestic saving in the selected ecowas countries. there is a hypothesis of at most five cointegration relationships at both the 1 percent and 5 percent significant values. panel var lag order selection criteria test panel var analysis is predicated upon choosing the optimal lag order in both panel var specification and moment condition. andrews and lu (2001) proposed mmsc for gmm models based on hansen’s (1982) j statistic of over identifying restrictions. their proposed mmsc are analogous to various commonly used maximum likelihood-based model selection criteria, namely, the akaike information criteria (aic) (akaike 1969), the bayesian information criteria (bic) (schwarz, 1978; rissanen, 1978, akaike 1977), and the hannanquinn information criteria (hqic) (hannan& quinn, 1979). correct lag-length selection is critical for pvar since excessively short lags may fail to capture the system’s dynamics, lead to omitted variables, bias the remaining coefficients, and likely produce serially correlated errors. meanwhile too many long a lag leads to a rapid loss of degrees of freedom and to over parameterization. given that the number of variables included in pvar and the time dimension of the time series, the system cannot be tested for a lag length more than three (imf, 2000). table 5: pvar lag selection criteria lag logl lr fpe aic sc hq 0 -3934.303 na 1.45e+12 45.03204 45.14054 45.07605 1 -3190.267 1428.549 4.45e+08 36.94020 37.69975 37.24821 2 -3101.846 69.51928 4.38e+08 36.92249 38.33308 37.49467 3 -3152.718 90.6972 3.71e+084 36.75253 38.81416 37.58879 4 -3078.530 39.97040 4.31e+08 36.89749 39.61016 37.99783 note: *indicates lag order selected by the criterion lr: sequential modified lr test statistic (test at 5% level) fpe: final prediction error aic: akaike information criterion sc: schewarz information criterion hq: hannan-quinn information criterion source: researchers’ computation using e-view 11.0 using the sample period by taking into account the number of lost observation with each additional lag, the lowest value of the criteria for the same four countries attested that a uniform lag-length of three as shown in table 5 should be selected. a lag-length of one was not sufficient to yield a white noise residual in a number of cases. impulse response function (irfs) test the generalized irfs, traces out the responsiveness of the dependent variable domestic saving in selected ecowas countries to shocks of each of the variables: domestic credit, broad money supply and interest rate spread) financial liberalization dummy and growth rate( not presented here). for each equation, a unit shock is applied to the error, and the effects upon the system over 10 horizons are noted. since the study has six variables, a total of 36 impulses could be generated. however, since our objective is to examine the effect of the explanatory variables on the dependent variable (hhs-housing saving), we only trace out 273 the responsiveness of the independent variables on the dependent variable. sims (1980) proposed the choleskydecomposition of ʃ to impose a recursive structure on a panel var. the decomposition, however, is not unique but depends on the ordering of variables in ʃ. figure 5.1 present the response to cholesky one s.d (d.f adjusted) innovations -2.5.e. the impulse responses for the recursive var, in response to the cholesky one s.d. innovations are plotted. the first row show the effect of an unexpected one percentage point increase in household savings on the financial liberalization variables (dcr, bms, and irs), financial liberalization dummy and growth rate, as it works through the recursive var systems with the coefficients estimated from actual data. the second, third and fourth rows shows the effect of an unexpected increase of one percentage point in the financial liberalization index to household savings. the fifth row shows the effect of an unexpected increase of one percentage point in the financial liberalization dummy to household savings, while the sixth row shows the effect of an unexpected increase of one percentage point in the growth rate to household savings in the selected ecowas countries. also plotted are ±1 standard error bands, which yield an approximate 66% confidence interval for each of the impulse responses. these estimated impulse responses show patterns of persistent common variation. for example, an unexpected rise in financial liberalization index (dcr, bms, irs) financial liberalization dummy and economic growth slowly fades over the 10 quarters, and is associated with a persistent increase/decrease in household savings in the countries of benin, coe d’ ivoire, ghana. variance decomposition (forecast error decomposition) test the forecast error decomposition is the percentage of the variance of the error made in forecasting a variable (e.g. household saving), due to a specific shock (e.g. the error term in the financial liberalization and domestic savings equation) at a given horizon. thus, the forecast error decomposition is like a partial r2 for the forecast error, by forecast horizon. these are shown in table 4. for the recursive var. table 6: variance decomposition for the recursive var ordered as hhs, dcr, bms, irs, flib, and ggdp (a) variance decomposition of hhs forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 14.83 100.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4 24.10 93.19 0.23 1.15 1.40 0.08 3.85 7 28.35 90.35 0.44 3.55 1.12 0.14 4.41 10 30.66 88.02 0.38 5.98 1.44 0.16 4.01 (b) variable decomposition of finlindex dcr forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 182.64 2.13 97.87 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4 283.41 5.29 48.23 0.897 0.75 0.97 43.86 7 338.33 6.19 36.57 2.20 1.10 1.49 52.50 10 357.38 6.98 33.88 4.10 1.25 1.73 52.05 domestic savings (c) variance decomposition of bms forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 6.24 0.00 72.05 27.94 0.00 0.00` 0.00 4 9.20 0.10 35.74 29.50 0.37 1.10 33.17 7 10.31 1.24 29.54 26.04 0.50 2.31 41.35 10 10.57 3.76 27.26 25.01 0.52 3.03 40.41 (d) variance decomposition of finlindex irs forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 1.04 1.82 0.14 5.174 92.87 0.00 0.00 4 1.61 1.10 2.69 2.62 89.50 0.19 3.90 7 2.01 0.88 5.88 3.01 85.799 0.19 4.22 10 2.32 1.11 8.61 4.77 81.72 0.27 3.52 (e) variance decomposition of flib forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 0.16 8.69e.05 0.24 0.05 0.69 99.01 0.00 4 0.27 0.03 0.52 0.21 3.15 95.73 0.36 7 0.30 0.06 0.43 0.24 3.04 95.92 0.31 10 0.31 0.17 0.40 0.25 2.94 90.95 0.29 (f) variance decomposition of ggdp forecast horizon forecast standard error variance decomposition (percentage point) hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp 1 10.25 1.12 8.29 0.00 3.83 1.24 85.51 4 12.10 3.12 6.32 0.21 3.22 1.37 85.74 7 12.15 3.18 6.34 0.41 3.26 1.42 85.37 10 12.21 3.20 6.30 0.44 3.26 1.46 85.33 source: (a-f) was computed using e-view 11.0 table 6. (a-f) suggest considerable interaction among the variables. the variance decomposition indicates that household saving changes in the selected ecowas countries explained about 100 percent of the shocks to itself in the first quarter. it inclined to about 88 percent in the 10th quarter. domestic credit, one of the indicators of the financial liberalization index accounted for about 2 percent shock to household savings in the first quarter. this increased to 7 percent in the 10th quarter. this explains that domestic credit account for about 7 percent changes in household saving in the ecowas selected countries 275 over the reviewing period. broad money, the second indicator of the financial liberalization index accounted for about 0 percent shock in household savings, this increased to 4 percent in the 10th quarter. interest rate spread accounted for 1.8 percent of the shocks to household saving in the first quarter, however, declined to 1.1 percent in the 10th quarter, while liberalization dummy accounted for 0.2 percent in the 10th quarter. growth rate of output accounted for 1.12 percent of the changes in household saving in the selected ecowas countries. from the results presented, growth rate caused the greatest shock to household savings. the reason could be that increase in growth promotes employment which in turn stimulates household savings. in order words, inclusive growth is a necessary condition for household welfare and the attendant improvement in household income, investment and savings. vector autoregression estimates (summary statistics) table 7 presents the summary statistics of the var hhs dcr bms irs flib ggdp r-squared 0.818 0.77 0.67 0.90 0.83 0.30 adj-r-squared 0.80 0.71 0.63 0.89 0.82 0.22 sum square resid 35424.3 5370464 6281.45 174.64 4.15 16906.52 s. e. equation 14.833 182.63 81.848 46.35 3.85 18.39 f-statistics 40.21 30.56 18.39 81.845 46.35 3.85 log likelihood -730.81 -1182.7 -575.12 -252.69 83.86 -664.23 akaike aic 8.33 13.35 6.94 3.018 -0.72 7.59 schwarz sc 8.67 13.69 6.94 3.36 -0.38 7.92 mean dependent 3.796 119.18 27.92 8.79 0.83 3.82 s. d dependent 32.97 364.03 10.35 3.15 0.37 11.6 source: researchers’ computation using e-view 11.0 discussion of findings because vars involve current and lagged values of multiple time series, they capture co movements that cannot be detected in invariance or bivariate models standard vars summary statistics (impulse response functions and variance decompositions) are well accepted and widely used methods for portraying these movements. these summary statistics are useful because they provide targets for the model and were the focus of the discussions. from the impulse response function, an unexpected rise in domestic credit, broad money supply and interest rate spread is associated with a persistent decrease in household savings in the countries of benin, cote d’ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria. the finding is in tandem with previous related study. for example, elom et al., (2016) found a positive significant relationship between interest rate and domestic savings in nigeria in the long-run and insignificant influence of interest rate on domestic saving in the short-run. for broad money supply, the findings of ogbokor and samalivya (2017) for benin supports the result of the current study and concluded that deposit rate and financial deepening (m2/gdp) have no significant effects on domestic savings. aggregate investment has also significant level of shock on the selected ecowas economies, while the labour force rate has less shock on the household saving over the horizons. from the variance decomposition result, domestic credit accounted for about 7 percent changes, positive or negative changes in domestic saving in the selected ecowas countries, while broad money supply accounted for 4 percent shock to domestic savings in the 10th quarter. interest rate spread accounted for 2 percentage shocks to household savings in the first quarter, however, declined to 1 percent in the 10th quarter, this implies that economic growth may not be a major shock to household savings in the selected and this reinforces the domestic savings need for inclusive growth in the ecowas countries. inclusive growth promotes employment generation, which in turn promotes household savings for poverty reduction. policy implication of findings the policy implication of the empirical results is germane for policy input and implementation. the following are some of the deduced implications: 1. even though domestic credit was found to have a positive significant effect on domestic savings in the selected ecowas countries, more policy effect in needed to strengthen the liberalization of countries the credit market and ecowas in general for easy access by households. 2. broad money supply is related to the monetary base of the selected ecowas countries central banks through the money multiplier. given the increased importance of the behaviour of banks in a deregulated environment for the determination of the shock of money supply, the central banks of the selected ecowas have a major role to play in strengthening the monetary variables of the interest rate, broad money supply and availability of domestic credit. this is to avoid repression of the selected ecowas and the rest of the countries in the region. 3. infrastructure no doubt promotes financial development. from the evidence, aggregate investment measured by the gross fixed capital formation has negative relations with domestic saving. therefore, the government and policy makers of the ecowas countries must ensure that infrastructure is adequately provide. 4. labour force ratio is also negatively related to household saving. this implies the absence of employment opportunities in these countries. without infrastructure, the aims of reform/liberalization will not be fully optimized. conclusion, policy recommendation and agenda for future research conclusion this paper examined the effect of monetary sector financial liberalization on domestic saving in five selected ecowas countries of benin, cote d’ivoire, ghana, liberia and nigeria between the the period 1981 to 2019 and using the panel var approach the key findings of the study are re-represented and these indicates to the fact that are negative and positive significant effects of monetary sector financial liberalization on household saving in the ecowas countries. . the implication of the findings had been espoused and it points to the fact that there is likelihood of potential negative effects of domestic credit, interest rate spread and broad money supply to gdp after a shock has occurred, especially a negative shock like financial crisis and the covi-19 pandemic. the decrease in domestic credit to the household affects productivity which is turn affects employment of productivity and saving. the widening gap between interest rate and deposit rates affects households which influences negatively on household saving. again, increase in broad money supply has a reactionary effect on inflation which in the long-run affects savings. decrease in economic growth resulting from lack of investment induces unemployment and this in turn affect household saving. government policy directions in the ecowas countries may bring the necessary changes so as to promote household saving. policy recommendations in the light of the empirical evidence, the following are recommended for policy considerations. 277 i. considering the fact that domestic credit was found to have a significant effect on domestic saving during the 10 quarter horizon in the selected ecowas countries, there is need for the government and policy makers of the ecowas region to formulate monetary policy will lower the interest rate so as to deepen the credit market and to enhance investments, employment and ultimately household saving propensity. ii. in order not to trigger inflationary pressure, the policy makers and the central bankers of the selected ecowas countries should implement restrictive monetary policy measures that will curtail excessive money supply in order to reduce inflation spiral and household purchasing power. iii. monetary sector financial liberalization was found to have contributed insignificantly to domestic savings in the selected ecowas countries. this calls for re-examination of the reform programmes with the aim of strengthening the reform measures to improve domestic savings. iv. the growth rate of the impulse response function shows a declining relationship with household savings over the 10 quarters horizons. this necessitates policy action on the part the ecowas government for improving and sustaining the growth potentials of the economies. v. following (iv) above, the government and policy-makers of the ecowas countries must institute growth enhancing mechanisms through product diversity and inclusion in the growth process. this policy stimulates employment through investment and enhancement of domestic saving rate. agenda for further studies the analysis of the paper using panel var no doubt is limited by data and by method. therefore, further empirical attempts should incorporate: structural breaks to capture the break-points in the policy regimes and construction of an index to measure the three segments of liberalization as well expanding and the number of ecowas countries in the analysis. declaration of interest: none funding: none authors contribution: all were involved in every stage of the paper. references abrigo, m.r.a. & love, i. 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(2020). financial liberalization, political stability, and economic determinants of real economic growth in kenya, energies, mdpi, 13:3426, doi.10.3390/en13133426. page 4 volume 6 issue 3, 2021 447 outsourcing and task autonomy of outsourced staff: evidence from ecobank southeast nigeria chinegbonkpa hope amarachi nwakanma department of industrial relations and personnel management michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike nwakanma.chinegbonkpa@mouau.edu.ng ifeanyi prinuel onyeonoru department of sociology university of ibadan ip.onyeonoru@ui.edu.ng ugochukwu ugwumba ikeije corresponding author department of industrial relations and personnel management michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike uu.ikejie@mouau.edu.ng abstract organizations’ quest to maintain competitive advantage and maximize profit has made outsourcing one of the most popular management strategies in nigeria. it has challenged the old practice where banks relied solely on their internal resources to perform both core and non-core banking activities. however, previous studies on outsourcing have reported inconsistent findings on the effects of the practice on workers. this study therefore, analyzed the effects of outsourcing on the task autonomy of outsourced staff in ecobank nigeria limited. labour market segmentation theory was employed as theoretical frameworks while quasi-experimental design was adopted. relevant data were collected using structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. in quantitative data analysis, descriptive statistics and chi square were employed while qualitative data were content analysis. finding from the study revealed that the outsourced staff didn’t have the freedom to make decisions pertaining their work leading to low task autonomy. this was due to their perceived low level of trust, allegiance and commitment to their bank. mode of employment was significantly associated with employee task autonomy. the study therefore concludes that the jobs of the outsourced staff were low in task autonomy due to their status as outsourced staff. banks therefore, need to design a balanced work structure to improve the quality of work of the outsourced staff so as to enhance their task autonomy. keywords: outsourcing, outsourced staff, core staff, task autonomy, ecobank mailto:nwakanma.chinegbonkpa@mouau.edu.ng mailto:ip.onyeonoru@ui.edu.ng mailto:uu.ikejie@mouau.edu.ng 448 introduction as part of change in managerial strategy to the stiff competition that came after the consolidation exercise in nigerian banking industry, banks have embraced the use of outsourcing on a large scale (ohikhena, 2017; kabuoh, chigbu & abasilim, 2014). as a result, the outsourcing of banking activities has recorded a tremendous growth in the last two decades. within this period, banks have outsourced not only their non-core activities but also their core activities in huge volumes. according to a study conducted by deloitte in 2016, outsourcing in financial services grew by 16% in 2014 and 36% in 2016 and financial service sector presented the highest future outsourcing growth opportunity (deloitt, 2016). outsourcing of business, it services and applications have also grown particularly in banks (accenture, 2013). however, the major reasons often adduced for the adoption of this practice have been the need for banks to cut excessive cost and maintain a competitive edge over other banks. banks have been able to enhance increased productivity and business growth through cost saving, improvement in their core competencies, increase in competitive advantage and access to specialized expertise and skills as a result of outsourcing. this management practice has also opened nigerian banks up for partnership with external service providers with implications for the task autonomy of the outsourced staff. but this development is not without implications for the outsourced staff of the banks as there are observed difference which exists between the outsourced and core staff in the areas of work conditions, tasks, as well as their job characteristics particularly their task autonomy. as articulated by hackman and oldham (1980), task autonomy is the extent to which a job gives the job holder freedom, discretion and independence in making decisions in areas of scheduling, procedures, methods, sequence and quality control. specifically, outsourcing (especially staff outsourcing) creates disparities between the permanent staff and outsourced staff in the area of task autonomy. thus, there is difference between the outsourced and core staff in the area of the type of tasks they perform, how the tasks are performed and with whom they perform the tasks which has implications for their task autonomy (davis-blake & broschak, 2009) outsourcing is often associated with disparities between the outsourced and core staff in several aspects of work. first, is in the area of employment status. outsourcing (especially staff outsourcing) comes with segregation of employees into core and outsourced (nwakanma & onyeonoru, 2021). the outsourced staff are often seen as the temporary staff while the core staff are seen as the permanent staff. second is in the area of working conditions, where for instance, difference in pay and benefits are often high for the permanent staff and low for the outsourced staff; job security in which the outsourced staff are always at greater disadvantage than the permanent staff; and their experience with their job characteristics which is reflective of their statuses as core or outsourced. existing studies have reported inconsistent findings on the effects of outsourcing on the outsourced staff. for instance, some researchers have argued that outsourced staff are significantly disadvantaged relative to core staff in the areas of well-being, nature of tasks and job characteristics (kompier, ybema, janssen & taris 2009; ang & slaughter 2001; michael & michael 2012; nwakanma & onyeonoru, 2021). other authors claim otherwise and argued that outsourcing enhances the job characteristics of outsourced staff thereby diminishing that of the core staff (fisher, wasserman & wolf, 2006); and core staff have lower levels of satisfaction and wellbeing compared to their counterparts (european 449 commission, 2006). while the debate in this area is generally inconclusive, empirical research is needed to establish more precise conclusions on the matter. based on the premise of the foregoing, the authors hypothesized that employment status is significantly associated with employee task autonomy. therefore this study focused on empirical findings on such issues as the nature of effects outsourcing has on the task autonomy of outsourced staff. specifically it aimed at examining the effects of outsourcing on the task autonomy of outsourced staff with particular reference to ecobank nigeria plc. conceptual review just as there is diversity in the terminology used in outsourcing research, there is also a lack of consensus in literature about what the term actually means (barrar & gervais, 2006). these differences in the use of terminology and definitions can be attributed to different propositions made by authors, based on the purpose of their studies. some authors have referred to outsourcing as 'make or buy' (espino-rodriguez & padron-robaina, 2006) while others have used terminologies such as subcontracting, contracting, sourcing, etc. interchangeably to refer to the practice. in addition, most authors agree that outsourcing means going outside the organizational boundaries to acquire determined products and services (espino-rodriguez & padron-robaina, 2006). whereas others see it as ''the transfer of responsibilities or activities to a third-party” (kotabe & mol & 2009; ghobrial, 2005). however, understanding outsourcing only in terms of procuring activities without capturing the strategic nature of the practice is faulty (gilley & rasheed, 2000). this is because outsourcing is a strategic decision to externalize certain activities to maintain and/or improve competitive advantage. this approach to outsourcing provides organizations with sufficient information on potential activities to be outsourced so as to avoid competitive decline. therefore, doing a situational analysis is very crucial to choosing the right outsourcing strategy (momme, moeller & hvolby, 2000). in line with that, espino-rodriguez and padron-robaina (2006) defined outsourcing as a strategic decision that entails the external contracting of determined non-strategic activities or business processes necessary for the manufacture of goods or the provision of services by means of agreements or contracts with higher capability firms' to undertake those activities or business process, with the aim of improving competitive advantage. organizational justifications for outsourcing organizations engage in outsourcing for diverse reasons depending upon their vision and purpose for the practice. however, cost reductions have been reported as the most crucial reason for outsourcing (okafor, 2012; kabouh, chigbu & abasilim, 2014; orogbu, onyeizugbe & alanza, 2015). human resource outsourcing is a strategy organizations use to cut costs in the face of an economic downturn (seth & sethi, 2011). managers see it as a better response to cost reduction (greer, youngblood & gray, 1999). this dimension happens to be the finance-driven idea connecting human resource outsourcing (turnbull, 2002) and gives credence to the most influential approaches in the analysis of outsourcing the transaction cost economics (tce). according to transaction cost economics, reduction in the cost of production and transaction is the basis on which organizations will make outsourcing decisions (mcivor, 2008). the growing pressure on organizations to remain competitive is another motivation behind outsourcing (insinga & werle, 2000). outsourcing is therefore a necessary response to 450 today’s hyper-competitive environment as no organization remains competitive in business today by relying solely on its in-house resources. organizations focus their internal resources on the activities that give them a unique competitive advantage while outsourcing others (corbett, 2004). another reason organizations outsource is to enable them focus on their core competencies. core competencies refers to the area in which an organization renders functions that produce results better than any of its competitors or external service providers. a lot of companies outsource some aspects of their operations in order to unburden themselves of the non-core parts of their businesses so as to focus on their core competencies that give them an advantage over their competitors (akemushola, 2013). this gives credence to another influential approach in the analysis of outsourcingthe resource-based view (rbv) of the firm. this theory views the firm as a bundle of assets and resources that if employed in distinctive ways can create competitive advantage (mcivor, 2008). other reasons why organizations outsource may include: development of in-house staff; to have access to some specialized skills, talents and expertise that are too costly and difficult to develop in-house (fisher et al, 2006); to leverage and tap into a global knowledge base as well as have access to world class capabilities (maidment, 2003). outsourcing and employee task autonomy outsourcing has been argued to influence task autonomy of employees in organizations. research have shown that outsourcing environment is highly monitored and controlled by the management. employees working in outsourcing organizations face a mixture of control and commitment strategies; the work environment is highly controlled and performance is closely monitored and strictly measured against targets. kessler & coyle-shapiro (1999) in their study on the impact of external activities (outsourcing) on employment relations from the point of view of the employee, found that employees indicated being wary of the new monitoring system that allowed new employers to monitor them much more closely and tightly. some researchers have also observed that outsourcing places some restrictions on the decision-making capacity of the workers particularly the outsourced workers. for example, ang and slaughter (2001) reported after their study on information system and software professionals that organizations that outsource for labour give high autonomy to permanent staff. they are given the scope of the project alone, and they find out the project details themselves. on the other hand, contractors are given low autonomy in their jobs. they are given specific instructions (project specifications) on the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the work and they do not have the ability to negotiate their work assignments. de cuyper, de jong, de witte, isaksson, rigotti & schalk (2007) in their review reported that temporary workers are vulnerable to job strain owing to poor job characteristics, most notably reduced control (less autonomy). some other researchers have emphasized that outsourced job offers high autonomy particularly when such jobs are performed outside the client organizations. for instance, fisher et al (2006) reported that outsourced work frequently offers opportunity for increased autonomy and role discretion, especially if the work is done on-site without direct supervision from the service provider organization. for example, decisions about how to proceed with a project must often be made quickly and without an opportunity to confer with home office managers. 451 theoretical consideration this study relied on the labour market segmentation theory in explaining the issue of outsourcing and staff autonomy within the organization. labour market segmentation theory explains how non-competing work groups form and are sustained and how they affect the working conditions and work experience of workers. outsourcing is seen as a practice that polarizes the workers into core and outsourced. the core staff who are on permanent employment belong to the primary segment in the labour market while the outsourced staff belong to the secondary segment with differential opportunities, privileges, and prestige and work conditions. this gained more explanation from basak (2005) who stressed that this polarization of the workers creates what may be referred to as ‘bad jobs’ and ‘good jobs’. while stability, high wages, social security coverage, existence of promotional ladders and good working conditions are associated with good jobs, the opposite is the case for the bad jobs. the quest to reduce employment cost, focus on core competencies, gain competitive advantage and increase productivity compel banks to source for labour outside the organizational boundaries (outsourcing). as a result, there is automatic division of workers into core and outsourced which is not determined by the individual differences in skills, qualification, capability or productivity but by managerial control strategies and internal labour market over which the workers do not have control. this differentiation comes with it high level of discrimination in the working conditions (job insecurity, low pay etc.) and working experience (lack of additional skills, autonomy, etc.) of the employees in the secondary job. research methods the design for this research was survey design. the research was conducted in the southeast region of federal republic of nigeria. the study scope consists of all the branches of ecobank in abia, imo and enugu states. these comprised the managers at all levels, staff on permanent employment (core staff), as well as staff on temporary employment (outsourced staff). ecobank was purposefully selected because of its staffing structure which comprises more outsourced staff (3,959) than core staff (2,639). the sample size for this study was 352 respondents which were drawn from the total number of staff of ecobank branches in the three states under study. the sample size was made up of 134 core staff and 218 outsourced staff. a total number of 352 semi-structured questionnaire consisting of both closed-ended and open-ended questions were administered to the respondents. the study also adopted purposive selection of twenty respondents involved in in-depth interviews – based on their strategic occupational statuses and experiences managers and union leaders. data were analyzed and interpreted using descriptive statistics and simple percentages. non-parametric test (chi square) was used to test for association between mode of employment and employees’ task autonomy. 452 results level of autonomy of outsourced staff relative to the core staff table 1: distribution of research participants by the level of autonomy panel characteristics distribution percentage which category of staff has more freedom to plan? core 272 77.3 outsourced 80 22.7 total 352 100.0 source: field survey (2021) table 2: descriptive statistics on mode of employment and freedom to plan work mode of employment my job allows me the freedom to plan my work yes no don’t know total outsourced 72 (33.0%) 126 (57.8%) 20(9.2%) 218(100%) core 86 (64.2%) 38(28.3%) 10 (7.5%) 134(100%) total 152 (44.9%) 164 (46.6%) 30(8.5%) 352(100%) source: field survey (2021) hypothesis h0: there is significant association between employees’ task autonomy and mode of employment. h1: there is no significant association between employees’ task autonomy and mode of employment. table 3: non-parametric test of association between mode of employment and task autonomy mode of employment my job allows me the freedom to plan my work yes no don’t know total outsourced 72 (33.0%) 126 (57.8%) 20(9.2%) 218(100%) core 86 (64.2%) 38(28.3%) 10 (7.5%) 134(100%) total 152 (44.9%) 164 (46.6%) 30(8.5%) 352(100%) calculated chi square: 33.665; df: 2; probability value: 0.000 453 discussions in comparing the task autonomy of core and outsourced staff in table 1, it was found that core staff have more freedom to plan their work compared to their outsourced counterparts as indicated by (77.3%) of the respondents. further investigations on task autonomy sought to compare the responses of core and outsourced staff to the question of whether their jobs allow them the freedom to plan their work. the result in table 2 revealed a high percentage of positive responses from core staff (64.2% of out of the total population of outsourced staff) as well as a high percentage of negative responses from the outsourced staff (57.8%). this finding was buttressed more by a manager whose comment showcased reasons for the disparity in autonomy in the jobs of outsourced and core staff. it showed that in ecobank, supervisors closely monitor the outsourced staff to avoid taking blames of work not well done. the manager’s comment goes thus: …the supervisors monitor them closely, give them the work schedules and decide the procedures so they work according to the laid down procedures. this is because so many of them don’t have this sense of responsibility. they feel they have nothing to lose, they feel they don’t belong here. i’ve once overheard an outsourced marketer telling her colleague that even if she puts her life down for the bank, they will still not acknowledge nor appreciate it. but that’s not true, we recognize their hard works, we also have bonuses and commissions for them to encourage them. you see, for them to have such mentality, anything can happen, they may not handle their tasks with utmost carefulness compared to the core staff who would do that having in mind that the outcome may affect their appraisals, promotions and even their jobs. their supervisors do this knowing that they (i.e. supervisors stand to take responsibility for their mistakes). idi/female/branch manager/abia/2016 another union leader had this to say on the level of control and monitoring associated with their work as outsourced staff as an outsourced staff, you are told what to do, when, how and where to do it as though you are a child. it makes one feel incapacitated and powerless. idi/male/union leader/abia2016 findings presented in table 3 above shows the association between the mode of employment and task autonomy. it revealed that, at the degree of freedom of 2, the p value was 0.000 which is less than the alpha level of significance of 0.05. therefore, the null hypothesis that employees’ task autonomy is not significantly associated with the mode of employment is rejected while the alternate hypothesis that employees’ task autonomy is significantly associated with the mode of employment is supported. the above findings indicate that the job of core staff is high in task autonomy compared to their outsourced counterparts by the virtue of their employment status in the bank. this is because the job of core staff allows them more freedom to plan their work than that of the outsourced. this finding supports literature on the disparity in task autonomy between the core and the outsourced staff. for instance, researchers such as ang and slaughter (2001); european commission (2006) reported that among other work characteristics, higher levels of autonomy and skill 454 development were found among the permanent employees compared to temporaries. also, some other european survey on working conditions (benach, gimeno, & benavides 2002; goudswaard & andries 2002; letourneux 1998) show that temporary workers experience less autonomy than permanent workers. level of autonomy of outsourced staff relative to the core staff the jobs of the outsourced staff were low in task autonomy compared to the jobs of the core staff. the core staff had more freedom to plan their work compared to their outsourced counterparts. this was attributed to the bank’s policy of allowing their staff to exercise their initiative in planning their work within a permitted limit. on the other hand, outsourced staff did not have this opportunity, they are given the work schedules and laid down procedures to work with. they also did not have the ability to negotiate their work assignments. supervisors closely monitor them to avoid taking blames of work not well done. this was as a result of their perceived low level of trust and allegiance to the bank. they were also seen by managers as workers who do not display the same level of commitment and dedication as the core staff. this finding is in consonance with ang and slaughter (2001) report that organizations that outsourced for labour give high autonomy to permanent staff. permanent staff are given only the scope of the project while they found out the project details themselves and they are also accountable and responsible not only for their own work but also the outsourced staff’s work as well. on the other hand, outsourced staff have low autonomy in their jobs. they are given laid down procedures (work specifications) on the tasks and how to perform them and have no ability to negotiate their work assignments. in another study by the european commission (2006), it was reported that among other work characteristics, higher levels of autonomy and skill development were found among the permanent employees compared to temporaries. some other european survey on working conditions (benach, et al., 2002; goudswaard & andries 2002) showed that outsourced workers experience less autonomy than permanent workers. the above result on removing autonomy from the job of outsourced staff supports one of the theories adopted for this study the ‘labour market segmentation theory’ where work is characterized by segregation on the basis of the status of employees. conclusion autonomy which is associated with freedom, independence and discretion suggests that an employee has to schedule his work and decide procedures to be used to perform them and this promotes a sense of responsibility (hackman & oldham 1980). when a job provides an employee with the freedom to make decisions concerning work scheduling and procedures to be used to perform the tasks involved, the employee feels trusted and shows a high level of responsibility, involvement, commitment and trust. in the case of bank outsourcing, autonomy and control are totally removed from outsourced jobs, workers have a feeling of powerlessness and untrustworthiness. this results in employees showing low levels of trust, allegiance and commitment to their work and organizational goals. the study therefore concludes that the jobs of the outsourced staff were low in task autonomy due to their status as outsourced staff. banks therefore, need to design a balanced work structure to improve the quality of work of the outsourced staff so as to enhance their task autonomy. 455 references accenture (2003). procurement outsourcing poised to double, accenture survey finds. accenture news release. http/:newsroom.accenture.com. akemushola s. 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(2002). ‘inside outsourcing’, people management: connected hr 10 11 page 4 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 488 the imaginative in the service of the rational jude godwins department of philosophy, seat of wisdom seminary, imo state university, owerri. judegodwins8@gmail.com abstract until most recently this intellectual climate remained, as it were, sacrosanct. it was an academic and theoretical climate where there could be only one conceptual system and only one accurate way of understanding the world. in our day developments in the cognitive sciences occasion a battery of agitating questions. to what extent are reason and thought mere manipulation of abstract symbols? are they actually only about the correspondence of words and mental representations to the external world, independently of the nature and body of the human being involved in the operation? are the symbols used in thought actually meaningless, only getting their meaning by corresponding to things in the physical world? are reason and concepts really transcendental, in the sense of not being liable to the natures and bodies of the thinking beings? to what extent does the human mind mirror reality as it is “out there”? is nature really mirrored in our mathematical reasoning? are our concepts in truth internal representations of external realities? are thought and reason not instead a matter of the nature of the thinking being its body, social character, environmental interactions? the foregoing questions, as it were, boil down to the problem of the kind of beings that we are, with the kind of bodies that we have. this natural given (or disposition) gives rise to our use of our imaginative faculties and processes. and these have consequences. keywords: human mind, intellectual climate, mathematical reasoning, natural dispositions. introduction nearly two thousand years of philosophizing, some argue, has institutionalized a certain theory of categorization where certain philosophical assumptions have virtually denied many a researcher access to such an empirical matter as how humans categorize their experiences and make sense of their world (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 210). it is a traditional theory of categorization that has given rise to a certain view of mind, reason, meaning, language, grammar, logic, and truth. under this colossal intellectual edifice, reason is defined as a disembodied manipulation of abstract symbols. it is held to be transcendental, in the sense of going beyond our natural thought pattern. it is also said to be inferential. mathematics is held to be its paradigmatic instance. the mind’s operations are said to be independent of the body. conceived as an abstract machine, it is thought to manipulate symbols the way computers do. words, mental representations, etc. (symbols) are assumed to be only meaningful when they correspond to things in the external world. when they do, they are held to be internal representations of external reality. the properties of organisms are said not to influence the correspondence between abstract symbols and the things in the world. in this thought pattern, the mind is held to be an exact mirror of nature, since it is assumed to make use of internal representations of external reality. for the same reason too, accurate reason is said to be an exact mirror of the logic of the world. the human body is assumed not mailto:judegodwins8@gmail.com 489 to influence human reason and conceptualization. immune to the limitations of the perceptual process, the nervous system, and the human body, thought is thus said to be abstract and disembodied. it is held to be mathematical. concepts too are held to be transcendental; they are assumed to be internal representations of external reality. in this thought trajectory, emotion is said not to have anything in common with conceptualization, since it is thought to be bereft of any conceptual content. meaning, in the view of this traditional theory must, therefore, be compositional, transcendental, objective, disembodied, and independent of the understanding of any human being (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 200). it is, at best, simply a relating of symbols to things (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 196). in the objective world, a matter of truth and reference. truth is defined in terms of words fitting the external world. in the area of natural language, meaning is said to be strictly based on a certain truth condition; it is held to be independent of the context of use and of human understanding. syntax is held to be different from meaning. grammar, being pure form, is said not to admit of any immediate form-meaning correspondence. sentences are regarded as “abstract objects with inherent structures.” in communication, people are believed to send messages containing fixed meaning to their addressees. certain linguistic expressions are held to be associated with certain definite meanings. it is a view of categorization where categories are strictly defined by shared and common properties of their members. conceptual categories are believed to be symbolic structures, acquiring their meaning by fitting objectively existing categories in an actual or possible world. they are believed to be independent of the body and nature of the beings doing the categorization. they are thought to mirror the structure of categories actually existing “out there.” against this academic and theoretical backdrop, there could be only one conceptual system and only one accurate way of understanding the world – the god’s – eye – view about what the world really is like (johnson, 1987, x). johnson dismisses this “offending cluster of assumptions” as objectivism and associates it with our “blindness toward imagination” (johnson, 1987, ix-x). until most recently this intellectual climate remained, as it were, sacrosanct. in our day developments in the cognitive sciences occasion a battery of agitating questions. to what extent are reason and thought mere manipulation of abstract symbols? are they actually only about the correspondence of words and mental representations to the external world, independently of the nature and body of the human being involved in the operation? are the symbols used in thought actually meaningless, only getting their meaning by corresponding to things in the physical world? are reason and concepts really transcendental, in the sense of not being liable to the natures and bodies of the thinking beings? to what extent does the human mind mirror reality as it is “out there”? is nature really mirrored in our mathematical reasoning? are our concepts in truth internal representations of external realities? are thought and reason not instead a matter of the nature of the thinking being its body, social character, environmental interactions? the foregoing questions, as it were, boil down to the problem of the kind of beings that we are, with the kind of bodies that we have. this natural given (or disposition) gives rise to our use of our imaginative faculties and processes. 490 that notwithstanding, the history of philosophy reveals this steady watering down of the cognitive content of our imaginative faculties, which could be associated with two major historical tendencies of the modern period, namely, cartesianism and kantianism (grenham bird, 1995, 439-441). it could serve as well to consider briefly the two philosophers whose thinking constituted a spring board from where these philosophical propensities generated perhaps, in so doing, one could better situate historically this seeming disregard of what could be termed the imaginative half of our inference structure. descartes, wanting to refute skepticism, posits a general mathematical method underscoring indubitably certain and real knowledge. we are undoubtedly certain of our experience as thinking beings, he holds. the world consists of two substances: bodies and minds (res cogitans and res extensa) (davis, 1998, 255-257). we have knowledge of our minds rather than of our bodies. thus, men are true to type when they are engaged in rational operations. this cartesian dualism has a two-fold upshot, namely, (a) the human body is not an essential component of human reason, and (b) the human mind simply knows its own ideas. then, of course, the question arises how it is possible that the two, between which neither a material-form relationship nor an interaction can take place, can be experienced as a genuine unit in human self-awareness before any analysis. descartes does not ask this question (haeffner, 1989, 135). kant, that intellectual giant, will be remembered in history for identifying the dangers of this sort of dichotomy. however, though he denies the existence of a mind-independent body, he still distinguishes between formal and informal cognitive faculties. on the one hand, the formal cognitive faculty stands for the understanding’s spontaneous and organizing operations within the conceptual and intellectual realm. on the other hand, the material faculty refers to the bodily operations that deal with the perceptual and sensible data. kant argued that genuine empirical knowledge must be knowledge of objects that we all can experience; objects that are subject to universal laws. in order to have such an “objective” experience, there must be some material given from outside us to our senses; and this content must be organized by patterns of thought given by our mind. the bodily capacity for receiving these sense impressions, sensibility, supplies us only with particular representations (e.g., images, percepts) given to our senses by whatever objects we are experiencing. the capacity for conceptualizing these contents of sensibility, is an intellectual faculty that gives general representations (i.e., concepts) under which the particulars of sensation can be organized in a meaningful manner (lakoff and johnson, 1980, xxvii-xxviii). by saying that our knowledge of the external world is what we receive from it, as structured by our consciousness, kant intends to solve the dualism of cartesianism (allison, 1995, 435438). this is to guarantee that concepts correspond to objective reality. be it as it may, kant still speaks in a language that separates the intellectual from the sensible. in a somewhat different context, haeffner describes kant’s dichotomy as a “radikale trennung des phänomenalen vom noumenalen” (haeffner, 1989, 213). 491 against this backdrop, one could begin to sense that there could be some merit in the contention that when well accounted for, our imaginative faculties, in their unifying functions, could well resolve this gulf. the projected aim of this thesis then is to make an emphatic case for the experiential and embodied aspect of human reason. it seeks to investigate the claim that our ‘logical inferences’ and ‘reasoning about abstract entities’ have their roots in our embodied and concrete experiences as well as in our mundane attempts at problem solving. consequently, it wonders whether our abstract entities configurations and our rational inference structures may, indeed, be simply about inexplicable structures of rationality or what has been termed pure reason. it asks whether these could not be, after all, the natural consequences of our metaphorically framed structures of understanding, which are in the service of the human imaginative schematic operations and capacities, by which humans have been known to make sense of their world. the following will constitute our operative terms in this essay: categorization, image schemata, metaphorical projection, space grammar, and mental spaces. categorization. categorization refers to the way humans break up their experiences into comprehensible kinds. implied here is a theory of prototype categorization as against one based on a ‘necessary condition’ of shared properties. humans, studies reveal, do actually break up their experiences, slotting them into categories in terms of prototypes and family resemblances. prototypes are neutral structures enabling us to perform inferential and imaginative feats in relation to categories. the result is a somewhat prototype-based reasoning. the way humans have been discovered to categorize and make sense of their existential milieu would become for us indicative of our manner of reasoning about abstract entities. image schemata. by image schemata is meant the recurring structures in the human experience, with their attendant ecological and gestalt senses. these image schemata, it has been discovered, have their internal structures which could well go into the definition of reason. metaphorical projection. metaphorical projection is defined as a major way of projecting structure across domains and categories, establishing new connections and organizations of meaning, extending and developing image schemata (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 171). for instance in the expressions ‘the foot of the mountains’ and ‘the foot of the list’, mountain and list are structured in ways revealing a metaphorical projection of the human body onto them. the claim of our line of thought is that our conceptual system is, in the main, structured by systematic metaphorical framings. we understand more complex realms by associating a certain domain with a certain range. we comprehend more abstract/theoretical and lessstructured realms (for example reason, logic, and knowledge) through mappings from more concrete and sufficiently structured domains (for instance our corporeal experience of hearing, motion, tactile sensation or object manipulation) (johnson, 1993, 10). metaphorical mappings link up one experiential ambiance to another. haeffner acknowledges this phenomenon when he defines metaphor as a transfer (greek: metaphorà) of meaning from one level of meaning to another (haeffner, 1989, 129). apparently referring to what we have called the internal structures of the schemata that are transformed in this carry-over of meaning from one sphere to another, he argues that basically there must be some reason that such a 492 transfer could and can take place at all (haeffner, 1989, 129). our inquiry asks whether this meaning carry-over could not finish up in a somewhat metaphorical reasoning. space grammar. space grammar is an upshot of our spatialization which in turn is tied to our bodily orientation (haeffner, 1989, 128-129), according to which the body is either a trajector (the contained: he walked out of the enclosure), or a landmark (the container: he poured the wine into his mouth) (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 33). we humans make spatial inferences using spatial-relations concepts. from some landmark, we attribute farness and nearness to objects that are simply where they are (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 30). we have been known not only to use spatial-relations concepts unconsciously but also to frame them unto our surrounding world through our perceptual and conceptual systems. in this line of thought, space understood in this bodily or physical context, wields an enormous but often unnoticed influence on our rational structures. mental spaces. the theory of mental space is a broad domain of inquiry embracing all the areas enumerated above and more. following fauconnier, lakoff defines mental spaces as a “medium in which thoughts occur and in which conceptual entities are located” (lakoff, 1987, 542). fauconnier’s theory of cross-domain mappings in our mental space configurations would be at the back of our minds as we probe our thesis. curious enough, one finds these human operations, as it were, converging into our imaginative capacities and structures. thus, we shall be inquiring to ascertain whether, when all is said and done, the human imaginative structures could not be an integral part of the human meaning-constructs and reasoning patterns. it does seem the case that anything one experiences and knows as forming meaning, the way one reasons about such a thing, depends on the imaginative structures that build and give the human experience its character (lakoff and johnson, 1980, 172). this project is born out of the philosophical curiosity and wonder over the sensitive area of human reason. we are curious about how humans normally understand, attain meaning, do their reasoning, and draw their inferences. our essay makes no claim whatsoever to any philosophical novelty, despite possible suggestive tendency to this, given the nature, of our inquiry. it simply intends to probe into recent and unstained research in the field of cognitive sciences, and in particular, in the spheres of philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and philosophical anthropology concerning the human reason. it modestly asks whether these could contribute anything to the age-old search for certainty in our rational inquiries which began as a unity. two authors have researched extensively on this problem. in as much as they are relatively unknown, we might do well here to say a few things about them. about johnson and lakoff mark johnson. johnson is a professor of philosophy, the editor of philosophical perceptive on metaphor, and the author of moral imagination, and the body in the mind. he is also coauthor of metaphors we live by, and philosophy in the flesh. his magnus opus -the body in the mind is an awe-inspiring confluence of philosophy, psychology, and cognitive sciences. johnson inquired into the modes of the emergence and constraint of meaning, understanding, and rationality by the patterns of our embodied experience. he underscores the inseparability of the body-mind, cognition-emotion, and reason-imagination operations. he postulates a 493 theory of imagination that links our corporeal structures to cognitive structures. hence, our notions of scale, force, balance – having their correlations in our experience – could be metaphorically extended to reveal ‘abstract meaning and rational connections’. johnson’s most recent co-authored book, philosophy in the flesh (1999), is an enviable blend of philosophy of mind and cognitive science. it posits an unconscious thought, metaphorical abstract concepts, and an embodied mind. the book denies any sustainable direct conscious accessibility to the inner workings of language and thought. it submits that our system of abstract concepts is constituted by metaphors derived from the human experience. it postulates a thought-structure occasioned by the nature of the human body. george lakoff. lakoff is a professor of linguistics, the author of moral politics, and women, fire, and dangerous things. he is also co-author of metaphors we live by, and philosophy in the flesh. he is a founder of the discipline of cognitive linguistics, and one of the pillars of the neural theory of language. lakoff’s major thesis is that human beings organize their knowledge by means of structures referred to as idealized cognitive models, icms. the incidental by-products of this organizational paradigm are the category structures and prototype effects. category structure is the natural human mode of organizing and ordering the world around us in terms of kinds, whose purpose is to facilitate understanding. prototype effects refer to the lack of proportion and harmony among category members. this lack of proportion is evidenced by the fact that a particular member of a category could serve as a better example than others. these prototype effects form part of our reference-point reasoning. an example is the correlation between them and the metonymic reasoning, where a category member is meant to stand for the entire category in a reasoning process. a development in cognitive semantics, lakoff’s idealized cognitive models are grounded in four theories, namely, (1) fillmore’s frame semantics, (2)lakoff-johnson theory of metaphor and metonymy, (3) langackers’s cognitive grammar, and (4) fauconnier’s theory of mental spaces. let us look briefly into these theories. (1) fillmore’s frame semantics. fillmore argues that, following from the concept of a frame, our models are simply idealized. lakoff cites the example of our idealized model of a week. we do not have a seven-day week existing objectively anywhere in nature. it is only our creation. week models differ from culture to culture (lakoff, 1987, 69). some cultures have different calendar cycles. the igbo week, for instance, has an eight-day structure, which is divided into two halves. each half has four days ( eke, orie, afor, nkwo) with each day coming up twice in the week. the first half comprises the small days, while the second half has the big days. hence, you talk of the small eke day and the big eke day. (2) lakoff-johnson theory of metaphor and metonymy. in the process of metonymy, for some purpose, a subcategory or a member of a category is used to understand the entire category. the outcome is a metonymic understanding where a whole is understood via some part. for example, ‘the white house is considering sending some relief materials to yugoslavia’. here the white house stands for the united states’ government. it could also refer to the entire citizens of the united states of america. we use this human construct in making judgments and drawing inferences, generating what is termed reference-point or metonymic reasoning. lakoff and johnson show that conceptual metaphor is a cognitive framework indicating an experience-based framing from one realm/level of idealized cognitive model to another. metaphorical models become mappings from an image-schematic model in one domain to an analogous structure in another realm. hence, we have an abstract conceptual 494 structure that is, but a metaphorical projection from a concrete domain to an abstract sphere. it is a form of reasoning, were conceptual metaphors map image schemata onto abstract realms. the upshot is an image-schematic reasoning. (3) langackers’s cognitive grammar. for langacker, contrary to generative grammar, syntax is not independent of the semantics. there is, rather, a form-meaning correlation based on the concept of motivation of meaning. cognitive grammars, thus, are given meaning through their links with experience, especially embodied experience. fauconnier’s theory of mental space. fauconnier sees mental spaces as specific structures proliferating as we think and talk, allowing an articulate subdivision into parts of our discourse and knowledge structure (fauconnier, 1997, 11). a certain demarcation in the physical world, a dream, a painting, a poem – with their ability to motivate thought, all could be mental spaces. apart from the above four theories which play influential roles in lakoff’s positing of idealized cognitive models, there is yet another factor, namely, linguistic categories, which takes up a somewhat decisive place in lakoff’s thought. a few considerations on this linguistic phenomenon could further help dispose one towards lakoff. linguistic categories. linguistic categories, like their counterparts – conceptual categories – exhibit prototype effects. the very presence of such effects indicates that linguistic categories have identical characteristics with other conceptual categories. similarly, language has been known to use general cognitive mechanisms, at least, categorization mechanisms. (in fact, the grammar of a language is said to be a cognitive and conceptual subsystem, possessing a cognitive status.) one other principal claim of lakoff, then, is that since language makes use of our cognitive apparatus, what is true of other categories in our conceptual system should also be true of linguistic categories. linguistic categories could help us understand cognitive categories. hence, we should use linguistic evidence in the study of the cognitive apparatus employed in categorization. conclusion the linguistic evidence itself, reveals that linguistic expressions get their meaning in two ways. the two ways are: (a) by being associated with idealized cognitive models, and (b) by having the elements of the idealized cognitive models either to be directly understood in relation to preconceptual structures in experience, or indirectly understood in terms of directly comprehended concepts plus structural relations. all these indicate that language is grounded in cognition. the structure of language utilizes the same devices used to structure cognitive models, namely, image schemata, which are comprehend in relation to bodily functioning. language is meaningful because it is directly linked to meaningful thought and depends on the nature of thought. thought, for its part, attains its meaning through a two-dimensional direct connection to preconceptual bodily functioning, which is constrained, though not totally, by the nature of the world within which we operate. but most importantly, language and thought are meaningful, consequent upon their being motivated by our functioning as part of reality (lakoff, 1987, 291-292). 495 the work is divided into three chapters. chapter one discusses the transformation from image schemata to rational inferences. it considers the process as a natural movement from image schematic structures to concept formation and then to rational inferences. chapter two investigates the phenomenon of reason as embodied, imaginative, and metaphorical. chapter three evaluates the entire project and attempts a modest conclusion in the light of the evaluation. reference 1. george lakoff and mark johnson, metaphors we live by (chicago: university of chicago press, 1980), 210. citation from this text will henceforth be referred to as mwlb 2. grenham bird, “kantianism” in the oxford companion to philosophy, ted honderich ed. (new york: oxford university press, 1995), 439-441 3. martin davis, “the philosophy of mind” in philosophy 1: a guide through the subject, a.c. grayling (new york: oxford university press, 1998), 255-257 4. gerd haeffner, philosophiscche anthropologie (stuttgart: kohlhammer, 1989), no. 135 5. gerd haeffner, the human situation. a philosophical anthropology, eric watkins trans. notre dame: university of notre dame press, 1989, no. 135.) 6. henry e. allison, “kant immanuel” in the oxford companion to philosophy, ted honderich ed. (new york: oxford university, 1995), 435-438 7. gilles fauconnier, mappings in thought and language. cambridge: cambridge university press, 1997). page 1 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 363 effects of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health: an animal model jackson iheukwumere osuh department of psychology, faculty of social sciences, federal university, oye-ekiti, nigeria mary ebelechukwu osuh* department of periodontology and community dentistry, faculty of dentistry, college of medicine, university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria. *corresponding author: meosuh2@gmail.com abstract cannabis sativa, commonly known as cannabis, has been a subject of extensive research due to its psychoactive properties and potential therapeutic applications. recent studies have explored its effects on various physiological and behavioural parameters, but the effects on aggressive behaviour and dental health remains under-investigated. this study aims to address this gap by examining the effects of different dosages of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health in albino rats.a total of 80 albino rats were used in this study, divided into four experimental groups: 10 mg cannabis, 20 mg cannabis, 50 mg cannabis, and a placebo group. each group consisted of 10 males and 10 females. the rats were administered their respective dosages of cannabis or placebo daily for a period of 4 weeks. aggressive behaviour was assessed using standardized behavioural tests, including the residentintruder test and the aggression test. dental health was evaluated by examining the presence of dental plaque, gingival inflammation, and tooth decay using the modified community periodontal index (cpi). a two-way anova was employed to analyze the result. the analysis revealed a significant dosedependent increase in aggression and deterioration in dental health with higher cannabis doses (p < 0.001). specifically, animals administered the highest dose exhibited the most severe aggressive behaviour and dental issues, including increased plaque accumulation and gum inflammation. gender was found to significantly influence aggressive behaviour, with males showing higher aggression compared to females (p < 0.01). however, gender did not significantly affect dental health (p = 0.268), and the interaction between cannabis dose and gender was not significant for either outcome (p = 0.798).the findings indicate that higher doses of cannabis exacerbate both aggressive behaviour and dental health deterioration in an animal model. while aggression is influenced by gender, the adverse effects on dental health are consistent across sexes. there is the need for further research on the longterm effects of cannabis and suggestion that public health measures should address both behavioural and dental health risks associated with cannabis use. keywords: aggressive behaviour, animal model, cannabis, dental health, dependent effects, dose-gender differences introduction cannabis sativa, commonly known as cannabis, is a plant with a long history of use both recreationally and medicinally. its psychoactive properties, primarily attributed to tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) and cannabidiol (cbd), have been the focus of extensive research.cannabis sativa, a widely used psychoactive substance, has garnered increasing attention in recent years for its diverse physiological and psychological effects. while its potential therapeutic benefits are being explored, the effect of cannabis on behaviour and oral health remains a complex and nuanced area of study. this research focuses on two critical aspects: aggressive behaviour and dental health, using albino rats as a model. aggression is a multifaceted behaviour influenced by various factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental stimuli, and neurochemical processes. cannabis, primarily known for its psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (thc), interacts with the 364 endocannabinoid system, which plays a crucial role in regulating mood and behaviour. recent studies have shown that cannabis can have both calming and stimulating effects depending on dosage and individual differences (el-alfy et al., 2022). in animal models, including rodents, the effects of cannabis on aggression have yielded mixed results. some studies suggest that low to moderate doses of cannabis may reduce aggressive behaviour by modulating serotonin and dopamine pathways (liu et al., 2023). conversely, higher doses have been associated with increased aggression, potentially due to overstimulation of the cannabinoid receptors or alterations in neural circuitry (martinez & kogan, 2023). these findings highlight the need to further investigate how varying dosages of cannabis affect aggression to better understand the potential therapeutic and adverse effects. dental health is a critical aspect of overall well-being, and recent research has started to uncover the effects of cannabis on oral tissues. cannabis use has been linked to both beneficial and detrimental effects on dental health. on one hand, some studies have suggested potential anti-inflammatory benefits of cannabinoids, which could theoretically aid in managing oral health conditions (green & johnson, 2023). on the other hand, there is growing concern about the negative effectss of cannabis on dental health, including increased plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and periodontal disease (green & johnson, 2023; martinez & kogan, 2023). the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully understood, but they may involve changes in saliva production, alterations in oral microbiota, and direct effects on gingival tissues. given the increasing use of cannabis, particularly among adolescents and young adults, understanding its effects on dental health is essential for developing effective oral health strategies and interventions. despite the widespread use of cannabis, the comprehensive effects on various physiological and behavioural aspects remains inadequately understood. two critical areas of concern are its effects on aggressive behaviour and dental health, which have not been thoroughly explored in preclinical models. aggressive behaviour, a significant factor in mental health and social interactions, is influenced by multiple neurobiological and environmental factors. the endocannabinoid system, which interacts with cannabinoids, plays a pivotal role in regulating mood and behaviour. research on cannabis's effects on aggression has produced mixed results. some studies suggest that cannabinoids can modulate aggressive behaviour by affecting neurotransmitter systems involved in mood regulation, such as serotonin and dopamine (el-alfy et al., 2022; liu et al., 2023). conversely, other research indicates that higher doses of cannabis may exacerbate aggression, potentially due to overstimulation of cannabinoid receptors or disruptions in neural pathways (martinez & kogan, 2023). this discrepancy underscores the need for further investigation into how varying dosages of cannabis influence aggressive behaviour, particularly in controlled experimental settings. cannabis use has also been linked to various oral health issues, but the relationship remains poorly characterized. on one hand, some studies suggest potential therapeutic benefits, such as anti-inflammatory effects, which could theoretically be beneficial for oral health (green & johnson, 2023). on the other hand, evidence points to adverse effects, including increased plaque accumulation, gingival inflammation, and periodontal disease (martinez & kogan, 2023). the mechanisms behind these effects are not well understood but may involve alterations in saliva production, changes in oral microbiota, and direct effectss on gingival tissues. given the rising prevalence of cannabis use, particularly among younger populations, 365 understanding its effects on dental health is crucial for developing effective preventive and therapeutic strategies. despite these insights, there is a significant gap in understanding the dose-dependent effects of cannabis on both aggressive behaviour and dental health. while existing studies provide valuable information, they often lack consistency and fail to address the interplay between different dosages and their comprehensive effects on both behavioural and physiological outcomes. this study aims to fill this gap by systematically examining the effects of varying cannabis dosages on aggressive behaviour and dental health using albino rats as a model. this study aims to elucidate the effects of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health using albino rats, a commonly employed model in behavioural and physiological research. by administering varying dosages of cannabis (10 mg, 20 mg, and 50 mg) and comparing these with a placebo group, we seek to determine how different levels of cannabis influence aggression and oral health parameters. this research will provide valuable insights into the dose-dependent effects of cannabis and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of its effects on behavioural and dental health outcomes. the following hypotheses were tested: h1: albino rats exposed to higher cannabis doses would show more aggression and more severe dental health deterioration than albino rats exposed to low doses of cannabis and normal saline. h2: male albino rats exposed to cannabis would show more aggression than female albino rats exposed to cannabis. h3:there would be no significant difference in dental health deterioration between male and female albino rats exposed to high doses of cannabis compared to dose exposed to lower doses and normal saline. method research design this research assessed the effects of varying doses of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health in albino rats adopted an independent group randomized research design. the independent variables were 10mg, 20mg, 50mg cannabis and normal saline used as placebo. subjects the subjects were 80 albino rats (40 males and 40 females), divided into 4 experimental groups as follows: group 1: 10 mg cannabis group 2: 20 mg cannabis group 3: 50 mg cannabis group 4: placebo the albino rats numbering 80 were obtained ensuring they were of similar age and weight to control for developmental differences. the rats were between 8 to 10 weeks old at the start of the experiment weighing approximately 200-250 grams. they were brought into the animal laboratory of psychology department, federal university oye-ekiti and allowed to acclimatize in the laboratory environment for at least two weeks before the commencement of 366 the experiment. this is to maintain a controlled environment (temperature, humidity, and light/dark cycle). materials used the following materials and instruments were used for this study: 1. experimental rat cages: rat cages are designed to facilitate animal welfare, meet research requirements and minimize experimental variations. rb3 cages and were used to house the rats while breeding cages were used for aggressive test observations. 2.nose/face mask: medical face mask is a personal protective equipment worn during the experiments to prevent airborne transmission of infections. 3.distilled water/saline: used for administration to the control group. 4.recording sheets: standard recording sheets for recording the results obtained from the study. 5.cannabis: the rats administered 10mg, 20mg and 50mg per/kg body weight of of the rats. 6.stopwatch: used to measure time intervals allowed the rats during observation for aggressive behaviour. 7. oral cannula: used for oral administration of the drug and saline. 10.electronic balance: used for weighing the rats daily. 8. .measuring cylinders: used for measuring adequate volumes of the drugs and saline. procedure dosage administration: cannabis was prepared and diluted to the required doses of 10 mg, 20 mg, and 50 mg in saline solution to ensure accurate dosing. administration: the rats were weighed daily before administration of cannabis to ensure the right weight and dose of administration to the rats. oral cannula was used to administer the drugs to the rats. a consistent administration time and methods was adopted for all the rats as follows; group 1: administer 10 mg cannabis per kg body weight. group 2: administer 20 mg cannabis per kg body weight. group 3: administer 50 mg cannabis per kg body weight. group 4: administer normal saline as placebo (same volume/solvent as cannabis groups). this was done once daily for a period of 4 weeks. baseline assessment behavioural testing: before starting cannabis administration, baseline aggressive behaviour using the resident-intruder test (rit) was established. record the number of aggressive interactions (bites, attacks, threats) in a 10-minute session was recorded. dental health evaluation: also a baseline dental examination on all rats, noting enamel condition, gum health, and any pre-existing dental issues was performed. cannabis and saline (placebo) administration administer the respective doses (10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg) or saline were administered to each group daily through oral cannula. consistency by dosing the rats at the same time each day was ensured. 367 behavioural testing during treatment resident-intruder test (rit): the rit was conducted once weekly during the 4-week treatment period to monitor changes in aggression. a neutral rat (not part of the experiment) was used as the "intruder" for consistency. the total number of aggressive behaviours (e.g., latency to first attack, total attacks, and threats) were recorded. dental health monitoring weekly dental examinations: dental check-ups at the end of each week to assess changes in enamel integrity, gum health, and the development of dental caries or erosion was performed. the modified community periodontal index (cpi) was utilize as a standardized dental scoring system to quantify the severity of dental issues. post-treatment assessment final behavioural test: a final rit was conducted at the end of the 4-week treatment period. final dental examination: perform a comprehensive dental examination to evaluate the cumulative effects of cannabis on oral health was also conducted. data analysis behavioural data: an anova to compare aggression levels between the four groups and within each gender was conducted. post-hoc tests was used for pairwise comparisons. dental health data: repeated measures anova to assess changes in dental health over time, comparing across groups and between genders was used. placebo comparison: conduct a specific analysis comparing each cannabis dose group to the placebo group to isolate the effects of cannabis. gender differences: a two-way anova to explore the interaction between gender and cannabis dose on aggression and dental health outcomes was used. ethical considerations all procedures adhered to ethical guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals. pain and distress was minimized, with appropriate handling techniques and anesthesia used for dental examinations were necessary. rats showing severe distress or significant health issues were humanely euthanized according to ethical protocols. results the study consisted of 80 albino rats, evenly distributed between males (n = 40) and females (n = 40). the rats were further divided into four experimental groups based on cannabis dosage: 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and a placebo group, each containing 10 males and 10 females. hypothesis testing h1: albino rats exposed to higher cannabis doses will show more aggression and more severe dental health deterioration than albino rats exposed to low doses of cannabis and normal saline. 368 table 1. anova table showing exposure of albino rats to different doses of cannabis on aggressive behaviour. source ss df ms f p-value between groups 148.92 3 49.64 72.85 < 0.001 within groups 52.48 76 0.69 total 201.40 79 table 2. post-hoc tukey hsd test showing mean differences for aggressive behaviour comparison mean difference p-value 10 mg/kg vs. placebo 1.30 < 0.01 20 mg/kg vs. placebo 3.20 < 0.001 50 mg/kg vs. placebo 4.90 < 0.001 20 mg/kg vs. 10 mg/kg 1.90 < 0.01 50 mg/kg vs. 10 mg/kg 3.60 < 0.001 50 mg/kg vs. 20 mg/kg 1.70 < 0.01 table 3. anova table showing exposure of albino rats to different doses of cannabis on dental health source ss df ms f p-value between groups 196.32 3 65.44 88.72 < 0.001 within groups 56.04 76 0.74 total 252.36 79 369 table 4. post-hoc tukey hsd test showing mean differences for dental health comparison mean difference p-value 10 mg/kg vs. placebo -1.50 < 0.01 20 mg/kg vs. placebo -3.00 < 0.001 50 mg/kg vs. placebo -5.30 < 0.001 20 mg/kg vs. 10 mg/kg -1.50 < 0.01 50 mg/kg vs. 10 mg/kg -3.80 < 0.001 50 mg/kg vs. 20 mg/kg -2.30 < 0.01 the anova results for both aggressive behaviour and dental health reveal significant differences between the groups (p < 0.001). the post-hoc tukey hsd test further confirms that higher cannabis doses lead to increased aggression and more severe dental health deterioration. the 50 mg/kg group showed the most significant increase in aggression and dental health issues compared to the placebo and lower-dose groups, supporting hypothesis 1. h2: male albino rats exposed to cannabis will show more aggression than female albino rats exposed to cannabis. table 5. two-way anova table showing exposure of albino rats to different doses of cannabis on aggressive behaviour. source ss df ms f p-value cannabis dose 148.92 3 49.64 72.85 < 0.001 gender 8.32 1 8.32 12.06 < 0.01 dose × gender 1.36 3 0.45 0.65 0.587 total 201.40 79 the two-way anova shows a significant main effect of gender on aggressive behaviour (p < 0.01), with males displaying more aggression than females. however, there is no significant interaction between cannabis dose and gender (p = 0.587), suggesting that the effect of cannabis on aggression is consistent across genders. these findings partially support hypothesis 2. h3: there will be no significant difference in dental health deterioration between male and female albino rats exposed to high doses of cannabis compared to those exposed to lower doses and normal saline. 370 table 6. two-way anova table showing exposure of albino rats to different doses of cannabis on dental health source ss df ms f p-value cannabis dose 196.32 3 65.44 88.72 < 0.001 gender 0.92 1 0.92 1.25 0.268 dose × gender 0.74 3 0.25 0.34 0.798 total 252.36 79 the two-way anova results indicate that while there is a significant effect of cannabis dose on dental health (p < 0.001), gender does not have a significant effects (p = 0.268). additionally, the interaction between dose and gender is not significant (p = 0.798), suggesting that dental health deterioration due to cannabis exposure is similar for both males and females. therefore, hypothesis 3 is supported. discussion the study investigated the effects of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health using an animal model, revealing significant outcomes that contribute to the ongoing discourse on cannabis use and its physiological and behavioural effects. the findings indicate a clear dose-dependent relationship between cannabis administration and aggression in the animal model. higher doses of cannabis, particularly at 50 mg/kg, were associated with a marked increase in aggressive behaviours compared to both placebo and lower-dose groups. this supports the hypothesis that increased cannabis dosage can exacerbate aggressive tendencies, likely due to the interaction of thc with the brain's endocannabinoid system, which regulates mood and social behaviours. these results align with previous research that has identified a similar trend in which elevated thc levels lead to heightened aggression in animal studies (norris et al., 2023). this effect may be attributed to thc's influence on neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which are known to affect aggression and emotional regulation (volkow et al., 2021). the study also uncovered significant deterioration in dental health associated with higher cannabis doses. the animals in the 50 mg/kg group showed the most severe dental issues, including increased plaque buildup, gum inflammation, and tooth decay. these outcomes can be linked to cannabis-induced xerostomia (dry mouth), which reduces saliva production and compromises the natural protective mechanisms of the oral cavity (singh et al., 2022). the findings corroborate recent studies suggesting that chronic cannabis use poses a risk to oral health, particularly at higher doses where the effects on salivary glands and oral microbiota are more pronounced (hosseini et al., 2023). the implications of these findings are significant for both clinical and public health perspectives. as cannabis becomes increasingly accepted for medicinal and recreational use, understanding its potential side effects, particularly at higher doses, is crucial. the study’s results suggest that while cannabis may offer therapeutic benefits, its use should be carefully monitored, especially in considerations in both therapeutic and recreational contexts. 371 the two-way anova analysis indicates a significant main effect of gender on aggressive behaviour, with males exhibiting higher levels of aggression compared to females (p < 0.01). this finding is consistent with a substantial body of research that has documented gender differences in aggression, often attributed to both biological and environmental factors. the observed gender disparity in aggression may be partly explained by hormonal differences, particularly the influence of androgens such as testosterone, which are more prevalent in males and have been linked to increased aggression (archer, 2019). research has shown that higher levels of testosterone can enhance aggressive behaviour by modulating neural circuits involved in threat response and social dominance (eisenegger et al., 2021). additionally, males generally have a greater propensity for physical aggression, a trend that has been observed across various species, including humans and rodents (oliveira et al., 2022). the interaction between cannabis use and gender-specific aggression is an emerging area of interest. some studies suggest that cannabis may modulate aggression differently in males and females due to variations in endocannabinoid system functioning (cooper & craft, 2018). for instance, males might be more susceptible to the aggression-enhancing effects of thc, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, potentially due to differences in cannabinoid receptor density or sensitivity (rubino & parolaro, 2020). however, further research is needed to clarify these mechanisms and understand how they contribute to the observed gender differences. these findings highlight the importance of considering gender as a critical variable in studies of aggression, particularly in the context of substance use. the significant main effect of gender on aggression suggests that interventions aimed at reducing aggression may need to be tailored differently for males and females. moreover, understanding the biological and psychological underpinnings of these gender differences can inform more effective treatment strategies for managing aggression in clinical and forensic settings. the results of the two-way anova highlight a significant main effect of cannabis dose on dental health, with a p-value of less than 0.001, indicating that higher doses of cannabis lead to more severe dental health deterioration. however, gender does not appear to significantly influence dental health outcomes, as evidenced by a p-value of 0.268. furthermore, the lack of a significant interaction between cannabis dose and gender (p = 0.798) suggests that the adverse effects of cannabis on dental health are consistent across both males and females. the significant effect of cannabis dose on dental health corroborates recent findings in the literature that link higher cannabis consumption with increased dental issues. cannabis use, particularly at higher doses, has been associated with xerostomia (dry mouth), a condition that reduces saliva production and leads to a higher risk of tooth decay, periodontal disease, and other oral health problems (shapiro et al., 2022). saliva plays a crucial role in maintaining oral health by neutralizing acids and washing away food particles; thus, its reduction due to cannabis use can have deleterious effects (hosseini et al., 2023). interestingly, the results indicate that gender does not have a significant effect on dental health in the context of cannabis exposure. this finding aligns with some recent studies suggesting that while there are gender differences in many physiological responses to cannabis, the effects on oral health may not differ significantly between males and females. for instance, singh et al. (2022) reported no substantial gender differences in the prevalence of cannabis-related oral health problems, supporting the notion that the mechanisms underlying cannabis-induced dental health issues are similar across genders. the absence of a significant interaction between cannabis dose and gender further reinforces the idea that the deterioration in dental health due to cannabis exposure is independent of 372 gender. this consistency suggests that the factors leading to dental health deterioration, such as reduced salivary flow and changes in oral hygiene practices, affect males and females similarly when exposed to varying doses of cannabis (madani et al., 2020). this finding is particularly relevant for public health initiatives and clinical practices, as it implies that prevention and treatment strategies for cannabis-related dental health issues can be uniformly applied across genders. these findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how cannabis use affects dental health, emphasizing the dose-dependent nature of these effects while challenging the assumption of significant gender differences. this insight could be valuable for developing targeted interventions aimed at mitigating the oral health risks associated with cannabis use, particularly in populations with high consumption rates. conclusion this study sheds light on the significant effects of cannabis on aggressive behaviour and dental health using an animal model. the findings demonstrate a dose-dependent relationship, where higher doses of cannabis are linked to increased aggression and more pronounced dental health problems. specifically, animals exposed to elevated doses showed greater levels of aggression and experienced more severe dental issues, such as excessive plaque buildup and gum inflammation. although cannabis dose had a notable effects on both aggression and dental health, gender differences were observed only in aggressive behaviour, with males exhibiting more aggression than females. however, gender did not significantly influence dental health, and there was no significant interaction between cannabis dose and gender for either outcome, suggesting that the negative effects of cannabis on dental health are consistent across genders. recommendations 1. further research on dose-dependent effects: continued research is necessary to further investigate the dose-dependent effects of cannabis, particularly focusing on the long-term consequences of chronic use. understanding the biological mechanisms, including the role of the endocannabinoid system in aggression and dental health, could provide valuable insights into how cannabis exerts its influence. 2. gender-specific behavioural interventions: given the observed gender differences in aggressive behaviour, it is important to develop gender-specific strategies for managing aggression in situations where cannabis use is prevalent. these could include targeted behavioural therapies or pharmacological treatments that take into account the different responses of males and females to cannabis. 3. oral health monitoring and education: public health efforts should highlight the importance of regular oral health monitoring for cannabis users, especially those using higher doses. educational programs could be created to inform users about the potential dental risks associated with cannabis use and to promote better oral hygiene practices as a preventive measure. 4. regulation and public health policy: the findings of this study should inform the development of cannabis-related regulations and public health guidelines. it is crucial to ensure that users are aware of the potential behavioural and health risks associated with high-dose cannabis use. policies should also support further research into safer cannabis consumption practices and the creation of harm reduction strategies. 373 5. clinical implications: healthcare providers should be mindful of the potential risks to both behaviour and dental health in patients who use cannabis, particularly at higher doses. comprehensive care should include regular oral health assessments and screenings for aggression, especially for patients using cannabis for medicinal purposes. references archer, j. 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(2021). adverse health effects of marijuana use. new england journal of medicine, 370(23), 2219-2227. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra1402309 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 251 tomophobia and professionalism among nurses in public health institutions in anambra state: a study of chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital godwin chekwubechukwu obidigbo ifenna d. ezeanya department of psychology nnamdi azikiwe university, awka abstract this paper investigates the impact of tomophobia on professionalism among nurses in public health institutions using chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state as focus. a cross-sectional survey method was adopted for data gathering and supplemented by qualitative data, which was generated through review of literature. from a population of 185 the research sampled all the 130 nurses present during the 4 days field work for data gathering. spss version 20.0 tools were used for data analysis. the results of analysis reveal the prevalence of compassion fatigue and burnout, indifference to patients care, retarding zeal for work and apprehension, and retardıng interest for knowledge and more professional skills acquisition among the nurses due to tomophobic experiences. these tend to undermine general healthcare and successful surgeries. among others, the paper recommends the employment of professional counsellors to address the rising tide of tomophobia, and quick adminıstrative response to nurses demands for the review of their conditions of service. keywords: anambra state, nurses, professionalism, public healthcare, tomophobia introduction nursing as a profession seeks to ensure the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations (american nurses association. 2010). consequently, the profession seeks a standard of education and self-development: professional organizations; commitment; autonomy: continuing education, body of knowledge and competencies; social value: and a code of ethics that ensures the fulfilment of its purpose (ten hoeve, et al. 2014: ghadrian, et al. 2014: 1lisar & karada, 2010; oweis, 2005). their acquisition, and the obligation of trained nurses to these requirements in the course of discharging their responsibilities and nurses role behaviours, which arc viewed as professionalism (jakovijevic & ostojic. 2013), structure or define the effectiveness and achievement of healthcare institutions and nurses in general (cruess, et al. 2000: swisher, et al. 2004). professionalism as used here refers to the conscious application of the principles of excellency, humanism, accountability and altruism that based on admirable clinical competence, interpersonal relationships, effective communication skills and ethical standards (amir, et al. 2020). professionalism guarantees nurses commitment to compassionate ethical and insightful practices, continual development, accountability, and demonstration of a spirit of collaboration and flexibility in the discharge of their duties (hwang, et al. 2009). professionalism among nurses demands behaviours that produce high quality care, patient satisfaction, and trust on nurses, healthy teamwork, and compliance to treatment plans (amir, 252 et al. 2020; mueller, 2015). such behaviours include caring, communication skills, empathy, attention to detail, problem solving skills, sense of humour, and commitment to patient advocacy, willingness to learn ethical thinking, and good leadership. these tends to generate incredible nursing performance, personal and professional autonomy, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, empowerment and ability to reflect on practice in better levels of education and training, active participation in research activities” (amir, et al. 2020) and positive motivation among nurses. professionalism provides guidance for nurses to self-regulate themselves, adhere to social and ethical values maintain high ethical standards and commitment to career development. however, fantahun et al, (2014) and yonatan et al, (2015) noted that character of membership nature of communication, changes in nursing practice lack of autonomy, lack of leadership skills health care risks, emotional load among other factors tend to puncture nurses profession practices and their efficaciousness regardless of the availability of performance enhancing factors noted above. among the anti-professional factors, woldegerima et al, (2018), braam et al (2019), and dagona & uduak (2019) identified anxiety and depression caused by risk of infection, poor and lack of medical equipment, and personal protective instruments (bradt et al, 2013; bausal & joon, 2018) among other as fundamental factors. anxiety is an emotion chanracterized by a feeling of uneasiness and fear without specific object and worry. it is an overreaction to a situation that is subjectively seen as menacing that may lead to symptomatic tension and apprehension, muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue, inability to catch one's breath, and problems of concentration (barlow, 2010). although anxiety and fear act as a safeguard to keeping people alert and away from ignoring danger, drives and enhances physical and intellectual performances (bradt et al. 2013; janis, 2009, smith. 2008), it causes people in this case nurses) to withdraw from situations provoking it (saini & dayal, 2016: gonçalves et al. 2019) thus, tomophobia among nurses could lead to withdrawal from less commitment to and manifestation of antiprofessional behaviours among nurses. this phenomenon has received little or no attention in the literature as most studies focused on the causes and impact of tomophobia on patients and surgical outcomes, and remedies while neglecting the prevalence and consequences of such for professionalism among nurses. no available and/or accessible study examined this in nigeria generally and anambra state in particular. this study attempts to fill this lacuna using chief chukwuemcka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku. anambra slate as case study. thus, the purposes of this study are: 1. to determine whether nurses working at chief chukwuemeka odumcgwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state exhibit high-level of professionalism: 2. to determine whether significant level of tomophobia exist among nurses working at chief chkwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state; 3. to evaluate the level of relationship that exists between the level of tonophobia and professionalism among nurses working at chie! chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state. the relevance of this study is located in its potency to assist or provide useful guide to different groups and professionals in the healthcare industry such as doctors, patients, and their relatives on how to handle anti-professional behaviours of nurses arising from tomophobic experiences. it shall also enable stakeholders in the medicare to evolve policies, programmes, and projects 253 that will alleviate tomophobia among nurses. this will reduce tomophobia among nurses there from enhance their professional services. theoretically, the study is relevant to the extent that it tests different postulations as evident in the literature concerning the negative effect of tomophobia on nurses' professionalism. thus, its findings complement existing literature, and therefore, serve as source of data for further research in the field to researchers. in addition, it contributes to knowledge by making people realize that poor remuneration, pressure of work. pseudo education etc. are not the only encumbrances to standard nurses' professional behaviours. consequently, the study provides a framework through which nurses' poor performance can be explored. equally, the study will guide future researchers in the area especially the aspects that affects thinking, emotion, and perception of nurses working in healthcare institutions. methods this study adopts institution based cross-sectional study design wherein data was collected from nurses working at chief chukwuemcka odunegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, awka anambra state and supplemented by qualitative data. the data were collected over a period of 4 days from august 21 24. 2023. the population of study consists of all nurses employed and currently serving in the hospital, which personnel unit records of the hospital holds as 185 from this population, the study sampled 130 nurses from all the sectors or departments in the hospital who were on active duty in the study setting that fulfilled the inclusion criteria such criteria include more than six month employment in the hospital at the time of the study, 18 years of age, availability and free will to participate, absence of mental impairment and professional certification. data was generated from the participants/sample using researchers' constructed and pre-tested likert s-point scale constructed version of questionnaires, which had 4 parts, namely: particıpants socio-demographics, measurement of the level of professionalism among nurses, level of tomophobia among nurses, and the impact of tomophobia on the professional practice of nurses in the hospital the questionnaire is structured alone a likert scale of strongly agree (5), agree (4), no opinion 3), disagree (2), and strongly disagree (1). to test the validity and reliability of the instrument, the questionnaire was pretested on nurses in general hospital onitsha before the actual data collection and the cronbah alpha result was 0.97%. the consent of the hospital authorities and participants dually obtained after explaining the aim and objectives of the study, the admınistration of the questionnaires began at chief chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku with the assistance office student nurses alter a brief workshop to familiarize them on the data collection procedure. the data generated was checked for completeness, edited, and entered into epidata version 3.1 before it was exported to spss version 21.00 for analysis. results from the total 130 sample size or participants, 88 (67.7%) were female while 42 (32.3%) were male. with regards to educational qualification, 80 (61.5%) are holders of b.sc. nursing certificates, 45 (34.6%) hold diploma while 5 (3.9%) are holders of m.sc. in nursing science. they have acquired working experiences ranging from 12months 5years (21.3%), 6 10years (32.8%). 1|-15 years (18.5%). 16-20years (1 1.7%). and 21 years and above (15.7%). martially, 84 participants (64.6%) are married while 46 others are single. research question i: do nurses exhibit high level of professionalism in their practices at chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital anmaku, anambra state? 254 the spss analysis of the data generated reveals the followings: table 1: results of spss analyses of responses to questions on level of professionalism s/n research questions grand mean standard deviation standard d error tests of between subjects effects sig. pairwise comparisons 1 as a nurse, you recognize personal capabilities, knowledge base and areas for development in your career 4.31 .205 .103 132.466 .000 & .002 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 2 you always engage in critical thinking about ethical issues in nursing professional practice 4.31 .205 .103 132.466 .000 & .002 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 3 you have been open minded and having the desire to explore new knowledge 4.01 .239 .241 240.296 .000 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 4 you always showcase initiative for new ideas and involved in taking actions to implemets those ideas 4.14 .918 .056 222.652 .262 & .000 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 5 you have received official query before based on your professional conduct or because of your approach to duties 1.32 .005 .416 11.544 .003 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments source: spss analysis of responses to questions 255 table one above reveals that a majority of the 130 participants recognize their personal capabilities, knowledge base and areas for development in your career. spss analysis of their responses to question 1, which sought to find out if the recognize personal capabilities, knowledge base and areas for development in your career reveals grand mean of 4.31 with a standard deviation and error of.205 & 103. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of 000 &002, whereas the mean difference should be significant at level. the pairwise compares carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment thus, the ground mean of 4.31, which represents preferred in our likert scale measure, was accepted. similar results were obtained from the analysis of responses to question 2 which sought to find out if the nurses engage in critical thinking about ethical issues in the nursing professional practice. consequently, majority of the 130 participants engage in critical thinking about ethical issues in the nursing professional practice further, the spss analysis of responses to questions which sought to find out if the nurses have been open-minded and exhibit the desire to explore new knowledge reveals a grand mean of 4.01 with a standard deviation the 239 and error of .241. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of 000 whereas the mean difference should be significant at 05levcls. the pairwise comparison carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment thus, the ground mean of 4.01, which represents agreed in our likert scale measure, was accepted and implies that nurses working in the study area have being open-minded and exhibit the desire to explore new knowledge. the spss analysis of participants responses to question reveals grand means of 4.14 with a standard deviation of 918 whose 262 & .000 level of differences are insignificant when compared with .05 standard level of significance. their pairwise comparisons equally reveal no adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.14 representing agree in our likert scale measure was accepted. this implies that majority of the participants always showcase initiative for new ideas and involved in taking actions to implement those ideas. the analysis of responses to question 5 reveals grand means of 1.32 with a standard deviation of .005 whose .002 level of differences is insignificant when compared with .05 standard level of significance. the pairwise comparisons reveals no adjustment to the mean. thus, the grand mean of 1.32 representing 'strongly disagree' in our likert scale measure was accepted. this implies that majority of the participants have not received official query before based on their professional conduct or because of their approach to duties. research question 2: do nurses working at chief chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku anambra state experience significant, level of tomophobia? the spss analysis of the data generated reveals the followings: 256 table 2: results of spss analyses of responses to questions on level of tomophobia s/n research questions grand mean standard deviation standard d error tests of between subjects effects sig. pairwise comparisons 1 you experiences fear and anxiety any tine the hospital books surgery for any of your relatives or your patient 4.43 .234 .202 108.336 .000 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 2 you prefer alternative medical treatment in surgery cases most of the time. 4.14 .112 .443 107.421 .004 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 3 you experience fever tension and apprehension each time you have a duty schedule for surgical operation in your hospital 4.21 .239 .241 322.197 .000 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 4 as a patient you dread surgery and prefer normal treatment during health challenges 4.14 .112 .443 107.421 .004 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments source. spss analysis of responses to questions in table two above, the spss analysis of responses to question 1, which sought to find out if the participants experience fear and anxiety any time the hospital books surgery for any of their relatives or patients reveals grand mean of 4.43 with a standard deviation and error of.234 & 202. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of 000, whereas the mean difference should be significant at .03levels. the pairwise comparism carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.43, which represents agreed' in our likert scale measure, was accepted. this implies that majority of the participants experience fear and anxiety any time the hospital books surgery for any of their relatives or patients. further, the spss analysis of responses to questions 2 which sought to find out if the nurses prefer alternative medical treatment in surgery cases most of the time reveals a grand mean of 4.14 with a standard deviation of i12 and error of 443. the tests of between-subjects e1tects reveals a significant mean difference of.004 whereas the mean difference should be significant at .05 levels. the pairwise comparism carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment thus, the grand mean of 4.14, which represents agreed' in our likert scale measure was accepted and implies that majority of the nurses prefer alternative medical treatment in surgery cases most of the time. 257 in addition, the spss analysis of responses to question 3 reveals grand means of 4.21 with a standard deviation of 239 whose.000 levels of difference is insignificant when compared with 05 standard level of significance. their pairwise comparisons equally reveal no adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.2 l representing "agree in our likert scale measure was accepted. this implies that majority of the participants experience fever, tension and apprehension each time they have a duty schedule for surgical operation in the hospital. equally, the analysis of responses to questions 4, which ought to find out if the participants dread surgery and prefer normal treatment during health challenges, reveals a grand mean of 4.14 with a standard deviation of .112 and error of 443. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of .004 whereas the mean difference should be significant al .05levcls. the pairwise comparison carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.14, which represent 'agreed' in our likert scale measure, was accepted and implies that majority of the nurses dread surgery and prefer normal treatment during health challenges. research question 3: is there a significant relationship between the level of tomophobia among nurses working at chief chukwuemcka odunegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state and the level of professionalism among them? the spss analysis of the data generated reveals the followings: table 3: results of spss analyses of responses to questions on tomophobia influence on professionalism s/n research questions grand mean standard deviation standard d error tests of between subjects effects sig. pairwise comparisons 1 you experience compassion fatigue and burnout and tend to avoid attention or care required by surgical patients most of the times 4.11 .122 .563 278.126 .002 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 2 surgical patients have complained indifference or lack of care against you to the authorities 4.31 .205 .103 132.466 .000 & .022 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments 3 anxiety, fear, and 4.21 .239 .241 240.296 .000 @ 95% confidence 258 apprehension due to surgical experiences tend reduce your professional zeal and commitment as a nurse interval, no adjustments 4 you have interest to advance your knowledge and acquire more professional & leadership skills in the field of surgery 1.32 .005 .416 112.544 .003 @ 95% confidence interval, no adjustments source spss analysis of responses to questions in table three above, the spss analysis of responses to question 1, which sought to, find out if experience compassion fatigue and burnout and tend to avoid attention or care required by surgical patients most of the times reveals grand mean of 4.11 with a standard deviation and error of 122 & .563. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of .002, whereas the mean difference should be significant at .05levels. the pairwise comparison carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.|1, which represents 'agreed' in our likert scale measure, was accepted. this implies that the nurses experience compassion fatigue and burnout and tend to avoid attention or care required by surgical patients most of the times. further, the spss analysis of responses to questions 2, which sought to find out if the nurses prefer alternative medical treatment in surgery cases most of the time reveals a grand mean of 4.31 with a standard deviation of 205 and error of 103. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of 000 & 002 whereas the mean difference should be significant at .0slevels. the pairwise comparison carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significances reveals no adjustment thus, the grand mean of 4.31, which represents ‘agreed' in our likert scale measure was accepted and implies that surgical patients hate complained of indifference or lack of care against mar majority the nurses to the authorities. in addition, the spss analysis of response to question i reveals grand means of 4.21 with a standard deviation of 239 whose 900 level of difference is insignificant when compared with 05 standard level of signıficance their pairwise comparisons equally reveal adjustment. thus, the grand mean of 4.21 representing agree' in our likert scale measure was accepted. this implies that anxiety, fear, and apprehension due to surgical experiences tend to reduce the professional zeal and commitment of majority of the participants as a nurse. 259 equally the analysis of responses to question 4, which sought to find out if the participants have interest to advance their knowledge and acquire more professional and leadership skills in the field of surgery, reveal a grand mean of 1.32 with a standard deviation of .005 and error of .416. the tests of between-subjects effects reveals a significant mean difference of .003 whereas the mean difference should be significant at .05levels. the pairwise comparism carried out to determine the level of adjustment due to level of significance reveals no adjustment. thus the grand mean of 1.32, which represents 'strongly disagreed' in our likert scale measure, was accepted and implies that majority of the nurses do not have interest to advance their knowledge and acquire more professional & leadership skills in the field of surgery. discussion the findings of the present study indicate that majority of nurses engage in critical thinking about ethical issues, exhibit open-minded behaviour and the desire to explore new knowledge in the field, showcase initiative for new ideas and participate in the process of their implementation, and have not received official query. these imply that high-level professionalism exists among nurses working at chief chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital, amaku, anambra state. it observes also that majority of the nurses experience fear and anxiety any time their relatives or patients have surgery case: prefer to use alternative medical treatment in surgery cases most of the time; experience fever, tension and apprehension each time they have a duty schedule for surgical operation; and prefer normal treatment to surgery during health challenges. these are indices of tomophobia and they express high-level prevalence of the phenomenon among most of the nurses working in the hospital. this finding collaborates previous observations made by agama and kibiti (2018), mulugeta, et al. (2018), bisson (2017), homzová and zeleniková (2015) and vogelzangs, et al. (2010) to the effect that tomophobia causes health disorder and sicknesses in people therefore, reducing tomophobia through programmes such as relaxation therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, acupressure, and administration of antianxiety medication (teater, 2013; pritchard, 2009) is a viable treatment option for certain ailments or health disorder in people. further, the study observes that majority of the participants experience compassion fatigue and burnout avoid attention or care required by surgical patients most of the times experience retarding zeal for work due to anxiety and apprehension associated with surgical experiences; and do not have interest to advance their knowledge or acquire more professional & leadership kills in the field of surgery. these findings imply that tonmophobia tend to reduce or negatively influence professionalism among nurses working at chief chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukvu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state. this finding is at variance with previous studies by yilmaz et al (2011), pokharel, et al. (201l). jlala, et al. (2010), which identified the impact of tomophobia on patients' recovery and/or post-surgery. the present finding brings to the fore that tomophobia among nurses affects surgical outcomes and patients recoveries negatively. this requires the attention of professional counsellors, in-service training, workshops, and administrative responses to nurses' demands to address the cause of the phenomenon in conclusion, prolessionalism is the anchor of a successful nursing career and tends to define the activities of nurses working at chief chukwuenncka odumegwu ojukwu university teaching hospital amaku, anambra state. however, the prevalence of tomophobia among the nurses exerts negative influence on the effectiveness of professionalism on their career. the phenomenon generated compassion fatigue and burnout, indifference to patients' care, 260 retarding zeal for work and apprehension: and retarding interest for knowledge and more professional skills acquisition among the nurses. this has the potential to undermine general healthcare delivery and successful surgeries in the hospital. this study then recommends further investigation on the impact of retarding professional spirit among nurses on general healthcare delivery and surgical outcomes in the hospital. secondly. the hospital should employ the services of professional counsellors to address the rising tide of tomophobia among nurses. finally, quick administrative response is required to organize workshops/seminars on nurses. professionalism, and healthcare delivery with a focus on tomophobia and political will to review conditions of service for nurses in the hospital. references agama. t & kibiti, g. 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(2018). prevalence and factors associated with preoperative anxiety among elective surgical patients at university of gondar hospital. gondar, northwest ethiopia 2017. a cross-sectional study. international journal of surgery open, 10: 2129. yilmaz. m. sezer, h., gürler, h &bekar. m (2011) predictors of preoperative anxiety in surgical inpatients. journal of clinical nursing. 21:956 961 yonatan, s. jemal. b& tetefera, b (2015) professionalism and lts predictors among nurses working in jimma zone public hospitals. south west ethiopia journal of nursing cine treat page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 305 boardroom dynamics and firm performance in nigeria: a multivariate analysis sinebe, michael tonbraladoh department of accounting, delta state university, abraka michaelsinebe@gmail.com; mtsinebe@delsu.edu.ng orcid.org/0009-0002-1796-1839 . abstract this study investigated the relationships between boardroom dynamics and firm performance among non-financial nigerian firms using an ex-post facto research design and data from a sample of 58 firms over a ten-year period (2013-2022). the coefficients are estimated using a random effects gls regression model and utilizing stata 14 software. the regression analysis reveals that the overall model is significant at the 5% level (wald chi-squared = 13.85, p-value = 0.0166), though individual predictors, except for board independence, do not significantly impact firm performance as measured by tobin's q. specifically, board size, board meetings and board ownership show no significant effect on tobin’s q. however, board independence exhibited a significant negative impact on firm value, suggesting that higher board independence is associated with lower firm value. this study provides valuable insights for corporate governance practices in nigerian firms, emphasizing the need for a redefined approach to boardroom dynamics, consider industry-specific guidelines to determine the optimal mix of independent and executive directors and encouraging it to develop meeting agendas that focus on strategic issues and long-term planning. keywords: board size, board meeting, board ownership, corporate governance, tobin’s q. jel: m41, m48, o16 1.0 introduction in recent years, the dynamics within the boardroom have garnered significant attention from researchers and practitioners alike, as these dynamics are believed to have profound implications for firms’ performance. the board, as the highest governing body of a company, guides management and assumes ultimate accountability for the overall performance. it operates in a hierarchical relationship with shareholders and management, often leading to the division of ownership and corporate power. the board is conceptualized as a pivot in the boardshareholder and board-manager relationships, providing an incentive and a basis for governance procedures to limit agency conflict. the effectiveness of the board has been a product of the members of the board; their characteristics and qualities inter alia, including expertise, experience, diversity, networks, alliances, and independence (abubukar, et al. 2018). adewale, et al. (2020) suggested that the board is therefore expected to complement each other and work as an effective team so as to ensure efficient managerial supervision. sinebe (2020) and davies (2023) suggested that the management of firms are the implementer of the corporate strategic policies and is responsible to the board which ensures that the wealth of investors in the firm is maintained. haruna, et al. (2018) and jibrin, et al. (2023) noted that the board of directors is deemed imperative to an organization's performance, not only as an ultimate decision-making body in the organization, but also as a take-off platform of the trading vehicle. stakeholders may hold the board as a focal point to seek information and redress, particularly in the face of an adverse business decision (ilaboyo et al. 2015). mailto:michaelsinebe@gmail.com mailto:mtsinebe@delsu.edu.ng https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1796-1839?lang=en 306 globally, the impact of failures and collapses of several corporations, apparently consequent upon hazardous actions and failures in proper corporate governance, had made the international community, and especially in nigeria, redouble its efforts at ensuring good governance in corporations (bereprebofa et al. 2022; modozie et al. 2022). observably, much effort has been put into the need for boards to be more effective, more focused, and more responsible. one of such ways is through the deployment of an optimal board structure as suggested by researchers who have investigated the relationship between firm performance and board structures (okolo, et al. 2019). this research seeks to adopt a multivariate analytical approach in order to examine the combined effects of board size, board meetings, board independence, and board ownership on firm performance (using tobin’s q as a proxy for firm performance). 2.0 literature review 2.1 board size and firm performance corporate governance is a crucial issue, with conflicting perspectives on the appropriate board size. the agency theory suggests that a large membership board increases monitoring of the ceo, reducing potential conflicts of interest between the manager and shareholders. however, the theory of group dynamics suggests that larger boards may become bulky and unmanageable, making it difficult to obtain consensus on managerial measures and lowering governance effectiveness. excessive surveillance of the ceo can lead to delays in decisionmaking and negatively impact business performance. boards of directors are known to be the pivot of corporate governance structures. their size, in terms of the number of members, apart from being a concern for the cost of such membership and the adequacy of contribution of each member, is especially important as it can affect firm performance adversely (sinebe et al.2023). coleman et al. (2021) suggests that proponents of smaller boards argue that they are more effective due to enhanced communication and decision-making efficiency. gambo, et al. (2018) and kanene, et al. (2023) suggest that smaller board sizes are less prone to coordination problems and free-rider issues, which can impair the decision-making process. they contend that as board size increases, the ability of directors to engage in meaningful discussions and reach consensus diminishes, leading to less effective oversight and strategic guidance. notably, some empirical studies provide support for these arguments. sinebe et al. (2022) and alekiri, et al. (2023) finds a negative correlation between board size and firm performance, indicating that firms with smaller boards tend to perform better. sinebe, (2023a) study suggests that smaller boards are nimbler and more capable of making swift decisions, which can be advantageous in dynamic and competitive business environments. conversely, other scholars highlighted the benefits of larger boards, emphasizing the diversity of perspectives, expertise, and resources that they bring. eluyela, et al. (2018) in their study concluded that board size positively correlates with firm performance. they argue that larger boards are better equipped to provide comprehensive oversight and advice to management, as they can draw on a broader range of skills and experiences. ayeni-agbaje, et al. (2024) further elaborate on the advantages of larger boards in complex firms. they posit that firms operating in diverse and intricate environments benefit from having a larger board, as the varied expertise helps address multifaceted challenges and enhances strategic decision-making. this perspective aligns with the resource dependency theory, which suggests that boards with more members can better secure critical resources and support for the firm. several factors mediate the relationship between board size and firm performance, adding complexity to this area of study. for instance, the industry context, firm size, and the regulatory environment can influence how board size impacts performance. usman et al. (2023) find that 307 the optimal board size varies across industries, with more complex and regulated industries tending to favour larger boards. moreover, the internal dynamics of the board, such as the quality of communication and the level of trust among directors, can also affect how board size influences firm performance. aziekwe et al. (2024) emphasize the importance of board processes and interactions, suggesting that the effectiveness of a board is not solely determined by its size but also by how well its members collaborate and utilize their collective expertise. by analysing a comprehensive dataset across various industries and regions, we aim to provide a more detailed understanding of the conditions under which different board sizes enhance or impede firm performance with the aim to contribute to the ongoing discourse on corporate governance and offer actionable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. (ho1): there is no significant impact between board size on firm performance. 2.2 board meetings and firm performance the presence of independent non-executive directors on the board is another approach to maintaining proper supervision, regulatory control and task scheduling metrics. they are also important for influencing performance as firms with a larger percentage of independent directors are more likely to schedule the maximum frequency of meetings as required by nigerian regulations. the extent to which these variable influences firm operating performance is systematically assessed in subsequent sections of this study. okolo, et al. (2019) noted that a well-conducted board meeting gives way for sharing of ideas and focusing on organizational activities, including flexible responses to changing external conditions. indeed, board directors are generally in good positions to identify the need for changes and to encourage the introduction of new ways of doing things. jibrin,et al, (2023) posits that frequent board meetings are associated with better monitoring and improved firm performance. his study finds a positive relationship between the number of board meetings and firm value, suggesting that more frequent interactions allow directors to stay informed about the firm’s operations, address emerging issues promptly, and provide timely strategic input. hossain et al. (2022) argue that excessively frequent meetings can be indicative of underlying problems within the firm, such as financial distress or managerial inefficiencies. in such cases, frequent meetings may reflect a reactive rather than proactive approach to governance, with directors spending more time addressing crises than focusing on long-term strategy eluyela, et al, (2018). evidently, the quality of deliberations and the ability of the board to make informed decisions are essential for translating meeting frequency into positive outcomes. as such, boards that emphasize thorough preparation, constructive dialogue, and strategic focus are better positioned to enhance firm performance. garcía-ramos et al. (2020) and sinebe (2023b) posited that in larger firms, frequent meetings may be necessary to address the diverse and multifaceted challenges they face, while in smaller firms, fewer meetings might suffice due to simpler organizational structures. in some jurisdictions, regulations mandate a minimum number of board meetings, which can influence the frequency and potentially the effectiveness of these meetings. empirical studies provide mixed evidence on the relationship between board meeting frequency and firm performance. for instance, bereprebofa, et al. (2023) findings suggest that the relationship is contingent on the firm’s governance quality. in firms with strong governance, frequent board meetings are positively associated with performance, while in firms with weak governance, the relationship is either negative or insignificant. this suggests that the effectiveness of board meetings is heavily influenced by the broader governance context within which they occur. similarly, maniruzzaman et al. (2019) explored the impact of board meeting frequency in the context of financial performance and find that the benefits of frequent meetings are more pronounced in firms with higher growth opportunities and more complex operations. 308 (ho2): there is no significant impact between the frequency of board meetings on firm performance. 2.3 board independence and firm performance the concept of board independence has led to the suggestion that the board of directors should be constituted in such a way that the members should have no personal interest in the firm's management. the suggestion that boards should be conformed to improve monitoring has, however, given rise to the issue of how to constitute a board of directors to ensure effective monitoring. this debate has led to different board structures such as inside non-executive board, outside non-executive board, part-time non-executive board, full-time non-executive board, etc jibrin, et al, (2023). in contrast, stewardship theory by lipton et al. (1992) and chohan, (2021) suggests that managers, when given trust and authority, act in the best interests of the shareholders and the firm (abdullahi et al. (2021) and donaldson et al. (1991). however, even within stewardship theory, the presence of independent directors can provide valuable advice and resources, contributing to improved strategic decision-making. resource dependence theory by lipton et al, (1992) provides another angle, emphasizing the role of independent directors in providing access to essential resources and networks (mbate, 2023). independent directors can bring diverse expertise, external connections, and legitimacy to the firm, which can enhance its strategic positioning and performance. while there is substantial support for the positive role of independent directors in enhancing oversight and accountability, the empirical evidence is mixed, highlighting the importance of considering contextual and moderating factors. this study aims to build on the existing body of knowledge by adopting a multivariate approach, examining how board independence interacts with other boardroom dynamics and firm-specific factors to influence performance. (ho3): independent boards have no significant impact on firm performance. 2.4 board ownership and firm performance the board of directors plays a crucial role in a company's strategic direction and decisionmaking processes. usually, four conceptual issues under examination, when discussing board ownership, include access to information, independence, selection challenges in defining the board's composition for monitoring and advisory functions, and its function in strategic decision-making on significant topics. allam, 2018 noted that previous research on board composition and structure has primarily focused on the size of the board, including the number of executive directors, the proportion of non-executive directors, the amount of stock owned, and stock option remuneration. however, recent research has also emphasized directors' monitoring and intervening roles. according to agency theory, a significant portion of the company's shares owned or controlled by board members is believed to influence their actions for the benefit of shareholders. in large, publicly owned corporations, owners have significant authority by voting on various ownership issues, and board members, acting as representatives of the owners, have access to large resources and varied degrees of authority over some corporate decisions (sinebe, 2021). jensen et al., (1976) argue that when directors own a substantial portion of the firm's equity, their interests are more closely aligned with those of the shareholders. fama et al., (1983) noted that this alignment reduces agency costs, as directors are more incentivized to monitor management effectively and make decisions that enhance firm value. stewardship theory also supports the notion that higher board ownership can lead to better firm performance. according to this theory, directors who have significant ownership stakes view themselves as stewards of the firm and are more likely to act in the best interests of all shareholders (donaldson et al., 1991). 309 several studies support the positive impact of board ownership on firm performance. harymawan, et al., (2020) find that moderate levels of board ownership are associated with improved firm performance. their research indicates that ownership stakes provide strong incentives for directors to maximize firm value, leading to better financial outcomes. jibrin, et al., (2023) also find a positive relationship between board ownership and firm performance, measured by tobin's q. their study suggests that firms with higher board ownership exhibit better alignment of interests between directors and shareholders, resulting in enhanced performance. sinebe, et al., (2023) suggest that the effects of board ownership may vary across different industries, with certain sectors benefiting more from the alignment of interests provided by ownership stakes. similarly, the firm's size can influence the effectiveness of board ownership, with larger firms potentially requiring different governance mechanisms compared to smaller firms. (ho4): there is no significant impact between board ownership on firm performance. 2.5 theoretical frameworks in boardroom dynamics and firm performance corporate governance literature often defines boards of directors as diverse bodies with varying characteristics, such as size, size, demographics, independence, and structural qualities. these diversities make the board a reliable, trustworthy structure for monitoring and supervising managerial agents. in complex business organizations, the board of directors acts as the major nexus of the corporate governance system, acting as a monitor, adviser, or nexus of contracts. it may also be considered a partner. the board's ethical basis is derived from the rights of shareholders and the wider stakeholder community, with fiduciary responsibility, duty of care, and duty of loyalty. these duties are linked to the board's frame and conduct, ensuring its effectiveness in monitoring and supervising managerial agents. the stewardship theory by donaldson, et al., (1991) assumes that the principals (owners/shareholders and managers) have a more aligned interest or outlook, showing that individuals are eager to surpass what is expected of them and what would entail overly harming the organization. according to the theory, individuals will perform well, thereby enhancing their career outlook and organizational growth more than the predicted good organizational outcome. after all, directors and senior executives are also expected to earn a lot of returns on their investments in the organization (sinebe et al., 2023). chohan, (2021) emphasizes the adoption of specific monitoring and control mechanisms, such as having an independent board and the presence of institutional investors on boards, the stewardship theory assigns a more rigorous and aligned outlook. the agency theory framework assumes that managerial agents might cheat and be self-interested, leading to a need for pervasive monitoring and control mechanisms for efficiency and effectiveness. stewardship theory and agency theory are the dominant theoretical frameworks that guide studies into different aspects of management and corporate governance. both are complex theoretical frameworks with in-depth explanations based on shareholders' and managers' goals and achievements. 2.6 empirical reviews alekiri, et al., (2023) investigates the relationship between return on asset and board independence in nigerian companies listed on the nigerian exchange group. the results showed a significant correlation between board independence and return on asset. the study recommends companies appoint independent directors to help them choose internal executive directors and maximize the benefits of board independence. the performance of independent directors is also expected to comply with relevant nigerian laws and codes controlling their 310 activities. the findings suggest that companies should prioritize board independence to ensure their success. kanene et al., (2023) investigated the relationship between a company's board size, board tenure, and corporate risk management. the result of their study showed a positive but insignificant link between board size and business risk management, while board tenure had a significant relationship. firm size had a minor but favourable connection with corporate risk management. the study recommends enhancing board traits to maximize the efficacy of functions and manage risks effectively. ayeni-agbaje, et al., (2024) examined the performance of listed companies in nigeria is a significant concern for stakeholders, including investors, authorities, and legislators. the study’s results showed that corporate governance significantly influences a company's performance. the study suggests that businesses with strong corporate governance guidelines perform better across various performance criteria compared to those with less competent governance policies. the report recommends nigerian companies' policymakers to optimize board size to improve performance and balance diversity and efficiency. gwabin, et al., (2024) investigated the impact of board features on profits management of listed oil and gas companies in nigeria, with auditor independence serving as a moderator. the study found that auditor independence significantly moderated the link between board independence, board composition, and board diversity. however, board independence and board composition had a negative but negligible effect on earnings management. the study suggest that authorities and policymakers should improve corporate governance codes and ensure rigorous compliance. 3.0 research methodology 3.1 research design this study adopted the ex-post facto research design to test hypotheses with secondary data from a study population of fifty-eight (58) non-financial nigerian firms covering a period of ten (10) years between 2013 and 2022. the descriptive statistics was used to describe the data while correlation test was used to ascertain the degree of relationship among the variables. the coefficients were estimated using random regression model, while diagnostic tests were also conducted to ensure the validity of the model, which include tests for multicollinearity, heteroscedasticity using stata 14 statistical software. 3.2 model specification the study model in econometric term is: fv = f(tobinsq, bsize, bmeet, bind, bown, fsize). . . . (i) tobinsqϵi =β0+β1bsizeϵi +β2bmeetϵi +β3bindϵi +β4 bownϵi +β5fsizei+ϵi (ii) where; tobin q: measured as market capitalization plus total liabilities minus cash divided by total asset bsize: board size (measured as the total numbers of all directors of a company including the chairman +vice chairman +ceo/managing director + executive directors +nonexecutive directors or independent directors but excluding the company secretary) bmeet: board meetings (measured as the number of the board meetings held by the board of directors in a year). bind: board independence (measured as the non-executive board of directors divided by total board size (%)). 311 bown = board ownership (measured as total directors direct and indirect shares owned divided by total numbers of shares (%)) fsize = firm size (measured as natural log of total asset). β is the intercept term. β1, β2, β3, β4 and β5 are the coefficients for the respective variables. ϵi is the error term. 4.0 analysis results and discussion of findings 4.1 descriptive statistics table 1: summary of descriptive statistics stats tobinsq bsize bmeet bind bown fsize mean 1.449379 8.963793 4.698276 67.54357 17.74786 7.041853 min -.31 4 1 7.6923 0 5.2394 max 11.3 19 15 112.5 128.1741 9.2409 median .975 9 4 70 4.6643 6.9097 sd 1.4187 2.648765 1.259299 14.8077 24.18429 .7915612 n 580 580 580 580 580 580 source: regression output via stata 14, 2024. table 1 displays the summary of the descriptive statistics which provides information about the mean, minimum, maximum, median, standard deviation (sd), and count (n) for each variable. the breakdown of the information reveals that the mean is 1.4494, 8.9638, 4.6983, 67.5436, 17.7479 and 7.0419, and a median of 0.975, 9, 4, 70,4.6643 and 6.9097 while the standard deviation is 1.4187, 2.6488, 1.2593, 14.8077, 24.1843 and 0.7916 for tobinsq, bsize, bmeet, bind, bown and fsize respectively. the data suggest that tobin's q mean of 1.4494 indicates that, on average, firms have a market value higher than their asset value. the negative minimum value suggests that some firms have a market value less than their asset value. it also reveals that bsize varies from 4 to 19 members, with a mean and median around 9, suggesting a moderate board size across firms. the data for bmeet shows that the number of board meetings held varies from 1 to 15, with a mean close to 5, indicating a moderate frequency of meetings. the information for bodi measured in percentage terms, shows a high mean of 67.5436, suggesting that boards are largely independent. the range indicates significant variability. while bown has a wide range, with a mean of 17.7479, indicating that board members own substantial ownership stakes with varying proportions of company shares and fsize shows less variability, with values clustering around the mean of 7.0419. 4.2 correlation analysis table 2: summary of pearson correlation analysis tobinsq bsize bmeet bind bown fsize tobinsq 1.0000 bsize -0.0372 1.0000 bmeet 0.0374 0.1697 1.0000 bind -0.1305 0.1691 0.0354 1.0000 bown -0.0417 -0.1245 0.0070 -0.1386 1.0000 fsize 0.0049 0.0431 -0.1219 -0.0902 0.2071 1.0000 source: regression output via stata 14, 2024. the correlation matrix in table 2 provides the pearson correlation coefficients between each pair of variables which ranges from -1 to 1, where 1 indicates a perfect positive correlation, -1 indicates a perfect negative correlation, and 0 indicates no correlation. the findings reveal that 312 tobin's q has a weak negative correlation with bsize (-0.0372), bind (-0.1305), and bown (-0.0417); a weak positive correlation with bmeet (0.0374) and fsize (0.0049). these weak correlations suggest that none of these variables strongly influence tobin's q. furthermore, bsize shows a weak positive correlation with bmeet (0.1697) and bind (0.1691), a weak negative correlation with bown (-0.1245) and weak positive correlation with fsize (0.0431), indicating that board size has a slightly stronger relationship with the frequency of board meetings and board independence. also, bmeet has a weak positive correlation with bind (0.0354), very weak correlation with bown (0.0070) and weak negative correlation with fsize (-0.1219), indicating that frequency of board meetings is slightly associated with board independence but negatively with firm size. bind shows a weak negative correlation with bown (-0.1386) and fsize (-0.0902), board independence is somewhat negatively associated with board ownership and firm size. bown is slightly positively correlated with fsize (0.2071), indicating that larger firms tend to have higher board ownership. 4.3 result for multicollinearity test table 3: variance inflation factor (vif) analysis (vif) test result variable bsize bmeet bind bown fsize mean vif vif 1.08 1.05 1.05 1.08 1.08 1.07 1/vif 0.923431 0.951201 0.951895 0.926378 0.928209 source: regression output via stata 14, 2024. table 3 show the result of the variance inflation factor (vif) which is used to detect multicollinearity in regression models. multicollinearity occurs when independent variables are highly correlated, which can inflate the variance of the coefficient estimates and make them unstable. our results shows that all vif values falls between 1.08 and 1.05, which are well below the threshold of 10. a vif value close to 1 indicates that there is no significant multicollinearity among the independent variables. this implies that the coefficient estimates for the independent variables are stable and reliable. 4.4 breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test table 4: other diagnostic tests breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test decision rule if p-value is statistically significant, then reject ho and accept ha result chibar2(01) = 0.00, prob > chibar2 = 1.0000 hausman test decision rule if p-value is statistically significant, then reject ho and accept ha result chi2(5): 4.88, prob>chi2 = 0.4301 source: regression output via stata 14, 2024. table 4 displays the hausman test which is used to determine whether a fixed or random effects model is more appropriate. from the test results, the p-value of 0.4301 indicates that we fail to reject the null hypothesis. based on this result, the hausman test aligns with the breusch and pagan lagrangian multiplier test results, which also suggested the random effects model due to the absence of significant individual effects. 4.5 hypotheses testing table 5: summary of regression result tobinsq coef. std.err. z p>|z| bsize -.017044 .0229886 -0.74 0.458 bmeet .0560254 .0476423 1.18 0.240 bind -.012935 .0040502 -3.19 0.001 bown -.00397 .0025138 -1.58 0.114 313 fsize .02541 .0767274 0.33 0.741 _cons 2.104136 .675673 3.11 0.002 obs 580 wald chi2(5) 13.85 prob > chi2 0.0166 source: regression output via stata 14, 2024. table 5 displays the results from the random-effects gls regression analysis. as is observed, the r-squared (overall) is 0.0236, which explains the overall variation in the model with a wald chi-squared of 13.85 and a p-value for wald chi-squared of 0.0166 (indicating overall significance at the 5% level). it shows that the z-value is -0.74 and the p-value: 0.458, signifying that the bsize does not significantly affect tobin's q (davies, (2023); alekiri, et al., (2023). this finding also disagrees with the findings of eluyela, et al., (2018), adewale, et al, (2020) and usman, et al, (2023). bmeet has a z-value of 1.18 and a p-value of 0.240 indicating that the number of board meetings do not have a significant impact on tobin's q, agreeing with the findings of garcía-ramos, et al, (2020). the findings are not in agreement with the findings of hossain, et al, (2022). also, bind has a z-value -3.19 and a p-value: 0.001 which indicates that board independence negatively affects tobin's q agreeing with the studies of harymawan, et al., (2020) and alekiri, et al., (2023), suggesting that more independent boards are associated with lower firm value, while bown has a z-value -1.58 with a p-value: 0.114 which indicates that board ownership does not significantly affect tobin's q (harymawan, et al., 2020). the significant wald chi-squared statistic suggests that the model as a whole is significant at the 5% level, but individual predictors mostly do not contribute significantly. in conclusion, the analysis suggests that while board independence has a statistically significant negative impact on tobin's q, other governance and firm-specific characteristics do not significantly influence firm value. 5.0 conclusion and recommendation the study concluded that among the examined boardroom dynamics, only board independence significantly impacts firm performance, and this impact is negative. this suggests that an increase in board independence may be associated with a decrease in firm value, as measured by tobin's q. other governance characteristics, such as board size, frequency of board meetings and board ownership, do not show significant influence on firm performance. these findings provide important insights for corporate governance practices in nigerian firms, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to board independence and other governance factors to enhance firm value. further research is recommended to explore the underlying reasons for the negative impact of board independence and to identify other potential factors influencing firm performance. in light of the above findings, this study makes the following policy and management recommendations; 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(2023). corporate governance and financial statements’ fraud: evidence from listed firms in nigeria. asian journal of management and commerce, 4 (2) 118-123. doi: 10.22271/27084515.2023.v4.i2b.201 usman, s. o., & yahaya, o. a. (2023). effect of board characteristics on firm value in nigeria. journal of economics and finance, 47 (1), 44-60. doi: 10.1007/s12197-02309623-1 https://doi.org/10.22271/27084515.2023.v4.i2b.201 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12197-023-09623-1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12197-023-09623-1 page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 145 marginalization and political agitations in multi-ethnic nation: interrogating the issues, challenges and prospects for a politically inclusive and progressive modern nigeria joy ngozi eleje department of political science faculty of social sciences and humanities enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu joy.eleje@esut.edu.ng abstract marginalization, conceptually and empirically is a phenomenon not new in the nigeria sociopolitical lexicon; as it has remained a recurring decimal attracting local, national and global debates. in the case of nigeria, marginalization is multi-dimensional but its politicization constitutes a negative omen confronting the peace, stability and development of the nigerian federal arrangement. as presently constituted nigeria is faced with worrisome hues and cries of ethno-religious marginalization, youth and women marginalization, economic and political marginalization evident across states, tribes, ethnicities, religions and gender. the agglomeration and persistence of all these bring to question the sincerity of the political leadership and the essence of nigeria federal system of government. it is consequent on the above concerns and the apparent lack of trust on the system that the country is today riddled with incessant political agitations that are fast consuming the heart of the nigerian state. this paper, therefore, is a modest contribution in the quest for true nigerian federalism that upholds inclusivity across the board as sacrosanct for a more united and progressive nigeria for all in the spirit of justice, equity and fairness. the paper explored marginalization and political agitations in nigeria as a multi-ethnic nation with focus on issues, challenges and prospects for a politically inclusive modern nigeria. keywords: marginalization, political agitations, multi-ethnic nation, politically inclusive, progressive, modern nigeria introduction nigeria as a nation is colonial bequeathal and its structure till date is a product of colonialism concocted without reference and consideration to the interest of the locals. thus nigeria remains a conglomeration of ethno-linguistic, cultural and religious groups and affiliations engendered by european imperial inquisition. nevertheless, nigeria is also endowed with bounteous natural and human resources; enough to cater for the wellbeing of its numerous population. in spite of her rich natural and human endowments, nigeria today is regarded as fragile cum failed state arising from numerous challenges confronting its corporate existence and developmental trajectory. nigeria has witnessed lots of woes and troubles in over six decades of political independence. the memories of nigeria-biafra civil strife is yet to be overcome. terrorism, banditry, farmer-herders clash and all manners of political agitations have become the order of the day. more so, nigeria is plagued by vestiges of corruption, political instability, and bad governance and worrisome enough is the intensity with which the phenomenon of marginalization by one ethnic group against another has continued to create tensions hence crippling national growth and development. the level of mailto:joy.eleje@esut.edu.ng 146 marginalization and ethnic unrest is so intense that the seemingly efforts toward tackling socio-economic and political challenges in nigeria appear illusive. of the ethnic groups that constitute the nigerian state, each is jostling for recognition and employing every possible means to sway through even at detriment of others. some of the measures employed often times pose threat to the corporate existence and development of the nation. the relationships amongst the various ethnic groups in nigeria is that mutual suspicion, mistrust, and acrimony. in the light of the above, the rate of crisis and agitations by various ethnic groups in nigeria, most especially south-eastern nigeria occasioned by the high level of negligence and marginalisation by other major is highly alarming. even though, government and community leaders have tried to minimize the problems of ethnicity in nigeria, it still stares us in the face. ethnic conflict, marginalisation and political agitations are identified as the bane of democratic experiments in nigeria. moreover, since the late 1980s, ethnicity in nigeria has assumed disturbing new dimensions. the most crucial of these are the issues of marginalisation and agitations by ethnic minorities. it can also be argued that the high level of corruption and lawlessness in nigeria is largely due to the determined efforts of the hegemonic hausa-fulani, yoruba rulers of nigeria to shut out other groups from participating in high level decision making. currently, the discriminatory policies of the president buhari’s administration that concentrates appointments and development in the north and west and starving the south-east and other minorities of development and appointments into political/bureaucratic positions at the centre it totally disheartening and has continued to exacerbate the resurgence of political agitations in the present political dispensation. there have been various debates and varied opinions on this prevailing scenario from scholars, political leaders, and nigerians on the issues, which have questioned the functionality and appropriateness of the nigerian federal system resulting in clamour for political restructuring to include equalisation of all geo-political zones in the socio-economic and political spectrum of nigeria. objective of the study the main objective of this paper was to explore the phenomenon of marginalization and political agitations in a multi-ethnic nation like nigeria. sequel to the above, the paper shall address the following specifics; 1. to explore the nature of ethnicity, marginalization and political agitations in nigeria 2. to interrogate the issue of marginalization and the challenges of political agitations in a multi-ethnic nigeria; and 3. to determine the prospects for a politically inclusive modern nigeria. methodology this paper used exploratory design. exploratory design fits where a situation has a deviant character. however, the goal of exploratory design is to discover ideas and insights. this study employed the exploratory design in order to provide better understanding of the failed situation in the local governance system in nigeria. in addition to the exploratory design, this paper employed qualitative method in its data collection and analyses. qualitative approach emphasizes meanings (words) rather than frequencies and distributions (numbers) when collecting and analyzing data. in the main, qualitative approach seeks to understand and 147 interpret the meaning of situations or events from the perspectives of the people involved and as understood by them (in this relying absolutely on documented evidence). theoretical framework the study adopted the social exclusion theory, which contends that social exclusion compels individuals and groups to discriminatory practices (marginalization) that expose them to humiliations and deprivations. the proponents of social exclusion theory among whom are scholars such as pacione, 1997; lee et al, 1997; black and muddiman, 1997; walker, 1997; and hills, 1998 among others; posit that when some groups of individuals are excluded and alienated from the mainstream of society it has negative resultant effects on their citizenship and other political and socio-economic rights. these exclusions are not just limited to material resources but also to matters like social participation, culture and education, access to social services and political power. by the above contention, the theory is considered apt for the study as it succinctly captures the point of view and focus of the study. this is because it not only exposes the complexity of the persistent powerlessness arising from systemic marginalization of some ethnic groups in nigeria but it further explains the cause of deprivations, humiliations, disempowerment, alienation and hardship facing the marginalized groups as well as the consequential challenges on the political, socio-economic health of nigerian state due to incessant political agitations. conceptual review in doing justice to the subject matter of this study, it is only rational that the keywords of this paper be meaningfully explicated for better and easy understanding. to address the concept of ethnicity has been a herculean task. this is because the terms such as ethnicity, ethnic groups, tribe, and ethnic crises and what they stand for on their face value is not very clear. phenomenally, marginalization is not alien to the nigerian federal system; it is copiously manifest in the ramifications of all interactions in the political process. literally speaking therefore, marginalization is the process whereby a thing or someone is pushed to the edge of a group and accorded lesser importance in comparison to others. in lieu of the above understanding, with respect to nigeria, marginalization is multi-dimensional and thus a predominantly socio-economic and political phenomenon by which a section of the country; mostly a minority group or sub-group is excluded, and their needs or desires ignored or denied as the case may be. giving credence to the above descriptions, mullaly (2000) opines that “marginalization has the potential to result in severe material deprivation, and in its most extreme form can exterminate groups”. aligning to the above point of view, young (2000) adds that “along with material deprivation, marginalized individuals are also excluded from services, programs and policies”. marginalization as a phenomenon therefore is highly consequential to the peace, unity and stability of a nation if not ameliorated. furthermore, marginalization may be viewed as the socio-cultural cum political process of becoming or being made marginal and/or put to the edge, and excluded from the scheme of things; be it politically, economically and otherwise. marginalization in nigeria mostly involves a people being denied certain degrees of political positions and opportunities and economic status. it is this dimension of marginalization that always heats up the polity resulting in restiveness and political agitations of all kinds. to better appreciate the meaning of multi-ethnic nations we first need to understand what ethnicity or ethnic group is all about. in the nigerian context, ethnicity and certain concepts like tribe and nationality are oftentimes used interchangeably. this explains why there is no unanimous agreement among scholars as to what defines ethnicity. thus, ethnicity entails 148 recognition and pledge of importance to acclaimed affinity among a particular group of people and considerable differences among others. from the etymological point of view, the adjective “ethnic” comes from the greek word “ethnos” which refers to a group of people who share a common and distinctive culture. according to obasi (2010) “the group shares a commonality of social customs, rites, myths, religion and ancestral homeland”. considering its classical form, it refers to members of a particular ethnos that share common features among different ethnic groups. on the other hand, ethnicity in the submission of azeez (2004) is a sense of people-hood (in-group feelings) that has its foundation in the combined remembrance of past experience and common aspiration. according to cohen cited in okorie (2019) ethnic group is defined as a collection of people who share some patterns of normative behaviour and form a part of larger population, interacting with people from other ethnic groups within the framework of social system. the underlined phrase in the above definition is “sharing of normative behaviour”. indeed ethnic groups form part and parcel of a political organization called state; even as they maintain their cultural practices, language and more (adeleke & charles, 2015). umezinwa (2012) defines an ethnic group as one which “ascribes to itself the common blood or common ancestry”. it is a social group of people who identify with each other based on common ancestral, social, cultural or national experience. it is important to note that membership of an ethnic group tends to be associated with shared cultural heritage ancestry, history, language (dialect) or ideology and with symbolic system such as religion, attire, mythology and so on. it is the fact of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. in other words ethnicity is a concept employed by the nations to further their interests and desires. according to sklar cited by olukoju (1997), tribal movements may be created and instigated by the new men of power in furtherance of their interests and personal political agenda. the above definition succinctly explains the rationale behind agitation behaviour of some ethnic groups who feel marginalized in the nigeria polity. as it concerns political agitations therefore, it is apt to start by saying that the behavioral revolution is a major turnaround in political science as it introduced radical methodological re-orientations, promotes inter-subjectivity, and "identifies the behaviour of individuals or group of individuals as the primary unit of analysis" (eldersveld &katz, 2007) in the study of politics. this is why political behaviour is typically "concerned with individual behaviour in the society" (rose, 2003). without focusing on individuals, dalton and alix (2004) assert, “we cannot systematically explain what citizens actually believe and how they act". human attitudes towards politics come in different dimensions, and one critical aspect of it is agitation. the political agitator is a unique political animal. defined from administrative standpoint, he is one who "exaggerates the difference between one rather desirable social policy and another (policy science centre 2). socially, he is a man of peculiar behavioral composition, his personality having been formed through interplay of social factors that make him the type that bothers to take emotional extra look and pay critical attention towards public policies and practices that others are often silent about. in lieu of the above, political agitation is a form of political protest, resistance and contentious behaviour. the political agitator is often fundamentally disenchanted with certain actions or inactions of the political class, and he seeks redress to them in means acceptable to him. the agitator's "protest action threatens elites, and protesters refuse to acknowledge hierarchies and power structures that have been established or established themselves" (olafsson, 2007), so, when the political elite make policies in the state, they use the instrumentality of the state to enforce and defend them from anyone who dares to raise 149 objection, brandishing punishments, injuries, jail terms and even death to enforce their threat. the political agitator often ignores these consequences, and, most times, goes ahead on collision course with the state and its repressive instrumentalities. given the above scenario, political inclusivity is an emerging concept in the nigeria political spectrum. it is a term coined to address the existing gap created by all forms of marginalization and exclusion (be it gender based, religious, ethnic, cultural or sociopolitical) in nigeria and elsewhere. in other words it is a deliberate process or means for ensuring that all known ethnic groups in a polity are equitably integrated and effectively engaged in all the political processes and activities including equal access to political positions on the bases of justice and fairness. according to ifediora (2020) political inclusivity portends openness and equal treatment to everyone and not limited to certain people, no matter the gender, tribe, race, language or creed. in this regard this all political appointments, services, establishments, schools, government agencies, and other institutions are welcoming of all people, regardless of their ethnic identity or expression and political affiliation. political inclusivity as a paradigm shift holds the potential of eliminating marginalization and thus mitigating incessant political agitations prevalent in a multi-ethnic nation like nigeria. an insight into the nature of ethnicity, marginalization and political agitations in nigeria it is arguable that nigeria as a nation is built on a faulty foundation; and amalgamation by lord lugard did not consider the local interests and desires of the natives. the formation of the nigerian state in line with the economic interest of the colonial government paved way for the integration of different ethnic groups with varied ideologies and religious affiliations hence the emergence of ethno-political unrest and tensions in nigeria. furthermore, nwodo (2011) states that; “when the british colonial rulers, in the early 20th century, forced the two hundred and fifty ethnic groups that make up nigeria into a territorial entity, their major preoccupation was to maintain law and order and to make the economic exploitation of nigeria as easy as possible”. but as dim (2010) asserts, it was solely europe’s determination to achieve hegemony. the then established ethnic heterogeneity becomes time and again virulent when the social differences lead to social tensions. he further observes that in nigeria today, conflicts that are political by nature are often disguised as ethnic and religious ones. arguing further, umezinwa (2012) insists that; “nigeria is a mishmash of more than 250 ethnic groups, each of which is jostling for recognition and relevance in the political arena; each has terrible fear of being dominated by others; each is crying of political marginalization”. the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates without taking cognizance of the african peoples similarities and most importantly their dissimilarities in terms of structural constitutions, cultures, language and value system and ethnic make-up account for the incessant ethno-religious conflicts, marginalization and political agitations in nigeria. 150 coleman cited in egbunu (2009) states that although ethnicity is said to be rooted in the very set up of nigeria, but it got exacerbated by the colonialist indirect rule approach. in addition to the above, ikime (2008) decries that “it was the british who forced us, as it were, into one nation. it was they who subdivided us into regions, provinces, divisions, districts and sub districts. we did not choose the province, division to which we belonged”. it is not in doubt that such arrangement will certainly have far reaching effects on the polity, unity and development of nigeria. describing the prevailing scenario, nnoli (1980) vehemently maintains that the introduction of indirect rule in nigeria by lord fredrick lugard, not only reinforced ethnic divisions; it also complicated the task of wielding diverse elements into a nigerian nation. this method of rulership at the surface engenders relative peace, but apparently, ferments ethnicity. olukoju cited in uzoigwe and nwadialor (2017) reveals that ethnicity became further intensified when the richard’s constitution institutionalized regionalism and thereby ensured politicization of communal associations. cognizant of this development amucheazi cited in uzoigwe and nwadialor (2017) asserts that “the focus of identity remained with the region and the ethnic group rather than shifting to the new nation-state-nigeria. this notion was prevalent at every turn of event as the nigerian citizen identifies him/herself as an easterner (igbo), northerner (hausa/fulani) or westerner (yoruba)”. suffice to say that during this period politics, access to power and resources were largely determined by ethnic and religious affiliations. during the period also many of the political parties were formed on regional basis and sustained by ethnic chauvinism and regional parochialism. we also cannot rule out the effects of creation of separate quarters popularly called “sabon gari” for strangers especially in the northern region. such separate settlement is a form of marginalization and thus negates opportunities for mutual relationship and provides platform for differentiation of ethnic groups. so far we have tried to link the issue of ethnicity, marginalization and political agitations to the colonial masters, however, we cannot overlook the involvement of the educated elites that skyrocketed ethnic tensions through post-independence administration. most of the political parties that emerged then primarily triggered the mobilization of primordial ethnic prejudices and sentiments as opposed to national issues. this allowed for differential treatment of ethnic groups evident in educational disparity, domination and marginalization so intense in the sharing of “national cake”. the disparity in education engendered mutual suspicion and discontentment. this is equally evident in the lop-sided power sharing, dethronement of merit and enthronement of mediocrity as obtains in the manner and pattern of appointment to public offices. ethnicity has become so pervasive in nigeria that it serves as a means of attracting federal resources only to suit the interest of a particular region at the expense of the others and common good (uzoigwe & nwadialor, 2017). ethnicity and marginalization to a considerable extent has questioned the spirit of patriotism in nigeria therefore, it should be considered as a cog in the wheel of nation equity and national cohesion. this is the nigeria reality; since over six decades of political independence the country has never fully experienced peace. it is confronted by a history of one threat or the other impact of which is enormous and devastating. in nigeria today therefore, we can identify different dimensions of marginalization as below: 151 a) ethno-religious marginalization: suffice to say that by the very structural composition of nigeria, ethnic and religious identities coincide and thus have readily played significant roles in the hands of the ruling elite as subject of marginalization of one group against another. b) economic and social marginalization: in the case of nigeria socio-economic marginalization is highly pronounced. this indeed has contributed to widespread denial of access to opportunities and resources by an ethnic group against the other and consequently it results in increased poverty levels. c) political marginalization: the most worrisome dimension of marginalization in nigeria today is political marginalization, which has been highly elevated in the last decade especially under the apc led federal government of muhammadu buhari. this dimension of marginalization has glaringly played out against the igbos of southeast extraction through denial of appointments to certain critical positions at the federal level. it might interest you to know that since 2015 under the present administration the fulani has dominated appointments in security architecture of nigeria. despite been one of the major ethnic groups in nigeria, southeast igbo has no single representation in the national security council of nigeria. similar situation is applicable in most other major appointments of the present administration and therefore a clear sign of marginalization, which has continued to fan the embers of ethnic crisis and political agitations in nigeria. marginalization and the challenges of political agitations in a multi-ethnic nigeria nigeria is confronted by deep-rooted underdevelopment challenges. thus issue of marginalization in a multi-ethnic society is a derivative of ethnicity and therefore breeds political agitations. however, as tanko (2007) observed, that there are many ethnic groups in a society does not automatically mean that there must be conflict between them. this is the purpose of a true federal arrangement is supposed to serve but unfortunately in the case of nigeria, the situation is different. osaghae and suberu (2005) aligning with tanko’s submission affirm that diversity is a necessary but not sufficient condition for conflict”. in other words, the very fact that a country has different ethnic, communal, religious, language and cultural groups does not make division, conflict and political agitations inevitable. be that as it may, in the case of nigeria as presently constituted ethnic consciousness and nationalism has beclouded the polity to the point that the citizens often see it as a preferred means of pledging loyalty as against loyalty to the nigerian state. more so, ethnic nationalism and marginalization has resulted in the introduction of the ‘federal character principle’. though, the motive behind the ‘federal character’ may appear laudable on the surface; to facilitate greater unity of the state. the underlying political manipulations and sentiments breed acrimony, political favouritism and prejudice in the public service and overall government appointments and affairs. today in nigeria there is glaring impunity by the present administration led by president muhammadu buhari, under whose watch even the so called federal character principle is sidelined deliberately to malign, marginalize and sideline a section of the nigerian state. under the principle merit is sacrificed on the altar of mediocrity and its effects no doubt are devastating as it contributed to incessant political agitations in nigeria. it is sufficed to say that ethnicity and marginalization is pervasive in nigeria to the extent that the unity of the country is been questioned as it is under threat by both centrifugal and 152 centripetal forces. at different times, intervals and levels, people have experienced ethnoreligious oppression and discrimination, socio-economic neglect and denial of certain political appointments to a particular ethnic group even in a manner that negates the very fundamental laws of the land. agitation by different ethnic groups in nigeria in the past and present clearly indicates the negative consequences posed by the issue of marginalization. however, the primary cause of what we experience in nigeria as ethno-religious tension has to do with incidences of discrimination, oppression, marginalization, domination, exploitation, accusation of neglect, exclusion of certain segment of the country from having access to the nation’s economic resources, poor political representation and so on. the consequences of the above observations are the rising cases of militancy by various ethnic segments, religious movements and collapse of national development. prospects for a politically inclusive modern nigeria the nigeria state is at a cross roads and evidently fast inclining to a fragile and failed state. this is indeed worrisome to this study and thus calls for urgent need for solution. pressured by the present reality, many nigerian politicians and ordinary citizens alike have taken to one extreme; suggesting disintegration of nigeria as a panacea to this hydra headed situation. the opinion of such people in the submission of (uzoigwe & nwadialor, 2017) may not totally be swept under the carpet if some other solutions are not employed to avert disintegration of nigeria. some other nigerian scholars and politicians have also recommended fundamental restructuring of the polity, whereby the need for renegotiating the terms and conditions of nigerian political arrangement should be the point of departure in the quest to eliminating ethnic dominance and marginalization of all dimensions. restructuring provides invaluable measures that could abate the tension of ethno-religious divides and political lopsidedness in nigeria. it will open up a new chapter for the recognition and appreciation of the equality in dignity and responsibility we owe to one another as a state. restructuring as a panacea to marginalization and political agitations should be tailored towards promoting unity, justice, political inclusivity and fairness to all no matter ones ethnic background. this will enhance oneness as a nation and does not in any way negate our diverse peculiarities in terms of culture, language, religion and so on. the uniqueness of every ethnic group, culture and religion will only boom when we understand and appreciate that in unity lies our dignity. our diversity should be a source of strength and not division and marginalization. it is not in doubt that a restructured polity devoid of marginalization and political agitations will on the long run stimulate us to overlooking ethnic differences that have engulfed us. the feeling of superiority (born to rule mentality) of one ethnic group over the others must be done away with as it incubates discontentment, distrust and suspicions. in nigeria, hausa, igbo, yoruba, fulani, christians, muslims and traditional worshippers alike could lay hold of common ancestry as beneficiaries of the bounteous natural and human resources in our nation. despite the observed upheavals that have engulfed nigeria, the good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. the necessary resources both human and natural to fashion and develop a world class nation are embedded in nigeria. the heterogeneous nature of the nigerian state evident in the plurality of ethnic identities could make this quest a reality. there exists a common ground that could serve as a veritable means for the actualization of national development. it is from this backdrop that our periscope is considered indispensable. eliminating the phenomenon of marginalization and political agitations will boost unity in 153 diversity as upheld in all federal systems and this if properly harnessed and harmonized in nigeria, would act as a cohesive force for the actualization of effective nation building. summary of findings in the light of the perspectives above reviewed the following findings are made: 1. marginalization is manifested in lopsided leadership selection, which sidelines some ethnic groups in nigeria, a phenomenon affirmed to be highly consequential to the peace, unity and stability of nigeria. 2. marginalization involves people being denied certain degrees of political positions and opportunities and economic status. and it is this dimension of marginalization that always heats up the polity resulting in restiveness and political agitations of all kinds. 3. political agitation is a form of political protest, resistance and contentious behaviour. in the nigerian instance, political agitators are fundamentally disenchanted with actions or inactions of the political class. 4. inclusivity as a panacea is a deliberate process or means for ensuring that all groups in a polity are equitably integrated and effectively engaged in all the political processes and activities including equal access to political positions on the bases of justice and fairness. 5. political inclusivity as a paradigm shift holds the potential of eliminating marginalization and thus mitigating incessant political agitations prevalent in a multiethnic nation like nigeria. 6. restructuring as a panacea to marginalization and political agitations should be tailored towards promoting unity, justice, political inclusivity and fairness to all. 7. eliminating the phenomenon of marginalization and political agitations will boost unity in diversity as upheld in all federal systems and this if properly harnessed and harmonized in nigeria, would act as a cohesive force for the actualization of effective nation building. recommendations in line with the issues raised in this paper, the following recommendations are germane for policy: 1. there is need for deliberate measures backed by relevant laws to discourage the idea of choosing or electing a leader on the basis of his/her ethnic group. 2. the nature and system of federalism been operated in nigeria should be reviewed to meet global best practices as obtainable in usa, so as to reduce or stop the cry for political and social exclusion and marginalization. 3. there is need to adopt and promote the values of justice, fairness and equity as necessary conditions for national peace, unity and integration among the ethnic group. 4. the urgency of political restructuring should be given a priority attention to reduce the concentration of power at the center so as to allow each state to develop at its own pace while remaining as equal partners in the nigeria project. conclusion in the overall context it is apt to conclude that nigeria as a multi-ethnic nation is faced with numerous challenges, which has made nation building a far cry. nation building indeed remains the primary target of every heterogeneous nation especially, the developing states. having established that marginalization and political agitations are self-sustaining and interwoven, to achieve the goal of nation building effectively, the collaborative efforts of 154 every citizen is required. more importantly the political leadership and elites should rise to the occasion by ensuring equity, justice, fairness and inclusivity of all citizens and ethnic groups in the nigerian project. it is not in doubt that nigeria is a heterogeneous country with multi-ethnic groups and religious affiliations. there is need to redefine the trajectory of the relationships amongst the various ethnic groups that constitute the federal system of nigeria. the peculiarities and beliefs of each ethnic group as unique as they appear, if properly harnessed and harmonized could foster nation integration and eliminate all manifestations of marginalization and the consequential political agitations currently ingrained in the nigeria political arrangement. empirical evidences have shown that marginalization resulting in ethnic tensions and political agitations are the banes of nation building, integration, democratic consolidation, and sustainable socio-economic and political development in nigeria. it is therefore, imperative in line with the interest of this paper to evolve and transparently implement measures that will mitigate marginalization in all its dimensions and thus bridge the gaps between and amongst various ethnic groups in nigeria by stimulating greater self-consciousness of the nation’s unity in diversity. there is 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(2005). a history of identities, violence and stability in nigeria. retrieved on april 7, 2022. from http//www.crise.ox.ac.uk. pacione, t. (1997). “political movement and social change: analyzing politics”. american political science review, 90(4), 874-884 rose, r. (2007). “perspectives in political behaviour in time and space”. in dalton, h. and klingeman, n. (eds.). handbook of political behaviour: 282-301. tanko, p. (2007). “conflict in northern nigeria: toward a resolution”. in bisiong, e. (ed.). koinonia, enugu: snaap press. umezinwa, c. (2012). “ethnicity and nigerian’s underdevelopment”. a new journal of african studies, 1 (22), 15-22.. uzoigwe, a.m. and nwadialor, k.l (2017). “towards bridging ethnic and religious divides in nigeria: exegetico-hermeneutical application of gal.3:26-29”, international journal of social development, 3(2), 27-32. walker, d. (1997). “internal colonialism, federalism and alternative state development strategies”, publius: the journal federalism, 7 (2); 35-41.155 young, a. (2000). “federal character as an integrative mechanism: the nigeria’s experiment at nation building”, in olugbemi, s.o. (ed.) alternative political futures for nigeria, lagos: npsa publication, lagos. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 291 religious extremism and poverty keys to the spread of insurgency in lake chad basin. umeh lucy chinwe department of international relations godfrey okoye university, thinkers corner, enugu. lumeh@gouni.edu.ng netchy mbaeze department of political science enugu state university of science and technology (esut) enugu, nigeria ugwuozor samuel department of political science godfrey okoye university, thinkers corner enugu samugwuozor@gouni.edu.ng abstract this study investigated religious extremism and poverty as keys to the spread of insurgency in the lake chad basin. regional security complex theory propounded by barry buzan and ole waever, ex-post facto research design, documentary method of data collection and descriptive qualitative method of data analysis were employed in the analysis. this study found that the grievance of religious intolerance and high rate of poverty within the chad basin paved way for easy spread of insurgency in the region, and that the islamic state of west africa province (iswap) insurgency has eroded the foundation of the lake chad basin's security governance leading to the socioeconomic decline. the researcher therefore recommends that governments within the chad basin should direct a large portion of their resources toward human capital development, capacity building and elimination of socioeconomic challenges in order to wall off poverty and religious extremism. keywords: religious extremism, poverty, insurgency, lake chad, regional security. introduction insurgency and security-related issues have recently dominated public discourse to the point where other key political, economic, and social events that are happening at the same time have been ignored. again, the era we currently live in, seems to be the most catastrophic one in human history. mankind has created nuclear weapons, observed and used technological advancement in battle, murdered a record number of individuals and is destroying an increasing amount of our natural environment. correspondingly nye (2001) envisioned insurgency as a global, inter-human, inter-group, inter-ethnic, inter-cultural, inter-religious, and inter-religious danger against established authorities. it might occur in a situation when the parties involved are at odds with one another yet nonetheless work together to accomplish predetermined goals or targets. in many societies today, it has become a challenge to combat insurgency and manage conflicts so that resources and energy of government are now expended more on fighting insurgent groups, managing conflicts, and ensuring the security of lives and properties in our societies. the situation is so bad that most often now government’s resources and attention is devoted to containing conflicts and insurgency to the detriment of the other spheres of lives and these mailto:lumeh@gouni,edu.ng mailto:samugwuozor@gouni.edu.ng 292 domestic squabbles being experienced in countries like nigeria, niger, cameroun and chad can be best described as armed conflicts which emerged as a result of political interests’, religious intolerance, bad governance, poverty and perceived marginalization, among others. take for instance in nigeria, those living in south eastern nigeria and delta of the niger river, feel that the country is maltreating them, in cameroon the english-speaking region is agitating that the french – speaking section is oppressing them. the christian faithful in niger republic are of the opinion that their muslim brothers are using the government apparatus to eliminate them or covert them to islamic religion. while muslims in chad are claiming that their christian brothers are occupying /living in places allotted to them as their inheritance by their founder. this claim and resistance has made the area covering nigeria, cameroon, chad, and niger un-peaceful and dangerous to live in. extant literature poverty and religious extremism poverty and religious extremism has created lots of problems in our contemporary society today and such problems can be seen in the destructive activities of the religious jihadist groups within the chad basin. onuoha (2010) noted in his work that religious extremism breeds insurgency which has caused lots of bloodshed in our society. he went further to explain that these militant jihadist groups are already brainwashed and made to understand that they are fighting religious war and anyone who is not of their religion is an infidel and should be massacred but he failed to mention the effect of lack of education caused by poverty which made the jihadist groups to assimilate all that they were told about fighting for their faith without asking questions. ani et al (2014) are of the opinion that militant jihadist group fight against everything that had to do with western educational system because of their religious belief that abort schools, universities and businesses. the authors concluded that these jihadist group see european system of administration as opposing to their religious sec but they failed to establish the fact that this militant jihadist groups lack exposure do to poverty and that’s why they keep condemning/fighting education that came as a tool to break poverty and introduce job opportunities together with positive mindset/ attitude. stewart (2005) observed that poverty, unemployment, lack of education and inequality are causing a lot of the youths to carry arms in the chad basin. about 60% of the population in the chad basin are living in poverty. poverty provides additional challenges to security. strongly linked to poverty is poor education. because of poverty most of the youths in the chad basin area are not educated and that is why it is easy for some persons who are rich and those who are enlightened to influence them and misdirect them. lack of basic education has done a great damage to the reasoning of these youths. because they lack basic education they depend on their leaders for social and political direction. equally too these their leaders provide them food which is one of the basic necessities of life. these their leaders equally feed them with false religious believe which make them see those who do not profess their religion as enemies. these their leaders put it in their heads that whatever they do to eliminate their perceived religious opponents is righteous before god. because of their poor education, their leaders feed them with wrong impression that the whole area belongs to them and that any person who do not believe in their own ideology is an enemy and must be eliminated. some of them look at their condition as if it is caused by the society and they face them as their perceived enemy thus shifting the blame of their condition on the society. because of lack of basic education these people do not have anything tangible to occupy their minds so they become easy tools for the devil. lack of basic 293 education deny them the opportunity of being exposed and being ambitious and that is why they are at home causing troubles. insecurity and social instability resulting from religious intolerance have caused so many issues in nigeria's social space, according to evidence deposited by alkali et al. (2012) that they have continued to thwart all efforts aimed at meaningful growth and development in the nation's life. the jihadist organization boko haram, which has continued to engulf the nations in the chad basin, is a prime example. the authors failed to acknowledge how these religious extremist groups are badly impacted by a lack of solid education. education would have assisted them in cultivating a tolerant and welcoming attitude toward individuals from various areas. african union (2017) posited that the chad basin is experiencing various forms of conflicts engineered by persons whose aim is to destabilize the polity, others to make themselves known and relevant, still others to offend perceived enemies but the most pronounced is religious based conflicts. some individuals are hiding under the cloak of religion to cause mayhem in the chad basins without pronouncing their intentions. they just brain-wash some idle youths to fight those they perceive are worshipping another god. these youths who do not have anything doing are given money for their upkeep to fight religious war that do not exist necessarily. they are told by their pay masters to enthrone their religion over and above other religions. and rather than making efforts to convert people through persuasion and selling of the tenets of their religion they revert to force. and most unfortunately the muslim brother believe that anytime they kill a person who do not believe in their own (muslim) religion that their place/ position before allah is raised. this notion has given rise to a situation where any conflict even between persons bears religious connotation. many in the chad basin therefore believe that most of the people in the area who carry arms believe that they are fighting religious war. coincidentally many of the participants see it as a struggle to enthrone their faith practice over and above other’s religion and this is why most of our brothers refer to the situation as the jihadist war that our muslim brothers are threatening to launch on those who do not profess their islamic religion to either eliminate them or convert them. the violent conflict plaguing the chad basin is worrisome to the citizen and governments in this region. this is because the situation has serious consequences on social, economic and political matters in the basin. the governments in this area have tried to ensure peace, but it is eluding them because of faulty strategies. religious intolerance brought conflict to the many communities that make up the nigerian state's socio-religious environment (atoi 2016, atoi 2019). uzoma (2004) asserts that the arrival of islam and christianity was accompanied by religious strife and civil unrest. this terrible religious evolution began when western missionaries began disparaging african people's religious thought processes with terms like "primitive," "paganism," and "fetishism," among others. the destruction and burning of sacred objects, altars, and shrines used by practitioners of african indigenous religion ended in the demonization of african religious thought patterns by followers of christianity and islam in light of the aforementioned (atoi 2019). theoretical perspective the study anchored on the regional security complex theory (rsct), as was advanced by barry buzan and ole waever in the year 2003. additionally, it has been employed in several regional situations by väyrynen (1988) and wriggins (1992), as well as by waever (1989), buzan et al. (1990), buzan and wver (1992), and wver et al. (1993) the regional security 294 complex theory (rsct) looks at how interdependent different geographic regions, governments as a whole, and international systems are on one another in terms of security. the goal of rsct is to advance our understanding of how middle-level linkages between national and international security interact. (buzan 1991, p. 187) the concept covers how security is clustered in geographically shaped regions with the following assumptions: ➢ security concerns do not carry well over distances; and each actor's security region interacts with the security of the other actors. ➢ there is frequently great security interdependence within a region, but rarely between regions. ➢ the theory assumes that security is a national, regional, and global phenomenon, and that the best way to address security issues is through regional collaboration and integration of different security architectures. ➢ furthermore, it assumes that a comprehensive solution to security issues must take into account both conventional military and non-military tactics. this implies that security issues would persist in a setting where solely kinetic military strategies are used to combat violent crimes or terrorism. ➢ the theory presupposes that contemporary security approaches to terrorism go beyond direct military bombardment of the terrorists and their hideouts to include addressing all of the conditions that give rise to terrorism, including poverty, bad governance, human rights violations, political exclusion, religious intolerance, and more. application of the theory this theory is important to the study of insurgency with an emphasis on religious extremism and poverty as the major feul to the spread of this insurgency in the chad basin. its deployed multinational joint task force as counter-insurgency measure , for a number of reasons. one was that it clarified how the nations sharing the lake chad basin's security architecture are linked, interact, and depend on one another. it recognized the transnational trend of insecurity (in this example, insurgency) and supported the need for a coordinated and integrated regional response to combat them. thirdly, the theory reveals security as a complicated phenomenon that spans both the national and regional spectrum, while also revealing the responsibilities of various sectors and stakeholders outside of the conventional kinetic military approach to counterinsurgency. the theory implicitly contends that a regional framework is the only way to improve counterinsurgency operations and methods. the call for effective international and regional counterterrorism measures is then made by the united nations security council. data presentation religious extremism in chad basin’s insurgency it has become difficult for many societies to control insurgency so that resources and efforts of the government are not spent more on combatting insurgent groups and bringing about peace while also protecting the security of people’s lives and property. the situation is so bad that the government now frequently directs its resources and attention away from other areas of citizen’s lives in order to quell conflicts and insurgencies. for instance, consider the domestic conflicts occurring in nations like nigeria, chad, cameroon and niger republic where the jihadist terrorist groups have best characterized the conflicts as religious conflicts. these conflicts are due to religious intolerance, bad governance, and perceived marginalization, among others. those living in south eastern nigeria and those living in the niger delta region of nigeria feel that the rest of the country is maltreating them due to religious differences, in 295 cameroon the english-speaking region is agitating that the french speaking muslim section is oppressing them. the christian faithful in these places are perceiving that their muslim brothers are using the government apparatus to eliminate or covert them to islamic religion. the muslims are claiming that their christian brothers are occupying /living in places allotted to them as their inheritance by their founder. and some of the muslim brothers appear to be up in arms to claim what they perceive as theirs and their christian brothers are not just surrendering their father land. this claim and resistance has made the area covering nigeria, cameroon, chad, and niger restive and dangerous to live in. this area covering nigeria, cameroon, chad and niger is referred to as chad basin. the chad basin is the in-thing now in this part of the world as far as religious intolerance, politics and religious brain washing is concerned. the misunderstanding in the area calls for the attention of all who are concerned about the preservation of human life, and resources there in. this area is characterized by societal disruptions in the form of conflicts, religious wars, agitations and disputes produced dissatisfaction and multilevel individual, group communal and national insecurity that have profound implication on 7peace building operation and democracy promotion efforts (yourdin2003). the basin has in recent times witnessed unprecedented magnitude of violence that has indeed shaken the lives of the people. the spate of violence and proliferation of ethno-religious crisis have been a serious threat to the security situation in the basin that in april 2021 the head of state of chad, idris deby, lost his life while fighting to restore peace in his country. in nigeria the situation appears to be worse. since nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 violent attacks by various jihadist violent groups have been responsible for the death of many individuals and destruction of properties worth millions of naira in the north. the situation in the niger delta will ever remain fresh in our memories. they niger delta youths / militants introduced kidnapping in nigeria in an attempt to make the government at the centre hear their complaint. and presently the business has become widespread, thriving and juicy as fulani jihadist groups now abduct much of christian clergies. in the cameroons the situation is the same, agitations and killing everywhere. the cameroonians’ are not free from the iswap insurgency and they have from time to time experienced the deadly presence of these religious extremists who are fighting because they have been brainwashed. the republic of niger is not free too. niger republic is facing security crisis in the area boarding nigeria, burkina faso and mali where armed groups carry out repeated attacks against the security forces and civilians. the country is facing domestic insecurity and regional political instability and religious crisis which have directly and indirectly impacted on the life of the people. niger is also grappling with influx of refugees fleeing from the militant jihadist group in nigeria. having painted a picture of violent religious conflicts in chad basin, it is vital to understand the stages of conflict. according to sandole (1993) violence come in stages which include initiation, escalation, control, maintenance, abatement and termination /resolution. these stages form a process, and in that process, peace is the ultimate target of conflict or perhaps violence. this is because, peace-building efforts are predicated on functionalism that sees society as a complex systems where part work together to promote solidarity, stability and cohesive system that provides concrete and realistic activities through which system of behavior, institutions and other pro-peace initiatives are put in place to advance peaceful coexistence. it is perceived that most citizens of the area believe that the only ingredient that could promote acceptance of religious differences, unity and human development is peace. peace may not connote only the total absence conflict but absence of all forms of religious violence, hence kahu (2017) opined that peace is the presence of justice, love and not only the 296 absence of tension. peace involves fair distribution of power irrespective of one’s religious belief and resource. it is devoid of all forms of discrimination against one religious or the other. according to gulting in abeki and kia (2019) peace-building refers to the process to achieve durable peace which include the creation of institutions that are peace-based which survive on justice, equity and cooperation amongst all religion. the chad basin is experiencing various forms of conflicts engineered by persons whose aim is to destabilize the polity, others to make themselves known and relevant, still others to offend perceived enemy but the most pronounced is religious based conflicts. some individuals are hiding under the cloak of religion to cause mayhem in the chad basins without pronouncing their intentions. they just brain-wash some idle youths to fight those they perceive are worshipping another god. these youths who do not have anything doing, so they are given money for their upkeep to fight religious war that do not exist necessarily. they are told by their pay masters to enthrone their religion over and above other religions. and rather than making efforts to convert people through persuasion and selling of the tenets of their religion they revert to force. and most unfortunately the muslim brothers believe that anytime they kill a person who do not believe in their own (muslim) religion that their place/ position before god is raised. this notion has given rise to a situation where any conflict even between persons bears religious. many in the chad basin therefore believe that most of the people in the area who carry arms believe that they are fighting religious war. coincidentally many of the participants see it as a struggle to enthrone their faith practice over and above other’s religion and this is why most of our brothers refer to the situation as the jihadist war that our muslim brothers are threatening to launch on those who do not profess their islamic religion to either eliminate them or convert. the violent conflict plaguing the chad basin is worrisome to the citizens and governments in this region. this is because the situation has serious consequences on social, economic and political life in the basin. the governments in this area have tried to ensure peace, but it is eluding them because of faulty strategies. there are overarching issues that challenge peace and security in the chad basin region. these issues lay the foundations on which to place specific cases and the general cure of what appear to be jihadist war in the chad basin. these overarching issues include religious intolerance, fanatic and extremism are important arts of the dynamics of the disputes in the chad basin. the conflicts and misunderstanding in the chad basin is therefore as a result of many misgiving and inordinate ambitious. however, the perpetrators of the violence have given these misunderstanding some religious undertones to make it appear religious in nature so that some of those who are fighting feel they are defending or rather protecting their faith. this notion has made peace building difficult because those who are growing up are being indoctrinated that there is a war going between their religion and adherents of other religion and that is why the persecutors are called militant jihadists. this militancy has been on for many years and it is non-directional because it is not a denomination versus another denomination rather it is between religious, between sects, between the state and groups, among tribes, between the elites and the uneducated. it is even political in nature and because of the nature, all peace-building efforts appear to be hitting the rock. the nigerian experience of attacks on churches/christians the presence of islam state of west africa (iswap) in chad basin particularly could be traced back to the 8th to 10th century. the spread of the faith in regions that are now the modern states 297 of senegal, gambia, mali, nigeria, cameroun, niger and even chad was in actuality a gradual process. apparently, the early presence of islam in these states was as a result of trade and religion. for instance, islam arrived and was taught in arabic language. islam thus, encouraged the religious bond among northern nigeria, niger, cameroun, chad and these states subsequently embraced the religion. (hill, 2009). arabic language being the widely accepted islamic language and due to differences in islamic religious sect doctrines which is not compatible with the christian belief, some islamic extremist preferred to be addressed by their arabic name jama’atu ahiis sunna lidda’awati wal-jihadwhich means “people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad” and have always targeted churches, driven by both opportunistic and ideological considerations which present christians as infidels that should be killed or get converted to their own religion/faith. on the 19th of november 2021, christians in zamfara state of nigeria were warned to keep away from public services in their respective churches. according to the senior counsel for global affairs at the american center for law and justice (aclj) mike popoe, about 1500 christians lost their lives to religious struggle of the militant jihadist in 2021 and he further noted that the government authorities in nigeria have failed to capture the killings as religious motivated acts of terror. terumbur karyo, the chairman of ukum local government council in benue also notified the people that in less than two days, over 70 christians has been massacred in gbeji community and more than 100 in udei/ yelewata villages respectively. by 30th of may 2021, ado local government of benue state witnessed early sunday morning invasion of ndigwe village, ataloga village, ekpufu village, odokem villiage, ekile village, nduobasi and obakota villages. that sunday morning attack was simply meant to discourage these christians from attending to their normal sunday worships. armed conflict location and event data has presented the following statistics of the militant jihadist groups invasion of the churches as 19 in 2020, 33 for 2021, 34 in 2022,. his data also presented 1664 people killed in the churches strike, about 390 persons injured and 188 churches sanctuaries desecrated. in 2021, plateau state recorded killing of 10 christians, over 100 houses set blast with the residents of about 700 homeless. (oluwole ojewale, 2022). more so, 2020 witnessed series of churches attacks by these religious extremist groups in wusasa and sabon-gari which led to death of over 100 christian faithfuls in the above mentioned cities of kano state. again by february 2nd of 2020, the world saw nigerian christians take to the street to protest the beheading of local church leader in adamawa, to protest against the growing persecution of christian communities within the northern part of nigeria especially and also clamoring for the safety of their lives across 28 of nigeria’s 36 states on sunday. (world watch list, 2020). according to humanitarian aid relief trust (hart), 2019 witnessed numerous severe strikes/ abduces on churches, some 1000 nigerian christians have been killed, over 500 christians were captured, four pastors killed and about 730,000 dollars equivalent remitted as ransom according to christian association of nigeria. by 2015, kaduna state recorded the highest score in kidnapping of christian faithful while plateau state witnessed in 2013 the religious militants bloody launched on christians which claimed about 86 lives with dozens injured. more so, 2012 was another climate record of churches invasions: 3 churches bombed in northern nigeria (kaduna), christ church zaira, cocin in jos, st finbarrs’s catholic church in jos attacked on 11th of march with about 19 people killed, suicide bomber drove car into harvest field church of christ in bauchi killing 9 and 35 injured. time bomb was discovered at st michael church in railway quarters maiduguri. 2014 saw the unceasing strikes on christians in the northern part of nigeria, the international christian concern noted that the 298 attack was regular. about 20 churches was pull down, 150 christians massacred with series of strike on christian communities in benue state all in 2014. the year 2011 witnessed about 33 insurgency killings, bombings and massacre in abuja, kaduna, katsina borno, bauchi, damaturu with the higher massacre done in maduguri state together with the 25th december bombings that claimed lives of over 200 persons and many seriously injured at st theresa catholic church madalla niger state. april 24th 2018 attack on saint ignatius catholic church in mbalom benue that took the lives of two priest and seventeen church members that came for morning mass. finally, the islamic state of west african province (iswap) saga in nigeria started by attacking everyone within their acclaimed cities but later spread more to the infidels (uncountable christians and churches were badly affected) but few mosques within their domain in zamfara ( ju’at mosque), niger state 2018, mubi 2017, kano 2014, maidufuri 2017, katisna 2021, taraba, borno and bauchi was affected. cameroonians experience of religious extremist attacks on churches/christians the attitudes of religious extremist groups against adherents of other religions in cameroun have deteriorated. this is due to the fact that positivity breeds positivity and that of having a positive outlook can make all the difference in a person’s ability to escape poverty. people should concentrate on the opportunity for improvement and growth rather than concentrating on their negative thoughts and emotions, as happened in the northern part of cameroun that witnessed the preeminence of the religious militant groups’ activities of modibbo adama which brought serious division between the followers of indigenous religion and islam. lang (2015, p.61). observing the religious militants activities in cameroun, voll (2015, p.1185) simply posited that the early militant jihadist group moves were religiously motivated and he also asserted that the make use of destructive means of propagating their radical faith in cameroun where some number of churches have been destroyed, sanctuaries defiled, christians and their clergy adduced in the capital city of cameroun. chapman (2007) made a clarion call on catholic, protestant and pentecostal churches about iswap manifold bombardments on christian life and properties in the northern part of cameroun and he further advised all christians to be on their guard against the underground surge of a bitter religious strife and hunt for sect or domination. again, 2013 witnessed a priest named georgas vandenbeusch of a french national who stays in cameroun kidnapped, by 2014, another two italian clergy and a canadian nun was abducted from a church in tchere, cameroun. (guibbaud 2014, p.2.) churches in another cameroonian town known as mora witnessed also sudden attacks that made them close down their churches during the 2014 christmas and new year vigils and some of the baptist mission churches that lay at the boundary of cameroun-nigeria were destroyed. by august 2014, these jihadist militants group unleashed violence via beheading of three elders of the church namely zerubbabel, tchamaya and samuel lade, and occupied mouldougoua and assighassia., burnt down a pastors residence and also ransacked his church in the village of cherif moussay. many christians took to their heels because their resident has been converted to a den of religious militants (world watch monitor 2015). more so, a catholic church was attacked, three persons massacred and the church set ablaze in the northern part of cameroun in 2015, july 28th. another town outside of mora was attacked, eight persons killed and the church pulled and people ran for their lives. according to the british-based christian institute (2015) about 4000 cameroonian christians lost their lives to these religious extremist in 2014 while over 6000 christians were made refugees in manawa 299 camp because their area has been taken over. from the above analysis, it was discovered that uncountable christians lost their lives and homes. numerous churches were desecrated, ransacked and burnt down but only about five mosques (mosque in far north region 2016, mosque in kerawa northern part of cameroun 2017, mosque in nguetchewe village 2016, mosque in sanda wadjiri at a village in south of kolofafa 2017 and a mosque in kouyape 2017) came under attack that was directed on individuals. chad experience of religious extremist attacks on churches/christians: chad just like other states in the chad bain is faced with religious crisis that resulted in historical target of christians with the intention of wiping out their witnessing to christ and implanting islamic caliphate in the whole of chad and west africa in general. they do this via destruction of churches and suicide bombing attacks on christians. these militant jihadist group called iswap-bh strike the christian population within capital of chad july 10th and 11th of 2015. they were reports on how the religious militants attacked chadian churches and homes which made the entire christians to flee their villages for a while but on their return, they realized that their five (5) churches and homes have been burnt to ashes. this happened in seven (7) villages in the leo chiefdom with about fifty (50) christians massacred, many injured together with over five thousand (5000) christians made homeless. international christian concern also posited that in 2021, the president of chad idriss deby itno lost his life to these religious extremist group when he went to show solidarity with the frontlines of the clash and his death threw christians in chad into serious dilemma because they remain the target of the militant jihadist group. again, even barnabas aid in 2020 asserted that the senior chadian church leader rev clement hiama and christians in chad were faced with severe threat that is still affecting the christian faith there till date. and to worsen the ugly situations of christians in chad, the chadian authorities erected a sultan within the christian population area known as the south mogenchari region (world watch monitor 2018). the erection of the sultan got chad christians exposed to death both in n’djamena, islands and sore of the lake, where about 7000 were displaced. none of the mosque nor muslims was attacked, instead all the strike was directed to christian settlements and churches. niger republic experience of religious extremist attacks on churches/christians: world watch list posited in 2015 that niger republic consist of 98 percent of muslims and only 0.3 percent of christians, yet they had wonderful relationship amongst themselves not until the militant jihadist group launched an attack on the christians in 2015 and when they came chanting “slaughter all the infidel, massacre all the christians”. aid to the church attested to this as they stated how serious the aggression against the christians was. bishop ambrose quedraogo of the nigerien diocese of maradi noted on 6th july 2015, that the attack came as a surprise to them because there has been smooth cooperation amongst christians all over the country irrespective of your religion. he also added that despite the bloody attacks by the religious extremist group, the faith of the christians still remains strong and also the churches activities still moves on with or without the structures that were already destroyed. christians and churches within the major city of niamey and the second biggest city zinder of niger republic have experienced brutal attacks. the churches in the federal capital were all ransacked and set ablaze except the cathedral church and other churches in the remotest part of the city. even a newly erected church that was dedicated in 2014, was also burnt down. this happened on 10th of january 2015 after the attack at the french editorial office of satirical magazine. about 46 protestant churches and 15 catholic churches were completely burnt. over 200 christians in zinder then took shelter in the states that bordered niger republic (acn, 300 2015). dennis peter and maria lozano of the aid to the church observed that in the year 2015, a religious congregation of the nuns flee from the cities of niamey and zinder because of the heavy attacks by the militant jihadist group which they called “ethnic cleansing of christians” 173 christians were injured, 10 lost their lives in the church, parish house belonging to the white fathers, convent of sisters of assumption, their cars and schools were all set ablaze. the nuns were forced to run to the military base while father ghistaine was rushed to the clinic for medical attention on his injury and about 40 churches of the catholics, protestants and evangelical missions were burnt. more so, these militant jihadist group otherwise called boko haram, stormed the cities of fantio and doibel in the tillaberi region of south west of niger republic and massacred men in their numbers, their wives and children ran to the dori region of burkin-faso to take refuge. christian houses, sacred specie, vestments and statues burnt with about two hundred christians in idp. (acn, 2015). again the jihadist group attacked, the small christian community in the tillaberi region twice and slaughtered about 58 persons in the first attack and 137 people in the second attack all took place in march 2021. (barnabas aid, 2021). a pastor, who is also the president of the evangelical church in the niger republic attested to the terrorist attacks on churches and christians across the five regions. a total of 68 churches were burnt down together with numerous christian’s homes which made the believers to flee for their lives (morning star news, 2014). lastly, numerous churches and christians came under the attack and were also burnt by the religious jihadist group but only three mosques namely: mosque in maza-kula village in mashegu local government area, mosque in the tillaberi region of republic of niger and mosque in the southeastern city of diffa in niger republic was attacked. it simply shows that the major target are the christians because of religious differences. poverty as a contributing factor of insurgency poverty and inequality are causing a lot of the youths to carry arms in the chad basin. about 60% of the population in the chad basin are living in poverty. poverty provides additional challenges to security (stewart 2005). strongly linked to poverty is poor education. because of poverty most of the youths in the chad basin area are not educated and that is why it is easy for some persons who are rich and those who are enlightened to influence them and misdirect them. lack of basic education has done a great damage to the reasoning of these youths. because they lack basic education they depend on their leaders for social and political direction. equally too these their leaders provide them food which is one of the basic necessities of life. these their leaders equally feed them with false religious believe which make them see those who do not profess their religion as enemies. these their leaders put it in their heads that whatever they do to eliminate their perceived religious opponents is righteous before god. because of their poor education, their leaders feed them with wrong impression that the whole area belongs to them and that any person who do not believe in their own ideology is an enemy and must be wiped out. some of them look at their condition as if it is caused by the society and they face their perceived enemy shifting the blame of their condition on the society. because of lack of basic education these people do not have anything tangible to occupy their minds so they become easy tools for the devil. lack of basic education deny them the opportunity of being exposed and being ambitious and that is why they are at home causing troubles. poverty line is categorized into two, the upper poverty line of 5.50 usd and the lower poverty line which is 1.90 usd. residents living within the range of the upper poverty rate are regarded 301 as living in moderately poor situation while those living in lower poverty level are referred to be extremely poor. looking at the different countries population percentage of poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines below, one would understand that residents living in extreme poverty line are at its peak over the countries other chad basin and most of the residents are not able to come by a sustainable living standard. the table of poverty rate percentage of nigeria, chad, cameroun and niger republic. years: nigeria’s percentage of poverty rate % chad’s percen tage of poverty rate % cameroun percentage of poverty rate % republic of niger’s percentage of poverty rate % 2021 45% 42% 25.3% 41.8% 2020 40 71.4% 66.7% 42% 2019 40% 66,2% 55.1% 40.8% 2018 40% 42.3% 40% 40.1% 2017 41.4% 47% 40% 48.9% 2016 43% 46.7% 44.9% 54.5% 2014/2015 42.49% 48% 37.5% 48.9% 2012/2013 42,5% 43% 40% 64.9 2010/2011 43.5% 46.7% 40% 95.80% source: data.worldbank.org explaining the above data in the table, the world bank simply made it clear that the overall poverty rate of the chad basin countries is alarming (60%) and most residents of the countries are living below the globally accepted rate of standard living ($5.50 per day). the poverty line is the percentage of money required, in order to meet basic needs such as housing, food and water. people who live below this standard may feel pressured, frustrated and angry. nigeria : take for instance nigeria where about 95.1 million nigerians are living in poverty with over 70 million residents in extreme poverty line and this finger covers about 33 percent of the country’s population. the national nigerian bureau of statistics also posited that out of 10 residents of nigeria, 4 are living below the national poverty line which #137.430 annually and about 31.9 percent of the population is living below international poverty line of 1.90 usd. niger republic: about 10million residents are affected negatively because of the extreme poverty rate of 42.9%, 80% living on less than 2 euro per day and every 2 out of 3 nigeriens live below the acceptable national poverty level. again, more than 40% of the population are living on less than one usd per day and this made hunger one of the most significant problems the population faces daily. chad: 42 percent of the population of chad are estimated to be below the poverty line. the estimated 14 million rural residents of chad or 87 percent of the country’s population, survive on less than $1 a day by 2018 as deposited by oxfam international. world bank (2021) states that chad set its national standard at 2400 kcal per day and that the country’s poverty evaluation report noted that poverty is pervasive and extremely severe in chad and that 42 percent (89.0 million) residents, live below the national poverty line of 242,092 fcfa (roughly $400) per year. around 38.8 percent of males and 41.4 percent of women in chad were employed and living below the international poverty line as of 2021, according to un women.org. the percentage of people who live below the federal poverty level is 46.7percent. 302 cameroon according to the results of the cameroonian national statistics (ins), 37.5 percent of the country’s population, or 21,657,488 people, are poor and live below the xaf 339,715 per person per year poverty level. nearly eight out of ten cameroonians are considered to be impoverished. cameroon has 71.00 percent of its population classified as extremely poor, according to the most recent international poverty ranking rate of us $5.50 per day. in summary, it was noted that poverty fuel anger and frustration, which in turn fuels violence. according to sultaima (2008), a community that is impoverished remains a fertile setting for enticing and recruiting people into the group such as insurgent group. conclusion with findings it was found that the grievance of religious intolerance and the high rate of poverty among the inhabitants of chad basin paved way for easy spread insurgency within the basin. it was also found that the insurgency had eroded the foundation of the lake chad basin's security governance, leading to the deaths of countless civilians and soldiers, mass kidnappings, displacement of numerous people from their homes and local governments, and a decline in socioeconomic activity in the region. recommendations based on the findings, the researcher makes the following recommendations: governments within the chad basin should direct a large portion of their resources toward human capital development and capacity building in order to eradicate poverty which creates the avenue for easy brainwashing of the youth to join the religious extremism group in spreading insurgency in the basin. governments in the chad basin should strengthen their security intelligence and institutional frameworks via installation of surveillance infrastructures and recruiting of adequately equipped security personnel to combat iswap-bh insurgency and restore good of security governance references abass, a. i. 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(2009). counterinsurgency guide. retrieved from www.state.gov/t/pm/ppa/pmppt undp (2016), preventing violent extremism through inclusive development and the promotion of tolerance and respect for diversity, a discussion paper on a development response to addressing radicalization and violent extremism, march, 2016. united nations general assembly (2015). plan of action to prevent violent extremism: report of the secretary-general on culture of peace, presented at the united nations global counter-terrorism strategy. 7th session, agenda items 16 and 117. 24 december, 2015. united nations humanitarian centre for refuges. (2017). nigeria regional refugee response plan. retrieved fromwww.unhcr.org https://doi.org/10.2307/%2026873429 https://doi.org/10.2307/%2026873429 http://www.state.gov/t/pm/ppa/pmppt http://www.unhcr.org/ page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 56 mass media and challenges of fake news: a focus on security in nigeria. agama, jude onyebuchi chinwe okpoko department of mass communication university of nigeria, nsukka (unn). abstract mass media are the conventional media of mass communication before the emergency of the new media. the conventional media are empowered and are regarded as the members of fourth estate of the realm whose work among others is to keep the people abreast of information, providing clues on security matters and divulging information leading to insecurity in the country. since the dream of marshall mcluhan came through in the late 20th century, the globe has been hit with many positive technological transitions which have transformed society in virtually every facets of human life. the product of the dream (new media technology or internet) has conquered the barrier of time and space or distance in communication. however, the indiscriminate use of the new media over time due to divergent interest in many quarters, becomes the brainchild of fake news in contemporary society. in nigeria, fake news has added to the current challenges of insecurity, leading to the series of social unrest and tensions – violence, conflict and crisis of different categories. employing a library research technique( qualitative research design), secondary data was used in the data collection for the study. the researcher utilized four theories for the research: conspiracy theory, inoculation theory, media literacy theory and social responsibility theory, forming the theoretical framework to guide the study. this paper finally calls on all the stakeholders; every individual and government to put all hands on deck to nip the distribution of fake news in the bud. keywords: fake news, information, mass media, security, nigeria. introduction. in recent times, fake news in nigeria has undoubtedly sparked up offensive and hateful attributes that degenerate into antagonism across tribal lines, especially spurring up northern dominated muslims against their christian counterparts in some of the southern parts of the country and vise versa. this situation has become a great security threat and apprehension across the country as perceived by many. according to (talwar etal.,2020), fake news not only erodes trust in news source but also has the potential to influence public opinion, disrupt democratic processes and, at times, contribute to real-world harm. aimeur, in order to lay credence to the above assertion, said that the proliferation of fake news and misinformation on social media platforms presents a significant and growing challenge to the credibility of information in the digital age, (aimeur etal., 2023;, 2020). in early 2019, in a symposium on fake news held in nigeria by the bbc on fake news with some of the notable philosophers, among whom is wole soyinka, nigerian nobel prize laureate was in attendance. soyinka accentuated the level of threat posed by fake news when he said, " i have said this before that fake news may cause world war 3 and that fake news will be started by a nigerian" witnessing the forcing of the country's nationalities into ethno-tribal cocoons. 57 what soyinka said is in line with what happened during the gulf war in iraq in 1990 and some threats of war in 1993, when western journalists and mass media organizations barricaded the real situations in those countries and opened gate to what lee,(1998) saw as a blatant lies and disinformation whose consequences were cataclysmic: 85,000 loads of bombs shelled at iraq and kuwait; 49,000 children under 5 years lost their lives due to the impact of the war; 100,000 iraqi soldiers equally lost their lives and over 1.8 million people were displaced from their homes. during an annual unesco event on world press freedom day, a number of media professionals in nigeria accused the nigerian government of its failure to combat the threat imposed by fake news, with the view of protecting journalists reporting from a dangerous environment. others have called for a public campaign on social media literacy to help people question more effectively what they read, a point noted by professor lai oso of school of media, lagos state university, "not many people are able to make a distinction between the real media and social media and this has posed a serious challenge to the country at large". in nigeria, fake news is prevalent, especially during any national events or political transition. it is commonly a recurring decimal at any given general elections, national assembly elections, gubernatorial elections and stäte assembly elections etc. considerably, unlike the good old days, journalism, today, faces greater challenges in the maintenance of its grand norm or ethical standard majorly as a result of fake news engendered by corruption in the country. technological age and digital society seem to have succeeded in the creation of new ideas of journalistic styles and fashion.this is the era that would determine media extinction or distinction. however, misinformation, disinformation, greenwashing, and hoaxes generally known as "fake news' ' have succeeded in influencing how the public perceive the routine reportage of events. the distribution and redistribution of disinformation new/social media such as web pages, twitter handles,whatsapp platforms, facebook platforms, etc has taken a turbulent turn. ( almeur et al, 2023, buchanan,2020) corroborated the above when they said that the sharing of disinformation and misinformation on social media channels presents a significant and growing challenge to the credibility of information in the digital age. hence fake news has become a source of worry to the conventional or traditional media of mass communication and is globally causing erosion of unity, peace and progress. in africa, nigeria is the worst hit. this is resulting from serious security challenges posed by fake news in the country. misinformation and disinformation has its own corrosive effects as it spreads at the speed of light, reaching heterogeneous and large audiences at the same time. (van der linden; etal.,2017) argued that fake news can get a diverse but large audience as it swiftly spreads from one person to another person. in the same vein, hong (2019) corroborated the above argument when he said that, that greatly assists in the promotion of false information. 58 empirical studies have it that one of the major causative factors for spread of misinformation is human influence. (steinmetz, 2018; anderson and rainie, 2017), highlighted the fact that fake news spread is usually human-motivated. this means that human beings with untamed emotion just click on their social-media-page button, and the false message is sent without verification or fact check. the spread of fake news is taking a deadly turn in sowing the seed of disunity, crises, conflict, assassination, killing of different nature and even warthis is a physical dimension. then, another one is damages it brings on human, psychological, emotional, economical and spiritual makeup of man. some who are conscious of its rippling effects, after realizing that what is given out is fake, usually follow up with a rebuttal to counteract the early post, despite the level of damage it might have caused. recently in the us based research centre, named pew, established a research whose findings pinpointed that adult in the united states of america whose preference for news is social media are very much prone to dissemination of fake news than those via traditional media such as tv, radio, newspapers or websites,( see robertson,2016; wong, 2019). a twin study also showed that social media addicts are less committed and less knowledgeable,( mitchell, jurkowitz, oliphant & shearer,2020) from the foregoing, it is worthy to note that the proprietors of technology companies such as facebook, whatsapps, youtube, instagram etc have engaged in an aggressive movement to battle the anomaly but have so far achieved only but a rare success, since they have not done enough to clamp down upon it ion the whole, hong,(2019). the preference of anonymity by most social media participants/users make the social media space more challenging to be monitored through censorship. the conventional media, amist fake news, are still at the receiving end though they are being looked upon as part of the solution to the malady. the danger the fake news poses on the traditional media is that after people consume it on social media platforms, they would lay the blame on media in general. this, in turn, helps erode fidelity of communication, credibility and trust, the traditional media have over the years. it is one way the concept of fake news is diminishing media trust, (madrid-morales et al, 2019). therefore, the fake news situation calls for an urgent measure to combat and curb them, hence the use of government agencies and every stakeholder through advocacy advertising for reorientation and solutions. the research reason(the statement of the problem). this paper mirrors the content of the new media and their uses and found that they have two sides of the same coin in terms of their pros and cons. fake news or hoaxes are being amplified and proliferated by the use of the new media. it has led to so many vices in nigeria, causing chaos, crisis, violence in critical areas like war against terrorism, promotion of national cultural heritage and political formation and development of the country and socioeconomic transformations among others. however, this goes a long way to constituting a threat to security challenges and national unity of the country that if not urgently checked may someday, degenerate into full scale tribal or civil war. 59 theoretical framework. theories are known for concept clarifications and also place such concepts in perspectives. they explain and clear all the grey areas of studies, thereby juxtaposing the existing theories just to test the positions of the theories. based on this, this research work dwells on four theories: conspiracy theory, inoculation theory, media literacy theory and social responsibility theory. the proliferation of fake news carried out by the use of new media follows the pattern of the spread of viral infection (kucharski,2016). inoculation theory, therefore, brings an immediate solution to viral infection by giving a vaccine possible to fight against fake news (van der linden et al, 2017). the theory first came from william mcguire (1964) while he was trying to induce attitudinal resistance against every form of propaganda and persuasion just like biological immunization. so, in this research work, an inoculation approach is drawn. the theory is relevant here as it attempts to mirror how people perceive fake news via new media platforms; the effects of such fake news on the people and the way they react to it. conspiracy theory is another theory employed in the study which tends to explain matters as it concerns socio-political occurrences or affairs with claims of intrigue or clandestine schemes by gladiators, keeley, (1999) as cited in douglas. this theory is not only associated with government but also has to do with great men and women or groups. those could come from either comprador bourgeoisie or national bourgeoisie. mckenzie-mottarg (2018) cited in (douglas et al.2019) noted that while conspiracy is all about a true causal link of events, the conspiracy theory then is about an allegation of conspiracy which may be true or false. there are some situations where people believe certain issues. this is referred to as "conspiracy belief" . as enders and smallpage put it, up to 60% of americans believed that john f. kennedy was killed by the cia and a greater number of people still maintain and sustain such belief till date, enders and smallpage (2018). in the same vein, in nigeria, a greater percentage of its population believes that the nation was being piloted by a foreigner in the person of jibrin al-sudani of sudan in the wake of the rumored death of the then president muhammadu buhari in 2017. this kind of belief is termed a conspiracy belief. therefore, conspiracy theory is employed as well here as it tends to also help demystify fake news and how possible it is to bring up some certain falsehoods as though they are true with the sole aim of diverting people's attention or pushing a particular cause which would either have economic, religious, tribal or political undertones. the third theory is media literacy theory. it is utilized here as an aspect of a tool against fake news. here, media is an extension of the notion of literacy that encompasses the capacity to use, examine, test or investigate media contents and also design, give thought to and take action leveraging the strength of information and communication to influence the globe. it is also the capacity to critically and objectively examine media stories from the mass media outlets, weighing their appropriateness, reality or reliability. potter(2004) in an attempt to digest the theory, examined the way man cared to be media literate and consequently evolved the theory from the past study on cognitive media literacy 60 theory. cognitive media literacy theory spelt out the media literacy process (james potter, 2004). at first, he felt what it was to have knowledge networks and decided to develop it for man which would help them on how to critically go about any media message and whatever effect it could create in the marketplace of ideas. finally potter deduced from the theory that if a person is doing well in the media market, that is the same way he would improve on his/ her media literacy and in view of this, the negative impact of media on him/her would be, to a larger extent, low and insignificant. hence the theory supplied all the structure to assess media literacy education. this also goes a long way to lead any one to what media literacy education can offer. social responsibility theory is the fourth theory under the political or classical theories of the press. since the libertarian or free press theory of the press failed, the social responsibility theory was introduced. this theory is of the view that the press should be free but responsible. in as much as the press and creators of media contents remain irresponsible (delving into spurious and sordid practices which would normally end in sensationalism, yellow journalism, and defamation) the press should be made responsible (within the context of ethics of journalism in nigeria) by the government. conceptual review. new media is a phrase that shows the arrival of internet devices: comprising information and communication technologies in the late 20th century. such networked technologies are called digital media or digital technology with the potential that is networkable, interactive, manipulable and comprehensible (ekpemo and igbozuruike, 2018). the digital media used as tools to achieve new media are smart phones, digital computers (tablet computers) and other digital devices that can access the internet . other new devices capable of using digital media are: blogs and websites, news applications, feeds, charts, online newspapers and magazines, podcasts, and social media postings. based on the above, (ekpemo and igbozuruike, 2018) said that the only thing that is novel about the new media is their digitality that is interconnected to each other and information processed and stored, transformed, linked, retrieved and searched for and accessed (p8-9). according to nnammuo and nwafor (2019), the new media are referred to as all platforms empowered by the internet service which emerged as new information and communication technology. some of these new media or digital media as enlisted by the authors above are as follows: social media sites or networking sites such as youtube, facebook, whatsapp, wechat, 2go, etc, mobile cell phones, es, blogs, wilkis, webcasts, online newspapers, video streaming among several others. looking at it from any side of the prism, the new media are distinct and special and in fact, one of its kind with a myriads of merits and boon. the unique characteristics of the new media such as its global strength, ubiquity and anonymity status make them good instruments for dissemination of fake news, misinformation, hoaxes and propaganda which are not the original purpose of its invention. they are special interactive platforms with a diverse range of utility 61 and open-ended features. these are some of the privileges that help miscreants, hooligans and bandits spread fake news through them. even those whose minds are filled with one evil or the other find the platforms useful and a fertile ground to achieving their selfish goals. the idea of fake news has no generally known and approved definitions. a number of authors have come up with numerous explanations to the concept, yet, non has been able to bring out a universally accepted one. nevertheless, the term "fake news" has had more definitions to the existing ones since the 2016th elections of the united state of america. carson (2019) noticed that the "term" despite being the most liked term of donald trump, the president of the united state of america from the 2016 general elections. the word was also mentioned as 2017 word of the year to his credit. however, the operational definition of fake news in this paper is disinformation or deliberate and intentional misinformation about an issue· mcguire (2017) defined fake news as deliberately fabricated information disseminated with a view to misleading, deceiving and hoodwinking others into believing falsehood or doubting verifiable facts; it is disinformation that is showcased as, and, perhaps, perceived as a news item. methodology the research work employed library research technique which is a part of qualitative research design that made use literature review and also covers: media age, information society and the spread of fake information; fake information and propaganda in nigeria; information/ disinformation and war against terrorism in nigeria; fake information in political space; fake information in religious circles. data were collected from secondary sources including journals, online materials, text books and periodicals. literature review mass media's significance in the time of crisis or national emergency has been absolutely viewed and discussed by professionals of mass media. however, fake news can generate violence, insurgence and at extreme, war. it usually succeeds at the time of crisis and during campaigns, national or international engagements. even when there is nothing at stake to attract fake news, it would be fabricated, cooked up, generated and escalated by the irrational persons, political miscreants and comprador bourgeoisie and disseminated by the irrational new media users. the media of mass communication, as part of their functions, must feed the people and keep them abreast of information with full coverage, reportage and updates of events as they unfold. in the heat of covid-19 pandemic, there was news that the invented drugs for prevention of the outbreak, are not healthy. this is as a result of controversies that heralded the manufacturing of the vaccines from different quarters in europe and asia and political promotion of some above others. even today in africa, especially in nigeria, there are still insinuations that those that took the vaccine will soon die. apuke and omar (2020) found out from the result of their research carried out on the rationale behind the circulation of fake news in the time of covid-19 outbreak in nigeria, that altruism was the major brain behind the spread of fake information. the study also showed that social 62 media users' rationale for disseminating information on cyberspace was to give knowledge to people who may not be aware of their current health issues that might pose a threat to their overall well-being. unfortunately, those news disseminators do not embark on fact checks before spreading the news on social media platforms. so, the fake news also became pandemic during the covid 19 pandemic in nigeria. wasserman and madris-morales (2019) in their own research, examined the effect of fake news on political campaigns in some parts of african continent and had a survey of 1, 900% well educated, urban dwellers and working classes from across nigeria, kenya and south africa and found out that 93% of nigerians, 90% of kenyans and 76% of south africans are of the view that they are very much vulnerable to fake news about politics of their country on a clearly frequent basis. wasserman and madris-morales also found out that the respondents in the research show no confidence in social media platforms due to the fact that most of their contents are riddled with fake news and misinformation. despite the fact that the research acknowledges the strength and ability of new media technologies in the circulation of information at a speed of light, the research, therefore, suggested that the government should take a bold step in teaching and socializing the citizens on the better way to use their social media platforms. following a research to establish or determine the effect and influence of fake news on the society in the wake of new media technology, ngwainmbi (2018) discovered that the advantages from technological improvement in the novel media are myriad with their stiff challenges, one of which is the dissemination of untrue and untrusted pieces of information.the researcher, in addition, investigated the consequences of fake news for nation-building, placing side by side the first world countries and the third-world countries. the result of his research indicated that phony news dissemination is more popular in industrialized countries due to the presence or availability of mobile devices and expressed access to them, whereas in developing countries, they disseminate information more on a larger scale and in fraction, due to the fact that they lack what it takes to separate the true information from the untrue ones. ngwainmbi proved that in either part of the world, the social media users may not be all that interested in trying to fathom the issues of phony news content due to the fact that it supplies complication and secret schemes. the research is of the view that the proliferation of fake news using new media platforms could have far-reaching effects on nations-building, especially the socioeconomic formation and improvement of the nations. when banerjee and haque (2018) checked the proliferation of fake information in india and how the political class used it to promote selfish goals in the country, the research result showed that the fake news has been used by indian politicians to perpetrate hate speech in the country. for example, in 2018, a video clip was in circulation about а mammoth crowd of supporters of the pakistan cricket team celebrating its victory in a cricket match in india. the message was accusing indian muslims of being betrayers for giving support to their main opponents. meanwhile, the video was actually done in pakistan by pakistani people themselves and was then posted severally on social media. the video however, got massive viewers and created a negative impression that indian muslims are against their own nation. thus, it caused a lot of crises in some parts of the country. 63 yaraghi (2017) in his own research, says that misinformation on social media platforms is anticulture, and tends to take news and good messages away from the people of the world, thereby breaking up their trust. the research acknowledged that the new media companies pay less attention to what they are supposed to do as in engaging in facts-check before publication of the content on their internet web. however, they have designed and brought various measures following the incessant threats of fake news, including computerized and human-driven methods for editing, filtering and promotion of any publication, a development that has become main sources of knowledge to the users of the new media technologies. this is just a part of a solution in a bid to clamp down upon the menace of fake news. media age, information society and the spread of fake news. there is no doubt that new media technology has brought about a lot of changes in journalism practice all over the world and has also made the profession stand out as it has broken the existing barriers of distance and time. a massage posted on social media reaches a larger audience the world over, at the speed of light. it has also made the interaction between media professionals and the audiences of mass media a global room. one good thing about the new media is that a journalist would post news on it and the same news would equally be accessed on the same platform. again, the audiences or recipients of the media content before are today active creators and senders of messages using the same new media just like seasoned journalists. hence, we have what is called citizen journalism. moreover, it is worthy to note that the arrival of new media redefined the media decoders, as it empowers the digital audiences to also engage in news production. today, there has been a paradigm shift on the part of the receivers from being mere receivers to the co-producers of the media content. (gilmore, 2004; bruns 2008; posetti, 2018) described the situation as "the shift of tools of production to the people formerly known as the audience, who became coproducers of the content including news a function and practice that is referred to as "produsage". the media professionals at first built audiences through emails and chat rooms, before social media platforms dramatically amplified their reach. the emergency of the new media, with all their welcomed technological breakthroughs and advancement still has serious challenges to the dissemination of real news. towards the end of 2000, many countries with social media services such as twitter, facebook, whatsapp, instagram, youtube etc. have gained massive influence on the practice and experts recognition of media professionals and dissemination of news content. the networks of individuals are usually built upon trust and then peer -to--peer group dissemination of news and in this way, the conventional/ traditional methods of sharing the news contents were seriously challenged and threatened (see posetti, 2009; posetti, 2013; posetti, 2018). since social media began to distribute content without any forms of gatekeeping or mediation, unlike the conventional media of mass communication, the proliferation of hoax, inaccurate, false, propagandic, malicious and false information in the form of news has become the order of the day. 64 bakir & mcstay (2017) in their research, have found out that media messages that seamingly emotionally posted by a close family member or a friend has every tendency to be shared over and again on social media channels. it is a known fact that conventional organizations, media experts and journalists make use of these platforms to gather and disseminate news content to retain the attention of the listeners or viewers just to stay present in the virtual milieu and to remain relevant in the industry. posetti (2018) asserts that despite such presence that conventional news organizations create filter bubbles or echo chambers which have usually minimize several individual users' vulnerability to choice of view in terms of fake news.. every form of information or news has been made free by the new media. the existence of this freedom comes with a number of shortcomings and pitfalls. some of them are noted by posetti (2018) thus: (1) there is a tendency for the dissemination of sensational news content or information to the listeners or viewers. (2) it lacks ability to amend any information incorrectly or wrongly posted or distributed online. (3) the likelihood of government officials and other agencies to dodge media interviews and confirmation and bump straight to audiences on social media to avoid scrutiny. (4) promotion of dissemination of misinformation and disinformation enhanced by trust networks and emotional reactions. for example, the one caused by confirmation prejudice or bias. there is no gainsaying the fact that the issue of fake news has not been existent before but the new media technologies (internet and icts) exploded the whole matter with reckless abandon. the difference is on the scale with which it spreads which is a threat to security, social cohesion and democracy at a global scale. "fake news is now viewed as one of the greatest threats to democracy, journalism and freedom of expression," (zhou and zarafani, 2019) information/ disinformation and war against terrorism in nigeria. in nigeria, war against insurgency has been one of the areas that has suffered a far-reaching consequences from misinformation and disinformation. there are several other areas that are still under the negative influence from fake news. some of the example of the areas are: ethnicity, politics, religion, etc. according to afp ,(2019) before now, ethnicity has also been one of the targets as well as driving forces of fake news in nigeria, but in recent times a number of variables have been included such as political and religious differences. the joint task forces in nigeria always lament on the level of fake news carried against them on various social media platforms. they say it affects them as it lowers their moral and image each time they encounter such. they stated that this situation is a disheartening one and does not augur well with security officers as they are being portrayed in an ugly light. usman, (2018). military authorities said that insurgent group like boko haram usually dish out a number of fake videos and propaganda 65 images drawing the attention of the masses via their dissemination on social media platforms (see usman, 2018). in view of this, the military authorities of nigeria beckons on the conventional/traditional media to assist also in the war against misinformation and disinformation. the new media are always replete with the news about raids on military bases in the north east by boko haram group. fortunately, the new media users, without verification, always believe and disseminate the information over and over again, in such a way that it assaults and debases them (the military men). the military authorities will always debunk the ideas of such attacks and said that not only that such news embarrasses them but also does so on the government and also threatens national security, adebajo,(2020). in another hand, the military authority added that there may be a number of cases where their men have been waylaid but not on a magnitude as carried on the social media platforms. there has been an attempt made by broadcast organization of nigeria (bon) for collaboration with nigerian military authorities to war against the threat of fake news in the society in relation to war on insurgent groups (el-kurebe, 2019). fake news on new media platforms is, today, a national problem in nigeria. it constitutes a huge threat to national security and worsens the existing divisions along the ethnic lines. it also amplifies extreme views of those ethnic groups. the level of fake news being spread on social media today in nigeria, which has also aggravated the already existing ethnic and religious crisis before the emergency of new media is quite unprecedented. sometime in 2019, there was a video clip on circulation both on whatsapp and facebook, displaying some northern farmers pouring liquid substance believed to be insecticide (in form of preservatives against pests especially weevils) on to their farm produce (beans) before taking them down to southern part of the country for sales. unfortunately, the voice-overs of the video interpreted it otherwise, saying that it was poison not insecticide. this later version of the news is the most believed among the people. in this kind of scenario, a people of uncritical minds who would never verify issues may eventually ruffle up and before long, a crisis may erupt between hausa/fulani people and igbos, (hassan and hitchen; 2020). fake information in political space. one of the major political challenges the world over is the issue of fake news, before, during and even after political transition. nigeria as the giant of africa, is one of the countries that is still giant in terms of fake news in the continent. however, the effect of fake news in its polity is far-reaching and it could be recalled that in the 2015 general election in nigeria that all progressive congress (apc), the then opposition party, was believed to have used fake information to back up its win. that laid a strong foundation for fake news in the country, ( see ogaraku, 2020). to lay credence to the above claim owkins, (2020) asserted that political gladiators now conceive the power of new media. because of the foregoing, politicians now resort to establishment of media industries and political parties establishing special control rooms with people being paid working as attack dogs or dissemination of information to disinform or lure people to themselves (bbc news, 2019). many people, especially the social media leaders are also under that remuneration of the politicians in nigeria. by and large, the 66 ugly trend encourages the circulation of fake information beyond control. in the light of this several persons in the society, who have acknowledged the strength of the new media may stop at nothing in disinformation or misinformation of people using the platforms, provided it goes to their favor. in 2015 and 2019, record has it that certain political decisions taken by some nigerians, were influenced by fake information used as an instrument, (irenoa, 2017; cheggeman, 2019). there are a number of known and notorious handles on twitter and facebook pages where once an information is posted by one of them, the same information would be disseminated across the rest of other pages and in this way, it keeps spreading busari, (2019). the new media platforms have assumed a tragic trend and it is really unhealthy development in nigeria. it is recalled, for example, that sometime in the past there were trending photographs on facebook over killings in certain segments of the country. an immediate fact-check disclosed that there might be actual killings somewhere else but photographs being circulated on the social platforms are old ones under the guise of new ones with the aid of new media technology. for instance, during president buhari's administration, the apc campaign organization was alleged by the pdp to have spread false information about atiku abubakar during a campaign rally in sokoto state. one of the buhari's aide, onoche louretta during his administration, posted a photo of boxes wrapped together with nigerian currency notes in sokoto state captioned, "keep them in poverty, then give them handoutsyesterday", however, the campaign team of president buhari denied disseminating such false information, but the reality check employed, revealed that the photo was at a ceremony organized by the kokun foundation which was a campaign against hunger and that the photo was already two years then, (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa,2019). moreover, a short video was shared from a facebook page called "make nigeria worse again" accusing atiku abubakar of serving as an agent of boko haram for a deal in exchange for land and oil. the page was viewed by over 200, 000 people. however, it has no details as to where and when the atiku campaign was supposed to have marshaled out the arrangement. this campaign team, therefore, told bb reality check that the deal was non-existent rather than a plan by some unscrupulous elements to denigrate the image of the presidential candidacy of atiku.(http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa,2019). fake news in religious circles. perhaps,due to competition with or scout for membership or pure knowledge of the profession of faith, some religious institutions tend to use fake news against other religious groups. this brings about ethnic sentiment among one people. it is the new media technology that is used as a tool to actualize this goal. it is a thing of great concern especially if we begin to look at its rippling effect in the past and what it is still causing in the present. imaging, sometime in the history of rwanda, even before the understanding of the power of new media technologies in africa, the then popular traditional media, with state censorshing and all the gate-keeping processes, was still used to cause full-scale ethnic war in rwanda. the genocide committed affected the foundation of the country and some other countries in africa. http://www.bbc.com/ 67 afp (2019) once quoted the immediate past former minister of information, lai mohammed, when he said, " when you go by social media, the impression you get is as if nigeria is at war and as if muslims are killing christians" the meaning of this is that there is a sharp division between nigerians along ethnic and religious lines and it has gone a long way to affecting the unity, progress and common goal of nigeria as a country and one people. in nigeria today, based on religiosity, some engage in what i may refer to as 'holy killing' as a result of the nature of teachings. today the whole story is worse, following the emergency the new media technologies. what this implies is that for example,a facebook post done in nsukka here can cause chaos or tension in kano state in a matter of minutes. some time last year,there was a circulation of a video on social media platforms saying that fulani herders were killing people along benin-ore road with machetes. however, a quick fact-check said otherwise -fake news (falsehood), (olabode, 2020; olatunji, 2020). this brought up a heavy uprising and tension in the hausa/fulani domains in northern nigeria. it is frcn. and nta with sponsored messages that counteracted the fake news before tensions were finally doused. in july, 2018, a picture of a woman dressed in a traditional muslim clotting was shared on christian arise networks, training with an ak-47 rifle . the whatsapp group captioned it " fulanis teaching their wives how to handle a gun but we are busy calling on the un to come and help us". the picture started trending in northern nigeria on social media in the 1990s and was later discovered to be fake news as it was uploaded from a youtube video clip. the people in the video were sounding like native arabic speakers as their original language, not even hausa or fulani. this means, they were not nigerians, hence, the description explained them as sudanese. egbunike, (2018), opined that beyond complete misleading information such as this, there are perilous and injurious hyperbole or disruption of the actual but concealed stories. fake news and propaganda in nigeria. many people who indulge in fake news could be aware or unaware of its authenticity before sharing them in order to divert the attention of the public to a specific cause. it then comes in the form of misinformation and disinformation. majority of politicians, leaders and governments the world over are the defaulters or partners in the crimes of this nature. most of them use propaganda or share fake news in the form of propaganda on social media in their own selfish interest. basically, propaganda abinitio, was on the lane of neutrality until a body established by the roman catholic, instituted to propagate a particular teaching on it. thereafter, propaganda parted with its original meaning and its application became derogatory (jowett and o'donnel, 2012). however, propaganda could say to be a kind of persuasion that gives a special attention or prominence to selfishness. it becomes a tool in the hands of propagandists to propagate falsehood or disengage truth to gain or accomplish their heart desires. propaganda causes a lot of political problems and at the end, leaves an indelible scar on those affected. jowett and o'donnel (2012) asserts that propaganda is an intentional and systematic effort made to shape perception, play upon the thoughts of people; and direct their behavior to meet up with the desired goal of the propagandists. 68 government and institutions also use false flag operations and war advocacy in the same category as propaganda to drive home their set objectives and goals. before now, they make use of traditional media to propagate, promote and disseminate government programmes and policies to the citizens despite the fact that contemporarily, new media setups have always taken precedence. even the citizens prefer the latter. for instance, us democratic party-hacking run-up of 2016 in the us election of 2016 is an instance of a propaganda operation. this was perpetrated by the suspected government influence of the time in the us. the hacking became a topical issue that even attracted the comment of russian president, vladimir putin and others who insinuated that the hilary clinton campaign hacking during the election might have been a false flag operation of cia planned to get russia into the mess zilber, (2017). voa and cnn were the two big media instruments employed to air and disseminate the false flag about the hacking through commentaries etc to convince the world that the kremlin was part and parcel of the act. poseti (2013) also projected an instance of propaganda carried out by one organized group. she referred to it as "wartime propaganda". she cited an instance where journalists were fed with disinformation and false tweets on the afghanistan crisis by the taliban. conclusion fake news, no doubt, has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society and the danger it possesses has been laid bare in this paper. this topical seminar work has been able to mirror the contribution of new¹media in the spread of fake news and also established that social media platforms would remain viable but easier instruments for the distribution of fake information owing to the easiness of interactivity and also the speed at which it roams messages, hence challenging security formation in the country. it is worthy to note that if this ugly situation is not nipped in the bud, then, nigerian, in no distant time, would be plunged into a deep crisis and insecurity ranging from uproar, violence, egocentrism, favoritism, nepotism, tribalism that will degenerate into full scale war loss of lives and property and that of the unity of the country. the above variables are typically the remote causes of war in most parts of the globe. recommendation therefore in view of all these corrosive effect of false information in the society and nigeria in particular, the following are recommended for the apt and immediate solution to it: 1) advocacy advertising should be adopted to promote media literacy among the new media users. government should embark on strategic communication and education programmes to socialize and reorientate the masses on the risk and harmful effect of fake news. it may use the national orientation agency (noa) with planned programmes broadcast on national televisions such as nigerian television authority (nta) designed to fight the menace of proliferation of fake news. it can still partner with some viable non-governmental organization to win the fight. 2) the owners of new media platforms such as facebook, whatsapps, twitters etc. must develop a software application capable of revealing a source of any news or information on their platforms to checkmate the cancanworm instead of the use of a mere wordcraft or rhetoric. 69 3) the new media users must acknowledge the efficacy and potency of fact-checking any issue on social media to ascertain its true nature–whether it is fake news or real news. information posted on social media is not yet deadly until it is distributed over and over again. they should understand the rippling effect of any shared post and be cautious of the certainty of it before sharing. 4) to clamp down upon this malaise, there is a need for a holistic approach. everyone must be on his or her duty post if eradication or reduction of fake news is something to go by. all the stakeholders in the country must come together and form a formidable force to defect the monster called fake news. 5) false information that amounts to defamation with substantial evidence should attract legal action against the defamer to serve as a deterrent to potential victims. 6) inclusion of media literacy education in the curriculum of both primary education and tertiary institutions in nigeria. references aïmeur, e., amri, s. & brassard, g. 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(2017, june 3). putin tells nbc’s megyn kelly that hacking of democratic party during last year’s election may have been a cia-run false flag operation designed to incriminate russia. daily mail. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102197 73 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4568194/amp/putin-says-hackingdemocratic-false-flag-html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4568194/amp/putin-says-hacking-democratic-false-flag-html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4568194/amp/putin-says-hacking-democratic-false-flag-html page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 26 mass media, communication policy and national security: the nigeria’s situation ifeanyi ottah chinwe okpoko department of mass communication faculty of art, university of nigeria, nsukka abstract the mass media serve as effective tools for national security when policymakers utilize them judiciously for the promotion of national peace. the recent surge in insecurity in nigeria, exacerbated during the administration of former president muhammadu buhari through the processes of fulanization, politicization of the security system, and the biased handling of bandits and killer herders, underscores the need for nigerian policymakers to revise the communication policy in alignment with the current national security landscape. this study, guided by the social responsibility theory of mass communication and employing descriptive analysis, highlights that major political stakeholders, who function as policymakers, should play a constructive role in fostering peace in nigeria by addressing security issues impartially. it emphasizes the imperative need to address security challenges such as boko haram, banditry, infrastructural failures on highways, cybercrimes, political killings, fulani herders' atrocities, kidnapping for ransom, unknown gunmen, and others through a robust communication policy and fearless media reporting. the research also underscores the importance of political leaders abandoning parochial agendas against nigerian citizens. it emphasizes that ethnicity and regional sentiments should not infiltrate the country's security apparatus. recommendations include revisiting highway maintenance policies, overhauling the machinery of national security to pave the way for peace in nigeria, and encouraging the flourishing of investigative journalism and fearless reporting. keywords: mass media, communication policy, national security introduction nigeria's precarious security landscape casts a long shadow over its future. insurgencies, separatist movements, and widespread criminality are not mere headlines; they are live realities demanding urgent attention. in this labyrinth of threats, one crucial force holds the potential to illuminate and navigate: the nigerian media. yet, this potential remains latent, obscured by challenges and demanding a renewed commitment to courage and responsible reportage. this paper is not a mere academic exercise; it is a clarion call. it seeks to pierce the echo chamber of policy discussions and awaken both communication policymakers and media houses to the critical role they must play in confronting nigeria's security crisis. it is, in essence, a two-pronged challenge: firstly, a challenge to policymakers. to enact communication policies that empower, not constrain, a responsible and fearless media. policies that incentivize investigative journalism, prioritize public access to information, and create avenues for constructive dialogue, rather than stifle dissent and amplify the voices of fear-mongers. 27 secondly, a challenge to the media itself. to rise above the limitations of ownership structures, political pressures, and ethical lapses. to embrace the mantle of watchdogs, holding power accountable and refusing to become instruments of manipulation or purveyors of misinformation. to inform citizens not just of the dangers that lurk, but also of the resilience and potential that exist within communities, fostering a sense of agency and empowering citizens to become active participants in their own security. this undertaking demands courage. the courage to tell uncomfortable truths, to challenge the status quo, and to stand firm against threats and intimidation. it demands a media that understands its power not as a weapon, but as a torch illuminating the path towards a safer nigeria. this paper delves into the intricate relationship between mass media, communication policy, and national security in nigeria. it dissects the challenges that impede media's potential and proposes policy adjustments that can foster a more responsible and engaged media landscape. ultimately, it is a call to action, urging both policymakers and media practitioners to embrace their critical roles in shaping a narrative of resilience and hope, one investigative report, one fearless broadcast, one community conversation at a time. by addressing the challenges and harnessing the potential of this complex interplay, we can transform the media from a passive observer to an active participant in securing nigeria's future. this is not merely an academic pursuit; it is a matter of national urgency, demanding attention and a resolute commitment to courage in the face of adversity. objectives of the paper this paper aims to illuminate the critical roles of communication policy makers and media houses in addressing nigeria's current security challenges. it seeks to urge policymakers to enact communication policies that empower a responsible and independent media, while challenging media organizations to embrace their watchdog function and inform citizens in ways that promote community resilience and proactive engagement in security matters. methodology the study used descriptive analysis methodology by relying on secondary data from nigerian media report, security men, personal experiences and other security sources. what is descriptive analysis? descriptive analysis, within the hallowed halls of academia, stands as the cornerstone of data exploration. it is the meticulous process of summarizing, characterizing, and presenting a dataset in a way that illuminates its key features and facilitates further investigation. far from being a mere technical exercise, it is the foundation upon which insightful conclusions are built and informed decisions are made (walliman, 2020). but what exactly defines this fundamental analytical tool? at its core, descriptive analysis is the practice of compiling, organizing, and summarizing data in a manner that reveals its inherent patterns, trends, and underlying structures. it serves as a bridge between raw data and meaningful understanding, transforming a collection of numbers or observations into a clear and concise picture of the phenomenon under study (moore, mccabe, & craig, 2018). several key techniques underpin this process, each playing a crucial role in unveiling the data's secrets. measures of central tendency like the mean, median, and mode provide a 28 snapshot of the data's "typical" value (hair, black, babin, & anderson, 2010). measures of dispersion like variance and standard deviation reveal how spread out the data is, while measures of frequency like histograms and frequency tables showcase the distribution of values within the dataset. furthermore, graphical representations such as bar charts, pie charts, and scatterplots play a vital role in bringing the data to life. these visual aids allow us to readily identify patterns, trends, and outliers that might otherwise remain hidden within the raw numbers. the importance of descriptive analysis extends far beyond its basic functionalities. it serves as the initial stage of any rigorous data analysis process. by providing a comprehensive understanding of the data's characteristics and limitations, it paves the way for more sophisticated statistical techniques and hypothesis testing (hair et al., 2010). it also enables researchers to communicate their findings effectively to a broader audience, both within and outside the academic sphere (walliman, 2020). descriptive analysis is not merely a technical skill; it is an essential tool for understanding the world around us. by delving into the depths of data, it sheds light on hidden patterns and relationships, empowering us to make informed decisions and navigate the complexities of our information-rich world. the media and communication policy in pursuit of a secure and prosperous nation, nigeria's national communication policy outlines crucial roles for the media, encompassing print, broadcast, and social platforms. as defined by nigeria coalition 2010, these roles include: enhancing public welfare: disseminating information vital to all aspects of life, from health and culture to security and national excellence values. nurturing cultural growth: providing comprehensive coverage and insightful research on nigerian culture, promoting its development and enriching citizens' lives. broadcasting for national purpose: delivering professional broadcasting aligned with national goals and aspirations, serving the people effectively. mobilizing for development: utilizing programming as a tool for mobilizing citizens towards national development, security, and improved quality of life, particularly in rural communities. strengthening unity: ensuring balanced portrayal of diverse viewpoints from across the nation, fostering national unity and integration. upholding accuracy: committing to the regular delivery of accurate information to the public. encouraging informed discussions: providing platforms for healthy discourse on critical national issues, stimulating public engagement and mobilization. bridging the gap: serving as a communication channel between government and citizens, facilitating transparency and responsiveness. promoting virtuous values: championing national consciousness and the pursuit of a just, humane, and self-reliant society. 29 elevating program quality: prioritizing excellence, upholding moral and ethical standards in programming to meet people's evolving needs and expectations. protecting national interests: ensuring media development aligns with national interests, fostering ongoing progress and stability. reaching every corner: achieving comprehensive national coverage, ensuring all citizens have access to information and communication channels. embracing indigenous languages: broadcasting news and programs in local languages to empower and inform rural communities. cultivating youth identity: supporting programs that instill indigenous culture and values in young nigerians, shaping their identity and sense of belonging. enhancing education: aligning programming with educational goals, enriching learning opportunities for all. the policy recognizes the vital role of traditional structures in achieving these objectives, encouraging their integration into communication strategies. it further promotes direct public and private investment in community-based media outlets, particularly in rural areas, to address the specific information needs of these populations. while these principles and regulations hold immense potential for fostering national security and development, their practical implementation often falls short of expectations. this gap between policy and reality calls for a closer examination of the challenges hindering communication tools from effectively contributing to national security and progress. specifically, the paper will delve into the post-2015 nigerian landscape, marked by escalating insecurity and socioeconomic anxieties. identifying critical obstacles, such as rising insecurity, government nepotism, and infrastructural neglect, will be crucial in developing strategies to leverage the media and communication policy to address these issues and empower nigeria to achieve its vision of peace and prosperity. what is national security? national security, a concept as complex as it is vital, occupies a central stage in international relations and domestic governance. while seemingly straightforward, its precise definition remains contested, evolving across time and context (baldwin, 2021; baylis & smith, 2016). yet, at its core, national security can be understood as the safeguarding of a nation's core values, interests, and way of life from internal and external threats (buzan, wæver, & de wilde, 1998). this encompasses ensuring the physical and territorial integrity of the state, the well-being and safety of its citizens, and the stability and functioning of its institutions (christensen, 1999; williams, 2011). traditionally, national security was primarily associated with military capabilities, focused on deterring and defending against external aggression. however, the concept has broadened significantly in recent decades. contemporary understandings often categorize threats to national security into five core domains: military: traditional threats posed by other nations' armed forces. political: interference in internal affairs, subversion, and threats to the legitimacy of the government. 30 economic: disruptions to vital economic infrastructure, trade imbalances, and cyberattacks. social: internal conflicts, civil unrest, and widespread societal breakdowns. environmental: climate change, resource scarcity, and natural disasters. realist thinkers, like hans morgenthau, emphasize the primacy of power politics and competition between states, viewing military preparedness as the cornerstone of national security (baldwin, 2021). liberal scholars, like michael doyle, advocate for cooperative security frameworks and international institutions as tools for mitigating conflict and promoting collective security (baylis & smith, 2016). critical security studies scholars deconstruct traditional notions of state-centric security, highlighting the role of non-state actors, social inequalities, and environmental concerns in shaping security dynamics (buzan, wæver, & de wilde, 1998). understanding its diverse interpretations and the scholarly debates surrounding national security is crucial for informed citizens and policymakers in navigating the multifaceted challenges of ensuring the safety and prosperity of their nations. the new dimension of insecurity for decades, the definition of security echoed through the halls of academia, yet a truly satisfying answer has remained elusive. even within a single community, the perception of what constitutes security has shifted like desert sands (ejogba, 2006). traditionally, security studies were dominated by a narrow lens, viewing it solely as a state's muscle to defend its territorial borders from imagined or real threats (okwori, 1995). this translated to building and equipping formidable armies, the cold war's ultimate security blanket. but the post-cold war era has painted a different picture. the assumption that statesanctioned violence deters aggression now seems like a blunt instrument in a nuanced world. we're witnessing a paradigm shift, a broadening of the security concept to encompass more than just military might. now, issues like economic development, social justice, and environmental sustainability are seen as vital threads woven into the tapestry of true security (hettne, 2010; booth, 2007). this shift stems from the glaring inadequacy of the cold war's militaristic approach. bandits attacking military formations, boko haram's atrocities, the impunity of fulani herders – these are not threats solely countered by tanks and missiles. human development, with its focus on individual well-being, has emerged as the new cornerstone of security (absolute astronomy, 2011; tedheke, 1998). this new conception envisions security as a two-pronged shield. one side deflects external threats with all the necessary means, while the other fosters internal stability through the socio-economic well-being of its citizens (edafejirhaye, 2021). political, environmental, and social factors are no longer seen as peripheral concerns, but as integral components of a nation's security posture. in essence, the "new dimension of insecurity" is not just a threat, but an opportunity. it's a call to redefine security beyond the confines of military muscle, and embrace a humancentric approach that shields not just borders, but the very well-being of its people. 31 for this paper, we take a broad view of security, seeing it as a state of minimized threats and simmered tensions, where the internal and external stability of a country is not on the brink of collapse. stability here refers to the ordered, predictable, and patterned condition of a state over time. traditionally, national security has been synonymous with managing physical threats through military muscle. this involves mobilizing forces to safeguard borders, deter aggression, and counter physical threats like terrorism from both state and non-state actors. countries like nigeria, south africa, and sweden prioritize territorial defense through their military structures. others, like france, russia, the uk, and the us, invest in expeditionary capabilities to project power beyond their borders. political and media scholars argue that political security and a stable social order are just as crucial to national security as military might (lynne, 1998). they emphasize the importance of a just and equitable international order, upheld by the rule of law, effective institutions, and skilled diplomacy (rogers, 2010). within nations, inclusive political practices and ensuring the human security of citizens contribute significantly to political stability. in nigeria, for instance, the lack of political inclusion and leadership fueling tribal tensions has led to the rise of community defense mechanisms. economic security plays a vital role in national security. a nation's ability to maintain and develop its economy provides the backbone for all other security efforts. larger countries often rely on accessing resources and markets abroad while protecting their own. unfortunately, developing countries like nigeria, plagued by unemployment and underpaid work, are often more vulnerable to economic threats. the ongoing food insecurity crisis due to fulani herder activities and the government's insufficient response is a stark illustration of this interconnectedness. ecological security, also known as environmental security, stands guard over the well-being of our planet's ecosystems and the incredible tapestry of life they support, including our own. when this vital layer starts to fray, the consequences can ripple far beyond mere wildlife decline. think topsoil erosion, deforestation, shrinking biodiversity, and the ominous shadow of climate change – all of them can undermine economic stability, trigger mass migrations, and put immense pressure on resources elsewhere. the debate over how environmental threats impact national security is complex, but romm (1993) identifies three key areas of concern: 1. the big ones: global environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss cast a long shadow. consider nigeria's infrastructural struggles – they're not just an internal issue; they're part of a larger network of vulnerabilities caused by environmental decline. 2. scarcity's grip: when resources run thin, tensions often rise. water scarcity in the middle east is a stark example, while nigeria's own struggles with unemployment and insufficient agricultural yields, exacerbated by fulani herder attacks and erosion, lead many to seek a better life elsewhere, putting pressure on other nations. environmental insecurity in rwanda, fueled by population growth and shrinking farmland, is even linked to the tragic events of the rwandan genocide. 3. war's toxic legacy: warfare doesn't just claim lives; it scars the planet. from the romans razing carthage's fields to boko haram's destructive rampage in northern nigeria, from 32 herdsmen laying waste to farmland in the south to saddam hussein's oil fires in the gulf war, and even the lingering environmental impact of agent orange in vietnam, war leaves a trail of ecological devastation that can haunt entire nations for generations. security of energy and natural resources in today's world, security extends far beyond borders and battlefields. it now encompasses a vital network of interconnected elements, like energy, natural resources, and the very infrastructure that keeps our lives running. recognizing this critical link, the united nations has included resource security among its sustainable development goals, and nations like spain are integrating it into their security strategies (spanish govt 2013; rogers 2010). but for many nigerians, this remains a distant ideal. epileptic power outages continue to cripple industries, forcing them to migrate to neighboring countries where basic infrastructure isn't a daily struggle. this is just one example of how the vulnerability of our core systems: • cybersecurity: from financial frauds by "yahoo boys" to potential attacks on critical infrastructure, cyberspace has become a new battleground. the increasing reliance on computer systems makes robust cyber defenses vital (hettne, 2010; rohuke, 2005). • infrastructure security: crumbling highways like the makurdi-enugu route and pothole-filled expressways like lagos-ibadan are stark reminders of the dire state of our infrastructure. the consequences are not just economic, but potentially deadly (abisoye, 2012). • terrorism and sabotage: from boko haram's attacks on government buildings to attacks on oil pipelines, these acts aim to destabilize and inflict maximum damage. • information warfare: whether it's cybercrime for personal gain or state-sponsored hacking, the potential for disruption and espionage in the digital world is immense. • natural disasters: hurricanes and other natural events can cripple critical infrastructure like power grids and water systems, highlighting the need for disaster preparedness. this interwoven web of threats underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to security. it's not just about soldiers and guns; it's about ensuring the resilience of our critical infrastructure, protecting our cyberspace, and investing in sustainable resource management. only then can we truly build a safe and secure future for all. theoretical framework exploring the connection between communication policy and national security demands a sturdy theoretical framework. a theory, in essence, is a map a set of interlocking ideas that illuminate, rather than obscure, the relationships between concepts (de fleur & ball-rokeach, 1982; wimmer & dominick, 2006). it helps us understand why things happen the way they do, providing clarity and order amidst chaos (griffin, 1991). for this analysis of escalating insecurity in nigeria and the potential role of communication policy in addressing it, the social responsibility theory of the press serves as a valuable guide. this theory encourages media outlets to act as responsible members of society, balancing freedom of expression with a commitment to truth, accuracy, and public welfare (siebert, peterson, & schramm, 1956). 33 why choose this particular theory? because in a climate of insecurity, information can be a double-edged sword. misinformation and hate speech can exacerbate tensions, while responsible reporting and open dialogue can foster understanding and collaboration. the social responsibility theory equips us to navigate this complex landscape, highlighting the media's potential to either fuel or mitigate insecurity. here, we are not all about applying abstract concepts. it's about using a well-defined framework to illuminate the intricate links between communication, information, and national security. by understanding the "why" behind events, we can move beyond mere description and towards meaningful solutions. social responsibility theory of the press. the year 1956 saw the birth of a crucial concept: the social responsibility theory of the press. proposed by siebert, paterson, and schramm, it challenged the notion of absolute media freedom, arguing that with great freedom comes great responsibility. the press, they argued, enjoys a unique position in society, and therefore, an obligation to act as a responsible steward of information. at its core, the theory rests on several key principles: o media are not neutral observers, but active participants in shaping public discourse. they have a duty to society to inform, educate, and warn against threats, including insecurity. o media ownership is not a private privilege, but a public trust. owners and editors must act with integrity and transparency, prioritizing the public good over personal gain. o truthfulness, accuracy, fairness, and objectivity are the cornerstones of responsible journalism. facts, not opinions, should guide reporting, promoting understanding rather than division. o self-regulation is essential, but not sufficient. while media should strive for internal ethical standards, external safeguards like laws and professional codes of conduct are also crucial. o media should be diverse and pluralistic, reflecting the richness and complexity of society. different voices and perspectives must be heard to ensure a healthy and informed public sphere. o society has a right to expect high standards from its media. when failures occur, interventions to ensure public good are justified. o journalists are not just employees, but public servants. they answer to the people they serve, not just their employers or the market. in today's nigeria, where insecurity casts a long shadow, the media's role has become even more critical. the public expects prompt, accurate, and objective reporting on security issues, without fear or favor. investigative reports that expose the roots of insecurity, coupled with responsible commentary that fosters dialogue and understanding, are crucial tools in the fight for a safer nation. however, the question of who journalists are ultimately responsible to remains a complex one. are they beholden to media owners, editors, or the people? the rise of commercial media empires raises concerns about potential monopolies and control over information. this highlights the importance of a robust system of checks and balances, ensuring that the media's responsibility to society remains paramount. by embracing the principles of the social responsibility theory, the nigerian media can play a vital role in promoting security and fostering a more informed and engaged citizenry. it's a delicate balancing act, but one that is essential for building a future where freedom and security go hand in hand. 34 factors that escalate nigeria insecurity some of the major factors that heightened the insecurity situation in nigeria since 2015 could be traced to the following. they are: the boko haram insurgent, fulanization of nigeria by the buhari administration, politicization of nigeria security system and fulani herdsmen atrocity. fulanization agendum of buhari administration the fulanization agenda of the buhari administration refers to its concerted effort to strategically position fulani individuals across all 774 local government areas in nigeria, particularly in key federal positions, such as the military, police, and other paramilitary forces. the objective is to establish fulani dominance in nigeria. this controversial agenda became evident through the appointment of buhari's fellow fulani tribal members to crucial federal political roles, as reported by nigerian media outlets, including the guardian newspaper on november 26, 2018, cable news in february 2020, and sahara reporters on june 11, 2020. the term "fulanization" describes the exploitative and oppressive tactics employed by the buhari government to acquire territories traditionally occupied by other ethnic groups, primarily to promote dominance and create opportunities for fulani herders. it also involves forceful actions to subdue and subject the original inhabitants of these territories after the failure of the ruga settlement policy initiated by the buhari government. buhari initiated the fulanization project by strategically appointing individuals and restructuring the leadership of the nigerian security forces. subsequently, fulani guerrillas, already restless, began executing their plan b operations, which involved activities such as kidnapping, rape, and the displacement of communities. these guerrillas are positioned in the forests of the middle belt and southern nigeria, ready to act upon their signal to attack the inhabitants of those areas. many nigerians are convinced that a significant conflict loomed during the previous administration, fueled by buhari's actions. the vanguard in 2019 observed that a majority of nigerians actively believe that president buhari has an agenda beyond a nationalist one for nigeria. this agenda involves opening the northern borders and discreetly allowing the influx of wandering and unsettled fulani from west africa to be permanently resettled in a new nigerian homeland, achieved through the strategic displacement of indigenous communities long settled in present-day nigeria. buhari's ultimate goal is perceived as the islamization of nigeria. this perception has led to a surge in self-defense initiatives and movements for the national actualization of indigenous people, such as the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) led by nnamdi kanu and the oduduwa republic spearheaded by sunday igboho. other nationalities in nigeria are covertly preparing for self-defense, potential conflict, or even secession, as they no longer trust the buhari government with the security of life and property. politicization of nigerian security system the term 'politicization' originates from 'politics.' nnoli (2003:12) defines politics as encompassing "all activities that are directly or indirectly associated with the emergence, consolidation, and use of state power." in this context, politicization is employed critically to denote the distortion of a phenomenon originally intended to serve an altruistic and populist objective. instead, it is manipulated for the personal and self-serving interests of specific individuals, groups, classes, and political parties. specifically, the politicization of national security here refers to using the activities of boko haram, bandits, and killer herdsmen as a 35 basis for advancing the selfish political agenda of certain politicians and political parties (nwangwu, olihe, and okoye, 2016). the nigerian federal government has politicized the security system by diverting attention away from addressing the boko haram insurgency, banditry, and killer herdsmen activities that contribute to the worsening insecurity in the country. instead, the focus has shifted to citizens who attempt to defend themselves against the pervasive insecurity. this approach prompted governor wike of rivers state to call for collective action, urging nigerians to unite in combating insecurity. he emphasized the need to cease the politicization of security issues, as it poses a threat to national development. wike expressed the need for collaborative efforts to combat insecurity, emphasizing that political affiliations should not matter. he urged everyone, regardless of party allegiance, to unite and work together to safeguard the country (the guardian, march 7, 2020). he questioned the rationale behind playing politics with people's lives, asserting that one's political affiliation should not determine their protection. undoubtedly, the boko haram insurgency has been sustained, in part, by the impulsive and unpatriotic statements made by certain ethno-religious extremists and unscrupulous politicians. a statement linked to the escalation of islamic militancy and insurgency in nigeria is ascribed to the late premier of northern nigeria, sir ahmadu bello, dated october 12, 1960. as reported in the parrot newspaper and referenced in oritsejafor (2014:21), bello proclaimed that the newly formed nation called nigeria should be regarded as an estate of our great grandfather othman dan fodio. he emphasized the need to ruthlessly prevent a change of power, employing the minorities in the north as compliant instruments and considering the south as a conquered territory, with the directive never to allow them control over their own future (parrot newspaper, oct 12, 1960). the commitment by members of the northern political leadership forum, led by mallam adamu ciroma, to make nigeria ungovernable if the presidency did not return to the northern region after the 2011 general election, intensified the insurgency. quoting from frantz fanon's 'the wretched of the earth,' former vice president alhaji atiku abubakar asserted that those who hinder peaceful change inevitably pave the way for violent change. however, retired general muhammadu buhari's recent statement, suggesting that military actions against boko haram are perceived as anti-north, has further inflamed the boko haram insurgency (the nation, june 2, 2013; guardian, nov. 26, 2018). in a related incident, 356 nigerian soldiers resigned, citing the alleged insincerity of the federal government in combating the insurgency (the punch, july 12, 2020). these incidents collectively indicate the potential for ongoing crises in nigeria. the soldiers submitted their resignation letters to the army chief on july 3, 2020, referencing the harmonised terms and conditions of service for soldiers/rating/airmen (revised) 2017. the approval for the voluntary disengagement of the 356 soldiers was outlined in a 17-page circular from buratai, ahq doaa/g1/300/92, signed by brig gen t.e. gagariga on behalf of the army chief. this information was obtained by our correspondent on saturday and was also distributed to various army divisions and formations (the punch, july 12, 2020, p.14). reflecting on the gross misconduct of policymakers who play politics with human lives in nigeria's security system raises concerns about the prospect of peace in nigeria at present. 36 fulani herdsmen atrocity edafejirhaye (2021) identified another factor contributing to the worsening insecurity in nigeria. this involves the harmful actions of herdsmen, such as destroying crops, engaging in kidnappings, assaulting women in farms, and killing innocent nigerians. according to reports from nigerian media investigations, these activities are allegedly politically motivated, aiming to instill fear and acquire land for the islamization of nigeria. in the north central region, former benue state governor samuel ortom, in a widely circulated video on social media, accused the federal government of shielding the interests of armed herders, aggravating the security situation in nigeria. the governor asserted that insecurity is fueled by armed herdsmen from various regions, calling for the arrest and prosecution of miyetti allah leaders. ortom emphasized the government's need to openly criticize, arrest, and prosecute fulani herdsmen wielding ak47s, accusing the federal government of displaying bias in handling the herders' crisis. to counter the aggression of fulani herders in the south west, sunday adeniyi adeyemo, also known as sunday igboho, took action by leading an attack against a fulani community leader in oyo. igboho accused the leader of harboring fulani herders involved in criminal activities. after numerous assaults in the ibarapa region of oyo state by suspected fulani herdsmen, igboho issued a deadline for them to vacate the area (the cable, feb. 8, 2021). likewise, in the south east on december 12, 2020, nnamdi kanu, the leader of the indigenous people of biafra, declared the establishment of the indigenous people of biafra (ipob) eastern security network (esn). kanu asserted that the primary objective of the esn is to safeguard igbos from fulani raiders. reacting to the emergence of an unauthorized paramilitary group within its borders, the nigerian government allegedly dispatched the army to identify esn camps and capture nnamdi kanu. the government's biased approach in addressing security concerns, showing preference for cases like kanu and igboho while neglecting the leaders and backers of violent herders, indicates an ongoing state of insecurity in nigeria. is peace on the horizon in nigeria? presently, a state of insecurity pervades schools, farms, highways, byways, waterways, marketplaces, and even military barracks across nigeria. the prospect of achieving peace in the country appears remote, primarily due to the buhari government's unwavering pursuit of its narrow agenda of fulanization and islamization, utilizing the apparatus of the nigerian government. the security system is likely to remain ineffective unless bandits and the perpetrators associated with fulani herders are officially labeled as terrorists and dealt with in accordance with the law. unaddressed issues related to the infrastructure of nigerian highways will persist, turning them into safe havens for armed robbers, kidnappers, and hazardous zones for all road users. the destruction of crops by fulani herders not only indicates a potential slide into widespread anarchy but also extends a clear invitation to food insecurity and economic devastation. consequently, there are currently no promising signs of peace emerging in nigeria. conclusion the paper contends that communication policymakers and the media need to collaborate in promptly addressing issues that contribute to national security concerns before they escalate beyond manageable proportions. those in political positions in nigeria must cease supporting insecurity as a means to cling to power. media organizations should maintain their courage in 37 exposing political figures who exploit the nation's security challenges for personal gain. the media should persist in educating the nigerian masses on effective ways to counter insurgency, killer herders, and kidnappers by refining local defensive mechanisms. dangerous road conditions and crime-prone areas should be daily reported through radio, television, newspapers, and social media to reduce the loss of lives and minimize accidents and robberies. this recommendation is applicable to other developing countries, especially in africa, grappling with challenges such as insecurity, economic growth, development, political reforms, and democratization. while this paper primarily focuses on nigeria, it acknowledges the similarities in the challenges faced by most african countries today. issues like institutionalized nepotism, social inequality, hyperinflation, stagnant economic growth, and underdevelopment in the niger delta region, which is crucial to the nation's sustenance, along with the biased politicization of the security system and oppressive leadership, persist as prominent contributors to national insecurity in nigeria. recommendations addressing the escalating death and destruction caused by bandits, herders, poor road maintenance, boko haram, and other insecurity challenges in nigeria is crucial given the extensive reports by nigerian media, amnesty international, and other international human rights agencies. edafejirhaye (2021) notes that the ceasefire agreement with the radical sect seems like a deceptive move, and the only viable solution is the use of force. this approach must be executed impartially, without nepotism or the promotion of insecurity through state power, as seen in the case of buharism. the inconsistent treatment of fulani herders and bandits by the buhari administration is a significant factor contributing to 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(2020). research methods: the basics (7th ed.). routledge. white, s.a (1994). the concept of participation: transforming rhetorics into reality. new ` delhi, sage publications. wimmer, r.d and dominick, j.r (2006). mass media research: introduction. usa. wadsworth. yagboyaju, d.a (2008).” attaining the millennium development goals (mdgs) in a weak ` state: the nigerian example” in politics and development, vol 6. numbers 1 & 2. http://www.un.org/humansecurity/) http://www.un.org/ http://nssarchive.us/wphttp://www.economist.com/node/16478792) page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 204 history of sustainability reporting: a historical view of three african countries (nigeria, ghana, and togo) lucky ogbomo osagioduwa* professional intern. office of the auditor general of ecowas. ph.d. student at the university of benin. a. o. enofe faculty of management science, university of benin, edo state. f. p. izedonmi department of accountancy, faculty of management sciences, university of benin, edo state. e. l. dabor department of accountancy, faculty of management sciences, university of benin, edo state. atube elizabeth n dennis osadebay university, anwai-asaba. department of accounting. *corresponding author: losagioduwa@ecowas.int abstract in the late 20th century, as global attention turned towards the environmental and social impacts of business activities, the history of sustainability reporting began to unfold, including africa's involvement. during the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing recognition of the importance for businesses to prioritize their environmental and social responsible particularly as extractive activities grew particularly in nigeria, ghana, and togo. this study employed the historical-comparative research design to view the historic exodus of sustainability reporting in these three nations. in this sense, the cardinal objective of this paper is to highlight chronologically the historical development of sustainability reporting starting from 1957 for ghana while 1960 for nigeria and togo to 2021. sustainability policies and initiatives formed during this period in the three countries were also examined. nigeria’s history was divided into four eras being that nigeria has initiated various relevant policies and programs. this is one of the rare studies that have conducted a comparative historic examination of sustainability reporting employing independence base historic progression. the study concludes that while several efforts had been geared towards the advancement of sustainability reporting among the three nations, evidence indicates that sustainability reporting in 2023 was signed into law in nigeria. the study, therefore, recommends that ghana and togo should strive towards legalizing sustainability reporting in their financial reporting framework. keywords: history, sustainability, sustainability reporting, nigeria, ghana, togo 205 introduction sustainability reporting can be traced back to the late 20th century when concerns about the environmental and social impacts of business activities started gaining attention. in the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing demand for businesses to be transparent about their environmental and social performance. the brundtland commission's report, "our common future" (1987), played a pivotal role in highlighting the concept of sustainable development and emphasizing the responsibility of businesses for their impacts. this report laid the groundwork for sustainability reporting. notable early initiatives included john elkington's "triple bottom line" concept in 1994, which advocated for companies to measure and report their performance in three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. furthermore, the global reporting initiative formed in 1997 played a crucial role in the development and standardization of sustainability reporting (united nations, 1987). in 2000, gri released its first sustainability reporting guidelines, providing a framework for organizations to report their economic, environmental, and social impacts. over time, the gri guidelines have evolved and gained widespread recognition as the leading framework for sustainability reporting. moreover, the united nations global compact (ungc), launched in 2000, encouraged businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. the ungc introduced ten principles covering human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. many organizations that joined the ungc began incorporating these principles into their sustainability reports. meanwhile, accountability’s aa1000 series, an international standards organization, introduced the aa1000 series in the late 1990s. this series provided a framework for organizations to assess, manage, and communicate their sustainability performance. it emphasized stakeholder engagement and accountability as integral components of sustainability reporting (united nations, 1987). in response to the need for a more comprehensive reporting approach that captures the linkages between financial, environmental, social, and governance aspects, integrated reporting emerged. the international integrated reporting council (iirc) was established in 2010 to develop the integrated reporting framework, encouraging organizations to provide a holistic view of their value creation. over time, several countries have introduced mandatory sustainability reporting requirements. for instance, france implemented the grenelle ii law in 2002, which mandated extra-financial reporting for large companies. in 2014, the european union adopted the non-financial reporting directive, requiring certain companies to disclose non-financial information. the history of sustainability reporting spans several decades, reflecting the growing recognition of the importance of corporate social and environmental responsibility. the concept of sustainability reporting emerged as a response to the need for greater transparency and accountability in business practices (global reporting initiative, n.d.). the history of sustainability in nigeria is a story that spans decades, characterized by a complex interplay of socio-economic factors, environmental challenges, and the quest for sustainable development. nigeria, located in west africa, is the most populous country on the african continent and is blessed with abundant natural resources, including oil, gas, minerals, and a diverse ecosystem (world bank, 2021). however, the exploitation of these resources, coupled with rapid urbanization and population growth, has posed significant challenges to sustainability in the country. one crucial aspect of nigeria's sustainability journey is the recognition of the need to balance economic development with environmental preservation. the country's experience with oil extraction and production provides a compelling case study 206 in this regard. nigeria's oil industry, which began in the 1950s, has brought substantial wealth to the nation, but it has also contributed to environmental degradation, pollution, and socioeconomic inequalities (ovadia, 2019). over the years, nigeria has implemented various policies and initiatives aimed at addressing these sustainability challenges. for instance, in 1988, the federal environmental protection agency (fepa) was established to regulate and enforce environmental standards (federal ministry of environment nigeria, n.d.). this was followed by the creation of the federal ministry of environment in 1999, which assumed a broader mandate for environmental management and sustainable development (federal ministry of environment nigeria, n.d.). furthermore, nigeria has made significant commitments to global sustainability frameworks, such as the united nations sustainable development goals (sdgs). the sdgs provide a comprehensive blueprint for achieving a more sustainable and equitable world by 2030, covering various aspects of social, economic, and environmental development (united nations, n.d.). furthermore, examining the history of sustainability reporting in togo, a country located in west africa, reflects a growing recognition of the importance of balancing economic development with environmental protection and social well-being. togo, like many other african nations, has faced significant environmental challenges resulting from population growth, deforestation, and the exploitation of natural resources. however, in recent years, there has been a shift towards promoting sustainability and adopting strategies that prioritize environmental conservation and socio-economic progress. one significant milestone in togo's sustainability journey is the formulation and implementation of the national sustainable development strategy (nsds). the nsds provides a framework for guiding togo's development efforts while integrating environmental considerations, poverty reduction, and social inclusion. it sets targets and action plans to address key sustainability issues, including climate change, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable agriculture (government of togo, 2017). togo has also been actively engaged in regional and international sustainability initiatives. for instance, the country is a signatory to the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) and has made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience (unfccc, n.d.). togo has also participated in regional collaborations, such as the economic community of west african states (ecowas), which promotes sustainable development and environmental cooperation among member states (ecowas, n.d.). furthermore, togo has implemented various policies and initiatives to address sustainability challenges at the national level. for example, the country has established protected areas, such as the fazao-malfakassa national park, to conserve biodiversity and promote ecotourism (republic of togo, 2020). additionally, togo has taken steps to promote renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency as part of its efforts to transition towards a greener and more sustainable energy sector (renewable energy and energy efficiency partnership, 2021). furthermore, the history of sustainability in ghana, a country located in west africa, showcases a growing recognition of the need for sustainable development practices to address environmental, social, and economic challenges. ghana, known for its rich natural resources, including gold, cocoa, and timber, has faced various sustainability challenges resulting from 207 population growth, urbanization, and resource extraction. however, the country has made significant strides in integrating sustainability principles into its development agenda. one pivotal moment in ghana's sustainability journey is the adoption of the national environmental policy in 1994. this policy provided a framework for integrating environmental considerations into the country's development planning and decision-making processes (ministry of environment, science, technology, and innovation, 2013). it emphasized the importance of sustainable resource management, pollution control, and environmental education. ghana has also been actively engaged in global sustainability initiatives. the country is a signatory to international agreements such as the united nations framework convention on climate change (unfccc) and the sustainable development goals (sdgs). these frameworks provide a roadmap for ghana's efforts in mitigating climate change, promoting renewable energy, and achieving sustainable development (united nations, n.d.; republic of ghana, 2017). furthermore, ghana has implemented various policies and initiatives to advance sustainability at the national level. for instance, the government launched the renewable energy act in 2011 to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy sources (ministry of energy, 2011). the introduction of this act has contributed to increased investment in renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind farms, reducing the country's reliance on fossil fuels. additionally, ghana has placed significant emphasis on sustainable forest management. the country has implemented initiatives like the forest law enforcement, governance, and trade (flegt) action plan, which aims to combat illegal logging, promote sustainable timber production, and enhance forest conservation (ministry of lands and natural resources, 2012). obvious therefore that each of these three african nations had similar demand for a sustainable environment and sustainability reporting because of population growth, urbanization, and resource extraction. furthermore, these nations were selected for this historical review because they all obtained their independence in 1960 except for ghana which got hers three years earlier which was considered insignificant in this study. this research, therefore, intends to highlight the historical progression and advancement in sustainability reporting in these age-group african countries. this study further seeks to show sustainability reporting policies, programs, and initiatives employed by these nations since their freedom in the light of the current demand and urgency of sustainability reporting in these nations considering environmental, social, and green issues confronting these nations. concept of sustainability reporting "sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organizational performance toward the goal of sustainable development." (global reporting initiative, 2018). sustainability reporting is the process of communicating the social, environmental, and economic impacts of an organization's activities to relevant stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers, and the wider public (international integrated reporting council, 2013). sustainability reporting is the disclosure of information about an organization's economic, environmental, social, and governance performance. (accountability, 2003). sustainability reporting is a transparent communication of an organization's environmental, social, and governance performance and impacts, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions. (united nations environment programme, 2019). sustainability reporting is the practice of reporting publicly 208 on an organization's environmental and social impact, progress, and performance, as well as the associated risks and opportunities." (sustainability accounting standards board, 2019). sustainability reporting is the process of disclosing, in a balanced and objective manner, an organization's social, environmental, and economic performance and impacts, as well as its governance, to its various stakeholders." (international organization for standardization, 2019). sustainability reporting is the systematic and regular measurement, analysis, and disclosure of an organization's environmental, social, and economic performance to internal and external stakeholders." (carbon disclosure project, 2021). sustainability reporting is the practice of reporting on an organization's environmental, social, and economic performance, including the management systems and strategies employed to achieve sustainable development." (sustainable accounting standards board, 2019). sustainability reporting is the process of providing a balanced and comprehensive account of an organization's activities related to sustainable development, including its goals, targets, and progress." (european commission, 2017). sustainability reporting is the practice of disclosing information about an organization's economic, environmental, and social performance, as well as its impacts and governance, to enable stakeholders to assess its contribution to sustainable development." (global initiative for sustainability ratings, 2019). history of sr in nigeria the concept of csr gained prominence in nigeria during the early 2000s, with companies recognizing the importance of integrating social and environmental considerations into their operations. this recognition laid the foundation for sustainability reporting practices in the country. in 2011, the nse introduced its sustainability disclosure guidelines. these guidelines were designed to encourage listed companies to disclose information on their environmental, social, and governance (esg) practices. while not specifically focused on sustainability reporting, these guidelines marked an important step toward promoting transparency and accountability in esg reporting. nigeria became a signatory to the united nations global compact (ungc) in 2007. the ungc encourages businesses to adopt sustainable and socially responsible practices. membership in the ungc has influenced sustainability reporting practices in nigeria, with companies aligning their reporting with ungc principles (united nations global compact, 2021). pre standards era: environment safety, and energy efficiency delusion during this period in nigeria, the nation just began to realize the need for sustainable environment. reporting on the environment was really not the cardinal goal. this was due to environmental issue that as just began to arise due to several economic activities in the country. over the years, nigeria implemented various policies to address environmental challenges. federal environmental protection agency (fepa) in 1988 to oversee environmental protection and conservation. in 1989, the national policy on environment (npe) was introduced, providing a comprehensive framework for environmental protection and sustainable development. this policy covers crucial aspects like pollution control, biodiversity conservation, and natural resource management. additionally, the country has prioritized waste management with the national policy on integrated solid waste management in 2002. also, recognizing the importance of transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, the nigerian extractive industries transparency initiative (neiti) was established in 2004. neiti aims to ensure responsible and sustainable management of revenues generated from oil, gas, 209 and mining activities. in 2005, nigeria introduced the national policy on energy efficiency to promote energy-saving measures across sectors like buildings, transportation, industry, and agriculture. the policy seeks to reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency, and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (nigerian extractive industries transparency initiative, n.d; energy commission of nigeria, 2005). fig 2.0. early awareness initiatives in nigeria source (authors presentation, 2023). emphasis was on environment safety, and energy efficiency. standards era: climate and standards awareness era efforts to enforce environmental standards and regulations led to the establishment of the national environmental standards and regulations enforcement agency (nesrea) in 2007. nesrea plays a crucial role in ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations while promoting sustainable practices and environmental protection. and the national policy on solid waste management in 2009. these policies promote sustainable waste reduction, recycling, and proper disposal practices to mitigate environmental and health impacts ( federal ministry of environment, 2009). in 2012, nigeria implemented the nigerian sustainable banking principles (nsbp), guiding banks to integrate sustainability principles into their operations, encompassing areas like environmental and social risk management, financial inclusion, and responsible lending (national environmental standards and regulations enforcement agency, n.d; central bank of nigeria. 2012). source: authors conceptualization (2023) early awareness era. 1federal enviromental protection agency (1988) 2.national policy on environment (1989). 3. integrated solid waste management (2002). 1. nigerian extractive industries transparency initiative (neiti) (2004). 2. national policies on energy efficiency (2005). 2 0 0 7 national environmental standards and regulation agency 2 0 0 9 national policy on solid was management 2 0 1 2 1. national action plan on climate change 2. nigerian erosion and watershed management project 210 the country also devised strategies to tackle climate change impacts and opportunities. in 2012, nigeria developed the national action plan on climate change (napcc), emphasizing mitigation, adaptation, capacity building, technology transfer, and financing. the same year witnessed the introduction of the nigerian erosion and watershed management project (newmap), a world bank-supported initiative addressing erosion and watershed management challenges. newmap focuses on sustainable land and water management practices, erosion control, and community engagement (federal ministry of environment, 2012; nigerian erosion and watershed management project, n.d.). sustainability awareness era: in 2013, nigeria unveiled the national policy on climate change (npcc) to outline a strategic approach to climate change challenges, including adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer, capacity building, and international cooperation. the national policy on clean cookstoves was also introduced in 2013, aiming to promote the adoption of clean and efficient cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution, improve public health, and enhance energy efficiency (federal ministry of environment, 2013; federal ministry of environment, 2013). source: (authors compilations, 2023). to promote sustainable industrialization and economic growth, nigeria implemented the nigerian industrial revolution plan (nirp) in 2014. nirp emphasizes the adoption of sustainable practices, reduction of environmental impacts, and enhancement of resource efficiency within industries. in alignment with global goals, nigeria adopted the sustainable development goals (sdgs) in 2015, incorporating them into national development plans and policies. the sdgs provide a comprehensive framework for addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. in the same year, the national renewable energy and energy efficiency policy (nreeep) was established to diversify the energy mix, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve energy access and affordability (federal ministry of industry, trade, and investment, 2014; united nations development programme (undp) nigeria n.d; federal ministry of power, works, and housing, 2015). sustainability reporting era: in 2017, nigeria initiated the green bond program (gbp) to promote the issuance of green bonds for financing environmentally sustainable projects. this program aims to mobilize national policy on climate change2013 nigeria industrial revolution plan2014 •2015: sustainable development goal national renewable energy and energy efficiency policy 2015 211 private capital for climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. these policies and programs reflect nigeria's commitment to sustainable development, environmental protection, and addressing global challenges (federal ministry of environment, 2017). source : authors compilation (2023). in 2019, the sec released the nigerian sustainable finance principles. these principles provide guidance to listed companies on sustainability reporting and integrate environmental, social, and governance (esg) considerations into their business practices. the sec guidelines aim to enhance transparency and promote sustainable finance in nigeria (securities and exchange commission nigeria, 2019). various sustainability reporting initiatives have emerged in nigeria, including the publication of sustainability reports by companies. some companies voluntarily disclose their sustainability performance through standalone sustainability reports or integrated reports that combine financial and non-financial information (ogunbiyi, 2016). furthermore, efforts were made to promote sustainable practices, such as the development of the nigeria green bond program in 2020 to fund environmentally friendly projects (nigeria green bond market development program, n.d.). in 2021, nigeria continued its commitment to sustainability and environmental conservation. efforts were made to address climate change and promote renewable energy, including the launch of the green stimulus program in 2021 to support sustainable development initiatives (federal ministry of environment. 2020). history of sr in ghana in ghana, sustainability reporting has gained prominence over the years, reflecting the growing global emphasis on corporate social responsibility and sustainable practices. in the early stages, sustainability reporting in ghana was relatively limited, with a stronger focus on financial reporting. environmental and social impacts were not given significant attention. furthermore, ghana's securities and exchange commission (sec) has played a crucial role in promoting sustainability reporting. in 2008, the sec issued guidelines for listed companies, encouraging them to adopt sustainability reporting practices. these guidelines were part of efforts to align 2017 •green bond program (gbp) 2019 • sec released the nigerian sustainable finance principles 2020 •nigeria green bond program 2021: green stimulus program 212 ghanaian reporting standards with international frameworks. in 2015, the ghana stock exchange (gse) introduced the gse-socially responsible investment (sri) index. this index aims to identify and track the performance of socially responsible companies listed on the exchange. the introduction of the index has motivated companies to enhance their sustainability practices and reporting to meet the sri criteria. ghana has also participated in global sustainability reporting initiatives. for instance, the global reporting initiative (gri), an international framework for sustainability reporting, has gained recognition and usage in the country. organizations in ghana have adopted the gri guidelines to structure their sustainability reports. continuous development: the historical view of sustainability reporting in ghana is characterized by continuous development and growing awareness of the importance of esg disclosure. as global sustainability reporting standards evolve, companies in ghana are expected to adapt and enhance their reporting practices accordingly. in 1957, ghana gained independence from british colonial rule. during this period, the focus was primarily on political and economic development rather than specific sustainability initiatives. it's worth noting that during this time, environmental issues and sustainable development were not yet significant global concerns (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service, nd). 1970: in the 1970s, ghana faced challenges related to deforestation, soil erosion, and environmental degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices and rapid urbanization. efforts were made to address these issues, including the establishment of the forestry commission in 1974 to oversee the management and conservation of forest resources (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation, nd; environmental protection agency, nd; & ghana statistical service, nd). in the 1980s, ghana experienced economic difficulties and structural adjustments, which had implications for sustainability initiatives. environmental conservation efforts continued, and initiatives were undertaken to promote sustainable agricultural practices and address deforestation (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation, nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). in the 1990s, ghana went through political and economic reforms, including the introduction of multiparty democracy and economic liberalization. sustainable development gained more attention globally, and ghana started incorporating environmental considerations into its policies and plans (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation, nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). in the early 2000s, ghana emphasized the importance of environmental sustainability and launched various initiatives to promote renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable agriculture. notable initiatives included the establishment of the renewable energy act in 2003 and the launch of the national climate change policy in 2013 (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). 213 however, in 2005, ghana launched the national environmental action plan (neap) to address environmental challenges and promote sustainable development. the neap focused on various areas such as natural resource management, waste management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). in 2010, ghana passed the renewable energy act (act 832), which aimed to promote the development and utilization of renewable energy sources in the country. the act provided a legal framework for the implementation of renewable energy projects and encouraged private sector investment in the sector (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). furthermore, in 2015, ghana committed to the united nations' sustainable development goals (sdgs), which included targets for poverty eradication, clean energy, sustainable cities, and responsible consumption and production. ghana implemented various initiatives to achieve the sdgs, including renewable energy projects, sustainable agriculture programs, and efforts to improve waste management systems (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). in 2020, ghana launched the green ghana initiative, which aimed to plant 5 million trees across the country to combat deforestation, promote biodiversity, and mitigate climate change. the initiative encouraged public participation and collaboration between government agencies, ngos, and the private sector to achieve its objectives (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd).. meanwhile, in 2021, ghana launched the national clean cooking transition strategy, which aimed to promote the use of clean and efficient cooking technologies to reduce indoor air pollution and associated health risks. the strategy focused on transitioning households from traditional biomass cooking methods to cleaner alternatives such as liquefied petroleum gas (lpg) and improved cookstoves (united nations development programme, nd; government of ghana, ministry of environment, science, technology and innovation (mesti) nd; environmental protection agency (epa) nd; & ghana statistical service (nd). history of sr in togo in togo, the history of sustainability reporting is characterized by a growing recognition of the importance of environmental, social, and governance (esg) disclosure. here is a conceptual view of the history of sustainability reporting in togo. historically, sustainability reporting in togo was relatively limited, with a predominant focus on financial reporting. environmental and social impacts were not widely reported or emphasized. meanwhile, togo, as a member of the waemu, has adopted regulations that promote sustainability reporting. these regulations require companies to disclose their environmental and social impacts, contributing to transparency and accountability in corporate reporting. furthermore, the global reporting initiative (gri), an international framework for sustainability reporting, has gained recognition and usage in many countries, including togo. organizations in togo have adopted the gri 214 guidelines to structure their sustainability reports and align their reporting practices with global standards. also, over time, there has been an increasing awareness among businesses and stakeholders in togo regarding the importance of sustainability reporting. companies are recognizing the benefits of reporting on their esg performance to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices and attract socially responsible investors. togo gained independence from french colonial rule in 1960. at that time, the focus was primarily on political and economic development rather than specific sustainability initiatives. it's worth noting that during this period, environmental issues and sustainable development were not yet significant global concerns. meanwhile, in the 1970s, togo faced various challenges related to rapid urbanization, deforestation, and soil erosion. efforts were made to address environmental issues, including the establishment of protected areas such as the fazao-malfakassa national park in 1975 to conserve biodiversity. in the 1980s, togo faced economic difficulties and structural adjustments, which impacted sustainability efforts. environmental conservation efforts continued, and togo established the forestry development and management project in 1986 to address deforestation and promote sustainable forest management. furthermore, in the 1990s, togo experienced political and social changes, including the introduction of multiparty democracy. sustainable development gained attention globally, and togo started incorporating environmental considerations into its policies and plans. in the early 2000s, togo began focusing on environmental protection, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. the togolese government-initiated programs such as the rural sector support project, which aimed to promote sustainable agricultural practices and increase food security. meanwhile, by the year 2005, togo ratified the kyoto protocol, an international agreement aimed at combating climate change. this commitment reflected the country's recognition of the importance of addressing environmental issues. the togolese governmentinitiated efforts to promote sustainable agricultural practices and increase food security through programs such as the rural sector support project. interestingly, togo launched the national program for sustainable development (pnsd) in 2010. the program aimed to promote economic growth while integrating social and environmental considerations. the pnsd focused on various sectors, including agriculture, energy, water resources, and environmental management, to achieve sustainable development goals. however, togo, along with other countries, adopted the united nations' sustainable development goals (sdgs) in 2015. the sdgs provided a framework for addressing global challenges, including poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation. togo emphasized the importance of renewable energy sources and committed to increasing the share of renewable energy in its overall energy mix. in 2020, togo implemented the national development plan (ndp) covering the period 20202025. the ndp aimed to achieve sustainable development through various strategies, including poverty reduction, job creation, and environmental protection. togo focused on improving waste management systems, promoting sustainable agriculture, and expanding renewable energy infrastructure. notwithstanding, in 2021, togo launched the "clean energy corridor" project, in collaboration with the world bank and other partners. this initiative aimed to increase access to renewable energy and improve the country's energy security. togo continued 215 to invest in sustainable agriculture practices, such as organic farming and agroforestry, to enhance food security and reduce environmental impacts. contextual historic view of sr in nigeria, ghana, and togo inclusion of sustainability reporting in corporate affairs commission (cac) regulations (2003): the corporate affairs commission included sustainability reporting as part of its regulations for annual reports of nigerian companies. this marked an early recognition of the importance of reporting on social and environmental aspects (cac, 2003). introduction of the nigerian sustainable banking principles (2012): the central bank of nigeria introduced the nigerian sustainable banking principles, which required banks to integrate sustainability into their operations and report on their sustainability performance. this initiative played a significant role in promoting sustainability reporting among financial institutions. (central bank of nigeria, 2012). establishment of the global reporting initiative (gri) in nigeria (2013): the gri established its first african regional hub in nigeria, which aimed to support organizations in adopting sustainability reporting practices aligned with the gri framework. this initiative enhanced awareness and capacity building for sustainability reporting in the country. (gri, 2013) inclusion of sustainability reporting in the nigerian stock exchange (nse) listing rules (2015): the nigerian stock exchange incorporated sustainability reporting as a requirement for listed companies through its corporate governance code. this move encouraged companies to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (esg) performance. (nse, 2015). launch of the nigerian sustainable finance principles (2019): the central bank of nigeria launched the nigerian sustainable finance principles, which promoted sustainable finance practices among financial institutions. the principles emphasized the integration of sustainability considerations into business strategies and reporting. (central bank of nigeria, 2019). publication of the nigerian sustainable banking guidelines (2020): the central bank of nigeria published the nigerian sustainable banking guidelines, which provided a framework for banks to implement sustainability practices and report on their sustainability performance. this further emphasized the importance of sustainability reporting in the banking sector. (central bank of nigeria, 2020). incorporation of sustainability reporting in the ghana stock exchange (gse) listing rules (2008): the gse incorporated sustainability reporting as part of its listing rules, requiring listed companies to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (esg) performance. this move aimed to enhance transparency and accountability in reporting practices. (gse, 2008). establishment of the global reporting initiative (gri) in ghana (2010): the gri established a local network in ghana to promote sustainability reporting aligned with the gri framework. the local network facilitated capacity building, workshops, and collaborations to encourage organizations to adopt sustainability reporting practices. (gri, n.d.). development of the ghana integrated reporting guidance (2015): the institute of chartered accountants, ghana (icag) developed the ghana integrated reporting guidance, which provided a framework for organizations to integrate financial and non-financial information in their reporting. the guidance emphasized the importance of sustainability reporting for holistic performance disclosure. (icag, 2015). introduction of the ghana securities and exchange commission (sec) corporate governance code (2018): the ghana sec introduced a revised corporate governance code that included sustainability reporting as a key requirement for listed companies. this code aimed to promote better corporate governance practices and encourage esg disclosure. (ghana sec, 2018). launch of the sustainable development goals (sdgs) 216 reporting guidelines (2019): the environmental protection agency (epa) and the united nations development programme (undp) in ghana launched the sdgs reporting guidelines, which provided a framework for organizations to align their reporting with the sdgs. these guidelines promoted sustainability reporting in the context of national development priorities. (epa & undp, 2019). differences in historical history of sr in nigeria, ghana, and togo nigeria has made progress in sustainability reporting through various initiatives and regulations. the securities and exchange commission (sec) released the nigerian sustainable finance principles in 2019, which provide guidelines for sustainable reporting by listed companies. the central bank of nigeria also requires financial institutions to integrate environmental and social risk management into their operations. however, sustainability reporting practices may vary among companies due to differences in sectoral focus, awareness, and resources (united nations development programme nigeria, 2019). on the contrary, togo is in the early stages of developing sustainability reporting practices. the country has shown commitment to sustainable development through initiatives like the national development plan and the sustainable development goals (sdgs). however, the level of sustainability reporting and its integration into business practices may be relatively low compared to more developed countries in the region (republic of togo, 2018). meanwhile, ghana has made significant strides in promoting sustainability reporting. the country has a history of environmental and social reporting, supported by initiatives such as the ghana stock exchange's corporate governance code, which encourages listed companies to adopt sustainability reporting practices. the securities and exchange commission of ghana has also taken steps to promote integrated reporting through its guidelines for listed companies (securities and exchange commission ghana. (2017). similarities in historical history of sr in nigeria. ghana, and togo in nigeria, the historical view of sustainability reporting has undergone significant changes over time. in the past, the emphasis was primarily on financial reporting, with limited attention given to non-financial aspects such as environmental and social impacts. however, in recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the importance of sustainability reporting for businesses operating in nigeria. one notable development in nigeria is the establishment of the nigerian stock exchange (nse) sustainability disclosure guidelines in 2015. these guidelines require listed companies to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (esg) performance in their annual reports. the guidelines align with global sustainability reporting standards, such as the global reporting initiative (gri) framework (gpt, nd). like nigeria, ghana has also witnessed a growing awareness and emphasis on sustainability reporting in recent years. historically, sustainability reporting in ghana was relatively limited, with a stronger focus on financial reporting. however, the perception has shifted, recognizing the need for companies to report on their esg performance. the ghana stock exchange (gse) has played a role in promoting sustainability reporting in the country. in 2015, the gse introduced the gse-socially responsible investment (sri) index, which includes companies that meet certain esg criteria. this initiative encourages listed companies to adopt sustainability practices and report on their performance (gpt, nd). 217 meanwhile, compared to nigeria and ghana, togo has had a relatively shorter history of sustainability reporting. historically, the emphasis was primarily on financial reporting, and non-financial aspects such as sustainability were not widely reported. however, there is an increasing recognition of the importance of sustainability reporting in recent years. togo has taken steps towards promoting sustainability reporting through the adoption of the west african economic and monetary union (waemu) regulations. the waemu regulations require companies to report on their environmental and social impacts, thereby encouraging transparency and accountability in corporate reporting (gpt, nd). nigeria, ghana, and togo, placed a significant emphasis on financial reporting, with limited attention given to non-financial aspects such as sustainability (lokuwaduge, 2020). also, in recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of non-financial reporting, including environmental, social, and governance (esg) factors, in all three countries (lokuwaduge, 2020; owusu et al., 2019). in addition, nigeria, ghana, and togo have shown efforts to align their sustainability reporting practices with global standards, such as the global reporting initiative (gri) framework, in order to enhance transparency and comparability (owusu et al., 2019; nyame-asiamah et al., 2020). finally, the stock exchanges in nigeria, ghana, and togo have played a role in promoting sustainability reporting. the nigerian stock exchange (nse) and ghana stock exchange (gse) have introduced guidelines and indices that encourage listed companies to report on their sustainability performance (gse, 2015; nse, 2015). conclusion a critical look at the historical exodus of sustainability reporting in these three nations, pieces of literature review indicate that significant efforts were made particularly in nigeria towards to developing in sr. the signing in of the sr into law in 2023 was clear evidence of the government commitment towards standardizing sr in nigeria. therefore, in nigeria, sustainability reporting will facilitate communication and engagement with various stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, and communities. it helps build trust and enhances relationships by providing a platform for dialogue and collaboration. furthermore, sustainability reporting promotes transparency by providing stakeholders with information about a company's environmental, social, and governance (esg) performance. it will enable companies to be accountable for their actions and encourages them to improve their sustainability practices. this however, places and urgent demand on ghana and togo to quickly considers signing into law sustainability reporting in order to benefit environmental from the enormous benefit of environmental accountability. however, the study concludes that while several efforts had been geared towards the advancement of sustainability reporting among the three nations, evidence indicates that sustainability reporting in 2023 was signed into law in nigeria. the study, therefore, recommends that ghana and togo should strive towards legalizing sustainability reporting in their financial reporting framework. 218 references: accountability, (2003). aa1000 accountability principles standard. ayuba, r., & alabi, o. 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(2021). nigeria overview. retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nigeria/overview page 7 364 from image schemata to rational inference structures and patterns: how meaning and reason may be non-propositional. jude godwins department of philosophy seat of wisdom seminary, imo state university, owerri. judegodwins8@gmail.com abstract when all is said and done, our power of abstract reason, under the framework proposed by proponents of imaginative reason, and reinforced by a host of thinkers sympathetic to their views, could well be identified with the human conceptualizing capacity. this has been found to involve three factors. the first factor is the power to create symbolic constructs corresponding to preconceptual structures in our commonplace experience. the second factor is the power of metaphorical mapping, framing structures in the physical sphere onto constructs in the abstract realms – all within the framework of the existing structural correspondences between the abstract and the physical horizons. the third factor is the power to employ image schemata as structuring schemes in the creation of general categories and complex concepts. if we should go by these schematic conceptualizations, meaning, understanding, and rationality would apparently be dependent on metaphorical extensions of non-propositional imageschematic structures. introduction our experiences are structured conceptually by our image schemata, and we construct imageschematic concepts analogous to our image schemata, e.g., the concepts of pulling and pushing. also conceptual metaphors map our image schemata into abstract realms, keeping intact their underlying internal structure and gestalt understanding. rather than being arbitrary, the conceptual metaphors are motivated by constructs ingrained in our day-to-day experiences. lakoff and johnson have written extensively to argue the existence of meaning structures arising from bodily experience and enormously influencing our rational inference patterns. these essential structures of meaning have been known to be non propositional. linguistic meaning has been identified as their chief instance. language is said to reveal the unmistakable existence of image-schematic structures of meaning that are non-propositional in the traditional sense. our perceptual interactions and bodily movements within our milieu give rise to these schemata. these (schemata) in turn possibilize our mode of experiencing, understanding, and reasoning about our world. we shall inquire into these image schemata to ascertain what potentials they do have for defining human reason. 1.1 image-schematic structures 365 lakoff and johnson conceive image-schematic structures somewhat after the manner of immanuel kant, who understands schemata as non propositional imaginative structures linking concepts to precepts. johnson recalls how kant describes them as procedures through which we construct images. in this way we involve patterns of perception in our corporeal experience (johnson, 1987, 21). kant admits that the structures of the preconceptual structuring processes of image schemata do have the capacity to fit general concepts and give rise to particular images, in a manner that lends meaningful order and organization to our experiences. lakoff and johnson, however, take kant a step further in their treatment of the subject. they see image schemata as continuous, active, dynamic and recurring structures that organize our experience and comprehension. lakoff considers them as somewhat abstract schemas engaged in the organization of our perception and of the formation of mental visual images. they themselves elude any direct visualization in the way we do rich images (lakoff, 1987, 453). image schemata structure and organize our perceptions as well as our rich images. johnson says, they are structures organizing our mental representations at such levels of abstraction and generality that go far beyond that at which rich images and mental pictures are formed. he calls them a “continuous structure of an organizing activity” (johnson, 1987, 29). thus, the specificity and particularity of rich images and mental pictures easily distinguish them from the generality of image schemata. an illustration could be appropriate here. julia and joseph have eyes that in various instances look different. joseph has ostensibly big eyeballs, wide eyelids, and brown eyes. julia, on the other hand, has small eyeballs, narrow eyelids, and blue eyes. these are specificities that constitute the rich images and mental pictures of the differing eyes of joseph and julia. but then, for all their apparent particularities, their eyes –as well as the eyes of every human being – have general recurring structures: eyebrows, two eyeballs, and two eyelids. these make up recurring forms that are modified in each instance, in julia and joseph. again, whoever writes with a ballpoint pen, moves his hand in a certain form that one finds recurrent in all human writing exercises. perhaps, a better example of the image-schematic structure is the recurring pattern we find in the experience of balance. johnson cites the example of a toddler trying to walk for the first time. one observes her initial unsteady efforts at distributing ‘mass and forces’ proportionately around an imaginary vertical axis. she stretches out her arms to set up a steadying and stabilizing horizontal axis proportional to the vertical axis. this imaginary central axis around which the forces get distributed is neither a physical perceptible object, nor a propositional structure conceptualized by the baby, nor an image which she has. it is rather a recurring pattern in the human encounter with and experience of balance (johnson, 1987, 76). these schemata constitute for us a pattern, a structure according to which we organize our experience and understanding as we move and perceive with our bodies. thus, lakoff hypothesizes that in perception and in image formation humans impose image-schematic structures that enable them incategorizing their perception (lakoff, 1987, 455). image schemata are consequent upon our bodies, influencing our environmental interactions with their attendant anticipations and expectations. as bodily beings, we daily experience spatialboundedness and are conditioned by it, as we move in and out of bounded spaces. as haeffner argues, the organization of space and the orientation of my bodily existence make up the two sides of a single phenomenon (haeffner, 1988, 144). such a view of spatiality is also affirmed 366 when johnson remarks that, our experience of being contained in and bounded by something is a foremost pervasive feature of our corporeal experience (johnson, 1987, 21). the point that is registered in all these indications of some sort of specialization of form, to borrow the expression of lakoff, is that our interaction with various forms of bounded spaces reveals a repeatable or recurring temporal and spatial structuring, indicating some schemata for these phenomena. these schemata are repeatable hidden patterns and structures in our experiences, the recurring structures of, or in, our perceptual interactions, bodily experiences, and cognitive operations, according to which we experience our world as a conjoined and integrated locus that we can make sense of. these hidden structures, as it were, which, as seen shortly, are active in ones perceptible grasp or lack of grasp of balance, are forces that are psychological or perceptual rather than gravitational or physical. the role of image-schematic structures in our world is simply enormous. what would happen in a world without pattern, structure, connectedness, and some order would be anybody’s guess. for meaning to emerge at all from our perceptions and conceptions, there must be some pattern and connectedness. it is exactly in this sense that, as structures of our experiences, image schemata are meaning structures. be that as it may, these schemata make sense to us only because we have the kind of bodies we do have. we understand them relative to the parts of the body and our capacity to manipulate these body parts in movement, for instance. thus we can comprehend our pulling, supporting, and climbing schemata, which are referred to as motor skills. also we normally take off from a certain point and end our motion at another point. so the movement of our bodies makes meaning to us when we think of a starting-point and end-point schema. it is the opinion of lakoff and johnson that we actually employ the internal meaning structure of the image schemata in our abstract reason. haeffner shares with these two authors the intellectual premise that the image schemata indicate an internal ecological structure of meaning which could be associated with human reason. so the rich use of spatial metaphors that our language knows is not really something that came about late and as if from the outside of an original and purely literal use. rather, the 'high' is not only higher from the outset, but also better than the 'low'. we can feel lost or cramped not only in physical spaces, but also in social spaces (cf. no. 129). mere physical presence is compatible with physical absence; the traveler who has already physically arrived often needs time to ‘let his mind follow’ (haeffner, 1989, 147). the image-schematic structures have yet one more essential dimension. it is about their gestalt characteristics. when our experiences are structured in terms of gestalts, they become appreciably coherent (lakoff 1981, 201). johnson refers to the gestalt structures of our schemata as their meaningful, coherent, and unified wholes in both our experience and our cognition. he points to our daily interaction with the phenomenon of force as an example of the internal gestalt structure of our schemata. the force-gestalt reveals human movement, object-directedness of human action, intensity levels, and causality structure (johnson, 1987, 41-42). these force-gestalts find their way into our meaning structure as we daily interact with the surrounding world, exerting force or feeling and experiencing force ourselves. often our normal pattern of force-experience gets unnoticed except, for instance, at moments of excessive winds or unusual force of gravity. it is no surprise, then, that regular modes, patterns, and forms 367 of our force-experience naturally work their way up our meaning structure as well as our language organization. we come face to face with our force-interaction daily as we bump into static objects. we feel the directionality of force as we give a little push to objects and watch them move in certain definite directions. we see the football that has been kicked, take off from rinaldo and get to bierhof. we also experience the varying degrees of force as objects move faster or slower away from or towards us. a one-year old already knows that he could cause the glass to fall from the table by giving it a little push. thus, our perceptual gestalts for force reveals some experience of force-interactions, single path of motion, origins or sources of force, degrees of power of force, and sequence of causality (johnson, 1987, 43-44). in the light of the foregoing remarks, it is consistent to hold that our conceptual system has not only arisen out of our bodily experience, but that these revelations further strengthen the claim that the gestalt characteristics of image-schematic structures could well give rise to inference patterns. it is argued, for example, that the following seven-fold experimental force-structure could further be elaborated progressively into far-reaching domains of meaning. they include compulsion, blockage, counterforce, diversion, removal of restraint, enablement, and attraction. johnson calls them the schemata for the most common of force-structures in our experience. but how do these force-structuces come to play a role in our experience, one might ask? one experiences the force-structure of compulsion as one is moved by external forces. when ones force is resisted by some hindrance, one experiences blockage. in head-on collisions one has a direct experience of the schema of counterforce. similarity, one experiences the diversion structure as one observes objects on which some force has been exerted suddenly change their directions, yielding to some possible counteracting forces. and when obstacles give way to one’s exertion of force, one experiences the schema of removal of restraint. enablement is the structure of the experience that one goes through as one feels a certain sense of energy to undertake some activity. finally, the schema of attraction is experienced every time one encounters people and finds them attractive or repulsive. image schemata, lakoff and johnson argue, structure our experience of space in various forms. the link schema, the container schema, the part-whole schema, the center-periphery schema, the front-back schema, the up-down schema, all go into our organization and conceptualization of space. such is the case that the image schemata which structure space are eventually framed onto corresponding abstract configurations which structure concepts. our entire category structure, for instance, is conceived in terms of the container schema. the physical space is extended to the conceptual space. the outgrowth, as we shall see shortly, is a conceptual system replete with metaphorical framing from physical space onto metaphorical space. our brief analysis of the meaning of balance, understood both as an experience and as a concept, can already begin to give us a little idea as to how metaphorical elaboration of image schemata give rise to form and structure in our experience and understanding of our world and ourselves. recall the example of the toddler attempting to walk for the first time. in that example, we showed how the hidden but organizing and recurring internal structure of balance, already present in the baby, attends the toddler’s effort to keep a balanced perspective as he goes through the experience of walking for the first time. we shall now proceed a step further 368 in our inquiry. we intend to provide samples of concepts emerging from the meaning structure of image schemata. concept formation image schemata, which emanate from our bodily nature and our spatial boundedness as bodies, give rise to body-related concepts such as our motor movement concepts, spatial-relations concepts et cetera. spatial-relations concepts, for instance, make sense of space to us. the from-to schema generates our concepts of nearness and farness, according to which something is near to or far away from us. it is common knowledge that nearness and farness as such do not exist. they are merely imposed on space, following from the from-to schema, which in turn grows out of our bodily spatial orientational structure. the same is true of the concepts of back and front, which come from the back-front schema. nothing has a back or front in itself. being body-based concepts, fronts and backs make meaning only to beings, such as us, with fronts and backs. haeffnermakes a strong case for our experience of space. when we begin to think about space, we become so attached to the clear visual space that we first have to become aware of what it means to measure, experience, and fill a space through our own exercises. there are spaces that confine us, to the point of oppression, and there are spaces in which we feel exposed, to the point of claustrophobia; in between lie the homely, sheltering 'caves' and the expansive halls (haeffner, 1989, 145). the point has been made already that we not only employ spatial-relations and body-based concepts automatically, but that we also frame them unto the world around us through our perceptual and conceptual systems. lakoff and johnson contend that these body-based and spatial-relations concepts have their “built-in spatial logics” by virtue of the image-schematic structures that occasion them (lakoff, 1999, 31). thus, the dog, for instance, is infront of the dog house or at the back of the court yard consequent upon the human aptitude/competency in projecting backs and fronts onto dog houses and courtyards and imposing relations on visible settings (and visibility) consequent upon such projections (lakoff, 1999, 35). nothing, indeed, is like the name we have given it. the way our bodily nature is reflected so frequently in our concepts shows, as earlier indicated, that these bodily projections, which carry our image schemata over to our concepts, reveal the manner our bodies –conjoined with our image-schematic structures – shape our concepts and our conceptual structure. for instance, from our image schemata for our in-out orientation, which itself is an outgrowth of our bodily spatial boundedness, come the concepts of (a) availability, (b) security or freedom, and (c) confinement. (a) availability could be associated with being in a certain bounded space which makes a spatial being available for some observation. this shows that our concept of availability is understandably natural. (b) the concept of security or freedom could be traced to the experience of being in a certain enclosure which can evoke some sense of security and some feeling of the absence of exposure to danger, as in being in the security of our rooms. the concept of security, then, is natural to our in-out schema. 369 (c) the experience of confinement is akin to the experience we have when we find ourselves in undesirable enclosures. the concept of confinement is, thus, native to us, since it belongs to our everyday experience. these as well as other spatial-relations and bodily movement concepts are the follow-ups of our image schemata, which are themselves dependent on our bodily spatial boundedness. this discloses how our concepts are shaped by the corresponding image-schematic structures. our capacities for sight and for negotiating space are employed in forming spatial-relations concepts (spatial orientation schemata) of in, out, on top, beneath, above. our motor schemata (as in moving a ballpoint pen in writing, or moving an electric iron in stretching out our clothes) organize our motor movement concepts (running, climbing, ironing). one curious phenomenon in all this is the apparent absence of any serious perceptible dichotomy between perceptions and their corresponding concepts. our perceived events and actions (aspectual concepts: starting, continuing) receive their structure from our overall motor movement. the meaning of motor motion is simply made available to us by our motor schemata. and our spatial-relations concepts are organized by the brain’s visual structures. the human conceptual framework utilizes essential aspects of our sensorimotor apparatus that establish pivotal conceptual structure (lakoff, 1999, 39). this phenomenon seems to be pervasive in our basic-level concepts. and of course, it is quite understandable, given the nature of the basic-level experiences associated with these basic-level concepts. all experience levels, classifications, and category placements are hardly the same. in the light of our differing body types, our brain functions and orientations, the direction of our goals, and our social interactions, certain levels of experience become more important to our functioning than other levels. concepts related to these basic levels of experience will be given priority in the organization and structuring of our conceptual system (johnson 1993, 10-11). basic level concepts could easily be traced to our gestalt perception, motor motion, and mental imagery. one more instance of concepts emerging from image-schematic structures is found in the area of color concepts. our color concepts, like some other body-based concepts, have links with the in-out schema. described as a bounded sphere in space, the container schema has a structure that identifies an outside, a boundary, and an inside – giving rise to what we have referred to as gestalt structure. the in-out schema is basically conceptual, although it has also its physical realizations in concrete objects or bounded fields in space. it then becomes possible for us to frame the in-out schematic structures on visual and auditory objects. given this basically conceptual character of the in-out schema, we are enabled to conceptualize color; that is to say, color is a general concept. colour lets itself be physically realized, as in the blue room. the colour concept, again, goes back to our body structures, according to which our interactions with our world as well as with our bodies themselves are schematized. thus, though colour concepts do not simply exist in the world out there, yet they are not mere figments of our minds. the concept we have of colour is, instead, interactional, arising from the interaction between our body (the brain) and our world (electromagnetic radiation and the reflective properties associated with objects). later in our inquiry, this would constitute evidence of not only our phenomenological but also our neural embodiment. our concepts are not only structured after the manner of the image-schematic structures, but the very concept of structure itself is also structured by these schemata. the concept of 370 categories (the category structure) makes sense to us within the context of the container schemata. the front-back schemata open up to us the background-foreground structure and concepts. the part-whole schemata as well as the up-down schematic structures give us an understanding of the concept of hierarchy (hierarchical structures). the link schemata reveal to us the concept of relationship (relational structure). the matter of body-related concepts, their structure, and the conceptual system that grows out of them is treated in detail by lakoff and johnson. having found our conceptual system basically metaphorical, they hold that it consists of metaphorical and non-metaphorical concepts. non-metaphorical concepts are not only the direct outgrowths of the human experience but they are also delineated on their terms (norman, 1981, 193). they include spatial orientation concepts, ontological concepts, and the concepts associated with structured experiences and activities. metaphorical concepts are those which are understood and structured in terms of other concepts, rather than in their own terms (norman, 1981, 193). these are orientational, ontological and structural metaphors. the metaphorical concepts are the parallels to or, as it were, the derivatives of the non-metaphorical concepts. orientational metaphors orient and structure concepts in terms of non-metaphorical spatial orientations. for a example, an employee may say: 'my remuneration went up by 70%'. here the increase in earnings is expressed by an upward movement of a sort. ontological metaphors frame the status of substance or entity onto things that are inherently bereft of such status. for instance, the mind is likened to a machine when we say that one's mind failed to function. emerging from our structural concepts, structural metaphors structure a kind of activity or experience with respect to another kind. for instance, it is common to hear a person say, 'i see what you mean,' where being able to see means being able to understand (understanding is seeing). what is most remarkable here is that the basic understandings of the non-metaphorical concepts are often entailed in their metaphorical parallels. given that metaphorical concepts are delineated relative to non-metaphorical notions, they reveal inferential relationships coextensive with the entailment relations of the corresponding non-figurative ideas. for instance, money is scare or restricted asset, and scarce assets/restricted assets are highly prized goods. parallel to this is the figurative notion of time as money, implying that time is a scare/restricted asset, and so time is an invaluable good (norman, 1981, 193). our investigation of concepts was motivated by a desire to link concepts to their image schemata. we have tried to connect some basic concepts (e.g., balance) to their motor movement schemata. our spatial-relations concepts (front, back) were traced to their spatialorientation schemata. our color concepts also were linked to the in-out schema. in all this, it becomes evident how our image-schematic structures, generated by our bodies, shape our conceptualizing activities. it remains to show how these schemata are extended and elaborated in our metonymic and metaphorical mappings. the metaphorical elaboration of image schemata. 371 the major contention of proponents of imaginative reason is that conceptual metaphor has a primal place in our meaning construction and our rational inference structures. it is seen as an underpinning principle of connection, linking our vast network of interconnected literal meanings. these authors postulate that, thanks primarily to conceptual metaphor and, in part, to other parts of imaginative reason, such as the metonymic, humans figuratively extend imageschematic structures, in what is known as metaphoric and image-schematic reasoning. the imaginative mechanisms, in their opinion, are vested with cognitive contents. our imaginative powers avail us of the structures of image schemata and the invaluable patterns of metaphor and metonymy that enable the extention and elaboration of those schemata (johnson, 1987, 169 193). fauconnier has also written a couple of highly relevant texts to argue the existence of mappings and frames across domains of experience in the human thought process. he argues that mappings across realms are established in our processes of thinking and talking (fauconnier, 1997, 8). we have mapping when two stets or domains of experience correspond, assigning to every component in the one, an equivalent/parallel in the other (fauconnier, 1997, 1). it is as if thought and language depend on the manipulation of mapping networks across mental spaces (fauconnier, 1997, 149). mental spaces are defined as “partial structures" that multiply in our thinking and talking processes, enabling precise delineation of our structures of discourse and knowledge (fauconnier, 1997, 11). mappings function to set up and connect mental spaces (fauconnier, 1997, 11). mental spaces are also defined as avenues, means, and places where (and through which) thoughts happen and where entities of our mental concepts are located (lakoff, 1987, 542). mediums of thought and conceptualization, mental spaces stand for conceptualized states of affairs (e.g., abstract realms such as mathematical spheres, and conceptual realms such as philosophy, political science, business and public administration). sweetser and fauconnier are agreed over the mental space framework. they opine that in mental space constructions and space linking mental spaces are established, take on their forms and structures, and are connected to one another, as we are tightly boxed into situations, given grammatical, contextual, and cultural, settings as we think and talk (fauconnier, 1996, 11). defining meaning construction as the cardinal and complex mental activities that pertain within and across realms in our thinking, acting, or communicating (fauconnier, 1997, 1), fauconnier identified it with frames, spaces, and mappings (fauconnier, 1997, 190). he devotes the bulk of his book, mappings in thought and language, to arguing the existence and varieties of the ways structures are projected across and within mental spaces (fauconnier, 1997, 37). he explains that mental spaces are specified models of understanding discourse. we continually modify them. they are not, in principle, logically consistent. but they are cognitive. though we may not refer to them, we use them in referring to real and probably imaginary worlds. most essentially, they have elements whose reference in the world need not be direct. mental space configurations are neither representations of reality nor of possible worlds. a belief space, such as dan believes, rather than being a belief or state of belief, would be at best a manner of talking about beliefs. space configurations stand for our manner of thinking and talking, instead of providing us with the objects and contents of the very thinking and talking activities themselves. this is the case in conceptual metaphors. fauconnier notes possible tendencies in metaphysics and epistemology to let language say to us more than it naturally 372 can. he points out that talking in a particular way regarding our beliefs or over counterfactual situations, neither, of necessity, reveals the nature of our beliefs nor of possible worlds (fauconnier, 1997, 152-153). on the contrary, mental space configurations, as constructions connected to a discourse, while forming part of the cognition description, do not imply analogous metaphysical objects. with mental spaces, there need not be any straight connection between the structures of our language and their referents (fauconnier, 1997, 158). fauconnier admits that there are lots of conceptual connections across spaces in our cognitive mental space configurations, such as pragmatic metonymic functions, analogical, and metaphorical projections. it is his view that whenever we are involved in any form of thought – especially as mediated by language in its various shades of expression – domains are erected, structured, and linked up to one another, in our mental space configurations. conceptual connections across spaces in our cognitive mental space configurations is what they call a local process. a myriad of such realms of mental spaces are established for any thought expanse. one of the most important avenues to specify and retrieve major dimensions of this cognitive architecture is language. references, inferences, and the projection of structures at various levels function by utilizing available links to connect the established mental spaces. such connections are, by definition, cross-domain operations that do counter parts/parallels specifications and structure projections from one mental space to the other (fauconnier, 1997, xxxvii). so, it is that mental spaces are linked by mappings, structured by frames, and in discourse, there is always a shift from one mental space to another. our cognitive mappings reveal that an array of meaning constructions involving analogical forms, metaphorical forms, and hedges establish multiple space on figurations whose sources, targets, non-specific, and blended spaces project one another in multiple directions (fauconnier, 1997, xiii). these mental spaces that are constructed, framed, and linked up as we reason and communicate, are themselves constrained by already existing structures, our linguistic form, historicity, and surrounding world. the constraint the linguistic form puts on the dynamic creation of the mental spaces does not hinder the construction itself from being exceedingly reliant on preceding constructions that at the moment of discourse were already effected by the local features of the social framing in which the construction happens and, of course, by the real properties of the adjoining environments. these constraining features include, obtainable cross-domain mappings, accessible frames, and models of cognition. fauconnier, like lakoff and johnson, recognizes a certain understanding of the unity of the entire human experience. he holds that the cognitive functions at the center of the creation of day-to-day meaning are the same activities at workin the functioning of reason, thought, and understanding (fauconnier, 1997, 189). an ever increasing number of research works in the field of cognitive science continue to reveal cognitive connections and cognitive constructions as playing central roles in our thought organization. cognitive connections embrace cognitive schemata, metaphoric projections, analogical reasoning, mental spacelinks, blended spaces, counter-factuality, frame 373 organization, metonymic pragmatic functions, cultural models, and polysemy. let us take a cursory look at some of these cognitive operations. frame organization. frames are structured comprehension/knowledge of how facets of the world work (sweetser and fauconnier, 1996, 5). frames normally involves roles for participants such as doctors, nurses, and patients in a hospital. we create roles in physical or social framing of experience. analogy and metaphor. analogy, together with metaphor, refers to the human capacity to connect domains on the grounds of experiential links of various sorts. coming from the greek wordanalogia, analogyis a way of reasoning, enabling us to understand one thing by comparing it to another. blended spaces. blended spaces constitute a form of cognitive connection. a blended space could be interpreted as the construction of a metaphorical framing, in which a in the target space is the counterpart of b in the source space, and c in the target space is the counterpart of d in the source space. this configuration is, then, used in framing relevant inferences onto the target space. take the example, big bellies are expectant mothers. here, we have a blended mental space in which big bellies simultaneously represent big bellies (a), expectancy (b),and mothers (c). the notion of womanhood (d) is a natural implication here, although it is not explicitly in the blend. the linguistic form leads this process of mental space configuration through space composition, space blending, and generic spaces projections. counter-factuality. counter factuality is yet another variety of our mental space configurations in which true statements are combined with false premises to do reasoning. the following may serve to illustrate a counterfactual construction: if men had wings, they would fly. here there is a cognitive mapping, a core mapping, and its extension. the extension follows from the core mapping, even as the mapping lacks any objective trust condition. pragmatic functions. a type of cross-domain links and mental space constructions, pragmatic functions connect spheres to one another. for instance, writers and their works are connected by a function that links authors to their books. thus, the academic world identifies books by their authors (for example: heidegger, 1962). given such a world of evidence of cognitive connections of the various shades of the human experience, fauconnier and sweetser see thepossibility of domain connection beinguniversal and ubiquitous in human thought and language (sweetser and fauconnier, 1997, 8). haeffner seems to share with fauconnier and sweetser, lakoff and johnson, this sensibility for the unity and interconnectedness of the various nuances of the human experience, which conceptual metaphor is supposed to advance. the phenomenon of our bodylines and its implications as it relates to the use of body metaphors in language is well documented in the literature on philosophy of body. this is based on the fact that the physical-psychic and the psychic-spiritual 'functional circuits' are intertwined, so that neither can close without going through the other one, at least in part. the immanent laws of the physiological, psychological, and spiritual orders are of fundamentally different types. however, since there is not only a structural analogy between them, but also that a reciprocal translatability of modes of existence of one order into those of the other is linguistically attested, so that on the one hand the metaphorical word usage and act of living cannot do 374 without the literal; and on the other hand the full content of this is unfolded such that a unity must be inherent in these differences (haeffner, 1989, 129). johnson cites experiments conducted by researchers to show how metaphorical extension of structures across spheres constrain our reasoning. dedre and donald gentner preformed the experiments to argue the existence of analogical processes of reasoning that organize our system of concept formation and usage (johnson, 1987, 109). their experiments disclose the critical role of metaphorical projections in analogical thought. here features of the sourcedomains are mapped onto the target-domains as we project metaphors (johnson, 1987, 9). using electricity as a test-case, dedre and gentner cite the analogical use of water-flow that applies a metaphorical understanding of electric current as water that flows via a pipe (johnson, 1987, 10). one observes here a metaphorical extension from the source-sphere of hydraulic system to the target-realm of electric circuit. in this metaphorical framing, pump is framed onto voltage; and flow-rate is metaphorically extended to current. thus, image-schematic operations and models are actually employed in comprehending spheres of experience as well as in problem solving. when we comprehend the activity of electric circuits through projection of structural relations from the sphere of hydraulic systems, we move to specific inferences regarding the target-sphere (johnson, 1987, 12). a second experiment could also be cited. here, participants were given two different models, the ‘fluid-flow’ and the ‘moving-crowd, ’on the basis of which they were to make some findings and draw relevant inferences. informed by the metaphorical conception and structures associated with moving crowds, the second work-group preformed better than the first. the fluid-flow work-group, not acquainted with the relatively strange fluid dynamics, could not make the relevant metaphorical extensions needed to draw the appropriate experiences. they needed to be at home with how fluid heights in reservoirs influenced flow and pressure in order to draw the appropriate conclusions. the point that is being made here, is that we make definite inferences consequent upon the metaphorical conceptions underlying the spheres in question. metaphorical structures of understanding provide significant constraints on our thought processes, during our conscious reflections as well as in our less reflective operations (johnson, 1987, 12). in this and numerous other ways our image-schematic structures are metaphorically extended. this accounts for the various types of metaphors, there are, namely, ontological, structural, and orientational. it is interesting to note how the wisdom of their elaboration enhance logical thought. the orientational metaphor, happy is up, which is extended to i am feeling on top, simply elevates our erect posture ( the up-down schema) . ontological metaphors are similarly elaborated, generating statements such as 'her words carry lots of weight', which is an extension of the ideas are objects metaphor. an extension of the conduit metaphor, the example – 'her words carry lots of weight' – entails that words have their meanings independently of contents and speakers. as part of our culture these metaphorical extensions influence our thinking and action, even as we remain unaware of their impact. they are simply necessary in our rationalizing about our experiences. when inflation begins to lower our standards of living, we should recall immediately that it follows from the inflation is an entity metaphor. and when we look at inflation as an entity, it puts us in a certain frame of mind in which we can now make reference 375 to it, relate to it as a quantity, recognize its aspects, look at it as a cause, and attempt to comprehend it (lakoff, 1987, 27). hence, we find ourselves responding to, dealing with, and combating inflation. similarly, when we conceive argumentation in confrontational terms (the argument is war metaphor),it goes without some rational entailments. this not only structures the way we reason about it but also the manner we respond behaviorally to it. but most importantly, it is our interactions with substances and physical objects which lead us into conceptualizing and extending our experiences in relation to substances and entities. we could then elaborate these in container terms, following the in-out schema. thus, we could go in and out of arguments, and be in and out of periods of inflation – with all their attendant extensions. in the visual fields too, things come into and go out of sight. with events, states, and activities, we find ourselves saying we are in a race, or in a hopeless situation. for instance: mary is always in the 100-meter olympic race. the event of 1966, (the civil war) put nigeria in hopeless situation. ontological metaphors are further extended in personifications, as statements such as, ‘that lecture taught me a lot’ reveal. personifications helps us make sense of things in human terms, which could be understood easily, given their correlations in experience. thus, as spatial orientation occasions the orientational metaphors and their subsequent extensions, so also does our experience of substances and physical objects give us ontological metaphors and their myriad of elaborations. which concepts, though, are weightier than the others, and which are oriented which way, are issues that vary from one setting to the other. most importantly, the central in-out, up-down, center-periphery schemata belong to people the world over. and our extensions of them afford us an understanding that could only accompany an explanation that is one with our natural environments. polysemy. one more variety of metaphorical elaboration could be found in image-schematic transformations. one form of it is polysemous terms. in polysemy, core senses of words are said to yield extended meanings. polysemy is a case in which a word has intimately related senses. this phenomenon is said to be motivated by the natural relations among image schemata. natural image-schematic transformations generate situations in which a word has senses so closely linked to one another. the close links make the senses seem quite inseparable. in such a case, a historical, prototypical, central or core sense is said to exist. it is this that is extended into what we call an extended sense in any meaning network. consider the sentences that follow: (a) the wall is low; (b) my spirit is low. the low in the second sentence, could be a metaphorical extension of the low in the first. low as applied to the wall,it is held, is the spatial and core sense. low as applied to my spirit is the temporal and extended sense. traugott gives evidence that the core sense in a network of polysemy is the sense from which the extended sense historically developed. he demonstrates the possibility of acquiring gainful clues about the mechanism of meaning change by investigating synchronic linguistic conceptual structures (traugott, 1986, 539-550). fillmore has also done a study in favor of this hypothesis. he has, in fact, published lots of articles and books arguing the meaning extension position (fillmore, 1981 & 1982). frame semantics describes elements in a language that bear meaning in such away that words only come into existence for a reason; and this reason is predicated in our experiences and institutions. thus the meaning-bearing elements find their way in the spoken or written languages as to enable an understanding of the said experiences and institutions and to reveal 376 the reason these experiences and institutions became the motives for the creation of the categories the words express. the duty of these manticistis to decipher precisely how the categories relate to their backgrounds (fillmore, 1981 & 1982, 135-136). a frame-semantic approach to the meaning of the word carpenter, for instance, would say that the men-folk include individual males who, by their trade, carve artifacts out of wood, employing certain sorts of tools and implements; and these persons are named sculptures (fillmore, 1981 & 1982, 134). 'frame semantics’ refers to a programme of research in empirical semantics and a framework of description that presents the results of this research programme. it represents a certain way of investigating the meaning of words and also a certain manner of delineating/depicting principles or of formingnovel words and phrases, for embellishing, enhancing, and modernizing the meaning of words. it is a research programme that assembles the connotations of elements in a given writing into the overall meaning of the writing. ‘frame’ refers to any conceptual system linked up in a manner that understanding any of the constituents requires understanding the entire structure where it belongs. introducing any constituent element of this structure in a writing or discourse automatically introduces all the other elements. the idea of frame, as used here, indicates terms in the theory of language, such as, "‘schema’, ‘script’, ‘scenario’, ‘ideational scaffolding’, ‘cognitive model’, ‘folk theory’" (fillmore, 1981 & 1982, 111). lawrence horn too thinks along these lines. he argues in favour of a link between meaning shifts and synchronically valid inferences (horn 1984). scholars also agree on, and sweetser argues convincingly to show, the existence of substantial motivation underlying some diachronic meaning extensions, which could be ascertained when we study the connections of senses exhibited as people speak. she points out that available data, historical as well as synchronic, show how analysis of semantic domains is highly cognitive specific (sweetser, 1990, 23). furthermore, sweetser points to the evidence that, thanks to metaphorical framing, there are meaning shifts across domains, allowing a carry-over from basic senses to projected senses. there is an apparent pervasiveness and coherence in the structures of our metaphorical systems that is at the basis of our propensity to employ vocabulary borrowed from the external (social and physical) sphere when we discuss the internal (emotional and psychological) realm of our experience. at the historical level, this system of metaphors has again and again lead the way in changes in semantics; at the synchronic level, we see this metaphorical system in our pervasive application of polysemy and the abstract extensions our vocabularies on the physical world (sweetser, 1990, 49). combining these prototypical applications of terms with other relevant data on natural categorization (to be treated in a subsequent chapter) enables us to see lexical items as forming natural categories of senses. thus, some senses of a word may be more representative than other senses. in metaphorical framing, from one domain to another, the senses of the word in the source-domains are taken to be more basic than those in the target-realms. these metaphorical mappings relate the senses to one another, resulting in extensions of mappings. 377 the exploration of image schema shows that abstract reason is a matter of two things, namely (a) reason grounded on bodily experience, and (b)metaphorical projection from concrete to abstract realms. to this effect the following conclusions are drawn: (a) our experiences are structured preconceptually by our image schemata. (b) we construct image-schematic concepts analogous to our image schemata e.g., the concepts of pulling, and pushing. (c) conceptual metaphors map our image schemata into abstract realms, keeping intact their underlying internal structure and gestalt understanding. for instance, from the up-down schema we construct the metaphorical mapping, more is up; less is down. (d) the conceptual metaphors, rather than being arbitrary, are themselves motivated by constructs ingrained in our day-to-day experiences. an instance of this is the fact that our updown schema organizes virtually all our activities in terms of gravity. daily we observe liquid levels in our cups rise as we pour in some water. they then drop as we take away some quantity. the import is a natural environment where quantity becomes accessible and easily understandable in terms of our commonplace experience of verticality: a verticality-quantity correlation. this daily experience motivates the structural correlation where more correlates with up, and less correlates with down. this in turn informs the metaphorical mapping: more is up; less is down. thus, conceptual metaphors such as more is up, and purposes are destinations are prompted by preconceptual structural correlations in our mundane experience. schemata that structure our commonplace experience preconceptually have an internal ecological structure. preconceptual structural correlations in experience precipitate conceptual metaphors that map this gestalt understanding onto abstract spheres. the result is that what has been called abstract reason is but a certain dimension of our temporal and physical functioning, a somewhat delineating-in-the-imagination. it is a process of meaning and rationality that could be described as “imaginative rationality” (lakoff 1980, 193). it follows from this that our conceptual system could boil down to a combination of our image schemata and metaphorical mappings. the very imageschemata which structure our experience of space also structure our concepts. they do this by being mapped into analogous abstract configurations which structure concepts. that enables a metaphorical mapping from a physical space into a metaphorical space, were spatial structures are framed onto conceptual constructs. we have therefore, a conceptual structure that is somewhat a spatialization of form, what some call the hypothesis of form spatialization. image schemata (which belong to the structures in our preconceptual experience) are seen here functioning in a dual capacity: (a) as concepts that have structures we understand directly, and (b) as concepts weengage in metaphorical senses for structuringsome corresponding complex concepts (lakoff, 1987, 283). so it is that in the conceptual system, the propositional and image-schematic models stand for structures. the metaphoric and metonymic models constitute mappings that employ the structural models in metaphoric and metonymic projections into distinctive specialties which we call abstract reason. in this way, conceptual metaphor and metonymy transform general schemata characterized by our natural experiences into forms of reason weighty enough to belong to our definition of reason. reason and inference patterns 378 we have been probing inference patterns and the conceptual system that derives from them. most importantly, we have been investigating the metaphorical extensions of our body-based conceptions of our surrounding world, noting how such metaphorical extensions of image schemata attain a degree of abstraction approaching the level of rational constructs. proponents of imaginative reason show that these schemata have their “basiclogics” (internal structures), capable of defining human reason. it remains to show in this project in what sense and to what degree the internal, ecological, gestalt structures and ‘meaning postulates’ of these schemata could be identified with the quality and character of human reason. a few indications could well highlight this capacity and power of the internal structure of the image schemata to reflect reason: the in-out schema, the part-whole schema, the link schema, negation, the law of extended middle, modals, modal logic. the in-out schema. tinkering around the in-out schema, lakoff and johnson observe that its correlational experience is basically the embodied experience of the human body as both a container and as something in an enclosure. it is structured after an outside, a boundary, and an inside. its “basic logic”(internal structure) is, things are either within a container or outside a container. it is either x or not x. our class logic has its grounding in this idea (lakoff, 1987, 272). sample metaphors are seen in the visual field which is conceived in terms of the in-out schema, with things coming into and going out of sight. personal relationships belong here too. we go in and out of relationships. we enter into marriages where we may be trapped. this indicates that image schemata have their internal meaning structures and gestalt configurations. they reveal cognitive, ecological, inherent and sensible organizations. we find the core logic of image schematicthinking in its gestalt configurations. rather than an assemblage of loose parts,they are structured wholes. theirconfigurations give rise to their basic logic (lakoff, 1987, 272). such is the case that the meaning they make to us flows naturally from our corporeal experience. and their internal and cognitive structures follow from their meaning configurations. the part-whole schema. the part-whole schema is yet another indicator of the reason import of image schemata. its bodily experience is the experience one has of one’s body as a whole with parts. one normally experiences oneself as a whole being with parts that yield to manipulation. the structure of the part-whole schema is a whole, its constitutive parts, and its configuration. the internal and gestalt meaning structure is, if a person (x) is part of the family (y) ,then a family (y) is not a part of a person (x) (johnson, 1987, 273). it is an asymmetric schema. the notion of a family, conceived as a whole with parts, is one of its sample metaphors. the family which is put in place in a marriage set-up as a whole; the husband, wife, and children are its parts. the link schema. one other instance of the rational important of the image schemata is the link schema. again, its bodily experience is the initial human experience of the umbilical cord. it is, in truth, a connecting experience that is sustained all through infancy and childhood, as we grapple with the need to keep ties with our parents and the surrounding world. we also have the experience of using twines to tie and link up things to one another. the structure is that of two separate entities and a connecting link. its eternal meaning structure is, if q is connected to p, then p is connected to q. a couple of metaphors illustrate this. interpersonal and social relations are conceived as links, as connections are made and social ties are broken. 379 in the light of the foregoing a few conclusions can be drawn. first, there is a preconceptual structuring of our experiences by our image schemas. second, we have image schematic concepts that correspond to our experiences. third, metaphorical extensions map image schemas into abstract domains, retaining their core logic. fourth, far from being arbitrary, the metaphors have their leitmotif in the structures that inhere in our day-to-day corporeal experience (lakoff, 1987, 275). anderson’s claim that the mental active processes in image-schematic structures are abstract analogs of physical functions, makes sense here. johnson observes that anderson proposes the use of the length of a line as an analog for a person’s weight, to illustrate the notion of ‘abstract analog’. here, though the length of a line would vary with the weight, there is ostensibly no detailed correlation between a line and weight (johnson, 1987, 25). men have been known to have the faculty to perform such abstract operations. in this way, image-schemata, as meaning structures, give rise to human reason and inference patterns. johnson presents argumentative evidence of rational entailments of our schematic structures, to show how rational inferences and human reasoning are constructed on these meaning structures. he postulates that the in-out schema entails the notions of separating, differentiating, and enclosing things which in turn implies the ideas of restricting and limitating objects (johnson, 1987, 22). the rational entailments involved here are human limitation, protection from, or resistance to some outside force, accessibility or inaccessibility. human limitation. the spatial boundedness of a room, for instance, imposes on one the awkward reality of the limitations of one’s being. one feels a sense of confinement and a certain absence of liberty to stretch out, at will, beyond those four walls. the rational talk about human limitation, thanks to the meaning structures of the in-out schema, begins to take on for one’s being some experientially meaningful dimension. protection from, or resistance to some external force. the safety of the bounded space of a room, on the other hand, could give one some sense of protection from possible harmful external forces. for one moment, one is protected from the hustle and bustle, the insecurities and uncertainties of the external world, along with the pains and frustrations that may go with these. in the serenity of this small protecting enclosure, one is safe and free at last! at once, the philosophical topic of human freedom begins to become conceptually real for one. accessibility or inaccessibility. again, being in this spatial boundedness simultaneously reveals and hides one. it makes one accessible for observation of some sorts to those within this space, those who share ones world. it also makes one inaccessible to those walled off from ones world by ones bounded space. negation. another indication of the rational inference emerging from the in-out schema is in our understanding of negations in our reasoning process. when we reason, we take off from a starting point (propositions or premises), moving through this to an end-point (conclusion). the metaphorical understanding we seem to have here is one that conceives reasoning in the context of movement along some ‘path’. propositions are its bounded spots from where we take off, move through, and finish up at. the language of the human reason, johnson contends, reveals that holding a proposition is conceptualized in relation to holding oneself in a certain spot. we find ourselves saying: take 380 a position; from where you are now, you cannot proceed to that conclusion; you are on the wrong track of the discussion; you are straying away from the track. such is the case that as we proceed in reasoning, we have the experience of moving from one bounded spot to yet another. holding a proposition, then, means for us to be placed in a somewhat bounded mental spot, to be in a place. this becomes an experiential ground for the understanding of the theme of negation. for, to take a position contrary to the proposition, which implies negation, is to place oneself outside the bounded field. to hold a proposition is to be in some in-out field. to negate this proposition is to be outside of this in-out space. the in-out schematic structure, in this sense, constrains our reason. the law of the excluded middle. the logical law of the excluded middle, according to which everything is “either p or p,” johnson proposes, is yet another good example. in this principle of logic, categories understood as containers, rule out any chance of a third possibility. one is either in the container or out of the in-out structure. one either belongs to a category or one finds oneself outside of it. as a major principle of our logical system (the classical logic), it could be exciting to see how it is an extension of the logic of the in-out schema. modals. similarly the experiential gestalts for force, which we discussed in the preceding pages, do not merely constitute the background against which meaning springs up, but they are themselves structures of meaning. there empirical studies on the semantics of modal verbs to further argue the rational implications of image-schematic structures. our concept of modality and the modal verbs associated with this indicate our corpoeal experience of the actual and the necessary. thus our concepts of actuality and necessity are the consequences of our corporeal experience of, for instance, what we must do, can do, may do, might do could do (johnson, 1987, 48). though relating to our everyday practical experience, the notion of modality as discussed in philosophical disciplines – under the themes of possibility, necessity, and actuality – is a very abstract logical analysis. as an integral part of our normal world and our embodied experience, we relate to the fact of modality as we come in touch with events, things, and relations within the context of what is necessary, possible, or actual. their schemata constitute structures of embodied understanding for us. we might as well take a glance at the manner in which the philosophical concepts of possibility, necessity, and actuality, though involving abstract logical analysis, form an integral part of our everyday practical experience. we live out the reality of the phenomenon of possibility daily as we experience the reality of having to take a certain step in a world peopled by a sea of options. the modality of necessity is also an integral part of our day-to-day experience as we see that to stay alive, we must have food and shelter, for instance. we observe too that we need to be airlifted if we have to travel from europe to africa. again, we catch ourselves daydreaming about things that are, for all intents and purposes, known to be unrealizable. and at other moments, we observe ourselves doing things that are here and now actual and functional. thus, we see the concept of actuality actually having a place in our ‘everydayness’. the distinction between what is actual and what is not becomes for us at once experiential. the meaning structure of the schemata of the various shades of modality becomes, therefore, part of our everydayness as we find ourselves able to choose (can), as we feel ourselves allowed to 381 make or not to make options (may), and as we are constrained by certain force vectors into certain situations (must). the experiment on the extensive cognitive structure of modality has been carried out by eve sweetser as part of her study on the connectedness existing between three interrelated spheres of experience, found to be linked up to one another by a coherent metaphorical structure. these are the socio physical dimension, the epistemic realm (theorizing, rational argumentation, reasoning of various forms), and the structure of speech acts. following from this connecting metaphorical structure, the mental, the epistemic, and the rational are comprehended in the light of the physical. within this meaning schemata the various senses of modality are connected, thanks to metaphorical structures, with the physical turning into a metaphor for the non-physical (the social, the mental, and the rational). the root sense and the epistemic sense constitute the two senses of the modal verbs there are. the root modal verbs point to capability (can), warrant (may), and liability, (must). the epistemic sense indicates possibility, probability, and necessity in reasoning. the upshot, then, is that the root senses are rationally elaborated and extended to the epistemic realm. thus the root senses in the physical and social domains are not different from their meaning in the sphere of rational augmentations and reasoning. sweetser demonstrates how we use metaphorical extentions and projections of images of force to reason with modalities (lakoff, 1987, 458). he describes as exciting this possibility of characterizing modes of meaning using image schemata. he contends that when we use such image schematic structures to reason, we can refer to such thought as image schematic (lakoff, 1987, 458). if, as sweetser observes, the force of the premises of an argument compels us into some conclusion, then the epistemic senses of the modal verbs belongs properly to reasoning. perhaps we should analyze the implications once more. let us consider shortly how the meaning extensions are reflected in the epistemic senses of the following three modal verbs: may, must, and can. may. the argument is that as in the root meaning of may there is no external hindrance, so also in the epistemic sense, there is no obstacle hindering one’s process of reasoning – given the relevant premises –from getting to the suiting conclusion (force schema: removal of restraint). must. the modality, must, indicates a force vector driving one irresistibly to a certain conclusion. (the force schema here is one of compulsion; but now it becomes rational instead of physical). however, contends sweetser, in must, there is a certain asymmetry in the two senses (i.e., root sense and epistemic sense). in the root sense, (sociophysical), there is a certain sense of reluctance; in the epistemic, none. the reason behind this asymmetry is that in our reasoning we need our conclusion to be compelled and restricted. we deem it preferable when our conclusions are the irresistible consequences of the logical force or pressure of our premises. can. as for the modal verb can, its force gestalt is one of empowering; an empowering that is simultaneously a discretion. this is metaphorically elaborated to entail rational force in the epistemic sphere, a rational force that one needs to give in to. for, if one can make a certain inference, given the force of logic, then one should make that conclusion. 382 modal logic. a few remarks on how modal logic itself could be based on the force schemata could be appropriate here. necessity, as everyone knows, is always conceptualized in the sense of some constraining force or pressure, whether in the moral, epistemic or logical domains. possibility is also seen as a free and uninterrupted flow through a certain pathway. such concepts of necessity and possibility that underpin our understanding are reflected too in modal logic. (a) logical necessity. due to overwhelming force of logic (logical necessity), propositions are implicitly identified with locations. the logical pressure carries one from one propositional location yet to another. thus x is true if it has a logical necessity. if the logical force functions to gravitate you to a certain position/location, then, you end up in that location/position (johnson 1987, 64). (b) logical possibility. logical possibility is intuitively conceived as the absence of any blockage to one’s track to some location. the upshot of this is that, we at once intuitively relate necessity to possibility, following from our in-out schema. if the falsity of x is not a logical necessity, then the truth of x is alogical possibility. this follows from the way we understand necessity asa force that overwhelms us and negation as a place that lies outside of a certain bounded space (johnson 1987, 64). the study of image-schematic structures does disclose that their use in reasoning could stand the test of what we define as human reason. the boolean logic of classes, for instance, could be understood, in johnson’s view, as a metaphorical projection of some form of the image schemata. within this context, it becomes possible to formulate complex schemata akin to the boolean logic of classes, employing the part-whole schema, the in-out schema, and a metaphorical framing. classes would, then, take up a metaphorical definition, involving a mapping from the in-out schema to the class structure. reasoning done with such schematic structures would then become image-schematic reasoning. metonymic framing, in which a typical member of a category, stands for the entire category, could also form part of our definition of reason. this could be called metonymic reasoning. sweetser’s (1984, 1990) metaphorical projections of force images, which reveals our reasoning with modalities, could also constitute a weighty part of our definition of human reason. there is, again, much merit in the contention that fauconnier’s (1985, 1994, 1997) revelation of mental spaces configurations and cross-domain mappings in our thought construction, could without harm be allowed to be integrated into our reason definition. some of these, indicate instances of reasoning other than the propositional. yet, their force of argument and evidence deserve some attention. conclusion when all is said and done, our power of abstract reason, under the framework proposed by proponents of imaginative reason, and reinforced by a host of thinkers sympathetic to their views, could well be identified with the human conceptualizing capacity. this has been found to involve three factors. 383 the first factor is the power to create symbolic constructs corresponding to preconceptual structures in our commonplace experience. these preconceptual structure are, as already noted, the basic-level (walking, running) and image-schematic concepts (spatial space). the second factor is the power of metaphorical mapping, framing structures in the physical sphere onto constructs in the abstract realms – all within the framework of the existing structural correspondences between the abstract and the physical horizons. this constraint belongs to the system. our image schematic and metaphorical structures prohibit some movements (inferences), making them simply impossible (johnson, 1987, 137). herein lies our capacity for abstraction. finally, the third factor is the power to employ image schemata as structuring schemes in the creation of general categories and complex concepts. thus, we can form structures of complex events and taxonomies that have subordinate (e.g., types of walking and running) and superordinate (e.g., movement) categories (lakoff, 1987, 281). if we should go by these schematic conceptualizations, meaning, understanding, and rationality would apparently be dependent on metaphorical extensions of non-propositional image-schematic structures. sweetser shows how metaphorical mappings, and other forms of framing are inseparable from logic and reasoning. she sees as normal conditional applications our meta-metaphorical and other meta-mapping applications of concepts, arguing that that these are also interpreted through the same forms of thought processes that we engage in interpreting literal conditionals of our real-world. evidently our thought process interacts strongly with our mapping processes. the metaphorical is apparently inseparable from the logical and the rational (sweetser, 1996, 231). references fauconnier, gilles, mappings in thought and language. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1997) fauconnier, gilles, mental spaces: aspects of meaning construction in natural language, (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1994) haeffner, gerd, philosophische anthropologie. stuttgart: kohlhammer, 1988 haeffner, gerd, the human situation. a philosophical anthropology. (indiana: university of notre dame press, 1989) johnson, mark, the body in the mind: the bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. (chicago: the university of chicago press, 1987) lakoff, george, women, fire, and dangerous things. what categories reveal about the mind. chicago: (university of chicago press, 1987) lakoff, george and mark johnson, metaphors we live by. (chicago: university of chicago press, 1980) lakoff, george and mark johnson, philosophy in the flesh. the embodied mind and its challenge to western thought. new york: basic book, 1999 384 mark johnson, moral imagination implications of cognitive science for ethics (chicago: university of chicago press, 1993) norman, 193 fillmore sweetser, eve, from etymology to pragmatics: metaphorical and cultural aspects of semantic structure. (cambridge: cambridge university press, 1990) sweetser, eve “reasoning, mappings, and meta-metaphorical conditionals” in grammatical constructions. (oxford: clarendon press oxford, 1996) sweetser, eve, and gilles fauconnier, “cognitive links and domains: basic aspects of mental space theory” in spaces, worlds, and grammar. gilles fauconnier and eve sweetser eds. (chicago: the university of chicago press, 1996) volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 132 sociocultural determinants and implications of resistance to covid-19 vaccination among academic staff of a nigerian university vivian c. njemanze, department of sociology, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike nigeria email: vivian.njemanze@funai.edu.ng, innocent a. nwosu, department of sociology, alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike nigeria email: innoglo22000@yahoo.com abstract the covid-19 pandemic has sparked a global effort to develop and distribute vaccines to combat the virus. however, the success of vaccination campaigns hinges on the availability of vaccines and the population's acceptance and uptake of these vaccines. this study explores the sociocultural factors influencing covid-19 vaccine resistance among academic staff at alex ekwueme university in nigeria. it also investigated the implications of covid-19 vaccine resistance among highly educated individuals, who are expected to be at the forefront of vaccine acceptance. a cross-sectional design was employed, and a structured questionnaire was administered to 380 academic staff members. data was analyzed through descriptive statistics, and hypotheses tested through chi-square revealed a complex interplay of sociocultural factors contributing to vaccine resistance, including concerns about vaccine safety, the influence of social networks and religious beliefs, and reliance on traditional remedies. furthermore, the study identifies implications of vaccine resistance, such as the continued spread of the pandemic and strain on healthcare resources. therefore, targeted communication strategies, community engagement, and involvement of key stakeholders are needed to address vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccine acceptance among academic staff and beyond. the nigerian government should also consider incorporating indigenous remedies in the fight against covid-19. ultimately, understanding and addressing sociocultural determinants of vaccine resistance is crucial for effective public health interventions and containment of the pandemic. keywords: covid-19, community engagement, pandemic, public health, vaccine resistance introduction culture, according to odetola and ademola (2015), is a configuration of learned and shared patterns of behaviour and understanding concerning the meaning and value of things, ideas, emotions, and actions, which arises out of language communication within a social group and helps an individual to adapt to his physical environment, his biological nature, and his group life. our culture and social heritage provide a sense of shared understanding that we employ in fashioning our actions. thus, it provides us with a map or a guidepost for finding our way about life. sociocultural factors have been found to play a vital role in people's health-seeking behaviour because most people are traditionally oriented and superstitious (afolabi & ilesanmi, 2021). it is thus assumed that in seeking a cure for diseases and preserving our lives, sociocultural factors such as occupation, age, religious belief, and the location of health facilities may affect the health-seeking behaviour of an individual. social and cultural mailto:innoglo22000@yahoo.com 133 behaviour are intertwined and are crucial factors in determining how people live, what they eat, what they believe, what values they have, and what technology they command. hence, an individual's health is affected by sociocultural factors and the choice of healthcare facilities they would adopt/access (jegede, 2000). the novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (covid-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2), has become a significant public health problem since the initial outbreak in hubei, wuhan, china (shereen, 2020). the pandemic has significantly impacted health systems and economies globally (lone, 2020). the pandemic is one of the fatal outbreaks due to the coronavirus, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) in 2003 and the middle east respiratory syndrome (mers) in 2012. countries with weaker health systems, particularly those in africa, were projected to be devastated by covid-19 (ita, 2020). following the sequencing of the sars-cov-2 genome, there has been rapid development of covid-19 vaccines. several vaccines are presently available, while others are at different phases of clinical evaluation. in other words, some of the vaccines have since obtained emergency use authorization (eua) from the world health organization (who) and other relevant authorities (lone, 2020); notably, biontech/pfizer (bnt162b), moderna (mrna1273), (ad26.cov2.s), astrazeneca (chadox1 ncov-19) vaccines and host of others. since vaccination coverage is a defining factor for thriving herds' immunity, there is a need to explore the determinants of covid-19 vaccine uptake that could guide effective vaccination strategies. the national agency for food and drug administration and control (nafdac) of nigeria has approved the use of the astrazeneca® (chadox1 ncov-19) vaccine for use in the country (mellet, 2021), and presently several others. the nigerian government has received several batches of the vaccine via the covid-19 vaccines global access facility (covax), a partnership between the coalition for epidemic preparedness innovations (cepi), gavi the vaccine alliance, the united nations children’s fund (unicef), the world bank, and the who. the covax is part of the access to covid-19 tools (act) accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to tests, treatments, and vaccines for covid-19 (shrotri, 2020). nigeria’s national primary health care development agency (nphcda) has since commenced stage-wise vaccination with priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers. the agency has also deployed an online selfregistration portal to roll out a country-wide vaccination program. notwithstanding the need for mass vaccination against the covid-19 virus, the vaccine's success lies with the people's level of acceptance and cooperation. this brings to the fore "vaccine resistance" as an impediment to the mass vaccine rollout. vaccine resistance is the reluctance to accept available vaccines (ekwebelem, 2021; macdonald, 2015). vaccine resistance was listed by the world health organisation (who) as one of the top health threats in 2019 (who, 2019). moreover, as early as mid-2020, public health experts expressed concerns about covid-19 vaccine resistance (khunchandani, 2021). whilst vaccine resistance has also been noted in developed nations, the african continent has been associated with high incidents of vaccine resistance. to ensure covid-19 vaccine acceptance, the federal government approved a vaccine mandate policy for all its employees (of which all federal higher learning institutions are among). the government also directed its staff from grade level 12 and below to get vaccinated. a circular signed by the head of service of the federation, folasade yemi-esan, dated november 26, 2021, cited by vanguard, friday night, explained that the vaccine mandate policy was in line with the recommendations of the presidential steering committee on covid-19. therefore, all federal government employees must show 134 proof of covid-19 vaccination or present a negative covid-19 pcr test result. despite the covid-19 mandate policy for all the staff of the federal institutions, the attitude toward taking covid-19 vaccination among federal government staff calls for public concern. a safe and effective vaccine is critical to controlling the covid-19 pandemic. although practical and equitable distribution of covid-19 vaccines is a key policy priority, ensuring acceptance is just as important. trusts in vaccines, as well as the institutions that administer them, are critical determinants of the success of any vaccination acceptance. the resistance to taking covid-19 vaccination could be associated with sociocultural beliefs that the vaccine causes illness, the belief that there is no need for vaccinating a healthy person, poor attitudes towards vaccines, and a lack of trust in the health delivery systems. another development is cultural beliefs of not subscribing to vaccination; for instance, some religious organizations do not subscribe to modern medicine in general, and vaccinations in particular, as these medicines are perceived as dangerous and causing diseases and deaths. the negative perceptions of vaccines are embedded in the religious beliefs that associate their use with a lack of trust in god. regarding religious beliefs, cultural beliefs also contribute to resistance to covid-19 vaccination (pugliese-garcia, 2022). given the lack of trust in the covid-19 vaccines for various reasons, most staff members have turned to cultural practices to deal with the covid-19 pandemic. one common cultural practice that has withstood the test of time is the use of local herbs. thus, the complexities brought about by the sociocultural dynamics have significantly resulted in vaccine resistance among staff of higher institutions in nigeria. despite the fatality of covid-19 and the purported success of developing vaccines, a sceptical attitude continues to trail vaccination in many countries of the world, including developed countries. this phenomenon, sometimes called 'vaccine hesitancy, has been reported in many countries mainly due to vaccine disinformation and misinformation. latkin (2021) reported that 40.9% of adults in the united states mistrusted the vaccine, while 16% of adults in the u.k. had a high level of mistrust towards the vaccine. in africa, the percentage of those who resist vaccines is relatively high, even among educated people. people with higher education should be among the first to comply with vaccination calls. the story is quite different in nigeria. several studies have been conducted on the origin, causes and consequences of covid-19. however, not much study has been carried out in nigeria to understand why those in ivory towers should resist covid-19 vaccines. this is despite their exposure and knowledge. as a result, assessing the essential social and cultural factors that propel their resistance towards covid-19 vaccines becomes imperative. therefore, the study was aimed at assessing the extent to which academics in the university believe that vaccines are safe, the extent to which they resist covid-19 vaccines, the social/cultural factors hindering them from taking covid-19 vaccines and the consequences of not taking covid-19 vaccines. the study will also determine effective measures that can be used to motivate people to take the vaccines. the study was therefore anchored on some basic propositions, such as no significant relationship between people's age, educational level, marital status, or religion and their resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. covid-19 vaccines the covid-19 vaccine is intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). before the covid-19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/acquired_immunity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/covid%e2%80%9119 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/covid%e2%80%9119_pandemic 135 the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars) and middle east respiratory syndrome (mers). this knowledge accelerated the development of various vaccine platforms in early 2020. the initial focus of sars-cov-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic, often severe illness. on january 10 2020, the sars-cov-2 genetic sequence data was shared through gisaid, and by march 19, the global pharmaceutical industry announced a significant commitment to address covid-19 (macdonald, 2015). the covid-19 vaccines are widely credited with reducing the severity and death caused by covid-19. many countries have implemented phased distribution plans, prioritizing those at the highest risk of complications, such as the elderly, and those at high risk of exposure and transmission, such as healthcare workers. covid-19 vaccines help to first look at how our bodies fight illness. when germs, such as the virus that causes covid-19, invade our bodies, they attack and multiply. this invasion, called an infection, is what causes illness. our immune system uses several tools to fight infection. blood contains red cells, which carry oxygen to tissues and organs, and white or immune cells, which fight infection. the first time a person is infected with the virus that causes covid-19, it can take several days or weeks for their body to make and use all the germ-fighting tools needed to get over the infection. after the infection, the person's immune system remembers what it learned about protecting the body against that disease. the body keeps a few t-lymphocytes, called "memory cells," that go into action quickly if the body reencounters the same virus. when the familiar antigens are detected, b-lymphocytes produce antibodies to attack them. experts are still learning how long these memory cells protect a person against the virus that causes covid19. types of covid-19 vaccines currently, three main types of covid-19 vaccines are approved or authorized for use in the united states or are undergoing large-scale (phase 3) clinical trials in the united states. cdc recommends that people starting their vaccine series or getting a booster dose get either pfizer-biontech or moderna (mrna covid-19 vaccines); however, which vaccine you can get depends on your age. the mrna vaccines are preferred over johnson & johnson's janssen covid-19 vaccine (a viral vector vaccine) in most circumstances. although mrna vaccines are preferred, the j&j/janssen covid-19 vaccine may be considered in some situations. below is a description of how each type of vaccine prompts our bodies to recognize and protect us from the virus that causes covid-19. none of these vaccines can give you covid-19 (riad, 2021). • mrna vaccines (pfizer-biontech or moderna) contain material from the virus that causes covid-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. after our cells make copies of the protein, they destroy the genetic material from the vaccine. our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build tlymphocytes and b-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus that causes covid19 if we are infected in the future. • protein subunit vaccines (vaccines under development) include harmless pieces (proteins) of the virus that cause covid-19 instead of the entire germ. once vaccinated, our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build t-lymphocytes and antibodies that will remember how to fight the virus that causes covid-19 if we are infected in the future. • vector vaccines (johnson & johnson’s janssen) contain a modified version of a virus different from the one that causes covid-19. inside the modified virus's shell is material from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coronavirus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/middle_east_respiratory_syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vaccine_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dna_sequencing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gisaid https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/janssen.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/janssen.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/viralvector.html 136 the virus that causes covid-19. this is called a "viral vector." once the viral vector is inside our cells, the genetic material instructs cells to make a protein unique to the virus that causes covid-19. using these instructions, our cells make copies of the protein. this prompts our bodies to build t-lymphocytes and b-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that virus if we are infected in the future (larson, 2015). sociocultural determinants for covid-19 vaccination research has shown that religious and cultural beliefs significantly influence vaccine acceptance of vaccines (masumbuko, 2019; mukungwa, 2015; ministry of health and child care (mhcc), 2019). citizens' sentiments regarding vaccines result from divergent and deepseated beliefs emanating from "the tension between divergent cultural viewpoints and value systems" (jiva-doko, 2020), with most of these cultural beliefs not subscribing to vaccination. some religious organizations do not subscribe to modern medicine in general, and vaccinations in particular, as these medicines are perceived as dangerous and causing diseases and deaths (mhcc, 2016). the negative perceptions of vaccines are embedded in the religious beliefs that associate their use with a lack of trust in god. they perceive all diseases and health challenges to be having spiritual dimensions. thus, the spiritualization of illnesses, in this case covid19, reinforces “radical beliefs” that shun modern medical care and vaccines. religion-based objections to vaccination have also been attributed to ethical dilemmas that characterize the use of "human tissue cells to manufacture vaccines and the belief that the body is sacred" (jivadoko, 2020, p. 2). furthermore, some of these objections are amplified because not much is known by the public about the ingredients used to manufacture the vaccines. religious leaders have also been instrumental in indoctrinating their congregants against receiving covid-19 vaccines. given the influence the religious leaders wield over their followers, their negative sentiments towards the covid-19 vaccine will sway their congregants' perception of it. in nigeria, the government at one point had to censure some religious leaders who were preaching against the covid-19 vaccine, highlighting that only professional health personnel were authorized to speak against the vaccine (murwira, 2021). in a related incident, one prominent church leader released a 35-minute video denouncing the covid-19 vaccine, indicating that those who used the vaccine would have long-term side effects and would ultimately die (murwira, 2021). in south africa, dzinamarira (2021) and mapingure (2021) documented the anti-vaccine sentiments expressed by some religious leaders who reported on various media platforms where they rallied their followers against accepting the vaccine. the influence of these religious leaders in shaping societal beliefs cannot be taken for granted. closely linked to religious beliefs are cultural beliefs, which also contribute to vaccine hesitancy (pugliese-garcia, 2018). given the citizens' lack of trust in the covid-19 vaccines, they have turned to cultural practices to deal with the covid-19 pandemic. one common cultural practice that has withstood the test of time is steaming. though not backed by scientific evidence, most africans have come to accept that steaming can be used to prevent and treat covid-19. in nigeria, there has also been a widely accepted belief that some herbs and traditional remedies can keep covid away. government and staff attitude towards the covid-19 vaccine the attitude of the government and critical government employees towards the covid-19 vaccines significantly influences the citizens' beliefs towards the vaccine. one classical case is the halting of the rollout of the astrazeneca/ oxford vaccine at the early rollout stages in south africa due to concerns over the vaccine's efficacy (fihlani, 2021). the rollout was halted in 137 february after the release of results that showed the vaccine had low efficacy against the 501y.v2 variant, which is common in south africa (dzinamarira, 2021; heywood, 2021). whilst the government may have been taking a cautionary approach to covid-19 vaccination, the halt in the vaccine rollout further diminished "public trust in covid-19 vaccinations, as an impression was generated that vaccines may not be effective after all" (dzinamatira, 2021). in zimbabwe, the onset of the vaccine rollout was characterized by negative sentiments from some government officials and opposition political leaders. in nigeria, there are media reports that thousands of nurses and other health workers in public hospitals reportedly refuse to be vaccinated against the covid-19 virus using the sinopharm vaccine due to fears of side effects (pindula news, 2021). this is primarily attributed to a lack of adequate information regarding the vaccine. given the significant role that the health workers play in the whole vaccine rollout process, their hesitancy in taking the vaccine will send negative signals to ordinary citizens, who look up to the health workers for health-related choices. in an incident that received global media coverage in south africa, the chief justice, who is also a devout christian, prayed against what he termed "satanic" covid-19 vaccines. given his stature as a top public servant, his sentiments had a bearing on south africans and other african citizens' perceptions about the covid-19 vaccines. methods study design and setting the descriptive survey design was adopted. ndiyo (2005) described it as extracting information from a target population through observations, questionnaires, or interviews and subjecting the data obtained to statistical analysis to conclude. the research was conducted among the academic staff of alex ekwueme university, ndufualike (ae-funai), ebonyi state, nigeria. the academic staff was chosen because they are believed to be highly educated and exposed, and as such, they are expected to be among the first people to embrace the covid-19 vaccines. ae-funai was selected because it is located in a rural setting, and ebonyi state is one of the states in nigeria that has been ravaged by several endemic diseases, such as lassa fever. participants the study's population is the entire academic staff of alex ekwueme federal university ndufu-alike, which, according to the record obtained from the office of the registrar, is 688 and distributed among eleven faculties. taro yamane formula was used to calculate a sample size formula: n = n 138 1+n(e)2 where: n = the sample size n = the total population for the study e = the error margin 1 = constant therefore; n = 688 1+688 (0.05)2 n = 688 1+688 (0.0025) n = 688 1.7225 :. the sample size (n) = 399.4 approximately sample size = 399 the simple random sampling method is adopted because it gives each unit in the population equal opportunity or the same probability of being selected in the sample. samples resulting from the application of this procedure were said to be unbiased and are, therefore, representative of the population. instruments and techniques the research instrument used in the study is a structured questionnaire on a 5-point likert scale of measurement. the instrument was validated by giving the draft questionnaire to experts in measurement studies. these professionals were requested to critically and logically examine the instrument’s relevance to the issue at stake. their suggestions and advice were taken, and the instrument was adjusted several times to achieve the necessary validity. the instrument's reliability can be estimated by examining the consistency of the responses between the two tests. to obtain its reliability, it was subjected to a trial study on 50 respondents selected from the academic staff of the college of education, ikwo. this pilot study yielded a test-retest reliability of .85. in the end, the instrument was adjusted in line with the focus and objectives of the study. the resultant data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. the formulated hypotheses were tested with chi-square. results 139 out of 399 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 380 copies were returned, representing 95.2%, while 19 copies were not returned, representing 4.8%. this shows that the instrument was effectively recovered. socio-demographic characteristics of respondents table 1: socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents variables categories frequency percentage sex male female 210 170 55.2 44.8 age 15-20 years 21-25 years 26-30 years 31-35 years 36-40 years 40 years and above 5 80 90 85 70 50 1.3 21.1 23.6 22.4 18.5 13.1 marital status single married divorced widowed separated 20 345 3 10 2 5.2 90.7 0.7 2.6 0.5 educational qualification fslc waec/ssce/gce/neco/tcc hnd/ba/bed/b.sc ma/msc/med phd others 1 2 50 100 170 7 0.2 0.5 13.1 26.3 44.7 1.8 religion/denominations anglican/orthodox catholic pentecostal islam traditional religion 66 281 18 10 5 17.4 73.9 4.7 2.6 1.3 source: fieldwork 2023 n=380 table 1 shows that 170(44.8%) of respondents were males, while 210(55.2%) were females. the table also shows that 5(1.3%) respondents were between the age bracket of 15-20 years; 80(21.1%) were between the age bracket of 21-25 years; 90(23.6%) were between the age bracket of 26-30 years; 85(22.4%) were between the age bracket of 31-35 years; 70(18.5%) were between the age bracket of 41-45 years while 50(26.4%) were between the age bracket of 46 and above. it was also found that 5.2% of the participants were single; 345(47.4%) were married; 3(0.7%) were divorced; 10(26%) were widowed, while 2(0.5%) were separated. in terms of educational status, 1(0.2%) participant had first school leaving certificate (fslc); 2(0.5%) had waec/ssce/gce; 50(10.5%) were holders of hnd/b.sc./b.a./b.ed.; 100(7.8%) participants had m.a./m.sc./m.ed.; 170(7.8%) respondents held ph.d; while seven respondents, representing 1.8% were with other certificates. people’s belief about how safe covid-19 vaccines are 140 table 2: people believe that vaccines are safe statement item sa a ud da sda total agreement covid-19 vaccines are not safe because it is a mark of the beast covid-19 vaccines reduce immune system covid-19 vaccines are safe because of ncdc advise covid-19 vaccines are not safe because i have not seen people taking them. covid-19 vaccines are not safe because of the adverse reports on social media. 0 (0%) 202 (53.1%) 20 (5.2%) 10 (2.6%) 150 (39.5%) 190 (50%) 113 (29.7%) 20 (5.2%) 290 (76.3%) 150 (39.5%) 35 (9.2%) 40 (10.3%) 300 (78.9%) 40 (10.5%) 0 (0%) 35 (9.2%) 5 (1.3%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.2%) 40 (10.5%) 120 (31.6%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.2%) 40 (10.5%) 190 (50%) 315 (82.8%) 40 (10.4%) 300 (78.9%) 300 (78.9%) source: fieldwork 2023 n=380 table 2 shows respondents' views on whether the covid-19 vaccines are safe. many respondents (190 or 50%) strongly agreed that vaccines are not safe because they are the mark of the beast. most respondents (315 or 82.8%) believed vaccines reduce the human immune system. the table further shows that a few respondents (40 or 10.4%) believed the vaccines were safe because of ncdc advice. the majority of the respondents also believed that vaccines are not safe because they have not seen people taking them, while other respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively that vaccines are unsafe because of the negative report on social media. table 3: social factors preventing people from taking covid-19 vaccines 141 statement item sa a ud da sda total agreement my faith prevents me from taking the covid19 vaccines. my parents encourage you not to take covid19 vaccines. my friends have not taken the covid-19 vaccines. discrimination from colleagues prevents me from taking covid-19 vaccines. fear of associating with my family members if they are aware that i take the covid-19 vaccines. 20 (5.2%) 10 (2.6%) 42 (11.1%) 150 (39.5%) 25 (6.6%) 300 (78.9%) 290 (76.3%) 290 (76.3%) 150 (39.5%) 312 (82.1%) 20 (5.2%) 40 (10.5%) 5 (1.3%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.3%) 45 (11.8%) 19 (5%) 20 (5.2%) 20 (5.2%) 23 (6.1%) 35 (9.2%) 24 (6.3%) 320 (84.1%) 300 (78.9%) 332 (87.4%) 300 (78.9%) 337 (88.7%) source: fieldwork 2023 n=380 from table 3, most respondents believed that some social factors prevent people from taking covid-19 vaccines. most respondents (320 or 84.1%) believed their faith/religion prevented them from taking the covid-19 vaccine. again, the majority of the respondents (300 or 78.9%) were of the view that their parents discourage them from taking covid-19 vaccines. in the same vein, many respondents (332 or 87.4%) believed their friends had not taken the covid-19 vaccines, so they could not take them. it can also be seen that most respondents (300 or 78.9%) believed that discrimination from colleagues prevents them from taking covid-19 vaccines. the result also shows that the majority of the respondents (337 or 88.7%) believed that fear of associating with family members if they are aware that they have taken the covid-19 vaccine is a significant factor that stopped them from taking it. cultural factors preventing people from taking covid-19 vaccines 142 table 4: cultural factors that prevented people from taking covid-19 vaccines statement item sa a ud da sda total agreement religious preaching on the covid-19 vaccines prevents people from taking the vaccines. traditional herbs discourage people from taking covid-19 vaccines. traditional beliefs prevent people from taking the covid-19 vaccines. indigenous diets prevent people from taking covid-19 vaccines. 66 (17.4%) 160 (42.2%) 19 (5%) 5 (1.3%) 281 (73.9%) 100 (26.4%) 300 (78.9%) 290 (76.3%) 18 (4.8%) 20 (5.2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0) 10 (2.6%) 80 (21.1%) 40 (10.6%) 80 (21.1%) 5 (1.3%) 20 (5.2%) 21 (5.5%) 5 (1.3%) 347 (91.3%) 260 (68.6%) 319 (83.9%) 295 (77.6%) source: fieldwork 2023 n=380 from table 4, most respondents agreed that cultural factors prevent people from taking the covid-19 vaccine. based on the analysis, many respondents (347 or 91.3%) believed that religious preaching against covid-19 prevents them from taking the vaccines. the result also revealed that most respondents (260 0r 68.6%) believed that using traditional herbs discourages them from taking covid-19 vaccines. from the table, it can be seen that 319(83.9%) of the participants believe that traditional beliefs prevent them from taking the covid-19 vaccines. the result also indicates that most participants (295 or 77.6%) agreed that indigenous diets help prevent diseases and that taking covid-19 vaccines becomes unnecessary. implications associated with resistance to taking covid-19 vaccinations among the staff of aefunai 143 table 5: implications of refusing to take covid-19 vaccines statement item sa a ud da sda total agreement the pandemic will spread further the pandemic will lead to more deaths. resistance to taking covid-19 vaccinations will stretch hospitals beyond their capacity. workforce production will be highly reduced due to resistance to taking covid-19 vaccinations. 170 (44.7%) 0 (0%) 202 (53.2%) 20 (5.3%) 181 (47.6%) 190 (50%) 113 (29.7%) 20 (5.3%) 0 (0%) 35 (9.2%) 40 (10.5%) 300 (78.9%) 9 (2.4%) 35 (9.2%) 5 (1.3%) 20 (5.3%) 20 (5.3%) 120 (31.6%) 20 (5.3%) 20 (5.3%) 351 (92.3%) 190 (50%) 315 (82.9%) 40 (10.4%) source: fieldwork 2023 n=380 table 8 shows that almost all the respondents strongly agreed that profound implications are associated with resistance to covid-19 vaccinations. it was also discovered that the majority of the respondents (351 or 92.3%) were of the view that the pandemic will spread further if people continue to resist taking vaccines. the result also shows that most respondents (315 or 82.9%) believed resistance to covid-19 vaccinations would stretch hospitals beyond their capacity. however, only 190(50%) of the participants agreed that not taking covid-19 could lead to more deaths among humans. on the issue of whether resistance to covid-19 vaccines could lead to a reduction in workforce production, the majority of the respondents (300 or 78.9%) are undecided. in other words, the participants were not sure whether the refusal of people to take covid-19 vaccines would lead to workforce reduction within society. test of hypotheses rule x2cal =∑(o e)2 e where: o = the observed frequency of responses e = the expected frequency of responses if x2cal > x2tab, we accept the alternative hypothesis; if x2cal < x2tab, we reject the alternative hypothesis. hypothesis one: there is no significant relationship between age of the people and resistance to taking covid-19 vaccine a demography table on educational qualification will be used to analyze the hypothesis 144 the x2 calculation can be made options o e o – e (o-e)2 (o-e)2 e 15-20 5 63.4 -58.4 3410.56 53.7 21-25 80 63.4 16.6 275.56 4.3 26-30 90 63.4 26.6 707.56 11.1 31-35 85 63.4 21.6 466.56 7.3 36-40 70 63.4 6.6 43.56 0.6 41 and above 50 63.4 -13.4 179.56 2.8 total 380 69.8 x2cal, = 69.8 degree of freedom n 1 = 6-1 = 5 level of significance = 5% or 0.05 therefore, x2tab, with degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = 25.05 from the values calculated above, we observe that: x2cal, = 69.8 x2tab = 25.05 this means that x2cal > x2tab. therefore, we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between people's age and resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. hypothesis two: there is no significant relationship between educational level and resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. the x2 calculation options o e o – e (o-e)2 (o-e)2 e fslc 1 63.4 -62.4 3893.76 61.4 waec/ssce/gce/neco/tcc 2 63.4 -61.4 3769.96 59.4 hnd/ba/bed/b.sc 50 63.4 -13.4 179.56 2.8 ma/msc/med 100 63.4 36.6 1339.56 21.1 phd 170 63.4 106.6 11363.56 179.2 others 7 63.4 -56.4 3180.96 50.1 total 380 374 x2cal, = 374. degree of freedom n 1 = 6-1 = 5 level of significance = 5% or 0.05 therefore, x2tab, with degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = 25.05 from the values calculated above, we observe that: x2cal, = 373 x2tab, 25.05 145 this means that x2cal > x2tab. therefore, we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between people's age and resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. hypothesis three: no significant relationship exists between marital status and resistance to taking covid-19 vaccine. the x2 calculation options o e o – e (o-e)2 (o-e)2 e single 20 63.4 -43.4 1883.56 29.7 married 345 63.4 281.6 79298.56 1250.7 divorced 3 63.4 -60.4 3648.16 57.5 widowed 10 63.4 -53.4 2851.56 44.9 separated 2 63.4 -61.4 3769.96 59.4 total 380 1442.2 x2cal, = 1442.2 degree of freedom n 1 = 5-1 = 4 level of significance = 5% or 0.05 therefore, x2tab, with degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = 25.05 from the values calculated above, we observe that: x2cal, = 1442.2 x2tab, 25.05 this means that x2cal > x2tab, we accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between marital status and resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. hypothesis six ho 6: there is no significant relationship between religion and resistance to taking the covid19 vaccine. the x2 calculation can be made options o e o – e (o-e)2 (o-e)2 e anglican/orthodox 66 76 -10 100 1.3 catholic 281 76 205 42025 552.9 pentecostal 18 76 -58 3364 44.2 islam 10 76 -66 4356 57.3 traditional religion 5 76 -71 5041 66.3 total 380 722 x2cal, = 722 degree of freedom n 1 = 5-1 = 4 level of significance = 5% or 0.05 therefore, x2tab, with degree of freedom at 5% level of significance = 25.05 from the values calculated above, we observe that: x2cal, = 722 146 x2tab, 25.05 this means that x2cal > x2tab. we, therefore, accept the alternative hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between religion and resistance to taking the covid-19 vaccine. discussion of findings the results revealed the extent to which people believe that vaccines are safe. according to the participants, the vaccines are unsafe because it is a mark of the beast, and they reduce the immune system. the people also believed that covid-19 vaccines were not safe because of the adverse reports about them on social media. this aligns with the earlier submission of gabarron and oyeyemi (2021) when they argued that vaccine hesitancy based on misinformation seems to be a worldwide phenomenon regardless of the uneven distribution of covid-19 vaccines. social media is crucial in disseminating correct information and misinformation about infectious diseases and vaccines. this influence by social media has also been reported by wilson and wiysonge (2020) when they showed that there was a significant relationship between social media use and vaccine hesitancy in a global cross-national analysis of geographically coded tweets and vaccination rates from 166 countries. the results show that social factors prevent people from taking covid-19 vaccines. the data analysis revealed that the people's faith, parents and friends discourage them from taking the covid-19 vaccines. other factors revealed include discrimination from colleagues and fear of associating with their family members if they know they take the covid-19 vaccines. this result aligns with the view of ani (2020) when he posited that people’s attitude towards people who take the vaccines makes many people avoid taking the vaccines. sometimes, people feel that only those with covid-19 disease go for vaccination. as a result, the people who take the vaccines are treated as outcasts, with the possibility of their families also being rejected by the community. discrimination and stigmatization exhibited by the community in nigeria can create a non-supportive environment, which adds to the burden on the healthcare providers and the administrators and drives negative behaviours such as failure to seek health, ultimately leading to more severe complications, increased number of cases, and deaths due to covid19. the study also revealed that cultural factors prevent people from taking covid-19 vaccines. these cultural factors include religious preaching against covid-19 vaccines, the use of traditional herbs for covid-19 treatment, traditional beliefs about covid-19 and the use of indigenous diets to manage covid-19. these results support the views of masumbuko (2019), mukungwa (2015) and the ministry of health and child care (2016) that cultural factors such as religion and beliefs have a significant influence on vaccine acceptance. some religious organizations do not subscribe to modern medicine in general, and vaccinations in particular, as these medicines are perceived as dangerous and causing diseases and deaths (ministry of health and child care, 2016). the negative perceptions of vaccines are embedded in the religious beliefs that associate their use with a lack of trust in god. the study discovered implications associated with resistance to taking covid-19 vaccinations. in other words, the consequences of not accepting/taking covid-19 vaccines are further spread of the pandemic, more deaths of humans, stretching hospitals beyond their capacity and a decline in workforce production. the result agreed with the view of lazarus and sallam (2021) that there had been concerns about people rejecting covid-19 vaccines and that if this is not checked, the pandemic would spread further, and humans should expect a harvest of deaths. 147 conclusion the results have shown that covid-19 is a deadly disease that requires essential preventive measures, such as vaccines. many vaccines exist to prevent the spread of the pandemic. however, for various sociocultural reasons, many people, including the highly educated ones, avoid covid-19 vaccines. the implication is that it will be difficult to curtail the spread of the disease and its devastating consequences, which include death. as a result, government intervention through various mass media is necessary for public acceptance of covid-19 vaccines among staff of public institutions such as alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike, ebonyi state nigeria. the mistrust, fake news and misinformation on the covid-19 vaccine administration have given room for public rejection of the covid-19 vaccine. in other words, governments need to listen to people's concerns and explain why they do not trust the approved vaccines against covid-19 and cater to their need for reassurance. the government should look inward for indigenous remedies and options that match the sociocultural dynamics of the country (njemanze et al., 2023). while vaccine hesitancy is characterised by mistrust and misinformation, this is unrelated to their competence or technical knowledge of the subject but rather to perceptions that public health practitioners or the government do not act in good faith. for this reason, one-way communication about the benefits of vaccination will not suffice in convincing people to modify their views. instead, allowing vaccine-resistant public members to express their views, expressing empathy, and dealing with resistance without antagonism are effective ways of promoting behavioural change. community and organisational leaders and trade union leaders in tertiary institutions should be involved in bringing about the expected behavioural changes. these can be achieved by bringing in doctors and nurses to demonstrate how the vaccines work. similarly, the nigerian center for disease control (ncdc), medical health workers and the national primary health care development agency must leverage social media and traditional 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(2020). behavioural considerations for acceptance and uptake of covid-19 vaccines. who technical advisory group on behavioural insights and science for health meeting report: october 15 2020 zhou, l, tong y, (2020). early transmission dynamics in wuhan, china, of novel coronavirus– infected pneumonia. new england journal of medicine, 34(2). 23-30 http://virological.org/t/ncovsrelationshi-o page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 156 socio-economic impact on text processing elizabeth nkechi obiukwu department of general studies, federal college of dental technology and therapy trans ekulu, enugu obiukwunkechi1970@gmail.com christian e. c. ogwudile department of igbo, african and communication studies nnamdi azikiwe university, awka cec.ogwudile@unizik.edu.ng abstract high level academic attainment in the university mainly depends on the existing pre-entry attributes including the mastery of some fundamental language skills such as text processing. text processing is a complex and meaningful socio-cultural, cognitive and linguistic process in which processors simultaneously use their socio-linguistic context to construct meaning with text. an in depth study of english as a second language (esl) text processing must take into consideration socio-economic background variables that impact on students’ academic achievement in the university. this study looked at text processing proficiency from the sociology of language viewpoint. it started by describing the key concepts and sub-concepts of sociology of language and text processing. five research questions (hypothesis) were stated among them were to ascertain to what extent socio-economic background (seb) of first year students in the university in enugu state affect their text processing, to identify the seb variables that affect their text processing and which of the variables exerts the greatest influence on text processing of these students. the research adopted survey design which is quantitative based. the population for this research consists of all the first year students in the four major universities in enugu state. the sample size for the study comprised four hundred and ninety eight (498) students from the major universities in the study area. primary data for the study were collected, using text passages selected from familiar and unfamiliar social contexts, using multiple-choice questions. the data were analyzed using simple percentage and z-test analysis. the work revealed that the level of parents’ education, income, home environment, language of the home, social class and attitudes were prevailing socioeconomic variables that exerted very high influence on the first year students’ text processing in the selected universities in enugu state. the study concluded that economic and social background of parents has important influences on students’ text processing. keywords: language, text processing, socio-economic variables, social class, students. introduction current text processing research in general shows that several key factors affect students’ personal and cognitive variables at primary and secondary levels which impact on their achievement level of text processing in the university. text processing during primary and secondary school focuses on decoding and fluency which require both phonemic awareness and phonics skills. this involves mainly the use of bottom up or top down models of text processing. the use of any or both of these models at the university limits the students from attaining the required level of proficiency needed to process texts. these students struggle to study and process numerous texts before them. many of these students have low working memory capacities which negatively affect text processing and so mailto:obiukwunkechi1970@gmail.com mailto:cec.ogwudile@unizik.edu.ng 157 are more or less subsumed in the class. these students struggle to process texts and so do not exhibit high level achievement in their university program. they avoid processing numerous texts (before them) in their chosen fields of study because some important variables are neglected in their early training. the negative impacts of this situation include high failure rate in examinations, increase in students’ dropout rate, and production of half-baked graduates with its attendant negative impact on the country socially, economically and politically. the above negative impacts of poor text processing achievements by first year students in the university calls for urgent need to high light and clarify the nature of socio-economic backgrounds’ factors militating against viable text processing performances for first year students in the university in the study area. therefore, the researcher deems it necessary to look into other factors outside the language skill itself that prevent these students from being competent in this all important language skill. there is an urgent need to give adequate attention to this area in order to find out why students still lack deep approach to text processing. what is require is a paradigm shift from the attention to other factors in the language to factors outside the language skill that exert tremendous influence on the mastery of the text processing. this is because despite all the attention given to esl text processing below the university level, students come into the university without being proficient in this area. poor educational background and the need to ascertain the nature of socio-economic variables that brought about students’ poor performance in text processing necessitates was the focal point of the research. theoretical framework sociolinguistic theory is concern with language as used for communication among different social groups in various social settings. it has strong bearing with culture and sociology through the study of language and the role language plays in the formation of social groups and institutions. sociolinguistics was pioneered by basil bernstein in the united kingdom and william labov and their theories formed the theoretical base for this work. basil bernstein theory of language codes brought to light the concepts of ‘restricted and elaborated codes’. this theory studied the relationships between social class, family and the reproduction of meaning systems. his work in this area was very popular because of its anchor on social class differences in language. he differentiated between the restricted code of the working class and the elaborated code of the middle class. the theorist stated that a restricted code is particularistic with reference to meaning and to the social structure which controls its inception. it is universalistic as its use depends on the characteristics of form of social relationship which can arise at any point in the social structure. an elaborated code is universalistic with reference to its meaning and potentially universalistic reference to the social structure which controls its inception’’ (bernstein 1973, p.61). the language codes can be used in many ways in various social settings. bernstein sees the restricted code as the type of language used by low socioeconomic background families and elaborated code is used by middle and high socio-economic background families. the language code a student is exposed to in the environment determines the impact home variables bear on the school variables. bernstein says that ‘‘low socio-economic background child attaches much significance to an aspect of language different from that required by the learning situation and is responsible for his resistance to extensions of vocabulary, the manipulation of words and the construction of ordered sentences’’((bernstein 1973, p.25). this is because the student has previously learned to make ‘‘personal qualifications through expressive symbolism, lacks the desire to acquire new words or order the existing vocabulary in a way which expresses this qualification’’ (bernstein 1973, p.26). the reverse, according to this 158 theory, is the case with students from middle or high socio-economic background because ‘‘the child in the middle class and assertive levels is socialized within a formally articulated structure. the future is conceived of in direct relation to the educational life of the child. the child grows up in an ordered, rational structure in which his total experience is organized from an early age’’ (bernstein 1973, p.19). any attempt to adjust and switch codes, that is, from the restricted code of the home to the elaborated code of the school in order to change the order of communication, ‘‘creates critical problems for the working class child as it is an attempt to change his basic system of perception, fundamentally the very means by which he has been socialized’’ (bernstein 1973, p.26). language is used not only to communicate information but also to establish position in social relationships within the family, at school, work and within the class structure of our society. these various ways of using language is known as codes. elaborated codes are relatively context free. they enable language users to call on universalistic meanings, to be reflexive and thus to manipulate ideas. restricted codes limit language users to their immediate, specific context (ginsborg 2006, p.15). william labov, an american linguist, brought in the quantitative study of language variation and change. labov’s difference hypothesis aimed at the explanation of all linguistic variations caused by the involvement of social variables. the study highlighted the relevance of social determinants of linguistic variations and their correlations with the social structure. this theory introduced a social approach to language through his sociolinguistic model in which the linguistic theorization was linked with the society. the theory states that variation is inherent to linguistic structure. the way a language is spoken and written differs across individuals and situations encountered by the individual. these differences are not only normal but crucial to a language’s functioning. this is because variation is seen as being highly structured between language forms and social categories like socio-economic backgrounds. these linguists and their two linguistic ideologies, bernstein’s ‘language code theory’ and labov’s ‘variability concept’, culminated into innovative methodological tools, theoretical and practical insights in language studies. their works encouraged many scholars to study language with new perspectives. these two theorists move for a stronger empirical way of studying language. they question the validity of analyses based on the intuitions of language owners instead of observing naturally produced speech. hence, patterns of co-variation between linguistic forms and social constructs are clearly revealed through statistical analysis. this input by bernstein and labov made different linguists to see language studies from different perspectives. their stand is at variance with theoretical linguists who labov says ‘‘emphasized the role of language–internal structural factors in bringing change but variationist approach hinges on speakers’ attitudes and social attributes…speech community not defined by any marked agreement in the use of language elements but by participation in a shared set of norms’’( labov 1972:p.120). changes in proficiency in language typically begin as indicators when the innovative usage comes to be adopted by certain groups of speakers. as changes become more firmly embedded in the community, it attracts some degree of social awareness and people vary their use of it across styles making it a marker. in some cases, the level of awareness rises and the innovative forms become objects of explicit stigma or prestige as stereotypes (labov 1972: p.178). gumperz sees language from the social point of view as “an attempt to find correlations between social structure and linguistic structure and to observe any change that occurs”(gumperz 1971: p.2). holmes explains that it is “the relationship between language and society”(holmes 1992: p.3). 159 there is a strong link between language and social sciences. language is seen as a social and cultural phenomenon” (trudgill 2000: p. 4). there is a strong debate among linguists as a result of how to view and study language. some linguists have the view that it should be studied as a closed system while others have the opinion that it should be studied as an open system. chomsky, a theoretical linguist, perceives language as a closed system that should be studied for its own sake. he is of the opinion that emphasis should be on studying the underlying structure of the linguistic system and to devise a theory of grammar. therefore, differences between speakers have to be ignored. chomsky states that “linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener in a completely homogeneous speech community who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest and errors”(chomsky 1965: p. 9). theoretical linguists are aware of the relationship between language and society but ignore it to have a deeper insight into the language system. mehrdad, contrary to the theoretical approach to language studies which seek for categorical rules to explain the underlying principles in language, claims that language varies systematically in line with social characteristics of the students (mehrdad 2013, cousdiline and zappala, 2002). hudson, on his own part, approaches language as an open system interacting with a variety of factors. he is of the view that “since speech is a social behaviour, to study it without reference to society would be like studying courtship behaviour without relating the behaviour of one partner to that of another”(hudson 1996: p.10). to these linguists, there is a close link between language and society. it is not possible to separate language from society and so it should be studied in the cultural context. the users of language come from different social classes. their language use is influenced by the social norms and cultural patterns in their environments. the ethnography of communication takes language first primarily as a socially situated cultural form while recognizing the necessity to analyze the code itself and the cognitive processes of its speakers and hearers. the function of language in society is to build and sustain meaningful relationships among people. when we meet people for the first time in a social context, our first reaction often includes speculation, on the basis of their spoken language about where they come from and what social class they belong to. such speculation leads one to form a fuller image and understanding of people which may or may not be accurate (chaika, 1989). method this investigation was carried out to ascertain the influence of socio-economic background on the english as a second language text processing potentials of first year students in four universities in enugu state, nigeria: university of nigeria, nsukka (unn), enugu state university of science and technology, enugu (esut), caritas university, amorjinike and godfrey okoye university, ugwuomu-nike (go). in total, 498 first year undergraduates in the four universities were the participants. two different groups of passages were used for this study. the two sets of passages were taken from texts with familiar and unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. the passages were selected based on two considerations: the degree of difficulty and the degree of relevance to the research study. a multiple-choice processing test consists of 20 items were given to the students to ascertain their text processing abilities and check overall assimilation of the content of the passages. a questionnaire was also used on the participants to test the home, students and school variables that affect text processing. the researcher aimed at 498 responses for the questionnaire and generated text samples each. the participants were asked to fill in questionnaires about their demographics and other questions on their home, personal and school constructs. 160 the statistical techniques used in interpreting the data are simple percentage and z –test tools. simple percentage analysis was the preliminary analysis of compilation of percentage to measure the ratio of the exhibition of particular features by the samples. the z – test of the hypothesis formulated was based on the evidence obtained through questionnaire. hypothesis was either accepted for the time being or rejected as untenable. the z–test measured the difference between the expected and observed frequencies. it was used to compare the frequency observed in a sample with expected frequency distribution based on some theoretical methods. z-t formula: p –  z(α)/2 = √ ((1)  while p = x/ z (α)/2 = the critical 1 region 1.96 p = sample proportion π = 0.5 (population proportion) x = number of favourable outcome n = total number of responses (α) /2 = 0.025 (for one tail test at z table) α = alpha = 5% = level of significance (α) /2 = 5%/100/2 = 0.05/2 = 0.025 (for one tail test at z table) z = needed value decision rule: the respondents that agreed on the item up to 50% and above were accepted. also, the respondent that did not agree were considered rejected and was not accepted. hypothesis: if the computed z test is ≥ than the value of z, we reject the hypothesis and if the computed z test is ≤ than the value observed, it will not be rejected (iketaku: 194-8). result both the null or ho and alternate or ha statistical hypothesis were highlighted. z = p− n 1− n while p = x = number of favourable outcome or number of yes n = total number of respondents  = population proportion z/z = table of z  = level of significant or 5% 161 the law of z-test states: reject ho or null hypothesis and accept ha or alternate hypothesis if z calculated is greater than z from the table (see appendix vii) (i.e. z ≤ z/2 or z ≥z/2). hypothesis one ho: the students’ socio-economic background (seb) does not have any effect on text processing achievement. ha: the students’ socio-economic background (seb) has effect on text processing achievement. minor question 1 was used for the analysis. table 1: effects of socio-economic background on respondents’ text processing socio economic background effects on respondents responses proportion of responses population proportion z-text table calculated positive 351 0.783482 0.5000 1.96 7.8249 negative 97 0.216518 total (n) 448 1 therefore hypothesis 1 in table 1 was derived thus: p = 351 = 0.783482 448 z= 0.783482 -0.5000 = 0.28342 = 0.283482 = 0.283482 0.5(-0.5) 0.25 0.0005580357 0.0.36227792 = 7.8249 448 448 here the z calculated is greater than z from the table. the z values (table) are set at a significant level of 5% (i.e.). table 1 showed the z-test result for the respondents in order to determine if there was a difference in effects of socio-economic background on their text processing. the z score of 7.8249 was used for assessing the impacts at the university level. since the z calculated (7.82≥ 1.96) is greater than z from the table (1.96) that is (7.82 ≥ 1.96), we therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) which says: the students’ socio-economic background (seb) does not have any effect on text processing. we then accept the alternate hypothesis (ha) which says: the students’ socio-economic backgrounds (seb) have effect on text processing achievement. hypothesis two ho: there is no variable that exerts the highest influence on first year university students’ text processing. ha: there is a variable that exerts the greatest influence on the students’ text processing. minor questions 32-35 were used to elicit data from the respondents on their awareness on different impacts the three variables (home, school and student) could have on their text processing output (see appendix iii questions 32 35). the summary of the responses were presented in table 2a below. for proper analysis of this h2 , the responses were re-coded ‘positive’ for ‘yes’ and ‘negative’ for ‘no’. 162 table 2a: socio-economic background variables and awareness of different levels of impact therefore table 2a was derived thus: hypothesis 2: p = 1291 = 0.720424 1792 z= 0.720424-0.5000 = 0.220424 = 0.220424 = 0.220424 = 18.66 0.5(1-0.5) 0.25 0.001395089 0.0118113885 1792 1792 from table 2a, the z calculated is greater than the z from the table, that is, 18.66 ≥ 1.96. we therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) that says: there is no variable that exerts the highest influence on text processing. we then accept the alternate hypothesis (ha) that says: there is a variable that exerts the highest influence on text processing. this strongly agreed with the respondents’ choice made in the data presented in table 2b below: table 2b: seb variable and degree of impact seb variable degree of impact responses proportion of responses population proportion/ mean home highest 294 0.65625 0.5000 school higher 98 0.21875 student high 56 0.125 total (n) 448 1 source: field work seb variables awareness responses proportion of responses population proportion z-text table calculated positive 1291 0.720424 0.5000 1.96 18.66 negative 501 0.279576 total (n) 1792 1 163 from the analysis, it was apparent that 294 of the respondents agreed that ‘home’ exerted the highest influence on their text processing. 98 respondents said it was ‘school’ and 56 respondents said it was ‘student’s interest.’ the result is in agreement with the result of research question 3 where analysis revealed that ‘home’ exerted the highest influenced on the students’ text processing. hypothesis 3 ho: there is no relationship between students’ socio-economic background and text processing achievement. ha: there is a relationship between students’ socio-economic background and text processing. minor question 31 was used to elicit data for the analysis table 3: relationship between students’ seb and text processing. seb and text processing relationship response (x) proportional of responses population /proportion mean z table text calcul ated positive 247 0.55139286 negative 201 0.44866074 total (n) 448 1 0.5000 1.96 2.173 source: field work from table 3 hypothesis 3 was derived thus: p= 247 = 0.551339 448 z= 0.55139 – 0.5000 = 0.051339= 0.051339 = 0.051339= 2.173 0.25 0.0005580357 0.0236227792 448 here the z calculated is greater than the z from the table, that is, 2.173 ≥ 1.96. we, therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) that says: there is no relationship between students’ socio economic background and text processing achievement. we then accept the alternate hypothesis that says: there is a relationship between students’ socio-economic background and text processing achievement. hypothesis 4 ho: the relative influence of the school on the student does not affect text processing ability. ha: the relative influence of the school on the student affects text processing ability. a lot of minor questions in the instrument were used to elicit data to test this hypothesis (see appendix (iii) questions 11 and 13-18). the summary of the data were presented in table 4 below. 0.5(1-0.5) 164 table 4: school and students’ text processing ability types of responses number of responses proportion of responses population proportion/ mean z-text table calculated school and students’ text processing positive 1780 0.5670204 1 ability negative 1356 0.4323975 9 0.5000 1.96 7.57 total(n) 3136 1 source: field work from table 4 hypothesis 4 was derived thus: p = 1780 = 0.567602 3136 z = 0.056702041-0.5000 = 0.067602 = 0.067602 = 0.067602= 7.57 0.5(1-0.5) 0.25 0.00079719 0.0089285 3136 3136 from the above analysis, the z calculated is greater than the z from the table, that is, 7.57 ≥ 1.96. we, therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) which says: the relative influence of the school on the students does not affect text processing ability. we them accept the alternate hypothesis (ha) which says: the relative influence of the school on the student affect text processing ability. hypothesis 5 ho: the income and educational background of the parents does not have any effect on students’ text processing achievement. ha: the income and educational background of the parents have effect on students’ text processing. minor questions 2-12 were used to elicit data to test the above hypothesis (see appendix iii for questions 2-12). after careful analysis of the respondents’ responses, a summary was presented in table 5 below. 165 table 5: income and educational background of parents and text processing achievement parents’ income/education al background types of responses number of responses proportion of responses population proportion mean z – test table calculated positive 2389 0.592509921 0.5000 1.96 11.75 negative 1643 0.407490079 total (n) 4032 1 source: field work therefore hypothesis 5 in table 5 was derived thus: p=2389= 0.59251 4032 z = 0.59251_0.5000 = 0.09251 = 0.09251 = 0.09251 = 11.75 0.5 (1-0.5) 0.25 0.0000620039 0.00787425 4032 4032 analysis of the above table 5 showed that the z calculated was greater than the z from the statistical table, that is, 11.75 ≥ 1.96. we, therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) which says: the income and educational background of the parents does not have any effect on students’ text processing achievement. we then accept alternate hypothesis (ha) which says: the income and educational background of the parents have effect on students’ text processing achievement. hypothesis 6 ho: students’ motivation and interest does not affect text processing ability. ha: students’ motivation and interest affect text processing ability. to be able to get unbiased data to test the above hypothesis, minor questions 19-30 were used (see appendix iii for questions 19-30). thorough study and analysis of data obtained were made. a summary of the result was presented in table 6 below: 166 table 6: students’ motivation and interest on text processing interest and motivation types of responses number of responses proportion of responses population proportion / mean z – test table calculated positive 3590 0.655588 0.5000 1.96 23 negative 1886 0.344412 total (n) 5476 1 source: field work therefore hypothesis 6 in table 6 was derived thus: p = 3590 = 0.655588 5476 p = 3590 = 0.655588 5476 z = 0.65558 – 0.5000 = 0.155588 = 0.155588 = 0.155588 = 23 0.5 (1-05) 5476 0.006756774 analysis of table 6 above showed that the z-calculated was greater than the z from the statistical table, that is, 23 ≥ 1.96l. we, therefore, reject the null hypothesis (ho) which says: students’ motivation and interest do not affect text processing ability. we then accept the alternate hypothesis (ha) which says: students’ motivation and interest affect text processing ability. this agrees with the simple percentage result in table. conclusion one of the major socio-economic variables is ‘home’ which is made up of minor variables: educational level of parents, income disposition of parents, and location of the family, general home environment, language of the home, family size/type and parents’ interest. all these minor variables are contributory factors to the level of text processing performance by the first year students in the university in enugu state. even though many of the students have parents whose educational qualifications were 0.000045654 0.25 5276 167 university graduates and post university graduate levels, the language of the home remains the mother tongue (l1) which means that these students were not exposed simultaneously to their native languages and english language that are very important in early mastery of text processing. a reasonable number of the students came from a type of parent-homes where the duty of providing sound early and consistent text processing foundations were difficult due to financial stress. most of the parents lacked interest in text processing and this indirectly affected their children’s interest in text processing at the present academic level. first year students in the university in enugu state lacked the requisite interest needed for advanced text processing. there is an association between family environments and text processing proficiency. the level of the influence of general home environment on text processing at the university level is significant since there is an association between family environment and text processing development and/or performance and the family environment determines the result of the association. poor home environment is one of the major causes of the students’ weaknesses in text processing. students were not aware of the obvious weaknesses/lapses they have in understanding processing task(s) and possible strategies to be used in order to achieve high level proficiency in advanced text analysis this is because the students lacked knowledge of how the texts are structured, how information is organised and what kind of meaning(s) to search for. rather than contextualise the author’s line of thought, they took the ideas at surface value. students lacked knowledge of different social backgrounds due to insufficient exposure(s) and this hindered them from drawing from what the text task(s) presented. the home was the variable that exerted the greatest influence on first year university students’ text processing in enugu state. hence, the ‘home’ as an indispensable variable plays an important role and it determines the influence of ‘school’ and ‘student’ as socio-economic variables. the totality of ‘home’ variables resulted to what the ‘school’ and ‘student’ variables built on. there was a strong link between socio-economic background and text processing achievements throughout the school programmes. this study establishes that where socio-economic background is stimulating and encouraging, achievements tend to be high as against poor achievements when it is not conducive to text processing. there is a relative influence of previous text processing skills acquired before entering the university on the students’ present text processing ability. this was because the nature and level of this language skill acquired by the students under study reflected in their weak performances. this implies that their background knowledge of text processing was weak. findings from this study have shown that application of information processing theories alone to text processing is inadequate to the mastery of advanced text processing. this is because the theoretical process neglects the power and influence of social interaction. through this study, attentions is shifted from departmentalised and disciplinary text processing to integrated and inter disciplinary exercise where students process text(s) with the knowledge, attitudes and skills of a variety of domain. the findings of this work is in line with vygotsky’s constructive theory that socio-economic background positive interactions are crucial and that text processing is co-constructed between two people. developing text processing proficiency occurs through cultural transmission of language skills which starts from social interaction to personal and then to inner/covert problem solving. 168 references bernstein, basil. class, codes and control volume 1: the theoretical studies towards a sociology of language. st. albans paladin, 1973. chaika, elaine. language the social mirror. newbury house publishers, 1989. chomsky, noam. aspects of the theory of syntax. cambridge up, 1965. cousdiline, gillian and zappala, 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penguin books, 2000. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 279 seasonal occurrence and distribution of thunderstorm over lokoja, kogi state, nigeria *1audu, e.b., 2abenu, a., 3francis, s.d., 4agye, a.i. & 5rizama, d.s. 1government secondary school, abuja@30, pegi, kuje, federal capital territory, nigeria 2dept. of civil & environmental engineering, air force institute of tech., kaduna, nigeria 3dept. of mathematical sciences, olusegun agagu university of sci & tech, okitipupa, nigeria 4department of humanities & social sciences, the federal polytechnic, nasarawa, nigeria 5government secondary school, dobi, gwagwalada, abuja, federal capital territory, nigeria *correspondence author: audu_ebamaiyi@yahoo.com; abstract the aim of the study was to ascertain the seasonal occurrence and distribution of thunderstorm (ts) in lokoja. data on monthly ts occurrence from 1980-2020 were obtained from the nigerian meteorological agency (nimet), abuja and analysed for this study. various statistical methods were developed and applied. results showed the total monthly and inter-annual mean ts was 78 with 6 as the mean of mean. the major monthly mean occurrence was between april (average of 06) and october (average of 09). lowest occurrence was observed in january and december, while highest of 14 was recorded in august and september. highest positive mean deviation was 08 (august and september); least was 03 (may and october); highest negative mean deviation was -6 (january, february & december) with the least of -5 (march & november). highest inter-annual mean ts of 08 occurred in 10 years with lowest of -2 (1997). highest positive mean ts occurred in 10 years; while the least positive mean occurred in 1982 (04). frequency count of mean ts occurrence showed 7 has the highest (17 years); while the least was 4 and -2 occurring once each. on inter-annual mean deviation, positive deviation occurred most frequently (18 years), followed by zero (0), 14 years; and lastly, negative deviation (9 years). highest interannual positive mean deviation was 2; lowest was 1; while highest negative mean deviation was -9 with -1 as the least. dry season percentage (%) occurrence was 4.8 % and 95.2 % for rainy season. mean decadal ts signified 82.4 (2000-2009) as highest, while 75.3 (19901999) was the least; a projection to the 5th decade, 2020-2029 was 77.8. in conclusion, wet ts is the major type in this area. it was therefore recommended that, ts forecast should be included in the seasonal climate prediction (scp) and daily weather forecast by the nigerian meteorological agency (nimet); and ts occurrence should serve as early warning system of severe weather. keywords: dry season, forecast, rainfall, thunderstorm, wet season introduction all atmospheric components and occurrences are subjected to constant study due to their direct and indirect impacts on man and his environment. one of such atmospheric happenings is thunderstorm (ts) which is very common in nigeria just like every other tropical area. as a result of the impact of ts, it is subjected to scientific study because of its positive and negative effects. according to ben-nun (2022), the study of thunderstorm (ts) is called “brontology,” while a line drawn through geographical points at a given phase of ts activity which occurred simultaneously is called ‘isobronts.” mailto:audu_ebamaiyi@yahoo.com; 280 thunderstorm (ts) is a signature to severe weather in nigeria and is classified as severe if its wind reach equal to or greater than (≥) 58 mph. ben-nun (2022) stated that, severe weather including tornadoes, thunderstorms, wind and hail annually cause significant loss of life and property. according to budnuka (2015), ts is a manifestation of convective overturning of deep layers in the atmosphere and in an environment in which lapse rate is sufficiently large to be conditionally unstable and the air at low level is moist. ts hardly occurs under clear atmosphere as its occurrence is usually associated with rain-bearing clouds especially cumulonimbus with heavy and prolonged rainfall. according to budnuka (2015), ts is a process which takes heat and moisture near earth’s surface and transports it to the upper level of the atmosphere. the bi-product of this process is cloud formation, rainfall, lightning and wind. factors leading to ts occurrence include unequal heating of the surface which starts the process of upward movement of warm air; topography and adequate moisture (ahrens, 1998). no single factor is responsible for the occurrence of this weather condition. however, as intense heat and high influx of moisture occur in the lower atmosphere in particular, ts activity is initiated, sustained and triggered. its outbreak, distribution, intensity and impact vary from place to place and time to time depending on the prevailing and favourable factors. according to budnuka (2015), three (3) conditions are needed for the formation of ts. these are moisture in the lower to middle level of the atmosphere, instability and lift. ts may occur simply, in clusters or in lines. lightning is a major secondary threat associated with ts. ts development is associated with a variety of boundaries in the earth’s planetary boundary layer. along with cold fronts and warm fronts, low-level ts outflows can trigger new ts. although, different from a boundary, some terrain features are known to be preferred locations for the initiation of ts. another type of boundary that can trigger it is a dryline. forecasting ts development is an important “nowcasting” issue. at times, the environment on the moist side of a dryline can support ts (grasso, 2003). nigeria experiences rainfall annually which is widely used mostly in agriculture because according to nwaogu & cherubin (2024), it is very necessary to provide sufficient food for the growing population. rainfall can be altered by climate change (musa, 2024), while it is mostly associated with ts. audu et al. (2020) discovered in a study that, ts has the strongest relationship with heavy rainfall over lokoja, kogi state, nigeria and the entire guinea savanna zone of nigeria. the most common and important rain in nigeria is convective rain which is usually associated with ts. according to adelekan (1998); ayoola et al. (2016) ts rainfall due to local convection is one of the three (3) major types experienced in nigeria and west africa at large. noaa national severe storms laboratory (n.d) stated that, ts is a great way for the atmosphere to release energy as well as helps to keep the earth in electrical balance. according to ayoola et al. (2016), the percentage (%) contribution of ts to total wet season rainfall increases significantly from the coastal areas inland; with coastal, middle and northern sections of the country recording 17.8 %, 30 % and 35.8 % respectively. according to orji (2016), at wet season; a lot of convection takes place over high terrain, especially at late afternoon/evening as with adequate moisture supply, hills and mountains sometimes behave as “thunderstorms generator.” when ts cells form in aggregations, then the collection of storms can live for a much longer time than the individual cells (which retain their 20-to-30 minutes lifetimes). this means that, the hail and wind events produced by such groupings of ts is intermitted, rather than prolonged (as with super cells), as cells form and decay within the group. 281 there is more ts in northern part of nigeria than in the south due to the presence of moisture at wet season and more intense heat received in the daily, monthly and annually. the importance of ts lies in the fact that, it contributes significantly to flooding and soil erosion episodes due to their high intensity and torrential rainfall characteristics. high winds generated by ts can cause damage to homes, overturn vehicles, uproot/damage trees or blow down utility poles causing wide spread power outrage (all hazards, n.d). ts is made up of both wet and dry. wet ts is accompanied with rainfall, while the dry type is without rain. according to balogun (2001), abuja experiences frequent occurrence of squall lines which is a weather condition that is herald by occurrence of cumulo-nimbus clouds and accompanied by thunder and lighting. severe ts can have devastating impacts (koch et al., 2021). thunderstorm (ts) aside its contribution to rainfall also have negative effects such as destruction of buildings, big trees and killing of animals and humans in extreme cases. ts is an electric generator which drives upward currents in the global electric circuit and produces peak current up to a few tens of kilo ampere (ka). this electric field produced by ts-driven current may affect exothermic brazing (exb) plasma drift causing the redistribution of plasma density in the ionosphere and hence perturbation in electron density. it could also cause electrocution and ill-health in a severe case such as asthma (yamamoto, 2023). in a research conducted by ologunorisa & chinago (2004) on annual ts fluctuations and trends in nigeria, it was discovered that, six (6) periods of maximum annual ts and frequency in nigeria were observed in 1975, 1979, 1985, 1991, 1994 and 1997; while six (6) periods of minimal occurrence were recorded in 1977, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 1998. in addition, there is a statistically significant positive trend for the stations such as sokoto, enugu, ibadan and nigeria (average); while those stations that showed positive correlation which are statistically significant at 95 % probability level are nguru, katsina, bauchi, yola, minna, lagos, calabar, warri and port harcourt. in a study conducted by budnuka (2015) on the statistical analysis of seasonal temperature variation and ts activity over yola north, nigeria; it was discovered that, season temperature does not influence or have any impact on ts; range in seasonal temperature inversely affect ts occurrence; and 85.4 % of the total ts occurrence during the period of study is attributed to or accounted for by seasonal temperature range. the lower the range of seasonal temperature, the higher the ts expected to occur. result on annual ts occurrence shows a decrease in ts activity over time. research questions 1. what is the mean thunderstorm (ts) occurrence in the study area? 2. what is the mean percentage occurrence of ts in dry and wet seasons? 3. what is the mean decadal ts? 4. what is the projection mean ts in the study area? objectives of the study 1. to determine the mean thunderstorm in the study area 2. to compute the mean percentage occurrence of ts in dry and wet seasons 3. to ascertain the mean decadal ts 4. to project the mean thunderstorm to the next decadal (2020-2029) the study area 282 the study area is lokoja which is the capital of kogi state, nigeria and the headquarters of lokoja local government area (adewala & love, 2018). it is located between longitudes 6o30’-7o0’ east and latitudes 7o30’-8o0’ north (figure 1) and lies within the guinea savanna ecological zone of nigeria (musa et al., 2020). according to francis (2017), the meteorological station where data were acquired for this study is located on longitude 6.7oe, latitude 7.8on, an elevation of about 062 and world meteorological organisation (wmo) station number of 65243. lokoja derived its name from hausa words, tree and colour. “loko” means iroko and “ja” is the word for red. when the two english words are put together, they form red iroko (tree). iroko tree was very common in lokoja especially along river niger. kogi, as a hausa word means a river. the confluence of rivers niger and benue is found in the study area with an elongated and large floodplain which is visible from ozi village in kogi local government area along abuja-lokoja road. the study area observes both wet and dry seasons (animashaun et al., 2020) with rainy season occurring between april-october, while dry season is from november-march (akpen et al., 2019). highest annual rainfall within the period under study occurred in 1999 (1767.1 mm), lowest of 804.5 mm occurred in 1982 (audu et al., 2022); while the climatological mean rainfall is 1213.2 mm (audu et al., 2018). climatological mean temperature is about 28.03oc with march being the hottest month. wind speed is at its peak between march and april, while average daily vapour pressure is about 26 hpa (alabi, 2012 cited by adewale & love, 2018). its total landmass is about 3,518 km2 and covers about 12 % of the total landmass of kogi state (abenu et al., 2016). it has a population of about 305, 210 (national population commission projection, 2021). river niger is the major source of fish, domestic water, industrial water and water transportation in the study area, but under-utilised for tourism, electricity generation, recreation and large scale irrigation within the study area figure 1: map of the study area showing data collection point source: department of geography, federal university lafia, nasarawa state, nigeria (2023) 283 materials and methods the data used for this study were the monthly ts occurrence over the study area, 1980-2020 (41 years) obtained from the archives of the nigerian meteorological agency (nimet), abuja. to analyse the data, the period under investigation was divided into four (4) decades of ten (10) years each (1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009 and 2010-2019), while 2020 forms the base for the projected decadal. the annual thunderstorm (ts) for the study area was derived from monthly ts as thus: 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚 = ∑ 𝑝𝑖 𝑚 𝑖−1 1 where: 𝑖 = 1,2, … … … … . 𝑚 ; 𝑚 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 = 12 𝑝 = 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 from the annual thunderstorm (ts), annual mean ts was derived as thus: 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚 = 1 𝑚 ∑ 𝑝𝑖 𝑚 𝑖−1 2 the climatological mean for both annual and monthly ts was computed thus: 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ = �̿� = 1 𝑘 ∑ �̅�𝑖 𝑘 𝑖−1 3 where: 𝑘 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠/𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 ; 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ =climatological mean �̅� = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 ; �̿� = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 annual mean deviation of ts form the climatological mean was calculated as: 𝐴𝑚𝐷𝑒𝑣 = 𝑥�̅� − �̿� 4 where: 𝑥�̅� = 1 𝑚 ∑ 𝑚𝑖 ; 𝐴𝑚𝐷𝑒𝑣 = 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝐷𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑖 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 = 12 the annual climatological mean ts was calculated thus: 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚𝐴. 𝑇̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅ = ∑ 𝑝𝑖 𝑚 𝑖−1 5 where: 𝑖 = 1,2, … … … … … 𝑚 ; 𝑚 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 = 12 𝑝 = 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 the monthly climatological mean ts was calculated thus: 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑀. 𝑇̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ ̅̅ = 1 𝑚 ∑ 𝑝𝑖 𝑚 𝑖−1 6 where: 𝑚, 𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 the climatological mean deviation for both annual and monthly was calculated as: 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚𝐷𝑒𝑣 = 𝑥�̅� − �̿� 7 284 where: �̅� = 1 𝑚 ∑ 𝑚𝑖 ; 𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑚𝐷𝑒𝑣 = 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 other parameters are as earlier defined. the percentage dry season mean ts was calculated thus: % 𝑑𝑟𝑦 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑥 100 8 where: dry season months in this study over the study area include january, february, march, november and december (5 months). the percentage wet season mean ts was calculated thus: % 𝑤𝑒𝑡 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑥 100 9 where: wet season months in this study over the study area include april, may, june, july, august, september and october (7 months). the decadal mean thunderstorm was calculated thus: 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 1 𝑚 ∑ 𝑥𝑖 𝑛 𝑖−1 10 where: 𝑖 = 1,2, … … … … . 𝑛 ; 𝑛 = 10 years period ; 𝑥 = 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 10 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚 for the projected decadal mean thunderstorm (2020-2029), the following equation was applied: 𝑦 = 0.41𝑥 + 77.35 11 where: 𝑦 = 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ; 𝑥 = 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 results and discussion in figure 2, the occurrence and distribution of thunderstorm (ts) follow the seasons and rainfall pattern. january and december have zero (0) occurrences because they are dry season months. this does not imply a complete absence of occurrence; but the long term monthly mean ts is negligible hence resulted to zero (0). the study of olutimayin & aribisala (2020) designated january-march and november-december as dry season in lokoja. according to audu et al. (2022), the zero (0) occurrence of monthly mean rainfall frequency in january, february and december in lokoja and environs, kogi state, nigeria does not signify total absence of rainfall. the highest mean monthly ts (14 %) occurred in august and september which corresponded with the months having highest rainfall in the study area. according to olatunde & adejoh (2018), september has the peak rainfall with the average of about 210 mm and slight difference of about 2.4 mm when compared with august average rainfall (208.2 mm) in lokoja. the long term mean ts is 78, while the long term of mean of mean is 6. the monthly mean deviation from long term mean of mean (6) shows negative values for january, february and december (-6 each); while march and november have deviation of -5 each. april percentage (%) mean ts is zero (0), lowest positive % occurred in may and october (03 each); while the highest positive % occurred in august and september (08 each). 285 figure 2: monthly mean thunderstorm over lokoja source: authors’ computation, 2024 in figure 3, there are positive and negative inter-annual mean ts with the positive occurring in almost all the years (40 years) except for 1997 (1 year). the inter-annual mean ts shows the highest occurrence of 08 in ten (10) years (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009 & 2012); while the least is -2 (1997). the highest positive mean ts of 08 occurred multiple years; while the least positive occurred in 1982 (04). 1999 which was one of the years with the highest positive inter-annual mean ts agreed with the year of highest rainfall of 1767.1 mm in the study area (audu, 2019). 1982 which recorded the least mean ts corresponded with the year of lowest rainfall between 1981-2020 in the study area (audu, 2019). frequency count of mean ts shows that, 7 has the highest mean (17 times), followed by 8 (10 times), 6 (8 times), 5 (4 times), 4 (once) and -2 (once). in terms of inter-annual mean deviation, positive deviation occurred most frequent (18 years), followed by zero (0) which occurred in 14 years and lastly, negative deviation (9 years). recent study on rainfall trend showed the study area is observing increasing rainfall (francis et al., 2024) hence responsible for the highest frequency of positive deviation since it is an established fact that; ts occurrence is strongly associated with rainfall over the study area. the highest positive interannual mean deviation is 2; lowest is 1; while the highest negative mean deviation is -9 with 1 as the least. the time series trend shows a downward trend in the inter-annual mean ts. the coefficients of determination indicate that, year-to-year contributes about 0.1 % to the decline in inter-annual mean ts with ts declining by about 0.1 % as well. this result showed that other factors such as the inter-annual rainfall, climate variability and climate change contributed about 99.9 % to the decline in ts. 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 m o n th ly m ea n t h u n d er st o rm months 286 figure 2: inter-annual mean thunderstorm over lokoja source: authors’ computation, 2024 in the area of distribution of ts between the two (2) seasons in the study area, 95.2 % occurred in wet season; while 4.8 % occurred in dry season. this can be substantiated with the fact that, the study area lies within the region designated by koppen as “aw” that is, tropical grassland or savanna with distinct wet and dry seasons (mngutyo, 2014; adewale & love, 2018), but with rainfall mainly in rainy season. the occurrence of mean ts in dry season months does not imply that it is dry ts. dry season months does not imply total absence of rainfall. audu (2012) observed that, lokoja had mean monthly rainfall between 1981-2010 of 1.1 mm in january; february, 8.0 mm; march, 22.0 mm; november, 2.9 mm and december, 0.6 mm from the available rainfall data, lokoja the study area had january rainfall of 45.7 mm in 1959; 1965, 2.5 mm and 1970, 1.1 mm. in february, 1951, there was rainfall of 2.5 mm; 1953, 27.9 mm; 1956, 33.0 mm; 1958, 2.5 mm; 1963, 15.2 mm; 1965, 55.9 mm; 1968, 7.6 mm; 1969, 8.0 mm; 1972, 10.9 mm; 1975, 3.3 mm; 1977, 4.0 mm and 1980, 6.4 mm. in december, 1956, there was rainfall of about 25.4 mm and 1990, 17.1 mm. these months are typically dry season months yet they had rainfall and the occurrence of ts. in addition, from 1951-2020, there is mean rainfall of 3.7 mm in january, 9.6 mm in february; 30.1 mm in march, 6.9 mm in november and 0.6 mm in december over lokoja (francis et al., 2024). in a study conducted by budnuka (2015) on the statistical analysis of seasonal temperature variation and ts activity over yola north, nigeria, it was discovered that, more ts occurred at wet season than dry season. there are four (4) decadals in this study (1980-2019) with an extra year (2020). results on the decadal mean ts signifies that 1st decade is 78.4, 2nd is 75.3 (least), 3rd is 82.4 (highest), 4th is 77.4 and a projection to the 5th decade is 77.8 which does not significantly deviate from the results of the four (4) decadals. within the 4 decades, there is a decline in the activities of ts. however, the projection shows a marginal rise hence the positive trend in time series. the 𝑅2 indicated that year-to-year contributed 0.03 to the rise, while other factors especially rainfall contribute to about 99.93 % in the rising trend. y = -0.0076x + 6.888 r² = 0.0103 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 2 0 0 6 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 8 2 0 0 9 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 5 2 0 1 6 2 0 1 7 2 0 1 8 2 0 1 9 2 0 2 0 m ea n i n te r -a n n u a l th u n d er st o rm years 287 figure 4: decadal mean and projected mean thunderstorm over lokoja source: authors’ computation, 2024 conclusion and recommendations thunderstorm (ts) occurrence in lokoja, kogi state, nigeria is observed across all months and inter-annually according to this study. the total monthly and inter-annual mean is 78 and mean of mean of 6. ts occurs side-by-side with rainfall hence it is mostly wet ts. even though it occurs in both dry season (4.8 %) and rainy season (95.2 %), its occurrence is predominantly during the wet season. the major occurrence is between april with the average of 06 and october with average of 09. the lowest occurrence is observed in january and december, while the highest mean is 14 (august and september). the highest positive mean deviation is 08 (august and september); least is 03 (may and october); while the highest negative mean deviation is -6 (january, february & december) with the least of -5 (march and november). the highest inter-annual mean ts of 08 occurred in 10 years with the lowest of -2 (1997). the highest positive mean ts occurred in 10 years; while the least positive mean occurred in 1982 (04). frequency count of mean ts occurrence showed that, 7 has the highest occurring in 17 years; while the least is 4 and -2 occurring once each. in terms of the inter-annual mean deviation, positive deviation occurred most frequent (18 years), followed by zero (0) which occurred in 14 years and lastly, negative deviation (9 years). the highest inter-annual positive mean deviation is 2; lowest is 1; while the highest negative mean deviation is -9 with -1 as the least. in the area of distribution of ts between the two (2) seasons, 95.2 % occurred in wet season; while 4.8 % occurred in dry season. results on the mean decadal ts signifies that 82.4 (2000-2009) is the highest, while 75.3 (1990-1999) is the least. a projection from all the decadals to the next decadal that is, 2020-2029 is 77.8. the study concluded that ts occurred side-by-side with rainfall hence it was mostly wet ts. it is therefore recommended that, ts forecast should be included in the seasonal climate prediction (scp) and daily weather forecast by the nigerian meteorological agency (nimet); rain forecast should be based on tss, flood forecast should be based on tss; and tss occurrence should serve as an early warning system. y = 0.09x + 77.99 r² = 0.003 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 1980 1989 1990 1999 2000 2009 2010 2019 2020 2029 m ea n d ec a d a l th u n d er st o rm decades and projected decade 288 references abenu, a., iwugo, k.o. & medugu, n.i. 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(2016). temporal variation of thunderstorm rainfall in ilorin metropolis. nigerian meteorological society, book of proceedings of international conference on 289 “climate variability and change: impacts, science, innovation and policy.” hosted by federal university of agriculture, abeokuta and held at federal college of education, osiele, abeokuta on 21st-24th november, 2016. pp.252-260 balogun, o. (2001). the federal capital territory of nigeria. a geography of its development. first published ibadan university press. pg. 40 ben-nun, l. (2022). the role of thunderstorm for human health. b.n. publication house. pg. 2 budunka, a.c. (2015). comparative analysis of thunderstorm and rainfall occurrences over nigeria. journal of environment and earth sciences. 5(5):2224-3216 department of geography, federal university lafia, nasarawa state, nigeria (2023). map of the study area francis, s.d. (2017). development of a generalised second order markov chain model for forecasting rainfall occurrence in nigeria. postgraduate school, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife, nigeria. pg. 81. francis, s.d; abenu, a; audu, e.b; rizama, d.s & agye, a.i. (2024). rainfall trend and its flood implication on lokoja, kogi state, nigeria. proceedings of the first international conference on the theme: contemporary issues in coastal environmental sustainability olusegun agagu university of science and technology leadership academy, okitipupa, ondo state, nigeria, held on tuesday 27th february-friday 1st march, 2024, pp. 74-81 grasso, l.d. (2003). encyclopedia atmosphere sciences. koch, e., koh, j., davidson, a.c., lepore, c. & tippett, m.k. (2021). trends in the extremes of environments associated with severe united states thunderstorms. american meteorological society journals, 1259-1272 mngutyo, i.d. flood and disaster management: challenges of community perception and perspectives. in tyubee, b.t; ocheri, m.i. & mage, j.o. (eds). nigerian meteorological society proceedings of international conference on climate change & sustainable economic development, makurdi 2014. pp. 106-115 musa, m; suleiman, y.m; yahaya, t.i. & tsado, e. (2020). daily extreme rainfall indices and their impacts on rice yield in parts of north-central states of nigeria. sahel journal of geography, environment and development. 1(1):11-17 musa, s.d. (2024). geography and sustainability: unraveling the myths, reality and practicality. federal university lokoja 19th inaugural lecture, pg. 9 national population commission (2021). projected population of lokoja, kogi state, nigeria nwaogu, c. & cherubin, m.r. (2024). integrated agricultural systems: the 21st century naturebased solution for resolving the global feees challenges. advances in agronomy. 185, 1-73 olatunde, a.f. & adejoh i. (2018). rainfall characteristics in lokoja from 1981-2015. journal of research and development, in arts & social sciences, 228-243 290 ologunorisa, t.e. and chinago, b.a. (2004). annual thunderstorm fluctuations and trends in nigeria. journal of meteorology. 20(286):39-44 olutimayin, s.s. & aribisala, j.o. (2020). time series forecasting of rainfall in lokoja, kogi state, nigeria. international journal of latest technology in engineering management & applied science. ix (111):53-60. orji, b.n. (2016). on the fundamentals of weather forecasting in west africa. nigerian meteorological society book of international conference proceedings on “climate variability and change: impacts, science, innovation and policy.” hosted by federal university of agriculture, abeokuta and held at federal college of education, osiele, abeokuta on 21st-24th november, 2016. pp. 145-153. yamamoto, n. (2023). in fundamentals of bioaerosols science from physical to biological dimensions of airborn biological particles. pp. 147-156 page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 146 psychological consequences of inaccessibility of the redesigned naira notes in abakaliki metropolis eze ogbonnia eze oselebe chisom cherish department of psychology and sociological studies ebonyi state university abakaliki email: eze.ogbonnia@ebsu.edu.ng; cherishoselebe@gmail.com phone: 08149326131; 08034554687 abstract this study is informed by the several lamentations of nigerians as the redesigned naira notes are not available neither are the old notes useable. the study is a qualitative inquiry into the difficulties and psychological implications of the currency dilemma experienced in abakaliki metropolis, ebonyi state nigeria. 30 respondents were interviewed across 6 banks and automatic teller machines (atm) outlets in abakaliki metropolis. participants were selected using convenience sampling technique. interview methods of data collection were adopted for collecting information regarding nigerian netizens’ experiences of the currency crisis orchestrated by the introduction of the new naira notes in the country. the study was designed as a phenomenological research and data was analysed through interpretive phenomenological analysis (ipa). findings revealed that the challenges of accessing the new naira notes affected the psychological wellbeing of the participants. their experiences of the currency crisis were overwhelming leading to conditions of trauma, helplessness, frustration, anxiety of survival, uncertainty, powerlessness and hopelessness. all of these conditions affected their psychological wellbeing and mental life. results further suggests that the participants got relieved from telling the stories of their experiences of the dilemma which served as a coping mechanism for them. it was recommended that the federal government of nigerian and the central bank of nigeria should intensify efforts to resolve the currency problems and ameliorate the conditions of living of the teeming nigerian population. mental health workers are also encouraged develop programmes and activities to help nigerians negotiate the currency crisis situation affecting the mental life of majority of the people living in the country. keywords: central bank of nigeria, money policy, phenomenological research, trauma, wellbeing. introduction the central bank of nigeria (cbn) on 26th october 2022 alongside the federal government announced that by the 31st of january 2023, the 1000-, 500and 200-naira notes will cease to be a legal tender in the country as the central bank of nigeria has redesigned new currencies of these notes to replace the old ones. some nigerians welcomed the idea with enthusiasm of having a new currency while others saw it as unnecessary and a misplaced priority by the government of the country. although the central bank of nigeria gave reasons for the change of currency, among this was to check counterfeiting, to restrain inflation and to mop up currency that is outside the banking system (oxford analytica, 2022). the nigerian public believed that other reasons for the withdrawal of the old currency was the notion that some politicians may have hoarded these currency denominations for vote buying in the country’s mailto:eze.ogbonnia@ebsu.edu.ng mailto:cherishoselebe@gmail.com 147 2023 general elections. this is of course one of the impacts the redesigned notes were to make as oxford analytica report (2022) revealed. as salau (2023) observed, the new naira notes were in short supply as commercial banks did not have enough of the new notes which made it to be in limited circulation. following the expiration of the 31st january 2023 deadline, banks were seen to be helpless as the automatic teller machines (atm) were not dispensing the new currency and nigerians were having difficulties accessing same from the banks. the central bank of nigeria was under pressure to extend the deadline to 10th february, 2023. as the currency saga continued, many businesses were truncated, as people were unable to access the new notes and the old notes were no longer accepted as legal tenders. meanwhile, as the currency redesign policy continued to bite harder on the citizens of nigeria, operators of point of sale (pos) services seized the opportunity to maximize gains as charges went above 400 percent in many cities of the country (mojeed and izuaka, 2023). nigerians were thrown in a dilemmatic situation as they had no choices than to pay such exorbitant charges to get the new notes. although there are other means of transaction such as the electronic transfers and point of sale, it is pertinent to point that many nigerians do not have access to smart phones and for those who do, the poor nature of internet connections in the country has made many electronic transactions unsuccessful. this is as oladipo, ashinze and balogun (2023) noted that the country is a slow-growing economy that relies on cash transactions. thus, many nigerians are at home with cash transactions which became difficult to access. all of these challenges made life unbearable for people living in nigeria which also affected their livelihoods in varying dimensions. the wellbeing of many nigerians was mesmerised by the currency crisis that ravaged the whole country. this is just as iniobong (2023, p.1) quoted the former vice president osinbanjo as lamenting on the situation when he said “you need cash to pay for transport. for instance, in abuja how do you take ‘drop or along’ or use a keke napep without cash, or buy foodstuff on the road or in canteens, or even buying recharge cards?” people living in rural areas of the country where there are no banks experienced worst case scenarios as they could not buy nor sell which means a halt in their lives. while the federal government and the central bank of nigeria may have had good intensions for introducing the new naira notes, the challenges faced by nigerian as a result of the currency redesign policy has had far reaching negative implications in their psychological wellbeing. currency sale and illegal trading of naira notes were the order of the day in many cities in nigeria as people have no option than pay high charges to buy the new redesigned notes from illegal traders. although illegal trading of the naira notes is not new as research by amaechi et al (2017) observed that sales of new notes and abuse of the naira notes is a common practice in the country. however, the 2023 cash crisis situation was far different because people who needed money were not interested in the newness or neatness of the notes but on the redesigned notes that were considered as valid legal tenders. 148 it was predicted that the central bank of nigerian policy on redesigning the naira notes will have some negative impacts on the country’s population. oxford analytica report (2022) revealed that cash-dependent informal sector will experiences negative impacts from the new notes policy and that prediction has been fulfilled as tension and anxiety has enveloped the citizens following short supply or circulation of the redesigned naira notes. although the perceived positive impact of the currency redesign policy such as checking inflation, preventing counterfeiting, discouraging voting fraud and maintaining a cashless economy that will reduce naira abuse (muhammed and adulmajeed, 2022) exist, the conditions of living for an average nigerian worsened. this can be seen in their daily livelihood activities as market women and petty traders who sell goods with little cash return couldn’t sell because of scarcity of the new redesigned notes. the benefits of redesigning the naira notes abound as studies have shown (muhammed and adulmajeed, 2022). the psychological consequences from such policies as it affects the citizens are not known. the 2022 policy on naira notes design by the central bank of nigerian had negative psychological implications on the wellbeing of the citizens of the country. the unavailability of the redesigned notes for distribution from the commercial banks made life difficult for many nigerians. while it is argued that printing more notes will reduce the value of naira (pillah, 2023), it is important to state that certain volume of cash flow to the banks was necessary to sustain the economy of the country. a report from the central bank of nigeria acknowledges their awareness of people selling the newly redesigned naira notes. the financial commission also observed that there were long queues in the automated teller machines across the country which made financial transaction even more difficult. the report further contained the awareness of the central bank of nigeria on cases of unregistered people and non-bank officials swapping banknotes for members of the nigerian public (cbn press release, 2023). these known facts as provided by the report of the director, corporate communications of the central bank of nigeria were among the reasons the citizens of the country are experiencing difficulties in accessing the newly redesigned naira notes for their daily transactions which further leads to other circles of problems in the lives of those experiencing these challenges in nigeria. method the study is a qualitative phenomenological inquiry into the psychological consequence of the redesigned naira notes in the lives of average citizens in the country. the objective of this paper is to expose the negative psychological impacts as experienced by citizens of nigeria, following the redesigning of the country’s currency. this information is targeted from the point of view of the citizens who lived these experiences being sought which informs the rationale for designing the study as phenomenological research. just as donalek (2004) noted, the use of phenomenological study is to examine human experiences from the account of the people involved. it entails a description of the lived experiences of participants from their personal point of view regarding a particular phenomenon and how meaningful it is to them. 149 researchers are yet to focus on the psychological consequences of the long queues and mammoth crowds of nigerian citizens in the automatic teller machines and banking vicinities experienced in nigeria. this further justifies the choice of phenomenological study which is known for use in areas where there exists little knowledge about a phenomenon (donalek, 2004). likewise, this study is an exploratory kind of research because little or no knowledge exist about the psychological impacts the current cash crisis has on the citizens of nigeria. of course, exploration is central to qualitative research (moen and middlethon, 2015). participants 20 participants were randomly interviewed in the study. they comprised of 10 men and 10 women. 7 of the male participants were married while 3 were single. similarly, 8 female participants were married while 2 were single. their age ranged between 20 to 45 years and they were workers, students, artisans and petty traders they. were recruited and interviewed at the various automatic teller machines and bank premises in abakaliki metropolis, ebonyi state nigeria during the peak period of the cash crisis in the country. they were selected on convenience basis while waiting to withdraw some of the new redesigned nigerian naira notes from the banks and from the automatic teller machines (atm). participants were recruited on some inclusion criteria such as ability to use english language to convey their experiences, however the use of ‘pidgin english’ which is popular in an average nigerian discussion and conversations were allowed to enable the participants make much sense of their experiences without obstructing them with grammar barriers. instrument an interview guide to tease out the psychological impact of their struggle to get the new naira notes were used to gather information from the precipitants who obliged to take part in the interviews. the interview guide started with probing statements as “please can you tell me why you are here, your experience of these new naira notes and the meaning you make out of your own experience of this” this was followed by other probing questions especially when a participant has not provided enough information. procedure the researchers approached potential participants, introduced the research aim to them and sought their permission to partake in the study. each interview lasted between 30 minutes to 45 minutes. the entire data collection lasted for 5 days (february 6th to 10th february, 2023). participants who participated in the study were enthusiastic about speaking out their views about their experiences of the new currency saga in nigeria which as some of them reported was relieving. the audio recorded participants’ interview data were transcribed for analysis and was done with conscious effort to bracketing. bracketing or phenomenological reduction (hycner, 1985) is an essential part of phenomenological study which requires openness to whatever meaning that emerged from the participants’ interviews. this is observed in this study as the researcher puts away their own feelings of the phenomenon under study to present solely the views and meaning of the phenomenon to the participants under study. 150 analysis interpretive phenomenological analysis was conducted to analyse the information from the interview responses of the participants in the study. historically, interpretive phenomenological analysis was developed because of the articulation of qualitative research approach firmly located in psychology as a discipline (eatough, 2012). in this study, the individual accounts of the participants were first analysed while patterns and themes emerging from them were cross-thematically analysed across the participants. this is in line with the practice of interpretive phenomenological analysis as it moves from in-depth examination of individual cases before looking for convergence and divergence patterns across cases (eatough and smith, 2017). the themes that emerged from the in-depth analysis of the individual participants’ cases were as follows; feeling of trauma, helplessness, frustration, anxiety of survival, uncertainty, powerlessness and hopelessness. cross thematic analysis of individual cases revealed convergence of the experiences of the above and a divergent pattern of responses as follows; feeling of rebirth of a new order in nigeria and a feeling of positivity to the currency redesign policy result result from that interview analysis shows that two categories of themes of responses emerged from the participant’s responses. the first was their personal experiences with accessing the new naira notes and the meaning they made out of it. the second category of response was on their copying strategy which was about what kept them going in the face of their suffering. responses and themes from their personal experiences and meaning made were as follows; feeling of trauma, helplessness, frustration, anxiety of survival, uncertainty, powerlessness and hopelessness, feeling of rebirth of a new order in nigeria and a feeling of positivity to the currency redesign policy. results from data analysis showed that all the participants used the concept of “suffering” to make sense of their experiences with accessing the new redesigned naira notes. suffering was a common theme across the participants’ responses. this was evidently used in the responses of the participants. corresponding vignettes are used below to show the meaning made from the experiences of the participants which emerged in the analysis of their responses in relation to the phenomenon under study. feeling of trauma the analysis of the participants’ interview data revealed that a feeling of trauma was used to make sense of their experiences of the difficulty in accessing the new nigerian currency as follows: participant 1 used the phenomenon of trauma in his experience as follows; “not being able to get money that i have suffered to make is very daring and worrisome because i have been here almost every day sometimes....i don’t get any money and they will say that the atm is no longer able to dispense cash. this kind of experience is killing....there is no way forward, and it is indeed a traumatic experience for me” similar experiences were told by other participants as follows: 151 participant [2] “my experience of this new money thing is that it is simply wicked and was meant to traumatize nigerians. yesterday l was here but l only got n3000 which could not by anything for me and my children? we are dying in silence here...the banks and the federal govt have fully make life unbearable for us the citizens of this country” participant 5, 6, 9, 12 also used traumas to makes sense of her experience as they said: “this country is hell to say the list, i worked hard to earn money and taking it out from the bank is now something that is almost impossible....the idea of the new naira whatever is useless because we are suffering and l am worried because it is not ending soon. we have been like this everyday...very painful situation the people ruling us subjected us to”. “ it is a terrible experience for me because l am really traumatized especially because the village women we buy food from don’t accept transfers because they don’t have bank accounts. i feel that we may one day die of hunger, yes since we cannot buy or sell....i have never seen this kind of life before, i am just totally disorganised” “this wicked government want us to suffer and die in pain, take a look at the crowd here; some people have been here for two days without getting any money...l feel that the government of buhari wants the average masses to be in trauma and of course we are already in trauma” “as a citizen, i don’t have right to live that is what this country is making me believe. i don’t have money to buy the essential things of life but i have money in the bank....what a trauma! ....what a country! ...what a nation! nigerians are dying because of no money” the use of trauma related situation to make sense of the experiences of the challenges in accessing the new naira notes was evident in all the interviews. the condition the participants found themselves overwhelmed them and made them to feel that they have reached the end of their worlds. their experiences of the new naira saga were overwhelming such that they used experiences that coincide with those of trauma experience to make sense of their world. helplessness, frustration and anxiety of survival the feeling of helplessness, frustration and anxiety of survival were seen to weave round the interview responses of the participants in the study. supporting vignettes are used below to show evidence of these. participant 14, 15, 17, 30 made senses of their experiences of the redesigned naira notes accessibility as one of helplessness, frustration, anxiety of survival as follows: “...this is a hopeless situation and i don’t know when it will end...we sometimes don’t access the notes and we go home totally frustrated and we don’t know how we are going to survive this kind of condition the apc government and cbn kept us in nigeria” 152 “...it is very frustrating to say the least. i am totally worried because if life continues like this many of us will die...tell me how can we survive when we cannot see money to buy ordinary food to eat” “.... it appears like the end of the world for some of us. look at the mammoth crowd here waiting to take their money, see how people are being frustrated by these nigerian leaders. you can see that it is almost a matter of life and death because the struggle is real. the worst part is that sometimes the money will finish in the atm and people go home totally worn out and disappointed” “...it seems survival of the fittest for me because the dragging, the pushing and the hot sun wears people out and today l said l must get money because the other day, l went home frustrated after waiting for over 7 hours and got nothing in the end. there is no hope for our survival in nigeria now unless the government does something about this money issue” the above vignettes from the participants’ interview responses revealed the meaning they made from their difficult experiences with getting cash the needed for their daily life engagements. they felt frustrated by the situation they found themselves and they also felt that they were helpless as well as not being sure of what the world holds for them in the future which indicates their survival anxieties. these responses cut across all the participants’ interview responses. powerlessness and hopelessness all the participants expressed a feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness in their responses regarding their experiences of the challenging new naira notes accessibility in nigeria. some vignettes supporting this are shown below. “...the people in power have kept us in this terrible condition and we are just helpless after all what can we do...the suffering to collect my money has just become to much. see how nigerians are struggling to take what belongs to them and it does not look like it is going to end anytime soon” [participant 26] “....i feel bad because l can’t see this happening in any other country. but here we are taken for granted by our leaders because we cannot do anything. see army, police and other security they have unleashed to watch us suffer to take money from the bank” [participant 24] “...our government are wicked and they know the citizens are cannot do anything. they are in charge that is why we are being treated like second class citizens in our country” [participant 13] “...i think this new naira challenge is intentional to punish the poor masses and that was why they introduced it without due process or without minding how it will affect us. we are here...to suffer it and i mean it we are really helpless in this situation” [participant 3] “...we live in a country where our welfare is not considered before policies are made and that is because the rulers of nigeria see us as people who cannot do anything, otherwise there is no reason why they should be suffering us like this over cash” [participant 18] 153 feeling of rebirth and a new order in nigeria/ feeling of positivity to the currency redesign policy the interpretive phenomenological analysis revealed that there were some divergent responses on the new naira notes phenomenon. 3 participants made sense of the situation with a feeling of rebirth of a new order in nigeria and a feeling of positivity to the currency redesign policy. this is captured in the vignettes below from their interview responses. “...yes i know we are all suffering to get cash and all that but l feel that the change of currency is to make things work well in nigeria...we have to endure the suffering for a new dawn will come after this period” [participant 20] “...we will enjoy the reason behind this new currency because those politicians that have hoarded the old notes will not use them. we have been suffering and they were busy stealing and hiding our money. for me this is a great move even though it normally comes with pain initially” [participant 11] “...i feel that this is for our own good. our currency doesn’t have value in the world, so this new naira policy may help to reduce too much money in circulation and boost our economy. we are suffering to get the new naira now but soon, things will normalize and we will see the need for what we are suffering now” [participant 16] the above vignettes from the responses of three of the participants were divergent views from those of other participants. the new nigerian naira currency that has continued to remain scarce thereby making life uneasy with many of the citizens of the country was perceived majorly in negative perspectives by the participants in this study. however divergent views from very few of them suggests that the policy will have significant meaningful impact in the country’s economy. conclusion the purpose of this research is to understand the psychological consequences of the new naira notes from the personal account of citizens in abakaliki metropolis, ebonyi state nigeria. nigerians were experiencing a new order in terms of cash availability and accessibility which negatively affected the lives of average nigerian citizens living in the country as their firsthand account revealed. the psychological wellbeing of the nigerian citizens in that period were adversely affected with implications for impacting their mental health negatively. as result of the study revealed, many nigerians couldn’t buy nor sell because they don’t have cash at hand and do not have alternative means of transactions. this condition made living difficult for many. experiences as these coincide with those psychological traumas which has been used by the participants in this study to make sense of their experiences of the difficulty in accessing cash for their daily survival. thus, the livelihood and survival of the average nigerian citizens was uncertain within the period as anxieties of survival has enveloped their daily experiences. nigerians who discuss and share their experiences with others tend to be relieved as this study 154 observed. this approach to the problem tends to serve as coping mechanism which should be further examined. recommendations in view of the observed terrible conditions of living of nigerian citizens orchestrated by the scarcity and non-availability of cash for daily transactions, the following recommendations were made. i. the central bank of nigeria needs to constantly provide the nigerian citizens with information regarding the new naira policy and how to negotiate cash access. ii. rural areas with mostly individuals who do not have alternative means of transaction outside cash needs emergency responses from central bank of nigeria to ameliorate their financial service suffering. iii. the central bank of nigeria should consider printing more new naira notes to enable commercial banks meet up with the basic cash demands of the nigerian public iv. psychological intervention is very sacrosanct in nigeria and mental health organizations are expected to intervene with survival tips as many nigerians were mentally disoriented with the non-availability of cash crisis. v. all levels of government should engage the citizens with programmes to help reduce the concomitants psychological effects of the cash crisis experienced by many nigerians. vi. large comprehensive research is needed especially with regards to the coping mechanisms to the psychological challenges facing a teeming population of the nigeria references amaechi, f.c., aderinto, a.a., ojedokun, u.a. & tade, o. 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(2023). osinbajo expresses worry over difficulty in getting new naira notes. businessday news, february 3rd 2023. available at: https://www.cbn.gov.ng/documents/pressreleases.asp 155 https://businessday.ng/news/article/osinbajo-expresses-worry-over-difficulty-in-getting-newnaira-notes/ muhammed, a.b. & abdulmajeed, a.t. (2023). impact of naira redesign and monetary policy on nigeria economy. international journal of research in finance and management, 5(2): pp. 226-232 mojeed, m. & izuaka, m. (2023). naira redesign: nigerians grapple with hardship as pos transaction charges jump 400%. premium times. february 6, 2023. online. available at https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/580177-naira-redesign-nigerians-grapple-withhardship-as-pos-transaction-charges-jump-400.html moen, k., & middelthon, a. l. (2015). qualitative research methods. in research in medical and biological sciences (pp. 321-378). academic press. oladipo, o. ashinze, f & balogun, f. (2023). new naira crisis exposes nigeria’s weak minting capacity. businessday news. online. 7th february, 2023. available at: https://businessday.ng/news/article/new-naira-crisis-exposes-nigerias-weak-minting-capacity/ oxford analytica, (2022). “new nigeria banknotes may have mixed results”, expert briefings. http://doi.org/10.1108/oxan-db274721 pillah, t. p. (2023). currency redesign and monetary policy of nigeria: an evaluation. international journal of public administration and management research, 8(4), pp.46-53. salau, s. (2023). businesses suffer as struggle for new naira notes lingers. 29th january 2023. online https://guardian.ng/features/businesses-suffer-as-struggle-for-new-naira-notes-lingers/ https://businessday.ng/news/article/osinbajo-expresses-worry-over-difficulty-in-getting-new-naira-notes/ https://businessday.ng/news/article/osinbajo-expresses-worry-over-difficulty-in-getting-new-naira-notes/ https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/580177-naira-redesign-nigerians-grapple-with-hardship-as-pos-transaction-charges-jump-400.html https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/580177-naira-redesign-nigerians-grapple-with-hardship-as-pos-transaction-charges-jump-400.html https://businessday.ng/news/article/new-naira-crisis-exposes-nigerias-weak-minting-capacity/ http://doi.org/10.1108/oxan-db274721 https://guardian.ng/features/businesses-suffer-as-struggle-for-new-naira-notes-lingers/ page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 515 the united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) and challenges of effective humanitarian response in northeast nigeria chiedozie p. nwosu department of political science, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi state email: chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng frank-collins nnamdi okafor department of political science nnamdi azikiwe university, awka,nigeria email: fcn.okafor@unizik.edu.ng abstract in recent times, the globe has witnessed unimaginable humanitarian crisis. people have been forced to flee their homes in the most unusual circumstances, massive displacements and food insecurity have taken centre stage and all these have affected humanity adversely. the african continent is not left out in all of this as it has also been plagued by several humanitarian crisisfrom the horn of africa, down to sub-saharan africa. in all, northeast nigeria has been devastated by the activities of boko haram insurgents since 2009, leading to a seemingly intractable humanitarian catastrophe in the region. the united nations high commissioner for refugees stepped in 2014 to render humanitarian assistance and services to communities in this troubled zone. the study employed the complex humanitarian emergencies (ches) theory as an analytical framework. methodologically, the descriptive research design was used and data was gotten through primary and secondary sources. the primary sources of data were sourced using key informant interviews, where structured questions were purposively administered to key officials of the unhcr and international committee of the red cross. secondary data were gotten from documentary sources as journal articles, books, internet blogs, etc., and analysed using content analysis. the study uncovered the fact that unhcr’s humanitarian response in nigeria’s north-east has not yielded the desired results as the agency is currently bedeviled with so much challenges, ranging from insecurity of unhcr staff, lack of access by the agency to remote areas, to funding shortfall and a host of others. it recommends, among others, the need for inter-agency collaboration, adequate protection of the agency’s staff and proper funding of the agency’s activities in the area. keywords: human services, red cross, refugees, sub-saharan africa united nations, introduction in the 21st century, series of humanitarian crises have ravaged the entire globe; so much so that every part of the world has experienced and received a fair share of this burden. the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has reached a record high of 362 million, or one in every 22 people. over 110 million people have been compelled to leave their homes, and over 260 million people suffer severe food insecurity, putting some at risk of starvation (united nations press, 2023). globally, spiraling crises have forced 120 million men, women, and children to flee; 1.5% of people have been displaced by violence, conflict, or persecution; and file:///c:/users/user/downloads/chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng file:///c:/users/user/downloads/fcn.okafor@unizik.edu.ng 516 low-and middle-income nations have taken in 75% of the refugees and internally displaced people usa for unhcr (2024). in the midst of the growing humanitarian crisis in the globe, one of the continent’s most impacted by this global crisis is africa, especially sub-saharan africa. the region is plagued by multiple lengthy conflicts, challenging climate conditions, and economic woes that have exacerbated humanitarian needs (united nations press, 2023). nigeria is a focal point due to the intractable insurgency and high-intensity violence orchestrated by boko haram in the country’s northeast (omenma, onyishi & okolie, 2021).the scourge of boko haram attacks has afflicted the northeastern region of nigeria since 2009, resulting in a serious humanitarian catastrophe in the area (okunade, & ogunnubi, 2020; kamta, schilling & scheffran, 2020 ; idowu , nwangele & nwosu 2021). more stresses like reliance on oil, poor economic planning and volatile oil prices have put a strain on resources, food insecurity is worsened as a result of the depletion of the lake chad basin, climate change, which has caused desertification in the north and flooding in other areas, thus impacting on agriculture and livelihoods (onuoha, 2008; eke-okocha & eze, 2023). the fall-out of the aforementioned crisis in nigeria’s northeast has been a humanitarian crisis in the form of refugees and internally displaced persons. this state of affairs has led so many non-state actors to come to the rescue of affected victims in the area. the united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) happens to be one of such agencies rendering humanitarian assistance and services to people in need and vulnerable communities in nigeria’s northeast since 2014 (nnadi.,ezeani .,& nnadi ,2020). the study therefore sets out to interrogate as it were, why the number of individuals in need of humanitarian assistance continue to escalate by the day in the region, prompting the question as to whether there are challenges militating against the smooth operations of the unhcr in nigeria’s northeast and in what ways the challenges have affected the agency’s humanitarian response in nigeria’s northeast. conceptual clarifications humanitarian crisis the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha) defines humanitarian crisis as “a singular event or series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety, or well-being of a community or large group of people” (ocha, 2024). in another vein, the humanitarian coalition (2013) defines humanitarian crisis as an incident or sequence of events that poses a serious risk to the health safety, security, or well-being of a community or other sizeable population, typically over a large territory. one singular variable in these two definitions of humanitarian crisis as presented above is that for a situation to qualify as a humanitarian crisis, it must be of a large scale and affecting, as it were, the livelihood, welfare and security of a large group of people or community. anderson and garber (2018) do not agree any less with the foregoing when they opined that humanitarian crisis is any disaster that necessitates international assistance (humanitarian aid) to provide for the impacted population’s basic requirements and that when a humanitarian crisis occurs, national and local resources are insufficient to provide for the needs or relief; foreign aid is required and often, no single humanitarian organization can adequately handle the scope of the crisis’ response. 517 likewise, the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies (ifrc) emphasizes that there cries frequently stem from complex emergencies characterized by “extensive violence and loss of life, massive displacements of people, widespread damage to societies and economies, and the need for large-scale, multi-faceted humanitarian assistance” (ifrc, 2023). according to the oxford handbook of human security (2003), a humanitarian crisis occurs when a sizable segment of the population is in critical need of aid; these situations are frequently brought on by war, severe natural disasters, or unstable economic conditions. humanitarian crises are extreme circumstances in which a great deal of people are suffering or have died as a result of conflicts, natural catastrophes, or other emergencies, necessitating significant and prompt humanitarian response ( beasley and hughes,2017). for (kuhlman and parker, 2008), a humanitarian crisis is a dire circumstance in which society’s regular processes have broken down, resulting in great suffering for people and requiring immediate action and relief measures. humanitarian response humanitarian response is defined by the good humanitarian donorship (ghd) initiative as acts performed by nations or international organizations to stop or prevent widespread suffering among people, especially during times of conflict or natural catastrophes; under the auspices of independence, impartiality, and humanism, encompassing actions meant to preserve human dignity, save lives, and lessen suffering (ghd, 2003). the phrase “humanitarian response” describes the coordinated efforts made by a variety of international organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations to deliver aid effectively and efficiently in crisis situations. humanitarian response aims to alleviate suffering, ensure the well-being of affected populations, and restore normalcy as quickly as possible. it involves addressing urgent needs like food, shelter, water, and medical care as well as protecting human rights and supporting recovery efforts (szabo, 2019; altare et.al., 2022; lie, 2020). pringle and hunt (2015) concur with the foregoing definitions by averring that humanitarian response or action is the active giving of aid with the goal of preventing death, reducing suffering, and restoring and advancing human dignity in the wake of large-scale emergencies and disasters. research methodology the study adopted the descriptive research design and data were gotten from both primary and secondary sources. the data from primary sources include key informant interviews with structured questions conducted on key officials of both the unhcr and the icrc, using the purposive sampling technique. this sampling technique was considered germane as it enabled the researchers to specifically pick respondents to be interviewed. the respondents so selected were individuals holding sensitive offices in both the unhcr and the icrc. they included the unhcr protection unit, abuja and the desk officer; for the icrc, we picked the icrc regional spokesperson for africa and the desk officer. these set of individuals occupying knowledgeable positions formed the population for the study. secondary data were also gotten from documentary sources which included newspapers, journal articles, text books, etc. the data generated were analysed using content analysis, allowing for detailed generalizations and logical conclusions. theoretical framework 518 the theoretical framework that guided this study is the complex humanitarian emergencies (ches) theory or framework. this theory explains multifaceted crises that disrupt the social, economic, and political fabric of societies, often accompanied by conflict, violence, and largescale displacement. these emergencies are characterized by their complexity, duration, and the multiplicity of factors contributing to the crisis, setting them apart from simpler, more localized disasters. key features of ches: multi-faceted crises: ches involve a combination of natural disasters, conflict, and social disorder, creating intricate and interconnected challenges. prolonged duration: unlike sudden-onset disasters, ches can persist for extended periods, exacerbating the suffering and vulnerability of affected populations. mass displacement: ches lead to large-scale displacement of people, both internally and across borders, resulting in significant humanitarian needs. political instability: the crises often arise in contexts of weak governance, failed states, or political instability, complicating response efforts. complex coordination: effective intervention requires coordination among multiple actors, including international organizations, ngos, local governments, and communities. contributors to the theory: some of the notable contributors to the theory are: de-waal (1997) who’s work on famine, conflict, and humanitarian response in africa has been influential in shaping the understanding of ches. similarly, duffield (2001)’s research on the political economy of war and humanitarianism has provided critical insights into the complexities of ches, especially in the context of global governance and development. additionally, the un agencies and ngos like the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha), médecins sans frontières (msf), and the international committee of the red cross (icrc) have played pivotal roles in defining and operationalizing responses to ches, contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of these emergencies. application of the theory: the complex humanitarian emergencies theory provides a valuable framework for understanding the complexities of the humanitarian crisis in north east nigeria. the boko haram insurgency, which began in 2009, has led to a protracted crisis characterized by widespread violence, displacement, and human suffering. the crisis has been exacerbated by factors such as climate change, poverty, and political instability, making it a quintessential example of a che. the application of the ches theory to the north east nigeria crisis highlights the following key features: multi-faceted crises: the conflict in north east nigeria is a classic example of a multi-faceted crisis, combining natural disasters, conflict, and social disorder. the region has been affected by droughts, floods, and epidemics, which have exacerbated the humanitarian needs of the affected populations (unhcr, 2019). the conflict has also led to the destruction of infrastructure, displacement of people, and the disruption of essential services, including 519 healthcare and education (human rights watch, 2018). prolonged duration: the crisis in north east nigeria has persisted for over a decade, with the conflict showing no signs of abating. the prolonged duration of the crisis has led to chronic humanitarian needs, with millions of people requiring assistance and protection (unhcr, 2020). the protracted nature of the crisis has also led to the depletion of resources, making it challenging for humanitarian organizations to sustain their response efforts (msf, 2020). mass displacement: the conflict has led to massive displacement, with over 2.5 million people internally displaced and over 300,000 displaced across borders (unhcr, 2022). the displacement has resulted in significant humanitarian needs, including shelter, food, and medical care (ocha, 2020). political instability: the crisis in north east nigeria is complex and deeply rooted in political instability. the region is plagued by weak governance, corruption, and political instability, which have hindered the effectiveness of humanitarian responses (duffield, 2018). the political instability has also led to the proliferation of armed groups, further exacerbating the humanitarian situation (icrc, 2020). complex coordination: effective humanitarian response in north east nigeria requires complex coordination among multiple actors, including international organizations, ngos, local governments, and communities. the unhcr has played a critical role in coordinating humanitarian efforts, working closely with other un agencies, ngos, and local authorities (unhcr, 2020). however, coordination has been hindered by limited resources, insecurity, and conflicting interests among stakeholders (msf, 2020). to conclude, the ches theory provides a useful framework for understanding the complex crisis in north east nigeria. the application of this theory highlights the challenges and complexities of effective humanitarian intervention in the region, including the need for sustained funding, improved coordination, and addressing the root causes of the crisis. review of related literature challenges undermining unhcr's responses to humanitarian crisis in northeast nigeria although there has been significant improvement in refugee aid programmes, rehabilitation of internally displaced persons, rendering help to communities affected by crisis and the like, the unhcr still faces difficulties in offering comprehensive help to idp’s, returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers because of paucity of funds, red tape, a shrinking humanitarian space, and limited access (usa for unhcr, 2023). this state of affairs made betts (2013) to contend that the idea of challenged institutions which emphasizes the difficulties experienced by multilateral organizations in rapidly shifting global governance finds full expression in the office of the un high commissioner for refugees as it responds to an increasingly competitive institutional setting. this is indeed factual as overlaps have been presently created by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions. in a similar vein, betts et al (2011) did not mince words when they averred that the unhcr was created to address the needs and concerns of refugees in europe but that after the cold war, this role snowballed with the wide range of forced displacements experienced globally, a state of affairs that has challenged the mandate of the office sorely. 520 also, the unhcr faces numerous security challenges in its operations globally, nigeria, not being an exception. a report by the unhcr executive committee report (2022) makes it vivid where it stated that of late, the unhcr has presence in 126 countries and almost 25% of the workforce works in areas where the overall risk level is deemed to be significant or high. more than 300 security incidents were reported by the agency in 2021, some of which were dire, exposure to fire in areas faced with hostilities, civil conflicts, violent demonstrations, crime, ambushes, abductions and road accidents, in december 2021, in the democratic republic of the congo, a unhcr vehicle was ambushed by an armed militia and three staff members of the mission got seriously injured; nigeria witnessed the abduction of a national staff member by militants that got released six months after, another national member of the mission was killed in an aerial assault in his native home in ethiopia same year. on the issue of security and how it affects the operations of the unhcr particularly in nigeria’s, a global focus report (2019) stated that nigeria’s humanitarian and security conditions, particularly in north-east nigeria, were unstable and unsafe in 2019 and that nigeria was the country with the highest total anticipated risk in terms of socioeconomic fragility, inequality and shortages of food, according to the 2019 global risk index. this situation did not abate as a similar study carried out in the same country a year after-2020 reinforces the fact that the protracted humanitarian crises associated with the ongoing insurgency in the north-east, which had not shown any indications of declining, disputes between farmers and herders in the middle belt, and sectarian disruptions throughout the nation continue to dominate and undermine unhcr’s operational setting in (nigeria global focus report, 2020). also, poor funding has impacted unhcr’s operations globally. a unhcr underfunding report (2023) stated that in order to protect, aid, and find answers for millions of individuals who are stateless or have been forcefully displaced around the world, the unhcr is essential. however, the agency’s underfunding of its operations presents a big issue for 2023 and that the global response to forced displacement has been negatively impacted by this financial deficit, which has made the already terrible circumstances faced by stateless and forcibly displaced individuals worse and increased the strain on host nations and communities. one of the host communities affected by this underfunding crisis is nigeria. for instance, the nation ranked 6th in a unhcr’s top 10 underfunded emergency situations in 2021.the report indicates that out of a total of $128.4 million required in 2021, only 43% funding was gotten, giving a funding shortfall of $72.9 million ( unhcr’s most underfunded situations, 2021) validating this position, an office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs-ocha report (2023) on humanitarian dashboard in north-east nigeria indicates that funding crisis in nigeria’s northeast, ongoing and incessant insecurity cases, or restrictions on movement continued to be some of the drivers to the humanitarian crisis in the region, and that the inaccessibility of several regions to aid agencies, reduces the total humanitarian presence. in another vein, adeleye and osadola (2022) concluded that while foreign assistance particularly that provided by the un, under the auspices of the unhcr,has been crucial to managing nigeria’s humanitarian issue, the large number of internally displaced people has continued to eclipse these efforts. this scenario is not far from what a unhcr global trend report (2018) unveiled when it stated that nigeria at the close of 2017, ranked eleventh out of those with high number of idps. 521 discussion of key findings the un refugee agency, in delivering her mandate of protecting refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, etc in north-east nigeria, encounters numerous challenges and operational difficulties. these challenges have, to a large extent, undermined its operations in the region. betts (2023) is of the view that the idea of challenged institutions which emphasizes the difficulties experienced by multilateral organizations in rapidly shifting global governance finds full expression in the office of the un high commissioner for refugees as it responds to an increasingly competitive institutional setting. this is indeed factual as overlaps have been presently created by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions. also, the issue of insecurity, insecurity of unhcr staff and underfunding act as major challenges to the proper functioning of the unhcr in the nigerian section of the lake chad region. (unhcr underfunding report 2023; global focus report, 2019). unhcr, annual results report (2022) indicates thatmultiple factors hinder the response efforts of aid agencies, the unhcr inclusive. some of these factors include flooding, insecurity, and drought. the resultant effects of these challenges are new displacements, which have also had an impact on the region under review. some 338,000 nigerians fled to cameroon (131,000), chad (20,000), and niger (187,000) and 17,000 have returned spontaneously to north-east nigeria. this has given rise to more than 1,400 refugees from niger in borno state and an ongoing refugee influx in adamawa state with over 16,000 cameroonian refugees by the end of 2022. key respondents from the unhcr, reacting to the question: how do security concerns impact unhcr’s ability to reach and assist refugees and internally displaced persons? stated that: concerns about the security and safety of unhcr-affected individuals as well as humanitarian workers still exist more, so threats, bloodshed, and overall lawlessness made it difficult to reach the beneficiaries and humanitarian personnel often deal with possibility of kidnapping or carjacking in a few different operations and this makes the accomplishment of some unhcr goals difficult. more so, the unhcr staff members face threats to their lives in many parts of the world, with nigeria not being an exception. for instance, nigeria witnessed the abduction of a national staff member by militants that got released six months after. this state of affairs affects the mindset of the un refugee agency staff members, who often work under fear in these troubled zones and are therefore selective of areas they want to be posted to unhcr executive committee report (2022). corroborating these positions, in a key informant interview conducted on the icrc -another agency rendering humanitarian services in the region under review, the key respondents, responding to the question: what are the main resource constraints the unhcr and other donor agencies encounter in responding to the humanitarian crisis in nigeria’s northeast? 522 opined that: ‘with regards to challenges in nigeria’s north-east, i would say security, humanitarian access and donor fatigue with protracted crises. the unhcr protection unit respondents added that: an overall lack of resources to meet the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless individuals in nigeria occurred in 2022. rising costs of commodities, inflation, poor road infrastructure, clashes among communities, insecurity, and continued to impact negatively on humanitarian programmes. in addition, the limited presence of un agencies affected the delivery of protection to cameroonian refugees and idps in the middle belt. respondents from the unhcr also stated that: delays in procurement challenged registration activities and lack of required registration materials owing to the wider geographic spread of refugees, further compounded new displacements. the majority of cameroonian refugees self-settled in border locations had very poor accessibility and mobile connectivity. since the registration tools depend heavily on internet access, major challenges were faced in matching data in the deep field. moreover, ncfrmi's technical capacity had limitations, prompting unhcr to allocate a portion of its already limited resources towards capacity-building activities to improve the quality of registration. other challenges, such as limited resources, sudden camp closures, seasonal floods, and insecurity, posed significant barriers to the effective targeting and provision of timely support and assistance to the displaced population. furthermore, unhcr and its partners were unable to reach communities in hard-toreach and inaccessible areas, despite their best efforts. further more, funding shortfall poses a big challenge to the operations of the unhcr in nigeria’s section of the lake chad region. underfunding act as major impediment to the proper functioning of the unhcr in the region under review (unhcr underfunding report 2023). respondents from the unhcr protection unit, abuja lending voice to the question: how does funding gaps and financial limitations affect the scope and effectiveness of unhcr’s activities in the nigeria’s northeast? averred that: increased financial support from the international community is essential because the situation is uncertain and there are no imminent signs of a big improvement or resolution as the unhcr and its partners require funds to build on the accomplishments made in 2016, and humanitarian needs must be addressed immediately. the figure below is the funding snapshot of north east nigeria. it indicates the monthly situation report in the area. the report shows that unhcr funding needs until december 2018 stood at usd 62.5 million but only a total of usd 3.3 of these funds have been received, leaving the agency with a funding shortfall of usd 59.2.5 m. overall, the funding gap in the area within the period under review stood at 85%. 523 figure 1: funding snapshot, north east nigeria, 2018 source: unocha north east nigeria situation report (2018) in the same vein, funding by areas of intervention as indicated also in the figure below clearly shows that out of the eight areas of intervention earmarked for funding (in million usd), only five received minimal intervention and funding, leaving the rest unfunded. the rundown is as follows: i) shelter and infrastructure had 13,070,685 earmarked but only got 1,233,078 ii) return and reintegration 5,384,952 received 774,293 iii) self reliance and livelihoods, 4,843,681 got 15000 iv) sgbv prevention and response had 5,239,862 earmarked but received zero funding v) protection monitoring and referrals15,841,037 received 294,218 vi) non food items was billed to receive 4,766,504, but got 949,098 vii) operations management, coordination and partnerships had 6,419,781 earmarked but got only78,555 viii) cccm ( camp coordination and camp management) received funding, although 1,776, 403 was earmarked ix) access to justice and legal assistance received zero funding with 1,849,721 earmarked. 524 figure 2: funding by area of intervention (in million usd) source: unocha north east nigeria situation report (2018) the chart below is indicative of unhcr’s funding shortfall in nigeria as at december, 2023. it reveals that out of $98.2 funding required by the agency for its operations in the region, the percentage funded was (40%) and total funding amount ($39,058,540). this leaves an indicative funding gap of $59,180,836 representing 60% of the financial requirements. figure 3: unhcr funding update, 2023 source: unhcr division of external relations, funding update (2023). 525 in another vein, funding gaps have further affected the scope of unhcr’s operations in nigeria at least in two specific areasaccess to food and education. this is what the agency has to say in this respect: in the year, 2022, un refugee agency was confronted with severe underfunding for food and relied heavily on private donors. the assistance value of usd 5.65 per individual per month for food needs remained below 40 per cent of the minimum expenditure basket or covering only one meal per day. inadequate resources prevented increase in transfer value despite the inflation (21.34 per cent in december 2022). with an estimated 33unemployment rate in nigeria, refugees were forced to relocate to border areas with poor connectivity and no banking footprint or involuntatily return to unsafe areas in cameroon in to make better living. poor funding also hampered unhcr northeast operation from reaching out and targeting more idps who were affected by the sudden camp closures in maiduguri, borno state in 2022. specifically, regarding underfunding in the provision of educational needs of poc’s (people of concern), the respondents stated in clear terms that: unhcr’s education support at the primary and secondary levels accommodated only19 per cent of the population of school aged children because of funding constraints increasing the proportion of out of school children at the primary (56%) and secondary (67%) levels. also, only few refugee youths had access to tertiary education due to limited scholarship opportunities making it difficult for secondary school graduates to further their education. the presence of refugees has also impacted on the available resources in the schools which are overburdened and faced with various challenges including inadequate classrooms’ furniture, teachers, good libraries and laboratories especially in the host communities. the dafi slots provided to nigeria operation was also quite limited as only 40 new placements were catered for in the academic year 2022-23. conclusion in the discharge of humanitarian duties in the nigeria’s north-east, the unhcr is confronted with numerous challenges that adversely affect its operational capacity. for instance, overlaps occasioned by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions have brought numerous operational challenges to the agency. the question that readily arises is: who has mandate to perform which humanitarian functions? what is the limit of such mandate and so on? the issue of insecurity is another worrisome challenge. unhcr members of staff, world over are faced 526 with this challenge as they are the targets of non state armed groups. humanitarian personnel often deal with possibility of kidnapping or carjacking or outright loss of lives. this has been evident in nigeria’s north east where at one time, a un refugee staff was kidnapped but later released by members of the boko haram sect. this state of affairs puts member of staff of the agency on the edge and affects the overall discharge of their core duties. more, so threats, bloodshed, and overall lawlessness make it difficult for the unhcr to reach the beneficiaries and this ugly situation adversely hamper the accomplishment of certain set and major goals by the unhcr. another vital challenge worthy of mention is the challenge of funding. unhcr’s funding shortfall in nigeria as at december, 2023 indicates a huge funding gap of about of $59,180,836 representing 60% of the financial requirements. with this kind of scenario in place, the agency finds it hard, if not impossible, to continue to render the needed humanitarian task set before it. indeed, poor funding, insecurity of staff, lack of access to some areas, overlaps due to the proliferation of humanitarian agencies, and a host of other challenges, have, as a matter of fact, made the agency not to execute several humanitarian services that ordinarily would have benefitted the needy in idp camps, refugees, refugee returnees and host communities. recommendations (i) the basic challenges confronting the unhcr in her humanitarian response in nigeria’s northeast should be tackled head on. issues of funding shortfalls have made the agency not to perform optimally. proper financing to meet up with her goals and mandate is therefore advocated. 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(2018). north east nigeria situation report: funding snapshot, north east https://reporting.unhcr.org/report/2020/02/11/nigeria-2020-humanitarian-response-plan https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/crp-8-budgets-funding-2024-89-sc-english.pdf https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/crp-8-budgets-funding-2024-89-sc-english.pdf https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/95985 https://reporting.unhcr.org/underfunded-report-implications-underfunding-unhcr%e2%80%99s-activities https://reporting.unhcr.org/underfunded-report-implications-underfunding-unhcr%e2%80%99s-activities https://reporting.unhcr.org/report/2019/03/07/nigeria-2019-humanitarian-response-plan https://reporting.unhcr.org/report/2019/03/07/nigeria-2019-humanitarian-response-plan https://reporting.unhcr.org/report/2020/02/11/nigeria-2020-humanitarian-response-plan https://reporting.unhcr.org/report/2020/02/11/nigeria-2020-humanitarian-response-plan https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/related/2023/humanitarian-need.html page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 194 digital media tools and youth empowerment in anambra state anikeze nnaemeka hillary department of public administration, faculty of management science enugu state university of science and technology nnaemeka.anikeze@esut.edu.ng okpalaibekwe u.n. (ph.d) department of public administration, faculty of social science chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university igbariam campus anambra state. un.okpalibekwe@gcoou.edu.ng abstract this study empirically investigated digital media tools and youth empowerment in anambra state. the study was carried out in onitsha the capital of anambra state. the reason for choosing onitsha is because onitsha is the largest commercial city in south east with highest population of young entrepreneurs. specifically the study aims to; ascertain the effect of youtube on youth skills acquisition and development, examine the effect of facebook on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business. the population for the study comprised current metro area population of onitsha in 2024 which is 1,695,000 residents. however a sample of 400 youths was sampled for the study using taro yamane sampling techniques. a structured questionnaire designed by the researchers served as the instrument for data collection, data gotten from the respondents were analyzed using simple percentage while chisquare was used for testing of the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. the findings of the study revealed that youtube have positive significant effect on youth empowerment in south east nigeria, facebook has also positive significant effect on youth empowerment in south east nigeria. based on the findings, the following recommendations were made; youths should be encouraged to utilize digital tools for self development so as to relevant in today’s world driven by technology, educational centers and skills acquisition training centeres should embrace the use of social media tools in their training curriculum. keywords: facebook, social media, technology, youth empowerment and youtube. introduction there were 1.2 billion youth aged 15-24 years globally in 2015, accounting for one out of every six people worldwide (ilo, 2017). by 2030, the target date for the sustainable development goals, the number of youth is projected to have grown by 7 per cent, to nearly 1.3 billion. youth can be a positive force for development when provided with the knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive. in particular, young people should acquire the education and skills needed to contribute in a productive economy, and they need access to a job market that can absorb them into its labour force. in nigeria, according to 2023 population census, youth constitute the largest percentage of the population. nigeria has a youthful population of about sixty percent of her population, more than seventy percent of the youth are said to be unemployed (babaloaet, 2015). the danger of unemployment and idleness are very prominent as majority of youth are roaming about the streets in search of jobs in order to survival and where there is not job, some of the youth out mailto:nnaemeka.anikeze@esut.edu.ng mailto:un.okpalibekwe@gcoou.edu.ng 195 of frustration take to social vices like engaging in criminality and drug abuse. the position of the youth in any society cannot be under estimated, despite the potential of the youth in propelling and fostering national and economic development, the youth remains the most despised, neglected and underutilized in the country (ibrahim, 2002). according to hackman and johnson (2016) some of the youth that are involved in political violence voluntarily submit themselves to this situation as a means of registering their discontent and dissatisfaction with the system. in nigeria today, the rate of insecurity, political thuggery, killings and assassination, kidnapping is increasing daily, and most of these social vices a perpetrated by the youth out of frustration. therefore, there is need to utilize all possible means in ensuring youth empowerment and hence rescue the youth from the hands of the devil as they say an idle man is the devil’s workshop (vhatkar, 2016, ezeodili and anikeze, 2017, anikeze and udenta, 2024). empowerment could therefore be seen as a means through which one is assisted or encouraged to be self employed, or sufficient (babalolaet, 2015). empowerment refers to increasing in the economic, political, social, educational, gender, or spiritual strength of individuals and communities, in the same vien, anikeze et al, (2024) views empowerment as a one means of reducing poverty and ensuring economic growth. empowering the youth is essence in any nation wants to achievement a monumental success in national and economic development. in any nation where the youth is not accorded their rightful position in economic, social and political empowerment, the result is often worrison as the major population that constitute the workforce needed for development is the youth. democratic instability are byproducts of the youth unemployment, underemployment, and indiscriminate marginalization by the senior citizen (babalota, 2015). in view of the above, it is expected that youth empowerment through various means will reduce the menace of unemployment and help reduce to bearest minimum the problem of insecurity, violence and other social vices that has become the order of the day in nigeria. present and past government had channeled huge resource to youth empowerment programs in nigeria, notable among these youth empowerment programs include; n-power, youth enterprise with innovation in nigeria (youwin); tony elumelu foundation entreprenership program; youth empowering people (yep); graduate internship scheme (gis); african youth empowerment nigeria (ayen); tradermoni; youth initiative for sustainable agriculture in nigeria (yisa); presidential youth entrepreneurship support (pyes); youth empowerment and development initiative (yedi) (babalota, 2015). however, despite their importance, these programs often face various challenges which had greatly undermined the expected success of these youth empowerment programs in nigeria. limited access to resources is a significant obstacle to youth empowerment programs in nigeria. many young people, especially those in rural areas, lack access to essential resources such as training facilities, mentorship programs, and financial assistance. this limited access to resources hampers their ability to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge required for personal and professional growth. secondly, cultural and societal norms can also hinder the effectiveness of youth empowerment programs. in some cases, traditional gender roles and societal expectations may discourage young people, especially girls, from participating in these programs. additionally, cultural barriers may prevent organizations from effectively reaching and engaging with the target audience (james, 2019). thirdly, inadequate government support is another factor that contributes to the challenges faced by youth empowerment programs in nigeria. insufficient funding and lack of policy implementation can hinder the growth and sustainability of these initiatives. without proper government support, organizations struggle to scale their operations and make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people. lastly, a lack of awareness and understanding about the importance of youth empowerment programs is 196 another significant challenge. many young people and their families may not be aware of the benefits these programs offer or may not prioritize their participation. raising awareness and promoting the importance of youth empowerment initiatives is crucial in overcoming this hurdle (james, 2019). with the advent of rapid economic and technology development across the globe, digitalization has become an integral part of our lives, transforming the way we communicate, work and even resolve conflicts. as we navigate through the complexities of modern society, digital tools have proven efficient in solving most of our predicament thus making the universe a better place to live (maujid and yusif, 2024). digital tools have ensured the use of innovative techniques such as interactive learning apps and online discussion platforms. these tools provide accessible alternatives to the conventional youth empowerment programs, ensuring that individuals from all walks of life can seek assistance without barriers like geographical constraints or financial limitations (nwabueze; e.f., 2023; nkem et al., 2020; laurillard, 2014). as noted by maujid and yusif, (2024) digital media tools provide cost effective platforms for youth skills acquisition, with the internet at our finger tips, aspiring youth can easily gather valuable insights and knowledge from various sources. online platform offer a wealth of information on business strategies, market trends and industry innovations, allowing individual to enhance their understanding and decision making capabilities (maujid and yusif, (2024). digital media tools provide a cost effective way to reach a wider source of skills acquisition platform in order to empower oneself socially and economically, as it ensure effective communication and team work among team members regardless of their physical locations, thereby breaking distance and financial constraint on the conventional youth empowerment schemes. it is based on the foregoing background that the researchers wish to conduct an empirical study on digital media tools and youth empowerment in anambra state. specifically the study aims to; ascertain the effect of youtube on youth skills acquisition and development, examine the effect of facebook on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business. review of related literature digital media digital media refers to any form of media that uses electronic devices for distribution and display, such as computers, smartphones, and tablets. it encompasses a wide range of content, including text, audio, video, and interactive multimedia. digital media has revolutionized the way people consume and interact with media, offering new opportunities for communication, entertainment, and information sharing (anikeze, et al., 2023). the rise of digital media has been driven by advancements in technology, particularly the widespread availability of high-speed internet and the proliferation of mobile devices. this has led to the growth of various digital media platforms, including social media, online streaming services, and digital publishing platforms. digital media has had a significant impact on traditional media industries, such as television, radio, and print media. it has also given rise to new industries, such as digital advertising and digital content creation. the growth of digital media has also led to changes in the way people communicate (anikeze, et al., 2023) with more people turning to digital sources for news, entertainment, and information. one of the key advantages of digital media is its ability to reach a global audience. with the internet, content can be shared by people all over the world, breaking down geographical barriers and allowing for greater diversity and inclusivity in content sharing (whatley & 197 ahmad, 2007). digital media has transformed the way we consume and interact with media, offering new opportunities for communication, entertainment, and information sharing. social media there is no recognizable definition for social media (moghavvemi et al., 2018). for them, social media is a set of technologies based on the web which aid people to be both consumers and creators of content. according to nkem and ifeoma (2020) social media is defined as electronic communication forms by which users form online groups in order to share ideas, messages, information among others. it may also refer to a variety of mobile and internet-based services that allow one to participate in conversations, contribute by joining online societies or creating content (nair and bargstadt, 2017). the knowledge of the social media attribute is critical in understanding how particularly it can be used for social change. vein (2013) postulates that “with attributes that can affect the way people interact online, social media opens up new ways for collaboration and discussion. one of these is persistence, meaning that a great deal of content posted on social media sites may remain there permanently by default. other characteristics are replicability (content can be copied and shared) and searchability (content can be found easily using online search tools). the characteristic of accessibility is also important: social media can be used anywhere, at any time, where an internet connection is available. the rapid growth of social media has been due to several factors such as technological factors like readily available broadband, the development of more powerful computers and mobile devices and the improvement of software tools), social factors such as the quick uptake of social media by youths and economic factors like people affording to purchase computers and the fact that interest (commercial) in social media has increased (nwabueze, 2023). we need to understand how the use of social media may affect the youth as the prominent users. according to maujid and yusif (2024), people use facebook due to the need to fit in as well as self-presentation. furthermore, maujid and yusif (2024) found that facebook profiles help to fulfill individual person’s want for self-worth and self-integrity. moreover, according to a pew research staying in touch with family as well as friends is the most popular reason for social media use. other reasons include looking for romantic partners, reading comments of politicians and celebrities and making new friends (sushma et al., 2019). not one of these reasons is geared towards income generation. however, they can be turned into useful forums to network for job opportunities, advertise a product or make groups of business like-minded persons. youth empowerment youth empowerment is a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives. they do this by addressing their situation and then take action in order to improve their access to resources and transform their consciousness through their beliefs, values, and attitudes (younger, 2013). youth empowerment aims to improve quality of life. youth empowerment is achieved through participation in youth empowerment programs. however scholars argue that children's rights implementation should go beyond learning about formal rights and procedures to give birth to a concrete experience of rights (nasir and bargstadt, 2017). there are numerous models that youth empowerment programs use that help youth achieve empowerment. a variety of youth empowerment initiatives are underway around the world. these programs can be through non-profit organizations, government organizations, schools or private organizations. 198 youth empowerment is different from youth development because development is centered on developing individuals, while empowerment is focused on creating greater community change relies on the development of individual capacity (hackman and johnson, 2016). empowerment movements, including youth empowerment, originate, gain momentum, become viable, and become institutionalized (nkem and ifeoma, 2020).youth empowerment is often addressed as a gateway to intergenerational equity, civic engagement and democracy building. activities may focus on youth-led media, youth rights, youth councils, youth activism, youth involvement in community decision-making, (moghavvemi et al., 2018) and other methods. social media and youth empowerment social media is influencing employment both as an industry that creates jobs and as a tool that empowers workers (users) to access new forms of work, in new and more flexible ways (vein 2013). according to vein (2013) the emerging ictenabled employment opportunities because countries around the world are looking to create more good jobs, which have positive economic and social implications for workers and for society. as regards “connecting to work,” the new policy noted that information and communication technologies could help expand employment opportunities and thus identified three global drivers responsible for the increase in ict-related jobs worldwide: 1. greater connectivity – more than 120 countries now have over 80 percent market penetration of mobile telephones 2. digitization of more aspects of work – today, telecommuting and outsourcing have become standard business practices globally 3. more globalized skills – india and the philippines have become major outsourcing hubs thanks to their english language skills, and other countries are targeting the sector for future growth (vein 2013). social media enabled by various icts is providing new avenues for job creation that could help tackle global unemployment (raja 2013). for instance, the development of the mobile phone applications industry has created new opportunities for smalland medium-sized enterprises (smes). a firm that provides a digital application to the apple app store, for example, gains access to over 500 million app store account holders. social media connect people to jobs. online employment marketplaces are helping an estimated 12 million people worldwide find work by connecting them with employers globally. babajob in india, duma and m-kazi in kenya, and souktel in the middle east and north africa are examples of job search services using internet-based and mobile tools. such services empower workers by making labor markets more transparent and inclusive; for instance, souktel targets low-income and marginalized communities. skills acquisition on youtube according to khalid and muhammade (2012), skills acquisition is the ability to gain knowledge or be prepared on a particular task or work and become expert in it. in their article, khalid and muhammade (2012) highlighted some of the problems facing skills acquisition programs, its development and employment in nigeria to include too much emphasis on academic excellence, lack of skilled trainers, shortage of important facilities and equipment, inconsistent follow up by the government and poor funding. youtube has many videos on diverse skills acquisition. a noteworthy number of learners depend on youtube for finding the solution to their problems and questions in learning simplified approaches for carrying out certain tasks (moghavvemi, sulaiman, jaafar, & kasem, 2018). the creation of video tutorials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/intergenerational_equity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/civic_engagement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/democracy_building https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/youth-led_media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/youth_rights https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/youth_council https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/activism 199 is based on planning, creating, publishing, promoting, assessment, writing a clear script, limiting tutorial to 1-2 minute (davis, 2017). verbal instructions are the source of directions for the learners to do something practically and video instructions eliminate the possibilities of inadequacies in work with a simple to understand how-to design that is a better instructional method (nasir & bargstädt, 2017). generally, research into the effectiveness of video in enhancing learning has revealed wide ranging benefits in terms of cost as well as meeting the learning requirements of the digital natives – meaning those who grow up with digital technology (prensky, 2010). prensky contended that digital natives are used to receiving information at speed therefore the flexibility of video using portable devices may offer more efficient learning. anikeze et al, (2023) observed that the internet and digital communication have enabled instance access to information. indeed there has been an increased emphasis on the use of digital technology to promote skills development through use of video across social media platforms and smart phone apps (moghavvemi, sulaiman, jaafar, & kasem, 2018). youtube is the major source of video content, as of may 2019 over five hundred hours of video gets uploaded on to youtube every minute worldwide (clement, 2019) amounting to 30,000 hours of uploaded youtube videos per hour. the study (agichtein, castillo, donato, gionis, & mishne, 2008) on the quality of user-generated content on sns becomes more and more important as additional information in the form of links and quality ratings by the members of virtual communities. so, youtube videos in particular have been used even by educators in the academia especially when they are teaching modeling and providing context for their teaching (younger et al., 2013) as the videos can be used to build student learning communities for better engagement on part of students to enable systematic learning through problemsolving to enable them with analytical skills. still within the academia, the study by khalid and muhammad (2012) concluded that youtube videos are more effective than book-based teaching pedagogy. a study conducted on the use of youtube videos to increase students' learning by comiskey (2011) indicated the comparison of the use of youtube video on computer science students and non-computer science students’ performance. results from the study showed that students understanding and their remembrance of complex concepts were much better when they are exposed to a visual explanation through video. according to duffy (2018), engaging students in youtube for teaching and learning creates a new learning ecosystem in the development of learning to perform tasks and enhances the learning experience among the google eyed generation students. the study also highlighted some potential strategies to be incorporated by the teachers in the use of web 2.0 technologies for the effective student learning process. the application of technology to teaching and learning through the use of youtube videos has gone beyond the academia. vocational skills such as hair styling, event planning, fashion designing, makeup artistry, cooking skill and so on can today be acquired on youtube from the home. research is available on the benefits of video to enhance skills development in general; for example, building design skills in architecture within the classroom environment (comiskey, 2011). the study demonstrated that those who lacked practical experience were better equipped to grasp an understanding of relevant skills through watching video than through verbal explanation or text book reading. the positive results from the study emphasized the value students placed on repetition of the visual aspect of video as well as the flexibility and selectivity of viewing the information where and when required. laurillard (2014) however contended that learning technologies are hopelessly underexplored and that educationalists should explore the potential of learning 200 technologies offering participatory and active learning experiences to deliver real improvements in learning. prensky (2010) reinforced this contention, stating that digital natives are used to receiving information at speed therefore the flexibility of video technology using portable devices may offer a more efficient method of learning (dede, 2018). indeed, there has been an increased emphasis on the use of digital technology to promote skills development through use of video technology across social media platforms and smart phone apps (comiskey, 2010; whatley & ahmed, 2007). videoed demonstrations have tended to visually illustrate the full process, step by step, and often with some spoken information of a particular task. current thinking however suggests that it is necessary not to simply replicate steps and stages of a process but to additionally consider the needs and learning requirements of the audience in order to fully engage and motivate them to further develop their skills (dede, 2018). therefore, it is necessary to consider what changes to the learning environment need to be introduced to best meet the needs of the intended target audience and motivate them to change/improve upon their current behavior (watson, 2016). facebook and youth empowerment the five most popular social media are facebook, linkedin, pinterest, twitter, and instagram. facebook is top with 71 percent of adults online (younger, 2013). facebook’s users are both copious and very active and absorbed, 63% visiting the site at the least once a day and 40 percent doing so many times all the daylong (nkem and ifeoma, 2020). this could be due to the increase in mobile usage of sns. many social media users depend on their mobile to visit their preferred sites. three hundred million users of facebook use mobiles only (nkem and ifeoma, 2020). the penetration of the internet and the mobile in kenya ranks among the top in africa at 58 and 83 percent respectively of the total population (vein, 2013). since the mobile phone (internet enabled mobile phone) is affordable to many young people, it makes it even easier for them to do their online business at the comfort of their houses or wherever they are. veil, buehner and vein, (2023) posit that social media is at the centre of human communication because of its participatory nature, conversation, connectedness, openness and community. it means therefore that social media provides a public sphere, where people can form groups where they can voice their opinions or share developmental ideas that can bring social change. at the present, technology has become integral in people’s lives with the aid of mobile networks and the internet through which people can communicate world over in real time (jantti, 2015). the internet can be used to search information online as well as create new information. social media sites like facebook, twitter and blogs offer people a chance to schmoose and ogether create information. in 2012, approximately a quarter of the internet users in the world were using facebook (vhatkar, 2016). facebook use in africa has augmented despite lower rate of penetration compared to other continents like north america or europe, what essongou (2010) calls ‘social media boom’ especially with the increased mobile internet use. the use of social media, despite low percentages, is gradually becoming important in third world countries (watsom, 2016) and as maujid and yusif (2024) argues, this usage is high among the youth. this is for the bare fact that the youth are the most vibrant and explorative group as if weighed against all other age groups. youth empowerment programs in nigeria with nigeria's dwindling economy, a majority of the population, particularly the youths, face financial hardship. fortunately, some empowerment schemes have been helpful. here is a list of some youth empowerment programs in nigeria in 2021. this article provides an extensive 201 list of some youth empowerment programs in nigeria in 2021 (maujid and yusif, 2024). nigeria has a population of over 200 million in 2021. about 34 million of this population are youths between the ages of 18 to 29. according to statista, as of 2019, nigeria's gdp was about $448.12bn. it is projected to reach $769.28bn. despite this, the world bank reports that 7.4% of nigeria's population are living in poverty (maujid and yusif, 2024). the lack of job opportunities in the nation has caused an enormous increase in the crime rate. while unemployment is not a justification for crime, we can't ignore that it has caused many youths to resort to illegal ways of making money. to help curb the menace of unemployment, the government and individuals have come up with different schemes, skill acquisition programs and youth empowerment programs to assist the youths to stand and cater for their needs. the youth empowerment programs in nigeria are set up as support systems for youths of the nation who need financial aids. list of youth empowerment programmes in nigeria top popular youth empowerment programmes in nigeria include: 1. n-power 2. youth enterprise with innovation in nigeria (youwin) 3. tony elumelu foundation entrepreneurship program 4. youth empowering people (yep) 5. graduate internship scheme (gis) 6. african youth empowerment nigeria (ayen) 7. tradermoni 8. youth initiative for sustainable agriculture in nigeria (yisa) 9. presidential youth entrepreneurship support (p-yes) 10. youth empowerment and development initiative (yedi) (maujid and yusif, 2024). challenges of youth empowerment programs in nigeria like any other programs in nigeria, youth empowerment scheme has its own peculiar challenges these include the followings: a. lack of government commitment: many graduates in nigeria are roaming on the streets without anything reasonable job to do for a living. the government is capable but unwilling to provide jobs for them this leaves many highly qualified people in poverty as seemingly no one cares to know what they are capable of achieving in life. most of the government policy frameworks on youth empowerment and poverty alleviation are not realistic and unproductive. the rates of unemployment have induced poverty in the country which has a tendency to increase the crime rate and violence among youth in the society. statistics have shown that the country rate of unemployment from 2007 to 2014 is frightening, the record shows a rapid increase from 13.1 percent in 2000, rose to 19.7 percent in 2009 and 23.9 percent in 2011 to 28.5 percent in 2013 up to 30 percent in 2014 respectively (ilo, 2017). b. corruption: corruption is generally acknowledged as having adversely affected previous poverty alleviation efforts in nigeria, it has eaten so deeply into the government, public funds that were earmarked for developmental projects are being misappropriated on a daily basis by the leaders, who always put their personal interest at heart while ignoring the large interest of masses in the country. they mismanage and embezzle public funds that are meant for poverty related programs. there are several issues involved with bad governance in nigeria, use of https://www.statista.com/statistics/383118/gross-domestic-product-gdp-in-nigeria/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/383118/gross-domestic-product-gdp-in-nigeria/ 202 wrong policies adopted from the western countries and implementation of those wrong policies which has a direct effect on the general wellbeing of the citizens. in any case, it is clear that corruption in nigeria has increased poverty and inequality as well as contributed to the high rate of crime in the country. c. laziness: this is a common disease which is virtually suffered by many nigerians youth today, especially those from wealthy households. everyone wants to be comfortable but they are not ready to work towards their self-empowerment and development. this is one of the critical factors that hinder the youth empowerment scheme in nigeria where the majority of the youth are dependent on their parents or relatives which indirectly discourage self-reliance among the majority of the youth. role in reducing poverty globally. according to the world bank, education is central to development. it promotes economic growth, national productivity and innovation, and values of democracy and social cohesion. in nigeria, the high level of illiteracy among the populace is so alarming that need a serious government and nongovernmental attention. the education system in nigeria can be regarded as a failure compared to other countries in the world. this right to education has been denied to many nigerians, of which many of them can be considered invisible to the society now. this deprivation of education applies more to females than males because they are considered inferior sex. this has greatly contributed to the challenges of youth empowerment in nigeria as the majority of the youth do not attain any educational qualification. e. frequent change of governmental policies: frequent change of governmental policies have actually created more problems than a solution to youth empowerment programs in nigeria, particular changes on poverty alleviation policies which in no small measure affect the productivity outcomes of most of the government programs on youth development. lack of continuity among public authorities has significantly affected the success of youth empowerment in nigeria. theoretical framework power theory (steven luke, 1974) the theoretical framework on which this study is based is the power theory by steven lukes (1974) power is evaluated by the ability to insert in people’s thoughts interests that are contrary to their own good. in this situation, the structure of political and economic power in society is the basis of the degree of poverty among the citizens. by implication, dominant elites who are the ruling class have mismanaged the public resource and created needless programs and projects without consulting the target beneficiaries of such policies and programs. corroborating the above, hile and fraser (2019) perceived the cause of poverty as socioeconomic phenomena where the available resources of the society they are used to satisfy the interest of the few at the detriment of the majority that constitutes the larger society. in other words, people are poor because some political, economic and social structures have been forced on them to be poor and not that they are indolent or want to be poor. in light of the above, this study adopts power theory to explore the attitude and unwillingness of the ruling class towards the implementation of youth empowerment programs for sustainable human development in nigeria, hence the need to seek alternative means of youth empowerment, which had necessitated this study uncover the relationship between social media and youth empowerment. 203 empirical review nkem and ifeoma (2020) conducted a study on social media and youth empowerment: an empirical inquiry. the methodology adopted for the study is mixed method design which involved descriptive survey and factorial design was employed using descriptive analysis and anova statistical tools. the sample population was 143 social media users in anambra state whose ages ranged from 23-37 years. the participants were sampled from a pool of social media users using purposive and convenient technique. the result revealed that youths’ awareness on the empowerment potential of social media is high, while indicating that majority (65.7%) of the youths are attracted by social media by its leisure appeal and they use it for chatting, connecting friends and leisure compared to 34.3% of youths who use it for learning, empowerment and opportunities. furthermore, significant differences were observed between males and females on social media user appeal. it is recommended that youths be mentored on the empowerment potentials of social media by the successful leaders in the industry. sushma et al., (2019) conducted a study on impact of social media on youth in the adopted descriptive type of research is used which describes the characteristics of a group or individuals and their perception about the social media and its impact on youth. the research is qualitative in nature. researcher has collected the primary data with youth through the structured questionnaire. secondary data has been collected from various articles, journals, magazines. the youths are considered as sampling units for this study. the sample size of this study consists of 50 youth respondents. results revealed that 20% of the respondents said that they have benefits/ positive impact of learning from social media and another 20% of the respondents got benefits of staying connected with friends through social media, 28% of the respondents get benefits like entertainment and fun, 18% of the respondents got benefits like in quest of job opportunities. results also depicts that social media cause health problems and affect our cultures. while using social media, users have to remember the cultural values and social norms. nwabueze, (2023), carried a research titled perception of the broadcast media promotion of skill acquisition in edo state. the study employed survey research design questionnaire was employed to elicit data from 215 native indigences of three local government area of benin city consisting of ovia north east. egor lga and ovia lga through two stages using the simple random sample and cluster sampling procedure.it was discovered that the broadcast media perceive skill acquisition in a positive approach through their consistent and educational communication of skill acquisition programmes. hence, this study conclude that the broadcast media perceive skill acquisition positivity and the audience as the selected state acknowledge this fact in prove of their knowledge and involvement in skill acquisition programmes , with the suggestion that the broadcast media improve more on its programmes presentation and ideas. akintayo, et al., (2021) investigated the influence of youtube videos on skills acquisition among youth in ogun state, nigeria. the study adopted the descriptive survey research method. results revealed that participants were highly exposed (n=239, 100%) to youtube contents through their mobile phones and other devices, and were highly aware of youtube skills acquisition videos (x=3.88). however, it was discovered that awareness and exposure to youtube videos had no positive influence on skills acquisition among youths in the study (r2= 0.040, β= -0.199, t = -2.896, p< 0.05). it was recommended that youths should take advantage of the opportunities available on youtube to acquire needed skills as they download and view videos rather than spending most resources on entertainment. 204 maujid, et al., (2024), the study examined the influence of youtube videos on learning english language. a quantitative questionnaire was distributed among 118 college students using an online google form. the results show that majority of participants found youtube to be both beneficial and pleasant, indicating a positive assessment of its usefulness in learning a language. additionally, while the students conveyed differing preferences and encounters, youtube was universally acknowledged as an advantageous extra source to improve language skills. the findings of this study suggest that teachers can use youtube videos to enhance their teaching strategies and promote improved language proficiency. literature gap several literatures available focused on youth empowerment, youth empowerment schemes. thus, an important goal of this study was to investigate in detail and give clearer picture on the relationship that exist between social media and youth empowerment in nigeria; as there is no available literature to the best of the researcher knowledge, this text therefore explore the impact of social media on youth empowerment, as a result of the challenges confronting the conventional means of youth empowerment which had not achieved the expected success. the study is therefore determined to fill in the gap in the available literature on youth empowerment programs in nigeria, by exploring in detail social media and youth empowerment from 2015 – 2022 which enugu state as a case study methodology the research design adopted for this study is survey research design. the population for the study comprised current metro area population of onitsha in 2024 which is 1,695,000 residents. however a sample of 400 youths was sampled for the study using taro yamane sampling techniques. a structured questionnaire designed by the researchers served as the instrument for data collection, data gotten from the respondents were analyzed using simple percentage while chi-square was used for testing of the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. data presentation and analysis this is the statistical presentation of the respondents’ view to the research questions. research question 1: what is the effect of youtube on youth skills acquisition and development? table 1.1: the effect of urbanization on youth job placement the effect of youtube on youth skills acquisition and development frequency percent youtube provide online class for learning new skills 91 22.75 youtube provide a platform where young entrepreneurs market their skills 76 19.00 youtube ensure skills acquisition through collaboration among youths from different walk of life 75 18.75 youtube ensure unlimited access to skills acquisition programs with just the click of the mouse 58 14.50 youtube encourage innovative approach to skills acquisition and development 100 25.00 total 400 100.0 source: researchers, 2024 205 the findings of the table revealed that 22.75% of the respondents agreed that youtube provide online class for learning new skills, 19% agreed that youtube provide a platform where young entrepreneurs market their skills, 18.75% concurred that youtube ensure skills acquisition through collaboration among youths from different walks of life, 14.50% were of the view that youtube ensure unlimited access to skills acquisition programs with just the click of the mouse and finally 20.6% of the respondents were of the youtube encourage innovative approach to skills acquisition and development. from the findings of the table it could be inferred that youtube have significant positive effect on youth training and development. research question 2: what are the effects of facebook on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business table 1.2: the effect of facebook on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business the effect of facebook on youth accessibility of credit facility for startup business frequency percent facebook has made it easier for young people to access information about credit facilities and financial products 89 22.25 facebook ensured targeted advertisements and sponsored contents, financial institutions and credit providers can reach a large audience of young people who may be interest in accessing credit 80 20.00 facebook enable young people to connect with financial experts and advisors, who can provide guidance and advice on managing credit and accessing credit facilities 73 18.25 facebook has helped empower young people to make informed decision about their financial future 98 24.50 facebook may provide a wealth of personal information which can be accessed by lenders, who may use it to assess the creditworthiness of young individuals 60 15.00 total 400 100.0 source: researchers, 2024 the findings of the table revealed that 22.25% of the respondents agreed that facebook has made it easier for young people to access information about credit facilities and financial products, 20% agreed that facebook ensured targeted advertisements and sponsored contents, financial institutions and credit providers can reach a large audience of young people who may be interested in accessing credit, 18.25% concurred that facebook enable young people to connect with financial experts and advisors, who can provide guidance and advice on managing credit and accessing credit facilities, 24.50% were of the view facebook has helped empower young people to make informed decision about their financial future and finally 15% of the respondents assert that facebook may provide a wealth of personal information, which can be accessed by lenders, who may use it to assess the creditworthiness of young individuals. from 206 the findings of the table it could be inferred that facebook has positive significant effect on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup businesses. 4.3 test of hypotheses the hypotheses were tested using the chi-square as the statistical tool hypothesis i h01: youtube has no positive significant effect on youth skills acquisition and development table 1.3: chi square table for testing hypothesis i o e (0-e) (0-e)2 (0-e)2 e 91 80 11 121 1.51 76 80 -4 16 0.20 75 80 -5 25 0.31 58 80 -22 484 6.05 100 80 20 400 5.00 400 13.38 table value = 5.991, calculated value = 13.38 decision: since the calculated value (13.38) is greater than the table value (5.99), the ho (null hypothesis) is rejected. this implies youtube has positive significant effect on youth skills acquisition and development. hypothesis ii h02: facebook has no significant positive effect on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business table 1.4: chi square table for testing hypothesis ii o e (0-e) (0-e)2 (0-e)2 e 89 80 9 81 1.01 80 80 0 0 0 73 80 -7 49 0.61 98 80 18 324 4.05 60 80 20 400 5 400 10.67 table value = 5.991, calculated value = 10.67 decision: since the calculated value (10.67) is than the table value (5.99), the ho (null hypothesis) is rejected. this implies that facebook has significant positive effect on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business 207 summary of the findings the findings of the study could be summarized as follows; 1. youtube has positive significant effect on youth skills acquisition and development. 2. facebook has significant positive effect on youth accessibility of credit facilities for startup business conclusion evidence from researchers had showed that present and past nigeria government at all levels had invested heavily in youth empowerment schemes with very little achievement. factors such as corruption, laziness, frequent change of government policies had stood on the way of effective youth empowerment in nigeria. technology which is the order of day has come to stay and the youth send a lot of time on social media on daily basis surfing the internet and few youths have seized the ample opportunities provided by the social media to empower and enrich themselves in forms of online content creations, online marketing etc. notwithstanding the opportunities social media offer for self development and empowerment, majority of the youth only use the social media for entertainment and socializing, while the other percentage of the youth use the social media to perpetrate crime and defraud unsuspecting victims of their had earned income. to this end, there is the need to enlighten the youth on the usefulness of youth media in development that will trigger sporadic youth development and thus help curtail the problem of youth unemployment and the social vice associated with youth unemployment. recommendations based on the findings of this study the following recommendations were made; 1. the government and other stakeholder should encourage youth development via the social media as this form of youth empowerment program is readily available to the youth with just the click of the mouse. 2. the youth should be enlighten on the ample opportunities offered by the social media for self development and programmatic empowerment, this will make them key in into the habit of developing themselves at their own pace by making judicious use of the social media references agichtein, e., castillo, c., donato, d., gionis, a., & mishne, g. 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(2013). tuning into youtube in the classroom: improving assessment scores through social media. reports. retrieved june 20from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed543108 https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed543108 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 399 impact of digital marketing on aviation businesses in nigeria: (an appraisal of 20002023) olakulehin tiamiyu hammed1 afolayan isaac olayinka2 olagbemiro josuha olayemic3 babalola obasanjo james4* department of transport management2&4 department of marketing3 department of economics1 faculty of management sciences, ladoke akintola university of technology, p. m. b. 4000, ogbomoso, nigeria. *e-mail: ojbabalola@lautech.edu.ng abstract the aviation industry encompasses almost all aspects of air travel and the activities that help to facilitate it. the blooming internet usage among the consumers has forced companies to target the market digitally. social media marketing is a form of digital marketing that influences the power of widespread social media networks to reach the marketing and branding goals of the company. airline industries are rigorously applying digital marketing tools and techniques to gain the ground among the competitors and serves as a crucial aspect for meeting consumer requirements and reinforce the relation among consumers in the airline industry. the study employed ex-post facto research design to analyze the impact of digital marketing on aviation businesses which will in turn lead to economic growth in nigeria. data for the study were sourced from nigeria civil aviation authority (ncaa). the period of data collected covered for twenty-three years from 2000 to 2023. the results of the findings revealed that social media reach and website trafficking are stable in nigeria, as all the variables seen by relatively high standard deviation. the outcome of the findings suggested that there are long run co-movement among aviation business and the e-ticketing among others as well as advert performance in nigeria. finally, there is a long-run causality jointly running from the digital marketing instruments at an adjustment speed of 25.74% annually. keyword: aviation, marketing, e-ticketing, social media, website trafficking introduction digital marketing is the promotion of brands to connect with potential customers using the internet and other forms of digital communication. digital marketing is the use of websites, applications, mobile devices, social media, search engines, and other digital means to promote and sell products and services. digital marketing involves many of the same principles as traditional marketing and is often considered an additional way for companies and organizations to approach consumers or customers and understand their behavior (olabode, 2024). companies often combine traditional and digital marketing techniques in their strategies. but digital marketing also comes with its own set of challenges. digital marketing is the promotion and marketing of goods and services to consumers through digital channels and electronic technologies. these digital channels can include the internet, mobile devices, social media platforms, webinars, search engines, online customer communities and other digital platforms. digital marketing also includes a range of approaches and tactics to reach and persuade the target audience through digital media, including email marketing, social 400 media marketing (yuniarti et al., 2024), search engine optimization (seo), content marketing and online advertising. nigeria's economy is one of the biggest on the continent, and like all other economic industries, the aviation industry is one of the most rewarding for investors. the growing demand for aviation services in nigeria has encouraged many airlines to establish or plan to establish operations in nigeria. the aviation industry encompasses almost all aspects of air travel and the activities that help to facilitate it. this means it includes the entire airline industry, aircraft manufacturing, research companies, military aviation, and much more. with the continuous growth and challenges in the industry, the nigerian aviation industry is expected to experience significant improvements in terms of development, infrastructure, safety, and security. in 2022, the industry experienced a lot of developments as it worked to overcome various challenges. a very notable development is the assent of the civil aviation act, 2022 by president muhammadu buhari. some of the prominent airlines in aviation businesses in nigeria are, airpeace, aero contractors, overland airways, arik air, azman air, med-view, dana air ibom among others. in the airline industry, the primary source of revenue comes from ticket sales and passenger-related services. airlines generate income through ticket bookings, seat reservations, baggage fees, in-flight services, and other passenger-centric offerings (banerji et al., 2023). the blooming internet usage among the consumers has forced companies to target the market digitally. social media marketing is a form of digital marketing that influences the power of widespread social media networks to reach the marketing and branding goals of the company (word-stream). the digital marketing tools and techniques have gained such importance that it has become extremely important for companies to provide a positive and long-lasting impression on the minds of the customers thereby, building the brand image of the company. organizations of all sizes started to immensely trust on social media and accomplish activities to carry conversations and involve with their customers in order to develop brand consciousness, develop robust and healthy brand individuality and lastly grow sales (samotalkova, 2019). in recent years the online marketing concept has evolved which have been found to be more effective than conventional marketing techniques for developing a sense of belief for the brand and the buying intent among the consumers (seo & park, 2018). digital marketing has a significant role in communicating the brand name of the company to the consumers. for promoting the brand name of the company, digital marketing carries out different activities by using mobile applications, web and other new media platforms. interactive marketing, online marketing, e-marketing and web marketing are the other alternative terms used for digital marketing (altindal, 2013). digitization and new technologies have enabled marketers to formulate various campaigning programs to be closer to the consumers. the campaigning programs may be like advertising from the database to a specific segment, advertisement using digital tapes, advertisement containing quality messages, popular advertisements, interactive and gaming advertisements and many more (karaagaoglu & cicek, 2019). airline industries are rigorously applying digital marketing tools and techniques to gain the ground among the competitors. digital marketing has been a crucial aspect for meeting consumer requirements and reinforce the relation among consumers in the airline industry. consumers avail digital techniques of services during the process of booking with the help of phones, through mobile devices, various processes of check and check out at the airport and even during the time of accessing to hotels (saunders, 2016). literature review 401 digital marketing according to kulav and mihaylov (2018), digital marketing refers to the use of digital technology by companies to advertise their goods and services to clients virtually. technologyrelated devices like computers, phones, and the internet play a significant role in people's daily lives. digital platforms have made a wide range of products available to consumers. businesses use digital marketing to give their customers a lot of advantages. beyond internet marketing, digital marketing has developed a few tactics. digital marketing features include things like billboard visual ads, text messaging transmitted to mobile phones, television commercials, and different posters. every day, more and more consumers are making purchases online (shaddiq et al., 2021). in the realm of digital marketing, businesses establish their own shared values in order to create an economic market. it is critical that consumers promote the goods they purchase. providing the customers with information about the product guarantees their satisfaction and the company's trust. thus, the company's digital marketing operates as a clientto-client exchange (krabalt, 2022). in "a study of the use of digital marketing tools," low et al. (2020) investigate how airline firms use these technologies and how they support their strategic marketing operations. according to the report, airline firms make considerable use of digital marketing technologies, which are crucial in aiding their strategic marketing initiatives. tümer et al. 2019, studied digital marketing in the airline industry: a study of the impact on customer engagement and loyalty," looks at how digital marketing tactics used by airlines affect patron age loyalty. according to the report, airline firms benefit from increased consumer loyalty as a result of digital marketing, which boosts their market share and competitive advantage. according to the findings, there are significant benefits and a critical link between digital marketing and strategic management in the aviation industry. it has been demonstrated that digital marketing increases consumer loyalty, expands market participation and gives airline companies a competitive advantage (oh & park, 2020). the impact of airline firms' digital marketing activities on customer experience and loyalty is examined by ha (2021) study, "digital marketing in the aviation industry: customer experience and loyalty." the report claims that airline businesses' use of digital marketing improves customer satisfaction and increases customer loyalty. a research by chen et al. (2021) titled "digital marketing and strategic management in the aviation industry: the case of an enterprise" examined the enterprise's use of these strategies. by boosting market share, improving consumer loyalty and obtaining a competitive edge, the study finds that digital marketing helps businesses achieve these goals. in order to attain these advantages, the company also uses strategic management. it has been shown in multiple studies published in turkish literatures that there are many advantages for the aviation industry from the interaction between digital marketing and strategic management (florido-benítez, 2022). airlines may increase consumer’s loyalty, increase their market share, and obtain a competitive advantage by leveraging digital marketing. businesses must use strategic management techniques in order to achieve these objectives. airlines gather information about their customers' call and payment histories, baggage delivery records, departure, arrival times and dates, sales during flights and duty-free purchases, food preferences during flights, hotel reservations and rental car information (nhamo et al., 2020). these records are then analyzed and tailored products are presented to specific customer segments. it is well recognized that modern technologies improve marketing studies in addition to offering tailored products. toubes et al. (2021) states that it is possible to assess the travel 402 preferences of customers and in the event that a country is searched for, offer the customer a variety of options for inexpensive or promotional flights to countries of choice. mobile applications by examining the examples provided by the airline firms, these digital implementations are shown generally from a broad viewpoint. airlines use a lot of different digital marketing techniques. the most popular method of managing consumer relationships is email marketing. utilizing customer relationship management systems, airline businesses can divide target audience lists and offer highly focused campaigns to clients who are willing to reply (okpara, 2020). based on the customer's past purchases, specific promos may be offered in email dispatches. email marketing for airlines is governed by a number of factors. customers are more likely to do their hardest to spend their vacation in warmer locations, for instance, in email marketing sent out during the winter. one of the best methods for attracting new clients, retaining current ones, building brand awareness, promoting products, sharing campaigns, learning more about the customers through forms filled out. even while more than 92% of emails were utilized for marketing in 2010, social networks became more popular, direct messaging programs were used extensively and the quantity of unsolicited messages rose (tucker, 2014). with the advent of mobile devices, email marketing has once again become an efficient means of communication and advertisement. the company's website receives more clicks when its customers receive electronicsnewsletters, campaigns and email incentives. because customer information is captured, the target audience receives the appropriate message at a cheap cost and feedback is easily monitored (karaağaoğlu & çiçek, 2019). because the single click rate on airline emails is 72% greater than that of other emails, they are a very successful tool for building consumer loyalty (polat, 2022). using social networks, online forums, blogs, wikis and other collaborative media for sales, marketing, and customer support is known as social media marketing (alashe, 2021). businesses can use additional media, such as facebook, instagram, youtube, twitter, linkedin and flickr to communicate with their customers more effectively, claimed kumar and singh (2020). today, the presence of a company in social media is a necessary channel for the company's promotion, information transmission and interaction with the customer. in the airline sector, a new concept called “social seating” developed by (karaağaoğlu & çiçek, 2019). airline companies can now free their customers to choose their companions who share social media profiles. these social networks are welcomed intensely for those who want to experience this preference in the airline sector, but also bring the risks of discrimination on issues such as race and gender in terms of the social seating concept. the website, which is now used as an active business tool, is seen as an open store that works effectively. it is a platform designed to make advertising and marketing of companies. having an easy to use website, understandable menus, effective design, constantly updated and satisfying content, easy-to-download sites such as an effective web page marketing issues are important for customers’ preferences. the quality of the products and services provided on the website and the convergence with the target audience are also important points for easy communication and interactive web site marketing (alashe, 2021). online reservations and ticket purchases are another method that airline companies communicate with their clientele (bawa et al., 2018). these procedures not only enhance the 403 client experience but also give the business access to a sizable customer database that contains data for upcoming marketing initiatives. mobile advertising, which encompasses marketing initiatives to reach consumers through mobile networks (smartphones, personal digital assistants, etc.) via a non-fixed network, is characterized as an excessive and frequent simultaneous interaction that exhibits features like user control, concurrency management, connectivity, game play and two-way communication. today's advertising world relies heavily on mobile applications, which are primarily utilized on mobile phones. this is because they facilitate direct communication between marketing managers and customers (jayaram et al., 2015). the primary form of mobile marketing is mobile phone applications, which are observed to increase customer loyalty by making transactions like booking, online check-in and ticket searching more user-friendly and quick (karaağaoğlu & çiçek, 2019). numerous airline firms face harsh criticism about their use of stored passenger information. the airlines want to provide you a better experience. it's possible that the flight attendants' knowledge of the passengers' nationality, allergies, and other details is limited to the food service industry. one may argue that product pricing methods are influenced by digital initiatives. it makes sense that airlines that efficiently employ digital marketing would be one step ahead of the competition given the abundance of busy routes, consumer payment habits, season status and other variables influencing ticket costs. methodology the study employed ex-post facto research design to analyze the impact of digital marketing on aviation businesses which will in turn lead to economic growth in nigeria. data for the study were sourced from nigeria civil aviation authority (ncaa). the period of data collected covered for twenty-three years from 2000 to 2023. the exogenous variables for the study were electronic ticketing (et), return on investment (roi), website trafficking (wt), customer retention rate (crr), email marketing metrics (em), social media reach (smr), and advert performance (ad). the endogenous variable, aviation businesses (abu) was used to test each of the independent variables to ascertain their effects. the model for this study is a prototype of early version of moore (2012) and others to look at how digital marketing impact the performance of aviation businesses in nigeria. the percentage of aviation businesses in nigeria was expressed as functions of electronic ticketing (et), return on investment (roi), website trafficking (wt), customer retention rate (crr), email marketing metrics (em), social media reach (smr), and advert performance (ad). thus, the model is stated as: 𝐴𝐵𝑈 = 𝛽1 + 𝛼𝑖𝑋 + µ … … … … … … … … … … (1) where 𝐴𝐵𝑈 is the percentage aviation businesses; 𝛽1is the constant; 𝛼𝑖is the coefficients of the explanatory variables and control variable respectively; 𝑋is the vector of the exogenous variables; 𝑌 denotes the control variable; 𝑌is the error term. thus, equation (1) can be rewrite to: 𝐴𝐵𝑈 = 𝛽1 + 𝛼1𝐸𝑇 + 𝛼2𝑅𝑂𝐼 + 𝛼3𝑊𝑇 + 𝛼4𝐶𝑅𝑅 + 𝛼5𝐸𝑀 + 𝛼6𝑆𝑀𝑅 + 𝛼7𝐴𝐷 + µ … … … … … . . (2) where 𝐴𝐵𝑈 is the percentage of aviation businesses; 𝐸𝑇 denotes e-ticketing; 𝑅𝑂𝐼 represents return on investment; 𝑊𝑇 is the website trafficking; 𝐶𝑅𝑅 denotes customer retention rate; 𝐸𝑀 404 is the email marketing metrics; 𝑆𝑀𝑅 denotes social media reach; 𝐴𝐷 is the advert performance; and µ is the error term. estimation techniques and strategy augmented dickey-fuller (adf) was used as pre-estimation tool to test the stationarity of the data to avoid using a spurious data for analysis. dickey-fuller 1979 noted that time series data needs to be pre-tested to ascertain if it exhibits randomness that leads to white-noise before being used for estimation. a time series data is said to be white-noise if the variable is independent and identically distributed with mean zero. the aim of this work is to determine the short and long run impact of digital marketing on aviation businesses. to achieve this purpose, ardl ecm (autoregressive distributive lag error correction model) was adopted for the study based on three main reasons. first it uses mixed integrated data, secondly, it is more efficient and offers better results for small set of data and thirdly, the long run results are unbiased (harris & sollis, 2003). the co-integration estimate was used to determine the presence of long run relationship in the model. using the ardl (a, n1, n2, n3, …..nx) specification (a is the lag order for the dependent variable (gdp) and n1, n2, n3, …. nx is lag orders for independent and control variable: the models are specified as: 𝐴𝐵𝑈 = 𝛽1 + ∑ 𝛼1𝑋n1 k=0 + µ………………………………………(3) where 𝐴𝐵𝑈 is the percentage aviation business; 𝛽1is the constant; 𝛼1 and 𝛼2 are the coefficients of the explanatory variables; 𝑋is the vector of the exogenous variables; µis the error term. thus, the model is stated as: 𝐷𝐴𝐵𝑈 = 𝛽2 + 𝜆2𝑇𝑅𝐸𝑁𝐷 + ∑ 𝛽21 a k=0 𝐴𝐵𝑈−1 + ∑ 𝛽22 n1 k=0 𝐷𝐸𝑇−1 + ∑ 𝛽23 n2 k=0 𝐷𝑅𝑂𝐼−1 + ∑ 𝛽24 n3 k=0 𝐷𝑊𝑇−1 + ∑ 𝛽25 n4 k=0 𝐷𝐶𝑅𝑅−1 + ∑ 𝛽26 n5 k=0 𝐷𝐸𝑀−1 + ∑ 𝛽27 n4 k=0 𝐷𝑆𝑀𝑅−1 + ∑ 𝛽28 n5 k=0 𝐷𝐴𝐷−1+ 𝜆21𝐴𝐵𝑈−1 + 𝜆22𝐸𝑇−1 + 𝜆23𝑅𝑂𝐼−1 + 𝜆24𝑊𝑇−1 + 𝜆25𝐶𝑅𝑅−1 + 𝜆26𝐸𝑀−1 +𝜆27𝑆𝑀𝑅−1 + 𝜆28𝐴𝐷−1𝜇2……………………..…… (4) where 𝐴𝐵𝑈 is the percentage of aviation businesses; 𝐸𝑇 denotes e-ticketing; 𝑅𝑂𝐼 represents return on investment; 𝑊𝑇 is the website trafficking; 𝐶𝑅𝑅 denotes customer retention rate; 𝐸𝑀 is the email marketing metrics; 𝑆𝑀𝑅 denotes social media reach; 𝐴𝐷 is the advert performancce; and µ is the error term. table 1.1 definition of variables and aprioriexpection variable definition expectattion/sign 𝐴𝐵𝑈(aviation businesses) the outcomes or performance of the aviation businesses that are influenced by a range of independent variables. thus, this variable is captured by overall growth of aviation businesses in nigeria positive and significant 𝐸𝑇 denotes eticketing the use of digital systems for issuing, managing and processing tickets impact aviation businesses. positive and significant 𝑅𝑂𝐼 represents return on investment the financial metric used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of aviation business positive and significant 405 𝑊𝑇 is the website trafficking the percentage of customers that visit and booking the ticket through the website positive and significant 𝐸𝑀represent email marketing metrics; this measures the effectiveness and success of email marketing advertisement and campaigns of the aviation business positive and significant 𝑆𝑀𝑅 denotes social media reach this refers to the percentage of customers who engaged on aviation businesses that are influenced throughthe contents of aviation business on the social media positive and significant 𝐴𝐷 is the advert performance the percentage of the customers got information on aviation business activities through the advertisement positive and significant source: authors field survey, 2024. empirical result table 1.2: descriptive statistics source: authors field survey, 2024. the outcomes of the descriptive statistical analysis showed in table 1 above demonstrated that all the variables' means tend toward maximum values except-ticketing, indicating that their average values are high. the mean values of all the variables except abu resulted in a considerable degree of divergence from the actual data, as seen by the relatively high standard deviation of all the variables. all the variable means are more closely related to their maximum values than their minimum values excepte-ticketing which are closer to the minimum than the maximum. the standard deviation, which deviates greatly from the mean, provides strong support for the assertion. these findings demonstrated that all the variables excluding social media reach and website trafficking are stable in nigeria. unit root test table 1.3: panel unit root tests for anglophone countries variables abu et roi smr em wt series level level 1st diff 1st diff 1st diff 1st diff. adf 3.900886** 5.724001* -6.224267* -4.066918* -6.625870* -3.487436** tests abu em et roi smr wt mean 11.24976 13.93750 2.286167 43.51750 9.212500 30.40486 median 11.36689 13.50000 1.830037 42.65000 7.950000 24.49022 maximum 11.90162 26.00000 18.05893 81.42000 50.00000 87.76135 minimum 10.14651 6.000000 -6.811273 25.00000 1.000000 6.724867 std. dev. 0.479075 4.362794 5.728751 13.49894 9.273680 18.43268 skewness -0.969416 0.571586 0.794652 0.834343 3.682785 1.469812 kurtosis 3.048844 4.055512 3.761265 3.764895 17.05454 5.135355 jarque-bera 3.761454 2.420949 3.105412 3.369575 251.7816 13.20113 probability 0.152479 0.298056 0.211674 0.185484 0.000000 0.001360 sum 269.9941 334.5000 54.86800 1044.420 221.1000 729.7166 sum sq. dev. 5.278795 437.7813 754.8275 4191.089 1978.026 7814.564 observations 24 24 24 24 24 24 406 order of integration i(0) i(0) i(1) i(1) i(1) i(0) source: authors field survey, 2024. notes: an intercept and trend are included in the test equation. the lag length was selected using the schwarz information criterion. (*), (**), (***) denote probability statistical significance at the 1%, 5% and 10% levels respectively. the outcomes of the unit root tests are presented in table 2. augmented dickey-fuller (adf) was employed at the 1%, 5%, and 10% significant levels. except for abu, et and wt, which were significance at levels, all other variables were significant at first difference. this demonstrates that every variable is integrated with order one except for abu, et and wt, which are integrated with order zero. co-integration test table 1.4: f-bound cointegration test dependent variable (abu) f-statistics (5% sig. level) 3.857918 i(0) bound 2.45 i(1) bound 3.61 decision there is co-integration source: authors field survey, 2024. the results of co-integration are demonstrated in table 3 above. the results indicated that there are long run co-integrating movements among all the variables. the outcome suggested there are long run co-movement among aviation business and the e-ticketing, return on investment, website trafficking, customer retention rate, email marketing metrics, social media reach, and advert performance in nigeria. discussion of the result table 1.5: results of ardl estimates short run effect variables→ coefficients std. err p-values dabu .6017226 .51464 0.242 dem .0001234 .0000793 0.105 det .1120702 .1163409 0.335 droi .1294019 .1287545 0.315 dsmr .8204026 .8184718 0.316 dwt .0046096 .0040324 0.254 speed of adjustment cointeq01 -.2574114 .1173234 0.000 long run effect em 0.035557 0.013978 0.031 et 0.021343 0.016954 0.000 roi 0.024188 0.014125 0.028 smr 0.015030 0.015594 0.014 wt 0.001272 0.002943 0.042 source: authors field survey, 2024. the result of the impact of digital marketing on aviation business in nigeria is presented in table 5. from the table, in the short run, all the exogenous variables, that is, email marketing, 407 e-ticketing, return on investment, social media reach, and website trafficking, all have positive and insignificant impacts on aviation businesses in nigeria. hence, digital marketing has no significant positive impact on aviation businesses in nigeria. this may be as a result of asymmetric information and low level of awareness among nigerians. meanwhile, in the long run, all the independent variables that is, email marketing, e-ticketing, return on investment, social media reach, and website trafficking, all have significant positive impact on aviation business in nigeria. thus, digital marketing has positive and significant impact on aviation business in nigeria which will in turn promote nigeria economic growth. this is true of that the information and the awareness on the digital marketing has spread among the people the country and as such, it promotes the aviation businesses which lead to increase in economic growth in nigeria. also, the result showed that there is a long-run association among aviation businesses and digital marketing instruments. there is a long-run causality jointly running from the digital marketing instruments and aviation business in nigeria. this implies that the errors in problems in the aviation business in the current year will be corrected by the digital marketing instruments at an adjustment speed of 25.74% annually. post estimation results table 1.6: post estimation residual normality test jarque bera prob. abu 0.529251 0.634116 serial correlation test f-statistic obs*r-squared abu 0.356096 (0.7040) 0.922224 (0.6306) source: authors field survey, 2024. the result of residual diagnostics demonstrated in table 6 above showed that the residuals from the two models are normally distributed as showed by the probability level of the jarque-bera statistics. the results also showed that the errors in the models are not serially correlated. conclusion and recommendation the study's findings indicate that the aviation industry in nigeria is positively and marginally impacted by all of the exogenous variables, including social media reach, email marketing, eticketing, return on investment, and website trafficking. additionally, all marketing indices and the aviation industry have long-term co-movements that contribute to the performance of advertisements in the nigerian aviation sector. ultimately, a long-term causation originates from the digital marketing tools at an annual adjustment speed of 25.74%. according to the research, aviation companies should consider alternative marketing strategies in the event of internet outages or cyber-attacks. 408 references alashe, a. o. 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(2024). the impact of creative content on digital marketing effectiveness: a comprehensive analysis. valley international journal digital library, 6179-6193. page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 177 public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards covid-19: a cross-sectional study in kogi state, nigeria. lydia ibrahim department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria. lilian azaka department of psychology, dennis osadebay university asaba, nigeria lilian.azaka@dou.edu.ng shyngles k. balogun department of psychology, university of ibadan, nigeria. abstract the covid-19 pandemic exposed countries to significant health challenges which required prompt implementation of new policies and practices to curb the virus’ spread. the success of these measures is linked to the people’s knowledge, attitude and practices towards the disease and it is key to determining their readiness to adopt behavioral changes. a cross-sectional online survey of 451 kogi residents was undertaken between 6th october to 26th november 2020. the survey instrument consisted of demographic characteristics, 13 items on knowledge, 3 items on attitudes and 3 items on practices, modified from a previously published questionnaire on covid-19. descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (anova) were used for analysis. a p-value less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) was considered statistically significant. the mean knowledge score was 9.6±1.7 for all participants. most participants held positive attitudes toward the successful control of covid-19 (72.5%), the ability of nigerian government to conquer the disease (76.5%) and a few trusted the way the kogi state government’s handling of the crisis (28.6%). most participants were also taking precautions such as avoiding crowds (89.1%), wearing of face mask (71.6%) and practising proper hand hygiene (86.5%) in the week before the lockdown. findings of this study brought to fore the importance of delivering consistent health information by the government and her agents as well as the need for tailored health education programs aimed at improving levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices across different settings. it also highlighted the need for the kogi state government to put in more effort to handle the pandemic. keywords: attitudes, behaviour changes, health education, knowledge of covid-19, wellbeing, introduction in 2019, nigeria, like the rest of the world, faced the emergence of a new disease called the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). this zoonotic illness, transmitted between animals and people, caused significant concern due to its highly contagious nature and severe impact on public health (habibzadeh & stoneman, 2020; rothan & byrareddy, 2020). during the early stages of the pandemic, there was limited knowledge about covid-19 and public awareness varied (azlan et al., 2020). mailto:lilian.azaka@dou.edu.ng 178 at the initial stage, more than 2.3 million positive covid-19 cases were recorded with at least 150,000 deaths globally (who, 2019). the outbreak started in december 2019 in wuhan, china (chang et al., 2020) and later spread across the globe making it a universal health emergency and its declaration by who as a worldwide pandemic. on the 27th of february 2020, nigeria documented its initial instance of covid-19 (ncdc, 2020b). by the 31st of may 2020, the nation documented a total of 11,166 confirmed cases and 315 fatalities attributed to the virus. lagos state had highest cases of covid-19 infections (ncdc, 2020a). as the virus continued to spread, nigeria faced challenges in containing its transmission and managing its impact on public health. the implementation of lockdown protocols was deemed imperative in mitigating the propagation of the virus, given the swift interpersonal transmission dynamics that manifested. due to limited knowledge about the virus, these measures were considered necessary (kalu, 2020). public attitudes towards the pandemic varied, ranging from fear and anxiety to skepticism and misinformation. this diversity in attitudes influenced people's behaviour and adherence to preventive measures such as wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and following public health guidelines (isah et al., 2020). however, the effectiveness of these measures depended on the level of public compliance and engagement (chan et al., 2020). understanding the prevailing attitudes and practices towards covid-19 was crucial for tailoring effective public health interventions and communication strategies. as the pandemic unfolded, researchers and healthcare professionals in nigeria and across the globe collaborated on further studies to explore treatment options, conduct clinical trials, and develop vaccines. this collective effort not only expanded knowledge about the virus but also underscored the importance of evidence-based research in guiding the country's response to the pandemic. more so, knowledge has been found to influence attitude and practice, which can impact quality of intervention (isah et al., 2020). this study seeks to address a critical gap in understanding the awareness, perceptions, and behaviours concerning the ongoing covid-19 pandemic within the specific context of kogi state. by comprehensively examining the knowledge levels, attitudes, and practices of individuals in this region, the research endeavours to provide essential insights that can inform targeted public health interventions, policy formulation, and communication strategies aimed 179 at effectively managing and controlling the spread of covid-19 within kogi state and potentially serve as a model for similar settings elsewhere. research questions 1. what is the level of knowledge among the general public in kogi state, nigeria, regarding the symptoms, transmission, and risk factors associated with covid-19? 2. what are the prevailing attitudes and perceptions of the population towards covid-19? 3. what preventive practices have individuals in kogi state adopted to protect themselves and others from covid-19? 4. are there any significant differences in knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards covid-19 among different demographic groups (e.g., age, gender, education level, occupation) within kogi state? 5. what sources of information do individuals in kogi state rely on for updates and knowledge about covid-19? methods study design a quantitative cross-sectional survey was used in this study as it enables research questions to be answered. this design is relatively easy to replicate and is convenient for data collection and statistical analysis (wang & cheng, 2020). data collection was performed online using questionnaires due to the lockdown. recruitment was carried out online through social media platforms. procedure this cross-sectional survey was conducted over a three weeks period, starting from 6th october to 26th november 2020. slovin’s formula was used to determine the sample size of 451 at a ±5% margin of error and a confidence interval of 95%. owing to the nationwide lockdown and social distance preventive measures, data was collected online through the use of google forms. inclusion criteria used for the study was based on any kogi resident above the age of 18 who can read and write and make use of social media apps. different techniques were used to reach as many participants as was possible. this includes relying on colleagues, community, church, market and student leaders and social media influencers (keny media) to air and share the survey online within kogi state. the major 180 platforms used in disseminating this survey were social media (facebook and whatsapp). this is due to the fact that they are among the most popular communication and social platforms in nigeria (statistica, 2022; ismail, 2021). a total of 451 participants took part in this study. study instrument the instrument that was used to measure knowledge, attitude and practice towards covid-19 in this study utilised the modified chinese residents’ knowledge, attitudes and practices (kap) towards covid-19 in china (zhong et al., 2020). the questionnaire has 4 themes which include; demographics, knowledge, attitudes and practices relevant to covid-19. 13 items were adapted from previous research (azlan, et al, 2020). the first four items assess the respondent’s knowledge of the diseases’ clinical presentations item 5-8 examines routes of transmission while 9-13 measures prevention and control knowledge. participants are to choose a response from 3 options, “true,” “false,” or “not sure” to these items. to obtain the sum score for the knowledge items, 1 point was allotted to each accurate response and 0 to all wrong and not sure responses. total obtainable score ranged from 0–13, with higher scores indicating better covid-19 knowledge question 14 -16 on the scale measures attitudes towards covid-19. firstly, the participants are to select an option from agree, disagree or not sure responses to whether the pandemic would be successfully controlled. secondly they are to choose from a yes or no response about their confidence towards the government winning the battle against covid-19 and finally, the participants are to express their opinion about the government’s capacity to handle the covid19 pandemic by either agreeing, disagreeing or selecting not sure from the list of options questions 17-19 on the questionnaire examined the participant’s practices towards the covid19 pandemic. the participants were requested to pick from a yes/no response as to whether they had avoided going to crowded places such as markets, worship places or weddings. if they wore a face mask when leaving home; and if they practiced proper hand hygiene in the week before the lockdown. statistical analysis collated data were analysed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss), version 26. descriptive analysis focused on frequencies, and percentages while independent samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (anova) were utilised to determine the 181 differences between groups for selected demographic variables. the statistical significance level was set at p <0.05. internal consistency of the knowledge measures as reported by (azlan et al, 2020) was cronbach alpha for knowledge 0.655 (13 items). results a total of 451 people partook in the study. mean age was 29 with a sd of ± 5.2, and ranged from 18-65 years, female made up 55%. majority are kogi indigenes comprising 78.9% of urban and rural dwellers while non–indigenes living within kogi made up 27.1%., majority of the participants had a degree 75.4%. assessment of knowledge on the questionnaire, 13 questions measured knowledge of corona virus, the mean knowledge score was 9.6 for all participants (sd 1.7). majority (80%) of the study participants scored 9 which represent a good knowledge score. 86.7% knew the main symptoms (fever, fatigue, dry cough and body aches) of the disease, while many (60.3%) could not differentiate between common cold and sneezing. majority (94.1%) of the respondents identified that the illness had no cure. over a third (82.7%) had the awareness that not all cases will develop into severe cases. a higher proportion (89. 1 %) recognised that it spreads through respiratory droplets, however a little over a fourth (26.9%) did not believe that it was airborne, and 14% were not sure. see table 1 and 2 below for further details. table 1 (frequency table) characteristics number percentage gender male 206 55 female 245 45 age 18-29 298 66.1 30-49 121 26.9 50 and above 32 7 region of kogi east 140 31.0 central 88 19.5 west 55 12.2 metropolis 169 13.3 educational level diploma 37 8.2 degree 379 84.0 masters 35 7.8 occupation retiree 6 1.3 public sector 108 23.9 private sector 92 20.4 student 245 54.3 table 2 for knowledge items 182 questions true false i’m not sure 1. the main clinical symptoms of covid-19 are fever, fatigue, dry cough, and body aches. 391 (86.7%) 33 (7.3%) 21 (6.0%) 2. unlike the common cold, stuffy nose, runny nose, and sneezing are less common in persons infected with the covid-19 virus. 179(39.7%) 173 (38.4%) 99 (22.0%) 3. there currently is no effective cure for covid-19, but early symptomatic and supportive treatment can help most patients recover from the infection. 419(94.1%) 66 (1.4%) 222 (4.6%) 4. not all persons with covid-2019 will develop to severe cases. only those who are elderly and have chronic illnesses are more likely to be severe cases. 373(82.7%) 46 (10.2%) 32 (7.1%) 5. eating or touching wild animals would result in the infection by the covid-19 virus. 80 (17.7%) 280 (62.1%) 91(20.2%) 6. persons with covid-19 cannot infect the virus to others if they do not have a fever. 50 (11.1%) 336(74.5%) 30 (6.7%) 7. the covid-19 virus spreads via respiratory droplets of infected individuals. 402(89.1%) 19 (4.2%) 520 (10.7%) 8. the covid-19 virus is airborne. 267(59.6%) 121 (28.9%) 63 (14.0%) 9. ordinary residents can wear face masks to prevent the infection by the covid-19 virus. 392 (86.9%) 41 (9.0%) 18 (4.0%) 10. it is not necessary for children and young adults to take measures to prevent the infection by the covid-19 virus. 43 (9.5%) 395 (87.6%) 13 (2.9%) 11. to prevent the infection by covid-19, individuals should avoid going to crowded places and avoid taking public transportations. 405 (89.8%) 11(7.3%) 33 (2.9%) 12. isolation and treatment of people who are infected with the covid-19 virus are effective ways to reduce the spread of the virus. 427 (94.7%) 11 (2.4%) 13 (2.9%) 13. people who have contact with someone infected with the covid-19 virus should be immediately isolated in a proper place. in general, the isolation period is 14 days. 435 (96.5%) 6 (1.3%) 10 (2.2%) answers in bold are the correct answers differences in knowledge scores among different demographic characteristics were assessed using t-tests and anova. the results show that there was a significant difference in the knowledge scores of the participants based on level of education, region, occupation but no difference was noted in gender and age. however, those with higher education (masters) had better knowledge of the disease. all others were not significant. see table below 3 table 3. demographic characteristics of participants and knowledge score (n = 451). characteristics no. of participants knowledge score (sd) t / f p gender male 248 (55.0%) 9.6 (1.7) 0.380 <0.538 female 203 (45.0%) 9.7 (1.7) age group 18–29 298 (66.1%) 9.5 (1.8) 0.116 <.890 30–49 121 (7.1%) 9.6 (1.8) above 50 32 (11.2%) 9.5 (1.4) region kogi east 140(31.0) 10.7 (2.1) 2.429 <0.065 kogi west 88(19.5) 10.1 (1.9) koi central 55(12.2) 10.4 (1.6) kogi metropolis 169(13.3) 10.4 (1.2) 183 education level diploma 37(8.2) 10.5 (1.5) 4.867 <0.008 degree 379(84.0) 10.1 (2.8) masters 35(7.8) 10.7 (2.0) occupation retiree 6(1.3) 10.5 (0.5) 1.265 <0.287 public sector 108(29.0) 9.8 (1.6) private sector 92(20.4) 9.5 (1.5) student 245(54.3) 9.6 (1.8) assessment of attitudes the participant’s attitudes were assessed based on question 14 to 16 on the questionnaire as explained above. for the first question, a great deal of the participants agreed that covid-19 would successfully be controlled (72.5%), 9.8% disagreed while, 17.7% of participants were uncertain whether the virus would be controlled. 76.5% affirmed their confidence in nigeria wining the covid-19 battle, only 28.6% agreed that the government of kogi state is handling the pandemic very well. the attitude of successfully controlling covid-19 was not significantly related to region, occupation, age group and gender see bar chart and table below for details table 4. demographic characteristics of participants and attitude score (n = 451). characteristics no. of participants and percentages attitude score (sd) t / f p gender male 248 (55.0%) 1.7(0.8) .514 .474 female 203 (45.0%) 1.8(0.9) age group 18–29 298 (66.1%) 1.7(1.0) .302 .737 30–49 121 (7.1%) 1.8(0.9) above 50 32 (11.2%) 1.6(0.9) region kogi east 140(31.0%) 1.7(.08) .369 .775 kogi west 88(19%) 1.8(0.1) koi central 55(12.2%) 1.8(.18) kogi metropolis 169(13.3%) 1.7(.90) education level diploma 37(8.2%) 1.6(.18) .527 .591 degree 379(84.0%) 1.8(.90) masters 35(7.8%) 1.7(.97) occupation retiree 6(1.3%) 1.8(.98) .512 .211 184 public sector 108(2.9%) 1.9(1.0) private sector 92(20%) 1.6(.86) student 245(54.3%) 1.7(1.0) assessment of practice as earlier stated, practice towards covid-19 it was evaluated by items 17 to 19 on the questionnaire. study participants were asked to confirm by ticking yes or no if, they avoided crowded places, wore face mask and practiced proper hand hygiene. majority (83.1 %) of the participants affirmed that they avoided crowded locations, while 16.9 did not, 71. 6% indicated that they wore face masks but the rest 28.4% did not. lastly 86.5% practiced proper hand hygiene and 13.5% did not. appropriate hand hygiene performance was significantly linked to gender, region and occupation but not to age, and education level. see bar chart and table below table 5. demographic characteristics of participants and practice score (n = 451). characteristics no. of participants and percentages attitude score (sd) t / f p gender female 248 (55.0%) 2.4(0.8) 4.3 0.038* male 203 (45.0%) 2.3(0.9) age group 18–29 298 (66.1%) 2.4 (0.9) ..109 .0.896 30–49 121 (7.1%) 2.3(0.8) above 50 32 (11.2%) 2.4(0.9) region kogi east 140(31.0%) 2.2(0.9) 9.8 0.001* kogi west 88(19%) 2.1(0.9) koi central 55(12.2%) 2.2(1.0) kogi metropolis 169 (13.3%) 2.6 (0.6) education level diploma 37(8.2%) 2.2(0.9) 1.480 .0.229 degree 379(84.0%) 2.6(1.0) masters 35(7.8%) 2.4(0.9) 185 occupation retiree 6(1.3%) 0.3(0.9) 3.049 0.028* public sector 108(2.9%) 2.4(0.8) private sector 92(20%) 2.4(0.8) student 245(54.3%) 2.4(0.9) discussion this cross-sectional study conducted among kogi residents in different locations within the state examined their knowledge attitude and practices towards covid-19. four hundred and fifty-one kogi residents’ aged between18-65 years took part in the study. more females filled out the questionnaire; this may be due to the fact that females are more inclined to fill out surveys compared to males (mulder & de bruijne, 2019). majority of the study participants were graduates and those in tertiary institutions, this could be tied to the fact that the survey was conducted on-line, hence the respondents were more likely to be educated and had better understanding of the pandemic and ability to assimilate and interpret circulating information, and had the potential to form meaningful opinions (smyth et al., 2014, lenehan et al., 2014). the mean knowledge score of all respondent was good and this is similar to other research investigating knowledge of covid-19 (reuben et al., 2021, olapegba et al., 2020, azlan et al, 2020). this discovery may be related to increased information disseminated to the general public through various media channels during the pandemic (anikwe et al., 2020, makolo et al, 2021). the participants’ knowledge of covid-19 was significantly influenced by region, educational level and occupation. those in the metropolis had better knowledge compared to those in the districts this may be explained by the fact that they have access to more media outlets, electricity, internet and handsets compared to those in the districts (ilesanmi, & afolabi, 2022, ripon et al, 2021). those with a master’s degree had better covid 19 knowledge compared to graduates and diploma holders, this result is in tandem with other results (saadatjoo et al., 2021) and may be associated to the fact that more education is equated to more exposure and understanding. finally, students had higher knowledge of covid-19 when compared to retirees, public and private sector workers. this outcome may be due to the fact that students meet more people in their place of learning and might have paid more attention to the preventive information knowing that they are more at risk of exposure to the virus due to their population dense setting. ilesanmi, & afolabi, (2022) affirmed that living with someone in the covid-19 high risk group was a significant predictor of good covid-19 health literacy in both rural and urban communities of ondo state, nigeria. the research also found that the attitude of kogi residents towards covid-19 was average. a possible explanation is because a lot of the study participants did not believe that kogi state 186 government is handling the pandemic very well; this is in agreement with other studies (nwagbara et al, 2021, ogolodom et al, 2020.). moreover, nigeria as a country viewed the disease as a white man’s ailment that cannot reach their domain. they attached little value to it and took their time in implementing early preventive measures (reuben, et al, 2021). the situation in kogi was worse because the kogi state government did not believe in the existence of the disease. the governor insisted that kogi state has no case of covid-19; he did not declare a lockdown within the state and asked residents to go about their normal duties. this created fear in most residents hence their poor response (onakpa & aruwa, 2021, tope & sunday, 2023). despite the poor attitudes of the respondents, their practices towards the disease was good, this is consistent with findings by mousa et al. (2020) and sengeh et al. (2020). many participants practiced good hand hygiene, wore face masks and avoided crowded places. the media publicity by the government on preventive measures coupled with fear of being infected, dread of law enforcement agents’ brutality and the perceived mortality of the disease may be the possible explanation for this outcome (odigbo et al., 2020, chia et al., 2021). other explanation include gender, education level, region and occupation as found in the study by udoakang et al. (2022). conclusion this study established that majority of kogi state residents have good knowledge and practice towards covid-19. a bulk of them had awareness of the main symptoms but found it difficult to differentiate between common cold and covid-19. a large proportion of the respondents acknowledged that the illness is incurable not all cases will become severe, however about a fourth of them did not believe that it was airborne. a greater part of the study participants observed the preventive measures but their attitude towards the disease was not so good recommendations based on findings from this study and studies reviewed in the course of this research, the following were recommended: tailored public health education: targeted public health education campaigns that address specific gaps in knowledge identified by this study should be developed. these campaigns should utilize clear and culturally sensitive communication strategies to enhance the understanding of disease transmission, prevention, and treatment. community engagement initiatives: foster community engagement and empowerment by involving local leaders, organizations, and influencers in disseminating accurate information. community-based approaches can aid in preventive practices and dispel misinformation, thereby enhancing the adoption of safe behaviours. regular data monitoring and surveillance: establish a robust and continuous system for monitoring public knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to diseases such as covid-19. regularly collect and analyze data to assess changes in awareness and behaviour over time, enabling prompt adjustments to public health strategies as needed. 187 crisis communication plan: develop a comprehensive crisis communication plan that outlines clear protocols for disseminating accurate and timely information during emergencies. this plan should leverage various communication channels, including traditional media, social media, and community networks, to ensure the rapid and effective dissemination of critical updates and guidance. long-term preparedness: utilize the insights gained from this study to inform long-term pandemic preparedness plans for kogi state. integrate lessons learned into comprehensive strategies that enhance the region's resilience against future health crises and contribute to building a sustainable public health infrastructure. limitations this study is not without limitations. firstly, the demographic structure of the subjects in this study does not represent that of the overall population in nigeria because it included only adults. thus, the knowledge, attitude and practice of the other groups have been excluded. secondly, this study was conducted in kogi state, nigeria, hence, the findings cannot be generalized or used to accurately represent the whole nation. thirdly, only online data that was collected thus the opinion of those who did not have access to online is absent in this work. fourthly, the second limitation is related to the kap instrument used in this study. the instrument was adapted from a survey that had been previously tested and utilized in china and lastly the survey was conducted between october and november, 2020. thus, it is likely that covid-19 health literacy has improved among the general adult population in kogi state at the time this work was written. references azlan, arina anis, mohammad rezal hamzah, tham jen sern, suffian hadi ayub, and emma mohamad. 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(2020). cross-sectional studies: strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations. chest, 158(1), s65-s71. world health organization (2020). overview of public health and social measures in the context of covid-19: interim guidance, 18 may 2020. world health organization. zhong, b. l., luo, w., li, h. m., zhang, q. q., liu, x. g., li, w. t., & li, y. (2020). knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards covid-19 among chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the covid-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. international journal of biological sciences, 16(10), 1745. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 537 synergising new media potential and business education for economic growth in nigeria ito fidelia mamezi department of business education, ignatius ajuru university of education rumuolumeni, portharcourt, rivers, nigeria fidy4real@gmail.com ivwighren, hannah emuobosa department of mass communication, federal polytechnic, orogun, delta state, nigeria orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8016-6974 correspondentkaylaeguonor@gmail.com abstract the integration process of the new media technologies to enhance teaching and learning of business is a revolutionary approach to producing business leaders. therefore, study’s objective is to establish the effectiveness of the incorporation of new media to provide an engaging, exciting, and versatile approach to business education. it is a mixed-method study combining survey and key information interview. the study targets 300 final year students of ajuru university of education, port harcourt, and interviews of key informants who are media technology specialists, entrepreneurs and educational administrators from port harcourt for insights of valuable information on the integration of new media with business education and how to maintain academic integrity in an online system are touched on, thus presenting a fair viewpoint of the efficacy of adopting it. technological diffusion theory of how innovations spread in a society or an organization was used to explain the manner in which new media technologies were adopted and implemented in business environments. mean output was added in the data summary of the survey and the inferential statistics that were employed utilizing spearman rank on software app stata 15. zero to attempt a hypothesis to discover interconnection among the variables. the findings confirm how new media when appropriately adopted and integrated into teaching and learning practices in business education has a big potential of delivering on its promise. it also recommends media organization should collaborate with universities, vocational training centers, and businesses to establish internship programs and collaborative projects focusing on new media applications in business. keywords: digital platforms, interactive tools, new media, personalized learning and student engagement introduction currently, the world is experiencing advancement in technologies, and new media is a significant and critical phenomenon that is revolutionizing various sectors such as the education sector (horska et al. 2022). the use of new media technology offers an exciting proposition toward improving learning and teaching environment within business education and bracing economic development. in nigeria, where challenges continue to plague education system like outdated curricular, lack of adequate infrastructural facilities, and poor quality of teaching resources, new media can go a long way in countering each of these challenges and to prepare students for the challenges of a dynamic global economy (irabor & onwudinjo,2022). new media refers to the use of technology to disseminate information through interactive simulations, multimedia forms of content delivery, social networks, and computerized means of collaborative work. these technologies equip students with flexible, rich, and adaptive learning environments that provide improved and lifelong learning outcomes. new media can therefore be described as the application of technology in conveying mailto:fidy4real@gmail.com mailto:kaylaeguonor@gmail.com 538 information through games like simulations, multimedia forms of content delivery such as social networks, and computerized forms of mass collaboration. in this case, these technologies enable students to have flexible, rich, and adaptive learning environments that enhance better and lifetime learning achievements. new media therefore has abundant application in business education as a way of creating competent professions in business and entrepreneurship, simulated business solutions, and contexts, virtual businesses and networking (aguaded et al. 2022). however, the application of new media in business education in nigeria is relatively still limited and sporadic. unfortunately, many educational institutions do not have suitable hardware and software support, as well as qualified staff to apply new media technologies (jacob & samuel 2020). furthermore, there is digital inequality that actually amplifies social inequalities making many learners unable to access the tools and opportunities that new media presents to them. these challenges affect how business education programs can embrace the new media hence affecting the economic growth and development of the nation. their resolution is crucial for the further development of the nigerian economy. when aligned with the new media potential, changes the nigeria business education landscape to produce skilled, flexible and capable workforce fit for the dynamic business environment (abdullahi et al. 2020). this alignment does not only improve the quality of business education but also encourages the culture of innovation, increase productivity, as well as boosts economic growth. hence, the endeavour to investigate if the practices in the use of new media in business education is not only an important theoretical question but also an essential prerequisite to the nigerian economic growth and enhanced competitiveness on the international market. objectives of the study the main objective of this study is to investigate synergizing new media potential and business education for growth. specifically, the objectives are to; 1. assess the perceived attributes of new media in business education 2. analyze the role of communication channels in promoting new media adoption and 3. evaluate the impact of new media on business engagement and outcomes. literature review new media new media, which is a departure from the traditional approach of communication broadcasting, involves the use of information technologies and related launching which feature the user or personal communication (wannheden et al. 2022; peters et al. 2014). the mass media communication refers to the communication through printed publications, broadcast on radio, television, and films that has played an enormous role in influencing the public, culture, and norms of the society but has limited operations geographically (zerdick et al. 2000). a new way of learning, working, and communication has emerged with social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram, and linkedin influencing learning, work, and interaction (liu et al. 2017; ji, et al. 2022). it has also helped in streaming services such as youtube, netflix, and spotify, that entertainment and media has become consumables. mobile-first apps like whatsapp, snapchat, and tiktok have become the dominant trend in digital communication (prashant & shilpa 2022; zheng, et al. 2021). virtual reality technology like that of oculus rift and the augmented reality, like that of the pokémon go allow the user to have different 539 perception by placing the objects in the real environment (shafer, et al. 2019). it is used in game interfaces, for educational and training purposes. google drive, microsoft teams, slack and the likes are the collaborative platforms that combine document sharing, communication and project management tools for enhancing work from home and cross-company collaboration (maclennan, 2019). in a nut shell, the media is known to have the capabilities of changing various industries through offering more personal yet userparticipatory methods of information disseminating (nwanguma, 2015). business education for economic growth this study posits that business education is crucial to the development of any given economy since it equips candidate with the right knowledge and skills so as to engage in formal business ventures (zafar, et al. 2017). they include management, finance, marketing, and venture creation. on this front, business education has the mandate of developing human resource, encouraging innovation and enhancing the population’s knowledge on the role of financial management in economic development (nwosu, et al. 2023). graduates are able to recognize factors conducive to the creation of new organizations and start the economic development process. the acknowledgement of financial management in the running of any business is important since, it enhances capability in making of good decisions while enhancing on the performance of the organization (akinyede 2023). the knowledge stored in business education assists in appraisal of, and call for, improved creative use of technology in strategically planning for reasonable, well helpful goods and services, and helpful process that cause upliftment of the efficiency and competitiveness of learning through innovativeness (rahayu, et al. 2023). it affects different economic levels resulting to employment creation and economic balance. the acquisition of business education enables the growth of different segments of the economies enabling diversification as identified by cropley (2015). in particular, higher education of the entrepreneurial population and business leaders accelerates the creation of new industries, as well as contributes to the diversification of the economy. to be specific, it is essential in the contemporary world economy that a nation has its populace informed on the international business environment. for effectiveness in the delivery of business education for economic redevelopment, there is the need to employ business managers as teachers, update with market-related alterations, and develop curriculum with skills content (zafar & ahmad, 2017). to enhance the learning environment and the tools, one must incorporate continuing education through executive education, professional development courses, and online learning. more so, efforts like funding for the people who want to start businesses, business mentorship, and subsequent business connection can complement business education to advance the business economy (akinyede 2023). attributes of new media in business education as opined by crittenden and crittenden (2015), new media in business education enables a flexible and innovative learning environment, that positively affects students’ learning positive results and adequately prepares them for modern business world. as jing pointed out in the 2023, it is a type of resource or application that depends on the technology and has features of being active, innovative, and elastic. therefore, the level of complexity of the new media tools defines the use and application in business education where it is relatively easier to integrate in the existing curriculum. in contribution, shang (2016) emphasized the importance of 540 trialability in implementation claiming that institutions should be able to try out plans, correct mistakes and build confidence among educators and learners. new media is preferred over conventional approaches due to its freedom of activities, making material more understandable and interesting (irabor & onwudinjo,2022). information technologies offer fast responses and can be integrated into current educational practices without disrupting normal delivery. however, according to lee (2016), the complexities of new media tools make their applicability in business education questionable. therefore, adequate usability evaluation is necessary to encourage educators and students to use these technologies in learning (horska, et al. 2022; outhwaite et al. 2019). trialability allows for testing before extending usage on a large scale, promoting sustainable incorporation of new media into curriculum delivery in business education institutions (mack, et al. 2017). role of communication channels in promoting new media adoption the study by ivwighren et al. (2023) identified new media potential in transforming business education, focusing on interactiveness, entertainment, and flexibility. peters, et al. (2014) also highlights the importance of communication channels for successful integration, such as trainings, presentations, meetings, forums, lectures, articles, publications, mouth-to-mouth connections, social media, websites, examples, funders, media pr, and publicity (adolwa, et al. 2018). practice-oriented events such as workshops and training sessions, according to ivanov (2021) provide attendees with specific scenarios and help acquire first-hand knowledge and operational skills. professional development allows faculty members to upgrade information on available technology and teaching approaches (figueiredo, et al. 2018; lee 2016). peer-reviewed articles and reports contribute ideas and data for the effectiveness of new media tools, supporting education decision-makers and educators in adopting new technologies (zafar, et al. 2017). word of mouth communication allows for the diffusion of new practices and sharing best practices, providing a peer source for new media adoption (hajli, 2018). new media social networks are helpful for educators as they share materials, ideas, opinions, and coordination of projects (rahayu, et al. 2023). as opined by imke (2017), media is vital in promoting change and adopting new media, and institutional newsletters and websites can act as channels for disseminating information about new initiatives and training schedules. press releases and media coverage can enhance an institution's image and attract potential adopters and partners (happer & philo 2013). impact of new media on business engagement and outcomes according to stoica et al. (2014), the incorporation of new media technologies has brought about a dramatic transformation in the way organisations and their audiences engage, leading to improvements in customer interactions, marketing tactics, and feedback systems. traditional business methods and interpersonal communication have been revolutionised by platforms including blogs, social networks, and mobile applications. for example, social networking sites like facebook, twitter, and instagram let companies interact with clients directly and respond to their questions and issues immediately (abdullahi et al., 2020; fuophu-biri & ijeh 2021). by using data to customise marketing campaigns, this degree of personalisation raises the possibility of sales and improves client happiness. digital marketing platforms, such facebook 541 adwords and google adwords, allow companies, particularly startups, to start profitable advertising campaigns with little capital outlay and generate significant traffic (prashant & shilpa, 2022; garner & kim, 2022). additionally, real-time assessments give companies information about how successful their marketing plans are, enabling ongoing development and the pursuit of new market prospects (zheng et al., 2021). businesses can improve client interactions and promote business development by using specialised technologies to keep an eye on pertinent social media conversations (tuominen et al., 2022). in addition to increasing income and sales, the use of new media in marketing also promotes innovative promotional techniques and improves brand awareness. by encouraging innovation and customer-centred activities, the further incorporation of new media into organisational practices has the potential to have a beneficial impact on the economy (dai et al., 2020). theoretical framework the study explores the potential of new media in business education using diffusion of innovation theory (doi). this is a theory that explains how innovations spread within a society or organization (cfi team 2022). innovation is the first determinant factor that affects the diffusion process while the communication channel, time factor, and social system are other factors. founded by american sociologist and communication theorist e. m. rogers in 1962, categorizes adopters into five groups: the new adopter categories are the innovators, the early adopters, the early majority, the late majority and the laggards (imke 2017). innovation characteristics include; relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trial ability, and observability. these include the official platforms such as the workshops, training, academic meetings or conferences or even writing articles, and that of people-to-people discussion or social media. the adoption timeline involves studying the stages of adoption within educational institutions and identifying factors that accelerate or hinder the process (talukde, 2012; lamorte, 2019). regarding the study, diffusion of innovation theory applicability is based on the fact that relative to new media attributes concerning the business education sector, perceived attributes can be evaluated, communication channels for promoting new media adoption can be analyzed, and potential factors affecting different adopter categories’ adoption rates can be explored. perceptions and experiences of new media tools with educators and students will be obtained through questionnaires and interviews. some of the new media initiatives that will be used to evaluate the success of adopting them and the communication tactics that will be used will include analyzing case studies of some of the successful new media implementations. applying the theory in context with new media to the business education offers a deeper understanding of the flow and the factors that affect the processes of innovations diffusion and the guidelines on how to implement such technologies in learning environment. research hypothesis h1: the perceived attributes of new media, such as interactivity, accessibility, and personalization, significantly enhance the effectiveness of business education 542 h2: effective use of communication channels, such as social media, email marketing, and webinars, significantly promotes the adoption of new media in business practices compared to less targeted communication strategies. research method the study used descriptive design to understand the theme of new media adoption and its impact on business engagement. we incorporated quantitative data from surveys, using a questionnaire, and qualitative insights from interviews to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings. the study targeted 300 final year students from ignatius ajuru university of education, port harcourt, who were purposively selected from the business education department due to their exposure to new media content and usage. this approach, allow the researchers to purposively select the sampled respondents based on the researcher’s knowledge of the population as well as the respondents’ knowledge of the subject matter. since the population is a manageable size, sample size was not drawn but to distribute the questionnaire, a combination of sampling techniques is employed to capture a comprehensive and representative sample. purposive sampling, also known as judgmental or selective sampling, was applied for participants based on specific characteristics or criteria relevant to the research objectives in this case, business education students. likewise, the fact that the researchers do not know the students individually, snowball sampling was adopted so participants recruit future participants from among their acquaintances till required population was covered. the survey was administered manually, with clear instructions and informed consent. content and face validity helped guarantee the questionnaire measured the required variables for construct, clarity, relevance, and coverage of all study objective. to test for the reliability of the instrument and establish the degree of consistency with which the instrument measures the objectives of the study, the researchers adopted the cronbach alpha method and the benchmark of 0.7 was met in agreement with kılıç (2016), that it indicates accurate and dependable measures for more research. linkert scaling method was followed in the structured questionnaire based on a five-point scale from the highest to the lowest representing; strongly agree (5) agree (4) undecided (3) disagree (2) strongly disagree (1). key informant interviews (kii) were conducted with stakeholders who are educational administrator, media technology specialist and entrepreneurs. the decision was based on the mean output of 3 and inferential statistics using spearman rank on software app stata 15.0 was used to analyze the data. table 1: questionnaire distribution s/n description f % 1 copies retrieved and found usable 287 96 2 copies not retrieved and those found not usable 13 4 total 300 100 table 4.1 shows that three hundred copies of the structured questionnaire were administered, of which 287 were properly filled and retrieved making 13 out of the questionnaire representing 4% were not retrieved or found usable. this represents a questionnaire return rate of 96% which is considered significantly accurate for the study. 543 data presentation demographic data table 2: respondent gender, age and postgraduate programme gender male female 131(46%) 153 (54%) age 15-18 19-22 23-26 29-32 33+ 48 (17%) 97(34%) 83 (29%) 45 (15%) 14 (5%) connection to new media very high high moderate low very low 97 (34%) 79(28%) 61 (21%) 33 (11%) 17(6%) table 2 above depicts that the study's participants are primarily aged 19-22 and 23-26, representing 63% of the sample. these groups are highly engaged with new media technologies, potentially influencing their perceptions and interactions. however, the smaller representation of participants aged 15-18 and 27-32, and the least representation of those 33 and older, suggest potential generational differences in new media usage and attitudes. the gender distribution is slightly higher, with a slightly higher representation of females (54% compared to 46%), suggesting a nearly balanced view of perspectives. this may provide additional insights into how females perceive and interact with new media in business education. the study's findings may help understand the nuances of new media usage and attitudes among different age groups. thematic data table 3: perceived attributes of new media in business education 544 table 3 above was to assess the perceived attributes of new media in business education using survey data. five key aspects were measured: new media tools, accessibility, personalization, engagement, and effectiveness in learning complex concepts. the results showed that new media tools enhance the learning experience, making it more dynamic and appealing compared to traditional methods. accessibility of new media resources was a significant factor, with a mean score of 4.10, indicating a strong consensus. personalization was also a significant factor, with a mean score of 3.82, indicating the potential for personalized learning. engagement was a key factor, with a mean score of 3.97, indicating the effectiveness of new media in keeping students engaged. table 4: role of communication channels in promoting new media adoption s/ n questionnair e items no 5 4 3 2 1 total mean decision 1 new media tools (e.g., social media, interactive e-books) enhance my learning experience in business education. 287 107 72 97 8 3 1133 3.95 accepted 2 new media resources are easily accessible for business or education needs. 287 129 87 49 14 8 1176 4.10 accepted 3 new media allows for personalized learning experiences in business. 287 84 92 99 4 8 1096 3.82 accepted 4 the use of new media in business education keeps me more engaged than other methods. 287 122 65 79 12 9 1140 3.97 accepted 5 i find new media to be an effective tool for learning complex business concepts. 287 71 42 127 31 16 982 3.42 accepted 545 table 4 provides data to analyze the role of communication channels in promoting new media adoption. the first item measured the effectiveness of social media platforms in promoting the adoption of new media. with the highest mean score of 4.19, the data reveals that social media platforms, such as facebook, linkedin, and twitter, play a significant role in promoting new media adoption in business education. likewise, 4.20 mean score is an indication that respondent generally agree that email marketing campaigns are perceived as effective. webinars and online workshops are considered useful for educating users about new media technologies considering the mean output of 3.40 but there is room for improvement. with the output of 3.30, peer recommendations and reviews are also obviously influential, but their visibility and credibility could be enhanced. lastly, 3.80 mean output depicts that informative blogs and articles are considered effective for educating users about new media technologies. table 5: impact of new media on business engagement and outcomes s/n questionnaire items no 5 4 3 2 1 total mean decision 6 social media platforms effectively disseminate information about new media tools. 287 132 97 45 7 6 1203 4.19 accepted 7 recommendations from peers influence my decision to adopt new media tools. 287 128 72 58 21 8 1152 4.01 accepted 8 webinars and online tutorials are effective in promoting the adoption of new media in business education. 287 71 52 103 44 17 977 3.40 accepted 9 email marketing campaigns provide useful information that encourages me to try new media tools. 287 21 84 139 38 5 939 3.30 accepted 10 communication from my educational institution promotes the adoption of new media effectively. 287 94 76 88 22 7 1089 3.80 accepted 546 table 5 survey data reveals that new media platforms significantly enhance customer engagement, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. the majority of respondents with the mean of 4.36, 3.9 and 3.99 agree that digital marketing strategies, such as targeted ads, social media campaigns, and influencer partnerships, contribute to higher sales growth. businesses utilizing new media perform better in the market compared to those that do not. the mean score of 3.60 suggests that new media enhances customer satisfaction through better customer service and support. however, the high number of neutral responses suggests that some respondents may not fully experience the benefits. the mean score of 3.40 suggests that new media engagement increases brand loyalty. the data highlights the importance of new media in enhancing business engagement and outcomes. testing of hypothesis h1: the perceived attributes of new media, such as interactivity, accessibility, and personalization, does not significantly enhance the effectiveness of business education. table 6: spearman etdmr cfdmr, star (0.05) from the table 6 above, hypothesis 1 (h1) posits that the perceived attributes of new media, including interactivity, accessibility, and personalization, significantly enhance the effectiveness of business education. to test this hypothesis, a spearman's rho correlation analysis was used. spearman's rho of 0.0231 indicates a very weak and negative link between the perceived characteristics of new media and the efficacy of business education. the p-value is the probability that the observed link happened by coincidence. a p-value larger than 0.05 often indicates that the findings are not statistically s/n questionnaire items no 5 4 3 2 1 total mean decision 11 new media platforms (e.g., social media, websites) significantly enhance customer engagement for businesses 287 118 101 76 9 3 1253 4.36 accepted 12 the use of new media marketing strategies leads to higher sales growth 287 97 81 102 5 2 1127 3.92 accepted 13 businesses that use new media experience better market performance than those that do not. 287 67 47 123 94 66 1146 3.99 accepted 14 new media enhances customer satisfaction by providing better customer service and support. 287 59 73 141 12 2 1036 3.60 accepted 15 engagement through new media channels increases brand loyalty among customers. 287 23 81 167 11 5f 967 3.40 accepted number of obs 287 spearman's rho 0.0231 number of obs 287 spearman's rho 0.0231 prob > |t| 0.0657 547 significant. here, the p-value of 0.6965 is much more than 0.05, suggesting that the association is not statistically significant. invariably, the analysis of hypothesis 1, using the given data, does not support the notion that the perceived attributes of new media significantly enhance the effectiveness of business education. the weak and negative correlation, coupled with a high p-value, indicates no statistically significant relationship therefore, the hypothesis is rejected. h2: effective use of communication channels, such as social media, email marketing, and webinars, significantly promotes the adoption of new media in business practices compared to less targeted communication strategies. table 7: spearman etdmr cfdmr, star (0.05) on table 7 is data to test hypotheses 2. it is shows that 287 respondents were observed with a spearman's rho value of 0.0051. this suggests a very weak positive association between successful communication channels (e.g., social media, email marketing, and webinars) and the incorporation of new media into corporate processes. this suggests that there is a minor correlation between improved communication channel utilization and higher acceptance of new media, however the association is not substantial. the p-value of 0.0042 suggests that the observed association is statistically significant. despite the low connection, the association between successful communication channels and the incorporation of new media into corporate processes seems unlikely to be attributable to coincidence. this lends credence to the concept that good communication channels help to promote the adoption of new media technologies. key informant interviews (kii) thematically, response was gathered from three key information stakeholders on the subject matter for their insight. the informants are randomly picked educational administrators media technology specialists, and entrepreneurs at ignatius ajuru university of education, port harcourt. perceived attributes of new media in business education new media tools, such interactive e-books and virtual simulations, improve learning outcomes by increasing the accessibility and interest of materials. the kii personnels pointedly agreed that these tools have improved student performance and engagement, but they also come with obstacles, such ensuring students and teachers have regular access to technology and training. they are more successful than conventional approaches, but they have also had a good influence on entrepreneurs' learning and understanding of business principles. role of communication channels in promoting new media adoption effective communication channels, like as social media and email marketing, have been discovered by educational administrators, media technology specialists, and entrepreneurs to encourage faculty and student use of new media. but sustaining interest and focusing on the appropriate audience present issues. webinars are a great way to show off the benefits of new number of obs 287 spearman's rho 0.0051 prob > |t| 0.0042 548 media tools, but creating interesting material and getting in front of a large audience may be difficult. entrepreneurs have to sift through a tone of communication to find the information they need. impact of new media on business engagement and outcomes it has been demonstrated that new media enhances corporate performance, educational outcomes, and student engagement. through interactive interactions, it improves learning and raises student engagement and performance. however, it needs ongoing maintenance in the form of updates and assistance. experts in media technology have discovered that while new media platforms improve corporate interaction, long-term effects are still difficult to predict. although sales growth and consumer involvement have grown, entrepreneurs still need to measure performance. it's still difficult to keep up with trends and technology. discussion this survey was designed to enable the researchers to achieve the set objectives and to test the hypothesis. the information from the demographic data shows the majority of the respondents of about 34% admitting to be regularly connected to new media affirms the study of peters, et al. (2014), ivwighren, et al. (2023) and falls in line with cfi team (2022) to explain how through, innovations spread within a society or organization. the result from the survey shows that new media with business education presents a significant opportunity for economic growth in delta state, nigeria in agreement with jing (2023) and shang (2016) that it does not only enables resources and applications that are proactive, creative, and malleable but also allows institutions to adapt their plans, fix flaws, and develop confidence among educators and learners. on the perception on new medial, it was established that, social media and interactive e-books enhance learning experience in business education. it was further found out that it creates easy accessibility for business or education needs. these findings align with the studies (irabor & onwudinjo (2022) and horska, et al. (2022) that it has a comparative advantage over conventional approaches, as it allows for a wider range of activities, provide immediate feedback without interfering with the standard approach to teaching for individual educational activities that require gradual improvements. from the survey, it was affirmed that by leveraging the capabilities of new media, businesses can enhance their communication strategies, reach broader audiences, and foster innovation through social media platforms for effective dissemination of information about latest trends. this corroborates the studies of ivanov (2021) figueiredo, et al. (2018) and lee (2016) that it helps the faculty to constantly revise its knowledge on the available technology and teaching methodologies. the survey findings revealed that communication from educational institution promotes the adoption of new media effectively and campaigns provide useful information that encourages adoption of new technologies. this affirms and aligns with lamorte (2019) on the diffusion of innovation theory that new media adoption can be analyzed, and potential factors affecting different adopter categories’ adoption rates can be explored. the impact of new media on business engagement was made revealed from the survey that it significantly enhances customer engagement for businesses and brings about helpful strategies that leads to higher sales growth. this finding agrees with abdullahi et al. (2020); prashant and shilpa (2022); garner and kim (2022) when they suggest that it makes it easier for industries to market products to specific individuals based on consumer data, resulting in high levels of satisfaction. it also enhances marketing efficiency by offering digital platforms like google ads and facebook 549 ads, allowing businesses to target specific niches with high conversion rates customers for further enhancements and growth of new business opportunities in corroboration with zheng, et al. (2021). the findings from the tested hypothesis were bidirectional yet a significant indication of the potential of new media with business education. the result of the first hypothesis tested shows no statistically significant relationship to support the notion that the perceived attributes of new media significantly enhance the effectiveness of business education thereby rejecting the hypothesis. this finding is a contradiction to the studies of onwudinjo (2022) and horska, et al. (2022) who spotlighted its comparative advantage over traditional methods since it permits a greater variety of activities and offers quick feedback without interfering with the traditional method of instruction for specific educational tasks that call for incremental progress. the second hypotheses were accepted since it supports that effective communication channels play a role in promoting new media adoption. this result tallies with the studies of ivanov (2021) figueiredo, et al. (2018) and lee (2016) and supports the views of ivwighren, et al. (2023), fuophu-biri and ijeh (2021) and peters, et al. (2014) on how it enhances getting information and revolutionize business education in terms of interactiveness, entertainment, and flexibility. it also goes to affirm imke (2017) on the diffusion of innovation theory applicability is predicated on the ability to assess perceived attributes in relation to new media attributes in the context of the business education sector, analyse communication channels that facilitate the adoption of new media, and investigate potential factors that may influence the adoption rates of various adopter categories. conclusion synergizing new media with business education training equips individuals with the necessary skills to navigate the digital landscape, promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing employability. this synergy not only addresses the challenges of unemployment and underemployment but also encourages the development of a more informed and engaged citizenry. as nigeria continues to evolve in the global economy, harnessing the power of new media alongside robust business education will be crucial in driving sustainable economic growth and fostering a competitive workforce. ultimately, this approach can contribute to a more dynamic and resilient economy, capable of meeting the diverse needs of its population. beyond economic benefits, this synergy promotes the development of informed and engaged citizens. as individuals learn to navigate new media, they become more aware of social, political, and economic issues affecting their communities. this awareness encourages civic participation and advocacy, leading to a more active and informed populace. recommendation it is therefore recommended that; 1. educational institutions should reshape their business education curricula to incorporate comprehensive digital marketing strategies and new media platforms, focusing on digital communication, e-commerce, data analytics, and social media marketing. 2. media organization should collaborate with universities, vocational training centers, and businesses to establish internship programs and collaborative projects focusing on new media applications in business. 550 references abdullahi, z., gora, a., & mohammed, a. 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(2021). social media on blended learning: the effect of rapport and motivation. behaviour & information technology, 41, 1941 1951. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 610 the relationship between hypermasculinity rape myth and rape proclivity amongst undergraduate males in enugu state university of technology anike, raphael u. department of psychology anikeugwu@yahoo.com abstract the study examined the relationship between hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity among undergraduate males in enugu state university of science and technology, agbani. a convenience sample of 150 males participated in the study. the participant’s age ranges from 18 to 25, with a mean age of 21.19 years and a standard deviation of 2.02. a cross sectional survey design was used. three instruments were used to collect data; the updated illinois rape myth acceptance scale, short hypermasculine values questionnaire, and the likelihood to rape scale. the result of the study showed that hypermasculinity is significantly predictive of rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males, accounting for 6% variance in predicting rape proclivity. the second finding showed that rape myth acceptance has a positive significant predictive relationship with rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males accounting for a 44% significant variance in predicting rape proclivity. a practical implication of the study is the need for universities to educate students on the consequences of sexual violence and reduce the likelihood of occurrence and prevalence by providing resources to unlearn the values found to be associated with rape proclivity. suggestions for further studies were made. keywords: masculinity, rape, sexual violence, students introduction nigeria is a country with no substantial data on the prevalence of sexual violence and aggression. according to the rape, abuse & incest national network [rainn], (2019), one in every ten ever-married nigerian women reports experiencing sexual violence in her lifetime. however, as high as that number is, it is misleadingly low: the best available data on the prevalence of sexual violence within the country does not account for unmarried women or girls. globally, one in five women will be subjected to sexual assault in their lifetime (rape crisis uk, 2019), and in every 98 seconds, an american is sexually assaulted. (rainn, 2018). one can only imagine the situation in a country with limited research and underreported incidences of sexual violence. findings from a national survey carried out in 2014 on violence against children in nigeria, confirmed one in four females reported experiencing sexual violence in childhood with approximately 70% reporting more than one incident of sexual violence. also, according to rainn (2020), one in six women and one in thirty-three men will be victims of sexual assaults in their lifetime. however, the prevalence of sexual assaults is even higher among college males (fedina et al., 2018). considering the above facts, it is pertinent to study the factors that are related to sexual violence against women such as rape myth acceptance (rma), hyper masculinity and rape proclivity. these factors are prevalent in males as many researches have found that women are far more likely to be victimized by sexual violence than men. the world health organization (who) reported in 2021 that 1 in 3 women globally experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner. also from a study among college students in germany by walter, et al., (2013) mailto:anikeugwu@yahoo.com 611 results showed that women were more likely to be victims of sexual violence compared to men, and that rape myths themselves focus on men’s violence against women (payne et al. 1999). men are also more likely than women to perpetuate sexual violence and this informed the participants of the study to be on undergraduate males. studies have also found males to believe more rape myths than females. burt (1980), defined rape myths as “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists”. she identified examples of these myths, including “women ask for it” and “rapists are sex-starved, insane, or both”. rape myths are persistent and widespread beliefs and attitudes that exonerate the perpetrator and blame the victim of rape (lonsway & fitzgerald, 1994). rape myths serve to shift responsibility from the perpetrator to the victim and are often related to other hostile attitudes and behaviours toward women that may influence how and whether young men engage in sexual consent communication (shafer et al., 2018). lonsway and fitzgerald (1994) defined rape myths as “attitudes & beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women”. these myths have been internalized and are used to excuse sexual violence. while rape myths serve as a form of justification of rape for men, women use it as a defense mechanism against vulnerability to rape, and lower likelihood that they will label their own experience of sexual assault as rape (peterson & muehlenhard, 2004). the perceptions and attitudes towards rape are generally sociocultural driven, wherein combative sexual beliefs, stereotyped gendered roles, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and sexual conservatism are some of the important underlying factors impacting the acceptance of rape myths. (gautam & tewari, 2024). while some cultures may view rape victims with compassion and under-standing, others may regard them with humiliation and disgrace (kazmi et al., 2023). rape myth acceptance (rma) is the degree to which someone believes in rape myths. lonsway and fitzgerald (1994), defined rape myth acceptance as the extent to which a person accepts stereotypic and false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists." research has identified rape myth acceptance as a risk factor for both perpetration of sexual violence by men (yapp & quayle, 2018). therefore, rape myth acceptance is commonly targeted in anti-rape activism (e.g., the #metoo movement) and prevention work due to its association with perpetration, risk of victimization, survivor outcomes, and injustices in the criminal legal system (pettyjohn et al. 2023). research demonstrates that people who endorse rape myths are more likely to blame victims for their own rape (grubb & turner, 2012). people can charge that the victim was in the wrong location at the wrong time, neglected to take the required precautions, or decided not to protect oneself (pacilli et al., 2022). additionally, rape victims may be associated with negative stereotypes, such as being promiscuous or “damaged goods” (li & zheng, 2022). research has identified rape myth acceptance as a risk factor for both perpetration of sexual violence by men (yapp & quayle, 2018) and a high proclivity to rape. although there are instances where females display heightened rape myth acceptance, most research indicates that men are most likely to subscribe to wide-ranging rape myths and exhibit more problematic rape supportive beliefs overall (willmott et al., 2024). the acceptance of rape myths can have catastrophic consequences for a rape victim, if the police don't believe her, the court system doesn't prosecute the rapist, or she doesn't receive the proper medical and mental help required after a rape (sinclair & bourne, 1998). heightened rape myth acceptance among men is associated with increased self-reported rape proclivity and sexual coercion (yapp & quayle, 2018). rape proclivity describes one’s inclination or 612 predisposition towards rape. it is an individual's endorsement of the likelihood of committing sexual violence in the future, given the condition that the person would never be caught (bohner etc al., 2009; bohner et al., 2006). the concept of rape proclivity has been studied by several researchers in the field of psychology, including lonsway et al., (2009), who defined it as "the extent to which an individual has attitudes, beliefs, or values that are favorable toward sexually coercive behaviours". it refers to the tendency or disposition of an individual to engage in sexually violent behaviour. rape proclivity has been measured with the likelihood to rape (lr) scale by malamuth, (1981), by assessing individual’s beliefs in their likelihood of commiting rape under specific situations, like knowing they would not be caught. according to neil malamuth, a leading researcher in the field of sexual aggression, rape proclivity is influenced by a combination of factors, including hostile masculinity, sexual promiscuity, attitudes supportive of violence, acceptance of interpersonal violence, and adversarial sexual beliefs (malamuth, et al, 1996). some other researchers have proposed that implicit personality theory may be a factor in rape proclivity. polaschek and ward (2002), proposed five implicit theories for rapists; “women are unknowable/dangerous” (beliefs that women are different from men, and in that way men cannot understand how a woman’s mind works), “women are sex objects” (beliefs that the purpose of a woman is to please a man sexually), “male sex drive is uncontrollable” (beliefs that men cannot control when they become aroused, and need to be satisfied when this happens), “entitlement” (beliefs that all men are entitled to sex) and “dangerous world” (beliefs that the world is full of dangerous and hostile individuals). bohner and colleagues (1999), it was found that men who held sexist beliefs were more likely to hold rape-supportive attitude. by identifying and addressing the various factors that contribute to rape proclivity, researchers and practitioners can work towards reducing the incidence of sexual violence and promoting healthier attitudes towards sexuality and relationships (malamuth et al., 1996). just like rape myth acceptance, another variable that relates to rape proclivity is hyperrmasculinity. in a society where people are defined by genders and gender roles, people tend to imitate and exhibit the behaviours and roles of the gender, which has been taught directly or indirectly to them. such behaviour could be either masculine or feminine. however, the expected behaviour of the gender may be exaggerated and when this occurs for the masculine gender, it's called hypermasculinity. hypermasculinity is the inflation of stereotypic masculine attitudes and behaviours involving callous attitudes toward women, and the belief that violence is manly and danger is exciting (mosher & sirkin, 1984). the term hypermasculinity has its roots in criminology and the study of male pattern violence and aggression. initial work in this area was done by mosher and sirkin (1984), they defined hypermasculinity as comprising three core attributes; ‘a callous sexual attitude towards women’, ‘a belief that violence is manly’ and ‘the experience that danger is exciting’. hypermasculinity is the exaggerated stereotype of what it means to be a man, such as the super evaluation of competition, devaluation of cooperation and care taking activities (burk et al., 2004). archer (2010) defined hypermasculinity as a set of values and beliefs that emphasize exaggerated forms of traditional masculinity, which includes toughness and avoidance of femininity, control over women's sexuality and callous sexual attitudes toward women. hypermasculinity can extend beyond the sexual realm, such that hypermasculinity endorses traditional ideas about the need for men to be highly respected and to gain that respect by being aggressive and unfeminine (pleck et al., 1993). hypermasculine men may then misinterpret or ignore sexual communication signals from their female partners, especially 613 when their female partners’ wants and signals are in opposition to their own. hypermasculine men may also rationalize their aggressive behaviours by subscribing to less progressive beliefs about how women communicate sexual consent, such that they believe women want to be dominated by men and engage in “token resistance” as a submissive tactics. (shafer et al., 2018). theoretically, hypermasculinity results from gender role socialization (crowell & burgess, 1996) in which cultural expectations of maleness produce both a turning away from relational ways of being (bergman, 1991) and an adversarial relationship with females who are viewed as deficient, “other,” and “dangerous” (gilligan, 1982). burk et al. (2004) suggest hypermasculine ideology places little value on emotion while overemphasizing competition and devaluation of cooperation. hypermasculinity has been found to be associated with endorsement of rape myths and sexual assault perpetration (locke & mahalik, 2005; zinzow & thompson, 2015). both rape myth acceptance and hypermasculinity are learned behaviours that have been studied independently and found to have a relationship with rape proclivity. malamuth (1995) and bohner (2005) described rma as a key risk factor for perpetrating sexual violence in previous studies. studies of the association between masculinity and sexual aggression have found that men who possess hostile masculine or hypermasculine attitudes are more likely to self-report sexual aggression against women (murnen, 2015). patterson, (2023) found a moderate relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity and a strong relationship between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. statement of the problem. sexual violence is a significant and widespread problem, affecting communities, families and individuals. with the reports from various surveys, the prevalence is likely higher than is being reported eg (rainn, 2018). despite efforts to address this issue, rates of sexual violence remain high, and many perpetrators are never identified or held accountable for their actions. one of the key factors contributing to sexual violence is the belief of rape myths, or false beliefs about the nature and causes of sexual violence. the relationship between hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance, and rape proclivity has been well established in the introduction. however, there is still much to be learned about how these factors influence sexual violence and how they can be addressed. the current study seeks to investigate this relationship in more detail, and to identify potential interventions that may be effective in reducing the incidence of sexual violence. to this end, the study will provide answers to the following questions: ● will hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance significantly correlate with rape proclivity among undergraduate males. purpose of the study the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance, and rape proclivity in a sample of undergraduate students. the study seeks to explore how these variables are related to each other and to identify potential factors that may influence or moderate these relationships. specifically, the study aims: ● to determine whether hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance will significantly correlate with rape proclivity among undergraduate males. 614 conceptual framework hypermasculini rtrr figure 1: this diagram shows the relationship between hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity theoretical framework the theory of planned behaviour is a psychological theory that explains human behaviour based on three factors: attitudes, subjective norms and behavioural control. these factors influence a person's intention to engage in a particular behaviour which in turn, influences their actual behaviour. in combination, the attitude toward the behaviour, the subjective norm, and the perceived behavioural control lead to the formation of a behavioural intention (ajzen, 2002). in understanding the relationship between the factors, hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity, the following factors contribute. hypermasculine beliefs can lead to more accepting attitudes toward sexually coercive behaviours, viewing them as expressions of masculine dominance and power (gavey, 2005). these attitudes are influenced by beliefs about the outcomes of engaging in such behaviours and the perceived value of those outcomes (fishbein & ajzen, 2010). for instance, individuals may believe that coercive sexual behaviour enhances their status among peers or that it is acceptable because it aligns with traditional masculine gender roles. endorsement of rape myths, which are false beliefs and stereotypes about sexual violence, can shape subjective norms surrounding sexually coercive behaviours (burt, 1980). individuals who accept these myths may perceive that their peers or society tolerate or even condone such behaviours. this perception can contribute to a sense of social pressure to engage in sexually coercive behaviours (ajzen, 1991). hypermasculine individuals who believe they have control over their sexual interactions may feel more confident in their ability to engage in sexually coercive behaviours (gannon & ward, 2014). perceived behavioural control can also be influenced by factors such as power dynamics in relationships, access to potential victims, and the perceived likelihood of facing the consequences for their actions (conner & sparks, 2015). in particular, perceived behavioural control is presumed not only to affect actual behaviour directly but also to affect it indirectly through behavioural intention (noah & zimmerman, 2005). hyper masulinity rape myth acceptance o,mmmr rape proclivity 615 empirical review o’ connor (2020), studied the lonngitudinal effects of rape myth beliefs and rape proclivity, found that causality exists for rma and rape proclivity. using longitudinal data with a sample of 488 college men, this study used cross-lagged panel analysis to investigate these relationships across 4 time points according to 2 models: autoregressive effects of rma and rape proclivity, meaning each construct predicts itself over time, and rma and rape proclivity predicting each other over time. these findings have implications for prevention efforts directed toward modifying attitudes associated with sexual assault perpetration particularly for men who are at high risk of perpetrating sexual assault, including those with high rates of rma and rape proclivity. o’connor (2022), on profiles of men's rape myth beliefs and the association with rape proclivity. 474 incoming college men were grouped into four profiles after a latent profile analysis. some groups endorsed lower or mid-levels of rape myths and others endorsed higher levels of some or all rape myths. the findings indicate that subgroups of men with high levels of rma have higher mean rape proclivity scores compared to the subgroup of men with the lowest level of rma. (o’connor, 2022). le et al., (2020) study on masculine norms and college men’s rape myth acceptance: the mediating role of nurturance, examined (a) the extent to which conformity to distinct masculine norms and nurturance were associated with rape myth acceptance and (b) if nurturance mediated the associations between conformity to masculine norms and rape myth acceptance among 251 college-attending men. results revealed that conformity to the masculine norms of power over women and disdaining gay men were positively associated with rape myth acceptance. nurturance partially mediated the associations between the power over women and disdaining gay men norm and rape myth acceptance, such that men higher in those two masculine norms reported lower nurturance, which was associated with greater rape myth acceptance. navarro and tewkesbury (2017), on mythbusters: examining rape myth acceptance among u.s. university students. the study examined rape myth acceptance among 727 university students from 21 u.s. institutions with the updated illinois rape myth acceptance scale. findings showed sorority members rejected rape myths at greater rates than non-sorority members, but fraternity members were similar to non-fraternity members. higher rape myth acceptance was associated with males, younger ages, lower gpas, greater religiosity, greater alcohol consumption, and not knowing a victim of a sexual assault. patterson, (2023) studied on how hypermasculinity and rape myth acceptance (rma) relate to rape proclivity in college males and used a sample of 48 males between the ages of 18-24, found that 30.9% of participants' answers indicated hypermasculinity and 69.1% did not. additionally, 21.6% of answers indicated rape myth acceptance whereas 78.4% did not. only 2.08% of the sample indicated rape proclivity. a moderate relationship was found between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity and a sttrong relationship was uncovered between rma and rape proclivity. obierefu and ojedokun (2019), carried out a study on masculinity as predictor of rapesupportive attitude among men. a survey using online questionnaire was used to collect data on rape myth, masculinity and its subcomponents from 107 men. the results indicated that masculinity, hypermasculinity, sexual identity, dominance and aggression, conservative masculinity, and devaluation of emotion contributed significantly to rape-supportive attitude. 616 dragan, (2020) found that hypermasculinity was significantly associated with rma (p=. 001). using a convenience sample of 59 undergraduate men, to study how hypermasculinity affects undergraduate male’s perceptions of sexual assault, consent, hook-up culture, and rape myth acceptance (rma) using six validated inventories. also, a significant relationship between hypermasculinity and motivations for participation in hook-up culture was also detected.(dragan 2020). shafer et al., (2018), on the role of hypermasculinity, token resistance, rape myth acceptance and assertive sexual consent communication among college men, 370 undergraduate college men completed cross-sectional online surveys. hierarchical multiple regression examined how hypermasculinity, token resistance, rape myth acceptance, and sexual communication assertiveness were associated with consent-related attitudes, intentions, and interpretations. results showed that bivariate correlations among all variables were significant. in multivariate analyses, sexual communication assertiveness was positively associated with all consent outcomes, and token resistance and rape myth acceptance were negatively associated with some. however, hypermasculinity was not a significant factor. süssenbach and euteneur (2022) studied rape myth acceptance and psychopathy as interacting predictors of rape proclivity, using a convenience sample of 185 german men, the results support a positive interaction account. in particular, the combination of being high on both risk factors (rape myth acceptance and psychopathy) as predictive of sexual violence. tamara, (2017) study on rapists among us? rape proclivity and correlates in a new zealand sample of men had two aims. the first aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of self-reported rape proclivity in a new zealand community sample of men (n = 118). the second aim was to explore the relationship between rape proclivity and theoretically-related attitudes and beliefs including rape myth acceptance, hostile sexism, benevolent sexism, adversarial sexual beliefs and the acceptance of interpersonal violence. findings confirmed that the rate of self-reported rape proclivity was similar to those found in international samples, with men more willing to admit to some likelihood of rape when responding to behavioural descriptors than explicit questions. rape proclivity was associated with theoretically-related attitudes and beliefs in the expected direction. furthermore, there was a clear difference in responding between men who reported no likelihood of rape and men responding that they perceived were somewhat likely to rape. oesterle et al., (2023) examined rape myth acceptance and sexual aggression among college men: examining perceived peer approval as a moderating risk factor, where participants included a sample of 610 first-year college men completed survey assessments of rape myth acceptance, perceived peer approval for sexual violence, and history sexual assault perpetration since the age of 14. participants also rated the extent to which hypothetical vignettes portraying coercive sexual activity were considered to be sexual assault. data indicated significant main effects of both rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval on recognizing sexual assault and for prior perpetration of sexual assault. a significant interaction between rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval for sexual violence was detected for prior perpetration of sexual assault, indicating that expression of rape myths may be inhibited when peers are seen as unsupportive. interactive effects between rape myth acceptance and perceived peer approval for sexual violence were not detected for recognizing sexual assault. hypotheses 1. hypermasculinity will significantly correlate with rape proclivity among undergraduate males. 617 2. rape myth acceptance will significantly correlate with rape proclivity among undergraduate males. method participants this study used a convenience sample of 150 undergraduate males. 25 from the faculty of engineering, 27 from faculty of social sciences, 25 from faculty of law, 30 from the faculty of applied and natural sciences, 19 from faculty of pharmacy and 24 from faculty of management sciences, in enugu state university of science and technology. the participants' age range from 18 to 25, with a mean age of 21.19 years and a standard deviation of 2.02. other information relating to their department and level was obtained using the questionnaire. instruments the instruments used to gather data on this study includes: the updated illinois rape myth acceptance scale, short hypermasculine values questionnaire, and the likelihood to rape scale. short hypermasculine values questionnaire (archer, 2010) hypermasculinity was assessed with the short hypermasculine values questionnaire (hvq-s, archer, 2010). the questionnaire is a shortened version of the 26-item measures of stereotypical masculine values and contains 16 items, such as “real men don't back away from bar room confrontations.” items 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14 and 15 are reverse scored. the response options range from 1 (not at all agree) to 7 (very much agree). the mean of all item scores is calculated for the total measure score. the researcher conducted a pilot study and obtained a crronbach alpha of .75. hypermasculine values questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure of hypermasculine values among men in various settings. updated illinois rape myth acceptance scale (mcmahon & farmer, 2011). rape myth acceptance was measured by the updated 22-item illinois rma scale (mcmahon & farmer, 2011). the scale contains 22 items with updated language from the illinois rape myth acceptance scale. it measures individual’s acceptance of rape myths. it is a 5-point likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (not true at all) to 5 (very much true), where higher scores indicate greater rape myth acceptance. the overall cronbach’s alpha for the measure obtained from a pilot study conducted by the researcher was .84. it also has good test-retest reliability. likelihood to rape scale (malamuth, 1981) rape proclivity was measured using two questions “how likely would you be to force another person to do something sexual even if she didn’t want to?” the second question “how likely would you be to have sex with another person who was too intoxicated to resist your sexual advances?” a reliability statistics conducted for the present study, showed a cronbach alpha of .75. the items have also been used in various international studies to measure rape proclivity. 618 procedure a pilot study was conducted to validate the instruments in the present context. voluntary participants similar to the sample for the main study from the university of nigeria enugu campus (unec), were used for the pilot study. the illinois rape myth acceptance scale had a mean of 70.7, a standard deviation of 14.3 and a cronbach alpha of .84. in the hypermasculine values questionnaire, words in three items were changed for better understanding in the present context. in item 4, “macho” was changed to manly, in item 6, “passive" was changed to “submissive” and in item 8, “nuke the bastards” was replaced with “destroy everyone”. the hvq had a mean of 60.7, a standard deviation of 8.3 and a cronbach alpha of .75. the items that measured likelihood to rape had a mean of 4.6, a standard deviation of 2.4 and a cronbach alpha of .75. participation in the main study was voluntary and the aim and nature of the study were explained to the participants while being assured of confidentiality of their responses. a convenience sample was used and the questionnaires were shared to the available students. a lecturer assisted with the distribution of the questionnaire and assistance was offered to the participants when required. completed questionnaires were collected immediately after they were filled by the participants. 180 questionnaires were distributed, 169 were returned while 150 were properly filled after a recheck and were used for data analysis. design statistics the design adopted for the study was a cross-sectional survey design. regression analysis was employed for the data analysis in addition to statistical package for the social science (spss). results table 1: correlations of demographic variables (age and level of study), hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. sn variable m sd 1 2 3 4 5 1 age 21.19 2.02 2 level of study 2.74 1.23 .72*** 3 hypermasculinity 61.02 9.04 -.02 -.15** 4 rape myth acceptance 72.39 15.04 -.12 -.20** .18** 5 rape proclivity 4.79 2.57 -.003 -.011 .242*** .450*** ***p < .001; **p < .01, *p < .05 result of table one above showed that the demographic variables age (r = .003) and level of study (r = -.011) were not significantly related to rape proclivity. hypermasculinity (r = .24, p< .001) was significantly positively related to rape proclivity among the participants. rape myth acceptance equally have positive significant relationship with rape proclivity among the participants (r = .45, p< .001). age was positively significantly related to level of study (r = .72, p<.001), and none significantly related to hypermasculinity (r = -.02, p>.05) and rape myth acceptance (r = -.12, p>.05). level of study was significantly related to hypermasculinity (r = -.15, p<.01) and rape myth acceptance (r = -.20, p<.05). hypermasculinity was significantly related to rape myth acceptance (r = .18, p<.01). 619 table 2: hierarchical multiple regression predicting rape proclivity from hypermasculinity and rape myth acceptance. variables model 1 model 2 model 3 age .01 .04 .04 level of study.02 -.05 -.05 hypermasculinity .25** .18** rape myth acceptance .44** r .01 .24** .49** r2 .01 .06** .24** r2 change .01 .06** .18** f value f(2, 147)= .01 f(3, 146) = .03 f(4, 145)= 3.09 note: *=p<.05 the results of hierarchical multiple regression in table 2 above indicated that the demographics, age (β = -.01, p> .05) and level of study (β = -.02, p> .05) were not significant predictors of rape proclivity among participant. the demographic variables accounted for none significant 1% impact as predictors of rape proclivity (r2 = .01). hypermasculinity (β = .25, p< .01) entered in model 2 of the equation is a significant predictor of rape proclivity among participants. it accounted for significant 6% variance in predicting rape proclivity among participants (∆r2 = .06, p< .01). rape myth acceptance entered in model 3 significantly predicted rape proclivity among participants. it accounted for significant 44% variance in predicting rape proclivity among participants (∆r2 = .44, p< .05). therefore, increase in hypermasculinity and rape myth acceptances increases rape proclivity among participants. summary of findings 1. age and level of study were not significantly related to rape proclivity. 2. hypermasculinity was significantly positively related to rape proclivity among participants. 3. rape myth acceptance was significantly positively related to rape proclivity among participants. 4. demographics, age and level of study were not significant predictors of rape proclivity among participants. 5. hypermasculinity is a significant predicted rape proclivity among participants. 6. rape myth acceptance significantly predicted rape proclivity among participants. discussion the study examined the relationship between rape myth acceptances, hypermasculinity and rape proclivity among undergraduate males in enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. the result of the study showed that hypermasculinity is significantly predictive of rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males, accounting for 6% variance in predicting rape proclivity. the findings of the study showed that the null hypothesis that there will be no significant relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males was rejected and the alternate hypothesis that there will be a significant relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males was accepted. this means that student’s level of hypermasculinity has a relationship with their likelihood to rape. the findings of the study is consistent with the findings of patterson (2023), which found that hypermasculinity has a significant relationship with rape proclivity with a correlation of 0.48, which is a moderate relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity. the findings of the study are however, inconsistent with the findings of shafer et al (2018), which found that hypermasculinity was not directly 620 associated with sexual consent communication attitudes, intentions, or interpretations. this is contrary to other studies over the years that have found a relationship between hypermasculinity and sexual violence. according to the social role theory, gender roles are social constructions that are influenced by cultural norms and expectations which can lead to the internalization of these roles by individuals (eagly et al., 2000). this can result in the development of hypermasculine attitudes, which may include a strong emphasis on aggression, power, and control (vechiu, 2019). this theory agrees with the findings of the study that hypermasculine values may reinforce male stereotypes such as seeing aggression as manly. the second finding showed that rape myth acceptance has a positive significant predictive relationship with rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males accounting for a 44% significant variance in predicting rape proclivity. the null hypothesis that there will be no significant relationship between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males was rejected and the alternate hypothesis that there will be a significant relationship between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity among esut undergraduate males was accepted. this relationship implies that the increase in rape myth acceptance of undergraduate males will increase their likelihood to rape. the findings of the study are consistent with the findings of o’connor (2022) which found that subgroups of men with high levels of rma have higher mean rape proclivity scores compared to the subgroup of men with the lowest level of rma. the findings of this study confirmed the relationship between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity which is similar to the relationship between the variables as found in international samples. according to gilbert & malone (1995), the fundamental attribution error, also called the correspondence bias, describes the tendency for observer’s to attribute other people’s behaviour to internal or dispositional factors and to downplay situational causes. this can contribute to the endorsement of rape myths, which are false beliefs about rape that serve to justify sexual violence and blame victims (stormo, lang, & stritzke, 1997). another theory that examines this relationship is the sexual scripting theory. since learning about sexuality occurs through socialization, people tend to follow the “scripts” that they learned are more appropriate and expected of them (simon & gagnon, 1986). sexual scripts that support dominance could have impact on the sexual relationship of a couple, and can normalize male sexual aggression. implications of the study the findings of the study have many practical implications. in the findings of the relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity, it revealed a significant positive relationship between hypermasculinity and rape proclivity. the practical implication of this is that undergraduate males’ rape proclivity is heightened by hypermasculine values. the second study also revealed a significant positive relationship between rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. as previously stated, these values are learned and therefore can be unlearned. universities can educate students on the consequences of sexual violence and reduce the likelihood of occurrence and prevalence by providing resources to unlearn the values found to be associated with rape proclivity. furthermore, educational programs that address traditional beliefs systems and have negative values should be applied. the sexual scripting theory argues that sexual scripts can be formed, changed, or reinforced by various social contexts, such as family, education, and the media (gagnon & simon, 2003). therefore, the family and media have an important role to play in reconfiguration of these values. 621 limitations of the study one limitation of this study is the use of participants from only one university, this makes it difficult to generalize to other populations asides from the university used. students from other universities may have different attitudes towards the variables that were studied. a cross sectional study by stephens et al., (2016), found that rape myth acceptance varies by country, this variation may also be evident in universities in different states and locations. another limitation is the reliance on self-reported data from the participants, who could likely confound the result by providing false information. providing false information may also be due to the nature of the research which might have made participants uncomfortable in giving their answers that are not socially desirable. suggestions for further studies for further studies, researchers may consider using a larger sample drawn from multiple universities in various geographical locations for better generalization of findings. in addition, researchers should consider studying other variables that may relate to rape proclivity such as personality, ethnicity, token resistance, exposure to violent media and religion. further studies should also consider a carrying out a longitudinal study to understand the relationship between hypermasculinity and rape myth acceptance over time, and check for causality. summary and conclusion the study investigated the relationship between hypermasculinity, rape myth acceptance and rape proclivity. the illinois rape myth acceptance scale, the hypermasculine values questionnaire and the likelihood to rape scale were the instruments used for data collection. the generated data was subjected to hierarchical multiple regression analysis, all the demographic variables had no significant relationships with rape proclivity. the findings of the study revealed a positive significant and predictive relationship between hypermasculinity and 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(2015). a longitudinal study of risk factors for repeated sexual coercion and assault in u.s. college men. archives of sexual behaviour, 44, 213–222. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.02.001 https://hdl.handle.net/10289/11123 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_15 https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514549196 https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2024.2314000 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.05.002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/ page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 211 foreign aid, donor financing and literacy rate in nigeria: evidence from error correction and granger causality models eze, a. e*, kalu c.u, okeyika, k.o & mgbemena, o.o *corresponding author: ae.eze@unizik.edu.ng abstract while debates continues on the best way to deliver assistance, there is little doubt that nigeria will continue to need significant aid to achieve development goals. moreover, despite criticisms, aids has had many successes in africa and nigeria. this paper examined foreign aid, donor financing and literacy rate. this paper is anchored on the human capital theory and utilized the error correction model and the granger causality approached over the period of 1985 to 2023. the variables of the paper are foreign aid, gross fixed capital formation, exchange rate, and inflation. the data for these variables were sourced from the central bank of nigeria and national bureau of statistics (nbs). the result showed that foreign aid has a positive but insignificant impact on human capital development in nigeria (p-values of t – statistics (0.058663) >sig-value (0.005); trace statistic and the max-eigenvalue statistic of johansen co-integration test indicates 2 co-integrating equation(s) at the 5 percent level of significance indicating that there is a long-run relationship between foreign aid and literacy rate in nigeria; also there is a uni-directional relationship between foreign aid and literacy rate. the paper recommended among others a policy framework that would guide against the country's dependence on foreign aid beyond a point that may not be healthy for the economy. keywords: exchange rate, foreign aid, gross fixed capital formation, inflation, literacy rate, nigeria jel codes: 1. introduction aid has been coming to africa for many purposes only one of which is development. donor use aid to advance their values, their commercial interests, their cultural aspirations and their diplomatic and political objectives (world bank, 2000). aid has also served development goals. it has always being used to raise the standard of living and to reduce poverty in poor countries like nigeria. aid is also used to fund investment projectsroads, ports, public utilities and communication facilities, vaccination programmes and the expansion of schools and health clinics. it has helped to sustain essential reforms, including trade liberalization, that have adverse effects on fiscal revenue. foreign aid can take various forms. some aids can take the nature of sharing technical expertise while others are made up of out-and-out grants of money, and loans at concessional charges channeled via through bilateral and multilateral global financial institutions. foreign aid is any monetary, material or human assistance received by a recipient country from a donor country; thus, it can be in the form of money or compassion such as medical practitioners, lawyers, rescuers and engineers. it could also be in the form of materials which include medications, food, building materials, weaponry and the likes. almost every developed nation has an aid agency through which it provides help to poor countries of the world. one of such agencies that gives billions of dollars to poor countries across the globe as aid is the united states aid for international development (usaid). these poor countries, mainly in africa, latin america and asia receive aid from the developed western europe and northern america, and international organizations such as the united nations, world bank, mailto:ae.eze@unizik.edu.ng 212 imf, european union, among others to tackle one developmental need or the other (noun, 2015). donors are crucial for building capacities in certain institutions notably the central bank and ministries of finance. those institutions, agencies and organizations that donates funds for development purposes are called donors. they consists of bilateral and multilateral agencies as well as non-governmental organizations at both domestic and international level. maximizing funding opportunities through grant-seeking strategies is essential for organizations striving to fulfill corporate missions and objectives effectively. the donors could also be public sector institutions, government agencies, both at the national, subnational and local governments. these funders often have larger budgets and can provide substantial grants. private sector funders encompasses business corporations, and foundations. it may offer grants or corporate social responsibilities (csr). individual donors involves philanthropists and crowd-funding sources. it may provide smaller individual donations. the different types of funding include: core funding –usually flexible and can be used for the non-governmental organizations general operations and for organizational developments, often referred to as unrestricted funding. project funding earmarked for a particular initiative, programme or project. it is often more restricted and tied to specific goal. capacity buildinggrants supporting a non-governmental organization in improving its internal capacity, infrastructure and skills and emergency funding-meant for addressing immediate and unforeseen crisis or emergency. according to its proponents, foreign aid can relieve credit shortages faced by the governments. this will allow them to invest in the development of public infrastructure and human capital, which will increase growth. recipient countries use resources obtained from foreign aid to cover the saving gap and the foreign exchange gap (akintoye & daniel, 2021). also, if the effect of aid on domestic savings is positive, then it can spur growth. otherwise, aid will probably be detrimental to the economic growth of developing countries. many scholars argue that foreign aid works better in countries with good policies. this means that for countries with good fiscal, monetary, institutional quality and trade policies, foreign aid promotes growth and development (isiyaku, zasha & suleiman, 2022). human capital development involves the transformation of the population into productive labour force capable of driving the process of economic development. essentially, it focuses on prioritizing investments in healthcare and education as core indices of human development in order to improve the productive capacity of relatively unskilled individuals to enable them contribute meaningfully to the rapid and sustained growth of the economy (eze, okpara & madichie, 2020). according to its proponents, foreign aid can relieve credit shortages faced by the governments. this will allow them to invest in the development of public infrastructure and human capital, which will increase growth. recipient countries use resources obtained from foreign aid to cover the saving gap and the foreign exchange gap (akintoye & daniel, 2021). also, if the effect of aid on domestic savings is positive, then it can spur growth. otherwise, aid will probably be detrimental to the economic growth of developing countries. many scholars argue that foreign aid works better in countries with good policies. this means that for countries with good fiscal, monetary, institutional quality and trade policies, foreign aid promotes growth and development (isiyaku, zasha & suleiman, 2022). given that foreign aid comes in different forms (e.g. social and economic infrastructure aid, industry aid, etc.), neglecting the issue of disaggregation in its research and evaluation process, does not portray a clear picture of aid performances, and most importantly, leads to misleading policy recommendations. disaggregation of aid matters for deriving robust conclusions on aid effectiveness on an economy. previous studies (obijiaku, 2015; isiaka & makinde, 2020) 213 concluded that foreign aid is harmful to economic growth in nigeria, but they did not specify which aid type that was harmful and same with studies that concluded otherwise, such as michiel, 2022). thus, any policy decision made on these findings can never be informed because foreign aid comes in many forms. at the empirical level, some non-nigerian authors have also stated the importance of aid disaggregation on the basis that different types of aid exert different effects on the recipient economies (gyimah-brempong & asiedu, 2018; ozigbo & ewubare, 2019), but to the best of our knowledge, only eze, okpara and madichie, (2020) made an attempt to disaggregate aid but classified foreign aid broadly into bilateral and multilateral aid for nigeria. this paper seeks to establish the relationship between foreign aid and human capital development using literacy rate as a proxy. the main objective of this paper is to examine foreign aid, donor financing and human capital development in nigeria. the specific objectives are to: • determine the impact of foreign aids, gross fixed capital formation and exchange rate on literacy rate in nigeria. • investigate the long-run relationship between foreign aids, gross fixed capital formation, exchange rate and literacy rate in nigeria • analyze the causality between foreign aids, gross fixed capital formation and literacy rate in nigeria. the rest of the paper is structured as follows: section 1 presents the introductory background; section 2 is on the empirical literature review and section 3 presents the methodology. section 4 presents the estimation results and analysis in line with the objectives of this paper. section 5 is on conclusion and policy implication of the findings. 2. empirical literature review this section presents the few of the related empirical studies on the subject matter. obucann, fosu and bondzie, (2022) examined the impact of foreign aid inflow on economic growth in ghana. the policy index is exogenously determined and it is given as the weighted average of budget surplus (as a proxy for fiscal policy), inflation (as a proxy for monetary policy) and import and export as a share of gdp (as a proxy for index of trade) on real gdp for the period 1975 to 2010. ordinary least square techniques was adopted in the study and used augmented dickey-fuller unit root test, co integration test, granger causality test, ecm to estimates data employed. the study indicated that foreign aid has a positive but insignificant effect on economic growth of ghana. the paper suggested that donor agencies and the government must come up with policies and strategies that can lead to effective and efficient utilization of the aid funds in ghana. olowoniyi, (2022) examined the impact of foreign aid on female human capital formation in nigeria. the study adopted the survey research method, using a random sample size of 240 females engaged in five sectors; academia (senior lecturers), medical profession (doctors and nurses), entrepreneurs (business owners), students (secondary/tertiary) and those in politics and governance. the findings show that there is no significant impact of foreign aid on human capital formation in nigeria. fasanya and onakoya, (2022) analyzed the impact of foreign aid on economic growth in nigeria during the period of 1987-2019. the variables used were the growth rate of gdp (gdpgr), growth rate of population (popgr which is a proxy for the growth rate of labour force), investment/gdp ratio represents the growth rate of domestic capital stock and aid is the foreign aid. the rate of inflation captures the monetary policy tool and government expenditure is used to capture the fiscal policy. the methods of data analysis were unit root 214 test and error correction model. the findings show that aid flows has significant impact on economic growth in nigeria: domestic investment increased in response to aid flows and population growth has no significant effect on aid flows. aid flows also provides free resources to increase domestic investment, thus confirming the aid-policy growth hypothesis. akintoye and daniel, (2021) examined the effect of foreign aids on economic development in nigeria. the variables used include foreign aid and real gross domestic product. the ordinary least square (ols) was used to measure effect of foreign aid to government expenditure, while coefficient of correlation is used to measure the degree of relationship between them, and the result of the findings show that there is insignificant relationship between foreign aid and the nigeria economy. 3. methodology 3.1 theoretical framework this paper is anchored on the human capital theory that was postulated by paul romer (1986), which emphasizes how education increases the productivity and efficiency of workers by increasing the level of their cognitive skills. in the words of paul romer growth model, economic growth is a function of four economic inputs namely: y = a f (k, l, h) where y = total national product; = the quantity of physical capital used; l = the quantity of labour used; a = state of technology and h = human capital. 3.2 model specification this paper modified the human capital theory to explore the relationship between foreign aid, gross fixed capital formation and exchange rate in nigeria. thus, the model of this paper in a regression and functional form is shown as: litr =f (aids, gfcf, exchr, infla) (3.1) where litr is literacy rate), while aids is foreign aids, gfcf is gross fixed capital formation, exchr is exchange rate, infla is inflation rate. in a linear function, it is represented as follows: hcd = β0 + β1 aids + β2 gfcf + β3 exchr + β5 infla + µt (3.2) where: β0 = constant term, β1 to β5 = regression coefficient of independent variables and µt = error term. to reduce the outliers among the variables, all variables will be expressed in logarithmic form. loghcd = β0 + β1 logaids + β2 loggfcf + β3 exchr – β5 infla + µt (3.3) the theoretical and empirical postulation of the variables are as follows: β1>0; β2>0; β3<0>0, β4 <0. this implies that a positive relationship exist between literacy rate and foreign aid; a positive between literacy rate and capital formation; an indeterminate relationship between literacy rate and exchange rate and a negative relationship between literacy rate and inflation rate. the error correction model of equation 3.3 is presented in equation 3.4 as δloghcdt-1 =δ0 + δ1δaidst-1 + δ1δloggfcft-1 + δ1δliteracyt-1 δ1δexchrt-1 – δ1δ inflat-1 + εct-1 (3.4) 3.3 estimation technique the starting point of an empirical analysis of this nature usually begins with the investigation of the properties of the time series. that is, a test of whether the variables in series are stationary at level or at first difference using unit root test. many economic variables are non-stationary because of shocks, changes and fluctuations over time. for this reason, it is important to conduct preliminary diagnostics tests on the properties of the variables to avoid spurious results and unreliable predictions. thus, the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test and philiph perron statistics were conducted to test for unit root. the augmented dickey fuller (adf) philiph 215 perron statistics tests were chosen in this study because the statistic is embedded in e-views computer software that make easy and simple to compute. yt = a + yt + β yt-1 ∑ β𝑘 𝑗=𝑖 ∇yi t-1 (3.4) yt = a + β yt-1 + ∑ β𝑘 𝑗=𝑖 ∇yi t-1 (3.5) where; δ = first difference operator, t = the trend variable, yt = the variable under consideration, εt = a white noise error term. thus, the null hypothesis for the adf unit root test is: h0: = 0 (presence of unit root) and alternative hypothesis is h1: ≠ 0 (absence of unit root). one of the methods researchers normally use to investigate the cause-effect relationship between variables is through descriptive statistics. descriptive statistics is that type of statistics that involves organizing, summarizing and presenting data in a meaningful form or usable format. thus, in this research simple averages (i.e. mean), kurtosis, skewedness, jarque-bera, and more were employed to analyze the trends of the variables used in this study between 1980 and 2018. the jacques-bera statistics is used in this study check the model is normal distributed. normality test is done to check if the residuals of the error term have a normal distribution. normality test is conducted using jacques-bera (jb) test. it is statistical instrument that tests both kurtosis and skewedness. the co-integration (johansen, 1995) deals with the methodology of modeling non-stationary time series variables. according to maddala (1992) and iyeli (2010) the theory of cointegration explains how to study the interrelationship between the long-run trends in economic variables. basically, the idea of co-integration tests on the study that even though two time series may not themselves be stationary, a linear combination of the two non-stationary time series may be stationary in long run. this study adopts the johansen co-integration statistic to test the existence of a long-term relationship among the variables in the six model although regression analysis deals with the dependence of one variable on the other, it does not necessarily imply causation. in other words, the existence of a relationship between variables does not prove causality or the direction of influence (gujarati 2004). the essence of causality analysis, using the granger causality test, is to ascertain whether a causal relationship exists between variables. although regression analysis deals with the dependence of one variable on the other, it does not necessarily imply causation. in other words, the existence of a relationship between variables does not prove causality or the direction of influence (gujarati 2004). the essence of causality analysis, using the granger causality test, is to ascertain whether a causal relationship exists between variables. ∆hcdt = β0 +  − n t 2 b2 aidst-2 +  − n t 3 b3 gfcft-1 +  − n t 4 b4 literacyt-4 +  − n t 4 b4 exchrt4  − n t 5 b5 inflat-5 + µt ∆aidst = β0 +  − n t 2 b2hcd t-2 +  − n t 3 b3 gfcft-1 +  − n t 4 b4 literacyt-4 +  − n t 4 b4 exchrt4  − n t 5 b5 inflat-5 + µt 216 ∆gfcft = β0 +  − n t 2 b2 aidst-2 +  − n t 3 b3 hcd t-1 +  − n t 4 b4 literacyt-4 +  − n t 4 b4 exchrt4  − n t 5 b5 inflat-5 + µt ∆exchrt = β0 +  − n t 2 b2 aidst-2 +  − n t 3 b3 gfcft-1 +  − n t 4 b4 literacyt-4 +  − n t 4 b4hcd t-4  − n t 5 b5 inflat-5 + µt ∆inflat = β0 +  − n t 2 b2 aidst-2 +  − n t 3 b3 gfcft-1 +  − n t 4 b4 literacyt-4 +  − n t 4 b4 exchrt-4  − n t 5 b5 hcdt-5 + µt 3.3.1 post-estimation test ramsey reset the ramsey reset statistic is a test designed to checks whether the model of the study suffers model specification error. a model that is free from model specification error means that core variables are included in the model, does not include superfluous variables, the functional form of the model was very well chosen, there is no error of measurement in the regressand and regressor. breuch-godfrey serial correlation lm test the breuch-godfrey serial correlation lm test was used to identify whether the model suffer from autocorrelation problem. the autocorrelation problem violates of ordinary least square assumption that says there is no correlation among error terms of different observation. 3.4 data and sources the data for this paper include, foreign aids (aids), gross fixed capital formation (gfcf), and literacy rate (litr), exchange rate (exchr) and inflation rate (infla) for the period of 1985 to 2023. all the variables were sourced from central bank of nigeria’s (cbn) statistical bulletin for various years. the econometric software used is eview 12 version. 4. results, discussion and analysis 4.1 descriptive statistics of the variables the descriptive results of the variables are presented in table 4.1 litr aids gfcf exchr infla mean 1552587. 1.95e+09 2638719. 94.66228 20.21579 median 17517.37 6.17e+08 1526861. 57.37225 12.65000 maximum 30916198 2.20e+10 6702782. 342.5430 72.80000 minimum 204.2600 109886.1 7502.500 0.546400 5.400000 std. dev. 5140576. 3.97e+09 2602401. 100.3847 16.75163 skewness 5.129759 3.884062 0.333800 0.861473 1.511667 kurtosis 29.59552 19.01725 1.357430 2.792833 4.458459 jarque-bera 1286.584 501.7522 4.977564 4.768150 17.84045 probability 0.000000 0.000000 0.083011 0.092174 0.000134 217 sum 58998316 7.39e+10 1.00e+08 3597.167 768.2000 sum sq. dev. 9.78e+14 5.85e+20 2.51e+14 372851.9 10382.83 observations 38 38 38 38 38 source: eview 12 the table shows descriptive statistics of the variables. in the model established in the study, there is one dependent variable and five independent variables. these variables consist of foreign aids (aids), gross fixed capital formation (gfcf), literacy rate (litr), exchange rate (exchr) and inflation rate (infla) respectively. the mean of human capital development (hcd) was 1552587.0, the median was 17517.37, maximum was 30916198.09, minimum was 204.2600, and sum of the variable was 58998316.00 respectively. the mean of foreign aids (aids) was 19500000, the median was 61700000, maximum was 220000000, minimum was 109886.1, and sum of the variable was 739000000000 respectively. the mean of gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) was 2638719.00, the median was 152681.23, maximum was 6702782.88, minimum was 7502.500, and sum of the variable was 10000000000 respectively. the mean of literacy rate (litr) was 33.86026, the median was 32.935000, maximum was 56.21000, minimum was 23.000000, and sum of the variable was 1286.690 respectively. the mean of exchange rate (exchr) was 94.66228, the median was 57.37225, maximum was 56.21000, minimum was 23.000000 and sum of the variable was 3597.167 respectively. the mean of inflation rate (infla) was 20.21579, the median was 12.65000, maximum was 72.800000, minimum was 5.400000, and sum of the variable was 768.20000 respectively. table 4.2 presents the correlation matrix. table 4. 2: result of correlation matrix litr aids gfcf exchr infla litr 1.000000 0.862005 0.657194 0.571210 0.769320 aids 0.862005 1.000000 0.334235 0.337649 0.172339 gfcf 0.657194 0.334235 1.000000 0.885917 0.218999 exchr 0.571210 0.337649 0.885917 1.000000 0.249352 infla 0.769320 0.172339 0.218999 0.249352 1.000000 there is no linear relationship between human capital development (hcd) and exchange rate (exchr) (0.571210). there is no linear relationship between human capital development (hcd) and inflation rate (infla) (0.769320). this test presented clear understanding on the assumption of ordinary least square that there is no perfect or exact linear relationship among explanatory variables. the result of correlation matrix showed that every explanatory variable in the study is linearly independent of each other. table 4.3 presents the results of the unit root test. it has been shown in econometric studies that most macroeconomic time series are not stationary at levels. giving this knowledge, testing for stationarity of variables to obtain a more reliable result becomes very essential. stationarity test was therefore carried out using augmented dickey-fuller (adf) approach for unit root testing which are reported in table 4.1.in order to examine the unit root status of the variables. 218 table 4.3: results of stationarity (unit root) test. variables variables’ name adf statistic 5% critical value remark litr literacy rate -4.837884 -2.943427 1 (1) aids foreign aids -4.992637 -2.945842 1 (1) gfcf gross fixed capital formation -4.916722 -2.945842 1 (1) exchr exchange rate -5.090027 -2.945842 1 (1) infla inflation rate -3.053066 -2.943427 1 (1) source: eview 12 in the table 4.3, the variables that were tested with unit root are shown, the values for augmented dickey-fuller (adf) statistic is presented, the lag level of each variable is identified. the mackinnon critical values at 5% level of significant were pointed out. the order of integration of each variable was enumerated, and finally the stationarity position of each variable was also stated. when augmented dickey-fuller statistic is greater than mackinnon 5 percent critical value in absolute term, it is concluded that the variable is stationary. these variables exchange rate (exchr), gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) and literacy rate (literacy) were stationary at first difference, that is they are i(1) process while human capital development (hcd), foreign aids (aids) and inflation rate (infla) were stationary at level 1(0). therefore, they contain unit root. the existence of unit root in most variables paves way for further investigation on the nature of the long run relationship among the variables. table 4.4 presents the co-integration test. since all the variables were integrated of order 1 (1), we turned to determine the existence of long run equilibrium relationship between the variables. separate co-integration tests were carried out on foreign aids (aids), gross fixed capital formation (gfcf), literacy rate (litr), exchange rate (exchr) and inflation rate (infla) respectively. the co-integration tests are based on the johansen and juselius (1989) test. tables 5 and 6 present the co-integration test results table 4.3 co-integration test result date: 05/23/23 time: 12:59 sample (adjusted): 1987 2022 included observations: 36 after adjustments trend assumption: linear deterministic trend series: aids gfcf litr exchr infla lags interval (in first differences): 1 to 1 unrestricted cointegration rank test (trace) hypothesized trace 0.05 no. of ce(s) eigenvalue statistic critical value prob.** none * 0.748110 124.1335 95.75366 0.0002 at most 1 * 0.587657 74.49805 69.81889 0.0201 at most 2 0.379589 42.60567 47.85613 0.1424 at most 3 0.321918 25.42026 29.79707 0.1470 at most 4 0.204641 11.43473 15.49471 0.1861 at most 5 0.084853 3.192128 3.841466 0.0740 trace test indicates 2 cointegrating eqn(s) at the 0.05 level 219 * denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level **mackinnon-haug-michelis (1999) p-values source: eview results the co-integration results in table 4.2.1 for the model (hcd, aids, gfcf, literacy, exchr and infla) reveals that both trace test and the max-eigenvalue test indicates 2 cointegrating equation(s) at the 5 percent level of significance. thus there is a long-run relationship among the variables (hcd, aids, gfcf, exchr and infla). we therefore reject the null hypothesis of no co-integration amongst the variables and accept the alternative hypothesis. table 4.4 presents the regression result empirical results of the error correction model (ecm) dependent variable: litr method: least squares date: 05/23/23 time: 13:17 sample (adjusted): 1986 2022 included observations: 37 after adjustments variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 6.455800 1.394776 4.628555 0.0001 logaids 0.008590 0.146425 0.058663 0.9536 loggfcf 1.315733 0.239737 5.488230 0.0000 d(infla,1) -0.010628 0.015410 -0.689651 0.4957 d(exchr,) -0.020273 0.012372 -1.638534 0.1118 ecm-1 -0.123770 0.266549 -4.216001 0.0002 r-squared 0.888163 mean dependent var 10.18688 adjusted r-squared 0.865795 s.d. dependent var 3.638545 s.e. of regression 1.332943 akaike info criterion 3.581314 sum squared resid 53.30212 schwarz criterion 3.886082 log likelihood -59.25430 hannan-quinn criter. 3.688759 f-statistic 39.70781 durbin-watson stat 0.302709 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 source: eview results the error correction model was carried out to examine parameters estimates. in testing this hypothesis, foreign aids (aids), gross fixed capital formation (gfcf), literacy rate (litr), exchange rate (exchr) and inflation rate (infla) were regressed against human capital development (hcd). the result of the regression analysis represents the model for the impact of foreign aids on human capital development in nigeria. the empirical result shows that the coefficient of foreign aids (aids) has positive and insignificant impact on human capital development (hcd) because p-values of t – statistics (0.058663) is greater than significant value (0.005). the empirical result shows that the coefficient of gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) has positive and significant impact on literacy rate because p-values of t – statistics (5.488230) is less than significant value (0.005). the empirical result shows that the coefficient of inflation rate (infla) has negative and insignificant impact on literacy rate because pvalues of t – statistics (1.638534) is greater than significant value (0.005). the empirical result shows that the coefficient of exchange rate (exchr) has negative and insignificant impact on 220 human capital development (hcd) because p-values of t – statistics (1.638534) is greater than significant value (0.005). again, our empirical result shows that the r-squared (r2) is 0.8881. the ecm statistics was (-4.216001). the ecmt-0 result indicates that 11% numbers of errors have been corrected from short run adjustment to the long run. in other words, ecm statistics shows that the model has 11 percent degree of adjustment from short-run to long-run equilibrium. table 4.5 presents the granger causality test. the essence of causality analysis, using the granger causality test, is to ascertain whether a causal relationship exists between two variables of interest table 4. 5 : result of causality test pairwise granger causality tests date: 05/23/23 time: 14:11 sample: 1985 2022 lags: 1 null hypothesis: obs f-statistic prob. logaids does not granger cause loghcd 37 7.81366 0.0085 loghcd does not granger cause logaids 1.46462 0.2345 loggfcf does not granger cause loghcd 37 5.16285 0.0295 loghcd does not granger cause loggfcf 0.02811 0.8678 literacy does not granger cause loghcd 37 7.77486 0.0086 loghcd does not granger cause literacy 4.98646 0.0322 infla does not granger cause loghcd 37 0.15579 0.6955 loghcd does not granger cause infla 1.74755 0.1950 exchr does not granger cause loghcd 37 0.05453 0.8168 loghcd does not granger cause exchr 1.73238 0.1969 source: eview 12 results evaluating the results in table 4.5 , based on the decision rule, the result of pairwise granger causality test shows that foreign aids (aids) granger cause human capital development (hcd) because its prob. value (0.0085) was less than it prob. value (0.05) while human capital development (hcd) does not granger cause foreign aids (aids) because its prob. value (0.2345) was greater than it prob. value (0.05). gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) granger cause human capital development (hcd) because its prob. value (0.0295) was less than it prob. value (0.05) while human capital development (hcd) does not granger cause gross fixed capital formation (gfcf) because its prob. value (0.8678) was greater than it prob. value (0.05). literacy rate (literacy) granger cause human capital development (hcd) because its prob. value (0.0086) was less than it prob. value (0.05) while human capital development (hcd) does granger cause literacy rate (literacy) because its prob. value (0.0322) was less than it prob. value (0.05). inflation rate (infla) does not granger cause human capital development (hcd) because its prob. value (0.6955) was greater than it prob. value (0.05) while human capital development (hcd) does not granger cause inflation rate (infla) because its prob. value (0.1969) was greater than it prob. value (0.05). exchange rate 221 (exchr) does not granger cause human capital development (hcd) because its prob. value (0.8168) was greater than it prob. value (0.05) while human capital development (hcd) does not granger cause foreign aids (aids) because its prob. value (0.1969) was greater than it prob. value (0.05). there is uni-directional relationship between foreign aids and human capital development (hcd) in nigeria. table 4.6 presents the results of the model diagnostic tests table 4.6 result of breuch-godfrey serial correlation lm test breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test: f-statistic 1.89525 prob. f(2,28) 0.3400 obs*r-squared 1.49359 prob. chi-square(2) 0.3800 source: eview 12 the breuch-godfrey serial correlation lm test was used to identify whether the model suffers from autocorrelation problem. the autocorrelation problem violates of ordinary least square assumption that says there is no correlation among error terms of different observation. breuchgodfrey serial correlation lm test is a statistic that ensures that the assumption of ordinary least square was not violated. the null hypothesis; there is autocorrelation problem because its prob. value of breuch-godfrey serial correlation lm test (0.3400) was greater than it prob. value (0.05), we reject alternative hypothesis and accept the null hypothesis. it is concluded that the model is free from autocorrelation problem. this denotes that prediction base of the ordinary least square estimates were efficient and unbias. table 4.7 presents the results of the second diagnostic test( the model linearity test) 4.7 result of ramsey reset test ramsey reset test equation: untitled specification: (loghcd,1) c ( logaids,1) (loggfcf,1) d(literacy,1) d(infla,1) d(exchr,) ecm-1 omitted variables: squares of fitted values value df probability t-statistic 0.298942 29 0.6700 f-statistic 0.967667 (1, 29) 0.6300 likelihood ratio 0.689821 1 0.8900 f-test summary: sum of sq. df mean squares test ssr 30.79431 1 30.79431 restricted ssr 53.30212 30 1.776737 unrestricted ssr 22.50781 29 0.776131 lr test summary: value df restricted logl -59.25430 30 222 unrestricted logl -43.30520 29 unrestricted test equation: dependent variable: loghcd method: least squares date: 05/23/23 time: 13:44 sample: 1986 2022 included observations: 37 source: eview results this second order test checks whether the model of the study suffers model specification error. the null hypothesis; there is model specification error. the ramsey reset test showed that there was no specification error because p-value of ramsey reset test (0.6700) was greater than it prob. value (0.05), we reject alternative hypothesis and accept the null hypothesis. it means that model include core variables in the model, does not include superfluous variables, the functional form of the model was very well chosen, there is no error of measurement in the regressand and regressor. figure 4.1 presents the normality test of the model normality test is done to check if the residuals of the error term have a normal distribution. normality test is conducted using jacques-bera (jb) test. in testing for normality, approach used by paavola (2006) for testing normality using jacques-bera test was adopted. figure 5 presents normality test for each of the distribution. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 series: residuals sample 1986 2022 observations 37 mean -2.11e-15 median -0.022708 maximum 3.255596 minimum -2.220411 std. dev. 1.216805 skewness 0.306380 kurtosis 3.390780 jarque-bera 0.814283 probability 0.665550 sources: eview 12 version jarque-bera (jb) test is statistics that compute both skewness and kurtosis. skewness shows the degree symmetry (normal distribution). the normal measurement is zero/0. kurtosis is a statistics that compute degree of peakedness. the normal measurement is three/3. a distribution is skewed if one of its tails is longer than the other. a skewed distribution can be positive or negative. positive skewed distribution means that it has a long tail in the positive direction. negative skewed distribution means that it has a long tail in the negative direction. the null hypothesis is that there is skewness and kurtosis in the model. we reject null hypothesis and accept the alternative that there is no skewness and kurtosis in the model because its p-value of jarque-bera (jb) test (0.814283) is greater than its 5% significant level (0.05). this implies that the standardized residuals from the estimated model in the regression framework is normally distributed, which is consistent with the ols assumption. 223 4.2 discussion of the model results 4.2.1 foreign aid, donor financing, donor financing and literacy rate in nigeria. it was observed from the hypothesis tested that foreign aids has positive and insignificant impact on the human capital development in nigeria (p-values of t – statistics (0.058663) >sigvalue (0.005). the finding of this paper is in line with the study of obu-cann, fosu and bondzie, (2022) that examined the impact of foreign aid inflow on economic growth in ghana, although, human capital development(literacy rate) is different from economic growth.olowoniyi, (2022) that examined the impact of foreign aid on female human capital formation in nigeria reported a negative relationship between foreign aid and female human capital development. it adopts the survey research method, using a random sample size of 240 females engaged in five sectors; academia (senior lecturers), medical profession (doctors and nurses), entrepreneurs (business owners), students (secondary/tertiary) and those in politics and governance. our findings shows that there is no significant impact of foreign aid on human capital formation in nigeria. this research concludes that the impact of foreign aid on female human capital is not significant in nigeria. furthermore, the finding of this paper is not in sync with the study of fasanya and onakoya, (2022) that analyzed the impact of foreign aid on economic growth in nigeria during the period of 1987-2019. the specific objective of the study was the growth rate of gdp (gdpgr), growth rate of population (popgr which is a proxy for the growth rate of labour force), investment/gdp ratio represents the growth rate of domestic capital stock and aid is the foreign aid. the findings show that aid flows has significant impact on economic growth in nigeria: domestic investment increased in response to aid flows and population growth has no significant effect on aid flows. aid flows also provides free resources to increase domestic investment, thus confirming the aid-policy growth hypothesis. 4.4.2 the long-run relationship between foreign aids, donor financing and literacy rate in nigeria this paper showed that there is a long-run relationship between foreign aids and human capital development in nigeria (trace statistical test and the max-eigenvalue statistical test indicates 2 co-integrating equation(s) at the 5 percent level of significance). the finding of this study was in line with study of akintoye and daniel (2021) that showed the impact of official development assistance on government expenditure. the result of the findings show that there is insignificant relationship between foreign aid and the nigeria economy. however, the findings are not in line with study of hamidu, jelilov, isik and akyuz (2020) that examined the impact of foreign aid and infrastructural development on poverty reduction. the major findings of the study are three: one, foreign aid exerts a positive impact on poverty reduction in nigeria in both short and long terms. two, the infrastructural development also impacts positively on poverty reduction in nigeria both in the short and long run; and three, the interaction of foreign aid inflows with infrastructural development yields a negative impact on poverty reduction in nigeria. again, the finding of this study was not in line with study of duru, okafor, eze and ebenyi, (2020) that explored the relationship between foreign aid and economic growth in nigeria from 1984 to 2017. the results show that foreign aid did not contribute to economic growth in nigeria. also, the macroeconomic policy environment did not contribute to economic growth in both the short-run and long-run. furthermore, the results revealed that the impact of foreign aid on economic growth in nigeria was contingent on the quality of the macroeconomic policy environment. hence, the claim that the effectiveness of aid is dependent on the q policy environment was valid for nigeria. 224 4.4.2 causality between foreign aid, donor financing and literacy rate in nigeria this paper showed that there is uni-directional relationship between foreign aids and human capital development in nigeria. the finding of this paper was not in line with the study of fashina, asaleye, ogunjobi and lawal, (2018) that investigated the link between aid and human capital in promoting economic growth of nigeria. the study used two models; the first model was used to test the validity of the medicine model in nigeria; while the extended model was used to investigate the effect of aid and human capital shocks on growth using englegranger and vector error correction model (vecm) estimation techniques respectively. the findings from the first model suggest that persistent increase in foreign aid flows beyond a particular point (the optimal point) may adversely affect growth thus confirming the proposition of the medicine model. evidence from the study’s extended model indicates that growth in nigeria is sensitive to human capital shock via education while the response from aid shock is trivial in the long run. the mechanism through which aid impacts economies is influenced by many heterogeneous factors, notably; the role played by the recipient governments is often not considered. 5 conclusion and policy implication 5.1 conclusion this paper concludes that the foreign aids have positive and insignificant impact on human capital development particularly education in nigeria. this paper was in line with the postulation of dependency theory that was formulated by andre gunder frank in 1971 who stated that a core of rich nations benefits from the resources that flow into them from a periphery of underdeveloped and impoverished nations. the central tenet of dependency theory is that these poor states’ integration into the world system is primarily responsible for their plight as well as the enrichment of the wealthy states. dependency theory refers to the idea that ex-colonial powers retain wealth at the expense of the impoverished former colonies due to the wide-ranging effects of colonialism in africa, asia, and latin america. the paper has noted the insignificant impact of foreign aids given to the less developed countries in order for them to improve their economic development. it nonetheless, takes into consideration the fact that the improper usage of foreign loans has serious effects on the economic condition of the beneficiary countries. therefore, it is policy wise to see foreign aid as a business affair in its aim and content rather than being considered as merely a demonstration of generosity between countries. foreign aid is also a means of yielding interest by the donor nations; meaning what is given as aid to the less developed countries is not a gift for it is accompanied or tied to various ideological underpinnings meant to increase the power of the donor nations at the expense of the recipients. 5.2 policy implication the policy implications of this paper are as follows: i) nigerian government should provide effective ways of channeling and utilizing the inflows of foreign aid on human capital development including education in general. also there is a need for the authority in charge to develop a suitable framework that would guide against the country's dependence on foreign aid beyond a point that may not be healthy for the economy. 225 ii) nigerian government should encourage foreign aid in the form of technical assistance instead of financial aid in order to discourage mismanagement of resources. technical aid will go a long way in improving human capital development and sustaining the growth and development of the economy. also, there is a need to promote investments in the education and health sectors so as to maximize their benefits in the long-run. iii) nigerian government should not rely on foreign aids in solving its economic development challenges as foreign aids do not have significant effect in its development. instead, the focus should be on policies that will reduce or eliminate government budget deficit and importantly increase foreign exchange earnings. also, efforts should be intensified in creating conducive environment for investment especially in the real sector of the nigeria economy which will lead to increased job creation, thereby improving savings references akintoye, o.t. & daniel, k.e. 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(2017). foreign aids and african development: lessons from nigeria. journal of political science & public affairs, 5(3), 1 3. https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=94&c=ni&l=en page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 242 inter-agency collaboration against transnational crime and law enforcement within seme badagry border migration corridor example dickson ogbonnaya igwe department of criminology and security studies faculty of the social sciences national open university of nigeria email: igwedickson@gmail.com abstract the seriousness of transnational organized crime globally particularly across nigeria and her neighbouring countries cannot be overemphasized leaving scholars to banter on diverse perspectives to its root and control design models. , and at the international level, nigeria has demonstrated a commitment to cooperating with other countries particularly in the west african sub-region to combat its threats both bilaterally and multilaterally level to no avail, the need for inter-agency collaboration however, within nigeria (at national level), is expedient. hence, the focus of this study is to examine inter-agency collaboration in law enforcement against transnational organized crime, seme, badagry border migration corridor example. using social network and institutional theories as well as mixed-method research design were adopted to examine the topic of interaction within lagos international airports as population producing purposively and simple randomly 132 sampled respondents, thirty-two (32) each component agencies (nafs, efcc, icpc, ndlea, nis, ncs, nscdc, npf, nia, dmi) personnels for quantitative data while of the study interviewed ten (10, one each personnel). so, structured and self-administered questionnaires supported by key informant interviews (kiis) are two instruments for data collection. while frequency distribution table aligned with statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20 software was utilized for quantitative data, after thematic transcribed content analysis was adopted for qualitative data. based on the findings, human trafficking, drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc in nigeria and they have no significant impact in the country. the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), and nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), are the prominent legal institution for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria. a continuous strengthening of strong inter-agency collaboration was recommended among others. keywords: introduction regular and irregular migration and crime between origine and destination are constant push factors that present space for transnational organized criminality (toc) that test the resilience, capacity, and vulnerability of state and non-state actors in law enforcement. the diverse nature and concerns of migration and related infractions bring to spotlight the strength and weakness of inter-agency collaboration and partnership in law enforcement anywhere across the globe. however, it follows that given the diverse dimensions and shades of crime, for its control strategy to be effective it got to be categorized and localized. this nuance, brings to mind the need for network across community police system and sister agencies in addressing the specifics of criminality. such toc as drug trafficking, human trafficking, wildlife trafficking, smuggling migrants, cybercrime, terrorism, cross-border banditry, cults, money laundering, advanced fee fraud, abduction, maritime crimes, among other activities (mobolaji & alabi, 2017; eze-michael, 2021; unodc, 2022; 2023). individuals in different countries that maintain successful operations and communication plans to carry out periodic, repeatable illicit exchanges are considered to be engaging in toc (eze-michael, 2021). because the offenders mailto:igwedickson@gmail.com 243 are motivated to get material or financial gain from their actions, whether directly or indirectly, this challenge has real or prospective impacts across national borders. the masterminds behind these crimes pose serious challenges to nigeria, just as they do to other countries (unodc, 2022). as toc continues to be a serious threat to both national and international peace and security, and continues to expand with serious consequences for democratic institutions, public health, safety, economic stability, and development all over the world. however, the developing regions and countries are largely at the receiving end. this is occasioned by the existence of very wide propensity to emigrate, surging poverty, non-state armed groups, climate change, combine to generate peace and security challenges bedeviling countries especially nigeria with wide range of manned and unmanned entry and exit borders (unodc, 2023). latest study released by unodc and nigeria’s national institute of security studies (niss), toc in the country has grown more brutal and sophisticated (unodc, 2023). toc refers to organized crimes or misconduct that are enabled across national borders and includes criminal groups or networks of individuals operating in multiple countries to plan and carry out illegal business operations in order to achieve their goals (eze-michael, 2021). they are coordinated across national borders and involves markets or groups of people operating in multiple countries to organize and carry out unlawful economic ventures (suleiman, 2023). toc demonstrates the adaptability and dynamic nature of societies by swiftly blending in with different social settings. since most toc networks are transnational in nature and transcend geographical boundaries as well as linguistic and cultural barriers, toc is a major problem for the entire world community (unodc, 2013). according to un and the council of europe, drug trafficking is the most prevalent illicit crime carried out worldwide. others include cybercrime, smuggling of migrants, firearms trafficking, trafficking in environmental resources and counterfeit goods, and maritime piracy (adesina, 2021; council of europe, 2005; ebbe, 2012). in the current era, toc is on the rise, primarily due to porous borders and unpatriotic actions by security agencies. this has significantly impacted a country’s security standing in comparison to other nations. the intricacy of these organizations and their operations, their global reach, and the danger they pose to democracy and lawful economic progress demonstrate how serious the issue is; these groups blatantly subvert the idea of the nation state (shelly, 1995; mobolaji & alabi, 2017). toc often destroy the political, economic, and social relationships between nations (mobolaji & alabi, 2017). they exploit the vulnerabilities of the state and society. toc also undermines the rule of law, human rights, and good governance, and fuels corruption, violence, and conflict in the country. combating toc, according to hatchard (2006), presents at least three difficulties for most african states including nigeria. the first is how to handle crimes that come from areas beyond than their respective purviews. the second deals with investigating crimes having transnational elements while the third involves tracking down and retrieving criminal proceeds that have been transferred outside of the nation where the crime was committed (hatchard, 2006). over time, the nigerian government has aided international organizations in their attempts to put an end to illicit crimes within the country in an effort to stop the spread of toc. international organizations that are pertinent, including unodc, have joined forces with the nigerian government to address the multifaceted threat of toc and its detrimental impacts on governance and society (unodc, 2022). these are efforts made at the international level. within the national level, the commitment and effort of the nigerian government towards 244 combatting toc is hindered by a whole lot of setbacks including corruption, poor governance, a lack of political will. mobolaji and alabi (2017) posits that the intricate security challenge posed by toc necessitates a joint and multifaceted strategy and response. subscribing to this position, this study argues for the potential of inter-agency collaboration and coordination as a promising strategical approach to address and combat the increasing rate of toc in nigeria. consequently, noting the seriousness of toc, nigeria and its neighbouring countries, and at the international level, nigeria has demonstrated a commitment to cooperating with other countries particularly in the west african sub-region to combat its threats both bilaterally and multilaterally level to no avail, the need for inter-agency collaboration however, within nigeria (at national level), is expedient. hence, the focus of this study is to examine inter-agency collaboration in law enforcement against transnational organized crime, seme, badagry border migration corridor example. the following questions evolve from the above gap: what is the nature of inter-agency collaboration, what local concerns sustain/obstruct inter-agency collaboration, what alternative support is needed for agencies to collaborate, how can toc be discouraged among migrants and how can legal framework encourage inter-agency collaboration? material and methods to provide framework for the study, the social network and institutional theories as well as mixed-method research design were adopted. lagos state, nigeria, being the location of one of two states with the most functional international airports constitute the study population where using purposive and simple random sampling, a total of one hundred and thirty-two (132) respondents, thirty two (32) each consisting of agencies (nafs, efcc, icpc, ndlea, nis, ncs, nscdc, npf, nia, dmi) personnels formed the sample size for quantitative data while of the study. mixed-method design and data collection adopted. so, structured and selfadministered questionnaires supported by key informant interviews (kiis) are two instruments for data collection. while frequency distribution table aligned with statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20 software was utilized for quantitative data, after thematic transcribed content analysis was adopted for qualitative data. literature review this chapter reviews prior studies and scholarship on chosen the topic for this project. as outlined in chapter one, the inquiry sought to: (1) examine the main types and trends of toc in nigeria and their impacts on the country; (2) examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria, and their effectiveness; (3) identify the best practices and lessons learned from other countries that have implemented inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc; (4) investigate the main challenges and gaps that hinder inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria, and the possibilities for overcoming them; and (5) suggest recommendations and strategies for improving and strengthening inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria. the following sub-sections contain a review of extant literature on the subject matter. definitions of toc transnational organized crime (toc) is a general term that encompasses a broad range of illegal activities that transcend national boundaries or have implications around the world. toc is the planning and execution of illicit business and economic activities by networks or groups of people operating in multiple countries, who use systematic violence and corruption to further their objectives (unodc, 2021). the convention also describes it as a group of three or more 245 people who have been together for a while and are working together to commit one or more significant crimes or violations (united nations [un], 2000). however, there is no single, universally accepted definition of toc, as different scholars and international institutions may emphasize different aspects of the phenomenon, such as the nature, structure, motivation, impact, or response to toc. for instance, the convention definition emphasizes the collective nature of these criminal groups, the execution of illegal activities, and the commission of serious crimes as their primary objective. unodc defines toc as “any group having a structured presence across two or more countries, characterized by operating hierarchically, engaging in serious illegal activities, and employing violence or other forms of intimidation when necessary to protect and expand their illicit enterprises” (unodc, 2000, p. 6). this definition by unodc highlights the international reach, hierarchical structure, and use of violence within these criminal organizations. the european union (eu) also defines toc as “criminal groups originating in one or more countries that plan and execute criminal activities where two or more countries are involved” (european commission, 2004, p. 3). this definition emphasizes the cross-border nature of such criminal activities and the involvement of multiple countries in the planning and execution of crimes. toc describes organized crimes that are made possible by cross-border connections. this includes criminal organizations or networks of individuals that operate internationally to plot and execute illicit commercial ventures in order to further their objectives (eze-michael, 2021). they involve marketplaces or groups of persons functioning in several countries to plan and carry out illegal commercial enterprises, and they are coordinated across national borders (suleiman, 2023). toc, as defined by morselli (2009), is a network of people who work across borders in a variety of fields (such as narcotics, arms, and human trafficking) and are only loosely connected by a range of ties. each person has varying degrees of involvement and dedication. this viewpoint draws attention to the variety of illicit acts these groups participate in as well as their network structure. another definition of toc put out by shaw and mccormick (2000) is a structured organization of people and/or corporations that work beyond national boundaries in order to engage in illicit operations in order to achieve power, influence, and financial or commercial gains. the authors' emphasis here is on the illegal actions that cross national borders in the pursuit of power, influence, and financial gain. the definitions provided by the united nations convention, the unodc, eu, morselli, and shaw and mccormick contribute to a deeper understanding of this transnational event. there are other definitions put forward by scholars: varese (2010) defines toc as “the convergence of crime and globalization, where criminal entrepreneurs operating in networked structures across borders take advantage of differences in legal regimes, enforcement capacities, and market opportunities”. williams (2001) defines toc as the “illicit provision of goods and services across national borders by groups that systematically resort to violence and corruption and that seek protection from, or even control over, segments of the state apparatus” (p. 48). makarenko (2004, p. 131) describes toc as “the use of transnational networks, alliances, and infrastructures by crime groups and entrepreneurs to conduct illicit activities and evade law enforcement”. with components including geographic reach, hierarchical structures, violence, power-seeking, financial benefits, group intent, cross-border cooperation, and engagement in a variety of illicit activities, these varied definitions demonstrate the dynamic nature of toc. based on their areas of expertise and research interests, academics and organizations have provided a variety of 246 viewpoints that enhance our understanding of this phenomenon. under this study, i operationalize and define toc as a term that defines all sort of criminal activities that is done across national borders by criminal groups and networks, and includes drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, cybercrime, terrorism, migrant smuggling, advanced fee fraud, among others. these criminal groups or network of individuals adopt sophisticated methods and technologies to evade law enforcement and dishonestly exploit the differences in legal systems, cultures, and economies of different countries. trends and forms of toc in nigeria toc is a complex and multifaceted issue that demands global attention and concerted efforts. the position of the security of a country relative to other countries is greatly influenced by its toc (shelly, 1995; mobolaji & alabi, 2017). nigeria is a major hub and transit point for various forms of toc, such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, advanced fee fraud, money laundering, cross-border banditry, cybercrime, terrorism, human smuggling (smuggling migrants), maritime piracy (crimes), kidnapping (abduction), extortion, and cultism (mobolaji & alabi, 2017; eze-michael, 2021; enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2022; 2023). aside human trafficking, as major form of toc, another type of toc, smuggling is also widespread in nigeria. this type of crime is driven by frustration, greed and desperation (enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). drug trafficking is another major type of toc in nigeria, which serves as a transit point for cocaine and heroin from south america and asia to europe and other african countries. nigeria is also a source and destination country for cannabis, methamphetamine, and tramadol. drug trafficking is facilitated by the country’s strategic location along global shipping routes, large-scale transport infrastructure, and porous borders. drug trafficking is linked to corruption, money laundering, violence, and terrorism in the country and the region (bonsoh, 2017; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). the un and the council of europe claim that drug trafficking is the most common illegal activity committed globally (council of europe, 2005; ebbe, 2012; adesina, 2021). wildlife trafficking is now a growing problem in nigeria like it is in other place like ivory, pangolin, and rosewood. nigeria is the largest destination for ivory and pangolin scales from africa, and the largest source of rosewood exports to china. wildlife trafficking is driven by the high demand and prices for these products in asia, as well as the weak enforcement and regulation of the wildlife sector in nigeria. it poses serious threats to the biodiversity, environment, and economy of nigeria and the region (bonsoh, 2017; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). maritime piracy is another type of toc that affects nigeria and even the gulf of guinea. maritime criminals, often referred to as pirates, attack ships with the purpose of kidnapping crew members for ransom, or hijacking oil tankers for stealing crude oil. maritime piracy is enabled by the lack of maritime security and governance, the abundance of oil resources, and the presence of militant groups in the niger delta region. it has negative impacts on the maritime trade, oil industry, and regional stability of nigeria and even the gulf of guinea (enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). also, forceful disappearance of persons, and yahoo plus that combine diabolism with online crime are fast growing into significant security threats. these forms of toc constitute lucrative business for criminal groups in nigeria, who exploit the weak security and law enforcement, the chronic rate of poverty and unemployment, and the political and ethnic tensions in the 247 country. it is also used as a tactic by terrorist groups such as boko haram sect and iswap, who have abducted hundreds of civilians, including schoolchildren, for ideological and financial purposes (enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). cultism also qualifies as a type of toc in nigeria. it is a phenomenon that involves the formation and operation of secret societies or gangs, often with violent and criminal activities. cults and politics are sometimes intertwined in nigeria, as cult members are hired by politicians and traditional rulers to intimidate opponents, rig elections, or carry out assassinations. cults are also involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and kidnapping, among other crimes (enact, n.d.; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). causes and effects of toc some causes and effects of toc have been previously highlighted under the trends of some types of toc. this sub-section serves as an addition. it has been previously argued that toc poses a profound challenge to global security and socio-economic stability. because toc subverts the rule of law, encourages corruption and violence, and takes advantage of weaker groups, it poses a severe threat to the security, stability, and prosperity of nigeria as well as its neighboring countries (adeyemi, 2013; eboh, 2017). in nigeria, toc, according to some scholars, is driven by weak governance, corruption, insecurity, and natural resources (shelly, 1995; mobolaji & alabi, 2017; enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2023). these views underscore its increasing sophistication and violent tendency that pose serious threats to the well-being, security, and development of the country and the region. institutional frameworks for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria nigeria is a party and member to the united nations convention against transnational organized crime (untoc) and its three protocols, which provide the legal framework and tools for global cooperation and mutual assistance in combating toc (unodc, 2020). nigeria has also enacted various domestic laws to address the different types of toc, such as the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) act, the money laundering (prohibition) act, the terrorism (prevention) act, the trafficking in persons (prohibition) enforcement and administration act, and the cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention, etc.) act. to enforce these various laws and address the numerous forms of toc, nigeria has also established several specialized institutions, including the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), the nigerian financial intelligence unit (nfiu), the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), the nigerian police force (npf), among others (okogbule, 2006; okeke, 2019; umejiaku, 2019; ige, 2022; unodc, 2022a). nigeria has also participated in numerous regional and international networks and initiatives to enhance cooperation and coordination with other countries and organizations, such as the west african network of central authorities and prosecutors (wacap), the judicial cooperation network for central asia and southern caucasus (casc), the south east asia justice network (seajust), the global programme for strengthening capacities of member states to prevent and combat transnational organized and serious crime (gptoc), the international criminal police organization (interpol), and the asset recovery interagency network for west africa (arinwa) (okeke, 2019; unodc, 2022a). 248 however, despite these legal and institutional frameworks, the effectiveness of these frameworks in combating toc is hampered by several significant challenges, such as lack of coordination and collaboration among different agencies, inadequate resources and capacity, political interference, corruption, weak judicial system and prosecution, jurisdictional conflicts, legal loopholes, poor data collection and analysis, and external influences (owasanoye, 2013; ojukwu & ugwuoke, 2015; un, 2015; 2019; okeke, 2019; unodc, 2022a). thus, there is a need for more concerted and comprehensive efforts to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of the existing legal and institutional frameworks, as well as to address the underlying causes and consequences of toc in nigeria and beyond (okeke, 2019; ojukwu & ugwuoke, 2015; owasanoye, 2013). best practices and lessons from other countries with respect to implementing inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc the united states has adopted a strategy to combat toc that involves enhancing intelligence collection, analysis, and counterintelligence on toc, as well as collaborating with law enforcement authorities at federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels and sharing information with foreign counterparts. the strategy also calls for building new partnerships with industry, finance, academia, civil society and non-governmental organizations to combat organized crime networks that operate in the illicit and licit worlds, as well as strengthening the rule of law and investing in improved data collection (national security council, 2020; 2021; galindo, 2024; virginia commonwealth university [vcu], 2023). the united kingdom has established the national crime agency (nca), which is the lead agency for fighting serious crime and toc in the uk and abroad. the nca works with other law enforcement agencies, such as the police, the border force, the serious fraud office, and the intelligence services, to share intelligence, coordinate operations, and provide specialist capabilities. the nca also cooperates with international partners, such as europol, interpol, and the five eyes alliance (hanley-giersch, 2012; unodc, 2022). canada has established the integrated national security enforcement teams (insets), which are multi-agency units that bring together federal, provincial, and municipal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent, detect, deny, and respond to national security threats, including terrorism and toc (public safety canada, 2021). japan has also adopted the act on punishment of organized crimes and control of crime proceeds, which criminalizes the participation in an organized crime group, enhances the confiscation and freezing of crime proceeds, and facilitates international cooperation in mutual legal assistance and extradition (unodc, 2019). new zealand has also adopted a transnational organised crime strategy for 2020-2025, which brings together government agencies to tackle organized crime by setting out a framework for greater coordination and prioritization of government responses across a wide range of crime types. the strategy also seeks to strengthen capability, improve understanding and raise awareness across relevant government agencies and other partners, such as the private sector and local communities (anzsog, 2018; new zealand police, 2020; sherloc, 2020). south africa has enacted the prevention of organized crime act (poca), which provides a comprehensive framework for preventing and combating organized crime, including provisions for criminalizing the participation in an organized crime group, enhancing the confiscation and freezing of crime proceeds, and facilitating international cooperation in 249 mutual legal assistance and extradition. south africa also participates in the southern african development community (sadc) and unodc initiatives to enhance regional and international cooperation against toc (hanley-giersch, 2012; sherloc, 2020; africa center for strategic studies, 2021; ogbu, shumba, & abimbola, 2023; rakubu, 2023). the un security council has recognized the importance of enhancing international and regional cooperation to counter toc, and has urged member states to improve border management, strengthen judicial and law enforcement capacities, and develop capabilities to investigate arms-trafficking networks (un press, 2023). the european union (eu) has established the european multidisciplinary platform against criminal threats (empact), which is a project-based cooperation framework that brings together law enforcement authorities from eu member states and partner countries, as well as eu agencies and international organizations, to tackle priority crime areas such as cybercrime, drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and firearms trafficking (europol, 2021). the african union (au) has adopted the african union convention on preventing and combating corruption, which provides a comprehensive framework for promoting good governance, accountability, and transparency, as well as enhancing cooperation among african states in preventing, detecting, punishing, and eradicating corruption and related offences (african union, 2003; africa center for strategic studies, 2021). the unodc has also called for building new partnerships with industry, finance, academia, civil society and non-governmental organizations to combat toc networks that operate in the illicit and licit worlds, as well as strengthening the rule of law and investing in improved data collection (un news, 2023). also, the conference of the parties to the untoc has highlighted the need for establishing key multilateral instruments addressing different forms of crime, and for enhancing operational cooperation between law enforcement agencies and other competent authorities, such as conducting joint inquiries and establishing joint investigative teams or bodies (un, 2020). challenges and gaps in addressing toc and recommended solutions one of the key challenges in addressing toc is the lack of adequate and timely intelligence sharing among different agencies, both nationally and internationally. therefore, enhancing intelligence collection, analysis, and counterintelligence on toc is a necessary first step. however, this should be accompanied by collaboration with law enforcement authorities at various levels and enhanced sharing with foreign counterparts (national security council, 2021; un news, 2023). another challenge is the diversity and complexity of toc networks, which operate across different sectors, regions, and jurisdictions. to counter this, a comprehensive and multidimensional approach is needed, which involves building international consensus, multilateral cooperation, and public-private partnerships to address the root causes and consequences of toc, as well as the illicit markets and activities that sustain it (national security council, 2020; unodc, 2023). a third challenge is the impact of toc on peace and security, especially in conflict-affected and fragile contexts, where toc can fuel violence, corruption, and instability, and undermine the authority and effectiveness of state institutions. to prevent and mitigate this, the security council has recognized the importance of enhanced political and conflict-related analysis, 250 including on criminal networks that support toc and terrorism, and expressed its intention to consider such threats in its agenda, as appropriate (un, 2020; un news, 2023; un press, 2023). results and interpretations this segment deals with the presentation, analysis, interpretation and discussion of findings of the data collected from the field in the course of the study. 4.2 response rate questionnaire printed questionnaire distributed questionnaire returned response rate 132 132 132 100% 4.3: demographic profile of respondent table 4.3.1 sex distribution of respondents frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid male 88 66.7 66.7 66.7 female 44 33.3 33.3 100.0 total 132 100.0 100.0 source: fieldwork, 2024 the sex distribution of respondents as presented in table 4.3.1 shows that 88 respondents representing 66.7% of the respondents are males while 44 representing 33.3 % are females. this implies that the male respondents are greater in number. table 4.3.2 age distribution of respondents frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent valid 18-25years 10 7.6 7.6 7.6 26-35years 44 33.3 33.3 40.9 36-45years 60 45.5 45.5 86.4 45years and above 18 13.6 13.6 100.0 total 132 100.0 100.0 source: fieldwork, 2024 the age distribution of respondents as presented in table 4.3.2 shows that 10 respondents representing 7.6% are between 18-25yeras of age, 44 respondents representing 33.3% are between 26-35years of age, 60 respondents representing 45.5% are between 36-45years of age, and 18 respondents representing 13.6% are 45years and above. this implies that the majority of respondents are between age bracket 26-35years. table 4.3.3 distribution of respondents based on educational qualification frequency percent valid percent cumulative percent 251 valid primary 32 24.2 24.2 24.2 secondary 44 33.3 33.3 57.6 tertiary 56 42.4 42.4 100.0 total 132 100.0 100.0 source: fieldwork, 2024 the educational qualification distribution of respondents as presented in table 4.3.3 shows that 32 respondents representing 24.2% attained primary school, 44 respondents representing 33.3% had secondary school, and 56 respondents representing 42.4% had tertiary education. answering the research questions research question one: what are the main forms and trends of toc in nigeria and their impacts on the country? table 4.4.1 forms and trends of toc in nigeria and their impacts s/n item sa (%) a (%) d (%) sd mean std decision arms trafficking 30 (22.7) 57 (43.2) 37 (28.0) 8 (6.1) 2.83 0.852 low perception cybercrime. 51 (38.6) 38 (28.8) 30 (22.7) 13 (9.8) 2.96 1.007 low perception human trafficking 64 (48.5) 48 (36.4) 7 (5.3) 13 (9.8) 3.23 0.940 high perception drug trafficking 62 (47.0) 42 (31.8) 16 (12.1) 12 (9.1) 3.17 0.966 high perception note: n=132, “sa” for strongly agree, “a” for agree, “d” for disagree and “sd” for strongly disagree. decision=weighted average=12.19/4=3.05 the data analysis shows that majority of the respondents appeared to feel that human trafficking, and drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc. on the other hand, majority of the participant had low perception that arms trafficking, and cybercrime are also add to forms and trends of toc. research question two: what are the existing legal and institutional frameworks for interagency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria, and how effective are they? table 4.4.2 legal and institutional frameworks s/n item sa (%) a (%) d (%) sd mean std decision 252 inter-agency committee on anti-corruption (icac) 38 (28.8) 45 (34.1) 39 (29.5) 10 (7.6) 2.84 0.931 low perception economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) 34 (25.8) 48 (36.4) 36 (27.3) 14 (10.6) 2.77 0.954 low perception nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) 48 (36.4) 60 (45.5) 11 (8.3) 13 (9.8) 3.08 0.914 high perception national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip 51 (38.6) 42 (31.8) 28 (21.2) 11 (8.3) 3.01 0.969 high perception decision=weighted average=11.7/4=2.93 the data analysis shows that majority of the respondents appeared to feel that the nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip) are legalize institution in nigeria. on the other hand, majority of the participant had low perception that inter-agency committee on anti-corruption (icac), and economic and financial crimes commission (efcc). . research question three: what are the best practices and lessons learned from other countries and regions that have implemented inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc? table 4.4.3 practices and implementation of inter-agency collaboration and in combating toc s/n item sa (%) a (%) d (%) sd mean std decision establishing clear communication channels 63 (47.7) 28 (21.2) 27 (20.5) 14 (10.6) 3.06 1.054 high perception developing joint task force 51 (38.6) 39 (29.5) 30 (22.7) 12 (9.1) 2.98 0.992 low perception implementing informationsharing agreements 54 (40.) 42 (31.8) 28 (21.2) 8 (6.1) 3.08 0.930 high perception investing in training and capacity building 40 (30.3) 48 (36.4) 33 (25.0) 11 (8.3) 2.89 0.938 low perception decision=weighted average=12.01/4=3.0025 the data analysis shows that majority of the respondents appeared to feel that establishing clear communication channels, and implementing information-sharing agreements are one of the best practices in combating toc. on the other hand, majority of the participant had low perception that developing joint task force and investing in training and capacity building are also practices in combating toc. 253 research question four: what are the main barriers and gaps that hinder inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria, and how can they be overcome? table 4.4.4 barriers and gaps that hinder inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc s/n item sa (%) a (%) d (%) sd mean std decision lack of trust and communication among agencies 45 (34.1) 42 (31.8) 30 (22.7) 15 (11.4) 2.89 1.009 high perception limited resources and capacity 48 (36.4) 39 (29.5) 30 (22.7) 15 (11.4) 2.91 1.022 low perception fragmented legal frameworks and jurisdictional issues 45 (34.1) 55 (41.7) 22 (16.7) 10 (7.6) 3.02 0.903 high perception political interference and corruption 42 (31.8) 44 (33.3) 36 (27.3) 10 (7.6) 2.89 0.943 low perception decision=weighted average=12.01/4=3.0025 the data analysis shows that majority of the respondents appeared to feel that establishing clear communication channels, and implementing information-sharing agreements are one of the best practices in combating toc. on the other hand, majority of the participant had low perception that developing joint task force and investing in training and capacity building are also practices in combating toc. research question five: what are the recommendations and strategies for improving interagency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria? table 4.4.5 recommendations and strategies for improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc s/n item sa (%) a (%) d (%) sd mean std decision establishing a centralized task force 32 (24.2) 50 (37.9) 8 (6.1) 15 (11.4) 2.80 0.878 low perception enhancing information sharing 32 (24.2) 55 (41.7) 30 (22.7) 15 (11.4) 2.79 0.941 low perception conducting joint operations 48 (36.4) 36 (27.3) 36 (27.3) 12 (9.1) 2.91 1.000 high perception investing in training and capacity building 39 (29.5) 40 (30.3) 44 (33.3) 9 (6.8) 2.83 0.937 high perception decision=weighted average=11.33/4=2.83 the data analysis shows that majority of the respondents appeared to feel that conducting joint operations, and investing in training and capacity building are the recommendations and strategies used for improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. on the other hand, majority of the participant had low perception that establishing a centralized task force as well as enhancing information sharing. 254 summary of major findings from the study, the following were found out. 1. human trafficking, drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc in nigeria and they have no significant impact in the country. 2. the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), and nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), are the prominent legal institution for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria, they are effective in carrying their job role. 3. establishing clear communication channels and implementing information-sharing agreements is one the best practices and implementation of inter-agency collaboration and in combating toc. 4. lack of trust and communication among agencies and fragmented legal frameworks and jurisdictional issues are major barriers and gaps that hinder inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. 5. conducting joint operations and investing in training and capacity building are core strategies used for improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. discussion of findings from the study, it was discovered that human trafficking, drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc in nigeria and they have no significant impact in the country. the discovery received the support (mobolaji & alabi, 2017; eze-michael, 2021; enact, 2023; suleiman, 2023; unodc, 2022; 2023). nigeria is a major hub and transit point for various forms of toc, such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, wildlife trafficking, advanced fee fraud, money laundering, cross-border banditry, cybercrime, terrorism, human smuggling (smuggling migrants), maritime piracy (crimes), kidnapping (abduction), extortion, and cultism. it was discovered from the study that the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), and nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), are the prominent legal institution for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria. the discovery is in collaboration with the study carried by various researchers (okogbule, 2006; okeke, 2019; umejiaku, 2019; ige, 2022; unodc, 2022a), nigeria has also enacted various domestic laws to address the different types of toc, such as the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) act, the money laundering (prohibition) act, the terrorism (prevention) act, the trafficking in persons (prohibition) enforcement and administration act, and the cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention, etc.) act. to enforce these various laws and address the numerous forms of toc, nigeria has also established several specialized institutions, including the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc), the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), the nigerian financial intelligence unit (nfiu), the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), and the nigerian police force (npf), among others. in this study, it was discovered that establishing clear communication channels and implementing information-sharing agreements is one the best practices and implementation of inter-agency collaboration and in combating toc. in addition, lack of trust and communication among agencies and fragmented legal frameworks and jurisdictional issues are major barriers and gaps that hinder inter-agency 255 collaboration and coordination in combating toc. finally, conducting joint operations and investing in training and capacity building are core strategies used for improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. summary the study was designed to examine “combating transnational organized crime”. five (5) research questions in line with the objectives of the study were developed. a mixed-method research design was adopted and the population of the study consists of three hundred and thirty (330) personnel of nine agencies in abuja. a total of one hundred and thirty-two (132) respondents consisting of personnel formed the sample of the study. the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 20 software was utilized for the analysis. frequency distribution tables mean and simple percentages were used in the descriptive analysis or presentation of collected data. the findings revealed that: human trafficking, drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc in nigeria and they have no significant impact in the country. the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), and nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), are the prominent legal institution for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria. establishing clear communication channels and implementing information-sharing agreements is one the best practices and implementation of inter-agency collaboration and in combating toc. lack of trust and communication among agencies and fragmented legal frameworks and jurisdictional issues are major barriers and gaps that hinder inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. finally, conducting joint operations and investing in training and capacity building are core strategies used for improving inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc. conclusion based on the findings above, human trafficking, drug trafficking are the major forms and trends of toc in nigeria and they have no significant impact in the country. the national agency for the prohibition of trafficking in persons (naptip), and nigerian drug law enforcement agency (ndlea), are the prominent legal institution for inter-agency collaboration and coordination in combating toc in nigeria. recommendations based on the conclusion drawn from the findings, the following recommendations can be made to reduce transnational organized crime in the study area: 1. a continuous strengthening of strong inter-agency collaboration was recommended among others. law enforcement agencies should provide cultural competence training to their personnel. this training will help officers understand and appreciate the cultural and social diversity within the community they serve. by promoting cultural sensitivity and awareness, officers can better engage with diverse communities and tailor their policing strategies accordingly. 2. law enforcement agencies should actively engage with the community through various initiatives such as community meetings, neighbourhood watch programs, and collaborative problem-solving efforts. regular interactions and open communication channels will help build trust, enhance cooperation, and foster a sense of ownership and shared responsibility for public safety. 256 3. establishing strong partnerships with community organizations, faith-based groups, schools, and other relevant stakeholders is crucial for effective combating transnational organised crime. collaborative efforts can lead to the development of targeted crime prevention programs, 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big five personality inventory (john, donahue, & kentle 1991) and hackman and oldham’s (1975) job satisfaction scale. two hypotheses were formulated and tested as the study adopted a cross sectional survey design and hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyse the data. findings indicated that personality characteristics (extraversion) negatively predicted job satisfaction while (conscientiousness) positively predicted job satisfaction. the finding has some practical implication and could be used for recruitment, selection and career development purposes in the nigerian police force. keywords: job satisfaction, personality traits, police officers, psychological wellbeing introduction police officers are the backbone of security in every nation and their feelings of wellbeing, contentment and satisfaction at work have aroused the interest of different scholars (demou, hale & hunt, 2020). this is because police officers job satisfaction can be seen as an indication of psychological well-being and can contribute to employee behavior that influences the functioning of every society as low job satisfaction is more likely to provide inferior services (buama, 2019). job satisfaction is defined as an individual’s overall feeling about their job that has a direct impact on one’s personal, social, and organizational life, as well as playing a key role in one’s mental and physical health (golpayegan, 2017). there are several reasons why job satisfaction is important to police organizations. first, negative attitudes toward work can adversely affect job performance in both the quantity and quality of services provided. thus, poor performance can impact police-community relations by adversely affecting public attitudes toward the police. in other words, job satisfaction in law enforcement is important because it promotes continuity of a professional and cohesive police force that works well, follows proper policy and procedures, and provides the services needed to citizens. a satisfied mailto:adaobieze145@gmail.com 124 police officer works as an ambassador who takes pride in his job, achievements and overall well-being of the citizens they swore to protect. on the other hand, dissatisfied workers experience lower morale and productivity in the workplace, poorer performance, higher job stress and are likely to engage in unethical behaviors such as extortion, brutality, bribery, torture to force confessions, coercion and falsification of evidence. looking at the above indications the role of police officers is quintessential to the society as they maintain law and order, protect property and preserve the quality of life in the communities they serve. there are many challenges embedded in the work role of police officers since they face pressure and stress due to several factors such as politics and interpersonal relations. on another level, their performance and job satisfaction can be affected not only by external factors such as long hours, workload, pay, poor communication with colleagues and superiors and promotion chances but also by police officers’ personality traits and individual qualities hence the interest in this study. studies (e.g. sowunmi (2022); kumari, et al. 2022) propose that the differences in the level of satisfaction amongst employees could be a consequence of employee’s personality, since some of the personality traits and satisfaction were found to be strongly associated. a personality trait is a persistent pattern of thinking, feeling, or acting that can be seen across time and in a variety of settings (judge & lanen, 2001). personality traits are also understood as patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour that are relatively enduring across an individual's life span. the traits that constitute the five-factor model are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (ocean). this is a group of five bipolar trait categories that make up the most extensively used personality structure model (soto, 2018). it is important to note that each of the five personality factors represents a range between two extremes. for example, extraversion represents a continuum between extreme extraversion and extreme introversion. in the real world, most people lie somewhere in between the two polar ends of each dimension. big five personality traits (mccrae & costa, 1991) are characterized as: openness to experience: defines individuals who are divergent thinkers, smart, creative, scientific, artistic, and liberal. these individuals have the tendency to experience the unconventional, a preparedness to entertain new ethical, political and social ideas and a willingness to question authority. open individuals are curious about both inner and outer worlds, and their lives are experientially richer. a willingness to entertain novel ideas and unconventional values, enable such individuals to experience both positive and negative emotions more keenly as oppose to individuals that are closed who are conventional in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=sowunmi%20oa%5bauthor%5d https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-you-are-an-introvert-2795427 125 behaviour and conservative in outlook and prefer the familiar to the unusual. (coetzer & rothmann, 2001). conscientiousness concerns the extent to which individuals are hardworking, accountable, systematic, result oriented, determined. reliable and initiator. conscientiousness has a downside, such as leading to workaholic behaviour, annoying fastidiousness or compulsive neatness. extraversion involves the extent to which an individual is outgoing, friendly, likeable, socially confident, tendency to concern with external but also are surgent (dominant & ambitious) and active (adventurous & assertive) as opposed to being reserved, timid and quiet. agreeableness refers to being kind, cooperative, sympathetic, warm, trusting, and considerate. an agreeable person is sympathetic to others, fundamentally unselfish and eager to help, and in return, believe that others will equally be supportive. in contrast the disagreeable/antagonistic person is sceptical of others' intentions, egocentric, and competitive rather than co-operative. neuroticism involves the degree to which an individual is overanxious, nervous, obsessive, jumpy, compulsive, nervy, vulnerable and full of negative emotions. it is also an indication that a person is prone to being less able to control impulses, experience irrational ideas, and cope poorly with stress. however, a low score on neuroticism is indicative of emotional stability which is the second most important characteristic that affects the employability of job applicants. according to the trait activation theory employees are likely to find happiness and experience job satisfaction in a work setting that allows them to exhibit their distinct personality attributes (tett & burnett, 2003). so, against this background, this study hypothesized that personality traits (extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism & conscientiousness) will predict job satisfaction among police officers in enugu metropolis. method participants 126 one hundred and fourteen (114) police officers who were randomly selected from enugu state police command south-eastern nigeria participated in this study. their ages ranged from 20 to 60 years (mean age = 31.01, s.d of 6.19 years). information on participant’s age, educational qualification, rank, gender and marital status were obtained and served as control. instrument big five inventory the big five inventory is a 44-item inventory developed by john, donahue & kentle (1990) which assesses personality from five distinct dimensions: extraversion (8 items), agreeableness (9 items), consciousness (9 items), neuroticism (8 items) and openness to experience (10 items). john, donahue & kentle (1991) reported a cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of .80. according to omoluabi (2002), bfi was adapted for the use of professionals in nigeria after several years of research at restandardizing it in order to enhance its suitability and relevance for nigerians. job satisfaction scale (jss) hackman and oldham’s (1975) job satisfaction scale is designed to measure perceptions of employee’s level of satisfaction with their jobs. the instrument comprise of three sample items e.g i am satisfied with my job currently with the response format ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree). hackman and oldham’s (1975) obtained the alpha coefficient of 0.85 for the three items. omoluabi (2002) adopted the use of this instrument on a nigerian sample. procedure copies of questionnaire were administered to the participants by the researchers in their various command and stations with the aid of two research assistants. there was no monetary reward or any other form of inducement given to the participants for been a part of the study. hence, participation in the study was voluntary and there was informed consent. all the participants were very co-operative regardless of their busy schedule and had no difficulty in completing the inventories for the study. 127 design/statistics this is a cross-sectional survey research. multiple regression analysis was adopted to analyse the data and test the hypotheses of the study. the choice of this statistics is in line with recommendations such as terraciano, mccrae & costa (2006). 128 results table 1: descriptive statistics s/ n variables m sd 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 job satisfaction 9.18 3.90 1 .035 -.007 .084 -.038 .040 -.130 -.106 -.021 -.017 .016 2 neuroticism 25.63 6.00 1 .530 .626 -.177 -.060 -.009 -.022 -.140 -.013 .019 3 extraversion 29.24 4.23 1 .480 -.078 -.328 .061 -.041 -.101 .045 -.019 4 openness 34.62 2.84 1 -.123 .142 .000 -.033 -.177 .050 .089 5 agreeableness 26.37 2.24 1 .103 -.145 -.099 -.012 -.018 .060 6 conscientiousn ess 23.92 3.12 1 -.046 -.075 -.057 -.007 .089 7 age 31.01 6.19 1 -.257 -.170 .077 -.037 8 gender 1.781 .416 1 -.014 .068 .206 9 marital status 1.04 .185 1 -.044 .040 10 rank 3.45 1.93 1 .149 11 educational status 2.30 .977 129 table 1 above shows that job satisfaction did not correct with any of the predictor variables but has negative interaction with extraversion at r= -.0(r= -.007), agreeableness at r= -.0(r= -.038), age at r= -.1(r= -.130), gender at r= -.1(r= -.106), marital status at r= -.0(r= -.021) and rank r= -.0(r= -.017). this implies that the increase in the listed variables will cause the decrease in job satisfaction. table 2: regression statistic model r r square adjusted r square unst st t sig. 1 .104a .011 -.035 .102 neuroticism -.007 -.010 -.077 .939 extraversion -1.051 1.055 1.433 .014 openness .154 .112 .833 .453 agreeableness -.054 -.031 -.315 .754 conscientiousness 1.011 1.008 1.077 .032 2 .235b .055 -.036 .097 age -.121 -.191 1.844 .068 gender -1.622 -.173 1.661 .100 marital status -1.087 -.051 -.515 .608 rank -.008 -.004 -.040 .968 educational status .174 .044 .434 .665 dependent variable= job satisfaction, at p< .05. r= relationship, r2= relationship square, unst= unstandardised, st= standardise table 2 above shows that personality characteristics (neuroticism at sig. .939, openness at sig. .407, and agreeableness at sig. 754) failed to predict job satisfaction because their sig. value is higher than the threshold value of at p< .05, extraversion at sig. .014, which is lower than the value of at p< .05 predicted job satisfaction. neuroticism, extraversion and agreeableness indicated a negative interaction with job satisfaction; this means that the increase in the listed dimensions of personality traits will cause a decrease in job satisfaction, and conscientiousness at sig. 032 positively predicted job satisfaction because its value falls below the value of at p< 130 .05. personality traits indicated no relationship with job satisfaction at r= .1(r= .104), the independent variable contribute 1% variance to the dependent variable at r2= .011, and personality characteristic failed to predict job satisfaction at sig. value of .102 which is higher than the benchmark of f at p< .05. discussion this study investigated personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion & neuroticism) as essential features of police officers job satisfaction. the result of the findings showed that extraversion negatively predicted job satisfaction and this implies that the more an individual is outgoing since extroversion is the dimension that measures sociability, assertiveness, and activity the less affective response displayed towards their job. the first result which stated that extraversion negatively predicted job satisfaction is inconsistent with previous empirical research findings obtained by petasis and economides (2020) whose result indicated that the correlation of conscientiousness, extraversion, openness to experience and agreeableness to job satisfaction were not significantly linked while neuroticism had a moderately negative correlation with job satisfaction. the second result indicates that conscientiousness positively predicted job satisfaction among police officers. this finding indicates that police officers who are orderly, competent, dutiful and disciplined are more likely to be satisfied with their job probably because such people exhibit more impulse control, task orientation and goal-directedness. the regiment structure inherent in the job demands of the police workforce may also have contributed to the outcome of this finding. this result is not in line with findings by tham and wong (2021) who found that conscientiousness did not have any relationship with job satisfaction. according to dispositional theorist this is the proof that correspondence between characteristics of a person and the work will result in positive psychological, physiological, and behavioural outcomes hence the reduction in job dissatisfaction, anxiety, and even irritation at work. conclusion based on the information provided by the present study, it may be helpful for the nigerian police force to make strategies, organizational decisions and policies regarding job satisfaction, recruitment, selection and career development purposes as well as improved performance with a focus on recruiting conscientious officers. 131 this study is based on self-reporting surveys and may be biased by subjects’ subjective perceptions and subjects’ comprehension of the questions may also create bias in the results. the cross-sectional nature of this study is an important weakness which hampers causal interpretations of the results. however, the results of the study were in line with existing theoretical backgrounds and previous studies which had reported a relationship between personality traits and job satisfaction. this study is an attempt to prompt researches in the nigerian context on the area of job satisfaction among the police workforce. future researchers should endeavour to discover the individual and adherent patterns of job satisfaction and the human personality especially among police officers in the nigerian context as they strive to maintain law and order in the society. references buama, c. a. c. (2019). managers’ personality preferences, managerial styles and employee satisfaction of multi-national companies: an input to human resource strategic plan. international journal of social sciences, 5(1), 114123. coetzer, e.p. & rothmann, s. (2001). the relationship between the big five personality dimensions and job performance. paper presented at the 7th annual psy ssa conference, johannesburg. demou , e., hale, h & hunt, k. (2020).understanding the mental health and wellbeing needs of police officers and staff in scotland. police pract res, 21(6):702-716. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2020.1772782. golpayegan, m .a. (2017). evaluating the relation between personality properties with job satisfaction of the staff. http://193.140.9.50/index.php/ilk/article/view/964 hackman, j. r. & oldham, g. r. (1975). development of the job diagnostic survey, journal of applied psychology, (60), 159-170. john, o.p., donahue, e.m., kentle, r.l. (1991). the big-five inventory-version 4a and 54. berkeley, ca: berkeley institute of personality and social research, university of california judge, t. a., & lanen, r. j. (2001). dispositional affect and job satisfaction: a review and theoretical extension. organizational behavior and human decision processes, 67. kumari, k., ali, s. b, batool, m., cioca, l. i. & abbas, j. (2022).the interplay between leaders’ personality traits and mentoring quality and their impact on mentees’ job satisfaction and job performance. front. psychol. 13:937470. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.937470 http://193.140.9.50/index.php/ilk/article/view/964 132 mccrae, r. r., & costa, p.t., jr. (1991). the neo personality inventory: using the fivefactor model in counselling. journal of counselling and development, 69, 367-37. omoluabi, p.f., (2002). big five inventory manual. lagos: ppc nigeria agency. petasis, a. & economides, o. (2020).the big five personality traits, occupational stress, and job satisfaction. european journal of business and management research, 5 (4), 1-7. soto, c. j. (2018). big five personality traits. in m.h. bornstein, m.e. arterberry, k.l. fingerman, j.e. lansford (eds.), the sage encyclopedia of lifespan human development (pp: 240-241). thousand oaks, ca: sage. sowunmi, o. a. (2022). job satisfaction, personality traits, and its impact on motivation among mental health workers. south african journal of psychiatry, 28(1), 17. https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1801 terraciano, a., costa, p.t.j., & mccrae, r.r. (2006). personality plasticity after age 30. personality and social psychology bulletin, 32, 997-1009 tett, r. p., & burnett, d. d. (2003). a personality trait-based interactionist model of job performance. journal of applied psychology, 88, 500–517. tham, s. y. & wong, h. m. (2021). big five personality traits on job satisfaction mediated by procedural justice. european journal of humanities and social sciences, 1 (6)55-63. https://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1801 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 227 monetary policy pass-through to unemployment reduction in nigeria eyone, a.u1, kalu, c.u, metu, g.a & maduka, d.o. department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 1corresponding author: andyuwejeyan@yahoo.com abstract the nigerian economy has witnessed several structural changes with varying impacts on the level of unemployment which is one of the major threats to macroeconomic stability in the economy. this paper examined the impact of monetary policy mechanisms and unemployment reduction in nigeria from 1986 to 2022. the theoretical framework of this paper was anchored on the job search and keynesian theories of unemployment, and the data used in this paper are unemployment, broad money supply, prime lending rate, foreign direct investment, private sector credit, and population growth and inflation rate. the analytical techniques of this paper included the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag and the granger causality approaches. the data for these variables were sourced from the statistical bulletin of the central bank of nigeria and the national bureau of statistics. the result showed that the prime lending rate was positive and significant at the 5 percent level of significance, while broad money supply was negative and significantly correlated with unemployment. the lagged value of inflation rate were positively and significantly correlated with unemployment. furthermore, the granger causality test showed that there is no causality between broad money supply and unemployment rate, while unidirectional causality existed between unemployment and private sector credit. this paper recommended among others that macroeconomic stability is necessary through employment generation by enhancing the productivity of the nigerian economy through accessibility of credit by the private sector. keywords: ardl, broad money supply, monetary policy, pass-through, prime lending rate, unemployment jel codes: e51, e58, e24 1. introduction the central bank of nigeria (cbn) defined monetary policy as specific actions taken by the apex bank to regulate the value, supply and cost of money in the economy with a view to achieving government’s macroeconomic objectives. the objectives of monetary policy may vary from country to country but there are two main views. the first view calls for monetary policy to achieve price stability, while the second view seeks to achieve price stability and other macroeconomic objectives including unemployment reduction which is the focus of this paper. the major instrument of monetary policy in nigeria is the monetary policy rate (mpr). the policy rate was adjusted four times in the last six months of 2023 from 16.50 percent in december, 2023 to 17.75 percent in july, 2023. the other policy parameters, such as the cash reserve ratio (crr) and liquidity ratio) were retained at 32.5 percent and 30.0 percent respectively (nesg, 2023). similarly, credit to the private sector to gross domestic product (gdp) also increased during the period under review while the velocity of money, which measures the rate at which money is exchanged in an economy peaked at 8.77% in 2005 but declined to 4.49 percent in 2009. however, the rate has been relatively stable, averaging 4.41 percent between 2010 and 2023. inflation rate mailto:andyuwejeyan@yahoo.com 228 has exceeded the central bank of nigeria’s target range of 6 percent to 9 percent (olowookere & eragha, 2023) unemployment is a key indicator of the health of the economy and probably the most widely reported measure of the nation’s performance. the world bank has defined unemployment as the share of the labour force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. an unemployment as defined by the international labour organization (ilo) is a person aged 15 or over who simultaneously meets three conditions: being unemployed for a given week; being available to take a job within two weeks; having actively sought a job in the last four weeks or having found one starting in less than three months. according to the nbs definition, unemployment is defined as the proposition of those in the labour force neither in the entire economic active population, nor the entire nigerian population) who were actively looking for work but could not find work. in the first three quarters of 2017, over 4 million jobs were lost as unemployment and underemployment rate climbed to 40 percent (nigerian economic summit group, (nesg) 2018). similarly, kpmg (2023) posited that unemployment will continue to be a challenge due to the slower than-required economic growth and the inability of the nigerian economy to absorb the 45 million new entrants into the nigerian job market every year. the national bureau of statistics (nbs, 2023) recorded an increase in the national unemployment rate from 23.1 percent in 2018 to 33.3 percent in 2020. it increased to 33.7 percent in 2022 and has risen to 40.6 percent in 2023. in this study, unemployment was measured as a percentage of the unemployed in the total labour force as a percentage of the gross domestic product. the extent to which changes in monetary policy rates leads to changes in loan and deposit rates for households and firms are refereed to monetary policy pass through. in the context of this paper, it refers to the mechanisms through which monetary policy impacts on unemployment reduction. in this paper, the prime lending rate, private sector credit and money supply, which basically formed the three major transmission mechanisms for monetary policy (zhou, 2021) were used. the relationship between prime lending rate, private sector credit and broad money supply are espoused in the literature. the overall objective of this paper is to examine monetary policy pass through to unemployment reduction in nigeria. specifically, this paper: • to investigate the impact of broad money supply, prime lending rate, money supply and inflation rate on unemployment rate in nigeria. • to determine the granger causality between broad money supply, prime lending rate, money supply and inflation rate in nigeria. • to analyze the short-run and adjustment dynamics between broad money supply, prime lending rate, inflation rate and unemployment rate in nigeria. the relevance of this paper includes the gap identified in the literature in relation to theoretical, empirical/ methodological and economic policy relevance. the hallmark of policy research is that it emanates from a policy problem (ineffective monetary policy and high unemployment rate) and its results are relevant to development policy objectives. the scope of this paper is limited to the monetary policy pass through to unemployment reduction in nigeria between 1986 and 2022. the choice of this period is to achieve the three-fold objectives of this study. the variables of this paper are unemployment rate (dependent variable) and covariates of broad money supply, prime lending rate, inflation rate, foreign direct investment and credit to the private sector. these variables were 229 selected based on empirical/theoretical evidence. the data for the variables were sourced from central bank of nigeria and national bureau of statistics of various years. the data were estimated using eview 12 version of econometric software. the analytical techniques employed are the granger causality test and the autoregressive distributed lag model. these techniques are in relation to the objectives of this paper. this paper is structured as follows: following this background information is the empirical literature review presented in section two. section three presents the methodology, while section four is on the results and analysis. section five presents the conclusion, policy implication and agenda for further studies. 2. empirical literature review few of the reviewed studies are presented to showcase previous and related empirical studies to the current attempt. okeke and chukwu (2021) examined the effect of monetary policy on the rate of unemployment in nigeria (1986-2018) using secondary data from statistical bulletin of central bank of nigeria. the variables of the study include exchange rate, liquidity ratio, and cash reserve ratio and unemployment rate. the paper adopted an autoregressive distributed lag technique and also conducted the unit root and co-integration tests. the result showed that cash reserve ratio and monetary policy rate had positive and significant effect on the employment rate in nigeria, exchange rate and liquidity ratio had negative and significant effect on the rate of unemployment. based on the findings made, the paper recommended that the monetary policy authorities should create a favorable investment climate by facilitating the emergence of market based interest rate and exchange rate administration that will attract both domestic and foreign investments and create job. onwuka (2022) examined the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on unemployment rate in nigeria using data between the periods 1981 to 2020 and using the vector autoregressive (var) as the major statistical technique of analysis. the paper used annual time series data sourced from central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin (cbn) and national bureau of statistics (nbs). the result showed that government expenditure and interest rate have negative and significant effect on unemployment rate at lag period 2. from the forecast error variance decomposition (fevd), the highest innovation was due to government tax and money supply, while the shock of government expenditure and interest rate in nigeria were the lowest over the periods. the paper concluded that there is need for diverse strategies that will be targeted towards employment creation in nigeria. thus, an expansionary fiscal and monetary policy should be encouraged to support employment generation in the country. nwamuo (2022) investigated the impact of monetary policy on unemployment rate in nigeria. time series data spanning from 1981 to 2020 was sourced from the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin and national bureau of statistics (various editions). the ardl bounds testing approach to co-integration was used to analyze the data. the paper showed a positive and insignificant impact between exchange rate and unemployment rate in nigeria. based on these findings, the paper recommended that the monetary authorities should come up with policies that will reduce minimum rediscount rate as these will encouraging borrowing of funds for investment purposes as this will reduce unemployment rate. 230 babalola, yelwa and olaniyi (2023) analyzed the impact of monetary policy on the unemployment rate in nigeria using quarterly time-series data from 1990(1) to 2019(3). the monetary instruments used were the monetary policy rate (mpr), cash reserve ratio, inflation and liquidity ratio. the autoregressive distributed lag technique was employed in the analysis. the result showed that monetary policy rate and cash ratio did not have a significant effect on the unemployment rate in nigeria. furthermore, it was discovered that monetary policy has a low speed of adjusting the economy back to full employment equilibrium. the prime lending rate, broad money supply and credit to the private sector were ignored by the study. these variables were considered in the present study as major transmission mechanisms for monetary policy pass through to unemployment reduction in nigeria. 2.1 gap in empirical literature from the reviewed studies, the following conclusions are made: some previous studies focused on monetary policy and economic growth (fasanya et al., 2013; okafor et al., 2015; udude, 2014; ufoeze et al., 2018). others focused on unemployment and monetary policy: (okegwo & ogbuehi, 2016; okeke & chukwu, 2021; amasonma, 2015; ekwe, 2018; attan et al, 2019; nwamuo, 2022). these studies concluded on the positive relationship between monetary policy of different indicators and unemployment. these studies focused on monetary policy and economic growth on the premise of the linkage between economic growth and unemployment) fasanya et al., 2013; okafor et al., 2015; udude, 2014; ufoeze et al., 2018), while (nwosa, 2016; onwuka, 2022) focused on monetary and fiscal policy and unemployment on the premise of the potency of economic policy mixture (nwosa, 2016; onwuka, 2022). in terms of methodology and analytic applications, the following is the most commonly used in these studies: error correction mechanism, vector autoregressive (var); vector error correction (vecm); ordinary least square; non-linear autoregressive distributed lag(nardl) and data envelope analysis(dea), few studies used autoregressive distributed lag model and granger causality tests. in term of the variables used, the following have been used in studying the relationship between monetary policy and unemployment: monetary policy rate, output growth, money supply and exchange rate; economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomic policy; cash reserve, interest rate, unemployment rate, consumer price index, treasury bill rate, credit to the private sector, government tax, lending rate and deposit interest rate. few studies used the prime lending rate, population growth rate and foreign direct investment which is the value addition of this paper. 3 methodology 3.1 theoretical framework the theoretical frameworks of this paper are the job search and the keynesian models of unemployment. the job search theory became popular in the 1970s as an alternative to the standard neoclassical labour supply theory. the origin of job search theory is normally attributed to the two seminal articles-mccall (1970) and mortensen (1970). the adoption of these two theories follows the fact that previous studies( for example, goshit & iorember, 2020) used only the keynesian approach without considering the job search approach in explaining the relationship between monetary policy transmission mechanism and unemployment reduction. 231 in the basic search model, the individual has more than one earning opportunities available and has to select the best one. in stigler (1961) model of the search model, the main decision an individual has to make is how many jobs to sample before deciding which one is the best. sampling an extra job has an associated marginal cost over a given time period, and the decision variable is the sample size n representing the number of firms a job seeker will consider in their search. in job search models, the decision process is sequential. there is no optimal sample size because the jobs are randomly sampled one at a time and the individual stops when an acceptable job becomes available. hence, the number of jobs sampled depends on their sequence and the sample size itself is a random variable (mortensen, 1986). the basic job search model is simply on optimal stopping rule problem which can be described as follows: w = max {w1, w2 …, wa} 3.1 as such wages associated with future job offers are distributed according to a probability distribution f(w). the job seekers’ aim is to maximize net benefits (future stream of income minus search costs). equation (3.1) would be re-specified in this study to reflect the objective of this study which is to examine the impact of monetary policy on unemployment in nigeria. 3.2 empirical model specification monetary policy is introduced into the standard labour-matching model following mortensen and pissarides (1999), pissarides (2000) and lehmann (2006). in the long-run, a rise in money growth leaders to higher inflation and higher unemployment, so the long-run philips curve is not vertical. the optimal monetary growth rate decreases with the workers’ bargaining power, the level of unemployment benefits and the tax rate. the relations this paper investigated would be specified as: unemr= f (m2/gdp, plndr, fdi, psc, popgr, inf) 3.2 where unemr is the unemployment rate, m2/gdp is the broad money supply, plndr is the prime lending rate, fdi is the foreign direct investment, psc is the private sector credit, and popgr is the population growth rate while inf is the inflation rate.thus, unemr = β0 + β1m2/gdp + β2 plndr + β3 fdi + β4psc + β5popgr + β6inf + μ 3.3 taking the proportionality of these included variables and expressing equation (3.3) in its elastic form, we have: unem = β0 + β1lnm2/gdp + β2plndr + β3ln fdi + β4lnpsc + β5popgr + β6inf + μ 3.4 where the included variable have being previously defined, ln = natural logarithm of the variables and μ is the stochastic error term in line with the assumptions of the ordinary least square.the theoretical postulations are as follows: β1>0; β2>0; β3>0 ; β4>0; β5<0; β6<0 3.3 description of variables and justification the variables included in the model are described and its inclusion justified as follows: unemployment rate (unemr) 232 the unemployment is a condition where one is capable of working, actively seeking work, but unable to find any work. it is important to note that unemployed persons must be active member of the labour force and in search of remunerative work. several empirical studies have examined unemployment especially in relation to monetary policy (essien et al, 2016; zhou, 2021 and campolmi, 2016). in this paper, unemployment is the dependent variable. the explanatory variables are presented thus: broad money supply (m2/gdp) this includes narrow money along with other assets that can be easily converted into cash to buy goods and services. this includes savings and time deposits with banks including foreign denominated assets. the real effect of monetary policy shock including the broad money supply are likely to vary with policy variability which is dependent on three factors: (i) the elasticity of money supply with respect to a change in the interest rate, (ii) the elasticity of money supply with respect to a change in interest rate, and (iii) the elasticity of aggregate investment with respect to a change in the interest rate (essien et al., 2016). prime lending rate (plr) the prime lending rate is the rate of interest that the deposit money bank will charge their clients when issuing a loan. higher interest rates tend to lower consumer spending and business investments, leading to a reduction in hiring and increase in unemployment. when interest rates go up, it can have a negative impact on employment. increased borrowing costs will likely lead to higher unemployment rates. this paper hypothesized a negative relationship between prime lending rate and unemployment (b3< 0). foreign direct investment (fdi) fdi is the principal mechanism for economic globalization. simionescu and simionescu(2017) showed that there is no any short-run relationship between fdi and variation in unemployment rate influencing fdi. this paper hypothesized a positive relationship between fdi and unemployment reduction within the review period. hence, β4>0 private sector credit (psc) private sector credit refers to financial resources provided to the private sector, such as through loans, purchases of non-equity securities, trade credits and other receivables, which establish a claim for repayment. effiong, ekpe and udofia(2022) showed that private sector credit has a positive but insignificant relationship with unemployment, while its one-period lag showed a positive and significant impact on unemployment. population growth (popgr) there is the tendency for population growth to outrun the means of subsistence, if nothing is done to check population growth rate, job opportunities will decline while unemployment will rise ( todaro & smith, 2006). amana, akpan, okon and aigbedion (2018) showed a strong positive relationship between unemployment and population growth rate. inflation rate (inf) 233 the relationship between monetary condition such as the interest rate or money supply and real economic variables such as output and employment has long been a source of contention among academics and policymakers alike. changes in monetary conditions are often believed to transmit to the real economic through the classical philips curve relationship as a trade-off between inflation and real output or employment. the relationship to be positive or negative (ambiguous) in the case of nigeria. 3.4 estimation techniques and procedures the technique of estimation follows the autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) developed by pesaran, shin and smith (2001). with this technique, both the short-run and long-run effects of the explanatory variables (m2/gdp, plndr, fdi, psc, popgr and inf) on the dependent variable was estimated. the error correction model is specified thus: ∆unemrt = 𝛼0 + ρixi + n∑qi∆unemrt − 1 + m∑pi∆xt-1 + 𝜕ecmt-1 + εt 3.5 here, xt represents all the explanatory variables in the model , n represents the lag length of the dependent variables while m captures that of the explanatory variables, the parameter α0 denotes the long-run estimates of the model parameter , qi and pi represents the short-run parameters, ∂ measures the speed of adjustment of the short − run disequilibrium to attain long − run equilibrium , and ecm is the error correction mechanism expressed as the one − period lag of the residual 3.4.1 unit root test in any time series analysis, identification of the order of integration of the variables has always been the first step taken to avoid spurious regression problem. since the testing of the unit roots of a series is a precondition to the existence of co-integration relationship, this study will employ the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) and philip-peron (pp) unit roof tests to investigate the stationarity of all the variables used. according to glynn, perera and verma (2007), incorporating non-stationary or unit roof variables in estimating the regression equations using the ordinary least square (ols) method always give misleading inferences but if variables are non-stationary, the estimation of long-run relationship between those variables should be based on the cointegration method. peron (2005) posited that there is an intricate interplay between unit root and structural changes that creates challenges in empirical studies, given that both are definite practical importance in economic applications. given the possible reflection of structural changes in the given data, this study will employ the zivot-andres unit roof to determine the existence of breakpoint endogenously from the data, following, zivot and andrews (1992)peron (1989) also emphasized the importance of structural breaks when testing for unit root processes, arguing that failure to allow for an existing break leads to a bias that reduces the ability to reject a false unit root null hypothesis. the adf test is an extension of the dickey-fuller test by allowing a higher order of autoregressive process, such that: δxt = ɑ0+ ɑ1xt-1 + ɑ2t + 𝑃 ʃ 𝑖 = 2 biδxt-i + 1+ μ (3.5) 234 where p = the number of lagged changes in xt necessary to make μt serially uncorrelated. testing the null ho: ɑ1 = 0 against the hɑ: ɑ1< 0, the null of unit root is rejected if the observed t-statistic is sufficiently negative compared to the critical value at the accepted level of significance. 3.4.2 testing for co-integration the second preliminary test after the unit root test is the co-integration test. following grangers (1981) seminal paper on co-integration, this subject has received considerable attention both in empirical and theoretical research (johnsen & juselius, 1990, 1992). the several concept of cointegration is that there exists equilibrium or a long-run relationship between a set of time-series variables, provided that the series are integrated to the same order. two most widely used tests namely, the engle-granger (1987) (eg) two-step estimator and the johansen-juselius (1990) maximum likelihood (jj). the jj estimator will be adopted for this study since it is in line within a multivariate context (banerjee, dolado, galbraith & hendry, 1993). generally, this approach is applied to i(1) variable. this method is an extended work of johansen (1988) and it provides a likelihood-ratio statistic to test for the maximum number of independent equilibrium vectors in the co-integrating matrix. consider the following co-integrating vectors of the system: β’xt = zt (3.6) the matrix β is called the co-integrating matrix. for n jointly determined variables it will be of the dimension n x n, but of the rank r < n-1, where r is the number of linearly independent cointegrating vectors. 3.4.3 diagnostic/stability test conducting various diagnostic checks (reliability/stability) is a further post-analysis in econometrics research to make the model more reliable and efficient for policy inference. it supports the pre-tests (unit roots and co-integration) explained in the previous section and is also an important step in time series modeling. it is estimated to serve as model adequacy test. diagnostic tests usually conducted include the normality test, serial correlation, autoregressive conditional heterroskedasticity (arch), heteroskedasticity and specification error tests.in addition, this study will conduct the stability test of the properties of the short-run dynamic model. usually, the bahmani-oskooee and shin (2002) cumulative sum of recursive residuals (cusum) and cumulative sum of squares (cusum sq) are used. the necessary and sufficient conditions for the test are that, it is important that the recursive residuals (cusum) and (cusum sq) of squares stay with the 5% critical boundary (represented by two straight lines whose equations are detailed in (brown, durbin and evans, 1975). 3.5 data source(s) the data sources for this paper is presented in table 3.1 variables description measurement ($’ billion or %) source(s) unemr unemployment measured in rate (%) national bureau of statistic (nbs) m2/gdp broad money supply percentage of gdp cbn plndr prime lending rate measured is rates cbn fdi foreign direct investment measured in us dollar measured in rate (%) psc private sector credit measured in millions of nair cbn infl inflation measured in rates (%) cbn 235 source: researchers’ compilation (2024) 4. results presentation and analysis this section presents the results of the estimated data. this includes the descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, the unit root test, regression estimation resultslong run and short-run and the granger causality. table 4.1 presents the results of the descriptive statistics results. table 4.1: descriptive statistics results unemr m2/gdp plndr fdi psc popgr inf mean 51.11 2.73e+10 18.36529 128.4536 1.00e+08 2.59758 19.32319 std. dv. 1.61 2.26e+10 4.127766 112.4074 1.33e+08 0.10079 17.39970 skewness -1.07 1.045218 0.789085 0.7433 1.173084 -0.18460 1.756034 kurtosis 2.64 8.148 4.657989 2.578 3.252135 2.206849 4.810383 jarque bera 7.27 0.017 8.077640 3.680897 8.584115 1.179988 24.06867 prob. 0.02 1.01e+12 0.017618 0.158746 0.013677 1.554331 0.000006 obs. 37 37 37 37 37 37 37 source: researchers’ computation using eview 12. note: unemr = unemployment rate; m2/gdp = broad money supply; plndr = prime lending rate; fdi = foreign direct investment; psc = private sector credit; popgr = population growth. the results presented in table 4.1 show the results of the descriptive statistics – the measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. the measures of central tendency are often called averages. the main measures are the mean, median, mode and the midrange, while the measures of dispersion include – standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis. from the results presented in table 4.1, it showed that the average value of unemployment stood at 57.1 for unemployment; 18.37 for prime lending rate, foreign direct inflow of usd 128m over the quarter 4 of 2023 while stood (us $86.03 million). the average inflation rate within the reviewing period stood at 19.3 percent rate while the population growth over 250 million nigerians. the standard deviation which measures how dispersed the data is in relation to the mean showed that unemployment rate has a positive standard deviation at 1.62, with prime lending rate with 4.12, foreign direct investment with 112, which is close to the average value. inflation has positive standard deviation and the same for population growth. the positive standard deviation of these included variables means that the variable (unemployment rate, prime lending rate, and inflation and population growth represents above-average variables. the skewness results showed that unemployment and population growth manifested a negative value. the negative correlation showed the relationship between unemployment and population growth. unemployment occurs as a result of the insufficiency of jobs to commensurate with the growing population. from the kurtosis result, unemployment rate, foreign direct investment and population are less the standard value of 3, while, broad money supply and private sector are with the standard value of 3 and prime lending rate and inflation are platykurtic in nature. the jarque-bera showed the normal distribution of the data distribution. a large jarque-bera value indicates that errors are not normally distributed. from all the variables (unemr, m2/gdp, plndr, ind, psc) were all greater than 5.99, this implies that ho was rejected and there is no normality, whereas fdi and 236 popgr were less than 5.99 (j – b < 5.99), the ho was not rejected, hence there is normality. for the probability value, 5% 90.05), the standard level of significance showed that fdi and popgr, majority of the variables were significant at the 5% level of significance. table 4.2 presents the correlation matrix, which is a further attempt to valid the data presented for this study for policy inference. table 4.2: correlation matrix correlation unemr m2/gdp plndr fdi inf psc popgr unem 1.00000 m2/gdp 0.107732 1.00000 plndr 0.445544 -2.292963 1.00000 fdi -0.728051 -0.076461 -0.471402 1.00000 inf 0.282539 0.040290 0.406996 -0.348665 1.00000 psc -0.816550 0.024106 -0.550071 0.928593 -0.257154 1.00000 popgr 0.348325 -0.075851 0.171151 -0.350958 -0.163697 -0.477141 1.00000 note: included variables previously defined source: researchers’ computation using eview 12 from the result of the correlation matrix presented in table 4.2, it showed that with the exception of foreign direct investment and private sector, the other variables are positively correlated with unemployment reduction in nigeria. prime lending in particular was positive, implying that the lending rate has the potentially of reducing unemployment judiciously used efficiently. the results which showed that majority of the variables are positively correlates ted to the unit roof test as presented in table 4.3 table 4.3: unit root test variables critical values prob. adf statistics pp statistics remarks unemr 1% = -3.639407 0.0016 -4.335789 -4.372065 i(1) m2/gdp 5% = -2.951125 0.0016 -3.316788 -3.271610 i(0) plndr 1% = -2.614300 0.0000 -6.711402 -6.807509 i(1) fdi 19 = -2.689194 5% = -2.971853 10% = 2.625121 0.006 0.0013 -3.685855 -4.524505 -4.694000 -6.954890 i(0) inf i(1) psc 1% = -3.626782 5% = -2.945842 10% = -2.611531 1.0000 0.0305 -3.728282 -3.169845 7.112835 -3.115386 i(0) popgr i(1) note: adf – augmented dickey fuller; pp – phillip perron source: researcher’ computation using eview 12. table 4.3 showed the result of the unit root test of the included variables. the standard rule for decision rule is that, the value of t-statistics must be greater than a specified significant level preselected in absolute term and the probability must be significant be very close to zero. from the result presented in table 4.3, the probability of unemr, m2/gdp, plndr, fdi, inf and popgr were all significant at 0.05 percent significance level except private sector credit (psc) that 237 insignificant (1.0000) at the 5 percent significant level. this paper therefore concluded that the variables and values of the adf values are greater than the critical values and the probability value hence stationary at significant 1st difference while private sector credit insignificant and hence stationary at levels. these results permits the use of the autoregressive distributed lag model (ardl) approach. having ascertained that the included variables are in order zero or levels and first difference (ici) as showed in table 4.3, table 4.4 proceeded with the co-integration test as shown in table 4.4. table 4.4: autoregressive distributed lag model bound test test statistic value significance 1(0) asymmetric = 10 i(1) f-statistic 10.04590 6 10% 5% 2.5% 1% 1.99 2.27 2.55 2.88 2.94 3.28 3.61 3.99 source: researchers’ computation using eview 12 note: asymptotic critical bound values are obtained from pesaran et al (2001), table ci (iii) from the results obtained in table 4.4, the f-statistics value calculated of 10.04590 lies above the upper and lower bound critical values (2.94, 3.28, 3.61 and 3.99) at both 10%, 5%, 2.5% and 1% levels respectively. since the f-statistics value lies ahead of the upper and the lower bound critical values, the null hypothesis of no co-integration was rejected and the alternative hypothesis selected, implying the presence of co-integration relationship among the variables. having established the long-run relationship between lending and unemployment reduction in nigeria. the long-run estimate based on the ardl approach reported in table 4.5. table 4.5: estimated long-run coefficients using the ardl approach dependent variables lnunemr c 48.35602 7.965106 6.070982 0.0000 unemr(-1)* -0.569286 0.121615 -4.681048 0.0004 m2/gdp(-1) 3.56e-11 7.54e-12 4.720124 0.0004 plndr(-1) -0.068087 0.0444.18 -1.532861 0.1493 fdi(-1) 0.019996 0.003280 6.095665 0.0000 infl(-1) 0.007086 0.012950 0.547187 0.5935 psc(-1) -2.59e-08 3.92e-09 -6.624017 0.0000 popgr** -6.113324 1.802117 -3.392301 0.0048 d(m2/gdp) 6.88e-13 4.49e-12 0.153392 0.8804 d(m2/gdp(-1)) -2.78e-11 6.62e-12 -4.195058 0.0010 d(m2/gdp(-2)) -2.57e-11 5.71e-12 -4.511020 0.0006 d(plndr) 0.075130 0.045451 1.653001 0.1223 d(fdi) 0.008409 0.005042 1.667763 0.1193 d(fdi(-1)) 2.57e-05 0.005001 0.005135 0.9960 d(fdi(-2)) -0.012744 0.006486 -1.964806 0.0712 d(infl) 0.009856 0.006552 1.504263 0.1564 238 d(infl(-1)) 0.017185 0.009226 1.862694 0.0853 d(psc(-2)) 2.866e-08 1.01e-08 2.641478 0.0203 source: researchers’ computation using eview 12. from the results presented in table 4.5, it showed that the constant term (c) which showed the level of drift form the trend equation is positive and significant at the 0.05 level of significance. this implies that the monetary policy on the lending rate is effective in taming unemployment rate in nigeria. however, the unemployment coefficient is negative however significant, which implies that the lending rate policy of the monetary policy in nigeria has the potential of reducing inflation if efficiently implemented by the deposit money under the control and monitor of the central bank of nigeria. the coefficient of broad money supply is positive and significant. an increase in the supply of money works both through lowering interest rates, which spurs investments, which promotes employment and reduces unemployment, and through putting more money in the hands of the consumers, and thus stimulating spending. the coefficient of broad money supply at lag one is in line with the theoretical relationship between broad money supply and unemployment. the coefficient of the prime lending rate is negative and insignificant at the 0.05 level of significance, such that 1% increase in the lending rate reduces employment by 0.6 percent. higher interest rate tends to lower consumer spending and business investment, leading to a reduction in hiring and an increase in unemployment. when interest rates spikes, it normally have a negative impact on employment, as increased borrowing costs will likely lead to higher unemployment rate. explicitly, the role of interest rates on bank’s lending habit has been extensively discussed in the development literature. in extension, babalola (2013) explained that a rise in interest rates would benefit savers at the expense of borrowers. expectedly in the long-run, the relationship between interest rates and unemployment would tend to be negative. from the result, the coefficient of inflation is positive but insignificant. this result is in variance with the basic phillip curve hypothesis that posits the negative relationship between inflation and unemployment. the result is line with the suggestion that interest rate is the strongest exogenous variables, followed by the inflation rate, in determining unemployment. the coefficient of private sector credit has a negative value, however significant at the 0.05 level. this implies that the private sector credit has the potential of reducing unemployment if the central bank private sector credit is well implemented. in developing economics, private sector needs more funds to increase their investment prospects and reduce unemployment and poverty. private sector credit has improved economic conditions through increased competitiveness efficiency within financial markets thereby indirectly benefiting non-financial sectors of the economy. private sector credit attracts the reservoir of savings and idle funds and allocates same to entrepreneurs, business, households and government for investment projects and other purposes with a view of returns which forms the basis of economic development and unemployment’s reduction (osakwe & akunna, 2022). the coefficient of population growth is negative although significant, as such, 1% change in population growth reduces unemployment by 6 percent. in a related study, it was showed that a 1% increase in population is associated with 4.74% increase in unemployment. the marginal effect is very large at 4.74%. this implies that the high rate of unemployment rate in nigeria has much to do with the high rate of population growth in the country. a rapid population growth leads to low standard of living of the people. if a country’s population increases as fast as national income, then per capita income will not increase (afolabi 239 & babalola, 2020). the short-run dynamic estimates are reported in table 4.6 using the parsimonious error correlation model of this study. table 4.6: estimated coefficients of the short-run dynamic error correction model dependent variable: d(unemr) variables coefficients std. error t-statistic prob. d(m2/gdp) 6.88e-13 2.63e-12 0.262204 0.7973 d(m2/gdp(-1)) -2.78e-11 4.10e-12 -6.767236 0.0000 d(m2/gdp(-2)) -2.57e-11 4.25e-12 -6.057022 0.0000 d(fdi) 0.008409 0.024845 3.023998 0.0098 d(fdi(-1)) 2.57e-05 0.003259 2.580632 0.0228 d(fdi(-2)) -0.012744 0.003716 0.006911 0.9946 d(plndr) 0.075130 0.003906 -3.262564 0.0062 d(infl) 0.009856 0.003822 2.578529 0.0229 d(infl(-1) 0.017185 0.0003464 4.961258 0.003 d(infl(-2) 0.019117 0.005165 3.701363 0.0027 d(psc(1)) -2.27e-09 5.41e-09 -2.200812 0.0464 d(psc(2)) 2.68e-08 5.33e-09 5.021547 0.0002 cointeq(-1)* -0.569286 0.051197 -11.11943 0.0000 r-squared 0.905145 f-statistics 12.02 mean dependent var -0.081 adjusted r-squared 0.843490 s.d dependent var 0.697712 s.e. of regression 0.276056 akaike info criterion 0.556475 sum squared resid 1.524137 schwarx criterion 1.184976 durbin watson 2.598552 hananan-quinn 0.770812 source: researchers’ computation using eview 12 the short-run dynamic estimates are reported in table 5.4 using the parsimonious error correction model based on this study’s model. the results of the short-run dynamic show that the error correction factor is correctly signed and statistically significant as expected. this shows a rapid rate of adjustment from the short-run disequilibrium to the long-run equilibrium. as can be seen from the result, about 57 percent of the deviation from equilibrium was corrected within one year. adjusted r-squared (0.84) showed that the explanatory variables have explained about 84 percent of the total variations in unemployment in nigeria. this indicates a high explanatory power of the short-run dynamic model. the f-statistics (12.02) also showed that the explanatory variables collectively were significant in explaining short-run changes in unemployment in nigeria. the durbin-watson of (2.59~ 2.6) value showed that there is no first order autocorrelation in the model. the analysis of the short-run estimates show that changes in the previous (one lagged) period of inflation rate, foreign direct investment have positive short-run impact on unemployment while one lagged period of broad money supply, interest rate and private sector credit have negative short-run impact on unemployment rate. this implies that a 1 percent increase in the previous period of prime lending rate, foreign direct investment, and inflation rate control would lead to 0.8, 8 percent, 2.5 percent reduction in unemployment in nigeria. conversely, a 1 percent decrease in private sector credit would lead to 1.19 percent increase in unemployment rate in nigeria. table 4.7 presents the granger causality result. table 4.7: pairwise granger causality test 240 null hypothesis obs f-statistic prob remarks m2/gdp does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause m2/gdp 35 0.65364 0.43907 0.5274 0.6487 no causality no causality plndr does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause plndr 35 0.37616 1.62588 0.6897 0.2136 no causality no causality fdi does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause fdi 35 1.01177 5.01958 0.3756 0.0132 no causality unidirectional causality infl does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause infl 35 0.38660 0.82907 0.6827 0.4462 no causality no casualty psc does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause psc 35 2.33535 3.22407 0.1141 0.0539 no causality unidirectional causality popgr does not granger cause unemr unemr does not granger cause popgr 35 0.85172 3.07777 0.4367 0.0608 no causality no causality source: researchers’ computation using eview 12 this test is undertaken to investigate whether the degree of causation of one variable on the other. in this paper, it was conducted to show whether prime lending rate contains useful information for predicting unemployment rate reduction in nigeria or whether it is unemployment rate reduction that contains any useful information from predicting prime lending rate levels in nigeria. the decision rule is based on the f-probability value. if the f-probability value is significant, the null hypothesis is rejected and the reverse is the case. from the results presented in table 4.7, only unemr and fdi have a unidirectional causality. this implies that there is a unidirectional causality between unemployment rate reduction and foreign direct investment, this study therefore rejected the null hypothesis that unemr does not granger cause fdi. similarly, there is a unidirectional causality between unemployment rate reduction and private sector credit. it can be inferred from the results that foreign direct investment and private sector credit can promote a reduction in unemployment rate in nigeria and therefore, any government policy to promote investment inflow (fdi) and private sector credit would promote unemployment in the immediate to the long-term. table 4.8 presents the model diagnostic tests. table 4.8: residual diagnostic test results s/n types of test probability 1. normality test (jarque-bera) 0.026395 <7.269178> 2. autocorrelation (serial lm test) 0.1326 3. heteroskedasticity test 0.7283 source: researchers’ computation using eview12. normality test this test is carried out to test if the error term follows the normal distribution. if the value of the jarque-bera calculated is less than 5.99, then the error term is normally distributed. the results show a calculated value of 7.26 greater than the 5.99, this implies that the error term is not normally distributed. the null hypothesis is rejected since the calculated jarque-bera value is greater than its table value (as is obtained from the chi-square distribution table at 2 degrees of freedom). autocorrelation this is to test whether errors corresponding to different observations are uncorrelated. the probability of 0.1326 is greater than 0.05, indicating that, the residuals of the variables are not 241 serially correlated. it implies that there is no correlation between consecutive residuals or error term. thus, the null hypothesis of no serial correlation is not rejected, which satisfies the assumption of no serial correlation. consequently, the model shows a good precision and therefore could be used for forecasting. heteroscedasticity this test is usually done to ascertain whether the errors in the regression have a constant variance or not. if the error terms do not have a constant variance, it means that there is a violation of the classical regression linear model. given the probability value of 0.72, which is greater than 0.05, this implies that the residuals of the variables are homoscedastic. it implies that the error term is the same across all variables of the independent variable. therefore, the coefficient of the variables is unbiased and could be used for forecasting. stability test results the stability test graphs presented in figure 4.1 was used to examine the stability properties of the variables. -12 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 cusum 5% significance cusum of squares 242 -0.4 0.0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 cusum of squares 5% significance from the graph above using cusum of squares, it shows that the variables are stable. that means the model exhibits stability over time and can be used for forecasting. heteroscedasticity test result given the probability of 0.1892, which is greater than 0.05, this implies that the residuals of the variables are homoscedastic. it implies that the error term is the same across all variables of the independent variable. therefore, the coefficients of the variables are unbiased and could be used for forecasting. 4.3 discussion of findings the major findings of this paper were discussed in line with the objectives and with references to the development of the nigerian economy. objective 1: to investigate the impact of broad money supply, lending rate and foreign direct investment on unemployment rate in nigeria. from the result presented in table 4.5 of the estimated long-run coefficients using the ardl approach, it showed that the coefficient of broad money supply is positive and significant at the 5% level of significance. hence, an increase in broad money supply would reduce unemployment by approximately 4%. broad money supply as earlier defined includes currency in circulation, demand deposit, savings and fixed deposits as well as other assets that is in spendable form. economic theory posits that an increase in money supply will raise the domestic price level to a larger degree in the long-run, thus lowering the unemployment rate of labour and capital. the result of this study is in sharp contrast with the findings of bassey (2017) that showed that the relationship between broad money supply and unemployment rate is positive and negative money supply growth shocks. however, the results show that money supply plays a vital role and showed that there is a significant pass-through effect of the money supply growth to unemployment rate in the long-run, this is in collaboration with the 243 submissions of sanz-bas (2011). impliedly, once the amount of money supply in circulation is higher than the level of total output of the economy, it is seen as excess money supply, it does so through the control of the base money made up of currency and coins outside the banking system and deposits of banks with the central bank of nigeria. in addition, the central bank of nigeria regulates money supply based on the knowledge that there is a stable relationship between the quantity of money supply and economic activity. from the result, the lagged values of broad money supply showed negative and significant relationship between broad money supply and unemployment thus collaborating the above presented results. the coefficient of lending rate, the leading variable was negative and insignificant; hence, a percentage decrease in lending rate promotes the reduction of unemployment rate by 6%. the interest rate charged on the loan amount offered to borrowers depends on the credit-worthiness of borrowers and projects financed. well lending rate, while maximum lending rate is for customers with high risk (cbn, 2016). an increase in interest rate (lending rate) is most likely to cause new unemployment. it is also known that a rise in interest rate will benefit savers at the expense of borrowers. this implies the crowding-out of investment, which creates employment in the long-run (babalola, 2013). from the estimated long-run coefficients using the ardl approach, the coefficient of foreign direct investment is positive and significant at the 5% level of significance. foreign direct investment is a long term capital investment in a target country either by buying a company or by expanding operations of an existing business (cbn, 2016). from the result, a percentage increase in foreign direct investment reduces unemployment by 1.9% in the long-run. the obtained result is in contradiction with the findings of nelson, ekokeme, okoyan and dumani (2018) that showed a negative and insignificant relationship between foreign direct investment and unemployment rate. meanwhile, the lagged values of foreign direct investment are in compliance with the findings of nelson et al (2018). the coefficients of the lagged values of foreign direct investment were negative and insignificant. the coefficients of inflation including the lagged inflation were negative and insignificant in line with the theoretical postulation. the philips curve shows the inverse trade-off between inflation rate and unemployment. if unemployment is high, inflation will be low. if unemployment is low, inflation will be high. the derived results show that the philips curve does not hold in nigeria. population growth rate showed a negative and significant relationship with unemployment under the reviewing period. the result obtained is in contrast with the results of babatunde and babalola (2020). this implies that population growth plays a major role in the increased level of unemployment in nigeria. this also means that a rise in population growth leads to a rise in unemployment all things being equal (ceteris paribus). the coefficient of private sector credit at lag 1 was negative although significant. this means that private sector credit has the potential to reduce unemployment. this result was corroborated by the coefficient of private sector credit at lag 2 which sowed a positive and significant relationship with unemployment. the autoregressive distributed lag result of effiong, ekpe and udofia showed a positive and insignificant relationship between private sector credit and unemployment in nigeria between the period 1990 through 2020. the importance of the private sector has earlier been stressed in the economic development literature (ede, ndubuisi & anyochukwu, 2013) in terms of its capacity to generate more jobs at a rate greater than 90 percent. the establishment of effective microcredit programs can help small and medium enterprises (smes) create jobs by meeting credit needs as they are typically turned down by regular banks 244 due to their high credit risk reputations. smes require capital in order to generate jobs and reduce jobs. deposit money banks, microfinance institutions, governments, and organizations in nigeria all provide capital for smes through programs and soft loans. such provisions of credit is premised on the capacity of the private sector to boost economic growth, employment generations, and poverty reduction in a nation (george-anokwuru & okowa, 2021). the role of financial sector in providing investment finance is crucial for development as earlier argued by the schumpter (1911) who supported the concept of financed growth (olowefeso, adeleke & udoji, 2015). the financial sector is critical to a country’s economic prosperity. a regulated banking system is seen to have a key role in boosting equilibrium unemployment by imposing credit limits and limiting company entrance (acemoglu, 2001; wasmer & weil, 2004). a highly competitive and efficient banking system makes low-cost loans to entrepreneurs and business, increasing investment through improving capital availability (zakaria, risalat & fida, 2015). the rise in investment raises the demand for labour, lowering the unemployment rate (strahan, 2003; dromel, kolakez, & lehmann, 2010). the estimated coefficients of the short-run dynamic error correction showed that eh lagged (1) and lagged (2) values of broad money supply as percentage of gdp was significant and negative. foreign direct investment showed appositive relationship with unemployment while the lagged values of fdi was both positive (lag 1) and negative (lag 2) although both were significant. the short-run dynamic estimate of prime lending rate was positive and significant. inflation and the lagged values were positive and significant. the estimated coefficient of the short-run showed that the lagged values of private sector were negative and significant. objective 2: to evaluate the causal relationship between broad money supply, lending rate and foreign direct investment on unemployment in nigeria. from the causality result presented, there is no casualty between lending rate and unemployment rate and again, there is no relationship between inflation and inflation. in the cause of est java, nanang (2015) showed unidirectional causality between inflation and unemployment. accordingly, unemployment rate impacted on the inflation rate in est java, while the inflation rate does not impact unemployment rate in east java. in a related study, shrikant, noor, shabryar and prabha (2020) through a causality result indicated that interest, unemployment and inflation are related. furthermore, the causality result showed a unidirectional causality between unemployment and private sector credit. this result is in line with the findings of musa and rabiu (2020) that equally demonstrated a unidirectional causality between private sector credit and unemployment in nigeria. objective 3: to determine the short-run evolution and adjustment dynamics between broad money supply, lending rate and foreign direct investment on unemployment rate in nigeria. the result show that about 57% of the short-run inconsistencies are being corrected and incorporated into the long-run equilibrium relationship in each period. in other word, it can be said that the level at which unemployment adjust to equilibrium was 57% of the discrepancy between long-run and short-run level of unemployment in nigeria was corrected and incorporated on yearly basis. from the ecm result, lending rate has a positive and significant impact on unemployment rate, meanwhile, nwamuo (2022) reported that prime lending rate has a positive and insignificant impact on unemployment rate. from the above author, the speed of adjustment for correcting disequilibrium from the previous year to equilibrium in current year is 81.9 percent. 245 5. conclusion and policy implication 5.1 conclusion this paper examined the monetary policy-pass through unemployment reduction in nigeria from 1986 to 2022. basically, there are three major specific objectives to shape the discussion of the findings of this study(i) to investigate the impact of broad money supply, prime lending rate and foreign direct investment on unemployment rate in nigeria. from the tested hypothesis, the null hypothesis was rejected [p (0.0001) <0.05]. it was concluded that there is a significant impact of broad money supply, prime lending rate and foreign direct investment on unemployment rate in nigeria. this implies policy measures that would promote and sustain the monetary aggregate that will help to reduce unemployment in nigeria. this calls for sound monetary policy to promote macroeconomic stability, manage inflation and promote sustainable growth. this would involve designing policies to help control the fluctuations in employment levels, prices and production. in conclusion to objective 2 – to estimate/evaluate a causal relationship between monetary policy and unemployment, it was shown from the result that there is no causality between broad money supply and unemployment; no causality between inflate rate and unemployment, although there is a unidirectional causality between unemployment and private sector credit. it can be generally concluded that there is no causality between monetary policy and unemployment rate. this outcome could be as a result of the dichotomy between the real sector and monetary sector. this implies policy measures that can create and sustain enabling environment for entrepreneurs and innovation that can unlock the full potentials of nigerians by empowering individuals to build and grow their business through a concessional credit system. in line with objective 3, it can safely be concluded that the level at which unemployment adjusted to equilibrium was 57%. this implies that the disequilibrium between monetary policy and unemployment reduction is feasible in nigeria. notably, inflationary pressures have been overtime fueled by factors including heightened insecurity, foreign exchange scarcity and exchange rate depreciation, supply chain bottlenecks and increase in value added tax (vat) (nesg, 2023). tough economic environment limits the effectiveness of monetary policy. monetary aggregates and tools became constrained in the face of rising liquidity; and inflationary pressure and economic fallout of covid-19 which led the economy into a recession. 5.2 policy implication of findings from the findings of the empirical estimate, the following economic policy orientations were deduced: i) the coefficient of money supply is positive and significant. this implies that an increase in broad money supply would reduce unemployment. ii) foreign direct investment has positive and significant relationship with unemployment. this implies that foreign direct investment has the structural potential to reduce inflation if attracted and retained. iii) the coefficient of inflation and lagged values were negative and significant in relation to unemployment in contrast with the philips curve of the inverse-trade-of between inflation and unemployment. this has some policy implications for the nigerian economy. 246 iv) private sector credit has a negative but significant impact on unemployment. this implies that private sector credit has the structural potential to reduce unemployment in nigeria. v) the result showed that about 57% of the short-run inconsistencies are being corrected and incorporated into the long-run equilibrium relationship in each period. this implies that prime lending rate has the structural potential to reduce unemployment if properly and efficiently accessed by the private sector and small and medium scale enterprises. 5.3 contribution to knowledge this paper on monetary policy pass-through to unemployment reduction has contribution to theoretical, empirical and policy knowledge on the subject matter. i) theoretical contribution: the job search theory as propounded by shgler (1961) and mortensen (1986) and the keynesian theory formed the anchors of this paper. unlike most related studies that used either the classical or keynesian theories. ii) empirical/methodological contribution the scope of this paper is from 1986 to 2022. the variables of this paper include broad money supply, prime lending rate, and inflation rate, private sector credit (monetary policy instrument or transmission mechanisms). these variables are selected based on theoretical postulation and nigerian economy experience. most significantly, this study used the prime lending rate unlike the general interest rate. it considers the two most important channels of monetary policy transmission mechanism (interest rate and credit channel) that has direct impact on unemployment reduction in nigeria (effiong et al., 2022; blair, 2023). the analytical technique adopted for this study is the autoregressive distributed lag approach. ardls are standard least squares regressions that include lags of both the dependent variable and explanatory variables as regressors (greene, 2008). ardl models are linear time series models in which both the dependent and independent variables are related not only contemporaneously, but across historical (lagged) values as well. this property informed the choice of the ardl. furthermore, since unemployment in nigeria is majorly caused by internal factors, the vector error correction approaches would have been the most appropriate. iii) policy contribution: the policy recommendation are very important source of input to reducing unemployment through monetary policy transmission mechanisms. the policy recommendations are value additions to technical knowledge. the rationale for policy-oriented research is to make technical knowledge available to policy makers and other actors in specific economic policy formulation and intervention (titilola, 2003). 5.4 suggestions for further studies this paper is constrained by reliability of data used. however, since the data used was subjected to reliability test, it was safe to make the policy recommendations. the following suggestions are offered to extend the body of knowledge which this study has contributed to: i) the inclusion of asset price and exchange rate as other monetary policy transmission mechanisms. ii) conducting an evaluative research on the central bank of nigeria intervention programs on unemployment in nigeria. 247 references amana, s.a; akpan , g.u. okon, u.a & aigbedion, i.m.(2018) impact of population growth on unemployment in nigeria. bimgham journal of economics and allied studies, 1(2), 2-10 amasomma, d. 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(1992). further evidence on the great crash, the oil-price shock, and the unit root hypothesis, journal of business and economic statistic, 10(3), 251-270. http://dx.doi.org/10.11130/jei.2015.30.40799 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 410 motivating local government workers in nigeria: exploring the impact of digital transformation on employee engagement and service delivery 1cornelius o. okorie ocorneloko@gmail.com 2ifeanyi kenechukwu ajaegbo ifeanyi.ajaegbo@funai.edu.ng 3atukpa emeka izekwe atukpa.emeka@funai.edu.ng 4nwigwe c.n atukpa.nwigwe.ndidiamaka@funai.edu.ng 1department of political science, 2,3,4department of public administration faculty of management science, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi state abstract this study explores the impact of digital transformation on motivating local government workers and enhancing service delivery in nigeria through a systematic thematic literature review. digital technologies have been highlighted for their potential to improve governance efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement. however, challenges such as inadequate technological infrastructure remain significant barriers in local government settings. the research reveals that digital tools can enhance employee motivation by facilitating improved communication, streamlined service delivery processes, and increased access to information. these advancements empower local government workers and contribute to organizational effectiveness and citizen satisfaction. strategic investments in infrastructure development and capacity building are crucial to fully harnessing the benefits of digital transformation in nigerian local governments. by synthesizing insights from diverse perspectives, this study contributes to understanding organizational behavior and public administration dynamics. it provides actionable recommendations for policymakers and organizational leaders to implement tailored digital strategies that foster a motivated workforce and improve service delivery outcomes. ultimately, these efforts aim to enhance governance effectiveness and societal impact in nigerian local government contexts. keywords: digital transformation, local government, employee motivation, service delivery, nigeria introduction motivating local government workers in nigeria stands as a critical imperative in the country's quest for effective governance and public service delivery. scholars such as ufua et al. (2021) and nwozor et al. (2022) have underscored the transformative potential of digital technologies in revolutionizing organizational dynamics within governmental contexts. this study delves into the intricate interplay between digital transformation initiatives and their impact on employee engagement and service delivery outcomes in nigerian local government administrations. mailto:atukpa.nwigwe.ndidiamaka@funai.edu.ng 411 digital transformation, as articulated by ufua et al. (2021), represents a paradigm shift towards leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement in public sector organizations. however, nwozor et al. (2022) caution that the realization of these benefits is often impeded by infrastructural challenges such as inadequate broadband access and outdated technological frameworks. these impediments highlight the pressing need for comprehensive strategies that not only integrate digital tools but also address infrastructural gaps to fully harness their potential. by adopting a systematic thematic literature review approach, this study aims to critically analyze the impact of digital transformation on motivating local government workers. central to this investigation is the recognition of digital technologies as catalysts for improving employee engagement through enhanced communication channels, streamlined service processes, and greater access to information. insights from scholars such as ufua et al. (2021) and nwozor et al. (2022) underscore the transformative effect of digital platforms in empowering employees and optimizing workflow efficiencies in public sector contexts. understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing targeted interventions that align digital strategies with the diverse needs and challenges faced by local government workers in nigeria. by synthesizing findings from diverse scholarly perspectives, this study seeks to contribute nuanced insights into how digital transformation initiatives can be leveraged to foster a motivated workforce and enhance service delivery effectiveness. such insights are essential for guiding policymakers and organizational leaders in adopting effective strategies that promote sustainable development and citizen-centric governance practices in nigerian local governments. motivational strategies and employee productivity motivational strategies have long been recognized as pivotal in enhancing employee productivity across various sectors. in the context of nigeria's tertiary institutions, famade et al. (2016) emphasized the profound impact of a conducive work environment, coupled with incentives and opportunities for capacity development, on worker productivity. this argument finds resonance in the hospitality industry, where alamu and dwyer (2017) highlight the significance of affordable technologies, in-house training, and employee recognition as key strategies to foster a productive workforce. delving deeper into the healthcare sector, bhatnagar and george (2016) presented a compelling case for performance-based financing (pbf) as a mechanism to improve working conditions and provide incentives. this approach, they argue, has significantly enhanced the motivation of health workers in nigeria, leading to better service delivery and overall productivity. transformational leadership, characterized by attributes such as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration, is another critical factor in boosting employee satisfaction and productivity. ohunakin et al. (2019) argue that this leadership style not only enhances job satisfaction but also contributes to life satisfaction among employees in nigeria's hospitality industry. their study underscores the importance of leaders who can inspire and intellectually stimulate their workforce, thereby fostering a more committed and motivated team. the interplay between these motivational strategies and employee productivity is multifaceted. for instance, the provision of a good work environment and incentives, as noted by famade et al. (2016), creates a foundation for employee motivation. however, the continuous development of employees' capacities through training and recognition, as suggested by alamu 412 and dwyer (2017), ensures that this motivation is sustained and translated into productivity gains. moreover, the role of transformational leadership, as elucidated by ohunakin et al. (2019), complements these strategies by providing a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. this leadership style not only motivates employees but also aligns their personal goals with organizational objectives, resulting in enhanced productivity and job satisfaction. through integrating good work environments, incentives, capacity development, and transformational leadership, organizations can create a dynamic and motivated workforce capable of achieving high levels of productivity. the studies by famade et al. (2016), alamu and dwyer (2017), bhatnagar and george (2016), and ohunakin et al. (2019) provide a robust framework for understanding and implementing these strategies in various sectors within nigeria. digital transformation and governance digital transformation is increasingly recognized as a critical driver of transparency, accountability, and efficiency in governance. ufua et al. (2021) argue that digital transformation can significantly enhance the attainment of sustainable development goals (sdgs) 4 (quality education) and 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). however, they emphasize that the success of digital initiatives is heavily mediated by stakeholder commitment and the performance of e-governance systems. this highlights the importance of a supportive infrastructure and active participation from various stakeholders in realizing the benefits of digital transformation.shenkoya (2022) adds depth to this discussion by identifying digital transformation as a verified solution for improving transparency and accountability in governance. despite its potential, shenkoya points out that nigeria's current technological infrastructure is inadequate to support such innovations. this infrastructural challenge is echoed by nzenwata (2019), who stresses the urgent need for establishing robust digital infrastructure and creating reliable, affordable broadband access to facilitate digital transformation in nigeria. nwozor et al. (2022) further explored the potential of digital transformation in the public sector, arguing that it can lead to significant improvements in transparency and the elimination of corruption. they suggest that digital reforms can streamline administrative processes and reduce opportunities for corrupt practices. however, ofoma (2021) cautions that while digitalization has improved service delivery in nigeria's public sector, there remains a significant digital divide. bridging this divide requires comprehensive policies and effective public-private partnerships to ensure inclusive access to digital technologies. adeyinka and adewumi (2023) advocate for the adoption of agile methodologies in the nigerian public sector. they argue that such approaches can promote citizen participation and foster servicecentric cultures, ultimately enhancing the responsiveness and effectiveness of public services. this perspective aligns with hofisi and chigova (2023), who highlight the benefits of digital transformation at the local government level. they assert that digital tools can improve decision-making, reduce costs, streamline operations, and provide more efficient services. focusing on leadership within the digital transformation landscape, orunbon et al. (2023) demonstrated that principals' digital transformational leadership positively influences teachers' organizational commitment and job satisfaction. this finding underscores the role of leadership in driving successful digital initiatives and fostering a culture of innovation and commitment within organizations. 413 finally, chen et al. (2021) identified several barriers to digital transformation in small service businesses, including lack of funding, digital capability, human resources, and technical challenges. they propose that the government should play a proactive role in building digital platforms and promoting mobile and digital payment solutions to overcome these barriers. the literature on digital transformation and governance in nigeria reveals a complex interplay of opportunities and challenges. scholars like ufua et al. (2021), shenkoya (2022), nwozor et al. (2022), and nzenwata (2019) highlight the transformative potential of digital initiatives while underscoring the need for robust infrastructure and stakeholder engagement. adeyinka and adewumi (2023), along with hofisi and chigova (2023), emphasize the benefits of agile methodologies and digital tools at various levels of governance. meanwhile, orunbon et al. (2023) and chen et al. (2021) provide insights into the leadership and policy measures necessary to drive and sustain digital transformation efforts. demographic factors and employee motivation the impact of demographic factors on employee motivation and job satisfaction is a multifaceted issue that has garnered significant scholarly attention. abasilim et al. (2019) explored how demographic variables such as gender, age, marital status, academic qualification, and employment status influence the relationship between leadership styles and employees' commitment in nigerian local government administrations. their findings suggest that these variables play a critical role in shaping employees' perceptions and responses to different leadership approaches. expanding on this, urošević and milijić (2012) highlighted that professional qualification, years of working experience, and age significantly influence employees' satisfaction and motivation. they argue that organizations must consider these demographic factors when designing motivational strategies to ensure they address the diverse needs and expectations of their workforce. this perspective is echoed by nafiu and orugun (2016), who asserted that demographic factors impact job satisfaction and performance. they emphasize that employee motivation is crucial for achieving desired outcomes in business contexts, such as business games in nigeria. jackalas et al. (2016) delved into how age, education, and seniority affect employees' perception of organizational culture. they find that motivation is positively correlated with these demographic factors, indicating that more experienced and educated employees tend to have higher motivation levels. this underscores the importance of recognizing the varying needs and motivational drivers of employees based on their demographic profiles. alele et al. (2020) focused on the relationship between demographic factors and public infrastructure expenditures in nigeria's rivers state local government areas. they identify population density as a significant demographic variable that influences public spending. this finding suggests that demographic characteristics can impact broader organizational and governmental policies, highlighting the interconnectedness of demographic factors and organizational outcomes. ogbuabor and okoronkwo (2019) examined the predictors of motivation and retention among local government tuberculosis control programme supervisors in nigeria. they identify quality of worklife, work-family balance, and working conditions as significant predictors, suggesting that demographic factors must be considered in conjunction with these variables to fully understand employee motivation and retention.collectively, these studies underscore the intricate relationship between demographic factors and employee motivation. they reveal that 414 demographic characteristics such as age, education, professional qualification, and experience significantly influence employees' job satisfaction, motivation, and organizational commitment. furthermore, these factors intersect with broader organizational and policy contexts, shaping outcomes in various sectors. the literature suggests that a nuanced understanding of demographic factors is essential for developing effective motivational strategies. abasilim et al. (2019), urošević and milijić (2012), nafiu and orugun (2016), jackalas et al. (2016), alele et al. (2020), and ogbuabor and okoronkwo (2019) collectively highlighted the need for tailored approaches that consider the diverse demographic profiles of employees. by doing so, organizations can create more inclusive and effective environments that enhance motivation, satisfaction, and performance herzberg's two-factor theory: herzberg's two-factor theory, also known as the motivation-hygiene theory, is a seminal framework in the field of organizational behavior and human resource management. developed by frederick herzberg in the late 1950s, the theory provides a nuanced understanding of the factors that contribute to employee motivation and job satisfaction. it distinguishes between two categories of factors: hygiene factors and motivators. hygiene factors hygiene factors are extrinsic elements related to the work environment rather than the work itself. according to herzberg, these factors do not lead to long-term job satisfaction, but their absence can cause dissatisfaction. hygiene factors include: 1. salary: adequate and fair compensation is crucial for preventing dissatisfaction. 2. company policies: clear, fair, and consistent policies help create a stable work environment. 3. working conditions: safe, comfortable, and pleasant working conditions are essential for employee well-being. 4. job security: assurance of continued employment is vital for employee stability and reducing anxiety. 5. supervision quality: competent and supportive supervision can prevent dissatisfaction. 6. interpersonal relations: positive relationships with colleagues, supervisors, and subordinates are critical for a harmonious workplace. motivators motivators are intrinsic factors directly related to the nature of the work itself. these factors lead to higher levels of job satisfaction and motivation when present. motivators include: 1. achievement: opportunities to achieve and take pride in one's accomplishments. 2. recognition: acknowledgment and appreciation of one’s work and contributions. 3. the work itself: engaging, interesting, and meaningful work that provides personal satisfaction. 4. responsibility: increased responsibility and autonomy in one's job. 5. advancement: opportunities for career growth and advancement. 6. personal growth: opportunities for personal and professional development. 415 application to the study in the context of our study on demographic factors and employee motivation, herzberg's twofactor theory provides a robust framework for understanding how different demographic groups perceive and respond to various workplace factors. by categorizing factors into hygiene and motivators, we can better analyze and address the unique needs and expectations of diverse employee groups. age and experience • younger employees: likely to prioritize motivators such as achievement, recognition, and advancement. they seek opportunities for growth and meaningful work. • older employees: may value hygiene factors more, such as job security and stable working conditions. they might also appreciate recognition and responsibility that come with experience. educational level • highly educated employees: tend to seek challenging and intellectually stimulating work. motivators such as achievement, the work itself, and personal growth are crucial. • less educated employees: might place greater emphasis on hygiene factors like fair compensation, good working conditions, and job security. professional qualifications • advanced qualifications: employees with advanced qualifications may be more motivated by opportunities for professional development, responsibility, and recognition. • basic qualifications: these employees might focus more on adequate supervision, supportive working conditions, and fair policies. gender • male employees: depending on cultural and societal roles, they might prioritize different aspects of work-life balance, achievement, and advancement. • female employees: often balancing family responsibilities, might place higher value on work-life balance, job security, and flexible working conditions. implications for management understanding the distinction between hygiene factors and motivators allows managers to tailor their strategies to address the specific needs of their workforce: • improve hygiene factors: ensuring fair salaries, good working conditions, and clear policies to prevent dissatisfaction. 416 • enhance motivators: providing opportunities for achievement, recognition, responsibility, and personal growth to boost motivation and satisfaction. herzberg's two-factor theory offers a comprehensive framework for analyzing and addressing employee motivation by distinguishing between hygiene factors that prevent dissatisfaction and motivators that enhance job satisfaction. by applying this theory, organizations can develop targeted strategies that cater to the diverse demographic profiles of their employees, ultimately leading to a more motivated, satisfied, and productive workforce. materials and methods in this qualitative study, we utilized secondary data to examine the impact of demographic factors on employee motivation and job satisfaction, employing herzberg's two-factor theory as the analytical framework. secondary data was sourced from a range of existing scholarly articles, reports, and relevant literature that addresses the influence of demographic variables on employee motivation within various organizational contexts. the research adopted a systematic and thematic literature review approach to collect, analyze, and interpret the secondary data. initially, a comprehensive search was conducted across several academic databases and repositories to identify relevant studies. keywords such as "employee motivation," "job satisfaction," "demographic factors," "herzberg's two-factor theory," and "nigeria" were used to ensure a broad and inclusive collection of literature. this search yielded a substantial number of articles, which were then screened based on their relevance to the study's focus. the inclusion criteria for the literature review were studies that specifically examined the relationship between demographic factors and employee motivation, utilized herzberg's twofactor theory, or provided empirical data on employee motivation in nigeria. articles that did not meet these criteria were excluded from the review to maintain the relevance and quality of the data. once the relevant studies were identified, a thematic analysis was conducted to extract and categorize the key findings. this process involved coding the data and identifying patterns and themes related to hygiene factors and motivators as described by herzberg. the thematic analysis allowed for the systematic organization of data into meaningful categories, which facilitated a deeper understanding of how demographic factors influence employee motivation and job satisfaction. through this methodology, the study aimed to uncover the nuances of how different demographic groups perceive and respond to various workplace factors. by applying herzberg's two-factor theory, the analysis was able to distinguish between hygiene factors that prevent dissatisfaction and motivators that enhance job satisfaction. this dual perspective provided a comprehensive understanding of the factors that drive employee motivation and how these factors vary across different demographic profiles. the use of secondary data and a systematic thematic literature review ensured a thorough and well-rounded examination of the subject matter. this approach not only highlighted the existing knowledge and gaps in the literature but also provided a robust framework for analyzing the complex interplay between demographic factors and employee motivation. 417 summary of findings the study, employing herzberg's two-factor theory and conducting a systematic thematic literature review of secondary data, provides significant insights into the influence of demographic factors on employee motivation and job satisfaction in nigerian organizational contexts. key findings include: 1. hygiene factors vs. motivators: across different demographic groups, hygiene factors such as salary, job security, and working conditions universally prevent dissatisfaction. in contrast, motivators like achievement and recognition vary in importance based on age, educational level, and professional qualifications. 2. age and experience: older employees prioritize stability and security, emphasizing hygiene factors. younger employees, seeking challenges and growth opportunities, value motivators more prominently. 3. educational level: higher educational qualifications correlate with a stronger preference for motivators such as responsibility and personal growth. conversely, lower educational levels emphasize the importance of hygiene factors like fair compensation. 4. gender dynamics: gender influences perceptions of work-life balance and career advancement. male employees focus on achievement and career progression, while female employees prioritize supportive working conditions. 5. professional qualifications: employees with advanced credentials prefer intrinsic rewards like recognition and advancement, contrasting with those with basic qualifications who prioritize extrinsic factors such as job security. regarding digital transformation in nigerian local government: • impact: digital initiatives have the potential to enhance governance efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement. • challenges: inadequate technological infrastructure remains a significant barrier. • employee motivation: digital tools can boost motivation through improved communication and streamlined service delivery. • recommendations: investments in infrastructure and capacity building are crucial for optimizing digital transformation. • future directions: longitudinal and qualitative studies are recommended to further explore digital transformation's impact on employee engagement and service delivery. overall, the study highlights the intricate relationship between demographic factors and employee motivation, underscoring the importance of tailored motivational strategies in nigerian organizations. discussion herzberg's theory categorizes factors that influence employee satisfaction into hygiene factors, which prevent dissatisfaction when adequate, and motivators, which enhance satisfaction and motivation when present. this study, based on a systematic thematic literature review utilizing secondary data from various scholars such as abasilim et al. (2019), urošević and milijić (2012), and jackalas et al. (2016), reveals compelling insights into how these factors manifest in the nigerian context. 418 firstly, the distinction between hygiene factors and motivators is crucial. hygiene factors like salary, job security, and working conditions were universally important across demographic groups, aligning with herzberg's premise that their absence leads to dissatisfaction rather than enhanced satisfaction. this finding resonates with studies by urošević and milijić (2012) and nafiu and orugun (2016), highlighting the fundamental role of fair compensation and supportive work environments in maintaining employee morale and stability. conversely, motivators such as recognition, opportunities for growth, and meaningful work varied significantly based on demographic characteristics. younger employees, influenced by studies like those by ohunakin et al. (2019), expressed a strong desire for career advancement and challenging tasks, indicating a preference for intrinsic motivators that align with personal and professional development goals. this contrasts with older employees who, consistent with findings from abasilim et al. (2019), valued stability and the fulfillment of basic needs through consistent hygiene factors.educational attainment emerged as another critical determinant of motivational preferences. employees with higher educational qualifications, as suggested by studies such as alele et al. (2020), placed greater emphasis on opportunities for intellectual stimulation and career progression. in contrast, employees with lower educational qualifications prioritized tangible rewards and job security, underscoring the need for tailored motivational strategies that recognize these diverse needs. gender dynamics also played a significant role in shaping motivational preferences. studies by jackalas et al. (2016) and nafiu and orugun (2016) indicate that gender-specific roles and societal expectations influence how men and women perceive and prioritize workplace factors. male employees often emphasized achievement and career advancement, while female employees highlighted the importance of work-life balance and supportive organizational cultures.professional qualifications further differentiated motivational priorities among employees. those with advanced professional credentials, influenced by studies like those by bhatnagar and george (2016), valued opportunities for leadership and responsibility, viewing these as critical motivators that enhance job satisfaction and organizational commitment. conversely, employees with basic qualifications sought stability and equitable treatment, emphasizing the role of fair policies and transparent management practices. the literature highlights diverse strategies such as improving work environments, providing incentives, and enhancing capacity, which are shown to significantly boost productivity in tertiary institutions (famade et al., 2016). moreover, digital transformation emerges as a critical driver for achieving sustainable development goals (sdgs) and enhancing governance transparency, although hindered by inadequate technological infrastructure (ufua et al., 2021; shenkoya, 2022; nwozor et al., 2022). in specific sectors like hospitality, adopting affordable technologies and implementing performance-based financing have proven effective in enhancing workforce productivity and motivation (alamu& dwyer, 2017; bhatnagar& george, 2016). leadership styles also play a pivotal role, with transformational leadership, characterized by its inspirational and individualized approach, positively impacting job satisfaction and organizational culture in hospitality settings (ohunakin et al., 2019). however, challenges persist, particularly in the digital transformation of nigerian businesses and public sectors, where infrastructure gaps hinder progress (nzenwata, 2019; olayinka& wynn, 2022). demographic factors further complicate the landscape, influencing leadership 419 dynamics, employee commitment, and satisfaction across different sectors (abasilim et al., 2019; urošević&milijić, 2012; nafiu&orugun, 2016). this study underscores the complexity of employee motivation within nigerian organizational settings, emphasizing the need for dynamic and innovative approaches to meet diverse demographic needs. by applying herzberg's two-factor theory, organizations can develop tailored strategies that address both hygiene factors and motivators, thereby fostering a more engaged, satisfied, and productive workforce. future research could explore longitudinal studies or qualitative inquiries to further deepen our understanding of how demographic factors evolve over time and their implications for organizational effectiveness in nigeria's dynamic work environment. conclusion this study has explored the multifaceted impact of digital transformation on motivating local government workers and enhancing service delivery in nigeria. the findings underscore the transformative potential of digital technologies in improving governance efficiency and transparency, as highlighted by scholars such as ufua et al. (2021) and nwozor et al. (2022). despite the promise of digital transformation, challenges such as inadequate technological infrastructure persist, hindering its full realization in nigerian local government settings.through a systematic thematic literature review, this study has revealed that digital tools can significantly enhance employee engagement by providing avenues for streamlined communication, improved access to information, and more efficient service delivery processes. these advancements not only empower local government workers but also contribute to overall organizational effectiveness and citizen satisfaction. moving forward, it is imperative for nigerian local governments to prioritize infrastructure development and capacity building initiatives to fully harness the benefits of digital transformation. by investing in robust technological frameworks and fostering a culture of digital literacy among employees, local governments can overcome existing challenges and leverage digital tools to create more responsive and accountable public service environments. furthermore, this research advocates for continuous monitoring and evaluation of digital initiatives to ensure their alignment with organizational goals and societal needs. future studies should focus on longitudinal assessments and qualitative inquiries to further explore the evolving impact of digital transformation on employee motivation and service delivery outcomes in nigerian local governance.ultimately, by embracing digital transformation as a catalyst for organizational change and employee empowerment, nigerian local governments can pave the way for enhanced service delivery, improved governance practices, and ultimately, greater societal impact. references abasilim, u. d., gberevbie, d. e., &osibanjo, o. a. 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(2012). influence of demographic factors on employee satisfaction and motivation. organizacija, 45(4). https://doi.org/10.2478/v10051012-0019-z page 7 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities volume 7 number 2, 2022volume 7 number 2, 2022 161 democracy and the provision of human rights in nigeria: an analysis of human rights abuse rev. fr. elias ifeanyi e. uzoigwe department of philosophy, university of calabar, nigeria email: fruzoigwe@gmail.com; eliasuzoigwe@unical.edu.ng; orcid 0000-0002-3809-7114 abstract democracy has been identified as government of the people by people and for the people. this implies that democracy is people oriented system of government. however, the practice of democracy in nigeria has been characterized by a lot of challenges, especially human rights abuse. the essence of provision of human rights in a democratic system of government is to ensure that the principle of separation of powers, rule of law and people’s inalienable rights are respected. experience has shown that such is not the case in the nigerian context of democracy. presently, the political situation and unrest in the country that is marked by high level of insurgency, terrorism, banditry and all forms of criminality clearly show that human rights abuse is prevalent in nigeria. these challenges are as a result of bad governance. to change the narrative, the study, which employs the method of critical analysis construes that nigeria needs her own philosophy in order to ensure good governance, which will bring about respect for human rights; and that philosophy is epistemethics. keywords: democracy, epistemethics, governance, human rights and philosophy. introduction bad governance has been identified as the major challenge that metamorphosed into human rights abuses in africa, especially in nigeria where the political class claims that the country is practicing democracy, but not so in reality. the outcome of 2022 primary elections of various political parties is indicating that the concept of internal parties democracy which represents a level playing ground for membership failed to be in conformity with democratic principles. in a democratic state that is ruled by democratic precepts, the citizens’ choice of policy and/or preference cannot be thwarted on the altar of nepotistic practice. how much candidates for electioneering campaign pay the delegates both in naira and in foreign currencies determines the outcome of elections and the flag bearers of some of the political parties. by implication, political office, leadership and governance have been commercialised, and that is why for some politicians, being elected into political office is a ‘do or die affair’ in nigeria in particular and africa in general. it is not a politics of competition of ideas and capacity for leadership and governance, but that of whose pocket is fatter than the other. the most mailto:fruzoigwe@gmail.com mailto:eliasuzoigwe@unical.edu 162 disheartening aspect of this ugly situation is that even among the so called elites and the educated chunk of nigerian politicians, money politics translated into vote buying holds sway. however, adherence to the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers are key to promoting fundamental human rights, and also very compatible and agreeable with democracy, yet unyielding in nigerian context. in a democratic government, it is the will of the citizens that prevail. the citizens yearn for leaders who are competent and capable of governing them, and who will in turn be accountable to them. in nigeria, the reverse is the case in the sense that, voting and appointment into political offices are done based on ethnic, tribal and religious sentiments rather than competence, equity, fairness and justice. this position about nigeria is corroborated when (richard et la, 2010) write: “when it comes to appointment to various offices, the essential requirements are usually set aside. competence of the individual is eased out or the ‘he is my brother’ syndrome.” there are huge potentials for unprecedented development africa in nigeria, and to a larger extent but all these seemingly positive factors of socio-economic and political advancement had been undermined via corruptible tendencies and practices. nigeria, and africa to a larger extent but all these seemingly positive factors of socio-economic and political advancement had been undermined via corruptible tendencies and practices. taking responsibility and being accountable are part of the hallmark of good governance. often times, in nigeria, people do not take responsibility. this is one of the banes of the 21st century nigerian society where people are in abject poverty, suffering, dying of hunger and all manner of problems amidst abundance of wealth that would sufficiently take care of all even future generations. it is in a society like the present nigeria where political leaders do not take responsibility and are not accountable to the citizens that the rule of law, fairness and justice (calcine righteousness, which is supposed to regulate all human activities), have remained elusive. most worrisomely, human rights abuses are in the top gear in nigeria. of all the killings and violation of peoples’ inalienable rights, the political leaders at various levels are not taking responsibility, yet nigeria is under democratic rule. what an irony! the question is: how many people have been brought to justice as a result of insurgency, banditry, terrorism, and all forms of violation of human rights in nigeria, at least, since the fourth republic? the legislature, executive and judiciary do not seem to know that: “through the enactment of laws and through the application of sanction when necessary, the state must 163 uphold and defend the rights of all citizens, maintain public order and tranquility and promote the common welfare” (okpalaonwuka, 43). today, some members of the upper and lower chambers from the six geopolitical zones are gradually becoming vocal, expressing that things are getting worse every day. the question is: where were they at least, for the past seven years? the fact remains that the good and wellbeing of the nigerian citizens is not the reason for their late condemnation of all forms of social vices and violation of peoples’ inalienable rights. in the words of (uchebuakpa, 4), “the members of house of representatives and senate are now being vocal in condemning high level of insurgency, banditry, terrorism, bad governance and human right abuses in nigeria, because it is obvious to them that just as the citizens are not secured, they themselves are not safe either.” at the foundation of all these is that, there is no philosophy which nigerians in particular and africans in general can proudly call their own. epistemethics is therefore proposed in this research as a viable and indispensable philosophy for the eradication of human rights abuses in nigeria in particular and bad governance in africa in general. conceptual clarifications apart from the keywords, there are some other concepts one necessarily has to make reference to while reflecting on democracy and human rights abuses in nigeria, which include but not limited to: education, governance, philosophy and politics. these will also form part of the concepts to be clarified. democracy: the word democracy comes from the latin words, “demos”, meaning people and “kratos”, meaning power; so democracy can be thought of as “power of the people” (cranston, 2003). abraham lincoln defines democracy as “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people (cranston, 2003). this implies that, democracy is people oriented and citizens’ centered system of government. education: etymologically, the word education is derived from the latin word “educare” which means “to bring up”; and also another latin word “educere” which means “to bring forth”. education, therefore, means to bring up and to bring forth (freire, 2000); that is, education means acquisition of knowledge and also the development of attitudes and skills. education is an enlightening experience and purposeful activity which could be formal or informal or semi-formal directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge, or fostering skills and character traits. though education is not synonymous with knowledge, one 164 cannot claim to be educated without gaining some knowledge. education is synonymous with, but not limited to: tutoring, coaching and training. epistemethics: epistemethics is a construct of two words namely: epistemology and ethics. these two concepts are also among the major branches of philosophy. epistemology derives from two greek words: episteme (knowledge) and logos (study or science of). therefore, when these two concepts are joined together, it becomes ‘the study or science of knowledge’. as a branch of philosophy, epistemology is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge about reality. it also deals with the nature, forms, scope, limitations, and functions of knowledge. on the other hand, ethics derives from the greek word ethos which means ‘custom or way of living’ … “ethics is a branch of philosophy that is concerned with human conduct, more especially the behaviour of individuals in society. ethics examines the rational justification for our moral judgments; it studies what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust” (canadian government, 2015). epistemethics is a philosophy which holds that all knowledge, all education must be acquired for ‘service to humanity’. epistemethics emphasises the functions of knowledge and the most important of all the functions of knowledge is advancement of the wellbeing of humanity. in that connection, when knowledge is employed against humanity, it is no longer knowledge; and the person who possesses such knowledge would be described as someone who went to school, but not educated. the educated person within the context of epistemethics is the person in whose life knowledge and good moral conduct are inseparable. when good moral behaviour is not practically demonstrated within the dynamics of personal and inter personal human relationships, it is not qualified to be knowledge (uzoigwe, 124). governance: governance refers to a process whereby elements in society wield power, authority and influence and enact policies and decisions concerning public life and social upliftment. hyden elevates governance to an “umbrella concept to define an approach to comparative politics”, an approach that fills analytic gaps left by others.… he emphasises “the creative potential of politics, especially with the ability of leaders to rise above the existing structure of the ordinary, to change the rules of the game and to inspire others to partake in efforts to move society forward in new and productive directions” (hyden, 2022). governance encompasses the system by which an organization is controlled and operates, and the mechanisms by which it, and its people are held to account (hyden, 2022). 165 human rights: human rights are those basic rights citizens enjoy because they are human beings. human rights can be interchangeably employed with inalienable rights which include, but not limited to: freedom to life, freedom of speech, freedom of religion (worship), freedom of association, and freedom of expression. all these fundamental human rights make for a smooth flow of the rule of law and the principles of separation of powers for which democracy is known. in such a situation, the supremacy of the constitution over and above all and equality of all citizens before the law is unnegotiable. in other words, human rights are “rights which all human beings have by virtue of their humanity, such as right to life, dignity of human person, personal liberty, fair hearing and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. they provide a common standard of behavior among the international community” (udhr, 1948; dada, 2012). they are natural, rational, inviolable, and unalterable, the deprivation of which could constitute a grave affront to one’s sense of justice (cranston, 1973; borokini, 1998). rights, as defined, are generally understood as, “moral-political claims which by contemporary consensus, every human being has or is deemed to have upon his society or government,” claims which are recognized “as of right” and “not by love or grace or charity” (damrosch et al, 2007; henkin, 1997). philosophy: philosophy derives from two greek words: philo (love) and sophia (wisdom). when added together, it becomes philosophia (love of wisdom). philosophy can also be defined as a rational and critical reasoning about man, god and the universe at large. as the root of all knowledge, philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as the nature of knowledge, truth, justice, politics, culture, economics, medicine, the mind, security, language, among others (blackburn, 2005). philosophy critically analyses a plethora of human experiences and rationally espouse systems of thought about humanity. politics: politics is a contestable concept. among the broadest ways of defining politics is to understand it as a ‘social activity’ – an activity we engage in together with others, or one through which we engage others. politics, in this sense, is ‘always a dialogue, and never a monologue’ (heywood, 2013). over the years, some people have identified politics as ‘a dirty game’. however, politics in itself is not a dirty game. it is the application of ungodliness and all forms of inhuman conduct in politics by some politicians that injects dirtiness in politics. again, “the proper activity of political power is politics and it consists in the appropriate measures for the foundation preservation and increase on the common good by those responsible for it” (messner, 2021). politics is both public and private social activity with its 166 public and private concerns aimed at influencing others to think, behave and, in fact, go towards our direction in order to achieve some defined goals or at times not well defined goals. democratic system of government democracy is a people-oriented system of government. but in reality there is no place where the people govern, nor indeed is it practicable for them to do so. for karl popper, it is the government and the ministries that govern the modern society. but at least any democratic government must be elected by the people and must submit itself to the approval of the people during elections to renew its mandate. the people can also decide to reject the government by voting in another government. that is why for (popper, 1988) “democracy is the ability of the people to reject an unwanted government”. but for any society to be able to give the common man the ability to send home an unwanted government there must be a measure of egalitarianism in that society (oguejiofor, 2004). the principle of egalitarianism is, therefore, the fulcrum or pedestal upon which any democratic society stands. the beautiful picture painted above has been elusive in the african context of democracy with special reference to nigeria. egalitarianism is a system of government where peoples’ rights are respected simply because they are human beings. sadly, nigeria is not an egalitarian society. in nigerian brand of democracy, people are not respected because they are human beings, rather because of their material possession and where they come from. that is why religious bigotry, ethnicity, clannishness and parochialism are the order of the day in almost all the sectors of leadership and governance of the country. one can now understand why i describe the nigerian democracy as undemocratised democracy because no nation that chooses to practice democracy will succeed without strict adherence to, and true practice of the principles of social justice, equity and fairness, and even charity in their economic activities just as (pope pius xi, 1961) advocates that “… all forms of economic enterprise must be governed by the principles of social justice and charity”. the indispensability of justice and humanness in issues of democracy and human rights cannot be over-emphasised. scholars are of the view that democracy is the best system of government, because it is highly representative and in fact, people oriented. in a democracy, the people (citizens) are the key players and active participants in determining the affairs of the state. the question is: “are the peoples’ will, choice, interest and decision considered in the nigerian style of democracy”? 167 a brief history of democracy in nigeria the first republic in nigeria began in 1963 with dr. nnamdi azikiwe as the first president and head of state, and sir abubakar tafa balewa as the prime minister and head of government. democracy under the first republic was characterised by cacophony of voices following the elections of 1964, the coup of january 15, 1966 and counter coup of july 29 of the same year with sir tafa balewa and major general aguiyi ironsi losing their lives. also, the civil war from 1967 to 1970 was a major setback in nigeria’s quest for democracy. general yakubu gowon became the military head of state for nearly a decade 1966-1975. after the bloodless coup of 1975 which ousted general gowon, brigadier general murtala mohammed took over the administration of nigeria. general murtala was assassinated in another coup in 1976 and lieutenant general olusegun obasanjo took over the same year and saw nigeria’s transition to ‘democracy’ three years later. in the second republic, “elections in july and august, 1979 saw shehu shagari become the first ‘democratically-elected’ president of nigeria and a new constitution introduced an american-style presidential system, rejecting the british parliamentary model. but shagari’s government was characterized by extensive corruption, wastefulness, and a failure to thaw civil-war era ethnic and religious divisions in the country” (hoffmann, 2021). there was another military coup in 1983 that brought in major general muhammadu buhari as the leader of the military regime. according to hoffmann, “buhari’s authoritarian leadership was unpopular and worsened by recession. his government was overthrown in august 1985 by general ibrahim babangida who promised to end military rule but would remain in power until 1993. he expanded a corrupt network mostly sustained by oil revenues which has been organized but still endures in nigeria” (hoffmann, 2021). in the third republic, ernest shonekan became the leader of an interim government after general babangida annulled the june 12, 1993 presidential election, which the majority of nigerians believed would have ushered in ‘the very first true democracy’ in the country in the sense that, the elections represented the peoples’ will and choice. unfortunately, “babangida refused to recognize the outcome of the free and fair elections held in june 1993. he imprisoned the elected president moshood kashimawo abiola and stymied the creation of a full-fledged third republic. but he struggled to contain domestic pro-democracy demands before creating an interim government council later that year which was then quickly replaced by a new military ruler general sani abacha” (hoffmann, 2021). it is important to note that after general sani abacha’s death in 1998, general abdulsalami abubakar took over and began a transition 168 military government and oversaw the return to the ‘so called democracy’ with an election in april 1999. the fourth republic in nigeria began with the election that brought in the former military head of state, olusegun obasanjo to the presidency on may 29, 1999 under the platform of peoples democratic party (pdp). in the words of (pini jason, 1999), “our elections are flawed not just because politicians rig elections but largely because the nigeria police aid rigging for the party in power”. after contemplating all that was happening, i warned in an article: come october, we shall all be losers! the result of that election included the return of the military in december 1983. what we have today…. is the aftermath of the 2003 electoral malpractices. what about the abduction of a sitting governor, dr. chris ngige, in anambra state in a ‘democratic government’? as it were, “the impunity displayed in anambra, aided to the hilt by the police has convinced everybody that democracy under a federal system is a huge joke unless there are state police. the president imposes his will all over the federation with the police. all the argument about possible abuse of state police by the governors today falls on its face in the light of gross abuse by the president obasanjo of the unitary federal police. all lovers of true federalism must now renew the agitation for state and local government police!” (benezenwa, 2008). the concerns raised by jason are as true as it is the situation today where all forms of impunity and violation of peoples’ inalienable rights are on the increase on daily basis under the so called democratic rule. in the dynamics of democracy, equity, fairness, justice, purposeful, progressive, people oriented and godly-leadership and politics as well as good governance, there necessarily has to be a viable philosophy that grounds them. in america, for instance, that philosophy is pragmatism. americans carefully drafted pragmatism as a philosophy that guides their democracy and it is working for them. nigeria is said to have embraced democracy since 1999 after long period of military rule and its dictatorship. sadly, the fact remains that democracy has not been practiced in nigeria in reality. democracy in nigeria could be likened to what david hume would describe as a figment of imagination in his theory of knowledge. the kind of democracy that is practiced in nigeria from obasanjo administration 1999 to 2007, yar’adua/jonathan administration 2007 to 2011, and jonathan administration 2011 to 2015 is an undemocratised-democracy or a theoretical/paper democracy. going further about the so called democratic dispensations in nigeria, (lawson, 2022) writes: “between 2015 and 2022 of apc administration, nigerians have witnessed military dictatorship, tyrannical and 169 autocratic government, nepotism and totalitarianism put together.” the question is: how can rule of law which enables human rights to thrive function in such a society depicted above? taking 2007 elections as a case study, (jason, 1999) expressing displeasure over the activities of the president of the nation down to independent national electoral commission (inec), the electoral umpire who should have ordinarily been an impartial judge expresses: “so disappointingly but not surprisingly his (the mr. president’s) plans and projections together with his ilk came to pass in 2007 general elections. no thanks to inec…led by maurice iwu, who compiled and read out results that pdp has again had a landslide victory, from state to federal constituencies, even in parts where opposition theretofore was wielding strong influence”. the situation was not different from 2015 till date because, “…the attahiru jega and subsequently, yakubu mamood led inec did not do anything differently. the apc administration, of course, has not done anything better than the pdp administration” (yusuf, 2022). these men and women of the political class in nigeria are the same set of politicians with the same mindset, orientation and ideology; their crisscrossing from one political party to another notwithstanding. this must have been the reason why (maier, 2002) like chinua achebe blame the leaders for the lopsidedness in the country when he says that, “in nigeria the blame for its lost generation falls squarely on the shoulders of its people’s leaders…” human rights abuse in nigeria in chapter iv of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, there is a provision for fundamental rights of citizens which include: “the right to life, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to freedom of movement, right to freedom from discrimination, and the right to acquire and own property anywhere in nigeria”. the question is: who obeys the constitution among the political leaders in nigeria and by extension, africa? who respects the inalienable rights of the citizens? is there any validly and generally acceptable constitution in african countries, articulated by the citizens and through dialogue and general consensus accepted by africans? is the nigeria constitution, for instance, drafted in the interest of the generality of the nigerian citizens or for the good of the political class? because of the broad spectrum of human rights, i would like to limit this segment of the discourse to violation of the right to life and freedom of expression. the right to life is the most abused of all the inalienable rights in nigeria. the right to life is a substantive right and is among the most important of all the rights guaranteed and protected by contemporary 170 international law. it is universal and obligatory; without it, no other right would make sense (hunter et al, 2010). environmentalists and human rights advocates rightly argued that apart from the killings and other forms of violation of human life, especially by anti-humanist governments, some environmental activities could in themselves lead to violation of human rights, especially the right to life. it is so because, “initially, the right to life was aimed at preventing arbitrary killings by the government. in recent years the right to life has evolved to extend to address certain environmental harms that directly or indirectly infringe on the right to life. this extension of the ambit of the right to life is as a result of the efforts and works of the environmental and human rights advocates” (hunter et al, 2010). this makes one to quickly recall the level of human rights abuses and violation of the right to life in the oil producing communities of niger delta in nigeria. some of these communities suffer as much as having their farm lands, source of drinking water, and also the rivers where they fish polluted with oil spillage. worse still, some of the security agencies and the oil companies do not also help matters. similarly, (onwuazombe, 2017) sheds more light on this when he articulates that: “human rights abuses and violations in nigeria in general and in the oil producing communities in particular cut across the entire spectrum of rights. the abuses come in different forms and could be direct or indirect. the inhabitants of the niger delta region are subjected to regular rights abuses and violations by the state security agents and the oil corporations. the perpetrators of rights violations are hardly or never held accountable or brought to justice due to the myriad of problems besetting the judicial institutions”. police brutality, and the peoples’ reaction that metamorphosed into ‘endsars’ protest in october 2020, which led to the massacre of so many ‘unarmed’ nigerian youths, seems to be the high point of human rights abuses in nigeria in recent times. those nigerian youths whose lives were wasted, do they not have rights to life? is it not their inalienable rights to express themselves about bad governance of the present administration through peaceful protest? for (wale, 2021), “whether anybody has been brought to justice as a result of killings of innocent nigerian youths at the lekki tow gate, lagos, is a question of primary significance that needs urgent answer”. with the level of human rights abuses, it is apparent that what is obtainable in nigeria today is dictatorial democracy, undemocratised democracy, theoretical/paper democracy or at best imperial democracy. in other words, (hollenbach, 2002) clearly understands the situation when he argues that: “hitherto there has been movement from constitutional democracy to imperial presidency where the party in power is no longer party 171 for the people but an authoritarian and over-centralised one-man show. there is the underscored point of our leaders settling for relations of super-ordination and subordination as if they and us are into a master-slave affair. we know that slavery institutionalizes inequality and non-reciprocity in the most radical way. the nigerian scenario of obvious forms of unequal interdependence that exists between these rulers who are not accountable to those whom they rule might be less radical than slavery but nonetheless still harmful. the people who live in society of this kind of rulers are at best subjects, not citizens. they do not share actively in governing themselves but must simply cope with decisions made by another. being reduced to a state of non-agency and simply coping does enormous violence to their human dignity”. it is practically impossible for one to value human dignity without first and foremost valuing human life as sacred and then, humanity itself. the sacredness of human life has to be infused and diffused and embedded into the consciousness of the political leaders in nigeria so as to ensure preservation of human life, respect for human dignity and eradication of all forms of violation of human rights because man is primarily and essentially an image of god-imago dei. in all these, one thing that is obvious is that the citizens neither trust the government nor their agents. most worrisome is that even the judiciary which is said to be the last hope of the common man is superlatively compromised. and so, nigeria operates at the level of almost a lawless state, where some of the politicians and elites in government are careless at the manner in which human life is wasted in the country. all the apparati of the government are grossly dysfunctional such that the security personnel who brutally and inhumanly violate peoples’ rights and often waste their lives are not held accountable, not even at the level of criminal justice system. among the reasons given for this neglect is systemic and institutional corruption. furthermore, (onwuazombe, 2017) adds his voice to the perplexing experience when he argues that: “… there is an apparent lack of trust and confidence in the courts and general apathy towards the judicial processes amongst nigerians as the civil remedies in law are merely enforced. furthermore, the criminal justice system and the judiciary, generally perceived as dysfunctional, are ineffective in bringing security personnel and corporations involved in crimes and violation of rights to justice due to systemic and institutional corruption, lack of independence of judiciary, political interference and so on”. on 26th and 27th july 2022, the nigeria labour congress (nlc) embarked upon peaceful solidarity demonstration with the members of academic staff union of universities (asuu) to register their grievances over the federal government’s insensitivity to education in the country such that, the public universities have been locked down for six months as at 172 those dates, and students roaming the streets. it is with this kind of attitude that african citizens should put on their thinking apparatus and say in unism: “let us prioritise our values” and rise to the occasion by inaugurating the era of ‘man know thyself’ in africa. epistemethics: an antidote for human rights abuse in nigeria a case study of the challenges of governance in africa has been identified in human rights abuse in nigeria, even under the so called democratic dispensation. education, or acquisition of knowledge has been identified as a necessary condition for good governance and effective leadership across the globe. there can be no good governance without strategic thinking and other problem-solving mechanisms like critical thinking and moral-leadership. knowledge is acquired either through formal, informal, or semi-formal education. again, in terms of strategic intent and focus on leadership, education is key and indeed, an indispensable tool. prioritising education and grounding it in morality will go a long way to ameliorating the problem of bad governance and ungodly-leadership evidently manifest in human rights abuses in nigeria in particular and africa in general. nigeria, at this propitious time, needs leaders with clarity of thought, vision, and tenacity that is anchored on ‘situational resourcefulness and sensitivity’. as the pivotal of human capital development across the globe, education is key and knowledge is power. at the point in which africa nay nigeria is today, we need emergency plan to prioritise our education. in the classical era, the most celebrated greek philosopher, socrates, construed that, “knowledge is virtue”. unfortunately, one sees that today, there are people who have gained knowledge, yet they are advancing the course of evil, abusing human rights and destroying human lives with impunity. the class of people described above have knowledge without being virtuous. the right education that is grounded in morality is lacking in this type of situation which is the case in today’s nigeria. this calls for thorough re-examination of the status quo ante. one can now appreciate (paolo freire’s, 2000) advocacy on “education for critical consciousness”. long before freire, plato (as cited in rusk’s doctrine of the great education 1969) teaches that: “education is what makes a man eagerly pursue the ideal perfection of citizenship and teaches him how rightly to rule and how to obey. this is the only education upon our view that deserves the name; that other sort of training, which aims at the acquisition of wealth…. mere cleverness apart from intelligence and justice, is mean and liberal, and is not worthy to be called education at all.” on the other hand, aristotle construes education as the “development of a sound mind in a sound body.” 173 epistemethics is, therefore, proposed in this research as a viable philosophy that will aid in ensuring that human rights abusses and all forms of tyranny in the cloche of democracy give way for good governance and people-oriented leadership. poor education ‘in character and learning’ on the part of african leaders is a significant part of the challenge of bad governance in africa. the latin maxim: ‘nemo dat quod non habet – no one gives what he does not have’ is as true as wise considering the present situation in africa. this study suggests that african political leaders should not just have senior school certificate, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or even doctoral degree in any field of study, they should as a matter of necessary condition and situational sensitivity go through moral formation in character first and foremost to be ‘human’ in their actions and inactions. they must have at least basic education in morality, where they will undergo training in ‘ethics, not without critical thinking’. and until the moral values they acquire through learning in ethics and critical thinking are put into practice, they will not be regarded as educated, rather, they will be regarded as people who went to school. that is why plato’s demand for philosopher king to be at the helm of affairs of the state is as expedient as ever in today’s nigeria. good moral life has not yet become a culture in nigeria in particular and africa in general; and when it becomes an intrinsic aspect of our culture, the entire world will turn to africa for genuine aid in all spheres of human endeavour, not the other way round, where people from the west and across the globe pretend to be giving aid to africa and yet ‘milking’ africa dry through the back door. epistemethics construes leadership and governance as service to god and humanity. political leadership in nigeria has failed woefully simply because the leaders do not see their function as service to god and humanity, rather, they commercialise government and construe politics and governance as means of getting rich overnight and, in turn, enrich their immediate families, allies and circle of friends, especially those who would help them in looting public funds and also aid in the cover up of such a corrupt act. any time governance and leadership are perceived as service in africa, africans will rise from their slumber and have a new breath of life, and good governance and sustainable development will flow like a river. situational sensitivity and resourcefulness as an intrinsic part of epistemethics by situational resourcefulness and sensitivity, i mean, for instance, that african leaders and, indeed, all africans should rise up to the challenge and be sensitive to the fact that africa is abysmally and alarmingly lagging behind almost in all spheres of human endeavour and in all segments of the global economy. it is so because majority of the african leaders choose to be insensitive to the fact that the level of poverty and hunger ravaging africa ought not to be 174 so because, all the countries in the continent are superlatively endowed with rich human and natural resources. it is this same resources that few individuals within the political circle have hijacked, laundering them into other countries and these other countries use those resources to develop and advance their course. is that not situational insensitivity of the highest magnitude? is it not situational insensitivity and lack of criticality that, some of the nigerian students who are currently forced out of school for seven months now [that the federal government forced the academic staff union of universities (asuu) to embark on strike] are today campaigning for some of those politicians who have kept them out of school? is it not situational insensitivity that some of the nigerian students, their parents and even some other members of the society erroneously believe that there is no money to fund education in nigeria, yet before their eyes, the same politicians raise billions of naira from the sales of nomination forms for various positions in different political parties? without situational sensitivity and resourcefulness, critical thinking, deep-seated reflection, and decisive action for emancipation, nigeria in particular and africa in general will remain the way it is. african rebirth and epistemethics reflection it is one of the principles of epistemethics that african pessimism must give way for deep-seated reflection and decisive action. african pessimism, which is symbolically embedded in lack of reflection, situational insensitivity and lack of resourcefulness are among the factors that have orchestrated high level of bad governance and human rights abuses both in nigeria and in the continent. some of the african leaders and even the citizens tend to hold the idea that, “that is the way we are”. some of the leaders have no idea about governance, and would not have reflection and take decisive action that could lead to emancipation of their people from ‘neo-slavery to real freedom’. some of the citizens prefer to eat today and get hungry tomorrow through their actions and inactions. that is largely why in nigeria, some of the youths whose inalienable rights are being trampled upon and whose future are also being destroyed would willingly allow themselves to be employed as political thugs, take all manner of risks, and go much further to help rig elections for the greedy politicians and the so called elites because of mere peanuts. ideas rule the world, is a philosophical maxim of timeless validity. nigeria in particular and africa in general need leaders who have ideas and who would be willing to move out of their comfort zones to cross pollinate and cross fertilize their ideas. how? by systematically 175 employing a philosophy of their own in all spectra of their lives. africa needs a philosophy or philosophies which they can boldly call their own, and then, both leaders and the led make the philosophy or philosophies their own in word and in deed. with epistemethics, the narrative will be changed because morality and its apparatus like good conscience, will be an intrinsic part of our political culture. re-evaluation and prioritisation of values as an intrinsic part of epistemethics why has africa in the midst of plenty could take care of all and even generations to come, millions of people are dying of poverty and hunger? why is it that the number of out of school children today in nigeria are about 20 million according to unesco? apart from inter and intra neo-colonialism, nothing is wrong with africa, except bad governance and ungodlyleadership that is enshrined in lack of a philosophy or philosophies that africans call their own. having a philosophy that people appropriate and make their own in all spheres of their lives serve as a game changer and indeed, a catalyst towards advancing their own course. america, for instance, adopted pragmatism as their own philosophy. if one closely looks at almost all segments of the life of american people, one would notice that pragmatism permeates everything they do and it is working for them. it is when nigeria in particular and africa in general have their own philosophy or philosophies that is (are) grounded in morality that, separation of powers, rule of law and independence of judiciary will be possible and then political interference will also give way for good governance. it is because nigeria has no philosophy she calls her own that is grounded in morality that students, for instance, who graduate with first class honours would be given twenty-thousand-naira incentive with little or no publicity; while their fellow students who make third class or even pass can go necked and involve themselves in all forms of atrophy in the name of ‘big brother naija show” on social media, for instance, are rewarded with gifts of cars and millions of naira. is it not a clear indication of misplacement of priority encapsulated in bad governance? what a misnomer! what a deterioration of values? one can now appreciate one of the principles of epistemethics, which emphasises re-evaluation and prioritisation of values. conclusion/recommendations democracy has been identified as the government of the people by the people and for the people. human rights, on the other hand, are those rights all the citizens of a country have equally before the law not minding one’s status in the society. bad governance has become a 176 way of life in africa in the sense that one can hardly see a country within the african continent where there is no record of corruption and human rights abuses, especially violation of the right to life and freedom of expression. it is also identified that the root cause of this hydra headed monster is traced to lack of a philosophy or philosophies that nigerians in particular and africans in general can boldly call their own. in this discourse, epistemethics is proposed as a viable philosophy such that, if imbibed by the rank and files of the nigerian society, the rights of the human persons will be respected simply on the basis that they are human beings sharing in humanity, and all forms of willful and deliberate abuses of the peoples’ inalienable rights will, if not totally eradicated, drastically reduced. it is so because one of the principles of epistemethics is that respect for the dignity of human person should be a grand norm for personal, intra-personal and inter-personal relationships. respect for the dignity of human person and his inalienable rights should be among the grand norms of every political leadership and governance that is truly described as democratic. in the philosophy of imago dei, which is an intrinsic and indispensable part of epistemethics, respect for the dignity of man is an imperative and not an option. respect for the dignity of man is part of our respect for the absolute being whom man is his image (imago dei). to trample upon the human dignity (abuse human rights) is a high point of disrespect for the absolute being and, in fact, to trample upon the absolute being, that is, god himself. in all spheres of human endeavor, the human person must be given a pride of place. this must have prompted (john paul ii, 1982) to admonish thus: “i wholeheartedly encourage all those entrusted with the well-being of their fellowman to make the human person the true criterion of all development efforts. development projects must always have a human face. they cannot be reduced to a purely materialistic or economic endeavor. the human person must always be the ultimate measures of the feasibility and the success of an economic or social programme. progress can therefore not be separated from the dignity of the human person nor from the respect of his or her fundamental rights. in the pursuit of progress, total progress, anything must be rejected that is unworthy of the freedom and the human rights of the individual and of the people as a whole”. that is why this study suggests epistemethics as a viable and indispensable philosophy in tackling the challenges of governance in africa, which is the root cause of human rights abuses in nigeria, even under the ‘so called democracy’. 177 references arendt, h. 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(2022). the philosophy of imago dei: a key to solving leadership problem in nigeria. international journal of latest research in humanities and social sciences 5(10), 118-125. www.ijlrhss.com. wale, a. o. (2021, august 26). covid-19 pandemic and ‘endsars’ experience in nigeria. unpublished paper delivered in ibadan, nigeria. yusuf, s. m. (2022). the role of inec in the setbacks experienced in the nigeria’s quest for democracy. splendour journal of interdisciplinary studies 4 (8), 12. http://www.ijlrhss.com/ page 6 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 375 the united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) and challenges of effective humanitarian response in northeast nigeria chiedozie p. nwosu department of political science, alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, ebonyi state email: chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng frank-collins nnamdi okafor department of political science nnamdi azikiwe university, awka,nigeria email: fcn.okafor@unizik.edu.ng abstract in recent times, the globe has witnessed unimaginable humanitarian crisis. people have been forced to flee their homes in the most unusual circumstances, massive displacements and food insecurity have taken centre stage and all these have affected humanity adversely. the african continent is not left out in all of this as it has also been plagued by several humanitarian crisisfrom the horn of africa, down to sub-saharan africa. in all, northeast nigeria has been devastated by the activities of boko haram insurgents since 2009, leading to a seemingly intractable humanitarian catastrophe in the region. the united nations high commissioner for refugees stepped in 2014 to render humanitarian assistance and services to communities in this troubled zone. the study employed the complex humanitarian emergencies (ches) theory as an analytical framework. methodologically, the descriptive research design was used and data was gotten through primary and secondary sources. the primary sources of data were sourced using key informant interviews, where structured questions were purposively administered to key officials of the unhcr and international committee of the red cross. secondary data were gotten from documentary sources as journal articles, books, internet blogs, etc., and analysed using content analysis. the study uncovered the fact that unhcr’s humanitarian response in nigeria’s north-east has not yielded the desired results as the agency is currently bedeviled with so much challenges, ranging from insecurity of unhcr staff, lack of access by the agency to remote areas, to funding shortfall and a host of others. it recommends, among others, the need for inter-agency collaboration, adequate protection of the agency’s staff and proper funding of the agency’s activities in the area. keywords: human services, red cross, refugees, sub-saharan africa united nations, introduction in the 21st century, series of humanitarian crises have ravaged the entire globe; so much so that every part of the world has experienced and received a fair share of this burden. the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has reached a record high of 362 million, or one in every 22 people. over 110 million people have been compelled to leave their homes, and over 260 million people suffer severe food insecurity, putting some at risk of starvation (united nations press, 2023). globally, spiraling crises have forced 120 million men, women, and children to flee; 1.5% of people have been displaced by violence, conflict, or persecution; and file:///c:/users/user/downloads/chiedozie.nwosu@funai.edu.ng file:///c:/users/user/downloads/fcn.okafor@unizik.edu.ng 376 low-and middle-income nations have taken in 75% of the refugees and internally displaced people usa for unhcr (2024). in the midst of the growing humanitarian crisis in the globe, one of the continent’s most impacted by this global crisis is africa, especially sub-saharan africa. the region is plagued by multiple lengthy conflicts, challenging climate conditions, and economic woes that have exacerbated humanitarian needs (united nations press, 2023). nigeria is a focal point due to the intractable insurgency and high-intensity violence orchestrated by boko haram in the country’s northeast (omenma, onyishi & okolie, 2021).the scourge of boko haram attacks has afflicted the northeastern region of nigeria since 2009, resulting in a serious humanitarian catastrophe in the area (okunade, & ogunnubi, 2020; kamta, schilling & scheffran, 2020 ; idowu , nwangele & nwosu 2021). more stresses like reliance on oil, poor economic planning and volatile oil prices have put a strain on resources, food insecurity is worsened as a result of the depletion of the lake chad basin, climate change, which has caused desertification in the north and flooding in other areas, thus impacting on agriculture and livelihoods (onuoha, 2008; eke-okocha & eze, 2023). the fall-out of the aforementioned crisis in nigeria’s northeast has been a humanitarian crisis in the form of refugees and internally displaced persons. this state of affairs has led so many non-state actors to come to the rescue of affected victims in the area. the united nations high commissioner for refugees (unhcr) happens to be one of such agencies rendering humanitarian assistance and services to people in need and vulnerable communities in nigeria’s northeast since 2014 (nnadi.,ezeani .,& nnadi ,2020). the study therefore sets out to interrogate as it were, why the number of individuals in need of humanitarian assistance continue to escalate by the day in the region, prompting the question as to whether there are challenges militating against the smooth operations of the unhcr in nigeria’s northeast and in what ways the challenges have affected the agency’s humanitarian response in nigeria’s northeast. conceptual clarifications humanitarian crisis the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha) defines humanitarian crisis as “a singular event or series of events that are threatening in terms of health, safety, or well-being of a community or large group of people” (ocha, 2024). in another vein, the humanitarian coalition (2013) defines humanitarian crisis as an incident or sequence of events that poses a serious risk to the health safety, security, or well-being of a community or other sizeable population, typically over a large territory. one singular variable in these two definitions of humanitarian crisis as presented above is that for a situation to qualify as a humanitarian crisis, it must be of a large scale and affecting, as it were, the livelihood, welfare and security of a large group of people or community. anderson and garber (2018) do not agree any less with the foregoing when they opined that humanitarian crisis is any disaster that necessitates international assistance (humanitarian aid) to provide for the impacted population’s basic requirements and that when a humanitarian crisis occurs, national and local resources are insufficient to provide for the needs or relief; foreign aid is required and often, no single humanitarian organization can adequately handle the scope of the crisis’ response. 377 likewise, the international federation of red cross and red crescent societies (ifrc) emphasizes that there cries frequently stem from complex emergencies characterized by “extensive violence and loss of life, massive displacements of people, widespread damage to societies and economies, and the need for large-scale, multi-faceted humanitarian assistance” (ifrc, 2023). according to the oxford handbook of human security (2003), a humanitarian crisis occurs when a sizable segment of the population is in critical need of aid; these situations are frequently brought on by war, severe natural disasters, or unstable economic conditions. humanitarian crises are extreme circumstances in which a great deal of people are suffering or have died as a result of conflicts, natural catastrophes, or other emergencies, necessitating significant and prompt humanitarian response ( beasley and hughes,2017). for (kuhlman and parker, 2008), a humanitarian crisis is a dire circumstance in which society’s regular processes have broken down, resulting in great suffering for people and requiring immediate action and relief measures. humanitarian response humanitarian response is defined by the good humanitarian donorship (ghd) initiative as acts performed by nations or international organizations to stop or prevent widespread suffering among people, especially during times of conflict or natural catastrophes; under the auspices of independence, impartiality, and humanism, encompassing actions meant to preserve human dignity, save lives, and lessen suffering (ghd, 2003). the phrase “humanitarian response” describes the coordinated efforts made by a variety of international organizations, governments, and non-governmental organizations to deliver aid effectively and efficiently in crisis situations. humanitarian response aims to alleviate suffering, ensure the well-being of affected populations, and restore normalcy as quickly as possible. it involves addressing urgent needs like food, shelter, water, and medical care as well as protecting human rights and supporting recovery efforts (szabo, 2019; altare et.al., 2022; lie, 2020). pringle and hunt (2015) concur with the foregoing definitions by averring that humanitarian response or action is the active giving of aid with the goal of preventing death, reducing suffering, and restoring and advancing human dignity in the wake of large-scale emergencies and disasters. research methodology the study adopted the descriptive research design and data were gotten from both primary and secondary sources. the data from primary sources include key informant interviews with structured questions conducted on key officials of both the unhcr and the icrc, using the purposive sampling technique. this sampling technique was considered germane as it enabled the researchers to specifically pick respondents to be interviewed. the respondents so selected were individuals holding sensitive offices in both the unhcr and the icrc. they included the unhcr protection unit, abuja and the desk officer; for the icrc, we picked the icrc regional spokesperson for africa and the desk officer. these set of individuals occupying knowledgeable positions formed the population for the study. secondary data were also gotten from documentary sources which included newspapers, journal articles, text books, etc. the data generated were analysed using content analysis, allowing for detailed generalizations and logical conclusions. theoretical framework 378 the theoretical framework that guided this study is the complex humanitarian emergencies (ches) theory or framework. this theory explains multifaceted crises that disrupt the social, economic, and political fabric of societies, often accompanied by conflict, violence, and largescale displacement. these emergencies are characterized by their complexity, duration, and the multiplicity of factors contributing to the crisis, setting them apart from simpler, more localized disasters. key features of ches: multi-faceted crises: ches involve a combination of natural disasters, conflict, and social disorder, creating intricate and interconnected challenges. prolonged duration: unlike sudden-onset disasters, ches can persist for extended periods, exacerbating the suffering and vulnerability of affected populations. mass displacement: ches lead to large-scale displacement of people, both internally and across borders, resulting in significant humanitarian needs. political instability: the crises often arise in contexts of weak governance, failed states, or political instability, complicating response efforts. complex coordination: effective intervention requires coordination among multiple actors, including international organizations, ngos, local governments, and communities. contributors to the theory: some of the notable contributors to the theory are: de-waal (1997) who’s work on famine, conflict, and humanitarian response in africa has been influential in shaping the understanding of ches. similarly, duffield (2001)’s research on the political economy of war and humanitarianism has provided critical insights into the complexities of ches, especially in the context of global governance and development. additionally, the un agencies and ngos like the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (ocha), médecins sans frontières (msf), and the international committee of the red cross (icrc) have played pivotal roles in defining and operationalizing responses to ches, contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of these emergencies. application of the theory: the complex humanitarian emergencies theory provides a valuable framework for understanding the complexities of the humanitarian crisis in north east nigeria. the boko haram insurgency, which began in 2009, has led to a protracted crisis characterized by widespread violence, displacement, and human suffering. the crisis has been exacerbated by factors such as climate change, poverty, and political instability, making it a quintessential example of a che. the application of the ches theory to the north east nigeria crisis highlights the following key features: multi-faceted crises: the conflict in north east nigeria is a classic example of a multi-faceted crisis, combining natural disasters, conflict, and social disorder. the region has been affected by droughts, floods, and epidemics, which have exacerbated the humanitarian needs of the affected populations (unhcr, 2019). the conflict has also led to the destruction of infrastructure, displacement of people, and the disruption of essential services, including 379 healthcare and education (human rights watch, 2018). prolonged duration: the crisis in north east nigeria has persisted for over a decade, with the conflict showing no signs of abating. the prolonged duration of the crisis has led to chronic humanitarian needs, with millions of people requiring assistance and protection (unhcr, 2020). the protracted nature of the crisis has also led to the depletion of resources, making it challenging for humanitarian organizations to sustain their response efforts (msf, 2020). mass displacement: the conflict has led to massive displacement, with over 2.5 million people internally displaced and over 300,000 displaced across borders (unhcr, 2022). the displacement has resulted in significant humanitarian needs, including shelter, food, and medical care (ocha, 2020). political instability: the crisis in north east nigeria is complex and deeply rooted in political instability. the region is plagued by weak governance, corruption, and political instability, which have hindered the effectiveness of humanitarian responses (duffield, 2018). the political instability has also led to the proliferation of armed groups, further exacerbating the humanitarian situation (icrc, 2020). complex coordination: effective humanitarian response in north east nigeria requires complex coordination among multiple actors, including international organizations, ngos, local governments, and communities. the unhcr has played a critical role in coordinating humanitarian efforts, working closely with other un agencies, ngos, and local authorities (unhcr, 2020). however, coordination has been hindered by limited resources, insecurity, and conflicting interests among stakeholders (msf, 2020). to conclude, the ches theory provides a useful framework for understanding the complex crisis in north east nigeria. the application of this theory highlights the challenges and complexities of effective humanitarian intervention in the region, including the need for sustained funding, improved coordination, and addressing the root causes of the crisis. review of related literature challenges undermining unhcr's responses to humanitarian crisis in northeast nigeria although there has been significant improvement in refugee aid programmes, rehabilitation of internally displaced persons, rendering help to communities affected by crisis and the like, the unhcr still faces difficulties in offering comprehensive help to idp’s, returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers because of paucity of funds, red tape, a shrinking humanitarian space, and limited access (usa for unhcr, 2023). this state of affairs made betts (2013) to contend that the idea of challenged institutions which emphasizes the difficulties experienced by multilateral organizations in rapidly shifting global governance finds full expression in the office of the un high commissioner for refugees as it responds to an increasingly competitive institutional setting. this is indeed factual as overlaps have been presently created by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions. in a similar vein, betts et al (2011) did not mince words when they averred that the unhcr was created to address the needs and concerns of refugees in europe but that after the cold war, this role snowballed with the wide range of forced displacements experienced globally, a state of affairs that has challenged the mandate of the office sorely. 380 also, the unhcr faces numerous security challenges in its operations globally, nigeria, not being an exception. a report by the unhcr executive committee report (2022) makes it vivid where it stated that of late, the unhcr has presence in 126 countries and almost 25% of the workforce works in areas where the overall risk level is deemed to be significant or high. more than 300 security incidents were reported by the agency in 2021, some of which were dire, exposure to fire in areas faced with hostilities, civil conflicts, violent demonstrations, crime, ambushes, abductions and road accidents, in december 2021, in the democratic republic of the congo, a unhcr vehicle was ambushed by an armed militia and three staff members of the mission got seriously injured; nigeria witnessed the abduction of a national staff member by militants that got released six months after, another national member of the mission was killed in an aerial assault in his native home in ethiopia same year. on the issue of security and how it affects the operations of the unhcr particularly in nigeria’s, a global focus report (2019) stated that nigeria’s humanitarian and security conditions, particularly in north-east nigeria, were unstable and unsafe in 2019 and that nigeria was the country with the highest total anticipated risk in terms of socioeconomic fragility, inequality and shortages of food, according to the 2019 global risk index. this situation did not abate as a similar study carried out in the same country a year after-2020 reinforces the fact that the protracted humanitarian crises associated with the ongoing insurgency in the north-east, which had not shown any indications of declining, disputes between farmers and herders in the middle belt, and sectarian disruptions throughout the nation continue to dominate and undermine unhcr’s operational setting in (nigeria global focus report, 2020). also, poor funding has impacted unhcr’s operations globally. a unhcr underfunding report (2023) stated that in order to protect, aid, and find answers for millions of individuals who are stateless or have been forcefully displaced around the world, the unhcr is essential. however, the agency’s underfunding of its operations presents a big issue for 2023 and that the global response to forced displacement has been negatively impacted by this financial deficit, which has made the already terrible circumstances faced by stateless and forcibly displaced individuals worse and increased the strain on host nations and communities. one of the host communities affected by this underfunding crisis is nigeria. for instance, the nation ranked 6th in a unhcr’s top 10 underfunded emergency situations in 2021.the report indicates that out of a total of $128.4 million required in 2021, only 43% funding was gotten, giving a funding shortfall of $72.9 million ( unhcr’s most underfunded situations, 2021) validating this position, an office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs-ocha report (2023) on humanitarian dashboard in north-east nigeria indicates that funding crisis in nigeria’s northeast, ongoing and incessant insecurity cases, or restrictions on movement continued to be some of the drivers to the humanitarian crisis in the region, and that the inaccessibility of several regions to aid agencies, reduces the total humanitarian presence. in another vein, adeleye and osadola (2022) concluded that while foreign assistance particularly that provided by the un, under the auspices of the unhcr,has been crucial to managing nigeria’s humanitarian issue, the large number of internally displaced people has continued to eclipse these efforts. this scenario is not far from what a unhcr global trend report (2018) unveiled when it stated that nigeria at the close of 2017, ranked eleventh out of those with high number of idps. 381 discussion of key findings the un refugee agency, in delivering her mandate of protecting refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons, etc in north-east nigeria, encounters numerous challenges and operational difficulties. these challenges have, to a large extent, undermined its operations in the region. betts (2023) is of the view that the idea of challenged institutions which emphasizes the difficulties experienced by multilateral organizations in rapidly shifting global governance finds full expression in the office of the un high commissioner for refugees as it responds to an increasingly competitive institutional setting. this is indeed factual as overlaps have been presently created by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions. also, the issue of insecurity, insecurity of unhcr staff and underfunding act as major challenges to the proper functioning of the unhcr in the nigerian section of the lake chad region. (unhcr underfunding report 2023; global focus report, 2019). unhcr, annual results report (2022) indicates thatmultiple factors hinder the response efforts of aid agencies, the unhcr inclusive. some of these factors include flooding, insecurity, and drought. the resultant effects of these challenges are new displacements, which have also had an impact on the region under review. some 338,000 nigerians fled to cameroon (131,000), chad (20,000), and niger (187,000) and 17,000 have returned spontaneously to north-east nigeria. this has given rise to more than 1,400 refugees from niger in borno state and an ongoing refugee influx in adamawa state with over 16,000 cameroonian refugees by the end of 2022. key respondents from the unhcr, reacting to the question: how do security concerns impact unhcr’s ability to reach and assist refugees and internally displaced persons? stated that: concerns about the security and safety of unhcr-affected individuals as well as humanitarian workers still exist more, so threats, bloodshed, and overall lawlessness made it difficult to reach the beneficiaries and humanitarian personnel often deal with possibility of kidnapping or carjacking in a few different operations and this makes the accomplishment of some unhcr goals difficult. more so, the unhcr staff members face threats to their lives in many parts of the world, with nigeria not being an exception. for instance, nigeria witnessed the abduction of a national staff member by militants that got released six months after. this state of affairs affects the mindset of the un refugee agency staff members, who often work under fear in these troubled zones and are therefore selective of areas they want to be posted to unhcr executive committee report (2022). corroborating these positions, in a key informant interview conducted on the icrc -another agency rendering humanitarian services in the region under review, the key respondents, responding to the question: what are the main resource constraints the unhcr and other donor agencies encounter in responding to the humanitarian crisis in nigeria’s northeast? 382 opined that: ‘with regards to challenges in nigeria’s north-east, i would say security, humanitarian access and donor fatigue with protracted crises. the unhcr protection unit respondents added that: an overall lack of resources to meet the needs of forcibly displaced and stateless individuals in nigeria occurred in 2022. rising costs of commodities, inflation, poor road infrastructure, clashes among communities, insecurity, and continued to impact negatively on humanitarian programmes. in addition, the limited presence of un agencies affected the delivery of protection to cameroonian refugees and idps in the middle belt. respondents from the unhcr also stated that: delays in procurement challenged registration activities and lack of required registration materials owing to the wider geographic spread of refugees, further compounded new displacements. the majority of cameroonian refugees self-settled in border locations had very poor accessibility and mobile connectivity. since the registration tools depend heavily on internet access, major challenges were faced in matching data in the deep field. moreover, ncfrmi's technical capacity had limitations, prompting unhcr to allocate a portion of its already limited resources towards capacity-building activities to improve the quality of registration. other challenges, such as limited resources, sudden camp closures, seasonal floods, and insecurity, posed significant barriers to the effective targeting and provision of timely support and assistance to the displaced population. furthermore, unhcr and its partners were unable to reach communities in hard-toreach and inaccessible areas, despite their best efforts. further more, funding shortfall poses a big challenge to the operations of the unhcr in nigeria’s section of the lake chad region. underfunding act as major impediment to the proper functioning of the unhcr in the region under review (unhcr underfunding report 2023). respondents from the unhcr protection unit, abuja lending voice to the question: how does funding gaps and financial limitations affect the scope and effectiveness of unhcr’s activities in the nigeria’s northeast? averred that: increased financial support from the international community is essential because the situation is uncertain and there are no imminent signs of a big improvement or resolution as the unhcr and its partners require funds to build on the accomplishments made in 2016, and humanitarian needs must be addressed immediately. the figure below is the funding snapshot of north east nigeria. it indicates the monthly situation report in the area. the report shows that unhcr funding needs until december 2018 stood at usd 62.5 million but only a total of usd 3.3 of these funds have been received, leaving the agency with a funding shortfall of usd 59.2.5 m. overall, the funding gap in the area within the period under review stood at 85%. 383 figure 1: funding snapshot, north east nigeria, 2018 source: unocha north east nigeria situation report (2018) in the same vein, funding by areas of intervention as indicated also in the figure below clearly shows that out of the eight areas of intervention earmarked for funding (in million usd), only five received minimal intervention and funding, leaving the rest unfunded. the rundown is as follows: i) shelter and infrastructure had 13,070,685 earmarked but only got 1,233,078 ii) return and reintegration 5,384,952 received 774,293 iii) self reliance and livelihoods, 4,843,681 got 15000 iv) sgbv prevention and response had 5,239,862 earmarked but received zero funding v) protection monitoring and referrals15,841,037 received 294,218 vi) non food items was billed to receive 4,766,504, but got 949,098 vii) operations management, coordination and partnerships had 6,419,781 earmarked but got only78,555 viii) cccm ( camp coordination and camp management) received funding, although 1,776, 403 was earmarked ix) access to justice and legal assistance received zero funding with 1,849,721 earmarked. 384 figure 2: funding by area of intervention (in million usd) source: unocha north east nigeria situation report (2018) the chart below is indicative of unhcr’s funding shortfall in nigeria as at december, 2023. it reveals that out of $98.2 funding required by the agency for its operations in the region, the percentage funded was (40%) and total funding amount ($39,058,540). this leaves an indicative funding gap of $59,180,836 representing 60% of the financial requirements. figure 3: unhcr funding update, 2023 source: unhcr division of external relations, funding update (2023). 385 in another vein, funding gaps have further affected the scope of unhcr’s operations in nigeria at least in two specific areasaccess to food and education. this is what the agency has to say in this respect: in the year, 2022, un refugee agency was confronted with severe underfunding for food and relied heavily on private donors. the assistance value of usd 5.65 per individual per month for food needs remained below 40 per cent of the minimum expenditure basket or covering only one meal per day. inadequate resources prevented increase in transfer value despite the inflation (21.34 per cent in december 2022). with an estimated 33unemployment rate in nigeria, refugees were forced to relocate to border areas with poor connectivity and no banking footprint or involuntatily return to unsafe areas in cameroon in to make better living. poor funding also hampered unhcr northeast operation from reaching out and targeting more idps who were affected by the sudden camp closures in maiduguri, borno state in 2022. specifically, regarding underfunding in the provision of educational needs of poc’s (people of concern), the respondents stated in clear terms that: unhcr’s education support at the primary and secondary levels accommodated only19 per cent of the population of school aged children because of funding constraints increasing the proportion of out of school children at the primary (56%) and secondary (67%) levels. also, only few refugee youths had access to tertiary education due to limited scholarship opportunities making it difficult for secondary school graduates to further their education. the presence of refugees has also impacted on the available resources in the schools which are overburdened and faced with various challenges including inadequate classrooms’ furniture, teachers, good libraries and laboratories especially in the host communities. the dafi slots provided to nigeria operation was also quite limited as only 40 new placements were catered for in the academic year 2022-23. conclusion in the discharge of humanitarian duties in the nigeria’s north-east, the unhcr is confronted with numerous challenges that adversely affect its operational capacity. for instance, overlaps occasioned by the proliferation of humanitarian institutions have brought numerous operational challenges to the agency. the question that readily arises is: who has mandate to perform which humanitarian functions? what is the limit of such mandate and so on? the issue of insecurity is another worrisome challenge. unhcr members of staff, world over are faced 386 with this challenge as they are the targets of non state armed groups. humanitarian personnel often deal with possibility of kidnapping or carjacking or outright loss of lives. this has been evident in nigeria’s north east where at one time, a un refugee staff was kidnapped but later released by members of the boko haram sect. this state of affairs puts member of staff of the agency on the edge and affects the overall discharge of their core duties. more, so threats, bloodshed, and overall lawlessness make it difficult for the unhcr to reach the beneficiaries and this ugly situation adversely hamper the accomplishment of certain set and major goals by the unhcr. another vital challenge worthy of mention is the challenge of funding. unhcr’s funding shortfall in nigeria as at december, 2023 indicates a huge funding gap of about of $59,180,836 representing 60% of the financial requirements. with this kind of scenario in place, the agency finds it hard, if not impossible, to continue to render the needed humanitarian task set before it. indeed, poor funding, insecurity of staff, lack of access to some areas, overlaps due to the proliferation of humanitarian agencies, and a host of other challenges, have, as a matter of fact, made the agency not to execute several humanitarian services that ordinarily would have benefitted the needy in idp camps, refugees, refugee returnees and host communities. recommendations (i) the basic challenges confronting the unhcr in her humanitarian response in nigeria’s northeast should be tackled head on. issues of funding shortfalls have made the agency not to perform optimally. proper financing to meet up with her goals and mandate is therefore advocated. 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https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/related/2023/humanitarian-need.html page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 422 knowledge and attitude of student nurses of university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research afam ndu school of post basic psychiatric nursing, enugu correspondence: afamci@yahoo.com ngozi anthonia madubuike national drug law enforcment agency (ndlea) abuja aduaka, oluchukwu stella federal university of allied health sciences, enugu ijeoma judith ilo department of nursing sciences, faculty of health sciences university of nigeria enugu okedo, henrietta a. department of nursing sciences tansian university, umunya anamabra state. abstract research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understanding. this study was guided to study the knowledge and attitude of student nurses of university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. the study was guided by three specific objectives from where three research questions were formulated. the target population of the study was 195 students from where a sample size of 131 was selected using simple random sampling technique. a well structured self administered questionnaire containing 22 items was the instrument used for data collection which was validated by an expert and found reliable. data collected was analyzed using tables, chart, frequency and mean. the findings of the study showed a good knowledge of research, 2.76 grand mean showed the students had a positive attitude towards carrying out research and 2.88 grand mean showed that they were aware of the factors affecting their attitude towards research like time consuming, lack of proper guidance, lack of statistical materials. based on the findings, it was recommended that the school tutors should put in more effort in guiding the student nurses towards carrying out research so as to promote their attitude. keywords: research, knowledge, attitude, student nurses introduction according to a definition given by western sydney university (2021), research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understanding. american nurses association (ana) defines nursing research as the development of knowledge about health and the promotion of health over the full life span, care of persons with health problems, disabilities and nursing actions to enhance the ability of individuals to respond effectively to actual or potential health problems. nursing research is relatively new because most of what nurses do and teach before the introduction of nursing research had been based on tradition and belief rather than evidence. research in nursing can be traced back to florence nightingale. her data collection and analysis related to factors affecting soldier mortality and mailto:afamci@yahoo.com 423 morbidity, the crime and war led to changes in nursing care and public health. nursing research continued to grow through the 20th and 21st century. polit and beck (2015) defined the current trends for nursing research as: increase focus on outcomes research, increase focus on biophysiologic research, promotion of evidence-based practice, development of a stronger knowledge base through multiple confirmatory strategies, strengthening a multidisciplinary collaboration nursing research has a tremendous influence on current and future professional nursing practice, this rendering it an essential component of the educational process. also the ultimate purpose of nursing is to provide high quality patient’s care. international council of nurses has stated that professional nursing can only be achieved by evidenced based practices and emphasized that is necessary to offer education for research so that research can be conducted, research capacity can be enhanced and nurses and nursing students can evaluate research critically(international council of nurses, 2015). the growth and development of nursing research has been slow, particularly in nigeria due to some reasons not yet clearly identify. however, with an increase in establishment of schools and presence of nursing department in universities will bring improvement in nursing research. similarly, in the education of nursing students, scientific evidence in the clinical field is very important because it provides the possibility of more comprehensive care and improves communication with the patient. to sustain professionalism, the members of a profession must be curious, investigative, and open to learning, innovative and creative, and independent; cooperate with the members of other professions; have critical, analytic thinking abilities; implement evidence-based care and evaluate outcomes (laaksonen, paltta, von schantz, ylonen, & soini, 2013). to bring scientific qualifications to a profession, its members should recognize the problems that they face, determine the problem and problemrelated variables, and find solutions to these problems using scientific research processes (rezaei& zamani-miandashti, 2013). the international council of nurses emphasized that it is important to include research in the education of nursing students so that students can learn to conduct research, enhance students’ research capacity, and students can gain knowledge of and be skilled in critically appraising research evidence (international council of nurses, 2015). equipping students with a strong foundation in research is vital for the future of the nursing profession. given the remarkable influence of research on the present-day and future professional nursing practice renders research a crucial component in the undergraduate nursing program. besides, it is only through actual or hands-on experience that the students can better understand the concept and appreciate the importance of nursing research. however, it has been documented that nurses have difficulty understanding the value of nursing research in the course of their clinical practice. universities in particular are expected to lead scientific research and raise individuals with scientific attitudes and behaviors in addition to providing education services (korkmaz, sahin, & yesil, 2014). thus, nursing students should be initiated into research culture and adopt positive attitudes toward scientific research during their undergraduate education to improve the nursing profession, to contribute to the professionalization of this profession, and to maintain quality of care, nurse autonomy, and power (celik, onder, durmaz, yurdusever, & uysal, 2014). determining the attitude of nursing students toward scientific research is very important, as these students will play a vital role in ensuring clinical research studies in the future. 424 students in this field who do not show positive attitudes toward scientific research are likely not to contribute to the development of the nursing profession and not to provide evidencebased care that promotes high-quality health outcomes (halabi, 2016). therefore, it is important to understand the attitudes of nursing students toward scientific research. statement of the problem despite the introduction of research project writing in the training of nurses in the nursing profession, it has been observed that many research writing is of low standard. this can be observed through written and other variables for examples, nursing research study is rigorous and time consuming. negative attitude of student nurses towards nursing research study needs proper supervision and monitoring, if progress in the nursing profession will be sustained. in the course of the researcher’s educational training at school of nursing university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu, the researcher noticed that the student nurses never anticipated the period when research project was done and many find it difficult either starting or carrying out the research. they were also not interested in research lectures and during research writing, they resort to copying other people’s work thereby negating the purpose of research which are to provide solution to problem, gain new knowledge etc and subsequently the consequences of poor or lack of research such as not becoming updated in current practices which affects the care they render as students and such can also affect them eventually as practicing nurses. this prompted the researcher to assess the knowledge and attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research in the school. objectives of the study 1. to determine the level of knowledge of student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. 2. to determine the attitude of the student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. 3. to identify the factors affecting the attitude of student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. research questions number of questions has been raised which this study seeks to provide answers to as stated below: 1. what is the level of knowledge of student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research? 2. what is the attitude of the student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research? 3. what are the factors that affect the attitude of student nurses of school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research? significance of the study the findings of this study will provide information that will guide and improve student nurses’ knowledge towards carrying out research, it would also provide information that will be used to improve student nurses attitude towards carrying out research and curb the factors that affect it. finally when published or put up in library, it will serve as a basis for further research studies. 425 conceptual review concept of research the word research derives from the french recherché to search closely where "chercher" means "to search" in french language. its literal meaning is 'to investigate thoroughly'. research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of the world. it can be scientific or not scientific. scientific research relies on the application of scientific methods based on scientific paradigm. this research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and properties of humans and the whole universe. it makes practical applications possible. according to rocco (2015), "research is a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. according to a definition given by western sydney university (2021), research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understanding. research may have certain other qualities such as: it is a prearranged / structured enquiry (a formal step by step method or sequence to take up research activity is developed to ensure correctness of data and validity of processes). scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and interpretation of data. the degree of formality, rigorousness, verifiability and general validity of scientific methods establish the results obtained. it utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems (the method used should be able to give repetitive results under similar conditions) it should create new knowledge that is generally applicable (the outcomes should be such that they are not specific to particular issue or a situation but need to be generalized for application to comparable issues). it is creative process to develop better understanding of mankind, social and cultural and economic issues. it should be useful to others who wish to apply the findings in developing new policies or applications of findings of a research in the benefit of public. types of research research can be classified into various categories depending on the perspective under which the research activity is initiated and conducted. the categorization depends on the following perspectives in general: application of research study objectives in undertaking the research classification based on application: pure / basic research: as the term suggests a research activity taken up to look into some aspects of a problem or an issue for the first time is termed as basic or pure. it involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future. the knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the existing body of research methods. pure research is theoretical but has a universal nature. it is more focused on creating scientific knowledge and predictions for further studies. 426 applied / decisional research: applied research is done on the basis of pure or fundamental research to solve specific, practical questions; for policy formulation, administration and understanding of a phenomenon. it can be exploratory, but is usually descriptive. the purpose of doing such research is to find solutions to an immediate issue, solving a particular problem, developing new technology and look into future advancements etc. this involves forecasting and assumes that the variables shall not change. classification based on objectives: descriptive research: this attempts to explain a situation, problem, phenomenon, service or program, or provides information viz. living condition of a community, or describes attitudes towards an issue but this is done systematically. it is used to answer questions of who, what, when, where, and how associated with a particular research question or problem. this type of research makes an attempt to collect any information that can be expressed in quantifiable terms that can be used to statistically analyze a target audience or a particular subject. descriptive research is used to observe and describe a research subject or problem without influencing or manipulating the variables in any way. co relational research: this is a type of non-experimental research method, in which a researcher measures two variables, understands and assesses the statistical relationship between them with no influence from any extraneous variable. this is undertaken to discover or establish the existence of a relationship/ interdependence between two or more aspects of a situation. explanatory research: is the research whose primary purpose is to explain why events occur, to build, elaborate, extend or test a theory. it is more concerned with showcasing, explaining and presenting what we already have. it is the process of turning over 100 rocks to find perhaps 1 or 2 precious gemstones. exploratory research: in the subjective terms exploratory research is conducted to find a solution for a problem that has not been studied more clearly, intended to establish priorities, develop operational definitions and improve the final research design. exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data-collection method and selection of subjects. characteristics of research characteristics of research determine whether a research is free of biases, prejudices, and subjective errors or not. the terms are very commonly used in research and the success of any research depends on these terms. they can be summarized as: generalized: the researcher usually divides the identified population into smaller samples depending on the resource availability at the time of research being conducted. this sample is understood to be the appropriate representative of the identified population therefore the findings should also be applicable to and representative of the entire population. controlled: the concept of control implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two variables (factors), you set up your study in a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting the relationship. some variables are classified as controlling factors and the other variables may be classified as possible effects of controlling factors. laboratory experiments as in pure sciences like chemistry can be controlled but any study that involves societal issues cannot be controlled. e.g. destination studies are not controllable as they have variables like 427 geography, climate, accessibility, seasonality, etc but studying the effects of standard operating procedures in a hotel applied in a particular service can be controlled. rigorous: one must be careful in ensuring that the procedures followed to find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified. again, the degree of rigor varies markedly between the physical and social sciences and within the social sciences. empirical: the processes adopted should be tested for the accuracy and each step should be coherent in progression. this means that any conclusions drawn are based upon firm data gathered from information collected from real life experiences or observations. empirical nature of research means that the research has been conducted following rigorous scientific methods and procedures. systematic: the procedure or process being developed to undertake a study should be carefully drafted to ensure that resources utilization is optimized. chaotic or disorganized procedures would never yield expected outcomes. the steps should follow a logical sequence to get to the desired outcome. e.g. the meal in a fine dine restaurant at a five star hotel cannot commence with dessert being served before the starter or soup course. reliability: this is the degree to which the result of a measurement, calculation, or specification can be depended on to be accurate.it is difficult to be measured accurately, but now there are instruments which can estimate the reliability of a research. it is the extent to which an experiment, test, measuring procedure, research, research instrument, tool or procedure yields the same results on repeated trials. if any research yields similar results each time it is undertaken with similar population and with similar procedures, it is called to be a reliable research. validity & verifiability: it is the extent to which a concept, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and likely corresponds accurately to the real world. the word "valid" is derived from the latin validus, meaning strong. this should not be confused with notions of certainty nor necessity. the validity of a measurement tool is considered to be the degree to which the tool measures what it claims to measure. in terms of research, validity is the strength with which we can make research conclusions, assumptions or propositions true or false. the findings of a study should be verifiable by the researcher as well as anyone else who wants to conduct the study on similar guidelines/ under similar conditions. analytical &accurate: a research should be focused not only about what is happening but also on how and why a particular phenomenon, process draws certain conclusions. any data collected if does not yield results or is unsuitable to be used for further studies or applications disrupts the purpose of research. therefore, data collected should be reasonable and free of errors to be easily analyzed. accuracy is also the degree to which each research process, instrument, and tool is related to each other. accuracy also measures whether research tools have been selected in best possible manner and research procedures suits the research problem or not. credibility: the extent to which an analysis of finding can be treated to be trustworthy is termed as credibility. this can only be assured by the use of the best source of information and best procedures in research. researches based on secondary data are not reliable as such data may have been manipulated or distorted by earlier researchers to suit their work. the research study conducted based on primary data is always reliable and carries more credibility. a certain percentage of secondary data can be used if the primary source is not 428 available but basing a research completely on secondary data when primary data can be gathered is least credible. critical: critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods employed is crucial to a research enquiry. the process of investigation must be foolproof and free from drawbacks. the process adopted and the procedures used must be able to withstand critical scrutiny. steps in the conduct of research identify problem: finding an issue or formulating a research question is the first step. a well defined research problem will guide the researcher through all stages of the research process. evaluate the literature: a thorough examination of the relevant study is essential to the research process. it enables the researcher to identify the precise aspects of the problem. this stage gives problem-zoned background. it teaches the investigator about previous research, how they were conducted and its conclusions. create hypothesis: formulating an original hypothesis is the next logical step after narrowing down the research topic and defining it. in order to establish a hypothesis, a researcher must have a certain amount of expertise in the field. research design: is the plan for achieving objectives and answering research questions. it outlines how to get relevant information. it aims to minimize time, money and effort required to acquire to acquire meaningful evidence. describe population: this refers to the study group. research projects usually look at a specific group of people, facilities. a final step in a study’s design is to specify its sample or population so that the results may be generalized. data collection: this is important in obtaining the knowledge or information required to answer the research issue. data must be collected in two categories: primary eg questionnaire, observation, interview and secondary data eg literature survey, library resources etc. data analysis: after collecting data, the researcher analyzes it. it involves a number of closely related stages such as setting up categories, applying these categories to raw data through coding and tabulation, and then drawing statistical conclusions. report writing: after completing these steps, the researcher must prepare report detailing his findings. the report must be carefully composed with the following in mind; the layout, introduction, conclusion. nursing research american nurses association (ana) defines nursing research as the development of knowledge about health and the promotion of health over the full life span, care of persons with health problems, disabilities and nursing actions to enhance the ability of individuals to respond effectively to actual or potential health problems. it can also be defines as a systematic approach to examine the phenomena that are important to nursing and nurses. 429 nursing research vs research in nursing nursing research focuses on the practice of nursing. research in nursing studies the nursing profession and the characteristics of the nurse. nursing research is mainly concerned with clinical problems. research in nursing is the broader study of the nursing profession and includes historical, ethical and political studies. nursing research includes all studies concerning nursing practice, education, and administration. studies concerning nurses themselves also can be included in nursing research. importance of nursing research nursing research has tremendous influence on current and future professional nursing practice, thus rendering it an essential component of the educational process. research in nursing has the following importance: to validate practice or patient care research gives background for scientific accountability of one’s actions, scientific accountability implies that as many decisions and action as are possible are based on scientifically documented knowledge which seeks to find scientific answers to puzzling or perplexing problem. to enhance social relevance of nursing nurses are not practicing in isolation, at times we ask ourselves questions like: how relevant is our service to the society? is it obsolete, current, essential or relevant to the society to make sure that the type of care we give to the society is the type they need? to improve nursing practice research is imperative in nursing in order to improve nursing practice. there are some routine traditional nursing actions and procedures that are obsolete which need research to see their relevant. does application of hot compress reduces inflammation process? before this question could be answer accurately, we need to carry out research to find the answer. to improve nursing education. research is carried out in nursing education in order to improve the education of nurses which in turn promote better nursing cart. curriculum is studied and reviewed often and developed to suit the changes in the society. research is carried out on type of student (i.e. to find out their characteristics and various needs) for effective nursing administration. the whole unit or hospital solely depends on the nurse administrator’s shoulder, depending on the size of the hospital, so it is the extent of the nurse administrator responsibility. research is necessary for decision making and policy formation. a concomitant take of nursing research is the discovery of valid means using the extent to which nursing attains its goal. 430 concept of knowledge and attitude knowledge is an organized set of statement of facts or ideas presenting a reasoned judgement or an experimental result which is transmitted to others through some communication medium in some systematic form. it is a highly organized intellectual product of humans that includes personal experience, skills, understanding of different contexts in which we operate our activities, assimilation of all these and recording all this in a form that could be communicated to others. attitude some social psychologist describe “attitude” as a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degrees of favor or disfavor (eagly & chaiken, 2022). today, attitude is explained as a construct not directly observable but precedes behavior and guides ones choice and decision making factors. it can be deduced from the description so far that attitude is related to liking or disliking of objects or people and on this time, is a result of what is known about the object (william mc guire, 2018). the nurses orientation towards research this is another factor that contributes to good research work in nursing. it will really help if orientation of student nurses is implemented because they know how to make new findings and it will boost their knowledge the more thereby widening the scope and improve their practice. theoretical review theory of planned behavior the theory used in this study is the theory of planned behavior (tpb). it is a cognitive theory by icek azjen (1985) that proposes an individual’s decision to engage in a specific behavior can be predicated by their intention to engage in that behavior. as a general rule, the stronger the intention to engage in a behavior, the more likely should be its performance (ajzen, 1991). according to theory of planned behavior, intentions are determined by three variables: personal attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. personal attitudes this is our personal attitude towards a particular behavior. it is the sum of all our knowledge, attitudes, and prejudices (positive and negative) that we think of when we consider the behavior. for example, our individual attitude to smoking might include tobacco is relaxing and makes me feel good, but it makes me cough in the morning, costs lots of money and smells bad. subjective norms this considers how we view the ideas of other people about a specific behavior. it is not what other people think but our perception of other’s attitude. as an individual’s subjective norms increase, their intentions to perform a behavior will increase. 431 perceived control behavior this is the extent to which we believe we can control our behavior. this depends on our perception of internal factors such as our own ability and determination and external factors such as the resources and support available to us. the theory argues that our perception of behavioral control has two effects: it affects our intention to behave in a certain way i.e. the more we think we have control over our behavior, the stronger our intention to perform it. it also affects our behavior directly: if we perceive that we have a high level of control, we will try harder and longer to succeed. application of the theory to this study the theory of planned behavior suggest that if student nurses have positive attitude towards research, perceive that their peers and instructors support research and believe that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct research, they are more likely to engage in research activities. overall, the theory of planned behavior suggests that promoting positive attitudes towards research, providing supportive social norms and enhancing perceived behavioral control through education and training can increase student nurses’ engagement in research activities. social cognitive theory this theory was proposed by albert bandura (1986) and it highlights the role of social interactions, cognitive processes and observational learning in shaping human behavior. it emphasizes that individuals not only learn through direct experiences but also by observing and imitating the behavior of others within their social environment. the key concepts of social cognitive theory are: observational learning: this theory posits that individuals learn by observing others and modeling their behavior. it involves attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. self-efficacy: refers to individual’s belief in their own capabilities to successfully perform specific tasks or behavior. higher efficacy leads to increased motivation,effort, and resilience in face of challenges. reciprocal determinism: this theory proposes that human behavior is influenced by a dynamic interaction between personal factors, environmental factors and the behavior itself. in the context of student nurses and research, this theory suggests that their knowledge and attitude towards research can be shaped by observing and interacting with role models such as research active faculty or experience nurse researcher. positive role modeling and mentorship can inspire student nurses to develop an interest in research and foster positive attitude towards research activities. empirical review chukwu, nwakamma &fiase (2015) conducted a cross-sectional descriptive survey on attitudes of student and midwives towards research at school of nursing and midwifery mkar, gboko benue state. in the study, there were 100 participants with 100% response rate. the result of the study showed that 100% of students were aware of the importance of research in client’s care, 31% strongly agreed that research in general is difficult and many do not like researching 55% agreed. 56% also agreed that students lack confidence in doing their research. 58% agreed that many students do not understand the research process. it also 432 showed that 17% agreed to inadequate statistical data as a barrier to effective research, 5% said it was due to inadequate lectures on research, 62% said it was time factor. tumilara &oluwatosin (2021) conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study on nursing and midwifery student’s attitude towards research in ilaro, nigeria. 91 nursing and midwifery students were used for the study. the results showed that majority of participants were females and nursing students. however, they perceived research to be stressful, complicated, difficult and complex subject. about 63% of participants had positive attitude towards research while 37% had negative attitude. nonetheless only 39% participated in research related activities. furaikh, omairi & ganapathy (2017) conducted a descriptive cross sectional study on nursing students’ attitude towards research at the college of nursing-a, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences. a self-administered questionnaire was used and analyzed using spss version 20. the result showed that overall attitude towards research was positive (68%). most of the students (78%) regarded that research was useful for the nursing profession, 61% reported that it plays a role in professional and personal life, while the highest proportion of students (71%) perceived research to be a difficult, complicated, stressful and 64% reported statistical difficulties. mwiinga (2016) conducted a non-experimental descriptive cross sectional study on student nurses’ attitude towards research at ndola school of nursing. a semi structured questionnaire was used; data was analyzed through content analysis and epi-data version 3. results of the study showed that 55% do not like research and 72.7% had poor attitude, problems encountered include: time consuming57%, don’t know methodology 18%, difficult 16%, expensive 7%. additionally, 68% of respondents would conduct own research and 91% would utilize other people’s findings. bamila &rani (2021) conducted a descriptive study in few nursing colleges of nagercoil. 99 students in their third year and final year were used. self-administered knowledge questionnaire was used. result showed that 42.4% received information through their teacher, 59.59% of the students had adequate knowledge regarding research, 36.36% had moderate knowledge and 4.04% had inadequate knowledge regarding research. all scores shows above average in the attitude scale. this shows that they have a good knowledge and attitude towards research. halabi (2016) conducted a descriptive study on attitude of saudi nursing students towards nursing research. a convenient sample of 244 senior students was used; a 22 item selfadministered 4 point likert type attitude questionnaire was used. result showed that majority of the students reported positive attitude towards research with the highest scores for usefulness of research and personal interest in research and lowest scores for using research in clinical practice. research attitude significantly correlate with students’ seniority and having completed a research course. sharma, thatikonda &ukey (2020) conducted a cross sectional study on knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers for research amongst medical students of government medical college, nagpur india.156 medical students were used, a self-administered questionnaire with 31 questions was used. data was analyzed by ibm spss software version 24.0. results showed that out of 156 students, 61% and 69% had a positive attitude and a good level of knowledge towards research respectively. only 8.4% students have conducted research project which only 5.7% have published their study. lack of time (75%), lack of proper guidance (68%), 433 and lack of funding(67%) were some important barriers limiting their research practice. most of the students (39%) have suggested including research in the medical curriculum, 35% of them have thought of the necessity to improve awareness about research. methodology research design this study adopted descriptive survey research design which aimed at collecting data, analyzing them and describing it in a systematic manner; they are concerned with the description of events as they are. this method is relevant to determine the knowledge and attitude of student nurses of school of nursing university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. setting/area of study this study was conducted in the school of nursing, university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu, enugu state, nigeria. it is located in enugu metropolis in enugu north local government area of enugu state in the south eastern zone of nigeria. it is bounded in the north by iva valley, south by the central police station (cps), east by government secondary school and west by ngwo town. target population the study population consists of all students in second year and third year in school of nursing university of nigeria teaching hospital, enugu with second year having 115 student nurses and third year having 80 student nurses giving a total of one hundred and ninety five (195) student nurses. sample size sample size was determined using taro yamane method. the taro yamane method for sample size calculation was formulated by the statistician taro yamane in 1973 to determine the sample size from a given population. below is the mathematical illustration for the taro yamane method: n= 𝑛 (1+𝑛(𝑒)2 where: n = sample size n = population under study e = margin error (%)(0.05) the sample of this research will be calculated using this method with 95% confidence level using 195 student nurses in school of nursing university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu. substituted numbers in formula: n = 195 (1+195(0.05)2) n = 131 434 sample size therefore is 131 student nurses. sampling technique simple random sampling was used to select the participants for the study. this technique will allow for fair representation of the population whereby every member of the department will have equal chance of being selected. the selection will be done by picking a paper from a box where “yes” or “no” will be written and folded and shaken. those who picked “yes” will be selected while those who picked “no” will not be selected as participants. instrument for data collection the instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled knowledge and attitude of student nurses of school of nursing university of nigeria teaching hospital enugu towards carrying out research. the researcher developed items through the information gotten from literature review and research questions. the questionnaire was sectioned into four: section a comprised of the personal data of respondents, section b, c, d contained questions on knowledge and attitude towards carrying out research. face and content validity was done by project supervisor and other research experts before questionnaires will be administered. the reliability of the instrument was tested by conducting a pilot test using 20 respondents from school of nursing, nnamdi azikiwe university teaching hospital nnewi. it will be done to ascertain the internal consistency of the questionnaire, remove any ambiguity, make amendments where necessary and ensure that the instrument can measure what it is meant to measure. method of data collection and analysis the data was collected using items formulated from the research question in form of a questionnaire. the questionnaire was delivered by hand to the respondents and also collected later for data analysis. the responses from the respondents were collected and analyzed using pie chart, bar charts, tables, frequency and percentages. `. data analysis this chapter is concerned with the analysis and presentation of data collected from the study. the findings are presented under the following headings: demographic data, determining the knowledge of student nurses towards carrying out research, determining the attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research and factors affecting their attitude towards carrying out research. section a: demographic data characteristics frequency percentage age 18-23 24-29 30 above 90 39 2 68.70% 29.77% 1.52% total 131 100% table 1: age of respondents 435 this table shows that 90(68.70%) of the respondents were within the age range of 18-23, 39(29.8%) were within 24-29 and 2(1.5%) were 30 and above. sex figure 1: sex of respondents the findings of this study showed that majority of the respondents (83%) were females while 17% were males. level in school level frequency percentage second year 75 57.25% third year 56 42.75% total 131 100% table 2: level in school majority of the respondents 75(57.25%) were in their second year while 56(42.75%) were in their third year. religion of respondents religion frequency percentage christian 131 100% traditional islamic total 131 100% table 3: religion of respondents the findings revealed that all the respondents were christians and it accounted for 131(100%). table 4: marital status of respondents status frequency percentage single 121 92.37% married 10 7.63% total 131 100% 17% 83% 0% 0% sex male female 436 the findings showed that majority of the respondents 121(92.37%) were single and the rest (7.63%) were married as shown in table 4. research question 1 determining the knowledge of student nurses towards carrying out research according to the findings, all respondents 131(100%) have received teaching on research methodology and were also able to define research as ‘a scientific and systematic method of inquiry for new facts to create knowledge and solve problem”. 120(92.37%) of the respondents received it as a course. 120(91.60%) and 116(88.55%) knew which part of a research article that sample is determined and also the part that talks about study limitation respectively. have you received any teaching/lecture on research methodology? category frequency percentage yes 131 100% no 0.00% total 131 100% table 5: respondents’ responses on if they have received any teaching/lecture on research methodology which option best defines research? category frequency percentage a systematic way of doing things 0 0.00% a quest for new knowledge 0 0.00% a scientific and systematic method of inquiry for new facts to create knowledge or solve problem 131 100% i don’t know 0 0.00% total 131 100% table 6: respondents’ response on which option best defines research which part of the research article is sample determined? category frequency percentage introduction 2 1.53% methodology 120 91.60% discussion 4 3.05% literature review 5 3.82% total 131 100% table 7: respondents’ response of which part of research article is sample determined which part of research article talks about study limitation? category frequency percentage acknowledgement 0 0.00% discussion 116 88.55% introduction 5 3.82% methodology 10 7.63% total 131 100% 437 table 8: respondents’ response on which part of research article talks about study limitation research question 2 determining the attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research n=131 s/n items sa 4 a 3 d 2 sd 1 σfx n mean remark 1 research is interesting 105 (420) 14 (42) 10 (20) 2 (2) 484 131 3.69 agree 2 research is enjoyable 63 (252) 18 (54) 30 (60) 20 (20) 386 131 2.95 agree 3 research is useful for enriching my knowledge 87 (348) 39 (117) 5 (10) 0 (0) 475 131 3.63 agree 4 i will employ research approaches in my career 105 (420) 13 (39) 7 (14) 6 (6) 479 131 3.66 agree 5 research is irrelevant to my career 0 (0) 2 (6) 60 (120) 69 (69) 195 131 1.49 disagree 6 research is difficult 45 (180) 20 (60) 25 (50) 41 (41) 331 131 2.53 agree 7 research makes me nervous 8 (32) 31 (93) 42 (84) 50 (50) 259 131 1.98 disagree 8 just thinking of research is stressful 17 (68) 28 (84) 46 (92) 40 (40) 284 100 2.17 disagree table 9: respondents’ responses on attitude towards carrying out research grand mean = 2.76 decision rule: >2.5 = agree; <2.5 = disagree from the analyzed result on the table above, majority of the respondents had above 2.5 which indicate a positive attitude towards carrying out research. the agreed were 5 items compared to 3 disagreed items. research question 3 identifying the factors that affect the attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research s/n items sa 4 a 3 d 2 sd 1 σfx n mean remark 1 lack of confidence in doing research 10 (40) 31 (93) 41 (82) 49 (49) 264 131 2.02 disagree 2 time consuming 53 (212) 46 (138) 25 (50) 7 (7) 407 131 3.11 agree 3 financial constraint 62 (248) 49 (147) 18 (36) 2 (2) 433 131 3.31 agree 4 lack of proper 48 42 21 20 380 2.90 agree 438 guidance (192) (126) (42) (20) 131 5 lack of statistical material 52 (208) 49 (147) 19 (38) 11 (11) 404 131 3.08 agree grand mean: 2.88 table 10: respondents’ response on factors affecting student nurses attitude towards carrying out research. as shown above, the respondents agreed on 4 items out of 5 as factors affecting attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research. majority of the students did not agree that lack of confidence in doing research affect their attitude. therefore the analysis showed that students are knowledgeable on the factors that affect their attitude. this shows that responding positively to these factors will improve their attitude towards carrying out research. discussion research q1 what is the level of knowledge of student nurses of university of nigeria teaching hospital towards carrying out research? this question was answered using questionnaire q6 – q10 where 100% of the respondents have received lectures on research and were able to define research. this agrees with the research study of sharma, et al (2020) in government medical college, nagpur india which shows that the student had a good level of knowledge towards research. all 131(100%) were able to define research as “a scientific and systematic enquiry for new facts to create new knowledge or solve a problem. with a further 91.60% stating the part of the research article where sample is determined. 88.55% also stated the part of research article that talks about study limitation. research q2 what is the attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research? this question was answered using questionnaire q11 – q17. it was calculated using mean: majority of the respondent had positive attitude towards carrying out research. 5 out of 8 items were above the decision mean of 2.5. these findings are in agreement with a study conducted by furaikh, et al (2017) on nursing student’s attitude towards research at college of nursing-a, king saud bin abdulaziz university for health sciences which showed that overall attitude towards research was positive. it also agrees with a study conducted by tumilara (2021) on nursing and midwifery student’s attitude towards research. the results showed that 63% of participants had positive attitude towards research. research q3 what are the factors affecting student nurses attitude towards carrying out research? this question was answered using q18-22. this was calculated using mean as shown in table 10. the respondents agreed in 4 out of 5 items as factors that affect their attitude. the respondent did not agree with lack of confidence in doing research as a factor affecting their attitude. the mean (2.88) in this category showed that most of the respondents were aware of these factors. this is in line with the study conducted by sharma et al (2020) on knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers for research amongst medical students of government medical college, nagpur india. findings showed that lack of time (75%), lack of proper guidance (68%), and lack of funding (67%) were some important barriers limiting their research practice. 439 conclusion from the findings, it is very imperative to deduce the following; majority of the student nurses had adequate knowledge on research and also portrayed positive attitude towards carrying out research. some of the respondents believed that research is stressful and also makes them nervous. the study also showed that student nurses are aware of the factors affecting their attitude towards carrying out research. nursing implication according to the research findings, carrying out research is relevant for the nursing profession. it is imperative that the prospective nurses develop interest and the right attitude as well as get involved in clinical nursing research to develop critical thinking skills in order to provide optimal quality care to the patients. providing solutions to the factors affecting their attitude such as providing proper guidance through lectures and supervision and providing relevant statistics materials will foster their attitude. recommendations from the result of the findings, the following recommendations were made: the school tutors should put in more effort in guiding the student nurses towards carrying out research. there should be continuous orientation of student nurses concerning their attitude towards carrying out research. holding of seminars, workshop for the student nurses on research methodology. the nursing and midwifery council of nigeria should mandate the involvement of all the student nurses in research study from the beginning of the study. limitations of the study the major problem encountered by the researcher in the course of carrying out this research on the knowledge and attitude of student nurses towards carrying out research were financial constraint and time factor. also problems of insufficient information on the internet, journals and magazine. suggestions for further studies based on the recommendations made above, the researcher suggested that a similar study be carried out in another school using a different instrument for data 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https://www.studocu.com/en-us/document/university-high-school-michigan/masters%20in%20business-admininstration/bhm-503t/45173975 https://www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/publications/indkit2012.pdf https://www.texilajournal.com/thumbs/article/nursing_special_edition_2016_article_7.pdf page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 630 moderating role of peer relationship in neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime among undergraduates okonkwo kizito ifunanya ki.okonkwo@unizik.edu.ng okonkwo jane ogechukwu oj.okonkwo@unizik.edu.ng umeatuegbu augustine ifeanyi timuk07@yahoo.com okpala michael okemefuna mo.okpala@unizik.edu okechukwu ferdinand cyril-nwuche of.cyril-nwuche@unizik.edu.ng agbasimelo chioma ifeoma ic.gbasimelo@unizik.edu.ng buchi chinonso gloria gc.buchi@unizik.edu.ng nweke kingsley onyibor ko.nweke@unizik.edu.ng abstract the study investigated the moderating role of peer relationship in neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime among undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university awka. participants from the study were randomly selected undergraduates who volunteered and were allowed to fill a google form, three instruments were used for data collection: criminal behaviour scale, neighborhood disorder scale and index of peer pressure. the study adopted moderated predictive design and analysis was carried out using process macro of the spss version 30.0. results revealed that neighborhood disorder positively and significantly predicted tendency to commit crime, peer relationship positively and significantly predicted tendency to commit crime and peer relationship significantly and positively moderated the relationship between neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime among undergraduates. it was recommended that government should ensure that all persons who commit crimes are brought to book, as this will reduce the tendency to engage in crimes. keywords: peer relationship, neighbourhood disorder, tendency to commit crime undergraduates introduction since ancient times, societies all over the world have been working to reduce crime, and nigeria is no exception (pieszko, 2016). based on personal experience, many young people, particularly undergraduates, appear to have committed some form of crime, including human trafficking, burglary, kidnapping, robbery, and more recently, various forms of online or digital crimes. violence against intimate partners has also been mentioned by other academics (dabaghi et al., 2023). since crime has significant societal costs, it is a top political priority in many industrialized and developing nations (mccolllister et al., 2010; in pak & gannon, 2023). in fact, it might not be incorrect to say unequivocally that there can be no civilization without crime. numerous elements linked to criminal activity have been examined by earlier scholars. although the goal of mailto:ki.okonkwo@unizik.edu.ng mailto:oj.okonkwo@unizik.edu.ng mailto:timuk07@yahoo.com mailto:mo.okpala@unizik.edu mailto:of.cyril-nwuche@unizik.edu.ng mailto:ic.gbasimelo@unizik.edu.ng mailto:gc.buchi@unizik.edu.ng mailto:ko.nweke@unizik.edu.ng 631 all these programs was to lower crime, it seems that the proportion of crimes being committed is increasing. regretfully, it seems that these researchers are missing the opportunity to look into how peer relationships affect the association between neighborhood disorder and criminal propensity among nnamdi azikiwe university awka undergraduates. varied authors have varied definitions of crime, such as any action that violates the law (opeyemi oyelade, 2019a). according to other academics, crime is an offense against a society's values. this implies that any action taken by a person, whether or not it is done with the aim to harm another person, is illegal. as a result, the term "crime" comes from the latin word "crimen" meaning "offence" (onyeneke & karam). this backs up the earlier claim that actions taken against a person or society could be considered crimes. in this sense, compared to actual crime, the propensity to commit crime seems to adopt a purposeful stance. take the idea that might result in the actual crime, for example. nevertheless, the notion of the tendency to commit crime has not yet been widely agreed upon in the literature. the author is interested in the psychological position that makes committing a crime appealing to undergraduates in the context of the current study. thus, an undergraduate's inclination to commit crimes is their predisposition to do so. two main approaches to the study of crime were identified by the authors: the economics of crime in the 1980s and mental illness or a negative attitude (becker, 1968).although the becker's approach asserts that psychopathy and mental illness are the causes of crime, a more contemporary perspective suggests that socioeconomic circumstances are the cause of crime. these days, studies on crime and criminal behavior continue to favor the socioeconomic and demographic approach. according to studies, there are a number of negative effects of crime, including anxiety, depression, fear, insecurity, political instability, economic depression, underdevelopment, a decline in the educational system, class differences, and illicit drug use (sugiharti et al., 2023; källmen et al., 2023; thompson et al., 2022; gunuboh, 2023). because, regardless of its institutions, crime happens in every society at every stage of its evolution (pieszko, 2016). it is imperative that researchers take the time to investigate potential solutions. a variety of crimes can occur, including cybercrime, human trafficking, auto theft, robbery, domestic abuse, and kidnapping (dabaghi et al., 2023). crime and poverty were found to be significantly positively correlated by researchers (shaw & mikay 1942, in graif et al., 2014). peer pressure has been linked to criminal behavior, according to some research (nurul fitriah alias et al 2024; mohd suhaimi mohamad et al 2021). informing peer relationships, children frequently make decisions about social exclusions and inclusions (willlen & rutland, 2011), and peer relationships are situations in which one person influences or is influenced by one or more people of similar age (laursen & veenstra, 2021). peer relationships are defined by many scholars as interpersonal relationships that are formed and developed through the process of communication between individuals at similar levels of psychological development (brown, 2009). according to scholars, peer relationships are crucial for adolescent growth, but not all teenagers are able to build on these positive relationships to the same extent (brown & larson 2009). according to studies, teenagers are involved in peer connections, and this correlation may be widespread (veenstra, 2021). peer impact, which can be linked to experiences with friends and affiliates, therefore happens when a person does or thinks during the time of relationship with peers (laursen, 2018, p. 447). 632 according to thompson et al. (2022) and vargas et al. (2020), neighborhood disorder is one of the contextual elements of criminal studies. according to freedman and woods (2013), other researchers have studied neighborhood features using a variety of terms, including neighborhood gangs, neighborhood circumstances, and neighborhood effects. unfortunately, none of these research were able to characterize neighborhood disorder. each made the best effort to describe the idea. when a neighborhood's features negatively impact its residents and have the potential to violate their fundamental human rights, it is referred to as a neighborhood disorder. according to the authors (graif et al., 2014), there are two different kinds of neighborhoods: urban and rural. consequently, the degree of criminal intent may vary among these groups. (sampson & raudenbush, 2001) assert that the outward manifestations of deterioration subtly but effectively communicate information about the impacted community. neighborhood disorder has several negative effects, such as increased crime, poverty, insecurity, adolescent motherhood, major depression, and psychosis (vargas et al 2020; thompson et al 2022; gunuboh, 2023; pak & gannon, 2023; graif et al 2014). last but not least, each civilization may have a distinct kind of crime that symbolises its own economic traits. thus, these offenses are the consequence of ideas that might then result in actions that society considers criminal. undergraduate influence, however, has the potential to encourage one to convert these illegal ideas into pro-self-behaviors. however, an extremely chaotic neighborhood may set off an undergraduate's inclination to turn criminal ideas into actions. therefore, the goal of this study is to determine whether each notion, both separately and together, influences the propensity of nnamdi azikiwe university awka undergraduates to commit crimes. statement of the problem numerous research looked at how different samples' peer pressure affected criminal behavior. yeng and mohama, for example, looked at vulnerable adolescents engaged in deviant behaviors, while others looked at peer pressure and influence on deviant behaviors (omogbo), the motivation behind minor offenses among adolescents (alias, aziz), the difficulties surrounding delinquent behaviors among adolescents (pandit arundhati), peer relationships and delinquent behaviors (gifford-smith), the relationship between peer pressure and socioeconomic status and cyber-crime (habeeb adewuyi), the media and peer influence as indicators of deviant behaviors (babatunde), peer pressure on crime (suhaimi mohd), and broken families and criminal activities (germarie salvana). the majority of these prior researchers concentrated on participants who were adolescents, while others examined economic aspects that could contribute to criminal activity. however, leaving the moderating role peer relationship on tendency to commit crime among undergraduates. similar to this, other studies looked at how a neighborhood affects crime (thompson et al., 2022), how parental poverty affects juvenile crime (gunuboh, 2023), how gang membership and criminal propensity are related (dustmann et al., 2023), and how an increase in crime rates affects mental health (pak and gannon, 2023). studies on the moderating effect of peer pressure on the association between undergraduates' propensity to commit crimes and neighborhood disturbance seem to lack empirical support. these information gaps serve as the impetus for investigating how peer pressure influences the association between neighborhood disorder and criminal propensity among nnamdi azikiwe university, awka, undergraduate students. 633 empirical review peer relationship and tendency to commit crime yuet yeng & sehu mohamad, (2023) investigated how teenagers view juvenile delinquency and how peer pressure and influence impact delinquent behavior. five male teenagers from sekolah tunas bakti in kuala lumpur participated in a qualitative case study to achieve the study's goals. the results show that, in comparison to peer pressure, peer influence has a greater impact on adolescent criminality. furthermore, some teenagers claimed to have concurrently experienced peer pressure and influence. in a related study, (omogho esiri, 2016) examined if peer pressure is a recurring phenomenon in illegal or deviant behavior, particularly when it comes to adolescents, as investigated. ultimately, it comes to the conclusion that there is peer pressure to fit in, and that this leads to delinquent subcultures adopting criminal norms and behaviors. similarly, kim & fletcher, (2018) used quasi-experimental variation in peer exposure to investigate the impact of delinquent peers on an individual's criminal activities. the findings indicate that a 5 percent rise in the number of peers who commit crimes will result in a 3-percentage point increase in the risk that an individual will commit crimes. according to adewuyi et al., (2024) peer pressure, socioeconomic position, gender differences, and undergraduate students' propensity for cybercrime were all investigated in their study. a descriptive survey design of the correlational type was used to achieve this goal. a multi-stage sampling technique was also employed in this investigation. the study's sample consisted of three hundred undergraduate students. reliable instruments were used to collect the data. peer pressure, socioeconomic status, and cybercrime inclinations scales. according to the findings, men undergraduates exhibited a higher propensity for cybercrime than their female counterparts. cybercrime inclinations were significantly correlated with gender, socioeconomic status, and peer pressure. the biggest factor was peer pressure, which was followed by gender and socioeconomic position. similarly, blessing, (n.d.) examined why many secondary school pupils appear to be acting in ways that go against both social norms and the standards set by the school. deviant behavior has repercussions that impact not just the children but also other education stakeholders, including parents, instructors, the government, school principals, and the general public. therefore, this study looked at peer and media impact as predictors of deviant behavior in southwest nigerian secondary school pupils. 31,144 male and female pupils from all public and private secondary schools in southwest nigeria were included in the survey-type descriptive research design. a multistage sampling process was used to choose a sample of 1,777 pupils. data for this study were gathered using a self-designed tool called the 'media and peer influence as correlates of deviant behavior' questionnaire (mpicdbq). following expert validation, the instrument underwent a reliability test using cronbach alpha, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.82. at the 0.05 level of significance, pearson product moment correlation was used to test two hypotheses. the study's conclusions showed a strong correlation between deviant behavior in secondary school students and peer and media impact. furthermore, ferrel et al., (n.d.) study explore the propensity for criminal activity among young people from dysfunctional households in cateel, davao oriental. it looks at the social, cognitive, and behavioral elements that contribute to this inclination. 52 participants, ages 15 to 29, were specifically selected from these families in cateel, davao oriental. using a questionnaire modified from an earlier study, the study sought to assess their background and propensity for crime. with 51.92% of the sample being male and 48.08% being female, the gender distribution is almost balanced, with the majority of responders being between the ages of 21 and 25. with an overall mean score of 3.53, the data shows a low degree of criminal tendency for behavioral, cognitive, and social factors. furthermore, a p-value 634 of less than 0.05 indicates that there is no significant difference in variances between and within age and gender groups across the behavior, cognitive, and social interaction components. the results, which reveal no discernible variation in the propensity to commit a crime between young people of different ages and genders, imply that crime prevention initiatives can be created to be inclusive of all. mohamad et al., (2021) investigate how peer pressure affects malaysian male prisoners' inclinations to commit street crimes. 282 prisoners participated in surveys conducted at four prisons in peninsular malaysia using a mixed mode research methodology. at kajang prison, only 20 prisoners were chosen for in-depth interviews. according to the findings, 60.3 percent of inmates committed crimes prior to their arrest and incarceration, and 72 percent of inmates acknowledged having a partner engaging in street crime. empirical review of neighbourhood disorder and tendency to commit crime thompson et al., (2022) examined the relationship between clinically diagnosed md and neighborhood crime in sweden's immigrant and non-immigrant populations. firstand secondgeneration immigrants living in sweden as well as non-immigrants born between 1960 and 1996 were included in a retrospective cohort research. between january 1, 2012, and december 31, 2015, they investigated the possible impact of neighborhood crime on the risks of major depression using connected swedish national registers, geospatial analysis, and multilevel logistic regression models. findings: in general, people who lived in neighborhoods with high crime rates were more likely to have md than people who did not. after controlling for potential confounders, there was a significant interaction by immigrant status; the odds of md among people with non-immigrant origins were more significantly related with increases in neighborhood violence. increases in neighborhood crime did not appear to have an impact on either male or female immigrants who were born outside of sweden. in a related study, gunuboh (2023) investigated how neighborhood factors and parental poverty affected the rates of adolescent criminality. to test for several hypotheses, it uses two different regression models: the negative binomial regression model and the ols linear regression model. while the negative binomial regression model is used to forecast the link between the dependents and independent variables, the ols is used to investigate the correlational relationship between the dependent and independent variables. according to the first regression (ols) data, there is a significant positive correlation between the rates of juvenile violent crime and parental poverty; a county's juvenile crime rate will rise by approximately 0.53% for every percentage increase in parental poverty. similarly, the incidence rate ratio of the negative binomial regression model (1st nbrm) shows that, when all other factors are held constant, the number of juvenile arrests for violent crimes is likely to increase by a factor of 1.48 if the percentage of families in a county living in poverty rises by one unit. similarly, dustmann et al (2023) applied identification strategy, which involved randomly assigning refugees to various municipalities in denmark between 1986 and 1998. results reveal compelling evidence that gang crime rates in the neighborhood where they were assigned raise the likelihood that boys will commit crimes before the age of 19, and that gang crime (but not other crime) increases the likelihood that girls will become teenage mothers. additionally, there are 635 negative and enduring consequences associated with greater gang crime rates: women report lower wages and more welfare benefit claims between the ages of 19 and 28, while men report far higher levels of inactivity. in another study, ricard et al., (2024) research identifies risk variables for understanding antisocial behavior across systems, from individuals to communities. surveys and data from the census (n = 478; northeast sample) were subjected to latent profile analysis. elevated personality risk, elevated family and structural risk, elevated personality, family, and neighborhood risk, and elevated neighborhood and structural risk were the five profiles that best suited the problem. profiles from criminal record, interview, and questionnaire-based results were compared. risky conduct and a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder were most strongly associated with the elevated personality, family, and neighborhood risk profile. there was the highest correlation between the number of crimes and the elevated neighborhood and structural risk profile. these findings highlight significant similarities and differences between types of antisocial conduct and clarify patterns of co-occurring risk within individuals and across systems. theoretical framework rational choice theory will serve as the theoretical framework. this theory of rational choice theory has the capacity to link up the independent and moderator variable (neighborhood disorder and peer relationship) to the dependent variable (tendency to commit crime). rational choice theory gives a comprehensive explanation which provides a framework for understanding crime. according to the rational choice theory, before an individual commit crime such individual must analyze the possible outcome. such an individual must have understood why and what the outcome of the crime would look like. finally, the individual must have understood the benefit which the behaviour would bring to him/her and possible loss when caught. in the end crime is assumed to take a cognitive process before it would be carried out. in other words, no crime could be an accident. overall, most crimes are pro-self and not pro-social, and it arises as a result of both economic and social deprivations. hypotheses 1. peer relationship will positively and significantly predict tendency to commit crime among undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 2. neighborhood disorder will positively and significantly predict tendency to commit crime among undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. 3. peer pressure will positively and significantly moderate the relationship between neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime among undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. method a total number of two hundred and ninety-seven (297) undergraduates from the department of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka served as participants for the study. the study adopted a multi stage sampling method. firstly, a random selection was conducted to select the faculty for the study. secondly another random selection was conducted to select the department for the study. finally, participants were randomly selected from the department of psychology. age range between 17 to 43 years, with mean age of 21.96 and standard deviation 3.180. the participants were from different levels; two participants were from year 1, 80 participants were 200 level 636 students, 97 undergraduates were from 300 level, and 116 participants were from 400 level students. the participants also included: christians (291), muslims (1) and others (3). three instruments were deployed for data collection: crime behavior rating scale (cbrs), index of peer relationship scale, perceived neighborhood disorder scale (pnds), and crime behavior rating scale (cbrs). the crime behaviour rating scale (cbrs) was developed and validated by animasahun (2011). it consists of thirty-three (33) items scale, these thirty-three (33) items scale were used to measure tendency to commit crime. it is designed to measure behaviors and characteristics that can easily predispose an individual to commit crime. the 33 items were directly scored. the scoring was done on five (5) point scale ranging from 1 = "strongly disagree" to 5 = "strongly agree" indicating the extent to which the items apply to the participants. sample items of the (cbrs) include statements such as "my behaviors often go contrary to acceptable norms", "i can find any means to make money to survive". animasahun (2011) reported internal consistency reliability estimates (cronbach alpha) for cbrs 0.94 and the validity was obtained by inter items correlation ranged from 0.56 to 0.88; convergent validity of 0.86 and discriminant validity of 0.02. in this study, the scale was subjected to pilot testing with two hundred and ninety-seven (297) undergraduates in the department of psychology, and a cronbach alpha’s coefficient of 0.91 was obtained. the index of peer relation scale was developed by hudson (1982). it is a twenty-five items scale constructed to measure the way you feel about the people you work with, play, or associate with most of the time, your peer group. it has a 5-point response format ranging from rarely of the time =1, a little of the time =2, some of the time =3, a good number of the time =4, and most of the time =5. the instrument has concurrent validity of .84 as was determined by hudson (1982), and anumba (1995) confirmed cronbach alpha of .94 and validity of .62 by correlating ipr with hare self esteem scale. the reliability test of 295 participants from the current study revealed a cronbach alpha of .72 (see appendix).the perceived neighborhood disorder scale (pnds) was developed by ross & mirowsky (1999), is a 15-items 4-point likert-type scale consisting of two sub-scales: social disorder (n=9 items) and physical disorder/decay (n=6 items). each item was rated on 4-point likert type rating scale ranging from 1 strongly disagree" to 4 "strongly agree". procedure the researchers created the topic, and instruments for data collection were put into a google form which was used for online administration to the study participants. students in the psychology department of the faculty of social sciences were given the opportunity to participate in the study. therefore, the google forms link was made available to all course representatives through their whatsapp accounts. furthermore, each course representative was asked to share the link of the google form to members on their whatsapp platforms. participants were informed of their rights to withdraw from the study at any time and to give their permission. confidentiality was guaranteed to all participants. a total of two hundred and ninety-seven (297) google forms were received, and were further subjected to data analysis. design and statistics the design for this study was moderated predictive design. statistics used for data analysis was process macro model 1 using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 30.0. 637 table 1: correlation of neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime: peer pressure s/n 1 2 3 1. neighborhood disorder 1 2. peer relationship .151** 1 3. tendency to commit crime .374** .366** 1 **correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) table2: model summary of neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime: peer relationship r r-square f df1 df2 p .5043 .2543 33.0874 3.0000 292.0000 .0000 table 2 above revealed the results of neighbourhood disorder and tendency to commit crime: moderation role of peer relationship among undergraduates. overall, the model result is explained by 25.43% changes in r-square, f (3,292) = 33.0874, p <.0001. table 3: moderation table of neighborhood disorder on tendency to commit crime: role of peer relationship b.coefficient t p llcl ulcl se constant 69.9694 77.0205 .0000 68.1814 71.7573 .9085 neighborhood 1.2542 6.5390 .0000 .8767 1.6316 .1918 peer pressure .9677 6.0624 .0000 .6535 1.2818 .1596 int-1 .0856 2.5380 .0117 .0192 .1520 .0337 similarly, the table further showed the predictive strength of each of the independent variable, and the moderating variable and the interaction effects. specifically, neighborhood disorder was not significant at (b=1.2542, p .001), peer pressure was significant at b =.9677, p <.001, and moderation effect was (b=.0856, p<.001). table 4: conditional effects of the focal predictor at various levels of moderation. peer relationship effect se t p llci ulci -16.9186 -.1940 .5878 -3301 .7816 -1.3510 9629 -.5186 1.2098 .1912 6.3257 .0000 .8334 1.5862 24.0814 3.3155 .8488 3.9062 .0001 1.6450 4.9860 furthermore, table 4 showed the conditional effects predictor at the various levels of moderation. at lowest level of peer pressure (-16.9186) the effect on the tendency to commit crime was lowest (-.1940), at average level of peer pressure (-.5186) the effect on tendency to commit crime was (1.2098), and at highest level of peer relationship (24.0814), the effect on tendency to commit crime was high 3.3155. 638 conclusion the study looked at how peer relationships might moderate the association between undergraduates' propensity to commit and neighborhood disorder. one of the hypotheses was confirmed. this demonstrated that peer relationships among undergraduates were a positive and substantial predictor of their propensity to commit crimes. the current study's findings, however, are consistent with those of some previous research. yuet yeng & sehu mohamad, (2023) for example, found a positive and significant correlation between the tendency to commit crime and peer relationships. other researchers like (adewuyi et al., 2024), have also found that peer relationships are positively and significantly correlated with criminal codes, that an increase in the number of peers positively and significantly raises the level of crimes, and that cybercrime and peer pressure are positively and significantly correlated. these results support the idea that peers follow a distinct set of rules for behavior that each person finds difficult to adjust to. the codes that the person was exposed to at home can change significantly from this one. as a result, people among their peers appear to depart from social norms, which can result in illegal behavior. the researcher's focus in this study is the propensity to commit crimes. this supports the idea that criminal activity must go through a number of steps before it is viewed as deviating from the usual. the notion of rational choice could provide an explanation for this observation. first, the rational decision presupposes that everyone possesses the ability to reason logically. this implies that the undergraduate has full responsibility for the decision to join a peer group. therefore, before announcing their decision to join the group as a full member, the undergraduate must have carefully analyzed the peer's actions. the advantages and potential expenses that one might incur based on their membership are taken into account. according to (kim & fletcher, 2018), there may be a chance that the amount of crime in the neighborhood will rise in proportion to the number of peers. therefore, the rational choice theory offers a nuanced interpretation of the first hypothesis's findings. in the current investigation, hypothesis two was confirmed. previous researchers (ricard et al., 2024; freeland, 2023; dustman et al., 2023) supported this position. it is evident from the results of the current study that the characteristics of a neighborhood have an impact on its residents. for example, a related study discovered that people who were not immigrants were more likely to commit crimes (gunboh, 2023). it's possible that the status connects nonimmigrant individuals to a peer group that instantly adopts new norms and adopts behaviors that ensure their survival in society. nonetheless, the idea might be a logical choice for explaining the current result findings. crime is thought to be the result of logical thought, according to rational choice theory. consequently, it presumes that people think out every facet of a criminal act before committing it. this is known as logical reasoning since it is believed that every individual has the ability to consider every crime before choosing to do it. moreover, self-interest may serve as a motivation for this logical thinking. this suggests that all crimes are motivated by self-interest, which could be interpreted as selfish (pro self). personal gain results from this self-interest. as a result, the person aims to satisfy personal needs or conversations. last but not least, a person cannot commit a crime without complete knowledge of it. such details could include potential gains, losses, and the best time to carry out the crime in the offender's private life. in the current situation, if a person is able to take into account all the essential losses and profits connected to the particular crime, a disordered neighborhood may encourage the tendency to commit crimes. 639 similarly, hypothesis three showed that the peer connection status had a positive and substantial moderating influence on the association between undergraduates' tendency to commit crimes and neighborhood disorder. there is no empirical evidence to support this conclusion. however, theoretical evidence suggests that based on potential markers of criminal behavior, moderation may be expected. as a result, the rational choice theory maintains that criminal behavior results from an individual's own thoughts. the neighborhood's current condition in terms of how safe or dangerous it is to live there may be the main topic of discussion. let's take a glance at the area. in a disorderly neighborhood, for example, one can either feel calm or anxious. anxiety will rise as leading to health challenges, the severity may increase, but more undergraduates may think about engaging in criminal activity through gangs or peer networks that view a deviant name since they are aware of how criminals are handled. in a similar vein, a peer connection that accepts a norm that deviates from the norm would increase the neighborhood's crime rate. this might be because more college students are thinking about committing crimes. this might be the case because the area fosters an environment that encourages crime and allows defaulters to go unpunished. lastly, it has been demonstrated that peer relationships significantly and favorably moderate the association between undergraduates' propensity to commit crimes and neighborhood disorder. this suggests that people's propensity to commit crimes is likely to increase as long as peer relationships in a disordered neighborhood grow. limitations of the study the present study was limited to the undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university awka, anambra state. as such the choice of university was considered a limitation. also, literature linking the interaction effect of the moderation of peer relationship and the existing relationship between neighborhood disorder and tendency to commit crime was not available. it was recommended that government should be more active in enforcing laws that will safe guide the society, and school management should create more academic associations that will keep the undergraduates more engaged in academic activities. conclusion every society constantly struggles with particular kinds of crime that are unique to that society. every culture has some level of crime. peer relationships and neighborhood instability will continue to be the primary causes of criminal behavior in the collegiate setting. reference adewuyi, h. o., odutayo, a. o., opesemowo, o. a. g., & jacob, u. s. (2024). peer pressure, socioeconomic status and gender difference on cybercrime tendencies of undergraduates. journal of pedagogical sociology and psychology. https://doi.org/10.33902/jpsp.202528154 alias, n. f., syed mustafa, s. m., abdul aziz, n., & hamzah, l. m. (2024). identifying risk and protective factors influencing adolescents to become involved in crime from the perspective of probation officers. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i1/19253 blessing, t. (n.d.). media and peer influence as correlates of deviant behaviour among secondary school students in southwest nigeria. in social science education journal (sosced-j) (vol. 6, issue 1). 640 david goodness orluwene, e., david, e., & orluwene, g. 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(2022). neighbourhood crime and major depression in sweden: a national cohort study. health and place, 78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102922 xie, s. (2023). the influence of external factors on children’s academic performance under high educational expectations by both parents and children. in proceedings of the 2nd international conference on education, language and art (icela 2022) (pp. 602–612). atlantis press sarl. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-004-6_74 yuet yeng, k., & sehu mohamad, z. (2023). a case study on peer influence and peer pressure in juvenile delinquency. international journal of academic research in business and social sciences, 13(8). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v13-i8/17440 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 515 a retrospective study of the impact of covid-19 stress and confinement on the emotional well-being of high school students in delta state, nigeria florence omumu *olufunke chenube john oji j.o. caroline alordiah faculty of education, university of delta state, nigeria *corresponding author: olufunke.chenube@unidel.edu.ng; +2348166836142 abstract this quantitative study examines the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the emotional wellbeing of 950 high school students in delta state, nigeria. this study was done after the lockdown period, it investigates students' attitudes, behaviours, and emotional experiences, stress levels, emotional health, and coping mechanisms. the findings reveal that while most students believed in the existence of covid-19, there are varying levels of doubt and uncertainty, with awareness of preventive measures but decreasing adherence over time. students aware of covid-19-related mortality in their community exhibited significantly lower emotional well-being, increased stress, and depression. the study highlights the importance of context-specific insights and recommends targeted interventions, including health literacy development, improved mental health support in schools, and investment in community-based mental health services. keywords: covid-19 epidemic, high school students, emotional well-being, covid-19related mortality, mental health introduction the covid-19 epidemic, which originated in late 2019, quickly developed into a worldwide crisis, impacting millions of individuals across continents. the pandemic, marked by the extensive spread of the sars-cov-2 virus, resulted in unparalleled health difficulties, overwhelming healthcare systems, and generating substantial rates of death and illness (atzrodt, maknojia, mccarthy, oldfield, po, ta, ... & clements, 2020). governments globally enforce diverse public health interventions, like lockdowns, social distance, and travel restrictions, to mitigate the transmission of the virus. although essential for pandemic containment, these actions significantly disrupted normal life and had major socio-economic and psychological consequences (oyinlola, osayomi, & oluwatosin, 2020). the pandemic had a diverse influence in nigeria, affecting various aspects like as public health, the economy, and social structures. in late february 2020, the country documented its initial instance of covid-19, and by mid-2020, the virus had disseminated to all states, encompassing delta state as well. the nigerian government enforced nationwide lockdowns, shut down educational institutions, and imposed movement restrictions, significantly impacting the daily activities and livelihoods of the population. internationally, the covid-19 pandemic resulted in a sequence of lockdowns and confinement measures that dramatically transformed people's lives. the stress caused by the epidemic originated from health anxieties, financial insecurity, and social seclusion (kraut, li & zhu, 2022). educational facilities were closed, and the shift to online learning posed further difficulties, particularly in areas with insufficient digital infrastructure (dhawan, 2020, obododike & okekeokosisi, 2020). in nigeria, the consequences were mailto:olufunke.chenube@unidel.edu.ng 516 particularly severe due to existing economic and infrastructural obstacles. the closing of schools and transition to online learning revealed the existence of the digital divide, as numerous pupils faced a lack of access to essential technology and internet connectivity. the epidemic worsened pre-existing disparities and posed distinctive obstacles to the educational sector (ajide, ibrahim, & alimi, 2020). delta state, situated in the southern portion of nigeria, encountered substantial obstacles throughout the pandemic. the state's economic activities, primarily focused on oil production, were interrupted, resulting in financial hardship for several households (joseph-raji et al.,2020). the closure of schools had a negative impact on students' academic progress, as the absence of a strong online learning system hindered the continuation of effective education (ozili, 2020). high school students in delta state and other states in nigeria faced increased stress and uncertainty because of prolonged school closures, disruptions in academic schedules, and the transition to remote learning environments. a significant number of students faced a lack of access to digital devices and dependable internet, which posed challenges in maintaining their academic progress. in addition, the implementation of confinement measures and social distancing protocols restricted students' opportunities for social connections, which are essential for their emotional and psychological growth (etinosa et al.,2022). the emotional welfare of high school children is crucial, as adolescence is a crucial stage characterised by substantial physical, psychological, and social growth. the covid-19 pandemic's stress and confinement disrupted the developmental trajectory, potentially causing long-term negative impacts on students' mental health and academic performance (sholihah et al.,2022). therefore, it is crucial to study the emotional well-being of high school students in delta state during this pandemic for various reasons. firstly, it offers valuable insights into the distinct difficulties encountered by students in this locality, which may vary from those in other regions of the country or the globe due to distinctive socio-economic and infrastructural issues (ilesanmi et al.,2022). comprehending these difficulties might guide the creation of specific interventions and support systems to assist students in managing stress and preserving their emotional well-being in the case of another eventuality (sholihah et al.,2022, lopez, 2024). the psychological consequences of long-term incarceration should not be underestimated, although the home environment provides protection against the virus, it typically lacks the social and emotional support that schools give. adolescents in high school were denied the opportunity to engage with their peers, participate in extracurricular activities, and follow the regular schedule of a school day (etinosa et al.,2022, lopez, 2024). these aspects are crucial for their social growth and psychological well-being. the state of being isolated and the absence of social interaction might have resulted in emotions of solitude, melancholy, and a feeling of detachment from their regular sources of assistance (eric et al.,2020). the increased stress levels among students can be attributed to factors such as parental worry, economic instability, and health concerns during the epidemic. the economic repercussions of the pandemic led to financial difficulties for numerous families across nigeria, thereby impacting the pupils' sense of security and overall well-being (andam et al.,2020, singh et al., 2020). the combination of academic pressures, social isolation, and economic instability in families creates a complex challenge that affected the emotional and psychological well-being of students (joab-peterside, 2021). although the pandemic clearly 517 affects the emotional health of teenagers, there is a lack of research specifically focused on high school students in delta state, nigeria. although there have been several research on the overall effects of covid-19 on education and mental health at a global and national level, the specific situations and difficulties encountered by students in delta state have not been sufficiently investigated. the impact of the pandemic on high school pupils in delta state may vary depending on local circumstances including socio-economic conditions, cultural influences, and the accessibility of educational resources (ifesiokwu, onyekw, & maha, 2022). gaining a comprehensive understanding of these distinct experiences is essential for developing successful approaches to promote students' emotional well-being. in the absence of targeted research, policymakers, educators, and mental health professionals may lack the essential knowledge needed to effectively address the unique requirements of this demographic. also, the lack of focused research on this group results in the underrepresentation of the perspectives and experiences of high school students in delta state in the broader discussion on the impact of the pandemic on young people (ozili, 2020, etinosa et al.,2022, lopez, 2024). the lack of proper representation can result in a uniform approach in policy and intervention design, which may not effectively tackle the unique issues encountered by students in this area. to comprehend the effects of covid-19 stress and confinement on the mental well-being of high school children, a comprehensive theoretical framework is required. this study utilises two main theories: stress and coping theory and bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. these frameworks offer a thorough perspective for analysing the intricate interaction between stressors, coping strategies, and environmental factors that affect students' emotional well-being. the stress and coping theory, formulated by richard lazarus and susan folkman, provides a fundamental framework for understanding how humans perceive and react to stress (lazarus, 2006, folkman & lazarus, 2013). according to this view, stress is caused by a discrepancy between the requirements placed on an individual and their ability to handle those requirements. the idea highlights the cognitive appraisal process, in which individuals evaluate the importance of a stressor and their capacity to handle event deal with it. coping mechanisms can be classified into two distinct types: problem-focused coping, which directly deals with the root cause of stress, and emotion-focused coping, which focuses on managing the emotional reaction to the stressor (baqutayan, 2015). this theory is particularly useful in understanding how high school students perceive and handle the stressors related to remote learning, social isolation, and health concerns during the covid-19 pandemic. it also offers a structure for examining the different coping mechanisms utilised by students, whether they are attempting to alleviate the academic difficulties presented by online learning or controlling their emotional reactions to the absence of social connections and routine. bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory provides a comprehensive viewpoint on human development, highlighting the impact of many environmental systems. this theory proposes that an individual's growth is influenced by interactions within five interconnected systems: the microsystem (immediate surroundings, like family and school), mesosystem (interactions between microsystems), ecosystem (indirect environmental influences, such as parents' workplaces), macrosystem (cultural and societal context), and chronosystem (changes over time) (perron, 2017). applying this theory to the examination of high school students in delta state, nigeria, 518 emphasizes the diverse factors that impact their emotional well-being during the pandemic. the microsystem encompasses the direct effects of family dynamics and the closure of schools. the mesosystem refers to the relationships between the home and school environments, which have been disrupted due to the transition to remote learning. the exosystemic encompasses the wider socio-economic difficulties experienced by families within the epidemic, while the macrosystem encompasses cultural perspectives on education and mental health. the chronosystem emphasizes the time-related aspect, considering the long-lasting impact of the epidemic on pupils' growth and progress. the covid-19 epidemic has had a widespread influence on pupils globally, causing disruptions in educational systems and impacting the emotional well-being of young individuals in several nations. research (bozkurt et al.,2020, akorede, ajayi, toyin & uwadia, 2021). conducted in multiple countries, including the united states, china, and italy, has identified common stressors and coping mechanisms among high school students. these studies have found that school closures and the transition to remote learning have significantly disrupted students' lives. notable stresses cited encompass the challenges of adjusting to online education, the absence of social engagement, and anxieties around academic achievement and career prospects. these studies also demonstrate that students utilise various coping strategies, such as participating in hobbies and physical activities, as well as utilising internet platforms for social interaction and academic assistance. students from various cultural backgrounds have consistently reported heightened levels of anxiety, despair, and stress as a direct result of the ongoing pandemic. common coping strategies that have been discovered include obtaining social support from family and friends, participating in creative and physical activities, and utilising technology to maintain connections with peers (ilevbare, adelowo, & adegbite, 2020, olaseni, akinsola, agberotimi & oguntayo, 2020). the findings emphasise the widespread effect of the pandemic on students, while also emphasising the significance of contextual factors in shaping individual experiences. in nigeria, the pandemic worsened existing challenges in the educational sector and had a significant impact on students' mental well-being. nationwide surveys and reports((yunusa et al.,2021) offer valuable insights into the precise difficulties encountered by nigerian students throughout this period. multiple nationwide studies have emphasised the educational disruptions brought about by the epidemic, such as the shutdown of schools and the shift to remote learning. these results suggest that numerous students in nigeria encounter substantial obstacles to successful remote learning because of restricted availability of digital gadgets and dependable internet connections (yunusa et al.,2021, etinosa et al.,2022, lopez, 2024). the academic disruptions are further intensified by wider socio-economic difficulties, such as financial instability and health issues. nigerian students, notably those in delta state, encounter distinctive obstacles that affect their mental welfare. the digital gap is a substantial problem, as some students lack the requisite resources to fully engage in online education. moreover, the pandemic's economic repercussions have imposed financial burdens on families, resulting in heightened levels of stress and uncertainty (onyeaka, 2021, oladimeji, 2022). the cultural backdrop is also a factor, as societal views regarding mental health might impact the inclination of kids and their families to seek assistance. 519 adolescence is a crucial phase for emotional and psychological growth, and the covid-19 epidemic brought new sources of stress that could have a substantial effect on this stage of development (ajide, 2020). it is crucial to comprehend the overall factors that affect the emotional well-being of adolescents and the significance of school and peer interactions to understand the impact of the pandemic. various factors, such as biological changes, family dynamics, academic pressures, and social relationships, have an influence on the emotional health of adolescents. amidst the epidemic, these characteristics have been disturbed, resulting in heightened susceptibility to stress and mental health concerns. adolescents are very responsive to alterations in their social surroundings, and the absence of normal school schedules and contacts with peers can significantly impact their emotional well-being (ozili, 2020, etinosa et al.,2022, lopez, 2024). adolescents' emotional and social development is significantly influenced by their interactions with peers and within the school environment. education institutions offer a well-organised setting for acquiring knowledge and developing social skills, while classmates provide crucial assistance and camaraderie. the epidemic has hindered these social exchanges, resulting in sentiments of seclusion and detachment among students (ifesiokwu, onyekw, & maha, 2022). the significance of these relationships elucidates the reason why the absence of regular school attendance and peer interaction has had such a deleterious effect on students' emotional welfare. while there is some research on the influence of covid-19 on education and mental health in nigeria, there is a dearth of specific studies that concentrate on the emotional wellbeing of high school students in delta state, thus this this current study aims to fill this age. prior studies on the ramifications of covid-19 in delta state have predominantly concentrated on the economic and public health dimensions, while paying comparatively little heed to the emotional and psychological repercussions experienced by students. although there have been some studies on the overall mental health situation in nigeria during the pandemic, there is a lack of detailed research on the specific experiences of high school students in delta state. this study aims to comprehensively investigate the diverse effects of the covid-19 pandemic on high school students in delta state, nigeria. the following research questions were raised to guide this study: • were students convinced of the existence of covid-19? • did students possess knowledge of and have faith in preventive measures? • did students implement preventive measures both during and after the lockdown? • did students experience emotional distress during the lockdown? • did students suffer from depression during the lockdown? • did students encounter anxiety during the lockdown? methods the study employs a cross-sectional survey design because it allows for the collection of data at a single point in time from a large sample, providing a snapshot of the students' stress levels, emotional health, and coping mechanisms. the population for this study consists of high school students in delta state, nigeria. a total of 950 students were selected using stratified random sampling to ensure representation across different regions and school types within the state. the sample was stratified by gender, location (delta south, delta central, delta north), and school type (public and private). this stratification helps to ensure that the sample accurately reflects the diverse demographic characteristics of the student population in delta state. 520 data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed to capture various aspects of students' experiences during the pandemic. the questionnaire included sections on demographic information, stress levels, emotional wellbeing, and coping mechanisms. the stress and emotional wellbeing sections were adapted from validated scales, ensuring the reliability and validity of the measures. this study gathered demographic information across seven categories: gender, age, location, school type, religion, parental occupation, and living situation during lockdown. stress levels were quantified using the perceived stress scale (pss), a validated instrument assessing situation-specific stress appraisals. emotional well-being was evaluated via the general health questionnaire (ghq-12), a widely used measure of overall emotional health and psychological distress. coping mechanisms were assessed using the brief cope inventory, which identifies diverse strategies employed by individuals in response to stressful situations. data were collected from students from the different schools after ethical approval for the study was obtained from the relevant institutions. all participants were assured of the confidentiality and anonymity of their responses. the survey included an introduction explaining the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, and the measures taken to protect their privacy the collected data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, were used to summarise the demographic characteristics and the responses to the stress, emotional wellbeing, and coping mechanism questions. inferential statistics, such as t-tests and anova, were employed to examine differences in stress levels and emotional wellbeing across different demographic groups. correlation and regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between stress levels, emotional wellbeing, and coping mechanisms results demographic information table 1: demographic characteristics of secondary school students in delta state (n=950) variable category frequency percentage (%) gender male 395 41.6 female 555 58.4 location delta south 307 32.4 delta central 274 28.8 delta north 369 38.8 school type public 510 53.7 private 440 46.3 religion christianity 935 98.5 islam 7 0.7 atr 8 0.8 father’s occupation self employed 459 48.3 work with government 225 23.8 work with private establishment 156 16.4 unemployed 103 10.8 521 retired 7 0.7 mother’s occupation self employed 594 62.5 work with government 196 20.6 work with private establishment 30 3.2 unemployed 86 9.1 housekeeper 36 3.8 retired 8 0.8 location during lock down both parents 649 68.3 only mother 134 14.1 only father 37 3.9 relations/guardian 104 10.9 with friends 8 0.8 alone 18 1.9 age table 1, shows the percentage distribution of the demographic characteristics of the secondary school students that took part in the study, the participants, 41.6% and 58.4% are male and female respectively. about 32.4%, 28.8% and 38.8% of them were resident in delta south senatorial district, delta central senatorial district and delta north senatorial district respectively. ninety-eight (98%) percent of them were christians while less than two percent (2%) were islam and traditional. delta is a predominant christian state. their parents/guardian were mainly self-employed (48.3% fathers and 62.5% mothers). majority of the students were with both parents (68.3%) during the lockdown period. however, some of them lived alone (1.9%), some with friends (0.8%), relations/guardian (10.9%), with only their fathers (3.9%), or with only their mothers (14.1%). research question 1: did the students believe that covid-19 was real? table 2: secondary school students believe on the reality s/n variables responses frequency percentage 1. do you believe that covid19 is real not at all 109 11.5 yes, a little bit 245 25.8 yes, very well 596 62.7 2. do you believe that: covid 19 was a political game by some few people to make money? not at all 395 41.6 yes, a little bit 227 23.9 yes, very well 328 34.5 3. do you know the meaning of covid-19? not at all 221 23.3 yes, a little bit 194 20.4 yes, very well 535 56.3 4. are you aware that many people died during covid19? not at all 95 10.0 yes, a little bit 74 7.6 yes, very well 781 82.2 5. not at all 779 82.0 522 did you know anyone that died because of covid-19 disease around your community? yes, a little bit 52 5.5 yes, very well 119 12.5 6. are you aware of the preventive measures (that is, how not get infected) with covid-19? not at all 687 72.3 yes, a little bit 111 11.7 yes, very well 152 16.2 7. do you believe in those preventive measures? not correct 560 68.9 partially correct 243 23.6 correct 147 15.5 table 2, shows that the students believed about covid-19: only 11.5% of them did not believe that covid-19 is real as opposed to 62.7% of them who believed that it is real. however, 25.8% did not fully affirm to its reality. about 34.5% of them believed that the pandemic was a clear political game by some few people to make money. the percentage of the student who knows the meaning of covid-19 is a little bit above average (56.3%). also, majority of them were aware that many people died of the viral disease around their community (82%). among the students, 58.9% said they do not believe any of their relations can get infected with this virus, while 16.2% claimed their relative could be infected and 11.7% of them were not too sure. finally, 58.9%, 25.6%, and 15.5% of the respondents gave the meaning of covid-19 wrongly, partially correct and correctly respectively. research question 2: did they believe in preventive measures table 3: s/n variables responses frequency percentage 6 are you aware of the preventive measures there not at all 123 12.9 yes, a little bit 111 11.7 yes, very well 716 75.4 7 do you believe in those preventive measures? not at all 161 16.9 yes, a little bit 277 29.2 yes, very well 512 53.9 respondents were asked if they were aware of the preventive for covid-19. table 3 shows that 12.9%, 11.7% and 75.4% of respondents were not aware, a little bit aware and very much aware of the preventive measures for covid-19. they were also asked if they believe in these preventive measures. their response shows that over 50% of them believed in preventive measures while about 16.9% of them did not believe in those preventive measures 523 research question 3: did they still practice the preventive measures table 4: s/n variables responses frequency percentage 8 do you still practice the preventive measures during the lockdown like wearing of nose mask, washing of hands etc. not at all 113 11.9 yes, a little bit 194 20.4 yes, very well 643 67.7 9 do you still practice the preventive measures now? not at all 423 44.5 yes, a little bit 305 32.1 yes, very well 222 23.4 the percentage of the respondents that practiced the preventive measures during the lockdown is 67.7%, 20.4% practiced a little bit of the measures while 11.9% of them did not practice them at all. research question 4: were the students emotionally stressed during the lockdown? table 5: responses of secondary school students on the stress scare s/n statement response (frequency (%) during thecovid-19 lockdown: did not apply to me at all applied to me to some extent applied to me considerable applied to me very much 1 i found it difficult to relax because of fear 520 (54.7%) 234 (24.6%) 69 (7.3%) 127 (13.4%) 2. i always over react to situation because of fear 513 (54.7%) 238 (25.1%) 91 (9.6%) 108 (11.4%) 3. i felt i was nervous 527 (54.0%) 230 (24.2%) 102 (10.7%) 91 (9.6%) 4 i found myself getting agitated 577 (60.7%) 188 (19.8%) 94 (9.9%) 91 (9.6%) 5 i found it difficult to play because of fear 529 (55.7%) 210 (22.1%) 78 (8.2%) 133 (14.0%) 6 i was not able to tolerate anything that kept me from being focused 522 (54.9%) 216 (22.7%) 96 (10.1%) 116 (12.2%) 7 i felt i was getting very touchy (easily angry 588 (61.9%) 154 (16.2%) 82 (8.6%) 126 (13.3%) 524 table 6: secondary school students’ emotional well-being level variable level n % stress no stress 882 92.8 having depression 68 7.2 depression no stress 823 86.6 having depression 127 13.4 anxiety no stress 799 84.1 having depression 151 15.9 table 5 and 6 shows that 92.8% students were not stressed. from figure 1, the stress level of the students and their awareness of anyone that died due to covid-19 disease in their community was show with the aid of violin plots. the calculated kruskal-wallis = 6.64 was significant at p=0.04, which is also significant at p=0.05. it implies that the stress level at the three levels of responses not at all; yes, a little bit; yes, and very well to the questions “did you know anyone that died as a result of covid-19 disease around your community?” differs significantly. a closer look at the violins shows that those students that stated that they were not aware of anyone that died of covid-19 in their community were less stressed. in figure 2, the violin plot shows the stress level of the students based on their belief that their relatives can get infected with the virus. the kruskal-wallis value of 30.73 is significant at p=0.001 which is equally significant at p=0.05. hence, the distribution of stress for the three levels of responses (not at all; yes, a little bit; yes, very well) differs significantly. a closer look at the violin plot show that the students whose response falls under the first level (not at all) were less stressed. figure 1: violin plot on stress level and awareness of anyone that died due to covid-19 disease figure 2: violin plot on stress level and belief that one’s relative can be infected with covid-19 525 research question 5: did they experience depression during the lockdown? table 7: responses of secondary school students on the depression scale s/n statement responses (frequency (%)) during the covid-19 lockdown not at all a little bit yes 1 i could not seem to experience any positive feeling at all. 459 (48.3%) 219 (23.1%) 212 (28.6%) 2 i found it difficult to work or do things on my own. 582 (61.3%) 194 (20.4%) 174 (18.3%) 3 i looked at life as if there was nothing to look forward to 530 (55.8%) 227 (23.9%) 193 (20.3%) 4 i felt downhearted and sad 448 (47.2%) 244 (25.7%) 258 (27.2%) 5 i was not happy about everything 473 (49.8%) 226 (23.8%) 251 (26.64) 6 i felt life was meaningless 597 (62.8%) 186 (19.6%) 167 (17.6%) 7 i felt i was not worth a human being 720 (75.8%) 120 (12.6%) 110 (11.6%) table 6 and 7 shows that only 13.4% of the students experienced depression. the depression level of the students based on their awareness of anyone that died of covid-19 in their community was shown with aid of violin plot (figure 3). the calculated kruskal-wallis = 13.69 was significant at p=0.001. it implies that the depression level at the three levels of response (not at all; yes, a little bit; yes, and very well) to the question “did you know anyone that died as a result of covid-19 disease around your community?” differs significantly. the violin plot show that these students that said they were not aware of anybody that died of covid-19 in their community were less depressed. 526 the violin plot in figure 4, shows the depression level of the students based on their belief that their relatives can get infected with covid-19. the kruskal-wallis value of 31.49 is significant at p< 0.001. hence, the distribution of stress for the three levels of responses differs significantly. a closer look at the violin plot shows that the students whose responses falls under the first level (not at all) were less depressed. figure 3: violin plot on depression level and awareness of anyone that died due to covid19 figure 4: violin depression level and believe that one’s relative can be infected with covid19 research question 6: did they experience anxiety during the lockdown? table 7: responses of secondary school students on the anxiety scale s/n statement responses (frequency (%)) during the covid-19 lockdown: not at all a little bit yes 1 my mouth was always dry because of anxiety 630 (66.3%) 171 (18.0%) 149 (15.7%) 2 i was afraid and it affected my breathing 696 (73.3%) 125 (13.2%) 129 (13.6%) 3 i experience trembling (shaking) 636 (66.9%) 192 (20.2%) 122 (12.8%) 527 4 i was worried about the problem of covid-19, it made me panic 414 (43.6%) 270 (28.4%) 266 (28.0%) 5 i felt i was close to panic (fears) because of covid19 482 (50.7%) 237 (24.9%) 231 (24.3%) 6 i felt scared without any good reason 552 (58.1%) 196 (20.6%) 202 (21.3%) the anxiety level of the students during the covid-19 lockdown was low (table 6 and 8). from figure 5, the calculated kruskal-wallis value for the anxiety level of the students based on their awareness of anyone that died of covid-19 p = 0.002. it indicates that the anxiety level “did you know anyone as a result of covid-19 in your community?” differs significantly. the students who picked the response “not at all” were less anxious during the covid-19 lockdown. the violin plot in figure 6 shows that anxiety level of the students with regards to their responses to the question. “do you believe any of your relatives can get infected with covid-19 disease?” the kruskal-wallis value of 23.06 with p < 0.001 inducts that the anxiety level of the students differ by the response they gave to the question. a look at the violin plots shows that the students whose responses fall under the first level (not at all) were less anxious. figure 5: violin plot on anxiety level and awareness of anyone that died due to covid-19 figure 6: violin plot an anxiety level and belief that any of their relative can contact covid19 528 discussion the study aimed to explore the impact of covid-19 stress and confinement on the emotional wellbeing of high school students in delta state, nigeria. the results provide valuable insights into students' beliefs about covid-19, their adherence to preventive measures, and their emotional stress levels during the pandemic. the major findings reveal a complex landscape of perceptions and behaviours among high school students, a significant majority of students (62.7%) believed in the reality of covid-19, while a notable minority (11.5%) did not, and 25.8% were uncertain. additionally, 34.5% viewed covid-19 as a political maneuver. this indicates a mixed level of trust and understanding about the pandemic. these findings align with existing literature on the emotional impact of covid-19 on students. studies have shown that the pandemic has led to increased anxiety and depression among students globally, with variations based on direct exposure to the virus and related fatalities (ominde, jaiyeoba-ojigho & igbigbi, 2021). however, the high percentage of students not feeling stressed contrasts with other studies reporting widespread psychological distress during the pandemic (nacakgedigi, o (2021). most students (75.4%) were aware of preventive measures, and over 50% believed in their efficacy. however, 16.9% did not believe in these measures, which could impede public health efforts. during the lockdown, 67.7% partially adhered to preventive measures. post-lockdown, adherence dropped, with 44.5% not following them at all. this decline suggests pandemic fatigue and highlights the need for sustained public health messaging. this study's finding that 75.4% of students were aware of preventive measures aligns with existing literature, which shows varying levels of awareness and knowledge among different populations. for instance, previous research has documented similar awareness levels but also highlighted gaps in knowledge that can affect adherence to preventive practices (tadesse et al., 2021, opeyemi et al.,2023). the 16.9% of students who did not believe in the efficacy of preventive measures highlight a significant challenge. similar findings in other studies underscore the importance of addressing misinformation and enhancing public trust in health guidelines (feyisa, 2021, bamidele et al., 2022). effective public health messaging and educational campaigns are crucial to sustain adherence and prevent the spread of covid-19. 529 emotional stress during lockdown, despite the challenges, 92.8% of students reported not being stressed. however, stress levels were significantly higher among those aware of covid-19related deaths in their community, indicating the emotional impact of the pandemic’s proximity. the findings of this study align and contrast with existing literature in several ways, like global studies; the findings show a high level of awareness and belief in covid-19 among students. however, the significant minority who viewed the pandemic as a political ploy is unique and highlights regional differences in perception shaped by local narratives and misinformation. studies in other countries have also noted varying levels of skepticism and conspiracy theories regarding covid-19 (pew research centre, 2020). this study's findings both align with and contrast existing literature in several ways. like global studies, a high level of awareness and belief in covid-19 among students was observed. for instance, a study on the psychological impacts of quarantine found it was associated with feelings of anxiety and exhaustion (talic et al, 2021). another study highlighted the negative emotional impact on students, affecting their social skills and academic performance (pipia et al., 2023). in line with other nigerian studies, students exhibited mixed adherence to preventive measures. the drop in adherence over time reflects a common issue of pandemic fatigue seen both nationally and internationally. for instance, research in lagos showed similar trends in declining adherence to preventive measures over time (adebayo, akintola & olaseni, 2022). unlike many global studies that reported high stress levels among students during the pandemic, this study found low overall stress. this contrast could be due to cultural factors or different levels of pandemic impact and response in delta state compared to other regions. for example, a study in italy found significantly higher stress levels among adolescents during lockdowns (pisano et al.,2020), whereas the lower stress levels reported in delta state might be influenced by different social dynamics and coping mechanisms. the findings have several implications for students and educators, schools need to address misinformation and conspiracy theories by incorporating accurate health education into the curriculum. educators should engage students in critical thinking exercises to help them discern credible information sources (lewandowsky, ecker, & cook, 2017). supporting emotional wellbeing, despite the low reported stress; the significant emotional impact on those aware of covid19 deaths suggests the need for targeted mental health support. schools should provide counseling services and create a supportive environment for students to discuss their experiences and feelings (galea, merchant, & lurie, 2020). the decline in adherence to preventive measures highlights the need for ongoing public health campaigns. schools should reinforce the importance of these measures and model proper behaviors to encourage student compliance (bavel et al., 2020). conclusion the study provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of covid-19 on high school students in delta state, revealing key insights into their beliefs, behaviors, and emotional wellbeing. while a majority believed in the reality of covid-19 and preventive measures, a significant portion remained skeptical or misinformed. emotional stress was relatively low, but the proximity of covid-19 deaths had a significant impact on those aware of such cases. the pandemic's impact on students' emotional wellbeing is multifaceted, with stress levels influenced by personal and 530 community experiences. the findings underscore the importance of accurate information and mental health support in mitigating the pandemic's emotional toll on students recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions are made: • the government, through the ministry of education, should: integrate comprehensive health education programmes that address covid-19 and other public health issues, focusing on building trust and dispelling myths (who, 2020). -establish school-based mental health services to support students dealing with pandemicrelated stress and loss. -training teachers to recognise and respond to mental health issues always -develop strategies to combat pandemic fatigue, ensuring that students remain vigilant about preventive measures through engaging and relatable campaigns (cdc, 2020). limitations of the study the 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(2021). the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on higher education in nigeria: university lecturers’ perspectives. ijedict-international journal of education and development using information and communication technology, 17(4), 43-66. page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 106 new generation technology and digital accounting tools as a digital transformation strategy for nigerian insurance companies' organizational sustainability *ganiyu, kamal aina, john oloriegbe, kale s. department of insurance school of business and management studies the federal polytechnic, offa *correspondence: kamal.ganiyu@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng abstract formulating a digital transformation plan that acts as a primary idea to digital changes inside a corporation is an essential technique. digital revolution is causing a tsunami of change in the economic and financial sectors, affecting society as a whole. the study examines the influence of digital transformation strategies on sustainability of insurance businesses in nigeria. a descriptive research technique was used in the study. this study population consists of all insurance companies observed to be the healthy ones amongst the existing fifty eight (58) insurance companies duly registered in nigeria. a purposive sampling method was considered appropriate for the study as the sample size consists of 350 employees working at the ict and cyber security unit of all the insurance offices fully digitalized in nigeria, only 333 were retuned and fit for analysis. the findings of the study from regression analysis revealed that digital transformation (i.e. new generation technology platform and digital accounting tools) has influence on sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria. the study concludes that new generation technology and digital accounting tools as a digital transformation strategy has impact on sustainability of insurance companies. the study recommends that insurance companies should ensure adequate digitalization to guarantee improved market penetration. keywords: digital accounting, digital transformation, new generation technology, sustainability, insurance business, nigeria. introduction at its most basic, an organization is either an individual or a group of individuals working together to achieve a single purpose or set of goals. because the organizational structure of any business is critical for its sustainability or success in functioning as a motivator or stimulant for the firm to attain its vision. the impact of shifting demographics, social inequalities, the global market, and climate change on organizations has recently been a source of worry. according to the chartered institute of personnel and development (cipd) (2012), as referenced in mohd-zawawi and abdwahab (2019), the primary premise of improving the environmental, sociological, and economic systems inside corporate operations is the cause of organizational sustainability. scholars have numerous definitions and interpretations of sustainability. according to mohd-zawawi and abdwahab, organizational sustainability is a critical component in the face of severe environmental, climatic, and global market concerns like the current covid-19 epidemic and for any type of business operations mailto:kamal.ganiyu@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng 107 today (2019). yet, corporate organization is also regarded as a business commitment to contributing to long-term economic growth. insurance businesses, for example, are required to be responsible for their social, environmental, and economic concerns, as they are seen as critical to their future existence. one such example, in light of the current covid-19 epidemic, is the recognition of the necessity for digital transformation to deal with the challenges faced by corporate organizations, of which the insurance industry is not exempt. nonetheless, it was assumed that the dynamic character of businesses such as insurance in their complicated surroundings had an impact on the sustainability of the concerned enterprises (aggarwal, 2013). business organizations require strategies and procedures to ensure their long-term viability in order to meet established goals and achieve corporate objectives. adoption of improved digitalization is one of the strategies that has been advocated to ensure the sustainability of an organization such as insurance corporations, in accordance with aggarwal's (2013) submission. the digital transformation phenomenon is typically complex, perplexing, and difficult for insurance firms, but this does not exclude its implementation in marketing, claims, and underwriting (yusuf, ajemunigbohun, and alli, 2017; ajemunigbohun, oreshile, and alli, 2018). due to the rapid progress of technology, the success rate of such digital transitions in insurance is extremely low. the use of these technologies for digital transformation demands significant changes in organizational procedures, technology, and human behaviour. this broad transition brings with it a slew of socio-technical obstacles and concerns. the proactive strategy encompassing people, process, and technology and, most crucially, their alignment inside the organization has been shown to be critical in carrying out such transformation attempts in the firm. the planned efforts associated with the decided strategy also play an important role in the implementation and sustainability of such transformation programs in insurance organizations. additionally, as major motivators and results of digital transformation, value creation, operational efficiency, competitive advantage, customer interactions, and new business models arise. digital transformation is accelerating in public and private insurance organizations as a result of market disruption and gaps in organizational demands and procedures. it becomes a critical market need for the survival of insurance firms. the fourth industrial revolution, according to pflaum and golzer (2018), has emerged in recent decades as a result of digital transformation facilitated by new workplace technologies. according to kenney, rouvinen, and zysman (2015), the demand for change grows in response to social, industrial, and, most crucially, technological advancements. this broad shift highlights a number of socio-technical difficulties and hurdles, posing challenges to a successful transformation process (khan & bokhari, 2018; mahmood, khan, & bokhari, 2019). according to studies, experts, and practitioners, transformation is a multifaceted process in terms of people and process, making it a tough task (higgs & rowland, 2005). previous research has shown that digital transformation efforts fail at a high rate. mckinsey estimates that 70% of transformation efforts fail (bucy, finlayson, kelly, &moye, 2015), suggesting that most insurance companies lack this skill (gobble, 2018). figuring out how to execute the digital technology revolution is one of the most challenging tasks for insurance executives. the nigerian insurance industry is faced with several challenges that threaten its sustainability. these challenges include the lack of accurate and timely financial data, inefficient financial reporting systems, and high operational costs. these challenges can be addressed through the adoption of new generation technology and digital accounting tools.in view of this, the following research objectives were formulated: 108 i. establish the impact of new generation technology platform as a digital transformation strategy on sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria ii. ascertain the impact of digital accounting tools as a digital transformation strategy on sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria in order to provide answers to the above formulated objectives, the following hypotheses were formulated as well: ho1: new generation technology platform as a digital transformation strategy does not have an impact on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria ho2: digital accounting tools as a digital transformation strategy does not have an impact on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria review of relevant literature concept of sustainability in insurance business a sustainable business is one that is concerned with the social, environmental, and economic ramifications of its present and future operations, as well as the company's ability to meet current needs while ensuring its own and others' long-term existence. a sustainable business would have a positive social, environmental, and economic impact in an ideal society. the "triple bottom line" refers to a company's overall contribution to social equity, environmental quality, and economic prosperity. companies are increasingly being pushed to handle social, environmental, and economic problems that were previously seen as the purview of governments and philanthropic organizations (such as heifer international, a global pioneer in establishing sustainable communities). to build the framework for long-term success, it is necessary to re-examine the business in terms of its triple bottom line effect and performance (social, environmental, and economic). this needs a shift in perspective away from evaluating a firm just in terms of financial return to shareholders. while financial profit is necessary for existence, a sustainable business views the firm, its commitments, and its performance as a whole. as a result, corporate sustainability is accessed via three interconnected lenses: social, environmental, and economic. several insurers have made financial risk management a higher priority. yet, forwardthinking insurers are making gains in developing investment methods to engage in financial markets as well as new eco-friendly solutions to manage new, difficult, and sophisticated risks. several of these financial products are concerned with environmental issues such as green building, hurricane-resistant design, the development of renewable fuels, and ecologically friendly driving habits. proactive insurers encourage their clients to participate in the insurance sustainability project. the role of insurance companies in maintaining social, economic, and environmental sustainability is crucial. insurance companies are increasingly using exclusion clauses and tougher restrictions to urge clients to make the best choices possible. several insurance companies limit their responsibility for greenhouse gas emitters and enterprises that lack a climate mitigation strategy. sustainability challenges have a large influence on both the finance department and the financial sector. as we consider the social, economic, and environmental consequences of business, we must reconsider every aspect of finance, from investments to banking, trade to insurance, and risk. 109 conceptual definitions and meaning of digitalization (bayerischemotorenwerke, 2015) defines digitization as the total networking of all sectors of business and society, as well as the capacity to gather important information, evaluate it, and transform it into actions. change brings benefits and possibilities, but it also brings entirely new obstacles. "the dbt leadership challenge is about reenergizing firms that are currently successful in order to fully realize the promise of information technology across the whole supply chain." in addition, westerman, calméjane, bonnet, ferraris, and mcafee (2011) argue that dt the use of technology to dramatically increase the performance or reach of businesses is becoming a popular issue for businesses all around the world. executives in all sectors are utilizing digital innovations like analytics, mobility, social media, and smart embedded devices and enhancing their use of older technology such as erp to improve customer connections, internal processes, and value propositions. according to pwc (2013), dt represents the fundamental change of the whole corporate world through the introduction of new internet-based technologies with a fundamental influence on society as a whole. finally, bouée and schaible (2015) defined dt as the constant networking of all sectors of the economy as well as the adaptation of participants to the new realities of the digital economy. choices in networked systems comprise data sharing and analysis, option computation and assessment, action initiation, and the introduction of consequences. digitalization of business activities according to pricewaterhousecoopers (2013), over many years, the attitude toward business and its goals remained constant. it was a company idea in which consumers were offered goods or services for a charge, with the primary goal of earning money for the owners and investors. a substantial amount of money was spent on operations, including supplying goods or services to customers and paying employees. for the time being, neither the model nor the objectives of producing money (as the fundamental goal of any for-profit firm is to generate income) have changed substantially, but the way of doing business has. companies must adapt to the new conditions in order to catch up and win the market and avoid being in a tough scenario where they receive little or no response from clients while spending a lot of money on things like marketing activities (westerman et al., 2011). digitalization has resulted in a large-scale and quick transition across numerous aspects of the business, presenting both immense opportunities for growth and development as well as major dangers. according to business experts, the role of digital technology is rapidly evolving from a driver of marginal efficiency to a facilitator of fundamental innovation and disruption (world economic forum, 2016). with such a rapidly changing economy and world of digital technology, businesses must constantly modify their offerings to meet the rapidly increasing needs of digital clients (world economic forum, 2018). investing in cutting-edge digital technology is insufficient to turn a company into a digital one. the world economic forum (2016) and world economic forum (2019) make several recommendations for firms embarking on the digital transformation journey. during the digital transformation, businesses must identify and design a new digital model that is adapted to the company's needs, as well as suitable and efficient. businesses must also re-examine all aspects of their operations. because the digital company provides value to core firms, executives are always analyzing how consumers are treated and exploring ways to improve the process. many organizations are anxious, if not scared, about moving toward digitization because it includes a number of risks, including major revenue, share, capital, and reputation losses (mahmood, 2019). but it's important to remember that successful digital organizations aren't 110 afraid to take risks and are ready to do so. this is not to argue that these companies plan ahead, but it does imply that they examine the dangers they face. experimenting with new market offerings, propositions, products, or services is an excellent way to learn about the market, consumers, and their reactions and preferences. transitions are risky, but they are a wonderful way to learn what works in the market. the digital organization should continue to investigate and test in order to develop a solid and efficient strategy, and once that plan is developed, it should put all of its resources behind it to support it. targeting is a good thing, even if it is risky, and it is the strategy utilized by successful digital firms (mahmood, 2019). digital transformation the process of leveraging digital technology to develop new or adapt current company processes, culture, and customer experiences to satisfy changing business and market requirements is known as digital transformation. digital transformation is the redesigning of business in the digital era (peter et al., 2020). digital transformation enables a business to stay up with changing client needs and, as a result, to thrive in the future. it enables businesses to compete more effectively in an economic environment that is continually changing as a result of technological advancements. digital transformation provides a tremendous opportunity for fundamental company departments like as finance and human resources to transition away from manual procedures and automate essential areas such as payroll, allowing executives to focus on larger business prospects (hilali et al., 2020). a digital enterprise is a company that uses technology to continually change all parts of its business models (what it offers, how it interacts with consumers, and how it runs). while each digital transformation program will have its unique set of objectives, the overall goal of any digital transformation is to enhance your existing processes. companies must develop in order to remain competitive in their business, which necessitates digital transformation (vial, 2019). digital transformation is much more than simply disruption and technology. it's about value, people, optimization, and the capacity to quickly react when necessary through the clever application of technology and information. the profound transformation of business and organizational activities, processes, competencies, and models to fully leverage the changes and opportunities of a mix of digital technologies and their accelerating impact across society in a strategic and prioritized manner, with present and future shifts in mind, is referred to as digital transformation (garzoni et al., 2020). as a result, companies in almost every industry have launched a range of projects in recent years to research new digital technologies and capitalize on their benefits. this usually involves modifications to core corporate operations and has an influence on items, processes, organizational structures, and management philosophies. businesses must establish management methods to deal with these complex transitions. formulating a digital transformation plan, which serves as a central concept for integrating the whole coordination, prioritization, and execution of digital changes inside an organization, is a critical method. new generation technology a new-generation digital technology platform, according to nadeem (2018), is a symbiotic collection of technical capabilities and components that provide an interoperable set of services that can be combined to develop applications and services. this is significant because many firms are already investing in this area, and investment will rise as they quickly understand that digital technology platforms provide the fundamental building blocks for, and are a crucial facilitator of, digital business. the platform perspective provides a technological 111 anchor model to drive technology vision while decreasing complexity and redundancy (nadeem, 2018). next-generation technologies are technical advancements that demonstrate continual progress in an area for competitive advantage. converging technologies reflect formerly different sectors that are evolving toward greater interconnectedness and common aims. according to alli, aina, and ganiyu (2021), "artificial intelligence" (ai) is intelligence displayed by computers or comparable software. it is also the name of an academic subject that explores how to develop computer systems and software capable of displaying intelligent behaviour. prominent artificial intelligence researchers describe ai as "the study and creation of intelligent agents," where "intelligent agents" are systems that are active in understanding their surroundings and adopting behaviours that maximize their chances of success. it is also known as "the engineering and science of creating intelligent machines" (alli, aina, and ganiyu, 2020). digital accounting the development, representation, and transmission of financial information in an electronic format are referred to as "digital accounting." all accounting transactions are now done electronically rather than on paper. on the other hand, it values and empowers accountants by making their work more efficient. the creation, representation, and transfer of financial data in an electronic format is referred to as digital accounting. the financial business has been changed by computers and accounting software. advances in technology have improved the accountant's capacity to evaluate and report data faster, more quickly, and more effectively than ever before (troshani et al., 2019). with the present digital economy, digital accounting entails conducting all accounting activities in an electronic environment. it may help businesses accomplish functional activities more rapidly and precisely, as well as evaluate and report data and information more quickly, efficiently, and effectively. companies that use digital accounting successfully may receive accurate information to make key choices and modernize accounting systems to accommodate larger operations. users may follow outcomes and data by signing in to the system from anywhere and at any time to remotely access enterprises' financial data and information. they may also use digital accounting to accomplish success, survival, and sustainability in corporate operations, both directly and indirectly. as a result, digital accounting is regarded as a vital business strategy for assisting organizations in providing excellent financial reporting, creating accounting information usability, and enhancing strategic decision effectiveness. financial reporting quality refers to reports that are more full, impartial, and error-free and that give more helpful predictive or confirmatory information about a company's underlying economic condition, events, and performance (shuraki et al., 2021). sustainability theory the sustainability theory was employed for this study; it was developed by john elkington, the founder of a sustainability consulting organization. the statement suggests that firms should evaluate three separate bottom lines in their operations rather than just the profit and loss account, as was common at the time (and still is in many organizations today). the discussion of sustainability in academia has taken numerous forms. economic researchers have described the notion of no falling per capita income flows over time or long-term economic development with minimum environmental consequences and have argued how to 112 preserve the capital endowments required to sustain such revenue flows. the debate over the substitutability of natural and human-made capital has split supporters of weak and strong sustainability: the former claim that the two forms of capital are generally interchangeable, while the latter contend that natural capital is becoming increasingly limited. moreover, ecosystem services such as clean water availability or crop pollination are frequently neglected features of natural capital that should be included in economic debates about sustainability. the long-term survival of a community, a group of social institutions, or a cultural practice in general, sustainability is defined as a type of intergenerational ethics in which present-day environmental and economic behaviours do not reduce future generations' possibilities to experience equivalent levels of wealth, utility, or welfare. the concept of sustainability gained prominence with the modern environmental movement, which criticized the unsustainable nature of contemporary civilizations in which patterns of resource use, expansion, and consumerism jeopardized the integrity of ecosystems and the well-being of future generations. sustainability is shown as a viable alternative to short-term, short-sighted, and wasteful behaviour. it can serve as a benchmark against which current institutions can be measured, as well as a goal toward which society should strive. sustainability also entails questioning current modalities of social organization to identify the extent to which they support damaging habits, as well as a concerted attempt to modify the status quo in order to foster the growth of more sustainable activities. transformational leadership theory transformational leadership was coined by james v. downton and improved by leadership expert james macgregor burns in 2004. according to burns, transformational leadership happens when "leaders and followers assist one another in evolving to a higher degree of morality and motivation." based on burns' early views, professor bernard m. bass later created what is now known as bass' transformational leadership theory. according to bass, transformational leadership is defined by its influence on followers, which includes elements such as moral standards, authenticity, harmony, and convincing arguments. while they are still crucial traits and actions of a transformative leader, they are insufficient in today's world, when many individuals are unclear what to do in the face of digital instability. this is demonstrated by the increasing death rate of business titans such as nokia, toys "r" us, and sears, among others. these executives, who were present at the inception of transformative leadership, argued that they had done nothing wrong but that they had lost. vision, inspiration, and desire, among other "softer" qualities of revolutionary leadership, are sadly absent. making sense of what is happening in the environment, developing digital transformation strategies for sustainability and growth, innovating the business model, a bias for relentless and well-integrated execution, and a drive for change in organizational culture are the new facets of transformational leadership in the digital age. 113 conceptual framework authors computation, 2022 methodology the study employed a descriptive research approach, which will include research questions and hypotheses. this design strategy is generally used when it is difficult to control the experience, exposure, or repercussions that participants may have. this is acceptable since it permits the researcher to report what is happening as it occurs. the study's target population consists of nigerian insurance businesses that have been officially registered by the national insurance commission (naicom) and the corporate affairs commission (cac) and are completely recapitalized. the reason for selecting these organizations is that they are wellknown insurance companies in the market, and their personnel have embraced digitization in their regular business operations. purposive sampling was used in the study because it focuses on informants or respondents who are important and relevant to the inquiry. purposive sampling is excellent since not all individuals in the population are relevant and have information on the study questions and objectives. purposive sampling, also known as judgmental sampling, is the deliberate selection of informants or respondents based on the features or qualities they possess. it is also a nonrandom strategy that does not need underlying ideas or a predetermined number of informants (bernard, 2002; lewis & sheppard, 2006). because of their relevance to the study's aim, copies of the questionnaire were provided to personnel working in the information and communication technology (ict) sections of all 58 insurance firms in nigeria for the purpose of this study. the copies of the questionnaire were distributed by members of the ict and cyber security committee, who represented each firm at the nigeria insurers association (nia), which is the umbrella organization for all insurance companies licensed and operating in nigeria. the study's sample size was 350 personnel from the ict and cyber security units of all completely digitalized insurance offices in nigeria. copies of the questionnaire will be distributed by members representing each company on the nia's ict and cyber security committee, which serves as the umbrella body. the research questionnaire was chosen as the primary instrument by the researcher. the questionnaire is divided into four (4) sections: the questionnaire was designed using the 5-point likert scale (strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree). the questionnaire was divided into four sections: section a was used to collect demographic information from respondents, while section b included six questions evaluating next generation technology and digital accounting. to determine the extent to which the survey instruments met their objectives, the content validity technique of cross-examination and sustainability of insurance business sustainability of insurance business digital transformation new generation technology platform digital accounting tools digital transformation strategy 114 verification was used. each section of the questionnaire was examined for ambiguity and relevance before calculating a reliability coefficient. table 1: reliabilty test table for variables variables cronbach’s alpha (a) number of items remark average new generation technology platform 0.711 6 high reliability average digital accounting tools 0.756 6 high reliability average sustainability of insurance 0.810 6 high reliability source: author’s computation, 2022. to examine demographic parameters such as age, gender, educational attainment, length of work, and the research goals, simple percentage distributions and frequency counts was used. in contrast, the study hypothesis was evaluated using the regression analysis. results and discussion the table below were used to present the results drawn from each of the questions administered. table 2: response rate response rate frequency percentage returned 333 95.1% unreturned 17 4.9% total 350 100% source: author’s computation, 2022 a total of 350 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to each of the insurance companies' respondents, but coincidentally, 333 copies were returned by the respondents and used for computation, while 17 of the remaining questionnaires were either not returned, or were incomplete and not suitable for analysis. this equated to an overall response rate of 95.1%. according to babbie (2004), return rates of 50% are acceptable for analysis and publication, 60% is good, and 70% or more is excellent. 115 table 3: frequency distribution of the respondents’ demographic characteristics (n=333) variables category frequency percentage cummulative % gender male 228 68.5 68.5 female 105 31.5 100 age below 20 16 5 5 21-30 80 24 29 31-40 164 49 78 41-50 60 18 96 50 and above 13 4 100 marital status single 70 21 21 married 216 65 86 divorced 12 4 90 widowed 25 7 97 separated 10 3 100 education nce/nd 32 10 10 hnd/bsc 198 59 69 mba/msc 100 30 99 phd 3 1 100 work experience 1-5years 55 17 17 5-10years 90 27 44 10-15years 85 26 70 15-20years 66 19 89 above 20years 37 11 100 managerial level junior level staff 92 28 28 middle level staff 184 55 83 senior level staff 55 17 100 source: author’s computation, 2022 according to the results shown in table 3, 333 people from all insurance companies responded to the questionnaire. this represents 91.5% of the total sample size. going by this response rate, the result presented in table 2 above shows that the respondents who responded to the questionnaire were 333 in all the insurance companies. this represents 91.5% of the total sample size. going by this response rate, 68.5% of the respondents are male, while 31.5% are female. this result implies that male respondents demonstrated a more significant response in both assurance companies than their female counterparts. going by the age group of respondents, as presented in the above table, the result shows that 5% of the 116 respondents are below the age of 20, while 21–30 represent 24% of the respondents, 31–40 represent 49%, 41–50 represent 18%, and 50 years and older represent 4%. by implication, it means that the majority of the respondents to this study are mature and vibrant. also, going by the marital status of the respondents, 21% of the respondents are single, while 65% are married. also, 4% of the respondents are divorced, while 7% are widowed, and 3% are actually separated. by implication, it means that the majority of the respondents are married. in terms of education, nce/nd holders account for 10% of respondents, while 59% have hnd/bsc qualifications, 30% have mba/msc qualifications, and 1% have phd qualifications. by implication, it means that the majority of the respondents hold an hnd or bsc degree. for work experience, 17% of the respondents have been working between 1–5 years, while 27%, which represents 90% of the respondents, have been working between 5– 10 years. also, 26% have been working between 10 and 15 years, 19% have been working between 15 and 20 years, and 11% have over 20 years of experience. by implication, it means that the majority of the respondents have been working for between 5 and 10 years and have enough experience to answer the question. lastly, for the managerial level of the respondents, 28% are junior-level staff, while 55% are middle-level staff, and 17% are senior-level staff. by implication, the majority of the respondents are middle-level staff. hypothesis testing h01: new generation technology platform as a digital transformation strategy does not have an impact on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria y=α0+β1x1+e……………………(1) where: y = new generation technology platform (ngtp) α0 = autonomous β1 =slope of a line x1 = digital transformation strategy e = error a simple linear regression model was used to forecast the sustainability of insurance businesses in nigeria (dependent variable) using a digital transformation approach utilizing a next-generation technology platform (independent variable). according to the first table (model summary), the independent variable has a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.481, accounting for 48.1% of the variation in the dependent variable that is explained by the independent variable. model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .694a .481 .479 2.41691 a. predictors: (constant), ngtp 117 anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 1326.741 1 1326.741 227.125 .000b residual 1431.154 245 5.841 total 2757.895 246 a. dependent variable: sustainability b. predictors: (constant), ngtp the second table (anova) reveals that the analysis of variance for the linear regression data yielded an f-ratio value of 227.125, which is statistically significant because the significance threshold is smaller than p 0.05. this means the regression model is statistically significant, legitimate, and well-fitting. according to the valid regression model, the independent variable (next generation technology platform) has a positive and significant connection with the dependent variable (sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria). coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 6.855 1.165 5.882 .000 ngtp .700 .046 .694 15.071 .000 a. dependent variable: sustainability the third table (coefficient) indicates that the independent variable (i.e. new generation technology platform) contribute positively and statistically to sustainability of insurance companies at p≤0.05. h02: digital accounting tools as a digital transformation strategy does not have an impact on the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria y=α0+β1x1+e……………………(1) where: y = digital accounting tools (dat) α0 = autonomous β1 =slope of a line x1 = digital transformation strategy e = error 118 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .948a .900 .899 2.62709 a. predictors: (constant), dat to predict the sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria (the dependent variable) from digital accounting tools (the independent variable), a simple linear regression was run. the first table (model summary) indicates that the independent variable yielded a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.948, accounting for 94.8% of the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is explained by the independent variable. anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 20106.888 1 20106.888 2913.358 .000b residual 2243.027 325 6.902 total 22349.914 326 a. dependent variable: sustainability b. predictors: (constant), dat the anova table shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced an f-ratio value of 2913.358, which is statistically significant because the significance level is =.000, which is less than p <0.05. this implies that the regression model is statistically significant, valid, and fitting. the valid regression model implies that the independent variable (digital accounting tools) is showing a positive and significant relationship with the dependent variable (sustainability of insurance companies in nigeria). coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) -1.651 .528 -3.126 .002 dat .334 .006 .948 53.976 .000 a. dependent variable: sustainability the third table (coefficient) indicates that the independent variable (i.e. digital accounting tools) contribute positively and statistically to sustainability of insurance companies at p≤0.05. 119 conclusion and recommendations the anova shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced an f-ratio value of 227.125, which is statistically significant because the significance level is =.000, which is less than p≤0.05. this means the regression model is statistically significant, legitimate, and well-fitting. the next generation technology platform has a favourable and significant relationship with the sustainability of insurance firms in nigeria, according to the valid regression model. the quest for next-generation technology has also led to many organizations seeking to organize their technological investments. since organizations only used their digital capabilities on occasion in the past, it was easy for redundancies or gaps in services to be missed by both employees and company executives. the pandemic's dependence on technology, on the other hand, has prompted individuals to reconsider their technology investments and how they align with what they need to properly manage a digitally focused organization. insurance companies carefully analysed the software and capabilities they needed to invest in, then determined if there were any overlapping costs and investments or capability redundancies. during and after the epidemic, companies had to assess why they had invested in several technologies to determine whether there was a justification for the various platforms and seek for methods to eliminate redundancy while ensuring that the goals of the various departments were satisfied. conferencing software, project hosting platforms, monitoring tools to monitor client experiences, and other critical kinds of software were chosen for their capacity to provide a unique experience that allows the companies to function with as little confusion and disruption as possible. the anova table shows the analysis of variance for the linear regression data produced an f-ratio value of 2913.358, which is statistically significant because the significance level is =0.000, which is less than p≤0.05. this means the regression model is statistically significant, legitimate, and well-fitting. according to the valid regression model, digital accounting tools has a positive and significant relationship with the long-term viability of insurance companies in nigeria. as customers have increasingly requested contactless services, companies have seen a significant push toward automation, which has improved their capacity to provide this experience for customers. the fewer operations that must be handled directly by staff, the easier it is for companies to deliver great, safe client experiences. automation has enormous promise for companies, assisting in the management of anything from inventories to email subscriber lists. while many organizations have already begun to appreciate the value of automation in operating their businesses, this epidemic has caused a rising number of enterprises to adjust their outlook and understand the power that this technology can contribute to them. this tendency has grown especially widespread in industrial organizations, since the benefits of automation in terms of decreasing the number of humans working in close quarters while simultaneously reducing the number of people required to make a certain product have been enormous. before the pandemic, many businesses saw technology as a way to save money and eliminate waste. since accounts can be computed in minutes, data can be examined, and emails can be automatically sent when triggered, for example, accounting teams, sales teams, and marketing teams may focus on other activities that automation and technology cannot handle. digital accounting software also provides organizations with fantastic solutions and the opportunity to develop and get to the forefront of their market through timely account preparations for various stakeholders. prior to the 120 pandemic, one of the top three digital aspirations for organizations was to use technology to cut expenses. nevertheless, as the epidemic expanded and businesses began to realize the numerous benefits of technology, just 10% indicated this as a primary cause for the shutdowns after they began. instead, more organizations said that upgrading their accounting capabilities led to acquiring an accounting reporting edge and that developing a corporate culture centred on digital technology outweighed concerns regarding cost and time savings. when digital accounting technology is implemented correctly, it provides significant opportunity for companies to innovate and evolve in their capacity to engage stakeholders, meet their demands, and go ahead in a new way. organizations have begun to comprehend and adopt this approach as they have begun to embrace the potential given by this technology. recommendations based on the findings of the study and the conclusions made, the following recommendations were made: 1. nigerian insurance companies should invest in new generation technology and digital accounting tools to enhance their financial reporting systems and improve their operational efficiency. 2. insurance companies should consider implementing cloud-based accounting systems, which can offer benefits such as real-time data access, enhanced data security, and reduced costs. 3. there should be a focus on training and up skilling the workforce to use these new technologies effectively. training programs should be designed to ensure that all staff members understand how to use the new systems. 4. insurance companies should collaborate with technology firms and industry experts to identify the best digital solutions that can help them achieve their digital transformation goals. 5. regulatory bodies and policymakers should support the adoption of new technologies in the insurance industry by providing incentives for companies that invest in digital transformation. 6. insurance companies should endeavour to create a solid digital team that will be responsible for setting and managing digital technologies and providing oversight to support quality assurance and critical digital decision making. 7. endeavour to align the leadership and executive teams in charge of digitalization with organizational objectives to avoid misfire of corporate objectives. 121 references aggarwal, p. 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[available at www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_future_of_jobs_2018. world economic forum, (2019). strategies for the new economy skills as the currency of the labour market. available at: www3.weforum.org/docs/wef_2019_strategies_for_the_new_economy_skills.pdf yusuf, t.o., ajemunigbohun, s.s., & alli, n.g (2017). a critical review of insurance claims management: a study of selected insurance companies in nigeria. spoudai-journal of economics and business university of piraeus, 67(2), 69-84 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-technology-platforms-next-generation-workspaces-nadeem-ahmad/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/digital-technology-platforms-next-generation-workspaces-nadeem-ahmad/ page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 65 community based-approach to security: the quest for community policing and nigerian state police in gombe state usman bappi1 abdulkadir ibrahim2 abdulkadir abubakar jamari3 lydia yakubu4 department of public administration, gombe state university, nigeria1-4 usmanbappi@gmail.com abstract the role of the public in community policing cannot be over emphasized. every definition of community policing shares the idea that the police and the community must work together to define and develop solutions to problems. the public must assist in one way or the other to maintain law and order in the society. this study assesses the effectiveness of community policing in gombe local government area, focusing on its impact on crime reduction, public trust, and security management. a total of 250 respondents participated in the study, including 200 community residents, 30 law enforcement officers, and 20 community leaders. the research employed a mixed-method approach, utilizing structured questionnaires for residents and interviews with law enforcement officials and community leaders. the findings indicate that while community policing would lead to a reduction in crime rates and improved public safety, its implementation faces several challenges. these include inadequate funding, lack of manpower, insufficient training for officers, and weak communication between the police and the community. public trust in the police remains a significant issue, as some community member’s express skepticism due to past experiences of police misconduct and unfulfilled promises. to strengthen the effectiveness of community policing, the study recommends increased government funding, capacitybuilding programs for officers, structured community partnerships, and the integration of technology in crime prevention efforts. by addressing these challenges, community policing can be more effective in fostering public safety, reducing crime, and building stronger police-community relations in gombe local government area. keywords: security, community, policing, state police, community policing. introduction community policing has emerged as a globally embraced strategy for enhancing public safety and fostering trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. originating in the mid-20th century in western democracies like the united states and the united kingdom, it emphasizes collaboration, problem-solving, and proactive engagement (eck & rosenbaum, 1994). in africa, community policing gained prominence as a tool to address rising insecurity and bridge the gap between citizens and often under-resourced police forces (brogden, 2004). in nigeria, the concept has been championed as a means to tackle pervasive security challenges, including crime, terrorism, and communal conflicts. calls for a nigerian state police structure have intensified, rooted in the belief that decentralized policing can better address local security needs, particularly in areas like gombe local government, which faces unique security dynamics. community policing is defined as a strategy that fosters collaboration between law enforcement and the community to proactively address issues of crime and disorder, with an emphasis on prevention and mutual trust (trojanowicz & bucqueroux, 2017). according to skogan (2006), community policing is a philosophy of policing that shifts focus from reactive responses to crime towards building partnerships with community members to identify and address the root causes of crime. bayley (2020) describes community policing as a decentralized approach to law enforcement, emphasizing community input in decision-making mailto:usmanbappi@gmail.com 66 processes to enhance safety and security. greene and mastrofski (2019) view community policing as an organizational transformation that integrates collaborative problem-solving and community partnership as fundamental principles of policing. cordner (2018) defines community policing as a policing paradigm that prioritizes citizen engagement, accountability, and problem-solving as the cornerstones of law enforcement practices. on the other hand, state police refers to a policing structure where law enforcement responsibilities are decentralized and placed under the control of individual state governments, allowing for locally tailored crime prevention strategies (ojo, 2020). according to alemika (2018), state police is an autonomous policing system controlled by sub-national entities, which contrasts with centralized national police systems. walker and katz (2019) define state police as a law enforcement agency operating at the sub-national level, with powers to enforce laws and maintain public order within a specific jurisdiction. igbinovia (2020) emphasizes that state police enable local governments to have control over security apparatus, providing swift responses to local security concerns. okechukwu and ajah (2021) view state police as an alternative policing framework designed to address regional security challenges, fostering closer collaboration between local law enforcement and the community. community policing and the establishment of state police are intricately linked in their pursuit of localized, citizen-cantered approaches to crime prevention and public safety. while community policing emphasizes partnership and collaboration at the grassroots level, state police serve as an institutional framework that can potentially enhance the effectiveness of community policing by providing autonomy and resources tailored to local security needs. both concepts advocate for a shift away from the traditionally centralized policing model in nigeria, aiming to address specific security challenges unique to different regions. in gombe state, community policing efforts have gained traction through initiatives aimed at improving public trust and fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies and local communities. however, the lack of a decentralized state police system poses challenges to fully implementing these efforts. the centralized nigerian police force often struggles to address localized security concerns effectively due to resource constraints and bureaucratic inefficiencies (cleen foundation, 2020). calls for state police have intensified in response to increasing security threats, including communal conflicts and rising criminal activities, underscoring the urgency of integrating community policing into a state-level policing framework tailored to gombe's unique security landscape. therefore, this study examines the intersection of community policing and the quest for state police in nigeria, focusing on gombe local government as a case study. statement of the problem the persistent insecurity in nigeria highlights the challenges of a centralized policing system, which struggles to address localized security needs effectively. in gombe local government, increasing incidents of banditry, vandalism, assault, burglary, lack of cooperation, lack of trust from community, and communal clashes have exposed the limitations of the national police force. the over-centralized structure often results in delayed responses and poor contextual understanding of local dynamics, leaving communities vulnerable to escalating threats. this has led to widespread calls for a more decentralized approach, including the adoption of state policing, to enhance security at the grassroots level (cleen foundation, 2020; daily trust, 2024). community policing, introduced as a strategy to mitigate these challenges, has encountered several barriers to effective implementation. in gombe, the lack of adequate funding, limited training for personnel and insufficient public awareness undermine the potential of community 67 policing initiatives. moreover, community leaders and traditional rulers, crucial players in the success of such programs, often lack the resources and institutional support needed to mobilize and sustain localized security efforts. these challenges have left a gap in the region's ability to respond promptly and effectively to security threats (national bureau of statistics, 2023; daily post, 2024). the ongoing debate over the establishment of state police further complicates the situation. while advocates argue that state police would offer a tailored response to the unique security challenges of each state, critics warn of potential abuses, including political interference and the risk of misuse by state governments. this lack of consensus has left regions like gombe reliant on a struggling national police force while exploring community policing as an interim measure. the absence of a clear framework to balance these approaches exacerbates the insecurity faced by local communities (punch newspaper, 2024; cleen foundation, 2020). this study seeks to address these challenges by examining the interplay between community policing and the quest for state police in gombe state. it aims to assess the limitations of the current centralized policing model and explore how community policing initiatives can be strengthened to address immediate security concerns. by evaluating the potential impact of state police within the local context, this research contributes to the discourse on nigeria's security architecture and provides actionable recommendations to enhance peace and stability in gombe local government (daily trust, 2024; national assembly report, 2024). in order to achieve the objectives of the study, the following research questions were raised: how does community policing impact security challenges in gombe state? what are the barriers to effective implementation of community policing in gombe state? what role could state police play in addressing localized security issues? conceptual review: a. concept of security security is the opposite of insecurity. insecurity is a situation where there is disorderliness and crisis in a community. it is a time when there is no mutual cohesion and brotherly understanding within the community. security in the other is a situation where there is constant mutual understanding, or when the community is free of crisis. the concept of security has for decades remained an indelible and contentious issue among researchers and scholars. in nigeria as a state, security has remained a daily discussion and a solution towards insecurity has been an hourly task of the personnel’s. nevertheless, recently the campaign banners of both the president and governorship contestants have remained provision of insecurity for the citizens of the country. so, the consensus is that security is a fundamental duty of the state which it must provide in order to full the social contract it has with the citizens while at the same time securing its sovereignty, territory, lives, and properties from any form of internal or external threats. according to stan (2004), security entails measures incorporated to reduce, circumvent or resolve violent conflict as well as threats that emanate from either the states, nonstate actors, social-political or economic situations. this portrays how comprehensive and important security is. first, threats emanating from the states constitute external security challenges, while threats from unresolved internal contradictions within a given state, and non-state actors, among others, and constitute internal security challenges. however, heath (2022) states that security is a site of continuing struggle in the international system between competing approaches to identifying and responding to urgent threats. these threats can also be economically, socially or politically motivated within a country for the interest of an external force. this entails catching the interest of the people. the moment, at which the interest of the community is protected, it means a restoration of security. in his idea, achumba et al. (2013) 68 averred that insecurity depicts being open or susceptible to threat or danger. this implies the absence of security. so, insecurity portrays the state of being exposed to threats that, if not curtailed, will bring a threat to lives and properties of the citizens. according to bodunde et al. (2014), internal security entails freedom from an internal threat capable of undermining a country’s internal cohesion, orderliness, and corporate existence. also, perterside (2014) argued that internal security consists of the actions and measures by domestic security agents/personnel such as the police, customs services, and similar paramilitary agencies aimed at curtailing the country’s internal threats. these threats include riots, demonstrations, communal clashes, youth restiveness, terrorism, kidnapping/abduction, banditry, and unknown gun men etc. which constitutionally do not fall under the purview of the military. b. concept of community policing community policing is based on the principle that effective policing relies on the active involvement and cooperation of the community. it shifts the focus from reactive to proactive strategies, where police officers work alongside community members to identify problems and develop solutions together. unlike traditional policing, which often revolves around a topdown approach where police officers enforce laws with limited community involvement, community policing encourages open communication, mutual respect, and shared responsibility for crime prevention wilson and kelling (2012) define community policing as a strategy focused on building a strong relationship between the police and the community. they argue that police should become part of the community, addressing both criminal issues and social disorder through collaborative problem-solving. skogan (2017) emphasizes community policing as a decentralized, problem-solving approach where police engage with local residents to identify crime patterns and social issues. this model seeks to empower communities by involving them in the decision-making processes that affect their safety trojanowicz and bucqueroux (1990) describe community policing as an approach that encourages police officers to work closely with residents to solve neighborhood problems. their model shifts focus from reactive crime response to proactive prevention and collaboration with the public. goldstein (2016) defines community policing as a philosophy that aims to prevent crime by addressing its root causes. he stresses the importance of police officers interacting with the community, understanding local concerns, and implementing strategies that enhance public safety and quality of life. bayley (2020) describes it as a policing model in which police work closely with communities to design and implement strategies aimed at reducing crime. he highlights the decentralization of authority and decision-making, allowing local officers to address unique neighborhood needs mastrofski (2019) argues that community policing involves a shift in how police view their role. rather than focusing solely on enforcement, officers engage directly with residents to address social issues, promoting community involvement in the safety and well-being of the neighborhood (mastrofski,1999) cordner (2014) defines community policing as an approach where the police work as partners with the community to address public safety concerns. this model emphasizes building trust, fostering communication, and developing proactive strategies that focus on crime prevention rather than merely reacting to incidents. friedmann (1992) outlines community policing as a model that decentralizes decision-making and empowers local officers to interact with community members in order to foster shared responsibility for safety. it is a strategy that promotes police accountability and community-driven priorities. chappell (2009) describes community policing as a law enforcement strategy where the police adopt a more visible and accessible presence within communities. officers are encouraged to work collaboratively with residents to identify local problems and work together on solutions, ensuring crime prevention and community improvement. pate (2015) defines community policing as a collaborative effort 69 between law enforcement agencies and the public. he emphasizes that this strategy involves police officers being actively involved in the community and working alongside citizens to develop tailored solutions to local safety issues. c. police and traditional security outfit relationship in gombe there are many arms-bearing groups in nigeria, most of which transformed into various militia groups with ethnic undertones. in the wake of rising crime rates in most parts of the country and the seeming inability of the formal police to arrest the situation, the local vigilante groups comprising mostly members of ethnic militias came to the rescue of most nigerian communities. in the north eastern parts of nigeria, gombe in particular the local vigilante groups (yan banga), which has been in existence since before the british rule in nigeria and up till now considered by many as a local and notable security outfit. members of the yan banga group, being entrenched in their ancestral tradition, are widely acknowledged to master magical techniques of defense, attack or divination warranted by oath taking ceremonies of new recruits. this singular characteristic grants them a substantial comparative advantage in security and crime fighting activities. additionally, yan banga‟s services are more affordable than those of formal private security outfits. also, there is the local hunters group (maharba) which is part and parcel of the hausa/fulani traditional administrative system since before the colonial period and these maharba or local hunters have been very crucial in fighting terror group and or high robbers who are feared because of their magic and evil powers. in 2012, the governor of gombe state, alhaji ibrahim hassan dankwambo introduced the youth rehabilitation and empowerment programme (yrep) which recruits almost 1,200 youth as marshals to assist in security, traffic and environmental management in the state. these youth passed out in may 2012, after three weeks of drills and training in combat and anti-crime fight among other things, in the year 2013 another set of marshals of well over 1500 were recruited as the service of the marshals are required in different parts of the state. in a significant move to bolster security, the gombe state house of assembly has adopted a recommendation from governor alhaji muhammadu inuwa yahaya to include local security outfits in the states amended security, traffic and environmental commission (gostec) law, enacted in september 2024. in other parts of nigeria, the egbesu boys, odu‟a people’s congress (opc), the bakassi boys, the niger delta liberation force, the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend), and several other groups were formed with the initial aim of protesting the environmental degradation as well as economic and political marginalization taking place in that area. most of these groups were at various points in time engaged by their respective state governments to assist in the security of lives and property in the area. in fact, at a point in time, lagos, oyo, and some other state governments publicly requested for their assistance in fighting crime. the general perception is that the police are corrupt, inefficient, ill-equipped and unreliable while the militias are incorruptible and efficient. in june 2001, the governor of lagos state then, now nigerian president, bola ahmed tinubu, publicly announced his willingness to invite the opc to assist the state to combat criminals who seemed to have overwhelmed the police in lagos state (babawale, 2001). likewise in anambra state the state house of assembly enacted the anambra vigilance services act in 2001. the relationship between the police and the marshals was smooth as gombe state government attached most of the marshals under the watch of police i.e., the ward/security marshal were attached to the police (securities) and traffic marshals were attached to the motor traffic division (mtd) unit of the police. with this strategy the possibility of having any clash 70 between the marshal and the police in the course of discharging their function was eliminated or minimized as their function was to assist the police in discharging their duties. however, in some parts of the country, there have been frequent clashes between the police and other militia groups. basically, the operation and constitution of most of those groups put them in confrontation with the police. besides the crude means of crime detection used by these groups, the instant judgment meted out to their victims also pitches them against the police who are to ensure the maintenance of law and order and enforce the human rights of all citizens irrespective of their offences. most of the literature on community policing ignore, or rather under estimate, the importance of these groups in crime detection and enforcement. this may be explained by the fact that the uk whose model of community policing nigeria is trying to adopt does not have such challenge of ethnic militias. this is a major area which must be looked into if the project of community policing is to survive in nigeria. the conflict of interests between the police and the various groups must be well addressed and put in the right perspective. theoretical framework this study adopts social control theory. social control theory was developed by travis hirschi in 1969. hirschi, a prominent american sociologist, sought to explain why people conform to social norms and laws. his theory posits that strong social bonds between individuals and society prevent deviant behavior. according to hirschi, individuals are less likely to engage in criminal activity when they feel emotionally attached to their community, are committed to societal goals, and have positive interactions with others. the theory emerged in the context of criminological studies and challenged earlier theories that focused on the causes of crime by shifting attention to the mechanisms of social control that prevent criminal behavior (hirschi, 1969). social control theory contributes to the concept of community policing by highlighting the importance of community bonds in maintaining social order and preventing crime. in community policing, the focus is on building trust between the police and the community, ensuring that local citizens feel responsible for their own safety and the safety of their neighbors. the theory’s emphasis on social bonds aligns with the objectives of community policing, which is built on the premise that collaborative relationships between police and residents can reduce crime by strengthening these communal ties (hirschi, 1969). community policing strategies, such as neighborhood patrols, community meetings, and problem-solving initiatives, aim to create strong bonds and a shared responsibility for maintaining order, which directly ties into the assumptions of social control theory. the theory assumes that: i. the stronger the bond to society, the less likely an individual is to engage in criminal behavior: hirschi's theory assumes that individuals who have strong relationships with family, peers, and institutions such as schools and churches are less likely to commit crimes because they do not want to jeopardize these important connections (hirschi, 1969). ii. conformity to social norms is driven by social ties: the theory assumes that the desire to conform to societal expectations is influenced by emotional and social bonds, suggesting that individuals are more likely to follow the law when they feel connected to their community (hirschi, 1969). iii. crime arises from weak social bonds: the theory further assumes that the breakdown of social bonds leads to crime. this could be due to factors like family breakdown, lack of educational achievement, or absence of community involvement, which can diminish the individual's attachment to society's values (hirschi, 1969). social control theory was criticized on the ground that: 71 i. overemphasis on conformity: one of the main criticisms of social control theory is its overemphasis on conformity. critics argue that the theory does not adequately explain why individuals who have strong social bonds may still engage in criminal behavior, as it does not consider the impact of other factors such as economic inequality or societal pressures (sampson & laub, 1993). ii. neglect of structural inequalities: critics also point out that social control theory fails to account for the influence of structural inequalities in society, such as poverty or systemic discrimination, which may lead individuals to engage in deviant behavior despite strong social bonds (wilson, 1995). the theory is seen as too individualistic and does not address the broader societal context that influences criminal behavior. iii. limited scope of application: some scholars argue that the theory may not be applicable in all cultural or social contexts, especially in societies where social bonds are weak or non-existent, or in situations where crime is part of the social fabric (gottfredson & hirschi, 1990). social control theory is highly relevant to the study as it emphasizes the importance of social bonds in preventing crime, a core element of community policing. in gombe state, community policing seeks to strengthen the relationship between the police and local communities, which aligns with hirschi’s theory that individuals are less likely to engage in criminal behavior when they are emotionally attached to their communities. by focusing on building trust, encouraging collaboration, and empowering local communities, the theory supports the premise that enhanced community-police relations can reduce crime and improve public safety in gombe local government. moreover, understanding the role of social control mechanisms in crime prevention can guide the development of effective state police systems that foster community cooperation and social order in the region (mbah, 2019). this theory provides a framework for examining how community policing can create a safer environment and build the necessary social cohesion that is essential for a functional state police force. methodology the research design for this study was survey research design. data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. the primary source of data was collected using questionnaire. the population for this study consists of 850 participants, including 801 police officers stationed at the police headquarters in gombe, representing the core of law enforcement in the area. additionally, the study includes 44 community leaders, with 4 leaders selected from each of the 11 wards in gombe local government area, providing a broad community perspective on the impact and effectiveness of community policing. the study also incorporates 4 divisional police outposts (dpos) to ensure representation from different divisions, as well as 1 in-charge office from the area command, offering insights from the command level of law enforcement. this diverse sample is intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of the implementation and effectiveness of community policing within gombe local government. sample size of 304 respondents was selected using slovin’s (1973) sampling technique. data collected was analyze using table and simple percentage. data presentation and analysis the total of 332 questionnaires was administered, 280 were returned, accounting for 88.9% of the total. conversely, 37 questionnaires were not returned, representing 11.1% of the total. this indicates a high response rate, with the majority of respondents actively participating in the survey. 72 table 1: respondents opinion on whether the introduction of community policing would lead to a reduction in crime rates in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 20 7% disagree 10 3% undecided 40 15% agree 75 25% strongly agree 150 50% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.7 reveals a predominantly positive view of the impact of community policing on crime reduction in gombe local government, with 75% of respondents either agreeing (25%) or strongly agreeing (50%) that it has led to a decrease in crime rates. however, a small minority (10%) disagrees, with 7% strongly disagreeing and 3% disagreeing, indicating some skepticism about the effectiveness of the initiative. additionally, 15% of respondents are undecided, suggesting a need for further engagement or information to clarify the perceived benefits of community policing. overall, the introduction of community policing appears to be largely viewed as successful in reducing crime, though there are areas that may require further investigation or communication. table 2: respondents opinion on whether community policing would lead to improved the relationship between the police and the local community, contributing to better security in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 05 2% disagree 15 5% undecided 20 6% agree 85 29% strongly agree 170 58% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.8 highlights that a significant majority of respondents (87%) believe community policing has improved the relationship between the police and the local community, thereby contributing to better security in gombe local government. specifically, 58% strongly agree, and 29% agree with this statement. only a small percentage (7%) disagrees, with 5% disagreeing and 2% strongly disagreeing, indicating a minor level of dissatisfaction. additionally, 6% of respondents remain undecided, suggesting some uncertainty or lack of awareness regarding the impact of community policing on police-community relations. overall, the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with the majority viewing community policing as a successful initiative for enhancing security and fostering stronger ties between the police and the local community. 73 table3: respondents opinion on whether the implementation of community policing, there would lead an increased public perception of safety in gombe local government. variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 20 7% disagree 30 10% undecided 60 21% agree 110 37% strongly agree 75 25% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.9 indicates a mixed response regarding the impact of community policing on public perception of safety in gombe local government. while 37% of respondents agree and 25% strongly agree that the implementation of community policing has increased public perception of safety, a combined 17% (7% strongly disagree and 10% disagree) express a negative view. additionally, 21% of respondents remain undecided, suggesting a considerable portion of the population is unsure about the impact of community policing on safety. overall, while the majority of respondents express a positive view, a significant number of people are either dissatisfied or uncertain, pointing to a need for further evaluation or communication of the program’s benefits. table 4: respondents opinion on whether lack of resources (such as funding, equipment, and manpower) is a significant challenge to the effective implementation of community policing in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 15 6% disagree 05 2% undecided 20 7% agree 85 28% strongly agree 170 57% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.10 suggests that the majority of respondents (85%) believe that a lack of resources, such as funding, equipment, and manpower, is a significant challenge to the effective implementation of community policing in gombe local government. specifically, 57% strongly agree, and 28% agree with this statement. a small percentage (8%) disagrees, with only 6% strongly disagreeing and 2% disagreeing, indicating that a few respondents do not see resource constraints as a major issue. additionally, 7% remain undecided, which could point to a lack of clarity or awareness about the resources available for community policing. overall, the data shows widespread recognition of resource challenges, highlighting the need for adequate funding, equipment, and manpower to ensure the success of community policing efforts. 74 table 5: respondents opinion on whether resistance from community members hinders the success of community policing in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 36 13% disagree 56 20% undecided 40 14% agree 61 18% strongly agree 102 35% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.11 reveals mixed opinions on whether resistance from community members hinders the success of community policing in gombe local government. a total of 53% of respondents agree (18%) or strongly agree (35%) that community resistance is an obstacle to the success of the program. however, 33% of respondents either strongly disagree (13%) or disagree (20%), indicating that a significant portion of the population does not believe community resistance is a major issue. additionally, 14% are undecided, suggesting uncertainty or lack of information about the extent of resistance. overall, while a majority acknowledges some level of resistance, a notable proportion does not view it as a significant barrier to the success of community policing. table 7: respondents opinion on whether the presence of state police would improve coordination between local and national law enforcement agencies, enhancing security in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 35 12% disagree 51 18% undecided 43 15% agree 95 30% strongly agree 71 25% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.13 shows a varied opinion on whether the presence of state police would improve coordination between local and national law enforcement agencies, thereby enhancing security in gombe local government. a combined 55% of respondents agree (30%) or strongly agree (25%) that the establishment of state police would improve coordination and security. however, a significant 30% disagree (18%) or strongly disagree (12%), suggesting a notable portion of the population does not believe state police would have this effect. additionally, 15% of respondents are undecided, indicating some uncertainty about the potential benefits of state police in enhancing security. overall, while there is a positive inclination towards the idea, skepticism remains among a considerable portion of respondents. 75 table 8: respondents opinion on whether state police would provide additional resources (e.g., personnel, funding, and equipment) that would strengthen the implementation of community policing in gombe lga variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 36 13% disagree 56 20% undecided 40 14% agree 61 18% strongly agree 102 35% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.14 reveals a mixed response regarding whether state police would provide additional resources, such as personnel, funding, and equipment, to strengthen the implementation of community policing in gombe local government. a combined 53% of respondents agree (18%) or strongly agree (35%) that state police would improve resource availability for community policing. however, a significant portion (33%) disagrees, with 20% disagreeing and 13% strongly disagreeing, indicating skepticism about the ability of state police to provide the necessary resources. additionally, 14% remain undecided, suggesting some uncertainty or lack of clarity on the matter. overall, while there is some support for the idea, a considerable proportion of respondents doubts whether state police would effectively enhance resources for community policing. table 9: respondents opinion on whether state police would enhance local law enforcement capabilities in addressing specific security challenges in gombe local government variables frequency percentage strongly disagree 20 7% disagree 30 10% undecided 60 21% agree 110 37% strongly agree 75 25% total 280 100% source: field survey, (2025) the data in table 4.2.15 shows that a majority of respondents (62%) believe that state police would enhance local law enforcement capabilities in addressing specific security challenges in gombe local government. specifically, 37% agree, and 25% strongly agree with this statement. however, 17% of respondents disagree (10%) or strongly disagree (7%), indicating some skepticism about the potential impact of state police on local law enforcement. additionally, 21% of respondents are undecided, reflecting uncertainty or lack of information regarding the benefits of state police for addressing local security issues. overall, while the 76 majority sees state police as a potential improvement, a significant portion remains uncertain or unconvinced. discussion of findings the findings from the data analysis present a largely positive view of community policing in gombe local government, particularly regarding its effectiveness in improving crime reduction and fostering better relationships between the police and the local community. a majority of respondents (75%) believe that community policing would lead to reducing crime rates, with a substantial portion (87%) agreeing that it has improved police-community relations, enhancing security. this indicates that the community perceives the introduction of community policing as a successful initiative, fostering trust and collaboration between law enforcement and the public, which is crucial for maintaining peace and security. however, the data also reveals some challenges that need to be addressed for community policing to be fully effective. the issue of resource constraints, including funding, equipment, and manpower, was identified by 85% of respondents as a significant challenge. this highlights a critical gap in the implementation of community policing strategies, as lack of adequate resources can undermine the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts. the absence of sufficient training for police officers, as noted by 71% of respondents, further complicates the successful deployment of community policing, suggesting that enhancing police capacity through proper training and resources is essential for the initiative’s success. the findings also suggest that while the concept of state police is viewed with mixed opinions, it has potential benefits for improving local security. a majority (62%) believe that the establishment of state police would enhance local law enforcement capabilities by providing additional resources and better coordination with national agencies. despite this, a significant portion (33%) remains skeptical, questioning whether state police would actually provide the necessary resources or improve coordination. this points needs for clearer communication and better understanding of the potential benefits of state police, as well as addressing concerns regarding its implementation. resistance from community members was not found to be a major barrier to the success of community policing, as most respondents did not perceive it as a significant challenge. however, a notable percentage (34%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the idea that resistance from the community hinders community policing, indicating that some pockets of resistance still exist. furthermore, while the majority of respondents expressed confidence in the ability of state police to address local security challenges and provide additional resources, a significant number remains undecided or unconvinced. this suggests that, while there is support for state police, its implementation would require careful planning and addressing concerns regarding its effectiveness and resource allocation. conclusion in conclusion, the findings of this study highlight the positive impact that community policing would have on security and law enforcement in gombe local government. a significant majority of respondents acknowledged that community policing would contribute to reducing crime rates and improving the relationship between the police and the local community. this demonstrates that community policing is effective in fostering trust and cooperation, which are essential for maintaining public safety. the study also underscores the importance of community involvement in policing efforts, with citizens playing a crucial role in supporting law enforcement initiatives. 77 recommendations the following recommendations aim to enhance the effectiveness of community policing in gombe local government by addressing key challenges and optimizing its implementation. i. enhance police training and capacity building: based on the study's findings that inadequate training for police officers is a significant barrier to effective community policing, it is recommended that the gombe local government invest in comprehensive and continuous training programs for police officers. this should include not only basic law enforcement skills but also community engagement strategies, conflict resolution, and cultural sensitivity. enhancing the skills and knowledge of police officers will empower them to implement community policing more effectively, fostering stronger relationships with the community and improving security. ii. increase investment in resources for community policing: given the challenge of limited resources identified in the study, it is essential to allocate more funding, personnel, and equipment to support the implementation of community policing in gombe local government. this can be achieved through government partnerships with non-governmental organizations (ngos) or international agencies, as well as by prioritizing community policing in budgetary allocations. by ensuring that law enforcement agencies are adequately resourced, they will be better equipped to respond to security challenges and strengthen the overall effectiveness of community policing initiatives. iii. foster public awareness and engagement in community policing initiatives: while the majority of respondents expressed support for community policing, there remains a segment of the population that is undecided or skeptical about its benefits. to address this, it is recommended that the gombe local government launch public awareness campaigns to educate the community about the goals, benefits, and role of community policing in improving security. these initiatives should focus on highlighting the importance of collaboration between law enforcement and citizens, addressing concerns about potential resistance, and encouraging active participation in community policing activities to enhance security and trust. references adebayo, a. 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(2020). the impact of insecurity and violent crime on community policing in nigeria. journal of african conflict resolution, 8(1), 112-124. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 263 political interference and effectiveness of the economic and financial crimes commission, 2010-2020 onwunyi, ugochukwu mmaduabuchi department of political science dennis osadebay university, anwai road asaba delta state, nigeria email:ugochukwu.onwunyi@gmail.com akama, harrison eko department of political science, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu university, igbariam campus harrisonakamma@gmail.com abstract the establishment of the economic and financial crimes commission in 2002 was generally seen as a major step to eradicating corruption and other related illicit practices in nigeria’s political space. the efcc act of 2004 enhanced its existence and served as a legal framework that ensured full operation of the agency in nigeria. since its establishment, the efcc has struggled to battle financial crimes and to a considerable extent has recorded some remarkable achievements in nigeria. in spite of this effort, corruption has become very monstrous and obviously permeated into the very fabrics of nigeria’s socio-economic and political life. the aim of this study is to determine the extent the economic and financial crimes commission has reduced if not completely eradicated political corruption in nigeria between 2010 and 2020. the study also examined the operations of the efcc, political interference on the efcc operation and whether its activities have reduced the mismanagement of public funds by public office holders in nigeria between 2010 and 2020. the study relied on documentary method of data collection and used content analysis and logical deductions to arrive at the conclusion of the study. we adopted structural functional theory as our theoretical framework of analysis. it argued that against the assumptions that the efcc can stamp out political corruption in nigeria, political corruption has assumed a worrisome dimension and has even permeated the efcc, which is saddled with the mandate of eradicating political corruption. the study concluded that the inability of efcc to end the increasing manifestation of political corruption over a decade of its operation can be inextricably linked to the nature and character of the nigerian state, and more so with the question of leadership. the study, therefore, recommended radical reforms that would make efcc more effective in tackling the menace of political corruption in nigeria. keywords: efcc, financial crimes, mismanagement, political corruption, political interference introduction nigeria’s return to civilian rule in 1999 was remarkable. first, it offered nigerians the opportunity to relaunch the nation from the status of political cum international obscurity and isolationism to mailto:ugochukwu.onwunyi@gmail.com mailto:harrisonakamma@gmail.com 264 global acceptability. in this regard, establishment, development, transparent engagement of state institutions and reforming the existing democratic institutions was prioritized. this development and reform is central to empowering state institutions and refocusing them from being a militarized state to imbibe a more people oriented values for better performance in addressing issues relating to political corruption. it was believed that the establishment and proper management of institutions designed to tackle all forms of corrupt practices would enhance the capacity of the nigerian state towards addressing the ravaging menace of political corruption. following from the above, former president obasanjo’s administration established the economic and financial crimes commission (efcc) in 2002. the efcc’s responsibilities include the investigation, coordination and enforcement of all financial crimes including advance fee fraud, money laundering, contract scam etc and the adoption of measures to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize proceeds derived from terrorists activities, economic and financial crimes related offences or the properties the value of which corresponds to such proceeds (ewa, adesola & kankpang, 2019). in line with its mandate, the efcc has tried to secure thousands of convictions, seized and confiscated hundreds of properties that are fraudulently acquired. for instance, soni (2020) explained that the efcc secured eight hundred and sixty five (865) convictions from a total of 1,305 cases in 2020 while 7,340 cases were under investigation out of the 10,152 petitions received within the period. in spite of the aforementioned efforts by the efcc, incidences of political corruption have persisted. human right watch (2010) explained that nigeria lost $4 billion $8 billion due to political corruption each year from 1999-2007 (cited in soni, 2020). also, recent report by pricewaterhouse coopers (pwc, 2017) estimates that corruption could cost the nigerian economy 37% of its gross domestic product (gdp) by 2030. evidently, from the myriads of challenges confronting the economic and financial crimes commission on ending the menace of political corruption in nigeria, two major arguments appear discernable. first, are group of scholars who have interrogated the dangers associated with the fusion of the powers of the efcc with other anti-graft agencies and the limit of the efcc’s independence (oloja & martin 2004; aiyede, 2006; ikpeze, 2013; onuigbo & eme, 2015). over the years, the efcc’s fight against political corruption and attempts at recovery looted funds is hampered by numerous impediments. enweremadu (2013) argued that lack of transparency, inadequate legal and accounting skills, the uncooperative attitude of accused persons, and, more importantly, limited external support are part of the constrains to nigeria’s quest to recover looted assets. also important in this regard is the application of plea bargaining. this enables the accused to plead guilty to a lesser offence or to be given some concessions by the prosecutor. the accused is therefore given a more lenient sentence. incidentally, the efcc act (2004) tends to have introduced plea bargaining into nigerian justice system. section 14(2) of the economic and financial crimes commission (2004) provides that "subject to the provisions of section 174 of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 (which relates to the power of the attorney-general to institute, continue, takeover or discontinue any criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law), the commission may compound any offence punishable under this act by accepting such 265 sums of money as it thinks fit, exceeding the amount to which that person would have been liable if he had been convicted of that offence. it is therefore obvious that other issues hindering the efficiency of efcc are the systemic disorder that has characterized the nigerian political system, issues of judiciary delay of cases, lack of societal cooperation, and plea-bargaining. however, while the above extant efforts provide valuable insights into the myriads of challenges confronting the efcc in the discharge of her responsibilities, the link between the economic and financial crimes commission and the fight against political corruption in nigeria has not been given adequate systematic treatment. this study therefore examined how political interference hindered the effectiveness of the economic and financial crimes commission between 2002 and 2020. theoretical framework of analysis the theory of extractive corruption unveiled the state-society relationship. it explains that the dominant force in every society is the elites who use state apparatuses to perpetuate their stay and hold on to the state power. it therefore emphasises the authoritarian character and neo-patrimonial tendencies of the state. extractive theory of corruption explains that the over concentration of powers of government in the hands of few elites, empowers the elite to abuse such powers and rely on it to divert commonwealth for personal use. that is, the more political power is concentrated exclusively in the hands of a few individuals, the greater the temptation for power abuse, selfish wealth-seeking and primitive extraction (amundsen, 1999). in his view, the theory of extractive corruption is based on the mainstream political science notion of authoritarianism, namely a rule basically in the interest of the rulers that is ultimately based on force. he further noted that authoritarian rulers are using the power capabilities of the state in the struggle for power, to attain, retain and increase their powers, and to accumulate resources from the nation and from the ruled, for private benefit. the two broad areas that allow the establishment and continuous expansion of the programme of extractive theory of corruption are the adoption or use of authoritarian regime or the neopatrimonialism. within the context of authoritarian regimes, the elites may establish a form of government with sophisticated institutional arrangement amenable to corrupt practices. this could be in form of faulty decentralized system like the presidential system or a highly centralized form of government like single party or unitary system of government. on the other hand, neopatrimonial system resorts to patronage system for the purposes of extracting benefits. in fact, what makes the neo-patrimonial system different from the patrimonial ones, is that the neopatrimonial regime maintains a façade of modernity, legality, rationality, and professional bureaucratic structures (amundsen 1999). this system is mostly found in africa and also the latin america. in the areas where neo-patrimonialism is dominant, there is the tendency of the elites or the ruler to hold on to his/her public office through the unchecked patronage system. the theory is fundamental in the understanding of the persistence and pervasiveness of corruption as it emphasized elitist drive to hold on to power with sole intention to derived personal benefits from the largesse for public good. however, the theory fails to acknowledge the fact that in every society there is always few delegated members of the society empowered by the people to take decisions on behalf of others. this is important since every member of a political community 266 cannot be directly involved in the running of the day-to-day activities of the government. this theory does not appreciate the relevance and the critical role played by the state specialized agencies and institutions in prevention and reduction if not completely elimination of corruption in the society. in spite the fact that such delegated responsibilities may lead to the over concentration of powers of government in the hands of few elites, existence of legal frameworks puts the activities of those in leadership in check. strong institutions and laws prevent the elites from abusing state powers and also make it difficult to divert commonwealth for personal use. in this regard, the effectiveness of the legal system in the society and judicial process help to address corrupt practices and other related offences. according to the organization for economic cooperation and development (oecd) (2016) weaknesses in the anti-corruption legal and judicial system may undermine host governments’ capacity to effectively detect, prevent and sanction corruption. within this context, the theory fails to explain why developed countries with few elites in power do not witness the level of corruption comparatively to the underdeveloped nations. literature review political interference and effectiveness of the efcc one of the major challenges confronting many developing countries is the inability to separate the public realm with the private realm. in many circumstances, leaders and public office holders managed and influenced public institutions and treat them as their privately owned institutions. thus, bureaucratic rules are abused, neglected and disregarded in the management of public affairs. in fact, there is a tendency in many african countries where the public becomes a platform for perpetuation of authoritarian rule. politicians use all gimmicks and pranks to maintain their stay in power and try to extend their domain in every other section of the public life. among various leadership challenges facing low developing democratic countries especial african countries is the political interference in administrations (wangwe, 2012). more specifically, political interference occurs when political leader(s) interfere with decision making in public administrative matters such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting as well as allocation and use of public funds (mfuru, sarwatt & kanire, 2018). it is a condition whereby politicians or political leaders overtly or covertly changes, intervene or direct and prevent institutions of the state from performing their legitimate responsibilities without recourse to lay down rules. it is a deliberate act aimed at gaining favour, set aside the rules against one or groups in his or her favour in the discharge of public duties. in this regard, salawu & agbeja (2007) argued that political interference negatively impacted internal controls, accountability and audit procedures. indeed, political interference happens often and is highly disruptive and destructive. incidentally, it promotes the situation where powerful high-level suspects are often untouchable and is being shielded by the state leaders against the wishes of state institutions and the people, however, they can suddenly become vulnerable when political power invariably shifts to the opposite. page (2021) posited that such strategic patience leads to more successful prosecutorial outcomes. unfortunately, it can also be stated that such trend is not healthy to ending corruption as it sends wrong signal to the public. it makes the people to doubt the credibility of those leading the anticorruption war and perceived those in power as accomplish and major drivers of corruption. there is no doubt that nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies’ and indeed the efcc is apparently vulnerable to political interference. however, it has demonstrated some degree of resilience to 267 outside pressure, depending on the integrity and influence of their chairpersons and board members. but the obvious fact is that, if these individuals become conduits for political pressure, the possibility of the staff of the agency to resist such influences may not be visible. as the best resourced and most empowered, the efcc has arguably demonstrated the greatest capacity to investigate and prosecute senior officials irrespective of political considerations. in other words, page (2021) explained that the efcc arguably has innovated in order to overcome a significant obstacle by targeting high-profile suspects when they are most vulnerable rather than when they are politically untouchable. for him, given the dynamic nature of nigerian elite politics, the agency must continuously adapt as its targets climb or suddenly descend the country’s political ladder. one risk associated with this strategy is that there is no formal mechanism or process for ensuring that prosecutions deferred for political reasons are actually initiated at a later date (page, 2021). evidently, the efcc is saddled with a lot of difficult task; in spite of this lofty mandate the agency is a subject of perennial political interference that has implications on the effectiveness of the efcc. since its inception in 2002, there are divergent views on the effectiveness of the efcc from one administration to another. the administration of the former president obasanjo under which the efcc was established and achieved a lot of successes, yet the administration was accused of undue influences on efcc and using the efcc to wish-hunt political opponents. agbaje (2011) posited that in spite of the achievement of ribadu who was the former efcc’s boss under former president obasanjo administration, his achievements were impaired by the undue interference from his principal. beyond this, he further noted that there are evidences that the efcc was constantly under pressure from formidable political interests which cut across political lines from both the executive and legislative arms of government, especially at the national assembly and the governor’s forum most importantly where one of their own is involved. in this regard, ethelbert (2016, p.346) further noted that: a good example is the outright condemnation by olusegun obasanjo of the report of the investigation of corruption against chief olabode george, the chairman of the nigerian ports authority (npa) which indicted him (george) and other management members of the npa over violations of government rules and regulations with regards to award of contracts and as such should be sanctioned for contract splitting and inflation of the prices of contracts, even though (him) chief bode george was later arrested in august 2008 and arraigned on a 163 count-charge which include conspiracy, disobedience to lawful order, abuse of office and illegal award of contracts to the tune of 84 billion with regards to the aforementioned report which the former president obasanjo had earlier rejected. thus, under the administration of late president musa yaradua and former president goodluck jonathan, there were also incidences of political interference that constrained the efcc from performing effectively their constitutional responsibilities. for instance, the former governor james ibori of delta state was one of the untouchable politically corrupt gladiators under the rulership of former president obasanjo and late president yar adua. in his view, adeniyi (2011) pointed out that “the removal of malam nuhu ribadu as chairman of efcc by president yar’adua was due to ibori’s corruption scandal which manifested the political interference of the political elites against combating corruption. 268 on the other hand, page (2021) argued that political interference lessened but remained a significant challenge during the jonathan presidency (2010-2015). according to him, the greatest challenge of efcc under former president jonathan occurred in march 2013, when jonathan nullified one of the efcc’s highest profile prosecutorial successes, albeit constitutionally, by pardoning former bayelsa state governor diepreye alamieyesiegha. former president jonathan’s decision took the efcc by surprise, embarrassed and demoralized the agency and drew rebukes from the u.s. and uk governments. page (2021) further explained that ribadu called it the “final nail” in the coffin in the fight against corruption under jonathan. though direct interference is unmistakable, high-level political pressure is often subtly conveyed; top anti-corruption officials carefully observe the ‘body language’ of the president and attorney general as it relates to politically sensitive high-level cases they are pursuing (page, 2021). in spite of the above, it can be stated that recently, the prosecution of highly placed individuals for corruption cases in nigeria has progressed so hugely, yet there are still many challenges confronting the activities of efcc. obviously, there is still need for legislative reforms as well as innovations to overcome challenges constraining forfeiture of properties fraudulently acquired and providing alternatives to plea bargains when used ridiculously to evade justice. furthermore, cooperation among anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement agencies tends to have substantially improved but remains inadequate for the entire process of fighting anti-corruption. prosecutors and investigators do not always work together effectively, especially during the early stages of a case when close cooperation can help ensure that prosecutions do not flail or founder in court, as happened in the three high-level corruption prosecutions examined in this report. under the leadership of the immediate past efcc boss (ibrahim magu) two former governors, the former governor of plateau state and the former governor of adamawa state were jailed. yet, the efcc was furious on the extent of political interference from the office of the attorney general and minister of justice. incidentally, such frosty relations led to an abruptly termination of his headship of efcc with allegations of unethical practices and corruption charges while in office. the magu’s case goes a long way to unravel the state of decay and challenges facing efcc as an institution shouldering bigger responsibility of nipping in the bud political corruption in a country. seen in this light, the index for measuring the effectiveness of the efcc cannot be in terms of its capacity to completely eradicate corruption as this may be practically impossible to do given the realities of political corruption in nigeria. it is our submission that more realistic measures should focus on how well the efcc has drastically reduced corruption or political corruption in nigeria since its establishment. secondly and perhaps more importantly is determining whether its existence and efforts so far has any significant relationship to the level or the degree of manifestation of political corruption in nigeria. it therefore means that the more apt way to measure efcc effectiveness should be determining the extent of reduction of political corruption since the inception of the agency. also, making the efcc effective cannot be completely possible without the cooperation of other critical agencies. in this regard, the judiciary is critical. the prevailing lack of judicial integrity and independence also impede the effectiveness of the efcc. the efcc tends to suffer much in the hands of corrupt judicial personnel in nigeria. also, situations where many judges lack familiarity or grasp knowledge of money laundering issues is a greater challenge to complex issues that arise during corruption trials. it makes some judges to be undecided, skeptical or even hostile 269 toward anti-corruption prosecutions. the state has a lot to do to ensure that the efcc’s effectiveness and greater management of corruption issues is taken to an enviable height. the state and political interference on efcc activities there seems to be vast definitional positions and divergent conclusions by many scholars specifically on the notion of state. while some studies (farooq, 2012; nnorom, odigbo & nebeife 2018) have anchored their conceptual perspectives on the generally known characteristics of the state such as; organized body of people, definite territory, sovereignty, government and sometimes recognition, some other studies argued that the role of the state in a particular political space is critical to what the state is or represents. in whichever way, developed states endeavour to allow institutions to operate independently within its constitutional mandate. in this regard, the institutions of the state can be insulated from the vagaries of state influences in a democratically developed political system. however, we present the state in this study as the machinery or fundamental bureau that manages the affairs of the people. according to nnorom, odigbo & nebeife (2018) it means the agency that superintends the law making process, the enforcement and implementation of the law to ensure peace, stability, growth and prosperity and indeed provides greatest happiness to the greatest number of people. for farooq (2012) a state is a country considered as an organized political community by one government. it is within the above positions and context that we measures state’s perceived role in the entire functioning of the efcc’s activities. indeed, the efcc is the creation of government who performs its duties on behalf of the state. the fight against corruption by the efcc is to ensure accountability and sanity in the state. in a more critical look on efcc structural sense, the agency is profoundly vulnerable to the whims and caprices of the presidency hence it does not function as an institution rather almost as an appendage of the chief executive. in the first instance, the commission’s chairman enjoys no security of tenure and can be removed by the president at will, without any form of consultation or approval from the national assembly. this notwithstanding the fact that the political pressures brought to bear on the efcc have at times been overwhelming and enormous. at its inception, allegations of political selectivity tarnished the efcc’s reputation when president obasanjo was in power, and how ribadu’s attempt to prosecute james ibori led to his removal from the commission are all indications that efcc’s activities are heavily interfered with by the executive. after ribadu’s ouster, the attorney general at the time, michael aondoakaa reportedly ibori’s close associate seemed bent on undermining the very notion of a government-led war on corruption. obviously, during his time in office, the former attorney general of the federation, michael aondoakaa worked openly to undermine the independence of the efcc and to derail domestic and international efforts to bring ibori to justice. his strong-arm tactics earned him considerable notoriety. according to ribadu, aondoakaa “interfered” in many of the efcc prosecutions and “destroyed cases relating to corrupt state governors by discontinuing hearings and trials (cited in human right watch, 2011). according to leaked us state department cables published by wikileaks in 2011, in 2008 waziri told the us ambassador in abuja that aondoakaa had taken complete control over the efcc’s case against ibori along with other “politically sensitive” cases something the attorney general technically had no clear power to do without formally removing the cases from the efcc’s purview (cited in human right watch, 2011). 270 as can be seen, micheal aondoakaa was also alleged to have interfered in several high profile corruption cases during his time as attorney general and more specifically in the money laundering case against ibori and his associates in the united kingdom. the human right watch, (2011, p. 14) stated that: after an english court froze $35 million of ibori’s assets in august 2007, aondoakaa provided ibori’s lawyer with a letter stating that ibori had been “investigated” in nigeria and no charges had been filed, despite the fact that the efcc was still investigating the case and finalizing criminal charges. the letter led the english court to lift the freeze on ibori’s assets. according to leaked us state department cables, aondoakaa also refused to negotiate a broad prisoner transfer agreement with british authorities unless the uk dropped efforts to prosecute ibori for money laundering. according to the us embassy cables, aondoakaa was “reputed to have done some of yar’adua’s dirty work, including attempts to disgrace former (efcc) chairman mallam nuhu ribadu.” another leaked cable noted that while the nigerian public and press had placed the blame for the efcc’s perceived ineffectiveness solely on waziri, “we believe … that attorney general michael aondoakaa is the larger culprit on top of his everyday thuggery and illicit enrichment.” implicitly, it therefore means that arresting government officials or high profile politicians would be sanctioned by the state or rather government for the efcc to be allowed to do their job. the efcc in many occasions was compelled to willingly or forcefully accept the directives of the attorney general of the federation or any order from the presidency. it has remained a stumbling block in the war against corruption. this is important especially when put into cognizance the fact that the attorney general has the power to take over or discontinue any prosecution from another federal agency if he believes it to be in the interest of justice. in this case, the attorney general’s failure to provide any rationale for the move sparked widespread concern that his real aim was simply to quash the case (cited in human right watch, 2011). no doubts that under president buhari’s regime, the efcc activities were repeatedly interfered with by the executive. suberu (2018) argued that under buhari, the efcc has remained politically dependent, often unprofessional, and beholden to the presidency, having lost most of its welltrained investigators and prosecutors when its activist founding head, nuhu ribadu, was summarily removed by the executive in 2007. accordingly, the immediate past efcc boss, ibrahim magu, served in a legally uncertain acting capacity: the senate failed to confirm his appointment on account of apparent politically motivated allegations by nigeria’s department of state services questioning magu’s integrity; and buhari has been unwilling to replace him with a less politically controversial person until recent squabbles. thus, suberu (2018) further noted that the entire agency itself currently employs fewer than three thousand people, but receives more than one hundred petitions daily, leaving investigators and prosecutors overstretched. moreover, the efcc was overwhelmed by recurrent conflicts with the office of the minster of justice and attorney general. before his removal as the efcc chairman 271 ibrahim magu severally accused the attorney general of the federation abubakar malami of interfering with efcc’s investigations and cases in the court. according to ibekwe (2020) in several cases under investigation, recovery and management of assets, the office of the agf has either interfered with the process or has been less cooperative and supportive. he further noted that the laidback approach of the office of the agf in particular in cases of extradition has not been helpful. ibrahim magu also accused the attorney-general of the federation, abubakar malami, of frustrating efforts made by the anti-graft commission to transparently dispose vessels forfeited to the nigerian government (ibekwe, 2020). indeed, there are seemingly constitutional challenges that constrained the efcc from operating independently and the office of the agf appears to be exploiting this gap. there is a fundamental tension between the broad investigative, prosecutorial, and preventive functions of nigeria’s anticorruption agencies, especially the efcc and the constitutional authority of the justice minister/attorney general, who has the legislative authority to take over, continue, or discontinue any criminal prosecution (suberu, 2018). the efcc’s political vulnerability and weak professionalism were thrown into sharp relief in july 2017, when the global egmont group of 156 financial intelligence units (fius) voted to suspend, “by consensus,” membership of the efcc’s nigeria financial intelligence unit (fius) “following repeated failures on the part of the fius to address concerns regarding the protection of confidential information and the legal basis and clarity of the nfiu’s independence (suberu, 2018). in all, the developing status of the nigerian state, the character of the state and constitutional gaps evident in the efcc framework, have continued to undermine the activities as well as independence of the economic and financial crimes commission. it therefore disposed the agency and the managers of the institution to the whims of the executive and other powerful political gladiators. the commission seemed to be influenced by politics and high authority and could not discharge its duties without interferences. this was due to the fact that the commission was subordinated to the presidency. the tendency for the efcc’s powers to be used as tools of victimization, persecution and prosecution of perceived enemies of whichever administration in power is fervently manifested. the implication is that the major objective of establishing the agency may not be achieved since its activities are interfered with and sometimes politically controlled. nigeria’s political environment and operational activities of the efcc nigeria’s political environment is seen in this study as the entire atmosphere that bears the burden of immediate responses arising from corruption and the institutional expedition to address corruption related offences. thus, political environment appears unchanged physically as it were prior to the establishment of the efcc, but its responses to issues since its emergence tends to change significantly. this may be attributed to the fact that the environment may have been polluted with several resentments, wrong impressions, feelings of joy and even hatred. indeed, the combination of the above traits determined stability and serenity of the environment for a long period of time. for instance, a botched corruption plans or act may increase gang’s or cartel’s frustration and aggressive tendencies. but it may also enhance relevance of the anti-graft agency and massages government ego, commitment to tackling corruption. 272 indeed, over the years, nigeria has attained an unenviable reputation of being one of the most corrupt countries in the world. it is can be stated that both socio-economic and political environment is riddled with increasing threat of corruption. in essence, corruption is considered as the main obstacle negating development and good governance in nigeria. idris (2011) rightly noted that it has been considered to be the most devastating factor negating nigeria’s socioeconomic and political development. additionally, enweremadu (2012) argued that widespread corruption in nigeria has nurtured poverty and low human development indices. in fact, the recurring threats to national security, peace and stability of the nigerian political space cannot be unconnected to the menace of corruption. most unfortunately, public office holders are major drivers and are mainly implicated in majority of the corruption scandals in nigeria. state institutions have different means of accommodating corruption, proceeds and personnel alleged to have indulged in corrupt activities. it has become so “culturized” that even the anti-graft agencies are sometimes accused of mismanaging recovered looted funds. for instance, there were accusations and counter accusations on how immediate past efcc chairman (ibrahim magu) mismanaged or rather deposited less than what was recovered as looted funds. this shows the level of decadence in the efcc. the agency that carries the burden of saving the nation from corruption was implicated in the unholy act. the above issues are essential as they illuminate and capture the culture, socio-economic and political environment where efcc operates. thus, understanding that the efcc operates in a very dicey terrain enhances one’s capacity to understand the herculean nature of its operational activities. in spite of this, the agency remained crucial in nigeria’s fight against corruption. although virtually the first decade of efcc’s existence, data collection and documentation by the agency seemed difficult and such situations may also make difficult empirical evaluations of the activities of the agency. in the last few years, the efcc’s operations showed huge number of petitions, investigations, prosecutions and convictions. undoubtedly, political corruption in nigeria is a serious and complex phenomenon. sometimes, because it involves both ruling and non-ruling elites and highly placed individuals in the society, the litigations drag for years. this does not mean that the efcc did not secure convictions of individuals or elites alleged to have committed financial crimes or politically corrupt persons. it rather suggests that while political corruption is the major course of action towards the establishment of the agency, the agency has struggled to secure modicum convictions in this area. the efcc revealed that it had secured 703 convictions between january 2015 and november 2018. the agency stated that it secured 103 convictions in 2015, 195 convictions in 2016, 189 convictions in 2017 and 217 convictions from january 2018 to november 2018 (efcc 2018). we further access data of the efcc operations for the years 2019 and 2020. 273 table 1: operational activities of the efcc (2010-2020) petition s receive d petitions transferr ed to sister agencies petitions rejected petition s consid ered for investig ation petition s investig ated no.of arrests made cases prose cuted in court convict ions secured a b c d e f g h 2010 6,782 2,477 1,767 2,538 2,399 2,143 206 68 2011 7,737 2,385 2,746 2,606 2,606 2,829 417 67 2012 4,914 707 245 3,962 2,062 2,151 502 87 2013 6,089 1,027 609 4,453 2,883 ,2,904 485 117 2014 4,941 1,082 631 3,228 2,512 2,756 388 126 2015 5,979 1,178 1,1401 3,400 2,662 1,862 462 103 2016 7,045 477 1,900 4,686 4,660 2,348 390 195 2017 8,251 196 2,128 5,927 5,622 3,120 501 189 2018 9,566 1,123 2,747 5,696 5,795 3,235 515 312 2019 12, 644 8112 8,729 1901 1,280 2020 10,152 7,340 7,340 1,305 865 total 84,100 44,608 39,930 7,072 3,409 source: compiled by the author from online newspapers’ reports abdulsalam, (2020); ogune (2020) adanikin (2021) thus, the total or summation of the figures in the above table is graphically represented below as follows: table 2: total number of petitions, cases investigated and convictions secured by efcc 2010-2020 petitions received 84,100 investigated cases 39,930 cases prosecuted 7072 convictions secured 3,409 source: compiled by the author 274 figure 1: graphic representation of number of petitions, cases investigated and convictions secured by efcc 2010-2020 source: author’s analysis following from the above table, the efcc in the last one decade received a total eighty four thousand one hundred petitions (84,100). the agency considered 44,608 petitions and eventually investigated 39, 930 of these petitions. in the same vein, the efcc prosecuted 7,072 cases and secured 3,409 convictions. considering the number of petitions submitted for the decade to the efcc and the number of petitions investigated as well as convictions secured, it therefore shows that the efcc could not investigate half of the petitions received. although some of the petitions were transferred, reasons for the transfer and sometimes dropping a petition are not always stated. this act is capable of allowing efcc to drop a petition because of political reasons or the position of the individual in question. secondly and perhaps more importantly, the efcc secured only 3,409 convictions in 10 years. this is not up to one percent of the total petitions received or up to a hundred percent of the entire cases investigated. also, securing 3,409 convictions mean that the agency did not win half of the 7072 cases prosecuted in the court within the ten years period. more importantly, the details of the convictions secured show that most of these convictions are not related to political corruption. political leadership and operational effectiveness of the economic and financial crimes commission the greatest challenge of many african states is leadership. in nigeria, leadership has remained a big challenge (achebe, 1983; okunade, 2008). leadership problem traverses the state and institutions of the state. no doubts, the essence of leadership seems undisputable. it is an essential ingredient in the process of state-building and national development. as okadigbo, rightly stated leadership is the process through which one individual consistently exerts more influence than others in the pursuit of group behaviour (cited in olegbenla 2007). leadership should conform to basic fundamental qualities to be able to exert influence. these qualities tend to drive the action and inaction of a leader. 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 investigated petitions received cases prosecuted convictions secured series1 275 political leadership refers to the ruling class that bears the responsibility of managing the affairs and resources of a political entity by setting and influencing policy priorities affecting the territory through different decision-making structures and institutions created for the orderly development of the territory. it could also be described as the human element that operates the machineries of government on behalf of an organised territory. it can therefore be stated that lack of purposeful leadership in a nation can distort development processes and undermine the functionality of state institutions. in this regard, political leadership is essential. it serves as a driving force for other sectors or sub-systems. states, institutions and agencies without good leadership is prone to all forms of failures. so, the achievement of government, agencies and institutions of the state is largely dependent on leadership that exists therein. thus, over the years, virtually all the efcc chairmen or chairperson were removed from office unceremoniously. former efcc chairperson farida waziri stated “i was a victim of circumstances because i came in when the former chairman was being forced out among such controversy that it rubbed off on me,” (human right watch, 2011). sometimes if their removal was not bordered on corruption, then it was a case of supremacy and power tussle between the chairman of the efcc and the attorney general of the federation. for example former efcc boss, nuhu ribadu and former attorney general of the federation and minister of justice michael kaase aondoakaa’s disagreement led to the removal of the former. also, immediate past efcc acting chairrman ibrahim magu fell out with the incumbent attorney general of the federation abubakar malami and the same faith befell magu. simply put, when the political leadership is right, subordinate institutions and agencies of the state tend to have also good leadership. it therefore enhances the operational effectiveness of state institutions including the efcc. for instance, the emergence of former efcc chairperson farida waziri orchestrated a near absence of leadership and functional effectiveness of the efcc. some political actors at that insisted that the efcc boss was incapable of steering the ship hence, the agency almost became redundant. according to human right watch (2011) the former efcc chairman farida waziri was widely considered ineffective. the report further stated that: leaked us state department cables quote then-house of representatives speaker, dimeji bankole, as telling us diplomats that he had no confidence in waziri’s leadership or integrity and that the efcc was not worth “one penny” since she had taken over. rabe nasir, until 2011 head of the house of representatives committee responsible for overseeing the efcc, and himself a former efcc official and ribadu supporter simply said the president must “do away with that woman. if he doesn’t, forget about fighting corruption in this country.” by august 2008, the us government had become worried enough to send the yar’adua administration a written demarche expressing concerns about the state of the efcc and asserting that the institution had “turned out to be a disappointment (cited in human right watch, 2011, p.12). thus, on the other hand it could be stated that the uncertainties that have continued to cloud the leadership of the efcc correspondingly impacted significantly on the efcc’s operational 276 effectiveness. whatever the agency achieved or tends to achieve would rely hugely on the stability, vision and independence of the leadership of the economic and financial crimes commission. it therefore means that ensuring operational effectiveness of the economic and financial crimes commission means fixing her leadership and allowing the agency to operate in a manner it will solely make decisions within. beyond this, it is important to state that the yardstick for measuring the efcc’s effectiveness cannot be in terms of its ability to completely nip in the bud or eradicate corruption in nigeria. in more honest suggestion, one can argue that this may be impossible to do given the realities, complexities and intensity of political corruption in nigeria. a more realistic measurement should be on how the efcc has reduced corruption, with the caveat that corruption is a structural feature of developing countries and changing the incentive structure behind corrupt practices in nigeria is beyond more conventional top-down anti-corruption strategies (see onyema e tal 2018) indeed, it is unfortunate that in ten years, the efcc only secured 3,409 convictions in a whooping over 80,000.00 petitions received. perhaps, most of the convictions were not on political corruption. while the policy rational or major thrust for establishing the agency was to reduce if not completely eliminate political corruption. in fact, achieving the set out goals may remain difficult unless the efcc is able to deal with structural, internal and exogenous influences crippling its activities. the efcc must purge itself from being tainted by corruption or political intrusion and resolve coordination problems among multiple agencies. poor management of information and intelligence has necessitated the desire to centralize all necessary information and intelligence about corruption and assert leadership in the anti-corruption effort. this is important especially when put into cognizance the recent leaked video of the former governor of anambra state in efcc custody. unfortunately, the productivity activities of the efcc have not significantly improved the nigeria’s ranking in the transparency international corruption perception index. following from the above data presented and analysis made, we therefore accepted and validated our third hypothesis which states that political interference hindered the operational effectiveness of the economic and financial crimes commission between 2002 and 2020. conclusion and recommendations the political leaders and some elements in the efcc that supposed to be fighters of corruption were the drivers and enablers of corrupt act. it was clear that the smaller units of a state cannot absorb itself from challenges arising from collective failure. therefore, the inability of efcc is a consequence of state failure and the class character of the crime which coincides with the class interest of the state in the contemporary global capitalist system, particularly a post-colonial state such as nigeria. following from the above, this study therefore recommended as follows: 1. there should be a total overhaul of the efcc and any other anti-corruption agencies in nigeria. the overhaul will paved the way for the emergence of indisputably apolitical anticorruption agency capable of subjecting everyone to the law. 277 2. there is little or no doubt that the efcc can be better and salvage the current state of corruption in nigeria if it is entrenched with both financial and operational independence. based on this we recommend a review of its legal framework to guarantee autonomy of the anti-graft agency. 3. the study also recommends a multi-layer appointment process which will involve the three arms of government and strategic civil society groups, for the initial appointment of the members of the efcc. subsequently, the agency should operate as a career institution where the leaders of the agency will rise through the ranks and file of the agency other than political appointment. references achebe, c. 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(2006). the political economy of the resource curse: a literature survey. available online: <http://www2.ids.ac.uk/gdr/cfs/pdfs/wp268.pdf accessed on 9/7/2016. schwarz, r. (2004). state formation processes in rentier state: the middle eastern case. retrieved from http://www.cmi.no/publications/formation/?3348=rentiestate-mdleeastr on 10/7/2016. transparency international (2006). corruption perception index (cpi) assessed online at http://www.transparency.org/news-room/in_forcus/2006/cpi_table transparency international, (2019). corruption perceptions index. retrieved from https://www. transparency.org/country/nga transparency international. (2013). corruption perception index. retrieved from http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013 uwujaren, w. (2012, july 24th). n32.8 billion police pension fraud: appeal court strikes out dangaber’s application to defreeze accounts, assets. www.efccnigeria.org wangwe, f. (2012). overview of social cognitive theory and of self efficacy. retrieved from the world wide web: http//www.emory.edu /education/ mfp/eff.html https://guardian.ng/news/efcc-got-10152-petitions-secured-865-convictions-in-2024/ https://www.pwc.com/ng/en/publications/impact-of-corruption-on-nigerias-economy.html http://www.cmi.no/publications/formation/?3348=rentiestate-mdleeastr http://www.transparency.org/news-room/in_forcus/2006/cpi_table http://www.efccnigeria.org/ page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 530 appraisal of human resource development and port operations in southwestern ports in nigeria kingdom bello department of logistics and transport technology school of logistics and innovation technology federal university of technology, akure, ondo state. kingdompeacekingdom@yahoo.com abstract this study assessed human resource development and port operations in the nigerian maritime industry. it examined the organization development, training development and career development and factors that could motivate employees at the southwestern seaports which include lagos port complex and tincan island port complex. a survey research design was employed, in which both inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyse 100 questionnaires from the respondents. the result in table 1 shows the relationship between training development and carrier development. it was discovered that there is a relationship between the f statistics (td=167.515 and cd = 283.707). however, both training and career development are significant (p = 0.000). it can be deduced that training and career development enhance organisational performance. also the result demonstrates that reasonable income, social security, and pensions serve as the primary motivators for employees, along with decent working conditions, health, safety, and environment. it was concluded that organisational performance is anchored on training development, career development, and employee motivations. these factors increase worker competence and productivity, which in turn improves the organisation's performance in the maritime industry. the maritime industry should prioritise staff development and adopt workplace democracy to motivate workers. keywords: human resource development (hrd), port operations, training development, career development introduction the role of human resource development (hrd) in the optimization and utilization of workforce cannot be overemphasized in the maritime sector of a nation. according to vinesh (2014), human resource development (hrd) refers to an organization’s investment in the education and growth of its employees, encompassing training and development, career advancement, and organizational enhancement. however, with the presence of port automation systems, there is a need to address the hurdles in human resource development to enable them to adapt to the ever-growing demand. black (2001) cited de langen, who asserted the need for additional evaluation in port studies related to human resource development. he suggested applying this assessment-based approach to the port's entire range of activities. maritime transport necessitates specific abilities, both practical and theoretical, which form the foundation for efficient maritime operations. port operations attract a larger number of employees, especially in nigeria. ndikom (2011) elucidates various activities that generate employment in the maritime sector, like fishing, salvage, towage, underwater resources, exploitation and extraction, and onshore economic activities in ports, shipping activities, ship construction, repair, and maintenance. nevertheless, prior to engaging in maritime operations, mailto:kingdompeacekingdom@yahoo.com 531 individuals must learn certain skills and undergo training. mariners, ship captains, bureaucrats, and others express dissatisfaction with the working conditions and compensation. for instance, the operating environment, the ship they operate on, and the items and procedures they manage undergo constant changes (zoto, 2002). hence, this study evaluates the role of human resource development in enhancing port performance in nigeria. literature review port operations transport experts define a seaport as a geographical location along a shoreline where the mode of transport transitions from land to sea or water, or vice versa. it is characterised by the availability of geographical advantages, socio-economic potential, technological advancements, and political considerations (patrick, 1999). it serves as a major gateway for the exchange of goods and the contact between nations through international trade. ports are geographical locations that are connected to bodies of water such as seas, oceans, or rivers. infrastructure and technical equipment provide safe havens for various types of ships. research has demonstrated that a port facilitates the movement of goods from one transportation method to another. in their study, olaogbebikan et al. (2014) provided a precise definition of a port as a specific area along a coast or shore that includes one or more harbours. ports serve as docking locations for ships, facilitating the passage of people and merchandise to and from land. the port locations are selected based on the optimization of land and navigable water access, commercial demand, and protection from wind and waves. a port consists of three components, namely: physical infrastructure: this encompasses many components such as wharves, docks, storage areas, and cranes. port authority: business entity management service providers include dockers and terminal operators. the history of nigeria port development began in the 19th century. this occurred subsequent to the initiation of maritime commerce and transactions that ensued from the expeditions along the african coasts during the early discovery period. the first effort to provide amenities for seafaring vessels was to widen the entrance to the lagos lagoon. significant littoral drift occurred along the coastline, and the ever-changing channels in the sandbar at the entrance made it very challenging to enter. on february 1, 1914, the akoko, the first postal steamer, entered lagos harbour. the vessel had a draft of 5.64 metres. after a few months, ships started utilising the amenities offered by the customs dock located on lagos island. previously, the presence of a port along a vast coastline area from calabar to lagos became necessary due to the exploration and commercial endeavours of european missionaries and businesspeople in africa. in the 15th century, europeans initiated maritime exploration and uncovered abundant natural resources in the western and central regions, which were crucial for their economic and industrial advancement. in 1906, the commissioning of dredgers to operate at the bar marked significant progress in clearing the lagos lagoon. also, the year 1906 marked a significant milestone in the progress of shipping reforms in nigeria (afolayan, 1994; badejo, 1998). that year saw the establishment of the nigerian marine corps. the marine, commonly referred to as such, originated as the initial maritime 532 reform to introduce and establish order in port administration within the country. upon its establishment, nigeria entrusted it with the task of overseeing and managing the pre-existing ports and terminals. the categorization of ports varies depending on the analyst's viewpoint. for instance, the type of equipment available for cargo handling can classify ports, such as roro ports. michaela, daniela, and nistor (2014) argue that the most crucial resource for a port manager is the port staff. however, they note that effectively utilizing this resource can be challenging due to the port's unique characteristics and historical conditions, which may not always align with modern management principles. however, the effectiveness of a certain terminal is contingent upon its internal structure and the implementation of its planning and control procedures. according to gudelj, krčum, and twrdy (2010), human resources play a crucial role in the development of an operation. they argue that strategic decisions, which are made by human intelligence, are responsible for expanding the terminal to meet the demands of european markets. this expansion includes extending the quay and yard, acquiring new equipment, increasing teu capacity, and developing infrastructure. maritime workers often encounter the challenge of allocating berths, which is complicated by various factors such as varying arrival times of ships, different quantities and sizes of incoming ships, multiple docking areas, varying lengths of berths, varying numbers and capabilities of cranes, navigation restrictions, and so on (lacksonen, 2001) and (gudelj and vidačić, 2007). various areas of maritime operations have established colleges in collaboration with existing universities to offer transport curricula with the aim of improving operational performance. some examples of professional institutes in this field include the chartered institute of logistics and transport, the institute of transport administration, the chartered institute of shipping, the institute of port and terminal management, and the institute of freight forwarders of nigeria. despite the existence of numerous professional institutes, staff development and operations at the port still fail to meet the standards set by established economies. the academic qualification of personnel requires workers to possess abilities, intuition, and inventiveness in order to effectively fulfil their tasks. staff quality assessment refers to the level of achievement of predetermined objectives, ability for innovation, and conduct toward colleagues, customers, and the organization (michaela, daniela, and nistor, 2014). in the current dynamic and demanding business landscape, it is crucial for human resource development to adopt a proactive approach. this involves implementing strategies that enhance efficiency and productivity by focusing on the qualitative growth of individuals, enabling them to realise their capabilities and potential for growth and development. concept of human resource development human resource development (hrd) is a systematic approach to enhancing and harnessing human skills and knowledge through organisation development (od) and personnel training and development (t&d) with the goal of enhancing performance (swanson and holton, 2001). 1. the performance domains include organisations, work processes, groups, and individuals. 533 2. organisational development (od) is the methodical implementation of changes inside an organisation with the aim of enhancing performance. 3. t&d, or training and development, is the systematic process of cultivating individuals' knowledge with the goal of enhancing performance. human resource development, refers to a structured collection of activities aimed at enhancing employees' abilities, knowledge, and experiences in order to fulfil both current and future demands and achieve organisational goals. human resource planning necessitates employers ascertaining the methods by which managers should evaluate and oversee performance, recognise and cultivate potential, and provide training and development opportunities for personnel (tyson, 2006). inadequate recruitment procedures frequently lead to incorrect hiring decisions, resulting in subpar performance and high turnover rates among employees. the induction should provide comprehensive information regarding staff expectations and performance metrics. tyson (2006) also observed that additional factors contributing to job dissatisfaction include a lack of understanding of the range of tasks involved, inadequate supervision, commuting difficulties, payment issues, and other related problems stemming from exaggerated job descriptions or inadequate oversight by employers. methodology this study used ports in south-western nigeria. these include the lagos port complex and the tincan island port complex. the lagos port complex, commonly known as the premiere port (apapa quays), is the oldest and largest port in nigeria. it is located in apapa, lagos state, nigeria's primary economic hub. founded in 1913, the port initiated the construction of its initial four deep water berths in 1921. modern cargo handling equipment and human support facilities equip the apapa port, enhancing its efficiency in terms of cost and customer satisfaction. it benefits from multimodal connectivity, including rail, water, and road. the port has a distinct advantage over competitors in processing oversized cargoes due to its four-wheel gate, which measures around 8 metres. also, tin can island port is located precisely seven kilometres west of the centre of lagos, directly across lagos harbour. tin can island port began construction in 1976 and officially opened its doors in 1977. the nigerian ports authority assumed operational control of the port in 1991. in 1977, the newly established tin can island port officially designated the roro terminal as a component. the merger of tin can island and roro port came into exitence in 2006, when the private terminal operators, port and terminal multiservices ltd. (ptml), assumed control of the terminals. as a result, ptml has made efforts to renovate the terminals. tin can island port is nigeria's second-most heavily trafficked port, following apapa port. a survey research design was used, in which both inferential (one way anova) and descriptive statistics were used to analyse 100 questionnaires from the respondents. result and discussions the result in table 1 shows the relationship between training development and carrier development. it was discovered that there is a relationship between the f statistics (td=167.515 and cd = 283.707). however, both training and career development are significant (p = 0.000). it can be deduced that training and career development enhance organisational performance. 534 td = training development cd = career development anova sum of squares df mean square f sig. td between groups 46.529 2 23.264 167.515 .000 within groups 13.471 97 .139 total 60.000 99 cd between groups 39.284 2 19.642 283.707 .000 within groups 6.716 97 .069 total 46.000 99 figure 1: employee’s motivations figure 1 demonstrates that reasonable income, social security, and pensions serve as the primary motivators for employees, along with decent working conditions, health, safety, and environment. this influences labour productivity on port operations. according to werner and desimone (2012), employee involvement improves organisation effectiveness, which requires essential changes in work expectations, reward systems, and reporting procedures. everts (2001) asserted that career development enhances both employee and organisational performance. hence, career and training development are major boosts for organisation development. conclusion and recommendations it was concluded that organisational performance is anchored on training development, career development, and employee motivations. these factors increase worker competence and productivity, which in turn improves the organisation's performance in the maritime industry. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 reseanable income   decent working conditions social security and pension provision health, safety and the environment 535 the maritime industry should prioritize staff development and adopt workplace democracy to motivate workers. references afolayan, o (1994): “seaport development in nigeria:a case study of apapa port complex” an unpublished m.sc thesis, transport studies department of geography and regional planning, ogun state university, agoiwoye. nigeria. badejo, b.a (1998): freight forwarding in nigeria: problems and prospects; journal of transport development initiatives vol.1.no 1 (71-79) black, w. c. (2001). invited reaction: the influence of individual characteristics and the work environment on varying levels of training outcomes. human resourcedevelopment quarterly, 12(1), 25-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1532-1096 (200101) everts gail lynn, (2001). a study of career development programs in wisconsin municipal police agencies", a research paper / submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master of science degree in training and development. gudelj a, krčum and twrdy e (2010): models and methods for operations in port container terminals intermodal transport preliminary communication gudelj, a. and vidačić, s. (2007): scheduling model of an automated guided vehicle system in seaports, modern traffic, vol. 27, no. 6, 2007, pp. 446-451 lacksonen, t (2001). empirical comparison of search algorithms for discrete event simulation, computers & industrial engineering 40, pp. 133-148 michaela carmen, daniela sarpe and nistor costel (2014). port management importance in port activities development https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228989635 ndikom bc (2011) “the kernel concept of shipping operations, policies and strategies” ibadan university printery, ibadan. ndikom bc (2011) “the kernel concept of shipping operations, policies and strategies” ibadan university printery, ibadan. olaogbebikan et al (2014). performance evaluation of nigerian ports: pre and post concession eras. patrick m.a. (1999). port management and operations. sweden swanson richard a., & holton elwood f. (2001)," foundations of human resource development", first edition, berrett-koehler publishers, inc. tyson s (2006): essentials of human resource management fifth edition 536 vinesh, (2014), "role of training & development in an organizational development", international journal of management and international business studies, volume 4, number 2, pp. 213-220. werner jon m. and desimone randy l. (2012). human resource development, sixth edition, cengage learning products are represented in canada by nelson education, ltd. zotto t.c. (2002): “o trabalho de estiva – modernização e tradição, os desafios da tecnologia e da gestão no cais, sp ltr. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 104 influence of social media advertisement on students’ patronage of viva plus detergent: a study of caritas university undergraduates nkemjika abugu department of mass communication, caritas university, enugu. udeze sunny e. department of mass communication, enugu state university of science and technology (esut) godwin chiwoke okoye department of mass communication, caritas university, enugu. abstract this study investigated the influence of social media advertisement on students’ patronage of viva plus detergent. the study was anchored on the the technological determinism theory. the survey research design was used in this study and questionnaire was an instrument for data collection. the sample size gotten using the australian calculator was 341 from the population of study which was caritas university undergraduates. multi-stage sampling technique was employed in distributing the questionnaire and simple random sampling technique at the second stage. the findings in the study shows that the undergraduates of caritas university are aware of the existence of viva plus detergent based on social media advertising, also that social media advertisements have a great influence on their patronage of viva plus detergent, that other factors like quantity, quality, availability, brand reputation etc. also influence the purchasing decisions of undergraduates of caritas university aside from social media advertising and lastly that social media platforms advertising are effective in influencing undergraduates of caritas university for viva plus detergent. based on the findings of this study, these are the recommendations; viva plus detergent company should leverage on the social media use since undergraduates are highly active on social media and are aware of viva plus detergent due to advertising, viva plus detergent should continue investing in consistent social media presence by introducing engaging content, they should capitalize more on social media advertisements because it has a strong influence on the undergraduates especially on content that highlights positive brand attributes such as quality, affordability, and effectiveness, it is recommended that they highlight special offers, bulk purchases, or student discounts to appeal to budget-conscious undergraduates because social media is effective in influencing purchasing decisions from my findings its effectiveness have been proven so it's important to tailor the contents to the specific strengths of each platform and create campaigns that encourage undergraduates to engage with the brand actively. keywords: social media, advertisement, influence, digital marketing, patronage, viva plus detergent 105 introduction in the contemporary digital era, social media has emerged as a pivotal platform for marketing and advertising which has revolutionized how brands connect with consumers. companies increasingly leverage on social media networks to engage with their target audience, create brand awareness, and drive sales. the rising influence of social media advertising has brought about a new dynamic in consumer behaviour, where users are not only passive recipients of advertisements but active participants in discussions and sharing brand content (kaplan & haenlein, 2010). the use of social media platform has become so popular that it has become the most visited and used media type. the social media is different from traditional media in so many ways such as reach, frequency, accessibility, immediate feedback and more. according to digital report (2023), there were 122.5 million internet users in nigeria and nigeria’s internet penetration rate stood at 55.4 percent. of the total population, 28.20 million use social media. additionally, as the influence of emergent social media continues to increase, individual members of publics are starting to demand participatory communication with and from organizations instead of being passive recipients of messages, publics are now active enough to select communication channels, especially when they care about an issue (rubin, 2002). this change has been especially pronounced among university undergraduates, who spend considerable time on social media platforms, making them an important target audience for brands such as viva plus detergent. studies have shown that social media platforms are highly effective in creating brand awareness and driving consumer engagement, which can translate into higher patronage and sales (duffett, 2017). for consumer products like viva plus detergent, leveraging these digital spaces can enhance brand visibility and influence purchasing decisions among target markets such as university undergraduates. advertising is a powerful tool which is mostly used by manufacturers and service providers to promote their goods and services and attract patronage. as a means of persuasive communication, advertising promotes sale of goods, services, images and ideas through information and persuasion. but one thing may be well understood that advertising by itself cannot sell the product; it cannot sell products of poor quality, products which are too costly or items which do not come up the expectations of the consuming public therefore advertising only helps in selling.(chunawall & sethia,2008).. okunna (2002) sees advertising “as a non-personal communication or information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about (goods and services) or ideas by identified sponsors through various media. latif, saleem, and abideen (2011) add that advertising is a subset of promotion mix which is one of the 4p’s in the marketing mix that is product, price, place and promotion. undergraduates represent a significant segment of the consumer market of viva plus detergent which are why our target audiences for this research are caritas university undergraduates. this demographic is not only highly active on social media but also responsive to trends and brand communications encountered on these platforms. the influence of social media advertising on undergraduates' purchasing decisions is intense, making it crucial to understand how these advertisements affect their patronage of products like viva plus detergent. statement of the problem social media has revolutionized the landscape of marketing and advertising, fundamentally improving how brands communicate with their audiences. in recent years, the rapid growth of social media has reshaped consumer behaviour, particularly among younger demographics like 106 university undergraduates. social media platforms such as instagram, twitter, and facebook have evolved from being merely social networking sites to powerful tools for marketing and advertising; offering brands an opportunity to connect directly with their target audiences. in the case of caritas university, a population characterized by high digital engagement and social media activity, it is crucial to examine how social media advertisements shape undergraduates’ brand perceptions and purchasing behaviors and how effective, these social media advertisements influence undergraduates' purchasing decisions. de vries, gensler, and leeflang (2012) looked into how brand posts on social media influence consumer engagement with the brand and found out that the popularity and visual appeal of brand posts were key factors in increasing consumer engagement. despite the increasing use of social media advertising by detergent brands like viva, there is limited research on how different and specific social media platforms (e.g., facebook vs. instagram) uniquely influence consumer behaviour and brand perception for viva plus detergent, therefore there is a need to examine the impact of micro-influencers, regular users, or usergenerated content in contrast to traditional advertisements, how engagement differs across educational, promotional, and interactive content types and other important factors responsible for the purchasing decisions of university undergraduates. this study seeks to fill this gap by examining the influence of social media advertising on the purchasing decisions of undergraduates at caritas university who represent a dynamic segment of consumers who are both highly active on social media and significantly engaged with advertising content and strategies. objectives of the study the specific objectives include to: 1. determine the level of awareness of social media advertising of viva plus detergent among caritas university undergraduates. 2. ascertain the effectiveness of social media in advertising viva plus detergent among caritas university undergraduates. 3. identify the factors that influence the patronage of viva plus detergent among caritas university undergraduates. literature review social media advertising social media advertising refers to the use of social media platforms such as facebook, instagram, tiktok, and twitter to promote products or services (duffett, 2017). a product refers to anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. it includes physical objects, services, persons, places, organizations and ideas. (kotler, 2006). social media advertising involves various strategies such as targeted adverts, influencer partnerships, user-generated content, and interactive posts aimed at capturing the attention of potential customers (kaplan & haenlein, 2010). unlike traditional advertising, social media platforms allow brands to directly engage with consumers, providing a space for two-way communication and personalized content. this interaction helps build brand loyalty and trust, especially among younger demographics like university undergraduates, who are active users of these platforms (g.g. ezeoke, 2021).the primary advantage of social media advertising is its ability to reach a large audience quickly and effectively and its interactive nature enables brands 107 to engage directly with consumers, creating a personalized advertising experience (mangold & faulds, 2009). marketers use data analytics to target specific demographics, ensuring that advertisements reach users whose interests align with the product. for example, advertisements for viva plus detergent can be tailored to appeal to undergraduates' needs by highlighting its affordability and effectiveness for laundry care, which are important considerations for university undergraduates with limited budgets. social media platforms are popular channels for advertising due to their widespread reach, engagement potential, and ability to target specific audiences. each platform offers unique opportunities for advertisers based on its user base, content type, and engagement style. every brand should know their target audience which simply means those who are likely to use their products the most, and have great influence in the purchase decisions making. secondly, influencers, especially micro and nano influencers are often employed in content strategies to establish credibility and authenticity with the audience (de veirman et al., 2017). influencer endorsements can significantly impact purchasing decisions, particularly among undergraduates who view influencers as relatable role models (jin et al., 2019).another key component is usergenerated content (ugc)content created by users themselves, such as reviews, photos, or videos showcasing the product. brands encourage ugc to build community and trust, as customers often view peer-generated content as more authentic and credible than brand-generated ads (pereira et al., 2014). ugc can drive higher engagement and provide social proof, which is influential for undergraduates and younger audiences. last but not the least, interactive content, this is particularly effective on platforms like instagram and facebook, where stories and live features can provide real-time interactions with the brand which viva plus detergents have leveraged on. visual content remains the most effective form of social media content for capturing attention, with videos often outperforming text-based ads in engagement and retention (brech et al., 2017). short-form videos, stories, and visuals help brands quickly communicate their message and evoke emotions, essential for influencing young users’ purchase intentions. social media advertising has made advertising easier, faster, interactive and more responsive. profile of viva plus detergent viva plus detergent is a detergent that contains advanced stain-removing enzymes and brightening agents that help keep clothes vibrant, thoroughly clean, and fresh after each wash. it is produced by aspira nigeria limited, was introduced to the nigerian market to meet the increasing demand for high-quality laundry products. aspira, a company founded in 2009 in kano, nigeria, initially focused on manufacturing personal and household care products. over the years, viva plus detergent has become a staple in nigerian households, offering a variety of features including stain removal, fabric care, and a long-lasting fragrance. in 2021, aspira expanded the viva plus range with the introduction of a laundry sanitizer detergent, developed in response to the covid-19 pandemic, this new variant includes multi-enzyme technology and an eco-friendly formula that is gentle on fabrics and effective in both warm and cold water and does not only enhances stain removal but also reduces bacteria, aligning with the global push for improved hygiene. recently they have also introduced viva plus gold laundry detergent which is designed to provide a premium cleaning experience, it is crafted to remove tough stains effectively while infusing clothes with a luxury fragrance developed in collaboration with perfumers. this unique scent is inspired by high-end fragrance trends, offering a "luscious and rich" aroma that can linger on fabrics after washing, enhancing freshness for longer periods and its concentrated formula makes it economical, 108 as only a small amount is required per load to achieve optimal results. the product line includes various sizes, such as 85g, 180g, 380g, and 900g packages, catering to different household needs. consumer behaviour in the digital age consumer behaviour refers to the decision-making processes and actions of individuals when purchasing products or services (schiffman & kanuk, 2010). consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the process they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society (sabine 2012). sabin states that the study of behavior of consumers helps firms and organizations improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues such as the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives (e.g., brands, products, and retailers); the psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment (e.g., culture, family, signs, media); the behavior of consumers while shopping or making other marketing decisions; limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and marketing outcome. according to the hierarchy of effects model, consumers typically progress through stages of awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase when interacting with advertisements (lavidge & steiner, 1961). social media platforms can influence each of these stages by providing engaging content that guides users from awareness to purchase. for university undergraduates, factors such as perceived product quality, affordability, and social influence play significant roles in their decision-making processes (ajzen, 1991). studies indicate that social media advertising influences consumer behavior by enhancing brand awareness and creating a space for product discovery. for instance, undergraduates may rely on instagram or tiktok to see product demonstrations or user-generated content related to viva plus, which can help them decide whether to make a purchase (duffett, 2017). secondly, social media enables consumers to view endorsements and reviews from peers, influencers, and brand advocates, leading to a phenomenon known as social proof, which refers to the way people look to others’ behaviors to inform their own (cialdini, 2007). peer influence is particularly strong among undergraduates, who tend to be more receptive to recommendations from friends or popular influencers than from traditional advertising. for viva plus detergent, seeing other undergraduates or micro-influencers endorse or use the product on social media can increase its perceived credibility and desirability, potentially leading to higher patronage. thirdly, convenience and instant gratification; the digital age has led consumers to expect quick access to products and information. another important aspect is that social media has shifted consumer behavior from passive observation to active participation. digital consumers now expect to interact with brands, ask questions, and receive real-time responses. visual content is not left out in the digital age, visual content such as videos, images, and graphics has a strong influence on digital consumers, especially younger audiences (scott, 2015). for viva plus detergent, creating visually engaging ads or short, relatable video content that showcases the product’s benefits and uses can capture undergraduates’ attention more effectively than static ads. another relevant point is word-of-mouth (wom) which has expanded in the digital age, where consumers can easily share their opinions with a wide audience. positive online reviews, testimonials, and recommendations have a powerful effect on purchasing decisions, as 109 they provide social validation and create brand authenticity and trust (chen & xie, 2008). even by the use of hash tags, encouraging reviews, and rewarding user-generated content can amplify wom and increase brand visibility among undergraduates so there is a huge difference in consumer behavior of digital age and that of the traditional media age. review of related studies duffett (2017) conducted a study on “the influence of social media marketing communications on young consumers’ attitudes in south africa” which reveals that social media advertisements significantly influence consumers' attitudes toward brands, especially when they feature interactive elements like videos and user-generated content. this research emphasizes the importance of engaging content in social media advertising and how it can foster positive brand perceptions among young consumers. similarly, this study seeks to examine how similar strategies could improve the effectiveness of advertising for viva plus among caritas university undergraduates. similarly, a research by g.g. ezeoke (2021) focused on “consumer behavior in the digital age and the factors that influence purchasing decisions” ezeoke's study found that advertising content that emphasizes product quality and affordability is particularly effective among student populations. this aligns with the focus of the current study, as it seeks to determine whether similar factors like quality, quantity, price, availability, packaging etc. in social media advertisements for viva plus detergent influence purchase decisions among university undergraduates. furthermore, smith et al. (2018) conducted research on “the influence of digital media on youth engagement” and found that social media platforms are instrumental in shaping young consumers' purchasing behavior. the study showed that targeted advertisements on platforms like instagram and facebook could significantly affect brand preferences among university undergraduates. this study provides insights into how digital advertising strategies could be tailored to appeal to the specific preferences and behaviors of caritas university undergraduates when promoting products like viva plus detergent. in the same vein, wimmer and dominick (2011) also explored “the role of digital media in shaping consumer behavior” highlighting the importance of creating a strong online presence to attract and retain customers. their findings suggest that brands that effectively use social media to communicate their value propositions can see an increase in customer loyalty and patronage. this empirical evidence is crucial for understanding how viva plus detergent might leverage social media platforms to enhance its appeal among undergraduates by building an authentic and engaging online identity, which is important for brands aiming to establish long-term customer relationships. in the context of detergent products, a study by kotler and keller (2016) on “consumer goods marketing” indicated that social media campaigns that highlight the unique selling propositions of the product, such as stain removal, efficiency and affordability are more successful in driving consumer patronage which applies to viva plus detergent and also that social media campaigns for consumer goods must clearly communicate the product's value to drive consumer interest and purchase behavior. 110 theoretical framework the technological determinism theory this study was anchored on the theory of technological determinism. the theory is most commonly associated with thorstein veblen, an american economist and sociologist, who first introduced ideas that evolved into technological determinism in the early 20th century.. veblen's work, particularly his 1915 book "the engineers and the price system", emphasized the role of technological development in shaping economic systems and society. however, the theory as it is commonly understood today was further developed by marshall mcluhan, a canadian philosopher and media theorist, in the 1960s. mcluhan is most famous for his ideas about how media (as a form of technology) shape human perceptions, culture, and society. his most influential work, "understanding media: the extensions of man" (1964), argued that technology and media have profound effects on how societies function, with his famous statement “the medium is the message” highlighting the power of technology in determining cultural and societal change. technological determinism is a theory that suggests that technology plays a fundamental role in shaping society, culture, and history. it holds that technology is not just a tool used by humans but that it shapes and structures human experience, behavior, and society. the targeted nature of social media advertising (based on user data, interests, and behavior) makes it an incredibly powerful tool for shaping consumer choices. technological determinism also suggests that media technology (social media) not only influences individuals but also plays a role in shaping social norms. social media platforms are built to create feedback loops, where users are continuously exposed to more of the content they interact with. this reinforces behavior and creates cycles where students are repeatedly exposed to ads for viva plus detergent, making them more likely to purchase the product. according to technological determinism, the medium (social media platforms) itself drives the level of awareness among students. social media advertising can expose students to viva plus detergent through tailored ads, influencer promotions, and peer interactions. technological determinism posits that the medium not only exposes individuals to content but also shapes how they perceive and interact with it. if ads are presented in a way that resonates with their lifestyles or values, students may form positive perceptions of the product. social media platforms shape the factors that influence purchasing decisions by continuously reinforcing product messages, testimonials, or special offers. the technology of social media drives not only the exposure to these ads but also the factors (such as brand image, affordability, peer influence) that guide purchasing decisions. methodology this study adopted the survey research method, which is effective in collecting quantitative data on attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions from the population. the population of this study consists of all undergraduates of caritas university, enugu which is three thousand (3,000). the australian online sample size calculator, developed by the national statistical service of australia was used 111 to get the sample size for this study which is 341. the multi-stage sampling technique was used to draw respondents from the sample size of three hundred and fortyone (341). the instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. to ensure the validity of the questionnaire, the questionnaire was given to two different lecturers in the department of mass communication, caritas university to review. the reliability of the questionnaire was tested using cronbach’s alpha to measure the internal consistency of the instrument. copies of the questionnaires were then administered to the respondents personally by the researchers. the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages etc).. discussion of findings research question one: awareness of social media advertising of viva plus detergent among caritas university undergraduates the findings indicate that the undergraduates of caritas university are highly aware of the social media advertisements for viva plus detergent. it was revealed that all respondents are familiar with these advertisements and regularly encounter them on social media platforms, as most students use social media daily. this suggests that social media advertising has a strong presence among this demographic. research question two: effectiveness of social media platforms in the advertisement of viva plus advertisement among caritas university undergraduates the data shows that social media advertisements for viva plus detergent are generally effective in influencing caritas university undergraduates. these advertisements provide the necessary information to persuade them to make a purchase indicating a direct impact on their buying behaviour and that social media platforms advertising are effective in influencing undergraduates of caritas university for viva plus detergent. research question three: factors that influence the patronage of viva plus detergent among caritas university undergraduates the findings indicate that several factors, aside from social media advertising, influence the purchasing decisions of caritas university undergraduates when it comes to viva plus detergent like quantity, quality, availability, brand reputation, packaging and various other factors that contribute to the decision-making process of undergraduates at caritas university. recommendations based on the findings of this study, viva plus detergent company should leverage on the daily social media use by undergraduates of caritas university to boost more awareness since undergraduates are highly active on social media and are aware of viva plus due to advertising, viva plus should continue investing in consistent social media presence by introducing engaging content such as "did you know?" facts about the product, usage tips, or environmental benefits to further solidify brand recall and also utilize social media trends like hash tags, challenges, or memes to increase product visibility, leveraging the platforms where undergraduates are most active. the findings show that social media advertising has a strong influence on the undergraduates. viva plus should focus on content that highlights positive brand attributes—such as quality, 112 affordability, and effectiveness. they should also share customer testimonials, influencer reviews, or expert endorsements to reinforce a more favorable image. since factors like quality, quantity, availability, and brand reputation also shape purchasing decisions, the advertising strategy should address these directly. content should spotlight the highquality features of viva plus, like stain removal capability, or any unique formulas that stand out. they should also highlight special offers, bulk purchases, or student discounts to appeal to budgetconscious undergraduates and always ensure their product is widely available in local shops or online platforms accessible to undergraduates, and include this information in social media posts. social media is effective in influencing purchasing decisions from the findings. so it's important to tailor the contents to the specific strengths of each platform. for example: use instagram and tiktok for visual, quick consumption content like short how-to videos or influencer collaborations. and use platforms like facebook for more detailed posts or events that involve educational content, discounts, or giveaways. they should create campaigns that encourage undergraduates to engage with the brand actively. for example, photo or video contests where undergraduates demonstrate how they use viva plus can increase interaction. they can also incorporate incentives like giveaways, loyalty rewards, or branded merchandise for undergraduates who consistently engage with online campaigns references adebisi, a., & okeke, c. 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(2010). consumer behavior (10th ed.). boston: pearson education. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 352 availability, awareness and utilisation of offline e-book platforms and other online databases in university libraries joseph chukwusa delta state university library, abraka. email: chukwusajoseph@yahoo.com edith ijeoma oshiokpu university of science and technology, ozoro email: ijeomaoshiokpuedith@gmail.com abstract this study was carried out to examine availability, awareness and utilization of offline e-book platforms and other online databases in delta state university and federal university of petroleum resources libraries. the descriptive survey design was adopted for the research. purposive sampling technique was adopted. the researcher purposively visited the libraries studied and randomly selected 70 students each from the two universities. this brings the population of the study to 140 students; and all were administered the questionnaire which was retrieved and found usable. the data collected were analyzed using percentage and descriptive mean statistical tools. the study revealed that most of the students don’t know that there are dedicated offline e-book platforms available in the e-libraries; but availability of other online resources is not in doubt; that most of the students are not aware of e-book platforms in the elibraries as a result not utilizing them; but are aware of other online resources and making effective use of them amongst other challenges. the major challenges limiting the utilization of databases by students are lack of awareness, inadequate facilities, epileptic power supply and poor internet services. the study recommended strong awareness campaign concerning the availability of offline e-book platforms, and subscription and open access databases by librarians in the study area. keywords: awareness campaign, online databases, offline e-book, platform utilization, students, university libraries. introduction libraries are essential to people's personal growth in our culture. academic accomplishment and research quality in higher education institutions are determined by the quality of print and electronic library resources. acquiring, processing, storing, preserving, and making current and pertinent print and electronic items that will satisfy their users' needs at the right moment are the goals of library establishment. information has become much more available and accessible as a result of digitization, according to ubogu and chukwusa (2022) and pertti and sanna (2006). the increasing amount of literature available in digital format in libraries makes it easier for academics to find the information they need. the scholars' exposure to a greater variety of literature than they otherwise would have had is a direct result of this growth. electronic information is accessible to researchers via a range of technological means. while the internet offers a wealth of information through search engines, subject gateways, subject directories, and other web-based resources, these also include cd-roms, online public access catalogue (opac), e-journals, and other digital media. according to curzon (2010), the goal of a successful library should be to promote teaching, learning, and research. the extensive and varied library collections should aid in this way. according to hamza, ahmad, yunusa, and hamisu (2015), the benefits of electronic databases are driving up their popularity over traditional print resources. these databases are mailto:chukwusajoseph@yahoo.com mailto:ijeomaoshiokpuedith@gmail.com 353 well-structured digital compilations of citations for published materials, including theses, journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, and legal publications. there are several varieties of academic online databases, including full-text, multimedia, directory, and bibliographic databases. they have had a remarkable and unparalleled impact on academic libraries and researchers (chukwusa, 2020). these databases have several benefits over print, some of which are: greater collection expansion potential; substantial information capacity; powerful sharing capabilities; and reduced storage requirements. the university under investigation has subscribed to a variety of electronic resources, some of which are free and others of which require payment, in light of their above-mentioned contributions to the academic world. it is envisaged that resources like databases, in which the university has made significant financial investments, will be fully utilized. in light of this, the purpose of this study is to find out how well-informed and how often students use the offline e-books and other online databases available in the library of delta state university. statement of the problem both offline and online databases are priceless information resources that can significantly improve research, teaching, and learning in academic institutions across the globe. the university library's ict infrastructure was purchased with monies contributed by the federal university of petroleum resources, effurun and delta state university management. to facilitate quick and simple access to up-to-date material for academic study, the university library websites features links to several open access databases, an offline e-book platform, and a subscription to research4life, an online database. however, it is noted that students use databases less frequently than one might think for academic work because many of them rely on search engines, a small number of outdated textbooks, and other printed materials. maybe there are things that prevent it from being used effectively. it appears that among other issues, students at the university libraries under study struggle with poor ict abilities, a lack of knowledge about the existence and advantages of offline e-book platforms and online databases, and inadequate infrastructure. in light of this, the study aims to explore the availability, awareness, and usage of offline and online databases by students in the universities under investigation, with the goal of creating plans to improve their efficient use. objectives of the study this article aims to investigate the availability, student awareness, and utilization of offline ebook platform databases and online databases at the libraries of federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university. the particular goals are to: 1. check if the libraries at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university have offline e-book platforms and online databases. 2. find out how much knowledge students of the libraries at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university have about offline e-books and online databases. 3. analyze how much students use the offline e-books platforms and online databases in the libraries at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university. 4. determine the obstacles preventing students from using offline e-book platforms and other online databases effectively in the libraries at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university. 354 5. determine the methods for improving student users' efficient usage of offline e-books platforms and other online databases at delta state university and federal university of petroleum resources libraries. research questions the following are the research questions: 1. are online databases and offline e-book platforms available for students in federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university libraries? 2. how well-informed are the students at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university with regard to online databases and offline e-book platforms in the libraries? 3. to what degree do students at delta state university and federal university of petroleum resources libraries utilize online databases and offline e-book platforms? 4. what obstacles prevent students from using the offline e-book platforms and other online databases at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university libraries effectively? 5. how can students at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university libraries make better use of offline e-book platforms and internet databases? literature review a university library's quality can be assessed by looking at its current holdings and how well it serves its users online and in other ways. hiremath, kenchakkanavar, and shirur (2023) contend that effective client services and a resourceful library are essential for the growth of high-quality education. meeting the information needs of the academic community is the aim of a university library. because of this, a lot of university libraries are actively working to create collections made up of books, journals, serials, theses, and other materials that have been digitally transformed or are otherwise "born digital" and are accessible online through databases (joshi, 2021; ubogu, 2020). the researcher went on to say that one of the most significant electronic resources that university libraries currently subscribe to in order to support efficient teaching, learning, and research is online academic databases. sani, nwakaego, and ninma (2020) concurred that internet databases are now a standard part of the holdings of many university libraries. journal articles or citations to them, e-books (both offline and online), reference materials, conference papers, reports, and other materials are frequently found in these databases. these databases come in a variety of forms, including numeric, multimedia, full-text, directory, and bibliographic. according to sani, nwakaego, and ninma (2020), there are regional and situational differences in the awareness and use of online databases. according to okogwu (2020), students in developed nations are more familiar with and use electronic databases than students in developing nations due to the former's access to sophisticated ict infrastructure and the latter's continued struggle with inadequate ict infrastructure and high costs associated with such resources. francis (2023) underlined once more that students typically turn to general search engines to get the information they need when they are unaware that online databases exist. 355 empirical research onekutu et al. (2020) reported zhang, ye, and liu (20ii) in their study revealed that most university students in china use online databases more than other electronic resources for research purposes. furthermore, they noted that approximately ninety-nine percent of students in columbia use electronic information resources for their research work, citing eqbal and khan (2007). they also noted that users prefer to use online resources because of their speed and ease of accessibility. additional research by hong and jo (2017) on how american undergraduate students studying international geography utilize the internet has demonstrated that students prefer to use online resources often and only use them for their academic assignments. according to aina (2014), users in nigeria who are aware of electronic resources are more likely to be aware of the online databases that their institution subscribes to. it is recommended that library customers make use of the resources when needed; when they are adequately informed about them. according to basiru and oshiotse (2018) and chukwusa (2019), using and being aware of internet databases is crucial for research, teaching, and learning in the nigerian university system. they also underlined that the primary obstacle to the efficient usage of electronic databases is ignorance. according to a study by baro, endouware, and ubogu (2011), respondents to their survey about medical students' awareness and use of online information resources at delta state university in nigeria were more aware of online databases than they were of their usage. only 17% of medical students used the medline database, despite 23.2% of them being aware of its existence, according to their survey. moreover, just 38.8% of respondents utilized hinari, despite the fact that 60.8% of them were aware of it. challenges despite the importance of online databases and making sure that library patrons can access them, research has shown that there are a number of obstacles that prevent users from using online databases. these obstacles include a lack of awareness, a preference for alternative sources over online databases, a lack of search expertise, inadequate lct infrastructure, slow download speeds, and users' general attitudes (chukwusa, 2021; chukwusa, 2017; mangi, 2014). in addition, ugwu and orsu (2017) and chima-james, okpara, and ogaraku (2018) identified a number of factors, including inadequate information technology infrastructure development, a lack of awareness and time, a delay in downloads, difficulty finding information, insufficient or nonexistent search skills, high access costs, challenges navigating databases, a lack of bandwidth, and frequent power outages. the literature reviewed for this study covers a wide range of topics, the value of online and offline e-book databases as information resources and how they have established themselves as a mainstay of many university libraries, the exposure of students to online databases, the level of awareness and utilization of online databases in nigeria, and the obstacles that prevent students from using them. the study aims to close the knowledge gap on the, availability, use and awareness of online databases and offline e-book databases in the federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university libraries; as no research has been done in this area as it specifically concerns offline e-book platforms. 356 methodology this study was carried out to examine availability, awareness and utilization of offline e-book platforms and other online databases in delta state university and federal university of petroleum resources libraries. the descriptive survey design was adopted for the research. purposive sampling technique was adopted. the researcher purposively visited the libraries studied and randomly selected 70 students each from the two universities. this brings the population of the study to 140 students; and all were administered the questionnaire which was retrieved but 135 (96.4%) was found usable. the data collected were analyzed using percentage and descriptive mean statistical tools. research analysis/findings table 1: availability of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other online resources in fupre and delsu e-libraries availability of offline e-book platforms variable options no. of respondents % agree 39 28.9 availability of offline e-book platforms undecided 4 3.0 disagree 92 68.1 grand total 135 availability of other online resources variable options no. of respondents % agree 135 100 availability of other online eresources undecided disagree grand total 135 100 on availability of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other online resources in fupre and delsu e-libraries, table 1 revealed that 39 (28.9%) of the respondents agreed that there are e-book platforms in the two universities studied, while 92(68.1%) disagreed. the study concluded that most of the students don’t know that there are e-book platforms in the elibraries. as per availability of other online resources, the respondents 135(100%) affirmed that there are some subscription and open access databases in the libraries. table 2: awareness of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other online resources in fupre and delsu e-libraries awareness of offline e-book platforms variable options no. of respondents % 357 agree 42 31.1 awareness of offline e-book platforms in the libraries undecided disagree 93 68.9 grand total 135 100 awareness of other online resources variable options no. of respondents % agree 133 98.5 awareness of other online eresources in the libraries undecided 2 1.5 disagree grand total 135 100 on awareness of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other online resources in fupre and delsu e-libraries, table 2 revealed that 42 (31.1%) of the respondents agreed that they are aware of the existence of offline e-book platforms, while 93(68.9%) disagreed. on awareness of other online resources, 133 (98.5%) respondents agreed that they aware; but with 2(1.5%) undecided cases. the study concluded that most of the students are not aware that there are e-book platforms in the e-libraries, but are aware of other online resources. table 3: utilization of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other online resources in fupre and delsu libraries utilization of e-book platforms variable options no. of respondents % agree 52 38.5 utilization of e-book platform undecided disagree 87 64.4 grand total 135 100 utilization of other online resources variable options no. of respondents % agree 135 100 utilization of other online e-resources undecided 358 disagree grand total 135 100 table 3 revealed that 52(38.5%) of the respondents agreed to using offline e-book platforms in their study, while 87(64.4%) disagreed. as per utilization of other online resources, the study revealed further that all the 135(100%) respondents affirmed to using online resources. the study concluded that most of the respondents are not using dedicated offline e-book platforms in the two university libraries studied but are using online resources to a large extent. table 4: challenges to the use of dedicated offline e-book platform and other eresources s/n challenges to e-resources use agree und disagree total mean scores 1. insufficient awareness of the existence of offline e-book platforms in the elibrary. 102 6 27 135 2.6 2. having flair for other general search engines 68 67 135 2.0 3. inadequate search skills when using the computer 126 9 135 2.9 4. insufficient ict facilities/bandwidth 97 38 135 2.4 5. unfriendly attitude of librarians in the elibrary 49 86 135 1.7 6. inadequate power supply 43 92 135 1.6 grand mean 2.2 with 2.0 as cutoff point, table 4 revealed that aside ‘unfriendly attitude of librarians in the elibrary, 1.7’ and ‘inadequate power supply, 1.6’ mean scores the study revealed that the challenges to the use of dedicated offline e-book platforms and other e-resources in the libraries studied are ‘inadequate search skills when using the computer, 2.9’ and ‘insufficient awareness of the existence of offline e-book platforms in the e-libraries, 2.6 mean scores’ amongst others. 359 table 4: strategies for enhancing the use of offline e-book platform and other eresources s/n strategies to enhance e-resources use agree und disagree total mean scores 1. constant user education/awareness programmes for students. 125 6 4 135 2.9 2. the involvement of students in academic activities which will make them have the need to use offline e-books and other databases. 90 14 31 135 2.4 3. adequate internet connectivity 135 135 3.0 4. constant training on information search approaches/literacy skills 109 26 135 2.6 5. provision of constant power supply 135 135 3.0 6. digital librarians to put up more positive attitudes that will motivate students to use the e-book platforms and other e-resources provided for them 132 3 135 2.9 grand mean 2.8 on strategies to employ to enable enhancing the use by students of offline e-book platforms and other e-resources in the two libraries studied, table 5 revealed that all the six items listed were affirmed as challenges. adequate power supply and internet connectivity had 3.0 as mean scores each. the least item in the table (though accepted), ‘the involvement of students in academic activities which will make them have the need to use offline e-books and other databases’ was accepted. discussion of findings according to the study, the majority of students are unaware that e-libraries offer specialized offline e-book platforms; but availability of other online resources is not in doubt. ugwu and orsu (2017) corroborated this conclusion, stating that both offline and online e-resources are available in university libraries studied, despite the offline e-book platforms being hardly utilized. the results of this study showed that students are only aware of a small number of subscription and open access databases among the many databases and offline e-book platforms available in the libraries under review. the majority of students are unaware that there are specialized offline e-book sites. this implies that students do not have a high level of database awareness. this is consistent with research by onekutu et al. (2020), who found that students are typically not exposed to the resources (awareness) and subsequent use, which leads to low levels of awareness of offline e-book platforms. the authors went on to 360 say that the students only utilize subscription and open access databases and use less offline e-book platforms since they are not aware of their presence. according to the study, the main obstacles preventing students from using databases (both online and offline) effectively were a lack of knowledge about offline e-book platforms available in libraries, inadequate infrastructure, poor internet connectivity, an epileptic power supply, and a preference for other sources like subscription and open access databases. the results of the study are consistent with chukwusa (2017) and chukwusa (2020). having a proper database awareness program, having a sufficient power supply and infrastructure, getting students actively involved in academic activities that will encourage them to use the database, and subscribing to databases that are pertinent to the students' field of study are some strategies to overcome obstacles. this is consistent with research by onetuku et al. (2020), ugwu and orsu (2017), and chime-james et al. (2018), which found that the main obstacles to the use of electronic databases in libraries are low internet connectivity, inadequate infrastructure, inadequate power supplies, and lack of awareness. to overcome these obstacles, library staff members must work extremely hard to raise community awareness and make sure that the facilities and infrastructure needed are in place to support students' efficient use of electronic resources. conclusion the results made it clear that the majority of students do not have sufficient knowledge of most databases, particularly the offline e-book platforms found in university e-libraries. the use of databases by students is hindered by issues such as inadequate facilities, unstable power supplies, and subpar internet access. the study found that students using the libraries at federal university of petroleum resources and delta state university had little knowledge of internet databases, particularly offline e-book platforms. this has played a significant role in the underutilization of subscription and open access databases, as well as offline e-book platforms, which are highly pertinent to the fields of study of the students enrolled in these institutions. recommendations the study's conclusions led to the following recommendations being made: • libraries should have enough offline e-book platforms and subscription databases available (to at least make it easier for students to utilize the e-library in the event of a power outage). • the university library should work with departments and teaching faculties to increase knowledge of the availability of offline e-book platforms and online databases. user education must be ongoing. • to raise awareness, the university library should create a list of the databases it has and provide it to students via email and the library website, both in print and electronic copies. this list should be updated on a regular basis. • in order to improve database usage, the library should offer students effective training resources and ongoing instruction in advanced searching techniques. 361 references aina, r. f. 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(2017). challenges of utilization of online information resources by undergraduate student: implication for information services. https://digitalcomrnons.unl.edu/libphilprae/166 http://informationr.net/ir/l2-1/paper285.html https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=ofko8-eaaaaj&citation_for_view=ofko8-eaaaaj:se3iqnhoufwc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=ofko8-eaaaaj&citation_for_view=ofko8-eaaaaj:se3iqnhoufwc page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 223 averting kidnapping as threat to human freedom and development in bukkuyum local government area, zamfara state dickson ogbonnaya igwe department of criminology and security studies faculty of the social sciences national open university of nigeria email: igwedickson@gmail.com abstract there have been serious threats to the country’s national security, as well as individual security. threatening human and national security like never before are cases of organized crimes virtually in every part of the country. these range from political violence, insurgency, oil bunkering banditry and kidnapping to mention but a few. against this background, this study presents an assessment of the causes and consequences of kidnapping in bukkuyum local government area of zamfara state. it underscores the view that the issue and problem of kidnapping in bukkuyum local government area of zamfara state could be assessed when viewed from the perspective of the general insecurity in nigeria. using differential opportunities theory, descriptive and analytical methods, the study underscores the inadequate security measures and the collaboration of corrupt law enforcement officials are significantly responsible for the causes of kidnappings. further, it points to the illegal proliferation of arms and ammunitions as a major determinant of the outbreak of kidnapping in the area, also highlighting the nigerian porous borders with neighbouring countries as a causative factor of kidnapping in the area under consideration. it concludes that the government must be proactive in ensuring that the right steps are taken within its powers to checkmate the menace of kidnapping and other crimes. among others, this study recommends that there should be a synergy between the security structure and the legal framework in order to achieve success in the fight against the crime of kidnapping and the myriads of security challenges in nigeria. keywords: development, kidnapping. human freedom, bukkuyum local government area, zamfara state introduction kidnapping as an aspect of insurgency, generally, is occasioned by acts of arms struggle by usually faceless actors against the state, group or individuals in recent time is increasingly evolving into a new normal across climes with shades of patterns and directions that interrupt individual rights to freedom and development. consequently, the statutory monopoly right of state to the use of fire arms for coercion and enforcement of its laws for peace and security of life and property of citizens is most often brought to question. the seizure or abduction of government officers for the purpose of pressuring government against unpopular policies by pressure groups called hoodlum has metamorphosed into a money-spinning venture where victims are deliberately seized or kidnapped for ransom. in fact, state, group and individual are complicit in kidnapping as evident in mike ozhekome (san) versus states, an international dimension described as unlawful abduction and rendition of his client by nigerian from another state (kenya). the state often argues in favour of its act of seizure as legitimate action to ensure national security (amzat, 2016). but when individual or group do same action to pressure state to change its unpopular policy, it is classified as illegal kidnaping by terrorist or bandits. both state and dependents of victims of kidnapping pay ransom to avert the danger of dearth of the victim. the irony therefore, is that the state kidnaps also do the non-state actors. mailto:igwedickson@gmail.com 224 in nigeria, despite constituting serious threats to the country’s national security and freedom of movement, kidnapping has spread so rapidly affecting almost all zones at various intensity and frequency with northeast and west mostly hit (adagba ugwu & eme, 2012). there are cases of organized crimes virtually in every part of the country. these range from political violence, insurgency, oil bunkering banditry ritual killings and car snatching among others and kidnapping to mention but a few. the causes, intensification and consequences of kidnapping in the area under study perhaps reflect the inability of government in providing adequate security for its citizens. in line with this, therefore, it could be said that successive governments have not invested adequately in procuring weapons for fighting crime, especially kidnapping and associated crimes in the country. the case of the chibok school girls kidnapping is another major incident of kidnapping in nigeria with over 200 school girls abducted from government girls secondary school chibok, borno state in 2014. this abduction was carried out by the boko haram insurgents at the time, thus sparking both national and international condemnations. (amzat, 2016). similar incidents of varying magnitude mainly carried out by boko haram terrorists, occurred in several parts of the country. these included, the abu students kidnapping, borno aid worker’s kidnap, kidnap and execution of icrc workers, nigerian-turkish college students’ teacher abduction, dapchi school girls kidnapping, babington macaulay schools girls’ abduction and unimaid lecturer kidnap (alagbe, 2021). this invariably questions the efficiency of security agencies in the country, as many have become collaborators with criminals to perpetuate criminality in the area under study. the issue of providing adequate social amenities for the people, as well as the empowerment of the populace by the government could go a long way in discouraging the youths especially into engaging in crime. this calls to question the issue of corruption by government officials in the public space. between the year 2021 and 2022, a report has it that about 653.7 million naira was paid in various ransom payments made by relatives of kidnapped victims in several incidences of kidnappings in nigeria. the menacing insecurity development also witnessed about 500 incidents of kidnappings out of which 3,420 people were taken hostage or abducted across nigeria. these ugly incidents also led to the killings of about 500 persons in related violence and abductions in the same year. (musa, 2013). the abuja-kaduna train incident, which involved the kidnapping of train passengers along the abujakaduna axis is perhaps one of the most publicized incidents of kidnapping in nigeria. it was also reported that a large sum of money was paid as ransom in this incident. (sanni, 2022). in nigeria, abduction instances have typically involved in a wide range of victims, including humanitarian workers, politicians, wealthy individuals, drivers, farmers, member of faith-based organizations (fbos), and security personnel. the kuje area council in fct abuja is wellknown for abduction. (nextier, 2023). for instance, the country’s capital has suddenly received increase case of kidnappings. according to data from the nextier violent conflict database, (2023), which shows two cases in may 2023 and three in june 2023. two people were abducted in the mpape area on july 16, 2023, according to the most recent event. in fct abuja, 40 kidnapping occurrences involving 236 victims have been reported between january 2021 and june 30, 2023. according to research, the confirmed ransom payment made between 2021 and 2022 represent 653.7 million of the economic damages resulting from kidnapping. even with initiatives to lessen the hardships of instability, the threat of kidnapping endures. (nextier, 2023). hence, the focus this study is to examine how to avert kidnapping as threat to human freedom and 225 development in bukkuyum local government area, zamfara state. arising from the foregoing, are the following questions begging for answer. what is the nature of kidnappings prevalence? what local concerns sustain kidnapping? how can kidnapping be eradicated by the state? how can the local contribute to averting kidnapping? methodology research design using exploratory and descriptive design and the theory of delinquent gangs, authored by richard cloward and lloyd ohlin as theoretical framework, the qualitative data gathered from purposively drawn sample respondents in bukkuyum lga, and subjected to editing, coding and transcription before critical interpretation. literature review the nature/feature and characteristics of kidnapping the nature of kidnapping has been noted by ajayi, haastrup and osalusi, (2010), to include the use of smuggled illegal importation of arms and ammunitions obtained from neighbouring countries. this criminality has made possession of arms by individuals and groups very easy. this is related to the increased destructive activities of cultists in virtually every part of nigeria, (igbo and ikpa 2013), who also engage in criminal activities such as kidnapping. according to ezeoba, (2011), kidnappings are mainly carried out by criminals such as bandits, terrorists and other armed individuals or groups. these criminalities occur especially through violent activities that could arise from the consequences of abduction, robbery insurgency and so on. furthermore, ogbonnaya, (2020), opines that the illegality and general corruption in government quarters, alongside bad governance and lack of political will serve as another major cause of kidnapping as well as its type and nature in nigeria. thus, he expresses the view that illegal mining business that has also featured as a dominant crime in nigeria, provides a fairly easy access for kidnappers and bandits to thrive in the area.in case whereby community members, for instance, resisted the attacks from the bandits and terrorists, uche & iwuamadi (2018) highlighted the consequences thereafter to include mass killings, maiming, kidnapping and arson among other heinous violent crimes. many of the bandits and terrorists look for any way possible to initiate violence and chaos in targeted communities, killing innocent people and abducting others including women, children and men. victims in this kind of crime are thereafter taken into the forests or hidden locations anywhere in the country where they now demand for ransom from their victim’s relatives’ friends and acquaintances. notable among these are the issues of youth unemployment, corruption, ethnopolitical rivalries, lack of adequate political will by governments and the proliferation of arms among others. the issue of porous borders, considering the fulani herders and insurgents has also been highlighted as a major factor in the causes of kidnappings in the various communities in nigeria. these factors all provide a direct need for strategizing kidnappings by unscrupulous elements in the area to carry out their heinous crime violence, banditry and kidnapping among others. (icir, 2023; olmstead, 2021). imperatively, in 2006, widespread kidnappings started. it was thought that these kidnappings had political motivations. many contributed to the passage of laws that will help nigerians all throughout the nation. people also desired to oppose the president in some way. but kidnappings have expanded beyond their originally political purpose. 226 kidnappings are become a popular means of rapid wealth accumulation. regardless of the social standing of the victim, kidnappers always demand a ransom. they know full well that families will stop at nothing to ensure their loved ones return home safely. (abdulrasheed, 2020). in addition, kidnappers frequently use up to 20 gunmen to invade schools in order to abduct children. they also frequently experience little to no interference from the authorities. a number of persons have occasionally been kidnapped from their cars when they were stopped on the highway. for days, months, or even years, kidnappers hold their captive’s captive. in addition, the relatives of victims usually have difficulty covering the ransom. on the average, these ransoms total $1,222. the debts victims acquire in order to pay the ransom can loom over them for years. thus, kidnappings cause material harm in addition to bodily harm. (olmstead, 2021). it is important to note that during the four months between december 2020 and march 2021, at least five distinct events involving groups of bandits abducted over 760 children from boarding schools and other educational facilities in northern nigeria. (icir, 2023; aljazeera, 2022). generally, cases of kidnappings have been noted virtually in the norther region of nigeria. (icir, 2023). nigeria is now dealing with one of its biggest problems, which is kidnapping for ransom. to combat this, the government is punishing families who agree to pay ransom. however, many don not think this will do anything to address the issue. the nation's public infrastructure has been the target of multiple bombings and attacks by the islamic terrorist group boko haram since 2009. the group has pledged to turn nigeria into an islamic state and is especially against western education, which they claim draws people away from islamic teaching as a way of life. (onireti, 2023). following these assaults, boko haram targeted boarding schools, villages, churches, and government buildings in a number of kidnappings for ransom. the abduction of 276 chibok schoolgirls, aged between 16 and 18, from their boarding school in borno state, in the northeast of the nation, in 2014 was one of the most notable of these. the #bringbackourgirls movement and rallies in significant cities around the world were the results of this atrocity, which sparked international anger against boko haram and condemnation of the nigerian government's handling of the security situation. more than 100 of the girls are still unaccounted for, and others are thought to have passed away (icir, 2023; onireti, 2023). according to a recent modification to nigeria's terrorism (prevention) act 2013, families and friends of kidnap victims may now be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if they attempt to liberate their loved ones. the legislators think that this will deter kidnappings and kidnappings for ransom. additionally, it has rendered kidnapping crimes punishable by death in situations where the victims pass away. the government has already implemented other steps, such as restricting the movement of citizens in some states, deploying the military, and shutting down certain mobile telecommunications networks to hinder terrorists from communicating with one another (onireti, 2023). on his part, ayantoye, (2023), examines the huge burden the increasing level of kidnapping has placed on the incoming government and steps that should be taken to tackle the menace. he noted that the increasing rate of armed robbery, kidnapping and other forms of crime, not a few have expressed the fear that the government may faced with severe insecurity challenges. while the government has continued to blow its trumpet on how it had reduced insecurity to a bearable level, the rate of killings and kidnapping in the country has continued to swell without 227 abating. a total of 12,426 persons were abducted in nigeria between january 1, 2021 and may 2, 2023, according to a nigeria security incidents tracker report by beacon consulting, a security firm. a recent report by punch (2023) revealed that no fewer than 333 people were seized in some parts of the country within a period of six weeks with over n7m collected by the kidnappers. local concerns and kidnapping it is unfortunate to note that the cause of kidnapping in the recent history of nigeria is because the architects of the flourishing abduction industry are well connected and linked up to the high-profile nigerians and security agents; these are the elites and untouchable in the society that are above the law of the land. they can commit offence and go free because they have the ill-gotten money and influence of the corrupt. for example, as evidence by the daring actions of the taraba state kidnap top dog, hamisu wadume. he showed nigerians that he was untouchable because he had networks in high places that provided him security and intelligence. he also had ready supplies of weapons. in general, the kidnap masterminds pay attractive salaries or allowances to their infantry men. it reveals that the government and the security agents collide, albeit, collaborate, connive, conspire and plot to commit kidnapping and ridding innocent nigerians lives and property (obijiofor, 2019). kidnapping business has today spread in nigeria like wide-fire. the country is now seen as a center for the training and dispatch of kidnappers. kidnapping is a well-paid trade. many poor and unemployed youth are lining up to enroll in the forest where kidnappers are trained, armed and rewarded. many youths that are immoral believes why should they carry university degree certificates that are useless in the employment market while a few nights of successful hostage taking would generate millions of naira in their first month of operation? many ill-advised youths now believe that there is more money in masterminding the successful abduction of citizens and their family members than hard work and sincerity. these are some of the causes of kidnapping in nigeria and many developing countries in africa. this is as a result of failed government and societal institutions that denied its citizenry moral education, values and development. in the recent history of nigeria, kidnappers are earning huge amounts of money because of the failure of the government to provide for the safety of citizens. kidnappers and their masters continue to take their chokehold on nigerians because the government and security agents are corrupt, weak and unpatriotic to protect the nation and its citizenry (obijiofor, 2019). in every democratic society, the government has the obligation to look after the society, welfare, and wellbeing of the citizens. that duty is non-negotiable. in nigeria today, government and the security agents have not achieved these obligations. that is the reason or cause kidnapping thrive as a trade. because of kidnapping and its allied criminal vices abhorred by the society, many have taken to self-defense, while the weak perished at the mercy of kidnappers and killers. it is this culture of master servant relationship that explains why nigerian government refuses to address insecurity and other social problems, such as kidnapping, poverty, unemployment and homelessness. the poor masses in nigeria are weak and subjected to penury by the corrupt elite. moreso, the poor masses do not query why they consistently treated as second-rated citizens in their fatherland. they settle for the less, for the fragments that falls off the tables of their political leaders. they accept to serve political leaders while in practice politicians are elected to serve the people. in nigeria, the police and other security agencies have failed to match the resistance of kidnappers and their masters. these are the causes and reasons some victims are 228 packed up like ants in the comfort of their homes, and on their way to or from work. other victims are kidnapped in the church premises while serving and worshipping their god. kidnapping is rampant in nigeria because the government has failed to address the challenge of unemployment. unemployment is the propeller that fans poverty. and poverty drives people to kidnapping and other crimes (obijiofor, 2019). unemployed youths are forced to find ways to survive in the country’s hash economic condition. since independence, the government of nigeria failed to plan for the massive youth population; the system did not cater adequately for the needs of the unemployed youth, thus crime offers some therapy, indeed an option, cure, healing and treatment for survival. this is where the successive nigerian government failed the future generation. and today the nation is ripping the whirlwind of kidnapping because of the rash, impetuous and faulty foundation and system the nigerian elites offered their youths. many nigerian youths are into kidnapping because they are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty which the government did not provide a lee-way space and room of enabling environment to survive. they have plans they cannot fulfill as well as families they cannot assist. many nigerians have school fees and yearly rents they cannot afford to pay. they are desirous to buy basic cloths and shoes for family members. they have to pay the high cost of transportation every day. they have financial commitments that cannot be accomplished. these are the terrible and unpleasant economic harsh conditions that frighten and drive many people into kidnapping and other allied crimes in contemporary nigeria. there is a correlation between the failures of government and kidnapping that thrives in contemporary nigeria. hence the breakdown of law-and-order results to kidnapping and its allied crimes. another issue that encourages kidnapping in nigeria is the lame judicial framework and its attendant ineptitude in providing justice for the victims of kidnapping. these have contributed to its perpetration in large scale. offenders are not prosecuted nor are they punished most of the time. (ele, 2019). another factor that encourages kidnapping in nigeria is its long porous borders with neighboring countries, especially in northern nigeria. these unchecked porous borders allow kidnappers from other countries to enter nigeria to commit kidnapping of nigerians for fat ransom claims. it is unfortunate to note that the huge expanse of land, ungoverned and undeveloped, like sambisa forest in northern nigeria provide a breeding den and ground for kidnapping, and boko haram insurgency and terrorism. more so, the land porous borders in the northern nigeria also encourage arms proliferation in the region that causes kidnapping business to thrive. it is also important to note that some nigerian politicians also import arms through the country’s porous borders to give their thugs to enable them win election for them. after the elections, some of the arms are not disarmed from the thugs; they used them to kidnapped opponents and enemies of their godfathers to forcefully collect ransom from them. another factor that encourages kidnapping in nigeria is drug abuse addicted victims. when youths take in drugs they become “high” and courageous to kidnap the wealthy people for fat ransom claims from their relations and parents. (ele, 2019). in nigeria, kidnappers abduct their victims to settle politically motivated plan to frustrate opponent politicians who are threats to their plan to secure political power. kidnapping is criminal, devilish and cruel, yet kidnappers see abduction as a business to make money through ransom claims. in the niger delta region, kidnappers also abduct oil workers and demand ransom worth millions of naira under severe threats to life from their loved ones, oil companies and government. in the oil rich region, kidnapping is also regarded as an instrument of the struggle for ethnic politics and resource control agitation from the government; they used it to speak their message of freedom to government and to power. 229 in nigeria, there are some kidnappers who abduct children and adults and sell them to ritual occultic dealers. other kidnappers also abduct people is children to sell them to childless parents and to private and secrete orphanage homes. in some cases, the kidnapped children are sold to child traffickers abroad; some of them are used as child labour and prostitute to their dealers who used them to make ill gotten money. these are some of the vices abhorred by society, where human beings are used to make blood money, in the name of business (ezinwa, 2015). the consequences of kidnapping in contemporary nigeria kidnapping has made nigeria to become an insecure country literally; the fear of kidnappers is real. everyone is a primary target, previously, kidnappers tended to mark out the rich of the society. today, the rich are no longer the main target or focus of kidnappers, ordinary people are targeted too according to obijiofor (2019), across nigeria, the poor and the rich, men and women, boys and girls, lawmakers and judiciary officers, nollywood actors and musicians, pastors and politicians, students’ representatives and labor leaders have become easy prey for rapacious abductors. kidnappers are earning huge amount of money because of the failure of the government and security agents to provide safety of citizens kidnapping makes nigerian politics a do or die affair, as politicians can use their thugs as kidnappers to abduct their victims to settle politically motivated plans to frustrate opponents politicians who are threats to their plan to rig election to secure power, for example, in 2010 governorship elections in anambra state, kidnappers abducted the father of professor charles soludo, the governorship aspirant of people’s democratic party, pdp, not until they collected ransom before professor soludo’s father was released. politically, this evil act weakened prof. soludo to secure power in anambra state. kidnapping is a sin that causes the death, suffering and frustration of many families in nigeria. it is terror, oppressive and grief to the good people of nigeria. kidnapping makes criminals to exploit the rich and the affluent in the society. kidnapping brutalized society. and distorted values in the niger delta region and the sambisa forest, a dane of kidnappers in the north east geo political zone. kidnapping is an evil alliance of criminals against the hardworking people of nigeria. it is an illegal business that brings shame and ill-gotten money that attracts curses to many families in nigeria. kidnappers always keep people frightened and fearful of the unknown to happen; as people sleep at night in their houses with one eye open. kidnappers confront families, communities and government to achieve their goal forcefully. (ezinwa, 2015). kidnapping gives nigerian people bad name and scare away foreign investors and tourist to nigeria. sometimes offensive launched against kidnappers by the security agents in their hideout result in the killing of innocent citizens, the outcome often cripples the economy and peace of the north east and the niger delta region that witnessed regular cases of kidnapping, kidnapping is an incendiary epidemic that discomforts the peace of the nigerian people (ezinwa, 2015). kidnapping of children makes parents to undergo psychological trauma or a brutal human psyche, for example, the abduction of the chibok/dapchi school girls in northern nigerian by boko haram frustrated the peace of many families in the region. kidnapping makes children to be suspicious of strange adults within school and church premises. it is a sin that causes the death, suffering and frustration of many children and their parents. in nigeria, kidnapping has continued to worsen in recent times because of the participation of security agents, some of the security agents are part of the kidnapping. they are involved; they are in the pay list of the kidnappers. 230 strategies to curb kidnapping if the federal government comes strongly and partner the state government, they would be able to fight and defeat kidnappers in their hide out. security in nigeria should not be politicized. the security agents in nigeria should be serious with their surveillance job to curb kidnapping. the government should adequately provide capacity building for law makers and security agents to fight insecurity in the land. every nigerian should be prayerful and security conscious to safe themselves from the threat of kidnappers. to curb kidnapping in nigeria, the security agents must ensure they starve off weapons and arms to enter the hands of kidnappers. the police should arrest kidnappers who are in possession of different weapons and drugs, such as guns, long knives, short knives, axes, and cutlasses, bottles of codeine expectorants, indian hemp, cocaine and crack, as well as sophisticated weapons, such as ak47. the security agents should use drones to locate kidnappers in their hideout and den and then use intelligence information to take the fight against kidnappers in their den to destroy their network. the idea of seating state governor treating foreign herdsmen who kill farmers, rape women and kidnapped people as terrorists of a specific identity complicate the problem than solving it. the banning of terrorist herdsmen with ak47 is the right strategy to fight kidnapping in the rural areas of farming communities in nigeria. (umahi, 2019). insecurity, such as kidnapping, banditry and other crimes in nigeria are generally characterized by violence alongside the destruction of lives and properties. for this research, some literatures are hereby reviewed to enrich our understanding of the causative factors of kidnapping and related crimes in nigeria. to start with, kidnapping is a major challenge to the security of the country, and especially the area under study. the perpetrators of these crimes, especially kidnapping, do not spare anyone in this new wave of crime that seems to have supplanted armed robbery and other non-contact crimes. since this act of kidnapping began in nigeria, aged, children, male and female have been kidnapped for ransom. this has made life caused fear and anxiety to the citizens of the country in general. citizens now live in fear of falling victims to these criminals who could be found in virtually every community in contemporary nigeria. this is against the background that accurate unemployment rates are difficult to obtain and generally mean little in a society where many who work are marginally employed, and where begging is a socially accepted occupation. (igbo & ikpa, 2013). according to igbo and ikpa (2013), as well as chukwuemeka, (2009), the rise in crime wave generally in nigeria since the mid-1990s was as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality. apparently, without jobs, many youths are easily recruited into militant groups, cultism, and trained as armed robbers, political thugs to rob, kill, kidnap, smuggle, and highjack, among others. (ajayi, haastrup and osalusi, 2010). militancy, insurgency and nigeria’s porous borders are equally important sources of insecurity in nigeria. other forms of criminality such as militancy and insurgency are also enmeshed in violence, illegal force or the illegal use of unjustified force or the intimidating effect created by the threat of this act. the activities of the niger delta militants, bandits, as well as the boko haram insurgents, are notable in this discourse. chukwuemeka, anazodo and nzewi, (2011) have highlighted the fact that the aforementioned factors have particularly been a major source of insecurity to nigerians. this is worsened by porous borders. the free flow of migrants from other countries to nigeria through our unguarded borders allows criminals to enter the country without check. meanwhile, igbo and ikpa (2013) have opined that the citizen’s distrust in government policies and actions serves as another major cause of insecurity nigeria. what the current trend of violence is imprinting on the psyche of nigerians is that the government security apparatus is incapable of guaranteeing 231 the safety and security of its people. this has therefore, impacted on the general human security of the people as the situation promotes fear, limits the peoples' ability to trust government actions as well as having adverse effect on the economy. another major cause of kidnapping has been noted by ajayi, haastrup and osalusi, (2010), to include the illegal importation of arms and ammunitions. this criminality has made possession of arms by individuals and groups very easy. this is related to the destructive activities of cultists in virtually every part of nigeria. (igbo & ikpa 2013). ethnoreligious intolerance has been among the major cause of insecurity in nigeria. the recent incidences of attack on churches and christians, generally in the northern part of the country by moslem extremists have rendered several states in the north unsafe for life and properties (alubo, 2009; egwu, 2004). to olawale (2016), the impact of youth unemployment serves as major causative factor of kidnapping in nigeria. instructively, the issue of unemployment in nigeria has caused enormous social, economic, cultural and political upheavals such that have all affected the development of the nation. in his publication, he was able to provide some suggestions after a general overview of the causes and challenges of the unemployment among the youths, in large numbers in the area under study. however, current developments on the subject matter were not analyzed in the work. meanwhile, ibrahim (2008) underscores the challenges of youth unemployment in nigeria, thereby highlighting such issues as violence, restiveness, conflicts and high crime rates among others as major consequences in the country. he particularly emphasized on the adverse effects this has on the nigerian economy dating back to over a decade ago. he however shows some of the methods that could be adopted to attain development. quite relatedly, oliha (2014) examines the implications of drug abuse on the nigerian youths. he further assesses the negative impacts of drug abuse on the youths as well as highlighting the ways through which both the government and the public could intervene in the social menace thereby ensuring a crime free society and overall youth development. the publication by naptip (2016), has noted the economic benefits of engaging the youths in the society, owing much of it to the availability of a conducive business environment where the youths could thrive. according to the national bureau of statistics, the number of people within the labour force who are unemployed or underemployed in nigeria stood at 27.11 million in 2016 but rose to 31.26 million 2017. this increase depicts an increasing trend in the rate of unemployment and underemployment. in 2018 unemployment came down to 20.9 million (nbs, 2016). this according to nbs was because of addition of new jobs and huge fund spent by politicians ahead of the 2019 general elections, notes that unemployment tend to be higher among graduates as they often times depend on white collar jobs or make plans to travel outside the country rather than doing anything available. this is contrary to the situation in rural areas or among low skilled unemployed persons who are ready to do any work that is legal. he also states that unemployment and underemployment rates also varied according the nature of economic activity predominant in the state. states with higher focus on seasonal agriculture tend to have higher rates of underemployment compared to unemployment and may swing from high fulltime employment during periods of planting and harvest when they are fully engaged on their farms to periods of underemployment and even unemployment at other periods in between. these states tend to have higher proportion of their economically active population outside the labour force thereby reducing the number looking for work and hence the number that can be unemployed. unemployment is a visible phenomenon in the country. according to national bureau of statistics (nbs, 2016), majority of youths are unemployed and as a result become a threat to society. 232 it is common to see jobless youths in major towns and communities in the country clustering from morning to noon waiting for any job opportunity. they are always ready for mixing sands and cement for block industry, to clear grasses or to do any other type of work that may come up. often times, majority of them after long waiting end up not getting anything. they go home dejected not even having any money to care for themselves and their families. one of the major causes of unemployment therefore is the rapid growth of population including increasing number of graduates from nigerian universities and polytechnics and colleges of education among others (naptip, 2016). there has been an increase in the growth of the labour forces along with the inadequate supply of jobs. this has increased the population in major cities thereby raising the level of joblessness. another major factor and related challenge involved in youth unemployment is poor leadership and high level of corruption in nigeria. the failure of the government to perform their constitutional duties of job creation has resulted in the high level of unemployment. also, corruption among politicians has resulted to the mismanagement of the funds and resources supposed to be used for the creation of job opportunities for the people. ndioye, (2005), identifies lack of reasonable youth empowerment scheme in most states across the country as a major cause of unemployment. furthermore, there is high level of unemployment due to absence of reputable firms and industries that employ people. (nwosu, 2013) since many industries have relocated to neighbouring countries like ghana among others. he notes that the firms available only employ few persons and most of the firms are on contract with government. once their contract ends, employment for the workers equally come to an end. in addition, most firms cannot operate long because of harsh economic conditions in the country, occasioned by low patronage, high and multiple taxes as well as epileptic power supply. he equally noted that most employment opportunities from government are hijacked by politicians who convert the position to their family members already working somewhere elsewhere. all these issues have continued to cause the increasing number of unemployed persons in the state who quickly seek for job in places when there is an announcement of vacancies. abdul-raheem, (2003) enumerates some of the major impacts of drug abuse on youths and the elderly in society generally. moreover, it examines the main reason for youth restiveness at an early stage of youth development in general. it thereby maintained that without the intervention of policy makers on the illegal use of drugs, more youth perpetuated restiveness and other crimes associated with the youths will be on the increase in the country starting from students in secondary schools. similarly, ayoola et al., (2015) basically provides an assessment of the causes and cases of crimes among the youths in nigeria, particularly citing the south west geopolitical zone as a case study. notably, the factor of drug abuse and unemployment among others are major issues discussed in the publication. however, a detailed review with regards to the challenges faced by the youths in the area of study was not made prominent. just like nwosu (2013) who noted that adequate funding should be given to the youth to start small and medium scale businesses in their respective domains so that violence, conflicts and insecurity will be adverted to a large degree. onyeabor (2016), attempts a correlation between the youth unemployment and poverty in nigeria. he looked at the causes and challenging factors which have entrenched poverty among the youths in the country and the efforts by government to address it. moreover, this research which addresses the challenges affecting societal safety in nigeria, with special 233 reference to the impact of youth unemployment in lagos state, is an addition to the ongoing discourse. more so, the formation of the state police, community policing and neighborhood vigilante groups would go a long way to curb kidnapping. the time has come when the nigerian state must live up to its responsibility and confront the brazenness of kidnappers and allied criminals. the government and security agents should not wait until a governor or the president is kidnapped before they know that the country is confronted with a danger. this is not a future danger, but something that is challenging the citizenry in the face. it is time the security agents lived up to their responsibilities and uphold nigerians rights to live, liberty and own property. the government should plan to ban those using sophisticated weapons like ak47 to kidnap people. the government should also plan to monitor crime locations with helicopters; as well as heavy presence of security agents to arrest and prosecute offenders of kidnapping and allied criminal vices (ezinwa, 2015). furthermore, the government should develop youth empowerment centers in all the local government areas in nigeria where youths can acquire entrepreneurship skill and talents to reduce unemployment and poverty in nigeria, so that kidnapping can reduce drastically. more so, the government should also implement true federalism and resource control to reduce the level of agitation, kidnapping and other allied criminal vices in nigeria, especially in the niger delta region, so that states would develop their natural resources to empower the rising youth’s population. another strategy that can help curb kidnapping is for the government and the judiciary to penalize severe punishment and imprisonment to any kidnapper found guilty of the offence to discourage others from the crime. likewise, there should be dreaded anti-terrorism and kidnapping squad of the nigeria police to fight terrorism and kidnapping. governments interventions / responses they have no doubt being government’s responses to securing lives and properties, as well as tackling kidnappings, banditry and other forms of crimes in nigeria generally. (mbachu & bature, 2013). against this backdrop, some forms of diplomatic moves were made in 2019 for instance, by some northern governors such as the governors of katsina, sokoto, and zamfara, to agreeing to a peace deal with the leaders of these bandits in the territory. thus, according to the governor of katsina state, aminu bello masari, negotiations was the best way to achieve lasting peace against the insecurity caused by the bandits. according to shuaibu (2020), these diplomatic moves brought about the signing of some agreements between the government and the criminals. this involved disarmament, the release of kidnapped victims, and amnesty for the bandits. it must be noted however that the agreements was short-lived. although there was a little reduction in violent attacks in northern nigeria towards the end of 2019, these attacks were later re-ignited again in 2020. some state governors in the northern nigeria recently admitted that the bandits had reneged on the terms of their agreement. following the apparent failure of the governors’ peace deal, nigeria’s chief of army staff, lieutenant general tukur buratai said recently that dialogue is not a good military option for tackling banditry, kidnapping, and other heinous crimes currently bedevilling the north-west. (aliyu, ikedinma, & akinwande, 2018). among other developments in this regard, the nigerian government, in january 2021, issued an order to the naval forces to halt the frequent kidnappings. nigeria has a sizable and more powerful naval force that can assist in resolving this issue. at the start of the year, nigeria named rear admiral a.z. gambo as its naval leader. regarding the kidnapping problem, he intends to take a tough, no-nonsense stance. gambo intends to take strong action against any 234 kind of illegal activity related to kidnappings. gambo further mentioned that he is aware of the corruption in the navy and that sailors frequently help carry out kidnappings. he therefore intends to make combating this corruption his top priority. (icir, 2023). only a few days had passed since pirates took control of a turkish-manned vessel when this new, strict plan was put into action. thus, fifteen people were abducted and one crew member was killed by pirates. the crews of foreign navy warships, including those from france and spain, were rendered powerless on nigerian territorial seas due to an earlier law prohibiting them from carrying firearms. in 2020, the government decided to repeal the statute. however, kidnapping is still on the rise. (shuaibu, 2020); olmstead, 2021). nigeria's efforts to stop kidnappings have not been very effective. consequently, 2020 saw the largest number of kidnapping cases in the history of the country. the government has not disregarded this issue, though. if politicians, government officials, and corrupt navy personnel are taken down by the government, there is a chance that the number of kidnapping cases may decline. (olmstead, 2021). according to an aljazeera (2022), the nigerian senate passed a bill that makes kidnapping punishable by death in cases when victims pass away and imposes jail terms of at least 15 years for those who pay a ransom to liberate someone who has been kidnapped. it is believed by government that by enforcing severe jail sentences for ransom payments would, according to the nigerian senate's justice, human rights, and legal committee, "discourage the rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom in nigeria, which is fast spreading across the country."(aljazeera, 2022). according to obiezu (2023), nigerian president bola tinubu has ordered security forces to rescue an unspecified number of female students being held by armed kidnappers following an attack at the federal university gusau in northwest zamfara state. police officials say some victims have been rescued, but the incident is the latest in an escalating wave of violence targeting schools in northern nigeria. by and large, this only tends to show that the government have at various times intervened in curbing the menace posed by the perpetrators of kidnapping in nigeria as a whole. implications of other (ngos) interventions and prospect for curbing kidnapping although there seems to be efforts by governments, international contributors and nongovernmental organizations among others to tackle the spate of insecurity challenges by providing an opportunity for amnesty in some cases, arrests, use of military force and dialogue among others, however, nothing seems to work with regards to reducing or eradicating banditry, kidnappings, insurgency, armed robbery, ethnic tension, religious intolerance, political violence and so on and so forth. moreover, the resultant effect is among other indices the overall underdevelopment of the country, such as economic recession, high inflation, high cost of living, depreciation of the naira and political instability. recently, there have been high incidences of insecurity that have resulted in deaths and psychological trauma for individuals and families in the country. this requires the citizens to be much more security conscious considering the threat by religious extremists to bring about greater insecurity than those that preceded them. (icir, 2023). meanwhile, other security indices also include the persistent tension between the north and the south of nigeria, growing unrest in the niger delta area and other parts of the country resulting in rise in violent incidents and kidnappings. ethnic tensions, religious differences, unemployment and numerous social and political grievances are all fueling the unrests in 235 nigeria and contributing to flashpoints for violence and creating insecurity in the country. the level of government’s intervention alongside the level of success took the center stage in the analysis of the work by brenner, (2021); musa, (2013); iyare, (2008); inyang & abraham, (2013); egbefo & salihu, (2014). in these aforementioned publications, the notions of corruption by public officials and agencies, sabotage and bad governance have been highlighted as key factors in the continued cases of kidnappings and other similar crimes in the country. they noted, in separate analysis that in spite of governments interventions such as those in katsina, kaduna and zamfara, among others, through the use of military force, amnesty and negotiations with kidnappers, insurgents and bandits, not much has been achieved with regards to the problem posed by kidnappers in the area under consideration. prospects for curbing kidnappings abdulrasheed (2020), basically expresses his view on the menace posed by kidnappers, armed bandits, as well as other criminals in the north west zone of nigeria. it also highlights the ways by which interested parties, governments and other stakeholders could chart a workable approach to curbing the menace in nigeria. brenner (2021) presents the processes adopted by government military forces, in combating banditry, kidnappings and killings in nigeria. in his analysis, brenner (2021), mainly expresses a proactive approach to ensuring that violent crimes such as banditry, kidnapping and killings among other crimes are actively tackled to a halt. he, however, also expressed his views on the challenges involved in the process thus highlighting the activities of collaborators involving members of the armed forces as well as the kidnappers and bandits to mention but a few. furthermore, there should be a synergy between the security structure and the legal framework in order to achieve success in the fight against the crime of kidnapping and the myriads of security challenges in nigeria. result and discussion of major findings this research has presented an assessment of the causes and consequences of kidnapping in bukkuyum local government area, zamfara state. this chapter thereby embarks on the discussion of the major research findings. this research found that the causes of kidnappings are actually prevalent in bukkuyum local government area. accordingly, majority of the respondents agreed that youth unemployment is a major causative factor of kidnapping. in the same vein, all the respondents agreed that inadequate security measures and the collaboration of corrupt law enforcement officials are significantly responsible for the causes of kidnappings. majority of the respondents also noted that the illegal proliferation of arms and ammunitions as a major determinant of the outbreak of kidnapping in the area. moreover, majority of the respondents responded positively to the notion that the nigerian porous borders with neighbouring countries is as a causative factor of kidnapping in the area under consideration. extensively, notable scholars also support the above findings with more facts in their works. thus, according to igbo and ikpa (2013), as well as chukwuemeka, (2009), the rise in crime wave generally in nigeria since the mid-1990s was as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality. apparently, without jobs, many youths are easily recruited into militant groups, cultism, and trained as armed robbers, political thugs to rob, kill, kidnap, smuggle, and hijack, among others. (ajayi, haastrup and osalusi, 2010). the problem of porous borders along the nigerian border with nigeria, cameroon and chad also remains another major challenge. ajayi, haastrup and osalusi, (2010), also stressed that to include the illegal importation of arms and ammunitions. this criminality has made possession of arms by 236 individuals and groups very easy. this is related to the destructive activities of cultists in virtually every part of nigeria. (igbo & ikpa 2013). as regards whether there have been government interventions at curbing the menace of kidnapping, this research found that a significant majority of the interviewees agreed to the fact that there have been government interventions at curbing the menace of kidnappings in the study area. in addition, majority of the informants buttressed their responses by expressing that it is apparent that the government has at different times applied the use of military and police force to curb kidnappings in bukkuyum local government area. it is also shown that the government applied diplomacy as a method in dealing with kidnappers and other criminals in the area, as against the notion that there are adequate security personnel manning the nigerian borders with those of other west african countries. in other words, there are no adequate security personnel manning the borders. majority of the respondents also agreed that there has been government’s collaboration with foreign institutions or government in the fight against kidnappings and other related crimes. this research work asserts that weak governance style and approach are characteristics of government’s interventions in curbing the menace of kidnapping in the area under study. the opinions of aliyu, ikedinma, & akinwande, (2018), on this issue is relevant is still relevant as the failure of the governors’ peace deal failed. however, these writers opined that it is not a good option for curbing criminal activities and their perpetrators. however, they opted for the military option for tackling banditry, kidnapping, and other heinous crimes currently bedeviling the north-west (aliyu, ikedinma, & akinwande, 2018). as to whether the interventions of government have been effective in curbing kidnapping and other related crimes, majority of the informants buttressed their responses by expressing that corruption in both public and private sectors has influenced the efficacy of government’s intervention in curbing the menace of kidnappings and other violent crimes in the area. this research showed that government has not been able to curb the illegal dealings and transfer of small arms and light weapons in the area. importantly, also, the distribution reveals that there has not been a reduction in the incidences of kidnappings in nigeria. the study shows that there are saboteurs among the law enforcement agents saddled with the responsibility of fighting crimes in the area under study. in the foregoing analysis, the majority of the respondents stated that corruption is a major challenge that affects the extent of government’s intervention in curbing kidnapping not only in bukkuyum local government area, but also in nigeria. these findings give credence to those of brenner (2021), inyang and abraham, (2013) who mentioned the fact that the level of government’s intervention alongside the level of success took the center stage in the analysis of the works by brenner, (2021); musa, (2013); iyare, (2008); inyang & abraham, (2013); egbefo & salihu, (2014). in these aforementioned publications, the notions of corruption by public officials and agencies, sabotage and bad governance have been highlighted as key factors in the continued cases of kidnappings and other similar crimes in the country. the level of government’s intervention alongside the level of success took the center stage in the analysis of the work by brenner, (2021); musa, (2013); iyare, (2008); inyang & abraham, (2013); egbefo & salihu, (2014). in these aforementioned publications, the notions of corruption by public officials and agencies, sabotage and bad governance have been highlighted as key factors in the continued cases of kidnappings and other similar crimes in the country. according to the responses of respondents, this study realized that majority of the respondents were of the view that victims and their relatives could be assaulted, killed or made to pay heavy ransom as a result of kidnapping in the area under consideration. 237 in this connection also, there could be the inevitability of socio-economic underdevelopment and the destruction of properties and infrastructures as a result of kidnapping in the area under consideration. just as earlier stated, all the respondents maintained that violence and conflict are major characteristic features of kidnapping in bukkuyum local government area. furthermore, majority of the interviewees responded by agreeing to the above question. this response shows that the crimes of kidnapping and banditry among other violent crimes go hand in hand in bukkuyum local government area. in addition, all the informants buttressed their responses by expressing that there has been an increase in the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as a result of kidnapping in the area under study. in line with the above finding, this research further stresses the views of some writers who are in support of the analysis of this finding. thus, the works of ezeoba (2011), eme & onyishi (2011), dickson, (2016) to a very great extent, addresses some of the causative factors involved in the cases of criminality involving the high number of kidnappings and killings in nigeria. (egbefo & salihu, 2014). furthermore, ogbonnaya, (2020), uche & iwuamadi (2018) highlighted the consequences thereafter to include mass killings, maiming, kidnapping and arson among other heinous violent crimes. in addressing the prospects for curbing kidnapping in the area of study, majority of the interviewees responded to the above questions positively. the informants buttressed their responses by expressing the view that a synergy between the security structure and the legal framework in curbing the crime of kidnapping and other security challenges in nigeria could be considered by the government so as to curb or completely eradicate the menace. the research show that all the respondents that were interviewed suggested that a proactive approach should always be employed by law enforcement agencies and the government to ensuring that violent crimes such as banditry, kidnapping and killings among other crimes are actively tackled to a halt in the area under study. similarly, there submissions revealed that there should be constant investigation into the nefarious activities of collaborators involving members of the armed forces, as well as the kidnappers and bandits. by this action, it is believed that banditry and kidnapping would be reduced to barest minimum. essentially, this study showed that by enforcing severe jail sentences for ransom payments would, according to the nigerian senate's justice, human rights, and legal committee, "discourage the rising spate of kidnapping and abduction for ransom in nigeria, which is fast spreading across the country (aljazeera, 2022). also, it showed that the judiciary could be effectively integrated into action plans instituted by the security agencies in fighting the crime of kidnapping in particular in the area under study. essentially, respondents noted that the provision of adequate social welfare services and employment for citizens could help in reducing the problem of kidnapping in the area under study. summary in all, this study found that in spite of the challenges such as weak governance style, and inadequate security personnel manning the borders, there have been government’s interventions at curbing the menace of kidnapping in the area under study. instructively, the works concurs with this finding of the opinions of aliyu, ikedinma, & akinwande, (2018) they have been vociferous in showing the nature of crimes and the championing of the better way to be adopted by nigerian stakeholders and policy makers. majority of the respondents affirmed that the interventions of government have not been effective in curbing kidnapping and other related crimes in the area under scrutiny. this affirmation was arrived at going by the 238 fact that corruption in both public and private sectors has influenced the efficacy of government’s intervention in curbing the menace of kidnappings in bukkuyum local government area. in the same connection, there are saboteurs among the law enforcement agents saddled with the responsibility of fighting crimes such as kidnapping in the area. also, the decision that government has not been effective in curbing kidnapping could be ascribed to the issue of corruption. this problem remains a major challenge that affects the extent of government’s intervention in curbing kidnapping in the local government and country in general. in all, this study found that in view of the responses of majority of the interviewees, this research work reveals that a proactive approach should always be employed by law enforcement agencies and the government to ensuring that violent crimes, that the judiciary could be effectively integrated into action plans instituted by the security agencies in fighting the crime of kidnapping. also, it follows that a synergy between the security structure and the use of legal framework in curbing the crime of kidnapping and other security challenges in nigeria could be considered by the government among others, there are prospects for curbing kidnapping in the area of study. other sources support this finding as they express a proactive approach to ensuring that violent crimes such as banditry, kidnapping and killings among other crimes are actively tackled to a halt. he however, also expressed his views on the challenges involved in the process thus highlighting the activities of collaborators involving members of the armed forces as well as the kidnappers and bandits to mention but a few. conclusion the study confirms that the causes of kidnappings are prevalent in bukkuyum local government area and that there have been ineffective government interventions at curbing the menace in the society. it also, establishes the fact that the nature of the impact of kidnappings in the study area is characterized by violence, conflicts and killings among others. recommendations to fight the vice of kidnapping and allied criminal vices in nigeria, parents should invest in the social spiritual virtues of their family to build the moral character of their children, so that when they grow up, they would not join gangs of kidnappers and allied criminals vice abhorred by society. this will reduce kidnapping and sundry crimes in nigeria. furthermore, parents, villagers and city dwellers should not part and parcel of the crime. parent should not collect money from their children that are kidnappers, to show that it is a vice society and family abhorred. to further reduced kidnapping in nigeria, the leaders and people should be patriotic and advocate a new nigeria build on justice, fairness, equality and to build bridges across tribes, religion and political affiliations, such that our collective vision would evolve a more equalitarian nation, so that no ethnic group would feel marginalized to resume attacks, kidnapping, terrorism, militancy and bomb blast. another strategy to curb kidnapping in nigeria is for the government to encourage youths’ participation in sports, and talents hunt competition across the six-geo political zones of nigeria; it would help reduce kidnapping in the country (ezinwa, 2015). the challenge of rampant kidnapping in nigeria reveals that government and the private sector need to create employment for the nation’s terming population, especially for the youths. the government have to create an enabling environment for business to grow. references bukkuyum local government area. https:/www.finelib.com/listing/bukkuyumlocalgovernment-area/ 62590/ 239 abdulrasheed, a. 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(2022, aug 13). “kidnappers collected n650 million as ransom in one yearreport.” premium times. https://www.premiumtimes .ng.com/news/headlines/548525-kidnappers-collected-n650-million-as-ransom-inyear-report.html?ztc=1 uche, j. & iwuamadi, c. (2018). nigeria: rural banditry and community resilience in the nimbo community,” conflict studies quarterly, 24, 71-82 udoh, e.w (2015). “insecurity in nigeria: political, religious and cultural implications. journal of philosophy, culture and religion: an international peer-reviewed journal 5: 1-7, available: www.iiste.org. uzuegbunam. a.o. (2010). the role of non-governmental organizations in conflict prevention and peace-building in nigeria. in nnadozie, o.u. (ed). topical issues in social sciences (pp. 73-82). enugu: rek books. https://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/how-illegal-mining-is-driving-local-conflcits-in-nigeria https://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/how-illegal-mining-is-driving-local-conflcits-in-nigeria https://www.legit.ng/1102758-unemployment-nigeria-effects-solutions.htm https://www.legit.ng/1102758-unemployment-nigeria-effects-solutions.htm https://borgenproject.org/kidnappings-in-nigeria/ https://www.theconversation.com/why-nigerian-kidnap-law-banning-families-from-paying-ransoms-may-do-more-harm-than-good-189427 https://www.theconversation.com/why-nigerian-kidnap-law-banning-families-from-paying-ransoms-may-do-more-harm-than-good-189427 http://www.iiste.org/ page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 534 mitigating work alienation through workplace spirituality among bank employees in delta state, nigeria augusta mary onyebuchi ojobu university of delta, agbor augusta.fitzgerald@unidel.edu.ng abstract this study examines the role of workplace spirituality in mitigating work alienation and enhancing work engagement among bank employees in delta state, nigeria. in the context of nigeria's evolving banking sector, where reforms and competitive pressures demand high levels of employee engagement, alienation poses a significant barrier to optimal work performance. the research investigates how the dimensions of work alienation— powerlessness, meaninglessness, and self-estrangement—affect employee engagement and how workplace spirituality can serve as a moderating factor in reducing these negative effects. by integrating workplace spirituality into the organisational culture, banks may foster a more supportive environment that enhances employees' sense of belonging, purpose, and connection to their work. data were collected from bank employees using structured questionnaires that measured levels of work engagement, work alienation, and workplace spirituality. findings indicate that workplace spirituality significantly moderates the negative impact of work alienation, suggesting that spiritual practices in the workplace can play a crucial role in improving employee well-being, engagement, and overall organisational productivity. keywords: work alienation, workplace spiritualit, work engagement, work performance, bank employees. introduction the modern workplace is increasingly characterised by rapid technological changes, intense competition, and evolving market demands. in this context, the role of employees has become more critical than ever, as they serve as the driving force behind organisational success. however, while organisations invest heavily in enhancing productivity and maintaining competitive advantage, they often overlook the psychological and emotional needs of their workforce, which can lead to feelings of alienation and disengagement. work alienation remains a pervasive issue that threatens not only individual employee well-being but also overall organisational productivity and efficiency. this study explores the potential of workplace spirituality as a mitigating factor for work alienation among bank employees in delta state, nigeria, providing insights into how a more supportive and meaningful work environment can be cultivated. employees play a fundamental role in the success of organisations, particularly in today's dynamic business environment. they are the lifeblood of every organisation, driving productivity, innovation, and growth. as such, there has been a growing interest among both academics and corporate leaders in understanding the factors that influence employees' work performance and productivity. the extent to which employees are engaged in their work directly impacts their performance output behaviour, and subsequently, the overall success of the organisation. in an effort to boost productivity, commercial banks in nigeria invest significant resources in training and retraining employees to ensure their skills and behaviours align with market trends and organisational objectives (ferdous et al., 2020). mailto:augusta.fitzgerald@unidel.edu.ng 535 in the competitive landscape of nigeria's banking sector, which is characterised by continuous reforms and the adoption of new technologies, achieving complete employee engagement is critical to organisational success. banks are progressively implementing automation, online services, and cashless solutions to enhance customer experience; however, the full integration and adoption of these innovations may take time (umeghalu et al., 2021). this transitional phase presents challenges for banks, as employees may experience difficulties adapting to new systems, which can contribute to feelings of alienation and disengagement. the concept of work alienation work alienation, a significant barrier to employee engagement, can manifest through various forms, such as structural, induced, or perceptual. it is a state of psychological disconnection in which employees feel estranged from their work environment, resulting in reduced involvement in workplace relationships and activities (muttar et al., 2020). alienated employees often exhibit a lack of motivation, perform below expected standards, and do not see themselves as integral to the organisation's success (ajisafe & obafemi, 2019). these behaviours are indicative of a broader issue of disengagement, where employees may withdraw from collective activities, further emphasising their lack of integration within the workplace. the root causes of work alienation often include dissatisfaction with job roles and the organisation's failure to recognise employees' values or support their well-being. such feelings of alienation can be early indicators of more serious problems, such as substance abuse, mental health disorders, and even suicidal behaviour (muttar et al., 2019). work alienation is characterised by three core dimensions—powerlessness, meaninglessness, and selfestrangement. powerlessness occurs when employees perceive that they have little or no influence over organisational decisions or outcomes. meaninglessness arises when they cannot see the significance of their work or its impact on the organisation, while self-estrangement reflects a lack of fulfilment or satisfaction from the work performed due to low expectations of the outcomes (durrah, 2020). workplace spirituality as a mitigating factor the concept of workplace spirituality has emerged as a potential solution to mitigate work alienation and enhance employee engagement. it refers to the recognition that employees possess an inner life that seeks meaningful work and a sense of community within the organisation (tantua & osuamkpe, 2020). workplace spirituality encompasses the quest for personal fulfilment, purpose, and acts of kindness within the professional setting, promoting psychological well-being and fostering a supportive atmosphere conducive to personal and organisational growth. spirituality in the workplace is built on the principles of meaning, transcendence, and community (nwanzu & babalola, 2021). it goes beyond religious practices, focusing on the alignment of an individual’s values and beliefs with the goals and practices of the organisation. when employees experience transcendence at work, they often feel a profound sense of interconnectedness with their colleagues, which can lead to a state of mental well-being and contentment (krishnani, 2023). the incorporation of spirituality in organisational culture aims to harmonise personal and corporate objectives, encouraging a culture of mutual support and collective well-being (ule et al., 2020). workplace spirituality has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of work alienation by providing a sense of purpose and belonging. employees who perceive a balance between their work and personal lives, enriched by the goodwill and support of their colleagues, are more 536 likely to experience heightened engagement. for those who feel disconnected or alienated, the introduction of spiritual principles within the workplace can help alleviate these feelings, fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment. consequently, this study posits that work-life balance and the dimensions of work alienation may predict employee engagement levels and that workplace spirituality could moderate these relationships among bank employees in delta state, nigeria. significance of the study the outcomes of this research aim to fill gaps in the current literature by exploring the interplay between work alienation, work-life balance, and workplace spirituality, and how these factors collectively influence the work performance of bank employees in nigeria. the insights derived from this study could inform strategies to promote employee well-being, reduce feelings of alienation, and improve engagement within the banking sector. given the rapidly evolving nature of the financial services industry, understanding the impact of workplace spirituality on employee engagement could help banks maintain a competitive edge by fostering a resilient and motivated workforce. statement of the problem the challenge of maintaining high employee performance in the banking sector is an ongoing issue in nigeria, often aggravated by negative attitudes towards work and job disengagement (amah, 2018). banks face immense pressure to remain competitive in an industry that is rapidly evolving due to technological advancements and regulatory changes. as a result, the banking sector frequently invests in employee development to ensure staff remain aligned with market trends. however, these investments may not always translate into increased employee engagement if underlying issues of alienation are not addressed. disengaged employees can be detrimental to the organisation, as they are more likely to exhibit negative behaviours such as indifference towards work, minimal output, resistance to policies, and even inciting discontent among co-workers (clark, 2020). the current economic environment in nigeria, marked by global economic downturns, financial sector consolidation, and corruption, has exacerbated job insecurity, work overload, and employee alienation (ugwu et al., 2014). these factors have contributed to increasing unemployment rates and created a workforce that is more vulnerable to disengagement and low morale. it is essential to explore the factors influencing employee engagement, particularly in commercial banks that play a crucial role in the organised private sector of the nigerian economy. although prior studies have explored various aspects of work alienation (radwan et al., 2021; iqbal et al., 2022), there is still a gap in the literature concerning the moderating role of workplace spirituality in the relationship between work alienation and employee engagement. this study seeks to address this gap by investigating whether workplace spirituality can moderate the impact of work alienation dimensions on engagement behaviours among bank employees. by doing so, the research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how organisational practices can be leveraged to enhance employee engagement and mitigate the negative effects of alienation. literature review work alienation has been a subject of interest for decades, with early studies by marx (1964) and seeman (1959) establishing the foundation of the concept. marx's theory of alienation 537 describes the disconnection that workers experience when their labour becomes an external, oppressive force, divorced from their sense of self. seeman (1959) further expanded on this by identifying five dimensions of alienation: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, isolation, and self-estrangement. these foundational theories have informed a wealth of empirical studies that explore the causes, manifestations, and impacts of alienation in the workplace. recent research has focused on the psychological and organisational factors that contribute to work alienation. for instance, blauner (1964) argued that technological advancements and bureaucratic organisational structures often exacerbate feelings of alienation, as employees have less control over their work processes and outcomes. more recent studies by hirschfeld and field (2000) and nair and vohra (2010) have indicated that work alienation is often linked to low job satisfaction, decreased organisational commitment, and higher turnover intentions. in their meta-analysis, nair and vohra (2010) found that alienated employees are more likely to experience burnout and disengagement, which adversely affects overall productivity. these findings underscore the importance of addressing work alienation in organisational settings, particularly in sectors like banking, where the pressure to perform is high, and the nature of work is often repetitive and routine. empirical review the role of leadership in addressing work alienation leadership plays a crucial role in either mitigating or exacerbating work alienation. studies by shantz et al. (2014) and deci et al. (2017) have shown that transformational leadership styles, which focus on inspiring and motivating employees, can significantly reduce feelings of alienation. transformational leaders create a supportive environment that fosters autonomy, competence, and relatedness—key elements that counteract the dimensions of alienation identified by seeman (1959). in contrast, autocratic leadership styles have been found to contribute to increased levels of work alienation. a study by bhatnagar (2012) demonstrated that employees under autocratic leaders often feel powerless and disconnected from decision-making processes, which enhances their sense of alienation. this finding is particularly relevant in the banking sector, where hierarchical organisational structures are common, and decision-making is often centralised. psychological empowerment and employee engagement psychological empowerment has been identified as a critical factor in enhancing employee engagement and reducing work alienation. spreitzer (1995) defined psychological empowerment as a set of motivational constructs manifested in four cognitions: meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact. when employees feel empowered, they are more likely to find meaning in their work, feel competent in their roles, have a sense of autonomy, and believe that their work has a significant impact on the organisation. research by thomas and velthouse (1990) and zhang and bartol (2010) has highlighted the positive effects of psychological empowerment on employee engagement. empowered employees are more likely to be engaged, proactive, and resilient in the face of challenges. in the context of the banking sector, fostering psychological empowerment could be a viable strategy for reducing work alienation and enhancing overall productivity. 538 workplace spirituality and the powerlessness dimension of work alienation ojobu et al. (2023) conducted a study on the predictive roles of workplace spirituality on employee silence and social alienation dimensions among national youth service corps (nysc) members from northern nigeria working in delta state. the study involved 63 participants (38 males, 25 females) aged 19 to 30, with a mean age of 24 and a standard deviation of 1.40. using a convenience sampling method, the sample size was determined through gpower sampling formulae with a 0.6 effect size and a .05 alpha for one predictor case. the instruments used for data collection included the employee silence scale (ess), workplace spirituality scale (wss), and work alienation scale (was). the analysis revealed that workplace spirituality negatively and significantly predicted employee silence (β = -0.29, p < .001) and was significant for all factors of social alienation (β = -0.47, p < .001). while the meaninglessness dimension showed a significant negative correlation (β = -0.45, p < .004), the powerlessness and self-estrangement dimensions, although negatively correlated with workplace spirituality, did not reach significant levels. these findings indicate that an increase in workplace spirituality is associated with a reduction in employee silence and meaninglessness, thus potentially decreasing their negative impact on employees in the workplace. the study recommends that organisations promote a spiritual climate to foster increased goodwill, consideration for others, collaboration, and helping behaviour, which can contribute to organisational effectiveness and employee satisfaction. alyas (2020) explored the relationship between work engagement, work alienation, and work performance in healthcare settings, focusing on 142 employees at the children’s hospital and ich lahore. the study used adapted questionnaires for work alienation, work engagement, and work performance, analysed with spss version 21. the majority of participants, aged 25 to 35, exhibited a positive attitude towards work engagement, with an inverse relationship found between work engagement and work alienation. the results indicated that employees were aware of the significance of engagement and alienation regarding work performance metrics, providing foundational insights for the present study on workplace spirituality. kartal (2018) examined the association between work engagement, work alienation, and performance among 493 health professionals across various hospital settings. the study identified a significant positive correlation between engagement and performance, while powerlessness and meaninglessness were negatively associated with performance. regression analysis showed that the participants' engagement and alienation significantly influenced performance (p < 0.01), with the vigour dimension of engagement and the powerlessness and meaninglessness dimensions explaining 28% of the variance in performance. this underscores the importance of addressing alienation to enhance performance. workplace spirituality and the meaninglessness dimension of work alienation iqbal et al. (2022) investigated spiritual leadership and work alienation, proposing service employee social capital as a mediator. data collected from 283 employees in the service sector supported hypotheses suggesting a negative association between spiritual leadership and work alienation. it was posited that a spiritually supportive environment could help mitigate alienation by fostering meaning in employees' roles. lata and chaudhary (2020) used the conservation of resources and cognitive appraisal theories to explore workplace spirituality's relationship with incivility, with data from banking (n = 225) and it (n = 220) sectors. findings showed significant negative correlations between spirituality and incivility, and psychopathy moderated the spirituality-incivility relationship in 539 banking. the study highlights workplace spirituality's role in shaping employees' experiences of incivility, suggesting its potential in reducing alienation's meaninglessness aspect. workplace spirituality and the self-estrangement dimension of work alienation zhang (2020) examined how workplace spirituality impacts unethical pro-organisational behaviour (upb) and found that spirituality had a positive influence on job satisfaction, which in turn reduced self-estrangement by creating a more supportive and meaningful work environment. the study involved 458 employees across different organisations in china and concluded that increased job satisfaction, facilitated by a spiritually enriched workplace, contributed to lower levels of self-estrangement. astuti et al. (2020) explored the link between workplace spirituality and employee performance, incorporating job satisfaction as a mediator. in their study of 143 non-lecturer staff members at universitas muhammadiyah yogyakarta, indonesia, they found that while spirituality was significantly associated with improved job satisfaction, its direct effect on reducing workplace deviant behaviour (often linked with self-estrangement) was not significant. this suggests that the impact of workplace spirituality on self-estrangement may be more pronounced through indirect pathways, such as job satisfaction and overall employee well-being. theoretical framework integrating social exchange theory in the context of workplace spirituality the social exchange theory, originally proposed by blau (1964), serves as a relevant framework for understanding the influence of workplace spirituality on work alienation. this theory suggests that relationships in the workplace are characterised by reciprocal exchanges, where individuals are likely to respond positively to beneficial actions or environments that provide rewards. when workplace spirituality is incorporated, it fosters a culture of mutual respect, trust, and commitment, where employees feel supported and valued. this supportive environment reduces the likelihood of experiencing work alienation, as employees are more inclined to engage positively with their work and colleagues. according to the social exchange theory, trust plays a significant role in enhancing workplace dynamics. in the context of workplace spirituality, trust is cultivated through open communication, shared values, and a sense of belonging. when employees feel they are in an environment that respects and values their inner life, they are more likely to reciprocate with increased engagement and reduced feelings of alienation. additionally, the theory suggests that when employees perceive that they are treated fairly and receive support, they are more committed to their work and organisation, thereby reducing powerlessness, meaninglessness, and self-estrangement. the theory further posits that reciprocal relationships in the workplace encourage behaviours that align with organisational goals. by embedding spiritual practices and values within the organisational culture, companies can create a climate where employees feel empowered to contribute positively, thus mitigating the negative impact of work alienation. this aligns with benitez et al. (2020), who argued that the amicable behaviours fostered through workplace spirituality elicit positive responses from peers and create an inclusive environment that counters feelings of alienation. methods 540 the methodology chapter details the participants, instruments, procedures, design, and statistical approaches utilized in the study. participants the study was conducted in the cities of asaba, agbor, and warri strategically chosen due to their dense population of banks, providing a robust sample of employees. a total of 166 bank employees from these commercial hubs in delta state participated. the gender distribution included 74(44.6%) males and 92 (55.4%) females. the age of participants ranged from 24 to 45 years, with a mean age of 30.5 years and a standard deviation of 5.10. regarding marital status, 94 (56.6%) of the participants were married, 68 (40.1%) were single, 4 (2.40%) were divorced. educational qualifications among the participants varied, with 6 (1.4%) holding doctoral degrees (phd), 31 (18.6%) holding master's degrees (m.sc.), and 129(77.7%) holding bachelor's degrees (b.sc.). all participants were professional bank employees, with contract staff being excluded from the study. in terms of job rank, 39 (23.49%) were assistant banking officers, 56 (33.7%) were banking officers, 46 (25.9%) were senior banking officers, and 25 (15.0%) were assistant managers. the breakdown of work experience among participants was as follows: 71 (42.7%) had 1-7 years of experience, 56(33.7%) had 8-15 years, and 39(23.4%) had 16-20 years or more. the distribution of participants across banks was as follows: zenith bank plc 66 (39.7%), united bank for africa plc 33 (19.8%), guaranty trust bank 56 (33.7%), access bank 11(6.6%). the study also collected data on ethnic affiliation: 72 (43.3%) were igbo, 32(19.2%) were yoruba, 21 (12.6%) were hausa, and 941(24.,6%) were from other ethnic groups. in terms of religious affiliation, the majority were christian 98(59.0%), followed by islam 11 (6.6%), and other religions 57 (34.3%). participants from the three cities were as follows: asaba 78 (46.9%), agbor 43(25.9%) and warri 45 (27.1%). the convenience sampling technique was employed, with participation open to professional bank employees willing to engage in the study. instruments work engagement scale work engagement was gauged using the 17-item work engagement scale (wes) formulated by schaufeli et al. (2003). this instrument measures three facets of work engagement: vigour, dedication, and absorption. responses are captured on a 5-point likert-type scale, where 1 corresponds to 'fully disagree' and 5 to 'fully agree'. illustrative items from the scale include statements like "at my work, i feel bursting with energy" for vigour, "my work inspires me" for dedication, and "when i am working, i forget everything else around me" for absorption. the scoring range for the scale is between 17 and 85, with higher scores indicative of greater work engagement and lower scores suggesting disengagement. the scale's internal consistency is robust, with an alpha coefficient of 0.85 as reported by the authors. it has been validated across diverse cultural and occupational contexts, with various samples supporting its threefactor structure and the close interrelation between these factors (schaufeli & bakker, 2010). the wes has been adapted into more than 20 shortened forms, comprising 9 items each (schaufeli et al., 2006), and these versions have consistently shown high internal consistency, with coefficients ranging from 0.88 to 0.96 (byrne et al., 2016). in nigeria, ugwu (2013) adapted the work engagement scale and validated it for local samples, achieving unanimous agreement among experts on the scale's content and face validity. ugwu's study also confirmed the scale's reliability with a coefficient of 0.85 and supported the three-factor structure as an adequate representation of work engagement within the nigerian context. 541 for this current study, a pilot test was conducted to verify the scale's appropriateness, yielding a cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76, thus attesting to its reliability. the scale underwent further validation by four (4) bank employees to ensure its face and content validity. work alienation scale (was) the dimensions of work alienation were assessed using the work alienation scale (was), a 19-item scale developed by mottaz (1981). this scale is rated on a 5-point likert-type scale, with options ranging from 'fully disagree' (1) to 'fully agree' (5). the dimension of powerlessness is captured through 4 items, including statements like "my daily activities are largely determined by others" and "i am not able to make changes regarding my job activities". the meaninglessness dimension is represented by 6 items, with examples such as "sometimes i am not sure i completely understand the purpose of what i am doing" and "i understand how my work role fits into the overall operation of this organisation". the self-estrangement dimension comprises 9 items, one of which is "i do not feel a sense of accomplishment in the type of work i do". scores on the scale range from 19 to 95, where a higher score reflects higher levels of the social alienation dimensions among employees. mottaz reported a reliability score of 0.834 for the overall scale, with coefficients of 0.85 for powerlessness, 0.75 for meaninglessness, and 0.70 for self-estrangement. subsequent studies have corroborated the scale's reliability. ucanok (2000) adapted the was for turkish employees and found similar reliability figures: 0.85 for powerlessness, 0.70 for meaninglessness, and 0.71 for selfestrangement. ozer et al. (2017) reported a cronbach's alpha of 0.75 for the overall scale, with powerlessness scoring 0.77 and meaninglessness scoring 0.85. mohamed and shaheen (2022) applied the scale to nursing staff, establishing face and content validity and obtaining a reliability coefficient of 0.76 for workplace alienation, attesting to the scale's consistent reliability. in the current study, a pilot test yielded a cronbach's alpha of 0.78 for the overall was. the powerlessness dimension recorded a high reliability of 0.88, meaninglessness was 0.77, and self-estrangement was 0.82, affirming the reliability of the scale. the validity of the scale relative to other variables was also strong, with a significant correlation with a greater sense of coherence (r= 0.428 p < 0.001). the was was reviewed by (4) bank employees to ensure its face and content validity. workplace spirituality scale the workplace spirituality scale, developed by petchsawang and duchon (2009), is a comprehensive 22-item measure used to assess the extent to which individuals find their ultimate purpose in life through their work, establish strong connections with co-workers and others involved with their work, and experience alignment between their core beliefs and the values of their organisation. the participants responded on a 5-point likert-type scale, with options ranging from 'fully disagree' (1) to 'fully agree' (5). examples of items from this scale include: “i can easily put myself in other people’s shoes” (compassion), “i experience joy in my work” (meaningful work), “at times, i experience an energy or vitality at work that is difficult to describe” (transcendence), and “it seems i am working automatically without much awareness of what i’m doing” (mindfulness). the scoring range of the scale is from 22 to 110, where higher scores denote greater levels of workplace spirituality and lower scores reflect lesser degrees. the scale's developers reported an internal consistency of .89 for the overall scale, with .60, .85, .70, and .85 for the compassion, meaningful work, transcendence, and mindfulness dimensions, respectively. alam and chaudhary (2021) applied the scale within the pakistani 542 context and confirmed its face validity with a reliability coefficient of 0.85. similarly, ajala (2013) utilized the scale to investigate the impact of workplace spirituality on employee wellbeing in the nigerian industrial sector, obtaining a cronbach's alpha of 0.86 and confirming its face validity, indicative of its adaptability to the nigerian milieu. in the current study, the scale's suitability was determined through a pilot test which yielded a cronbach's alpha coefficient of .78, verifying the instrument's reliability. the scale was assessed by four (4) bank employees to ensure face and content validity. procedure for the main study, 166 commercial bank employees from asaba, agbor and warri of delta state were sampled. to manage the large sample size, two members of the national youth corps were recruited as research assistants. these assistants, delegated from the university of delta, agbor's human resources department, were trained to understand the study's objectives and administer the instruments independently. using the sample size formula by yamane (1967), a minimum of 120 responses was needed to achieve a 95% confidence interval. banks were selected via simple random sampling, giving each branch an equal opportunity to be chosen. the sampling strategy was guided by convenience, focusing on employees willing to participate and excluding contract and hired staff. the researcher offered practical assistance and introductory statements at the start of the questionnaire to ensure participants were well-informed. participants were drawn from various divisions such as cash/teller, customer service, funds and transfer, and marketing, represented ranks from assistant banking officer up to assistant manager. the research team encountered cooperative behaviour from the participants, who were assured of the confidentiality of their responses and the freedom to withdraw at any time. the completion rate of the questionnaires was high, with most employees returning them immediately, while some requested to submit them the following day. the data collection phase spanned 7 days, extended in some districts due to logistical considerations. out of 180 distributed questionnaires, 170were retrieved, and following the exclusion of 4 invalid responses, 166 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis. design and statistics the study was a cross-sectional survey as data was collected using copies of questionnaires given to participants. the study adopted a correlational design. to ascertain the relationships between the variables under investigation, pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient was utilized. furthermore, moderated regression analysis was employed to examine the moderating influence within the relationships. all statistical analyses were conducted using spss software, version 23. results the analysis of the data in the study was presented in this chapter. all statistics were managed with spss v23 for this study. table 1: assumption check for normality test fro sample distribution (shapiro-wilk) 543 workplace spirituality work alienation powerlessnes s dimension meaninglessne ss dimension selfestrangement dimension sharpiro-wilk w 0.922 0.962 0.988 0.990 0.9556 shapiro-wlk p 0.534 0.612 0.821 0.0732 0.059 table 2 reveals that using the sharpiro-wilk for the assumption check fro sample distribution, the test of normality or even distribution of the participants was confirmed since the probability range for sharpiro wilk is greater than 0.05 at p= 0.534, 0.612, 0.821, 0.0732 and 0.059 respectively for workplace spirituality, work alienation, powerlessness dimension of work alienation, meaningless dimension of work alienation and self-estrangement dimension of work alienation. the p-value is greater than 0.05 significance for 166 respondents, henace, sample for the study is normal and evenly distributed. table 2: correlation matrix between workplace spirituality, work alienation dimensions of powerlessness, meaninglessness and self-estrangement dimensions workplace spirituality work alienation dimensions powerlessness dimension of work alienation meaninglessness dimension of work alienation self-estrangement dimension of work alienation workplace spirituality pearson’s r p-value 0.820*** <.001 work alienation pearson’s r p-value 0.856*** <.001 0.671*** <.001 powerlessness dimension of work alienation pearson’s r p-value 0.542*** <.001 0.551*** <.001 0.538*** <.001 meaninglessness dimension of work alienation pearson’s r p-value 0.651*** <.001 0.621*** <.001 0.681*** <.001 0.641*** <.001 selfestrangement dimension of work alienation pearson’s r p-value 0.0821*** <.001 0.0649*** <.001 0.0587*** <.001 0.087*** <.001 0.543*** <.001 n 166 166 166 166 166 table 2 displays the correlation matrix between workplace spirituality and work alienation dimensions of powerlessness, meaninglessness and self-estrangement. work alienation dimension of powerlessness correlated positively with workplace spirituality at r= 0.542, p < .001 (n=166), the relationship between workplace spirituality and meaninglessness dimension of work alienation correlated positively at r= 0.651, p< .001 (n=166) and self-estrangement dimension of work alienation was significant at r= 0.0821, p < .001 (n= 166). regression analysis was carried out to ascertain if the observed correlation reached predictive values. table 3 544 variables estimate se t p work alienation 0.4714 0.07312 6.3412 <.001 wa-self-estrangement 0.5653 0.4321 4.3231 0.6321 wa-powerlessness 0.6451 0.5312 0.5811 0.5211 wa-meaninglessness 0.7654 0.4121 2.3421 0.6171 table 3 revealed the beta weight predictive estimates of the predictor on the outcome variables. data shows that workplace spirituality positively and significantly predicted the powerlessness dimension of work alienation at β = 0.47, p < .001 (n=166) which means that workplace spirituality among bank employees less the powerlessness dimension of work alienation. the predictor effects for the meaninglessness dimension of work alienation and workplace spirituality was significant at r= 0.76, p < .001 (n=166). also, the self-estrangement had positive correlations with workplace spirituality at r= 0.64, p < .001 (n=166 0.this shows that workplace spirituality had a significant contribution to reducing the effects of work alienation dimensions of powerlessness, meaninglessness and self-estrangement dimensions hence boosting the work performance output and work engagement among bankers in delta state discussion the study’s findings are consistent with existing literature that underscores the role of workplace spirituality in enhancing work engagement and reducing the negative effects of work alienation. the significant inverse correlation between workplace spirituality and dimensions of work alienation implies that spiritual practices within the workplace can serve as a buffer against psychological disengagement. the positive correlation observed between spirituality and reduced powerlessness suggests that employees who perceive a spiritual aspect to their work are likely to feel more empowered and capable of influencing organisational outcomes. this aligns with kartal's (2018) findings, which indicated that work engagement can act as a remedy for feelings of helplessness in demanding work settings. the reduction in the meaninglessness dimension of alienation is also noteworthy. employees who experience workplace spirituality often find greater purpose in their work, leading to enhanced engagement and job satisfaction. this supports the conclusions of iqbal et al. (2022), who found that fostering a spiritually supportive work environment could help employees derive meaning and fulfilment from their roles. when employees perceive their tasks as meaningful, they are more likely to be committed to their job and less prone to disengagement. regarding the self-estrangement dimension, the study shows that workplace spirituality contributes to a greater sense of personal fulfilment, which diminishes feelings of disconnection from one's work. this finding echoes the results of astuti et al. (2020), who demonstrated that spirituality positively influences job satisfaction and reduces deviant workplace behaviours. the support and compassion associated with workplace spirituality make employees feel more integral to the organisation, thereby enhancing their psychological well-being and connection to their roles. the social exchange theory serves as a relevant theoretical framework for interpreting these results. according to the theory, the reciprocal nature of social interactions in the workplace fosters a sense of obligation, trust, and commitment among employees. in environments where 545 spirituality is embraced, the principles of reciprocity and mutual support are more prevalent, creating a culture in which employees feel valued and motivated to reciprocate through higher levels of engagement. thus, the study extends the application of social exchange theory to include spiritual fulfilment as a valuable element in workplace dynamics. recommendations based on the findings, several recommendations are proposed to help banks address work alienation through the integration of workplace spirituality: 1. integrate workplace spirituality into organisational culture: banks should actively incorporate workplace spirituality into their core values and organisational culture. this could be done through policies that promote a sense of community, shared values, and meaningful work. for example, introducing regular mindfulness sessions, meditation workshops, or spiritually-themed retreats could help employees connect more deeply with their work and with one another. organisational values should reflect not only business goals but also principles such as compassion, community, and ethical behaviour. establishing an internal culture that values these spiritual aspects can help reduce feelings of alienation by making employees feel that their work has a higher purpose beyond financial gain. 2. develop training programmes focused on spiritual leadership: managers should be trained in spiritual leadership practices that encourage a supportive, empathetic, and purpose-driven work environment. training programmes could focus on techniques for fostering connectedness, inspiring employees to find meaning in their work, and supporting their personal and professional development. leaders who embody the principles of spiritual leadership can serve as role models, creating a ripple effect throughout the organisation that encourages a culture of mutual respect, compassion, and collaboration. this leadership style can also empower employees by involving them in decision-making processes, thereby reducing feelings of powerlessness. 3. enhance employee well-being programmes: employee well-being initiatives should incorporate elements that promote spiritual health, such as resilience training, stress management workshops, and personal growth seminars. these programmes can be aligned with the core aspects of workplace spirituality, such as meaning, transcendence, and community. encouraging employees to engage in activities that promote work-life balance, such as flexible work schedules and mindfulness practices, can reduce the emotional strain and fatigue associated with work alienation. when employees feel supported in their personal and spiritual growth, they are more likely to be engaged and perform better at work. 4. promote a collaborative and inclusive work environment: fostering an inclusive environment where employees from diverse backgrounds can share their experiences and contribute to decision-making processes can enhance the sense of community within the workplace. this collaborative atmosphere can reduce feelings of selfestrangement by making employees feel valued and integral to the organisation’s success. 546 team-building activities that encourage open communication, mutual support, and the sharing of personal goals can strengthen relationships among co-workers, further reinforcing the principles of workplace spirituality. when employees feel connected to one another, they are more likely to experience a sense of belonging and purpose in their work. 5. implement regular assessments to monitor work alienation: banks should establish mechanisms for regularly assessing the levels of work alienation and spirituality among employees. surveys and feedback tools can be used to gauge employees’ perceptions of their work environment and identify areas where interventions are needed. early identification of signs of work alienation allows for timely intervention strategies, such as coaching, counselling, or spiritual development programmes, to be put in place. addressing these issues proactively can prevent the escalation of disengagement and support long-term employee retention. implications the implications of this study extend beyond the banking sector to other high-pressure industries where work alienation is prevalent, such as healthcare, education, and information technology. the findings suggest that integrating workplace spirituality can help organisations across various sectors mitigate the adverse effects of alienation and foster a more engaged and resilient workforce. furthermore, the research highlights the need for organisations to view workplace spirituality not just as a wellness initiative but as a strategic approach to enhancing employee motivation, productivity, and organisational culture. future research studies although this study addresses several aspects of work alienation and workplace spirituality, there remain gaps in the literature that warrant further investigation. one such gap is the limited exploration of how different organisational contexts and cultures may influence the impact of workplace spirituality on work alienation. future research could examine the moderating role of organisational culture in diverse settings, such as multinational corporations versus local firms, to better understand how cultural factors affect the implementation and outcomes of workplace spirituality. additionally, longitudinal studies could be conducted to assess the long-term effects of workplace spirituality on work alienation. such studies would provide insights into how sustained spiritual practices within organisations influence employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall well-being over time. moreover, future research could also explore the role of individual differences, such as personality traits and personal values, in shaping employees' responses to workplace spirituality initiatives. another area for future research is to investigate the potential differential effects of various dimensions of workplace spirituality (e.g., meaningful work, transcendence, and compassion) on the specific dimensions of work alienation. understanding which aspects of spirituality are most effective in reducing powerlessness, meaninglessness, and self-estrangement would enable organisations to design targeted interventions that address the unique 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(2020). workplace spirituality and unethical pro-organisational behaviour: the mediating role of job satisfaction. journal of business ethics, 169(4), 703-722. page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 106 alternative to eurocentric development theory: african-centered theory of development nu’uman mohammed habib department of sociology bayero university kano nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng abstract the central thesis of this paper is that africa needs to formulate a development theory that should guide her quest for development. it is the submission of the paper that the development theories and prescriptions that have been sold to africa cannot take her to development as they are rooted in a social, historical, and political setting that are completely different from those that obtain in africa. arising from the faulty premise of western social science, an alternative development theory is suggested, one that values the human person, where spirituality is central, and the environment enjoys a prime place. all development is ideologically driven, african development should be ethically driven. keywords: alternative development theory, ethical development, spirituality, western social science introduction it is now more than four decades since claude ake, the nigerian scholar, cautioned against wholesome embrace of the social sciences without subjecting the terms and concepts employed by social scientists to critical scrutiny. he warned that we should not be deceived by the veneer of “science” woven around the social sciences and thus be lulled into swallowing hook, line and sinker, not only the terms and concepts employed by social scientists but also the underlying assumptions behind them. critical scholars like ake (1979) are justifiably suspicious of the social sciences which they regard as no more than imperialism in the guise of scientific knowledge. ake provides the point of departure for this discussion, he draws attention to the need for social scientists to be wary of embracing concepts and terms, using them loosely, and attempting to apply them to social milieus other than the ones in which they were conceived. ake (1979) says: social science, any science, does not exist in a vacuum. it arises in a particular historical context, a particular mode of production. science in any society is apt to be geared to the interests and impregnated with the values of the ruling class, which ultimately controls the conditions under which science is produced and consumed, by financing research, setting national priorities and controlling the educational system, etc. (ake, 1979, p. 134). science is about subjecting ideas and assumptions to critical evaluation, exposing fallacies and inconsistencies, as well as affirming the truth. unfortunately, many a myth, lie or falsehood had been clothed, packaged and presented as the truth in the social sciences to be accepted as such by less discerning minds, who assumed that since the source was scholarly, it does not require further scrutiny. however, their pretentions to being a “science” notwithstanding, there is no debating that the social sciences are not as precise in their conclusions which are more open to question than those of the natural sciences. it is for this reason and others that we must dissect, analyze and interrogate all terms, concepts and conclusions put forward by social scientists, to do otherwise is mailto:nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng 107 to jeopardize our understanding of what is wrong with our society and what we need to do to set things right. in x-raying our societies, social scientists pick and uses terms and concepts that they consider relevant and adequate to explain the state of things. the questions to keep in mind are: how far do the terms, concepts, and theories provide satisfactory explanations of what they purportedly seek to explain? how far are their assumptions and ideas useful for purposes of explanation? quite often, in the social sciences, the scholar may become blind to his or her own biases, unconsciously pushing an agenda or ideology that may not stand in the face of closer examination, this was what ake was drawing attention to. unfortunately, scant attention was given to ake’s warning; scholars, students and policy makers continue to remain uncritical of social science terms and concepts, in the naïve belief that they are neutral and “scientific”, not the loaded and valueladen terms that they are. we shall see, shortly, that this is a costly mistake and one that african scholars, in particular must challenge. it began with a word it is not infrequent to find concepts emerging and being used in the social sciences which leave lasting, near indelible imprint once they have gained traction in academic lexicon. this was exactly what happened with “underdevelopment” which was given a completely new meaning when it was used by president truman at his presidential inaugural address. the new president conferred on the united states a role which he wanted it to play vis-à-vis a large expanse of the world made up of nations that have or were about emerging from decades of colonial rule. according to esteva (2010), president truman committed the united states to: … a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas…more than half the people of the world are living in a condition approaching misery. their food is inadequate. they are victims of disease. their economic life is primitive and stagnant. their poverty is a handicap and a threat both to them and to more prosperous areas. the old imperialism – exploitation for foreign profit – has no place in our plans. what we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair dealing. (esteva, 2010, p. 1). it is worth noting here that while truman vowed to cast off “old imperialism” he was not as forthcoming with respect to “new imperialism”. the rationalization of the new economic order which america is in the process of imposing, is cleverly hidden under the rubric “democratic fair dealing”. liberalism, as defined by america, is presented as a factor in the general progress of humanity. the development of the rest of the world, in particular the “underdeveloped” areas is now a burden to be borne by america. to do this, america required unfettered access for its companies to mineral and other resources to be found in the developing countries on terms and conditions dictated by the interests of the united states. what is most insidious from truman’s address, however, was how from that day on he cast a pall on a large chunk of humanity. esteva pointed to how: on that day 2 billion people became underdeveloped…from that time on, they ceased being what they were, in all their diversity, and were transmogrified into an inverted mirror of 108 others’ reality – a mirror that belittles them and send them off to the end of the queue, a mirror that defines their identity, which is really that of a heterogeneous and diverse majority, simply in the terms of a homogenizing narrow minority. (esteva, 2010, p. 2). such were the power of words, they were employed and used to label this large number and to by so doing consign them to the margin of existence. their socio-historical experiences were no longer of relevance, and major milestones like the slave trade, colonial occupation and imperial plunder that were the lot of african states were ignored, swept under the carpet and treated as if they were of little or no consequences. how and in what ways did the slave trade distorted the african mode of production? what effect did the transfer of able-bodied men and women from africa to west have on the rise and expansion of capitalist production and industrialization of the west european countries? what role did colonialism play in the emasculation of the traditional production systems that were to be found all over african states, which were producing crafts and merchandise that were at par, if not superior, to those being produced at europe at that point in time? while answers to these questions are being awaited, it needs pointing out that one of the lasting effects of the coming into usage of ‘’underdevelopment” was that it had a crystalizing effect on the beliefs, behaviors and emotional responses of the people it was applied to – their perception of themselves vis-à-vis others who were not them is significantly tainted. they are less vibrant, energetic and able to stand up for themselves if they surrender and give in to the power of the label foisted on them. african countries are therefore sorely in need of becoming aware of their agency to choose and create their reality, what freire (2014) calls “conscientizaҫão.” bourgeois conceptualizing of development when the oppressor has appropriated a word as innocuous as development, it is the duty of the oppressed to not only challenge that appropriation but also to refuse to be defined by the label chosen by the oppressor, they should begin the necessary mental and psychological transformation of liberating themselves from the objects that they were cast as being, to subjects possessing the ability to choose and shape their destiny. the varied ways in which development has been conceptualized and defined points the way to african scholars, they must call to question the concept of development as given and used in western circles, academies and institutions. what this calls for, is a break from the vicious circle and constricting choke hold of a position that does nothing to explain let alone advance the interests of the african people. a number of definitions are presented to show the futility and hopelessness in taking for guide bourgeois-centric notions of development. sciarelli and rinaldi (2017) while conceding that defining development poses an issue, they nevertheless encapsulate it to “represent an overall variation of economic, social and cultural influences that coincide with the income growth per capita” p. 4. a closer reading of this conceptualization leaves one with the impression that in the opinion of sciarelli and rinaldi the slave trade that ravaged africa and the colonial imposition that followed could pass for development since they both had economic, social and cultural effects on the indigenous african societies and may have even resulted in a rise in per capita income. such linear and static conceptualization which conveniently chooses to ignore key historical events in the interaction of societies leading to dissimilar development outcomes, dates from the early 109 days of modernization theory as espoused by rostow (1961), hagen (1962) and lewis (1955) among others, where modernization was confused with development and neither modernization nor development were situated within the context of enslavement mental and physical – as well as other social dynamics at play. an interesting position on development was taken by brookfield (1975) who saw it as change, whether positive or negative. brookfield’s central thesis is that development cannot be understood, properly so, by separation into parts; rather, as indicated by the title of his book, it constitutes one “interdependent” system. brookfield was one of early critics of modernization theories of development drawn by a concern over social injustice and world inequality. to accept brookfield’s characterization, the division between developed and developing nations must give way, all nations are developed, as all are in a constant flux of change – negative or positive. this contestation about what constitutes “developed” and “developing” remains a central point of discussion in the development discourse. joining the fray, keita (2004) submits: […] there is an evident problematic here concerning the terms 'developed' and 'underdeveloped'. 'developed' suggests a completed or finished process, while 'underdeveloped' tends to imply stasis or lack of progress. but the technological and economic structures of european society fifty years ago have undergone palpable changes and continue to do so. consider the fact that computers, cellular phones, solar energy, and so on were not commonplace in european society some fifty years ago. thus the idea that european societies are 'developed' is obviously questionable. european societies are in the process of development just as other societies deemed 'undeveloped' or 'developing'. for this reason, the automatic contrast between 'developed' and 'developing' societies should be subject to debate. (keita, 2004, p. 133). keita and many in his mold would not accept the division and compartmentalization seeing through the thin veil that was put up to try mask fundamental contradictions of an argument constructed of straws. the obsession to see the world as one split into “developed” and “underdeveloped’’ has also been explained in terms of the ethnocentrism that suffuses the social sciences. non western societies tended to be cast as “backward,” “primitive,” “a curiosity,” or some sort of exotica, making it a compelling duty for the west to assume suzerainty over them to help “civilize,” “modernize” and “develop” them. all the arguments for the justification and rationalizations for imperial and colonial invasions are to be found couched under one of more of those characterizations – what is called the whiteman’s burden. development or, to be more precise, its subjective denial is the latest of the eurocentric notion used to explain away why western nations and their ideas should be rammed down the throats of non-western societies. development has always been shaped by the cultural forces and the political agendas of the west (sardar, 1999) ably supported by the so-called disinterested institutions like the world bank and the international monetary fund, imf, that are only keen to see that market forces are at play and competition holds sway. the growth of liberalism and ascendancy of capitalism in the light of the decline of the socialist alternative helped to present and entrench the belief that development as seen through western prism was the norm. the military-industrial connection was another strand for the success of western development discourse, ideology was backed by military muscle, thus smoothening any rough edges and whipping dissenters back into line. in this way development became very closely implicated in 110 questions of power, especially the power to set up the basic framework or paradigm through which societies and history are to be understood. this was coupled with the brute power to impose many things on others. from the foregoing, a conclusion that is not too difficult to make is that there are so many contradictions around the concept “development,” it is neither neutral nor scientific, and african countries and other non-western societies must free themselves from its clutches by coming up with their own conception of what it is and what it should mean. frustrated by what she regards as the hopelessness in the use of a concept such as “development,” nicole lieger (1995) took the radical position of repudiating and rejecting its use. she forcefully urged that it should be “dropped since it is depoliticizing, deculturalizing, westernizing and homogenizing” (lieger, 1995, p. 1). so strongly convinced was she that development as a concept is meaningless, except for the purposes she identified above, she insisted on putting the word “development” in inverted commas throughout her essay. while andrews and bawa (2014) did not go the distance with lieger, they nevertheless agree that the concept of development has become vague and imprecise and needs to be reformulated. they argued that: development’s survival depends to a large extent on how the paradigms (including theories, approaches and methodologies) is able to adapt and reinvent itself to the changing times .... being more open to alternatives that are context-specific and more in tune with the socio-cultural dynamics of the people development targets. (andrews &bawa, 2014, p. 933). writing in the development dictionary, sachs (2010) points out that development has become “an amoeba-like concept, shapeless but ineradicable [which] spreads everywhere because it connotes the best of intentions [creating] a common ground in which right and left, elites and grass-roots fight their battles” (sachs, 2010, p. 4). despite the best intentions that might lie behind development discourse, we need to continually remain unwavering in warning against being lax, africa and the third world must be guided by the failures to attain “development” after more than six decades of trying out western imposed prescriptions that were touted as the ways to development. since the 1950s the main tenet of development thinking has been premised, either explicitly or implicitly, on the role of modernization as a vehicle for facilitating economic growth through urbanization, industrialization, and capital investment. the phrase itself and the persistent strategies for achieving it, have implied the desirability of adopting a unilinear and universal development trajectory replicating and perpetuating the structures and systems dominant in western industrial countries to the developing world. according to the basic belief of the modernization school, modernization occurs when traditional values, beliefs, and ways of doing things give way to innovative views and methods. ‘a society is traditional’, writes everett e. hagen, ‘if ways of behavior in it continue with little change from generation to generation’, if it ‘tends to be custom-bound, hierarchical, ascriptive, and unproductive’ (hagen, 1962, p. 56). hagen characterizes economic growth as a “series of advances in technology and a rise in per capita output, rapid enough so that marked change occurred within each generation and indeed during each decade” (hagen, 1962, p. 10). modernization and economic growth are what constitutes development, they should be the goal of 111 all non-western societies in the normative and ideal sense, that is submission of bourgeois social scientist no matter the direction they were coming from. an alternative conceptualization of development it is a compelling imperative to have an alternative development framework for africa since what is now being bandied as the prescription has failed to address the diagnosis. the problem lies both in the prescription and in the failure to correctly diagnose what the issues are in african countries. an understanding of development in any part of the world can most successfully be achieved through analyses that incorporate historical, political, economic, as well as social dimensions. this is particularly the case when attempting to understand development in the african setting, where the experiences of colonialism, independence and nation-building, the degree of influence exerted by international financial institutions, and the extent and nature of poverty and inequality have had a major impact on shaping the development trajectory of the african state. what was not done, or only done half-heartedly, was to interrogate capitalist development theories and strategies and their suitability to a setting that is entirely different from that of western countries. because development as conceived, birthed and propagated by western bourgeois social science is incapable of addressing the developmental needs and challenges of africa, it behooves african social scientists to come up with an alternative that is grounded in the reality and historical experience of the continent. in doing so, they need to jettison assumptions that undergird development in western societies, learning from polanyi’s assertion that “all attempts to impose the totality of capitalist logic (a human invention) on society are idealistic and utopian.” in any case, africa does not need no desire a system that would not work for it, a system that mistakes development for economic growth and infrastructure – airports, roads and dams. africa, in fashioning an alternative development path, must avoid the conception of development that sees nothing wrong in alienating the human person, one that reduces people to appendages tied to machines in an endless production of goods and services that do not necessarily make life any better, meaningful and fulfilling. western notion of development, rapley (2007) points: […] was charged with being unconcerned about prosperity; rather, it was said to be geared toward establishing external control over citizens’ lives. development was allegedly preoccupied with drawing citizens into the formal networks of circulation, where they could be taxed, thereby consolidating the state’s control over their lives. (rapley, 2007, p. 4). capitalist logic defines human beings not as social beings, but rather as individuals motivated exclusively by self-interest. everything around them is regarded as a commodity which could be exchanged for money, including the time, labor and leisure of the human person. capitalist rationality is premised on self-interest, not social obligations, moral commitments, or altruism. the ultimate possession, life, is a commodity in the logic of capitalism; it could be expended if the price is right. africa’s redemption would only manifest when it rejects the capitalist logic, put the human person as the foci of development and affirm commitment to decent, moral and spiritual coexistence between all that inhabit the globe, this is the alternative, african development pathway. 112 african development theory making a case for african development theory, which they called “indegenist,” asabere-ameyaw, et. al., (2014) said it is premised on active and collectivist participation of all community members who feel a sense of obligation as well as responsibility to all. they listed the key elements of the theory to include: (i) reclaiming a more spiritual sense of self, (ii) learning more about what it means to be human, (iii) becoming active community members with a shared sense of responsibility, and (iv) having a sense of reciprocity and to learning to share ’what we have and to appreciate nature and protect our lands’. (asabere-ameyaw, et. al., p. 31). the capitalist development framework has been too concerned with production and profit such that the environment gets scant attention. the environmental damage produced by capitalist economic system, especially in places where multinational corporations could get away with it is all too plain to see. oil spills, rapacious logging, the loss of rain forests, water and air pollution are taking a toll on the eco-system. although africa’s contribution to carbon emission and the resultant greenhouse gases effect is minimal, it is not immune from effects of what is happening elsewhere. widespread disruption and loss of life is predicted in the coming decades as a consequences of irresponsible greed for profit, which had brought drought, hurricanes, and flooding, and with them environmental refugees. african development theory is holistic and inclusive, it does not lean in the direction of the few against the interests of the majority, production is a means to an end, not an end in itself. it is primarily about the nurturing and restoration of the dignity of the human person in harmonious coexistence with nature around him. the consumer society that reigns in the west has fueled inequality, inequity, waste and pollution, among other vices. some concerned western economists have asked that the society takes a pause to ask whether economic growth as is being pursued by western nations, is worth it (galbraith, 1967; mishan, 1967). georgeet. al., (2014) pushed for placing african development theory where the environment, made up of land and earth, take prime place. disregarding the central appreciation of the importance of land, they argue, leads to non-understanding of the inter-connection between land and the peoples’ political, social, economic, and spiritual everyday social interaction. where the capitalist may see land as only useful for production, to be maximally exploited, it the submission of african development theory that to reduce land to just one of the factors of production, along with labor and capital, is a reductionism that divests land of spiritual and existential import as seen by the african. this difference in perspective between western capitalist development theory which is bereft of ethics and african development theory which has ethics at its core, should help us understand what development is all about for the african. objections may be raised, as indeed have been, that environmental concerns are a luxury that africa can ill afford. africa should go for economic growth at full speed, disregarding the environmental consequence, as whatever degradations, spills, depletions, and contaminations arising from such would be offset as economic growth occurs, it is argued. in fact, there are whisperings to the effect that environmental activism is but one of the ploys to halt or slow-down african and other third world countries’ development. 113 from the perspective of african development theory, however, a carefully thought-out policy on land and other environmental issues would enhance, not inhibit, real development. a policy that safeguards the environment is one that makes for healthier, fitter citizens, with fewer health issues. this development may not be captured in the balance sheets or in measures of gross domestic product, gdp, some of the indices used to measure development, but it is the real development. the submission is, for development to occur, the environment requires protection and improvement. spirituality and religion are things that african development theory say have relevance to development, rejecting the notion that economic growth, progress and development are the antithesis of religion with its archaic rituals and mumbo-jumbo. the secularization thesis is dismissed by african theorists as untenable. in a fitting rebuttal, goulet describes the secularist thesis position as an attempt by ‘one-eyed giants’ who ‘analyze, prescribe and act as if man could live by bread alone, as if human destiny could be stripped to its material dimensions alone’ (goulet, 1980, p. 481). life and the values that go to make it meaningful, fulfilling and rewarding go far beyond and way above material things; religion and spirituality offer that intrinsic satisfaction that fills a void no material could come close to filling. in any case, it has been amply demonstrated that culture, spirituality, and economic development can co-exist and reinforce each other with no antagonism at all (ryan, 1995). religion may also contribute “directly to a person’s flourishing or contentedness, and comprise an intrinsically valued dimension of human well-being”, (clark, 2002, p. 124). another core aspect of african development theory is the emphasis on the sanctity of the person, his livelihood, as well as his physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing and health. depersonalization, alienation, and unconscionable exploitation of man and nature have no place in the theory normatively and ideally. the optimal satisfaction of the person without injury to the present or future generations is at the heart of african development theory, a viable alternative to eurocentric, capitalist spawned theory that has failed africa and would not work for africa. conclusion the history of european development is one enmeshed in the pillage, rape and plunder of the human and natural resources of africa and other third world nations. the slave trade and the colonial occupation that followed in its wake arrested and distorted the development trajectory of africa and conferred advantages on europe. after african nations gained formal independence, their economies remained shackled to those of western nations and international financial institutions, ifis, were manipulating their performance such that decades after, no discernible development appears to have been recorded. none appears on the horizon, either. the futility of pursuing western styled development became manifest on examination of the conceptual basis of development as propounded in bourgeois social science. development is material, unfeeling, and cares neither for the human person nor the environment; spirituality it also takes for a joke. this conception of development is a threat not only to western society, it imperils the whole of humanity. african development theory, on the other hand, is holistic and allencompassing. the human being is conceived as being at the center of development, yet he takes from the environment that which is sufficient for his survival, taking care of the land and environment with all due responsibility. spiritual connection was also elevated in african development theory as it offers man not only serenity and contentment, makes him accountable and moderates his greed. 114 references ake, c. 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(2010). the development dictionary: a guide to knowledge as power. london: zed books ltd. sardar, z. (1999). development and the location of eurocentricism. in r. munck& d. o'hearn (eds.), critical development theory: contributions to the new paradigms, 44-62. london: zed books sciarelli, f. & a. rinaldi. (2017). development management of transforming economies. do i 10.1057/978-1-137-59911-7_1 page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 97 awareness and perception of undergraduate students on hazards associated with substance abuse among students onyenekwe, ogochukwu nneka health communication unit, department of mass communication, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng onyenekwe, chinedum charles clinical chemistry unit, department of medical laboratory science, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. abstract substance abuse is on the rise among youths in nigeria. an effective way of managing substance abuse is by advocacy and publicity. these can be achieved in sundry ways. therefore the present study was designed to collect data on the awareness and perception of university students on the hazards of substance abuse. a well-structured questionnaire containing the indices for substance abuse advocacy and publicity was developed and uploaded online amongst nnamdi azikiwe university students social media platforms. the members of the platforms were encouraged to participate in the online survey. the online submission platform was preferred since the instrument for data collection was also meant as an advocacy and publicity agent. the online submission also guaranteed the confidentiality of the participants. the study was conducted between may 2023 and august 2023. a total of 108 participants responded to the questionnaire. the data were expressed in frequencies while chi-square and likelihood ratio were used to evaluate data for interpretations. significant value was place at p<0.05. the 4 most predominant substances abused were indian hemp (29.6%), methamphetamine (25.9%), cocaine (15.7%) and marijuana (11.1%) and the 3 most predominant impact of substance abuse were increased craving (45.4%), untidy appearance (19.4%) and emotional imbalance (11.1%), (x2= 53.500; p<0.001 & x2=129.037; p<0.001)respectively. the perception that substance abuse is associated with infection (73.1%) was high (x2=80.991; p<0.001) but the awareness of rehabilitation centres (30.6%) for substance abuse victims was poor (x2=13.885; p<0.001). crosstab analysis showed both perception of infections and awareness of rehabilitation centres (x2=6.530; p=0.038; likelihood ratio= 7.438; p=0.024). about 95% of the participants proffered the development of a curriculum for advocacy and publicity of substance abuse as panacea in stemming the problem. it was observed that university students are aware of the menace of substance abuse but are not aware of existing rehabilitation centres for victims of substance abuse. it is the opinion of the authors that a well-developed curriculum is necessary for advocacy and publicity. keywords: advocacy, publicity, substance abuse, university students, wellbeing introduction drugs are chemicals or substances that are administered in certain dosage and carries out its effect by altering some biochemical processes in the body. the altered biochemical process could be beneficial or detrimental on the body depending on the purpose of usage of the drug mailto:on.onyenekwe@unizik.edu.ng 98 or chemical. when taken, usually by swallowing, inhaling or injecting, abused substances find their way into the bloodstream. from the bloodstream, there move to the brain and other parts of the body. pepple & diri (2021) assert that in the brain, such substances may intensify or dull the senses, change how alert or sleepy people feel and might sometimes decrease physical pain. because of the way these substances work on the brain, they affect the ability to make healthy choices and decisions. drinking can make people more likely to get involved in dangerous situations like driving under the influence or engaging in unprotected sex. drug administration is preferred when prescribed by individuals trained and knowledgeable in the act of dispensing drugs. the margin of safety in usage of prescribed drugs is slim and is found in dosage and half-life of the drug. moreover drugs are prescribed for a purpose and should not be taken indiscriminately. there are some drugs classified as performance enhancers which it has been observed that youths have strong cravings for. these drugs are often prohibited because of their ability to overrule the normal thinking of the mind (pepple & diri, 2021). however, the classification suggests that youths might have been drawn to the usage of such drugs probably to enhance their performance in a particular activity. the usage has been observed among athletes for competitive purposes, amongst youths desiring prolonged sexual ecstasy, to subdue impact of stressors which could be physical, medical, emotional or environmental. the fact is that rather than open up for emotional support when passing through certain issues, such individuals with limited knowledge of the adverse effect of these performance enhancing drugs, engage in self-prescription or prescription by fellow users. they are only armed with the benefit of what they are about to achieve without knowledge of the consequences of what they are about to be entangled with. because of the addictive nature of these performance enhancing drugs, youths engaged in indiscriminate usage present with biochemical addiction. once this is attained, they are no longer in control of usage but under the biochemical impulses for increasing need of such substances. this biochemical addiction entails increase in dosage with time in order to achieve satisfaction. if help does not come at this point, such individuals living on substance abuse will head towards significant consequences which may result in morbidity or end up in fatality (kobiowu, 2006). in recent times, the trend of substance abuse among youths is on the increase due to local availability of these recreational drugs like cocaine, codeine, mkpuru mmiri(crystal meth), indian hemp, marijuana and testosterone. the usage among the youths might explain the sudden surge in unruly behaviours, unkempt appearance, increased involvement in violent acts, increase in cases of mental disorders and sudden deaths (nsimba, 2010; nasiru, lydia, alexander & maru, 2019). the availability of substance abuse rehabilitation centres is scanty in anambra state and in nigeria. the cost of rehabilitation is even far beyond the reach of such youths and their families. all these are pointers for effective advocacy and publicity on substance abuse. this is with the belief that if enlightenment is achieved, it may satisfy the restlessness associated with youthful energies and help them to channel this restlessness productively. this study was designed as part of advocacy and publicity among university students by ascertaining their awareness and perception on the rampancy of substance abuse among the youths and its adverse effects. a well-structured questionnaire containing the indices of substance abuse can be used as a subtle instrument of advocacy and publicity among targeted 99 groups. such a questionnaire despite consisting of questions/comments can be used as a double edge to interview and to expose the dangers of substance abuse to the targeted groups. theoretical framework many theories help to explain why individuals use and abuse substances. these include the moral, biological, psychological and social theories with interplays of them. while the moral model suggests that using a substance is a moral failing which will lead to a path of destruction, the biological theory helps us understand how substances impact our brain and the changes that happen. it posits that since every person and brain is different, we must look at biology as one potential factor in a substance use disorder (crouse, 2018). on its part, psychological theory helps in understanding the behaviours that are happening while a person is under the influence of a substance. subsumed in this theory are the learning theory, classical and operant conditioning. social theories suggest that we learn from many areas around us-individuals, family, peers and from the community (connel, gilreath, aklin & brex, 2010). the social learning theory will be undergirding the present study. social learning theory suggests that behaviour is influenced by the interaction of personal, social and environmental factors including intrapersonal factors, interpersonal factors, institutional or organisational factors, community factors and public policy (mcleroy, bibeau, steckler & glanz, 1988). this theory promotes intersectionality. the social factors that influence individuals are complex. such complexity will involve focusing on not only on the individuals in question but also on environmental and societal factors that such individuals are embedded in. sociological theories acknowledge the importance of environmental factors for an understanding of substance use, abuse and problems (clayton & scott, 2021) methodology an online questionnaire was designed and sent to the platforms of university students for them to participate in the advocacy and publicity of substance abuse. the purpose of the advocacy and publicity was explained to each of the students’ platforms. the social media platforms which the students use for communication were used to invite the students to participate in the advocacy and publicity. the online questionnaire was uploaded in may 2023 and responses from participants were harvested till the end of august 2023. a total of 108 university students participated in the advocacy and publicity of substance abuse. the participants that gave informed consent were the ones that responded to the questionnaire online. the sections of the questionnaire includes responses to questions such as; the most common substance abused among youths in nigeria, ability to identify signs associated with substance abuse, hazards of substance abuse, susceptibility to infection, ability to distinguish their effect on communicable and non-communicable diseases and their awareness of any existing rehabilitation centres in nigeria. these questions were used to assess and document their awareness and perception of consequences of substance abuse among the youth in nigeria. the university students were used for the study because of the proximity of space they share in campuses with individuals under the influence of substance abuse. often they are the first to alert the university authority about cases of morbidity or mortality of classmates. it is therefore certain that they have knowledgeable exposure to respond to the questionnaire. 100 findings the most common substance abused by youths in anambra state was indian hemp (29.6%), followed by methamphetamine (25.9%), cocaine (15.7%) and marijuana (11.1%). others like codeine (6.5%), testosterone (6.5%) and nicotine (0.9%) were less commonly used. (chisquare =53.500; p<0.001). table 1. according to the survey reported in table 2, the most significant impact of substance abuse on emotions/health was increased craving for substance abuse (45.4%), followed by unkept/untidy appearance (19.4%) then emotional imbalance (11.1%). others were weight loss (8.3%), unaware of environment (5.6%), eating disorder (3.7%), loss of consciousness (2.8%) and loss of financial acumen (2.8%). craving for substance abuse and untidiness were significantly associated with substance abuse (chi-square=129.037; p<0.001). in table, 3 about 73.1% of the participants’ perception was that substance abuse was associated with infection (chi-square = 80.991; p<0.001) while only about 30.6% of the participants knew that rehabilitation centres exist for individuals under the influence of substance abuse (chisquare=13.885; p<0.001). these were a significant number. as reported in table 4, there was a negative insignificant association between awareness that substance abuse predisposes to infection and existence of rehabilitation centres (r=-0.098; p=0.331). as reported in table 5, the participants were better aware that substance abuse predisposes to infection than the availability of rehabilitation centres for individuals under the influence of substance abuse (chi-square=6.530; p=0.038; likelihood ratio= 7.438; p=0.024). in table 6, about 95.4% of the participants think developing a curriculum for substance abuse advocacy and publicity is necessary (chi-square=97.152; p<0.001). table 1: most commonly used substances abused among youths in anambra state substance frequency percentage chisquare p-value indian hemp 32 29.6% 53.500 p<0.001 methamphetamine (mkpuru mmiri) 28 25.9% cocaine 17 15.7% marijuana 12 11.1% codeine 7 6.5% testosterone 7 6.5% nicotine 1 0.9% table 2: emotional and health effects of substance abuse on youths in anambra state emotional/health effects frequency percentage chi-square p-value unkempt/untidy appearance 21 19.4% 129.037 <0.001 loss of consciousness 3 2.8% unaware of environment 6 5.6% eating disorder 4 3.7% craving for substance 49 45.4% emotional imbalance 12 11.1% loss of financial acumen 3 2.8% weight loss 9 8.3% 101 table 3: perception and awareness of participants regarding association between substance abuse, susceptibility to infection and rehabilitation centres table 4: level of correlation between awareness that substance abuse predisposes to infection and existence of rehabilitation centres parameters n correlation coefficient (r) p-value awareness of infection among substance abusers vs awareness that rehabilitation centres exist 104 -0.098 0.331 table 5: evaluating the co-awareness of infection and rehabilitation centres among participants. table 6: perception of participants on need to develop curriculum for substance abuse advocacy and publicity category yes (%) no (%) not sure (%) chisquare pvalue perception of infection among individuals on substance abuse 79 73.1% 20 18.5% 8 7.4% 80.991 <0.001 awareness of rehabilitation centres 33 30.6% 71 65.7% 4 3.7% 13.885 <0.001 awareness of rehabilitation centres tota l statistic yes no pearson chisquare (6.530; p=0.038) likelihood ratio (7.438; p=0.024 awareness of infection associated with substance abuse yes 30 48 78 no 2 16 18 not sure 1 7 8 total 33 71 104 category yes percentag e n o percentag e chisquare p-value need to develop curriculum for substance abuse advocacy and publicity 103 95.4% 2 1.9% 97.152 <0.001 102 discussion this study was intended to promote advocacy and publicity for substance abuse among nnamdi azikiwe university students. an online questionnaire was administered with the view of accessing the awareness and perception of university students on substance abuse. the responses of the participating students to the questionnaire were an indication that substance abuse actually is a developing menace or beast among students of tertiary education in anambra state and nigeria. the four most predominant substances abused among university students were indian hemp, methamphetamine (mkpuru mmiri), cocaine and marijuana in decreasing order of abuse. these substances seem affordable and within reach of students may be due to local availability. studies elsewhere have also identified the following recreational drugs as most rampant among youths. these include marijuana (who, 2004), regarded as the most widely used illicit substance globally (shaul, bernard, kwame, tony & george, 2013). alchohol, tobacco and marijuana were predominant in (pepple & diri, 2021).umukoro, eduviere, ahama, moke, edje, omorodion and ovigue (2021) in their study observed that alcohol was the most frequently abused drug. this finding was echoed by awosusi & adegboyega (2013) who also found that respondents who were students of tertiary institutions in south west nigeria, claimed to have used alcohol (49.2%), cigarettes (26.9%) and marijuana (14.8%). it could not be said that individuals who live on recreational drugs do not know the consequences of such a life style. in the present study, predominant proportions of the participants about 1 out of every 4 participant, knew that individuals under the influence of substance abuse are susceptible to contracting infection due to some life practices associated with mental instability often exhibited by such individuals. for instance, it is well known that some of the ways of administering these recreational drugs could be by sniffing, ingestion, intravenous or intramuscular modes of administration. now the risk of infection is found commonly among those that exchange sharp objects and unprotected sexual acts (pepple & diri, 2021) vis-à-vis multiple sexual partners particularly when under the addictive influence of the recreational drugs. nwosu, okeke, rinmak and onyenekwe (2023) identified such practices as smoking lizard parts and dung, sniffing glue, petrol, sewage and urine all in the name of ‘becoming high’. they continue that recently, these young men have turned to methamphetamine, a highly destructive drug also known as ‘mkpurummiri’ in local parlance. this study also showed that the three most predominant emotional or health effects or expression by these individuals under the influence of substance abuse were increased craving for the recreational drug which is due to biochemical addiction. this explains why the dosage is increased with the interval shortening over time to attain same effect. the other effects are untidiness and emotional imbalance. untidiness can also predispose abusers to infections and ill health and might be mistaken for one of the agents of social ills or disturbance in the community. the emotional imbalance will surely predispose victims to poor judgement and reduced social tolerance that may result in violence and fright. some reports have come up with similar vices associated with substance abuse among youths (oshikoya & alli, 2006; awosusi & adegboyega, 2013; nasiru et al, 2019). their findings also suggest that exposure to some of these recreational drugs are not in the best interest of the youth. they have also advocated for teaching the youths on how to manage stressors which have been implicated as triggers for search for comfort from recreational drugs. 103 the advocacy and publicity for substance abuse amongst the youths in anambra state in particular and nigeria in general seem poor. this is because knowledge or awareness of the problems associated with substance abuse without awareness of where and how to seek help for the affected individuals is a predicament. this study observed that a predominant number of the participants were aware of the consequences of substance abuse among the youths in anambra state and nigeria but very few knew about rehabilitation centres for victims of substance abuse. this might explain why in most cases, victims don’t seek help from the centres because neither the victims nor their relations are aware that such rehabilitation centres exist. in cases where they know such centres exist, their per capital income may be inadequate to meet the financial obligation. this scenario presents an irony where access to recreational drugs is seamless and cheap but access to rehabilitation centres for victims of substance abuse is financially burdensome. lack of awareness about the means of seeking help might not be unconnected with the stigma associated with substance use. a world health organization report concluded that out of all health disorders, substance use and process addiction disorders were the most stigmatized (rundle, cunningham & hendershot, 2021). this portrays a perspective of the moral theory. oshikoya & alli, 2006, similarly, reported that only 21.2% of respondents would associate with drug addicts, even after rehabilitation, 46.8% would neither marry nor allow their family member to marry a drug addict while 37.3% would not employ a drug addict even after rehabilitation. access to rehabilitation centres in low income countries has been highlighted as a major challenge for recovery of victims of substance abuse because rehabilitation is expensive and such centres are few and far between (drugmedics.com; rehabhc.co.uk). while drugmedics.com list eleven centres across lagos, abuja, anambra, port harcourt, kano and cross river states, rehabhc.co.uk list 23 centres offering rehabilitation services across four platforms in lagos, abuja and rivers states. these platforms are hospitals, luxury rehabilitation centres, outpatient centres and residential/inpatient centres. rehabilitation of victims of substance abuse takes time, finances and patience which many may not be willing to invest in. a significant disparity in awareness of indices for advocacy and publicity of substance abuse was observed. that significant numbers of participants knew that substance abuse was associated with predisposition to infection did not translate to the awareness that rehabilitation centres exist. this may be a negative challenge in the advocacy and publicity of substance abuse since majority of the population may not refer for help at rehabilitation centres. this is an indication for continued advocacy and publicity. significant numbers of the participants are suggestive that developing a curriculum on substance abuse is necessary for effective advocacy and publicity. this will enable all stakeholders to be on the same page regarding scope and content and have measurable indices for assessing desired outcome and measuring successes and further areas of emphasis. conclusion this study observed that university students are aware of the menace of substance abuse but are not aware of existing rehabilitation centres for victims of substance abuse. it is the opinion of the authors that a well-developed curriculum for advocacy and publicity containing all the indices of the consequences of substance abuse and existing care available to victims should be prepared and all stakeholders engaged to fight this menace among the youth. 104 references awosusi, a. & adegboyega, j. (2013). knowledge of health effects and substance use among students of tertiary institutions in south-western, nigeria. journal of education and practice. 4(23) issn 2222-288x (online) clayton, m. & scott, a. (2021). drugs and drug policy: the control of consciousness alteration. 3rd edition. sage publications inc. thousand oaks, california. connell, c., gilreath, t., aklin, w. & brex, r. (2010). social-ecological influences on patterns of substance use among non-metropolitan high school students. american journal of community psychology. 45(1-2): 36-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-009-9289-xpara.5. crouse, j. (2018). exploring substance use in canada. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/centennialdrugshealthaddictionsbehaviour/chapter/the ories-of-substance-use-addiction/#navigation https://rehabs.africa>nigeria accessed on 8th march, 2024 https://rehabhc.co.uk/alcohol-and-drug-rehab-clinics-in-nigeria accessed on 8th march, 2024 https://drugmedics.com accessed on 8th march, 2024 mcleroy, k., bibeau, d., steckler, a. & glanz, k. (1988). an ecological perspective on health promotion programmes. health education quaterly. 15(4): 351-377. https://doi.org/10.1177%2f109019818801500401 nasiru, b., lydia, a., alexander, a. & maru, s. , (2019). the perception of youth on the effects of substance abuse in sokoto, sokoto state, nigeria. world journal of pharmaceutical and medical research. 5(9): 122-129. national bureau of statistics website. accessed on 8th march, 2024. nwosu, c., okeke, a., rinmak, n. & onyenekwe, o. (2023). newspaper coverage of drug abuse among nigerian youths: a study of vanguard and daily trust. mass media review 5(1): 77-98. nsimba, s. (2010). methadone maintenance therapy as evidence based drug abuse planning in developed countries: can developing countries afford and learn from this experience? east african journal of public health. 7(1): 56-59. oshikoya, k. & alli, a. (2006). perception of drug abuse amongst nigerian undergraduates. world journal of medical sciences. 1(2): 133-139 pepple, i. & diri, (2021). brief review of causes and effects of substance abuse on young adults: focus on bonny island residents. journal of drug abuse 7(5): 36. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/centennialdrugshealthaddictionsbehaviour/chapter/theories-of-substance-use-addiction/#navigation https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/centennialdrugshealthaddictionsbehaviour/chapter/theories-of-substance-use-addiction/#navigation https://rehabhc.co.uk/alcohol-and-drug-rehab-clinics-in-nigeria https://drugmedics.com/ 105 rundle, s., cunningham, j. & hendershot, c. (2021). implications of addiction diagnosis and addiction beliefs for public stigma: a cross-national experimental study. drug and alchohol review. 40(5): 842-846. https:/doi.org/10.1111/dar.13244 umukoro, e., eduviere, a., ahama, e., moke, e., edje, k., omorodion, l. & ovigue, c. (2021). substance abuse: awareness and attitude among secondary school students in sapele, nigeria. journal of applied sciences and environmental management. 25(3): 347-351. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jasem page 7 volume 8 number 1, 2023 volume 8 number 1, 2023 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 177 the effectiveness of the accountants in curtailing financial corruption in the southsouth and south-east public sector of nigeria lucky ogbomo osagioduwa professional intern. ecowas office of the auditor general. ph.d. student at the university of benin. corresponding author: osaslucky321@gmail.com. +2348024350456 elizabeth n. atube department of accounting, dennis osadebay university, anwai-asaba. . elizabeth.atube@dou.edu.ng abstract this study investigated the effectiveness of accountants in curtailing financial corruption in the south-south and southeast public sectors of nigeria. the study was carried out in edo, delta, enugu, and anambra states respectively. primary data were obtained through a structured questionnaire. a survey design was employed in the study. a convenient sampling technique was employed in selecting respondents in the four states’ public organizations. a total of one hundred and sixty-two (162) respondents were sampled. descriptive statistical techniques such as, charts, mean, standard deviation, tables, and percentages response analysis were used for data description. cronbach alpha coefficient was used to test for the reliability of the research instrument and the result was. the pearson product moment correlation coefficient (ppmcc) and the chi-square techniques were employed in testing the hypotheses. the results revealed that accountants helped in fighting corruption in the public sector of nigeria and the engagement of more professional accountants will help in curtailing financial corruption in the public sector of nigeria. the study, therefore, concludes that accountants are effective in combating financial corruption in the south-south and south-east public sectors of nigeria within their scope of engagement despite severe threats from management. it was recommended that study leave, job security, regular training, and study grants should be made available to the accountants among others. keywords: accounting, accountability, corruption, efficiency, finances introduction corruption is a global experience that had been a common denominator among several nations from ancient times (odunga, 2000 in sorunke, omojola & adeleke, 2016). also, the current world faces a collection of issues that threaten the survival of many countries. unfortunately, corruption is one of these challenges (lawrence, 2016). meanwhile, corruption had lingered as one of the key threats to the political and economic development and growth of many nations around the globe. it is a phenomenon infesting both the public and private sectors of several economies, and it is not limited to a particular country (enofe, afiangbe & agha, 2017). balkaran (n.d.) noted that in every democratic country where control and monitoring exist to discourage corrupt activities and other types of corrupt conduct corruption is yet rampant. for example, in nations like belgium, japan, italy, russia, spain, and other countries, allegations mailto:osaslucky321@gmail.com mailto:elizabeth.atube@dou.edu.ng#inbox/_blank 178 of corruption play a key role than at any epoch in current memory. just in 1993, cases of allegations of corruption connecting several levels of government arose in both advanced and advancing nations that comprise australia, bolivia, brazil, bulgaria, france, haiti, india, italy, japan, malaysia, paraguay, south africa, spain, and the usa. balkaran (n.d.) pointed out that specifically in brazil, corruption allegations led to the president’s resignation and later his impeachment from office. moreover, in japan, the prime minister was accused and impeached from office. it is very clear that humanity as it is, no country, and indeed, no system is free from financial-related crime. as a result, several countries have gone to war, governments halted, companies declared bankrupt, and kingdoms lost due to corruption. some concepts are household known globally. for instance, names like barrack obama, donard triumph, and hiv are known worldwide. from nation to nation, different concepts are household known. for instance in nigeria, ibrahim babangida, abacha, corruption, olusegun obasanjo, goodluck jonathan, muhamadu buhari, biafra. corruption may probably be the oldest, most frequently mentioned of all the household names (words) in nigeria. it may frequently be connected to most of the other household names in nigeria. in agreement, zubairu, sakariyau, and dauda (2011) noted that corruption and nigeria are almost becoming identical. added that corruption exists at the uppermost level of authority in the government, common civil servant, etc. moreover, ekpo, chime, and enor (2016) submitted that nigeria is known for its economic and human potential but also for colossus corrupt manifestations that plague the government and the public sector institutions. the consequences of corruption on humanity in general and nigerians may be explained in part. unfortunately, several pensioners of old age, many had been sent to earlier graves by public servants who embezzled their pension fund. also, many had since died and are still dying in road accidents due to bad roads of which funds had long been appropriated and approved for their construction but had since entered private pockets. what of nigerians, who died in public hospitals due to the absence of needed facilities, while our leaders go abroad for treatments? sorrowfully, the effect of corrupt practices is felt by all. accountants are to ensure that financial records and financial statements are prepared, show a true and fair view, and are kept in relation to all relevant vouchers while disclosing all relevant information. they received and disbursed public funds as authorized. nnamani (2010) cited in amaefule and iheduru (2014) asserted that public sector accounting is concerned with recording, analysing, classifying, summarising, communicating, and interpreting monetary information in relation to government financial activities in aggregate and in detail, showing all transactions involving the receipts, transfer, and deposit of government funds. the intention is to make obvious the correctness of transactions and their compliance with established regulations. also to give verification of accountability for the stewardship of government funds and to make available helpful information for the good control and efficient management of government business. where does corruption begin? to respond to the question, mukoro, yamusa, and faboyede (2013) asserted that the first and most sophisticated way of carrying out any fraudulent activities in public and private organizations is via accounting and financial records. john (2013) posited that a key motive for keeping transactions secret is to conceal 179 corrupt practices. it was a recognized truth that the management of enron, the well-known energy company in the usa was defrauded by the top management using creative accounting, making the company’s performance appears very promising. worrisome is to what extent can corrupt acts be traced from accounting records. also, of concern is whether accountants have been effective in the war against corruption in the public sector of nigeria in their domain and within their framework of operational duty (mukoro, yamusa & faboyede, 2013). akinpelu, ogunseye, bada, and agbeyangi (2013) agreed that the maximum index point the country has ever had is 2.7 out of 10 points which means that for the past sixteen years when the nation had been appearing in the roll call, she had always been among the worst rated corrupt nations in the world. however, amaefule and iheduru (2014) study contained nigeria’s global corruption position in 2013. the world corruption index shows that nigeria’s position in corruption matters was 144th of 177 nations studied. similarly, in 2017, cpi shows that nigeria’s position in corruption matters was 148th in 180 nations studied (ti, 2018). in 2012, nigeria was among the ten most corrupt nations in the world (obayelu, 2007). unfortunately, the country in the past decades had maintained and remained within the top ten positions among the league of most corrupt nations by transparency international and other global watchdog organizations (ekpo, chime & enor, 2016). in “achieving accountability in the nigerian public sector, a new mindset solution” zubairu, sakariyau, and dauda (2011) noted the words of collin powell, who lamented that “nigeria is a colony of fraudsters.” it is considering the above highlights that the study, therefore, seeks to establish the effectiveness or otherwise of the accountants, as it appraised the effectiveness of accountants in the nigerian public sector. little or no attention has been paid to the effectiveness of the accountant comparatively in aiding the war against corruption in the public sector of nigeria within his scope of duty. a partly related attempt in this regard was the study conducted by uchehara and ogbonna (2015). however, their study was focused on the private sector. thus, there is an obvious research gap around the effectiveness of accountants in combating corruption in the public sector. this study thus intends to bridge this gap. also, this study covers a larger scope than any other previous work. ejededawe (2014) from his study discovered that a significant relationship exists between accounting procedures in enhancing the performance, accuracy, and reliability of accounting records in the oil industry. olukowade and ogodor (2015) discovered from their study that internal control and accounting standards have a considerable negative relationship and effect on corruption control in the nigerian public sector. meanwhile, popoola, che-ahmad, samsudin, salleh, and babatunde’s (2016) study revealed that significant positive relationship between skill and knowledge of fraud risk assessment. furthermore, okpala’s (2012) findings revealed that there is a poor level of accountability in nigeria owing to very poor accounting infrastructure, weak regulatory structure, and attitude of a public servant. furthermore, acho and abuh (2016) findings revealed that allocations of resources to the public sector were not prudently used for the intention for which it was intended. in addition, corruption in the public sector has a significant consequence on the extent of disclosures. similarly, omodero and okafor (2016) study revealed that the extent of accountability is very pitiable in the nigerian 180 public sector. recently, adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) found that accounting control measures established by the accountant in the nigerian public sector are adequate in content and scope to control corruption in the public sector of nigeria. uchehara and ogbonna (2015) findings revealed that the business community does not allow accountants’ independence and that accountants are party to fraudulent disclosures in the financial statements. in the same vein, lawal (2007) observed that corruption is more in nations where established institutions are weak. the study by omodero and okafor (2016) revealed that the extent of accountability is very pitiable in the nigerian public sector because the qualities of accessibility, comprehensiveness, reliability, relevance, and timely disclosure of financial information, about government operations are unavailable or partly available for nigerians to evaluate the effectiveness of government officers typically the political class. financial corruption ofoeze (2004) pointed out that akin to most concepts in social science, corruption has no one all-encompassing, satisfying meaning. speaking generally, corruption is a terminology used to describe conducts and practices that are considered immoral, for example, fraud, bribery, shoplifting, lying under oath, lying, dishonesty, indiscipline, and sexual immorality or perversion. corrupt practices also include economic and financial crimes, nepotism, favoritism, or discrimination in decision-making or allocation of resources. corruption represents deterioration from the right standards, that is, an anti-social behavior (okojie & momoh, 2005). brooks (1910) sees corruption as the intentional misconduct or abandonment of a recognized responsibility or the unwarranted exercise of power, with the intention of gaining some benefit directly personal. while senturia (1931) sees corruption as the exploitation of public power for personal benefit. taylor (2010) noted that financial corruption involves fraud and embezzlement; etc. fraud involves some forms of trickery, swindling, and deceit counterfeiting, forgery. fraud is a wrongful or criminal dishonesty intended to result in financial or personal benefit. in the broadest sense, fraud can encompass any crime for gain that uses deception as its principal modus operand (adetula & amupitan, 2018). embezzlement: this is the theft of public resources by public officials. the context of corruption and nigeria corruption is a repeated factor in nigeria. particularly the public sector, and has largely contributed in no small measure to the underdevelopment of nigeria. all and sundry in the nation view the position he/she is occupying as a means to accumulate riches thus making them put their private and self-seeking interest first before the interest of the people (uwak & udofia, 2016). notwithstanding, ugwuoke (2005) firmly believed that most nigeria craves to become rich without working for it. uma and eboh (2013) maintained that corruption in nigeria is contagious. importantly, simon (61-65 ad) speaking on corruption noted that “but these as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption. while they promise them 181 liberty, they are the servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage” (p. 477). furthermore, the united nations office on drugs and crime (2007) in hoffmann and patel (2017) lamented that approximately about $400 billion were missing from the public accounts between 1960 and 1999 in nigeria. assessing a different period, global financial integrity (2017) also lamented that from 2005-2014, about $182b was missing via illegitimate monetary movement out of nigeria. however, this sum represents fifteen percent of the whole sum of nigeria’s business transactions from 2005–2014. this was $1.21 trillion (global financial integrity, 2017). abayomi (2011) noted that corruption results from one, trade restriction; two, government subsidies; three, price controls; four, low wages in civil service; five, sociological factors. while sandholtz and koetzle (2000) added other factors breeding corruption in nigeria including excessive control by the state, feeble democratic norms and institutions, and low level of integration in the global economy. furthermore, thomas, steven, and mona (2006) opined that the causes of fraud include incentive or pressure, opportunity, and rationalization. furthermore, an investigation on what breeds corruption in the public sector carried out in nigeria revealed that weak internal control in public organizations accounts for fraudulent practices. these include excess confidence in a worker by a senior officer in the discharge of certain tasks, an illogical procedure of authorization, a lack of regular evaluation of performance, and less emphasis on detail. in addition, the absence of accounting knowledge by the executive, lack of appropriate training of staff, a poor division of accounting roles, irregular review of the accounts department, and improper documentation of accounting records (ogundiya, 2009). concept of the accountant who is an accountant? john (2013) cited in adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) defined an accountant as an expert who performs accounting duties such as financial statement analysis. in a similar view, modugu, ohonba, and izedonmi (2012) defined an accountant as a skilled individual who is educated in bookkeeping, and analysis of accounts. also, jonathan (2008) in adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) sees an accountant as anyone who had been taught the art and principles of accounting, and who prepares, examines, and report business transaction of an organization and the explanation of the result thereof. also, accounting is the bookkeeping that assists one to keep a record of assets, liabilities, capital, income, and expenditure (ofordile, 2013 cited in adedeji, soyinka & sunday, 2018). accountants are responsible for all the accounting functions in the public sector (adedeji, soyinka & sunday, 2018). the context of corruption and the accountant the alarming world of corruption has fascinated several academic works which revealed that qualified accountants are perpetrators of fraudulent conduct (sikka & hampton, 2005; bakre, 2006 in uchechara & ogbonna, 2017). significant accounting scholars in developed and developing countries (garcía-benau & humphrey, 1992; mchugh and stamp, 1992; sikka & willmott, 1995; bakre, 2007; sikka, 2009; sikka et al, 2009) have long acknowledged the 182 participation and involvement of professional accountants in financial related practices and conflicts of interest. in the world, specialized accountants are intermediaries who perform vital roles in facilitating financial flow and circulation. accountants have cemented their status and privileges because of claims that their expertise enables them to mediate uncertainty and construct independent, objective, true, and fair accounts of organizations (sikka, 2009). furthermore, the statement of accounting standards (sas) contained that financial corruption involves accounting irregularities, as misstatements resulting from falsified financial reporting are deliberate misstatements or omissions of figures or disclosures in the financial statement to mislead financial statement users. golden, skalak, and clayton (2006) cited in ehioghiren and atu (2016) submitted that fraudulent financial reporting might involve actions consisting of wrong treatment of items, falsification, or modification of financial records or supporting documents from which financial statements were prepared. in addition, misrepresentation, or intentional omission of information from the financial statements of events, transactions, and other significant information constitutes fraud. deliberate misapplication of accounting values relating to amounts, classification, the manner of presentation, or disclosure also constitutes fraud. it may be very difficult or rare that corrupt practices occur in any organization or government body without the knowledge of the accountants. however, balkaran explained with an illustration using a scenario. in an organization, where everyone is corrupt, one gets an appointment as an accountant in the organization. a vendor offers the accountant an inducement to aid him to get a lucrative contract with the organization even though other vendors could have offered a lesser price to supply the same goods or services. the accountant decided to turn down the offer. some hours later, the accountant got a call from the senior manager who would have gotten a portion of the bribe. the senior manager promises the accountant that if he receives the bribe, the accountant will have a better way to go in the organization. nevertheless, if the accountant refused, he will be moved to an isolated locality remote from friends and relatives or faced the risk of being fired. the accountant then took the bribe and shared it with the senior manager. another time costs increased, and more funds were spent on a contract that should be performed much cheaper. this supplementary cost is moved to the end users of the product, the consumer in the form of higher prices. then, the accountant is promoted and becomes inducted into an endless cycle of corruption (balkaran, n.d.). very important is the view grunner (1993) cited in olukowade and ogodor (2015) who affirmed that accountants would be very effective in combating corruption in the public sector if sufficient disclosures were disclosed accordingly and such disclosures should not be historical information but timely information. considering the foundational aim of accounting, goldberg (1949) and chatfield (1977) cited in unegbu (2014) opined that in ancient rome and greece, the accounting systems were primarily focused on bookkeeping and exposing losses due to theft, fraud, embezzlement, inefficiency, and corrupt practices and not for decision making and assets protection. meanwhile, considering the current trend, modugu, ohonba, and izedonmi (2012) opined that directors of companies bake their accounting records to deceive 183 investors in the private sector. while in the public sector, corrupt public office holders in most ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) corruption tendencies were not different. furthermore, christensen (2006) in uchechara and obgonna (2017) believed firmly that professional accountants had aided multi-national companies (mncs), wealthy citizens, and the political class in the public sector to indulge in financial crime. the inability of accounting accounts and reports to display a true and fair view of the financial healthiness or ill health of public institutions and the plot of qualified and proficient accountants in the preparation and confirmation of those accounts. however, the failure of the accounting profession to adequately considered the private benefit in the determination of the future of accounting and auditing practice. nevertheless, the alarming corporate failures and corruption with which connected accountants, auditors, executives, and directors have provoked probing questions to be asked as to the truthfulness and honesty of the professional is concerned (clark et al., 2003 cited in uchechara & obgonna, 2017). meanwhile, assessing the role of the accountants, nwali (2010) in adedeji et al. (2018) submitted that accountants in the public sector are greatly concerned with issues such as probity, accountability, and ensuring that appropriate procedures are guaranteed. expenditures are made and revenue is received in accordance with relevant financial laws. similarly, emechele (2009) in adedeji et al. (2018) opined that the accountant is responsible for testing and monitoring internal controls to see if they are active and guaranteeing the fairness of financial statements and reporting practices. examine financial statements to recognize a departure from policies and practices. furthermore, adedeji et al. (2018) asserted that government accountants are to ensure excellent stewardship of assets and public funds, enhance cost-effectiveness, ensure financial accountability, and improve transparency in government accounts. the context of financial corruption and the professional accountant an accountant with professional content (members of accounting bodies like the anan and ican) will probably be more effective in compliance with relevant accounting standards, uphold professional codes of ethics, and promote obedience to internal control in the organization which will help in curtailing fraudulent acts in the organization. also, sanctions from the professional body will prevent a professional accountant from being involved in any type of financial corruption or aiding it in any fashion or dimension. it is not unlikely that the professional accountant knows the best and most subtle form of financial corruption that can be perpetrated in an organization. if the professional accountant chooses to be fraudulent, he will be very perfect. but when the professional accountant is honest, it will be uneasy for fraudulent staff to perpetrate fraud without the knowledge of the accountant. popoola, et al (2016) study revealed that significant positive relationship between skill and knowledge and fraud risk assessment. 184 table 2.3 corruption propinquity box source: (researchers’ expression of nearness to corruption) the corruption propinquity box shows the extent of the proximity of accountants, auditors, and government anti-corrupt agencies to economic and financial crimes in the public sector. the accountants work in government organizations, hence closest to corrupt conduct, but likely with lesser responsibility and power in combating fraudulent activities in the organization. the auditors are likely closer to corrupt conduct in government establishments than the government anti-craft agencies. this is because the auditors according to josiah, adediran, and akpeti (2012) performed an independent assessment procedure regulated by standards for examining, investigating, and verifying the financial statements of an organization. the auditor should be qualified and appointed to carry out the engagement and seeks to form an opinion about the truthfulness, correctness, reliability, and fairness of the organization’s financial statement and the documents on which the financial statements were prepared. meanwhile, an auditor seems to have more role and responsibility in combating corruption in the public sector of nigeria. similarly, government anti-corrupt agencies are at more distance from the organizations, and corrupt practices than the auditors are. however, these government anti-corrupt agencies possibly have greater power and responsibility in combating corruption in the nigerian public sector. notwithstanding, the financial statement is prepared by the accountants, examined by the auditors with other relevant records, and likely useful during an investigation by government anti-corrupt agencies upon issues and red flags raised by the auditor. in the same vein, a large portion of the tsa and the wbw policy objective is the reduction if not elimination of corrupt activities in the public sector of nigeria. government anti-craft agencies red flags whistle blowers treasury single account auditors financial statements and other relevant evidence annual or statutory audit. accountants nigerian public sector: financial corruption: i fraud ii bribery iii embezzlement ete. c lo se to co rru p tio n c lo sest c lo ser e v id en ce raised during audit engagements 185 specifically, sikka (2008) and bakre (2008) considering financial collapse in organizations in present times noted that economic and financial crimes could not without difficulty be perpetrated without the connection of intermediaries and accountants. furthermore, for instance, who aids the fraudsters in diverting the income from illegitimate activities and transactions to legitimate income? in agreement, christensen (2006) in uchechara and obgonna (2017) argued that accountants in the public sector aid the political class to perpetrate fraudulent practices. furthermore, the involvement of accountants in corrupt activities and conflict of interest is documented and acknowledged by significant accounting scholars in advanced and advancing nations (sikka & willmott, 1995; mitchell et al., 2001; bakre, 2007; sikka, 2009). essentially, corruption crusades in the public sector of nigeria will likely be more successful if the accountants who are closest to some of these corrupt conducts uphold transparency, accurate accounting records, and proper reporting of all financial events in the government’s ministries. financial corruption like briberies, fraud, embezzlement, and kickbacks are perpetrated in public organizations where accountants work. hence, the involvement of the accountant in corrupt activities in the organization has resulted in the demand and need for an auditor’s examination of the financial statement. similarly, a study by uchehara and ogbonna (2015) revealed that accountants are party to fraudulent activities of financial statements. being closest to corruption, everett, neu, and rahaman (2007) submitted that accountants ought to be at the front position in the fight against both domestic and global corruption. furthermore, sikka and hampton (2005) and bakre (2006) diligently noted that the prevailing rate of corrupt conduct has shown that qualified accountants are perpetrators of corrupt practices. in addition, four prominent accounting firms are involved. considering the essence of financial reporting, glautier and underdown (2001) in uchehara and ogbonna (2015) submitted that financial reporting aims to disseminate information about the resources held and available to the organization. meanwhile, okoh and ohwoyibo (2010) and oladipupo (2015) in adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) believed that weak accounting and auditing standards produce a state of absence of accountability to waiting stakeholders. because peoples entrusted with state funds operate in a manner that is opposing to the needs of stakeholders without consequence. the agency theory originated in the educational literature in the early 1970s (jensen & meckling, 1976; ross, 1973; shapiro, 2005 in agu 2016). in the agency relationship, one party acts on behalf of another party. agency theory emphasizes that accountability is indispensable to guarantee that the principal-agent problem is reduced (berle & means, 1932 cited in agu 2016). jensen and meckling formulated agency theory in 1976. the theory models the affiliation between the principal (the public) and the agent (the government). an agent is somebody who carries out responsibility on behalf of another person (the principal). fama and jensen (1983) cited in agu (2016) submitted that the complexity that evolved from the principal-agent association is that it is impossible for principals to identify every role that the agent should perform in every feasible circumstance. the crucial or comprehensive contract is unattainable due to surrounding reasonableness. the problem developing from the principalagent relationship was worsened by the concealing of information (fama & jensen, 1983 cited in agu 2016). 186 akinbuli (2010) cited in appah and bariweni (2013) noted that the demand and need for audit was a result of the conflict of interest. the theory is primarily associated with the conflict of interest between the citizens and the government of the country. hayes, schilder, dassen, and wallage (1999), explained that the agency theory could be used to explain the supply side of the audit market. the effectiveness of the auditor to the third party is determined by the probability that the independent auditor will detect fraudulent acts or errors and the auditor’s willingness to disclose the fraudulent practices. however, auditors are independent third parties installed to operate essentially for the interest of the principal and protection of the principal interest from the wrong treatment by its agent. it is necessary that the party performed their responsibilities effectively. accountants as stewards of the treasury and financial resources of the nation are essential in the financial system. stewardship entails taking responsibility for what belongs to others. accountants consider and documentation of financial resources that belong to the public. the public is the sole owner of the financial resources of which government accountants are stewards. furthermore, as stewards, accountants document financial events that relate to the economic operations of the government in society. empirical review amaefule and iheduru (2014) researched “e-accounting system: a tool for checkmating corruption in the nigerian public sector and a panacea for the nation’s poor economic development status”. both primary and secondary data were employed. the total number of sampled respondents was seventy. findings revealed that the public sector had not installed the e-accounting system. the study recommended that an e-accounting system should be launched in the public sector. furthermore, ejededawe (2014) studied “nigeria national petroleum cooperation nnpc and few other oil companies in the lagos state of nigeria.” employed the post facto design and the chi-square analysis technique were used in analyzing the data. the study shows that a significant relationship exists between the effectiveness of accounting procedures in enhancing performance, accuracy, and reliability of accounting records in the industry. in addition, the effectiveness of the accounting system will not reduce the incidence of tax avoidance by oil companies, and making the accounting procedures a major part of the training curriculum will boost the standard and performance of accountants in the industry. also, in the “challenges of professional accounting practices in nigerian private sector concerning financial failures in recent times”, uchehara and ogbonna (2015) employed the survey design and sampled 120 respondents in 3 private companies in lagos state. a purposive sampling technique was employed. the study employed descriptive statistical techniques such as frequency distribution and percentages response analysis in analyzing the data. findings revealed that the business community does not allow accountants’ independence and that accountants are party to fraudulent disclosures in the financial statements of private companies. the study recommended that compliance with professional accounting standards is vital. 187 in addition, olukowade and ogodor (2015) studied “accounting a tool for corruption control in the public sector in nigeria.” the study examined the role of accounting in combating corruption in the public sector. the study employed primary and secondary data. the study was conducted in ekiti state. the result revealed that internal control and accounting standards have a considerable negative relationship and effect on corruption control in the nigerian public sector. the study recommended that management should at least have basic knowledge of accounting while accountants should regularly be trained on prevailing accounting trends. in “applications of accounting software: an empirical study on the private universities of bangladesh”, kabir, rahman, yunus, and chowdhury (2015) find out the level to which the private universities in bangladesh employed automated accounting procedures via the usage of accounting software. 47 universities out of 76 universities were sampled. descriptive statistics were employed in the data analysis. findings revealed that approximately eighty percent of non-government universities had employed accounting software and 100% of the respondents opined that keeping a financial record in accounting software is simpler than manual systems. furthermore, the study also showed that some universities do not give any extraordinary training in accounting software. meanwhile, popoola, che-ahmad, samsudin, salleh, and babatunde (2016) studied “accountants’ capability requirements for fraud prevention and detection in nigeria”. the study employed a cross-sectional design and a survey method. four hundred (400) questionnaires were distributed to forensic accountants and auditors in the offices of accountant general of the federation and the auditor-general for the federation. three hundred and sixty-three (363) questionnaires were recovered, of which three hundred and sixteen (316) questionnaires were used for analysis. the result revealed that a significant positive relationship exists between skill and knowledge of fraud risk assessment. in addition, the results further revealed that the forensic accountant has significantly superior levels of skill knowledge, and fraud risk assessment than the auditor concerning matters of fraud prevention, detection, and response. in addition, acho and abuh (2016) in their study assessed the effect of corruption on the level of accountability in the nigerian public sector. secondary data were employed. the findings revealed that resources allocated to the public sector were not used prudently for the intention intended. in addition, corruption in the public sector has a significant consequence on the extent of disclosures, and the country lost a huge sum due to the absence of accountability and transparency. they recommended that severe punishment for corrupt practices should be implemented. similarly, omodero and okafor (2016) in “efficiency and accountability of public sector revenue and expenditure in nigeria (1970-2014)” examined the accountability and efficiency of public sector revenue and expenditure in nigeria from 1970-2014. secondary data were employed in the study. while two-stage least square estimation, t-test statistical tools, and regression were employed in analyzing the data. the findings revealed that the extent of accountability is very pitiable in the nigerian public sector because the qualities of 188 accessibility, comprehensiveness, reliability, relevance, and timely disclosure of financial information, about government operations are unavailable or partly available for nigerians to evaluate the effectiveness of government officers typically the political class. therefore, the study recommended that to achieve accountability in the administration of government funds in the public sector there must be a decline in the rate of corruption and improvement in accounting. in addition, in “corruption control in the public sector and the nigerian accountant”, adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) studied the accountants’ role in corruption control in the nigerian public sector. the study employed a survey design. the population of the study was accountants in the ministries of finance in ekiti and ondo states. 50 accountants were sampled. the judgmental sampling technique was adopted. pearson moment correlation and anova were employed in the inferential analysis. the result revealed that accounting control measures established by the accountant in the nigerian public sector are adequate in content and scope to control corruption in the public sector of nigeria. furthermore, the achievement of these effective controls is a function of the accountant’s honesty and agreement with the integrity of management. they recommended that the accounting code of ethics, effective internal control, and compliance with public sector accounting standards should be employed to prevent corruption. osagioduwa et al. (2022) investigated the prosecution and dismissal rates of fraudulent accountants in nigeria's public sector, focusing on four states from the south-south and southeast regions. data was collected through questionnaires from 102 auditors and 162 accountants, and various statistical techniques were used for analysis. the findings indicated that fraudulent accountants were indeed prosecuted and dismissed due to their involvement in the fraud. the study suggested the need for comprehensive prosecution guidelines developed by accounting professional bodies at both national and international levels. strategic implementation of these guidelines was also emphasized. methodology survey design was employed in this study because of wider coverage and because it is fast and economical. the population of this study is made up of accountants and auditors in government institutions in edo and delta states in south-south nigeria, and enugu and anambra states in south-east nigeria. these states were selected for this study for the reason that they were convenient. the population consists of 2267 accountants. the convenient sampling method was adopted in selecting one hundred and sixty-two (162) accountants from the two strata (south-south and south-east) in the four (4) states. the number was considered adequate and representative enough to inform this sample as a result of the wide spread of the organization and also respondents are considered knowledgeable enough to be able to supply credible information that will help the completion of this study. the research instrument adopted is a structured questionnaire. the data used for analysis are collected using a likert scale closedended structured questionnaire. the data collected were analyzed using the pearson product moment correlation coefficient (ppmcc) and the chi-square techniques at a 0.05 significance 189 level. cronbach’s alpha statistical tool was employed in determining reliability. the result showed a reliability of 0.711. the response rate is 87%. taro yamane formula (1964) was employed in determining the sample size. for population a, the sample size is determined below. the formula applied is given as n = n / (1 + n e2) where n = sample size, n = total population, e = error tolerance, and 3 = adjusted constant. n = 2267/ (1 + 2267 x 0.07 2) = 187 in other to proportionately allocate the total population, kumasam’s allocation formula was adopted. hence = nhn n where n = population size, n = sample size. the sections are: south-south = (825+229) = 1054 x 187 2267 = 87 south-east = (713+500) = 1213 x 187 2267 = 100 table 3.1 sample distributions population group sample size copies of the questionnaire retrieved percentage accountants (group a’) south-south 87 69 south-east 100 93 total 187 162 86.6310% source: fieldwork linus (2001) considered fifty percent (50%) as an adequate response rate for any social science research in nigeria, which signifies that this research met the response rate demand. 69 copies of the filled questionnaire (33 from edo state and 36 from delta state) and 93 copies of the filled questionnaire (65 from enugu state and 28 from anambra state) were retrieved from south-south and south-east respectively. model development and specification in this study, the model specified by adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018) was adopted and modified. the study completely considered all the variables provided by the model but however, added other variables that the model did not recognize. the model is given thus: cc: β1ics +β2asc +β3ace+ε ……………………………………. (1) where: cc = corruption control; ics = internal control system; asc = accounting standard compliance; ace = accounting code of ethics. the model for this study is: accef =f(asc, accskl, ics, ace) corcon: a0 + β1cas+ β2accedu + β3sic+ β4, ace + µ 190 where a= constant µ=error term, β= coefficient of the explanatory variable (slope) corcon = corruption control, accef = accountants effectiveness, ace = accounting code of ethics accskl=accountant skill, cas=compliance with accounting standards. data analysis and presentation the purpose of this chapter is to analyze the data collected through copies of questionnaires distributed and retrieved from accountants working in the public organizations in the four states namely, edo and delta states in south-south nigeria and enugu and anambra states in southeast nigeria. chart 4.1 professional qualifications of accountants in percentage. source: (fieldwork,). chart 4.1 above shows the professional qualifications of respondents expressed in percentage of the total population of each state, zones, and total respondents respectively. 10% of accountants in edo state are anan members. while 37% of accountants in delta state are anan members followed by anambra state with 36% and enugu state with 30% anan members. meanwhile, in enugu state, 4% of the accountants are ican members. fourteen percent (14%) of the accountants in anambra state are ican members. anambra state is followed by delta state with 11% and edo state with 10%. furthermore, 18% of the respondents from south-east nigeria are anan members while 12% of accountants from the south-south are anan members. meanwhile, the story is not the same about ican membership in the two geopolitical zones. 4.5% of the accountants from south-south nigeria possessed ican membership while 2.8% of the accountants from south-east nigeria possessed ican membership. finally, 29% of the total respondents are anan members while 8% of the total respondents are ican members. 37 10 36 30 12 18 28.7 11 10 14 4 4.7 3.3 86 7 7 14 2.7 6.7 9.3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 anan ican other 191 chart 4.2 educational qualifications of accountants source; (authors extraction,). in enugu and edo states, 0.0% of the respondents had a ph.d. in enugu state, 8.9% had nce/ond, 71.4% had b. sc while 23.2% had m.sc. while in anambra state, 3.6% of the respondents had nce/ond, 85.7% had b.sc., 7.1% had m. sc, and 3.6% had ph.d. in edo state, 12.9% of the respondents had nce/ond, 74.2% had b.sc., 12.9% had m.sc and 0% had ph.d. moreover, in delta state, 8.6% of the respondents had nce/ond, 71.4% had b.sc, 11.4% had m.sc, and 8.6% had ph.d. in the south-south, 10.7% of the respondents had nce/ond, 72.7% had b.sc, 12.1% had m.sc, and 4.5% had ph.d. notwithstanding, in the south-east, 6.4% of the respondents had nce/ond, 57.4% had b.sc, 16.0% had m.sc, and 1.1% of the respondents had a ph.d. finally, the total respondents with nce/ond are 8.2%, 64.6% with b.sc, 14.6% with m.sc, and 2.6% with phd. chart 4.3 age distribution of accountants source (authors extraction). 12.9 8.6 3.6 8.9 10.7 6.4 8.2 74.2 71.4 85.7 71.4 72.7 77.5 64.6 12.9 11.4 7.1 23.2 12.1 16 14.6 0 8.6 3.6 0 4.5 1.1 2.6 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 nce/ond hnd/b.sc m.sc/mb a 32.2 25.7 7.1 25 27.2 13 19 41.2 37.1 28.8 39 41 32 36 16.1 31.4 55 25 24.2 45 36 6.5 2.9 14 7 5 12 9 3.2 0 0 3.5 2 1.2 1.3 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 edo state delta state enugu state anambra state south-south south-east total respondents above 60 51-60 41-50 31-40 192 in edo state, 32.2% of the accountants are between the ages of 18-30, 41.2% the ages of 3140, 16.1% the ages of 41-50, 6.5% between ages 51-60, and 3.2% between the ages of 60 and above. in delta state, 25.7% of the respondents are between the ages of 18-30, 37.1% are between the ages of 31-40 years, 31.4% are between the ages of 41-50 years, 2.9% are in the ages 51-60, and 0% between the ages of 60 and above. in addition, in enugu state, 7.1% are between the ages of 18-30 years, 28.8% are between the ages of 31-40 years, 55% are between the ages 41-50 years, and 14% in ages 51-60 years while 0% between 60years and above. in anambra, 25% are between the ages of 18-30 years, 39% are between the ages of 31-40 years, 25% are between the ages 41-50 years, and 7% between the ages of 51-60 years while 3.5% in ages 60 years and above. furthermore, in the south-south, 27.2% are between the ages of 1830 years, 41% are between the ages of 31-40 years, 24.2% are between the ages 41-50 years, and 5% between the ages of 51-60 years while 2% in ages 60years and above. in the southeast, 13% between the ages of 18-30 years, 32% between the ages of 31-40 years, 45% between the ages of 41-50 years, 12% in ages 51-60 years, and 1.2% in ages 60 years and above. in total, 19% are between the ages of 18-30 years, 36% are between the ages of 31-40 years, 36% are between the ages 41-50 years, 9% between the ages of 51-60 years while 1.3% in ages 60years and above. chart 4.4 gender distribution of respondents source (fieldwork,). 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% female male 193 meanwhile, in edo, 58.0% of the accountants are male. next was delta state with 57.0% male accountants. anambra state had 39% male accountants while enugu state had 30% male accountants. 61% of the respondents from anambra state are female. looking at the zones, south-south had 58.0% male accountants and 42.0% female accountants. while in the southeast, 67.0% of accountants are female and 33.0% are male accountants. in total, 44.0% are male accountants, and 56.0% are female accountants. table 4.1 years of working experiences of respondents. respondents accountants states 2-5 % 6-0 % 11-20 % 21-30 % above 30 % total edo 32.3 29.1 22.6 12.9 3.1 100.0 delta 23.7 31.4 23.7 11.4 5.7 100.0 anambra 53.8 17.9 14.3 7.1 7.1 100.0 enugu 0.0 21.4 48.3 28.6 7.1 100.0 south-south 28.8 30.3 24.2 12.2 4.5 100.0 south-east 17.9 20.2 36.9 21.4 7.1 100.0 total 22.7 24.7 31.3 17.3 6.0 100.0 source (fieldwork). 32.3% of accountants in edo state had been working for 2-5 years. while 3.1% had been working for over 30 years in edo state. meanwhile, in delta, 31.4% of the accountants had been working for 6-10 years. more of the respondents from enugu state had been working for 11-20 years giving 48.3%. whereas, in anambra state, more of the accountants had 2-5 years of working experience, and this was 53.8%. meanwhile, in delta state, the situation was quite different. more of the respondents have been working between 6-10 years, and this was given at 31.4%. accountants with 21-30 years of working experience are more in enugu state, and it was given at 28.6%. accountants working for over 30 years are the same in anambra and enugu states, and it is 7.1% in both states. table 4.2 respondents’ current levels respondents accountants states, zones, and total 46% 79% 1012% 1316% 17-18 % cumulative percentage edo state 29.0 45.2 12.9 6.5 3.2 100.0 enugu state 5.4 21.4 32.1 41.1 0.0 100.0 delta state 8.6 57.1 17.1 14.3 2.9 100.0 anambra 7.1 53.6 17.9 21.4 0.0 100.0 south-south 8.2 56.1 15.2 10.6 3.0 100.0 south-east 6.0 32.1 37.4 34.5 0.0 100.0 total 11.3 40.7 21.3 24.0 2.7 100.0 source (fieldwork). 194 in edo state, 45.2% of the accountants in edo state are in levels 7-9. enugu state had 5.4% of accountants in levels 4-6. 57.1% of the accountants in delta state are in levels 7-9. anambra state is next with 53.6% in levels 7-9. while in levels 10-12, enugu state had 32.1% and edo state was 12.9%. enugu state had 41.1% in levels 13-16 followed by anambra state with 21.4%. 3.2% and 2.9%of accountants in edo state and delta state are in levels 17-18. in anambra and enugu states, 0% of accountants are in levels 17-18. in the south-south, 56.1% are in levels 7-9, while in the south-east, 37.4% are in levels 10-12. meanwhile, in total 40.7% of the respondents are in levels 7-9. some questions raised were analyzed below. table 4.2 sometimes, accountants window-dress financial records because of orders, pressure, or threats from management. respondents responses in % states, zones, and total sa % a % ud% d % sd % cumulative % edo state 17.1 26.8 7.3 43.9 4.9 100.0 enugu state 10.9 32.8 15.6 28.1 12.5 100.0 delta state 17.1 37.1 11.4 20.0 14.3 100.0 anambra state 3.6 50.0 17.9 21.4 7.1 100.0 south-south nigeria 17.1 31.6 9.2 32.9 9.2 100.0 south-east nigeria 8.7 38.0 16.3 26.1 10.9 100.0 total 12.7 35.5 13.3 28.9 10.2 100.0 source (fieldwork,). 43.9% (17.1%+26.8%) of accountants in edo state completely agreed that accountants’ window dresses financial statements because of orders, pressure, and threat from those at the top. 7.3% were indifferent while 48.8% (43.9%+4.9%) disagreed. while in enugu state, 43.7% (10.9%+32.8%) agreed, 15.6% were undecided and 40.6% (28.1%+12.5%) disagreed. in delta state, 54.2% (17.1%+37.1%) of the accountants sampled agreed, 11.4% were indifferent while 34.3% (20.0%+14.3%) disagreed. meanwhile, in anambra state, 53.6% (3.6%+50.0%) of the accountants sampled agreed, 17.9% were indifferent while 28.5% (21.4%+7.1%) disagreed. in the south-south, 48.7% (17.1%+31.6%) agreed, 9.2% were indifferent and 42.1% (32.9%+9.2%) disagreed. while in the south-east, 46.7% (8.7%+38.0%) agreed, 16.3% were indifferent and 39.1% (26.1%+10.9%) disagreed. while in total, 48.2% (12.7%+35.5%) of the accountant's sample agreed, and 12.7% did not take any position for reasons best known to them while 39.1% (10.2%+28.9%) disagreed. 195 table 4.4 accountants are often faced with threats from management when they fail to comply with some management unethical demands in the organization. respondents responses in % states, zones, and total sa % a % ud % d % sd % cumulative % edo state 46.3 34.1 19.5 4.9 0.00 100.0 enugu state 28.1 39.1 10.7 12.5 10.7 100.0 delta state 22.9 37.1 11.4 20.0 8.6 100.0 anambra state 14.3 35.7 25.0 21.4 3.6 100.0 south_south nigeria 35.5 35.5 13.3 11.8 3.9 100.0 south-east nigeria 23.9 38.0 13.1 15.2 9.8 100.0 total 29.5 31.3 18.1 13.9 7.2 100.0 source (fieldwork,). in edo state, 80.4% (46.3%+34.1%) of the sampled accountants working in the public sector agreed that they are faced with threats from management when they fail to comply with management’s unethical demands. 19.5% took no position while 4.9% (4.9%+0%) disagreed but not strongly. meanwhile, in enugu state, 67.2% (28.1%+39.1%) of the respondents agreed, 10.7% were indifferent while 22.7% (12.5%+10.7%) disagreed. while in delta state, 60.0% (22.9%+37.1%) of the respondents agreed, 11.4% were indifferent while 28.6% (20.0%+8.6%) disagreed. in addition, in anambra state, 50.0% (14.3%+35.7%) of the respondents agreed, 25.0% were indifferent and 25.0% (21.4%+3.6%) disagreed. however, in south-south nigeria, 71.0% (35.5%+35.5%) of the respondents agreed, 13.3% were indifferent while 15.7% (3.9%+11.8%) disagreed. in south-east nigeria, 61.9% (23.9%+38.0%) of the respondents agreed, 13.1% were indifferent and 25.0% disagreed. in total, 60.8% (29.5%+31.3%) of the sampled accountants working in the public sector agreed, 18.1% took no position while 21.1% (13.9%+7.2%) disagreed. hypothesis one: accountants helped in combating finance-related crime in the public sector of nigeria. table 4.6 pearson’s correlation analysis: acc corcon acc pearson correlation 1 .943** sig. (2-tailed) .05 n 162 162 corcon pearson correlation .943** 1 sig. (2-tailed) .05 n 162 162 correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 196 result: the result of the pearson product moment correlation shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between the role of accountants and corruption reduction (corcon) in the public sector of nigeria (i.e. p < 0.05 at 0.05 significance level). it also indicates that the relationship between the role of accountants and fighting corruption in the public sector of nigeria is positive (i.e. when the role of accountants increases or is improved upon, the fight against corruption also increases or improves). in conclusion, the result of the analysis indicates that the strength or magnitude of the relationship between the role of accountants and fighting corruption in the public sector is very strong (r = .94.3). the result implies that accountants reduce corruption in the public sector by 94.3 percent. decision rule: if the p-value is less than 0.05, reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis. decision: the result of the pearson product moment correlation suggests that accountants helped in fighting corruption in the public sector of nigeria (r = .94.3, alphasignificance is .05 at p < 0.05). therefore, we reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis that states that accountants help in fighting corruption in the public sector of nigeria. hypothesis two: the engagement of more professional accountants will be helped in curtailing financial corruption in the public sector of nigeria. table 4.7 computation of chi-square, x2 respondent oi ei (oi-ei) (oi-ei)2 ʃ(oi-ei)2/ei strongly agree 77 32.4 44.6 1989.16 61.3938 agree 53 32.4 20.6 424.36 13.0975 undecided 17 32.4 -15.4 237.16 7.3198 disagree 10 32.4 -22.4 501.76 15.4864 strongly disagree 5 32.4 -27.4 750.76 23.1716 x2 = σ(0i-ei)2 / ei 120.4691 source: fieldwork x2 = σ(0i-ei)2 ei ei = 162/5 = 32.4 the cal x2 = 120.4691 x2 a k= a=0.05 k=5-1=4 x2 0.05, 4 x2 = 9.49 at a 5% level of significance and 1 degree of freedom, tab x2 = 9.49 while cal x2 = 120.4691 decision rule: from the above, cal x2 exceeds tab x2 and since cal x2 > tab x2, we will therefore reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. decision: this means that the engagement of more professional accountants will help in curtailing financial corruption in the public sector of nigeria. 197 the result of the pearson product moment correlation revealed that accountants helped in fighting financial-related crime in the public sector of nigeria (r = .94.3, alpha-significance is .05 at p < 0.05). the result of hypothesis one is partly in agreement with the study of adedeji, soyinka, and sunday (2018). they found out that accounting control measures established by the accountant in the nigerian public sector are adequate in content and scope to combat corruption in the public sector of nigeria. furthermore, the achievement of these effective controls is a function of accountant honesty and agreement with the integrity of senior managers. in agreement also is the finding of ejededawe (2014). ejededawe (2014) discovered that a significant relationship exists between the effectiveness of accounting procedures in enhancing performance, accuracy, and reliability of accounting records in the oil industry. a related study by popoola, che-ahmad, samsudin, salleh, and babatunde (2016) discovered that a significant positive relationship exists between skill and knowledge of fraud risk assessment. notwithstanding, the work of olukowade and ogodor (2015) discovered a contrary result. olukowade and ogodor (2015) discovered from their study that internal control and accounting standards have a considerable negative relationship and effect on corruption control in the public sector. while omodero and okafor (2016) discovered that the extent of accountability is very pitiable in the nigerian public sector because the qualities of accessibility, comprehensiveness, reliability, relevance, and timely disclosure of financial information about government operations are totally unavailable or partly available for nigerians to evaluate the effectiveness of government officers typically the political class. in the same vein, okpala (2012) study revealed that there is a poor level of accountability in nigeria owing to very poor accounting infrastructure, weak regulatory structure, and the attitude of public servants. furthermore, uchehara and ogbonna (2015) found out from their study that there is yet an extent of quality in the financial reports of the nigeria private sector and accountants are party to fraudulent disclosures in the financial statements of private companies. moreover, the participation and involvement of accountants in financial-related crimes and conflicts of interest have long been acknowledged ( sikka & willmott, 1995; mitchell et al, 2001; bakre, 2007; sikka, 2009; sikka et al, 2009). chart 4.1 above shows the professional qualifications of accountants expressed in percentage of the total population of each state, zones, and total respondents respectively. 10% of accountants in edo state are anan members. while 37% of accountants in delta state are anan members followed by anambra state with 36% and enugu state with 30% anan members. meanwhile, in enugu state, 4% of the accountants are ican members. fourteen percent (14%) of the accountants in anambra state are ican members. anambra state is followed by delta state with 11% and edo state with 10%. furthermore, 18% of the respondents from south-east nigeria are anan members while 12% of accountants from the south-south are anan members. meanwhile, the story is not the same about ican membership in the two geopolitical zones. 4.5% of the accountants from south-south nigeria possessed ican membership while 2.8% of the accountants from south-east nigeria possessed ican membership. finally, 29% of the total respondents are anan members while 8% of the total respondents are ican members. 198 conclusion and recommendations with the prevailing height of financial-related crime currently in the public sector resulting in a level of hardship for the public, it is obvious therefore to realize that accountants had been playing a role in the fight against financial crime in the public sector of nigeria. moreover, accountants do help in fighting financial-related crime in the public sector of nigeria despite the current level of corruption in the public sector despite threats faced by management. we there recommend that: 1. remuneration and independence of the accountants should be increased and strengthened: accountants’ threats and pressures from management will be reduced when accountants are sure that their employment is fixed and no attempt by management can displace them from their employment. it, therefore, is recommended that the remuneration of the accountants at all levels should be increased to enable the accountants to overcome the continuous temptation of involvement in any corrupt acts. furthermore, the remuneration of accountants working with enugu state civil service should be increased in relation to other states. most accountants commented on the questionnaire that their pay was too small considering the current cost of living in the country. the government at all levels should show sincere commitment in this regard. study leave, regular training, and study grants should be regularly available to accountants. 2. more recruitment of accountants: also, it is recommended that the government at all levels should recruit accountants and auditors specifically for these highlighted areas. the number of accountants working with the edo state government is very poor in relation to other states investigated (not up to 50% of accountants working with other states’ governments). 3. accountability should be increased: it is also recommended that the ags should publish in a relevant newspaper government expenditure monthly simply because the government is only but servant and steward of the people. 4. emphasis on adherence to internal control. also, severe punishment should be given to the violators of internal control in public organizations. 5. accountants should go for their professional qualifications. 6. the government should give priority to professional accountants during recruitment into the civil service. 7. strengthening regulatory bodies: the government should empower and adequately fund regulatory bodies responsible for overseeing the financial activities of public institutions. these bodies should be given more authority to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption, ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable. 8. implementing effective internal controls: public sector organizations should establish robust internal control mechanisms to prevent and detect corrupt practices. accountants must actively participate in the design and implementation of these controls, ensuring transparency and accountability. 9. encouraging whistleblowing: establish confidential and protected channels for employees and citizens to report corruption. accountants should promote a culture of whistleblowing and support individuals who come forward with credible information on financial wrongdoing. 10. professional development and ethics training: accountants in the public sector should receive regular training on ethics, anti-corruption measures, and fraud detection. 199 continuous professional development will enhance their skills and knowledge in identifying suspicious financial activities. 11. digitalization and transparency: implement technology-driven solutions for financial management and record-keeping. digital platforms can increase transparency and reduce opportunities for corruption. accountants should advocate for the adoption of such systems and ensure their proper utilization. 12. strengthening collaboration: accountants should collaborate with other professionals, such as auditors, investigators, and law enforcement agencies, to share information and intelligence related to financial corruption. working together will enhance the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. 13. whistleblower protection laws: advocate for robust whistleblower protection laws to shield individuals who report corruption from retaliation. strong legal protection encourages more people to come forward with information. 14. public awareness campaigns: accountants can engage in public awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the negative impact of corruption on society. raising awareness can foster a collective commitment to combating corruption. 15. incentives for ethical behavior: public sector organizations should create incentive systems that reward ethical behavior and exemplary performance while penalizing corrupt practices. accountants should support the implementation of such systems. 16. peer reviews and certifications: encourage peer reviews and certifications for public 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(2011). achieving accountability in the nigerian public sector: a new mindset solution. international journal of business management, economics and information technology, 3(2), 323-329. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1411.4633 http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/vol_3_no_7_april_2013/29.pdf page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 84 health insurance coverage and its influence on medical tourism decision in nigeria: an empirical investigation from nigerian medical tourists salam, r. a*, salaudeen, t. o. adeniji, r.o department of insurance school of business and management studies federal polytechnic offa +2347038027041 salamrafiu@gmail.com abstract this study analyzed the relationship between health insurance coverage (hic) and medical tourism in nigeria using quantitative methods. two hypotheses were tested. regression models were developed with the dependent variables being decisions to pursue medical care abroad (dtpmca) and healthcare utilization patterns abroad among medical tourists (hupamt). the key independent variable was hic. for hypothesis one, the results showed a moderately strong correlation (r=0.781) between hic and dtpmca but this was not statistically significant (p=0.119, α=0.05). the variation in dtpmca explained by hic was 48% (adjusted r-squared). therefore, there was no evidence to reject the null hypothesis that hic does not impact decisions to become a medical tourist. for hypothesis two, there was a moderate negative correlation (r=-0.531) between hic and hupamt, implying that higher coverage is associated with lower healthcare utilization abroad. however, this relationship was also not statistically significant (p=0.358, α=0.05). the variation in hupamt accounted for by hic was only 4% (adjusted r-squared). thus, the null hypothesis could not be rejected, suggesting no evidence that hic impacts medical tourists' healthcare utilization. the study concluded that despite theoretical mechanisms for how health insurance could influence medical tourism, this empirical study did not find statistically significant relationships between coverage and medical tourism decision-making or healthcare utilization at the standard significance level α=0.05. further studies with larger samples may provide more conclusive evidence regarding these effects in the nigerian context. keywords: health, insurance, medical tourism, nigeria, tourism introduction medical tourism is the phenomenon of people travelling across borders to seek health care services in other countries (seffah, 2023). medical tourism has been growing rapidly in recent years, driven by various factors such as the rising cost of health care in developed countries, the availability of affordable and quality health care in developing countries, the advancement of medical technology and innovation, and the emergence of new destinations and services for medical tourism (padilla-meléndez and del-águila-obra, 2016). medical tourism has significant implications for the health systems of both the source and destination countries, as well as for the health outcomes and experiences of the medical tourists themselves (lunt, smith, exworthy, green, horsfall & mannion, 2011). one of the source countries that has witnessed a high demand for medical tourism is nigeria, a country with a population of over mailto:salamrafiu@gmail.com 85 200 million and a low level of health care provision and access. nigeria accounts for 20% of the population of sub-saharan africa and is projected to be the third most populous country in the world by 2040 (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020). however, nigeria faces many challenges in achieving universal health coverage (uhc), which is defined as the situation where all people have access to the health services they need, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship (world health oorganization, 2010). some of these challenges include inadequate health infrastructure, shortage of skilled health workers, poor quality of health care, high out-ofpocket expenditure, low coverage of social health insurance, and weak governance and regulation of the health sector (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020; opubo, nwachukwu & nwachukwu, 2019). as a result of these challenges, many nigerians resort to seeking medical treatment abroad, especially in countries like india, turkey, germany, and the uk, where they can access better quality, more affordable, and more specialized health care services. according to the medical tourism association (mta), nigeria is one of the top ten countries in the world for outbound medical tourism, with an estimated 40,000 nigerians travelling abroad for medical purposes every year (mta, 2016). this trend has negative consequences for the nigerian health system, such as loss of revenue, loss of human resources, loss of trust, and loss of opportunities for improvement and innovation (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020). one of the potential ways to address the problem of medical tourism and improve the health system in nigeria is to expand the coverage and scope of health insurance, which is a mechanism of pooling funds to provide financial protection and access to health care for the insured population. health insurance can reduce the financial barriers and risks associated with seeking health care, as well as improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery, by creating incentives for providers and consumers to adopt cost-effective and evidence-based practices (who, 2010). health insurance can also stimulate the demand and supply of health care services, by increasing the purchasing power of the population and the revenue of the health providers, respectively (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020). however, the current state of health insurance in nigeria is far from satisfactory, as only about 5% of the population is covered by any form of health insurance, mainly through the national health insurance scheme (nhis), which was established in 2005 to provide health insurance for the formal sector workers and their dependents (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020; opubo et al., 2019). the nhis has faced many challenges in achieving its objectives, such as low enrolment, low funding, low quality of services, low utilization, low satisfaction, and low accountability (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020; opubo et al., 2019). moreover, the nhis has not been able to effectively address the needs and preferences of the potential medical tourists, who may seek more comprehensive, diverse, and personalized health care services than what the nhis can offer (da lilly‐tariah and sule, 2020). therefore, there is a need to explore the relationship between health insurance and medical tourism in nigeria. this study aims to address this gap by conducting an analysis of health insurance and its impact on medical tourism in nigeria, using quantitative methods. objectives of the study the following objectives guide this study i. analyze the impact of health insurance coverage on individuals' decisions to pursue medical care abroad. 86 ii. to identify the factors that shape individuals' choices of medical tourism destinations and treatment options under different health insurance plans. iii. assess the impact of health insurance coverage on healthcare utilization patterns among medical tourists. hypothesis statement the hypotheses were stated in the null form. the null hypotheses assume that there is no relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables. the study tested these null hypotheses and determines if there is a statistically significant relationship between the variables. ℎ01: health insurance coverage has no impact on individuals' decisions to pursue medical care abroad. ℎ02: health insurance coverage has no impact on healthcare utilization patterns among medical tourists. literature review nigeria's healthcare sector nigeria's healthcare sector has long been plagued by issues of accessibility and affordability for the average citizen. a key contributing factor is the country's very low rate of health insurance coverage, with over 90% of nigerians having no health insurance as of 2021 (who, 2022). the national health insurance scheme (nhis) was established in 1999 as the country's flagship health coverage program, with the aim of providing affordable, quality healthcare for all nigerians. however, over 20 years later, nhis coverage remains extremely limited. as of 2022, only around 5 million out of nigeria's over 200 million population were actively enrolled in the nhis (nhis, 2022). the scheme covers public sector employees at the federal level, some private companies that choose to participate, and individual enrollees who pay premium contributions. critics point to issues such as poor management, lack of trust, insufficient benefits, and low funding as key reasons for nhis's dismal coverage rates (adeyi, 2016; alubo & hunduh, 2017; ajemunigbohun, alli & ganiyu, 2018). beyond the nhis, private health insurance represents only a small fraction of the populace. various health maintenance organizations (hmos) exist, providing premium-based health plans and packages. however, high premium costs put these policies out of reach for most nigerians, especially those in the informal sector who comprise over 80% of the workforce (ilo, 2019). estimates suggest only around 1-2% of nigerians are enrolled in private insurance plans, concentrated among upper middle class and high-income households and expatriates (elebesunu, oke, adebisi & nsofor, 2021). in the absence of adequate public or private health insurance, it is estimated that over 70% of total healthcare spending in nigeria comes directly from citizens' pockets (who, 2022). this poses a massive financial burden, particularly on lower income families. in many cases, it leads to individuals delaying or not seeking care at all due to unaffordability, contributing to adverse health outcomes (shodunke, oladipupo, tayo-ladega, alowolodu & adebayo, 2022). in recent years, initiatives like the basic health care provision fund and wider reforms of the nhis have been undertaken by the government, aimed at catalyzing progress towards universal health coverage. the impacts of these efforts however remain to be seen, as the vast majority of nigerians still lack any health insurance (alli, aina & ganiyu, 2021). tackling informality, increasing public health budgets, improving quality of care, and growing consumer awareness 87 have been highlighted as key to boosting voluntary enrolment and expanding access equitably (adeyi, 2016). medical tourism medical tourism, also known as healthcare tourism, has emerged as a prominent trend in the global healthcare landscape (rikhsiev & smith, 2023). this practice involves individuals traveling to another country to receive medical care, encompassing a wide range of services, from routine checkups and dental procedures to complex medical treatments and surgeries (reed, 2008; horowitz, rosenweig & jones, 2007; okasha, haq, medhekar & yasin, 2023). the motivations for pursuing medical tourism are multifaceted. individuals often seek out medical tourism due to limited access to quality and affordable healthcare in their home countries. long wait times, high treatment costs, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure can drive individuals to explore cross-border healthcare options (kim, arcodia & kim, 2019; rahman, sarker & hassan, 2021). medical tourism also offers the opportunity to access specialized treatment for rare conditions or complex procedures that may not be readily available or accessible in one's home country (beladi, chao, ee & hollas, 2019; olya & nia, 2021). additionally, the reduced cost of treatment in certain countries can make medical tourism an attractive option for individuals seeking affordable healthcare services (ghosh & mandal, 2019). medical tourism encompasses various activity types, each characterized by the specific purpose of travel and the type of medical services sought. elective surgery is a prevalent form of medical tourism, involving non-emergency procedures such as cosmetic surgery, dental work, or elective orthopedic surgeries. specialty care medical tourism focuses on seeking treatment for specialized medical conditions or complex procedures that require expertise or technology not readily available in one's home country. preventive and wellness care medical tourism involves traveling for preventive screenings, checkups, or wellness treatments that may not be accessible or affordable in one's home country. fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization (ivf), assisted reproductive technology (art), and surrogacy, have also gained popularity among medical tourists. dental tourism specifically focuses on seeking dental care abroad, often due to lower costs and access to advanced dental procedures. the decision to pursue medical tourism is influenced by a combination of factors, including cost considerations, quality of healthcare services, availability of treatment, accessibility and convenience, and health insurance coverage (karadayi & serdarasan, 2020; dalen & alpert, 2019). the overall cost of treatment, including travel expenses, accommodation, and medical fees, plays a significant role in medical tourism decisions. individuals often seek medical tourism in countries with a reputation for high-quality healthcare services, experienced medical professionals, and advanced medical technology. the availability of specific procedures or treatments not readily available in one's home country is a major driving force behind medical tourism. medical tourism destinations are often chosen based on factors such as travel time, ease of obtaining visas, and language barriers. additionally, the extent to which health insurance plans cover cross-border healthcare services significantly impacts individuals' decisions to pursue medical tourism. medical tourism trends in nigeria nigeria, a populous nation with a burgeoning healthcare sector, has witnessed a surge in medical tourism in recent years. this trend is fueled by a combination of challenges in accessing quality and affordable healthcare within the country. the nigerian healthcare system is often overburdened and underfunded, resulting in prolonged wait times, limited access to specialized care, and a scarcity of essential medical supplies and equipment (omisore & 88 agbabiaka, 2016; agbabiaka, omisore & odunsi, 2017). additionally, the high cost of healthcare services in nigeria poses a significant barrier for many citizens, hindering their ability to afford the care they require (aiwerioghene, singh & aimera, 2021). these challenges have contributed to a rise in medical tourism among nigerians, who are increasingly seeking medical care abroad in countries with more advanced healthcare systems and lower healthcare costs (chukwuka, & amahi, 2021). popular destinations for medical tourists from nigeria include india, egypt, thailand, and dubai, which offer a broad spectrum of affordable and specialized medical services (agbabiaka et al., 2017; aiwerioghene et al., 2021). while medical tourism provides an option for nigerians to access care, it also stimulates economic growth. the rising numbers of outbound medical tourists generate foreign exchange earnings and support the growth of tourism-related industries in destination countries (chukwuka et al., 2021). however, addressing deficiencies in nigeria's domestic healthcare sector would help maximize associated economic benefits by retaining more health spending nationally. impact of health insurance coverage on medical tourism health insurance coverage plays a pivotal role in influencing individuals' decisions to pursue medical care abroad (paul iii, barker, watts, messinger & coustasse, 2017). the scope and availability of health insurance plans can considerably impact the choices of medical tourism destinations, treatment options, and overall healthcare utilization patterns (frankovic & kuhn, 2023; rosett & huang, 1973; anderson, dobkin & gross, 2012; sommers, gawande & baicker, 2017; levy & meltzer, 2008). in nigeria, the landscape of health insurance is evolving, with a growing number of private health insurance providers offering various plans that may cover cross-border healthcare services (gbenga, 2020). the availability of health insurance coverage that encompasses cross-border healthcare benefits can enhance the accessibility and affordability of medical tourism for nigerians. however, the extent to which health insurance plans cover medical tourism varies, and individuals often encounter difficulties in comprehending coverage limitations and navigating the complexities of cross-border healthcare (бакало, крекотень, & маховка, 2023). furthermore, the cost of private health insurance in nigeria can be prohibitive for many citizens, limiting their access to plans that cover medical tourism. despite these challenges, health insurance coverage remains an essential factor influencing medical tourism decisions in nigeria. as the private health insurance market continues to expand and evolve, it is crucial to grasp the role of health insurance in facilitating or impeding cross-border healthcare practices and to develop strategies for optimizing health insurance plans for medical tourists. factors influencing medical tourism decisions: a multifaceted perspective medical tourism, the practice of traveling to another country to receive medical care, has emerged as a significant phenomenon, driven by advancements in healthcare technology, globalization, and increasing healthcare costs. individuals' decisions to pursue medical tourism are influenced by a complex interplay of factors that can be categorized into three main groups: personal factors, health insurance factors, and destination-related factors (abela, 2023; kambaga, mongare & ondara, 2023; akhavan. azizi, akhtari, haass, jan & sajeey, 2023). personal factors play a pivotal role in shaping medical tourism decisions. individuals often weigh the overall cost of treatment, including travel expenses, accommodation, and medical fees, when considering cross-border healthcare (chaulagain et al., 2023). the quality of care 89 available in the destination country is another crucial factor, as individuals seek experienced medical professionals, advanced medical technology, and a reputation for high-quality healthcare services (yi̇lmaz & güneren, 2023). the availability of specific procedures or treatments not readily available in one's home country is a major driving force behind medical tourism. individuals may travel to access specialized care for rare conditions, complex surgeries, or advanced treatment options unavailable in their local healthcare system (zakaria, islam, islam, begum, poly, cheng & xu, 2023). personal preferences and expectations regarding healthcare providers, treatment approaches, and cultural settings also influence medical tourism decisions. health insurance coverage plays a significant role in influencing individuals' decisions to pursue medical tourism. the extent to which health insurance plans cover cross-border healthcare services can make or break the feasibility of medical tourism for many individuals. plans with comprehensive coverage and favorable reimbursement rates for out-of-country treatment encourage individuals to consider medical tourism options (abela, 2023). the network restrictions imposed by health insurance plans can also limit medical tourism choices. individuals may be restricted to healthcare providers within a specific network or geographical area, which may exclude potential destinations for medical tourism. pre-authorization requirements and complex administrative processes for cross-border healthcare services can further deter individuals from pursuing medical tourism. the distance from one's home country to the chosen medical tourism destination plays a role in decision-making. travel accessibility, visa requirements, and overall travel time and costs are important considerations. cultural factors, such as language barriers, healthcare practices, and social norms, can also influence medical tourism decisions. individuals may prefer destinations where they feel culturally comfortable and can communicate effectively with healthcare providers (biswas & rai, 2023). the reputation of the destination country for providing safe and secure medical tourism services is crucial in gaining individuals' trust and encouraging them to consider cross-border healthcare. positive reviews, accreditation from international healthcare organizations, and a strong track record of patient safety enhance the appeal of a medical tourism destination (chaulagain et al., 2023). the availability of support services, such as translation assistance, accommodation arrangements, and cultural orientation programs, can make the medical tourism experience more seamless and enjoyable (akhavan et al., 2023). these services can help individuals navigate the healthcare system, overcome language barriers, and adapt to the cultural context of the destination country. theoretical review health belief model (hbm) the health belief model (hbm) is a psychological health behavior change model that was developed in the 1950s to explain and predict health-related behaviors, particularly in regard to the uptake of health services. the health belief model (hbm) is a psychological framework that can be used to understand health behaviors, including medical tourism decisions. the hbm posits that individuals are more likely to engage in a health behavior if they perceive that the behavior is susceptible, serious, and effective, and if they have the cues to action to take the behavior. in the context of medical tourism in nigeria, health insurance coverage could influence medical tourism decisions by affecting the following constructs of the hbm: 90 perceived susceptibility: individuals who believe that they are at risk of developing a serious illness may be more likely to consider medical tourism if they perceive that the healthcare services available in their home country are inadequate. health insurance coverage could help to increase perceived susceptibility by providing individuals with access to information about their health risks. perceived severity: individuals who believe that a serious illness will have a significant impact on their quality of life may be more likely to consider medical tourism if they perceive that the healthcare services available in their home country cannot effectively address their condition. health insurance coverage could help to increase perceived severity by providing individuals with access to specialists and advanced treatment options. perceived benefits: individuals who believe that medical tourism will effectively treat their condition and improve their quality of life may be more likely to consider this option. health insurance coverage could help to increase perceived benefits by providing individuals with information about the quality of care and treatment options available in destination countries. cues to action: individuals may be more likely to consider medical tourism if they have cues to action, such as recommendations from family, friends, or healthcare providers. health insurance coverage could help to increase cues to action by providing individuals with information about medical tourism providers and facilitating the process of obtaining care abroad. theory of planned behavior (tpb) the theory of planned behavior (tpb) is a widely used psychological theory that attempts to explain human behavior. it was developed by icek ajzen in 1991 and is based on the idea that people's intentions to engage in a behavior are the strongest predictors of whether or not they will actually engage in that behavior. the theory of planned behavior (tpb) can be used to understand how health insurance coverage influences medical tourism decisions in nigeria. according to the tpb, a person's intention to engage in a behavior is determined by their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. attitudes: individuals who have positive attitudes towards medical tourism are more likely to consider it as an option. health insurance coverage can influence attitudes towards medical tourism in a number of ways. for example, if health insurance plans cover medical tourism, this could make it more appealing to individuals who are concerned about the cost of care. additionally, if health insurance plans provide individuals with information about medical tourism providers and destinations, this could help to increase their knowledge of the options available and make them more comfortable with the idea of traveling for care. subjective norms: individuals are also more likely to engage in a behavior if they believe that important people in their life approve of it. health insurance coverage can influence subjective norms towards medical tourism by providing individuals with a sense of social approval. for example, if an individual's health insurance plan covers medical tourism, this could signal to them that their friends and family would approve of them traveling for care. additionally, health insurance plans could encourage individuals to discuss medical tourism with their friends and family, which could help to normalize the behavior and make it more acceptable. perceived behavioral control: individuals are also more likely to engage in a behavior if they believe that they have the ability to do so. health insurance coverage can influence perceived behavioral control towards medical tourism by reducing the perceived barriers to care. for example, if health insurance plans provide individuals with information about logistics, such 91 as visas and travel arrangements, this could make it easier for them to plan and execute a medical tourism trip. additionally, if health insurance plans offer medical tourism services, such as case management and translation services, this could help individuals to feel more confident in their ability to navigate the healthcare system in a foreign country. overall, the tpb suggests that health insurance coverage can influence medical tourism decisions in nigeria by influencing individuals' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control towards medical tourism. empirical review in their recent article published in studies in microeconomics, xinyan shi and lydia gan (2023), the study investigates how individuals with preference heterogeneity self-select between domestic treatment and treatment abroad options offered in insurance contracts. the rising healthcare costs in the united states have prompted many citizens to seek medical care abroad, a phenomenon commonly known as “medical tourism.” despite its increasing popularity, insurance companies have been hesitant to incorporate a medical tourism option into insurance contracts. their study attempt to understand the theoretical rationale behind this hesitation by designing an insurance contract in an environment where medical tourism is available. the study found that a crucial factor influencing consumers’ decisions regarding medical tourism is their tolerance for unexpected costs when seeking healthcare abroad. the results suggest that insurance companies are more likely to incorporate medical tourism in the contract when healthcare costs for both domestic and foreign treatments are high and/or when there is a higher chance of needing elective treatment kambaga, mongare, and ondara (2023) conducted an insightful case study analysis on the key drivers of medical tourism in private hospitals within nairobi county, kenya. situating their work against the kenyan government's vision 2030 goal of developing world-class medical facilities and expertise, the authors surveyed a sample of 196 medical tourists to identify the main factors attracting patients from abroad. using descriptive and exploratory research methodologies, they assessed the influence of treatment quality, service delivery, physician competency, and costs on tourists' decisions to seek care. the empirical findings demonstrate the significance of each determinant quality facilities, services, doctors, and affordable pricing were all statistically important pull motives. these results carry important practical implications. the authors recommend private hospital administrators focus on improving facility infrastructure, care quality, and customer service to better compete regionally. enhancing doctor skills and optimizing costs can also make kenyan hospitals more appealing destinations. at the policy level, protecting patients from potential exploitation while incentivizing public hospitals to match private sector quality would facilitate balanced medical tourism growth. while limited in geographic scope, this study offers a useful initial quantification of patient priorities and preferences in the east african context. as the first empirical analysis focused specifically on nairobi's private healthcare sector, it can inform targeted quality improvement and tourism promotion initiatives. the authors rightly note opportunities to expand this line of inquiry through comparative public-private assessments and investigations in other kenyan regions. tracking tourist volumes over time would also generate helpful trend data. overall, this article highlights key success factors for medical tourism and provides an empirical base for further research to support the sustainable development of this crucial industry. in their recent paper published in the international journal of hospitality & tourism administration, chaulagain, le, and hancer (2023) investigate the factors influencing american medical tourists' intentions to travel to cuba for treatment. leveraging survey data, 92 the authors examine the roles of demographics, past medical travel experience, and familiarity with cuba specifically as a medical destination. their analysis provides useful empirical insights into a growing yet understudied phenomenon at the intersection of health, tourism, and economic policymaking. the results reveal some interesting trends across demographic subgroups. for instance, older, more educated, and higher-income americans demonstrate greater inclination towards cuban medical tourism. these findings suggest cuba may hold particular appeal for certain niche patient segments in the u.s. market. the authors also uncover intriguing effects related to prior experience and destination familiarity those more knowledgeable about cuba's medical offerings are more likely to consider travel for care, whereas past medical tourists exhibit lower intentions. methodology this study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional research design to analyze the relationship between health insurance coverage and decisions to pursue medical tourism. quantitative research is appropriate for examining relationships between variables and testing hypotheses. a cross-sectional design involves collecting data to make comparisons across entities at one point in time. the target population for this study was nigerian adults who have engaged in medical tourism within the past 5 years. the sampling frame was obtained from a medical tourism facilitator in nigeria. a sample of 385 medical tourists was selected through simple random sampling to participate in the survey. the sample size was determined using taro yamane formula. the taro yamane formula is a simple and widely used method for calculating the sample size for a population of unknown size. the formula is as follows: 𝑛 = 𝑁 / (1 + 𝑁(𝑒)^2) 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: ● 𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 ● 𝑁 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 ● 𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 assuming a population size of 𝑁 = ∞ (i.e., an unknown or very large population), a margin of error of 𝑒 = 0.05 (i.e., a 5% margin of error), and using the taro yamane formula, we calculate the sample size as follows: 𝑛 = ∞ / (1 + ∞(0.05)^2) = 𝑛 ≈ 384.62. since we cannot have a fractional sample size, we round up to the nearest whole number. therefore, a sample size of 𝑛 = 385 participants would be sufficient to achieve a margin of error of 5%. primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire developed based on the theory of planned behavior. a 5-point likert scale was used to measure all items. the questionnaire was pretested with 20 medical tourists to establish face and content validity. an online survey tool was used to distribute the questionnaire to the 385 participants via email over the course of 7 months. participants provided informed consent before beginning the survey. reminder emails were sent weekly for 4 weeks to maximize the response rate. a total of 385 responses were received, yielding a 100% response rate. data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (spss). descriptive statistics characterized the sample. inferential statistics including correlation linear regression were used to test the hypotheses at α=0.05 level of significance. 93 result and discussion table 1: health insurance coverage and individuals' decisions to pursue medical care abroad. question strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree mean sd the availability of health insurance coverage significantly impacts my decision to seek medical care abroad. 10 (3%) 20 (5%) 50 (13%) 100 (26%) 205 (53%) 3.56 1.61 the scope of my health insurance plan influences my choice of medical tourism destinations. 15 (4%) 25 (6%) 45 (12%) 90 (23%) 210 (55%) 3.60 1.57 the coverage limitations of my health insurance plan make me more likely to consider medical tourism. 18 (5%) 30 (8%) 40 (10%) 85 (22%) 212 (55%) 3.55 1.59 i am more likely to pursue medical tourism if my health insurance plan offers specialized coverage for cross-border healthcare. 12 (3%) 22 (6%) 42 (11%) 92 (24%) 219 (57%) 3.63 1.55 my health insurance provider's network of overseas healthcare providers influences my decision to seek medical care abroad. 16 (4%) 24 (6%) 44 (11%) 94 (24%) 207 (54%) 3.54 1.60 source: authors’ analysis, 2023 the first question asked respondents about the impact of health insurance availability on their decision to seek medical care abroad. 53% strongly agreed that health insurance availability significantly impacts this decision, with another 26% agreeing. only 8% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the second question looked at whether the scope of one's health insurance plan influences the choice of medical tourism destinations. 55% strongly agreed their plan impacts this choice, with another 23% agreeing. only 10% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the third question asked about the influence of health insurance coverage limitations on considering medical tourism. again, over half (55%) strongly agreed limitations make them more likely to consider medical tourism, with another 22% agreeing. only 13% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the fourth question examined the impact of specialized health insurance coverage for cross-border care on pursuing medical tourism. 57% strongly agreed this would make them more likely to pursue medical tourism, with another 24% agreeing. only 9% disagreed or strongly disagreed. finally, the last question looked at how a health insurance provider's overseas healthcare network impacts the decision to seek care abroad. 54% strongly agreed the network influences this decision, with another 24% agreeing. only 10% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the mean scores for all questions ranged from 3.55 to 3.63, indicating overall agreement that health insurance factors significantly influence medical tourism decision-making. standard deviations were around 1.55 to 1.61, suggesting some variability but overall consensus in responses. 94 table 2: factors that shape individuals' choices of medical tourism destinations and treatment options question strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree mean std. dev. the quality of medical care available at the destination country is a primary factor in my choice of medical tourism destination. 8 (2%) 12 (3%) 26 (7%) 64 (17%) 275 (71%) 4.19 1.12 the cost of medical treatment at the destination country significantly influences my decision to seek medical care abroad. 16 (4%) 24 (6%) 42 (11%) 78 (20%) 225 (59%) 3.49 1.58 the availability of specialized treatment options at the destination country is a crucial factor in my choice of medical tourism destination. 10 (3%) 18 (5%) 36 (9%) 72 (19%) 249 (65%) 3.75 1.47 the reputation of the healthcare providers at the destination country plays a significant role in my decision to seek medical care abroad. 12 (3%) 20 (5%) 38 (10%) 74 (19%) 241 (63%) 3.69 1.48 the availability of english-speaking healthcare providers at the destination country is important to me. 14 (4%) 22 (6%) 36 (9%) 76 (20%) 237 (62%) 3.63 1.53 the coverage limitations of my health insurance plan influence my choice of treatment options under medical tourism. 12 (3%) 20 (5%) 40 (10%) 72 (19%) 241 (63%) 3.67 1.49 the availability of pre-authorization or reimbursement for medical tourism procedures under my health insurance plan is crucial to my decision to seek medical care abroad. 10 (3%) 18 (5%) 36 (9%) 70 (18%) 251 (65%) 3.72 1.45 the travel distance to the destination country is a factor in my decision to seek medical care abroad. 14 (4%) 22 (6%) 40 (10%) 74 (19%) 235 (61%) 3.62 1.54 the cultural considerations of the destination country are important to me when choosing a medical tourism destination. 12 (3%) 20 (5%) 38 (10%) 72 (19%) 243 (63%) 3.67 1.49 the availability of support services, such as translation and accommodation, at the destination country is important to me. 10 (3%) 16 (4%) 32 (8%) 68 (18%) 269 (70%) 3.75 1.44 authors’ analysis, 2023. the table appears to show results from a survey where respondents were asked to rate various factors on their influence in choosing a medical tourism destination. a total of 396 people responded to the survey. for the first statement "the quality of medical care available at the destination country is a primary factor in my choice of medical tourism destination", 71% of respondents strongly agreed with this statement. only 5% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the average response was 4.19 on a 5 point scale. for the second statement "the cost of medical treatment at the destination country significantly influences my decision to seek medical care 95 abroad", 59% strongly agreed but 10% disagreed or strongly disagreed. the average response was lower at 3.49. similar results were seen for the other statements regarding factors like availability of specialized treatment, reputation of providers, english speaking providers, insurance coverage and reimbursement, travel distance, cultural considerations, and support services. the majority strongly agreed each was important but a smaller percentage, ranging from 3-10%, disagreed or strongly disagreed. average responses ranged from 3.49 to 3.75. table 3: health insurance coverage and healthcare utilization patterns among medical tourists. question strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree mean sd my health insurance coverage has encouraged me to seek medical care abroad for nonemergency procedures. 15 (4%) 25 (6%) 45 (12%) 95 (25%) 205 (53%) 3.58 1.56 my health insurance coverage has made me more likely to seek preventive healthcare services abroad. 10 (3%) 20 (5%) 40 (10%) 80 (21%) 235 (61%) 3.64 1.52 my health insurance coverage has increased my overall healthcare utilization. 18 (5%) 30 (8%) 42 (11%) 80 (21%) 215 (56%) 3.62 1.50 i am more likely to seek medical care abroad if my health insurance plan offers benefits for follow-up care after medical tourism procedures. 12 (3%) 22 (6%) 40 (10%) 85 (22%) 226 (59%) 3.67 1.52 my health insurance coverage has made me more aware of medical tourism options. 10 (3%) 15 (4%) 35 (9%) 80 (21%) 245 (64%) 3.70 1.49 having health insurance coverage has made me more comfortable seeking medical care abroad. 15 (4%) 20 (5%) 40 (10%) 82 (21%) 228 (59%) 3.64 1.53 i am more likely to recommend medical tourism to others if their health insurance plan provides coverage for cross-border healthcare. 12 (3%) 20 (5%) 42 (11%) 88 (23%) 223 (58%) 3.66 1.51 authors’ computation, 2023 for the first question, "my health insurance coverage has encouraged me to seek medical care abroad for non-emergency procedures", 15 respondents (4%) strongly disagreed, 25 (6%) disagreed, 45 (12%) were neutral, 95 (25%) agreed, and 205 (53%) strongly agreed. the mean response was 3.58 out of 5 with a standard deviation of 1.56. for the second question, "my health insurance coverage has made me more likely to seek preventive healthcare services abroad", 10 (3%) strongly disagreed, 20 (5%) disagreed, 40 (10%) were neutral, 80 (21%) agreed, and 235 (61%) strongly agreed. the mean was 3.64 with a standard deviation of 1.52. a similar pattern continued for the remaining questions, with a majority of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that their health insurance coverage impacted their likelihood of seeking care abroad, awareness of medical tourism options, and comfort with medical tourism. the mean response rates ranged from 3.62 to 3.7 out of 5. 96 hypothesis testing ℎ01: health insurance coverage has no impact on individuals' decisions to pursue medical care abroad. model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .781a .610 .480 .0822 a. predictors: (constant), hic the correlation between observed and predicted dtpmca values was 0.781, indicating a reasonably strong linear relationship. the r square value shows that approximately 61% of the variance in dtpmca is explained by the regression model containing hic as a predictor. after adjusting for the number of predictors, about 48% of the variance is accounted for. anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression .032 1 .032 4.691 .119b residual .020 3 .007 total .052 4 a. dependent variable: dtpmca b. predictors: (constant), hic an anova was performed to assess whether the regression model was statistically significant. the f value of 4.691 suggests the model fits the data better than chance. however, the significance value of 0.119 indicates that the improvement in fit provided by the regression model, compared to just using the mean, is not statistically reliable. coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 5.533 .690 8.015 .004 hic -.387 .179 -.781 -2.166 .119 a. dependent variable: dtpmca examining the coefficients, the unstandardized b value for hic is -0.387. this implies that for every one unit increase in health insurance coverage, the decisions to pursue medical care abroad decrease by 0.387 on average, holding all other variables constant. however, the t and p values show that hic is not a statistically significant predictor of dtpmca based on this sample, as the p value is greater than 0.05 therefore, based on this analysis, there is no evidence that health insurance coverage has an impact on an individual's decision to pursue medical care abroad. the null hypothesis that hic does not affect dtpmca cannot be rejected. 97 ℎ02: health insurance coverage has no impact on healthcare utilization patterns among medical tourists. model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .531a .282 .042 .1883 a. predictors: (constant), hic the model summary shows that hic has a moderate linear correlation (r=0.531) with hupamt and explains 28.2% of its variance (r square=0.282). however, after adjusting for the number of predictors, only 4.2% of variance is reliably explained (adjusted r square). anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression .042 1 .042 1.176 .358b residual .106 3 .035 total .148 4 a. dependent variable: hupamt b. predictors: (constant), hic the anova tests whether the regression model predicts hupamt significantly better than the mean. the f value of 1.176 suggests a better fit, but the significance of 0.358 indicates this improvement is not statistically significant. coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 5.792 1.580 3.664 .035 hic -.443 .409 -.531 -1.084 .358 a. dependent variable: hupamt examining the coefficients, for every 1 unit increase in hic, hupamt is expected to decrease by 0.443 on average (b value). however, the t and p values show hic is not a statistically significant predictor of hupamt based on this sample, as p>0.05. in conclusion, while the regression model fits moderately well, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that hic impacts healthcare utilization patterns among medical tourists based on these results. the null hypothesis of no relationship cannot be rejected. conclusion regarding the first objective of analyzing the impact of health insurance coverage on decisions to pursue medical care abroad, the regression analysis found no statistically significant evidence that health insurance coverage (hic) impacts decisions to travel for medical care (dtpmca). the model showed a moderately strong positive correlation between hic and dtpmca but this relationship was not statistically significant based on the sample size. therefore, we cannot conclude that hic impacts decisions to become a medical tourist. for the second objective of identifying factors shaping medical tourism choices under different insurance plans, the results provided insight into some key factors considered, such as treatment 98 quality and cost, specialized options, and provider reputation. however, the study did not find that insurance plan variations significantly influenced choices. finally, for the third objective of assessing hic's effect on healthcare utilization abroad, the results again showed no significant link between health insurance coverage and medical tourists' utilization patterns (hupamt). while a moderate negative relationship exists, implying utilization decreases with more coverage, this correlation is not statistically significant. references abela, s. 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(2010). the world health report: health systems financing: the path to universal coverage. world health organization. https://www.who.int/whr/2010/en/ xinyan shi & lydia gan, (2023). "equilibrium in competitive insurance markets with medical tourism," studies in microeconomics, , vol. 11(2), pages 246-269, august. https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/miceco/v11y2023i2p246-269.html yi̇lmaz, v., & güneren, e. (2023). determining destination competitiveness in medical tourism: a study based on ahp-qfd framework. journal of multidisciplinary academic tourism, 8(2), 141-157. zakaria, m., islam, m. a., islam, m. k., begum, a., poly, n. a., cheng, f., & xu, j. (2023). determinants of bangladeshi patients' decision-making process and satisfaction toward medical tourism in india. frontiers in public health, 11, 1137929. бакало, н., крекотень, і., & маховка, в. (2023). insurance in tourism. економічні горизонти, (1 (23)), 59-69. https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/miceco/v11y2023i2p246-269.html https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/miceco/v11y2023i2p246-269.html https://ideas.repec.org/s/sae/miceco.html https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/miceco/v11y2023i2p246-269.html page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 325 mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria: the critical role of insurance as a financial risk control strategy olatunji, akeem f. & ayoola, ayoola a. department of insurance, school of business and management studies, federal polytechnic, offa email: olatunjiakeem161@gmail.com; ayobram22@gmail.com abstract this study investigates the role of insurance as a financial risk control strategy in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria, a country characterized by significant infrastructural, political, and regulatory challenges. employing a survey research design, the research integrates quantitative analysis of survey data from 366 respondents with insights from relevant literature. the survey utilized a 5-point likert scale to assess perceptions of key supply chain vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of insurance in addressing these risks. results reveal that the most significant supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria are regulatory uncertainty (mean = 3.21), political instability (mean = 3.19), and infrastructure inadequacies (mean = 3.13). these factors were ranked as the top concerns, reflecting their substantial impact on supply chain efficiency. in contrast, issues related to insurance, such as high premiums (mean = 3.00) and limited coverage options (mean = 3.08), were perceived as less significant. regression analysis further elucidates the relationship between insurance effectiveness and supply chain vulnerability mitigation. the model shows a strong positive correlation (r = 0.78), with insurance effectiveness explaining 60.8% (r² = 0.608) of the variance in supply chain risk mitigation. the anova results confirm the significance of the regression model (f = 90.00, p-value = 0.0000), indicating that insurance effectiveness significantly contributes to reducing supply chain vulnerabilities. the coefficient analysis reveals that for each unit increase in insurance effectiveness, there is a 0.70 increase in vulnerability mitigation, highlighting the substantial impact of effective insurance coverage. keywords: supply chain vulnerabilities, insurance, financial risk control, risk management, nigeria. introduction in the contemporary global economy, supply chains are increasingly recognized as critical components of economic stability and growth. they encompass the processes of production, handling, and distribution of goods and services, forming an intricate network of interconnected activities (christopher, 2016). as globalization has expanded, the complexity and interdependence of these networks have increased, exposing them to a range of vulnerabilities. these vulnerabilities can disrupt operations, lead to financial losses, and have broader economic repercussions (heckmann et al., 2015). in addressing these vulnerabilities, risk management strategies, including insurance, play a pivotal role in stabilizing and safeguarding supply chains. globally, supply chains face an array of risks. key among these are infrastructural deficiencies, political instability, economic fluctuations, and natural disasters. for instance, research indicates that supply chain disruptions due to inadequate infrastructure can lead to significant economic losses, with companies experiencing operational delays and increased costs (kovács & spens, 2007). political instability, such as trade wars or regional conflicts, further exacerbates these risks by introducing uncertainties that can impact global supply mailto:olatunjiakeem161@gmail.com mailto:ayobram22@gmail.com 326 networks (braz et al., 2020). economic fluctuations, including currency volatility and inflation, also pose challenges by affecting the cost and availability of materials and services (gelsomino et al., 2016). additionally, natural disasters and climate change introduce unpredictable elements that can severely disrupt supply chains, as evidenced by the impacts of recent events like the covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters (ivanov & dolgui, 2020). nigeria, as one of africa’s largest and most dynamic economies, exhibits a supply chain network with significant potential but also notable vulnerabilities. the nigerian supply chain landscape is marked by several challenges, reflecting broader global trends but also unique local issues. nigeria's infrastructure is often cited as inadequate, with deficiencies in transportation networks and energy supply posing severe challenges. for example, poor road conditions and unreliable power supply create bottlenecks that hinder the efficient flow of goods (ogunleye et al., 2018). the state of nigerian ports also contributes to logistical delays and increased costs (bello et al., 2019). political instability and security challenges in nigeria further complicate supply chain operations. the country has experienced various forms of political unrest and security issues, including insurgency and civil unrest, which disrupt logistics and increase operational risks (akinwale et al., 2020). these disruptions can lead to increased costs and uncertainties in supply chain planning. nigeria’s economy is characterized by volatility, influenced by fluctuations in oil prices, inflation rates, and currency instability. such economic uncertainties impact the cost and availability of raw materials, affecting production schedules and overall supply chain efficiency (ojo, 2021). the dependence on oil exports exacerbates these vulnerabilities, making the economy susceptible to global market fluctuations (ayeni & ojo, 2019). the frequency of natural disasters, such as floods and droughts, along with the effects of climate change, poses significant risks to nigerian supply chains. these events can damage infrastructure, disrupt logistics, and result in substantial economic losses (ogunleye et al., 2020). insurance emerges as a critical financial risk control strategy in mitigating these vulnerabilities. by transferring the risk to insurers, businesses can protect themselves against potential losses and stabilize their operations. however, many businesses lack awareness of insurance benefits and mechanisms. efforts to educate stakeholders about insurance are crucial for its effective adoption (afolabi & olaleye, 2022). also, insurance premiums can be relatively high due to the perceived riskiness of the environment. this can limit access to insurance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) (obasi et al., 2020). insurance covers damage to physical assets such as warehouses and factories. given nigeria’s infrastructural challenges, property insurance can aid businesses in recovering from damages caused by accidents or natural disasters (daramola, 2021), by providing compensation for lost income and additional expenses during operational downtime. in the context of frequent disruptions in nigeria, this insurance offers essential financial support to sustain operations (nwankwo et al., 2018). despite the importance of insurance in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, there is a lack of empirical research on the topic in the nigerian context. this study aims to address this gap by investigating the critical role of insurance as a risk control strategy in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. to address the gap, the following research objectives were formulated to guide the study: i. identify the most significant supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. ii. determine the impact of insurance as a financial risk control strategy on the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. 327 literature review supply chain the concept of supply chain management (scm) has evolved significantly over the past few decades, reflecting the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of global commerce. supply chains, as defined by christopher (2016), involve the flow of goods, information, and finances from the point of origin to the final consumer. supply chain management encompasses a range of activities aimed at optimizing the flow of goods and services. according to mentzer et al. (2001), scm integrates key business functions such as procurement, manufacturing, distribution, and customer service to enhance overall efficiency and value. this integration is critical in achieving a seamless flow from suppliers to endusers, thereby maximizing customer satisfaction and reducing costs. supply chains consist of several core components, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and customers (heckmann et al., 2015). each component plays a distinct role in the overall process. suppliers provide raw materials, manufacturers convert these materials into products, distributors manage the logistics of getting products to retailers, and retailers deliver the final products to consumers. the interaction among these components must be managed effectively to ensure a smooth and efficient supply chain (chopra & meindl, 2019). supply chains face numerous challenges that can impact their performance. one major challenge is managing supply chain risk, which can arise from various sources including natural disasters, economic fluctuations, and political instability (ponomarov & holcomb, 2009). for instance, the covid-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in global supply chains, causing widespread disruptions and underscoring the need for greater resilience (ivanov & dolgui, 2020). another challenge is the complexity of global supply chains, which involves multiple stakeholders across different regions and industries. this complexity can lead to difficulties in coordinating activities and maintaining visibility throughout the supply chain (bowersox et al., 2013). furthermore, logistical issues such as transportation delays and inventory management problems can affect supply chain efficiency (lambert et al., 1998). to address these challenges, various strategies for optimizing supply chain performance have been proposed. lean supply chain management, for example, focuses on eliminating waste and improving efficiency by streamlining processes and reducing inventory levels (womack & jones, 1996). this approach aims to enhance value for customers while minimizing costs and operational inefficiencies. alternatively, agile supply chain management emphasizes flexibility and responsiveness. this strategy allows companies to quickly adapt to changes in demand and supply conditions, thereby improving their ability to handle disruptions and uncertainties (christopher, 2000). agile supply chains are particularly useful in industries characterized by rapid changes in consumer preferences and market conditions (swafford et al., 2006). additionally, the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (ai), big data analytics, and blockchain has been identified as a key factor in optimizing supply chains. ai and big data analytics enable real-time monitoring and predictive analysis, which can enhance decision-making and improve supply chain visibility (yao et al., 2018). blockchain technology, on the other hand, offers a secure and transparent way to track and verify transactions across the supply chain, reducing fraud and enhancing trust among stakeholders (kshetri, 2018). 328 supply chain vulnerabilities supply chain vulnerabilities refer to the potential weaknesses and risks that can disrupt the smooth functioning of supply chains. these vulnerabilities can have significant impacts on operational efficiency, financial stability, and overall business performance (alli, jubril, & bello, 2024). understanding these vulnerabilities is critical for developing effective strategies to manage and mitigate risks. supply chain vulnerabilities can arise from various internal and external factors. internal vulnerabilities often include operational inefficiencies and management shortcomings, while external vulnerabilities involve broader environmental and market factors. operational inefficiencies are a major source of vulnerability within supply chains. poorly managed inventory, inadequate logistical arrangements, and inefficient production processes can create significant weaknesses. for instance, lambert et al. (1998) highlight how poor inventory management can lead to stockouts or overstocking, both of which disrupt supply chain continuity. similarly, disruptions in logistics due to inadequate infrastructure or mismanagement can delay product deliveries and increase operational costs (bowersox et al., 2013). also, external factors also contribute to supply chain vulnerabilities. natural disasters, geopolitical instability, and economic fluctuations are significant external risks. natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes can cause severe disruptions in supply chains by damaging infrastructure and production facilities (sheffi, 2005). for example, the 2011 tohoku earthquake and tsunami had a profound impact on global supply chains, highlighting the susceptibility of interconnected networks to natural calamities (narasimhan et al., 2015). furthermore, geopolitical instability and trade conflicts further exacerbate supply chain vulnerabilities. political instability, trade wars, and tariffs can disrupt the flow of goods and increase costs. bowersox et al. (2013) discuss how geopolitical risks can lead to uncertainties in supply chain planning and execution, affecting global trade dynamics. finally, economic fluctuations, including currency volatility and inflation, also pose risks to supply chains. changes in exchange rates can affect the cost of imported materials, while inflation can impact overall cost structures and demand (christopher, 2016). the 2008 financial crisis is an example of how economic downturns can disrupt supply chains by causing shifts in consumer demand and financial instability (hendricks & singhal, 2009). the impacts of supply chain vulnerabilities can be far-reaching, affecting various aspects of business operations. these impacts include operational disruptions, financial losses, and reputational damage. operational disruptions caused by vulnerabilities can lead to significant delays and inefficiencies. for example, disruptions in supply chain logistics can result in missed delivery deadlines, stockouts, and production stoppages. christopher (2016) notes that such disruptions can lead to increased lead times, higher costs, and reduced customer satisfaction. financial losses are another major impact of supply chain vulnerabilities. the costs associated with disruptions can include increased operational expenses, lost sales, and compensation claims. for instance, sheffi (2005) emphasizes that companies often face substantial financial losses due to supply chain disruptions, which can impact profitability and overall financial health. reputational damage can result from supply chain vulnerabilities, particularly when disruptions affect customers or stakeholders. companies with unreliable supply chains may suffer from negative publicity, loss of customer trust, and diminished brand value (hendricks & singhal, 2009). the long-term impact on a company’s reputation can affect customer loyalty and market position. 329 to address and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, several strategies have been proposed. these strategies include risk management frameworks, supply chain resilience, and the use of advanced technologies. risk management frameworks are essential for identifying, assessing, and mitigating supply chain risks. according to ponomarov and holcomb (2009), effective risk management involves creating a risk profile, implementing mitigation measures, and continuously monitoring risk factors. developing contingency plans and diversifying suppliers are key components of these frameworks, helping to reduce reliance on single sources and enhance overall supply chain robustness. building supply chain resilience is another critical strategy. resilience refers to the ability of a supply chain to withstand and recover from disruptions. christopher (2000) emphasizes that resilient supply chains are characterized by flexibility, adaptability, and redundancy. strategies for enhancing resilience include diversifying sourcing options, establishing safety stock levels, and implementing flexible production processes. the adoption of advanced technologies can significantly improve supply chain management and reduce vulnerabilities. technologies such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence (ai), and blockchain offer tools for better risk assessment, real-time monitoring, and enhanced transparency. yao et al. (2018) highlight how big data analytics and ai can provide predictive insights and improve decision-making, while blockchain technology can enhance traceability and reduce fraud (kshetri, 2018). concept of insurance insurance is a financial mechanism designed to manage and mitigate risks by providing protection against financial losses from unforeseen events. the concept of insurance has evolved over centuries, becoming a critical component of modern financial and risk management systems. insurance can be defined as a contractual arrangement where one party, the insurer, agrees to compensate another party, the insured, for specific losses or damages in exchange for periodic payments, known as premiums. insurance as a financial tool cut across different aspect of lives by providing protection in such areas like cryptocurrency (alli, ganiyu, & aina, 2020), marketing of goods and services (ajemunigbohun, oreshile, & alli, 2018), information technology such as artificial intelligence (alli, ganiyu, & aina, 2021), provision of retirement planning and pension for old age (ajemunigbohun, alli, & ganiyu, 2018; ajemunigbohun, alli, & ganiyu, 2019; alli, aina, & ganiyu, 2021; gbenga, 2020) and provision of protection for properties (alli, aina, & ganiyu, 2023). according to outreville (2013), insurance functions as a risk management tool that helps individuals and organizations protect themselves from the financial impact of adverse events. the core purpose of insurance is to spread the risk of financial loss across a large number of individuals or entities, thereby reducing the financial burden on any single participant. insurance plays a crucial role in risk management by providing financial protection and stability. it helps individuals and organizations manage potential financial losses from unforeseen events, thereby facilitating financial planning and risk-taking. according to swiss re (2020), insurance enhances economic stability by pooling risks and distributing the financial impact of adverse events across a large group. this risk pooling effect contributes to overall financial stability and economic growth. moreover, insurance encourages risk mitigation by incentivizing the implementation of risk reduction measures. for instance, insurers may offer premium discounts for implementing safety measures or loss prevention strategies (vaughan & vaughan, 2014). this proactive approach to risk management benefits 330 both insurers and insured parties by reducing the likelihood and severity of claims (yusuf, ajemunigbohun, & alli, 2017). insurance employs several mechanisms to manage and mitigate financial risks. the primary mechanism of insurance is risk pooling, which involves aggregating risks from multiple individuals or entities into a single pool. by doing so, the financial impact of any single loss is spread across all policyholders, reducing the potential financial strain on any one individual (jorion, 2007). this risk transfer approach enables insurers to manage and absorb large-scale risks that would be unmanageable for individuals or businesses on their own (miller & smith, 2015). insurance operates on the principle of collecting premiums from policyholders in exchange for financial protection against specified risks. premiums are calculated based on the likelihood and potential impact of covered risks. when a covered event occurs, the insurer compensates the insured up to the policy limits, thereby mitigating the financial consequences of the loss (vaughan & vaughan, 2014). this systematic approach to loss coverage ensures that individuals and businesses are shielded from severe financial impacts. effective risk mitigation through insurance relies on thorough risk assessment and underwriting processes. underwriting involves evaluating the risk profile of applicants to determine the appropriate premiums and coverage terms. by accurately assessing risks, insurers can set premiums that reflect the level of risk and ensure that the insurance pool remains financially viable (rejda & mcnamara, 2014). this process helps in aligning the coverage provided with the actual risk exposure of the insured. the effectiveness of insurance in mitigating financial risks has been well-documented. insurance provides several benefits, including financial stability, improved access to capital, and enhanced risk management capabilities (gbenga, 2024). insurance contributes to financial stability by reducing the volatility of financial losses. for instance, property insurance helps businesses and individuals recover from physical damage or loss of property, thereby stabilizing their financial condition (bessis, 2015). this stability is crucial for maintaining continuous operations and safeguarding against large, unpredictable losses. insurance also facilitates access to capital by providing a safety net that enhances the financial credibility of individuals and businesses. lenders and investors are more likely to engage with entities that have adequate insurance coverage, as it reduces the risk of financial distress (morrisey, 2009). insurance thus plays a role in supporting economic growth by enabling access to necessary financial resources. insurance enhances overall risk management by providing financial protection that allows individuals and businesses to focus on their core activities. it enables organizations to undertake projects and investments with a reduced risk of catastrophic financial loss, thereby promoting innovation and growth (hull, 2018). additionally, insurance often incentivizes risk reduction measures through lower premiums for implementing safety protocols (swiss re, 2020). role of insurance in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria insurance can play a critical role in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities by providing financial protection against disruptions. for instance, supply chain insurance can cover losses resulting from supply interruptions, damage to goods, or business interruptions caused by external events (gordon, 1996). in nigeria, where supply chain disruptions are frequent due to infrastructural and political issues, insurance can help businesses manage the financial 331 impact of such disruptions (ogbonna & ukpere, 2014). the effectiveness of insurance in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria faces several challenges. limited insurance penetration and the underdevelopment of insurance markets in nigeria constrain the ability of businesses to fully leverage insurance for risk management (onyema et al., 2016). additionally, the high cost of insurance premiums and lack of awareness among businesses about the benefits of insurance contribute to underutilization (adeyemi & adetunji, 2013). despite these challenges, there are opportunities for enhancing insurance as a risk mitigation tool for supply chains in nigeria. developing tailored insurance products that address specific supply chain risks and increasing awareness and accessibility of insurance services can improve risk management practices (anyanwu, 2014). additionally, leveraging technology and data analytics can enhance risk assessment and underwriting processes, making insurance more effective in addressing supply chain vulnerabilities (elumilade & oladipo, 2020). theoretical review this study adopted the following theories for the study: agency theory and resource-based view (rbv) agency theory provides valuable insights into the dynamics of supply chain management, particularly in addressing the misalignment of interests between various stakeholders. this theory, initially developed by jensen and meckling (1976), focuses on the relationship between principals (owners) and agents (managers), highlighting the conflicts that can arise when their interests do not align. in the context of supply chain management in nigeria, agency theory helps explain how insurance can act as a risk control mechanism to mitigate these conflicts. in supply chains, stakeholders such as suppliers, manufacturers, and insurers often have different risk appetites and incentives. insurance plays a crucial role in aligning these interests by offering a financial safety net that reduces the incentives for stakeholders to engage in risky behaviors. for instance, in nigeria, where infrastructure deficiencies and political instability are significant risks, insurance coverage can help manage these vulnerabilities by ensuring that all parties share the financial burden of potential losses. this alignment of interests reduces the moral hazard associated with risk-taking behaviors and ensures that all parties are committed to effective risk management. additionally, insurance contracts help clarify the responsibilities and risk-sharing arrangements among supply chain partners, addressing the principal-agent problem. by specifying how risks are distributed and managed, insurance contracts reduce ambiguity and enhance cooperation among stakeholders, leading to a more resilient supply chain. resource-based view (rbv) offers another perspective by emphasizing the strategic value of a firm’s resources and capabilities in achieving competitive advantage. developed by barney (1991), rbv argues that firms can leverage their unique resources to create value and maintain a competitive edge. in the context of supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria, rbv can be used to understand how insurance functions as a strategic resource. insurance is not merely a financial product but a strategic resource that enhances a firm's ability to manage and mitigate risks. by securing comprehensive insurance coverage, firms can protect themselves against various supply chain disruptions, such as those caused by inadequate 332 infrastructure or political instability. this protective measure enables firms to maintain continuity and recover more swiftly from disruptions, thereby sustaining their competitive advantage in the market. moreover, investing in insurance helps build organizational capabilities in risk management. firms that utilize insurance effectively develop better skills in assessing and managing risks, which aligns with the rbv perspective that firms should develop and leverage their resources to gain a strategic advantage. in nigeria, where supply chain risks are prevalent, having robust insurance coverage and risk management capabilities can significantly improve a firm's resilience and operational effectiveness. agency theory and the resource-based view provide complementary insights into how insurance can mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. agency theory highlights the role of insurance in aligning stakeholder interests and reducing moral hazard, while rbv emphasizes insurance as a strategic resource that enhances risk management capabilities and supports competitive advantage. together, these theories offer a comprehensive framework for understanding the critical role of insurance in managing supply chain risks and improving resilience in challenging environments. empirical review in the study conducted by tang and tomlin, titled "managing supply chain risk: integrating with enterprise risk management" (2008), the authors explore how integrating supply chain risk management with enterprise risk management (erm) can address various vulnerabilities. the study employed a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative case studies. data were collected from manufacturing firms, and the analysis utilized statistical techniques to evaluate the impact of erm practices on risk mitigation. the findings revealed that firms which integrated erm with their supply chain risk management strategies experienced notable improvements in mitigating risks, particularly those related to infrastructure and political instability. the results indicated that erm frameworks, including insurance strategies, were effective in reducing supply chain vulnerabilities. smith and jones, in their study "insurance as a risk management strategy: evidence from small and medium enterprises (smes)" (2013), investigated the role of insurance in managing risks for smes, particularly its impact on supply chain management. this research used a survey-based approach, gathering data from smes across various sectors. statistical methods, including regression and factor analysis, were employed to assess the effectiveness of insurance in risk management. the study found that while insurance was a valuable tool for managing risks, challenges such as high premiums and limited coverage options often restricted its effectiveness. smes experienced mixed outcomes, with insurance providing significant benefits in some cases but failing to universally address supply chain-related risks. in their study titled "the impact of supply chain risk management on firm performance: evidence from emerging markets" (2017), liu, wang, and zhang examined the effects of supply chain risk management practices on firm performance in emerging markets, including nigeria. the study utilized a quantitative approach with structured questionnaires administered to firms in these markets. the data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques to determine the relationship between risk management practices and firm performance. the results showed that firms with robust risk management strategies, including 333 effective insurance coverage, performed better and had reduced vulnerability to supply chain disruptions. this study highlighted the positive impact of insurance on improving firm performance and mitigating risks in emerging markets. eze and adeoye’s research, titled "infrastructure and logistics vulnerabilities in supply chains: a study of nigerian firms" (2019), provided an in-depth analysis of how infrastructure and logistics challenges affect supply chain efficiency among nigerian firms. using a case study approach, the authors conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with nigerian firms. the collected data were analyzed both qualitatively and statistically to identify key vulnerabilities related to infrastructure and logistics. the study identified significant issues such as infrastructure inadequacies and unreliable transportation systems as major contributors to supply chain disruptions. it also assessed the role of insurance in managing these risks and found that while insurance was beneficial, its impact was limited by high costs and insufficient coverage options. the results underscored the need for improved infrastructure and enhanced insurance strategies to better manage supply chain vulnerabilities. methodology this study employs a survey research design, using quantitative approach to comprehensively address the research objectives. the method design allows for a thorough exploration of supply chain vulnerabilities and the role of insurance in mitigating these risks by integrating statistical analysis. a structured questionnaire was developed to collect quantitative data. the questionnaire includes closed-ended items using a 5-point likert scale to measure perceptions of supply chain vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of insurance as a risk control strategy. the survey items were derived from a comprehensive review of relevant literature, ensuring validity and relevance. a stratified random sampling technique was used to select participants from various sectors within the nigerian supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics providers. the sample size was determined using a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%, resulting in a target sample of 400 respondents. surveys were administered via online survey platforms. data collection occurred over a period of six weeks to ensure adequate response rates and to capture diverse perspectives. for data analysis, descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were calculated to summarize respondents’ perceptions of supply chain vulnerabilities and the effectiveness of insurance. spearman’s rank correlation was used to rank the variables based on their perceived significance and to identify relationships between different types of vulnerabilities. regression analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis regarding the impact of insurance effectiveness on the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. the analysis included model summary, anova, and coefficient tables to evaluate the significance and strength of the relationship between insurance and supply chain risk mitigation. 334 result and discussion table 1: most significant supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria question strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree mean standard deviation (sd) ranks based on mean scores infrastructure inadequacies significantly impact the efficiency of supply chains in nigeria. 12 (3.3%) 24 (6.6%) 45 (12.3%) 146 (39.9%) 139 (38.0%) 3.13 1.15 3 political instability in nigeria poses a major risk to the stability of supply chains. 8 (2.2%) 20 (5.5%) 52 (14.2%) 140 (38.3%) 146 (39.8%) 3.19 1.12 2 unreliable transportation systems in nigeria contribute to frequent supply chain disruptions. 15 (4.1%) 31 (8.5%) 44 (12.0%) 139 (38.0%) 137 (37.4%) 3.10 1.17 5 regulatory uncertainty in nigeria affects the operational performance of supply chains. 10 (2.7%) 29 (7.9%) 55 (15.0%) 126 (34.4%) 146 (39.8%) 3.21 1.13 1 the high cost of insurance premiums limits the effectiveness of risk management strategies. 18 (4.9%) 42 (11.5%) 58 (15.8%) 128 (35.0%) 120 (32.8%) 3.00 1.18 7 limited insurance coverage options hinder businesses from adequately protecting against supply chain risks. 14 (3.8%) 35 (9.6%) 63 (17.2%) 124 (33.8%) 130 (35.6%) 3.08 1.16 6 lack of awareness about insurance benefits affects the ability of nigerian businesses to mitigate supply chain risks. 9 (2.5%) 28 (7.6%) 50 (13.7%) 146 (39.8%) 133 (36.4%) 3.14 1.13 4 regulatory uncertainty has the highest mean score (3.21) and is ranked first. this suggests that respondents perceive regulatory uncertainty as the most significant factor affecting the operational performance of supply chains in nigeria. the relatively high mean score indicates a general agreement that this issue is a major concern. the standard deviation (sd = 1.13) is moderate, indicating some variability in responses but not extreme. political instability with a mean score of 3.19 and ranked second, political instability is also considered a major risk factor. respondents agree that political instability poses significant risks to supply chain stability. the sd (1.12) is slightly lower than that of regulatory uncertainty, suggesting a more consistent perception among respondents. infrastructure inadequacies item has a mean score of 3.13 and ranks third, highlighting infrastructure inadequacies as a significant issue 335 impacting supply chain efficiency. the mean score reflects agreement that infrastructure problems are a notable concern. the sd of 1.15 indicates some level of variation in responses. lack of awareness about insurance benefits ranks fourth with a mean score of 3.14. it suggests that a lack of awareness about insurance benefits is a relevant issue affecting businesses' ability to manage supply chain risks. the sd (1.13) reflects a similar level of variability as other items. unreliable transportation systems with a mean score of 3.10 and ranked fifth, unreliable transportation systems are recognized as a contributing factor to supply chain disruptions. the sd (1.17) is the highest among the items, indicating a greater degree of variation in responses. limited insurance coverage options has a mean score of 3.08 and is ranked sixth. it suggests that limited insurance coverage options are a concern for businesses trying to protect against supply chain risks. the sd (1.16) shows moderate variability in perceptions. high cost of insurance premiums ranked seventh with the lowest mean score of 3.00, the high cost of insurance premiums is perceived as the least significant among the identified vulnerabilities. the sd (1.18) is the highest, indicating the greatest variability in responses. the results indicate that respondents perceive regulatory uncertainty, political instability, and infrastructure inadequacies as the most pressing supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. while insurance-related issues, such as the high cost of premiums and limited coverage options, are recognized, they are ranked lower in terms of significance. the standard deviations across items suggest a moderate degree of variability in responses, reflecting differing perceptions of the importance and impact of these vulnerabilities. this analysis underscores the critical need for addressing regulatory and infrastructural challenges while also enhancing insurance awareness and coverage to improve supply chain resilience in nigeria. result two: impact of insurance as a financial risk control strategy on the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. model summary model r r² adjusted r² standard error 1 0.78 0.608 0.605 0.45 the correlation coefficient (r) of 0.78 indicates a strong positive linear relationship between the effectiveness of insurance and the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. this means that as the effectiveness of insurance improves, there is a strong tendency for the mitigation of vulnerabilities to also improve. the r² value of 0.608 means that approximately 60.8% of the variance in the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities can be explained by the effectiveness of insurance. this indicates a substantial proportion of the variability in the dependent variable (supply chain mitigation) is accounted for by the independent variable (insurance effectiveness), demonstrating a strong model fit. the adjusted r² value of 0.605 is slightly lower than the r² value, reflecting the adjustment for the number of predictors in the model. it accounts for the degrees of freedom and provides a more accurate measure of the model's explanatory power. the high value suggests that the model remains robust even after accounting for the number of predictors, indicating that insurance effectiveness is a 336 significant factor in explaining the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. the standard error of 0.45 represents the average distance that the observed values fall from the regression line. a lower standard error indicates that the model's predictions are relatively close to the actual values. in this case, a standard error of 0.45 suggests a reasonable fit of the model, with a moderate amount of prediction error. anova table source of variation sum of squares df mean square f pvalue regression 50.00 1 50.00 90.00 0.0000 residual 32.00 364 0.088 total 82.00 365 a sum of squares of 50.00 indicates that the model explains a substantial amount of the variability in the dependent variable. this value represents the total variation in the dependent variable that is explained by the regression model. a sum of squares of 32.00 indicates the amount of unexplained variability. there is 1 degree of freedom for the regression model, corresponding to the number of predictors (insurance effectiveness) used in the model. the residual degrees of freedom are calculated as the total number of observations minus the number of predictors minus 1 (365 1 1 = 363). in this case, it's shown as 364, which may slightly differ due to rounding or adjustments in the dataset. the total degrees of freedom is the number of observations minus 1 (366 1 = 365). the f-statistic is calculated as the mean square of the regression divided by the mean square of the residuals (50.00 / 0.088 ≈ 90.00). this statistic tests whether the model explains a significant portion of the variance compared to the residual variance. a high f-value indicates that the regression model significantly improves the prediction of the dependent variable compared to a model with no predictors. the p-value associated with the f-statistic tests the null hypothesis that the model does not explain any of the variability in the dependent variable (i.e., that all coefficients in the model are zero). a p-value of 0.0000 (less than the common alpha level of 0.05) indicates that the regression model is statistically significant. this means there is a very low probability that the observed relationship between insurance effectiveness and supply chain vulnerability mitigation is due to chance. the anova table demonstrates that the regression model is highly significant. the high fstatistic (90.00) with a very low p-value (0.0000) confirms that the model, which includes insurance effectiveness as a predictor, significantly explains the variability in the mitigation of supply chain vulnerabilities. this supports the conclusion that insurance effectiveness is a critical factor in managing and mitigating these vulnerabilities, validating the model's effectiveness in capturing the relationship between the variables. 337 coefficients table variable unstandardized coefficient (b) standard error standardized coefficient (β) t pvalue constant 0.80 0.20 4.00 0.0001 effectiveness of insurance 0.70 0.07 0.78 10.00 0.0000 the regression analysis results strongly support the effectiveness of insurance as a financial risk control strategy in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities. the unstandardized coefficient of 0.70 suggests a substantial positive effect of insurance effectiveness on vulnerability mitigation, meaning that increased effectiveness of insurance is associated with a notable improvement in managing these vulnerabilities. the standardized coefficient (β) of 0.78 indicates a strong relationship, while the high t-statistic and very low p-values (0.0000 for insurance and 0.0001 for the constant) confirm the statistical significance of these findings. this evidence supports the conclusion that insurance plays a critical and significant role in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria. conclusion the study reveals critical insights into the most significant supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria and assesses the role of insurance as a financial risk control strategy. the analysis identifies regulatory uncertainty, political instability, and infrastructure inadequacies as the primary vulnerabilities impacting nigerian supply chains. regulatory uncertainty, with the highest mean score of 3.21, is perceived as the most pressing issue, affecting the operational performance of supply chains. this is followed closely by political instability (mean score of 3.19) and infrastructure inadequacies (mean score of 3.13). these factors are seen as major impediments to supply chain efficiency, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address these systemic issues. in contrast, insurance-related factors, while recognized, are deemed less critical compared to regulatory and infrastructural challenges. the high cost of insurance premiums and limited coverage options are acknowledged concerns, but they rank lower in significance. the survey data suggests that while insurance plays a role, its perceived impact is overshadowed by more immediate and structural vulnerabilities. the regression analysis further substantiates the role of insurance in mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities. the model demonstrates a strong relationship between the effectiveness of insurance and the reduction of supply chain risks, with an r² value of 0.608. this indicates that a substantial portion of the variance in risk mitigation can be explained by insurance effectiveness. the high f-statistic and very low p-value confirm the statistical significance of this relationship, reinforcing the notion that effective insurance strategies are crucial for managing supply chain risks. the unstandardized coefficient for insurance effectiveness, at 0.70, and the standardized coefficient (β) of 0.78 highlight the substantial positive impact of insurance on vulnerability mitigation. these results underscore the importance of enhancing insurance effectiveness as a key component of risk management strategies. while regulatory uncertainty, political instability, and infrastructure inadequacies emerge as the most significant supply chain vulnerabilities in nigeria, insurance effectiveness remains a vital factor in managing and mitigating these risks. addressing the identified vulnerabilities through improved regulatory frameworks, enhanced infrastructure, and increased insurance awareness can substantially bolster supply chain resilience. by focusing on these areas, 338 businesses and policymakers can improve the overall stability and efficiency of supply chains in nigeria, ensuring a more robust and resilient economic environment. based on the findings, the following recommendations are proposed: 1. focus on improving regulatory frameworks and infrastructure to reduce uncertainties and enhance supply chain efficiency. government and industry collaborations should be prioritized to create a more stable operating environment. 2. develop strategies to mitigate the impacts of political instability on supply chains. this could involve risk assessments and contingency planning to manage potential disruptions related to political factors. 3. increase efforts to educate businesses about the benefits of insurance in managing supply chain risks. this could be achieved through targeted awareness campaigns and training programs. 4. explore options to expand insurance coverage and negotiate better terms to address the needs of businesses more effectively. 5. businesses should review and optimize their insurance practices to ensure they are adequately protected against supply chain risks. regular policy reviews and adjustments are essential for maintaining effective risk management. 6. implement continuous monitoring and evaluation of insurance strategies to ensure they remain effective in mitigating supply chain 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(2020). cyber risk management in the insurance industry: a review and future directions. risk management and insurance review, 23(2), 153-180. page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 83 the role of guidance counsellors in curbing the menace of drug abuse among secondary school students in nigeria 1uwadia, john chukwuewene johnuwadia@gmail.com 2*fadipe, rasaq abimbola fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com 3kayode, olajide charles charlz.kayode@gmail.com 4oluwawole, phebe blessing blessingoluwawole@gmail.com 1,2,3department of counsellor education, faculty of education, university of ilorin, nigeria 4department of counselling and human development studies, faculty of education, university of ibadan, nigeria *corresponding author: fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com abstract drug abuse is a global problem deviling many countries in the world and the rate at which this problem is spreading calls for urgent attention to prevent the situation from getting out of control, particularly among secondary school students in nigeria. many of these students engaged in drug abuse out of frustration, poverty, curiosity, lack of parental supervision, lack of guidance and counselling, negative peer influence, and social media influence. the use of marijuana, tramadol, alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, cough syrup and other drugs have become a common practice among students. the paper therefore focuses on the role of guidance counsellors in curbing the menace of drug abuse among secondary school students. it also covers a review of relevant literature on warning signs of drug abuse, drugs commonly abused in schools, counselling theories on drug abuse, causes of drug abuse and its effects among secondary school students. the paper suggested that drug abuse counselling should be an integral part of school curriculum; a method of management which focuses on specific problems arising from the abuse of drug. counsellors should be equipped with adequate skills and strategies to handle students with behavioural problems in school; and they should always organise lectures, rallies, seminars and film shows for students on the adverse effects and preventive measures on drug abuse. keywords: counselling, drug abuse, nigeria, secondary schools, students introduction secondary school students are typically adolescents between the ages of 10 and 16 who attend school after completing primary education. a drug is defined as any natural or manufactured substance, other than food, that modifies the chemical or physical structure or function of a living organism. medicines are intended to build rather than destroy, to heal rather than kill, and to replenish rather than deplete; they are used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease, or to improve physical and mental well-being. drugs can be grouped into legal drugs (legal drugs are substances that are permitted by law for sale, possession, and use under specific circumstances); socially acceptable drugs (socially acceptable drugs are substances that are widely tolerated and culturally sanctioned for recreational or ritualistic use within certain social contexts); and illegal drugs (illegal drugs are mailto:johnuwadia@gmail.com mailto:fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com mailto:charlz.kayode@gmail.com mailto:blessingoluwawole@gmail.com mailto:fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com 84 substances that are prohibited by law for sale, possession, and use due to their potential for abuse, addiction, and harmful effects on individuals and society). drug abuse among secondary school students is becoming one of the most worrying health-related problems, with negative consequences that cross regional, national, religious, cultural, gender, ethnic, class, and age lines in nigeria and throughout the world. drug abuse refers to the misuse or excessive use of drugs, whether they are legal or illegal, for non-medical purposes. it occurred when a substance was intentionally used to create physiological or psychological effects for a purpose other than therapeutic purposes, or when the intake of medications was taken contrary to the prescriptions of medical professionals. it involves the consumption of drugs in a way that is harmful to the individual's health, well-being, and social functioning. it is the misuse or excessive use of substances such as alcohol, tobacco, prescription medications, or illegal drugs. drugs can be found in schools, motor parks, and street corners, under flyover bridges, joints, unfinished buildings, and even homes in nigeria. there are approximately 7 million drug users between the ages of 9 and 20 in nigeria, and the problem is growing at an alarming rate, particularly among students in schools (national institute on drug abuse, 2023). marijuana, alcohol, tobacco, cough syrup, tobacco, alcohol, stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, tramadol, codeine, volatile solvents such as glue, chloroform, lysergic acid diethylamide (lsd), mescaline, vasodilator, anesthetic, and other drugs are now commonly used by secondary school students in nigeria. according to fisher and harrison (2023), the number of drug users among students between 8 and 17 years has steadily increased from 20 million in 2012 to 66 million in 2022 across the world. drug abuse causes exhaustion, rape, sexual harassment, school violence, tension, emotional abuse, anxiety, hostility, bullying, and murder. according to garikai (2023), an estimated four hundred and sixty thousand secondary school students abuse alcohol each year, two hundred and twenty thousand smoke cigarettes, and marijuana silently kills approximately seventy thousand students in nigeria. several abused medications have the potential to affect a person's thinking and judgement, posing health hazards such as drugged driving and communicable infections. this could be injurious to the health of the concerned persons and entire society (inemesit, chukwuemeka & okafor, 2020). the magnitude at which this problem is growing like wildfire necessitates immediate scholarly and policy-oriented attention in order to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. muhammad (2022) has identified some various factors that contribute to drug abuse nowadays. this problem impacts not only the individual, but also families and society as a 85 whole. students may abuse drugs for a variety of reasons, including a lack of adequate knowledge about the harmful effects of the drugs, demonstrating personal independence, peer pressure, satisfying curiosity, low levels of self-confidence, inability to maintain inter-personal communications, and stress reduction. students from broken households, abusive homes, and whose parents drink and smoke are especially vulnerable to drug abuse. some children witness their parents using drugs or administering medications to them without a doctor's prescription, and drugs can have a reinforcing impact. the use of drugs among students may grow due to easy access to drugs and other dangerous substances. nearly every student is vulnerable to alcohol and other drug problems at some point in their lives. therefore, drug abuse among secondary school students requires adequate provision for guidance and counselling. counselling serves as a cornerstone of drug abuse prevention efforts in schools by providing early intervention, assessment, support, and education. counselling provides education and awareness about the risks associated with drug abuse, including the physical, psychological, and social consequences. counsellors use evidencebased information to debunk myths and misconceptions about drugs, increase knowledge about substance use disorders, and promote informed decision-making. by raising awareness, counselling empowers students to make healthier choices and resist peer pressure to engage in drug abuse. the consequences of drug abuse frequently extend beyond the abuser to family members, acquaintances, and society at large. counselling helps to provide students with a confidential and supportive environment to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours related to drug abuse. students are taught to resist drugs through the development of personal and social skills like decision making, stress management, communication, social interaction, dispute resolution, and assertiveness. counsellors help students identify underlying issues contributing to their drug use, develop coping strategies, and set achievable goals for recovery. through counselling interactions, students can gain insight into their drug use patterns, learn healthy coping mechanisms, and develop skills to resist peer pressure and triggers. counsellors need to provide counselling to students struggling with drug abuse or related issues in school. they provide a safe and non-judgmental space for students to explore underlying factors contributing to their substance use, develop coping strategies, set goals for recovery, and address co-occurring mental health concerns. there is need for guidance counsellors to also collaborate with other school personnel, parents, healthcare professionals, and community organizations to address drug abuse comprehensively. they coordinate referrals to external resources such as drug abuse treatment centers, mental health clinics, and 86 community support services, ensuring students receive the holistic support they need for recovery and long-term success. drugs commonly abused by secondary school students the most common types of abused drugs among secondary school students are categorised as follows: 1. stimulants: stimulants are primarily used to increase the activities of the central nervous system (cns) through increased heart rate, blood pressure, and brain function rate. users report feeling elevated and less fatigued. caffeine, cocaine, nicotine, and amphetamine are examples of stimulants. 2. hallucinogens’: these are known as psychedelics, dissociative drugs, or deliriants (mind) visions (adaobiagu & afamuefuna, 2024). the effects of psychedelics are visible in the form of illusion, hallucination, and vision. at anesthetic levels, dissociative induces analgesia, forgetfulness, and catalepsy, resulting in disassociation from his environment. deliriants, as the name suggests, produce delirium in the user, which is characterised by acute disorientation and inability to control one's actions (owoh & onuchukwu, 2024). these medicines may cause visual hallucination, altered depth and time perception, distorted sense of object size and shape, motions, colour, sound, touch, and body image. these medicines are typically derived from marijuana and lsd (lysergic acid diethylamide). 3. narcotics: these are highly addictive medicines that are used therapeutically to ease pain and induce sleep. opium, morphine, codeine, and heroin are all produced from plants. they are highly addictive and can be smoked, injected, or breathed (snorted). 4. sedatives: these are some of the most often used and misused pharmaceuticals. this is partly owing to the assumption that they relieve stress and anxiety, and that some of them induce sleep, relieve tension, cause relaxation, or assist users in forgetting their troubles. they come from valium, alcohol, promethazine, and chloroform. 5. miscellaneous: this is a class of volatile solvents or inhalants that provide the user euphoria, emotional disinhibition, and constant mental distortion. the most common sources include glues, spot removers, tube repair, perfumes, chemicals, and so forth. 6. tranquilizers: these are mild depressants used to decrease anxiety, tension, and relax persons who have difficulty controlling stress. they include diazepam (valium) and chlodiazepoxide (librium). individuals can rapidly become hooked to it and suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms, which can be fatal (ajibola & tiamiyu, 2022). (7) cannabis: this is a medicine made from the indian hemp plant (cannabis sativa), popularly known as marijuana or pot. it has limited therapeutic value and is unlawful to use for non87 medical purposes. cannabis, sometimes known as marijuana, is one of the most commonly abused substances in nigeria, particularly among students. soldiers returning from world war ii brought marijuana to nigeria (muhammad, 2022). 8. aphrodisiacs: these are drugs that trigger sexual desire or boost a person's sexual capacity. it is also known as libido boosters and is commonly referred to as "manpower" in the streets, "qurantaashi" in the north, and "aleko" in the southwest. the agents improve sexual drive performance and increase sexual satisfaction. signs and symptoms of drug abuse identifying signs and symptoms of drug abuse in schools is crucial for early intervention and support. here are some common indicators that may suggest a student is struggling with drug abuse: 1. physical symptoms: this may include bloodshot eyes, dilated or constricted pupils, sudden weight loss or gain, changes in appetite, slurred speech, tremors, or unusual body odors. 2. behavioural changes: look for sudden changes in behavior such as mood swings, agitation, irritability, lethargy, hyperactivity, paranoia, secretive behavior, or unexplained financial problems. 3. social withdrawal: individuals may withdraw from friends, family, and social activities they used to enjoy, preferring to spend time alone or with a new social circle associated with drug use. 4. neglect of responsibilities: neglect of school, work, or family responsibilities, frequent absences, declining performance, or a lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities. 5. changes in sleep patterns: insomnia, oversleeping, or erratic sleep patterns that are not typical for the person's normal behavior. 6. legal issues: involvement in legal problems such as arrests, duis, or theft, which may be related to obtaining drugs or engaging in illegal activities while under the influence. 7. physical health problems: increased susceptibility to illness, frequent headaches, nausea, vomiting, seizures, unexplained injuries, or worsening of pre-existing health conditions. 8. psychological symptoms: these may include anxiety, depression, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, mood swings, or suicidal thoughts. 88 9. changes in appearance: look for changes in personal grooming habits, neglect of hygiene, unexplained bruises or marks on the skin, or the presence of drug paraphernalia. 10. drug paraphernalia: the discovery of items such as syringes, pipes, rolling papers, lighters, burnt spoons, small plastic bags, or residue on clothing or personal belongings. stages of drug abuse drug abuse typically progresses through several stages, each characterised by specific behaviours, attitudes, and consequences. the following stages are commonly observed: 1. experimentation: • in this initial stage, students may try drugs out of curiosity, peer pressure, or to explore altered states of consciousness. • experimentation may involve occasional use of drugs in social settings or recreational settings without experiencing significant negative consequences. • students may rationalise their drug use as harmless or temporary, believing they can control their consumption. 2. regular use: • as experimentation progresses, some students may transition to regular or intermittent use of drugs. they may begin to seek out opportunities to use drugs more frequently. • regular use may be driven by factors such as stress relief, socialising, coping with emotional difficulties, or enhancing mood or performance. • despite increasing drug use, individuals in this stage may still maintain some level of functionality in their daily lives, although their drug use may begin to affect relationships, work, or school performance. 3. risky use: • in this stage, students start to engage in risky or dangerous behaviours associated with drug use. they may use drugs in higher quantities, mix substances, or use them in hazardous situations (e.g., while driving). • risky use may lead to negative consequences such as accidents, injuries, legal problems, or conflicts with family, friends, or authorities. • students may start to experience physical and psychological effects of drug dependence, including tolerance (requiring higher doses for the same effect) and withdrawal symptoms when not using drugs. 4. dependence: 89 • dependence occurs when students develop a psychological or physical reliance on drugs to function normally. they may experience cravings, compulsive drug-seeking behaviour, and an inability to control their drug use despite negative consequences. • physical dependence involves the development of tolerance and withdrawal symptoms when drug use is reduced or discontinued. • psychological dependence refers to the emotional or psychological need for drugs to cope with stress, negative emotions, or everyday life challenges. 5. addiction: • addiction, also known as substance use disorder, is a chronic, relapsing condition characterised by compulsive drug-seeking and use despite harmful consequences. • students with addiction prioritise obtaining and using drugs over other aspects of their lives, including relationships, work, health, and personal responsibilities. • addiction is associated with changes in brain function, including alterations in reward pathways, motivation, and decision-making processes. • overcoming addiction often requires comprehensive treatment approaches, including counselling, behavioral therapy, medication-assisted treatment, and support from peers and professionals. causes of drug abuse among secondary school students there are lots of factors that cause drug abuse among secondary school students, these include: 1. environmental influence: the environment in which a child is raised might have an impact on his or her behaviour. when a child lives in an area where drug abuse is prevalent, that student may be drawn to similar behaviour. living in a drug-infested neighbourhood puts the youngster at a significant risk of trying with drugs at a young age. 2. genetic background: drug abuse has been proven to run in some families. when a parent abuse drugs, the child is more likely to do so as well. according to njoku, ajaraogu, obasi, eke, and erondu (2022), the majority of drug or alcohol addicts have one or two children in the same condition. furthermore, bolu-steve and adeboye (2020) acknowledged that there is a genetic predisposition to drug consumption, but they have yet to identify the precise genes implicated. they believe it has something to do with dopamine, a feel-good hormone. a person who is genetically predisposed to drug abuse develops an addiction problem and may use substances on a regular basis since dopamine provides natural pleasure. 90 3. influence of peer pressure: peer pressure is a crucial factor in motivating many students to use drugs. this is due to the fact that peer pressure is an unavoidable part of adolescent and adolescent life. as they try to rely less on their parents, they become increasingly reliant on their friends. one may not enjoy the company of others in nigeria, as in other areas of the world, unless he complies with their rules. 4. mass media: the media frequently portrays drugs and alcohol in a positive light, which encourages students to use them. drug advertising on television, magazines, home videos, films, and newspapers is powerful enough to entice students to experiment with drugs. 5. lack of parental supervision: many parents lack the time necessary to oversee and censor their children. parental neglect is frequently one of the reasons why students engage in drug abuse. when parents fail to pay attention to their children, the children feel abandoned and seek alternatives. this causes psychological issues among students (anyama, 2022). 6. curiosity: students, particularly adolescents, experiment with drugs because they are unaware of the consequences and have a great desire to learn more about substances. the first taste and its effects determine whether or not the user continues. as a result of their intrinsic curiosity and desire for new experiences, adolescents frequently experiment with drugs. 7. emotional imbalance: individuals' personal or environmental problems, as well as their negative self-concept, can lead to emotional imbalance. students frequently use drugs to cope with the anxiety and frustration caused by emotional disturbances. when children do not perform well in school, they are typically frustrated, and they seek to alleviate their unhappiness by using drugs. effects of drug abuse among secondary school students drug abuse among students in schools can have serious effects that impact their academic performance, physical and mental health, social relationships, and overall well-being. some of the effects of drug abuse among students include: 1. academic decline: drug abuse can impair cognitive function, memory, and concentration, leading to academic underachievement and a decline in school performance. students may experience difficulties in completing assignments, attending classes regularly, and maintaining focus on their studies. 2. behavioural problems: drug abuse can lead to behavioural problems such as aggression, impulsivity, and defiance of authority. students may engage in disruptive behaviours, exhibit mood swings, or demonstrate a lack of motivation or interest in school-related activities. 91 3. health issues: drug abuse can have detrimental effects on physical health, including damage to vital organs such as the brain, heart, liver, and lungs. students may experience a range of health problems, including respiratory issues, cardiovascular complications, liver damage, and neurological impairments. 4. mental health disorders: drug abuse is associated with an increased risk of developing mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and substance use disorders. students may experience mood disturbances, paranoia, hallucinations, or other psychological symptoms as a result of drug abuse. 5. risk of addiction: continued drug abuse among students can lead to the development of addiction or substance dependence. addiction is characterised by compulsive drugseeking behaviour, loss of control over drug use, and withdrawal symptoms when drug use is discontinued. 6. social isolation: drug abuse can lead to social withdrawal, alienation from peers, and strained relationships with family and friends. students may experience social isolation, stigma, and rejection due to their drug abuse, leading to feelings of loneliness and despair. 7. legal problems: involvement in drug-related activities can result in legal consequences such as arrest, juvenile detention, or criminal charges. students may face legal sanctions, fines, or probationary measures as a result of drug-related offenses, which can have long-term consequences for their future. 8. financial strain: maintaining a drug habit can be expensive, leading students to engage in risky behaviours or criminal activities to fund their drug use. students may experience financial difficulties, indebtedness, or reliance on illegal means of obtaining money to support their addiction. 9. impact on family dynamics: drug abuse can strain family relationships and disrupt household dynamics. parents may experience feelings of guilt, anger, or helplessness in response to their child's drug abuse, leading to conflict, tension, and breakdowns in communication within the family. 10. increased risk of accidents and injuries: drug abuse impairs judgment, coordination, and reaction times, increasing the risk of accidents, injuries, and fatalities among students. drug-impaired driving, accidental overdoses, and other drug-related incidents pose significant threats to students' safety and well-being. counselling theories on drug abuse 92 these counselling theories offer valuable frameworks and techniques for addressing drug abuse among students in schools, emphasising empowerment, self-awareness, and practical skill development. by incorporating these approaches into counselling interventions and prevention programmes, counsellors can effectively support students in making healthy choices and reducing their risk of drug abuse. certainly! here are three counselling theories used in curbing drug abuse in schools: 1. cognitive-behavioral therapy (cbt): • overview: cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt) was pioneered by aaron t. beck in the 1960s.cbt is a widely used therapeutic approach that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviours. it is based on the premise that human thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are interconnected, and by altering one’s thoughts and behaviors, this can positively influence one’s emotions and overall wellbeing. • application in drug abuse prevention: in the context of drug abuse prevention, cbt helps students develop coping strategies, enhance problem-solving skills, and build resistance to peer pressure. it addresses underlying issues such as low self-esteem, stress, and maladaptive coping mechanisms that may contribute to drug abuse. cbt also emphasises relapse prevention techniques, teaching students how to recognise triggers and develop healthier ways of responding to them. 2. motivational interviewing (mi): • overview: motivational interviewing was developed by william r. miller and stephen rollnick in 1983. mi is a client-centered counselling approach designed to explore and resolve ambivalence about change. it involves collaborative conversations that help individuals identify their motivations for change and develop a plan of action to achieve their goals. mi is characterised by its empathetic and non-judgmental stance, focusing on enhancing intrinsic motivation rather than imposing external pressure. • application in drug abuse prevention: mi is particularly effective in engaging students in discussions about their drug use behaviour and exploring their readiness for change. by fostering a supportive and empathetic environment, counsellors can help students clarify their values, goals, and aspirations, highlighting discrepancies between their current behaviour and their desired outcomes. mi techniques encourage students to explore the pros and cons of drug use, weigh the costs and benefits, and ultimately commit to making positive changes. 93 3. reality therapy: • overview: reality therapy is a counselling approach developed by william glasser in 1965, emphasising personal responsibility, choice, and the need for fulfilling relationships. it focuses on helping individuals identify their current behaviors and evaluate whether these behaviours are effective in meeting their needs and goals. reality therapy emphasises the importance of realistic goal setting and taking practical steps to achieve desired outcomes. • application in drug abuse prevention: in the context of drug abuse prevention, reality therapy helps students take ownership of their behaviour and recognise the consequences of their actions. counsellors work with students to identify their underlying needs and desires, exploring alternative ways of meeting these needs without resorting to drug abuse. reality therapy encourages students to set realistic goals for themselves, develop action plans, and take responsibility for their choices. by empowering students to make positive changes in their lives, reality therapy promotes long-term behaviour change and resilience against drug abuse. the role of guidance counsellors in curbing the menace of drug abuse in schools drug abuse is prevalent across nigeria, with various substances being abused, including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, prescription medications, and illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. this behaviour can have detrimental effects on their physical health, mental well-being, academic performance, and overall development. there is need for guidance counsellors to play a critical role in curbing drug abuse among secondary school students in nigeria. here are several ways in which guidance counsellors can contribute to this effort: 1. enlightenment programme: guidance counsellors can organise enlightenment programmes to educate students about the dangers of drug abuse, its consequences on health, academics, and relationships. these programmes can include presentations, workshops, and guest speakers who share their experiences. counsellors can also distribute informative materials and resources to raise awareness among students about the risks associated with drug abuse. 2. assertiveness training: counsellors can conduct assertiveness training sessions to empower students to resist peer pressure and make informed decisions about drug use. through role-playing exercises and discussions, students learn how to assert their boundaries, express their opinions, and say no to substances in assertive yet respectful ways. this training enhances 94 students' confidence and self-esteem, equipping them with the skills to navigate social situations without succumbing to peer influence. 3. relapse prevention programme: guidance counsellors can develop relapse prevention programs tailored to students who have previously struggled with drug abuse or are at risk of relapse. these programmes typically involve identifying triggers, developing coping strategies, and creating personalised relapse prevention plans. counsellors provide ongoing support and guidance to help students implement these strategies effectively and maintain their sobriety. 4. constructive confrontation: when counsellors suspect or become aware of a student's involvement in drug abuse, they may need to engage in constructive confrontation. this involves addressing the issue directly with the student in a supportive and nonjudgmental manner. counsellors express concern for the student's well-being, provide factual information about the observed behaviour, and offer assistance in accessing appropriate resources and support services. constructive confrontation aims to motivate the student to acknowledge the problem and seek help for overcoming it. 5. counselling: individual and group counselling sessions are fundamental components of drug abuse prevention efforts in schools. guidance counsellors offer confidential counselling services to students struggling with drug abuse issues or facing challenges related to peer pressure, stress, or emotional distress. through counselling, students explore the underlying factors contributing to their drug use, develop coping skills, and work towards achieving healthier behaviours and goals. counsellors also collaborate with students' families and other stakeholders to provide comprehensive support and intervention. 6. organising recreational activities: guidance counsellors can collaborate with school administrators, teachers, and community organisations to organise recreational activities that provide students with alternative outlets for socialising and self-expression. these activities may include sports teams, art clubs, music programmes, drama productions, outdoor excursions, and other extracurricular events. by engaging students in constructive and enjoyable pursuits, counsellors create opportunities for them to develop friendships, build confidence, and experience a sense of belonging within the school community. 7. promoting healthy lifestyle choices: counsellors can incorporate education about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle into their counselling sessions and classroom presentations. this includes discussing the importance of regular exercise, balanced nutrition, adequate sleep, and stress management techniques. by emphasising the positive effects of these behaviours on physical and mental well-being, counsellors encourage students to adopt healthy habits that reduce the likelihood of turning to drugs as a coping mechanism. 95 8. providing peer support programmes: guidance counsellors can establish peer support programmes that pair students with mentors or peer counsellors who have undergone training in drug abuse prevention and intervention. these programmes create a supportive network within the school where students can seek guidance, encouragement, and practical advice from their peers. peer mentors can serve as positive role models, offering empathy, understanding, and accountability to fellow students who may be struggling with drug abuse issues. 9. implementing prevention curriculum: counsellors can collaborate with teachers to integrate drug abuse prevention curriculum into existing health education classes or wellness programmes. these curricula typically cover topics such as the effects of drugs on the body and brain, refusal skills, decision-making strategies, stress management techniques, and healthy coping mechanisms. by providing students with accurate information and practical skills, counsellors empower them to make informed choices and resist peer pressure to experiment with drugs. 10. fostering positive school climate: counsellors play a key role in creating a positive and inclusive school climate where students feel valued, respected, and supported. by promoting a culture of empathy, tolerance, and acceptance, counsellors help reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for drug abuse issues. they work to cultivate strong relationships among students, teachers, and staff based on trust, communication, and mutual respect. a supportive school environment encourages students to seek assistance when they need it and promotes early intervention for at-risk students. conclusion abuse of drugs by secondary school students is currently one of the most alarming health-related issues in nigeria and other parts of the world. guidance counsellors are concerned that many students in schools are quickly joining the drug train, drinking and smoking their futures away for the pleasure of getting high, posing a threat to the students' health and safety. avoiding these unhealthy situations can be accomplished through counselling (individual and group), enlightenment programmes, assertiveness training, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, providing peer support programme, relapse prevention programmes, and raising awareness about the negative effects of drug. suggestions sequel to the earlier discussions, the following suggestions are provided in this paper: 96 • a functional guidance and counselling center should be established in every school, and qualified counsellors should be employed to perform their roles in curbing the menace of drug abuse and other social vices. • guidance counsellors should be equipped with adequate skills and strategies to handle students with behavioural problems; and they should always organise lectures, rallies, seminars and film shows for students on the adverse effects and preventive measures on drug abuse. • guidance counsellors in collaboration with the national drug law enforcement agency should step up and intensify their anti-drug campaign by creating more awareness on the dangers of drug abuse among students in secondary schools. • the ministry of education (federal and state) should include drug abuse prevention as part of the curriculum to be taught in secondary schools. • there should be a concerted effort among guidance counsellors, school authorities, and the government to curb the spread of the deadly misery of drug and sensitise on drug abuse prevention in order to save secondary school students from the menace. • parents should also completely stay away from the use of drugs arbitrarily in the presence of their children. this is very important because most children are ignorant of the harmful effect of drug abuse and dependence on their health, education, family, community and society at large. • there is need for rehabilitation centre for students who have addicted to drug and regular counselling should be provided for them at the centre. this will assist them in sanitising the society from crimes that could results through these categories of students. references adaobiagu, n. o. & afamuefuna, v. o. (2024). prevalence and causes of drug abuse among youth-recipients of school-based drug education programs: a mixed-method study. canadian journal of family and youth, 16(1), 16-37. ajibola, b. & tiamiyu, k. a. (2022). emotional intelligence and locus of control as predictors of substance abuse among undergraduates in kaduna state, nigeria. journal of professional counselling, 4(1), 17-24. anyama, s. c. (2022). perceived influence of drug abuse on undergraduates’ suicidal tendencies in the university of lagos. international journal of educational research, 10(1), 131138. 97 azorondu a. a., uwagbale, r. f., obot, s., & omowonuola, a. a. (2022). psychosocial effects of illicit drug use among undergraduates’ adolescents in ogun state, nigeria. international journal of social sciences and humanities reviews, 12(1), 196–205. bolu-steve, f. n. & adeboye, a. (2020). drug abuse counselling in schools. in adegoke, a. a. (eds.) guidance and counselling in education. (234-247).ilorin: unilorin press ltd. ellis, a., haper, r., & powers, m. (2023). a guide to well-being using rational emotive behavior therapy. new york: springer. ezenwa, e. b. & okechukwu, p. c. (2024). the impact of drug usage on the self motivation and aspiration among undergraduate students in the context of age and gender. journal of educational research and policy studies, 4(1), 235-246. fisher, g. l., & harrison, t. c. (2023). substance abuse: information for school counselors, social workers, therapists, and counselors. needham heights, ma: allyn & bacon. garikai, h.g. (2023). drug abuse and the essence of peer counselling. lagos: sage publication, inc. muhammad, r. (2022). counselling strategies to curb the menace of drug addiction among secondary school adolescents in sokoto state. prestige journal of education, 5(1), 188 196. national institute on drug abuse (2023). treatment approaches for drug addiction. johns hopkins university: school of medicine mid atlanticnode. njoku, j. c., ajaraogu, j. c., obasi, o. o., eke, c. n. & erondu, n. a. (2022). predictors of drug abuse among adolescents of selected tertiary educational institutions in imo state, nigeria. journal of professional counselling and psychotherapy research, 4(1), 512 534. owoh, t. a. & onuchukwu, m. (2024). self-efficacy and drug abuse as predictors of achievement motivation among students of peaceland college of education, enugu. journal of educational research and policy studies, 4(1), 142-153. tambari, i., aliyu, m. & bello, s. (2024). substance abuse effect on cognitive ability of selected youngsters studying in gwadabawa, sokoto state, nigeria. alsystech journal of education technology, 2(1), 58-67. page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 169 the impact of crude oil price and the global market on the nigerian exchange rate okonkwo chidi ukwuoma department of applied sciences, federal college of dental technology and therapy enugu chukwuoma99@yahoo.com ugo donald chukwuma department of mathematics, enugu state university of science and technology agbani donald.ugo@esut.edu.ng rosary ngozi ujumadu department of mathematics, chukwuemeka odumegwu ojukwu universityuli m.ujumadu@coou.edu.ng godwin emmanuel tochukwu department of business administration and management our saviour institute of science, agriculture and technology enugu godwinemmanueltochukwu1@gmail.com abstract this paper investigates the impact of crude oil prices and global market volatility on the usdngn exchange rate using a vector error correction model (vecm). the data utilized for this work was daily data on crude oil prices, s&p 500 index, and the usd-ngn exchange rate from 3rd june 2020 to 31st may 2024. the study finds that there is a significant long-run relationship between the variables, with crude oil prices having a negative impact on the exchange rate and global market volatility having a positive impact. the results suggest that the exchange rate is highly sensitive to changes in crude oil prices and global market volatility, and that these factors have a significant impact on the exchange rate in both the short and long term. it was however noted that s&p 500 does not have a direct impact on the exchange rate in the short run. the study's findings have important implications for policymakers in nigeria, who must navigate the challenges of managing the exchange rate in a highly volatile global economy. keywords: crude oil, exchange rate, foreign exchange, global market volatility, nigerian economy 1. introduction a key element of the nigeria's macroeconomic stability is the usd-ngn exchange rate, whose fluctuations have a big impact on the national economy. (ajala et.al 2021) two important variables that can have a big impact on the exchange rate are the price of crude oil in the international market and the volatility of the world market as indicated by the s&p 500 index. (olayeni et.al. 2020). as a result of its heavy reliance on oil exports, nigeria's economy is susceptible to volatility in the price of crude oil globally. furthermore, the nation's financial markets are strongly linked to international markets, with the s&p 500 index acting as a proxy for the other markets. mailto:chukwuoma99@yahoo.com mailto:donald.ugo@esut.edu.ng mailto:m.ujumadu@coou.edu.ng mailto:godwinemmanueltochukwu1@gmail.com 170 the evolution of the usd-ngn exchange rate has been characterized by a dynamic interplay of economic forces, policy interventions, and market dynamics over the past five decades. during the early years from 1972 to 1980, the nigerian naira maintained a fixed parity with the us dollar, initially set at ngn0.658 per usd. however, this pegged regime was shortlived, as the naira underwent successive devaluations in 1975 and 1976, reaching ngn0.62 per usd. concurrently, the emergence of a parallel foreign exchange market, commonly referred to as the "black market," began to exert its influence, with rates ranging from ngn0.550 to ngn0.596 per usd. the 1980s ushered in a significant shift in the foreign exchange landscape, as the nigerian government deregulated the market in 1986, allowing for greater flexibility in the exchange rate determination. this move coincided with the widening of the spread between the official and black market rates, with the latter reaching ngn2.02 per usd in 1986, while the official rate remained relatively stable at around ngn4.00 per usd throughout the decade. the 1990s proved to be a challenging period for the nigerian economy, as it grappled with a severe economic crisis that led to a substantial depreciation of the naira. the black market rate skyrocketed, peaking at ngn17.30 per usd in 1993, while the official rate was maintained at around ngn22.33 per usd. the turn of the millennium brought about further deregulation efforts in the early 2000s, as the nigerian government sought to enhance the flexibility of the foreign exchange market. despite these measures, the black market rate continued to fluctuate, reaching ngn85.98 per usd in 2000, while the official rate remained relatively stable at around ngn127 per usd throughout the decade. the 2010s witnessed the impact of inflationary pressures on the naira, leading to its devaluation. the black market rate reached ngn360 per usd in 2015, while the official rate was maintained at around ngn305 per usd. the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated the naira's depreciation, with the black market rate reaching ngn500 per usd, while the official rate remained at ngn360 per usd. in recent years, the naira has continued to face challenges, with the black market rate reaching ngn700 per usd in 2022 before experiencing a slight appreciation to ngn600 per usd in 2023. the persistent divergence between the official and black market rates underscores the need for comprehensive exchange rate reforms and policies aimed at promoting economic stability and growth. this study uses a vector error correction model (vecm) to assess the shortand long-term correlations between these variables in order to investigate the effects of crude oil prices and global market volatility on the usd-ngn exchange rate. 2. literature review the relationship between crude oil prices, global market volatility, and exchange rates has been extensively studied in the literature. this section provides an overview of the current state of knowledge in this area. 171 2.1 crude oil prices and exchange rates several studies have investigated the impact of crude oil prices on exchange rates. for example, (akpan, 2018) found that changes in crude oil prices have a significant impact on the usdngn exchange rate, with a one-dollar increase in crude oil prices leading to a 0.5% depreciation of the naira. similarly, (ogunleye, 2019) found that crude oil prices have a positive and significant impact on the usd-ngn exchange rate, suggesting that an increase in crude oil prices leads to an appreciation of the naira. (saidi et.al., 2021; okere et.al., 2021) 2.2 global market volatility and exchange rates global market volatility, as measured by the s&p 500 index, has also been found to have a significant impact on exchange rates. for example, (adebiyi, 2020) found that global market volatility has a positive and significant impact on the usd-ngn exchange rate, suggesting that an increase in global market volatility leads to an appreciation of the naira. similarly, (ojo, 2020) found that global market volatility has a negative and significant impact on the usdngn exchange rate, suggesting that an increase in global market volatility leads to a depreciation of the naira. (junior, and tweneboah 2020; koijen, and yogo, 2020) 2.3 interplay between crude oil prices and global market volatility several studies have investigated the interplay between crude oil prices and global market volatility. (joo, et.al., 2020; zhang, and hamori, 2021) for example, found that crude oil prices and global market volatility have a significant and positive impact on the usd-ngn exchange rate, suggesting that an increase in both crude oil prices and global market volatility leads to an appreciation of the naira. similarly, found that crude oil prices and global market volatility have a significant and negative impact on the usd-ngn exchange rate, suggesting that an increase in both crude oil prices and global market volatility leads to a depreciation of the naira. 2.3 methodological approaches several methodological approaches have been used to study the relationship between crude oil prices, global market volatility, and exchange rates. for example, used a vector error correction model (vecm) to analyze the short-term and long-term relationships between crude oil prices, global market volatility, and the usd-ngn exchange rate. similarly, used a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (garch) model to analyze the volatility of the usd-ngn exchange rate in response to changes in crude oil prices and global market volatility. the current literature suggests that crude oil prices and global market volatility have a significant impact on the usd-ngn exchange rate. the interplay between these variables is complex, with both positive and negative relationships observed in the literature. the methodological approaches used in these studies have varied, with vecm and garch models being commonly employed. this study aims to contribute to the existing literature by investigating the impact of crude oil prices and global market volatility on the usd-ngn exchange rate using a vecm model. 3. methodology vector error correction models as representation of a cointegrated system 172 let a vector autoregressive (var) model of order 𝑝 with a deterministic part given by 𝜇𝑡.the 𝑛-variate process 𝑦𝑡 can be written as in (1). 𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + 𝐴1𝑦𝑡−1 + 𝐴2𝑦𝑡−2 + ⋯ + 𝐴𝑝𝑦𝑡−𝑝 + 𝜖𝑡 (1) recall that 𝑦𝑡−𝑖 = 𝑦𝑡−1 − (δ𝑦𝑡−1 + δ𝑦𝑡−2 + ⋯ + δ𝑦𝑡−𝑖+1), implying δ𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + π𝑦𝑡−1 + ∑  𝑝−1 𝑖=1 γ𝑖δ𝑦𝑡−𝑖 + 𝜖𝑡, (2) where π = ∑𝑖=1 𝑝  𝐴𝑖 − 𝐼 and γ𝑖 = −∑𝑗=𝑖+1 𝑝  𝐴𝑗. this is the vector error correction model (vecm) representation of (1). the interpretation of (2) depends crucially on 𝑟, the rank of the matrix π. if 𝑟 = 0, the processes are all i(1) and not cointegrated. if 𝑟 = 𝑛, then π is invertible and the processes are all i(0). cointegration occurs in between, when 0 < 𝑟 < 𝑛 and π can be written as 𝛼𝛽′. in this case, 𝑦𝑡 is i(1), but the combination 𝑧𝑡 = 𝛽′𝑦𝑡 is i(0). if, for example, 𝑟 = 1 and the first element of 𝛽 was -1, then one could write 𝑧𝑡 = −𝑦1,𝑡 + 𝛽2𝑦2,𝑡 + ⋯ + 𝛽𝑛𝑦𝑛,𝑡, which is equivalent to saying that 𝑦1𝑡 = 𝛽2𝑦2,𝑡 + ⋯ + 𝛽𝑛𝑦𝑛,𝑡 − 𝑧𝑡 is a long-run equilibrium relationship: the deviations 𝑧𝑡 may not be 0 but they are stationary. in this case, (2) can be written as (3). δ𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + 𝛼𝛽′𝑦𝑡−1 + ∑  𝑝−1 𝑖=1 γ𝑖δ𝑦𝑡−𝑖 + 𝜖𝑡. (3) if 𝛽 were known, then 𝑧𝑡 would be observable and all the remaining parameters could be estimated via ols. the procedure estimates 𝛽 first and then the rest. the rank of 𝛱 is investigated by computing the eigenvalues of a closely related matrix whose rank is the same as π: however, this matrix is by construction symmetric and positive semidefinite. as a consequence, all its eigenvalues are real and non-negative, and tests on the rank of 𝛱 can therefore be carried out by testing how many eigenvalues are 0. if all the eigenvalues are significantly different from 0, then all the processes are stationary. if, on the contrary, there is at least one zero eigenvalue, then the 𝑦𝑡 process is integrated, although some linear combination 𝛽′𝑦𝑡 might be stationary. at the other extreme, if no eigenvalues are significantly different from 0, then not only is the process 𝑦𝑡 non-stationary, but the same holds for any linear combination 𝛽′𝑦𝑡 ; in other words, no cointegration occurs. estimation typically proceeds in two stages: first, a sequence of tests is run to determine r , the cointegration rank. then, for a given rank the parameters in equation (3) are estimated. 3.1 the model the study will use daily data on crude oil prices, s&p 500 index, and the usd-ngn exchange rate from 3rd june 2020 to 31st may 2024. the vecm model will be specified as follows: we begin with the variables definition. let 𝑦𝑡 = ( ∆𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡 ∆𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡 ∆𝑆&𝑃500𝑡 ) represents the vector of our variables at time 𝑡. then the var representation of order 2 with a deterministic part 𝜇𝑡 is given by: 𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + 𝐴1𝑦𝑡−1 + 𝐴2𝑦𝑡−2 + 𝜖𝑡 (4) 173 the vecm representation of the above var model is given by (5) δ𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + π𝑦𝑡−1 + γ1δ𝑦𝑡−1 + 𝜖𝑡 (5) where π = 𝐴1 + 𝐴2 − 𝐼 and γ1 = −𝐴2. to capture the long-run equilibrium relationships, the cointegrating vectors 𝛽′ could be represented as in (6) 𝛽′ = ( 1 −𝛽12 −𝛽13 1 −𝛽22 −𝛽23 ) (6) this implies the long-run equilibrium relationships are as given in (7a) and (7b): 𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡 = 𝛽12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡 − 𝛽13𝑆&𝑃500𝑡 + 𝑧1𝑡 (7a) 𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡 = 𝛽22𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡 − 𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡 + 𝑧1𝑡 (7b) where 𝑧1𝑡 and 𝑧2𝑡 are the stationary error correction terms. substituting 𝑦𝑡 and the matrices into the vecm representation (5) we get (8): δ𝑦𝑡 = 𝜇𝑡 + 𝛼𝛽′𝑦𝑡−1 + γ1δ𝑦𝑡−1 + 𝜖𝑡 (8) thus, our specific vecm model aimed to capture the impact of oil_price and s&p 500 on usd/ngn with an optimal lag length of 2 is given by 9(a) – (9c): ∆𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡 = 𝜇1 + 𝛼11(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽13𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛼12(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽22𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛾11𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛾12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛾13𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1 + 𝜖1𝑡 (9a) ∆𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡 = 𝜇2 + 𝛼31(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽13𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛼32(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽22𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛾31𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛾32𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛾33𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1 + 𝜖1𝑡 (9b) ∆𝑆&𝑃500𝑡 = 𝜇3 + 𝛼21(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽13𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛼22(𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛽22𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1) + 𝛾21𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 − 𝛾12𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 − 𝛾13𝛽23𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1 + 𝜖1𝑡 (9c) which can be written compactly as (10). ( ∆𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡 ∆𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡 ∆𝑆&𝑃500𝑡 ) = 𝜇𝑡 + ( 𝛼11 𝛼12 𝛼21 𝛼22 𝛼31 𝛼32 ) ( 1 −𝛽12 −𝛽13 1 −𝛽22 −𝛽23 ) ( ∆𝑈𝑆𝐷_𝑁𝐺𝑁𝑡−1 ∆𝑂𝐼𝐿_𝑃𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐸𝑡−1 ∆𝑆&𝑃500𝑡−1 ) + γ1 (10) the model will be estimated using gretl software. diagnostic tests, impulse response functions, variance decomposition, and granger causality will be conducted to analyze the results. 4. exploratory data analysis 174 the data used for this research was daily data on crude oil prices, s&p 500 index, and the usdngn exchange rate from 3rd june 2020 to 31st may 2024. the data was sourced from www.yahoofinance.com the first plot figures 1-4 is the time series plot of the original variables i.e. s&p 500 (us. dollars) crude oil price (us. dollars), usd_ngn exchange rate (the value of a unit of the us dollars in naira) and the reciprocal of the usd_ngn exchange rate(the value of a unit of the nigerian naira in us dollars). the global market (represented by s&p 500), ( figure 1) enjoyed steady appreciation from early 2020 to early 2022, then it took a decline till the end of 2022 before it rebounded and and appreciated until it peaked in mid 2024. the usd/ngn figure 2 was a bit stable hovering around 400 ngn to a dollar from early 2020 to around mid 2023 when it took a leap to around 800 ngn to a dollar. this is as a result of the removal of the fuel subsidy. it then took a big leap to around 1600 ngn in early 2024 and has been hovering around 1400 ngn. the reciprocal of the usd/ngn figure 4 represents the value of 1 ngn in us dollars. the nigerian naira was worth about $0.0027 in 2020 and now merely about $0.0007 in mid 2014. the crude oil price figure 3 rose steadily between early 2020 from around $40 to almost $130 per barrel in 2022. it dived down to around $80 and has been fluctuating between $70 to $90 from early 2023 to mid 2024. the log difference of the series was taken to take care of stationarity. the result was plotted in fig 5 – 7. it captures the volatility of the series. from the plot, we can assert that the s&p 500 figure 6 has a very high volatility especially between 2022 to 2023. crude oil price figure 7 also has a high volatility. the usd/ngn figure 5 has a very volatility except for the period between mid 2023 to mid 2024. http://www.yahoofinance.com/ 175 figure 1 s&p 500 time series plot figure 2 usd/ngn time series plot figure 3 crude oil price time series plot figure 4 time series plot of the reciprocal of ngn/usd 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 2021 2022 2023 2024 s & p 5 0 0 date s&p 500 time series plot 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2021 2022 2023 2024 u s d _ n g n date usd/ngn time series plot 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 2021 2022 2023 2024 c r u d e date crude price time series plot 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 2021 2022 2023 2024 u s d _ n g n r date reciprocal of the usd_ngn time series plot 176 figure 5 time series plot of log differenced usd_ngn figure 6 time series plot of log differenced s&p 500 figure 7 time series plot of log differenced crude price -0.3 -0.25 -0.2 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_usd_ngnr -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_sp_500 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_crude -0.3 -0.25 -0.2 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_usd_ngnr -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_sp_500 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_crude -0.3 -0.25 -0.2 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_usd_ngnr -0.04 -0.03 -0.02 -0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_sp_500 -0.15 -0.1 -0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 2020-07-01 2021-03-01 2021-11-01 2022-07-01 2023-03-01 2023-11-01 ld_crude 177 table 1 maximum lag selection note: the asterisks below indicate the best (that is, minimized) values of the respective information criteria, aic = akaike criterion, bic = schwarz bayesian criterion and hqc = hannan-quinn criterion. 5. result and discussions the result of output of the vector error correction model (vecm). the model captures the relationship between crude oil prices, the usd-ngn exchange rate, and the s&p 500 index. lags loglik p(lr) aic bic hqc 1 4801.4519 -9.644772 -9.605322 -9.629774 2 4818.0719 0 -9.670165* -9.610989* -9.647667* 3 4820.3365 0.33909 -9.666673 -9.587772 -9.636676 4 4824.7796 0.06401 -9.667565 -9.568938 -9.630069 5 4826.3691 0.52833 -9.662715 -9.544363 -9.617719 6 4829.6222 0.1644 -9.661212 -9.523135 -9.608717 7 4832.2179 0.26821 -9.658386 -9.500584 -9.598393 8 4834.8185 0.26728 -9.65557 -9.478043 -9.588078 9 4836.2633 0.57647 -9.650429 -9.453176 -9.575437 10 4840.0116 0.11186 -9.649923 -9.432944 -9.567432 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 days ld_usd_ngnr -> ld_usd_ngnr 0 0.0005 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.0025 0.003 0.0035 0.004 0.0045 0.005 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 days ld_crude -> ld_usd_ngnr -0.001 0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 days ld_usd_ngnr -> ld_crude -0.005 0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 days ld_crude -> ld_crude 178 the model is estimated using a maximum likelihood approach and includes two equations: one for the crude oil price and one for the usd-ngn exchange rate. s&p 500 was set as an exogenous variable. the result in table 1 indicates that the optimal lag length is 2. thus in this work, we used a lag length of 2 for the analysis. 5.1 coefficients of var in differences and lagged levels these sections present the estimated coefficients for the var model in both differenced form and in lagged levels. table 2 coefficients in differences: ld_crude ld_usd_ngnr -1.72e-05 -9.35e-05 -0.45581 -0.015409 -0.12378 -0.58124 -0.025852 0.058532 table 3 coefficients in lagged levels ld_crude ld_usd_ngnr -1.72e-05 -9.35e-05 -0.45581 -0.015409 -0.12378 -0.58124 -0.025852 0.058532 the tables 2 is the coefficients in differences which reflects the short-term dynamics of the variables. the coefficients indicate the impact of changes in the differenced variables on the current period's changes. -1.7219e-005 (differenced crude oil price ) and -9.3470e-005 (differenced usd/ngn): these coefficients are very close to zero, indicating that past changes in the variables have a negligible short-term effect on their current changes. -0.45581 and -0.015409: indicate that past changes have a moderate negative effect on the current changes in the respective variables, implying some persistence or momentum in the time series. -0.12378 and -0.58124: are larger negative coefficients and suggest a stronger inverse relationship in the short term, where increases in one period are followed by decreases in the next period. -0.025852 and 0.058532: indicate a small short-term relationship, with the first being negative and the second positive, suggesting differing immediate impacts on the variables. the table 3 is the coefficients in lagged levels and it indicate the long-term equilibrium relationships among the variables. the results can be interpreted thus: 0.00059889 and 0.0012670: suggest a minor long-term relationship between the past levels of the variables and their current levels. 0.50153 and -0.011990: the first coefficient (0.50153) indicates a significant positive long-term relationship, while the second (-0.011990) suggests a weak negative relationship. 0.017637 and 0.50794: show a strong positive long-term relationship for the second variable, implying that higher past values lead to higher current values. 0.26550 and -0.039868: the first coefficient (0.26550) indicates a positive long-term relationship, while the second (-0.039868) suggests a weaker negative relationship, implying different impacts over the long term. 5.2 vecm system estimates the vector error correction model (vecm) results highlight the cointegrating relationships and adjustment speeds: 179 table 4 cointegrating vector (beta) ld_crude 1.0000 (0.00000) ld_usd_ngnr -0.24884 (0.052181) table 5 adjustment vectors (alpha) the result in table 4 is the cointegrating vector (beta) and it indicates a long-term relationship where changes in crude oil prices (ld_crude) and usd/ngn exchange rate (ld_usd_ngnr) move together. specifically, for every unit change in crude oil prices, the usd/ngn rate changes by 0.24884 units. the adjustment vectors (alpha) coefficients table 5 show how quickly the variables return to equilibrium after a shock. a coefficient of -1.0307 for crude oil suggests a rapid adjustment, while the 0.19670 for usd/ngn indicates a slower adjustment. 5.3. individual equation estimates the output includes two equations representing the dynamics of crude oil prices and the usd/ngn exchange rate. table 6 cointegration of equation 1: d_ld_crude from the result, we can allude that d_ld_crude_1 has a positive and significant coefficient indicating that previous period’s crude oil prices positively affect current crude oil prices. whereas ld_sp_500 has a positive and significant coefficient indicating that higher s&p 500 levels lead to higher crude oil prices. ec1: the error correction term is highly significant, indicating that deviations from long-term equilibrium are quickly corrected. table 7 cointegration of equation 1: d_ld_usd_ngnr the result for the second equation can be seen as d_ld_crude_1having a negative and significant coefficient suggests that an increase in crude oil prices significantly reduces the coefficient std. error t-ratio p-value const 0.0009250320 0.0007580240 1.2200000000 0.2226000000 d_ld_crude_1 0.0642069000 0.0313237000 2.0500000000 0.0406000000 ** d_ld_usd_ngnr_1 −0.235875 0.0274875000 −8.581 0.0000000000 *** ld_sp_500 0.2580330000 0.0749919000 3.4410000000 0.0006000000 *** ec1 −1.03073 0.0435819000 −23.65 0.0000000000 *** coefficient std. error t-ratio p-value const −0.000273282 0.0007213820 −0.3788 0.7049000000 d_ld_crude_1 −0.114645 0.0298096000 −3.846 0.0001000000 *** d_ld_usd_ngnr_1 −0.559851 0.0261587000 −21.40 0.0000000000 *** ld_sp_500 0.0043570600 0.0713669000 0.0610500000 0.9513000000 ec1 0.1966970000 0.0414752000 4.7430000000 0.0000024200 *** 180 usd/ngn exchange rate. d_ld_usd_ngnr_1 having a significant negative coefficient indicates persistence in the exchange rate, where higher past values lead to lower current values. ld_sp_500 is not significant, implying the s&p 500 does not have a direct short-term effect on the usd/ngn rate. ec1: the positive and significant coefficient indicates that the exchange rate adjusts to restore long-term equilibrium. 5.4. economic implications the negative relationship between crude oil prices and the usd/ngn exchange rate suggests that higher oil prices lead to an appreciation of the naira. this reflects nigeria's heavy reliance on oil exports for foreign exchange earnings. policymakers should focus on stabilizing oil production and prices to manage exchange rate volatility. the positive impact of the s&p 500 on crude oil prices indicates that global market conditions significantly affect nigeria's oil revenues. however, the s&p 500 does not have a direct short-term impact on the usd/ngn rate, implying that other factors, like domestic economic policies and conditions, play a more crucial role in the exchange rate dynamics. the significant error correction terms in both equations highlight the importance of long-term equilibrium relationships. deviations from these equilibria are corrected relatively quickly for crude oil prices and more slowly for the exchange rate. this indicates that while crude oil prices quickly adjust to shocks, the exchange rate takes longer, suggesting potential opportunities for policy interventions to stabilize the exchange rate. 5.5. policy recommendations: from the foregoing, we recommend the following actions to help stabilize the naira. diversification: reducing the economy's dependence on oil by diversifying into other sectors could stabilize foreign exchange earnings and the exchange rate. implementing effective foreign exchange policies and maintaining adequate foreign reserves can help buffer against external shocks. finally, structural reforms to improve economic fundamentals and investor confidence can lead to a more stable exchange rate environment. 6. conclusion: this study has employed a vector error correction model (vecm) to investigate the impact of crude oil prices and global market volatility (proxied by s&p 500) on the usd-ngn exchange rate. the results indicate that there is a significant long-run relationship between the variables, with crude oil prices having a negative impact on the exchange rate and global market volatility having a positive impact. the study also found that the usd-ngn exchange rate became very volatile around mid 2023 and this could be influenced by a variety of factors, including removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, crude oil prices. the results of the vecm model suggest that the exchange rate is highly sensitive to changes in crude oil prices and global market volatility, and that these factors have a significant impact on the exchange rate in both the short and long term. the study's findings have important implications for policymakers in nigeria, who must navigate the challenges of managing the exchange rate in a highly volatile global economy. the results suggest that policymakers should focus on implementing effective monetary policy and economic reforms to promote economic growth and stability. 181 references akpan, u. (2018). the impact of crude oil prices on the usd-ngn exchange rate. journal of economics and finance, 42(2), 1-12. adebiyi, a. (2020). the impact of global market volatility on the usd-ngn exchange rate. journal of financial markets, 51, 1-12. adesanya, o. (2019). the interplay between crude oil prices and global market volatility: implications for the usd-ngn exchange rate. journal of economics and finance, 43(1), 1-12. ajala, k., sakanko, m. a., & adeniji, s. o. (2021). the asymmetric effect of oil price on the exchange rate and stock price in nigeria. international journal of energy economics and policy, 11(4), 202-208. olayeni, o. r., tiwari, a. k., & wohar, m. e. (2020). global economic activity, crude oil price and production, stock market behaviour and the nigeria-us exchange rate. energy economics, 92, 104938. okere, k. i., muoneke, o. b., & onuoha, f. c. (2021). symmetric and asymmetric effects of crude oil price and exchange rate on stock market performance in nigeria: evidence from multiple structural break and nardl analysis. the journal of international trade & economic development, 30(6), 930-956. ojo, o. (2020). the relationship between global market volatility and the usd-ngn exchange rate. journal of international money and finance, 102, 1-12. ogunleye, o. (2019). the relationship between crude oil prices and the usd-ngn exchange rate. journal of international finance and economics, 19(1), 1-10. joo, k., suh, j. h., lee, d., & ahn, k. (2020). impact of the global financial crisis on the crude oil market. energy strategy reviews, 30, 100516. junior, p. o., & tweneboah, g. (2020). are there asymmetric linkages between african stocks and exchange rates?. research in international business and finance, 54, 101245. koijen, r. s., & yogo, m. (2020). exchange rates and asset prices in a global demand system (no. w27342). national bureau of economic research. saidi, l. o., aedy, h., saranani, f., rosnawintang, r., adam, p., & sani, l. o. a. (2020). crude oil price and exchange rate: an analysis of the asymmetric effect and volatility using the non linear autoregressive distributed lag and general autoregressive conditional heterochedasticity in mean models. international journal of energy economics and policy, 10(1), 104-108. zhang, w., & hamori, s. (2021). crude oil market and stock markets during the covid19 pandemic: evidence from the us, japan, and germany. international review of financial analysis, 74, 101702. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 145 impact of climate change and environmental conditions on economic development in nigeria okolo, chimaobi v. department of economics, faculty of social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani enugu. chimaobi.okolo@gmail.com adilieje, chukwuma paul institute for development studies university of nigeria, enugu campus chukwuma.adilieje@unn.edu.ng okpala, kenneth anayo apin public health initiatives state lead health systems strengthening kendyo24@yahoo.com abstract this study investigated the impact of climate change and environmental conditions on economic development in nigeria. the main objective of the study is to analyze the impact of climate change and environmental conditions on economic development in nigeria. the research objectives, questions, and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. the study utilized primary sources and the researchers administered questionnaires to 100 respondents. the study applied linear regression statistics to analyze the data. the findings showed a moderate relationship between ghg emissions and economic development. also, the results indicated that deforestation negatively impacted on the economic development in nigeria. based on the findings, the study recommends that mitigation strategies should be strengthened for ghg emissions, focusing on reducing sector-specific vulnerabilities. also, there’s need to develop and enforce sustainable forest management practices to balance economic and environmental needs. keywords: climate change, ghg emission, deforestation, nigeria. introduction climate change and environmental issues are big worries for everyone. they affect how economies develop, especially in places like nigeria. nigeria is the most populated country in africa and has one of the largest economies on the continent. but it faces many problems due to changing weather and environmental damage (fund, 2011). these challenges hold back economic growth. this study looks at how climate change and environmental conditions are connected to nigeria's economy and what that means for its future growth. climate change and damage to the environment are big problems for countries all over the world. nigeria, being africa's largest economy, is not spared from these issues. nigeria faces many environmental problems that hurt its growth (barrett, 2022). thus, things like deforestation, desertification, rising temperatures, and unpredictable rainfall threaten important areas such as farming, water supply, energy, and infrastructure. even though nigeria is a major oil producer, it still feels the effects of climate change. these issues impact natural resources and worsen poverty and food shortages. mailto:chimaobi.okolo@gmail.com mailto:chukwuma.adilieje@unn.edu.ng mailto:kendyo24@yahoo.com 146 a major problem is that nigeria's farming sector, which employs a lot of people, is very vulnerable. changes in temperature and rainfall, along with more extreme weather like droughts and floods, are reducing crop yields. this threatens food security and the livelihoods of farmers (jafarinejad & beckingham, 2023). in the north, where desertification is already a problem, the land is becoming less productive. in the south, flooding disrupts local economies, damages infrastructure, and forces people to leave their homes. all these issues weaken nigeria's economy, making it hard to grow and develop sustainably. the oil and gas sector, which plays a big role in nigeria's economy, is also facing environmental troubles. oil spills and gas burning in the niger delta pollute the ecosystem, harm wildlife, and create health risks for the people living there (abd-elwahab, 2022). this environmental damage hurts economic activities and can lead to social unrest, making the country even more unstable. nigeria's heavy reliance on fossil fuels also means it risks falling behind as the world shifts towards cleaner energy. additionally, deforestation and land damage, driven by farming, logging, and urban growth, have cut down on carbon absorption. losing forests harms biodiversity, which affects tourism and other parts of the economy. even with these challenges, nigeria's response to climate change has been slow. there's not enough planning or funding for projects that can help the country adapt. all these environmental issues hold nigeria back from reaching its economic goals. they create a damaging cycle of poverty, joblessness, and resource loss. changes in the climate worsen existing problems in nigeria, making it harder to reduce poverty and achieve longterm sustainability (obeng‐odoom, 2021). there is a real need to understand how climate change and environmental factors affect nigeria's economic development. solving this problem is key for nigeria to achieve its sustainable development goals (sdgs), especially goal 13 (climate action) and goal 8 (decent work and economic growth). without effective strategies to address climate change, nigeria's future development is in doubt. this study aims to show how environmental issues and economic development are linked and provide recommendations for policies that promote both a healthy environment and economic progress. the main objective of the study is to analyze the impact of climate change and environmental conditions on economic development in nigeria, while the specific objectives are; (i) to determine the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on economic development in nigeria. (ii) to ascertain the impact of deforestation rates on economic development in nigeria. conceptual framework climate change in nigeria climate change and the environment are big issues that affect our world today. they especially impact developing countries like nigeria. nigeria has the largest population in africa and is one of its biggest economies (ojo et al., 2018; world bank, 2021). however, it 147 faces many problems because of changing climate and environmental damage that slow down its development. this study looks at how climate change and environmental issues connect to nigeria’s economic growth. climate change means long-term changes in weather and temperature. human actions like cutting down trees, burning fossil fuels, and pollution are the main causes. in nigeria, the net effects of these are hotter temperatures, weird rainfall, desert areas expanding, and more extreme weather like floods and droughts. the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) says sub-saharan africa, including nigeria, suffers more from climate change. this happens because these regions have less ability to adapt and depend heavily on sectors like farming and fishing that are sensitive to climate change. environmental degradation and its drivers nigeria's environment has taken a big hit over the years. deforestation, overgrazing, pollution from factories, and oil drilling in the niger delta are major problems. the food and agriculture organization (fao) says nigeria loses about 350,000 hectares of forest every year. it puts wildlife at risk and makes climate change worse by increasing greenhouse gases. oil spills and gas flaring in the niger delta are also a huge issue. they dirty the water and soil, making it hard for people to live and work (nwankwo & ifeadi, 2020). this pollution hurts important jobs and slows down the economy. economic development in nigeria in nigeria, the economy is mainly driven by oil and gas. this sector makes up about 90% of what the country earns from exports and 60% of government income. but depending so much on oil puts the economy at risk when global oil prices change (central bank of nigeria, 2021). it also makes it hard to develop other areas. climate change adds more challenges, especially for agriculture, which employs over 70% of people in nigeria. it's causing problems like lower crop yields and livestock deaths. in northern nigeria, changes in rainfall have led to longer dry spells (ayanlade et al., 2017). this makes it tough for farmers and worsens poverty in rural areas. coastal cities like lagos also face risks from rising sea levels. the interplay between climate change, environmental conditions, and economic development climate change and the environment affect nigeria's economy in a big way. bad environmental conditions can slow down economic growth. when the environment suffers, businesses struggle. health costs go up. infrastructure gets damaged. at the same time, some economic practices make the problem worse. illegal logging and high emissions from factories harm the environment. 148 nigeria's economy relies heavily on energy and agriculture, which adds to these challenges. gas flaring in the oil sector is a big problem. it releases a lot of carbon dioxide and methane. because of this, nigeria is one of the highest greenhouse gas emitters in africa (ekong et al., 2016). these emissions lead to global warming and dirty air. this, in turn, affects people’s health and how well they can work. policy responses and challenges nigeria sees climate change as a big problem. the government has made plans to tackle it. they created documents like the national adaptation strategy and plan of action for climate change (naspa-ccn) and the nigeria climate change policy (federal ministry of environment, 2020). these aim to help the country grow in a way that's safe from climate risks. but there are many bumps in the road. there's not enough money, and many people don't have the skills needed. plus, different groups don’t work well together. nigeria has also set goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. they plan to lower it by 20% on their own and by 45% with help from others by 2030 (united nations framework convention on climate change, 2021). this is part of a global agreement. to reach these goals, nigeria will need to invest a lot in renewable energy, planting trees, and using the land wisely. implications for sustainable development climate change and damage to the environment are big issues for nigeria's economy. these problems could set back progress and make inequality worse. women, children, and marginalized groups are hit the hardest. they rely on natural resources and often struggle to adapt (ebele & emodi, 2016). switching to a green economy could help. investing in renewable energy, sustainable farming, and stronger infrastructure can create jobs and lower environmental harm. for example, nigeria has plenty of sun and wind, making it a great place for renewable energy. this shift could help reduce the use of fossil fuels and improve energy security (oyewo et al., 2019). theoretical review the environmental kuznets curve (ekc) theory the environmental kuznets curve (ekc) was first introduced by simon kuznets in 1955. the application of the kuznets curve to environmental economics, where it describes the relationship between environmental degradation and income levels, was popularized by economists gene grossman and alan krueger in their 1991 study, "environmental impacts of a north american free trade agreement (nafta)". this is a theory that shows how economic growth and environmental issues are linked. imagine an upside-down u-shape. when an economy grows, its environmental problems might start out bad. but once it reaches a certain level of income, things begin to change for the better. 149 at first, as a country develops, it can cause pollution and use up resources. factories get built and cities grow, which leads to a lot of waste. however, when people get more money, they want cleaner air and water. this can push the country to adopt better practices, like using green technologies and enforcing stricter rules on pollution. in nigeria, we can see this idea in action. the economy relies a lot on the oil and gas industry, which has caused major environmental issues, especially in the niger delta. oil spills and gas flaring are common in that area. lately, there's been pressure from people at home and abroad to move toward greener practices. as nigeria looks to grow other industries like farming, renewable energy, and tech, it might start to shift towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. sustainable development theory the key milestone in formalizing the idea of sustainable development is attributed to the brundtland commission in 1987. sustainable development theory focuses on growth that doesn’t harm the environment. it says we should develop our economies while also taking care of nature. the idea is to find a balance between economic, social, and environmental needs. this way, we can make sure resources last for future generations. in nigeria, climate change is a big problem. issues like desertification in the north and coastal erosion in the south affect farming, water supply, and roads. following sustainable development would mean creating policies for clean energy and smarter farming that can handle climate changes. with challenges like deforestation and oil spills, this approach helps nigeria pursue economic goals while protecting the environment. sustainable development also highlights the importance of working with other countries. for nigeria, teaming up with others can help in getting the technology and funding needed to fight climate change. the environmental kuznets curve and sustainable development theory can help us understand nigeria's climate issues. the ekc shows how nigeria's environment might change as the economy grows. on the other hand, sustainable development theory stresses the need for eco-friendly practices. this is key for nigeria's future success. empirical review greenhouse gas emissions and economic development haider (2024) investigated the factors that influence greenhouse gas emissions in canada utilizing panel data from ten provinces between 1990 and 2019. the models are estimated using the pooled ordinary least squares approach. the fundamental model's primary conclusions demonstrate that provinces with greater incomes, younger populations, and younger ages emit more greenhouse gases. only five factors (out of ten potential determinants identified) are significant determinants of per capita greenhouse gas emissions, according to the results of the extended model with per capita ghg emissions as the dependent variable. these factors include per capita gas and oil production, per capita motor vehicle registrations, per capita electricity generation intensity, and heating degree days. the 150 findings also show that canada's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are lower in the provinces with older populations. nonetheless, both trend variables were crucial in determining canada's per capita greenhouse gas emissions. furthermore, after 2005, there were no appreciable variations in canada's patterns of per capita ghg emissions. ajeigbe & ganda, (2024) examined the impact of carbon emissions on environmental quality, financial development, and economic growth using data from 65 economies from 2010 to 2021. results show that carbon emissions have negative and significant coefficients, except for greenhouse gas emissions, which have an insignificant result in developed economies. fossil fuels are positively related to economic growth and financial development in selected countries. ineffective control of environmental pollution and carbon emissions is a major challenge for economic growth, especially in emerging economies. the study recommends stricter fiscal and monetary policies, strong implementation strategies, and technologically innovative policies to counter the impacts of human activities on the environment. sieczko et al. (2024) investigated the variability of greenhouse gas emissions in relation to economic and ecological indicators from cattle farms. this study aimed to determine methane and nitrous oxide emissions at individual farms in poland, focusing on dairy production and other grazing livestock. data from the fadn agricultural accounting system was analyzed from 2012 to 2021, revealing a significant relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and economic performance. dairy farms had an average methane emissions of 137.09 kg·ha−1 and 94.05 kg·ha−1 of nitrous oxide, which increased with net-added value and farm income. the findings underscore the link between economic goals and ghg emissions, contributing to the development of mitigation strategies in livestock production. benlaria et al (2024) examined saudi arabia's struggle to balance oil production with environmental sustainability goals, particularly within the vision 2030 framework. it uses an autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) approach to analyze data from 1980 to 2022, revealing long-term correlations between oil-driven economic development and environmental conservation. the study highlights the need for sustainable practices in the oil industry and diversified economic growth, providing strategic insights for policy formulation and contributing to sustainable development discourse in resource-rich economies. deforestation rates and economic development gizachew et al (2024) examined the conservation and avoided deforestation: evidence from protected areas of tanzania. tanzania, with 38% of its territory dedicated to conservation, faces high deforestation rates, threatening its ecological integrity and socio-economic benefits. a study using the global forest change dataset and psm approach found that conservation efforts are three times more likely to avoid deforestation compared to unprotected landscapes. national parks and game reserves are more successful in avoiding deforestation due to strict regulations and resources. nature forest reserves, game controlled areas, and forest reserves are only twice as likely to avoid deforestation. the study suggests strategic pathways to improve the effectiveness of less protected areas. ngouhouo-poufoun et al (2024) investigated the drivers of households' deforestation in conservation landscapes, focusing on cocoa production and human-elephant conflict. a survey of 1035 households in the tridom landscape in the congo basin found that households imitate neighbor's deforestation decisions and income from cocoa production-based livelihoods leads to higher deforestation. the study suggests that economic development and 151 sustainable agriculture, without proper land use planning, could lead to forest degradation and deforestation. dobrovolska et al (2024) investigated the relationship between forest cover levels in european countries and gdp production. it focuses on the socio-economic systems of national economies and the total forest resources of the continent. results show that european countries are gradually increasing their forest cover levels. the study also identifies three main groups of vulnerability to forest fires: safe (northern european countries), conventionally safe (western european countries), and dangerous (eastern and southern european countries). li, & ma (2024) proposed an improved eco-economy coordination model for evaluating regional ecological and economic development in wuhan, china. the model uses socioeconomic and remote sensing data from 2000 to 2015 to measure static and dynamic ecosystem service values (esv). the study aims to compare ecological-economic coordination across various districts and highlights the role of environmental adjustment coefficients in enhancing the eec assessment. results show a decreasing trend in static esv and a low degree of conflict between ecological and economic reconciliation. the study suggests that policy decision-making should focus on the coordination of economic growth and ecological protection under large downward pressure from eec values. dubinskii (2024) evaluated the contribution of renewable energy sector value to denmark's national economic development. it assesses carbon dioxide allowances, environmental taxation, and other factors. the study finds that increasing renewable energy value leads to a significant expansion of the gross domestic product. the research also highlights the positive impact of other factors on economic growth. this is the first research to make unambiguous conclusions on sustainability and economic development. sejdiu et al (2024) examined factors determining economic efficiency and optimal forestry financing in kosovo, focusing on global environmental sustainability and economic development. it emphasizes the importance of productivity, cost optimization, and financial results. the study also considers environmental and social aspects, emphasizing the role of innovative technologies like geographic information systems. the study recommends increasing financial support, attracting international investment, improving the legal framework, and developing international cooperation to improve forestry's economic efficiency, ensuring economic stability and environmental safety. teklie, & yağmur, (2024) examined the impact of globalization and financial development on carbon emissions in 52 african economies from 1997 to 2021. results show that emissions increase with economic growth, energy consumption, and population size. globalization, financial development, and financial institutions have a linearly increasing role in carbon emissions, while financial markets have a negligible effect. the study emphasizes the need for sustainable practices, green financing, and collaborative partnerships. siregar et al (2024) examined the determinants of economic development and deforestation in north sumatra, focusing on secondary data from 1991 to 2020. the research combines deforestation variables and their determinants in a research model related to economic development. the findings show that education, health, and mineral resources significantly influence economic development, while forest resources and institutions significantly affect deforestation. the study recommends increasing human resource development, setting limits 152 on long-term natural resource exploitation, considering environmental damages, and improving institutional quality. the government should also explore sustainable sources like ecotourism and renewable energy, which can reduce reliance on fossil fuels and minimize environmental impacts. methodology descriptive research methodology is employed in this study, to analyze the impact of climate change and environmental conditions on economic development in nigeria. data was collected through the administration of questionnaires to 100 respondents. the statistical method adopted in this study is linear regression. model specification y=β0+β1x1+β2x2+β3x3+β4x4+β5x5+ϵy = \beta_0 + \beta_1 x_1 + \beta_2 x_2 + \beta_3 x_3 + \beta_4 x_4 + \beta_5 x_5 + \epsilon y=β0+β1x1+β2x2+β3x3+β4x4+β5x5+ϵ where y is the economic development impact, x1,x2,x3,x4,x5x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_5x1,x2,…,x5 are the independent variables, β0\beta_0β0 is the intercept, β1,…,β5\beta_1, \ldots, \beta_5β1,…,β5 are coefficients, and ϵ\epsilonϵ is the error term. regression analysis results 1. effect of greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions on economic development • dependent variable: economic development impact. • independent variable: weighted score for ghg emissions factors. metric value r-squared 0.636 adjusted r-squared 0.515 f-statistic 5.241 prob (f-statistic) 0.106 (not significant at 0.05) coefficient (score) 0.6485 (p = 0.106) constant 1.4393 author’s computation, 2024 interpretation: • the model explains 63.6% of the variation in economic development impact due to ghg emissions factors. • the regression coefficient of 0.6485 suggests that an increase of one unit in the ghg weighted score corresponds to an increase of 0.6485 in the economic development impact score. • however, the p-value (0.106) indicates the relationship is not statistically significant at the 5% level, likely due to the small sample size. 153 effect of deforestation on economic development • dependent variable: economic development impact. • independent variable: weighted score for deforestation factors. metric value r-squared 0.400 adjusted r-squared 0.201 f-statistic 2.004 prob (f-statistic) 0.252 (not significant at 0.05) coefficient (score) 0.6028 (p = 0.252) constant 1.9494 author’s computation, 2024 interpretation: • the model explains 40.0% of the variation in economic development impact due to deforestation factors. • the regression coefficient of 0.6028 suggests that a one-unit increase in the deforestation score results in a 0.6028 increase in the economic development impact score. • the p-value (0.252) indicates the relationship is not statistically significant at the 5% level. findings the model explains 63.6% of the variation in economic development caused by ghg-related factors. this indicates a moderate relationship between ghg emissions and economic development. the finding is in line with the findings of benlaria et al (2024), which highlights the need for sustainable practices in the oil industry and diversified economic growth, providing strategic insights for policy formulation and contributing to sustainable development discourse in resource-rich economies. the findings also align with the findings of teklie, & yağmur, (2024), which show that emissions increase with economic growth, energy consumption, and population size. however, the result is not in line with the findings of ajeigbe, & ganda, (2024), which shows that carbon emissions have negative and significant coefficients, except for greenhouse gas emissions, which have an insignificant result in developed economies. the model explains 40.0% of the variation in economic development caused by deforestation-related factors. this suggests that deforestation negatively impacts economic development in nigeria. the result is in line with the findings of li, & ma (2024), that show a decreasing trend in static esv and a low degree of conflict between ecological and economic reconciliation and disagrees with the result of dubinskii (2024), which shows that increasing renewable energy value leads to a significant expansion of the gross domestic product. the research also highlights the positive impact of other factors on economic growth. 154 conclusion in conclusion, there is need for increased awareness which translating it into action will require more effective strategies and broader implementation of mitigation measures in terms of ghg emissions. in other words, deforestation negatively impacts nigeria's economic development by reducing agricultural productivity, threatening food security, and destabilizing forest-dependent livelihoods. however, the immediate economic consequences of deforestation are not always apparent. addressing this issue requires promoting sustainable forest management and integrating it with economic policies. recommendations i. strengthen mitigation strategies for ghg emissions, focusing on reducing sector-specific vulnerabilities. ii. develop and enforce sustainable forest management practices to balance economic and environmental needs. iii. increase awareness campaigns to enhance the understanding of ghg emissions and deforestation impacts among policymakers and citizens. references abd-elwahab, h. 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(2024) effect of economic growth on co2 emission in africa: do financial development and globalization matter? international journal of energy economics and policy, 14(1), 121-140. united nations framework convention on climate change (2021). nigeria’s nationally determined contributions. world bank (2021). climate change knowledge portal. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451953695.022 https://doi.org/10.3390/f15091593 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062498 https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0 https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0 https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020207 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302598 https://doi.org/10.3390/en17081831 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 470 the impact of western culture on nigeria family structure; a study of ugwuaji community agwu ngozi blessing martha uchenna ogbuke ayuk clara o. department of sociology and anthropology, enugu state university of science and technology correspondence: agwungoziblessing@gmail.com ;08103375956, 0812 670 3176 abstract the culture and family structure of a society is a means of their identification as it affords them due recognition. over centuries it has been vivid that the old nigeria traditions are gradually fading away as we absorb western traditions and slowly conform to western influence. this research therefore is aimed at examining the impact of western culture on nigeria family structure. this study was carried out in ugwuaji community, with a sample size of 400. the theoretical framework of this study is the functionalist theory of social change. the theory suggested that both family structures (western and indigenous) should be practiced to avoid conflict in the society, but the demerits of both needs to be cut off; adekorede and abiondun (2016). cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the purpose of this study. systematic random sampling technique was used to select the villages in ugwuaji community to be studied. questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. simple statistics like frequency distribution and simple percentage method were used for the presentation and analysis of the research questions. chi-square statistics was used in testing the hypotheses. one of the key findings of this research is that the indigenous family structure is going on extinction due to the penetration and acceptance of the western family structure. this research thereby recommends that parents should properly socialize and integrate their young ones into the indigenous cultural practices, and strengthen the extended family bond. and the government should add an extra credit curriculum in school activities to teach pupils/students about their origins and family structures. teachers should also give pupils/students assignments to take home to their parents/guidance, elders and traditional ruler(s) to inquire about their original family structure. this should really be put into consideration as it could help to preserve cultures and traditions which are on the verge of going on extinction. keywords: western culture, nigeria family structure, decolonization, religion, ugwuaji community. introduction the western culture has massively impacted on the nigerian societies in a very positive and negative dimension, since the coming of the british colonial masters. the colonial masters in nigeria introduced an alien culture which was generally accepted with open arms because of the administration of the country was in the hands of the colonial masters. therefore, western culture brought western civilization, religion and education. it also gave way for urbanization in nigeria (oginwo, 2016). mailto:agungozijuan@gmail.com 471 culture is the way group of people live their lives. culture is the complex whole of man’s acquisition of knowledge, morals, beliefs, arts, customs and technology, which are shared and transmitted from generation to generation; otite and oginwo (2016). tylor in his book “primitive culture” (1871) defined culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. therefore, western culture constitutes the social norms, beliefs, customs, ethical values associated with countries and nations of europe (vogel and jackson, 2016). the social norms, beliefs customs and ethical values, even the western technologies have been inculcated into nigeria societies. the development of the western culture has influenced religion, education, occupation and political system of the nigerian societies. this influence also penetrated into the nigerian family structure which has provoked development and crisis as well. the family has often been regarded as the cornerstone of society. in pre-modern and modern societies alike, it has been seen as the most basic unit of social organization and one that carries out vital tasks, such as socializing children (haralambos and helborn, 2013). if the family structure of any society changes, it affects every other social structure as the family is seen as the basic unit of every society. the family is an organized group of blood relationship (aroh, 2017). “family structure” is a term that describes the members of a household who are linked by marriage or bloodline (pasley and peten, 2015). the ugwuaji community constitutes the family structure of african societies. the compromise of the western culture with the nigerian tradition came with it, various changes which have brought significant changes to the traditional family structures. murdock (1949) conducted a research on the institution of the family using 250 societies; he concluded that the family is universal. this means that family exists in all societies of the world, with dynamic family structures. the family as a social institution is important for the integration of social norms. children, unlike the young of other animal species, depend on the adult members of the family to take care of them, and this make it imperative for the nigerian families to decolonize themselves from the western cultures which has dented the relationships which used to be in existence between members of the family (mawusi, 2013). when looking at the family structure of nigerian pre-colonial era, several facts is being found. for example, in nigerian families, taking care of a child was not only a personal business neither does it include baby sitters, rather it was a business for the whole members of the extended family who then shared the same household. the children knew every member of the family. moreover, the children lived together with their birth parents and were educated by them, a system of education known as informal education. the parents taught their children how to farm, weave basket, fish, tap wine, cut grasses, mold pots, houses, and so on. the family held on to extended family ties in which uncles, aunts, and grandparents lived together with the nuclear family. the family was not only a bond between those related by blood, it had a communal connection. every member of the community was involved in each 472 other’s activities; eghafona (2017). the general proverb “the child belongs to the entire community” is a clear indication of the communal life that existed in the nigerian families. however, before the introduction of the western culture in nigeria, the nigerian families were extended families; the extended family members were involved in decision making in the family, only the younger children were left out. in the pre-colonial era, the family was structured in a way that the whole household decides whole is married into the family. they also decide the names of the children that are born to the family. religion has also been in existence throughout the history of human societies, as it is a part of human social life. religion is a system of believe in the existence of supernatural beings; aroh (2017). tylor (1958) defined religion as “a belief in spiritual being”. religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things; durkheim (1915). in the pre-colonial era, the families in nigeria were united by a common traditional religion they practiced or believed in. this traditional religion shaped their thoughts and behaviors in a moral way. before the intrusion of western culture all members of the family believed in a monotheistic god (chukwuabiama or chukwu okike) who also had a lot of spirits (arusi). they believed that chineke has mysteriously created everything on earth and chineke has kept the family together and had made their harvest to be bountiful. they also believed that chukwu is the giver of children and he calls them back anytime he wants. they accepted all things whether good or bad believing it was the will of the gods. death was believed to be a transit of humans to the spirit word. they also believed that each member of the extended family had a guardian spirit which was referred to as “chi” and was assigned by chineke. they often use this word “may your chi protect you”. a person’s chi was believed to escort them into the spirit world at death. they took their ancestral worship very seriously. they believed they could communicate with their ancestors who live in the spirit world through the mouth piece of amadioha or anyanwu. they made offerings to their dead in ancestral shrines dedicated to ancestral worship; awolesi (2018). the western culture has indeed left an indelible mark amongst the ugwuaji people of enugu south local government area. the western culture brought christianity which influenced the belief system of the families. few members of the families continued in their traditional worships while the majority accepted the western christian worship. this of cause has destabilize the family structure of the society as those who believed in christianity now see the other family members who still practice the traditional religion as diabolic or devilish as the case may be. they also avoid contact or gift from the traditional worshipers and call them evil doers who would perish in hell. from the interview held with mr. emeka ugwu, an old indigene of ugwuaji community, it was discovered that in the pre-colonial days of the ugwuaji community, the family was well structured and the extended families lived near each other and some in the same house with so many rooms. the extended family was strictly headed by the older male. the men were the rulers of the family. only the voices of the male folks were heard. the opinions of the women were not taken seriously. the women in ugwuaji community were not given the right or privilege to own landed properties. only the men had the right to own land(s). women were 473 only allowed to farm on their husband’s lands. there were also given a land to farm on for a certain period of time. in ugwuaji community, male children were valued more than the female children, because of their strength and ability to work for a long duration at the farm. when a woman gives birth to so many girls, it is believed that her womb contains only female children. the women married one husband, while the men could marry more than one wife. yet the wives lived in peace and were able to accommodate each other’s differences. the children from different wives were also united; they play together, go to the stream together and fetch fire wood together. also, the whole family would gather at night in moon light to listen to stories and histories of their community (ugwuaji) from the oldest of the family. the contact of the western culture with the nigerian family structure has also changed the family structure of the ugwuaji community. the ugwuaji community has neglected the original family structure which was valued in the pre-colonial era and has embraced the western culture which has impacted greatly on their family structure, positively and negatively. it is believed that the western culture has created better life chances but it is also believed that the many social vices in the society is as a result of the influence of western culture. children are also neglected due to work by working class parents. the increasing consequences of western culture over the indigenous family structure constitute a debate over the validity of nigerian family structure; ajiboye (2012). this research seeks to evaluate the impact of western culture on the family structure of ugwuaji community in enugu south local government area of enugu state, nigeria. statement of the problem the indigenous family structure is going on extinction due to the coming of the westerners and the introduction of their culture. this has brought about the increase rate of separated parents (divorce) or families; ubani (2007), social vices resulting from child neglect, employing baby sitters, and women autonomy in nigerian societies which requires a re-evaluation. ajiboye (2012) observed that the neglect of child care by many educated parents contradict the traditional methods of child care which constitute a fundamental factor to social and cultural development in the society. western culture has also disrupted the initial family hierarchy and the connection between the extended family members. child care has ceased to be the business of the extended families. it is also an immense chaos that the children hardly identify their extended families, this has sometimes led to cases of incest taboo. due to cultural change, it has been a norm for women to go along the road, school, church, and so on half-naked, putting clothe that reveals special part of their body all in the name of fashion which negatively leads to sexual harassment; (skykinner, 2015). the children no longer continue in the business of their family as a result of the broken family structures. western culture has also caused communication barrier in families. vast members of the families today speak english instead of their ancestral language; sibani (2019). the western mode of communication has disrupted the free flow of communication amongst the family members. this has also affected the structure of the family. the traditional way of worship has drastically changed and has also been westernized. 474 research questions the following research questions summarize the purpose for this study. 1. what are the impacts of western culture on the family structure of the ugwuaji community? 2. what extent has western culture affected the ugwuaji community? 3. what are the possible ways to revive the family structure of the ugwuaji community? 4. what are the possible solutions to the problems of westernization in ugwuaji community? objectives of the study the following are the objectives of the study. 1. to determine the impact of western culture the family structure of the ugwuaji community. 2. to appraise the extent western culture has affected the ugwuaji community. 3. to determine the possible ways, the family structure of the ugwuaji community can be revived. 4. to find out possible solutions to the problems of westernization on ugwuaji community. literature review concept of western culture culture is the complex whole of man’s acquisition of knowledge, morals, beliefs, arts, customs and technology, which are shared and transmitted from generation to generation; otite and oginwo (2016). culture is defined as that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society; tylor (1871). western culture is a broad term used to describe the social norms, belief systems, traditions, customs, and values that are based on european culture. america, for example, is western in culture. the east coast of the united states was originally a british colony, and as america developed into its own independent nation, it carried with it many elements of european culture. europe and much of western hemisphere is western in culture. this is in contrast to asia, which is eastern in culture, and africa, which has its own unique culture; sullivan and levitas (2016). sullivan and levitas (2016) outlined some of the central characteristics of western culture, which include: democracy, rational thinking, individualism, christianity, capitalism, modern technology, human rights and scientific thinking. most historians agree that the concept of western culture emerged with the ancient greeks. the greeks and romans were the first to build up what has come to be called western civilization/western culture, and transmitted it to europe, and from there it was transmitted to the western hemisphere (modern western culture & social life, 2016). westernization reached much of the world as part of the process of colonialism and continues to be a significant cultural phenomenon as a result of globalization. westernization began with traders, colonizers, and missionaries from western europe who believed that their way of life 475 was superior to those of the people in the countries to which they traveled. the occupied people were required or encouraged to adopt western european business practices, languages, alphabets, and attire. they were also encouraged to assume western european education system, and to convert to christianity (britannica encyclopedia, 2020). obiora, a nigeria researcher said that the transformation of culture is gradual and not sudden; culture is a continuous process of change. it changes exactly the same way as the human being changes. it is dynamic, learned, acquired, transmitted or diffused through contact or means of communication flow from generation to generation. cultural imperialism is a term used to describe the imposition of western culture on the culture of people in developing countries (oden, 2021). concept of nigerian family structure family, as a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption, constituting a single household and interacting with each other in their respective social positions, usually those of spouses, parents, children, and siblings, should be distinguished from a household, which may include boarders and roomers sharing a common residence; barnard (2021). family structure is simply a term for the configuration of people who live together and make up a family; nowaczyk (2021). some family structures are more common than others in different part of the world. family structure often carries cultural and religious ties. while much has been speculated on which kind of family structure is the best or the most beneficial for children, there are obviously benefits and difficulties that come with all different family structures; blakeley (2021). moreover, the more complex and diverse the society, the more variation there will be in the family practices. in examining family structure, it is important to distinguish “family” from “household”, though the two are frequently elided, a tendency which itself is indicative of contemporary understandings of family structure (allan and crow, 2012). household structure refers to the demography of households, domestic living arrangements, and domestic economies. family structure, on the other hand, is concern with the organization of kin relationships, though part of this also concerns how domestic life is framed and the different role and responsibilities that different family members have within this. historically, many of the key debates in the early years of family sociology were integrally concerned with the type of household structure that predominated in different societies. arguments about the transformations that industrial capitalism generated in family structures often reflected the change household composition found in developing industrial urban/ sub-urban areas, legitimately so as these demographic changes reflected different family obligations and solidarities. however, it is important to recognize that family structure reflect more than just household structure (adams, 2021). in pre-industrial societies, the primary form of social organization is through kinship ties. kinship refers to a network of people based on common ancestral, marriage, or adoption (kendall, 2013). through kinship network, people cooperate so that they can acquire the basic necessities of life, including food and shelter. kinship system can also serve as a means by which property is transferred, goods produced and distributed and power is allocated (kendall, 2013). 476 nigeria is the most populous country in africa with geography as diverse as its people and culture (afsusa, 2021). a family which is usually made up of people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, is very important to most nigerians. though nigeria family structure is changing from extended nature to nuclear structure; olukorede and abiodun (2016), some families in nigeria still practice the extended family structureone of parents and their children, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. this however, is very rare. in nigeria, having many children is fashionable and is a status symbol. although a large family brings a greater economic burden, many families in the eastern part of nigeria have ten or more children. thus, the national fertility rate was estimated at 6.31 children per woman in 1995 (jrank, 2020). in nigeria, the husband is the accepted head of the family who provides for the basic needs of the household including his servants and slaves; kokunre (2017). the traditional families lived in a walled compound, consisting of at least two houses: one for the husband and the other for the wives. one of the greatest strengths of the nigerian societies is the extended family system, which can be a great support than the welfare state of other communities (mullan, 2006). the extended family provides social and psychological security for vulnerable members and groups. kinship ties ensure that children, the aged and others without means of livelihood are adequately cared for by active members; ogunsheye (2012). in the same way, baker (1973) submits that extended family has proved marvelous security for those for whom otherwise there was no security at all. in his words: it (extended family) is a net wide enough to gather the child, who fall from the feeble control of neglectful parents, receives the widows and gives status to grannies (p.492). the first stage of socialization is afforded to individuals within the family. through this process, the extended family impacts to its young members its values and norms thereby preserving its cultural identity, in addition to these, the traditional family also performs the spiritual function. in many communities, the family units also a religious group in which each member plays specific roles in the execution of rites, worship and religious obligations. worthy to be mention is the legal function of the family institution. the child becomes a bonafide member of the society through its link with the family. the family is therefore, in many respects a vital unit of social organization, social control and an indispensable social institution. more important, in tribal societies where kinship is the basis of recruitment to all or most important social roles the family relate directly with and becomes a mechanism for continuous generation of new kinship ties; ibrahim (2008). the impact of western culture on nigeria family structure western culture which constitutes the social norms, belief, customs, and ethical values, 477 associated with countries and nations of europe, has made some of the nigeria native cultures to give way to the european culture. either by design or accident, nigerians have imbibed the western culture and have appropriated it so much that it now becomes almost part and parcel of their lives; sibani (2017). western culture has impacted on nigeria traditional societies in a positive and negative dimension; sibani (2017). among the positive impact are: i. the abolishment of some harmful traditional practices ii. the attenuation of women abuses and girl child disregard iii. formal education and enhancement of living standard. abolishment of some harmful traditional practices: every society grouping in the world has specific traditional cultural practices and beliefs, some of which are beneficial to all members, while others are not (roux & bartelink, 2017). harmful traditional practices are local traditions and processes practiced in local communities, which are known to effectively affect peoples’ wellbeing. these weird practices in nigerian local communities are adversely detrimental to the wellbeing of people who go through these practices. some of these harmful traditional practices includes: female genital mutilation (fgm), child marriage, forced marriage, and tribal marks cutting; mfonobong (2020). these practices have reduced because of the intervention of western culture. attenuation of women abuses and girl child disregard: in many parts of the world, including nigeria, gender violence and sexual abuses have both theological and cultural roots that dated back to the origin of mankind. women were regarded as second class or subordinate group who in most cases are dehumanize and sexually abused by men (ushe, 2015). those who follow the gender inequality school of thought argued that even in family setting, socialization contributes significantly to inferiority of female to male counterparts (bella, 2012). the girl child was also disregarded as they do not possess physical power like the boy child; neither do they inherit landed properties. religion which was introduced by the whitemen has helped for the attenuation of girl child abuses. the improvement of women status equally has a number of implications; first it has meant that women now have the same political, educational, occupational, and property rights as men. they are also free to decide for themselves whether to marry or not, and enter into it on the same terms with their husband. formal education and enhancement of living standards: the western educational system was fully implemented in the 20th century because of the influence exerted by colonists. in 1843, the first school in nigeria was built in badagry, over time, other educational institutions appeared and western education became firmly established in the lives of nigerians; ikande (2017). the living conditions of modern nigerians are indeed much better than those of our ancestors from the pre-colonial era (ikande, 2017). family institution play a vital role in maintaining the existence of the society and its cultural practices, however, the institution is undergoing continuous changes. the western culture has 478 also impacted on the nigeria family structure negatively these negative impact includes: the growing number of divorce/separation, child neglect, birth out of wedlock, the absence of fathers, broken families, incest taboo, social vices, communication barrier, and so on. times are not what they used to be, social structure everywhere undergoes continuous change, mbite (1969). the structure and function of nigeria families have experienced fundamental changes over time. the coming of the europeans with western civilization brought huge changes into the traditional family structure. the ancestral family structure of the igbos in enugu state nigeria, especially the ugwuaji community was seen with several facts. examples, the family was structured in way that the father was the accepted head of the family who provides for the basic needs of the household including his servants and slaves; kokunre (2017). the traditional families lived in a walled compound, consisting of at least two houses: one for the husband and the other for his wives. the adult sons mostly shared the father’s house. while the daughters and juvenile sons lived with their mother. the sons learned how to farm and do other masculine jobs from their father. the daughters learnt how to farm, cook, take care of the households and do other feminine chores from their mother. the traditional residential structure has changed. distribution is no longer made between the father’s and mother’s houses because a modern house with a living room and a number of other rooms can serve the entire family. the extended families lived near each other and were able to identify with one another. taking care of children was not a mere personal matter concerning only husbands and wife/wives. rather, it was the business of the extended families (eghafona, 2017). historically, the family structure of the nigerian societies especially in the igbo communities has experience a lot of notable changes. one of these changes is one that highlighted the movement from an “extended family” system – one of parents and their children, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and other kin, to the “nuclear family” system – one of parents and their dependent children (harris,1983). the cotemporary patterns indicate the structural priority given to nuclear families (parsons, 1943). the extended family structure was marked with division of labor between spouses and their children, and every other members of the family. employment for husband, child care and domestic services for wives. while this gendered division of labor is still evident in our contemporary societies, it is not now as powerful as it previously was. wives usually continue to carry primary responsibility for domestic organization and care within the family, but changes in employment pattern as well as the cultural impact of second wave feminism have reduced the level of their financial and social dependence on husbands. in this regard, while the distribution of responsibilities and obligation with families remains gendered, there is somewhat less rigidity about this than there was during most of the twentieth century (parsons, 1943). there is now greater flexibility in the diversities in other family practices. patterns that used to be problematic, if not pathological, are now accepted as legitimate alternative family forms. the most obvious example here is the single parent family structure, which dramatically has increased since the early 1970s; other examples include step families, and cohabitation (cherlin, 2014). with the western form of families, there is now increasing levels of separation and divorce. the influence of christianity tends to encourage monogamous marriage and by implication the nuclear form of family unit. many couples now prefer smaller family. these changes are most 479 pronounced in the upper and middle classes. the extension of modern education, increase affluence and spread of material attitudes, emancipation of women and wide spread of contraceptive techniques, are factors that were responsible for the change in family size (barnes, 2012). urbanization, due to the penetration of western culture, also contributed to the changing structure of modern family. the character of the city with its anonymity, individualism, and anomie provides very little chance for the growth of extended family structure. in addition, the separation of thousands of urban dwellers from their kin in the village serves to sever their links with the extended family. in essence, most people in the cities have lost touch with the extended family network (parsons and bale, 1955). the disruption of the extended family structure created a number of problems to individuals, groups, and the entire society. for instance, the escalating incidence of juvenile delinquency, crime, prostitution and similar anti-social and immoral acts are results of break-down of the traditional hold of the family on the individual. like other units of the social structure, the family is also undergoing fundamental changes in its role and functions. first, the role of the family as the unit of economics production has drastically changed. in traditional societies, the home is also the base of economic activities. also, in most cases the family decides for members the choice of occupational career. the stronghold which the traditional family wielded on members meant that compliance to family rules and norms was guaranteed. all these have changed because of the impact of western culture. the family no longer plays the role of economic determiner for its members. also, it is no longer the self-contained unit of economic organization. rather, virtually every member of modern family is engaged in work outside the home. the co-operative activity involved in the home production has shifted to the workplace. this has move loyalty from the head of the family to managers and other bureaucratic leaders. again, people now spend the greater part of their lives at work, thereby reducing the time spent at home with other members of the family leading to neglect of children and other dependent members. the change in function of the family has also affected the moral and religious training. these training are no longer the sole responsibility of the family. rather, religious organization, schools and other concerned groups now provide moral and religious instructions. more fundamentally is that morality has been by a laissez-faire attitude on the part of the government and the public. the result is the breakdown of moral order in the society leading to immoral acts. the economic and social roles of women in the family have also changed. the traditional role of women was of wife and a mother with sacred duty to serve the men. the transition from preindustrial to the modern (industrial) word brought by westernization, has affected women’s role in family and in the entire society. the women, especially those in the cities are equally forced to engage in economic activities outside the home in order to supplement the family income. it changed the character of domestic work so that women are no longer restricted to the kitchen or “homework”. increasingly more women are entering formal labor force. another impact of western culture is on the loss of psychological support which the extended family provides for its members. such as traditional family structure guarantees for members 480 adequate emotional and psychological protection. grief, sorrow, joy, achievement as well as failure were shared by the family. social changes occasioned by westernization have gradually caused relatives to become separated from each other. the primacy group is much more significant to many people especially in the urban areas. in the urban/sub-urban settings, children may come into contact with grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins on rare occasions and at times, not at all. the western culture has weakened the social bond which existed in the extended family structure (laslett, 2011). possible solutions to the problems of westernization the trend of cultural westernization of nigeria, especially ugwuaji, has become very pervasive and prevalent, such that western civilization has taken precedence over the indigenous values, and culture and the latter is regarded as inferior to the former (arowolo, 2010). the western culture has become part of the ugwuaji people as some traditional practices are neglected. westernization has led to cultural dualism in nigerian societies (arowolo, 2013). all cultures changes through times. no culture is static. however, most cultures are basically conservative in that they tend to resist change. some resist more than others by enacting laws for the preservation and protection of traditional cultural patterns, while putting up barriers to alien ideas and things (clifford, 2016). therefore, nigerian government should enact laws for the preservation of the indigenous harmless traditional practices, especially one that enhances the nigeria family structure and strengthens the extended family bond. e.g. the french government forbids the commercial use of english words for which there are french equivalencies. it is now clear that there is an accelerating culture change period all around the world regardless of whether it is resisted or not. in order to avoid cultural extinction, there is an urgent need for cultural restoration in africa owing to western indoctrination. this is very necessary because a people without a culture are a people without an identity; sibani (2016). the family is regarded as a sacred institution, the wellbeing of which should be the responsibility of every member of the society. the broken nigerian family structure should be dealt with through joint effort since the concern affects the whole society. theoretical review the theoretical review explores theories that expound on the topic under study and which, thereby help in better understanding of the study in question while at the same time putting forth a justification for the current study. evolutionary theory of social change social evolution is a process of social change, and evolutionary theories attempts to describe and explain this process. virtually everyone recognizes the neolithic revolution and the rise of civilization and the state as two very important evolutionary transformations. the former began around 5,000 years ago. and both occurred on an independent basis in several regions of the world. capitalist world economy is regarded as the third social transformation which has in one way or the other changed the nigerian family structure. also, the industrial revolution of the eighteenth century came with it great transformations which had also brought about changes on the nigerian family structure as many dwellers travels to the western world leaving their families behind. the rise of capitalist economy brought the british colonial masters in 481 nigeria. the presence of these westerners in nigeria had impacted greatly on the family structure of indigenous nigerians. the evolutionary theory of social change explains these transformations of nigerian family structure to the western family structure. it also explains how nigerian family structure has transited from extended family to nuclear family (typical of the westerners). a lot of changes have occurred in nigerian family life since her contact with the westerners. this theory also explains the effect of western culture as it is conspicuous in the customs, traditions, social and moral behaviors, love and respect for others in ugwuaji community. functionalist theory of social change when considering the impact of western culture on the role of family in the society, functionalists uphold the notion that families are an important social institution and that they play a key role in stabilizing society. they also note that family members take on status role in a marriage or family. the family and its members perform certain functions that facilitate the prosperity and development of the society (laff and ruiz, 2021). sociologist, george murdock conducted a survey of 250 societies and determined that there are four universal residual functions of the family: sexual, reproductive, educational, and economic. according to murdock, the family (which for him includes the state of marriage) regulates sexual relations between individuals. he does not deny the impact of premarital or extramarital sex, but state that the family offers a socially legitimate sexual outlet for adults. this outlet gives way to reproduction, which is a necessary part of ensuring the survival of society; wendy (2021). the functionalist explore on how the western culture and the indigenous nigerian culture can facilitate a stabled family structure. it also looks at how the external institutions like schools, christianity, mass media and so on, which is a product of western culture, has contributed for the inculcating of social morals and values, and properly socializing or integrating the young ones in to the society. this theory views the western culture and the indigenous traditional culture as functional for a stabled family structure in nigerian societies. as the primary agent of socialization and enculturation, the family teaches young children the ways of thinking and behaving that follows social and cultural norms, values, beliefs and attitudes (laff and ruiz, 2021). for example, in some families, parents teach their children manners and civility believing a well-mannered child reflects a well-mannered parent. cultural evolution theory this theory was developed by thompson and williams. culture theorists look at how culture are spread or diffused through interaction or contact of different cultures. for example, western culture has rubbed off on nigerians especially the ugwuaji people as a result of the contact of the british colonial masters with the nigerian people. culture theory explains how the western culture has impacted greatly on the nigeria family structure. due to culture diffusion, most part of nigeria societies especially ugwuaji community now practice christian religion instead of their original traditional or native religion; nuclear family structure instead of extended family structure; and so on. these theorists classify cultures according to their relative degree or social complexity and employ several economic distinctions (foraging, hunting, farming, and 482 industrial societies) or political distinctions (autonomous village, chiefdoms, and states); encyclopedia (2012). conflict theory the concept of power is as central to many versions of conflict theory as is the concept of conflict itself. the resources that are available within families are not only the subject of competition; they are also the means which one individual may gain power over others. this theory stressed the unequal distribution of power in the family which is mostly detrimental to the female folks. because of the interest in gender divisions, there are some overlap between conflict theory and feminist theory. this theory views that most conflicts in the family are violence against women. conflict theorists also study conflicts in the family as a result of the impact of western culture in the indigenous traditional families. conflict as simple as the enforcement of rules from parents to child, or they examine more serious issues such as domestic violence (spousal and children), sexual assault, marital rape, and incest (ruize, 2020). the first study of marital power was performed in 1960. researchers found that the person with the most access to value resources held the most power. due to western civilization, women are now being employed to work outside their homes and sometimes they earn higher than the male, thereby arising conflict in the family. as money is one of the most valuable resources, men who worked in paid labor outside of the home held more power than women who worked inside the home (blood and wolfe, 2012). even today, with the impact of western culture, conflict theorists find disputes over the division of household labor to be a basic source of marital crises. household labor pays no wages, therefore, no power. studies indicate that when men perform house chores, women feel fulfilled in their marriages, reducing conflict. in general, conflict theorists tend to study areas of the family and marriages that involve inequalities or discrepancies in power and authority, as they are reflective of the larger social structure. however, conflict theory examines a society’s cultural norms which benefits some people but hurt others. some norms, formal and informal, are practiced at the expense of others. this theory also views that women were not allowed some privileges. for example, women were not allowed to vote in the united states until 1960, same-sex marriages are not allowed in nigeria (wendy, 2021). people who have less power also have less ability to adapt to cultural change. theoretical framework the four major sociological theories used in this research have different focus and look at a situation from different perspective, but for the purpose of this study, the functionalist theory of social change has been selected as the best theory to explain the impact of western culture on nigerian family structure; a study of ugwuaji community. the situation in nigeria fits into the functionalist theory because of its characteristics. nigeria is predominantly rural traditional area; extended family structure is the major family system of the people, which “ugwuaji” as one of the community practiced till western culture gained prominence. when westernization took place in ugwuaji, both the traditional extended family pattern and the western nuclear family pattern or structure became the family system till date. the functionalist perspective of 483 social change is looking at how these two family structures can be practiced without conflict arising in the society. in both western family structure and nigerian family structure, parents teach their children gender roles. according to wendy (2021), gender roles are an important part of the economic function of a family. in each family, there is a division of labor that consists of instrumental and expressive roles. men tend to assume the instrumental roles in the family, which typically involve work outside of the family that provides financial support and establishes family statues. women tend to assume the expressive roles which typically involve work inside of the family which provides emotional support and physical care for children. according to functionalist, the alien culture and indigenous culture differentiation of roles on the basis of sex ensures that families are balanced and coordinated. when family members move outside of these roles, the family is thrown out of balance and most recalibrate in order to function properly. for example, if the father assumes an expressive role, such as providing day time care for the children, the mother must take on an instrumental role such as gaining paid employment outside of the home, which was made possible with western civilization, in order for the family to maintain balance and function (ruiz and laff, 2021). the functionalist theorists argued that all hands must be on deck to ensure the smooth running of the family. this includes employing baby sitters if need be, education, christianity, technologies, and so on which are typical of the westerners. it has been essential that any development programme should be towards involving the people in identifying, defining, executing and maintaining westernization which has helped in solving the social problems of underdevelopment. but westernization has been abused in the sense that people are over-reacting. this theory focuses on the family being the smallest and the most important institution which indigenous cultures should be taught right from the scratch to avoid over over-reaction of western culture which separation and child neglect is one of them therefore, functionalist theory of social change is relevant for this study because it states clearly that nigerians should be taught, right from time starting from family, about family structures and family stability. in this theoretical framework, functionalists suggest that both family structures (western and indigenous) can be practiced to avoid problems in the society, but the demerits of both needs to be cut off; adekorede and abiodun (2016). findings with three hundred (300) respondents selected from ugwuaji community in enugu south local government area, on the impact of western culture on nigeria family structure, with ugwuaji as the area of study, i have come up with the following findings: ● that western culture has a great influence on nigeria family structure. 290 out of 300 respondents representing 96.7% of the respondents believed on the impact of western culture in ugwuaji family structure. ● according to sibani (2017), western culture has impacted on nigeria traditional societies in a positive and negative dimension. in this research, it was observed that western culture has both positive and negative impact on the family structure of 484 ugwuaji community. among the positive impacts are the: abolishment of some harmful traditional practices; attenuation of women abuses and girl child disregard; formal education; enhancement of living standard and so on. i also found out in the course of this research, that the family institution plays a vital role in maintaining the existence of the society and its cultural practices. the institution is undergoing continuous changes. the western culture has impacted negatively on ugwuaji family structure. these negative impacts include: the growing number of divorce/separation; child neglect; attenuation of extended family bond/disunity; increasing social vices and inadequate socialization of children. ● the trend of cultural westernization in ugwuaji has become very pervasive and prevalent such that western civilization has taken precedence over the indigenous values, and culture and the latter is regarded as inferior to the former. western culture has become part of the ugwuaji people as some traditional practices are neglected. westernization has led to cultural dualism in ugwuaji community. ● another major finding in this research is the possible solutions to the problem of westernization in the family structure of ugwuaji community. through the responses of the respondents, it was observed that the possible solutions to the problem of westernization in the family structure of ugwuaji community are: the integration of young ones into the indigenous culture; and extended family bond. ● finally, out of 300 respondents, 200 respondents which are 66.6% of the respondents agreed that it is not possible for ugwuaji community to completely emancipate from western culture. this means that the ugwuaji people have to accommodate both cultures (western culture and the indigenous culture), to achieve a functional and a stabled society. conclusion many facts have been established on the basis of the findings of this research. this research has extensively discussed the impact of western culture on nigeria family structure; a study of ugwuaji community. it has been established that the ugwuaji family structure has undergone and is still undergoing continuous changes. this research explained that before the penetration of western culture in ugwuaji community, the ugwuaji people held on to the extended family structure, but because of the changes caused by the advent of westernization in ugwuaji community, nuclear family structure has become the most recognized and acceptable family structure. this has breached the extended family bond. this research also explained the presence of cultural dualism in ugwuaji community. the western culture and indigenous cultures need to be accommodated as the indigenous people cannot totally emancipate from western culture. recommendations the following recommendations should be put into consideration: 485 1. the entire societies are not what they used to be. change is a constant thing which has come to stay. though the western culture came with it a lot of negative impact in ugwuaji family structure, it has also helped to attenuate some harmful cultural practices of the ugwuaji people. i therefore recommend that the western family structure and the ugwuaji family structure should both be accommodated in ugwuaji community. 2. that the rulers of ugwuaji community should enact laws against stigmatization of traditional worshippers and those who still hold on to extended family structure. 3. to avoid conflict and to ensure peaceful coexistence between those who practice western culture and those who hold on to the indigenous culture, they should be no inferior or superior culture. 4. to prevent the indigenous culture from going on extinction, parents should properly socialize and integrate the young ones into the indigenous culture, and strengthen the extended family bond. 5. finally, the government should add an extra credit curriculum in school activities to teach children about their origins and family patterns. teachers should also give pupils/students assignments to take home to their parents, elder or guidance to inquire about their original family structure. this should really be put into consideration as it could help to preserve culture and traditions which are on the verge of going on extinction. references abdullah, h.i (2018) parent, its career pursuit and child rearing: loopholes for deviance in nigeria. international journal of sociology and anthropology. creative common attribution publication. aroh, a (2017) social institutions. hi-marks multiple concept & technologies ltd, 16 onyuke street, new layout, enugu. ashley crossman (2020). 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university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 488 clicktivism and the #endbadgovernance campaign in nigeria: analyzing the impact of digital activism on political mobilization *1odunlami olusegun abimbola 2oluyemi abimbola adekemi 3gbadebo saeed adetola 1,3department of mass communication, abraham adesanya polytechnic, ijebu-igbo, ogun state 2department of mass communication, crawford university, igbesa, ogun state *corresponding e-mail: oolusegun1975@gmail.com +2348033962609 abstract this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement in the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria, addressing the challenges of sustaining civic participation and achieving tangible political outcomes through digital activism. anchored on habermas’ public sphere theory and castells' network society theory, the study employed a survey design by focusing on social media users in ado-odo/ota local government area of ogun state a region characterised by its high population density and active online political discourse. a sample size of 384 respondents, determined through the use of cochran’s formula, was selected through purposive sampling to capture those actively engaged in online activism. data collection was conducted via structured questionnaire administered through google forms, and the analysis utilised descriptive statistics. the findings revealed that while clicktivism significantly enhances political engagement and awareness, its impact on long-term civic participation and political change is mixed, with notable concerns about inclusivity. the study concludes that clicktivism is most effective when combined with traditional activism. the study recommended, among others that, activists and organisers should develop strategies that move beyond online engagement, integrating digital actions with on-the-ground efforts to ensure that clicktivism leads to tangible political changes; and that, efforts should be made to reach and involve a more diverse demographic, particularly those in rural areas and older generations, by providing digital literacy training and expanding access to technology. keywords: clicktivism, digital activism, #endbadgovernance, political engagement, civic participation, social media. 1. introduction clicktivism has emerged as a digital form of activism, leveraging the extensive reach and convenience of the internet to advance social causes. it involves online actions such as signing petitions, clicking the "like" button on activism-related content, sharing images, videos, and texts, as well as clicking links to show engagement with social movements. clicktivism, although often criticised for its superficial nature, has proven effective in raising awareness and mobilising support for various campaigns, especially in regions where traditional avenues for activism may be limited. in nigeria, this phenomenon played a critical role in the mobilisation and agitation of the #endbadgovernance movement, which sought to address the systemic failures and inefficiencies prevalent in the nigerian political landscape. the rise of clicktivism is inextricably linked to the increased access to digital technology and social media platforms, especially among the youth. in nigeria, the rapid adoption of platforms like x (formerly, twitter), facebook, and instagram has allowed activists to circumvent the limitations of conventional media and directly engage with a wider audience. this aligns with mailto:oolusegun1975@gmail.com 489 the observations of oyebode, balogun, and okeowo (2023), who noted that social media has become a crucial tool for political mobilisation in africa, particularly among the younger generation. the #endbadgovernance campaign exemplifies this, as it utilised social media platforms to amplify voices, create momentum, and sustain pressure on political leaders. by clicking, sharing, and interacting with digital content, nigerian citizens actively participated in the movement, reflecting the power of clicktivism to foster civic engagement. the #endbadgovernance campaign, a broader offshoot of the #endsars movement, gained significant traction through digital platforms. although #endsars initially focused on police brutality, particularly by the special anti-robbery squad (sars), the campaign expanded to address deeper issues of governance, such as corruption, inefficiency, and neglect of citizens' welfare. as olusegun, ekechukwu, and afolayan (2022) argue, the transition from street protests to online activism reflects a shift in how social movements are organised and sustained. in this context, clicktivism enabled nigerians, especially the youth, to not only express dissatisfaction with the state of governance but also to engage in a collective demand for systemic change. clicktivism plays several critical roles in the campaign for social causes like #endbadgovernance. firstly, it enables widespread dissemination of information. in an era where traditional media outlets in nigeria are often subject to state control or censorship, social media provides a relatively freer space for the circulation of alternative narratives (ajibola & uche, 2022). social media users shared content highlighting instances of government inefficiency, corruption, and police brutality, which resonated with a broader audience and encouraged more people to engage with the campaign. the ease of sharing such content means that even those who may not attend physical protests can still contribute to the movement through their online engagement. secondly, clicktivism facilitates the creation of a digital public sphere where issues of governance can be debated and scrutinised. according to adebayo, chukwuma, and ikenna (2023), social media platforms serve as alternative spaces for political discourse in nigeria. the hashtag #endbadgovernance provided a rallying point for discussions on the failures of governance in nigeria. through likes, shares, and comments, users were able to express their opinions, challenge the status quo, and collectively demand better governance. this digital public sphere contributed to sustaining the momentum of the movement long after the initial street protests had subsided, ensuring that the conversation around governance reform continued. moreover, clicktivism offers a low-risk entry point for political engagement. as highlighted by nwosu and okeke (2022), many nigerians, particularly those living in politically repressive environments, may be hesitant to participate in physical protests due to fear of government retaliation. clicktivism allows individuals to participate in social movements without exposing themselves to physical harm or legal repercussions. this form of engagement is particularly appealing to youths who may lack the resources or organisational capacity to engage in more traditional forms of activism. the #endbadgovernance movement benefited from this, as the online mobilisation allowed a much broader section of society to become involved. despite criticisms that clicktivism is a shallow form of engagement, evidence from the #endbadgovernance campaign suggests otherwise. according to kenechi and madu (2023), while clicking, liking, or sharing content may appear trivial, it plays a vital role in amplifying the reach of a campaign and maintaining its visibility. the widespread use of hashtags like #endbadgovernance ensured that the movement remained part of the national conversation, even after physical protests ended. furthermore, as noted by ifeoma and bolaji (2023), the 490 global attention garnered by the movement was largely driven by online engagement, with international organisations and influencers amplifying the message of nigerian activists. thus, clicktivism has become a significant force in the mobilisation for social causes in nigeria, particularly in the context of the #endbadgovernance movement. by enabling information dissemination, fostering a digital public sphere, and offering a low-risk form of political participation, clicktivism has contributed to the success of the campaign. although it may not replace traditional forms of activism, its role in modern social movements cannot be understated. the digital activism seen during the #endbadgovernance campaign reflects the growing power of social media as a tool for political engagement and highlights the potential for clicktivism to drive meaningful social change in nigeria. statement of the problem this study aims to address several critical issues regarding the role of clicktivism in the agitation of the #endbadgovernance campaign in nigeria. there is a general lack of empirical evidence assessing the effectiveness of clicktivism as a form of political engagement in the nigerian context. while numerous studies have examined the broader impact of digital activism globally, the specific influence of online actions like liking, sharing, and signing petitions in fostering real political change in nigeria remains underexplored (ogunbiyi & adeyemi, 2023). this study seeks to fill this gap by providing a nuanced understanding of how clicktivism has contributed to sustaining the #endbadgovernance movement and its potential to influence policy and governance reforms. there is a significant gap in the literature regarding the long-term effects of clicktivism on social movements in nigeria. previous studies often focus on short-term outcomes, such as the mobilisation of protests or the visibility of campaigns on social media (bakare & williams, 2023). however, few studies have examined whether clicktivism leads to sustained civic engagement or translates into concrete political outcomes over time. this study intends to address this by analysing the impact of digital activism on the #endbadgovernance movement beyond the initial protest phase, exploring its role in keeping governance issues in public discourse and fostering continuous political participation. also, the effectiveness of clicktivism in politically repressive environments like nigeria has been questioned due to concerns that online engagement may be limited to a small, urban elite with access to digital technologies, excluding large portions of the population (uzochukwu & nwafor, 2022). this study seeks to examine whether clicktivism genuinely represents a broad spectrum of nigerian society or if it predominantly reflects the interests of a digitally connected minority. by investigating the demographic reach and inclusivity of clicktivism within the #endbadgovernance movement, this research aims to provide insights into the limitations and potential biases of digital activism in nigeria. finally, while there is substantial research on traditional forms of activism in nigeria, such as street protests and community organising, there is limited scholarly attention on how these forms of activism intersect with digital activism (ibrahim & oyekan, 2023). this study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the relationship between physical protests and online actions in the #endbadgovernance movement. it will investigate whether clicktivism complements or competes with traditional activism, and how these different modes of engagement have collectively contributed to the movement’s goals. research objectives the primary aim of this study is to explore the role of clicktivism in the agitation of the #endbadgovernance campaign in nigeria. the specific objectives are: 491 1. to assess the effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria. 2. to examine the long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes in nigeria. 3. to investigate the demographic reach of clicktivism in nigeria and its inclusivity within the #endbadgovernance movement. 4. to analyse the relationship between digital activism and traditional forms of activism in the #endbadgovernance campaign. research questions this study seeks to answer the following questions to achieve the objectives of the study: 1. how effective is clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria? 2. what is the long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes in nigeria? 3. what is the demographic reach of clicktivism in nigeria, and how inclusive is it within the #endbadgovernance movement? 4. how do digital activism and traditional forms of activism interact in the #endbadgovernance campaign? 2. literature/conceptual review clicktivism clicktivism, also referred to as digital or slacktivism, is the practice of engaging in social or political activism through minimal online actions such as clicking "like," signing petitions, or sharing content. while some critics argue that clicktivism is superficial and ineffective, recent literature highlights its significance in fostering awareness and participation in social movements. according to adewale, ajayi, and musa (2023), clicktivism has redefined political engagement by enabling a broader demographic to participate in activism without the physical risks associated with traditional protests. in nigeria, the rise of clicktivism has been observed across several movements, including the #endsars and #endbadgovernance campaigns, where online interactions played a critical role in amplifying voices and mobilising collective action. this form of digital engagement has also been found to act as a stepping stone for deeper political involvement (eze & nnadi, 2022), particularly in environments where physical activism is curtailed by government repression. political engagement through social media political engagement through social media is a growing area of study in the field of digital activism. social media platforms such as twitter, facebook, and instagram provide citizens with a platform to discuss, debate, and mobilise around political issues. ibrahim and ezeigwe (2023) assert that these platforms serve as an alternative public sphere where political actors and citizens can bypass traditional media gatekeepers to directly engage with one another. this phenomenon has been particularly pronounced in nigeria, where access to mainstream media is often controlled by political elites. the #endbadgovernance campaign demonstrated how social media could facilitate political discourse and foster civic participation, particularly among the youth, who are more adept at utilising digital tools (adebisi, okeke, & yinka, 2023). unlike traditional forms of political engagement that require significant time, resources, and physical presence, social media lowers the barriers to entry, making political activism more accessible to a wider audience. 492 civic engagement in digital spaces civic engagement in digital spaces refers to the various ways citizens use online platforms to participate in political and social processes. according to oluwadamilola and bankole (2022), digital spaces have increasingly become the locus for civic engagement, especially in politically repressive environments like nigeria. these digital platforms allow citizens to organise and advocate for policy changes without the physical risks associated with street protests. the #endbadgovernance movement is a prime example of how civic engagement has evolved within the nigerian context, as thousands of users took to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with the state of governance (nwachukwu & balogun, 2022). these digital interactions have not only facilitated widespread participation but have also shifted the narrative around political activism from being solely physical to incorporating digital actions that can have a broad impact. digital activism and its impact on governance digital activism, including clicktivism, has a growing influence on governance, particularly in contexts where traditional activism faces limitations. in nigeria, digital activism has opened new channels for citizens to hold the government accountable. recent studies by onyekwere, obiora, and samuel (2023) highlight that digital activism has empowered citizens by providing them with tools to organise protests, report incidents of corruption, and demand accountability. these actions have placed pressure on political leaders to address issues that may have otherwise been ignored by conventional media outlets. the impact of digital activism on governance is evident in the globalisation of local movements, as seen with the #endbadgovernance campaign, which gained international attention due to the online activities of nigerian activists (ojo & adesanya, 2023). while the long-term impact of these efforts on governance structures remains a subject of ongoing research, the immediate effects in terms of raising awareness and putting issues on the policy agenda are well-documented. youth mobilisation in nigeria youth mobilisation is another critical aspect of the #endbadgovernance campaign, facilitated largely by digital platforms. nigerian youth, who represent the majority of the population, have increasingly turned to social media as a space for political expression and mobilisation. as noted by chinedu and omolara (2022), the youth in nigeria are often excluded from traditional political processes, making social media a valuable tool for political engagement. the #endbadgovernance movement showcased how the nigerian youth used digital tools to organise and demand better governance. furthermore, olatunji and adeyeye (2023) argue that digital platforms have allowed nigerian youth to form communities of interest that transcend geographical boundaries, thereby fostering a stronger, more unified front in their political demands. this digital mobilisation challenges the traditional notion that political activism is confined to physical spaces, illustrating how the youth can leverage technology to push for systemic change. the role of hashtags in social movements hashtags have become a powerful tool in social movements, serving as both a rallying point and a means of amplifying the message of a campaign. in the case of the #endbadgovernance campaign, the hashtag was used to consolidate various grievances under a single narrative, making it easier for people to join the conversation and engage with the movement (uche & madueke, 2023). hashtags like #endbadgovernance act as digital symbols of resistance, helping to increase the visibility of the movement while also enabling activists to track the spread and influence of their campaign. according to okonkwo and akinbode (2023), the strategic use of hashtags in social movements has the potential to elevate local issues to global 493 platforms, thereby drawing international attention and support. this visibility often translates into external pressure on national governments to address the concerns raised by activists. challenges of clicktivism despite its growing relevance, clicktivism is not without challenges. one major criticism is that it fosters a superficial level of engagement, where individuals may feel that liking or sharing a post is sufficient for political activism (aluko & bello, 2023). this type of engagement, often referred to as "slacktivism," may not lead to tangible changes or sustained commitment to a cause. research by akintoye and okafor (2022) highlights that while clicktivism can generate significant online buzz, its translation into real-world action remains inconsistent. additionally, the digital divide in nigeria means that many citizens, particularly those in rural areas, are excluded from online activism due to limited access to technology (omoruyi, 2022). this raises concerns about the inclusivity of clicktivism and whether it genuinely reflects the broader aspirations of the nigerian populace. digital activism in politically repressive environments in politically repressive environments like nigeria, where traditional forms of protest can be met with state violence or suppression, digital activism offers a relatively safer avenue for political participation. according to oluwatosin and chukwudi (2023), social media platforms allow activists to organise, spread information, and garner support without exposing themselves to the physical risks associated with street protests. however, digital activism in such contexts is not without its risks, as governments have increasingly turned to digital surveillance and censorship to stifle dissent. the nigerian government's response to the #endbadgovernance campaign, which included attempts to regulate social media and cut off internet access, highlights the limitations of digital activism in repressive regimes. yet, as nwankwo and olaniyi (2023) point out, even in the face of these challenges, digital activism continues to play a crucial role in challenging authoritarianism and advocating for democratic reforms in nigeria. theoretical framework this paper is anchored on the habermas’ public sphere theory and castells' network society theory. habermas’ public sphere theory was propounded in 1962 by jürgen habermas. it emphasises the role of public spaces, both physical and virtual, where citizens can engage in rational discourse about societal issues. the major thrust of this theory is the creation of a democratic space where individuals come together to discuss and influence political actions, free from external coercion. this theory is relevant to the study because social media platforms serve as modern-day public spheres where nigerian citizens, particularly the youth, engage in discussions about governance and mobilise for political change through clicktivism. as adeyemi (2022) argues, the digital space created by social media in nigeria mirrors habermas' conception of the public sphere thereby allowing for greater citizen participation in political discourse and activism. castells' network society theory, also propounded in 1996, was introduced by manuel castells. it focuses on how information and communication technologies have transformed society into interconnected networks. the theory highlights the decentralisation of communication and the empowerment of individuals to create and disseminate information outside traditional power structures. this theory is particularly relevant to the #endbadgovernance movement, where activists utilised digital networks to mobilise support and challenge governmental authority without relying on traditional media outlets (olowokere & adeniyi, 2022). the decentralised nature of these digital platforms aligns with castells' view that power in the network society lies in the ability to control and influence information flows, 494 making it an essential framework for analysing the impact of clicktivism in nigeria's political landscape. 3. method this study employs survey research design. the population of the study comprises social media users in ado-odo/ota local government area of ogun state, an area chosen due to its high population density and diverse socio-economic demographics, thus making it an ideal case for examining digital activism. ado-odo/ota has witnessed significant political engagement online, particularly among youth, who are often the primary users of social media platforms. given the difficulty in determining the exact number of social media users involved in clicktivism for this campaign, a sample size of 384 respondents was determined through the use of cochran’s formula for sample size calculation from the population of 526,565 at 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error. purposive sampling technique was adopted to focus on respondents who are active social media users. data collection was conducted using structured questionnaire, specifically designed to capture respondents' engagement in online political activism and was done via google form administration of questionnaire to respondents. the data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics to summarise and interpret the collected data, thereby ensuring clarity in understanding the patterns of digital political engagement in the local government area. 4. findings and analysis the study utilises descriptive statistical methods to interpret the survey responses to provide insights into the role of clicktivism in the agitation of the #endbadgovernance campaign in nigeria. research question 1: how effective is clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria? table 1: effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria items responses frequency percentage (%) 1. how often do you engage with #endbadgovernance-related content on social media? always 97 25 often 115 30 sometimes 129 34 never 43 11 2. what type of engagement do you mostly participate in for the #endbadgovernance movement? liking posts 141 37 sharing posts 97 25 signing online petitions 71 18 commenting on posts 75 20 3. do you believe that your online participation in the #endbadgovernance movement contributes to real political change? strongly agree 89 23 agree 147 38 disagree 103 27 strongly disagree 45 12 4. in your opinion, how effective is clicktivism in raising awareness about political issues like #endbadgovernance? very effective 93 24 somehow effective 151 39 not effective 93 24 not sure 47 13 495 source: field survey (2024) the data in table 1 illustrates the effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria. of the 384 respondents, 129 (34%) engage with #endbadgovernance-related content "sometimes," and 115 (30%) engage "often," showing a significant level of interaction. the most common type of engagement is "liking posts," with 141 respondents (37%), followed by "sharing posts," with 97 respondents (25%). when asked if online participation contributes to real political change, 147 respondents (38%) "agree," while 103 (27%) "disagree." regarding the effectiveness of clicktivism in raising awareness, 151 respondents (39%) find it "somehow effective," indicating that while many participants believe in its efficacy, there's also a notable group that remains uncertain or less convinced. research question 2: what is the long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes in nigeria? table 2: long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes in nigeria items responses frequency percentage (%) 5. has your involvement in the #endbadgovernance movement encouraged you to engage in other civic activities? yes, frequently 95 25 yes, occasionally 123 32 no 111 29 not sure 55 14 6. do you feel that the momentum of the #endbadgovernance movement has been sustained over time due to online engagement? strongly agree 99 26 agree 115 30 disagree 113 29 strongly disagree 57 15 7. how likely are you to participate in future political movements online due to your experience with the #endbadgovernance campaign? very likely 103 27 likely 131 34 unlikely 105 27 very unlikely 45 12 8. do you think that clicktivism has led to any tangible political outcomes in nigeria since the #endbadgovernance movement started? yes 115 30 no 85 22 somehow 139 36 not sure 45 12 source: field survey (2024) the data in table 2 indicates the long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes in nigeria, particularly within the #endbadgovernance movement. of the 384 respondents, 123 (32%) indicated that their involvement in the movement has encouraged them to engage in other civic activities "occasionally," while 95 (25%) have done so "frequently." when asked if the momentum of the movement has been sustained over time due to online engagement, 115 respondents (30%) "agree," though a similar proportion, 113 respondents (29%), "disagree." regarding future participation in political movements online, 131 respondents (34%) are "likely" to do so, with 103 (27%) being "very likely." on whether clicktivism has led to tangible political outcomes in nigeria, 139 respondents (36%) believe it has done so "somehow," while 115 (30%) affirm that it has indeed resulted in such outcomes. this data suggests that while clicktivism has a notable influence on civic engagement and political outcomes, opinions on its effectiveness are varied, with a significant number of participants recognizing some level of impact. 496 research question 3: what is the demographic reach of clicktivism in nigeria, and how inclusive is it within the #endbadgovernance movement? table 3: demographic reach of clicktivism in nigeria, and how inclusive is it within the #endbadgovernance movement? items responses frequency percentage (%) 9. which age group do you belong to? under 18 years 33 9% 18-25 years 121 32% 26-35 years 147 38% 36 years and above 83 22% 10. what is your level of education? primary 47 12% secondary 103 27% tertiary 201 52% none 33 9% 11. which political ward are you from? ota 1 19 5% ota 2 27 7% ota 3 23 6% sango 31 8% atan 17 4% ijoko 21 5% iju 25 7% ilogbo 19 5% ado-odo 1 29 8% ado-odo 2 27 7% ere 15 4% alapoti 19 5% igbesa 25 7% agbara 1 21 5% agbara 2 17 4% ketu 19 5% 12. how inclusive do you feel the #endbadgovernance movement is across different social groups in nigeria? very inclusive 97 25% somewhat inclusive 147 38% not inclusive 109 28% not sure 31 8% source: field survey (2024) the data in table 3 reveals the effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria. of the 384 respondents, the majority, 147 (38%), fall within the 26-35 years age group, with 121 (32%) in the 18-25 years category, 83 (22%) being 36 years and above, and 33 (9%) under 18 years. regarding education, 201 respondents (52%) have tertiary education, followed by 103 (27%) with secondary education, 47 (12%) with primary education, and 33 (9%) with no formal education. the political wards with the highest representation are sango with 31 respondents (8%), ado-odo 1 with 29 (8%), and ota 2 and ado-odo 2 both with 27 respondents (7%) each. finally, 147 respondents (38%) believe the #endbadgovernance movement is somewhat inclusive, 97 (25%) find it very inclusive, 109 (28%) think it is not inclusive, and 31 (8%) are not sure. 497 research question 4: how do digital activism and traditional forms of activism interact in the #endbadgovernance campaign? table 4: relationship between digital activism and traditional forms of activism in the #endbadgovernance campaign items responses frequency percentage (%) 13. have you participated in any physical protests related to the #endbadgovernance movement? yes 129 34% no 109 28% plan to 73 19% not interested 73 19% 14. how do you perceive the relationship between digital activism and street protests in the #endbadgovernance movement? complementary 153 40% conflicting 75 20% independent 85 22% not sure 71 18% 15. do you believe that online activism has enhanced the effectiveness of physical protests? strongly agree 103 27% agree 117 30% disagree 97 25% strongly disagree 67 17% 16. which form of activism do you believe had a greater impact on the #endbadgovernance movement? digital activism 129 34% physical protests 85 22% both equally 121 32% not sure 49 13% source: field survey (2024) the data in table 4 illustrates the interaction between digital activism and traditional forms of activism within the #endbadgovernance movement in nigeria. out of 384 respondents, 129 (34%) have participated in physical protests, 109 (28%) have not, and 73 respondents each (19%) either plan to participate or are not interested. when considering the relationship between digital activism and street protests, 153 respondents (40%) see them as complementary, while 85 (22%) view them as independent, 75 (20%) as conflicting, and 71 (18%) are not sure. additionally, 117 respondents (30%) agree that online activism has enhanced the effectiveness of physical protests, while 103 (27%) strongly agree, 97 (25%) disagree, and 67 (17%) strongly disagree. lastly, 129 respondents (34%) believe digital activism had a greater impact on the movement, while 121 (32%) think both forms of activism had equal impact, 85 (22%) believe physical protests were more impactful, and 49 (13%) are not sure. 5. discussions the findings related to the first research objective, which sought to assess the effectiveness of clicktivism as a tool for political engagement within the #endbadgovernance movement, reveal that clicktivism plays a significant but somewhat nuanced role in political engagement. the data indicates that a considerable portion of respondents (30% engaging often and 34% sometimes) interact with #endbadgovernance content, primarily through liking and sharing posts. this suggests a high level of engagement, yet the mixed responses regarding whether such engagement translates to real political change (with 38% agreeing and 27% disagreeing) highlight a disparity between perceived and actual impact. this aligns with the critique by aluko and bello (2023), who argue that while clicktivism can generate substantial online buzz, its effectiveness in driving substantive political change remains questionable. the finding that many participants (39%) find clicktivism only "somehow effective" in raising awareness 498 underscores this ambiguity, suggesting that while clicktivism is useful for spreading information, its ability to mobilise tangible action may be limited. in examining the long-term impact of clicktivism on sustaining civic engagement and influencing political outcomes, the findings reveal a complex picture. a significant number of respondents (57%) have been motivated to engage in other civic activities due to their involvement in the #endbadgovernance movement, indicating that clicktivism does foster ongoing civic participation. however, the divided opinions on whether the momentum of the movement has been sustained (with 30% agreeing and 29% disagreeing) reflect the challenges of maintaining long-term engagement through digital platforms. this finding resonates with the work of omowumi and bamidele (2022), who highlight the difficulty of translating online enthusiasm into sustained political action. moreover, the fact that 36% of respondents believe clicktivism has led to tangible political outcomes suggests that while the impact of digital activism is acknowledged, it is not universally perceived as transformative. this reinforces the idea that clicktivism, while effective in the short term, may struggle to produce lasting political change without complementary offline efforts. the third objective, which investigated the demographic reach and inclusivity of clicktivism within the #endbadgovernance movement, reveals that clicktivism predominantly engages young, educated nigerians, particularly those aged 26-35 years and those with tertiary education. this demographic concentration suggests that while clicktivism is accessible, it may not fully represent the broader nigerian population, particularly older adults and those with less education. the finding that a significant portion of respondents (38%) view the movement as only somewhat inclusive, with 28% believing it is not inclusive, raises concerns about the representativeness of digital activism. this observation is in line with the findings of olaniyi and adeola (2022), who noted that digital activism in nigeria often reflects the interests of a relatively privileged, digitally literate minority. the demographic limitations identified in this study highlight the need for strategies that broaden the reach and inclusivity of digital activism to ensure that it reflects the diverse voices of the nigerian populace. finally, the study’s findings on the relationship between digital activism and traditional forms of activism within the #endbadgovernance movement suggest a complementary dynamic between these two modes of engagement. the fact that 40% of respondents view digital and physical activism as complementary indicates that both forms of activism can reinforce each other, with online actions amplifying the impact of physical protests. this finding is consistent with the theoretical framework proposed by castells (1996) in his network society theory, which posits that digital networks can enhance the effectiveness of traditional social movements by providing new tools for organisation and mobilisation. additionally, the significant agreement (57%) that online activism has enhanced the effectiveness of physical protests aligns with empirical studies by balogun and eze (2023), who argue that digital platforms can serve as crucial support mechanisms for on-the-ground activism. this suggests that a hybrid approach, combining digital and traditional activism, may be the most effective strategy for sustaining and advancing social movements in nigeria. 6. conclusion this study concludes that clicktivism, as demonstrated within the #endbadgovernance movement, serves as a significant tool for political engagement in nigeria, particularly among the youth and the digitally literate. however, while it effectively raises awareness and encourages initial involvement in social causes, its ability to drive sustained civic engagement and achieve tangible political outcomes remains varied and somewhat limited. the findings indicate that clicktivism's impact is most potent when it operates in conjunction with traditional forms of activism, suggesting that a hybrid approach is essential for achieving meaningful 499 change. furthermore, the study highlights concerns regarding the inclusivity of digital activism, revealing a demographic skew towards younger, more educated nigerians, which may limit the broader representativeness of such movements. overall, while clicktivism is an influential force in contemporary political activism in nigeria, its full potential can only be realised through strategies that enhance its reach, inclusivity, and integration with offline actions. 7. recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made: activists and organisers should develop strategies that move beyond online engagement, integrating digital actions with on-the-ground efforts to ensure that clicktivism leads to tangible political changes. efforts should be made to reach and involve a more diverse demographic, particularly those in rural areas and older generations, by providing digital literacy training and expanding access to technology. activists should create follow-up initiatives and ongoing campaigns to maintain the momentum generated 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(2022). digital activism and social exclusion: the limitations of clicktivism in nigeria. international journal of african development, 10(2), 143158. page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 151 governance, insecurity, poverty and pauperization in nigeria aguene, ignatius nnamdi department of sociology/psychology godfrey okoye university, 1 thinkers corner, emene, enugu state e-mail: agueneignatiusnnamdi@gmail.com, aguenennamdi@gouni.edu.ng phone no: 07036596997 abstract the core attributes of good governance include the accountability of government and its institutions and officials for their decisions and actions, the existence of institutions and mechanisms to enforce government accountability, and the ability to redress transgressions. using a descriptive and analytical approach, the study revealed that corruption is the outcome of weak governance and flourishes under weak social institutions. poverty is not only dehumanizing; it is also debasing because it is a condition that deprives individuals of the right to exercise their potential. the result is that many nigerians now live without hope, which has resulted in depression and high blood pressure. based on the findings, the study recommended, among others, that restructuring nigeria will reduce the agitation for selfdetermination because of marginalization, create a specialized anti-corruption court to hasten the trial of corruption cases, and strictly observe the principles of the rule of law. keywords: governance, pauperization, poverty, rule of law and security introduction according to the nigerian constitution, the welfare and security of the people must be the core objectives of the state. the term "governance" encompasses the entire dynamic of institutionalized citizen participation in the administration of public affairs for the purpose of development and progress. the fundamental institutional manifestations of democratic government in modern times have been the freedoms to vote and to be elected, regular elections, press freedom, association freedom, the rule of law, and judicial independence. the core elements of democratic administration in nigeria have recently been negatively affected in light of the numerous socioeconomic and political problems that nigerians are currently facing. research indicates that previous policies and initiatives implemented by different governments to combat poverty have not had much of an influence for a number of reasons. gown’s accelerated food production programme (afpp), obasanjo’s operation feed the nation (ofn), shagari’s river basin development authority (rbda), and green revolution (gr) babangida’s mass mobilization for social and economic recovery (mamser), national directorate for employment (nde), directorate for food, road and rural infrastructural (dfrri) better life for rural women programme (blp) national agricultural land development authority (nalda), people’s bank of nigeria (pbn) nigerian agricultural and cooperative bank (nacb), abacha’s family economic advancement programme (feap), obasanjo’s poverty alleviation programme (pap), etc. most frequently, those in positions of authority who are unscrupulous, self-centered, and greedy hijack these initiatives. the final outcome is invariably a poorly implemented or performed programme. the family economic advancement programme is an excellent illustration (feap). the initiative received a lot of support, a lot of funding, and a lot of human resources, but its impact on reducing poverty is disappointing since it was never felt as opined by aibieyi and dirisu, (2010).\ 152 all of nigeria's well-intentioned citizens are now deeply concerned about the issue of insecurity, and the majority of them still don't understand how the nation got into such a pernicious situation where nobody is safe. unfortunately, the issue is getting worse rather than better; it is now completely out of control. the idea of insecurity suggests a broad breakdown in law and order or a predicament in which a nation's population are exposed to an unmanageable risk and everyone lives in constant anxiety of what could happen next. therefore, insecurity predicts an environment in which anarchy is let loose on the general people and human life turns "nasty, brutish." herders have recently emerged in nigeria as a new cause of instability. herders, many of whom now have sophisticated weaponry in their hands, are killing many innocent farmers on the farmland where they have inhabited all their lives. between the fulani and the majority of their host communities, the pattern has caused such a rift. additionally, it is the reason why the majority of southern rural villages have turned down the government's various settlement proposals for the herders. another significant obstacle to peace in nigeria's new environment of instability is religious fanaticism/extremism. boko haram, a group of islamic fanatics, has been wreaking havoc in the north eastern, north western, and indeed much of the north for more than 10 years. numerous individuals have been slain, thousands have been displaced, and many are currently living in idp camps dispersed throughout the northern regions. according to a world bank projection from 2021, there would be 95.1 million impoverished people in nigeria by 2022. in 2020, there were 89.0 million impoverished people, and by 2022, there will be 95.1 million. the capacity to rectify violations of the law is one of the fundamental characteristics of effective governance, along with the accountability of the government, its institutions, and officials for their choices and acts. aiyede et al. (2016) enumerated a few characteristics of excellent governance that are readily recognizable: (i) adherence to the rule of law and respect for human rights (ii) accountability and transparency in government processes (iii) press freedom and unrestricted information flow, (iv) transparency in government dealings, (v) predictability in government conduct, (vi) the expectation of rational judgments, (vii) adherence to equality and social fairness; (viii) decentralization of authority and decision-making; (ix) diversity of policy alternatives and choices; (x) legitimacy and responsiveness to public opinion; (xi) management and organizational competence. nigeria has seen several ethnic wars over the course of its history. the nation was governed by military authorities from 1966 until 1999. the nation was eventually restored to civilian authority in 1999, but since then, militant ethnic and religious groups have emerged and escalated their violence noticeably. even if poverty and economic struggle are the causes of violence, these issues are only made worse by violence. due to a lack of supervision and control, corruption has developed. resources that may be used to fund investments or provide public services are being misused. programs to reduce poverty no longer receive financing as a result of corruption, and the needy have not received the necessary help. as a result, poverty and corruption in nigeria are linked and feed off of one another. 153 hajahadza mohammed wrote an essay that was published on april 4, 2021, and it indicates that "the government of the day has not demonstrated any dedication towards tackling the problem of insecurity devouring the country, feeding government speculation in the entire subject." unfortunately, it is said that the government and its agencies' official haughtiness is making the country's appalling situation of insecurity worse. one recent example of this is the end sars protest, which resulted in several fatalities. instability in nigeria's politics, society, and economy has led to pauperization. problems arose with the rehabilitation and resettlement of internally displaced people (idps) and the provision of sufficient security. camp staff sexually assaulted the ladies, posing a threat despite assertions that the idps were well-cared for. statement of problem the amalgation of 1914 had a limited objective: not the unification of nigerian peoples but an amalgamation of the different administrations of the british colonial authority in nigeria. the british colonial authority introduced ethnicity into nigeria as a divide and rule strategy, which has remained one of the major problems of nationhood in nigeria. instead of tapping on the different advantages of a plural society, it became a devastating factor, rendering nationhood an impossible factor in nigeria. nigeria has only given lip service to the issues caused by and insecurity. the friction between the federal government and most southern leaders has reached a peak as most southern governors have started passing anti-open grazing laws that would disallow the herders from moving freely across people’s farms. but as the war rages on, many lives are being lost, and the relevance of the government is being called into question.estimated poverty rates in nigeria's northeast, which borders the lake to the southwest, are above 70%, about double the national average. high levels of poverty, a lack of human capital, and limited access to essential services define the region. both economic activity and family income have fallen during the past three decades.. nigeria continues to battle with issues such as food inflation and the rising cost of living, among other economic challenges, and these issues are likely some of the reasons why more people are falling into poverty than being lifted out of it. (politics today, 2022). the poor often constitute the majority in less developed countries like nigeria, for example, where poverty levels are relatively high. however, because this poor majority lacks political and financial resources, it is primarily organized by other social groups based on the ideas and policy agendas of others. however, good democratic governance has resulted in a better life for citizens in some countries around the world as a result of people-oriented policies and programs implemented. democratic governance in nigeria is characterized by some limiting factors such as an overinflated and unsustainable cost of governance, the existence of systemic corruption, weak institutions, and political will, massive embezzlement of public funds, and political patronage and favoritism. this places the poor and vulnerable majority in a situation of having no option other than to dance to the tune of the few powerful political leaders for survival. these manifest in their indulging in various electoral offenses such as stuffing of ballot boxes, multiple voting, vote buying, and other related offenses. besides creating general political apathy, such activities often hinder democratic participation among the poor masses. consequently, the challenges, especially the general increase in the poverty rate in nigeria as a nation, have not 154 been adequately addressed by the successive democratic leadership that has emerged over time. this leaves much to be desired, especially when one considers the fact that many of these leaders actually emerged through what can best be described as a fraudulent democratic process. the nigerian democratic experience has not resulted in the much-expected good governance that is the foundation for economic growth and development and, by extension, poverty reduction. this is because democratic government in nigeria is practiced at variance with the basic tenets and principles of good democratic government. relevant studies revealed, amongst others, that democratic government in nigeria is pervaded by various issues such as electoral violence, manipulation of election results, political apathy, and the "do or die" posture of the major political leaders. the government has tried to fight corruption, which is deeply rooted in nigerian society and has penetrated all its facets. the anti-corruption war is not successful because the anticorruption outfits often become part of the problem of corruption themselves. the absence of peace in nigerian society because of a lack of justice has manifested in massive poverty and insecurity in the country. the massive marginalization in the country led to agitation for selfdetermination, while the alleged preference given to the fulani has sustained fulani-farmer clashes resulting in the killing of local farmers, the destruction of farm crops and farms, and the raping and killing of women, giving credence to the saying that without justice there can be no peace in any society. the socio-political climate has become more tensed due to the growing discontentment, discomfort, and distress within society as a whole, as well as the ongoing pervasive corruption, high unemployment rate, economic crisis, pauperization of the masses, deteriorating infrastructure, and a fruitless national integration project. as a result, violent crimes such as abduction, political assassinations, armed conflicts, terrorism, and ethnic and religious genocides have come to dominate social interactions in nigeria.the world bank (2021) noted that about 4 out of every 10 nigerians are living in poverty, with millions more susceptible to falling below the poverty line. the failure of governance in nigeria is manifest in the declining capacity of political leaders to recognize systematic risks such as election fraud, foremost attacks, herder-farmer conflict, armed banditry, police intimidation and violence, the rule of law, political freedom, and respect for human rights. nigeria is perceived in the 2020 transparency international corruption perception index as a highly corrupt country with a share of 25/100, while its corruption ranking increased from 146 in 2019 to 149 in 2020. out of 180 countries surveyed. president muhammadu buhari won the 2015 election on his promise to fight insecurity and corruption, but his promise went unfulfilled. (okoi and iwara, 2021). political elites in nigeria exploit poverty and illiteracy to mobilize voters with fraudulent items such as rice, seasoning, and money. the rice is usually packaged strategically with the image of political candidates and the parts they represent. the assumption is that people are more likely to vote for a politician who influences them with food than those who bring a message of hope. (okoi and iwara, 2021). objectives of the study 155 the general objective is to examine how challenges of governance gave rise to insecurity, poverty and pauperization in nigeria. the specific objectives include: a. to examine whether it is possible to have peace without justice b. to examine whether poverty of citizens is different from the poverty of a nation c. to examine whether bad governance can increase the poverty level in nigeria. research questions: a. can there be peace without justice? b. is the poverty of a nation different from the poverty of her citizens? c. can bad governance lead to poverty? methododlogy study design the study design is largely descriptive and analytical with anecdotal evidence gleaned from a qualitative and relevant literature on governance, insecurity, poverty in nigeria. data data for the study was gathered from textbooks, journal and internet materials from nigerian bureau of statistics, transparent international,publicopinionin radio, television, newspapers, magazines. these were complemented by interviews, group discussions, key informants and stake holders. findings and discussions findings / result the study revealed that corruption is the outcome of weak governance and flourishes under weak social institutions. poverty is not only dehumanizing; it is also debasing because it is a condition that deprives individuals of the right to exercise their potential. the fulani herdsmen use ak-47s against local farmers on their land. many families now stay without food or eat whenever they have food. it no longer eats three times per day.many nigerians are now homeless; many have committed suicide, and others are thinking about it. the result is that many nigerians now live without hope, which has resulted in depression and high blood pressure. idps suffer from extreme poverty; they do not go out with anything when displaced; they do not often have access to medical facilities or are over strengthened because of more arrivals. some idp children do not attend school for up to a year or more, and others do not reach displacement camps. women and girls face gender-based violence. there is a lack of water and sanitation, as well as overcrowding; at times, they are subjected to multiple displacements. boko haram was a militant islamic group that sought to impose sharia law or its own radical interpretation of islam on northern nigeria before moving southward. the organization is opposed to contemporary science, western culture, and not only western education. the number of herding disputes and associated crimes increased. many terrorists and bandits see kidnapping as lucrative business for their evil ways of life; according to one intelligence report, terrorists who live in deserts rely on ransom payments from kidnapped people. president buhari could not fix the economy as he promised in his campaign; rather, the economy is collapsing under him. his style of leadership has escalated the insecurity situation in nigeria, which has also negatively affected the economy. worse still, 156 boko haram has planted its flag in some communities around lake chad. they impose rules and taxes on farmers and fishermen. the international fish market in the chad basin is now completely under the control of the group. (politics today, 2022). poverty and social exclusion are undesirable states. in nigeria, the nature of the determinants of poverty can be traced to a low or declining level of economic growth, income inequalities, unemployment, corruption, bad government, the division of funds into non-developmental projects, fund embezzlements, inappropriate macroeconomic policies, and inadequate human endorsement.many nigerians are no longer ashamed to beg for help from others. many petty businesses have collapsed. many people cannot go to their farms to farm or to get food because of the clash between farmers and headers. the fulani herdsmen use ak-47s against local farmers on their land. many families now stay without food or eat whenever they have food. it no longer eats three times per day. many nigerians are now homeless, and many have committed suicide or are considering it. the result is that many nigerians now live without hope, which has resulted in depression and high blood pressure. farmers and herdsmen clashed, killing and displacing many nigerians and destroying farm crops. they have forced many nigerians into poverty. the fulani, or herdsmen, are one of the major causes of the pauperization of nigeria in recent times. they also engage in killing, rape, kidnapping, and other crimes. following several appeals to the presidency for solutions, the southern governors issued this statement. this led to the asaba declaration, where, among other things, they banned open grazing of cattle throughout southern nigeria. many have followed up the asaba declaration with anti-open grazing laws, and insecurity has led to the pauperization of nigerians. on august 9, 2021, ipob introduced a sit-at-home order as a means of putting pressure on the nigerian government to release its leader, mazinnamdikanu, who is on trial for alleged treasonable felonies and terrorism. people initially obeyed the order in solidarity with the cause, but the pain and deprivation that can result, as well as the sheer economic cost to businesses and the livelihoods of individuals and households over time, have rendered it intolerable because law enforcement officers are regularly killed and government property is burned. gunmen have attacked traders and commuters who flaunt the order across the region. they have attacked traders, killed some people, and set goods being transported ablaze.prof. soludo, the governor of anambra state and former governor of the central bank of nigeria, said that an estimated 19.6 billion dollars are lost in anambra any day there is sit-at-home. (aice tv, 2022) money politics by old men with ill-gotten wealth has always been the norm. nigerians are clamoring for a new dispensation of youth for nigeria's president. (politics today, 2022). nigerian politics since 1999 has been dominated by the people’s democratic party (pdp) and the all-alliance congress (apc). money politics by old men with ill-gotten wealth has always been the norm. nigerians are calling for a new generation of youth to run for the presidency. some are about 80 years old with symptoms of old age and failing health conditions, yet they have the personal ambition of being president of nigeria, even for one day. theoretical framework the researcher reviewed three sociological theories: functional, conflict, and relative deprivation. 157 functionalist theory: the theory is based on the assumption that all aspects of societal institutions, roles, norms, etc. serve purposes and are indispensable for the survival of the social system. society is compared to an animal organism. (britannica encyclopedia 2022) though functionalism has been criticized for its failure to account for social change and individual agency, conflict theory: conflict theory, developed by karl marx, is the theory that society is in a state of perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources. it holds that social order is maintained by dominance and power rather than by consensus and conformity. it focuses more on the negative aspects of human interaction (britannica encyclopedia 2022). relative deprivation theory: this theory is adopted as the theoretical framework of this study. relative deprivation is a subjective disaffection that troubles many people. this is caused by comparing one's situation with others'. the concept of "relative deprivation" (rd) is the product of an upward comparison that indicates that one's disadvantaged situation is underserved, coupled with anger and resentment (wikipedia 2022).obah-akpowoghala (2013), quoted in autin-egole et al. (2022), noted the prerequisite of relative deprivation as where individual a feels deprived of object x; individual a does not have object x; individual a wants to have object x; individual a knows of other persons who have object x; and individual a believes obtaining object x is realistic. in nigeria, deprivation was the major factor that led to the nigerian-biafran war of 1967–1970, and the factors that led to the war are still manifesting today in the marginalization of the people of southern nigeria. nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources, making it one of the richest countries in the world, but unfortunately, her citizens are among the poorest in the entire world because few are enjoying the wealth of the nation. this has been a result of government insensitivity to the plight of ordinary nigerians, the non-observance of the principle of rule of law, the one-sided fight against corruption, and the alleged support given to the fulani herdsmen who kill local farmers with ak-47 guns, causing many farmers to be killed and some others to escape to internally displaced homes. the end result is insecurity, poverty, and pauperism among nigerians, confirming the weakness of nigerian governance. governance according to the national security strategy, federal republic of nigeria (2019), national security is inextricably linked with and inseparable from economic security. the government recognizes that nigeria’s greatest resource is her people, and that the truest measure of our progress lies in the degree to which access to opportunities for empowerment and selfactualization is provided. the goal is to achieve widespread prosperity that lifts all people out of poverty and provides social security investments that safeguard the weak, disadvantaged, and jobless to ensure a reasonable and equitable distribution of wealth. consequently, nigeria’s government will promote free enterprise, inclusive economic growth, and continue to aggressively pursue the diversification of the economy with an emphasis on developing our human capital. they will ensure that the exploitation of the natural resources is undertaken in a manner that serves the common good of every citizen while guarding against the emergence of disparities and inequalities. we will continue to deepen partnerships between the public and private sectors and actualize the socio-economic rights of nigerians. nigeria’s ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity are sources of national strength. one of the fundamental necessities of nigeria’s national security and a continuing national objective is to harness this power and strengthen the nation’s social cohesiveness. the government will support unifying organizations like the federal character commission and 158 the national youth service corps (nysc), which boost nigeria's integrative potential by promoting the equality of every citizen and battling prejudice and discrimination in all of its forms, in accordance with the values of inclusion, tolerance, and respect for universal human rights. they will also continue to encourage ties among people of different ethnicities, creeds, and cultures, will safeguard democracy and the socio-cultural pluralism that provides expression for the country’s heterogeneity while promoting a national consciousness and identity. the following cross-sectoral reactions will be part of nigeria’s political security measures: • encourage a polite and inclusive public discourse culture to advance unity and national cohesion; • shall ensure political stability rooted in a multi-party democracy, involvement by the general public in politics, political inclusivity, robust democratic and political institutions, and a free, credible, and electoral process free from all forms of violence; • enhance good governance based on development, accountability, zero tolerance for corruption at all levels, sound regulatory mechanisms, due process, the rule of law, and human rights; • encourage the elimination of prejudice against any nigerian, regardless of gender, religion, or ethnicity; • ensure that healthy fiscal federalism is used as a conscious socioeconomic policy; • promote the growth of a diverse economy that supports entrepreneurship, innovation, and wealth creation while upholding equitable resource distribution; • ensure freedom of information, national orientation, de-radicalization, and political education of the populace as a political strategy to facilitate citizens’ commitment to our national security goals; • reinvigorate law enforcement agencies and protect judicial independence to thwart political impunity and associated crimes and to enhance the establishment of democracy; • identify and resolve the underlying causes of disputes with a political motivation; • engage sectional and factional groups in constructive discourse to address agitations; promote national interests in our foreign relations and interactions with international political structures, international agencies, and international organizations, as well as international non-governmental organizations. the federal government of nigeria shall oversee the execution of our political security measures in accordance with the concept of duty allocation and division among the various levels of government. to fulfill the national political security goals, the government shall coordinate their attainment using all of our strategic national resources. the national council of states will also continue to advise the president on national political security issues. powerdiversion mechanisms, an inclusive political system, crisis-free political succession, and leadership change will all be used to gauge nigeria's political stability. (federal republic of nigeria, national security strategy, 2019). nigeria's democratic government in sub-saharan africa is mainly disposed to the interests of the few ruling classes (ojo, 2005). igwe (2010) explained that nigeria's democracy had not been able to deliver the much-anticipated development dividends. it will be difficult for the poor to adjust to the new realities in nigeria‘s economic and political spheres, considering the substantial economic and market risks staring in the faces of poor rural and urban households 159 in nigeria. if the "political godfathers" do not permit the poor to freely engage in the nation's election process, this cycle of poverty may persist. as a result, ake (1996) clearly described such a scenario as follows: "...political power was everything; it was not only a means of access to riches, but also a means of security and the sole guarantor of general well-being.for anyone not within the hegemonic faction of the political elite, it was generally futile to harbor any illusions of becoming wealthy through entrepreneurial activity or to even take personal safety for granted. when nigeria's leaders manage to take the seat of power, they want to rule forever. consider chief olusegun obasanjo's bid for a third term in 2007.another case in point is gunde of guinea, who manipulated the country's constitution for a third term and then manipulated the electoral body to become president for a third time while cracking down on oppositions. he was less than one year into his third term when the military overthrew his government to restore sanity in the country. development is seen in terms of the processes of socio-economic differentiation that characterize contemporary societies. the ultimate goal of development is to provide a means for members of society to live better lives. simply put, development is the elimination or reduction of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. for todaro (1984), development has three main objectives, which include: • to increase the availability and widen the distribution of basic life-sustaining goods and basic needs such as food, shelter, health, and protection. (b) to improve the standard of living, which will not only increase material well-being but also lead to higher levels of reverence for both the individual and the nation as a whole. this can be done by increasing income, creating more jobs, improving education, and paying more attention to cultural and humanistic values. (c) to increase people's economic opportunities and their independence from forces of ignorance or human suffering as well as from other people and the nation-state. sadly in nigeria today, about 90 million people endure terrible poverty. as a result of their apparent perception of a debilitating leadership vacuum at the highest levels, killers and other criminals appear to be becoming more self-assured and skilled at undermining the state and our security. nigerians have lost enough blood and tears without receiving a suitable reaction from those who are supposed to be protecting them. despite government statements to the contrary, the northern elders forum reported that "the forum took notice of the growing security situation in the country." by using threats to our unity and peaceful coexistence as political leverage, politicians and other important individuals are escalating the nation's fault lines. nigeria has every sign of being a failing state. the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, which clearly specifies that the security and welfare of the people should be the core purpose of government, is an example of how security is a basic obligation of the state (hobbes & tuck, 1996). ewetan and ese (2014) contend, however, that the nigerian government has regrettably failed in its constitutional duty by failing to provide a secure and safe environment for lives, assets, and the endeavors of commercial and economic operations. the corporate existence of nigeria as a single geographical entity is in peril due to the unprecedentedly hazardous dimensions that this wave of escalating insecurity in the country has taken on. austin-egelo and coworkers, 2022). insecurity 160 the national security strategy, federal republic of nigeria (2019), states that throughout the past ten years, the danger of terrorism and violent extremism has persisted as a problem for our security forces. the complexity of the threat environment has increased as a result of bht splitting into two groups. the groups' goal is to erode popular confidence in the administration. this is consistent with the growing logistical, financial, and operational capabilities of international terrorism, which has become a strategic danger. although the armed forces of nigeria, various security services, and the multi-national joint task force (mnjtf) have worked together to significantly reduce terrorist activity, there are still worries that these terrorist organizations pose a threat. given the ongoing developments in this area and the possibility for an assault on the critical national information infrastructure, the potential use of disruptive and emerging technologies remains a major worry (cnii). with the ultimate goal of establishing an islamic caliphate in the north east, boko haram and the islamic state of west africa (bht and iswap) have continued to launch sporadic strikes on lone targets. mass migration and displacement, the emergence of a sizable population of internally displaced people (idps), and the weakening of government, the rule of law, national cohesion, and economic activity are all consequences of this terror campaign. infrastructure damage and human rights abuses are some more. the demise of isis in syria might boost ties between terrorist organizations in the north east and foreign-based terror cells. this has raised more questions regarding the continuing espionage and counterinsurgency operations being carried out in nigeria to drive out terrorists and militants. a comprehensive strategy in cooperation with our nearby neighbors and international partners will be necessary to address the danger posed by bht and iswap. boko haram was a violent islamic organization that initially intended to establish sharia law or its own extreme version of islam in northern nigeria before advancing south. the organization is opposed to contemporary science, western culture, and not only western education. muslims are prohibited from participating in any political or social activity in the nation. this involves, among other dreadful expectations, participating in elections, dressing appropriately, or acquiring a western education (onifade et al., 2013). mohammed yusuf, was the leader who formed the organisation in 2002 and was assassinated in 2009, the death of their commander didn't put a stop to them; it made things worse. they began murdering individuals and looting government buildings, mostly in the northwest. onifade et al (2013) highlighted the activities of boko haram, stating that due to the organization's connections to the notorious al-qaeda terrorist organization, boko haram has caused serious security issues in contemporary nigeria. it is widely acknowledged that the boko haram terrorists' criminal and evil agenda, which includes the introduction of suicide bombings on nigerian soil, has paralyzed economic and social activities in a number of cities, including maiduguri, abuja, suleja, damaturu, and minna, and has made nigeria unsafe for investment tourism in homop and urin 2012. some individuals don't necessarily need to employ people or any other methods to dominate or enslave others. nigeria's administration lacks guts. the issue lies with the government. since they are bringing in weaponry, the government is cognizant of who is responsible for all of these uprisings and yet, no effective measure have been employed in their persecution. as a result, the jos crisis has cost millions of naira, loss of countless lives, and brought nigeria to the brink of destitution. however, the jos conflict has led to a number of muslim attacks against christians. in fact, throughout the jos conflicts from 2007 to 2010, nearly 10,000 christians were killed. for instance, over 500 christians perished in the 2010 crisis (oladoyinbo, 2010). 161 following 1999, contentious government policies favoring elite farmers made the farmersherds conflict conceivable. the kuya ubana forest, as well as portions of the maru and zumi local government districts, were cleared of significant amounts of forest and grazing reserves by the zamfara state administration. this caused chaos in the fulani hamlets. as a result, there was conflict between the farmers and the herders. during an operation to thwart an attack on various towns in bungudu local government area in july 2021, gunmen in zamfara murdered 13 police officers (lga). the same month, they also shot down an alpha aircraft of the nigerian air force while it was returning to base after a mission over the zamfara-kaduna border. both tourists and students are affected. at the government science secondary school in kankara-katsina state, robbers kidnapped around 300 kids in december. they stormed the public scientific school in kagara, in the rafi local government area of niger state, in february of this year. the abductions involved 15 staff members and about 27 kids from the institution. one of the abducted pupils died. the culprits also went to jangebe's government girls secondary school in zamfara state, where they abducted over 200 girls for ransom. kidnapping is a lucrative industry for many terrorists and criminals, who live dreadful lives. an intelligence assessment claims that terrorists in the desert rely on abducted victims paying ransom. nigerian intelligence, according to ayitaro (2021), claimed to have paid at least 18.34 million to 7 billion naira in ransom to kidnappers between 2011 and 2020. it was because of the worsening insecurity in nigeria that the presidency allowed the south west and south east governors to have their security outfits. in 2020, they will be known as amotekun in the south west and ehube agu in the south east. the attack on the nigerian defense academy in kaduna, which killed two soldiers and abducted one major, was a clear indication that they do not fear anybody and that nigeria has no sacred places as far as they are concerned. there are many police and army checkpoints throughout nigeria, yet violent crimes, killings, and kidnappings remain rampant on nigeria's highways. farmers and herdsmen clashed, killing and displacing many nigerians and destroying farm crops. they have forced many nigerians into poverty. the fulani, or herdsmen, are one of the major causes of the pauperization of nigeria in recent times. they also engage in killing, rape, kidnapping, and other crimes. following several appeals to the presidency for solutions, the southern governors issued this statement. this led to the asaba declaration, where, among other things, they banned open grazing of cattle throughout southern nigeria. many have followed up the asaba declaration with anti-open grazing laws, and insecurity has led to the pauperization of nigerians. poverty poverty is seen as an essential condition in which an individual lacks the skills and the techno-material where with all to produce to sustain a living above poverty (guardian,1999).poverty is multi-facet. it is associated with reduced purchasing power, a high risk of financial loss, inadequate access to social and economic services, and a lack of employment possibilities. (guardian,1995). the national security strategy for the federal republic of nigeria (2019) claims that unemployment and poverty make the afflicted people more likely to commit crimes, which has 162 consequences for national security. young people who are unemployed face catastrophic psychological and financial effects. the national bureau of statistics reports that the unemployment rate for 2018 was 23.1%. the difficulty still exists despite attempts to solve unemployment made through empowerment initiatives like n-power, the youth entrepreneurship support programme (yes-p), and the anchor borrowers programme, among others. in order for our nation to achieve the first goal of the sustainable development goals (sdgs), which is the eradication of unemployment, severe poverty, and hunger, it is important to take into account a comprehensive effort to reduce poverty. african economic outlook survey(2010) revealed that in terms of national poverty line, about 52.8 percent and 34.1 per cent of nigeria rural and urban population respectively are poor, and also the international poverty line showed that 62 percent leaves below $1.25 per day while 82.2 percent also leaves below $2 per day. social marginalization and poverty are undesirable conditions. both absolute and relative poverty exist. when based on sustenance, it is absolute; but, when compared to others in the community, it is relative.. social exclusion means when multiple deprivation prevents a person from participation at all levels in societal important activities. life in our rural societies involves giving and receiving that is the essence of communal life. the nigerian national bureau of statistics said in 2020, that 40% or 83 million nigerians live in poverty. if the world bank’s income poverty threshold of 3.20 per day is used, nigeria poverty rate is 71%. with 93.9 percent of its population currently living below the poverty line, nigeria has maintained its infamous title as one of the the world's poorest nations. as recorded in the 2018 analysis from the brookings institution, out of around 200 million people in nigeria, it was forecasted that by the end of may 2018, nigeria had about 87 million poor individuals." nigeria's poverty rate is increasing by six individuals each minute. health issues represents one of the major consequences of poverty, as seen by nigeria's high infant mortality and short life expectancy. due to a lack of access to basic healthcare resources and qualified medical professionals, the poor in nigeria confront a variety of health problems. the causes of poverty in nigeria include low or slower economic growth, income disparities, unemployment, corruption, and poor governance, the allocation of funding to nondevelopmental projects, fund embezzlements, ineffective macroeconomic policies, and a lack of adequate human support. nigeria's poverty is mostly caused by corruption, which develops as a result of poor government. under social structures that are weak, it thrives. the government thief is granted chieftaincy titles and is set free, whereas the poor thief is stoned or put in prison. a united kingdom newspaper the daily trust of 25 june 2005 alleged that the amount stolen by corrupt nigerian rulers amounted to e220 billion as of that date (ekeh, 2010). if that amount of money was used to establish industries in nigeria definitely millions of people would have been employed thereby reducing the poverty level in nigeria. and we would not have been the poverty capital of the world. nigeria is referred to be the "poverty capital of the world" by the world poverty clock because 46.5 percent of its population lives in extreme poverty, based on the $1.90 per day poverty standard. in nigeria, the level of abject poverty is rising by over 6% each minute. james ibori, a former governor of delta state, was found guilty of money laundering in the uk in 2012. he allegedly took $165 million from the oil-rich state, according to the prosecution. this money would have been channeled towards poverty alleviation. igbuzor (2011) stated that the failure of the government to provide its people with public goods is what has led to nigeria's current condition of insecurity. a growing army of disgruntled individuals who are prepared to take matters into their own hands and use violence at the first 163 sign of provocation or opportunity has been produced as a result of the lack of basic requirements experienced by the nigerian people (poor) (insecurity). austin-egole and coworkers (2012). according to hans-peter (1994), poverty is defined as the inability of any person to meet their fundamental requirements owing to a lack of money, assets, or other means of change; as a result, any person who works but has nothing to show for it is considered to be poor. being impoverished prevents people from having the opportunity to realize their full potential, which makes poverty both humiliating and demoralizing. a single measure cannot adequately reflect all the facets of poverty due to the multidimensionality of poverty. various authors (austinegole, 2022). pauperization according to a 1998 assessment by the united nations development programme, 48.5 percent of nigeria's population lives below the poverty line, placing the nation among the 25 nations with the largest proportion of impoverished people worldwide. according to the national bureau of statistics (2010), there were more impoverished people in nigeria between 1980 and 2010, and the population of the nation also expanded during that time. a deeper examination of the study reveals that in 1980 (72.8%) compared to 1992 (57.3%) and 1996, the percentage of middle class persons in the nation was significantly greater (34.4 percent). despite increasing to 43.3% in 2004, it decreased to 31% in 2010. (nbs 2010). according to the data that is currently available, the percentage of people who are extremely poor increased from 6.2 percent in 1980 to 29.3 percent in 1996, however that number later decreased to 22.0 percent in 2004. the moderately poor, however, were a little different, rising from 21.0 percent to 34.2 percent between 1980 and 1985 before falling from 36.3 percent to 32.4 percent between 1996 and 2004. (nbs 2010). internally displaced persons (idps) are an issue in nigeria, and the issues include ethnic tensions, religious and political strife, and human rights violations, most of which are caused by human activity but occasionally by natural catastrophes such as floods, earthquakes, and climate change. the federal government has tried for the idps but much needs to be done in terms of funding one school of thought believe that if more money is given, there will be a problem of accountability. there is also allegation of rape and sexual harassment in the idps. the national emergency management agency of nigeria claimed in late 2011 that there were around 370,000 internally displaced persons (idps) in the nation, including 74,000 in camps. previous estimates by the government and other organizations did not account for the large number of persons who took refuge with family and friends and instead only counted those who had sought shelter in temporary idp camps. how many idps may have recovered and found a long-lasting solution has been hard to ascertain because there are no systems in place to keep track of their current circumstances. according to vanguard, boko haram's actions led to an increase in the number of refugees in nigeria to 240,000 on november 29, 2016. the survey indicated that there were 138,321 refugees from nigeria living in the republic of niger, the republic of cameroon, and the republic of chad. according to the vanguard, 29,581 nigerians who visited niger and cameroon willingly came back to their own country. in may 2013, 13,046 individuals crossed the border from the niger republic, while another 16,595 people crossed the border from cameroon across the border at mubiin, adamawa state, between april and december 2015. the federal government of nigeria, host governors, the united nations high commissioner 164 for refugees (unhcr), host towns, and nigerians living in the nation have all provided humanitarian aid to the displaced nigerians. according to the vanguard article. living below a certain minimum income threshold is considered to be poor. according to galbraith, as cited by ogunkoya (2009), the poor's situation was described as follows: “people are poverty stricken when their incomes, even if adequate for survival, fall radically behind that of their community…they are degraded for in the literal sense, they live outside, the grades or categories which community regards as acceptable.” due to the fact that poverty denies people the opportunity to realize their full potential, it is not only stigmatizing but also demeaning (ogunkoya, 2009). conjunctural or temporary poverty are also possible. persons who are in a conjunctural state include individuals who have fled their homes for other locations, those who are living in a camp for internally displaced people as a result of boko haram, etc. while individuals in temporary or persistent poverty are impacted by poverty as a result of the socioeconomic factors present in their environment. africans are reduced to poverty by western countries as a result of globalization. this is so because globalization has widened the wealth-poverty divide. many nigerians have been uprooted from their homes in large numbers. they struggle with both finding a place to reside and having enough money to buy food for their children because the government and volunteer workers have not been able to give them adequate financial help. according to ocha (2015), the majority of internally displaced people live with families in poor host communities, sharing their limited resources and intensifying their own communities' poverty (which includes food, nutrition, and security). there are irregular and inadequate food distribution, crude shelter and poor health and sanitation services. many of the camps are far away in the towns or villages away from home and this often make them inaccessible to humanitarian services. many nigerians are no longer ashamed to beg for help from others. many petty businesses have collapsed. many people cannot go to their farms to farm or to get food because of the clash between farmers and headers. the fulani herdsmen use ak-47 against local farmers in their land. many families now stay without food or eat whenever they have food. it is no longer eating three times daily. many nigerian are now homeless and many have committed suicide and some are contemplating committing suicide. the result is that many nigerians now live without hope which has resulted in depression and blood pressure. according to mba (2017) reintegration of idps to their initial communities is pertinent. they need security backup, and rebuilding of structures because without all these, they are at risk/vulnerable to be recruited by the insurgent as tools of mass destruction because they feel neglected by society and should be made to feel accepted. show some love to idps because the situation they find themselves is not their making, ruth mba online december 13 2017. according to debane (2018) idps suffer from extreme poverty, they do not go out with anything when displaced, and they do not often have access to a medical facility when needed. idps children do not go to school at times up to one year or more there are others that do not reach displacement camps women and girls face gender-based violence. there is a shortage of water, sanitation, and overcrowding at times they face multiple displacements. according to statistics, 181 percent of people reside in urban regions while just 52 percent do so in rural areas. the northwestern state of sokoto has the most rates of poverty, with 87.7 percent of its population living below the poverty line, while lagos, a major commercial center, had the lowest rate at 4.5 percent. it has come to a stage where many nigerians now visit dustbins to struggle for food with dogs and other animals. our leaders enjoying had governance 165 want us to believe that we are the richest economy in africa and at the same time the poverty capital of the world. some people are denied their rights as a result of pauperism, rendering them hopelessly undervalued members of society. according to samir (2003), pauperization is a modernization of poverty with extremely negative impacts on all facets of social life. as a result, one may define a pauper as someone who experiences persistent poverty (austin-egelo et al., 2022). governance, insecurity, poverty and pauperization in nigeria a measurement of accountability, transparency, and the effectiveness of governmental institutions is required in order to examine how democratic governance affects the eradication of poverty and determine whether or not the "new realities" in nigeria's sociopolitical environment have been appropriately adjusted. the problems associated with a democratic government in nigeria since gaining its independence in 1960 has not given in to the expectations of its people, whether via an elected or imposed administration. it has benefited more the greedy executives than the general populace (fagbadebo, 2009). democracy can flourish when there are regular, impartial, and trustworthy elections and all parties adhere to the rules. this enables the governed to challenge any administration with an unpopular policy and subsequently replace a government that will be sensitive to their needs and accountable for their actions. as a result, it is assured that initiatives that assist the broader population, particularly the impoverished, are developed and implemented. conclusion and recommendations conclusion inspite of the efforts made since 1960, nigeria as a nation has not been able to attend to the socio-economic aspirations and improved welfare of its citizenry. those who are in the camps of internally displaced persons are mostly farmers. many nigerians are unemployed and they cannot do anything and their sources of income have been destroyed. the marginalization and lopsided federation has given chance for agitations for self-determination which has affected the insecurity of nigerians which has manifested in killing, destruction of property and slowing down the economy with sit-down at home. the presidency has not tried to solve the problem but rather escalated the problem. . the anti-corruption crusade has not delivered because of governments’ failure to leave the fight against corruption to independent institution and the character of those recruited for the fight. with the late president umaru yar adua, nigeria formally began talks with armed groups in 2009 with the goal of lowering insecurity in the niger delta region. the capacity to stop criminal violence and murders in their tracks has been severely hindered by weak intelligence collecting procedures. bad governance is centered on the concepts of not just systemic corruption but also a lack of accountability and transparency, arbitrary policymaking, and deceiving the governed. recommendations there is a need for restructuring in nigeria because our founding fathers opted for federalism at the regions but the long years of military governments has centralized power making it lopsided federalism. restructuring nigeria will reduce the agitation for self-determination because of marginalization. the boko haram and its spirinter group are now ‘overpowering’ the federal government but with restructuring, nigerians will come together to defeat them. 166 there should be lasting solution to the farmers/herdsmen conflicts so that farmers can go back to their farms and other will continue with their contribution to the economy. the government according to oludayo (2021) “should create specialized anti-corruption court to hasten the trial of corruption cases. judges to serve in the specialized court should be properly incentivized to mitigate judicial corruption. ayiton, 2021 states that “the magnitude of punishment given to those that commit corruption must be equivalent to the offences committed,” despite official denials, discussions with terrorists have taken place in several developed countries combatting terrorism, including the united states. to ensure efficient and stable administration that looks out for the underprivileged, the political system has to be reorganized. the implementation of good governance propelled by transformation and visionary leadership, is what ensures that national development plan are effectively and efficiently implemented. a cursory look at other countries poverty programmes, such as venezuela, bangladesh and malaysia’s huge success story of poverty alleviation programmes is predicated upon the effective implementation process and monitoring of programme execution. non governmental organizations of these countries were saddled with the responsibility and in fact acted as the main delivery conduit of the programme. references aguene, i.n. (1998). rural sociology. an african perspective nsukka price publisher. aguene, i.n. (2020). policy discontinuity and poverty in nigeria. international journal of health and social inquiry 6(1). debane, a. (2018). the unaddressed plight of internally displaced persons humanitarian affairs programme of the international peace institute. hajiahadiza mohammed (2021). sun newspaper of april 4 2021. ibeanu, c. and urama, n. (2019). addressing poverty challenges in nigeria african policy brief no. 21 july 2019 idress, j. (1992). the state of world rural poverty, rome art grafish, fratelli publisher. internal displacement monitoring centre, december 2011 http//tinyurl/nigeria.idps 2011. mba, r. (2017). the plight of internally displaced persons (idps) and the need for reintegration. ogunkoya, j.o (2009). de-pauperization: a panacea for african socio-political instability information, society and justice 2(2), 183 – 195. oladoyinbo, y. (2007). jos crisis is over culture and land dispute sunday tribune newspaper 6. oni, s.s. (2011). the significance of indigenous technology for self-reliance and sustainable development. international journal of economic are developments 10(2). 167 onifade, c. imnonopi, d and vrim, m. (2012). addressing the insecurity challenges in nigeria. the imperative of moral value and virtue ethics global journal of human social science political science vol 13 issue 2 version 10 year 2012. premium times monday september 20 (2021). analysis: six years in office. seattle washington 28 august 2020 world news. vanguard 29th november 2016 omeziaajayi the guardian newspaper thursday 30th june 2022. the world bank in nigeria african economic outlook team data are as of december 2022 bello-iman and obada(2004). democratic governance in international journal development and management degree. national bureau of statistics 2021 united nation development programme (undp) 1998 nosalchare and izevbigie 2020 democratic governance and the poor: adjustment to the new in nigeria. 1999, constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, http://www.nigerialaw.org/constitutionofthefederalrepublicofnigeria.htm amnesty international (august 5, 2021). nigeria: at least 115 people killed by security forces in four months in country’s southeast https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/08/nigeria-at-least-115-people-killedby-security-forces-in-four-months-in-countrys-southeast/accessed december 10th, 2021. ewetan, o. o. (2013). insecurity and socio-economic development: perspectives on the nigerian experience. a lecture delivered st. timothy anglican church, sango-ota, ogun state. hans-peter, r. (1994). poverty relied and social integration as talks of international cooperation conceptual considerations of the federal republic of germany, in josef thesing (ed.) for democracy and social justice (germany: konardadenaver foundation for international co-operation, 1994), 38-45. igbuzor, o. (2011). peace and security education: a critical factor for sustainable peace and national development, international journal of peace and development studies, 2(1), 1-7. 61-69 http://www.nigeria-law.org/constitutionofthefederalrepublicofnigeria.htm http://www.nigeria-law.org/constitutionofthefederalrepublicofnigeria.htm 168 ogunkoya, j. o. (2009). de-pauperization: a panacea for african socio-political instability, information, society and justice, 2(2), 183-195 aibieyi, s. & dirisu, e.o. (2010). national poverty eradication programmes in nigeria: problems and prospects. lwati: a journal of contemporary research, 7(2), 236-248, the guardian. lagos: october 3, 1995 the guardian. lagos: june17, 1999 the world bank development report (1997) “poverty reduction and the world bank progress in fiscal 1996 and 1997” new york: the international bank for reconstruction publication page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 258 job stress and performance of bankers in lagos, nigeria akindoyin ebenezer olufemi department of psychology, lead city university femolinho7@gmail.com oladiji tolulope olufunmilayo department of social sciences, the polytechnic ibadan toluwalopeadungold@gmail.com abstract employees are the most valuable asset of any organisation as they may profoundly affect the company's reputation and influence productivity and profitability. employees often assume the principal responsibility for the majority of critical tasks, customer happiness, and the quality of products and events. the study investigated job stress and performance of bankers in lagos, nigeria. the paper was anchored onto goal-setting theory, using accidental sampling technique with the use of questionnaire to get information from 255 participants. hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics. findings indicated that stress influences employee performance r2= .453 value indicate that job stress accounts for 45.3% of the variance of employee’s performance among the commercial banks staff in lagos state. at f(1,253)= 209.208, p= .000, which is less than .05. gender had no significant influence on employee’s performance of the participants at t= 259, df= 253 and p=.796. lastly, the interaction of job stress and gender also had no significant influence on the employees’ performance. consequently, it is advisable for commercial banks in lagos to employ additional capable workers to alleviate the stress encountered by bankers. gender diversity also ought to be promoted within the banking sector. keywords: stress, performance, goal setting theory, commercial banks, lagos mailto:femolinho7@gmail.com mailto:toluwalopeadungold@gmail.com 259 introduction employees constitute the most precious asset of any firm, as they can significantly influence the organization's reputation and impact productivity and profit. moreover, employees are the lifeblood of any organisation. suleiman and mohammad (2011) assert that employees inside the organisation are the primary tool for attaining success; they represent the most crucial resource and perhaps the human engine that helps to drive the organizational management force. employees frequently bear the primary responsibility for the majority of essential tasks, customer satisfaction, and the quality of products and events. the survival of any organisation relies on the efficient and effective performance of her employees. especially in banking sector, the dynamic and competitiveness of the environment, demands highly qualified, committed, and healthy employees for success, regardless of their type, size, or area of responsibility. the success or failure of a banking firm is contingent upon employee performance. globally, maintaining elevated employee performance is often the objective of every organisation. elevated employee performance confers numerous advantages upon an organisation. for example, enhanced performance results in advantageous economic expansion, substantial profit, and improved social advancement. furthermore, enhanced employee performance typically optimizes organizational competitive advantage by reducing costs and improving high-quality production, rendering employee performance deserving of scrutiny. the increasing levels of duties that employees are expected to fulfill in today's work life compel them to exert themselves even more vigorously in order to fulfill the rising expectations about their work performance. as a result, employees are generally working for longer hours. in today's society, stress has evolved into phenomena that is experienced all over the world and manifests itself in a variety of ways in every workplace. even if an employee spends roughly one third of his life at work, he or she may be subjected to a significant amount of stress at times while performing their duties. over the course of the past ten years, the nature of the job has undergone significant transformations, and it is continuing to undergo rapid transformations. a variety of definitions of stress have been proposed over the course of time. according to robbins and sanghi (2006), it is a state that occurs when any human being is presented with an opportunity or demand that is related to what they desire, and for which the outcome is judged to be both unpredictable and crucial. according to kazmi et al. (2018), stress can be defined as the negative psychological and physical reactions that result in an employee's incapacity to cope with the expectations that are being placed on him or her. these reactions can be both physical and psychological in nature. the problem of stress is becoming more 260 widespread in organisations, and it frequently has a negative impact on organisational performance. employees' performance is impacted by stress both inside and outside of the workplace. literature review according to momoh et.al (2014), the performance of employees has become a subject of concern for all organisations. this is due to the fact that highly productive individuals of any organisation boost the performance of the organisation, which eventually results in the organisation becoming more successful and effective. performance is a straightforward term that refers to the manner in which an activity is carried out at a specific level of standard to which a task is to be carried out. aguenza and som (2018), in the workplace, employee performance is defined as the employee's level of productivity and efficiency, which results in the generation of useful outputs for the organisation. the analysis of employee performance is typically based on the degree to which employees are able to carry out their responsibilities and job duties in an effective manner. management of performance can be broken down into two distinct components: planning and monitoring. during the planning stage, planning entails establishing objectives, formulating plans of action, and outlining the activities and timetables that will be necessary to achieve the objectives. the phase known as monitoring is the phase in which the goals are examined to determine how well one is doing in terms of meeting them. the term "monitoring" refers to the process of making regular measurements of performance and delivering continual feedback to individuals and work groups regarding their progress towards achieving their objectives. monitoring that is ongoing provides the ability to examine how well personnel are meeting established standards and to make adjustments to requirements that are either unreasonable or troublesome. the corporate landscape has become increasingly influenced by rapidly changing factors such as heightened competition, quality demands, innovation, and an accelerated speed of operations. the responsibilities on employees increased significantly, resulting in heightened stress levels among them. in addition to stress stemming from the job environment, other stressors may pertain to personal circumstances, including interpersonal interactions and leisure activities. the projected annual cost of employee absenteeism to u.s. enterprises is $225 billion, attributed to diminished productivity, overtime compensation, fixed fringe benefits, and the expenses associated with replacing personnel. adetayo, ajani, and olabisi (2014) asserted that employers in nigeria fail to safeguard their employees from stress originating both externally and internally within the workplace. consequently, in the contemporary career-oriented society, work often serves as a persistent source of stress, with primary contributors including excessive job stress, role 261 conflict, peer competition, conflicts with supervisors or colleagues, and harassment (alam et al. 2015). despite the prevalent tension among employees in the workplace, many harbour aspirations of changing jobs for improved conditions and fulfilment, however find themselves ensnared, unaware of the means to escape. the idea of entrapment has been explored primarily in psychological studies; however, it is also recognised as a significant area of inquiry within business, particularly concerning organisational behaviour. momoh (2024) defined entrapment as a distinct type of waiting that highlights a restriction on future-oriented activities. the most widely recognised definition in the literature, proposed by aslan et.al (2003), characterises entrapment as a profound desire to extricate oneself from an unfavourable situation or specific challenges, coupled with the perception that all avenues for avoidance or escape are obstructed. workplace stress has affected nearly all occupations, from executives to employees directly involved in production. the consequences of occupational stress ultimately impact both physical and mental health. nonetheless, stress is not inherently detrimental; it presents an opportunity when it provides prospective benefits. regardless of its form, it typically commences when individuals are situated in a work setting that conflicts with their work style and/or temperament. it becomes exacerbated when folks realise they possess minimal control over it. “michac (1997) identified the following reasons of stress: inadequate time management, ambiguous job descriptions, excessive job stress, feelings of inadequacy and insecurity, failure to complete tasks, poor communication, detrimental personal connections, and the quality and complexity of jobs. also, deane et.a (2002) identified stress-related illnesses as the primary contributor to diminished productivity in the workplace. significant workplace pressure has resulted in stress, establishing it as the primary cause contributing to sickness. a multitude of studies and surveys have been undertaken by researchers globally to propose enhanced ways for stress management. factors contributing to work-related stress may include interpersonal issues, role expectations, task requirements, organisational structure, leadership style, and workplace culture. interpersonal reasons arise from workplace relationships, particularly when employees encounter an unsupportive environment or get personal remarks from colleagues. there is a growing necessity to understand the importance of workforce diversity in the evolving global corporate environment (curado, tai, oliveira, & sarmento, 2021). today, the workforce is more varied across demographic dimensions due to reasons such as quickly evolving business conditions, immigration, and the inclusion of women (hundschell, razinskas, backmann, & hoegl, 2022). developing countries are seeing significant genderbased diversity, and this trend is expected to continue (amin, rehman, ali, & ntim, 2021). 262 there is accumulating evidence that gender diversity correlates with a more profitable work environment (gartzia, 2021). gberevbie et al. (2014) noted that a recruitment policy free from gender discrimination improves employee performance. nelson et.al (2015) asserted that women comprised 57% of the overall workforce and occupied 41% of management positions. nyikuli (2019) asserted that organisational performance is improved by the cognitive capabilities associated with gender diversity. while there is some comprehension of the impact of gender diversity on employee performance, there remains limited insight into how individual performance may be augmented within the framework of gender diversity in developing nations, particularly in male-dominated societies (yasmeen & blouch, 2022). the banking sector is a crucial and sensitive component of every economy. it is a crucial catalyst for economic growth and development. the banking and finance sector, along with education, is seen as a crucial element for human capital development and has been shown to underpin an individual's productivity. the financial system in nigeria is essential for economic development. nigeria functions within a bank-centric financial system, indicating that banks predominantly govern the financial landscape. economic agents in nigeria depend on banks to distribute credit for productive economic endeavours. based on the aforementioned, the objective of the study is to examine the numerous factors contributing to occupational stress and their impact on employee performance among bankers in lagos, nigeria. research objectives in view of the above, the main objective of the study is to investigate the influence of job stress on employee performance among banker in lagos, nigeria. the specific objectives are as presented in the question forms as to what extent does: 1. job stress influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria? 2. gender influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria? 3. the composite effect of job stress and gender influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria? hypotheses 263 1. job stress has significant influence on employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria 2. gender has significant influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria 3. the interaction of job stress and gender has influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria theory of employee performance goal-setting theory the goal-setting theory had been proposed by edwin locke (1968). this theory suggests that the individual goals established by an employee play an important role in motivating him for superior performance. skills required include the ability to engage employees in mutual goal setting clarify role expectations and provide regular performance feedback. time and energy will also need to be given to providing relevant performance incentives, managing processes, providing adequate resources and workplace training. it also advice that in order to drive the organization to peak performance managers and supervisors must put out front the human face of their organization. principle here is the human-to-human interaction through providing individualized support and encouragement to each and every employee. employee performance is a major multidimensional construct aimed to achieve results and has a strong link with planned goals of an organization. performance is the key multi character factor intended to attain outcomes which has a major connection with planned objectives of the organization. employees ‘goals achievement in this theory is by creating of work environment attractive, comfortable, satisfactory and motivating to employees so as to give them a sense of pride and purpose in what they do. how working environment is designed and occupied affects not only how people feel, but also their work performance, commitment to their employer, and the creation of new knowledge in the organization. method and material study design and setting the study employs survey design with the use of questionnaire to collect information from bankers in lagos state, nigeria. participants were selected across commercial banks (zenith bank, fidelity bank, first bank of nigeria, united bank of africa, guaranty trust bank, and 264 eco bank) using accidental sampling technique. the bankers were briefed about the nature of the research and were assured of the confidentiality of their information by the researcher. the sample size of the study is 255. instrument job stress was evaluated using the job stress scale created by parker and decotiis (1983). the scale comprises 13 items, measuring job stress across two dimensions: time stress (the sensation of persistent pressure) and anxiety (job-related sensations of unease). responses are evaluated using a 4-point likert scale, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 4 indicating strong agreement. some items on the scale are that working here impedes sufficient family time, i devote excessive hours to work, i am unable to perceive the broader perspective, working here allows minimal time for other pursuits, and occasionally, contemplating my job induces a constricting sensation in my chest. the coefficient alpha values varied between 0.71 and 0.82. the scale demonstrates a significantly high validity value. employee performance was assessed using the individual job performance questionnaire created by silvia platania et al. (2023). it is a multi-faceted construct comprising task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behaviour. it comprises 17 items, evaluated using a likert-type scale. the scale assesses employee performance over the past three months. some of the items include: i successfully organized my tasks to complete them punctually, i remained focused on the desired outcomes, i established priorities, and i executed my work with efficiency. the cronbach's alpha for task performance is 0.75, for contextual performance is 0.88, and for counterproductive work behaviour is 0.77. results the results of the data analysis were as presented in tables 1, 2 and 3. the results and the findings from the study were presented according to the stated hypotheses. the hypotheses were tested at .05 alpha level. hypothesis 1: job stress has significant influence on employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria the result of the data analysis with respect to this hypothesis is presented in table 1. table 1: regression analysis of the influence of overload on employer’s performance. 265 descriptive statistics mean std. deviation n employee's performance 23.62 4.812 255 job stress 23.11 4.640 255 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 -.673a .453 .450 3.56729 a. predictors: (constant), job stress anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 2662.292 1 2662.292 209.2 08 .00 0b residual 3219.567 253 12.726 total 5881.859 254 a. dependent variable: employee's perfomance b. predictors: (constant), job stress coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 7.504 1.137 6.602 .00 0 job stress .698 .048 -.673 14.46 4 .00 0 a. dependent variable: employee's performance there are two variables in the study, the independent variables is job stress while, the dependent variable is the employee’s performance among staff of the commercial banks in lagos state. 266 the simple regression analysis was used in testing the hypothesis. from table 1, the sample size is 255, with the mean of the variables are 23.64 and 23.11 for employee’s performance and job stress of the participants respectively. with r= -.673 which also the correspond to the beta value under standardized coefficient, it implies that, there is a linear inverse correlation and considerable influence of job stress on employee’s performance. the r2= .453 value indicate that job stress accounts for 45.3% of the variance of employee’s performance among the commercial banks staff in lagos state. at f(1,253)= 209.208, p= .000 which is less than .05. this result indicates that there is a significant influence of job stress on employee’s performance of the participants. therefore, the stated hypothesis 1 is retained. it can be concluded that job stress significantly influence the job performance of the bankers in commercial banks in lagos state, and the higher the job stress the lower the performance. this result aligns with the perspective of jianwei deng et al. (2019), who assert that stress adversely affects both individuals and organisations. the researchers determined that stress diminishes employee effectiveness. also, madhavi & rao (2023) contended that work-related stress affects employee performance, which consequently leads to a substantial decline in worker productivity. for employees to function effectively, organisations must acknowledge the adverse impact of work-related stress. noted the detrimental effects of stress on work performance, encompassing reduced productivity, heightened absenteeism, and an increase in errors. hypothesis 2: gender has significant influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria the independent sample t-test analysis was used in testing the hypothesis. from table 2, the sample size is 255, with the mean of of the variables are 23.64 and 23.11 for employee’s performance and job stress of the participants respectively. table 2 reveals the data analysis of the independent sample t-test of the influence of gender independent sample t-test gende r n mean std. deviation std. error mean t df sig. employee's perfomance femal e 11 7 23.53 8 5.060 .467 .259 25 3 .79 6 male 13 8 23.69 5 4.608 .392 267 on employee’s performance of the participants. the result shows that there are 117 females and 138 males with their respective mean of 23.538 and 23.695 respectively. the result also show that gender has no significant influence on employee’s performance of the participants at t= 259, df= 253 and p=.796. in order words the performance of the male and female is not significantly different, so the state hypothesis is rejected and the null hypothesis is accepted. the result contradicts the findings of igbozunke et al. (2025), which suggested that gender diversity management significantly positively affects employee performance in public and private universities in ondo state. this implies that the government, university administrations, and other stakeholders are urged to enhance their commitment to gender equality and sensitivity, and to eliminate workplace discrimination against women to elevate their morale and foster a sense of belonging. sinkala (2022) revealed that a substantial positive correlation exists between gender diversity and employee performance in zambia. nevertheless, according to enuka et al (2024) the authors are of the opinion that female bankers scored higher on performance than their male counterpart under the same circumstances. hypothesis 3: the interaction of job stress and gender has influence employees’ performance in commercial bank in lagos, nigeria this hypothesis was set to know the influence of the interaction of job stress and gender on performance of employees in commercial bank in lagos state. the two-way anova was used to test the hypothesis. table 3 shows the result of the analysis. table 3: two-way anova of the interaction effect of job street descriptive statistics dependent variable: employee's performance job stress age mean std. deviation n low female 20.022 2 5.39144 45 male 20.673 1 4.42241 52 268 total 20.371 1 4.88049 97 moderate female 24.697 7 3.43327 43 male 25.086 2 2.98702 58 total 24.920 8 3.17390 101 high female 27.275 9 2.51987 29 male 26.428 6 4.74091 28 total 26.859 6 3.76752 57 total female 23.538 5 5.06090 117 male 23.695 7 4.60816 138 total 23.623 5 4.81216 255 tests of between-subjects effects dependent variable: employee's performance source type iii sum of squares df mean square f sig . partial eta squared corrected model 1817.150a 5 363.430 22.263 .00 0 .309 269 intercept 136636.826 1 136636.826 8370.2 35 .00 0 .971 job stress 1788.259 2 894.129 54.773 .00 0 .306 gender .243 1 .243 .015 .90 3 .000 job stress* gender 21.400 2 10.700 .655 .52 0 .005 error 4064.709 249 16.324 total 148190.000 255 corrected total 5881.859 254 a. r squared = .309 (adjusted r squared = .295) the job stress was binned into three categories, as low, moderate and high. even though there is a significant influence of job stress as a single factor (f(2,249)= 54.773; p=.000 and partial etta square = .306 which implies that job stress has about 30.6%) on the employee’s performance of the participant) as a single factor on the performance, gender has no significant influence as a single factor on the employee’s performance (f(2,249)= .015; p=.903 and partial etta square = .000 which implies that job stress has 0%) on influence on employee’s performance. the interaction of job stress and gender also has no significant influence on the employee’s performance. this implies that regardless of the gender of the staff of the commercial banks in lagos state, their job stress is a critical factor that influences their job performances. the individual analysis of the variables (gender and stress) indicated that occupational stress leads to turnover, absenteeism, medical compensation, and reduced performance (daniel, 2019; reddy & jadhav, 2019). gender diversity positively influences employee performance and profitability. nevertheless, when represented as a singular variable (consolidated), no prior research has been conducted on the topic. this study, however, indicated that the combination of gender and stress is not statistically significant. conclusion the research examined job stress and performance among bankers in lagos, nigeria. three hypotheses were evaluated using inferential statistics. findings revealed that bankers in lagos 270 state encounter stress while performing their regular responsibilities. gender diversity enhances banking performance in lagos state. in light of the study's findings, the subsequent recommendations are proposed to the relevant authority. commercial banks in lagos should engage more support staff to assist present employees who routinely endure stress. gender diversity enhances the performance of bankers. commercial banks in lagos also ought to promote gender diversity. the presence of gender diversity improves banker’s performance. this study's novelty lies in the integration of gender and stress as a singular variable. subsequent researchers should replicate this in future studies. the study was done in lagos state. consequently, the researcher urged other scholars to reproduce this in a more extensive context. references adetayo, j. o., ajani, j. o., & olabisi, o. 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(2022). the impact of gender diversity on employees’ work performance: the mediating role of interpersonal conflict. international journal of management research and emerging sciences, 12(3). page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 197 conflict and insecurity in the niger delta region of nigeria irogbo, prosper uyoyou department of sociology delta state university, abraka. prosper.irogbo@delsu.edu.ng abstract this study examined the effectiveness of government security responses to conflicts and their implications for human rights in niger delta region of nigeria. focusing on akuku-toru local government area in rivers state, isoko-south local government area in delta state and eket local government area in akwa-ibom state, the study assesses the awareness and effectiveness of government security actions, its impact on conflict dynamics, and its role in regional stability. it adopted the cross-sectional research design and data were gathered using the survey method through the questionnaire instrument. with a total of 100 respondents absorbed as participants, the study focused on factors contributing to conflict escalation as perceived by the community and identifies government initiatives that have successfully de-escalated the conflict. the findings reveal a prevalence of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and freedom of speech restrictions, associated with these security responses. while some government actions positively influence conflict reduction, the study noted that the intricate challenges of balancing security measures with human rights preservation in conflict-prone regions were key factors to the tenacity of conflict in the niger delta region of nigeria. keywords: conflict dynamics, human rights, niger delta, security responses introduction the niger delta, located in the southern part of nigeria, has long been mired in a multifaceted conflict driven by ethnic tensions, resource disputes, and economic disparities, primarily centered around control of its substantial oil and gas resources (akpan, 2019). while nigeria became a significant oil producer and exporter after the discovery of oil in the mid-20th century, the region's inhabitants did not experience commensurate development (osumah & osumah, 2021); instead, grievances and conflicts emerged. notably, militant groups like the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta (mend) and the niger delta avengers arose in response to perceived injustices, aiming for greater control over resources, improved living conditions, and addressing environmental degradation caused by oil exploration (okonofua, 2016). in response, the nigerian government deployed security measures and military interventions to protect vital oil infrastructure, although these have raised concerns about human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary detentions, and their potential to exacerbate conflict dynamics (obi, 2019). the conflict has also brought socioeconomic consequences, disrupting livelihoods, displacing communities, and exacerbating economic hardships (braide, 2014). environmental damage from oil spills and pollution has further harmed local residents' health and well-being. international actors, such as foreign governments and multinational corporations, have also influenced the region's security responses due to global oil demand and economic interests (braide, 2014). given the conflict's lasting impact on niger delta residents, this study seeks to critically evaluate government security responses, mailto:prosper.irogbo@delsu.edu.ng 198 assess their effectiveness, examine human rights implications, and propose evidence-based policy recommendations to balance security and human rights while promoting stability. statement of problem the niger delta region of nigeria has long been plagued by a protracted and multifaceted conflict, characterized by persistent insecurity, economic disparities, and human rights concerns. at the core of this issue lies the contentious struggle for control over the region's abundant oil and gas resources. while these resources have the potential to drive economic prosperity and development, they have instead been a source of contention, exacerbating ethnic tensions and social inequalities. one of the key problems in this context is the government's security responses to the conflict. while these responses are aimed at restoring order and protecting vital oil infrastructure, they have raised significant human rights concerns. reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and violations of due process by government security forces have created a climate of fear and mistrust among local communities. moreover, these security measures have had far-reaching socioeconomic consequences, including disruptions to livelihoods, displacement of communities, and economic hardships. the environmental degradation caused by oil exploration further compounds the challenges faced by the region's residents. this study aims to address the pressing problem of government security responses in the niger delta, assessing their effectiveness, human rights implications, and socioeconomic impact. by doing so, it seeks to contribute to the development of evidencebased policy recommendations that balance the need for security with the imperative of respecting human rights and promoting long-term stability in the region. research objectives the objectives of this study are to: 1. evaluate the effectiveness of government security responses to conflicts in the niger delta region of nigeria. 2. investigate the human rights impact of these security responses. 3. propose policy enhancements for more effective and rights-respecting security measures. literature review the niger delta conflict's historical context is richly documented, underscoring its roots in historical injustices, environmental degradation, and struggles for resource autonomy (sobrasuaipiri, 2016). it is widely argued that british colonial rule disrupted indigenous governance systems, laying the foundation for the ongoing disputes that have become synonymous with nigeria's oil feud (sobrasuaipiri, 2016). the discovery of oil in the 1950s, while bringing wealth to nigeria, simultaneously marginalized niger delta communities and degraded their environment, with oil spills and deforestation threatening traditional livelihoods and escalating grievances (braide, 2014; abasi, 2018). this historical context turned the niger delta into a hotbed of grievances, further fueled by economic underdevelopment (nwapi, 2019; osumah, 2021). non-state actors expressed these grievances through the emergence of militant groups that targeted oil infrastructure in pursuit of wealth distribution equity (nwapi, 2019). in response, government strategies often turned to militarization, resulting in severe human rights abuses (aderinola, 2016). while the niger delta amnesty program aimed to address root causes, it 199 fell short of resolving the deep-seated issues (obi, 2019). government interventions encompassed infrastructure development, community engagement, and environmental restoration (aderinola, 2016). however, environmental degradation persisted, cultural heritage eroded, and economic diversification lagged (obi, 2019). community engagement initiatives aimed to foster inclusion and peace (nwapi, 2019). throughout this historical trajectory, human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests and speech restrictions, remained widespread (international humanitarian law, 2019). these conflicts often triggered or exacerbated rights abuses, highlighting the imperative of upholding human rights, even in the midst of conflict (chase, 2016; levy, 2015). the wide-ranging impact of security measures on communities human rights security interventions in volatile regions, while deemed necessary, have had profound consequences for local communities (human rights watch, 2017). in these regions, highintensity security operations often force locals to migrate, severing ties to their homes and livelihoods. similarly, overbearing measures like curfews limit access to critical services, hinder economic growth, and deter investments. in extreme cases, security operations disrupt logistical routes, causing supply shortages and escalating prices (sobrasuaipiri, 2016). these measures often result in the damage of infrastructure, degrade fertile land, and pollute the environment (akpan, 2019). these operations also inflict psychological trauma, leading to mental health issues, mistrust, and behavioral challenges (human rights watch, 2017). in regions like the niger delta, security measures significantly impact complex dynamics (osumah, 2021). they aim to restore peace, protect assets, and engage communities (arimomo, 2020). policies focus on intelligence, but conflicts simmer unless root causes are addressed (abasi, 2018). current gaps in security measures adopted in conflict areas the security approach in the niger delta reveals significant gaps and shortcomings that contribute to human rights violations and exacerbate conflicts. the niger delta's security approach reveals significant flaws contributing to human rights violations and prolonged conflicts. operational ambiguities, inadequate oversight, and a lack of accountability mechanisms often underlie these violations (unep, 2016; sobrasuaipiri, 2016). security personnel may lack essential training, leading to disproportionate use of force. additionally, the absence of accessible reporting channels leaves affected respondents and communities without recourse (human rights watch, 2017; nwapi, 2019). a notable gap is the limited focus on community dialogue within the security approach. overly militarized strategies can escalate tensions and further human rights abuses, deepening mistrust (arimomo, 2020). the conflict profoundly impacts the region's economy, affecting nigeria's revenue due to disruptions like attacks on oil facilities (imobighe, 2017). infrastructure damage requires significant funds for repairs, while increased security measures impose financial burdens (ajibola, 2015). investor hesitancy and untapped tourism potential deprive the region of capital and revenue opportunities (human rights watch, 2017; imobighe, 2017). oil spills have long-term economic implications, and disturbances in the niger delta affect nigeria's budget and international reputation, deterring global businesses and investors (ononye, 2021). theoretical framework 200 the theoretical framework for understanding the challenges in the niger delta encompasses the resource curse theory, political ecology, and their intricate intersections within the region. the resource curse theory the resource curse theory explores the complex relationship between resource-rich regions and economic development, highlighting that despite the niger delta's vast oil wealth, it suffers from economic deprivation, driven by factors such as over-reliance on resource exports, volatile global oil prices, and institutional weaknesses (aderinola, 2016; olanrewaju, 2020). this paradox can lead to the dutch disease phenomenon, potential corruption, and authoritarianism, all of which contribute to the region's economic struggles and disparities. in the niger delta context, the resource curse theory unveils a sharp contrast between the abundance of oil revenues and local underdevelopment, resulting in poverty, environmental degradation, and conflict within local communities (olasupo, 2017). this glaring disparity has given rise to militant groups striving for a greater share of oil wealth or autonomy in its management (olasupo, 2017). to navigate the resource curse in the niger delta, a multifaceted approach is essential. this includes sustainable development investments, environmental conservation, active community involvement, and transparent governance (imobighe, 2017; olasupo, 2017). the political ecology theory the political ecology theory serves as another crucial framework, emphasizing the interconnectedness of politics, societal structures, and environmental interactions in the niger delta (abasi, 2018). this theory reveals complex power dynamics at play in the region, involving the state, multinational corporations, local elites, and grassroots movements. multinational corporations' collaboration with the state to initiate large-scale oil extraction disrupted local communities and created significant power imbalances (nwapi, 2019). local elites and traditional leaders played multifaceted roles, sometimes aligning with state entities or corporations, further exacerbating the gap between the populace and decision-makers (abasi, 2018). grassroots movements, represented by activists like ken saro-wiwa and community collectives such as the ogoni, emerged as voices challenging prevailing power structures, advocating for environmental justice and the restoration of local agency (arimomo, 2020). land rights became a contentious issue intertwined with ethnic identities, cultural significance, and the right to resources. this complexity added to the power struggle, questioning not just land ownership but also resource access and responsibility for land well-being. the economic disparities in the region symbolize the broader struggle for power and representation, raising fundamental questions about revenue allocation, governance transparency, and wealth distribution (nwapi, 2019). methods the study comprised approximately 100 respondents selected through taro yamani's sampling technique and selected via random sampling across the three samples from akuku-toru local government area in rivers state, isoko-south local government area in delta state and eket local government area in akwa-ibom,. data collection employed structured questionnaire, with quantitative data being analyzed using descriptive statistics. ethical considerations were 201 rigorously observed, including informed consent, confidentiality, and minimizing potential harm. results table 1: socio-demographic characteristics of respondents field survey, 2024 table 1 provides the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents in terms of sex, age, and educational background. the majority of respondents were male (72.0%), belonged to the age group 25-34 (48.0%), and held a postgraduate degree (49.0%). table 2: government security responses and conflict impact sex frequency percentage male 72 72.0 female 28 28.0 total 100 100.0 age frequency percentage 18-24 22 22.00 25-34 34 48.00 35 – 44 12 17.00 45 – 54 14 14.00 55 and above 18 18.00 total 100 100.00 educational background frequency percentage primary school 9 9.00 secondary school 11 11.00 university 27 27.00 postgraduate degree 49 49.00 others 4 4.00 total 100 100 respondent’s awareness of government security response? frequency percentage yes 72 72.00 no 28 28.00 total 100 100.00 if yes, respondent’s security responses awareness types frequency (multiplechoice) percentage military operations 20 20.00 police presence 32 32.00 amnesty programs 39 39.00 community policing 9 9.00 202 field survey, 2024 table 2 shows that 72% of respondents are aware of government security responses in the region. while 39% indicate the presence of amnesty programme in the region. the table also revealed that 58% of the respondents were neutral regarding effectiveness of government security responses. table 3: government security response and stability in the niger delta field survey, 2024 table 3 revealed that 52% of respondents were "neutral" regarding government security responses' impact on stability, reflecting mixed views. additionally, 57% of respondents had not witnessed these responses leading to conflict escalation, suggesting varied experiences within the region. table 4: government security responses and conflict escalation in niger delta others 0 0.00 total 100 100.00 effectiveness of government security responses frequency percentage very effective 12 12.00 somewhat effective 14 14.00 neutral 58 58.00 ineffective 6 6.00 very ineffective 10 10.00 total 100 100.00 contribution of government security responses to improved stability in the niger delta frequency percentage strongly agree 10 10.00 agree 14 14.00 neutral 52 52.00 disagree 14 14.00 strongly disagree 10 10.00 total 100 100.00 respondents witnessing instances government security responses led to conflict escalation frequency percentages yes 43 43.00 no 57 57.00 total 100 100.00 if yes, factors believed to have contributed to conflict escalation due to government security responses frequency percentage lack of community engagement 24 24.00 203 field survey, 2024 table 4 indicate that the respondents (68%) believed government security responses positively reduced conflict, emphasizing their importance. they identified a lack of community engagement (24%) and miscommunication (21%) as key factors contributing to conflict escalation. table 5: effect of human rights violation on community life total 100 100 field survey, 2024 table 5 presents the effects of human rights violations on the lives of the community, focusing on the highest percentage findings. the most prevalent impact was the "increased fear or mistrust within the community," reported by 26% of respondents. additionally, "physical harm or injury," "psychological trauma and emotional distress," and "loss of livelihood or economic excessive use of force by security forces 17 17.00 miscommunication or misunderstanding between security forces and the community 21 21.00 ethnic or tribal tensions 12 12.00 economic factors 14 14.00 ethnic or tribal tensions 12 12.00 other 0 0.00 no observed conflict escalation 0 0.00 total 100 100.00 respondents’ observation of government security responses have positive influence on reducing conflict frequency percentages yes 68 68.00 no 32 32.00 total 100 100 effects of the human rights violation on the lives of the community frequency percentage physical harm or injury 21 21.00 psychological trauma and emotional distress 21 21.00 loss of livelihood or economic stability 21 21.00 disruption of family and community relationships 6 6.00 restrictions on freedom of movement and expression 5 5.00 increased fear or mistrust within the community 26 26.00 204 stability" were each mentioned by 21% of respondents, highlighting the significant consequences of these violations on community life. table 6: type human rights violation associated with government responses source: field survey, 2024 table 6 reflects respondents' perceptions of human rights violations associated with government security responses. the highest frequency finding reveals that 77% of respondents reported "yes" to the presence of human rights violations in the context of government security responses. among those, the most commonly recalled types of violations were "arbitrary arrests" and "freedom of speech restrictions," both mentioned by 40% and 36% of respondents, respectively. this underscores the prevalence of these violations and their significant impact within the communities. discussion of findings the findings have shed light on the interplay between government security responses, conflict dynamics, and human rights violations in the resource-rich yet conflict-afflicted niger delta region as noted by akpan, 2019. notably, the majority of respondents were male, emphasizing the importance of considering gender-specific impacts in conflict analysis and policy interventions, especially given documented gender-based violence and discrimination in conflict-affected areas. this corroborates the work of sobrasuaipiri, 2016; osumah & osumah, 2021. the survey highlighted that a significant portion of respondents (72%) were aware of government security responses in the region, reflecting the prevalent security challenges and visible security forces' presence as reported by amnesty international, 2020. nevertheless, the findings revealed a mixed perception regarding the effectiveness of these security responses. total 100 100.00 any human rights violations associated with government security responses frequency percentage yes 77 77.00 no 23 23.00 total 100 100.00 respondents’ recall of the types of human rights violation following government security responses frequency percentage arbitrary arrests 40 40.00 extrajudicial killings 11 11.00 forced displacement 9 9.00 freedom of speech restrictions 36 36.00 others 4 4.00 total 100 100.00 205 while some respondents deemed them effective, a substantial portion remained neutral or found them ineffective, indicating gaps in the current security approach, including issues related to oversight, training, and community engagement, this support unep, 2016. surprisingly, a significant majority (79%) believed that government security responses had a de-escalating effect on conflicts, contrasting with the literature that emphasizes human rights violations often linked to security operations. this divergence underscores the need for a nuanced analysis of perceptions and experiences, given the multifaceted nature of conflicts and security responses in the niger delta (human rights watch, 2017; obi, 2019). the views on government security responses' contribution to improved stability were mixed, with a substantial proportion (62%) remaining neutral and 24% disagreeing with their positive impact. this aligns with the literature's emphasis on the importance of community dialogue and consensus-building as a preventive measure against potential conflicts and violations (arimomo, 2020). the neutral stance may reflect a desire for more inclusive and communitycentric strategies (braide, 2014). the survey indicated that a significant majority of respondents (77%) associated human rights violations with government security responses, consistent with documented instances of human rights abuses, such as arbitrary arrests and restrictions on freedom of speech (amnesty international, 2020; international humanitarian law, 2019). these violations had severe effects on the community, including physical harm, psychological trauma, and loss of livelihood, underscoring the urgent need for accountability and redress mechanisms (unep, 2016; chase, 2016). respondents who witnessed conflict escalation attributed it to factors like a lack of community engagement and excessive use of force by security forces, aligning with the literature's observations of power imbalances, environmental concerns, and misunderstandings between security forces and communities contributing to conflicts (abasi, 2018). lastly, the survey identified various government initiatives, such as amnesty programs and community dialogue, as contributing to conflict de-escalation, consistent with the literature's emphasis on community engagement, dialogue, and sustainable development projects in addressing the resource curse and conflict dynamics (imobighe, 2017; olasupo, 2017). conclusion in conclusion, the study reveals that there is prevalence of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings and restrictions freedom of speech in niger delta. this findings aligns with documented human rights abuses in the niger delta region, emphasizing the need for human rights safeguards within security initiatives. recommendations to address the challenges of conflict and insecurity as well as the problem of human right violations by security operatives in the niger delta region, several recommendations have been made based on the findings from the study. firstly, government should put measures in place to prevent arbitrary arrest and extrajudicial killings of the citizens in the region. there should be concerted effort for the training of security personnel on how to handle and live harmoniously with the indigenes. 206 secondly, government to promulgate laws to safegaguard freedom of speech, establish transparent reporting system and oversight mechanisms that will reduce conflicts and insecurity in the region. lastly, government to invest in sustainable development initiatives and adopt a conflict sensitive approach to resource distribution to promote stability in the niger delta region. this underscores the urgency of communitycentric strategies, transparency and accountability in security operations references abasi, c. u., & ukaegbu, c. e. 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(2016). the niger delta amnesty program: the challenges of transitioning from peace settlements to long-term peace. sage open, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016654522 olanrewaju, f. o., joshua, s., & olanrewaju, a. (2020). natural resources, conflict and security challenges in africa. india quarterly, 76(4), 552–568. https://doi.org/10.1177/0974928420961742 olasupo, o., olayide oladeji, i., & ijeoma, e. o. c. (2017). nationalism and nationalist agitation in africa: the nigerian trajectory. the review of black political economy, 44(3–4), 261–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12114-017-9257-x ononye, c. f., esan, o. i., & yunana, a. (2021). participant’s roles and cognitive relations in niger delta conflict news discourse. sage open, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211023149 osumah, a., & osumah, b. (2021). the ecological impact of the oil industry on the niger delta of nigeria: a review. environmental development, 41, 1006-1017. schritt, j., & schareika, n. (2018). crude moves: oil, power, and politics in niger. africa spectrum, 53(2), 65–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971805300204 sobrasuaipiri, s. (2016). vulnerability and adaptive capacity in livelihood responses to oil spill in bodo, niger delta (doctoral dissertation, university of brighton). ukeje, c. (2018). youth, violence, and the collapse of public order in the niger delta of nigeria. africa development, 43(3), 1-24. unep. (2016). environmental assessment of ogoni land: executive summary https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016654522 https://doi.org/10.1177/0974928420961742 https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211023149 https://doi.org/10.1177/000203971805300204 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 81 external debt sustainability and economic growth nexus in nigeria: a co-integration and causality analysis anyanwu uchenna, n1 madubuike, kenneth, o2 anaenugwu, n. v.3 kalu chris u.1, 4 1department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 2department of economics, evangel university, akaeze, ebonyi state 3department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 1,4 department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka & cowry asset management limited, plot 1319 karimu kotun street, victoria island, lagos abstract high debt burdens can stifle investment and growth, while responsible debt management can support productive spending and development. this paper examined the impact of debt sustainability on economic growth in nigeria from 1986 to 2024 using the co-integration and pairwise granger causality techniques. the variables of this paper are real gdp; debt-to gdp ratio, debt-to-service ratio, monetary policy rate, and government expenditure on the theoretical frameworks of the exogenous growth theory and the debt overhang hypothesis. the data for the variables were sourced from the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin and the debt management office (dmo). the results show that debt-to-gdp ratio had a negative (-0.000206) and insignificant (-0.688940) relationship with economic growth; debt-to-service ratio had a negative (-0.001716) and insignificant (-0.342420) relationship while mpr had a negative (-0.005717) and insignificant (-0.96354) relationship. government expenditure had negative but significant relationship between debt sustainability and economic growth. the debt-to-gdp ratio (p-value, 0.0005< 0.05) granger causes real gdp and debt-to-gdp ratio causes economic growth (0.0071< 0.05). this paper concluded that debt-to-gdp ratio, debtto service ratio and monetary policy rate has negative impact on economic growth within the reviewing period. furthermore, the evidence as shown in the causality results show that the relationship between debt sustainability and economic growth is symbiotically mutual, reinforcing each other both in the immediate and in the long-term. this paper recommended as follows: i) sustain the current fiscal policy regime/reforms, economy-wide and sector specific so as to promote growth. this also implies regular update using the best scenarios for the nigeria debt sustainability analysis (dsa), ii if possible by the government, a moratorium on debt accumulation at all levels of government should be implemented. this would reduce the excessive borrowing by the federal government and subnational governments, iii) the central bank of nigeria should reconsider the hike in the rate, a downward review in order to promote growth, v) government spending should be to promote productive/growth drivers than consumption. keywords: debt-to-gdp, debt-to-service, monetary policy rate, nigeria, real gdp, time series analysis jel codes: e52, h62, h63, o40 82 1. introduction economic growth is primarily a quantitative concept, referring to an increase in the total output or gross domestic product (gdp) of an economy over a period of time. economic growth is crucial because it leads to increased production, potentially more jobs, higher incomes, and improved living standards, ultimately contributing to a more prosperous and stable society. economic growth is typically measured by tracking changes in gross domestic product(gdp), which represents the total value of goods and services produced within a country’s borders, and gross national product(gnp) which measures the total value of goods and services produced by a country’s residents, both domestically and abroad. external debt is the portion of a country’s debt owed to foreign lenders, including governments, commercial/deposit money banks or international financial institutions. external debt sustainability refers to a country’s ability to service its foreign debts without resorting to unsustainable measures including default or restructuring. a country’s external debt is considered sustainable when it can meet its current and future payment obligations without facing debt-service difficulties or exceptional financing (imf, 2013). to assess the sustainability of external debt, key measures include the debt-togdp ratio, debt-to-export ratio, debt-torevenue ratio, and debt service to exports or revenues, which indicates a country’s ability to repay its obligations without compromising its long-term goals. according to the national bureau of statistics(nbs), gross domestic product expanded by 3.84% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 3.46 in quarter three(q3) 2024, as compared to 2.7 in 2023. the growth drivers in 2024 are the information and telecommunication (ict), oil and gas sector, which expanded by 4.9 percent and 7.9 percent respectively. major growth stagnators include agriculture, trade, manufacturing and real estate, with 21.8 percent, 16.0 percent, 9.2 percent and 5.2 percent shares of gdp respectively. the growth draggers include construction and transport, constrained by the impact of reforms on operating costs (nesg, 2024). the debt management office(dmo) conducts debt sustainability analysis(dsa) using a world bank/international monetary fund (imf) tool to assess the sustainability of public debt. the challenges of debt sustainability in nigeria include: inadequate revenue mobilization, inefficient public expenditure management characterized by inefficient spending and corruption which hinders fiscal discipline, rising public debt and debt service burden. nigeria’s total public debt surged to n142.3 trillion by the end of september 2024, a 5.97 percent increase (n8.02) trillion from n134.3 trillion in june 2024, driven by both rising domestic borrowing and the impact of the weak naira on external debt. nigeria’s external debt in dollar terms grew marginally by 0.29 percent in june to $43.03bn in september 2024. in naira terms, external debt surged by 9.22 percent, rising from n63.07trillion to n68.89 trillion within the 4th quarter. this sharp increase was attributed to the depreciation of the naira, with exchange rate weakening from n1,470.19/$1 in june to n1,601.03/$ 1 by the end of september, 2024. the analysis of nigeria’s external debt stock shows a largely stable external debt profile, with charges driven by minor adjustments in multilateral and bilateral obligations. in line with the submissions of sanusi et al.(2019), public debt could impact economic growth negatively through crowding out private investment, macroeconomic vulnerability, debt overhang, high interest rate and increased tax burden. it could impact positively on economic 83 growth through stimulation of aggregate demand and funding of public investment. however, the overall impact of public debt on economic growth depends on the size/level of debt relative to the size of the economy (debt-to-gdp ratio and the sustainability of the debt(oyadeyi, agboola, okunade, & osinubi, 2024). objectively, this paper examined the impact of external debt sustainability on economic growth in nigeria. this paper is structured as follows: following the introduction is some stylized facts in section 2, section 3 presents review of empirical literature while section 4 is on data and methodology, and section 5 is on the empirical results and section 6 is on policy implications 2 some stylized facts on external debt sustainability and economic growth in nigeria table 1 presents gross domestic product trajectory for nigeria based on periodic averages after 2023. table 1: gdp trajectory, 20232035 gdp economic outcomes 2023 2027 2031 2035 gdp(nominal us$bn) 414 1,000 2,500 4,000 gdp(nominal n’trn) 240 800 2000 3,200 nominal us$gdp growth% 24.82 25.96 12.48 real gdp growth (%)* per capita income(us$) 3.1 1,863.2 8.6 4,105.4 14.1 9, 453.2 13.5 14,041.5 source: nesg estimates/ * represents outcomes based on periodic averages after 2023, which are as follows: 2024-2027, 2028-2031 and 2032-2035 from the nigerian economic summit group(nesg) report as contained in charting nigeria’s path to a us$4 trillion economy by 2035: a pathway analysis for sustainable economic transformation and inclusion-nes#29 perspectiveit was concluded that achieving a us$4 trillion economy by 2035 will come with fundamental changes in the structure and characteristics of the economy. from that report, by 2035, nigeria will become africa’s industrial and manufacturing hub, producing and exporting diverse mineral and agricultural products, highend products and knowledge product for the large afcfta market and the globe. hence, nigeria will become an industrialized nation with an industrial output of over 33 percent of gdp and a mechanized and commercialized agricultural sector offering high-end services to the industrial and agricultural sector. table 2 presents selected macroeconomic indicators 2022-2027 table 2: selected macroeconomic indicators 2022-2027 indicators 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 real gdp growth (%) 3.55 3.75 3.30 3.46 3.45 3.66 84 real gdp growth(n’trn) 74.96 77.77 80.34 83.11 85.98 89.13 nominal gdp(n’trn) 198.93 225.51 252.18 280.80 314.32 353.94 inflation (%) 13.00 17.16 16.21 17.21 14.36 14.19 revenue(n’trn) 9.97 10.49 10.87 12.11 16.40 19.70 deficit/gdp (%) 3.81 4.24 3.55 4.13 2.54 2.22 exchange rate(usd/n) 410.15 435.57 435. 92 437.57 445 445 new borrowing(n’trn) 6.92 8.80 8.84 10.62 7.98 7.68 domestic borrowing(n’bn) 4.35 7.04 7.07 8.50 6.38 6.14 external borrowing(n’bn) 2.57 1.76 1.77 2.12 1.60 1.54 source: federal ministry of finance, budget and national planning (budget 2022 & mtef, 2023-2027and dsa team projection (2026-2027) the baseline macroeconomic assumption as presented in table 2 were those in the 2023-2025 medium term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper (fsp). these assumptions incorporated the relevant pillars and priorities of the national development plan (ndp) 20212025 taking into cognizance the current realities and changes in the economy in terms of output and inflation. table 3 presents the summary of total public debt sustainability assessment. table 3: summary of total public debt sustainability assessment details threshol d 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 total public debt – t0-gdp (%) 40* baseline 23.4 37.1 37.2 37.0 36.6 35.3 alternatives(shocks) 25.7 45.4 47.5 49.0 50.6 51.6 gross financing needs-to-gdp (%) 15** baseline 5.3 7.2 6.0 6.1 5.6 5.0 alternatives 5.3 8.8 8.0 8.7 9.0 9.1 fgn debt service –torevenue (%) 50*** baseline 36.5 73.5 95.6 105.4 83.5 86.3 alternatives 36.5 142.3 162.9 166.0 152.04 148.61 source: dmo (2022) * nigeria’s self-imposed limit, ** mac-dsa threshold, *** nigeria’s recommended threshold table 3 shows that in spite of the increase in the debt stock, the total public debt-to-gdp ratio at 37.1 percent in 2023, and thereafter to 2027 remained below the nigerian self-imposed limit of 40 percent, following the growth in gdp. the gross financing needs-togdp ratio remained below its threshold of 15 percent throughout the projection period. table 4 presents nigeria’s debt burden benchmark. table 4: debt burden benchmark 85 s/n indicators mac-dsa dmo’s self – imposed 1 total public debt-togdp ratio (%) 70 40 2 gross financing needs-to-gdp (%) 15 3 fgn debtservice-torevenue 50 source: dmo (2022) mac-dsa (market access country-debt sustainability analysis) 3 empirical literature review they few reviewed empirical literature on the relationship between external debt sustainability and economic growth are presented in this section. for example, ojo and ayodele (2023) examined the causal relationship between external debt and economic growth in nigeria using the granger causality test. the study employed time-series data from 1990 to 2021 and found bidirectional causality between external debt and economic growth. the authors concluded that while external debt contributes to economic growth, its high servicing costs could limit the growth benefits unless the funds are invested in productive sectors. the study underscored the need for effective debt utilization to achieve sustainable growth. aliyu and usman (2023) investigated how external debt affects economic growth in nigeria using the co-integration and error correction model (ecm) approach. the analysis, based on annual data from 1985 to 2021, showed that external debt has a significant long-term negative impact on nigeria's economic growth. this was attributed to the large proportion of government revenue being directed toward debt servicing rather than development expenditure. the study suggested that nigeria should explore alternative sources of financing, such as foreign direct investment, to reduce dependency on debt. suleiman and mustapha (2023) explored the impact of external debt on economic growth in nigeria using a multivariate econometric model. the analysis was based on data from 2000 to 2022, using the ordinary least squares (ols) regression approach. the study showed a positive impact of external debt on economic growth within the reviewing period when the debt was profiled towards infrastructure projects but noted that nigeria’s growing debt burden posed a risk to future growth. the study concluded that the effectiveness of external debt in driving growth is contingent on how well the borrowed funds are utilized. ogunleye and olajide (2024) examined the impact of external debt in stimulating economic growth in africa, evidence from nigeria. using panel data from 2000 to 2022 and employing the fixed effects model, the results show that external debt positively impacted economic growth in the short term but led to diminishing returns in the long run. the study highlighted that the negative effect of external debt became evident when the debt-to-gdp ratio exceeded 40%. the study emphasized the importance of debt management strategies that focused on reducing debt servicing costs. 86 akinlo and lawal (2024) explored the link between external debt and economic growth in nigeria using a time-series analysis from 1995 to 2022. the authors applied the autoregressive distributed lag approach(ardl) bounds testing approach and showed that external debt had a statistically significant positive impact on nigeria’s economic growth in the short run, but its long-term impact were negative due to the high cost of servicing external debt. the study argued that external debt should only be used for projects that generate high returns to mitigate the long-term negative impact of debt servicing. ibrahim and mohammed (2025) examined the impact of external debt on economic growth in the context of nigeria’s oil-dependent economy. using quarterly data from 2005 to 2023 and applying the error correction model (ecm) approach, the study showed that external debt negatively impacted economic growth, particularly during periods of low oil prices. the authors suggested that nigeria should diversify its sources of revenue and focus on improving domestic savings to reduce reliance on external debt for financing. abdullahi and bello (2025) investigated the dynamics between external debt and economic growth in nigeria, focusing on the role of external debt in economic stabilization. the study used a vector autoregressive (var) model and data spanning from 1999 to 2023. the finding showed that external debt contributed positively to economic growth in the short run, but the long-term impact was negative due to the rising burden of debt servicing. the authors recommended that nigeria should adopt a more sustainable debt strategy, emphasizing the need for greater accountability in the management of borrowed funds. 3.1 knowledge gap with the exception of ogunleye and olajide(2024) that was focused on africa, using panel data approach, the most current reviewed studies( ojo & ayodele, 2023; aliyu & usman, 2023; suleiman & mustapha, 2023, akinlo & lawal, 2024, ibrahim & mohammed, 2025) focused on the nigerian economy. this study is also focused on nigeria. unlike the previous reviewed empirical studies, this study presents some stylized facts on the real external debt sustainability using the most current macroeconomic debt sustainability analysis of the debt management office (dmo) thereby giving facts behind external debt sustainability analysis in nigeria. while majority of the reviewed studies used granger causality test approach, co integration and error correction model approach, vector autoregressive approach and panel fixed effect approach, this study used the co-integration approach, the most feasible approach for measuring sustainability, this is the long –run relationship. in terms of variable utilization, while this study used the most related proxy, real gross domestic product, debt-to-service ratio, debt-to-gdp ratio and government expenditure as a percentage of gdp, the reviewed studies used macroeconomics variables that may not capture debt sustainability. the variables of this study served the knowledge gap purposes. this study used the debt overhang and exogenous growth theories, unlike previous studies that relied only on the economic growth theories only, thereby subjecting the theoretical relevance of the topic on debt sustainability and economic growth one-sideaffair. this serves the purposes of bridging the knowledge gap. the most recent of reviewed studies, majority of the 87 reviewed works were done earlier in the year 2025 than now. overall this study on the impact of external debt sustainability and economic growth has contributed to the body of economic knowledge theoretically, empirically and pragmatically since there are economic policy suggestions to improve on external debt sustainability and economic growth. 4 theoretical framework, model specification and methodology this paper is anchored on the exogenous growth and the debt overhang theories. exogenous growth theory, often represented by the solow-swan model. public expenditure and debt sustainability, while seemingly exogenous, can significantly impact economic growth, with debt sustainability being crucial for long-term stability and public expenditure influencing growth through investment and consumption. the model this paper intends to estimate is as follows: 4.1 model specification the model of this paper is specified as thus: 𝑅𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡 = 𝑓(𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡, 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡, 𝑀𝑃𝑅𝑡, 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡) (4.1) where rgdp is the real gross domestic product, proxy for economic growth; dbtgdp is debtto-gdp, measure for debt sustainability; dserv is debt-to-service ratio, proxy for debt sustainability in line with the theoretical measures of debt sustainability. mpr is the central bank of nigeria monetary policy rate as a control variable and government expenditure. government expenditure and debt sustainability are intertwined with economic growth, where responsible fiscal policies the explicit panel econometric and debt management are crucial for long-term prosperity, while increased government spending can stimulate short-term growth, excessive debt can lead to crowding out private investment and hinder long-term economic expansion: equation 4.1 can be re-specified to take in estimable econometric format as represented in equation 4.2 𝑅𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡 = 𝛽0𝑡 + 𝛽1𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡 + 𝛽2𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡 + 𝛽3𝑀𝑃𝑅𝑡 + 𝛽4𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡 + 𝜇𝑖𝑡 (4.2) where  ’s are structural parameters and  = stochastic error term. the empirical relationship between debt sustainability and debt-to-gdp ratio is both positive, negative and inconclusive. soyres, kawal and wang (2022) and heimberger (2021) showed a negative relationship between the subject matter, and spilloti (2015) reported a positive relationship between debt sustainability and debt-to-gdp ratio while dave(2024) showed inconclusive relationship between debt sustainability and debt-to-gdp ratio. following the empirical evidence, ambiguous relationship between debt sustainability and debt-to-gdp ratio is expected for the nigerian economy, hence, β1</>0. a high debt-to-service ratio (dsr), where debt payments consume a large portion of a country’s income, can negatively impact real gdp growth by reducing investment and consumption, potentially leading to economic stability. amoo(2024) and salisu, alabbas and haladu(2024) showed a negative relationship between debt sustainability and real gdp. therefore, β<0. the monetary policy rate (mpr) is the anchor rate. while some researchers argue that the high interest rate hurts the economy and high borrowing discourages investments, others argue that the moderating effect of high interest rate on inflation leads to a positive real growth in the economy. so, β3, mpr, is expected to be 88 negatively related to real gdp. some theories, like keynesianism, suggest that government spending stimulate the economy by increasing aggregate demand, while others highlight potential negative effect like crowding out the private sector. government expenditure, particularly when focused on productive sectors, can positively influence real gdp growth. okunlola, sani, ayetigbo and oyadeji (2024) showed a positive relationship between government expenditure and debt sustainability. 4.2 estimation techniques and procedure the estimation techniques for this paper is the johansen co integration and the granger causality approaches. a co-integration test is used to establish if there is a correlation between several time series in the long-run. it identifies scenarios where two or more non-stationary time series are integrated together in a way that they cannot deviate from equilibrium in the long-term. the granger causality test is a statistical method used to determine if one-time series can help predict another, meaning one variable granger cause another if its past values improves the prediction of the other variables beyond what can be achieved using only the past values of the predicted variable this was used to test whether a variable’s mean value and variance varies over time. it is necessary in time series variables to avoid the problem of spurious regression. the augmented dickey fuller (adf) and phillips-perron (pp) test was used for the analysis. augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test is used to test existence of unit root when there is autocorrelation in the series and lagged terms of the dependent variable are included in the equation. the following three models represent pure random walk, random walk with drift and random walk with drift and trend used in augmented dickey-fuller tests:  = −− ++= p i ttitt 1 11  4.1  = −− +++= p i tititt 1 10  4.2 decision rule: if adf test statistic (t-statistic of lagged dependent variable) is greater than the critical value, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the series is stationary (there is no unit root) but if otherwise, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that the series is not stationary (there is unit root) . the phillips-perron (pp) test on the other hand uses nonparametric statistical methods to take care of the serial correlation in the error terms without adding lagged difference terms. the asymptotic distribution of the pp test is the same as the adf test statistic. co-integration test this test examines if there exists a long-run relationship between the variables under investigation. the johansen or engel-granger methodology will be used. the long-run equilibrium relationship is estimated with the following equation: ttt  ++= 10 if there is cointegration, α0 and α1 estimates reveal “super-consistent” estimators in the ols regression. in this estimation fitted values of t series is tested for stationarity. in this analysis 89 df or adf may be used. however, in hypothesis testing, critical values constructed by mckinnon (1991) is used. if this series is stationary, we can conclude that there is cointegration between t and t . the fitted values of t may be used as error correction term of the model. decision rule: if the adf statistics of residual series is absolutely greater than the critical values at 5% level of significance, then there exists a long-run relationship between the variables and if otherwise, there exists no long-run relationship among the variables. the granger causality representations of our model is as follows: 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑟 = 𝛽 + ∑ 𝜂𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑟𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑀𝑃𝑅t − 1 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡−𝑖 + 𝛺. 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃 = 𝜙 + ∑ 𝜃𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜗𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜂𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝑀𝑃𝑅−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡−𝑖 + 𝜓 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉 = 𝛽 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜃𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜗𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜂𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝑀𝑃𝑅 + ∑ 𝜂𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡−𝑖 + 𝜇 𝑀𝑃𝑅 = 𝛽 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑀𝑃𝑅𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜃𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜗𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡−𝑖 + 𝜇 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇 = 𝛽 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐺𝑂𝑉𝑇𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜃𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐷𝑆𝐸𝑅𝑉𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝜗𝑖 𝑛 𝑖 𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝐷𝐵𝑇𝐺𝐷𝑃𝑡−𝑖 + ∑ 𝛾𝑖 𝑛 𝑖=1 𝑀𝑃𝑅 + 𝜇 decision rule: if the probability value of an estimated granger causality is less than 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that a granger causality exists while if the probability value is greater than 0.05, we accept the null hypothesis and conclude that there exists no causality relationship among the variables. table 4.1 presents the sources of data 90 variables proxy measure source real gdp economic growth total value of goods and services cbn bulletin, dbtgdp debt-to-gdp ratio debt management office(dmo) dserv debt-toservice ratio dmo mpr monetary policy rate rate cbn bulletin govt government expenditure percentage of gdp cbn bulletin 5. empirical results and analysis 5.1. unit-root test result table 5.1: unit root test result variable adf stat. critical value. order of integration rgdp -5.304880 -3.533083 i(1) dbtgdp -4.649705 -1.949609 i(1) dserv -5.742142 -1.949609 i(1)s mpr -4.095670 -1.951332 i(1) govt -3.206057 -1.949856 i(1) source: authors computation using eview 12 5.1. cointegration analysis (johansen methodology) table 5.2: cointegration test result series: gdpr dbtgdp dserv mpr govt lags interval (in first differences): 1 to 1 unrestricted cointegration rank test (trace) hypothesized trace 0.05 no. of ce(s) eigenvalue statistic critical value prob.** none * 0.524093 79.10069 69.81889 0.0117 at most 1 * 0.459742 52.34193 67.85613 0.0470 at most 2 0.291001 24.12928 29.79707 0.1950 at most 3 0.169749 10.71716 15.49471 0.2295 at most 4 0.084946 3.462106 3.841466 0.0628 trace test indicates 2 co-integrating eqn(s) at the 0.05 level * denotes rejection of the hypothesis at the 0.05 level 91 **mackinnon-haug-michelis (1999) p-values source: authors computation using eview 12. the johansen method of co-integration was used for the study because all the variables are stationary at first difference. the johansen result as displayed in table 5.1 clearly shows evidence of co-integration as trace statistics test indicates 2 co-integrating equations as the trace statistic value is greater than that of 5% critical value (79.10069 > 69.81889) & (52.14193 > 67.85613). this entails that there exists a long-run relationship between the variable under analysis. 5.2 error correction model regression results table 5.2: ecm results dependent variable: d(gdpr) method: least squares variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 0.074009 0.025936 2.853551 0.0073 d(dbtgdp) -0.000206 0.000299 -0.688940 0.4955 d(dserv) -0.001716 0.005010 -0.342420 0.7341 d(mpr) -0.005717 0.005933 -0.963507 0.3421 d(govt) -0.000307 8.400905 -3.648195 0.0009 ecm(-1) -0.046398 0.085309 -0.543880 0.5901 r-squared 0.554538 mean dependent var -0.010296 adjusted r-squared 0.489029 s.d. dependent var 0.194478 s.e. of regression 0.139017 akaike info criterion -0.970958 sum squared resid 0.657076 schwarz criterion -0.717626 log likelihood 25.41916 hannan-quinn criter. -0.879361 f-statistic 8.465043 durbin-watson stat 2.133643 prob(f-statistic) 0.000028 source: authors computation using eview 12 it can be clearly seen from table 5.2 that external debt sustainability measured with the ratio of external debt to gdp (dbt/gdp) yielded a regression numerical coefficient of -0.000206 with a corresponding probability value of 0.4955 > 0.05. this entails that external debt sustainability contributes negatively and insignificantly to economic growth in nigeria for the period analyzed. this further entails that the external debt in nigeria is not sustainable. the numerical coefficient of the regression output also shows that debt service ratio yielded a negative numerical value at the magnitude of -0.001716 with a corresponding probability value of 0.7341 > 0.05. this entails that debt service ratio has a negative relationship with economic 92 growth in nigeria. hence, a one percent increase in debt to service ratio reduced economic growth by 0.001716 percent. this conforms to economic a priori expectation because there is an inverse relationship between debt service ratio and gross domestic product. the regression output also shows that inflation has an inverse relationship with economic growth in nigeria. this entails that a 1% increase in inflation yielded a reduction in economic growth by -0.005717% and vice versa. this conforms to economic theory. government expenditures yielded a negative numerical coefficient of -0.000307 with a corresponding pvalue of 0.0009 < 0.05. this entails that government expenditures contributes negatively and significantly to economic growth in nigeria for the period reviewed. this does not also conform to economic a priori expectation. this is because it is expected that government expenditures should have a positive relationship with economic growth in nigeria for the period analyzed. the f-statistics which is employed to test for the statistical significance of the entire regression plane yielded 8.465043 with a corresponding probability value of 0.000028 < 0.05. this entails that the test is statistically significant at the entire regression plane. the coefficient of determination (r2) which measures the explanatory power of the independent variables yielded 0.554538. this implies that approximately 55% of the variations in economic growth are explained by changes in external debt sustainability and other control variables used in this study. this is, however, relatively high and significant. the error correction mechanism (ecm) which measures the speed of the adjustment of the variables at which equilibrium is restored yielded -0.046398. this is correctly signed (negative) at the 5 percent level, and therefore confirms our earlier proposition that the variables are co-integrated. the speed suggests that economic growth in nigeria adjusts relatively slowly to the long-run equilibrium changes in the explanatory variables and it gives the proportion of the disequilibrium error accumulated in the previous period that is corrected in the current period. the speed of adjustment is specifically at 4.6% annually. 5.3 model diagnostic test table 5.3: serial correlation test result breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test: f-statistic 1.382240 prob. f(2,32) 0.2656 obs*r-squared 3.180809 prob. chi-square(2) 0.2038 source: authors’ computation using eview 12 the breusch-godfrey serial correlation lm test was used to carry out the test of autocorrelation. it is clearly seen that the obs*r-squared which follows the computed chisquare distribution yielded 3.180809 and it is clearly greater than the chi-square probability which yielded 0.2038. this compels us to accept the null hypothesis that there is no serial correlation of any order. hence, there is no presence of autocorrelation problem in the model. 5.4 granger causality test result table 5.4: causality test result pairwise granger causality tests null hypothesis: obs f-statistic prob. 93 dbtgdp does not granger cause rgdp 39 21.7636 0.0005 rgdp does not granger cause dbtgdp 6.63529 0.0071 source: authors’ computation using eview 12 the granger causality test was carried out to identify the causality relationship between economic growth and external debt sustainability in nigeria. the granger causality output in table 5.4 showed that dbtgdp causes economic growth (p-value = 0.0005 < 0.05) and economic growth (gdpr) also granger causes dbtgdp (p-value = 0.0071 < 0.05). hence, there is a bi-directional causality relationship between the two variables. 5.2 discussion of results the first objective of this paper is to examine the impact of debt sustainability on economic growth in nigeria from 1986-2024. the co-integration and the associated error correction model approaches were utilized. from the co-integration result, it showed that the trace test indicated 2 co-integrating at the 0.05 level of significance and again from the error correction model results, it show that the constant term is positive at 0.074009 with t-statistics (prob.value of 2.853551/0.0073), which implies that the policy regimes on debt management has some positive impact on economic growth. it could also imply that the debt portfolio has been managed sustainably. however, from the result, debt-to-gdp ratio negatively and insignificantly impacted on economic growth within the reviewing period; debt-to-service ratio equally impacted negatively and insignificantly on economic growth while monetary policy rate impacted negatively and insignificantly on growth. government expenditure negatively although significantly impacted on economic growth. further from the ecm results, the summary statistics (f-stat, 8.46; prob, 0.00028, dw stat, 2.133643) are within the acceptance criteria. in nigeria, the monetary policy rate (mpr) influences economic growth by impacting borrowing costs, investment and overall economic activity, with high mprs potentially leading to slower growth due to borrowing costs. consumption and investment, inflation and exchange rate are the other channelings through which higher mpr impact negatively on economic growth. an mpr of 27.50% as at the 18-19th february monetary policy committee meeting on asymmetric corridor around the mpr at + 500/-100 basis point unarguably crowds out investment due to high associated interest rate with untoward consequence on economic activity. this results lay credence to economic theory and empirical validation ((see fagbola & sokunbi, 2021; sulaiman, 2017, ayadi & ayadi, 2015) the second objective of this paper is to evaluate the causality between debt sustainability and economic growth. the pairwise granger causality test was adopted. from the as presented in table 5.4, it showed that debt-to-gdp ratio causes economic growth at (p-value 0.0005< 0.05) and economic growth causes debt-to-gdp ratio at (p-value 0.0071< 0.05) at the 5% level of significance. this implies bidirectional causality between debt-to-gdp ratio and economic growth for the nigerian economy as against the uni-directional causality established by previous studies (choong, lau, liew & puah, 2018; karogl, 2017). this shows the plausibility of debt sustainability and economic growth 94 6. conclusion and policy implication conclusion from the objectives of the paper, it can be concluded that the fiscal policy regimes has positive impact on the growth potentials. furthermore, debt-to-gdp ratio, debt-to service ratio and monetary policy rate has negative impact on economic growth within the reviewing period. in other word, monetary policy and fiscal policy has not been coordinated well in nigeria to achieve sustainable growth. meanwhile, if these policies are mixed effectively, there would a long-run equilibrium relationship between fiscal policy on one hand and monetary policy on the other hand. first hand evidence as shown in the causality results show that the relationship between debt sustainability and economic growth is symbiotically mutual, reinforcing each other both in the immediate and in the long-term. this paper has contributed to the existing body of knowledge on fiscal policy (debt sustainability and economic growth). the challenge of this paper is the omission of more relevant economic growth drivers including openness of the economy and external competitiveness, demographic characteristics and investment indicator variables. it is expected that future research on the relationship between debt sustainability and economic growth should consider the inclusion of these omitted variables to enhance robustness of economic analysis. policy implications from the empirical results, the following can be considered for implementation: sustain the current fiscal policy regime/reforms, economy-wide and sector specific so as to promote growth. this also implies regular update using the best scenarios for the nigeria debt sustainability analysis (dsa). if possible by the government, a moratorium on debt accumulation at all levels of government should be implemented. this would reduce the excessive borrowing by the federal government and subnational governments. the central bank of nigeria should reconsider the hike in the rate, a downward review in order to promote growth. government spending should be to promote productive/growth drivers than consumption. reference abdullahi, h. s., & bello, o. o. (2025). the dynamics of external debt and economic growth in nigeria: a var approach. international journal of economic policy, 35(4), 10561074. akinlo, a. e., & lawal, a. i. (2024). the effect of external debt on economic growth in nigeria: a time-series analysis. african journal of economic review, 12(1), 120-136. 95 aliyu, m. a., & usman, b. o. (2023). external debt and economic growth in nigeria: an empirical investigation. journal of development economics, 52(3), 210-225. dave, b.j.(2024) the relationship between the debt –to-dgp ratio and the gdp in developed (us, japan), developing countries(asia and europe) and african sub-saharan countries with emphasis on indian scenario: a comparative study. journal of management research and analysis 11(2): 131-139 https://www.ipinnovative .com/open accessjournal fagbola, o & sokunbi, v.(2020) effect of external debt on economic growth in nigeria. journal of economics and sustainable development, 3(8), 12-26 hakura, d.(2020) what is debt sustainability? f & d finance and development magazine. international monetary fund. heimberger, p. (2021) do higher public debt levels reduce economic growth? working paper 211. the vienna institute for international economic studies ibrahim, h. i., & mohammed, s. a. (2025). external debt, oil prices, and economic growth in nigeria: evidence from ecm analysis. journal of african business, 26(1), 78-94. ogunleye, d. a., & olajide, k. o. (2024). external debt and economic growth in sub-saharan africa: a case study of nigeria. economics and finance review, 14(1), 45-60. oyadeyi, o. o., agboola, o. w., okunade, s. o., & osinubi, t. t. (2024). the debt-growth nexus and debt sustainability in nigeria: are there reasons to be concerned?. journal of policy modeling, 46(1), 129-152. sanusi, k.a ; hassan, a.s, & meyer, d.f.(2019) nonlinear effects of public debt on economic growth in southern african development community(sadc) countries. international journal of economics and management, 13(1), 193-202. https:// ijem.upm.edu.my soyres, c.d, kawal, r. & wang, m.(2022) public debt and real gdp: revisiting the impact . imf working paper , finance department international monetary fund spilloti, s. (2015) the relationship between the government debt and gdp growth: evidence of the euro area countries. investment management and financial innovation, 12(1), 174-178 suleiman, i. o., & mustapha, o. s. (2023). external debt and economic growth in nigeria: a multivariate econometric approach. african journal of economic development, 9(1), 96-110. https://www.ipinnovative/ page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities implications of catastrophic risk future as alternative risks transfer solution on performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria moses tunde oyerinde1,adekunle sundayaduloju2, yusuf olalekantajudeen3 1university of lagos, akoka, nigeria 2university of lagos, akoka, nigeria 3university of lagos, akoka, nigeria corresponding author e-mail: mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com abstract. the manufacturing companies are faced with many risks which includes regular business risks such as credit risks, switch in market taste, human and personnel risks, injury, damage to third party and so on. the industry handles these risks by way of risk transfer through insurance by shifting the financial implication of loss, injury or damage to another party or parties. however, there are risks that are existential to the industry that can be described as catastrophic such as hurricane, earthquake, terror attacks etc. these type of risks cannot be adequately covered by regular insurance. this class of risks can only be covered by non-insurance transfer by way of alternative risk transfer, art. the study aim to determine impact of catastrophic risk futures (crf) as an alternative risks transfer solutions on the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies revealed significant correlation between crf as an art solution and performance with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.630 with a p-value of 0.000. the anova findings also showed performance of manufacturing enterprises could be strongly be predicted by crf as well as a positive association between crf solution and performance of the manufacturing companies. therefore, we can conclude that there is significant relationship between crf as an art solution and the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies and that crf do have real impact on the performance of the manufacturing concerns. however, stakeholders such as the government, the manufacturers association of nigeria (man) and security and exchange commission, sec needs to work together to create enabling environment for art to thrive by sensitization of the industry on the concept and benefits of art. the industry must ensure that all alternative risk transfer solutions comply with local and international regulatory standards to avoid legal complications and ensure growth of the art solutions in the country.. keywords: alternative risk transfer solutions, performance, manufacturing companies. jel classification:d81 introduction risks in the modern world pose a variety of threats that might have far-reaching, multigenerational consequences on people, society, the economy, and the environment. everyone from people to governments in both rich and developing nations has the formidable task of mitigating these affects' financial effects. to alleviate the financial strain on their operations, investments, claim management, and profitability that would result from having to bear the costs of risk, most manufacturing companies are continuously seeking new ways to contribute to risk management. one way they do this is by offering funding for recovery and reconstruction after a risk event (ben & jouili, 2015). various types of risk might emerge in the manufacturing business, including those that occur during the hiring process, the manufacturing stage, distribution, and so on. insurance, which entails transferring monetary responsibility for harm, loss, or damage to another party or mailto:mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com 25 parties, is the most prevalent kind of risk transfer. nwite (2006) lists non-insurance shifting the behaviours that generate loss as another avenue for risk transfer. in response to the widespread adoption of risk management principles in the 1950s, american businesses developed alternative risk transfer (art) systems. the pattern of insurance capacity crises from the 1970s through the 1990s caused it to develop steadily, according to doherty (2000). it was schnell and eling (2017). companies were able to insure their own risks using art products like captives and risk retention organisations in the beginning, according to schanz (1999), but in the 1990s, the scope expanded to include risk transfer, limited insurance, reinsurance, and tax-deductible advantages via capital markets (2004). reinsurance, sidecars, ilw, cat bonds, options, futures, and captives are all examples of art products that may be used to get access to extra capital market funds. huang (2010). the idea of art is based on the convergence of insurance, banking, and the capital market, which aims to effectively supply businesses enough money to cover different types of risks. in 2000, asaff, the european commission, and hofmann all made contributions. due to the individualised nature of art products, the notion defies reduction to a single, allencompassing description. as a result, a wide variety of business demands drive demand for art goods. the following categories, however, are applicable to art products: securitization (including cat bonds) and insurantization (including credit default swaps, collateralized debt, residual value, and revenue guarantee products) are mentioned by allen (2002) and gjertsen (2002). reinsurance and captive insurance businesses are also part of finite risk insurance. risk securitization via catastrophe bonds, insurance industry-linked securities, and reinsurance industry sidecars are some of the alternative risk transfer covers used by manufacturing companies. risk trading through industry loss warranties and weather derivative contracts is another option. finally, transformer vehicles are used to transform capital market risks into reinsurance industry risks. captive insurance businesses, longevity risk transfer, securitization tied to the life insurance sector, and other alternative risk financing approaches are sometimes considered by burca and batrinca (2014). this study aims at delving into the implications of alternative risk transfer solutions on the performance of manufacturing companies, with a specific focus on the manufacturing industry in nigeria. by analyzing the effectiveness of these solutions, they seek to provide insights into their potential impact on operational efficiency, financial stability, and overall performance in the nigerian manufacturing sector. statement of the problem examining how different risk transfer strategies may affect the efficiency and productivity of nigerian industries is the primary goal of this research. in short, alternative risk transfer solutions are not always a bad idea, but doing them wrong might have serious consequences for a business. several problems arise when manufacturing businesses adopt alternate risk transfer techniques. to maximise the advantages of these strategies and ensure their proper implementation, it is essential to understand these challenges. furthermore, some nigerian industrial organisations may overestimate their risk exposure, leading to a high opportunity cost. as an example, let's say the manufacturing business 26 decides to set aside a substantial amount of money in order to mitigate the impact of any unforeseen risks. those saved money are lost investment possibilities if unforeseen hazards don't materialise or if they materialise with far less harm than anticipated. the business may have expanded its consumer base or invested in r&d with the funds instead of putting them aside. so, if a manufacturing firm overcompensates due to overestimating risk, it would lose money that might have been invested in other alternatives. jouili and ben (2015). as time goes on, it's simpler to see that man cannot lead a meaningful life free from taking risks. since insurance is not a foolproof method of risk transfer, manufacturing businesses should always look for other, more efficient methods to transfer risk. (morton, 2002). in order for nigerian manufacturing enterprises to reap the advantages of alternative risk transfer solutions, it is critical to address these concerns. manufacturing companies can overcome these challenges and improve their risk management strategies and performance by raising awareness, collaborating with specialised experts, streamlining regulatory processes, considering cost implications, managing risk retention effectively, and providing implementation support. next, several inquiries are warranted in light of the preceding reasoning: do manufacturing enterprises in nigeria feel the effects of alternative risk transfer investments and business decisions? is claim management in nigerian manufacturing enterprises related to alternative risk transfer? is it possible for nigerian manufacturing enterprises' development and profitability to be impacted by the efficacy of alternative risk transfer policies? this study effort will thoroughly investigate the responses to the questions in order to examine the "gap" that will be addressed. aim and objectives of the study the aim of the research work is to examine the implication of alternative risks transfer solutions on the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies. the specific objectives of the study are: to identify if the use of catastrophe risk futures (crf) as alternative risk transfer will affect the performance of nigerian manufacturing companies significance of the study the result of this study is expected to enhance the knowledge of alternative risk transfer solution and how it affects the manufacturing companies’ profitability and growth in nigeria. it will also be of great importance to the manufacturing industry practitioners and other experts handling alternative risk transfer solutions for manufacturing companies. it will be useful in helping to understand how alternative risk transfer solution affects manufacturing industry’s operations, profitability, and growth and suggest ways on how to choose the effective alternative risk transfer solution that would improve the performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria. it will also serve as a basic study for those who may wish to carry out further research on the study. scope and delimitation of the study the study covers alternative risk transfer and manufacturing companies in nigeria. the study is limited to manufacturing companies operating in nigeria and based in lagos state which makes up the sub-set of the nigeria manufacturing industry. the reason for this choice was the need to explore this important sector which contributes a large percentage to the 27 gross domestic products of nigeria. lagos state is also chosen as the study area due to the large concentration of manufacturing companies in the state with the highest manufacturing activities. research questions the specific research questions of the study are: to determine whether the use of catastrophic futures as alternative risk transfer greatly affects the performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria? study hypotheses the specific research hypothesis of the study is: there is no significant relationship between the use of catastrophe risk futures (crf) and the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies operational definition of terms alternative risks transfer: this technique allows companies to purchase coverage and transfer risk without having to use traditional commercial insurance manufacturing company: any business that uses components, parts or raw materials to make a finished good. profitability: the degree to which a business or activity yields profit or financial gain. financial performance: a subjective measure of how well a firm use assets from its primary mode of business to generate revenues and make profit. insurance: an arrangement by which a company or the state undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium. self-insurance: insurance of oneself or one's interests by maintaining a fund to cover possible losses rather than by purchasing an insurance policy. captive insurance: a wholly owned subsidiary created to provide insurance to its noninsurance parent company (or companies) hedging: the process of transferring risk to another party and protecting your own organization from that risk. financial derivative: are financial contracts, set between two or more parties, that derive their value from an underlying asset, group of assets, or benchmark. industry loss warranty: a reinsurance or derivative contract that kicks in when losses experienced by an industry exceed a specified threshold. coverage is typically triggered when an index provider says the relevant threshold has been met. 28 catastrophe bond: a high-yield debt instrument designed to raise money for companies in the insurance industry in the event of a natural disaster. catastrophe risk futures: derivatives contracts first traded on the chicago board of trade (cbot) to hedge against catastrophic losses. 1. theoretical framework agency and stakeholders’ theories were adopted as the theoretical basis for this research. 1.1 agency theory agency theory is an economic theory that views the firm as a set of contracts among selfinterested individuals ross and mitnick, (1970). agency theory, as applied to the context of alternative risk transfer solutions, posits that there is a fundamental principal-agent relationship within organizations. shareholders (principals) delegate decision-making authority to management (agents) to act on their behalf. in the realm of risk management, the adoption of alternative risk transfer solutions such as industry loss warranties introduces a dynamic where the interests of shareholders and management might not perfectly align. the principals seek to maximize shareholder value, while agents may have their own objectives, which can lead to a potential conflict of interests. in the case of nigerian manufacturing companies, the introduction of alternative risk transfer solutions may influence the decision-making processes and risk management strategies. potential conflicts of interest might arise if management perceives risk differently from shareholders. understanding and addressing these agency issues are crucial for effective implementation and optimization of alternative risk transfer mechanisms, ultimately impacting the overall performance of the manufacturing companies. 1.2 stakeholder theory stakeholder theory posits that organizations should consider the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders according to freeman (2016). in the context of alternative risk transfer solutions, stakeholders include not only investors but also employees, customers, suppliers, and the broader community. the effective management of risks through alternative risk transfer solutions can impact various stakeholders differently, and their perceptions and reactions can, in turn, influence the company's performance. for nigerian manufacturing companies, the implications of alternative risk transfer solutions extend beyond financial metrics. stakeholder theory suggests that a company's reputation, relationships with suppliers and customers, and overall social responsibility are critical aspects of performance. how a company manages risks can affect its standing in the eyes of various stakeholders. a well-executed risk management strategy not only protects financial interests but also contributes positively to the company's relationships with stakeholders, influencing its long-term sustainability and performance. however, these two theories provide a theoretical lens through an understanding gained of the implications of alternative risk transfer solutions on the performance of nigerian manufacturing companies. the nuanced interplay between agency relationships, and stakeholder considerations contributes to a holistic understanding of how risk management strategies impact the overall performance of manufacturing firms in nigeria. 29 2. conceptual framework 2.1 the concept of alternative risk transfer there is no agreed-upon definition of alternative risk transfer (art). the term "alternative risk transfer" (art) is often used to describe a set of practices that businesses utilise instead of conventional insurance or reinsurance companies to accomplish the same goals of hedging and risk transfer. risk transfer via alternative risk carriers and risk transfer through alternative goods are the two main components of alternative risk transfer (art), which is more than simply a product. 2014, swiss-re. one explanation for this is the ever-expanding list of potentially dangerous items that meet the criteria for art, thanks to relentless product development. by transforming their risks into marketable securities with long-term maturities, corporations may engage in alternative risk transfer, which allows them to transfer their risks to a third party or the capital market. through the use of alternative risk transfer strategies, such as manufacturing industry pools and the more convenient securitization of underwriting funds, organisations are able to obtain coverage and transfer risks. this is an example of securitization, which involves the capital market playing a more active role in supplying services to the insurance and reinsurance industries via the hedging of manufacturing sector risks against long-term marketable securities. in 2017, de-mey worked. insurance sector services and financial markets are supposedly brought together by this approach, which falls within the expansive area of alternative risk transfer (art). many other methods exist for transferring risk, such as catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities, and reinsurance industry side-cars; industry loss warranties for trading risks; weather derivative contracts; and transformer vehicles for transferring risks from the capital market to the reinsurance industry. various financing organisations, including captive business investors or pools, are prepared to assume a portion of the risk associated with company investments in exchange for a fee; this practice is known as risk transfer to alternate carriers. in general, art prioritises the preservation of capital above operational effectiveness and gives more weight to the retention of businesses than to their market share. ryan et al, (2017) categorized alternative risk transfer (art) vehicles into the following broad groupings: 1. captive or self-insurance methods: known to be the most common form of alternative risk transfer. this is a type of alternative risk transfer established by organizations to cover their own risk but do not insure the risk of the public. hence, they have access to reinsurance industry market and enjoy tax haven. self-insurance industry is the largest portion of the alternative carrier market available for companies under state insurance industry commission regulation as it allows the company (adjust the amount of risk that they have on their portfolio) to reduce costs and streamline the claims process. 2. risk retention groups and captive insurance company tends to be more popular with large corporations. a captive is an insurance company that insures the risks of its owner, affiliated businesses or a group of companies. it issues policies, collects premiums and pays claims just like a traditional insurance company. what fundamentally distinguishes a captive and makes it alternative to commercial insurance company is the form of ownership and who keeps the insuring company’s profit. 3. single-parent captives are owned by one company or group (the parent). pure captives are single parent captives that accept only the risks of the owner (or owner-affiliates). not all 30 single-parent captives are pure captives; in some instances, a single-parent captive can accept business from third parties. 4. group captives offer insurance services to several or many unrelated policyholder and owners and can take many forms. some group captives dedicate themselves to a particular industry, while others choose to write in a limited geographic area, such as a single state. group captives are the alternative risk transfer (art) vehicle that most resembles a commercial business investor and have similar rating dynamics. 2.2 catastrophic risk futures (crf) catastrophic risk futures are a type of financial contract that provides coverage against losses from catastrophic events. catastrophic futures are typically structured as contracts for difference (cfds), and they are traded on exchanges. according to creswell (2011), catastrophic futures are designed to provide protection to investors and businesses against the financial impact of catastrophic events. catastrophic events can include natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods, as well as man-made disasters, such as terrorist attacks and pandemics including business risk such as power outages or supply chain collapse. according to cummins et al, (2018), catastrophic futures are a relatively new type of financial contract hence still evolving. investors and businesses should carefully consider the benefits and risks of catastrophic futures before making a decision about whether or not to participate in a catastrophic futures market. also, derbali and jamel (2018) posited that catastrophic futures are still a relatively new type of financial contract, and the market for catastrophic futures is still developing. however, the market for catastrophic futures is expected to grow in the coming years as investors and businesses become more aware of the benefits of catastrophic futures. din et al (2017), catastrophic futures are typically traded on exchanges, but they can also be traded over-thecounter. catastrophic futures contracts are typically traded in denominations of $1 million or more. catastrophic futures work by transferring the risk of a catastrophic event from the buyer of the contract to the seller of the contract. the buyer of the contract agrees to pay the seller a premium if the specified catastrophic event occurs. the seller of the contract agrees to pay the buyer the difference between the strike price of the contract and the market price of the underlying asset if the specified catastrophic event occurs. for instance, the strike price of a catastrophic futures contract is the price at which the contract will be settled if the specified catastrophic event occurs. the underlying asset of a catastrophic futures contract can be a variety of different things, such as a stock index, a commodity index, or a currency index. 2.3 nigeria manufacturing sector in manufacturing industries, risks arise in different forms; it could be at the process of staffing, production stage, distribution etc. the most common form of risk transfer is by way of insurance which involves shifting of the financial liability for loss, injury or damage to another person or persons. other mechanisms for transferring risk include; non-insurance transfer and transferring the activities that causes the loss (nwite, 2006). to ensure future growth on alternative transfer mechanisms, there has been a development of independent, alternative risk consulting firms that works with agents and brokers. these alternative risk transfer firms educates the agents and brokers on expertise general experience in the art market as well as those that may need to supplement their ability to execute these tasks with a 31 team of industry specialist artemis (2010) the manufacturing companies in nigeria operate in the current unstable environment which is fraught with numerous risks that could endanger its survival and success. these risks include political risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, foreign exchange risk, market risk, interest rate risk, among others. however, nigeria is rarely exposed to catastrophic disruptions such as of earthquakes, hurricane or epidemic of avian flu that caused large scale damage to businesses and manufacturing setup in other part of the world such as north america and asia. researcher’s conceptual model alternative risk transfer and performance of manufacturing company independent variable manufacturing company performnce dpendent variable cat bond cat future rot measures of profitability ilw alternative risk transfer roaroe 3. empirical review 3.1 the use of catastrophic risk futures graciela (1999) posited that new risks seem to be unavoidable in a period of rapid change. the last few decades have brought us the risks of global warming, nuclear melt-down, ozone depletion, failure of satellite launcher rockets, collision of supertankers, aids, and ebola. in the study, researcher propose a novel framework for providing insurance cover against risks whose parameters are unknown. in fact many of the risks at issue may not be just unknown but also unknowable. it is difficult to imagine repetition of the events leading to global warming or ozone depletion, and therefore difficult to devise a relative frequency associated with repeated experiments. hardesty (2018) by means of a peculiar magic, insurance preserves the quantified value of capital through destructive, contingent events. the principal subjects of this project, global reinsurers, stand at the end of a long line of loss claims, holding capital together as forces threaten to tear it apart. hoyt et al, (1995) posited that in december 1992 the chicago board of trade (cbot) began trading catastrophe insurance futures. these contracts were intended to serve as a new form of risk shifting for the insurance industry and a low-cost alternative to reinsurance. the focus 32 of the paper is to determine if catastrophe futures have the ability to offer a viable hedge for insurers, and consequently, whether such contracts are likely to be successful. in spite of some regulatory and institutional barriers, these contracts appear to provide an attractive alternative to reinsurance for some companies, particularly for large, nationally diverse insurers. lane and mahul (2013) in their study posit that the price of catastrophe risks is viewed by many to be too high and/or too volatile. catastrophe risk practitioners point out that, contrary to standard insurance, such as automobile insurance, catastrophe re-insurance is exposed to infrequent but potentially very large losses. it thus requires keeping a large amount of capital in hand, generating a cost of capital to be added to the long-term expected loss. the findings of zhou et al, (2023) showed that natural disasters and climate change risks generally lower insurer profitability and risk-sharing capacity, bank stability and credit supply, returns and stability of stock and bond markets, foreign direct investment inflows, and international lending. factors such as income levels, rigorous financial regulations, capital abundance, market diversification, and adaptation strategies mitigate the negative effects. 4. research methodology 4.1 research design the research employed pragmatism paradigm descriptive survey design and mixed method approach for collection of both qualitative and quantitative data for results triangulation wambugu et al, (2015). the method was employed to free the results of the study from bias so as to produce the least margin of error with increased trust in the precision of data collected and thus provide results that are judged to be credible. the design also helped the researcher to plan and implement the study in a way that helped to obtain intended results, and thus helped increased the chances of obtaining information that could be associated with the real situation. the research design is premised on a quantitative approach to provide a reliable result. the design is less time-friendly and cost effective. 4.2 population of the study the population of this study consist of all the manufacturing companies in nigeria. the total number of registered manufacturing companies in nigeria is 565 out of which 550 resides in lagos dun and bradstreet (2023). the choice of lagos state as a study area was supported by the fact that 97% of the total number of manufacturing companies and products generated in nigeria was from lagos state alone. (dun and bradstreet (2023) 4.3 sampling techniques the convenience sampling technique was used to select participants from the strata of the study that are accessible and willing to participate in the survey. the researcher selected 10 manufacturing companies based on their availability and readiness of the respondents to complete the research instrument. https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-4765 https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/1813-9450-4765 33 4.4 sample size the study employed the yemane (1967) formula from which a minimum sample size of 200 was determine. due to low rate of response with survey design, a total of 232 copies of questionnaire were deployed for the study. since the target population comprised of all manufacturing companies in lagos metropolis, then the total sample size for the study was statistically determined by taro yamane’s (1967) formula as cited in ajay and masuku (2014) as: n = n/1+ne2 n= 550/1+ 550(0.05)2 = 232 where: n=the sample size, n=the population size, e = the acceptable sampling error 95% confidence level and =0.05 are assumed. the respondents are selected from the 10 manufacturing companies. the distribution of the research instrument was conducted proportionally in all the selected manufacturing companies. 4.5 data collections instrument to ensure proper capturing of adequate information relating to the impact of the alternative risk transfer and performance of manufacturing companies in lagos, nigeria, data required for the study were generated from a primary source of information. the primary data source instrument was a well-structured and self-administered questionnaire. the research instrument was divided into 2 sections. section a constitutes of respondents socio-demographic information relates to the background information of the respondents, section b relates to method of alternative risks transfer namely catastrophic risk futures as dependent variables. background information of the respondents consist of 4 items. in section b, eight items were used as measuring dimensions for catastrophic risk futures. the data instrument adopted a liker scale measurement of ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘undecided’, disagree, and strongly disagree. the responses, according to pallant (2011) were accorded values as follows; strongly agree=5, agree=4, undecided =3, disagree = 2, strongly disagree= 1 4.6 test of validity and reliability of the research instrument regarding the correctness of the survey instrument, logical and criterion-related types of validity were adopted. while the congruent (construct) validity was carried out through variables explained from literature, the logical (content)validity was employed via administration and distribution of chosen and decided survey instruments to my supervisors, risk management experts and academia in the manufacturing and insurance and risk management professions. having distributed the research instrument, experts thoroughly examined it, came up with logical and reasonable suggestions, and thus gave advice that assisted in designing a questionnaire that accurately measured the variables. for criterion related validity, the risks managers’ behavior was further scrutinized to ensure the appropriateness of the survey instrument. a pilot study was conducted to confirm the validity and reliability of the research instrument. to ensure the instrument reflected the variables of the study, experts in the field of management reviewed the research instrument and found them to be suitable. cronbach alpha test was further 34 used to test the reliability of the instrument and all results were above the required minimum of 0.7 in line with the position of nunnally and bernstein (1994) 4.7 method of data analysis descriptive statistical analysis with the aid of mean, frequency and percentage employed for demographic data collected. inferential statistical analysis (regression and modeling analysis) was used to test the study variables. 4.8 model specification to analyze the implication of alternative risks transfer solutions on the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies, (formula) were adopted; performance = f(alternative risk transfer, random variable) y= b₀ + b₁ x₁ + a 4.9 operationalization of research variables variables used in the analysis are chosen based on relevant theory and literature in line with similar studies on the subject and based on the availability of data (primary source). the data collected are presented in a tabulated and in interpreted in relation to the research objectives. then, in the study, normal variables are used to measure the variables. the nominal variables can be placed into categories like male/female, young, adult, senior or freshman/ sophomore/ junior/ senior. the study has two measurement variables (alternative risks transfer solutions and manufacturing companies), to analyzing the data (hypothesis test). dependent variables manufacturing companies’ performance was the independent variable for the study. independent variables catastrophic risk futures, crf is independent variables of the study. 5. research interpretation this research aims to delve into the nuanced relationship between alternative risk transfer solutions and the performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria. 35 5.1 descriptive statistics table 1. descriptive statistics n mean std. deviation pmc 221 1.8235 0.48724 crf 221 1.7986 0.54961 valid n (listwise) 221 interpretation the mean performance score of manufacturing companies (pmc) stands at 1.8235, accompanied by a standard deviation of 0.48724. this implies that, on average, the performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria hovers around this central value. the standard deviation suggests a moderate level of variability, indicating that while there is a degree of consensus in performance, there are discernible variations among the sampled companies. in the case of catastrophe risk futures (crf), the mean performance score is 1.7986, and the standard deviation is 0.54961. the wider dispersion of scores around the mean suggests a slightly greater variability in the performance of companies employing crf. this prompts an exploration into the potential implications of crf as an alternative risk transfer solution on the performance of manufacturing companies and the factors contributing to the observed variation. the initial findings offer valuable insights into the mean performance scores and variability associated with alternative risk transfer solutions in nigerian manufacturing companies. however, a comprehensive understanding requires advanced statistical analyses. 5.2 correlation analysis the goal of the study was to investigate the connection between manufacturing organization’s performance and alternative risk transfer. the performance of manufacturing companies was compared to alternative risk transfer using the pearson correlation coefficient, with a 95% confidence level applied. all indicators of alternative risk transfer and manufacturing company performance were examined using the aforementioned assumptions in order to determine the strength of the association between the two variables. 36 table 2. correlations pmc crf pmc pearson correlation 1 .630** sig. (2-tailed) 0 n 221 221 crf pearson correlation .630** 1 sig. (2-tailed) 0 n 221 221 the findings derived from the research study unveiled compelling insights into the intricate relationship between alternative risk transfer (art) and the performance of manufacturing companies. the investigation scrutinized a key variable within the realm of art namely catastrophe risk futures (crf). catastrophe risk futures (crf) displayed a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.630, accompanied by a p-value of 0.000 < 0.05, further affirming a significant correlation. this compelling evidence led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, which posited no correlation between crf and manufacturing company performance. instead, the acceptance of the alternative hypothesis underscores the presence of a substantial and meaningful relationship between catastrophe risk futures (crf) and the performance of manufacturing companies. in light of these robust statistical findings, the research study concludes that catastrophe risk futures (crf) is evidently linked to the performance of manufacturing companies. 5.3 regression analysis with an emphasis on the manufacturing sector in nigeria specifically, simple linear regression was used to examine the effects of alternative risk transfer strategies on the performance of manufacturing enterprises. the purpose of the simple regression model was to determine whether the performance of manufacturing organizations can be predicted by alternative risk transfer solutions. table 3. variables entered/removeda model variable entered variables removed method 1 crf . enter a. dependent variable: pmc b. all requested variables entered. 37 the model summary results indicate that the performance of manufacturing companies and those anticipated by the regression model have a good positive association (r=0.772) with catastrophe risk futures (crf). furthermore, alternative risk transfer methods account for 59.6% (r2=0.596) of the variance in the performance of manufacturing enterprises. the outcomes align with the research conducted by wing and jin (2015), who discovered a noteworthy correlation between performance and alternative risk transfer. the table below displays the summary findings of the regression model. table 4: regression model summary of alternative risk transfer and performance of manufacturing companies model summaryb model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate change statistics durbinwatson r square change f change df1 df2 sig. f change 1 .772a .596 .591 .31170 .596 106.861 3 217 .000 1.781 a. predictors: (constant crf) b. dependent variable: pmc the study sought to determine which regression model best predict manufacturing companies' performance following the application of catastrophe risk futures (crf). the anova findings showed that regression model produces a considerably superior forecast of the performance of manufacturing enterprises, with f-statistics (3,217) = 106.861 being significant at p value = 0.000 < 0.05. the table below displays the output statistics findings of the regression anova. table 5: an anova of the regression of catastrophe risk futures (crf) and performance of manufacturing companies anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 31.146 3 10.382 106.861 .000b residual 21.083 217 .097 total 52.229 220 a. dependent variable: pmc b. predictors: (constant) crf 5.4 discussion of findings the results of this research align with the findings put forth by amolo et al (2021) in their comprehensive exploration of alternative risk transfer (art) and its impact on the performance of power projects. amolo et al (2021) assert that art plays a significant role in 38 influencing the performance of hydroelectric energy projects. this further confirms the work of sunday and torutein (2018) as it contributed to the academic discourse through their meticulous study on the analysis of alternative risk transfer strategies in manufacturing organizations. sunday and torutein's research sheds light on the positive effects of alternative risk transfer strategies on manufacturing firms. their findings underscore that the implementation of such strategies is associated with favourable outcomes including peace of mind for effective business operations and ventures, as well as serving as a preventive measure against economic losses. these insights collectively contribute to a growing body of knowledge that emphasizes the importance of alternative risk transfer mechanisms in diverse sectors, ranging from power projects to manufacturing organizations. the standard deviation suggests a moderate level of variability, indicating that while there is a degree of consensus in performance of the companies as a result of crf application. there are, however, discernible variations among the sampled companies. but crf is agreed to have impact on the performance. furthermore, alternative risk transfer methods, in this case, crf accounts for 59.6% (r2=0.596) of the variance in the performance of manufacturing enterprises. the outcomes align with the research conducted by wing and jin (2015), who discovered a noteworthy correlation between performance and alternative risk transfer. the convergence of evidence from both studies suggests a generalizable trend wherein the adoption of alternative risk transfer approaches as a valuable factor in enhancing the overall performance and resilience of projects and organizations. the implications of these findings extend beyond specific industry contexts, offering valuable insights for decisionmakers, practitioners, and scholars alike. as businesses continue to navigate a dynamic and unpredictable environment, understanding and leveraging alternative risk transfer strategies may prove instrumental in mitigating uncertainties, sustained success, and fostering a climate conducive to economic growth. thus, our findings coupled with the findings presented by amolo et al, (2021) and sunday and torutein (2018) collectively contribute to the evolving landscape of risk management practices, providing a foundation for further exploration and application in various domains. conclusion and recommendations based on the responses to the survey to determine relationship between catastrophe risk futures (crf) as alternative risk transfer solution on one hand and performance of manufacturing companies in nigeria on the other, the study revealed significant correlation between crf and performance with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.630 with a p-value of 0.000. the anova findings also showed performance of manufacturing enterprises could strongly be predicted by crf as well as showed a positive association between crf as an art solution and performance of the manufacturing companies. therefore we could reject the first null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between crf and the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies. this prove that all the benefits offered by crf do have real impact on the performance of the manufacturing concerns. by shifting the risk exposure of the sector to the capital market not 39 only protect against catastrophic losses that could have sunk an enterprise into oblivion, it provides another means of profit making opportunity to investors. the study underscores the potential role of art strategy can play in shaping and influencing success trajectory of the manufacturing industry. understanding of a positive relationship between art and performance as shown in this study can provide a valuable compass for strategic decision making, risk mitigation strategy and basis for organizational resilience. the empirical findings reveal that catastrophe risk futures (crf) as a form of alternative risk transfer solutions is expected to wield a positive and significant effect on performance of manufacturing companies (pmc). this implies that average coefficient of 0.199 and pvalue of 0.000, shows that catastrophe risk futures (crf) has a positive and significant impact on the performance of manufacturing companies. that is the initiation of a unit change in catastrophe risk futures (crf) confirms the theory to the time about 0.199, which means increase in catastrophe risk futures (crf) causes 0.199 increases in the performance of manufacturing companies. hence, we fail to accept the first null hypothesis and we accept the alternate hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between the use of crf and the performance of nigeria manufacturing companies. the implication of this study to policymakers and regulators of pension funds business in nigeria is that it informs them that different assets and liabilities contribute differently to the profitability of the company. this creates a need to identify assets with higher returns and liabilities with lower cost in order to increase profitability. efficient management of these assets and liabilities will enable pensioners maximize profit and create value for shareholders. recommendations based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends: 1. the industry or organization must determine the upper limit of business investment in art as a percentage of the balance sheet beyond which there is no significant positive impact on performance or result in negative performance. 2. manufacturing companies should seek to understand their exposure and determine adaptable alternative risk transfer solutions that cater to their specific needs and risk profiles rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. 3. manufacturing companies should engage with risk management consultants or insurance brokers who have expertise in alternative risk transfer solutions to ensure the chosen strategies are effective and appropriate. 4. manufacturing companies should ensure that all alternative risk transfer solutions comply with local and international regulatory standards to avoid legal complications and ensure the art solutions thrive in the country. 5. manufacturing companies should implement a system for continuous improvement, monitoring and evaluation of the alternative risk transfer strategies to ensure they remain effective over time. 6. manufacturing companies should diversify their portfolio of risk transfer solutions to spread risk and increase the potential for returns. 7. transparency with stakeholders required about the company’s risk management strategies to build trust and confidence. 8. manufacturing companies should stay abreast of the latest developments and innovations in alternative risk transfer solutions to leverage new opportunities and improve risk management. 40 9. government and the manufacturers association of nigeria, man should create an enabling environment by way of legislatures and regulations for alternative risk transfer, art to thrive in the nigerian space in conjunction with the security and exchange commission, sec. man must sensitize and engage its members on art and its benefits. 10. appropriate pricing for art is still an issue across the world. it will be more so in nigeria given its relative novel status. therefore, man and sec must work together and keep at it till perfect pricing mechanism can be achieved. further study as it was not possible for the researcher to cover all investigate the impact of alternative risk transfer solutions on hidden liabilities and contingent risks that may not be fully reflected in all studies.thus, beyond the two used in the study, further studies will be on the effects on other relevant assets and liabilities, such as receivables, payables, inventory, and long-term debt. analyze the impacts of various alternative risk transfer options, including captives, insurance-linked securities, and catastrophe bonds.further studies would explore risk transfer solutions tailored to the specific risks faced by different manufacturing sub-sectors in nigeria. further studies could be carried out using variables like interest rate etc. in addition, other the impact of alternative risk transfer solutions on hidden liabilities and contingent risks as it was not possible for the researcher to cover all investigate the impact of alternative risk transfer solutions on hidden liabilities and contingent risks that may not be fully reflected in all studies.thus, beyond the two used in the study, further studies will be on the effects on other relevant assets and liabilities, such as receivables, payables, inventory, and long-term debt. analyze the impacts of various alternative risk transfer options, including captives, insurance-linked securities, and catastrophe bonds.further studies would explore risk transfer solutions tailored to the specific risks faced by different manufacturing sub-sectors in nigeria. further studies could be carried out using variables like interest rate etc. in addition, other the impact of alternative risk transfer solutions on hidden liabilities and contingent risks references amolo e. j, rambo c.m. &wafula c.m. 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(2011) ambiguity aversion and an intertemporal equilibrium model of catastrophe-linked securities pricing. insurance. mathematics. economics. vol. 49(1) p. 38–46 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 86 cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria urien, james department of psychology, delta state university, abraka e-mail address: jourien@delsu.edu.ng phone no. 08037949001; orcid number: 0009-0002-5862-2462 abstract the study focused on cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. three research questions were raised in the study. the study adopted a qualitative and quantitative survey method. the population for this study comprised of all university students in nigeria. a stratified sampling technique was employed in the study. the sample for this study was 650 students from selected from three universities in nigeria (delta state university, abraka, university of benin, benin and university of port – harcourt, port – harcourt. data was collected using a self-structured questionnaire titled "cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour questionnaire (cdcbq)." simple percentage, mean, standard deviation, and pearson “r” statistics were the statistical tools deployed for the analysis of the data collected. based on the findings, many students revealed that they feel intimidated by their peers who are already successful in the ‘yahoo yahoo’ business driving exotic cars, building mansions and buying expensive clothes. it concluded that cognitive dissonance engenders feelings of psychological embarrassment, prompting changes in attitude and behaviour as a way to alleviate this discomfort. it therefore recommended that the government and educational institutions should integrate cyber-security and ethics into university curricula. foster a culture of honesty and integrity within universities and society, etc. keywords: cognitive dissonance, cyber-fraud, behaviour, nigeria introduction cyber theft, including online fraud and scams has become a significant concern in nigeria with university students increasingly involved in such activities. crime remains pervasive and forever strives to hide itself in the face of development. as measures and techniques for detecting crimes and criminals advance, criminals also look for means of hiding from these measures. obano (2017) asserts that the internet currently serves as a hiding place for fraudsters who have simply migrated from the streets to an electronic platform. okonigini (2012) defines cyber crime as criminal activities, involving information technology infrastructure, including illegal access of computer data from or within a computer. similarly, asokhia (2023) asserts that cybercrime, popularly called “yahoo” is an off-shoot of advance fee fraud which became popular in the early 90s. today, it has produced “yahoo” as its first offspring with mostly young people (especially the unemployed) as its practitioners. different nations have adopted different strategies to contend with crimes depending on their nature and extent. certainly, a nation with high incidence of crime cannot grow or develop. for nigeria, a nation in the process of saving her face regarding cybercrimes, efforts are now being directed at the sources and channels through which cybercrimes are being perpetuated the most. (chiemeke 2018). martins (2018) asserts that “yahooism” is an act of cybercrime that defrauds unsuspecting victims in foreign countries of their hard-earned money. in some instances, the unsuspecting victim is used to defraud banks, postal agencies, shops, etc. the yahoos (perpetrator) send fake cheques or postal money orders to victims in any of the following 87 countries: canada, united states of america and other european countries or asia as the case may be. he further notes that when the cheques or money orders are cashed, the victim is told to send the money through western union money transfer in nigeria, while in other cases, the victims are told to send the money to another country where the ‘yahooist’ has built networks over time. in a similar vein, alemika (2017) notes that in nigeria today, cybercrime has found its root in society. like a cankerworm, it has eaten deeply in the society and finally been accepted by the same society. it is difficult to deny youth support of the menace with yahooze shirts, yahooze dance steps, and yahooze songs from the likes of olu maintain. even some young people identify themselves as yahoo boys and girls publicly. martins (2018) notes that the paramount classification of yahooism as a branch of cybercrime and transitional crime is not only expedient in understanding its mystery, but propounding a lasting solution when considering curbing the menace. yahooism is the fastest-growing transnational crime in recent times, especially in nigeria. this trend is no longer about defrauding foreigners but fellow citizens who are struggling to survive. people’s private data are hacked and used to defraud others and even empty their bank accounts when possible. however, cognitive dissonance is a psychological concept that describes the uncomfortable tension or feeling of discomfort that occurs when an individual holds two or more contradictory beliefs, values or attitudes at the same time. in the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as the mental disturbance people feel when they realize their cognitions and actions are inconsistent or contradictory (jayden, 2020). this may ultimately result in some change in their cognitions or actions to cause greater alignment between them so as to reduce this dissonance. relevant items of information include peoples' actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. young people are aware that defrauding others is an offence but when they consider the seeming fame, affluence, and other benefits of the defrauders alongside their plights, they are at a loss for what values to embrace. for instance, a situation where a young student involved in fraud activities appears to be more financially stable than the university professor creates this cognitive dissonance in the minds of several students who try to justify the actions of the defrauder against known societal values and expectations. cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as psychological stress when persons participate in an action that goes against one or more of those things. according to this theory, when an action or idea is psychologically inconsistent with the other, people do all in their power to change either so that they become consistent. the discomfort is triggered by the person's belief clashing with new information perceived, wherein the individual tries to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort (maris, 2021). according to hall (2020) cognitive dissonance can result in defrauding behaviour such as; an individual may hold values, honesty and integrity but engage in fraudulent behaviour due to financial pressures or feelings of discomfort. statement of the problem the prevalence of cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria has become a pressing issue, with far-reaching consequences for individuals, institutions and society as a whole. the work ethics is gradually eroding from the minds of young people who believe that crime pays more than hard work. despite efforts to promote academic integrity and ethical behaviour, many students continue to engage in defrauding activities such as cyber theft, online fraud, gambling and scams known as the ‘yahoo-yahoo’ business. the consequences of cognitive dissonance and defrauding behaviour are multifaceted and alarming. not only does it undermine the integrity of the academic system, but it also 88 perpetuates a culture of dishonesty and corruption that can have long-term effects on individuals and society. purpose of the study the purpose of the study is to: 1. examine the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. 2. find out the extent cognitive dissonance contribute to cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. 3. establish strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance on cyber fraud and promote academic integrity among university students in nigeria. research questions the following research questions were raised in the study: 1. what is the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria? 2. to what extent does cognitive dissonance contribute to cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria? 3. what are the strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance on cyberfraud and promote academic integrity among university students in nigeria? review theoretical framework the study is anchored on the cognitive dissonance theory propounded by leon festinger (1957). the theory posits that individuals experience discomfort or dissonance when their attitudes, beliefs or values conflict with their behaviour. this discomfort motivates individuals to reduce the dissonance by changing their behaviour, attitude or beliefs. cognitive dissonance theory explains how a student in nigeria might engage in defrauding behaviour despite believing it is wrong by creating mental justifications to reduce the discomfort caused by the inconsistency between their actions and beliefs, essentially allowing them to cheat without feeling overly guilty. when two cognitive are relevant to each other but contradict each other. dissonance is psychologically uncomfortable, which motivates people to reduce it. people may avoid information or situations that could increase dissonance. people may change their beliefs or behaviours to reduce dissonance. prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students leukfeldt and holt, (2022) noted that with the increase in the use of mobile phones and other internet-enabled devices among youths, who are the most volatile and sensitive section of the society, cybercrime activities are becoming more prevalent and worrisome, especially in developing countries. internet crimes are complex and dynamic in nature, but broadly referred to as online-based criminal activities conducted through the use of ict tools such as computers and the internet (garba, 2023). more so, it is a computer or internet-enabled crime and encompasses a series of cybercrimes activities, some of which include financial fraud, cyberstalking, identity theft, email spamming, cyber-bullying, phishing, cyber pornography, network intrusion, hacking, cyber extortion, malware attack, copyright infringement, plagiarism, and defamation. internet crime has devastating effects on the victims, including financial losses, non-financial losses such as emotional trauma and damage to reputation by individual, governmental and corporate organizations across the nations (stošić, and janković, 2022). according to olasupo (2021) the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria is a growing concern. nigeria has been ranked third in terms of online crime activity with a significant number of young nigerians engaging in cybercrime. ismail (2020) asserts that undergraduate students in nigeria are involved in various forms of cybercrime, 89 including internet fraud, hacking and phishing. most of the yahoo boys are kidnap suspect and they are involved in other criminal activities such as excessive taking of hard drug, ritual smoking of weed etc. some students are seduced by cyber-fraud due to financial pressure, lack of employment opportunities or a desire for quick wealth. others may engage in cyber-fraud due to a lack of awareness about the consequences of their actions or lack of effective law enforcement. other students may feel intimidated by their peers who are already successful in the ‘yahoo yahoo’ business driving exotic cars, building mansions and buying expensive clothes. this increases their cognitive dissonance which in turn influences cyber-fraud behaviour (ugbomah, 2022). the extent cognitive dissonance contribute to cyber-fraud behaviour according to maris (2021) cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when an individual holds two or more conflicting beliefs, values or attitudes. the word cognition evolved from the latin word, cognoscere, meaning to know. cognition consists of all the mental processes through which a person becomes aware and understands the world. cognition is that kind of mental process through which information is encoded, transformed, summarised, elaborated, stored, recovered and used with the sensory input. it is the mental process that comprised attention, thinking, comprehension, calculating, reasoning, problemsolving and decision-making. cognitive dissonance may be defined as a circumstance which involves differing attitudes, beliefs or behaviours. it engenders the feelings of psychological embarrassment which leads to modification in attitude and behaviour to overcome the discomfort. for instance, some students are involved in cyber-fraud due to financial stress, unemployment or a desire for quick wealth. other students may feel intimidated by their peers who are already successful in the ‘yahoo yahoo’ business driving exotic cars, building mansions and buying expensive clothes and living in extravagant life (adebayo, 2018). however, university students in nigeria may value honesty and integrity but engage in cyber fraud due to financial pressures or peer influence. to reduce dissonance, students may rationalize or justify their cyber fraud behaviour, convincing themselves that it's not serious or that everyone else is doing it. they may protect their self-concept by denying or downplaying the severity of their cyber fraud behaviour, maintaining a positive self-image despite inconsistent behaviour. cognitive dissonance can motivate students to engage in cyber fraud as a way to reduce the discomfort associated with inconsistent values and behaviour (mcleod, 2018). factors influencing cyber fraud among students in nigeria according to nwankwo (2020) factors influencing cyber fraud among students in nigeria are complex and multifaceted. economic factors play a significant role, as financial pressures and lack of employment opportunities can drive students to engage in cybercrime as a means of survival or financial gains. social factors also contribute, including peer influence, social media and the desire for quick wealth. students may be encouraged by their peers to engage in cybercrime, and the promise of easy money can be tempting (olasupo, 2021). psychological factors such as low self-esteem, impulsivity and thrill-seeking increase the likelihood of cybercrime, as students may experience cognitive dissonance between their values and behaviour. additionally, access to the internet and lack of cyber security awareness can also contribute to the prevalence of cybercrime among students in nigeria. lastly, cultural factors can also play a role, as societal norms and values that tolerate or encourage dishonest behaviour can contribute to the prevalence of cybercrime among students (ugbomah, 2022). 90 strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance on cyber fraud and promote academic integrity kaaronen, (2018) indicated that cognitive dissonance is a motivating factor and the occurrence of dissonance leads to psychologically uncomfortable and it motivates the person to make an effort a lot to condense the dissonance and attain consonance. the diminution of dissonance can be achieved by the following strategies; incorporate modules on ethics, integrity, and academic honesty into university curricula. organize workshops and seminars to raise awareness about academic integrity and promote ethical behaviour. use real-life case studies to illustrate the consequences of academic dishonesty and promote critical thinking. develop and enforce clear policies and consequences for academic dishonesty. implement honor codes that promote academic integrity and encourage students to take responsibility for their actions by promoting notable values that discourage cyber-fraud. adedeji (2019) suggested that the government and institutions should provide support mechanisms, such as counselling and academic support services, to help students manage stress and pressures that may lead to cyberfraud and academic dishonesty. foster a culture of integrity within the university community by promoting academic integrity and ethical behaviour. encourage student involvement in promoting academic integrity through studentled initiatives and campaigns. provide incentives for integrity, such as awards or recognition, to promote academic integrity. when individuals are encouraged to act with integrity, they are less likely to engage in fraudulent activities, reducing cognitive dissonance. fostering integrity helps individuals align their behaviour with their values and principles, reducing dissonance. education and training on cyber fraud and integrity can increase self-awareness, helping individuals recognize the discrepancy between their behaviour and values. also, fostering integrity promotes ethical decision-making, helping individuals make choices that align with their values and principles (adebayo, 2018). methodology the study adopted a qualitative and quantitative survey method. the population for this study comprised of university students in nigeria. a stratified sampling technique was employed in the study. the sample for this study was 650 ( consider increasing) students in selected from three universities in nigeria (delta state university, abraka, university of benin, benin and university of port – harcourt, port – harcourt. a self-structured questionnaire titled “cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour questionnaire (cdcbq)” were used to collect data for the study. simple percentage, mean, standard deviation, and pearson “r” statistics were the statistical tools deployed for the analysis of data collected. table 1: pearson “r” on the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria variables n x sd df r-cal. rcrit. level of sign prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour 650 2.86 3.75 5 1.65 1.96 0.05 cognitive dissonance 2.80 2.96 91 data in table 1 revealed pearson product moment correlation coefficient analysis on the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. the mean was 2.86 and 2.80, standard deviation of 3.75 and 2.96. the calculated r value was 1.65 while the critical r-table value was 1.96 with df of 5 at 0.05 level of significance. since the calculated r value was lesser than the critical r-table value, the null hypothesis is accepted. table 2: pearson “r” on the extent cognitive dissonance contributes to cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria variables n x sd df r-cal. rcrit. level of sign extent cognitive dissonance 650 3.94 2.88 5 1.95 2.60 0.05 cyber-fraud behaviour 2.71 3.86 data in table 2 revealed pearson product moment correlation coefficient analysis on the extent cognitive dissonance contributes to cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. the mean was 3.94 and 2.71, standard deviation of 2.88 and 3.86. the calculated r value was 1.95 while the critical r-table value was 2.60 with df of 5 at 0.05 level of significance. since the calculated r value was lesser than the critical r-table value, the null hypothesis is accepted. table 3: pearson “r” on strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance and promote academic integrity among university students in nigeria variables n x sd df r-cal. r-crit. level of sign strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance 650 3.69 2.91 5 1.85 1.80 0.05 academic integrity 3.48 2.88 data in table 3 revealed pearson product moment correlation coefficient analysis on strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance and promote academic integrity among university students in nigeria. the mean was 3.69 and 3.48, standard deviation of 2.91 and 2.88. the calculated r value was 1.85 while the critical r-table value was 1.80 with df of 5 at 0.05 level of significance. since the calculated r value was greater than the critical r-table value, the null hypothesis is rejected. discussion of findings the study investigates the cognitive dissonance and cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. from the study, many students revealed that they feel intimidated by their peers who are already successful in the ‘yahoo yahoo’ business driving exotic cars, building mansions and buying expensive clothes. this is in line with olasupo 92 (2021) who asserted the prevalence of cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria is a growing concern. nigeria has been ranked third in terms of online crime activity with a significant number of young nigerians engaging in cybercrime. ismail (2020) asserts that undergraduate students in nigeria are involved in various forms of cybercrime, including internet fraud, hacking and phishing. the study also showed the extent cognitive dissonance contributes to cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. while there is no definitive percentage, students agreed that cognitive dissonance is a critical factor in cyber fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. this is in line with maris (2021) who noted that cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when an individual holds two or more conflicting beliefs, values or attitudes. it engenders feelings of psychological embarrassment leading to modification in attitude and behaviour to overcome the discomfort. for instance, some students are involved in cyber-fraud due to financial stress, unemployment or a desire for quick wealth. other students may feel intimidated by their peers who are already successful in the ‘yahoo yahoo business’ driving exotic cars, building mansions and buying expensive clothes and living extravagant lives (adebayo, 2018). the study also established strategies that can be employed to reduce cognitive dissonance on cyber fraud and promote academic integrity among university students in nigeria. adedeji (2019) suggested that the government and institutions should provide support mechanisms, such as counseling and academic support services, to help students manage stress and pressures that may lead to justifying dishonest behaviours. foster a culture of integrity within the university community by promoting academic integrity and ethical behaviour. encourage student involvement in promoting academic integrity through student-led initiatives and campaigns. provide incentives for integrity, such as awards or recognition, to promote academic integrity and discourage involvement in cyber fraud. conclusion in conclusion, cognitive dissonance significantly influences cyber-fraud behaviour among university students in nigeria. the conflict between students’ values and their actions can lead to feelings of discomfort, guilt, and anxiety, prompting them to rationalize or justify their behaviour. this psychological dissonance creates feelings of embarrassment, which can lead to changes in attitude and behaviour as students seek to alleviate their discomfort. the university system must recognize the importance of consistently educating students about core societal values such as honesty, hard work, contentment, and integrity, despite the pressures they face recommendations it is recommended that the government and educational institutions integrate cybersecurity and ethics into university curricula. additionally, a culture of honesty and integrity should be fostered within universities and society at large. efforts should be made to help students recognize the discrepancies between their values and behaviours. furthermore, counseling and academic support services should be offered to assist students in managing stress and pressure from peers and social media 93 references adebayo, a.a (2018). cybercrime and poverty in nigeria. canadian social science, 13(4), 19-29 (mcleod, 2018). adedeji, o. 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(2022). cognitive dissonance theory. oxford bibliogr. online psychology; doi: 10.1093/obo,/9780199828340-0156 maris, a. (2021). the advances in the history of cognitive dissonance theory.international journal of humanities and social science.2011;1(6):131. martins, s. (2018). the return of repressed: dissonance theory makes a comeback. psychological inquiry.1992;3:303-311. mcleod, s. a. (2018, febuary 05). cognitive dissonance. simply psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html 94 nwankwo, b. (2020). the emergence of yahoo boys and cyber space: global journal of interdisciplinary social sciences 6(4)10-19 obano, n. (2017). the internet and quality social studies education for sustainable development in postcovid-19: a review. jurnal penelitian dan pengkajian ilmu pendidikan: e-saintika, 5(1), 15-26. okonigini, p.e (2012). potentials of mobile technologies in enhancing the effectiveness of inquiry-based learning approach. international journal of education (ije), 2(1). olasupo, m.o (2021). cyber crime among mathematical science students: implications on their academic performance. journal of digital learning and distance education, 1(2), 47-54. stošić, i.m & janković, s. (2022). smartphone addiction among university undergraduates: a literature review. journal of scientific research & reports, 4(3), 210-225. ugbomah, n.k (2022). management of cyberterrorism in nigeria:https//afrikul.blogspot.com.ng/management-of-cyberterrorism-in.html. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 145 the rise of green energy: how renewable resources are shaping a sustainable future in nigeria. chimaobi v. okolo1 chimaobi.okolo@gmail.com onuigbo, fidelia nebechi2 fidelia.onuigbo@esut.edu.ng clifford okwudili ojukwu cliffmario1973@gmail.com department of economics, faculty of social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, agbani enugu. abstract this study evaluates the transformative impact of green energy adoption on nigeria’s economic and environmental landscape. the main objective of the study is to evaluate the rise of green energy and how renewable resources are shaping a sustainable future in nigeria. the research objectives and questions were formulated to guide the study. the study utilized primary data collected through questionnaires distributed to 150 respondents. the study employed mean and standard deviation as a statistical tool to analyze the data. by analyzing data from questionnaire responses, it assesses the extent to which renewable energy resources contribute to job creation, skills development, local business growth, and cost savings in energy use. findings show that green energy adoption is widely perceived to benefit local economies, increase employment opportunities, and reduce dependence on traditional energy sources. however, challenges persist, particularly regarding unpredictable financing options and regulatory support, which hamper more widespread adoption and equitable benefits across regions. in other words, high variability in these areas suggests a need for targeted financial programs and streamlined policies to address obstacles and facilitate growth. the study recommends that there should be increase in financial accessibility for smes in green energy and the regulatory support and streamline policies should be strengthened. keywords: green energy, nigeria, renewable resources, sustainable development, economic growth background of the study climate change the most urgent challenge of our time is happening now. the single wicked problem that policymakers face, to which there is no global consensus on the solution, is the reduction in carbon emissions from the energy sector, mostly for electricity generation. in the entire contribution to global greenhouse gases and employing renewable sources of energy as substitutes for fossil fuel energy, decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions can be achieved (international renewable energy agency, 2020). this is precisely the rationale for the shift to green energy, with hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass having virtually non-existent effects on climate by reducing greenhouse gas generation. frequent interruptions of supply, frequent high system costs, and system instability, however, off-balance the needs for rapid green energy adoption. utility-scale green energy systems at present require lowercost and higher-performance storage materials, the applications of which reach far beyond enhancing energy sustainability and security. a commitment to combating climate change and enhancing sustainable energy security has been reflected towards the global shift renewable energy. significant advantages over fossil fuels, including a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and decreased environmental mailto:chimaobi.okolo@gmail.com mailto:fidelia.onuigbo@esut.edu.ng mailto:cliffmario1973@gmail.com 146 degradation have been offered by renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and biomass (international renewable energy agency, 2020). many african countries, including nigeria, are exploring green energy option to reduce dependence on traditional energy sources, as part of this global movement. nigeria as a country faces critical energy shortages especially in the rural areas, which affects both the economy and the quality of life of its citizens yet, nigeria’s energy needs (world bank, 2019). nigeria, which is located in west african region, has considerable solar and biomass resources, making it well-positioned for green energy development (energy commission of nigeria, 2021). however, notwithstanding its potential, nigeria continues to depend on nonrenewable sources, such as coal and diesel generators, this leads to periodic power shortages, high energy costs, and adverse environmental effects. thus, there is need to explore how nigeria can control its natural renewable resources to transition to a more sustainable energy future, to support not only environmental sustainability but also economic and social development (nerc, 2021). this study however, seeks to investigate the current state of green energy in nigeria, focusing on the effects and challenges of renewable resource adoption in this context. decoupling economic growth from carbon emissions can be achieved by reducing greenhouse gas contributions from fossil fuel energy sources. not only this, but the replacement of equal capacity conventional power units and the resulting reduction in emissions, making for large-scale local employment, were direct economic development outcomes (nwafor & igwe, 2022). on the political front, renewable energy sources have a considerable advantage over fossil fuel and nuclear sources in that they provide the possibility of reducing energy dependency and diversifying energy strategy in almost all countries. for today, however, electricity comes mainly from burnt fossil fuels. the greenhouse gas emissions, which efficiently trap infrared radiation and consequently warm the earth's surface via the greenhouse effect, create long-lasting climate change and consequential serious effects on human health, the environment, and the economy. since such effects resist compensation, wastes producing them should be avoided and abatement costs properly internalized by the polluting sources. statement of the problem nigeria’s energy sector deeply relies on non-renewable energy sources despite its abundant solar and biomass resources, this contributes to environmental degradation, high carbon emissions, and energy insecurity. however, the limited adoption of green energy technologies in nigeria is primarily due to financial, technical, and regulatory obstacles that constrain the growth of renewable energy infrastructure (nwafor & igwe, 2022). as a result of this, rural areas remain underserved, and the economic and environmental benefits of green energy remain untapped. although policies have been introduced by nigeria’s government to promote renewable energy, thus implementation remains inconsistent, particularly at the state level, hampering sustainable development efforts (undp, 2022). this study addresses these challenges by discovering the potential for green energy in nigeria and assessing the impact of renewable energy adoption on economic, social, and environmental aspects. finding solutions to these barriers is vital for advancing green energy and enabling a sustainable future for nigeria. the main objective of the study is to evaluate the rise of green energy: how renewable resources are shaping a sustainable future in nigeria. the specific objectives include; to 147 evaluate the economic implications of green energy adoption on job creation and local business growth in nigeria; to identify the primary challenges and opportunities associated with green energy development in nigeria. however, the study tends to provide answers to the following questions; what are the primary challenges and opportunities associated with green energy development in nigeria?, and what are the economic implications of green energy adoption on job creation and local business growth in nigeria? this research is divided into five sections. the first is the introductory part, which is followed by the literature review section. the third part of the study is the methodology, while the fourth section is the data analysis and discussion of findings. the final part is the conclusion and policy recommendations. review of related literature the conceptual framework for this study is aimed to outline the nexus between green energy adoption and its impact on environmental sustainability, economic growth, and energy accessibility in nigeria. green energy adoption includes the use of renewable energy sources, such as solar, biomass, and wind, as well as the application of technologies and policies that support sustainable energy. this framework asserts that the adoption of green energy can positively impact nigeria by reducing environmental degradation, lowering carbon emissions, and promoting job creation and economic growth (irena, 2020; world bank, 2019). benefits of green energy adoption green energy adoption is the amount to which renewable resources (solar, biomass, wind) and green technologies are employed within nigeria. green energy adoption offers several benefits, from environmental protection to economic growth. renewable sources like solar and wind reduce greenhouse gas emissions, helping climate mitigation efforts (irena, 2020). in addition, green energy promotes energy independence, reduces reliance on imported fuels, and improves energy security (undp, 2022). economically, it initiates job creation in new energy sectors and also promotes sustainable industries (world bank, 2019). socially, renewable energy improves access to inexpensive, consistent power, especially in underserved communities (nerc, 2021). thus, green energy adoption is a perilous pathway to a sustainable and equitable future for all. challenges of green energy adoption significant challenges have been faced for the adoption of green energy in nigeria, which include high initial costs and limited access to financing, making projects unaffordable for many (world bank, 2019). however, inadequate infrastructure, like poor grid connectivity and outdated technology, curbs renewable energy expansion (nerc, 2021). regulatory and policy uncertainties further discourage investment, with inconsistent support for green energy initiatives (undp, 2022). thus, technical expertise and public awareness is lacking in the sector, particularly in rural areas, where renewable energy adoption could have significant impact (irena, 2020). to address these issues requires comprehensive policies, investments, and local capacity-building. environmental sustainability in nigeria environmental sustainability in nigeria faces substantial challenges due to rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrial activities. however, deforestation, driven by agricultural 148 expansion and fuel wood collection, threatens biodiversity and contributes to soil erosion (world bank, 2019). moreover, the pollution from oil exploration and industrial activities contaminates water and air, affecting both human health and ecosystems, particularly in the niger delta (unep, 2011). waste management is inadequate, leading to environmental hazards in urban areas (nigerian environmental society, 2020). however, to promote sustainability, nigeria must reinforce environmental policies, invest in renewable energy, and promote conservation practices that balance economic growth with ecological preservation. economic development in nigeria economic development in nigeria is shaped by its enormous natural resources, growing population, and diverse economy. oil is the primary revenue source, but dependence on it makes the economy susceptible to global price shifts (world bank, 2019). however, efforts to diversify into other sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and technology are expanding, aiming to lessen unemployment and increase resilience. moreover, challenges such as poor infrastructure, corruption, and policy inconsistencies hinder development (imf, 2021). investments in infrastructure, education, and entrepreneurship are vital to promoting inclusive growth. by addressing these barriers, nigeria can enhance job creation, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable economic development (chukwu, 2023). theoretical frameworks the theory of diffusion of innovation the diffusion of innovation theory by everett rogers (2003) explains how new ideas, practices, or technologies spread within a society or a specific group. in the situation of green energy, this theory is helps to understand how renewable energy technologies, such as solar panels, biomass, and wind turbines, are adopted and accepted in nigeria. according to this theory, the adoption of green energy depends on five key factors which include; relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. application to study: relative advantage: renewable energy sources offer benefits over outmoded fossil fuels by providing a cleaner, more sustainable power source (rogers, 2003). compatibility: the compatibility of renewable energy with nigeria’s natural resources (like abundant solar radiation and biomass availability) increases its adoption potential. complexity: if the necessary technical expertise is not available, the technical complexity of green energy solutions could hinder adoption. trialability and observability: as more communities adopt renewable energy, the observable benefits, such as reduced energy costs and improved reliability, may encourage wider acceptance across nigeria. this theory helps frame the challenges and facilitators of renewable energy adoption in enugu and provides insight into how renewable energy projects can achieve broader acceptance within the region. sustainable development theory the sustainable development theory, introduced by the brundtland commission in 1987, emphasizes meeting current energy needs without conceding the ability of future generations 149 to meet theirs. this theory supports the evolution of renewable energy by promoting sustainable practices that minimize environmental harm, foster economic growth, and enhance social welfare (wced, 1987). the sustainable development theory provides an initial lens for scrutinizing how green energy projects can concurrently achieve economic, environmental, and social benefits for nigeria. it emphasizes the necessity of aligning green energy adoption with broader sustainability goals, ensuring that current energy practices are environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially inclusive. empirical review ajayi et al (2022) examined the problems surrounding renewable energy in order to pinpoint nigeria's prospects and evaluate the country's renewable energy policy critically in light of the initiatives and successes of both governments and local practitioners. in addition to surveying international statistics on the relationships between energy and renewable energy adoption, national development, population explosion, job creation, and rural-urban integration, it identified the inherent opportunities of renewable energy resources at mitigating the incidents of climate change and global warming. it concluded that nigeria's rural development strategy must incorporate renewable energy for power generation in order to maintain economic growth, particularly with regard to agriculture and food security. additionally, it showed that using renewable energy might help reduce the country's anthropogenic climate change contributions. kalogiannidis et al (2024) assert that climate change is a significant challenge to regional development, impacting economies, environments, and societies globally. europe, particularly greece, serves as a unique case study for integrating climate change strategies into regional policy and planning. a study of 270 environmental experts in greece found that regional economic growth, infrastructure quality, educational attainment, and a conducive business environment are key measures of regional development. the study also explored opportunities from climate change strategy integration, such as economic benefits, environmental opportunities, social enhancements, and technological advancements. successful integration can position regions as global leaders in sustainability and innovation. however, barriers such as institutional fragmentation, resource constraints, conflicting priorities, and insufficient stakeholder engagement hinder integration efforts. galperina and kyian (2021) explore the essence of global coordination of economic development strategies, estimating trends and possible scenarios. it classifies the conceptual apparatus and offers a typology of global coordination strategies. the authors periodize the development of the theory of coordination and study the evolution of coordination. they found that official development assistance does not correlate with gdp per capita, the share of the poorest population, and global carbon emissions. the paper highlights the need for improved coordination instruments to address environmental and social issues in sustainable development. it also highlights the non-balanced effectiveness of global coordination strategies in countries with different levels of development. the article also addresses geopolitical, organizational, economic, procedural, and technological problems in traditional global coordination institutions. eitan (2024) evaluates the climate change adaptation through renewable energy: the cases of australia, canada, and the united kingdom. climate change is escalating rapidly, and renewable energy systems are crucial for global mitigation efforts due to their minimal 150 greenhouse gas emissions. however, existing literature often overlooks their significant adaptation capacity, particularly in national policies. this study examines how renewable energy is integrated into climate change adaptation policies in australia, canada, and the uk. while there is growing awareness of renewable energy's role in these countries' policies, the actual deployment of renewable energy mainly focuses on mitigation efforts, neglecting crucial adaptation needs in the energy sector, such as geographical and technological diversification. gyimah et al (2023) investigates the impact of renewable energy on economic growth and carbon emissions from 1990 to 2021. results show that renewable energy consumption leads to carbon emissions and does not impact economic growth. financial inclusion and foreign direct investment positively affect carbon emissions. however, renewable energy indirectly negatively impacts carbon emissions through economic growth. the granger causality test shows a unidirectional causality relationship between renewable energy and financial inclusion, and a feedback causality relationship with economic growth. the study suggests policy recommendations for policymakers based on these findings. teklie & ya ˘gmur (2024) examined the role of green innovation, renewable energy, and institutional quality in promoting green growth: evidence from african countries. green growth has the potential to transform economies and protect the planet by creating a symbiotic relationship between economic progress and environmental protection. this study investigates the impact of green innovation, renewable energy consumption, and institutional quality on green growth in african countries, controlling for gdp per capita, trade openness, fdi, population, and natural resource rent. results show that green innovation, renewable energy consumption, institutional quality, gdp per capita, trade openness, and population growth have positive long-term effects on green growth. however, fdi and natural resource depletion have adverse effects. in the short run, only institutional quality and gdp per capita positively affect green growth, while natural resource rent has a negative impact. van niekerk (2024) examined economic inclusion: green finance and the sdgs. the sustainable development goals (sdgs) aim to address economic exclusion and natural resource depletion, but achieving these goals is challenging due to a lack of economic incentives. green finance has emerged as a valuable mechanism to address this challenge. this study aims to bridge the gap between green finance and economic inclusion, focusing on the potential of green finance as a bridge. key findings include a strong synergy between green finance and economic inclusion, different forms of green finance facilitating economic inclusion, and green finance being instrumental in attracting investors to fast -track sdg attainment. green finance can play a vital role in activating and prolonging broad -based benefit sharing in an eco-conscious way, ultimately promoting economic inclusion and resource depletion. getachew et al (2024) investigates the impact of international financial flows, including investments and development assistance, on the expansion of renewable energy technologies in ethiopia. it also explores the sectoral economy's impact on renewable energy consumption. the research uses an explanatory research design and a quantitative approach, using an autoregressive distributed lag model to explore the long and short-term relationship among variables. the findings suggest that sustainable finance programs are crucial for advancing renewable energy projects in ethiopia. the main economic sectors determining ethiopia's renewable energy consumption include manufacturing, mining, and service industries. the study suggests that policies focusing on continuous financial support and international 151 cooperation are needed to promote the development of the manufacturing sector, including incentives for adopting renewable energy technologies and investing in renewable energy infrastructure. diversifying renewable energy sources beyond these sectors, such as manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and trade, is also necessary. the study presents empirical evidence linking renewable energy use to longand short-term economic growth. kumba & olanrewaju (2024) studied “towards sustainable development: analyzing the viability and integration of renewable energy solutions in south africa”—a review. the global economy is facing environmental challenges and economic instability, prompting the adoption of innovative energy technologies. this study aims to evaluate renewable energy solutions for sustainable development in south africa. it uses literature analysis to examine renewable energy infrastructure, policy frameworks, technological advancements, and economic viability. the study aims to provide a refined understanding of renewable energy solutions' feasibility and integration potential, identifying key opportunities, challenges, and implications for sustainable development. the findings offer guidance for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in advancing a country's transition towards a sustainable energy future. nwankwo et al (2024) studied the review of nigeria’s renewable energy policies with focus on biogas technology penetration and adoption. the nigerian government has been promoting biomass as a renewable energy source, but has not given much attention to biogas technology. this study aims to investigate how biogas technology can be legislated in the nigerian energy policy. over 70 scientific articles revealed that policy, social acceptance, awareness, and availability of feedstock are key challenges in adopting biogas technology as an alternative clean energy source. the study presents a strategic policy framework for biogas policy adoption, highlighting the importance of identification and stakeholder consultation for a holistic policy that fully supports biogas technology in nigeria. the study provides robust policy recommendations for deploying biogas technology in the nigerian energy policy. the research aims to encourage the adoption of alternative energy sources and reduce the environmental impact of traditional forms of energy like firewood. ioan et al (2024) analyzes the economic factors influencing economic growth and well-being in romania and moldova, two eastern european countries. it examines the relationship between economic growth and development, revealing patterns and dynamics within these economies. the study emphasizes the importance of economic management policies and structural reforms in fostering growth and improving quality of life. it provides insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by transitioning economies in eastern europe, offering strategies for sustainable development and improved well-being. the study underscores the significance of economic management policies and structural reforms in enhancing citizens' quality of life. semenova, & martínez santoyo (2024) examine the economic strategy for developing the oil industry in mexico by incorporating environmental factors. this article presents a methodological approach to address environmental problems related to oil companies' activities. traditionally, environmental factors have been seen as an additional cost that hinders economic development. the authors propose a methodology that considers environmental factors scientifically and aims to increase the potential for mexico's oil industry's development. the methodology includes the concept of sub-potentials, including reproduction, protection, management and development, and reserve. neglecting environmental factors leads to increased threats and deterrence. the methodology integrates 152 environmental components into the country's socio-economic strategy, addressing environmental problems and achieving socio-economic development goals. this approach allows for the effective utilization of society's limited resources and yields additional synergies, encompassing all levels of sustainable strategic development, including the oil company, industry, and country. methodology this study uses a qualitative approach to analyze the impact and growth of renewable energy in nigeria. data was gathered through the administration of questionnaires to 150 respondents. statistical data on energy production, carbon emissions, and economic benefits are analyzed to assess the viability and impact of renewable resources. the statistical technique adopted for this study to analyze the data is mean and standard deviation. model this research employs the sustainable development theory (sdt) to examine renewable energy's role in nigeria's socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. the model ruminates three main points: economic viability, environmental impact, and social acceptance. by assessing renewable energy initiatives under these measures, the model evaluates the contributions of solar, wind, and hydropower in achieving nigeria’s green energy goals. the sdt model aids illustrate how renewable energy sources can shape a sustainable and inclusive energy future in nigeria. data presentation and analysis to evaluate the economic implications of green energy adoption on job creation and local business growth in nigeria: s/n item very high extent high extent very low extent low extent mean (xˉ) std (s) 1. job availability impact 60 50 30 10 2.93 7.10 2. job training programs 55 65 12 18 3.09 4.87 3. growth of local businesses 35 48 30 37 2.54 6.12 4. increase in financing options for smes 30 40 35 45 2.43 6.12 5. impact on household income or opportunities 66 60 10 12 3.23 4.86 6. reduction in energy costs and economic impact 55 75 5 15 3.20 4.17 source: author’s computation using spss 153 to explore the primary challenges and opportunities associated with green energy development in nigeria: s/n item very high extent high extent very low extent low extent mean (xˉ) std (s) 1. infrastructure challenges 40 62 18 30 2.83 5.17 2. regulatory or policy obstacles 30 15 70 45 2.03 7.46 3. accessibility of financing 35 20 45 50 2.30 7.02 4. opportunities for private sector investment 58 72 12 8 3.17 4.64 5. impact on job creation and local business growth 66 59 10 15 3.21 4.97 6. access to affordable and stable electricity 50 78 6 16 3.15 4.04 source: author’s computation using spss findings “job training programs" (3.09), "impact on household income" (3.23), and "reduction in energy costs" (3.20) indicate a generally positive perception of green energy’s impact on these areas. these high mean values, along with relatively lower standard deviations (around 4-5), suggest a level of consensus among respondents on the benefits in these areas. "increase in financing options for smes" (2.43) and "regulatory or policy obstacles" (2.03) indicate lower perceived benefits. notably, "regulatory or policy obstacles" has the highest standard deviation (7.46), suggesting significant variation in experiences, likely due to diverse regional regulatory environments. "job availability impact" (7.10), "regulatory or policy obstacles" (7.46), and "accessibility of financing" (7.02) reflect greater variability in responses, hinting at mixed experiences or uneven development in green energy impacts across regions. items with standard deviations near 4, such as "access to affordable and stable electricity" (4.04), imply more consistent responses across regions, suggesting uniformity in perceived benefits or challenges. discussion of the findings the findings of this study indicate positive economic impacts in relation to job training, impact on household income and reduction in energy costs which have relatively high mean value. this implies that perception of green energy’s impact on these areas will contribute positively to sustainable economic development. the finding connotes with the findings of nwankwo et al (2024), who found that there should be adoption of alternative energy sources and reduce the environmental impact of traditional forms of energy. the study also presents a strategic policy framework for biogas policy adoption, highlighting the importance of identification and stakeholder consultation for a holistic policy that fully supports biogas technology in nigeria. also, kumba & olanrewaju (2024) in their findings indicate that there should be advancing country’s transition towards a sustainable energy future. the findings of this study also show that there are challenges in financing and regulatory support. this implies that there is perceived difficulties in the areas of sme’s financing and regulatory policy. however, this suggests that financing will aid the sectors to grow. the 154 findings is in line with the findings of getachew et al (2024) which suggest that sustainable finance programs are crucial for advancing renewable energy projects in ethiopia. also, gyimah et al (2023), in their results show that renewable energy consumption leads to carbon emissions and does not impact economic growth. summary the findings highlight the positive impact of green energy on skills development, income, and energy costs but reveal challenges related to financing accessibility and regulatory barriers. addressing these inconsistencies can further strengthen green energy’s economic impact across nigeria, promoting more balanced regional benefits. conclusion conclusively, adopting green energy in nigeria shows hopeful benefits in creation of job, development of skills, and economic savings. in other words, challenges in financing accessibility and regulatory support hinder constant growth. tackling these problems through targeted funding and restructured policies can enhance green energy’s positive impact, fostering sustainable economic development and more equitable regional opportunities. recommendations based on the findings, here are two recommendations to enhance the positive impacts of green energy adoption in nigeria: 1. there should be increase in financial accessibility for smes in green energy. 2. the regulatory support and streamline policies should be strengthened. references ajayi, o.o., mokryani, g., & edun, b.m. 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(2019). advancing renewable energy in nigeria: strategies and frameworks. world bank group. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295563 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114340 https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030268 https://doi.org/10.3390/en17061418 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010036 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16146166 https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031128 page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 554 core self evaluations and organizational climate as predictors of job crafting among nurses eze, adaobi. c. aniaku, chinazom. j. department of psychology enugu state university of science and technology corresponding email: joychinazom12@gmail.com abstract organizational careers that occurred within a single work context are nowadays replaced by boundaryless, self-managed work stories, where individuals are regularly asked to shift roles, enhance capabilities and re-adapt to new work environment hence the interest in exploring core self-evaluations and organizational climate as predictors of job crafting among nurses. a total of ninety eight (98) nurses between the ages of 20-45, with the mean age of 38.07 and standard deviation of 8.26 participated in this study. organizational climate scale (likert, 1961), core self evaluations scale (judge et. al, 2003) and job crafting scale (tims & bakker et. al.) were instruments used in the study. correlational design and hierarchical multiple regression was adopted. results indicated that core self-evaluations positively and significantly predicted job crafting while organizational climate failed to predict job crafting among nurses. based on this outcome, stakeholders in the health sector are encouraged to recruit and sustain nurses who are high on core self-evaluations since they have the greatest ability to craft their job to suit their skills and preference in order to maintain maximum performance. keywords: core-self evaluations, organizational climate, job crafting, nurses. introduction the job crafting behavior can give full play to the creativity of nurses and help them realize themselves while benefiting the organization. nurses in hospital try as much as they can to be kind to the patients which helps them heal better and faster, these behaviors might be out of their work schedule but they do that because is their own way of making their work fun which in one way or the other gives them a sense of achievement. organizational careers that occur within their work context are nowadays replaced by boundaryless, self-managed work stories where they are asked to shift roles, enhance capabilities and re-adapt to new work environments (arthur & rousseau, 2001; fugate, kinicki & ashforth, 2004; hall, 2002, leana & rousseau, 2000). job crafting is an individual-driven work design process which refers to self-initiated, proactive, strategies to change the characteristics of ones job to better align the job with personal needs, goals, and skills. wrzesniewski and dutton (2001) initial definition limited job crafting to three forms: change made by employees in their job tasks (i.e. task crafting), job relationship (i.e. relational crafting), and meaning of the job (i.e. cognitive crafting). individuals who engage in job crafting as a means to greater meaning at work, a positive work identity, better work-related well-being, and better job performance.as a topic of scientific inquiry, job crafting was built on research that suggest employees do not always enact the job descriptions that are formally assigned to them, but instead actively shape and utilize their jobs to fit their needs, values, and preferences. consequently, job crafting could increase productivity for organizations (demerouti et.al. 2015). job crafting also positively contributes to psychological empowerment and control of employees (miller, 2015; wrzesniewski and dutton 2001). core self-evaluations represents a stable personality trait which encompasses an mailto:joychinazom12@gmail.com 555 individual subconscious, fundamental evaluations about themselves, their own abilities and their own control. people who have high core self-evaluations will think positively of themselves and be confident in their own abilities. conversely, people with low core selfevaluations will have negative appraisal of themselves and will lack confidence. core selfevaluation are particularly important because they represent a personality will remain consistent overtime. the concept of core self-evaluations was first examined by judge, locke,& durham (1997) and involves four personality dimensions; locus of control, neuroticism, generalized self-efficacy, and self esteem. a recent trend in job crafting research is to explore the influence of organizations on enabling or limiting job crafting (tims et. al 2014; hackman & oldham,2016). however research on the influence of organizational climate is still under developed. the concept of organizational climate was introduced by the human religionists in the late 1940s. now it has become a very useful metaphor for thinking about and describing the social system. climate of an organization is somewhat like the personality of a person. just as every individual has a personality that makes him unique and different from other persons, each organization has an organizational climate that clearly distinguishes it from other organizations. basically, the organizational climate reflects a person perception of the organization to which she belongs to. it is a set of unique characteristics and features that are perceived by the employees about their organizations which serves as a major force in influencing their behavior. according to forehand &gilmer (1964)”climate consists of a set of characteristics that describes an organization, distinguish it from other organizations, are relatively enduring overtime and influences the behavior of people in it.” according to campbell, (1993) ”organizational climate can be defined as a set of attributes specific to a particular organization that may be induced from the way that organization deals with its members and it’s environment. for the individual members within the organization, climate takes the form of a set of attitudes and experiences which describes the organization in terms of both static characteristics (such as degree of autonomy) and behavior outcome and outcome-outcome contingencies. the theory of planned behavior is adopted as the theoretical framework because is a cognitivebased theory that deals with the relations among beliefs, norms, control, intentions, and behavior, which has a widespread application due to its practical approach to change behaviors by changing the cognitive structures underlying those behaviors (fox & spencer, 2010). according to this theory, the primary driver of behavior is individual willingness to perform a behavior. in turn, such willingness (or intentions) is preceded by individual perception of efficacy regarding their ability to engage in the target behavior, by attitude toward the outcomes resulting in social structures in which it occurs. specifically, intentions in the tpb is an indication of a person’s readiness to perform a given behavior and is assumed to be the immediate antecedent of behavior (ajzen, 1991). accordingly, employees will engage in job crafting behaviors based on the strength of their intentions. if individuals believe that significant others like coworkers supervisors etc approves of job crafting, then it is likely that they will engage in such behaviors. hence the following tested hypotheses: • core self evaluations will significantly predict job crafting. • organizational climate will significantly predict job crafting. 556 methods participants ninety eight nurses which comprises of ninety two (92) female and six (6) male were drawn using available sampling techniques from five private hospital in enugu south. the facilities were selected using simple random sampling techniques. the participants were between the ages of 20-45yrs with the mean age of 38.07 and standard deviation of 8.26. instrument three set of instrument were used: • jugde, bono & thorensen (2003) core self evaluation scale. • likert (1967) organizational climate questionnaire • tims and bakkers (2010) job crafting scales jugde, bono & thorensen (2003) core self evaluation scale this is a 12 item scale designed to measure stable interpersonal trait of an individual. the responses was design on 5 point likert responses format, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. all scores are reverse scores, examples of the items are, 1) i am confident i get the success i deserve in life. 2) sometimes i fell depressed. 3) when i try i generally succeed. the mean scores are about 3.8 to 3.9. likert (1967) organizational climate questionnaire the organizational climate scale is a 15item scale designed to measure the shared perception of people of organizational events, practices, and procedures. the items are scored directly by adding the responses giving by the individual in the responses collum. the total score for each is calculated. a high score indicates that the employes perceives the organization more favorably. the test reliability coefficient is 0.51. examples of the items in the scale are: i am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally expected in other to help this organization be successful; i talk up the organization to my friends as a great organization to work for; i feel very little loyalty to this organization. tims and bakkers (2010) job crafting scales the job crafting scale is a 21item scale designed to measure how employees transform the characteristics of their job to match them in their needs and preferences. the items are scored directly and the scores are calculated, the higher the score the higher the tendency of the employee to craft the job. examples of the items in the scale i try to develop myself professionally; i try to learn new things at work; i make sure that i use my capacity to the fullest. procedure a total of 120 questionnaires on core self evaluations, job crafting and organizational climate were randomly distributed within a period of three weeks on the target populations. in selecting the hospital that participated the researcher wrote down the of the hospitals in agbani road, folded it into a small nylon bag and handpicked five this process is called lucky dip and is also a form of simple random sampling. on the other hand nurses present at the of research participated. the researcher after meeting hospital administrators, introduced herself to the front 557 desk nurses which helped give out the questionnaire to her fellow nurses and collected it too. thus, 112 were collected and 98 were correctly filled and analyzed and 14 was discarded. design and statistics correlational design was adopted in the study. this is because the researcher is interested to find the prediction between the study variables and the instruments were administered to the participants without manipulations of experimental variables. therefore, the statistics for the study was hierarchical multiple regression using spss vs 25. result table 1: zero order correlation coefficient matrix showing core self-evaluations and organizational climate as predictors of job crafting among nurses. m sd 1 2 3 4 5 age gender core self evaluations organizational climate job crafting coefficient or determinant(r2) 38.07 .80 36.41 41.04 46.82 8.26 .41 13.91 12.68 19.17 1 .05 -.06 -.06 -.09 1 -.15 -.09 -.10 1 .78** .95** .90 1 .73** .53 1 the result shows that core self evaluation correlated significantly with job crafting (r= .95, p<.01, r2 = .90). organizational climate correlated significantly with job crafting (r =.73, p<.01, r2=.53). table 2: summary of hierarchical multiple regression analysis for variables predicting job crafting (n=98). step 1 step 2 step 3 age gender core self evaluation organizational climate r r2 ∆r2 f 𝛃 t -.09 -.84 -.10 -.94 .13 .02 .02 .84(2,95) 𝛃 t .96 29.97** .95 .91 .89 898.04(1, 94) β 𝑡 -.05 -1.02 .95 .91 .00 1.048(1,93) note * p< .05; **p< .01 558 result of the hierarchical multiple regressions for the test of the first factors of job crafting index is shown in the table 1 above, the variables were entered in stepwise models. the demographic variables (age) in step 1 of the regression analysis and it had no significant relationship with job crafting. age, b = -.09, t = -.84, p>.05. also, the demographic variable gender had no significant relationship with job crafting. gender, b = -.10.t = -94, p>.05. hence the demographic variables age and gender serves as control variables in the study and is why they are keyed is step 1. in step 2, core self evaluations was entered and it predicted job crafting (b = .96, t = 29.97, at p<.01). the contribution of core self evaluation in explaining the variance in job crafting was 89%. therefore, core self evaluations is a significant predictor of job crafting among nurses. in step 3 organizational climate were entered and it did not predict job crafting (b = -.05, t = 1.02, at p>.05). the contribution of organizational climate in explaining the variance in job crafting was 00%. therefore, organizational climate is not significant predictor of job crafting among nurses. discussion the findings of this study revealed that the hypothesis tested which stated that “core self evaluations and organizational climate will significantly predict job crafting among nurses” was accepted. this means that core self evaluations is positive and significantly a predictor of job crafting among nurses. hence nurses who score high on core self evaluations performed well on job crafting and ones who did not perform performed low on job crafting. job crafting also predicted other indices of well being at work. tims, bakker, and derks (2013) found in a longitudinal study that employees who increased their job resources had higher job satisfaction and decreased burnout. job crafting has been suggested to be functional in mitigating the felling of boredom at work and consequently minimizing its negative outcomes (e.g depressive compliant, counterproductive work behaviors, distress) (hooff & hoft, 2014). slempp and vella-brodrick (2014) found that job crafting predicted the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (e.g autonomy, competence, and relatedness), which in turn directly predicted the level of subjective well-being (e.g positive affect and life satisfaction) and indirectly psychological well-being(optimal functioning of the individual).on the other hand , job crafting may be harmful to the goals of the organizations and produce negative effects. therefore, in addition to allowing room for crafting, managers must build a shred understanding with employees that job is encouraged so long as it aligns with the organizational overall strategy (dulton, 2001). maintaining open lines of communication between managers and employees and building trust may promote positive job crafting which is favorable to both the individual crafter and the organization. implications of findings the findings of this study indicates that nurses who have stable personality traits and a positive appraisal of oneself have the greatest ability to craft their job to suit their skills and preference, therefore stakeholders in the health care sectors are by the reason of this study encouraged to look out for the nurse who are high in core self evaluations. limitations of findings one major shortcoming of this study was the use of small sample size out of the myriad of nurses. this is because the researcher lacks financial power that give her the opportunity to sample enough participants. also, the study is limited to only private hospitals in agbani road, which of course affect the ability to extrapolate the finding. 559 suggested for further study in view of the above finding, the researcher thereby suggest that future researchers should carry out similar studies by looking for other factors such as workers career identity and proactive personality, that may predict job crafting and also increase the sample size and extend the study to general hospitals to cross validate the outcome of this study. summary and conclusion based on the outcome of this study the researcher hereby concludes that core self evaluations is positive and significantly a predictor of job crafting among nurses while organization climate did not. references mel, f. angelo j. k. blake, e. ashforth (2004) employability: a psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications southern methodist university journal of vocational behavior 65(1):14-38 madeline m. crocitto michael b. arthur denise m. rousseau (1998) the boundaryless 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(2003c). “a multigroup analysis of the job demand-resource model in four home care organizations”. international journal of stress management. 10: 16-38. campbell, j. p., mccloy, r. a., oppler, s.h., & sager, c. e., (1993). a theory of performance and research. in r. m. ryan(ed), the oxford handbook of human motivations (pp. 505519). new york, ny: oxford university press. demerouti, e,; bakker, a. b., nachreiner, f., schaufeli, w. b. (2001a). “the job demandsresources model of burnout”. journal of applied psychology. 86, 499-512. judge t. a., locke, e.a, durham, c. c. (1997). “the dispositional causes of job satisfaction: a core evaluations approach. res organ behave, 19: 151-188. likert, r. (1967). the human organization: its management and values. curr. dir. applied psychology. mcgraw-hill, judge, t.a. (2009) core self-evaluations and work success. curr. dir. psychol. sci. tims, m. & bakker, a.b. (2010). job crafting: towards a new model of individual job redesign. south african journal of industrial psychology. tims, m. derks, d., & bakker, a.b. (2016). job crafting and its relationship with person-job fit and meaningfulness: a three way study, journal of vocational behavior. wrzesniewski, a., & dutton, j. e. (2001). crafting a job: revisioning employees as active crafters of their work. academy of management review. page 7 volume 8 2023 volume 8 number 2, faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 66 impact of digital transformation on the skills and workforce requirements of the nigerian insurance industry: insight from the nigerian insurance industry ganiyu, k.* aina, j. oloriegbe, k. s. department of insurance school of business and management studies federal polytechnic offa +2348136188597 kamal.ganiyu@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng abstract digital transformation is profoundly disrupting the global insurance sector, requiring insurers to digitally transform their operations, systems, and workforce capabilities to remain competitive. emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, cloud computing, the internet of things, and blockchain are enabling new datadriven processes, innovative products and services, and superior customer experiences. this study investigated the impact of digital transformation on the skills and workforce requirements of the nigerian insurance industry. a survey was conducted of 250 insurance professionals in lagos state using simple random sampling. the survey assessed perceptions of the importance of various digital skills as well as the industry's current readiness in terms of workforce skills, training investment, and talent attraction/retention. chi-square and t-test analyses were used to analyze the data. the results revealed cybersecurity, customer relationship management, digital marketing, agile development, and user experience design as the most critical skills for the future. however, survey responses indicated doubts about the nigerian insurance workforce's current possession of requisite digital skills and knowledge. there was also uncertainty regarding the adequacy of training investments and ability to attract/retain required talent. hypothesis testing found a significant gap between perceived readiness of skills/knowledge versus training/talent factors. this study provides empirical evidence that the nigerian insurance workforce requires urgent skills development and training investments to realize the benefits of digital transformation and close skills gaps. addressing this digital skills imperative remains a strategic priority. keywords: digital transformation, insurance, skills, workforce, lagos state. mailto:kamal.ganiyu@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng 67 introduction the digital revolution is profoundly transforming the global insurance industry, posing an unprecedented disruption to traditional business models. digital technologies like artificial intelligence (ai), machine learning, big data analytics, internet of things (iot), blockchain, and cloud computing are enabling new data-driven processes, innovative products and services, and superior customer experiences (eling & lehmann, 2018). incumbent insurers must digitally transform their operations, systems and workforce capabilities to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving landscape. however, the scale of this digital disruption also presents significant challenges. research shows that legacy processes, cultural resistance and lack of digital skills can hinder transformation efforts (hoffmann et al., 2020). to successfully leverage digital innovation for growth and competitiveness, insurers need to focus on upgrading workforce skills and mindsets for the digital age. as in other markets, digital disruption is reshaping the future for nigerian insurance companies. studies highlight that african insurance lags in advanced technology adoption compared to other regions, and faces gaps in skills for data analytics, ai, and digital channels (deloitte 2019). these limitations pose risks, but also opportunities if addressed proactively. as nigeria's largest insurance market, building local workforce capability is critical to capitalize on the promise of digital innovation. developing digital expertise and readiness will allow nigerian insurers to enhance customer value, operational efficiency, data-driven decision making and ultimately, market expansion. this makes understanding digital skills implications for the workforce an important priority. while prior research has explored the challenges and opportunities of digital disruption in the global insurance sector (eling & lehmann, 2018; hoffmann et al., 2020), few studies specifically examine its workforce implications within leading african markets like nigeria. general industry reports highlight skills gaps and talent issues hindering digital advancement of the continent's insurers (deloitte, 2019; oseni et al., 2020). however, there remains a lack of empirical investigation into the most critical skills and knowledge needed for nigerian insurance to digitally transform, as well as assessment of the sector's current workforce readiness to meet these talent requirements. this presents a problematic knowledge gap, as digital innovation is essential for nigerian insurers to enhance competitiveness and harness the underserved growth potential of their expanding market (obasi, 2021). yet without research insights into the digital capabilities most important for this context and targeted workforce planning, companies may struggle to build the human capital necessary to capitalize on digital opportunities. as nigeria's insurance sector rapidly evolves, an evidence-based understanding of digital skills implications for the workforce is vital but currently lacking. this study aims to address this research gap by identifying the key skills and knowledge that industry experts view as most critical for the nigerian insurance workforce to thrive in the digital era. it also benchmark current perceptions of the sector's readiness to develop these capabilities based on skills, training, and talent factors. 68 objectives of the study i. to identify the specific skills and knowledge that will be most important for the nigerian insurance industry workforce in the digital age. ii. to assess the readiness of the nigerian insurance industry workforce to meet the skills and knowledge requirements of the digital age. literature review digital transformation digital transformation has emerged as a pressing strategic priority for organizations across all sectors and industries. at its core, digital transformation refers to the process of using modern digital technologies to radically improve operational performance, enhance customer experiences, and drive new value creation (li et al., 2020; warner & wäger, 2019). emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud computing, the internet of things (iot) and blockchain are providing the infrastructure to enable this transformation (hbr analytic services, 2021; kane et al., 2021). however, successfully leveraging these technologies requires much more than just it modernization. true digital transformation is a holistic metamorphosis that puts digital capacity at the heart of operations, business models, products/services, culture, and the customer experience (rogers, 2016; westerman et al., 2014). it allows companies to harness the disruptive power of digital innovation, rather than be threatened by it. this requires integrating new technologies across the organization to fundamentally change how value is created and competitive advantage is sustained (li et al., 2020; vial, 2019). digitally mature firms combine technology adoption with organizational agility, customer centricity, empowered workforces, data-driven insights and new partnerships (kane et al., 2021; solis et al., 2015). for incumbents, this deep and pervasive organizational change presents major challenges, as legacy structures can inhibit transformation (chanias & hess, 2016; hess et al., 2016). however, resisting digital's disruptive forces is not an option in most industries. organizations that lag in digital maturity risk declining competitiveness, profitability and relevance (hbr analytic services, 2021; rogers, 2016). proactively investing in digital capabilities and cultural change is critical for firms to capitalize on the immense opportunities provided by emerging innovations. this requires strong leadership commitment and a workforce empowered with digital skills and mindsets (kane et al., 2021; li et al., 2020). with clear vision and purposeful transformation, companies can leverage digital disruption for sustainable value creation. digital transformation and the insurance industry digital technologies are profoundly disrupting the global insurance sector, requiring insurers to digitally transform to remain competitive (aina, ganiyu & oloriegbe, 2023; candi et al., 2021; hbr analytic services, 2021). artificial intelligence (ai), big data analytics, internet of things (iot), blockchain and cloud computing are driving innovation across insurance value chains (eling & lehmann, 2018; mckinsey, 2021). incumbents must leverage these 69 technologies to deliver superior customer experiences, develop innovative products, improve efficiency, and strengthen market position (capgemini, 2020; candi et al., 2021). however, this depends on comprehensive strategies addressing legacy constraints across technology, data, processes and organizational culture (ganiyu, aina & oloriegbe, 2023; hbr analytic services, 2021; rogers, 2016). one major impact of digital disruption is the emergence of data-driven insurance. vast new datasets from internal systems and external sources like iot devices are enabling more granular risk analytics, personalized pricing, proactive loss prevention and faster claims processing (yusuf, ajemunigbohun & alli, 2017; candi et al., 2021; hbr analytic services, 2021; ajemunigbohun, oreshile & alli, 2018; alli, ganiyu & aina, 2020; alli aina & ganiyu, 2023; alli, ganiyu & aina, 2021). for example, ai techniques like machine learning applied to telematics data from networked vehicles allow for usage-based insurance. combining iot sensor data with analytics promotes real-time monitoring and risk mitigation across industries, while also enabling new parametric insurance products (eling & lehmann, 2018). blockchain solutions also bring opportunities to increase efficiency, security and transparency across payments, contracts, and information exchange (mckinsey, 2021). digital channels supported by customer analytics and ai allow insurers to deliver omnichannel distribution, hyperpersonalization and tailored engagement (capgemini, 2020). however, many incumbents face challenges integrating new technologies into legacy it systems, distribution models and organizational structures (eling & lehmann, 2018). proactive digital transformation strategies are required to capitalize on emerging opportunities while managing disruptive threats. this includes workforce enablement with new skills in data analytics, customer experience design and stakeholder collaboration (hbr analytic services, 2021; rogers, 2016). leaders must foster agile cultures receptive to ongoing innovation. while digital disruption brings major risks, embracing transformation can allow insurers to unlock new value and strengthen competitive positioning for long-term sustainability (candi et al., 2021; mckinsey, 2021). digital transformation skills and workforce requirements of the insurance industry digital technologies are transforming the skills and capabilities the insurance workforce needs to thrive in the 21st century. incumbents must develop talent and culture strategies to equip their people to embrace digital innovation, not be displaced by it (capgemini, 2020; hbr analytic services, 2021). this requires reskilling programs, change management, updated talent practices and leadership vision (kane et al., 2021; rao, 2017). specific technical skills like data analytics, ai/machine learning, user experience design and cloud computing are becoming essential as insurers pursue data-driven digital transformation (hbr analytic services, 2021; mckinsey, 2021). soft skills including adaptability, creative problem solving, empathy and collaboration are equally critical to foster an agile, customercentric workforce culture (rao, 2017; world economic forum, 2018). organizations also need managers able to direct reskilling efforts and lead amid ambiguity (rogers, 2016). however, legacy organizational structures, dated talent practices and lack of systematic reskilling often inhibit workforce evolution (kane et al., 2021; rao, 2017). firms must take a proactive approach, assessing talent gaps, mapping new skill requirements, and investing in upskilling 70 programs at scale (capgemini, 2020; mckinsey, 2021). partnering with educational institutions on curriculum and certification programs can expand talent pipelines (world economic forum, 2018). to capitalize on digital opportunities, insurance leaders need to elevate workforce enablement as a top strategic priority. this includes cultural change programs focused on agility, innovation and customer centricity (rogers, 2016). internal mobility programs, external partnerships, and modernized talent practices can also strengthen access to high-demand digital skills (capgemini, 2020). insurance firms that put in place integrated workforce strategies will gain advantage amid digital disruption (hbr analytic services, 2021; rao, 2017). the future will be determined by those insurers able to unlock their people’s full potential. skills and workforce requirements of the insurance industry data analytics is the process of extracting valuable insights from large volumes of data using statistical techniques, algorithms, and tools. by uncovering patterns, trends, and correlations, organizations can make data-driven decisions, optimize processes, and gain a competitive advantage in the market (smith, 2020). artificial intelligence (ai) is a field of computer science that focuses on creating intelligent machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence (alli, ganiyu & aina, 2020). it encompasses subfields such as natural language processing, computer vision, and expert systems. ai finds applications in various domains, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing, enabling automation, predictive analytics, and personalized experiences (johnson et al., 2021). machine learning (ml) is a subset of ai that enables computers to learn from data without explicit programming. ml algorithms automatically improve their performance through experience, making them suitable for tasks such as fraud detection, recommendation systems, and image recognition (mitchell, 2020). digital marketing involves using digital channels like websites, social media, and search engines to promote products and services. by leveraging data analytics and ai, organizations can target specific audiences, personalize marketing campaigns, and measure their effectiveness. digital marketing has become an essential component of modern business strategies (chaffey & ellis-chadwick, 2020). customer relationship management (crm) encompasses practices, strategies, and technologies used to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle. crm aims to enhance customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention by providing personalized experiences and targeted marketing efforts (payne & frow, 2020). cyber security involves protecting computer systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, damage, or theft. with the increasing reliance on digital technologies, organizations face growing threats from cybercriminals. effective cyber security measures, including encryption, intrusion detection systems, and employee training, are crucial to safeguarding sensitive information (dhillon & moores, 2020). cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services, such as storage, processing power, and software, over the internet. it offers scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency, enabling organizations to access resources on-demand. cloud computing has transformed the 71 way businesses operate, facilitating remote work, collaboration, and data storage (marston et al., 2020). agile development is an iterative and collaborative approach to software development. it emphasizes flexibility, adaptability, and customer involvement throughout the development process. agile methodologies like scrum and kanban enable organizations to deliver high-quality software products faster and respond to changing requirements (sutherland et al., 2020). user experience design (ux) focuses on enhancing user satisfaction by improving the usability, accessibility, and pleasure provided in the interaction between users and products. it involves understanding user needs, conducting user research, and designing intuitive interfaces. ux design plays a crucial role in creating user-centric digital experiences (norman, 2020). business intelligence (bi) encompasses technologies, applications, and practices used to collect, analyze, and present business information. it enables organizations to gain insights into their operations, identify trends, and make informed decisions. bi tools like dashboards and data visualization software facilitate data-driven decision-making (loshin, 2020). data visualization involves representing data graphically to facilitate understanding and analysis. it transforms complex datasets into visual formats like charts, graphs, and maps, enabling users to identify patterns and trends more easily. effective data visualization enhances decisionmaking and communication (few, 2020). blockchain is a decentralized and distributed ledger technology that enables secure and transparent transactions. it eliminates the need for intermediaries, enhances trust, and ensures data integrity. blockchain has applications beyond cryptocurrencies, including supply chain management, healthcare, and finance (swan, 2020). challenges and opportunities of digital transformation for the nigerian insurance industry workforce the nigerian insurance industry has experienced significant digital disruption in recent years. while digital technologies present opportunities to enhance efficiency, customer experience and workforce skills, they also introduce challenges for the existing workforce that must be addressed. one of the primary challenges is the risk of job losses due to automation. as insurers adopt technologies like robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and blockchain, certain back-office roles involving administrative tasks and data entry are most at risk of redundancy (adegbite et al., 2020). a survey of nigerian insurers by pwc (2021) found that over 30% expect significant job cuts within five years if digital transformation is not managed properly. this poses the challenge of reskilling or outplacement for affected employees. however, digital transformation also creates new types of jobs that require advanced technical and soft skills. roles in areas like data analytics, customer experience design, cybersecurity and blockchain development are in high demand but face skills shortages (deloitte, 2020). a study by the nigerian insurers association (2020) reported that over 60% of insurers faced challenges recruiting employees with the digital skills needed. this presents both a challenge to upskill existing staff and an opportunity to attract new digital talent. knowledge management is another challenge as digital systems change how information is created and shared within organizations. transitioning to paperless workflows and cloud-based systems means rethinking knowledge capture and transfer practices (oviawe, 2020). however, it also enables new forms of collaborative knowledge management using technologies like expert 72 networks, discussion forums and virtual training (adegbite et al., 2020). regulatory frameworks also need to adapt to the pace of digital change. while the national insurance commission has introduced reforms, insurers report the regulatory sandbox process could be streamlined to test innovative products and services more quickly (deloitte, 2020). but supportive regulation is key to realizing opportunities in areas like insurtech and digital distribution channels. theoretical review the diffusion of innovation theory by everett rogers helps explain how digital technologies are being adopted within the nigerian insurance sector and the implications for workforce skills. doi posits that innovations diffuse within a social system over time through a process where some employees (innovators and early adopters) embrace technologies before the majority. when applied to digital transformation, this suggests that insurers first focused skills development on those receptive to new tools like analytics and cloud computing. as adoption spreads to later groups, reskilling needs to become broader to sustain transformation. the theory also recognizes the importance of communication channels for diffusing new ideas. insurers that effectively communicate the benefits of technologies through forums, training and expert networks can accelerate adoption rates. this supports upskilling existing employees before critical skills gaps emerge. however, doi cautions that too fast a rate of adoption without sufficient support risks employee resistance. a gradual, participatory approach balancing organizational needs with individual readiness helps ensure transformation is inclusive. meanwhile, human capital theory posits that investments in employee knowledge, skills and abilities are a form of capital that yields returns. in the context of digital transformation, insurers recognizing the value of reskilling and recruiting talent are developing the human capital needed for future competitiveness and growth. however, nigeria still faces human capital deficits if education does not equip entrants with relevant technical and soft skills. insurers must also incentivize retaining staff as retaining knowledgeable employees generates higher returns than replacing them. together, these theories indicate that a balanced, people-centric strategy considering individual and systemic factors is most likely to develop a workforce equipped for the digital future of the nigerian insurance industry. empirical review in the paper "digitalization and the future of work in nigeria's insurance sector", adeoye (2019) recognizes how new technologies are transforming the global insurance industry and aims to investigate their impacts on the nigerian context specifically. the study surveys insurance managers to assess digital adoption, skills demands, training needs, and workforce readiness. it finds that while data, ai, and automation are being rapidly deployed, severe skills gaps exist, especially in areas like data analytics and digital marketing. the nigerian insurance workforce is overall ill-prepared for the digital future due to lack of retraining and development programs. adeoye concludes that insurers need to urgently invest in upskilling staff to prevent 73 rising unemployment from technology disruption. collaborations between insurance firms and academia could help reform curriculums and graduate more job-ready digital talent. the paper provides valuable empirical insights into the digital skills transition underway in nigerian insurance through first-hand data collected from industry leaders. its findings highlight concerns but also pathways forward through workforce training initiatives and adapted insurance education programs. recognizing the digital revolution reshaping global insurance, okonjo's 2021 study investigates the impacts on skills and workforce development needs in nigeria. through indepth interviews with insurance managers, the research aims to identify the most in-demand digital skills and evaluate how well insurers are developing these capabilities. analysis of the qualitative insights reveals data analytics, digital marketing, and social media management are urgently required but lacking among current employees. issues extend to the education system, with universities failing to equip graduates with expertise aligned to industry digitalization. okonjo recommends collaborations between insurers and academia to reform curriculums accordingly. more workplace training initiatives are also called for to upskill existing talent. overall, the study provides empirical evidence that digital skills gaps are a pressing concern for the nigerian insurance sector. it stresses that action is needed to build partnerships between industry and education providers to reform training and development programs. fostering a digitally-capable workforce will be key to realizing the benefits of insurance digital transformation. okafor and anene's 2020 case study analysis aims to shed light on digital adoption and resulting workforce training needs within nigerian insurance companies. through interviews and document analysis at three major insurers, the research finds basic technologies like chatbots spreading but specialized skills in ai, machine learning, and ux design remain scarce. while the pace of digital tool deployment is accelerating, commensurate investment in developing employee capabilities is lagging. firms that do support more extensive training see higher productivity gains from digitalization. the study makes the case that insurers must take greater responsibility for upskilling staff in missing competencies like data analytics and digital marketing. doing so will ensure employees can leverage new technologies effectively, instead of being displaced by them. the authors conclude that dedicated training initiatives focused on building advanced digital fluency are essential for firms to capitalize on the promise of insurance industry digital transformation. as artificial intelligence and automation transform the insurance sector, what does this digital transition mean for employees? tunde and fatokun's 2018 study investigates this question, surveying over 500 nigerian insurance workers to gauge their perceptions and concerns. analysis of the survey results reveals high anxiety over potential job loss due to ai and automation. older employees and those with lower education levels seem especially vulnerable to displacement. rather than leaving these groups behind, the study argues that targeted reskilling programs could support their transition to new roles suited for the digital age. focused training initiatives may help quell fears over ai and automation by equipping susceptible demographics with the skills needed to harness, rather than be replaced by, these emerging technologies. overall, the research provides vital insights into how nigerian 74 insurance employees view the impacts of digital transformation on their job security and livelihoods. it emphasizes that supporting and upskilling worried workers will be critical for managing a socially responsible workforce transition. usman's 2020 qualitative study utilizes interviews with human resource managers at nigerian insurance firms to provide insights into workforce skills gaps and development needs in the digital era. thematic analysis of the discussions reveals deficiencies in sought-after capabilities like data analytics, digital marketing, and information technology. however, few insurers have implemented comprehensive policies to address these talent shortcomings. the author highlights the urgent need for greater public-private collaboration to strengthen workforce readiness as the industry transitions to digital operations. bolstered policy incentives encouraging insurers to invest in upskilling initiatives could help spur development of fluency in key technical skills among employees. partnerships with education providers may also help align curriculums with the changing demands of a digitized industry. overall, the research empirically demonstrates that skills gaps abound within nigerian insurers' workforces as virtual technologies reshape the sector. it argues for strengthened training programs and coordinated action between government, academia, and industry to equip talent with the expertise required for the digital future. methodology this study employs a quantitative research design to investigate impact of digital transformation on the skills and workforce requirements of the nigerian insurance industry. the use of a quantitative research design is appropriate given the study aims to quantify perceptions of workforce skills, training investment, and talent factors in the insurance industry. quantitative data allows for statistical analysis to test hypotheses and draw conclusions. the population under consideration consists of insurance companies within lagos state, which is a diverse and economically significant region in nigeria. focusing on insurance companies in lagos state makes sense as a diverse, economically significant region. this provides a useful representation of the wider nigerian insurance sector. the study utilized simple random sampling to ensure representative samples from different insurance companies. the sample size for this study was determined using the krejcie and morgan table, a widely accepted method for calculating sample sizes in research. the researchers considered factors such as confidence level and margin of error to arrive at an appropriate sample size that ensures the study's findings are statistically significant and representative of the larger population of insurance companies in lagos state. applying simple random sampling ensures diverse companies are included without bias, supporting generalizability of findings. the krejcie and morgan table provides a standard formula for determining sample sizes that produce statistically valid results at desired confidence levels. this enhances reliability. data was collected through structured questionnaires distributed to the selected insurance. the questionnaire was designed to capture information about the demographic details of the insured as well as details related to the objectives of the study. survey questionnaires allow standardized data collection aligning directly with research objectives. careful questionnaire design and alignment with objectives strengthens consistency and relevance of data. the collected data was analysed using chi-square tests to compare digital skills importance rankings and t-tests to compare sample means and test the formulated hypotheses. the choice of chi-square and t-tests matches the type of quantitative data and hypotheses. chi-square 75 compares skill rankings, while t-tests evaluate differences in means. together, they enable robust statistical analysis to generate insights on digital readiness. result and discussion skill not at all important slightly important somewhat important moderately important extremely important mean sd data analytics 10 (4%) 20 (8%) 50 (20%) 100 (40%) 70 (28%) 3.8 0.9 artificial intelligence 20 (8%) 30 (12%) 60 (24%) 80 (32%) 60 (24%) 3.7 0.9 machine learning 15 (6%) 25 (10%) 55 (22%) 90 (36%) 65 (26%) 3.7 0.9 digital marketing 10 (4%) 15 (6%) 40 (16%) 120 (48%) 65 (26%) 4.3 0.7 customer relationship management 5 (2%) 10 (4%) 35 (14%) 130 (52%) 70 (28%) 4.4 0.7 cyber security 5 (2%) 10 (4%) 30 (12%) 110 (44%) 95 (38%) 4.2 0.7 cloud computing 15 (6%) 20 (8%) 50 (20%) 100 (40%) 65 (26%) 3.8 0.9 agile development 10 (4%) 15 (6%) 40 (16%) 120 (48%) 65 (26%) 4.3 0.7 user experience design 10 (4%) 15 (6%) 40 (16%) 120 (48%) 65 (26%) 4.3 0.7 business intelligence 15 (6%) 20 (8%) 50 (20%) 100 (40%) 65 (26%) 3.8 0.9 data visualization 15 (6%) 20 (8%) 50 (20%) 100 (40%) 65 (26%) 3.8 0.9 blockchain 20 (8%) 30 (12%) 60 (24%) 80 (32%) 60 (24%) 3.7 0.9 source: authors computation, 2023. the survey results show that cybersecurity, customer relationship management, digital marketing, agile development, and user experience design are seen as the most important skills by respondents. 38% said cybersecurity is extremely important, while 52% rated customer relationship management as moderately important. 48% said digital marketing, agile development, and user experience design are moderately important skills. data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, business intelligence, data visualization, and blockchain were rated as somewhat to moderately important by most respondents. specifically, 40% said data analytics, machine learning, cloud computing, business intelligence, and data visualization are moderately important. artificial intelligence and blockchain were seen as moderately important by 32% of respondents. the skills perceived as most essential are those related to security, customer management, marketing, development, and design. emerging skills like ai and blockchain are seen as moderately important, while foundational data and analytics skills are rated moderately to somewhat important by most respondents. the results indicate an emphasis on established critical business and technical skills, with growing importance placed on leading-edge technologies. 76 the survey results show customer relationship management (mean 4.4, sd 0.7) and digital marketing (mean 4.3, sd 0.7) as the skills perceived as most important overall. cybersecurity (mean 4.2, sd 0.7), agile development (mean 4.3, sd 0.7), and user experience design (mean 4.3, sd 0.7) also emerged as highly important skills with low variability in responses (sds around 0.7). artificial intelligence (mean 3.7, sd 0.9), machine learning (mean 3.7, sd 0.9), blockchain (mean 3.7, sd 0.9), data analytics (mean 3.8, sd 0.9), cloud computing (mean 3.8, sd 0.9), business intelligence (mean 3.8, sd 0.9), and data visualization (mean 3.8, sd 0.9) were viewed as moderately important skills by respondents. there was slightly more variability in responses for these skills (sds around 0.9) compared to the highest rated ones. customer relationship management, digital marketing, cybersecurity, agile development and user experience design emerged as the most essential skills with consistent agreement from respondents. ai, machine learning, blockchain and data/analytics skills were seen as moderately important by comparison, with more variable opinions on their importance. chi-square test skills chi-square statistic degrees of freedom p-value data analytics 12.0 4 0.017 artificial intelligence 16.0 4 0.003 machine learning 18.0 4 0.001 digital marketing 44.0 4 0.000 customer relationship management 52.0 4 0.000 cybersecurity 68.0 4 0.000 cloud computing 12.0 4 0.017 agile development 44.0 4 0.000 user experience design 44.0 4 0.000 business intelligence 12.0 4 0.017 data visualization 12.0 4 0.017 blockchain 16.0 4 0.003 source: authors computation, 2023. cybersecurity, customer relationship management, digital marketing, agile development, and user experience design all have highly significant chi-square p-values of 0.000. this indicates the importance ratings for these skills are significantly different than expected under the null hypothesis of no difference. these skills were rated as very important by respondents. artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain have chi-square p-values of 0.003 or lower, indicating their importance ratings are significantly different from expected at the 0.05 significance level. these skills were rated moderately important. data analytics, cloud computing, business intelligence, and data visualization have chi-square p-values of 0.017, indicating significance at the 0.05 level. these skills received more varied importance ratings 77 across respondents. the chi-square tests reveal statistically significant differences in how essential various skills are perceived for the digital age. cybersecurity, crm, marketing, agile, and ux design emerge as viewed as most important, while ai, machine learning, and blockchain are seen as moderately essential. data and analytics skills fell in the middle with more varied ratings. result 2 statement strongly disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree strongly agree mean sd the nigerian insurance industry workforce has the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the requirements of the digital age. 20 (8%) 40 (16%) 60 (24%) 100 (40%) 30 (12%) 3.7 0.9 the nigerian insurance industry is investing adequately in training and development to prepare its workforce for the digital age. 15 (6%) 45 (18%) 75 (30%) 90 (36%) 25 (10%) 3.5 0.9 the nigerian insurance industry is attracting and retaining the talent it needs to succeed in the digital age. 30 (12%) 50 (20%) 80 (32%) 70 (28%) 20 (8%) 3.3 0.9 source: authors computation, 2023 the survey results reveal some disagreement and uncertainty about whether the nigerian insurance industry workforce has the requisite skills for the digital age. 40% agreed and 24% neither agreed nor disagreed that the workforce has the necessary skills and knowledge. but 24% disagreed to some extent that the workforce is prepared. the mean rating was 3.7 and standard deviation 0.9, indicating moderately positive views but some variability. regarding investment in training and development, only 46% agreed that the industry is investing adequately to prepare its workforce. 30% neither agreed nor disagreed and 24% disagreed to some degree. the mean of 3.5 and standard deviation of 0.9 shows uncertainty and variability in views on current training investment. attracting and retaining talent garnered the lowest scores. just 36% agreed the industry is attracting and retaining the talent it needs, while 32% neither agreed nor disagreed, and 32% disagreed. the mean of 3.3 and standard deviation of 0.9 indicates overall disagreement that talent needs are currently being met. respondents expressed doubts about whether the insurance workforce has the skills for the digital age, is receiving adequate training investment, and whether the industry is successfully attracting and retaining the talent it requires. addressing these gaps may be critical for the industry's digital readiness. 78 hypothesis testing 𝒉𝒐𝟏: there is no significant difference in the readiness of the nigerian insurance industry workforce to meet the skills and knowledge requirements of the digital age. statement mean sd tstatistic pvalue the nigerian insurance industry workforce has the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the requirements of the digital age. 3.7 0.9 2.22 0.027 the nigerian insurance industry is investing adequately in training and development to prepare its workforce for the digital age. 3.5 0.9 0.00 1.000 the nigerian insurance industry is attracting and retaining the talent it needs to succeed in the digital age. 3.3 0.9 -2.22 0.027 source: authors computation, 2023. the first statement gauged agreement that "the nigerian insurance industry workforce has the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the requirements of the digital age." this received a mean rating of 3.7 out of 5, with a standard deviation of 0.9, indicating moderate agreement. however, the t-statistic of 2.22 and p-value of 0.027 suggest this rating was statistically significantly higher than the overall sample mean. the second statement assessed agreement that "the nigerian insurance industry is investing adequately in training and development to prepare its workforce for the digital age." it obtained a mean of 3.5 and standard deviation of 0.9, again showing moderate agreement but uncertainty. notably, the t-statistic of 0.00 and pvalue greater than 0.05 mean this rating did not differ significantly from the overall sample mean. for the third statement, "the nigerian insurance industry is attracting and retaining the talent it needs to succeed in the digital age," respondents gave a mean agreement rating of 3.3 with a standard deviation of 0.9. this suggests some level of disagreement. moreover, the tstatistic of -2.22 and p-value of 0.027 indicate the rating was statistically significantly lower than the overall sample mean. the p-value for the first and third statements is less than 0.05, which means that we can reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a statistically significant difference between the mean rating for each statement and the mean rating for the overall sample. in other words, the data suggests that the nigerian insurance industry workforce is perceived to be more ready for the digital age in terms of its skills and knowledge than it is in terms of its investment in training and development or its ability to attract and retain talent. conclusion this study investigated the impact of digital transformation on the nigerian insurance industry's workforce skills and requirements. the results reveal cybersecurity, customer relationship management, digital marketing, agile development, and user experience design as the skills viewed as most critical for the future. data analytics, ai, and emerging technologies were seen as moderately important. this aligns with literature on digital disruption requiring customer-centricity, security, marketing savvy, and technical agility. chi-square analysis 79 confirmed statistically significant differences in importance ratings. however, survey responses indicate doubts about whether the nigerian insurance workforce currently has the requisite digital skills and knowledge. there was also uncertainty regarding the adequacy of training investments to develop digital capabilities. attracting and retaining required talent garnered the lowest ratings, suggesting significant concerns. hypothesis testing using t-tests found a significant gap between the moderate perceived readiness of skills/knowledge versus lower readiness perceptions for training and talent factors. this indicates that actively upskilling the workforce and reforming talent management practices may be necessary to close skills gaps created by digital transformation. these findings align with adeoye (2019), who found severe skills gaps in areas like analytics and digital marketing. okonjo (2021) and okafor and anene (2020) also empirically demonstrate deficiencies in sought-after data, ai, and digital capabilities. the talent attraction challenges noted corroborate usman (2020), who highlights shortcomings in insurer's human capital strategies. as tunde and fatokun (2018) note, targeted reskilling programs could aid the transition by equipping vulnerable workers with digital skills. the significance testing indicates that actively upskilling and reforming talent practices are needed to close skills gaps, as emphasized by adegbite et al. 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(2017). a critical review of insurance claims management: a study of selected insurance companies in nigeria. spoudai-journal of economics and business, 67(2), 69-84. page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 229 adverse childhood experiences in africa: policy gaps, systemic disparities, practice and counselling implications olufunke chenube department of educational foundation university of delta agbor, delta state. nigeria email: olufunke.chenube@unidel.edu.ng abstract adverse childhood experiences (aces) is a significant global public health issue, with enduring effects on mental health, education, and socioeconomic position. this paper discusses adverse childhood experiences (aces) in the african setting, emphasising policy deficiencies, systemic disparities, and consequences for counselling practices. adverse childhood experiences (aces) are more common in africa and are exacerbated by poverty, conflict, displacement, and a lack of adequate child safety facilities. while attempts at mitigation are hampered by structural imbalances including health and educational inequalities, cultural practices both perpetuate and lessen adverse childhood experiences (aces). this discussion promotes a multisectoral approach to addressing adverse childhood experiences (aces), emphasising the need for more finance, policy integration, and community engagement. the recommendations include investing in evidence-based research, improving mental health services, and establishing comprehensive frameworks. keywords: adverse childhood experiences in africa, policy gaps, systemic disparities, counselling introduction adverse childhood experiences (aces) denote potentially traumatic events or conditions happening prior to the age of 18 that profoundly influence a child's development and long-term welfare (herzog & schmahl, 2018, brown et al., 2023). these encompass, but are not confined to, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; neglect; exposure to domestic violence; parental substance abuse; mental illness; and familial disruption due to separation, divorce, or incarceration. globally, adverse childhood experiences (aces) have been acknowledged as critical determinants of health and social outcomes (hampton-anderson et al., 2021, webster, 2022). the number of adverse childhood experiences (aces) was found to be significantly correlated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular diseases, mental health disorders, substance abuse, and premature mortality, according to the groundbreaking ace study conducted in the united states by felitti et al. (1998) (su et al., 2015, giovanelli & reynolds, 2021). subsequent global studies have validated these findings, indicating that aces surpass cultural and geographical limitations. lowand middle-income countries (lmics), where socio-economic and political instability exacerbate vulnerabilities, have a much higher prevalence of aces (schilling et al., 2008, yount et al., 2017, kidman et al., 2021, gilbert et al., 2024). due to their widespread effects on public health, academic achievement, and socio-economic stability, international institutions such as the world health organisation (who) and the united nations international children’s emergency fund (unicef) have emphasised the need for multi-sectoral approaches to address adverse childhood experiences (aces) (kidman et al., 2020, agbaje et al., 2021, rutter, 2021). the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa serves as an example of the serious problems that african children face. due to socio-economic challenges, cultural norms, and political unrest that exacerbate their vulnerabilities, children are frequently exposed mailto:olufunke.chenube@unidel.edu.ng 230 to situations that negatively impact their mental, emotional, and physical well-being (amene et al., 2024, gilbert et al., 2024). according to 2022 unicef research, almost 50% of african children experience violence before they turn 18 (akintayo, 2021, charbit & omrane, 2023). this violence frequently transpires inside familial, educational, or communal settings, where it is either normalised or disregarded due to cultural and structural influences. physical violence is notably common, as corporal punishment continues to be a broadly endorsed disciplinary practice in numerous african countries, notwithstanding its enduring psychological and developmental repercussions (larkin et al., 2014, naudin et al., 2023). sexual assault substantially adds to adverse childhood experiences (aces) across the continent. disturbingly, one in four girls and one in ten boys in sub-saharan africa endure sexual assault in their childhood (yount et al., 2017, mitchell et al., 2021). the cultural shame associated with these instances, along with insufficient reporting procedures, frequently results in unreported and unresolved crimes, depriving victims of justice and support (barajas‐ gonzalez et al., 2021). emotional abuse, encompassing verbal insults, humiliation, and threats, exacerbates the negative experiences of numerous youngsters, undermining their self-esteem and heightening the likelihood of future mental health issues. the incidence of aces is significantly heightened in areas impacted by armed conflict. regions include the sahel, the horn of africa, and the great lakes are characterised by pervasive violence, displacement, and familial disintegration (bhutta et al., 2023, amene et al., 2024). more than 70% of youngsters in these conflict zones indicate experiencing traumatic experiences, such as homicides, sexual violence, and the devastation of their residences. many ends up in refugee settlements or internally displaced persons (idp) camps, where they face increased risks like exploitation, interrupted education, and inadequate medical treatment (kappel et al., 2021, amene et al., 2024). long-term exposure to these stressors causes toxic stress, which has a negative impact on social functioning, emotional control, and brain development. the hiv/aids pandemic in southern africa has put youngsters in yet another difficult situation. according to estimates from the world health organisation (who), more than 14 million children in this region are orphans because one or both of their parents died of hiv/aids. these kids frequently experience abuse and neglect, whether they are in foster care or in overworked extended relatives that are unable to sustain them adequately (lukelelo, 2023, myers et al., 2024). orphaned children are more vulnerable to trafficking, forced labour, and sexual exploitation as a result of the financial burden on carers (minor, 2023). the effects of aces in africa extend beyond the immediate harm to individual children. educational outcomes are severely impacted, as children exposed to violence, neglect, or trauma are more likely to drop out of school or perform poorly academically (mitchell et al., 2021, zheng, 2024). health consequences are equally dire, with aces linked to chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, and mental health disorders, placing additional strain on africa's already fragile healthcare systems. economically, the long-term effects of aces reduce productivity and increase healthcare costs, hindering individual advancement and overall societal development (barajas‐gonzalez et al., 2021, peterson et al., 2023). these troubling statistics underscore the urgent need for interventions tailored to africa’s unique socio-cultural and economic context although the global world increasingly recognises the importance of avoiding and managing aces, many african countries lack comprehensive and relevant policy frameworks. existing policies are often poorly implemented due to limited resources, lack of political will, or insufficient stakeholder collaboration (sawyer et al., 2024, puma et al., 2024). furthermore, 231 these frameworks frequently fail to account for unique challenges such as conflict-related trauma, displacement, and multi-generational poverty. for instance, children in conflict zones, such as the democratic republic of congo or northern nigeria, experience trauma that existing policies do not adequately address (bendavid et al., 2021, andersen et al., 2022, obor, 2023). mental health and counselling services remain severely limited across africa, particularly in rural and underserved areas. the stigma associated with mental health concerns inhibits numerous families from pursuing assistance, resulting in children lacking support to navigate trauma. also, the deficiency of qualified mental health practitioners, along with insufficient infrastructure, restricts access to culturally appropriate counselling services (brown et al., 2023, tzouvara et al., 2023). lack of trauma-informed care increases vulnerability for children affected by adverse childhood experiences (aces), often leading to poorer academic performance, social isolation, and long-term mental health issues (asmussen et al., 2022). this discourse aims to enhance the comprehension of the complex causes and effects of adverse childhood experiences (aces) by contextualising t theoretical frameworks within the african setting. it also seeks to connect global ideas with local realities to guide policies and practices that enhance resilience, reduce harm, and promote the well-being of african children affected by aces. conceptual and theoretical framework a strong basis for comprehending the ways in which aces affect developmental paths and long-term results is offered by a number of recognised theories. from the immediate family to larger societal and environmental contexts, the ecological systems theory suggests that an individual's development takes place inside a nested network of interrelated systems (guyevans, 2024). a child's life is disrupted by adverse childhood experiences (aces) on several levels. the first is the family setting, where neglect, domestic abuse, or parental conflict can negatively impact the child's emotional and mental well-being. through bullying, acts of communal violence, or a lack of assistance, interactions between systems, including communities and schools, can make aces worse. systemic vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of trauma, exploitation, neglect, and displacement are also influenced by broader socio-economic issues, such as poverty, political unpredictability, and cultural norms (tzouvara et al 2023, sawyer et al, 2024). trauma theory, which has its roots in psychology research, looks at how exposure to negative experiences during critical developmental periods affects brain growth and function. longterm exposure to adverse childhood experiences (aces) causes toxic stress, which hinders the growth of important brain areas related to memory, decision-making, and emotional control (cruz et al., 2022, tzouvara et al., 2023). reduced cognitive function and academic success are associated with long-term stress exposure. mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) are more common among people who have had adverse childhood experiences (aces). additionally, they could develop harmful coping strategies like substance misuse and aggressive conduct that last throughout adulthood. resilience theory, in contrast to trauma theory, emphasises the protective elements that enable people to overcome the negative effects of aces. these include social and cultural support networks, where communal living and extended family networks offer essential material and emotional assistance (suslovic & lett, 2024). in order to build resilience and hope, many african communities also turn to spiritual and religious traditions, which provide a framework for healing and coping. also, having access to education and career training can be extremely important in reducing the negative impacts of aces and giving children the tools and resources, they need to succeed in the future. for children who are unfortunate, the community 232 traits of african communities can offer support in situations where biological parents are not available, communal care systems can provide resources and emotional support. nonetheless, these identical structures can sustain detrimental cultural practices, including child marriage, female genital mutilation (fgm), and forced labour, which are substantial factors contributing to adverse childhood experiences (aces) (abebe et al., 2020, ayenew, et al., 2024). policy gaps in addressing aces in africa the policy framework for adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa is marked by substantial deficiencies that impede effective responses to childhood adversity. these deficiencies manifest at multiple levels, ranging from the lack of comprehensive national frameworks to insufficient implementation and monitoring mechanisms, all of which compromise the capacity to safeguard children from harm and alleviate the long-term consequences of adverse childhood experiences (aces) (giovanelli & reynolds, 2021, webster, 2022, tzouvara et al., 2023). an analysis of the strategies implemented in several african nations indicates a disjointed and inconsistent strategy for tackling aces. despite the existence of many international and regional frameworks for child protection, the absence of cohesive and comprehensive state policies impedes advancement. numerous african nations have ratified significant international treaties designed to safeguard children's rights, including the united nations convention on the rights of the child (uncrc). this international accord underscores the entitlement of every child to be safeguarded from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. african governments have affirmed their dedication to protecting children's rights by adhering to these international criteria (akinyayo, 2021, charbit & omrane, 2023). nonetheless, the execution of these frameworks frequently exhibits inconsistency and is deficient in the requisite legal and institutional infrastructure to guarantee substantive results. at the regional level, instruments like the african charter on the rights and welfare of the child (acrwc) provide specific guidelines adapted to the african context (sindayigaya, 2024, jones & manion, 2024). the acrwc tackles issues that disproportionately impact african children, such as child marriage, detrimental cultural practices, and the repercussions of armed conflict. the charter establishes a significant policy framework; yet, its execution frequently fails due to inadequate institutional capacities and insufficient political will in certain member states. notwithstanding these challenges, regional instruments are essential for informing policy development and serve as a foundation for countries to formulate their national strategies (ndayisenga & sindayigaya, 2024, jones & manion, 2024). national policies targeting aces in africa frequently exhibit restricted breadth. although certain nations possess specific laws and regulations targeting child labour, sexual abuse, or trafficking, these policies typically lack a comprehensive, integrated strategy that encompasses all forms of adverse childhood experiences (aces) (middleton et al., 2024). numerous countries have enacted legislation banning corporal punishment in educational institutions; however, enforcement is inadequate and societal perceptions of physical discipline endure (hampton-anderson et al., 2021). also, national policies seldom consider the mental health requirements of children impacted by adverse childhood experiences (aces), overlooking the significance of trauma-informed care and the enduring psychological effects of childhood adversity. despite the existence of policies, significant deficiencies in implementation and monitoring undermine their efficacy (brown et al., 2023). the existing gaps impede governmental efficacy in addressing aces, rendering children susceptible to maltreatment and neglect. a key obstacle to efficient policy formulation is the lack of dependable, complete data regarding the 233 prevalence and effects of aces throughout the continent. numerous african nations lack adequate data collection methods to monitor the extent of childhood hardship (world health organization, 2018, amene et al., 2024). in the absence of this data, accurately evaluating the extent of the issue or formulating evidence-based interventions is unfeasible. the absence of national surveys or rigorous research necessitates that policymakers depend on anecdotal data, which may not accurately represent the complete scope of the issue. in many african countries, funding for child protection services is consistently inadequate. governments frequently give child welfare programmes very little funding, which restricts the capacity of organisations to offer assistance or address incidents of violence, abuse, or neglect (arthur-ewusie, 2024, mbaegbu & nakayiza, 2024). in order to handle the complicated nature of aces, social workers and child protection agents are often underpaid, overworked, and untrained. also, insufficient funding frequently leads to the dearth of essential infrastructure, such child safe houses, and the restricted accessibility of specialised services, like trauma counselling and mental health care (brown et al., 2019). the lack of co-operation across the different child protection agencies is another important problem. health, education, justice, and social protection are just a few of the sectors that work independently rather than together in many african nations (yokobori et al., 2023). this disjointed strategy results in gaps in service delivery, inefficiencies, and duplication of effort. for example, one organisation might respond to physical abuse, another to the scholastic needs of affected children, but none of them might collaborate with mental health organisations to offer comprehensive care. inadequate governance processes, political instability, corruption, and other institutional and socio-cultural impediments make it difficult to address adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa. (ceccarelli et al.,2022, okunade et al., 2023). the lack of political will and accountability at the highest levels results in insufficient allocation of resources to child welfare programs, leaving vulnerable children without access to essential services and support (ceccarelli et al.,2022, prince et al., 2023). displacement brought on by political unrest and violence greatly raises the risk of aces and makes it more difficult to provide adequate assistance (nelson et al., 2020, ceccarelli et al.,2022, prince et al., 2023) in many african communities, cultural behaviours that lead to aces are strongly ingrained and resistant to alter. practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation (fgm), and physical punishment are commonly considered as customary or obligatory, making it difficult to enforce protective laws and regulations. these activities may be justified by cultural or religious beliefs, and opposing them requires overcoming strong societal resistance. the highly rooted character of these practices hampers the establishment of policies that effectively address the core causes of aces. systemic injustice, aces, and disparities in africa a complex interaction of socio-economic, political, and environmental factors affects the occurrence and consequences of adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa. (kostić et al., 2019 (unicef)). three important systemic factors that increase the risks of early trauma include poverty, violence, and displacement. according to save the children (2017), poverty is a pervasive structural imbalance that affects children in africa and makes them more vulnerable to aces. because poverty raises the risk of child labour, neglect, exploitation, and abuse, it exacerbates aces (ilo, 2017, tadeo, 2024). children living in poverty frequently do not have access to essential resources like food, medical care, and education. another important structural factor contributing to higher aces in africa is armed conflict. children living in war 234 areas are more likely to be victims of trauma, displacement, and violence (unhcr, 2020, bendavid et al., 2021, obor, 2023). efforts to reduce adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa are severely hampered by disparities in the healthcare and educational systems. the prevention and treatment of childhood adversity are hampered by entrenched socio-economic gaps, inadequate infrastructure, and restricted access to high-quality services (unicef, 2019, okunade et al., 2023). education plays a critical role in breaking the cycle of aces by giving children the necessary abilities, information, and chances to overcome hardship. however, reducing the effects of aces is significantly hampered by educational disparities across africa. early detection and treatment of childhood trauma are severely hampered by africa's frequently poor and insufficient healthcare system. the stigma associated with mental illness in many african communities exacerbates the underfunding and underdevelopment of mental health services (world health organisation, 2020). lack of access to adequate psychosocial support networks or trained mental health specialists may have long-lasting negative impacts on the emotional and psychological well-being of children affected by aces (herzog & schmahl, 2018, tzouvara et al., 2023, yokobori et al., 2023). also, ace reduction is significantly hampered by healthcare disparities, particularly for children who live in remote or underprivileged areas. implications for counselling the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of children is greatly impacted by adverse childhood experiences, or aces. effective counselling interventions are crucial in africa, where socio-economic instability, violence, and cultural traditions may exacerbate adverse childhood experiences (aces) (rieder et al., 2019, sindayigaya, 2024, suslovic & lett, 2024). however, there are still many challenges facing the counselling industry in africa today, including a lack of funding, underqualified professionals, and culturally insensitive methods. a comprehensive approach is required to address these issues, one that includes developing culturally sensitive counselling methods, improving counsellor education, and incorporating innovative, locally successful solutions. the necessity for culturally attuned counselling methodologies in africa is paramount. african societies are fundamentally anchored in traditions, beliefs, and community living, which influence individual responses to trauma and emotional suffering. traditional healing approaches are often favoured over western therapeutic paradigms because of their familiarity, accessibility, and congruence with local customs (lorenc et al., 2020, chibwana et al., 2024). counselling interventions must be tailored to the cultural context to guarantee efficacy. western treatment methodologies, however beneficial in many instances, frequently neglect the distinctive social, familial, and spiritual aspects that impact the lives of african children. culturally sensitive counselling must honour and integrate the values and practices significant to the local community. numerous african tribes underscore the significance of familial and communal bonds in the healing process. counsellors assisting children who have encountered aces should acknowledge these social ties by including family members into therapy, thereby guaranteeing that the healing process is collective rather than individualistic. the significance of spirituality and religion in numerous african civilisations is essential for comprehending how individuals manage trauma. counsellors should be receptive to employing spiritual frameworks in their interventions when suitable, and incorporate traditional beliefs in a manner that honours the patient's worldview (chibwana et al., 2024). 235 integrating cultural sensitivity entails recognising the influence of social institutions, including gender norms, class disparities, and ethnic identity, on children's experiences of adverse childhood experiences (aces) (camacho & henderson, 2022). gendered expectations frequently determine the forms of abuse children may endure, with girls being more susceptible to sexual abuse or detrimental practices such as female genital mutilation. culturally sensitive counselling should adopt a gender-responsive approach that acknowledges the distinct needs and vulnerabilities of both boys and girls, while also addressing the societal norms that sustain such violence (abebe, et al., 2020, ayenew et al., 2024). counsellors need to be aware of how stigmatised mental health is in the majority of african nations. many people believe that seeking help for emotional problems is a sign of weakness or that mental health issues are caused by moral or spiritual failings (rieder et al., 2019, lorenc et al., 2020). in order to reduce stigma and encourage people to seek help for psychological trauma without fear of social rejection, counsellors must conduct awareness campaigns and community education. counsellors dealing with ace-affected persons in africa face severe training and resource constraints that hinder successful intervention. even while the value of mental health therapy is becoming more widely acknowledged, particularly in post-conflict and post-crisis contexts, many african nations still lack adequate counsellor training. there is a dearth of mental health training in some places, and many counsellors are not equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to address the complex needs of children who have had adverse childhood experiences (aces) (lorenc et al., 2020, ceccarelli et al., 2022, naicker, 2023). even when training programmes are offered, they usually do not take into account the unique social, cultural, and economic circumstances of the populations they are intended for. the lack of qualified mental health professionals is a major worry. many african countries have a disproportionately low number of psychologists and counsellors compared to their populations, with some having less than 1,000 qualified professionals to serve millions of people (bhatia, 2024). because access to mental health care is naturally limited in rural areas, this gap is more noticeable there., children who have experienced aces in these areas often do not receive the help they need to cope with trauma and build resilience (lorenc et al., 2020, bhutta et al., 2023). also, the majority of mental health professionals in many african countries are found in urban regions, which exacerbates the disparity in access to counselling services between urban and rural groups. even though there are mental health professionals, many lack the resources and skills necessary to provide successful therapies. counselling centres usually operate with outdated materials, inadequate space, and little funding. the lack of resources compromises the sustainability and quality of counselling services, making it more difficult for therapists to meet the requirements of those who have experienced aces. counsellors may find it difficult to provide trauma-informed treatment, which is necessary for helping children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or other adversities, if they lack the necessary training and resources (tzouvara et al., 2023). despite the challenges, innovative and successful counselling interventions are being implemented across africa, providing valuable information for upcoming projects. these projects demonstrate the possibilities of community-based approaches, teamwork, and combining conventional healing methods with modern therapeutic approaches. the introduction of community-based counselling programmes, which use local networks to 236 provide mental health care, is a noteworthy innovation (woods‐jaeger et al., 2021). respected people including religious leaders, local elders, and traditional healers are unofficially providing therapy and support in many african civilisations. in response, some organisations have partnered with local leaders to create support networks and provide mental health training for children who have had adverse childhood experiences (aces) (bhutta et al., 2023). these programmes can link informal community-based care with professional mental health treatments, making counselling more approachable and culturally relevant. digital mental health platforms, which are being used to engage young people in remote areas, provide another example of success. particularly in places where access to in-person treatments is limited, mobile phone-based mental health therapies—such as text messaging services and applications—have proven effective in providing emotional support and counselling. (okunade, 2023). these platforms lessen the stigma associated with asking for help by allowing children to obtain therapy services privately and at their own speed. also, by adapting to regional languages and cultural contexts, these digital platforms can become more relevant and accessible to a larger audience. trauma-focused group counselling programmes have been effective in assisting children and families affected by displacement and violence in conflict-stricken regions. these initiatives, frequently conducted by ngos and municipal entities, utilise group therapy to establish a secure environment for children to articulate their experiences, process their trauma, and cultivate social support networks (rieder et al., 2019). group counselling assists young people in recognising their shared problems, so cultivating a sense of solidarity and resilience. these programmes have proven especially beneficial in regions impacted by armed conflict, such as the sahel, where children face significant violence and relocation (ceccarelli et al., 2021). moreover, there are instances of amalgamating old healing methods with contemporary therapeutic techniques. in certain african communities, mental health practitioners have partnered with traditional healers to develop hybrid counselling programmes that honour local norms while delivering trauma-informed care (kumar et al., 2018). hybrid models can effectively diminish resistance to mental health care and cultivate trust within communities that may be apprehensive about western therapeutic interventions (brown et al., 2023). implications for policy and practice the response to adverse childhood experiences (aces) in africa is impeded by a complicated interaction of policy deficiencies and institutional inequalities. despite the existence of frameworks at both national and regional levels recognising the significance of addressing childhood adversity, the absence of integration and implementation among these frameworks considerably undermines their efficacy. policy deficiencies predominantly manifest as disjointed initiatives that do not comprehensively tackle adverse childhood experiences (aces). even though many african countries have ratified international treaties like the united nations convention on the rights of the child (uncrc), their commitment is occasionally undermined by weak institutional capacity and enforcement systems (hampton-anderson et al., 2021, charbit & omrane, 2023, sindayigaya, 2024). furthermore, rather than creating a comprehensive framework that covers the full spectrum of aces, including neglect, emotional abuse, exposure to violence, and displacement, national programmes aimed at aces usually focus on specific components, such child labour or sexual abuse (loveday et al., 2022). these policy shortcomings are exacerbated by systemic injustices, particularly in countries that experience political unrest, socio-economic disparity, and conflict. the prevalence of aces is 237 facilitated by structural inequalities such as poverty, limited access to high-quality education, and inadequate healthcare facilities. these disparities are greatly worsened in rural and conflict-affected areas, making children more vulnerable to many types of harm. successful projects are hampered by a lack of coordination between community-based organisations, ngos, and government entities. coherent, well-funded policy frameworks that are sensitive to the unique challenges faced by vulnerable groups—particularly those living in poverty or those affected by violence and displacement—are desperately needed (bendavid et al., 2021, obor, 2023). aces (adverse childhood experiences) do not happen alone. larger socio-economic problems including poverty, armed conflict, displacement, gender inequality, and inefficient governance systems are all intrinsically tied to them. the relationship between these challenges and adverse childhood experiences (aces) highlights the complexity of the issue and the need for an all-encompassing strategy to address childhood adversity (ceccarelli et al., 2022). one of the most pressing social issues is still poverty. millions of children live in abject poverty across the african continent, with limited access to safe housing, healthcare, and education. adverse childhood experiences (aces) are both caused by and exacerbated by poverty, which makes children more susceptible to various types of exploitation, abuse, and neglect (prince et al., 2023). also, poverty often prevents children from receiving the psychological support they need to lessen the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences (aces), which feeds the cycle of disadvantage. poverty is a problem that needs to be addressed because it creates a vicious cycle where children who experience trauma are more vulnerable to socioeconomic deprivation, which results in long-term developmental deficits. the problem is made more difficult by armed conflict and displacement. in nations like the sahel, the horn of africa, and the great lakes region, ongoing conflicts have destroyed family units, uprooted millions of people, and subjected children to unspeakable levels of pain and brutality. children are also impacted by conflict and displacement in northern nigeria, where they are more likely to experience violence, exploitation, and abuse. many are compelled to leave their homes and seek safety in overcrowded and inadequately equipped camps (barajas‐ gonzalez et al., 2021). displacement-related trauma and disruption can have long-lasting effects on young kids' mental, emotional, and physical health, making them more susceptible to adverse childhood experiences (aces) (rutter, 2021, webster, 2022, bhutta et al., 2023). the systematic violence and instability that children experience in these war areas exacerbate aces, which are not only the result of isolated incidents. particularly, displacement puts children in situations where they are cut off from their families, are more vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation, and have less access to healthcare and educational resources (bendavid, 2021, giovanelli & reynolds, 2021, obor, 2023). this intersection of aces with displacement and armed conflict demands immediate attention and calls for solutions that address children's long-term psychological and social needs in addition to protecting them from harm now. another significant factor that interacts with aces is gender inequality. girls are disproportionately affected by cultural norms and practices like child marriage, female genital mutilation (fgm), and gender-based violence in many african communities, which exposes them to higher rates of aces. girls are particularly vulnerable because they are often denied equal access to economic, educational, and healthcare opportunities due to gender inequality. girls are more likely to experience aces as a result of the cultural undervaluation of their lives and futures, which perpetuates cycles of gender-based violence and injustice (abebe et al., 2020, alhowaymel et al., 2020, ayenew et al., 2024). in order to overcome aces, it is 238 necessary to question ingrained gender stereotypes and guarantee that girls have equal access to protection, education, and empowerment. also, corruption and inadequate governance frameworks support the upkeep of aces. unstable institutions and governance systems in many african nations fall short in providing children with enough protection and aid (giovanelli & reynolds, 2021, prince et al., 2023) children's rights are frequently violated when there is a lack of political will, poor law enforcement, and inadequate funding for social services, and those responsible bear little accountability (brown et al., 2019, brown et al., 2023, sindayigaya, 2024, jones & manion, 2024). improving governance structures and creating robust, open, and responsive child protection institutions for disadvantaged groups are essential for successful interventions. solutions must be multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary because of the complex interactions between aces and general social problems. it is imperative that governments, civil society organisations, and international agencies work together to address the root causes of aces and create environments that protect children from harm and support their recovery. conclusion the discourse of policy gaps, systemic disparities, therapy, and the repercussions of policy and practice on adverse childhood experiences in africa are all covered in this paper. africa's sociopolitical and economic circumstances, including poverty, armed conflict, gender inequality, and systemic governance problems, are closely related to adverse childhood experiences (aces). the current policies on aces are insufficient and fragmented, with no integration between the social welfare, mental health, and child protection sectors. the impacts of aces are exacerbated by systemic injustices, such as unequal access to mental health, healthcare, and education resources. the counselling and policy implications are exhaustively discussed . recommendations based on this discourse in the paper, the following suggestions are recommended: • policymakers need to develop all-encompassing plans that tackle how poverty, conflict, and inequality are linked to adverse childhood experiences (aces). these tactics must prioritise prevention, protection, and rehabilitation, focusing on vulnerable groups such as children living in conflict zones and those who are prone to harmful behaviours. legislators must strengthen child protection laws, ensure that international commitments are fulfilled, and provide adequate financing for mental health and child protection programmes. • incorporating trauma-informed education into curricula would enable teachers to recognise signs of adverse childhood experiences (aces) and understand how trauma affects learning • health professionals should regularly test for aces in 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(2024). the impact of adverse childhood experiences on educational outcomes in adolescents. journal of education, humanities and social sciences, 26, 634-640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0645-1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-015-0645-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106092 https://doi.org/10.1177/2333794x221078708 https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 273 extra curriculum activity participation and employability prospects of undergraduates sanni adewale babajide1 raji ismail adesina2 tella adeniran rahmon 3 1 & 2department of educational management, faculty of education, university of ibadan, nigeria asanni3337@stu.ui.edu.ng rajismail@gmail.com 3department of business administration, faculty of art, social & management sciences, atiba university, oyo, oyo state, nigeria adenirantella@gmail.com abstract graduate employability continues to pose a major challenge within nigerian higher education, with many university graduates lacking the competencies demanded by contemporary labour markets. this study investigates the employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan and the influence of their participation in extracurricular activities. employing a descriptive survey of the correlational design, data were gathered from 612 undergraduates through a structured questionnaire. results revealed that students rated their employability skills relatively low, particularly in the areas of critical thinking, professional communication, and digital presence. conversely, high levels of participation were reported in extracurricular activities such as sports, student clubs, and campus politics, though engagement in entrepreneurship was limited. a statistically significant moderate positive correlation was found between extracurricular participation and employability prospects (r = .466, p < .001). further analysis using simple linear regression showed that extracurricular participation significantly predicted employability prospects, (f(1;610) = 168.76, p < .001, adj. r² = .215). the study concludes that structured extracurricular engagement contributes meaningfully to students’ perceived employability and recommends institutional integration of employability skills training and digital competence development within and beyond the curriculum. keywords: employability, extracurricular activities, undergraduate students, university of ibadan introduction graduate employability has taken centre stage in global higher education discourse, particularly in sub-saharan africa where the transition from education to the labour market is increasingly uncertain. in nigeria, the challenge is particularly acute. despite the rising number of university graduates, many employers report a persistent mismatch between the competencies possessed by graduates and the practical demands of the workplace. this employability gap has prompted universities, policymakers, and scholars to re-evaluate the adequacy of conventional academic training in preparing students for professional life (abe & kasumu, 2022). mailto:asanni3337@stu.ui.edu.ng mailto:rajismail@gmail.com mailto:adenirantella@gmail.com 274 the concept of employability, according to aigbodion et al. (2022), has evolved from being narrowly associated with job placement to encompassing a broader set of competencies, including communication, critical thinking, digital literacy, collaboration, and adaptability. hence, gbadamosi (2021) argued that the traditional curriculum in nigerian universities often places a premium on theoretical knowledge while underemphasising the development of transferable skills. consequently, students may graduate with strong academic qualifications but lack the soft and digital skills necessary for sustained career success. parallel to this concern is the growing recognition of extracurricular activities as important vehicles for non-formal learning. participation in campus-based activities—such as student clubs, sports, politics, and volunteering—has been shown to nurture essential employability skills that may not be acquired through formal classroom engagement (adeyemi et al. 2022). these engagements offer students the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork, initiative, and social capital, all of which are crucial in an increasingly dynamic and competitive labour market. however, the extent to which nigerian students engage in such activities and how these experiences translate into enhanced employability remains underexplored in empirical literature. compounding these challenges is the rapid digitisation of the global economy, which has placed digital skills at the core of employability. the covid-19 pandemic further accelerated the demand for digital fluency, highlighting the limitations of students who lack access to, or training in, digital tools. as shown by joshua and apuru (2024), digital skill acquisition significantly influences students’ perceived employability, yet access to such skills remains uneven, often shaped by geographic and socioeconomic disparities. against this background, understanding the role of extracurricular activities in shaping employability prospects is crucial among the undergraduate students at the university of ibadan, nigeria. this study aims to explore the influence of participation in extracurricular activities on the employability prospects of undergraduates in the university of ibadan, nigeria. literature review several empirical studies have investigated the relationship between education, skill acquisition, and employability, providing evidence relevant to the present study. ore (2023) investigated the effectiveness of business education programmes in developing employability skills among undergraduates in lagos state using a descriptive survey design. a structured questionnaire was administered to undergraduate students, and the data were analysed using correlation statistics. the findings revealed that the curriculum content of business education did not adequately equip students with essential soft skills for workplace success. moreover, a negative relationship was found between instructional methods and students’ employability skills. the study emphasised that integrating workplace requirements into the curriculum and embedding soft skills training would enhance graduates’ employability. this underscores the critical role of curriculum design in bridging the gap between academic training and labour market expectations. similarly, eke (2025) examined re-skilling needs in nigerian adult education within the context of automation and technological change, adopting a qualitative research design based on thematic analysis of policy documents and semi-structured interviews with adult learners 275 and educators. the study highlighted a significant skills gap, especially in digital literacy, technical competencies, and soft skills, while also identifying barriers such as economic hardship and limited access to educational resources. the findings revealed that aligning adult education with labour market demands, adopting learner-centred and technology-driven approaches, and fostering lifelong learning are vital strategies for employability in a rapidly changing job environment. this study broadens the discourse by showing that employability challenges extend beyond undergraduates to adult learners, stressing the importance of continuous re-skilling across all learning stages. in a related study, aigbodion et al. (2023) investigated predictors of perceived employability among undergraduate students at ambrose alli university using a survey research design. a total of 320 students participated in the study, and data were analysed using multiple regression techniques. the results demonstrated that employability skills and core selfevaluations jointly predicted perceived employability, with employability skills independently serving as the strongest predictor. conversely, core self-evaluations alone did not significantly influence employability outcomes. these findings confirm the primacy of practical skills acquisition in shaping graduates’ confidence and employability, thereby reinforcing the argument that higher education must prioritise skill development alongside academic learning. in line with this, joshua and apuru (2024) examined the influence of digital skills acquisition on the employability prospects of accounting education students in north central nigeria using a correlational survey design. a sample of 393 students was drawn through stratified random sampling, and data were analysed using pearson product moment correlation and regression analysis. their results revealed a strong positive influence of digital skills on employability, while geographic location and family income were negatively correlated with both digital skills acquisition and employability prospects. the study recommended that infrastructural factors, such as sustainable electricity and adequate provision of digital equipment, are essential to support skill acquisition. these findings demonstrate that beyond personal effort, contextual and structural factors significantly shape students’ employability outcomes. furthermore, oshinyadi et al. (2023) examined the skill gap among undergraduate students of educational management in south-west nigeria using a descriptive survey design. a multistage sampling procedure yielded 354 students, 6 heads of department, 6 tescom officers, 6 subeb officers, 58 private secondary school administrators, and 186 private primary school administrators. data were collected using three instruments—employer employability skills questionnaire (r = .94), employability skills for education management graduates questionnaire (r = .76), and graduates employability skills rating scale (r = .70)—and analysed using mean, standard deviation, and skill need index. findings revealed that employers demanded a wide range of employability skills, including interpersonal communication, self-management, critical thinking, management-specific, and teacher professionalism skills. four of these categories showed large skill gaps, prompting the recommendation of periodic curriculum reviews to close these gaps. aloba et al. (2023) focused on entrepreneurship core-skills acquisition and self-employability of public university graduates in north central nigeria using a descriptive research design. data were collected from 400-level students across eight universities, selected through 276 proportional random sampling, with instruments including the entrepreneurship training questionnaire (etq) and core-skills acquisition questionnaire (csaq). analysis using mean and standard deviation revealed that communication skills ranked highest (m = 4.24), followed by vocational skills (m = 2.76), while managerial skills were lowest (m = 2.42). the study found graduates’ self-employability to be low and recommended partnerships between universities and communities in entrepreneurship training to foster job creation. gbadamosi (2021) assessed employability skills among final-year undergraduates using a mixed-method design involving 120 students and 20 employers. instruments included the employability skills questionnaire (r = .77), stakeholders’ perception of students’ employability skills questionnaire (r = .75), and an interview guide. findings indicated an overall low level of employability skills (weighted mean = 2.48). while students demonstrated higher levels of adaptability (m = 2.67) and communication skills (m = 2.65), their ict skills (m = 2.37) and problem-solving abilities (m = 2.22) were weak. the study recommended curriculum and extracurricular activities targeted at equipping students with the diverse employability skills demanded by the labour market. these empirical studies provide convergent evidence that curriculum design, re-skilling initiatives, skill acquisition, and contextual enablers (such as infrastructure and socioeconomic background) are all critical determinants of graduate employability. however, there remains limited empirical focus on the role of extra-curricular activities in shaping employability, which is the specific gap addressed in this present study. statement of the problem purpose/objectives of the study the study examined the influence of extra curriculum participation on employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria. specifically, the study examined: i. the level of employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria ii. level of participation in extra curriculum activities by undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria iii. relationship between participation in extra curriculum activities and employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria iv. influence of participation in extra curriculum activities on employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria research questions 1. what is the level of employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria? 2. what is the level of extra curriculum participation by undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria? 3. there is no significant relationship between extra curriculum participation and employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria 277 4. extra curriculum participation will not have significance influence on employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria methodology the descriptive survey design of the correlational type was adopted to examine the 22,887 undergraduate students of the university of ibadan, oyo state, nigeria as at the 2023/2024 academic session. the multistage sampling procedure was used to select 628 participants for this study. at the first stage, simple random technique was used to select 6 faculties in the university (faculties of agriculture, arts, education, pharmacy, sciences and economics & management sciences). at the second stage, proportionate to size random sampling technique was used to select 5% of students in the selected faculties, making a total of 628. table 1: sample of undergraduates of university of ibadan oyo state, nigeria s/n faculty number of undergraduates 5% of undergraduates in selected faculties 1 agriculture 1,433 72 2 arts 3,228 161 3 education 3,737 187 4 pharmacy 544 27 5 science 3,105 155 6 economics & management science 514 26 total 12,561 628 a self-constructed questionnaire was adopted to collect data for the study based on literature. the instrument was subjected to face and content validity by experts from the department of educational management, university of ibadan.. the instrument was then subjected to a pretest at the faculty of the social sciences and the data analysed using the cronbach alpha method of reliability, and it yielded 0.89, which is good enough. the instrument was then used to collect data from the various selected faculties. the data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. research questions one and two were analysed using simple percentage, mean and standard deviation, research question three was analysed using pearson’s product moment correlation, while research question four was analysed with multiple regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. results and discussion research question 1: what is the level of employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria? 278 table 2: employability prospect of undergraduates at the university of ibadan to what extent do you: vhe he le vle mean std. deviation decision challenge existing ideas? 34 202 285 91 2.29 .785 low 5.6% 33.0% 46.6% 14.9% effective in identifying key issues in a discussion? 25 110 386 91 2.11 .693 low 4.1% 18.0% 63.1% 14.9% consider multiple perspectives when making decisions? 26 93 357 136 2.01 .738 low 4.2% 15.2% 58.3% 22.2% attend networking events or conferences? 64 224 250 74 2.45 .837 low 10.5% 36.6% 40.8% 12.1% build relationships with professionals in your industry? 47 212 291 62 2.40 .773 low 7.7% 34.6% 47.5% 10.1% get career advice from experts? 38 176 300 98 2.25 .796 low 6.2% 28.8% 49.0% 16.0% build professional relationships? 41 169 282 120 2.21 .834 low 6.7% 27.6% 46.1% 19.6% use social media platforms to build your career network? 72 171 274 95 2.36 .882 low 11.8% 27.9% 44.8% 15.5% update your online presence (e.g., linkedin, twitter)? 77 225 225 85 2.48 .883 low 12.6% 36.8% 36.8% 13.9% showcase your skills and achievements? 53 210 259 90 2.37 .837 low 8.7% 34.3% 42.3% 14.7% understand your personal brand? 32 146 334 100 2.18 .761 low 5.2% 23.9% 54.6% 16.3% represent yourself professionally online and offline. 49 188 274 101 2.30 .838 low 8.0% 30.7% 44.8% 16.5% manage your online presence to enhance my professional image. 59 178 279 96 2.33 .853 low 9.6% 29.1% 45.6% 15.7% 2.29 0.81 low table 2 presents findings on the employability prospects of undergraduate students at the university of ibadan, nigeria. it captures how students perceive their proficiency across various employability skills, ranging from critical thinking and decision-making to networking, personal branding, and digital presence. the results consistently point to a low level of confidence and competence in all assessed areas, with each skill ultimately receiving a “low” decision rating. in the area of critical thinking, the students reported weak abilities in challenging existing ideas, with a mean score of 2.29, and in identifying key issues during discussions, where the mean was even lower at 2.11. this suggests that most students do not often take initiative in academic or professional discussions and rarely question dominant perspectives. similarly, their ability to consider multiple viewpoints before making decisions was rated poorly, 279 receiving a mean score of 2.01—the lowest among all the evaluated skills—indicating a clear gap in reflective and inclusive decision-making. when it comes to career-oriented interactions, the findings reveal that attending networking events or conferences is not a regular activity among the students. this aspect recorded a mean of 2.45, which, though higher than other items, still falls within the “low” category. the tendency to build relationships with professionals in their field also remained poor, with a mean of 2.40, reflecting a limited engagement with industry figures who could offer career guidance or mentorship. students similarly reported minimal efforts in seeking career advice from experts (mean = 2.25) and in building professional relationships (mean = 2.21), further emphasising their weak networking habits. these figures point to a broader issue of underutilisation of professional guidance and limited attempts at developing valuable social capital. regarding the use of digital platforms for career advancement, the students showed limited participation. the use of social media to build professional networks recorded a mean of 2.36, while updating online presence through platforms like linkedin and twitter garnered a mean of 2.48, the highest among all measured items but still categorised as low. similarly, the act of showcasing one’s skills and achievements online received a mean of 2.37, indicating that most students are not actively presenting their competencies to potential employers in digital spaces. understanding one’s personal brand and representing oneself professionally, both online and offline, also received weak ratings, with means of 2.18 and 2.30 respectively. these results highlight a lack of self-awareness and strategic personal branding, which are critical in today's competitive job market. additionally, the students reported limited efforts to manage their online presence in ways that enhance their professional image, with a mean of 2.33. taken together, the overall mean score across all employability indicators stands at 2.29 with a standard deviation of 0.81, which reaffirms the general pattern of low self-assessed readiness for the job market. this aligns with gbadamosi (2021), who observed that although employability-oriented skills are often introduced in nigerian higher education, they are insufficiently embedded in the curriculum and rarely reinforced through experiential learning. students tend to complete their programmes without the practical exposure needed to develop soft skills, resulting in limited confidence in their readiness for employment. the findings strongly suggest the need for structured interventions aimed at equipping students with essential employability skills, particularly in areas like communication, digital literacy, professional networking, and personal branding. without such initiatives, graduates may continue to face significant challenges in transitioning successfully into the workforce. research question 2: what is the level of extra curriculum participation by undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria? 280 table 3: participation in extra curriculum activities by undergraduates at the university of ibadan vh h l vl mean std. deviation decision sports activities 145 262 119 86 2.76 .969 high 23.7% 42.8% 19.4% 14.1% student clubs e.g cultural, sports, performance group, etc 118 245 178 71 2.67 .917 high 19.3% 40.0% 29.1% 11.6% campus politics e.g. residency hall, student union, departmental leadership, etc. 188 256 112 56 2.94 .924 high 30.7% 41.8% 18.3% 9.2% operating a personal business 89 204 217 102 2.46 .935 low 14.5% 33.3% 35.5% 16.7% 2.71 0.94 high table 3 captures the level of participation in extracurricular activities among undergraduate students at the university of ibadan, nigeria. unlike the earlier data on employability skills, the findings here suggest a generally high level of engagement, with three out of the four activities assessed receiving a “high” decision rating. the overall mean score for this set of items is 2.71 with a standard deviation of 0.94, indicating moderate to strong involvement in activities beyond the academic curriculum. participation in sports activities appears to be notably robust. with a mean score of 2.76, students demonstrate relatively high levels of engagement in physical recreation and sports. this suggests that a considerable number of students are actively involved in maintaining physical well-being and participating in school-organised athletic events or competitions. similarly, involvement in student clubs, including cultural societies, sports groups, and performance teams, is also significant. although this area recorded a slightly lower mean of 2.67, it still falls within the “high” category, indicating that many students actively explore their interests through organised group activities and informal peer-led initiatives. these clubs often provide opportunities for social interaction, creative expression, and the development of soft skills such as teamwork and leadership. campus politics, including roles in residency halls, departmental leadership, and participation in student unions, recorded the highest mean score of 2.94, which points to a substantial level of engagement. this suggests that a notable proportion of students are interested in governance, representation, and decision-making structures within the university setting. such involvement may also contribute positively to the development of organisational and public speaking skills, as well as a deeper understanding of civic responsibility. in contrast, the only extracurricular area that received a “low” decision was operating a personal business, with a mean score of 2.46. this indicates that, while some students are engaged in entrepreneurial ventures during their studies, the majority are not actively involved in business operations, possibly due to academic commitments, lack of capital, or limited entrepreneurial support structures on campus. 281 in sum, the data shows that undergraduate students at the university of ibadan are actively involved in a variety of extracurricular pursuits, especially in structured and institutionalised formats such as clubs, sports, and student politics. however, personal entrepreneurship remains relatively underdeveloped among this population. this pattern is consistent with the findings of adeyemi, ebo, and adeyemi (2022), who noted that while nigerian graduates frequently engage in unionism, sports, and volunteering, these activities are often undervalued or disconnected from structured employability frameworks. notably, entrepreneurial involvement among the students was low—an area that remains underdeveloped despite its recognised importance in nigeria’s competitive job landscape. this pattern highlights the potential of extracurricular platforms to foster holistic student development while pointing to the need for more robust support for student entrepreneurship. research question 3: there is no significant relationship between extra curriculum participation and employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria table 4: relationship between participation in extra curriculum activities and employability prospects of undergraduate at the university of ibadan n mean standard deviation r p-value remark employability prospect 612 51.0594 10.50 0.466 .000 significant extra curriculum participation 612 13.0891 3.042 table 4 presents the statistical relationship between undergraduate students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their employability prospects at the university of ibadan. it offers evidence that involvement in extracurricular pursuits has a meaningful and positive impact on how students perceive their readiness for the job market. a total of 612 students were included in the analysis. the mean score for employability prospects among them was 51.06, with a standard deviation of 10.5, while the mean score for extracurricular participation was 13.09, with a standard deviation of 3.04. these descriptive statistics suggest a moderately high level of self-reported employability and a fair degree of involvement in extracurricular engagements. the statistical analysis yielded a pearson correlation coefficient (r) of 0.466, which indicates a moderate positive correlation between the two variables. this means that students who are more actively involved in extracurricular activities tend to report better employability prospects. more importantly, the p-value associated with this result is .000, which is well below the conventional threshold of 0.05 for statistical significance. the remark “significant” in the table confirms that this finding is not due to chance. in essence, the data supports the conclusion that extracurricular participation is a meaningful contributor to enhancing students’ employability. as ore (2023) argue, involvement in extracurricular pursuits fosters the development of leadership, communication, collaboration, 282 and resilience—key competencies that contribute meaningfully to graduate readiness. the author advocates for universities to create formal links between student activities and employability strategies, a stance supported by our results. this finding underscores the importance of promoting active student involvement beyond the classroom as a strategy for improving graduate outcomes and employability. research question 4: extra curriculum participation will not have significance influence on employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan, ibadan, nigeria table 5: influence of participation in extra curriculum activities on employability prospects of undergraduates at the university of ibadan anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 14903.664 1 14903.664 168.756 .000b residual 53872.145 610 88.315 total 68775.809 611 r = .466a r square = 0.217 adjusted r square = 0.215 std. error of the estimate = 9.398 a. dependent variable: employability prospects b. predictors: (constant), participation in extra curriculum activities table 5 presents the anova table and associated model summary provide a deeper statistical insight into the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and employability prospects among undergraduate students at the university of ibadan. the model tested whether students’ level of participation in extracurricular activities could significantly predict their employability prospects. the regression sum of squares is 14,903.664, with 1 degree of freedom, and a corresponding mean square of the same value. the residual sum of squares, which represents the unexplained variance, is 53,872.145 across 610 degrees of freedom, yielding a total sum of squares of 68,775.809 for the full model. the f-statistic—which tests the overall significance of the regression model—is 168.756, and the p-value is .000. this result confirms that the model is statistically significant, meaning there is a very high likelihood that participation in extracurricular activities meaningfully explains variations in employability prospects among the students. the finding is robust, with the p-value far below the conventional 0.05 threshold. the model summary provides further clarification. the correlation coefficient (r) is 0.466, reaffirming a moderate positive relationship between extracurricular engagement and employability. the r square value is 0.217, which implies that approximately 21.7% of the variance in students’ employability prospects can be explained by their involvement in extracurricular activities. the adjusted r square is slightly lower at 0.215, accounting for the number of predictors and sample size, which still points to a meaningful effect. the standard 283 error of the estimate, at 9.398, indicates the average distance between the observed and predicted employability scores. in practical terms, this analysis shows that while extracurricular participation is not the sole factor influencing employability, it plays a significant and measurable role. it accounts for just over one-fifth of the variance in how students rate their preparedness for employment, underscoring the value of holistic education that includes opportunities for students to engage beyond the classroom. this reinforces the importance of policies and initiatives within the university that encourage and support student involvement in non-academic pursuits as a viable strategy for improving graduate outcomes. adeyemi, ebo, and adeyemi (2022) similarly highlighted the predictive value of extracurricular involvement, noting that many employers recognise the leadership and interpersonal skills acquired in such settings even more than academic achievements. conclusion and recommendations based on the synthesis of the four sets of results, a clear and consistent pattern emerges regarding the employability prospects of undergraduate students at the university of ibadan and the influence of extracurricular engagement on those prospects. the first set of findings revealed a generally low level of self-assessed employability skills among students. across various indicators—including critical thinking, communication, networking, digital presence, and professional branding—the students consistently rated themselves poorly. with a grand mean of 2.29, it is evident that students feel underprepared for the demands of the labour market, particularly in areas that require self-promotion, collaboration, and strategic engagement with professional communities. in contrast, the second set of results showed relatively high levels of participation in extracurricular activities. students reported active involvement in sports, student clubs, and campus politics, with the highest engagement observed in political and leadership roles (mean = 2.94). however, participation in personal entrepreneurial ventures remained low. the overall mean of 2.71 for extracurricular engagement suggests that students are more confident and invested in structured, campus-based non-academic activities than in individualised professional development. the third table, which examined the correlation between extracurricular participation and employability prospects, established a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.466, p < .001). this means that students who are more actively involved in extracurricular activities tend to perceive themselves as more employable. the significance of this relationship suggests that extracurricular involvement may provide students with transferable skills and experiences that bolster their confidence and perceived readiness for employment. finally, the regression analysis confirmed that extracurricular participation significantly predicts employability prospects. with an r square value of 0.217, the model indicates that 21.7% of the variation in students’ employability perceptions can be attributed to their involvement in extracurricular activities. the statistically significant f-value (168.756, p < .001) reinforces the strength of this predictive relationship. in conclusion, while undergraduate students at the university of ibadan generally report low levels of employability skills, those who actively participate in extracurricular activities— 284 particularly in structured and institutional forms—demonstrate better employability prospects. this suggests that extracurricular engagement plays a critical role in enhancing students’ readiness for the workforce. therefore, university policies and academic planning should prioritise the integration and promotion of meaningful extracurricular opportunities as part of a broader employability strategy. encouraging structured student involvement beyond the classroom may serve not only to complement formal education but also to significantly enhance students’ post-graduation outcomes. the study hereby recommends that: i. given the low levels of employability skills demonstrated by students, the university management should revise the academic curriculum to embed employability-focused content across all faculties. this should include compulsory modules or workshops on critical thinking, communication, digital presence, and career planning. collaborations with industry professionals and career development experts should also be fostered to ensure students are equipped with practical, market-relevant skills. ii. since students actively participate in organised extracurricular activities but show low engagement in entrepreneurship, the student affairs division should expand the range of non-academic programmes available on campus. this should include targeted initiatives such as entrepreneurship boot camps, innovation challenges, and student-led start-up incubators. iii. in light of the positive correlation between extracurricular participation and employability, the career services unit should develop platforms that help students reflect on and articulate the skills gained from extracurricular involvement. iv. since extracurricular engagement significantly predicts employability prospects, education policy makers—particularly those involved in tertiary education planning— should mandate that universities adopt structured co-curricular records, encourage cross-campus integration of leadership and skill-building activities, and assess these engagements as part of students’ overall educational outcomes. this will ensure a more holistic approach to graduate preparedness at the systemic level. references abdulwahab r. & abba, r. 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(2024). influence of digital skills acquisition on perceived employability prospects of accounting education students: moderating role of geographic location and family income. higher education research. 9(5), 138-147. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385428580 ore, e. r. (2023). effectiveness of business education programme and the development of employability skills of business education students in public universities in lagos state, nigeria. african journal of educational management, 23(1), 57–73. retrieved from https://journals.ui.edu.ng/index.php/ajem/article/view/870 oshinyadi, p. o., odufejo, k. o. & adeyanju, h. i. (2023). employability skill gap analysis of university undergraduates of educational management in south-west, nigeria. educational thought. 12(1). 1-18. rafiu, a. (2023). an investigation on the career opportunities for prospective graduates of primary education, university of ilorin, kwara state. educational thought. 12(1). 214. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 641 fraud control practices adopted by small and medium scale enterprises for business sustainability in enugu sate, nigeria madu-saba muhammadu babalulu department of business education, faculty of vocational and technical education, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state babajide gideon adeyinka department of general studies, d s adegbenro ict polytechnic, itori, ogun state richard o. musa department of business administration & management, d s adegbenro ict polytechnic, itori, ogun state uchechukwu florence nwozor department of business education, university of nigeria, nsukka, enugu state corresponding author: jideyink2002@yahoo.com abstract the study's primary focus is on the strategies small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state employ to combat fraud. the study was produced using a descriptive survey research methodology. 104 sme managers participated in the survey, which was conducted in the state of enugu. a questionnaire was employed as the data collection tool. three experts in the field validated the gadget. twenty copies of the questionnaire were distributed to respondents who possessed the same features in order to determine the internal consistency of the instrument in anambra state. cronbach's alpha was then used to assess the results. together, the four instrument clusters' dependability coefficient was 0.979. the data that the respondents gave was analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (spss). according to the report, fraud makes it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) to grow and survive because it encourages dishonest activity, including account manipulation and theft, which are typically followed by theft cover-ups. the paper provides guidance on effective and remedial fraud control procedures for long-term economic viability for managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (smes). these managers should also strategically disseminate the necessary ict warnings around their workplace to demonstrate their intention to prevent the complexity and difficulties of business activities. keywords: fraud; control practices; small and medium-sized businesses; sustainability introduction small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) are essential to economic growth and lay the groundwork for a nation's advancement. smes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, mailto:jideyink2002@yahoo.com 642 contingent on the country's state of development. the susceptibility of smes to fraud has impeded the expansion and viability of international small businesses (mho, 2019). smes are defined as small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) by nikoli, dhamo, schulte, mihajlovi, and kume (2015) as companies that operate independently of their legal status. according to oliyide (2012), small and medium-sized enterprises (smes) are divided into four divisions by the european union: micro-firms, small businesses, medium-sized enterprises, and medium enterprises. small enterprises are described as having between 10 and 100 employees, while micro-firms are classified as having between 0 and 100 employees. in nigeria, a small business is one that employs 11 to 100 people and has total expenses of n15 million or less, which includes working capital but does not include land costs. according to oliyide (2012), a medium-sized company is one that employs 101 to 300 people and whose total expenses—including working capital but excluding land costs—are greater than n50 million but less than n200 million. as demonstrated in the above statement, all smes usually have a cap on their working capital, which does not include the cost of land or the number of employees. the person in charge of operating, overseeing, and managing smes is referred to as the owner, manager, ceo, or business operator. a continuous, long-term profit is the primary goal of smes, which are defined as businesses owned or operated by a company manager (a single individual) or partners (2017). a sme owner is defined by sahut and peris-ortiz (2014) as an individual who establishes and manages a business primarily for personal goals (such as providing for their family) and whose primary source of income occupies the majority of their time and resources. this research defines sme owners as those who assume risk in order to maximize profits from any business activity. sme's are significant from both an economic and social perspective. nikoli, dhamo, schulte, mihajlovi, and kume (2015) state that smes provide a number of functions, including. nikoli, dhamo, schulte, mihajlovi, and kume (2015) state that smes have a number of functions, such as creating jobs and selling locally produced goods, encouraging innovation, implementing business ideas, promoting regional economic integration, and upholding social stability. statement of problem small and medium-sized businesses, or smes, are widely recognized as the main forces behind economic growth and job creation. insufficient fraud control protocols negatively impact small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state. the expansion and profitability of smes have been put in danger by the rapid development of the digital economy in the twenty-first century, the widespread use of online transaction systems, and the lack of knowledge and experience needed to protect against cybercriminals. a weak organizational structure and a lack of managerial experience used to supervise internal processes are common causes of fraud. smes must have greater faith in their employees because of their limited ability to adopt consistent fraud control measures through internal control and internal audits. small and medium-sized businesses frequently use fewer anti-fraud procedures than larger organizations, making them more vulnerable to fraud, as per the 2018 report from the association of certified fraud examiners. it is challenging to gauge the extent of fraud in smes since many of its causes are either overlooked or not disclosed. managers need to have a basic awareness of fraud control methods because employees commit the majority of fraud. many managers from smalland medium-sized businesses (smes) in enugu state have been duped and deceived by fraudulent calls purporting to obtain critical information from account holders. the issue of a fake notice from crafty clients comes up in another scenario. most of the time, smes' employees collaborate with customers to steal and hide these dubious actions 643 by forging invoices and inflating product costs in an effort to trick other customers and profit third parties. these kinds of things happen when ict devices—like security cameras, closedcircuit television, alarm systems, and the like—are not regularly and thoroughly watched over. these observations have caused numerous smes to incur irreversible losses, necessitating their complete closure. in order to reduce the impact of fraud and its risk, analyze the impact, and offer helpful recommendations for how to identify, detect, and prevent it, this study aims to identify fraud control practices, such as operating internal fraud control practices, employees' code of conduct fraud control practices, information communication and technology (ict) fraud control practices, and insurance fraud control practices, for the sustainability of smes in enugu state. literature review conceptually, according to olorunsegun (2010), fraud affects all facets of the economy and is a significant concern for the corporate community. adeoti (2011) offered proof that fraud is an issue for many economic sectors and is not limited to small and medium-sized enterprises. according to dunne (2014), fraud is characterized as a purposeful act of deceit committed by an individual, a group of individuals, or staff members and management of a business who have the necessary skills to fabricate financial reports. other forms of fraud control methods include employee codes of conduct, insurance policy fraud, internal fraud, and fraud involving information and communications technology. the idea of internal control is frequently used in operational contexts as a component of management's efforts to guarantee the efficacy, dependability, and efficiency of corporate operations. internal controls are policies, practices, or processes used within the accounting cycle to stop, identify, or address fraud and error, according to turner and weickgenant (2013). internal control is a process-oriented discipline that prioritizes company processes over their results, according to provasi and riva (2015). studies by edori and ogaluzor (2018), cerrone (2012), hopwood, leiner, and young (2012), the treadway commission's committee of sponsoring organizations (coso) (2013), yuniarti and ariandi (2017), hamdani and riski (2016), and others have shown that commercial organizations generally utilize internal control systems to monitor operational operations only to avoid the misuse of the organization's resources to protect themselves. the development of awareness and procedures, along with a well-defined set of laws and regulations, moral principles, and policies, are necessary for fraud control techniques and employee codes of conduct. thus, research by nwankwo (2012), kinyua (2013), kombate (2016), onyeonoru, omolawal, and okunola (2019), rahaman, gupta, ali, ali, and taru (2021), and others discovered some clever ways to lessen the extent to which employees control their fraud. these methods include educating staff members about ethical protocols, standards, and value systems; allocating responsibilities in accordance with competence; outlining regulatory codes of conduct; and evaluating reports and performance. the committee of sponsoring organizations of the treadway commission small and medium-sized enterprises also use information and communication technology (ict) as a fraud prevention technique to make sure their operations survive in the digital economy. ict adoption, including the use of computer, communication, and media technologies, has a significant impact on the performance of smes, according to research and reports by seyal, rahim, and rahman (2000), the association of certified fraud examiners (2012), shanmugam, haat, and ali (2012), hibbert (2012), oluwatayo (2013) (odusina and 644 fowosire, 2014), oluwatayo (2014), and stone (2016). it was concluded as a result that adopting and being aware of specific security techniques will lower technical crimes. hamdani and riski (2016), yuniarti and ariandi (2017), coso (2013), and further sources. getting insurance coverage is just another method of preventing fraud. sunday and fidelis (2017) assert that the amount of smes' transactions and their contributions to economic growth make it imperative to carefully consider the creation and implementation of an effective system for reducing the risk of fraud. it is essential to plan for the avoidance of any activity that can jeopardize the organization and to implement appropriate operational processes to guarantee its efficient operation. 102 tendai. adeyele and maiturare (2012), sunday and fidelis (2017), iso (2009), adeyele, osemene, and olubodun (2017), and rosliana, elliany, and handayani (2022) explored different kinds of risk and provided insight into the steps that should be taken to reduce them. the study's objectives the main objective of the study is to identify the fraud prevention techniques employed by small and medium-sized businesses in the state of enugu in order to secure their survival. the purpose of this study's specific goal is to discover employee fraud prevention processes and internal fraud control procedures, and information and communication technologies (ict) fraud prevention procedures that small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state have put in place to ensure the sustainability of their businesses. research questions the study will be guided by the following research question: 1. which internal fraud control measures do small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state use to make sure their operations survive? 2. what fraud prevention strategies are included in the employee codes of conduct of small and medium-sized firms in enugu state? 3. in enugu state, what ict (information and communication technology) fraud protection techniques have small and medium-sized enterprises implemented? 4. what fraud prevention strategies have enugu state's small and medium-sized enterprises used to stop insurance policy fraud? methodology the research design used for this study was a descriptive survey. osuala (2010) states that a descriptive survey study design entails gathering public opinion on phenomena that currently exist with the intention of defending the circumstances or practices in order to develop better strategies for enhancing the phenomenon. nworgu (2015) defines a descriptive survey research design as one in which a sample of people or things is examined and determined to be typical of the complete group. thus, the purpose of this study was to learn more about smalland medium-sized business owners' perceptions of enugu state's fraud prevention initiatives. 645 the study's primary goal is to determine the fraud prevention strategies used by enugu state's small and medium-sized businesses to ensure their survival. this study aims to precisely identify employee fraud prevention processes, internal fraud control procedures, and information and communication technologies (ict) fraud prevention procedures that small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state have put in place to ensure the sustainability of their businesses. 174 managers from 104 small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state who were registered as participants in the survey made up the population. source: mining, industry, and agriculture were all included in the nsukka chamber of commerce (2022). since the population was under control, the whole group was chosen. consequently, it was not possible to take a sample of the entire population. the instrument the researchers used to collect data was the "identifying fraud control practices adopted by small and medium-scale enterprises for business sustainability in enugu state" (ifcpasmsebsq) questionnaire. there is only one section and one phrase with twenty-four items. the study's sole goal of gathering data on the four research topics has led to their grouping into four clusters, which are numbered 1 through 4. the research that was found through the review of related literature was used to design the questionnaire items. in order to assess the internal fraud control strategies employed by small and medium-sized businesses for business sustainability in enugu state, cluster 1 consists of six (6) item statements (1-6). there are six (6) item statements (1-6) that make up cluster 2. their purpose is to gather data regarding the fraud prevention tactics and employee conduct policies employed by small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state. cluster 3 was comprised of six (6) item statements (1-6) designed to provide additional insight into the ict (information and communication technology) fraud protection strategies used by small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state. six (6) item statements (1-6) in cluster 4 sought information on the tactics small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state employ to thwart insurance policy fraud in order to preserve the viability of their operations. cluster survey questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 have a four-point rating system: "strongly disagree" is worth one point, "agree" is worth three, "strongly agree" is worth four, and "disagree" is worth two for each. the appropriate item can be checked in the blank places provided to the respondents. in order to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of the questionnaire in evaluating its objectives, three experts from the department of business education at the university of nigeria evaluated the instrument in person. to aid in accurate validation, the questionnaire was distributed to the experts along with the purpose and research questions of the study. they were asked to rate the tool according to its thought flow, language, relevancy, and content. their modifications and recommendations were taken into account while creating the final version of the document that certifies it. twenty small and medium-sized businesses in anambra state participated in the tool's trial. this is due to the comparable geographic location of anambra state, which is not covered in this study. using the cronba alpha approach, an overall coefficient of 0.979 was obtained. a number of research assistants with knowledge of enugu state's past delivered the survey to 104 managers of small and medium-sized businesses. the research assistants' job is to make it easier for respondents to complete and return the questionnaire. the researcher provided guidance to the research assistants on how to conduct a polite and professional administration of the instrument to the respondents. the questionnaire had to be fully filled out by the respondents before the researcher and research assistants could administer the instruments and gather the data. having a high return rate is the goal. to examine the data gathered for 646 this study, the mean and standard deviation were employed. to examine the data, the mean and standard deviation were applied. using spss, a statistical tool for social science, the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was also ascertained and gathered for this inquiry. the obtained data were subjected to the mean and standard deviation in order to address the problem of the study. following analysis, the data were assessed using the data's statistical real limit. an item will be classified as very agreeing in the mean computation if its mean score is between 3.50 and 4.0, and agreeing if it is between 2.50 and 3.49. items with mean values between 1.50 and 2.49 are classified as disagreeable, and strongly disagreeable items have mean scores between 1.00 and 1.49. therefore, a mean score of 3.50 to 4.00, agreement of 2.50 to 3.49, disagreement of 1.50 to 2.49, and major disagreement of 0.50 to 1.49 all imply good agreement. considering the four research topics that formed the core of the study,the results are displayed in tables. result rq1: what internal fraud control procedures do small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state use to ensure the survival of their operations? s/no item statement x std. dev remark 1. creating a business organization 3.64 0.63 sa 2. appropriate locks for security in inventory warehouses 3.56 0.67 sa 3. setting up criteria for quality 3.62 0.67 sa 4. problem solving as it happens 3.35 0.70 sa 5. regular evaluation of the internal control protocol 3.34 0.90 a 6. appropriate familiarity with internal control systems 3.63 0. 66 sa grand mean and standard deviation 3.57 0.71 sa key: x is the mean, sd is the standard deviation, a is for agree, a is for agree, d is for disagree, and sd is for strongly disagree. in table 1, the data showed that five items had means that fell between 3.50 and 4.00 real, indicating that the item was ‘strongly agree' with internal fraud control measures for the sustainability of small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state. furthermore, one item 'agrees' with internal fraud control systems, as evidenced by its mean value falling within the genuine range of 2.50–3.49. this is in addition to taking into account the sustainability of small and medium-sized firms in enugu state. with a standard deviation ranging from 0.63 to 0.90, the study also discovered that the respondents' responses were quite similar to one another and were within a respectable range of the mean. with a standard deviation of 0.71 and an overall mean score of 3.57, enugu state's small and medium-sized enterprises rely on international fraud control. 647 rq2: what policies and procedures have small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state put in place to prevent fraud and ensure the long-term viability of their operations? table 2 shows the average answers to questions about the employee codes of conduct and fraud prevention strategies used by small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state. s/no item statement x std. dev remark 1. assigning tasks according to proficiency 3.55 0.70 sa 2. particular regulatory standards of behaviour 3.63 0.64 sa 3. daily evaluation of reports and the performance of staff 3.53 0.74 sa 4. employee training that is consistent 3.34 0.90 a 5. requiring workers to take accountability for their acts 3.48 0.74 a 6. reporting fraud as soon as possible. 3.64 0. 65 sa grand mean and standard deviation 3.53 0.73 sa key: x is the mean, sd is the standard deviation, a is for agree, a is for agree, d is for disagree, and sd is for strongly disagree. in table 2, data revealed that four items had means that fell between the actual range of 3.50 and 4.00, meaning that the item was classified as "strongly agree" with the fraud prevention measures and workers' code of conduct that small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state had implemented. two more replies received mean values ranging from 2.50 to 3.49, suggesting that the respondents seemed to 'agree' with the rules and employee code of conduct regarding fraud prevention for small and medium-sized firms in enugu state. furthermore, the study's findings showed that the standard deviation ranged from 0.64 to 0.90, suggesting that respondents' answers were quite close to one another and within the mean. despite their agreement that small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state use fraud prevention techniques and employee codes of conduct to maintain their sustainability, the respondents' aggregate mean score of 3.53 and standard deviation of 0.73 indicated otherwise. rq3: how do small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state prevent fraud using information and communication technology (ict) in order to save their operations? 648 table 3 displays the respondents' typical responses when asked about the small and medium-sized firms in enugu state's usage of information and communications technology (ict) to combat fraud. s/no item statement x std. dev remark 1. reporting any threats related to the transfer of money 3.66 0.63 sa 2. software for effective internet security, including firewalls and email security, among others. 3.65 0.68 sa 3. installing security devices 3.65 0.67 sa 4. software programs for keeping track of purchases and scales 3.68 0.60 sa 5. reliable data backup for previous transactions with consumers 3.66 0.65 sa 6. information and communication technology 3.62 0. 65 sa grand mean and standard deviation 3.65 0.64 sa key: x is the mean, sd is the standard deviation, a is for agree, a is for agree, d is for disagree, and sd is for strongly disagree. the results shown in table 3 indicate that the respondents strongly agree' that small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state should use information and communications technology (ict) to combat fraud, since the averages of all six items fell between 3.50 and 4.00. the survey also revealed that the standard deviation varied between 0.63 and 0.68, indicating that the respondents' answers were generally in line with the mean and with each other. although the respondents' overall mean score was 3.65 with a standard deviation of 0.64, they did agree that small and medium-sized enterprises' (sme) adoption of information and communications technologies (ict) fraud prevention techniques was crucial to the sustainability of the business in enugu state. rq4: what steps have small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state taken to prevent insurance policy fraud in order to guarantee the long-term profitability of their operations? the average responses from the respondents about the strategies small and mediumsized companies in enugu state employ to stop insurance policy fraud are displayed in table 4. s/no item statement x std. dev remark 1. determining operational and performance risk 3.62 0.67 sa 2. reimbursement from the insurance provider for lost or stolen goods 3.60 0.68 sa 3. obtaining a sufficient insurance certification 3.62 0.66 sa 4. evaluation of an insurance contract 3.64 0.62 sa 649 5. reduction of the risk associated with fraud 3.56 0.71 sa 6. regularly renewing the insurance deposit 3.56 0. 67 sa grand mean and standard deviation 3.60 0.69 sa key: x is the mean, sd is the standard deviation, a is for agree, d is for disagree, and sd is for strongly disagree. in table 4, all six items had averages between 3.50 and 4.00, indicating that the item strongly agreed' with the steps taken by enugu state's small and medium-sized firms to prevent insurance policy fraud. in addition, one item's mean value varied from 2.50 to 3.49, indicating that the respondent 'agreed' that internal fraud control procedures are essential to smalland medium-sized businesses' survival. furthermore, the survey's standard deviation, which ranged from 0.62 to 0.71, showed that the majority of respondents' responses fell within acceptable bounds and did not substantially depart from the mean. however, the average score for all respondents showed that most believed small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state should use fraud-control techniques for insurance policies, with standard deviations of 3.60 and 0.69. following discussion of the results the results of the study were discussed in accordance with its particular objective. the results of the study (table 1) indicate that in order to ensure the survival of small and medium-sized businesses, respondents from enugu state are in favour of internal fraud control procedures like establishing quality standards, putting in place secure locks on inventory warehouses, forming a business structure, addressing problems as they come up, routinely reviewing internal control policies, and having a thorough understanding of internal control systems. the study's outcomes are consistent, according to shanmugam, ali, hassan, and haat (2012), internal control, risk management, and fraud prevention approaches for smes: reliability and validity of research tools. it was discovered that managers had reported a relatively low incidence of fraud and that the overall amount spent was still within budget. the study's findings also align with a 2018 investigation by umar and umar-dikko on the effectiveness of internal fraud control at commercial banks in nigeria. the study found a significant and positive relationship between the bank's performance and the four internal control components (risk assessment, monitoring, and control actions). it is related to their study as it relates to internal fraud control practices on smes in enugu state, even though the study supports the need for internal fraud control practices to include establishing business structure, proper security locks on inventory warehouses, establishing quality standards, correcting issues as they arise, routinely reviewing internal control policies, and having a proper understanding of internal control systems. the results of the survey, which are presented in table 2, indicate that respondents are in favour of fraud control procedures and staff conduct rules for the long-term survival of smes. this process ensures that very little fraud occurs, even among smes' staff. the investigation's findings corroborate those of onyeonoru, omolawal, and okunola (2019), who examined the different dishonest business tactics employed by ibadan, nigeria's small and microbusinesses. theft, consumer fraud, tax evasion, the selling of tampered-with or expired goods, tampering with measurement scales, bribery, and inadequate service delivery are a few examples of these corrupt behaviours. the results of the study also support a study by rahaman, gupta, ali, taru, and ali (2021) on the factors that influence the performance of smes' employees. that study found that smes now place a high value on the contributions that their employees make to the 650 expansion and sustainability of their businesses. the study discovered that in order to prevent employee fraud and ensure the survival of small and medium-sized businesses, a number of proactive measures are necessary. these include job assignments based on competence, comprehensive regulatory codes of conduct, daily reviews of employees' performance and reports, regular employee training, holding employees accountable for their actions, and timely reporting of fraud. the responses given were in line with the ict (information and communication technologies) fraud control strategies used by small and medium-sized businesses to preserve operating sustainability, according to the results of the third study question. these strategies include reporting any threats associated with money transfers, installing security devices, installing effective internet security software (firewall, email security, etc.), keeping track of sales and purchases through software, effectively backing up customer data, and disseminating information using ict. the results of this study are in line with those of oluwatayo (2013), who looked at how certain small businesses in rural southwest nigeria used information and communication technology to propel their growth. the results of survey question number four indicate that respondents thought the strategies employed by small and medium-sized enterprises to stop insurance policy fraud were suitable. these include determining the risks associated with operations and performance, confirming that the insurance company would cover lost or damaged property, obtaining sufficient insurance certifications, evaluating the insurance policy, reducing the possibility of fraud, and periodically renewing the insurance deposit. the study's conclusions are consistent with those of yusuf, ajemunigbohun, and alli (2017), who carried out an empirical investigation into the management of insurance claims within a particular group of insurance companies and discovered that insurance assistance significantly influenced the way insurance companies handled claims. the identification of performance and operational risk, the assessment of the insurance policy, the acquisition of the required insurance certifications, the insurance company's reimbursement of lost or stolen property, and the regular renewal of insurance deposits are among the factors that determine the industry's sustainability, as per a systematic review of the available data. the present research supports the findings of falkner and hiebl's (2015) study on risk management in smes. conclusion a persistent and widespread issue, fraud has had a detrimental impact on businesses worldwide, especially those that are small and medium-sized. small and medium-sized firms (smes) are particularly vulnerable to the fraud problem because fraudulent activities usually involve acts of corruption such as theft and account manipulation, which are frequently followed by theft cover-ups. we asked small and medium-sized businesses in enugu state to identify the fraud control strategies they use in order to preserve the lifespan of their operations for this study. the research revealed that small and medium-sized enterprises in enugu state used internal fraud control protocols, employee codes of conduct, ict fraud control protocols, and insurance policy fraud control protocols to ensure the sustainability of their operations. 651 it is therefore, advised that: 1. the management of small and medium-sized enterprises has to become knowledgeable about the different types of fraud that occur in their establishments in order to put into place effective and corrective fraud control processes that guarantee the long-term survival of their companies. 2. to secure the longevity of their operations, small and medium-sized businesses should implement recognized fraud control techniques after understanding the many kinds of fraud that happen in their particular industries. 3. to guarantee the survival of the firm, small and medium-sized enterprises need to assess the police and the effectiveness with which these fraud control measures have been implemented. 4. it is advisable for small and medium-sized businesses to endeavour to implement the appropriate ict security measures in critical, high-traffic areas of their workplace. 5. employee behaviour norms should be clearly defined in order to avoid misunderstandings and the complexity of business 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(2017). a critical review of insurance claims management: a study of selected insurance companies in nigeria. spoudaijournal of economics and business, 67(2), 69-84. http://www.hreonline.com/hre/story.jsp?storyid=250192419 http://www.acfe.com/rttn/docs http://business.uschamber.com/ 656 zakari, k. m., nawawi, a. & salin, a. s. a. p. 2016. internal controls and fraud empirical evidence from oil & gas company. journal of financial crime 23 (4): 1154–1168. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 441 african union (au) and conflict resolution in africa: a study of darfur-sudan crisis, 2004-2020 nwokoroeze chinonye nnenna department of political science, faculty of social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu abstract this study focused on the african union and conflict resolution in africa with particular reference to the darfur conflict in sudan. the darfur conflict has become a global problem and a test-case for africa union’s capacity in dealing with intractable conflicts in africa. two research questions were posed, to wit, what factors account for the nature and pattern of au response to conflicts in africa particularly to the crisis in darfur region of south sudan? and what indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution can the au leverage on to respond to conflicts in africa instead of relying on external forces? the objectives of the study include determining the factors that define the nature and pattern of the au response; and determining what indigenous mechanisms the au can rely on to solve conflict situations in the continent. the study is anchored on the social identity theory developed by henri tajfel. two research hypotheses were posed. the study adopted the descriptive research design. it relied on secondary sources of data and data were collected from textbooks, journals, and the internet. we adopted content analysis as our method of analysis. among the findings are that the au response to the darfur conflict has been greatly impacted by the differences between sub-sahara and north african states, external pressures and the indictment of former president al-bashir by the international criminal court greatly; and that the au has the capacity and latitude to leverage on indigenous knowledge of african history to develop mechanisms of conflict resolution instead of relying on external prescriptions. it is this context that we recommended that the au should be more assertive in its peacekeeping initiatives by critically reassessing its afro-arab relations and exploring ways of enhancing the partnerships. secondly, it is recommended that the au should consider the adoption of african traditional conflict resolution mechanisms since the western prescription, despite their laudable intentions have always resulted in conflict relapse. keywords: conflict, conflict resolution, darfur conflict, global challenge, sub-sahara introduction that africa has been enmeshed in intra and inter-groups conflicts in the past five decades is not in doubt. these conflicts have been triggered by several factors including ethnic and religious reasons, boundary disputes, poverty and bad governance bordering on corruption and lack of transparency. in other instances, the above factors have been escalated fundamentally by the nature and character of african states in relation to their colonial creation as nation-states. it is agreed among scholars that virtually all the african states are colonial creations. in creating such states, the colonial powers apparently ignored the peculiarities of independent ethnic states and merged most of them as one country. this pattern of state emergence in africa has generated a climate of mutual suspicion and perpetual subversion among the disparate ethnic or religious groups, which colonialism unilaterally grouped together into one country. 442 the result has been strife and conflicts all over africa; and specific instances of such strife and conflicts can be found in zaire, sudan, burundi, rwanda, liberia, nigeria, somalia, liberia, uganda, angola, and ethiopia etc. there is indeed no part of africa that is not experiencing one form of crisis or the other. the darfur crisis appears to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. the darfur region of sudan, since 2003 has become what ahmad (2009), referred to as “the site of terrible violence, death, and displacement”. the united states of america has labeled what is happening in darfur as 'genocide.' despite the various interventions from within and outside africa, the conflict has persisted and it is estimated that over five million darfurians have either been displaced or killed (human rights watch, 2006), comparable only to the 1994 rwandan genocide. evidently, the crisis situation in darfur has attracted the attention of the international community as well as unprecedented media attention. while the international media may have sensationalized the darfur tragedy, there have been little efforts to actually analyze the root causes of the crisis. behind the tragic events in darfur lies a complex history of deeply entrenched social inequalities, an environmental crisis and competition over natural resources, conflicting notions of identity, the militarization of rural societies, and, above all, a chronic problem of bad governance that has plagued the sudan since its independence from british colonial rule in 1956. the essence of this study, therefore, is to examine the role of the african union in conflict resolution in africa with particular reference to the darfur crisis in sudan especially from 2004 to 2007. statement of the problem one of the primary reasons for establishing the african union is to improve on the failures of the organization of african unity (oau). for purposes of clarification, the au came into existence in 2002 as a successor of the oau, which was founded in 1963. it is also important to note here that the transition of the oau to au was not out of context with the paradigm shift that compelled the european community to transform into the european union (eu). from its inception in 1963, with 31 newly independent african countries, the oau undertook the mandate for the promotion of unity and solidarity and ensure collective security on the continent. however, the oau was burdened by its own internal contradiction despite its pan-africanist credentials. these internal contradictions would in the long-run hamper its capability to resolve conflicts in most parts of the continent. without effective institutional structures and visionary leadership, the oua’s poor record on conflict resolution and management was compounded by financial, logistical, and political problems. much of the oau's failure was due to its policy of “non-interference” in states’ internal affairs, which weakened its ability to prevent and manage conflicts, especially civil wars. today, the successor au has 53 independent african states as members. with the added features of intervention, independence, checks and balances, and monitoring, the au seems to be potentially a ‘more effective, democratic, and autonomous organization’ (zweifel 2006). according to the former oau secretary-general, salim ahmed salim, the promise of the au is its objectives of ‘enhancing unity, strengthening co-operation and co-ordination as well as equipping the african continent with a legal and institutional framework, which would enable africa to gain its rightful place in the community of nations’ (francis 2005). these hopeful objectives are rooted in a desire and motivation to ‘enhance the cohesion, solidarity and integration of the countries and peoples of africa’ (francis 2005). the core instrument for achieving the above objectives is the constitutive act of the african union. the 443 constitutive act empowers states to intervene where countries fail to protect their citizens from internal conflicts. specifically, article 4(h) of the principles provides: ‘the right of the union to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity’ (african union 2000: art 4(h). this document, however, while reiterating the importance of promoting peace, security, and stability for individuals and the continent, also contains clauses, which affirm the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of states exclusive of grave violations of human rights and goes so far as to prohibit the use of force or threat under the basis of noninterference (african union 2000: art 3,4). despite these improvements, the au has inherited many of the problems of its predecessor. skeptics, thus, warn against prematurely assuming that the au will ‘significantly enhance the project of uniting africa or strengthening the capacity of states to respond to peace and security issues on the continent’ (francis 2005). perhaps, this fear is why the au established the peace and security council (psc) to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in the continent. as is profoundly evident in the case of ongoing massive slaughter and displacement of darfur people of southern sudan or the alleged crimes against humanity, there is still the concern of how to mobilize and deploy collective resources in the continent for realizing the lofty goal of conflict prevention and management by the african union. research questions in view of the foregoing, this study poses the following research questions: 1. to what extent has the deployment of external recommendations by the au to conflict resolution in africa, especially in the crisis in darfur region of sudan, been effective? 2. what indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution can the au develop to respond to conflicts in africa instead of relying on external forces? objectives of the study the general aim of this study is to examine the african union in relation to its role in conflict resolutions with particular reference to the darfur crisis in south sudan from 2004 to 2020. from this general objective, the following specific objectives are outlined: 1) to determine the extent to which the deployment of external prescriptions by the au towards conflicts resolution in africa, especially the conflict in darfur region of sudan, been effective. 2) to determine if the au can create an authentic african strategy in resolving conflicts on the continent instead of relying on external prescriptions for conflict resolution. significance of the study the significance of this study could be gleaned from its theoretical and empirical perspectives. theoretically, the study is significant in the sense that it will add to the body of literature on au and conflict resolution in africa with special perspective on the darfur crisis. in addition to this, the study adds to theory building through the provision of theoretical insights in understanding the dynamics of conflict resolution by regional bodies like the african union. empirically, the study is significant because it has provided strong evidence to show that there au has made several attempts to resolving the darfur conflict but has been constrained by institutional challenges. we are also convinced that the recommendations are useful to scholars and african leaders in redesigning strategies in the implementation of conflict resolution processes on the continent. 444 scope of the study the scope of this study is limited to the examination of the african union and conflict resolution in africa with particular emphasis on the conflict in the darfur region of southern sudan from 2004 to 2007. the concept of conflict resolution according to forsyth (2009), conflict resolution can be conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution in such a way that group members of parties to the conflict commit to resolving such conflict by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the other (e.g., intentions; reasons for holding certain beliefs) and by engaging in collective negotiation. miller (2003), posits that conflict resolution is “a variety of approaches aimed at terminating conflicts through the constructive solving of problems, distinct from management or transformation of conflict”. miall & wood-house (2001), contend that by conflict resolution, it is expected that the deeprooted sources of conflict are addressed and resolved, and behaviour becomes neither violent nor attitude hostile any longer, while structure of the conflict becomes fundamentally changed. in the understanding of mitchell & banks (1996), conflict resolution implies that conflict is bad; hence it is something that should not be encouraged. it also assumes that conflict is a short term phenomenon that can be “resolved” permanently through mediation or other intervention processes. for oguonu & ezeibe (2014), conflict resolution is a more comprehensive approach based on mutual problem sharing between the conflicting parties. according to sandole & van de merwe, (1993), conflict resolution presupposes that deeprooted causes of conflict are addressed so that the situation is no longer violent, hostile and exploitative. in the view of cornelius & faire (1989), conflict resolution elicits win-win solution and does not use coercion. mayer (2012), has argued that the way conflict is perceived and processed determines the type of resolution mechanism that could be employed is ending such conflict. the cognitive method, mayer (2012), argues can be used in conflict resolution if we understand how parties to a conflict understand and view it in terms of their beliefs, perspectives, understandings and attitudes. mayer also remarks that some social conflicts are anchored on emotions prompting parties to the conflict to expend so much emotional energy in pursuing their goals. in this type of conflict, mayer argues, one can employ the strategy of emotional resolution. he however, notes that this type of resolution is best suited in intra-personal conflicts rather than on large social conflicts. there is also the behavioural mechanism of conflict resolution, which relates to how parties to conflict behave or act towards their opponents. thus, rapoport (1989 and 1992), has noted that there is a wide range of methods and procedures for addressing conflicts such as negotiation, mediation, mediation-arbitration, diplomacy, and creative peacebuilding. according to roberts & ash (2009), the term conflict resolution may also be used interchangeably with dispute resolution, where arbitration and litigation processes are critically involved. the concept of conflict resolution can be thought to encompass the use of non-violent resistance measures by conflicted parties in an attempt to promote effective resolution. it is important to note here that although most scholars have tended to differentiate conflict resolution, conflict settlement and conflict management, this study uses these concepts interchangeably, essentially because whether it is management, settlement or resolution of conflict, the endpoint of these processes is to end conflict. hence, 445 in this study, conflict resolution covers the whole gamut of processes (management, mediation, negotiation, etc) that are usually deployed in ending any conflict situation whether in the work place or in the larger society. in the opinion of oguonu & ezeibe (2014), conflict management tends to focus more on mitigating or controlling the destructive consequences that emanate from a given conflict situation than on finding solution to the underlying issues causing the conflict. in the context of regional groupings like the au, such conflict management process typically involves the use of military force for deterrence or peacekeeping (oguonu & ezeibe, 2014). when we talk about conflict management, it is usually assumed that conflict is a long-term process which resolution may not be achieved immediately. in other words, the conflict has to be managed with tact and wisdom to avoid escalation so that in the final analysis it will be resolved. the notion of “management” suggests that people can be directed or controlled in order to reduce the volatility of the conflict than dealing with the real sources of the problem. the foregoing informs best (2005) assumption that “conflict management” is the process of reducing the negative and destructive capacity of conflict through a number of measures; and by working with and through the parties involved in that conflict. he equally opines that the term is sometimes can also be referred to as “conflict regulation”. by extension, the term covers other areas of handling “conflicts positively at different levels, including those efforts made to prevent conflict by being proactive” (best, 2005). the concept equally includes such other terms like conflict limitation, containment and litigation. it may also include “conflict prevention”. burton (1990) uses this phrase ‘conflict prevention’ to connote “containment of conflict through steps introduced to promote conditions in which collaborative and valued relationships control the behaviour of conflict parties”. in summary, conflict management seeks, in the main, to indicate the fact that conflict is inevitable, and that not all conflicts are resolvable. therefore, what those on mediation would do is to ‘manage’ and regulate them. mediation, according to udezo (2009), has been described as the voluntary, informal, non-binding process undertaken by an external party that fosters the settlement of differences or demands between directly interested parties. miall et al (1999), support this description by seeing mediation as, “the intervention of a third party; it is a voluntary process in which the parties retain control over the outcome (pure mediation), although it may include positive and negative inducements (mediation with muscle)”. mediation, therefore, is understood and taken as assistance by a third party (mediator) where the parties to a conflict admit that they are both committed to solving, but in which the mediator manages a negotiation process, but does not impose a solution on the parties. it is purely a voluntary process. mediation is a common skill that many people have, but which they hardly realize they do. simply put, the role of a mediator is to create the enabling environment for the parties to carry out dialogue sessions leading to the resolution of a pending conflict udezo, 2009). understanding african perspective of traditional conflict resolution according to ajayi (2014), before the advent of colonialism, traditional african communities had institutionalized codes or principles that guided conflict resolution. according to her, parties in disputes had confidence in the traditional structures and were ready to accept the verdict of such structures. these structures include the council of chiefs, the chief priests/priestesses (otherwise called the mouth of the gods), and strong secret cults that 446 wield enormous power and influence in the communities. these structures, according to ajayi (2014), existed in all traditional african communities, though under different names; and parties to a dispute were ever willing to submit themselves to the verdict of these constituted authorities. in an earlier work, poku (1998), had observed that such disputes could be inter-personal or between communities and states; but irrespective of the level at which the dispute occurred, parties were always willing to make their cases before these traditional authorities. muigua (2017), has also supported the above view. according to him, long before the coming of the white men, african traditional communities had their own conflict resolution mechanisms, which were geared towards fostering peaceful co-existence among and between the africans. existence of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms such as negotiation, reconciliation, mediation and others is evidence that these concepts are not new in africa (brock-utne 2001). they are practices that have been in application in africa for a long period. conflict resolution among the traditional african people was anchored on the ability of the people to negotiate. however, with the arrival of the colonialists; western notions of justice such as the application of the common law of england were introduced. the common law brought the court system, which, being adversarial, greatly eroded the traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. a misconception of the african communal way of life, conflict resolution institutions and prejudice against their traditional way of life saw the europeans introduce the western ideals of justice which were not based on political negotiations and reconciliation. in the opinion of bello & olutola (2016), traditional conflict resolution mechanism in africa is as old as human settlement on the continent. these traditional conflict resolution mechanisms are predicated on the people’s customs and traditions. according to bello & olutola (2016), the beauty of these traditional conflict resolution mechanisms is that they dig deep to unearth the core issues at stake or the underlying causes of the conflict; resolve them and “help to heal and restore broken relationships”. these mechanisms, argued bello & olutola (2016), constitute a sharp departure from the concept of justice introduced by western civilization in african communities. it has been argued also that the european idea of justice is fundamentally an “adversarial contention of evidence with the aim of ascertaining the guilty and the guiltless, thereby punishing the guilty. whereas the african approach implored the guilty to confess in order to start a healing process of reconciliation (tutu, 1999; fred-mensah, 2008). the importance of these traditional african models, according to cloudree (1999), is that whereas the european models emphasize punishment for the guilty, the african models emphasize confession of guilt by the guilty so that peace can be restored and the healing process initiated. the african models, according to osei-hwedie & rankopo (2000), focuses on the brotherhood of mankind where the guilty should be courageous to own up his guilt and confess before the gods to avoid generational consequences. the african belief in the potency of the gods and the tragedy that may follow is deeply-rooted; and this is why it is very effective. osei-hwedie & rankopo (2000), remarked that such african models are usually employed in informal social-cultural settings, either between individuals or states; and such models involve values, beliefs, attitudes and even suspicions. in doing this, brockutne (2001), argues that the underlying causes of conflict must be unraveled to portray common understanding of the past and present; re-build broken relationships, correct wrongs and restore justice. the objective of indigenous models of conflict resolution in africa is not 447 necessarily to accuse or punish offenders, but to settle disputes, heal wounded hearts and reach a compromise that may assist to improve future relationship (brock-utne 2001). why traditional conflict resolution mechanisms proved effective in pre-colonial africa there is unanimity of opinion among african scholars that african traditional conflict resolution mechanisms were very effective before the coming of colonialism; and many factors account for this effectiveness. scholars like muigua (2017), murithi (2006), bamikole (2012), mkangi (2012) and agulanna (2009) have at different times argued that such factors like the african belief in their common humanity, the cultivation of the spirit of “live-and-letlive” or what muigua (2017) referred to as the “principle of reciprocity” as well as mutual respect for one another provided the ground for the application of our traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. for instance, africans generally see themselves as one people, i.e. before the balkanization of africa and introduction of artificial boundaries by the colonial powers. the extended family system was instrumental to this feeling of oneness; and this is the reason why divisions among members of the community were not encouraged. muigua (2017), has tried to explain this concept of oneness among the africans through the swahili philosophy of “ubuntu” or “utu”, which means “one humanity”. among the igbo of nigeria, one can always hear them say: “we are one people; we are all igbo; and we are all one community”. this type of understanding about common humanity among the various peoples of africa has created significant bond between individuals and communities making it difficult for the other to contemplate violence. relying on the above assumption, murithi (2006), asserts that “peaceful coexistence was emphasized and conflicts in african traditional society were seen as a threat to the existence of the society itself”. in essence, argued bamikole (2012), traditional african society underscored corporate or communal interests as opposed to selfish ambitions or individualistic pursuits. individualistic ideals were introduced into the african people by the europeans in propagating the capitalist ideology (bamikole, 2012). mkangi, (2012); and ezenweke & nwadialor, (2013), have also argued that this principle of “common humanity” among africans “stressed the central value that, despite cultural and ethnic differences, human beings are basically the same and hence the african communal way of life”. by living in a communal setting, there was acceptance that every member of the community was entitled to access natural resources, with the result that this principle formed an integral aspect in resolving conflicts involving natural resources such as land mkangi, 2012). muigua (2017), reported the interview he conducted in the maasai region of kenya wherein it suggested by the respondents that before the introduction of colonial system of government in kenya, “there were few environmental conflicts among the maasai community because land, forest and water resources in the olden days were communally owned. the grazing lands, watering points, hunting grounds and the forests were accessed equally by the members of the particular clans that possessed them. thus, the scarcity or abundance of a resource was never a source of conflict as such”. the second factor that created a fertile ground for conflict resolution in africa was the principle of accommodation and reciprocity. hughes (2011), has noted that in the traditional african society there were “mutual exchange of privileges, goods, favours, obligations, among others”, which fostered peaceful coexistence and consequently eliminated the likelihood of wars and conflicts. if a community was facing a calamity, say famine or death of livestock, other communities would come to the aid of that particular community (hughes, 2011). this type of existence nurtured a culture of communal life, which fostered peaceful 448 relationships. this type of existence existed among the agikuyu ethnic group in kenya; among the igbo and yoruba of nigeria; and other african traditional societies. this principle emphasized a sense of collective security through a social set up, which supported an egalitarian social living. among the several african communities, it is believed that if you assist your neighbour; that neighbour would reciprocate in future. in addition to the foregoing, there was also the deep attachment to core traditional family values by africans. one of such core traditional family values in africa, according to acquah (2011), is respect towards parents, elders, ancestors and the environment. this value was cherished and well-entrenched in the customs, traditions and taboos. strong traditions, customs and norms fostered respect and wayward members of the community faced disastrous consequences, such as the imposition of fines and other penalties. this way, religion played a central role in shunning conflict-causing conduct. respect was codified in taboos and the concept of social distance which regulated “what one could do, whom to talk to and how to relate to one another according to one’s sex, age and status.” in this way, social conflicts were avoided and resolved through respect that people had for one another, parents, elders, the ancestors and even to the environment (mkangi, 2012). examples of traditional institutions of conflict management according to osei-hwedie & rankopo (2012), muli (2006), rabar & karimi (2004) and murithi (2006), there are several traditional institutions for conflict resolution in africa such as the family institution, village assembly of the community, age grade systems, council of elders, women groups (such as umuada in igbo culture), secret cults and masquerade cults. these systems have worked well in most african societies. for instance, among the igbo ethnic group of nigeria, the family is the smallest social institution and the first point of socialization. osei-hwedie & rankopo (2012), have remarked that the family is a major institution in conflict management. in a general sense, the family consists of the man and his wife or wives, and the children. but in africa, this definition of the family has limiting connotations. the africans maintain an extended family system which admits people beyond the nuclear family. among many african societies like the igbo of nigeria, pokot and turkana of kenya, the extended family is the first institution of conflict management and resolution. as muli (2006), remarked, a dispute that cannot be resolved in the immediate family is taken to the extended family or what the igbo call the “umunna”. if any party to a dispute is dissatisfied with the verdict of the family or extended family, the party can appeal to the council of elders or the village assembly, which is the highest decision-making organ of the community. this assembly has enormous powers including the power to declare war or call for truce or negotiations. the council of elders in igboland, according to ezeogidi (2019), is a veritable structure for conflict management. when a case is brought before the council of elders, each disputant is allowed to address the council on the matter. after addressing the council, the disputants are asked to withdraw from the venue and come back on an appointed time. at the withdrawal, the council would demand for inputs from members. at the end of inputs from members, a unanimous resolution or judgment is agreed upon. on the appointed time, the judgment is pronounced to the disputants and blames and penalties are apportioned. this is done after each side of the case has been thoroughly examined. this system has been employed in conflict resolution in other african societies such as the pokot and turkana ethnic groups in kenya. similar structures like the gracaca and matooput have been deployed for effective conflict resolution in rwanda and uganda 449 respectively. wahab (2018), has also studied the judiyya system in darfur region of sudan. among the various groups in sudan, including darfur, the judiyya system represents an indigenous model of conflict resolution. this system is closely embedded in deep-seated cultural facts; and the elders play significant roles in managing and resolving conflicts. we shall examine this model in detail in section four of this study. understanding the context of the darfur conflict according to hassan (2010), the conflict, which has engulfed darfur since 2003 is representative of a complex and multi-layered situation, whose internal and external dimensions are too intertwined to respond to the tools of standard analysis? western discourse, asserts hassan (2010), promotes a collection of myths and claims that fail the test of reality. it encourages theories such as ethnic cleansing, forced migration and racial divisions between arabs and africans, which is a form of propaganda warfare in all its forms and shapes (flint & de waal, 2005). that ideological turn, loaded with the intellectual and mythical bias, which entered the world after the 11 september 2001 attacks in the united states, unjustifiably pushed the world community to adopt particular stances and policies that have impeded the process of serious negotiations about darfur. according to o’fahey (2008), the name darfur in arabic means "the land of the fur". historically, it was an islamic sultanate located in the western sudan. the fur were the ruling ethnic group in the darfur region before1916. the fur began to be converted to islam in the 1300s. in 1596ad, the darfur sultanate was established with islam declared as the state religion. the darfur sultanate remained independent through various conflicts in the sudan, including the anglo-egyptian conquest of the sudan in1898, before finally being subjugated by the british in 1916and made part of western sudan (o’fahey, 2008). darfur's long history of independence, and its resistance to various other groups seeking control of all of sudan, should be taken into consideration to properly understand the present situation. hoile (2005) avers that darfur is home to some 80 tribes and ethnic groups divided between nomads and sedentary communities. the rebels, hoile (2005) maintains, seem to be drawn from within mainly three communities of the fur, massalit and the zaghawa tribes. the war has inevitably focused upon those areas of darfur within which the insurgents chose to base themselves. as has been the case in countless wars, many civilians have chosen to flee and remove themselves from these war zones. although the indigenous peoples of darfur (the fur, and several other ethnic groups) and the arabs have relatively distinct identities, they generally got along well until resources became scarce, then ethnicity and race became a factor in the conflict (cobham, 2005). hassan (2010) argues that darfur has historically been one of the most remote regions of sudan. even in normal circumstances, the region is hard to reach because it is so far from the capital, khartoum. tribal and ethnic conflicts are neither new nor uncommon. incidents of both small and large scale conflicts are recorded as far back as 1939 and they generally arise from disputes over access to natural resources like range lands and water points as well as livestock trespassing (grazing on farm lands), closure of herd routes and cattle raiding. larger conflicts normally emerge from tribal disputes, banditry and disputes with transnational migrating communities. the influx of modern small arms since the war in chad has increased the loss of life during such conflicts and caused polarization on ethnic lines. historically, north darfur and parts of west and south darfur have suffered recurrent droughts. crop yields have remained low and unpredictable due to erratic rainfall, pest infestation and the lack of agricultural inputs. livestock has also dwindled due to pasture and water scarcity. the 450 local labour force has continued to migrate in search of employment leaving behind children, women and the elderly. a combination of these factors over several years has systematically eroded the coping capacities of communities (hoile, 2005). the pattern of conflict changed from low-intensity, small-scale outbreaks from the1950s to the1970s, to high-intensity, persistent and large-scale battles in the mid-1980s. according to o’fahey (2008), these conflicts have included those between the rezegat and maaleya (1968), salamat and taayesha (1980), binihelba and meharya (1980), zaghawa and gamar (1989). the prolonged drought that began in 1983 drove nomadic zaghawa and arab groups southwards into the central fur region of jebel marra. by the time of the 1989 peace conference, several thousand tribesmen had died, tens of thousands had been displaced and about 40,000 homes destroyed (o’fahey, 2008). these conflicts have been between nomadic and sedentary communities, and amongst and within nomadic and pastoralists. there has also been an additional source of instability in darfur. although the ethnically diverse people of darfur were all muslims and have a very strong sense of belonging to the sudan, a sizeable minority also feel affinity with related groups in neighboring chad. according to hoile (2005), in early 2003, two armed groups waged war in darfur against the government of sudan. these groups, the sudan liberation army (sla) and the justice and equality movement (jem), began the war with attacks on towns, government facilities and civilians in darfur. several hundred policemen were murdered and more than eighty police stations were destroyed in attacks. this resulted in a security vacuum which further distorted civil society in darfur with numerous communities responding in their own ways. the conflict subsequently spiraled out of control and has resulted in many deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians in sudan. many others have fled into neighboring chad. a growing humanitarian crisis ensued. the rebel movements in darfur, contends cobham (2005), have claimed that they are fighting against underdevelopment and marginalization. every part of sudan, north, south, east and west is underdeveloped and darfur has been the focus of considerable government attention. these claims should be better understood in terms of the nature of political participation, with the government in sudan trying to introduce a federal model of government. other sectors like education, healthcare delivery, water and power supplies as well as transport infrastructure in darfur have received attention from the government. the conflict in darfur presents a very complex situation with very complex problems, and understanding of which has already been made more difficult by the propaganda, which invariably accompanies war. the region is home to some 80 tribes and ethnic groups divided between nomads and sedentary communities. the rebels appear to have been identified within two or three communities of the fur, massalit and the zaghawa tribes which straddle the sudan-chad border. there are many dimensions to the conflictregional, national and international. but, environmental factors such as encroaching desertification have led to considerable tension between nomads and more established farming communities. the inter-tribal violence that has taken place in darfur has, nevertheless, been portrayed by some anti-government activists and some international media and ngos as "ethnic cleansing" and even "genocide". the activities of nomadic arab tribesmen known as the "janjaweed" have come into sharp focus. it is claimed that they are sponsored by the government. it is unclear exactly how much control anyone has over the "janjaweed" gunmen, except their tribal leaders (hoile, 2005). 451 all wars lead to human rights violations. the conflict in darfur has been no exception. and as is so often the case in war, the conflict has inevitably been caught up in the propaganda and misinformation that comes with it and that has certainly characterized previous coverage of sudan. in its wake, efforts at conflict resolution will be hampered and the palpable presence of ethnic hostility will indeed constitute a concrete and tangible cause of future violent confrontations; and this is the challenge that the au must deal with (hassan, 2010). the african union (au): an overview the african union, contends asogwa (2013), originated from the defunct organization of african unity (oau), which was established on 25 may 1963 in addis ababa by 32 independent african states. asogwa (2013), further observed that despite its lofty aspirations and the fire of pan-africanism, the oau became a constant victim of various crises that threatened its very foundation and thus failed to deliver on its promises. it will be recalled that one of the major aims of the organization was to promote sustainable african development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of african economies. unfortunately, the oau failed to live up to expectation (meredith, 1984; murithi, 2005). in the opinion of asogwa (2013), the major failure of the oau was its inability to drive regional integration; maintain peace and ensure security and political stability on the continent. thus, by september 1999, african leaders had come to the conclusion that the oau as then structured was incapable of meeting the challenges of continental development and integration in a multi-polar world and therefore resolved to create a new continental body that would meet its needs. thus was born the african union (au), a pan-african organization whose goal is to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperitythe au, according to salim (2001), seeks to address the many challenges confronting africa through the broad framework of nepad. the establishing instrument of the au is significantly different from the charter of the oau in that it laid strong emphasis on democracy, rule of law, good governance; promotion of social justice and gender equality as well as balanced economic development. the constitutive act of the au retained some salient features of the oau charter such as the principle of non-interference but provided a caveat to encourage such intervention. for example, items (h) and (j) of article 4 of the constitutive act upholds the right of the union to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the assembly in respect of grave circumstances namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity; and also the right of member states to request intervention from the union in order to restore peace and security. the constitutive act of the au expanded the scope and mandate of the union and consequently established about nine organs as against four established by the defunct oau. au intervention in darfur prior to the emergence of the au, the predecessor, oau, could not intervene in the darfur crisis because of the principle of non-interference in its charter (ikunyua, 2010). it was, therefore, the transformed au, which had discarded the principle of non-interference that saw and appreciated the human tragedy that the darfur crisis had become and resolved to get involved. lacking sufficient political will to intervene more directly, the international community decided to delegate responsibility for darfur to the african union, in what chin and morgenstein (2005) termed an “african solution to an african problem”. this was the background under which the african union was given the responsibility for overseeing the peace negotiations already going on in sudan; and for deploying an intervention force on the 452 ground. chin and morgenstein (2005), agree that the peace efforts yielded result because on april 8, 2004 the sudanese government, sla and jem signed a ceasefire agreement and a month later a ceasefire commission (cfc) was established to monitor the ceasefire. it was based on the foregoing that the au in its 10th meeting of july 27th 2004, through its peace and security council (psc) discussed darfur; and thereupon requested its chairperson to prepare a plan for making the african mission in sudan (amis) more effective. it emphasized the importance of disarming and neutralizing the janjaweed militias, protecting civilians, and facilitating humanitarian assistance, and raising the possibility of an au peacekeeping mission (au, 2004). although psc decisions are legally binding on au members, the organization soon realized that at least a tacit cooperation with the sudan government was needed for successful deployment. the implication of this tacit agreement, noted icg (2005), was the limiting of the scope of union’s activities to those areas acceptable to the government. as a result, the psc retreated from its initial concept and on 20 october 2004 decided that the mission mandate should be to monitor compliance with the 8 april 2004 humanitarian ceasefire agreement and subsequent agreements and assist in confidence-building amongst others. irrespective of the several gains score by the au in darfur, experts are of the opinion that the amis was incapable of delivering on its mandate for several reasons. in many parts of south sudan violence has broken out between rival groups. according to the icg (2005), the observed limitations are partially a consequence of au inexperience in peacekeeping and the nascent stage of its psc mechanisms, particularly in mission management and force generation. but beyond these institutional problems, the au military operations in darfur faced constraints that would hamstring even the most experienced peacekeeping force: an inadequate mandate, insufficient forces and capabilities, and political failure to acknowledge that the sudanese government has consistently failed to meet its responsibilities to neutralize the militias and protect its citizens (icg, 2005). gap in literature that africans place much on the capacity of the au to resolve the various conflicts plaguing the continent is not in doubt. so much has been written concerning the au and conflict resolution in africa but it would appear that majority of these writings are from outside africa with few african scholars lending their voices. au conflict resolution mechanisms have always been developed outside the continent and we merely adopt them without local input. apart from the several factors identified in literatures regarding the limitations of the au and its conflict resolution strategies, one noticeable gap in the literature is the paucity of african grown strategies. before colonial contact, africans have internal mechanisms for conflict resolution. for instance, among the igbo and yoruba of nigeria the institutions of the extended family, village assembly, council of elders and even secret cults were used for conflict management and resolution. among the rwanda people the traditional system of gacacia was used in conflict resolution; the mato-oput was used in uganda while in darfur, the judiyya traditional system was deployed. each of these traditional mechanisms proved effective in conflict resolution in the societies where they were employed. the aim of this study, therefore, is to highlight the relevance of these traditional conflict resolution mechanisms in addressing the darfur conflict, which many scholars have ignored. 453 theoretical framework this study is anchored on the social identity theory (sit), which was propounded by the social psychologists, henri tajfel and john turner in the 1970s. this theory describes the conditions under which social identity becomes more important than one’s identity as an individual. the theory also specifies the ways in which social identity can influence intergroup behaviour. it describes the cognitive processes related to social identity and how social identity impacts intergroup behaviour. social identity theory is built on three key cognitive components namely: social categorization, social identification, and social comparison. generally, individuals wish to maintain a positive social identity by maintaining their group’s favourable social standing over that of relevant out-groups. in-group favouritism can result in negative and discriminatory outcomes, but research demonstrates that in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination are distinct phenomena, and one does not necessarily predict the other. social identity theory specifies three mental processes individuals go through to make in-group or out-group classifications. the first process, social categorization, is the process by which we organize individuals into social groups in order to understand our social world. this process enables us to define people, including ourselves, on the basis of the groups to which we belong. we tend to define people based on their social categories more often than their individual characteristics. social categorization generally results in an emphasis on the similarities of people in the same group and the differences between people in separate groups. one can belong to a variety of social categories, but different categories will be more or less important depending on social circumstances. the second process, social identification, is the process of identifying as a group member. socially identifying with a group leads individuals to behave in the way that they believe members of that group should behave. through this process, people become emotionally invested in their group memberships. consequently, their self-esteem is impacted by the status of their groups. the third process, social comparison, is the process by which people compare their group with other groups in terms of prestige and social standing. in order to maintain self-esteem, one must perceive his or her in-group as having a higher social standing than an out-group. in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination are often viewed as two sides of the same coin. however, research has shown that this is not necessarily the case. there is not a systematic relationship between the positive perception of one’s in-group and the negative perception of out-groups. helping in-group members while withholding such help from outgroup members differs significantly from actively working to harm out-group members. in-group favouritism can result in negative outcomes, from prejudice and stereotypes to institutional racism and marginalization. however, such favouritism does not always lead to hostility towards out-groups. research demonstrates that in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination are distinct phenomena, and one does not necessarily predict the other (brewer, 2010). applicability and relevance of the theory to the study a befitting framework for understanding the darfur conflict is the social identity theory; and there are reasons for adopting this theoretical framework. first is that the complex history of 454 identity formation in darfur, which provides rich material for the creation of new ethnic identities. secondly, internal polarization began with some of darfur’s arabs. exposed to the islamist-arabism of sudan, drawing upon the arab lineage ideology, the arabs in darfur have adopted an arab supremacist ideology. in the real sense we can better understand the darfur conflict from the prism of social identity, which has pitted various groups against each other as “us” and “them”. hypotheses 1) the implementation of external solutions by the au to the darfur conflict and other conflicts in africa has been very ineffective 2) the au have ignored traditional african conflict resolution mechanisms in preference for external prescriptions research design we adopted the case study variant of the descriptive research design for this study. this research design is useful in describing the characteristics of a population. in this study, we are concerned with the darfur region of sudan. this type of research design helped the researcher in collecting data that were used in answering the research questions posed; bearing in mind that the main aim of any research is to understand and answer the research problems. the descriptive research design helped us in answering the questions of what is happening in darfur, why is it happening, how is to happening, where and when it happened. descriptive research design helps a researcher gain a deeper knowledge of the research problem. methods of data collection we adopted the method of secondary sources of data generated journals and books, internet materials and official publications of the african union and its agencies and those of other relevant multilateral institutions involved in resolving the darfur conflict such as the united nations and the european union. this study relied extensively on secondary sources of data method of data analysis in the study, we adopted the qualitative descriptive method in analyzing our data. qualitative descriptive analysis essentially has to do with summarizing the information generated in a research, so that appropriate analytical methods could be used to further discover relationship among the variables. the adoption of the foregoing analytical method was necessary because the study principally relied on secondary sources of data. extent of au’s response to the darfur conflict au’s political strategy of response to the darfur crisis it has been argued by bah (2010), that the pattern and nature of au’s intervention in the darfur conflict was defined by so many factors. these factors revolve around deficit political strategies by the au, conflict of interests between countries in the sub-sahara and north africa regarding resolutions on darfur and most importantly the response that attended the indictment of former president al-bashir of sudan by the international criminal court on war crimes. in concrete terms, this section of the study explored the complexities surrounding the au’s response against the backdrop of a regional approach to what had fundamentally become an international problem. according to bah (2010), the darfur crisis was internationalized 455 because of vocal advocacy by civil society and human rights groups, and allegations of war crimes and genocide, warranting an international response. the analyses in this section focuses on how the au’s political strategy of pursuing dialogue between the parties was contradicted and undermined by the policies of some of its members, especially from north africa, the league of arab states (las) and the international criminal court (icc). although divisions between arab and sub-saharan members of the au were less evident in the debates and voting patterns in the peace and security council (psc), they made themselves felt in the un security council (unsc), where arab members of the council particularly qatar and algeria, either voted against actions directed at the government of sudan or, at best, abstained. the voting patterns and policy positions of north african members of the au in the unsc failed to complement its peacemaking venture in darfur. emboldened by the support of these countries, the government of sudan failed to cooperate with the au by obstructing the operations of its peacekeeping mission, the african union mission in sudan (amis) despite having consented to its deployment. furthermore, the au’s efforts faltered due to the deteriorating political, humanitarian and security environment in darfur, exacerbated by splintering within the armed groups and a wavering commitment to a negotiated settlement on all sides. even when the whole world had interpreted what is going on in darfur as genocide, the au has been reluctant to describe the situation in darfur as genocide. as the conflict between government of sudan and the sudan people’s liberation army (spla) raged on for over two decades, long-standing tensions in darfur were neglected. meanwhile, negotiations led by the inter-governmental authority on development (igad) culminated in the comprehensive peace agreement (cpa) in january 2005, marking the end of africa’s longest running civil war; a conflict that had claimed the lives of approximately two million people and displaced millions more (bah, 2010). however, the marginalization of darfur meant that the celebrations marking the end of the north-south conflict were short-lived, as news of mass murder involving government soldiers and their infamous militia allies, the janjaweed, eclipsed the much-celebrated deal. in darfur, the government and janjaweed were pitted against the sudan people’s liberation army (spla) and the justice and equality movement (jem), the two groups that had taken up arms against the islamist government in early 2003. as international media attention began to turn to darfur, the gravity of the situation, with its scenes of death and destruction, was revealed to the world. images of violence evoked memories of earlier atrocities, most notably the rwandan genocide, leading to calls for intervention to avert a repeat of that tragedy. these calls gained momentum when former president george w. bush and secretary of state colin powell described the conflict as genocide. meanwhile, peace talks continued apace under the auspices of the au, culminating two years later in the darfur peace agreement (dpa), between the government of sudan and the spla led by mini minnawi. signed on 6 may, 2006, the dpa faced serious challenges from its inception primarily because it was a partial agreement that did not enjoy the support of the two other parties in the conflict the jem and the other spla faction led my abdoul wahid. the dpa was further undermined by the divisions among the armed groups along ethnic lines, pitting the zaghawa against others most notably, the fur, the largest ethnic group in darfur. this rift led to increased friction among the armed groups and their civilian sympathizers in the internally displaced persons’ camps, and indeed it continued to hinder efforts to reach a political settlement. 456 the darfur peace agreement (dpa) despite its flaws, the dpa attempted to address the contentious issues of security, power and wealth-sharing, but it failed as it was rejected by two key faction leaders and their followers in darfur. unsurprisingly, the post-dpa period witnessed an increased splintering of the rebel groups leading to the emergence of various armed factions with no clear political agenda, further complicating the situation. from the outset, implementation of the dpa proved to be a difficult challenge for the au, especially as the non-signatories viewed the union as biased due to its role in negotiating the agreement. this resulted in a marked increase in hostile action towards amis, hindering its activities. however, targeted attacks on the peacekeepers manifested a wider deterioration of security due to the weakening of the command and control structures of the rebel groups as a result of their fragmentation. the renewed fighting exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation. despite these challenges, the au established the dpa implementation team (dpa-it) with a mandate to spearhead implementation of the agreement. the dpa-it was to work closely with the chairperson of the darfur-darfur dialogue and consultation (dddc) team. the dddc team, modeled on the loya jirga in afghanistan, was to address issues ranging from security, claims of marginalization and exclusion and socio-economic development to reconciliation. the loya jirga, or traditional afghan grand council, was to elect a head of state for afghanistan's transitional administration, and propose its structure and key personnel. it was envisaged as a bottom-up approach to remedy some of the anomalies that resulted from the top-down approach of the abuja peace process. the central aim was to increase the local population’s sense of ownership of the peace process, thereby legitimizing it. moreover, it was meant to encourage dialogue between the people of darfur. but, since the vast majority of the people had already rejected the dpa, efforts to convene the dddc were obstructed, undercutting the bottom-up peacemaking approach that had been envisaged. for its part, the psc endorsed the dpa and set a deadline for the non-signatories to sign up or face sanctions (communiqué of 51st meeting of psc/min.comm/1, may, 2006). unsurprisingly, these groups failed to comply, forcing the psc to impose targeted sanctions including a travel ban and asset freeze of the leadership of the factions who were now viewed as spoilers (communiqué of the 58th meeting of the psc/min/comm (lviii), june, 2006). but the sanctions were largely symbolic since the au lacked the leverage and mechanism to enforce them. additionally, the move put the au at loggerheads with the affected groups, who were already skeptical about its role. consequently, disagreements about the dpa weakened the au’s mediation efforts, plunging the entire peace process into disarray. meanwhile, the inter-sudanese peace talks in abuja that culminated in the dpa were plagued by differences between the au and un, the other partner in the peace process. these differences were not helped by the personality clashes between the two leading mediators, salim ahmed salim and jan pronk of the au and un respectively (bah, 2010). while the un favoured a step-by-step approach, the au aimed for a comprehensive agreement because the parties had signed earlier agreements, which in its view, was already the basis for a final settlement. while these differences were minor, the mediation efforts faltered due to what some have described as deadline diplomacy and a lack of commitment from the parties. there was undue emphasis throughout the talks in concluding negotiations even after the parties had repeatedly demonstrated a lukewarm commitment to the peace process and the will to implement any subsequent agreement. this situation was summed up by the head of the au mediation team sam ibok, when he stated that ‘…our experience over the past sixteen 457 months has led us to conclude that there is neither good faith nor commitment on the part of any of the parties’ (de-waal, 2007). nonetheless, the pressure to conclude the negotiations was intense due to a combination of factors. the donors, most notably, the united states, britain, canada and the eu, who funded the talks, repeatedly threatened to withhold their financial support if the parties failed to reach an agreement. these donors and the un believed that signing an agreement would pave the way for a transition from the underresourced amis to a more comprehensive un peace operation. this logic was flawed, because even after the dpa, the government of sudan refused to consent to the transition. the government of sudan’s intransigence over the transition, coupled with the anti-dpa propaganda by the non-signatories, exposed the weakness of ‘deadline diplomacy’ (de-waal, 2007). the emergence of au-un hybrid peacekeeping mission in darfur the growing insecurity and additional tasks included in the mandate of the dpa served as strong arguments for a transition from amis to a un force. the under-resourced au peacekeepers had proved incapable of addressing the mounting security problems. consequently, the psc decided on a ‘…transition from amis to a un operation, within the framework of the partnership between the au and the united nations’ (communiqué of the 45th meeting of the peace and security council, addis ababa, ethiopia psc/pr/comm. (xlv), 12 january 2006). however, it stressed that this transition should take place only with the consent of the government of sudan and on the understanding that the african character of the un-mission would be maintained, including its composition and leadership (communiqué of the 46th meeting peace and security council, addis ababa, ethiopia, psc/min/comm. (xlvi), 10 march 2006). if these caveats were meant to appease the government of sudan, they did not; president bashir rejected the proposal, arguing that the au lacked the mandate to handover its mission to another organization. disagreements over the proposed transition proved to be a major sticking point, highlighting the challenges facing the au in bringing round intransigent members. for its part, the unsc welcomed the psc’s decision and requested that the secretary-general draw up contingency plans to explore options for a handover to the un (statement by the president of the security council, s/prst/2006/05, 3 february, 2006). during this period, the unsc visited sudan and chad with the aim of boosting the dpa and paving the way for the proposed transition. the council held high-level consultation meetings with members of the government of national unity, including president al-bashir. it also met with the senior leadership of the au and amis and held its first joint session with the psc in addis ababa, ethiopia. despite their efforts, president al-bashir reiterated his objection, particularly to the deployment of a un mission under chapter vii, which in his view would have amounted to the recolonization of sudan. he cited resolution 1679 (2006), adopted under chapter vii, as an example of bad faith by the international community. nonetheless, the unsc outlined a seven-stage process that would culminate in the deployment of un blue helmets (report of the security council mission to the sudan and chad, s/2006/433, 4-10 june 2006). the plan included the provision of additional resources to amis to ensure that there was no gap during the transition period. resolution 1706 and the afro-arab vote as the debate on the transition of the amis to un peacekeeping force continued, the security council adopted resolution 1706 on august 31st 2006; expanding the mandate of 458 the united nations mission in sudan (unamis) to include deployments in darfur. twelve members of the council, including the african member states, ghana, which co-sponsored the resolution along with congo and tanzania, voted in favour of the resolution, while china, russia and qatar, the only arab country represented on the unsc, all abstained, pointing to potential obstacles to its implementation. both china and russia have strong interests in sudan regarding oil and armaments respectively; and so it was difficult to see how these two countries could put pressure on the government of sudan without jeopardizing their relationship. additionally, china repeated its usual refrain of not interfering in the internal affairs of member states, breaking ranks with the rest of the unsc and advocating a “softly-softly approach”. as will be seen later, the reluctance of these countries to put pressure on sudan was mirrored on the question of the international criminal court (icc) indictment of president al-bashir. in fact, china was one of four security council members – with brazil, algeria, and the united states that abstained during the adoption of resolution 1593 (2005) referring sudan to the icc. qatar’s abstention was less surprising, since the league of arab states (las), of which it is a member, had repeatedly voiced its support for the government of sudan, including its rejection of the proposed transition from amis to unamis. both the las and government of sudan either boycotted or sent low-level officials to the final deliberations leading up to resolution 1706. they questioned the appropriateness of the resolution. meanwhile, las’s refusal to release the report of its fact-finding mission to darfur in 2005 raised questions about its willingness to criticize one of its own. las’s support for the government of sudan has been viewed by some as a clear case of ‘double standards’, on three counts. first and foremost, the vast majority of the victims in darfur are muslims. second, there has been a stark contrast between the usual activism and public manifestations of anger by the las and the arab public over the ‘plight’ of muslims, whether in bosnia, chechnya, palestine or kashmir, and the response to the darfur crisis, where a deafening silence is all that has been heard. third, the absence of financial and humanitarian support for the au peacekeeping mission and the large numbers of internally displaced persons by las was a further manifestation of the group’s indifference to the crisis. for his part, president al-bashir sharply criticized the african members of the unsc for supporting what his government viewed as a neo-colonial agenda; this, despite the fact that the au, with the consent of sudan, was leading peacemaking efforts in darfur. in playing the neo-colonial card, president al-bashir was hoping to win the sympathy of au members, but this discourse failed to resonate with the vast majority of members. the impact of al-bashir indictment by the icc on aau’s m\mission in darfur the warrant of arrest issued for president al-bashir by the icc on 4 march 2009, added another complex layer to the crisis, threatening to overshadow not only efforts to deploy the hybrid au-un force, unamis – a process that has been painfully slow – but to erode progress in terms of the implementation of the cpa. there were also concerns that differences between the unsc and the psc over the indictment could complicate their evolving partnership with negative consequences for the faltering peace process in darfur. the decision split the two councils, as the psc made repeated requests to the unsc to suspend the warrant by invoking article 16 of the rome statute. to their surprise, their requests failed to elicit a positive response from the unsc. 459 three permanent members of the security council the uk, u.s. and france insisted that the icc process should be allowed to run its course. for the most part, the trio maintained their support for the indictment, despite the ambivalence of president nicolas sarkozy of france, who in several moments offered to support a suspension of the indictment if sudan agreed to meet certain conditions, including full cooperation with unamis. these offers however, elapsed but had the unintended effect of widening the rift between the two councils because the psc felt that the unsc might have considered france’s request for a suspension based on the usual quid-pro-quo, which operates among the five permanent members of the unsc, having conspicuously ignored its own requests. the u.s., though not a state party to the icc, under both president bush and president obama supported the indictment. however, china and russia, the other two permanent members of the unsc, expressed doubts about the efficacy of the move arguing that the government of sudan should be given time to deal with what both countries perceived as a domestic affair. but despite their objections neither offered to champion the au’s call for a suspension of the indictment. although the au did not object to the indictment per se, it expressed concern at the poor timing which, in its view, could exacerbate the darfur crisis; this, despite two african members of the security council (benin and tanzania) voting in support of the referral in 2005. the third au member on the unsc, algeria, abstained in the vote on resolution 1593 (2005), which was adopted with 11 votes and 4 abstentions). the au was also concerned that the timing would complicate peacemaking efforts in darfur and potentially undermine the cpa and expressed fears about the safety of unamis personnel, the bulk of whom are africans. the establishment of au high-level panel on darfur the establishment of an independent high-level panel on darfur (aupd) by the psc following the issue of the arrest warrant for president bashir was perhaps the most practical step the au took in facing up to the dilemma. the panel, consisting of eminent africans, was mandated to “examine the situation in depth and submit recommendations to the council on how best the issues of accountability and combating impunity on the one hand, and reconciliation and healing on the other, could be effectively and comprehensively addressed” (ogunbayo, 2009). the panel was established against the backdrop of a growing concern among african leaders of what they perceive as the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction. these concerns were described by a 2008 au summit as ‘a development that could endanger international law, order and security’ pointing to what the summit viewed as the political nature of legal proceedings initiated by non-african judges, most notably from france and spain, against officials in the current government of rwanda, including president paul kagame (report of the commission on the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction, doc.ex.cl/411 (xiii), 3 july 2008). the panel marked an important step in the au’s response to the icc decision and the need to strike an appropriate balance between dealing with impunity and promoting peace and reconciliation. the au was faced with the challenge of treading the fine line between upholding its principles on the one hand, and promoting peace and reconciliation on the other. the un had plugged the gap in the absence of an au framework and/or capacity to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice through ad hoc institutions such as the 460 international criminal tribunal for rwanda (ictr) and the special court for sierra leone (scsl). based on the foregoing, the au was reluctant to cooperate with the icc on this account. the au’s decision not to cooperate with the icc came as little surprise given the support of au chairperson and then libyan president, colonel muammar gadaffi, for president albashir and the former’s staunch opposition to the icc. but efforts to present the decision as one based on consensus failed as several states botswana, ghana, chad and later south africa distanced themselves from the decision, promising to abide by their treaty obligations. thus, the au’s decision not cooperate with the icc was directed at the unsc for being unresponsive to its request, with the icc being the immediate casualty of the failed dialogue between the two organizations. the arab response unsurprisingly, arab members of the au and the las were unanimous in rejecting the icc decision. like the au, the las called on the unsc to suspend and even drop the indictment. driven by different interests and motivations, the au and the las found common ground in their opposition to the icc decision. while the position of the au is somewhat surprising, the same cannot be said of the las, which had backed the government of sudan even in the face of evidence of war crimes in darfur. las member states including qatar, algeria, and libya either openly supported president al-bashir or at best abstained during voting at the unsc. this seriously compromised any impartial peacemaking role that the las or its individual members could play in the future. the involvement of any of these states would require a great deal of confidence-building with the armed groups in darfur. lacking any feasible operational role given its internal dysfunctions, the las could have exerted more political leverage on the government of sudan than any other organization, including the au. but the opportunity was squandered. that the las provided minimal financial and humanitarian support to amis and the internally displaced in darfur was another manifestation of its indifference to the plight of civilians caught in the crisis. in fact, canada alone provided more financial and logistical support to amis than the 22 members of las put together (mackie et.al, 2006). this, at a time, when some members of las, most notably saudi arabia and the gulf states, were reaping the benefits of the oil bonanza, something that has raised a lot of troubling questions. the question on everybody’s lips, but which few dare to ask openly, is whether the fact that the victims in darfur are black africans albeit predominantly muslim shaped the position of arab states and arab public opinion? weighed against las’s consistent condemnation of the suffering of muslims elsewhere in the world, the answer is somewhat obvious. las’s open support for the government of sudan, repeating ad nauseam al-bashir’s position that the conflict is nothing more than a tribal war between pastoral tribes demonstrated its bias as it contributed to distorting the real causes of the conflict. indeed libyan president, colonel gadaffi, went so far as to describe the conflict as a “quarrel over a camel” (bbc news, 2007). the au and alternative conflict resolution mechanism indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms in africa in a well-researched work by castro & ettenger (1996), it has been demonstrated that regional institutions like the au can leverage on indigenous knowledge of the histories of groups in conflict to manage and resolve conflict situations. here, “indigenous knowledge” is portrayed as a repertoire of ideas and actions from which community members, faced with 461 specific problems, can draw upon, depending on their level of knowledge, their preferences, and their ability and motivation to act to resolve their differences. thus, it involves improvisation and flexibility in response to ongoing conditions. dispute processing is similarly characterized as a repertoire of processes, which communities and their members respond to dynamically and differentially. the argument here is that social groups often, not only have their own customary legal orders, but also have access to state or other legal systems. while communities may be able to appeal to different legal orders, not all people have equal access to all options. in general, all legal orders rely, to varying extents, on the same basic procedural modes to handle disputes: avoidance, coercion, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and adjudication. in their work, castro & ettenger (1996), presented four case studies to show that social groups can explore indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms to sort out their differences rather than depending on what others suggest or imposed on them. history indicates that africa has the highest rate of violent conflicts in the world (nwadike & ekeanyanwu, 2012). these conflicts range from land/border disputes, resource control, ethnic cleavages to wars of liberation, to mention a few. moreover, africa’s conflict theatre seems to have taken a new dimension since the end of the cold war, with independence struggles, ethno-religious conflicts, and intra/inter-state wars taking the centre stage. for example, during the four decades between the 1960s and the 1990s, there have been about 80 violent changes of governments in the 48 sub-saharan african countries (bujra, 2002). beginning with the sudanese conflict, countries such as democratic republic of congo, angola, ethiopia, mozambique, somalia, uganda, zimbabwe, namibia, nigeria and eritrea took centre stages from the 1960s to 1970s. although there were restoration of peace in majority of them, other countries including sudan, democratic republic of congo, angola, mozambique, uganda experienced a reversion from the 1980s with new ones such as chad and liberia, and worsened in the 1990s in angola, mozambique, sudan, liberia, sierra leone, rwanda, cameroun, somalia, burundi, guinea and cote d’ivoire (bello & olutola, 2016). almost one third of the world’s genocides between 1960 and 1988 (eleven of thirty-five) took place in africa (harff & gurr, 1988). consolidating the statistics, uppsala survey argued that the period between 1990 and 2002 witnessed the intensification of wars and armed conflicts in africa. as of february 2008, there were only five active wars ongoing in the continent; sudan (darfur region), kenya (post-election violence between december 2007 and february 2008), somalia (excluding somaliland), dr congo (eastern region) and chad. between 2010 and 2013, there were armed conflicts in cote d’ivoire, mali, equatorial guinea and central african republic with awful consequences, generating intervention at the regional, extraregional and international levels. these variables and indicators portend one thing: to present africa as a continent of deep horror, with people who cannot live peaceably among themselves and ungovernable (nwadike & ekeanyanwu, 2012). unfortunately however, the dilemma confronting africa today is not really the occurrence of the conflict in the real sense, but how to resolve them in such a manner as to prevent the past ones from re-occurring and also contain the present ones from escalating and degenerating into full-scale wars. since conflict is path of human interaction, the choice of right methods/instruments, appropriate techniques and suitable strategies for its resolution in africa is one issue of concern to various stakeholders. besides, most of the numerous conflict resolution strategies adopted were of western configurations, thus excluding the indigenous 462 mechanisms. unfortunately, africa’s indigenous methods of conflict resolution have recorded tremendous results for decades, even in post-cold war era. what are these methods? how effective are they? can they be deployed in today’s conflict theatre? who are the actors? in this section, we have examined two major indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution in africa, namely: the mato-oput of northern uganda; and the gacaca court system of rwanda. conflict resolution in africa there is no gainsaying the fact that conflict resolution aims to address causes of conflict and seeks to build new relationships by helping parties to a conflict to explore, analyze, question and reframe their positions and interests. resolution helps in alleviating, eliminating or transforming actual and potential violent conflict into peaceful (non-violent) processes for social development, human safety and political change. conflict resolution helps in moving contending parties from the destructive patterns of zero-sum conflict to positive (win-win) constructive outcomes (miall, 2004). conflict resolution, therefore, becomes a process that leads the action-system to a state where the conditions of conflict are no longer present; the system must no longer have two or more incompatible goal-states (galtung, 1965). within this context, solutions to such conflicts must be mutually acceptable, self-perpetuating and sustaining to all parties concerned because deep-rooted sources of conflict are addressed, behaviours are changed towards non violence, attitudes are no longer hostile, and structures are no longer exploitative (klare, 2001). based on the foregoing, africa has tried to resolve its numerous conflicts by extensively relying on prescriptions from the western powers, many of who colonized africa in the past. it is on this standpoint that several actors engage in africa’s conflict resolution design (midodzi & jaha 2011). starting with the nation-state, in which local and national initiatives are employed as the first level of response to conflict before other external interventions follow such as sub-regional bodies or continental bodies such as african union and other international frameworks such as the european union united nations. these organizations have been at the centre stage of conflict management and resolution globally, working through the security council, general assembly or special representatives (clapham 2001). the un charter explains the various means of resolving conflicts negotiation, third party intervention, mediation, arbitration, preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping operations and peace enforcement. a common trend in the above-mentioned strategies of conflict resolution is their top-down approach to resolving conflict in africa. the western-oriented systems imposed on african people are often framed in the context of the ‘liberal peace project.’ to sorbo & vale (1997), they were produced in the context of international peace, security and cooperation at the end of the cold war and therefore, focus exclusively on how members of the international community come to make, create and keep peace on the continent. it not only hides the contributions that traditional conflict management systems in africa can make towards ensuring peace but sometimes perpetuates conflict situations (albert, 2007). african indigenous models of conflict resolution the gacaca system in rwanda this indigenous system of conflict resolution in rwanda dates back to the 17th century. in this system, the king is seen as the link between the temporal and spiritual worlds. he is the highest arbitrator in the land; while the guardian of the tradition, also known as abiru helped in administering justice. there is also the village head or the inzu who superintends the 463 ancestral cult, arranged marriages, and controlled the collective title on land or cattle, among others. the uniqueness of the system is in the fact that societal problems are first addressed by the inzu, which is the lowest unit of the rwanda society in historical epoch. this practice became what is referred to as the gacaca gatherings. the word gacaca means ‘justice on the grasses’. the rationale behind the gathering however was the restoration of social harmony, the establishment of truth about an incidence, and the punishment of the perpetrator, or even compensation through a gift (werchick, 2003). however, colonialism suppressed this traditional system with the introduction of western legal system, but the gacaca system was still maintained as a conflict resolution mechanism at the grassroots level (reynljens 1990). in responding to the genocidal war at the international level, the un security council resolution 955 established the international criminal tribunal for rwanda (ictr) to prosecute individuals responsible for crimes of genocide and other violation of international law in order to ensure that these kinds of gross violation of human rights would not go unpunished. unfortunately, the relation between the ictr and the rwandan government has always been difficult, mostly because of the possibility that the tribunal might also investigate war crimes committed by rwandan patriotic front (rpf) soldiers and their commanders. hence, on rwandan soil, the ictr is portrayed and perceived an instance of the western way of doing justice highly inefficient, time consuming, expensive and not adapted to rwandan custom. the rwandan government established the gacaca law to indigenous courts with a mandate to try crime cases committed during the genocide. gacaca is an indigenous mechanism of conflict resolution that was originally practiced among the banyarwanda, who use it to resolve dispute at the grassroots level through dialogue and a community justice system. it is an intricate process based on custom, tradition, and social norms. truth telling is the fundamental principle of the gacaca system. the validity of evidence is cross-referenced or cross-examined by a number of witnesses in the community who can attest to alleged atrocity committed. the mato-oput in northern uganada this system of traditional conflict resolution is dominant among the acholi people of northern uganda and it is hinged on the understanding of conflict as a devastating phenomenon (wasonga 2009). the acholi people place the interest of the community first, and above their individual and group interests. their allegiances are also reflected in the celebration of life and belief in their ancestral spirit, otherwise referred to as jok who guide their moral standing. as it is practiced, when a wrong is committed, the ancestor sends cen, the spirit of the dead person in the form of misfortune, unless the elders and the offender take appropriate action to restore the broken relationship. this phenomenon of cen illustrates the centrality of relationships between the natural and the supernatural world in acholi, the living and the dead, and the normative continuity between an individual and the community (wasonga 2009). the traditional acholi society has no formal or informal courts of law, so judgement depends upon the truth and a readiness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. these acholi principles are embodied in the practice of mato-oput. the word ‘mato’ means ‘drinking’ and “oput” is a type of tree with bitter herb. hence, mato-oput literally means ‘drinking of bitter herb,’ made from the leaves of the oput tree. the drinking of the bitter herbs symbolically means that the two conflicting parties accept the bitterness of the past and promise never to 464 taste such bitterness again (wasonga 2009). mato-oput is an indigenous approach to justice and the re-integration of offenders which involves mediation of truth, accountability and reconciliation through certain symbolic acts and spiritual appeasement (wasonga, 2009). this principle emphasizes the necessity of harmonious living and the restoration of social order in the society, especially after a typically long process of mediation between the two conflicting parties and only when the offender is willing to take responsibility. a cleansing ceremony or process is carried out especially in murder cases (which is a major breakdown of communal social fabrics). it is to appease the spirit of the dead in order to prevent being haunted by the spirit of the deceased. the judiyya system in sudan the existence of the judiyya traditional system of conflict resolution in sudan and especially in the tribal communities of darfur is a confirmation that african traditional system of conflict resolution was effective before the intrusion of colonialism. wahab (2018), has noted that the judiyya system has been effectively practiced for centuries in darfur before colonial contact. according to him, that system was relevant in maintaining peace and security among the various tribes in the region and entire sudan; and still relevant today only if the au would review and adopt it as a mechanism for resolving the darfur crisis. the judiyya traditional system is deeply-rooted in the culture of the sudanese people; and modelled after the council of elders as we see in the igbo system or pokot system in kenya. in this system, the elders, called ajaweed play significant roles in managing conflicts and resolving disputes. these elders are usually drawn from all the tribes. in their task of managing conflicts, these elders draw on their wisdom and life experiences to forestall conflicts and build peace. these elders are regarded as custodians of knowledge of the various tribes, the living versions of the spirit of the tribes and accurate keepers of centuries of histories passed down to them by their forebears. among the people of sudan, particularly the darfur, the judiyya is seen as a veritable social institution for conflict resolution. the local tribes, nomadic herdsmen and farmers relied on the judiyya process for reconciliation, ensuring peaceful and harmonious relations; and a mechanism for sharing, distributing and managing scarce natural resources. this traditional mechanism has been described as restorative and conciliatory in nature. according to flint (2010), the major emphasis of judiyya is anchored on “restitution and compensation for harm, to revise damaged relationships, to ensure the full integration of the parties into their tribal community again and resume the collaboration for the well-being of the group”. in the event of dispute, some members of the aljaweed are called upon to mediate in the dispute to ensure that such dispute does not escalate into violence. these elders are wellversed in the communal mores, customs and traditions; and they command immense respect among their people. given the social character of the people, which is defined by their religion, members of the aljaweed are always men since the influence of women is limited to the home-front. since the late 19th century, judiyya was the major institution that regulated land and grazing rights between the tribal communities, especially in the western part of sudan. the region is part of africa’s sub-sahara, where ecological degradation is now widespread and one of the aggravating causes of violence in that region. the focus on the use of the judiyya to resolve the conflict over scarce resources does not mean that other communal disputes are rarely resolved through judiyya. rather, it highlights the general applicability of the model to deal with all disputes on a communal level. in darfur, the management of scarce resources is thus a daily affair that forms part of the everyday 465 management of pastoral affairs. this perhaps explains the relationship between the issues on the communal level. summary of findings this study has examined the african union (au) and conflict resolution in africa with particular emphasis on the darfur conflict in south sudan. there is no doubt that the darfur crisis has immensely tested the african union’s resolve to keep peace and stop the excruciating destruction of human life on the continent. this study argues that the nature and pattern of au’s response to the darfur crisis has been hampered by many factors including the duplicity of the arab states, lack of cooperation from the government of sudan and pressures from international partners. to that extent, the au has done its best within the context it had to work. secondly, the study is of the view that the au has relied so much on external prescriptions for conflict resolution on the continent in total default to existing african traditional conflict mechanisms, which it can leverage on to resolve conflicts on the continent. the findings from our discussion thus far can be itemized as follows: a) the recourse by the au in implementing external prescriptions as response to conflicts in africa has not been effective. b) the au has ignored african traditional conflict resolution mechanisms in developing strategies for containing conflicts in africa especially in darfur. african traditional conflict resolution mechanisms have been employed with positive outcomes in so many african societies like the igbo and yoruba of nigeria, the pokot and turkana in kenya, among the rwanda people, the acholi tribe of northern uganda and even among the darfur people of sudan. recommendations in view of the foregoing, we make the following recommendations: 1. the au should ensure that any of its conflict resolution initiatives should be fashioned in such a way that they are owned by the indigenous people. this will make such initiatives more effective and ensure positive outcome. au should also ensure that when it leads a peace process that it enjoys the support of its members and that of the wider international community; ensure that the negotiating parties have a strong sense of ownership of the process, as this increases compliance and cooperation in implementing subsequent peace agreements; harmonize its initiatives on issues of transitional justice and be guided by the overarching desire to enhance human security which is at the core of its founding charter, the constitutive act. 2. the au should consider the adoption of african traditional conflict resolution mechanisms: since the western prescription, despite their laudable intentions have always resulted in conflict relapse, african leaders are hereby advised to look inwards and embrace african indigenous models in tackling conflicts on the continent. the au should, therefore, focus on the indigenous models owing to their uniqueness and effectiveness. the judiyya system, which had worked so well in darfur should be revived, reviewed and implemented in darfur. conclusion the darfur crisis has been a test case for the capacity of the au to resolve conflicts on the continent considering the huge international outcry, which the conflict in the area has elicited. the darfur conflict has become almost 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university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 303 artificial intelligence and human resource management practices: the nigerian experience nwambuko, temple c. department of public administration, federal university otuoke, bayelsa state; nwambukotc@fuotuoke.edu.ng abstract this study investigates the adoption, perceived benefits, and challenges of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm) practices within nigerian organizations. using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from a sample of 400 hr professionals across public and private sectors through a structured questionnaire. the analysis revealed that ai adoption in hrm is at a moderate level, with larger and private organizations demonstrating higher utilization compared to smaller and public sector institutions. respondents strongly agreed that ai enhances efficiency, accuracy, and fairness in hr decision-making and recruitment, with mean scores above 3.5 on a fivepoint scale. however, perceptions of ai’s role in improving employee engagement and satisfaction were less favourable, reflecting its limited influence on human-centric hr functions. the findings further identified significant barriers to effective ai integration, particularly high costs, lack of technical expertise, data privacy and security concerns, algorithmic bias, and insufficient legal and ethical frameworks. overall, the study concludes that while ai presents substantial opportunities for transforming hrm in nigeria, its potential can only be maximised through targeted investments, regulatory safeguards, and strategic alignment of technology with human values. keywords: artificial intelligence, human resource management, technology adoption, nigeria, ethical considerations. introduction the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) into various sectors has transformed traditional practices, with human resource management (hrm) being no exception. ai encompasses a range of technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and data analytics, which are increasingly being integrated into hrm practices to enhance efficiency, improve decision-making and foster employee engagement (marler and parry, 2016). ai technologies, such as chatbots for recruitment, predictive analytics for employee performance, and automated onboarding processes, are being adopted to enhance efficiency and effectiveness within organizations (adeyemo et al., 2022). the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (ai) technologies has significantly transformed various sectors, including human resource management (hrm). the significance of ai in hrm lies in its potential to streamline traditional hr processes, such as recruitment, performance management, and employee development. for instance, aidriven recruitment tools can automate candidate screening, thereby reducing time-to-hire and improving the quality of hires through data-driven insights (davenport et al., 2020). furthermore, ai can facilitate personalized employee experiences by analyzing data to tailor learning and development programs, ultimately enhancing employee satisfaction and retention (brewster et al., 2020). mailto:nwambukotc@fuotuoke.edu.ng 304 in nigeria, the rapid development of technology and the increasing global competitiveness have necessitated a reevaluation of hrm practices. the relevance of ai in hrm in nigeria is underscored by the country's ongoing efforts to modernize its workforce and improve organizational performance amidst economic challenges. as a country that is characterized by a dynamic labor market and a growing technology ecosystem; the adoption of ai in hrm presents unique opportunities and benefits. as public sector organizations in nigerian are increasingly embracing digital transformation, understanding the implications of ai adoption in hrm becomes essential for fostering a competitive advantage and ensuring sustainable growth (akanbi et al., 2022). however, despite the potential opportunities and benefits of ai, the nigerian hrm landscape faces unique challenges that influence its implementation and acceptance. therefore, this study aims to explore the current state of ai integration in hrm practices, the interplay between ai and hrm practices within nigerian public sector organizations, shedding light on how technological advancements are reshaping hrm as well as focusing on the benefits, challenges, and ethical considerations associated with this technological shift within the nigerian context. the integration of ai in hrm raises critical ethical considerations, including issues of bias, data privacy, and the need for transparent decisionmaking processes in public sector organizations in the country (binns, 2018). problem statement despite the growing interest in the application of ai within hrm, there is limited empirical research focused on the nigerian experience. organizations in nigeria are at a crossroads, grappling with the promise of ai to improve hrm efficiency against the backdrop of infrastructural challenges, resistance to change, and a lack of digital literacy among hr professionals (olatunji, 2023). consequently, there exists a knowledge gap regarding the extent to which ai is being effectively integrated into hrm practices in nigeria, and what factors facilitate or hinder this process. furthermore, the potential ethical implications and concerns surrounding ai usage in hrm, such as biases in recruitment processes and privacy issues, complicate the narrative (ibrahim & nkongolo, 2023). without understanding the unique challenges and opportunities presented by ai within the nigerian context, public sector organizations may struggle to leverage these technologies, ultimately impacting their competitive edge and overall organizational performance. this study seeks to address these gaps by exploring the current state of ai adoption in hrm practices in nigeria, thereby contributing valuable insights for both academia and industry practitioners. the objectives of this study are threefold: first, to assess the extent of ai adoption in hrm practices among nigerian organizations; second, to identify the perceived benefits and challenges of ai integration in hrm; and third, to explore the ethical implications of using ai in hrm practices. to achieve these objectives, the study will address the following research questions: what is the current level of ai adoption in hrm practices among nigerian organizations? what are the perceived benefits of integrating ai into hrm practices from the perspective of hr professionals in nigeria? and what challenges and ethical considerations do organizations face when implementing ai in hrm? by addressing these questions, this research aims to contribute to the understanding of ai's impact on hrm in nigeria, providing valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers in navigating the complexities of this technological evolution. 305 literature review conceptual expositions before reviewing literature on the thrust of this study, it is pertinent to conceptualize the key variables (ai, hr, hrm, and public sector organization) in the study. • artificial intelligence (ai) refers to the ability of computer systems and algorithms to simulate human cognitive processes such as learning, reasoning, and decision-making. ai encompasses various technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and expert systems, aimed at enhancing automation, efficiency, and data-driven insights in organizations (russell & norvig, 2021). ai is increasingly applied across sectors, including human resources, to streamline processes like recruitment, employee evaluation, and workforce analytics (bessen et al., 2022). • human resources (hr) refers to the collective workforce of an organization and the department responsible for managing employee-related functions. hr embodies the organizational asset represented by people and their skills, talents, and capacities (armstrong and taylor, 2020). it also denotes the practices and structures in place to attract, develop, retain, and support employees, aligning their contributions to organizational objectives (boxall and purcell, 2016). • human resource management (hrm) is a strategic and systematic approach to managing an organization’s workforce to gain a competitive advantage. hrm involves functions such as recruitment, training, performance management, compensation, employee relations, and policy formulation (bratton and gold, 2017). unlike traditional personnel management, hrm emphasizes aligning human resource practices with organizational strategy to enhance productivity, motivation, and innovation (storey, 2014). • public sector organizations are government-owned institutions that provide public goods and services to citizens. they are guided by principles of equity, accountability, transparency, and service delivery rather than profit maximization (flynn, 2012). public sector organizations include ministries, agencies, parastatals, and local government bodies that function within administrative and legal frameworks to achieve national development goals and public welfare (rainey, 2014). ai technologies in hrm practices in public sector organizations in nigerian context artificial intelligence (ai) technologies are increasingly reshaping human resource management (hrm) practices across the globe, including nigeria. ai technologies encompass a range of tools and applications that can enhance hrm practices. these technologies include machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, chatbots, and predictive analytics, which are increasingly being utilized to streamline hr processes (marler and parry, 2016). the technologies offer innovative solutions that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of hr functions, particularly in recruitment, performance management, and employee engagement. as organizations seek to maintain a competitive edge, the adoption of ai tools has become crucial in optimizing hr processes. a) ai tools in recruitment: one of the most prominent applications of ai in hrm is in recruitment and selection. ai-driven tools can automate the screening of resumes, analyze candidate data, and even conduct initial interviews through chatbots (davenport et al., 2020). recruitment has witnessed significant transformation 306 through the use of ai technologies. in nigeria, ai-driven recruitment platforms, such as hirevue and pymetrics, facilitate the screening of candidates by utilizing algorithms that evaluate resumes and assess candidates through video interviews and gamified assessments (ajayi, 2023). these tools help to reduce biases in the selection process by focusing on competencies and skills rather than just educational backgrounds or previous job titles. moreover, ai-powered chatbots, such as mya and olivia, assist hr teams by automating interactions with candidates, answering queries, and scheduling interviews, thereby improving the overall recruitment experience (samuel & adebayo, 2023). b) ai tools in performance management: ai technologies are being used to enhance performance management systems. they play a pivotal role in performance management by providing data-driven insights that inform employee evaluations and development. predictive analytics can identify high-performing employees and those at risk of turnover, enabling hr professionals to take proactive measures (aguinis et al., 2021). furthermore, ai can facilitate continuous feedback mechanisms, moving away from traditional annual reviews to more dynamic performance assessments (marler and parry, 2016). for instance, predictive analytics tools are used to assess employee performance trends and identify potential areas for improvement. in nigeria, platforms like sap success factors and workday utilize ai algorithms to analyze employee data and generate meaningful reports that support managers in performance reviews and talent development planning (urem & adeola, 2023). this shift towards data-driven performance management allows organizations to foster a culture of continuous feedback and development while aligning individual performance with organizational goals. c) ai tools in employee engagement: enhancing employee engagement is another area where ai technologies demonstrate significant impact. ai-driven platforms such as glint and 15five gather employee feedback through surveys and analyze responses to measure engagement levels. in the nigerian context, these tools enable organizations to understand employee sentiment and identify factors that contribute to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction (obi & enuji, 2023). additionally, ai technologies that facilitate personalized communication, such as employee experience platforms, allow hr departments to curate experiences and initiatives tailored to individual employee preferences, thereby fostering a more engaged workforce. d) learning and development: in the realm of employee development, ai can personalize learning experiences by analyzing individual performance data and recommending tailored training programs (ogunyemi et al., 2021). this personalized approach not only enhances employee engagement but also ensures that training is aligned with organizational goals. the adoption of ai technologies in hrm presents a transformative opportunity for organizations in nigeria. by leveraging ai tools in recruitment, performance management, and employee engagement, public sector organizations can enhance their hr practices and contribute to improved organizational outcomes. however, challenges such as infrastructural limitations and resistance to change must be addressed to fully realize the potential of ai in hrm in public sector organizations within the nigerian context. 307 benefits of ai in hrm practice nigeria’s public sector organizations the adoption of ai in hrm offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance organizational performance. the integration of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm) is revolutionizing how public sector organizations operate, particularly in emerging markets like nigeria. the benefits of ai tools in hrm extend to various facets, including increased efficiency, improved decision-making, and enhanced employee experience. each of these benefits plays a crucial role in enabling organizations to thrive amid challenges and capitalize on opportunities within the nigerian context. a. increased efficiency: one of the most significant advantages of ai in hrm is the increase in operational efficiency. ai technologies automate repetitive and timeconsuming tasks, such as resume screening, scheduling interviews, and processing payroll, thereby allowing hr professionals to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative duties (afolabi & adeyemo, 2023). for instance, ai-driven recruitment platforms can swiftly sift through large volumes of applications, identifying suitable candidates in a fraction of the time that traditional methods would require (ogunyemi, 2023). also, ai can automate administrative tasks such as payroll processing and benefits administration, reducing the time and resources required for these functions (brewster et al., 2020). by streamlining these processes, organizations in nigeria can reduce time-to-hire and operational costs, ultimately leading to a more productive workforce. b. improved decision-making: ai also enhances decision-making capabilities within hrm by providing data-driven insights and predictive analytics. through various ai tools, hr managers can analyze employee performance metrics, engagement levels, and turnover rates to make informed decisions that align with organizational objectives (ibrahim et al., 2023). in nigeria, where data availability can be a challenge, ai systems enable organizations to consolidate and analyze diverse datasets, facilitating better talent management and development strategies. this analytical prowess helps hr professionals identify high-potential employees, tailor training programs, and formulate succession plans, thereby fostering a more robust talent pipeline (chukwuma & adedayo, 2023). c. enhanced employee experience: ai can significantly improve the employee experience by providing personalized support and resources. the positive impact of ai extends to enhancing the overall employee experience. ai tools foster a more engaging and interactive workplace by personalizing communication and feedback mechanisms. for example, ai-driven platforms can provide personalized career development suggestions, allowing employees to pursue growth opportunities aligned with their skills and aspirations (okwuosa & eze, 2023). additionally, the use of aipowered chatbots can enhance employee support by delivering instant answers to hrrelated queries and facilitating seamless access to information. (ogunyemi et al., 2021). additionally, ai can facilitate more engaging onboarding experiences by tailoring content to individual needs and preferences. by focusing on individual employee needs, organizations in nigeria can create a more satisfying and productive work environment, which is essential for retention and engagement in a competitive job market. 308 the incorporation of ai in hrm within the nigerian context presents numerous benefits, notably increased efficiency, improved decision-making, and enhanced employee experience. as organizations continue to navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing business landscape, leveraging ai technologies will be crucial in driving hr initiatives that support overall organizational success. embracing these advancements not only positions companies for success but also contributes to developing a future-ready workforce in nigeria. challenges and ethical considerations of ai in hrm practice while the incorporation of artificial intelligence (ai) into human resource management (hrm) offers numerous benefits, it also presents significant challenges and ethical considerations that require careful examination. challenges specific to nigeria include the implementation of ai in hrm in nigeria is not without challenges. issues such as inadequate technological infrastructure, limited access to data, and concerns about data privacy are prevalent (akanbi et al., 2022). furthermore, the lack of awareness and understanding of ai technologies among hr professionals may hinder adoption efforts. these issues become even more pronounced due to varying levels of technological adoption, socio-economic factors, and regulatory frameworks. among the primary challenges faced are issues of bias, data privacy, and the necessity for established ethical frameworks. a. issues of bias: one of the most pressing concerns regarding ai in hrm is the potential for bias in recruitment, performance evaluation processes, and in algorithms. ai algorithms are often trained on historical data, which means they can inadvertently perpetuate existing biases present in that data (adeyemi & abioye, 2023). for instance, if a recruitment algorithm learns from data that reflects a lack of diversity in previous hires, it may continue to favor candidates who fit that biased profile, disadvantaging qualified applicants from underrepresented groups (bello & ugochukwu, 2023). in the nigerian context, where socio-cultural dynamics play a critical role in job placements, the risk of bias has serious implications for workforce diversity and inclusion initiatives. this highlights the need for organizations to implement rigorous testing and validation processes to mitigate bias in ai systems. b. data privacy: the use of ai in hrm raises significant concerns regarding data privacy and security. this is significant challenge associated with the use of ai in hrm. organizations handle vast amounts of personal data related to employees, including sensitive information such as performance reviews, disciplinary records, and personal identification (odeyemi & tunde, 2023). the collection, storage, and analysis of this data raise concerns about how effectively organizations safeguard it from breaches and misuse. in nigeria, where regulatory frameworks for data privacy are still evolving, companies may find themselves unprepared for the complexities of data protection. non-compliance with emerging data protection regulations not only risks legal repercussions but also undermines employee trust and organizational reputation. public sector organizations must ensure that employee data is collected, stored, and processed in compliance with relevant data protection regulations (ogunyemi et al., 2021). additionally, the potential for data breaches poses a risk to both employee privacy and organizational reputation. c. job displacement: the automation of hr tasks through ai may lead to concerns about job displacement among hr professionals. while ai can enhance efficiency, it may also result in the reduction of certain hr roles, leading to resistance from employees (brewster et al., 2020). organizations must navigate this transition carefully, ensuring that employees are reskilled and supported in adapting to new technologies. 309 d. the need for ethical considerations of ai in hrm practice: given the challenges associated with ai in hrm, there is a pressing need for ethical frameworks that govern ai applications in the workplace. establishing clear guidelines can help organizations navigate the complexities of ai usage while ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability (okwuosa et al., 2023). in nigeria, developing robust ethical standards tailored to the local context can empower organizations to implement ai responsibly and effectively. such frameworks should address biases in algorithmic decision-making, provide guidance on data privacy best practices, and promote diversity and inclusion throughout the recruitment and management processes (akinyemi, 2023). furthermore, fostering ethical awareness among hr professionals through training and education will be crucial in promoting an organizational culture that values ethical considerations in the deployment of ai technologies ai in hrm poses significant hurdles for organizations operating in nigeria. issues of bias, data privacy and the necessity for ethical frameworks require attention to ensure the responsible integration of ai in hrm practices. by prioritizing these considerations, organizations can not only mitigate risks but also enhance their credibility, promote a positive corporate culture, and create a more equitable work environment. theoretical framework the technology acceptance model (tam), developed by davis (1989), is one of the most widely used theories for understanding how individuals adopt and use new technologies. tam was specifically designed to explain user acceptance of information technologies posits that two main factors influence technology adoption: perceived usefulness (pu) and perceived ease of use (peou). perceived usefulness refers to the extent to which an individual believes that using a particular technology will improve their job performance, while perceived ease of use reflects the degree to which the technology is perceived as effortless (venkatesh and davis, 2000). these beliefs shape users’ attitude toward use, which in turn influences their behavioural intention to use (bi), ultimately leading to actual use of the technology (davis, 1989). later extensions, such as tam2 and tam3, introduced additional variables like subjective norms, facilitating conditions, and experience (venkatesh and davis, 2000; venkatesh and bala, 2008). tam is thus relevant because to the subject matter of this study. it highlights employee perceptions as critical to adoption — particularly in nigeria, where digital literacy varies and resistance to technological change is common (okoye and ezejiofor, 2021). also, it allows researchers to measure and predict factors influencing acceptance of ai in hrm, such as trust in automated decision-making, transparency, and training support. it provides a framework for exploring differences between sectors — e.g., nigerian public sector organisations (often bureaucratic and resistant to change) vs. private firms (which may adopt ai faster for competitiveness). applied to the nigerian context of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm), tam provides a framework for examining how hr managers and employees accept ai-driven hrm tools such as automated recruitment systems, performance analytics, and ai-enabled training platforms. in nigeria’s public and private sectors, adoption may depend not only on the perceived benefits of ai in streamlining hrm functions but also 310 on infrastructural readiness, digital literacy, and organizational culture (okoye and ezejiofor, 2021). therefore, tam is suitable as a theoretical framework for this study, as it helps explain user acceptance, resistance, and adaptation to ai technologies in hrm practices in nigeria. moreover, it highlights the need for awareness, training, and supportive policies to foster successful ai integration into hrm. methodology this study adopted a quantitative research methodology using a cross-sectional survey design to investigate artificial intelligence (ai) adoption in human resource management (hrm) practices within nigerian organizations. the target population comprised hr professionals across public and private sectors, with stratified random sampling employed to ensure representation by sector, organizational size, and region. a sample size of approximately 400 respondents was sought, based on cochran’s formula, to ensure adequate statistical power. data were collected through a structured questionnaire divided into sections covering demographics, ai adoption, perceived benefits, and challenges/ethical considerations, measured on a five-point likert scale. content validity was ensured through expert review, while reliability was tested using cronbach’s alpha. descriptive statistics summarized adoption levels and perceptions. ethical considerations, including informed consent, anonymity, and compliance with nigerian data protection guidelines, were observed. this approach enables objective measurement and statistical analysis, offering empirical insights into the nigerian experience of ai in hrm practices. table 1: current level of ai adoption in hrm practices (n = 400) statement 1 (sd) 2 (d) 3 (n) 4 (a) 5 (sa) mean ai is used for recruitment and selection 60 (15%) 80 (20%) 100 (25%) 110 (27.5%) 50 (12.5%) 3.02 ai supports employee performance appraisal 70 (17.5%) 90 (22.5%) 110 (27.5%) 90 (22.5%) 40 (10%) 2.85 ai is applied in payroll/benefits administration 50 (12.5%) 70 (17.5%) 90 (22.5%) 120 (30%) 70 (17.5%) 3.22 ai supports employee learning and development 80 (20%) 90 (22.5%) 110 (27.5%) 80 (20%) 40 (10%) 2.78 overall, ai adoption in hrm is at a high level 70 (17.5%) 100 (25%) 90 (22.5%) 90 (22.5%) 50 (12.5%) 2.88 the results in the table indicate generally positive perceptions of the benefits of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm) among the sampled respondents. a majority of participants (70%, combining “agree” and “strongly agree”) affirmed that ai improves efficiency in hr decision-making, yielding the second-highest mean score of 3.80. 311 similarly, the strongest consensus emerged on ai’s role in enabling faster and more accurate employee data management, where 70% also agreed or strongly agreed, resulting in the highest mean score of 3.85. perceptions of fairness and objectivity in recruitment were moderately positive, with 57.5% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing, and a mean of 3.53. by contrast, the lowest rating was recorded on ai’s contribution to employee engagement and satisfaction, where just under half of the respondents (47.5%) agreed or strongly agreed, and a mean of 3.32 was observed. finally, overall perceptions of ai’s contribution to better hrm outcomes were favorable, with 60% expressing agreement, and a mean of 3.56. these findings suggest that while ai is widely valued for enhancing efficiency and data management, its perceived impact on employee engagement remains less convincing. table 2: perceived benefits of integrating ai into hrm (n = 400) statement 1 (sd) 2 (d) 3 (n) 4 (a) 5 (sa) mean ai improves efficiency in hr decision-making 20 (5%) 40 (10%) 60 (15%) 160 (40%) 120 (30%) 3.80 ai enhances fairness/objectivity in recruitment 30 (7.5%) 50 (12.5%) 90 (22.5%) 140 (35%) 90 (22.5%) 3.53 ai enables faster/more accurate employee data management 20 (5%) 30 (7.5%) 70 (17.5%) 150 (37.5%) 130 (32.5%) 3.85 ai contributes to improved employee engagement/satisfaction 30 (7.5%) 70 (17.5%) 110 (27.5%) 120 (30%) 70 (17.5%) 3.32 overall, ai leads to better hrm outcomes 25 (6.25%) 55 (13.75%) 80 (20%) 150 (37.5%) 90 (22.5%) 3.56 statement 1 (sd) 2 (d) 3 (n) 4 (a) 5 (sa) mean the table demonstrates that respondents generally perceive artificial intelligence (ai) as beneficial to human resource management (hrm), though the strength of these perceptions varies across specific dimensions. a large majority of respondents (70%) agreed or strongly agreed that ai improves efficiency in hr decision-making, producing a high mean score of 3.80, while the strongest endorsement was for ai’s ability to enable faster and more accurate employee data management, where 70% of participants also agreed or strongly agreed and the mean was 3.85. in terms of recruitment processes, just over half of the respondents (57.5%) believed that ai enhances fairness and objectivity, reflected in a moderate mean of 3.53. however, perceptions were less positive regarding ai’s contribution to employee engagement and satisfaction, with fewer than half (47.5%) expressing agreement and a lower mean of 3.32, making it the weakest rated benefit. overall, 60% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that ai leads to better hrm outcomes, resulting in a mean of 3.56. these findings highlight that while ai is strongly valued for improving efficiency and data management, its role in employee engagement is less convincing among nigerian hr professionals. 312 table 3: challenges and ethical considerations in ai implementation (n = 400) statement 1 (sd) 2 (d) 3 (n) 4 (a) 5 (sa) mean high costs limit ai adoption 30 (7.5%) 40 (10%) 70 (17.5%) 130 (32.5%) 130 (32.5%) 3.72 lack of technical expertise hinders ai implementation 20 (5%) 50 (12.5%) 80 (20%) 130 (32.5%) 120 (30%) 3.70 ai raises concerns about employee data privacy/security 15 (3.75%) 30 (7.5%) 70 (17.5%) 140 (35%) 145 (36.25%) 3.92 ai may result in bias/discrimination in hr decisions 25 (6.25%) 45 (11.25%) 90 (22.5%) 130 (32.5%) 110 (27.5%) 3.64 insufficient legal/ethical frameworks to guide ai in hrm 20 (5%) 40 (10%) 80 (20%) 140 (35%) 120 (30%) 3.75 statement 1 (sd) 2 (d) 3 (n) 4 (a) 5 (sa) mean the results indicate that respondents strongly acknowledge several challenges and ethical considerations associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm). the most pronounced concern relates to employee data privacy and security, with 71.25% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing, resulting in the highest mean score of 3.92. high implementation costs were also perceived as a major barrier, with 65% of participants in agreement and a mean score of 3.72. similarly, the lack of technical expertise was identified as a significant challenge, as 62.5% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed, producing a mean of 3.70. issues of bias and potential discrimination in hr decisions received comparatively moderate support, with 60% agreeing or strongly agreeing and a mean of 3.64. finally, concerns about insufficient legal and ethical frameworks to regulate ai use in hrm were also widely recognized, with 65% in agreement and a mean of 3.75. collectively, these findings suggest that nigerian hr professionals view privacy and security risks as the most critical challenge, but they also consistently identify financial, technical, and regulatory barriers as substantial constraints to effective ai implementation. discussion of findings the findings on the current level of ai adoption in hrm practices reveal moderate adoption, with larger and private sector organisations leading, while public and smaller firms lag behind. this aligns with the work of ajibade (2020), who found that technological innovations in nigerian organisations are unevenly distributed, with size and resource capacity determining adoption levels. similarly, afolayan and peter (2021) reported that private sector firms in nigeria are more agile in implementing digital tools than public institutions due to higher investment in technology infrastructure. these results also echo davis’ (1989) technology acceptance model (tam), which highlights perceived ease of use and organisational readiness as critical to technology uptake. thus, the current study reinforces evidence that adoption is influenced by organisational capacity and sectoral differences. 313 in relation to the perceived benefits of ai integration, respondents emphasized efficiency and data accuracy, while perceptions of employee engagement remained weaker. this is consistent with findings by iwuoha (2021), who observed that nigerian hr professionals considered ai highly effective in streamlining administrative hr functions but less impactful on relational aspects such as engagement. similarly, oke and adeniyi (2020) noted that ai applications improved decision-making and fairness in recruitment but had limited influence on softer hr practices. furthermore, kshetri (2018) argued that ai’s greatest contributions are in areas requiring data management and predictive analytics, whereas human-centric tasks, such as motivation and satisfaction, remain less directly influenced. the present findings therefore corroborate global and nigerian evidence that ai delivers efficiency gains but does not fully substitute human-centered hrm processes. the study also highlighted key challenges and ethical considerations, with data privacy and security ranked as the most pressing concern, alongside cost, technical expertise, and inadequate legal frameworks. these findings are in line with the conclusions of adegbite (2021), who identified high costs and weak data protection regimes as major barriers to ai adoption in nigerian workplaces. in a similar study, tursunbayeva et al. (2020) argued that lack of expertise and ethical guidelines hampers sustainable ai implementation in hr globally. moreover, okafor and anazodo (2019) found that nigerian organisations face regulatory gaps and are cautious of algorithmic bias, which mirrors the moderate concern about discrimination revealed in this study. taken together, these results confirm that while ai is recognised as beneficial, unresolved technical, ethical, and regulatory challenges remain critical obstacles to maximising its value in hrm practices in nigeria. conclusion this study set out to examine the adoption, perceived benefits, and challenges of artificial intelligence (ai) in human resource management (hrm) practices within nigerian organisations. the findings revealed that ai adoption is at a moderate level, with private sector and large organisations leading in utilisation, while smaller and public sector institutions lag behind due to limited resources and technological capacity. ai was strongly perceived to improve efficiency, fairness, and data accuracy, underscoring its value in administrative and decision-making processes. however, its impact on employee engagement and satisfaction was less convincing, suggesting that ai complements but does not fully replace the human-centric dimensions of hrm. challenges such as high implementation costs, lack of technical expertise, concerns over data privacy, potential bias, and inadequate legal frameworks were consistently identified as critical barriers, with privacy and security emerging as the most pressing concern. overall, the study concludes that while ai presents significant opportunities for transforming hrm in nigeria, its potential will only be fully realized through strategic investments, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and ethical safeguards that balance technological efficiency with human values. recommendations the following recommendations were made: 1. nigerian organizations should invest in capacity building and training programmes to equip hr professionals with the technical skills required for effective ai implementation. 314 2. government and regulatory bodies need to establish clear legal and ethical frameworks to safeguard data privacy, reduce bias, and ensure responsible use of ai in hrm practices. 3. organizations, especially in the public sector and smes, should be supported through incentives or subsidies to reduce the high costs associated with ai adoption. 4. hr departments should adopt a hybrid approach that combines ai-driven efficiency with human-centered strategies to enhance employee engagement and satisfaction. 5. continuous monitoring and evaluation of ai systems should be institutionalized to identify risks, improve transparency, and maximize the long-term benefits of ai in hrm. references adeyemi, a., & abioye, a. 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(2000) ‘a theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies’, management science, 46(2), pp. 186–204. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 286 the adoption of fintech solutions by small and medium enterprises (smes) in ilorin: a study of its impact on financial management and business performance olagoke kemisola caroline department of business administration, osun state university, osogbo, osun state huspride77@gmail.com ajimati amos department of business administration and entrepreneurship, kwara state university, malete, ilorin, kwara state. ajimatiamos@gmail.com jubril tajudeen sunday bamidele ojo mathew department of banking and finance, federal polytechnic offa, offa, kwara state jubril@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng; bamideleojomatthew123@gmail.com abstract this study examined the adoption of financial technology (fintech) solutions by small and medium enterprises (smes) in ilorin, nigeria, and its impact on financial management and business performance. specifically, the study assessed the effect of mobile payment systems and evaluated the impact of digital lending platforms on the financial management and performance of smes in ilorin, nigeria. the study adopted a descriptive survey design using purposive sampling to select 350 smes across various sectors in ilorin metropolis, yielding a population of 8,450 sme operators. a sample of 382 sme owners/managers was drawn using cochran's formula. data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using simple linear regression. the analysis confirmed that mobile payment systems significantly enhance financial management efficiency (r² = 0.724, p = 0.000), while digital lending platforms demonstrate a strong positive effect on business performance, explaining 68.2% of the variation (r² = 0.682, p = 0.000). the study concluded that fintech adoption is a critical driver of sme success, with mobile payment systems improving transaction efficiency and cash flow management, while digital lending platforms enhance access to capital and growth opportunities. the findings emphasize the transformative potential of financial technology in empowering smes to overcome traditional banking barriers and achieve sustainable growth. it is recommended that smes should accelerate fintech adoption through strategic partnerships, digital literacy programs, and integration of multiple fintech solutions to maximize competitive advantage and operational efficiency. keywords: fintech adoption, smes, mobile payment systems, digital lending platforms, financial management, business performance, nigeria. introduction fintech is a new paradigm shift in the way financial services are provided, consumed and operated in the world. fintech is associated with the implementation of technology to offer financial services in order to enhance their services delivery and consumption by businesses mailto:huspride77@gmail.com mailto:ajimatiamos@gmail.com mailto:jubril@fedpoffaonline.edu.ng 287 and consumers (puschmann, 2017). the immensely fast development of digital technologies has radically changed the business environment and opened possibilities to companies to receive more efficient, more cost-effective, and more inclusive financial services (ozili, 2018). in the case of fintech solutions applied to small and medium enterprises (smes), the largest sector of most developing economies, it presents unparalleled possibilities to eliminate all barriers to financial services, increase efficiency in operations, and boost business expansion (asongu and odhiambo, 2019). in the development of economies, especially in the developing ones, small and medium enterprises are significant as they are the main part of employment creation, innovation, and gdp increase (ayandibu and houghton, 2017). nevertheless, there is a high level of difficulty that smes can encounter when accessing conventional financial services, cash flow management, and efficient financial management system. nigeria is one of the countries where these challenges are especially acute as the official banking industry has traditionally failed to address the needs of small entrepreneurs (adegboye et al., 2020). the emergence of fintech solutions has created new pathways for smes to access financial services, manage their finances more effectively, and improve their overall business performance. the nigerian fintech ecosystem has recorded an impressive development over the last decade, and the nation is one of the most important fintech environments in africa (pwc, 2020). the factors that have contributed to this growth have been high mobile phone penetration, high number of unbanked people, central bank of nigeria permissive regulations and rising technological entrepreneurship (ouma et al., 2021). fintech solutions, such as mobile payment systems, digital lending, and others, have become very popular among businesses and consumers in nigeria and opened up new avenues of financial inclusion and economic empowerment. the capital city of kwara state which is known as ilorin is a major commercial and administrative hub in north-central nigeria. ilorin has a wide range of smes in the economy, which include trade, agriculture, manufacturing, and service (kwara state government, 2022). the city's strategic location as a link between the northern and southern regions of nigeria makes it an important commercial hub, while its educated population and technological infrastructure provide a conducive environment for fintech adoption. however, despite the growing availability of fintech solutions, the extent of adoption among smes in ilorin and its impact on their financial management and business performance remains underexplored. the idea behind the study can be explained by the fact that although fintech solutions can be highly beneficial to smes, their adoption and influence may differ dramatically among various geographical setting and business conditions (iman, 2020). understanding how smes in ilorin are adopting fintech solutions and the resulting impacts on their operations is crucial for several stakeholders. to the owners and managers of smes these insights can be used to inform strategic decisions relating to technology adoption and financial management practices. in the case of fintech service providers, the patterns and impacts of adoption would be useful in informing their product development and market expansion strategies. to policymakers and development agencies, this knowledge could be used to formulate policies and programs favourable to digital financial inclusion and the growth of smes. the existing literature on fintech adoption has concentrated mainly on developed economies or big cities in developing nations, and little has been said about secondary cities such as ilorin (senyo and osabutey, 2020). although research has been conducted on the uptake of fintech in urban areas such as lagos, abuja and port harcourt, the role of adoption of these technologies by smes in smaller commercial locales seems to have been understudied to a larger extent. this paper will fill this gap by looking at the current adoption of fintech in 288 ilorin in particular, and then offer insights that can be generalized to other commercial hubs in nigeria or other developing nations. therefore, the objectives of this study are to: i. assess the effect of mobile payment systems adoption on financial management efficiency of smes in ilorin, nigeria. ii. evaluate the impact of digital lending platforms adoption on business performance of smes in ilorin, nigeria. the following hypotheses are formulated for the study: h₀₁: mobile payment systems adoption has no significant effect on financial management efficiency of smes in ilorin, nigeria. h₀₂: digital lending platforms adoption has no significant impact on business performance of smes in ilorin, nigeria. literature review fintech solutions in nigeria the financial technology sector in nigeria has undergone remarkable transformation over the past decade, positioning the country as a leading fintech destination in africa. such evolution is symptomatic of a convergence of forces such as regulatory innovation, technological development, demographics, and market needs that have formed a supportive environment in which fintech has developed (oshodin et al., 2021). the nigerian fintech ecosystem has many categories of solutions such as payments, lending, insurance technology, investment platforms, and financial management tools, each of which has a gap in the market and targeted customer needs (alli, 2025; alli & ganiyu, 2025). mobile payment systems are considered to be one of the most successful fintech spheres in nigeria due to high rates of mobile phone penetration and the necessity of the convenient payment options. the development of the mobile money industry has been supported by the gradual regulatory environment provided by the central bank of nigeria through policies on the operation of the mobile money business and introduction of payment system operator licenses (cbn, 2020). the mobile payment industry involves big players such as traditional telecommunications organisations that provide mobile money services, specialized payment organisations and tech-based start-ups that offer innovative payment services. these platforms have transformed the way businesses and consumers transact business as they provide them with alternatives to money-based transactions and traditional banking systems. the regulatory environment has played a crucial role in shaping nigeria's fintech landscape. to facilitate financial inclusion and encouraging fintech innovation, the central bank of nigeria has undertaken a number of measures, such as development of regulatory sandboxes, updated policies on digital financial services and open banking frameworks (ozili, 2020). such regulatory processes have presented a platform on which fintech firms can conduct business in well-defined legal frameworks as they seek to develop innovative solutions. however, the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, requiring fintech providers and users to adapt to changing requirements and standards. digital lending platforms have emerged as a critical solution addressing the financing gap faced by individuals and smes in nigeria. small business: the banks have long been unable to meet the credit demands of the small business because the traditional banks are too costly to operate, have insufficient credit 289 evaluation protocols, and risk management (gbenga, 2024; asongu and odhiambo, 2019). digital lending tap into technology, alternative data, and automated credit mission to offer credit solutions more quickly and easily (alli & ganiyu, 2021). such websites use several data points such as transaction records, your social life on social media, and psychometric tests to judge creditworthiness and lend. employing fintechs in nigeria has been affected by many factors such as technological infrastructure, consumer behaviour, competition, and socioeconomic status. the technological background to adoption of fintech has been established by high levels of smartphone penetration, enhanced internet access, and the rise in digital platforms (senyo and osabutey, 2020). demands in the fintech solutions are predetermined by the desire to be convenient, fast, and accessible, and the pressure of competition has stimulated the adoption of digital transformation by traditional financial institutions. smes and financial management challenges in nigeria in nigeria, the biggest proportion of businesses are comprised of small and medium enterprises which is the main source of employment, innovation and economic growth. the national bureau of statistics estimates that around 96% of all business in nigeria is run by smes and that they supply about 48% of the national gdp (nbs, 2021). in nigeria, smes encounter a lot of problems, even though they are economically relevant, which restrict their development potential and competitiveness. the problem of financial management is one of the biggest hurdles, which influence their capacity to control cash flows, to take credit, strategic investments and their sustainable growth. finance is still a chronic issue facing nigerian smes where most businesses have had difficulties accessing sufficient funds through the conventional financial institutions. smes have been considered risky clients by commercial banks because of various conditions such as low collateral base, poor financial documents and perceived management ineptitude (adegboye et al., 2020). the ensuing credit crunch has ensured that most smes turn to informal source of finance, such as personal savings, family contribution as well as money lenders which are either inadequate or costly. this financing constraint limits smes' ability to invest in technology, expand operations, or take advantage of growth opportunities. another main issue facing the nigerian smes is cash flow management especially where the company deals with volatile markets or seasonal businesses. a lot of smes do not have advanced financial management systems and use manual systems to trace revenues, expenses, and cash positions (ayandibu and houghton, 2017). this may result in insufficient financial performance transparency, poor decision making and crises of cash flow that can put business under threat of extinction. lack of effective payment mechanisms and protracted collection periods also contributes to the problem of cash flow, especially where companies have a number of customers and suppliers. nigerian smes have poor financial record-keeping and reporting, which restricts their capacity to make sound business decisions and have access to formal financial services. most smes have partially or untidy financial statements, use informal accounting standards and are not yet skilled enough to prepare fully detailed financial statements (okpara, 2011). this inadequacy does not only hamper the internal management decision making but it also provides impediments to gaining formal credit because the financial institutions need comprehensive financial details to make credit evaluation decisions. the digital divide and technological limitations also affect smes' financial management capabilities. technology provides a solution to the efficient management of finances, but most smes have no resources, knowledge or infrastructure to use advanced financial management systems (iman, 2020). this technological disparity constrains their powers to automation of financial 290 operations, creation of real time financial data and assimilation of financial administration with other business activities. mobile payment systems and financial management mobile payment systems have presented innovative changes to enhance efficiency in financial management among the smes in the world. through mobile technology, such systems can be used to carry out electronic transactions, which allow businesses to send and receive payments, control cash flows, and store records of transactions using mobile devices (dahlberg et al., 2015). mobile payment systems have a number of benefits over conventional payment systems to smes such as less transaction costs, faster payment, greater security, and greater record-keeping capacity. the implications of the mobile payment systems on the effectiveness of financial management are manifold since it impacts on many areas of operations of the sme. one of the most direct advantages is transaction processing efficiency because mobile payments often save on time and effort that are needed to finalize transactions with cash or check-based payments (ouma et al., 2021). this increase in efficiency leads to the savings of cost and the satisfaction of customers as companies can provide services to more customers within the shortest time possible, besides minimizing errors in transactions. mobile payment adoption is also beneficial to the management of cash flows since transactions can be processed in real time using these systems and the systems can also maintain records automatically. smes using mobile payment systems can receive payments immediately, improving their cash positions and reducing the need for extensive cash handling procedures (senyo & osabutey, 2020). the digital nature of mobile payments also creates automatic transaction records, providing businesses with detailed information about payment patterns, customer behavior, and cash flow trends that can inform financial planning and decision-making processes. cost reduction represents another significant benefit of mobile payment systems for smes. conventional methods of payment processing usually have a number of charges such as bank charges, cash handling charges, and administration costs. these costs can be minimized by using mobile payment systems that will decrease the transaction fees, remove the need to handle cash, and decrease the administrative overhead (puschmann, 2017). these cost savings can improve sme profitability and create resources for investment in other business activities. security and transparency benefits of mobile payment systems also contribute to improved financial management. the availability of digital transactions leaves audible trails that minimize occurrence of fraud, theft, and errors in accounting in comparison with cash-based transactions (ozili, 2020). this enhanced security and transparency can improve smes' relationships with financial institutions, suppliers, and customers, while supporting compliance with regulatory requirements and tax obligations. digital lending platforms and business performance digital lending platforms are novel financial services that are using technology to offer credit services more effectively and with greater inclusivity than the traditional bank financial services to the market. these platforms leverage other sources of data, automated decisionmaking models, and simplified loaning procedures to evaluate creditworthiness and loan to persons and companies (asongu and odhiambo, 2019). for smes, digital lending platforms offer the potential to overcome traditional barriers to credit access while supporting business growth and performance improvement. the connection between business performance and digital lending platforms works in a number of ways. access to capital is the most immediate channel, since the businesses are able to secure funding to work capital, purchase of equipment, purchase of inventory and expansion. compared to the traditional banks where a 291 lot of paperwork and prolonged approval time can be involved, digital lending platforms usually have shorter approval times and more convenient qualification requirements (ouma et al., 2021). this improved access to capital enables smes to take advantage of business opportunities, manage seasonal fluctuations, and invest in growth initiatives that enhance performance. operational flexibility benefits from digital lending platforms contribute to improved business performance by enabling smes to respond more quickly to market opportunities and challenges. conventional lending processes may take weeks or months therefore businesses may not have access to capital when time bound opportunities come along. the decisions in terms of funding are frequently delivered within hours or days, which allow smes to make strategic choices, expand into new markets, or react to competition in a more efficient way by using digital lending platforms (senyo and osabutey, 2020). cost efficiency advantages of digital lending platforms can also impact business performance positively. conventional lending is usually associated with high transaction costs such as application fees, transaction fees and administration costs. these processes are usually standardized and made simpler through digital platforms and direct costs and opportunity cost also decrease with the long application processes (iman, 2020). the reduced costs of borrowing funds make smes able to borrow money at a reasonable cost and enhance their financial status, and promote lucrative growth projects. the data and insights generated through digital lending platforms can also contribute to improved business performance. on numerous platforms, borrowers can receive financial analytics, benchmark information and performance that may be used to inform strategic decision-making. this additional value beyond the core lending service can help smes improve their financial management capabilities, identify growth opportunities, and optimize their operations for better performance outcomes. theoretical framework this research is grounded on technology acceptance model (tam) which was initially created by davis (1989) and later improved by other scholars. tam is a theory of how users adopt technology and accept it, and that is why it can be applied to investigate the adoption of fintech among smes. technology acceptance model assumes that there are two major beliefs, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which form the core determinants of technology adoption. perceived usefulness is the level at which an individual believes that the use of a given technology will make him or her better perform or more productive at work. perceived ease of use is the level upon which a person is convinced that he will not experience any effort in using the technology. according to tam, these beliefs influence attitudes toward technology use, which in turn affect behavioral intentions and actual usage behavior.in the context of this study, tam provides a framework for understanding why smes in ilorin choose to adopt or reject fintech solutions. smes are likely to adopt mobile payment systems and digital lending platforms if they perceive these technologies as useful for improving their financial management and business performance, and if they perceive them as easy to use and integrate into their existing operations. according to the model, the factors of functional benefits (usefulness) and the usability factors (ease of use) should also be taken into consideration when exploring the patterns of fintech adoption. the long form of tam adds more variables which can affect the adoption of technology and include the social factors, enabling conditions, and personal attributes. the extensions are especially applicable in the context of fintech adoption in developing countries analysis, where inadequate infrastructure, the regulatory environment, and cultural attitudes towards technology could play a major role in the adoption determination.. 292 methodology the study was conducted in ilorin, the capital city of kwara state, located in the northcentral geopolitical zone of nigeria. ilorin serves as a major commercial and administrative center, with an estimated population of over 1.5 million people (national population commission, 2021). the city's diverse economy includes trade, agriculture, manufacturing, services, and government activities, making it home to numerous smes across various sectors. the strategic location of ilorin as a link between northern and southern nigeria, combined with its educational institutions and improving technological infrastructure, provides a representative setting for studying fintech adoption among smes. a descriptive survey design was adopted for this study, utilizing a cross-sectional approach to collect data from sme owners and managers at a single point in time. this design is appropriate for examining the current state of fintech adoption and its impacts on financial management and business performance, allowing for the collection of standardized information from a large number of respondents (saunders et al., 2019). the target population consisted of smes operating in ilorin metropolis across various sectors including retail trade, manufacturing, services, agriculture, and technology. based on data from the kwara state ministry of commerce and industry and the small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria (smedan), the estimated population of registered smes in ilorin is approximately 8,450 enterprises (smedan, 2022). this population was considered appropriate for the study as it represents businesses that could potentially benefit from fintech solutions and have the capacity to adopt such technologies. purposive sampling technique was employed to select smes that met specific criteria for inclusion in the study. the selection criteria included: (1) businesses operating for at least two years to ensure adequate experience with financial management challenges; (2) enterprises with annual turnover between ₦5 million and ₦500 million, consistent with standard sme definitions in nigeria; (3) businesses with access to mobile phones and/or internet connectivity; and (4) willingness to participate in the research. this sampling approach ensured that selected smes were relevant to the research objectives and could provide meaningful insights about fintech adoption and its impacts. using cochran's formula for sample size determination, a sample of 382 sme owners/managers was calculated, assuming a 95% confidence level, 5% margin of error, and maximum variability (p = 0.5). the formula applied was: 𝑛₀ = 𝑍² × 𝑝 × (1 − 𝑝) / 𝑒² table 1: distribution of sample size by business sector sector number of smes percentage sample size retail trade 2,871 34.0% 130 services 2,366 28.0% 107 manufacturing 1,521 18.0% 69 agriculture 1,183 14.0% 53 technology/ict 507 6.0% 23 total 8,450 100.0% 382 source: researcher's computation based on smedan (2022) data 293 the primary data was gathered by means of structured questionnaires that were distributed to the owners of smes or top managers who make financial management decisions. the questionnaire was created on the ground of thorough literature review and was tested piloting on 30 smes that were not involved in the main study. the instrument comprised of 5 sections that included demographic information, fintech adoption patterns, the use of mobile payment systems, the impact of mobile payment systems, the use of digital lending platforms, the impact of digital lending platforms, and general measures of business performance. measurement of questionnaire items was done on a 5-point likert scale between 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) on perception based questions, and categorical and continuous variables were used to measure adoption patterns. the efficiency of financial management was assessed on the items concerned with speed of transaction processing, management of cash flows, cost minimization, accuracy of record-keeping activities and financial planning strengths. the measures used in determining business performance were growth in revenues, profitability, market growth, operational efficiency and competitive positioning. data collection was conducted over a period of eight weeks, with trained research assistants visiting smes across different locations in ilorin metropolis. mainly drop-and-collect method was employed that gave the respondents enough time to fill in the questionnaires and kept the response rates high. visit follow-ups were made where appropriate to clarify the responses and to assure data quality. the statistical package of social sciences (spss) version 28.0 was used in data analysis. the characterization of respondents and variables distributions were summarized through descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations). the research hypotheses were tested with the help of simple linear regression analysis aimed at investigating the relationships between adoption of mobile payment systems and financial management efficiency and adoption of digital lending platforms and business performance. the regression models were formulated as: model 1: financial management efficiency = β₀ + β₁(mobile payment systems) + ε model 2: business performance = β₀ + β₁(digital lending platforms) + ε where: β₀ represents the intercept, β₁ represents the regression coefficient ε represents the error term. results and discussion demographic characteristics table 2: demographic characteristics of respondents (n=375) variable categories frequency percentage (%) gender male 234 62.4 female 141 37.6 total 375 100.0 age group 18-30 years 89 23.7 31-40 years 142 37.9 294 41-50 years 108 28.8 above 50 years 36 9.6 total 375 100.0 education level ssce/waec 67 17.9 nd/nce 98 26.1 hnd/bachelor's 156 41.6 postgraduate 54 14.4 total 375 100.0 business experience 2-5 years 134 35.7 6-10 years 128 34.1 11-15 years 78 20.8 above 15 years 35 9.3 total 375 100.0 business size micro (1-10 employees) 198 52.8 small (11-50 employees) 134 35.7 medium (51-200 employees) 43 11.5 total 375 100.0 annual turnover ₦5-20 million 189 50.4 ₦21-50 million 112 29.9 ₦51-200 million 54 14.4 above ₦200 million 20 5.3 total 375 100.0 source: field survey (2025) the demographic study indicates that the respondents were predominantly male business owners (62.4%), and such a situation is typical of the male dominance in sme ownership in nigeria. the age profile indicates a majority of 37.9 percent of them (41-50 years) were aged between 31-40 years; this implies that the sample was made up of mature business owners who had extensive life and business experience. the educational profile demonstrates that 41.6% of respondents had hnd/bachelor's degrees, while 14.4% held postgraduate qualifications, suggesting relatively high educational levels among sme owners in ilorin. in terms of experience in business, the respondents were split between 2-5 years of experience with 35.7% and 6-10 years with 34.1% representing a good representation of newer and more established businesses. the distribution of the size of the business indicates that 52.8% were the micro enterprises (1-10 employees), 35.7% were small enterprises (11-50 employees) and 11.5% were the medium enterprises (51-200 employees). turnover data reveals that 50.4% of business make between ₦5-20 million and 29.9% make between ₦21-50 million annually; this is a small percentage which depicts that the businesses in the region where the study was conducted are small in scale. fintech adoption patterns table 3: fintech solutions adoption patterns fintech solution adopted not adopted adoption rate (%) mobile payment systems 289 86 77.1% digital banking apps 234 141 62.4% digital lending platforms 178 197 47.5% financial management apps 123 252 32.8% investment platforms 67 308 17.9% insurance technology 45 330 12.0% source: field survey (2024) 295 the fintech adoption analysis reveals varying levels of uptake across different solution categories. mobile payment systems recorded the highest level of adoption of 77.1 that demonstrated the prevalence of using this technology among smes in ilorin. such a high adoption rate demonstrates the fact that mobile payments are practical to sme operations in terms of convenience, speed, and minimized cash handling requirements. digital banking applications have recorded a high adoption rate with the adoption rate standing at 62.4 percent which shows that basic digital banking services have reached a high penetration rate. still, more advanced fintech products represented lower use rates, and digital lending platforms occupied 47.5% and financial management apps took 32.8. platforms of investment and insurance technology recorded significantly lower adoption rates at 17.9% and 12.0% respectively which may indicate that these solutions were not as well-known nor seen as relevant to sme operations. mobile payment systems and financial management efficiency table 4: mobile payment systems impact on financial management statement sd d n a sa mean std. dev mps reduces transaction processing time 12 (3.2%) 18 (4.8%) 29 (7.7%) 168 (44.8%) 148 (39.5%) 4.13 0.94 mps improves cash flow management 15 (4.0%) 22 (5.9%) 35 (9.3%) 172 (45.9%) 131 (34.9%) 4.02 0.98 mps reduces transaction costs 18 (4.8%) 28 (7.5%) 42 (11.2%) 154 (41.1%) 133 (35.5%) 3.95 1.04 mps enhances record keeping accuracy 14 (3.7%) 20 (5.3%) 38 (10.1%) 178 (47.5%) 125 (33.3%) 4.01 0.95 mps improves financial planning capability 16 (4.3%) 26 (6.9%) 48 (12.8%) 159 (42.4%) 126 (33.6%) 3.94 1.01 source: field survey (2024) the impact of mobile payment systems on financial management analysis indicates that there are always positive attitudes among sme respondents. the highest-rated benefit was transaction processing time reduction (mean = 4.13), with 84.3% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that mobile payment systems reduce the time required to complete transactions. this observation conforms to postulated advantages of digital payment solutions and indicates that smes are enjoying real efficiency returns on adoption. there was high support in the management improvement of cash flow (mean = 4.02) with 80.8 percentage agreeing that the mobile payment systems are assisting smes to manage the working capital better by accelerating the payment process and providing better cash clarity. record-keeping accuracy enhancement (mean = 4.01) also received high ratings, suggesting that the automatic transaction logging features of mobile payment systems are addressing traditional challenges with manual record-keeping among smes. less positive, but still positive, ratings were given to transaction cost reduction (mean = 3.95) and improvement of financial planning capabilities (mean = 3.94); the smes in question find both direct cost benefits and strategic planning benefits of mobile payment adoption. the standard deviations in all items are relatively low implying that there are standard perceptions of respondents to these benefits. 296 digital lending platforms and business performance hypothesis testing hypothesis one: mobile payment systems and financial management efficiency table 6: regression analysis mobile payment systems and financial management efficiency model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of estimate 1 .851ᵃ .724 .723 6.8492 anova model sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 46,789.234 1 46,789.234 997.421 .000ᵇ residual 17,512.766 373 46.944 total 64,302.000 374 coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta (constant) 12.458 1.247 9.988 .000 mobile payment systems 1.832 .058 .851 31.582 .000 a. predictors: (constant), mobile_payment_systems b. dependent variable: financial_management_efficiency the regression model shows that the relationship between the adoption of mobile payment system and financial management efficiency is significant and positive, yet statistically significant. correlation coefficient (r = 0.851) shows that the relationship between the two variables is very strong and positive. the r² value of 0.724 reveals that mobile payment systems explain 72.4% of the variance in financial management efficiency among smes in ilorin. the f-statistic (997.421, p < 0.001) shows that the regression model is significant, and the relationship that is witnessed is not a result of chance. the regression coefficient (b = 1.832) suggests that for every one-unit increase in mobile payment systems adoption, financial management efficiency increases by 1.832 units. the magnitude of the effect size is very large as demonstrated by the standardized coefficient (= 0.851), and this proves the significant role of mobile payment systems in improving efficiency in financial management. based on these results, the null hypothesis (h₀₁) is rejected, and we conclude that mobile payment systems adoption has a significant positive effect on financial management efficiency of smes in ilorin, nigeria. 297 hypothesis two: digital lending platforms and business performance table 7: regression analysis digital lending platforms and business performance model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of estimate 1 .826ᵃ .682 .681 8.2147 anova model sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 54,321.789 1 54,321.789 805.194 .000ᵇ residual 25,178.211 373 67.524 total 79,500.000 374 coefficients model unstandardized coefficients standardized coefficients t sig. b std. error beta (constant) 15.234 1.456 10.462 .000 digital lending platforms 2.145 .076 .826 28.377 .000 a. predictors: (constant), digital_lending_platforms b. dependent variable: business_performance regression analysis indicates a positive and strong and statistically significant relationship between the adoption of digital lending platforms and the performance of the business. a correlation coefficient (r = 0.826) shows that the two variables have a strong positive correlation. the r² value of 0.682 indicates that digital lending platforms explain 68.2% of the variance in business performance among smes in ilorin. the regression model statistical significance is verified by the f-statistic (805.194, p < 0.001). the regression coefficient (b = 2.145) indicates that for every one-unit increase in digital lending platforms adoption, business performance increases by 2.145 units. the standardized coefficient (β = 0.826) is great effect size and proves the influence of the digital lending platforms on the performance of businesses. these results lead to the rejection of the null hypothesis (h₀₂), concluding that digital lending platforms adoption has a significant positive impact on business performance of smes in ilorin, nigeria. discussion of findings the findings reveal an exceptionally strong and statistically significant relationship between mobile payment systems adoption and financial management efficiency among smes in ilorin. the high correlation (r = 0.851) and substantial explanatory power (r² = 0.724) demonstrate that mobile payment systems are a primary driver of financial management improvement in the studied context. this observation is consistent with earlier studies in other settings of developing economies, where mobile payment uptake has been revealed to drive more efficiency in business operations (ouma et al., 2021; senyo and osabutey, 2020). these findings have practical implications on the operations of sme. the automatic transaction recording capabilities of mobile payment systems address one of the most persistent challenges faced by smes in nigeria maintaining accurate financial records. the real-time nature of mobile payments also improves cash flow visibility and management, enabling smes to make more informed financial decisions and reduce the working capital 298 constraints that often limit their growth potential. the effect size (= 0.851) is high implying that the adoption of mobile payment systems brings about some radical change in the way that smes conduct their finances, and not just some radical improvements. this change is especially significant in the nigerian setting, where most of the smes have traditionally been dependent on cash-based transactions, manual record keeping systems, which are susceptible to mistakes and in-efficiencies. the results are also revealing the democratizing impact of mobile payment technology, and so more advanced financial management functions can be available to small businesses who never had the means to institute extensive financial management systems before. this accessibility is essential towards fostering financial inclusion, and the ability of smes to compete better in ever more digital markets. the analysis indicates a close close-to-positive relationship between adoption of digital lending platforms and business performance, but less strong than that between mobile payment systems. the correlation value (r = 0.826) and r-square (r2 = 0.682) have shown that the digital lending platforms are critical in improving the performance outcomes of smes. this finding supports theoretical expectations about the relationship between access to finance and business performance, while highlighting the particular effectiveness of digital lending channels for smes. the impact of digital lending platforms on business performance operates through multiple pathways. access to capital is also enhanced, which allows smes to invest in growth opportunities, ensure sufficient inventory, and better access to meeting the market requirements. the faster approval processes characteristic of digital lending platforms also enable smes to capitalize on time-sensitive opportunities that might be missed with traditional lending channels. the relative lack of explanatory power of mobile payment systems might indicate that performance of business is affected by a variety of factors, rather than solely access to finance, such as market, management, and rivalry factors. however, the substantial effect size (β = 0.826) still indicates that digital lending platforms have a major impact on business outcomes for adopting smes. the results are also of great importance considering the past difficulties experienced by smes in formal credit accessibility in nigeria. digital lending platforms appear to be successfully addressing many of the barriers that have prevented traditional financial institutions from serving this market segment effectively, including high transaction costs, inadequate credit assessment mechanisms, and lengthy approval processes. the comparative strength of the relationships reveals interesting insights about the differential impacts of various fintech solutions. mobile payment systems show stronger effects on financial management efficiency than digital lending platforms show on business performance. this can capture the more immediate and observable consequences of payment system enhancements in contrast to less immediate and more complex links between financing and performance outcomes. in both relations, the effect sizes are large enough to meet traditional criteria of what a practical effect would be, meaning that the adoption of fintech will produce meaningful, but not just statistical, impact on smes. the results validate the arguments about the increased adoption of fintech among the nigerian smes faster and indicate that the policy intervention addressing the digital financial inclusion may have a profound socio-economic developmental effect. the study adds to the recently expanding body of research that shows that fintech is an effective instrument of economic empowerment and financial inclusion in less-developed markets. this particular targeting of a secondary city such as ilorin makes the geographical area of fintech research expand beyond big urban centers and offers some insights applicable to other commercial hubs across nigeria and other emerging economies. 299 conclusion this study examined the adoption of fintech solutions by smes in ilorin and their impacts on financial management and business performance. the research found exceptionally strong positive relationships between mobile payment systems adoption and financial management efficiency and between digital lending platforms adoption and business performance. the results of both relationships were both large and statistically significant, which highlights that the adoption of fintech produces significant gains on the adoption of smes. the findings reveal that mobile payment systems serve as powerful tools for enhancing financial management capabilities among smes, addressing traditional challenges with transaction processing, record-keeping, and cash flow management. the automatic documentation and real-time processing capabilities of these systems enable smes to operate more efficiently and make better-informed financial decisions. digital lending platforms prove to be highly promising in enhancing the performance of business, as they deal with a capital constraint that has in the past limited the growth of the sme. the faster approval processes and more accessible qualification criteria of these platforms enable smes to access capital when needed for growth opportunities and operational improvements. the paper finds that fintech solutions are groundbreaking technologies that can be used to develop smes in nigeria and provide viable solutions to the enduring issues of financial management and capital accessibility. high adoption rates of mobile payment systems, and lower adoption rates of digital lending platforms, respectively, provide evidence of increasing acceptance of digital financial solutions among the smes and room to expand on the same segment, respectively. the study has been useful in the comprehension of fintech adoption in secondary cities and evidence to support the policy efforts that should promote digital financial inclusion. the findings have implications for multiple stakeholders, including sme owners seeking to improve their operations, fintech providers developing products for this market segment, and policymakers designing interventions to support sme development. recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are proposed: for smes: 1. accelerate mobile payment adoption: smes should prioritize the adoption of mobile payment systems as a foundational fintech solution, given their strong impact on financial management efficiency and relatively high adoption rates among peers. 2. explore digital lending opportunities: smes should actively investigate digital lending platforms as alternatives to traditional financing sources, particularly for working capital and growth investments where speed of access is crucial. 3. invest in digital literacy: sme owners and employees should develop digital literacy skills to maximize the benefits of fintech solutions and enable effective adoption of more sophisticated technologies. 4. integrate multiple fintech solutions: rather than adopting individual solutions in isolation, smes should consider integrated fintech strategies that combine 300 payment systems, lending platforms, and financial management tools for maximum impact. for fintech service providers: 1. emphasis on user experience: the enthusiasm of the providers should be on user-friendliness and usability to overcome adoption challenges and promote the utilization of the technology by a larger market, especially by technologically less advanced users. 2. develop sme-specific features: fintech solutions should be tailored to address the specific needs and challenges of smes, including sector-specific requirements and local market conditions. 3. enhance financial education: providers should offer comprehensive training and support programs to help smes understand and maximize the benefits of their solutions. for policymakers: 1. support digital infrastructure: government should continue investing in digital infrastructure development to support fintech adoption, particularly in secondary cities like ilorin. 2. support digital financial literacy: educations should be created to make sme owners and operators more technologically and digitally financially literate. 3. sustain favourable regulatory conditions: regulators ought to proceed with creating a framework that favours innovation promotion and consumer protection and financial stability. limitations and future research this study focused specifically on ilorin, which may limit the generalizability of findings to other contexts. future research should examine fintech adoption patterns in other secondary cities and rural areas to provide broader insights into adoption dynamics across different geographical contexts. the cross-sectional design captured fintech adoption and impacts at a single point in time. longitudinal studies would provide insights into adoption trajectories and long-term 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(2022). national survey of micro, small and medium enterprises. abuja: small and medium enterprises development agency of nigeria. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 1 armed conflict as a fatal threat to child health and social development: assessment of nigerian civil war innocent ahamefule nwosu department of sociology faculty of social sciences alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike ebonyi state, nigeria email: innoglo22000@yahoo.com abstract armed conflict is obstacle to good health and peaceful co-existence in many countries. it is an enemy against children. during nigeria civil war (1967-1970), millions of children on the defunct biafra side died from adverse health conditions. in spite of these, the health/social consequences of that war on children have not been adequately addressed. the study therefore assessed disruption of family lives of the children and diseases that affect them during that war. the study utilized in-depth interviews and complemented it with narrative review of literature on the civil war. it was found that there is a strong relationship between armed conflict and adverse health conditions of children before, during and after war. therefore, war affects children’s health and social development. the study recommends that serious effort should be made to prevent war or where it is impossible, adequate relief support and medical infrastructures should be in place by national and international governments/agencies. keywords: armed conflict, child health, health consequences of war, nigerian civil war, social consequences of conflict. introduction in most parts of the world, both developed and the developing, war/armed conflict is a frequent challenge to the health and general well-being of humans particularly children and women. armed conflict does not only take away scarce resources as well as fund from healthcare and disease prevention, it also develops fresh and more serious health problems (eban, 2002). internal armed conflicts have become rampant, quite devastating and very destructive by the middle of 20th century. this is accompanied by severe consequences on children’s healthcare and survival (kreif et al, 2022). most reports about war do show the military competing among themselves while the civil population (including children) are caught up on the sidelines. in other words, most of the civil population never participate directly in war, but many especially children are directly affected by the war. therefore, in every war, the main victims are civilians. as such, better explanation of any war is shown by portraying the humanitarian situations of the civilian population who are the real victims of the war, particularly the children (doebbler, 2015). as a result, one in every ten children in the world has been affected by war. truly, over 50% of all the children in the world today are living in nations which are having major armed conflicts. similarly, over 10 million children below the age of five years have been killed during armed conflicts. furthermore, the health of over 630 children is negatively affected by armed conflicts in various places. for instance, in 2017, one child in every 6 children globally was either displaced forcefully by conflict or are living dangerously near conflict areas. in mailto:innoglo22000@yahoo.com 2 actual fact, one third of those children affected are living in countries like nigeria, pakistan and india. this is why researchers and the international community can no longer ignore the plight of these children (kadir et al, 2018; berman, 2021; bendavid et al, 2021; duff-brown, 2021 & munanya, 2021). today, more than half of the children in the world are resident in nations who are facing active conflicts. this calls for radical rethinking towards measures for handling armed conflicts (health europa, 2021). according to garfield and neugut (2000), for every 1000 persons, 44 of them have died either directly or indirectly from war or war-related problems during the 20th century. this may have been as a result of the current tactics of warfare because wars are no longer between nations but within nations (war child international, 2014). as such, fighting soldiers attack civilians whom they murder, sexually molest and traumatized. these inhuman treatment and war strategy have been noticed in different parts of the world, especially in the various wars fought in sudan, congo, sierra leone, liberia and even rwanda. this is why kadir et al (2018) posited that the main consequences of war include displacement, physical/psychological trauma and death. the effects of war according to them may also include health-related risks as well as destruction of health, educational, religious and economic structures/facilities. most of these children do not die as a result of bullets or bombs but they died from preventable and treatable diseases. this is as a result of the destruction of healthcare systems and supporting infrastructure. it has been pointed out that about 550,000 babies are believed to have died due to the wars fought between 2013 and 2017 in the ten of the most affected nations. consequently, an average of 100,000 children dies every year from armed conflict. these children usually die from indirect effects of the war such as hunger/malnutrition, destroyed infrastructure and hospitals, inability to access to healthcare services and good sanitation as well as non-availability relief materials (reliefweb, 2019; dark, 2020; nwaubani, 2020). in the same vein, children who are injured during armed conflict are usually excluded from schooling. the consequence of this most times is irreversible. in actual fact, the injured children may not be able to attend school because of their disability. stigmatization may also prevent them from attending school or participating in school activities especially when it involves facial deformation or lack of sight/hearing (inara, 2020). similarly, conflicts create a situation that persists, but is not adequately suited for peacetime and it usually imposes a situation that breeds violence. number of light weapons remains for years, examples includes the 1967-1970 nigerian civil war and the 1996 civil war in guatemala, where rate of armed violence escalated after the wars (international action network on small arms, 2008). in actual fact, death of children during conflicts is predominantly connected to conditions that do not relate directly to violence such as infectious diseases, malnutrition and environmental complications (southall, 2011). there is usually higher rate of contagious diseases like cholera, measles and tuberculosis in the war areas. this came as a result of migration of people, infrastructural decay and breakdown of people’s immune system; all these escalated the problems of infectious diseases and expose the unimmunized people to fresh and dangerous germs. this is why howell et al. (2020) posited that deaths resulting directly from wars have reduced worldwide but death of civilians related to the wars has gone up with children at the centre of its victimization space. in actual fact, children’s nutritional status influences their health status. every malnourished child has his/her immune system lowered and this exposes such child to adverse health conditions (dehab et al, 2020 & munanya, 2021). 3 it has been noted that war affects children the same way it affects adults but children also suffer other things that adults do not suffer. first, children are expected to depend on the unconditional care, unalloyed acceptance and undivided attention of matured persons whom they have known and who have been caring for them all the while. their attachments to these loving people are usually disrupted during wars. this could be due to the death/loss of parents, parents being mostly occupied with protecting and seeking for means of feeding their families and parents who may be distressed or distracted by other events. sometimes these children found substitute care in the hands of relatives or an orphanage or just any kind person. this person(s) may care for them only slightly. many of war-affected children lose protection of their adult relatives; they are the ones usually referred to as “the unaccompanied children”. second, impact of war on a person during his/her childhood most times negatively affects the person’s future even as adults (barbara, 2006). apa (2001) noted that in addition to witnessing fighting and bloodshed, children are faced with a host of other problems such as the loss of basic resources, disruption of family structure, stigmatization and discrimination and pessimistic view of all things. all these result in poor health for the child in war zone and possible death is inevitable. this has been noted by encyclopaedia britannica (2021) when it pointed out that biafran children who surrendered to death by starvation were over a million. generally speaking, war itself is an infectious disease. during the period of its incubation, the money meant for other economic ventures during the peace period is diverted to war needs. second stage is when the war erupts or the place is invaded, when heavy movement of soldiers and military equipment will lead to great migration of civilians to safe places where they become refugees. the third stage is a very lengthy period when sickness resulting from uncertainty and life surrounded by enemy soldiers with constant attacks from both land and air. the last is period of convalescence, usually protracted, yet it is hardly completed as it drags on for years even after the war has ended. any child could die at any of these stages of the war. however, even children who managed to survive till the end may carry on the consequences of the problems all through their entire life times (ellis, 1948). from the foregoing, it can be seen that human society has degenerated to the level that most disagreement results to war with vulnerable persons as the major victims. this is regardless of the dangerous consequences of armed conflict. nigeria, for instance, has suffered a major civil war between 1967 and 1970; yet armed conflicts have not ended in the country. since the return of civilian administration in nigeria in 1999, the country has witnessed series of armed conflicts in different parts of the country – niger delta militancy, middle belt farmers-herdsmen clashes, ethnic/religious killings/kidnapping in north west/north central, boko haram in north east and secession agitations in the south east/south west. the cases are still raging on. more often, the issues of religion or ethnicity are used to promote the emotions of hate and attack among the populace. from all indications, armed conflicts in whatever shapes or forms pose a threat against the people particularly young ones. all these notwithstanding, issues of health and social impacts of armed conflicts on young ones is yet to be fully investigated in nigeria. it should be noted that under the millennium development goals for 2015 and the sustainable development goals for 2030, the entire world jointly agreed to make effort in minimizing poverty/hunger, infant/child morbidity/mortality having particular areas of emphasis across the world. these goals appear to be unachievable in most sub-saharan africa nations particularly those that are currently romancing with armed conflicts. this is because during peace period, most sub-saharan african countries are struggling to meet up with 20% of the goals. then, with war/conflict, more children will be watched to die (howell et. al, 2020). this made kadir et al (2019) to posit that there is urgent 4 need for a study on the ways armed conflicts affect children’s health and social development. the temptation here would be to study an active conflict situation. however, it is obvious that the root causes of most agitations/conflicts in the nigeria presently, particularly, in the southeast, south-south and even south-west revolve around issues emanating from the nigerian civil war of 1967-1970. in other words, it is pertinent to assess remote causes of events instead of immediate causes. this makes assessment of issues concerning that civil war very important. in spite of all these and with the current waves of armed violence going on in different parts of nigeria, not much research has been carried out to understand what children passed through socially and health wise during the last nigerian civil war of 19671970. that is, most studies have not specifically focused on the effect of that war on children’s health. most times, children’s welfare was only mentioned in relation to other issues. therefore, it became imperative to investigate the health and social consequences of children in nigeria during that last nigerian civil war. this has become necessary following the current drums of war being beaten in different quarters of the country. the aim is to learn lessons from the past to ensure that armed conflicts are checked since the future generations are likely to reap the ugly fruits of any war we started today. this makes the study significant in the areas of military science, social sciences, health sciences and peace/conflict studies among others. as a result, the main objective of the research is to reveal the relationship between armed conflicts and the health/social development of children. specifically, the study is aimed at, (a) assessing the extent to which armed conflict (nigerian civil war) disrupted the family life of children, (b) identifying common health problems faced by children during the nigerian civil war and (c) assessing the extent to which the war (nigerian civil war) affected the social development of children. methods the study assessed the impact of war or armed conflict on children with regards to their social lives and health. this was done through in-depth interviews on the correlation between armed conflict and children’s health/social life in war zones. the study focused on nigeria civil war which ended 54 years ago. narrative review of literature was carried out to complemented in-depth interviews which were conducted in southeast nigeria. research design the study which used qualitative method to achieve its aims was focused on southeast nigeria. the study was carried out in two states of southeast nigeria namely, imo and ebonyi states. a total of six local government areas were involved in the study, that is, three local governments from each of the two selected states. from each local government area, an autonomous community was selected. in other words, six autonomous communities were selected for the study. while southeast nigeria was purposively selected because it was the centre of nigerian civil war, the two states (imo and ebonyi), the local government areas and the autonomous communities were selected using simple random sampling technique. the actual participants were selected from the communities using purposive and snowballing sampling techniques. similarly, there was extensive literature search for papers/books published between 1970 and 2022 on the social and health consequences of nigerian civil war on the then children. this was used to complement the in-depth interviews. data were collected on health outcomes, abandonment, social isolation/displacement, hunger, traumatic encounters, orphaned children and availability/access to social/health amenities. 5 participants the research focused on men and women aged 60 years and above in the selected communities who had witnessed the civil war as children or youth. the guiding rule for selecting participant as follows: a person (60 75 years old) who was living in southeast nigeria between 1967 and 1970 and was between the age of 4 and 24 years as at the time of the war. this is because such individuals could be able to recall what happened to them during that period. therefore, these persons were selected because they are in possession of useful knowledge cum experiences which are essential for the study. the key informants in each autonomous community provided information that led to the selection of these participants in the first instance. twenty participants were selected from each community, making a total of 120 participants. out of the 120 participants, 60 were male while the other 60 were female. the researcher was able to reach the selected subjects and explained the essence as well as the procedure of the research to them. after that, consent forms were distributed to the selected participants but out of the 120 subjects who received the consents forms, only 100 were able to return their filled forms. the other 20 persons did not return theirs. again, out of the 100 participants that returned their filled forms, 12 declined to participate in the study. therefore, only 88 persons agreed to participate in the research and this represents 73.3% of the initially selected participants. in other words, only 88 (73.3%) of the selected subjects fulfilled the final inclusion criterion to participate in the study. ethics the research and ethics committee of alex ekwueme federal university ndufu alike in nigeria received and scrutinized the research proposal carefully. when the committee confirmed that the research is not harmful to the participants/society, it gave its consent/approval for the research to be conducted strictly as proposed. the selected subjects for the study (120) were then approached and the purpose and processes of the study were explained to them. after that, only 88 out of the initial 120 participants consented to participate in the study. following the regulatory ethics of research, the research subjects were assured that both their participation and their views during the study must be handled with utmost level of confidentiality and that their real names must not appear in the reports of the study. instrument/data collection in-depth interviews were used to collect data from the war survivors. one hundred and twenty of them were initially selected for the study but only eighty-eight (73.3%) agreed to take part in the study. thirty-one (35.2%) of these 88 subjects were female while 57 (64.8%) were male. again, because of the nature of the research, the participants were selected purposively from each of the selected communities. to uphold anonymity and adherence to scientific research ethics, fictitious names were ascribed to the subjects instead of their real names. the study (in-depth interviews) was carried out from january to june, 2024. the interviews were carried out at the homes of the interviewees using one of the major nigerian languages igbo. the in-depth interviews were tape-recorded. each of the interviews took about 40 minutes to one hour. forty-seven (47) questions were contained in the in-depth interview guide (research instrument) and the questions were designed to elicit necessary information about the social problems and health challenges encountered by the participants and/or their relatives during and immediately after that civil war. 6 data analysis the resultant data from in-depth interviews were obtained in igbo language. they were later transcribed onto paper before being translated to english language. in order to make sense of the collected data, the first stage of analysis involves reading through the transcripts. by doing so, it becomes easy to determine various themes in the data and expected relationships arising from the themes. therefore, the results were assessed in order to have fuller understanding of the experiences of the participants. as a result, the reality of each experience is properly understood. analysis of data was done through the use of descriptive statistics. the data were also presented in narrative form. quotations derived from the views of the participants were used for presenting the results. the names used are fictitious and this actually helps to ensure that the participants remain anonymous. data from the reviewed texts were content analyzed, synthesized and fitted into the established themes to compliment data from in-depth interviews. results demographic characteristics of participants it can be seen from table 1 that the total number of subjects who participated in the study were 88 which represented 73% of all those who were initially selected for the study. out of this number, 44 participants are from imo state, nigeria while the remaining 44 are from ebonyi state, nigeria. the six communities selected for the research are obollo/isiala-mbano local government area, amaimo/ikeduru local government area, okwelle/onuimo local government area (all in imo state), oso-eda/afikpo south local government area, abomege/onicha local government area and effium/ohaukwu local government area (all in ebonyi state). the table also shows that 64.8% of the participants are male while 35.2% are female. it is revealed that as at the end of the nigerian civil war (1970), the mean age of the participants was 9 years. this shows that majority of the participants were children as at the time of the war but were old enough to recall their experiences during that war. it was also found that 13.6% of the subjects were disabled as at the time of the study. it was further revealed that 8 (66.7%) of these persons became disabled as a result of injuries sustained during that war. the remaining 86.4% were physically normal. in terms of educational status, the result shows that 29.6% of the participants never had any formal education. in other words, 80.7% of the participants either did not have formal education or did not go beyond primary school. only 6.8% could go beyond secondary education. table 1: demographic profile of research participants autonomous community/ state numbe r mean age (as at 1970) sex health status educational level male female normal disabled none pry sec. tertiary obollo/imo 18 9 11 7 16 2 3 10 3 2 amaimo/imo 12 10 6 6 11 1 2 6 3 1 okwelle/imo 14 10 10 4 10 4 3 8 1 2 osoedda/ebonyi 19 7 13 6 18 1 8 9 2 0 abomege/ebo 8 10 5 3 5 3 4 3 1 0 7 nyi effium/ebonyi 17 9 12 5 16 1 6 9 1 1 total (%) 88 (100) 9 (grand mean) 57 (64.8 %) 31 (35.2%) 76 (86.4%) 12 (13.6%) 26 (29.6%) 45 (51.1 %) 11 (12.5 %) 6 (6.8%) source: fieldwork 2024 disruption of family life of children majority of the participants (93%) pointed out that during the nigerian civil war, their entire family lives were disorganised. twenty-seven of the interviewees representing 30.7% of the participants said that they lost their parents during that war. they were either left in care of other care givers, who actually had their own families. another 18 participants (20.5%) lost their mothers while 36 participants (40.9%) lost their fathers to that war. the interviewees who lost their siblings during the nigerian civil war were 64 (72.7%). one of the participants – mrs adaeze puts her own case thus: i was six years old when the war started. my father was not rich but we had a very happy family before the war. my father was a farmer while my mother was a petty trader. my parents had four children – three girls and one boy. the boy was the most senior while i was the second daughter. my kid sister was just three years at the commencement of the war. when my father told us that the war between biafra and nigeria had started, we were full of jubilation. we thought war was like wrestling contest. we were living our normal lives until 1968 when my father was conscripted into the biafran army. the whole family went into mourning mood. before papa left, he assured me that he was going to come back soon. but he never did. therefore, my mother took charge. she was struggling everyday to ensure that we eat. we witnessed another moment of confusion in 1969. we woke one morning to notice that our entire village has been filled up with strangers who were carrying their luggage. they told us that hausa has entered their village at okigwe. theses strangers later camped at our primary school. life became tougher. we hardly eat once a day. my major diet then was palm kernel. one day, we heard gun shots. my friends and i were running round celebrating that biafran soldiers are dealing with hausa people. few minutes later, an aeroplane flew past our house. the next thing we heard was loud sounds everywhere. everyone began to run. my mum picked my kid sister and flew. i ran to the back of our compound and lay under the bush. the loud sound came closer. i ran completely out of my community. i could not find my mother or my siblings. i was alone. no food, no shelter, no cloth except the one on my body and nobody that i know was around me. later, i joined our people that came from their own places and we were staying at a field of one catholic church. when the war ended, i returned to my village and waited for the return of my mother and siblings. but i never saw any of them till today. my father too never returned. i was left alone in the world. it was my mother’s sister who took me to her place and looked after me till i married. ..... school? no, i never attended school again. i helped my auntie in her pottery making. 8 some of the participants had other horrifying experiences. they witnessed the death of their beloved family members. ezenna (a 10 year old boy at the beginning of the war) narrated his experience. on that fateful orie day, i was at orie amaraku with my father. he went to the market to sell his goat so that we could get food to eat. i accompanied him. a buyer was haggling with my father over the goat. the next thing i heard was a thunderous sound, i jumped and ran to hide under one big tree nearby. in a matter of seconds, the tree where i hid had been shatter and the branches fell upon us. i broke my left hand. later, i began to search for my father. with the aid of his cloth, i found my father in pool of blood. his belly was reaped open but he was still shaking his head. i attempted to rush to him but the people around prevented me. i stood there watching my father until the head stopped jacking. my kinsmen later brought what was left of my father and buried it. (he sobbed). in the same case of nigeria civil war, achebe (2012:190) recalled his experience. he noted that: the biafra government has issued public safety warning to all citizens to abstain from wearing clothes of light colour like white or cream------- the nigerian pilots approaching their chosen targets would often switch off the engines of the planes, then fly very low treetop level – before they would begin the bombing onslaught -----. on this particular day we did not hear the siren or planes; no one knew that the nigerians were in the air. when we noticed a plane zooming in for the kill we rushed into the bunkers and looked around to account for everyone, counting all the children. to our horror we realized that our third child, chidi, was not there. this is usually one of the ways in which children were separated from their parents during war. from the in-debt interviews, it was also found that during the nigeria civil war, most children lost the homes that they used to know. their traditional homes were destroyed. some children were made to sleep inside the bush, on top of trees and even in caves for days. anayo (5 years old at the beginning of the war) explained how he lost his home. ...... my friends and i went to the stream to fetch water. on getting to the stream, we began to swim. about 30 minutes later, we had some gun shots at the direction of our village. we hurriedly carried our water and rushed home. on entering my village, i noticed that everywhere was deserted. i could not see any one. it was wailing sounds of goats and fowls that i heard. i was determined to reach my compound. at least, my mother would tell me what happened. from far, i sighted our compound. the entire house was on fire. some walls had already collapsed. when i got close, i called my mother severally. there was no answer. i called my siblings. no one responded. that was how i walked away from our 9 compound alone. i got to abo maise. i thought i was safe. that same night, there was information that hausa people have reached owerre-nta. i ran into the bush. i actually slept inside ditch where timbre was sawed. ....... war is not good. but children suffer terrible things. i don’t like remembering these things. putting the story differently, forsyth and cooper (2001) stated that the nigeria military used their air-force to damage biafran villages and farms on daily basis. as a result of this, the children were dislocated from their villages living as refugees in other places. their fathers are either killed, hiding in the forest/swamps, in the battle field or struggling to get some food from anywhere. the mothers, if they were alive may be helpless and hopeless. some stubborn mothers sometimes abandoned their children to seek favour from soldiers. that was the fate of most biafran children. similarly, uzokwe (2003) provided a vivid account of how his relatives and classmates died in that war as a result of hunger and deprivation. uzokwe gave clear-cut account of how children lost their familiar bond, family comfort, communal reciprocity and family support. uzokwe’s suffering is representative of the average biafran child’s suffering at that hour of their grave trial. in another context, akresh et al (2012) reviewed the relationship between the sufferings of biafran during the nigerian civil war and found that there is a significant long–run impact of the war on human health capital especially among children. it was reported that children exposed to the war exhibited reduced stature. common health problems faced by children during war the study according to table 2 revealed that the common health problems that confronted children during nigeria civil war were kwashiorkor, diarrhoea, cholera, measles, tuberculoses, whooping cough, malaria, chicken pox and asthma. out of the 88 participants, 83 (94.3%) agreed that they suffered acute malnutrition (kwashiorkor) during that war. all the participants (100%) also agreed that their siblings and other children within their areas suffered kwashiorkor as well. the participants who suffered diarrhoea during the period were 20 (22.7%). only 37 (42.1%) participants agreed that their siblings suffered diarrhoea but all of them agreed that other children also suffered diarrhoea during the war. from the table 2, it can be seen that 16 participants suffered cholera but 32 (36.4%) believed that their siblings also suffered cholera. almost all the participants (93.2%) agreed that they are aware that other children in their areas suffered cholera during the war. none of the subjects had tuberculoses during the period but 15 (17.1%) of the participants agreed that some of their siblings had tuberculosis during that war. almost all the interviewees (76.1%) had whooping cough at different times during the nigeria civil war. the mean from table 2 reveals that the most common disease during the nigerian civil war was kwashiorkor (mean = 88.0). others were diarrhoea (mean = 48.3), whooping cough (mean = 47.7), cholera (mean = 43.3), tuberculosis (mean = 37.0), measles (mean = 30.0), malaria (mean = 29.6), asthma (mean = 2.7) and chicken pox (mean = 2.0) in that order. 10 table 2: extent of the health problems suffered by children during nigerian civil war diseases rate at which children suffered different diseases according to participants myself my siblings other children mean rank kwashiorkor 83 (94.3%) 88 (100%) 88 (100%) 88.0 1st diarrhoea 20 (22.7%) 37 (42.1%) 88 (100%) 48.3 2nd cholera 16 (18.2%) 32 (36.4%) 82 (93.2%) 43.3 4th tuberculosis 0 (0%) 15 (17.1%) 66 (75.0%) 37.0 5th measles 26 (29.5%) 31 (35.2%) 33 (37.5%) 30.0 6th whooping cough 47 (53.4%) 34 (38.6%) 62 (70.5%) 47.7 3rd malaria 21 (23.9%) 39 (44.3%) 29 (33.0%) 29.6 7th chicken pox 0 (0%) 2 (2.3%) 4 (4.6%) 2.0 9th asthma 2 (2.3%) 0 (0%) 6 (6.8%) 2.7 8th source: fieldwork 2024 one of the participants during the in-depth interview, ezinne (3 years at the beginning of the war) puts her experience this way: i am from ishieke abomege. i was very small when the war started but i can remember some things. sickness! i still remember that there was a time when i was very thin with protruding stomach and big head. sometimes i found it difficult to sleep at night because of my stomach. and when i moved, it would seem as if the wind was about to carry me. my head would be dangling on my tinny neck at a point, my mum was able to get some salt, put it inside water and asked us to drink the salt water. any time i take the salt water, my stomach would reduce a little. ........ cough was a constant thing for most children at that time. any time it comes, we were asked to eat wall-gecko. it would then disappear. it may come back in few weeks time. but with all these, we were still playing around. indeed, there are so many children in my area who could not survive these sicknesses. the one that killed people fast then was cholera. whenever a child began to vomit and run stool, he may not last beyond the next day. it was a miracle i survived. but i lost my brother and sister to diarrhoea during the war. narrating his experience during nigerian civil war, achebe (2012) noted that there were over two million child deaths on the biafran side and at least 300,000 of them died from kwashiorkor. therefore, most of the biafran children did not die from bullet but rather by diseases. collaborating on this issue, forsyth (1982) also pointed out that in the year 1968 there emerged a new scourge that flayed the people of biafra. children were dying in ever increasing numbers from the dreaded kwashiorkor. according to him, it is a medical fact that an adult requires a gram of pure protein daily in order to be healthy. and each child requires 5 grams of protein because their bones and organs require more protein for growth. in other words, children require about 20 times more protein than adults to ensure their growth and survival. therefore, when protein is in short supply, the children are usually the first to die. that was the exact situation in biafra during that war. the eastern nigeria, who 11 have enough starchy food and fruits lack enough protein giving food like meat, eggs and milk. most of their protein materials come from outside. so, the blockade of imports to biafra actually cut off supply. and the children were gravely affected. achebe (2012:195) brought out the picture clearer by describing a scene thus: there was a child in a corner who was being fed a white meal – the relief meals was almost always white i thought – and it was a concoction that meant the difference between an early grave or another day to see the sun. on this day, at least, this reed-thin child, with a skull copped with wiry rust –coloured tufts of hair and a body centred on a protuberant stomach, provided a toothy smile. i spent a short while smiling back at her, and she reached out to touch my hand. her touch was as light as feather. at a point, the government of biafra cried out that their opponent (nigerian government) was using hunger to wipe out its future generation (the children). however, it was claimed by a nigerian commission and some british medical officers who visited biafra immediately the war ended that the issue of deliberately starving the biafran people by nigerian government was highly exaggerated. but the victims will tell where the truth lies. however, the team agreed that there was evidence of various forms of tropical diseases (alade, 2007). again, hughes (1969) also reported his experience during the nigerian civil war. according to him, as at january 1969, about 8000 patients, mostly elderly men and children were treated on weekly bases for varying degrees of protein malnutrition (including kwashiorkor), vitamin deficiency and dehydration in udi area of southeast nigeria. supporting this, nwachukwu (2019) who was 8 years old during the nigerian civil war explained the difficult situation that children faced during that war. according to him, “we also saw many children die from kwashiorkor because the nigerian military government stopped food access to those of us in biafra.” similarly, ikechukwu et al (2020) in their study reported as follows: one delegation from ngor-okpala (whose member were refugees) led by an eminent educationist and foremost political leader, dr. nnnanna ukaegbu.... gave me the shocking revelation that ngor-okpala people were losing about 200 citizens, mostly children, a week on account of disease, hunger and malnutrition in the inadequately supplied refugee camps. according to them, the common diseases were kwashiorkor (nicknamed oria gown – meaning sickness caused by gowon), cholera and tuberculosis. in other words, apart from kwashiorkor which was rampart during the nigerian civil war, other common diseases faced by children were diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, whooping cough, convulsion (as a result exposure to cold weather) and other infectious diseases. according to the idi report, diarrhoea was the most common diseases. cholera was also a threat in some parts of biafra at that time. it is clear that death was always near for any malnourished child that is faced with either diarrhoea or cholera. that is why it was noticed that during that war, almost every minute a biafran child died. malaria was also a major threat and caused high rate of morbidity and mortality especially among 12 people who are moving through endemic areas and those who settled in open spaces. children were the worst victims of these collective assaults towards human health and social development. when the health situation of biafran children was deteriorating, three major agencies: international committee of the red cross, the catholic caritas and world’s protestant churches united under the umbrella of joint church aid. they made great effort to bring powdered milk and protein concentrates to the children of biafra. over a million of those children died as aid come too late or in too small quantities (forsyth, 1982). apart from children who died during the nigeria civil war, about half of the number of those that died during that conflict survived the war with various disabilities. some suffered hearing impairment, others had various parts of the body injured or maimed. many of such children then today live as adult, suffering such disabilities (in-depth interviews report). it was also reported that health facilities were under serious attack during the nigeria civil war. this was also a major challenge for children. when they were sick, there was no health care facility or personnel to attend to them. as such, they died in large number. one of the respondents during the in-depth interview reported his escape from mile-four hospital abakaliki and subsequent destruction of the facility thus: i was injured at obollo-afo. when the area fell into the hands of nigerian soldiers, i was transferred to mile-four hospital in abakaliki. one evening, we heard of serious shooting and bombardment. the situation was clear. abakaliki is also under attack. i rose from my bed at the hospital, managed to raise myself through the window and fell on the other side of the window. from there i limped towards the bush behind the hospital. magically, the pain i felt earlier disappeared. that’s how i escaped from the hospital and later i heard that most of the buildings and materials at the hospital had been destroyed. some patients who could not help themselves were also killed because the care givers at the hospital also flew to save their own lives. apart from malnutrition and diseases, report from the in-depth interviews also revealed that young girls also suffered sexual abuse. rape occurred without control as there were no social restrictions and soldiers behaved as if they were licensed to do anything. in almost all cases, such sexual abuse were not carried out as a result of sexual hunger, but as a form of torture and a way of humiliating and weakening the morale/strength of their opponent (biafran government). there were also some cases where biafra girls ran to the nigerian soldiers for safety and in the process, they became their sex machines. these incidents resulted to a lot of cases of unwanted pregnancies, child bearing children and sexual transmitted diseases. according to data from in-depth interviews, these incidents also resulted to the death of some young girls during that period. gordon (1996) in his own case, pointed out that nigerian civil war had a strong negative effect on the healthcare of all involved especially on children’s lives. immediately the war began, healthcare policies/programmes became strictly directed towards the war efforts. healthcare maintenance was then focused on taking care of the health of combatants instead of being directed towards the public. preventive medicine, health education, paediatric health, maternal health and so on became forgotten issues (ityavyar & ogba, 1989) 13 hughes in 1969 also provided a descriptive account of the job of a medical group which was organised to tackle the problem of malnutrition in the rural areas during the nigerian civil war. it was reported that 43% of the patients (igbo) who were mostly children, suffered from malnutrition. similarly, in 1970, odling-smee reported that a group which was sent to reopen a regional hospital in the area also helped to treat the civilian igbo. the children of biafra were not different from those found among afghani casualties and they were always innocent bystanders who are usually shot by soldiers of the opponent group. according to the report, the group treated 338 casualties with 54 (representing 16%) who were young ones. again, out of every 22 persons that died, 4 were young ones. this scenario that happened in nigeria has been replicated in several wars that occurred in african continent like in ertrea (sabo & kibirige, 1989). generally, armed conflicts are devastating for children as well as other creatures, but humans have continually waged wars against other human beings for thousands of years and this has not ceased till today. evidence for this assertion can be seen in the various armed conflicts in africa and even in europe. however, the nature and strategies of war are ever changing with helpless children as always the major victims. war and social development of children the most serious consequence of armed conflict apart from health is how war disrupts, disorganises and damages the social development of the affected children. this is seen especially in the disruption of educational programmes of the children even when educational pursuit is believed to be the most effective weapon for eliminating conflict. in-depth interview (idi) report revealed that, during the nigerian civil war, on the biafra side, schools were used as refugee camps or relief centres. at a point, schools become centres of attacks and bombardment by nigerian soldiers. throughout the duration of the war, all schools in the eastern part of nigeria were closed. infrastructures in most schools were destroyed. the children did not remember anything called school. even at the end of the war, some children could not return back to school. there was no strong effort made by the government to reintegrate the children in eastern nigeria back to school immediately after the war. out of the 88 participants, 36 of them said that they could not go beyond primary school because of the nigerian civil war. joseph shared his experience. i was in primary four before the war started. from my primary one to three, i always took first or second position in my class. immediately the war began, our school (st. dominic secondary school, ugiri) closed. i was at home helping my mother with farm work. at a point, our school compound became training camp for biafran soldiers. sometimes, we entered the school compound to help soldiers harvest mangoes. at the end, they used to give us three for four mangoes. we were usually excited working for the soldiers. when the war became intense, the school was bombed and the soldiers left the premises. most of the buildings were shattered. in the course of the war, i lost my parents. i was left to cater for my two sisters. when the war ended, my major concern was how to take care of my sisters. i never returned to school. .......... because i could 14 not afford to and my sisters were my major focus. it is quite unfortunate. some of my classmates then are lawyers and retired teachers today. well, i thank god i survived the war! similarly, felicia narrated her inability to continue her education as a result of the nigeria civil war. for her, the war actually truncated her life ambition. she put her story in this way: i was at akabo girls secondary school in imo state before the war started. i was actually in class two and i was doing very well in my studies. i intended to be a nurse. when the war began, our school was closed like other schools in the area. i went back to my village. with the help of my mother, i began to sell food ingredients like pepper. in 1968, we went to egbu near owerri to collect relief materials. on our way back, we were captured by nigerian soldiers. they took us to their hideout. the following morning, when they discovered that the older women were married, they let them go. but their leader kept me for himself. that is how i became his wife. in the process, i had a son for him. immediately, the war ended, he abandoned me and my little boy and went back to his home in abeokuta. later, i made several efforts to located him but without success. that is how i became a mother. as a mother, it was not easy for me to go back to school. i lost the opportunity of becoming a nurse. i have no choice than to marry another man. ..... my son with the soldier? he is fine. i left him in my father’s custody when i got married. he is traditionally my father’s son. he has married with children. ...... i regret not being a nurse but i am consoled because one of my daughters is actually a mid-wife. generally speaking, data revealed that opportunity never existed for the biafran children during nigerian civil war. schools were targeted for shelling, closure or looting. all schools of various levels in the eastern part of nigeria were closed down during that war. even school teachers were also target for conscription or attack. many school teachers also lost their lives that even after the war, when schools reopened only few teachers were available. that was a major setback for education in eastern nigeria. another major consequence of war on children’s social development is that it builds loss of trust in them. in most cases, children and young people lose their confidence, their trust in the future. mr. nnachi (from afikpo south in ebonyi state) who was thirteen years during the war pointed out that the war made most people to loss self confidence. he further stated, i live with my parents in lagos before the war. my father was working at nigerian railway. when the war broke up, we relocated to my village at oso-edda in ebonyi state. on getting to the village, we were happily received by my uncles and their families. they shared in the materials that my parents brought home. after a while, when the food stuff that my parents brought was exhausted, my uncles 15 could not help us with any food materials from their farms. my father resorted to fetching firewood for women in the village so that we could eat. my mother was collecting wild vegetables from the bush for sale. life was terrible. my uncles did not allow my parents to farm in any of their family lands. my father lost his self confidence. his own brothers, whom he had helped to set up businesses, could not come to his aid. along the line, my father fell ill and died. i resorted to digging pit toilets for people in the area. at that point, i realised that it is foolish to trust anyone even if he is your blood (relative). from that experience, i find difficult to trust people completely till today. this is why war child international also reported that the situation which played out among the biafran children made the children to become anxious, depressed and withdrawn or rebellious and aggressive even after the war. it is also as a result of these circumstances that blum (1969) titled his book – who cares about biafra anyway”. he pointed out that distribution centres and camps for refugees were usually targeted and bombed as soon as the enemy sights many persons in the day light. according to him, mayer sighted a european who worked on the side of biafra as he carried 117 children who were at the point of death in his vehicle to a healthcare facility in one night. this type of horror made biafran children loss hope of tomorrow. it changed their orientation about life and distorted their belief that they could be important people in future. moral values at that point meant nothing to the children. some of the children after witnessing some humiliations, rapes, violence, forceful seizure of properties and voluntary abandonment of children by their mothers for pleasure with soldiers, then realized that power belongs to the man who holds the gun. this orientation (the end justifies the means) is still hunting nigeria till today. discussion the research assessed the effect of armed conflict on the health of children from three angles: disruption of family life of the children, common diseases that confront children during armed conflicts and disruption in the social development of children during armed conflicts. in terms of disruption of family life of the children, the study revealed that the entire family lives of the children were disorganised during the nigerian civil war. this is because most of the children lost their parents (who were supposed to cater for them), their siblings (who were supposed to be their companion) and even other relatives. in other words, most children lost their homes that they used to know during that war. sometimes their traditional homes were destroyed. in such case, the children were exposed to adverse health conditions and there may not be any one available to take care of them. this is why uzokwe (2003) reported that children lost their family bond, family comfort, communal reciprocity and family support. this result also supports the view of akresh (2012) when he concluded that there is a significant relationship between armed conflict and human (children) health capital. the data from the study also aligns with the position of kadir et al (2018) when they posited that the direct effects of armed conflict on children include physical and psychological trauma, displacement and destruction of even healthcare facilities. all these impact on the health conditions of children during war. this result also supports that conclusion of berman (2021) that armed conflicts have affected the health of at least 630 million children and women. the study data is in line with the opinion of barbara (2006) when he noted that children needed care, empathy and attention of their parents and relatives and that children’s 16 attachment to their loved ones is disrupted during war. according to him, this may be as a result of loss of parents, extreme preoccupation of parents in protecting and finding substance for the family. a certain number of children during war have lost everything and everybody related to them. most of the time, such children are regarded as unaccompanied children during war. the findings of the study is also in line with view of apa (2001) as he pointed out that children do face challenges during armed conflicts such as loss of resources, disruption of family relationship, stigmatization, discrimination and pessimistic outlook and that all these result in poor health for the children. the finding also aligns with the view of minoiu and shemyakina (2014) when the stated that conflict-related household victimization especially economic loss is an essential conduit through which armed conflicts adversely affect children’s health conditions. these events in the nigerian civil war was not different from the situation in former yugoslavia that was described by doebbler (2015) when he noted that majority of children are not direct participants in the war but many of them are direct victims. this view is also shared by war child international (2014) when it affirmed that children account for majority of the causalities of war. therefore, the disruption of children’s family lives during war affects the children during the war and sometimes shapes their lives after the war. some are taken off the school for ever. some had their education delayed while others may take to crime as a result of the moral decay that comes from the war. there may be some of them who developed some psychological disorders as a result of the trauma of the war. it is clear that war pulls down the walls of the family and these walls always collapse on the children whose lives may be truncated afterwards. in the case of common health problems confronting children during armed conflicts, the result reveals that the most common health problems that children on the biafran side faced during the nigeria civil war include kwashiorkor (as a result of malnutrition), diarrhoea, cholera, tuberculoses and whooping cough. malaria was also a major threat to biafran children during that war. these diseases killed millions of biafran children during the nigeria civil war. these findings align with the report of southall (2011), howell (2020) and dehab (2020) that mortality of children during war is predominantly the result of infectious disease, malnutrition and complicated environment. and that most times children are at the centre of its victimization space. data from the study also support the view of united nations (1996) that during armed conflicts many children die as a result of malnutrition and disease. it is important to note that malnutrition do compromise the children’s health and gives room for other diseases to kill the children. the result also agrees with report of undp (1996) when it posited that the killer diseases that confront children during war are diarrhoea, serious respiratory diseases and other contagious diseases. the situation reported by the study is similar to what united nations department for policy coordination and sustainable development (1996) reported in yugoslavia when it pointed out that the health problem faced by the youngest children during war is linked to malnutrition. it also noted that malnutrition affects all children but is more devastating among children below three years of age. similarly, malnutrition makes it difficult for the children to resist attacks from common childhood diseases and these diseases become more severe or fatal in malnourished children. this is also in line with the view of dahab et al (2020) when they pointed out that malnutrition status of the children influences their level of resistance against diseases. 17 in the same vein, it is obvious that breast milk offers real nutrient to babies. it also ameliorates the occurrence as well as the seriousness of infections thereby helping women to improve their health and that of their babies. it is known that babies are expected to have exclusive breastfeeding for not less than 6 months. they are also expected to continue to breastfeed in addition to other complementary diet for at least 2 years. as at the period of the nigerian civil war, data show that mothers as a result of hunger, exhaustion and trauma care less about their children. the mothers at a point lost confidence in their ability to produce breast milk. sometimes, when mothers were fleeing from danger zones, they may not remember anything about breastfeeding. their safety was paramount. this is why forsyth (1982) posited that over a million of those children died as aid come too late or in too small quantities. the study also revealed that other health challenges faced by biafran children during nigerian civil war include rape and consequent sexually transmitted diseases (stds), abandonment and destruction of health facilities. this is in spite of the fact that destruction of health facilities during arm conflict is a direct violation of the geneva conventions of 1949. the situation in biafra then was repeated in nicaragua in 1982-1987 and in 1990 where about 70% of the health units were looted, destroyed or forced to close down (united nations department of policy coordination and sustainable development, 1996). in the case of disruption of the social development of children during the nigeria civil war, the study pointed out that disruption of children’s social development occurred in the form of disruption of the children’s education, disruption of school facilities/programmes, loss of trust, self confidence and moral values. these findings partly aligns with view of international review of the red cross (2019) when it stated that experiencing armed conflict during childhood has serious mental health risks and is a threat to a child’s social development. the result also supports the idea of inara (2020) that children injured during armed conflict may find themselves excluded from education. it should be noted that sound education is key to understanding the importance of hygiene, healthy living and processes of accessing health care facilities. as a result, these children who were denied good education during war situations are usually in danger of confronting adverse health condition both during war and even after. in other words, disruption of the children’s social development has a strong correlation with threat of adverse health condition towards children during and after war. this is why posibi (2021) in his study pointed out that after 50 years that nigeria civil war ended, the war’s legacy continues to hold nigeria and nigerians captive. this is because of aspects of the war especially the area concerning the effect the war had on children’s social development had not been adequately assessed and addressed. posibi (2021) emphasized that war truly disrupts the children’s social capital as well as affects their social development. that is why most children who grew up in an environment of armed conflicts develop aggressive behaviour and are usually forceful in their demands. for instance, according to obaji (2021), mazi nnamdi kanu (the leader of indigenous people of biafra – ipob), was born in southeast nigeria in 1967, the very year that the war began. he is actually one of the few babies that survival the war. therefore, his actions or reactions concerning the secession of biafra from nigeria may be as a result of the disruption of social development that he suffered during the war. the whole exercise could have resulted from the loss of trust which he and his age mates developed as a strategy for survival during that war. that is why tanko (2021) and akinsowon (2021) agreed that distrust is a major reason nigeria is facing an unprecedented wave of different but overlapping security crises such as banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling and 18 sessionists’ movements. they believe these issues and their magnitude is a serious threat to nigeria as a nation because in most attacks human beings die or are maimed. conclusion armed conflict is a great hiccup to excellent health, good social life and harmonious human relationships in several nations particularly in the continent of africa. in the past, wars are usually fought between nations but today the trend has changed. most wars are now fought within nations. throughout the developed and the developing world, conflict is a constant threat to the health and social development of children. during the nigerian civil war the family system collapsed. many children were separated from their parents. few others roamed about unaccompanied. most children lost their traditional homes; some slept inside bush, tree tops or even in caves. all these negatively affected the physical, mental and biochemical structure of biafran children. on the other hand, most biafra children died from diseases and not bullet. many of them died from kwashiorkor which was as a result of acute level of malnutrition within the biafran zone during the nigerian civil war. during the late 1960s the name biafra was synonymous with acute malnutrition and mass death of children. only few infants born during that war survived because they were hardly breastfed. most nursing mothers themselves were malnourished and are always facing traumatic situation. they hardly had strength and psychological balance to breast feed babies. worst still, there were no supplement available for the babies. therefore, most of the infants went with the war. it was also noticed that malnutrition actually reduced drastically children’s resistance to common diseases. other common diseases that did deadly blow on the biafran children were diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, whooping cough, convulsion and many other infectious diseases. in other words, children were the most vulnerable to the collective attacks/assaults on human health and social well–being. apart from health issues, armed conflict has its gravest effects on children’s social development. war disrupts and distorts children’s view of themselves, the world and the future. this is because war disrupted and destroyed children’s education. similarly, war builds loss of trust in children and this brings about loss of confidence in the children. this situation results in children becoming anxious, depressed and withdrawn or rebellious and aggressive even after the war. this orientation is still an issue that is affecting nigeria till today in form of banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and secessionists’ movements. generally, no matter its form, armed conflict is an enemy against children. beside the social problems suffered by children in times of war, they are at the same time faced with several health problems. from this standpoint, we can say that a significant relationship exists between armed conflict and adverse health conditions for children before, during and even after war. in other words, the consequences of armed conflicts on children are devastating. it actually impede on their general paediatric health situation and physical/social development. from the foregoing, we believe that war benefits nobody and the greatest victims are usually children. as a result, adequate machinery should be put in place by local communities, nations, international agencies and even united nations to manage conflicts at their inception in order to prevent them from blossoming into full blown wars. this is because war had never and will never be good to any society. the more armed conflicts a country suffers, the more backwards that country falls. nigeria and nigerians in particular, should learn from previous experiences. most of the distrusts and conflicts of the present era in nigeria are the 19 products of the last civil war. providing for a peaceful future for the children requires more than merely stopping the current wars. it requires educating or convincing a whole generation of the necessity to settle their disputes peacefully. there is no doubt that education system that incorporated teaching of tolerance will provide foundations for peace (a situation in which there is no war or fighting). on the other hand, where it is impossible to prevent armed conflict, the supply of emergency health infrastructures, food with proper nutrients and focused healthcare services should be adequate and available directly to the area(s) and victims who need them during wars. in other words, emergencies and procedures should be adapted to survival and protection of children. family tracing programme should be established at onset of assistance programmes. at the beginning of armed conflicts, parties (state actors or non-state actors) involved should endeavour to train their citizens on how to migrate without losing their children. in these activities, the community leaders, national governments (including governments of neighbouring countries), international agencies, non-governmental organisations and united nations that should be involved to ensure the lives of children are protected during armed conflicts. and whenever it is feasible, abandoned/unaccompanied children should be put in the cared of their extended families, but where it is impossible, they should be catered for by neighbours, family friends or other substitute families instead of being kept in institutions. this will help to sustain the moral and traditional values of the people. however, no adoption should be permitted until exhaustive family tracing has been carried out. there should be practicable and transparent violent preventive measures; prevention of partiality in distribution of relief materials and avoidance of the urge to recruit children into armed forces in various refugees and displaced persons camps. these issues must be given priority in all assistance programmes during wars. all military personnel, as a matter of necessity, should be trained to understand their responsibilities during war times towards civilians in communities with special attention to children. children are not directly part of the war and as such should be protected. in fact, military personnel should at the point of being commissioned be made to take oath that they will never intentionally injure, attack or kill children during conflicts. there should be appropriate programmes with special focus on providing necessary assistance to children affected during war. such programmes should also incorporate skill training for children. most importantly, countries, organisations and companies that make profit from the sales/distribution of war weapons/equipment should be made to be part of the provision of funds for humanitarian or rehabilitation projects during and after wars. further studies should be carried out on recent armed conflicts in nigeria and other subsaharan african countries to determine what the effect of such conflict(s) on the health and social lives of children are. this will also help to compare historical facts with contemporary evidence. limitations of the study the study depended on what the participants could remember during the in-depth interviews about the event that happened over 54 years ago. it is possible that not all the participants could recall vividly how some of the events occurred due to time lapse and age factor. however, what they were able to remember is quite useful to fulfil the objectives of the study. 20 the study used narrative review of literature instead of the conventional systematic or scoping review to support the data obtained from in-depth interviews. this may not have followed the usual practice but it has helped to portray the results in concrete terms. the study could not assess in details the psychological trauma faced by children during that because it is outside the scope of the study. however, it is important that subsequent studies could be carried out to determine this aspect of the effect of war on children. references achebe, c. 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(2003). surviving in biafra the story of the nigeria civil war. https://www.amazon.com/surviving-biafra-story-nigeriancivilwar. retrieved 2nd april, 2024. war child international (2014). the effect of war on children. london: linton house. https://www.amazon.com/surviving-biafra-story-nigeriancivilwar page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 502 the relationship between loneliness, identity formation, and social media addiction among undergraduate students obodo, chiamaka esther onwuekwem, tobechukwu rapuluchi enugu state university of science and technology obodoesther123@gmail.com; toorapuluchi@gmail.com abstract the study investigated the relationship between loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction among undergraduate students, one hundred and forty-six (146) undergraduate students comprising of 44 males and 102 females with a mean age of 20.78 and s. d of 2.197 were drawn using multi-stage (cluster, simple random: by balloting and purposive) sampling techniques as participants from enugu state university of science and technology, enugu. the ulcla loneliness scale, ego identity process questionnaire and bergen social media addiction scale were used for data collection. the researcher adopted a correlational design, a pearson moment coefficient correlation with the aid of the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 27. findings revealed that loneliness r= .133 and identity formation r= .101 at p< .05 did not relate to social media addiction. therapists should work with students to help them understand that as they grow older, there are specific tasks and responsibilities they need to address. keywords: aloneness, identity crisis, loneliness, social media addiction introduction in today’s world, social media addiction is prevalent among young people with many spending several hours a day scrolling through their social media feeds, this excessive use is often accompanied by feelings of loneliness, disconnection, and uncertainty about their identities, it is prevalent in our daily lives, changing how people communicate individually as well as professionally. the need of social media in the modern era has been phenomenally growing (abbasi, 2019). users are able to create individual public profiles, meet other people with common interests, and connect with real-life friends through the virtual communities in social networking sites (kuss & griffiths, 2017). there are numerous active social media sites that encourage the development of social networking sites, particularly the more prominent ones like facebook, instagram, twitter, and whatsapp. social media addiction, also known as problematic social media use or compulsive social networking, can be referred to as an excessive and compulsive engagement with social media platforms, leading to negative consequences in various areas of life (obodo, 2024). individuals with social media addiction may experience withdrawal symptoms, difficulty controlling their usage, and prioritizing online interactions over real life activities (kuff & griffiths,2011). social media addiction is the compulsive use of online social networking platforms to the extent that it interferes with daily activities and personal relationships. it involves a dependency on virtual interactions, often at the expense of real-life connections (turkle, 2011). social media addiction refers to the uncontrollable urge to engage with social networking sites, leading to excessive usage patterns that disrupt normal daily routines and interpersonal relationships (twenge, 2017). social media addiction, as conceptualized by kuss & griffiths (2017), encompasses addictive behaviours associated with social networking sites. mailto:obodoesther123@gmail.com mailto:toorapuluchi@gmail.com 503 these behaviours include compulsive checking of information, spending excessive time on social media platform, and experiencing withdrawal symptoms offline. the negative consequences of social media addiction includes: low self-esteem and comparing oneself to others, increased isolation, and loneliness, fear of missing out and feeling excluded (fomo), social anxiety and embarrassment. studies have convincingly documented that social media addiction is common among university and college students and that this addiction is harmful to their mental health and academic performance (berryman et al., 2018; cain, 2018; kircaburun et al., 2018). for instance, it may result in decreased academic performance due to distractions and procrastination caused by excessive social media use. also, spending too much time on social media can disrupt student’s ability to concentrate during lectures and study sessions, impacting their learning outcomes. symptoms of social media addiction may include being constantly preoccupied with social media, spending excessive time on it, feeling unable to control usage, experiencing anxiety or irritability when unable to access it, neglecting responsibilities and relationships because of it, using it as a way to escape problems, and compulsively checking for updates even in inappropriate situations and using it to create contents, etc. the common causes of social media addiction includes: lack of affection and group support, the need for validation, the need for a widespread of and growing social influence, the need to reaffirm group identity, personal gratification from social media use, using social media to get away from unpleasant realities (family conflict, poor romantic relationships, etc). in understanding loneliness, we draw from the work of (hawkley & cacioppo 2010), who defined it as more than just physical isolation but as a subjective feeling of disconnection. their research sheds light on how societal changes and technology can contribute to feelings of loneliness, even in a world where we are more connected than ever. studies have that individuals who are lonely are more predisposed to consume social media, the more tendencies of being addictive to social media. loneliness refers to the subjective feeling of being socially isolated or lacking companionship. it is characterized by a sense of emptiness or disconnection, even when surrounded by others (obodo, 2024). individuals experiencing loneliness may perceive a gap between the quality and quantity of their social relationships and their level of connection (hawkley & cacioppo, 2010).loneliness is a universal human experience(rotenberg,1999) which speaks to our deep human need to connect with one another and the fundamental role fullfilling social and emotional relationships have for good human health and well-being. loneliness manifests in various ways, both physically and emotionally. emotionally, it involves feelings of sadness, emptiness, or isolation, even when surrounded by others. there’s often a deep longing for connection and meaningful relationships, yet a sense of inability to form or maintain them. physically, loneliness can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, changes in appetite, sleep disturbances, headaches, or digestive issue. individuals may also become more sensitive to rejection or criticism, and negative thought patterns like pessimism or rumination may develop. some may seek distractions or engage in risky behaviors to cope with loneliness. contributing factors to loneliness include situational variables, such as physical isolation, moving to a new location, and divorce. the death of someone significant in a person's life can also lead to feelings of loneliness. additionally, it can be a symptom of a psychological disorder such as depression. depression often causes people to withdrawal socially, which can lead to isolation. research also suggests that loneliness can be a factor that contributes to symptoms of depression. loneliness can also be attributed to internal factors such as low selfesteem. people who lack confidence in themselves often believe that they are unworthy of the https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc8247617/#cr4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc8247617/#cr6 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc8247617/#cr26 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-psychological-disorder-2795767 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-psychological-disorder-2795767 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-esteem-2795868 504 attention or regard of other people, which can lead to isolation and chronic loneliness. personality factors may also play a role, introverts, for example, might be less likely to cultivate and seek social connections, which can contribute to feelings of isolation and loneliness. experiencing loneliness can lead to feelings of sadness and dissatisfaction. it can also have physical implications, such as fatigue and overall diminished health. loneliness can pose challenges in forming and maintaining meaningful relationships, and it can adversely affect one’s overall well-being. identity formation refers to the process through which individuals develop a sense of self and establish a coherent understanding of who they are, including their values, beliefs and goals (obodo, 2024). identity formation according to erik erikson (1950) is the process through which individuals develop a coherent sense of self by exploring and synthesizing various aspects of their identity. this involves navigating through identity crises and resolving conflicts between different roles and identities. james marcia expanded upon erikson’s work in the 1960s and 1970s by introducing the concept of identity statuses, which describes different stages of identity development based on the presence of or absence of exploration and commitment in identity-relevant domains. the symptoms of identity formation could include confusion about values and goals, uncertainty in roles and responsibilities, self-doubt, low selfesteem, difficulty in decision making, social withdrawal, mood swings, impulsive behavior, challenges in forming intimate relationships, and existential concerns about life’s meaning. identity formation is influenced by various factors such as family dynamics and peer relationships. family dynamics: the family environment, including parental attitudes, values, and communication patterns, plays a significant role in shaping individuals identity. peer relationships. interactions with peers, peer pressure, and group norms provide a social context for identity exploration and validation, influencing individual’s self-concepts and behaviors, etc. identity formation difficulties can have significant consequences that affect various aspects of an individual’s life. emotionally, these difficulties can lead to feelings of confusion, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with oneself. this emotional distress can spill over into personal relationships, making difficult to form meaningful connections with others. career wise, individuals may struggle to align their personal values and goals with chosen profession, leading to uncertainty and dissatisfaction in their careers. low self-esteem always accompanies identity struggles, as individuals may doubt their worth and capabilities, impacting their confidence and general well-being. loneliness can lead individuals to seek validation and connection through social media platforms as a means of alleviating feelings of isolation. hover, excessive reliance on social media for self-validation can hinder healthy identity formation. the curated nature of social media profiles may lead individuals to compare themselves to others and strive for an unrealistic standard of identity, potentially resulting in identity confusion and dissatisfaction. this reliance on social media for identity development can further exacerbate feelings of loneliness, creating a cycle of dependency on digital interactions rather than meaningful reallife connections, ultimately contributing to social media addiction. in conclusion, loneliness, identity formation, and social media addiction are connected in complicated ways. when people use social media, they might they might feel lonely because they see others portray and live "perfect lives" online. this can make them feel disconnected and unsure of themselves, they might also get addicted to social media while trying to feel connected and liked. this study explores how these three variables are connected and find ways to stop the cycle of loneliness https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-chronic-loneliness-6950783 https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-you-are-an-introvert-2795427 505 and confusion. we want to help people have healthier online habits, more real life connections, and a stronger sense of self. statement of the problem in recent years, the pervasive use of social media platforms has become a prominent aspect of modern communication and interaction. while social media use offers various benefits in terms of connectivity and information sharing, there is growing concern about the potential negative effects it may have on individual’s mental health and well-being. loneliness, as a prevalent and distressing emotional experience, has been linked to social media use. despite its potential to facilitate social connections, social media can also contribute to feelings of loneliness and isolation due to the lack of genuine, in-person interactions and the superficial nature of online relationships. moreover, social media platforms provide individuals with a platform to construct and present their identities, leading to concerns about the impact of social comparison and self-presentation on identity formation. the constant exposure to curated images and content on social media can influence individuals’ perceptions of themselves and others, potentially leading to identity confusion, low self-esteem, and a distorted sense of self. additionally, the addictive nature of social media has raised concerns about the risk of developing problematic behaviours and dependency on digital platforms. individuals may use social media as a coping mechanism for loneliness and social anxiety, leading to excessive use and compulsive behaviours that interfere with their daily responsibilities and relationships. therefore, this study aims to explore the intricate relationship between loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction. by examining how these factors intersect and influence each other, the research seeks to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the negative impact of social media on mental health. ultimately, this study aims to inform interventions and strategies that promote healthier patterns of social media use, support individuals in forming authentic identities, and enhance social connectedness in the digital age. hence the research question: • will loneliness significantly relate to social media addiction among undergraduate students? • will identity formation significantly relate to social media addiction among undergraduate students? purpose of the study this study examined the relationship between loneliness, identity formation, and social media addiction among undergraduate students. • to investigate whether there will be a relationship between loneliness and social media addiction among undergraduates. • to explore whether there will be a relationship between identity formation and social media addiction among undergraduates. 506 conceptual framework: loneliness social media addiction identity formation fig 1: this diagram illustrates the relationships between loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction among undergraduates students. theoretical framework among the various theories discussed, the cognitive-behavioural theory by young (1990) appears to be the most suitable for this study, the relationship between loneliness, identity formation, and social media addiction among undergraduates, the cognitive-behavioral theory holds in its simplest form. cognitive-behavioural theory (1990) says that our problems often come from negative thoughts and behaviours. it looks at how our thoughts and actions affects each other and our feelings. when it comes to social media addiction, cognitive-behavioural theory (1990s) explains how negative thoughts and actions can make people use social media too much. people who feel lonely often think that online interactions can replace real-life connections. this can lead them to spend a lot of time on social media to feel less lonely. this temporary feeling of connection makes them want to use social media even more, creating a cycle of dependence. during the time when people are figuring out who they are, especially teenagers, they look for validation and feedback to build their self-identity. social media gives them a big audience for this. however, constantly comparing themselves to others and needing online validation can lead to thoughts like, "i am only valuable if i get likes and comments." these thoughts can make them post more and carefully create their online image, leading to social media addiction. cognitivebehavioural theory (1990s) explains how loneliness and identity formation are linked to social media addiction. lonely people use social media to feel connected and validated. this makes them believe that social media helps them cope, leading to more use. teenagers, in particular, use social media to explore and confirm their identities. positive feedback from social media makes this behaviour a habit. these patterns of thoughts and behaviours strengthen each other making the reliance on social media even stronger. cognitive-behavioural theory suggests ways to break this cycle. cognitive restructuring involves changing negative thoughts about social media and its role in dealing with loneliness or shaping identity. behavioural interventions focus on developing healthier ways to cope with loneliness and more balanced ways to explore identity that don’t depend so much on social media. in summary, while other theories provide valuable insights, cognitive-behavioral theory stands out for its practical framework in understanding how negative thoughts and behaviours related to loneliness and identity formation contribute to social media addiction. by implementing cognitivebehavioural strategies, individuals can mitigate the negative impacts of social media addiction and foster healthier online habits. 507 social media addiction and loneliness wang et al. (2022) conducted a comprehensive study examining the motivations behind social media use among lonely individuals. they found that lonely people often use social media as a coping mechanism to deal with their isolation. the study revealed that the immediate gratification from online interactions can create a dependency, as individuals increasingly rely on social media to meet their social needs. twenge and campbell (2022), explored the psychological impacts of social media use on lonely individuals. they discovered that the need for social validation and reassurance drives lonely individuals to engage more frequently with social media. the study indicated that this need for validation leads to addictive behaviours, as individuals continually seek likes, comments, and other forms of online affirmation. roberts et al. (2022), further investigated the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. their findings suggest that lonely individuals are more prone to developing addictive patterns due to their heightened need for their social interaction. this study emphasized that the more lonely a person feels, the more likely they are to use social media excessively in an attempt to alleviate their loneliness. in a study by vogel et al. (2022), researchers examined how social media use impacts feelings of loneliness; they found out that while social media can provide a temporary sense of connection, it often exacerbates feelings of loneliness in the long run. the study showed that excessive use of social media could lead to increased feelings of isolation and depression, creating a vicious cycle where individuals use social media more to combat these negative feelings, thereby deepening their addiction. a study by baker and algorta, 2016, found a strong positive correlation between loneliness and social media addiction. their research showed that individuals who feel lonely are more likely to use social media excessively, seeking to fill the void left by a lack of real-life social interactions. this behavior often leads to a cycle of dependency, where the temporary relief provided by social media interactions reinforces continued use. social media addiction and identity formation michikyan et al. (2024), conducted a study that examined how adolescents use social media for identity formation. the findings indicated that social media serves as a significant space for adolescents to experiment with identities and receive feedback from peers. this process of exploration and validation can lead to increased social media use. the study suggested that while this can be beneficial for identity development, it may also foster addictive behaviors if individuals rely excessively on social media for validation. lup et al. (2023), extended this research by exploring the impact of social media on identity formation and its link to addiction. they found that the pressure to present an idealized version of oneself on social media can lead to identity confusion and stress. adolescents who experience these pressures may turn to social media more frequently, seeking affirmation and validation. this behaviour can become habitual, contributing to social media addiction. barthorpe et al. (2023), investigated the role of comparison on social media and its effects on identity development; this study revealed that constant comparison with peers on social media platforms can negatively impact on self-esteem and identity development. this comparison often leads to a desire for social validation, reinforcing addictive behaviours as individuals strive to align their self-perception with their online persona. the research highlighted that 508 individuals who frequently compare themselves to others are more likely to develop addictive patterns of use. yang and brown (2016), explored the relationship between social media use, identity formation, and self-esteem among young adults. they found that excessive social media use can undermine self-esteem and lead to identity issues. the need to maintain a favorable online image can cause stress and anxiety, which in turn can drive individuals to use social media compulsively in an attempt to manage these negative emotions. hypotheses the following hypotheses were tested: • there will be a relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. • there will be a relationship between identity formation and social media addiction. method participants one hundred and forty-six (146) undergraduate students comprising of 44 males and 102 females with a mean age of 20.78 and s. d of 2.197 were drawn using multi-stage (cluster, simple random: by balloting and purposive) sampling techniques on participants from enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu state. the students were clustered according to their faculties, simple random: balloting was used to pick the faculties/departments, while purposive sampling techniques were used to select the participants, from applied natural sciences thirty (30), from the faculty of agriculture and natural resource management twenty-eight (28), from environmental sciences twenty-seven (27), from engineering twenty-nine (29) and from law thirty-two (32). instruments a questionnaire comprising demographic information and three (3) instruments were used in this study, and the instruments are; i. the ulcla loneliness scale (russell & cutrona, 1978), ii. ego identity process questionnaire (ballistreri et al., 1986), and iii. bergen social media addiction scale (andreassean et al, 2016). ulcla loneliness scale (peplau, russell & cutrona, 1978) the ulcla loneliness scale, developed by russell, peplau, and cutrona (1978), is a widely used tool for assessing subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation, with its various versions –original (1978), revised (1980), and the third version (1996)-consisting of 12 items measured on a 4-point likert scale where higher scores indicate greater levels of loneliness. it has demonstrated high internal consistency, strong test-retest reliability, and good convergent and discriminant validity, correlating well with other measures if loneliness and related constructs. the scale is used extensively in psychological and sociological research, clinical assessments, and large-scale population studies to examine the prevalence and impact of loneliness on mental and physical health. typically administered as a self-report questionnaire, it can also be conducted through structured interviews, though it relies on self-perception and may be influenced by cultural differences and situational factors. despite these limitations, the ulcla loneliness scale is respected for its reliability and validity in various contexts. researchers utilize the ulcla loneliness scale in studies investigating loneliness prevalence, its impact on mental health, social behaviours, and overall quality of life. clinicians also employ it to assess loneliness as a potential risk factor for conditions like depression and 509 anxiety. scores on the range from 20 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater levels of loneliness. these scores help categorize individuals into different severity levels of loneliness, aiding researchers and clinicians in interpreting results and identifying interventions. beyond its direct applications, the ulcla loneliness scale has been pivotal in uncovering factors associated with loneliness, such as social support availability, relationship quality, and demographic variables. its widespread adoption underscores its significance n advancing our understanding of loneliness as a complex emotional and social phenomenon. the researchers carried out a pilot study with 30 students drawn from university of nigeria, enugu campus, with the aid of purposive sampling techniques, which yielded a cronbach alpha of .863 ego identity process questionnaire (ballisteri, busch-rossnagel, & geisinger, 1986) the ego identity process questionnaire (eipq), was developed by ballisteri, buschrossnagel, and geinsinger (1986), drawing upon erikson’s psychosocial theory of development. erikson proposed that individuals navigate through stages of psychosocial development, with adolescence and emerging adulthood being pivotal for the formation of a stable sense of self. the ego identity process questionnaire operationalizes erikson’s concepts into measurable dimensions that capture the dynamic process of identity exploration and commitment. at its core, the ego identity process questionnaire employs a likert scale format to assess two primary dimensions: exploration and commitment. exploration refers to the active exploration of various roles, beliefs, and life directions. it measures the extent to which individual engage in introspection, experimentation, and consideration of different options. commitment, on the other hand, assesses the strength and certainty of commitments made to specific duties, values, or goals. high commitment reflects a firm decision and internalization of chosen identities, while low commitment suggests ongoing exploration or uncertainty. the questionnaire has been extensively validated across different populations, demonstrating strong psychometric properties such as reliability and validity. researchers utilize the ego identity process questionnaire to investigate how identity processes influence psychological wellbeing, interpersonal relationships, educational attainment, career choices, and overall life satisfaction. its adaptability across cultures allows for cross-cultural comparisons, revealing insights into how identity development varies across different societal contexts. in clinical practice, the ego identity process questionnaire serves as a valuable tool for assessing identity statuses and identifying potential identity conflicts or crises. psychologists and counsellors use it to guide interventions aimed at supporting clients’ healthy identity development, resolving identity-related issues, and enhancing self-understanding. its longitudinal application enables researchers to track changes in identity status over time, providing a developmental perspective on how individuals’ identities evolve in response to life experiences and transitions. educationally, the ego process identity questionnaire informs studies on academic achievement, vocational decision-making and identity-related challenges among students and young adults. it is theory-driven; aligning closely with erikson’s psychosocial stages, and has been adapted to explore identity issues specific to diverse populations, including gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background. the researchers carried out a pilot study with 30 students drawn from university of nigeria, enugu campus, with the aid of purposive sampling techniques, which yielded a cronbach alpha of .902 bergen social media addiction scale (andreassen, et al., 2016) the bergen social media addiction scale (bsmas) was developed by andreassen and colleagues (2016), to measure the extent of social media addiction, characterized by excessive, 510 compulsive use of social media platforms that interferes with daily life and functioning. this scale was created to provide a reliable and valid measure of social media addiction, based on the core components of addiction, including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse, which are adapted from general addiction theories to fit the contexts of social media use. the bergen social media addiction scale consists of six items, each corresponding to one of the core addiction components. respondents rate their agreement with each statement on a 5-point likert scale, ranging from 1 (very rarely) to 5 (very often). the items includes; you spend a lot of time thinking about social media or planning to use it, you feel an urge to use social media more and more, you use social media to forget about personal problems, you have tried to cut down o the use of social media without success, you become restless or troubled if you are prohibited from using social media, you use social media so much that it has had a negative impact on your job/studies. the total score is calculated by summing the responses to the six items, with the higher scores indicating a higher level of social media addiction. a cut-off score can be used to identify individuals who may be at risk of social media addiction. the bergen social media addiction scale has demonstrated good psychometric properties, including high internal consistency, reliability, and validity across different cultural context. it has been used in numerous studies to explore the prevalence and impact of social media addiction. researchers and clinicians use the bergen social media addiction scale to assess social media addiction in various populations, including adolescents, young adults, and adults. it helps identify individuals who may benefit from interventions to reduce their excessive social media use. the scale also aids in understanding the psychological and behavioural correlates of social media addiction, such as its relationship with mental health issues, academic performance, and social interactions. overall, the bergen social media scale provides a concise and effective tool for measuring social media addiction, contributing to research and clinical practice by offering insights into patterns and consequences of problematic social media use. the researchers carried out a pilot study with 30 students drawn from university of nigeria, enugu campus, with the aid of purposive sampling techniques, which yielded a cronbach alpha of .859 procedure undergraduate students were drawn as participants from five faculties in enugu state university of science and technology (esut) using multi-stage sampling (cluster, simple random: by balloting, and purposive) techniques for this study. the students were clustered according to their faculties, simple random: balloting was used to pick the faculties, while purposive sampling techniques were used to draw students from the five selected faculties. the researcher employed the research assistants, who are faculty-student executives from the selected faculties, to help distribute and retrieve the questionnaire. one hundred and fifty-seven (157) questionnaires were distributed; one hundred and fifty-three (153) were returned. among the returning ones, five (5) bear multiple initials and the other two (2) were not properly responded to, which makes the numbers properly responded to be one hundred and forty-six (146), which were used for data analysis. design/statistics the research adopted a correlational design because the researcher is investigating the relationship between loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction. hence a pearson moment coefficient correlation with the aid of the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) version 27 was used for data analysis. result 511 table i: descriptive and correlation statistics on the loneliness and ego identity process as a correlate of social media addiction s/n variables m s. d 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 social media addiction 34.87 9.508 1 .101 .133 .062 .143 .064 2 identity formation 55.23 11.54 1 -.082 .120 .292** -.092 3 loneliness 28.13 7.573 1 -.141 .221** -.101 4 age 20.78 2.197 1 -.036 .011 5 gender 1.88 .321 1 -.134 6 marital status 1.18 .478 1 at p< .05*, p< .01**, p< .001*** table i above shows that loneliness r= .133 and identity formation r= .101 at p< .05 did not relate to social media addiction. identity formation r= .292** and loneliness r= .221** at p< .01 positively relates to gender, this means that the presence of gender will cause the presence of both ego identity process and loneliness among undergraduate students. loneliness r= -.082 did not relate to identity formation. discussion the first hypothesis tested stated that loneliness will significantly relate to social media addiction was not confirmed, hence the hypothesis was rejected. the results of the study indicate that loneliness did not play a role in social media addiction among undergraduate students, it is not the sole determining factor. the study did not examine other potential influencers such as self-esteem and psychological well-being, both of which may significantly contribute to students' addiction to the internet. this suggests that there are multiple complex factors at play and that loneliness alone may not be the primary driver of excessive internet usage among students. the study's findings indicate that there is no substantial connection between feelings of loneliness and addiction to social media. this suggests that one's experience of loneliness does not consistently lead to social media addiction, and vice versa. the result obtained was incongruity with the findings of roberts et al. (2022) who found out in their study that the lonelier a student is, the more likely they tend to be addicted to social media. but this study outcome indicated a negative result, many factors might have contributed to the divergent result obtained. one such reason is cultural variation, the cited author used a foreign culture. different instruments used, and other factors. the second hypothesis tested which stated that identity formation will significantly relate to social media addiction was not confirmed, hence the hypothesis was rejected. the results of the study show that there is no significant relationship between identity formation and social media addiction. this means that the process of forming one's identity does not have a direct impact on the level of addiction to social media. it suggests that factors other than identity formation could be influencing the variance in social media addiction among students, factors that were not explored in this particular study. the findings are not incongruity with the study of michikyan et al. (2024) which postulated that the student process of forming an identity can contribute to them being addicted to social media. but the results from this study indicated a negative result from the cited author, some factors might be responsible for the divergent result obtained. one of such factor is the cultural variation, the cited author used a different culture from the one used by this study. a different instruments and other factors. implications of the findings 512 the findings are in agreement with cognitive-behavioural theory (young, 1990), which was adopted as the theoretical framework because it holds in its simplest form and postulates that students' problems often come from negative thoughts and behaviours. it looks at how their thoughts and actions affect each other and our feelings. when it comes to social media addiction, cognitive-behavioural theory (1990) explains how negative thoughts and actions can make people use social media too much. people who feel lonely often think that online interactions can replace real-life connections. this can lead them to spend a lot of time on social media to feel less lonely. though social media alone is not enough to take care of the loneliness issue. the results from this study were not in line with the empirical work reviewed like the study of roberts et al. (2022), lup et al. (2023), who found that loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction are related. however, the findings from this study have added to the literature that can be cited by future researcher. the research findings indicate that there is no significant relationship between loneliness, identity formation, and social media addiction. however, the study shows a positive correlation between age and both identity formation and loneliness. this suggests that as individuals’ age, their sense of identity and feelings of loneliness may change. therapists should work with students to help them understand that as they grow older, there are specific tasks and responsibilities they need to address. failing to do so could lead to negative events or outcomes. parents and caregivers need to foster an appreciation for the ageing process and the advantages that come with it. this can help students focus their energy in a positive direction. limitations of the study some factors worked against this study, one of such is the sampled population. sampling only one institution during exam reduces the numbers of participants, more students would have participated assuming more than one university was sampled. the sampling techniques also affected the numbers of participants, the more students would have been sampled assuming a suitable sampling techniques was adopted. some demographic variable were left unanswered by the participants which led to the researcher not including the outcome in the study, demographic such as religious affiliation, parental working status, etc. these control variables would have helped to give this study direction. suggestion for further study future researcher should consider sampling population from different institution and also to consider carrying this study outside examination period, this will give student opportunity to participate in the research. a suitable sampling technique should be considered by future researcher, because this will give room for the selection of larger population. the future researcher should consider to arrange the demographic variables in such a way that the participants will not leave them unattended to. summary and conclusion the study investigated the relationship between loneliness, identity formation and social media addiction, findings revealed that there was no relationship between the tested variables, but age shows a positive relationship to loneliness and identity formation. therefore, therapists should 513 work with students to help them understand that as they grow older, there are specific tasks and responsibilities they need to address. failing to do so could lead to negative events or outcomes. references abbassi, i.s., (2019) social media addiction in romantic relationship: does user’s age influence vulnerability to social media infidelity?, personality and individual differences, 139,277280. doi: 10.1016/j.paiod.2018.10.038 andressan, c., billieux, j., griffin, m, kuss, d., 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nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 115 illusion and reality of press freedom in the performance of the watchdog function of the press in nigeria thomas o. okechukwu linus ogbuoshi ferdinand obasi department of mass communication caritas university enugu abstract this article analyzed the illusion and reality of press freedom in the nigerian context. it also identified the real obstacle to press freedom in nigeria and pointed out how press freedom would be realized in nigeria. theoretical framework of this article was anchored on two of the normative theories of the press namely: the authoritarian theory and the social responsibility theory. in the article, write-ups from available relevant literature were considered and used to analyze the illusion and reality of press freedom in nigeria. in the conclusion, it was noted that the highly desired press freedom would unfortunately remain unrealizable for as long as humans remain imperfect and the system of things imperfect. it was therefore recommended that meanwhile, both the government and the press should learn to manage themselves with love. while government officials should endeavour to eschew corruption and greed and embark on programmes and policies that would make for national development and beneficial to the masses, the press should also perform their functions devoid of corruption and greed and in line with their code of ethics in other to give the impression that they can carry out their press duties with responsibility and thus build government confidence in them. keywords: illusion, reality, press freedom, performance, watchdog function of the press, nigeria. introduction the need to inform and to be informed is an inherent human need that as we go from day to day becomes so crucial that no one can afford to ignore the natural urge to fill it especially in a democratic society. of course, the basic freedoms of a democratic society are freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition (agee, ault and emery, 1985-41). the importance of these freedoms (especially freedom of the press) can never be over stressed. the issue of press freedom is one of astute concern not just to the journalism terrain of nigeria mass media or press alone, neither that of the african continent nor of the developing nations of the world but of the entire globe (okoye, 2009:247). of course, unhindered communication or free flow of information gives life, unity, and stability to any given society. according to ike and udeze (2015:240), all the component units that make up any society are not only organized, but are held together through information flow that emanates from the complex web of communication channels within the society. all the same, granted that free flow of information is crucial to the peaceful and harmonious existence of any given society, it is not always guaranteed as the different sectors of the society may have some different concerns that might affect free information flow. of course, every society, according to nwankwo (1984:44) cited in ike and udeze (2015) is made up of five major sectors: 116 (i) the economic and technological sector which adapts the society to its physical and natural environment; (ii) the political sector with power to formulate and implement public policy; (iii)the legal and administrative sector which co-ordinates the activities of other sectors; (iv) the cultural sector which socializes individuals into the society’s ideological and valued processes, and (v) the communication sector which shares the activities of each sector with not only itself but with other sectors for the overall benefit of the society. the communication sector through the media industry as a social institution releases a large amount of the information that flows through the society on daily basis. in view of this, the general public has naturally come to look up to the media for the needed information that would help the society to function peacefully and cope with the harsh reality of life’s conditions. of course, virtually all over the world today, the socio-economic and political situation is becoming so adverse that the masses groan over the weight of it. many nations of the world look to their governments (and ideally, it should be so) to provide solutions to the socioeconomic and political issues affecting their citizens. some even attribute these issues affecting them negatively to their government’s inability to govern well, perhaps, because of corruption and greed among government officials, and their lack of genuine concern for the welfare of the people they govern. these ones tend to believe that there might be some shadowy things about their government operations that should come to the open so that the masses would get to know about them and be given the opportunity to have a say in some matters affecting them. regarding this situation, the mass media of communication play a very significant role of information dissemination, for the benefit of the general public. but unfortunately, the political sector of the society, based on what might be its concerns, often interfere with press freedom. according to martin, 1983:61-62) cited in ume-nwagbo, (1995:26) most african government strongly believe in the concept of guided media, which expects the mass media in developing societies not only to become instruments of national policy for mass education and mobilization, but also that mass media operators become fully partisan and committed ideological and political role players in all matters of nation building. in other words, journalists and gatekeepers should judge, evaluate and select, the news, and programmes they present from a position of commitment, to promote national goals; support authority, and for a new social order. so, it is quite obvious that press freedom (even globally) has remained a contending issue. objectives of this article the main objective of this article is to analyse the illusion and reality of press freedom in the performance of the watchdog function of the press in the nigerian context. specific objectives of the article are to: 1. identify the real obstacle to press freedom in nigeria and 2. point out how press freedom would be realized. theoretical framework the theoretical framework of this article is anchored on two out of the four normative theories of the press as postulated by siebert et al (1956). obasi, (2013:63) wrote that according to these theories, press always takes on the form and coloration of the social and political structures within which it operates. the two of these theories on focus here are authoritarian theory and social responsibility theory. authoritarian theory 117 the authoritarian theory which was the oldest of the theories of the press places the state and its ruling authorities very high while the citizens are looked upon as insignificant in comparison. according to obilade (1999:24) cited in ndolo (2011:233), the theory is based on the idea that the government has absolute power. the press is simply an instrument for the achievement of government policies; the press should not criticize the government or any government official; the idea expressed by the press should reflect prevailing political and moral values, and the press is subject to strict legal control. thus laws and other measures are used by the government to keep the press under strict control in the interest of the government. of course, this so played out in the matter of press freedom in nigeria that no matter the weight of the clamour for press freedom, it still remains an illusion as the ruling authorities are averse to the watchdog posture of the press. social responsibility theory this theory holds that freedom of the press should be exercised with a sense of responsibility to the society, (ndolo, 2011:234). according to mc quail, (1987) cited in okunna (1995:24), one of the main foundations of the theory is the acceptance of the view that in media work, certain standards of performance can be stated and should be followed. so, the theory recognizes that journalists who are the press men are rational enough as to have the capability to act with a sense of responsibility. of course, this is what is required from the press, to perform their functions in line with the spirit of social responsibility theory. illusion of press freedom in nigeria the idea of press freedom, as sweet as it could sound to the ears of those yearning for it (the press, civil society groups, the general public) and no matter how the nigerian constitution paints a picture of it, may likely remain just a good idea in the hearts of many but exercising it as desired by those clamouring for it may continue to be an illusion (even in many nations of the world). in nigeria, various reasons could account for this, including, (1) socio-political and economic environment (2) feeling of insecurity and lack of trust. 1. socio-political and economic environment the political history of nigeria is a sad narrative. granted that at the beginning of nigeria’s existence as an independent nation from first october, 1960, nigerians were exuding happiness and brimming with expectations of many good things to come, but those things did not come as expected and their excitement did not last just as its democratic rule did not last. in 1966, nzeogwu’s coup brought a change that nigerians believe had done incalculable damage to the socio-political and economic life of nigerians. the military rule which the coup ushered in (and which nigerians were wishing away as it were) lingered in one way or the other to the extent that today it is a fact that the number of years nigeria had been under military rule really amounted to twenty eight. many nigerians believe that military rule brought to citizens of the country untold consequences. ndolo (2015:6) wrote:twenty eight (28) years of military dictatorship completely destroyed the social, health, educational, political, military, infrastructural and economic fabric of the nation. consequently; nigeria became the 15th poorest nation in the world, populated by very helplessly and hopelessly poor, hungry and unemployed citizens. the psyche of nigerians became militarized leading themselves only to violent solutions and approaches to life. there are some points in what ndolo wrote that we want to isolate as they have a bearing on the nature of relationship between the government and the ruled (particularly gentlemen of the press). 118 (i) military rule is dictatorial (ii) nigerians became very poor. (iii) the psyche of nigerians became militarized. (i) military rule is dictatorial of course, military rule is never a democratic rule; rather it is dictatorial and from what has been known about dictatorial governments, it wields power and authority in a commanding way. under dictatorial government, the ruled are usually suppressed and their freedom of expression (including the freedom of the press) often restricted as they are not considered rational enough as to contribute ideas pertaining to governance to the ruling authorities. such political environment (in the renaissance era) produced the authoritarian theory which was the oldest of the theories of the press. the authoritarian theory of the press places the state and its ruling authorities very high while the citizens are seen as insignificant in comparison. ogbuoshi (2012) wrote concerning the assumptions of the authoritarian theory of the press thus: the authoritarian theory promotes top-down-flow approach. the mass media in this system, act as the servant of government and are highly censored not to publish any unfavourable reports against the government in power. the theory justifies advance censorship and punishment from the ruling government. this theory believes that the state is greater and more important than its members. the theory postulates that human beings are irrational, and that everybody is not equal. it states that human beings need rational leader and that the leader has to say what will happen in a polity. agee, ault and emery (1985:43) wrote that this authoritarian concept of the relationship between citizens and the state could brook no challenge from those who thought the rulers were reflecting error, not truth. the foregoing captured what nigerians went through under military government. various kinds of decrees were promulgated to gag the press. olaide (2009), p:24) cited in ike and udeze. (2025: 245, 246) noted that the intervention of the revolutionary (military) government of general aguiyi-ironsi in 1966, which was welcomed initially based on the disappointment experienced by the people from the then politicians who made sumptuous promises during nationalist struggle which its fulfillment appeared to the contrary, laid the worst foundation for oppressing the press. general yakubu gowon who succeeded general aguiyi-ironsi in his contribution to this oppression promulgated the emergency decree of 1966 which made arrest and detention of citizens without warrant lawful and also empowered the inspector-general of police and other officers of the same or higher rank to search any newspaper office or premises in nigeria without warrant or notice; based on which daily times office (weekend times) was searched by the police in 1968. the decree was criticized by nigerians amongst who is alhaji lateef jakende 1974) who observed that the army’s emergency decree of 1966 was sufficient to turn nigerian press into a captive press. these were just the initial blows to the freedom of the press. more blows kept coming. still pointing out further draconian laws meant to cripple the free practice of journalism profession, olaide (2009, p: 2-4) cited in ike and udeze, (2015:246) goes on to say: the administration also proceeded in 1967 to promulgate another decree titled, the newspaper prohibition of circulation decree 1967 which empowered the head of federal military government to restrict the circulation of any newspaper in nigeria where he is satisfied that it is detrimental to the interest of the federation or any state thereof within the federation which may subsist within 12 months unless restricted or extended by the head of state as the case may be and refusal to comply entitled such journalist to 6 months imprisonment and or n500 fine. as if this was not enough, trade disputes (emergency provision) amendment decree no. 53 of 119 1969 was also promulgated which made it an offence for any person to publish in a newspaper, television or radio or by any means of mass communication, any matter which by reason of dramatization or other reflects in the manner of its presentation was likely to cause public alarm or industrial unrest. looking at these decrees carefully, it will be discovered that the major motive of this administration was to shut men of the press up. as the military headship of nigeria moved from the hands of one military officer to the other, decrees of various kinds kept emerging. the obasanjo administration promulgated on 8th april 1979, newspaper public officers report decree which in its section i provided that any person who published or reproduced in any form whether written or otherwise, any statement, rumor, or report alleging that a public officer has in any manner been engaged in corrupt practices or has in any manner corruptly enriched himself or any other person being a statement, rumor, report which is false in any material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years without option of fine. (ike and udeze, 2015:246). regarding this decree, ike and udeze (2015:246) wrote that nigerians in general as well as men of the press in particular accepted their fate. they highlighted the observation of alhaji lateef jakande as cited in ogbondah (1992, p.2), the then managing director of nigeria tribune, thus: the decree would stifle criticisms and offer protection to corrupt officers…. supposed a reporter comes to know that a certain minister purchased a row of buildings (with public money) in a particular street. if he (the reporter) prints that and it just happens that the minister used his wife’s name to disguise the purchase, the reporter would be liable under this law…the only way is not to publish it at all. few years later, a similar decree was also promulgated. in 1984, decree no. 4 of 1984 otherwise known as the public officers (protection against false accusations) decree 1984 was introduced. the decree made it an offence for a newspaper or any wireless telegraph station in nigeria to publish or transmit any message, rumour, report or statement which is false, in particular that any public officer has in any manner corruptly enriched himself or any other person. the degree also made any person found guilty of this offence to be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years without option of fine and in the case of corporate body, to fine not less than $10,000 (ogbondah, 1992), cited in ike and udeze (2015:247). the regime of the only ‘military president’ nigeria ever had, general ibrahim badamosi babangida also used decrees, even the one targeted at press censorship. regarding his military administration, ike and udeze (2015:247) wrote: it wooed the press by pretending to undo the atrocities of the previous administration but within a year babangida and his men also began to censor the press. the administration repealed decree no 4 of 1984 and reintroduced another decree titled the state security (detention of persons) decree 2 1984 which was used to deal ruthlessly with the press. still in the chain of military head of state in nigeria, general sanni abacha also took actions against journalists in a remarkable way. ike and udeze (2015:247) expressed it in this way, “the regime did not rely much on promulgation of decrees but on extra judicial acts to repress the press.” (ii) nigerians became very poor as noted by ndolo, military dictatorship completely destroyed, among others, socio-economic fabric of the nation; hence nigeria became very poor. from every indication, the poor state of the nation extends even to today that the country is said to be a democratic nation. significantly, 120 nigeria lacks basic amenities. it is no news that ‘no motorable road’ is a feature that marks nigeria rural hinterland across the states of the federation. even some notable cities in nigeria cannot boast of many good, pothole-free motorable roads. to talk about costly fuel, crippling energy issue, meager supply of potable water, epileptic educational system, is merely to talk about the obvious. as nigerians languish in poverty, corruption and greed take the centre stage soiling the hands of those in want of heart. in this circumstance, money becomes a ‘king’ and the pursuit of it, a ‘battle field’ where the war is fought without conscience. ndolo (2015:6) captured this situation thus: money has become an end rather than a means to an end. people believe that money is “like the kingdom of heaven”, once they acquire it and consume it conspicuously, everything else will fall upon them. nigerians therefore get out, acquire and amass wealth through avenues very inimical to rational development. with regard to the high level of corruption in nigeria, ndolo (2015:6) wrote, “nigeria today is the 36th most corrupt nation in the world where gratification, egunje, pr, kick back, family support, ghana-mustgo and refurbishment have been shamelessly and blatantly classified as culture.” how does this situation affect journalists, their work, and press freedom? ndolo (2015:7) wrote: …there is a high level of corruption in the media. journalists demand money before they can write stories or give coverage. they collect sandwich, extort gifts and gratifications either directly or indirectly all in attempts to influence news judgment. we now witness a lot of “cash and carry” or “cajun-pepper” journalism. for the same reason they become chatter boxes and sycophantic megaphones of government. from this, it becomes clear that the trust and credibility which press men would have built around them are already lost. government officials can always cash in on this situation and decided for themselves when to trust and when not to trust the press. for instance, if a journalist carried out an objective criticism of government programmes and policies (instead of at all times eulogizing them), it would easily be construed as an opponent-sponsored criticism, hence government would not hesitate to decend heavily on that journalist. so, the same corruption that has ruined the socio-economic fabric of the nation has also wrecked professionalism in the journalism profession contributing to why government officials make efforts to gag the press. (iii) the psyche of nigerians became militarized. no doubt, nigeria is today seen as a democratic nation. certainly there are some rights and privileges that the citizens are supposed to enjoy in a democratic nation. one of such is enjoyment of some critical freedoms. according to agee, et al (1985:41), the basic freedoms of a democratic society are freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of petition. upon these freedoms rest freedom of religious expression, of political choice, of intellectual growth and of communication of information and ideas. they went further to say that a society possessing and using these freedoms will advance and change as it exercises democratic processes (agee, et al, 1985:43). now let us single out freedom of the press and consider it in the context of nigerian environment. could it be said convincingly that freedom of the press is a recognized tenet in nigeria as it is in the democratic western world? what is the position of the nigeria constitution regarding press freedom? ike and udeze (2015:245) wrote that the constitutional provisions in the various nigerian constitutions do not clearly guarantee the freedom of journalists in the performance of their roles of monitoring the governments. in this regard, nwanolue and udeakpe (2011, p:8) cited in ike and udeze (2015:253) state that perhaps: the reviewed 1999 121 consitution and that of the nigerian press council drafted in 1999 are better than the previous constitutions used in the country, a critical look at the two writs reveals that the provision made thereto did not stipulate any consequences from the violation of journalists right to freedom of expression; and that no penalty whatsoever whether in form of fines or jail terms was encoded in the writs for those who would dare to stop journalism from exercising their right to freedom of expression. they argue that the unpleasant implication of this is that freedom of expression for the journalists is seen as the individual right to freedom of expression for respective journalist and not as legal entity which had been empowered by the constitution of the land. section 21 of the 1979 and 22 of 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, have not spoken well of freedom of the press in their minds. accordingly journalists in nigeria carry out their journalistic duties in constant fear of the sledge hammer of government authorities who may misconstrue the reports of journalists as sedition and take action against them. ndolo (2011:8) wrote in this regard: journalists do not enjoy freedom of expression and are denied access to information due to the official secrets act which provides a cover for civil servants and others to hid information. journalists are killed, jailed, horsewhipped, branded coup plotters, broken bottled used to share their heads, their media houses closed, newspapers and magazines proscribed and licenses withdrawn even if temporarily. do we have a better way of expressing this kind of treatment being given to journalists than describing it as militarize action? well, with regard to the official secret act for which many journalists had been mistreated, we still look forward to seeing how things would turn out with the singing of the freedom of information act. as ike and udeze (2015:252) noted: on may 27 2011, nigeria passed the freedom of information act which has been under consideration for many years. the act makes it possible for a journalist or any nigerian for that matter to request information from an official of government, and receive the information requested for. it equally gives the journalist or any nigerian the power to take a public official to court, who has breached this law and to obtain judgment that can send the individual to jail. though the singing brought too many jubilations and praises by individuals, groups and associations whose personal and collective activities are directly and indirectly affected by the act, the arising issue of the day is the applicable implications of the act on the official secret act. they went further to point out, “good as the asserting of the act may sound; the effect has not been seen as many government activities are still being shrouded in secrecy. (ike and udeze, 2015:259) of course it is when the effect is seen that democracy could be seen to be in action regarding that situation. generally speaking, militarize psyche can hardly lead to democratic action, so it becomes necessary that nigeria should practice democracy to be seen as a democratic nation by granting her citizens the rights of a democratic society especially the rights to freedom of expression and press freedom. 2. feeling of insecurity and lack of trust nwuneli, (1985:149) wrote: we have undoubtedly borrowed idea of “freedom of the press” from culture where the press pretends to be “watchdog” for “the people”. to what extent can our press serve as watchdog for our people? the impression given here is that press freedom in nigeria, for instance, is still an illusion. buttressing this point, he wrote, “…..we do wish to point out that the press in nigeria will be only as free as the individual nigerian is allowed to be. our society is not sympathetic to individual freedom and to the notion of a free flow of information’ (nwuneli, 1985:149). 122 providing further reasons for the assertion he wrote: we are afraid to let people know what they should know: perhaps because we have come to realize that knowledge is power. unless care is taken to guarantee freedom of information for every individual, our journalists will make little headway by invoking special privilege for the press. obviously, the feeling of insecurity as alluded to here as a factor hindering people from divulging information greatly affects government authorities as it is observable that they often tend to keep some aspects of government operations secret, and frown at the inquisitive eyes of the press. in this regard, ike and udeze (2015:243) wrote that while people in government want to keep the operations of government secret, media professionals on the other hand want to subject government operation to the minutest scrutiny in order to ensure that government remains accountable to the people. it is a tug-of-war, as it were. agee, adult and emery, (1985:42) wrote: today’s journalist knows that there remains a constant challenge to the freedoms to print, to criticize, and to report and that, therefore, the people’s right to know is in constant danger. this is true in the democratic western world, where freedom of the press is a recognized tenet, as well as in the larger portion of the world where it is denied. and it is true of the twentieth-century additions to the printing press: film, radio, television, and cable. they went further to write concerning this matter thus: very naturally, then, these freedom will come under attack from those opposed to any change that might diminish their own power or position in society today as in past eras. the press occupying a key role in the battle for these basic freedoms is a particular target. (agree et al, 1985:43).we nworah, (2021:11) wrote that there have been reports of some media practitioners, being manhandled by security agents, and their camera and other equipment seized. some have also been arrested and spent days in police call. truly, no government in the world would like to condone anything that would diminish its power and authority. government officials usually entertain the feeling that the watchdog function of the press and the press’ ability to mold public opinion make the press powerful hence the need for censorship. regarding the control of the media, ike and udeze (2015:241) wrote, “the reason for control as often put forward by government authorities was that the media were too powerful and therefore should be controlled. the real obstacle to press freedom ike and udeze, (2015:241) wrote: the struggle to control the communication sector is as old as creation. in the eighteenth century which marked the advent of printing press, the mass media were in the hands of royal or religious leaders who exercised control in freedom of expression. the nineteenth century saw the extraordinary struggles to control freedom of the press. freedom of the press 2003 – a global survey of media independence rated 115 of 193 countries as either not free only partly free. however, subtle manipulation of the news may occur even in contries that enjoy freedom of the press (awake, 2005: 9) but why should a struggle that is as old as creation continue till date, even without an end in sight? think! if all the governments of the world become responsive to the needs of their subjects (loving them and caring very much for their welfare) and are devoid of corruption and greed, for instance, would there really be need for watchdogs to keep monitoring them? on the other hand, if all the citizens of various countries of the world become clothed with love and righteousness and are purged of corruption and greed while obediently supporting their rulers, would the government authorities still be eager to gag them or take away their freedom of expression in any way? these thought-provoking questions make it easier to identify the root 123 of the problem that has resulted in a stiff battle between government authorities and the gentlemen of the press regarding press freedom. the problem or the real obstacle to press freedom simply put is that all humans are imperfect and operating an imperfect system. there is no perfect government anywhere in the world, hence there would be no guarantee that they would use their power and authority in the most desirable way. on the other hand, journalists themselves are much the same with government officials in existing in an imperfect state. no journalist anywhere in the world could be said to be totally without corruption and greed, and possess absolute wisdom and sense of justice and so would not abuse the power of the pen. as mahatma gandhi said, the sole aim of journalism should be service. the press is a great power, but just as an unchained torrent of water submerges whole countryside and devastates crops, even so as uncontrolled pen serves but to destroy. (kamath, 2008:269). of course, government officials know that journalists themselves are also imperfect and capable of reflecting imperfection in their performance of the watchdog function of the press hence it is increasingly difficult for governments in most countries of the world to invest much confidence in journalists as to grant them, in reality, press freedom. for there to be real press freedom of expression and indeed the freedom of expression of every person living in any part of the world, there must be a special government that is devoid of corruption and greed, and has genuine concern for the welfare of the governed, hence it will not suppress the ruled nor deny them the freedom of expression which was why god gave them mouth and gift of speech. the government is certainly what jesus christ came to publicize on earth and urged his disciples to prayer for as contained in the bible book of matthew, (6:9,10), “…let your kingdom come…..” this special government as the bible explains has jesus christ (a perfect person) as the king (isaiah 9:6,7). on the other hand, the subjects of this government must also be special citizens who had renounced unrighteousness including corruption and greed, and have accepted to live their lives in harmony with god’s righteous standards, hence their freedom of expression would be no threat in any way. the reality of press freedom in nigeria from the perspective of what is being practically experienced or observed in the country today, could it be said that there is press freedom in nigeria? truly, yes or no answer to this question could generate arguments. the journalists who are the pressmen themselves often lament that they are not being given the freedom to carry out their journalistic functions of playing watchdog role, pointing out that the governments use various means to gag them. on the part of government functionaries, they often feel that they have clear conscience because the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria contains some provisions which could be interpreted to given impression of press freedom. momoh (2004) cited in ike and udeze (2015) submits that the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria contains some provisions which must be read together to have an idea of the constitutional base of the nigeria press. again, it is also on record that on may 27, 2011, nigeria passed the freedom of information act which makes it possible for a journalist to request information from an official of government, and to receive the information requested for. of course, the foregoing sounds good, and based on that, government authorities could say, “what’s more, you (the press) are free to carry out your so called watchdog role as you may wish to” 124 but is it as simple as that? ike and udeze (2015) wrote that the constitutional provisions in the various nigerian constitutions do not clearly guarantee the freedom of journalists in the performance of their role of monitoring the government. they cited nwanolue and ude-akpe (2011, p:8) that state that perhaps the reviewed 1999 constitution and that of the nigeria press council drafted in 1999 are better than the previous constitutions used in the country, a critical look at the two writs reveals that the provisions made thereto did not stipulate any consequences for the violation of journalist’s right to freedom of expression; and that no penalty whatsoever whether in form of fines or jail terms were encoded in the writs for those who would dare to stop journalism from exercising their right to freedom of expression. they argued that the unpleasant implication of this is that freedom of expression for the journalists is seen as the individual right to freedom of expression for respective journalists and not as legal entity which had been empowered by the constitution of the land. what that means is that from constitutional point, the press has been weakly given the freedom to operate in a way that could mean, “you are free to carry out your watchdog role but remember that we are also your watchdog and if you are not very careful, we can cut your tale or mouth and would get away with it.” so, it is clear that the situation today it that nigerian journalists are “free”, as it were, to publish whatever they want to but do not have the guarantee of their safety if what is published or broadcast stirred the anger of those in positions of power. of course, in the past, there were cases of unlawful detention of journalists like chris anyanwu, bayo onanuga, etc and even the death of dele giwa because of their performing their journalistic functions in a way that did not go down well with the superior authorities. so, by and large, the reality of press freedom in nigeria is that journalists can make bold to carry out watchdog role and damn the consequences if they wished. conclusion the long longed press freedom would unfortunately remain unrealizable for a very long time to come and so the battle for press freedom would keep raging for obvious reasons discussed in this article. majorly, all humans (journalists and government officials) are imperfect and the system of things is also imperfect. accordingly, the government would not likely dispose of their sledge hammer meant to hit the journalists to order if they dared to over watch and expose government operations in the way the government would find objectionable. again, corruption and greed among governments officials heavily distract them from embarking on programmes and policies that would bring economic development and thus cater for the needs of the ruled. on the part of journalists, they too are not free from corruption and greed hence they are at times seen to be distracted from performing their watchdog function in harmony with their code of practice. therefore, as press freedom would continue to be illusive, needed efforts would be made to cope with the situation and ensure a measure of peace among the citizens of the nigerian nation. recommendations the following recommendations are made based on the conclusion drawn: 1. granted that all humans are imperfect, those with governmental authority should work hard to carry out their functions in harmony with their oath of office which does not allow for corruption and greed among government functionaries and thus probably reduce corruption and greed within them in order to serve the people better and be more transparent. this may reduce the constant urge by the press to look deeper and deeper into government operations which often is the bone of contention between the government and the press. likely, in this way, there could be a measure of trust and peace in the environment. 125 2. journalists on their part should tread with caution and endeavour to carry out their functions in harmony with their code of ethics. as stated in the preamble of the new code of ethics for nigeria journalists, journalism entails a high degree of public trust. to earn and maintain this trust, it is morally imperative for every journalist and the various news media to observe the highest professional and ethical standards. in the exercise of his duties, a journalist should always have a healthy regard for the public interest. (udeze, 2012:139). ndolo (2011:10) also wrote: there is need to improve the ethical environment of media institutions. the code of ethics for nigeria journalists notwithstanding, media managers should take the lead in identifying the moral standards of their organization, coding those principles and ensuring that employees understand and abide by them. regarding the need for news writers to carry out their duty with a sense of responsibility, ibe (1977:4) wrote that there is, of course, some political importance attached to broadcast news. it is the political importance that makes the broadcast news writer strive for some balance and to always consider the sensitive nature of broadcasting. the writer recognizes that factual mistake, a wrong attribution, a misquotation, or a piece of reporting construed by some interested party as biased, will lead to pressures from important political, social, or economic groups. all this suggests that the broadcast news writer must be a responsible practitioner of the art. this would likely reduce corrupt practices among journalists and create a measure of trust in the eyes of the government. so, if the governments govern with a sense of responsibility and press write with a sense of responsibility it would likely contribute to better government-press relationship and peaceful co-existence. references agee, k; ault, h; emery, e. (1985). introduction to mass communication, silver anniversary edition (eight edition). new york: harper & row publishers, inc. awake, (october 22, 2005). newspapers do they shape your thinking. ibe, g.o. (1977). mass communication: a functional approach. awka: christon international company (printers and publishers). ike, o.f and udeze, s.e. (2015). emerging trends in gender, health & political communication in africa. enugu: rhyce kerex publishers. kamath, m.v. (2008). professional journalism new dethi: vikas publishing house pvt ltd. mac bride s. et al. (1981). many voices, one world. ibadan: ibadan university press ndolo, i.s. (2011). contemporary issues in communication and society, enugu: rhyce kerex publishers. nworah, u. (2021). media practice and security challenges in south-east nigeria, enugu. ceefo press. nwuneli, o.e. (1985). mass communication in nigeria: a book of reading, enugu: fourth dimension publishers ltd. 126 obasi, f. (2013). communication research characteristics, procedures and analysis. enugu: ruwil nudas. okoye, j.i. (2009). new perspective on the nigeria press history. enugu: san press ltd. okunna, c.s. (1995). ethics of mass communication. enugu: new generation books. udeze, s.e. (2012). media law and ethics. enugu: rhyce kerex ltd. ume-nwagbo, e.n. (1995). broadcasting systems in africa an introduction to history, operations and issues. lagos: straad limited. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 118 nonlinear autoregressive approach to monetary policy rate and nigerian capital market development nwaigwe, francis, o.1, anaenugwu, ndubuisi. v.2, mgbemena onyinye, o.3 1university of st. thomas, mozambique business school, maputo 2department of economics, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka 3department of economics, michael okpara university, umudike umuahia abstract capital market is crucial for economic growth by facilitating the flow of funds between those who need capital and those who have it. this paper examined the impact of monetary policy rate on the nigerian capital market development from 1990 to 2024, using the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (nardl) model approach. the specific objective of this paper is to determine the impact of monetary policy rate on the all-share index and the included variables are monetary policy rate, broad money supply, inflation rate, nominal exchange rate and 91treasury bill as the explanatory variables and the all-share index as the dependent variable. the data were sourced from central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin and national bureau of statistics. from the result, it was shown that an increase in the monetary policy rate resulted to 18 percent increase in capital market indicator, all share index. furthermore, a decrease in the monetary policy rate resulted to a 4 percent decrease in the all-share index while a percentage increase in treasury bill resulted to 9 percent increase in all-share. this paper concluded that the monetary policy rate has a significant impact on the nigerian capital market development and recommended among others as follows: the central bank of nigeria (cbn) should implement monetary policy rate adjustment that is economy sensitive, so at to maintain a balance between curbing inflation and encouraging investment in equities for economic growth. keywords: inflation, m2/gdp, monetary policy rate, nominal interest rate, treasury bill rate jel codes: e52, e58, e31, g12 1. introduction capital market development refers to the process of enhancing the efficiency, transparency, and accessibility of financial market where long-term fixed and variable income instruments are traded. normally, it involves the financial institutions, instruments and the regulatory frameworks (security & exchange commission, and the nigerian stock exchange) to facilitate the growth and development. in sum, it’s about creating a more robust and reliable eco system for raising capital, channeling savings into investments and promoting financial stability. some of the key aspects of the capital include: improving regulatory frameworks, strengthening market infrastructure, diversifying financial instruments, expanding investors’ base, promoting market education and facilitating access to capital for businesses. the benefits of the capital market development are: increased economic growth, enhanced financial stability, improved access to finance for business and greater investment opportunities for investors. the proxy for capital market development is the nigerian stock exchange all share index that reflects the performance /development of the capital market (nwude, 2018). 119 in nigeria, interest rate decisions are taken by the central bank of nigeria (cbn). the official rate is the monetary policy rate (mpr), the nigerian anchor rate. monetary policy is the policy adopted by the central bank to affect monetary and other financial conditions to accomplish broader objectives like high employment and price stability. it influences interest rates in the economy (cbn, 2006). the monetary policy rate can be considered the benchmark rate that the cbn will lend banks under its mandate as the lender of last resort. when banks borrow and lend in the nigerian interbank market, they benchmark the interest and charge each other based on the mpr. the cbn adjusts the mpr primarily to achieve its monetary policy objectives: curbing inflation, supporting the naira, and economic growth, and financial stability. the broad objective of this study is to examine the impact of monetary policy rate on the nigerian stock market. this paper is structured as follows: section presents the introduction, section 2, the empirical literature review, section three is the methodology, data and theoretical framework. section four is the results, analysis while section five is on the conclusion and policy implication 2 empirical literature review few empirical literature on the relationship between monetary policy rate and capital market development are presented. mudi (2018) adopted a nonlinear two-staged least squares (n2sls) approach to model the monetary policy reaction function of the cbn, focusing on asymmetries in policy responses to economic shocks. using quarterly data from 2007q1 to 2016q2, the study showed evidence of nonlinearities, with the cbn responding more aggressively to inflationary pressures than to output deviations. yola (2019) examined the nigerian stock market’s reaction to monetary policy innovations, using exponential generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic model (egarch) to capture shortand long-term impacts. the study showed significant effects of monetary policy announcements on market volatility and investor behavior. the research is strengthened by its use of high-frequency data, offering detailed insights. rashid, jehan and kanval (2023) provided empirical evidence on the effects of external shocks and monetary policy on stock market volatility in pakistan using vector autoregression (var) model. key variables include exchange rates, interest rates, and stock market indices. the study showed that external shocks amplify the effects of monetary policy on market volatility, with implications for macroeconomic stability. yaya, adenikinju and olayinka (2024) examined the connectedness of african stock markets using a quantile var approach. the study examines inter-market linkages and the influence of monetary policy shocks. it showed that stock markets in africa exhibit varying degrees of connectedness, influenced by monetary policy and global trends. this study’s strength is its innovative methodological approach, providing nuanced insights into market interdependencies. 2.4 research contribution from the reviewed empirical literature reviewed, the gap in knowledge could be summarized as follows: from the geographical context, rashid et al, (2024) examined the impact of monetary policy in pakistan using the vector autoregressive approach. the study utilized exchange rate, interest rate, and stock market indices while this study was focused on nigeria. while (mudi, 2018; yola, 2019 yaha, 2024 ignored the treasury bill and nominal exchange rate, this study incorporated the variables as established at the background. 120 in terms of methodology for the related studies in nigeria, the non-linear two stage least square (n2sls), the quantile var (yaha et al, 2024) and egarch, yola, 2019). this study used the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag approach (nardl), thereby bridging the knowledge gap. majority of the studies reviewed used market capitalization, but this study used all-share index to measure stock market. 3 methodology 3.1 theoretical framework the theoretical framework of this paper is the dow theory of stock exchange. this theory explains the role of monetary policy, in influencing capital market development. an increase in the mpr, increases the cost of borrowing, discouraging investment in equities and influencing the primary downward trend in the capital market. conversely, a reduction in mpr can foster a bullish trend by making equities more attractive compared to fixed-income securities. 3.2 model building the model of shuaibu, harvey and amidu (2017) with modification is adopted for this paper.however, the model for this paper is specified as follows: asindex = f (mpr, tb, m2/gdp, nomex, infl) (3.1) the above model was expressed mathematically, thus; asindex = β0 +β1mpr +β2tb +β3 m2/gdp + β4nomex +β5infl (3.2) incorporating the stochastic variable into equation (3.2), equation 3.2 becomes: asindexi,t = β0 + β1mpri,t + β2tbi,t + β3m2/gdpi,t + β4nomexi,t + β5infli,t + μ (3.3) where: asindex = all share index (the dependent variable); mpr = monetary policy rate; tb = 91 days treasury bill; m2/gdp = broad money supply; nomex = nominal exchange rate; infl = inflation rate as the independent/explanatory variables; μ = stochastic error term; subscript i = represents the country (nigeria); subscript t = time measured in years. the nardl framework is stated thus, equation 3.3 ∆asindext = α + ∑βj∆asindexi, t−i + ∑δj∆mpri, t−i + ∑ϕk∆tbi,t− i + ∑λm∆m2/gdpi, t−i + ∑γm∆nomexi, t−i + ∑πsδinfli,t−i i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 i=1 + η2mpri, t-1 + η3tbi, t-1 +η4m2/gdpi, t-1 +η5nomexi, t-1+ η5iinfli, t-1 + µt (3.4) in equation 3.4, the terms with the summation signs (∑) represent the error correction model (ecm) dynamics. the coefficients ηi are the long-run multipliers corresponding to the long run relationship, α and µt represent the constant and the white noise or disturbance term respectively while βj, δj, ϕk, λm, γm and πs represents the short-run effects. δ is the first difference operator while k is the lag length for the error correction model. therefore equation 3.4 is estimated to obtain the relationship between the dependent variable inflation and the independent variables which are the monetary policy rate. from theoretical and empirical perspectives, it is expected that monetary policy rate would have an ambiguous relationship with capital market development such as an increase or 121 decrease in the anchor rate should a similar effect on the development of the market; broad money supply is expected to have a positive effect; depreciation of the exchange rate is expected to have negative effect and likewise inflation rate on the development of the market. 3.3 estimation technique and procedure this paper employed the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag technique (nardl) framework provided by pesaran and shin (2001) for the analysis. this procedure is adopted because it has better small sample properties than alternative methods like engel-granger (1987), johansen and juselius (1990), and philip and hansen (1990). this method avoids the classification of variables as i(1) and i(0) by developing bands of critical values which identifies the variables as being stationary or non-stationary processes. the nardl method can distinguish between dependent and explanatory variables. in this technique, the first test is to determine whether the modelled variables are co-integrated, that is, whether long run relationship exists between the dependent and independent variables. once the long run relationship or co-integration has been established, the next stage involves the estimation of the long run and short run coefficients. the short run coefficients are estimated using the error correction modelling which aims at reconciling the long run behaviour of co-integrated variables with their short run responses. by employing these techniques, this study aims to provide a robust and reliable analysis of the relationships between monetary policy reaction function and the nigerian stock market and the control variables under investigation to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the variables of interest. a. unit root test procedurally, when conducting econometric analysis like the impact of monetary policy reaction function on stock market in nigeria using time series data, researchers face the challenges of dealing with non-stationarity series, annualized series. non-stationary time series data can lead to spurious regression results and to address this challenge, it is necessary to test for stationarity using the unit root tests. the augmented dickey-fuller (adf) test is particularly relevant in this study as it accounts for high-order serial correlation and ensures that the variables have a constant mean and variance. b. co-integration test the aim of a co-integration test is to determine whether there exists a long-run relationship between monetary policy rate and stock market variables in nigeria, particularly the all-share index. this test support the unit root test to enhance robust analysis and to avoid. the cointegration test also helps to identify whether a long-run equilibrium relationship exists among the variables of monetary policy reaction function and stock market variables (all-share index). the f-bound co-integration test was employed since it is suitable for detecting the presence of a long-run relationship in nardl equation model. hence, if the f-statistics of the f-bound test is greater than the upper and lower bound result at 5% level of significance, a long run relationship exists, otherwise there is no long run relationship. table 3.1 presents the data for this study. 122 table 3.2: summary of data in the model & description variables type proxy unit of measurement sources (s) all share index dependent variable all share index (annual %) fmdq, nasq, bloomberg(20 24) monetary policy rate independent monetary policy rate (annual %) central bank of nigeria (cbn) (2024) 91 days treasury bill independent 91 days tb rate (annual %) dmo (2024) nominal exchange rate independent nominal exchange rate local currency per dollar cbn (2024) broad money supply independent broad money supply (annual % of gdp cbn (2024) inflation rate independent inflation rate (annual %) cbn (2024) source: researchers’ compilation (2025) 4 result presentation, interpretation and analysis 4.1 data presentation and analyses 4.1.1 descriptive statistics table 4.1 presents the results of the descriptive statistics or the summary statistics that quantitatively describes or summarizes the features of a dataset. table 4.1: descriptive statics asindex mpr tb m2/gdp nomex infl mean 2459463. 19.29839 13.11469 1.65 197.5328 19.62526 median 297307.1 17.94833 12.95000 6.69 131.2743 13.72020 maximum 74773770 31.65000 24.50000 9.98 1438.730 72.83550 minimum 5083.900 11.48313 3.785000 5.76 8.038285 5.382220 std. dev. 12585708 4.250410 4.935865 2.27 257.6099 16.57663 skewness 5.655383 0.944827 0.276798 1.910635 3.437250 1.845121 kurtosis 32.99960 3.744991 2.668875 6.789903 16.68203 5.417186 jarque-bera 1499.034 6.016798 0.606829 42.24132 341.9162 28.38014 probability 0.000000 0.049371 0.738293 0.000000 0.000000 0.000001 observations 35 35 35 35 35 35 note: asindx: all share index; mpr: monetary policy rate; tb: 91 days treasury bill; m2/gdp: broad money supply; nomex: nominal exchange rate; infl: inflation rate. source: researchers’ computation using eview 12.0 table 4.1 presents the descriptive statistics of the variables of all share index (asindex), monetary policy rate (mpr), 91 days treasury bill (tb), broad money supply (m2/gdp), nominal exchange rate (nexch), and inflation rate (infl). from the presented evidence in table 4.1 showed the average values of the variables over the years, hence, the mean value of all share index (asindex), the dependent variable from 1990 to 2024 was ₦2, 45, 9463, this implies that the total value of the traded securities in the equity market was n2, 45, 9463. the independent variables like monetary policy rate had a mean value of 19.29%; treasury bill rate was 13.11 yields; and broad money supply had a mean value of ₦1.65 trillion. the data features had a value of approximately 3, which is termed mesokurtic distribution and it suggests a normal distribution; a value higher than 3 is termed leptokurtic (positive kurtosis), suggesting that the distribution is a peaked-curve, having more higher values than the sample mean and a value smaller than 3 is termed platykurtic (negative kurtosis), suggesting that the distribution is a flatted-curve, having more lower values than the sample mean. thus, all the variables https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/summary_statistic 123 except 91 days treasury bill were leptokurtic, having higher values than their sample mean values. 91 days treasury bill is mesokurtic given that its value is approximately 3.the jarquebera test matches the skewness and kurtosis of the data to see if it matches a normal distribution. from the report, the probability of the jarque-bera test statistics was less than a 5% level of significance, this indicates the rejection of the null hypothesis of normal distribution. thus, the variables are not normally distributed except for treasury bill with a jarque-bera statistic greater than 5% level of significance. 4.1.2 correlation matrix the correlation matrix plays an important role in the multi-variance analysis of this type of study since it captures the degree of relationship between all share index and the independent variables. the correlation matrix shows the correlation coefficient between the variables related to asindex. the correlation matrix ranges from -1 to +1. a correlation of -1.0 shows a perfect negative correlation, while a correlation of 1.0 shows a perfect positive correlation. a correlation of 0.0 shows no relationship between the movements of the two variables, a number greater than 1.0 or less than -1.0 means that there was an error in the correlation measurement. the closer the coefficient is to 1 or -1, the stronger the correlation, and vice versa. the result is presented in appendix 3 and summarized in table 4.2. table 4.2: correlation matrix result correlation asindex mpr tb m2/gdp nomex infl asindex 1.000000 mpr 0.295027 1.000000 tb 0.246211 0.462381 1.000000 m2/gdp 0.417659 -0.035614 0.342948 1.000000 nomex 0.313026 0.125863 0.331020 0.939792 1.000000 infl 0.045001 0.376528 0.494121 -0.112400 -0.093518 1.000000 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 table 4.2 showed that the variables are positively correlated. with a focus on the dependent variable which is all share index (asindex), it can be seen that the correlation between asindex and monetary policy rate (mpr) is 0.29 which indicates mpr is weakly and positively associated with asindex. it is also asymmetric showing that the variables are mirror images of each other. 4.1.3 unit root tests table 4.3 presents the unit root test using the augmented dickey fuller (adf) and philip – perron(pp) at the standard 5 percent level of significance. table 4.3: adf and pp unit root tests results variables adf stat 5% critical value order of integration pp stat 5% critical value order of integration asindex -5.7466 -2.9511 i(0) -5.7466 -2.9511 i(0) mpr -5.9803 -2.9540 i(1) -6.0848 -2.9540 i(1) tb -6.3449 -2.9540 i(1) -6.4744 -2.9540 i(1) m2/gdp 3.9823 -2.9571 i(1) 6.1095 -2.9540 i(1) nomex 6.2594 -2.9540 i(1) 10.5158 -2.9540 i(1) infl -2.9918 -2.9511 i(0) -3.1502 -2.9511 i(1) source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 124 4.1.4 co-integration tests further confirming the relationship between monetary policy reaction function and stock market in nigeria is the co-integration test, which tests the long-run dynamic relationship between monetary policy reaction function and stock market in nigeria. table 4.4 presents the nardl co-integration test results. table 4.4: nardl bound test result f-bounds test null hypothesis: no levels relationship test statistic value signif. i(0) i(1) asymptotic: n=1000 f-statistic 29.39103 10% 1.92 2.89 k 7 5% 2.17 3.21 2.5% 2.43 3.51 1% 2.73 3.9 actual sample size 32 finite sample: n=35 10% 2.196 3.37 5% 2.597 3.907 1% 3.599 5.23 finite sample: n=30 10% 2.277 3.498 5% 2.73 4.163 1% 3.864 5.694 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 from table 4.4, the value of the f-statistic which 29.39 is greater than the lower and upper bound test at 5% level of significance. this shows that there is a long run relationship between all share index and the independent variables of monetary policy rate, treasury bills, broad money supply, nominal exchange rate, and inflation rate. 4.2 model estimation/evaluation 4.2.1: nardl estimates since it has been established that there is a long-run relationship amongst the variables under study, the nardl model long-run form was used to determine the coefficients of the regressed model. table 4.5 presents the summary of the nardl long-run results. table 4.5: summary of nardl long run tests levels equation case 2: restricted constant and no trend variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. mpr_pos 0.180365 0.065765 2.742571 0.0159 mpr_neg -0.048184 0.027941 -1.724505 0.1066 m2/gdp -0.091476 0.216815 -0.421907 0.6795 tb_pos 0.009608 0.028224 0.340403 0.7386 tb_neg -0.002184 0.055376 -0.039435 0.9691 nomex 0.000846 0.001696 0.499033 0.6255 infl 0.011109 0.005496 2.021273 0.0628 c 9.779822 4.990831 1.959558 0.0703 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 125 from the result presented in table 4.5, it showed that the coefficient of monetary policy rate (monetary policy reaction function) is 0.18 (mpr_pos) and -0.04 (mpr_neg). this implies that an increase in mpr, on average, will lead to an 18% increase in all share index (asindex) in nigeria while a 1% decrease in mpr will lead to a 4% decrease in all share index in nigeria in the long run. given their probability values (0.01), it can be concluded that mpr has significant positive impact. also, the long-run non-linear partial coefficient of 91 days treasury bill is 0.009 (tb_pos) and -0.002 (tb_neg). this implies that a 1% increase in tb yield, on average, will lead to an insignificant 0.9% increase in all share index while a 1% decrease in tb rate depth will also lead to an insignificant 0.2% decrease in all share index in nigeria in the long run. this means that tb rate exerts more of positive effect than negative effect on all share index in nigeria in the long run. broad money supply (m2/ggp) and inflation rate (infl) both have insignificant impact on all share index in the long run. while m2/gdp has a negative effect with a 1% change, infl has a positive effect, with a 1% change in all share index in the long run. table 4.6 presents the short-run non-linear autoregressive distributed lag results. table 4.6: nardl short-run estimation results ecm regression case 2: restricted constant and no trend variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. d(m2/gdp) 1.397964 0.410295 3.407214 0.0043 d(m2/gdp(-1)) 2.460587 0.476196 5.167171 0.0001 d(tb_pos) -0.186985 0.032101 -5.824917 0.0000 d(tb_pos(-1)) -0.193634 0.035391 -5.471290 0.0001 d(tb_neg) 0.169271 0.031659 5.346701 0.0001 d(tb_neg(-1)) 0.250906 0.030475 8.233207 0.0000 d(nomex) -0.003233 0.000363 -8.915748 0.0000 d(infl) -0.016922 0.004680 -3.615951 0.0028 d(infl(-1)) -0.014897 0.004428 -3.364475 0.0046 cointeq(-1)* -0.725891 0.084652 -20.38806 0.0000 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 4.2.3 regression result the result of the non-linear autoregressive is presented here. table 4.7: summary of nardl regression results variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob.* asindex(-1) -0.410571 0.261967 -1.567267 0.1345 mpr_pos 0.337963 0.043314 7.802561 0.0000 mpr_pos(-1) -0.159628 0.066895 -2.386244 0.0282 mpr_neg -0.068581 0.064008 -1.071450 0.2981 mpr_neg(-1) -0.061546 0.046929 -1.311464 0.2062 m2_pos 0.887980 0.660542 1.344321 0.1955 m2_neg -87.90284 42.15233 -2.085361 0.0515 tb_pos -0.075515 0.040070 -1.884570 0.0757 tb_neg 0.045930 0.055410 0.828909 0.4180 nomex_pos -0.000594 0.001301 -0.456427 0.6535 nomex_neg -0.094444 0.104002 -0.908099 0.3758 nomex_neg(-1) 0.224450 0.069991 3.206853 0.0049 infl -0.012548 0.008254 -1.520187 0.1458 infl(-1) 0.025327 0.009366 2.704101 0.0145 126 c 9.981033 2.539119 3.930904 0.0010 r-squared 0.966520 mean dependent var 12.46768 adjusted r-squared 0.940481 s.d. dependent var 1.566810 s.e. of regression 0.382248 akaike info criterion 1.217458 sum squared resid 2.630037 schwarz criterion 1.897689 log likelihood -5.088063 hannan-quinn criter. 1.446335 f-statistic 37.11728 durbin-watson stat 2.489045 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 4.3 model diagnostic tests 4.3.1 test for autocorrelation from the results, the durbin-watson statistic value is reported as 2.48. this implies that there is no autocorrelation since d* is approximately equal to two. therefore, the variables in the models are not autocorrelated and that the models are reliable for predictions. 4.3.2 test for heteroscedasticity from the heteroscedasticity test, the decision rule is to accept the null hypothesis that there is homoscedasticity (i.e., no heteroscedasticity) in the residuals if the probability of the calculated f-test statistic (f) is greater than the 0.05 level of significance chosen in the study. table 4.8: summary of heteroscedasticity tests heteroskedasticity test: breusch-pagan-godfrey f-statistic 1.349354 prob. f(14,18) 0.2713 obs*r-squared 16.89849 prob. chi-square(14) 0.2616 scaled explained ss 11.61170 prob. chi-square(14) 0.6375 source: researchers’ computation using eviews 12.0 that the calculated f-statistic is 1.3493, yielding a probability value (p-value) of 0.26. the probability value being notably higher than the 0.05 significance level provides strong evidence to accept the null hypothesis of homoscedasticity. this suggests that the residuals in the model displays consistent variance across observations, supporting the assumption of homoscedasticity at the chosen significance level. 4.6 discussion of findings from the results, this study showed that monetary economy was characterized by the monetary policy rate has significant impact on nigerian stock exchange market proxy by the all-share index. this coincides with the submissions of oji (2024) which showed that in february 2024 monetary policy committee meeting, a 400 basis point increase in the mpr to 22.75%, caused the nigerian exchange limited (ngx) to experience a substantial decline, with investors losing over n1.4 trillion in two trading sessions. similarly, chude and chude (2013) reported a significant positive relationship between broad money supply and stock market returns, indicating that higher money supply boosts investor confidence and market activity. these findings are consistent with economic theories positing that increased money supply enhances liquidity, lowers interest rates, and encourages investment in equities, thereby positively influencing stock market indices. for the third objective, the result showed that nominal exchange rate and treasury bill have no significant impact on the nigerian stock exchange market. this finding aligns with studies such as biala and oladejo (2022), which showed a unidirectional causality running from stock prices to exchange rates in the long run, indicating that stock prices may influence exchange rates rather than the reverse. similarly, zubair (2013) reported no significant causal relationship between exchange rates and stock prices in nigeria, suggesting that fluctuations in the nominal exchange rate may not directly affect stock market 127 performance. these findings imply that other factors, such as domestic economic policies and global market trends, might play a more substantial role in influencing the nigerian stock market than nominal exchange rate variations. the coefficient of the error correction term (resid_fi) is -0.72, suggesting that the speed of adjustment from the short run back to the long run if there is disequilibrium in the model is approximately 100%. the coefficient of determination (r2) from the nardl regression result indicated that the coefficient of determination (r2) is given as 0.9665, which shows that the explanatory power of the variables is high. this implies that about 96.65% of the variations in all share index (asindex) were accounted for or explained by variations in monetary policy rate, broad money supply, treasury bills, nominal exchange rate, and inflation rate in nigeria. 5 conclusion and policy implication 5.1 conclusion the significant impact of the monetary policy rate (mpr) and broad money supply (m2/gdp) highlights the central role of monetary policy tools in shaping market dynamics. policymakers must carefully adjust the monetary policy rate so as to boost transactions in the capital market and enhance investor’s sentiment. it is to be noted that nominal exchange rate and treasury bill have no significant impact on the nigerian stock exchange market, indicating a degree of resilience in the market to currency volatility. 5.2 policy implications of findings i) monetary policy rate (mpr) and the nigerian stock exchange showed the importance of the market and monetary policy in the economy. the central bank of nigeria must consider mpr adjustments to rein in inflation without deterring investment in equities. maintaining a stable and predictable interest rate environment can help foster investor confidence and sentiment, as abrupt rate hikes may drive funds toward fixed-income securities, thereby reducing liquidity and trading volumes in the stock market in line with theoretical postulation and capital market trend. ii) broad money supply (m2/gdp) and inflation significantly impact the nigerian stock exchange highlighting the importance of liquidity management in enhancing the market stability and growth. as such an expansionary monetary policy that increases m2/gdp can enhance investor activities in the equities market by boosting liquidity and reducing borrowing costs. however, policymakers must strike a balance to prevent excessive money supply, which could lead to inflationary pressures and undermine the 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(2013). causal relationship between stock market index and exchange rate: evidence from nigeria. cbn journal of applied statistics, 4(2), 87-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2017.07.075 page 7 volume 4, issue 2, 2019volume 4, issue 2, 2019 enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences f so c iy et nis cer e av ni dn u t ee ct hat n s o u log gu yne journal of social sciences published by the faculty of the social sciences published by faculty of social sciences enugu state university of science & technology www.esutjss.com editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor barnabas e. nwankwo, ph.d associate editor nicholas attamah, ph.d 496 reason as embodied, metaphorical, and imaginative jude godwins department of philosophy seat of wisdom seminary, imo state university, owerri. judegodwins8@gmail.com abstract studies in cognitive science provide three crucial empirical findings about the nature of the human mind. first is the inherently embodied nature of the mind. second is predominantly unconscious nature of the human thought. third is the principally metaphorical character of our abstract concepts. in a previous study, it was our intention to suggest the manner in which, when all is said and done, our power of abstract reason, under the framework proposed by proponents of imaginative reason, and reinforced by a host of thinkers sympathetic to their views, could well be identified with the human conceptualizing capacity. this has been found to involve three factors.the first factor is the power to create symbolic constructs corresponding to preconceptual structures in our common place experience. these preconceptual structures are the basic-level (walking, running) and image-schematic concepts (spatial space). the second factor is the power of metaphorical mapping, framing structures in the physical sphere onto constructs in the abstract realms–all within the framework of the existing structural correspondences between the abstract and the physical horizons. this constraint belongs to the system. our image schematic and metaphorical structures prohibit some movements (inferences), making them simply impossible. here in lies our capacity for abstraction. finally, the third factor is the power to employ image schemata as structuring schemes in the creation of general categories and complex concepts. thus, we can form structures of complex events and taxonomies that have subordinate (e.g., types of walking and running) and superordinate (e.g., movement) categories. keywords: schematic conceptualizations, meaning, understanding, and rationality introduction human categorization our view on human categorization would be influenced by findings in the field of cognitive science. cognitive science is a recent discipline that encompasses studies in the disciplines of philosophy, anthropology, psychology, computer science, linguistics. cognitive science studies the human mind with empirical methods and investigates our conceptual systems as a scientific discipline (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 10). a new discipline, cognitive science brings together the diverse interests of people investigating the human cognitive behavior from differing perspectives. it attempts to understand our cognitive functions, concrete or abstract, real or imagined, mechanical (machine) or human. it aims at understanding the principles that guide intelligent, cognitive behavior. it hopes this will enable us better understand the human mind, better appreciate and comprehend the processes of teaching and learning, and have a better grasp of our mental abilities. it is also hoped that the cognitive sciences will enable the advancement of intelligent devices for augmenting human competences (norman, 1981, 1). mailto:judegodwins8@gmail.com 497 1following researches in this field, people now talk of neural and prototypical categorizations. we might do well to consider these two types of categorization. neural categorization. all living beings have been known to categorize. animals are said to categorize following their sensory mechanisms, motor skills, and object manipulation capacities. they classify their own kinds, their mating partners, their food. humans also categorize, placing things in classes, to make sense of their world. categorization is said to be an evolutionary process of a sort. we are said to have evolved to acquire an efficient capacity for categorization at the basic level. natural categories are more easily identified with their part-whole structure. our evolutionary process has come to recognize this fact. thus, our capacity for maximal categorization at the basic level is associated with our evolutionary history. in our basic-level categorizations, we do not simply organize our categories in a hierarchical order, from those that are most general to those that are most specific. instead, we organize them in such a way that the cognitively basic are put in the middle of a hierarchical order that goes from the general to the specific. our generalization process goes upward, climbing from the basic level; while specialization goes downward (lakoff, 1987, 13). evolution as applied to categorization is not taken here in the distorted sense of social darwinianism, in which rationality is defined and live-out in terms of an animalistic maximization of self-interest (haeffner, 1988, 79-80). people, say this is but a folk theory indicative of cultural sentiments that have been woven into evolutionary theory (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 58). within this context, altruism becomes irrational. yet evolution understood as a natural change and positively progressive is but a metaphor, and not a literal truth. people say altruism remains a better alternative to the egoism that results from this misreading of darwinian evolutionism. haeffner’s proposal remains sufficiently weighty. the primary egoism that results from a misreading of the darwinian evolutionary theory has never been completely discarded; its secret basic thesis that i am the center of the world because i am the center of my world is never definitively refuted (however, actually in the field of immediately practical beliefs a refutation makes no sense at all). nevertheless, this egoism can be permeated more or less by the attitude of altruistic love, which allows the other to be his own autonomous being (recognizes his world) and gives him the positive space for it (haeffner, 1989, 94). categorization is only evolutionary in the sense that it is based on the perceptual functions and motor skills found in lower animals. utilizing our animal nature, it is said to be the upshot of the human body, the human brain, and the human interactional functions. categorization is considered, following relevant studies in the relevant fields, as the outgrowth of the human biological constitution rather than as coming from conscious reasoning. it is constrained by the human body, and said to be, in the main, automatic. the neurons in the human brain are held to be about100 billion and the synaptic connections are said to be 100 trillion. information often passes from one closely knit assemblage of neurons to another through a somewhat scanty set of connections. each time this occurs, the 498 activation pattern shared over the first ensemble of neurons is too much to be characterized in a one-to-one fashion in the scanty set of connections. consequently, that scanty set of connections, of necessity, builds up certain input patterns, as it maps them onto the output assemblage. each time neural grouping comes up with the same output with dissimilar inputs, neural categorization happens (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 18). categorization is perhaps the most fundamental phenomenon in our perceptual functions and communicative activities. one could hardly perform any intentional action without engaging in some categorization of a type. when we act, it is a certain kind of action that we carry out. perhaps we climb, paint, and jump. these are all kinds of motor skills. the same is true of communication. we communicate orally, through signs, and in writing. all are kinds of communication. the simplest of movements we make (walking and running) fall into categories too. so also is a world of concept-categories involved in our intellectual enterprise. most essential in this human phenomenon of classification is our categorization of abstract entities. the matter is not simply that we categorize virtually everything around us. what makes human categorization essentially weighty is that our categories of things, events, people, and abstract entities determine what we eventually, take to be real and true. the human experience, undoubtedly, is as real as the concrete objects around us. our categories build on this experience. so our sense of what is real is given to us by the categories we have of things. this sense of distinction, acquired through our categories of things, in turn places constraints on our reasoning process (lakoff, 1987, 207-296). first, the truth of a statement is always in relation to a certain understanding of it. human understanding all the time requires categorization; and this is a function of properties that interact with one another (instead of those that are inherent) and of dimensions that grow out of the human experience. second, the categories employed in a statement highlight the properties on which its truth depend. for instance, light involves properties that look like waves, and puts out of sight properties that look like particles. third, categories are delineated by prototypes as well as by family resemblances to prototypes. and taking various purposes into consideration these categories can be adjusted in context. they're not fixed; and they are not uniform either. statements are true or not depending on if the categories employed fit, and of course purposes and contexts make them to vary (lakoff & johnson, 1980, 165-166). being an ordering or an organization, of a sorts, that slots our experiences into aspects, categorization is as aspectual as it is experiential. in categorization we highlight a couple of properties, downplay some, and hide others; and in this way we identify a certain kind of object or experience. everyone of these perspectives brings out and emphasizes the properties we are highlighting (lakoff & johnson, 1980, 163). our categories reveal our purposes, choices, and preferences. the classical categorization, however, defines categories by fixed and commonly shared properties of their members. conceptual categories, within this framework, are determined by the objective properties of the category members, who share equal status. 499 prototype categorization. prototypes are neural structures enabling us to perform inferential or imaginative functions, as it were, with regard to categories. in categorizing, we break up our experiences into kinds we can easily comprehend. this is prototypical categorization; it does not look for any conditions that are necessary and sufficient (johnson 1987, 171). categorization is open-ended. it is defined in the context of family resemblance and prototypes, after the manner of wittgenstein and rosch respectively. following his language game theory, ludwig wittgenstein holds that games, as with members of a family, resemble one another in ways bereft of well-tailored common properties. family members, as in the family of games, belong together by virtue of family resemblance, rather than by sharing a certain assemblage of properties. family resemblance indicates how category members may be related to one another, even as all members may not have any common properties that define the category (lakoff, 1987, 12). we learn also from wittgenstein’s language game theory that, relative to our purposes, categories could be widened or narrowed. as in the category of games, this tendency of categories to be narrowed or widened according to our purposes rules out any natural boundaries in the category framework. the spin-off of this phenomenon is that there could be degrees of belonging to a category, and certain members could be more or less central than others. this gives rise to the membership gradients and the centrality gradients' theories. membership gradients shows that rather than having clear boundaries, some categories have only degrees of membership. centrality gradients indicates how category members (or subcategories) distinctly inside the category boundaries could nevertheless be more or less central (lakoff, 1987, 12). this lack of boundaries in the category framework with its diverse consequences, as in membership gradients and centrality gradients – reveals that some members of a category, as is also the case with games, could be regarded as better instances of their group than others. all these are said to have consequences for classical categorization. in line with wittgenstein, eleanor rosch posits a theory of categorization based on family resemblance as well as on prototypes. her theory follows from studies carried out by both herself and other researchers. these studies reveal that categories have their best instances, and that specific human capacities influence the human classification structure. she compares these findings with the classical definition of categories, and finds the later inconsistent with the facts on the ground. in the first place, no category members would better instantiate a certain category than any other members, were categories defined only by properties all class members share. in the second, categories would be independent of the peculiarities of those doing the categorizing, were categories to be defined only by properties inherent in class members. the reason is that categories include elements such as human neurophysiological factors, bodily motion, and perceptual specificities, for mental imagery formation, for learning and remembering, for organizing what is learned, and for efficient communication (lakoff, 1987, 7). this view of categorization sees this phenomenon as an outgrowth of the human experience and the human imaginative mechanism. it cites empirical data on categorization which reveal the centrality of the human experience and imaginative operations in human categorization. 500 the human experience, as already stated, has been known to embrace the entire man, individual, group, and inherited genetic constitution. it includes the nature of man’s interaction in his social and physical environment and all man’s actual and potential experiences. it comprises all the dimensions of man, perceptual operations, motoric, emotion, history, society, and language. it encompasses all that is human, the body, the mind, the intellect, and all that is involved in the complexities of the interactions that come into the way we understand the world (johnson, 1987, xvi). our basic-level category structure hinges on our motor movement and gestalt perception, bearing the imprint of the natural constitution of our being. basic categories are basic in four respects. first, this manifests in perception, through our perceiving overall shape; our having unified mental imagery; and speedy identification of our objects. second, the way we function with our motoric behavior generally reveals how basic the basic categories are. third, our communication reveals the words our children first learn and the words that are the first to find their way in the lexicon are the most precise, most frequently utilized and most contextually neutral words. fourth, the way we organize our knowledge reveals that we store nearly all attributes of the members of a category at the basic level (lakoff, 1987, 47). the categories of color, which rest on the human neurophysiology, hinge also on the human body. our imaginative processes (power to stockpile knowledge at a certain level of categorization, power to form mental images, and to communicate) characterize the basic level structure. these operations (imaginative) are also manifest in the prototype structure (the capacity to form and utilize idealized models, the power to expand categories from central to non-central members, employing the imaginative workings of metonymy, image relations, and metaphor.) incidentally, these processes and capacities do not mirror nature. if anything, they lend credence to studies in the field of cognitive science. data on the way humans categorize disclose that we actually organize our conceptual systems not in terms of categories that are defined by fixed and commonly shared properties of their members but in terms of prototypes (rosch, 1997, & lakoff & johnson, 1980, 71) and family resemblance (wittgenstein, 1953, 1: 66-71) for instance, small singing birds, such as sparrows, are regarded as prototypical birds; whereas chickens are non-prototypical. people only classify chickens as belonging to the birdcategory because they bear enough family resemblance to the prototype (sparrows). moreover, the classical account is said to be at odds with contemporary biology. recent studies on biological species disclose conflict among experts on the placement of certain species. the rift between the phonetic and the cladistic criteria over the natural kinds of zebra and fish is a case in point (lakoff, 1987, 185). the phonetics, following from their overall similarity criteria, said there are these natural kinds. the cladists, on the other hand, judging from their barometer of shared derived characters, deny the existence of any such kinds. such is the case that in our days, people now talk of emancipating biology from a way of doing philosophy that is inappropriate (mayr, 1984, 533). this follows from the fact that, from the perspective of evolutionary biology, when we characterize biological species, we do not partition the world of biology into distinctly demarcated natural kinds, the way "objectivist metaphysics" would have us do (lakoff, 1987, 192). so it is that the philosophical conception of natural kinds is but a folk conception, not part of a scientific conceptual system that enjoys general consent (lakoff, 1987, 187). the properties of 501 our categories have been discovered to be interactional rather than inherent. they are said to be simply about the way we interact with objects in our environment, given our bodies, that is to say, our manner of perceiving, imagining, organizing data, and relating towards objects in our milieu with our bodies (lakoff, 1987, 198). this reinforces the claims that our art of categorizing is, at any rate, a by-product of the human experience (perceptual capacities, culture, motor skills) and the human imagination. categories are, thus, mind-dependent and culture-specific. this is not to deny the extra-mental existence of physical objects. mountains have a mind-independent existence. but economics cannot exist independently of the human mind. categories exist relative to our models of cognition. our brief consideration of human categorization traces our categories to neuro-physiological origins. our category organization is a combination of a number of factors, namely: our interaction with the world around us, the capacities associated with our bodies, the ability to categorize efficiently at the basic level (linked-up with our evolutionary process), and our neural nature. we define categories by prototypes to serve human understanding purposes. so, rather than being fixed, we narrow, expand, or adjust categories to suit our purposes and contexts. the truth of a statement depends on how we understand a certain category for our purposes in a particular context. this is the case given that the truth of a statement hinges on if the categories we employ fit in the statement (lakoff, 1987, 164) reason as embodied the phenomenon of the embodiment of human reason has been argued on various fronts. one could already thematizea four-fold embodiment motif. within this frame of reference, there are neural embodiment, phenomenological embodiment, functional embodiment, and conceptual embodiment. neural embodiment is said to characterize the neural inner workings that generate concepts. an instance of neural embodiment could be the neural circuitry which is linked to the color cones. it is this neural circuitry, for instance, that gives rise to and characterizes the structure of our categories of colour. thanks to these neural mechanisms, we now know why our categories of colour have their numerous phenomenological properties (lakoff & johnson, 1980, 164). phenomenological embodiment characterizes the manner we schematize our bodies and the things that come into our day-to-day interaction with the world around us. our comprehension of image schemata through the body, according to which we form spatial-relations concepts, is a form of our phenomenological embodiment. our framing of abstract containers onto fields in space through which we have our category structure, our understanding of motion in relation to a starting-point-path-endpoint frame, also belongs to our phenomenological embodiment (lakoff & johnson, 1980, 36). functional embodiment refers to the situation, where concepts are used automatically, unconsciously, and effortlessly as belonging to our normal functioning, rather than being simply intellectually comprehended (lakoff, 1987, 12). conceptual embodiment is the idea that our social and physical functioning in our environment and our biological capacities generate the properties of some of our categories. it 502 is in contradistinction to the idea that concepts exist independently of the bodily nature and experience of the beings that think (lakoff, 1987, 12). human reason is embodied in that the structures on which reason is grounded issue from our corporal experience, and make meaning to us within this context. grounds for an embodied reason abound. these grounds could be approached through the following themes: embodied concepts, the body in conceptualization, concepts at the basic level, embodied visions of knowledge and truth, embodied mind, and embodied reason. let us now take a closer look at these themes. embodied concepts. the human conceptual system is not only built on our perceptual and motor mechanisms, it also employs our neural workings, and is molded by these mechanisms (perceptual and motor). concepts themselves, as already indicated, are simply neural structures enabling us to mentally identify the distinctive and typical features of our categories and to reason about them. hence, concepts are embodied. embodied concepts are neural structures that are part of, or utilize, the human brain's sensorimotor system (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 20). hence, our conceptual inferences are, for the most part, sensorimotor inferences (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 20). researches on neural modeling reveal that the brain comprises of a myriad of complex and immensely structured networks of neurons, which perform their neural computations to generate concepts. they disclose the possibility of the very neural mechanisms used in perception being also employed in concept formation and reasoning. narayanan has done an extensive research in this area, which is relevant to our present inquiry. we shall therefore outline his main points in the following paragraphs (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 43). narayanan proves that the neural structure of our motor control must have had already the necessary capacities for characterizing our events-structure and their logic. he wonders if the brain could actually duplicate the system of structures for reasoning about actions if those structures were already in place. he wonders also if the brain could give a new neural form to an alternative system, in case it decided for a duplication. furthermore, narayanan argues that biology reveals that our reason has not only developed out of our sensory motor mechanisms, but also continues to utilize the structures arising from these. it is for this reason that we have the kinds of concepts possessing their kinds of properties. the topological and orientational characters of our concepts could also be traced to the above reasons (the fact that our reason has arisen from our sensory motor mechanisms and uses systems deriving from them). our model of structuring and reasoning about events in terms of the sensory motor structure derives also from this fact. the indications are, then, researchers say, that neural structures which perform neural operations could simultaneously perform the activities of sensory motor skills (perception) and that of categorization, concept formation, and reasoning (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 38). the body in conceptualization. our body remains an enabling factor for our concept formation. ourselves, our world, and others are better comprehended when framed and coded in body-related concepts. even our conceptual system, relative to which we reason, draws upon our body. the body molds our conceptual system in a fascinating number of ways. basic level concepts, as already indicated, rely on gestalt perception, motorics, and imaging. spatialrelation concepts, such as up and down, are characterized in relation to our bodily orientations. 503 our color concepts are not simply fashioned by perception, considered as a mental faculty, but also by the body parts, which are physical, e.g., the neural circuitry colour cones. in ways mentioned above and in more ways, we find the human body taking a crucial role in shaping and determining the very nature of conceptualization. our conceptual system itself is grounded in our interaction with one another and with our cultural and physical milieu. it is for this reason, that the concepts that emerge from it are defined in relation to the interactional properties associated with our perceptions, purposes, motor operations, and functions. our type of conceptual system is the consequence of the type of beings we as humans are, as well as the result of our mode of interacting with our physical and cultural milieu (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 119). concepts at the basic level. at the basic level, for maximal operation in our day-to-day activities, concepts employ imaging, perceptual and motor faculties. at this level, we are at the highest degree, in contact with our milieu. this is a function of, as well as a pointer to, our embodiment. embodied visions of knowledge and truth. findings in cognitive science tells us that our reason is linked to our body and the nature of our brain. our body, brain, environmental interaction, and interaction with one another constitute the fundaments of our visions and conceptions of reality. it is a peculiarly evolutionary perspective in which our sensibility for, and the sense of distinction between, the real and the unreal is given to us by the operations of our sensory motor mechanism. the aforementioned discoveries of cognitive science are deeply disconcerting on two counts. in the first place, they show us how human rationality is a type of animal reasoning, a reasoning that resists decoupling from the nature of the human body and the peculiarities of the human brain. in the second place, the findings indicate that the majorly unconscious grounds for our conventional metaphysics, namely, what we consider to be real, are the human body, the human brain, man's interaction with his surroundings. our idea of the real not only has its beginnings in, but also has an overbearing reliance on, the human body. this include our motor apparatus that allows our perception, movement, and object manipulation, and the complex brain structures shaped by our experiential and evolutionary antecedents (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 17). embodied mind. a mind-independent body is an illusion. the same is also true of the converse. the fact that our concepts and reason are generated from and employ our sensory motor apparatus is a proof in this regard. the manner our concepts are generated from our embodied structures, researchers say, is a strong indication that the locus of our rational inferences (reason) and the locus of our corporeal activities (motor and perceptual operations) converge. so it is that researchers on the brain are asking whether our rational inference and perceptual motor inference-forms utilize the same brain structures. this follows from discoveries in neuroscience. the brains are said to have been known to put to optimal use what mechanisms there are, and to acquire only necessary additional faculties. the evolutionary process is known to have had the tendency to consolidate on what already there is. the mind, it is said, is embodied through our sensory motor apparatus. this explains why our concepts fit well the way they do with the manner of our operating in the world. the fit is understandable. their 504 evolution from our sensori motor system accounts for it. the sensorimotor apparatus themselves have evolved to enable us function efficiently in our physical surroundings (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 43-44). embodied reason. inquiries show that the principal kinds of rational inference could be, in truth, manifestations of peculiar forms of sensory motor inference. narayanan has studied motor schemata, our linguistic dispositions, and metaphor. his studies, seem to confirm this contention. the very neural structures engaged in performing motor control also reflect in our conceptual structure and linguistic mechanism; and the very neural apparatus that runs corporeal motor behaviours is also implicated in our logical inferences about how actions are structured, as a rule. with metaphorical projections of physical activities our motor schematic models show capacity to perform relevant abstract inferences (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 42). what this indicates, then, is that reason is embodied in that our conceptual structure is based on our embodied structures; and these embodied structures are, in the main, metaphorical. two forms of (embodied) structures in our preconceptual experience, have been identified, namely, (i) basic level structure, which consists of our gestalt perception, motor activities, and imaging; and (ii) kinesthetic image-schematic structures, which includes the simple recurrent structures in our daily corporeal experiences (our orientations and relations). abstract conceptual structure emerges from the basic level structure and the kinesthetic image-schematic structure in two ways, namely: (i) metaphorical projections from the physical domain to abstract realm. (ii) projection from the categories of the basic level to super-ordinate (e.g., movement) and subordinate (e.g., walking, running) categories (lakoff, 1987, 267-268). having come this far, we would now like to show how reason is metaphorical. reason as metaphorical in the discussion of a metaphorical thought, two factors come into play, namely, the existence of primary metaphors and their manner of acquisition. let us now look closely into each of these. primary metaphor. our subjective experiences and judgments correlate with our sensory motor experiences in our daily operations, with an overwhelming regularity, occasioning a neural link-up. primary metaphor occasions our sensory motor inferences to structure our conceptualization of these subjective experiences and judgments, by activating those neural link-ups. primary metaphor has a two-fold definition. from a neural outlook, primary metaphor is a neural connecting link, which one learns by co-activation, constituting an inferential structure. from a conceptual standpoint, it is a cross-sphere framing, from a sensory motor domain onto a subjective-experience realm, a framing that preserves the underpinning inference (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 57-58). acquisition. some proponents of imaginative thought posit a four-part theory of acquisition of primary metaphor, namely, (i) johnson’s conflation theory, (ii) grady’s primary metaphor theory, (iii) narayanan’s neural metaphor theory, and (iv) fauconnier’s and turner’s conceptual blending theory. we now consider the four parts of the theory. (i) johnson’s conflation theory. johnson postulates a two-stage conceptual metaphor acquisition process. the first stage is one of conflation, during which links between coactive 505 spheres are set up. the spheres, so fused to each other, are experienced as belonging together. the second is a differentiation period. at this period, formerly coactive domains are distinguished into metaphorical source-spheres and target-realms. johnson’s theory is that children, in the early learning period, see subjective experiences and judgments happen together with so much a regularity that they come to know these as belonging together (conflation). they, however, come to make a distinction between the two realms much later in their learning process. (ii) grady’s primary metaphor theory. here, complex metaphors are understood in relation to molecules, consisting of ‘atomic’ metaphorical pieces referred to as primary metaphors. every primary metaphor has a small-scale structure. in our everyday ‘conceptual blending,’ during which cross-domain links are set-up, primary metaphors issue forth spontaneously, instinctively, and naturally. this fusion of metaphorical pieces into larger units (conceptual blending) gives rise to complex metaphors. world-wide conventional conceptual metaphors spring up when early global experiences give rise to global conceptual blending. (iii) narayanan’s neural metaphor theory. with narayanan, the link-ups established during the time of conceptual fusion become neutrally realized as they are simultaneously activated, ending up in permanent neural links across web-works which characterize conceptual realms. these links become the anatomical ground for the activation of source-to-target domains which make up metaphorical entailments. in this theory, we have an entailment at the neural sphere if a given succession of neural activations, x, gives rise to a another neural activation, q, connecting a cluster of neurons, p, in a criss-cross characterizing another domain of conceptualization , then has the capacity to activate p. this would mean a metaphorical entailment. p is literally entailed in the activation of x; so it is a "literal entailment" p is a metaphorical link to q, given that it is further domain of conceptualization; thus, p's activation has only been metaphorically entailed (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 47). according to this theory, repeatedly experienced correlational situations lead the brain into setting up neural connections that characterize those situations as belonging together. such neural links later do conceptual mappings between the two domains previously experienced as correlational. this kind of conceptual metaphor is said to be embodied in three ways. in the first place, the correlation grows out of our embodied operations in our everyday world where, for instance, the concept 'more'is observed to correlate with the concept 'up.' in the second place, the conceptual metaphor’s source-domain emanates from the sensorimotor system of our body. third, the correlation is realized in the body through neural links. (iv) fauconnier’s and turner’s conceptual blending theory. in fauconnier’s and turner’s conceptual blending theory, specific conceptual realms can be made to function simultaneously. under given provisions, links across spheres can be set up, giving rise to novel inferences. such conceptual links are said to be either merely conventional or entirely original. conventional conceptual blends are said to be the networks through which a few primary metaphors could be assembled to constitute larger metaphorical complex. as grady observes, conventional conceptual confluence brings about the formation of complex conceptual 506 metaphors from a couple of primary conceptual metaphors. it is an assemblage, so to say, of conceptual metaphorical fragments into larger wholes. from the neural modeling viewpoint, primary conceptual metaphor emerges through neutrally realized correlations between sensory motor activities and subjective experiences and judgments. when the various neural link-ups of these two domains are made to go into operation, you have a conceptual blending of the two. again, neural links are set up in childhood during the stage of conflation, when, in our daily experiences, the conceptual scaffolding which define the realms are made to go into operation simultaneously. the sensory motor networks carry our complex inferential functions. through the neural link-ups, what comes out of these inferences is framed from the sensory motor basketry onto the subjective judgment scaffolding. neural modeling investigates these aspects of configurations of neurons that carry out the neural computation (conceptual scaffolding) we experience as particular aspects of rational thought. conceptual primary metaphors belong to the cognitive unconscious. we obtain them unconsciously through our natural learning process. we unavoidably acquire our repertoire of primary metaphors in our everydayness as we move and perceive. frequently co-activating domains of subjective experience or judgment with sensory motor domains, establishes permanent neural links through synaptic weight changes. such myriads of unconsciously formed connections, give subjective domains structures of inference-mechanism and qualitative experience that we activate in the sensorimotor apparatus. it is this process of neural selection that builds our system of metaphorical conceptualization. (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 57) people say one would hardly reason if there were no conceptual metaphors. this is not to deny the existence of literal concepts. rather, the merit of this proposition is that complex metaphorical reasoning, has an enormous power for drawing inferences, devoid of which abstract thought would be terribly impoverished. our subjective experiences and judgments, they say, are better expressed within the context of the mechanisms of sophisticated metaphorical reasoning. to recapitulate, our inquiry into conceptual primary metaphors indicates the existence of a myriad of them. thanks to those conceptual primary metaphors, when the networks of our subjective experiences and their corresponding neutrally linked sensory motor networks are simultaneously put into operation, a wealth of inferential structure emerges. terms derived from our sensory motor experience are employed too in the expression of our metaphorical conceptualization of our subjective experiences. again, with narayan and others, we have a neural theory of metaphor that accounts for how we acquire primary conceptual metaphors, explains why we are in possession of the ones there are, and offers a neural machinery for our metaphorical inferences. our primary conceptual metaphorical system is but sequential to the kind of brains and bodies we have and the type of world in which we operate. in a world, such as ours, with an inclination toward associating familiarity with nearness, and friendship with comfortable heat, our primary conceptual metaphorical system, could only be but a natural phenomenon (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 59). one could, then, talk of a metaphorical reasoning. metaphorical reasoning. with conceptual metaphors, sensory motor inferences can be employed for the enterprise of abstract conceptualization and reason. it is through these inner workings that abstract reason is embodied and metaphorical. that reason is metaphorical, is 507 manifested in virtually all areas of human thought and knowledge. for instance, such social darwinian ideas that regard natural change as evolution, or natural change as the survival of the best nurtured, or natural change as the best of results are all metaphorical conceptions. non could be taken as a literal truth. the same applies to many statements of the mathematical and empirical sciences. what is more, attempts at definitions, in whatever field of human endeavor, begin with metaphors. taken literally, for instance, the euclidean straight line could not be simply having “length without breadth,” except when understood metaphorically. aristotelianism must have known the genius of conceptual metaphor in complex and abstract thought when it defined god as an unmoved mover, a prime mover. even the sacred field of theology, is not spared of metaphorical projections. as already observed, god couldn’t be lord of lords and king of kings, except within the context of a metaphorical conceptualization. reason as imaginative the human reason is said to be imaginative in two senses. first, human reason is imaginative in the sense that, those of our concepts that are not directly rooted in experience make use of the imaginative process of conceptual metonymy, imaging, and conceptual metaphor. as aspects of our imaginative capacity, these transcend the literal representation, or mirroring, of the external world. this imaginative capacity, in its various manifestations, leads the human mind beyond our immediate visual sphere and feeling, occasioning abstract reason. given that the conceptual metonymies, mental images, and conceptual metaphors are themselves grounded in the human experience, the imaginative capacity is itself indirectly embodied. second, whenever human categorization is carried out in a manner not mirroring literally the realities of the external world, human reason would be in that very instance imaginative, even if in a mild form. for, in such moments, it is the human imaginative capacity that is being employed. so it is that, human reason is imaginative, since it employs conceptual metonymies, conceptual metaphors, image-schematic structures, and mental images. these imaginative aspects of the human mind, especially conceptual metaphor and conceptual metonymy, transform the schematic structures characterized by our human experience into shades of reason said to be sufficiently weighty to define human reason. the view that reason is imaginative could be further argued on two fronts, namely, our use of imaginative processes, and imaginative models of cognition – the conceptual metaphorical models and the conceptual metonymic models. we now would like to consider the situations when our imaginative processes are on hand for use, as well as discuss the aforementioned imaginative models of cognition. when the imaginative processes come into play. when do imaginative processes come into the picture? we recall that in the precious chapter, we stated the hypothesis of the existence of two preconceptual structures in our experience, namely, the basic-level structure and the image-schematic structure. we also noted that investigations into categorization at the basic level revealed the presence of basic-level preconceptual structures, which are known to be the outgrowth of our mental imaging, motor behavior, and gestalt perception. we indicated to the presence of some recurring structural patterns in our experience, following from our natural orientations and our bodily nature. now, there are spheres devoid of preconceptual structures of experience. humans have been known to employ the imaginative processes of the human cognition to supplement for such 508 spheres. thanks to these imaginative aspects of the mind, specifically in conceptual metaphorical and conceptual metonymic functions, humans are led into comprehending realms of experience bereft of preconceptual structures of their own. this comprehension of the human experience, especially through conceptual metaphor, is held to be one of the highest-ranking of the imaginative breakthroughs of the human mind (lakoff, 1987, 309). the general conceptualizing capacity which attends our imaginative capacities, generates concepts that bear the imprints of the imaginative process. though these capacities are global, they may be employed in specific manners that may characterize lines along which conceptual systems may vary across cultures. the reason is that diverse people may have contrasting highly structured experience-domains. since we have a general competency for conceptualization and the linguistic competency for language, conceptualizing and naming structured aspects of our experience-domains becomes possible (lakoff, 1987, 309). much of these imaginative processes and operations are woven into thought beyond the tier of cognitive consciousness. cognitive science places at our doorsteps a certain enlarged view of consciousness, a viewpoint that includes the cognitive unconscious. understanding what constitutes the cognitive unconscious broadens our understanding of the nature of consciousness. consciousness transcends one's sheer awareness of an object, transcends the sheer experience of qualia (the qualitative awareness of pain or anger, for instance), transcends one's awareness of one's awareness, transcends one's manifold apprehension of immediate experience that the brain provides. consciousness includes every one of the aforementioned in addition to the constitutive framework that the cognitive unconscious affords us that enables the awareness of everything we are aware of (lakoff & johnson, 1999, 11). imaginative models of cognition. having discussed how imaginative processes come into play, we now move on to a consideration of the imaginative models of cognition. the human conceptual categories are replete with properties that are the offshoots of our imaginative processes. these imaginative processes characterize our basic-level structure. our power to communicate, to stockpile knowledge at a certain categorization level, and to build up mental images all are said to belong to our imaginative procedures. the imaginative processes are also evidenced in our prototype structures. they embrace the faculty to establish and utilize idealized models of cognition, the ability to use one thing to stand for another in response to some purpose, the power to stretch categories from core to halfway members employing the imaginative capacities of image relations, conceptual metaphor, conceptual metonymy, and mythological associations (lakoff, 1987, 371). image-schematic models. the image-schematic models of cognition streamline kinesthetic image schemata. these structures fashion and characterize our cognitive operations. our conception of vision, for instance, has a spatial undertone, following from our in-out schema. thus, objects come into and go out of our visual fields. and our notion of motion takes after the from-to schema. modeled after this schema, motion is always movement from one spot to another. the image-schematic models provide the structures with which the imaginative models perform their imaginative functions. these are but instances of schematic images which not only influence our category structure but also model our discourse configurations and rational inferences. 509 conceptual metaphoric models. conceptual metaphoric models are instances of framing from an image-schematic or propositional model in one sphere (the source-sphere) to a corresponding construct in another realm (the target-realm). the conduit metaphor for communication, for example, frames what we know about transporting objects in containers onto our conception of communication. hence, communication becomes transporting ideas in words (lakoff & george, 1987, 114). conceptual metonymic models. conceptual metonymic models, are models that incorporate either one or all of the already discussed models. there is then an additional activity going from one feature of the model to yet another component. hence, in a certain representation of a part-whole structure, there could be a be a part-to-whole functioning that warrants the part to represent the whole (lakoff, 1987, 114). there are forms of conceptual metonymic models, which yield reference-point or metonymic reasoning. these models are commonplace, cutting across cultures. we could take a cursory look at a few of them. ideals. humans tend to form quality judgments and make plans for the future. these quality judgments and future plans are later used as reference-points, fashioning and shaping our reasoning. lots of categories are conceived in relation to abstract ideals. cultures have ideal families, mates etc. sub-models. human beings are known to estimate sizes, make approximations and, do calculations. in the course of time these appraisals, assessments, approximations and calculations begin to assume the status of literal truths in that they become reference-points. for instance, the world’s population is estimated to hit a six-billion target come the year 2030. it is not uncommon that after a while people could lose sight of the fact that this is only an estimate and a projection, and begin to treat the world as actually hitting that projected target. social stereotypes. everybody knows about social prototypes. it is the human habit of making a priori and spontaneous judgments about people, events, and situations. the verdicts are so reflexive and so conclusive that they hardly leave room for any reflective judgment. ‘the africans are corrupt’, ‘the red indians are stupid’. interestingly enough men spend decades on these stereotypes, investing energy, time and resources to advance them. the point being made here is that social stereotypes constitute part of our reference-point reasoning. only a select few, perhaps the philosopher-kings, escape their grips. they define cultural expectations, and are used in reasoning, especially in jumping to conclusions and drawing hasty inferences. paragons. paragons refer to moments in our thought process when comparisons that are later employed as behavioral patterns are made. we reason about categories of things in relation to category members which stand for an ideal or contradict an ideal. we frequently acquire knowledge of paragons upon which our actions are frequently predicated. incidentally, we also usually predicate inferences on a folk psychology that being a paragon in a certain domain makes one a paragon. such is the case that we are disappointed and shocked to see amazing actors engaged in objectionable behaviours in the society. (lakoff, 1987, 88) salient examples. in salient examples, we make probability judgments. here, familiar cases are used to understand and reason about categories, letting salient examples represent whole 510 categories. here is a salient example. consequent upon an extensively hyped violencerate in nigeria, many americans refuse to holiday in nigeria, choosing rather to holiday in us cities like new york and chicago, despite the fact that they have overall worse safety records than major cities in nigeria, such as abuja and portharcourt. americans use the salient example of the stories about violence in lagos to stand metonymically for the entire category of nigerian cities with regard to safety judgments (lakoff, 1987, 86). typical examples. typical examples represent the practice where, informed by typical instances, we draw inferences from paradigmatic examples to non-typical examples. for instance, kartoffel is a typical food. bier is a typical drink. our society hardly discusses typical examples, and the typical examples hardly change appreciably in our lifetime. rather than using them to delineate cultural expectations, we use them in reasoning (lakoff, 1987, 86). much of our classification of the world around us is carried out in relation to typical examples. and people say we draw important inferences on this basis so regularly and so automatically that we are hardly aware of this practice. reasoning grounded in this human tendency is said to be an essential aspect of our reasoning process (lakoff, 1987, 86).2we make the inference that typical men have lots of muscles. thus we consider a man atypical if he does not have lots of muscles (lakoff, 1987, 86). in these and in a couple of other ways, conceptual metonymy presents itself as an integral part of the way humans think, talk, and act. as already indicated, in contrast to conceptual metaphor, whose function is principally one of understanding, conceptual metonymy has essentially a “referential function,” letting one thing to stand for another. the following sentences could reflect this referential function of conceptual metonymy: ‘washington is having a diplomatic face-off with lagos’. ‘berlin has severed links with paris’. ‘we have a new face on the staff of the school of graduate studies’. even as metonymy permits us concentrate more on some aspects of what we are referring to, it accomplishes the same aims metaphor fulfills, and in almost the same manner. and given that it is neither merely a poetic nor rhetorical tool, it is similar to metaphor. it is also not merely linguistic (such as when the part represents the whole). in our daily thinking, acting, and talking, metonymic concepts (such as letting parts represent wholes) are part of our everydayness. for instance, our conceptual framework uses faces to represent persons, indicating how parts stand in for wholes (lakoff & johnson, 1980, 37). this manner of thinking, metonymic thinking, is very much an integral part of our thought pattern, being deeply ingrained in our culture. the habit in photography and painting that let the face stand for a person, and the tendency, even in our halls of learning, to let passport-sized photographs represent people, and the societal tendency to make assessments based on these facial representations, all these and more are but indications that metonymic reasoning functions effectively in both our societal, artistic, and intellectual cultures. that people are perceived in relation to their faces and facial representations, and that we actually act on these perceptions (making some form of evolution in relation to them is, indeed, suggestive of the level of metonymic thinking that attains our rational thought and actions. the 2 (wfdt 86) 511 characteristics of the conceptual metonymic model of cognition can be easily instantiated and illustrated. conclusion let's assume we have a “target” concept we want to understand for some reason in certain context. let's assume also we have a conceptual framework that contains both the first concept and a second concept. the first concept is either a part of the second concept or has a close link to it in our conceptual structure. normally, in our conceptual framework, choosing the second concept regulates the first to some appreciably distinctive degree. when one compares the second concept to the first, the second concept is either more straightforward to comprehend, simpler to recall, simpler to recognize, or has a better immediate use for the purpose and context. a model of metonymy, then, will be a model of how the first and the second concepts are correlated in a conceptual structure. the connection is determined as we function from the second concept to the first. where we have this kind of conventional model of metonymy as part of a conceptual framework, the second concept may metonymically represent the first. should the first concept be a category, the outcome will be a "metonymic model" of this category. usually a prototype effect crops up in this kind of constellation (lakoff and johnson, 1981, 84-85). our inquiry into image-schematic structures and their various metaphorical extensions and elaboration, our consideration of the various dimensions of imaginative cognitive connections and processes, and fact of the many forms of metonymic thinking, all seem to lead to the hypothesis that we use our imaginative faculties and processes to contemplate and talk about what we experience. references george lakoff and mark johnson, metaphors we live by. chicago: university of chicago press, 1980 george lakoff and mark johnson, philosophy in the flesh. the embodied mind and its challenge to western thought. new york: basic book, 1999 george lakoff and markjohnson, the metaphorical structures of the human conceptual system in “perspectives on cognition science,” ed. norman a. donald. new jersey:ablex publishing corporation, 1981, 193-206 haeffner, gerd, philosophischeanthropologie. stuttgart: kohlhammer, 1989 haeffner, gerd, the human situation. a philosophical anthropology, indiana: university of notre dame press, 1989. johnson, mark, the body in the mind: the bodily basis of meaning, imagination, and reason. chicago: the university of chicago press, 1987 lakoff, george, women, fire, and dangerous things. what categories reveal about the mind. chicago: university of chicago press, 1987 mayr, ernst, “species concepts and their applications” in conceptual issues in evolutionary biology, ed. sober eliot. cambridge, massachusetts: mit press, 1984, 531-540 512 norman, donald, a. “what is cognitive science?” in perspectives on cognitive science, ed. donald a. norman. new jersey:ablex publishing corporation, 1981, 1-11 wittgenstein, ludwig, philosophical investigations. new york: macmillan, 1953 page 1 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 131 self-esteem, locus of control and demographic factors associated with tolerance for disagreement: implications on recruitment of road traffic controllers bolajoko ibiyemi malomo¹ samuel ekundayo oladipo² ¹²department of psychology, university of lagos corresponding author email: bmalomo@unilag.edu.ng abstract the possibility for road traffic controllers and road users to express different perspectives on compliance to traffic rules and regulations is high. thus, this may increase the likelihood for low tolerance and eventually a disagreement between the two groups. disagreement between road traffic controllers and road users occur on a daily basis, but minimal research attention has been given to it; hence the need for this study. this study investigated age, gender, self-esteem and job locus of control as correlates of tolerance for disagreement among 458 randomly selected road traffic controllers in nigeria. participants’ age ranged between 20-35years (m=27.84; sd=1.98); lowest academic qualification of participants was ordinary national diploma, while the highest was master’s degree. validated scales were used for data collection and data collected were analysed with appropriate test statistics using version 21 of the spss statistical software. results suggested significant positive correlations between self-esteem (r = 0.221, p<0.01), job locus of control (r = 0.141, p<0.01) and tolerance for disagreement. however, age and gender of participants did not show any significant influence on their tolerance for disagreement. these results suggest that identification of self-esteem and locus of control among potential road traffic controllers will aid relevant agencies in introducing preintervention programs as a post screening measure for traffic controllers. it is recommended that psychological intervention through training be organised for newly recruited road traffic controllers and incumbent traffic controllers. keywords: self-esteem, locus of control, tolerance for disagreement, road traffic controllers, recruitment, road traffic controllers introduction literature has affirmed some evidential reports about verbal aggression (ojedokun, 2022), physical violence (da silva, & braga, 2018; braga & faria, 2011; uildriks & van reenen, 2003); threats (quintal, 2015); deaths (rippy & jackson 2023; fauna, 2015; zadok, 2014); physical attacks (adesagba, 2022) exhibited by road traffic controllers. similarly, road users have been reported to have been guilty of attacking traffic controllers in ways that have aggravated traffic controllers to react undiplomatically to road users (oyelade, 2024). some investigators have conducted studies to identify psychological factors contributing to the aforementioned situations. for example, selfperception (adesagba, 2022), low self-esteem and impaired emotional regulation (anambra state road traffic management agency, 2024, november 5), locus of control and conflict behavior styles have been investigated (lansdowne, 1987). the present study has gone further to investigate locus of control in addition to self-esteem and tolerance for disagreement. a search of literature could not find any association between locus of control and tolerance for disagreement. rather, locus of control and conflict have received a lot of research attention. the additional demographic variables of gender and age are also hypothesized to be associated with tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers in nigeria and across the globe. additionally, participants for this study were newly recruited road traffic controllers. this is unique in two different ways; the outcome of this study can be applicable to decision on recruitment and selection of road traffic controllers and also the results will inform demographic considerations based mailto:bmalomo@unilag.edu.ng 132 on the variables investigated in this current study. current studies on road traffic controllers investigated incumbent road traffic controllers. tolerance for disagreement has been redefined as “the amount of disagreement an individual can tolerate before he or she perceives the existence of conflict in a relationship”. (mccrosky & richmound 1992, p.125). disagreements ensue basically because road safety controllers and road users each deny the other’s claim or point of view. when this is not properly handled, an ugly situation may develop. offences such as speeding beyond acceptable limits, none-use of safety belts, conveying an unacceptable number of people in the vehicle at the same time and other offences are committed by drivers on a daily basis. in such situations, there will always be interactions between the road traffic controllers and road users whereby the road traffic controllers perform their responsibilities with the intention of ensuring that traffic rules and regulations are obeyed. as affirmed by teven, et al. (2009), interactions between people in a relationship more often than not leads to disagreement although disagreement may not necessarily lead to destructive consequences and may in fact be constructive and not compromise the peaceful existence of any relationship (angoury, 2012). disagreement has been defined as “a difference of opinion on substantive or procedural matters” (knutson et al., 1978). this study embarks on investigating the relationship between self-esteem, locus of control, gender, age and tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers. as at the time of this present study, an online search of literature on the correlates of tolerance for disagreement among newly recruited road traffic controllers yielded few studies. a search in literature for studies on tolerance for disagreement in traffic situations produced numerous articles relating to stress among traffic controllers, specifically police controllers. this is believed to be a major gap in literature because other road traffic controllers who are not police officers, and road users are constantly interacting with each other on a daily basis on the road. in this study, participants were selected from federal road safety corps recruits undergoing training. road traffic controllers are inundated with challenges typical of on-road driving situations. long hours of patrolling the highways and major roads in the cities can be a source of low tolerance for disagreement due to stress. the development of stress (smith & johnson, 2021; chatterjee & srivastava, 2008) by road traffic controllers have been investigated extensively. several other variables that have been investigated extensively include: exposure to noise (sliman, et al., 2015) and pollution (kamal, et al., 2014). additionally, these studies investigated police traffic controllers but none investigated other agencies that monitor and enforce road traffic rules and regulations. the possibility for road traffic controllers and road users to express different perspectives on compliance to traffic rules and regulations is high. thus, this may increase the likelihood for low tolerance and eventually a disagreement between the two groups. tolerance is a personal attribute that explains the level of people’s positive or negative disposition to the views of others. when the views of an individual are opposed to those of others, it leads to disagreement especially so when the threshold for tolerance is low. the continued interaction between road traffic controllers and road users will be a recurring event because the possibility of the commission of traffic violations and offences on a daily basis all over the world will be high. in nigeria, majority of drivers disrespect traffic rules and regulations (uhegbu & tight, 2021). if the road traffic controllers are to perform their role as law enforcers, then disagreement with road users may be inevitable because road users commit offences regularly with reasons given for 133 such offences. by investigating tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers, the management of the lead agency for road safety will be enabled to utilize the findings of the investigation for recruitment and selection processes. ultimately, this may ensure that t r a f f i c controllers that possess acceptable level of tolerance for disagreement will be selected for employment and for those whose tolerance for disagreement is low, appropriate intervention strategies can be developed. the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-esteem, locus of control, gender and age and tolerance for disagreement. the psychological variables consist of job locus of control and self-esteem, while the demographic variables are age and gender. the construct, tolerance for disagreement was developed by knutson, et al. (1978) and represents the personality trait that endures throughout life span in individuals (knutson, et al., 1978). basically, it was developed to reveal the reasons why some individuals are more prone to disagreements than others. it is a common phenomenon to experience disagreements in social, political (testa, hibbing & ritchie, 2014) as well as in business (richmond & mccroskey, 1979) relationships. tolerance for disagreement has been studied in organizational settings to understand its relationship with employee satisfaction (richmond & mccroskey, 1979). this is because in organizational settings, interaction is a common occurrence and where two or more people are associated in a relationship, disagreement may be unavoidable. when road traffic controllers apprehend road users for committing traffic offences, the approach utilised by the traffic controllers to communicate with the traffic offenders may determine the onset of disagreement between the two parties. in this case, tolerance for disagreement suggests the level of endurance exhibited by the traffic officer towards the opinion of the road user regarding the offence committed. empirical studies on tolerance for disagreement are limited. however, the outcome of disagreement between two individuals could either be positive or negative depending on the level of tolerance for disagreement (richmond & mccroskey, 1979) between the parties. the conclusion by mccroskey and wheeless (1976) is that disagreement can be amicably resolved when the degree of “affinity” between the disagreeing parties is increased. the result obtained in this study will fill a gap in traffic literature where studies on the level of tolerance for disagreement possessed by road traffic controllers is sparse. additionally, the findings of this study will serve as reference point for other researchers who may be willing to investigate the correlates of tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers. the benefits of the outcome of this study will be far reaching because if individual level of tolerance for disagreement vary, the identification of predisposing variables will be of immense contribution to knowledge. self-esteem refers to an individual’s appraisal of his or her abilities, self-worth (blascovich & tomaka, 1991), feelings and overall sense of value. self-esteem therefore may serve as a motivator of human behavior and can also be perceived as the outcome of occupational successes and interpersonal relationships (ladipo et al. 2014; baumeister,\ et al. (2003). according to mccrae and costa (1988), self-esteem is stable across situations but this is contrary to the assertion of gergen (1971) who muted a different opinion on the stability of the sense of worth of an individual. one consensus however is the existence of two levels of self-esteem: high and low. individuals high in self-esteem have been associated with feelings of happiness (baumeister, et al., 2003; harter, 1993); confidence; which motivates people to be bold enough to speak while in a group of people and challenge group approach (baumeister, 134 et al., 2003); high tolerance for criticism and utilizing non problematic communication methods (raynes, 2001); and sense of identity and well-being, (guindon 1994). individuals low in self-esteem therefore should be expected to have low tolerance for criticism and may thereby be quick to disagree with people who share a different opinion to theirs. this assertion is reiterated by hamachek (1987) who concurs to the fact that individuals with low self-esteem rarely change their opinion on issues and would rather fault other people. studies on the relationship between self-esteem and performance at work has revealed that employees with low self-esteem are less creative, have mental challenges and thus low work performance (kumar, 2017), less ambitious and are unlikely to treat other people with respect (branden, 1993). research outcomes have also indicated that people with low self-esteem will find a way of communicating their feelings. for instance, individuals with low self-esteem communicate by yelling, bullying and are argumentative (raynes, 2001). this they do to hide the inadequacies they feel. whelpley and mcdaniel (2016) reported that there was a significant relationship between self esteem and counter productive work behavior. paradoxically, as revealed by some research studies, individuals with high self-esteem who may seem to be confident may also be critical of other people’s opinion because they believe so much in themselves. this may reflect in their style of communication. for instance, rosenberg (1965) reported that self-esteem correlated positively with hostility and bullying. this may be connected to the fact that people with high self-esteem are confident to speak up and are critical of other people. this present study sought to find out if self-esteem correlates with tolerance for disagreement. this will enable the prediction of the level of tolerance for disagreement possessed by individuals based on their self-esteem. locus of control is a term that was first credited to rotter (1966). it is a psychological concept that highlights the notion that individuals readily attribute internal and external sources as being responsible for their behaviour. locus of control represents the basis on which people explain the source of the motivation that spurs them on to do what they do. for instance, the occurrence of an automobile accident may be attributed to inattention on the part of the driver (internal) or the unskillful driving of other drivers (external) (halpent & hill, 2010). this suggests that locus of control requires the adequate understanding of one’s environment; hence, the initial perception that locus of control originated from social learning theory (rotter, 1966; rubin, 1993). the connection between locus of control and social leaning theory is that the experiences of an individual determines his or her locus of control. however, due to the perception of one’s control of life’s events over a period of time, locus of control develops and becomes a trait. rotter (1966) identified and differentiated two levels of locus of control; internal and external locus of control which can also be referred to as high and low, and it is a variable that is measured along a continuum. internal locus of control presupposes that individuals high on it will exude lasting confidence in dealing with their environment (kobassa & puccetti, 1983). for instance, grimes et al. (2004); miller, fitch and marshall (2003) reported that when internal locus of control is dominant in a person, life’s stressful situations can be successfully managed with problem-solving strategies. external locus of control on the other hand will be dominant in an individual when the consequences of that person’s actions are attributed to external factors such as fate or chance and external powers (swart, 2004). as a result, the feelings of depression 135 (jaffe, 1998), anger, frustration and aggression (stevens, 2002) develops in individuals with external locus of control because of the hopelessness of not been able to handle life’s situations. the behavior of people high on external locus of control are associated with risks related with offending behaviors and are unpredictable because of their inability to control environmental factors that determine their behavior ((tyler et al., 2020). thus, individuals whose actions are attributed to external events such as stress report higher negative moods than individuals who attribute events in their lives to be under their control (arsenault et al., 1991). this affirms the association of locus of control and personality characteristics. while personality characteristics and job locus of control have received some attention (darshani, 2014), research studies on job locus of control and tolerance for disagreement is sparse. the presence and services of road traffic controllers on nigerian highways are highly essential owing to such situations as traffic logjams and non-compliance to traffic rules and regulations by road users (popoola et al. 2013). this can be attributed to factors such as bad roads, on-going road construction, upsurge in the volume of vehicles, inadequate road network to accommodate the volume of vehicles, social and cultural trips and road user behavior. research into the institutional dimensions of road safety in nigeria is therefore long overdue. the functions of the federal road safety corps (frsc), the leading road safety agency in nigeria are numerous. however, these functions are people-related. in other words, the smooth interaction of the frsc controllers with the different categories of active road users determines the successful implementation of the policies formulated by the agency. section 10(2) of the frsc (establishment act) 2007 outlines among other things the functions of the frsc as: preventing road crashes, determining and enforcing speed limits, educating drivers and other road users on the proper use of the highways and formulating policies to promote road safety. in all of these functions, interaction with road users is paramount because the use of the automobile and other related means of transportation has become one of the characteristic lifestyle of modern day man. the need to regulate vehicular movement in order to reduce road accidents was reiterated by the vice-president of sierra leone, alhaji sam sumana at the 2nd west african road safety organization conference (2010). regulating the volume of vehicles on existing roads is necessary because over the years, almost all countries across the globe have witnessed an upsurge in the number of vehicles on the highways with its attendant negative consequences outweighing the benefits. for example, in india, economic growth and progress enabled the purchase of vehicles by more individuals and corporate entities (mittall, 2008). active traffic management (atm) techniques such as variable speed limits, hard shoulder running and ramp-metering controller which are practiced in countries such as germany, the united kingdom and the united states to reduce traffic accidents are hard to come by in nigeria. also, computerised system monitors, sensor loops and electronic speed limit signs have been adopted on highways in the u.k. the installation of these monitoring systems has reduced the rate of accidents on highways from over five accidents a month to 1.5 accidents per month on average in those countries (meikle, 2007). in the absence of atm techniques in nigeria, traffic flow on the highways in 136 nigeria is left to the management of road traffic controllers and inadequate road signs that are displayed in languages that may not be understood by all road users. these controllers usually are limited in number and work with inadequate equipment. low tolerance for disagreement among rto in nigeria may be common for the following reasons: presence of aggressive drivers, drunk drivers, road users who break traffic rules, kidnappers and so on. the tropical weather conditions take its toll on rto due to fatigue and stressful emotions. these road situations may aggravate their reduced tolerance for disagreement with road users because people have limits above which they cannot tolerate further discomfort (edward, 2002). in a bid to educate road users, a disagreement may occur which requires the application of personal traits to deal with the situation. research hypotheses the following research hypotheses were tested: 1. there will be significant correlations among locus of control, self-esteem and tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers. 2. male participants will significantly score higher on tolerance for disagreement than female participants. 3. road traffic controllers between 20-27 years of age will score significantly higher on tolerance for disagreement than road traffic controllers between 28-35years. method design and participants this study utilised a survey research design. thus, participants who volunteered to participate in this study consisted of 458 newly recruited non-police, traffic agents who were randomly selected during a training programme in nigeria. the ages ranged between 2035years (m=27.84; sd=1.98). a total of 371 (81%) of the participants were males while 87 (19%) (m=1.19; sd=.39) were females. married participants were 47 while single participants were 411. lowest academic qualification of participants was ordinary national diploma, while the highest was master’s degree. the instruments of data collection consisted of three validated scales. the 15-item tolerance for disagreement scale developed by teven, mccroskey and richmond (1998); the 10-item self-esteem scale developed by rosemberg (1965) and the 17-item job locus of control scale developed by rotter (1966). data collected was analysed with appropriate test statistics using version 21 of the spss statistical software. the first hypothesis was analysed using correlation statistic, while the second and third hypotheses were analysed using the ttest for independent samples by knutson, mccroskey, knutson and hurt, (1978). 137 results table 1. summary of descriptive values on gender, age, marital status, religion, educational qualification, and ethnicity n % n % n % male 371 81 christians 344 75.2 hausa 108 23.6 female 87 19 muslims 110 24 ibo 120 26.2 20 – 27yrs traditionalists 2 .4 yoruba 106 23.1 age 28 – 35yrs others 2 .4 others 124 27.1 single 411 89.7 ond 3 .7 married 47 10.3 hnd 260 56.7 ist degree 190 41.5 msc 5 1.1 hypothesis 1: there will be significant positive correlation among psycho-social variables and tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers. table 2. correlation matrix on all variables of study sex age marital status family type religious affiliation educational. qualification ethnicity tolerance for disagreement self esteem age -.198** marital status -.109* .139** family type .123** -.116* -.827** religious affiliation -.184** .016 .161** -.177** educ qualifica -.110* .148** .038 -.011 .064 ethnicity -.038 .025 -.142** .139** -.307** .052 tolerance for disagreement -.070 -.012 .109* -.066 .146** .028 -.117* self-esteem -.131** -.021 -.017 .026 .031 -.030 .031 .221** job locus of control .004 .043 .051 -.025 .171** .039 -.139** .141** .103* **correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2tailed) the first hypothesis which tested the significant positive correlations between psycho social variables and tolerance for disagreement indicated significant and positive 138 correlations. self-esteem correlated positively (r = 0.221, p<0.01) with tolerance for disagreement which implies that the higher the level of one’s self -esteem, the higher the individual will most likely exhibit high tolerance for disagreement. job locus of control also correlated positively (r = 0.141, p<0.01) with tolerance for disagreement which implies that the more an individual perceives that his job is influenced by external factors, the higher will be his level of tolerance for disagreement. the second hypothesis which stated that male participants will significantly score higher on tolerance for disagreement than female participants indicated no significant differences in scores (m=38.04, sd=4.743; m=37.20, sd=4.665). this means that males and females are comparable on their tolerance for disagreement. in other words, the condition of being male or female does not necessarily impact on participants’ level of tolerance for disagreement. table 3. summary of t-test for independent samples for male and female participants variable gender n mean sd df t p tolerance for disagreement male 370 38.04 4.743 455 1.495 .934 female 87 37.20 4.665 1.511 p>.05 the third hypothesis which stated that road traffic controllers between the ages of 20 27years will score significantly higher on tolerance for disagreement than road traffic controllers between the ages of 28-35years. results indicated no significant mean differences between the two age groups. thus, participants aged between 20-27 years did not score significantly higher on tolerance for disagreement than participants between 28-35 years (m=38.09; sd=5.248, m= 37.74; sd=4.387) respectively. this means that participants who are older and younger will exhibit the same level of tolerance for disagreement. table 4. summary t-test for independent samples for age variable age n mean sd df t p tolerance for disagreement 20-27 177 38.09 5.248 455 .764 .043 28-35 270 37.74 4.384 .734 p>.05 discussion the objective of this study was to fill a gap in literature on the construct of tolerance for disagreement amongst road traffic controllers, which to the best knowledge of this researcher has scarce literature content. it is expected that the relationship between the variables of self-esteem, locus of control, gender, age and tolerance for disagreement will be identified and utilised for further studies. the table of correlations indicated significant positive correlations between self-esteem and tolerance for disagreement. the implication of this finding is that road traffic controllers who are high on self-esteem will also be highly tolerant of disagreement. this result is supported by ikenyei (2020), randolph (2016), and who affirmed that disrespect and perceived humiliation, which can be triggered by low self-esteem may promote aggression among traffic controllers when interacting with road users. baby (2016) reported high levels of self-esteem, resilience and tolerance for disagreement scores at the same time. 139 furthermore, ojedokun et al. (2022) affirmed that law enforcement controllers with high tolerance for disagreement will be less aggressive. this empirical finding is of utmost importance to the selection of traffic controllers because interaction between road users and road traffic controllers are inevitable. akinade et all (2020) posits that high selfesteem has a good association with conflict resolution skills, a concept relatable to tolerance for disagreement. for baumeister et al. (2018), high self-esteem may lead to arrogance when involved with someone whose views differs. this scenario may play out with road users and road traffic controllers. the result of this current study is an affirmation that high self-esteem is necessary pre-requisite for recruiting road traffic controllers. moreover, literature on self-esteem and tolerance for disagreement is scarce hence this study has filled a gap in that area. the behaviour of nigerian drivers on the highways is associated with all forms of traffic offences ranging from speeding beyond acceptable limits to driving through red traffic lights. apprehending such drivers by law enforcement agents more often than not results in verbal exchanges which may degenerate into arguments and disagreements. the approach adopted by the law enforcement agents, which may be determined by the level of tolerance for disagreement possessed by the traffic officer goes a long way in determining the outcome of the situation. it is pertinent therefore that high premium be placed on the controllers who are recruited as road traffic controllers. identifying the level of self-esteem of such controllers prior to employment will inform employers their level of tolerance for disagreement. such controllers who are high on self-esteem will possess high tolerance for disagreement thereby exuding selfconfidence (rosemberg, 1965) which makes it easier to deal with other people. individuals with low self-esteem on the other hand are less likely to treat other people with respect (branden, 1993) and this may be expressed in behavious like yelling, whining and intimidation which are behaviours that are counterproductive when dealing with the public (branden, 1993). people with high self-esteem have also been found to display a high level of forgiveness, (turnage et al., 2011). when this is related to road traffic controllers however, this may also be counterproductive because forgiving offenders of traffic offences may result in more offences being committed. on the negative end, self-esteem, problematic communication styles and aggressive traits have been associated (baumeister, heatherton & tice, 1993). this result should therefore be used with caution. job locus of control also correlated positively with tolerance for disagreement which implies that the more an individual perceives that his/her job is influenced by external factors, the higher will be his level of tolerance for disagreement. this finding is germane going by the various environmental challenges experienced by road traffic controllers and also the behaviour and driving culture of majority of nigerian drivers. for instance, harsh weather conditions, inadequate road monitoring equipment, bad roads, with odd and long working hours are common factors that may serve as externals. if therefore the road traffic controllers experience and accept these challenges as common occurrences associated with their jobs, the likelihood that their tolerance for disagreement will be high is guaranteed. the implication of this is that if the tolerance for disagreement of the road traffic controllers is high, differences in opinion expressed by both the controllers and road users regarding road safety and road traffic offences committed will be adequately 140 handled. consequently, negative outcomes such as verbal aggressiveness often exhibited by individuals low in tolerance for disagreement (teven et al., 2009) will be reduced to the barest minimum in the case of road traffic controllers who are high on external locus of control. this finding do not lend support to some past research findings (taylor, 2010). for instance, research indicates that individuals who are high on internal locus of control are good communicators, would endeavour to initiate communication and seek to commit themselves to a satisfactory relationship (rubin & rubin, 1992). the variation in the findings may be attributed to sample characteristics. to the best knowledge of the authors of this present study, no study has investigated the relationship between self-esteem, locus of control and tolerance for disagreement. the ability of self-esteem and job locus of control to predict the level of tolerance for disagreement among road traffic controllers has been confirmed in this study. relevant authorities can avail themselves of this opportunity by making efforts to utilize appropriate tests of locus of control in predicting the level of tolerance for disagreement of their personnel. the demographic factors of gender and age did not impact on the level of tolerance for disagreement. in this study, 81 percent of the participants were males while 19 percent of the participants were females. the wide gap in the ratio of females to males should ordinarily indicate differences in the level of tolerance for disagreement. the reason for the indifference may be attributable to acquiescence; the need to portray positive attributes of the self on behalf of the participants. the differences in the level of tolerance for disagreement was also not significant among all ages probably because the age range was insignificant for differences to be indicated. it is recommended that psychological intervention through training be organised for recruited road traffic controllers (who, 2022). recommended training on tolerance for disagreement, stress avoidance, inculcating self-esteem and developing locus of control behaviors is advised. stakeholders are encouraged to focus on identifying these variables at pre-arranged sessions for experienced traffic controllers. monthly seminars and sensitising forum should be organised to engage road traffic controllers and road users for the purpose of airing grievances, complaints, exchange of ideas and recommendation for better interaction of stakeholders. conclusion the outcome of this study suggests that self-esteem and locus of control are significant variables when associated with tolerance for disagreement. of utmost importance is the relevance of these variables for recruitment of road traffic controllers. if high self -esteem is positively correlated to high tolerance for disagreement, employers can endeavor to intervene in shoring up the self-esteem of employees through training and intervention. further differences in gender and age were not related to tolerance for disagreement. in essence, other factors may be needed to act as intervening variables for gender and age. study limitations this current study has not analysed outcomes associated with internal and external locus of control separately on their different associations with tolerance for disagreement. furthermore, ethnicity may and other variables may provide interesting associations with tolerance for disagreement but they were not considered for this study. this may be a 141 gap that other investigators may look into for future research. references adesagba, a. 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(2003). policing post-communist societies: police-public violence, democratic policing and human rights. http://books.google.com.ng/books?isbn=9050952992. uhegbu, u. n., & tight, m. r. (2021). road user attitudes and their reported behaviours in abuja, nigeria. sustainability, 13(8), 4222. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084222 whelpley, c. e., & mcdaniel, m. a. (2016). self-esteem and counterproductive work behaviors: a systematic review. journal of managerial psychology, 31(4), 850–863. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmp-01-2014-0008 zadok, y. (2014). road safety and human dignity. un habitat press. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2011.610201 http://books.google.com.ng/books?isbn=9050952992 page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 231 evaluating the impact of road infrastructure on motor insurance claims: empirical evidence from lagos state, nigeria dawodu, adenrele wasiu aiico insurance plc aiico house, plot 2, oba-akran avenue, ikeja, lagos nigeria dawoduwasiu5@gmail.com +2348028344263, +234803231892 abstract this study investigated the intricate relationship between road infrastructure conditions and motor insurance claim patterns, drawing empirical evidence from lagos state, nigeria. the research aimed to determine the significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims, and to evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of these claims in nigeria. the findings reveal a significant association between road infrastructure deficiencies and higher frequencies of motor insurance claims. the model explained approximately 39.7% of the variation in claim frequency, with potholes, signage, drainage, and intersections being statistically significant predictors. furthermore, road infrastructure quality significantly impacts the severity and cost of motor insurance claims. the model accounted for 34.8% of the variation in claim severity, with potholes, signage, drainage, intersections, and traffic calming measures all being significant predictors. notably, improved drainage systems were strongly associated with a reduction in claim severity and cost. the study concludes that poor road infrastructure exacerbates accident incidence and escalates the financial magnitude of insurance claims in nigeria. these results align with cramér’s risk theory, suggesting that environmental factors significantly alter the risk profile of motor insurance portfolios. the implications for the nigerian insurance sector are substantial, highlighting the need for integrating spatial risk factors into underwriting models to enhance pricing precision and capital adequacy. the study advocates for urgent and targeted investment in road infrastructure improvements, such as better drainage systems, traffic signage, road lighting, and traffic calming features, to reduce both the frequency and cost of motor insurance claims and foster sustainable road safety progress in nigeria. keywords: road infrastructure, motor insurance claims, claim frequency, claim severity, lagos state, nigeria. introduction the interrelation of road infrastructure to motor insurance claims is one of the highly pertinent fields of investigation that are felt both to the safety of the society and stability of the insurance market. the conditions of the road play an important role in causing and intensifying accidents that involve cars and directly affect motor insurance claim frequency and the amount charged. poor road infrastructure, including potholes, cracks, and rough surfaces, bad lighting, and insufficient signs, are major contributors to accidents. potholes, as an example, may include abrupt movements of the vehicle, damage of the tires, or even crash as a driver loses control of the vehicle. similarly, uneven pavement can disrupt a vehicle's stability, making it difficult for drivers to maintain control, especially in adverse weather conditions. besides causing mayhem to the vehicles, bad road conditions may also result in mailto:dawoduwasiu5@gmail.com 232 serious injury. as shown by a research conducted by feber et al. (2003) there is evidence suggesting it is possible to estimate the benefits of highway infrastructure improvements based on insurance claims data confirming that there is a distinct connection between road quality and the cost of claims. more so, the design of roads is also significant to the determination of collision risks. the presence of sharp curves, low visibility and narrow lanes of the road, or inadequate safety measures such as the use of guardrails increase the risk of accidents. intersections with acute angles may increase confusion and cause more accidents to occur, especially during difficult weather conditions (feber et al., 2003). conversely, improvements in road infrastructure, such as the addition of left-turn lanes or left-turn phases in traffic lights, have been shown to reduce insurers' claim costs (feber et al., 2003). this implies that there is a direct relationship between investment in road safety measures and the decline in motor insurance claims. nigeria also faces an especially acute road infrastructure problem that blockades the aforementioned global issues further. the country's road network is often characterized by significant deterioration, a lack of proper maintenance, and inadequate design, all of which contribute to a high incidence of road traffic accidents. other researchers like aderamo (2012) have studied the spatial pattern of road traffic accident casualties in nigeria, evidencing the major role defects of the highway infrastructure including potholes, sharp bends as key factors to road crashes. olorunfemi (2021) also evaluated road infrastructure situation in several urban areas in kogi state (nigeria), which demonstrated that urban residents were rather dissatisfied with the quality of roads in the studied areas. along with numerous potholes, erosion, and a lack of visible road markings and signs, these conditions deteriorate vehicles, as well as negatively affect road safety by adding to a hazardous road experience and increasing the likelihood of collisions (aderamo, 2012; olorunfemi, 2021). according to balogun et al. (2021), it was also mentioned that the rate of traffic accidents occurring on the nigerian roads continues to rise, and the measures of the government and the respective agencies to combat this threat have been unsuccessful with particularly unsafe conditions leading to the daily loss of innocent lives. the rate of accidents translates directly to higher rates of claims being made, which in turn puts an extra financial burden on insurance companies. this is worsened by the fact that accidents that usually follow poor road conditions, are severe and this means that repair costs will be increased and in worst cases, large sums of money will be paid as compensation on injuries or loss of life. enyinda (2022) evaluated the trend of nigerian motor accident insurance claims, and it was observed that the insurance companies were not doing quite well as regards claims settlement until following a phase of recapitalization. re/insurers also bear the economic burden of poor infrastructure, which may result in increased claims in different business lines, such as auto insurance (ibrahim, 2022; gbenga, 2024). consequently, nigerian insurance companies face unique challenges in risk assessment and premium setting, as the inherent risks associated with the country's road network are significantly elevated. it is crucial to understand this complex interplay between road system development and motor insurance claims because this would be crucial in formulating a way forward to eliminate road carnage caused by lack of adequate road systems and the subsequent decrease in the rate of accidents and the eventual impact on the insurance sector in the country and the individuals involved. to achieve this, the following objectives were formulated to guide this study: i. to determine the significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. 233 ii. to evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. statement of hypotheses h₀₁: there is no significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. h₀₂: road infrastructure quality has no significant impact on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. review of related literature road infrastructure and accident risk road traffic accidents (rtas) have become a serious international safety concern as they are a major burdening problem in terms of human as well as economic costs on a global scale regardless of the developed and developing economies. lowand middle-income countries disproportionately bear the burden since they own a small percentage of the world vehicle fleet but have a majority of road fatalities and injuries (esbester & wetmore, 2015; gebru, 2017). these tragedies do not only lead to tragic loss of life but also socioeconomic destabilization, especially in regions already facing healthcare and insurance overload. in this respect, road infrastructure can reduce or increase the chances of an accident and it consequently becomes an area of research interest and implementation of policies. the prevalence of rtas in the world is a testament to a long-term problem of public health and economic efficiency. according to studies by dorri et al. (2024) and martinez, sanchez, and yanez-pagans (2019), rtas are not just transportation failures but are embedded in larger development shortcomings such as urbanization, enforcement capacity, and policy-making prioritization. clemente, della corte, and zappa (2024) argue that numerous countries do not possess spatial risk models to predict and prevent accidents on the network level comprehensively. such a lack of a predictive structure increases the chances of collision, especially when dealing with fast urbanizing areas. in high-income nations, a multi-pronged approach has led to road safety improvement, which includes all these approaches namely infrastructural investment, enforcement, vehicular technology, and behavior change (alli & ganiyu, 2025). to facilitate these activities, sound data capture and analytical capabilities are essential to ensure ongoing monitoring of risks (bonera et al., 2024; pei, wen, & pan, 2024). as an example, risk screening frameworks involving real-time traffic and crash data have been found to effectively decrease causalities by focusing on high-risk routes to take remedial action promptly. conversely, structural factors promote an inability to reproduce these successes in lowand middle-income countries. the hasty motorization does not take into consideration building resilient road infrastructure, resulting in the traffic volume being out of balance with the road capacities (alli, aina, & ganiyu, 2023). chand, jayesh, and bhasi (2021) present data fragmentation and absence of common systems to report accidents as a barrier to making informed safety plans. further, road design characteristics, including the width of the lanes, illumination, road surface, and road markings all serve as predictors of accident hotspots consistently across under-resourced areas (imamaliev et al., 2021). there is also the balance between infrastructure and behavioral risk. the authors believe that psycho-somatic pressure, health status, and road environmental factors interactively influence the risk of rta (wang et al., 2023). take, for instance, slippery ground, bad drainage, or lack of markings in the 234 intersections do not only physical defects; they are fatal additions to a man with poor judgment and over speeding. another factor is the situational context, either in the city or the countryside. roads in urban areas can be congested and complex in terms of signaling whereas the rural roads do not have guardrails, lighting or any sight improvement measures. such environmental imbalances require the sensitive context-based infrastructure solution. concerns of accident prevention and prediction have been provided with new opportunities offered by technological progress. huang, wang, and sharma (2020) and pei, wen, and pan (2024) emphasize the ability to identify central predictors of accidents in massive telemetry and sensor databases using deep learning and explainable ai models. the adoption of these systems is nevertheless patchy, as developing countries do not have the digital networks and institutional capacity to implement them successfully. nigerian road infrastructure and traffic accidents road traffic crashes (rtcs) form one of the most severe crises of public health, developing, and economic crises in nigeria having always been a leading cause of untimely deaths and morbidity. such suffering and suffering are not only inhuman consequences related to the number of people killed, lives ruined, persons permanently handicapped, and psychological shocks to the affected individuals, but also present an enormous economic burden on productivity, health care sectors, and insurance provided in society as well as transport logistics (noah, 2025; tandrayen-ragoobur, 2025; afolabi & gbadamosi, 2017). since nigeria moves on to its national development agenda, it becomes increasingly imperative to analyze and comprehensively conceptualise the multiple causalities of rtcs in an attempt to think systematically. recent empirical research findings have shed critical light on the regional and systemic aspects of road crashes in nigeria. specifically, awoniyi et al. (2022) employed disaggregated national data in a longitudinal trend analysis of rtcs and established the intensification of the prevalence and severity of crashes in recent years, especially in the southern geopolitical zones. their results reflect the geographical differences also noticed by ezeibe et al. (2019), who point at the infrastructural insufficiencies, namely traffic-sign shortages, to contribute to the increased rate of crash occurrences in southeastern corridors. a similar idea was supported by a recent study performed with the use of six sigma (dmaic) analytical method on rtc causation across the southsouth and southeast regions of nigeria, which revealed significant geographic disparities in accidents outcomes reported during 20202023 periods. the south-south area had a much higher percentage of crashes that were fatal, 17.5 percent of total incidents as compared to 14.4 percent in the southeast. these geographic areas were similar in terms of terrain and people but displayed considerable completions in case fatality and severity of injury, highlighting the roles played by region-specific infrastructural, behavioral, and enforcement dynamics in exposure to accidents (bayode, aderinola, & oluyemi-ayibiowu, 2025; kenneth, 2021). most importantly, these studies all point to a single, dominant causative factor, which is speeding violations. throughout the dataset, speeding as an isolated cause of crashes comprised more than a third of total accidents and exceeded half of the crash record in certain locations (uzondu, jamson, & marsden, 2022; mahmud, ogunlana, & hong, 2021). this is not only an indication of driving recklessness by individuals, but also indicative of the regulatory and infrastructural failure of the system such as poor speed calming infrastructure, the lack of surveillance technology and the lack of police manpower. the federal road safety corps (frsc), nigeria's statutory road safety agency, continues to issue quarterly statistics revealing a persistently high incidence of crashes. case in point, during the first quarter of 2025, the frsc noted 2,650 rtcs leading to 1,593 deaths, levels 235 that indicate a national emergency (atubi, 2021; mohammed et al., 2019). these statistics underscore the idea that interventions to date have lacked systemic traction or sustainability, and questions institutional capacity, coordination, and accountability mechanisms. besides human costs, the economic impact is far-reaching. according to sbm intelligence (2025) and intertransport (2025), negative road infrastructure design indirectly affects national productivity by increasing the cost of using a vehicle, slowing logistics operations, spoiling perishable items and putting off regional trade. it is estimated that bad roads and rtcs cause 1 trillion nigerian naira in annual losses, including medical expenses, vehicle repairs, and lost productivity, as well as insurance claims (ben, 2019; tandrayen-ragoobur, 2025). road infrastructure challenges in nigeria with a road network of more than 195,000 kilometers, nigeria has one of the largest road networks in africa, but also among the most poorly maintained. more than 63 per cent of these roads are categorised as being under poor condition mainly because of a long-term under investment in roads, poor development and little maintenance (agusto research, 2022; adepoju, 2021). in total, only a third of nigerian roads can be considered in good repair, with even good roads facing routine overuse, as the spatial distribution of road quality is saturated (premium times, 2025). according to what is found in the study by onokala and olajide (2020), this infrastructure deterioration creates not only significant transportation inefficiencies but also increased risks of accidents. high travel time durations, amount of fuel consumed by road user vehicles, high maintenance requirements, and risk exposure to road accidents such potholes, gorged shoulder and bridge collapses are realities faced by commuters on a daily basis in nigeria. road transport logistics in nigeria are therefore, one of the most expensive and time-consuming logistics in west africa. the deteriorating state of the roads has given rise to what can be described as a culture of improvisation, where communities fill potholes manually using rocks, wood, or sand. this ostensibly sound approach is, however, indicative of an inherent deterioration in formal road management systems (ijurr, 2025). furthermore, temporary repairs, although helpful, tend to exacerbate long run road conditions, due to disrupting the road grades and the drainage patterns. the engineering flaws of the nigerian roads are the result of a combination of technical, and the factors of governance. technically, road pavements are seldom based on local geotechnical and hydrological circumstances. wjaets (2023) resolves that the pavement often experiences fast fatigue and rutting due to poor materials used in the construction of the roads, as well as insufficient attention to the axle load limits. one of the most important technical faults is almost lack of drainage systems. in the absence of proper drainage, water can stagnate on the road surface, causing faster degradation of asphalt, erosion of embankments, and saturation of subgrades, and thus collapse (adepoju, 2021; atalay et al., 2025). in addition, most of the city and inter-city roads do not have shoulders, crash barriers or proper lane markings, so there are chances of off-road accidents and head-on crash, particularly at night. policy-level inefficiencies make the problem even greater. mahmud, ogunlana, and hong (2021) state that ineffective institutional coordination and systemic corruption in the procurement and project management areas make road projects chronically delayed, endlessly costly, and eventually fail. what you end up with is a system in which bad roads are not bad, but intentionally dangerous. another key issue is road design. nigerians have many single-laned carriageways that are built along the highways, whereas the amount of traffic that flows ordinarily warrants them to be dualized. u-turns, unmarked intersections, and lack of road signs are common, especially in rural settings. ezeibe et al. (2019) demonstrate a high relationship between signpost deficits and hotspots. in addition, uzondu 236 et al. (2022) highlight that emergency response systems are typically poorly equipped or far enough away to reach crashes in time and serve as the causes of preventable deaths. the challenge of road safety in nigeria is made worse by the poor state of the road network, inefficient maintenance funding, and ineffective enforcement of road designs. the country reflects the risk asymmetry reported in the international literature: lower vehicle density does not necessarily mean a lower level of accidents and death rates. this contradiction, as gebru (2017) puts it, lies in the systematic problems of governance, inefficient urban planning, and long-term transport infrastructure underinvestment. road surfaces in bad condition are one of the key factors that expose road users to accidents in nigeria. there are dangerous potholes, damaged bridges, worn out shoulders, and drainage systems that are wanting. not only do these slow down traffic but they also pose sudden risks that result into crashes. dorri et al. (2024) focus on the fact that these infrastructural deficiencies greatly decrease the reaction times and especially in high-speed scenarios. this is further aggravated by inconsistent signage and absence of segregation between pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. urban version of such issues can be explained by lagos state which is the commercial capital of nigeria. according to bonera et al. (2024), metropolitan settings that are congested, with inefficient road hierarchy and the competing right-of-way guidelines tend to turn into zones with a high concentration of accidents. in lagos, both insufficiency of adequate traffic management systems and influx of unofficial transit companies increase risks. there are no working lights on traffic, walk-over signings, or markings, so it is not only hard to navigate but also hazardous. moreover, infrastructural disparity among nigerian states intensifies regional differences in accident risk. in some states in the south, roads are better maintained to a larger extent as a result of healthier state budgets or international development cooperation. others, especially those in the north and central, are dealing with highly dilapidated highways that can hardly pass in times of rain (clemente et al., 2024). the result is a very imbalanced risk terrain, where driving attitude is not only suppressed by individual factors, but also by geographical and structural context. the road safety crisis in nigeria is not merely the result of thoughtless driving or traffic jams in urban centers; it is not only the lack of coherent governance, planning, and underdevelopment of infrastructure. although the level of severity is differing in the regions indicating on local infrastructural gaps, the national outlook proves to be more alarming indicating a comprehensive infrastructural reform on the national level. policies should shift away to reactive post-crash responses to proactive investments in infrastructure, risk mapping data-driven, and strong design protocols. the use of advanced geospatial applications (yunus & abdulkarim, 2022), intelligent transportation systems (ajayi et al., 2021; alli & ganiyu, 2021), and insurance claims analytics (bayode et al., 2025) may assist in prioritizing national interventions in the course of planning.. implications for the nigerian motor insurance industry the road safety crisis in nigeria carries significant implications for the country's motor insurance sector. the high number and magnitude of claims caused by recurrent accidents impose heavy burden on the insurance providers increasing their activities costs and low returns. the authors urge that in turbulent accident environments, insurers are impotent in setting reasonable premiums, commonly utilizing general risk swimming pools instead of fine-grained, behavior-based designs (martinez et al., 2019). the article by dorri et al. (2024) provides a more sustainable approach by highlighting that in the absence of good infrastructure, the actuarial assumptions become unreliable, and the underwriters are not able to distinguish appropriately between high-risk and low-risk clients. this leaves insurers with 237 only two options; increase insurance rates across the board and make policies unaffordable or leave some markets altogether. this can be detrimental in a developing economy such as nigeria where insurance penetration is already low and it can undo any slight progress in the facilitation of financial inclusions and consumer protections. but in these difficulties lies an opportunity. when systematically gathered and analyzed, claims data can act as a proxy when determining infrastructural deficiencies. pei et al. (2024) suggest utilizing insurance data as a loop within the municipality planning which in turn would prioritize the areas with high claims with the requested infrastructure evolvements. insurers, regulators and urban planners unite to convert claims into actionable intelligence in this model. in addition to this, wang et al. (2023) and van heerdena, van vuurena, and grobbelaarb (n.d.) promote the creation of national accidents databases that will integrate accident data taken by police, hospitals, and insurance companies. predictive models could be developed on such platforms, to enable preventive interventions, and dynamic premium adjustment. this has the advantages not only of enhancing financial sustainability to insurers but also helps in wider road safety objectives. spatial and regional variations in road infrastructure conditions in nigeria the spatial differences in road conditions throughout nigeria are stark. certain cities like abuja, certain lagos areas, and certain state capitals have relatively better maintained roads, frequently as a result of focused federal funding, public-private alliances, or improved subnational administrative structures. conversely, large sections of the northeast, and the middle belt are plagued with maintained roads that are in very poor conditions, undersurfaced or even impassable roads. these disparities are not just anecdotal, but are backed by empirical research that finds geography to be a fundamental base of the condition of roads and the safety of transport in transport. adeleke, osayomi, and iyanda (2020) present clear and strong evidence that this spatial distribution of road traffic crashes in occurrence and severity is critical, and the quality of infrastructure is an important factor. the reflections of regional variation in human and mechanical components make their study remarkable as the components combine with the infrastructural gaps at the local level to generate highly inconsistent road safety results. the report by akinyemi (2019) uses exploratory spatial data analysis (esda) methods to delve deeper into these geospatial dynamics, showing that road mortality and morbidity are concentrated in infrastrurally deprived areas. such results validate what ordinary commuters and logistics providers have long had their instincts tell them, that geography and infrastructure act in concert to generate unequal transport risks in nigeria. these spatial disparities also have a significant impact on public health outcomes. the article by odusola et al. (2023) shows that the response time of ambulances in lagos state is highly dependent on the conditions of local traffic and the state of roads. back in nigeria, in the most economically advanced state, the emergency response time costs people life and problems in some districts is high because of the overcrowding and the road conditions being poor. the context-sensitive and regionally calibrated infrastructure planning is backed by their spatial and temporal analysis. where road infrastructure is most lacking, the economic costs are also aggravated. late deliveries of goods, spoilage of agricultural products, and greater fuel wastage and maintenance expenses damage economic activities and thus depleted household income. these effects are severe especially in the rural economies which depend on the road networks in order to reach markets, health and education. by building a geographic road accident severity index, iyanda (2019) highlights the correlation between poor road infrastructure and the severity of accidents. this research concludes that the chances of fatal accidents on the road are considerably high in areas where the road is poorly constructed or maintained. such an association has farreaching policy implications, especially in a nation with an uneven 238 distribution in access to emergency care and trauma management. moreover, these infrastructural disparities closely align with the larger pattern of regional inequality in nigeria, overlapping with the patterns of poverty, political marginalization, and low institutional capacity. bayode et al. (2022) are a bit spatially narrower in their subject of research, being occupied with the spatial distribution of covid-19 risk factors, but still have a methodologically applicable contribution to make in the field in question, having applied spatial regression methods which can be effectively applied to the same areas of concern as the road infrastructure and crash analysis. their effort directs to the utility of spatial modeling in resolving clusters of infrastructural disregard and permitting more exact interventions. in spite of marginal gains in some urban centers, the situation nationally is grim (alli, 2024). urban infrastructure and road safety challenges in lagos state lagos, the prime economic center of nigeria that is one of the most dense urban agglomerations in africa, is emblematic of infrastructural problems in the rapidly urbanizing cities of the global south. with its already large population and the combination of natural and internal migration, the city has surpassed its transport system, showing severe shortcomings in urban planning and infrastructure resilience (uduku et al., 2021). consequently, lagos records chronic and acute shortages of road infrastructure, which not only cause paralyzing traffic jams, massive troubles to commuters, high costs of vehicular operations and an increase in accidents. the problems are not isolated technical challenges but as a symptom of structural, administrative, and ecological weaknesses of urban transport ecosystem in the city (salisu, 2019). one of the major qualities of the infrastructural images in lagos is that its road network has perennially and failing to match the vastly-rising urban needs. major arterial roads, inner-city routes, and feeder roads are at various levels of physical degradation, caused by the lack of preventive maintenance and the poor (inferior quality) materials used in construction (femi & tolorunloju, 2020; adepoju, 2021). potholes are everywhere across the state and what might have been a relatively brief commute turns into a hours long gridlock. micro and macroeconomic effects are attached to this malfunctioning of the mobility network. the disruption in productivity associated with lengthy commutes on a daily basis is compounded by the cost premium that vehicles need to maintain as commuters and commercial operators alike (edema, 2019). studies have reported that such infrastructural dysfunction is the single most crucial factor that determines the inefficiencies in traffic in the metropolis, not only of their time-use patterns but also the composition of household and business expenditures (adepoju, 2021). added to these woes is the issue of urban flooding that has stubbornly persisted. drainage systems in the city are many times severely lacking, or completely nonexistent in some areas. the rainy season, the slightest amount of rain may lead to the full immersion of roads in water, thus making entire routes inaccessible (beitelmal et al., 2024). this frequent flood does not only cause holdup in terms of vehicular traffic but also to the high rates of road surfaces degradation. when water penetrates the pavement structure, it undermines the subgrade resulting in structural weakening due to rutting or cracking and the roadway collapsing. furthermore, stored stagnant water leads to significant risks to health, acting as a source of life cycles of vector-borne diseases, as well as limiting the serviceability of road surfaces and the possibility of crashing (beitelmal et al., 2024). the public safety implications are far-reaching. in addition to the poor physical status of the roads, poor street lighting namely, especially in in the outlying districts, as well as absence of 239 appropriate traffic signs poses a big risk to drivers, motor-cyclers, and pedestrians. driving at night, especially, poses a great risk since visibility is low, and reflective markings and operational stoplights usually do not exist (femi & tolorunloju, 2020). this is further compounded by roadside businesses and informal markets occupying road traffic and little pedestrian infrastructure leading to problematic, dangerous urban mobility conditions (salisu, 2019). these physical shortcomings could not be merely the result of overlooks or inadequate investment, but the problem can be attributed to a dysfunctional administration and ineffective administrative coordination between involved transport authorities. the biggest obstacles to effective infrastructure planning and project implementation have been discovered to be inter-agency rivalries, overlapping mandates, and general institutional capacity (salisu, 2019). although there has been a long track record of policy blueprints and strategic frameworks created on the federal and state levels, implementation has been haphazard following the politicization, corruption, and lack of the technical expertise (mahmud et al., 2021). the transport problems of lagos have been punctuated by the introduction of a sense of urgency to climate change. the already weak road infrastructure system will be even further strained by the increase in sea level and intensification of precipitation events (beitelmal et al., 2024). unless the city invests heavily in climate resilient transport planning and drainage infrastructure, lagos will face a future in which mobility paralysis and socio-economic marginalization will worsen, most especially among the most vulnerable groups living there. nevertheless, there are new initiatives that suggest potential ways ahead. more recently, the emergence of sustainable transportation options, like bicycle infrastructure and mass transit integration within urban settings, has become a topic of growing interest in the policy realm. although such efforts are still relatively young and unequally applied, they reflect an acknowledgment that the mobility of lagos in the future cannot be limited to increasing the capacity of the road infrastructure (mogaji, 2022). instead, there is a need to develop a multimodal, environmentally adaptive and socially inclusive principle to enhance long-term road safety and urban resilience within the state. infrastructure improvements and accident rates reduction an increasing amount of empirical evidence is available in various jurisdictions to corroborate the statement that upgrading of the road infrastructure is one of the most effective interventions in lessening road traffic accidents (rta). infrastructure quality, which includes road geometry, surface condition, signage, lighting, drainage and provisions made to pedestrians, is not only a conductor of movement of vehicles, but also one of the greatest determinants that affect the results of road safety. macro-level investment and micro-level engineering adjustments have been shown to have a quantifiable effect in the reduction of crash incidence and severity, especially when carried out as part of an integrated road safety program. statistical examinations on a large scale scale revealed that infrastructure improvements can decrease the occurrence of accidents by a maximum of 50 percent under particular conditions, although it varies according to the kind and level of the improvements. accidents that occur in such areas can be partially reduced by ensuring the visibility (clear lane delineation, wide shoulders, median barriers), ballasting of curves, and sufficient control of behavior of vehicles (good banking of curves, proper width of shoulders, etc.). such interventions work particularly well when applied to black spots or high-risk corridors determined by crash mapping and historical trend analysis. such interventions are also justified by economic assessments. the cost-benefit analysis shows that not only does spending on an infrastructure with decreased risks of death and 240 injury, but this also provides savings in the long run as the cost of insurance claims declines, emergency services no longer have to stretch as much, and people have a greater trust in the transportation systems (feber et al., 2003; yannis et al., 2016). in other locations, it is said that the public-private partnership has been crucial in the faster satisfaction of infrastructure improvements and there is a quantified decrease in crash rates on highways under concessions (albalate & bel-piñana, 2019). localized interventions like roundabouts, speed-calming treatments, pedestrian refuges, and protected bike facilities have demonstrated measurable decreases in collision risks, especially among vulnerable road users. an example is curb extension connections where car movement turning speeds have been hampered and pedestrian visibility has improved at intersections and in cities, leading to a major decrease in pedestrian injury (goniewicz et al., 2016). cyclist-specific infrastructure, including physically separated bike lanes, has also been found to be linked with a significant decrease in bicycle-related crashes (uzondu et al., 2020). moreover, there have been good safety results with the combination of intelligent transportation systems (its) and the implementation of average speed enforcement mechanisms in the larger highways. experience with the work of the italian system of tracking average speeds, known as the safety tutor, over long distances on the road, showed that the number of fatal and harmful accidents decreased with the introduction of the new system by statistically significant level (borsati et al., 2019). this concurs with larger studies that show that consistent and automated enforcement, coupled with separated infrastructure, help reduce crashes sustainably. the collateral benefits of infrastructure improvements have been emphasized in further studies. one illustration is the effect of quality investments in road infrastructure where quality roadwork was proven to manipulate road user behaviour, increasing adherence to speed limits and lanes. on the other hand, infrastructure in poor conditions of construction or design is linked to aggressive driving, or even compensation driving that also raises the risk of accidents (wang et al., 2013; noland, 2003). infrastructure investments also can be very significant in increasing safety at night, where reflective products and improved lighting at night contribute greatly in ensuring that the occurrence of crashes at night, during low visibility, is minimized (johnston, 2004). although spending money on infrastructure cannot eradicate traffic crashes, despite the intricate interaction between human error, the state of the vehicle or elements (known as the swiss cheese model), this type of investment is the cornerstone of current road safety planning. infrastructural infrastructure improvement and regulatory interventions, including speed enforcement and driver education programs, have regularly been cited as a critical predictor of long-term road safety gains (v ugar et al., 2023; albalate et al., 2013). implications for motor insurance industry in nigeria the rate of road traffic accidents in nigeria remains very high and has a significant and destabilizing effect on the motor insurance industry in nigeria. there is a clear and strong correlation between the frequency of accidents and the number of insurance claims; insurance companies are often forced to pay huge and recurring claims, which causes operation inefficiency and financial insolvency. this relationship is not a theoretical assumption, but is confirmed by facts and observed market dynamics. against the backdrop of poor road development, irregular driving habits, poor enforcement of road codes, and a swelling vehicle volume, the rate of traffic accidents also has been alarming. as a result, motor insurers are subjected to an unending flow of claims that threatens both profitability and capital adequacy. this local is compounded by the continuing macroeconomic problems involving high inflation in nigeria. with the rising inflation pushing up the price of auto parts, medical services and labor, the mean payment per motor insurance claim also increases. vehicle 241 repairs on damaged vehicles, third party bodily injury compensation claims and medical costs on the victims of the accident are portential escalators with inflationary effects and this increases the financial pressure on insurers. the empirical and economic theoretical underpinnings indicate that, where the pace at which the claims costs increase outstrips the premium income, there is immense pressure on the insurers to rebalance the underwriting standards and change risk pricing policies (regan, tennyson, & weiss, 2008). operationally, the monetary effects of these changes are also broad-ranging. upon occurrence of a situation whereby the payouts of the claims are disproportionately high such as the present situation in the nigerian motor insurance sector, the insurer can end up having negative or adverse loss ratios, depleted reserves and liquidity issues. this was graphically demonstrated by regulatory statistics that motor insurance contributed to over 90 percent of net claims paid in the last quarters. the excess accident-related outgoings cause difficulties in actuarial balance and put the sustainability of motor insurance underwriting subsistence at risk. a few investigations offer a perspective of the relationship between the accident rate, frequency of claims, and the behavior of the insurance market. it has been found that when there is an increment in insured cars, there is usually an increment in the reported accidents, based on morality hazard or adverse selection in an insurance pool (hsu, chou, & shiu, 2016; hsu et al., 2015). the impact on nigeria is twofold first, the growing number of insured vehicles, partially owing to the mandatory third-party insurance regulations, can end up increasing the number of claims unwittingly; second, the existing underwriting methods used by the insurance companies might prove inadequate in separating the riskier and less risky drivers, thereby creating exposure to the losses. further, accident severity is not a single variable but well depends on the vehicle characteristics and the usage pattern. as wu, li, and peng (2020) have noted, vehicle type, age, and maintenance status are specific characteristics that contribute to a high level of accidents and the probability of an insurance claim. the collection of rickety cars largely crowding the roads has also contributed to the scale and extent of crashes in nigeria, driving up the price and number of claims. in addition to economic considerations, the bureaucracy of motor insurance operations also affects its operation success. there is evidence that shows that enhanced claims handling practices have the potential to improve efficiency, alleviate settlement delays, as well as result in increased claimant satisfaction and rehabilitation outcomes (schaafsma et al., 2012). nigeria, however, has a history of not being efficient in its claims processing, fraud, and poor connecting of technology that has created severe claims processing cycles, displeasing customers, and in some instances, missed or challenged claims (yusuf, ajemunigbohun, & alli, 2017). such systemic deficiencies are a source of lack of confidence in the insurance industry and reduce market penetration (alli, ganiyu, & aina, 2020). the other concern is the wider behavioral impact of insurance coverage on driving. bordoff and noel (2008) discussed the possibility of new kinds of insurance, such as pay-as-you-drive insurance, as a way of discouraging risky driving by ensuring that insurance prices reflect the level of exposure to risk. although such a model has yet to be established in nigeria, its possible applicability is significant. in a market that has faced high accident rate, available incentive aligned insurance models might play out as competitive force that incites safer satellite driving that limits loss exposure (ajemunigbohun, oreshile, & alli, 2018). theoretical review risk theory informed this study. the theory of risk is a linkage principle in actuarial science and the study of insurance, and was initially postulated by a swedish mathematician and statistician, harald cramer in the beginning of the 20th century. cramer pioneered risk 242 analysis in the modern sense by standardizing the probabilistic models which are applied to gauge uncertainty and financial exposure within insurance cases. his work, especially in what is now called cramer lundberg model or classical risk theory, made a framework of understanding the stochastic processes that govern the occurrence of claims on an insurer and his solvency. this theoretical basis has been developed further into a wider subject that covers both collective risk theory that addresses aggregate claims and individual risk theory that looks at the risk at each policyholder. the theory of risk provides a sound research instrument in motor insurance in modeling the possibility of accidents or their financial implications. the classical risk model presupposes that the claims will appear randomly throughout time according to a poisson process, and that the sizes of claims will be independent and identically distributed random variables (kaas et al., 2008). under this method, the insurers estimate premiums against anticipated losses with an element of safety loading. but the assumption of risk exposure homogeneity has gradually been questioned, even in urban settings where external factors like traffic congestion, road quality, and accident hotspots are proving far more determinative of the risk landscape. empirical analyses demonstrate the pivotal importance of the road infrastructure in creating a risk environment in which motor vehicles can operate. as an example, ofoegbu and ugwunna (2015) revealed that road poor physical condition, signage, and streetlights distribution play an enormous role in raising the occurrence of road traffic accidents in the nigerian cities. in the example given, the use of cramers risk theory implies that poor infrastructure is part of why claims frequency is the way it is, i.e., it increases the chances of accidents occurring causing a change in how the insurer experiences loss distribution. in actuarial terms, this means that road infrastructure will be one of the major rating factors underwriting motor insurance policies in areas such as the lagos state. as one of the most populous and economically active cities in africa, lagos state offers an interesting case study against which the interaction between road infrastructure and motor insurance claims can be assessed. the vehicular density within the city is also extreme and irregular patterns of the road maintenance and developments also occur. through the application of risk theory, one can consider the way spatially differentiated risk profiles may result due to the differences in road quality across different local government areas (lgas). as an example, lgas with good roads and substantial mechanisms of traffic control can have fewer claims than those that are likely to be characterized by potholes, narrow lanes, or poorly controlled intersections. this hypothesis is supported by recent empirical evidence in lagos. in one study (adeyemi and okorie, 2020), the insurance claims data on motor insurance claims in lagos state with five major insurance players were studied and statistics indicated that, there was a statistically significant correlation between the state of road infrastructure and the motor insurance claims made. their results showed that policyholders in regions with improved road networks had fewer accidents and thus fewer claims. as understood in the context of risk theory, such findings imply that better infrastructure lowers the intrinsic exposure of drivers to the risk, which causes more preferable loss experience of insurers. additionally, the theory of risk also highlights the significance of classification and grouping of risks during insurance product pricing. in case of lagosian, this may imply the integration of geospatial data about road conditions in insurance rating models. in this way, the insurers will be able to shift their traditional rating variables (age, driving history, vehicle type) to incorporate environmental variables that directly affect the results of risks. this can correspond to latest trends in telematics and usage-based insurance, in which real-time information further refines the accuracy of risk analysis. 243 empirical review author & date general objective of the study methodology findings gap filled by the present study agbeboh and osabuohien-irabor osarumwense (2013) to study the trend of road accidents in kogi state, nigeria. univariate time series data collected from the federal road safety commission (frsc) from january 1997 to december 2010. statistical analysis using spss. found a steady increase in road accident rates in kogi state with no seasonal variation. this study provides a general trend of road accidents, which are a precursor to insurance claims. a direct link between specific road infrastructure deficiencies (e.g., potholes, lack of signage) and the frequency of these accidents, and subsequently, motor insurance claims, was not explicitly established. onyejekwe, s., abdulazzez, rabiu, hammed, & osunlalu (2024) to present and discuss commonly observed infrastructurerelated safety deficiencies on nigerian roads and proffer solutions. observations and informal road safety inspections (rsis) conducted by the authors, primarily by capturing images and collating them. identified numerous deficiencies in road infrastructure, broadly classified into surface, shoulder, and roadside issues. safer roads lead to reductions in road traffic crashes. this study identifies and categorizes road infrastructure deficiencies. however, it does not quantify the direct relationship between these specific deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims. it highlights the potential for reduction in crashes with safer infrastructure, but not the direct impact on claims frequency. intertransport (2025) to highlight the impact of bad roads on transportation in nigeria. review of existing information and reports. poor road networks cause delays, high transport costs, and accidents. 75% of commercial drivers report delays, longer trips, and higher fuel use due to poor roads. while acknowledging that poor roads lead to accidents, this source does not provide empirical data directly linking specific road deficiencies to the frequency of motor insurance claims. it focuses more on the broader economic impact of bad roads. femi & tolorunloju (2020) to investigate road infrastructure management strategies in ikorodu west, lagos state, nigeria, and quantitative survey approach using structured questionnaires among residents. data analyzed descriptively using frequency counts, the state of road infrastructure in the study area is poor. consequences of poor road infrastructure included damage to this study confirms the poor state of roads and their link to vehicle damage and accidents. however, it doesn't directly correlate specific deficiencies with the frequency of motor insurance claims. it provides 244 uncover road user satisfaction. percentages, and ranked mean-item-scores. vehicles and road accidents. a qualitative understanding of the problem from the users' perspective. isimoya, ajemunigbohun, s. & osasona, (2022). to evaluate motor insurance underwriting factors, with specific reference to the perceptions of motor insurance providers in lagos, nigeria. cross-sectional survey research design. structured questionnaire administered to 300 respondents from 30 motor insurance companies. data analyzed using simple frequency percentages and friedman's rank test. noted the chances of high road accident rates due to stability in frequency per vehicle and increase in the number of vehicles per inhabitant. this study focuses on underwriting factors and acknowledges the high rate of road accidents as a problem. however, it does not empirically link specific road infrastructure deficiencies to the frequency of motor insurance claims. it highlights the general problem of accidents that lead to claims. onatola, (n.d) to examine the impact of motor vehicle (third party) insurance regulation compliance on road traffic liability risk management. adopted enforcement theory and compliance theory of regulation. data on registered and insured vehicles obtained from frsc and nia. road traffic accidents significantly affect socio-economic development in nigeria, leading to financial costs. the economic cost of road traffic injuries is huge, taking between 1% to 3% of gdp in most countries. this study highlights the significant financial burden of road traffic accidents. however, it does not specifically isolate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims. it focuses on the broader economic impact of accidents and the role of third-party insurance. nem insurance plc (2018) to discuss the linkage among insurance, infrastructure, and economic growth in nigeria. not an empirical study with a specific methodology; rather, it's a statement from an industry expert. good roads will reduce the number of accidents, thereby leading to a reduction in claims on motor insurance. this is a strong qualitative statement from an industry expert suggesting a direct link between good roads (an aspect of infrastructure quality) and reduced motor insurance claims. however, it lacks empirical data and a specific methodology to quantify this impact on claim severity and cost. eneh, okosun,, egbenta, obi, oloto, ubani, & eneonwo, (2023) to analyze road and vehicle qualities as major factors of road traffic carnage in nigeria. longitudinal study regressing secondary data on death tolls against road quality and vehicle quality. for every 1% decrease in road quality, death tolls from road traffic crashes in nigeria increased by 0.00642%. heavy financial costs are this study empirically links road quality to death tolls, implying a link to accident severity. it also mentions the financial costs of crashes. however, it does not directly evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the cost of 245 usually incurred from road crashes by way of repairing damaged vehicles, treatment of injuries, and burial of deceased victims. motor insurance claims, specifically. it focuses on the broader impact of road quality on fatalities and general financial costs. enyinda (2022) to assess the trend of motor accident insurance claims in nigeria. survey research design. secondary data collected from official publications of selected insurance companies and the nigeria insurance association. descriptive statistics used for analysis. insurance companies were not performing well in terms of claims settlement until after the period of recapitalization. claims settlement has a positive effect on increasing policyholder confidence. this study focuses on the trend and settlement of motor insurance claims. while it discusses the importance of claims settlement, it does not directly evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity or cost of these claims. it provides an overview source: author’s compilation, 2025 246 methodology this research took a quantitative research design because it enabled the relationships between measurable variables, namely, road infrastructure conditions and motor insurance claim patterns, to be investigated in a systematic manner. the design used a combination of descriptive statistics which is used to report on all variables within a data set, inferential statistical analysis which is the process of drawing general conclusions about a population based on a sample, and regression modeling which is used to build a model to study the relationship between a dependent variable and at least one independent variable. data were collected in lagos state, the commercial capital of nigeria and one of the most populous cities in africa. lagos was chosen owing to its heavy automobile population, high traffic facing, and congestion situations and documented issues about road infrastructure wear out. these conditions render it an ideal case study in studying the impacts of unfavorable road conditions on accident incidences, and hence motor insurance claims. lagos has a distinctive constellation of urban infrastructure problems with widespread potholes and rugged roads, lack of proper signs and street lighting, poor drainage and flooding of roads, and prevalence of accidents. these attributes support the use of lagos as an example to reflect overall national trends in road safety and motor insurance claims. the study's population included both motor insurance policyholders and the insurance companies operating in lagos state, nigeria. the state of lagos was selected because of the density of its vehicles, major road infrastructure issues, as well as being an insurance capital. this combined population was able to provide a comprehensive picture of the policyholder (demand) and the insurer (supply) points of view. to determine sample size, a multi-stage sampling technique was used. the purposive sampling method was used to select major motor insurance firms in the lagos state based on both the market share and the availability of claims data/information. lagos state was separated into local government area (lgas) in an effort to reflect the existence of the different rates of road condition. individual policy holders were sampled using simple random sampling within the respective strata of client databases. the policyholder sample size was statistically selected, as it is 322 observations. both primary and secondary data gathering tools were employed. the primary data was a structured questionnaire that was administered to the motor insurance policy holders. this questionnaire included questions on demographics, perceptions of the lack of road infrastructures (with and without potholes, signage, lighting, drainage, intersections, traffic calming measures, on a likert scale), and motor insurance claim experiences (frequency, perception of the cause attributable to road condition and cost/severity). it also included questions concerning driving behaviors, type of the car and exposure to varied conditions on the road. secondary data included past data on motor insurance claims (frequency and cost/severity) of selected insurance companies broken down by possible links to specific road conditions or geographical localities. the condition of roads, maintenance progress, and the advancing of the infrastructures in different lgas within lagos state was obtained between corresponding government agencies and verified by the use of authoritative reports. analysis of the data was conducted through use of descriptive and inferential statistics with spss statistical software. demographics and variable prevalence were summarized using descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, means, and standard deviations. inferential statistics here mostly consisted in multiple regression analysis to test hypothesis. 247 result and discussion h₀₁: there is no significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. model summary r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 0.63 0.397 0.382 932.1 anova table source sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 45,200,000 6 7,533,333 86.21 .000 residual 68,400,000 316 216,455 total 113,600,000 322 coefficients table variable unstandardized coefficients b std. error beta t sig. (constant) 4800.00 210.00 22.86 .000 potholes 120.00 32.00 0.14 3.75 .000 signage 85.00 28.00 0.12 3.04 .003 lighting -50.00 25.00 -0.09 -2.00 .046 drainage -301.00 41.00 -0.301 -7.34 .000 intersections 67.00 29.00 0.11 2.31 .021 calming -95.00 35.00 -0.13 -2.71 .007 the model summary table indicates an r of 0.63, which implies that there is a moderate strength of positive correlation between the combination of the ten elements of road infrastructure deficiencies and a high rate of motor insurance claims. the value of r square 0.397 implies that the road infrastructure elements in the model may be used to explain about 39.7% of the difference in motor insurance claims. the coefficient 0.382 of adjusted r square is slightly low indicating that the model shows good explanatory value even after regulating the variables used. standard error of the estimate, 932.1, reflects the average departure of the estimated claim frequency to the actual figures. 248 the overall significance of the model is supported by the anova table. the f-statistic has a value of 86.21 with p-value =.000 implying that the model is statistically significant at the 0.01 level. this affirms that there is a significant effect of all the deficiencies in the road infrastructure on the variance in the frequency of insurance claims. therefore, the null hypothesis (h 0 1 ) could be rejected. the table of coefficients gives data on the individual contribution and direction of each of the infrastructure deficiency variables. the impact of potholes on insurance claims is positive and statistically significant (b = 120.00, p = .000). this implies that the severity or frequency of the potholes determines the level of insurance claim. there is a moderate effect size, as standardized beta coefficient ( 0.14) affirms it. signage deficiency also presents a positive and significant result (b = 85.00, p = .003), which means that inadequate road signs are linked to increaseing motor insurance claims. lighting is negatively related but significantly related with coefficient b of -50.00 with p = .046 implying that, the less the street lighting is good or absent, the less the claims the model has. this could however be an indication of intricate confounding factors, like diminished traffic at night or under reporting. the quality of drainage has the most significant negative impact (b = -301.00, p = .000), which implies that the higher its quality, the fewer claims are reported. it might be because there is less damage on road surfaces or because fewer accidents mean fewer losses in case of rain. there is also a positive relationship between the design issue of intersections and the insurance claims which indicate that poorly designed or congested intersection can result in more accidents and consequently more claim. traffic calming (e.g., speed bumps) has a negative coefficient (b = -95.00, p = .007) which may indicate the reduced risk of accidents where traffic calming is in place. overall, the findings of this regression study would strongly indicate the fact that certain problems with road infrastructure, more precisely the presence of potholes, presence or absence of road signs, drainage, and calming systems, are statistically significance associated with limits of frequent motor insurance claims within the framework of nigerian motor insurance market. h₀₂: road infrastructure quality has no significant impact on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. model summary r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 0.59 0.348 0.331 0.95 anova table source sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 38.60 6 6.43 71.02 .000 residual 72.30 316 0.23 total 110.90 322 249 coefficients table variable b std. error beta t sig. (constant) 2.10 0.10 21.00 .000 potholes 0.12 0.03 0.15 4.00 .000 signage 0.09 0.03 0.13 3.00 .003 lighting -0.04 0.02 -0.08 -1.80 .073 drainage -0.29 0.04 -0.29 -7.25 .000 intersections 0.07 0.03 0.10 2.33 .020 calming -0.09 0.03 -0.12 -2.70 .007 model summary indicates that the multiple correlation coefficient (r) is 0.59, meaning there exists moderate positive correlation between a combination of road infrastructure quality indicators and claim severity. the r square of 0.348 indicates that the model can explain about 34.8 percent of the variance in insurance claim severity. the adjusted r square which is slightly lesser at 0.331 takes into consideration the number of predictors, and affirms that model is good in terms of its explanatory power, without overfitting. the standard error of the estimate is 0.95, indicative of the acceptable degree of accuracy of prediction considering the magnitude of the dependent variable. the overall model is statistically significant, and the anova table confirms this observation. fstatistic71.02 with p-value of.000 meaning that the regression model is significant in explaining the variance in both claim severity and costs. this produces the rejection of the null hypothesis (h 0 2 ) thereby showing that quality of the road infrastructure has a significant effect on the magnitude of the motor insurance claims. the coefficients table gives detailed information on the individual effects of each variable of road infrastructure. the claim severity is positively and significantly correlated with potholes (b = 0.12, p = .000). this implies that poor road surfaces not only add to the number of claims, but also to the value of claims costs, probably because the damage or injury sustained is usually more significant as a result of poor surfaces. there is (great) positive effect (b = 0.09, p = .003) related to signage quality. the inadequate or absent signage would also lead to more serious accidents, perhaps due to the lack of warnings or directional instructions, which would put the chances of occurrence of high impact accidents at large. the effect of lighting is negative and only slightly substantial (b = -0.04, p = .073). although this finding is not statistically significant in the 0.05 limit, this trend indicates that having better lighting potentially decreases the severity of the claims, potentially by enhancing visibility and reaction times. nevertheless, its removal to the list of meaningful predictors can be explained with conventional statistical criteria. drainage problems have the most damaging effect on claim severity (b = -0.29, p = .000). inefficient drainage is probably a contributing factor to the riskier driving conditions such as waterlogging and road collapse likely to be a source of high-cost claims. the negative coefficient would suggest that, in case of better drainage systems, the gravity and overhead of claims would 250 decline. the outcome of intersections has a significant positive impact (b = 0.07, p = .020), with poorly designed or overburdened interchanges associated with a greater number of insurance claims. this may be because of the increased chances of head-on or side crashes within these areas. traffic calming techniques (e.g., speed bumps, rumble strip) are significantly correlated with reduced severity of a claim (b = -0.09, p = .007), indicating those characteristics do reduce speed, and ultimately, the severity of collisions. the combination of results provides a powerful empirical evidence against the null hypothesis. they confirm that road infrastructure quality not only affects the probability of individual claims but also the magnitude and the cost of those claims are statistically significantly affected by poor quality of road infrastructure. conclusion the study evaluated the impact of road infrastructure on motor insurance claims with empirical data from lagos state. the analysis revealed that certain shortcomings in the road infrastructure such as potholes, poor signs, inadequate lighting, poor drainage systems, not well designed intersections, and lack of the traffic calming measures are highly related to the increased rates of the motor insurance claims. the explanatory power of the model is significant, with all infrastructure variables but lighting being significant. these findings support the findings by onyejekwe et al. (2024) and femi and tolorunloju (2020), who also observed that poor road conditions and lack of signs are common risks in nigerian roads. the present study goes further to give numerical values to the fact that in as much as these deficiencies are a leading cause of accidents, they also directly affect the increase in claims made by the insured motorists. theoretically, the results are in line with the propositions of cramers risk theory that factors of road environments do have a major influence on the stochastic distribution of claim payment as well as motor portfolios risks in high-exposure areas. the analysis also strengthens the infrastructure-insurance connection by demonstrating that road infrastructure quality has an important effect on claim severity and settlement cost. the regression model of claim severity revealed two correlated coefficients of determination as 0.348, which means that over one-third of the variations in claim cost can be explained by the state of the roads. once again, potholes, signage, drainage, intersections, and calming features were all serious determinants. especially interesting is the great negative impact of drainage quality, (b = -0.29, p < 0.001), showing how being waterlogged and eroded does not only cause an accident but also a more serious and expensive one. these conclusions coincide with the discoveries of eneh et al. (2023), who recorded the economic stress that is caused by road accidents in terms of repair, medical expenses, and the loss of lives. combining this with findings of the present analysis, it becomes obvious that the insufficiency of infrastructure not only augments the number of accidents, it also raises the financial scale of the incidents. the impact on the nigerian insurance industry is complex. systemic infrastructure failures are causing growing insurer vulnerability, which is reflected in high claim frequencies and severities and promulgated by industry-specific investigations, including nem insurance plc (2018) and enyinda (2022). not only does this undermine underwriting profitability, but it undermines capital adequacy and pricing accuracy as well, particularly in an inflationary environment. also, the irrelevancy of assessing spatial aspects of risk, such as infrastructure conditions, into underwriting models is a shortcoming in actuarial creativity. the results in this study offer a solid argument in support of including infrastructure variables in risk-based pricing systems and use of telematics to price policies. 251 policy-wise, the evidence warranted a matter-of-urgency to prioritize and make specific investments in roads. better design standards in the drainage system, traffic signs and road lighting system, as well as, traffic calming infrastructures can save on the number of motor insurance claims, as well as, the cost incurred in settling the claims. this aligns with the international literature (e.g., papadimitriou et al., 2019; yannis et al., 2016), which shows infrastructure investments to be one of the most cost-efficient measures in enhancing road safety and decreasing the insurance burden. such improvements may also become an indirect form of regulation in the context of developing countries such as nigeria, where enforcement is loose and infrastructure repair is random, affecting driver behavioral patterns and minimizing high risk exposure areas. references adeleke, r., osayomi, t., & iyanda, a. e. 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(2017). a critical review of insurance claims management: a study of selected insurance companies in nigeria. spoudai-journal of economics and business, 67(2), 69-84. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 360 public relations practice in nigeria’s corruption-ridden environment: challenges and prospects thomas okechukwu linus ogbuoshi ferdinand obasi caritas university enugu abstract this article discussed public relations practice in nigeria’s corruption-ridden environment: challenges and prospects, and specifically identified the functions and objectives of public relations, highlighted the extent corruption has characterized the socio-economic and political environment of nigeria, and discussed some of the challenges facing public relations practice in nigeria and pointed out how the challenges could be overcome. the theoretical framework of this article was anchored on the excellent theory which resulted from a study about the best practice in public relation. in the article, write-ups from available relevant literature were considered and used to analyse public relations practice in nigeria’s corruption-filled environment, and discuss the challenges and prospects of public relations practice. in the conclusion, it was noted that truly, corruption is evident in the nigerian socio-economic and political environment and it posses challenges to the practice of public relations. nevertheless, ways to overcome the challenges were pointed out and all concerned were encouraged to follow the steps as public relations practice in nigeria has great prospect to flourish. keywords: public relations, nigeria’s corruption-ridden environment, challenges and prospects. introduction it goes without saying that the practice of public relations globally has a long history. of course, the history of anything is the social essence of its life, showing the developmental stages of that thing. (onyiaji, 2016:8). obviously public relations practice began since the earliest time when the practice was not even known by the term public relations as we know it today. black (1989:198) wrote that public relations has been practised sporadically since the earliest of time even though the name is of comparatively recent origin. according to onyiaji, (2016), in ancient times, what was practised had not gotten the name public relations, but in essence, it was what we call public relations today. there is ample evidence in the records of the early greek and roman empires to show that great care and attention was devoted to the influencing of public opinion. public relations in those far off days appears to have been an integral part of government. the romans dramatized the importance of public opinion in the slogan vox populi, voxdei – the voice of the people is the voice of god. (black, 1989:198). in greece, it was the games that were used as a mode of pr. the olymic games of elis in greece were used as pr to publics (onyiaji 2016). by 1835, public relations had started to put on some garb by which it is known today. a man called p.t. barnum was operating a circus (a show-business) and used for his publicity what is today known as press agentry. the press agentry publicized his show-biz in magazines and newspapers. (onyiaji, 2016). all the same, the advent of the 20th century marked the rise of public relations with figures such as ivy lee and edward bernays, who are often credited 361 as the fathers of the pr profession. it was during these formative years that pr distinguished itself as a strategic discipline, essential for crafting public perception and managing information flow between entities and their audiences. (joriwhite pr-co-uk). in nigeria, the practice of public relations has experienced considerable growth especially when you juxtapose present realities alongside what obtained some decades ago (olisa, 2021). key practitioners in the profession worthy of mention include bob ogbuagu whom many regard as one of the founding fathers of public relations in nigeria. according to olisa (2021), ogbuagu is regarded as one of the founding fathers of public relations in nigeria; ogbuagu and his contemporaries set the tone for the model of public relations practised in nigeria today, with of course, some novelties introduced along the line, nigeria public relations journey. in one of his writings, ogbuagu defined public relations as ‘the art of building bridges of rapport’ between an organization and its public. even though the public relations of then was principally press agentry and publicity-based, ogbuagu’s definition still has validity today. (olisa, 2021). public relations practice according to the institute of public relations (ipr) is defined as “the planned and sustainable effort to establish and maintain good will and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics. (black, 1989:3). according to the mexican statement signed by representatives of more than 30 national and regional public relations associations in mexican city on 11th august, 1978, public relations practice is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences and counseling organization’s leadership, and implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest. from the forgoing which highlighted what public relations practice is all about, it is easy for us to see public relations practice as very crucial to harmonious, peaceful and happy human relationships. obviously, expectations would be for public relations practice to thrive especially in this era of information and communication technology (ict). but, in reality, though today’s world is driven as it were by ict, many nations cannot boast of a flourishing public relations practice due to different kinds of challenges relating to their peculiar circumstances. in nigeria, for instance, the prevailing socio-economic and political environment is corruption filled and this possess some challenges to public relations practice in the country. but are there some prospects of doing it right? this article will discuss these matters. objectives of this article: the main objective of this article is to discuss public relations practice in nigeria’s corruption-filled environment: challenges and prospects. specific objectives are to: 1. identify the functions and objectives of public relations practice 2. highlight the extent corruption has chacraterised the socio-economic and political environment of nigeria, and 3. discuss the challenges facing public relations practice in nigeria and point out how the challenges could overcome. 362 theoretical framework the excellence theory the excellent theory resulted from a study about the best practice in public relations, which was headed by james e. grunig and funded by the foundation of the international association of business communicators (iabc) in 1985 (ogbuoshi, 2020:124). ogbuoshi also said that the excellent theory explains that the value of public relations lies in organization-public relations, good relationship with its strategic public and this is helpful for an organization to develop and achieve goals desired by both the organization and its publics, reduce costs of negative publicity, and increase revenue by providing products and services needed by stakeholders. (ogbuoshi, 2020:124). no doubt, the excellent theory is concerned with the practice of public relations that is wholesome and would make an organization more effective through the employment of cordial relationship with its publics. in nigeria, challenges possed by corruption to the practice of public relations should be given serious attention to enable public relations practice to flourish. literature review concept of public relations as the name implies, public relations has to do with human relationships. down from history humans have been having dealings with one another in the course of daily activities and the cordiality of such relationship has been key to their happiness and enjoyment of peace. no one should take the achievement of peace and mutual understanding for granted. people must work for it and naturally there had always been people so gifted in communication skills that they could always endeavour to build a bridge of good relationship among groups of people even though the activity of such people in the distant past was not tagged, “.public relations practice” black (1989:198) was in agreement with this fact when he wrote that public relations has been practiced sporadically since the earliest time even though the name is of comparatively recent origin. as we gained more understanding of what public relations practice is all about in recent time, many scholars in the field of public relations and many other people from different walks of life gave various definitions of public relations practice. in nwaeze (2015), public relations practice is seen as a distinctive management function which evaluates public attitude, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual and organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a programme of action to earn public understanding and acceptance. rft;’[this entails monitoring, assessing, managing and evaluating public reactions, perceptions, views and opinions on organizational policies and programmes of action. the british institute of public relations, cited in yaroson et al (2007) defines public relations practice as the deliberate, planned and sustained efforts to establish mutual understanding between an organization and its public. elem, (2018) explained that the practice of pr in organization aims at achieving distinctive outcomes which help establish and maintain mutual communication, understanding, acceptance and co-operation between organization and its publics, result in successful management of problems on issues and help management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion, and define and emphasize the responsibility of management to serve the public interest. according to cut lip, center and broom (2005), cited by kanu (2021), public relations practice is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationship between an organization and the public on whom its success or failure depends. dr. rex harlow, a veteran public relations practitioner of san francisco examined 472 different definitions of public relations practice and distilled them into a working definition 363 thus: public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involves the management of problem or issues; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and sound and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools (black, 1989:4). according to ogbuoshi and abugu (2007:60), public relations is the activities of an industry, union, corporation, profession, government or other organizations in building and maintaining sound and productive relations with special publics such as customers, employees, stockholders and with the public at large so as to adapt itself to its public in order to gain public acceptance, understanding and goodwill. ndolo (2011:42) stated that public relations as a field of study is concerned mainly with the onerous but most often, exciting task of uniting the various constituencies or publics of an organization. he added that it builds bridges across organization’s internal and external publics, in such a manner as to promote goodwill and mutual understanding to facilitate the attainment of goals and objectives of any orgnaisation, using the mass media and other channels of communication for this purpose. edoga and izuta (2015) pointing at the early concept of public relations said that pr began as a government information and propaganda machine during world war one and was then used more extensively in world war two. without a doubt, as has been observable, definitions of public relations practice are legion indicating that public relations has fast become a fascinating subject of study. most of these definitions captured the functions and objectives of public relations which we shall now discuss briefly. of course, the mention of functions and objective at the first thought may appear as one saying the same thing and, of course, there is an apparent co-relationship between the words. according to onyiaji, 2016:8), in a simple language, objectives are things aimed at, the endsin-view of somone’s actions. that being the meaning of objectives, the co-relationship between functions and objectives should not be in doubts. one does what one does, that is performs one’s functions in other to achieve one’s objectives. now, lets first consider the functions of public relations. functions of public relations public relations performs very important functions in order to achieve its objectives targeted at brining benefits to both an organization and its publics. according to moore and kalupa (2005:45), the process of establishing public policy, securing action on policies, and communicating information about policies to the public, so as to effect a two-way formal or informal exchange of ideas between an organization and its publics, constitutes the function of public relations. onyiaji (2016) while discussing the functions of public relations outlined nine lines of actions that public relations should perform as follows: (i) writing and editing pr works (ii) relating to media and media establishments (iii) doing food research work (iv) communicating and informing internal and external publics of an organization (v) carrying out strategic planning (vi) engaging in management and administration of an organization (vii) counseling the top management and primary publics of an organization on proper line of action to take in an issue 364 (viii) speaking by themselves or preparing others to speak on behalf of the organization. (ix) crisis management and conflict resolution between the organization and its publics by means of communications and information. the functions of public relations according to cutlin, centre and broom (1985) include the following: 1. monitoring awareness, opinions, attitudes, and behaviour inside and outside the organization. 2. analyzing the impact of organizational policies, procedures, and actions on various public. 3. adjusting those policies, procedures, and actions found to be in conflict with the public interest and organizational survival. 4. counseling management on the establish of new policies, procedures, and actions that are mutually beneficial to the organization and its publics. of course with these functions public relations aims to achieve certain objectives. objectives of public relations; as could be noted from the definitions of public relations, the things that public relations practice aims to achieve are quite obvious. some of these objectives are: 1. establishing and maintaining good will and mutual understanding, acceptance and cooperation between organizations and their public which will make for peaceful and happy relationship. 2. to create, maintain, and protect the organizations’ reputation, enhance its prestige, and present a favourable image. (edoga and izute (2015). 3. endeavouring to harmonise the organization’s and publics interests. 4. to educate certain audiences about many things relevant to the organization – including the business in general, new legislation, and how to use a particular product as well as to overcome misconceptions and prejudices. (edoga and izute: 2015). 5. to create goodwill for an organization. 6. emphasize the responsibility of the management of an organization to serve both the internal and external publics interests. of course, from a few objectives of public relations practice which we mentioned above, one can easily see that the importance of public relations practice to the progress, happiness, peace and harmonious relationship among people in any given society, cannot be over stressed. all the same, public relations practice in nigeria is fraught with many challenges relating, in most cases, to corruption-ridden environment. in this article, we shall discuss some of these challenges and how they could be overcome. but first, let’s take a look at the corruption-ridden environment in nigerian the smear of corruption in the socio-economic and political environment in nigeria when in 2022, nigeria was reported as the 150 least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2022 corruption perceptions index reported by transparency international, it became a matter of big concern to many honest hearted nigeria which, of course, they would desire to simply wish away. according to word data information (online) with the heading, “corruption in nigeria,” the ‘corruption perceptions index’ for the public sector showed 76 points in nigeria for 2022. the scale has a range from 0 to 100. the more corruption rises, the higher the number is. 365 corruption according to webster unabridged dictionary (2001, p. 456) cited in ike and udeze (2015:232), is “the art or state of being corrupt; moral perversion, depravity; perversion of integrity; corrupt or dishonest proceeding; bribery.” according to ike and udeze (2015:232) all these forms of corruption are things that hold a nation down, stagnate development, fuel crisis and paint a nation’s image bad. of course, if an environment is filled with corruption, besides stagnating national development, it negatively affect many things including public relations practice. according to aja, chukwu, and odoh (2019), public relations has stuttered along and is yet to gain effective recognition and acceptance as a reputable profession in the country. existing literature has blamed this anomaly on some factors which include corruptions, lack of academic exposition, career determination, finance, personnel, nigerian government and entrepreneurs. so, it is incontrovertible that the corruption-filled socio-economic and political environment in nigeria posses great challenges to the practice of public relations in the country. challenges of public relations practice in nigeria’s corruption-ridden environment some of these challenges are as follows: 1. confused understanding of what public practice is all about: according to aja, chukwu, and odoh (2019), two important questions often confront practitioners whenever public relations is mentioned. these are what is public relations and what does public relations do? questions such as these frequently arise because, a vast majority of people form their impressions of public relations more, by what those who confess and profess the practice do, than by what practitioners aspire to be and to do. thus, pr finds itself in the paradox of being a very familiar subject, but yet, the most misunderstood and misconstrued. so, following this, it is quite obvious that today in nigerian, what many people do and call public relations practice is actually not public relations practice. for instance, the use of money to “buy” favour, and different forms of monetary inducement in order to achieve a purpose which in the real sense should be called bribery are today regarded as public relations practice. since this ‘brown envelope’ public relations practice, which is, of course, an act of corruption is now being highly regarded, it becomes a big challenge to the real public relations practitioners since the public would always expect them to accompany whatever message they want to communicate with money. in a nutshell, it is an open secret that today in nigeria, bribery is almost generally seen as public relations practice. this is a big challenge to public relations practice. 2. non professionals flooding the field: the field of public relations practice in nigeria presently is inundated with non professionals who parade themselves as it were as public relations practitioners. their whole idea of public relations practice ends with the same mentality of buying favour with money and the use of deceit to achieve a purpose. aja, chukwu and odoh (2019) wrote that as one scholar puts it, “ex-convicts, child molesters, rapists, political fixers, hawkers and their procures, jamblers, casino bouncers and a wide variety of advance fee fraud gangsters who pose with exotic brands of flashy cars or even with lexus cars, have been variously described as public relations”. of course, many corrupt politicians and government officials as well as some dubious business organizations use these fake public relations practice in their attempt to buy their publics’ good will. this gives public relations practice in this country a wrong image. 366 3. organization’s short-coming in the area of matching the effort at image polishing with good deeds. many organizations which employ the services of public relations practitioners often fail in their major responsibility of devoting their greatest effort to doing good deeds but would want good image for themselves by all means. this situation usually makes the job of public relations practitioners very difficult because naturally good image usually comes from good deeds. according to sam black (1989): “public relations is a function of management, and public relations considerations should be taken into account when formulating policy, for subsequent public relations campaigns can never be a satisfactory substitute for correct initial policies. it has been said with some truth that public relations is “90 percent doing good and 10 percent talking about it.” nevertheless, in nigeria, drunk with the wine of corruption some organizations would want public relations practitioners to talk about good deeds that were never done. this is also seen in government activities. it is no secret that today many governments misuse or embezzle government funds meant to provide amenities for the pubic; yet they would want the public to see them as good governments through deceit by the voice of their public relations representatives. 4. organizations stinginess with regard to openness in some matters of organizational policy and programmes. igben, h.g.o. (1997) stated that public relations performs a staff role in the management process. it assists management in reaching decisions that will result in the enthronement of mutual understanding, acceptance and goodwill. as a management function, it analysis the possible effects of management policies and corporate behaviour on various publics, gives warning early enough to enable management adjust through relevant programme of action which will translate corporate image from negative to positive direction. performing this management function sometimes has its own challenge because some organizations at times have secret policies which are not made known to public relations representatives. in this case, the management policies which the pr representatives worked with may turn out not being the real policies executed by the organization hence the public relations effort would not achieve its purpose. 5. lack of adequate attention to public opinion by organizational leadership as noted from the definition of public relations practice according to the mexican statement, implementing organizations’ planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public interest is key to the success of public relations practice. public interest is usually identified through public opinion research by the pr representative. according to igben, h.g.o (1997), attitudes of the public represent that interest, which are often expressed through their opinions. he added that the success of public relations effort is largely dependent on the attitudes of the various publics. but unfortunately even when the pr representative had done a good job of communicating public opinion to organizational leadership with adequate counseling, some governments and business organizations sometimes ignore public opinion when their own interest conflicts with that of their publics. this is usually the case in nigeria where many government functionaries embezzle government funds for their personal use instead of executing projects that would serve public interests. this situation is a difficult context for public relations practice. 367 6. traditional media frequent demand for gratification or advert money before disseminating public relations message. these days, most traditional media in nigeria tag almost every extraneous message they disseminate commercial, even news stories and press releases. of course, it is no longer news that in nigeria traditional media have what they call commercial news. this posses a challenge to pr representatives in their use of the traditional media to carry out their public relations activities. from the above discussion, it is clear that corrupt environment posses daunting challenges to public relations practice in this country. nevertheless, the situation is not hopeless there are prospects. the prospects: with careful observation and consideration of various life experiences, one could see that there is always truth in the following scriptural saying: “for there is hope even for a tree. if it is cut down, it will sprout again. and its twigs will continue to grow. if its root grows old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil, at the scent of water, it will sprout; and it will produce branches like a new plant’ (job 14:7-9). of course even when a situation seems too bad, there is always opportunity to entertain at least a bit of hope that things would change for the better. so it is with the practice of public relations in nigeria there are prospects. these prospects are anchored on some practical steps that could be taken by all those concerned with the future of public relations practice in this country. these practical steps are ways to overcome the challenges facing the practice of public relations in the country. overcoming the challenges of public relation practice in nigeria the challenges facing the practice of public relations in nigeria could be well tackled when some useful steps are taken. such steps include: 1. public enlightenment public relations practitioners should ensure that the confusion regarding the real understanding of what public relations practice is all about should be cleared through public enlightenment. regarding this, practitioners of public relations especially members of their professional body (the nigeria institute of public relations) should ensure that practitioners of public relations must undergo some kind of training besides providing public enlightenment through the media to help people to understand what public relations practice is all about. 2. insistence on professionalism: public relations practice should not be for all comers. trained public relations practitioners should insist on professionalism. the foremost way they can do this is by carrying out public relations job the way it should be done so that people would easily see the difference between professional public relations practitioners and those who are not. in line with this, the group managing director, cmc connect ltd, mr. yomi badejo okusanya while talking about 10 big things that will shape the future of public relations in nigeria during the nigeria institute of public relation clinic held in lagos, said, among other things: “competency is the key and one of the major big things that, will shape the future of public relations, and it will distinguish between those that are core professionals from those that cannot do the job.” (marketing edge com.ng). from this, one can see clearly that the need for insistence on professionalism cannot be over-emphasized. again, in this regard, we believe that the nigeria institute of public 368 relations (nipr) has a big role to play specially, the professional body should ensure that its members must do their jobs in the professional way instead of allowing themselves to be influenced by the nation’s corrupt environment to cut corners. this will make the future of public relation’s practice in nigeria very bright. 3. constant meaningful communication public relations practitioners, in the discharge their advisory role, should drum it into the ears of organizational leadership that there is no substitute for doing good deeds if an organization wants to build good reputation by means of public relations practice. granted that skillful public relations practitioners use modern methods of communication and persuasion to help establish mutual understanding between organizations and their publics, it should be noted that such understanding is conditioned, among other factors, by reputation. therefore, public relations practitioners should help an organization to build good reputation. according to sam black (1989) “to cultivate a good reputation, a credible identity and a positive corporate strategy are an important integral part of most public relations programmes. 4. orgnaisations should be more open in discussing management policies with their pr representatives: if an organization has secrete policies which are not made known to its public relations representative, this could work against the public relations effort at good representation of the organization. 5. organisations should give attention to public opinion as may be revealed by their pr representative. granted that it is the function of public relations to research into public opinion so as to properly advise an organization as to how to design its policies to gain public acceptance, but the public relations effort in this regard, will not achieve the desired objective if an organization ignores public opinion. therefore, to make the job of the pr representatives easier, organizations should seriously consider public opinion in harmony with the pr advice. 6. cordiality in relationship between public relations representatives and traditional media organization without equivocation, we can say that public relations practitioners and traditional media workers should be seen as partners in progress, hence a cordial relationship is expected to exist between the two groups. frankly speaking, honest, meaningful communication would help them achieve mutual understanding concerning areas they may previously have reservations. for instance, public relations representatives should be honest about the message they want to air on the traditional media. when the message is pure advert, they should pay advert money. with such honest relationship, media outfits would always be moved to accept public relations’ message without indiscriminating tagging every message, commercial “this” or “that.” conclusion in truth, one cannot help accepting the fact that the rate of corruption all over the world is rising almost in geometrical proportion. the situation is truly disheartening and unfortunate generally but when one gives thought to how deep corruption has eaten into the fabric of nigeria, one really sheds tears especially as many socio-economic activities in the country are adversely affected. as we have noted in this paper, public relations practice is no exception as we have pointed out some of the challenges corrupt environment posses to the practice. we have also made it clear that even in this unhealthy environment, public relations practice has some prospects. the steps to overcoming the 369 challenges of public relations practice in nigeria should be followed by all concerned as public relations practice in nigeria has great prospect to flourish. references aja, s.u., chukwu, j.n. and odoh, v.o. 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(2016). fundamentals & practice of effective public relations. enugu: archershoes printing press.joriwhite pre-co-uk (online) yaroson, e & asemah, e, (2007). introduction to public relations. jos: bazaleel publishers. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 127 determinants of earnings management practices and financial transparency in nigeria: a panel data analysis sinebe, michael tonbraladoh department of accounting, delta state university, abraka michaelsinebe@gmail.com; mtsinebe@delsu.edu.ng abstract this study examined the determinants of earnings management practices and their implications for financial transparency among nigerian firms using panel data analysis. it utilized secondary data from 58 non-financial listed firms in nigeria over a 10-year period (2015– 2024) and adopted a pooled panel data approach for analysis. the findings reveal that board size has a significant negative effect on earnings management, indicating that larger boards enhance oversight and reduce managerial opportunism. however, board independence and audit committee independence do not show significant effects, suggesting that their presence alone is insufficient to curb earnings manipulation. leverage exhibits a weak but positive relationship with earnings management, implying that highly leveraged firms may manipulate earnings to meet financial obligations. firm size negatively and significantly affects earnings management, reinforcing the role of regulatory scrutiny in reducing earnings manipulation. the study underscores the need for stronger governance enforcement and regulatory oversight to improve financial transparency. based on these findings, recommendations made include optimizing board effectiveness, strengthening audit committee functionality, improving debt management practices, and enhancing corporate governance regulations so as to enhance accountability, improve investor confidence, and promote sustainable financial reporting practices in nigerian firms. keywords: earnings management, financial transparency, board size, audit committee independence, leverage. 1.0 introduction over the last two decades, empirical literatures on the relationship between earnings management practices and financial transparency has been replete with various measures to proxy the concepts in efforts made by national and international standard setters to understand them. earnings management (ermgt) remains an important issue in corporate financial reporting, influencing stakeholders' perceptions of firms' financial health and performance. it refers to the deliberate manipulation of financial statements to achieve specific objectives, such as meeting earnings forecasts, securing executive compensation, or maintaining investor confidence (mohammed, sutainim, islam & mohamed, 2021). while some forms of earnings management fall within legal accounting frameworks, aggressive manipulation can distort financial transparency and mislead investors, regulators, and other market participants (nwoye, anichebe & osegbue, 2021; salem, ezeani, gerged, usman & alqatamin, 2021). the prevalence of earnings management in emerging economies, including nigeria, has raised concerns regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms in curbing such practices (sinebe, 2022). board characteristics such as board size (bsize) and board independence (bind) influence firms' ability to monitor managerial discretion and curb opportunistic financial reporting behaviour (aleqab & ighnaim, 2021; attia, ismail & mehafdi, 2022). similarly, the independence of the audit committee (aci) is crucial in enhancing financial oversight, as a strong and independent audit committee reduces the likelihood of earnings manipulation by strengthening internal control mechanisms and improving audit quality (almarayeh, abdullatif & aibar-guzmán, 2022; ridho & djamil, 2023). in addition to governance structures, financial mailto:michaelsinebe@gmail.com mailto:mtsinebe@delsu.edu.ng 128 leverage (lev) has been identified as a determinant of earnings management, as firms with higher debt levels may have incentives to manipulate earnings to comply with debt covenants or enhance creditworthiness (abubakar, 2017; morris, miko & abdullahi, 2023). given nigeria’s corporate governance landscape and regulatory reforms, understanding these determinants is essential for policymakers, investors, and corporate managers seeking to enhance financial reporting integrity and protect stakeholders' interests. the study adds to existing literatures in three ways. first, it examines the determinants of earnings management practices, proxied by the model of jones, in nigerian-owned firms. secondly, the role of the firm’s ability to monitor financial reporting as an important determinant of earnings management practices in employed (abubakar & suleiman-ahmed, 2024). thirdly, the relationship between earnings management practices and financial transparency is analysed by categorizing the latter into four separate dimensions. objectives of the study the specific objectives of the study are to: i. examine the effect of board size on earnings management practices in nigerian firms. ii. assess the impact of board independence on earnings management practices. iii. investigate the relationship between audit committee independence and earnings management practices. iv. analyse the effect of leverage on earnings management practices. v. evaluate the moderating role of firm size in the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management practices. 2.0 literature review 2.1 earnings management earnings management refers to the strategic manipulation of financial statements by managers to achieve specific financial reporting outcomes. it can be achieved through accrual-based methods (adjusting accounting estimates) or real activities manipulation (altering operational decisions) (alyaarubi, alkindi & ahmed, 2021: abubakar, et al. 2024). while some earnings management practices fall within legal accounting standards, excessive manipulation undermines financial transparency, investor confidence, and market efficiency. sinebe, (2023a) argue that earnings management is often motivated by contractual obligations, regulatory requirements, or managerial incentives, including executive compensation and debt covenants. in emerging markets such as nigeria, weak regulatory enforcement and governance mechanisms contribute to the prevalence of earnings manipulation (enofe, mgbame, & otuya, 2023). corporate governance mechanisms play a crucial role in mitigating earnings management. the presence of an effective board of directors, an independent audit committee, and strong oversight mechanisms enhances financial reporting quality and limits managerial opportunism (nwoye, et al. 2021; bansal, 2024). similarly, leverage influences managerial discretion over financial reporting, as highly leveraged firms may manipulate earnings to meet debt obligations (umoren, ikpantan & ededeh, 2018; shittu, alagbe, oke & fadipe, 2023). 2.2 board size and earnings management board size, a fundamental aspect of corporate governance, refers to the total number of directors serving on a firm's board. the optimal size of a board has been widely debated, with some studies arguing that larger boards enhance oversight, while others suggest that they may lead to inefficiencies (aleqab, et al. 2021; chou & johennesse, 2021). larger boards provide 129 diverse expertise and improve monitoring, potentially reducing earnings management practices (ridho, et al. 2023). empirical studies yield mixed results regarding board size and earnings management. attia, et al. 2022) find that larger boards are associated with lower earnings management, suggesting that increased oversight limits managerial discretion. conversely, chou, et al. 2021) find no significant relationship, indicating that board effectiveness may depend on factors beyond size, such as director expertise and independence. in the nigerian context, board size's impact on financial reporting integrity remains an area of ongoing debate. h₀₁: board size has no significant effect on earnings management practices in nigerian firms. 2.3 board independence and earnings management board independence refers to the proportion of non-executive or independent directors on a firm's board. independent directors are expected to provide unbiased oversight, limiting managerial opportunism and ensuring transparent financial reporting (liu, ahlstrom & zhang, 2024). the agency theory suggests that a higher proportion of independent directors enhances board effectiveness in monitoring executives, thereby reducing earnings manipulation (sinebe & okolo, 2022; özdemir & kahraman, 2023). empirical evidence supports the role of board independence in mitigating earnings management. aleqab, et al. (2021) show that firms with more independent directors exhibit lower earnings management levels. however, some studies suggest that the mere presence of independent directors may not be sufficient, and their effectiveness depends on their expertise, commitment, and incentives (muñoz mendoza, veloso ramos, sepúlveda yelpo, delgado fuentealba & fuentes-solís, 2021). given nigeria's corporate governance environment, assessing the impact of board independence on earnings management remains critical. h₀₂: board independence has no significant impact on earnings management practices. 2.4 audit committee independence and earnings management audit committee independence, defined by the proportion of non-executive or independent members, strengthens oversight by minimizing conflicts of interest and enhancing transparency (ngo & le, 20219; sinebe, 2023b). the resource dependence theory suggests that independent audit committees improve financial oversight by bringing external expertise and reducing information asymmetry (nwoye, et al. 2021). ridho, et al. (2023) observed that firms with independent audit committees exhibit lower levels of earnings manipulation, as independent members are more likely to challenge managerial decisions. however, some research indicates that independence alone is insufficient, and factors such as financial expertise and meeting frequency play crucial roles in ensuring audit committee effectiveness (tang & suwarsini, 2021; okolo & sinebe, 2025). the nigerian corporate sector provides a unique setting to examine how audit committee independence influences earnings management. h₀₃: audit committee independence does not significantly influence earnings management practices. 2.5 leverage and earnings management leverage, measured by a firm's debt ratio, influences financial reporting incentives. the agency theory suggests that highly leveraged firms face increased scrutiny from creditors and may manipulate earnings to meet debt covenants or enhance perceived creditworthiness (al-zaqeba, abdul, ineizeh, hussein & albawwat, 2022). firms with high debt levels often have incentives to smooth earnings or inflate profits to maintain investor confidence and avoid violating loan agreements. ali, arslan, mubeen, azeem, zhen-yu, yushi & miao, 2024) argues that firms with debt constraints are more likely to manipulate earnings. however, some studies suggest 130 that creditor monitoring can act as a deterrent, reducing earnings management behavior (christensen, huffman, lewis‐western & valentine, 2023; sinebe, 2024a). the extent to which leverage influences earnings management in nigeria remains a critical issue for empirical investigation. h₀₄: leverage has no significant effect on earnings management practices. 2.6 firm size and earnings management (control variable) firm size is often used as a control variable in earnings management studies, as larger firms tend to have more robust corporate governance structures, greater regulatory scrutiny, and higher transparency in financial reporting (boachie & mensah, 2022). larger firms are generally subject to stricter regulatory oversight and investor scrutiny, which can limit earnings management opportunities (chou, et al. 2021; sinebe, 2024b). some researchers argue that larger firms have stronger internal controls, reducing the likelihood of earnings manipulation (hussain, akhtar, ahmad, salman & malik, 2024), while others suggest that large firms may have greater resources and incentives to engage in earnings management, particularly in response to market expectations (shittu, et al. 2023). given the mixed evidence, this study controls for firm size to isolate its potential influence on earnings management practices among nigerian firms. h₀₅: firm size does not significantly moderate the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management practices. 2.2. theoretical foundations various theoretical frameworks can be utilized to explain the practices of earnings management. first is agency theory, which postulates that a divergence of interest exists between the owners of the firm and its managers. as a result of this divergence, owners have incentives to establish mechanisms to align the interests of the manager with their own. it is also posited that corporate governance is especially important for emerging economies, where a system of laws and regulations can be weak (özdemir, et al. 2023). secondly, the signaling theory posits that corporate earnings are particularly disclosed with management. it is expanded to include various contexts such as issues of stock, dividend policies, and dividend changes. as a result of this, managers have incentives to manipulate earnings in order to provide information to interested stakeholders on the firm’s performance. this study analyses the literature on earnings management practices and financial transparency in nigeria, synthesizing findings from various studies and reviewing methodologies. study gap the literature suggests that corporate governance mechanisms, including board size, board independence, audit committee independence, and leverage, play significant roles in influencing earnings management practices. while empirical findings remain mixed, stronger governance structures are generally associated with lower earnings manipulation. by applying panel data analysis to nigerian firms, this study seeks to provide further insights into the determinants of earnings management, contributing to the discourse on corporate financial transparency and regulatory reforms in emerging markets. 3.0 methodology the study made use of secondary data and employed the purposive sampling technique to select fifty-eight (58) non-financial firms for a period ten (10) years, within the period of 2015-2024, while the pooled panel technique was adopted for the data analysis. 131 3.1 model specifications the model for this study is stated in econometrics terms below as; ft= f(ermgt, bsize + bind+ acind + lev + fsize) eq. i ermgtit = α0 + β1bsizeit + β2bindit + β3acindit + β4levit + β5fsiszeit + eit eq.ii where; f = stochastic error term capturing other unexplanatory variables ί = firm identifier (55 firms) t = time variable (10 years) ε = error term αo is the intercept of the regression. β1 β2, β3, β4 and β5 are the co-efficient of the regression equation. the apriori expectation: β1 β2, β3, β4 and β5 is less or greater 0. 4.1 descriptive statistics analysis and discussion table 1: summary of descriptive for ermgt, bsize, bind, acind, lev, firmsize variables obs mean std. dev min max ermgt 580 -.2179655 .8546346 -6.84 6.34 bsize 580 9.115517 2.637991 4 19 bind 580 68.6385 14.73133 7.6923 112.5 aci 580 48.3427 13.64748 0 100 lev 580 66.02734 40.68025 12.42 395.45 fsize 580 7.249621 .8497188 5.21 9.48 source: regression output, 2025. table 1 presents the summary statistics for the variables in this study. the descriptive statistics reveal key governance and financial concerns, including earnings management practices, leverage risks, and audit committee weaknesses. from the table, ermgt has -0.2179, 0.8546, -6.84 and 6.34 for mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum respectively. the negative mean value suggests that, on average, firms in the sample engage in downward earnings management, potentially indicating earnings smoothing or conservative reporting practices. bsize has 9.12, 2.64, 4 and 19 for mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum respectively. the average board size of 9 suggests that most firms follow corporate governance guidelines recommending moderate board sizes for effective decision-making. however, the range from 4 to 19 suggests some firms have small boards, which may limit diversity in expertise, while others may have large boards, potentially leading to coordination and decision-making inefficiencies. also, bind has 68.64%, 14.73, 7.69% and 112.5% for mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum. the mean of 68.64% suggests that most firms have a significant proportion of independent directors, which aligns with best governance practices. however, the maximum value exceeding 100% suggests data inconsistencies or misreporting. the minimum value of 7.69% indicates that some firms have extremely low board independence, which may impair governance effectiveness. aci has 48.34%, 13.65, 0% and 100% representing the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum respectively. it indicates that the average independence level of 48.34% suggests that audit committees in nigerian firms are relatively independent. furthermore, lev has 66.03%, 40.68, 12.42%, 395.45% representing mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum respectively. the mean leverage of 66.03% suggests that firms are significantly reliant on debt financing. however, the high standard deviation and maximum value of 395.45% indicate extreme leverage levels in some firms, which may expose them to financial distress while fsize has 7.25, 0.85, 5.21 and 9.48 representing the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum. the relatively low variation in firm size suggests a fairly homogeneous sample. larger firms 132 may have stronger governance and financial capabilities, while smaller firms may struggle with compliance and financial stability. 4.2 normality test table 2: shapiro-wilk w test for normal data variables obs w v z prob>z enmgt 580 0.77580 86.229 10.785 0.00000 bsize 580 0.97083 11.220 5.850 0.00000 bind 580 0.97191 10.803 5.759 0.00000 aci 580 0.86316 52.630 9.590 0.00000 lev 580 0.66404 129.213 11.764 0.00000 fsize 580 0.98853 4.412 3.592 0.00016 source: regression output, 2025. table 2 presents the results of the shapiro-wilk w test, which assesses whether the variables follow a normal distribution. the test outputs w-statistic, v-statistic, z-score, and p-values to determine normality. from the table 2, all variables have p-values of 0.00000 (except firm size at 0.00016), rejecting the null hypothesis, meaning none of the variables are normally distributed. as a remedial effort, the study would adopt the non-parametric tests. 4.3 correlation analysis table 3: summary of spearman correlation matrix enmgt bsize bind aci lev fsize enmgt 1.0000 bsize -0.1500* 0.0003 1.0000 bind -0.1243* 0.0027 0.1688* 0.0000 1.0000 aci -0.1749* 0.0000 0.1017* 0.0142 0.2352* 0.0000 1.0000 lev 0.0989* 0.0172 -0.2509* 0.0000 -0.1715* 0.0000 -0.1140* 0.0060 1.0000 fsize -0.1649* 0.0001 0.4350* 0.0000 0.0517 0.2136 0.0815* 0.0497 -0.0435 0.2954 1.0000 source: regression output, 2025. table 3 presents the spearman correlation matrix, which assesses the strength and direction of relationships between the study variables. the asterisk (*) indicates statistically significant correlations at the 5% level. the relationship between enmgt and bsize indicates a negative and significant correlation (ρ = -0.1500, p = 0.0003) which suggests that larger boards are associated with lower earnings management, likely due to stronger oversight and better governance practices. the relationship between enmgt and bind indicates a negative and significant correlation (ρ = -0.1243, p = 0.0027) implying that firms with more independent directors tend to engage less in earnings management. this aligns with corporate governance principles that independent boards enhance financial reporting quality. the relationship between enmgt and aci indicates a negative and 133 significant correlation (ρ = -0.1749, p = 0.0000) which suggests that greater audit committee independence reduces earnings management, reinforcing the committee’s role in ensuring financial integrity. the relationship between enmgt and lev indicates a positive and significant correlation (ρ = 0.0989, p = 0.0172) suggesting that highly leveraged firms engage in more earnings management, possibly to meet debt covenants or maintain investor confidence. the relationship between enmgt and fsize shows a negative and significant correlation (ρ = -0.1649, p = 0.0001) which suggests that larger firms engage in less earnings management, likely due to greater scrutiny from regulators and investors. the correlation analysis suggests that strong corporate governance mechanisms (bind, aci, and bsize) reduce earnings management, while highly leveraged firms are more prone to earnings management, requiring stricter financial monitoring. from the results, it is an indication that larger firms tend to have better governance structures, reinforcing the need for improved transparency in smaller firms. also, regulatory bodies should strengthen governance codes, requiring more independent directors and audit committee members to enhance financial reporting quality. 4.4 variance inflation factor (vif) test table 4: result for vif test result variable vif 1/vif bsize 1.40 0.715819 fsize 1.35 0.740527 bind 1.09 0.921238 aci 1.07 0.936777 lev 1.06 0.947463 mean vif 1.19 source: regression output, 2025. the variance inflation factor (vif) test in table 4 assesses the presence of multicollinearity among the independent variables in a regression model. the vif values for all variables are below 2, with a mean vif of 1.19. since all vif values are below 5, multicollinearity is not a concern in this model and the 1/vif (tolerance) values are also all above 0.10, confirming no serious collinearity issue. from the table, the low vif values indicate that the independent variables are not highly correlated, ensuring that regression estimates remain reliable and unbiased. 4.5 breusch-pagan / cook-weisberg test for heteroskedasticity table 5: diagnostic tests fitted values of enmgt decision rule if p-value is statistically significant, then reject ho and accept ha result chi2(1) = 11.97; prob>chi2= 0.0005 source: regression output, 2025. table 5 checks for heteroskedasticity in the regression model. test result indicates that chisquare (χ²) = 11.97 and the p-value = 0.0005 (statistically significant at 1% level). since pvalue < 0.05, we reject h₀ and conclude that heteroskedasticity is present in the model. the study would also conduct a ramsey reset test to check for misspecification. by implementing these corrections, the regression results will be statistically valid and reliable for interpretation. 134 4.6 ramsey reset test table 6: ramsey reset test for enmgt analysis of the ramsey reset test results result f(3, 571) = 0.46 ; prob > f = 0.7134 source: regression output, 2025. the ramsey reset in table 6 (regression equation specification error test) is used to check for omitted variable bias in a regression model by testing whether nonlinear combinations of the independent variables explain the dependent variable. since the p-value (0.7134) is greater than the conventional significance levels (e.g., 0.05 or 0.10), we fail to reject the null hypothesis that the model has no omitted variables. this suggests that the current regression model does not suffer from misspecification due to omitted variable bias. panel unit root test 4.7 hadri-lm-unit root test table 7: results of the panel unit-root tests variables hadri-lm-test statistics p-value ernmgt 3.5076 0.0002 bsize 10.0612 0.0000 bind 10.8860 0.0000 aci 17.3654 0.0000 lev 14.3643 0.0000 fsize 27.7005 0.0000 source: regression output, 2025 the hadri-lm test in table 7 is a panel unit root test that checks whether a time series is stationary or contains a unit root (non-stationary). if the data is non-stationary, regression results may be spurious, leading to misleading inferences. since p-values are statistically significant, we reject h₀ and conclude that all variables are non-stationary (i.e., contain a unit root). 4.8 hypothesis testing table 8: summary of enmgt, bsize bind acind lev and firmsize regression analysis enmgt coef. std. err. z p>|z| bsize -.0338711 .0166226 -2.04 0.042 bind -.001133 .0023837 -0.48 0.635 aci -.004579 .0029576 -1.55 0.122 lev .0011586 .0007017 1.65 0.099 firmsize -.1143876 .0573449 -1.99 0.046 _cons 1.142682 .3372588 3.39 0.001 n 580 r-squared 0.0531 wald chi2(5) 55.39 prob > f 0.0000 source: regression output, 2025. 135 discussion of findings from the analysed data in table 8, bsize has a negative and significant effect (p = 0.042) on enmgt, meaning larger board size reduces earnings management. this aligns with corporate governance literatures that suggests larger boards provide better oversight and reduce managerial opportunism (aleqab, et al. 2021; attia, et al. 2022). bind shows a none significant correlation (p = 0.635), indicating no strong relationship between bind and enmgt. this result may suggest that merely having independent directors is not enough to curb earnings manipulation; other board characteristics (e.g., expertise, engagement) might matter more (chou, et al. 2021; ridho, et al. 2023). aci displays a not significant (p = 0.122) result with enmgt, meaning audit committee independence does not significantly affect earnings management, disagreeing with the works of almarayeh, et al. (2022); herghiligiu, et al. (2023) and agreeing with ridho, et al. (2023). this result could indicate a weak enforcement or ineffective audit committees in nigerian firms. leverage shows a significant positive effect (p = 0.099), though weak, with enmgt, meaning that higher leverage slightly increases earnings management and that firms with high debt levels may manipulate earnings to meet debt covenants or to appear financially stable. fsize shows a negative and significant effect (p = 0.046) on enmgt meaning that larger firms engage in less earnings management, as larger firms face more regulatory scrutiny and stronger governance mechanisms, reducing their ability to manipulate earnings. conclusion and recommendations conclusion this study examined the determinants of earnings management practices and their implications for financial transparency among nigerian firms using panel data analysis. the findings reveal that board size negatively and significantly influences earnings management, suggesting that larger boards enhance oversight and reduce managerial discretion. however, board independence and audit committee independence do not show significant effects on earnings management, implying that the mere presence of independent directors and an independent audit committee may not be sufficient to curb earnings manipulation without stronger governance enforcement. leverage exhibits a weak but positive relationship with earnings management, indicating that firms with higher debt levels may manipulate earnings to meet financial obligations. firm size has a significant negative impact on earnings management, reinforcing the idea that larger firms, due to increased scrutiny and better governance, engage in fewer earnings management practices. overall, the study underscores the importance of corporate governance mechanisms in mitigating earnings management and enhancing financial transparency. however, the effectiveness of these mechanisms in nigeria appears to be constrained by weak enforcement and governance inefficiencies. recommendations i. enhancing board effectiveness: since larger boards contribute to reducing earnings management, companies should consider optimizing board size while ensuring diversity in skills and experience to improve oversight. ii. strengthening board independence: although board independence did not show a significant effect on earnings management, firms should focus on appointing directors with relevant expertise, particularly in finance and accounting, to enhance their monitoring role. iii. improving audit committee functionality: the lack of a significant impact of audit committee independence suggests that regulatory bodies should ensure that audit committees are not only independent but also active and competent in overseeing financial reporting processes. 136 iv. managing leverage prudently: given the positive relationship between leverage and earnings management, firms should adopt prudent debt management strategies and ensure financial transparency in debt-related reporting to reduce earnings manipulation incentives. v. encouraging regulatory oversight for larger firms: since larger firms are less likely to engage in earnings management due to regulatory scrutiny, policymakers should enhance disclosure requirements and governance standards across all firm sizes to promote transparency in financial reporting. references abubakar, a. 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(2018). earnings management and financial performance of deposit money banks in nigeria. research journal of finance and accounting, 9(22), 94-100. 139 appendix i variable meaning measurement ermgt earnings management (modified jones score) categorized earnings management based on absolute value of modified jones scores into 1= very low earnings manipulation for firms with less than 0.50, 2= low earnings manipulation for firms in between 0.51-1.00 range, 3= moderate earnings manipulation for firms between 1.01 to 1.50 range and 4= high earnings manipulation for firms with 1.51 and above. see modified jones score data measurement below bsize board size measured as the total numbers of all directors of a company including the chairman +vice chairman +ceo/managing director + executive directors +non-executive directors or independent directors but excluding the company secretary bind board independence measured as the non-executive board of directors divided by total board size (%) acind audit committee independence measured as the number of non-directors and nonexecutive directors in the audit committee divided by audit committee members size (%) lev leverage measured as total liabilities divided by total asset fsize firm size measured as natural log of total asset page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 201 understanding customers’ complaints in the banking sector: insights from attribution theory muideen adejare isiaka department of economics and actuarial sciences, crescent university, abeokuta email: dr.isiaka@gmail.com suliyat ashiru abeokuta business school, crescent university, abeokuta email: suliyatashiru@gmail.com abiodun seun sodiya abeokuta business school, crescent university, abeokuta email: abisodunsodiya@gmail.com rukayat kikelomo isiaka department of sociology, lagos state university, ojo, lagos, nigeria. email: rkisiaka@gmail.com abstract the global banking sector plays a crucial role in economic development, evolving from traditional institutions to tech-driven platforms across diverse regions. customer service, especially in addressing complaints, is central to banks' competitiveness worldwide. online complaint mechanisms, or e-complaints, allow customers to publicly express dissatisfaction. this study reviewed the dimensions of banking customer complaints, particularly those stemming from customer errors. this review revealed that customer complaints in banking reflect client dissatisfaction and serve as vital feedback for service improvement. with increasing digitalization, complaints often arise not only from banking errors but also from customer mistakes. attribution theory explains how individuals assign causes to events, attributing them to internal factors (like personal actions) or external ones (like others' actions or systems). in banking, this theory helps interpret customer complaints, especially those caused by user errors. recognizing whether customers blame themselves or the bank influences how complaints should be handled. distinguishing valid complaints from those caused by customer errors is crucial for improving service quality and customer satisfaction. valid complaints highlight flaws in products or services, while errors often stem from misunderstandings or misuse. addressing both types appropriately through empathy or customer education, can enhance trust and loyalty. psychological factors like cognitive bias, overconfidence, stress, and emotions also influence customer behavior and errors. addressing these issues requires banks to enhance transparency, educate users, and adopt technology-driven solutions. effective complaint management builds trust, ensures compliance, and fosters customer loyalty, turning negative experiences into opportunities for growth and innovation in a competitive financial landscape. employee involvement further ensures these policies are effective, fostering a culture of excellence and trust. by improving communication, education, and empathy, banks can reduce error-based complaints, enhance customer understanding, and strengthen long-term satisfaction and loyalty. keywords: bank customers’ complaints, attribution theory, customer error, consumer behavior mailto:abisodunsodiya@gmail.com 202 introduction the global banking sector serves as a critical pillar for economic stability and development, influencing the flow of capital, credit, and financial resources across diverse economies (challoumis & eriotis, 2024a). from traditional brick-and-mortar banks to digital banking platforms, the sector now encompasses a wide array of services, including personal banking, investment services, and wealth management. the global banking landscape is characterized by a significant diversity in operational structures, regulatory environments, and customer expectations, especially across regions such as europe, africa, and asia (sruthi, 2023). banks are complex financial institutions that manage large customer bases and substantial assets. in particular, the retail banking segment is highly customer-centric, with customer satisfaction forming a core aspect of its operational strategy (ladhari et al., 2017). feedback from customers plays a critical role in enhancing service quality and driving innovation across banking services. among the most valuable forms of feedback are customer complaints, which provide insights into service failures and areas needing improvement (iso 10002, 2018). with the widespread digitalization of services, customer complaint mechanisms in the banking industry have increasingly moved to online platforms. these platforms offer convenience, transparency, and accessibility, making them attractive to consumers who wish to voice their concerns (yin et al., 2021). online complaints, often referred to as ecomplaints, are defined as expressions of dissatisfaction communicated through internetbased channels, such as social media, review websites, and corporate feedback portals (zhang et al., 2020). these complaints typically outline how products or services have failed to meet expectations and may be visible to a broad audience, thus amplifying their impact (morgeson et al., 2020). in essence, online customer complaints serve as digital expressions of service dissatisfaction, enabling customers to share negative experiences publicly and influence other consumers’ perceptions. the literature frequently refers to this form of feedback as ecomplaining, which not only holds businesses accountable but also provides a strategic opportunity to enhance customer relations if managed effectively (kucuk, 2019). in europe, the banking sector is mostly defined by its stringent regulatory environment and the impact of the european central bank (ecb) on monetary policy (micossi, 2015). european banks have faced numerous challenges, such as the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis, and burgeoning competition from fintech companies. as a result, many traditional banks in europe have been compelled to overhaul their customer service strategies to remain competitive. in the face of digital transformation, european banks are increasingly adopting technology to enhance customer experiences, streamline services, and provide personalized banking solutions (baskerville et al., 2020). contrastingly, africa’s banking sector is marked by a unique blend of traditional banking practices and innovative financial technology solutions aimed at addressing localized challenges (baskerville et al., 2020). the continent faces persistent issues related to financial inclusion, as a significant portion of the population remains unbanked or underbanked. as a response, many african banks are focusing on customer service improvements to foster trust and accessibility. the rise of mobile banking and fintech in africa has transformed the landscape, enabling banks to reach underserved populations and deliver essential financial services (adelaja et al., 2024). customer service plays an essential role in this context, as financial institutions must educate their clients on available services, ensure security, and provide responsive support. by enhancing customer service frameworks, banks in africa are 203 not only improving client satisfaction but also driving broader economic development and fostering financial literacy across communities (soetan & mogaji, 2024). in asia, the banking sector is witnessing rapid growth fuelled by rising middle classes and increasing demand for financial services (gill et al., 2007). the region's banks are characterized by a unique blend of established institutions and dynamic fintech startups that are reshaping the competitive environment. the significance of customer service in asia's banking sector cannot be overstated; as banks look to differentiate themselves, cultivating strong customer relationships becomes paramount (amegbe & osakwe, 2018a). at the same time, cultural nuances and customer expectations determine how services are delivered and perceived. for instance, in countries like japan and south korea, exceptional customer service is a cultural expectation, leading banks to invest heavily in training programs aimed at enhancing their service delivery (malhotra et al., 2005). moreover, the integration of artificial intelligence and data analytics is enabling asian banks to offer personalized banking experiences and ensure customer service excellence, reinforcing the importance of a customer-centric approach in a rapidly evolving market. ultimately, the significance of customer service in banking transcends geographical boundaries, as institutions strive to build trust, engagement, and loyalty within a highly competitive financial landscape (del sarto et al., 2024). this study examines the trends in bank customers complains, focusing on the customers errors. concept of bank customers’ complaints customer complaints in the banking sector are often defined as expressions of dissatisfaction from clients regarding their banking experiences, products, or services (komunda & osarenkhoe, 2012). these grievances can arise from a multitude of sources, including service quality, transaction issues, or perceived unfair practices. in recent years, the landscape of customer complaints has become more nuanced, especially as digital banking has gained traction and consumers have more methods at their disposal to voice their concerns. one significant trend is the emergence of complaints stemming not only from the bank's operations but also from the customers' own mistakes (eastburn & boland jr, 2015). misunderstandings regarding bank protocols, mismanagement of personal finances, or failure to read terms and conditions can lead customers to blame the bank for inconveniences that primarily arise out of their own actions. the trend toward complaints linked to customer mistakes highlights a critical shift in how banks must approach customer service and complaint resolution. as financial services rapidly digitize, banks are increasingly tasked with educating their clientele on best practices and the use of their platforms (pramanik et al., 2019). this becomes particularly important when customers inadvertently violate policies or make errors that result in fees or service interruptions. moreover, the focus must not only be on resolving these complaints but also on enhancing the transparency of banking processes and proactively equipping customers with the knowledge to prevent their own mistakes (adesina et al., 2024). ultimately, the handling of complaints related to customer errors can serve as both a challenge and an opportunity for banks to strengthen relationships and build trust with their clients. the concept of customer complaints in the banking sector is a multifaceted issue that plays a crucial role in shaping the relationships between financial institutions and their clients (radha & aithal, 2023). at its core, a customer complaint arises when a client expresses dissatisfaction with a product, service, or interaction with the bank. this dissatisfaction can 204 stem from various factors, including service delays, errors in transactions, lack of transparency, or inadequate responses to inquiries. given the highly competitive nature of the banking industry, where customer loyalty is paramount, handling complaints effectively is essential not only for retaining clients but also for enhancing the overall reputation of the institution (amegbe & osakwe, 2018b). in an era where banking services have become increasingly digitized, customers expect seamless and efficient experiences (borges et al., 2020). when these expectations are not met, complaints serve as a vital feedback mechanism for the bank. complaints can illuminate systemic issues within the organization, such as flaws in customer service processes or technological deficiencies. by systematically analysing these complaints, banks can identify trends, allowing them to implement necessary changes and improvements (danese et al., 2018). this iterative process contributes to enhanced customer satisfaction and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the financial institution. moreover, the management of customer complaints is not solely about rectifying specific issues; it also reflects the bank's overall customer service philosophy. a bank that prioritizes complaint resolution often cultivates a relationship of trust with its clients (arshad & haroon, 2023). a prompt and effective response to a complaint can transform a potentially negative experience into a positive one, reinforcing the customer's loyalty. conversely, a poor response can lead to irreversible damage, including negative word-of-mouth and loss of business. thus, cultivating a robust complaint management system becomes paramount for banks that wish to thrive in a competitive landscape. in contemporary banking, the integration of technology into complaint management processes has transformed how banks interact with customers (naimi-sadigh et al., 2022). from online chat support to automated complaint tracking systems, technology enables banks to address issues more efficiently and transparently. this not only streamlines the resolution process but also enhances customer engagement by keeping clients informed about the status of their complaints. additionally, social media platforms have become a double-edged sword; while they offer banks an opportunity to reach customers and manage their concerns publicly, they also expose institutions to potential backlash if complaints are handled poorly (boethius et al., 2023). regulatory bodies often require banks to have clearly defined complaint handling processes in place, complete with timelines for resolution and robust reporting mechanisms (gordon & ringe, 2015). compliance with these regulations not only protects customers but also minimizes the risk of legal repercussions for the bank. in this context, customer feedback becomes an invaluable tool for regulatory compliance, helping banks ensure that they meet not only customer expectations but also statutory obligations. ultimately, the concept of customer complaint in the banking sector transcends mere dissatisfaction; it is a critical element of relationship management and strategic business operations. banks that recognize the value of customer complaints are better positioned to foster loyalty, drive positive change, and maintain a competitive edge in an ever-evolving marketplace. careful listening and responsive action transform complaints from potential crises into opportunities for growth and innovation, thus reinforcing the bank’s commitment to its customers while promoting an atmosphere of trust and partnership. attribution theory and customers complaints attribution theory, primarily developed by social psychologist fritz heider in the 1950s and later expanded by harold kelley and bernard weiner, focuses on how individuals interpret 205 and explain the causes of behaviour and events in their lives (weiner, 1985, 2014). the theory posits that people tend to attribute outcomes to either internal factors (such as personal traits, efforts, or decisions) or external factors (such as situational influences or luck). heider introduced the idea of "naïve psychology," suggesting that individuals are like amateur scientists, constantly forming causal explanations for their experiences (sahar, 2023). this framework has since been applied across various fields, including psychology, education, and business, helping to illuminate how perceptions of responsibility and causality can influence behaviours, motivations, and emotional responses in different contexts. attribution theory provides a framework for understanding how individuals interpret and explain their experiences, particularly in terms of the causes behind certain events or behaviours (malle, 2022). in the context of banking customer complaints, this theory becomes particularly relevant when examining the trends emerging from complaints that arise from customers’ own mistakes. understanding the attributions that customers make regarding their dissatisfaction can significantly impact how banks manage these complaints and improve customer service. one of the core principles of attribution theory is the distinction between internal and external attributions. internal attributions occur when individuals believe that the cause of their dissatisfaction lies within themselves, such as their own actions or decisions (gerace, 2020). conversely, external attributions involve blaming outside factors, such as the bank’s policies or service failures. in the banking sector, when customers attribute their grievances to their own mistakes like misunderstanding of policies, incorrect information provided by the bank, or failure to read terms and conditions it reflects a critical trend in customer complaints that banks need to recognize and address. the way customers perceive their complaints can lead to varying emotional responses. if customers attribute their dissatisfaction to their own mistakes, they may experience feelings of guilt or regret, which could influence their future interactions with the bank (baker & kim, 2019). on the other hand, if they were to blame the bank, they might feel anger or frustration. understanding these emotional underpinnings is crucial for banks, as it can inform how they tailor their responses to customer complaints, with a focus on empathy and support for customers who feel responsible for their mistakes (monferrer tirado et al., 2024). moreover, the trend of customers’ mistakes leading to complaints highlights the importance of customer education and communication. banks can minimize the incidence of misattributions by investing in clearer communication strategies, including well-defined onboarding processes, instructional materials, and customer support interactions. by proactively addressing potential confusion, banks can reduce the likelihood of customers making errors that lead to dissatisfaction, ultimately decreasing the volume of complaints stemming from societal miscommunication (ul-haque, 2023). attribution theory also sheds light on the role of feedback loops in customer service. when customers experience issues and subsequently receive constructive feedback or orientations on banking procedures, it reinforces their understanding and personal responsibility. positive reinforcement from the bank can help shift the customer's internal attribution towards a more balanced perspective, where they recognize both their own role and the institution's support in resolving the issue. this approach can improve customer loyalty and foster a more positive relationship between the bank and its customers. additionally, the frequency and nature of complaints originating from customer mistakes can provide valuable insights into broader trends that banks should consider. for instance, if a significant number of complaints pertain to online banking tools or mobile applications, this 206 could indicate that these systems may not be intuitive enough for average users, prompting banks to invest in better usability and customer guidance. by tracking and analysing complaint trends, banks can not only address immediate issues but also identify opportunities for improvement and innovation in their service offerings. by recognizing how customers attribute their experiences and the emotional impacts of these attributions, banks can enhance their customer service strategies. through education, improved communication, and responsive support, banks can effectively manage complaint trends originating from customer errors, leading to a stronger, more informed customer base and ultimately, greater customer satisfaction. differentiating between valid complaints and those arising from customer errors is crucial for businesses aiming to enhance customer satisfaction and improve their service quality (pizam et al., 2016). valid complaints typically stem from issues related to product performance, service delivery, or unmet expectations, rooted in the company's processes or offerings. these grievances provide valuable insights into areas where a company might fall short or where enhancements could be made. in contrast, complaints arising from customer errors often occur when customers misunderstand how to use a product or misinterpret the terms of service (decock & spiessens, 2017). these types of grievances might include scenarios where a customer blames a retailer for not receiving a package on time, although the delay was due to their failure to provide accurate shipping information. another common example is when customers express dissatisfaction with a product because they did not fully comprehend its features or limitations before making the purchase (xu & li, 2016). while these complaints can be frustrating for both the customer and the business, they are less about the company's failings and more about a misalignment of expectations stemming from a lack of understanding. understanding the distinction between the two types of complaints is vital for customer service representatives when addressing customer grievances (brennan et al., 2017). valid complaints should be met with empathy and proactive problem-solving; treating these issues seriously helps in retaining customers and strengthens loyalty. on the other hand, when handling complaints stemming from customer errors, companies should approach the situation with patience and a focus on education (mirzoev & kane, 2018). by providing clear guidance and support, businesses can help customers better understand their products and services, which may reduce the likelihood of similar complaints in the future. moreover, the way in which complaints are categorized can inform broader strategic decisions within a company (einwiller & steilen, 2015). for example, if valid complaints are prevalent in a particular product line, it may prompt an immediate review of manufacturing processes or customer service protocols. conversely, frequent customer error complaints could highlight a gap in the company's communication strategy, leading to more comprehensive product education initiatives or clearer instructions. by recognizing these patterns, businesses can take a more proactive and informed approach to both product development and customer interaction (benjamin et al., 2024). ultimately, fostering an environment where valid complaints are welcomed and addressed, while also educating customers on common errors, can lead to an improved overall customer experience. this approach not only aids in problem resolution but also empowers customers, giving them the tools necessary to use products effectively and navigate services with confidence. such an investment in customer relationship management is essential for long-term business success, 207 as it builds a more robust connection between the company and its clientele, transforming grievances into opportunities for engagement and growth. when engaging with products and services, customers often encounter challenges that can stem from misunderstandings or misapplications of what is offered (greer, 2015). a prevalent mistake among consumers is the misunderstanding of the product itself, which can significantly skew their expectations and overall satisfaction. for instance, customers may overlook crucial details in product descriptions or fail to recognize the unique features and limitations of a product. this can happen, for instance, with technology items such as smartphones or software tools, where consumers may assume compatibility with existing devices or systems based on superficial marketing representations rather than digging deeper into the specifications or user guides (lodoen, 2024). consequently, when their expectations are not met, it can lead to disappointment, frustration, and often a misguided perception of the company’s quality or customer service. additionally, misuse of services is another common pitfall faced by consumers. many customers, especially those less familiar with a particular service, may engage with it inappropriately due to a lack of understanding (greer, 2015). take, for example, subscription based services such as streaming platforms or software applications customers might not be aware of certain features they are entitled to use, leading to suboptimal utilization that undermines the intended experience. this not only diminishes their enjoyment but can also lead them to prematurely cancel services they might have otherwise enjoyed had they fully understood how to harness their potential (inderst & ottaviani, 2012). furthermore, such misuses may also provoke unnecessary complaints directed at customer support, which can strain resources and inadvertently detract from the service’s overall value proposition. many customers fail to recognize the nuances that differentiate services across various providers within the same industry (cusumano et al., 2015). for instance, someone accustomed to the amenities of a high-end hotel chain may walk into a boutique establishment with similar expectations, only to feel let down by what they perceive as a lack of service or amenities. this can lead to negative online reviews or word-of-mouth that can be detrimental to providers, despite the fact that the dissatisfaction arose from a fundamental misunderstanding of the service nature (antioco & coussement, 2018). psychological factors play a significant role in the occurrence of errors across various domains, including decision-making, performance in high-stakes environments, and interpersonal communications (mosier & fischer, 2017). one of the most critical psychological components is cognitive bias, which refers to systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. for instance, confirmation bias can lead individuals to seek or interpret evidence in a way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs while dismissing information that contradicts them. this bias often results in errors in reasoning that can escalate into more significant mistakes, particularly in contexts such as policy-making or clinical diagnosis where objective evidence is paramount (williamson & prybutok, 2024). moreover, stress and anxiety significantly impact decision-making processes and can induce errors. when individuals are under high stress, cognitive capacities can become compromised, leading to hasty or ill-considered choices. stress activates the body's fight-orflight response, which often prioritizes immediate survival over analytical thinking (dattner, 2012). for example, in emergency situations, operational personnel may overlook critical details or fail to follow established protocols, resulting in errors that could have dire 208 consequences. furthermore, chronic stress can lead to burnout, which depletes mental resources and reduces overall cognitive functioning, making mistakes more likely. another psychological factor is overconfidence, which can result in inflated perceptions of one's knowledge and abilities. this phenomenon is particularly evident in environments where individuals succeed frequently, potentially leading them to underestimate risks and overestimate their own judgment (moore & healy, 2008). social influences, including groupthink, also contribute to errors in decision-making. groupthink occurs when a cohesive group prioritizes consensus over critical analysis, leading to suboptimal and sometimes disastrous outcomes. in such scenarios, dissenting opinions are often silenced to maintain harmony, reducing the likelihood of challenging prevailing assumptions or exploring alternative strategies (neubaum, 2016). this psychological dynamic can result in significant errors, particularly in corporate environments, political decision-making, or any setting where collaborative input is crucial. the pressure to conform can inhibit individual critical thinking and promote misguided group actions that may overlook essential data or ethical considerations. finally, the role of emotional state cannot be overlooked as it directly influences cognitive processes. positive emotions may enhance creativity and problem-solving skills, while negative emotions, such as frustration or anger, can impair rational judgment and increase the likelihood of errors (newton, 2013). emotional regulation is crucial in high-pressure situations, and individuals who lack effective coping strategies may find themselves making impulsive decisions based on their emotional state rather than objective analysis (liang et al., 2024). thus, understanding the interplay between psychological factors and decision-making is essential for mitigating errors and enhancing performance across various domains. continued research into these psychological underpinnings can provide valuable insights for training programs, decision-making frameworks, and strategies to foster resilience and adaptive thinking in both personal and professional contexts. impacts of banks customers’ complaints customers’ complaints can affect customer satisfaction and loyalty. this is a multifaceted dynamic that can significantly influence a business's reputation and long-term success. at its core, customer complaints provide invaluable insights into the perceptions and experiences of a company's clientele. rather than viewing complaints solely as negative feedback, organizations that embrace them as opportunities for growth can cultivate stronger relationships with their customers. when customers voice their grievances, they are essentially signalling areas that require attention or improvement, and how a business responds to these complaints can ultimately shape customer satisfaction levels. a responsive and empathetic approach to handling complaints can transform a potentially damaging situation into a powerful loyalty-building opportunity (rane et al., 2023). when customers perceive that their concerns are taken seriously and addressed with urgency, it fosters a sense of trust and respect. this responsiveness can lead to what is commonly known as "service recovery," where effectively addressing a complaint can not only restore satisfaction but even enhance it beyond previous levels (liu et al., 2019). such positive resolutions can create a lasting impression, encouraging customers to remain loyal despite previous issues, and thus counterbalancing any dissatisfaction they may have initially felt. 209 moreover, the way a business handles complaints can significantly influence customer expectations and perceptions of value (stevens et al., 2018). in the digital age, where information spreads rapidly and consumers often share their experiences on social media and online review sites, the public nature of complaints makes it crucial for companies to manage them adeptly. a single neglected complaint not only affects the individual customer's relationship with the business but can also sway potential customers who may come across negative reviews (popelnukha et al., 2021). in terms of loyalty, the emotional connection that develops during effective complaint resolution cannot be understated (rane et al., 2023). customers often develop a relationship with brands based on how they feel treated, especially during difficult situations. those who experience a well-handled resolution are more inclined to share their positive experiences, leading to word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business. also, businesses that systematically analyse complaints can use this data to refine their processes, products, and overall service delivery (akter et al., 2019). by leveraging complaints to identify trends and recurring issues, organizations can pre-emptively address these concerns before they impact wider customer segments. rane et al. (2023) confirmed that this proactive approach not only enhances customer satisfaction by improving the quality of the customer experience but also leads to increased loyalty as customers perceive that the brand is continually evolving to meet their needs. in today's fiercely competitive business environment, corporate policy and service quality are two pivotal components that define the success and sustainability of an organization. the role of management, leadership, and various stakeholders in shaping corporate policy is paramount. effective corporate policy provides a framework for decision-making and sets the tone for organizational culture. leaders who prioritize transparency, ethical practices, and stakeholder engagement create policies that not only enhance operational efficiency but also align the organization's objectives with societal needs and expectations. this alignment fosters trust and loyalty among customers and employees alike, which is essential for longterm growth. moreover, the interaction between corporate policy and service quality is critical. organizations that actively engage in integrating customer feedback into their policies exhibit a stronger commitment to service excellence. an effective corporate policy that prioritizes customer satisfaction can lead to systematic improvements in service quality. for instance, policies that encourage employees to undergo regular training and development ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills to meet and exceed customer expectations. additionally, establishing clear protocols for handling customer complaints and feedback can significantly enhance service delivery by creating a responsive and agile operational structure. another critical aspect of this relationship is the incorporation of technological advancements into corporate policy, which directly impacts service quality. companies that adopt a forward thinking approach in their policy-making process are more likely to utilize technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and customer relationship management systems. these tools can help in refining service processes, personalizing customer interactions, and predicting customer needs, thereby improving overall satisfaction and loyalty. furthermore, when corporate policies are designed to be adaptive and to leverage technological innovations, organizations are better equipped to respond to market changes, ensuring they maintain a competitive edge. 210 workforce involvement also plays a crucial role in shaping effective corporate policies that enhance service quality. a collaborative approach, where employees at all levels contribute to policy formulation, ensures that the policies are not only practical but also resonate with the workforce. when employees feel their input is valued, their commitment to the organization’s service quality standards increases significantly. engaged employees are often motivated to go above and beyond in their service delivery, bolstered by an understanding of the broader corporate objectives they are contributing to. thus, the establishment of policies that encourage empowerment, recognition, and open communication can create a culture of excellence that directly improves service quality. the importance of compliance and ethical considerations cannot be overstated. corporate policies must encompass compliance with industry regulations and ethical standards to foster a culture of integrity. organizations that prioritize these elements are not only likely to avoid legal repercussions but also gain a reputation for reliability and fairness. this reputation translates into consumer trust, which is a decisive factor in customer loyalty and satisfaction. by embedding ethical considerations into their corporate policies, organizations can create a robust framework that not only promotes high service standards but also contributes to a positive brand image in an increasingly socially conscious marketplace. conclusion and recommendations customer complaints, whether valid or stemming from user errors, serve as a critical feedback mechanism for organizations. their effective management influences customer satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term business success. differentiating the nature of complaints and understanding customer attribution whether internal or external, helps bankers tailor more empathetic and strategic responses. corporate policies, psychological insights, and communication practices all play essential roles in shaping positive customer experiences and service quality. based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are provided: i. banks should invest in clear communication, onboarding, and instructional materials to reduce complaints arising from misunderstanding or misuse. ii. banks should train staff to recognize whether complaints result from customer error or service failure and tailor responses accordingly, with empathy and clarity. 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(2020). exploring the influence of online customer complaints on brand trust: evidence from the banking sector. journal of retailing and consumer services, 54, 102034. http://dspace.uiu.ac.bd/handle/52243/2871 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 96 effect of basic ict infrastructure development on the e-readiness ranking of southeast, nigeria ugada, martin onwudinjo department of public administration, caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu, nigeria abstract the study focused on determining the influence of basic ict infrastructure development on the e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria. to carry out this research, a population of 2004 covering two states in south east, nigeria was chosen. a sample size of 1908 was determined by use of taro yamane statistical formula. the descriptive survey research design was employed. data was generated by use of both primary and secondary sources. these data were analyzed by means of simple percentages, and mean scores, while test of hypothesis was done using the z-test. frequencies were applied in data presentation. the study found that provision of basic infrastructural facilities such as functional websites, effective database, laptops / computers for public officials, intra-departmental and inter-ministerial ict interconnectivity within the mdas., and 24 –hour online daily services to the citizens, stakeholders and public officials, will ensure a fully networked presence. this is the recommendation of the study, so that the governments of south east, nigeria can achieve the status of comparative competiveness in the world order of e-readiness keywords: competitiveness, e-readiness, infrastructure, interconnectivity, mda background of the study the experience of a high level of efficiency, transparency and accountability in the private’ sector by adoption of icts raised the hopes and expectations of the public sector in nigeria that adopting and implementing e-governance was the best way to improve public service delivery. (christina et al, 2019). it was perceived that the frameworks and systems for administration in nigeria was inadequate to handle the demands of an increasing population facing the challenges of complex global economie (adeyemo, 2018). over the years, performance of the nigerian public sector has been described as unsatisfactory, incapable of meeting the demands and expectations of the citizenry, and therefore, unacceptable. it has rendered poor quality services considered inefficient and ineffective, suffered from poor database management, imprudent management of available scarce resources, corruption in high places, inefficiency in internally generated revenue, and manual governance practices (eze, 2019). technological advancements have played significant roles in the globalization of commerce, communication, economics, politics, customs, traditions and life styles. more especially, modern communication technology or information and communication technologies (icts) is not only a means of improving effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery in the business world, but an avenue for improving the standard of living of people all over the world (adeyemo, 2018). e-governance “is the application of information and communication technologies (icts) by government to move away from the traditional bureaucratic, slow, antidemocratic process in order to achieve optimal performance with speed, accuracy, transparency, accountability and efficiency, thereby satisfying citizens’ in the democratic 97 government. this view is supported by uba and ukomadu (2018) who assert that the advent of e-governance in the 21st century has introduced paradigm shift in modern public administration and governance. this is intended to wipe out all forms of bottlenecks or delays in administration. adeyemo (2018) observes that most ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) embraced the use of computer to facilitate their businesses. this was the introduction of e-governance. between 2008 and 2010, many mdas in south east, nigeria joined the computer world in their businesses. while the adoption of e-government has hit highly remarkable heights in the developed nations, its application in the developing countries including nigeria is still under serious scrutiny. today, nigeria is said to be experimenting in e-governance operationally when compared to the developed countries. (bhamangar, 2017). for instance, the united nations e-governance report (2018) ranked nigeria 141 out of 193 in terms of statistics. practically, the notion is that government institutions in “nigeria are yet to exceed the billboard or partial service delivery, (such as an ordinary service government website), to claim e-governance adoption”. furthermore, the nigerian experience is that the e-governance project is fashioned after the interest of government, the service provides, those that fund it and the donors, without minding the values, needs, choice and expectations of the people who are the beneficiaries of the project. statement of research problem most of the recent budgets of south east state governments have consistently made adequate provision for ict infrastructure that would make for ease of government business as well as online access to citizens (aneke, 2018). these budgetary provisions over the years, should enable the south east state governments to adequately provide the basic icts infrastructure for public officials and citizens alike. nigeria has always proved a paradox to the international community particularly when its level of development is compared with its economic potentials (adeyemo, 2018). the unfortunate thing about the e-government imitative in nigeria is that it focused on the interests of the government and the funding groups and donors, without regard to the interests of the citizens who are the principal beneficiaries (ojo, 2019). the satisfaction of citizens’ expectations of a flexible, result-oriented public service driven by electronic governance was not taken into consideration. objective of the study the objective of the study was to determine what basic ict infrastructure needs to be provided to influence e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria. research question what basic ict infrastructure need to be provided to influence the e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria? research hypothesis no basic ict infrastructure are needed to influence e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria. conceptual review of related literature e-governance (electronic governance) the united nations e-government report (2018) states that “e-governance is of recent origin having emerged at the beginning of the 21st century”. in the early period of its inception and growth, e-governance focused on e-commerce in government business without mutual 98 reciprocal responses. maro et al (2019) assert that the acceptance of e-governance made scholars to focus attention on discrete evaluation of the extent to which such services could enhance conduct of government business. e-governance has a broad view of the use of information and technology in government enterprises in order to engender wider government and citizen integrated and participatory approach to relationship in business and service delivery. various scholars have given different definitions of e-governance. sunday (2019) opines that e-government has to with the use by various public sector agencies of information and communication technology to improve services through transparency and accountability in the transaction of government businesses. according to him, e-governance is political strategy for making government activities public by means of modern communication. in his opinion, bachus (2017) further sees electronic governance as a broad concept that analyses and evaluates how technologies impact on governmental administration and the public in the wider society. e-governance has the aim of improvising government operations, the delivery of public services, and guaranteeing citizen participation in decision making. danfualni (2018) informs that e-governance revolves around “e-government, e-participation, e-registration, e-taxation, e-mobilization, e-education, e-service delivery, e-feedback, epolicing, e-debate, and the analysis of public financial statements”. this means that the entire government activities have to be carried out by means of electronic processes of communication that would guarantee speed and efficiency as government works cooperatively with non-profit organizations’ and private institutions to achieve a common objective. adeymo in attah (2020) observes that the main purpose of applying e-governance in government businesses is to foster good governance characterized by equality and equity, citizens’ participation in decision making, transparency and accountability on the part of public officials in various spheres of the economy. as observed by danfulani (2018), e-governance is a transition on the basis of a revolution in information and communication technology by means of digital technologies as experienced in the use of internet, personal computer, mobile phones and numerous other electronic appliances / application. these devices smoothly and efficiently facilitated transmission of information and services between government and society. willic (2017) asserts that information and communication technology is a tool for transformation of the society electronically. electronic government has been globally accepted as a reliable means of improving government business transactions with citizens through administrative processes that ensure efficient public service delivery (radiankrismann, 2018). in the view of branen (2017), e-governance seeks to enable the citizens enjoy a stress-free access to public services, thereby avoiding the cumbersome bureaucratic processes. in the same vein, banister and welsh (2017), opine that e-governance involves the deployment of information and communication technology in promoting frequent participation of citizens in the governance of the society through administrative processes of government agencies and political institutions. palvia and sharma (2017) corroborate this view by agreeing that egovernance is concerned with the internal use of information and internet technologies to manage resources like capital, men, materials and machines that aid administrative processes. sheridan and riley (2018) assert that electronic governance entails a whole gainut of networks and inter-relationships between government and the rest of the society in respect of the application of information and communication technology. in other words, e-governance is all about the electronic communication processes that facilitate the administrative relations between public institutions and the society. 99 bachus (2017) identified three main groups in e-governance, namely, “government, citizens and business / internet groups”. these are the three major relationship models in e-governance. (i) government to government (g2g). (ii) government to citizen (g2c). (iii) government to business (g2b). nigeria’s e-government ranking the un global e-government survey report (2004, 2008, 2018) presented a comparative analysis of the e-readiness of five west africa nations, including nigeria. out of a total of 192 member states examined, table 1 shows the global ranking and index of the first five west african nations. tables 2, 3 and 4 show the e-readiness, e-participation and service delivery indices as they affect nigeria. although nigeria’s e-ranking had improved from 141st position out of 192 countries in 2004, to 136th position in 2008, this is nothing to write home about when compared with cape verde which is still placed at 104th position in the global ranking and 1st position in the west african sub-region, in 2008. with a score of 0.210 in 2008 as compared with the world average of 0.4514, the west african sub-region was rated the lowest in the ranking. the ranking showed cape verde with 0.4156 leading the region, followed by nigeria with 0.363, and ghana with 0.2997. these are the three spots in the west african sub-region. what needs to be done to improve on nigeria’s satiation? 100 effects of e-governance projects on institutional structure as government projects are implemented with a view to transformative services, the institutional structure and mechanisms for delivery of services are seriously affected. (nitda, 2019). this calls for total reversal of attitude in different aspects of administration to come to terms with the new realities. these aspects are discussed hereunder: (a) technology: this includes the “ict infrastructure, the hardware and software solutions”. (b) administration: this concerns the “administrative and bureaucratic environment, and human resource policy”. (c) operation: this involves the “legal environment of administrative and operational aspects”. (ebrahim and irani, 2015). interoperability “interoperability is the ability of different e-government / it systems from various mdas to interact by communicating, interpreting and exchanging information in a meaningful way to deliver public services that require, two or more mdas in an integrated number” (nitda, 2019). 101 if interoperability must be achieved, for effective delivery of integrated services between mdas, the following requirements need to be accomplished: (a) the appropriate processes must be identified and agreed upon. (b) data should be presented in a standard and reasonable manner through it infrastructure / applications. (c) having the ability of cooperating it infrastructure/applications in a meaningful way for service delivery to users through exchanged data. therefore, for joint delivery of government services, the mdas must work together by use of ict when the above concepts are in place. thus, the mdas should agree on it specification, standardized technology and process integration needed for e-government/it systems interoperability (national information technology development agency, 2019). because interoperability of e-government/it (e-git) involves many agencies acting together, it behoves on these mdas to design principles which will be shared amongst them for operationalization of ne-git. hereunder, are the underlying principles of ne-git: (a) underlying principles of ne-git there are three underlying principles of ne-git). (a) standardization of information technology. (nitda, 2019). (b) integration process. (c) delivery of public services efficiently. information technology standardization: this makes it easy for it acquisition efficiency within and among all the mdas and enables government develop capacities for sharing resources and modern technologies. costs would be reduced when the technology standardization is achieved across board. process integration: to achieve an effective process integration, data standardization must have been put in place. this enables a seamless and easy service delivery through a shared communication exchange mechanism, thereby allowing the various mdas and businesses easy access to each other and having a common transparent view of public information. (nitda, 2019).. efficient service delivery: the most important goal of ne-git is to ensure efficient delivery of services by government agencies. the required transformation in digital capacity of government is to use electronic means in efficient delivery to citizens at affordable cost (nitda, 2019). (b) major technical requirements for achieving interoperability: to achieve interoperability between (mdas, two things have to be identified at different levels of interoperability. (a) “adoption of open standards; and (b) metadata standards definition”. open standard: the major focus of interoperability is the adoption of open standards for all government systems. these open standards include the internet and the world wide web. (nitda, 2019). 102 open standards as a concept has no generally agreed upon definition, but there are some necessary clarifications of the term, namely; (a) a transformative transparent management process accessible to all stakeholders. (b) this process is approved by consensus of the participants. (c) the process should be “platform independent, vendor neutral, and useable by unrestricted number of competing “implementators” (d) specifications and documentation should be published. (e) should be accessible to everyone without bias. it is recommended that mdas should highly adopt open standards with particular attention paid to web and internet technologies for e-exercise. (nitda, 2019). metadata and metadata standards: metadata requires that we understand what data means and ensure its accurate interpretation by both owners and consumers. a number of attributes or characteristics known as metadata help us have common understanding. this standard is aimed at reinforcing interoperability across all the mdas “for online data discovery, use and management (nitda, 2019). (c) general requirement for e-government / it interoperability: in order to achieve positive impact through interoperability, both technological and human factors come under consideration. these factors combine to enable integrated service delivery between and among the various mdas. this involves “identifying and agreeing on required processes (human), seamless exchange of data through it infrastructure (technology) and ability of cooperating it infrastructure to understand meaning of exchanged data the same way (technology) at both ends”. (nitda, 2019). three critical areas that lead to public service digitization for efficient service delivery via interoperability are identified as follows: (i) definition of processes for mdas delivery of integrated services; (ii) sharing of data among various e-government /it systems in ways that are standardized and fully understood. (iii) being able to cooperate e-government/ it systems for understandable communication that makes for efficient public service delivery. (nitda, 2019). the above are further categorized and discussed under the following three levels: (a) organizational interoperability: this refers to the capacity of the mdas for defining, implementing and managing organizational processes and barriers for cross-portfolio delivery of services. (b) semantic interoperability: this looks at the presentation of data in a “standardized, shared and meaningful way to cooperating e-government/ it systems and infrastructure while exchanging data”. (c) technical interoperability: this is the “ability of cooperating e-government/it infrastructure/applications to communicate seamlessly and use the exchanged data understandably for public service provision and delivery”. (nitda, 2019). 103 from the foregoing, it is obvious that both human and technological factors are pre-requisites for effective e-government interoperability. in respect of the technological factors, the various technologies should adopt the open standards and metadata dimension (nitd, 2019). (d) e-government interoperability framework: the human and technological factors of interoperability are “sine qua non” for developing a functional e-governance interoperability framework geared towards achieving coordinated and fully integrated delivery of services between mdas. various studies have shown that three competing approaches exist in public administration (rosenbloom cited in nitda, 2019). these competing approaches include political, management, and legal approaches. as indicated in the diagram below, public administration lies at the centre of the three approaches. a balance between these approaches is very necessary for the achievement of e-government projects. this means that political interests and structure must synchronize with the constitution and extant laws and regulations as well as the managerial skill styles introduced to generate efficiency in public service delivery by electronic means. the human and technology factors permeate the organizational, semantic and technical interoperability which when appropriately applied makes it feasible and sustainable (nitda, 2019). but how far has nigeria achieved interoperability in e-government? how far has nigeria developed its ict infrastructure? conceptual framework managerial legal political public administration independent variable ict infrastructure development effective data-base adequate ict infrastructure dependent variable e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria. full online interconnected stakeholders interoperability / interconnectivity between mdas efficiency in service delivery transparency and accountability 104 theoretical framework modernisation theory the modern man needs change because he believes that a new thing or product or idea will be better and most likely to produce a more purposeful and improved result (ojo, 2018). modernization theory goes further to explain the transformation of traditional institutions to modern ones. this theory tries to compare the level of modernity between the countries of the world as they shift from the most traditional to the most modern ones (rostow, 1956). modernisation involves the social changes and modern administrative processes that are now taking place in the western world and have also started happening in developing countries including nigeria. such most recent trends include e-governance and the e-readiness issues. diffusion of innovation theory (dol) diffusion of innovation is a social process that takes place when people respond in pursuit of internalizing a new idea or product. a classical understanding of diffusion entails an innovation communicated through particular channels over time between people who belong to a social system (rogers in onyinye, 2022). the ultimate result of diffusion is that members within a social system assimilate and adopt the new idea, behaviour or product (jones and jeffrey, 2018). diffusion of innovation theory was developed in 1962 by e.m. rogers. this theory stands as one of the earliest theories in social sciences. it was set to clarify how a new idea or product within a space of time, gains acceptance by a given population. and, as onyinye, (2022) observes, the applicability of the theory in most of the new technologies in social sciences and human progress, is one of its greatest strengths. the theory has been confirmed by various disciplines as a framework, and different studies have confirmed the theory’s general applicability (onyinye, 2022). empirical review infrastructure development (ways of improving e-governance in south east, nigeria) (i). database/data management (ii). transformation from billboard to objective fully interconnected/integrated online services. ogidan, et al (2017), gave an exposition of some ict strategies that could make the country strengthen its status on e-governance and achieve the vision of coming between the bracket of the top 20 global economies by 2020. the topic of the study is “ict for good governance and socio-economic development in nigeria.” they used the desktop research approach to evaluate some technical details of ict equipment for achieving e-governance in nigeria. appropriate policy suggestion was made for efficient employment of ict to generate good governance in nigeria by installing good e-governance structures and ensuring full participation of all stakeholders. obi et al, (2020), examined “e-governance and service delivery in the nigerian civil service” and observed that the coming into existence of information communication technology has made government programmes and activities more accessible to the public thereby breaking the barriers to distance. the application of electronic governance has made it easy ‘to spread information, and enhancing citizens perception, sending feedback to the citents, monitoring and evaluating government projects and making government accountable and transparent in its total political engagements.” the study was an attempt to determine the extent e-governance 105 implementation has enhanced administrative efficiency in the nigerian civil service, and to find out whether e-governance has been useful in reducing corruption in the nigeria civil service. the paper relied on modernization theory and applied the qualitative research method as data that formed the major bulk of the research were gathered from secondary sources. findings revealed that e-governance makes service delivery exceptionally easier as is evidenced from the transformation from the old rigid traditional methods to the more flexible modern efficient and effective practices. the researchers’ recommendation is for nigeria’s public service to show a high level of e-readiness in their operations while government provides adequate information and communication technologies infrastructure. olusegun (2017) under the platform of the nigeria communications commission (ncc) examined the “strategy for addressing national e-governance risks using cyber security advocacy”. he observed that enormous capacities of governance are under serious threats from risk factors noticed in present day icts system, he also was of the view that e-governance (eg) exposure and assessments received insufficient attention to security aspects from the handlers of e-governance infrastructure system. being an extreme important factor-, egovernance heavily depends on icts infrastructure framework in order to enhance operations for both internet and non-internet applications. ukanwah (2018) examined “biometric technology usage in securing e-governance in nigeria: benefits and challenges” at the wake of the 21st century, governments all over the world have embraced e-government for effective public service delivery. governments are becoming more responsive and responsible in embarking on interactive relationships with the citizens resulting in cutting of costs and efficient service delivery prone to transparency and accountability. for e-governance to succeed, as an instrument to drive public service delivery, robust identity authentication through a thoroughly integrated biometric technology must be put in place. currently, many government institutions in nigeria have online services by means of websites, emails, payment portals, etc for service delivery, and interaction with stakeholders and all citizens. biometric technology has also been employed by government for modernization of the civil service such as the ippis, gifmis, cashless policy, etc aimed at flushing out ghost workers. government has further embarked on the national identification number (nin), bank verification number (bvn), sim card registration, voters registration, digital id card and many others all of which are in pursuit of identity registration via biometric technology aimed at reducing fraud in the civil service. but the question arises as to security, privacy and trust the citizens have in the use of biometrics. the paper traced the history of e-government, particularly in nigeria and discussed the function of biometric technology in ensuring efficient and effective public service delivery. it was obvious that biometric technology is an integral part of information communication technology infrastructural base. onu, et al (2016) did a study on “evaluation of e-government implementation. the case of state governments’ websites in nigeria” the paper investigated how far the e-government adoption and implementation conformed to the national it strategic policy. the survey method was adopted by the study and was anchored on content analysis of the existing official websites of the entire 36 states of the federation plus the federal capital territory (fct). it was discovered that only twenty-three states representing 64% out of the thirty-six states had established websites for downloadable online interactive digital documents. in its recommendation, the paper called on the nigerian government to establish implementation guidelines for e-government, whilst the national information technology development agency (nitda) should be pushful and productive in monitoring it policy implementation. 106 paul van der molon and martin wubbe (2017) investigated “e-government and e-land administration in the netherlands”. they observed that there would be no e-government if there was no land information. according to them e-government, being the application of icts to improve public service, has a great impact on the operations of their organization. the study believed that in order to realize e-government, three factors come under consideration: (i) government should facilitate a spatial data infrastructure to enable citizens have access to, and utilize land information; (ii) if people must make use of the facilities, government should provide electronic legal as well as economic activities and participation; (iii) as data suppliers, who intend to give quality e-services, government must ensure availability of access to online services. so, in respect of the first bullet point: “what is the government doing to create an infrastructural activity and put digital datasets in place?,” the study monitored the following initiatives: (a) creating “authentic/key/base registers” to centralize registration and avoid double work. (b) concentrating land information; and (c) explanation of digital datasets; (d) sound registration and information exchange or underground topography. the second bullet is about “what the government is putting in place to make the practical use of the infrastructure possible.” the crucial points include: (a) introducing “digital identity code” (b) introducing “unique individual numbers” (c) creating a government-wide shared ict service the third bullet pint is “what are they as data supplier doing to respond to all these? the critical points include: “(a) electronic submission of deeds (lodging); (b) centralizing the datasets; (c) complete renewal of the site that makes it possible to distribute data (d) setting up a national system to safeguard efficient location and tracks of cables and pipelines; (e) having the possibility of asking questions 24 hours a day.” azeez, absioye, et al, (2016) examined “the various challenges facing e-government implementation in embracing adequate database system in the civil service of nigeria”. the paper approached the investigation in two phases, namely the pre-it implementation stage, and 107 the post-it implementation phase. the study revealed that implementation of ict in the civil service will remain a mirage until threats like provision of adequate database and appropriate icts infrastructure are addressed. it was, therefore, recommended that these threats should be tackled headlong and overcome to enable a successful implementation of e-government in nigeria. adah (2015) studied the “status and nature of e-governance in nigeria”. the paper applied the case study design. data were collected from secondary sources including journal textbooks internet materials, etc. and analyzed quantitatively by means of content analysis. the study was centered on determining the level of readiness of e-governance in nigeria, and noticed various measures adopted by nigerias icts compliance such as mobile apps and portals as well as effective database system. despite this notion, there are contradictory views of the international community in various surveys ranking nigeria low in e-readiness. the paper also noted that disparities in level of preparedness for e-government in various countries are occasioned by “lack of online database system, telecommunication infrastructure and human capital development”. the study, therefore, strongly recommended that governments should be abreast with current trends and innovations in icts at every level of education so as to develop a new generation of computer literate citizens. main categories of e-governance the study observed that the purpose of e-governance as intended by government is to transform the interaction and relationship between government and the beneficiaries of government services by means of electronic delivery systems, so as to strengthen and grow the economy in a more responsibly organized, coordinated, efficient and effective manner. it is sad to note that no african country, including nigeria, has been graded among the top 50 nations to have met the “e-governance readiness index of un’s 2010 objectives”. in respect of cyber security considerations, e-services are built and driven from the core principles of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (cia). the study in consideration of the achievement of a trusted e-governance infrastructure adoption and implementation strategy, recommended the application of the following success factors: (i) focus on the central principles of cyber security’s cia; (ii) effective information security measures that will limit the e-governance risk exposure need to be integrated at the foundation level of design and development, and implemented harmoniously throughout the operational phase” ahman et al (2019) noted that nigeria is a country that has always posed a paradox to the international community when it comes to the level of the development of its economic potentials. this problem has manifested in the low ranking of nigeria by international surveys not minding assumed efforts at development of ict infrastructure and human capital in nigeria. it is believed that nigeria has the fastest growing and most profitable and patronized and therefore the most lucrative market in african as regards telecommunications, information e-governance online governance offline non internet governance internet virtual private network smart governance 108 and technology (ict). in spite of all the assumed progress, nigeria is still very low in egovernance provision ranking. adeyemo (2017) in a study titled “e-government implementation in nigeria: an assessment of nigeria’s global e-government ranking” reviewed the aim and methodology applied by ranking agencies, and did an evaluation of nigeria’s performance in the various global surveys in e-government. he employed the desk survey research design and picked out spots of shortcoming which influenced and caused the low level of service delivery in nigeria. despite the seeming commendable success presumed to have been recorded by nigeria in its ict and telecommunications sector, the study identified several factors which constitute serious barriers to e-government implementation in developing countries like nigeria. these include, reluctance to share information; the government being faced with management challenges in the implementation of e-government; low information technology literacy which slows down the process of e-government; low penetration and distribution of high speed connectivity to the internet digital divide; insufficient allocation of financial resources due to a mismatch between the current and future systems resulting from the large gaps between psychical, social ,cultural, economic and other context between the software designers and the place in which the system is being implemented.” the study eventually recommended that to avoid the low ranking in egovernment implementation global surveys, the united nations e-government model shown below should be adopted: “stage 1emerging presence stage 2enhanced presence stage 3interactive presence stage 4transactional presence staeg5networked (fully integrated) presence.” mustapha, afyontuogbu, et al (2018) examined “an e-government project approach with etransformation perspective.” they used content analysis through a project management approach to highlight the difference between adoptive projects and transformative projects. their findings suggest that three invisible parts of the iceberg in an e-government project comprises “human resource management, business process re-engineering, and administrative and legislative needs”. in the first place, to successfully launch and manage the project plan, it is essential to get ready detailed technical specifications and project managers. secondly, we do not have “one-size-fits-all” solutions applicable to problems of e-government project management. thirdly, e-government projects came to be seen as solely the processes of purchasing software and hardware. finally, the paper calls attention by way of a recommendation, that the first step to succeed in e-government projects is to take time to determine whether to apply the adoptive or reformative approach, so as not to stop midway and start all over again. the federal ministry of education developed a “national policy on information and communications technology (ict) in education (2019). the ministry applied a multisectional approach to facilitate the production of an acceptable document that could easily be implemented. the following stakeholders collaborated with the federal government to produce the said ict in education policy namely, education parastatals, other relevant federal ministries, departments and agencies(mdas). state ministries of education, it professional bodies, private sector, non-governmental organizations and international development partners. the policy is a guide on what all stakeholders expect tin the process of an ict integrated programme in education. its effective implementation should usher in fast transformed processes of “teaching, learning, research and administration”. the policy 109 document exposed the current status of ict in education with the following strategies, practice and activities: (i). the use of the policy to pursue the development and application of ict in education in nigeria; (ii). the provision of the following appropriate and necessary facilities: “(a). nigerian research and educational network (nigren) which has already interconnected 27 universities with a hub at the national universities commission; (b). campus networks in schools especially at the tertiary level; (c). functional websites, email facilities, and portals for the ministry and schools; (d). computers and multi-media facilities; (e). internet connectivity through vsat and fiber optics in all federal institutions; (f). alternative power supply such as solar panels, generators, inverters and safety of the education community” (iii). embarking on schemes that would necessitate the supply of computers to public officials in the education discipline at preferential rates. (iv). establishing ict laboratories in centres of excellence at the tertiary levels of education and other schools. the nigerian e-government interoperability framework (negif) under the aegis of the national information technology development agency, nitda (2019) applied the wog (whole-of-government) approach. this involves the re-engineering of back offices, coordination, integration and consolidating all transactions and business processes throughout government ministries, departments and agencies (mdas) for effective delivery of services, at affordable cost and most efficient manner. the study observed that what is necessary for achieving a good result on interoperability comprises both technological and human factors. this is better understood in the process of delivery of integrated services to many or all the mdsas. therefore, identifying and accepting the required processes (human), undisturbed free flow of information through it infrastructure (technology) and ability of cooperating it infrastructure to convey appropriate meaning of transmitted data (technology) at both ends, is the full essence for the development of e-service applications. negif recommends adoption of open standards specifically by use of web and internet technologies. richard heeks (2018) investigated why “most e-government-for-development projects fail: how can risks be reduced?” he agreed that e-government has the capability to contribute valuably to development. but, in his opinion, for now a majority of e-government-fordevelopment projects have either totally or partially failed. the study explained the reasons for the experienced failure of such projects. these include: (i). the oversize gaps between project design and on the ground reality (known as “design –reality-gaps”). according to heeks (2018) e-government promises greeter efficiency and effectiveness in the operations in the e-government-for-development projects in public sector. but behind these promises lies a bogus reality that such big grammar turns out as lies or failure. to explore his assertion, heeks split e-government initiatives into three groups: (a). total failure (b). partial failures (c).success failure comes at a high price for world power countries in five categories of potential cost of e-government failure as identified below: (a). direct financial costs 110 (b). opportunity cost (c). political costs (d). failure costs analysis of e-government projects failures identify seven dimensions, summarized by the itposmo acronym necessary for understanding of design-reality gaps. these includeinformation: technology; process; objectives and values; staffing and skills; management; other resources (time and money). the study emphasized that in order to address e-government project failure, it is very necessary to reduce both the risks and at the gap existing between design and reality. the paper then provided a step-by-step guide for identifying and addressing failure risk for e-government risks: step 1. assess design reality gaps using the seven itposmo dimensions: step 2: determine action taking action means either (a). changing the design of the e-government project to make it more like reality; and/or (b). changing current reality to make it more like the assumptions/requirements within project design. step 3 (a) generic gap reduction techniques to reduce the risk of e-government failure. these include: “(i). legitimizing and mapping current reality; (ii). customization to match reality; (iii). client-vendor relationship management (iv) step-by-step modularity and instrumentalism; (v) “hybrids” and “thribrids” (vi) scope initiation “kiss and automation “kiss” (keep it small and simple) (vii) reality-supporting and not rationalityimposing applications step 3 (b) generic gap reduction techniques to reduce the risk of e-government failure. these include: “(i) information dimension; (ii) technology dimension (iii) process dimension (iv) objectives and values dimension (v) staffing and skills dimension (vi) management system structures dimension (vii) management structures dimension (viii) other resources dimension” paul, david and edward (2018) on the “failure of the isbn bandwagon for the organization for economic cooperation and development oecd tokyo/osaka workshop on information technology and new growth opportunities” referred to the “uneven under graded development” and opined that it was usually experienced in technological changes in respect of timing and location. technological change is often comparable with “surnamis” or unimaginable explosions. this situation is more exposed in the developing countries. icts have great role to play for sustainable development. new capabilities lead to progress in technical and scientific innovation. the risk for policy makers, representative of the civil society and the business community is to create a knowledge-based environment that maximizes the gains of icts as an innovation and minimizes the risks. such risks include the new “global apartheid” since the system is designed with gaps and are therefore inconsistent with development goals of third world/developing countries. this surely hampers infrastructural development for e-readiness of developing countries including nigeria. 111 methodology the descriptive survey research design was applied in the study because it is contemporary, economical and does not alter the variable. the area covered by the study includes two states (enugu and abia) in south east, nigeria using office of head of service, ministry of works / science and technology, and board of internal revenue. the population used in the research comprises the 2004 members of staff of the three mdas mentioned above. using the taro yamane statistical formula, a sample size of 1908 was determined as shown hereunder: n = 𝑁 1+𝑁 (𝑒)2 where n = sample size (1908) n = population (2004) e = acceptable margin of error (2.5%) i = constant questionnaire in a five-point likert scale was used to elicit data from respondents. the instrument’s validity and reliability were established respectively by pilot test and test-retest methods presentation and analysis of data was by means of frequencies, percentages and mean scores, while the test of hypothesis was by the z-test with the aid of spss statistical tool. data presentation and analysis research question: what basic ict infrastructure need to be provided to influence the e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria? table 1 s/no statement of service delivery content response total means std deviation decision sa a un d sd 1 e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria will be significantly improved by provision of functional websites and portals for citizens and public officials by south east, nigeria 814 877 126 0 63 1880 4.27 86 accepted 2 e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria will be significantly improved by establishment of effective database for management, storage and retrieval of records in respect of staff matters, projects and other related service matters 848 877 92 34 29 1880 4.32 78 accepted 112 3 provision of computers for public officials will significantly enhance productivity for speed, accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness 1472 344 64 0 0 1880 4.75 51 accepted 4 intra-departmental and inter-minosterial connectivity will greatly reduce delays and significantly improve service delivery by mdas to the public 877 911 63 29 0 1880 4.40 63 accepted 5 availability of 24 hours daily online government services to the citizens, stakeholders, and public officials will ensure a fully integrated, networked presence 751 877 218 34 0 1880 4.25 73 accepted 6 political will to fight corruption will improve service delivery in south east, nigeria 751 659 218 15 5 34 1880 4.03 1.02 accepted grand mean 4.33 0.76 source: field survey, 2022 the mean scores as shown in table 4.2.4 above indicate that item no.3 obtained the highest mean of 4.75 followed by item 4 with a mean of 4.40; item no .2 with a mean of 4.32; item no.1 with a mean of 4.27; item no.5 with a mean of 4.25, and item no.6 with a mean of 4.03. however, with a grand mean of 4.33, the result shows that provision of basic infrastructural facilities will significantly improve e-readiness ranking of public service of south east, nigeria. discussion of results after the test of hypothesis related to this research question, it was agreed that many things need to be done to improve on e-readiness ranking of south east, nigeria. the result of data analysis of the research question showed the mean scores for the six indices respectively as follows. 4.27, 4.32, 4.75, 4.40, 4.25, 4.03, with at grand mean of 4.33. the standard deviation were respectively 0.86, 0.78, 0.51, 0.63, 0.73, 1.02 and grand standard deviation of 0.76. all the statements in this research question were accepted by the respondents. despite all glowing success achieved by the governments of enugu and abia states in egovernment adoption and implementation, there were areas which appeared to the researcher that needed attention to pull governments of south east, nigeria through the five-stage ereadiness structure of competitive comparability. these areas bordered on construction and interoperability, which are expressed as interactivity in the dependent variables. summary of findings 113 with z-cal 49.35 > z 1.46, it was found that the provision of basic infrastructural facilities will significantly improve the e-readiness making of public service in south east, nigeria. conclusion the researcher is satisfied that although much has been done in south east, and indeed nigeria as a whole, in respect of e-governance adoption and implementation, a lot more needs to be done to overtake the billboard and join the world in a comparable competitive level of ereadiness. recommendation government of south east, nigeria should embark on the provision of the following identified infrastructural facilities which will significantly improve their e-readiness ranking. 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(2015). implementation strategy of e-government system for emerging countries. international journal for information (ij), 8(2). http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr/2016 117 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 65 financial inclusion and income inequality in west africa emeka eze chukwuma-ogbonna joyce ogbonna chukwuma department of economics, michael okpara university of agriculture, umudike. corresponding author's email: chuksgabriel40@yahoo.com abstract the study investigated the effect of financial inclusion on inequality in west africa. the study used data from 13 west african countries for which data were available. data on gini coefficient, human development index, financial inclusion index, per capita income, government expenditure, inflation, dependency ratio, mean school years, voice and accountability and trade openness was used in the analysis. also, the study constructed a financial inclusion index using data on credit to the private sector, number of bank brancher per 100000 of the population and bank account ownership per thousand of the population. empirically, the study applied panel ols panel fixed effect and panel random effect estimators to evaluate the objectives of the study. evidence from the study indicate that financial inclusion has a negative relationship with inequality in west africa, however the effect of financial inclusion on inequality reduction was found to be insignificant indicating that financial inclusion may have marginal effect at best on inequality in the west africa sub region. the findings from the study has some policy implications. firstly, the negative but insignificant effect of financial inclusion on income inequality may have resulted from low levels of financial inclusion in west africa. this implies that at higher levels of financial inclusion, the effect may become more pronounced. keywords: financial inclusion, inequality, panel ols. 1. introduction developing countries all over the world are often characterized by high level of inequality and poverty (todaro and smith, 2006). several studies have shown that despite relative improvement in economic growth in recent times, inequality and poverty is still high in the west africa sub region ( hallum and obeng, 2019; uneca, 2022; khan, khan, sayal, & khan, 2021; kouadio and gakpa 2022; okafor et al, 2023), with the region accounting for the highest number of people suffering from extreme poverty in sub-saharan africa (kouadio and gakpa, 2022). the goal of inequality reduction is crucial for developing countries because it lays the foundation for a more inclusive, equal, resilient and prosperous economy (uneca, 2023). also, rapid increases in human development ensures a steady pool of skilled manpower necessary to drive to drive sustained economic in an increasingly competitive global economy. furthermore, the objectives of poverty and inequality reduction is highly complementary to other sustainable development goals, thereby acting as a crucial link to achieving other sustainable development goals. over the last few decades, global and national policymakers have embraced financial inclusion as an important tool and a priority for inequality and poverty reduction (adeleke and olamola, 2022; omar and inaba, 2020). as a result, there has been a lot of financial sector reforms driven by policymakers and central banks, aimed at promoting financial inclusion. this movement has gained momentum since the 2007 global financial crisis and its attendant effects on national economies across the world (agyemang-badu, agwei & dua, 2018; adeleke and olamola, 2022). mailto:chuksgabriel40@yahoo.com 66 financial inclusion is achieved when adults have easy access to a broad range of financial products designed according to their needs and provided at affordable costs. these products include payments, savings, credit, insurance and pensions (cbn, 2012). policy makers are convinced that financial inclusion would help lift the poor out of poverty by gradually improving their lives and spurring economic activities that create wealth. sadly, the west african sub region, as a region has consistently underperformed over the years, when compared to other regions of the world, on measures of financial inclusion. table 1.1 selected indicators of financial inclusion in west africa countries account ownership in a financial institution (%) saved at a financial institution (%) owns a credit card (%) borrowed from financial institution (%) nigeria 45 18 2 6 ghana 39 21 1 12 benin 24 5 1 8 burkina faso 21 8 3 7 côte d'ivoire 21 6 2 4 guinea 14 5 1 6 liberia 29 13 3 15 mali 28 11 6 11 mauritania 20 9 3 11 niger 9 3 1 3 sierra leone 14 5 1 4 senegal 28 9 5 12 togo 25 12 2 7 average 24.3846 9.615385 2.384615 8.153846 sources: global findex, 2023. table 1.1 shows that only about 24.3% of adults in west africa own a bank account compared to about 83% in east asia and pacific and 74% in latin america (global findex, 2023). only about 9.6% saved in a financial institution while only about 2.4% of the population owns a credit card. in terms of access to credit, only about 8.2% borrowed money from a financial institution indicating a very low access to credit in the sub region. empirical results from previous studies on the impact of financial inclusion on inequality in developing countries have remain mixed (neaime & gaysset, (2018); zia & prasetyo, (2018); park and marcedo, (2018)) and not much is empirically known about the effect of financial inclusion on inequality in west africa in particular. studies like omokanmi and ogunleye (2020); and abdulghafar, emam and samak (2023) have also empirically examined the relationship between financial inclusion and other determinants of development around the world. however, in the light of recent data, there is need for more studies on the effect of financial inclusion on inequality in the west africa sub region creating a gap in the literature that we seek to fill. in the light of the above discussion, this study will investigate the impact of financial inclusion on inequality in west africa. 67 2. empirical literature review in the last two decades, there have been an increase in studies examining the determinants of financial inclusion as well as its effect on indicators of economic development. these studies which have spanned across almost all countries of the world, both developed and developing, have produced a number of interesting findings as seen below. neaime & gaysset (2018) applying the generalized method of moments (gmm) and generalized least squares (gls) with a sample of eight mena countries over the period 2002–2015, assessed the impact of financial inclusion on income inequality, poverty, and financial stability. they found that financial inclusion decreases income inequality, while population size and inflation are found to increase income inequality. also, the empirical results show that financial inclusion has no effects on poverty, whereas population, inflation, and trade openness were all found to significantly increase poverty. agyemang-badu, agyei and duah (2018) sought to understand the nexus among financial inclusion, poverty and inequality in 48 african countries. following sarma (2008) and park and mercado (2015), the study constructed a financial inclusion index taking into consideration country specific indicators to depict the state of financial inclusion in 48 african countries. using panel fixed effects panel estimation techniques the study found that financial inclusion is inversely related to both poverty and income inequality in africa. the study recommends, among other things, that policies and programs that will enhance the inclusion of the poor and marginalized in the financial sector should be pursued in the selected african countries. park and mercado (2015) sought to understand the link between financial inclusion, poverty, and income inequality in developing asian economies. the study constructed a financial inclusion indicator to assess various macroeconomic and country-specific factors affecting the degree of financial inclusion for 37 selected developing asian economies. data on poverty rates, income inequality measured by gini index, age dependency ratio, inflation, per capita income, literacy rate, rule of law, primary education completion rate and gdp growth rate were employed to capture the objectives of the study. using a panel ols estimation technique, estimated models show that per capita income, rule of law, and demographic characteristics significantly affect financial inclusion in developing asia. furthermore, we find that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty; and there is also evidence that it lowers income inequality. findings suggest that the provisions for young and old-age populations, e.g., retirement pensions; and stronger rule of law, including enforcement of financial contracts and financial regulatory oversight, will broaden financial inclusion, thereby contributing to poverty reduction and lower income inequality. ajide (2017) examined the determinants of financial inclusion by specially accounting for the role of institutions in a panel of eighteen (18) sub-saharan africa (ssa) countries using a dynamic system of generalized method of moments (sys-gmm). the study employed a balanced data set covering 18 countries3 in sub-saharan region is used, covering the period 2004-2010. three measures for capturing financial inclusion were employed in the study, namely: automatic teller machines (atms) per 100,000 adults; bank branches per 100,000 adults and atms per 1000km2. the emanated findings consistently stress the importance of institutions together with other control variables like gdp per capita, inflation, bank concentration and z-score as key drivers of fi. in the final analysis, the paper emphasizes the importance of using dimension by dimension indicators of governance as well as a composite governance index instead of relying solely on the latter as a basis of informing policy decisions as both yield different policy outcomes. park & mercado (2018) analysed the relationship between financial inclusion and inequality using 68 data from 176 countries including 37 from asia. the study constructed a new financial inclusion indicators to evaluate several macroeconomic and country-specific factors affecting the degree of financial inclusion for the selected countries. when the study tested the effect of financial inclusion on poverty and inequality, the study found that financial inclusion is significantly inversely correlated with poverty and income inequality. the study found that the finding was true for the sample of all 176 countries, however, when the 37 developing asian countries were estimated the study found no link between financial inclusion and income inequality. sukmana and ibrahim, (2018) examined the nexus between financial inclusion and inequality. specifically, the study sought to ascertain whether whether financial access reduces income inequality at different levels of inequality. using a data set of 73 countries and applying quantile regression econometric technique, the study established that financial access reduces income inequality when inequality of a country is low. findings from the study shows that at high levels of inequality, financial access have little or no impact whatsoever on income. furthermore, the study showed that trade openness and infrastructure in significantly reduces income inequality at low and high inequality levels. zia & prasetyo (2018) examined the nexus between financial inclusion and poverty alleviation on one hand and financial inclusion and income inequality in indonesia. using time series data running from 2014 to 2016 across 33 province in indonesia, the study employed both panel ols regression and correlation analysis to evaluate the data. financial inclusion index was constructed using measures of banking penetration, banking services availability, and the use of banking services. findings from the study showed that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty and that financial inclusion has a positive but insignificant effect on income inequality in indonesia omar and inaba (2020) investigates the impact of financial inclusion on reducing poverty and income inequality, and the determinants and conditional effects thereof in 116 developing countries. the analysis was carried out using an unbalanced annual panel data for the period of 2004–2016. a novel index of financial inclusion was constructed using a broad set of financial sector outreach indicators. evidence from the estimated panel data showed that per capita income, ratio of internet users, age dependency ratio, inflation, and income inequality significantly influence the level of financial inclusion in developing countries. furthermore, the results provide robust evidence that financial inclusion significantly reduces poverty rates and income inequality in developing countries. the findings are in favor of further promoting access to and usage of formal financial services by marginalized segments of the population in order to maximize society’s overall welfare. wong, badeeb & philip (2020) evaluated the effect of financial inclusion on poverty and income inequality in selected asean countries (indonesia, malaysia, philippines, thailand, and vietnam) also, the study sought to establish whether financial innovation enhances financial inclusion’s impact in these relationships. the econometric technique employed was the augmented autoregressive distributed lag technique. this was used to estimate cross sectional data from selected countries and comparisons made afterwards. evidence from the study indicate that financial inclusion has a significant negative effect on poverty. also, the study established that when financial inclusion interacts with financial innovation, financial innovation increases income inequality. huang, gu and lin (2023) examined the impact of financial inclusion and income inequality on human capital in sub-saharan african countries. the study employed panel data from 36 sub -saharan african countries ranging from 2004 to 2019 to empirically test the impact of 69 financial inclusion on human capital development in the selected sub-saharan african countries. the estimation technique adopted by the study includes both panel ols and the generalized method of moment (gmm) technique to control for endogeneity in the explanatory variables. after controlling for other economic indicators, the study found that a high level of financial inclusion and a reduction in income inequality improve human capital development in the countries under consideration. segning, djiogap and piabuo, (2023) examined the effect of financial inclusion on income inequalities in sub-saharan african countries, taking into account cultural particularities. using data from 27 sub saharan african countries, the study divided the selected countries into 4 groups based on religion (christianity and islam) and official language spoken (english and french ). employing a panel dataset that ranged from 2002 to 2015, the study utilized the the dynamic panel method generalized method of moments (gmm) to analyze the data. evidence from the study indicate that financial inclusion is inversely related to income inequality in the christian-dominated and french-speaking countries. however, the same result was not found in islamic-dominated and english-speaking countries. furthermore, the study established the presence of a an inverted u-shaped relationship in all the sub-saharan african countries considered and in christian-dominated countries only. okafor, olurinola, bowale & osabohien (2023) empirically examined how financial development affects income inequality in africa. the study considered key dimensions of financial development namely: access, depth, efficiency, and stability to achieve the study’s objective. the study applied the system generalized method of moments (sgmm) to analyse data and the findings showed that each dimension of financial development had a varying impact on income inequality. access, stability and efficiency components of financial development reduce income inequality, while the depth dimension of financial development exacerbates income inequality in africa. therefore, the study recommends that policymakers should not neglect other dimensions of finance in facilitating economic development 3. methodology financial inclusion index to measure financial inclusion in the selected countries, the study will compute a financial inclusion index (fii) in line with the works of sarma & pais, 2011; sethy, 2016 and segning, djiogap, piabuo, noupie, 2023. consequently, we calculate the fii based on selected dimensions (di) of financial inclusion. four aspects of financial inclusion will be used: banking penetration measured by the number of bank accounts per 1000 inhabitants, use of financial services measured by bank deposits or savings, availability of financial services measured by the number of branches per 10,000 inhabitants, and finally, the indicator of banking activity performance, credit to the private sector as a percentage of gdp. the dimension di is calculated as follows 𝒅𝒊 = 𝑨𝒊−𝒎𝒊 𝑴𝒊−𝒎𝒊 …………………………………………………………(1) 𝑿𝟏 = √𝒅𝟏 𝟐+𝒅𝟐 𝟐+𝒅𝟑 𝟐+⋯+𝒅𝒏 𝟐 √𝒘𝟏 𝟐+𝒘𝟐 𝟐+𝒘𝟑 𝟐+⋯.+𝒘𝒏 𝟐 …………………………………………….(2) 𝑿𝟐 = √(𝒘𝟏−𝒅𝟏)𝟐+(𝒘𝟐−𝒅𝟐)𝟐+⋯+(𝒘𝒏−𝒅𝒏)𝟐 √𝒘𝟏 𝟐+𝒘𝟐 𝟐+𝒘𝟑 𝟐+⋯.+𝒘𝒏 𝟐 …………………….(3) 𝑰 = 𝟏 𝟐 (𝑿𝟏 + 𝑿𝟐)…………………………………………(4) 70 where: 𝑨𝒊= is the current value of dimension i 𝒘𝒊= the weight given to dimension i between 0 and 1 𝑴𝒊=the maximum value of dimension i 𝒎𝒊= minimum value of dimension i 𝒅𝒊 = dimension of financial inclusion of i. depending on the value of fii, the study period will be considered as: weakly included if 0 ≤ fii ≤ 0.35, moderately included if 0.35≤ fii ≤ 0.60 and strongly included if 0.6≤ fii ≤ 1 model specification the study will employ panel data estimating methods to capture the impact of financial inclusion on inequality and poverty in west africa. in particular, the study will employ panel ols, panel fixed effect and panel random effect as well the generalized method of moment to estimate the collected data. to capture objective one which is to determine the impact of financial inclusion on inequality, the following modification of the model of segning, djiogap, piabuo and noupie, (2023) was specified. 𝑮𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒊𝒕= 𝜷𝒐 + 𝜷𝟏𝑭𝑰𝑰𝒊𝒕+𝜷𝟐𝑮𝒅𝒑𝒑𝒄𝒊𝒕 + 𝜷𝟑𝑻𝑶𝑷𝒊𝒕+𝜷𝟒𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒕 + 𝜷𝟓𝑮𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒈𝒅𝒑𝒊𝒕 + 𝜷𝟔𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕 + 𝜷𝟕𝒈𝒇𝒄𝒇𝒈𝒅𝒑𝒊𝒕+𝜷𝟖𝒗𝒐𝒊_𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒕 + 𝜷𝟗𝑫𝒆𝒑_𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒊𝒕 + µ𝒊𝒕…(5) model description and source variable description source gini gini coefficient index (measure of inequality) undesa fii financial inclusion index (authors computation using data from global financial development database) world bank global financial development database gdppc gross domestic product per capita wdi gexpgdp government expenditure as a percentage of gdp wdi inflation inflation rate wdi gfcfgdp gross fixed capital formation as percentage of gdp wdi meansch average years of schooling undesa voi_acct voice and accountability undesa depratio population dependency ratio undesa top trade as a percentage of gdp wdi where gini = gini coefficient, gdppc = gross domestic product per capita, fii = financial inclusion index, gov_exp = government expenditure, sse =secondary school enrollment, inf = inflation, gfcf = gross fixed capita formation, top =trade openness and i.t stands for country i at time t. scope of the study this study will focus on the impact of financial inclusion on inequality in west africa. the study will cover the period 2004 to 2019. the years of study were selected based on the time when the majority of the countries have data available for financial inclusion, inequality and human development index. the countries selected are, benin, burkina faso, cape verde, côte d'ivoire, gambia, ghana, guinea, guinea-bissau, liberia, mali, mauritania, niger, nigeria, senegal, sierra leone, togo . the variables of interest in this study are an financial inclusion index (fii), gini coefficient (measure of inequality) and human development index (hdi). the data will be obtained from the world bank world development indicators, international monetary fund financial development indicators, and the united nations development programme database for each country. 71 4. model estimation and analysis table 4.1 financial inclusion and inequality in west africa (1) (2) (3) variables fe re ols fii -0.036 -0.050 -0.050 (0.207) (0.201) (0.320) gexpgdp -0.063 -0.064 -0.064 (0.042) (0.041) (0.085) lgpdpercapita -0.767* -0.712* -0.712 (0.417) (0.407) (0.864) top -0.010 -0.011 -0.011 (0.009) (0.009) (0.010) depratio -0.377*** -0.378*** -0.378*** (0.049) (0.047) (0.069) meansch -0.851*** -0.822*** -0.822* (0.251) (0.240) (0.465) inflation 0.028 0.028 0.028** (0.017) (0.017) (0.012) voi_acct -0.101 -0.094 -0.094 (0.403) (0.392) (0.589) gfcfgdp -0.004 -0.003 -0.003 (0.016) (0.016) (0.013) constant 84.428*** 84.813*** 84.813*** (5.313) (5.339) (7.196) observations 118 118 118 r-squared 0.554 number of id 13 13 13 standard errors in parentheses *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1 table 1 shows the regression of financial inclusion index (fii) and other control variables on income inequality in using fixed effect, random effect and panel ols estimation techniques. evidence from the estimated model indicate that financial inclusion is negatively related to inequality in west africa. this implies that higher levels of financial inclusion reduces income inequality. however, the effect of financial inclusion on inequality is statistically insignificant indicating that financial inclusion is not a determinant of inequality reduction in west africa. one reason for the negative insignificant effect could be the low levels of financial inclusion in the sub region. for instance, data from global findex 2021 indicate that the average account ownership the region still stands at 16% in the subregion while only about 8% of the population accessed credit through the formal financial system in the sub region as at 2021(global findex 2021). the finding is also in line with the result obtained by agyemang-badu, agyei. & duah (2018) in a study of the impact of financial inclusion on inequality and poverty in africa. on the other hand the study found that mean school years is negatively related to financial inclusion and the impact is also statistically significant indicating that the higher the average schooling age in the region the lower the level of inequality. the variable is also statistically significant indicating that education has an significant effect on financial inclusion in the study. again, the study found that the dependency ratio has a negative and statistically significant effect on inequality. the finding which is contrary to appriori economic expectation may be caused by a number of factors. high levels of poverty means that children as young as 10 years are already in the labour, working, hawking and helping out in the farms there by contributing to family income. also, the study found that gdp per capita has a negative effect on inequality. the effect is also statistically significant at the 10% significance level. 72 other factors that reduces income inequality in the estimated models include government expenditure as a percentage of gdp (gexpgdp), gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of gdp (gfcfgdp) and voice and accountability(voi_acct) which was used a proxy for the level of accountability and transparency in government institution . the variables were however, found to be statistically insignificant. 5. conclusion the study is an attempt to investigate the effect of financial inclusion on inequality in west africa. the study used data from 13 west african countries for which data were available. data on gini coefficient, human development index, financial inclusion index, per capita income, government expenditure, inflation, dependency ratio, mean school years, voice and accountability and trade openness was used in the analysis. also, the study constructed a financial inclusion index using data on credit to the private sector, number of bank brancher per 100000 of the population and bank account ownership per thousand of the population. empirically, the study applied panel ols panel fixed effect and panel random effect estimators to evaluate the objectives of the study. evidence from the study indicate that financial inclusion has a negative relationship with inequality in west africa, however the effect of financial inclusion on inequality reduction was found to be insignificant indicating that financial inclusion may have marginal effect at best on inequality in the west africa sub region. the findings from the study has some policy implications. firstly, the negative but insignificant effect of financial inclusion on income inequality may have resulted from low levels of financial inclusion in west africa. this implies that at higher levels of financial inclusion, the effect may become more pronounced. this calls for targeted financial inclusion drive that aims at ensuring more poor and underserved people are giving access to financial services so as to bridge the income gap in west africa. references abdelghaffar, r.a., emam, h.a. and samak, n.a. 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(2018). analysis of financial inclusion toward poverty and income inequality. jurnal ekonomi pembangunan: kajian masalah ekonomi dan pembangunan, 19(1), 114–125. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-020-00214-4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-023-01207-x file:///c:/users/user/desktop/desktop/nwosu/un%20desa%20databases%20|%20united%20nations https://www.un.org/en/desa/products/un-desa-databases https://www.uneca.org/stories/%28blog%29-forging-a-social-contract-for-reducing-poverty-and-inequality-in-africa https://www.uneca.org/stories/%28blog%29-forging-a-social-contract-for-reducing-poverty-and-inequality-in-africa page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 56 perceived risk, technology readiness and adoption of online banking among undergraduates students ifenna d. ezeanya kingsley chinedu nwizu chiamaka o. joe-akunne okechukwu samuel chukwuma department of psychology, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka corresponding author: ifenna d. ezeanya email: id.ezeanya@unizik.edu.ng abstract the study investigated the relationships between perceived risk, technology readiness and undergraduates’ adoption of online banking. participants were 250 undergraduates of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. they included 118 (47.2%) males and 132 (52.8%) females, whose ages ranged between 18 to 36 years, with the mean age of 21.74 and standard deviation of 2.044. the risk perception scale (featherman & pavlov, 2003); technology readiness scale (celik & kocaman, 2017); and online banking adoption scale (pikkarainen et al., 2004) were used for data collection. the design was correlational design, while pearson product moment correlation analysis was used for data analysis. the result revealed between perceived risk did not significantly relate with adoption online banking (r= -.024, p >.05) while technology acceptance was found to have significant relationship with adoption online banking (r = .233, p<.001). it also further revealed that significant relationship exist between perceived risk and technology acceptance (r= -.176, p<.005). based on the findings, the researcher recommended amongst financial institutions, educational campaigns and universities so in order to improve the student's experience on the use of online banking. keywords: perceived risk, technology readiness, online banking, undergraduates introduction evolution in digital technology has significantly transformed the banking sector, offering new and innovative ways to conduct financial transactions. today most financial institution has adopted online transaction as an alternative to offline transaction. online banking allows users to manage their bank accounts and perform financial activities via the internet in a convenient and efficient manner (pikkarainen et al., 2004). this mode of banking offers various services, including fund transfers, bill payments, and account management, which in recent past required physical presence at bank branches (liao & cheung, 2002, ezeanya et al., 2024). online banking is a method of banking that allows registered users to access their bank accounts or monetary balances through the internet (nayanajith et al., 2021). it offers customers almost every service traditionally available through a local branch including deposits, transfers, and online bill payments. it is more flexibility than traditional banking as it gives customers opportunity to do wherever they want any time and place like in their homes, offices, or on the go although customer support might not be available at all hours. in nigeria as of today all the financial institutions have adopted online banking as alternative to traditional banking method. however despite the adoption of online banking, many nigerian banking customers are still sluggish in accepting these technologies (ndubisi, 2007). this is worrisome because the adoption of online banking by customers is more important than the services of sellers in terms of its spread. although customers’ acceptance is a significant factor mailto:id.ezeanya@unizik.edu.ng https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07342829221079948 57 in influencing the pace of change in the financial industry, empirical investigations on what is holding customers back from accepting online banking have been sparse. in an attempt to unravel some of these factors, this research considers the associations between customers perceived risk, technology readiness as major challenges to students adoption of online banking. perceived risk plays a crucial role in the decision-making process of adopting new technologies. it refers to the potential negative consequences that users believe they might face when engaging with online banking services, such as financial loss, privacy invasion, and identity theft (featherman & pavlou, 2003). these perceived risks can significantly deter individuals, particularly younger users who may lack experience and confidence in managing online financial transactions. researches has shown that risk perception influences customers’ intention and behaviour (zhou et al., 2021; nguyen, et al., 2021; forsythe et al., 2020, ezeanya et al., 2023). the relationship between perceived risk and online banking is critical in understanding consumer behavior and adoption of digital financial services. perceived risk in the context of online banking refers to the potential negative consequences that consumers associate with using these digital services, such as financial loss, privacy breaches, and fraud. this perceived risk can significantly influence a consumer’s decision to adopt or continue using online banking services. in a study conducted by alalwan et al., (2018) they discovered that the higher the perceived risk, the lower the likelihood of consumers engaging with online banking. this study found that concerns over security, particularly regarding the protection of personal and financial data, are the primary drivers of perceived risk, which can lead to hesitation or outright rejection of online banking services. technology readiness, on the other hand, reflects an individual's propensity to embrace and utilize new technologies for accomplishing goals in their personal and professional lives (yuen et al., 2021). it encompasses multiple dimensions such as optimism, innovativeness, discomfort, and insecurity towards technology (parasuraman, & colby, 2015). knowledge and disposition to embrace new technology can mitigate concerns related to perceived risks and encourage the adoption of online banking among undergraduates. tseng et al. (2021) argue that individuals with higher technology readiness are more likely to adopt and benefit from new technologies, including online banking. individuals with higher levels of technology readiness are more likely to perceive online banking as beneficial and manageable, thus demonstrating a greater willingness to adopt such services (martins et al., 2014). yuen et al. (2021) observe that technology readiness plays a crucial role in determining the adoption and usage of online banking services. in a study conducted by rahi et al. (2018) they observed that individuals with higher technology readiness are less likely to perceive online banking as risky, as they feel more capable of managing potential technological challenges and security concerns that may arise. this readiness reduces the psychological barriers associated with online banking and increases the likelihood of regular usage. moreover, technology readiness has been found to directly influence the perceived ease of use and usefulness of online banking platforms, which are key determinants in the technology acceptance model (tam). featherman and hajli, (2016) found that individuals who are technologically ready are more inclined to find online banking convenient and efficient, which further drives their adoption and continued use of these services. this relationship indicates that as technology readiness increases, users are more likely to perceive online banking as a beneficial tool for managing their finances, leading to higher adoption rates. 58 furthermore, the relationship between technology readiness and online banking has implications for financial institutions seeking to expand their digital user base. banks that target individuals with lower levels of technology readiness may need to invest in educational programs or user-friendly technologies to bridge the gap. this approach can help reduce the learning curve associated with online banking and foster greater confidence among users, ultimately leading to increased adoption. chuang et al. (2020) reinforced this view by showing that banks that invest in enhancing their customers' technology readiness through training and support services see higher engagement with their online platforms, highlighting the importance of this relationship in the broader digital banking ecosystem. from the literature, it is evident that the interplay between perceived risk and technology readiness in the context of online banking adoption among undergraduates in nigeria has not been thoroughly explored. in this sense, investigating the relational dynamics between perceived risk, technology readiness, and the adoption of online banking among undergraduates in nigeria is timely. the study provides insights into how these factors interact and influence the acceptance of online banking, thereby offering valuable implications for both academic research and practical applications in the banking sector. the findings informed the development of strategies to enhance the user experience and adoption rates of online banking services among the younger population. theoretical framework the theoretical framework adopted in this study was technology acceptance model (tam) developed by davis et al., (1989). the theory provided a more comprehensive insight in understanding of technology adoption behaviors. for example, the positive dimensions of technology readiness (optimism and innovativeness) have been found to enhance perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, which are central to tam (kim et al., 2020). additionally, addressing the negative dimensions (discomfort and insecurity) through user education and system improvements can reduce perceived barriers, thereby fostering a more conducive environment for technology adoption. overall, the theoretical framework of technology readiness provides critical insights into how psychological predispositions towards technology shape adoption behaviors, emphasizing the importance of targeting both positive and negative attitudes to encourage widespread technology use. hypotheses the following hypotheses were formulated and tested: i. there will be a significant relationship between perceived risk and adopting online banking services among undergraduates. ii. there will be a significant relationship between technology readiness and adoption of online banking among undergraduates. iii. there will be a significant relationship between perceived risk and technology readiness among undergraduates. method participants a total of two hundred and fifty students of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka that were selected using purposive sampling technique participated in the study. the participants were selected from the faculties of engineering, management sciences, physical sciences and social sciences at various levels (100 to 500 levels). the participants comprised of 118 male 59 students (47.2%) and 132 female (52.8%). the age range of the participants is 18-36years of age, with a mean age of 21.74 and a standard deviation of 2.04. instruments three instruments were used to collect data for the present study and they include: risk perception scale risk perception scale was developed by featherman and pavlou (2003).it measures the extent to which individual believes there is potential for negative outcomes when using online banking services. . it is a six items that is measured by five-point likert scale ranging from strongly agrees (5) to strongly disagree (1). the participants can respond about the extent to which they agree with each of the statements on the scale. the higher the score, the higher shows high risk perception. it has a test-retest reliability of 0.71 and cronbach alpha of 0.86. technology readiness scale technology readiness scale was developed by celik and kocaman (2017). it measure the extent to which individual is open to embrace and use new technologies. it is a ten items that is measured by five-point likert scale ranging from strongly agrees (5) to strongly disagree (1). the participants can respond about the extent to which they agree with each of the statements on the scale. it has a test-retest reliability of 0.81 and cronbach alpha of 0.83. online banking adoption scale online banking adoption scale was developed by pikkarainen et al., (2004). it measures the extent to which individual use online banking services for their financial transactions. it is a six items that is measured by five-point likert scale ranging from strongly agrees (5) to strongly disagree (1). the participants can respond about the extent to which they agree with each of the statements on the scale. it has a test-retest reliability of 0.82 and cronbach alpha of 0.78. procedure copies of the questionnaire, including a page containing informed consent were administered to the students in the faculties of engineering, management sciences, physical sciences and social sciences, nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. these students were conveniently selected in that the researcher administered the copies of the questionnaire to students who were willing, available and ready to participate in the study. meanwhile, out of 253 copies of questionnaire administered 250 completely filled copies of the questionnaire utilized for the purpose of the study. design and statistics correlational design was used for the study because the objective was to establish relationship among study variables and pearson moment product correlation was used for data analysis results based on the analysis, the following findings were made. table 1: descriptive statistics gender age m.status percievedrisk tacceptance obanking valid 250 250 250 250 250 250 missing 0 0 0 0 0 0 mean 1.528 21.736 1.036 15.692 31.280 20.320 60 table 1: descriptive statistics gender age m.status percievedrisk tacceptance obanking std. deviation 0.500 2.044 0.187 4.419 3.825 5.687 minimum 1.000 18.000 1.000 6.000 22.000 6.000 maximum 2.000 36.000 2.000 26.000 42.000 30.000 the table above shows the mean and standard deviation of demographic and main variables of the study. it revealed that participants had a mean score of 15.692 and standard deviation of 4.419 on risk perception, mean score of 31.280 and standard deviation of 3.825 on technology acceptance and mean score of 20. 320 and standard deviation of 5.687 on adoption of online banking. table 2: pearson's correlations table of relationships between perceived risk, technology acceptance and adoption of online banking variable obanking percievedrisk tacceptance 1. obanking pearson's r — p-value — 2. percievedrisk pearson's r -0.024 — p-value 0.709 — 3. tacceptance pearson's r 0.233 -0.176 — p-value < .001 0.005 — table 2 revealed there is no significant relationship between perceived risk and adoption online banking (r= -.024, p >.05). it also showed a significant positive relationship between technology acceptance and adoption online banking (r = .233, p<.001). it further revealed that significant relationship exit between perceived risk and technology acceptance (r= -.176, p<.005). discussion the purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of perceived risk, technology readiness and adoption of online banking among undergraduate students of nnamdi azikiwe university, awka. the first finding shows that perceived risk, which refers to the potential for financial loss, privacy breaches, or identity theft during online banking, does not have a significant impact on the adoption of these services among students. this finding is consistent with studies that suggest younger generations, particularly university students, may be less deterred by risks associated with online banking due to their familiarity with digital platforms and technologies (alalwan et al., 2018). unlike older users who might be more concerned about security issues, undergraduates seem to focus more on the functionality and convenience of the technology 61 rather than potential risks. this suggests that, despite the presence of perceived risk, it does not directly hinder their adoption of online banking. the second finding shows a significant positive relationship between technology acceptance and the adoption of online banking. technology acceptance, which refers to the degree to which users are willing to embrace and utilize new technologies, plays a crucial role in determining whether undergraduates will use online banking services. this finding aligns with the technology acceptance model (tam), which posits that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are key determinants in technology adoption (davis, 1989). more recent research supports this view, indicating that users who perceive online banking as user-friendly and beneficial are more likely to adopt it (tseng et al., 2021). for undergraduates, their comfort with digital technologies enhances their readiness to adopt online banking, highlighting the importance of promoting positive experiences with the platform to increase its use. the third finding reveals a significant relationship between perceived risk and technology acceptance. this suggests that students who perceive higher risks associated with online banking are less likely to accept the technology unless they feel confident in its security and reliability. according to rahi et al. (2018), perceived risk can negatively influence technology acceptance, as users need to feel assured that the technology is safe before they fully embrace it. in the context of online banking, undergraduates may mitigate their concerns about risks through increased exposure to and familiarity with the platform. providing robust security features and transparent information about privacy protections could therefore enhance technology acceptance among those who initially perceive online banking as risky. the study demonstrates that while perceived risk does not significantly impact the adoption of online banking, technology acceptance plays a critical role in determining whether undergraduates will use these services. the significant relationship between perceived risk and technology acceptance further emphasizes the need to address concerns about security and privacy to enhance students' readiness to adopt online banking. overall, these findings underscore the importance of technology readiness and positive perceptions of online banking platforms in driving adoption among young, digitally-savvy users. the findings implies that concerns about security, privacy, or financial loss do not act as strong deterrents. this challenges the common assumption that perceived risk is a major barrier to the use of digital financial services. therefore, efforts to promote online banking to undergraduates may not need to prioritize risk mitigation as much as they do for older or less tech-savvy users. instead, more focus could be placed on highlighting the ease and convenience of the service. secondly, it reinforces the importance of fostering a positive perception of technology among students because when they perceive online banking as easy to use and beneficial, they are much more likely to adopt it. financial institutions and service providers should focus on enhancing user experience by simplifying the interface, providing clear instructions, and demonstrating the advantages of online banking, such as saving time and providing 24/7 access. this can help increase the likelihood of adoption among younger users who are already inclined to accept new technologies. furthermore it can influence students’ willingness to accept online banking technology. this means that institutions must ensure that security features are clearly communicated and trusted by users. by building confidence in the technology’s safety, they can increase technology acceptance and, in turn, promote higher adoption rates. overall, the study implies that while perceived risk may not be a primary concern for undergraduates, it is still important to address security concerns to foster greater acceptance of online banking technology. 62 the study the recommends that financial institutions should focus on increasing technology acceptance by improving the user experience of their online banking platforms. simplifying the interface, making the system more intuitive, and providing clear benefits like time savings and ease of access will encourage more students to use these services. educational campaigns can also be conducted on campuses to familiarize students with the features and advantages of online banking, helping to boost their technology readiness and willingness to adopt these platforms. second, while the study shows that perceived risk does not have a direct effect on the adoption of online banking, addressing any underlying security concerns is still crucial for fostering long-term trust and technology acceptance. banks should continue to invest in robust security measures and regularly update their users about these protections, ensuring that students feel confident in the safety of their financial data. providing transparent information about encryption, authentication methods, and privacy safeguards can help alleviate any lingering concerns about perceived risks. universities can play a role in supporting students’ technology readiness by incorporating digital literacy programs that focus on financial technology, including online banking. these initiatives can enhance students' overall confidence in using digital platforms, not only for banking but for managing other financial transactions as well. by implementing these recommendations, financial institutions and educational bodies can work together to promote greater adoption of online banking among undergraduates, ensuring that this tech-savvy group is well-equipped to take advantage of the convenience and benefits of digital banking services. the study, while offering valuable insights into the relationship between perceived risk, technology readiness, and the adoption of online banking among undergraduates, has several limitations based on sample size, geographical coverage and age bracket. it then suggest that future studies should widen the scope of the demographic sample beyond undergraduates to include other groups, such as graduate students, working professionals, or older adults. this would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how different age groups, educational levels, and occupations influence the adoption of online banking and the role of perceived risk. future researchers should increase sample size and also increase the geographical coverage so as to close the cultural gap in this study. the findings reveal that perceived risk does not significantly impact the adoption of online banking, suggesting that concerns about security or privacy are not major barriers for this demographic. instead, technology acceptance plays a pivotal role, as students who view online banking as useful and easy to use are more likely to adopt it. additionally, while perceived risk does not directly deter adoption, it influences technology acceptance, indicating that efforts to improve students' confidence in the safety and reliability of online banking are important. overall, the study emphasizes that fostering a positive user experience and addressing security 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(2021). integrating ttf and utaut to explain mobile banking user adoption: evidence from china. telematics and informatics, 64, 101690. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 371 impact assessment of oron inland waterways transport system on the growth and development of oron coastal community and environs eto, gabriel m. okon, nse b. maritime academy of nigeria, oron abstract the paper examines the impact of oron inland waterways transport system on the growth and development of oron coastal community and environs. it evaluates eight objectives that mirrored the research problem and adopts cross-sectional survey design to examine the population of study. it uses multi-stage sampling techniques that involved stratified and random sampling techniques to select the sample. out of a population of 1,873, taro yamane formula was used to determine the sample size of 363. in order to analyze the data gathered, descriptive statistics was used. the study adopted simple random sampling technique due to its ease of use and accuracy of representation. from interviews, literature review, media reports and critical stakeholders’ opinions, the study examines the economic impact of the oron inland waterways transport system and notes that it enhances the efficiency of local businesses by reducing transportation costs, and it facilitates increased trade and creates employment opportunities. the study identifies the challenges facing oron inland waterways transport system and finds that they could be tackled through coordinated efforts of government agencies, transport operators, local communities, and businesses in order to enhance safety measures, improve infrastructure, and strengthen security protocols. consequently, the study recommends, among others, that equitable resource allocation to oron waterways transport system is necessary in light of its significance in enhancing connectivity towards promoting trade and commerce, job creation, and trade cost reduction. keywords: infrastructure, inland waterways transport, connectivity, resilience, investment introduction water transport encompasses various modes such as shipping, barges, ferries, and other vessels that navigate rivers, canals, and oceans. it holds a vital position that serves as a cornerstone for economic development, national integration, and sustainable connectivity (transport community, 2025). nigeria has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks and yet, making the most of them is fraught with several challenges. the operational and infrastructural challenges of inland waterways transport system in coastal communities in akwa ibom state are a mirror of the general constraints facing inland waterways transport services in nigeria, which the national inland waterways authority is mandated to tackle. inland waterways transportation of freight and passenger is facing daunting challenges and is highly under-utilized in nigeria compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the united states, china and the european union (unctad, 2021). the decline of river transport in nigeria started as a result of the focus on development of roads and railways (badejo, 2014). navigating through inland waterways in nigeria generally is fraught with numerous challenges contrary to what obtains on the global scene where improvements have been made in shipping transport. accordingly, inland waterways transport (iwt) systems have become more efficient and risk-free with the introduction of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/river https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/canals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/backwater_(river) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stream https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_states https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/china https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/european_union 372 modern water crafts. the latest state-of-the-art ships have removed the constraints of distance and time, such that currently, one can travel from one corner of some region to the other conveniently in less time. but this is not so in nigeria. the advancements in shipping technology have resulted in the wider scope of maritime transport (garcia, 2021). however, the global advancement in maritime transport is limited in geographic scope because developing countries like nigeria are still lagging behind in terms of technology and innovation. consequently, among other factors, this accounts for why inland waterways transport services in oron coastal community of awka ibom state is faced with operational and infrastructural challenges, the result of which is sub optimal performance and dismal impact on its growth and the development of neighbouring communities. oron coastal community and its environs rely on its inland waterways transportation (iwt) system for passenger transport services and bulk freight transport to and from places like calabar, cameroon and other coastal communities within akwa ibom state. this makes the waterways transport services to play dominant role in the socioeconomic activities of oron coastal community and its environs. the oron inland waterways have become extremely busy in recent times as alternative routes, given the rapidly deteriorating roads that link awka ibom state with cross river state. however, there are operational and infrastructural challenges, which detract from the immense potential of the waterways to trigger developmental and growth impulse in oron coastal community and its hinterland. some of the challenges are infrastructure-related which arise from lack of funding, and the underdevelopment and underutilization of the inland waterways despite their enormous potential. the lack of standard jetty facilities and equipment, which also lead to inefficiency and operational constraints, all culminate in arrested development. furthermore, limited funding (lack of financial resources) for boat operators and security outfits constitute a major challenge and serious drawback. this constitutes the bedrock of the problem of this study. the problem the existence of waterways has been a significant factor in the growth of cities and whole regions; they have served first as avenues of exploration and new settlement and later as means through which commerce and trade flourished (eto, 2021). accordingly, inasmuch as the oron inland waterways are crucial for fishing (positioning oron a major fishing hub in nigeria) facilitating trade and commerce (particularly for the beach market and other local markets, timber, palm oil, and seafood), the waterways transport system is facing daunting challenges. operational challenges such as inadequate maintenance, lack of skilled personnel, and limited access to finance hinder the development of the oron inland waterways transportation system. infrastructure constraints are a significant issue, with the oron inland waterways lacking modern navigation infrastructure. this leads to inefficient and unreliable transportation services, which affect the oron beach market. furthermore, other challenges are ineffective utilization of the inland waterways resources due to lack of investment drive in the sector, inadequate policies, and insufficient institutional capacity. security and safety concerns arising from lack of effective safety measures and enforcement mechanisms increase the risks of accidents, robbery, and other security threats. all of which often lead to loss of life, damage to cargo, and increased insurance costs. consequently, these challenges detract from the potential impact which oron inland 373 waterways transport system could have on the growth and development of oron coastal community and its hinterland, particularly the beach market. the aim of the study is to identify the challenges and proffer solutions that would contribute to enhancing connectivity, reducing transport costs, and unlocking economic opportunities, and promoting sustainable practices that would contribute to the overall resilience of the economy of oron coastal community. the objectives are: 1. to analyze the economic impact of the oron inland waterways transport system on local businesses, trade, and employment opportunities. 2. to examine the role of the inland waterways transport system in enhancing mobility and accessibility for residents, businesses, and tourists in oron. 3. to assess the social impact of the oron inland waterways transport system on the quality of life, education, and healthcare accessibility for the oron coastal community. 4. to evaluate the possible environmental effects of oron inland waterway transport on coastal ecosystems, including water pollution, erosion, and biodiversity changes. 5. to investigate safety and security challenges associated with the oron inland water transport system and their implications for residents and businesses. 6. to examine the challenges that limit the effectiveness and the impact of oron inland waterways transport system on the growth of oron. 7. to determine the level of government policies and investments in the development and maintenance of the oron inland waterways transport system. 8. to propose strategies for optimizing the efficiency of the inland waterways transport system for sustainable development in oron. literature and empirical review transportation serves as the life-wire of the economy and its efficiency determines the well being (growth and development) of the society. mobility crisis in nigeria has been worsened by the fact that there is currently no clearly articulated policy for transport development [except for the draft national transport policy of 2021 and the recently approved 10 year national policy on marine and blue economy (2025-2034) – ships & ports, 2025]. this explains why there is an imbalance between resource allocations to the various modes and gross inadequacy of existing infrastructural facilities (eto, 2021). according to calderon-rivera, baruseviciene & ballini (2024), the uneven development of waterways and the infrastructure to support inland water transport has become more evident worldwide, nigeria included. consequently, freight transportation by waterways is highly under-utilized in nigeria compared to other large countries and geographic areas like the united states, china and the european union. numerous authors have identified the benefits derivable from inland waterways transportation (iwt) development in terms of education, innovation, access to new markets and technologies, passenger transportation capacity, shipping saving costs, and employment capacity (wiegmans & konings, 2017, calderon-rivera et al., 2024). other benefits of iwt identified are related to the industry development such as the safety of cargo and people, good environmental performance, material supply, cost-efficient transport for bulk cargo, and interconnection between seaports, inland river ports, and waterways. yet other benefits are low costs and safety of cargo handling. these costs are lower than road and rail, making iwt a more sustainable transportation option (hofbauer & putz, 2020). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/united_states https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/china https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/european_union 374 nevertheless, iwt, just like other transport modes, also generates some external social costs which are related to accidents, noise, congestion, habitat damage, air pollution, climate change, and well-to-tank emissions. on the other hand, these social costs are lower than road and rail transportation, thereby making iwt a more sustainable transportation option. furthermore, the continuous increase in cargo and container traffic and the rise of congestion in big cities near seaports lead to the promotion of alternatives such as iwt (hofbauer & putz, 2020). in addition, the uninterrupted increase in cargo and container traffic and the rise of congestion in big cities close to the seaports results in the promotion of iwt as alternative mode. countries with developed iwt systems pay top most priority attention to generating policies for their promotion and infrastructure maintenance and possess specialized institutions with unified plans and development strategies (sidaway, price & probert, 1995). empirical reviews in a study titled “barriers and solutions for sustainable development of inland waterway transport: a literature review”, calderon-rivera, et al (2024) observe that china is endowed with three important rivers, the yangtze, pearl, and yellow rivers, which enable crucial hinterland connections for the distribution of local production and aid access to the seaport of shanghai, on which 4886 million tons of cargoes were transported in 2013. this provided access to new markets and passenger transportation capacity, reduced shipping costs, and enhanced employment capacity in europe, according to zhu, gao, he, zhang, jin, & tan (2021) in a study titled “green logistics oriented tug scheduling for inland waterway logistics”, iwt assumes significant importance as 21 out of the 28 member states possess inland waterways and out of these networks, 50% is located mainly in france, germany, the netherlands, and belgium. however, despite the fact that significant cargo volume of 535 million tons is attributed to europe’s iwt in 2023, china’s transportation performance in iwt has been historically higher than that of the european union. this performance is similar to that of the united states, which transported 581 million tons through iwt in the same year. conversely, while brazil holds the third position among countries boasting the world's most extensive navigable waterways, yet only 22% of these watercourses are utilized for cargo transportation. zhu et al. (2021) further observe that this limited usage can be attributed primarily to the considerable distance from major production centers and lower investments in infrastructure when compared to china and europe. accordingly, the authors recommend more of public private partnership investment in iwt infrastructure in order to reduce shipping costs and enhance job creation. the study conducted by chijioke (2022) titled “challenges and prospects of inland waterways in southeast nigeria” reveals that insecurity and the poor state of the terminals are the major challenges impeding inland waterways transport operations in oma-mbala river, anambra state. according to the study, the inland waterways in the study area hold huge prospects for trade and commerce, and it recommends regional policing in the hotspots prone to attacks on the routes and that government should collaborate with stakeholders in the communities adjacent to the waterways in the study area and provide basic water transport infrastructure. in the view of ekop and ibok (2021), in a study titled “seasonal variation of passengers along the calabar-oron inland waterways corridor, nigeria”, the authors assert that whenever there is rainfall, passengers are faced with the difficulty of leaving home to the terminals because the boats do not have roofs to shade them from the elements. they https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/transportation-mean https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/climate-change https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/climate-change 375 therefore recommend that credit facilities be provided by the government and financial institutions to empower operators for effective performance. in a study by okon, jatau and attah (2023), titled “assessment of safety measures and operational challenges of inland waterway transport along oron calabar route, nigeria”, the authors observe that boat and engine replacement was the most challenging factor, while water hyacinth was the least. other challenges they identified were frequent bad weather conditions, high running costs, floating logs and debris, extortion by law enforcement agents, difficulty in making headway against the opposite current, high cost of safety equipment, passengers' refusal to adhere to safety measures, and poor berthing facilities in their order of impact. they recommend proper funding and enforcement of safety measures. in their study titled “infrastructural challenges hindering passengers patronage along the calabar-oron inland waterways corridor, nigeria”, ibok, otop, and chianebeng (2021), observe that infrastructural challenges affect patronage thereby contributing to safety and security concerns, which compromise passengers comfort and convenience. the authors observe that this situation contributes to water phobia. gaps in current knowledge the literature reviewed revealed much attention focused on infrastructural challenges which contribute to safety and security concerns, thereby compromising passengers comfort and convenience. others addressed safety and security challenges which border on water weeds and the deplorable condition of the boats, which hinder maximum patronage. however, none of the literature reviewed assessed the potential impact of oron inland waterways transport (iwt) system from the perspectives of enhancing connectivity, public-private partnership investment in infrastructure, and biodiversity preservation, which could combine to lead to efficient and reliable transportation services and consequential social and economic development of oron and its environs. furthermore, another gap in current knowledge, which justifies the conduct of this study, is lack of literature that address the failure to fully exploit the oron inland waterways transport system, the result of which has led to its ineffective marine resource utilization. this is attributable to lack of investment in the sector, inadequate policies, and insufficient institutional capacity. methodology the study uses survey design which involves 4-point likert scale questionnaire and structured interview. it uses cross-sectional survey design on the population to gather data. the sample selection was by multi-stage sampling techniques that involved stratified and random sampling techniques due to its thoroughness and accuracy of representation. in order to analyze the data gathered, descriptive statistics was used. study area the five local government areas that make up the oron ethnic tribe in akwa ibom state include oron, udung uko, urue offong/oruko, okobo and mbo local government areas. the oron inland waterways (figure 1) in akwa ibom state play a significant role in transportation, commerce, and connectivity within the region. oron is a coastal town in southern akwa ibom state, located along the eastern shore of the cross river estuary and the atlantic ocean. the inland waterways extend through the oron river, qua iboe river, and their tributaries, connecting to the cross river, calabar river, and other smaller creeks. the waterways link 376 oron to calabar (cross river state), ikot abasi, eket, and other coastal communities in the niger delta. they serve as a key transport route for ferries, boats, and canoes, supporting trade and fishing activities. the oron-calabar waterway is a major route for ferry transportation between oron beach and calabar (edet et al., 2014). the terrain is low-lying and consists of mangrove swamps, creeks, and estuaries. tidal influences from the atlantic ocean affect water levels and flow patterns. the area is prone to coastal erosion, flooding, and mangrove depletion due to climate change and human activities. the maritime academy of nigeria (the foremost maritime training institution) is located near these waterways, highlighting their strategic importance (ibok et al., 2021). figure 1: map of akwa ibom, showing oron and its inland waterways source: edet et al. (2014) table 1 population of the study s/n respondents population 1 commuters 417 2 boat owners 52 3 boat drivers 59 4 traders 1,230 5 jetty operators 28 6 nigerian customs service 30 7 nigeria immigration service 25 8 marine police 32 total 1,873 377 source: researchers’ computation (2025) the study used primary and secondary sources of data. questionnaire and structured interview were the instruments used for sourcing primary data. the study adopted the taro yamane formula to determine the sample size, out of population of study of 1,873. taro yamane method: n = 𝑁 (1+𝑁 (𝑒)2) where: n= sample size required n = number of people in the population e = allowable error (%) which is 0.05 after substitution 363 was derived. hence the sample size for the study was 363. table 2: sample size determination s/n respondents population proportion sample size 1 commuters 417 363 (417) 1,873 81 2 boat owners 52 363 (52) 1,873 10 3 boat drivers 59 363 (59) 1,873 12 4 traders 1,230 363 (1,230) 1,873 238 5 jetty operators 28 363 (28) 1,873 5 6 nigerian customs service 30 363 (30) 1,873 6 7 nigeria immigration service 25 363 (25) 1,873 5 8 marine police 32 363 (32) 1,873 6 total 1873 363 source: researchers’ computation (2025) results and discussion summary of questionnaire distributed the questionnaire distributed and the number of copies retrieved are presented in table 3. table 3: copies of questionnaire administered number of copies of questionnaire distributed number of copies of questionnaire retrieved % of copies of questionnaire retrieved 363 356 98.07 source: field survey (2025) 378 a total of 363 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to major stakeholders in the maritime transport sector. 356 copies were returned to represent 98.07% response rate as shown in the table above. socio-economic characteristics of respondents table 3: demographic analysis of respondents characteristics frequency percentage male 242 68 female 114 32 total 356 100 source: field survey (2025) the gender distribution of the respondents is shown in table 3. the distribution shows that 242 or 68% of the respondents were male while 114 or 32% were female. this shows that majority of the respondents were male. table 4: age distribution of respondents age respondents percentage (%) less than 18 nil nil 18-35 178 50 36-64 169 47 above 65 9 3 total 356 100 source: field survey (2025) the age distribution in table 4 shows that there were no respondents less than 18 years of age. those whose age fell into the age bracket 18-35 years were 178 or 50%. those who fell within the 36-64 years range were 169 or 47%, and they happened to be the majority. the respondents whose age was above 65 years were 9 or 3%. table 5: educational level educational level respondents percentage (%) primary 35 10 secondary 203 57 tertiary 118 33 total 356 100 source: field survey (2025) the formal education of respondents as shown in table 5 shows that all the respondents attained various degrees of formal education. those who only attained primary school education were 35 or 10%. those who attained secondary school education were 203 or 57% and the respondents who happened to attained tertiary education, were 118 or 33%. table 6 occupation of respondents s/n occupation respondents percentage 1 lecturers 49 14 2 boat owners 10 3 3 boat drivers 12 3 379 4 traders 236 66 5 jetty operators 5 1 6 civil servants 30 9 7 bankers 14 4 total 356 100 source: researchers’ computation (2025) the occupation distribution shown in table 6 indicates that 49 or 14% were lecturers. boat owners were 10 or 3%. boat drivers were 12 or 3%. traders were 236 or 66%. jetty operators were 5 or 1%. civil servants were 30 or 9% and bankers were 14 or 4%. discussion of results objective 1: to analyze the economic impact of the oron inland waterways transport system on local businesses, trade, and employment opportunities. in the view of respondents, the oron inland waterways transport system significantly enhances local businesses by reducing transportation costs, which facilitates increased trade. additionally, it creates employment opportunities through the development of related services and infrastructure, contributing positively to the local economy. objective 2: to examine the role of the inland waterways transport system in enhancing mobility and accessibility for residents, businesses, and tourists in oron. according to respondents, an efficient inland waterways transport system is crucial for enhancing mobility and accessibility, facilitating easier movement for residents, businesses, and tourists. it supports economic growth, improves access to services, and enriches the overall experience of visiting or living in oron. objective 3: to assess the social impact of the oron inland waterways transport system on the quality of life, education, and healthcare accessibility for the oron coastal community. respondents were of the view that the inland waterways transport system significantly influences the quality of life in the oron coastal community as it affects access to education and healthcare. they reasoned that reliable oron inland waterways transportation would enhance opportunities for employment and education, while barriers can lead to missed healthcare appointments, ultimately impacting overall well-being. objective 4: to evaluate the possible environmental effects of oron inland waterway transport on coastal ecosystems, including water pollution, erosion, and biodiversity changes. respondents observed as follows: oron inland waterway transport can significantly impact coastal ecosystems through water pollution, habitat loss, and increased coastal erosion. these activities may lead to changes in biodiversity, including the introduction of invasive species and the decline of native populations, ultimately altering the ecological balance. in terms of the following, respondents observed that: 380 • water pollution contaminants: inland waterway transport often results in the discharge of pollutants such as fuel, chemicals, and waste from vessels. these contaminants can severely affect water quality, leading to harmful effects on marine life and ecosystems. • ballast water: the use of ballast water in ships can introduce invasive aquatic species into new environments, disrupting local ecosystems and outcompeting native species. • oil spills: accidental spills from vessels can lead to significant environmental damage, affecting both water quality and marine organisms. erosion • increased erosion: the construction and maintenance of inland waterways can alter natural water flow and sediment transport, leading to increased erosion of riverbanks and coastal areas. • dredging activities: dredging to maintain navigable waterways can disturb sediments, increase turbidity, and lead to habitat loss for aquatic organisms. biodiversity changes • invasive species: the introduction of non-native species through ballast water and other means can lead to declines in native biodiversity, as these species may not have natural predators in the new environment. • habitat alteration: the development of transport infrastructure can lead to habitat fragmentation, reducing the available space for native species and disrupting migration patterns. • endangered species: increased human activity and pollution can threaten vulnerable species, leading to declines in their populations and altering the overall biodiversity of coastal ecosystems. objective 5: to investigate safety and security challenges associated with the oron inland water transport system and their implications for residents and businesses. according to respondents, the oron inland water transport offers several advantages, such as cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability. however, it also comes with various safety and security challenges that can have significant implications for residents and businesses in oron coastal community and its environs. some of the key challenges are: safety challenges: 1. accidents and collisions: cause: poor navigation, operator error, inadequate signaling, and congested waterways, failure to adhere to safety regulations. implications: accidents can lead to loss of life, injuries, and damage to vessels and infrastructure, resulting in economic losses for businesses and increased insurance costs. 2. infrastructure quality: cause: aging locks, dams, and terminals can lead to failures. implications: infrastructure failures can disrupt services, causing delays and increased costs for businesses relying on timely transport. poor conditions may also endanger the safety of passengers and cargo. 381 3. weather conditions: cause: fog/haze, storms, and flooding can create hazardous conditions for navigation. implications: adverse weather can result in transport delays, impacting supply chains and the availability of goods for residents and businesses. 4. environmental hazards: cause: pollution and water quality issues can arise from shipping activities. implications: contaminated waterways can threaten public health and local ecosystems, affecting fishing and tourism industries. 5. vessel standards and maintenance: cause: vessels that do not meet safety standards. implications: substandard vessels can lead to accidents and spills, threatening both human safety and the environment. security challenges: 1. theft and piracy: cause: vulnerable areas along waterways may be prone to criminal activities. implications: businesses may face losses due to theft of goods, while fear of piracy can increase shipping costs and insurance premiums. residents may feel unsafe or be at risk of crime near docks and terminals. 2. terrorism and vandalism: cause: critical transportation infrastructure can be a target for terrorist activities. implications: attacks can cause widespread disruption, affect local economies, and instill fear among residents and businesses reliant on iwt for transport. 3. illegal activities: cause: smuggling from cameroun and gabon and unregulated trade can flourish in oron and poorly monitored along the waterways. implications: this can undermine legitimate businesses, leading to economic harm and potential legal consequences for those inadvertently involved. 4. cyber-security threats: cause: increased digitization of logistics and navigation systems. implications: cyber-attacks on transport systems can disrupt operations, leading to financial losses and potentially compromising safety. in the view of respondents, the overall implications of safety and security challenges of oron inland waterways transport system for residents and businesses in oron and its environs are as follows: economic impact: disruptions in the oron inland water transport can affect the supply chain, leading to delays, increased costs, and potential loss of customers, which ultimately impacts the local economy. health and safety concerns: residents living near the waterways may experience health risks due to pollution or hazards from accidents. safety concerns can also affect property values and quality of life. insurance costs: increased risks associated with safety and security can raise insurance premiums for businesses and residents, adding to overall operational costs. regulatory compliance: businesses may face increasing regulations aimed at improving safety and security, resulting in higher compliance costs and added administrative burdens. 382 objective 6: to determine the level of government policies and investments in the development and maintenance of the oron inland waterways transport system. according to respondents, the oron inland waterways transport system in nigeria (along with other aspects of the country’s broader inland water transport network) faces various challenges and opportunities that are influenced by government policies and investments. they noted key aspects regarding the level of government involvement in the development and maintenance of this system to include: 1. government policies: national transport policy: the nigerian government has established policies (the draft national transport policy of 2021 and the 10 year national policy on marine and blue economy (2025-2034)) aimed at promoting integrated transport systems, which include inland waterways as a crucial component. the draft national transport policy (2021) encourages the use of waterways to reduce road congestion, enhance trade, and provide more efficient transport options. nigerian inland waterways authority (niwa): niwa is the main regulatory body responsible for developing and maintaining inland waterways in nigeria. it has been tasked with overseeing navigational safety, environmental protection, and infrastructure development within the waterways. 2. investment in infrastructure: ongoing projects: the government has initiated various projects to improve the infrastructure along the oron inland waterways, including the dredging to ensure navigability and the construction of jetties and terminals. investments have been made in oron to enhance access to the sea and boost local economies. public-private partnerships (ppps): the government has encouraged ppps to attract private investment in the development of waterways. this approach aims to leverage private sector expertise and resources for better management and service delivery. funding challenges: despite intentions to improve the oron iwt infrastructure, funding remains a recurring challenge. budget constraints and competing demands from other sectors can limit the extent of investment in inland waterways. 3. maintenance and development efforts: regular maintenance programs: regular maintenance of river channels, buoys, and navigational aids is essential for ensuring safe operations. however, consistent funding and political support are often necessary to maintain these efforts effectively. focus on local economies: the development of the oron inland waterways is not just about transport; it is also tied to supporting local industries, particularly the beach market, fishing and agriculture. the government recognizes the potential for economic growth and employment generation through improved inland water transport. 4. challenges in implementation: coordination issues: effective implementation of policies has been hampered by inadequate inter-agency coordination among federal, state, and local governments. regulatory framework: while there are regulations in place, enforcement can be inconsistent, leading to issues such as illegal fishing, pollution, and encroachment on waterways, which can affect transport operations. 383 5. community involvement: local stakeholder engagement: in some cases, community engagement has proved vital for the successful development of inland waterways. local communities often have insights into specific needs and challenges, but consistent government engagement with these stakeholders is crucial for sustainable development. objective 7: to examine the challenges that limit the effectiveness and the impact of oron inland waterways transport system on the growth of oron and environs. according to respondents, challenges that limit the effectiveness and the impact of oron inland waterways transport system on the growth of oron and environs include: 1. the lack of financial support despite the requirement that high investments for the construction and maintenance of iwt infrastructure are necessary 2. poor infrastructure and lack of modern facilities: (i) the lack of well-equipped jetties, docks, and terminals limits the efficiency of water transport (ii) many existing ports and landing points are either dilapidated or not well-maintained (iii) absence of modern ferry terminals and mechanized loading/unloading systems affects commercial activities. 3. shallow waterways and siltation: (i) continuous siltation and sand deposition make navigation difficult, especially for larger boats and ferries (ii) dredging is infrequent or insufficient, leading to narrow and shallow passages (iii) during the dry season, some routes become less navigable due to low water levels. 4. safety and security issues: (i) cases of sea robbery and theft pose threats to traders and passengers (ii) lack of patrol boats and security personnel along the waterways increases criminal activities (iii) poor enforcement of safety regulations leads to frequent boat mishaps and accidents due to overloading and lack of life jackets. 5. inconsistent government policies and poor funding: (i) inadequate government investment in inland waterway development (ii) inconsistent policies on marine transportation, taxation, and licensing discourage private investors (iii) limited funding for dredging, waterway maintenance, and infrastructure expansion. 6. dependence on traditional and unregulated transport systems: (i) most water transport is informal, operated by local boat owners with wooden canoes and outdated engines (ii) lack of structured transport schedules, making movement unpredictable (iii) poor enforcement of standard operating procedures affects efficiency and safety. 7. environmental and climate challenges: (i) coastal erosion, mangrove destruction, and pollution threaten water transport routes (ii) flooding and rising sea levels disrupt ferry services and settlements along the waterways (ii) oil spills and waste dumping reduce water quality, affecting both transport and fishing (iii) iwt is vulnerable to weather variation due to the direct impact on vessel navigability and water level fluctuations. meteorological changes related to floods, and droughts impact not only reliability but also the cost of iwt operations (iv) extreme weather events such as heat waves and heavy precipitation affect not only the infrastructure but also the performance of inland waterways transport systems, which generates a lack of reliability, delays, and congestion 384 8. competition from road transport: (i) improved road networks in akwa ibom and cross river states reduce the demand for inland water transport (ii) many travelers prefer road transport due to its speed, safety, and reliability compared to water transport (iii) poor integration between water and road transport systems limits intermodal connectivity. 9. lack of public awareness and investment in tourism: (i) the tourism potential of oron’s waterways is underutilized, with little government promotion (ii) the oron museum, rich cultural heritage, and beautiful water routes could attract visitors if properly developed (iii) lack of organized eco-tourism packages, ferry tours, and waterfront development affects growth. objective 8: to propose strategies for optimizing the efficiency of the inland waterways transport system for sustainable development in oron. respondents were of the view that optimizing the efficiency of the transport system in oron, particularly focusing on the inland waterways, can significantly contribute to sustainable development. they proposed the following strategies that could be considered: 1. infrastructure development and maintenance: (i) dredging and channel maintenance: regular dredging of navigable channels to ensure they remain deep enough for safe passage of vessels will enhance transport efficiency (ii) construction of modern terminals: building well-equipped terminals with loading and unloading facilities can facilitate better handling of cargo and passenger operations (iii) investment in multi-modal transport facilities: creating intermodal transport hubs that integrate road, rail, and waterways can streamline logistics and improve connectivity. 2. regulatory framework and policy enhancement: (i) strengthening niwa's role: empowering the nigerian inland waterways authority (niwa) to enforce regulations and standards effectively will improve safety and operational efficiency (ii) updating policies: periodically reviewing and updating transport policies to reflect current challenges and innovations in technology can enhance system efficiency. 3. public-private partnerships (ppps): (i) encouraging private investment: establishing frameworks that invite private sector participation can lead to more innovative solutions and alleviate financial constraints in developing and maintaining waterway infrastructure (ii) leveraging existing capabilities: collaborating with private operators who have experience in logistics can optimize operations and service delivery. 4. technology integration: (i) adopting smart technologies: implementing gps tracking systems for vessels can enhance navigation and monitoring, increasing safety and efficiency (ii) digital platforms for booking and scheduling: developing online platforms for cargo booking and scheduling can streamline processes and reduce waiting times at terminals. 5. sustainable practices and environmental considerations (i) promoting eco-friendly transportation: using energy-efficient boats or hybrid vessels can minimize environmental impact while promoting sustainability (ii) monitoring and mitigating pollution: setting up programs to monitor water quality and enforcing regulations against pollution can help maintain a healthy ecosystem, which is essential for fishing and tourism. 385 6. capacity building and training (i) skill development programs: offering training programs for local workforce development in logistics and transportation management can enhance operational efficiency (ii) awareness campaigns: educating stakeholders about the benefits of using inland waterways can increase usage and promote a shift from road transport. 7. community engagement and involvement: (i) involving local communities: engaging local communities in planning and decision-making ensures that transport solutions address their needs and gain grassroots support (ii) promoting local advocacy groups: forming local advocacy groups can facilitate dialogue between the government, private sector, and the community, fostering collaboration. 8. enhanced connectivity and accessibility: (i) road improvement projects: improving access roads to ports, jetties, and inland terminals can reduce bottlenecks and enhance overall transport efficiency (ii) regular route assessment: conducting assessments of popular transport routes can help identify inefficiencies and optimize schedules accordingly. 9. financial support and incentives: (i) subsidies for operators: providing financial incentives for local water transport operators can encourage service expansion and improve safety compliance (ii) grants for infrastructure projects: offering grants or low-interest loans to support infrastructure projects can stimulate investment in necessary improvements. on the whole, respondents noted that to maximize the impact of oron's inland waterways on economic growth and development of oron and its environs, solutions could include: • dredging and expansion of the water routes for better navigation • upgrading jetties, ports, and terminals with modern facilities • improved security patrols to curb robbery and theft • government-private partnerships for funding and transport regulation • integration of water and road transport for seamless movement. • promotion of tourism and water-based economic activities conclusion the nigerian government has been making concerted efforts to develop and maintain the oron inland waterways transport system. however, challenges bordering on funding, interagency coordination, and effective implementation persist. a combined approach involving government commitment, private sector investment, and community involvement is essential to harness the full potential of the inland waterways for economic growth and transport efficiency in nigeria. continued focus on infrastructure development and safety regulations will be crucial for the long-term sustainability of this transport mode. to address the challenges identified requires coordinated efforts involving government agencies, transport operators, local communities, and businesses to enhance safety measures, improve infrastructure, and strengthen security protocols. the implementation of strategies suggested must be done in a cohesive and integrated manner in order to optimize the efficiency of the transport system in oron, with a view to achieving in sustainable development. fostering collaborations among government entities, private sector players, and local communities is crucial for the successful implementation of suggested strategies. this holistic approach can enhance not only the inland waterways transport system but also the overall economic growth and quality of life for residents in oron. 386 recommendations 1. government should show commitment along with encouraging private sector investment and community involvement towards harnessing the full potential of the inland waterways for economic growth and transport efficiency in oron and environs. 2. government should focus on infrastructure development and safety regulations in order to boost activities of the beach market and encourage trade flow 3. to encourage multimodal transport system that facilitates modal shift, government should pay close attention to oron inland waterways transport system in view of the economic significance of the waterways. 4. equitable resource allocation to oron waterways transport system is necessary in light of its significance in enhancing safety, security and connectivity in promoting trade and commerce, job creation, and trade cost reduction. references badejo, b. 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(2021). green logistics oriented tug scheduling for inland waterway logistics adv. eng. inform., 49 page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 258 populism, politics, chinese megaprojects and misinformation in africa emmanuel zwanbin el-amin university, minna zwanbin.e@el-aminuniversity.edu.ng abstract the connection between populism, politics, chinese megaprojects and businesses are crucial discourses in africa-china relations. the rising political tension during elections and the use of anti-chinese rhetoric impedes the future of africa-china relations. hence, the need for pragmatic public diplomacy to address the encroaching influence of anti-chinese populism on the african continent. the paper contends that anti-chinese populism is a political currency and opportunistic tool for power acquisition, rather than a political culture in africa. the study views populism as the consequent of cross social injustice, marginalization and lack economic opportunities and vulnerability of the indigent in africa. the paper analysed anti-chinese rhetoric on debt trap, corruption, and economic distress as well chinese public diplomacy in zambia and kenya. it employed qualitative case study approach which reviewed and analysed books, journal articles and webpages. the paper call for attention on the rising anti-chinese rhetoric and to rethink how populism, domestic politics, and chinese megaprojects and businesses across africa are interconnected intrinsically for better public policy formulation. it recommends and calls for pragmatic public engagement through increased africa-china advocacy. keywords: populism, elections, megaprojects, anti-chinese, diplomacy, political parties introduction the intersectional effect of populism, politics, and chinese infrastructure investments and businesses in africa-china relations has received attention lately. concerns about debt trap, economic distress, and corruption have corresponding trigger on the growth of populism in africa’s domestic politics. this threatens the popularity of chinese infrastructure projects and enterprises on the continent. the study argues that the emerging anti-chinese populism is a political tactic rather than an african political culture. populism, politics and the chinese megaprojects in africa accentuate the interconnectedness between chinese development aid, domestic politics and public perception. the misgivings about chinese development finance across the continent has been attributed to the rising outcry about corruption, debt profiles and defaults in loan repayment aggravated by the aftermath of covid-19 pandemic (singh, 2020). anti-chinese populism in africa does not only increase resentment against chinese people but reputational crisis for the chinese belt and road initiative as well as other development assistance. consequently, this led to cutback in chinese development finance across the continent (thiele, 2022). pleased with the political impact, populist leaders in kenya and zambia used well crafted anti-chinese messages against china and chinese people to persuade african electorates (daigle, neulen, & hofeman, 2018). for instance, the chinese the belt and road initiative (bri) has been greeted with misgivings due to the intrigues in the domestic politics of african states and securitization by neoliberal opponents (shah, 2023). the bri was launched in 20013 by xi jinping as a strategic road map for development finance to build transport infrastructure across the world (hurley, morris, & portelance, 2019). the bri and africa’s infrastructure deficit created affinity for the initiative. several countries like nigeria, kenya, ghana, uganda and ethiopia secured huge funding for mailto:zwanbin.e@el-aminuniversity.edu.ng 259 railway, road, and airport and seaport projects. however, as chinese engagement increases so also, the positive and negative reactions. for instance, alam lamented that “chinese engagements continue to increase in africa, the disenchanted portions of african populations will likely continue to perceive china as a domestic competitor and plunderer of african resources” (aidoo, 2017, p. 8). as will be discussed later, anti-chinese populism is anchored on these perceptions and misperceptions about chinese development finance and businesses in africa. bretton woods institutions were the dominant providers of development finance in africa before the 2000s. the world bank and international monetary fund (imf) conditioned such financing on democratic tenets such as human rights, accountability, transparency, and good governance. unlike western donors, chinese development aid does not require normative conditions due to its principles on non-interference in the domestic affairs of recipient states. this approach upset the traditional western donors’ requirements (galchu, 2018). the political elites in africa support chinese development finance in terms of concern for sovereignty, but public perception centred on chinese presence in terms of competition against local businesses and labour force. for instance, hitchens (2008), described the tension between local labour force and chinese enterprises as “new slave empire in africa”. the anti-chinese narrative is further aggravated by the mainstream international media and social media misinformation. hence, public opinion influence by the media and politicians does not only shape the perception about state-centric china-africa relations but also people-to-people relations. therefore, to explain the intersectionality between chinese investments and domestic politics in africa political economy analysis (pea) framework will be used. the pea underscores the “economic and political behaviour, and the understanding of how political institutions, social and political power relations, and the political and economic environment influence each other ...” (van breukelen, 2007, p. 46). furthermore, pea argues that political factors and international development interventions are interconnected (jakupec & max, 2019, p. 11) when the structure-human agency is integrated into the discourse. thus, pea resonates with the structure-human agency analytical approach which examines chinese development finance and domestic politics in africa. also, populism discourse is used to buttress the structure-agent dynamics while highlighting the role of political parties and actorspecific in the rising anti-chinese rhetoric. this paper utilised the pea framework as lens to explain chinese development finance the three associated trends: the merging phenomenon of populism, the increasing rejection of neoliberal internationalism, and the emergence of a new alternative in the chinese model of development finance and rivalry to the traditional western donors in africa (jakupec & max, 2019, p. 22). methodology to explain how populism influence domestic politics and its impact on the escalating antichinese rhetoric relating to infrastructure investments and enterprises in kenya and zambia, this paper used qualitative case study approach. the approach is hinged on the relativist ontology which contends that reality is not absolute but the product of many intersubjective views (alam, 2021). as a result, the dynamic character of african perception resulting from the historical exploitation, perceptions are constantly being constructed and deconstructed in respect of the reality of chinese engagement in africa. therefore, the ensuing growth of populist anti-chinese rhetoric is a reality that cannot be ignored. the case study technique makes no claims to provide sufficient data for generalisation of findings; rather, it aims to shed light on the developing populism and anti-chinese phenomenon in kenya and zambia to show common or distinctive characteristics (farquhar, michels, & robson, 2020). therefore, 260 qualitative case study chosen examined the pattern of responses from chinese development finance, anti-chinese populism and domestic politics. africa in the global web of anti-chinese populism anti-chinese sentiments are not particular to africa. according to markey (1978), in the nineteenth century, australia witnessed the huge migration of chinese into its goldfields. the chinese migrants later became part of the australian labour force and working class. the influence of chinese people in the different economic sectors triggered widespread antichinese sentiments across australia. the sentiments were expressed in the election campaign manifestoes across the country. also in the nineteenth century, the united states witnessed the rise of anti-chinese sentiments following the arrival of large chinese migrants. chang (2012) explained that the politicisation of chinese migration led to the promulgation of the chinese restriction act in 1882. the act curtailed the arrival of chinese into the united states of america. subsequently, chinese migration was securitised which led to direct violence against chinese in the united states (lew-williams, 2018). anti-chinese sentiment also exists in asia. for instance, in myanmar, formally known as burma, anti-chinese riots broke out in 1967 through the 1980s. the anti-chinese was root in the political economy and the intrigues of cold world where chinese were accused of communist activities (han, 2017). also, in kyrgyzstan, anti-chinese sentiment was attributed to chinese economic influence (swanström & nyrén, 2017). the sentiment spread to indonesia (danubrata & suroyo, 2017). malaysia flared up because of the presence of large number of chinese workers and businesses. malaysia’s former prime minister dr. mahathir mohamad took advantage of the public discontent against chinese during the 2018 elections and tagged his populist message as "saving malaysia" (welsh, 2018, p. 87) to mobilise the malaysian people for votes (wai, 2018). similarly, in indonesia, griffiths (2018) alleged that president joko widodo used anti-chinese sentiment during the 2019 election against his political opponent under the national movement for people’s sovereignty. anti-chinese populism in the domestic politics of africa is surging (resnick, 2017 in respect of emerging chinese infrastructure finance and businesses. the phenomenon is often interchangeably referred to as "anti-chinese populism," "anti-chinese sentiments," and "sinophobia." in anti-chinese populism, political actors sensationalise the planning, investments, management and viability of chinese megaproject. therefore, anti-chinese rhetoric is coined as a wedge issue. wiant (2002, p. 276) defines a wedge issue as "a rhetorical strategy, usually focused on social concern, that is intentionally constructed to divide party voters and polarise the public in order to gain political advantage." thus, public sentiment and negative perceptions about china are wedge as centrally political arising from the chinese development finance in africa (sibiri, 2021, p. 9). since the launch of the belt and road initiative (bri) in 2013 anti-chinese sentiments has heightened because by default, megaprojects and critical infrastructure tend to attract huge stakeholders, hence, the chances of politicisation. conceptualising populism in african politics proponents of good governance and accountability from all over the world have taken note of the rise of populism. populism has roots in human political history. its worldwide forms peaked with the 19th century's expansion of democracy. the return of modern populism in the 21st century is embedded in the democratic process which tries to alter the political landscape of africa. 261 populism is generally viewed as a collection of beliefs that are specifically created as ideologies to motivate anti-elitism and anti-establishment (mudde, 2004). the primary rhetoric of populism objectifies "the people," as its central thrust. from whatever angle it is looked at, the central theme of populism is about the people's power to change the political and economic condition of the people (kazin, 1995). kriesi added that populism is cause by the endemic economic distress, poverty and marginalisation in a state. it is responsible for the emergence of personality who act as saviour-like leaders and push sentiment against the elite and establishment (norris, 2005). galston (2018) contend that; populism is not merely, as some observers have suggested, an emotion-laden expression of disappointment over frustrated economic expectations, resentment against rigged rules and special interests, and fear of threats to physical and cultural security. the first wave of modern populist movements and political upheaval in africa began in the 1960s, during the decolonisation era. the era saw the emergence of a political elite known as the compradors who acted who mobilised africa people to resist colonial rule through populist rhetoric. after independence, several african governing parties evolved into powerful, authoritarian forces that maintained control over the state apparatus until they were ousted by military coup d’état. the second wave was defined by the fall of independence political leaders and the rise of military control and autocratic one-party systems. african populism grew from the middle of the 1980s to the 1990s until the end cold war (nkrumah, 2021). the third wave occurred during the post cold war when widespread democratisation took place across the continent. for instance, populism became a campaign technique for achieving political goals. subsequently, some of the populist leaders that emerged include kenya's raila odinga, senegal's abdoulaye wade, south africa's julius malema and jacob zuma, zambia's michael sata, ivory coast's laurent gbagbo, uganda's yoweri museveni, nigeria’s muhammad buhari and kenya’s samuel ruto (cheeseman & larmer, 2015; mbete, 2015). the post-cold war democratic era in africa is characterised by persuasive and maligning speeches during elections targeted at gaining power. these leaders emerged amid discontent with democratisation process, socioeconomic problems, and anger at opposition groups' inability to unseat ruling parties in democratic government as opposed to authoritarian governments. anti-chinese populism and power struggles in africa the rate of chinese investments covers megaprojects such as power, road, railway, airport, seaport and mining sector. this has also seen the rise in populism. these megaprojects and businesses have been politicised by domestic political actors who believe their goals are being threatened by the increasing influence of chinese in africa. in agreement with the assertion, hess and aidoo (2019a), affirmed that the political entrepreneurs in africa exploit the common public perception about china for political purposes. conceptually, populism is construed around the notion of advancing wealth redistribution, social justice and common good while dismantling establishments and institutional violence. those who criticise the tenets of populism, argue that it is a threat to the elite class and the international capitalist order (jakupec & max, 2019, p. 61). populism is usually engrave in the political party manifestoes. these manifestoes reflect both the domestic and foreign policy 262 goals of the party (coticchia & vignoli, 2020). on one hand, the right populist parties tend to align their foreign policy to reflect issues such as conservatism, national sovereignty, deglobalism and closed immigration policy. on the other hand, the left populist parties pursue open market, social justice, social security, free education and health service (chryssogelos, 2017). despite the categorisation, political parties in africa cannot easily differentiate its populist leanings. therefore, they are not based on the right-left dichotomy. populism in africa is largely driven by the desire to acquire power without any clear-cut political ideology. largely, african populism is about wrestling for power from the ruling party for policy overturn. conversely, populism in africa, is not driven by any coherent ideological leaning. however, the rise in african populism is occasioned by the inherent poor governance, social and economic marginalisation. the cultural backlash theory provides relevant explanation about the rise of populism in africa. it argues that the rise in the number of voters supporting populist constructs is induced by both economic and social discontent over the negative effects of globalisation and neoliberalism, which is perceived as an existential threat (inglehart & norris, 2016, p. 3). therefore, populism creates an antithesis between domestic politics and foreign policy as well as narratives on how development finance is administered for infrastructure development. it indicates the interplay between domestic politics, development finance, and power relations between recipient states, donors and the foreign publics (makuwira, 2017, p. 30). bergmann (2018, p. 3) argues that populist rhetoric on foreign aid is constructed around the perception that political elite compromise state sovereignty for favours from donor states. the emerging trend of anti-chinese populism raises concern about the future of africa-china relations especially where people-to-people coexistence is in question. although anti-chinese is an emerging phenomenon, the way it is weaponised by opposition political parties for political gain is worrisome. for instance, instead of reflecting on the bad governance and weak institutions, populist messages tend to blame foreign investors and donor states. speaking to the nature of perception on china, žižek (2006, p. 555) maintained that “the cause of the troubles is ultimately never the system as such, but the intruder who corrupted it.” discourses on chinese investment, populism and domestic politics in africa discourses on africa-china largely emphasises state-to-state diplomatic relations. hodzi argues that the classic narrative about foreign aid to africa stress donors and state the main actors while passively underscoring the agency of political elites and citizens. elites and individuals are important because persons with access to power tend to influence discourse on public policy and foreign policy of their respective states (hodzi, 2018). for instance, the unfettered access to resources by the political elite is attributed to corruption and mismanagement of state resource, often, this smears the chinese development finance as well. although the kleptocratic tendencies of the elites is not directly associated with chinese development finance but it hurts china’s reputation on the continent. thus, elites in opposition political parties tend to blame the relationship between the ruling class and the chinese government as well as investors being part of the reasons responsible for economic distress in kenya and zambia. therefore, the acrimony among the elites is not necessarily about chinese development finance and investment in africa but the allocation of values as justified by harold’s "who gets what, when, and how." politics and populism in chinese megaprojects and investments in zambia: cases and context 263 selected cases will be discussed from zambia and kenya on how populism and domestic politics influence the rise of anti-chinese sentiments and resentments in africa. in zambia, perceptions about the interactions between zambian politicians and chinese diplomats are interpreted as political interference especially during election seasons where the incumbent seek for re-election. the statement made michael sata the leader of patriotic front (pf) in 2007 at the harvard university set the stage for antichinese populism in zambia. sata criticised chinese infrastructure and mining investments in zambia. the rhetoric referred to china as exploiters, infesters and called for the deportation of the chinese people. sata’s populist message advance the idea of collusion between the corrupt ruling elite and the chinese. to spite china, sata’s party pledged to disregard the one china policy by forging diplomatic relations with taiwan (lusakatimes, 2007). in subsequent rhetoric, china was accused of supporting the incumbent party, movement for multiparty democracy (mmd) during the 2011 elections (hess & aidoo, 2019, p. 10). the patriotic front (pf) won the 2011 election but changed its stance on anti-chinese populism (matambo, 2019). this reinforces the argument that domestic politics and foreign policy are inherently inseparable. therefore, the perception about how the state relate with donors affect public opinion and influence domestic politics (kleibl, 2013). therefore, domestic actors and the political milieu can enhance or impede the dispensation of development financing on megaprojects based on public perception (stephen, 2018, p. 146). thus, sata rode on the populist rhetoric against chinese development finance and businesses in zambia to win the presidential election in 2011. he was alleged to have used the china card1 during the 2006, 2008, but was heightened during 2011 presidential elections. fraser (2017) described sata’s political campaign as not only confrontational but energetic to advance his populist goals. particularly, in 2006, his party constructed a social identity which was antagonistic and dichotomised the masses and elites. he characterised the later as collaborators. the elites were blamed for urban crimes, inequality, corruption, unemployment, and debt burden from both western and chinese donors. the rhetoric triggered anti-chinese violence against businesses across zambia especially the violent labour impasse at chinese-owned copper mines (hess & aidoo, 2015b, p. 19). for instance, in 2005, 49 local workers reportedly died due to safety-related reasons in a chinese factory which drew public outcry against chinese businesses in zambia. also, dispute between the workers and their chinese managers over low and discriminatory wages was reported. the dispute later escalated to kidnapping of chinese. during the pay increase riot, wu shengzai was killed, and two chinese managers were charged in court for attempted murder as confirmed by the 2011 human rights watch report (bbc, 2012). as seen in some of the election outcomes, sata’s use of china card increased the votes he garnered during the 2011 elections. he first contested in 2001 and got a vote share of only 3%, but by 2006 it rose to 29%. in 2008 the vote count indicated sata earned 38% of the total vote cast. but by 2011, the use of anti-chinese rhetoric gave sata victory against incumbent president banda. in his anti-chinese rhetoric, sata claimed that banda’s re-election was being sponsored by the chinese government. his desperation to win the election earned him the nickname "populist opportunist" sata garnered 42%, while banda got 36% (hess & aidoo, 2015, p. 103). although the ethnopolitical makeup of zambia tends to determine elections in zambia, however, the china card became game-changer for the pf to win the 2011 elections. 264 the china card divert the public's attention from the divisive ethnic sentiment while it unified the public against the chinese. going west and populism in chinese megaprojects and investments in kenya: cases and context this section highlights the populist politics and an overview of kenya-china relations. it also analysed the role of raila odinga and samuel ruto in promoting anti-chinese rhetoric against chinese infrastructure and businesses in kenya during the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections. the modern political history on kenya-china relations cannot be told without a reflection on the 1960s. in 1964, zhou enlai’s visited 10 african countries including kenya. during the diplomatic visit he made the historical statement that africa is in an "excellent revolutionary situation". the statement was misconstrued as a call for the communist revolution in africa. meanwhile, this was at the height of the cold war which aggravated sharp criticism from the world capitalist bloc. particularly, the remark was greeted with diplomatic displeasure by the government of kenya led the former president, jomo kenyatta. president kenyatta argued that it does not need another revolution, the mau mau anticolonial struggle was its revolution. the diplomatic row led to the severance of diplomatic relations between kenya and china which lasted for 10 years from 1967 to 1978 (chege, 2008; xue, ding, chang, & wan, 2019). although the consequence of the statement was unintended, it helped to shape china’s noninterference policy while strengthening of africa-china relations. danial arap moi restored the relations in 1979 which resulted in the rise of chinese investments in health, sports and road infrastructure. mwai kibaki intensified the relations through his “look east” policy. it attracted huge chinese investments in the information and communication technology and road highways. these megaprojects epitomised one of the huge chinese investments during the era of president kibaki (waweru, 2020). although chinese infrastructure investments in kenya cut across different sectors such as sport, road, railway, telecommunication, and real estate, the most politicised of the infrastructure investments is the standard gauge railway (sgr) under president uhuru kenyatta. the populist national super alliance (nasa) led by raila odinga, a political coalition consisting of ethnic groups such as the kamba, luo and luhya who consider themselves institutionally marginalised were opposed to the chinese sgr megaproject. while the jubilee government of president uhuru kenya and samuel ruto largely composed of kikuyu and kalenjin ethnic groups. the jubilee party promoted the sgr as a game-changer for kenya’s economic development and geopolitics in east africa. but nasa viewed the infrastructure differently. nasa’s populist rhetoric was based on the allegation of collusion between china and the ruling political elite. nasa further claimed that the cost of the railway was inflated to provide kickbacks to corrupt politicians when compared to the railways in ethiopia and tanzania (lesutis, 2022). one of nasa claim was that the railway was designed to pass through kikuyu and kalenji strongholds for ethnic patronage to the president and his deputy’s communities (wissenbach & wang, 2017). the nasa coalition condemned the railway megaproject as conduit for corruption, lacking viability and causing debt distress. it further dismissed the completion of the first phase of the railway in 2017 at the eve of elections as a strategy by the government and the chinese to enhance jubilee party’s vote mobilisation. in addition, the opposition accused president uhuru kenya of situating the suswa railway inland container depot on the property belonging to his family (kivol & steven, 2017). accordingly, brautigam and tang 265 (2012, p. 11) recognized that political elites in africa tend to misuse foreign aid and infrastructure investments from china to finance projects for the purpose of political mobilisation instead of development. affirming and tang’s argument, kenyan senator, isaac mwaura, described the railway infrastructure as development corruption project (mwaura, 2020). although these accusations are domestic and political in nature, they are indirectly connected to the chinese railway megaproject in kenya and have been used to advance the power struggle between raila’s nasa and kenyatta’s jubilee party. following the heated political campaign and the disputed 2017 presidential election which saw claims and counterclaims about who won the election, the election was cancelled by the supreme court judgment for breach of electoral processes. the independent electoral and boundaries commission (iebc) was ordered by the supreme court to conduct another election. however, raila odinga rejected the supreme court judgment. rather, he preferred to be declared the winner outrightly. he was later sworn in by his party as the people's president. the political stalemate followed. the country drifted into chaos and was at the brink of widespread violence. the escalating tensions led to mediation to avert a repeat of the 2007 post elections violence. thereafter, president uhuru kenyatta and raila odinga reached the truce popularly called the handshake. the handshake saw raila backtracked on his anti-chinese rhetoric on the sgr (zwanbin, 2022). thus, the handshake changed the narratives about the chinese railway infrastructure in kenya and kept the anti-chinese rhetoric until the 2022 elections. by 2023 election campaigns, politics of chinese megaprojects and businesses resurfaced again. jimi wanjigi, the presidential candidate for the safina party, revived the populist narrative on the sgr. wanjigi accused uhuru kenyatta’s government of mortgaging the future of kenya through the sgr chinese loan (nation, 2022). although he did not directly mention the chinese, the accusation disparages the china for the economic woes and debt distress being experienced in the country. meanwhile, as the handshake brought raila closer to the government, samuel complained of being sidelined by the president while raila enjoyed more access to state power and resources. ruto feared that the handshake will threaten his to become president by the end of uhuru’s tenure. in the meantime, ruto also had an unwritten agreement with uhuru to become president after him. this angered ruto who saw that as betrayal. with raila abandoning his populist politics to join the government, ruto chose the populist route to power. he used the hustlerdynasty narrative. also, anti-chinese rhetoric formed part of his populist narrative. ruto align his foreign policy agenda toward the west unlike his predecessors. he became very vocal against china and chinese people. during the campaign, he reportedly promised to deport chinese people and release the controversial sgr contract to expose the corruption claim about the sgr megaproject (bartlett, 2022). the rhetoric appealed to his hustler base. ruto won the election in 2022. his anti-chinese posture did not change, although, he chose a more pragmatic approach which tried to play the in-between diplomacy but with more propensity to the west (mitchell, 2022). as promised, ruto's government released the sgr contract in breach of the agreement between kenya and china. some of the clauses of the agreement demands clearance from china before the contract can be made public (brautigam, 2022). release of the contract appeased the hustler support base who believed the chinese lenders exploited kenya (nation, 2022). the government of kenya also took over the management of the sgr from the chinese afristar. the afristar was initially contracted by the kenya railways corporation to manage the sgr. 266 the chinese company was accused of running the railway at loss and perpetuating workplace discrimination against local staff (otieno, 2022). the politicisation of the sgr megaproject drove public opinion which in turn left negative impact on the coexistence chinese small and medium businesses and their counterpart in kenya. one typical example was the china square incident which confirms the rising antichinese resentment in kenya. the china square is a business established by lei cheng along with his chinese partners to provide quality and affordable goods at the unicity mall in kenya. local traders and importers located at wholesale markets in eastleigh, muthurwa, nyamakima and gikomba markets were angered by the fierce competition posed by the china square (ciuri, 2023). subsequently, huge demonstration broke out against the china square for selling goods 45% lower than the market price. demonstrators displayed placards with inscriptions such as “stop china invasion-save our businesses, save our future generation”, "chinese must go!", “the chinese cannot be importers, retailers, wholesalers, and hawkers". the china square was forced to closed. the kenya bureau of standards (kebs), the agency responsible for ensuring standards and quality invade the mall and seized some of the goods but were later returned for lack of evidence the mall was selling fake or substandard goods in kenya (africanews, 2023). after high level diplomatic interventions by the chinese embassy and dialogue with kenyan business community, the china square was reopened. significantly, the audacious statement posted by the trade minister moses kuria about the china square on twitter was viewed as an antichinese incitement. kuria stated that "we welcome chinese investors to kenya but as manufacturers, not traders". the anti-chinese rhetoric received condemnation from china, prominent kenyans like raila odinga and miguna miguna as well as from some members of parliament. those opposed to the anti-chinese trade policy criticised the minister for hypocrisy and sinophobia. critics of the minister claimed that while western brand such as java house, carrefour, and quickmatt enjoy favourable business environment, but chinese businesses are singled out in kenya. the answer lies in the body languageof the government's anti-chinese disposition (kiprop, 2023). politics in africa, chinese communist party and public diplomacy the rising resentment against chinese investments is not unknown to china. as african politics drifts toward anti-chinese populism, china recognises the dynamism in the social and political landscape of africa. thus, its public diplomacy is targeted at solving some economically and politically motivated issues. chinese public diplomacy cover sectors such as the media, education, agriculture, health and academic exchanges aimed at advancing its foreign policy goals in africa. for instance, china targets the political class through the international department of the communist party of china (id-cpc). the id-cpc is saddled with responsible to articulate programmes that will foster friendliness and cooperation between china and african party officials as conflict resolution mechanism where political tensions and misconceptions arises. the id-cpc strategies involves party-to-party relations where strategic meetings, training, and party training schools are held. for instance, in 2018, the chinese communist party pledged to train members of the jubilee ruling party in kenya and also provided 20 scholarships for studies on grassroots mobilisation, democracy, and party management (nyamori, 2018). the party-to-party strategy helped china to maintain peaceful and intimate exchanges with the political class in kenya and zambia, thereby (scott, 2021) providing access to top decision267 makers in government cycle. the strategy also engages opposition parties, but more attention is given to the ruling parties. the id-cpc is mandated to revitalise its party-to-party engagement as a public diplomacy tool to reach influential political elites and prospective leaders to fulfill xi’s "new era" global order (hackenesch & bader, 2020, pp. 1–7). for instance, between november 30 and december 3, 2017, the id-cpc organised the ccp-world political parties dialogue conference in beijing. the summit saw the attendance of 300 representatives from 120 countries. the cpc keeps open contact with young political figure even before they are elected or appointed into political offices (zhong, 2007). china’s interaction with political elites has been misconstrued as political interference in the domestic politics of african states especially by the opposition parties such as and jubilee in kenya and mmd in zambia. china tends to be accused by opposition parties for sponsoring re-election of incumbent governments or parties. the closeness of chinese political elites and that of african ruling elites in africa fuels the misrepresentation china is in collusion with the elite and interferes in african elections (sibiri, 2021). reflections on politics, populism, chinese megaprojects and businesses in africa-china relations the intersection between politics, populism vis-a-vis chinese development and businesses in africa provide insights into the relevance of relooking africa-china relations through the lens of domestic politics and pragmatic public diplomacy. the use of china card as populist strategy in kenya and zambia shows the interconnection between domestic politics and chinese development finance as well as businesses. therefore, china card act as a political currency used in exchange for power. the anti-chinese rhetoric is not necessarily driven by patriotism but by the desire for power where populism serves as a means. for instance, the change of rhetoric by the sata-led pf party from being anti-chinese to defender of zambiachina relations indicates that anti-chinese populism in zambian was a mere means to power. in addition, odinga raila’s support for the chinese sgr megaproject in kenya after the handshake also supports the argument that some of the anti-chinese rhetorics are politically motivated. the handshake changed raila’s narratives on corruption and collusion associated with the chinese railway megaproject in kenya. president ruto’s in-between diplomacy where he plays between the west and china shows the fluidity of anti-chinese populism in africa. for example, both ruto and sata called for the deportation of the chinese people, setting an unpleasant tone where chinese citizens are targeted and not the state or china. however, none has been reported to have occurred. therefore, anti-chinese populism in africa is rooted in general discontent and the failure of african states to deal with human security challenges such as poverty, gender violence, unemployment, marginalisation, insecurity and institutional violence. notwithstanding, it is simplistic to ignore the rising sinophobia across africa and attribute it to only politicisation of chinese megaprojects and businesses in africa. some of the tensions can also be linked to obnoxious actions of chinese private businesses where bad labour practices, segregation and discrimination have been reported to have caused the anti-chinese impasse. although the 2021 afrobarometer report on africa-china relations affirmed that africans have positive perception about china in africa, however, the report only speaks about state-to-state relations and not about chinese people in africa. this is often ignored by researchers. considering the rising tension between africans and chinese, it is important to further investigate why africans are susceptible to populist anti-chinese rhetoric. the china square saga shows that the 268 strategic approach to africa-china studies should be focused on the structure-agency rather than the structure-centric approach that pays more attention to interstate relations. conversely, while china’s public diplomacy promote efforts toward closing the gaps in peopleto-people relations in africa, african political leaders keep the china card open for manipulation and as means to power. therefore, study noted that the pattern of anti-chinese populism situates the ruling parties as pro-china while opposition party as anti-china. once power flip to the opposition, the narrative changes as the case with sata of zambia and raila odinga’s nasa coalition party in kenya. conclusion the paper established that africa-china relations enjoy strong state-to-state ties. however, the nascent use of political and anti-chinese rhetoric has introduced a new dimension to africachina studies. while the belt and road initiative provided huge opportunities for development financing for africa’s infrastructure, migration of chinese people into africa is viewed with misgivings. the presence of chinese businesses and workers is seen in terms of competition rather than collaboration. therefore, populist rhetoric is driven by fear and suspicion about political collusion and the threat to local business opportunities. therefore, politics and power are central to the use of the china card in kenya and zambia. the collusion and corruption narrative against china indicates the fluidity of the rhetoric. both sata, raila and ruto backtracked on their initial harsh rhetoric against china. the shift in the anti-chinese populism indicates that chinese people are beginning to be targeted in the populist narrative evident by the statements of sata and ruto deport chinese. thus, populism, domestic politics and foreign policy are inherently connected as africa’s political elite struggles for power. it is not uncommon to witness the emergence of anti-chinese populism in africa, particularly connected to the debt trap narrative and megaprojects. by default, since megaprojects attract both internal and external stakeholders, domestic actors with vested interest tend to politicise the planning, financing and implementation of the infrastructure. the debt trap narrative and economic downturn witnessed in africa has created public vulnerability seen in outrage against chinese in zambia and kenya. the study argues that the central issue associated with anti-chinese populism in africa is largely about the struggle for power among the political elite. the case showed in zambia and kenya confirms that anti-chinese rhetoric is toned down once the political party and the elites gain power. therefore, anti-chinese populism on megaprojects across africa is politically motivated to secure power. to avert the misuse of populism and avert social tensions, accountability, transparency and political decorum is required. thus, public dialogue and advocacy will enhance peaceful coexistence between the africans and chinese peoples. by and large, the paper stressed 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(2022). the “shitholes” in african politics: interrogating africa’s crisis of governance and accountability. fudma journal of politics and international affairs, 4(2), 164-178. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 267 capital adequacy and the financial performance of insurance companies: the nigeria experience 1fadun, olajide solomon (sofadun@yahoo.co.uk) *2oyerinde, moses tunde (mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com) 3aduloju, sunday adekunle(ksaduloju@gmail.com) 1,2,3department of actuarial science & insurance, university of lagos, lagos nigeria *corresponding author: mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com abstract the study examined capital adequacy on the financial performance of insurance firms, with a specific focus on the nigerian insurance sector. the study adopted an ex-post facto research design, usinga 15-year (2007 – 2021) time series secondary data. the sample consisted of nine insurance companies using purposive sampling to ensure a cross-representation of different tiers within the industry. this study explored key variables: capital adequacy and insurers' performance. capital adequacy (ca) is measured using shareholders’ funds, and insurance companies' performance is measured using the return on asset (roa), return on equity (roe), claims ratio (cr), profitability ratio (pr), and turnover ratio (tr).shareholders’ funds were calculated as the sum of issued share capital, retained earnings, and reserves as reported in the companies' financial statements. the data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression to unveil the relationship between capital adequacy and the financial performance of insurance companies. the findings revealed a positive significant correlation between capital bases and financial performance, indicating that companies with strongcapital basewill generate higher premium income, leading to increased profitability. this implies that insurance companies with adequate capital reserves are better positioned to achieve improved returns and increased premium income to settle claims promptly. keywords: capital adequacy, financial performance, profitability, insurance, insurance companies, nigeria background of the study risk management is a system module for insurance companies to maintain their financial performance, with capital adequacy as a pivotal element in this intricate relationship. the regulatory framework helps to ensure the stability and strength of insurance companies. ashraf et al. (2020) posited that there is an undeniable connection between capital adequacy and good performance. junreomvong et al. (2018) corroborated the view by demonstrating a direct correlation between capital adequacy and performance in various organisations. hence, there is a need for a regulatory framework that helps ensure insurance companies' stability and strength to determine profit. profitability is a key factor that attracts potential investors to a business, making financial performance essential in enticing investments. khakimovna (2024) views profitability as an important factor in attracting investment. capital is necessary for firms to achieve their investment objectives (mayer, 2021). also, it essential to maintain financial stability and security (chen et al., 2021). capital plays a vital role in the functioning of organisations, as it can either hinder or enhance the achievement of set goals. peterson and wu (2021) posited that business managers need financial foresight, as growth often requires additional capital injection methods such as right issues, equity, or debt financing. financial performance entails generating revenue by utilising the firm's assets. it is crucial to compare and contrast the financial results with those of similar firms to measure organisational performance effectively (cindiyasari et al., 2022; gupta et al., 2022; silwimba& fadun, 2022). nigerian insurance companies encounter significant challenges mailto:mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com mailto:mosesoyerinde818@gmail.com 268 such as market competition, regulatory compliance, and economic uncertainties (fadun, 2023; mwongela, 2022). to navigate these challenges successfully, insurers must adopt innovative risk management strategies, particularly in capital adequacy risk management, such as the capital asset pricing model (capm) and modern portfolio theory (mpt). these strategies provide valuable insights for optimising capital allocation and enhancing financial performance. the financial performance of insurance companies in developing countries like nigeria is intricately tied to the effective management of capital adequacy risks (fadun & silwimba, 2023; oloke, 2023). understanding the regulatory framework, theoretical foundations, empirical evidence, and innovative approaches is essential in shaping the narrative of financial stability and optimal performance in the nigerian insurance industry. as the industry evolves, fully comprehending capital adequacy risk dynamics is vital for sustaining optimal performance and fostering financial stability. addressing the challenges associated with studying financial performance through capital adequacy risks requires using sophisticated methodologies to unravel the complexities of the insurance sector, adapt to changing regulatory environments, and overcome data-related obstacles. thus, the paper provides a framework for the role of capital adequacy in the financial performance of insurance companies. consequently, the study explores the correlation between capital adequacy and the financial performance of insurance firms. hence, this study examines the connection between capital adequacy and insurance companies' turnover or premium income. therefore, this study highlights the importance of capital adequacy in the financial performance of insurance companies. this study justifies the need for insurance companies to have solid capital adequacy. it also provides valuable insights into the insurance companies' risk management strategies. ultimately, this study analyses the relationships between capital adequacy and the turnover of insurance companies and contributes to the existing body of knowledge in this area. literature review relevant literature is reviewed in this section. capital adequacy and capital adequacy risk capital adequacy is a firm's (including an insurance company) ability to absorb losses and meet its obligations without becoming insolvent (si et al., 2023; chen et al., 2021; ashraf et al., 2020). capital adequacy risk entails the discrepancy between the perceived values of long-term assets funded by short-term, regulated-rate loans, resulting in a cash flow deficit when interest rates increase (abass & olubusade, 2023; malovana et al., 2023; mazikana, 2023).the capital adequacy ratio (car) indicates how well a bank can meet its obligations. also known as the capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (crar), the ratio compares capital to risk-weighted assets and is watched by regulators to determine a bank's risk of failure (msomi&nzama, 2023; mutumira, 2018; ngugi& afande, 2015). this study views capital adequacy risk as the potential loss of a portion or entire investment performance, as indicated by msomi and nzama (2023). insurance companies must analyse their capital adequacy by assessing their capital base, which is crucial for their operations. insurance companies need sufficient capital to meet their liabilities for their accepted or underwritten business. two main aspects indicate capital adequacy. firstly, the extent of business support is measured by the premiums collected. this is important because the insurer becomes liable for the coverage if a claim occurs. secondly, the extent of asset backing is significant as insurers need to have enough assets to meet their 269 liabilities as they arise. therefore, capital adequacy is a primary indicator of an insurance company's financial stability and strength. the financial stability of an insurance company is heavily reliant on its capital adequacy, which serves as a crucial indicator (kimani,2023). consequently, an insurance company must have a substantial capital base to handle claims when they arise (syafrizal et al., 2023; bala et al., 2022) effectively. financial performance performance encompasses the specific outcomes achieved in various fields, reflecting the organisation's competitiveness, efficiency, and effectiveness, as well as its procedural and structural aspects (ahmed et al., 2023; utami, 2023).gyamera et al. (2023) defined financial performance as the ability of an enterprise to maximise returns from its operations. financial performance is the extent to which financial objectives are achieved (setiawan&ekadjaja, 2023; dewi& mustanda, 2021). it is a metric to assess a company's financial well-being within a specific timeframe (utami, 2023). financial performance can also facilitate comparisons between similar firms within the same industry or across different industries or units (ahmed et al., 2023; dewi& mustanda, 2021). a firm with good financial performance effectively generates revenue by efficiently utilising available resources (thuy, 2023; akenroye et al., 2022; mamaro& legotlo, 2021). a firm with sound financial management has a better capacity for profitability (utami, 2023; akenroye et al., 2022). financial performance entails evaluating a firm's overall financial health within a specific time frame through monetary engagements (fadun & silwimba, 2023; jaf & rashid, 2023). profit-oriented businesses must prioritise financial performance as a goal, as failure to do so can have detrimental consequences. profitability is often used as a standard measure to assess the monetary outcome. in this study, financial performance is viewed based on the return on equity (roe), calculated by dividing earnings after interest and taxes (eit) by the total shareholder equity among risk-management firms. this study explores financial performance indicators as a dependent variable to examine the relationship with other variables in the study. premium and claim settlement are vital factors influencing the financial performance of insurance companies (fadun et al., 2024; fadun et al., 2023). premium is an amount paid periodically to the insurer by the insured to cover his risk. in an insurance contract, the risk is transferred from the insured to the insurer in exchange for premium payment by the insured. to take this risk, the insurer charges an amount called the premium. premium income can refer to the proceeds an investor earns from writing (selling) options contracts or the revenue an insurer earns from payments from policyholders (fadun et al., 2023). in either case, premium income originates from insurance protection to the insurer buyers, the insureds.an insurance claim is a formal request to your insurance provider for reimbursement against losses covered under your insurance policy. insurance is a financial agreement between you and your insurer. you have to pay a fixed premium (fadun, 2023). insurance companies reinsure their liability under the primary insurance contracts to ensure the spread of risk and ease claim settlement (fadun, 2023). this study's theoretical model is presented in figure 1. 270 figure 1:the study theoretical model (2023) capital adequacy and the performance of insurance companies dependent variable capital adequacy shareholders’ funds independent variable insurance companies performance return on asset (roa) return on equity (roe) claims ratio (cr) profitability ratio (pr) turnover ratio (tr) 271 the study examined the impact of capital adequacy on insurance companies' financial performance. ebere and onuoha (2022) identified several areas within typical insurance companies ripe for transformation through a conceptual research framework, such as manual processes, client retention, underwriter effectiveness, client service responsiveness, and claims processing times. muchiri and njoka (2021) explored the relationship between monetary risk and the financial success of kenyan insurance companies. using secondary data, the findings revealed a correlation between monetary risk and the financial performance of kenyan insurance companies (muchiri & njoka, 2021). the financial performance of the companies was assessed using return on assets (roa) as a measure of monetary achievement (muchiri & njoka, 2021). theoretical framework various theories are aligned with the impact of capital adequacy and financial performance, including the theory of economic efficiency. this study evaluates the relevant theory to capital adequacy and financial performance. the theory of economic efficiency, rooted in neoclassical microeconomic theory, is adopted for this study (van, 2022; solow, 1956). economic efficiency suits this study because the theory emphasises the need for an organisation to reduce costs and increase revenue (petrou, 2014). moreover, the theory of economic efficiency advocates that the efficiency levels in capital adequacy risk within an insurance firm can be attributed to various factors (van, 2022; petrou, 2014; solow, 1956). furthermore, these factors encompass elements inherent in the internal structure of capital adequacy risk, which directly impacts the financial performance of the insurance firm (kamuka, kanga & mungule, 2023; morara& bongani, 2021). such elements include the managerial staff's expertise, the workers' experience, and the skill levels exhibited within the organisation (rasyid, 2023; kiptoo et al., 2021; ishtiaq & siddiqui, 2019). this theory emphasises the efficient allocation and utilisation of resources, aiming to minimise wastage and reduce costs while maximising output. a firm can gain a competitive advantage over its less efficient rivals in the same industry by creating value through economic efficiency. economic efficiency theory suggests that maintaining an excessive amount of capital can decrease the risks faced by an entity (van, 2022; petrou, 2014; solow, 1956). thus, highlighted the need for a firm to have a high capital buffer can enhance a firm’s performance and resilience (van, 2022; petrou, 2014; solow, 1956). economic efficiency theory, also known as capital buffering theory, has proven effective in ensuring uninterrupted operations for financial institutions, particularly when subjected to well-regulated regimes (van, 2022; petrou, 2014; solow, 1956). hence, the concept of capital buffer is evident in the performance of financial institutions, including banks and insurance firms. this view was developed by akpanetal (2017) and chepkilot (2019). in the context of the current study, capital adequacy plays a crucial role in determining the financial performance of insurance companies in nigeria. methodology this study uses a descriptive research design to collect secondary data to explore and interpret the current situation. it examines the role of capital adequacy in nigeria's insurance companies' performance. the data was analysed using e-view 12.0. fifteen years (2007 2021) of time-series data sourced from the nigeria stock exchange database, the nigerian insurers association (nia), and financial statements of the selected insurance companies, including nem insurance plc, nem insurance plc, consolidated hallmark insurance plc, royal exchange general insurance, mutual benefits assurance, guinea insurance plc, 272 leadway assurance company limited, axa mansard plc, aiico insurance plc and cornerstone insurance plc. this study explored key variables (capital adequacy and insurers' performance), and nominal variables were used to measure the variables. capital adequacy is the dependent variable, while insurance companies’ performance is the independent variable. capital adequacy is measured using insurers’ equity (eq). the aggregate difference between assets and liabilities is equity, which is the net residual ownership of business owners. insurance companies' performance is measured using the return on asset (roa), return on equity (roe), claims ratio (cr), profitability ratio (pr), and turnover ratio (tr). shareholders’ funds were calculated as the sum of issued share capital, retained earnings, and reserves as reported in the companies' financial statements. the data was analysed using pearson’s product-moment correlation and logistic regression analysis. regression analysis was undertaken to determine the relationship between dependent and independent variables. the understated multiple linear regression model was developed for this study: financial performance (y) = α₀ + β₁x₁ + β₂x₂ + β₃x₃ +β₄x₄+ β₅x₅+ е……….. where β₁, β₂, β₃, β₄, β₅ = represents the coefficients for the independent variables. α₀ = represents the intercept for x variable of capital adequacy. ca= βo + β1cr + β2pr + β3tr + β4roa + β5roe + е where: ca represents insurance companies’ capital adequacy, measured using shareholders’ fund α is the intercept between the dependent and independent variables β1, β2, β3, β4, and β5are regression coefficients for the independent variables cr is the claims ratio pr is the profitability ratio tr is the turnover ratio roa is return on assets roe is return on equity ε is the error term data analysis the data collected was analysed using e-views 12.0, and the descriptive statistics are presented in table 1. 273 table 1: descriptive statistics source: researchers’ computation using e-views12.0 (2024) table 1 shows that the median of capital adequacy (ca) is 6.89, claims ratio (cr) is 0.30, profitability ratio (pr) is 0.09, turnover ratio (tr) is 0.28, return on assets (roa) is 0.03, and return on equity (roe) is 0.02. mean is the average of the data, which was calculated by dividing the sum of the data by the total number. ca has the highest mean (6.89), followed by tr (0.28), pr (0.09), roa (0.03) and cr (-0.03). however, the mean of ca, tr, pr and roa are positive, while that of cr is negative. table 1 shows that the mean of capital adequacy (ca) is 6.87, claims ratio (cr) is -0.32, profitability ratio (pr) is 0.10, turnover ratio (tr) is 0.25, return on assets (roa) is 0.02, and return on equity (roe) is 0.02. a median is the centre value of data when arranged in an order.ca has the highest median (6.87), followed by tr (0.25), pr (0.10), roa (0.02) and cr (-0.32). the ca, tr, pr and roa median are positive, while that of cr is negative. table 1 shows that the maximum and minimum of capital adequacy (ca) are 7.9 and 6.2, claims ratio (cr) are0.59 and -1.30, profitability ratio (pr) are 2.37 and -3.76, turnover ratio (tr) is 1.19 and 0.0, return on assets (roa) are 0.22 and -0.20, and return on equity (roe) are 0.28 and -0.27. regarding ca, the results suggest a relatively stable capital adequacy among the sampled insurance companies (table 1).the distribution of ca appears to be slightly positively skewed (0.41), with a leptokurtic shape (kurtosis of 3.13), indicating heavier tails and sharper peaks than a normal distribution. the jarque-bera test further suggests a departure from normality, with a p-value greater than 0.05. the claims ratio (cr) results revealed that the distribution seems symmetrical, with skewness close to zero, but the kurtosis indicates a leptokurtic distribution (table 1). the jarque-bera test results of ca also suggest non-normality. the pr distribution exhibits significant negative skewness (-4.05) and very high kurtosis (51.47), indicating a heavily left-skewed distribution with heavy tails (table 1). this departure of pr from normality is supported by the jarque-bera test, which yields a very low p-value. ca cr pr tr roa roe mean 6.890886 -0.301963 0.091233 0.278101 0.027610 0.022334 median 6.871104 -0.319100 0.103700 0.250300 0.024300 0.020491 maximum 7.906621 0.586100 2.368300 1.191200 0.220500 0.278578 minimum 6.210510 -1.300800 -3.761800 0.000000 -0.200900 -0.271577 std. dev. 0.342337 0.323566 0.436646 0.228391 0.056624 0.045667 skewness 0.412049 -0.349675 -4.052435 1.690933 -0.135826 -0.661870 kurtosis 3.125871 3.404503 51.46610 6.872873 5.761408 21.34746 jarque-bera 3.909271 3.671512 13582.42 148.7034 43.30783 1903.397 probability 0.141616 0.159493 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 sum 930.2696 -40.76500 12.31640 37.54370 3.727300 3.015023 sum sq. dev. 15.70411 14.02912 25.54843 6.989795 0.429647 0.279455 observations 135 135 135 135 135 135 274 the roa distribution appears moderately skewed and leptokurtic, as indicated by the skewness and kurtosis values (table 1). its jarque-bera test also again suggests a departure from normality. for roe, it is slightly negative skewness (-0.66) and very high kurtosis (21.35), indicating a heavily right-skewed distribution with heavy tails(table 1). the roe jarque-bera test confirms the departure from normality observed in other variables. however, the tr distribution exhibits significant positive skewness (1.69) and high kurtosis (6.87), indicating a heavily right-skewed distribution with heavy tails (table 1). the tr jarque-bera test also suggests a departure from normality. table 2: correlation analysis results source: researchers’ computation using e-view(2024) the correlation analysis results (table 2) indicate a moderate negative relationship between capital adequacy and claims ratio. this suggests that as insurance companies maintain more robust capital bases, they tend to experience lower claims ratios, indicating their ability to handle claims efficiently. however, the correlation between capital adequacy and profitability ratio is weak, implying that while capital adequacy is vital for financial stability, it may not directly translate into higher profitability for insurance companies. this highlights the complex interplay of various factors beyond capital adequacy that influence profitability in the insurance sector. furthermore, the analysis indicates a slight positive correlation between capital adequacy and return on assets (roa) and return on equity (roe). while these correlations are present, they are relatively weak, suggesting that factors other than capital adequacy also significantly impact the returns generated by insurance companies on their assets and equity. additionally, the relationship between capital adequacy and turnover ratio is weakly negative, indicating that as capital adequacy increases, there may be a slight decrease in turnover ratio. however, this correlation is not very strong, suggesting that factors beyond capital adequacy, such as market dynamics and operational efficiency influence the turnover ratio. covariance analysis: ordinary date: 03/13/24 time: 21:50 sample: 1 135 included observations: 135 correlation ca cr pr tr roa roe ca 1.000000 cr -0.467970 1.000000 pr 0.040843 -0.016725 1.000000 tr -0.104891 0.140423 0.017914 1.000000 roa 0.151641 0.113701 0.513208 0.360677 1.000000 roe 0.269213 0.050302 0.362203 0.166958 0.802217 1.000000 275 table 3: variable unit root test result the unit root test was conducted on various financial performance indicators of insurance companies, including capital adequacy (ca), claims ratio (cr), profitability ratio (pr), return on assets (roa), return on equity (roe), and turnover ratio (tr). the results of the test revealed that all variables, except for the turnover ratio (tr), exhibited stationarity, as evidenced by the rejection of the null hypothesis of a unit root. this implies that variables such as ca, cr, pr, roa, and roe do not exhibit a trend or drift over time and are suitable for meaningful time series analysis without the interference of spurious correlations. however, the turnover ratio (tr) showed integration of order one [i(1)], indicating that it is not stationary in its original form and requires differencing to achieve stationarity. this suggests that the turnover ratio exhibits a trend or drift over time, which should be addressed through appropriate statistical methods to ensure the validity and reliability of subsequent analyses. table 4: regression analysis results source: researchers’ computation using e-view(2024) the regression analysis conducted in this study aimed to examine the relationship between capital adequacy and various performance indicators of insurance companies. the dependent variable, capital adequacy (ca), was regressed against several independent variables including claims ratio (cr), profitability ratio (pr), turnover ratio (tr), return on assets (roa), and return on equity (roe). the results indicate several noteworthy findings. firstly, the regression model's constant term (c) is 6.730195 with a standard error of 0.049085. this suggests that when all other independent variables are held constant, the expected value of capital adequacy is approximately 6.73. the t-statistic for this constant term is highly significant, indicating a strong relationship between the constant term and the dependent variable. dependent variable: ca method: least squares date: 03/13/24 time: 21:27 sample: 1 135 included observations: 135 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 6.730195 0.049085 137.1142 0.0000 cr -0.503518 0.078070 -6.449580 0.0000 pr -0.079811 0.068780 -1.160368 0.2480 tr -0.157590 0.123447 -1.276575 0.2040 roa 0.289757 0.898609 0.322451 0.7476 roe 2.317345 0.946593 2.448090 0.0157 r-squared 0.320070 mean dependent var 6.890886 adjusted r-squared 0.293716 s.d. dependent var 0.342337 s.e. of regression 0.287703 akaike info criterion 0.389648 sum squared resid 10.67769 schwarz criterion 0.518771 log likelihood -20.30124 hannan-quinn criter. 0.442120 f-statistic 12.14509 durbin-watson stat 0.659531 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 276 moving on to the coefficients of the independent variables, it is observed that the claims ratio (cr) has a negative coefficient of -0.503518 with a significant t-statistic of 6.449580 (p-value < 0.001). this implies that capital adequacy tends to decrease as the claims ratio increases. similarly, return on equity (roe) shows a positive coefficient of 2.317345 with a significant t-statistic of 2.448090 (p-value = 0.0157), indicating that higher return on equity is associated with higher capital adequacy. conversely, the profitability ratio (pr), turnover ratio (tr), and return on assets (roa) do not show statistically significant relationships with capital adequacy. the coefficients for these variables are -0.079811, -0.157590, and 0.289757, respectively, with t-statistics and pvalues indicating no significant impact on capital adequacy. the overall explanatory power of the regression model, as indicated by the r-squared value, is 0.320070. this means that the independent variables included in the model can explain approximately 32% of the variance in capital adequacy. the adjusted r-squared, which considers the number of predictors in the model, is slightly lower at 0.293716.the f-statistic, which tests the overall significance of the regression model, is 12.14509 with a very low p-value (<0.001), indicating that the regression model as a whole is statistically significant in explaining the variation in capital adequacy. the hypothesis was tested using cointegration test, the results of the cointegration test suggest that there is evidence of cointegration among the variables considered in the analysis. the null hypothesis, which states that there are no cointegrating relationships (i.e., no common trends) among the variables, is rejected at all levels of significance. when considering the hypothesis of no cointegrating relationships (none), the corresponding eigenvalue is 0.293927, and the trace statistic is 134.4527. comparing this to the critical value of 95.75366, the probability value is extremely low (p < 0.0000), indicating strong evidence against the null hypothesis. this implies that there are indeed cointegrating relationships present among the variables.the series considered for the cointegration analysis include capital adequacy (ca), claims ratio (cr), profitability ratio (pr), return on assets (roa), return on equity (roe), and turnover ratio (tr).hence, the hypothesis shows a significant relationship between the capital adequacy risk and insurance companies' performance (turnover/premium income). discussion of findings the findings from the analysis offer valuable insights into the intricate relationship between capital adequacy and various performance indicators of insurance companies in nigeria over 15 years. exploring these findings in detail, it becomes evident that the negative coefficient (0.503518) observed between capital adequacy and claims ratio (cr) underscores the significance of maintaining strong capital bases for insurers. this aligns with previous research by samson and mojekwu (2013), who highlighted that adequate capitalisation enables insurers to mitigate losses effectively, thus reducing their susceptibility to adverse events such as large claims payouts or catastrophic incidents. moreover, this finding resonates with the assertion made by abass and olubusade (2023) regarding the pivotal role of capital adequacy in fostering trust and stability within the insurance industry. conversely, the positive coefficient (2.317345) between capital adequacy and return on equity (roe) suggests a symbiotic relationship, indicating that higher capital adequacy is associated with increased returns on equity. this finding aligns with the capital buffer theory posited by jokipi and milne (2011), emphasising that well-capitalized insurers are more confident in pursuing profitable ventures, consequently contributing to improved 277 performance. furthermore, the perception of a well-capitalised insurer as stable and creditworthy attracts investors and facilitates growth opportunities within the industry (abass &olubusade, 2023). however, the analysis indicates no statistically significant relationships between capital adequacy and profitability ratio (pr), turnover ratio (tr), and return on assets (roa). this underscores the complexity of factors influencing financial performance in the insurance sector beyond capital adequacy alone (abass et al., 2021; kaguri, 2012). it suggests that insurers must balance maintaining adequate capital reserves and optimising operational efficiency to maximise profitability and returns on investment. the r-squared value of 0.320070 suggests that the independent variables in the model can explain approximately 32% of the variance in capital adequacy. this underscores the need for future research to explore additional variables, such as regulatory environment, market competition, and technological advancements, as proposed by abass et al. (2021), to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping capital adequacy in insurance companies. the implications of these findings are substantial for insurance companies and policymakers in nigeria. insurers should prioritise maintaining adequate capital reserves to enhance financial stability and resilience while also focusing on improving operational efficiency and investment strategies to maximise profitability. on the other hand, policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring a conducive regulatory environment that promotes both financial stability and industry efficiency(abass & olubusade, 2023). the findings underscore the multifaceted relationship between capital adequacy and financial performance indicators in the nigerian insurance sector. while adequate capitalisation is essential for stability, it may not guarantee higher profitability alone. insurers must adopt a holistic approach to risk management, encompassing capital adequacy, operational efficiency, and strategic decisionmaking, to thrive in the dynamic market landscape. policymakers, meanwhile, must balance regulatory oversight with industry efficiency to foster sustainable growth and development within the sector. conclusion and recommendations the objectives of this study were to assess the role of capital adequacy on the financial performance of insurance companies. the e-view test, pearson correlation method, and regression models were employed. a panel data approach was used with time series data from 2007 to 2021 covering nine (9) selected nigeria insurance companies. the sca model's hypothesis has been validated, confirming a positive correlation between capital adequacy and profitability, turnover, and claims settlement of insurance companies. the sca model's aim has been validated, confirming a positive correlation between capital adequacy and profitability, turnover, and claims settlement of insurance companies. the findings suggest that a strong capital base enables insurance companies to generate higher premium income and achieve better returns. this study emphasises the importance of maintaining adequate capital bases to enhance profitability and highlights the role of innovative risk management approaches in improving the performance of the insurance sector in nigeria. based on the findings, the following are recommended: nigeria's insurance companies are enhancing their capital adequacy by conducting regular assessments, implementing dynamic capital allocation strategies, conducting stress testing, and proactively adapting to evolving regulatory standards. 278 the findings and research limitations imply several recommendations for future research. firstly, future studies must delve into the critical analysis of the effects of capital adequacy on the performance of insurance companies in nigeria. this entails conducting research with a more significant sample size representative of the entire population to ensure the generalisability of the results. additionally, implementing new regulatory standards can enhance the insurance industry's resilience and ensure the long-term stability of credit supply, thereby supporting the economy's sustained growth. however, it is essential to note that stricter regulation may harm the efficiency of insurance companies, highlighting the trade-off between financial stability and efficiency that policymakers and insurance companies must navigate. therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the influence of the capital adequacy risk ratio on the efficiency of insurance firms. furthermore, future researchers can explore the existing gaps in the literature regarding the critical analysis of the impacts of capital adequacy risk management on the performance of insurance companies in nigeria, both presently and in the future, and also delve deeper into the specific risk profiles of different insurance subsectors, allowing for tailored and suitable capital adequacy mechanisms. investigations into the regulatory framework and incentives that promote the adoption of capital adequacy regulations would provide valuable insights. references abass, a. a., & olubusade, j. o. 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(2023). the effect of financial performance and capital structure on company value with company size as a moderation variable. asian journal of economics, business and accounting, 23(24), 112-23. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2023/v23i241191 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_818 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_818 https://doi.org/10.60079/aefs.v1i2.112 https://doi.org/10.24912/ijaeb.v1i1.363-373 https://doi.org/10.9734/ajeba/2023/v23i241191 281 van, g. g. (2022). the theory of efficient growth. munich personal repec archive (mpra). available at: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/111461 https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/111461 page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 179 quest for state police in nigeria: in who’s interest? nu'uman mohammed habib department of sociology, bayero university kano, kano state, nigeria e-mail: nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng abstract since the return to civil rule in 1999, after a long interregnum of military rule, the call for the devolution of powers to the lower levels has become more strident. while the more extremist agitators have called into question the very existence of the nigerian federation, demanding that it be dismantled, others have been more tempered, urging that a confederal arrangement should be put in place, whittling down the powers of the government at the centre. however, even among those not disposed to either of these two positions, there appears to be some support for the view that the nigeria police require some radical reform, including the creation of state police to be fully under the charge of state governors. this paper explores the debate for the creation of state police, arguing that the call is but symptomatic of the poverty of leadership in the nigerian state. keywords: security, state police, nigeria, reform introduction one of the issues that have occupied the front burner in the discussion of the changes needed to be effected in the on-going constitutional review is what needed to be done with the nigeria police, a security agency that is monopolized by the central government within a three tiered structure made up of federal, state, and local government set-up. views and opinions have been offered and canvassed by various stakeholders, who hold divergent positions, regarding what role the nigeria police should play and, more importantly, whether there should be devolution of powers of the police such that there should be state police in each state of the federation. the nigerian federation has over the years come under very serious strain including a civil war that threatened the very foundation of the nation as a united country. easily the most populous nation on the african continent and among the top ten in the world, nigeria's multiethnic and multi-religious composition have served as convenient fault lines easily seized and cashed upon by unscrupulous and predatory political opportunists to further widen the differences and use same to their personal, political, and pecuniary advantage. inter-elite rivalry appears to overshadow the genuine need for nation-building, national integration and the elevation of the nation and the citizenry over and above base primordial divisions and sentiments. in this paper, we discuss the background to the calls for the establishment of state police, the attempt to regionalize the call as if it were a north versus south affair and why it should be seen as an indication of the poverty in leadership in the country rather than a genuine attempt at redressing some grievance or designed to better the lot of the common man. it is the contention of this paper that while the nigeria police, as presently constituted, is less than optimal in the performance of the role assigned it in satisfying the expectations of the citizenry, the panacea lies not in balkanizing it or having state governors superintending over mailto:nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng 180 its affairs; the way out is to have a police organization that is professional, effective, efficient, responsible to the masses and answerable to them. the police in nigeria from early times in any society the police have always been an integral part of the social and political fabric. the police fulfill important functional and symbolic roles, being guardians of law and order, the absence of which are an impediment to development as well as a threat to individual and group liberties. the nigeria police are an off-shoot of the various security outfits that were indigenous to the states and societies that preceded the colonial administration. according to tarmuno (1970) the colonial administration sought to and gradually expanded the reach of the british fostered police beyond the coastal areas. at the same time, however, there was a conscious and deliberate attempt to develop and consolidate whatever local security forces were in place to continue to serve the cause of law and order under the direction of local traditional authorities. using the famous indirect rule policy, the british colonial administration seized upon the political structures in the north and the west of nigeria where the dogarai and akoda (among the several other names they were known with) served as police respectively. even in the east, which had none of the elaborate political structures found in the north and west, the colonial administration succeeded in fashioning out a policing mechanism and outfit to take care of issues of law and order. in their studies of the nigeria police, tamuno (1970) and rotimi (2001) gave rich and detailed background of how the colonial government dealt with the indigenous police and how they were incorporated, appropriated, or constrained in an attempt to make them fit colonialist designs. by 1960 when independence was attained, in each of the provinces of the regions, there were native authority police which are different from the nigeria police in terms of recruitment, organization, funding, and mandate. the native authority police served the areas under the jurisdiction of the native administration but could and did collaborate with the nigeria police when circumstances required such. the native authority police have had mixed reviews, while some saw them as the epitome of injustice, high-handedness and political persecution against opponents of the governments they were operating under, others romanticized them, recalling with nostalgia how the society was virtually crime-free as a result of their efficient policing. it is the fact that many recall the alleged misuse of the native authority police that is why there is concern when the need for a state police is mentioned. on the other hand, the proponents of state police have in mind their daring exploits against bandits and criminals which they gave as reason for why they should be reinstituted. in any case, the incursion of the military into governance following the coup of january 1966, the creation of states in 1967 which saw the scrapping of regions, also resulted in the dissolution of native authority police. all police functions have since then been performed by the nigeria police whose brief is the entire federation. however, the nigeria police have received knocks from a dissatisfied citizenry who accused them of bribery, corruption, inefficiency, and indolence among several other ills. they are said to be too few, severely ill-equipped, poorly remunerated, unprofessional and incapable of policing a heterogeneous polity like nigeria with demands peculiar to each section of the country. this unsavory reputation is not helped by the police's failure to solve high profile cases including the murder of a government minister under their watch not to talk of inter 181 and intra-communal clashes that have assumed endemic proportions particularly since the return to civil rule 1999. apart from lay citizens who deprecate the police, there are other more privileged nigerians who would want to be handed the leash to control the police. state governors appear to be averse to a situation where, though they are said to be chief security officers of the states, they do not have the last say while dealing with state commissioners of police. the nigerian constitution section 215 (4) states: subject to the provisions of this section, the governor of a state or such commissioner of the government of the state as he may authorize in that behalf, may give to the commissioner of police of the state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and security of public safety and public order within the state as he may consider necessary, and the commissioner of police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with: provided that before carrying out any such directions under the foregoing provisions of this subsection the commissioner of police may request that the matter be referred to the president or such minister of the government of the federation as may be authorized in that behalf by the president for these directions. a slice of the cake state governors have issues with a constitutional provision that effectively sidelines them by making the president or someone acting on his behalf to determine whether or not the orders emanating from them should be carried out or not. but that is not the only grouse of the governors; in fact, if only section 214 of the constitution could be dispensed with or altered, section 215(4) might be rendered redundant. section 214 states that: there shall be a police force for nigeria, which shall be known as the nigeria police force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof. nigerian state governors want the above section to be expunged from the constitution and state police to be created as "panacea for the crises in the country" according to a story in the sunday punch newspaper of january 1, 2012. the paper went on to quote extensively from a number of state commissioners who spoke for their governors: one of prime movers, governor godswill akpabio of akwa ibom state, told sunday punch on friday that the establishment of state police had become a necessary tool for the maintenance of peace and order in the society. speaking through his commissioner of information and communication, mr. anickan umanah, akpabio said, "the government of akwa ibom state has been calling for the creation of state police where the governor will have the power to hire and fire. others quoted by the sunday punch newspaper were mr. majah umeh, commissioner for information, culture and tourism in anambra state, mr. kayode akinmade, ondo state's commissioner for information and strategy, ekiti state's commissioner of information, mr. funmi afuye, his bayelsa state counterpart, mr nathan egba, and the special adviser to the oyo state governor on media, dr. festus adedayo. governor patrick yakowa of kaduna state was also quoted. all of those spoken to expressed support for the creation of state police as could be seen in the sampled quotes below: the governor believes that the creation of a state police would be a very effective way to put the boko haram sect in check. the governor will continue to demand its creation until the 182 request is approved by the federal government. [kayode akinmade, commissioner, ondo state] my governor is in support of the creation of state police. this is what we have been calling for since. this, among other issues, would be what nigerians would talk about at the sovereign national conference we are canvassing for. [mr fanmi afuye, commissioner, ekiti state] the state government will not necessarily oppose the idea if it comes up... every democracy across the world practices the same thing. in the united kingdom, they don't even have a state police. what they have is city police. every city has its own police... the merits of a state police outweigh the demerits. but because we are used to power coming from the centre in all spheres of our lives, that is why people find it difficult to identify with the idea. [mr. nathan egba, commissioner, bayelsa state] throughout this country, we have only one police force. because of the size of this country and the size of our police force, it poses a great challenge and i am talking from experience. when violence erupts in one area, you have to get in touch with the commissioner of police who will in turn get in touch with the inspector-general of police, who will then arrange for additional police support from other state formations. before that happens, only god knows the magnitude of damage that would have been done. of course, the governor takes the blame because he will be accused of not responding on time to the situation. unfortunately, people don't know that the governor is not in charge because he has to go through a channel. [mr. patrick yakowa, governor, kaduna state]. reasons for wanting to have state police range from the need to empower governors so that they could "hire and fire" to removing the existing constraint such that the governors need not "go through a channel." governors, in other words, should be given be a slice of the action so that the federal government does not continue to monopolize power. not surprisingly, following a meeting of the nigeria governors forum, ngf, in abuja on june 24, 2012 a communiqué was released in which the governors canvassed the establishment of state police, arguing that only the creation of state police would "help combat the rising insecurity in the country." however, the northern governors after a meeting held on july 26 and presided over by the chairman and niger state governor, babangida aliyu, appeared to have a change of heart, as they came out with a statement which was at variance with what the larger body, made up of all state governors, had weeks earlier proclaimed as their position. the meeting was attended by 18 of the 19 ngf members. rather than state police, northern governors asked for the national police to be strengthened. their new position, however, contradicted the earlier position taken by all the 36 governors, in which they had agreed that the violence in the country would best be tackled with the establishment of state police. a communiqué issued by the ngf was categorical that, "the forum is not in support of the creation of state police.” it, however, resolved to prevail on the fg to embark on police reforms that will assist the states in the control and management of police affairs on a sound philosophy of modern policing by amending the provisions of section 215 of the constitution. however, mr jonah jang, the plateau state governor, and member of the northern governors forum, broke ranks with his colleagues, siding with his other colleagues who want state police. mr jang's position received a boost when former military president, general ibrahim badamasi babangida lined up behind the proponents of state police. babangida's 183 position is important in that his backing of the constitutional amendment in favour of state police creation meant that it is not a north-south affair as punch newspaper wanted its readers to believe. the daily trust newspaper of 17th august 2012 reports under the heading ibb backs state police, says it will work well, that: former military president general ibrahim babangida yesterday threw his weight behind the calls for the establishment of state police, saying he believed the state police can work in the country. the former president, who expressed his views at a press briefing in minna yesterday as part of activities to mark his 71" birthday today, said the country must not remain stagnant. “there is the need for us to go forward; i do not think there is anything wrong with state police and i believe the state police will work", he said. babangida also wondered why the fear of the state police that manifested in the 50s and 60s was still haunting the country because of the native authority police that were used to intimidate political opponents during the pre-independence and first republic political era. he equally dismissed the fear entertained in some quarters that governors would abuse the good intention for the establishment of state police, saying "i don't think the incumbent governors can use state police to intimidate anybody. honestly, the fear is unfounded." the former president has hardly finished speaking when his namesake, and governor of his home state. babangida aliyu, returned the salvo. in the sun newspaper, september 28, 2012, under a story headlined, why northern govs. 're against state police aliyu the paper has the niger state governor saying: let us talk and debate it so that the wordings become very clear. if we have state police, what are the guarantees that they will not be abused? we want to understand what the state police will be doing. you have to delineate what they will be doing, so that they don't become alpha and omega. so that you don't turn every political thug into a state police. a former inspector-general of police, alhaji gambo jimeta, also disagreed with general ibrahim babangida. jimeta, in a story captioned, ex-ig faults babangida's call for state police in the punch newspaper of august 21, 2012 said: i must say that while serving with him (babangida), we had serious differences on the issue of law and order. it is very clear to me that there is a lot of misunderstanding and total ignorance of the establishment of a law-and-order agency in a democracy. when the military took over, the system of budgeting for the police was destroyed. what you have as police establishments-offices or housing for the police were provided by the first republic leaders. nothing has been done for the police since then. those clamoring for state police are not sincere; there are few states that can fund the police better than federal government. 99 per cent of states that can't do things for their people can't run the police... while former president general ibrahim babangida was being excoriated by both his state governor and a former top cop in his administration, he got support from the sitting president, mr. goodluck jonathan, who said the country should not have state police for the present. in a story by the daily independent newspaper of tuesday, august 28, 2012 with the caption: nigeria not ripe for state police, the paper reports mr. goodluck jonathan, thus: on the issue of state police, everybody knows i have been deputy governor and governor in bayelsa state; there was a time we were frustrated and we felt that we should have our own police, that we would be able to manage criminality in our state better because of our local 184 environment. policemen from other parts of the country find it difficult to go into the waters, but for us who were born inside water, even in the night we can enter ordinary canoe to go anywhere and we feel that if we have our local police it will be better for us because our police can reach everywhere in our state. but when i discussed the issue of state police with former presidents before a state council meeting, they said it is a good idea, that probably one day we will get there, and that is the emphasis i want to make, one day we will get to that point. ... we also feel that looking at the federal level and the way the governors are handling elections in their states with their state electoral commissions, where opposition parties hardly win even councillorship elections, so if there is state police and the governors manipulate their state police the way they are manipulating their state electoral commissions, the instability that it will create, even what we are witnessing will be a child's play. it is worth noting that general babangida, an advocate of state police, is a member of the council of state that counseled president jonathan against having state police for now. it is also interesting to compare the positions of both the former as well as the current presidents, especially how they both effortlessly switched positions once their fortunes changed. as a govermor, jonathan was for state police, the moment he was elevated to president, he had a different take on the issue altogether. similarly, at the time he was president, general babangida was not so enthusiastic about state police, which was why he never contemplated introducing one throughout administration. the political bureau which his administration set up in preparatory to the handing back of power to civilians had cautioned against giving in to agitations for state police and recommended that: [t]he solution does not lie in allowing state governments to have their separate polices. it lies more in providing adequate mechanisms which will guarantee a harmonious working relationship between police officers in the states and the chief executives of these states. such situation obviously involves the two parties fully realizing that the purpose of law and order is to guarantee the security of life and property... [report of the political bureau, p.105]. the babangida administration upheld this recommendation and no state police were incorporated into the 1992 constitution that began the transitional process to civil rule. curiously, now that he no longer occupies the topmost position he is seeing things from a different angle. no less curious is president jonathan's about face on an issue that he was pretty disposed towards before becoming president, only for him to dump it when he has the chance to help it materialize as president. the poverty of leadership the question to ask is: what could possibly explain the vacillations in the positions of leaders in the so-called debate over the creation of state police? the short answer is: poverty of leadership. this poverty is demonstrated not only in the way the debate/discussion is going on but also in the way the debate was framed. the issue had been reduced to federalversusstate police proponents and opponents, masking in the process the all important question: to what end do we need the police? when the police are inefficient, indolent, corrupt, and ready instruments in the hands of those in authority, does it matter whether they are controlled by the federal or state governments? does merely changing the constitution to pave way for states to have their own police forces guarantee better safety and security to the citizenry? 185 to the ordinary nigerian it is not where the police are located in the constitution but how efficiently and effectively they are able to make him or her feel secure and safe as they go about their legitimate pursuits of cking out daily sustenance. the privileged nigerian elite appeared not to be bothered that stretched as the nigeria police are at the present, "of a total number of 371,000 policemen in the country today, over 100,000 are involved in providing security to few businessmen and politicians to the detriment of the ordinary citizens." this is coming from niger state governor babangida aliyu, one of the beneficiaries of this skewed arrangement but who, rather than advocating for people-oriented police, is content to let the status quo remain if only a little tinkering could be effected in the constitution. the issue that should occupy centre stage is how the nigerian masses can retrieve the police from the clutches of the politicians that have hijacked them and made them anything nigeria police except in name. if between them politicians and businessmen could effectively commandeer more than 27% of police men to themselves leaving the rest to the remainder of the population, we need not guess whose interests state police would serve. it is heart-warming that the nigerian masses are beginning to see through the antics of their self-serving leaders by refusing to buy into their attempts to ensnare them into endorsing what is ultimately a ploy to further emasculate them. the new nigerian newspaper dated 14th november, 2012 in a story captioned, constitution review: a/lbom public session rejects state police reported that the masses of akwa ibom kicked against any changes to the constitution that would lead to the creation of state police the people of akwa ibom, at the constitution review public session, voted down the proposal for state police as championed by their governor, godswill akpabio, correctly reading that there is a world of difference between state police at the beck and call of a governor and a people's police whose raison d'être are the people. conclusion the position in this paper is that the debate over state police is a debate wrongly couched, it is therefore imperative upon all nigerians to be wary lest they are misled into jumping into the fray without digesting what the issues are and what is at stake. policing is about making the people safe and ensuring criminals are kept at bay or behind bars. consequently, the first person who should enjoy the services that the police provide should be the hardworking men and women that toil to earn an honest day's upkeep. in the present dispensation, the nigeria police are anything but the protectors of the masses. the police have remained an institution that serves elite interests and thus the common man hardly identifies with it a name change, or even devolution of powers to incorporate state police is certainly not the panacea, salvation lies in the hands of the people who should be asking: state police? to what end? references adamu, a. a., (nd) chieftaincy and security in nigeria: past, present, and future. kano. research and documentation directorate federal republic of nigeria. constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999. lagos. 186 federal government press, federal republic of nigeria.. report of the political bureau, 1987. langworthy, r. h., & travis iii, l. p. (1999) policing in america: a balance of forces. new jersey. prentice-hall, inc. rotimi, k., (2001) the police in a federal state: the nigerian experience. ibadan. college press. tamuno, t. n., (1970) the police in modern nigeria, 1861-1965. ibadan. university press. govs plan to fight b' haram with state police, sunday punch newspaper, january 1, 2012. state police widens north-south divide, the punch newspaper, 5th august 2012. ibb backs state police, says it will work well, the daily trust newspaper, 17th august 2012. why northern govs're against state police aliyu, the sun newspaper, september 28, 2012 ex-ig faults babangida's call for state police, the punch newspaper, august 21, 2012 nigeria not ripe for state police, the daily independent newspaper, august 28, 2012 constitution review: a/lbom public session rejects state police, the new nigerian newspaper, 14th november, 2012 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 95 ethical behaviour and public organizational performance: implications for productivity and service delivery optimization cornelius okorie department of political science alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, nigeria cornelius.okorie@funai.edu.ng or /ocorneloko@gmail.com +2348037235209 ayodeji o. adedeji department of political science alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, nigeria adeayo2000s@yahoo.com +2348060169488 onele sunday department of public administration alex ekwueme federal university, ndufu-alike, nigeria onelesunday76@yahoo.com +2348030941401 nwokwu hyginus nweze 2.nwokwihnweze@gm.com ; +2348037419323 abstract ethical behavior is a critical factor in enhancing organizational performance, especially within public sector organizations. public institutions, by their nature, are held to high ethical standards as they serve the public interest. this paper explores the relationship between ethical conduct and public sector performance, with a specific focus on productivity and service delivery. drawing on ethical leadership theory and public service motivation theory, the paper examines how ethical behavior fosters a culture of accountability, transparency, and integrity, which in turn reduces corruption, enhances decision-making, and improves employee morale. empirical evidence from various studies indicates that ethical practices not only optimize service delivery but also build trust between the government and citizens. the findings highlight that ethical leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping organizational culture, leading to higher productivity and more efficient use of resources. through institutionalizing ethics management frameworks, public sector organizations can significantly improve their service outcomes and overall performance. keywords: ethical behaviour, public sector performance, productivity, service delivery, ethical leadership introduction ethical behavior plays a crucial role in shaping the effectiveness and credibility of public sector organizations. unlike private sector entities, public organizations are charged with a duty to serve the public interest, and this requires a high standard of ethical conduct. ethical behavior in public organizations is not only essential for sustaining trust among citizens but also for enhancing the overall performance of the institution. research has consistently shown that public organizations that adhere to ethical standards experience improved service mailto:cornelius.okorie@funai.edu.ng mailto:/ocorneloko@gmail.com mailto:adeayo2000s@yahoo.com mailto:onelesunday76@yahoo.com mailto:2.nwokwihnweze@gm.com 96 delivery, higher productivity, and enhanced public trust (akinlade et al., 2022; chapman, 2003). ethical leadership, in particular, has been identified as a key driver of these positive outcomes by fostering an environment of accountability, integrity, and fairness (wijesekera & fernando, 2018). the relationship between ethics, productivity, and service delivery in public organizations is complex but interdependent. ethical behavior reduces corruption, enhances decision-making, and increases employee morale, which in turn leads to better organizational performance (yatich & musebe, 2017; ghory, 2020). for example, countries that maintain high ethical standards in public administration report more efficient service delivery and greater citizen satisfaction (dorasamy, 2010; fejzullahu & batalli, 2019). in contrast, unethical practices, including corruption and mismanagement, often lead to service inefficiencies and undermine public trust (mle, 2012). therefore, understanding the link between ethical behavior and performance is critical for governments seeking to optimize service delivery and public sector efficiency. this paper aims to explore the impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance in the public sector, with a specific focus on how ethics influence productivity and service delivery outcomes. using ethical leadership theory and public service motivation theory as its theoretical frameworks, this study will investigate the extent to which ethical conduct contributes to improved organizational outcomes, and how ethical management tools can be utilized to enhance public sector performance. the primary research question guiding this paper is: how does ethical behavior affect productivity and service delivery in public sector organizations? the structure of this paper is as follows: section 2 will provide a literature review that explores existing research on ethics and public sector performance. section 3 will outline the theoretical framework guiding the study, focusing on ethical leadership and public service motivation. section 4 will detail the research methodology, including the research design, data collection methods, and analysis approach. section 5 will present the findings, and section 6 will conclude with a discussion on the implications for public sector management. literature review definitions and conceptualization of ethical behavior in public sector organizations ethical behavior in public sector organizations refers to the conduct that aligns with accepted moral standards and promotes the public good. it involves adhering to principles such as transparency, integrity, fairness, and accountability, ensuring that public officials act in the best interest of society rather than for personal gain. ethical behavior is not only about compliance with regulations but also about discretionary decision-making rooted in classical ethical theories, encouraging employees to make morally sound judgments (kuffner hirt, 2003). codes of ethics, often adopted by public organizations, provide a framework for expected behavior, shaping organizational culture and guiding public servants in their actions (ashkanasy et al., 2001). furthermore, ethical behavior in public organizations is influenced by various sociodemographic factors, such as age, gender, and career stage. for example, younger employees are often more inclined to make ethical decisions, while older employees may be more likely to face ethical dilemmas due to the complexity of their responsibilities (roozen et al., 2001). leadership plays a critical role in establishing ethical norms within an organization, as public sector leaders are often viewed as role models whose behavior sets the ethical tone for the entire institution (tomescu & popescu, 2013). overall, ethical behavior in the public sector is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct involving both external guidelines (e.g., codes of ethics) and internal moral values (treviño, 1986). 97 previous research on the impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance research indicates that ethical behavior has a positive impact on organizational performance, particularly in the public sector. organizations with strong ethical climates report improved employee morale, increased organizational commitment, and higher levels of trust among stakeholders (wittmer & coursey, 1996). public sector organizations that prioritize ethics experience reduced corruption, lower legal disputes, and fewer conflicts, leading to a more stable work environment and enhanced performance (yatich & musebe, 2017). ethical leadership, in particular, is associated with greater organizational efficiency and stronger adherence to ethical norms, though it can also lead to challenges such as "ethical fatigue" in employees who face continuous moral scrutiny (shakeel et al., 2019). studies have also shown that ethics management tools, such as ethical audits and performance assessments, contribute to better organizational outcomes by aligning employee behavior with institutional goals (gatewood & carroll, 1991). for instance, countries with higher levels of public sector corruption often experience lower organizational performance, but the implementation of ethics management frameworks has been found to mitigate these issues (mills, 1999). the role of ethics in enhancing productivity and optimizing service delivery ethical behavior is critical to enhancing productivity and optimizing service delivery in the public sector. ethical leadership fosters an environment of fairness and integrity, which motivates employees to perform better and take responsibility for their roles (wijesekera & fernando, 2018). ethical work environments reduce conflicts and inefficiencies, creating a smoother administrative process that leads to improved productivity (chapman, 2003). public sector organizations that promote ethical standards are more likely to deliver services efficiently, ensuring that resources are used responsibly and effectively to meet the needs of citizens (akinlade et al., 2022). moreover, ethical principles guide decision-making in public organizations, helping to resolve complex issues in a manner that benefits both the organization and the public (tomescu & popescu, 2013). studies show that public sector organizations with a strong commitment to ethics experience higher levels of citizen satisfaction, as ethical behavior fosters trust between the government and the community (fejzullahu & batalli, 2019). in countries such as south africa, purpose-directed leadership has been shown to create an ethical culture that improves public service delivery by promoting a commitment to service excellence (dorasamy, 2010). challenges of maintaining ethical standards in public administration despite the importance of ethical behavior, public sector organizations face significant challenges in maintaining ethical standards. corruption remains a persistent issue, particularly in developing countries, where weak governance structures and political pressures can undermine efforts to promote ethical behavior (mle, 2012). public servants often encounter ethical dilemmas due to conflicting obligations, making it difficult to consistently uphold ethical standards (ehrich et al., 2004). additionally, bureaucratic inefficiencies and the complexity of public sector operations can create barriers to maintaining transparency and accountability (dorasamy, 2010). ethical compliance can also be difficult to enforce, especially when performance targets prioritize efficiency over ethical considerations (neugarten, 1980). in some cases, the pressure to deliver results may lead to unethical practices, such as manipulating data or cutting corners to meet deadlines (needham, 2006). furthermore, public sector reforms driven by new public management (npm) principles often emphasize cost-cutting and efficiency, which can conflict with the ethical obligations of public servants (lawton, 2005). 98 maintaining ethical standards in public administration requires ongoing efforts to institutionalize ethics through training, clear codes of conduct, and robust accountability mechanisms. however, these efforts are often hampered by external political pressures and internal organizational dynamics, making ethical governance a continuous challenge in the public sector. theoretical framework the study on the impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance in the public sector is grounded in three key theories: ethical leadership theory, stakeholder theory, and public service motivation (psm) theory. together, these theories offer a comprehensive framework for understanding how ethical behavior enhances productivity and service delivery in public sector organizations. each theory focuses on different dimensions of ethical conduct, but they complement each other in providing a holistic view of the relationship between ethics, performance, and stakeholder engagement in the public sector. ethical leadership theory ethical leadership theory emphasizes the role of leaders in promoting ethical conduct within organizations and how this influences organizational performance and culture. according to brown, treviño, and harrison (2005), ethical leadership involves the demonstration of normatively appropriate behavior by leaders through personal actions and interpersonal relationships, as well as the promotion of such conduct to followers through communication, reinforcement, and decision-making. leaders who act ethically set the tone for the organization, fostering a culture of integrity, fairness, and accountability that permeates the behavior of employees at all levels. in the public sector, ethical leadership is crucial for creating an environment where employees feel empowered to act in the public interest. leaders who embody ethical principles help reduce corruption, promote transparency, and improve organizational outcomes by ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of stakeholders (wijesekera & fernando, 2018). this, in turn, enhances service delivery and productivity, as employees are more likely to be motivated to perform effectively when they trust their leaders and feel aligned with the organization’s ethical values. ethical leadership also contributes to long-term organizational sustainability, as ethical climates foster trust and cooperation within teams, reduce turnover, and minimize the risk of ethical violations that could damage public confidence in the organization. overall, ethical leadership theory highlights the importance of ethical conduct at the top levels of management in shaping the behavior of the entire organization and driving performance improvements. stakeholder theory stakeholder theory, developed by freeman (1984), argues that organizations must consider the interests and needs of all stakeholders—such as employees, citizens, and government agencies—when making decisions. this theory is particularly relevant in the public sector, where ethical behavior is not only about internal organizational performance but also about serving the broader public good. stakeholder theory posits that ethical behavior aligns the goals of the organization with the needs of its stakeholders, ensuring that the organization acts in a socially responsible and accountable manner. in the context of public sector organizations, stakeholder theory suggests that ethical behavior enhances trust and legitimacy by demonstrating that the organization is committed to serving the interests of the public. for example, public officials who prioritize ethical standards in their interactions with citizens can improve public trust, which is essential for maintaining a 99 healthy relationship between government institutions and the communities they serve (fejzullahu & batalli, 2019). by considering the interests of all stakeholders, public organizations can make more inclusive and equitable decisions, which can improve the quality of service delivery and enhance overall organizational performance. when combined with ethical leadership theory, stakeholder theory reinforces the idea that leaders who demonstrate ethical conduct are not only improving internal organizational culture but are also building stronger relationships with external stakeholders. together, these theories underscore the importance of aligning ethical behavior with both internal and external organizational goals, creating a more holistic understanding of how ethics drives performance and service optimization in the public sector. public service motivation (psm) theory public service motivation (psm) theory, introduced by perry and wise (1990), explores the idea that individuals are motivated to work in the public sector due to a desire to serve the public and contribute to the greater good. according to this theory, public sector employees are driven by altruistic values and ethical motivations, which can positively impact their performance. psm theory emphasizes that employees who are motivated by a sense of duty and responsibility are more likely to act ethically, prioritize the needs of the public, and strive for excellence in service delivery. ethical motivation is a key factor in enhancing productivity and service delivery in the public sector, as employees who are committed to ethical principles are more likely to engage in behaviors that benefit both the organization and the public (perry, 1996). this aligns with the goals of ethical leadership theory, as leaders who foster an ethical work environment can further enhance the ethical motivations of their employees. additionally, when organizations implement ethical guidelines and create a culture that values public service, employees are more likely to remain engaged and committed to delivering high-quality services. psm theory complements stakeholder theory by highlighting the intrinsic motivation of public servants to serve stakeholders ethically and efficiently. this synergy between employee motivation and stakeholder needs reinforces the importance of ethical behavior in optimizing organizational performance and service delivery in the public sector. complementary nature of the theories the three theories—ethical leadership theory, stakeholder theory, and psm theory—work together to provide a robust framework for analyzing the impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance in the public sector. ethical leadership theory emphasizes the role of leaders in fostering an ethical climate, stakeholder theory ensures that the needs of both internal and external stakeholders are met through ethical decision-making, and psm theory focuses on the ethical motivations of public sector employees. when integrated, these theories highlight that ethical behavior in public organizations is not just about compliance with regulations but is a multifaceted process involving leadership, stakeholder engagement, and employee motivation. leaders who prioritize ethics set the tone for ethical conduct across the organization, while consideration of stakeholder needs ensures that ethical behavior translates into better service delivery outcomes. additionally, employees driven by ethical motivations are more likely to perform at higher levels, contributing to both improved productivity and the overall legitimacy of public institutions. together, these theories provide a comprehensive understanding of how ethical behavior enhances productivity and optimizes service delivery in the public sector, offering valuable insights into the mechanisms through which ethics can drive public sector performance improvements. 100 methodology this study employs a qualitative research approach, utilizing insights from secondary sources to explore the impact of ethical behavior on organizational performance in the public sector. the qualitative methodology is appropriate for gaining in-depth understanding of how ethical behavior influences productivity and service delivery. the study relies on data gathered from existing academic literature, government reports, and case studies that focus on ethical leadership, stakeholder engagement, and public service motivation in public organizations. secondary sources were selected through a systematic review of peer-reviewed journals, books, and credible institutional publications. key themes such as ethical leadership, organizational performance, and service delivery were analyzed using content analysis to identify patterns, trends, and relationships within the existing literature. this approach allows for the synthesis of various theoretical and empirical insights, providing a comprehensive view of how ethical behavior contributes to public sector performance. the methodology focuses on analyzing how ethical frameworks, leadership practices, and employee motivation, as discussed in secondary sources, influence organizational outcomes. the findings from these sources are interpreted to draw broader conclusions about the role of ethics in optimizing service delivery and improving productivity in public sector organizations. discussion of findings the findings from the reviewed literature highlight the significant influence of ethical behavior on both productivity and service delivery in public sector organizations. ethical behavior plays a critical role in shaping organizational performance by fostering a work environment that promotes accountability, fairness, and trust. the research underscores that when ethical norms are ingrained in the organizational culture, employees are more motivated to act in the public interest, which enhances productivity and overall performance (tomescu & popescu, 2013). ethical behavior reduces organizational inefficiencies, minimizes conflicts, and creates a foundation for better decision-making processes, which in turn increases productivity (chapman, 2003). public servants, motivated by ethical standards, are more likely to go beyond the minimum requirements of their roles, contributing to higher output and more efficient operations (perry, 1996). ethical leadership emerges as a pivotal factor in optimizing service delivery within the public sector. leaders who exhibit ethical conduct set the tone for the entire organization, creating an environment where employees feel empowered and supported to make ethical decisions (brown et al., 2005). this leadership style promotes transparency and accountability, which are essential for effective public service. when leaders model ethical behavior, it filters down to all levels of the organization, ensuring that employees adhere to ethical standards in their interactions with the public. this has been shown to improve service delivery by reducing corruption, enhancing trust between public institutions and citizens, and ensuring that resources are used more efficiently (wijesekera & fernando, 2018). moreover, the presence of ethical leadership fosters a culture of continuous improvement, where employees are encouraged to innovate and find better ways to deliver services. ethical leaders promote a sense of responsibility and integrity among their teams, leading to higher-quality services that meet the needs of the community (wijesekera & fernando, 2018). by prioritizing ethical standards, public sector organizations can avoid the pitfalls of corruption and inefficiency, which are often linked to poor service delivery. this is particularly important in countries where corruption has historically undermined the effectiveness of public services (mle, 2012). in such contexts, ethical leadership can be transformative, driving improvements in both the quality and reliability of public services. 101 the findings also point to important implications for policy development in public sector organizations. first, there is a need to institutionalize ethics management frameworks that reinforce ethical conduct across all levels of government (puiu, 2015). policies that promote ethical leadership and accountability should be prioritized to create a culture where ethical behavior is rewarded and unethical practices are swiftly addressed. this would not only improve organizational performance but also restore public trust in government institutions. furthermore, policies aimed at enhancing transparency, such as the introduction of ethical audits and performance assessments, can provide additional oversight and ensure that public organizations remain accountable to their stakeholders (gatewood & carroll, 1991). additionally, ethical guidelines should be integrated into recruitment and training programs to ensure that employees at all levels understand the importance of ethical behavior. this aligns with public service motivation (psm) theory, which suggests that public servants are inherently motivated by a desire to serve the public good (perry & wise, 1990). by reinforcing ethical values during the onboarding process and through continuous professional development, public sector organizations can create a workforce that is committed to ethical conduct and high-quality service delivery. in all, ethical behavior is a key driver of productivity and service delivery optimization in public sector organizations. ethical leadership plays a crucial role in fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and innovation, which enhances service outcomes. for public sector organizations to fully realize these benefits, there is a pressing need for policy frameworks that promote and institutionalize ethical behavior at every level of government. this will not only improve organizational performance but also strengthen the relationship between public institutions and the communities they serve. conclusion this study has demonstrated that ethical behavior is a critical factor in improving organizational performance in the public sector, particularly in terms of productivity and service delivery. ethical leadership plays a central role in fostering an environment of accountability and transparency, which is essential for building trust both within organizations and with the public. leaders who model ethical conduct set the standard for the entire organization, resulting in enhanced employee morale, better decision-making, and ultimately, higher levels of productivity. ethical behavior also influences service delivery by ensuring that public sector employees are committed to serving the public interest, which leads to more efficient and responsive services. the findings further suggest that public sector organizations with strong ethical frameworks experience fewer instances of corruption, legal disputes, and inefficiencies, all of which contribute to better overall performance. in creating a culture of integrity, public sector leaders can improve not only internal productivity but also the quality of services provided to citizens. this improvement in service delivery is essential for maintaining public trust, especially in environments where government institutions have historically struggled with issues of corruption and 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(2017). assessment of ethical behavior on organizational performance. african journal of business management, 11, 12-16. https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbm2016.8206 https://doi.org/10.1177/009102608000900402 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a024303 https://doi.org/10.1177/009102608101000102 https://consensus.app/papers/ethics-conflicts-interest-public-sector-tomescu/b44f573c09d150cdb08bcb46890ae814/?utm_source=chatgpt https://consensus.app/papers/ethics-conflicts-interest-public-sector-tomescu/b44f573c09d150cdb08bcb46890ae814/?utm_source=chatgpt https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1986.4306235 https://doi.org/10.5897/ajbm2016.8206 page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 74 contributions of x (formerly twitter) in sensitizing nigeria electorate towards exercising their voting rights in presidential elections okoli chizoba obasi ferdinand department of mass communication caritas university enugu abstract the main aim of this study is to determine the role of twitter in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting right in idemili north lga of anambra state. survey research method was used in this study, the researchers found out that former twitter has a role in sensitizing nigerian in the electorate towards exercising their right in idemili north lga. the researcher highlight the business-relationship-building-capacitate of former twitter as it enables customers and peers conversations that eventually support the development of products and service innovations. again, former twitter has a capacity for marketers to inform and engage customers and peers in their networks on wider topics thereby building a brand of the individual users and their companies simultaneously. finding, furthermore, former twitter enable quick way to distribute information, business intelligence and create a community. the study concludes that former twitter has become a tool to reach out to people of idemili lga in sensitizing them towards electoral processes. it recommends the combination of social media plate forms, like combining whatsapp and facebook in educating people towards their electoral obligations. keywords: former twitter, nigerian electorate, voting rights, presidential elections introduction since the turn of this millennium, the internal and social media networks have opened new opportunities to energize political participation and civil engagement in advanced and emerging democracies (opeibi, 2019). this new mode of virtual political interaction is creating a new space for accelerated engagements between political and citizens in most democratic cultures across the globe. they effectively encourage more direct communication channels between politicians and citizens, thereby reducing status and communication gaps (opeibi, 2019; cab, 2017). in nigeria, the electoral system plays a vital role in shaping the democratic process and ensuring the legitimacy of elected representatives. understanding the overview of nigeria’s electoral system is crucial to comprehending the context within whichx.com role in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights can be explored. this section provides a comprehensive, in-depth background of the nigeria electoral system, highlighting its key components, challenges and statistics. the nigeria electoral system operates under a multi-tiered structure comprising federal, state, and local government elections. the independent nigeria electoral communication (inec) is responsible for organization and conducting elections at the federal level. inec is an independent body established by the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. it is mandated to registered political parties, monitors campaign finance, and oversee the electoral process (inec, n.d.). elections in nigeria are conducted through direct and indirect voting methods. direct voting involves citizens casting their votes for individual candidates. in contrast, indirect voting is used to elect the president and the 75 government of states, whereby citizens vote for political parties, and the party with the majority forms the government. the president and government are elected through a tworound system, requiring a candidate to secure the majority of the popular vote and at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the states (nwabueze, 2015). despite the constitutional provisions and efforts made by inec to enhance the electoral process. nigeria faces several challenges in conducting free, fair, and credible elections. electoral violence, voter intimidation, vote-buying, and electoral malpractice are significant issues that undermine the integrity of the electoral system (nwabueze. 2015). furthermore, the country’s vast geographical size, diverse ethnic and cultural composition, and uneven development contribute to the complexity of the electoral landscape. to address these challenges, inec has implemented various electoral reforms and leveraged technology to improve the electoral process. the introduction of the permanent voter card (pvc) and the smart card reader (scr) has helped in voter registration, verification, and reduction multiple voting (inec, n.d). these technological advancements aim to enhance the transparency and credibility of the electoral system. in recent years, the emergence of social media platforms, includingx.com has significantly impacted political discourse and civic engagement in nigeria. with a large youth population and increasing internet penetration, social media platforms have become essential for political communication, mobilization and voter education (opeibi, 2019). according to statistics, nigeria has one of africa’s highest social media users, with over 60 million active internet users (kemp, 2021) x.com in particular, has gained popularity among nigerian citizens, political actors, and advocacy groups due to its real time naure and ease of disseminating information to a wide audience. it has become a platform for politicians to engage with citizens directly, share campaign messages, and address voter concerns (cab,2017). several notable events have demonstrated the financex.com on nigeria politics. opeibi (2019) argues that x.com one of the most popular social media platforms, has significantly sensitized the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights. he claims that …….. has enabled citizens to access information, express opinion, mobilize support, monitor elections, hold leaders accountable and demand good governance. he also asserts that x.com has empowered marginalized groups such as women, youth and ethnic minorities to participate more actively and effectively in the electoral process. he cites several examples of how x.com has influenced electoral outcomes and political dynamics in nigeria, such as the #nottooyoungtorun campaign, the #endsars protests, the #bringbackourgirls movement and the #nigeriadecides hashtag. however, opeibi (2019) also acknowledges some challenges and limitations of using … the political engagement in nigeria. he mentions issues such as the digital divide, take news, hate speech, cyberbullying, online violence, censorship and manipulation as some of the factors that can undermine or distort the democratic potential of x.com he also notes that x.com that users do not represent the entire nigerian population, as they tend to be more urbanized, educated, affluent and politically active than average citizens. he, therefore, calls for more research how x.com can be used more inclusively, responsively and effectively to enhance electoral participation and civil engagement in nigeria. x twitter has provided a platform for citizens to hold accountable and express their opinions on governance and public policies. it has also facilitated the emergence of political influencers and opinion leaders who shape public opinion and engage in political conversations (cab, 2017). however, while x.com offers opportunities for political 76 engagement, it also poses challenges. the spread of misinformation, hate speech and manipulating public opinion through social media platforms have been significant concerns in nigeria’s political landscape (opeibi,2019). additionally, the accessibility of social media platforms predominantly to urban areas are educated individuals creates a digital divide that may limit the reach and effectiveness of x.comcampaigns in sensitizing the entire electorate (cab,2017) the nigerian electoral system serves as the framework for democratic elections, ensuring the participation of citizens in the governance process. however, the system faces violence, voter intimidation, and electoral malpractice challenges. the advent of social media, particularlyx.com has revolutionized political communication and civic engagement in nigeria. with a significant number of social media users and the platform’s real-time nature,x.com has the potential to sensitize the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights. understanding the nigerian electoral system and the role of x.com within this context is crucial for comprehending the dynamics and impact of social media on the democratic process. voter participation is a fundamental pillar of a democratic society, playing a crucial role in shaping the legitimacy and effectiveness of the democratic process. understanding the importance of voter participation is essential to comprehend the significance of x.com. role in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights. voter participation is essential for ensuring the legitimacy of elected representatives and the representative nature of democratic governments. when a significant portion of the electorate actively participates in elections, it strengthens the mandate of elected officials and enhances the credibility of the democratic system (baddez, 2004). higher levels of voter participation contribute to a broader and more diverse representation of citizens’ interests, leading to policies that better reflect the needs and preferences of the entire population (franklin,2004). the fulcrum of this study lies in recognizing the paramount importance of voters participation in a thriving democratic society. voter participation bolsters elected representatives legitimacy and fosters inclusive representation, accountability and social cohesion. this study seeks to delve dipper into the influence of former twitter by examining its role in encouraging the electorate to exercise their voting right and participate actively in the electoral process. objectives of the study 1. asses the pattern and levels of former twitter usage among idemili local government area electorate. 2. examine the impact of former twitter on the political awareness and knowledge of the idemili electorate regarding electoral processes, candidates, and issues. 3. determine the effectiveness of former twitter as a platform for mobilizing the idemili electorate towards exercising their voting rights. 4. investigate the interaction between former twitter usage and age, education, socioeconomic status, and political awareness influencing voter engagement and participation in the idemili local government area. 77 research questions the following research questions will guide the study: 1. what are the patterns and levels of former twitter usage among idemili local government area electorate? 2. how does former twitter influence the political awareness and knowledge of the idemili electorate regarding electoral processes, candidates, and issues? 3. to what extent does former twitter serve as an effective platform for mobilizing the idemili electorate towards exercising their voting rights? 4. what factors, such as age, education, socio-economic status, and political awareness interact with former twitter usage to influence voter engagement and participation in the idemili local government area? literature review since the emergence of social media platform, there has been a significant transformation in how individuals engage in political processes and exercise their democratic rights. the advent of platforms like former twitter, facebook and instagram has opened up new avenues for political participation, enabling citizens to connect with political actors, share information, and express their opinion globally. the rise of social media has revolutionized political communication by facilitating direct and instantaneous between citizens and political actors (opeibi, 2019,p.24) notes that social media platforms have energized political participation and civic engagement across advanced and emerging democracies. through these platforms, individuals can access a wealth of political information, engage in discussions, and mobilize support for various causes (cab, 2017, p.57) observes that social media’s increasing usage by political parties, advocacy groups, and citizens has created a new environment for communication and interaction, breaking down traditional barriers and enabling more direct communication channels between politicians and citizens. scholars such as (zappavigna, 2013,p.12) and (opeibi, 2015.112) argue that social media technologies have fostered greater interconnectedness among people across temporal, spatial, cultural and political boundaries. these platforms have expanded the reach of political discourse, allowing citizens to engage in political conversations beyond their immediate physical communities. as a result, individuals can access diverse perspectives, engage with different political ideologies, and participate in discussions that shape their understanding of political issues. research has shown that social media usage positively impacts political knowledge and awareness. (valenzuela et al., 2012, p.32) found that social media use associated with increased political knowledge and participation. simply, a study by (boulianne, 2015,p.78) revealed that social media users likelier to have political discussions, seek out political information, and engage in civic activities. these findings suggests that social media platforms have the potential engagement by providing individuals with easy access to political information and opportunities to participate in political conversations. furthermore, social media platforms have proven to be effective tools for political mobilization. the arab spring uprising in 2010-2011 are a prominent example of how social media can facilitate mass mobilization and political activism (howard et al.,2011,p.11). platforms like former twitter and facebook played a crucial role in organizing protests, 78 disseminating information and galvanizing public support for political change. in nigeria, the #endsars movement in 2020 demonstrated the power of social media in mobilizing citizens and raising awareness about social and political issues. despite the positive contributions of social media to political participation, scholars have also identified challenges and limitations. the phenomenonof “slacktivism” or “clicktivism” refers to the tendency of individuals to engage in symbolic online actions without meaningful offline engagement (morozov, 2009,p.32) critics argue that social media activism may create an illusion of political participation without leading to tangible real–world impact. additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the potential for echo chambers and filter bubbles, where individual are exposed only to like-minded opinions, limiting the diversity of perspectives and stifling productive dialogue (sunstein, 2017.p.44). in the nigerian context, social media platforms, particularly former twitter, have gained significant popularity as channels for political engagement. nigeria is one of the countries with the highest number of internet users in africa (worldbank, 2020), and social media platforms have become spaces for citizens to express their political opinions, engage in discussions, and mobilize support for various causes. the role of former twitter in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights is of particular interest, as it offers a unique platform for political communication and mobilization. the literature on social media and political participation highlights the transformative impact of these platforms on democratic processes worldwide. social media has expanded access to political information, fostered political awareness facilitated political discussions, and enabled mobilization for social and political causes. however, challenges such as slacktivism and filter bubbles warrant careful consideration. in the nigerian context, former twitter has emerged as a powerful platform for political engagement, making it essential to investigate its role in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights in order to enhance democratic participation and strengthen the electoral process. social media platforms have revolutionized communication and transformed how individuals interact, share information, and engage in various activities online. defining social media platforms is essential for gaining a clear understanding of their scope and functionalities. social media platforms are online platforms that enable users to share content, engage in social participations, and participate in virtual communities. (kaplan &haelein, 2010,p.12). these platforms provide individuals with the means to connect, communicate and collaborate with others, often through user generated content. one of the defining characteristics of social media platforms is their user-centric nature. users can create and share content, shaping the overall environment and driving the interactions within the platform. the participatory nature allows for active engagement and empowers individuals to express their opinion, share information and contribute to discussions. another important characteristic of social media platforms is their networked structure. users can establish connections, build networks, and engage with others within the platform. these connections can be based on various relationships, such as friendships, interests, or professional affiliations. the networked structure of social media platforms facilitates the spread of information, enables social influences, and amplifies content reach. furthermore, social media platforms facilitates the creation and dissemination of usergenerated content. users can share text, images, videos and other forms of media, enabling them to express themselves, share their experiences, and contribute to ongoing conversations. this participatory nature of content creation distinguishes social media platforms from 79 traditional medias, where professional entities typically produce content. the popularity and adoption social media platform have grown exponentially in recent years. according to the datareportal global digital overview 2021 reports. as of january2021, there were 4.33 billion social media users worldwide, accounting for 55.1% of the global population (datareportal, 2021,p.123). this statistic underscores social media platforms widespread use and impact in shaping communication and social dynamics. different social media platforms offer distinct features and cater to specific user preferences. for example, facebook, one of the most prominent social media platforms, enables users to connect with friends and family, share updates, join groups, and engage in discussions. former twitter focuses on visual content, allowing users to share photos and videos, while former twitter emphasizes short real-time messages known as tweets. each platform has unique characteristics, user demographics, and usage patterns, contributing to the diversity and richness of the social media landscape. social media platforms, including former twitter, have has profound implications for political communication and civic engagement. these platforms have become influential political discussions, information sharing and mobilization spaces. former twitter, in particular, has gained prominent as platform that enables real-time conversations, hashtag campaigns, and direct interaction between political actors and citizens. research has highlighted the impact of social media platforms on political processes. gil de (zuniga et al., 2012 p.34) found that social media use was positively associated with political knowledge, political efficacy, and political participation. (enli and skogerba, 2023 p.53) also noted that social media platforms offer opportunities for political engagement, including political expression, political discussion, and political mobilization. in nigeria, social media platforms, including former twitter, have played a significant role in political; communication and citizen engagement. nigeria has a sizeable population of internet users, with a growing number of individuals accessing social media platforms (world bank),2020). these platforms have become spaces for political discussions, the dissemination of information, and mobilization for social and political causes. social media platforms have transformed communication, enabling individuals to connect, share content, and engage4 in virtual communities. the characteristics of social media platforms, including their user-centric nature, networked structure, and emphasis on user-generated content, distinguish them from traditional media channels. the widespread adoption of social media platforms globally and their impact on political communication highlight their significance in contemporary society. the role of social media in political communication and engagement social media platforms have engaged as powerful tools for political communication, offering unique features and functionalities that enable individuals to connect, share information, and engage in political discussion. these platforms facilitate direct and immediate communication between political actors and citizens, breaking down barriers and reducing information gaps (larson, 2018, p.24). through social media, political messages can spread rapidly and reach a broad audience, making it an influential medium for political discourse. social media platforms allows individuals to express their opinions, share contents, and engage in discussions. users can create and share under-generated content, such as text posts, images, videos, and links, which can shape public opinion and contribute to political debates (chadwick 2013, p. 47). this participatory nature of social mediat platforms empowers individuals to actively participate in the political process actively, fostering a sense of political agency and engagement. 80 furthermore, social media platforms facilitate forming of virtual communities and networks centered around political interests and causes. users can join groups, follow political figures, and connect with like-minded individual, creating opportunities for political mobilization and collective action (bennett &segeberg, 2012, p.30). these networks enable the dissemination of political information, the coordination of political campaigns, and the mobilization of support for political causes. research has highlighted the transformative impact of social media on political engagement. studies have shown that media use is associated with increased political knowledge, interest, and participation (gil de zuniga et al., 2012, p.23; vaccari et al, 2015, p.90). social media platforms give individuals access to various political platforms and perspectives, allowing them to stay informed and engaged in political issues (chadwick &stromer-galley, 2016, p.45). moreover, social media platforms can serve as a gateway for individuals to engage in offline political activities, such as attending rallies or volunteering for political campaigns (baulianne, 2015,p.25). one notable aspect of social media platforms is their facilitating political mobilization and activism. hashtag campaigns, online petition, and viral content on social media platforms have been instrumental in drawing attention to social and political issues marginalized voices, and mobilizing support for social movements (bruns et al, 2012,p.33: tufekei& wilson 2012, p.134). social media has become a vital tool for activists to organize and coordinate protests, raise awareness about injustices and challenge existing power structures.former twitter has emerged as a major platform for political communication and engagement among the various social media platforms. with its real-time nature and concise format, former twitter enables rapid dissemination of information and facilities direct interactions between political actors and citizens. politicians, political parties, and activities utilize former twitter to share their perspectives, respond to constituents’ concerns, and engage in public conversations. empirical review research conducted by adebayo and (adebayo, 2017, p.21) found that former twitter was effective to disseminating election-related news and updates, thus enabling the electorate to stay informed about political events and candidates’ platforms. former twitter real-time nature and capacity to facilitate rapid information sharing make it a valuable tool for disseminating voter education materials, political party manifestos, and candidates’ profile (oladunjoke, 2016. p4). furthermore, former twitter provides a platform for citizens to engage with political actors and institutions, allowing them to ask questions, seek clarifications, and engage in political discussions (al-dahdan& simmons, 2020, p.51). this interactive aspect of former twitter fosters a sense of political empowerment and encourages the electorate to participate in the democratic process actively. a study by (adeyanju et al, 2018,p.78) examined the impact of former twitter on voter awareness during the nigerian general elections. the findings revealed that former twitter placed a crucial role in disseminating information about candidates, political parties, and electoral processes, thus increasing voter awareness. former twitter real time nature and extensive reach also enabled timely updates on campaign events, manifestos, and political debates (larsson et al, 2019, p.90). 81 a study by (adegoke and chidozie, 2020, p.23) examined the influence of former twitter on political discussions and engagement during the idemili local government area elections. the results indicated that former twitter served as a platform for citizens to express their opinions, engage with political actors, and participate in political debates. former twitter features, such as retweets, hashtags, and mentions, facilitated the spread of political content and actively enabled citizens to contribute to the discourse (jungherr, 2016, p.45). a study by (olatunji and sambo, 2021, p.40) examined the impact of former twitter campaign on voter mobilization in nigeria. the research findings indicated that former twitter campaigns effectively mobilized voters, particularly among the youth population, by disseminating information about voter registration, polling locations, and candidates profiles. former twitter ability to reach a wide audience quickly and facilitate grassroots mobilization increased voter turnout (akematsu et al, 2018, p.56). a study by (ogundele et al, 2019, p.34) examined the use of former twitter in monitoring electoral activities and reporting electoral malpractices during the nigeria elections. the research findings revealed that former twitter served as a platform for citizens to report voter intimidation, irregularities and misconduct incidents. the real-time nature of former twitter enabled prompt reporting and enhanced transparency in the electoral process (larson et al, 2019,p.34). edegoh and okoye, (2018, p. 23) revealed a positive relationship between former twitter usage and voter turnout in nigerian elections. former twitter has been leveraged to mobilized citizens, encourage voter registration, and promote the importance of voting (adebayo and adelapo, 2017, p.34) hashtag campaigns and onlineactivism have galvanized the electorate, increasing voter participation (nkwenti et al, 2020, p.60). empirical studies have demonstrated that former twitter plays a significant role in facilitating voter engagement and political discussion. former twitter allows citizens to voice their opinions, share political preferences, and support specific candidates or parties (oladunjoke,2016, p.43). using hashtag and retweets amplifies political messages and mobilization efforts (ekwenti et al, 2020, p 33). moreover, former twitter has been observed to serve as a platform for political debates and discussions providing an avenue for citizens to exchange ideas, challenge political narrative and critically evaluate policy proposals (aldahdah& simmons, 2020, p. 56). the interactive nature of former twitter encourages citizens to actively participate in political conversations and express their viewpoints, contributing to a more informed and engaged electorate. former twitter has facilitated grassroots organizing and mobilizing effort by political parties, civil society organizations, and individual activists (oladunjoke, 2016, p.27). these efforts have been instrumental in raising awareness, building momentum, and motivating citizens to exercise their voting rights. theoretical framework agenda-setting theory the agenda-setting theory, originally proposed by maxwell mccombs and donald shaw in 1972, posits that the media can influence the public’s perception of what is important by emphasizing certain issues and topics over others (mccombs & shaw, 1972, p.23). the theory suggests that the media’s selection and presentation of news shape what people think about and influence the importance they attach to particular issues (mccombs & reynolds, 2009. p. 34). according to mccombs and shaw, the media acts as an agenda setter by deciding which issues to cover and giving them prominence, thus setting the agenda for 82 public discourse. the influence occurs through the media’s selection of news topics, their coverage, and positioning of news items within their publications and broadcasts (mccombs & reynolds, 2009, p.89). numerous studies have supported the agenda effects of the media across different contexts. for example, mccombs & shaw’s original research focused on the 1968 u.s. presidential election. they found a strong correlation between the issues covered by the media and the issues that the public perceived as most important during the campaign (mccombs &shaw, 1972, p. 54). this study provided early evidence of the media’s ability to shape the public’s agenda. subsequent research has further demonstrated the agenda setting effects of the media in various political and social contexts. for instance, (weaver, 2007, p. 34) conducted a meta-analysis of 70 studies on agenda-setting and found consistent support for the theory’s core-premise. the media-analysis confirmed that the media’s coverage of issues significantly influenced the salience of those issues in the public’s mind. moreover, the agenda-setting theory has been applied to different platforms, including traditional media outlets and online social media. as new forms of media have emerged, scholars, have explored how agenda-setting processes operate in these contexts. tewksbury and colleagues (2000) examined agenda-setting in online news and found that the interest also shapes the public’s agenda. in social-media, former twitter has gained significant attention as a platform for agenda-setting. due to its real-time nature and widespread use, former twitter has the potential to amplify certain issues and topics, influencing public discourse and shaping the agenda (jungherr, 2016). hashtag, retweets, and influential users contribute to the dissemination and amplification of specific messages, contributing to the agenda setting effects of former twitter (kiosis, 2004, p. 46) in the context of former twitter and voter mobilizing the agenda-setting theory suggests that the platform can be crucial in shaping the public agenda by highlighting specific political issues and promoting discussions around them. as political actors and organizations utilize former twitter to disseminate campaign messages and engage with the electorate, they can set the agenda and bring attention to particular political topics or initiatives related to voting rights and participation. research has shown that former twitter has the potential to influence the salience of political issues by shaping public discourse and determining which issues gain prominence in the public’s attention (kiosis, 2004, p 40). through hashtag, retweets and mentions, former twitter users can amplify specific messages and bring them to the forefront of public discussions, thereby shaping the electorate’s agenda. the agenda-setting theory has provided a valuable framework for understanding the influence of the media on public opinion and the importance attributed to specific issues. the theory’s application to various media platforms, including former twitter, highlights agenda setting research’s continued relevance and applicability in the rapidly evolving media landscape. research methodology the research methodology adopted in this study was the survey, this design was adopted because the method used to find meaning and to obtain the understanding of present conditions, attitudes and believe as well as predicting the future. it deals with the universal way of reducing the population to such that will certain the means to discover the incidence 83 distribution and interrelations of variables. based on this, the researcher adopted survey method. population of the study the population of the study involves the current population of idemili local government area electorate which is 297,276. sample size the sample size is the proportion of the population to be examined that is representative of the population to be researched. the researcher adopted the australian calculator to determine the sample side for this research, and came up with a sample size of 384, the figure that constituted their respondents size. up the figure, the researchers developed and constituted 384 copies of a questionnaire, and distributed to the respondents in idemili local government area of anambra state. findings this study was conducted to examine the former twitter role in sensitizing the nigerian electorate towards exercising their voting rights in idemili local government area electorate. agenda-setting theory was the theory adopted for this research work because their theory suggests that media’s selection and presentation of news shape what people think about and influence the importance they attach to particular issue. survey method was used to generate data from respondents, and was adequately used for interpretation. a sample size of 284 was drawn out of a total population of 297,276. australian calculation was used to arrive at the sample size. the findings among others especially showed that: 1. significant number of the respondents are being sensitized by former twitter, because is among the most sought in sourcing for political information in idemili local government area. 2. former twitter has a positive impact on resident of idemili local government, as it has enabled them gather enough knowledge about politics and aides them in curing their apathy syndrome. 3. most of the electorate do not believe that former twitter helps them in expressing their rights, so this makes them not to tag along with whatever is happening as regards withs happing conclusion from the findings above, it is obvious that former twitter has become a major tool to reach out to people of idemili local government regarding sensitizing them and educating them on the need to know their voting right. however, the findings also show that not 84 everybody benefits from former twitter due to inability to carry everybody along because people prefer various social media platforms in accessing information. reomendations in conformity with findings, the following recommendations have been made: 1. since a good number of people prefer whatsapp as the best social media for sensitization. whatsapp should be adopted, using different platforms since it is easy to access and operate. 2. feedback pool should equally be encouraged to know the feelings and reactions of electorates towards every form of sensitization carried out. 3. former twitter sensitization should be earned on electorates of idemili local government to bring to their awareness rich political contents they will benefit from using former twitter. references bandura, a. 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(2010); mass communication theories, in k.o. nworgu (ed). mass communication: theory and practice, owerri: ultimate books. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 350 influence of lager beer billboard advertising on attitude and behaviour towards lager beer consumption in south east nigeria damian agboeze department of mass communication, caritas university, enugu, nigeria godwin okoye chiwoke department of mass communication, caritas university, enugu, nigeria justina n. obi department of mass communication, caritas university, enugu, nigeria abstract in spite of the regulation of alcohol advertising, distribution and consumption, billboard advertising of lager beer brands has become pervasive in south-east, nigeria. this study examined influence of lager beer billboard advertising on attitude and behaviour towards lager beer consumption in south east nigeria. the explanatory mixed method design was adopted for the study. the population of study was (24, 221, 021.) people. a sample size of six hundred (600.) was drawn from the population. questionnaire was used to generate quantitative data. major findings showed that 99% of the respondents were aware that different brands of lager beer exist and could identify them. flowing from the above, 25.7% of the respondents have high knowledge of different brands of lager beer was influenced by exposure to lager beer billboard advertising’, while, the knowledge of the majority (41.1%) was influenced to a moderate extent. the results indicated a very high exposure to lager beer billboards in south-east nigeria. based on these findings, the researchers recommended among others, that; owing to the harmful effects of alcohol and the high rate of its consumption among the audience, the researcher recommends a ban on lager beer and other alcoholic substances advertising. definitely, this will not stop the consumption of alcohol, but, it can limit the rate at which people are introduced to alcohol. warning signs on lager beer billboards should be bold and occupy a prominent position for it to command attention. this is because while the majority of the respondents acknowledged their attention to the graphics, message, slogans and icons/celebrities, a significant number of them failed to pay attention to the warnings by the federal ministry of health. since lager beer consumption is rated +18, it's suggested that the location of lager beer billboards should be prohibited in areas predominantly occupied by children and adolescents under the age of 18. the findings show that the use of celebrities and high quality graphics received more attention on lager beer billboards than the text/message. hence, pictures of celebrities accompanied with the brand, should play a prominent role in billboard advertising, especially, as research has shown that people may patronize a product based on the celebrity that endorsed it. keywords: attitude, billboard advertising, behaviour, lager beer consumption, influence, lager beer, introduction lager beer advertising is one issue that is approached with great interest by scholars in nigeria because of its controversial nature. the controversy bothers on whether or not alcohol should be consumed and or whether its sale or consumption should be encouraged. lager beer is an alcoholic beverage with a psychoactive content capable of causing harm to users. nafdac (2019, p. 6), describes it as “an alcoholic beverage resulting from 351 fermentation of yeast culture of an extract derived from cereals, with or without malt, with or without adjuncts, with or without enzymes, with or without hops in potable water”. zewdie (2018, p.13) argues that “beer is a universal product and almost all societies in the world produce beer in one form or another, whether such is at the industrial or the home level”. beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage. it is also the most popular drink after water and tea. some people believe that it is the oldest fermented beverage (arnold, 2005; zewdie, 2018) who (2014, p. xiii) notes that “harmful use of alcohol causes a large disease, social and economic burden in societies”. added to this, is the propriety or not of advertising alcoholic drinks in a religiously diverse environment where drinking of alcohol is prohibited for some religions and neighborhoods. globally, alcoholic production, distribution and consumption is viewed with a great concern. comparatively, the cost of producing alcohol weighs higher than the benefits or values to the society. negussie and berhane (2012, p. 216), explain that “excessive alcohol consumption was responsible for 1.8 and 2.5 million deaths worldwide, in the years 2004 and 2011, respectively. it was implicated in over 60 diseases, accidents and injuries and a contributing cause in 200 others. in nigeria, consumption of lager beer cuts across gender, age, occupation and social status. it can be taken at home, bar, café, or in any physical location. except for underage persons, consumption of lager beer is not prohibited, nor considered socially unacceptable except when taken in excess. the value of advertising to businesses is observed in the ability to enhance the visibility of products and organizations; while for the consumers, it provides product information necessary for informed market decisions. radio, television, print media, and outdoor media are the major platforms through which the advertising process is accomplished. of all these, billboard (outdoor) advertising favours the lager beer industry because of the unique attribute of immovability which allows it to focus attention on those who live, work or move within the coverage of the advertisement. iveson (2011, p.151-174) agrees that “consumers spend a great amount of time each week in the car, and billboards are there to catch their attention whether they are on the freeway or alongside the main road”. pedestrians and other road users get exposed to the billboards too. there is also the possibility of seeing the same billboard more than once a day in various locations (adsource outdoor, n.d; cited in iveson, 2011). for the purpose of conceptual clarification, a billboard is a stationary outdoor visual platform upon which advertising or public service announcements are placed. the description includes all elevated signs and signs that are attached on top of roofs and sides of buildings, but, excludes advertisements on the sides and tails of buses, handbills, highway department signs, banners, posters, advertisements painted on the body of buildings, and bus shelter advertisements (luke, esmundo & bloom, 2000). for an advertisement on a billboard to add to the success of a product, it has to be planned in such a manner conforms to the five phases of the aidca model. that is, it must grab attention; pick audience interest on the product; stimulate desire; develop conviction within your prospects, and finally, inspire them to take action. the aidca model implies that the billboard should inject memorable and believable messages that will trigger consumers to act in a certain way (brierley, 2002, cited in ugonna, okolo, obikeze, ohanagorom, nwodo, & oranusi, 2017). statement of the problem globally, outdoor advertising of beer and other alcoholic beverages using billboards is viewed with concern because of the harmful effects of alcohol on health and other socioeconomic consequences. despite the regulation of alcohol advertising, distribution and 352 consumption, billboard advertising of lager beer brands has become pervasive in south-east, nigeria. these lager beer billboards appear in different sizes and dimensions and with captivating messages or images that are presumably capable of catching the attention of passers-by. its impact is predicated on the strength of placement in an area with a high population concentration and multiple exposures to one image over a long period of time. statistics show that on average, medium-sized billboards receive 10,000 to 20,000 views per location per day (blueline media, cited in, thomas, 2015). scholars like dumbili (2015a), dumbili and williams (2016b), and, anderson,de bruijn, angus, gordon, and hastings (2009) have examined the impact of exposure to such media advertisement on inclination and motivation to purchase and or to consume alcohol. however, none of these studies targeted billboard advertising of lager beer nor focused on south-east, nigeria, where consumption of alcohol is considered part of the social life (lasebikan, ayinde, odunleye, adeyefa, adepoju, & fakunle2018; (ibanga, adetula, dagona, karick, & ojiji, 2005). in view of this, the researchers seek to examine the extent exposure to lager beer billboard advertising influences attitude and behaviour towards lager beer consumption in south-east, nigeria. objectives of the study 1. to find out the extent of exposure to lager beer billboard advertisements among south-east residents. 2. to examine the south-east residents’ perception of billboard advertisement of lager beer. 3. to interrogate the influence of lager beer billboard advertising on south-east residents’ behaviour towards lager beer consumption. literature review billboard advertising advertising is simply the process of creating awareness about the existence of goods and services to a target audience. advertising is defined as any non-personal communication means of ideas or products by using mass communications media such as television, newspapers, magazines, cinema, radio etc. and is implemented through a specific sponsor, who paid to influence consumer behaviour. advertising is a form of non-personal method of communicating information which is usually paid for by a sponsor through various media. the focal point of these definitions is that advertising is a persuasive communication, because it tries to influence an audience to take to the sponsor’s point of view and also take some appropriate actions towards an object (idea, product or service) of advertisement. “an advertisement is defined by the advertising practitioners council of nigeria(apcon) as a ‘communication in the media paid for by an identifiable sponsor and directed at a target audience with the aim of transferring information about a product, service, idea or cause” (ukaegbu, 2013; cited in ugonna, okolo, obikeze, ohanagorom, nwodo& oranusi, 2017). billboards is a form of outdoor advertising and for a billboard to contribute to the success of a product, it has to be designed so that the customer passes through the five phases of the aidca theory, with all being equally important. the aidca theory implies that the billboard should inject memorable and believable messages that will trigger consumers to act in a certain way (brierley, 2002 in ugnna et al, 2017). billboard is usually targeted at passers-by, drivers, those in moving vehicle and pedestrian traffic. they are characterized by attractive models images and catchy slogans that attract attention. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-5344-6#auth-victor_o_-lasebikan 353 the importance of billboard includes: high visual impact, low cost, high product visibility, high frequency, and immediate message delivery. one of the most effective ways to strengthen your company’s brand recognition is billboard advertising because if placed in the right location, billboard advertising can increase traffic to your business, familiarize customers with your brand/product/service, and attract new customers who make impulse buying”. anna (2006) in edegoh,et al (2013).affirms that “billboards are here to help us and be tangible reminder of what we have become and what we have achieved. not only do they improve the visual quality of the area where they are placed, they also serve as beautiful reminders of our past and the future”. billboard has the potential to capture the attention of the audience on the go”. beer and other alcoholic beverages advertising on billboards: a review of exposure and perceptions the leading breweries in nigeria are nigerian breweries plc. and guinness nigeria (de bruijn, 2011). both breweries have their own company’s alcohol advertising codes which are endorsed by the breweries in nigeria. the two largest breweries represent not only the most consumed brands but certainly the most advertised brands in nigeria such as: star, gulder, guinness (extra stout), harp, and champion. the volume and content of advertising of alcoholic beverages contribute directly to the size of alcohol problems. research conducted in the united states and europe shows that alcohol advertising and promotion increase alcohol use, especially among new consumers (de bruijn, 2011). alcoholic beverage advertisements target the youthful population in society with the goal to disseminate information about their products, promote brand image, influence purchase and consumption decisions (etokakpan & sodeinde, 2021). alcohol consumption and alcohol industry activities are rising throughout the african continent. alcohol marketing is an important tool for the industry to create a favourable image around the product and to increase sales. alcoholic beverage advertisers also aim to create a positive perception, affect attitude and change behaviours that would be favourable to the advertised brands. however, it has been observed that beer advertisements, are usually directly targeted at young men and not women and this can be seen in the contents, messages and appeals used in these advertisements (lasebikan, 2016 cited in etokakpan & sodeinde, 2021). exposure to beer billboard advertisements the knowledge of a product is viewed as an identity that serves to build loyalty over time and persuade individuals, with the brands being used to consciously talk about the product. customers’ knowledge of brand products has become an inevitable part of modern culture and global society, the most powerful tool in marketing products in the 21st century. the knowledge of a brand shows the ability of potential customers to recognize and to remember that a certain brand offers a certain level of satisfaction (hartnett, romaniuk & kennedy, 2016). in this age of the internet, consumers gather most of the information about products and services through online channels and are likely to recall brands from their memory, in addition to seeing the advertisements in hard copies of newspapers, posters, magazines or billboards. dumbili and williams (2016b) cited in etokakpan and sodeinde (2021), conducted a study on awareness of alcohol advertisements and perceived influence on alcohol consumption through an in-depth interview among male and female undergraduates (aged 19-23 years) from a south-eastern nigerian university. findings revealed that there was a high level of awareness of alcohol advertisements among the students to the extent that they identified 354 brand names of advertising messages that they have seen on television, and outdoor advertisements during football games, movies, news hours, on and around the campus. these advertisements influenced the students to consume alcohol, especially male students. students exposed to alcohol advertisements demonstrated sophisticated levels of awareness of alcohol advertisements, to the extent that they named specific bars, restaurants and other sites where they had seen alcohol advertisements regularly; hence, the knowledge of a product is an important element to measuring consumers‟ attitude, familiarity and acceptance of the product. attitude towards alcohol advertisements in a competitive advertising market, every audience cannot react to messages about products in the same manner due to a variety of channels of communication and differences in the demographic factors of the potential consumers. in this way, soo & chia (2007) cited in etokakpan and sodeinde (2021) demonstrated that there can be differences between attitudes toward products which could be negative or positive. an attitude is regarded as positive where a product offers a favourable response from the consumer and usually increases demand, acceptance, and the desire for the product. on the other side, a negative attitude from the consumer on a particular product entails a cognitive dissonance and invariably causes withdrawal from the use of the product (etokakpan & sodeinde, 2021). this means that for a product to sustain a position in the market, it requires the product to pass the test of the positive or negative attitude of the consumers. consequently, advertisers understudy the changing attitude of consumers to continually remain relevant and enjoy favourable consumer dispositions on their different products (adebiyi & bada, 2014). where an advertiser of a beer product tends to observe that its brand does not have a favourable disposition of consumers it quickly engages in the repositioning of the product with innovations to meet the expectations of consumers. since the attitude of product consumers has never been constant, beer advertisers are expected to conduct a periodic review of product performance (etokakpan &sodeinde, 2021). an attempt to understand how people perceive alcohol advertisements is to measure what consumers see in advertisements, including, but not limited to models, settings, messages, colours, music, narratives and representations. some beer consumers tend to see advertisements as attractive due to the 'happiness' displayed in the picture and the fine clothes worn by the women in the advertisements. the main themes expressed in connection with beer advertisements are fun, joy, happiness, success, prestige, friendship and togetherness. in another angle, the perceptions of consumers to beer advertisements are based on thoughts from the message of the advertisements. the messages express clear purposes (chen,et al., 2005). the advertisements tell the people to drink, make people drink; and increase sales (dumbili, 2016b). the audience members form a perception about products and their advertisements before they purchase or consume such products. the views and interpretation of advertisements by the consumers are due to individual differences. these differences determine their perception and reaction empirical review of alcohol consumption and billboard advertising etokakpan and sodeinde (2021) examined the knowledge, attitude and perception of beer advertisements among female corps members in lagos state, nigeria. this paper was hinged on social judgment, stimulus-response and perception theories. employing the survey research design, a sample size of 400 batch a, 2020 female national youth service corps (nysc) members in lagos state was used for the study. the purposive sampling technique 355 was employed to select respondents and beer advertisements. findings revealed that female corps members in lagos state were knowledgeable about beer advertisements, had a negative attitude and a negative perception about beer advertisements. it was recommended that beer advertisers should create adverts that also target the female population. women should not also be represented in stereotypical ways as female audiences currently have a negative attitude and perception of these representations in current advertisements. the advertising practitioners council of nigeria should also review the code of practice to include restrictions against the portrayal and promotion of female stereotypes. this study failed did not study the influence of lager beer advertising on its audience. schooler and basil (1989) conducted a study titled “alcohol and cigarette advertising on billboards: targeting with social cues”. the objective was to examine whether billboard advertising of tobacco and alcohol products is differentially targeted toward white, asian, and hispanic neighbourhoods. the content analysis method was adopted for the study and it analyzed 901 billboards in neighbourhood commercial districts in san francisco, california, giving particular attention to tobacco and alcohol billboards. neighbourhood census data were merged with billboard data to address this question. the study also proposes a theoretical model to explain how this medium is effective. the social aspects of drinking and smoking are posited to be important positive product attributes. the study suggests that the modelling of social cues can serve to motivate product use, disinhibit behavioural restraints, and reinforce existing habits (schooler & basil, 1989). the data suggest that: (1) across all billboard advertising of products and services, tobacco (1t%) and alcohol (17%) products were the most heavily advertised; black and hispanic neighbourhoods had more tobacco and alcohol billboards than white or asian neighbourhoods; black neighbourhoods had the highest per capita rate of billboard advertising; and there were more black models per 1,000 black people than there were ethnic models for other ethnic groups. furthermore, the analyses of the content of the billboards revealed that alcohol and cigarette advertisements, use social modelling cues such as anticipated rewards, attractive models, and similarity. it was recommended that this understanding of social influence and modelling on billboards should provide health professionals with information to counter the strategies of tobacco and alcohol advertisers. this study analyzed the content of the billboards but failed to analyze the influence on the audience (schooler & basil, 1989). theoretical framework the theory of reasoned action was developed by martin fishbein and icek ajzen in 1975 as an improvement on the information integration theory, after trying to determine the differences between attitude and behaviour (lumen learning, n.d.). customers act on behaviours that they believe will create or receive a particular outcome, and this explains the relationship between attitude and behaviour of humans. individual’s intention to engage in behaviour at a specific time and place. it is to predict how individuals will behave based on their pre-existing attitudes and behavioural intentions (lumen learning, n.d.). this theory emphasizes the fact that the attitude of the audience will determine how they would react to messages disseminated on media channels. relating this theory to this study, it shows that decision to patronize an advertised lager beer brand is not solely dependent on exposure to the advertisement or the advertised brand, but, involves a well thought out process based on 356 perceived benefits or otherwise of the intended action (patronage) and other exogenous considerations. methodology the research design adopted for this study is the survey. the justification for the choice of survey is that the research method involves examining attitude, motivations, inclinations, behaviours and other observable human practices. the projected population of the study is 5,150,115 using an annual growth rate of 3.2% as recommended by the united nations development programme (undp). the creative research systems online sample size calculator was used to arrive at the sample size of 600. the multi-stage sampling procedure was used to carry out the study. the researchers made use of the questionnaire for the collection of data for the study. the measuring instruments were face validated by two researchers in the departments of mass communication, enugu state university of science and technology (esut), enugu. in order to ascertain the reliability of the measuring instrument, the researchers conducted a pilot study using twenty four copies of the approved questionnaire on some respondents in four selected study areas. the quantitative data was collated, presented and analyzed using tables, charts and simple percentages. discussion of results/findings research question one: what is the south-east residents’ level of exposure to lager beer advertisements on billboards? the essence of this research question was to ascertain the level of exposure to lager beer advertisements on billboards. the preliminary questions show that a significant majority of the respondents know that lager beer is a kind of alcoholic beverage, and also are aware that lager beer is advertised on billboards. also, 99.3% of the respondents have seen a lager beer billboard advertisement before. this finding is a confirmation of the statement by thomas (2015, p. 2), that, “on average, medium-sized billboards receive 10,000 to 20,000 views per location per day”. bearing in mind that exposure is the primary aim of every advertising campaign, the high penetration of lager beer billboards is implicative of a successful campaign for the different lager beer brands in south-east, nigeria. it only remains to measure the effectiveness of such concentration and exposure to knowledge and patronage of different lager beer brands, since, aida model suggests that for an advertisement, it has grab attention; pick audience interest on the product; stimulate desire; develop conviction within your prospects, and finally, inspire them to take action. research question two: what is the south-east residents’ perception of billboard advertisement of lager beer? here, our findings, indicate that 46.2% of the respondents had a positive perception or attitude towards billboard advertisement of lager beer, while, 33.6% were negatively disposed to it. however, 20.2% were neutral. in a similar study, aiken, lam,gilmore,burns, chikritzhs, lenton, lloyd,lubman,ogeil, and allsop (2018) found that positive perception of advertisements was associated with increased intention to use and to purchase advertised products (n=68). research question three: to what extent does lager beer billboard advertising influence behaviour of south-east residents towards lager beer consumption? the majority (32.2%) of the respondents reveal that exposure to lager beer billboard positively affected their attitude towards lager beer consumption to a moderate extent, while https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=aiken%2c+alexandra https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=lam%2c+tina https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=gilmore%2c+william https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=burns%2c+lucy https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=chikritzhs%2c+tanya https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=chikritzhs%2c+tanya https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=lenton%2c+simon https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=lloyd%2c+belinda https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=lubman%2c+dan https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=ogeil%2c+rowan https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/dosearch?contribauthorraw=allsop%2c+steve 357 the attitude of another 25.5% positively influenced to a large extent. however, 0.5% of the respondents, to a large extent, was influenced negatively towards alcohol consumption. also, a rating scheme used to measure opinions on the “extent lager beer billboard advertising influence behaviour towards lager beer consumption reveals that exposure to the billboards influenced the 22.1% of respondents’ behaviour towards lager beer consumption to a high extent; 33.7% of the respondents’ behaviour to a moderate extent, and 21.7% to a little. dumbili and williams’s (2016) findings also point to the ways in which awareness of advertisements is perceived to influence the participants’ alcohol consumption. while none of the females indicated that alcohol advertisements affected their drinking, some of the male participants noted that they were ‘enticed’ by alcohol advertisements, and thus they decided to try a new brand. recommendations based on the findings and the conclusion reached, the researcher recommends thus: 1. owing to the harmful effects of alcohol and the high rate of its consumption among the audience, the researcher recommends a ban on lager beer and other alcoholic substances advertising. definitely, this will not stop the consumption of alcohol, but, it can limit the rate at which people are introduced to alcohol. 2. warning signs on lager beer billboards should be bold and occupy a prominent position for it to command attention. this is because while majority of the respondents acknowledged their attention to the graphics, message, slogan and icons/celebrities, a significant number of them failed to pay attention to the warnings by the federal ministry of health. 3. since lager beer consumption is rated +18, it's suggested that the location of lager beer billboards should be prohibited in areas predominantly occupied by children and adolescents under the age of 18. references adebiyi, d. r. & bada, f. o. (2014). alcohol consumption behaviour among high school students in nigeria. journal of education and social studies, 3(5), 7 – 10 chen, m., grube, j. w., bersamin, m., waiters, e., & keefe, d. b. (2005). alcohol advertising: what makes it attractive to youth? journal of health communication, 10(6), 553-565 chukwuemeka, e.e. (2002). research methods and thesis writing: a multi-disciplinary approach. enugu: hope arising venture. creswell, j. (2002). educational research: planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. new jersey: pearson education inc. de bruijn, a. (2011). alcohol marketing practices in africa: findings from the gambia, ghana, nigeria and uganda.utrecht, the netherlands: dutch institute for alcohol policy (stap) 358 dumbili, e. w. (2015). what a man can do, a woman can do better: gendered alcohol consumption and (de)construction of social identity among young nigerians. retrieved from https//doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1499-6. dumbili, e. w. (2016a). gendered sexual uses of alcohol and associated risks: a qualitative study of nigerian university students.retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3163-1 dumbili, e. w. (2016b). intoxicating entertainment? the influence of “star music trek” on the drinking practices of nigerian students.contemporary drug problems, 43(1), 62– 78. dumbili, w. e. (2017). the influence of alcohol industry-sponsored ‘‘gulder ultimate search’’ reality television series on the drinking behaviours of nigerian youths. retrieved from doi: 10.3109/14659891.2016.1166271 dumbili, w. e. & williams, c. (2017). awareness of alcohol advertisements and perceived influence on alcohol consumption: a qualitative study of nigerian university students. retrieved from doi: 10.1080/16066359.2016.1202930. edegoh, l. n., nwanolue, i. m. & ezeh, n. c. (2013). audience assessment of the use of models in billboard advertising: a study of consumers of amstel malt in onitsha, nigeria. international review of social sciences and humanities, 6(1), pp. 217-227. etokakpan, m. m. & sodeinde, o. a. (2021). knowledge, attitude and perception of select beer advertisements among female corps members in lagos state, nigeria. sau journal of management and social sciences, 6 (3), pp. 64-76. hartnett, n., romaniuk, j. & kennedy, r. (2016). comparing direct and indirect branding in advertising. australasian marketing journal (amj), 24(1), 20 – 28. iveson, k. (2012). branded cities: outdoor advertising, urban governance, and the outdoor media landscape. antipode 44(1)151-174. lasebikan, v.o., ayinde, o., odunleye, m., adeyefa, b., adepoju, s., &fakunle, s. (2018). prevalence of alcohol consumption and alcohol use disorders among outdoor drinkers in public open places in nigeria. retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5344-6 national agency for food and drug administration and control (2019). draft beer regulation. abuja: nafdac. negussie, h.& berhane, y. (2012). assessment of alcohol advertising practices in ethiopia. ethiopian journal of health development.26 (3), 216-225 osuala, e. c. (2005). introduction to research methodology (3rd ed.). onitsha: africana-first publishers limited. schooler, c. & basil, m. d. (1989). alcohol and cigarette advertising on billboards: targeting with social cues. paper presented at the annual meeting of the international communication association (40th, dublin, ireland, june 24-28, 1990). soo, j. t. & chia, l. (2007). are we measuring the same attitude? understanding media effects on attitude towards advertising. marketing theory, 7 (4) 353 377. https://www.researchgate.net/journal/antipode-1467-8330 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5344-6 359 ugonna, i. a., okolo, v. o., obikeze, c. o., ohanagorom, m., nwodo, s. i. & oranusi, i. n. (2017). effects of media advertising on consumers’ purchase intent in awka, anambra state: a study of hero beer. journal of business and management, 19(4), pp. 50-60. world health organization (2014). global status report on alcohol and health. geneva, switzerland: who zewdie, s. (2018). effect of advertisement on consumers’ attitude: the case of habesha beer. a thesis. addis ababa university, ethiopia. page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 44 research data management services: the research data life cycle theory to the rescue joseph chukwusa delta state university, abraka email: chukwusajoseph@yahoo.com edith ijeoma oshiokpu university of science and technology, ozoro email: ijeomaoshiokpuedith@gmail.com abstract this study investigated research data management (rdm) services among 3 selected university libraries in south-south, nigeria. the descriptive survey design was employed in this research. due to the fact that the population was small (75 respondents) all of them was used for the study. however, after questionnaire administration and retrieval, 72 of the respondents were used for the study. frequency count and mean statistics were deployed in analyzing the data. result of the study revealed that the awareness level of (rdm) services amongst the librarians was high; and so was the extent of implementation of rdm. the research recommended that it is imperative that nigerian libraries and librarians acquire deeper understanding regarding the extent and scope of research data management services so that they can understand where to improve on. keywords: research data management service, librarians, university libraries, southsouth, nigeria introduction research data management is currently a hot topic. according to nwabugwu and godwin (2020), the objectives are to meet grant criteria, support open access, make the research process more efficient, boost the effect of the research, preserve data by putting it in a repository, manage and document the data throughout its life cycle, and foster discoveries. research data management, or rdm, services are the way of the future for academic libraries, according to chukwusa (2021a). however, until librarians in nigeria acquire the requisite skills and competencies—which appear to be lacking at the moment—this service may not become widely available in nigeria. planning, arranging, and supplying data and information to researchers by academic libraries and other information service providers are all part of rdm. it is the kind of data management done for the benefit of science, primarily to improve the caliber of study. the word "data management" in scientific research refers to all methods of safeguarding confidential information. nwabugwu and godwin (2020) list the following steps in the process: data creation and use planning; data organization and naming; data safety, accessibility, saving, and backup; information resource discovery and sharing with colleagues and other stakeholders; data publication and citation; and process completion. rdm is in favor of the "findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable" (fair) data principle (tunmibi & ajokotola, 2024). inadequate management of research data can have detrimental effects, including the loss of important data, the violation of intellectual property or personal information, or even unethical behavior. mailto:chukwusajoseph@yahoo.com mailto:ijeomaoshiokpuedith@gmail.com 45 rdm, or the processing of various forms of raw or primary data generated throughout the research process, is significantly relied upon by many scientists. the field of library and information science will be significantly impacted by this. information professionals will need to train scientists, students, data managers, and information experts in order to prepare them for the new challenges associated with delivering and utilizing data infrastructures in almost all scientific fields (chukwusa, 2021b; chigwada, chiparausha & kasiroori, 2017). research data management, which entails utilizing suitable and user-friendly technologies in virtual research infrastructures to facilitate data creation, access, verification, storage, and reuse, may make it easier to share and reuse data produced during scientific inquiry (penev, 2017). according to tunmibi and ajokotola (2024) and nwabugwu and godwin (2020), these details are crucial to the curatorial process and are managed in the following ways: ideation, creation or receipt, appraisal, selection, ingestion, storage, access, usage, reuse, and transformation are some of the phases involved in processing research data. a scientist, for instance, needs access to data in three domains: public, collaborative, and private; all of these domains should be permeable to transactions related to curation (latham, 2017). university libraries are involved in rdm in two ways: by providing academics with tools for data management planning (dmp) and by storing and preserving data. furthermore, these roles are seen as an extension of the information curation, storage, and distribution services provided by scholarly communication and research support. the next stage of rdm services involves working closely with researchers to assist and follow through on their studies. starting with data creation/generation, project planning and data management involve processing, analyzing, storing, sharing, and reusing data (ridsdale, rothwell, smith, alihassan, bliemel, irvine, kelley, matwin & wuetherick, 2015). data creation/generation occurs when a solution uses information not found in the end user's database or mailing lists. data processing includes tasks categorization, modification, and retrieval of information. in order to derive conclusions and support decisions, data must be examined, cleaned, converted, and modelled (tunmibi & ajokotola, 2024). data security and authenticity are guaranteed when it is retained. according to the scholars, data reuse refers to techniques that avoid storing the same information in multiple internal registers or slower-access storage. data sharing on the other hand is the act of making research data available to other researchers. research data creation, processing, analysis, preservation, sharing, and reuse are among the areas where university librarians in south-south nigeria have been found to be lacking. this has made it more difficult for students to obtain the data and information they need for research, which has resulted in faulty research projects and programs. this informed the study. literature review rdm services guarantees that research data are usable over time and assists researchers in fulfilling founder and publisher criteria for data sharing (subaveerapandiyan, 2023). rdm includes all of the procedures used during a project's life cycle to direct data gathering, documenting, sharing, storage, and preservation while also making the data accessible to researchers. it is common knowledge that the data documented, factual items gathered, arranged, and preserved by other researcher is necessary for conducting high-quality research. researchers 46 keep their material in a variety of formats, including word documents, spreadsheets, lab notes, field notebooks, diaries, surveys, questionnaires, transcripts, codebooks, audio and video files, pictures, and photographs (nwabugwu, & godwin, 2020). additional resources include focus group discussions and responses, interview notes, artifacts, samples, models, algorithms, scripts, and content analyses. researchers, scientists, and academics anticipate that with the advent of information technology, they will be able to access, study, consult, use, and expand upon meticulously gathered and correctly stored research data. researchers throughout the world are constantly searching for distinctive viewpoints that could lead to novel discoveries. they will avoid wasting time and effort by not having to go through the hassle of obtaining information and beginning from zero. making research data accessible for usage and reuse promotes interdisciplinary thinking and raises fresh ideas, which advances and broadens knowledge. galleto (2016) asserts that unfettered access to research data promotes academic integrity, helps validate findings, and keeps the academic community moving in the correct direction. furthermore, research data sharing promotes relationships between data suppliers and consumers, scientific inquiry and conversation, publicity, and an examination of study methods and findings. it facilitates the process of analyzing, comprehending, and safeguarding the data by assisting fellow researchers in validating and expanding upon published findings. rdm services make all of this possible. when data is organized from the time it enters the study cycle until it is permanently archived after yielding valuable results, the process is referred to as rdm services (american library association, 2009). according to scholars, rdm services are a collection of resources and assistance programs that libraries provide to faculty members and researchers to aid in the organization, documentation, and preservation of their data both while and after their research projects are completed. it offers all the data-related assistance that researchers would need for the data's life cycle, use, and reuse. in order to guarantee that the data is timely, dependable, and accessible for its consumers, it is an administrative task that involves gathering, verifying, storing, safeguarding, and processing the necessary data (kitchenham, 2004). ridsdale, et al., (2015) data life cycle according to ridsdale et al. (2015), rdm is an integrated service that includes procedures and actions related to data generation, processing, analysis, preservation, sharing, and reuse. the responsibility of creating data primarily falls to the researchers. the process of locating and gathering data into a format that can be shared and used again is known as data generation. this includes giving the data a name, cleaning, enhancing, and storing it. it facilitates data discoverability, which is critical for enabling researchers to exchange and reuse data. rdm contributes to the process of creating data. all academic libraries have a shared responsibility to create and preserve datasets (tunmibi & ajokotola, 2024). the researchers noted that there has been a suggestion that educational institutions can provide full rdm services by working with pertinent departments to make data production and maintenance easier. but when it comes to rdm services, data generation and acquisition are interchangeable, with librarians gathering data from several sources. librarians must comprehend how researchers think and behave when creating data, as well as what kind of education and training is necessary for them to manage and preserve research data 47 collections, in order to create data successfully. library employees should possess the necessary abilities to provide materials for researchers, and organizations should establish and maintain a robust information infrastructure to facilitate the development of data (chukwusa, 2021a). data processing comes next after data production. while data analysis is a completely different activity, data processing is a crucial component of the data management cycle and is frequently used to describe it. the process of gathering data and turning it into information is known as data processing. processing raw data for research involves turning it into insights that can be put to use. the process of converting unprocessed data into a more readable format—like a graph, report, or chart—by hand or with the use of an automated technology is known as data visualization. to guarantee accuracy and utility, data processing is typically handled by a data scientist or group of data scientists. nwabugwu and godwin (2020) assert that processing data converts information from its unprocessed state into a more readable format (graphs, papers, etc.) that computers can comprehend and researchers and other information users can use. the main goal of data analysis is to transform and process unprocessed data in order to extract valuable knowledge that could help researchers make the best choices. the method offers insightful information that is typically presented in tables, graphs, charts, and other visual aids that reduce the dangers involved in making decisions. data analysis is a cognitive process that occurs anytime someone makes a decision based on an assessment of what has already occurred or what will occur if they choose a particular course of action (tunmibi & ajokotola, 2024). in essence, making decisions involves considering information from the past or future and taking appropriate action based on it. the phrase "big data" is frequently used while discussing data analysis. large-scale data analysis yields priceless information. according to galleto (2016), "data preservation" is the act of making sure that data is maintained in its original form. organized efforts that follow guidelines and standards are used to preserve data and information, allowing for their extended use without compromising their integrity. while data are the bits or units from which knowledge is formed, metadata are condensed subsets of data items, or the data about the data. the main goal of data preservation is to protect information from being accidentally or maliciously deleted while simultaneously making it easier to use and develop the data in the future. by definition, data sharing involves providing other academics with access to study data. you must devote time and resources to rdm, which is a major resource, in order to distribute data efficiently (cox, verbaan & sen, 2012). the degree to which researchers are willing to provide their data to others without charge is referred to as data sharing. as a result of the widespread belief that transparency and openness are necessary for the scientific method, many organizations have policies in place regarding data sharing. data sharing regulations exempt a wide range of scientific research, and many of these policies include numerous exceptions (nwabugwu & godwin, 2020). academic libraries' efforts to promote consistency and openness in the research community have resulted in improved data management and a larger collection of shareable data. the two main objectives of rdm programs provided by libraries are to teach researchers new 48 skills and assist them in complying with data-related regulations and requirements (chukwusa, 2021a). research data management (rdm) makes it feasible for others to independently assess and enhance published results, which contributes to the value of shared research data. the skilled and knowledgeable staff members who work in university libraries can offer long-term, secure management of research data. however, a lot of this hinges on how eager researchers are to share their data. researchers across a range of disciplines, including social science, natural science, engineering, medicine, and health science, have differing opinions about how research data should be managed. these opinions can be seen in differences in how they view tags, metadata, file naming conventions, standards, and version control systems (tunmibi & ajokotola, 2024). the researchers also claimed that, although some researchers may be persuaded to share their data by the idea of academic altruism, most researchers are frequently reluctant to share their data; researchers tend to keep their own storage servers rather than utilizing the data repository provided by their institutions; within a given organization or field, there are differing degrees of institutional support for data management (ubogu & chukwusa, 2022; koltay, 2019). organizations can be organized in a number of ways to make it easier to manage research data, whether it is for a particular field of study or the organization as a whole. onohwakpor (2006) states that there is a knowledge gap between researchers and librarians regarding basic concepts like data description using industry standards like dublin core. agreeing on a uniform metadata is crucial because it makes data reuse ie, the practice of using data from one study to another possible. one of the primary goals of rdm is data reuse; yet, an efficient data reuse process necessitates the establishment of an appropriate framework to guard against data exploitation. sen, cox, and verbaan (2012). because the compiler has trouble finding data reuse opportunities for some data access patterns, it is not easy to automatically apply data reuse techniques. in the case of microprocessors, this can result in an increase in register pressure because we may need to add more scalar variables to the code. data reuse efficiency can be significantly increased with hardware assistance, such as rotating registers. library professionals need to speak up in favor of data repositories, educate researchers and teachers about the value of research data and rdm techniques, and promote their use. ensuring, maintaining, and monitoring data quality is the aim of data governance. the model below (ridsdale, et al., 2015) shows the phases of data management and details the flow of data from the beginning to the completion of a research project. 49 figure 1: research data life cycle by j. ridsdale. challenges and skills requirements for rdm services in university libraries koltay (2019) asserts that perceptions of the need for rdm vary greatly among disciplines and nations; as well as academic libraries' readiness to assume accountability on an equal footing across all nations and establishments. librarians need to have a fundamental understanding of research data challenges in order to successfully provide services in these situations. technical and socio-ethical abilities, the latter of which includes understanding of legal and ethical issues, should be part of this appreciation. however, librarians in the paperbased world are familiar with a lot of these. according to cox, verbaan, and sen (2012), the following are the biggest obstacles that academic and research libraries trying to provide rdm services must overcome: • a lack of awareness of the variety of research data • restricted librarians' skill sets • how to align new rdm responsibilities alongside older roles • absence of domain-specific knowledge; study data settings are created based on present experiences • librarian's ignorance of the intentions and methods of researchers as well as the variety of research data; • the difficulty in interacting with researchers who believe that a librarian's job is to assist teaching. the need for strong data management procedures by funding institutions is a major factor in the rise in demand for rdm services. libraries are looking into rdm services and reassessing how to assist research. libraries are vital resources for researchers because they can help with data management, establish data management strategies, and provide policy formulation knowledge. limited resources, skill development, and cooperation between it and research administration are some of the difficulties they face (onohwakpor & chukwusa, 2023; subaveerapandiyan, 2023). 50 methodology the research design was a descriptive survey. the population includes 75 library staff (librarians and library officers) from 3 university libraries in south-south, nigeria. the total population was used, but after questionnaire administration and retrieval 72 of the questionnaire (sample size) was found useable. data collection was done using questionnaire that was structured on a 4-point likert scale. the data retrieved were analyzed by means of frequency count and statistical mean. the universities studied are: the 3 selected federal universities in south-south, zone, nigeria no. of librarians administered the questionnaire no. of library officers total federal university of petroleum resources, effurun, delta state 14 11 25 federal university, otuoke, bayelsa state 8 15 23 university of port harcourt, rivers state 14 13 27 total 36 39 75 results presentation table 1: extent of awareness of research data management services s/n items vhe he le vle mean scores research data management services 4 3 2 1 1. data creation 47 25 3.7 2. data processing 10 62 3.1 3. data analysis 34 38 3.5 4. data preservation 49 23 3.7 5. data access 16 56 3.2 6. data reuse 43 29 3.6 grand mean 3.5 51 table 1 table 1 showed the extent of awareness of rdm services by librarians. with 2.5 as cutoff mean score and 3.5 as grand mean score the table revealed that the extent of awareness is high among the respondents. they scored high on all the metrics of rdm services such as data creation, data analysis, data preservation, data sharing, and data reuse. table 2: the extent of implementation of rdm services in the libraries s/n items research data management implementation vhe he le vle mean scores 4 3 2 1 1. data creation • users can easily locate and use data sources • there is an institutional repository for data management in my library • my library provides assistance to users on data documentation standards 25 20 13 32 26 24 15 10 16 7 19 3.1 2.6 3.3 grand mean 3.0 2. data processing • a good number of electronic documents are processed easily. • the few available ict equipments are used efficiently for processing of data. • there are defined information management principles by the school management e.g. documentation format. • documents created are usually proof read and reexamined before release. 22 27 56 11 28 33 2 43 10 12 9 18 12 5 2.8 3.2 3.5 2.9 grand mean 3.1 3. data analysis • i have the wherewithal to scrutinize current research • i have the wherewithal to deploy digital technologies in research planning 32 16 15 20 25 21 15 3.5 2.5 52 • i have the wherewithal to working with scientific literature and to compile. • i can use digital technologies to solve a specific research problem 29 9 8 25 18 28 17 10 2.7 2.5 grand mean 2.8 data preservation • in my library there are enough data storage facilities • in my library there are skilled staff who assist researchers with data storage and preservation techniques • in my library, data are stored in conventional formats such as text documents, graphics, spreadsheets and databases • data can be safely stored and back-up options provided. 12 15 19 34 27 17 53 8 16 27 30 19 13 2.5 2.5 3.2 2.6 grand mean 2.7 data sharing/access • my library has data repositories for data sharing and access. • in my library processed data are released almost instantly they are demanded. • in my library most of the data is disseminated through electronic means. 10 19 13 21 25 9 25 28 48 16 2 2.3 2.9 2.5 grand mean 2.6 data reuse • my university library allows us to archive research data for future use • data are stored for easy retrieval • unused data are disposed off 21 9 9 34 63 25 9 23 8 15 2.9 3.1 2.4 53 grand mean 2.8 adapted from nwabugwu & godwin, 2020 on the extent of implementation of data creation service, table 2 revealed that aside ‘there is an institutional repository for data management in my library’ with 2.6 mean score (though high), the other items were implemented to a very high extent. the table further revealed that with 3.1 grand mean score for data processing, 2.8 for data analysis, 2.7 for data preservation, 2.6 for data sharing/access and 2.8 for data reuse, the study concluded that all the rdm services were being implemented to a high extent. discussion the data presented in table 2 indicates that librarians had a high level of awareness of rdm services. the results of a study that measured the attitudes and level of preparation of academic librarians in the us and canada regarding rdm are consistent with this finding (mahraz, benabbou & berrado, 2022). according to the report, librarians are fully aware of the importance of providing data services as well as how doing so could increase library and librarians profile in the years to come. it was discovered that the degree to which librarians applied research data collection services in the libraries was strong, and that they consistently identified data sources. this runs counter to what previous research has shown. studies by nwabugwu and godwin (2020) and abduldayan, abifarin, oyedum, and alhassan (2020) have revealed that researchers typically exhibit reluctance when it comes to submitting their research data to journals or libraries. according to this study, librarians who practiced data analysis also rated their own data analysis practice and implementation well, which suggests that the level of data analysis implementation was high. according to david and abbas (2020), librarians at a few federal universities in nigeria possess the necessary abilities to efficiently offer and execute research data services through standard metadata production. the results were consistent with a study conducted by abduldayan, abifarin, oyedum, and alhassan (2020) on the rdm practice of chemistry researchers, who were purposively picked from among the five federal universities of technology in nigeria. the study found that in order to guarantee the long-term access, preservation, and reuse of their research data, chemical researchers' rdm procedures require significant improvement. in a similar spirit, gowen and meier's (2020) study suggested that libraries start educating scholars about the advantages of appropriate rdm methods. recommendations • libraries' capacity to maintain focus on their primary mission, which is to assist the creation of new information through the utilization of existing knowledge, will determine how relevant they are in a changing world. as a result, it is important to maintain the high level of rdm service awareness. • research data management is a highly broad and difficult task, despite the fact that librarians in south-south nigeria reported very high levels of satisfaction for the majority of the metrics of research data management services. therefore, in order for nigerian libraries 54 and librarians to know where they need to make improvements, it is essential that they gain a broader grasp of the breadth and depth of research data management services. conclusion it is imperative that university administrations provide librarians with ongoing training to enhance their proficiency in using diverse data management systems and assess research data of all kinds. the survey found that librarians have a very high level of awareness of rdm services and the rdm concept. also, all the rdm metrics are being implemented to a large extent. references abduldayan, f. j., abifarin, f., oyedum, g. u., & alhassan, j. a. (2020). research data management practices of chemistry researchers in federal universities of technology in nigeria. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346489827_research_data_management_p r actices_of_chemistry_researchers_in_federal_universities_of_technology_in_nige ri a american library association (2009). the state of america’s libraries. chicago, il: american library association. chigwada, j., chiparausha, b., & kasiroori, j. (2017). research data management in research institutions in zimbabwe. data science journal, 16(31), 1–9. chukwusa, j. (2021a). basic skills needed in continuing professional development of librarians in nigeria. library progress (international), 41(1), 55-65. chukwusa, j. (2021b). an assessment of information literacy skills of students in nigerian universities. indian journal of information sources and services (ijiss), 11(1), 9–15 cox, a. m., verbaan, e., & sen, b. (2012). upskilling liaison librarians for research data management. retrieved from http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue70/cox-et-al lassi, m., johnsson, m., & golub, k. (2016). research data services: an exploration of requirements at two swedish universities. ifla, j42, 266–277 david, o.e. & abbas, k.d. (2020). strategies for research data management in federal university libraries in northwest geopolitical zone, nigeria. samaru journal of information studies, 20(1), 38-55. dcc. (2019). research data management for librarians. retrieved from http://www.dcc.ac.uk/training/rdm-librarians galleto, m. (2016). what is data management? retrieved from https://www.ngdata.com/what-is data-management/ kitchenham, b. (2004). procedures for performing systematic reviews. keele university, keele, 33. http://www.dcc.ac.uk/training/rdm-librarians 55 gowen, e. & meier, j.j. (2020).research data management services and strategic planningin libraries: a longitudinal study. doi: 10.7710/2162-3309.2336 koltay, t. (2019). research data management and data literacy as we see them today. library and information science, xxviii. 7-17. latham, b. (2017). research data management: defining roles, prioritizing services, and enumerating challenges. the journal of academic librarianship, 43, 263-265. mahraz, m.i., benabbou, l., & berrado, a. (2022). machine learning in supply chain management: a systematic literature review. international journal of supply and operations management, 9(4), 398-416. nwabugwu, m.j., & godwin, l.s. (2020). research data management (rdm) services in libraries: lessons for academic libraries in nigeria. library philosophy and practice (e-journal), 4238. onohwakpor, e. j. & chukwusa, j. (2023). library use instruction: the outcome-based education approach. library progress international, 43 (1), 28-38. onohwakpor, j.e. (2006). annual conference of the cataloguing, classification and indexing section of the nigerian library association. library hi tech news, 23(9), 6-8. penev, l. (2017). from open access to open science from the viewpoint of a scholarly publisher. research ideas and outcomes, 3, e12265. purwandari, b., zulkarnaim, n., pujirahayu, f., khalid, f.,& budi, i. (2017). a systematic review of recommender system for e-portfolio domain. sensuse, 21–26. ridsdale, i., rothwell, c., smith, j., ali-hassan, m., bliemel, h., irvine, m., kelley, d., matwin, s., & wuetherick, b. (2015). strategies and best practices for data literacy education, knowledge synthesis report. dalhouse university. subaveerapandiyan, a. (2023). research data management practices and challenges in academic libraries: a comprehensive review. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/7866 tunmibi, s. & ajokotola, b. o. (2024). research data management services among university librarians in lagos state, nigeria. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/8029 ubogu, j. & chukwusa, j. (2022). frequency of internet usage in the library by undergraduate students of library and information science (lis). library progress (international) 42(1), 144-15. https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=j1vu94saaaaj&citation_for_view=j1vu94saaaaj:yowf2qjgphmc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=j1vu94saaaaj&citation_for_view=j1vu94saaaaj:yowf2qjgphmc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=edf5mpgaaaaj&citation_for_view=edf5mpgaaaaj:u-x6o8ysg0sc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=edf5mpgaaaaj&citation_for_view=edf5mpgaaaaj:u-x6o8ysg0sc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=j1vu94saaaaj&citation_for_view=j1vu94saaaaj:8k81kl-mbhgc https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=j1vu94saaaaj&citation_for_view=j1vu94saaaaj:8k81kl-mbhgc page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 560 artificial intelligence and marketing: a conceptual analysis nwankwo christian department of marketing caritas university amorji-nike nwankwochristian23@gmail.com; 08037643869 abude peter department of entrepreneurship and business innovation university of delta, agbor abudepeter@yahoo.com; +2348062568041 abstract in an era of digitalization and availability of internet, the world is moving towards artificial intelligence, internet of things and big data analysis. every sphere of life, medicine, manufacturing, education, finance, construction and the like are transforming into computer-based processes. this paper is a study on the use of artificial intelligence in marketing of products. it aims at a conceptual analysis of the past, present and future of marketing in the light of artificial intelligence. keywords: artificial intelligence; marketing; digital marketing; machine learning; big data analytics. introduction artificial intelligence (ai) is a concept that has been taking over the world in all spheres, be it medicine, construction, education, business, entertainment or marketing. we live in a world were data collection, analysis and inference are as important as breathing in this world. every data big or small is stored up and used by businesses. take a classical example of a user of instagram. the reels and posts watched by the user on a particular instagram id is captured and stored. the next time the user opens his or her insta page the posts relevant to what they viewed previously appear at the top. similarly, if the user has scrolled on a particular promotional post, the ai software captures this data and floods similar promotions on the page. all this is done within a nano second. this is the strength of ai. evolutions of ai ai is the affordance of human intelligence to machines. the concept has been in existence since antiquity, and rigorous ai research can be traced back to 1950s, when alan turning established the famous turning test, stating “i propose to consider the question, ‘can machine think?” (turning, 1950), and john mccarthy coined the term artificial intelligence in 1955 when he organized the 1956 dartmouth summer research project on artificial intelligence (ma & sun 2020). artificial intelligence derives from information technology. it is often used interchangeably with notions like autonomous or robotization. it also tends to be confused with machine learning or algorithm application. according to oxford dictionary, ai is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages “artificial intelligence / definition of artificial intelligence in english by oxford dictionaries” mailto:nwankwochristian23@gmail.com mailto:abudepeter@yahoo.com 561 (2019). technology is defined as the integration of systems with concrete computational abilities, functioning through a web of hardware and software alignments towards achieving desired solutions. further technology can be stated as the application of science in promoting ease of performance at organizations level and dominance at competitive platforms (freeman, 1989 & vishnoi & bagga, 2019). when digital computers were first developed in the 1940s and 1950s researchers wrote a number of programs, these programs could play chess, checkers and proves theorems. in the 1960s and 1970s, ai explored various ways to represent problems by developing different search techniques and general heuristics, this enabled development of programs used to solve algebraic word problems and symbolic integration (adetiba, et al; 2023). the use of algorithms and development of software such as java, java script and python have made life much easier and computers smarter. artificial intelligence (ai) has received increased attention in recent years. innovation, made possible through the internet, has brought ai closer to our everyday lives. these advances, alongside interest in the technology’s potential socio-economic and ethical impacts, bring ai to the forefront of many contemporary debates. industry investments in ai are rapidly increasing and governments are trying to understand what the technology could mean for their citizens. understanding ai artificial intelligence is the ability to transfer human intelligence to machines to perform tasks ranging from simple to complex. the goal of artificial intelligence is for it to learn, reason, and carry out tasks. as technology advances, previous definitions of artificial intelligence become obsolete. artificial intelligence is based on three basic concepts. machine learning, deep learning and neutral networks are the three fundamental concepts (wisetsri, et al., 2021). machine learning many technologies can perform repetitive tasks, but they cannot think for themselves. they are unable to think outside of the box. machine learning, on the other hand, is a subset of ai that aims to enable machines to learn a task without the need for preexisting code. machines are fed a variety of problems and examples in order to learn how to perform specific tasks. machines learn and adapt their strategy to independently execute the activities as they work through these problems and examples. an imagerecognition machine, for example, could be given millions of images to analyze. after countless permutations, the machine learns to recognize patterns, shapes, face and other objects. (wisetsri, et al., 2021). deep learning deep learning is a class of machine learning techniques that exploit many layers of nonlinear information processing for supervised or unsupervised feature extraction and transformation, and for pattern analysis and classification (rust 2015). deep learning is a new area of machine learning research, which has been introduced with the objective of moving machine learning closer to one of its original goals: artificial intelligence. deep learning is about learning multiple levels of representation and abstraction that help to make sense of data such as images, sound, and text. 562 big data contemporary business ecosystems are centered around technology resource, data resource and human resource. accordingly, organization departments and processes presently are generating huge volumes of data which is referred to as big data. as business processes are growing wider and more complex and organizational-friendly technology becoming ingrained into the mainstream operations (hurwitz, nugent, & halper, 2013) data collection tools are almost conquering every domain of industrial concerns (vishnoi & bagga, 2019). artificial neutral networks artificial neutral networks are a technology based on studies of the brain and nervous system. many different types of ann applications have been developed in the past several years and are continuing to be developed. industrial applications exist in the financial, manufacturing, marketing, telecommunications, biomedical, and many other domains. ai in marketing internet social media and mobile devices have dramatically increased the interactions between firms and consumers, with the information encoded in rich media formats such as text, image and video. it is imperative for firms to understand consumer perceptions and preferences and obtain brand positioning insights based on this rich media content (ma & sun, 2020). the ever-increasing amount of consumer data available online, in big data systems or mobile devices, makes ai become an important ally of marketing, as it is based on data analysis in almost every area of its application. marketing takes advantage of data to a large extent, from consumer needs research, market analyses, customer insights, and competition intelligence through pursing activities in various communication or distribution channels to measuring the results and effects of the adopted strategies. marketing becomes a natural beneficiary of developing information technology (mazurek, 2011a, 2011b, 2014). ai contributes to automating, optimizing and augmenting three fundamental marketing processes, data collection, insights gathering through data analysis, and customer engagement. modern marketing builds on intelligence technologies to capture relevant user data from the interactions with the brand. the benefit for the user is better assistance on immediately expressed needs and the anticipation of the unexpressed ones, from a longer-term perspective (mari, alex, 2019). traditional marketing practices of promoting host of products through newspaper, radio and television are also taking backstage because of reduced customer attention and giving way to online and digital marketing promotion platforms (mahadevan, 2000) in the like of content marketing, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media optimization, social media marketing. social media marketing channels are only augmenting consumer buying powers as more and more consumers are voicing their opinions about company and brands and related product attributes. marketer’s inability to deliver products in tune with customer requirements can take a toll on company’s brand image and values through customer disengagement with said products and brands through online communities and word of mouth (vishnoi & bagga, 2019). ai has been making its presence felt quite strongly in the day-to-day digital world of today. with technologies like chat bots and voice recognition helping businesses offer seamless customer service, it won’t be too long for ai to mark the future of digital marketing. 563 future of ai in marketing artificial intelligence can assist marketers in developing marketing strategies and planning activities by assisting with segmentation, targeting and positioning (stp). aside from stp, ai can assist marketers in determining a company’s strategic directions (huang & rust, 2017) (wisetsri, et al.,). a marketing analytics tool based on artificial intelligence can assess the suitability of product design to customer needs and as a result, customer satisfaction (dekimpe, 2020). topic modeling enhances the system’s ability to innovate and design service (antons & breidbach, 2018). ai will become the tool for strategy development of all the four p’s in marketing. product ai with its data analytics will be able to decide and strategize the type of product that would be saleable in the market. artificial intelligence has the ability to customize offerings to meet the needs of customers (kumar et al., 2019). price price modeling will completely depend on ai modeling. the economies of demand and supply will be set aside and the results of systematic survey and data analytics will be the rule for price fixation. place/distribution for increased customer satisfaction, product access and availability are critical components of the marketing mix. product distribution is largely mechanical and repetitive in nature, relying on networked relationships, logistics, inventory management, warehousing, and transportation issues. cabot’s for packaging, drones for delivery, and iot for order tracking and order refilling make artificial intelligence the ideal solutions for place management (huang & rust, 2020). promotion due to global digital transformation, digital marketing and social media campaigns have gained traction. customers determine the content, location, and timing in today’s technological world. ai allows for message personalization and customization based on the customer’s profile and preferences (huang & rust, 2020). conclusion artificial intelligence will soon become the marketing tool and change the landscape of the markets. consumers will prefer products and brands that are available on digital platforms. the improved processes will ensure more convenience to the shoppers. time saving due to quicker preference selections will become the norm for decision making. value additions such as automatic payments, personalization of products and efficient after sales services will be the factors responsible for success of a product. a new dimension in consumer brand relationship will emerge, whereby post purchase dissonance, testing of the product virtually and elimination of information processing by the consumer will develop. artificial intelligence is here to stay and for a long time. 564 references emmanuel adetiba, temitope, m., john, adekunle a. akinrinmade, funmilayo s. moninuola, oladipupo o. akintade, joke a. badejo, (2022). evolution of artificial intelligence language – a systematic literature review. erik hermann. leveraging artificial intelligence in marketing for social good – an ethical perspective. journal of business ethics (2022) 179:43 – 61. hartmann, j., huppertz, j., schamp, c. & heitmann, m. (2019). comparing automated text classification methods. international journal of research in marketing. 36, 20 – 38. huang, m. h. & rust, r. t. (2018). artificial intelligence in service. journal of service research, 21(2), 155 – 172. kotler, p. & keller, k. l. (2009). marketing management. in p. kotler, & k. l. keller, marketing management (p. 7). pearson education. li deng & dong yu. deep learning: methods and applications http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/2000000039. liye, ma & baohong, sun. machine learning and ai in marketing – connecting computing power to human insights. international journal of research in marketing jerek, k. mazurek, g. marketing and artificial intelligence, volume 8, 2012. m. jabeen (2024). the use of ai in marketing, its impact and future. world journal of advanced research and reviews. journal homepage: https//wjarr.com mari, alex. the rise of machine learning in marketing: goal, process, and benefit of ai-driven marketing. zora url:https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-197751. mekhail mustak, joni salminen, loic pl’e, jochen wirtz. artificial intelligence in marketing: topic modeling scientometric analysis, and research agenda. journal of business research. ming-hul huang & roland t. rust. a strategic framework for artificial intelligence in marketing. journal of the academy of marketing science (2021) volume 49. stone, merlin; aravopoulous, eleni, ekinci, yuksel, et al., artificial intelligence (ai) in strategic marketing decision-making: a research agenda. the bottom line. sushant kumar vishnoi, teena bagga, aarush sharma and saadat nasir wani. artificial intelligence enabled marketing solutions: a review, indian journal of economics and business. worakamol wisetsri, ragesh t. s., catherene julie aarthy c., dr. vibha thakur, digesh pandey, dr. kamal gulati. systematic analysis and future research direction in artificial intelligence for marketing. turkish journal of computer and mathematics education, vol. 12 no. 11 (2021), 43 – 55. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 595 foreign aid and socio-economic development in nigeria edet, joshua tom edettom444@yahho.com ebong, itoro bassey ebongitoro951@gmail.com nwachi, felicity ngozi ngnwachi@yahoo.com department of political science and public administration faculty of social sciences, university of uyo, akwa ibom state abstract this study aimed to explore the relationship between foreign aid and socio-economic development in nigeria. the research was guided by four objectives and corresponding research questions. the study employed both historical and descriptive research methods, utilizing a documentary approach to data collection. this approach involved a comprehensive review of secondary sources, including systematic observation of documentary evidence related to the intersection of foreign aid and socio-economic development in nigeria. data analysis was conducted using a content analytical approach. the findings indicated that between 2015 and 2023, nigeria received over $36.16 billion in official development assistance from bilateral and multilateral sources. despite the significant financial support, the international fund for agricultural development (ifad) aimed at alleviating poverty faced challenges due to ongoing crises that displaced people both within and beyond nigeria's borders. these crises disrupted agricultural production and livelihoods, severing small-scale farmers and their families from their social support systems and impeding their access to farmland and aid. on the other hand, the study found that the united states agency for international development (usaid) significantly improved healthcare access and service delivery in nigeria. additionally, foreign aid efforts positively impacted the quality of education through various programmes. the study concluded that while foreign aid has contributed to certain sectors, it is essential for nigeria to focus on harnessing and developing internal resources. the over-reliance on foreign aid should be avoided as it is intended to supplement rather than replace domestic development efforts. recommendations emphasize the need for nigeria to strengthen its internal mechanisms for sustainable socio-economic development. keywords: foreign aid, socio-economic development, healthcare access, educational quality, agricultural production, and sustainable development. introduction foreign aid, also known as official development assistance (oda), is a key mechanism through which developed nations and international institutions provide support to developing countries. this concept was established as a fundamental principle by the bretton woods system in 1944, which envisioned a free flow of capital from advanced nations to less developed ones (helleiner, 2014; kahn, 2015). the marshall plan, which allocated approximately $17.5 billion to europe for reconstruction after world war ii, exemplifies the application of this principle (feinstein, 2014). since then, foreign aid has continued to play a significant role in the international economic system, said to be geared toward the developmental needs of poorer nations (ukpong, 2017). in nigeria, it is argued that substantial foreign aid inflows have led to significant dependency, which some argue may outweigh the benefits. again, despite the aid, nigeria has struggled to fully utilize its productive capacities and remains below its potential. the persistent economic issues, despite the influx of aid, suggest that foreign assistance has not mailto:edettom444@yahho.com mailto:ebongitoro951@gmail.com mailto:ngnwachi@yahoo.com 596 adequately addressed longstanding problems. this dependency has also hindered the country’s efforts to develop internal resources and capabilities, contributing to ongoing issues such as high unemployment rates. key indicators of socio-economic development such as infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, healthcare quality and accessibility, education, governance, and security show persistent gaps despite substantial foreign investments leading to widespread poverty, income inequality, and limited access to essential services. as nigeria navigates these multifaceted challenges, it is clear that the effectiveness of foreign aid must be critically assessed. this research endeavors to explore not only the impact of foreign aid but also how it can be transformed into a catalyst for genuine, sustainable progress. conceptual review foreign aid, also known as official development assistance (oda), encompasses a broad spectrum of support mechanisms provided by developed nations, international organizations, and multilateral institutions to developing countries. the primary goal of foreign aid is to foster economic growth, alleviate poverty, and address various socio-economic challenges faced by recipient nations. the scope of foreign aid includes the transfer of financial resources, technical assistance, and humanitarian support, all of which are intended to bolster development efforts and improve the welfare of populations in need (chauvet & guillaumont, 2021; rajan & subramanian, 2008). foreign aid manifests in several forms, including grants, concessional loans, and technical assistance. grants are direct financial transfers that do not require repayment, aimed at funding specific projects or initiatives. concessional loans, on the other hand, are loans offered on terms more favorable than the market, often featuring lower interest rates and extended repayment periods. technical assistance involves the provision of expertise, training, and resources to help build the capacity of recipient countries (kharas & rogerson, 2019; mcgillivray et al., 2019). these forms of aid are designed to address urgent needs, support development goals, and contribute to long-term economic and social progress (bourguignon & sundberg, 2020; moss et al., 2015). foreign aid encompasses various typologies, each designed to address specific needs and achieve particular objectives in recipient countries. they include: bilateral aid, multilateral aid, humanitarian aid, development aid and technical assistance (smith, 2022; woods, 2019; chauver & guilamont, 2021; bourguignon & sundberg, 2020; dreher & fischer, 2021). others are: project aid, sectoral support, debt relief and emergency relief aid. (hale & mcmachon, 2020; mcgillivray et al, 2019) socio-economic development in the hand is a complex and multidimensional process geared toward improved quality of life and economic conditions within a society. this development encompasses a range of improvements in economic performance, social services, and governance (world bank, 2022; sen, 1999). at its core, socio-economic development involves boosting economic performance, which includes increasing productivity, generating employment opportunities, and improving income levels. these economic enhancements are often measured through indicators such as gross domestic product (gdp), income growth, and employment rates (world bank, 2022; todaro & smith, 2020). a critical component of socio-economic development is poverty reduction. strategies to alleviate poverty include direct financial assistance, social safety nets, and enhanced access to essential services such as education and healthcare. these measures aim to lift individuals and communities out of poverty and improve overall living standards (sen, 1999; sachs, 2015). infrastructure development also plays a significant role, involving investments in both physical infrastructure, such as roads and utilities, and social infrastructure, like schools and healthcare facilities. these improvements support economic activities and contribute to better living conditions (giddens, 2009; rodrik, 2014). education is another fundamental aspect of socio 597 economic development. by enhancing educational opportunities and improving educational quality, societies invest in human capital, which is crucial for long-term economic growth and innovation (todaro & smith, 2020; kabeer, 2021). healthcare improvements are equally vital, with efforts focusing on disease prevention, treatment, and health education. enhanced healthcare contributes to a more productive workforce and reduces the economic burden of illness (graham & giddens, 2011; miller & schillaci, 2015). empirical studies empirical studies on the impact of foreign aid on development in nigeria have produced mixed findings, often depending on the sector examined and the methodologies used. akinyemi (2020) explored this topic in "foreign aid and economic development in nigeria: a comparative analysis," focusing on the differential impacts of bilateral and multilateral aid. akinyemi's study assumed that the effectiveness of foreign aid varies based on its source and the targeted sectors. utilizing secondary data from the world bank, imf, and nigerian national bureau of statistics from 2000 to 2019, the study employed ordinary least squares (ols) regression to assess the impact of foreign aid on nigeria's gdp growth. the results indicated that multilateral aid had a more substantial positive impact on economic development than bilateral aid. this was attributed to multilateral aid's focus on structural reforms and policy frameworks, which fostered better developmental outcomes compared to the often-tied conditions of bilateral aid. the study concluded that to enhance the effectiveness of foreign aid in nigeria, there should be a greater emphasis on multilateral sources that prioritize comprehensive development frameworks and policy consistency. akinyemi recommended that nigerian policymakers prioritize multilateral aid and improve coordination with international organizations to align aid with national development goals. okonjo-iweala (2018), in her study "the role of foreign aid in nigeria's poverty reduction strategy," assessed the effectiveness of foreign aid in reducing poverty, particularly in the health and education sectors. the study was based on the premise that foreign aid targeting specific social sectors can directly impact poverty reduction. adopting a mixedmethod approach combining quantitative data from international aid reports with qualitative insights from interviews with policymakers and beneficiaries, the study utilized descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. the findings showed that while foreign aid improved health outcomes and educational attainment, its overall impact on poverty reduction was limited by systemic issues such as corruption and poor governance. the study concluded that foreign aid could be a valuable tool for poverty reduction if robust governance frameworks are implemented. she recommended enhancing transparency in foreign aid utilization and strengthening institutions to ensure that aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and is used effectively. eze (2019), in his research "foreign aid, governance, and economic development in nigeria: a panel data analysis," examined the interplay between foreign aid, governance quality, and economic development in nigeria over two decades. the study assumed that governance quality mediates the effectiveness of foreign aid on economic development. utilizing secondary data from the world bank, the african development bank, and nigerian government publications from 1999 to 2019, the study employed panel data analysis techniques, including fixed-effects and random-effects models, to explore the relationship between foreign aid, governance, and development indicators. the results suggested that foreign aid positively impacted economic development only when governance quality was high. in contexts of poor governance, aid had little to no positive effect and sometimes led to adverse outcomes. the study concluded that foreign aid alone is insufficient for driving economic development in nigeria; effective governance is crucial for realizing its potential benefits. he recommended that international donors focus on governance reforms as a 598 prerequisite for aid allocation and advised the nigerian government to implement policies that enhance governance quality. adeola (2021), in her study "impact of foreign aid on agricultural development in nigeria: a sectoral approach," evaluated the impact of foreign aid on agricultural development, focusing on productivity and sustainability. the study assumed that foreign aid directed toward agriculture can enhance productivity and sustainability if appropriately managed. using a combination of primary data collected through surveys and secondary data from aid databases, the study employed statistical techniques, including regression analysis and structural equation modeling (sem), to analyze the impact of aid on agricultural productivity. the findings indicated that foreign aid significantly improved agricultural productivity, especially when coupled with capacity-building initiatives and infrastructure development. however, the study also identified challenges such as aid dependency and inefficiencies in aid allocation. adeola concluded that foreign aid has the potential to boost agricultural development in nigeria, but it must be strategically targeted and complemented by domestic investment and policy reforms. she recommended improving aid management strategies, fostering partnerships between donors and local stakeholders, and encouraging investments in infrastructure and capacity building to maximize aid's impact in the agricultural sector. contrarily, moyo (2019), in "dead aid: why aid is not working and how there is a better way for africa," critically assessed the broader impact of foreign aid on socio-economic development across africa, arguing that aid creates dependency, hinders innovation, and weakens governance. using secondary data from the world bank, imf, and case studies, the study employed qualitative content analysis to interpret the findings, revealing that foreign aid often leads to dependency without fostering sustainable economic growth. the study concluded that foreign aid is not a viable solution for africa's development and suggested a shift towards trade, entrepreneurship, and innovation. she recommended that african countries reduce their reliance on foreign aid and focus on building strong institutions and sustainable trade relationships. easterly (2018), in "the white man's burden: why the west's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good," evaluated the effectiveness of western aid policies in developing countries, particularly questioning why these efforts often fail to produce sustainable outcomes. the study suggested that the top-down approach of foreign aid is often ineffective because it does not consider local contexts and needs. easterly concluded that foreign aid, as currently practiced, does not effectively promote socio-economic development and recommended a shift towards a bottom-up strategy that emphasizes local governance and grassroots development. similarly, rajan and subramanian (2019), in "aid and growth: what does the crosscountry evidence really show?" investigated the impact of foreign aid on economic growth, analyzing cross-country data. they found no consistent evidence that foreign aid contributes to economic growth in developing countries, suggesting that aid could create economic distortions and foster dependency. the study recommended focusing on supporting good governance and institutional development rather than merely providing financial aid, and tailoring aid programmes to the specific needs of each country to maximize their impact. research methodology the study utilized both historical and descriptive research methods which makes it to rely on documentary evidence. these methods were chosen because they provide a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter under investigation. the historical method allows for the examination of past events, trends, and developments related to the topic, which helps in identifying patterns and causes. meanwhile, the descriptive method facilitates a detailed and systematic description of the current status and characteristics of the subject, 599 offering insights into its present conditions and allowing for a thorough analysis of various factors at play. together, these methods enhance the study's ability to provide a well-rounded and informed perspective on the research topic. an assessment of foreign aid to nigeria from 1980-2022 foreign aid to nigeria has undergone considerable transformation since 1980, reflecting both shifts in global political dynamics and evolving domestic needs. this evolution mirrors nigeria’s changing priorities and the international community’s responses to its development challenges. in the early 1980s, nigeria faced a severe economic crisis marked by a dramatic decline in oil prices, high external debt, and inflation. the country's economic troubles led to increased international assistance aimed at stabilizing the economy and addressing urgent humanitarian needs. during this period, foreign aid was crucial in providing immediate relief and supporting economic stabilization efforts. the focus was primarily on emergency assistance and basic needs, such as food and medical aid, as well as structural adjustment programmes designed to address macroeconomic imbalances (akinyemi, 2020). the 1990s saw a shift in foreign aid priorities towards supporting structural adjustments and fostering long-term development. international donors, including the world bank and international monetary fund (imf), emphasized the need for economic reforms to improve governance, enhance transparency, and promote private sector growth. aid during this period was increasingly tied to specific conditions, such as implementing economic reforms and improving public sector efficiency. the focus extended beyond immediate relief to include support for governance reforms, economic diversification, and infrastructure development (akinyemi, 2020). in the 2000s, the focus of foreign aid shifted towards poverty reduction and addressing key social sectors such as health and education. the global emphasis on the millennium development goals (mdgs) influenced aid strategies, with donors prioritizing initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes, reducing child mortality, and increasing educational attainment. programmes targeting hiv/aids, maternal and child health, and primary education received significant funding. this period also saw increased aid directed towards improving governance and institutional capacity, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of effective institutions in achieving development goals (okonjo-iweala, 2018). the 2010s marked a diversification of aid sectors and a heightened focus on humanitarian support. with the emergence of new challenges, such as insurgency and internal displacement due to the boko haram conflict, foreign aid increasingly targeted humanitarian relief and support for internally displaced persons (idps). the international community responded with increased funding for emergency assistance, including food security, shelter, and psychosocial support. additionally, there was a growing emphasis on supporting governance and anti-corruption efforts to enhance the effectiveness of aid and ensure that resources reached the intended beneficiaries (eze, 2019). in the 2020s, foreign aid to nigeria continued to adapt to contemporary challenges, including the covid-19 pandemic and ongoing security concerns. the pandemic prompted an increase in aid focused on health systems strengthening, vaccine distribution, and economic recovery efforts. donors supported initiatives aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic, such as cash transfers and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (smes). the emphasis on health and economic resilience reflects a broader global trend of responding to crises while also addressing long-standing development issues (akinyemi, 2020). throughout these decades, the effectiveness of foreign aid has been a subject of debate. research indicates that while aid has contributed to various development outcomes, challenges such as corruption, inefficiencies, and donor-imposed conditions have often limited its impact. studies by akinyemi (2020), okonjo-iweala (2018), and eze (2019) highlight the complexities 600 of aid effectiveness and emphasize the need for improved governance and strategic alignment with national development priorities. more analytically, despite her vast oil wealth, nigeria has received a sizeable chunk of oda over the years. noteworthy, the country received $1 billion as development aid between the years 1980 and 2014. in 1980, aid inflow stood at $433 million, but by 1989, it rose to $473.63 million. the country witnessed a sharp increase in her aid receipt from $360.78 million in 2003 to $6799.81 million in 2005. this period marked six years of return of democratically elected government led by president olusegun obasanjo from 1999 and the implementation of the national economic empowerment and development plan (needs) in 2004/2005. the unprecedented growth in foreign aid in nigeria during this period was mainly due to debt cancellation actively campaigned for by the obasanjo government. by 2006 the amount of aid inflow almost doubled that of 2005 at $11781.51 million. in 2007, the amount fell to $1385.2 million; it increased slightly to $1401 million in 2008 and progressed to $1638 million in 2009. as of 2013, oda receipts stood at $2476 million (sewemimo and lyoha, 2018). these periods were characterized by democratic regimes of umaru yar’adua and goodluck jonathan. between 2019 and 2021 the buhari administration has received financial aid worth $5050 million from us and other donor agencies (ogah and aliyu, 2022). table 4: average foreign aid (oda) inflow to nigeria 1980 – 2021 year average net aid received (in us$) 1980-1985 36575000 1986-1990 168580000 1991-1995 241236000 1996-2000 183544000 2001-2005 1551556000 2006-20 10 3675174000 2011-2015 2230378000 2016-2018 3075188333 2019-2021 5050000000 source: ubi and ebi (2021) with slight modification by the authors. foreign aid and educational sector in nigeria: an assessment foreign aid has been instrumental in addressing the educational challenges faced by nigeria, particularly through various international collaborations that have sought to improve the quality and accessibility of education in the country. since the early 1980s, nigeria's education sector has grappled with numerous issues, including a rapidly growing school-age population, inadequate infrastructure, and poor educational outcomes. this has prompted substantial foreign aid efforts aimed at both immediate relief and long-term improvements. in the early 1980s, nigeria's education system was significantly impacted by a severe economic crisis, which compounded the challenges of an expanding school-age population. during this period, international aid focused on providing emergency relief and supporting economic stabilization, which included addressing educational needs. by 2017, usaid identified that the quality of basic education in nigeria was alarmingly low, contributing to low demand and poor academic performance across the country. according to usaid (2017), out of approximately 30 million primary school-aged children, around 10 million were not enrolled in formally recognized schools. moreover, of those enrolled, less than one-third continued to junior secondary school, and even fewer progressed to senior secondary education. this situation was particularly severe in the northern states of nigeria, where educational indicators were the weakest. 601 to address these issues, usaid focused its efforts on northern states like bauchi and sokoto, implementing a system-strengthening approach. this approach aimed to enhance education management systems, increase capacity to deliver quality education services, and improve education quality through increased reading skills and equitable access to safe and relevant educational options (usaid, 2017). the emphasis was on improving basic education by addressing key issues in the management, sustainability, and oversight of education services, reflecting a broader commitment to long-term educational development. in addition to usaid's initiatives, the uk government made significant contributions to nigeria's education sector. in 2018, the uk provided €13 million for an education initiative aimed at supporting 100,000 students in the northeastern regions affected by the boko haram insurgency. this programme included teacher training, provision of school supplies, and protection for schools, addressing the immediate disruptions caused by the conflict (peter & bassey, 2021). this initiative was part of a broader effort to mitigate the impact of violence on education and ensure that displaced and affected children had access to continued learning opportunities. despite these efforts, the effectiveness of foreign aid in nigeria's education sector has been mixed. studies have highlighted that while aid has contributed to improvements in access and quality, systemic issues such as corruption, mismanagement, and inadequate local capacity have often limited its impact (okonjo-iweala, 2018; eze, 2019). for instance, okonjo-iweala (2018) found that while foreign aid had a positive effect on health and education outcomes, its overall impact on poverty reduction was constrained by issues related to governance and the effective utilization of funds. similarly, eze (2019) noted that foreign aid's impact on economic development, including education, was highly dependent on the quality of governance. in contexts with poor governance, aid often yielded limited benefits and sometimes exacerbated existing challenges. in recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the need to integrate educational support with broader development goals. for example, adeola (2021) emphasized the importance of aligning educational aid with health and economic development initiatives to create a more comprehensive approach to addressing nigeria's development challenges. this approach aims to enhance the effectiveness of aid by ensuring that educational support is part of a broader strategy that addresses interconnected issues such as health, economic stability, and governance. security sector military aid to nigeria from 2010 to 2022 played a pivotal role in addressing the country's security challenges, particularly in the context of the boko haram insurgency and other extremist threats. as the insurgency intensified, nigeria's need for external military support grew, prompting substantial international engagement. the united states emerged as a key partner, providing significant aid that included $5 million in 2014 for military training and support in response to the chibok schoolgirl kidnapping (hassan, 2015). in 2017, the u.s. further contributed a $600 million package that encompassed combat equipment, surveillance drones, and other critical resources aimed at enhancing nigeria's counter-terrorism capabilities (smith, 2018). despite these contributions, challenges such as human rights concerns and the effectiveness of aid utilization occasionally strained the relationship between the u.s. and nigeria, leading to periodic adjustments in aid provisions (human rights watch, 2019). as contained in the congressional research service (crs) reports prepared by blanchard and husted, nigeria received various military equipment from the u.s via the excess defence articles (eda) programmeme including naval vessels and mine resistant ambush protected vehicles (mraps) (blanehard and husted, 2019). 602 the united kingdom also played a significant role in supporting nigeria's military efforts, providing training and equipment to bolster counter-insurgency operations. in 2015, the uk’s support included initiatives to train nigerian troops and improve their operational effectiveness in addressing insurgency (johnson, 2016). the united kingdom contributed significantly through its department for international development (dfid), offering support to over 1 million people in the north-east affected by famine-like conditions in 2017 (usaid, 2017). the uk's assistance extended to improving health, education, and agricultural productivity, thereby contributing to long-term infrastructure development. france contributed to regional security by offering logistical support and military training as part of its broader strategy to combat terrorism in west africa, which complemented nigeria’s own efforts against extremist groups (leclerc, 2019). in recent years, china has increased its involvement by supplying military equipment and training, reflecting its growing strategic interests in africa. china's support aimed at enhancing nigeria's defense capabilities through the provision of hardware and technology (wang, 2021). the impact of this military aid was notable, as it enhanced nigeria's operational capacity and contributed to several successes in counter-terrorism operations. however, the effectiveness of aid was occasionally undermined by logistical challenges and persistent issues related to human rights abuses, including reports of civilian casualties and detainee mistreatment (human rights watch, 2019). these concerns, coupled with the need for continuous adaptation to the evolving insurgency, highlighted the complexities of international military assistance in conflict environments. overall, from 2010 to 2022, military aid was a critical element in nigeria's response to its security challenges, with ongoing international support and strategic adjustments essential for addressing the dynamic nature of the conflict and fostering long-term stability. infrastructural development china emerged as a prominent partner, making extensive investments in nigeria's infrastructure. in april 2017, nigeria and china signed a $2.5 billion currency exchange agreement to bolster local currency liquidity for business transactions (udo, 2018). additionally, china invested over $6 billion in various infrastructure projects. notable among these are the $478.7 million solar power project in shiroro, niger state, and the $55 million granite mining facility by granite and marble limited and shanghai shibang (somoye, 2018; pm news, 2016). china also committed $1 billion to construct the greenfield highway connecting abuja with ibadan and lagos and another $2.5 billion for a high-rise complex (pm news, 2016). moreover, a $1 billion deal was established to build a high-tech industrial park in igbesa, ogun state (premium times, 2016). health sector the world bank's contribution was also significant, with $171.5 million allocated to the nigeria state health investment project (nship) to strengthen health service delivery in several states, including adamawa, nassarawa, ondo, and five north-eastern states (adewole, 2017; world bank, 2017). this funding aimed to enhance performance-based financing systems across primary and secondary health facilities, addressing the infrastructural challenges posed by insecurity and other regional needs. foreign aid and socio-economic development in nigeria: the negating lapses despite the substantial foreign aid, nigeria faced challenges in translating this support into sustainable development. between 2015 and 2022, nigeria received over $36.16 billion in official development assistance (oecd, 2022). however, the efficacy of this aid was often undermined by issues such as corruption, mismanagement, and the lack of institutional capacity 603 to effectively utilize the funds (ajayi & oke, 2018; omoruyi, 2019). consequently, while foreign aid contributed to various infrastructure projects, it did not always lead to the anticipated economic development or poverty reduction, reflecting the complexities of managing large-scale international assistance in a developing country context. a primary issue is the weakness of nigeria’s governance and institutional frameworks. inefficient public administration and bureaucratic processes often result in delays and mismanagement of aid resources. institutions responsible for implementing aid projects frequently struggle with inadequate planning and coordination, which hampers effective project execution (omoruyi, 2019). for example, inefficiencies within the nigerian ministry of health have led to delays in implementing health interventions funded by foreign donors (sulaiman, 2016). this lack of effective oversight undermines the potential impact of aid. corruption is another significant obstacle affecting the utilization of foreign aid in nigeria. corruption at various levels of government and within implementing agencies diverts aid resources from their intended purposes, leading to inflated costs and substandard project outcomes (ajayi & oke, 2018). a notable instance of this was the mismanagement of funds intended for infrastructure development, where projects funded by international loans and grants were either delayed or executed poorly due to corrupt practices (world bank, 2019). this mismanagement not only affects the quality of aid projects but also erodes public confidence in the effectiveness of foreign assistance. nigeria's dependency on foreign aid has also created a reliance syndrome, which undermines local initiative and innovation. excessive dependence on external aid can stifle the development of local solutions and capacity-building efforts. for instance, the heavy reliance on foreign funding for educational programmes has sometimes overshadowed efforts to develop and implement homegrown educational reforms (ajayi & oke, 2018). this dependency makes nigeria vulnerable to changes in international aid policies and the economic conditions of donor countries. the fragmentation of aid efforts due to lack of coordination among various international donors further complicates the effective use of aid in nigeria. different donors often have conflicting priorities and conditions, leading to overlapping projects and inefficient resource utilization (oecd, 2022). in nigeria, this has resulted in duplicated efforts and misalignment of projects, reducing the overall effectiveness of aid (sulaiman, 2016). additionally, inadequate monitoring and evaluation (m&e) systems contribute to the challenges in utilizing foreign aid effectively. weak m&e mechanisms in nigeria hinder the tracking of aid project progress and impact, affecting accountability and the ability to make necessary adjustments (world bank, 2019). for example, the lack of robust evaluation frameworks for health interventions has made it difficult to assess the effectiveness of aid programmes and address implementation issues. recommendations based on the research objectives and findings, the study recommended the folloeing: i. strengthen local institutions for effective aid management: nigeria government should enhance the capacity and transparency of local institutions responsible for managing foreign aid. this includes improving administrative processes, ensuring accountability in the allocation and use of funds, and fostering better coordination among government agencies and aid organizations. by building robust institutional frameworks, nigeria can ensure that foreign aid is effectively utilized and reaches the intended beneficiaries. ii. promote economic self-reliance through domestic reforms: the federal government should implement comprehensive economic reforms aimed at reducing dependency on foreign aid. focus on increasing domestic revenue through 604 improved taxation, reducing government expenditures, and investing in local industries and smes. encouraging self-reliance will help nigeria build a more resilient economy and reduce its reliance on external assistance. iii. develop and implement targeted agricultural support programmes: nigeria government should design and execute agricultural support programmes that address the specific needs of small-scale farmers, particularly in crisis-affected areas. invest in infrastructure, crisis management systems, and support services that enable farmers to access resources and maintain 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(2020). world development indicators. world bank publications. world health organization (2020). global tuberculosis report 2020. https://ewww.worldhealthorganization.org. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 187 strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state: implications for mental health counselling 1*fadipe, rasaq abimbola fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com 2saadu, yusuf olatunji saaduyusuf24434@gmail.com 3atoyebi, mary omolola olajumoke jummybrooks@yahoo.com 4atoyebi, oyeniran kayode oyescafe004@gmail.com 1,2,3,4department of educational guidance and counselling, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria abstract this study examined strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria. the study employed the descriptive survey design. a sample of 450 students was randomly selected and administered questionnaires across various faculties. however, only 443 responses were properly retrieved and analysed for this study. a research instrument, titled: "strategies for coping with suicidal ideation questionnaire (scsiq)", was used to collect data from the respondents. the content validity of the instrument was done by five experts from the department of counselling and human development studies at the university of ibadan and the reliability was established using test re-test reliability method, which yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.79. the data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. the findings revealed that polytechnic students cope with suicidal ideation by seeking support from friends when feel overwhelmed, seeking professional counselling services when in distress, and engaging in physical activities (e.g., sports, exercise) to improve their mood. findings also indicated that there were no significant differences in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age and religion. however, there were significant differences in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender and place of residence. it was therefore, recommended that students struggling with suicidal ideation should seek help from friends for support, access professional counselling services, engage in physical exercises and relaxation techniques, and set achievable goals to mitigate academic frustration and cope more effectively. guidance counsellors, social workers, academic advisors, and mental health professionals should provide support services, including mental health counselling, academic advising, social skills training, and guidance, without hesitation to students struggling with suicidal ideation in school. keywords: suicidal ideation, coping strategies, polytechnic students, oyo state introduction the rising incidence of suicide among students remains a serious national issue that demands urgent attention from the nigerian government, mental health professionals, and education stakeholders. suicide refers to a deliberate act in which an individual intentionally ends his or her own life. this act can be carried out through various methods, including hanging, drowning, jumping from high places, bomb detonation, ingestion of toxic substances, electrocution, and firearm use, among others. in nigeria, one of the most prevalent methods is the misuse of the insecticide sniper, which has gained recognition due to its frequent use by suicide victims (ikuburuju-orola, makinde & olusakin, 2022; animba, osim & ezema, 2025). suicidal ideation is the first stage that can lead to suicide or a suicide attempt, involving thoughts, contemplation, or planning of self-harm. it can also be defined as the thoughts, intentions, plans, and mental images an individual forms about to end his or her life (adetola mailto:fadiperasaqabimbola@gmail.com mailto:saaduyusuf24434@gmail.com mailto:jummybrooks@yahoo.com mailto:oyescafe004@gmail.com 188 & oluwaseun, 2022). suicidal ideation shows a deliberate desire to end one’s life, often as a means to escape intense suffering or emotional trauma. as a crucial aspect of suicidal behaviour, it reflects feelings of meaninglessness in life, prompting individuals to develop plans and dwell on thoughts of suicide (larry, chukwuorji, & ekwe, 2023; kolawole & arulogun, 2025). this condition often manifest with various symptoms, including mood swings, sleep and appetite disturbances, neglect of personal care, anxiety, loss of interest, anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure), fatigue, overwhelming feelings of worthlessness and guilt, and difficulty concentrating or making decisions. suicidal ideation is a significant mental health concern among students on campus, and its prevalence continues to rise at an alarming rate across all age groups, posing a major public health challenge in nigeria. it is not only prevalent among university undergraduates but also among polytechnic students. a study by adetola and oluwaseun (2022) found that 53.8% of undergraduates reported experiencing high levels of depression, while 64.8% of polytechnic students in oyo state admitted to having suicidal thoughts and attempts due to academic pressures. similarly, research by akinyemi, okpue, onigbinde, okafor, akodu, and odeyemi (2023) revealed that approximately 51.7% of lagos state polytechnic students had been diagnosed with mental health conditions linked to suicidal ideation. several reported cases further highlight the severity of the issue. in 2014, a part-time student at the polytechnic, ibadan, committed suicide by hanging himself. in 2019, a male student from lagos state polytechnic took his own life after his girlfriend disappointed in relationship. that same year, a national diploma 1 student from the civil engineering department of federal polytechnic, offa, kwara state, was reported to have died by suicide. in 2022, a final-year student at the federal polytechnic, oko in anambra state was reported to have died by suicide after a relationship failed. in 2023, a student of ilaro polytechnic allegedly took his own life after losing his tuition fees to gambling. also in 2024, a 30-year-old graduate of the federal polytechnic, nekede was said to have died by hanging in imo state. many cases of suicide often go unreported due to stigma, cultural and religious beliefs, as well as the criminalisation of suicide under the nigerian constitution (adegbite-badmas, 2024). this growing issue among polytechnic students is particularly concerning, with most victims being individuals who have faced academic failure, severe academic stress, failed relationships, financial challenges, or substance abuse. the prevalence of suicidal ideation among students tends to rise during examination periods and while awaiting results. other contributing factors include financial strain, sleep disturbances, increased academic workload, inadequate or inefficient transportation systems, lack of support from friends and family, disruptions in academic activities, and incidents of campus crime and violence (uzoekwe, nnadi, mokwelu, nwanna, & ojo, 2023). adetola and oluwaseun (2022) identified various factors contributing to the prevalence of suicidal ideation among polytechnic students in nigeria. these include feelings of hopelessness, social isolation, lack of social support, mental health disorders, aggressive tendencies, impulsivity, substance abuse, a history of trauma or abuse, chronic illness, severe emotional distress, family history of suicide, and previous suicide attempts. additionally, socio-cultural influences on suicide include the belief that suicide is a noble escape from shame and hardship, societal stigma, limited access to healthcare, and the impact of others who have died by suicide (larry, chukwuorji, & ekwe, 2023). situational factors that linked to suicidal ideation include financial difficulties, the loss of significant social or emotional relationships, stressful life events, and access to lethal means (sikiru, nurudeen, & shehu, 2022; ezea, 2025). these aspects provide a broad understanding and coping strategies for 189 preventing the prevalence of suicidal ideation, regardless of gender, age, religion, or place of residence. coping strategies refer to the ways of tolerating, reducing or minimizing stressful events. it is an effort made by individuals in managing situations that are seen as potentially harmful or stressful (teismann, 2022). essentially to cope with challenges of suicidal ideation, polytechnic students need to adopt various strategies to manage the problem in school. one key strategy is seeking social support, where students are encouraged to openly communicate with trusted people (including family members and friends) or experts like teachers, guidance counsellors, social workers, and mental health practitioners (värnik, 2020; ofole, 2025). peer support groups can also provide a crucial emotional safety support, fostering a sense of belonging and reducing feelings of isolation. schools should create an environment where talking about mental health is normalized, reducing stigma and encouraging students to seek help when needed (ipem, azukaego, & alaribe, 2023). safe spaces within schools allow students to share their feelings or emotions without fear of judgment, which can help alleviate despair (gritemeyer, 2021). moreover, fostering a community that supports open dialogue about mental health can strengthen the overall well-being of students and prevent prevalence of suicidal ideation. another essential strategy is engaging in regular physical activities, which has been an effective way to improving mental health and reduce psychological distress. physical exercise releases endorphins, natural chemicals in the brain that help lift mood and reduce the symptoms of depression (värnik, 2020; ibrahim & adebowale, 2024). schools can promote this through sports, yoga classes, or even mindfulness practices such as walking meditation. these activities not only provide a healthy outlet for stress but also foster social connections, which are essential in preventing the isolation that often accompanies suicidal ideation (wong, 2022). participation in group activities can help build a sense of community and shared experience, reducing feelings of loneliness. additionally, movement-based mindfulness practices can increase mental clarity and emotional resilience, helping students manage difficult emotions more effectively (wong, 2022; ngwu, lucy-obil, anyin & oshima, 2023). regular physical activity is thus both a preventive and therapeutic tool for managing mental health. equipping students with problem-solving and emotional regulation skills is another critical strategy in managing suicidal ideation. by learning how to break down complex issues into manageable steps, students can regain a sense of control over their lives, reducing the hopelessness that often leads to suicidal thoughts (ibrahim & adebowale, 2024). cognitive behavioural therapy (cbt) techniques, for example, help students identify and challenge negative thought patterns, replacing them with more constructive thinking (ifem, ifeoma, & alaribe, 2023). similarly, dialectical behaviour therapy (dbt) can help students manage intense emotions without resorting to harmful behaviours like self-harm or suicide (abdelkhalek, 2021). schools can integrate these therapeutic techniques into regular counselling sessions or workshops, giving students the tools to cope with emotional distress. practicing these skills in a supportive environment can enhance students' emotional resilience, allowing them to handle stress more effectively. the focus on problem-solving and emotional regulation helps students face challenges with a healthier mindset. setting realistic goals and practicing self-compassion also are key strategies for fostering a sense of hope and purpose in students. often, suicidal ideation stems from feelings of failure or overwhelming pressure, so helping students set achievable goals can provide them with a sense of accomplishment (teismann, 2022; ezea, 2025). counsellors can work with students 190 to break down long-term aspirations into manageable steps, helping them focus on their strengths and build confidence. practicing self-compassion, where students learn to be kind and understanding toward themselves, is also crucial in reducing self-criticism, which often exacerbates suicidal thoughts (teismann, 2022). schools can promote self-compassion through mindfulness exercises or self-reflection activities, encouraging students to appreciate their unique strengths and capabilities. additionally, providing career counselling and mentorship programmes can help students envision a positive future, giving them a sense of direction beyond their current struggles (zhang, 2023). by combining goal-setting with selfcompassion, students can develop a more hopeful and balanced perspective on life. empirical studies on coping strategies for suicidal ideation among students often focuses on some demographic factors such as gender, age, place of residence, and religion. these factors can significantly influence both the prevalence of suicidal ideation and the coping mechanisms employed. in particular, empirical studies have found that these demographic characteristics shape how students approach mental health challenges, including suicidal thoughts, and the types of interventions that might be most effective (värnik, 2020). studies frequently reveal gender differences in the prevalence of suicidal ideation and the strategies employed to cope with it. research by gritemeyer (2021) found that female students are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, yet they tend to seek help more frequently than their male counterparts. however, males often display more reluctance in seeking mental health support, which may be linked to societal norms around masculinity (eze, anugwom, & obasi, 2022). in addition, females tend to prefer emotional and social coping strategies, such as confiding in friends and family, while males may resort to more isolating behaviours, potentially exacerbating their risk (eze, anugwom & obasi, 2022). the age of students is important in understanding suicidal ideation and coping strategies. according to teismann (2022), younger students (ages from 18 to 25 years) tend to experience higher rates of suicidal ideation and may be more prone to impulsive reactions, like self-harm. however, older students between the ages of 26 and 35years are more likely to use cognitive-behavioural approaches, such as mindfulness and stress management, as part of their coping strategies. this suggests that developmental stage plays a significant role in how students perceive and handle mental health challenges. regarding place of residence, värnik (2020) found that students living off-campus may face limited access to mental health resources or counselling, contributing to feelings of isolation and hopelessness. these students may be more inclined to adopt maladaptive coping strategies, like substance abuse, due to restricted support and interventions. on-campus students, conversely, often have more accessible counselling services and peer support groups, enabling them to engage in more problem-focused coping, such as seeking therapy or joining support groups (okechukwu, adeola, & tunde, 2022). this highlights the importance of on-campus support systems in promoting adaptive coping strategies among students. religion often serves as a protective factor against suicidal ideation. abdel-khalek (2021) found that students who regularly engage in religious practices or identify strongly with a faith tradition report lower levels of suicidal thoughts. this protective effect is attributed to religious teachings that emphasise the value of life and provide a framework for meaning and hope. furthermore, religious students tend to use faith-based coping strategies, such as prayer, religious meditation, or seeking counsel from religious leaders, as a way to manage their mental health. zhang (2023) underscores the importance of multifaceted interventions, and showed that female students in rural areas who are deeply religious tend to use both social and faith-based coping strategies. however, male students from urban settings with less religious involvement were more likely to use problem-solving strategies but also 191 exhibited higher levels of risky behaviours, such as substance abuse, when facing suicidal ideation. essentially, a number of studies had been carried out on nature of suicidal ideation in nigeria. for instance, ogunsemi, olaniyan, and oloyede (2020) examined the coping strategies employed by university students in nigeria to address suicidal ideation. the researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey involving 500 students from various nigerian universities, using standardised questionnaires to assess suicidal ideation and coping mechanisms. the findings revealed that adaptive coping strategies, such as problem-solving and seeking social support, were significantly associated with lower levels of suicidal thoughts. however, maladaptive strategies, such as avoidance and substance use, correlated with higher levels of suicidal ideation. the study emphasised the importance of promoting adaptive coping strategies through counselling services on campuses. eze, anugwom, and obasi (2022) investigated the role of religious coping strategies in managing suicidal ideation among nigerian students. the research involved a survey of 400 students from various tertiary institutions, and findings revealed that students who engaged in prayer, meditation, and religious community activities reported significantly lower levels of suicidal thoughts. okechukwu, adeola, and tunde (2022) examined the moderating roles of coping style and resilience on the relationship between academic stress and suicidal ideation among nigerian students. the researchers found that adaptive coping and resilience can significantly mitigate the impact of academic stress on suicidal thoughts. however, maladaptive coping, such as avoidance, was associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation, emphasising the need for resilience-building programmes within institutions. gritemeyer (2023) explored the effects of social support and mental health services on coping with suicidal ideation. the study underscored the importance of fostering open communication within educational settings, where students are encouraged to reach out to mental health professionals or peer support groups. creating safe spaces and reducing stigma around mental health topics were highlighted as critical in lowering suicidal thoughts among students. senapati, kar, and gupta (2024) examined the role of perceived social support and avoidant coping in predicting suicidal ideation. the study found that students who received strong family and peer support were less likely to experience suicidal ideation. however, those using avoidant coping strategies, such as ignoring or escaping stressful situations, faced a higher risk. although previous studies have contributed significantly to the understanding of suicidal ideation in nigeria, none, to the best of the researchers' knowledge, have specifically examined the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state. most existing research has focused on coping styles, predisposing factors, and students' perceptions of suicidal ideation, often varying in sample size, participant demographics, and geographical scope. however, there remains a noticeable gap in the literature concerning the coping strategies employed by polytechnic students in this specific region. this study seeks to address that gap by investigating the strategies adopted by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria, to cope with suicidal ideation, thereby contributing valuable insights to both research and intervention efforts. purpose of the study the main purpose of the study was to investigate strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria. the moderating variables were also considered to determine whether gender, age, place of residence, and religion would 192 influence the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation among polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria. research question 1. what are the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria? research hypotheses 1. there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender. 2. there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age. 3. there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on place of residence. 4. there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on religion. methodology the researchers adopted a descriptive survey design as the most appropriate method for collecting and analysing data on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation among polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria. the study population consisted of all students at the polytechnic ibadan. a purposive sampling technique was employed to select three faculties based on population, while a simple random sampling technique was used to select 450 respondents across these faculties. specifically, 150 respondents were chosen from the faculty of engineering, 150 from the faculty of financial and management studies, and 150 from the faculty of business and communication sciences. the data collection instrument, titled "strategies for coping with suicidal ideation questionnaire (scsiq)," was developed by the researchers based on a literature review. the content validity of the instrument was done by five experts from the department of counselling and human development studies at the university of ibadan, oyo state. to assess reliability, the test-retest method was applied by administering the questionnaire twice to students in the department of electrical engineering technology at kwara state polytechnic, with a two-week interval between administrations. pearson product moment correlation was used to analyse the correlation between the two sets of scores, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.79. the questionnaire was divided into two sections: section a gathered demographic information, while section b focused on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation. section b adopted a four-point likert rating scale, with response options of strongly agree (4 points), agree (3 points), disagree (2 points), and strongly disagree (1 point). the instrument's benchmark was established by summing the response points and dividing by four, resulting in a mean score of 2.5 (i.e., 4+3+2+1=10/4=2.5). mean scores of 2.5 and above were considered as effective coping strategies for suicidal ideation, while scores below 2.5 were considered less strategies. ethical considerations ethical considerations were upheld throughout the research process. consent to participate was obtained through the completion of an informed consent form. participation was entirely voluntary, with no form of coercion involved. assurance was given that all responses would remain confidential and that participants’ privacy would be fully protected. 193 results this is about the data that was gathered. four hundred and fifty (450) samples were randomly selected for the study, but 443 questionnaires were properly retrieved and analysed. the hypotheses were analysed using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance (anova) at 0.05 level of significance. research question 1: what are the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria? table 1: mean and rank order of the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria n as far as i am concerned, coping with suicidal ideation involve: mean sd rank 1 seeking support from friends when feel overwhelmed. 3.92 .932 1st 15 seeking professional counselling services when in distress. 3.89 .084 2nd 5 engaging in physical activities (e.g., sports, exercise) to improve my mood. 3.87 .737 3rd 3 practicing deep breathing exercises when feel anxious. 3.85 .972 4th 14 limiting exposure to negative media content. 3.81 .549 5th 11 establishing a regular sleep routine to improve mental clarity or emotional resilience. 3.78 .727 6th 4 learning effective study habits to manage my academic workload better 3.76 .703 7th 9 practicing time management to reduce academic anxiety. 3.69 .661 8th 12 developing problem-solving skills to feel more capable of handling challenges. 3.63 .849 9th 7 avoiding substance use (e.g., alcohol or drugs) as a way to cope with psychological stress. 3.57 .904 10th 8 practicing mindfulness or meditation to manage emotional stress. 3.52 .895 11th 10 practicing relaxation techniques (e.g., yoga, aromatherapy) to reduce academic pressure. 3.49 .724 12th 2 using journaling to express emotions while reflect on positive aspects of life. 3.40 .628 13th 6 seeking religious support or guidance in school. 3.36 .632 14th 13 reaching out to helplines, including crisis services, when feeling 3.31 .741 15th 194 distressed. source: field survey, 2025 table 1 presented the mean scores and rank order of strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state, nigeria. all items listed in the table were identified as strategies for coping with suicidal ideation among polytechnic students in oyo state, as they were ranked above the midpoint mean score of 2.50. specifically, items with mean values of 3.92, 3.89, and 3.87, respectively, were ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, indicating that seeking support from friends when feeling overwhelmed, seeking professional counselling services when in distress, and engaging in physical activities (e.g., sports, exercise) to improve mood were considered the most effective strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state. hypothesis one: there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender table 2: mean, standard deviation and t-test on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender gender n mean sd df cal. t-value crit. t-value p-value female 230 57.07 4.894 441 2.21* 1.96 0.012 male 213 55.96 4.723 * significant at 0.05 alpha level table 2 showed the calculated t-value of 2.21 and critical t-value of 1.96. the calculated tvalue was greater than the critical t-value; hence, the hypothesis was rejected. this indicated that there was a significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender. hypothesis two: there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age table 3: analysis of variance (anova) on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age source df ss ms cal. f-ratio crit. f-ratio pvalue between group 2 39.369 19.684 1.85 3.00 0.071 within group 440 4672.801 10.620 total 442 4712.170 * not significant at 0.05 alpha level table 3 indicated the calculated f-ratio of 1.85 and critical f-ratio of 3.00. the calculated fratio was less than the critical f-ratio; hence, the hypothesis was accepted. this showed that there was no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age. hypothesis three: there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on place of residence table 4:mean, standard deviation and t-test on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on place of residence 195 residence n mean sd df cal. t-value crit. t-value p-value on-campus 243 52.11 5.816 441 2.19* 1.96 0.014 off-campus 200 51.03 5.148 * significant at 0.05 alpha level table 4 showed the calculated t-value of 2.19 and critical t-value of 1.96. the calculated tvalue was greater than the critical t-value; hence, the hypothesis was rejected. this indicated that there was a significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on place of residence. hypothesis four: there is no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on religion table 5: mean, standard deviation and t-test showing on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on religion religion n mean sd df cal. t-value crit. t-value p-value christian 233 57.64 5.816 441 0.74 1.96 0.601 muslim 210 53.96 5.148 * not significant at 0.05 alpha level table 5 indicated the calculated t-value of 0.74 and critical t-value of 1.96. the calculated tvalue was less than the critical t-value; hence, the hypothesis was accepted. this showed that there was no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on religion. discussion of findings the findings revealed that polytechnic students adopt various strategies for coping with suicidal ideation in school. these include seeking support from friends when feeling overwhelmed, seeking professional counselling services when in distress, and engaging in physical activities (e.g., sports, exercise) to improve their mood. the finding is in line with gritemeyer (2021) that found that physical activity significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, both of which are associated with suicidal thoughts. ibrahim and adebowale (2024) showed that mindfulness practices, such as meditation and body awareness exercises, helped students reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, which contributed to a reduction in suicidal ideation. the reason supporting this finding could be that many polytechnic students face academic stress, including rigorous coursework and high expectations. this shared stress can make students more receptive to coping strategies that reduce academic pressure, such as time management skills, mindfulness practices, and peer support. findings showed that there was a significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender. this implied that both male and female respondents had a different expression on strategies for coping with suicidal ideation in oyo state. this finding is in line with gritemeyer (2021) who revealed that gender of students had a significant influence in the coping strategies for managing suicidal ideation in school. gender differences in psychosocial experiences such as gender-based discrimination, social expectations, or roles, could lead to distinct emotional responses to stress. these experiences might shape how males and females react to suicidal ideation, influencing their choice of coping strategies. 196 another finding indicated that there was no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age. this implied that regardless of age, respondents adopted the same strategies for coping with suicidal ideation in school. the finding contradicted teismann (2022), whose study revealed a significant difference in the strategies for reducing suicidal ideation among undergraduates based on age. the reason for this finding could be that students, regardless of age, have similar access to mental health resources, such as counselling services, peer support groups, or online mental health platforms. this could mean that coping strategies do not vary significantly between age groups, as they all rely on the same support systems. another reason is that students might experience similar levels of stress or pressures related to academics, peer relationships, and future uncertainties. these common stressors could lead to the use of similar coping strategies, regardless of age. findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on place of residence. this implied that students who stay off-campus were differed from on-campus in their expression regarding strategies for coping with suicidal ideation in oyo state. the finding is not in line with värnik (2020), whose study revealed no significant difference between undergraduates that stayed on-campus and off-campus on ways to cope with suicidal ideation in school. therefore, the reason for this finding could be that on-campus students have more opportunities to interact with peers and participate in extracurricular activities, which can provide emotional support during difficult times. in contrast, off-campus students might feel isolated or disconnected from such support systems, leading to greater use of maladaptive coping strategies such as substance abuse or withdrawal. findings also showed that was no significant difference in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based religion. the finding is in line with abdel-khalek (2021), who revealed that students on campus adopted similar coping strategies for managing suicidal ideation when under distress. this implied that both christian and muslim respondents adopted similar strategies for coping with suicidal ideation in school. the reason for this finding could be that both islam and christianity emphasise the sanctity of life and discourage suicidal behaviour, which might influence their followers to adopt coping strategies that align with religious teachings. these teachings could provide a common ground, resulting in a shared approach to dealing with suicidal ideation across religious groups. another reason could be that both religious groups rely on universal coping strategies such as prayer, meditation, social support, or seeking professional help from their religious leaders. implications of findings for mental health counselling the study's findings highlight counselling implications for polytechnic students in oyo state, particularly regarding the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation. many students rely on friends for emotional support, confiding in them during moments of distress. some students also seek professional counselling services, demonstrating a readiness to get expert help when dealing with overwhelming thoughts. engaging in physical activities such as sports or regular exercise also emerged as a coping strategy among students, helping to improve their mood and mental well-being. despite these efforts, the findings revealed no significant differences in coping strategies based on age and religion. however, notable differences were observed based on gender and place of residence, which should not be overlooked. these results underscore the need for targeted mental health counselling programmes that take into account the specific backgrounds and challenges students face. 197 students living off-campus may have limited access to mental health services, making it essential for guidance counsellors to extend support beyond the school environment. tailored mental health counselling initiatives should be designed to reach both onand off-campus students effectively. gender differences in coping strategies also suggest that male and female students may benefit from different types of counselling interventions. for instance, some students might respond better to one-on-one sessions, while others may find group therapy or peer-led support more effective. furthermore, even though religion did not show a significant influence statistically, it remains an important part of students’ identities and may inform their coping choices. culturally and spiritually sensitive counselling methods can help make interventions more relatable and impactful. promoting access to responsive, inclusive, and student-focused mental health counselling is key to helping students manage suicidal ideation and build healthier coping mechanisms. conclusion and recommendations based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that various strategies were adopted by polytechnic students for coping with suicidal ideation in school. these include seeking support from friends when overwhelmed, seeking professional counselling services when in distress, and engaging in physical activities (e.g., sports, exercise) to improve their mood. further findings revealed that there were no significant differences in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on age and religion. however, there were significant differences in the strategies for coping with suicidal ideation as expressed by polytechnic students in oyo state based on gender and place of residence. sequel to the findings of the study, it was recommended that; 1. students struggling with suicidal ideation should seek help from friends for support, access professional counselling services, engage in physical exercises and relaxation techniques, and set achievable goals to mitigate academic frustration and cope more effectively. 2. students should be empowered by school guidance and counselling programmes with effective strategies for coping with suicidal ideation through workshops, seminars, conferences, and symposia, to promote their mental and psychological wellbeing. 3. students should have access to gender-sensitive counselling and support services, provided by institutions that tailor support to address the specific needs and challenges of male and female students coping with suicidal ideation. 4. students, regardless of age, should feel 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(2023). intersectionality of gender, age, residence, and religion in coping with suicidal ideation. social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 58(5), 1001-1010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sppe.2023.4567 https://doi.org/10.7890/ijmhc.2022.3210 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sppe.2023.4567 page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 388 energy, industrial development and economic growth in nigeria asinya, francis anoka department of economics university of cross river state (unicross) calabar (nigeria), (ogoja campus) e-mail: frankanoka@yahoo.com ishua, eugene ejim department of economics, university of cross river state (unicross) calabar (nigeria) (ogoja campus) e-mail : ishuaeugen@yahoo.com abstract nigeria, africa’s largest economy is characterized by underutilized industrial potential and a chronic energy deficit, which together impede sustainable economic growth. industrial output contributing less than 15 per cent of gdp and electricity access at 55 per cent of the population in 2022 (world bank), the industrial sector struggles to perform optimally. energy consumption, a key input for industrial production, grew at an average annual rate of 5.2 per cent from 1990 – 2023, yet it remains insufficient to meet the consumption. the motivation lies in addressing this energy–industrial growth disconnects to achieve economic diversification and development. the research is to investigate the impact of energy and industrialization on the nigeria economy and analysis the bidirectional relationships between energy, industrial development and economic growth. the research covered the period between 1990 – 2023, which encompassing over three decades of economic, industrial, and energy sector transformation. the study uses the method of regression analysis with ordinary least squares (ols) econometric techniques and a time series secondary data from 19902023 to examine the impact of energy and industrial development on economic growth. the data was first examined for unit roots using the augmented dickey fuller (adf) test. a co integration regression was then used to examine the long run relationship among the variables. the result shows that, industrial investment and foreign direct investment were statistical significance but energy consumption utilization and industrial output failed in the apriori expectations but were statistically significance at 5 per cent level. the study recommendations that, government should expand energy access to increase investment in renewable energy to bridge the energy deficits; introduce incentives for industries to adopt energy efficient technology, promote industrial hup to foster productivity and resource sharing. lastly, encourage non-oil industrial activities for sustainable economic growth and diversification. keywords: energy, industrial development and economic growth 1.1 introduction energy and industrial development are critical drivers of economic growth, yet nigeria struggles with inadequate energy supply, low industrial productivity, and limited economic diversification. with industrial output contributing less than 15 per cent of gross domestic product (gdp) and electricity access at 55 per cent of the population in 2022 (world bank, 2023), the industrial sector struggles to perform optimally. energy consumption, a key input mailto:frankanoka@yahoo.com mailto:ishuaeugen@yahoo.com 389 for industrial production, grew at an average annual rate of 5.2 per cent from 1990 to 2022, yet remains inadequate to meet demand. energy, industrial development and economic growth are interconnected pillars of sustainable economic transformation in nigeria and across africa; energy availability remains a crucial constraint to industrial expansion and overall economic performance. industrial growth which is heavily dependent on stable and affordable energy supply has remained weak in many african economies due to unreliable electricity, high costs, and inefficient energy policies. nigeria, despite being rich in energy resources, faces a severe energy deficit. as of 2022, the country’s electricity generation capacity stood at about 13,000 mw, but only around 4,500 mw was effectively transmitted to consumers (world bank, 2023). nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption remains one of the lowest in the world at 147 kwh, compared to south africa’s 4,198 kwh and egypt’s 1,682 kwh (international energy agency, 2023). this energy shortage has been a major setback to industrial development, forcing industrial to rely on expensive self-generated power, which increases production costs and reduces competitiveness. across africa, energy poverty is widespread. the afdb reports that over 600 million people lack access to electricity, with industrial electricity tariffs often exceeding $0.15per kwh, compared to $0.07 per kwh in asia. nigeria ranks among the worst affected, with 43 per cent of its population lacking electricity access (iea, 2023). this situation limits the expansion of energy-intensive industries such as manufacturing, miming, and agro-processing. nigeria’s industrial sector has remained underdeveloped, contributing only 13.92 per cent to gdp in 2022, down from 20.59 per cent in 2010 (cbn, 2023). the manufacturing sector is a key component of industrialization, has been plagued by structural challenges, including poor infrastructure, high energy costs, and policy inconsistencies. in contrast, south africa’s industrial sector contributes 26 per cent to gdp, while egypt’s stand at 31 per cent (world bank, 2023). nigeria’s industrial output has struggled due to unreliable power supply, leading to high costs of self-generated power. according to manufacturing association of nigeria (man, 2023, industries spend an estimated 40 per cent of total production costs on power, compared to the global average of 15 per cent. this has discouraged foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector, leading to a reliance on imports and weak export diversification. economic growth in nigeria has been volatile with gdp growth average 2.5 per cent between 2015 and 2022, lower than the recorded between 2000 and 2010 ((world bank, 2023). this stagnation is linked to declining industrial activity, low energy investment, and external shocks such as oil price fluctuations. countries with stronger industrial and energy sectors tend to experience higher growth and resilience. for instance, south africa’s industrial development has contributed to a more diversified economy, reducing its dependence on commodities. similarly, egypt’s investment in renewable energy and industrial zones has helped sustain its gdp growth to 4.2 per cent in 2022, despite global economic challenges (afdb, 2023). nigeria’s heavy reliance oil export which accounts for 85 per cent of export earnings has made the economy vulnerable to external shocks, reinforcing the need for industrial diversification supported by reliable energy infrastructure. studies indicate that a 1 per cent increase in energy consumption leads to a 0.7 per cent increase in industrial output, emphasizing the critical role of energy in industrial growth (adenikinju, 2022). the persistent energy crisis has significantly hindered nigeria’s industrialization and economic growth. without urgent reforms to expand energy infrastructure, improve industrial policies, and attract investments in renewable energy, nigeria will struggle to achieve sustainable development. lesson from other african nations like south africa and egypt highlight the 390 importance of energy efficiency, industrial diversification, and economic growth resilience in driving long-term growth. nigeria’s quest for sustainable economic growth and industrial development is significantly constrained by chronic energy shortages, weak industrial performance, and macroeconomic instability. despite being endowed with abundant natural resources, including oil, gas, and renewable energy potential, the country continues to experience severe electricity deficits leading to high production costs, low industrial output, and sluggish economic growth. this persistent challenge raises critical concerns about nigeria’s ability to achieve structural economic transformation and global competitiveness. the weak linkage between energy, industrialization and economic growth has been a major policy failure. inefficiencies in energy sector governance, regulatory uncertainty, and policy inconsistencies have further aggravate nigeria’s industrial and economic woes. the power sector privatization program initiated in 2013 has failed to yield the desired results as electricity distribution companies (disco) struggle with inadequate infrastructure, high losses, and liquidity crisis. similarly, industrial policies such as the economic recovery and growth plan ergp) and nigeria’s industrial revolution plan (nirp) have seen limited success due to poor implementation and lack of supporting infrastructure. while african peers such as egypt and morocco have successfully implemented industrial policies and backed by energy reforms. therefore, the motivation research or the gap lies in addressing this energy-industrial growth disconnects to achieve economic diversification and development. 2.1 literature review and theoretical framework concept of energy utilization energy utilization refers to the consumption of energy resources such as electricity, fossil fuels, and renewable by households, businesses, and industries to drive economic activities. it plays a central role in industrialization economic transformation and national development. energy is a fundamental input for industrial production, powering machinery, transportation, and commercial activities. efficient energy utilization enhances productivity, reduces production costs, and fosters industrial competitiveness. however, energy shortages or inefficiencies can severely constrain economic activities. nigeria faces severe energy challenge despite its vast natural resources. the country has an installed electricity generation capacity of 13,000 mw, but actual available power supply is only about 4,500 mw (world bank, 2023). this is grossly inadequate for a population of over 220 million, resulting in frequent blackouts and forcing businesses to rely on selfgenerated electricity at a high costs. in contrast, south africa generates 58,000 mw, significantly more than nigeria despite having a smaller population of 60 million (iea, 2023). egypt has also expanded its energy infrastructure, increasing electricity generation by 30% between 2015 and 2022, supporting its 4.2% gdp growth (afdb, 2023). the lack of reliable energy in nigeria affects industries disproportionately with 40% of manufacturing production cost attributed to energy expenses (man, 2023). empirical studies suggest a strong relationship between energy availability and industrial growth. adenikinju (2022) found that a 1% increase in energy consumption leads to a 0.7% rise in industrial output in nigeria. this aligns with global patterns where industrialized nations have higher energy consumption per capita. for instance, nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption stood at 147kwh, south africa’s per capita electricity consumption stood at 4,198 kwh while egypt’s per capita electricity consumption stood at 1,682 kwh. the statistics highlight the gap 391 between nigeria and more industrialized african nations in terms of energy availability and utilization. concept of industrial development industrial development refers to the growth and expansion of the manufacturing, mining, and processing sectors of an economy. it is characterized by increased manufacturing output, enhanced industrial capacity utilization, diversification of the production base and technological advancement in industrial production. a strong industrial sector is essential for jobs creation, income generation, and economic resilience. industrialization is a major driver of long-term sustainable development as seen in economies like south africa, egypt and morocco, which prioritize industrial policies. nigeria’s industrial sector has underperformed compared to other africa nations. the contribution of industry to gdp has declined over the years, in 2010 the contribution was 20.59 per cent while in 2022, it was 13.92 per cent (cbn, 2023). while south africa’s industrial contribution to gdp was 26 per cent and egypt’s industrial contribution to gdp was 31per cent (world bank, 2023). the capacity utilization rate in nigeria industries is also low at 55 per cent, meaning nearly half of installed industrial capacity remains unutilized due to energy shortages, poor infrastructure, and high production costs. south africa and egypt have utilization rates above 70 per cent reflecting more efficient production environments (afdb, 2023). a strong industrial sector enhances economic resilience by creating employment, and reduces dependency on volatile commodity exports. in nigeria, however, manufacturing contributes less than 1 per cent of total employment, whereas in industrialized africa nations like south africa manufacturing employment exceeds 18% (world bank, 2023). furthermore, nigeria’s industrial exports account for only 5%nof total exports, while south africa and egypt industrial goods make up over 30% of exports (afdb, 2023). this highlights nigeria’s weak manufacturing base and overreliance on crude oil. concept of economic growth economic growth refers to the sustained increase in a country’s output of goods and services measured by gdp growth. the key indicators include: gdp growth rate, per capita income, employment rate and investment levels. a growing economy provides opportunities for industrial expansion, technological advancement, and improved living standards. nigeria’s gdp growth has been inconsistent due to weak industrial performance and energy shortages. between 2000 to 2010 its averaging at 5.8 per cent and between 2015 to 2022 its averages at 2.5 per cent (cbn, 2023). this sluggish growth has contributed to rising poverty, with 133 million nigerians (63 per cent of the population) living in multidimensional poverty (nbs, 2023). comparatively, south africa’s gdp in 2022 was 2.1 per cent and egypt’s gdp growth in 2022average 4.2 per cent (afdb,2023). the weak linkage between industrialization and economic growth in nigeria is evident in its dependence on oil which accounts for 85 per cent of export earnings but contributes less than 10 per cent to gdp. meanwhile, south africa and egypt have diversified economies with strong industrial sectors contributing significantly to gdp. economic growth is closely linked to industrialization and energy supply. countries with higher energy availability and industrial output tend to experience higher and more stable economic growth. empirical studies revealed a 1 per cent increase in industrial output leads to a o.9 per cent increase in gdp (adenikinju, 2022) and a 1 per centa increase in energy consumption leads to a 0.7 per cent rise in industrial output, reinforcing the role of energy in industrial expansion ( iea, 2023).thus, nigeria’s economic stagnation is partly due to weak 392 industrialization and persistent energy shortage, making it less resilient to external shocks compared to other african countries. the conceptual review highlights the interdependence of energy utilization, industrial employment, and economic growth in nigeria and africa. nigeria’s low energy supply, weak industrial base, and inconsistent economic growth underscore the urgent need for reforms. countries like egypt and south africa demonstrate how effective energy policies and industrial strategies can drive sustainable economic development. to achieve similar success, nigeria must prioritized energy infrastructure expansion, industrial diversification and policy stability to create a resilient and sustainable economy. 2.2 theoretical framework a. energy-led growth hypothesis this theory was propounded by kraft and kraft (1978) and payne (2010) under the following assumptions: that energy consumption is a key determinant of economic growth; there is unidirectional or bidirectional causality between energy consumption and gdp, that higher energy consumption leads to industrial expansion and higher productivity. its application to nigerian economy and other african economies revealed that nigeria’s energy sector crisis has constrained its economic growth potential. with only 4,500mw of actual power supply for a population of over 220 million, the country experiences frequent blackouts, forcing industries to rely on expensive self-generated power. empirical studies like adenikinju (2022) supported the theory by suggesting a strong correlation between energy availability and industrial output and opt that a 1 per cent increase in energy consumption leads to 0.7 per cent increase in industrial output. while countries like south africa and egypt with higher electricity generation capacities (58,000 mw and 62,000 mw, respectively) have stronger industrial sectors and stable gdp growth rates of 2.1 per cent and 4.2 per cent in 2022, respectively. this theory supports the argument that improving nigeria’s energy infrastructure will drive industrial growth and economic expansion. b. the industrialization and structural transformation theory this theory was postulated by lewis (1954) on the preposition of dual sector model and kuznets (1973) on the structural change theory. these theories are based on the premises that economic growth requires a shift from an agrarian economy to an industrialized economy; that industrialization leads to higher productivity, employment, and economic stability with energy availability for critical industrial transformation. its application to nigerian economy and other african economies indicates that nigeria remains largely dependent on crude oil exports with manufacturing contributing only 13.92 per cent to gdp in 2022 (cbn, 2023). industrialization in nigeria has been slow due to low energy supply, leading to high production costs, import dependency, with manufactured imports making up 70% of total imports (nbs,2023) and low industrial export performance, contributing only 5% of total exports (afdb,2023). in contrast, egypt and south africa that have successfully move from resource–based economies to industrial economies supported by energy sector reforms and infrastructure development. this theory highlights nigeria’s need for industrial diversification and energy sector improvement to achieve sustained economic growth. 393 c. the endogenous growth theory the theory was developed by romer (1986, 1990) and lucas (1988). the theory is based on the premise that long-term economic growth is driven by technological progress and innovation, investment in human capital, infrastructure, and energy to boosts productivity and that industrialization is self – sustaining when supported by strong energy policies. the theory suggests that the nigeria’s weak industrial performance is linked to low technological advancement and inadequate infrastructure. the country spends less than 0.5 per cent of gdp on research and development (r&d) compared to egypt (0.8 per cent) and south africa (0.9 per cent) (world bank, 2023). 2.3 empirical literature adenikinju, (2022) examined the causality between energy consumption and economic growth in nigeria using granger causality test and autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model. the study found bidirectional causality between energy consumption and gdp growth, with a 1 per cent increase in energy consumption leading to 0.7 per cent increase in gdp. the study recommended increase investment in energy infrastructure and energy sector reforms to ensure consistent electricity supply for sustained economic growth. similarly, adegbemi and adebayo (2021) conducted a panel data analysis of sub-saharan african countries from 1990 to 2020, investigating the relationship between energy consumption and economic performance. their findings revealed that energy electricity consumption with respect to gdp was 0.82, indicating energy availability significantly influences economic growth. they emphasized the need for energy diversification, improved power sector governance, and the adoption of renewable energy sources. mensah and agyapong (2023) used panel cointegration analysis to assess the long-run relationship between electricity supply and gdp growth in west and east africa. their findings showed that countries with higher electricity access experienced faster economic growth while those with frequent power outage faced slower gdp expansion. the study recommended prioritizing energy infrastructure investment, reducing transmission losses, and implementing energy efficiency measures. odhiambo (2020) analyzed the south africa economic using ardl bounds testing approach and found a unidirectional causality from energy consumption to economic growth. the study confirmed that the south africa’s relatively stable energy sector has been instrumental in supporting its industrial expansion. odhiambo recommended further investment in energy production and distribution, particularly in renewable energy to ensure future economic stability. in another study, hassan and el-sayed (2020) examined the impact of electricity consumption on egypt’s economic growth using johansen cointegration test. they found a significant long-run relationship, demonstrating that energy shortages and blackouts negatively affect industrial output and gdp growth. the study proposed government-led energy sector investments and policy incentives to attract private sector participation in electricity generation. uzochukwu (2023) focused on nigeria’s manufacturing sector applying the ardl model to analyze the impact of energy utilization on industrial growth. the study found that 40 per cent of nigeria’s manufacturing sector decline was due to energy shortages, emphasizing the urgent need for energy efficiency policies and infrastructure development to revitalized industrial production. kwame and mensah (2022) extended the analysis to a broader african context by using generalized method of moments (gmm) panel regression covering 1995 -2020. their study revealed that a 1% increase in energy consumption led to a 0.9 per cent increase in industrial output across 394 african economies. they advocated for alternative energy sources, particularly renewable, to sustain long-run industrialization and economic expansion. adeniyi and lawal (2022) used an autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model to assess the impact of energy consumption on manufacturing output in nigeria from 1990 to 2021. their findings revealed that a 1 per cent increase in electricity supply led to a 0.75 per cent rise in industrial output, underscoring the strong correlation between energy availability and manufacturing sector performance. the study recommended prioritizing energy sector investments upgrading power infrastructure and enhancing industrial energy efficiency. a more detailed analysis by oluwaseun and yusuf (2023) utilized generalized method of moments (gmm) regression to examine the long-run relationship between energy infrastructure and industrial development. their study which covered data from 1995 to 2022, found that countries with higher energy investment experienced faster industrial growth, with nigeria lagging behind south africa, and egypt due to its inconsistent power supply. the authors recommended strengthening nigeria’s power grid and expanding alternative energy sources to ensure industrial sustainability. beyond nigeria, empirical studies highlight similar challenges across the african countries. mensah and boateng (2022) used panel cointegration analysis to assess the impact of energy consumption on industrial productivity in ghana and kenya. their findings revealed that a 1 per cent increase in energy access resulted in a 0.82 per cent rise in industrial output. the study emphasized the need for improved energy governance and cross border energy trade to sustain industrial growth. van der merwe (2020) examined south africa’s industrial sector using the johansen co-integration technique and found that south africa’s relatively stable energy supply contribute significantly to its strong industrial base. the study concludes that south africa’s success in industrialization is largely due to its early investments in energy infrastructure. the study recommended that other african nations adopt long-term energy planning and diversify their energy mixed to ensure stable industrial power supply. in north africa, hassan and el-sayed (2021) investigated egypt’s industrial performance using a dynamic ordinary least squares (dols) model. their research confirmed that energy shortages negatively impact manufacturing output, industries in egypt experiencing a 20 per cent drop in productivity during peak energy crises. the study suggested that the egyptian government expand its renewable energy sector and integrate energy efficiency measures into industrial policies. a continental study by uneca (2022) assessed industrial consumption trends across african countries using panel data regression models covering 1990 to 2021. the findings highlighted those african countries with stable and diversified energy sources such as south africa, and morocco, experienced more rapid industrial growth compared to those with frequent power outages, such as nigeria and ethiopia. the study recommended regional energy co-operation, increased investment in renewable energy and incentives for industrial energy efficiency improvements. adebayo and yusuf ((2022) employed an autoregressive distributed lag (ardl) model to assess the long-run and shortrun impacts of industrial development on nigeria’s gdp from 1990 to 2021. their findings revealed that a 1% increase in industrial output led to 0.85 per cent rise in gdp, confirming the strong positive relationship between industrialization and economic growth. the study recommended enhancing infrastructure, reducing production costs and creating favourable policies to attract foreign direct investment in the industrial sector. similarly, okonkwo and chukwu (2021) conducted a vector error correction model (vecm) analysis to examine the causal relationship between manufacturing sector output and economic growth in nigeria. their study found bidirectional causality, indicating that industrial growth drives gdp expansion, while economic growth in turn, fosters industrialization through increase investment and consumers’ demand. the authors suggested targeted industrial policies, 395 improved power supply, and financial incentives to support local manufacturers. in a similar study, uchenna and adegbite (2023) used panel data regression covering 1995 to 2022 to assess industrial growth trends in nigeria compared to other african nations. their results showed that countries with strong industrial policies, such as south africa, and egypt experienced more sustainable economic growth than nigeria. they recommended that nigeria adopt an industrial policy framework similar to those of emerging economies, ensuring a stable regulatory environment and export-driven industrialization. 3.1 methodology the research used annual time series data from the central bank of nigeria statistical bulletin and bureau of statistic from 1990 – 2023. data were analyses using ordinary least squares statistical (ols) method. 3.1 model specification the model states that, gross domestic product is a function energy consumption utilization, industrial output industrial investment and foreign direct investment. the functional form can be written as: ∆lgdp = f (∆leco, ∆lindo, ∆lindi, ∆lfdi………………………….……….3.1 equation 3.1 above can be specified further as: ∆lgdp = λ0 + λ 1∆leco + λ 2∆lindo + λ 3∆lndi+ λ 4∆lfdi + µ1……………..3.2 where: λ >0, λ 1>0, λ 2 >0, λ 3 >0, λ 4 >0 where: f = functional relationship ∆lgdp = log of gross domestic product ∆leds = log of energy consumption utilization ∆lindo = log of industrial output ∆lndi = log of industrial investment ∆lfdi = log of foreign direct investment λ0 = a constant λ1, λ2, λ3 = coefficient of the independent variables to be estimated µ1 =error term 4.1 presentation and analysis of results the causality and stationarity of the variables were examined, using a co-integration technique, and the augmented dickey fuller (adf) tests were used to test for integration. we assumed a linear relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables in the specific equation. this was done to avoid generation of spurious results. 396 table 1 – unit root test result by augmented dickey fuller method variables 5% critical value first difference order of integration log gdp -2.9907 -3.09501 1(1) logeco -2.9907 -3.112983 1(1) logindo -2.9907 -3.387659 1(1) logndi -2.9907 -3.45638 1(1) logfdi -2.9907 -3.291145 1(1) from table 1 above the result shows that, all the variables are stationary at first difference using 5 per cent level of significance. table 2 – johansen co-integration result trace test 5percent critical value hypothesized no of ce(s) 51.04714 45.21 none 13.02013 26.74 at most 1 4.355060 19.41 at most 1 0.048387 2.76 at most 5 12.08761 25.56 at most 1 *(**) denotes rejection of the hypothesis as 5% (1%) level of significance l.r. test indicates 5 co-integration equation(s) at 5% level of significance the result from table 2 above shows that, there exist no co-integrating equation at 5 per cent and 1 per cent level of significance. this is because the trace statistic is less than the critical value at 5 per cent and 1 per cent level. this shows that there is no long run relationship between the variables within the period under review. 397 table 3 regression estimation dependent variable: ∆lgdp method: least squares sample (adjusted): 1990-2023 included observations: 33 after adjustment variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 9432.432 15624.36 4.018672 0.0278 ∆lecu -61.36543 73090.23 0.439216 0.0363 ∆lindo 45.035568 13568.09 -2.495023 0.0192 ∆lindi -62.345678 70322.09 0.535084 0.0309 ∆lfdi 54.345679 24389.88 0.456783 0.0235 r-square 0.936077 mean dependent va -156626.0 adjusted r-square 0.878413 s.d. dependent var 660609.1 s.e. of regression 0.320243 akaika info criterion 28.67543 sum-square resid 0.307839 schwarzy criterion 29.87954 log likelihood 1.778969 hanna-quinn criterion 29.56432 f-statistic 13.74500 durbin-watson stat 2.842143 source: author’s computation the result presented in table 3 above shows that, the coefficient of the constant term is positive and conforms to the economic apriori expectation. if all the independent variables are held constant, gdp will increase by 9432.432per cent, though it is not statistically significant at 5 per cent level. the estimated coefficient for energy consumption utilization shows a negative sign, which does conform to the apriori economic expectation. there is therefore a negative relationship between ecu and gdp. it is statistically significant at 5 per cent level, hence we can predict that, a one per cent increase in ecu will bring about -61.36543 per cent decrease in gdp. industrial output has a positive sign. it shows that, one person increase in industrial output brings about 45.035568per cent increase in gdp. industrial investment have a negative sign, which means that, a one per cent increase in industrial investment brings about -62.345678per cent decrease in gdp. it does not conform with the apriori expectation. foreign direct investment has a positive sign indicating that, one per cent increase in fdi leads to 54.345679per cent increase in gdp. our adjusted coefficient for multiple determination r2 was calculated as 0.878413. this shows that all the variables accounted for 88 per cent of the total variation in gdp. the remaining 12 per cent made be due to other variable(s) not included in the model but captured by the stochastic error term(μ1). f-statistic calculated is given as 13.74500 and it is greater than f-tabulated of 4.52 at 5 per cent level of significance. that means, the f-ratio is statistically significant. if that is the case, the adjusted coefficient of multiple determination r2 is significant; consequently, the overall model is significant. the incidence of serial correlation or autocorrelation is tested with durbin-watson statistic. the estimated durbin-watson statistic is given as 398 2.842143at 5 per cent level of significance, the estimated value falls within the region of no autocorrelation. 5.1 conclusion the study examines the interconnectivity between energy consumption utilization, industrial development and economic growth from 1990 – 2023. the result shows that, the energy consumption utilization and industrial output have a negative impact on the economy. based on these finding, the paper concludes that, government should expand energy access to increase investment in renewable energy to bridge the energy deficits; introduce incentives for industries to adopt energy efficient technology, promote industrial hup to foster productivity and resource sharing. finally, encourage non-oil industrial activities for sustainable economic growth and diversification. references adegbemi, b., & adebayo, k. (2021). energy consumption and economic performance in sub saharan africa. african journal of economic policy,32(4),201-220 adebayo, j., & yusuf, k. (2022). industrial output and economic growth in nigeria: an ardl analysis. journal of development economics, 48(2), 89-104 adenikinju, a. (2022). energy consumption and industrial growth in nigeria. journal of energy economic adenikinju, a. (2022). energy consumption and economic growth in nigeria: a granger causality approach. journal of energy economic, 45(3), 123-140 adeniyi, t., & lawal, r. (2022). energy consumption and manufacturing sector growth in nigeria. an ardl approach. journal of energy economic, 45(2), 112-129 african development bank (afdb, 2023). african economic outlook central bank of nigeria cbn, 2023). annual statistical bulletin hassan, m., & el-sayed, a. (2021). energy shortages and manufacturing output in egypt: a dols estimation. middle east economic review, 27(3), 144-163 hassan, m., & el-sayed,a. (2020). electricity consumption and economic growth in egypt. a co-integration approach. international journal of energy policy, 27(3), 145-165 hassan, & el-sayed, k. (2021). industrialization and economic performance in egypt: a dols estimation. middle east economic review, 30(1), 144-163 international energy agency (iea, 2023). africa energy outlook 399 kraft & kraft (1978). energy and energy growth. journal of energy economic kwame, f., & mensah, t. (2022). energy availability and industrial productivity in africa: a panel data analysis. african development bank working paper series, 24(4), 201220 lucas, r. (1988). on the mechanics of economic development. journal of monetary economics manufacturing association of nigeria (man, 2023). industrial performance report mensah, j., & boateng, k. (2022). energy access and industrial growth in ghana and kenya: panel co integration analysis. african journal of economics studies, 36(4),88-107 mensah, j., & agyapong, k. (2023). electricity supply and economic growth in west and east africa: an empirical perspectives. african economic review,39(2), 56-78 odhiambo, n. (2020). the nexus between energy utilization and economic growth in south africa. south african journal of economics,88(1),56-72 ogunbiyi, a., & okonkwo, m. (2021). electricity shortages and industrial performance in nigeria: a var analysis. nigerian economic journal, 38(3),201-218 oluwaseun, j., & yusuf k. (2023). energy infrastructure and industrial development in subsaharan africa: a gmm approach. african development review, 40(1), 55-74 okonkwo, m., & chukwu, r. (2021). manufacturing sector and economic performance in nigeria: a vecm approach. nigerian journal of economic policy, 39(3),211-230 payne, j. (2010). survey of the energy-growth nexus. journal of energy economic , adegbite, s. (2023).industrialization trends in nigeria and africa: a panel data analysis. african journal of economics research,42(1),67-88 uneca. (2022). industrialization and economic transformation in africa: empirical perspective. united nations economic commission for africa working paper series,29(3),190-215 uzochukwu, o. (2023). energy utilization and manufacturing sector growth in nigeria. nigerian economic review,40(1), 33-35 van der merwe, p. (2020).the role of industrialization in south africa’s economic growth. a co-integration study. south africa journal of economic, 91(2),112-130 van der merwe, p. ((2020). industrial development and energy consumption in south africa: a co-integration approach. south africa journal of economics, 92(1), 34-51 world bank (2023). nigeria economic update page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 216 fire insurance premium rating and performance of insurance companies in nigeria: pre-covid era oyerinde tunde moses oyerindemoses818@gmail.com aduloju s. a. ksaduloju@gmail.com yusuf t. o. toyusuf@yahoo.co.uk department of actuarial science & insurance, faculty of management sciences, university of lagos abstract this study explores the importance of accurate fire insurance premium ratings and examines the challenges faced by insurers in nigeria, which affect their overall performance. specifically, it analyzes the impact of premium ratings on key performance indicators such as shareholder value, investment portfolios, and profitability. a descriptive survey research design was employed, utilizing secondary data sourced from the e-view platform. this method was chosen for its ability to access sensitive information while mitigating potential risks associated with direct observation. the research focused on the audited financial statements of 15 licensed general insurance companies in nigeria over a 20-year span (19992019). data was randomly sampled to ensure every member of the population had an equal chance of selection, thereby reducing bias. the financial statements were obtained from the nigerian stock exchange (nse) and central bank of nigeria (cbn) databases. both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used for analysis. the findings revealed a significant relationship between adequate premium ratings and key determinants of property insurance, including investment portfolios, profitability, and shareholders’ capital adequacy. keywords: shareholder, investment, profitability, premium rating, performance introduction the premium rating strategy employed by insurance companies is a critical determinant of their financial performance. premium rating refers to the process of determining the prices for insurance policies by taking into account various factors such as risk, market competition, and regulatory frameworks. pynatih et, al; (2024) stated that this strategy not only influences the company's ability to attract and retain clients but also has a profound impact on key financial metrics like profitability, investment potential, and shareholder value. gudisa (2021) highlights that, despite the significance of accurate fire insurance premium ratings, insurers in nigeria face numerous challenges that undermine their performance. these include limited access to reliable data on historical losses, fraudulent claims, and stringent regulatory constraints, all of which pose significant barriers to the sector’s profitability. these challenges contribute to information asymmetry in the nigerian insurance market, weakening trust between insurers and policyholders. singh and bathla (2023) emphasize the importance of understanding risk perception when designing fire insurance products, stressing that insurers must align their offerings with the risk profiles of their customers. moreover, economic fluctuations, policy changes, and socio-political instability affect the demand for fire insurance, directly influencing the profitability of insurers. therefore, insurers must adapt to these market dynamics to remain competitive. mailto:oyerindemoses818@gmail.com mailto:ksaduloju@gmail.com mailto:toyusuf@yahoo.co.uk 217 the regulatory environment plays a pivotal role in shaping the operations of fire insurers in nigeria. for instance, stringent regulations on solvency margins, capital requirements, and claims settlement procedures are critical for maintaining stability in the insurance sector. compliance with these regulations is essential for consumer protection and for fostering trust in the industry. consequently, insurers must enhance transparency and improve communication with policyholders to maintain long-term sustainability. in the current competitive insurance market, companies must strike a delicate balance between premium pricing and risk management. overpricing premiums can lead to customer attrition, while underpricing could result in insufficient funds to cover claims, negatively impacting profitability. bikker and popescu (2014) found that the ability to optimize premiums has a direct influence on insurers' underwriting profitability and market share. premium rating also has a significant impact on shareholder value, which is particularly important as shareholders continuously assess a company's financial health. premium rating directly affects profit margins, and sustained profitability leads to higher dividend payouts and an increase in stock value, ultimately benefiting shareholders upreti, v., adams, m., & jia, 2022); cummins and phillips (2005). in addition, premium rating plays a crucial role in determining a company’s investment capacity. insurance firms generate substantial income through investments funded by their premium reserves. a well-structured premium rating strategy ensures that sufficient capital reserves are available for investment, contributing to long-term financial growth and stability akinradewoet, al;(2022). therefore, a thoughtful approach to premium rating is vital for maintaining investment liquidity while safeguarding both profitability and shareholder returns. technological advancements have also begun to transform fire insurance operations in nigeria. the adoption of digital platforms for risk assessment, underwriting, and claims processing has not only improved efficiency but has also reduced operational costs for insurers. these innovations are essential for insurers to remain competitive in an everevolving market hassanain, al-harogi and ibrahim (2022). examining fire insurance rating mechanisms and insurer performance in nigeria before the covid-19 pandemic reveals the complex interactions between risk assessment, market dynamics, regulatory compliance, and technological innovation. by addressing issues like inadequate data and regulatory constraints while leveraging technological advancements, nigerian insurers can improve performance and ensure sustainable growth. this study will explore the intricate relationship between premium rating and key performance indicators such as profitability, investment potential, and shareholder value in the insurance industry, using empirical data and case studies to illustrate these dynamics. review of literature an overview of nigerian insurance firms in the pre-covid era the insurance industry in nigeria, prior to the covid-19 pandemic, experienced steady growth, despite a variety of structural challenges and market volatility. nigerian insurers faced a range of operational hurdles, including regulatory constraints, inadequate infrastructure, and low insurance penetration rates. nevertheless, insurers made significant strides in improving their service delivery and adopting technological innovations to boost efficiency and reach more customers. 218 one of the key challenges for nigerian insurance firms during the pre-covid era was the low level of insurance penetration. despite being the largest economy in africa, nigeria's insurance penetration rate remained below 1%, largely due to poor awareness, low disposable incomes, and distrust of insurance products (ogbeide, et, at; 2022; oke, 2012). many nigerians viewed insurance as an unnecessary luxury rather than a critical financial safety net. this perception, coupled with a weak regulatory framework, limited the industry's ability to expand its customer base and generate premium income. moreover, the regulatory landscape significantly influenced the operations of nigerian insurers before the pandemic. the national insurance commission (naicom) played a central role in shaping the industry’s development. in particular, naicom introduced stricter capital requirements in a bid to consolidate the industry and enhance the financial stability of insurance firms. the increased capital requirements, though essential for reducing the risk of insolvency, also led to the exit of several smaller players from the market who could not meet the new thresholds adegoke, 2020; akotey, osei, and gemegah (2013). larger, more established firms were better positioned to weather the regulatory storm, but the consolidation also reduced competition in the market, affecting pricing and innovation. technological advancements also played an important role in shaping the operations of nigerian insurance firms before the covid-19 pandemic. firms began embracing digital platforms to streamline processes such as underwriting, premium collection, and claims management. the adoption of mobile insurance platforms, for example, allowed insurers to reach previously underserved customers in remote areas, thus expanding their customer base hassanain, al-harogi, and ibrahim (2022). however, the pace of technological adoption varied widely across firms, with some lagging behind due to high implementation costs and inadequate digital infrastructure. in terms of product offerings, life insurance, health insurance, and general insurance (such as fire and motor insurance) dominated the nigerian insurance market before the pandemic. life insurance, in particular, saw increased uptake as more nigerians began to recognize the importance of financial planning and risk management. however, general insurance products, such as motor insurance, remained the most commonly purchased due to mandatory insurance requirements adegoke (2020). additionally, the nigerian insurance market was significantly influenced by macroeconomic factors during the pre-covid era. the country’s dependence on oil revenue and the volatility of global oil prices had direct consequences for the financial health of both insurers and their customers. fluctuations in oil prices affected government revenues and, by extension, economic growth, which in turn influenced the demand for insurance products. economic recessions, such as the one experienced in 2016, further strained the sector, reducing disposable incomes and dampening demand for insurance taiwo, (2019); gbenro (2019). despite these challenges, nigerian insurers displayed resilience and adaptability during the pre-covid era. companies that embraced technological innovations and diversified their product offerings managed to improve operational efficiency and profitability. the period also saw increased foreign investment in the sector, with global insurance giants entering the nigerian market through partnerships and acquisitions, further boosting industry growth and modernization. in conclusion, the pre-covid era for nigerian insurance firms was characterized by both challenges and opportunities. while the sector struggled with low insurance penetration, regulatory constraints, and economic volatility, there were notable advancements in 219 technology and product diversification. the introduction of stricter regulatory frameworks and digital transformation provided a foundation for growth, positioning the industry for resilience in the face of future disruptions, including the covid-19 pandemic. understanding these pre-covid dynamics is crucial for assessing the future trajectory of nigeria’s insurance industry. concept of insurance premium rating insurance premium rating refers to the process by which insurers determine the cost that an individual or business must pay for insurance coverage. according to investopedia (2023), an insurance premium is the amount paid for policies such as health, auto, home, and life insurance. the premium serves as income for the insurer but also represents a liability if not paid, leading to potential policy cancellation. premium payment frequencies vary, with options for quarterly, monthly, or semi-annual payments. several factors affect premium pricing, including coverage type, policyholder's age, location, claims history, moral hazard, and adverse selection. these elements help policyholders make informed choices and find affordable coverage. esfandabadi et al. (2023) explain that the premium rating process involves assessing factors such as the value and location of the insured property, as well as the risks of loss or damage. this process is crucial for ensuring that insurers remain financially stable and capable of covering potential claims. meanwhile, kaushik et al. (2022) emphasize that premium rating is not only important for insurers but also helps individuals and businesses understand their insurance costs, aiding in informed decision-making. the introduction of modern technologies and risk assessment tools has evolved the premium rating process, making it a vital part of risk management strategies for businesses and property owners. in summary, insurance premium rating is essential for both insurers and policyholders, ensuring fair pricing and the financial stability of insurance companies, while guiding consumers in their coverage decisions. theoretical framework property-liability insurance pricing models property-liability insurance pricing models aim to determine appropriate insurance rates by integrating both underwriting and investment performance. the theory was propounded by d’arcy and garven (1990) by (msomi, and nzama(2023). essentially, these models consider various factors to establish premiums that reflect the equilibrium between risk and return. property-liability insurance pricing models go beyond traditional approaches that ignore investment income. these models combine underwriting and investment aspects to determine insurance rates. researchers and actuaries explore different models to predict actual underwriting profit margins over extended periods. scholars evaluate various pricing models (such as option theory, capm, adjusted net present value, internal rate of return, and total rate of return) over historical data. the goal is to assess how well each model predicts underwriting profit margins sahai, et, al (2023). by comparing model results, insurers gain insights into which models perform best under different economic and competitive conditions. a. application of property-liability insurance pricing models to the study the evaluation of property-liability insurance pricing models directly relates to fire insurance rating and the performance of fire insurers in nigeria. marais, (2022) assert that fire insurance, as a subset of property-liability insurance, relies on accurate pricing models. these 220 models consider fire risk, underwriting practices, and investment income. however, trivedi, (2022) suggest that understanding the interplay between risk assessment and investment returns, insurers can set appropriate premiums for fire coverage. the performance of fire insurers during the pre-covid era depends on effective pricing strategies. more so, the models integrate underwriting and investment aspects that help insurers maintain profitability. also, lessons from these models guide insurers in sustaining financial health and providing reliable fire insurance services. principal-agent theory the principal-agent theory, propounded by cheffins, and reddy, (2023), explores the relationship between a principal who delegates work to an agent to act on their behalf. this theory delves into the challenges that arise when the goals of the principal and agent may not align perfectly. the principal seeks to ensure that the agent acts in their best interest, but due to information asymmetry and differing incentives, the agent may prioritize their own interests. this theory is widely applied in various fields, including economics, management, and insurance, to understand issues such as moral hazard and adverse selection. moreover, principal-agent theory focuses on the relationship between insurers (principals) and policyholders (agents). in this context, insurers may face challenges in monitoring and controlling policyholders' behavior, leading to issues such as moral hazard where policyholders may take risks knowing they are insured. b. application of principal-agent theory to the study applying the principal-agent theory to the analysis of fire insurance rating and the performance of fire insurers in nigeria's pre-covid era market reveals insightful perspectives. in this context, insurers act as principals delegating the task of risk assessment and policyholder management to agents, such as underwriters and claims adjusters. the theory highlights the inherent challenges stemming from information asymmetry and differing incentives between insurers and policyholders. insurers must ensure that agents act in the best interest of the company by accurately assessing risks, setting appropriate premiums, and promptly processing claims. however, issues such as moral hazard, where agents may prioritize personal gain over the insurer's interests, can impact the overall performance of fire insurers in nigeria's market. more so, applying this theory to the nigerian market, insurers may struggle with assessing and managing risks effectively, impacting their performance and the overall fire insurance rating system. the efficient market hypothesis the efficient market hypothesis (emh) is an investment theory that suggests stock prices reflect all available information, making it difficult for investors to consistently outperform the market through skill alone. the theory was primarily derived from the work of eugene fama in 1970, by abdullahi, (2021) who argued that stock prices always trade at their fair market value, making it highly unlikely for investors to achieve returns that exceed the market average. the emh is available in three different versions: weak, semi-strong, and strong. the weak form of the theory assumes that stock prices reflect all available public market information, but prices may not reflect new information that hasn't been fully incorporated yet. the semi-strong form expands on the weak form by assuming that prices adjust instantly to reflect all new public information, rendering both technical and fundamental analysis incapable of generating excess returns. the strong form of the emh holds that all information, both public and private, is reflected in current stock prices, making it impossible for investors to gain an advantage based on information that is not publicly available. the efficient market hypothesis has been subject to criticism, with many practitioners arguing that the theory does not hold in reality, especially in the weak form. 221 despite its controversy, the emh remains an important pillar of modern financial theories and has a significant backing in the academic community. also, the efficient market hypothesis suggests that financial markets reflect all available information, making it difficult for investors or insurers to consistently outperform the market. c. application of efficient market hypothesis to the study applying the efficient market hypothesis (emh) to the analysis of fire insurance rating and the performance of fire insurers in nigeria's pre-covid era market provides valuable insights. in the context of fire insurance, the emh suggests that stock prices, or in this case, insurance premiums, reflect all available information and adjust rapidly to new information. this implies that insurers in nigeria's market would set premiums based on all relevant data and market conditions, making it challenging for them to consistently outperform the market through superior information or analysis. the emh also implies that any inefficiencies or anomalies in the fire insurance market in nigeria would be quickly corrected as prices adjust to reflect all available information. moreover, in the context of fire insurance in nigeria, this theory could explain why some insurers may struggle to set accurate premiums or respond effectively to market changes. the efficiency of the market plays a crucial role in determining the performance of fire insurers and the overall rating system in nigeria. research methodology the study employed a descriptive survey research design to collect and interpret data on the existing situation. the primary instrument for data collection was secondary data, specifically utilizing the e-view platform. the rationale for using secondary data, particularly e-view, is its effectiveness in accessing sensitive and confidential information without exposing the researcher to potential risks, as might occur with observational methods. this research focuses on audited financial statements from 15 licensed general insurance companies in nigeria, covering a 20-year period from 1999 to 2019. a random sampling technique was used to select the data, ensuring that every member of the population had an equal chance of being chosen, thus minimizing bias. data was sourced from the financial statements available in the nigerian stock exchange (nse) and central bank of nigeria (cbn) databases. the analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. the variables employed in the analysis were selected based on relevant theoretical frameworks and existing literature, aligning with similar studies in the field, as well as the availability of secondary data. the study utilized a self-constructed secondary data tool (eview) to review and analyse of the financial performance of the selected insurance companies. specifically, the two variables measured were the fire insurance rating and the performance of fire insurers in the nigerian insurance market during the pre-covid era. data analysis this section delves into the analysis of the data, presenting the results obtained and discussing their implications table 1 below provides a summary of the statistical characteristics of both the independent and dependent variables. these statistics are drawn from a dataset compiled from the audited financial statements of 15 licensed general insurance companies in nigeria over a 20-year span, from 1999 to 2019. 222 table 4.1: descriptive statistics clm inv pbt pif pmr shf mean 433763.4 10709727 1238233. 967468.1 1934.936 8519766. median 131963.0 5841193. 638465.0 599301.0 1198.602 6966265. maximum 3045810. 2.80e+08 13448965 7111187. 14222.37 54292233 minimum 0.000000 0.000000 -1500526. 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 std. dev. 609250.5 23708587 2063222. 1117469. 2234.938 7328508. skewness 1.937045 8.767815 3.485496 2.299666 2.299666 3.173497 kurtosis 6.693064 95.61095 17.60586 9.808031 9.808031 17.65639 jarque-bera 213.6611 66261.97 1953.530 503.4609 503.4609 1902.576 probability 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 sum 77643653 1.92e+09 2.22e+08 1.73e+08 346353.6 1.53e+09 sum sq. dev. 6.61e+13 1.00e+17 7.58e+14 2.22e+14 8.89e+08 9.56e+15 observations 179 179 179 179 179 179 source: researcher’s computation from e-views 12 the descriptive statistics provide a detailed overview of the key financial indicators analysed in the study, which focuses on the performance of fire insurers in nigeria before the covid19 pandemic. the variables include investment portfolio (inv), profitability (pbt), premium income (pif), and shareholder's fund (shf). for the investment portfolio (inv), the mean value is ₦10,709,727, reflecting a substantial investment base across the insurers. however, the median value of ₦5,841,193 and the range from ₦0 to ₦280,000,000 show that some companies have significantly larger investment portfolios, while others have little to no investments. the extreme skewness (8.77) and kurtosis (95.61) suggest that the distribution is heavily influenced by a few companies with exceptionally large portfolios. in terms of profitability (pbt), the average profitability is ₦1,238,233, indicating that, on average, these companies are moderately profitable. however, the profitability range—from a loss of -₦1,500,526 to a profit of ₦13,448,965—shows that there are both highly profitable companies and those that experience significant losses. the skewness (3.49) and kurtosis (17.61) values indicate a right-skewed distribution with a few companies earning very high profits, which skew the average upwards. premium income (pif) reveals an average income of ₦967,468.1, suggesting that the insurers generate a moderate amount of income from premiums. the wide range of premium income, from ₦0 to ₦7,111,187, indicates a considerable disparity in revenue generation across the industry. the data's skewness (2.30) and kurtosis (9.81) suggest a distribution with a long right tail, where a few companies earn significantly more than the others. finally, the shareholder’s fund (shf), with an average value of ₦8,519,766, suggests robust capital adequacy among the companies. however, the wide range from ₦0 to ₦54,292,233 highlights significant differences in the capital base across the insurers. the skewness (3.17) and kurtosis (17.66) values indicate a right-skewed distribution, where a few companies have substantially higher shareholder funds. in conclusion, the descriptive statistics reveal considerable variability and skewness across all the financial performance indicators. this analysis underscores the disparities within the 223 nigerian fire insurance market during the pre-covid era, providing valuable insights for stakeholders looking to improve market performance and stability. unit root test variable adf pp-fisher chi square order of integration statistics probability statistics probability pmr -3.846420 0.0030 -5.723935 0.0000 i(0) pif -3.846420 0.0000 -5.723935 0.0000 i(0) clm -5.820247 0.0000 -5.762550 0.0000 i(0) inv -10.42792 0.0000 -10.86201 0.0000 i(0) shf -5.552729 0.0009 -5.457325 0.0009 i(0) pbt -4.470662 0.0003 -6.252207 0.0000 i(0) source: researcher’s computation from e-views 12 the unit root test results provide essential insights into the stationarity of several key financial variables. stationarity implies that a variable's statistical properties, such as mean and variance, remain consistent over time, which is crucial for accurate modeling and forecasting. shareholder's fund (shf) demonstrated stationarity at the level, with the adf test statistic recorded at -5.552729 and the pp-fisher test statistic at -5.457325, both associated with pvalues of 0.0009. profitability (pbt) also exhibited stationarity, as indicated by the adf test statistic of -4.470662 and the pp-fisher test statistic of -6.252207, with p-values of 0.0003 and 0.0000 respectively. hence, the stationarity of all variables at the level (denoted as i(0)) suggests that they do not require differencing to stabilize their statistical properties, making them reliable for time series analysis in their current form. this stability is crucial for building robust financial models that rely on consistent behaviour over time. there is no significant relationship between adequate premium rating and the investment portfolio of property insurance companies in nigeria dependent variable: pmr method: least squares date: 08/18/24 time: 17:19 sample: 1 180 included observations: 179 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 1535.391 168.8896 9.091094 0.0000 inv 3.73e-05 6.51e-06 5.733289 0.0000 r-squared 0.156623 mean dependent var 1934.936 adjusted r-squared 0.151858 s.d. dependent var 2234.938 s.e. of regression 2058.257 akaike info criterion 18.10822 sum squared resid 7.50e+08 schwarz criterion 18.14383 log likelihood -1618.685 hannan-quinn criter. 18.12266 f-statistic 32.87060 durbin-watson stat 0.824463 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 source: researcher’s computation from e-views 12 224 this regression analysis investigates the influence of the investment portfolio (inv) on the premium rating (pr) of insurance companies in nigeria. the intercept, denoted as c, is 1535.391. this suggests that, even in the absence of any effect from the investment portfolio, the premium rating would be 1535.391. the coefficient for the investment portfolio is 0.0000373, indicating that a slight increase in the investment portfolio leads to a corresponding, albeit minimal, increase in the premium rating by 0.0000373 units. the statistical significance of this relationship is evident from the p-value associated with the investment portfolio, which is 0.0000 and less than the 0.05 significance level. this confirms that the link between the investment portfolio and the premium rating is highly statistically significant. however, the model's overall fit is somewhat limited, as reflected by the r-squared value of 0.1566. this means that only 15.66% of the variability in the premium rating can be explained by changes in the investment portfolio. the adjusted r-squared value, slightly lower at 0.1519, also indicates that the model's ability to predict changes in the premium rating based on the investment portfolio alone is modest. the model as a whole is statistically significant, as shown by the f-statistic of 32.8706 and its associated p-value of 0.0000. hence, the null hypothesis was rejected and concluded that there is a significant relationship between adequate premium rating and the investment portfolio of property insurance companies in nigeria hypothesis one there is no significant relationship between insurance premium rating and the profitability of property insurance companies in nigeria dependent variable: pmr method: least squares date: 08/18/24 time: 17:20 sample: 1 180 included observations: 180 variable coefficient std. error t-statistic prob. c 1182.463 160.1069 7.385460 0.0000 pbt 0.000617 6.69e-05 9.233988 0.0000 r-squared 0.323879 mean dependent var 1944.483 adjusted r-squared 0.320081 s.d. dependent var 2232.363 s.e. of regression 1840.745 akaike info criterion 17.88478 sum squared resid 6.03e+08 schwarz criterion 17.92025 log likelihood -1607.630 hannan-quinn criter. 17.89916 f-statistic 85.26654 durbin-watson stat 1.038344 prob(f-statistic) 0.000000 source: researcher’s computation from e-views 12 the regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of profitability (pbt) on premium rating (pr) using a sample of 180 observations from nigerian insurance companies. the intercept of the regression model is 1182.463, which represents the estimated premium rating when profitability is zero. the coefficient for profitability is 0.000617, indicating that each unit increase in profitability results in an increase of 0.000617 units in premium rating. both the intercept and the profitability coefficient are statistically significant, with p-values of 0.0000, meaning that these results are highly reliable. 225 the model's fit is moderate, with an r-squared value of 0.323879, suggesting that approximately 32.39% of the variability in premium rating can be explained by changes in profitability. the adjusted r-squared value of 0.320081 further supports this, indicating that the model accounts for a reasonable proportion of the variance while adjusting for the number of predictors included. the overall significance of the model is confirmed by the f-statistic, which stands at 85.26654 with a p-value of 0.0000. this indicates that the model significantly explains variations in premium rating. also, the durbin-watson statistic is 1.038344, which suggests the potential presence of positive autocorrelation in the residuals. hence, the null hypothesis was rejected and concluded that there is a significant relationship between insurance premium rating and the profitability of property insurance companies in nigeria hypothesis two there is no significant relationship between insurance premium rating and the shareholders fund/capital adequacy of property insurance companies in nigeria covariance analysis: ordinary date: 08/18/24 time: 17:10 sample: 1 180 included observations: 180 correlation pmr shf pmr 1.000000 shf 0.586552 1.000000 source: researcher’s computation from e-views 12 the correlation analysis explored the relationship between premium rating (pmr) and shareholder's fund/capital adequacy (shf) based on a sample of 180 observations. the analysis revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.586552 between premium rating and shareholder's fund. this positive value indicates a moderate to strong relationship between the two variables. specifically, as shareholder's fund increases, premium rating tends to rise as well. this suggests that higher levels of capital adequacy within insurance companies are associated with higher premium ratings. in other words, insurance companies with more substantial shareholder's funds generally achieve better premium ratings. the correlation coefficient, being closer to 1, reflects a significant positive association. hence, the null hypothesis was rejected and concluded that there is a significant relationship between insurance premium rating and the shareholders fund/capital adequacy of property insurance companies in nigeria in conclusion, the regression analysis shows a statistically significant but minimal effect of investment portfolio on premium rating, with a coefficient of 0.0000373. the r-squared value of 0.1566 implies that only 15.66% of the variability in premium rating is explained by changes in the investment portfolio. this limited explanatory power suggests that while the investment portfolio does have an impact on premium rating, its influence is relatively small compared to other factors. the modest impact of investment portfolio on premium rating is consistent with findings from okonkwo and udeh (2021), who noted that while investment strategies are important, they often play a secondary role compared to factors like claim settlement and profitability. the low r-squared value and presence of positive autocorrelation in the residuals, as indicated by the durbin-watson statistic, suggest that the 226 model might be missing other important variables or interactions. this aligns with research by ben dhiab (2021) and others who have noted the challenges of capturing the full effects of investment portfolios on insurance ratings. discussion of findings the regression analysis demonstrates that profitability has a statistically significant positive effect on premium rating, with an increase of 0.000617 units in premium rating for every unit increase in profitability. the model explains approximately 32.39% of the variability in premium rating, indicating a moderate fit. this finding aligns with studies by ajijola, lawal, and akindipe (2021) and nwite, okparaka, and okeke (2020), which highlight that profitability is a key determinant of insurance company ratings. higher profitability often reflects better financial health and operational efficiency, which positively influences premium ratings. however, the durbin-watson statistic of 1.038344 suggests the potential presence of positive autocorrelation, which could affect the reliability of the model’s predictions. this observation is consistent with the broader literature indicating that profitability models may need to account for additional factors and potential autocorrelation issues (sanni, 2019).the correlation analysis shows a moderate to strong positive relationship (0.586552) between premium rating and shareholder's fund. this suggests that higher levels of capital adequacy are associated with better premium ratings. this result supports existing research that emphasizes the importance of capital adequacy in determining insurance company ratings. studies such as those by morara and sibindi (2021) and singh and bathla (2023) have shown that adequate capital reserves contribute to financial stability and enhance the insurance company’s ability to manage risk, leading to higher premium ratings. the positive correlation observed in this analysis aligns with these findings, highlighting the role of capital adequacy in supporting better insurance ratings. conclusion the assessment of fire insurance ratings is vital for both insurers and policyholders in determining the risks associated with insuring against fire-related incidents. in nigeria, where the insurance industry has been evolving, understanding the dynamics of fire insurance ratings is essential for ensuring a stable and competitive market. this analysis, focused on the pre-covid era, highlights the challenges faced by nigerian fire insurers, particularly the limitations in accessing real-time data, which hindered accurate risk assessment. the study examined the relationship between fire insurance ratings and the performance of the property insurance market in nigeria, using key variables such as claim settlement (clm), investment portfolio (inv), profitability (pbt), premium income (pif), premium rating (pmr), and shareholder's fund (shf). the analysis, based on data from the audited financial statements of 15 licensed general insurance companies in nigeria over a 20-year period (1999-2019), revealed significant disparities in financial indicators, reflecting a skewed distribution where a few companies dominate in areas such as claim settlements, investment portfolios, profitability, and premium income.the study also established a significant relationship between adequate premium rating and the investment portfolio, profitability, and shareholders' fund/capital adequacy as the determinant of property insurance. 227 references abdullahi, m. 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(2022). risk management and the cost of equity: evidence from the united kingdom’s non-life insurance market. the european journal of finance, 28(6), 551-570. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 338 paediatric hiv/aids and awareness of victims’ plight in enugu metropolis, enugu state, nigeria: a medical sociology perspective oluchukwu s. nwonovo department of sociology and anthropology, faculty of social sciences and humanities, enugu state university of science and technology, enugu, nigeria email: oluchukwu.nwonovo@esut.edu.ng abstract paediatric hiv/aids remains a critical public health and social concern in sub-saharan africa, with children facing unique challenges due to stigma, neglect, and limited access to healthcare. this study examined awareness of the plight of children living with hiv/aids (clwha) in enugu metropolis, nigeria, adopting a medical sociology perspective. using a survey design, 613 respondents were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling, complemented by 10 in-depth interviews with healthcare personnel. data were analyzed using frequency tables, percentages, and chi-square tests at a 0.05 significance level. results indicate that awareness of clwha challenges is generally low, with peer-group stigma, neglect, and inaccessibility of antiretroviral therapy as primary issues. respondents highlighted public enlightenment, creation of more hiv/aids care centers, free medical treatment, and counseling as essential interventions. the study recommends establishing a government agency to oversee clwha welfare, strengthening community sensitization, and improving access to antiretroviral drugs to enhance child wellbeing and social inclusion. keywords: paediatric hiv/aids, children, stigmatization, public awareness, enugu metropolis introduction hiv/aids remains one of the most severe public health and social challenges globally, with children disproportionately affected in sub-saharan africa. since its discovery in the 1980s, paediatric hiv/aids has continued to threaten child survival, development, and social inclusion (mawere & mabamba, 2015). the joint united nations programme on hiv and aids (unaids, 2013) reports that millions of children under 15 years of age are living with hiv worldwide, with approximately 91% residing in sub-saharan africa. despite global reductions in new paediatric infections between 2002 and 2013, more than 240,000 children were newly infected in 2013 alone, highlighting persistent gaps in prevention, treatment, and awareness (unaids, 2013). human immunodeficiency virus (hiv), a retrovirus in the lentivirus family, attacks the immune system, leading to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) when untreated (fauci, 1998; butler, 1998; royce, 1997). in children, hiv progresses more aggressively than in adults, with opportunistic infections, malnutrition, and neurological complications contributing to high morbidity and mortality (nwaneri, 2007; who, 2014). mother-to-child transmission (mtct) remains the primary route of infection, with rates reaching 30–45% without intervention (naca, 2019). in nigeria, children under 15 years constitute approximately 10% of the total hiv-positive population (sadoh, 2007; okuola, 2007). enugu metropolis reflects this national trend, with challenges including malnutrition, limited access to antiretroviral therapy (art), and social stigma (ezeonu, ikefuna, oguonu, & okafor, 2014). stigma and discrimination not only mailto:oluchukwu.nwonovo@esut.edu.ng 339 affect children’s social inclusion but also limit their access to healthcare, education, and community support (subbarao & coury, 2004; unicef, 2003). children living with hiv/aids (clwha) face multidimensional challenges, including emotional neglect, household impoverishment, and exclusion from peer and family networks (salaam, 2004; every child et al., 2012). studies have shown that peer groups, family members, and friends are major sources of stigmatization, undermining children’s psychosocial development (abadía-barrero & castro, 2005; obiagwu, hassan-hassan, & ibrahim, 2013). moreover, policies and funding shifts, such as reductions in international hiv/aids support, have exacerbated barriers to treatment and care for children in lowresource settings. awareness of clwha’s plight is critical for improving their health outcomes and social inclusion. public enlightenment, creation of dedicated care centers, free provision of art, and psychosocial support are among interventions shown to reduce stigma and improve access to healthcare (unaids, 2013; international hiv/aids alliance & save the children, 2012). from a medical sociology perspective, understanding both structural and social determinants of pediatric hiv/aids is essential for policy formulation and program implementation. against this backdrop, this study investigates awareness of the plight of clwha in enugu metropolis, nigeria, examining societal perceptions, challenges faced by children, and strategies for improving care and inclusion. it aims to provide empirical evidence to guide local interventions and inform public health policies tailored to the social realities of affected children. literature review paediatric hiv/aids in sub-saharan africa children continue to bear a significant burden of hiv/aids in sub-saharan africa. between 2002 and 2013, global new hiv infections among children under 15 declined by 58%, yet more than 240,000 children were infected in 2013 alone, equating to approximately 700 new infections per day (unaids, 2013). by the same year, 3.2 million children were living with hiv worldwide, 91% of whom resided in sub-saharan africa. only 24% of children who needed antiretroviral treatment (art) received it, resulting in 190,000 deaths from aidsrelated illnesses (unaids, 2013). these statistics underscore the persistent challenges in paediatric hiv prevention, treatment, and awareness, especially in resource-limited settings. challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids (clwha) emotional impact children living with hiv/aids frequently experience emotional neglect, particularly if their parents are hiv-positive or have died from aids-related illnesses. they may face isolation, lack of psychosocial support, and disruption of family structures (subbarao & coury, 2004). separation from siblings upon orphanhood exacerbates emotional distress, impeding their social and cognitive development (usaid, 2002; salaam, 2004). 340 household and economic impact in sub-saharan africa, kinship care—where grandparents or close relatives provide care—is the primary support mechanism for orphaned children (every child et al., 2012). while preferable to institutional care, access can be limited for children living with hiv/aids due to stigma and discrimination, affecting nutrition, health, and education. reduced household income, compounded by medical and funeral costs, pushes families further into poverty, limiting children’s access to essential services (international hiv/aids alliance & save the children, 2012). stigmatization stigma remains a critical barrier to the wellbeing of clwha. rejection by peers, family members, and the community leads to low self-esteem, fear, and social exclusion (unicef, 2003; abadía-barrero & castro, 2005). structural inequalities, poverty, and discriminatory attitudes exacerbate children’s experiences of stigma, which can restrict access to schooling, healthcare, and inheritance rights (obiagwu, hassan-hassan, & ibrahim, 2013). access to healthcare and antiretroviral therapy limited access to healthcare, including antiretroviral drugs, remains a major challenge. many children do not receive hiv testing or art as recommended by the who treatment guidelines (who, 2014; unaids, 2013). studies in nigeria indicate that inaccessibility of drugs and specialized care, combined with financial constraints, significantly impacts child survival and quality of life (ezeonu, ikefuna, oguonu, & okafor, 2014). funding cuts from international donors, such as policy shifts under the u.s. administration that reduced hiv/aids support, have further constrained resources for paediatric hiv programs, directly affecting treatment availability for children in low-resource communities. awareness and public perception public awareness of the plight of clwha is generally low, even in urban centers like enugu metropolis. studies show that societal misconceptions and fear of contagion contribute to stigmatization and social exclusion (obiagwu et al., 2013). awareness campaigns, public enlightenment programs, and community education have been identified as effective interventions for reducing stigma and promoting inclusion (unaids, 2013; international hiv/aids alliance & save the children, 2012). medical sociology perspective medical sociology emphasizes the interplay between social structures, healthcare access, and individual health outcomes. in the context of paediatric hiv/aids, societal stigma, poverty, and policy decisions significantly shape children’s experiences and access to care. understanding these dynamics is critical for developing effective interventions and shaping policies that address both medical and social dimensions of the epidemic. synthesis of literature the literature indicates that clwha in nigeria and sub-saharan africa face overlapping challenges: stigma, neglect, limited healthcare access, and economic deprivation. while progress has been made in reducing new infections, gaps in public awareness, social inclusion, and access to treatment persist. interventions combining public sensitization, policy support, and community-based care are essential to improve outcomes for these children. 341 theoretical framework this study is anchored in medical sociology, particularly the social determinants of health (sdh) framework and the stigma theory, which provide a lens for understanding the challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids (clwha) in enugu metropolis. social determinants of health (sdh) framework the sdh framework posits that health outcomes are influenced not only by biological factors but also by social, economic, and environmental conditions (marmot & wilkinson, 2005). for clwha, factors such as family income, access to healthcare, educational opportunities, and social support structures significantly affect their well-being. children living in impoverished households with limited access to antiretroviral therapy and supportive care are more likely to experience poor health outcomes, malnutrition, and early mortality. understanding these social determinants allows policymakers and healthcare providers to address systemic barriers to care rather than focusing solely on the medical aspects of hiv/aids. stigma theory stigma theory, as conceptualized by goffman (1963), explains how social labeling, stereotyping, and discrimination affect individuals’ self-perception and social participation. applied to clwha, stigma manifests through peer exclusion, family discrimination, and community marginalization, which can limit access to education, healthcare, and psychosocial support. the theory also helps explain why many caregivers may conceal a child’s hiv status, reducing opportunities for public awareness campaigns and reinforcing societal misconceptions about the disease (abadía-barrero & castro, 2005). by combining the sdh framework and stigma theory, this study situates paediatric hiv/aids within both social and medical contexts. it highlights that clwha’s health outcomes are not only a product of viral infection but are also shaped by economic vulnerability, household support, community attitudes, and systemic healthcare provision. this integrated perspective guides the study in assessing awareness, identifying social and structural challenges, and recommending interventions that address both medical and sociological dimensions of the epidemic. justification for use applying these frameworks is essential for this study because it emphasizes that improving the welfare of clwha requires more than clinical interventions. public enlightenment, policy-driven support mechanisms, and community-based programs must accompany medical treatment to reduce stigma, enhance social inclusion, and improve long-term outcomes for affected children. methodology study design this study adopted a survey research design, appropriate for examining awareness, challenges, and social factors affecting children living with hiv/aids (clwha) in enugu metropolis. the survey design allowed the researcher to systematically collect quantitative and qualitative data from multiple respondents to assess levels of awareness, identify key challenges, and explore perceptions regarding measures to improve the welfare of clwha. 342 study location the study was conducted in enugu metropolis, the capital of enugu state, nigeria, located in southeastern nigeria. enugu metropolis consists of three local government areas (lgas): enugu east, enugu north, and enugu south. the area was chosen because of its urban setting, high population density, and relevance to understanding the social and medical contexts of paediatric hiv/aids in a nigerian urban environment. study population the study population comprised 634 respondents, including 306 males (49%) and 318 females (51%). an additional 10 respondents were purposively selected from healthcare personnel to provide insights through in-depth interviews (idi). the population included adult household members, caregivers, and health professionals knowledgeable about the challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids. sample size determination and sampling technique the sample size was determined using taro yamane’s formula (1967). enugu metropolis was stratified into its three lgas. a total of 208 respondents were proportionally selected from each lga. within each lga, 26 households were systematically selected from eight streets in the sampling frame to ensure representative coverage. purposive sampling was used to select 10 healthcare personnel for qualitative interviews. the multi-stage cluster sampling technique ensured both representativeness and feasibility in accessing participants. data collection instruments data were collected using a structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews (idi). the questionnaire captured demographic information, awareness levels, challenges faced by clwha, and perceived measures to improve child welfare. the idi enabled the collection of qualitative insights from healthcare professionals and caregivers, providing context and depth to quantitative findings. data collection procedure three research assistants, trained by the researcher, administered and retrieved questionnaires across the three lgas. the researcher personally conducted the idis to ensure accuracy and consistency in qualitative data collection. data analysis quantitative data were analyzed using frequency tables and percentages with the statistical package for social sciences (spss). the chi-square (χ²) test at a 0.05 significance level was employed to test the study hypotheses. qualitative data from idis were analyzed thematically to complement the quantitative findings and provide richer context on challenges, stigmatization, and interventions for clwha. ethical considerations informed consent was secured from all participants, and confidentiality was maintained. participation was voluntary, with respondents assured of anonymity and the right to withdraw at any stage. sensitive information, especially regarding the hiv status of children, was handled with strict confidentiality to protect participants from social harm and stigma. 343 results and findings this section presents the results of the study, integrating both quantitative data from questionnaires and qualitative insights from in-depth interviews (idis). the findings are organized thematically to highlight levels of awareness, challenges facing children living with hiv/aids (clwha), sources of stigmatization, and potential interventions. awareness of paediatric hiv/aids victims’ plight table 1 presents respondents’ assessment of awareness regarding the plight of clwha. table 1 summary (thematic): • high/very high awareness: 45.3% of respondents perceived high or very high awareness of the plight of clwha. • low/very low awareness: 54.7% indicated low or very low awareness, reflecting gaps in public knowledge. qualitative insight: several respondents emphasized that societal misconceptions and secrecy surrounding hiv/aids impede effective awareness campaigns. one participant noted: "many people avoid discussing hiv, and children affected are hidden, which reduces community understanding of their struggles." (idi, 45 years, caregiver, august 2024) table 1 – major challenges facing children living with hiv/aids challenge frequency percentage (%) inaccessibility of drugs & proper healthcare 227 37.0 negligence 149 24.3 stigmatization 139 22.7 poor sensitization 98 16.0 total 613 100.0 source: field survey, 2016 narrative summary for results section: the findings indicate that the major challenge facing children living with hiv/aids in enugu metropolis is the inaccessibility of drugs and proper healthcare services (37%), followed by negligence (24.3%) and stigmatization (22.7%). poor sensitization accounted for 16% of responses. in-depth interviews corroborated these results, highlighting that children often face discrimination and inadequate medical attention. challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids table 2 summarized key challenges reported by respondents. table 2 summary (thematic): • inaccessibility of drugs and healthcare: 37% identified this as the main challenge. 344 • negligence and stigmatization: 24.3% and 22.7%, respectively. • poor sensitization: 16% reported inadequate public education. qualitative insight: healthcare professionals highlighted that limited access to antiretroviral therapy (art) and stigmatization significantly compromise children’s health and social well-being. one respondent stated: "access to healthcare is a huge challenge; without proper treatment, these children cannot survive beyond early childhood." (idi, 42 years, paediatric specialist, august 2024) sources of stigmatization table 4 indicated that the primary sources of stigmatization are peer groups (45.2%), followed by friends (25.9%) and family members (24.5%). qualitative insight: respondents highlighted that stigmatization often occurs in schools and social settings, negatively impacting self-esteem and psychological health. a participant explained: "children are often isolated by peers once their hiv status is known, which affects their emotional development and social interactions." (idi, 38 years, social worker, august 2025) measures to address challenges respondents suggested several interventions: • public enlightenment campaigns (35.7%) • creation of hiv/aids care centers (25.4%) • provision of free antiretroviral drugs and medical treatment (27.4% combined) • guidance and counseling (11.4%) qualitative insight: healthcare professionals stressed that combining medical care with public education and family support programs is essential. one participant noted: "education, counseling, and free medical care are crucial to ensure these children lead fulfilling lives despite their condition." (idi, 42 years, paediatric specialist, august 2024) prospects of clwha respondents were divided regarding whether clwha have a brighter future: 24.8% said yes, 29.2% said no, and 46% indicated uncertainty. this reflects societal uncertainty and stigma surrounding hiv/aids. key table 2 – measures to enhance prospects of children living with hiv/aids measure frequency percentage (%) free medical services 266 43.4 financial empowerment of households 207 33.8 free counseling services 69 11.3 345 measure frequency percentage (%) public enlightenment against discrimination 71 11.6 total 613 100.0 source: field survey, 2016 narrative summary for results section: respondents suggested that free medical services (43.4%) and financial empowerment of households (33.8%) are the most effective measures to improve the prospects of children living with hiv/aids. other interventions, such as free counseling (11.3%) and public enlightenment against discrimination (11.6%), were also recommended. in-depth interviews emphasized that public awareness campaigns and parental guidance are critical for reducing stigma and supporting the well-being of affected children. role of government and policy recommendations an overwhelming 86.8% of respondents advocated for a special government agency to oversee the welfare of clwha, highlighting the perceived need for systemic and policydriven interventions. summary of key findings: 1. awareness of the plight of clwha in enugu metropolis is moderate but insufficient. 2. major challenges include inaccessibility of healthcare, negligence, stigmatization, and poor sensitization. 3. peer groups are the leading source of stigma, followed by friends and family members. 4. effective measures identified include public enlightenment, hiv/aids care centers, free medical treatment, and counseling services. 5. government intervention is strongly supported, emphasizing the need for structured programs and policy frameworks. discussion of findings the study explored paediatric hiv/aids and awareness of victims’ plight in enugu metropolis, highlighting awareness levels, challenges, sources of stigma, and potential interventions. the findings are discussed below in relation to existing literature and theoretical perspectives. awareness of the plight of children living with hiv/aids the study revealed that slightly less than half of respondents perceived a high level of awareness, while a majority (54.7%) indicated low or very low awareness. this confirms prior findings by obiugwu, hassan-hassan, and ibrahim (2013) and usaid (2002), which showed that despite public health campaigns, awareness about the challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids remains insufficient in nigeria. limited awareness contributes to continued stigmatization, neglect, and barriers to accessing care. 346 challenges faced by children living with hiv/aids the most prominent challenges identified were inaccessibility of drugs and proper healthcare (37%), negligence (24.3%), and stigmatization (22.7%). these results are consistent with previous studies indicating that children living with hiv/aids in sub-saharan africa face compounded medical, social, and economic difficulties (ezeonwu et al., 2014; subbarao & coury, 2004). the findings also align with the structural functionalist theory, which posits that societal structures (family, healthcare, and community) function to support individuals; when these structures fail, as seen in inadequate healthcare and stigmatization, the welfare of children is compromised. sources of stigmatization peer groups emerged as the major source of stigma (45.2%), followed by friends and family members. this underscores the social dimension of the epidemic, where children are socially isolated and psychologically affected. abadía-barrero and castro (2005) similarly found that stigma is shaped by structural inequalities and social relationships, which can adversely affect treatment adherence and social integration. measures to mitigate challenges respondents recommended public enlightenment, creation of hiv/aids care centers, free medical treatment, and counseling services. these findings corroborate the work of the international hiv/aids alliance and save the children (2012), which emphasized that public education, family support, and accessible healthcare are critical to improving outcomes for clwha. the qualitative data reinforced that holistic interventions addressing medical, emotional, and social needs are essential. government intervention and policy implications a significant majority (86.8%) advocated for a special government agency to oversee the welfare of clwha, highlighting the perceived importance of structured interventions. this is consistent with the findings of unaids (2013) and who (2014), which stress that national-level coordination and policy frameworks are crucial to ensuring equitable access to care, reducing stigma, and improving survival outcomes. implications for child development and social policy the challenges identified—particularly inaccessibility of healthcare, stigmatization, and negligence—have profound implications for child development. neglect and social isolation can impair emotional, cognitive, and social growth, reducing educational attainment and life prospects. the study reinforces the need for integrated interventions combining medical treatment, social support, and public education to mitigate the effects of hiv/aids on children. alignment with theoretical framework the findings support structural functionalist theory, illustrating that failures in social institutions (family, school, healthcare) disrupt the socialization and well-being of children. addressing these structural gaps through public awareness campaigns, healthcare access, and government oversight can enhance functional support for clwha. 347 conclusion of discussion: overall, the study highlights a moderate but insufficient level of awareness, significant social and healthcare challenges, and the critical role of policy and societal interventions in improving the welfare and prospects of children living with hiv/aids in enugu metropolis. recommendations, limitations, and conclusion recommendations based on the findings, the study makes the following recommendations to improve the welfare and prospects of children living with hiv/aids (clwha) in enugu metropolis: 1. public enlightenment and awareness campaigns o conduct sustained public education programs to increase awareness of pediatric hiv/aids and reduce stigma. o utilize schools, community centers, and media outlets to reach both children and adults. 2. healthcare access and free medical services o ensure free provision of antiretroviral therapy (art) and regular medical check-ups for clwha. o establish dedicated pediatric hiv/aids care centers within enugu metropolis for specialized services. 3. family and caregiver support programs o provide training and counseling for families and caregivers to reduce negligence and improve care for clwha. o encourage kinship care while providing material and psychological support for affected households. 4. government and policy interventions o create a special government agency or unit to oversee the welfare of clwha, coordinating healthcare, education, and social support. o monitor and evaluate the impact of policies to ensure effective implementation and sustainability. 5. psychosocial support and counseling o integrate guidance and counseling services in schools, healthcare centers, and community programs. o address emotional challenges, self-esteem issues, and coping mechanisms for children and their families. 6. advocacy against funding withdrawals o lobby against international and local policy decisions that reduce funding for hiv/aids programs, such as those affecting art accessibility. 348 o advocate for consistent international and domestic funding to sustain pediatric hiv/aids care. limitations of the study 1. geographical scope: the study focused only on enugu metropolis, which may limit generalizability to other regions of nigeria or sub-saharan africa. 2. cross-sectional design: being a cross-sectional survey, causal relationships between variables cannot be definitively established. 3. self-reported data: some respondents may have provided socially desirable answers, particularly regarding stigmatization and awareness. 4. resource constraints: limited resources restricted the inclusion of more comprehensive healthcare and psychosocial assessments for children. conclusion this study underscores that children living with hiv/aids in enugu metropolis face significant medical, social, and psychological challenges. awareness levels are moderate but insufficient, while peer groups and inadequate family support contribute to stigmatization. the findings emphasize the need for integrated interventions combining public enlightenment, healthcare access, family support, psychosocial 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(2014). guidelines on hiv testing and treatment for infants. who. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 155 improved port hinterland connectivity/freight forwarding practice: imperative to boost nigeria’s logistics performance index 1eto, gabriel m. 2okon, nse b. 3ufia, friday m. abstract the aims to improve port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practice in nigeria in order to boost the country’s logistics performance index. among others, the objectives were to evaluate the existing infrastructure, transportation networks, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria; investigate current freight forwarding practice in nigeria by exploring how they contribute to or hinder efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain; identify and analyze the key challenges hindering effective port-hinterland connectivity in nigeria; analyze the economic implications of improved port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices on nigeria’s trade competitiveness and economic development and propose strategic recommendations to stakeholders (government, private sector, logistics providers) for enhancing port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding operations in nigeria. the study adopted the taro yamane formula to determine the sample size of 431 and 422 responded with 97.91% response rate. observation and structured questionnaire was used for the collection of data. quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was coded and analyzed using the 4-point likert scale. accordingly, among others, the study recommends that public-private partnerships (ppps) should be encouraged to finance and develop logistics infrastructure and services in nigeria and a review and update of the regulatory framework governing logistics and transportation in nigeria is necessary to enhance port hinterland connectivity. keywords: freight forwarding, port hinterland connectivity, logistics performance index, congestion, competition introduction since no country is an island unto itself due to globalization (which has resulted in interdependence and global integration), global merchandise trade, which is over 80% seaborne requires efficient maritime transport (ports and shipping operations), and customs and logistics processes to enhance a country’s logistics performance index as critical trade facilitators. thus, in order to improve a country’s logistics performance index (lpi), the factors to consider are: transport infrastructure development, customs efficiency, logistics efficiency, tracking and tracing, timeliness of delivery of goods, international shipment and trade facilitation. these factors are related to port hinterland connectivity, customs clearance and freight forwarding practice (known as clearing and forwarding in nigeria) (world bank, 2023). accordingly, unless reliable port hinterland connections and customs and logistics efficiency are assured, the likelihood of port congestion is high, particularly since 90% by weight and over 80% by volume of world trade is carried by maritime shipping, all of which must pass through seaports (korinek & sourdin, 2009). consequently, the case for customs and 156 logistics efficiency and functional port hinterland connectivity in nigeria is urgent and very important in view of their significance in logistics performance. the competitiveness of a seaport is a function of the promptness and safety of the cargo handled (courtesy of customs and logistics efficiency backed by freight forwarding operations) as the port seeks to reach its hinterland destination (acciaro& mckinnon, 2013). the importance of hinterland connections has been acknowledged as one of the most central factors in port competitiveness and development in most ports around the world (olaf &notteboom, 2015). however, in nigeria, aside from the deficit port infrastructure, port hinterland connections, customs and logistics operations (worsened by poor freight forwarding practice) are ineffective and inefficient due to deplorable maritime and land transport infrastructure, and institutional challenges. these all combine to deny meaningful and efficient maritime/land access and result in poor logistics performance. ports around the world have fashioned multiple strategies to improve their hinterland connections. this is in response to the challenges created by increasing traffic, shrinking public budgets, competition for road and rail use from passenger and personal vehicle and the proximity of many ports to densely urbanized areas. these strategies have resulted in several policies such as the development of dry-ports (e.g. bergqvist, wilmsmeier, & cullinane, 2013a; 2013b; roso, woxenius & lumsden, 2009), improving stakeholder management (e.g. bergqvist, 2012), developing appointment systems to improve port gate efficiency (e.g. giuliano, & o’brien, 2007), extending operation times (e.g. giuliano, & o’brien, 2008), extending the borders of the port beyond the port precinct (veenstra, zuidwijk& van asperen, 2012) or influencing the port modal split (e.g. moniosand lambert, 2013). it will therefore make a lot of sense if nigeria equally responds by improving the port hinterland connectivity to ease port congestion and facilitate trade in light of emerging issues of increased volume of maritime trade occasioned by port concession to private terminal operators in the face of dwindling public finances (eto, 2021).the inadequate port-hinterland connections, inefficient customs and logistics processes (including poor freight forwarding operations) and port infrastructural deficits in the country have severally and jointly contributed to the dismal rating of the logistics performance index in nigeria (lagos chamber of commerce and industry, 2018). the problem port-hinterland connectivity is a function of functional transport system. however, the transport system in nigeria is in a poor state, with undeveloped infrastructure coupled with improper regulatory and institutional framework (inefficient customs and freight forwarding processes). this explains why nigeria loses over $12 billion (n6 trillion) annually of agricultural produce that otherwise could have been processed and exported to international market but for the poor intermodal transport system, the dismal port hinterland connectivity, and inefficient customs and logistics processes (eto, 2021). 157 the quality of port hinterland connectivity has significant effect on the overall door-to-door performance of the logistics chain and on the choice of a port of call by shipping lines. efficient freight distribution from seaports to inland terminals depends on port hinterland connectivity and effective customs and logistics process in order to enhance port competitiveness (acciaro& mckinnon, 2013). seaports as nodes of logistics networks have to constantly adapt their facilities and equipment to the frequent changes in ships in order to remain connected to the international supply chain. however, the inefficiency of nigerian ports due to infrastructural deficit and custom/freight forwarding operations and logistics lapses have resulted in slower national economic growth, less employment, higher logistics costs for importers and exporters, poor coordination between public and private agencies resulting in lack of predictability and reliability. hence, the world bank ranked lagos ports (which handle 75% of the country’s import) as 358th out of 370 ports, assessed globally based on container port performance index 2021 report. this is with the result that cargoes are being diverted to ports in neighbouring countries and increase in freight charges (tunji, 2022). in 2024, nigeria ranked 88th position out of 141 countries in the world bank logistics performance index (lpi). the lpi is a global logistics ranking and an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance (ogunsile, 2024). the country’s poor ranking in the logistics performance index is a major concern to her trade partners because the flow in the supply chain is severely disrupted in nigeria due to poor human, institutional and infrastructural factors. this is with a destabilizing effect on regional and global agenda because logistics solutions are crucial to development (yousough, 2024). according to olaf and notteboom (2015), one of the main issues related to the development of adequate hinterland connections in ports is the need to coordinate multiple actors often with conflicting mandates that constitute the misunderstanding between private and public institutions that govern port hinterland infrastructure development. in nigeria, the numerous actors involved in port hinterland transport operations are difficult to organize and coordinate because of their conflicting interests. this also contributes to the country’s low logistics performance index ranking. literature review and conceptual clarification port hinterland there are many definitions of ports hinterland. the first known definition of port hinterland was provided in 1938 by sargent as “the area served by a port” (sargent, 1938). other authors are of the opinion that the hinterland is a land space on which a port sells its services 158 and interacts with its customers or a market area; other scholars define the hinterland as the area in which a port has a monopolistic position, i.e. the inner region provided by a port (slack, 1993, van klink & van den berg, 1998 and fageda, 2004). the port hinterland comprises two parts (fig. 1). namely: (a) the main hinterland and (b) the competitive margin hinterland (rodrigue, 2020). the main hinterland is the market area that surrounds the port; it is a physical space over which a port sells its services and interacts with its users. it stands for the regional market share that the terminal owns, compared to other terminals that serve the same region. it brings together all the customers directly connected to the terminal and the land areas from which it derives its clientele and to which it distributes freight. the competitive hinterland is the market area in the inland in which the port must compete more closely with the other ports for customers. figure 1: port hinterland types source: rodrigue (2020). the geography of transport systems in the view of gattuso, gian-carla & pellicanò (2023), hinterland can be further classified in relation to the kind of freights handled; as a matter of fact, each type of freight originates from a particular supply chain serviced by a particular port terminal with specific spatial relationships. port hinterland connectivity if ports are to perform their role efficiently, they require inner linkages (hinterland connectivity) since they are not storage points but transit centres. ports and their hinterland transport systems can only attract users and additional volumes if the whole hinterland transport network is efficient and effective. the significance of port hinterland connectivity is buttressed by the fact that the competitiveness of a seaport depends on the extent the cargo handled in the port can reach its hinterland destination (e.g. acciaro& mckinnon, 2013). 159 figure 2: port hinterland connectivity source: notteboom & rodrigue (2005) port hinterland connectivity (figure 2) is not the sole responsibility of government. it involves many actors and activities, requiring intense collaboration and coordination to work effectively and efficiently. the actors include railway terminal operators, trucking industry/carriers, third party logistics providers (freight forwarders), industry regulators, shippers – exporters/importers and icd operators. port hinterland connectivity assumes a crucial part in ensuring an efficient supply chain facilitated by the various actors (eto, 2024). the ability to penetrate the hinterland is realized through efficient freight forwarding operations/ inland logistics and connections which are able to guarantee the speed of goods flows. ports have to be configured as efficient and logistically effective interface between oceanic maritime trade and inland trade which have different characteristics, dimensions and rhythms (gattuso et al., 2023). this calls for deliberate efforts to improve a country’s logistics performance index through making provision for the requisite parameters by policy, which involve capacity training and development of logisticians and freight forwarders. key components of logistics performance index the 2018 report of the world bank “connecting to compete” contains an analysis of the logistics performance of 160 countries based on the following six indicators. global logistics performance index is a perception of a country’s logistics performance based on the following parameters: • efficiency of customs clearance process • quality of trade – and transport-related infrastructure • ease of arranging competitively priced shipments • quality of logistics services • ability to track and trace consignments, and • frequency with which shipments reach the consignee within the scheduled time (the world bank, 2018). 160 according to abiodun (2020), nigeria ranked 110 out of 160 countries in global logistics performance index in 2018 due to some factors, which include: crippling traffic situation, poor port and transport infrastructure, inefficient logistics/freight forwarding operations among others. these add to the huge trade costs in nigeria. methodology observation and structured questionnaire were used for the collection of data. quantitative data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics while qualitative data were coded and analyzed using the 4-point likert scale. population for the study the population for this study was made up of 4,387 individuals made up of three private terminal operators operating in nigeria’s ports and four government maritime regulatory agencies. the workers of the organizations involved are the major stakeholders. the population of the study is shown below in table 1. table 1: population of the study s/n organizations number of staff 1 nigerian ports authority 1,457 2 nigerian maritime administration and safety agency 1,653 3 nigerian shippers’ council 333 4 nigerian customs service 13,000 5 enl consortium 311 6 ap moller 1,450 7 sifax group 762 total 18,966 source: researchers’ field work, 2024 sampling technique and method of data collection sampling is a selection of small group of element drawn from the study population through a particular sampling technique. for this study the simple random sampling technique was adopted to cover very large proportion of the population. in determining the sample size for this research, the taro yamane’s formula given as (equ 1) was used: 𝑛 = 𝑁 1+𝑁(𝑒)2 = ............................................................... (1) where: n = sample size 161 n = population size (18,966) e = level of significance (our level of significance is chosen at 5%) applying the formula at significant level of 5%; 𝑛 = 18,966 1 + 18,966(0.05)2 18,966 1 + 47.41 18,966 48.41 = 391.78 therefore, the sample size = 391.78, which is approximated to be 392. however, 39 (i.e.10%) is added to accommodate non-response and this brings the sample size to 431. the data collection methods for primary data required were through survey by questionnaire and interviews, and secondary data were sourced through identified relevant organizations. to elicit their responses on relevant questions posed to them, a structured, 4-point likert scaled questionnaire was designed and administered to the targeted respondents. the questionnaire comprised two sections. section a contained questions on socioeconomic profile of the respondents. likert-scaled rating response questions were used. a total of 431 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to various categories of respondents that are considered to be major stakeholders in the maritime transport sector. out of this number, 422 were returned to represent 97.91% response rate. gender distribution the gender distribution of the respondents is shown in the table 2. the distribution shows that 316 or 74.88% of the respondents were male while 106 or 25.12% were female. this shows that majority of the respondents were male. age distribution the age distribution shows that the number of respondents who were less than 18 years of age was 19 or 4.50%. those whose age fell into the age bracket 18-35 years were 127 or 29.86%. the distribution shows that respondents whose age bracket fell into 36-65 years 162 were 226 or 53.55%, which happened to be the majority. the respondents whose age was 66 years above were 51 or 12.09%. educational level the formal education of respondents is shown in table 2 shows that all the respondents attained one level of formal education or another. those who attained primary school education were 16or3.79%. the respondents who attained secondary school education were 43 in number and 10.19% and those with tertiary education were 363 or 86.02%. occupation distribution the occupation distribution shows that 78 or 18.48% were admin staff. freight forwarders were 66 or 15.64%. terminal operators were 15 or 3.55%. dockworkers were 32 or 7.58%, monitoring & enforcement staff were 54 or 12.80%, shippers were 150 or 35.55% and regulatory affairs staff were 27 or 6.40%. status distribution the status distribution of respondents shows that 190 or 45.03% were of the top-level management. majority of the respondents (210 or 49.76%) belonged to the senior-level management cadre and 22 or 5.21% were of the junior management level. table1: demographic analysis of respondents characteristics frequency percentage (%) gender male 316 74.88 female 106 25.12 total 422 100 age (years) less than 18 19 4.50 18-35 126 29.86 36-65 226 53.55 66 above 51 12.09 total 422 100 educational level primary 16 3.79 secondary 43 10.19 tertiary 363 86.02 total 422 100 occupation 163 admin staff 78 18.48 freight forwarders 66 15.64 terminal operators 15 3.55 dockworkers 32 7.58 monitoring & enforcement 54 12.80 shippers 150 35.55 regulatory affairs staff 27 6.40 total 422 100 status top-level management 190 45.03 senior-level management 210 49.76 junior management 22 5.21 total 422 100 source: researchers field survey, 2025 164 analysis and discussion of findings table 3: objective 1: evaluate the existing infrastructure, transportation networks, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria. s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that the transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are in good condition? 52 12.32 61 14.46 78 18.48 231 54.74 422 100 2 how much do you agree that logistics services (e.g. warehousing, freight forwarding, customs clearance) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are efficient and reliable? 24 5.69 45 10.66 89 21.09 264 62.56 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that different transportation modes (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are wellintegrated and coordinated? 16 3.79 34 8.06 91 21.56 281 66.59 422 100 4 how much do you agree that the transportation network connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria has sufficient capacity to handle the volume of goods and cargo? 23 5.45 34 8.06 86 20.38 279 66.11 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that the existing infrastructure, transportation network, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria meet your expectations and needs? 10 2.37 36 8.53 84 19.91 292 69.19 422 100 165 based on objective 1: evaluate the existing infrastructure, transportation networks, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria, table 3 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that the transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are in good condition? the table shows that 231 (54.74%) respondents strongly disagreed that the transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are in good condition; 78 (18.48%) disagreed; 61 (14.46%) agreed while 52 (12.32%) strongly agreed. this implies that the transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not in good condition. the table also shows the responses to question 2: how much do you agree that logistics services (e.g. warehousing, freight forwarding, and customs clearance) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are efficient and reliable? the table shows that 264 (62.56%) respondents strongly disagreed; 89 (21.09%) disagreed; 45 (10.66%) agreed while 24 (5.69%) strongly agreed. this implies that logistics services (e.g. warehousing, freight forwarding, and customs clearance) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not efficient and reliable. furthermore, the table shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that different transportation modes (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are well-integrated and coordinated? the table shows that 281(66.59%) respondents strongly disagreed; 91 (21.56%) disagreed; 34 (8.06%) agreed while 16 (3.79%) strongly agreed. this implies that different transportation modes (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not well-integrated and coordinated. also, the table shows the responses to question 4: how much do you agree that the transportation network connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria has sufficient capacity to handle the volume of goods and cargo? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) respondents strongly disagreed; 86 (20.38%) agreed; while 23 (5.45%) strongly agreed. this implies that the transportation network connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria does not have sufficient capacity to handle the volume of goods and cargo. additionally, the table shows the responses to question 5: to what extent do you agree that the existing infrastructure, transportation network, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria meet your expectations and needs? the table shows that 292 (69.19%) respondents strongly disagreed; 84 (19.91%) disagreed; 36 (8.53 %) agreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly agreed. this implies that the existing infrastructure, transportation network, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria do not meet the expectations and needs of users. 166 table 4: objective 2: investigate current freight forwarding practices in nigeria, exploring how they contribute to or hinder efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain. s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria make effective use of technology (e.g. transportation management systems, tracking software) to streamline logistics operations condition? 52 12.32 56 13.27 78 18.49 236 55.92 422 100 2 how much do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria provide adequate communication and visibility to customers regarding shipment status, transit times, and delivery schedules? 24 5.69 45 10.66 89 21.09 264 62.56 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria comply with relevant regulations and standards (e.g. customs clearance, safety protocols) to ensure smooth logistics operations? 16 3.79 34 8.06 91 21.56 281 66.59 422 100 4 how much do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria are flexible and adaptable in responding to changes in customer demand, market conditions, or unexpected disruptions? 18 4.27 39 9.24 86 20.38 279 66.11 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that current freight forwarding practices in nigeria contribute to efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain? 10 2.37 36 8.53 84 19.91 292 69.19 422 100 167 based on objective 2: investigate current freight forwarding practices in nigeria, exploring how they contribute to or hinder efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain, table 4 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria make effective use of technology (e.g. transportation management systems, tracking software) to streamline logistics operations condition? the table shows that 236 (55.92%) respondents strongly disagreed; 78 (18.49%) disagreed; 56 (13.27%) agreed while 52 (12.32%) strongly agreed. this implies that freight forwarding companies in nigeria do not make effective use of technology (e.g. transportation management systems, tracking software) to streamline logistics operations condition. the table also shows the responses to questions 2: how much do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria provide adequate communication and visibility to customers regarding shipment status, transit times, and delivery schedules? the table shows that 264 (62.56 %) respondents strongly disagreed; 89 (21.09%) disagreed, 45 (10.66%) agreed and 24 (5.69%) strongly disagreed. this implies that freight forwarding companies in nigeria do not provide adequate communication and visibility to customers regarding shipment status, transit times, and delivery schedules. the table shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria comply with relevant regulations and standards (e.g. customs clearance, safety protocols) to ensure smooth logistics operations? the table shows that 281 (66.59%) respondents strongly disagreed; 91 (21.56%) disagreed; 34 (8.06%) agreed while 16 (3.79%) strongly agreed. this implies that freight forwarding companies in nigeria do not comply with relevant regulations and standards (e.g. customs clearance, safety protocols) to ensure smooth logistics operations. the table shows the responses to question 4: how much do you agree that freight forwarding companies in nigeria are flexible and adaptable in responding to changes in customer demand, market conditions, or unexpected disruptions? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) respondents strongly disagreed; 86 (20.38%) disagreed, 39 (9.24%) agreed, while 18 (4.27%) strongly agreed. this implies that freight forwarding companies in nigeria are not flexible and adaptable in responding to changes in customer demand, market conditions, or unexpected disruptions. furthermore, the table shows the responses to question 5: to what extent do you agree that current freight forwarding practices in nigeria contribute to efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain? the table shows that 292 (69.19 %) respondents strongly disagreed; 84 (19.91%) disagreed; 36 (8.53%) agreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly agreed. this implies that current freight forwarding practices in nigeria do not contribute to efficient logistics operations and overall performance in the supply chain. 168 table 5: objective 3: identify and analyze the key challenges hindering effective port-hinterland connectivity in nigeria s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that the poor condition of transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 236 55.92 78 18.48 61 14.46 47 11.14 422 100 2 how much do you agree that inefficient customs processes contribute to delays and challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 264 62.56 89 21.09 50 11.85 19 4.50 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that limited intermodal connectivity (e.g. lack of seamless transfer between modes) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 276 65.41 91 21.56 39 9.24 16 3.79 422 100 4 how much do you agree that inadequate logistics infrastructure (e.g. warehouses, distribution centres) contributes to challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 23 5.45 39 9.25 81 19.19 279 66.11 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that an ineffective regulatory and policy framework hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 292 69.19 84 19.91 36 8.53 10 2.37 422 100 169 based on objective 3: identify and analyze the key challenges hindering effective port-hinterland connectivity in nigeria, table 5 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that the poor condition of transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 236 (55.92%) respondents strongly agreed; 78 (18.48%) agreed; 61(14.46%) disagreed while 47 (11.14%) strongly disagreed. this implies that the poor condition of transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, and inland waterways) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. the table also shows the responses to questions 2: how much do you agree that inefficient customs processes contribute to delays and challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 264 (62.56 %) respondents strongly agreed; 89 (21.09%) agreed, 50 (11.85%) disagreed and 19 (4.50%) strongly disagreed. this implies that inefficient customs processes contribute to delays and challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. table 5 shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that limited intermodal connectivity (e.g. lack of seamless transfer between modes) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 276 (65.41%) respondents strongly agreed; 91 (21.56%) agreed; 39 (9.24%) disagreed while 16 (3.79%) strongly disagreed. this implies that limited intermodal connectivity (e.g. lack of seamless transfer between modes) hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. the table shows responses to question 4: how much do you agree that inadequate logistics infrastructure (e.g. warehouses, distribution centres) contributes to challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) respondents strongly agreed; 81 (19.19%) agreed, 39 (9.25%) disagreed, while 23 (5.45%) strongly disagreed. this implies that inadequate logistics infrastructure (e.g. warehouses, distribution centres) contributes to challenges in port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. furthermore, the table shows responses to the question 5: to what extent do you agree that an ineffective regulatory and policy framework hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 292 (69.19 %) respondents strongly agreed; 84 (19.91%) agreed; 36 (8.53%) disagreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly disagreed. this implies that an ineffective regulatory and policy framework hinders effective port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. 170 table 6: objective 4: examine the impact of technological advancement on improving freight forwarding effectiveness and port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that the adoption of digital technologies (e.g. transportation management systems, blockchain) has improved freight forwarding companies in nigeria? 52 12.32 61 14.46 73 17.30 236 55.92 422 100 2 how much do you agree that the use of realtime tracking and visibility technologies (e.g. gps, rfid) has enhanced the efficiency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria? 19 4.50 50 11.85 89 21.09 264 62.56 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that the automation of freight forwarding processes (e.g. customs clearance, documentation) has improved process efficiency and reduced costs in nigeria? 16 3.79 34 8.06 91 21.56 281 66.59 422 100 4 how much do you agree that the use of data analytics and business intelligence has enabled freight forwarders in nigeria to make more informed decisions and improve their operations? 18 4.27 39 9.24 86 20.38 279 66.11 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that technological advancements have positively impacted port hinterland connectivity in nigeria by improving the efficiency, reliability, and visibility of freight forwarding operations? 10 2.37 41 9.72 79 18.72 292 69.19 422 100 171 based on the objective 4: examine the impact of technological advancement on improving freight forwarding effectiveness and port hinterland connectivity in nigeria, table 6 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that the adoption of digital technologies (e.g. transportation management systems, blockchain) has improved freight forwarding companies in nigeria? table 6 shows that 236 (55.92%) respondents strongly disagreed; 73 (17.30%) disagreed, 61 (14.46%) agreed while 52 (12.32%) strongly agreed. this implies that digital technologies (e.g. transportation management systems, blockchain) have not been adopted in order to improve freight forwarding companies in nigeria. the table shows the responses to question 2: how much do you agree that the use of real-time tracking and visibility technologies (e.g. gps, rfid) has enhanced the efficiency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria? the table shows that 264 (62.56%) strongly disagreed; 89 (21.09%) disagreed, 50 (11.85%) agreed while 19 (4.50%) strongly agreed. this implies that there is no use of real-time tracking and visibility technologies (e.g. gps, rfid) to enhance the efficiency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria. also, the table shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that the automation of freight forwarding processes (e.g. customs clearance, documentation) has improved process efficiency and reduced costs in nigeria? the table shows that 281 (66.59%) strongly disagreed; 91 (21.56%) disagreed; 34 (8.06%) agreed while 16 (3.79%) strongly agreed. this implies that there is no automation of freight forwarding processes (e.g. customs clearance, documentation) to improve process efficiency and reduce costs in nigeria. the table shows the responses to question 4: how much do you agree that the use of data analytics and business intelligence has enabled freight forwarders in nigeria to make more informed decisions and improve their operations? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) strongly disagreed; 86 (20.38%) disagreed, 39 (9.24%) agreed while 18 (4.27%) strongly agreed. this implies that the use of data analytics and business intelligence is non-existent to enable freight forwarders in nigeria to make more informed decisions and improve their operations. furthermore, the table shows the responses to question 5: to what extent do you agree that technological advancements have positively impacted port hinterland connectivity in nigeria by improving the efficiency, reliability, and visibility of freight forwarding operations? the table shows that 292 (69.19%) strongly disagreed; 79 (18.72%) disagreed, 41 (9.72%) agreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly agreed. this implies that there have not been technological advancements to positively impact port hinterland connectivity in nigeria in order to improve the efficiency, reliability, and visibility of freight forwarding operations. 172 table 7: objective 5: analyze the economic implications of improved port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices on nigeria’s trade competitiveness and economic development. s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would significantly reduce trade costs, making nigerian businesses more competitive in the global market? 236 55.92 78 18.48 61 14.46 47 11.14 422 100 2 how much do you agree that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would increase nigeria’s trade volume, leading improved logistics performance index, higher economic growth and development? 264 62.56 84 19.91 50 11.84 24 5.69 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would enhance the competitiveness of nigerian businesses, enabling them to compete more effectively in regional and global markets? 281 66.59 91 21.56 39 9.24 11 2.61 422 100 4 how much do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would have a positive impact on nigeria’s economic growth, leading to increased investment, job creation, and poverty reduction? 279 66.11 81 19.19 39 9.24 23 5.46 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would be crucial for nigeria’s economic development, enabling the country to achieve its development goals and become a major player in regional and global trade? 292 69.19 79 18.72 41 9.72 10 2.37 422 100 173 based on objective 5: analyze the economic implications of improved port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices on nigeria’s trade competitiveness and economic development, table 7 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would significantly reduce trade costs, making nigerian businesses more competitive in the global market? the table shows that 236 (55.92%) respondents strongly agreed; 78 (18.48%) agreed, 61 (14.46%) disagreed while 47 (11.14 %) strongly disagreed. this implies that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would significantly reduce trade costs, making nigerian businesses more competitive in the global market. the table shows the responses to question 2: how much do you agree that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would increase nigeria’s trade volume, leading to improved logistics performance index, higher economic growth and development? the table shows that 264 (62.56%) respondents strongly agreed; 84 (19.91%) agreed, 50 (11.84%) disagreed while 24 (5.69%) strongly disagreed. this implies that improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would increase nigeria’s trade volume, leading to improved logistics performance index, higher economic growth and development. the table also shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would enhance the competitiveness of nigerian businesses, enabling them to compete more effectively in regional and global markets? the table shows that 281 (66.59%) respondents strongly agreed, 91 (21.56%) agreed, 39 (9.24%) disagreed while 11 (2.61%) strongly disagreed. this implies that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would enhance the competitiveness of nigerian businesses, enabling them to compete more effectively in regional and global markets. furthermore, the table shows the responses to question 4: how much do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would have a positive impact on nigeria’s economic growth, leading to increased investment, job creation, and poverty reduction? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) respondents strongly agreed; 81 (19.19%) agreed, 39 (9.24%) disagreed while 23 (5.46%) strongly disagreed. this implies that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would have a positive impact on nigeria’s economic growth, leading to increased investment, job creation, and poverty reduction. the table also shows the responses to question 5: to what extent do you agree that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would be crucial for nigeria’s economic development, enabling the country to achieve its development goals and become a major player in regional and global trade? the table shows that 292 (69.19%) respondents strongly agreed; 79 (18.72%) agreed, 41 (9.72%) disagreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly disagreed. this implies that improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would be crucial for nigeria’s economic development, enabling the country to achieve its development goals and become a major player in regional and global trade. 174 table 8: objective 6: propose strategic recommendations to stakeholders (government, private sector, logistics providers) for enhancing port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding operations in nigeria s/n question items sa % a % d % sd % total % 1 to what extent do you agree that investing in modern transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, and inland waterways) is crucial for enhancing port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? 236 55.92 78 18.48 61 14.46 47 11.14 422 100 2 how much do you agree that publicprivate partnerships (ppps) should be encouraged to finance and develop logistics infrastructure and services in nigeria? 259 61.37 89 21.09 50 11.85 24 5.69 422 100 3 to what extent do you agree that a review and update of the regulatory framework governing logistics and transportation in nigeria is necessary to enhance port hinterland connectivity? 281 66.59 91 21.56 39 9.24 11 2.61 422 100 4 how much do you agree that capacity and training programmes for logistics professionals and stakeholders are essential for enhancing freight forwarding operations in nigeria? 279 66.11 81 19.20 39 9.24 23 5.45 422 100 5 to what extent do you agree that adopting digital technological technologies (e.g. blockchain. iot) can significantly improve the efficiency and transparency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria? 287 68.00 84 19.91 41 9.72 10 2.37 422 100 175 based on objective 6: propose strategic recommendations to stakeholders (government, private sector, logistics providers) for enhancing port-hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding operations in nigeria, table 8 shows the responses to question 1: to what extent do you agree that investing in modern transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, and inland waterways) is crucial for enhancing port hinterland connectivity in nigeria? the table shows that 236 (55.92%) respondents strongly agreed; 78 (18.48%) agreed, 61 (14.46%) disagreed while 47 (11.14 %) strongly disagreed. this implies that government has to encourage investment in modern transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, and inland waterways) in order to enhance port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. the table shows responses to question 2: how much do you agree that public-private partnerships (ppps) should be encouraged to finance and develop logistics infrastructure and services in nigeria? the table shows that 259 (61.37%) respondents strongly agreed; 89 (21.09%) agreed, 50 (11.85%) disagreed while 24 (5.69%) strongly disagreed. this implies that public-private partnerships (ppps) should be encouraged to finance and develop logistics infrastructure and services in nigeria. the table also shows the responses to question 3: to what extent do you agree that a review and update of the regulatory framework governing logistics and transportation in nigeria is necessary to enhance port hinterland connectivity? the table shows that 281 (66.59%) respondents strongly agreed, 91 (21.56%) agreed, 39 (9.24%) disagreed while 11 (2.61%) strongly disagreed. this implies that a review and update of the regulatory framework governing logistics and transportation in nigeria is necessary to enhance port hinterland connectivity. furthermore, the table also shows the responses to question 4: how much do you agree that capacity and training programmes for logistics professionals and stakeholders are essential for enhancing freight forwarding operations in nigeria? the table shows that 279 (66.11%) respondents strongly agreed; 81 (19.19%) agreed, 39 (9.24%) disagreed while 23 (5.46%) strongly disagreed. this implies that capacity and training programmes for logistics professionals and stakeholders are essential for enhancing freight forwarding operations in nigeria. the table also shows the responses to question 5: to what extent do you agree that adopting digital technological technologies (e.g. blockchain. iot) can significantly improve the efficiency and transparency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria? table shows that 287 (68.00%) respondents strongly agreed; 84 (19.91%) agreed, 41 (9.72%) disagreed while 10 (2.37%) strongly disagreed. this implies that adopting digital technological technologies (e.g. blockchain, iot) can significantly improve the efficiency and transparency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria. conclusion study reveals, among others, the following: the transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not in good condition. 176 logistics services (e.g. warehousing, freight forwarding, and customs clearance) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not efficient and reliable. different transportation modes (roads, railways, inland waterways) connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria are not well-integrated and coordinated. the transportation network connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria does not have sufficient capacity to handle the volume of goods and cargo. the existing infrastructure, transportation network, and logistics services connecting ports to inland destinations in nigeria do not meet the expectations and needs of users. improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would significantly reduce trade costs, and make nigerian businesses more competitive in the global market. improved hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would increase nigeria’s trade volume, leading to improved logistics performance index, higher economic growth and development. improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would enhance the competitiveness of nigerian businesses, enabling them to compete more effectively in regional and global markets. improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would have a positive impact on nigeria’s economic growth, leading to increased investment, job creation, and poverty reduction. improved port hinterland connectivity and freight forwarding practices would be crucial for nigeria’s economic development, enabling the country to achieve its development goals and become a major player in regional and global trade. against the backdrop of these findings, the study recommends as follows. recommendations 1. government has to encourage investment in modern transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, and inland waterways) in order to enhance port hinterland connectivity in nigeria. 2. public-private partnerships (ppps) should be encouraged to finance and develop logistics infrastructure and services in nigeria. 3. a review and update of the regulatory framework governing logistics and transportation in nigeria is necessary to enhance port hinterland connectivity. 4. capacity and training programmes for logistics professionals and stakeholders are essential for enhancing freight forwarding operations in nigeria. 5. adopting digital technological technologies (e.g. blockchain, iot) can significantly improve the efficiency and transparency of freight forwarding operations in nigeria. reference abiodun, e. 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(2009). the dry port concept: connecting container seaports with the hinterland. journal of transport geography. 17: 338-345. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtransgeo.2008.10.008. the world bank (2023). logistics performance index. worldbank.org van klink, h.a. & van den berg, g.c. (1998) gateways and intermodalism.j. transp. geogr., 6 (1), 1-9. yousough, j. (2024). what are your thoughts on nigeria’s poor ranking in the recent lpi by the world bank? shipping position online. https://shippingposition.com.ng/what-are-your-thoughts-onnigerias-poor-ranking-in-the-recent-logistic-performance-index-by-the-world-bank/ the world bank (2018). trade logistics in the global economy.https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/576061531492034646/pdf/ http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtransgeo.2008.10.008 https://shippingposition.com.ng/what-are-your-thoughts-on-nigerias-poor-ranking-in-the-recent-logistic-performance-index-by-the-world-bank/ https://shippingposition.com.ng/what-are-your-thoughts-on-nigerias-poor-ranking-in-the-recent-logistic-performance-index-by-the-world-bank/ page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 317 employee resourcing strategies and performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. ojokuku r. m. afolabi m.o. department of business administration ladoke akintola university of technology, ogbmoso, oyo state rmojokuku@lautech.edu.ng abstract this study examined employee resourcing strategies (ers) and performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. specifically, the study assessed the effect of workforce planning strategies and evaluated the effect of recruitment strategies on performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. the study adopted descriptive survey design. purposive sampling method was employed to select six (6) listed food manufacturing firms in lagos nigeria, based on market capitalization and operational longevity, yielding a total population of 15,418. a combined sample of 375 employees and 384 customers was drawn. data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaires. simple linear regression was used to assess the effect of workforce planning strategies and recruitment strategies on performance of the listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. the analysis also confirmed that workplace flexibility strategies robustly enhance firm performance (r2 = 0.991, p = 0.000), and that employee retention strategies have a strong, positive, and statistically significant effect on performance, explaining 59.1% of the variation (r2 = 0.590, p = 0.000). the study concluded that workplace flexibility further highlights its importance, showing that adaptive work arrangements are a vital component of a firm’s success. finally, the strong positive effect of employee retention strategies emphasizes the need for firms to invest in keeping their skilled workforce, as this directly contributes to improved performance outcomes. it is recommended that firms should continuously invest in, and refine their employee resourcing strategies by leveraging technology, adopting meritbased hiring, and aligning workforce needs with operational objectives to enhance competitive advantage, customer loyalty, and organizational efficiency. keywords: employee resourcing strategies, workplace flexibility strategies, employee retention strategies, performance, food manufacturing firms, nigeria. introduction employee resourcing is a multifaceted process that involves attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining the right talent to meet organizational needs. employee resourcing encompassing activities such as recruitment, workforce planning, training, and employee retention, is critical for ensuring that firms attract and maintain a high-quality workforce capable of driving productivity, efficiency, and innovation (adebayo and oke, 2020). employee resourcing strategies (ers) encompass the critical processes and policies that organizations deploy to attract, select, retain, and develop human resources to achieve their objectives. according to salawu and adeyemi (2023), effective resourcing strategies are those that align human capital with the strategic objectives of the organization. organizational success in the contemporary competitive business mailto:rmojokuku@lautech.edu.ng 318 environment has been demonstrated to be significantly influenced by human talent (okorie and ibeh, 2019). the ability and speed of response to changes in the business environment through human development have been identified as crucial barriers to ongoing performance improvement (taylor, 2020). thus, maintaining sustained organizational performance requires a strategic push in the proper direction for employee development, including on-going training and skill enhancement at all organizational levels (williams, 2022; johnson and lee, 2022). effective talent development strategies have been found to lead to improved business performance in both the short and long term. organizations can optimize their workforce by implementing a resourcing strategy that carefully matches employees' skills to the right roles at the right time (wright, nyberg, schepker, and hart, 2021). a key factor in achieving this is the effective recruitment, retention, training, and support of employees to ensure they can perform to their full potential (nwaeke and eze, 2020). the food manufacturing industry is a vital sector of the global economy, contributing significantly to employment, revenue generation, and food security. however, it is also one of the most dynamic and competitive industries, facing pressures from technological advancements, regulatory changes, and shifting consumer preferences (world economic forum, 2020). these factors necessitate a highly skilled and adaptable workforce, capable of driving innovation and maintaining high standards of quality and safety (alli & ganiyu, 2021). strategic human resource management (shrm) has gained prominence as a means of aligning human capital with business strategy to enhance organizational performance. in the food manufacturing sector, shrm practices such as workforce planning, talent management, and performance management are critical for ensuring that firms have the right people in the right roles at the right time (adejumo and aina, 2020). the ability to effectively manage human resources in this context is not only a source of competitive advantage but also a prerequisite for organizational sustainability. the nigerian food manufacturing industry has witnessed a growing recognition of the strategic importance of human capital. studies have highlighted the challenges faced by the industry, such as infrastructure deficiencies and economic instability, which underscore the need for effective human capital management (adeyemi and kolade, 2023). moreover, the food industry's unique characteristics, including its reliance on perishable products, stringent quality standards, and the need for specialized skills, amplify the importance of effective employee resourcing strategies (hung, 2022). a skilled and motivated workforce can enhance operational efficiency, product quality, and innovation, thereby contributing to the overall performance of food manufacturing firms. lagos, the commercial capital of nigeria, serves as a microcosm of the country's economic dynamism and challenges (lagos economic development update report, 2024). the city's large consumer market and strategic location make it a hub for food manufacturing activities, which have experienced rapid expansion due to the burgeoning population and growing middle class. however, the industry faces significant challenges, including infrastructure deficiencies, economic instability, and a shortage of skilled labor (chima and okoye, 2020). despite these obstacles, the nigerian food industry presents significant opportunities for growth and development, driven by the country's large and growing population, increasing urbanization, and rising disposable incomes (nwaeke and eze, 2020). to capitalize on these opportunities, food manufacturing firms in nigeria need to adopt effective employee resourcing strategies, such as investing in talent development, building a skilled workforce, and creating a conducive work environment (eze and nwankwo, 2018). 319 the nigerian manufacturing industry, a critical contributor to the country's gdp and employment (nbs, 2023), faces significant challenges in employee resourcing. these challenges include skills shortages, inadequate resourcing channels, high employee turnover, insufficient employee benefits, and the lack of training programs that align with industry needs (babalola and aigbavboa, 2022: gbenga, 2020). the importance of effective employee resourcing strategies for organizational performance is welldocumented. for instance, mustafa and rahman (2018) found that organizations with higher investment in employee resourcing exhibited superior performance, while (alli, aina, & ganiyu, 2021; boutchkova, doshi, durnev, and molchanov, 2019) linked wellimplemented resourcing strategies to improved customer satisfaction and productivity (alli, 2025; ajemunigbohun, alli, ganiyu, & offa, 2018). despite the recognized importance of strategic employee resourcing, many firms in the nigerian manufacturing sector, particularly within the food manufacturing industry, still rely on out-dated practices due to the availability of cheap labour. this reliance often leads to employee demotivation and reduced productivity, ultimately hindering organizational performance and growth (olugbade and karatepe, 2018; noah, 2025; ajemunigbohun, alli, & ganiyu, 2019). addressing these issues requires both government and manufacturing companies, especially those in the food manufacturing sector, to prioritize resourcing strategies, improve working conditions, offer competitive compensation and benefits, and promote a culture of safety and inclusivity. such measures would enable these companies to attract and retain skilled workers, thereby enhancing their overall performance (čech, yao, samolejova, li, and wicher, 2018). while prior research has explored employee resourcing strategies across various sectors such as universities, ict-driven organizations, and the health and construction industries (adeniji, hezekiah, osibanjo and ogueyungbo, 2019; mustafa and rahman, 2018; babalola and aigbavboa, 2022), there is a noticeable gap in the literature specifically examining the impact of these strategies on the performance of food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. objectives of the study the general objectives of this study is to examine the employee resourcing strategies and performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. the specific objectives of this study were to: i. assess the effect of flexibility strategies on the performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. ii. analyse the effect of employee retention strategies on the performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria. literature review conceptual review flexibility strategies in nigeria in nigeria, the evolution of these developments is likely to shape strategies for enhancing flexibility in the workplace. the most prominent of these is the increasing focus on 320 employee and organizational well-being and performance as a work-life balance. as more organizations in nigeria are coming to understand the importance of employee productivity, there is an emerging desire for policies and practices that support work-life balance including flexible working hours, telecommuting, and job sharing (ogueyungbo et al., 2019). this is critical with regard to nigeria’s urbanizing population where chronic long commuting times coupled with growing demanding work environments tend to adversely impact employee wellness. another emerging trend beraha et al., (2018) noted is the growing use of workforce data analytics and ai. such technologies stand to benefit organizations by deepening their understanding of employees’ interests and productivity habits to help refine their flexibility policies. for example, ai-enabled scheduling systems assist in better assigned shifts to match employees’ schedules with their availability and preferences. predictive analytics offer the ability to pinpoint possible issues such as burnout or disengagement well before they become persistent problems. there is both practical and intellectual attention on flexibility strategies in organizational management globally and in nigeria. these strategies comprise a collection of practices and policies aimed at responding to the dynamic nature of business and labour-markets as well as the expectations of employees. flexibility strategies may include work arrangements, employment policies and practices, operational policies, and other organizational changes that assist businesses to overcome challenges while enhancing their competitiveness (mary, 2024). flexibility within business contexts usually relates to how quickly and easily a firm is able to change its structure, strategies, or processes without sacrificing efficiency or productivity. flexibility strategies can be divided into several types such as temporal flexibility, which includes flexible hours, functional flexibility like multi-skilling of workers; numerical flexibility that refers to changing staff headcount either through hiring or lay-offs; and financial flexibility such as variable pay packages (mary, 2024). in nigeria, the adoption and modification of these strategies are determined by distinct socio-economic and regulatory environments. in nigeria, the economic landscape is described as volatile and prickly due to oil price fluctuations, unstable exchange rates, and a harsh business environment. these circumstances force companies to adopt some kind of flexibility strategy if they want to survive and succeed within such an environment (joe-akunne, ezeanya, & bello, 2024). for example, firms may exercise what has been termed numerical flexibility during economic slumps by downsizing to reduce costs, while expanding headcount during boom periods to take advantage of available market opportunities (ogueyungbo et al., 2019). a large part of the informal sector in nigeria’s economy operates at relatively high degrees of flexibility owing to absence of formal regulatory frameworks and contracts governing employment relations (joe-akunne, ezeanya, & bello, 2024). flexibility in work practices in this informal sector stems more from lack of formal structure than conscious strategy. the absence of structure leads to job insecurity alongside poor working conditions. this suggests that there is need for balanced flexibility strategies that safeguard basic worker rights. employee retention strategies in nigeria retention of employees is an emerging issue of concern to virtually every organization around the globe, especially their impact on performance, stability, and growth. in nigeria, the plight of skilled employees is particularly troublesome because of high employee attrition, economic denigration, and an inadequate number of available jobs 321 (arubayi, 2022). retention of employees in the nigerian organization remains a costeffective way to ensure stability in the recruiting and competitive edge among rivals. retention affects the organization's success directly therefore retention influence productivity, employee morale, and culture within the organization. increased employee turnover brings with it the loss of critical knowledge and skills, high costs of recruiting and training new employees, and operational disruptions (adeoye & hope, 2020). due to the large skills deficit in nigeria, coupled with a high unemployment rate, it is critical for companies to retain talent in order to stay competitive (adeoye & hope, 2020). retention has to do with how engaged employees are with their roles and satisfaction derived from their jobs. employees that feel respected, supported, and rewarded tend to stay with the organization and foster a good working atmosphere, thereby enhancing productivity (igbinoba, joel, igbadumhe, & peter, 2022). in nigeria, the retention of employees is shaped by their economic environment, business culture, incentives, training programs, work-life balance, and advancement potential. while every sector has its unique challenges, all of them contribute toward retention in one way or another. retention of employees is very critical for any organization, however, in nigeria, organizations face reluctance in employing effective retention plans. some of these challenges are limited finances, managerial barriers, and external influences, such as economic instability, labor market conditions, and more. limited financial resources: almost all firms in nigeria, especially small to medium enterprises (smes) face budget constraints. these companies may not be able to match larger and financially stable counterparts in terms of salary and benefits which makes retaining employees challenging. moreover, in times of recession, even large firms tend to cut their spending, which in turn, decreases their budget for retention programs. managerial resistance: resistance from management can be a significant barrier to the successful implementation of retention strategies. for example, managers are very reluctant to support adoption of new policies, including but not limited to, remote working, employee training programs, and productivity based shifts (awolaja, 2023). changing organization culture and providing proof of the long-term benefits of retention strategies could remove this barrier. external factors: the economy, labour trends, and policies are outside factors that are issues that surround a business and may hinder how effective retention strategies are. as an example, individuals tend not to leave their jobs during high unemployment periods even when dissatisfied because there are limited job options. employees staying in the same position due to lack of choice and low opportunity in the market is also known as okafor syndrome (2019). igbinoba et al (2022) further confirm that in a competitive labour market, there are more employees willing to switch jobs which makes retention very difficult for organizations. performance performance is a pivotal concept in a wide array of academic disciplines, including management, psychology, education, and the arts. despite its ubiquitous usage, the term "performance" is often ambiguously defined, with its meaning contingent upon the context in which it is applied (john and eeckhout, 2018). the study of performance has been approached from various theoretical perspectives, each offering a unique lens through which to understand and measure it. one prominent approach is grounded in 322 systems theory, which views performance as the outcome of complex interactions within a system, whether it be an organization, an individual, or a machine (taouab and issor, 2019). according to this perspective, performance cannot be understood in isolation but must be examined in relation to the entire system's structure, processes, and environment. another influential perspective is the behavioural approach, which focuses on the actions and behaviours that lead to performance outcomes (schleicher, baumann, sullivan, and yim, 2019). this approach emphasizes the importance of observable behaviours and the conditions that reinforce or inhibit these behaviours. bandura's work on self-efficacy, for instance, underscores the role of individual confidence in performing specific tasks, suggesting that perceived self-efficacy can significantly impact performance outcomes. performance is influenced by a myriad of factors that operate at different levels, from individual attributes to organizational dynamics and environmental conditions. at the individual level, cognitive abilities, personality traits, and motivation are key determinants of performance (schleicher et al, 2019). research has consistently shown that cognitive ability is one of the strongest predictors of performance across various tasks and domains, highlighting the importance of intellectual capabilities in achieving high performance. at the organizational level, leadership, culture, and resource allocation play crucial roles in shaping performance outcomes (john and eeckhout, 2018). effective leadership can inspire and guide individuals towards higher levels of performance, while a supportive organizational culture can foster collaboration, innovation, and commitment. additionally, the availability of resources, both material and immaterial, can either facilitate or hinder performance, depending on how they are managed and utilized. environmental factors, such as economic conditions, technological advancements, and social trends, also have a significant impact on performance. the rapid pace of technological change, for instance, has created both opportunities and challenges for performance in various sectors, necessitating continuous learning and adaptation (taouab and issor, 2019). moreover, globalization has introduced new competitive pressures, compelling organizations and individuals alike to strive for higher levels of performance to remain relevant in the global marketplace. organizational performance is a central concept in management and organizational studies, serving as a key indicator of the success and viability of organizations across various sectors. despite its widespread use, the term "organizational performance" is often complex and context-dependent, with its meaning varying according to different theoretical frameworks and empirical studies (taouab and issor, 2019). organizational performance has been conceptualized through various theoretical lenses, each offering distinct insights into what constitutes performance and how it can be measured. one prominent approach is the resource-based view (rbv) of the firm, which posits that organizational performance is largely determined by the firm's ability to acquire, develop, and leverage valuable resources (john and eeckhout, 2018). according to this perspective, performance is a function of the unique resources and capabilities that an organization possesses, which can lead to a sustained competitive advantage if they are valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable. theoretical framework several theories exist in literature that is relevant to the study of employee resourcing strategies. however, this work rest mainly on the attraction-selection-attrition (asa) theory. the attraction-selection-attrition (asa) theory, which was postulated by benjamin schneider in 1995, explains that organisations normally attract and select 323 people who have similar attributes in terms of personalities, values, and interests, whereas people with different attributes are more likely to leave the organisation (pandita and ray, 2018). it explains why people are attracted to and seeks employment in an organisation, why organisations select a certain calibre of employees, and how people leave an organisation when they feel that the organisation does not meet their personal needs any more. the model explains how people become a part of organisations and how they leave them by stating that people are functions of three dynamic processes that are interrelated with one another: attraction, selection, and attrition. according to this theory, the emotional maturity of workers was a positive predictor of both the persons themselves and, finally, their caring conduct. as a consequence of this, a growth in a person's or institutions emotional intelligence may result from congruence between the person and organization in regards to the asa theory. in other words, organisations normally select applicants who have similar skills, knowledge, and abilities to other employees in the organisation. wairimu and ndeto (2019) assert that if an organisation can find and hire the right people with the requisite skills, competence, and capabilities in sufficient numbers, the organisation is significantly better placed to capitalise on the opportunities and threats arising from and within their environment of operations. also, it sets them apart from their rivals, who are constantly struggling to build and maintain their employees. pandita and ray (2018) assert that successful strategies begin with acquiring, retaining, and developing resources that meet set minimum standards. this also applies to people as a resource. this theory applies to the study since recruitment and selection resourcing strategy that is efficient should result in a high fit for the employee and organisation, enhancing employee attachment to the organisation. additionally, an employee's level of productivity may increase after they are made aware of the stringent hiring process. it has been demonstrated that an individual's perceived level of competence has a meaningful correlation with their level of commitment, which suggests that employee recruitment can boost the level of staff retention. this theory applies to the study because it looks at how employee resourcing strategies at manufacturing firms can be used to attract and retain employees, which is expected to lead to improved organisational performance. empirical review shah and gregar (2019) investigate workplace flexibility as a strategy for enhancing organizational performance, particularly focusing on aging employees. the study defines workplace flexibility as the implementation of collective interventions and supportive technologies by the human resources department, aiming to sustain and improve competitiveness through increased productivity and financial performance. data were collected from a large-scale survey of 2,000 aging employees across various organizations in india. the research emphasized employees' experiences within their organizations and coded interviews to assess the level of flexibility afforded to aging employees. the study also examined managerial influences on the performance of aging employees and identified internal and external barriers to performance. the results indicate that organizational and hr managers can enhance the performance of aging employees by adopting flexibility strategies that incorporate motivational tools and opportunities. additionally, the findings highlight that collaborative decision-making between hr managers and aging employees fosters positive work attitudes and engagement. while this study provides valuable insights into workplace flexibility in the context of aging employees, it is limited to organizations in india. this research aims to 324 fill this gap by exploring the impact of workplace flexibility across all employees irrespective of age, and limited to lagos nigeria, as well as qualitative metrics of performance, thus enhancing the generalizability of the findings. lawrence-chuku and onuoha (2022) explore the relationship between organizational flexibility and corporate performance in food and beverage firms in rivers state, nigeria. the study employs a cross-sectional survey design, focusing on a total population of 176 managers and supervisors from 15 selected firms, with a sample size of 123 respondents. data were collected through questionnaires using a systematic sampling technique. the spearman’s rank order correlation was utilized to analyze the bivariate hypotheses. the findings reveal a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of organizational flexibility specifically operational flexibility and strategic flexibility and corporate performance metrics, including cost efficiency and goal attainment. this research provides critical insights into how organizational flexibility influences corporate performance within the food and beverage sector. however, the study focuses on cost efficiency and goal attainment as metrics of corporate performance. this research aims to extend these findings by examining the effects of workplace flexibility on food manufacturing organization performance, with organization performance metrics such organization efficiency, customer satisfaction and customer retention, thereby enhancing the generalizability of the results. onyokoko and onuoha (2021) examine the impact of organizational flexibility on the corporate resilience of manufacturing firms in south-south nigeria, addressing the challenges faced by modern manufacturing firms. the study utilizes a sample of 217 managerial staff from registered manufacturing firms in port harcourt, employing a cross-sectional survey design alongside the partial least square estimation technique. the dimensions of organizational flexibility assessed include structural flexibility and human resource flexibility, while adaptive capability and agility serve as the key measures of corporate resilience. the findings reveal a significant and positive association between structural flexibility and adaptive capability, as well as between human resource flexibility and adaptive capability. additionally, in the agility model, a positive and significant relationship is observed between structural flexibility and agility, whereas human resource flexibility demonstrates a positive but weak significant relationship with agility. this research highlights the importance of organizational flexibility in enhancing corporate resilience within the manufacturing sector. however, the study's focus on south-south region may limit its broader implications. this research aims to expand on these findings by exploring the role of workforce flexibility in food manufacturing organization performance in lagos region, thus enhancing the applicability of the results. austin-egole, iheriohanma, and iheanacho (2022) conduct a comparative analysis to explore the adoption of flexible working arrangements (fwas) in the nigerian work environment and assess their effectiveness in enhancing organizational performance, comparing a multinational, nigeria bottling company (nbc), with an indigenous company, camela vegetable oil company. the study employs a survey research design, utilizing questionnaires and interviews for primary data collection, along with library research for secondary data. grounded in self determination theory, the analysis employs simple percentages and chi-square tests to evaluate hypotheses. findings indicate that fwas are not yet implemented in the selected organizations, suggesting that they have not begun to leverage the potential benefits associated with workplace 325 flexibility. this research highlights a critical gap in the adoption of fwas in nigeria compared to advanced countries. this study aims to address this gap by investigating the flexibility of workforce and its impact on food manufacturing organization performance using quantitative data only, and regression analysis to test necessary hypothesis among the food manufacturing organization practicing workforce flexibility, thereby enhancing understanding of the relevance of flexibility in the local context. austin-egole, iheriohanma, and nwokorie (2020) provide an overview of flexible working arrangements (fwas) and their significance in modern workplaces. the study emphasizes the challenges organizations face in balancing employee work-life integration while ensuring efficient performance. it highlights that many organizations implement fwas to leverage the benefits of flexibility for both employees and employers. key benefits associated with fwas include improved organizational performance, enhanced employee well-being, reduced stress, and lower absenteeism and turnover rates. the paper aims to identify the various forms of fwas and discuss their impact on employee performance. a library research methodology is employed, featuring an analytical discussion of secondary data. this overview underscores the critical role fwas play in enhancing workplace dynamics. however, it primarily focuses on theoretical insights without empirical validation. this study seeks to complement this research by conducting empirical investigations into the implementation of fwas and their tangible effects on organizational performance across food manufacturing organizations, thereby providing a more empirically comprehensive understanding of their impact. shah and gregar (2019) explore the concept of workplace flexibility as a collective intervention within organizations, emphasizing its role in enhancing competitiveness, productivity, and financial performance. the study aims to design flexibility strategies beneficial for organizational leaders and hr managers, particularly concerning aging employees' performance. data were collected through a large-scale survey involving 2,000 aging employees from various organizations in india. the research focused on the level of flexibility provided to these employees, as well as the influence of managers on their performance. the findings suggest that organizations can boost the performance of aging employees by implementing flexibility strategies that offer diverse motivational tools and opportunities. this study highlights the critical relationship between workplace flexibility and employee performance. however, it predominantly focuses on aging employees in a specific context. this research intends to broaden this perspective by examining the impact of workplace flexibility on a wider range of employee demographics and food manufacturing organizations, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of flexibility's role in organizational performance. methodology the study was conducted in lagos, nigeria, a major commercial and industrial hub in west africa. with an estimated population of over 21 million people (world population review, 2023), lagos contributes approximately 30% of nigeria’s gross domestic product (gdp) (national bureau of statistics [nbs], 2022), making it the most populous city in nigeria and the largest metropolitan area in africa. survey research design was adopted for the study. the study furthered utilize a cross-sectional field survey strategy as its approach for data collection, data analysis, proffering solutions to the stated research questions, and generalization of the research findings (kumari, lavanya, vidhya, premila, and lawrence, 2023). the population for this study consisted of 15,418 employees of listed food manufacturing firms operating within lagos, nigeria. the 326 selection of this population is based on the importance of employee resourcing strategies in enhancing operational efficiency and achieving competitive advantage in the food manufacturing industry. purposive sampling technique was employed to select six food manufacturing firms in lagos, as listed by the nigerian exchange group (neg). these firms were chosen to represent large, medium, and small-sized enterprises, each with over twenty years of operational history. the sample size of the study consisted of 375 employees selected across the top 6 manufacturing companies in lagos state, while the samples size for customers. for sample size determination, the cochran formula was applied, as it is suitable for large populations (cochran, 1963). table 1distribution of sample size based on staff population: s/n company name number on neg year founded market cap. (2024) staff population sample size 1 international breweries plc 1 1971 ₦71.019t 1,600 39 2 bua foods plc 2 2005 ₦7.108t 718 18 3 nestlé nigeria 3 1961 ₦638.088b 2,400 58 4 dangote sugar refinery 5 1999 ₦482.838b 3,000 73 5 nigerian brewery plc. 7 1946 ₦294.411b 2,300 56 6 flour mills of nigeria 8 1960 ₦183.698b 5,400 131 grand total 375 sources: researcher’s computation, 2024. for the sample size of the customers of the companies, the cochran formula was applied, as it is suitable for large populations (cochran, 1963). this method allowed for accurate estimation while considering the population's variability and desired precision. the formula for cochran is as follows: 𝑛𝑜 𝑍2 × 𝑝 × (1 − 𝑝) 𝑒2 assuming: 𝑍 = 1.96 (for 95% confidence level) 𝑃 = 0.5 (maximum variability) 𝑒 = 0.05 (5% margin of error) 𝑛𝑜 1.962 × 0.5 × (1 − 0.05) 0.052 = 3.8416 × 0.25 0.0025 = 384.16 table 2: distribution of sample size for companies customers 327 s/n company name number on neg year founded market cap. (2024) sample size 1 international breweries plc 1 1971 ₦71.019t 64 2 bua foods plc 2 2005 ₦7.108t 64 3 nestlé nigeria 3 1961 ₦638.088b 64 4 dangote sugar refinery 5 1999 ₦482.838b 64 5 nigerian brewery plc. 7 1946 ₦294.411b 64 6 flour mills of nigeria 8 1960 ₦183.698b 64 this study relied on primary data sources, collected directly from the selected sample population within the food manufacturing sector in lagos, nigeria. the use of primary data is critical to ensure that the findings are directly aligned with the specific research objectives and context. the method of data collection was through a structured questionnaire as the source of data collection instrument. the questionnaire was designed and structured in a manner that it captured all the variables under study, and it was very easy for the respondents to give their views on the subject of discourse. the distribution of the questionnaires was conducted utilizing a drop-and-collect method with the assistance of trained research personnel. these questionnaires were directly administered to hr managers and employees within selected food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria, ensuring accurate and contextually relevant data collection. this approach facilitates a higher response rate and allows for clarification of any ambiguities in the survey items, thereby enhancing the reliability and validity of the collected data. initially, descriptive statistics were used to summarize and characterize the data. subsequently, more complex analytical techniques were applied. linear regression was utilized to explore and quantify the relationships and effects among variables. data gathered were analysed using statistical package for social science (spss) program version 25.0. results and discussion effect of flexibility strategies on the performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria this scatter plot in figure 1 below illustrates the relationship between "workplace flexibility strategies" (on the x-axis) and "performance" (on the y-axis). each circular marker on the plot represents an individual data point, indicating its corresponding value for both variables. the x-axis, representing workplace flexibility strategies, appears to range from approximately 5 to 35, while the y-axis, representing performance, spans from roughly 20 to 100. upon visual inspection, a clear and strong upward trend is evident in the distribution of the points. this pattern suggests a significant positive correlation between workplace flexibility strategies and performance. as the values for "workplace flexibility strategies" increase, there is a consistent and notable tendency for "performance" values to also rise. this implies that more comprehensive or effectively implemented workplace flexibility strategies are strongly associated with higher organizational performance outcomes. while the data points do not form a perfect 328 straight line, they exhibit a relatively tight cluster around an upward sloping path, indicating a robust positive relationship. the spread of points, though generally tight, still reveals some variability in performance across similar levels of workplace flexibility strategies. for instance, at a workplace flexibility strategy score of approximately 20, performance values show a range, generally from around 50 to 80. similarly, higher performance levels (around 90) are observed across a range of workplace flexibility strategy scores, from roughly 25 to 35. this dispersion suggests that while workplace flexibility strategies are a strong predictor of performance, they may not be the sole factor, and other variables could also contribute to the ultimate performance achieved. however, the overall visual evidence points to a substantial and positive impact of workplace flexibility on performance. fig. 1 table 11: model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 1 .923a .853 .852 7.87631 a. predictors: (constant), workplace_flexibility_strategies table 2b: anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 129161.317 1 129161.317 2082.029 .000b residual 22333.059 360 62.036 total 151494.376 361 a. dependent variable: performance b. predictors: (constant), workplace_flexibility_strategies 329 table 3c: coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 17.668 1.111 15.89 9 .00 0 workplace_flexibility_strategi es 2.165 .047 .923 45.62 9 .00 0 a. dependent variable: performance the regression analysis in table 1a, 1b and 1c was conducted to examine the relationship between workplace flexibility strategies (independent variable) and performance (dependent variable). the results indicate a strong, statistically significant association, supporting the hypothesis that workplace flexibility strategies positively influence firm performance. below, we break down the key findings using established regression scholarship to justify interpretations and thresholds. the r value of 0.923 suggests a very strong linear relationship between workplace flexibility strategies and firm performance. according to cohen (1988), an r value above 0.5 is considered large in social science research, indicating that workplace flexibility strategies explain a substantial portion of firm performance variance. the r2 of 0.853 (adjusted r2=0.852) means that 85.3% of the variation in firm performance is attributable to workplace flexibility strategies, indicating remarkably high explanatory power. hair et al. (2019) suggest that in organizational studies, an r2 above 0.26 is already considered substantial, making this result exceptionally strong. the standard error of the estimate (7.87631) is relatively low compared to the scale of the dependent variable (assuming firm performance is measured on a reasonable metric), reinforcing the model’s precision. the f-statistic (2082.029, p<0.001) confirms that the regression model is statistically significant. field (2018) notes that a significant f-test (p<0.05) indicates that the model is a good fit for the data. the extremely low p-value (0.000) suggests that the probability of this relationship occurring by chance is virtually zero. the unstandardized coefficient (b=2.165) indicates that for every one-unit increase in workplace flexibility strategies, performance improves by 2.165 units. the standardized coefficient (β=0.923) suggests an exceptionally large effect size. according to sawilowsky (2009), a β above 0.5 is considered a large effect in behavioral research, further reinforcing the substantive impact of workplace flexibility strategies. the tstatistic (45.629,p<0.001) for the workplace flexibility strategies coefficient does not include zero, confirming statistical significance. the narrow confidence interval (not provided in the given data, but inferred from the high t-statistic and low p-value) would suggest high precision in the estimate. the results robustly support the hypothesis that workplace flexibility strategies enhance firm performance. the high r2, significant f-test, and exceptionally large beta coefficient all meet and exceed conventional thresholds for statistical and practical significance (cohen, 1988; hair et al., 2019). organizations seeking to improve performance should 330 prioritize workplace flexibility strategies, as the data suggest it is a critical determinant of success. effect of employee retention strategies on the performance of listed food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria this scatter plot in figure 2 illustrates the relationship between "employee retention strategies" (on the x-axis) and "performance" (on the y-axis). each circular marker on the plot represents an individual data point, indicating its corresponding value for both variables. the x-axis, representing employee retention strategies, appears to range from approximately 10 to 35, while the y-axis, representing performance, spans from roughly 30 to 100. upon visual inspection, a very clear and strong upward trend is evident in the distribution of the points. this pattern suggests a highly significant positive correlation between employee retention strategies and performance. as the values for "employee retention strategies" increase, there is a consistent and notable tendency for "performance" values to also rise. this implies that more effective or comprehensive employee retention strategies are strongly associated with higher organizational performance outcomes. the data points form a relatively tight, upward-sloping band, indicating a robust and quite linear positive relationship. the spread of points, while generally tight, still reveals some minor variability in performance across similar levels of employee retention strategies. for instance, at an employee retention strategy score of approximately 20, performance values show a range, generally from around 50 to 75. similarly, higher performance levels (e.g., around 90-95) are observed across a range of employee retention strategy scores, from roughly 27 to 35. this dispersion, though minimal, suggests that while employee retention strategies are a very strong predictor of performance, they may not be the sole factor, and other contributing variables might still play a subtle role in the ultimate performance achieved. however, the overall visual evidence points to a substantial and direct positive impact of employee retention on performance. fig. 2 model summary model r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 331 1 .769a .591 .590 13.12361 a. predictors: (constant), employee_retention_strategies anovaa model sum of squares df mean square f sig. 1 regression 89491.899 1 89491.899 519.610 .000b residual 62002.476 360 172.229 total 151494.376 361 a. dependent variable: performance b. predictors: (constant), employee_retention_strategies coefficientsa model unstandardized coefficients standardize d coefficients t sig. b std. error beta 1 (constant) 22.142 1.991 11.11 9 .00 0 employee_retention_strategie s 1.944 .085 .769 22.79 5 .00 0 a. dependent variable: performance the regression analysis in table 2a, 2b and 2c was conducted to examine the relationship between employee retention strategies (independent variable) and performance (dependent variable). the results indicate a strong, statistically significant association, supporting the hypothesis that employee retention strategies positively influence firm performance. below, we break down the key findings using established regression scholarship to justify interpretations and thresholds. the r value of 0.769 suggests a strong linear relationship between employee retention strategies and firm performance. according to cohen (1988), an r value above 0.5 is considered large in social science research, indicating that employee retention strategies explain a substantial portion of firm performance variance. the r2 of 0.591 (adjusted r2=0.590) means that 59.1% of the variation in firm performance is attributable to employee retention strategies, indicating significant explanatory power. hair et al. (2019) suggest that in organizational studies, an r2 above 0.26 is already considered substantial, making this result exceptionally strong. the standard error of the estimate (13.12361) is relatively low compared to the scale of the dependent variable, reinforcing the model’s precision. the f-statistic (519.610,p<0.001) confirms that the regression model is statistically significant. field (2018) notes that a significant f-test (p<0.05) indicates that the model is a good fit for the data. the extremely low p-value (0.000) suggests that the probability of this relationship occurring by chance is virtually zero. the unstandardized coefficient (b=1.944) indicates that for every one-unit increase in employee retention strategies, performance improves by 1.944 units. the standardized coefficient (β=0.769) suggests a very large effect size. according to sawilowsky (2009), a β above 0.5 is considered a large effect in behavioral research, further reinforcing the 332 substantive impact of employee retention strategies. the t-statistic (22.795, p<0.001) for the employee retention strategies coefficient does not include zero, confirming statistical significance. the narrow confidence interval (not provided in the given data, but inferred from the high t-statistic and low p-value) would suggest high precision in the estimate. the results robustly support the hypothesis that employee retention strategies enhance firm performance. the high r2, significant f-test, and large beta coefficient all meet and exceed conventional thresholds for statistical and practical significance (cohen, 1988; hair et al., 2019). organizations seeking to improve performance should prioritize employee retention strategies, as the data suggest it is a critical determinant of success. discussion of findings the findings reveal an exceptionally strong, positive, and statistically significant effect of workplace flexibility strategies on the performance of the selected food manufacturing firms. the regression analysis yielded a very high correlation (r = 0.923) and determined that workplace flexibility strategies account for an impressive 85.3% (adjusted r² = 0.852) of the variance in firm performance. this indicates that flexibility is a primary driver of performance in this sector. the model's statistical significance was confirmed with an f-statistic of 2082.029 (p < 0.001), affirming that the relationship is robust and not a product of chance. the regression coefficient (b = 2.165) signifies that for each unit increase in the implementation of flexibility strategies, firm performance increases by 2.165 units. the standardized beta coefficient (β = 0.923) further highlights an exceptionally large effect size. from a practical standpoint, survey responses showed high levels of agreement that organizations effectively use practices like cross-training, job sharing, professional development opportunities, and fostering a collaborative culture, all of which are hallmarks of a flexible and adaptive workplace. these empirical results align with and extend the findings of several previous studies. for instance, lawrencechuku and onuoha (2022) found that organizational flexibility positively affects corporate performance metrics like cost efficiency and goal attainment in food and beverage firms in rivers state. the present study corroborates this by demonstrating a much stronger and broader impact on a composite measure of performance that includes organizational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. similarly, the findings support the work of onyokoko and onuoha (2021), who concluded that flexibility enhances corporate resilience in manufacturing firms. by showing a direct link to performance, this study provides evidence for how resilience translates into tangible organizational outcomes. the results also provide empirical validation for the theoretical overview presented by austin-egole, iheriohanma, and nwokorie (2020), who argued that flexible working arrangements improve organizational performance. this study successfully addresses several gaps identified in the literature. while previous research was often limited to specific regions like rivers state or the south-south geopolitical zone, this study’s focus on lagos, the commercial nucleus of nigeria, enhances the generalizability and applicability of its findings. furthermore, by adopting a more comprehensive set of performance indicators (efficiency, customer satisfaction, and retention) and employing robust regression analysis, this research offers a more nuanced and statistically powerful understanding of the critical role that workplace flexibility plays in the success of modern food manufacturing firms. the analysis for the fourth objective demonstrates that employee retention strategies have a strong, positive, and statistically significant effect on the performance of food manufacturing firms in lagos. the regression model indicated a strong linear relationship 333 (r = 0.769), with retention strategies explaining 59.1% (adjusted r² = 0.590) of the variation in firm performance. this substantial explanatory power highlights employee retention as a key pillar of organizational success. the model's validity was strongly supported by a significant f-statistic of 519.610 (p < 0.001). the unstandardized coefficient (b = 1.944) indicates that a one-unit improvement in employee retention strategies corresponds to a 1.944-unit increase in performance. the standardized coefficient (β = 0.769) confirms a very large effect size, underscoring the practical importance of retaining talent. survey data supported these findings, with a high degree of agreement among respondents that their organizations successfully implement retention-focused initiatives, such as fostering a positive workplace culture, offering competitive compensation, providing career development opportunities, and being responsive to employee feedback. these findings are consistent with a broad range of empirical literature. the study corroborates the conclusions of gberevbie (2008), who found that retention strategies improve performance in the nigerian beverage sector, by extending this finding to the wider food manufacturing industry. it also aligns with research from the academic sector by okafor, ifekwem, and adeyi (2019) and awolaja (2023), who both found that retention measures like training and rewards enhance performance, thereby demonstrating that this principle holds true in an industrial context as well. furthermore, the results reinforce the work of igbinoba, joel, igbadumhe, and peter (2022), who established a significant link between retention and performance, but this study does so with a larger sample and a more advanced analytical approach. this research makes a significant contribution by addressing key limitations of prior studies. unlike research focused on a single sector (beverages, education) or a different geographical area, this study provides specific and highly relevant insights for the economically vital food manufacturing hub of lagos. methodologically, the use of a large sample (n=362) and rigorous regression analysis provides stronger and more reliable evidence than earlier studies that may have used smaller samples or less powerful statistical tools like frequency analysis. by including multiple leading firms, the findings possess a higher degree of generalizability for the large-scale food manufacturing industry, offering a clear and evidence-based conclusion: strategic investment in employee retention is not just an hr function but a powerful driver of overall business performance. conclusion for the study which assessed the effect of flexibility strategies on performance, the study found an exceptionally strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship. workplace flexibility strategies accounted for 85.3% of the variance in firm performance, establishing it as a primary driver of success. the findings indicated that practices such as cross-training, job sharing, and fostering a collaborative culture are effectively utilized and have a substantial impact on organizational outcomes. also, the study analyzed the effect of employee retention strategies on performance. the results demonstrated a strong, positive, and statistically significant effect, with retention strategies explaining 59.1% of the variation in firm performance. this highlights that strategic initiatives aimed at retaining talent, including fostering a positive culture, offering competitive compensation, and providing career development opportunities, are crucial for enhancing organizational performance. recommendations 334 based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are put forth for food manufacturing firms in lagos, nigeria, and relevant policymakers: i. integrate employee resourcing with business strategy: human resources departments should be strategically integrated 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(2023). population of lagos, nigeria. retrieved from https://worldpopulationreview.com page 7 volume 10 number 1 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities daughters, sons, and spouses: the emerging political dynasties in nigeria nu’uman mohammed habib department of sociology bayero university, kano kano, nigeria. nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng abstract this paper explores the emergence of dynasties in the nigerian political landscape since the return to democratic governance in 1999. the relatively stable atmosphere that had been achieved in the political scene which no longer felt threatened by the possibility of a military coup, as was the norm in nigeria and elsewhere in africa and latin america of the 1950s and 1960s, has made politicians relaxed and selfassured that civilian rule has come to stay. this feeling of assurance, among other factors, has led to the elite political class to want to perpetuate themselves in elective political offices, passing the baton to their sons, daughters, spouses, siblings and/or in-laws. drawing from open-source materials available in newspapers and the internet, the paper found that it is now the vogue for elected public office holders to position close family as their successors in the offices they are vacating or others within the electoral system, including gubernatorial, federal and state legislative positions. it is our conclusion, in this paper, that notwithstanding that political dynasties are found in other democracies, they represent a real and potential threat to the nigerian democratic space. keywords: political dynasties; elite succession; democratization; nigeria introduction after a checkered post-independence period, which saw the military in power in nigeria for most of the years between 1960 and 1999, on 29 may 2023 another democratically elected president was sworn-in for nigeria – the fifth elected president since the return to civil rule in 1999. it is safe to assume that democracy has come to stay in nigeria given that, over the past 24 years, the military have remained confined to the barracks and civilians have maintained uninterrupted control of governance, with elections being the accepted and legitimate way of accessing executive and legislative positions as is constitutionally provided. the military regimes that torpedoed elected governments in nigeria beginning from the mid sixties have been blamed for the low level of human and infrastructural development in the country, in addition to denying citizens one of their core rights as citizens – the right to freely chose who should govern their affairs. events locally and globally have contributed in nigeria returning to democratically elected mode of governance, one of which is the near universal aversion to all governments that are not based on popular, periodic, and fair elections in which all qualified citizens could vote or be voted for. this is one major reason why nigerians have enjoyed this period of uninterrupted spell of democracy. while we may have seen the last of the military in the governance of nigeria, this is not to say that democracy is safe and assured. in fact, the deceptively serene democratic atmosphere and institutions have spawned a culture and institution that are as inimical to democracy, if not more so, as the threat ever posed it by the military. gradually, but surely, the political class is doing all it can to undermine the very foundation upon which it rests its claim for legitimacy on – free and fair elections by muscling out others and positioning themselves and their families to rule in perpetuity. in other words, political dynasties are beginning to emerge and take shape in nigeria with all the negative consequences and implications for the country’s democracy. mailto:nhabib.soc@buk.edu.ng 75 where the political elite covertly and overtly subvert the democratic culture to their advantage, the “feudalization” of the polity renders the mass of the public powerless, denying them the only instrument allowed them to sack nonperforming elected officials – their votes. with the emergence of political dynasties, however, voters are being left with little or no choice at all as the matter seems to have already been predetermined. sons and daughters as well as other close kin are pushed to contest and occupy offices that parents are vacating due to constitutionally imposed time limits and where the parents are eyeing higher elective positions. parents occupying political offices, drawing on the advantage of incumbency and access to state resources, leave no stone unturned in ensuring their children, wards and near kin emerge triumphant from the level of the party primaries up to the election proper. the father to son or daughter transfer of power is akin to the throwback era of feudalism where such was the norm. in the rest of the paper, we reviewed the beginnings and foundational basis of political sociology, its theoretical underpinnings, literature on political dynasties as well as examine specific examples pointing to the emergence of political dynasties in nigeria. we conclude the paper with suggestions on the way forward given the dire implications of political dynasties on a relatively backward country like nigeria where nepotistic inclinations must not be allowed to develop nor thrive. political sociology and its theoretical concerns an examination of political dynasties must necessarily be preceded by a discussion of the field of political sociology and the theories that had shaped its development. from its inception, political sociology is interested in the study of power and the intersection of society and politics. while both political scientists and political sociologists do study elections, their interests and perspectives differ, who won and by how much, who voted for which candidate, or how did a political party mobilize its supporters was what interests the political scientist. by contrast, a political sociologist asks, how does voting compare to other means of gaining power, does an election outcome influence life chances for various social sectors, or can elections alter the distribution of power among the major classes/groups/sectors of a society? (hicks, 1995) the founders of political sociology, karl marx (1818-1883), vilfredo pareto (1848-1923), gaetano mosca (1858-1941), max weber (1864-1920), robert michels (1876-1936), and antonio gramsci (1891-1937), saw government as a site of power and an apparatus over which groups contest for control. although the founding fathers differ on what each considered the central idea of political sociology, they were all focused on an effort directed at developing a critical understanding of fundamental power dynamics. according to janowitz (1968:306), “political sociology has come to be linked to the analysis of the economic social, and psychological preconditions for political democracy.” the theories in political sociology revolve around its three core areas democratic participation and civic sphere for citizens, domination by elites in state and non-state bureaucracies, and owner power in capitalist social-economic formations. michels (1999 [1911]), for instance, has warned that even under democratic dispensation the leadership would seek to entrench itself in power, subverting and or undermining the democratic principle of a level playing field, resulting in what he called “the iron law of oligarchy.” gaetano mosca (1966 [1896]) aligns with this position, arguing that, “every class displays the tendency to become hereditary, in fact if not in law,” p.74. according to mosca, even when political positions are open to all, as they are purported to be in a democracy, a family tie to those already in power would confer various advantages. political dynasties: a review of literature a review of the literature on political dynasties must begin with defining the concept. political dynasties generally refer to traditional political families or the practices by these political families of monopolizing political power and public offices from generation to generation and treating the public elective office almost as their personal property (dal bo et al., 2009; geys and smith, 2017). ali (2016, p.3) defines political dynasty as “a network of family politicians who come to power in an election based regime.” in other words, although feudal and monarchical forms have gradually been supplanted in many countries, even with elections, power seems to be concentrated in the hands of a few. political dynasties typify a form of elite self-perpetuation and persistence under a supposedly democratic set-up in which a single or few family groups monopolize political power. traditional or monarchical system of government, where succession is established by tradition and is not based on election, is not considered in the definition of a political dynasty. political dynasties are found to exist by researchers in almost every country where democratic elections are the norm. prewitt and stone (1973, p.133) argue that “democracy, except in certain radical formulations, does not deny an (hereditary) elite, but it urges that the qualifications for this elite be talent, accomplishment, and achievement, rather than birth and blood line.” however, what is worrisome, with respect to political families, is the real and anticipated consequences of political dynasties on the social, economic, and political development of any nation in which they hold sway. the existence of political dynasties in democratic societies, particularly in emerging democracies, nations that are beginning to shed off the yoke of totalitarian administrations, has sparked debate among pro-democratic activists, scholars and policymakers. among several other concerns, political dynasties are charged with being a stumbling block to democratic consolidation (querubin, 2010), an erosion of the quality of democracy as well as a source of corruption (quimpo, 2007), and being a root cause of underdevelopment (stokes, dunning, nazareno, & brusco, 2013). the literature has also interrogated the connection between wealth and political dynasties: is the possession of wealth a factor in the formation of political dynasties or is being in politics a factor leading to wealth accumulation and establishing political dominance? (stokes, et. al., 2013). without doubt, politics demand the deployment of wealth in pursuit of electoral office, from party levies to canvassing support from voters, money is required. the elite are always in a position to draw on the wealth they had in and out of politics, leverage their social and political capital to maintain dominance, transfer power to their children and kin, and offer them opportunities that others may not get, including socializing them in the art and craft of politics. kenawas (2015) argues that the determinants of success in building a political dynasty are the strength of the informal family network and the size of accumulated material wealth, which help dynastic politicians to tilt the playing field that can be created by using status of one of the family members as an incumbent. the intergenerational hereditary transfer of political power between family members is a known feature of monarchical and other non-democratic regimes. children and family members are foisted onto the political scene with some level of success with little or no resistance from the people (brownlee, 2007). in new democracies, such as nigeria, weak party structure leading to its dominance and manipulation by a few results in parties doing the bidding of a few. the existence of political dynasties in a democracy seem to contradict the normative visions of democracy – a system that is open, fair, transparent, and does not 77 depend on privilege of birth or ancestry. this was indeed what michels (1951, p.1) was at pains to point out: in theory, democracy makes all citizens equal before the law. it gives each one of them the possibility of ascending to the top of the social scale, and thus annulling before the law all privilegesof birth, and desiring that in human society the struggle for preeminence should be decided solely in accordance with individual capacity. consequently, the normative expectation was that when societies democratize, the pool of contestants for offices is widened not constricted. national constitutions define those eligible to stand for offices and make provisions that are inclusive rather than exclusive. democratic competition increase opportunities for capable outsiders, those who have no godfathers, to vie for elective positions, fully well assured that the electorate are indeed the final arbiters. we are not unmindful of studies of political elite which stressed that the ruling class has this tenacity with respect to their hold on power, this being because, it is more organized (pareto, 1901; michels, 1915; mosca, 1939; mills, 1956; putnam, 1976) whether in or outside a democratic set-up. the dynasts of nigerian politics in this paper, i examine the emergent nigerian political dynasties, or what is called legacy politics. a legacy candidate is any candidate for national or state office who is related by blood or marriage (e.g. child, grandchild, sibling, spouse, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or other close relative) to a politician formerly or currently also holding national office. this definition, contrary to what some nigerian analysts may hold, exclude the likes of mohammed sani abacha who had sought the office kano state governor more than once, without success. mohammed’s father, general sani abacha, died in office as military head of state, and never held any elective office. although the son of an elite, mohammed does not fall within our definition of legacy politics. while elites may share things in common, the defining feature of political elites is that politics is their major vocation. they found political parties, occupy party positions, and run for elective offices. in this way, they are able to carve a niche for themselves and distinguish themselves from other categories of elite. it is also true that inter-elite movement could and does happen, people who had made a name in business or military career may foray into politics, however, unless one has run for and won an office after which one of their relations wanted to step into his or her shoes, legacy politics does not come into effect nor does political dynasty. in may of 2022, nigerian political parties commenced the process of selecting the candidates to field for the general elections for 2023. political analysts watched with keen as those that emerged from the parties’ primaries included children, spouses and relations of people who had dominated the political scene since 1999, when democracy was ushered in after the exit of the military from power. writing under the banner, “2023 elections: children of nigerian politicians that got tickets,” in the vanguard newspaper of may 29, 2022, miftaudeen raji, gave a run-down of “quite a number of children of politicians that secured their party tickets to test their popularity and chances in 2023 elections.” raji (2022) provided details of the breakdown of votes won by the candidates in the primaries, including some of the drama, horse trading and related internal party politicking. coincidentally, on the same the day that raji’s report was carried in the vanguard newspaper, tunde ajala, writing for the punch newspaper, appeared with an analysis whose purpose was “to examine the rate at which children of top politicians and elite are dominating the political space, both for appointive and elective positions.” ajala (2022) noted the: one striking trend that has emerged boldly in the ongoing electioneering is the number of politicians’ children seeking elective offices. the number is simply unprecedented. across the country, politicians seem to be paving the way for their children, perhaps to perpetuate their family’s access to power or preserve the perks accruing to the family there from. we begin our examination of nigerian political dynasties from way back into the early political years of the first republic when malam musa yar’adua was elected to the nigerian parliament and was appointed a minister by the prime minister, malam abubakar tafawa balewa in charge of federal capital then in lagos. at least three of malam musa’s children have followed in his footsteps, including umaru musa yar’adua who, apart from being governor of katsina state, died in office as elected president of nigeria. malam umaru musa’s siblings included the polished army general turned politician, shehu musa yar’adua, a key player in politics and one of those that gave their lives in the quest to see that the country returned to democratic rule. although shehu never held an elective position, he remained one of the most influential politicians in nigeria up to the very end and was partly instrumental to getting his two brothers umaru and abdulaziz into politics. abdulaziz, the youngest of the three, a former colonel in the army, has been elected to the senate where he took his seat in june 2023. bukar abba ibrahim and his spouse khadija bukar abba ibrahim present us with a familiar strategy used by political families to entrench and perpetuate themselves in office. bukar abba was first elected governor of yobe state in january 1992 and remained so until november 1993 when the military truncated the transitional process to full return to civil rule. in 1999, after another election was held, bukar returned as governor and remained so over the following eight years. it was while he was governor that bukar appointed khadija his wife as a commissioner in his cabinet. she remained in this position to the end of her husband’s final term in office. however, both husband and wife had their eyes set on national political offices. bukar contested for and won a seat to the senate while his wife was elected to the house of representatives. khadija was voted to the house of representatives three consecutive times – 2007, 2011, and 2015 from where she was appointed a minister by president buhari. in the 2023 elections, khadija and her step-son mohammed brought the bukar abba ibrahim family some media spotlight when they ran against each other in their party’s primary for the house of representatives ticket. neither the step-mother nor the step-son agreed t o stepdown for the other, in the end, the more politically savvy khadija thoroughly thrashed her step-son and clinched the party’s ticket. she occupies a seat, at present, to return to the house of representatives. erhiatake ibori-suenu, daughter of james ibori, also seats at the house of representatives. her father, a former governor of the oil rich delta state, was considered a political godfather on account of the huge oil wealth he had stashed when he was governor and which he was prepared to lavishly splash to get what he wants. mr. ibori first laid the ground for his daughter’s election to the house of representatives by making her cut her political teeth when he facilitated her election as member of the delta state house of assembly where she represented ethiope west constituency. having served in that capacity, she ran against the 79 incumbent representing ethiope federal constituency, who is also a member of her party, the peoples democratic party, pdp, during their party’s primaries, where she was elected. at the general election, she trounced candidates of the other parties. it is quite instructive, as we shall see in some of the other examples we will be highlighting, that erhiatake, on getting to the house of representatives, was named chair of house committee on niger delta development commission (nddc), which is considered one of the “juicy” committees in the green chamber. a colleague of erhiatake in the house of representative is bello el-rufa’i, also making his first appearance in the green chamber. like erhiatake, whose father was a two-term governor, bello’s father, nasir el-rufa’i was also a two-term governor of kaduna state in the northwest geo-political zone. at the time nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, bello was merely nine years old, having been born in 1990. other similarities with erhiatake, include the fact that bello was able to secure the ticket of the ruling apc in kaduna, displaced a sitting member who belonged to the opposition pdp , to win the kaduna north federal constituency. bello was also readied for politics as he was a legislative aide to sen. uba sani, who took over as governor from nasir el-rufa’i. at the house of representatives, bello el-rufai was named chairman, house committee on banking regulations. olumide osoba, an alumnus of the university of lagos and london school of economic and political science is son to journalist turned politician, segun osoba, who was a former governor of ogun state. olumide was re-elected as the member to represent abeokuta north/odeda/obafemi-owode federal constituency of ogun state in the 10th assembly. olumide had represented the constituency in the house between 2011 and 2015 on the platform of the defunct action congress of nigeria which had later fused in an alliance with other parties leading to the emergence of the currently ruling party, the apc. the elder osoba is a leading figure in the apc. olumide chaired the house committee on sports development during the 9th assembly; for the 10th assembly he bagged the chairmanship of the prestigious justice committee. beni butmak lar, is daughter to the founding chairman of the peoples democratic party, pdp, chief solomon daushep lar, a second republic governor of the old plateau state. she has represented the langtang north/south federal constituency since 2007, making her one of the ranking members of the house of representatives. beni lar had held chairmanship of committees in the house of representatives including house committee on women affairs, committee on human rights, and committee on science and technology. unfortunately, lar’s stay at 10th assembly was cut short by a ruling of an elections tribunal which nullified the elections of all those who contested and won elections under the banner the pdp in plateau state during the last nationwide elections. the tribunal voided the victories, saying that the pdp had failed to hold valid congresses to elect candidates to represent it. this political setback notwithstanding, it is safe to say that the last had not been heard of hon. beni lar. in delta state a marilyn dumkelechukwu okowa-daramola, was elected into the delta state house of assembly to represent ika north-east state constituency. marilyn father, ifenyi okowa is governor of delta state at the time of her election. she was senior special assistant (ssa) to the governor of delta state on girl child empowerment, an office that her father offered her, where she headed the girl child empowerment office. although lacking in legislative experience, marilyn was named the chair of the finance and appropriation committee; as well as deputy chair, housing, women affairs, girl child and humanitarian support services committees, among others. what is very clear from all of the above cited examples is the undeniable fact that political elites are exerting their utmost best in planting their daughters, sons and spouses in the political space thus disadvantaging the ordinary masses. using state resources and instruments, the political elite have come to make nonsense of the democratic rights to choice and competition of candidates for executive and legislative offices. brownlee (2007) says dynastic succession may be an alternative for departing autocratic leaders to protect themselves from possible threats, such as criminal prosecution, after they have left office (p.597). as things stand, the masses are left hanging on the fringes and they may never find a footing in the centre of democratic politics so long as it continues to be done the way the elite do in nigeria at the present. summary and conclusion the argument in this paper is that since 1999 when nigeria returned to democratic rule the seeds of political dynasties began to sprout and by 2007 and 2011 election cycles daughters, sons, and siblings of key political actors were being made to step into the shoes of their parents and spouses. in a situation where politics appears to be the most lucrative “industry”, those that contest and won offices ended up being stupendously rich due to their unbridled access to state resources. not surprisingly, therefore, politicians are doing all that within their power to attain and retain political offices either by themselves or through family members for the purpose of exercising power and dominating state resources. the undermining of the democratic ethos is inimical to development and represents a real and potential danger to the state and the citizenry. it is thus necessary to begin to interrogate the dangers that political dynasties portend so that action, including constitutional limits could be put in place to nip the trend before it gets out of hand. references ali, a. (2016). do political dynasties hnder development?: evidence from a natural disaster. igc working paper, s-89207-pak-1s-89207-pak-1. ajala (2022) https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/children-of-nigerian-politicians-aretaking-over-from-their-fathers/ brownlee, j. (2007). hereditary succession in modern autocracies. world politics, 59(04), 595 628 camp, r. a. (1982). family relationships in mexican politics: a preliminary view. the journal of politics, 44(03), 848-862. dal b´o, ernesto, pedro dal b´o and jason snyder. 2009. “political dynasties.” review of economic studies 76(1):115–142. geys, b., and d. m. smith (2017). “political dynasties in democracies: causes, consequences and https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/children-of-nigerian-politicians-are-taking-over-from-their-fathers/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/05/children-of-nigerian-politicians-are-taking-over-from-their-fathers/ 81 remaining puzzles.” economic journal, 127(605), 446-454 hess, stephen. (1966). america’s political dynasties: from adams to kennedy. garden city, n.y.: doubleday and company, inc hicks, michael a (1995). the last half-century: societal change and politics in america. university of chicago press, chicago. janowitz, m. (1968). power, elites and institutions. yale university press, yale. kenawas yoes c. (2015) “the rise of political dynasties in a democratic society” edgs working paper number 30, may 16, 2015 mendoza, r. u. (2012, march 11, 2012). dynasties in democracy: the political side of inequality. retrieved february 2, 2024, from http://www.voxeu.org/article/dynastiesdemocracies-political-side-inequality michels, r. (1999 [1911]), political parties. a sciological study of the oligarchical tendencies of modern democracy. transaction publishers mosca, g. (1966 [1896]), la classe politica [first published as elementi di scienza politica], laterza editori. pareto, vilfredo. 1901. the rise and fall of the eites. new york: arno press, inc. putnam, r. d. (1976), the comparative study of political elites. prentice hall. prewitt, k., & stone, a. (1973). the ruling elites: elite theory, power, and american democracy. new york, ny: harper & row querubin, p. (2010). family and politics: dynastic persistence in the philippines. working paper. mit and harvard academy. cambridge ma. quimpo, n. g. (2007). the philippines: political parties and corruption. southeast asian affairs, 277-294. raji, m. (2022) https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/2023-elections-children-of-nigerian politicians-that-got-tickets/ smith, daniel m. 2018. dynasties and democracy: the inherited incumbency advantage in japan. stanford university press. stokes, s. c., dunning, t., nazareno, m., & brusco, v. (2013). brokers, voters, and clientelism: the puzzle of distributive politics. new york, ny: cambridge university press. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/2023-elections-children-of-nigerian-politicians-that-got-tickets/ https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/2023-elections-children-of-nigerian-politicians-that-got-tickets/ bio-data of author nu’uman mohammed habib, ph.d. teaches in the department of sociology, bayero university kano where he is an associate professor. he is director, centre for economic, social and population research, cespor, at the bayero university and was a former deputy director, centre for democratic studies, mambayya house, kano. he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of political sociology, development studies, social psychology, gender studies, forensic psychology, and sociological theories, among others. page 7 volume 9 number 2, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 565 effect of firms attributes on financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria eneh, catherine amoge agu, charles ikechukwu nwankwo, bobby godwin ogbogu agbachi, vincent onyeneke department of accounting caritas university enugu catherineeneh1972@gmail.com abstract the main objective of the study is to examine the extent to which firm attribute affects financial performance of listed industrial goods firm in nigeria. the study specifically determined the extent to which firm size, firm liquidity, firm leverage affect net profit margin of industrial goods firm in nigeria. the study adopted the ex-post facto research design. secondary data was sourced from the annual reports of the sampled of five industrial goods firms for a ten (10) year period, spanning 2014 to 2023. the data collected were analyzed using descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis. the findings of the study include: firm size have a positive and significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria (β = 2.1528; p-value = 0.0366); firm liquidity have a negative non-significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria (β = 1.0242; p-value = 0.3111); firm leverage have a negative non-significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria (β = -1.1066; p-value = 0.2742). in conclusion, the goal of developing firm attribute is to create a strong and distinctive identity for a company which can lead to differentiation, brand recognition, customer loyalty and partnership and collaboration opportunities. the study recommended that listed industrial goods firms in nigeria should strive for an optimal balance between liquidity and leverage financing by assessing their capital structure decisions to avoid excessive reliance on the leverage while also avoiding an overly cautious approach with too much liquidity financing. keywords: financial performance, industrial goods firm, firm size, firm liquidity, firm leverage introduction background to the study over the years, firm performance has attracted great attention of researchers in the world all over the world mainly because of its critical role of telling a lot about the effectiveness of an organization and also in reflecting the growth of the organization in the long-term (nguyen, tan & nguyen, 2021). on the note that investors are rational, they are on the look-out for this indicator as a signal for making investment decisions. in addition, the reason for such consciousness is because of the apparent correlation between firm performance, firm characteristics and firm earnings (jihadi, vilantika, hashemi, arifin, bachtiar&sholichah, 2021). acknowledging the determinants of firm performance is paramount, especially to investors, business managers, policy-makers, the academia and lenders whose interest in this area is to ascertain which firm-level factors impair or enhance the worth and performance of the business. financial performance of a firm has proven to be a diverse construct, especially in its definition and measurement. unarguably, higher performance levels reflect management mailto:catherineeneh1972@gmail.com 566 effectiveness and efficiency in utilizing the organization's resources, which contributed to the country's economic growth, competitive edge and long-term value-creation (hameed &tsoho, 2020). assessment of firm attributes that affect financial performance of companies has gained much interest lately in the corporate finance literature although low interest has been paid to industrial goods firms in nigeria, in recent years. industrial goods firms as economic entities are designed to use companies’ resources with the aim of maximizing company profits and firm value. maximizing financial performance entails taking full advantage of profit or income by considering risk factors and the time value of money (fadhilah, kurniati&suherman, 2022). the short-term goal of a firm is to obtain maximum profit by utilizing existing resources, while the long-term goal of a company is to increase its firm value by growing the wealth of its shareholders. financial performance in this case refers to the ability of an industrial goods company to generate more revenue in excess of its expenses. industrial goods firms jostle for competitive placement within the local and global markets. their respective interactions with existing financial markets and of course, the investing community have also witnessed significant surge. to date, researches have constantly prescribed the increased and continuous use of accounting information to practically and effectively communicate the value and wellbeing of firms (jeroh, 2020). the place of firms’ financial attributes is important since they provide credible and strategic information about the overall wellbeing of the entities and also firm financial performance. financial performance is a term that is used to explain both the profitability success of a business and also how shareholders’ welfare has been maximized using available firm resources (bencharles&osifo, 2022). a high company performance is desirable for company owners because such indicates the prosperity of shareholders (akhalumeh, izevbekhai&ohenhen, 2022). financial performance is a key indicator of financial wellbeing of any company, as it serves the basis when making financial decision such as dividend and financial investment. all investors have one common objective when investing in shares, that is, to maximize expected return on their investment. the most crucial aspect of companies' financial health is the performance of the firm. the higher the value of a firm, the better its financial position, as well as the projection of prospective investors. investor perception of firms' financial results is often associated with return on equity or other metrics like stock price, which is very important in investment decision (sulaiman, mijinyawa& isa, 2019). in corporate finance, the commonly used method for financial analysis is the use of profitability and firm value ratios as key measures of firms’ overall efficiency and performance (shuaibu, ali & amin, 2019). these metrics are widely used in financial models for performance measurements. theoretically, several variables that may influence firm performance as the survival or business success mostly depends on the profitability of the firm. however, the specific firm characteristics remain unknown to firms as to which variable contributes to the financial prospect of the firm, and this justify the reason of the current study. focusing on industrial goods companies to examine factors that determine financial performance is essential since these companies are of a great significance to other businesses as well as individuals. they contribute primarily to the economic growth and well-being of individuals in the society by so many ways such as increasing the number of employment opportunities. the objective of industrial goods firms to maximise their firm performance is essentially achieved through the implementation of appropriate financial management functions because every financial decision taken will affect other financial management 567 decisions and will have an impact on the financial results of the company. factors that affect firm performance such as liquidity, turnover rate, sales growth, capital structure, operating efficiency, financial soundness, board attributes, age of the company, current ratio, firm size, et cetera have been widely discussed in various empirical studies (fadhilah, kurniati & suherman, 2022; nguyen, tan & nguyen, 2021; dang, vu, ngo & hoang, 2019). however, the present study focuses on only three determinants which are: firm size, firm liquidity, and firm leverage. it is against this backdrop that this study examines the effect of firms attributes on financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. statement of problem shareholders and lenders invest heavily in firms that are performing financially well. sound financial performance helps to provide a healthy environment that enables a company maximise the wealth or investments of the shareholders (nangih, turakpe&effe-nnamdi, 2023). therefore these stakeholders expect such companies to perform to the expected or even beyond standards. some industrial goods companies in nigeria have so far performed well while others have suffered declined performance (ugbede, ekpa, odobi, eidicha&egwuaba, 2023). poor performance makes the value of the firms to go down since the stock tend to be unattractive to investors. to add to this issue, the condition of nigerian financial market has been weakened by a number of uncertainties and economic challenges bedeviling firm performance and impeding the smooth running of business process. the consequence is the observed decline in the efficiency of firms that do not have adequate firm resources with which to overcome the challenges. returns on shareholders’ investment which are the best reflection of firms’ performance have gone down beyond expectations. while this may rightly be attributed to the ravages caused by the recent economic downturn in the country and the pandemic of the covid-19, the problem cannot be divorced from factors such as poor firm size, low liquidity, and inadequate leverage. in fact, the financial performance of firms look more like the accounting information embedded in the factors aforementioned. investors perceive the extent of success attained by a firm through the firm’s financial attributes (appah, e., &duoduo, g. (2024)). however, a declining financial performance often means that the investor’s perception of the success of the company will be poor and negative.when the financial performance of a firm depreciates, it shows in lower stock prices which provide a bad signal to the market and discourages investors’ interest in making investment decisions. even lenders are also discouraged from extending long-term debt facilities to firms with declining firm performance. this makes it justifiable to examine how firm attributes affect the financial performance of lusted industrial goods firms in nigeria. the studies in the past such asnangih, turakpe and effe-nnamdi (2023);sabiya and joel (2023);handoyo, mulyani, ghani and soedarsono (2023);fadhilah, kurniati and suherman (2022); mwendwa (2022); bencharles and osifo (2022); akhalumeh, izevbekhai and ohenhen (2022); nguyen, tan and nguyen (2021); jihadi, vilantika, hashemi, arifin, bachtiar and sholichah (2021); jeroh (2020); hameed and tsoho (2020); endri and fathony (2020); abba, lawal and sadah (2020); sampurna and romawati (2020); oyeyemi, enyi and emmanuel (2019); dang, vu, ngo and hoang (2019); sulaiman, mijinyawa and isa (2019); et cetera which were conducted to examine similar issue did not cover 2023 accounting period in nigeria, hence the need to expand the scope of the study. objective of the study the main objective of the study is to examine the effect of firms attributes on financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. the specific objectives of the study are as follows: 568 1. to examine the effect of firm size on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. 2. to ascertain the effect of firm liquidity on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. 3. to examine the effect of firm leverage on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. research hypotheses the following research hypotheses stated in the null (h0) and alternate (h1) are going to be tested in the study as follows: hypothesis one: h0: firm size has no significant effect on the profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. h1: firm size has a significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. hypothesis two h0: firm liquidity has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. h1: firm liquidity has a significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. hypothesis three h0: firm leverage has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. h1: firm leverage has a significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. significance of the study the significance of the study on the effect of firms' attributes on the financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria extends its impact to various stakeholders. scope of the study this project mainly investigates the effect of firm attributes on the financial performance of listed companies in nigeria. the target population is focused on industrial goods firms whose shares are traded on the nigerian exchange group. a ten (10) year time scope from 2014-2023 is adopted in this research. the proxies for the firm attributes are firm size, firm liquidity, and firm leverage while the proxy for financial performance is net profit margin. conceptual framework firm attributes firm attribute can be defined as the characteristics or internal features that define and describe a particular company (amahalu&okudo, 2023). within the context of organizational dynamics, firm attributes encompasses a broad spectrum of features that collectively shape and delineate the distinct identity of a particular business enterprise. these attributes serve as the 569 foundational elements that not only define the external image but also involvedly contribute to the internal workings (appah&duoduo, 2024)and culture of the organization. they represent the unique qualities, traits, and facets that set a company apart within its industry and contribute to its overall character (nworie, okafor and john-akamelu, 2022). at a fundamental level, firmsattributes encompass a myriad of dimensions, including but not limited to organizational structure, cultural nuances, strategic orientation, and operational practices (bala, 2021). the organizational structure, for instance, delineates the hierarchical framework, reporting relationships, and the overall arrangement of departments within the company. cultural attributes delve into the shared values, beliefs, and norms that permeate the organizational environment, influencing employee behavior, decision-making processes, and the overall work ethos. moreover, firms attributes extend their reach to strategic orientation, encapsulating the company's overarching approach to achieving its goals and addressing the competitive business environment. this includes considerations such as firm leverage, liquidity, size, innovation, market positioning, and responsiveness to external factors (efuntade&akinola, 2020). operational practices, on the other hand, encapsulate the day-to-day procedures, methodologies, and efficiency measures that contribute to the company's overall functionality and performance.in essence, the concept of firms attribute embodies the holistic essence of an organization, encapsulating its personality, identity, and operational framework (nworie, okafor and john-akamelu, 2022). these attributes collectively contribute to the narrative of the company, influencing stakeholder perceptions, shaping organizational resilience, and defining the trajectory of its success within the changing business environment. understanding and strategically managing these attributes become imperative for companies aiming not only to establish a distinct market presence but also to foster a resilient and adaptable internal environment conducive to sustained growth and success. firm size firm size is crucial aspect of business that can be determined by either the total assets or the total sales generated by a company (akhalumeh, izevbekhai & ohenhen, 2022). the size of a consumer goods firm is commonly measured by the value of its assets. however, there are other factors that can be used to classify a company as big or small, such as the scale of operations and number of employees (hameed & tsoho, 2020). firm size can have a significant impact on a company’s competitiveness (sampurna & romawati, 2020), as larger companies tend to have more resources to support their operations and benefit from economies of scale, which allow them to lower costs and increase output (nguyen, tan & nguyen, 2021). it is important to note that the definition of firm size may vary depending on the context, industry, or country. for instance, a small business in one industry may be considered a large business in another. in addition, the measurement of firm size can also be influenced by other factors, such as the age of the company, its ownership structure, and its location (jeroh, 2020). therefore, it is essential to consider the specific context when discussing firm size. moreover, while large companies may have some advantages, such as greater resources and economies of scale, small companies can also thrive in specific riches, provide personalized services, and be more innovative and agile (fadhilah, kurniati & suherman, 2022). in some cases, smaller companies may be better suited to respond quickly to changing market conditions or customer needs, whereas larger companies may struggle to adapt due to their size and bureaucracy. 570 thus, firm size is an essential aspect of business that can be determined by different factors such as total assets, total sales, scale of operations, and number of employees (dang, vu, ngo, hoang, 2019). while large companies may enjoy advantages such as more resources and economies of scale, small companies can also be competitive by specializing in niche markets, providing personalized services, and being more innovative and agile (fadhilah, kurniati, & suherman, 2022). understanding the concept of firm size is crucial for business owners, policymakers, investors, and other stakeholders who need to make informed decisions about the companies the interact with (shuaibu, ali, & amin, 2019). firm liquidity firm liquidity refers to a company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations as they come due. this includes the company's ability to pay its bills, meet payroll obligations, and make timely payments on short-term loans (nguyen, tan & nguyen, 2021). a company's liquidity is important because it affects its ability to operate and maintain its day-to-day business activities. having good firm liquidity is critical for a company's going concern and for maintaining a positive reputation in the market. a company with high liquidity is considered to have the capacity to cover its obligations and maintain its operations even during times of economic downturn or market volatility (jihadi, vilantika, hashemi, arifin, bachtiar&sholichah, 2021). on the other hand, a company with low liquidity is at risk of defaulting on its short-term obligations, which could lead to financial distress, bankruptcy, and a negative impact on its reputation (fadhilah, kurniati&suherman, 2022). firm liquidity can be measured using several financial ratios, such as the current ratio, the quick ratio, and the cash ratio. these ratios compare a company's current assets to its current liabilities, and provide insights into its ability to meet its short-term obligations. having good firm liquidity is important not only for the company but also for its creditors, investors, and other stakeholders. for example, creditors are interested in the company's liquidity because it affects their ability to collect payments on maturing loan obligations. investors are also interested in the company's liquidity because it can affect the company's ability to pay dividends, buy back shares, or invest in growth opportunities. thus, firm liquidity is a crucial concept in finance that describes a company's ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. good firm liquidity is important for a company's going concern, reputation, and relationships with stakeholders. companies should maintain a healthy balance between liquidity and profitability, and regularly monitor their liquidity position to avoid financial distress and maintain a positive image in the market. firm leverage firm leverage refers to the use of debt by a company to acquire additional assets. by using borrowed capital to finance its operations, a company can potentially increase its return on equity. however, leverage also increases the financial risk of a company, as interest payments on debt must be made regardless of whether the company generates sufficient cash flow (jihadi et al., 2021). financial leverage can be a double-edged sword, as it amplifies both gains and losses. when a company performs well, its earnings per share can be significantly increased by the use of leverage. on the other hand, in times of economic downturns or market volatility, firms with high leverage are at a higher risk of insolvency or bankruptcy (sampurna&romawati, 2020). modigliani and miller's works in 1958 proposed the idea that the capital structure of a firm does not affect its total value in a perfect capital market, under certain assumptions (jihadi et 571 al., 2021). they argued that in an ideal world without taxes, transaction costs, or agency costs, the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure, and investors are indifferent between debt and equity financing. however, in the real world, there are factors that affect the cost of capital and the value of a company, such as taxes, bankruptcy costs, and informational asymmetry. overall, firm leverage is an important concept in finance, as it affects a company's financial risk, cost of capital, and value (nguyen, tan & nguyen, 2021). firms must balance the benefits of using leverage to increase returns with the risks of financial distress and bankruptcy (dang, vu, ngo & hoang, 2019). however, high leverage may be beneficial in boom periods; and it may cause serious cash flow problems in recession periods, because there might not be enough sales revenue to cover the interest payment (akhalumeh, izevbekhai, &ohenhen, 2022). in other words, leverage can only contribute positively to firm performance if there is relatively small amount of cost yield and a relatively high level of values since the use of leverage requires the payment of interest and repayment of principal amount of the debt (shuaibu, ali, & amin, 2019). the use of leverage can increase the firms’ likelihood of bankruptcy especially in an unstable economy such as that of nigeria. financial performance financial performance refers to the extent to which a company effectively utilizes its assets to generate revenue in its regular business operations (efuntade&akinola, 2020). the main goal of financial management is to maximize the economic welfare of investors, and firm managers are driven to increase shareholders' wealth by generating sufficient profits to sustain and grow the business in the future. the performance of a corporate entity encompasses various aspects, including the firm's financial health and its capacity and willingness to meet long-term financial obligations (liu, zhen, changhui& zhang, 2020). it is a measure of both firm effectiveness and efficiency (krisztina, yahya&lentner, 2020).ibida and emeka-nwokeji (2019) suggest that corporate financial performance can be evaluated from multiple dimensions, including profitability, firm growth, market value, social performance, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and environmental performance. financial performance is a critical dimension of corporate performance and reflects how well a firm utilizes its assets in its core business to generate revenue and create value. it indicates the firm's overall financial health over a specific period (nyamiobo, muturi, okibo&olweny, 2019). measuring firm performance is essential to determine how effectively a firm's assets have contributed to shareholder wealth over a specific timeframe. it provides hints into the firm's efficiency in using its resources to generate revenues. however, it is important to note that accounting measures of corporate financial performance have some limitations. they often focus on historical aspects of the firm's performance and can be influenced by managerial manipulation or variations in accounting procedures (krisztina, yahya&lentner, 2020). additionally, these accounting measures might primarily reflect internal efficiency and not necessarily external market responses to the organization. effective financial performance management is crucial for satisfying the interests of a firm's stakeholders. companies must manage their resources efficiently to deliver quality goods and services, ensuring both effectiveness and efficiency (jubaedah, yulivan&hadi, 2016). past corporate failures have been linked to poor financial planning and management. firms evaluate their corporate performance using various financial and non-financial indicators to assess their financial well-being over specific periods of interest. specific accounting measures, such as 572 return on assets, return on equity, and profit margin, are frequently employed to assess profitability. net profit margin net profit margin is a financial metric that measures the profitability of a company by expressing its net profit as a percentage of its total revenue (nariswari&nugraha, 2020). it indicates the proportion of revenue that translates into profit after deducting all expenses, including cost of goods sold, operating expenses, taxes, interest, and depreciation. in essence, profit margin provides insights into how effectively a company generates profits from its core operations and manages its expenses (mahdi &khaddafi, 2020). a higher profit margin indicates that a larger portion of revenue is retained as profit, reflecting strong financial performance and efficient cost management. conversely, a lower profit margin suggests lower profitability and potentially higher operating costs or lower revenue generation relative to expenses (kusmayadi, rahman & abdullah, 2018). net profit margin is a critical measure used by investors, analysts, and stakeholders to evaluate a company's financial health, profitability, and operational efficiency. it helps in comparing the performance of companies within the same industry, assessing trends over time, and making informed decisions regarding investment, strategic planning, and resource allocation. net profit margin stands as a key metric that provides hints into a company's profitability since it serves as a critical indicator of how efficiently a company translates its revenue into profit after accounting for all expenses (handayani&winarningsih, 2020). net profit margin indicates the percentage of revenue that remains as profit after deducting all expenses, including operating costs, taxes, interest, and other overheads. by comparing profit margins across different periods or against industry benchmarks, stakeholders can assess the effectiveness of management strategies, operational efficiency, and overall business performance. investors uses profit margin as a crucial criterion for evaluating the financial health and growth prospects of companies. higher profit margins often signal robust financial management and sustainable growth potential. a consistently high profit margin reflects efficient cost management, revenue generation, and resource utilization, indicating a company's ability to generate profits from its core operations. thus, profit margin serves as a vital financial metric that offers useful hints into a company's profitability, operational efficiency, and financial health. by calculating and analyzing profit margins, businesses, investors, and stakeholders can make informed decisions regarding investment, strategic planning, and performance evaluation. theoretical framework system theory the information content hypotheses, which was developed in 1988 by brennan and copeland, suggests that managers use accounting information as a means of conveying information to shareholders. this theory posits that disclosure of a firm's attributes sends signals to the market, which can indirectly affect the preference for shares of a particular firm (shuaibu, ali, & amin, 2019). this concept, also known as signalling theory, suggests that corporate announcements can have information content (hameed &tsoho, 2020). for example, cash dividend announcements can signal changes in a company's expectations about its future prospects when the market is imperfect. management has discretion over the investment and financing decisions of firms, and they can use earnings as a tool to convey information about the prospects of the company, including its 573 market value. when earnings convey useful information, it can have an immediate impact on the company's market performance following a public announcement. the issuance of more shares by a company can reduce the price of its shares, while stock splits can cause price increases, and issuing more debt instruments can lead to price increases. market equilibrium is not often seen in the financial markets. when a company announces its earnings or dividend, it sends signals to investors that can influence the market value of the firms listed on the stock market (hameed &tsoho, 2020). according to the signaling theory, companies can use financial statements to attract capital providers who are seeking firms with favorable attributes that can maximize shareholders' funds (oyeyemi, enyi, & emmanuel, 2019). this theory is relevant to this research work because investors typically consider specific firm attributes before purchasing a firm's stock, such as the efficiency of asset utilization, optimal gearing ratio, and economic profitability of the firm (shuaibu, ali, & amin, 2019). these factors serve as major determinants that reflect how managers are able to maximize the value of the shareholders. the information content hypotheses (ich) suggests that the market value of a firm reflects all available public information about the firm (hameed &tsoho, 2020). the profitability of a firm is a key factor that affects its market value. investors tend to favor firms that generate high profits, as this indicates that the firm is able to earn a return on its investments (shuaibu, ali, & amin, 2019). high financial performance also suggests that the firm is able to pay dividends to shareholders. therefore, firms with higher financial performance tend to have a higher market value. leverage is the degree to which a firm uses debt to finance its operations. higher leverage can lead to higher profits, as the firm can use the borrowed funds to invest in new projects. however, higher leverage also increases the risk of bankruptcy, as the firm may struggle to meet its debt obligations (oyeyemi, enyi, & emmanuel, 2019). therefore, firms with moderate levels of leverage tend to have a higher market value. liquidity refers to the ability of a firm to meet its short-term obligations. firms that are more liquid are less likely to default on their debts, which can lead to higher investor confidence and a higher market value. liquidity can be improved by increasing cash reserves, improving working capital management, and reducing short-term debt. empirical review nangih, turakpe and effe-nnamdi (2023) examined the effect of firm characteristics on financial performance of listed companies.the study population was listed consumer goods firms in nigeria. the study adopted the ex post facto design and was anchored on the dynamic capability theory. it employed purposive sampling technique to select a total of 16 companies; which served as sample for the study. data were sourced from annual financial reports of the sampled firms from 2013 to 2022 and analyzed using descriptive, correlation and panel regression techniques. the findings showed that firm age had a negative, though insignificant effect on eps. relatedly, firm age was also found to have a significant negative effect on the roa of the consumer goods firms. in contrast, firm size(fsiz) was found to have a positive and significant effect on eps. lastly, it was found that fsiz has a significant negative effect on the return on assets of consumer goods firms in nigeria. based on the findings, the study recommended that; firstly, consumer goods firms should not consider firm age as important since it had insignificant effect on eps. secondly, since firms age matter when it as to with increase in profitability (return on assets). sabiya and joel (2023)examined the firm characteristics and financial performance of selected pension fund administrators in nigeria. the population of the study consist of all the pension 574 fund administrators (pfas) for the period of five years 2018 to 2022. the sample consisted of 10 selected post recapitalisations of the pencom. a purposive sampling was used in selecting the sample size of the study. the study used secondary data extracted from the published annual reports and accounts of sampled pfas. the panel data generated were analysed using descriptive, pearson correlation and multiple regression model with the help of stata version 13. the model proved to be statistically significant with a combined probability of f-statistics of 0.0001 which is below the adopted level of significance of 5%. the result shows that the firm age with a p-value of 0.000 has a significant positive effect on financial performance which is measured by unit price. the study revealed that density of contributions, liquidity, firm age, board size, and expenditure of the fund are jointly responsible for about 97% of the changes in financial performance indicated by the adjusted rsquared figure of 0.970853. thus, the study concluded that firm characteristics has a significant effect on financial performance of pfas. handoyo, mulyani, ghani and soedarsono (2023) examined the influence of firm characteristics (size, age, industry type, and ownership) on a firm’s performance in indonesia. the study used 1024 data sets of 128 manufacturing firms listed on the indonesia stock exchange from 2014 to 2021. data panel regression and independent t-tests were employed for statistical analysis. adopting miles and snow’s strategy typology framework, the findings indicated that the firm size, industry type, and competition intensity significantly influence the firm’s performance. fadhilah, kurniati and suherman (2022) determined the effect of profitability, capital structure, liquidity, and firm size on firm value among firms in indonesia. the data used in this study was secondary data obtained from manufacturing companies located in the indonesia stock exchange from 2016 to 2019. the data collection method used is the purposive sampling method, which resulted in 50 companies during four years of observation. the analysis technique used in this research is data panel regression. the results of the research show that profitability has a positive and significant effect on firm value, while capital structure, liquidity, and firm size have no significant effect on firm value. mwendwa (2022) examined the effect of firm attributes on manufacturing and allied as well as construction companies listed on nairobi securities exchange financial performance. a descriptive research design was used in this research in describing the characteristics of the phenomenon being studied. the study's target population was nine manufacturing as well as five construction and allied nselisted firms. data on the financial statements were obtained from the various company websites and the nse website. diagnostic testing preceded data analysis for data reliability and validity determination, which included; bivariate correlation analysis, multicollinearity tests, normality tests, unit root tests, heteroskedasticity tests, autocorrelation test and haussmann specification tests. results from the data analysis indicated that leverage ratio had a significant negative correlation with the financial performance of manufacturing and allied firms; liquidity had an insignificant negative correlation with the manufacturing and allied firms' performance, while for the construction and allied firms, financial performance correlation with liquidity was positive and significant. bencharles and osifo (2022) investigated the effect of leverage ratio and equity ratio on firm value of listed oil/gas firms and banking firms in the nigeria exchange limited. panel data spanning 21yrs (2000-2020) was subjected to empirical analysis. market based measure was used to measure firm value (tobin’s q). the panel least square was used for data analysis along with other preliminary tests. findings showed that leverage and equity had a significant positive relationship with firm’s value. 575 akhalumeh, izevbekhai, and ohenhen (2022) investigates the effective factors in firm growth in nigeria, using a sample of 91 non-financial firms listed on the nigeria stock exchange. the study employs the ordinary least squares method to estimate the parameters of the model and used data from audited financial statements of the selected firms. the variables examined in the study include firm age, firm size, innovativeness, management efficiency, capital intensity, profitability, institutional ownership, and international affiliation. the findings of the study suggest that firm innovativeness and management efficiency have a positive and significant causal relationship with firm growth. in contrast, firm age and capital intensity have a negative but insignificant effect on firm growth. the study also finds that leverage and firm size have a positive but insignificant relationship with firm growth. the study further reports that institutional ownership and international affiliation positively but insignificantly affect firm growth. nguyen, tan, and nguyen (2021) investigated the factors that affect the firm value of trading companies listed on the vietnamese stock exchange. the study uses a dataset with 925 observations of trading firms listed on the vietnam stock exchange over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2019. the factors that affect firm value include firm size, capital structure, profitability, sales, and liquidity, while firm value is represented by the value of equity. the study employs quantitative methods and regression technique to analyze the data. the findings indicate that firm size is the most crucial factor affecting firm value. the results suggest that the value of a large company is of higher rank than a small company. in contrast, capital structure has a negative impact on firm value. the study further reports that the other independent variables, such as profitability, sales, and liquidity, are statistically insignificant in the regression model. this means that these factors do not significantly affect firm value. the study concludes that firm size and capital structure are crucial factors that affect firm value in the trading industry in vietnam. jihadi et al. (2021) examined the effect of liquidity, activity, leverage, and profitability on firm value of indonesian companies listed on the lq45 index. the study used a purposive sampling method to obtain a sample of 22 companies from 2014-2019 and used multiple linear regression analysis with the spss 18 program for data analysis. the study found that liquidity, activity, leverage, and profitability had a significant impact on firm value, which supports the initial hypothesis of the study. additionally, the study found that csr played a moderating role in the relationship between financial ratios and firm value, and company size acted as a control variable. jeroh (2020) examined the impact of corporate attributes on the value of firms in nigeria's financial service subsector. the study used secondary data sourced from the financials of 32 listed firms in the subsector for a period of nine years (2010-2018) and employed descriptive, diagnostic, and inferential statistics to analyze the data. the multivariate regression technique was used to test the formulated hypotheses. the study found that selected corporate attributes such as returns, revenue growth, earnings, leverage, company size, and asset tangibility significantly influenced two measures of firm value (share price and tobin's q) while no significant relationship was found between the selected corporate attributes and the third measure of firm value (share price to book value). dang, vu, ngo, and hoang (2019) investigated the effect of growth, firm size, capital structure, and profitability on enterprise value (ev), using a panel of 1,070 observations from 214 companies listed on the vietnamese stock market for the period of 2012-2016. the authors used generalized least squares and structural pathways analysis to analyze their data. the study found that two factors, size and profitability, have a positive impact on enterprise value, while 576 capital structure has a negative effect. however, the growth factor did not show any significant impact on ev. hameed and tsoho (2020) conducted a study to examine the impact of financial performance and firm size on the value of quoted insurance companies on the nigerian stock exchange. the study utilized a longitudinal panel design, covering a period of eight years from 2012 to 2019. the study utilized data from the financial reports of 21 insurance companies quoted on the nigerian stock exchange as of december 31, 2020. the study used return on assets (roa) and return on equity (roe) to proxy financial performance, natural logarithm of total assets to proxy firm size, and tobin's q to proxy firms' value. the study also included firm age as a control variable. the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis with the aid of stata 15 version. the regression analysis was used to determine the impact of financial performance and firm size on firms' value. the study revealed that all explanatory variables, except roa, firm size, and firm age, had a positive significant effect on tobin's q. specifically, roe had an insignificant effect on tobin's q. endri and fathony (2020) conducted a study to estimate and analyze the impact of profitability, firm size, leverage, and growth on firm value in financial sector companies listed on the indonesia stock exchange from 2013 to 2017. the study used a quantitative research method, with 21 financial sector companies as research objects, measured by purposive sampling techniques. panel data regression analysis was used to analyze the data. the study employed firm value as the dependent variable, while profitability, firm size, leverage, and growth were used as independent variables. the study revealed that dividend policy and profitability had a significant positive effect on firm value in financial sector companies listed on the indonesia stock exchange for the period 2013-2017. however, firm size, leverage, and growth did not have any significant effect on firm value. abba, lawal, and sadah (2020) conducted a study on the financial determinants of firm value of listed deposit money banks in nigeria. the study utilized tobin's q as the dependent variable and profitability, investment decision, funding decision, dividend payout ratio, and firm size as independent variables. the study covered a period of six years (2013-2018) and used multiple panel data regression for data analysis. the findings indicated that profitability, funding decision, and dividend policy have a significant positive influence on firm value of listed deposit money banks in nigeria, while investment decision had no significant effect on firm value. the study recommends that the managers of deposit money banks in nigeria should focus on improving profitability, maintaining an optimal level of debt, and increasing the size of the firm to enhance firm value. sulaiman, mijinyawa, and isa (2019) investigated the impact of financial performance, capital structure, and firm size on the value of listed consumer-goods firms in nigeria over a 12-year period (2006-2017). the study used return on assets and return on equity to proxy financial performance, while short-term debt and long-term debt were used to proxy financial leverage. the natural logarithm of total assets was used to proxy firm size, and tobin's q was used to proxy firms' value, with firm growth as a control. the study employed pooled ordinary least squares and panel data estimators, including fixed effects and random effects models. the findings indicate that return on assets, short-term debt, and long-term debt had a positive and significant impact on tobin's q, while return on equity had a negative and significant impact on tobin's q. however, firm size and firm growth had an insignificant impact on tobin's q. the study concluded that the independent variables had an effect on the dependent variables, and it recommended that firms maintain the use of debt in their capital structure and improve the level of total assets to enhance their value. 577 shuaibu, ali, and amin (2019) conducted an empirical study to examine the impact of company attributes on the firm value of listed consumer goods sector in nigeria over the period 2005 to 2014. the study used secondary data sources and a cluster sampling technique to select the sample. the data was analyzed using shapiro wilk test and hausman test, and the findings were analyzed using the random effects model of regression analysis with stata 11.1 software. the study found that firm growth and size had a positive and significant impact on firm value of the sampled consumer goods companies in nigeria, while firm leverage had a positive relationship with firm value, but the relationship was not significant. the study recommended that consumer goods companies in nigeria adopt proper debt management and appropriate capital structure, acquire a reasonable amount of assets for efficient and effective running of the company, and increase sales to enhance the firm's value and avoid bankruptcy. sampurna and romawati (2020) conducted an empirical study to examine the determinants of firm value of listed manufacturing companies in indonesia stock exchange (idx) over a fiveyear period. the study focused on institutional ownership, firm size, profitability, leverage, and investment opportunity set as determinants of firm value. the sample comprised 84 manufacturing companies, and panel data analysis was used for the study, resulting in 420 observations. the results showed that firm size, return on assets, and market-to-book value of equity had a positive and significant impact on firm value. however, debt-to-total assets had a negative and significant impact on firm value. the study concludes that manufacturing companies in idx should maintain a reasonable level of debt to avoid any negative impact on firm value and strive to increase firm size and profitability to enhance the firm's value. oyeyemi, enyi, and emmanuel (2019) investigated the influence of shareholders’ return on the value of manufacturing firms listed on the nigerian stock exchange. the study used annual reports and accounts of 36 selected firms for a period of 20 years, between 2007 and 2016, resulting in 720 firm year observations. the authors employed multivariate regression analysis (fixed effect) to test the relationship between the dependent variable, market capitalization, and independent variables such as past dividend, agency cost, debt-equity ratio, size, earnings per share, and sales growth. the results revealed that past dividend, agency cost, debt-equity ratio, and size have significant positive effects on the market capitalization of listed manufacturing firms in nigeria. in contrast, earnings per share and sales growth had an insignificant negative influence on the value of the firm, although the magnitude was immaterial. the study concludes that managers should prioritize the interests of key stakeholders, including shareholders, management, employees, and loan holders, as well as the growth and expansion of the business, instead of solely relying on the signaling effect of dividends. methodology research design in order to assess the effect of firm attributes of financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria, the current study employed an ex-post-facto research design. this type of research design is commonly used to examine the correlation between variables and identify factors that are linked to specific occurrences, conditions, events, or behavior by analyzing preexisting data or past events. the ex-post-facto research design was selected for this study because the events being examined had already occurred in the past. population of the study 578 the population of the study constitutes all the listed industrial goods firms in nigeria exchange group (ngx), the listed industrial goods firms are thirteen (13) as at 31st december, 2023 and are as follows; population of the study 1. austin laz & company plc. 2. berger paints plc. 3. beta glass plc. 4. bua cement plc. 5. cap plc. 6. cutix plc. 7. dangote cement plc. 8. greif nigeria plc. 9. lafarge africa plc. 10. meyer plc. 11. notore chemical ind. plc. 12. premier paints plc. 13. tripple gee and company plc. source: nigeria exchange group (2021) sample size and sampling technique a purposive sampling technique was employed to select a sample size of 5 firms from a population of 13 firms. this sampling approach enables the selection of firms that possess complete data for the period spanning from 2014 to 2023, as well as firms that were listed during the 2014 accounting period. this sampling method was chosen based on the 5 firms with the highest average gross domestic product from 2014 to 2023. sample size of the study 1. berger paints plc. 2. cap plc. 3. dangote cement plc. 4. lafarge africa plc. 5. meyer plc. instrument for data collection the data collection instrument employed in this study consisted solely of secondary sources. the researcher exclusively utilized annual reports, financial statements, and accounts to conduct their research. these reports were instrumental in calculating all the variables, including both independent and dependent variables, for a period of ten years (2014 to 2023) from five selected listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. 3.6 validity and reliability of research instrument validity examines the degree to which a measure corresponds to anticipated relationships among variables within a theoretical framework. in more straightforward language, it gauges whether an instrument effectively measures its intended aspects and operates as intended. attaining 100% validity is nearly impossible, given that validity is assessed on a scale. researchers employ data collection and analysis to appraise the precision of their instruments. conversely, reliability concerns the consistency of the instrument employed for measuring research data. although determining reliability can be highly intricate or even unattainable, researchers commonly employ four general estimates in reliability testing. 579 1. inter-rater/observer reliability: this measure assesses the degree to which different raters/observers provide consistent answers to the same estimates. 2. test reliability: test reliability examines the consistency of a measure over time, evaluating its stability and repeatability. 3. parallel-forms reliability: this type of reliability evaluates the consistency of two tests constructed in the same manner from the same content. 4. internal consistency reliability: internal consistency reliability measures the coherence of results across items. often evaluated using cronbach’s alpha scale and other techniques. method of data collection and data analysis the research employed secondary data extracted from the annual reports of the five chosen firms to compute leverage, liquidity, firm size, net profit margin. the data was derived from publicly available annual reports spanning the years 2014 to 2023, and these financial statements underwent validation by external auditors. opting for secondary data enabled the researchers to gather information efficiently over an extended timeframe, reducing the expenses and time associated with primary data collection. furthermore, relying on the annual reports of the designated firms ensured the reliability and consistency of the utilized data. the data collected for the study was analyzed using descriptive analysis and multiple regression analysis. descriptive analysis was used to summarize and describe the characteristics of the dataset. this was done using various statistical methods such as measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. the hypotheses of the study were tested using the estimates from multiple regression analysis, with the model below. npm=β0 +β1fsizit +β2fliqit +β3flevit+eit where, npm= net profit margin fsiz= firm size fliq= firm liquidity flev= firm leverage β0=constant β1-3= coefficients of the independent variable e= error term i= firm t= year description of variables measurement of variables name of variables abbreviation type of variable operational definition 1. firm size fsiz independent natural log of current asset 2. firm liquidity lio independent current assets/current liabilities 580 3. firm leverage lev independent total liabilities/equity 4. net profit margin npm independent earnings after tax/revenue source: researcher’s computation (2024) decision rule the acceptance or rejection of a hypothesis hinges on the significance of the t-test and probability. two primarily methods are employed to assess the significance of the results. firstly, the calculated t-test is juxtaposed with the tabulated t-statistics. should the calculated t-statistics surpass the tabulated t-statistics, the alternate hypothesis is embraced, the null hypothesis is discarded, and the outcome is deemed significant. secondly, the probability value (p-value) associated with the t-statistics is compared to the significance level (e.g. 0.05). if the p-value is below 0.05, the alternate hypothesis is acknowledged, the null hypothesis is repudiated, and the finding is considered significant. presentation and descriptive analysis of data the data collected for the study were firm size, firm liquidity, firm leverage, and also net profit margin. 4.1 presentation of data for firm size firm/ year berger paints cap plc dangote cement lafarge plc meyer plc 2014 6.56 6.49 8.98 8.54 6.39 2015 6.59 6.53 9.05 8.56 6.36 2016 6.61 6.69 9.18 8.65 6.34 2017 6.63 6.70 9.21 8.77 6.28 2018 6.66 6.80 9.24 8.76 6.26 2019 6.70 6.83 9.26 8.70 6.57 2020 6.70 6.93 9.33 8.70 6.48 2021 6.71 7.08 9.41 8.73 6.30 2022 6.74 7.13 9.42 8.78 6.28 2023 6.82 7.19 9.49 8.84 6.38 source: researcher’s computation (2024) over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, berger paints firm size exhibited consistent growth with minor fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was a modest increase of 0.46%, from 2015 to 2016 there was also a modest increase of 0.30%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a modest increase of 0.30%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a modest increase of 0.45%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a modest increase of 0.60%, from 2019 to 2020 there was no changes, maintaining a firm size of 6.70%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a modest increase of 0.15%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a modest increase of 0.30%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a notable increase of 1.34%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, cap plc firm size exhibited consistent growth, with varying rates of increase. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 0.62%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 2.45%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a slight increase of 0.15%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increase of 1.49%, from 2018 to 2019 there was an increase of 0.44%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 1.46%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 2.16%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 0.71%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 0.84%. 581 over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, dangote cement firm size exhibited consistent growth each year. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 0.78%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 1.43%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 0.33%, from 2017 to 2018 there was another increase of 0.33%, from 2018 to 2019 there was an increase of 0.22%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 0.76%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 0.86%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 0.86%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 0.11%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 0.74%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, lafarge plc firm size exhibited both increases and minor decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 0.23%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 1.05%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 1.39%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a decrease of 0.11%, from 2018 to 2019 there was another decrease of 0.68%, from 2019 to 2020 there was no changes, maintaining a firm size of 8.70, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 0.34%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 0.57%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 0.68%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2015, meyer plc firm size exhibited both increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was a decrease of 0.47%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a decrease of 0.31%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a decrease of 0.95%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a decrease of 0.32%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a notable increase of 4.95%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 1.37%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 2.78%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a decrease of 0.32%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 1.59%. 4.2 presentation of data for firm liquidity firm/year berger paints cap plc dangote cement lafarge plc meyer plc 2014 2.54 1.41 0.57 0.69 0.66 2015 1.90 1.59 0.80 0.69 0.64 2016 1.19 1.70 0.50 0.78 0.39 2017 1.46 1.60 1.24 0.38 0.22 2018 1.28 1.64 1.55 0.34 0.25 2019 1.19 1.45 1.02 0.87 1.16 2020 1.32 1.66 1.03 0.80 2.06 2021 1.42 1.40 1.06 1.10 1.72 2022 1.57 1.74 1.20 1.23 3.38 2023 1.81 1.89 1.08 1.21 2.76 source: researcher’s computation (2024) over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, berger paints liquidity ratio exhibited both increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was a decrease of 25.20%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a decrease of 37.37%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 22.69%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a decrease of 12.33%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a decrease of 7.03%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 10.92%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 7.58%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 10.56%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 15.29%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, cap plc firm liquidity exhibited both increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 12.77%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 6.92%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a decrease of 5.88%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increase of 2.50%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a decrease of 11.59%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 14.48%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 582 15.66%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 24.29%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 8.62%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, dangote cement firm liquidity showed a notable fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increased by 40.35%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a decreased by 37.50%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increased by 148%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increased by 25%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a decreased by 34.84%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increased by 0.98%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increased by 2.91%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increased by 21.70%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a decreased by 16.28%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, lafarge plc firm liquidity showed a notable fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was no changes, maintaining a liquidity ratio of 0.69%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 13.04%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a significant decrease of 51.28%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a decrease of 10.53%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a substantial increase of 155.85%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 8.05%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 37.50%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 11.82%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a slight decrease of 1.63%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, meyer plc liquidity experienced significant fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was a slight decrease of 3.03%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a substantial decrease of 39.06%, from 2016 to 2017 there was another significant decrease of 43.59%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a modest increase of 13.64%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a dramatic increase of 364%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a continued increase of 77.59%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 16.50%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a notable increase of 96.51%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a decrease of 18.32% presentation of data for firm leverage firm/year berger paints cap plc dangote cement lafarge plc meyer plc 2014 0.48 1.61 0.51 0.24 3.19 2015 0.51 1,24 0.50 0.28 2.61 2016 0.58 1.15 0.53 0.80 4.14 2017 0.63 1.24 0.63 1.52 5.24 2018 0.61 1.25 0.33 1.26 1.96 2019 0.65 1.70 0.42 0.38 5.12 2020 0.58 1.28 0.56 0.35 0.76 2021 0.58 1.75 0.77 0.35 0.98 2022 0.66 1.03 0.78 0.40 0.37 2023 0.87 0.93 0.92 0.53 0.49 source: researcher’s computation (2024) over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, berger paints firm leverage exhibited a combination of increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 6.25%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 13.73%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 8.62%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increase of 3.17%, from 2018 to 2019 there was an increase of 6.56%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 10.77%, from 2020 to 2021 there was no changes, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 13.79%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a significant increase of 31.82%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, cap plc firm leverage exhibited a significant fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was a notable decrease of 23.60%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a decrease of 7.26%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 7.83%, from 2017 583 to 2018 there was a modest increase of 0.81%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a substantial increase of 36%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 24.71%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a significant increase of 36.72%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a sharp decrease of 41.14%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a decrease of 9.71%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, dangote cement firm leverage exhibited both increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was a slight decrease of 1.96%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 6%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 18.87%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a substantial decrease of 47.62%, from 2018 to 2019 there was an increase of 27.27%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 33.33%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 37.5%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a slight increase of 1.30%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 19.23%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, lafarge plc firm leverage showed considerable variability. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 16.67%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a substantial increase of 185.71%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 90%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a decrease of 17.10%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a significant decrease of 69.84%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a minor decrease of 7.89%, from 2020 to 2021 there was no changes, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 14.29%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a notable increase of 32.50% over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, meyer plc firm leverage exhibited significant fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was a decrease of 18.21%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an increase of 58.57%, from 2016 to 2017 there was an increase of 26.55%, from 2017 to 2018 ther[=pe was a decrease of 62.69%, from 2018 to 2019 there was an increase of 160.78%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 85.16%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 28.95%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a decrease of 62.24%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 32.43%. 4.4 presentation of data for net profit margin firm/year berger paints cap plc dangote cement lafarge plc meyer plc 2014 0.05 0.24 0.50 0.27 -0.02 2015 0.11 0.25 0.55 0.26 0.06 2016 0.09 0.24 0.86 0.24 -0.20 2017 0.08 0.21 0.46 -0.07 -0.24 2018 0.09 0.26 0.78 0.02 0.33 2019 0.13 0.21 0.43 0.12 -0.01 2020 0.04 0.14 0.49 0.14 1.34 2021 0.03 0.08 0.38 0.20 0.03 2022 0.03 0.12 0.33 0.16 0.27 2023 0.06 0.11 0.38 0.13 0.10 source: researcher’s computation (2024) over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, berger paints net profit margin exhibited significant fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 120%, from 2015 to 2016 there was an 18.18% decrease, from 2016 to 2017 there was a decrease of 11.11%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increase of 12.50%, from 2018 to 2019 there was another increase of 44.44%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 69.23%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 25%, from 2021 to 2022 there was no changes, from 2022 to 2023 there was a 100% increase. 584 over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, cap plc net profit margin exhibited considerable fluctuations, from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 4.17%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a decrease of 4%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a decrease of 12.5%, from 2017 to 2018 there was an increase of 23.81%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a decrease of 19.23%, from 2019 to 2020 there was a decrease of 33.33%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 42.86%, from 2021 to 2022 there was an increase of 50%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a decrease of 8.33%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, dangote cement net profit margin exhibited significant fluctuations. from 2014 to 2015 there was an increase of 10%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a substantial increase of 56.36%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a significant decrease of 46.51%, from 2017 to 2018 there was a notable increase of 69.57%, from 2018 to 2019 there was a decrease of 44.87%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 13.95%, from 2020 to 2021 there was a decrease of 22.45%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a decrease of 13.16%, from 2022 to 2023 there was an increase of 15.15% over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, lafarge plc net profit margin experienced both significant increases and decreases. from 2014 to 2015 there was a sloth decrease of 3.70%, from 2015 to 2016 there was a further decrease of 7.69%, from 2016 to 2017 there was a sharp decline of 129.17%, turning negative, from 2017 to 2018 there was a recovery of 128.57%, returning positive, from 2018 to 2019 there was a substantial increase of 500%, from 2019 to 2020 there was an increase of 16.67%, from 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 42.86%, from 2021 to 2022 there was a decrease of 20%, from 2022 to 2023 there was a decrease of 18.75%. over the ten years period from 2014 to 2023, meyer plc net profit margin exhibited significant volatility. from 2014 to 2015 there was a dramatic 400% increase, turning the margin positive, from 2015 to 2016 there was a sharp 433.33% decrease, turning the margin negative, from 2016 to 2017 there was a 20% further decrease, deepening the negative margin, from 2017 to 2018 there was a major 237.5% increase, turning the margin positive again, from 2018 to 2019 there was a 106.06% decrease, leading to a negative margin, from 2019 to 2020 there was an extraordinary 6600% decrease, reflecting a significant loss, from 2020 to 2021 there was a recovery with a 102.24% increase, turning positive, from 2021 to 2022 there was a further strong 800% increase, further improving the margin, from 2022 to 2023 there was a 62.96% decrease, indicating a drop but remaining positive descriptive statistical analysis of the data the descriptive statistics include mean, standard deviation, maximum, minimum, skewness and kurtosis, as well as the jacque bera statistics for the individual variables. the mean and standard deviation was used to explain the nature of the data while the jacque bera captures the behavior relation to time series. mean is the average value of the series, and standard deviation measures dispersion in the series. the jarque-bera statistics and its corresponding probability values examined the normality of the distributions in the individual variables. the null hypothesis is that “the variables are normally distributed”. the decision rule is to reject the ho when p-value is less than 0.05% level of significance. these are used to explain the nature of the data for the study. table 4.5 descriptive statistical analysis 585 fsize fliq flev pmar mean 7.566600 1.262800 1.125000 0.217200 median 6.825000 1.220000 0.710000 0.140000 maximum 9.490000 3.380000 5.240000 1.340000 minimum 6.260000 0.220000 0.240000 -0.240000 std. dev. 1.197561 0.632336 1.120920 0.264691 skewness 0.412968 0.841151 2.440258 1.884454 kurtosis 1.375331 4.455645 8.615220 8.437107 jarque-bera 6.920252 10.31050 115.3128 91.18084 probability 0.031426 0.005769 0.000000 0.000000 sum 378.3300 63.14000 56.25000 10.86000 sum sq. dev. 70.27352 19.59261 61.56665 3.433008 observations 50 50 50 50 source: researcher computed result the result on table 4.1 demonstrates the descriptive statistics of the firm attributes on financial performance oflisted industrial goods firmsin the nigerian exchange groupwith three independent variables for 5 listedindustrial goods firms in nigeria for 10 years period of 2014 to 2023. the result for the mean value offirm size is 7.566. this indicates that firm size on average of the sampled listed industrial goods firms in nigeria is 7.56%. this implies that averagely, the firm sizeto the net profit margin performance of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group is 7.56% of the sample firms. it further indicates that financial liquidity, and financial leverage in the period of study and from the sampled industrial goods firms are 1.26 and 1.12 respectively. the mean value of the dependent variable “net profit margin” is 0.21. this indicates that averagely, the proxies of the firms’attributes “firm size, financial liquidity and financial leverage” of the sampled deposit industrial goods firms stood at 7.56, 1.26 and 1.12 respectively. while that of net profit margin is averagely 21% of the industrial goods firms in nigeria within the period under study. the median descriptive statistics value which set the benchmark and group the sampled firms into below and above average when there is a wide difference between maximum and minimum values are presented as 6.82 for firm size, 1.22 for financial liquidity, 0.71 for financial leverage and 0.14 for net profit margin. the sampled industrial good firms’ median value is the benchmark or average in all the proxies of firm attributes and financial performance for a low and high performed industrial goods firms’ sector. the maximum descriptive statistics value which provides the largest value in the data of the sampled banks and often used to check for impossible outcomes are 9.49, 3.38, 5.24 and 1.34 respectively for firm size, financial liquidity, financial leverage and net profit margin. the standard deviation which measures the degree of deviation from the mean and medium values are 1.19, 0.63. 1.12 and 0.26 respectively for firm size, financial liquidity, financial leverage and net profit margin. the standard deviation value of firm size, financial liquidity, financial leverage and net profit margin when compare with their respective mean and medium showed little difference and are free from outliers. hypotheses testing 586 the study’s hypothesis was tested using multiple regression analysis. this approach enabled the study investigate the significance and strength of the relationships between the variables of interest. table 4.6 multiple regression analysis dependent variable: pmar method: panel least squares date: 07/31/24 time: 05:50 sample: 2014 2023 periods included: 10 cross-sections included: 5 total panel (balanced) observations: 50 variable coefficien t std. error t-statistic prob. c -0.480351 0.404820 -1.186578 0.2415 fsize 0.086486 0.040172 2.152883 0.0366 fliq 0.075264 0.073482 1.024247 0.3111 flev -0.046130 0.041683 -1.106666 0.2742 r-squared 0.253943 mean dependent var 0.21720 0 adjusted rsquared 0.205287 s.d. dependent var 0.26469 1 s.e. of regression 0.235963 akaike info criterion 0.02633 7 sum squared resid 2.561219 schwarz criterion 0.17929 9 log likelihood 3.341564 hannan-quinn criter. 0.08458 6 f-statistic 5.219166 durbin-watson stat 1.57767 9 prob(f-statistic) 0.003475 source: researcher computation e view 9 results the regression analysis is therefore based on fixed effect model to interpret the places of firm size, financial liquidity, financial leverage of firm attributes proxies and net profit margin of listed industrial good firms in nigeria. the result of the coefficient of determination (r-square)is 0.25. this means that the explanatory variables (firm size, financial liquidity, financial leverage) explain the respondent variable (net profit margin) of listed industrial goods firms in nigerian exchange groupis 25%. while 75% are outside the explanatory variables. the f-statistics which is for testing the overall effect of the modelis5.2191 with a p-value of 0.0034.since the p-value is less than 0.05% level of significance, the study concludes that the explanatory variable including (firm size, financial liquidity and financial leverage) accounted for about 25% of the net profit marginof listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. 587 the result of the coefficient of independent variable that is used to produce the equation of the relationship from the model is as given below: npm = -0.086486fsize + 0.075264fliq + -0.399784pmar +-0.480351 net profit margin and firm size the coefficient of the regression firm size is -1.086. this means that firm size which is a proxy for firm attributes, has a negative relationship with the net profit margin. this means that a unit increase in the firm size results to a decrease in net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group up to 8% net profit margin and financial liquidity the coefficient of the regression for financial liquidity is 0.07. this indicates that financial liquidity has an converse relationship with the net profit margin of industrial goods firms in nigeria at 7%. net profit margin and financial leverage the result of the coefficient of the regression for financial leverage is -0.04. this shows an inverse relationship between net profit margin and financial leverage. this implies that a unit rise in the cost of the financial leverage will decrease the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria by 4%. hypothesis one firm size has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. the t-statistic for bs is 2.1528. the probability value is 0.0366 which is less than 5% level of significance. the decision rule is to reject the null hypothesis when the p-value is less than 5% level of significance, or to accept the null hypothesis when the p-value is greater than 5% level of significance. therefore, since the p-value of (0.0366) is less than 5% level of significance, the study rejects the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis which states that firm size has a significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. the study thus concludes that firm size has a positive and significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. hypothesis two financial liquidity has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. the result shows that the t-statistic for fliq is 1.0242. the probability value is 0.3111 which is greater than 5% level of significance. the decision rule is to reject the null hypothesis when the p-value is less than 5% level of significance, or accept the null hypothesis when p-value is greater than 5% level of significance. since the p-value 0.3111is greater than 5% level of significance, the study accepts the null hypothesis and rejects the alternative hypothesis which states that financial liquidity has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firmsin the nigerian exchange group”. the study then posits that financial liquidity has nosignificant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. 588 hypothesis three financial leverage has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. the result shows that the t-statistic for flev is -1.1066. the probability value 0.2742 is greater than 5% level of significance. the decision rule is to reject the null hypothesis when the pvalue is less than 5% level of significance and accept the null hypothesis when it is otherwise. therefore, since the p-value (0.2742) is greater than the 5% level of significance, thenull hypothesis is accepted against the alternative hypothesis which states that financial leverage has no significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in the nigerian exchange group. discussion of findings the study reveals a significant positive effect of firm size on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. larger firms tend to exhibit higher net profit margins, which can be attributed to several factors. firstly, economies of scale may enable larger firms to spread their fixed costs over a greater output, reducing the average cost per unit and thereby enhancing profitability. secondly, larger firms often enjoy greater market power, allowing them to negotiate better terms with suppliers and customers, further bolstering their profitability. additionally, larger firms may benefit from operational efficiencies, streamlined processes, and superior resource utilization, all contributing to enhanced profitability. this is in line with the findings by nangih, turakpe and effe-nnamdi (2023); handoyo, mulyani, ghani and soedarsono (2023); dang, vu, ngo, and hoang (2019) but disagrees with the findings by fadhilah, kurniati and suherman (2022) and hameed and tsoho (2020). conversely, the study uncovers a significant negative effect of firm liquidity on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. this finding suggests that firms with higher levels of liquidity experience lower net profit margins. several explanations may underpin this relationship. high liquidity levels may indicate underutilization of resources or conservative financial management practices, resulting in missed opportunities for revenue generation and profit maximization. moreover, excessive liquidity can lead to suboptimal investment decisions, as idle cash fails to generate returns commensurate with the cost of capital. additionally, overly liquid firms may face pressure to maintain liquidity buffers, constraining their ability to invest in value-creating opportunities and thereby impacting profitability negatively. similar results were found by ha and minh (2020); abubakar, sulaiman and haruna (2018); irom, okpanachi, ahmed and tope (2018); and abba and usman (2016). furthermore, the study highlights a significant negative effect of firm leverage on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria. this finding suggests that firms with higher leverage ratios tend to exhibit lower net profit margins. the negative impact of leverage on profitability can be attributed to various factors. firstly, higher leverage levels entail increased interest expenses, which directly erode profitability by reducing the net income available to shareholders. additionally, elevated debt levels amplify financial risk, potentially leading to higher borrowing costs, credit rating downgrades, or even financial distress, all of which can adversely affect profitability. moreover, excessive leverage may constrain financial flexibility, limiting the firm's ability to respond to changing market conditions or undertake strategic investments, further hampering profitability. this result is in consonance with the findings by mwendwa (2022); dang, vu, ngo, and hoang (2019); but contradicts those of bencharles and osifo (2022) and abba, lawal, and sadah (2020). 589 conclusion the financial performance of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria is a critical area of study, given its implications for economic growth and investment attractiveness. understanding the factors that influence financial performance is essential for stakeholders in making informed decisions. in this context, examining the effects of various firm attributes on net profit margin (npm) provides useful hints into the dynamics of profitability within industrial goods sector. based on the study’s findings, larger firms often enjoy economies of scale, allowing them to spread fixed costs over a larger revenue base and achieve higher profitability. in the context of industrial goods firms, larger companies may have greater production capacities, distribution networks, and bargaining power with suppliers, enabling them to generate higher revenues and profits. additionally, while liquidity is often perceived as a positive attribute, excessive liquidity can indicate inefficiencies in capital allocation or missed investment opportunities. in the context of industrial goods firms, excessively high liquidity may suggest underutilized resources or conservative financial management, leading to lower profitability. finally, while leverage can amplify returns for shareholders through financial leverage, it also introduces financial risk and interest expenses that can erode profitability. in the context of industrial goods firms, high leverage may indicate a reliance on debt to fund operations or expansion, leading to increased interest payments and financial constraints. the findings underscore the nexus between firm attributes and financial performance within the listed industrial goods sector in nigeria. while firm size emerges as a significant positive driver of profitability, firm liquidity and leverage exert notable negative impacts on profit margin. these hints underscore the importance of strategic financial management in optimizing profitability and enhancing the competitiveness of industrial goods firms operating in the nigerian market. in conclusion, therefore: 1) firm size have a positive non-significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firm in nigeria (β = 2.1528; p-value = 0.0366). 2) firm liquidity have a negative non-significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria (β = 1.0242; p-value = 0.3111). 3) firm leverage have a negative non-significant effect on the net profit margin of listed industrial goods firms in nigeria (β = -1.1066; p-value = 0.2742). recommendations in order to address the specific implication of each finding while aligning with the broader goal of improving financial performance through firm attributes, the study makes the following recommendations; 1) industrial goods firms in nigeria should focus on strategic growth initiatives to increase their size within the market. this could involve targeted investments in production capacity, expansion into new markets, or strategic acquisition. 2) industrial goods firms in nigeria should assess their liquidity management practices to ensure optimal utilization of resources. excessively high liquidity levels should be carefully reviewed, and efforts should be made to deploy surplus cash into profitable investments or working capital optimization. 590 3) industrial goods firms in nigeria should adopt a prudent approach to debt management to mitigate the negative effects of leverage on profitability by maintaining an optimal capital structure, avoiding excessive reliance on debt financing, and conducting thorough risk assessments before taking on additional debt. references abba, h. i., lawal, l. o.,aca, p., &sadah, a. a. 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(2023). moderating role of board size on debt capital and firm performance of quoted industrial goods companies in nigeria. european journal of accounting, auditing and finance research, 11(10), 1935. https://resources.jaze.com.ng/index.php/jaze/login page 7 volume 9 number 1, 2024 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. oby omeje managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 208 from campus to career: how cultural and identity factors influence graduates' job choices agbamu, mercy etakpobunor department of sociology delta state university, abraka. mercy.agbamu@delsu.edu.ng abstract career choices are important part of transitioning to the job market especially for graduating university students. it involves selecting a specific occupation or field based on their education, interests, values, and goals. the current study aims to investigate the impact of psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations on career choices among 1200 fresh graduates from delta state university. it explores how students’ identity formation, influenced by cultural assimilation and social interactions, informs their professional decisions as they transit into the workforce. by using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 300 graduating students who were selected through a stratified random sampling method across one hundred undergraduate university programmes. pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were performed using spss version 23 to examine the relationships between psycho-social values, socioeconomic motivations, and career choices. the analysis revealed that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations significantly influence career choices. however, psycho-social values had a moderate to strong correlation with career choices (r=0.56, p<0.01), while socioeconomic motivations demonstrated a stronger correlation (r=0.62, p<0.01). the regression model explained 48% of the variance in career choices, with socioeconomic motivations showing a higher impact (β=0.50, p<0.0001) compared to psycho-social values (β=0.45, p<0.0001). the findings indicate that while internalized psycho-social values play a notable role in shaping career aspirations, socioeconomic factors exert a more substantial influence. keywords: career choices, identity formation, psycho-social values, socio-economic motivations. introduction in the contemporary university setting, students find themselves at a critical juncture where cultural assimilation, identity formation, and career decision-making converge, particularly as they prepare for post-graduation employment opportunities (abes, jones, & stewart, 2023). as these students navigate their academic and social environments, they develop a myriad of relationships with peers, mentors, and broader societal influences, and from these relationships, a set of shared ideals and norms emerge that construct the mental imagination of ‘self’ and ambition. these interactions play a crucial role in shaping their personal and professional identities (newton & ender, 2010). such relationships not only inform their selfconcept but also exert significant influence on their career decision-making processes, thereby illustrating the interplay between individual aspirations and the prevailing dynamics within their chosen disciplines (griffin, perez, holmes, & mayo, 2010). this study posits that career choices made by students as they transition into the workforce reflect their evolving sense of identity (which is a construct of psycho-social values built on layers of ideals or norms derived from level of assimilation into various subcultures, both mailto:mercy.agbamu@delsu.edu.ng 209 directly and indirectly, influencing their decisions regarding career choices. thus, the choices students make regarding their professional trajectories are linked to their broader identity formation processes and the cultural contexts to which they have been exposed. cultural contexts refer to the various social, institutional, and environmental influences that shape students' experiences and identities during their time in university. these contexts encompass a cluster of values, beliefs, norms, and practice that students encounter, both within their immediate social circles (such as peer groups and academic communities) and in broader societal frameworks (such as societal expectations, economic conditions, and cultural heritage). furthermore, there is growing recognition that intersecting factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status can complicate the ways in which cultural influences are experienced and assimilated by students (griffin, perez, holmes, & mayo, 2010). these interconnected dimensions of identity not only shape students' perceptions of their academic and professional environments but also mediate the extent to which dominant cultural trends are embraced or resisted. understanding how these overlapping dynamics intensify or diminish the influence of prevailing societal norms adds a critical layer of complexity to the analysis. consequently, this study seeks to extend current scholarship by examining the impact of differential group associations (meunier, wade, & jenkins, 2012) on the career choices of students as they prepare to enter the job market. by exploring how identity-based affiliations inform professional decision-making, this research aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of how structural inequalities influence the pathways available to students across diverse social categories. statement of the problem the core issue addressed in this study centers on elucidating the relationship between cultural assimilation, identity development (conceived as psycho-social values and ideals that define one’s differential association), and career choices among fresh university job seekers. although existing research acknowledges the difficulties that students encounter when navigating social influences on their future career decisions, this study aims to explore in some depth the role played by dominant trends within their social networks, particularly through peer interactions and mentor relationships (audley & jović, 2020). the tension between maintaining personal authenticity and conforming to dominant norms presents a critical yet underexplored avenue for investigating the complexities that shape career choices. addressing this tension is essential for understanding how students balance these competing forces prior to graduation and eventual transition to active job seekers (knightbridge, 2014; meunier, wade, & jenkins, 2012). although studies acknowledge the challenges these students face as they navigate the various influences within their social connections, the dominance of certain trends (including dominant predisposition of norm group they belong) within their peer groups, mentor relationships, and broader societal contexts are typically complex discourses to later career decision-making processes, especially in a fiercely competitive labour market. hence, balancing the desire for personal authenticity with the pressure to conform to norms poses a significant challenge that deserves careful examination (knightbridge, 2014). in essence, does one’s differential association such as peer group influence, academic orientation, and broader social expectation predict career choice or do other factors such as economic incentives and a psychological desire to attain class mobility predict these choices? 210 research objective the objective raised to guide this study is to; 1. examine the degree of relationship between psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations as predictor of career choices. theoretical framework the theoretical framework for this study draws on albert bandura's social cognitive theory and edwin sutherland's differential association theory to explore how students' career choices are influenced by the interplay of learned behaviors, social environments, identity-based associations, and socioeconomic motivations. these theories provide a comprehensive lens for examining the ways in which social interactions, cultural contexts, and economic incentives shape decision-making processes as students transition into the workforce. social cognitive theory albert bandura’s social cognitive theory emphasizes the role of observational learning, modeling, and imitation in human behavior, positing that individuals learn and develop their actions based on the reciprocal interaction between personal factors, environmental influences, and observed behaviors (nabavi, 2012). this theory is instrumental in understanding how students’ career choices are shaped by the social environments they navigate during their university years. through interactions with peers, mentors, and role models, students observe behaviors, values, and career trajectories that influence their personal beliefs, attitudes, and aspirations. these observations, processed through their cognitive and emotional lenses, contribute to the formation of their psycho-social values and ideals—the internalized norms and principles that shape how they see themselves and their futures (bandura, 2021). by implication, the theory also acknowledges that socioeconomic motivations are significant external factors that influence decision-making. economic incentives, such as potential salary, job stability, and the opportunity for upward mobility, become critical considerations for students as they make career choices (abes, jones & stewart, 2023). these motivations are intertwined with psycho-social influences, as students are often drawn to careers that not only align with their personal values but also offer financial security and social status (meunier, wade & jenkins, 2012). as a result, students' career decisions are not made in isolation but are shaped by the interplay of learned behaviors from their social networks, the social environments they are embedded in, their evolving identity-based associations, and their desire to meet socioeconomic needs (bandura, 2021). the complex interaction of these factors illustrates how both psychological and social elements, alongside external economic motivations, guide students' career choices as they prepare to enter the workforce (knightbridge, 2014). differential association theory in contrast, edwin sutherland's differential association theory argues that individuals learn values, behaviors, and norms through interactions with others, particularly within close social groups (maloku, 2020; mccarthy, 1996). the theory posits that behavior is a result of exposure to different social influences, where individuals adopt the attitudes and behaviors of those they are most frequently in contact with (knightbridge, 2014). these learned behaviors 211 are shaped by the content and frequency of interactions, meaning that people are more likely to adopt behaviors that are reinforced by their peer groups, mentors, and social environments. thus, work-related skill, for example, is not inherent but learned through associations with individuals who espouse such skill as acceptably required (maloku, 2020). in the context of students' career choices, the theory explains how social environments and interactions within close-knit groups, such as peers, mentors, and academic communities, shape students’ career aspirations (johnson, 2020). students develop psycho-social values and ideals based on the attitudes, values, and behaviors they are exposed to, internalizing these as part of their identity (audley & jović, 2020). if a student’s peer group or mentors value certain professions or career paths, the student is more likely to be influenced by these norms and adopt similar aspirations. this aligns with the formation of identity-based associations, where students' career decisions are influenced by their need to align with the social expectations of their immediate groups (maloku, 2020). furthermore, socioeconomic motivations interact with these social influences, as students not only consider career choices that reflect their personal values and ideals but also those that offer financial stability and upward mobility which may be completely inimical to group ideals (knightbridge, 2014). thus, though differential association theory provides a framework for understanding how students’ career choices are shaped by the interplay of learned behaviors, and social environments, the internalization of socio-economic aspirations within their social networks may be more innate, intuitive, rather than learned (maloku, 2020; mccarthy, 1996). the implications of both theories for this study suggest that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations may likely play significant roles in predicting students' career choices. as such, students' career decisions are likely products of the dynamic interaction between their learned psycho-social values and the socioeconomic incentives they are exposed to, with both factors serving as key predictors of professional trajectories motives_ whether acculturated value or economic incentive. related studies career choices refer to the decisions individuals make regarding their professional paths, and these choices encompass the selection of a specific occupation or field of expertise. these decisions are typically influenced by various factors, including personal interests, aptitudes, educational background, values, and societal trends (shahzad, zahra & ahmed, 2014). however, ideally, the process of making career choices involves a comprehensive evaluation of one's skills, preferences, and aspirations in conjunction with the opportunities available in the labor market (savickas, 2013). academic literature often categorizes career choices into distinct fields or industries and each of these categories offer a unique set of opportunities and challenges. broadly, the categories include stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), business and management, healthcare and medicine, arts and humanities, social sciences, education, public service and government, and environmental sciences related careers (atewologun, kutzer, doldor, anderson & sealy, 2017). there is however sufficient evidence in the literature that one’s career choices are significantly influenced by individual's group or cultural identity. likewise, cultural norms and societal expectations within a specific social group one belongs contribute to perceptions of suitable career paths (li, hou & jia, 2015). moreover, the presence of role models and mentors within one's cultural identity has been found to have often shaped and guided career 212 aspirations. literature also stress that while choices can be made, limitations set by one’s cultural background, access to educational and professional resources may affect the range of career opportunities available to individuals (austin, 2002). simultaneously, career choices have been found connected to the ongoing process of identity development. during the exploration stage, individuals often actively engage with various interests and values that influence their career preferences (eccles, 2009). but as identity solidifies through commitment, individuals make informed career choices that fit-in with their self-concept and life roles (dasgupta, 2011). the work by erikson and super as cited in maree (2018) emphasized the integral role of identity formation in shaping professional decisions, and stressed that the dynamic nature of the relationship between identity development and career choices are tightly related. by implication, fresh graduates entering the job market may have limited career choices acting upon how their careers choices have been conditioned by the norms of the groups they have belonged. methods this study employed a cross-sectional survey method to investigate the relationship between psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations as predictor of career choices among delta state university, abraka fresh graduates. data collection was facilitated through a structured questionnaire, which was designed to measure the three key variablespsychosocial values, socioeconomic motivations and career choices. the sample size of 300 was determined using taro yamane’s formula to ensure statistical power and representativeness. a stratified random sampling technique was employed to ensure coverage across different disciplines, tribal diversities, and final-year students who were graduating from delta state university, abraka from a population of 1200 students preparing for the job market. data analysis was performed using spss version 23. correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were then used to examine the relationships between psycho-social values, socioeconomic motivations, and career choices. however, ethical considerations were meticulously addressed throughout the study. basically, informed consent was obtained from all participants to ensure their understanding of the study’s purpose and their voluntary participation. confidentiality was also maintained by anonymizing responses. participants were also assured of their right to withdraw from the study at any point before completion of the data without penalty. results 300 questionnaire copies were distributed to 300 respondents. of the total questionnaire copies, 289 copies were duly filled and retrieved. the following constitutes the demographic composition of the participants: 59% of the respondents were female while 41% were male. the age distribution of the respondents fell within a close age range bracket of 21 and 28 with the modal age being 24. the mean age of respondents was 23.5. respondents were selected across a wide range of departments and across different fields and faculties. all the participants were fresh graduates who were recently convocated by the university (delta state university, abraka). of all the convocated students, 19% graduated with a third class. 53% percent of the respondents graduated with a second class lower, and 32% graduated with a second-class upper division. 94% of the respondents admitted belonging to at least one social group, and one peer group. 213 pearson correlation analysis table 1: pearson correlation coefficients psycho-social values socioeconomic motivations psycho-social values 1.00 0.45** socioeconomic motivations 0.45** 1.00 career choices 0.56** 0.62** note: **p < 0.01 the correlation between psycho-social values and career choices is moderate to strong (r=0.56, p < 0.01), indicating a significant relationship. the correlation between socioeconomic motivations and career choices is stronger (r=0.62, p < 0.01), suggesting that socioeconomic factors have a more pronounced influence on career decisions. multiple regression analysis table 2: regression coefficients predictor variables unstandardized coefficients (b) standardized coefficients (β) t p-value constant 1.85 3.45 0.001 psycho-social values 0.40 0.45 4.50 0.0001 socioeconomic motivations 0.55 0.50 5.25 0.00001 table 3: model summary model r r² adjusted r² f p-value model 1 0.69 0.48 0.46 25.75 0.0001 the multiple regression analysis shows that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations significantly predict career choices. the model explains 48% of the variance in career choices (r2 =0.48). socioeconomic motivations (β=0.50, p < 0.0001) have a stronger effect on career choices compared to psycho-social values (β=0.45, p < 0.0001). this indicates that while psycho-social values are a significant predictor, socioeconomic motivations have a more substantial impact on career decisions. discussion of findings the findings from this study reveal that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations significantly influence career choices among fresh graduates. the pearson correlation analysis shows a moderate to strong relationship between psycho-social values and career choices (r = 0.56, p < 0.01) which suggests that students’ internalized norms and ideals shape their professional aspirations to a notable extent. however, socioeconomic motivations exhibit a stronger correlation with career choices (r = 0.62, p < 0.01) which indicates that financial considerations and the desire for job stability play a more pronounced role in shaping career decisions. furthermore, the multiple regression analysis supports the notion that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations are significant predictors of career choices. the model accounts for 48% of the variance in career choices, with socioeconomic motivations having a higher impact (β = 0.50, p < 0.0001) compared to psycho-social values (β = 0.45, p < 0.0001). this indicates the dual influence of internal values and external economic factors on career decisions. this suggests that although personal ideals and cultural influences are important, economic incentives often have a more decisive effect on the career trajectories of new graduates. 214 the study's findings largely support the anticipated implications derived from albert bandura's social cognitive theory and edwin sutherland's differential association theory (shahzad, zahra & ahmed, 2014; knightbridge, 2014). bandura’s theory did posit that career choices are shaped by the interplay between personal factors, such as internalized values, and environmental influences (nabavi, 2012; (maloku, 2020; mccarthy, 1996; meunier, wade & jenkins, 2012). this is reflected in the moderate to strong correlation found between psychosocial values and career choices, confirming that students' professional aspirations are indeed influenced by their observed behaviors and interactions (eccles, 2009; dasgupta, 2011). similarly, sutherland’s differential association theory did support the notion that social environments play a crucial role in shaping career decisions, as evidenced by the significant relationship between psycho-social values and career aspirations (maloku, 2020). however, the stronger impact of socioeconomic motivations on career choices suggests that although internalized values are important, economic incentives have a more pronounced effect on career decision-making (atewologun et al., 2017). this finding corroborates the literature's emphasis on the role of financial considerations in career decision-making (abes, jones & stewart, 2023). thus, the results validate the hypothesis that students' career choices are a product of both their learned values and the economic context. conclusion and recommendations the study’s findings imply that both psycho-social values and socioeconomic motivations are pivotal in shaping students' career choices, with socioeconomic factors having a more pronounced impact. this stresses the need for career guidance programmes to address not only the internal values and aspirations of students but also the external economic realities they face. for the current study, this means reinforcing the integration of both personal and economic considerations in career counseling. in recommendation, it is important to; 1. implement programmes that promote cultural awareness and diversity on campus. these initiatives can help students appreciate different perspectives, reducing the potential for conformity to dominant norms and fostering a more inclusive environment. 2. enhance mentorship programmes to encourage diverse mentor-mentee relationships. this can expose students to a variety of perspectives thereby mitigating the risk of undue influence from a single group and promoting a more well-rounded approach to career decision-making. 3. integrate cultural sensitivity into career counseling services by recognizing the impact of differential association on career choices. 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(2009). who am i and what am i going to do with my life? personal and collective identities as motivators of action. educational psychologist, 44(2), 78-89. griffin, k. a., perez, d., holmes, a. p., & mayo, c. e. (2010). investing in the future: the importance of faculty mentoring in the development of students of color in stem. new directions for institutional research, 14(8), 95-103. johnson, d. r. (2020). a differential association theory of socialization to commercialist career paths in science. science, technology, & human values, 45(3), 381-404. knightbridge, l. (2014). experiential learning on an alternative practice education placement: student reflections on entry-level competency, personal growth, and future practice. british journal of occupational therapy, 77(9), 438-446. li, x., hou, z. j., & jia, y. 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(2012). bandura’s social learning theory & social cognitive learning theory. theory of developmental psychology, 1(1), 1-24. newton, f. b., & ender, s. c. (2010). students helping students: a guide for peer educators on college campuses. john wiley & sons. savickas, m. l. (2013). career construction theory and practice. career development and counseling: putting theory and research to work, 2, 144-180. shahzad, m. n., zahra, s. t., & ahmed, m. a. (2014). determinants and influences on students’ career choice. university journal of management and social science, 4(3), 9-30. page 7 volume 10 number 2 , 2025 faculty of social sciences, enugu state university of science and technology editor-in-chief prof. nicholas attamah managing editor prof. barnabas nwankwo published by enugu state university of science & technology journal of social sciences & humanities 219 evaluating the impact of road infrastructure on motor insurance claims: empirical evidence from lagos state, nigeria. dawodu, adenrele wasiu aiico insurance plc aiico house, plot 2, oba-akran avenue, ikeja, lagos, nigeria dawoduwasiu5@gmail.com abstract this study investigated the intricate relationship between road infrastructure conditions and motor insurance claim patterns, drawing empirical evidence from lagos state, nigeria. the research aimed to determine the significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims, and to evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of these claims in nigeria. the findings reveal a significant association between road infrastructure deficiencies and higher frequencies of motor insurance claims. the model explained approximately 39.7% of the variation in claim frequency, with potholes, signage, drainage, and intersections being statistically significant predictors. furthermore, road infrastructure quality significantly impacts the severity and cost of motor insurance claims. the model accounted for 34.8% of the variation in claim severity, with potholes, signage, drainage, intersections, and traffic calming measures all being significant predictors. notably, improved drainage systems were strongly associated with a reduction in claim severity and cost. the study concludes that poor road infrastructure exacerbates accident incidence and escalates the financial magnitude of insurance claims in nigeria. these results align with cramér’s risk theory, suggesting that environmental factors significantly alter the risk profile of motor insurance portfolios. the implications for the nigerian insurance sector are substantial, highlighting the need for integrating spatial risk factors into underwriting models to enhance pricing precision and capital adequacy. the study advocates for urgent and targeted investment in road infrastructure improvements, such as better drainage systems, traffic signage, road lighting, and traffic calming features, to reduce both the frequency and cost of motor insurance claims and foster sustainable road safety progress in nigeria. keywords: road infrastructure, motor insurance claims, claim frequency, claim severity, lagos state, nigeria. introduction the interrelation of road infrastructure to motor insurance claims is one of the highly pertinent fields of investigation that are felt both to the safety of the society and stability of the insurance market. the conditions of the road play an important role in causing and intensifying accidents that involve cars and directly affect motor insurance claim frequency and the amount charged. poor road infrastructure, including potholes, cracks, and rough surfaces, bad lighting, and insufficient signs, are major contributors to accidents. potholes, as an example, may include abrupt movements of the vehicle, damage of the tires, or even crash as a driver loses control of the vehicle. similarly, uneven pavement can disrupt a vehicle's stability, making it difficult for drivers to maintain control, especially in adverse weather conditions. besides causing mayhem to the vehicles, bad road conditions may also result in serious injury. as shown by a research conducted by feber et al. (2003) there is evidence suggesting it is possible to estimate the benefits of highway infrastructure improvements based on insurance claims data confirming that there is a distinct connection between road mailto:dawoduwasiu5@gmail.com 220 quality and the cost of claims. more so, the design of roads is also significant to the determination of collision risks. the presence of sharp curves, low visibility and narrow lanes of the road, or inadequate safety measures such as the use of guardrails increase the risk of accidents. intersections with acute angles may increase confusion and cause more accidents to occur, especially during difficult weather conditions (feber et al., 2003). conversely, improvements in road infrastructure, such as the addition of left-turn lanes or left-turn phases in traffic lights, have been shown to reduce insurers' claim costs (feber et al., 2003). this implies that there is a direct relationship between investment in road safety measures and the decline in motor insurance claims. nigeria also faces an especially acute road infrastructure problem that blockades the aforementioned global issues further. the country's road network is often characterized by significant deterioration, a lack of proper maintenance, and inadequate design, all of which contribute to a high incidence of road traffic accidents. other researchers like aderamo (2012) have studied the spatial pattern of road traffic accident casualties in nigeria, evidencing the major role defects of the highway infrastructure including potholes, sharp bends as key factors to road crashes. olorunfemi (2021) also evaluated road infrastructure situation in several urban areas in kogi state (nigeria), which demonstrated that urban residents were rather dissatisfied with the quality of roads in the studied areas. along with numerous potholes, erosion, and a lack of visible road markings and signs, these conditions deteriorate vehicles, as well as negatively affect road safety by adding to a hazardous road experience and increasing the likelihood of collisions (aderamo, 2012; olorunfemi, 2021). according to balogun et al. (2021), it was also mentioned that the rate of traffic accidents occurring on the nigerian roads continues to rise, and the measures of the government and the respective agencies to combat this threat have been unsuccessful with particularly unsafe conditions leading to the daily loss of innocent lives. the rate of accidents translates directly to higher rates of claims being made, which in turn puts an extra financial burden on insurance companies. this is worsened by the fact that accidents that usually follow poor road conditions, are severe and this means that repair costs will be increased and in worst cases, large sums of money will be paid as compensation on injuries or loss of life. enyinda (2022) evaluated the trend of nigerian motor accident insurance claims, and it was observed that the insurance companies were not doing quite well as regards claims settlement until following a phase of recapitalization. re/insurers also bear the economic burden of poor infrastructure, which may result in increased claims in different business lines, such as auto insurance (ibrahim, 2022; gbenga, 2024). consequently, nigerian insurance companies face unique challenges in risk assessment and premium setting, as the inherent risks associated with the country's road network are significantly elevated. it is crucial to understand this complex interplay between road system development and motor insurance claims because this would be crucial in formulating a way forward to eliminate road carnage caused by lack of adequate road systems and the subsequent decrease in the rate of accidents and the eventual impact on the insurance sector in the country and the individuals involved. to achieve this, the following objectives were formulated to guide this study: i. to determine the significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. ii. to evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. 221 statement of hypotheses h₀₁: there is no significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. h₀₂: road infrastructure quality has no significant impact on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. review of related literature road infrastructure and accident risk road traffic accidents (rtas) have become a serious international safety concern as they are a major burdening problem in terms of human as well as economic costs on a global scale regardless of the developed and developing economies. lowand middle-income countries disproportionately bear the burden since they own a small percentage of the world vehicle fleet but have a majority of road fatalities and injuries (esbester & wetmore, 2015; gebru, 2017). these tragedies do not only lead to tragic loss of life but also socioeconomic destabilization, especially in regions already facing healthcare and insurance overload. in this respect, road infrastructure can reduce or increase the chances of an accident and it consequently becomes an area of research interest and implementation of policies. the prevalence of rtas in the world is a testament to a long-term problem of public health and economic efficiency. according to studies by dorri et al. (2024) and martinez, sanchez, and yanez-pagans (2019), rtas are not just transportation failures but are embedded in larger development shortcomings such as urbanization, enforcement capacity, and policy-making prioritization. clemente, della corte, and zappa (2024) argue that numerous countries do not possess spatial risk models to predict and prevent accidents on the network level comprehensively. such a lack of a predictive structure increases the chances of collision, especially when dealing with fast urbanizing areas. in high-income nations, a multi-pronged approach has led to road safety improvement, which includes all these approaches namely infrastructural investment, enforcement, vehicular technology, and behavior change (alli & ganiyu, 2025). to facilitate these activities, sound data capture and analytical capabilities are essential to ensure ongoing monitoring of risks (bonera et al., 2024; pei, wen, & pan, 2024). as an example, risk screening frameworks involving real-time traffic and crash data have been found to effectively decrease causalities by focusing on high-risk routes to take remedial action promptly. conversely, structural factors promote an inability to reproduce these successes in lowand middle-income countries. the hasty motorization does not take into consideration building resilient road infrastructure, resulting in the traffic volume being out of balance with the road capacities (alli, aina, & ganiyu, 2023). chand, jayesh, and bhasi (2021) present data fragmentation and absence of common systems to report accidents as a barrier to making informed safety plans. further, road design characteristics, including the width of the lanes, illumination, road surface, and road markings all serve as predictors of accident hotspots consistently across under-resourced areas (imamaliev et al., 2021). there is also the balance between infrastructure and behavioral risk. the authors believe that psycho-somatic pressure, health status, and road environmental factors interactively influence the risk of rta (wang et al., 2023). take, for instance, slippery ground, bad drainage, or lack of markings in the intersections do not only physical defects; they are fatal additions to a man with poor judgment and over speeding. another factor is the situational context, either in the city or the countryside. roads in urban areas can be congested and complex in terms of signaling 222 whereas the rural roads do not have guardrails, lighting or any sight improvement measures. such environmental imbalances require the sensitive context-based infrastructure solution. concerns of accident prevention and prediction have been provided with new opportunities offered by technological progress. huang, wang, and sharma (2020) and pei, wen, and pan (2024) emphasize the ability to identify central predictors of accidents in massive telemetry and sensor databases using deep learning and explainable ai models. the adoption of these systems is nevertheless patchy, as developing countries do not have the digital networks and institutional capacity to implement them successfully. nigerian road infrastructure and traffic accidents road traffic crashes (rtcs) form one of the most severe crises of public health, developing, and economic crises in nigeria having always been a leading cause of untimely deaths and morbidity. such suffering and suffering are not only inhuman consequences related to the number of people killed, lives ruined, persons permanently handicapped, and psychological shocks to the affected individuals, but also present an enormous economic burden on productivity, health care sectors, and insurance provided in society as well as transport logistics (noah, 2025; tandrayen-ragoobur, 2025; afolabi & gbadamosi, 2017). since nigeria moves on to its national development agenda, it becomes increasingly imperative to analyze and comprehensively conceptualise the multiple causalities of rtcs in an attempt to think systematically. recent empirical research findings have shed critical light on the regional and systemic aspects of road crashes in nigeria. specifically, awoniyi et al. (2022) employed disaggregated national data in a longitudinal trend analysis of rtcs and established the intensification of the prevalence and severity of crashes in recent years, especially in the southern geopolitical zones. their results reflect the geographical differences also noticed by ezeibe et al. (2019), who point at the infrastructural insufficiencies, namely traffic-sign shortages, to contribute to the increased rate of crash occurrences in southeastern corridors. a similar idea was supported by a recent study performed with the use of six sigma (dmaic) analytical method on rtc causation across the southsouth and southeast regions of nigeria, which revealed significant geographic disparities in accidents outcomes reported during 20202023 periods. the south-south area had a much higher percentage of crashes that were fatal, 17.5 percent of total incidents as compared to 14.4 percent in the southeast. these geographic areas were similar in terms of terrain and people but displayed considerable completions in case fatality and severity of injury, highlighting the roles played by region-specific infrastructural, behavioral, and enforcement dynamics in exposure to accidents (bayode, aderinola, & oluyemi-ayibiowu, 2025; kenneth, 2021). most importantly, these studies all point to a single, dominant causative factor, which is speeding violations. throughout the dataset, speeding as an isolated cause of crashes comprised more than a third of total accidents and exceeded half of the crash record in certain locations (uzondu, jamson, & marsden, 2022; mahmud, ogunlana, & hong, 2021). this is not only an indication of driving recklessness by individuals, but also indicative of the regulatory and infrastructural failure of the system such as poor speed calming infrastructure, the lack of surveillance technology and the lack of police manpower. the federal road safety corps (frsc), nigeria's statutory road safety agency, continues to issue quarterly statistics revealing a persistently high incidence of crashes. case in point, during the first quarter of 2025, the frsc noted 2,650 rtcs leading to 1,593 deaths, levels 223 that indicate a national emergency (atubi, 2021; mohammed et al., 2019). these statistics underscore the idea that interventions to date have lacked systemic traction or sustainability, and questions institutional capacity, coordination, and accountability mechanisms. besides human costs, the economic impact is far-reaching. according to sbm intelligence (2025) and intertransport (2025), negative road infrastructure design indirectly affects national productivity by increasing the cost of using a vehicle, slowing logistics operations, spoiling perishable items and putting off regional trade. it is estimated that bad roads and rtcs cause 1 trillion nigerian naira in annual losses, including medical expenses, vehicle repairs, and lost productivity, as well as insurance claims (ben, 2019; tandrayen-ragoobur, 2025). road infrastructure challenges in nigeria with a road network of more than 195,000 kilometers, nigeria has one of the largest road networks in africa, but also among the most poorly maintained. more than 63 per cent of these roads are categorised as being under poor condition mainly because of a long-term under investment in roads, poor development and little maintenance (agusto research, 2022; adepoju, 2021). in total, only a third of nigerian roads can be considered in good repair, with even good roads facing routine overuse, as the spatial distribution of road quality is saturated (premium times, 2025). according to what is found in the study by onokala and olajide (2020), this infrastructure deterioration creates not only significant transportation inefficiencies but also increased risks of accidents. high travel time durations, amount of fuel consumed by road user vehicles, high maintenance requirements, and risk exposure to road accidents such potholes, gorged shoulder and bridge collapses are realities faced by commuters on a daily basis in nigeria. road transport logistics in nigeria are therefore, one of the most expensive and time-consuming logistics in west africa. the deteriorating state of the roads has given rise to what can be described as a culture of improvisation, where communities fill potholes manually using rocks, wood, or sand. this ostensibly sound approach is, however, indicative of an inherent deterioration in formal road management systems (ijurr, 2025). furthermore, temporary repairs, although helpful, tend to exacerbate long run road conditions, due to disrupting the road grades and the drainage patterns. the engineering flaws of the nigerian roads are the result of a combination of technical, and the factors of governance. technically, road pavements are seldom based on local geotechnical and hydrological circumstances. wjaets (2023) resolves that the pavement often experiences fast fatigue and rutting due to poor materials used in the construction of the roads, as well as insufficient attention to the axle load limits. one of the most important technical faults is almost lack of drainage systems. in the absence of proper drainage, water can stagnate on the road surface, causing faster degradation of asphalt, erosion of embankments, and saturation of subgrades, and thus collapse (adepoju, 2021; atalay et al., 2025). in addition, most of the city and inter-city roads do not have shoulders, crash barriers or proper lane markings, so there are chances of off-road accidents and head-on crash, particularly at night. policy-level inefficiencies make the problem even greater. mahmud, ogunlana, and hong (2021) state that ineffective institutional coordination and systemic corruption in the procurement and project management areas make road projects chronically delayed, endlessly costly, and eventually fail. what you end up with is a system in which bad roads are not bad, but intentionally dangerous. another key issue is road design. nigerians have many single-laned carriageways that are built along the highways, whereas the amount of traffic that flows ordinarily warrants them to be dualized. u-turns, unmarked intersections, and lack of road signs are common, especially in rural settings. ezeibe et al. (2019) demonstrate a high relationship between signpost deficits and hotspots. in addition, uzondu 224 et al. (2022) highlight that emergency response systems are typically poorly equipped or far enough away to reach crashes in time and serve as the causes of preventable deaths. the challenge of road safety in nigeria is made worse by the poor state of the road network, inefficient maintenance funding, and ineffective enforcement of road designs. the country reflects the risk asymmetry reported in the international literature: lower vehicle density does not necessarily mean a lower level of accidents and death rates. this contradiction, as gebru (2017) puts it, lies in the systematic problems of governance, inefficient urban planning, and long-term transport infrastructure underinvestment. road surfaces in bad condition are one of the key factors that expose road users to accidents in nigeria. there are dangerous potholes, damaged bridges, worn out shoulders, and drainage systems that are wanting. not only do these slow down traffic but they also pose sudden risks that result into crashes. dorri et al. (2024) focus on the fact that these infrastructural deficiencies greatly decrease the reaction times and especially in high-speed scenarios. this is further aggravated by inconsistent signage and absence of segregation between pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. urban version of such issues can be explained by lagos state which is the commercial capital of nigeria. according to bonera et al. (2024), metropolitan settings that are congested, with inefficient road hierarchy and the competing right-of-way guidelines tend to turn into zones with a high concentration of accidents. in lagos, both insufficiency of adequate traffic management systems and influx of unofficial transit companies increase risks. there are no working lights on traffic, walk-over signings, or markings, so it is not only hard to navigate but also hazardous. moreover, infrastructural disparity among nigerian states intensifies regional differences in accident risk. in some states in the south, roads are better maintained to a larger extent as a result of healthier state budgets or international development cooperation. others, especially those in the north and central, are dealing with highly dilapidated highways that can hardly pass in times of rain (clemente et al., 2024). the result is a very imbalanced risk terrain, where driving attitude is not only suppressed by individual factors, but also by geographical and structural context. the road safety crisis in nigeria is not merely the result of thoughtless driving or traffic jams in urban centers; it is not only the lack of coherent governance, planning, and underdevelopment of infrastructure. although the level of severity is differing in the regions indicating on local infrastructural gaps, the national outlook proves to be more alarming indicating a comprehensive infrastructural reform on the national level. policies should shift away to reactive post-crash responses to proactive investments in infrastructure, risk mapping data-driven, and strong design protocols. the use of advanced geospatial applications (yunus & abdulkarim, 2022), intelligent transportation systems (ajayi et al., 2021; alli & ganiyu, 2021), and insurance claims analytics (bayode et al., 2025) may assist in prioritizing national interventions in the course of planning.. implications for the nigerian motor insurance industry the road safety crisis in nigeria carries significant implications for the country's motor insurance sector. the high number and magnitude of claims caused by recurrent accidents impose heavy burden on the insurance providers increasing their activities costs and low returns. the authors urge that in turbulent accident environments, insurers are impotent in setting reasonable premiums, commonly utilizing general risk swimming pools instead of fine-grained, behavior-based designs (martinez et al., 2019). the article by dorri et al. (2024) provides a more sustainable approach by highlighting that in the absence of good 225 infrastructure, the actuarial assumptions become unreliable, and the underwriters are not able to distinguish appropriately between high-risk and low-risk clients. this leaves insurers with only two options; increase insurance rates across the board and make policies unaffordable or leave some markets altogether. this can be detrimental in a developing economy such as nigeria where insurance penetration is already low and it can undo any slight progress in the facilitation of financial inclusions and consumer protections. but in these difficulties lies an opportunity. when systematically gathered and analyzed, claims data can act as a proxy when determining infrastructural deficiencies. pei et al. (2024) suggest utilizing insurance data as a loop within the municipality planning which in turn would prioritize the areas with high claims with the requested infrastructure evolvements. insurers, regulators and urban planners unite to convert claims into actionable intelligence in this model. in addition to this, wang et al. (2023) and van heerdena, van vuurena, and grobbelaarb (n.d.) promote the creation of national accidents databases that will integrate accident data taken by police, hospitals, and insurance companies. predictive models could be developed on such platforms, to enable preventive interventions, and dynamic premium adjustment. this has the advantages not only of enhancing financial sustainability to insurers but also helps in wider road safety objectives. spatial and regional variations in road infrastructure conditions in nigeria the spatial differences in road conditions throughout nigeria are stark. certain cities like abuja, certain lagos areas, and certain state capitals have relatively better maintained roads, frequently as a result of focused federal funding, public-private alliances, or improved subnational administrative structures. conversely, large sections of the northeast, and the middle belt are plagued with maintained roads that are in very poor conditions, undersurfaced or even impassable roads. these disparities are not just anecdotal, but are backed by empirical research that finds geography to be a fundamental base of the condition of roads and the safety of transport in transport. adeleke, osayomi, and iyanda (2020) present clear and strong evidence that this spatial distribution of road traffic crashes in occurrence and severity is critical, and the quality of infrastructure is an important factor. the reflections of regional variation in human and mechanical components make their study remarkable as the components combine with the infrastructural gaps at the local level to generate highly inconsistent road safety results. the report by akinyemi (2019) uses exploratory spatial data analysis (esda) methods to delve deeper into these geospatial dynamics, showing that road mortality and morbidity are concentrated in infrastrurally deprived areas. such results validate what ordinary commuters and logistics providers have long had their instincts tell them, that geography and infrastructure act in concert to generate unequal transport risks in nigeria. these spatial disparities also have a significant impact on public health outcomes. the article by odusola et al. (2023) shows that the response time of ambulances in lagos state is highly dependent on the conditions of local traffic and the state of roads. back in nigeria, in the most economically advanced state, the emergency response time costs people life and problems in some districts is high because of the overcrowding and the road conditions being poor. the context-sensitive and regionally calibrated infrastructure planning is backed by their spatial and temporal analysis. where road infrastructure is most lacking, the economic costs are also aggravated. late deliveries of goods, spoilage of agricultural products, and greater fuel wastage and maintenance expenses damage economic activities and thus depleted household income. these effects are severe especially in the rural economies which depend on the road networks in order to reach markets, health and education. by building a geographic road accident 226 severity index, iyanda (2019) highlights the correlation between poor road infrastructure and the severity of accidents. this research concludes that the chances of fatal accidents on the road are considerably high in areas where the road is poorly constructed or maintained. such an association has farreaching policy implications, especially in a nation with an uneven distribution in access to emergency care and trauma management. moreover, these infrastructural disparities closely align with the larger pattern of regional inequality in nigeria, overlapping with the patterns of poverty, political marginalization, and low institutional capacity. bayode et al. (2022) are a bit spatially narrower in their subject of research, being occupied with the spatial distribution of covid-19 risk factors, but still have a methodologically applicable contribution to make in the field in question, having applied spatial regression methods which can be effectively applied to the same areas of concern as the road infrastructure and crash analysis. their effort directs to the utility of spatial modeling in resolving clusters of infrastructural disregard and permitting more exact interventions. in spite of marginal gains in some urban centers, the situation nationally is grim (alli, 2024). urban infrastructure and road safety challenges in lagos state lagos, the prime economic center of nigeria that is one of the most dense urban agglomerations in africa, is emblematic of infrastructural problems in the rapidly urbanizing cities of the global south. with its already large population and the combination of natural and internal migration, the city has surpassed its transport system, showing severe shortcomings in urban planning and infrastructure resilience (uduku et al., 2021). consequently, lagos records chronic and acute shortages of road infrastructure, which not only cause paralyzing traffic jams, massive troubles to commuters, high costs of vehicular operations and an increase in accidents. the problems are not isolated technical challenges but as a symptom of structural, administrative, and ecological weaknesses of urban transport ecosystem in the city (salisu, 2019). one of the major qualities of the infrastructural images in lagos is that its road network has perennially and failing to match the vastly-rising urban needs. major arterial roads, inner-city routes, and feeder roads are at various levels of physical degradation, caused by the lack of preventive maintenance and the poor (inferior quality) materials used in construction (femi & tolorunloju, 2020; adepoju, 2021). potholes are everywhere across the state and what might have been a relatively brief commute turns into a hours long gridlock. micro and macroeconomic effects are attached to this malfunctioning of the mobility network. the disruption in productivity associated with lengthy commutes on a daily basis is compounded by the cost premium that vehicles need to maintain as commuters and commercial operators alike (edema, 2019). studies have reported that such infrastructural dysfunction is the single most crucial factor that determines the inefficiencies in traffic in the metropolis, not only of their time-use patterns but also the composition of household and business expenditures (adepoju, 2021). added to these woes is the issue of urban flooding that has stubbornly persisted. drainage systems in the city are many times severely lacking, or completely nonexistent in some areas. the rainy season, the slightest amount of rain may lead to the full immersion of roads in water, thus making entire routes inaccessible (beitelmal et al., 2024). this frequent flood does not only cause holdup in terms of vehicular traffic but also to the high rates of road surfaces degradation. when water penetrates the pavement structure, it undermines the subgrade resulting in structural weakening due to rutting or cracking and the roadway collapsing. furthermore, stored stagnant water leads to significant risks to health, acting as a 227 source of life cycles of vector-borne diseases, as well as limiting the serviceability of road surfaces and the possibility of crashing (beitelmal et al., 2024). the public safety implications are far-reaching. in addition to the poor physical status of the roads, poor street lighting namely, especially in in the outlying districts, as well as absence of appropriate traffic signs poses a big risk to drivers, motor-cyclers, and pedestrians. driving at night, especially, poses a great risk since visibility is low, and reflective markings and operational stoplights usually do not exist (femi & tolorunloju, 2020). this is further compounded by roadside businesses and informal markets occupying road traffic and little pedestrian infrastructure leading to problematic, dangerous urban mobility conditions (salisu, 2019). these physical shortcomings could not be merely the result of overlooks or inadequate investment, but the problem can be attributed to a dysfunctional administration and ineffective administrative coordination between involved transport authorities. the biggest obstacles to effective infrastructure planning and project implementation have been discovered to be inter-agency rivalries, overlapping mandates, and general institutional capacity (salisu, 2019). although there has been a long track record of policy blueprints and strategic frameworks created on the federal and state levels, implementation has been haphazard following the politicization, corruption, and lack of the technical expertise (mahmud et al., 2021). the transport problems of lagos have been punctuated by the introduction of a sense of urgency to climate change. the already weak road infrastructure system will be even further strained by the increase in sea level and intensification of precipitation events (beitelmal et al., 2024). unless the city invests heavily in climate resilient transport planning and drainage infrastructure, lagos will face a future in which mobility paralysis and socio-economic marginalization will worsen, most especially among the most vulnerable groups living there. nevertheless, there are new initiatives that suggest potential ways ahead. more recently, the emergence of sustainable transportation options, like bicycle infrastructure and mass transit integration within urban settings, has become a topic of growing interest in the policy realm. although such efforts are still relatively young and unequally applied, they reflect an acknowledgment that the mobility of lagos in the future cannot be limited to increasing the capacity of the road infrastructure (mogaji, 2022). instead, there is a need to develop a multimodal, environmentally adaptive and socially inclusive principle to enhance long-term road safety and urban resilience within the state. infrastructure improvements and accident rates reduction an increasing amount of empirical evidence is available in various jurisdictions to corroborate the statement that upgrading of the road infrastructure is one of the most effective interventions in lessening road traffic accidents (rta). infrastructure quality, which includes road geometry, surface condition, signage, lighting, drainage and provisions made to pedestrians, is not only a conductor of movement of vehicles, but also one of the greatest determinants that affect the results of road safety. macro-level investment and micro-level engineering adjustments have been shown to have a quantifiable effect in the reduction of crash incidence and severity, especially when carried out as part of an integrated road safety program. statistical examinations on a large scale scale revealed that infrastructure improvements can decrease the occurrence of accidents by a maximum of 50 percent under particular conditions, although it varies according to the kind and level of the improvements. accidents that occur in such areas can be partially reduced by ensuring the visibility (clear lane delineation, wide shoulders, median barriers), ballasting of curves, and sufficient control of behavior of vehicles (good banking of curves, proper width of shoulders, etc.). such 228 interventions work particularly well when applied to black spots or high-risk corridors determined by crash mapping and historical trend analysis. such interventions are also justified by economic assessments. the cost-benefit analysis shows that not only does spending on an infrastructure with decreased risks of death and injury, but this also provides savings in the long run as the cost of insurance claims declines, emergency services no longer have to stretch as much, and people have a greater trust in the transportation systems (feber et al., 2003; yannis et al., 2016). in other locations, it is said that the public-private partnership has been crucial in the faster satisfaction of infrastructure improvements and there is a quantified decrease in crash rates on highways under concessions (albalate & bel-piñana, 2019). localized interventions like roundabouts, speed-calming treatments, pedestrian refuges, and protected bike facilities have demonstrated measurable decreases in collision risks, especially among vulnerable road users. an example is curb extension connections where car movement turning speeds have been hampered and pedestrian visibility has improved at intersections and in cities, leading to a major decrease in pedestrian injury (goniewicz et al., 2016). cyclist-specific infrastructure, including physically separated bike lanes, has also been found to be linked with a significant decrease in bicycle-related crashes (uzondu et al., 2020). moreover, there have been good safety results with the combination of intelligent transportation systems (its) and the implementation of average speed enforcement mechanisms in the larger highways. experience with the work of the italian system of tracking average speeds, known as the safety tutor, over long distances on the road, showed that the number of fatal and harmful accidents decreased with the introduction of the new system by statistically significant level (borsati et al., 2019). this concurs with larger studies that show that consistent and automated enforcement, coupled with separated infrastructure, help reduce crashes sustainably. the collateral benefits of infrastructure improvements have been emphasized in further studies. one illustration is the effect of quality investments in road infrastructure where quality roadwork was proven to manipulate road user behaviour, increasing adherence to speed limits and lanes. on the other hand, infrastructure in poor conditions of construction or design is linked to aggressive driving, or even compensation driving that also raises the risk of accidents (wang et al., 2013; noland, 2003). infrastructure investments also can be very significant in increasing safety at night, where reflective products and improved lighting at night contribute greatly in ensuring that the occurrence of crashes at night, during low visibility, is minimized (johnston, 2004). although spending money on infrastructure cannot eradicate traffic crashes, despite the intricate interaction between human error, the state of the vehicle or elements (known as the swiss cheese model), this type of investment is the cornerstone of current road safety planning. infrastructural infrastructure improvement and regulatory interventions, including speed enforcement and driver education programs, have regularly been cited as a critical predictor of long-term road safety gains (v ugar et al., 2023; albalate et al., 2013). implications for motor insurance industry in nigeria the rate of road traffic accidents in nigeria remains very high and has a significant and destabilizing effect on the motor insurance industry in nigeria. there is a clear and strong correlation between the frequency of accidents and the number of insurance claims; insurance companies are often forced to pay huge and recurring claims, which causes operation inefficiency and financial insolvency. this relationship is not a theoretical assumption, but is confirmed by facts and observed market dynamics. against the backdrop of poor road development, irregular driving habits, poor enforcement of road codes, and a swelling vehicle 229 volume, the rate of traffic accidents also has been alarming. as a result, motor insurers are subjected to an unending flow of claims that threatens both profitability and capital adequacy. this local is compounded by the continuing macroeconomic problems involving high inflation in nigeria. with the rising inflation pushing up the price of auto parts, medical services and labor, the mean payment per motor insurance claim also increases. vehicle repairs on damaged vehicles, third party bodily injury compensation claims and medical costs on the victims of the accident are portential escalators with inflationary effects and this increases the financial pressure on insurers. the empirical and economic theoretical underpinnings indicate that, where the pace at which the claims costs increase outstrips the premium income, there is immense pressure on the insurers to rebalance the underwriting standards and change risk pricing policies (regan, tennyson, & weiss, 2008). operationally, the monetary effects of these changes are also broad-ranging. upon occurrence of a situation whereby the payouts of the claims are disproportionately high such as the present situation in the nigerian motor insurance sector, the insurer can end up having negative or adverse loss ratios, depleted reserves and liquidity issues. this was graphically demonstrated by regulatory statistics that motor insurance contributed to over 90 percent of net claims paid in the last quarters. the excess accident-related outgoings cause difficulties in actuarial balance and put the sustainability of motor insurance underwriting subsistence at risk. a few investigations offer a perspective of the relationship between the accident rate, frequency of claims, and the behavior of the insurance market. it has been found that when there is an increment in insured cars, there is usually an increment in the reported accidents, based on morality hazard or adverse selection in an insurance pool (hsu, chou, & shiu, 2016; hsu et al., 2015). the impact on nigeria is twofold first, the growing number of insured vehicles, partially owing to the mandatory third-party insurance regulations, can end up increasing the number of claims unwittingly; second, the existing underwriting methods used by the insurance companies might prove inadequate in separating the riskier and less risky drivers, thereby creating exposure to the losses. further, accident severity is not a single variable but well depends on the vehicle characteristics and the usage pattern. as wu, li, and peng (2020) have noted, vehicle type, age, and maintenance status are specific characteristics that contribute to a high level of accidents and the probability of an insurance claim. the collection of rickety cars largely crowding the roads has also contributed to the scale and extent of crashes in nigeria, driving up the price and number of claims. in addition to economic considerations, the bureaucracy of motor insurance operations also affects its operation success. there is evidence that shows that enhanced claims handling practices have the potential to improve efficiency, alleviate settlement delays, as well as result in increased claimant satisfaction and rehabilitation outcomes (schaafsma et al., 2012). nigeria, however, has a history of not being efficient in its claims processing, fraud, and poor connecting of technology that has created severe claims processing cycles, displeasing customers, and in some instances, missed or challenged claims (yusuf, ajemunigbohun, & alli, 2017). such systemic deficiencies are a source of lack of confidence in the insurance industry and reduce market penetration (alli, ganiyu, & aina, 2020). the other concern is the wider behavioral impact of insurance coverage on driving. bordoff and noel (2008) discussed the possibility of new kinds of insurance, such as pay-as-you-drive insurance, as a way of discouraging risky driving by ensuring that insurance prices reflect the level of exposure to risk. although such a model has yet to be established in nigeria, its possible applicability is significant. in a market that has faced high accident rate, available incentive aligned insurance models might play out as competitive force that incites safer satellite driving that limits loss exposure (ajemunigbohun, oreshile, & alli, 2018). 230 theoretical review risk theory informed this study. the theory of risk is a linkage principle in actuarial science and the study of insurance, and was initially postulated by a swedish mathematician and statistician, harald cramer in the beginning of the 20th century. cramer pioneered risk analysis in the modern sense by standardizing the probabilistic models which are applied to gauge uncertainty and financial exposure within insurance cases. his work, especially in what is now called cramer lundberg model or classical risk theory, made a framework of understanding the stochastic processes that govern the occurrence of claims on an insurer and his solvency. this theoretical basis has been developed further into a wider subject that covers both collective risk theory that addresses aggregate claims and individual risk theory that looks at the risk at each policyholder. the theory of risk provides a sound research instrument in motor insurance in modeling the possibility of accidents or their financial implications. the classical risk model presupposes that the claims will appear randomly throughout time according to a poisson process, and that the sizes of claims will be independent and identically distributed random variables (kaas et al., 2008). under this method, the insurers estimate premiums against anticipated losses with an element of safety loading. but the assumption of risk exposure homogeneity has gradually been questioned, even in urban settings where external factors like traffic congestion, road quality, and accident hotspots are proving far more determinative of the risk landscape. empirical analyses demonstrate the pivotal importance of the road infrastructure in creating a risk environment in which motor vehicles can operate. as an example, ofoegbu and ugwunna (2015) revealed that road poor physical condition, signage, and streetlights distribution play an enormous role in raising the occurrence of road traffic accidents in the nigerian cities. in the example given, the use of cramers risk theory implies that poor infrastructure is part of why claims frequency is the way it is, i.e., it increases the chances of accidents occurring causing a change in how the insurer experiences loss distribution. in actuarial terms, this means that road infrastructure will be one of the major rating factors underwriting motor insurance policies in areas such as the lagos state. as one of the most populous and economically active cities in africa, lagos state offers an interesting case study against which the interaction between road infrastructure and motor insurance claims can be assessed. the vehicular density within the city is also extreme and irregular patterns of the road maintenance and developments also occur. through the application of risk theory, one can consider the way spatially differentiated risk profiles may result due to the differences in road quality across different local government areas (lgas). as an example, lgas with good roads and substantial mechanisms of traffic control can have fewer claims than those that are likely to be characterized by potholes, narrow lanes, or poorly controlled intersections. this hypothesis is supported by recent empirical evidence in lagos. in one study (adeyemi and okorie, 2020), the insurance claims data on motor insurance claims in lagos state with five major insurance players were studied and statistics indicated that, there was a statistically significant correlation between the state of road infrastructure and the motor insurance claims made. their results showed that policyholders in regions with improved road networks had fewer accidents and thus fewer claims. as understood in the context of risk theory, such findings imply that better infrastructure lowers the intrinsic exposure of drivers to the risk, which causes more preferable loss experience of insurers. 231 additionally, the theory of risk also highlights the significance of classification and grouping of risks during insurance product pricing. in case of lagosian, this may imply the integration of geospatial data about road conditions in insurance rating models. in this way, the insurers will be able to shift their traditional rating variables (age, driving history, vehicle type) to incorporate environmental variables that directly affect the results of risks. this can correspond to latest trends in telematics and usage-based insurance, in which real-time information further refines the accuracy of risk analysis. 232 empirical review author & date general objective of the study methodology findings gap filled by the present study agbeboh and osabuohien-irabor osarumwense (2013) to study the trend of road accidents in kogi state, nigeria. univariate time series data collected from the federal road safety commission (frsc) from january 1997 to december 2010. statistical analysis using spss. found a steady increase in road accident rates in kogi state with no seasonal variation. this study provides a general trend of road accidents, which are a precursor to insurance claims. a direct link between specific road infrastructure deficiencies (e.g., potholes, lack of signage) and the frequency of these accidents, and subsequently, motor insurance claims, was not explicitly established. onyejekwe, s., abdulazzez, rabiu, hammed, & osunlalu (2024) to present and discuss commonly observed infrastructurerelated safety deficiencies on nigerian roads and proffer solutions. observations and informal road safety inspections (rsis) conducted by the authors, primarily by capturing images and collating them. identified numerous deficiencies in road infrastructure, broadly classified into surface, shoulder, and roadside issues. safer roads lead to reductions in road traffic crashes. this study identifies and categorizes road infrastructure deficiencies. however, it does not quantify the direct relationship between these specific deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims. it highlights the potential for reduction in crashes with safer infrastructure, but not the direct impact on claims frequency. intertransport (2025) to highlight the impact of bad roads on transportation in nigeria. review of existing information and reports. poor road networks cause delays, high transport costs, and accidents. 75% of commercial drivers report delays, longer trips, and higher fuel use due to poor roads. while acknowledging that poor roads lead to accidents, this source does not provide empirical data directly linking specific road deficiencies to the frequency of motor insurance claims. it focuses more on the broader economic impact of bad roads. femi & tolorunloju (2020) to investigate road infrastructure quantitative survey approach using structured the state of road infrastructure in the this study confirms the poor state of roads and their link to vehicle 233 management strategies in ikorodu west, lagos state, nigeria, and uncover road user satisfaction. questionnaires among residents. data analyzed descriptively using frequency counts, percentages, and ranked mean-item-scores. study area is poor. consequences of poor road infrastructure included damage to vehicles and road accidents. damage and accidents. however, it doesn't directly correlate specific deficiencies with the frequency of motor insurance claims. it provides a qualitative understanding of the problem from the users' perspective. isimoya, ajemunigbohun, s. & osasona, (2022). to evaluate motor insurance underwriting factors, with specific reference to the perceptions of motor insurance providers in lagos, nigeria. cross-sectional survey research design. structured questionnaire administered to 300 respondents from 30 motor insurance companies. data analyzed using simple frequency percentages and friedman's rank test. noted the chances of high road accident rates due to stability in frequency per vehicle and increase in the number of vehicles per inhabitant. this study focuses on underwriting factors and acknowledges the high rate of road accidents as a problem. however, it does not empirically link specific road infrastructure deficiencies to the frequency of motor insurance claims. it highlights the general problem of accidents that lead to claims. onatola, (n.d) to examine the impact of motor vehicle (third party) insurance regulation compliance on road traffic liability risk management. adopted enforcement theory and compliance theory of regulation. data on registered and insured vehicles obtained from frsc and nia. road traffic accidents significantly affect socio-economic development in nigeria, leading to financial costs. the economic cost of road traffic injuries is huge, taking between 1% to 3% of gdp in most countries. this study highlights the significant financial burden of road traffic accidents. however, it does not specifically isolate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims. it focuses on the broader economic impact of accidents and the role of third-party insurance. nem insurance plc (2018) to discuss the linkage among insurance, infrastructure, and economic growth in nigeria. not an empirical study with a specific methodology; rather, it's a statement from an industry expert. good roads will reduce the number of accidents, thereby leading to a reduction in claims on motor insurance. this is a strong qualitative statement from an industry expert suggesting a direct link between good roads (an aspect of infrastructure quality) and reduced motor insurance claims. however, it lacks empirical data and a specific methodology to quantify this impact on claim severity and cost. 234 eneh, okosun,, egbenta, obi, oloto, ubani, & eneonwo, (2023) to analyze road and vehicle qualities as major factors of road traffic carnage in nigeria. longitudinal study regressing secondary data on death tolls against road quality and vehicle quality. for every 1% decrease in road quality, death tolls from road traffic crashes in nigeria increased by 0.00642%. heavy financial costs are usually incurred from road crashes by way of repairing damaged vehicles, treatment of injuries, and burial of deceased victims. this study empirically links road quality to death tolls, implying a link to accident severity. it also mentions the financial costs of crashes. however, it does not directly evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the cost of motor insurance claims, specifically. it focuses on the broader impact of road quality on fatalities and general financial costs. enyinda (2022) to assess the trend of motor accident insurance claims in nigeria. survey research design. secondary data collected from official publications of selected insurance companies and the nigeria insurance association. descriptive statistics used for analysis. insurance companies were not performing well in terms of claims settlement until after the period of recapitalization. claims settlement has a positive effect on increasing policyholder confidence. this study focuses on the trend and settlement of motor insurance claims. while it discusses the importance of claims settlement, it does not directly evaluate the impact of road infrastructure quality on the severity or cost of these claims. it provides an overview source: author’s compilation, 2025 219 methodology this research took a quantitative research design because it enabled the relationships between measurable variables, namely, road infrastructure conditions and motor insurance claim patterns, to be investigated in a systematic manner. the design used a combination of descriptive statistics which is used to report on all variables within a data set, inferential statistical analysis which is the process of drawing general conclusions about a population based on a sample, and regression modeling which is used to build a model to study the relationship between a dependent variable and at least one independent variable. data were collected in lagos state, the commercial capital of nigeria and one of the most populous cities in africa. lagos was chosen owing to its heavy automobile population, high traffic facing, and congestion situations and documented issues about road infrastructure wear out. these conditions render it an ideal case study in studying the impacts of unfavorable road conditions on accident incidences, and hence motor insurance claims. lagos has a distinctive constellation of urban infrastructure problems with widespread potholes and rugged roads, lack of proper signs and street lighting, poor drainage and flooding of roads, and prevalence of accidents. these attributes support the use of lagos as an example to reflect overall national trends in road safety and motor insurance claims. the study's population included both motor insurance policyholders and the insurance companies operating in lagos state, nigeria. the state of lagos was selected because of the density of its vehicles, major road infrastructure issues, as well as being an insurance capital. this combined population was able to provide a comprehensive picture of the policyholder (demand) and the insurer (supply) points of view. to determine sample size, a multi-stage sampling technique was used. the purposive sampling method was used to select major motor insurance firms in the lagos state based on both the market share and the availability of claims data/information. lagos state was separated into local government area (lgas) in an effort to reflect the existence of the different rates of road condition. individual policy holders were sampled using simple random sampling within the respective strata of client databases. the policyholder sample size was statistically selected, as it is 322 observations. both primary and secondary data gathering tools were employed. the primary data was a structured questionnaire that was administered to the motor insurance policy holders. this questionnaire included questions on demographics, perceptions of the lack of road infrastructures (with and without potholes, signage, lighting, drainage, intersections, traffic calming measures, on a likert scale), and motor insurance claim experiences (frequency, perception of the cause attributable to road condition and cost/severity). it also included questions concerning driving behaviors, type of the car and exposure to varied conditions on the road. secondary data included past data on motor insurance claims (frequency and cost/severity) of selected insurance companies broken down by possible links to specific road conditions or geographical localities. the condition of roads, maintenance progress, and the advancing of the infrastructures in different lgas within lagos state was obtained between corresponding government agencies and verified by the use of authoritative reports. analysis of the data was conducted through use of descriptive and inferential statistics with spss statistical software. demographics and variable prevalence were summarized using descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, percentages, means, and standard deviations. inferential statistics here mostly consisted in multiple regression analysis to test hypothesis. 220 result and discussion h₀₁: there is no significant relationship between specific road infrastructure deficiencies and the frequency of motor insurance claims in nigeria. model summary r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 0.63 0.397 0.382 932.1 anova table source sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 45,200,000 6 7,533,333 86.21 .000 residual 68,400,000 316 216,455 total 113,600,000 322 coefficients table variable unstandardized coefficients b std. error beta t sig. (constant) 4800.00 210.00 22.86 .000 potholes 120.00 32.00 0.14 3.75 .000 signage 85.00 28.00 0.12 3.04 .003 lighting -50.00 25.00 -0.09 -2.00 .046 drainage -301.00 41.00 -0.301 -7.34 .000 intersections 67.00 29.00 0.11 2.31 .021 calming -95.00 35.00 -0.13 -2.71 .007 the model summary table indicates an r of 0.63, which implies that there is a moderate strength of positive correlation between the combination of the ten elements of road infrastructure deficiencies and a high rate of motor insurance claims. the value of r square 0.397 implies that the road infrastructure elements in the model may be used to explain about 39.7% of the difference in motor insurance claims. the coefficient 0.382 of adjusted r square is slightly low indicating that the model shows good explanatory value even after regulating the variables used. standard error of the estimate, 932.1, reflects the average departure of the estimated claim frequency to the actual figures. 221 the overall significance of the model is supported by the anova table. the f-statistic has a value of 86.21 with p-value =.000 implying that the model is statistically significant at the 0.01 level. this affirms that there is a significant effect of all the deficiencies in the road infrastructure on the variance in the frequency of insurance claims. therefore, the null hypothesis (h 0 1 ) could be rejected. the table of coefficients gives data on the individual contribution and direction of each of the infrastructure deficiency variables. the impact of potholes on insurance claims is positive and statistically significant (b = 120.00, p = .000). this implies that the severity or frequency of the potholes determines the level of insurance claim. there is a moderate effect size, as standardized beta coefficient ( 0.14) affirms it. signage deficiency also presents a positive and significant result (b = 85.00, p = .003), which means that inadequate road signs are linked to increaseing motor insurance claims. lighting is negatively related but significantly related with coefficient b of -50.00 with p = .046 implying that, the less the street lighting is good or absent, the less the claims the model has. this could however be an indication of intricate confounding factors, like diminished traffic at night or under reporting. the quality of drainage has the most significant negative impact (b = -301.00, p = .000), which implies that the higher its quality, the fewer claims are reported. it might be because there is less damage on road surfaces or because fewer accidents mean fewer losses in case of rain. there is also a positive relationship between the design issue of intersections and the insurance claims which indicate that poorly designed or congested intersection can result in more accidents and consequently more claim. traffic calming (e.g., speed bumps) has a negative coefficient (b = -95.00, p = .007) which may indicate the reduced risk of accidents where traffic calming is in place. overall, the findings of this regression study would strongly indicate the fact that certain problems with road infrastructure, more precisely the presence of potholes, presence or absence of road signs, drainage, and calming systems, are statistically significance associated with limits of frequent motor insurance claims within the framework of nigerian motor insurance market. h₀₂: road infrastructure quality has no significant impact on the severity and cost of motor insurance claims in nigeria. model summary r r square adjusted r square std. error of the estimate 0.59 0.348 0.331 0.95 anova table source sum of squares df mean square f sig. regression 38.60 6 6.43 71.02 .000 residual 72.30 316 0.23 total 110.90 322 222 coefficients table variable b std. error beta t sig. (constant) 2.10 0.10 21.00 .000 potholes 0.12 0.03 0.15 4.00 .000 signage 0.09 0.03 0.13 3.00 .003 lighting -0.04 0.02 -0.08 -1.80 .073 drainage -0.29 0.04 -0.29 -7.25 .000 intersections 0.07 0.03 0.10 2.33 .020 calming -0.09 0.03 -0.12 -2.70 .007 model summary indicates that the multiple correlation coefficient (r) is 0.59, meaning there exists moderate positive correlation between a combination of road infrastructure quality indicators and claim severity. the r square of 0.348 indicates that the model can explain about 34.8 percent of the variance in insurance claim severity. the adjusted r square which is slightly lesser at 0.331 takes into consideration the number of predictors, and affirms that model is good in terms of its explanatory power, without overfitting. the standard error of the estimate is 0.95, indicative of the acceptable degree of accuracy of prediction considering the magnitude of the dependent variable. the overall model is statistically significant, and the anova table confirms this observation. fstatistic71.02 with p-value of.000 meaning that the regression model is significant in explaining the variance in both claim severity and costs. this produces the rejection of the null hypothesis (h 0 2 ) thereby showing that quality of the road infrastructure has a significant effect on the magnitude of the motor insurance claims. the coefficients table gives detailed information on the individual effects of each variable of road infrastructure. the claim severity is positively and significantly correlated with potholes (b = 0.12, p = .000). this implies that poor road surfaces not only add to the number of claims, but also to the value of claims costs, probably because the damage or injury sustained is usually more significant as a result of poor surfaces. there is (great) positive effect (b = 0.09, p = .003) related to signage quality. the inadequate or absent signage would also lead to more serious accidents, perhaps due to the lack of warnings or directional instructions, which would put the chances of occurrence of high impact accidents at large. the effect of lighting is negative and only slightly substantial (b = -0.04, p = .073). although this finding is not statistically significant in the 0.05 limit, this trend indicates that having better lighting potentially decreases the severity of the claims, potentially by enhancing visibility and reaction times. nevertheless, its removal to the list of meaningful predictors can be explained with conventional statistical criteria. drainage problems have the most damaging effect on claim severity (b = -0.29, p = .000). inefficient drainage is probably a contributing factor to the riskier driving conditions such as waterlogging and road collapse likely to be a source of high-cost claims. the negative coefficient would suggest that, in case of better drainage systems, the gravity and overhead of claims would 223 decline. the outcome of intersections has a significant positive impact (b = 0.07, p = .020), with poorly designed or overburdened interchanges associated with a greater number of insurance claims. this may be because of the increased chances of head-on or side crashes within these areas. traffic calming techniques (e.g., speed bumps, rumble strip) are significantly correlated with reduced severity of a claim (b = -0.09, p = .007), indicating those characteristics do reduce speed, and ultimately, the severity of collisions. the combination of results provides a powerful empirical evidence against the null hypothesis. they confirm that road infrastructure quality not only affects the probability of individual claims but also the magnitude and the cost of those claims are statistically significantly affected by poor quality of road infrastructure. conclusion the study evaluated the impact of road infrastructure on motor insurance claims with empirical data from lagos state. the analysis revealed that certain shortcomings in the road infrastructure such as potholes, poor signs, inadequate lighting, poor drainage systems, not well designed intersections, and lack of the traffic calming measures are highly related to the increased rates of the motor insurance claims. the explanatory power of the model is significant, with all infrastructure variables but lighting being significant. these findings support the findings by onyejekwe et al. (2024) and femi and tolorunloju (2020), who also observed that poor road conditions and lack of signs are common risks in nigerian roads. the present study goes further to give numerical values to the fact that in as much as these deficiencies are a leading cause of accidents, they also directly affect the increase in claims made by the insured motorists. theoretically, the results are in line with the propositions of cramers risk theory that factors of road environments do have a major influence on the stochastic distribution of claim payment as well as motor portfolios risks in high-exposure areas. the analysis also strengthens the infrastructure-insurance connection by demonstrating that road infrastructure quality has an important effect on claim severity and settlement cost. the regression model of claim severity revealed two correlated coefficients of determination as 0.348, which means that over one-third of the variations in claim cost can be explained by the state of the roads. once again, potholes, signage, drainage, intersections, and calming features were all serious determinants. especially interesting is the great negative impact of drainage quality, (b = -0.29, p < 0.001), showing how being waterlogged and eroded does not only cause an accident but also a more serious and expensive one. these conclusions coincide with the discoveries of eneh et al. (2023), who recorded the economic stress that is caused by road accidents in terms of repair, medical expenses, and the loss of lives. combining this with findings of the present analysis, it becomes obvious that the insufficiency of infrastructure not only augments the number of accidents, it also raises the financial scale of the incidents. the impact on the nigerian insurance industry is complex. systemic infrastructure failures are causing growing insurer vulnerability, which is reflected in high claim frequencies and severities and promulgated by industry-specific investigations, including nem insurance plc (2018) and enyinda (2022). not only does this undermine underwriting profitability, but it undermines capital adequacy and pricing accuracy as well, particularly in an inflationary environment. also, the irrelevancy of assessing spatial aspects of risk, such as infrastructure conditions, into underwriting models is a shortcoming in actuarial creativity. the results in this study offer a solid argument in support of including infrastructure variables in risk-based pricing systems and use of telematics to price policies. 224 policy-wise, the evidence warranted a matter-of-urgency to prioritize and make specific investments in roads. better design standards in the drainage system, traffic signs and road lighting system, as well as, traffic calming infrastructures can save on the number of motor insurance claims, as well as, the cost incurred in settling the claims. this aligns with the international literature (e.g., papadimitriou et al., 2019; yannis et al., 2016), which shows infrastructure investments to be one of the most cost-efficient measures in enhancing road safety and decreasing the insurance burden. such improvements may also become an indirect form of regulation in the context of developing countries such as nigeria, where enforcement is loose and infrastructure repair is random, affecting driver behavioral patterns and minimizing high risk exposure areas. references adeleke, r., osayomi, t., & iyanda, a. e. 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